"^ V I ^ V* ^ ,0 o. ^. ^ \ * 'v- O0 V <• ^% ■ V ■^,^ v V - ,N v\v 6 v b ^ C^ '- , * %. e£ -- X- *, "Cjj A v ' ' ' " % ^ A °/ ' " «> 4° =_ _ c^ _ / his search for two years^. When at length he had found the lady Ela of Salisbury, he exchanged his pilgrim's dress for that of a harper or travelling troubadour, and in that guise entered the court in which the maid was detain- ed. As he sustained to perfection his character of a glee- man, and was excellently versed in the gests, or historical lays, recounting the deeds of former times, this stranger was kindly received, and soon treated as one of the house- hold. At last, his difficult undertaking was fully accom- plished ; when, having found a convenient opportunity for returning to England, he carried with him the heiress, and presented her to king* Richard. That monarch received her with that courteousness and chivalric consideration which were the characteristics alike of the king and of the a^e, and ^ave her in marriage to his brother William, surnamed Longespee, who was a natural son of Henry II., by Rosamund Clifford, better known as the "fair Rosamund," whose romantic name, her traditional fate, and the proximity of her bower and of her burial-place to the muses of Oxford, have all contributed to perpetuate that celebrity which her beauty acquired in her own days. This marriage, or rather affiancing*, took place in 119S, when Ela must have been ten or eleven vears of ao*e, and immediately after she was placed within the power of her sovereign lord. [The Longespees.] — With the other possessions of the elder house of Salisbury, the manor of Canford and its members passed by this marriage into the hands of Lon- gespee, who was so named from the long sword he wore. We find nothing recorded of this gallant warrior previous to his being affianced to Ela, and it is probable, from all concurrent circumstances, that he was then a youth just rising into manhood, and that his munificent brother, Rich- » Dugdale, in his Baronage, incorrectly says "months" instead of "years, c 10 THE MANOR. ard, with whom he appears to have been a peculiar favourite, took the earliest opportunity ihus to confer upon him a provision suitable to his royal birth. On the death of Richard I., he adhered faithfully to John during' the early part of his reign, and was in frequent attendance on the king 1 , through the vagrant life in which his reign was spent. Immediately upon his marriage, or at least very shortly after, Longespee entered upon Ela's hereditary office of the shrievalty of Wiltshire. At the coronation of John, May 27, 1199, at Westminster, the earl of Salisbury was amongst the concourse of nobility present. He was ap- pointed constable of Dover castle, Sept. 9, 1204, and held that office for about twenty months. In 1205 he was appointed to the command of some troops embarked by John in his attempted enterprise for the recovery of Normandy. In 1209 he was constituted warden of the marches in Wales. He adhered steadily to his royal brother during that stormy period, when Pope Innocent fulminated his interdict against king John ; and is named first amongst those whom Matthew Paris calls the king's " consiliarii iniquissimi." He was, of course, involved in some of the scenes of humiliation which John was doomed to encounter. In 1213 he was one of the four great barons, whose names appear in the treaty entered into by John with the pope, and who all swore on the king's behalf to his observance of the ignominious conditions imposed by the pontiff. In the same year, he commanded the English fleet in the war with France, and surprising the fleet of Philip, the French king, entirely destroyed it. This expedition was unusually short ; for, surprising a large French fleet at an- chor in the haven of Dam, deserted by the soldiers, who had marched to ravage the country, the English forces, having soon overcome the sailors, immediately loaded thirty of the transports with every kind of store and provision, and sent them off to sail for England. They then proceeded to fire the despoiled vessels, amounting to a hundred or THE MANOR. 11 more, which were lying" dry on the shore. This fatal loss blasted all Philip's grand projects, and obliged him to re- linquish his undertaking, — viz,, the reduction of Flanders, — and to return to Paris extremely mortified. In 1214 he was one of the five earls taken at the battle of Bovines, gained by Philip over the emperor Otho, of Germany ; but recovered his liberty in the following year. In the contest between John and his barons, Longespee attached himself to the party of the king, and was one of those threatened by the confederate barons, when besieging John in the tower, with the plundering of their estates. He was also one of those who attended on the king's side at Runny- mede ; and we find him amongst those named in Magna Charta. When the king had collected an army of fo- reign mercenaries, with the assistance of the pope, to whom he had been again reconciled, he divided his forces into two bodies, giving the command of one of them to Longespee, who first placed garrisons in the castles of Windsor, Hertford, and Berkhampstead, and then proceed- ed to watch the city of London, where the barons had fixed themselves, and cut off the supply of their provisions. He then ravaged Essex, Hertford, Middlesex, Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire. By these exertions, the arms of the king were so successful, that the barons had only two cas- tles left, Mountsorrel in Leicestershire, and that of Robert de Ros in Yorkshire. At that crisis they turned for aid to prince Louis, the dauphin of France, who, in May, 1216, landed at Sandwich. We now encounter a remarkable change in the conduct of the earl of Salisbury. He who had been so lojtx] to his brother throughout all his difficul- ties, is now found suddenly to join the French invader. In assigning a motive for this conduct, our chroniclers enter- tain diverse views. Matthew Paris ascribes the desertion to a conviction on the part of Salisbury and those who were associated with him, that they were cleaving to the strong- est party, " as if they accounted it now perfectly certain 12 THE MANOR. that Louis would obtain the kingdom of England ;" whilst the chronicle of Melrose speaks of their conduct as having been adopted with the intention rather of subverting than of assisting the cause of Louis. And their subsequent be- haviour would seem to favour this last conjecture. On the 18th of October, in the same year, death terminated the turbulent and miserable reign of John, and shortly after- wards Longespee and the other three earls again changed their party, and acknowledged the young king, Henry III. On this return, Longespee was appointed sheriff of Somer- set and governor of the castle of Sherborne ; and was also constituted sheriff of Lincoln and governor of the castle there. The Clause Rolls for many subsequent years teem with entries of money and lands which were conferred upon him. From some of them we gather that the king presented him with £1000 in money, the payment of which was completed in November, 1219; and, besides, paid him yearly the sum of £300, until he was provided with escheated lands of that value. Lands of the value of £500 had been promised to him by king John. He received scarcely fewer favours from the crown, than had fallen to his share when he was the companion of the late king. Besides the weightier matters already mentioned, gifts of deer and of timber are particularly frequent. In May, 1220, he assisted at the foundation of the new cathedral church of New Sarum. The bishop laid the first stone for pope Honorius; the second for Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury; the third for himself. Then the fourth was laid by William, earl of Salisbury; and the fifth by his wife, the countess Ela, " a woman truly praise- worthy," adds the chronicler of this splendid pageant. For some time subsequent to this, Longespee appears to have led a courtly life, and was generally in attendance on his king: but, in the spring of 1224, his nephew, prince Richard, the king's brother, was placed under his guidance, that his maiden sword might be fleshed under THE MANOR. 13 the direction of so experienced and gallant a soldier, in the plains of Gascony. Having" collected an army, the earl proceeded with his royal nephew through Gascony, reducing to obedience those who refused homage and feal- ty to king Henry. This campaign lasted about two years, in which Longespee bore the most conspicuous part. The voyage, on his return to England, was most disastrous and protracted for upwards of three months. During the in- terval, all his friends had despaired of his safety, except his faithful wife, who, though now a matron whose age and dignity ought to have commanded greater respect, became again an object of pursuit to the fortune-hunters of the court. The person who then had the greatest sway in the country, was the justiciary Hubert de Burgh ; a man who was no Jess remarkable on account of his power and prosperity under one king, than for his trials and sufferings under another. It is related by Matthew Paris, that, whilst king Henry was deeply affected with grief at the supposed loss of the earl of Salisbury, this potent minister, Hubert, came and required from him that he would bestow earl William's wife, to whom that earldom belonged by here- ditary right, on his own nephew Reimund, that he might marry her. The king yielded to this petition, provided the countess could be induced to consent; but she received Reimund with scorn for his offers, and protestations of her assurance of her husband's safety. On the arrival of the earl, after giving public thanks for his preservation and safe return, he proceeded to the king at Marlborough, and complained of the conduct of the justiciary and Reimund. Peace was however made between them ; the justiciary invited the earl to his table, where, it is said, the earl was infected with secret poison"^, and, thence returning to his * The frequent insinuations of suspected poison which occur in old chronicles, seldom deserve any other regard than as evidences of the ignorance of the times in pathological science. It is evident that nothing could be more likely to act as poison than the royal feastings of Marlborough, after the long privations of a disastrous voyage and shipwreck.— The memory of Hubert de Burgh has suffered considerably 14 THE MANOR. castle of Salisbury, took to his bed grievously sick, and shortly afterwards expired, March 7, 1226. The interment of his body took place on the following" day, in the chapel of the Virgin in the new cathedral of Salisbury. " There," says the Rev. W. L. Bowles, "on the north, stood his monument, with his effigy, its sides ornamented with pillars and arches carved in wood, and panels richly painted, dia- pered, and gilt, having depicted around it, in alternate shields, the three lions passant of England, and the six rampant lioncels of Salisbury. In the year 1790, alas for cathedral improvements ! this monument was removed to its present situation in the nave, when the skeleton was found entire. The appearance of this ' son, brother, and uncle of kings,' to judge from his martial figure of grey marble, sleeping as it were from century to century, with his sword and shields upon his tomb in Salisbury cathe- dral, must have been singularly manly and commanding. His features are only partially exposed, through a small aperture in his hood of mail, which entirely covers his mouth and chin. His eyebrows are somewhat lofty and imperious ; but the eyes seem gentle and intelligent. His limbs are lightly cased with plaited mail, formerly gilt, which covers his hands and feet. On his body, above his mail shirt, he wears a surcoat, formerly blue, painted with lioncels, and lined with crimson ; this is confined by the belt of knighthood, with a golden buckle." The earl left issue at the time of his decease, by his countess Ela, four sons and four daughters ; the former were William, Richard, Stephen, and Nicholas. The countess Ela lived long after the death of the earl her husband, surviving both her son and grandson. Thus from suspicion and tradition ; for this alleged crime, as well as the participation in the death of prince Arthur, which is in legendary lore ascribed to him, are foreign to those indications of his moral character, which authentic history has handed down. * On this shield, azure, are embossed six lioncels rampant, 3, 2, 1, OR. The lion- eels painted on the surcoat, are like in number and arrangement ; but, by reason of the many foldings, they are not so easily discernible. THE MANOR. 15 it was that neither of these enjoyed the title and estates of the earldom of Salisbury, which Ela inherited from the Edward of Domesday, and which, by the principles of the feudal law that then prevailed, became vested in her during" her life. As she continued a widow, the title remained dormant ; but the office of sheriff of Wiltshire, and that of castellan of Old Sarum, she was permitted to exercise in person, 11th Henry III. ; and again in the 15th of that reign she paid a fine of 200 marks, to have the custodv (i. e. the shrievalty) of the county and the castle of Sarum, during her whole life. She exercised the office until she became a nun, in 21st Henry III. A few years after her husband's decease, she founded the abbey of Lacock, and the priory of Hinton, and on Christmas day, 1238, Ela assumed the habit of religion in the former foundation, being 1 then in the 51st year of her age. August 15, 1240, she was constitu- ted abbess of Lacock, and after having held peaceful rule over her monastic society for sixteen years, she relinquish- ed this station on the last day of the year 1256, and spent the last five years of her life in perfect retirement and seclusion. She died Augrist 24, 1261, in the seventy- fourth year of her age, and was buried in the choir of the monastery at Lacock. William Longespee the second inherited the name without the dignity of his father; the earldom of Salisbury, and the estates appendant to that title, being vested in the countess Ela, and consequently dormant through her wi- dowhood. It is probable that, if Ela had accepted a second husband, he would have acquired a title to the earldom as complete, during her life, as Longespee himself had enjoyed ; so closely at that period did the rights of in- heritance attach themselves to the husbands of heiresses^. We are informed that her son, when he became of age, * Thus, at the same period, the heiress of Albemarle had conferred the dignity of Earl successively on her three husbands, William de Mandeville, William de Fortibus, and Baldwin de Betuu ; it afterwards descended to her son and heir, who was born of 16 THE MANOIt. claimed investiture of the earldom : but that the kinp* re- fused it, " not in his anger, or from an arbitary impulse," but judicialiter, that is, by the advice of his judges, and according to the principles of feudal law. He was a minor at the time of his father's death, and for some years after ; but he had been already provided with a wife of ample domains, the heiress of the two baronies of Hay in Lin- colnshire, and Camville in the county of Oxford, and elsewhere. The marriage of this lady, Idonea, the daugh- ter of Richard de Camville, had been granted to the earl, on the 22nd of April, 1216, specially for the advan- tage of his eldest son, William. In 1226 they were already married; but in 1231, young Longespee was still a minor, though Idonea had attained her majority. In the next year we find him serving with the army in Wales, being present, says Matthew Paris, in the royal camp, at the time when it was grievously despoiled by a night attack of the enemy. In 1233, (17th Henry III.,) he was girt with the sword of knighthood. He had been first " signed with the cross" in 1226, with many distinguished companions, but their intentions appear to have been suspended until towards the close of the year 1239 ; when an assembly of the prin- cipal croises of England took place at Northampton, to consult respecting their journey. It seems probable that at this period, as certainly on his second voyage to Pales- tine, Longespee headed an expedition distinct from that of the earl of Cornwall. He left England, says Matthew Paris, " about the same time" as earl Richard, but appa- the second husband. Isabel of Gloucester was the wife, first of John, (afterwards king,) and secondly of Geoffry de Mandeville, who were both earls of Gloucester in her right. In the reign of Edward I. , there was an instance of a man becoming an earl by marrying a widow only, without her being an heiress, (as is said to have hap- pened to Stephan de Longespe;) but in that instance the countess was one of the king's daughters. Her husband, Ralph de Monthermer, was earl of Gloucester and Hertford, so long as the princess Joan lived; but on her death the dignity left him and devolved on Gilbert de Clare, the son and heir of the princess by her first hus- band, whilst Ralph de Monthermer survived her for seventeen years, in the rank of a baron only.— Bowles. THE MANOR. 17 rentlv it was not in his company. He arrived in England, on his return, in the beginning of March, 1241-2. At a later period of the same year (1242), he was present at the battle of Xantoigne, in Gnienne ; after which, he and the earl of Leicester (the great Simon de Montfort) re- mained at Bourdeanx with the king and queen, contrary to the advice of the majority of the English barons, and to their own great loss in the incurring' of debt. During* all these transactions, he appears to have borne the title of earl, by courtesy, though his claim to the dignity was in dispute, and he had therefore never obtained possession of the revenues of the earldom. On this account, in 1243, the king granted him an annuity of sixty marks out of the exchequer, until he should obtain judgment upon the claim he made to the earldom of Wiltshire and castle of Sarum. It was probably owing to the favour of his sove- reign, that he became possessed of other portions of the inheritance of Ela, including the manor of Canford and Poole. In 1247, says Matthew Paris, William Long'espee, shrewdly imagining that, like earl Richard, he might, ' reaping* where he had not sown,' collect some emolu- ment from the crusaders, " went to the court of Rome, and soliciting our lord the pope (Gregory IX.) to further his views, said, ' My lord, you see that I am signed with the cross 1 ^, and am prepared to proceed on the expedition * The devotee who had assumed the cross, or become what the chroniclers call 'crucesignatus,' was distinguished to the view of all men by a cross affixed to a con- spicuous part of his dress. The custom originated with the council of Clermont, held by pope Urban II., in 1095. The crosses were received, with certain ceremonies, from the hands of bishops or abbots. Those worn by great men were made of silk, and worked with gold; those of the commonalty of cloth. The colour was origi- nally crimson ; but different colours were afterwards taken, in order to distinguish the countiy of the wearer. In the expedition of 1188, Philip king of France and his followers adopted a red cross ; Henry, king of England, and his men, white cros- ses ; and Philip, count of Flanders, green. The ' crucesignati ' were invested with a variety of privileges and immunitits. They were freed from the payment of their debts, until after their return ; and exempt from interest on borrowed money ; and also from some taxes, (although at the same time subjected to other exactions, which were nominally for the benefit of the cause in which they embarked, but too often diverted to the personal emolument of the Pope, or of those who obtained the credit D 18 THE M A NOR. with my lord the king of the French, to fight for God in this pilgrimage. I bear a great and well-known name, that is, William de Longespee, but my fortune is small ; for my lord the king of England, my kinsman and natural lord, hath taken away from me the title of earl, with its estate ; yet, as he did this judicially, and not in his anger or from an arbitrary impulse, I do not blame him. Thus I am obliged to fly to the paternal bosom of your compas- sion, to seek assistance from you in this necessity. For we see that the noble earl Richard, although he is not signed with the cross, yet is gathering much money in the king- dom of England, from those who are signed, through the influence of your too bountiful favour in that behalf; and I, therefore, who am signed with the cross, and in want, taking hope from his example, request the same favour for myself.' So the pope, considering at once the eloquence of his address, the force of his reasoning, and the gracefulness of his person, was favourably inclined towards him ; and granted him in part what he asked, that is, a broad thong out of another's hide^." By means of the pope's letters, as Matthew Paris afterwards mentions, the earl of Cornwall collected an infinite sum from those desirous to redeem their vows-}- ; of which the chronicler names as an instance no less than £600 from one archdea- conry ; and William Longespee obtained in all more than a thousand marks. It was about this time, 1248, as will be shewn in a subsequent page, that William Longespee, of being his commissioners. ) They were also permitted to pledge their estates, with- out consulting the chief lords ; and to have their causes tried in the ecclesiastical courts. All which, as may be supposed, led to a variety of abuses and inconvenien- cies. — Bowles. * A certain share of the earl of Lancaster's privilege. ■t Multitudes assumed the cross who never left their native country : but their vow was then redeemed by a sum of money. There is, in the Fcedera, a proclamation in the form of letters patent, of Henry III., promising "in good faith" to his subjects, that no one who had been signed, or who should be signed, with the cross, in his dominions, should be compelled, on that account, to pay a greater sum of money for the redemption of his vow, than he had promised at the time of his assuming the cross. This is dated at Windsor, Jan. 18, 1251. THE MANOR. 19 in all probability, granted to the burgesses of Poole, that charter which is the foundation of their privileges. This celebrated warrior took his second departure for the Holy Land in the month of July, 1249, accompanied by Robert de Vere as his standard-bearer, and a band of two hundred knights. " He departed," says Matthew Paris, " with the licence and blessing of his noble mother, the holy abbess of Lacock, being acknowledged the general of all the crusaders of England, and joined in safety the army of the French." His prowess and knightly deeds in fulfilment of his vow are matters of historical record : they sufficed to obtain for him not only the almost idolatrous admiration of his own immediate followers, but the bitter and jealous envy of the French. He was, in consequence, subjected to unjust aggression and to the violent spoliation of the riches he had taken from the enemy, by a party of the French, headed by the Comte d'Artois, the king's brother. Longespee, not meeting, at the hands of the French mo- narch, that full justice which he claimed fcr this outrage, withdrew from the army, and, with his followers, remained at Aeon for some time. Louis, however, having occasion deeply to regret the absence of Longespee and his soldiers, sent to him to return, and effected a reconciliation. The united forces adopted the bold resolution of marching at once towards the capital of Egypt ; and, with that inten- tion, the whole army marched in a body, towards the clcse of November, 1249. Until their approach to the vicinity of Mansoura, they overcame both the open and insidious enmity of the Saracens ; but they here experienced a consi- derable check from the Egyptian army, who stoutly con- tested the passage of the Achmoun canal. At length, at Shrove-tide, (Feb. 8, 1249-50,) a Bedouin offered to show them a ford, and the Comte d'Artois, with his characteris- tic impetuosity, immediatelv resolved to effect the passage. At the head of fourteen hundred knights, including the templars and hospitallers, with William Longespee and hi- 20 THE MANOR. followers, he threw himself into the water; and after a slight resistance, they succeeded in mounting" the opposite bank, and the infidels were put to flight. Thus far the Christian army was successful : and, having surmounted an important obstacle, might, under prudent guidance, have continued its march in triumph ; but it was their next unhappy movement which led to the most fatal consequen- ces, no less than the death of William Longespee and the impetuous Artois, the capture of king Louis, and the final discomfiture of this crusade. If the Comte d' Artois had listened to the counsels of the leaders of the military bro- thers and the red-cross knights, he would not have advanced from the river until the main body of the army had come up. But the fiery Comte could not regard with calmness the sight of Mansoura, deserted by many of its inhabitants ; and, burning for personal distinction, he regarded their prudent counsels as the mask of pusillanimity. Matthew Paris gives at great length the sentiments expressed at the council of war ; in which, after the overbearing Artois had insulted the master of the templars, William Longespee is introduced as attempting to moderate the contest, and thereupon receiving a repetition of the Comte's injurious aspersions on the English nation. The taunts of the Comte prevailed where his reasoning was ineffectual ; and putting on their helmets, and expanding their banners, they pro- ceeded to the assault of Mansoura. The fate and fame of Longespee were made known not only by our historian Matthew, but by a travelling minstrel, whose poem is still extant, affording a circumstantial, though probably poeti- cal, description of all the incidents of the battled. The poem is entitled " Des svffrances de GuiL Longespee, pris * This poem is preserved in the Cottonian collection of MSS. Julius, A v., fol. 76, b, and printed with a translation, in the Excerpta Historica, 1831. Though the au- thor is unknown, it is clear from the internal evidence of the poem, that he was an Englishman, and, from its existing in the same manuscript as Peter of Langtoft's chronicle, (though not on any surer authority,) it has, with some probability, been ascribed to that author. The following lines with which the poet opens his quaint THE MANOR. 21 par les Sarac'm?" The narrative is commenced with a description of the successful attack of the Christians upon the Saracens, after crossing" the river ; their short repose ; and the council of war which ensued. The assault of Man- soura is then minutely described ; the doughty deeds of the chief warriors being* separately enshrined in the minstrel's verse, and the most honourable mention made of Longespee, whose indomitable valour and heroic achievements appear to have been eminently conspicuous throughout the events of that disastrous combat. He is styled by the poet " the stout knight, the best warrior, than whom a more valiant cavalier hath not fought in arms since the time of Roland." The narrative accompanies him through every portion of the fight, in which " he fought most bravely, and sold his life rio-lit dearly. He, with five others, contended with rank but vivid rhymes, in an address to his auditors, will furnish a specimen of the ortho- graphy of the original, as the accompanying translation will of its expressions. *' Ky vodra de doel & de pite oier tres graunt De bon Willia Longespee ly hardy combatant, Ke fust oscis en Babilone, a la quarame pernant, Ke od le roi Louys alat o son host mut graunt, A un chastel de Babilone, Musoire est nomee Ke touz jours en Peinime sera renomee Por ly rois qe fust pris en cele chevachee Et les altres chivalers ki furent de sa meignee. Et ly Cunte de Artoise, sire Roberd li fers, (Ceo fu par son orguile tant fu surquiders) E meinz altres esquiers & pruz chivalers I perderunt la vie tant urunt desturbers ! Et meint home vailant i avoit dunqe oscis ; Et ly bon Willam Longespee, li chivaler hardiz." The following is a nearly literal translation : — " List with grief and with pity who wish to be told Of the good William Longespee, the champion so bold, Who, at Shrove-tide, in Egypt, his life-blood hath spent, As among the great host of king Louis he went, At a castle of Egypt, Mansoura by name, Which shall never in Paynim relinquish its fame, For 'twas there that king Louis a captive was ta'en, With the other brave knights who were then in his train. And 'twas there the Comte d'Artois, Sir Robert the fierce, (Whose pride was the cause of so sad a reverse) With esquires and true knights many more, met their fate, So complete the disaster, the slaughter so great ; There a host of brave men have alas ! found their grave ; And there fell the good knight, William Longespee the brave." 22 THE MANOR. after rank, until the evening*, when he gave himself up a martyr." The description of the mortal conflict and sad end of this noble and heroic soldier of the cross, given in this poem, is amply corroborated by the details given by Matthew Paris; and the remarkable correspondence be- tween the two accounts, at the same time that they are evidently not derived the one from the other, is a circum- stance which is highly favourable to their general correct- ness. The prowess and chivalric demeanour of Longespee so won upon the admiration of the enemies against whom he had so powerfully contended, that on account of his excellence and honourable birth, they caused his body to be reverently interred ; and his bones were afterwards taken up, carried to Aeon, and solemnly buried there in the church of the Holy Cross^. Great and extended was the celebrity achieved by William Longespee, in his hero- ic and devoted sacrifice of life to the united call of military honour and religious enthusiasm. Not only did his exploits become, as we have seen, a stirring subject for the min- strel's rhymes, but they were perpetually referred to as a signal example of martial fame, if we may credit Matthew Paris. In mentioning the difference between England and France, in 1252, that historian states, that such was the glory that William Longespee had acquired by standing * The conduet of Saladin in respect to the remains of Longespee was alike honoura- ble to the renowned dead and worthy of the magnanimous leader of the Saracen host ; and how forcibly does it contrast with the petty ire and malignant envy of the French, who had to learn from their pagan enemy the homage due to virtue and valour ! The scene, as given by Matthew Paris, when the French messengers met Saladin to nego- tiate the redemption of prisoners, is so characteristic of that monarch, and so ho- nourable to Longespee's memory, that it may well be quoted. " ' I wonder,' said Sala- din, ' I wonder at you christians, who venerate the bones of the dead, that you do not ask for the bones of the most illustrious William Longespee. For many things, how true I know not, are dropped into my ears and others', respecting those very bones ; such as how, in the darkness of the night, there have been appearances upon his tomb, and how those who have called upon his Lord have received many benefits from hea- ven. For, on account of his excellence and honourable birth, we caused his body to be reverently interred, when he was slain in battle.' In answer to whom the messen- gers, having consulted among themselves, replied, ' How can we detract from this Englishman, when even these Saracens are unable to deny the celebrity of William.' They therefore requested his bones to be given to them,' which the Soldan graciously granted; and, carrying them to A<:on, they reverently buried them in the Church of the Holy Cross." THE MANOR. 23 his ground, when even the French king's brother, the Comte d'Artois, basely fled, — that even Frenchmen could not deny that he shone, surrounded with a crown of mar- tyrdom. There is, in the cathedral of Salisbury, a sepul- chral effio'v of a crusader, which has been g-enerallv attri- buted to the second Longespee ; and nothing can be more probable than that Ela should have placed a monument to her son, in the same sacred edifice in which the bones of his brave and illustrious father reposed. Such is a brief sketch of the warlike life and heroic achievements of that illustrious noble to whom Poole is indebted for the first charter that gave a stimulus to its industry and prosperity, and for those liberties which the confirmations and aug- mentations of subsequent ages have so matured ; and on the foundation of which, so important a superstructure of municipal privilege has been erected. The pious historians who have traced the devoted and religiously enthusiastic career of the valiant Longespee, have recorded a circumstance connected with his death at once affecting, and indicative of the holy resignation and the fervid devotion, with which Ela regarded the fall of her son in the sacred cause of the cross. " In the niffht preceding this battle," we again quote Matthew Paris, " it appeared to his mother, the most noble ladj countess, and abbess of Lacock, that a knight, armed at all points, was received into the opening heavens ! The device upon his shield she presently recognised ; jet 9 being overwhelmed with astonishment, she demanded who it was that, thus ascending, was received by the angels into such glory ; and it was answered her, in a distinct and audible voice, 6 Wil- liam, thy son ! ' Having, therefore, taken notice of that night, the vision afterwards proved to be clearly fulfilled." Her reception of the fatal news is described in a subsequent passage : " Mindful of the vision, she, with ready spirit, clasped hands, and bended knees, broke forth into this grateful praise of God :— * O my Lord Jesus Christ ! I give 24 THE MANOR. thee thanks, who from the body of me, an unworthy sinner, hast willed such a son to be born, whom thou hast vouch- safed to redeem with the crown of so glorious a martyr- dom ! I therefore trust that, by his tutelage, I may the more quickly arrive at the roof of my heavenly country.' So the relators of the melancholy tidings, who had long- been silent from fear, were astonished at her maternal piety, seeing it was not resolved into words of sorrowing com- plaint, but rather into those of spiritual joy." This cele- brated warrior left, by his wife Idonea, one son, William Longespee the third, who was a minor at the death of his father : he became possessed of all the lands the latter died seised of; but, for the reason before stated, he never enjoyed the title of earl of Salisbury ; and no second member of the house of Longespee was ever confirmed in the earldom. In 1254, he married Matilda, only daughter and heiress of Walter fcsron de Clifford, and great-neice to his own progenitor, the fair Rosamund Clifford. Only two years after, it was arranged that Mar- garet, his infant heiress, should be given in marriage to Henry, son and heir of Edmund de Lacy. This alliance appears to have been in the first instance negociated during the campaign in Gascony ; and was finally settled on the Friday next before Christmas. By a charter, saris date,. he granted to the monastery of Thetford, two marks year- ly rent out of his two mills, one at Canford, the other at Le Letio-efle, " which is on the sea," to be held of him by 2s. 4d. per annum. He was snatched away in 1257, by an untimely death, in consequence of injuries received at a tournament. The "mimic war," which led to this fatal event, is thus briefly noticed in the chronicle of Holinshed : " In Whitsuntide, (1266,) was hoi den a great justs at Blie, (Blyth in Nottinghamshire,) where the lord Edward, the king's eldest son, first began to show proof of his chivalry. There were divers overthrown and hurt, and, amongst others, William de Longespee was so bruised, THE MANOR 25 that he could never after recover his former strength." Edmund de Laci also died in the same year, on St. Mag- dalen's day, (July 21,) and, in consequence, Henry de Laci, the husband of Margaret Longespee, succeeded to the estates of both families ; but, being a minor, was in ward of the king, whilst his wife was in custody of the queen. The history of 3Iatilda Longespee, the widow of the third William, is somewhat remarkable. In 1271, four- teen vears after her husband's death, she made complaint to the king, that John, lord GifFard, had taken her by force from her manor house at Canford, in Dorsetshire, and carried her to his castle at Brimsfield, in Gloucestershire, and there kept her in restraint. He was, in consequence, summoned to the king, and, being told what was informed against him, he denied the charge, saying that he took her not against her will ; and tendered to the king a fine of three hundred marks for marrying her without his consent, of which the king accepted, upon condition that she made no further complaint. It would seem that these proceed- ings were a sort of friendly scheme, for encountering in a favourable way the penalty incurred by the lady's having taken a second husband without the royal permission. She died in 1282, and in the following year, John Giffard founded a cell in Oxford, (afterwards called Gloucester Hall,) for thirteen monks from the abbey of Gloucester, who were to pray for the souls of himself and Matilda Longespee, formerly his wife. He died on the 28th of May, 1299. [De Lacy.]— Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln, was of an ancient family, who came in with William the con- queror. The covenants of his marriage with Margaret Longespee are given by Dugdale. Soon after the death of his wife's father, he, with the countess, performed ho- mage for, and obtained liverv of, all the lands which had 26 THE MANOR. m consequence devolved upon her. He was a highly dis- tinguished peer in the reigns of the first and second Ed- wards, and sometimes, in right of his wife, styled earl of Salisbury. On the feast of St. Edward, March 18, 1272, the earl of Lincoln received the honour of knighthood, and in the same year was appointed governor of Knaresborough castle. In 5th Edward I., he had livery of the fee which his ancestors had usually received " nomine comitates Lin- coln" with all the arrears from the time he was invested by king Henry HI. with the sword of that earldom. Upon several occasions, between the 6th and 10th Edward I., he obtained grants of fairs, markets, and free warrens, in different parts of his domains ; and in the year last men- tioned, he accompanied the expedition then sent into Wales. In the 20th Edward I., the earl was sent as ambassador to the king of France, to treat on the subject of the restraint of pirates, who had robbed some French merchants ; and in the 22nd year of that monarch, he again attended him into Wales, and was likewise in the expedition sent into Gascony. He accompanied the earl of Lancaster, in the 24th Edward L, into Brittany, and was present at various successes of the English forces ; and on the death of that nobleman, he succeeded him in his command. In 1300, he is stated to have been sent to the pope, with sir LIugh Spencer, to complain of injuries received from the Scots ; and about the same time he was appointed lieutenant of Gascony. In the 29th Edward I., he was made governor of Corfe castle; and in the 31st of that king, he was join- ed in a commission with the bishop of Winchester, to treat of peace between England and France. He was after- wards engaged in many transactions of importance and confidence ; and upon the death of the king, at Burgh, in Cumberland, the earl was one of the peers who attended him in his last moments, and received his solemn request to be faithful to his son, and not to allow Piers de Gaves- ton to return into England. The conduct of the earl seems THE MANOR, 27 to have secured the confidence of the young monarch, for, upon his expedition towards Scotland in the 3rd and 4th years of his reign, the earl of Lincoln was constituted o-overnor of the realm during' his absence. His works of piety were proportionate to his extensive possessions, and, adopting this criterion of his religious sentiments, we may conclude that he was not behind his contemporaries in superstition or devotion. He closed a long and active ca* reer in 1312, at Lincoln's Inn^, in the suburbs of London, being then about sixty-three or sixty-four years of age ; and his body was buried in the eastern part of the new works of St. Paul's cathedral, between the chapel of our lady and that of St. Dunstan. He had issue by his wife, Edmund, John, and Alice. The two sons both died in childhood, the former being drowned at Denbigh castle, t in a deep well within a high tower called the red tower ; which was the reason his father never finished that castle. Dugdale has stated that Margaret, countess of Lincoln, was remarried to sir Walter Walrond ; but this is an error, as she died two years before the earl. There was a dole, at Lacock abbey, for the soul of the countess Margaret, on the feast of St. Cecilia. Henry de Lacy was seised, at his death, of several castles, manors, &c, in the counties of Stafford and Derby; and, by the courtesy of England, of the inheritance of his wife, and several other manors, &c, county of Bucks ; and the town and hamlet of Wimborne, Dorset. He also died seised of this manor held in chief of the king by knight's service, belonging to the earldom of Sarum, of the inheritance of Margaret de Long^espee ; the manor of Charlton, for life ; a rent of 40s. per annum, payable by the burgesses of Blandford, and the advowson * This celebrated Inn of Court is recorded to have been the town residence of the bishops of Chichester, from the reign of Henry III., till that of Henry VIII. It seems, however, to have been for a short time possessed by this Henry de Lacy, who. although the only earl of Lincoln who resided there, left it the name which it has ' permanently retained during the five subsequent centuries. The arms of Lacy on the gate-house in Chancery lane, were erected by fir Thomas Lovell, together with his own, 1518. 88 THE MANOR, of that church ; the pleas and perquisites of the hundred of Badbury ; the hundred of Cockdene ; the manor of Kingston Lacy; 20s. rent in Wimbourne: also these knight's fees: Hugh le Despenser held of him one knight's fee and a half, in Winterbourne Houghton ; Alan Pluke- net, one in Kingston ; John de Montealto, one in Cane^ ford; Drogo de Bardolf, Andrew Peveral, William de Horsington, one fee in Liscet, [Lytchett Minster.] He also held the manor of Canford, where is a capital mes- suage and garden, cum aiasamentis domorum, yearly value 6s. 8d. In the same are 120 acres of arable, yearly value 20s. at 2d. per acre ; 40 acres falcabilium, yearly value 6s. 8d. at 2d. per acre ; a separate pasture, yearly value 20s. ; three parks, from which nullus proficuus pro feris, &c, yearly value 60s. ; a dove-house [columbura,~\ yearly value 3s. ; and a watermill, yearly value 30s. ; in all £7 19s. 8d. There are freeholders who pay a rent of assize, of 42s. 5d. quarterly ; 26 copyholders, [custumarii] each of whom holds one messuage and half a virgate of land, and who pay yearly 48s. at the said term, quarterly, by equal portions ; their services valued at 8s. Also eight cotarii, each of whom holds one messuage, cum curtellegio, and who pay at usual terms 8s. per annum, in all 100s. At La Pole, there are free burghers, at the yearly rent of £8 13s. 4d., paid at Christmas, Midsummer, and Michael- mas, belonging to the said manor ; total £46 0s. 8d.3fc [Plantagenet.] — Alice, the sole daughter of the above, and the heiress of two great families, was, in 1291, at nine years of age, given in marriage to the potent nephew of Edward I., Thomas, earl of Lancaster, Leicester, and Derby, who, by this alliance, added to those three earldoms a title or two more, — Salisbury and Lincoln. This Plan- tagenet, who was the son of Edmund, earl of Lancaster, ♦ The figures above are the same as appear on the original escheat ; but the calcula- tions are somewhat unaccountable. THE MANOR. 29 the younger son of king Henry IIL, who died 24th Ed- ward I., bore a very prominent part in the troubles of that period. He was generally upon ill terms with the king, being always at the head of the opposition to his majesty's favourites, Ga vest on and the Spencers. At last, provoked by their insolence, he, with a great number of the powerful barons, took arms against them; but on an engagement at Boroughbridge, in Yorkshire, with the forces of the king, who supported his favourites, Lan- caster was taken prisoner, carried to an eminence near his own castle of Pontefract, and by order of the king behead- ed there, 6th Edward II. All the actions of this nobleman are so well known as constituting a leading feature in the history of the kingdom, during that period, that it would be useless here to enter into detail. His public conduct sufficiently discovers the violence and turbulence of his character; his private deportment appears not to have been innocent; and his hypocritical devotions, by which he gained the favour of the monks and populace, will be re- garded rather as an aggravation than an alleviation of his guilt. Yet, notwithstanding his character was so dubious, and that he was accused by some of adultery, cruelty, and injustice, the common people reputed him a saint, and miracles are reported to have been done at his tomb, in the abbey of Pontefract, where he was buried. His marriage had previously terminated unfortunately ; for, in 1317, the countess Alice, who had borne him no children, being at Canford, which had been the scene of her grandmother's alleged rape before mentioned, she was violently taken thence by a knight of the family of John, earl of Warren, and carried in great state, in despite of her husband, to the said earl of Warren, then at his castle at Reigate, in Surrey. In their passage through the woods between Alton and Farnham, her conductors, discerning the streamers and banners of some priests and people going in procession, supposed they were the earl of Lancaster, 30 THE MANOR. or some of his friends, coming to rescue her, and fled, leaving' her alone ; but, perceiving their mistake, returned, and with them a person of very low stature, lame, and hunchbacked, called Richard de St. Martin, who challenged her for his wife, confidently affirming a pre-contract, which she denied not. Whereupon he claimed the earldoms of Lincoln and Salisbury in her right, and brought an action in Westminster Hall. This outrage being committed with the consent of the king, is said to have widened the breach between him and the earl of Lancaster, exasperating the latter to take up arms as against the favourites. After the death of her husband, the countess, then twenty-eight years of age, received livery of her dower, 16th Edward II. ; and the same year surrendered to the king her right in the manor of Canford, and several others in the counties of Wilts and Somerset. 18th Edward II. she married Eubolo le Strange, a younger son of John Baron le Strange, of Knockyn, Shropshire, the fourth of that name, made knight of the Batii, 19th Edward II. In consequence of his mar- riage he had the title of earl of Lincoln attributed to him, and the £20 per annum in lieu of the third penny of that county ; and he was also summoned to Parliament (as a baron) from 1326, to his death, in 1335. He died in Scot- land, about Michaelmas, 1335, from the fatigues of the campaign of that year; and his body was brought for interment to the abbey church of Barling, Lincolnshire. Before the 8th of July in the following year, the countess Alice had taken a third husband, one Hugh de Fresnes, a knight of Artois ; who, at that date, obtained livery of the castle of Buelt in Wales, which had been previously granted to Eubolo le Strange. He also was summoned to Parlia- ment on the 29th November and 14th January following, but died in the month of December, between those two summonses, likewise in Scotland, at St. John's town, now Perth. After these unfortunate marriages, the countess Alice survived thirteen rears a widow. Her estates must THE MANOR. 31 have been very large, as, after the surrender as above, the remainder of it amounted to 3000 marks per annum. A reversionary grant of the manor of Canford, and others, was subsequently made to her, as below, but she never again enjoyed possession. She died without issue, October 2, 1348, in the 67th year of her age, and was buried in the church of Barling, by the side of her second husband, Eubolo le Strange. With this lady, whose romantic life has been made the subject of a popular novel, terminated the blood of the Lacies, and the elder line of the Longes- pees. [De Spencer.]] — When the countess Alice, as above, 16th Edward II. surrendered this manor to the king, he granted it to Hugh de Spencer, his favourite, against whom the hostility of the revolting barons was mainly directed. They ultimately succeeded in their designs, and preferred a bill of attainder against him, in which they com- pelled the king to acquiesce. On this attainder, this manor, with other possessions, came to the crown. [Warden.]— 1st Edward III, the king granted it to John, earl of Warren and Surrey, and Johanna, his wife, for their lives ; and in the 16th year of his reign, the king made a reversionary grant of it to Alice, countess of Lincoln and Salisbury, for her life ; but she seems not to to have lived long enough to enjoy its possession, as she was not possessed of it, either at her death, or for many years before ; and 20th Edward III., the earl of Warren held two knight's fees at Canford and Kyngeston, which the earl of Lincoln formerly held. At his death, 21st Ed- ward III., it is found, in the Inquisitiones post mortem, that he held this manor as parcel of the earldom of Surrey, for term of life, jointly with Joan de Baar, his wife, by grant of king Edward III. It is stated that the reversion belongs to William, son and heir of William Monteacutc, 32 THE MANOR. late earl of Sarum, held of the king in chief, by service of two knight's fees; and that there is a hundred called Cokedene, and qucedam custuma, at le Pole ; also the manor of Shapwick, and Kinstanton Park. Joan, the wife of the earl of Warren, though divorced, was possessed of this manor, the hundred of Cokedene, and the customs of Poole, when she died, 35th Edward III. The grant in re- version of this manor with its appurtenances, and other estates to William Montacute was made 2nd Edward III. [Mont acute.] — The surname of this family was an- ciently written in Latin ' de Monte Acuto, 9 and in old English 'Monteacute;' butthe original name was * Montagu,' as since written, and denominated from the town of Mon- tagu or Montaigue, in Normandy. Drogo de Monteacute, so styled in Domesday Book, came over with the conque- ror, in the retinue of Robert, earl of Moreton, half brother to the conqueror. Under this earl, Drogo held one hide of land in Bishopston, and the manors of Sutton, Shipton, and Stoke, all in the county of Somerset, and he also held of the king", the manor of Knolle, in the same countv. This Drogo left issue, William, his heir ; whose successor Richard, paid £20 into the king's exchequer for the an- cient pleas, in 2nd Henry II. ; and in 7th Henry II., 20 marks for the knight's fees he then held, upon the collec- tion of scutate at that time levied. — To this Richard sue- ceeded his son, Dru or Drogo de Monteacute, who had the appellation of young Dru, in 12th Henry II, when, on the aid demanded for the marriage of the king's daughter, he certified his knight's fees in Somerset and Dorset to be nine and a half, and one third de veteri feqffamento, and one de novo, besides one whereof he was dispossessed by Henry Lovell ; for all which, in 14th Henry II., he paid ten marks. By his wife Aliva, daughter of Allan Bassett, baron of Wycombe, Bucks, and who survived him, he had a son, William de Montacute. 6th Richard I., on the THE MANOR. 33 collection of the scutage for the king's redemption, this William paid for knights' fees in Somersetshire £6 Is. 8d. ; and in Devonshire 6s. 6d. 1st John, he gave £100 to the king* for liverv of the hundreds of Chaldesei and Piddleton. 7th John, he executed the office of sheriff for the counties of Dorset and Somerset ; as he did likewise in the two next ensuing years ; none but persons of the greatest note dbeing in those days appointed. 17th John, being one of the chief of the rebellious barons, the king gave to Ralph de Ralegh, all his lands in the counties of Somerset and Dorset, except Cheldesey, which he had bestowed on William deBriwere. He died shortly after, for in 1st Henry 111., the king grant- ed the wardship of his lands and heir — with the benefit of his marriage, to Allen Basset, of Wycombe, Bucks. The lands of the said heir, who was William, son of another Dru de Montacute, in 17th Henry III., were seized by vir- tue of the king's precept, because he repaired not to court at Whitsuntide, to receive the dignity of knighthood, as he was required to do. But, the next year, the sheriff of Dorset and Somerset was commanded to make livery of them to him, on his doing homage. He died 31st Henry HI., and was succeeded by his son William, who, 38th Henry III., attended the king into Gascoigne, against Alphonso X., king of Castile, who had usurped that pro- vince. 42nd Henry III., he attended the king in an expe- dition into Wales. To this William and Bertha, his wife, John de la Linde, by deed without date, grants the manor of Bromefield, Wilts. Their son and heir, Simon, in 1277, (6th Edward I.,) being seised of the barony of Shipton Montacute, Somerset, was summoned to attend the king on another expedition into Wales, and, 10th Edward I., on a similar occasion. 18th Edward I. he obtained a confirma- tory grant from the king, of the manors of Shipton Monta- cute, Jerlington, Chedeseye, Gothulee, Knolie, Thulbere, and the More, all in Somerset ; and of the manor of Swere, with £20 rent in Puddietune, £20 rent in Lullwrich, 34 THE MANOR. [Lull worth,] 10s. rent in Blakemore, with the woods in Blakemore, co. Dorset ; and of the manors of Woneford, co. Devon ; Aston-Clinton, co. Bucks ; and Kersington, co. Oxon ; with remainder to his sons, William and Simon, and the heirs of their bodies. 22nd and 25th Edward II., he accompanied the king" in two expeditions to Gascoigne ; and was also engaged in the latter year in the Scottish wars. 27th Edward I., he was constituted governor of Corfe castle. 35th Edward I., he was again in the wars in Scot- land ; and, 2nd Edward II., was made governor of Beau- maris castle, in the isle of Anglesea. 4th Edward II., he was admiral of the king's fleet. 7th Edward II., he obtained the king's license to make a castle of his house, at Yerdlington, Somerset. He was baron of Shipton Montacute, in Somersetshire, bj descent ; and, having been summoned to Parliament from 28th Edward I. to 8th Ed- ward II., inclusive, died soon after. He married Aufricia, daughter and heir of Fergusius, king of the isle of Man, which he possessed in her right, and mortgaged it for seven years to Anthony Bek, bishop of Durham ; but it was re- covered 16th Edward III., and his posterity held it till William, earl of Salisbury, sold it, 16th Richard II., to lord Scrope, though he still retained the title of king of Man. By her he had two sons, and was succeeded by the eldest, William, who was trained to the public service from his youth. 1303, 32nd Edward I., he was at the ta- king of the castle of Stirling. 34th Edward I., he was the governor of Corfe castle, and had the custody of Wil- liam de Morreve, of Sandford, knight, one of the followers of Robert Bruce, taken in the Scottish war. The same year he received the honour of knighthood, by bathing and other ceremonies, with Prince Edward. He then again attended the king in the Scottish wars. 4th Edward II., he was made governor of the castle of Berkhamstead, Herts. 11th Edward II., he had a license to make a castle of his house, at Kersyngton, Oxon, and was constituted THE MANOR. 35 seneschal of the duchy of Acquitaine. The same year he was constituted seneschal of Gascoigne, and governor of the isle of Oleron. He was summoned to Parliament, 11th and 12th Edward II., and died the following year, in Gascoigne, leaving issue, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of sir Peter de Montfort, of Beaudesert, county of War- wick; William, his son and heir, at that time 18 years of age, and several other sons and daughters. He was then seised of £20 yearly rent out of the manor of Puddle- ton, to be received of the prior of Christchurch Twyneham, £20 yearly rent out of the manor of West Lullworth, and a certain waste in the forest of Blakemore; also, lands, &c, in the vill of Swere, and the advowson of that church, with several knight's fees, all in the county of Dorset ; the manors of Aston-Clinton, co. Bucks; Karsington, co. Oxon; Saxlingham, co, Norfolk ; Schepton, Jerlington, Knolle, Sothule, and Dorleburg, co, Somerset ; Wynford, Fyneton, and Womboneford, co. Devon : John de Whitfield held of him the manor of Loveford, for one-fourth of a knight's fee; Gates de Blakemore held of him one carucate of land ; Henry de Talbot, one-eighth of a fee in Newton, in Purbeck ; John de la Tour, one-eighth of a fee in Swere ; William Quarrel, one-eighth of a fee in ditto. His son and heir, William, lord Montacute, the year after his father's death, obtained a grant from the king of the wardship of all his own lands, being then not full 19 years of age ; and 16th Edward II., on doing homage, had livery of them. 19th Edward II., he was honoured with the dignity of knighthood; and 2nd Edward III., was engaged in the expedition against the Scots. He was conspicuous for his services against Mortimer, earl of March, whom he denounced to the king, at the Parlia- ment at Nottingham, 1330, and in whose apprehension he bore the principal part, for which he was liberally rewarded by the king, with the possessions of Mortimer, in North Wales, and a pension of £1000 per annum. He 36 THE MANOR. obtained, moreover, a grant in tail, to himself and {Cathe- rine, his wife, of the castle of Sherborne, with the customs of beer at that place ; as also of the manor of Swynestone, in the Isle of Wight; and the castle of Christchurch Twyneham, with the borough ; the manor of Westoure, hundred of Christchurch, and manor of Ringwood, co. Southampton ; of the manor of Cronham, co. Berks ; Ful- mere, co. Bucks; Catfourd and Levesham, co. Kent; with remainder to the king*, &c. He was also the same vear constituted governor of the castles of Sherborne and Corfe, with the chace of Purbeck. These grants, with others, were chiefly bestowed on him for his services in the Scot- tish wars, he being the principal commander of the forces sent by Edward III., to make reprisals on the Scots for the outrages they had committed on the marches of England. 8th Edward 111., he was appointed governor of the isles of Guernsey, Jersey, Sark, and Alderney. 10 Edward III., on accompanying the king into Scotland, he was specially honoured by his majesty, and had grants of the manors of Wodeton, Frome Whitfield, and Marshwode, with the advowsons of the churches. Also the manor of Pole, (Wilts,) with the advowson of the church, after the death of Robert le Fitz-paine, and Ela, his wife, without issue; and other lands, &c, of the said Robert and Ela, in Dorset, Somerset, and Wilts, part of the possessions of John Mal- travers, junr., attainted, paying to the king, his heirs, and successors, upon Christmas day, a sword of 3s. 4d. price, for all services. During the wars in Scotland, he lost one of his eyes. The same year, he was made constable of the tower of London, admiral of the cinque ports, and of all other parts and places from the mouth of the Thames west- ward. For his extraordinary services, he was, in a full Parliament held at Westminster, advanced to the title and dignity of earl of Salisbury, 16th March 1336-7, with a grant of the yearly rent of £20 out of the profits of the comity of Wilts, to him and his heirs ; also grants in rever- ?HE MANOR. 37 sion, after the death of John Warren, earl of Surry, and Joan, his wife, of the manor of Canford and the burgh of Poole, and other manors in Wilts and Somerset, part of the possessions of Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln. 12th Ed- ward III., he had a grant for life of the office of earl marshall of England. Sept. 16, 1339, the king granted to him and his heirs, the advowson of the priory of Montacute, which had been founded and endowed by his lordship's ancestors. In the wars with France, being left commander- in-chief of the forces in Flanders, his lordship and the earl of Suffolk were taken prisoners, and conveyed with ignominy to Paris, where the French king" ordered them to be put to death ; and they only escaped the execution of this sentence, through the influence of the king of Bohemia. The earl of Salisbury was exchanged on the signature of the next truce. 14th Edward III., the king, in consideration of his sufferings, granted him the manor of Martock, Somerset; and, in the following year, he had a confirmation of the manors granted 10th Edward IIL, with the addition of that of Worth. The same year, he was again sent against the ScotSy and having conquered the isle of xMan, was crowned king of that island. The next year, he went to France, in the expedition in favour of the countess de Montfort. In 1343, the earls of Salisbury and Derby were appointed am- bassadors from the king to Alphonso, king of Castile. He died Jan. 30, 1343-4, of a fever, brought on by bruises and over-exertion, at a tournament at Windsor, on the 19th of that month, and was buried either in the Whitefriars, Lon- don, as is alleged by Brooks ; or, as Collins thinks more probable, at Bisliam priory, Berks. He died seised of the manors, &c, mentioned in the grants above recited ; also, the manor of Swere ; the hamlet of Blakemore, and 100 acres of land called Newland there, paying 10s. rent ; the hundred of Puddletown ; a rent out of the manor of West Lullworth ; one fee in Berwick and Motburg ; £20 rent in the manor of Puddletown ; a fourth of a fee in Loveford ; 38 THE MANT)R* a sixth of a fee in Newton in Purbeck ; and an eighth of a fee in Swere, and the advowson of that church. Katherine his wife had, for her dower, the manor of Swere and ham- let of Blakemore ; the manor and hundred of Puddletown, and £25 rent out of it ; £6 Os. 7d. yearly of the abbot of Bindon, for the manor of West Lullworth, &c. She died 23rd Edward III. He left two sons, William, who suc- ceeded him in his estates and title, and John. William, second earl of Salisbury, was born June 25, 1328 ; and on May 24, 20th Edward III., the wardship of his body was committed to John de Somerton, and Thomas Waryn ; and being within age, he attended the king, 1346, in the expedition then made into France. On landing at La Hogue, in Normandy, he received the honour of knight- hood, with Edward, prince of Wales ; and was at the siege of Caen, and took a prominent part in the battle of Creci, the same year. In the 21st and 22nd Edward III., he was again employed in the wars of France ; and in the 23rd of that monarch, (though not then of full age,) in recom- pence of the valiant actions that had been performed by him, had such favour from the king, that he obtained livery of the reversion of all the lands of his inheritance. Also, before the end of that year, making proof of his age, upon the death of Katherine, his mother, he had livery of the manors of Sweyneston and Brighteston, in the Isle of Wight, which she held for the term of her life. On the institution of the order of the garter, April 23, 1349, he was the seventh knight elected ; and, August 29, 1350, he was in the sea-fight against the Spaniards, near Winchelsea, where the king commanded in person. In the 29th Ed- ward III., on the duchy of Aquitaine being assigned to prince Edward, this earl attended him in those parts. In 1356, he commanded the rear of the English army in the famous battle of Poictiers, fought on Sept. 19; and it is recorded that, in the heat of that fight, he strove with the earl of Warwick, which of them should most bedew the THE MANOR. 30 land with French blood. It is certain, that the English rear, under this earl, came to sustain the first main stress of the battle, and wholly discomfitted those whom they encoun- tered, slaying- the lord Clermont, the French marshal ; and of 3000 Scots, who were in his battalia, few escaped. Afterwards the earl fought, with the greatest magnanimity, against those forces that were headed bv John, kin£ of France, in person ; and, totally defeating them, that mon- arch and Philip his fourth son were taken prisoners. The earl continued in France in the 31st, 33rd, and 34th Ed- ward 111. In 1369, he was the chief of those named by the king, to accompany his son, John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, in his voyage to France, against whom the duke of Burgundy was sent with so great an army, that the English were but as a handful to them ; yet he could obtain no advantage. In 1373, on a rumour that Jevan, prince of Wales, son of prince Aymon, was upon the En- glish coasts with 600 men, designing to land, he was appointed to guard the seas, and was retained by indenture to serve the king, with no less than 300 men of arms, of whom 20 besides himself were knights, and the others esquires ; as also with 300 archers. This fleet made direct- ly for the port of St. Malo, in Brctagne, where they burnt seven huge Spanish carracks. Thence sailing to Brest, he relieved the garrison (where sir Robert Knowles was be- sieged,) with men and provisions, and returned to his ships to keep the marches and frontiers on the sea coasts. In 48th Edward III., he was one of the ambassadors sent to Bruges to treat of peace, with the plenipotentiaries of Charles V,, king of France. The following year, he was constituted admiral of the king's fleet, from the mouth of the river Thames to the westward parts ; and in 51st Ed- ward III., he was one of the commissioners for arraying all able men from 16 to 60 vears of aUNOR. endeavour to break a treaty of marriage then on foot, between the duke of Hereford, (afterwards Henry IV.) and the daughter of the duke of Berri, in which he suc- ceeded. For this he was disgraced on the deposition of Hichard, and, on the coronation of Henry IV., was thrown into prison : the popular voice was so loud against him, that he barely escaped execution, on the plea that what he did was by the king's commandment. He was set at liberty soon after, but speedily became involved in a conspiracy against the king, in which he was detected, and he and the earl of Kent were taken at Cirencester, and executed there the next day, Jan. 5, 1400, by order of the mayor. His body was buried in the abbey at that place, and there rested until 8th Henry V., when, on the petition of his widow, the king gave leave to have it removed to Bisham. He was one of the chief of the Lollards, and his zeal against the idolatrous ceremonials of popery was so great, that we are told " thai he caused all the images which had been set up in the chapel, at Shenele, by his wife's former husbands, to be taken down and thrown in obscure places ; only the image of St. Catherine, in regard that many did affect it, he gave leave that it should stand in his bakehouse." On his execution, he was attainted, and all his lands forfeited : the king (a. r. 2,) uniting to the duchy of Lancaster ; the castle and town of Donington, co. Leicester; the wapen- take of Risley, co. Derby ; the wapentake of Alerton, co. Nottingham ; the manor of Gretham, with lands in Stayn- worth ; the manors of Horblinge, Segbroke, and Thorley, co. Lincoln ; the manor of Canford and the town of Poole, and certain other tenements belonging to the said manor of Canford, co. Dorset; and the manors of Winterbourne and Ambresbury, co. Wilts ; which belonged to Thomas, earl of Lancaster, the king's ancestor, and to which, Henry, brother of the said Thomas, was restored, though judg- ment was not executed, and which came to the king by right, as cousin and heir to the said carl Thomas, so that THE 3IAN0R. 43 the said judgment was executed with the liberties of the said duchv. Yet the kino* considering 1 that the earl of O 7 o Salisbury had sold great part of his wife's inheritance, and the low state of her and her children on his attainder, granted her some manors in Devon, for the term of her life. It was found by inquisition, 10th Henry IV., that this earl died seised in fee tail of this manor and the fees belonoino" to it, held of the kin^ in chief bv knight's service ; the hundred of Cockdene ; the manor and advow- son of Swere ; £20 rent in Lullworth ; 10s. rent in Blake- more ; the manor of Blakemere, called Newland ; half a fee in Winterbourne Maurward extra Bere ; half a fee in Moureback ; and half a fee in Fleet ; all which belong to the honour of the castle and manor of Christchurch : also, half a fee in Kinstanton ; one in Plumbere ; one in Mel- bury-Bubbe ; one in Wraxhall and Maperton ; one in Kingston Plukenet ; two in Winterbourne Series and Houghton ; one in Melburv Osmond and Woodyate ; one in Tollard; one in Magna Crawfurd; one in Tore and Luveford juxta Piddleton ; one in Swanywhyche ; half a fee in Nutford ; one in Woodcote ; and that he lately held one in Cost on. All these belonged to the manor of Caneford. He held also the advowson of the priory of Monteacute, and of the cells of Holme, &c, belonging to it, and of £120 rent yearly, to be received out of the said priory and cells. His son, Thomas, the fourth earl of his name, who was 12 years of age at his father's decease, became one of the greatest heroes of the age ; and our histories are full of his noble acts and great achievements in France, where he gained immortal honour. In 2nd Henry IV., the king, " having compassion on his youth, and the low estate he was in by the attainder of his father," granted him the manor of Croxham, co. Berks ; Warblington, More, and Humton, co. Southampton ; Knolle, co. Somerset ; Powor- thy, Okeford, and St. Mary-Cliffe, co. Devon, (part of 44 THE MANOR. liis father's lands) to enjoy till he should accomplish his full age; and the next year, in augmentation thereto, granted him the manor of Watyngwell, in the Isleof Wight. He strove to obtain a reversal of his father's attainder, but was unable to effect it ; and his possession of the paternal estates was much abridged, though he succeeded in obtain- ing a grant of the manor of Canford and that of Swyre, and the advowson there, and 10s. rent in Blakemore. He came into the possession of a large estate, however, by his first wife, Eleanor, daughter of Thomas, earl of Kent. He early commenced his illustrious career ; and in the 2nd Henry V. was joined ambassador with the bishops of Dur- ham and Norwich, to settle peace between the English and French, and to demand in marriage the lady Catherine, daughter of Charles VI., the French king. That embassay failed. In 1416, he was engaged with the duke of Bed- ford, the king's brother, and other nobles, in a sea-fight, off the river Seine* where they obtained an entire victory over the French fleet. 5th Henry V., he embarked with the king and a puissant army at Portsmouth ; and, on landing in France, took the castle of D'Anvillers, which was subsequently granted to him. He was a principal commander at the siegfe of Caen, and afterwards took Falaise. He bore a conspicuous part through the whole of these campaigns, and performed many valiant exploits. He was one of the ambassadors on the successful renewal of the treaty, by which the king and the princess Catherine were married. 2nd Henry VL, he was constituted general of the army in France* and continued a career of unexam- pled success, valour, and victory. Soon after these great successes, he returned to England, and Was not again employed till Cth Henry VL, occasioned by a difference between him and the duke of Burgundy? arising, accord- ing to Stowe, from some attentions paid by the duke to the earl's lady. In that year, however, he was prevailed on again to take the command of the army, soon after THE MANOR* 45 Which he laid siege to the city of Orleans, then defended by the celebrated Joan of Arc ; and on the forty-ninth day of the siege, as he was examining the accesses to the city, he was fired at with such precision, and wounded in the face so desperately, that he expired, after lingering eight days, on Nov. 3, 1428. His body was conveyed to England with great pomp and solemnity, and buried at Bisham, in Berkshire. Our old historians unanimously agree that he was the life of the war in those parts ; and that the death of this gallant soldier occasioned a serious reverse to the English arms. He- was almost idolized by his comrades for his valour and the magnanimity which characterized his demeanour ; and, beyond the chronicled history of the days in which he lived and triumphed, his name has been immortalised in the strains of the Avonian bard, who speaks of him as the " mirror of all martial men," "framed of the firm truth of valour;" and, in the passionate lament over his wounded body, attributed to his friend and companion in arms, the faithful Talbot, his character and military prowess are thus briefly summed up: — " In thirteen battles Salisbury o'ercame, Henry the Fifth he first trained to the wars ; Whilst any trump did sound, or drum struck up, His sword did ne'er leave striking in the field." Hen. VI., act 1., sc. 4. This celebrated earl, who was also styled lord of Mon- thermer, granted a charter of confirmation to the burgesses of Poole, in the year 1410-11. His second wife was Alice, daughter of Thomas Chaucer, esq., widow of sir John Phillips. He left issue, Alice, who married Richard Ne- ville, eldest son of Ralph, first earl of Northumberland. His wife Alice survived him, and was endowed of the third part of the manor of Canford, and continued to enjoy it until the 25th Henry VI. She had previously been remar- ried to William de la Pole, earl of Suffolk ; and, in that year exchanged the said third part, as appears by charter 4C THE MANOR. granted unto the said earl at his creation* The other two parts of the manor, &c», descended to the late earl's brother, Richard Montacute, who we find, on his death, to have been seised, in fee tail, to him and his heirs male, of two parts of this manor^ tenements in Fulhalding, and most of the knights' fees before mentioned, which belonged to this manor. He died without issue; Alice, the wife of Richard Neville, being his kinswoman and heir. On his death, Canford came to the crown. After the death of Richard Montacute, this manor and hundred were granted to relations and favourites of several princes. 11th Henry VI., it was granted to John, duke of Bedford. This powerful nobleman was the third son of Henry IV., by his first wife, Mary de Bohun, daughter and co-heir of the earl of Hereford. He was accordingly brother to Henry V., and uncle to Henry VI.; and his family connections, his civil and military distinction, and his unblemished character, made his name prominent in the age which he dignified and adorned. From the time in which he first appeared on the arena of politics, scarcely a transaction appears to have been undertaken in connection with the state of England, in which his opinion and advice were not regarded as of weighty importance. The glorious achievements of his military career in the wars with France, and his conduct as regent during the early portion of the reign of his nephew, are matters of national history. With the whole power of England at his command, he, nevertheless, demeaned himself with such prudence and integrity, that, with the exception of his behaviour towards the Maid of Orleans, — and for which the spirit of his age may rather be held accountable, — no censure is attached to his memory. He is described to have been the most accom- plished prince of his time, and one whose experience, THE MANOR. 47 prudence, valour, and generosity, qualified him for the hig-h offices he was called on to execute. At his death, 14th Henry VI. , he held in fee tail, to him and his heirs male, by. the gift of the king, in the 11th year of his reign, two parts of this manor and of the hundred of Cokeden, and the vill of Poole, with the reversion of the third part of the manor, hundred, and vill, which Alice, countess of Suffolk, late wife of Thomas, earl of Sarum, held for life. Also the priory or manor of Frampton, with its members, Burton, with a chapel and tithes there, Winterbourne Came, Bincomb, Cernel, Bettescoinbe, and Swanwiche ; the manor of Povington and Milborne Beke; and £18 rent out of the manor of Porstock, of the gift of king Henry IV. He died without issue male, king Henry VI. being his kinsman and heir, to whom, accordingly, the estates reverted; and in the 17th year of his reign, this manor and the town of Poole were granted to Henry Beaufort, cardinal of England, and bishop of Winchester, his heirs and assigns. Cardinal Beaufort was one of the natural children of John of Gaunt, by Catherine Swinford, daughter of sir Payne Roet, alias Guyen, king- at arms, and widow of sir Otes Swinford, knight. Henry, with his two brothers and a sister, were legitimated, by act of Parliament, on the marriage of their parents, in 1306. Henry was made bishop of Winchester in 1405, and was also cardinal and lord chancellor. His name is very con- spicuous in all the state transactions of the period in which he lived. During the minority of Henry VI., to whom the cardinal was great uncle, the person and education of the infant prince were entrusted to him. The cardinal, who died in the 25th Henry VI., had previously conveyed this manor, &c, to John, duke of Somerset, He was great grandson of John of Gaunt, and the third earl of Somerset, in which, dignity he succeeded his father. In 1443, he was created duke of Somerset and carl of Kendal, and constituted 48 THE MANOR. lieutenant and captain-general of Aquitaine, as also of the whole realm of France, and duchy of Normandy. His grace died on May 27, 1444, and was buried at Wimborne Minster ; in which church is an altar tomb of grey mar- ble, erected to the memory of the duke and his wife, by their sole daughter Margaret. On each side of the tomb are five blank shields, each enclosed in a quatrefoil ; those on the south side have been formerly covered with plates of armorial bearings, since stripped off by the rapacity or misjudging zeal of later days. On the tomb are the recumbent effigies of the duke and duchess. The male figure is in rich and curious armour, a pointed helmet with a coronet on his head, a collar of SS3£ round his neck, a dagger on his right side, and on his left a sword, of which the hilt alone remains, inscribed with the letters !♦ !}♦ C.-f" A garter is fastened round his knee ; his head is supported by two angels, and his feet by a lion ; his left hand holds the gauntlet on his breast, his right clasps that of his wife. She is attired in a long robe of state, with a veil and collar, a coronet on her head, which is supported also by two angels, and at her feet a gazelle ; in her left hand is a string of beads, a ring on her forefinger, two others on the second, and two on the third. There are no traces of any inscription ; but the soldier's helmet still hangs over his tomb. As the conveyance of this manor was made subsequently to the creation of John as duke, in 1443, and as he died early in 1444, it must have taken * The collar of esse?, formed of links in resemblance of that letter, and still worn on certain occasions by our judges, is, by some persons, derived from the religious society of St. Simplicius, who was thrown into the Tiber with a chain round his neck, by Dioelesian. But the more learned agree that this collar was the badge of Henry and the Lancastrian party, in allusion to their watchword " souvenez vqus de moi," during their meditated overthrow of Richard II. + The old manner of writing this symbol of our Saviour, which occurs in Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, thus, I H 0, with a dash over the middle letter, was merely an abbreviation of the word JESUS, the Greek E bearing the figure of the English H, and the ancient Greek or Smyrnese S, that of the English C. The Latins, however, interpreted it in their own characters to mean Jesus Hominum Consolator, or Savvator, and magnified the dash into a cross. THE MANOR. 49 place in the former year. He died without issue male, and the manor descended to his brother and heir, Edmund, who was earl of Moreton, and created mar- quis of Dorset, June 24, 1443. In the 24th Henry VI., he was appointed regent of Normandy, and in the 26th of that reign, created second duke of Somerset. He took a conspicuous part in the troubles of that age ; and in the contests of the roses, he warmly espoused the cause of Lancaster, and became particularly obnoxious to the Yorkists. He was slain in the first battle of St. Albans, May 22, 1455, By his wife, Eleanor, second daughter and co-heir of Richard Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, the duke had four sons and five daughters. He died seised of this manor and the vill of Poole; and divers lands, &c,, in Cokedean and Poole ; the manor of Ryme, and the manor and castle of Corfe ; and several manors in Somerset. These possessions descended to his son and heir, Henry, who was then nineteen years of age. During his father's lifetime he had the title of earl of Moreton. He achieved, even in youth, many important victories in the French wars. In the 36th Henry VI., he was constitu- ted lieutenant and governor of the Isle of Wight and castle of Carisbrook, and the year after made governor of Calais. He also was a firm adherent of the Lancasters, and fought on their behalf at the battle of Hexham, after victory had alighted on the Yorkist forces. At that fight, he, with many other nobles, was taken prisoner, and soon after beheaded. After his death, 5th Edward IV., he was attainted; and, on his attainder, this manor, with other of his possessions, again reverted to the crown. In the 8th Edward IV., this manor, &c, were granted by the king to George, duke of Clarence. He was son of Richard, duke of York, who contended for the English crown with H 50 THE MANOR. Henry VI., and brother of Edward IV., who succeeded in the designs of their father. On the accession of his brother, Clarence was received into the royal favour, and named to the lieutenancy of Ireland, and soon after invest- ed with great possessions, amongst which was this manor. For the subsequent career of this noble — his withdrawal from court through his connection with the powerful earl of Warwick, "Ihe setter-up and puller-down of kings," to whose daughter he was united in marriage — his alternate ruptures and reconciliations with his brother — and the varied part which he bore in the wars of the roses — the reader is referred to the more ample pages of our national historians. The " false, fleeting, perjured Clarence," was at length, in 1478, committed to the Tower on charges of treason ; and, on his trial before the peers, he was found guilty and received sentence of death. The king, however, professed himself averse to a public execu- tion of his brother ; and it was soon announced that the duke had died in the Tower. The manner of his death has never been ascertained ; but a report circulated at the time, and which tradition has since perpetuated, alleged him to have been drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine. The sins of the father do not appear in this case to have been visited upon the child ; and the possessions of the duke descended to his son, Edward Plantagenet. After the death of his father, the king sent for him, then a child, to court, and created him earl of Warwick, the title borne by his grandfather. The life of this ill-starred prince affords a melancholy instance of the uncertain tenure of human prosperity, the dangers of ennobled birth, and the miseries attendant upon a disputed throne and a domestic warfare. Born to the possession of great wealth, the heir of two powerful nobles, with the blood of royalty coursing in his veins, bred in the pomps of a splendid court, yet was he from boyhood, the victim of jealous and despotic oppression, the solitary THE MANOR. 51 tenant of a prison, severed from the enjoyments of liberty and society. The fears of Richard III. had early con- signed him to confinement in the castle of Shcriff-Hutton, Yorkshire ; and Henry VII. no sooner ascended the throne than he transferred this young prince, then in his fifteenth year, to a place of greater security — the Tower. Here, though guilty of no crime but his birth, though no charge was alleged against him, he was kept in a strict seclusion that wasted his body and enfeebled his mind. The public, we are told, commiserated the lot of the innocent victim, who thus, to satisfy the ambition of others, was condemned to perpetual imprisonment from his childhood ; and the spot chosen for his confinement — a spot so lately stained with the blood of princes — was considered as an omen of his subsequent destiny. That destiny was at length fulfilled. The impostures of Simnel and Wulford, whose personations of the earl had troubled the realm, instigated Henry to the destruction of the object of his jealous care ; and Warwick therefore was, in 1499, arraigned for an attempt to escape from custody. To this charge he pleaded guilty : sentence was pronounced ; and Henry soon signed the warrant for the execution of the last legitimate descendant of the Plantagenets, whose pretensions could excite the jealousy of the house of Tudor. Warwick was beheaded on Tow- er-hill. The whole nation lamented his fate. When Warwick was committed to the tower by order of Henry, (a. r. 1, Jan. 23,) that monarch seized his possessions ; and in the same year he granted the manor of Canford and the vill of Poole, to his mother, Margaret, countess of Richmond, for her life. This lady was only daughter of John, the first duke of Somerset, mentioned above, and was married first to Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, who was son of Owen Tudor, by Catharine, dowager queen of Henry V. Of this marriage Henry VII. was born. She married, secondly sir Henry 52 THE MS NOR, Stafford, son of Humphrey, duke of Buckingham; and., thirdly, Thomas Stanley, afterwards earl of Derby. After the grant of this manor to her, she appears to have resided at Canford, and was the foundress of the free grammar school at the adjoining town of Wimborne, in the church of which, where the remains of her parents reposed, she founded and endowed a chapel. She died June 29, 1509, (1st Henry VIII.,) and was buried in the magnificent chapel erected by her son in Westminster abbey* From the 1st to the 17th Henry VIII., this manor appears to have been possessed by the crown ; and in the latter year the king, by letters patent, confirmed by an act of Parlia- ment, in the 22nd year of his reign, granted the manor of Canford and Poole to his natural son, Henry Fitzroy, duke of Richmond and Somerset, who was, in the following year, June 18, 17th Henry VIII., installed a knight of the garter : and afterwards appointed lieutenant of Ireland. He married Mary, daughter of Thomas, duke of Norfolk, and dying without issue, in 1536, 28th Henry VI 1L, the manor again reverted to the crown ; and was, in the same year, granted, together with the manor of Pimperne, to /■ Henry Courtney, marquis of Exeter, and Gertrude, his wife, and their heirs, to be held in chief, by knight's service, and paying yearly £16 15s. 5 Jd. He was of the re- nowned and illustrious house of Courtney, and the eleventh earl of Devonshire; and was, June 18, 1525, advanced to the degree of marquis of Exeter. He was highly dis- tinguished for his valour and chivalric bearing * and stood high in the favour of Henry VIII. His lady Was one of the godmothers to princess (afterwards queen) Elizabeth* He was one of the lords who subscribed, in 1529, to the forty-four articles exhibited against cardinal Wolsey, and THE MANOR. S-3 to the letter sent to pope Clement VII., earnestly entreating him to ratify the divorce between king Henry and Catharine his first wife. In 1536, he sat, with others, on the trial of queen Anne Boleyn * and, in the same year, in conjunction with the duke of Norfolk, the earls of Shrewsbury, Hun- tingdon, and Rutland, suppressed an insurrection in York- shire : and it was, probably, for these services that the above grant was made to him. But soon after he appears to have declined in the royal favour ; and, in 1538, being accused of maintaining intelligence with cardinal Pole, was, With others, committed to the Tower, and was behead- ed on Tower-hill, on the 9th of January following. Some writers ascribe the fate of the marquis to the jealousy the king entertained of his great popularity and his descent from the Plantagenets, which is for from being improbable. His lady was also attainted in the following year, but did not suffer. On these attainders, their possessions became again vested in the crown. In the 1st Edward VI., confirmed in the 4th of that monarch, this manor and the hundred of Cokedean, to- gether with small customs and prisage of wines at Poole, were granted to Edward, duke of Somerset, uncle of the king, and protector of the realm during Lis minority. The life of this nobleman belongs to national history. On his attainder and execution, which took place on the 22nd of January, 1551-2, 5th Edward VI., these possessions once more reverted to the crown. About two years afterwards, on the 24th October, 1553, 1st Mary, the queen granted to the above Gertrude, marchioness of Exeter, who had been pardoned, and "for the better maintenance and sustentation of her estate and degree," a number of manors and lordships, and, inter alia, the lordships and manors of Canford and Poole, with 54 THE MANOR. the great and little parks of Canford, and all their rights, members, and appurtenances ; also Richmond's lands there, formerly belonging to Margaret, countess of Richmond, and afterwards to the duke of Somerset, which consisted of 62s. 3d., issuing out of the manor of Canford ; and also £36 13s. 9d. out of the tenements in Poole and Ham ; to hold to her and her heirs and assigns, in capite, by one- twentieth of a knight's fee. By her will, dated August 27, 1557, she gave this manor, with the fees and liberties, the lawns, and the farm of Upton, to her kinsman, James, lord Mountjoy and his heirs, on condition that if she in her lifetime should appoint a priest to pray for her soul in the church of Canford, and six poor men or women to abide within the said church to pray for her soul, and all christian souls within it; and also should erect six houses for the said six poor men or women ; lord Mount- joy and his heirs should, after her decease, pay yearly to the said priest and his successors 40s., and to the said six poor men or women £4 13s. 4d., towards the reparation of their houses, their maintenance and lodging. But this foundation appears to have been transferred by lord Mountjoy to Wimborne ; the six alms houses still bearing her name, stand near the eastern entrance to that town ; and the inmates continue to be appointed and paid by the lord of the manor of Canford. The marchioness died 1558, and was buried at Wimborne Minster. She lies under an altar tomb of grey marble, beneath an arch, just above the ascent from the choir, on the north side. On the remaining portion of the brass plates which once went round the verge, is this imperfect inscription, the only fragment spared by the fanatics of the commonwealth : — " toninx quon&am J^iraci Couttcnap, martfjioni^ <££on, ctmatcc aBtrtaartii €outtotap nupcr co " Hutchins says, that her tomb being opened some years since out of curiosity, and repaired, the body was found THE MANOR. 55 wrapped up in cerecloth; but being placed in an erect posture, the back-bone gave away, and all the other parts fell to pieces. There were several shields in quatrefoils upon the sides of the tomb, but they have been torn off. Her son Edward was, by queen Mary, created earl of Devon, and died at Padua, 1556. [As, however, the manor, &c. devised by the marchioness to lord Mountjoy, was held in capite, by the statute of wills, 34th Henry VIII., c. 5, only two-thirds of it pas- sed by her will ; the other one-third descended to her nephew, sir John Baker, of Sissinghurst, in Kent, who had his livery of this part, 16th Elizabeth ; and died 38th Elizabeth. Of his heirs it was purchased in 1611, by the earl of Huntingdon, who, as will be seen, infra, thus ob- obtained the entirety, with the exception of several small portions that had been alienated by lord Mountjoy.] The above James Blount, lord Mountjoy, was the descendant of an ancient and honourable family, tracing their pedigree up to the conquest. He was, we are told, a curious searcher into nature, and whilst he was possessed of this manor, discovered that there was, near Parkstone, earth yielding alum, on which, in 1564, he began to make calcanthum or copperas, and boil alum.^ In 1571, we * The fact that lord Mountjoy commenced the manufacture of alum in the imme- diate neighbourhood of Poole, so early as the year 1564, entirely subverts the gene- rally received assertion that the manufacture of that mineral was brought into this country in 1595, by sir Thomas Chaloner, who erected alum works near Gains- borough, Yorkshire. It had been a monopoly for several ages, in the hands of the court of Rome, and the current tradition says that sir Thomas, having, during his travels in Italy, discovered that the mineral from which alum was made, was the same as one which abounded on his own estate, engaged a number of the pope's workmen to accompany him to England; and it is added, that to avoid the discovery of his purpose he was obliged to convey them on ship-board concealed in large casks. Now it woidd be a pity entirely to subvert the romantic incident of these potted alum- workers, and it is not unlikely that sir Thomas did import foreigners to perfect the manufacture, which was probably somewhat rude in the commence- ment ; but it is clear that he has no claim to the honour of having made the discovery of the earth and originally introduced the manufacture. Lord Mountjoy possesses an antecedent claim by mure than thirty years. He erected two houses for the works 56 THE MANOR. learn from Strypc, in his life of sir Thomas Smith, sir Thomas attempted to transmute iron into copper, and took a lease of land, of £300 per annum, of lady Mountjoy, near Poole, hoping to find there the minerals which were thought necessary to perform this work at a cheap rate. But the next year it came to nothing ; whether owing to its being impracticable, or to the unskilfulness of the undertaker employed by sir Thomas, or to the lord Mountjoy's gaining over one of his chief workmen, is uncertain. His lordship alienated Upton, and several other portions of the manor, It is found by a record, dated 9th Elizabeth, that two parts of the manor of Canford, and the warren and lands there, and in Wimborne, Kingston, and Poole, value £110 per annum, were held by James, lord Mountjoy, and Catharine his wife, with licence to alienate to John Brown and Charles Brown, esquires, to whom the premises were accordingly conveyed ; and by them they were afterwards solo* to Henry, third earl of Huntingdon, He was of the renowned familv of Hastings ; and was installed knight of the garter on June 19, 1579. He was lord lieutenant of the counties of Leicester and Rutland, and one of her majesty's privy council. His lordship was also president of the north, master of the queen's hare-hounds, and one of the peers who had charge of Mary queen of Scots. He died Dec. 14, 1595, without issue ; and his title and estates, including the two-thirds of the manor of Canford, de-? scended to his brother, George, fourth earl of Huntingdon, who died Dec. 31, 1605, leaving as his heir, his grandson. on the heath, in the immediate vicinity of Poole, and continued them during his life, though, probably from the absence of his scientific superintendence, they afterwards went to decay. The fact and date are beyond dispute, both being recorded in some legal proceedings relative to the premises, which were entered into nearly half-a- century afterwards. THE MANOR. 57 Henry, the fifth earl of Huntingdon, his father having; died during the lifetime of earl George. He was also lord lieutenant of the counties of Leicester and Rutland, steward of the duchy of Lancaster, and in May, 1616, one of the peers for the trial of the earl and countess of Somerset, for the poisoning" of sir Thomas Overbury. After he be- came possessed of the two-thirds of the manor of Canford, he endeavoured to restore the alum works set on foot by JLord Mountjoy, and which had then gone to decay : and by so doing, he became involved in disputes with the town of Poole, of which more hereafter. In 1611, he purchased the remaining one-third of the manor of the heirs of sir John Baker ; and having sold several parcels, conveyed the pest and the other two parts in the same year to Sir John Webb. It seems however to have soon after- wards reverted to the crown, or that the crown had, or professed to have, some claim to it; for Hutchins says that, in the 3rd Charles L, it was returned in an inquisition, that the king was lord of the manor ; and that in the 10th Charles L, the manor of Canford and Poole, the hundred of Cokedean, the capital messuage of Great Canford, the demesne lands belonging to it, and inclosed lands there and in Hampreston and Winiborne Minster, called the great park and Leigh park, were granted to John Webb, esquire. This sir John Webb, to whom the premises were conveyed in 1611, was son of John Webb, of Odstock, Wilts, esq., and grandson of William Webb, an eminent merchant of Salisbury, in the time of Henry VI IT. He was knighted 1st James I., 1603, with his cousin, William Webb, of Payne's Place, near Shaftesbury, esq. His son, in whose favour was the grant of 10th Charles I., was a major- general in the service of the king in the civil wars ; and, as a reward for his services, he was created a baronet, April 2, 1644. In 1646, his manor, rents, and demesne land at Canford and Poole, value, in 164] , £300 per annum, 58 THE MANOR. were sequestered. He died 1680, and was buried at Odstock, leaving* his son and heir, Sir John Webb, bart., who died in 1700, and was also buried at Odstock, being succeeded in his title and estates by his son, Sir John Webb, bart., who died in 1745, at Aix-la- Chapelle. His first son, John, having died in 1744, with- out male issue, he was succeeded by his second son, Sir Thomas Webb, bart., who died June 29, 1763, leaving, as his successor, his eldest son, Sir John Webb, bart., of Canford, and of Easingwold, co. York, which latter estate came to him by his marriage with the daughter of Salvin, esq. He died between the 7th January and the 9th May, 1797, his will being dated on the former, and proved on the latter day. From a strange caprice, he contrived by his will that the possession of this extensive and valuable property should be left in a state of great uncertainty; and that the interests of his immediate descendants should be sacrificed to the prospec- tive aggrandizement of a more remote posterity. By this singular will, he devised all his estates in the county of Dorset, and in the town and county of Poole, to Edward Arrowsmith, esq., his heirs and assigns, upon trust that, after the payment of all charges and expenses, he and they shall, during the lives of the daughter (the countess of Shaftesbury,) and granddaughter (lady Barbara Ashley,) of the testator, and the life of the survivor of them, invest the surplus of the rents and profits in mortgage on real estates, or in government securities, the interest of which to be also so invested ; and that on the death of the survivor of his daughter and granddaughter, the estates, with all the accumulations, shall be equally divided amongst the children of his granddaughter, if more than one, and if but one, the whole to that one child, at their, his, or her ages or age of twenty-one years, or days or day of mar- riage, which shall first happen. The will gives the trustee THE MANOR. 59 considerable powers for the management and improvement of the estates. Barbara, the only surviving 1 daughter of sir John Webb, was married July 17, 1780, to Anthony Ashley Cooper, fifth earl of Shaftesbury, and brother of the present earl ; and died in May, 1811, leaving one daughter, Barbara, who was born Oct. 29, 1788, and married Aug. 8, 1814, to the hon. William Francis Spencer Pon- sonby^, third son of the earl of Bessborough. In 1825. on the death of Mr. Arrowsmith, the trust, under the will of sir John Webb, was vested in the hon. Mr. Ponsonby, who has since acted as the sole trustee ; and under his ma- nagement the manor has been greatly improved of late years, and the old house replaced by the present stately mansion. This gentleman represented the borough of Poole in the parliaments of 1827, 1830, and 1831. In the last- mentioned year he retired from the representation of Poole, * The hon. Mr. Ponsonby is the descendant of a noble and ancient family, formeriy resident in the province of Picardy, in France, some of -whom, at the Norman invasion. in 1066, eame into England with William of Normandy, and, after his conquest, were rewarded with grants of lands in the county of Cumberland ; and being owners of the lordship of Ponsonby, in that county, assumed their name from thence. An old tradition that this family had the office of barber to the kings of England conferred upon them, in 1177, 23rd Henry II., when the place of butler was granted to the pre- decessor of the late dukes of Ormond, renders it probable, that some of these lands were formerly holden by grand-serjeanty, on the tenure of performing some personal service to the monarch, when required to do so ; and this probability is strengthened by the bearings (three combs) on the arms worn by the family. The more recent founder of the family went to Ireland in 1649, as an officer in the army of Cromwell, and settled in that country, where his services rendered him illustrious. The creations have been as follows : — baron Bessborough, of Bessborough, in the county of Kil- kenny, Sept. 11, 1721 ; viscount Duncannon, of the fort of Duncannon, in the county of Wexford, Feb. 2, 1722-3 ; earl of Bessborough, Oct. 6, 1739 ; and lord Ponsonby, baron Ponsonby, of Sysonby, in the county of Leicester, June 12, 1749. The titles of the present earl are Frederick Ponsonby, earl of Bessborough, viscount Duncannon, and baron of Bessborough, in the peerage of Ireland ; and baron Ponsonby, of Sysonby, in that of Great Britain. His lordship was born Jan. 24, 1758, and succeeded March 11, 1793. He married, Nov. 27, 1780, lady Henrietta Frances Spencer, second daugh- ter of John, the first earl of Spencer, by whom, who died Nov. 11, 1821, he has issue, — 1. John William, viscount Duncannon, born Aug. 31, 178-. 2. The hon. major-gen. sir Frederick Cavendish, K.C.B., born July 6, 1783. 3. Lady Caroline, born Nov. 13, 1785 ; died Jan 25, 1828, having married, June 3. 1805, the hon. William Lamb, now viscount Melbourne. •L The hon. William Francis Spencer, M.P., born Feb., 1787, married, Aug. 8, 1814, lady Barbara Ashley Cooper, only child of Anthony, fifth earl of Shaftesbury, 60 THE MANOR. and was the unsuccessful candidate for that of the county of Dorset, in the celebrated and protracted contest with lord Ashley. In the parliament next following, however, he was chosen without opposition to represent that county. The issue of the hon. Mr. and lady Barbara Ponsonby, and in the survivors of whom the estates will ultimately vest, are, — 1st, Charles Frederick Ashley Cooper, born Sept. 12, 1815 ; — 2nd, Frances, born July 24, 1817 ;— 3rd, Henry William George, born Sept. 1, 1819, died Nov. 4, 1821 ; — 4th, Anthony Ashley Wentworth^ born April 11, 1828, died Nov. 29, 1829;— 5th , Ashley George John, born June 25, 183L In all the transfers of the manor, Poole was considered an integral portion of it, and, in many records,- the manor is described as that "of Canford and Poole;" and down to the 10th Elizabeth, when the charter was granted to the borough, raising it to the state of a corporate county* it was an undivided member of the manor, af the court-leet of which, the mayor and other officers were formerly chosen and sworn. But, by that charter* a separate court- leet was granted to the borough, by which it became, in some measure, though not entirely* independent of Can- ford ; and for some time after it was granted, the lords of that manor held a courtebaron in Poole ; an instance of which occurs in the 21st Elizabeth* when, at a court-leet and baron held there, it was presented, that one* Thomas Aunwood, an alien, had purchased lands, which escheated to the lord; and Hutchins says, "since the charter, 10th Elizabeth, it lias been adjudged, that the lord of Canford THE MANOR, 61 ought of right to keep the law-day on the morrow of new-year's day, in Poole, once a year* by the steward of that manor." After the judgment on quo icarranto was obtained against the town in 1681, until the restoration of the charter, an attempt was made on the part of the manor, to effect a reversion of things to their old course* Suit and service were again performed at the court-leet of the manor of Canford* and the requisite officers were there chosen ; but the official business of the town appears to have been transacted by a mayor and deputy mayor, appointed by commission* But after the restoration in 1687, there are no proceedings recorded at the manor courts affecting the inhabitants of Poole. There were formerly copyholds in every part of Poole, the holders of which did suit and service to the lord in great numbers ; but they are now very much diminished. Since the partial severance of Poole from Canford, divers disputes have arisen between the inhabitants of the borough and the lords of the manor, principally with re- gard to the commonable rights* which have frequently been litigated in our courts of justice, at considerable expense to both parties. The inhabitants of Poole had always enjoyed by prescription, confirmed by grant of William Longespee, and by the subsequent charters, an unlimited right of com- mon for cattle* and turf for fuel* on the heaths of the manor* When the manor was held by James, lord Mount- joy, he established copperas and alum works at Parkstone, which, however, were subsequently permitted to run to decay ; but, nearly half a century afterwards, Henry* earl of Huntingdon, then lord of the manor, endeavoured to restore them. In these works a great quantity of turf was consumed by way of fuel, and his lordship proceeded to enclose certain portions of the waste land, for providing the turf necessary for the works. This measure appears to have given umbrage to the corporation and inhabitants of the town, who, under their ancient charters* claimed 62 THE MANOR. unlimited right of common ; and they, therefore, proceeded to break down the fences erected by his lordship. On this, the earl filled a bill in chancery, dated 23rd June, 1610, reciting 1 that in his manor of Canford he had mineral works or mines of alum and copperas, and a great and spacious waste of 8,000 or 10,000 acres ; that the town of Poole was then built on 36 acres, all in the manor ; that the earl intended inclosing parts of the waste, and proceeding with the mines, which were fed with turf growing on such waste; that he had allotted parts of the waste to the purpose of such mines : and complaining that one Maudley, the mayor, and others, many of them being brewers, attempted to get, and did get to cut turf within the space allotted for the mines ; and that the corporation had engaged people to throw down the ancient enclosures on the waste. His lordship contended, that the holders of ancient tenements alone ought to take fuel on the waste, and for their own provision only, Oct. 4, 1610, the respondents put in their answer to the above bill, in which they plead in bar, that the matters are tryable at common law ; they say that two houses onlv were erected for the copperas and alum works, by the late James, lord Mountjoy, about 46 years then past; that one of these houses was taken down, and the other gone to decay ; that part of the soil was held of the king's majesty in chief; that Poole was an ancient town, and that from time out of mind, the inhabitants had been entitled to common without stint, and the full right of turbary, &c: they deny his lordship's right to enclose any part of the waste, and complain of the excessive quantity of turf used in the copperas and alum houses. The bill was subse- quently dismissed from the court, as involving a question of prescription, and tryable at common law. His lordship took no further proceedings, and the commonable rights of the townsmen remained unquestioned. Sir John Webb, then lord of the manor of Canford, circ. 1739, attempted to establish a right to the waste THE MANOR. 63 ground and soil in and belonging to the town of Poole, to low water mark; and also to certain petty customs and town dues, as keyage and cellarage, &c. ; and he filed a bill in chancery, against the corporation. But this bill was, on a full hearing, on the 9th Feb., 1742, dismissed with costs, by lord chancellor Hardwick, who declared that he did not find that the plaintiff had made out any foundation of right claimed by the bill, and that the bill must, in con* sequence, be dismissed. He added, that it would be a mischievous thing if people were permitted, on discovering old musty papers in their closets, to come into that court, and dispute the right of others, without shewing any in themselves. "Therefore," he said, "let the bill be dismissed with costs ; and I the rather dismiss it with costs, because of the great expense which the defendants have been put to in this cause." About the same time, sir John Webb recovered, on an issue directed from the court of chancery, the salterns, at Parkstone, held by Cleeves, who had taken leases of the land from sir John Webb and the corporation (both of whom claimed it) ; sir John Webb's tenants deposing that the salt works were above high water mark, and that before they were erected, the cattle fed on the land as part of the common of the manor. Sir John Webb was in the habit of erecting* a toll-booth upon the waste within the town gates, for a fortnight before and a fortnight after midsummer, in every year, for the purpose of collecting a toll or duty, called chiminage. On the 6th June, 1744, the mayor and corporation disputed bis right to do so, destroyed the booth, and made an order to prevent its recurrence in future. On or about 1781, sir John Webb, grandson of him last mentioned, " being a man of a scheming mind and of great opulence," as the counter-petition informs us, became de- sirous of enclosing some hundreds of acres of the mud- lands adjoinfng Parkstone, and which are situate in what is 64 THE MANOR, now called Hole's bay ; and presented a petition to Parlia* ment for an act for that purpose. The corporation of Poole presented a counter-rpetition, setting forth that such mudlands belonged to them by prescription, as part of the harbour of Poole ; and that their embankment would be very prejudicial to the said harbour, and eventually ruin the trade of the said town and its inhabitants. On which sir John Webb desisted from his attempt to obtain an act of parliament, and shortly afterwards delivered several ejectments for the recovery of such lands below high water mark, as had been converted into private quays ; the pow- der-house, at Baiter; and some other buildings on the Hamworthy side. But these ejectments were dropped, in consequence of an arrangement between the corporation and sir John Webb, by which the former consented to the embankment of certain mudlands, sir John Webb having offered to give up certain quit rents, and allow the corpo- ration certain privileges, But sir John Webb, in 1787, finding his proposed embankment impracticable, laid aside the scheme, and matters returned to the same state as before the aboye arrangement. Several suits were commenced, and an action of ejectment was tried at the Dorset summer assize, 28th July, 1792, before Mr. justice Buller, in which sir John Webb was plaintiff, and the corporation and Law*? rence Tiilloch, their lessee, were defendants, The premises in question were a parcel of land, on West Butts shore, on which a wind-mill was erected, situate between high and low water marks ; and were claimed by sir John Webb, as part of the manor of Canford, which, he contended, ex- tended to low water mark ; but the corporation insisted on their right to them, as part of the mud or waste lands of the harbour. The cause was tried by a special jury, who had a view of the locus in quo, and, on the presumption that the manor extended to low water mark, the jury found a verdict for the plaintiff. This was a most important ver- dict, and caused much consternation in the town, as it was THE MANOR. 65 likelv to operate very much to the disadvantage of indi- viduals, if not to the injury of the trade and commerce of the town, many of the inhabitants having-, from time imme- morial, erected considerable buildings, wharfs, and private quays, on and adjoining to the mudlands, without the pay- ment or demand of any acknowledgment whatever ; and if they were to be affected by the decision, and could not avail themselves of ancient prescriptive right or usage, those, at least, whose improvements and erections had been made within twenty years, were liable to the operation of a dormant right, which might, possibly, be exercised so as to deprive them of the use of their private quays, &c, built at a very considerable expense, or otherwise subject them to the payment of heavy rents and acknowledgements. This difficulty, however, and other questions, with respect to sir John Webb's manorial rights,were set at rest by the act of the 45th Geo. III., under which allotments were made (inter alia J of all the mudlands in the harbour; and all disputes between the town and the lord of the manor were thus ad- justed. Under this act, the sand pit, about half a mile from the town, is allotted, as such, to Poole ; a conduit head and reservoir are allotted, at a spring on Constitution hill and at a pond near the turnpike gate house at the end of Towngate street*, (but these were never appropriated to the purpose, and the pond is now filled up) ; it is provided that, after certain deductions specified, one-seventh part of the whole residue of the waste lands in the manor, (except the mudlands,) and all the residue of the waste within the town and county of Poole, and also the mudlands within the limits of that town and county, bounded on the north- east by the town ditch, and on the east and south-east by the low water mark of a certain channel or lake running" from a place called Scalescraft, into the great channel of * This pond formed part of the ancient fosse, by which the town v.as formerly protected at that extremity. The spot has since been conveyed by the corporation to 31r. Wm. Major, by a deed of exchange, in lieu of an adjoining portion of land. 66 THE MANOR. the harbour of Poole, and on the south and south-west by the low water mark of the same great channel, and on the west and north-west by the low water mark of the great channel or stream leading towards a place called Creek- moor, and also all other mudlands within the said town and county, shall be set out, allotted, and awarded by the said commissioners, to and amongst the several persons, bodies politic and corporate, within the town and county of the town of Poole, in lieu of and in full compensation for their respective rights of common and turbary. These wastes and mudlands are directed to be allotted — one-third to the corporation, and the remaining two-thirds to the owners of messuages, &c, in Poole. It is provided, that no mudlands are to be subdivided, the inclosure of which would be prejudicial to the harbour, but that one-third of such mudlands be allotted to the corporation, and two- thirds to the owners of messuages, &c, in entire parcels. The act provides that the well at Tatnam, used by the inhabitants of Pooled, shall remain uninclosed and unap- propriated. By this act, also, the inhabitants of Poole were relieved from the payment of the customary fee farm rents. We find that they formerly paid for the farm of their liberties, the sum of £8 13s. 4d., which is the sum they are described as paying to Henry, earl of Lincoln, and afterwards to Thomas, earl of Lancaster, t. Edward II. ; but this rent was afterwards reduced to £6 lis. 7Jd. ; the particulars of which are thus entered in a book, enti- tled, "the Chiefage book," dated 5th Elizabeth, 28th April : — " The bailiff of Poole pays yearly to the reeve of Canford, the fee farm of the whole chief rent of the town of Poole, as had been always accustomed time out of mind, £5 17 5| * The conduit head, at Tatnam, had been previously conceded to the town, by a grant in the 34th Henry VIII., (at which time the manor was vested in the crown, after the attainder of the marquis of Exeter, ) confirmed by an act of Parliament : and the town had, at various times, incurred considerable expense in erecting and maintaining the necessary buildings. THE MANOR. 67 In which said sum is comprised 10c/. for a pound of > wax and a pound of cummin. $ The bailiffs also for ale waits*, 14 2 £6 11 7§ This amount was formerly provided for by a distinct rate levied on the inhabitants, and collected by the water-bailiff; but, July 1 9 1771, it was agreed at a public vestry, "that the chief rent of £6 lis. 7jd. annually due to sir John Webb, as lord of the manor, should be annually paid bj the overseers of the poor, in order to avoid the trouble and expense of a distinct rate collected by the water-bailiff as before used." This fee farm rent continued to be paid until the inclosure of the wastes under the above mentioned act. The manorial mansion, with its demesne, is delightfully situated on the southern bank of the river Stour, and stands upon the site formerly occupied by the seat of the ancient lords of the manor. The venerable structure, pulled down that the present edifice might be reared, though evidently erected at various periods, bore testimony, in every part, to its claims to considerable antiquity, and, for many years before its demolition, was one of the rarest specimens of our early mansion houses. A portion of it was, not impro- bably, coeval with the elder Longespee, who, undoubtedlv, occasionally resided here : and there is a tradition preserved amongst the old retainers of the estate, that the mansion was, at one time, inhabited by king John. This tradition is confirmed by a consideration of the vagrant life led by * These "ale waits" seem to have been fees paid to the steward, for attendance — at the High Court day, Cs. 8d. ; and at five other court days, at Is. 6d. each, 7s. 6d. 68 THE MANOR. that monarch ; of the visits made by him to this part of the country ; of the neighbourhood of Corfe Castle, where he for some time resided ; of the troubles in which he was frequently involved; and of the steady attachment with which, despite his vices as a man and a monarch, Longes- pee regarded his royal brother. Striking and varied have been the scenes which the antique walls of " the gray old house" witnessed during the lapse of nearly seven cen- turies. The virtues and the sorrows of the gentle Ela ; the honours of the heroic Longespees ; the romantic elopement of Maud ; the unfortunate life of Alice de Lacy ; the glo- ries of the Montacutes ; the renown of John of Somerset ; and the piety of Gertrude of Exeter; sufficed to invest with no common interest, the mansion successively occupied by these personages. The only portion of the ancient house now remaining, is the old kitchen, of which an en- graving is subjoined as a vignette. How the appellation of " John of Gaunt's kitchen," by which this structure has been long familiarly known, became attached to it, is now difficult to conjecture. That " time-honoured Lancaster" was never in possession of Canford, which, during the whole of his life, was in the hands of the Montacutes. This kitchen, with its capacious fireplaces, speaks powerfully of the manners and the hospitalities of former days — of times when the proud baron sat surrounded by a gallant com- pany, and feasted in his halls a numerous retinue of armed servitors. Long may it stand to connect the present day with the romantic incidents associated with the more re- mote history of the mansion. A part of the buildings was demolished in 1765, consisting principally of the out offices. About the commencement of the present century, the man- sion itself was let to the English Teresan nuns of Hoogstraet, in Brabant, founded by Teresa, a virgin of Avila, in Spain, under an abbess. They quitted Hoogstraet, July 7, 1794, and, arriving in London on the 13th, were placed at Friar's place, near Acton, which belonged to the prior of St. THE MANOR- 69 Bartholomew, "West Smithfield, and from thence they re- tired hither, where they found an asylum from the horrors with which they were threatened by the French revolution. In 1825, however, it having 1 been determined to rebuild the house, the nuns left it, and embarking- at Poole, again repaired to the continent. The remaining portions of the ancient structure were then rased, and the present stately edifice was reared on its site. It is an elegant and com- modious house, in the architecture of the Elizabethan age, built from a design of Edward Blore, esq. ; and has since been occupied by the lion. Mr. Ponsonby and his family. The manorial rights extend over the whole parish, con- sisting of upwards of sixteen thousand acres, and compris- ing the following hamlets, &c: — Little Canford, Ensbury, Kinson, Knighton, Longfleet, Merley, Parkstone, and Upton. THE OLD KITCHEN, AT C'ANFOED. 70 €fje General ^i£torp. Few literary tasks are enveloped in greater difficulties than those with which the topographer meets in the attempt to trace the history of a town up to its origin. The farther he penetrates into the recesses of antiquity, the more per- plexed does he become, and the more labyrinthine does his path appear. The changes that have been effected over the face of the country by the progress of civilization ; the corruption and alteration of names, during the silent march of century after century ; the scarcity of written records and official documents, prior to the time of Henry III.,# and the destruction of a great portion of these, scanty and imperfect as they were, by the ravages of time, and still more by the devastation of this species of literature with which the dissolution of the monastic establishments was attended ; often present insuperable obstacles to giving any connected and uninterrupted series of historical memoranda. If, in the absence of written testimony, the enquirer re- sort to local tradition, he meets with discrepancies and con- tradictory legends, which, deviating widely in their oral descent, are too opposite to admit of reconcilement. These difficulties press much upon the present subject of enquiry. * Rymer gives a striking instance of the great scarcity of books before the inven- tion of printing. So late as 1424, the countess of Westmoreland presented a petition to the privy council, representing that the late king, Henry V., had borrowed a book from her, and praying that an order might be given, under the privy seal, for the restoration of the said book, which was granted with great solemnity. GENERAL HISTORY. 71 In treating of the early portion of the history of Poole, a claim for a much higher degree of antiquity than has hitherto been assigned to the town, may be fairly made. The generally advanced opinion, that it had no existence until subsequently to the Norman conquest, is certainly erroneous ; and although it is not now sought to assert that Poole was, in the more remote ages of our national exist- ence, a maritime town of great commercial or other im- portance, yet it is contended that there still exist ample remains to evidence that the smooth waters of its harbour have, assuredly, been ploughed by the more aspiring beaks of the Roman galleys, if, indeed, they have not also sha- dowed the frail coracle of the early Britons. Baxter, in his Glossary, places here the " Bolbelaunium" of Ravennas, or rather, as he corrects it, Bolnelaunium, de- riving it from the Celtic Bol-ne-lau?i-iu, signifying a head or bay full of water^. This opinion well corresponds with the order of Ravennas, and the etymology is strictly in conformity to the nature of the place. The pre- sent name, Poole, may be either an abbreviated corruption of the old Celtic phrase, as suggested by Baxter, or a mere Saxon translation of it ; and the analogy between the Celtic " bol " and the Saxon " pool," affords material for the en- quirer into the abstrusities of philology. This etymological fragment is, with the exception of a few British coins that have been dug up in the neighbourhood-f-, the only link serving, at the present day, to connect Poole with the tribes of the ancient Britons : indeed, the wild and desultory habits of that nomadic race precluded them from leaving other vestiges of their temporary settlements sufficiently marked to reach to this day, excepting in tracts which the hand of * " Bolnelaunium : Nam quis dubitet ita scribendum in Ravennatc, pro co quod in libro est, casu etiam sexto, Bolvelaunio ? Ut sit Bol ne launiii, quod est caput vel etiam sinus PLENiE uxd;e. Ilodie curtato nomine Tool dicitur : et est in Durotrigi- bus satis vetustum oppidum."— [Baxter, Gloss: Anti : Brit: p. 43, fo. 1719.] + A Britisb gold coin of a very early era, and of a type figured by Kuding, was fouud near Toole, in 1835, 72 GENERAL HISTORY. civilized man has left unaltered by the operation of the plough; or on spots where our shepherd-fathers have themselves fortified some hill-city as a more stable and secure place of refuge when pressed by their enemies. A Roman vicinal way, that has been traced from the shore of the harbour near Upton house, and which, passing by Cogdean elms, — where are two barrows, and where, in Hutchins's time, the dorsum was very visible — leads to the station of Bindogladia (now Badbury rings), originally British, but subsequently occupied by the Romans ; shews that the Romans made use of the harbour, at least, as a convenient landing place ; whilst the coins that, at various times, have been exhumed within the precincts of Poole or its immediate neighbourhood, testify that a spot so adapted for fitting out maritime excursions to the neighbouring places, was not left without settlers. The most extensive discovery of such coins took place so lately as 1832, when several hundreds were dug up, in a meadow, at Sterte, about a quarter of a mile from the town. These coins, which had been buried in a vase of fine pottery, are of the time included between a.d. 253, and a.d. 274, and bear the effigies of the emperors Valerianus, Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, and Aurelianus ; of the empress Salonina, con- sort of Gallienus; and of the usurpers Postumus, Laelianus, Tetricus, Tetricus Csesar, and Quintillus. They are nearly all of the common third brass, and of the same size. Two only are of silver. The state of preservation exhibi- ted by the greater number was exceedingly fine ; and the reverses were very varied; many of them being highly beautiful specimens of art. The vase, in which they were secreted, was broken by the tool of the workman, and a few fragments only could be obtained ; enough, however, to ascertain that it was of the ordinary shape. In his splendid work, Britannia Romana, Mr. Horsley is inclined to fix the Roman station of Portus Magnus on this spot, " in the large bay (or what else you please to GENERAL HISTORY. 7*j call it) when the river Frome, coming from Dor Chester 4 empties itself near Poole and Wareham;" — J* because (he adds) then the situation of the other neighbouring places seems to answer exactly enough, and the title Magnus may suit the haven here." This opinion, however, will not re- sist the test of careful and candid examination, and has been long exploded; the localities connected with the Portus Magnus of Ptolemy, and particularly its relative position to the Isle of Wight, having induced the best authorities to concur in placing it at Porchester. In the Saxon times, Poole was undoubtedly in existence as a settlement, though it had not then attained to much consideration. Occasional mention is made of it in the troublous period in which the Danish hordes visited and devastated this land. In the years 997-8, the Danes ravaged the western coast ; and, in the latter year, they entered Poole harbour, stationed their fleet at the mouth of the Frome, and spread themselves over Dorsetshire. Forces were often collected to oppose them ; but whenever they were about to join battle, some irresolution appeared, — whether arising from the apprehension of treachery in their leaders, distrust of their courage or conduct, or that fear which a succession of defeats may bring, even upon brave men, — and the invaders were always victorious. " The seas," says Southey, " which, since England became a great maritime power, have secured it against all fo- reign enemies, served, in these unhappy ages, only to expose it, on all sides, to predatory invasion ; and the invaders, having now learnt to despise a divided people, a feeble government, and a pusillanimous king, sailed up the rivers at their will, and penetrated into the country, whithersoever they would^." This policy of the Danes in penetrating the country so far as the navigation of the rivers would permit them, and thus securing a congenial mode * Southey' s Nav : Hist: v. i., p. 61-5.— Sax: Chron : 172.— Turner's Anglo Sax; ii.. 168-9. 74 GENERAL HISTORY. of retreat to their accustomed element, well accords with the opinion of Leland, an acute enquirer into local tradition, who states that Poole had, previously to this time, risen to some importance, on the decadence of Wareham, owing to the alluvial deposit at the embouchure of the river Frome; but that Wareham again flourished as a Danish town^. When discontents prevailed in consequence of the im- posts collected by Ethelred, the Anglo-Danes opened a secret communication with king Canute, who had been driven from England the previous year, and invited him to return, assuring him of their support. Canute soon got together a fleet of 200 ships, royally decked, furnished and appointed, both for brave shew and necessary furniture of all manner of weapons, arms, and munition-f*. He sailed first for Sandwich, a.d. 1015, which seems to have been the favourite port of the Danes ; he then sailed for Poole harbour ; and making Wareham his naval station, he ravaged the three counties of Dorset, Somerset, and Wilts. Poole, with other places, had been held, during Canute's absence, by adventurers, for him, in case he should return, or for themselves, as the course of events might determine. Canute's fleet in the harbour was soon augmented by forty ships, brought over to him by the traitor Edric. Wareham continued to be his naval station during this and the following year, when, having gathered all his forces there, that monarch moved with his ships to the Thames, and stationed them at Greenwich. Having thus glanced at the British, Roman, and Saxon asres, we arrive at the time in which the Norman William enforced the title of the sword to the conquered crown of England. In the reign of this prince, we meet with that * " I can gather no otherwise, but whereas of old times, shippes came sum what nere to Wareham, up the haven, and there had vent of their wares ; and synce shippes lost their rode there for lak of depth of water, shippes kept and resortid nerer to Pole town, and so it by a little encreasid, and Wareham felle clene to ruins. Howbeit, Wareham was ons so rerasid in the Danes wars."—- [Itin, iii, 69 3 70. J t Holinshed. i., 718. GENERAL HISTORY. 75 stupendous territorial survey, undertaken by order of that monarch, and known as the Domesday book"^. In this document Poole is not mentioned bv name, being 1 doubtless included in the survey of the manor of Canford, of which it formed an integral part, until it was invested with the pri- vileges of a county corporate, by the charter of 10th Elizabeth. From this absence, and from the few persons * This great national record was compiled, under the orders of William, by roving commissioners sent into every county, constituting the first instance upon record of an inquisitorial commission of enquiry. It was undertaken to ascertain and secure the revenue which arose from the great laud proprietors ; and occupied eight years in the compilation. It was completed, as appears from a memorandum inserted at the end of the second volume, in the year 1086, the twentieth of the king's reign. This remarkable monument of antiquity, though one of the most important records in the kingdom, and affording highly valuable antiquarian and historical information, is by no means so exact or uniform as some historians have represented it. It is not unusual to describe Domesday as a badge of Norman tyranny. That the survey was prompted by the stern and rigid principles of government adopted by the conqueror, cannot be denied ; but instead of being calculated to enlarge his authority, it was, in truth, an admission of the restriction of his power. Had he considered himself as an absolute monarch, governing by right of conquest, there would have been little necessity to enquire into the prerogatives of Edward the confessor. New lords had become seised of the halls of the Saxon thanes ; and few, indeed, of the English aristocracy enjoyed any share of wealth or honour. Still the law was un- shaken and unchanged. The record which testified the extent of the rights of the sovereign, was an equal protection to the humble socman ; who, if his franchises were invaded, was thereby enabled to claim his plough-land with as much certainty as the king could assert his wide-spreading prerogative. The precedent so given was soon universally adopted : every prelate and every baron imitated the proceedings of the royal courts, as closely as could be effected by the constitution of the seignorial tribunal : the value of the rents of the manor, and the services of the bondmen were investigated by proceedings modelled after the prototype of Winchester ; and every "extent" of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, that is to say, an enquiry into their nature and value, effected by means of a jury impannelled before the escheator, the sheriff, or any other person delegated by the crown, derives its origin from the proceedings of the Exchequer of the Conqueror. One of the principal objects of the Domesday survey, was to ascertain the number of hydes, which were to be charged with the Danegeld. This land-tax was assessed at the rate of six shillings per hyde, amounting, on the average, to one hundred acres : and until the laud was brought under the plough, it does not appear to have been liable to the payment. The increase of cultivation may, therefore, have been one of the causes which induced the ambitious Flambard to advise another survey, which was considered as one of the greatest grievances of the tyranny of the red king. Other general surveys, in the nature of Domesday, were made from time to time. Henry I. made similar enquiries ; and a most curious description of Winches- ter is extant, resulting from the inquest of the eight score and six burgesses, impan- nelled before the commissioners, in which we have the particulars of every house in the city, which paid "landgable" or ground-rent to the king, in the days of Edward the confessor, and at the period when the survey was made. It is uncertain to what period we are to refer the fragments of another general survey, hitherto unnoticed, and affording some important particulars relating to tenure, which are omitted in Domesday. For instance, from the description of the boroughs of Winchcomb and Gloucester, we ascertain that the burgesses had a certain estate by inheritance in their burgages, and which was not divested by the conquest. 7<3 GENERAL HISTORY* specified as pertaining to that manor, it has been inferred* that Poole had no existence till subsequently to the Norman conquest. This position, however, is easily refuted ; and that document cannot affect the question. The following is the passage in this great fiscal record, relating to the manor : — u Dorsete; " XXXI. Terra Edwardi Sarisber'. " Edwardvs Sarisber' ten' de Rege Cheneford. Vluueii tenuit T. R. E. et geldb' p' xxv hid'. Tra' e' xviii car'; De ea s' in dnio' xi hidae et dim' et ibi iii car' et ix servi et xxxv villi' et xl bord' cu' xv car'. Ibi molini ii° redd' xv solid' et cxviii ac' pti'. Pastura ii leu' int' lg' et lat'. Bilva una leu' lg' et dim' leu' lat'. " Ad Winbvrne iii bord' et una dom' ptin' huic m' et ibi una leu' brocae." This, translated, runs thus : — Edward of Salisbury holds Canford of the king. Ulweri held it in the time of king Edward, and it was taxed for twenty-five hides. There is land for eighteen ploughs. Of this there are in the demesne, eleven hides and a half; and therein three ploughs, and nine bondmen, and thirty- five villeins, and forty bordars, with fifteen ploughs. There are two mills paying fifteen shillings ; and one hundred and eighteen acres of meadow. Pasture two miles in length and breadth. Wood one mile long and half a mile broad. Three bordars and one house in Wimborne belong to this manor, and there is one mile of brushwood. The whole number of persons here specified does not exceed eighty-four, — a number so small as to lead to the inference that it includes those only who were more imme- diately the retainers of the lord for agricultural purposes* and appurtenent to those broad acres, the survey of which was the great object of William's commissioners. It should not be forgotten, that this work was compiled only for the purpose of affording a rent roll, as it were, of the tenure and value of the lands throughout the kingdom. It was not a parochial survey or census of population ; but such GENERAL HISTORY. 77 persons only were recorded, whose lands and tenements rendered some payment or service to the state. It is obvi- ous that all the burghers or actual inhabitants of cities and boroughs are not mentioned: no monks nor clergr are enumerated ; vet it is said that the parish churches in Eng- land about this time, amounted to 46,122. In Dorsetshire, they were 216. This document, therefore, throws no light upon this part of the enquiry. From the time at which we have arrived, however, the state of Poole, its progress in commercial and municipal importance, and its connection with national events and trans- actions may be more clearly traced. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the fortunes of Poole must have rapidly risen, and increased collaterally with the second declension of Wareham, which town suffered, not only from its grow- ing inconvenience as a port, but also from the wars between king Stephen, and the empress Maud. On the breaking- out of these troubles, the town and castle of Wareham were seized for Maud, by Robert de Lincoln. It was p.fterwards held for her by the earl of Gloucester ; and, in 1142, during the absence of the earl, Stephen took the castle and burnt the town. It was in the same year retaken by the earl of Gloucester, after a siege of three weeks, with a force of only between 300 and 400 men. Four vears afterwards it was a^ain made the scene of a bloodv conflict, being taken by the king, after a siege in which much blood was shed. During so turbulent and so perilous a period, the more peaceable inhabitants, including those who were engaged in trade and commerce, and who had moveable possessions to preserve, naturally forsook a town in which their lives and property were so insecure, and great numbers migrated to the neighbouring' town of Poole, where all the trade, previously seated at Wareham, soon became centred* We now approach a period in which there is undoubted evidence that the town of Poole was holding a position of 78 GENERAL HISTORY. prosperity and of some importance. That it was a port of considerable maritime resort in the early part of the thir- teenth century, appears from its being included in a list of the principal ports in England ; to the authorities of which, in 1224, the orders of the king, Henry III., were sent, in consequence of the expiration of a truce with France, to lay an embargo on all vessels lying in, or arriving at, those ports, and to keep them in readiness for the king's service.^? The language and intent of the charter of William Long- espee, granted to the burgesses of Poole, shortly after the period last named, are strongly indicative that the worthy burghers had been for some time carrying on a lucrative trade. The charter grants many important privileges to the burgesses ° and it states that, as an acknowledgment of these, the lord was paid seventy marks, (£46 13s. 4d.) — a very considerable sum in those days, and equal, in its value as a medium of exchange, to about £500 at present. This charter is without date, and the time at which it was granted, and the identity of the William Longespee who conceded it, have ever hitherto been regarded as matters of mere con- jecture ; but a little attentive enquiry suffices to place it almost beyond doubt, that this document was granted in or about the year 1248, and by the second William Longespee. The first only of the three Longespees enjoyed the title of the earldom of Salisbury : and as the charter purports to have been granted by William Longespee simply, a presumption that it was granted by one of the last two, naturally arises* * The following is the list 'of the ports spoken of:— La Pole now Poole Gipewic . Sorham Shorcham Lenne . . . Suhanton Southampton Erwell . . . Safford . , Seaford Ermuth. . . Portesmue Portsmouth Dour Exon Exeter Rimemele . Bristoll Bristol Rya Dertmue Dartmouth Kingeston Ilorwic Harwich Eya Gernemue Yarmouth Hasting... Orefovd Or ford Pageham . Dunewic — — Dun with Pevenes. . . •now Ipswich ,'<—— Lynne . Orwell , Yarmouth ( I. W.) . Dover , Rumley . Rye .* Hull • Eye Hastings . Paghaua . Pevensey; GENERAL HISTORY. 79 The third of the name survived the second for six years only, and expired very shortly after he had attained his majority. The probability that hence arises in favour of the second William is reduced to a certainty, by an inves- tigation of the seal appended to the document ; and which is the same as that engraved in the Rev. W. L. Bowles's History of Lacock Abbey, and ascribed, by that writer, to the second Longespee. The seal has long presented nothing but a small bag of crumbling- fragments ; but a minute examination of these will decidedly establish the identity. Longespee II. survived his father from 1226 to 1250, and' between these dates, therefore, the charter must have been granted : but, brief as is the space of twenty-four years, the uncertainty may be reduced to much more confined limits. The military life of that great warrior, and the wild chiv- alric adventures in which he was occupied, afforded him little time for sojourning in his native land, and would have withheld him from giving attention to the interests of his burgesses and subfeudatories, unless with a view to the advancement of his military undertakings. The seventy marks, paid by the burgesses of Poole for their liberties, may be here adduced as strikingly indicative of the object and thence of the date of the charter. This considerable sum must have been paid, not as a merely nominal acknow- ledgment, but to serve some useful purpose. Now the historical particulars of Longespee that have come down to us state that, from 1247 to 1249, he was engaged in collecting* all the revenues and resources that could be made available for the purpose of furthering his under- taking* in the Holy Land, on which he departed in the latter-mentioned year. With this object he visited the court of Rome, in 1247; and soliciting the pope to forward his views, the holy pontiff granted him what he asked; and by aid of the pope's letters, and his other means, he ob- tained in all more than a thousand marks. It is more than probable, therefore, that it was after his return from Rome, *0 GENERAL HISTORY. and during his preparations for the crusade, in 1248, that this charter of privileges was conferred on his burgesses of Poole, for the purpose of augmenting his funds to the not inconsiderable amount of seventy marks. In the numerous writs issued under the royal mandate, about this time, for the supply of shipping, we find that Poole was not forgotten as a maritime port. In the year 1254, 38th Henry III., the writ " De navibus perquirendis ad transfetationem reginse et aliorum," is directed, amongst others, to the bailiffs of the port of " la Pole." In the year 1295, 23rd Edward I., Poole furnished three ships with fifty-nine mariners towards the fleet fitted out for Guienne, under the command of the earls of Lancaster, Richmond, and Lincoln, in prosecution of the war under- taken by the king against France.^ King Edward I., in the year 1300, by the advice of his nobles, entirely prohibited the currency of " pollards and crokards," and all other money not of his own coinage. In the reign of this monarch, varieties of corrupt and deceitful money were coined in parts beyond the seas, pri- vately brought into the kingdom, and uttered here for pennies, though not worth more than a halfpenny. The king adopted various measures for putting an end to this * This fleet was divided into four squadrons, of winch one sailed for Guienne. whilst the other three were equipped to guard the coasts, viz., the Yarmouth, or eastern, under John de Battletort; the Portsmouth, or southern, under William de Laybon ; and the Irish, or western, whose commander is not named. The south fleet, which included the vessels from Poole, was composed of 972 ships, with 9405 mariners. The fleets, in jthe times treated of, were formidable only on account of their number. They generally consisted of a few galleys, and other ships, belonging to the crown ; of a squadron which the cinque ports were compelled, by charter, tp furnish as often as they were demanded by the king ; of galleys hired from foreign adventurers ; and principally of the merchantmen belonging to the different ports. For at this period the same vessel served alternately for the purposes of commerce and war : and a large ship, after having discharged its cargo, and taken on board a complement of forty mariners, forty armed men, and sixty archers, Mas equal to meet any enemy. The king claimed the right of purveyance of ships, as well as of other articles. As occasion required, he issued orders for the seizure of a certain number of vessels, sometimes of all that could be found in any of the English har- bours ; and at the same time appointed commissioners to press mariners and others into his service, till they had collected a sufficient number to man them. GENERAL HISTORY, 81 pernicious practice; he established a standard; and all foreign base money was cried down by proclamation, except " pollards and crokards," which were allowed to pass for a halfpenny each ; but in the above year, they also were prohibited. To render this measure more effectual, by retaining in the kingdom all the sterling coin and pre- cious metals, the king also issued writs, directed to the authorities of the chief ports in England, commanding them to allow no money, either English or foreign, nor any bullion, to be exported, without his own especial licenced. One of these writs was directed to the bailiffs of Poole. In the following year, we also find a writ, directed " ballivis et probis hominibus villse de la Pole," ordering the service of one ship, to be sent to the king at Berwick. In the Originalia, vol. i. p. 121, is a writ, dated 1302, ad« dressed to Thomas de Verblyngton and Peter de Donewych, in which it is recited that, although the towns of Seford, Shoreham, Portsmouth, Poole, Southampton, Wareham, Plymouth, Teignmouth, Bridgwater, Lyme, and three others, had agreed to send one ship each (Southampton two) to the Scottish war; yet these towns had not sent any ship, to the great contempt of the king, and manifest delay in finishing the war ; the persons to whom the writ is addressed are authorized to adjudge such punishment as they may think proper for the neglect. What punishment was inflicted remains unknown. * From the orders of England, Wales, Edward :— Dover Sandwich Romney Winchelsea Rye Hythe Faversham Hastings . Shoreham Seaford Portsmouth Southampton Falmouth Wareham Bristol Dartmouth issued on this occasion, we obtain the following list of the ports and that part of Scotland which was then under subjection to Lymington Weymouth Poole H amble Lyme Sidmouth Chichester Teignmouth Fowey Looe Bodwyn Haverford Carmarthen Caernarvon Lampadermaur Conway Chester Wainflect Bridgwater Saltfleet Cardiff Grimsby Oystermouth Hull Rochester Ravensere Gravesend Scarburgh Northfleet Tinemouth London Newcastle-upon- Harwich Tine Jpswich Bamburgh Dimwich Berwick-upon- Orford Tweed Yarmouth and Blackney Dunbar Lynn Boston M 82 GENERAL HISTORY. An order for the bailiffs, &c, of Poole to prepare a ship to serve in transporting- the forces under the earl of Ulster, in the wars with Robert Bruce, was issued in 1310, 3rd Edward II.# Soon after the commencement of the fourteenth century, the barons and mariners of the cinque ports began to assume that undue authority, to which they were encou- raged by the privileges that had been bestowed upon them, and which was afterwards so extended, particu- larly during 1 the weak and troubled reign of John, as enabled them to defy the regal power, and dictate terms to their monarch. The seafaring people of Poole and other western ports resisted these encroachments at the outset, and protracted and violent disputes hence arose, which were frequently attended by bloodshed. These disputes attained such a height, that the king, Edward II., was obliged to interpose his authority ; and, in the year 1321, he issued the following writ on the subject: — " The king, to his dearly beloved and faithful Edmund, earl of Kent, constable of Dover castle, and keeper of the cinque ports, his most dear brother, or his lieu- tenants, greeting: — " Whereas we have understood that great dissention and dispute between the barons of our aforesaid ports and the men and mariners of the western parts, of the towns of Poole, Weymouth, Melcombe, Lyme, and Southampton, and other towns of the parts adjacent, exists, now anew sprung up ; and that murders, depredations, burnings of ships, and very many other injuries have taken place from that cause, and greater and more grievous, it is feared, will ensue, unless some remedy be speedily applied ; We, willing to obviate the evils aforesaid, by all the ways and * The following is the list of ports to which writs were sent on this occasion : — La Pole, to send 1 ship, Shoreham 1, Portesmue 1, Sutht' 2, Lymyton and Ermuth 1, Wareham 1, Weymouth 1, Melcombe 1, Lyme 1, Exmuth &Excestr' 1, Tiengmuth 1, Dertmuth 1, Plymmuth 1, Colecestre 1, Herewiz 1, Gippewiz 2, Donewiz 1, Or- ford 1, Jernemuth G, Jeraemuth petite 1, Synterte 1, Burnham and Holkham 1, Seint Botolf 1, Lenne 4, Grymesby 1, Ravensere 1, Hull 2, Scardeburg 1, Pavensie 1, Hertelpole 1, Nove Chastel sur Tyne 2, Neuby 1, Gloucestr' and Bristoll 2, Sumers Brugge waiter 1. GENERAL HISTORY. 83 means in our power, and to give full justice for all injuries an v where sustained, do command ye, that in every one of the ports aforesaid, ye do cause to be forthwith publicly proclaimed on our behalf, and prohibited, that no man of the aforesaid ports, under forfeiture of all that may be forfeited to us, shall do, or cause to be done, injury to any men or mariners of the aforesaid ports, or to their ships, or other goods, either by land or sea, nor shall attempt any thing against the said men or mariners, by which our peace may be anywise violated or broken. Ye shall also cause to come before us and our council, at Westminster, on the fifteenth of St. Michael next ensuing-, six barons of the ports aforesaid, with full powers for the other barons of their ports to present their complaints, if they have any, against the men or mariners aforesaid; and to do, upon those complaints, and the injuries thence sustained, what may then happen to be ordained by our council, touching* them. " Witness the king at Westminster, the twenty-eighth day of August. " By the king himself and council."^ * " Rex, dilecto et ficleli suo Edmundo comiti Kane', constabulario castri sui Doverr' et custodi quinque portuum suorum, fratri suo carissirno, vel ejus locum teneules salutem. " Quia intellexiinus quod grandis disseucio et discordia inter barones nostros por- tuum predietorum et homines et marinarios parcium occidentalium de villis de la Pole, Weymouth, Melcombe, Lym, et Suthampton, et aliis villis parcium adjacencium, de iiove jam orta existit : et quod homicidia, depredaciones, et combustiones navium, de alia dampna quamplurima ea occasione suut subsecuta ; majoraque ac graviora timentur evenire, nisi cicius super hoc remedium apponatur ; nos, malis prodictis, omnibus viis et modis quibus poterimus, volentes obviare, et super dampnis hinc inde datis fieri justiciar complementum : " Vobis mandamus, quod in singulis portubus prcdictis publicc proclamari, et districts, ex parte nostra, faciatis inhiberi, ne quis predietorum portuum, sub foris- factura omnium que nobis forisfacere poterit, aliquibus hominibus seu marinariis de predictis villis, aut navibus, vel aliis bonis suis per terrain, vel per mare, dampnum l'aciat, vel fieri procuret; nee contra dictos homines seu marinarios, aliquid attemptct, per quod pax nostra poterit aliqualiter ledi, vel infringi. *' Venire eciam faciatis coram nobis et consilio nostro apud Westm', in quindena Sancti Michaelis proximo futura, sex barones de portubus predictis cum plena potestate, pro ceteris baronibus portuum illorum, ad proponendum querelas, si quas habeant, versus homines seu marinarios predictos ; et ad faciendum super querelis illis et dampnis exinde datis, quod tuuc per consilium nostrum de hiis contigerit ordinari. " Et habeas ibi nomina predietorum sex baronurn, et hoc breve. " T. R. apud Westm', xxviii. die Augusti, " Per ipsum Begem ct concilium." [Rymer, ii, pt. i, p. 456.] 84 GENERAL HISTORY* In 1324, the king summoned Poole and the other maritime towns on the south coast, to assemble their largest ships at Portsmouth, manned and provided with landing bridges and " clays," for carrying soldiers and horses, at his expense, over to his duchy of Aquitaine.& In 1326, when the disastrous events that marked the close of the second Edward's reign were approaching their consummation, and that weak and unhappy monarch had to defend himself against the intrigues of a faithless queen and the Lancastrian faction, then abroad, we find that pre- cautionary writs were issued to the bailiffs and commonalty of the town of Poole, directing them to examine all letters coming from foreign parts, and to send such as might con- tain matter prejudicial to his majesty, his crown and dignity, to the king forthwith ; and also to arrest and keep in safe custody all persons whom they might see cause to suspect. By an inquisition taken June 7, 1340, 15th Edward III., on the petition of John Warren, earl of Surrey, then hold- ing the manor of Canford and Poole, and William Monte- acute, earl of Salisbury, who had the reversion of it, it was found that the burgesses of Poole had, from beyond the memory of man, received certain tolls from every ship coming into the port. This inquisition will be detailed in a future page. King Edward III. was the first sovereign of England who gave much attention to commerce and navigation, and by his care the industry of the kingdom was scarcely less extended at home than its glory and conquests abroad. He was the first English sovereign, since the reign of Alfred, who gained a naval victory in person, humbling the mari- time power both of France and Spain, when the king of the latter country had assumed the title of " lord of the English sea." For information and advice upon matters 8 The following are the quotas ordered from each port: — "Poole, 4 vessels; Southampton, C ; Sandwich, 4; Portsmouth, 1; Winchelsea, 6 ; Rye, 2 ; Favenham, ] ; Shoreham, 2 ; Seaford,2; Weymouth, 10; Hamclhoke, 1 ; Boldre, 1 ; Yarmouth,. < V I. of W.,) 2.— [Kymer 5 ii. pt. i, p. 552. J GENERAL HISTORY. 85 of trade and shipping-, he was accustomed occasionally to assemble a species of commercial and maritime parliament, consisting" of merchants and ship-owners, deputies from the principal maritime towns, to whose opinion and autho* rity so much influence was given, that there is even an instance of a convoy duty having been imposed with the advice of the prelates, nobles, and community of merchants of the maritime towns. These deputies assembled in the metropolis to deliberate and advise ; and, as a new and powerful impulse was given to commerce and navigation at this epoch, it was probably owing to their councils and deliberations. The earliest date recorded of the summon- ing of one of these naval councils, is the 12th of February, 1341, 15th Edward III., when we find a writ issued to the bailiffs and honest men of the town of Poole, directing them to prepare and furnish with men and ammunition, for war against the king's enemies, all the vessels of the said port of sixty tons and upwards; and commanding them also to send one of the most substantial and discreet men of the town, to the king, at Westminster, to be there on the Monday after Midlent Sunday, then next ensuing, to give information to the king and his council, touching the array of the said fleet, and to take such further orders as might be then deemed fit for the repulse of the enemies of the kingdom^. A similar council was convened in the following year, when a writ, dated April 15, 16th Edward III., was directed to the bailiffs of Poole, to the effect that the king, being desirous of taking the advice and counsel of the mariners and merchants of his kingdom, in instant council, on divers difficult business, specially touching his majesty and the state of his kingdom of England, — * Similar writs were forwarded to the following towns, with directions to send to the council the number of persons annexed : — Great Yarmouth, Gosford, Lynn, Winchelsea, Southampton, Plymouth, Dartmouth, Bristol, Kingston-upon-llull, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sandwich, — 2 each. Ipswich, Dover, If ye, Hastings, Weymouth, St. Botolph, Falmouth, Pevensey, Seaford, Shoreham, Hoke, Exmoufh, Teigrimouth, Fowcy, Kaveiioeie, Little Yar- mouth,—! each.— [Eymer, ii, pt. ii, p. 1150.] bb GENERAL HISTORY. commanded the said bailiffs to cause two of the better and more discreet of the sea-faring" men of their town, to come to Westminster, to give their counsel and advice on those matters, and to do what the king and council might see fit to order in that behalf. *fc In the year 1344, a third council was summoned with the like intent, a writ, dated on the 6th February, being directed to the bailiffs of the town of Poole, commanding them to cause one " of the more sufficient men of the said town, and having the greater knowledge of the state of the ship- ping" of the kingdom, to attend at London, on the Monday after Midlent ensuing, " to give information to us and our council then and there assembled, on divers matters, touching the said shipping, and to do further what, by God ? s grace, may then and there be ordered, touching the same-f-." Attention was now given to maritime affairs as of high importance, in consequence of the three years' truce between England and France, which commenced in * "Rexballivis suis villa) de Pole. " Quia super arduis negociis, nos et statum regni liostri Anglise specialiter con- ccrneutibus, habere volumus avisamentum et concilium marinariorum et hominum maritirnorum ejusdem regni, in instanto concilio nostro quod apud Westm', ad diem Luna? proximo post festum sancti Marci Evangelistae proximo futurum, fecimus summoneri ; " Vobis mandamus firmiter injuugentes, quod venire faciatis duos de melioribus ct discretioribus homiuibus marinariis, villa? pra^dictse, apud Westm' ad diem predictum, vel infra duos dies proximo sequentes, consilium et avisamentum suum super pramissis impensuri, et facturi quod per nos et concilium nostrum contigerit ordinari in liac parte. " Ethoc, sicut nos et bonorem nostrum, ac salvationem dicto regni nostri diligitis, et vos ipsos erga nos indempnes servare volueritis, nullo modo omittatis." Similar writs were sent to the following ports, westward of the mouth of the Thames : — "London, It off', Maydenstone, Faversham, Sandwich', Dovorr', Hethc, Romney, Rye, Wynchelse, Dertemuth', Plummuth', Loo, Hastyng', Pevenese, Seford, Shorham, Suthainpton', Weymuth, Melcombe, Lym, Exon, Fowy and Polruan, Bristoll'." — [Rymer, ii, pt. ii, p. 1PJ3.] t Similar writs were issued to the authorities of the following ports to send the number of men annexed : — Great Yarmouth, London, — i each. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Kingston-upon-Hull, St. Eotolph, Lynn, Ipswich, Sand- wich, Dover, Winchelsea, Chichester, Southampton, Exeter, Dartmouth, Plymouth, Bristol,— 2 each. Scarborough, Ravensrode, Grimsby, Dunwich, Colchester, Harwich, Orford, Maldon, Rye, Hastings; Gosford, Wainileet, Lyme, Seaford, Portsmouth, St. Helen, Melcombe, Pevensey, Romney, Exmouth, Falmouth, Sidmouth, Barnstaple, Wey- mouth, Ravcnsere, Blackney, Sborcham,— 1 each. — [Rymer, iii, pt. i, p. 4.] GENERAL HISTORY. 87 1-343, and was employed by both monarchs in preparing for hostilities at its termination. Both looked to their naval means. The resources of England were not vet so available for maritime as for military service : the feudal system had made no provision for it, and the tenure upon which the sea ports held their privileges was too irregular, and felt to be too partial in its operation to be duly complied with. The king frequently found difficulty in procuring obedience to his orders. The complaint made by the maritime places was, that the keeping of the seas, though being for the general good, was not at the general cost; and that it ought to be at the king's charge, not at that of a part of the community. That this complaint was not made without a practical grievance, will appear from the circumstance, — not an unfrequent one, — that in ]342, writs, issued to the bailiffs of Poole, and of other ports, directed them to cause " all owners, masters, and mariners," of their town, to bring " all their ships, well furnished, to Portsmouth," by a certain day, to transport to Brittany the forces under the command of the earl of Northampton. At the council, or naval parliament, as it might almost be termed, convened in 1344, it will be seen that representatives were summoned from many more places than on the former convocations. None of the proceedings, however, have been recorded. The measures adopted by Edward to improve the naval resources of the kingdom, were not altogether fruitless, as is shewn by the extent of the fleet with which he invaded Calais, in 1347-8. To this fleet Poole furnished 4 ships, manned with 94 mariners."^ * In the roll of king Edward's fleet at the siege of Calais, in the Cotton Library, (Tib. F. iii, 8,) and in Hackluyt's Collection of Voyages, pt. i, p. 118, copied from the king's wardrobe, we find the following proportion between the number of ships furnished by Poole and other ports : — Weymouth 20 ships 264 mariners or according to Hackluyt 15 263 Poole . 4 94 Lyme 4 . .»—. 62 Wareham 3 ..... 59 88 GENERAL HISTORY. It is stated by Speed and Holinshed, that Poole was made a garrison by Edward III., during his memorable wars with France. From the destructive pestilence that devastated Europe about this time, the town of Poole was one of the first to suffer, it being- on the coast of Dorset that that fearful calamity was brought into the kingdom. This pestilence, which was as general and fatal as any recorded in history, we first dis- cover in the empire of Cathai : thence we may trace its progress through different provinces of Asia, to the delta and the banks of the Nile : a south wind transported it into Greece and the Grecian islands : from which it swept the coasts of the Mediterranean, depopulated Italy, and crossed the barrier of the Alps into France. In 1348, " the seventh yeare after it beganne (we quote Stowe, 245), it came into England, and first beganne in the townes and portes joyning on the sea coasts, in Dorsetshire, where, even as in other countries, it made the countrey quite voyde of inhabi- tants, so that there were almost none left alive." It passed into Devonshire and Somersetshire, and finally spread over all England. This plague came in the midst of great prosperity, and is supposed to have been more destructive than any pestilence that has visited the world before or since. Of its victims many expired in the course of six hours, and few lingered more than two or three days, Bristol 22 ships 608 mariners Portsmouth 5 96 London 25 662 Plymouth 26 603 — ^- Seton \ 2 25 Sidmouth 3 62 The fleet was divided into the north and south fleets; the former consisting of 217 sail, and 4521 men ; the latter of 493 sail, and 9630 men. Total 710 sail, 14,151 men. There were also 38 foreign ships, in which one from Ireland was included ; the others were 15 from Bayonne, 7 from Spain, 14 from Flanders, and 1 from Guelderland. The men onboard these foreigners amounted to 805. With the exception of Bristol and London, the ships from Poole must have been larger than those from any other place specified above, carrying on the average up- wards of 23 mariners ; those from Weymouth, 13; Lyme, 15; Wareham, 19 ; Ports- mouth, 19; Bristol, 27; London, 26; Plymouth, 23; Seton, 12; Sidmouth, 20. The Poole ships also exceeded the aveiage of the whole fleet ; that average giving but 20 mariners to each vessel. GENERAL HISTORY. 89 From man the exterminating malady extended to the brute creation; the carcases of sheep, horses, and oxen lay scat- tered in the fields. The labours of husbandry were neg- lected ; no courts of justice were opened ; the parliament was repeatedly prorogued by proclamation; and men, intent only on their own safety, fled from the care of the infected, and slighted every call of honour, duty, and hu- manity. When historians tell us "that scarce the tenth person of all sorts was left alive," we may suspect them of some exaggeration ; but it is easy to form some idea of the mortality, from the fact that all the cemetries in London were soon filled ; that sir Walter Manny purchased for a burial place, a field of thirteen acres, where the charter house now stands; and that the bodies deposited in it luring several weeks amounted to the daily average of two hundred. A similar appropriation of a field to this purpose is stated to have taken place at Poole, where a spot on the projecting slip of land, at Baiter, is still pointed out as the burial ground for the victims of the plague. The extent to which this pestilence prevailed in England, and the dread with which its ravages were apprehended by those whose means would permit their endeavours to fly from so direful an enemy, are pictured in a writ ad- dressed by the king to the bailiffs of Poole, and to the authorities of many other sea-ports, reciting that a consi- derable part of the population of the kingdom had died of the pestilence; that the treasury was almost exhausted; that the king understood that very many daily went abroad with all the money they could collect; that he feared, if such departure were tolerated, that the kingdom would soon be destitute as well of inhabitants as of money ; that he wished to prevent the danger that threatened those who travelled in foreign parts, and to provide for the safety of the king- dom and the people; and commanding, therefore, the bailiffs, that they allow no one, of whatever state or con- dition, to depart from the kingdom, without a special order N 90 GENERAL HISTORY. from the king*, unless such person were a merchant, a notary, or a known messenger^. The consequences of the mortality are carefully detailed by the contemporary writers. At first the reduction in the number of consumers effected a proportionate reduction in the price of all mer- chantable articles. But famine, the usual attendant of great pestilence, closely followed ; and in the second year the prices rose with a rapidity and to a height which alarmed the government. The charter of William Monteacute, granted in the year 1370, bestowed several important additional privileges on the inhabitants of Poole. In the commencement of the fifteenth century, this town suffered from a piratical invasion, in consequence of its connection with one of the celebrated naval leaders of that time ; and it may be interesting to record some particulars connected with this event. Henry Paye, who during the latter part of the fourteenth, and the commencement of the fifteenth centuries, took a prominent part in the naval transactions of the kingdom, had possessions in Poole, where he resided, and of which place, in all probability, he was a native. He was associ- ated with lord Berkeley in the command of the fleet of the cinque ports, at the time in which those celebrated ports were in the meridian of their power and authority. He was a man of great valour and enterprise, and the above fleet, when under his command, was very successful against the French, and in quelling the Welch revolt in favour of Owen Glendower. . His conquests were so numerous, that after one expedition, he brought home from the coast of Bretagne, 120 prizes, laden with iron, salt, oil, andRochelle salt. The " Cronica del Conde D. Pero Nino*' speaks of him as " a knight who scours the seas, as a corsair, with many ships, plundering all the Spanish and French vessels that he could meet with. This Arripay (for so has the R3 mer, iii, pt. 1, p. 191. GENERAL HISTORT. 91 worthy chronicler hispaniolized the name of Harry Paye*^) came often upon the coast of Castile, and carried away many ships and barks ; and he scoured the channel of Flanders so powerfully, that no vessel could pass that way without being taken. This Arripay burnt Gijon and Finisterra, and carried off the crucifix from Santa Maria de Finisterra, which was famous as being the holiest in all those parts, (as in truth it was, for I have seen it,) and much more damage he did in Castile, taking many pri- soners, and exacting ransoms; and though other armed ships came there also from England, he it was who came oftenest-J-." The vigour and activity with which Paye carried on the irregular and somewhat piratical system of warfare pursued in that day, had inspired the enemies of the kingdom with a o-allina" dread of his name and a detestation of any thing connected with him ; and it is more to a personally vindictive feeling towards him, and to a desire of retaliation for the conquests he had effected, than to merely national hostility, may be traced the attack in 1406, from which Poole suffered severely, and which is the subject of the following' relation. In 1405, the French king applied to the king of Castile, Henrique III., for naval aid. That monarch ordered forty ships to be got ready with all speed, and to be aided with three galleys in Santander, appointing Martin Ruiz de Abendano to the command of the former, and Pero Nino to that of the latter. In consequence of some error, the gal- leys set sail without the ships, and proceeded to Rochelle, under the command of Pero Nino, afterwards Conde de Buelna, who is described as a man of high birth, and who had previouslv distinguished himself by his services in the * This instance of the amusing corruption of an English name is not a singular one ; and a similar mutation recorded about the same time may be quoted as an illus- tration. Sir John Rawkwood, an Englishman, who had served eminently in the wars against France, under the banners of Edward III., on their expiration, entered with several others into the service of the Italian states, when we find that contemporary writers converted his appellation into " Aucud" or "Agutus." + Cronica del Conclc D. Pero Nino, pt. ii, c. 25, 26.— Southey, Nav: Hist: ii. 27. 92 GENERAL HISTORY. Mediterranean. At Rochelle, the galleys were joined by two shallops, having" French archers and arbalisters on board, and by a French knight, with two galleys. This person, who is called in the chronicle of Pero Nino, Mosen Charles de Sabasil, was the Sieur de Seignelai, Charles de Savoisy, who had been brought up with Charles VI., and held the office of first chamberlain and chief cupbearer, and who, having been disgraced at court, took to the seas for the love of enterprise, and proposed to join company with Pero Nino, and try their fortune upon the English coast. After meeting with some adventures, in which their mode of proceeding betokened something like a piratical spirit of plunder, they reached the coast of Cornwall, and proceeded eastward along the coast, occasionally landing for the purpose of capture and plunder. On coming into the neighbourhood of Poole harbour, Pero Nino no sooner heard that he was near " Arripay V place of abode, than he determined to return the visits which that corsair, as he deemed him, had paid to the Spanish coast. Accordingly they entered the harbour, and came at day-break in sight of Poole. The town was not walled ; and the chronicler says there was a handsome tower with a cupola. Here the French commander thought it would be rash to attempt a landing; and when the Spaniard, as if the honour of his country required him to take some vengeance here, per- sisted in his purpose, Mosen Charles forbade any of his people to land with him. The Spaniards landed under the command of.Pero's kinsman, Fernando Nino, with orders not to encumber themselves with plunder, but to plant their banner before the place, and set the houses on fire. One large building was maintained awhile against them; but when, after a stout resistance, they forced an entrance, the defendants escaped at the back part ; and here the invaders found arms and sea stores of all kinds : they carried off what they could, and then set the store- house on fire. By this time, the English had collected, in GENERAL HISTORY. 93 some force, archers and men at arms ; and having put themselves in array, they came so near, says the chronicler, that it might well be seen who was of a ruddy complexion, and who of a dark one. They had taken the doors out of the houses, which they contrived, by means of supports, to place before them as pavaises, to protect them against the cross-bow shot. Under this cover, the archers kept up a brisk discharge with such effect that the arbalisters dared not expose themselves while they stooped to charge their arbalists. Many were wounded, and those whose armour protected them, are described as fledged with arrows. Pero Nino, seeing his people in danger, and that they were beginning' to fall back, landed with the rest of his men; and the French then, notwithstanding their pre- vious determination, hastened with all speed, like brave men, to support him. He set up the cry of " Santiago ! Santiago V and the English, who, even bv their enemies' account, fought right well, were at length compelled to retreat, leaving among the slain, a brother of Arripay's, a gallant man of arms, who distinguished himself by his great exertions before he fell. The enemy having secured some prisoners, retired to their vessels, and proceeded towards Southampton"^. The particulars gathered relative to this attack, comprise several points of utility in regard to the present enquirv. Poole was evidently, at that period, a place of some im- portance and strength, for although thus attacked bv surprise at daybreak by a hostile force of no mean power, the inhabitants made so sturdy a resistance that the enemy only records the capture of the contents of one storehouse, and a few prisoners. The main object was far from having been fully accomplished. That the force was not con- temptible is clear from the fact, that the squadron fitted out by order of the Castilian monarch was most liberallv pro- vided. It was manned with the ablest men who could be Cronica del Conde D. Tcro Nino, pt ii, c. 27.— Southey, Nav : Hist: ii, 29. 94 GENERAL HISTORY. found, either as soldiers or sailors; and money was not forgotten. The account also evidences that the old church and tower with a cupola had been previously erected ; but that the wall which surrounded the seaward side of the town, was of a subsequent date. The large building that was sacked and set on fire, was probably that since known as the town cellar. In the reign of Henry VI., Poole flourished greatly beneath the genial influence of courtly favour; owing, probably, much of the attention then bestowed on it, to the circumstance of the manor being' then vested in the con- nections of the monarch. Thus it was, doubtless, through the good disposition of the regent, Bedford, towards his good burgesses of Poole, that they obtained the letters patent, issued in the 11th year of that reign, under the authority of parliament. By this grant, Poole was elevated to be a port of the staple, and we find mention therein made of the insufficiency of the port of Melcomb, and also " how notable our town and port of Poole is inhabited, and the great multitude of people there is there." The inhabi- tants were authorised under this grant to fortify their town. The fortifications raised in consequence of this licence, appear to have been a wall and an embattled gate of stone, erected on the north of the town, which were frequently repaired, and ultimately rased on the restoration of the Stuarts, by order of Charles II., in pursuance of that policy, which had learnt from the valuable lessons of experience, how dangerous to absolutism was the power which fortified towns placed in the hands of disaffected subjects. The progress of alteration and improvement has long removed all trace of this wall ; but, until within the last few years the fosse with which it was protected, and which ran across the narrow isthmus at that side of the town, was distinctly traceable at either end : a short time will suffice to make its site a matter merely of tradition and history. A wall was also erected on the seaward GENERAL HISTORY. 95 side of the town, which, we are told by Leland, was commenced by Richard III. Of this, at the time in which that topographer wrote, there were remaining but a small embattled gate and some of an embattled wall. This gate and a portion of the wall are still in existence, crossing a narrow lane, known as St. Clement's alley, near the quay, and may be traced westward through several stores. This monarch also, in the 31st year of his reign, 1453, granted by charter to the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and inhabitants of Poole, licence to hold a market on Thurs- days, and two fairs annually, one on the feast of St. Philip and St. James and seven davs folio wins', the other on All Souls' day and seven days following. Under this charter these fairs were free marts ; freedom from purveyance and from arrest, and a court of pied-poudre were granted. Richard III., we are told, considerably countenanced this place, and, in addition to the share borne by him in the erection of the town wall, he " promised large thinges to the town of Pooled." The usurper was probably in- duced to this course by a desire to improve those posses- sions which he appropriated to the advancemeut of his own revenues, on enforcing the confinement of the unfor- tunate Edward Plantao-enet. Henry, earl of Richmond, in prosecution of his claim to the crown of England, sailed from St. Malo, on the 12th of October, 1483, with forty ships and a force of five thousand men, designing to make a descent on the western coast of England, where his partisans were then in arms, arrangements having been made for a general insurrection on his arrival. In the attempt to cross the channel, however, his fleet was dispersed by a violent storm that arose, and most of his vessels were compelled to put back ; but the earl's ship, weathering the tempest, arrived off Poole harbour. He found the coast lined with Leland, Itin. iii, 69. 96 GENERAL HISTORY. men, but whether friends or foes, he could not satisfactorily determine. The intended revolt had been discovered by Richard, who, previously to the arrival of the earl, had succeeded in crushing the rising" in embryo, had taken and beheaded the duke of Buckingham, and dispersed the rest of the confederates. The forces of Richard appointed to guard the coasts had, therefore, instructions not to oppose the landing of Richmond, but to make signals to encou- rage him to leave his vessel ; and if he sent for intelligence, to pretend they were posted there by the duke of Buck- ingham to receive him. The earl, however, was too cautious to be entrapped by an artifice, which, if successful, would have thrown him entirely into the power of his relentless enemy. On his sending a boat to the shore with a communication, it returned with an answer which he mis- trusted, and as no other portion of his fleet arrived within sight, he " weighed up his anchor, halsed up his sails, and having a prosperous and streinable wind, and a fresh gale, sent even by God to deliver him from that peril, arrived safe in Normandy." $£ The tempest, which dispersed his fleet, had been his preservation ; for if he had effected a landing after the failure of Buckingham, the fortunes of the Tudors would, in all human likelihood, never have obtained that ascendant which brought with it to the nation so much evil and so much greater good. The issue of the field of Bosworth prevented the realiza- tion of the promises made to Poole by Richard III. ; and it would seem that his successor regarded with no partial eye a place favoured by his opponent, and at which he was himself so nearlv made the victim of stratagem : and we find accordingly, that throughout the reign of Henry VII., Poole is little mentioned, and suffered a temporary declen- sion. The duration of its commercial decline was, however, but brief; and its former course of gradual prosperity was recovered in the following reign. The privileges conceded * Holinshed, 419. GENERAL HISTORY. 97 to the town bv the charters of other monarchs, had probably- fallen somewhat into desuetude, and they were all con- firmed by a charter granted in the 3rd Henry VIII, This kins', from the commencement of his reign, entertained intentions of instituting 1 hostilities with France, and therefore gave much attention to the defence of the southern coast ; and privileges were granted to many ports with a view of inducing the inhabitants to undertake defensive plans. It is likely that this confirmation of the ancient privileges of Poole was made that it might operate as such an inducement : and as the hostilities between England and France had not terminated in the 12th year of Henry's reig-n, it is fair to attribute to a similar motive, a royal grant then made to the burgesses and inhabitants of Poole, specially licensing them to purchase as much wood as they might need from theroval forests in Hampshire and Sussex, and to convey the same without let, disturbance, or contra-* diction. In the 18th year of Henry VIII., Sept. 4, 1526, by a charter from the lord high admiral of England, the ancient exempt admiralty jurisdiction of this port was confirmed. A grant, sanctioned by authority of parliament, was made, 34th Henry VIII., 1542, licensing the mayor, burgesses, and inhabitants of the town and port of Poole, to erect, make, frame, and set up at, in, and upon the king's waste ground and common* within the said town called Bayter, in a place there most requisite and convenient, at their proper costs and charges, one good and sufficient wind* mill to serve the said town and port, and the burgesses and inhabitants of the same; and to take and have one hundred feet of assize square of the said waste ground for a convex nient hill to be made to set one windmill upon : and also like liberty and license to set one conduit head at Totnam, within the king's waste ground, without the said town of Poole, taking and having sixteen feet of assize square of • Tiie manor was at this time vested in the crown. 98 GENERAL HISTORY. the same ground for the situation of the same conduit head, for the conveying' of fresh water for the serving of the said town, and to have also like free liberty to dig and draw in, by, through, and upon all places and ways thereunto most meet and convenient, with free course and recourse unto and from the same at all times hereafter for ever, yielding and paying therefor yearly to the king, his heirs and successors, one pepper-corn, if it be asked for. A well at Tatnam had been used and kept in repair by the town previously to this grant, as appears from an entry in an old book of accounts, from which we learn that in 1540, the corporation made a payment " for the labour of two men to dig* about the well at Totnam." But after the issue of this grant, the well was greatly improved and en- larged, as under the date of June, 1545, we find entered, " Ther was pd. to Mr. Notherell towards the condyte, xiiijVz'." In ancient times the inhabitants of Poole served a beacon at Worbarrow, in the isle of Purbeck. Beacons were for- merly established along the coast as signals for the better securing the kingdom from foreign invasion. They gene- rally consisted of long poles, whereon were fastened pitch barrels to be fired by night, and to smoke by day, to give notice in a few hours to the whole kingdom of an approach- ing invasion. They were erected under the king's author- ity, by commissioners appointed under the great seal, who had also power to assess the adjoining hundreds for the maintenance of each beacon, and the keeping a needful watch in the time of danger. The duty of watching was imposed on the inhabitants possessed of certain substance, and who generally performed this duty vicariously, by " hoblers," men mounted on light horses, who remained at the station to give notice to the country on any alarm or the approach of an enemy. In an old manuscript, in the possession of the corporation, dated 1544, is a list of " all ther namys that of owlde tyme have been acustomyd and GENERAL HISTORY. 99 owght to fynd hoblers to kepe the watche, in the tyme of warre, att the bekon callyd Werybarowe." After this follow lists of the hoblers who kept watch, &c. in the years 1513, 1540, 1543, and 1544. When Philip and Mary, in conjunction with Spain, had entered into hostilities against France, measures were taken to put the south coast in a state of defence, so as to repel the threatened attempts at invasion by the enemy; and accordingly we find the following letter addressed by the lords of the privy council, "to our lovyng frynds the maior and his brethren of the towne of Poole," dated March 2, 1557-8. " After our ryghte harty comendacions all be hyt we dowght not but you knowing that the enemy practisyth bv all wayes and menes the anoyaunce and hurt of all the quenes ma ies good subiects spesially upp° the sea costs will forese and have vigilant eye to the securtie and defense of your selfes and that towne eyt have we towght good too put yow in remembrans thereof and there vvyth to requier vowr assembljcg yourselues together to call such others before yow as be resyant and dwellyng w th in the p'syncts of your lyberteis and to tak order for the kepyng mannvng and strenghtheing of your fort and towne ther as may oest seme for the defense of the same and your selves and such as shalbe obstynat and refuse (as whe thynke ther wilbe none) to be contributors ther vnto resonaoully for his porcion whe will yow to s'tefy vs therof ande so bynde them in obligacion to aper before vs to anns' the same this fare ye well from the corte the second of M'ch. a 1557." — Signed by Winchester, T. Sussex, Pembroke, Anthony Montagve, F. Clyntton, Edward Hastings, T. Darcy, Rutland. It appears, from the charter granted to the town in the 10th year of the reign of Elizabeth, that this place at that time laboured under one of those temporary depressions to which commercial towns have always been peculiarly sub- ject, and which a state of almost continued warfare and trouble would naturallv induce; and the observations of L.oFC. 100 GENERAt HISTORY. Camden and Coker^ on this subject are in part confirmed by the testimony of the official record. The grant of this charter constitutes the most important event in the political history of the town. It invested Poole with the dignity, and endowed it with the privileges, of a county corporate, and by the careful attention which it bestowed on the en- couragement of commercial transactions, gave a vigour and permanence to the footing which the port thenceforth assumed. During the sixteenth and the early part of the seventeenth centuries, a very considerable trade in beer was carried on between this town and the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, which were supplied with that beverage from hence. Reference to this trade is found in the proceedings between the earl of Huntingdon and the town in 1610; and we find previously a course of protracted litigation between some of the brewers and the corporation, who claimed a duty on the beer brewed in the town. In these contests, one Nich- olas Curry appears to have performed the part of agitator- in-chief. He was one of those unsettled and turbulent characters, of which almost every town in every age fur- nishes some sort of specimen, who, — partly from a love of notoriety, partly from the influence of discontented feelings, which seek to inoculate society with their own disease, and still more, perhaps, from an indulgence of rankling envy, — ■ are ever found resisting authority, and stimulating amongst the mass of the population, a spirit of dissatisfaction, of restlessness, and contentious opposition. In the possession of such a spirit, Poole appears not to have been deficient at any period of which record has come down to our time : and Nicholas Curry had little difficulty in exciting it into action. It appears that the ancient revenues of the corporation not having been sufficient for the necessary ex- penditure, an order was obtained from the privy council, /, Mary, authorizing the inhabitants to assemble together Camden, Brit : Dorsit.—Cokcr, Dorsrt, 8.3. GENERAL HISTORY. 101 for the purpose of levying such local taxes as might be most convenient ; in consequence of which it was agreed to levy an impost upon beer brewed by the common brew- ers, to the amount of 4s. a brewlock^, being about Id. a kilderkin. In the reign of Elizabeth, a complaint was made to the privy council by a portion of the inhabitants, styling themselves "the inhabitants and poor commons," alleging that the corporation had laid upon them grievous taxations and exactions, whereof they affirmed they had praved to be relieved, or else to be suffered to make their provisions elsewhere, which the corporation refused, and made benefit thereof to themselves, and did not employ it to any good purpose, or to the reparation of any de- cayed place or defence ; and also they complained of a new charge upon meal and other grain ; and further charged the corporation with having imprisoned the said com- plainants, either for complaining to any others, or without any cause or offence. The corporation, in their answer to this complaint* stated that the town being an ancient port and well replenished with ships and mariners, so the havens, ditches, walls, church, quay, and other places were very chargeable to be kept in repair, towards the defray- ing whereof and the common burthens of the town, they (the corporation) had not above £12 yearly rent, which was insufficient to defray the charge even of the necessary officers of the town ; which having been considered by the council of the late queen Mary, it had been ordered that the inhabitants should assemble and make such taxes as might be thought meet to defray the said charges ; that in compliance with this order, the mayor, burgesses, and commonalty assembled, and finding the estate of the in- habitants to be very poor in ability, as they still continued, and therefore not able to raise any tax upon merchandize, as they had been accustomed to do, and considering what * "Brewlock'' — bbaunum, — a brewing: the whole quantify brewed at one time; for which, in many manors, toll was paid, 102 GENERAL HISTORY. great charges they had been at in procuring necessary fuel as well for the brewers as the other inhabitants, without any charge unto them, the corporation thought it most convenient to impose a tax upon such as should buy beer of the common brewers of the town, not exceeding four shil- lings on every brewlock, containing three tuns of beer or thereabouts, being after the rate of one penny a kilderkin, which was the only tax imposed upon the inhabitants, and had been applied to the repairing of the havens, &c. ; they denied that they had refused the inhabitants leave to make their provisions elsewhere ; and, as to the tax on meal"^, they alleged that it had been willingly paid by the millers and others frequenting the market with grain, in considera- tion of having a market house provided for their accom- modation by the corporation ; they also denied the charge of imprisonment, and complained that some of the inha- bitants had of late contemned the magistracy and govern- ment of the town. The " inhabitants and poor commons" put in a reply to this which is remarkable but for its quaintness. The consequence of these proceedings was that a commission was issued by the privy council, directed to George Trenchard, Thomas Hanam, George Turberville, and Richard Sidwaye, esquires. These commissioners repaired to Poole, Feb. 21, 1582, and having heard both parties and their witnesses, came to a determination to repeal all former taxations, as well on beer as on meal, and to the end that the town debts might be satisfied, with all necessary charges for the provision and maintenance of the town, haven, quay, walls, &c, it was adjudged that all brewers of beer or ale within the town and persons bring- ing ale or beer into the town should pay one penny per kilderkin; and that to defray the expenses incurred in building the market-house, a general contribution should be forthwith equally levied on the inhabitants. The order * This tax was three quarters of a wine pint on every bushel of grain or meal. At that time a pitched corn market was held in the town. GENERAL HISTORV. 103 of the commissioners was confirmed by the privy council, Dec. 17, 1584 : and a further confirmation was made in 1585. But notwithstanding this, Nicholas Curry and others refused to obey the order, and had divers tumultuous proceedings in resistance thereof; on which the council again interfered, and ordered the mayor and his brethren to apprehend the said Curry and others and keep them in custody until they should conform. In the corporation records are many entries of the compositions between the brewers and the corporation, by which the former agreed to pay a fixed sum per the brewlock, instead of one penny the kilderkin. This duty appears to have been paid up to 1694. A commission for a general muster of the town of Poole having been issued in 1573, a census of the population was taken by Robert Nicholas and Dennis Howse, constables, in May, 1574, and is still preserved, from which we are enabled to institute a comparison between the relative im- portance of the town in regard to the population of the kingdom at that time, and its present position in that re- spect. By the above census, it appears that the total number of inhabitants was 1373, of whom 165 were householders and under-tenants. The population of Eng- land about this time appears, from a loose sort of census taken in 1588, to have been about 4,400,000 ; so that the population of Poole, as compared with that of all England, was as 1 to 3204 ; whilst, by the census of 1836, the popu- lation of the town, subjected to the same comparison, was as 1 to 2026. This census of 1574 was doubtless taken partly with a view to the more efficient manning of Brownsea castle, as one of the many measures adopted to put the south coast in a state of strength, in preparation for the hostilities with which the kingdom was threatened ; for at the end of the general census is a list of 116 names of those " that are to attend to svrve at the castell of Brown- sea/' To this census is also added a list of the owners of 104 GENERAL HISTORY. ships and ballingers belonging' to the town, together with the names of such ships and ballingers, twenty in number. It likewise gives an account of thirteen poor people in the alms house, and six in the alms house in west street. Throughout the reign of Elizabeth, she was careful in attending to the state of the ports, and encouraging and securing navigation ; and, under her auspices, by the wisdom of her councillors and the gallantry and talents of the brave naval heroes who gave such lustre and renown to her sway, the navy and the commerce of the kingdom made rapid progress towards that proud pre-eminence they have so long occupied amongst nations. With other measures adopted with this view, strenuous efforts were made to repress those piratical expeditions which the mariners of all nations down to that time had been too wont to undertake. In 1577-8, a commission under the great seal was issued, directed to the mayor of Poole, William marquis of Winchester, Thomas viscount Howard of Bindon, sir Henry Ashley, sir Matthew Arrundell, sir John Horsey, sir John Yonge, the recorder of Poole, George Trencher, and William Hussey, esquires ; — reciting that divers ill disposed persons had of late in sundry vessels and ships frequented the seas upon the coasts of the realm, robbing and spoiling honest quiet merchants and others, which pirates were victualled and furnished by per- sons residing near or within the havens, creeks, or landing places of the realm, taking the stolen goods of the pirates in exchange ; — appointing the above commissioners to pre- vent such enormities being used in the havens, creeks, and landing places of the town of Poole ; — directing them to choose honest, discreet, and trusty persons, dwelling within or near every of the said havens, creeks, and landing places of the said town, for the purpose of such preven- tion ; to repair once every month to such havens, &c, to ascertain how the deputies performed their duties ; — and empowering them to issue precepts to the sheriff to empannel GENERAL HISTORY. 105 juries to try offenders. A similar commission was issued in 1593, directed to the mayor of the town, Giles Escourt, esq., recorder, William Newman, William Green, John Rogers, and William Dyker, with additional power to rig, arm, furnish, array, and set forth any ship or ships, bark or barks, or other vessel, for arresting and apprehending the pirates and rovers, and to try them. In 1584, Dec. 28, a commission was sent down to the port of Poole, from the lords of the privy council, directed to the mayor and others, and instructing them to allow no person to pass out of or into the realm, unless upon due examination ; to take bonds of the masters and owners of ships that they would not convey unlicensed passengers ; and to arrest suspected persons. This commission appears to have been fully acted upon ; many proceedings con- sequent thereon are recorded; and many letters are preserved that passed between the council and the com- missioners. In the following year a general embargo was laid upon shipping, which was the occasion of Nicholas Curry again acting a conspicuous part. A complaint was made against him of stirring up the people to resist the orders of the mayor and council of the town ; and he was afterwards apprehended on suspicion of an intention to visit the dominions of the king of Spain, but was liberated on parole. The orders in council issued about this time for the restraint of shipping gave rise to a question of disputed jurisdiction between the authorities of Poole and the officers of the vice-admiral of Dorset: and these disputes led, in one instance, to an unfortunate collision, attended with loss of life. On the 4th of February, 1589, an order was issued by the lord high admiral of England " for the staye of all shippinge within the ports and uppon the sea costs of this realme in respect of some speciall syrvice to be donne, as shall hereafter appeare;" and the vice-admirals of the maritime counties were accordingly commanded "to make 106 GENERAL HISTORY. staye and to contynewe the restrainte of all such- shippes^ barcks, and other serviseable vessels as are or shalbe founde within the havens and ports of their severall jurisdictions ;■ and in casse there shalbe any vessells fraighted and laden readye to go forthe in short voiages, and maye retorne before the first of Marche next, upon signification from the said vice admiralles made by their letters to the privy council or the lord admirall of the burden and qualytye of the shippes, to whom they appartayne, and to what places they are bounde, consideracion shalbe hade to lycence them to p 'forme ther pretendid voyadge so as they may return before the daye prefixed." In pursuance of these instructions, Francis Hawley, esq., vice-admiral for the countv of Dorset, then residing 1 at Corfe Castle, sent the following warrant to the officers at Poole : — " By vertue of the late restraynte this present daye recevyd bearinge the tenor of the firste and with more vehemency from theLo. Admyrall and the reste of my 11. of here ma ies most honorable cownsell, and for as much as I hold it good for the better execucion thereof, that as well your towne and countye of Poole as the castell be admo- nyshede thereof, I doo therfore chardge you and in here ma ies name requyere you and everye of you that you suffer not any barcke, shippe, or vessell, whatsoever, or whence soever to passe owt your porte, other then in small vessells from porte to porte onlye within this realme, and that uppon good bands before taken in here ma ies costom howsse ther of the m r and owner of any sudie vessell, and if in any casse vou shall fynd cawse why, then doo I by vertewe of the aforesayde requyer you to take away the saylles of all suche shippes, barcks, and vessells, which you shall suspecte, and so making no doubt that you or any of you in regarde of the greate importance will faylle in the p'misses I bid you hartelye farewell. From the castell of CorfFe, in haste, the x th of Februarye, 1589. Your very lovynge ffrynde, Fra. Hawley." "To my worshipfuil freends the mayor, costomer, and other her ma ties officers in Poole." GENERAL HISTORY* 107 The officers of Poole, on receiving this warrant, gave to Walter Meryatt, owner and master of the bark, ' Bountiful Gift/ license to sail for London, and with the view of securing a safe passage by Brownsea castle, then occupied by Walter Partridge, under the orders of Mr. Hawley, the following* warrant was sent to Partridge, by the hands of Meryatt : — " Thes are to let you to understande that the bearer hereof, Walter Meryatt, m r of a barcke callyd the Bountifull Gyfte, bound for London, laden with coperos for Mr. Phillipe Svnythe hath entered into bande here to dis- chardge ytt at London. Thes are to praye you to p'mitt here to passe withowt any your lette or molestacions. From Poole, this xi th of Februarye, 1589. Richard Sidwaye, coll. Nicholas Symson, comtro. Robert Gregorye, sercner." * ; To the goonner att the castell of Bro-\vnseye." On reaching the castle, this warrant was presented to Partridge, who disputed its sufficiency and refused to allow the vessel to pass unless with the production of a license under the hand of Mr. Hawley. Meryatt, however, attempted to pass, and two shots were fired at his vessel from the castle, the second of which struck her between wind and water, and so severely wounded Meryatt and one of his men, William Drake, that they died within a few hours. At an inquest held on the bodies before the coroners for the town and county of Poole, a verdict of wilful murder was returned against Walter Partridge, who was tried at an admiralty court, held at Corfe Castle, when, as we learn from an old record, he " was condemnyd of manslawter, and hee could not have the benyfytt of his booke to saff his lvff, becawsse of a statut that is, that any matter of fellony doonn uppon the sea, he cannot have his booke." Whether, being thus denied the benefit of clergy, the convict was executed, or w r hether he was pardoned, does not appear. 108 GENERAL HISTORY* Before this transaction, there appear to have been re- peated disputes between Partridge and the people of Poole, as to the right of conveying passengers to and from the north and south havens*^ When Elizabeth assisted the states of the Low Countries in their hostilities with Spain, Poole was the port of embarka- tion for three hundred soldiers, levied in the counties of Somerset and Dorset, and who sailed hence for Flushing in four ships* In 1594, rumours were abroad that a second and more formidable armada had been completed, and intelligence came from many quarters that the conquest of England would be again attempted. Upon this men were levied in all the maritime counties, and a watch and ward appointed to be kept upon the sea coast* The establishment of the protestant faith under Elizabeth was not unaccompanied by that extreme degree of hostility between the adherents of the contending doctrines which is too frequently the attendant of polemical difference, though the great numerical preponderance of the protestants effectually prevented any appeal to the sword. The fol- lowers of the church of Rome, though a minority, were, however, actively engaged in endeavours to prepare the mind of the people for a purposed restoration of the papal faith — an event which a little reflection on the ancient hereditary spirit of resistance to the progress of that faith ever manifested by the English nation might have shewn to be impracticable. In furtherance of this project, schools were established in France and Spain, for the education of English youth in the Romish doctrines, which they were afterwards to import and spread amongst their country- * At a court of admiralty, held Aug. 25, 1581, the jury presented "that the goon- ner of Bronkseye castell doth moleste the inhabitants of the towne and will not suffer them to passe any p'sons from northaven pointe to southaven pointe butt doth threaten them to shoote att them and vyolentlye doth take ther monye from them wh' is not onlye a greatt hinderaunce to poore men that were woonte to gayne monye that wayes butt also an infrynginge of our liberties wherefore wee thincke ytt verye necessarye to be remcdyd," — Book of the Admiralty Court. GENERAL HISTORY. 109 men.3? These proceedings afford a justification for many of the severe measures adopted by the queen. In order to put a stop to this species of emigration, she issued commis- sions for the examination of persons going abroad, and the apprehension of suspected persons. The commission for the county of Dorset, of which a copy was sent to the mayor and other officers of Poole, so distinctly developes the evils which it was sought to remedy, that we subjoin a copy of it : — " To or' verie lovinge friendes sir Richard Rogers, sir George Trenchard, and sir Ralfe Horsey, knights, and Harry Hawleighe, esquire, vice admirall of the countie of Dorsett, and the mayor and other officers of the seuerall porte townes. " After our verie hartie comendacions, her ma tie beinge informed that for want of due care and regarde in the offi- cers of the ports in the maritane countries who ought to looke to such as goe into the p'tes beyonde the seas, or arryve heere from thence and throughe the corrupcion of some maisters of shippes and of small* barkes being prac- tized with by semynaries and fugitives and other lewde p'sons to that end not onlie manie youthes are dailie con- veyed forthe of this realme vnto the seminaries beyonde the seas wher they are not onely brought up in erronieus doc- trynes but verie manie of them being infected both in religion and alsoe in evill affection to her ma tie and the State are sent and doe retowrne from thence and soe disperse * One of these schools was founded at St. Omer, and the intent of their establish- ment is -well described in the following extract from Historical Collections by Jean Hendricq, citizen of St. Omer, from 1594 to 1605 : MS. in the library at St. Omer. " 1602. The house in which the English children live, was built and rented by the catholic king of Spain towards the year 1592, who was then only prince of Spain. " At present there are above one hundred and sixty English children of good families, which are sent here secretly by their parents who are faithful catholics, that they may receive a good education, and learn latin under the discipline of father Giles Scondoncq, a learned and excellent Jesuit, who, assisted by several English fathers, has filled the house so completely, that there has been added to it the house which belonged to the old dowager countess of Roeux, so that it is a pleasure now to go and see it, with the chapel, which he afterwards built, which is very handsome, Sec, &e. " The English children, after they have finished their education here, and after having learned rhetorick, are sent into Spain to finish their studies; and, according to their capacities, they are admitted to the ecclesiastical orders ; others are placed in different situations; so, being established, they may bring forth good fruits among*! their countrymen, who are honied Hujiuenots." 110 GENERAL HISTORY. themselves into divers p'ts of the realme to seduce her ma ties subiects and to sowe the seede of discontente and re- bellious humors whereof some have been wroughte to attempte most horrible practizes even against the sacred p'son of her ma tie This of late beinge fminde so comon as weekelie there hath bene some sent up hether vnto vs that were taken in seu'all p'ts of the realme to her ma ties great charge and yet more doe escape and verie manie are suffred dailie to goe over the Seas that afterwarde become evell affected and daungerous p'sons to the estate To meete with this inconvenience it is thought meete as the like heeretofore hath bene done not onelieto renewe a strict charge and comandement to the mayors and officers of the seu'all porte townes to have espesial care to suffer none heerafter to passe ouer the seas but knowne m'chants ther facto rs or other p'sons knowne vnto them to be meete to be p'mitted to goe in trade of m'chandise or that have lawefull Iycence or that are sent for occasions in her ma ties service and affaires And to staie all others that shall attempte to passe over the seas, and to p'sent them to the comyssion's appointed for that p'pose and in like manner to take a strict viewe of all those that shalbe brought into the realme from any p te beyonde the seas & to staie suche of them as are to be suspected, to be brought alsoe before the sayd comys- sion's to be by them examined, accordinge to such direc- tion as is given them in that behalfe to thende that as well suche youthes as are conveyed forthe of the realm beyonde the seas as the seminaries Jesuits and other fugitives that come over hether, maie be app'hended, examined, and eoiii vtted to prison to be proceeded w th all accordinge to the lawe, and as ther seu'all offences shall deserve Choice is made of yow heerbie givinge to yow or anie tvvoe or more of yow full power and aucthoritie to call before yow and to examyne all those that shall lande in anie the portes creeks havens and harbers in that countie of Dorsett, or that shall attempte to goe forthe of the realme w th out licence not beinge m'chants knowne ther factors or mar- ryn's or suche other p'sons as lawefullie maie passe or shalbe thought fitt to be suffred to goe to and froe into this realme And for vo r better p'ceedings in this service we have caused certeyne instruccons to be conceaved and sett downe w ch yow are to observe in the course of theise exa- minacons with those that shalbe brought before yow and p'ccdings whervnto we doe referre yo w and earncstlie doe GENERAL HISTORY. Ill praie vow that yow will vse ext'ordinarie care heerin as in a matter that concerneth greatlie the estate and goode of the realme and wherin yo r diligent endeavors maie doe great and acceptable service so we bid yow hartelie fare- well. From the court at Whitehall, the xxiij th of Decern^ ber, 1599. " Yo r verie lovinge frindes "Jo. Cant. Tho. Egerton, C. S. Tho. Buckhurste " G. Hunsdon Ro. Northe " Ro. Cecill J. Fortescue Jo. Popham." The following" is an abstract of the instructions annexed to the commission. 1. The commissioners to appoint a place of meeting where they may take security of masters of vessels, that that they will not land or take on board any passengers but in the open port towns ? — offenders to be imprisoned one month. 2. Before being landed or embarked, the number of passengers to be specified to the searcher or other officer of the ports. 3. Suspected persons to be examined before the com- missioners. 4. Mode of examination prescribed : and the oath of allegiance to be tendered : and if this be refused, and no good account given of themselves, to be committed to prison, examined, whether they be priests or .Jesuits, or in what seminary they have been, and searched as to what they carry about them. 5. If young men, to be examined as to by whom, and under what guidance they go abroad. 6. The result of the examinations to be sent by letter to the lords of the privy council. A practice appears to have formerly prevailed in this port, of levying the tenth quarter of all grain shipped here, for the relief of the poor of the town. This practice, if it did not take its origin from, was at least sanctioned by, the act 3rd Eliz., c. iii. It appears to have been resisted after the passing of the act 43 Eliz., but by orders received from the lord high treasurer of the kingdom, by com- 112 GENERAL HISTORY. mand of the privy council, dated 22nd Dec, 1603, and Oct., 1604, it was directed that the tenth quarter of grain should be set aside for the relief of the poor as formerly. In the parliament of 1614, the commons asserted their power by refusing- the supplies required by the monarch, on which the latter, in the exercise of a dormant prerogative, had recourse to the system of forced loans from his sub- jects ; and we find a letter to the authorities of Poole from the lords of the privy council, demanding a loan of money or plate, dated July 4, 1614; but no record is found of the degree of success attending this demand. Another expedient for raising money to meet those ex- penses of government, for which an empty exchequer and a recusant parliament furnished no requisite supplies, was undertaken in 1619, under circumstances which assume somewhat of the appearance of false pretences. Under date of Feb. 7, 1618-9, a letter was sent by the lords of the privy council, to the mayor of Poole, which recited that a petition having been presented to the king from the merchants and owners of ships trading to the Straits and other places, representing the spoil done by pirates at sea, and especially by those of Argier and Tunis, who were grown to such strength and height of robbery, that they had within a few years taken from the petitioners above 300 sail of ships, with their cargoes, and captured many hundreds of his majesty's subjects, and praying for relief and prevention, his majesty had referred the matter to his council, who thereupon recommended a conference of the merchants of London, by whom it had been agreed that £40,000 should be raised by the merchants and owners of shipping at that port ; on which the lords of the council, setting forth how much the merchants of the west country were interested in the business, required the mayor to call together the merchants and owners of shipping in Poole, and impart unto them his majesty's purpose to extirpate utterly these pirates ; and to direct them to set down in a GENERAL HISTORY. 113 gross sum what they would contribute towards this service the council intimating an expectation that such sum would not be less than £100 for the two years next ensuing, and that £50 would be ready by the 1st of April next. The answer of the mayor stated that the merchants and owners of shipping were willing to contribute something towards the purpose; but, considering that the town was poor and had lately sustained great loss by casualties at sea, and had not above one mere merchant adventurer, the adventures of the town not being in any staple, but in fishing voyages for the Newfoundland and so home, they deemed £50 sufficient for their contribution, which sum they were ready to raise. In the reply of the council the whole sum was ordered to be raised, but not to be confined to the merch- ants and owners of shipping, but to be equally levied upon all the chief traders of the town. The first instalment having been duly paid, the expedition was relinquished ; but no portion of the advance was returned. In the instances just cited, we may trace the early pro- gress of those contests between the growing power of parliament and the declining prerogatives of the crown, that marked the reigns of James I. and Charles I., and led, under the latter monarch, to the lamentable events of a lono- and bloody domestic warfare, which ended in the violent death of the king", and in throwing 1 the nation into a state of anarchy. It is not the province of this work to enter into a minute enquiry of the nature and grounds of these contentions. It will suffice for our purpose to observe that they arose naturally from the gradual progress of society and civil liberty. The freedom of tone assumed by the parliament alarmed the crown, which endeavoured to check it by the more stringent application of prerogative; this, in its turn, being met by a still greater firmness on the part of the parliament and by repeated refusals to vote the supplies required for the purposes of government. The king", in different instances, invaded the privileges and 114 GENERAL tal'STORY. attempted to controul the power of the parliament, fre- quently dissolving- it in displeasure and governing twelve years without it. During* the disputes, various expedients were resorted to in order to obtain money, which were not in accordance with the spirit of the constitution, and were especially displeasing to the ideas of civil liberty then prevailing. Amongst these expedients we trace, in the instances given above, the commencement of the two more prominent, which afterwards attained so great a height under the denominations of loans and ship-money. By Charles I., the former were raised by letters, under his privy seal, sent into the different counties of England, directed to those who were supposed to be best able to lend, requiring, by way of loan, such sums as each was arbitrarily taxed at. These letters were accompanied bv others from one of the king's servants, exacting an immedi- ate attention to his majesty's requisition, under the threat of being summoned before the king in person. The terrors held forth in these requisitions were not meant to raise vain fears; but were actually productive of severe evils to those who opposed this measure. In London, some alder- men, who refused to deliver in a list of those who in their wards might be judged able to lend, were committed to prison; and divers gentlemen throughout the kingdom who denied the loan were thrown into gaols. The ship money was a pecuniary commutation of that maritime service which the sovereigns of England had been anciently accustomed to require of their sea-faring subjects, but which the gradual contraction of the royal prerogative had long rendered obsolete. It was re-intro- duced by James I., in a somewhat uncertain shape by the letter of the privy council, in 1618, for the levy of means to reduce the Turkish pirates ; and, in 1626, Charles I. sent to London and all other seaport towns, as Poole, Weymouth, Lyme, &c, with the assistance of the contri- bution of the adjoining counties, to furnish ships to guard GENERAL HISTORY. 115 the seas: the deputy lieutenants and justices of the peace for the county of Dorset excused themselves by a petition, alleging that the case was without precedent ; but their excuse was not allowed. In 1634, ship money was formally demanded on writs issued to the maritime comities only, each county being rated at a particular sum, which was afterwards divided and assessed upon the towns and individuals of property. In 1635, writs were issued to all the counties, each writ being accompanied by a letter from the lords of the council to the high sheriff, with instructions for levying" and assessing the counties towards the furnishing of 45 ships and their charge. These letters were dated the 12th of August. Dorsetshire was to furnish one ship of 500 tons, charged upon the county at £5000 ; and the lords of the council proceeded to direct that " to prevent difficultie in dividinge the assessment vpon the corporate townes wee baveinge informed o r selves the best wee may of the present condicion of the corporate townes and what proportion of that charge each of them is fit to beare doe conceive that the towne and countie of Poole may well beare 60/. thereof; the burrough of Dorcester 100/. ; the burrough of Wareham 30/. ; the burrough of Corff 10/. ; the burrough of Lyme Regis 70/. ; the bur- rough of Shafteburie 30/. ; and the burrough of Bland- ford Forum 60/. ; and the residue of the 5000/. is to be assessed vpon the rest of the said countie.'' This source of revenue produced to the coffers of the king for four years the annual sum of two hundred thousand pounds ; and all the accounts agree that it was honestly applied to the alleged purpose, " the safeguard of the seas and defence of the realm, " by the advancement of the navy at a time when the right of the English crown to the dominion of the narrow seas was disputed. These arbitrary proceedings of the monarch in having recourse to a worn-out branch of the prerogative, though deserving of grave censure, yet were somewhat palliated by 116 GENERAL HISTORY. the circumstances in which he was placed, with a recusant and factious parliament at home and difficulties abroad involving 1 the honour and welfare of the nation. When the breach between the monarch and his parlia- ment became widened beyond the hope of reconciliation, when the sword of civil war was unsheathed, and the banners of the hostile parties were raised, the town of Poole took its stand on the side Of the parliament. This might have been expected* The attachment which the inhabitants had ever evinced towards liberty, and the impa- tience of authority which they had always manifested, would naturally incline them to take up such a position ; for there may be generally remarked in towns and com- munities, as well as in families, an hereditary descent of principles and feelings. And the inhabitants of Poole were not more prompt in converting- the town into a parlia- mentary garrison, than they were afterwards firm and successful in maintaining the cause they had espoused. The first intimation of preparation for the hostilities that then appeared inevitable was made Jan. 16, 1642, when an order of session was made for watching the town by the number of one watchman, one rounder, and one gunner, for the day time, at the town gate ; and six ordinary watchmen of the commonalty and two rounders for the night watch. The rounders to be burgesses and such other inhabitants as should be appointed by the mayor and justices. Poole was one of the towns in the west with which, on the breaking out of the rebellion, sir Anthony Ashley Cooper entered into treaty, in pursuance of the scheme he had formed for putting an end to the evils of war. When sir Anthony had prepared his plan, he went to Oxford, where he was recommended to the king by his relation, the marquis of Hertford, and introduced by lord Falkland; At his audience he informed the king, " that he had a pro- posal to make, which he hoped might put an end to the GENERAL HISTORY. 117 war, and terminate the differences between him and the par- liament." The king, looking earnestly at him, said, " you are a young 1 man, and talk great things. What way will you take to compass such an undertaking?" Sir Anthony replied, "that he was persuaded the men of estates in almost every part of England were tired of the war, espe- cially as they had no fairer prospect of its conclusion than they had at first; that he knew this was the opinion of those who resided in his county ; and where he had any concerns. He therefore desired the king* would authorize him to treat with the principal garrisons of the parliament, and get them delivered into the hands of such persons as were men of character, and would act impartially between him and the parliament, that these should declare for calling" a new and a free parliament, who, perhaps might be better disposed to accommodate the differences than those whose minds might have been sharpened by some former proceedings." He made his proposal appear so practicable, and so much to the king's satisfaction, that he was presentlv commis- sioned to put it in execution. He returned to Dorsetshire, and met with such success in his treaty with the garrisons of Weymouth, Poole, Dorchester, and other places, that the garrison of Weymonth actually admitted the persons recommended by him, and the rest engaged to follow their example. But prince Maurice, who commanded some of the king's forces in those parts, entered the town and pil- laged it, after it was agreed to be surrendered ; which made the troops of the garrison think themselves to be betrayed. Sir Anthony not only expressed his resentment to prince Maurice, but sent notice to Poole and the other garrisons to be upon their guard, as he could not secure his articles to them. He went immediately afterwards to Oxford, and gave the king an account of what progress he had made, and the interruption he had met with in his under- taking ; at which the king shook his head with some concern, but said little. The scheme was not further prosecuted. 118 GENERAL HISTORY. In consequence of this failure the inhabitants of Poole proceeded in preparations for the war, and put their town in a state of defence so as to enable them to repel any attack from the royal forces, under the command of the marquis of Hertford, who was then in the west. July 21, 1642, an order was made by the parliament for the defence of the town, authorizing* the mayor, aldermen, &c, to assemble the inhabitants of the town, or any others who might offer themselves as volunteers, and array and arm them for resisting 1 any attacks that might be made upon the town, and to hinder the surprisal of the ordnance and magazine there^. Soon after, it was summoned by the marquis, but to no purpose. The following" quaint account of this transaction is from the canting* puritan, Vicars : — " About the midst of August, 1642, information came to the parliament, that the g*ood townes of Dorchester and Poole, in Dorsetshire, had bravely fortified themselves, and mounted their ordnance, and made strong trenches and defences to prevent the marquesse of Hartford's intention to have seized on them and their magazine, arms, and ordnance, in those parts, resolving stoutly to stand out for king and parliament, against the illegal " commission of array ;" and that very shortly after the marquesse of Hartford being set down, and having fortified himselfe at Sherborne, sent a drummer to Poole requiring it to yeeld obedience to his commands for the king, for that he was not onely honoured with being prime commissioner for the array, but was by his majesty made lievtenant-generall of all Wales, Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, &c, (stiles enow to make a man breake his shins, or else out of breath to run over them,) and, there- fore, that he thought no place so fit to entertaine his great- nesse as Poole, where he promised to be so noble and generous as to spend 200/2. a week there, and to fortifie Lords and Commons Journals. GENERAL HISTORY. 119 that town most strongly for their greater security and safeguard. But it seemed (and blessed be the Lord for it) that those birds were too old than so easily to be caught with such chaffe ; for the major and townsmen sent him this ans were,— that their towne was already very well for- tified and provided with ordnance, horse, and foot, to oppose any malignant whomsoever, that therefore they would not trouble his lordship to send any forces to assist them ; but if he did send any without their consent, they would deny them entrance. Then his lordship sent them word that he had power by his commission to make and ordaine lawes, and to set forth proclamations to enforce their obedience. The major (in the name of the whole towne) returned this reply, — that his commission was ille- gall ; for (said he) a commission under the broad seale (as he conceived) could no more make a law, in a parliament time, than it could make a project a law before a parlia- ment : and therefore they sent his lordship word, that since hee pretended to assume that power, they hoped, ere long, to have him, by force, brought to the parliament, to be made an example to posterity, to feare to execute or attempt such illegal commissions, and unsufferable insolen- cies. The like entertainment also he found at Dorchester, which towne had resolved to joine with and to sticke fast to Poole, in the maintenance and justification of the common cause."^ August 20, in the same year, the treasurer of the county paid fifty pounds towards fortifying the town. The year 1643 was one of much bustle in Poole and its neighbourhood, and the garrison was frequently called into active service. In the course of this and the follow- ing year, the town was the scene of several bloody trans- actions. Notwithstanding the great preponderance of the partizans of the parliament, there were in the town many active supporters of the royal cause, and charges were * Vicars, 137. 120 GENERAL HISTORY. during" this year made against several of them for con- spiring* to betray the town to the king's forces. The mayor, Henry Harbin ; the recorder, Mr. Constantine ; and others, were apprehended on such suspicion, taken to London, and committed to prison by the parliament; Mr. Constantine was ejected from the recordership, and from his seat in parliament as the representative of the town, and his property was sequestered. Harbin was liberated, on compounding- for his freedom, as was also another royalist, named Wyatt, imprisoned on a similar charge. On the 23rd of June, the garrison of Pooje, under the command of captains Sydenham, Jarvis, and Scutt, led by sir Walter Erie, laid siege to Corfe castle, which was so gallantly defended by lady Bankes, wife of the right honourable sir John Bankes, chief-justice of the Common Pleas, that after remaining before the castle until the 4th of August, the assailants were fain to raise the siege and retire. In August the town was threatened with an attack by prince Maurice, who summoned it, and received so peremptory a refusal, that he resolved to attack it. Pre- parations were immediately made for its defence. Aug. 15, the house of commons ordered £300 to be appropriated to the preservation of Poole, and sir William Waller was instructed to consider of some course for its defence ; and on the following day a letter to the inhabitants to encourage them to persevere in continuing upon their defence was read and ordered to be signed by the speaker and sent to the town.^ Two tons of lead were delivered for the use of the garrison here* from Lullworth castle, then held by the parliament. Prince Maurice failed in his attempt, and departed from this neighbourhood, leaving the earl of Crawford in command of the royalist forces. A treacherous transaction then occurred here, of which the following relation was presented to the house of commons on Sept. 29th.+ * Comm : Joura : + Ibid. GENERAL HISTORY. 121 " Captaine Francis Sydenham being quartered in Poole, in the house of a malignant, who, wanting monies, and having some debts owing him in the countrey, obtained leave for his wife to goe to Winborne, a malignant towne, about foure miles distant, there to receive some money, and accordingly thither she went, where meeting with cap-* taine Thomas Phillips (who dwelt not far thence) and he discoursing with her, and amongst other things required what captaines there were in Poole ; and she amongst the rest comming to name captaine Francis Sydenham ; cap- taine Phillips, thereupon seemed desirous to speake with him ; the woman at her returne to Poole, finding the cap- taine somewhat discontented, and willing to heare newes, and withall taking upon him the face of a malignant, and complaining to her of his losses in Ireland, and in the parliament service, she thereupon imparted unto him captaine Phillips his desire of giving him a meeting, unto which, out of a purpose to dive further into the businesse, he seemed to consent, so as it might be done with secrecy : and to contrive it the better, letters passing to and fro, a place of meeting is appointed, and herewith captaine Sydenham makes master Bingham the governour privately acquainted. At this meeting (after some complement) captaine Phillips seeming much to desire the others good, and conceiving him to be in a wrong way, perswaded him to stand for his majesty, whereunto captaine Sydenham seemed to give consent, so as hee might have his pardon, and the losse which he had sustained in the parliaments service repaired, which captaine Phillips promised to procure, so as he would be helpefull for the regaining of the town of Poole for his maiesties service, which as he supposed lay in his power to doe : whereunto captaine Sydenham seemed to be willing; captaine Phillips afterwards acquainted the earle of Craford with the whole businesse, who being ready to grant what was desired, sent unto cap- taine Sydenham a letter under his hand and seale, promising? R 122 GENERAL HISTORY. pardon for all former delinquencies, and satisfaction for losses in the parliament service, with free egresse and regresse, to effect the gaining* of the town for his majestic Captaine Sydenham thinking to make some other advantage hereof, seemed to desire some assurance of the reality of his promises : whereupon the earle sent him forty pounds by one Melledge, a malignant minister ; promising withall, that he should want no money, so as he would be constant to his majestie and his lordship : upon this captain Syden- ham vowes and protests never to fight against his majestie ; with which protestation the earle was so well satisfied, as that they began to treat more particularly of the manner how to betray the towne and the ship in Brownsey roade, which was contrived in this manner, viz,, that he should be captaine of the watch, at a night appointed, his men being on the guard, and the earle then to approach the towne with some troopes of horse in the dead of the night, and that the gate should bee left open, and the earle comming in should cause a home to be blown (as captaine Sydenham used to do for want of a trumpet when he went abroad), that so the towne and the small ship lying right against the gate might not suspect them ; and so they entering the towne and the captaine flying for safety, and crying out that he was betrayed, should presently go to the parliament ship, and with such strength as he had with him to seize upon her. The earle liking the plot very well, sent the captaine an hundred pounds, promiseing him a seargiant major's place (at the least) in the king's army, and the ship for his paines ; dureing this treaty the earles advise was, that the captaine, to avoyd suspition, should shew himself as adventerous as ever before, which was accordingly followed by captaine Sydenham, who tooke lieut-col. Verney, and some officers prisoners, besides divers horse and arms ; the night being designed and the time, about two of the clock the captaine sent out one of his men to tell them that all things was in a readinesse, and that he expected their GENERAL HISTORY. 123 comming: whereupon, at the time appointed, the earle with all his horse, being eight troops, and two regiments of the marquesse of Hartford's foot, under colonell Ashley, and colonell GrifFeth, being about four hundered, which, with such foot as they could get up in the countrie, made in all five hundered, came on, the captaine sending out some to draw thenualong, whom the earle kindly entertained, and he comming on was welcomed, crying fall is our owne ; on, on J, which they hearing, rushing in upon the gate, the earle being one of the foremost ; but before the gate was a halfe-moone, at the enterance of which there were chaines to be drawne up at pleasure ; the earle with his horse filling the halfe moone, the chaines were then drawn up, and the muskets and ordnance (placed conveniently on purpose) gave fire upon those that came on, which caused all that were not slaine to throwe downe their amies and runne away^. The armes which they lost for horse and foot, were about three hundred, in the halfe moone were taken neer fiftv horse, the riders escapeing all but twenty, which were taken prisoners ; the earle himselfe escaping narrowly. Had not the great gunns been mounted too high above the ground where most of them were, there had not many of those escaped that were within shot. The number of those that were slaine is not certainly knowne; the country reports there were divers cart-Ioades."-f- This relation must be received as the testimony of a partizan. The royalist accounts of the transaction state that there were but ten soldiers killed, and four taken * In 1835, some workmen digging a well near the site of the old town wall, found a skeleton at some depth below the surface. To the skull long hair was observed to be attached ; and the remains were probably those of one of the royalists who fell on this occasion. + From a tract, entitled "A True Relation of a Plot to betray the town of Poole iu the county of Dorset. And likewise how many of the Conspirators themselves were entrapped and cut off. And more particularly of the narrow escape of the Lord Craford. As it was presented to the House of Commons, 29th September, 1643. — London : Printed by L. N. for Laurence Blaikelocke, and are to be sold at his shop at Temple Barre. 1643." 124 GENERAL HISTORYi prisoners ; and that the garrison durst not sally out on the king's forces, who retreated safely to their quarters.^ Sept. 28, it was ordered by the house of commons that the two hundred pounds* given by Mrs. Barbara Lochere* of Fulham, to the parliament, should be assigned and paid to Mr. Trenchard, or his assigns, for the payment of the soldiers in Poole. The defence of the town at this time was not confined to the land service, but vessels were fitted out to protect the port and act as privateers against the vessels engaged in the royalist service. In October, this year, the "Anne and Joyce," one of the vessels so fitted out here, captured two vessels in Swanwich bay, one of them freighted with linen cloth and other French merchandize, being the pro- perty of some royalists at Weymouth ; and the other a French vessel, laden with corn, gunpowder, arms, and other ammunition, intended to be carried to Ireland for the use of the king's forces there. Two thirds of this prize were adjudged to the sailors and soldiers who were en- gaged in the capture, and 500/. of the remainder were ordered to be allowed to the town and garrison of Poole, towards the payment of the soldiers and the providing of munition and other necessaries for their defence. On October 24, 200/. more were voted by the house of com- mons, for the use of the garrison here. Nov. 3, a com- mittee was appointed by the house to consider of the measures necessary for the preservation of Poole ; and a few days afterwards provision was made for four ships in service for the defence and safety of the town ; and thirty- two pair of pistols that had been seized and forfeited, were delivered to sir Walter Erie to be conveyed to Poole for the service of the garrison. Nov. 24, the harbour was occupied by ships commanded by the earl of Warwick, the lord high admiral of the parliament, who proceeded up * Mercurius Aulicus. GENERAL HISTORY. 125 the channel towards Wareham, and took five small vessels belonging to the royalist party there, besides plundering" the town. Dec. 11, some goods, seized by capt. Drink- water and at Richmond, were sold, and the proceeds ordered to be paid for the service of the towns of Poole and Lyme. About this time the garrison sallied out and had a skirmish with the royalist forces near Dorchester, taking many prisoners, with whom the governor was, by the house of commons, authorised to compound for their liberty. Feb. 18, 1643-4, this garrison and that of Wareham, beat lord Inchiquin's Irish regiment, killed some, took several prisoners, two pieces of ordnance, and fired their magazine. Two days afterwards, prince Eupert having sent three thousand pounds to Weymouth, in order, as was imagined, to be sent into his own country, the garrison of Poole fell upon the convoy near Dorchester, took the money, one hundred horse, arms, and ammunition, and carried all to Poole. A little before a party from hence took colonel Wyndham prisoner, with seven or eight horse, and killed lieutenant Barker. On these proceedings the following orders were made by the house of commons, Feb. 26. " Ordered, that colonel Wyndham and his lieutenant- colonel, taken prisoners by the forces of the garrison of Poole and Wareham, be bestowed upon the governor of Poole to be disposed of for the benefit and advantage of Poole and Wareham. " Ordered, that it be referred to the governor of Poole to distribute the moneys, taken by the forces of the gar- risons of Poole and Wareham, at Dorchester, to the officers and soldiers of the said garrisons, with a special regard to be had of major Sydenham, and that out of those moneys he do pay unto major Sydenham the seven score pounds laid out of his own purse. And " It is further ordered, that Mr. Henry Bridges be recommended to the governor of Poole, to be considered of in the distribution of these monevs. 12G GENERAL HISTORY. " Ordered, that the papers and pacquets, taken by the g'arrisons of Poole and Wareham, at Dorchester, be referred to the consideration of the committee for exami- nations.*' Some months were now devoted to strengthening* the town, and the parliament voted frequent supplies for this purpose. April 4, ah order of the house of commons directed 300/. to be advanced for the use of the town of Poole. April 17, it was specially recommended by the house to the committee of both kingdoms, to take care for the safety of Poole and the county of Dorset ; and the commanders and officers were sent down to their several and respective charges. June 10, it was " ordered, that 500/. be borrowed out of Haberdashers' hall, for the service of Poole, now in great distress ; and that the same shall be repaid within a fortnight. An ordinance was read and assented unto for assigning the two thousand pounds for the twentieth part of Sir Edward Yates's estate to Lyme and Poole." June 13, the lieutenant of the ordnance was ordered to deliver, out of the stores remaining in the tower, twenty barrels of gunpowder unto Mr. Henry Bridges, of Poole, for the defence of that town. And on Sept. 28, there was an order for the delivery, unto captain Scutt and captain Harding, eight pieces of ordnance, four of which pieces were for the use and defence of the town and garrison of Poole, the other four for the furnishing of the castle or blockhouse, called Brownsea Castle."^ About this time the garrison of Poole, under the com- mand of the governor, colonel Bingham, was occupied in the blockade of Corfe castle. In October, 1644, the governor of Poole attacked one hundred horse of the queen's regiment, killed sixteen, took sixty prisoners, and two colours, between Poole and Blandford.-f* Nov. 20, eight hundred pounds were paid to colonel * Comm : Jo urn : t Vicars. Whitlock. GENERAL HISTORY. 127 John Bingham, the governor, by the treasurer of the county."^ November 21 , a party of this garrison began to settle at Blandford, being reinforced from Weymouth and Ware- ham. Sir Lewis Dives, colonel general of the county, having intelligence of it, marched from Sherborne to remove them, and sent a good party before, commanded by major Strangeways and captain Walcot, who surprized and took a troop of horse, with their officers and arms ; the rest fled. Thence he drove them to Wimborne and Poole, and then marched to Dorchester. Sir Lewis, however, failed in his chief object; and could not dislodge the par- liamentarians from the town of Blandford. November 30, sir Lewis Dives, with three hundred horse and dragoons, marched from Dorchester to face Poole, but retreated to the former place in the night. Major Sydenham followed him, and seeing at the head of the king's troops, major Williams, who had formerly killed his (Sydenham's) mother, he singled out that officer, slew him, and put his men to flight, driving them through the town ; and then returned to Poole. Sir Lewis Dives was wounded ; many were slain and taken prisoners.-^- Feb. 12, 1644-5, it was ordered by the house of com- mons, " that it be referred to the committee of the west, to take into their special care to provide the supplies desired for the towns of Poole and Wareham." The royalist forces had, at this time, been very successful. The king possessed nearly the whole of the west of England. Poole, Weymouth, Plymouth, Taunton, and one or two other places only, held out for the parliament. At the commencement of 1646, the garrison of Poole was engaged in the siege of Corfe castle, at which the governor of Poole, colonel Bingham, commanded, and which, after having lasted forty-eight days, terminated in Mercurius Aulicus. t Vicars. Whitlock, 3. 128 GENERAL HISTORY. the castle being taken possession of by the parliamentary forces, Feb. 26, 1645-6. On the same day (Feb. 26) an order was made by the house of commons, that Poole should continue garrisoned with one hundred men. March 13, the appointment of captain William Scutt, to be governor of Poole, was approved by the housed By an ordinance of both houses, in 1647, for raising 600,000/. a month for the maintenance of forces in Ireland, the town and county of Poole was charged monthly 91. 16.5. Id. Nov. 11, 1647, colonel John Rede was appointed governor of Poole and Brownsea castle, and commander- in-chief of all the forces raised for the defence of the same. A letter, dated July 27, 1648, was sent by governor Rede to the house of commons, requesting that further supplies might be furnished to the garrison ; and the letter was referred to a committee, with a recommendation to propose some way for the supply of the garrison. May 23, 1649, the following order was made by the house of commons : — " That it be referred to the committee for removing obstructions in the sale of bishops' lands, to take into consideration the sums of money raised by colonel Bingham, for the service of the garrison of Poole, and report their opinion to the house, touching the admitting the respective persons by whom those moneys were ad- vanced, to double upon the act for deans' and chapters' lands." During the progress of these wars, the profits of the parish of Hamworthy were applied to the use of the gar- rison at Poole. The church of that parish was pulled down by the fanatics of the parliament, and the materials were applied to the service of the war. In 1651, the hon. Richard Burthogge was appointed governor of this garrison. Comm : Journ : GENERAL HISTORY. 129 There is still preserved in the corporation chest, a sheet, containing the following* account of disbursements and re- ceipts by Haviland Hiley, who appears to have been the treasurer of the fund appropriated for the service of the town during" the troubles, and who, Dec. 27, 1645, was sent to London by the mayor and aldermen " that he might attend the house of commons, and there with all his wit and wisdom, sue to the house for the settling of a competent subsistence for two able ministers." Dr. " This acctt. sets forth the severall soms of money disbursed for the town's acctt. Janow*. 12^ 1655,, U. s. d. Imp 1 *- the expenses for Mr. Bromhall, his man, my selfe, and three horses 27 days 17 12 06 It. for wrightinge petisions and other such charge 01 06 00 It. Mr. Bromhall toke up there for his occasions 30 00 00 It. Mr. Bromhall had at 3 severall times 06 00 00 It. for a box of drugs as p? the dragster's bill 10 11 00 It. for drugs sent Mr. Loader 01 19 03 It. 5 monney baggs , 00 02 06 It. to Mr. Bartholomew Hall for counsell 01 00 00 Disbursed affor I came downe 1G45 Impr. for billateing Mr. Bridge's souldiers 20 00 00 Nov. 8. Pd Mr. Moses Durell for the souldiers . 80 00 00 Pd Mr. Moses Durell for the souldiers 12 00 00 Pd Mr. Moses Durell for the souldiers 37 12 06 Pd Mr. Moses Durell for the souldiers 20 00 00 Pd Thomas Dadhouse for 5 weeks pay 01 08 00 Pd Captaine Harding by Mr. Bingham's order, for v/ch he did sweare to bring a receipte 10 00 00 Pd Mr. Maior and Mr. Skutt 50 00 00 April 20 Pd Mr. Maior and Mr. Skutt ,,...,. 50 00 00 Maij — Pd Mr. Skutt and Mr. Durell 50 00 00 Dec. 8. Pd Mr. William Skutt, maior ' 38 01 09 Mar. 12. Pd Mr. William ,Skutt, maior . 25 04 04 Pd by Mr. Maior's order to Wm. Gibbs 15 10 00 Pd Mr. Melmoth and the botemen for beere 00 05 00 Pd Trew and Wild for unloading the stoans 00 03 00 16 16. Pd for alteringc a bras quarto 00 03 06 Pd Mr. Bromhall in money 18 00 00 Pd for selleridg of ten thousand of bisket 00 19 07 Pd Mr. Skutts 33 00 00 S 130 GENERAL HISTORY. li. s. d. Pd Mr. Tito . . 02 00 00 Pd Mr. Grundy 01 04 04 Pd Mr. Harbin 02 00 00, Pd Mr. Hardinge 02 00 00 Pd Richard Gailor 00 16 08 Pd Mr. Dolbery 02 00 00 Pd Mr. Melmoth , . 01 01 04 Pd Mr. Durell , 02 00 00 Pd Mr Hall 01 04 00 Pd Mr, Martin 03 04 00 Pd Mr. Pitman , 00 16 08 PdMr. Baker 02 00 00 Pd Peter Cox 00 16 08 Pd Mr. Poell 00 16 08 Pd to my sclfe 08 00 00 Pd to my selfe for my expenses for 11 days jerney in} geting this order for the money, and for expenses > with the clarks > 05 07 04 For money allowed me at the cOmmitte of lords and 1 commons for the safety of the western counties f for money disbursed, which was seventy pounds T to Mr. Henry Bridges they allowed mee in parte, j 40 00 00 It. for monev disbursed in charge in riding to Ports- moth , . . 01 10 00 It. for a new key where the bread was put 00 01 0Q It. for 13 deales for peniles bench 00 15 02 It. to John TreAv for laths and nailes 00 04 08 It. to John Parkins for the pownd 05 05 00 It. to carpenters and laborers to set it up 00 06 09 It. for the Ireworke for the doare ,.,.., 00 08 09 It. for a piece for the doare 00 01 00 It. for boards to make the doare For my expenses in rideinge to the committe to Waymoth, to Serne, to Dorste and many other places to get in money and p'visions in the sieknes time,* & for gctinge the SOIL out of the 4 hundreds )> 12 00 0Q in w ch i was ou t above 7 weeks, & lost one horse at Serne and lamed another, & account foryt time 5s. a day * Some epidemical disorder appears to have prevailed in Poole in the year 1643 or 1644, which was probably the " sieknes time" alluded to in the above account. We gather this fact from a passage in a paper detailing the sufferings of William Wake, esq., a noted royalist, arid which is published in Hutchins's Dorset, ii. 51.8-19; (2nd ed.) The passage states as a great grievance, that Mr. Wake " was sent a prisoner to Poole, where the plague then was." GENERAL HISTORY, 131 Cr. * <£ An acc*t- what some of money I have ree'ed for the acctt. of this towne. July 30, 1645. u - s - fenp r - from the Parliament for the town 450 00 July 27, 1646. Sold the pest houses by Mr. Maior's order to William Pelly, for 14 00 And the 100ft. I did receive for the bread as fowloweth— July 27, 1647. Ree'ed from George Fillater fifty pounds, of wch I payd him 50s. so I had Imt 47 10 Oct. 17, 1647. Ree'ed from George Fillater 25ft. payinge him 40s. so I had but 23 00 July 30, 1648. Ree'ed from George Fillater 10 00 Oct. 9, 1648. Ree'ed from George Fillater fifteen pounds, out of wen hee had 5ft. for his paines and care, so I had but 10 00 554 10 To Haviland Hiley. Errors Excepted." This account appears to have been audited in 1657. When the principle of hereditary succession was again recognized in the executive government of the country, and Charles 1J. was called to assume that crown which had been nominally in abeyance since the death of his father, but the powers of which had been wielded by the iron hand of a protector with a vigour and stringency that excited in the people a desire for the milder rule of legiti- macy, — the part that Poole had borne in the revolutionary contests, the zeal and steadiness with which it had supported the cause of the parliament, were remembered against it. The officers and members of the corporation who refused to make the required declaration in favour of the king, were removed, and others of more conformable dispositions were substituted ; and the feelings of revenge and the in- stigations of policy were reconciled by the demolition of the fortifications of the town. Charles I) : , however, was 132 GENERAL HISTORY* not naturally stern ; his resentments were not implacable^ Unfitted, perhaps, for the solemn duties of a throne, by the influence of early habits and the circumstances in which his youth had been passed ; he possessed, neverthelessj those qualities of the heart, that, had they not been warped by ah uncertain education, and biassed by evil example, would have fitted him to adorn that court which was unhappily degraded by the licentiousness he encouraged. Free, for- giving, and affable, he sought rather to win the affections of his subjects by kindness and generosity, than to coerce them into a reluctant obedience by sternness and rigoim Thus, within five years after his restoration, the king had so far forgotten or forgiven the cause of animosity towards Pooler that he honoured it with a visit in 1665. His ma- jesty had at this time removed from London, in consequence of the prevalence of the plague in that city. His court was first removed to Hampton, but that not being considered sufficiently distant from the ravages of that direful visitation, the court was afterwards established at Salisbury, and it was during the time of its being held there that Poole was thus honoured by the royal presence. His majesty was received with great deference and attention, and appears to have been much pleased with his visit ; the particulars of which are thus duly and gratefully noted in the records of the borough : — " Friday the 15th day of September, 1665, were present in Poole, the king's most excellent majesty, Charles the Second, His grace the duke of Monmouth, The earle of Oxford, The earle of Suffolke, The earle of Latherdale, The lord Gerrard, The lord Ashley, The lord Crofts, And the lord Arlington, besides very many of his majesty's meniall attendants and servants ; alsoe divers knights, esquires, and gentlemen of GENERAL HISTORY. 133 quallity of the county of Dorset and elswhere, that came to vvayte vpon his majesty in this place. Peter Hall, th' elder, then mayor. William Frampton, sheriff. " Be it recorded, and in order to the perpetual memory and humblest gratitude of this towne and county of Poole, in due acknowledgment of the vnparaleld honour and grace his majesty was then pleased to cast on this place and corporation, (this day) by his most sacred and royall pre- sence, attended by the said duke, earles, lords, &c, afore- mentioned, in the acceptance of a most humble and loyall treatment, wholly provyded and payd for, excepting such expences paid at the inns for horses, &c, at the only costs and charges of the said Peter Hall, mayor ; who, in company with the aldermen and said sheriff, had the singular honour to attend on his majesty at a dinner, pro- vyded for him att and in the house of Sir. Peter Hiley, sett apart for that purpose, where his majesty was graciously pleased to declare his royall ownement of the same ; and in like manner his sayd grace the duke of Monmouth, as alsoe the said earles and lords with their respective retinew, were pleased nobly, ingeniously, and friendly to acknow- ledg such the said mayor's most candid and humble enter- taynement as aforesaid. After dinner it pleased his majesty with the said duke and lord Ashley, &c, to take coll. William Skutt's boat to Brownsea, steered by the sayd collonel, and rowed by six masters of shipps, where his majesty tooke an exact view of the said island, castle, bay, and this harbour, to his great contentment, &c, and then returned in the said boat vnto the key of Poole, where the said mayor had the honour to hand his majesty on shore, from whence he went on foote to the house of the said coll. Skutt, the said sheriff going before, and the said mayor, and Edward Man, senior bayliffe, bearing theire maces before him, where was a stately banquett provyded for him, the which he pleased right graciously to accept of; and then vnderstanding that day to be the annual tyme constituted for the election of the succeeding mayor for the yeare following, his majesty was pleased then and there to nominate and appoint the said coll. Skutt for the future mayor of Poole, to the said coll. great honour, with equall contentment and humble thanks of the present mayor, aldermen, &c, for his majesty's most gratious 134 GENERAL HISTORY. favour therein ; and then attending" his majesty to the town gates, he was pleased there againe to declare his good resentments of the sayd mayor's most dutifull and cordiall entertainment, and therewith departed." This record is signed by Peter Hall, mayor ; Edward Man, senior bailiff; William Frampton, sheriff; Moses Durell, Peter Hiley, John Pittman, John Willie, Stephen Streete, Robert Cleeves ; John Carter, water bailiff; Richard Albert, town clerk. The house in which his majesty Was entertained on this occasion, was situated on the south-east side of the corn market ; but it is not now standing, having been pulled down some years since to make way for a more modern edifice. A part of his wardrobe was left by his majesty on this occasion, which has since been preserved by the Hiley family, and is now in the possession of its lineal representative, Charles Hiley, esq., of Planefield Lodge. Notwithstanding the choice of his majesty, and the " great contentment and humble thanks of the mayor, aldermen, &c," expressed thereat, it appears that William Skutt did not act as mayor, but that Stephen Street was chosen in the customary manner and sworn into the office ; the corporators probably being reluctant to establish even the semblance of precedent for any interference with their right of choosing their own officers. The plague, to escape the destructive influence of which, Charles retired into the country, did not extend its ravages far beyond the precincts of London. The popular tradi- tion that this plague was prevalent in Poole, is utterly without foundation ; as are consequently the somewhat romantic circumstances, which are preserved in the legend connected with the spot known by the name of Cutler's gallows. This legend which has so generally obtained as to have appeared recorded in all the dignity of typography, requires therefore to be set at rest. It states that " about the year 1666, a young woman named Mary Cutler, was GENERAL HISTORY. 135 condemned to be hanged in this town for the murder of her bastard child : that dreadful disease the plague being then in this town, the sheriff granted her a respite from execution, provided she would attend the persons afflicted with the plague as a nurse; this she faithfully performed, and escaped the contagion ; and in consideration of her services, the sheriffs and corporation made great interest to obtain her pardon from the king ; but such was the justice or cruelty of those times, that their solicitations were with- out effect, and she was executed near the entrance of the town, (to the great concern of the corporation and inhabi- tants,) which place retains to this day the name of ' Cutler's Gallows,' " If this pathetic story be not wholly a fabrica- tion, it must have reference to some other period. The name which has so long adhered to the spot, indicates indeed that some one of that name was there executed ; but the peculiar circumstances with which the event is invested, are, in all probability, the superstructure of mere tradition. It is highly honourable to the inhabitants of Poole, that on the intelligence reaching the town of the devastation of the great fire in London, of 1666, and the consequent destitution of a large body of the people, the inhabitants were not behind the other parts of the country in their endeavours to mitigate the distress. A munificent collec- tion was made here, and trading vessels were freighted with supplies for the metropolis towards the relief of the sufferers. Prior to the general issue of a copper coinage by authority, it was the practice of the merchants and tradesmen of Lon- don and other places to provide local remedies for the in- convenience felt from the deficiency, by the issue of copper tokens. Several of this description of coin were issued in Poole, both by individual tradesmen and by the corporation. The coin struck for the latter was a farthing, and there still exists in the corporation books, an entry of the authority granted to the mayor to disburse £10 in copper farthings, 136 GENERAL HISTORY. with the stamp of the town arms upon them, and this inscription, " for the mayor of the town and county of poole." It appears from this entry, that these farthings were first issued August 22, 1667, and that for the ten pounds disbursed, the mayor received farthings to the amount of £19 4s. ^ The visit of Charles II. to Poole stimulated the desires of the inhabitants, who shortly afterwards petitioned the monarch for a confirmation of their ancient liberties and a grant of additional privileges, which were thereupon con- ceded in 1667. The burgesses of Poole having, however, sent to the Parliament representatives hostile to the views of the court, the offence was resented by the issue of a writ of quo ivarranto, in 1684, under the judgment of which the borough was deprived of all its liberties and privileges : * In the sixteenth century, the want of a small copper coinage led to great incon- venience, both in England and on the continent ; but before the union of the two kingdoms under James I., there was not any brass or copper money coined for the use of England, though our neighbours, the French, had it in 1575, as most of the neighbouring kingdoms and states had it some time before. Edward VI. was the last prince under whom farthings could possibly be coined of silver, the nominal value of that metal having so greatly increased, and though it is known from records that he did coin farthings, very few indeed have been discovered. The smallness indeed of the silver halfpenny, though continued down to the commonwealth, rendered that coin of extreme inconvenience. Queen Elizabeth it seems had it under consideration before her death to issue a copper coinage, but could not overcome her reluctance to its adoption. Under her authority, however, halfpence of copper were made at Bristol, for the use of that opulent city ; and this example extended, and towards the latter end of her reign, tradesmen's tokens of lead and brass became general, more especially in London. The project for a state copper coinage was not revived until 1013, when the issue of king James's royal farthing tokens commenced by l)i*o clamation, in consequence of the prodigious quantity of private tokens of lead and brass, which every tradesman made and paid for halfpence. This authorised coinage was by no means favourably received, the tradesmen having found their issue of tokens a very lucrative mode of doing business, and it continued in a kind of reluctant and restricted circulation during this reign and the succeeding. This reluctance and the king's death in 1619, put an utter stop to its currency ; and no farthings being struck under the commonwealth, the tokens of corporate towns and private tradesmen again took their run, increasing prodigiously until 1G72, when farthings properly so called were again coined by government. Iii 1811, and the few immediately subsequent years, during the great scarcity of coin, owing to the exportation of the precious metals during the long-continued wars of the French revolution, a similar practice was adopted, and silver tokens of the various values of sixpence, one shilling, and eighteen pence, were generally issued in all the principal towns of Eiig'ar.d, Several tokens of this kind were issued in Poole. GENERAL HISTORY. 137 and though the crown was humbly petitioned to that effect, these were not restored until the 4th of James II. After the examination of Titus Oates, and the discovery, whether real or alleged, of the much questioned popish plot, several messengers and officers visited Poole, in March, 1679, for the discovery and apprehension of persons suspected of being concerned in the conspiracy. No re- cord exists of the degree of success that attended their search. At the time of the duke of Monmouth's attempt, in 1685, to obtain the British crown, the hereditary temper of the inhabitants of Poole would naturally render them well affected to the duke, and accordingly we find, that " when at a stand, and not a little non-plussed," at Frome, it was the intention of his party " to get good horses, and so for Poole, a little sea-port town, not far off, where we were to seize a ship and set forth for Holland again, leaving our infantry to the mercy of the country."^ This plan was afterwards abandoned, in consequence of some intervening circumstances, but the choice of Poole shews that the duke's cause was here favoured. In Pitts's " New Mar- tyrology" is the following passage : " The rest of the executions in this county (Dorset), as at Weymouth, Poole, Shaston, Wimborne, &c, not being there, we shall pass over, and only give you particular touches which w T e saw to our perfect knowledge." The inhabitants of Poole warmly participated in the feeling of pleasure that prevailed through the kingdom on the consummation of the revolution of 1688, by which the protestantism of the kingdom was secured, and a more popular spirit infused into the government. On the 13th of April, 1689, " the news of the coronation of king William and queen Mary was received with great rejoicing at Poole."f Titts's New Martj rology. t Old MS. Journal. T 138 GENERAL HISTORY. In 1690, the government of William was involved in much perplexity. In addition to the troubles in Ireland, and the restlessness of the jacobin faction in England, the empire was threatened with an invasion by France. A fleet sailed from Brest, with this intent, and was discovered off Plymouth, on the 20th of June; and the English admi- ral, lord Torrington, immediately, with the fleet under his command, stood out to sea, with a view to intercept the French fleet, at the back of the Isle of Wight, should it presume to sail up the channel. On the following day, the 21st, the French fleet, consisting of seventy-eight ships of war, and twenty-two fire ships, appeared off the port of Poole, where they threatened a descent. The inhabitants promptly undertook measures for preventing- surprise and securing the safety of the town ; and the following is a copy of the official entry of the measures adopted. " Poole, June 21, 1690. — At an assembly of the corporation at the guildhall, then and there it was ordered and appointed that for the better securing the towne against the dangers threatened to this town by the French, a common enemy to the kingdom, now having a very great fleet of ships in sight of this place : — " Imprimis : — An extraordinary watch of thirteen every night (every man in his own person if at home and of ability of body) do watch at such places as the captain of the watch for every night shall think fit. " Item : — That four great guns be placed and mounted at the town gates to secure that part of the entrance into the town. "Item: — That all persons that have muskets, fowling- pieces, blunderbusses, pistols, powder, bullets, or other arms or ammunition of defence, more than what is for their, or their friends' use, do bring them into the town hall, and there an account to be taken of them, and care taken for the cleansing of them and making them fit for use, and that the fixing and cleansing of the arms, and the cost of the powder and shot shall be made good to the furnishers, at the general charge of the whole town, to be levied by an equal rate as the law shall allow. GENERAL HISTORY. 139 " Item : — That four men be appointed as a sea watch or guard, two of which to go in the king's scout and two to be at the castle of Brownsea, the former to give notice of any approaching danger, and the others, on such notice or sign, by firing a gun, to give notice to the town." The enemy did not attempt a landing here, but pro- ceeded up the channel, and an engagement took place off Beachy head, a few days afterwards, between the fleets, in which the English admiral was defeated. The French fleet then threatened the whole of the western coast, for the defence of which prompt and effective measures were adopted. During the hostilities that then ensued between the contending countries, we find that some individuals of Poole conducted themselves with a degree of bravery never paralleled, and set an example of daring cou- rage in resistance of the enemy, that justly obtained for them marked tributes of royal distinction, and honourable mention in the national records. In 1694, capt. Peter Jolliffe, of Poole, who was cruising in a small hoy, called the " Sea Adventure," perceiving a French privateer off the isle of Purbeck, make a prize of a fishing boat belonging to Weymouth, boldly attacked the privateer, though of three times his strength, and having first obliged him to quit his prize, afterwards forced him on shore, near the village of Lullworth, the people of which made themselves masters of the vessel, and took the crew prisoners. For this brave exploit, captain Jolliffe was honoured with a magnificent gold chain and medal, pre- sented to him by the king^. The medal is now in the possession of the Rev. Peter William Jolliffe, incumbent of the parish, who is the great grandson of the gallant captain ; it weighs 2oz. ITdwts., and has on the obverse the heads of the king and queen in high relief, with the titular legend "GVL: ET. MAR: D: G: M: B: F: ET. H: London Gaz ; 3089.— Campbell's Admirals, iii. 182. 140 GENERAL HISTORY. REX. ET. REG1NA." And on the reverse is the fol- lowing* inscription : — " His Mattes' Gift as a Reward to PETER JOLLIF, of Poole* for his good Service agt- the Enemy in retaking a Ketch of Weymouth from a French Privateer, and chaceing the said Privateer on Shoar near Luhcorth in ye Isle o/Purbeck, where shee was broken in peeces. 1694." The honourable reward bestowed in this instance appears to have acted as a wholesome stimulus, for a still more daring action was undertaken on the 30th of May, 1695, by William Thompson, master of a fishing- boat, belonging" to Poole, who, when fishing near the isle of Pur beck, accompanied by only one man and a boy, perceived a pri- vateer of Cherbourg bearing down upon him. He was so far from avoiding the enemy that he made ready to defend himself the best way he could, with two little guns which he had mounted and some small arms ; and with so incon- siderable a force he behaved himself with such success that in a little time he wounded the captain, the lieutenant, and six more of the French, which so discouraged the rest that they bore away. But then, in his turn, Thompson, encouraged by the success of his valour, gave chase to the privateer, fired upon her incessantly for two hours, and at length made the enemy strike, beg for quarter, and sur- render ; so that Thompson, thus victorious, brought away the sloop with fourteen prisoners, of whom the captain was one, having left two more at Corfe castle, and brought her into Poole harbour. This privateer had two pateraroes, several small arms and grenadoes, and sixteen men. For this gallant proceeding the lords of the admiralty gave Thompson not only the vessel he had taken, but a gold chain and medal, similar to that presented to captain Jolliffe.# In the early part of the eighteenth century, the practice » London Gaz : 3085.— Pointer's Chron : Hist: ii. 411, 412.— Present State of Europe.— Lediard's Nav : Hist: ii, 700.— Campbell's Admirals, iii, 182. GENERAL HISTORY. 141 of smiio'Mino* was carried on to an astonishing extent on COO c the whole of the southern coast ; and so prejudicial was the practice found, that a petition of the mayor, bailiffs, bur- gesses, and commonalty of Poole was presented to the house of commons, Dec. 17, 1720, setting forth "the great decay of their home manufacture by reason of the great quantities of goods run, not only on that but on all the eastern coasts," and praying for remedy. And, Dec. 11, 1722, another petition, praying for the prevention of smuggling, was pre- sented from the same parties. Soon afterwards strenuous efforts appear to have been made by the government to check the practice of smuggling, by instituting prosecutions against great numbers who had offended, by importing or buying uncustomed goods; and the proceedings seem to have been of very extensive application, for, on March 21, 1728, a petition was presented to the house from " the principal and other inhabitants of the town and county of Poole," setting forth that the town was very much impoverished, and the trade lessened by prosecutions against such of the un- happy inhabitants, as through ignorance or inadvertency either imported or bought goods which had not paid the duties, and praying such relief as the house should think fit. This petition was referred to a committee specially ap- pointed. To this committee were also referred other petitions, subsequently presented from Harwich, Ports- mouth, Gosport, Portsea, Exeter, Dartmouth, &c, to the like effect. The committee reported that the towns were "very much impoverished, and their trade lessened, by rea- son that several of the unhappy inhabitants, who, through ignorance or inadvertency, either run, imported, or bought goods, which had not paid the duties, are now confined in prison, and very few of them, if any, capable of making satisfaction for the same ; and that several of the persons, having given bail, are run away ; and most of the people under prosecution, are sea-faring men, who, in regard to their own safety, will, in all probability, be induced, if not 142 GENERAL HISTORY. obliged, to withdraw themselves out of his majesty's dominions, as many of them have already done." There is reason to believe that the penalties, in many instances, were remitted. The severe measures of the government were not, however, fully successful. The dealing in contraband merchandize continued to be carried on with a degree of daring and desperation that almost defied the powers of the law : and an occurrence, in which Poole was concerned, bears evidence of the nature of this illicit trading, and the character of those who carried it on. This transaction gave rise to a powerful sensation at the time all over the country, and was the occasion of the government adopting more effective measures for prevention than had previously been had recourse to. These proceedings, which began in smuggling and ended in the execution of a considerable number of participators in one of the most brutal murders on record, were published at the time in a small volume. The following is an abstract : — In September, 1747, one John Diamond, or Dymar, agreed with a number of smug- glers, to go over to the island of Guernsey, to smuggle tea, where, having purchased a considerable quantity, on their return in a cutter, they were taken by one captain William Johnson, who carried the vessel and tea to the port of Poole, and lodged the tea in the custom-house there. The smugglers being very much incensed at this miscar- riage of their purchase, resolved not to sit down contented with the loss; but, on a consultation held among them, they agreed to go and take away the tea from the ware- house where it was lodged. Accordingly, a body of men, to the number of sixty, well armed, assembled in Charlton forest, and from thence proceeded on their enterprise ; to accomplish which they agreed, that only thirty of them should go upon the attack, and that the remaining thirty should be placed as scouts upon the different roads, to watch the motions of the officers and soldiers, and to be GENERAL HISTORY. 143 ready to assist or alarm the main body, in case any opposi- tion should be made. The party deputed for the purpose arrived at Poole, about eleven o'clock on the nio-ht of the 6th of October, 1747; when having- ridden down a little back lane, they came to the sea-side ; they here quitted their horses, leav- ing" two of the gano' to look after them, whilst the remainder proceeded to the custom-house, which they broke into with violence, and having broken open four doors, reached the warehouse in which the tea had been deposited. This, which amounted to about two tons weight, they secured and carried off. They carefully abstained from touching any other property, swearing that they came for their own, and would have it. They returned with their booty through Fordingbridge, in Hampshire, where some hundreds of people were assem- bled to view the cavalcade. Among the spectators was Daniel Chater, a shoemaker, known to Diamond, who shook hands with him as he passed along, and threw him a bag of tea. His majesty's proclamation coming out, with a promise of a reward for apprehending those persons who were concerned in breaking open the custom-house ; and Dia- mond having been taken into custody at Chichester, on suspicion of having been one of them : Chater mentioned the meeting at Fordingbridge, which coming to the know- ledge of the collector of the customs at Southampton, he sent William Galley (a king's officer) with Chater, to convey a letter to major Battin, a justice of the peace for Sussex, the purport of which was to desire an examination of Chater, in relation to what he knew of the affair, and whether he could prove the identity of Diamond's person. These two unfortunate men were entrapped by a gang of smugglers, who had obtained information of their jour- ney, and by whom they were most brutally murdered. The crime was brought to light six or seven months after- 144 GENERAL HISTORY. wards, by the confession of one of the murderers whilst in custody on some other charge. Fifteen smugglers were concerned in the murder, many of whom were apprehended, and a special commission was issued to try them at Chich- ester, the crime having been committed in the county of Sussex. The trials lasted from the 16th to the 19th April, 1748. Seven of the prisoners were convicted and execu- ted. On the 4th April, in the same year, five of the smugglers concerned in breaking open the custom-house at Poole, were indicted at the Old Bailey for that offence, and for stealing from the said custom-house, thirty-seven hundred-weight of tea, value £500 and upwards, on Oct. 6, 1747. Four of them were convicted, of whom one was afterwards pardoned, and three others being executed. After these occurrences the government deemed it pru- dent to pursue more rigorous measures for the prevention of the traffic in contraband goods, and for thus checking the opportunity and temptation to such diabolical violence as was committed in this instance. A melancholy accident occurred in Poole harbour, March 10, 1759, when a passage boat, sailing from Poole to Wareham with 19 persons on board was driven on the mud, and 13 individuals perished in their attempts to reach the shore. In 1792 and the following years, when the demoniac frenzy of revolutionary France shook all the continental empires, and threatened the overthrow of all ancient government and constituted authority, and when our own shores were menaced with a Gallic invasion, Poole was garrisoned with forces arrayed to oppose the threatened attempt, and the loyal portion of the inhabitants here, as elsewhere, formed themselves into patriotic associations in defence of their country and its constitution. In order to promote a desire for serving the country, the corporation, Jan. 22, 1793, set apart from their funds £200 for aug- menting' the bounty offered to seamen on entering' his GENERAL HISTORY. 145 majesty's service at this port ; and the sum of £100 was given by the representatives of the borough to the same purpose. And by way of setting a public example of attachment to the principles of hereditary monarchy, on the thirtieth of the same month, being the anniversary of the martyrdom of Charles I., the committee of ' the association against republicans and levellers' breakfasted with the mayor, and afterwards, dressed in mourning, attended him in procession to the church, where a sermon on the occasion was preached by the Rev. P. W. Jolliffe. An act of bravery, similar to those we have recorded at the close of the seventeenth century, again honoured some individuals belonging to Poole, in 1797. The brig * General Wolfe,' on its passage to Newfoundland from Poole, was taken, on the 19th of Oct., by a French privateer. The captain and eleven of the crew were taken on board the privateer, leaving of the brig's crew only the mate, Wm. Wellstood, a man named Hussey, and a lad on board, with twelve Frenchmen drafted from the privateer. On the 5th of November, the mate, his man, and the boy, assailed the Frenchmen, overpowered them, got possession of all the arms, and succeeded in bringing the brig into Cork harbour twelve days afterwards, when all the French- men were sent to Kinsale prison. Notwithstanding the efforts of a minor party in the town, who seized the oppr tunity afforded by a moment of public difficulty to make increased endeavours to embarrass the government, the inhabitants of Poole con- tinued, throughout the wars of the French revolution, to manifest highly patriotic conduct; and they cheerfully responded to the calls made upon their pecuniary and per- sonal service. In addition to the establishment of * armed volunteer associations,' subscriptions were repeatedly made for various purposes connected with the defence of the country, and for the relief of the wounded soldiers and seamen and their families. On one occasion, at a u 146 GENERAL HISTORY. public meeting* of the inhabitants, held at the townhal!, Feb. 27, 1798, books were opened for the reception of voluntary contributions towards the defence of the country, and no less than thirteen hundred pounds were immediately subscribed. On the previous day, the corporation had voted a sum of five hundred pounds from their funds. During the early part of the war, Poole was appointed the general rendezvous for the militia regiments ; and for several years it was the scene of all the martial bustle and stirring occurrences that characterize a garrison town in the time of warfare. In 1814, the heroic achievements of England, by the indomitable spirit of a nation of freemen in arms, were triumphantly consummated in a succession of victories that overwhelmed the power of the French host, and beat down the daring ambition of Buonaparte. All England rang with the demonstrations of joy manifested on this occasion; in every town and village the inhabitants kept holiday, and a succession of national festivities, never equalled before or since, testified how general was the feeling of grateful rejoicing that prevailed. Poole was not behind other places in these indications* On the arrival of the news, the town was brilliantly illuminated on the evening of April 18 ; and on the following day, a ball at the townhall was attended by the principal inhabitants ; whilst on the suc- ceeding evening a display of fireworks closed these pre- liminary festivities. Preparations having been made for the purpose, a public dinner took place, embracing nearly the whole population of the town, without distinction of rank or circumstance, on the 26th of July. A committee of upwards of thirty gentlemen were entrusted with the ar- rangements, which were well disposed. The dinner was held in the market place and the adjoining streets, where, we are told, " not less than five thousand persons sat down to a most plentiful regale of old English fare, roast beef, plum pudding, and strong beer, attended by an excellent GENERAL HISTORY. 147 band of music. But one distinctive place was allowed, which was for the president, the worshipful the mayor, Samuel Clark, esq., every other individual, gentle and simple, being promiscuously intermixed. One honest plum pudding, of about a hundred weight, was added to the number by George Garland, esq. After the dinner, many loyal toasts were drunk, and many excellent songs were sung. Amidst this vast concourse of people, not the slightest disorder occurred, and about six o'clock the company dispersed from the dinner tables, to partake of the remaining part of the festival* A select party of gen- tlemen having got up, at a considerable expense and labour, a very splendid collection of fireworks, a field was chosen for the occasion, in which also a spacious booth was erected, and tea and coffee made for the ladies." The commerce of Poole had been enhanced in 1810, by the port being made a free port ; an advantage to which its convenient situation, the safety of its harbour, and its spacious and commodious quays, well entitled it. In the year 1832, on the passing of the parliamentary reform act, and the collateral act for regulating the bound- aries of parliamentary boroughs, the adjoining tithings of Longfleet and Parkstone, and the parish of Hamworthy were annexed to the old borough of the town and county, for the purposes of parliamentary representation. And in 1835, the act which passed the legislature for the regulation of municipal corporations, united the same district to the old borough for all municipal purposes, investing it with all the exempt and peculiar privileges theretofore exclu- sively enjoyed by the inhabitants of the territorv included within the old boundaries : so that from that time the aggregate district has formed one integral borough of "the county of the borough of Poole." We have thus traced, in some measure, the general and more fugitive historical particulars of the town of Poole, from its most remote existence, down to a period verging 148 GENERAL HISTORY, upon the present day. The municipal and ecclesiastical portions of the history have been left untouched, being deemed of sufficient importance to afford material for dis- tinct chapters. The town which we have first seen as the rude settlement of a few scattered stragglers, we have accompanied through the phases of its prosperity, until we leave it the first commercial port of the district in which it is situated. The hand of progressive civilization, the ameliorations of accumulated wealth, and the institutions of advancing society are everywhere discernable. The leading features of the town, in its modern state, its muni- cipal and religious edifices, its social and other institutions, and its statistical details, will, however, form the subject of subsequent pages. the town ceixak.— Vide pp. 92, 94. 149 €$e Municipal ^i^torp. It may be questioned whether any period could offer itself more favourable than the present for a calm and unbiassed investigation of a portion of the great political fabric, composed of those municipal establishments that form so important a feature in the British constitution. We stand almost upon the halting place between two distinct systems of municipal administration. The local associations which we have derived at least from our Saxon ancestors ; the municipal institutions of the kingdom, whose origin (however corruption and usurpation may have meddled with their operation and details) is coeval with the funda- mental liberties of the realm ; — these ancient establishments have been swept away by the recent enactments of par- liament, to be replaced by a new, untried, and uniform sys- tem of municipal government. That system may be truly termed new and untried, because, although in much it is analogous to the constitution of our boroughs in the Saxon and Norman times, yet the progress of literature, the arts, and commerce, the more extensive development of political freedom, and the varied relations of our national institutions, have materially altered the positions in which the diversified classes of the community stand in regard to 150 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. each other, and induced a state of society altogether different from that in which our municipal associations took their rise. It is a question of grave import, and one to which the lapse of a few years will suffice to afford a decisive answer, whether the change that has been effected was politically expedient or just ;— whether institutions, that might have been admirably adapted to the circum- stances and requirements of our Saxon ancestors, — a people the framework of whose society was essentially different from that of the present day — can be advantage- ously recurred to after the nation has passed through so many ages of diverse rule, and undergone the ordeal of successive revolutions, alike in society and in government ; — whether the extinct corporate bodies had not varied from their Saxon originals chiefly in a gradual adaptation to the existing circumstances of each local community amongst which they were placed; — and whether, in short, it were not practical and more advantageous to correct acknowledged evils induced by usurpation, without sweep- ing away those arrangements that had been conventionally adopted in deference to the increasing wants and altered situations of the people. But this is a question with which it is hardly the province of the present work to deal ; and without entering into such discussion, it may be permitted to glance at the growth of municipal establishments, and to investigate their early formation and progress, particularly in so far as the historical incidents of the borough of Poole are affected by or affect the matter. No party purpose can now be served by such an enquiry into the rise of those corpora- tions that have become purely a matter of history. The fierce prejudices of party have subsided into the calm expression of dissentient opinions on questions that no longer affect the relations of rivalry ; and hence the subject may be treated dispassionately, without reference to any peculiar theory, and in regard only to the general bearing MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 151 of facts and records. It is advantageous therefore to enter upon the consideration of the municipal history of a bo- rough at such a time, when prejudices are in abeyance, and when also it is desirable that the inhabitants of a town should have placed upon collective record the memorials of an institution that has been abandoned, after having" come down to their days as the accumulated legacy of many a century. The etymology of the word * borough' has been warmly contested, and is involved in much doubt; nor is it essen- tial whether we are to look for the appellation to a Greek or Teutonic origin. It is to the Saxon period of our national history that we must refer for the first clear indi- cations of those associations understood by the term * boroughs.' It seems tolerably evident, that at that period the word was applied to every city and town of importance, to which those of the people resorted who were free from the slavish services and from the arbitrary payments contingent upon tenures in villanage ; and who, though in some measure dependent upon the lord of the soil, were not so much at his disposal as his more immediate retainers and tenants; — such cities and towns enjoying a peculiar local jurisdiction and police, distinct from those of the shire, and being governed by their own officers chosen at the courts-leet holden under the authority of the king or lord. The title ' burgh wara' (burghers), which is the term used in the Saxon Chronicle to indicate the people of the boroughs, does not seem to denote an exclusive class possessed of any peculiarity of legal right, but the general body of the people in the town : they were " the permanent free inhabitants of the boroughs ; performing their duties and enjoying their privileges — as the free inhabitant householders, paying scot and bearing lot; presented, sworn, and enrolled at the court leet."& Mere-wether and Stephens : Hist : of Boroughs, v. 152 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. One great object of the regulations of the Saxons was to check the practice of vagrancy; against this their laws were very severe, and many inducements were offered to a permanent residence : every man living in a borough for a year and a day, was required by the law to do his suit at the court leet, and he thereon became entitled to the privileges of a freeman, and was considered law-worthy. When the Saxon subjects were thus raised from the slavish condition of villanage, and became free-men, they were answerable to the law for themselves, whilst the lords were answerable for the conduct of the villans: they were admitted into the general system of pledges, by means of which freemen became responsible for the conduct of each other.^ Associated together for the purposes of trade and commerce, by the increase of which they became pos- sessed of wealth, the burgesses were thus raised into persons of comparative importance, and enabled to purchase from their lords considerable extension of privilege, and ex- emption from many servile duties. This concession of additional privileges, beyond those appurtenant to every borough by the provisions of general laws, was the object for which charters were granted by the kings and great lords. Thus arose that great framework of the chartered communities which were spread over the land, and which gradually introduced so great an alteration in the relations of society and the political institutions of the kingdom, by their importance, power, and privileges. The borough system experienced little alteration at the period of the conquest, and notwithstanding the prevalence of contrary opinions, it is manifest from the laws compiled and published by William the Conqueror, and by the great * This system of mutual pledges at the court leet, — by which every freeman was to be " put or set in pledge," i. e., to find one who should be surety to the law for his good behaviour, and that he should be forthcoming to answer the law if any thing should be imputed to him ; and if he did not, the pledge was to be responsible for him — was the principle upon which the firm basis of the simple but practical police of our Saxon ancestors was founded : and a vestige of this principle is left in operation to this day, in proceedings against the hundred. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 153 fiscal record of Domesday Book^, that the provisions and spirit of the Saxon policy still continued to prevail, and were encouraged rather than suppressed by that monarch. Such then, in brief, was the nature and condition of boroughs and burgesses at the period when we find men- tion first made of Poole in its municipal character. It has been lately contended by powerful and enquiring writers on this branch of our history, (Merewether and Stephens,) that at this time there existed no boroughs of incorporation: that, in point of fact, the first charter of incorporation was granted in the reiffn of Henry VI. In all likelihood this position is correct in a technical point of consideration ; the period referred to is, perhaps, the earliest in which the words of incorporation are to be found ; but the reality of the thing, which, in such matters, is of more import- ance than the mere name, had certainly been long in existence : and whether the peculiar privileges necessary in the eye of the law to constitute a corporation, — viz., the power of suing and being sued by some corporate name, and the power of holding property in perpetuity by succession, — had or had not been expressly conceded by charter, it is clear that such powers had been deemed to belong to, and had been exercised by, the burgesses of boroughs. In Domesday and in other documents relating to the Saxon times, there are indications of the possession by burgesses of common property, held for the benefit of the body of the town's people — property which sometimes appears to have been enjoyed by the people in common, and at others to have been let out to persons who paid rent to the burgesses as landlords. The burgesses of Poole were in the position we have outlined, when they are first mentioned in the charter of ■ Although many of the boroughs are expressly mentioned as such in Domesday Book, yet that record must not be taken as containing a list of all the boroughs then in existence. It is a striking instance, that -whilst the burgesses of London are men- tioned in its pages, London itself is not entered as a separate borough. X 154 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. William Longespee, the lord of the manor, granted in 1248^, in which the burgesses purchased many additional privileges to those which they had previously enjoyed. It is manifest, from the wording of this charter, that Poole had existed as a borough for a considerable time before the grant of these immunities, for Longespee speaks of the grantees as his " burgesses," and confirms their ancient privileges, and " free customs" &c. The charter is as follows : — " *f Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego Willelmus Lung- espee dedi et concessi et hac presenti carta mea confirmaui pro me et heredibus meis burgensibus meis de Pola et heredibus suis omnimodas libertates et liberas consuetudines et quietancias tarn corporum quam catallorum de telonio et omnibus aliis consuetudinibus et sectis faciendis extra bur- gum meum de Pola ad me uel heredes meos pertinentibus sicut liberi cives uel burgenses civitatum uel burgorum domini regis in tota Anglia habent quantum ad me siue predecessores meos vel heredes aliquo modo per totam terrain meam dinoscitur pertinere in terra mari portubus et passagiis saluis michi et heredibus meis de singulus navibus ad partes transmarinas peregrinos tranferantibus duobus solidis. Concessi eciam eisdem burgensibus pro me et heredibus meis quod ex seipsis quocienscunque fuerit necessarie eligant ad prefecturam dicti burgi mei de Pola sex burgensis ex qui bus ego et heredes mei pro tem- pore quemcunque eorum nobis viderimus expedire pre- * This charter bears no date on it ; but for reasons, which arc assigned, p. 78, this date has been fixed on. + The following translation of the charter is subjoined: — " Know those present and those to come that I William Longespee have given and granted and by this my present charter have confirmed for me and mine heirs to my burgesses of Poole and their heirs all manner' of liberties and free customs and acquittances as well of their bodies as of their goods from toll and all other customs and suits to be done without my borough of Poole to me or mine heirs belonging as the free citizens or burgesses of the cities or boroughs of the lord the king have throughout all England as fully as to me or my predecessors or heirs in any manner was known to belong through all my land upon the land sea ports and passages saving to me and to mine heirs for every ship going to foreign parts beyond the seas two shillings. I have also granted to the same burgesses for me and mine heirs that out of themselves as often as need shall require they may choose for the government of my said borough of Poole six burgesses from whom I and mine heirs for the time being some one of them as to us shall seem fit will appoint our portreeve who shall faithfully upon his oath preserve the rights of us and our burgesses who truly if he be afterwards found less diligent in MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 155 positum nostrum faciemus qui jura nostra et burgensium nostrorum prestito sacramento fidt liter conseruabit qui quidem si postmodum ad opus nostrum minus utilis inueniatur ilium admovebimus et ahum secundum formam predictam electum loco suo subrogabimus. Ego uero et beredes mei bedellum de dicto burgo pro uoluntate nostra in dicto burgo statuemus qui tactis sacrosanctis coram balliuis et burgensibus nostris jurabit quod omnia attachia- menta me uel heredes meos de jure contingencia undo commodum nostrum aliquo modo poterit peruenire fideliter et sine aliqua subtractione preposito nostro dicti burgi uel ballivis nostris si fuerint presentes prcsentabit. Balliui eciam mei et heredum meorum sexcies in anno placita nostra in predicto burgo nostro tenebunt de modiis et assisis fractis et omnibus aliis que ad nos de jure possunt pertinere scilicet in crastino circumcisionis et in octabiis purificationis beate marie et in crastino annunciacionis eiusdem et proximo die sabbati post hokedai et die martis proxime post festum sancte trinitatis et triduo ante sancti Petri que dicitur aduincula quod si in aliquibus dictorum terminorum uel infra placita aperta in eodem burgo cmerserint secundum consuetudinem burgorum et civitatum domini regis dicta placita per balliuos nostros pertractentur et in Judicium deducantur amerciamenta ex inde perueni- entia ad modum delicti per predictos balliuos nostros ad opus nostrum capiantur. Si uero contingat aliquis dicto- rum burgensium nostrorum terininis pretaxatis curie nostre per maris impcdimentum interesse non posse balliui our business we will amove and require another according to the form aforesaid to be chosen in his place. Moreover I and mine heirs a beadle of the said town will appoint in the said town according to our pleasure who upon his oath taken before our bailiffs and burgesses shall swear that all attachments touching the rights of me or mine heirs whereby our advantage may in any wise arise he will faithfully and without any delay present to our portreeve of the said borough or to our bailiffs if they shall be present. Moreover the bailiffs of me and mine heirs six times in a year shall hold in the said borough our pleas for the breach of measures and assize and all other things which to us of right appertain that is to say on the morrow of the circumcision and on the octaves of the purilication of the blessed Mary and on the morrow of the annunciation of the same and on the Saturday next after hokeday and on the Wed- nesday next after the feast of the H0I3* Trinity and the third day before Saint Peter which is called advineula so that if during any of the said terms or whilst the public pleas are holden within the said borough according to the custom of the boioughs and cities of the lord the king the said pleas shall be heard and brought to judgment by our said bailiffs the amerciaments therefrom arising according to the offence shall be taken by our aforesaid bailiffs for our use. Moreover if it should happen that any of our said burgesses in the fixed terms of our court should be disabled from attending through the hiiulrance of the sea our bailiffs shall in nowise account their absence by 156 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. nostri abscntiam suam nullomodo reputabint defalcatam set cum redierint et aliqua placita aperta contra eos interim fuerint emersa secundum predictam consuetudinem coram balliuis nostris juri parere compellantur. Cum uero mer- catores extranei quicunque fuerint ad portum dicti burgi nostri applicuerint et ab inde cum festinacione recedere uoluerint et interim in aliquo deliquerint quod prepositum nostrum et burgenses nostros possit emendari uolo pro me et heredibus meis quod si balliui nostri fuerint absentes per prepositum nostrum et fideles burgenses nostros emende talis delicti capiantur et balliuis nostris fideliter persol- uantur. Et dicti mercatores libere et quiete recedant saluo tamen michi et heredibus meis de singulis uasis alienigena- rum blada venalia apportantibus per conductionem modii curie mee de Kaneford eisdem ad mensurandum bladum suum comodato vno bussello bladi. Cum uero rex quicunque fuerit de ciuitatibus siue burgis suis tallagium ceperit secundum consuetudinem ciuitatum et burgorum suorum de dictis burgensibus meis michi et heredibus meis tallagium capere licebit. Volo eciam pro me et heredibus meis quod dicti burgenses habeant bene et pacifice animalia sua quieta de herbagio in brueria mea prout semper consueuerunt et necessaria ad focum suum in brueriis et turbariis per uisum ballivorum meorum. Pro hoc autem donacione et concessione et presentis carte confirmacione dederunt michi predicti burgenses sexaginta decern marcas pennanibus. Vnde ego et heredes mei dictas liber- default but when they return and any pleas opened against them meanwhile shall be hoklen according to the aforesaid custom they shall be compelled by right to appear before our bailiffs. Moreover when any stranger merchants whoever they may be shall resort to the port of our said borough and desire to return from thence with speed and meanwhile have done default in any thing which our portreeve and our burgesses may amend I will for me and mine heirs that if our bailiffs be absent that our portreeve and our faithful burgesses shall take redress of such default and shall faithfully repay the same to our bailiffs and the said merchants freely and quietly may depart saving however to me and mine heirs from every foreign vessel bringing corn for sale one bushel of corn for the use of the measure belonging to my court at Kaneford for the measuring of their said corn. Moreover when the king whomsoever he be shall take tallage of his cities or boroughs according to the custom of his cities and boroughs it shall be lawful for me and mine heirs to take tallage of my said burgesses. I will also for me and mine heirs that the said burgesses shall have well and peaceably their cattle quit of herbage in my heaths as always they have been accustomed and neces- saries for their firing in the heaths and turbaries by the view of my bailiffs. And for this grant and concession and the confirmation of this present charter the aforesaid burgesses have given to me by their hands seventy marks wherefore I and mine heirs arc held to warrant for ever the said liberties to the said burgesses and their heirs and in order that all the aforesaid may obtain strength in perpetual validity I have given corroboration to this charter by the putting of my seah These witnessing &c." MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 15? tates dictis burgensibus et eorum licredibus in perpetuum warentizare teaemur. Vt autem omnia predicta perpetue firmitatis robur obtineant presentem cartam sigilli mei impressione duxi roborandam. Hiis testibus^ Dominis Euerardo Cevonico Thoma de Hyneton Rogero de Leborne Johanne de Barentino Militibus Raduipho de Aungers Thoma de Hyneton juniori Magistro Waltero Salsator Petro de Salceto Domino Simone Berenger Raduipho persona de Vppvinborne Thoma Makerel et Valentino clericis et multis aliis." This charter, purchased by the burgesses of Poole of their lord, at a time when his military undertakings ren- dered it necessary that every pecuniary resource at his command should be rendered available, is of importance on many accounts. The first municipal record in existence relating to Poole, it stands as the germ from which sprung, by gradual process, that complicate system of local juris- diction, which has been since found of great value and importance to the inhabitants. And the document must be also looked upon with interest, as affording" an unerring indication that Poole was, even in that early day, a com- mercial town of considerable traffic, and its inhabitants a race of comparatively wealthy burghers. That it had previously possessed the essentials of a borough, is evident from the language of the grant itself ; whilst the "ships sailing to foreign parts' 9 (ad partes transmarine® peregrinos transfer anlibus J ', and the " stranger merchants" (merca- tores extranij, present an idea of more bustle and trade than would appertain to a quiet fishing village : and the sum paid by the burgesses as the purchase-money of this charter of their privileges is sufficient in amount to satisfy us, that the commerce of the port had not been carried on unprosperously.-f* • Charters were formerly executed with so much notoriety, that there was no occasion for the witnesses to set their own names, that being done by the clerk in the presence of them all. -• The sum given by the burgesses proves the high estimation in which they re- garded the privileges bestowed on them in this charter: for, although "seventy 158 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. The privileges of which the document treats were of considerable importance. To be invested with all the liberties and free customs and acquittances from toll which free citizens or burgesses of the cities and boroughs of the king- had ; — to be free from pleading or being impleaded without the limits of the borough, and to have a court for the holding of pleas within the borough, six times in the year, were rights of no slight value. And beyond these, the burg-esses had a confirmation of their ancient freedom of herbage and turbary in the manor of Canford ; — a free- dom which the inhabitants enjoyed under this grant, until the passing of the enclosure act, a few years since, when allotments, in lieu thereof, were made to the holders of messuages in Poole. The portreeve (prepositus)^ who was appointed under this charter to be the head-ruler in the borough, was the same officer, and possessed the same powers as the mayor marks" (£4S 13s. 4cl.) appears a trifling sum in these days, yet a little enquiry into the value of money as a medium of barter in the period at which this transaction took place, cannot fail to excite surprise at the result. Under the Anglo-Norman kings, the pound of silver was divided into twenty shillings, each shilling being then, as now, divided into twelve pence. All authorities agree that in those times, the pound contained three times as much silver as is contained in the pound sterling of the pre- sent day ; but they are by no means unanimous when they proceed to consider how much more three times as much silver was worth then than now. Some estimate the difference so high as twenty to one : others place it so low as five : according to Hume it is ten : according to Lyttleton and Henry, it is five. But, whatever may have been the case seventy years ago, there appears to be every reason to believe that the differ- ence in value between any quantity of silver at the time referred to, and the value of the same quantity at the present time, is at least as much as ten to one. We find in bishop Fletcher's Chronicon Preciosum, that, in the time of Henry I., forty sheep were valued at one pound, and that a stalled ox was worth one shilling. In 1145, an ox was worth three shillings; and 9, Richard I., (1198), an ox was valued also at three shillings, and a sheep at four pence, [Madox, Exc : 643]. If we multiply this sum of three shillings by three to allow for the diminished quantity of silver, and then by ten, the product will be four pounds ten shillings, a moderate price for a lean ox at the present day. In 1185, the tenants of Shirebum were by custom to pay either four hens or two pence. Apply the same rule, and it raises the price of each hen to one shilling and three pence, a common price for a hen in country markets at the pre- sent time. In 4, Henry III., (1220), we findfrom Madox that a cart was valued at half a mark ; and a horse at eight shillings. The same proportion is here evident. Thus the seventy marks paid to Longespee contained as much silver as three times that nominal amount in this day, or £140 ; whilst, as a medium of barter, the sum is equi- valent in actual value to one thousand four hundred pounds. * There is a document in the Canford court records, where the word " prepositus" is thus translated " Anglice reeve." MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 159 under subsequent charters ; and the mode of his appoint- ment by the nomination of six burgesses out of the general body, of whom the lord was to select one, was continued down to the grant of the charter, 10th Elizabeth. In an inquisition taken in 1312, on the death of Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln, lord of the manor, it was returned that the burgesses of Poole held a free borough, paying a fee-farm rent of £8 13s. 4d. In an inquisition, ad quod damnum, taken June the 7th, 1341, before the king's escheator, it is certified, amongst other things, that the town of Poole was a free borough ; that the burgesses had been accustomed to receive time out mind from vessels trading at the port, certain port dues therein specified, in aid of the farm of the borough ; and that it would not be to the loss or prejudice of the crown or others, if the crown granted to the burgesses of Poole a charter of the aforesaid customs, and all customs and liberties which the burgesses of Melcomb had by charter from the crown. No such charter, however, was granted at that time. About this time the portreeve (prepositus) seems to have assumed the title of mayor^ ; as April 26, 1364, the mayor and barons of Winchelsea issued a certificate, under their seal, touching the extent of the admiralty jurisdiction exer- cised by the mayor and burgesses fles mair et burgyses) of Poole. But there appears no adequate authority for this change of title, until the year 1371, when, June 10, a charter was granted by William de Montacute, earl of Salisbury, and lord of the manor of Canford and Poole, to the burgesses of Poole. This charter contains xi recital and inspeximus of the charter of William Longespee, all the liberties and privi- leges of which are confirmed by the earl to the burgesses * What particular advantages were to be derived by the burgesses from the " reeve" lvaving the Norman name of "mayor," instead of his latin name " propositus," it is difficult to say : unless it was to make the head officer of the borough, less like the inferior officer oi reeve or baililf of the lord.— Merewether and Stephens, 658. 160 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. and their heirs. It also grants, that the defaults of the assize of bread and ale broken, as also the amerciaments of measures, reserved, in Longespee's charter, to him and his heirs, should thenceforth for ever be and remain to the burgesses and their heirs and successors; reserving in consideration thereof, to the earl and his heirs, the fine of half a mark, to be paid at the first court day, and the fine of eighteen pence, to be paid at the other five courts of the year, holden before the lord or his steward. It further provides, that the portreeve should thenceforth be called " mayor," and that he and his successors should " have the government according to the customs aforesaid, and in manner as of other the king's cities and boroughs of our said borough for ever, as always in times past they have been accustomed to have, and as our said portreeves hitherto have had." The grant of turbary is likewise confirmed by this charter. This document was written in chirograph^, the one part being ensealed by the earl, and the other with the " com- mon seal" of "the mayor and burgesses." The fines mentioned in this charter were paid, together with the chief rent, and a further sum of ten pence for a pound of wax and a pound of cummin, in the whole £6 lis. 7Jd., by the inhabitants of Poole to the lord of the manor of Can- ford, till the enclosure act passed. Feb. 8, 1410-11. By a charter under this date, Thomas de Montacute, earl of Salisbury, recites and confirms to the burgesses of Poole and their heirs, the grants of Lon- gespee and William de Montacute, without conferring any additional privileges. We now approach the period at which the first royal * A chirograph was a writing or deed consisting most commonly of two parts both of the same tenor, whereof one of the parties concerned was to have one part, and the other the other part. For which purpose the deed was written twice on the same parchment, and between the body of each part was written the word " cirographum" in capital letters, and cut through in the middle of those letters rectilinear, or indentwisc. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 161 grant was made to the borough of Poole. Henry VI., a.r. 11, July 8, 1433, by authority of parliament, issued letters patent^ to the effect that, — considering the weakness and insufficiency of the port of Melcomb for merchants resorting thither with goods and merchandizes, arising from the scarcity of the people there; that the port of Poole was inhabited by a great multitude of people, and was secure and sufficient for ships to resort thither; and that the mayor and burgesses proposed to wall, entrench, and fortify the town and port, and parts adjacent ; — the king, with the advice of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in parliament assembled, gave licence to the mayor and burgesses to fortify the town and port of Poole ; ordered that the port of Melcomb, after the next feast of St. Hilary, should be no longer a port, but a creek ; and granted that the port of Poole, from such feast, should be one of the king's ports for shipping and unloading all sorts of merchandizes, as well home-bred as foreign, and all kinds of merchandizes belonging to the staple; that the mayor should have cognizance of the staple-f*, and have the same franchises and liberties as the mayor of Southampton. * The king's loiters patent were delivered open, having the great seal, from which they derive their legal existence, attached to the bottom. They are presumed to he of a public nature, addressed to all the king's subjects ; and carry with them whatever extent of privilege or power, or rank, or property, the crown may think proper to bestow. The close rolls, on the contraiy, are records of such instruments as were despatched closed or sealed up, and were of a more private nature, being addressed to one or two individuals only, and were, in many cases, the authority to the chancellor for issuing the letters patent. To these documents the king's privy seal was attached : they were folded up and tied round with apiece of silk. Charters, like letters patent, passed under the great seal : and the principal distinc- tion between a charter and a patent is that the former was witnessed by such persons as were present when it was executed, whose testimony to its execution was necessary for its validity ; and that the latter was executed by the king himself. There is also a slight variation in the address. A charter usually commences in these words: — " The king to all his archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, justices, sheriffs, reeves, ministers, and all his faithful subjects, greeting :" — but a patent com- mences thus: — "The king to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting." Charters are sometimes confirmed by letters patent, — [Nicholas on the Public Records.] t Torts of the staple were those ports licenced to import and export the goods of the staple, and having a court, presided over by the mayor of the staple, and governed by the law merchant in a summary way, which is the law of the staple. The privi- leges of ports of the staple, which were originally held by towns in Flanders, were, by ]C2 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. This grant affords a distinct instance in disproof of the doctrine asserted by Spelman, followed by many other authors, that boroughs were walled towns. It may be inferred, from the charter of Longespee, that Poole was a borough before the time of legal memory^ ; yet from this document it is clear, that up to the period of which we are now treating, the town was not fortified. This licence to wall, intrench, and fortify the town, was by several statutes rendered necessary, before any fortifications could be erected. It has also been assumed by some writers on municipal institutions, that the holding a market was essential to the constitution of a borough ; but this position likewise is the statute of the 27th Edward III. (statutum de stapulis), removed to certain porta in England, to the number of which a few others were added by subsequent monarchs. This statute contains a most complete code of laws for the regulation of the merchants who attended the staples of wool, and gives the most summary justice upon all con- tracts entered into during the continuance of these great marts. The staple merchan- dizes, according to lord Coke, weie only wool, woolfells, leather, lead, and tin ; others add butter, cheese, and eloths ; and afterwards staple goods were generally understood to be such as were vendible, and not subject to perish, of any kind. The mayor and constables of the staple not only had cognizance of all contracts and debts relating to these, but they had likewise jurisdiction over the people and all manner of things touching the staple : this power was given them, lest the merchants should be diverted and drawn from their business and trade by applying to the common law, and run- ning through the tedious forms of it, for a determination of their differences, and for the greater encouragement of merchants, that they might have all imaginable security in their contracts and dealings, and the most expeditious method of recovering their debts, without going out of the bounds of the staple. Other advantages, moreover, arose from the establishment of these ports of the staple, for at them the king's cus- toms were easily collected, and were, by the officers of the staple, at two several payments, returned into the exchequer ; besides, all merchants' goods were carefully viewed and marked by the proper officers of the staple ; and this necessarily pre- vented the exportation of decayed goods or ill-wrought manufactures. The statute staple (of which there are some precedents [t. Edward VI.] still exist- ing in an old book in the municipal archives of Poole) was a bond of record acknowledged before the mayor of the staple, in the presence of all or one of the constables ; and to all obligations made on recognizances so acknowledged the statute required that a seal, ordained for that purpose, should be affixed ; and this seal of the staple was the only seal necessary to attest the contract. These courts have gone into disuse ; but the seal belonging to the staple court of Poole is still in existence. It bears the legend—" Sigill: Stapule in pobtu de Pole." * It being enacted that " no lands or tenements, rights or liberties, which had been enjoyed in the reign of Henry II., should require to be proved by any charter or document in writing ; but that it should be sufficient to shew that they had been used in the reign of Henry II.," and the common law having adopted the same principle, the first year of Richard I. is termed '* the period of legal memory." MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 163 refuted by the document to which we arc about to refer* and by which it appears that Poole had existed as a borough for at least upwards of two hundred years before the holding of a market had been conceded to it bv charter* Investigation, indeed, confirms the conclusion adopted at the commencement of this chapter, that, in the early times* all important towns were regarded as boroughs, without any especial grant of privilege ; and that the free inhabitant householders, paying scot and bearing lot, and duly en- rolled, were the burgesses. The document to which we refer, is a charter granted by Henry VI., and confirmed, by authority of parliament, in the 31st year of his reign, July 1, 1453, by which the king conceded to the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and inhabitants of the town of Poole, their heirs and suc- cessors, the privilege of holding a weekly market on Thursday, and two fairs, viz., on the feast of St. Philip and St. James, and for seven days next following ; and on the day of All Souls, and for seven days next following ; with all liberties and free customs to such markets and fairs appertaining, with freedom from purveyance. And it was also granted that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and inha- bitants, their heirs and successors, might hold, all manner of pleas for trespasses, and bargains, and other matters arising during the said fairs, in the court of the said mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and inhabitants, before the mayor and bailiffs, so that no justice, escheator, sheriff, steward, marshal, coroner, clerk of the market, or other bailiff or minister of the king should interfere : and that all persons resorting to the said fairs, in coming there, tarrying, or returning therefrom, should be free from ail arrests and disturbances of the said officers. Edward IV., in the 1st year of his reign, January 20, 14G1-2, by letters patent, confirmed to the " mayor and burgesses of the town of Poole and their successors," the grant of the 11th Hcnrv VI. This confirmation was made 164 MUNICIPAL HISTORY* on the ground, that Henry VI. having been king " de facto and not de jure," such confirmation was required to render the grant valid. Henry VIII., by letters patent, issued in the 3rd year of his reign, June 20, 1511, confirmed to the "mayor and burgesses of our town of Poole, and to their successors," the grants of 11th Henry VI., 31st Henry VI., and 1st Edward IV. In the 12th year of the same reign, a grant was issued, bearing the authority of the sign manual, — reciting that the burgesses and inhabitants of Poole were destitute of wood for their necessary fuel, " and knowe not where to make provision thcrof, onelesse than they may hatte it out of or' counties of Southampton and Sussex," — and licencing them to buy and provide, from time to time, within tho said counties, as much wood, for ready money, as they might need, any letters of commission or other command- ment of the king theretofore made notwithstanding.^ In the 18th year of Henry VIII., Sept. 4, 1526, a grant was made by Arthur Plantagenet, viscount Leslie, vice-admiral to Henry, duke of Richmond, lord high admiral of England, — containing an inspeximus of the charter of William de Montacute, and the subsequent con- firmations, — and exempting the mayor, brethren, bailiffs, burgesses, and inhabitants of Poole, in all their possessions and liberties by land and sea, from all kind of power and jurisdiction of the admiral of England. In the 34th year of the same reign, 1542, letters patent, confirmed by act of parliament, were issued, licencing the mayor, burgesses, and inhabitants to erect a windmill and * So great was the regard had in ancient times to the preservation of the royal, forests, that strict limitations were put to the felling of trees, which could only be done by express commandment : indeed such care was taken to prevent the diminu- tion of trees, that in the time of Edward II., we find that orders were issued for the destruction of woodpeckers, on the ground that the perforations made by their bills induced the decay of the wood. We also learn from this grant, how limited was the me at that time of pit-coal, which, although discovered so early as the time of the ancient Britons, did not come into general use before the time of Charles I. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 165 conduit head. An abstract of this grant has been given. ante, p. 97. Proceedings were undertaken by the attorney-general, in the 3rd and 4th of Philip and Mary, on a writ of quo warranto, against William Newman, mayor, and the burgesses and inhabitants of Poole; and it appears that they had been called upon to produce their authorities for the various privileges they exercised ; and by their plea they insisted upon their liberties and franchises, and produce divers letters patent, and other charters and muniments, whereupon a nolle prosequi was entered by the attorney- general. Queen Elizabeth, in the 1st year of her reign, issued letters patent of the 18th Feb., 1558-9, containing an inspeximus, recital, and confirmation of the charter of Longespee, and of the subsequent charters granted by the lords of the manor of Canford. We are now arrived close upon a period at which the most important alterations were effected in the municipal regulations of Poole by the charter of the 10th of Eliza- beth ; and before entering upon a consideration of those alterations, it will be desirable to pause here, to record a few scattered fragments, and particularly to enquire into the changes which up to this period had gradually crept into the constitution of the borough, and the operation of the various charters from the first grant of Longespee. The earliest books now preserved in the municipal archives, commence about the middle of the sixteenth century. The entries prior to the 10th of Elizabeth, are scanty and vague ; and it appears that immediately after the grant of that charter, new and regular books were opened for recording the transactions of the corporation, and have been continued in regular series down to this day. The records prior to that time now in existence, are clearly not the whole that were kept. What has become of those which cannot now be found, is uncertain. 166 MUNlCIfrAt HISTORY* Probably some of them shared in the destruction foolishly and culpably effected in the manner described by the late Mr. Foot, the town clerk, who deposed in his evidence in the case of Rex v. Strong', that he had been informed by the executor of a former town clerk, that at the decease of that officer, he, as his executor, had become possessed of several large bundles of corporation papers, some of which, being very ancient, he considered of no value, and therefore destroyed them. Amongst the records still preserved is a terrier, without date, of " stin landes tennents closes and gardins leying wythin the towene of Poole belonging to the sayd towene/ ' The following items occur, amongst others, in this document : — " The passage purchased and maintained by the towne over against the great keye, the yearly rent of the same being one^couple of capons, paid to the bailiff of the towne. — Quit rent 2d. *' The great keye, porchasyd edefyd and buylded by the towne. — Quit rent 2d. u The allmes howese wth in the towene of Poole to the same belonging, and holden owte of mind. — Quit rent 6d. " A little prison by the quay called Salisbury — of which the quit rent is a pepper-corn. " All the common ground within Poole gates, as the West Butts, Great Pydwins, Little Pydwins, and Bayter. Same quit rent. " A market house in the Pyllorye Street. Same quit rent." The book also contains a series of mayors' accounts from 1560 to 1566, from which we are enabled to ascer- tain the nature of the income and disbursements on the town's behalf, at that time. The receipts are chiefly composed of the rents of the various premises belonging to the town, consisting of about twenty parcels. There are, however, occasional payments from other sources, as the following : — " 1561. — Rcsseved of Mr. Byngley ye 5 of December, for the legasy of Mr. Scryven geven to the allmes howese hi." The disbursements were more varied, and comprised MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 107 such as under: — " 1561. [First half year — the accounts being made up half yearly.] I. s. d. The plumber of Shasbcre for 5 days about the church. , .,090 [There are very many similar entries.] For 4S quarrelles abowte the church wyndes at l|d. each and for clored glass Is. 2d 7 2 For lead used about the church 2 15 2 For casting the above 17 The plumber's fee due at Woodeberyetyde 6 8 For a callinder and the x comandemts for y£ church .... 1 4 For a quyer of paper « . 4 To Robert Clarke for keping of ye clocke, and rynging the corfebell 8 0" The receipts for the first half year of 1561 amount to 13?. 10s. 10c?., the disbursements for the same time to 91. 2s. Id. In the subsequent disbursements the following entries occur amongst others : — " For a piece of timber for the almes house 3 3 [There are many other payments for work done at the alms house.] To Mr. Hussey for his fee due at Xtmas 1 O To Mr. Hooper for ditto 1 To Mr. Hussey for the peruse of or charter 1 For Mr. Newman's costs and mine [Mr. Green] in London over and besides xl. yt I ressd of Crystoffer Havelond and Xpoffer Rose 2 5 6 For a baryll of olives yt Mr. Notherell then mayor had to give my lord T. Howard 8 6 For the rest of and uppon a stin acomptatmy [Mr. Green] being in London in sewte for stin pryvyleges for ye towne and for powder and shott for y e castell and ordenans, and allso for that I was a borgess of par- liament 13 18 3 To Mr. Giles Estcourte of Sarum half of the interest of 50?. lent by him to the town 3 For frayght of the quene's maiesties ordenans yt was had owte of the castell of brownseye 2 10 Payed for a hogsed of wyne yt the towne gave vnto my lorde Montioie 2 5 P<1 for a quarte of bastard yt I sent to Mr. Poole at his being here to remember us for the towene to my lorde Montioye 6 Pay id vnto lyttyle Thorns for weding ye comon 6" In one of his periodical visitations about this time, the Clarencieux king at arms attended at Poole, and exem- plified the arms of the borough, viz., barry of 8, sable and vert ; over all a dolphin naiant argent ; on a chief of 168 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the third_iwo escallops of the first. The following is a copy of the record of his confirmation : — " These be y e armes appertaininge and belonginge to the maire baylyfes burgesys and inhabitaunce of the towne of Poole and to all the corporacion of the same ; which inhabitance of the said towne of Poole as appered by auncyent charters to me in. my visitacion shcwen were incorporated by William Longespee erle of Sarum by the name of port ryve baylyfe and burgesyes of his towene of Poole, persell of his manor of Candford, which corporacion was ratyfyed aumplifyed and confirmed by William Monteacute erle of Sarum, by y e name of his mayor baylyfe and burgesyes of his said towne and borough of Poole, which towne and borough of Poole is now the inheritaunce of James Blount, knyghte, lord Mountioye, as in the right of his said manner of Candford. The whiche armes above sett forthe I Clarencieulx kynge of armes have ratified and confirmed unto the mayre baylyfe burgesyes and inhabitants of the said towne burough of Poole in this my present visitacion within y e countye of Dorset and at this present William Bydlecom [qu. Byng- ley] mayre ; Ambrosse Benet, baylyfe ; X potter Rosse, andPeter Gaydon, constables; John Man, John Northerell, .... Ellybred, John Davys, William Newman, Thomas Byngley, Richard Goddarde, William Evene, John Han- eocke, burgesyes." This confirmation by Clarencieux is without date ; but it bears internal evidence from which we may arrive at some conclusion on this point. The manor of Canford came into the possession of James Blount, lord Mountjoy, under the will of the marchioness of Exeter, who died 1558. He died between 1567 and 1571. The visitation must therefore have taken place between 1558 and the latter mentioned year. But a difficulty arises from the circumstance, that between those periods there was no mayor named William Bydelcom. It is not improbable, however, that the visitation was in 1563, during the mayor- alty of William Byngley, and that a mistake originated in the similarity of the names. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 169 In entering" upon a consideration of the state of the borough, so far as its municipal government was con- cerned, immediately before its elevation to the dignity and privileges of a county corporate, it will be well to trace the progress of that government from the time of the charter of Longespee. By that charter, the chief authority in the borough was vested in the mayor, who was to be appointed by the lord or his steward, out of six individuals, nomi- nated by the burgesses at large and presented for that purpose at the annual court leet of the manor. This course was recognized by all the legal documents down to the charter of the 10th Elizabeth ; but we find that by process of time, this practice underwent changes, the effects of which, though at first imperceptible, were ultimately of great extent. The nominees for the office of mayor were originally selected by the burgesses at large, and presented by them to the lord's steward, through the jury at the court leet ; but the jurors gradually relinquished this instrumental character, and assumed the exclusive practice of nomination. That jury was, undoubtedly, composed of the most sub- stantial, intelligent, and respectable burghers : — men in whom, from their character, their wealth, and consequent interest in maintaining the rights and welfare of the town, their fellow burgesses could safely place their confidence ; and in looking to the state of society at that time, and the intimate manner in which its various relations were interwo- ven, it is not a matter of surprise that the inhabitants should tacitly and conventionally delegate to such a body this power of nomination. It is necessary to bear in mind this delegation of power to the court leet jury, with regard to the appointment of the mayor, because we here discern the germ from which expanded, in after years, that system of exclusion and self-election which prevailed in the corpo- rate body. That the jury absorbed the power of nomi- nation, is not a matter of assumption; for nothing can be clearer, from the records of the borough, than the 170 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. existence of such a change in the system. Many are the entries which establish the fact ; it will suffice to extract one instance. On the 30th of Sept., 1567, ten pounds were paid by Mr. Constantine " in consideration that the tivelve men should put him in the election to be mayor, and had not been before that time bailiff or constable, which was done contrary to the order and accustomed election/' There can be little question that the "twelve men" were the court leet jury. It is also evidenced by this entry, that the practice of taking offices by rotation, which prevailed down to a very recent period, was of ancient origin.^ But at this time, though the mayor was the chief officer in the borough, yet he was not vested with the sole power in municipal administration, for we find associated with him the bailiffs, and " his brethren." The word " bailiff" is first introduced in the charter of the 31st Henry VI. : why, or how the office had been created, does not clearly appear. It must have sprung into existence subsequently to the charter of William de Monteacute ; probably as a matter of conventional con- venience, for the better administration of the municipal affairs ; and, in all likelihood, the past mayor was regarded as the bailiff for the year succeeding that of his mayoralty — a practice which prevailed from beyond the reach of memory or the mention of record, down to the extinction of the late corporate body. The words " burgesses and inhabitants," in the same charter, offer but a cumulative mode of expression, customary in the legal records of the period ; and there is no reason to infer, from this or any other circumstance, that down to this time there existed in the borough any recognized select body of burgesses, distinct from those inhabitants qualified as such under the old Saxon and Norman system. * The practice, until within a few years past, was to consider no one eligible to the office of sheriff, but such persons as had served the office of water bailiff or coroner j and after serving the office of sheriff, he was eligible to the office of mayor, and whilst in such office was a justice of course by the charter : after which he became an alder- man, and was eligible to the office of senior bailiff and justice of the peace. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 171 The term " brethren," which is first found in the grant of Arthur Plantagenet, 1526, is synonimous with the word " aldermen" afterwards introduced, and was used to de- signate those who had passed the magisterial chair, as is learnt from an ordinance dated May 2, 1545, " takin by the advvsse of the maver beino" at this tyme Thomas Whytte y e elder with the advvsse of all his brothers, that ys Rychard Havylond, William Bedelcom, Wvlliam Ha~ vylonde, John Man, John Notherell, that hathe byne may&rs" The term occurs frequently about this time, and his brethren appear to have been associated with the mayor in nearly all his official functions ; insomuch that they became parties to leases and other similar transactions. In 1541, "the mayor and all his brethren in number eight," — " with the assent of the bailiff and commonalty," demised the ferry and passage house for 51 years to John Henbury, in consideration of a fine of 40s., and subject to the yearly rent of a couple of capons. The term fell gra- dually into disuse after the charter of the 10th Elizabeth, though it was preserved in the mayor's oath until the dis- solution of the late corporate body. But at this time we find, besides the mayor, bailiff, and brethren, another class of persons mentioned in the records, who appear to have taken part in all deliberations on municipal matters, and who were of considerable import- ance in the government of the borough. These were termed indifferently "the council," or "the assistants," and subsequently "the bench." This is the body to which w T e have before referred as offering the nucleus of the exclu- sive and self-electing system. It was composed of the jurors of the court leet : and it is easy to trace the progress of their power. Shortly after the charter of 1st Edward IV., the powers of the courts leet began to be curtailed. Several statutes in the reign of that monarch tended to remove jurisdiction in criminal matters from those courts, and place it with the justices of the peace. It was in this 172 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. reign that the statute passed directing that indictments found in the court leet should be referred to the sessions ; which, in effect, brought much of the jurisdiction of the leet into disuse. But this very reduction of the criminal jurisdic- tion of the leet, raised into comparatively greater import- ance the municipal duties which the jurors were still called on to perform. Those matters of municipal regulation which solely occupied their attention in the courts, were then naturally regarded as of greater moment than they were considered previously, when but secondary subjects of authority; and from undertaking, by delegation, the exclusive practice of nominating the individuals from whom the mayor was to be selected, they gradually assumed other and more important exclusive functions. The authority which they possessed in the court, they carried with them into the council-chamber ; and gradually, that honourable eminence which was, at the most, of but a year's duration, became converted into a possession for life. Their power, tacitly recognized and willingly submitted to, as a matter of practical convenience, continued to in- crease, until we find it to have acquired that substantial form and extent, declared in the extract about to be intro- duced. An old Record Book in the archives of the town, which appears to have been commenced in the year 1566, begins with the following passages, which afford satisfactory indications of the constitution of the governing body at that time, and the direction taken by its authority : — " A Bocke of Constitucions and good orders per- tayninge to the towne of Poole begonne the thyrde daye of Januarii anno dne 1566 William Constantyne then beynge maior with consente of his bretherne and the counsell of the sayd towne to be observed and kepte to the glory of god and wealth of the same towne hensefourth to continewe god graunt yt so doe & c . " Ffirst yt is ordayned that every of vs whiche have borne the offyce of mayralte and as many as are and shalbe apoynted of the assystaunce and called to the MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 173 counsel of the sayd towne shalbe solemly sworne and deposed to kepe secrett all suche matters as shalbe at any time moved and vttered by them in counsell cosernynge the benefytt of the same. "And that every of vs shall by all meanes and waves to the vttermoste of oure power endevoure to seeke the profete and benefyte of the same towne not hynderynge the same by hys or there owne gayne nether for any frendshype culler any man's wares or goods wherby the sayd towne shulde be defrauded of any manor of dewteyes or profytes there vnto beloungynge. "And w t here as heretofore as well by neglvgence sutferaunce as affection many foreneres tradinge hether hath byn permytted to sell there comodytyes and wares brought hether by them to other foreners not beynge free of this towne to the hynd & of all the marchants inhabiters thereof yt is now fully concluded and ag ^ marchant foryner from hensefourth selle any wares or goods brought hether %* other forener but only to the marchaunts inhabitinge this towne. " And that all suche wares as shalbe hensefourth bought of any foryner by any one marchaunt inhabitant or mo shalbe divided or partyd betwene the wholle marchants burgeors inhabitants or betwene as many of them as wylbe partakers thereof for the same pryse and condicion yt was bought and that the same byer shall geve notysse of hys trew bargayne to the maior for the tyme beynge and those whiche wylbe partakers thereof to geve the byer warnynge within the spasse of fower and twentye houers. " And yf any marchant foryner greved with these our doyngs wylbe contendynge therein and contrary to admonicion geven will not leave to sell or bye with a nother lyke foryner but wyll atempte matter a gaynste vs by the law the same shalbe defended at the costes and charges of all the marchants inhabitants and towe of the sayd marchants shalbe apoynted by the consent of the wholle counsayll of the towne to prosecute the same agaynste the playntyfes and money deliuered them therefore. The MS. is imperfect in these places. 174 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. " And for that we may be some what furnyshed with money to resyste and defende all suche as shall goe a bout to overthrowe oure doynges we condyssend and agreye that a colleccion and gatherynge be taken vpon oure wares comynge and yssuynge from hensefourth by tow apoynted for the same gatheringe and that yt be payd w th out any accepcion refuse or delay after tlie rate there vpon latly concluded. " Ytt was ordayned condissend and agreed the v th of Februarii anno 1566 by the maior hys bretherne and the assystaunce that all and every parson who have or hereafter shall have the recevinge or gatherynge of any parte or porcion of money or other dewteys pertavn- mge to the towne shall within vj dayes beynge there vnto requested by the maior his bretherne and the assistance aforesayd make a iust and trew accompte vnto the parteyes aforesayd without retayninge any parte or p'cell that shalbe founde dewe by hys sayd accompte and allso shall not make vnto hymselfe any manor of allowaunce but that which shalbe thought good by the maior hys bretherne and assistaunce afore- sayd vpon payne to be extemed periured. " And forther yt is a greyed ordayned and condis- sended that all and every persone or persones who shall hereafter travell for the vse and behovfe of the towne in any cause wherein expences may grove or money shalbe employed that every suche persone and persons have comyssion from the maior for the time beynge hys bretherne and the assistaunce in what manor of order to p'cede for the affaiers aforesayd and the said persone or persones so trevelynge for the vsse aforesayd shall not dysbourse any some or somes of money pertayninge to the towne in any other order or forme then suche as hys comission shalle lede hym vnto vpon payne not to be allowed the sayd some of money that he shall so dysburse or othervvyse charge the towne contrary to hys savd comission and that every p'son so travelynge for the sayd towne shall within sixe dayes after the ende of hys sayd travell beynge there vnto required deliuer a faythfull accompte to the maior his brethrne and the assistaunce vpon payne to be extemed periured &c. " Yt was further ordayned condyssended and agreed the tenth dave of Februarv ao 1566 bv the consent MUNICIPAL HISTORY, 175 aforesayd that the maior or any other officer that now is or any hereafter that shalbe in the sayd towne of Poole shall not vpon hys owene advysse and determi- nacion charg-e the sayd towne w th any maner of worke or workes sewtes in the lawe or other thyngs wherein expenses of money shalbe imployed other then suche alowaunces as of auncient time hath byn accustomed nor doe any accte or actes for or in the townes cause wherein advysse is to be taken without the consent of hys bretherne and the assistaunce vpon payne not to be alowed any suche some or somes of money that he shall soe implove without the consent aforesayd or sixe of them at the ieaste. " The xiiu daye of June anno 1567 yt was agreed and condyssended bv the maior his bretherne and y e assist- aunce that the maior for the time beynge or his depute his bretherne and assistaunce shall weekly vpon the Thorsday betwene the ohoures of viij or ix of the clocke in the fournone mete and assemble them selves at the towne house there to debate of such thyng-s as shalbe mete and convenient and that none doe absent hymselfe thense without lysence of the maior vpon resonable excuse vpon payne to forfett for every time soe trans- gressynge the some of ij s - vj u - to be levied by the bavlev to the vsse of the towne. " All these articles and agrements as allso all others hereafter to be devysed by vs for the furtheraunce of the towne and the whole inhabitants thereof we whose names are subscribed Do faythfully promyse and bynde oure selves to observe and kepe and for the more trewth have subscribed with oure owne hands the day and yeare afore wrytten and taken a corporall othe to performe the same the tenor whereof inseweth. "Yee shall owe trewe obedience to the quene's maiestie her herres and successores vee shall renounce the vsurped power of the byshope of Rome accordinge to the tenor of an acte of parlement made in anno primo of quene Elizabeth yee shall kepe secrett the lawful! counsell of the towne and the wealth and profyte thereof mayntayne to your power yee shall obeye such consti- tucions and orders as are or shalbe decreyed for the profyte and benefyte of the same towne by the maior for the tvme bevn^e hys bretherne the assvstaunce or 176 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the mostc parte of them soe God vou helpe & by the." No further entry appears to have been then made, and no names are subscribed. It is manifest from every article in this document, that the mayor, his brethren, and assistants, constituted an inse- parable governing 1 body; and that the mayor had little authority vested in him, independently of the advice and consent of the brethren and council. Most of these articles are directed to those regulations in trading which were, at that time, prominent objects in municipal government ; and develope somewhat of that policy which our forefathers thought useful towards the promotion of their mercantile interests. The authority of the " assistants," thus established, was not, however, recognized by the charter of 10th Elizabeth ; though it appears that after that grant it was still exercised, with the same gradual increase in importance, until, as will be seen, from the foundation of this court leet jury, arose the superstructure of a select privileged body. It is nevertheless clear, that down to the grant of that charter, no legal alteration had taken place in the relations of the different classes in the borough,— that every inhabitant householder, paying scot and bearing lot, was, in the eye of the law, entitled to the privileges of his burgess-ship, though, for the more speedy and effectual transaction of the business of the town, the burgesses at large had con- ventionally delegated the powers of government to the mayor, his brethren, and the council of twelve. About this time, however, we find instances of the intro- duction of a practice, which afterwards became frequent in Poole as in other boroughs, viz., that of enfranchising persons not enjoying the scot and lot qualification necessary to enable them to demand their burgess-ship without such consent. The first intimation now extant of this practice of " making" burgesses, is in a document, being an agreement .MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 177 for " obtayninge the corporation," entered into June 14, 1568, between the mayor and two other burgesses on the one part, and the subscribed burgesses and inhabitants, about eighty in number, on the other part, by which the latter rendered themselves liable to the former in the sum of £500, to be by them expended in obtaining the charter of 10th Elizabeth. Amongst the names subscribed to this document are the following : — " Richard Mayer, facto burgens ;" " John Newman, burgas by choys ,•" and " Richard . . . . , made free." At the commencement of this practice, in all likelihood, those only were chosen as burgesses who had property in the town, but were not possessed of the necessary combined qualification of inha- bitancy with the payment of scot and lot : in the course of a few years, however, the privilege was, on the payment of some consideration, extended to foreigners, or persons not resident within the borough, and connected with it only by trade. What were the privileges and rights to which the burgesses of this class, the elected, were admitted ? — is a question that here naturally arises. Neither under the common or statute law, nor by virtue of any charter, were such persons entitled to the enjoyment of those terri- torial privileges, and other beneficial franchises, that were the right of the scot and lot burgesses. But the legally qualified burgesses had the power of remitting to other persons the liability to the import duties detailed in the inquisition of 1341,^ as well as exemption from the trading restrictions which, as a mercantile guild, the burgesses had a right to impose, and of which some entries are found in the extract from the old Record Book, quoted a few pages back. These exemptions are unquestionably the privileges to which the " made" burgesses were chosen, and they are those in which the merchants of the town, not possessing the requisite burgess qualification, and those residing in Vide p. 159. 2 A 178 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. neighbouring" ports, and frequently trading with Poole, would necessarily be desirous of participating. That this was the object to be attained is evident from the early ad- missions entered in the records : and they shew, moreover, considerable jealousy of admitting the principle of " foreign" burgess-ship : and it was sometimes the case, that those who were chosen burgesses were so admitted on the express stipulation that, at some contemplated period, they should become residents of the borough. Thus the earliest admission of a " foreigner " now extant, runs thus : — " 1583. March 16.— M d - this day William Pytte of Wey- mouth Melcom Regis in the countie of Dors* m'chaunt is made a free burgisse of this towne and countie of Poole, who is to pay for his freedom to the corporacon of the same towne and countie two hundred weight of good corne powder, and for his absense he is to pay to the vse of the said corporacon xx s - ffl annum till such tyme as he shall come to inhabite in this towne of Poole and then shall he be dischargyed of the said xx 9 - ffi yeare And he is to geve his attendaunce always on the Friday next going before S. Mathewes day yerely in Poole in the guyldhall there at thelleccon of the offic 3 for the service of her ma ie And for such corne or grayne as shalbe laden by him this yere he is to pay the one moetie or half the duties thereof. And when God shall appointe of his mother's disceasse he the said Wil- liam Pytte promiseth that w th in shorte tyme then after he will repayer hether and inhabite in this towne of Poole." A memorandum follows, that Pytte paid his powder and 20s. a year till 1590, when he came to dwell in the town. It is clear from the latter part of this entry, that exemp- tion from the duties and from the trading restrictions was the freedom to which Pytte was admitted. Thus we find that, about the period of the grant of queen Elizabeth's charter, there were established in the borough, the various offices to which appointments were made under the several charters; and three separate classes of burgesses, MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 179 viz., the legally recognized burgesses, possessing 1 the requisite qualification of scot and lot and residency ; — the council of assistants, growing- out of the body just men- tioned, composing the court leet jury, and to whom was delegated by the common body of burgesses, the appoint- ment of all matters relating to municipal regulation ; — and, thirdly, the made or elected burgesses, who were, by con- sent of the council, enfranchised of trading restrictions and of the payment of town dues. From this state of things the transition to the mode of municipal government that prevailed at the time of the recent alteration is natural and easy. The charter of the 10th Elizabeth, dated June 23 (1568), contains an inspeximus and recital of the charter of 3rd Henry VIII., containing a confirmation of those of 1st Edward IV., 11th Henry VI., and 31st Henry VI., and confirms the privileges granted by all these, to the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and inhabitants, and their successors. It then recites, that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and inhabitants, time out of mind, had held and enjoyed the said rights, &c., and divers other customs, liberties, &c, as well by prescription as by the aforesaid charters made to the burgesses and inhabitants, and their heirs and successors, but which they had not been accustomed to use and enjoy for many years then past, whereby the town had suffered great and heavy damages and injury, and was threatened with immediate ruin, and also the good rules of government of the same were then almost extinct ; whereupon the burgesses and inhabitants had humbly prayed the queen, for the restoration of the town, and for the better order and government thereof, to restore and create the said burgesses and inhabitants into another body corporate and politic. The queen, therefore, to that intent, " and above all, that if the inhabitants of the town aforesaid, and their successors, should enjoy by our grant greater honours, liberties, and privileges, that then 180 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. they will think themselves more especially and strictly bound to do and perform unto us, our heirs, and succes- sors, what service they are able ;" — granted — that the town should be a free town, incorporated by the name of " the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and common- alty of the town of Poole;" who should have perpetual succession with the usual corporate powers of suing and being sued in that name, purchasing and holding lands, &c; — that the mayor and two bailiffs should be elected every year, by and out of the burgesses, on the Friday next before the feast of St. Matthew : and in case of death or removal from office for misconduct, &c, of the mayor or either bailiff", the vacancy to be supplied in like manner, within fifteen days ; — that the mayor should be the escheator, and no other escheator should intermeddle in the town ; — that the inhabitants, &c, should be exempted from the precepts or mandates of the stewards, &c, of the house- hold ; who should, in no wise, enter the town ; but that the mayor should be clerk of the market ; — that no merchant stranger should buy or sell of or to any other merchant stranger, any merchandizes in Poole, other than in gross, under the penalty of forfeiture of the goods ; — that there should be in the town a staple for recogni- zance of debts in the said staple, according to the form of the statute staple; — that a mayor and two constables of the staple should be elected on the Friday before St. Matthew's day, in every year, by and out of the burgesses ; and in case of vacancy by death or removal, such vacancy to be filled up ; — that the mayor, &c, might elect annually, on the day aforesaid, out of the inhabitants of the town and suburbs thereof, or out of others, brokers of merchandizes, carmen, watermen, porters, and packers, as the mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses of Southampton have been accustomed to elect ; MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 181 — that the town, with its suburbs, and precincts, should be one entire county corporate in deed and name, distinct and altogether separate from the county of Dorset, and styled " the county of the town of Poole ;"# — that the burgesses should annually elect, out of their brother burgesses, one discreet, able, and fit person to be sheriff of the town ; to be certified by the mayor to the barons of the exchequer ; to hold the county courts within the town monthly, with the same powers as any county sheriff; and no other sheriff to intromit within the liberties ; — that the mayor, &c, should hold a court in the guildhall, before the mayor and the senior bailiff, on Thursday in every week, with cognizance of all pleas of debt, covenant, detinue, trespasses, actions upon the case, accounts, and all other personal pleas ; with power of arrest and attach- ment of the bodies and goods, &c, within the liberties; and hold all pleas of lands and tenements, on the said Thursday, from fifteen days to fifteen days, and there hear and determine all the pleas aforesaid, and the pleas of the pie-poudre court, with judgment and execution thereon, as in the town of Southampton, with power to attach * As the corporate counties constitute a peculiar feature in the division of the kingdom, it may not be irrelevant here to enter into a brief sketch of them. The corporate counties are nineteen in number, and, with one exception, (London) have all belonged to other counties, from which they have been separated by royal charter. London, however, appears to have been a county by prescription at the time of the Norman conquest. The others have been separated from the parent counties, and been invested with independent jurisdiction, by charters of the following monarchs ; viz., Bristol, by a charter of 47 Edw. III., which is the earliest instance. The castle of Bristol was added to the county by a charter of 5 Charles I. York by Rich. II. : the ainsty of York being subsequently added to the county of the city of York by Hen. VI. Lincoln, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Norwich, by Hen. IV. Coventry, Kingston-upon-Hull, Nottingham, and Southampton, by Hen. VI. Canterbury and Haveifordwest, by Edw. IV. Haverfordwest was afterwards made a county by Act of Parliament of 34 & 35 Hen. VIII. ; and its limits were further enlarged by a charter of 7 Jas. I. Gloucester, by Rich. III. Chester, by Hen. VII. Exeter, by Hen. VIII. Litchfield, by Mary. Poole, by Elizabeth. Carmarthen and Worcester, by Jas. I. But this severance of the corporate from the parent counties is not com- plete ; for it has been held as a maxim of our constitutional law, that although the sovereign may bestow privileges, he has not the power of withdrawing them from the subject ; and the franchise in the election of representatives in parliament for the parent counties is therefore still enjoyed by those possessing the required qualification in the corporate counties severed therefrom. 182 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. defendants in the same suits, &c., in manner and form as the sheriffs of London ; — that the mayor should appoint the assize of bread, wine, and beer, and all other sorts of victuals, and weights and measures, &c. ; and that no steward or marshall of the household should enter the town or its liberties ; — that the mayor, recorder, and four burgesses, should be keepers of the peace, the latter to be chosen annually by and out of the burgesses ; that nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, or two of them, of whom the mayor or recorder to be one, should thenceforth be justices, with the same power as the justices of any other county at large ; and that no keepers of the peace and justices of the county of Dorset should in any wise enter the town to perform any duties appertaining to their office ; — that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty, should have for ever, in support of the charges incumbent upon the town, the liberty of the view of frank-pledge, and things which belong to the said view of frank-pledge, within the town, liberty, and precinct ; and all fines, issues, redemptions, and amercements ; and all goods and chattels of persons outlawed and waived; — that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty, and all inhabitants and residents dwelling and residing in the town, should be free from being, against their will, put or impannelled in any assize, jury, inquisition, attainder, or recognizance whatsoever, out of the town, liberty, and precinct of Poole ; — that the inhabitants, burgesses, and commonalty of the town should have their guild, and all their liberties, fran- chises, privileges, jurisdictions, and customs, by land and by sea, as fully and peaceably, and as justly and freely, and as honourably, as the mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses of Southampton hold theirs ; — that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty, and their successors, and all the other inhabitants and bur- MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 183 gesses, should be free and discharged from toll, passage, pontage, murage, chimiage, pannage, lastage, stallage, vicinage, carriage, piccage, ferriage, stewriage, scutage, hidiage, and wharfage, as well by land as by sea, as well in fairs as in markets, and from all secular customs throughout the land ; — that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty, should have the return of all writs within the town and its liberties ; and that no sheriff or other bailiff of the crown should intermeddle ; — that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty, should elect, out of themselves, the coroners of the town ; — that no one of the mayor, bailiff's, burgesses, and com- monalty, and their successors, inhabiting or residing within the town, should be impleaded out of the said town ; and that no writ should pass within the liberty of the town, except a writ of right of novel disseisin, and writ of dower unde nihil habet, as is accustomed within the town of Southampton ; — that they may have and hold, throughout the realm, all their liberties and free customs hitherto obtained and used, better and more free, and as quietly and fully as the bur- gesses of Southampton, or any others within the kingdom, hold within their liberties ; — that the mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses, and their suc- cessors, for ever, should enjoy all the liberties conceded in this charter, freely and without let ; and that no one should disturb or obstruct them in such enjoyment, under a for- feiture of ten pounds ; — and that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty, and their successors, should be for ever free from murage and pannage, and keyage for their goods and merchan- dizes, throughout the kingdom. Under the main provisions of this charter, the municipal affairs of the town continued to be administered down to the general regulation of corporations, by the act of 5th 184 MUNICIPAL HISTORV. and 6th Wm, IV., c. 76. It will have been seen, that it conferred upon the inhabitants privileges of a very im- portant character. Bv the creation of the borough into a county corporate, the inhabitants became exempt from many onerous and expensive duties, to which the inhabi- tants of counties at large are liable.^ The dependence of the borough on the power of the manorial lord was also terminated, so far as regarded all matters of municipal administration. Possessing its own court with the view of frank-pledge, its burgesses were no longer required to appear, be sworn, and be enrolled at the lord's court : and they obtained, moreover, the power of choosing their mayor, free from any manorial interference. The trading regulations, directed against the dealings of merchant-strangers, which had been previously appointed, were recognised and confirmed by this charter. The court of record, conceded by this grant, continues to the present day, in the full enjoyment of its extensive powers and jurisdiction. * The borough continued, however, still subject to the authority of the lords lieutenant of Dorsetshire ; and on this subject the following letter was written in the ensuing year by the Privy Council. " To oure loving freends the mayor and his bretherne of the towne of Poole." " After our hartie comendacons, where thequenes matie hath bye her hignes Ires patent under her greate seale appointed our very good lord the L. Montioye, and or very loving frend Sr Willm Pawlet Knight to be her mats lieutenants of the countie of Dorsset as well within liberties as without, forasmuch as we understand that you of that towne have of late obtained by Ires patent from her hignes to be a countie within yor selfes ; we have thought mete to signifie unto you that her mats plesure and comandmt is that her said lieutenants shall have the charge ordre and rule as well of the said towne as of all other places w* h in the whole circuite of y e countie, what libertie or priviledge so ever be pretended to the contrary ; and therfore chargeth and comandeth you that you faile not to followe such ordre and direction as shall from tyme to tyme be prescribed unto you by them or either of them for her mats service by virtue of their said lieutenancie during the continuance of the same and hereof not to faile as ye tender her mats service, and yor dew ties towards her highnes and your countrey — So fare you well. From Windsore the vjth of December 1569." This letter is signed by "W. Northumberland: F. Bedford: R. Leycester : W. Howard: F. Knollys: W. Cecil: Wa. Mildmay." The lord lieutenant of the county of Dorset has always exercised jurisdiction over the town of Poole, being appointed to the lieutenancy of that town as well as to that of the county ; and the precepts of his deputy lieutenants with regard to the militia are directed to and executed by the constables of Poole, and the inhabitants are liable to serve in the militia. The lord lieutenant of the parent county is also invariably appointed for, and has jurisdiction over, the corporate county, in every instance, with the exceptions of Loudon and Haverfordwest. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. ff85 The charter of the 10th of Elizabeth was not obtained by the town without the manifestation of some reluctance on the part of lord Mountjoy, at that time the lord of the manor ; as we learn from a very curious letter, written by Dr. Walter Haddon, a few weeks previous to the date of the charter, to sir William Cecil, her majesty's secretary. This letter is preserved amongst the Cecil papers in the Lansdowne MSS. ; and the following" is a copy of that part of it which relates to Poole: — " I haue with much argument obteynid of y ff queen's highnes to signe y e book for y e inhabitants of Poole & not- withstanding y* I tolde hir as truth was y* theye haue bene longe suters, y* theye desired no nue grant but confirmation of y e olde, y* her counselors were agreable & y 1 y r attor- neys hadde orderli procedid in y e same yet y e name of incorporation is so discredited with her y* she tolde me pleynli she signed the book for no liking of y e matter, but onli because theye had bene longe suters & too saue mi reputation as she termid it in y fc I had giuen them hope. Therfore I craue of yow seeing the matter is so furre com & as I tak it bi veri good resonable meanes y l it meye please yow too passe it favorabli exept yow shal finde some substantial cause too y e contrari as I trust yow shal not. I haue steide this matter vpon mi lord Montioie's importune requestes this ten or twelue weeks & in the ende he seith nothing y* is material and y e tovvne will be bound to him as himselfe can deuise, y l ther grante shal no weye preiudice his right : he stirrithe in this matter bi indirect meanes & hathe done secus quam dignum est ejus relligione et per- sona, sed haec tibi in aurem. I preye yow giue yowr lawful assistance & as I promised y e quene's highnes so I wil promisse yow it shal be y e laste incorporation y l euer I wil deale withal exept I be specialli commandid. ,, This letter is addressed " to mi honorable frende sir William Cecille, secretarie to y e queene's highnesse." It is dated the 6th April, but has no mention of any year : though it clearly has reference to the charter under con- sideration. If Elizabeth really had personally such aversion to the furtherance of corporations as is stated by the learned 2B 180 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. doctor, she wisely yielded up her own prejudice to the politic views of her councillors, as, in her reign, more charters of incorporation were granted than during" the reign of any other English sovereign. The consent of lord Mountjoy was at length obtained ; but not without an undertaking on the part of the town that the new grant should not affect his right ; and, June 20, 1568, a bond was entered into, from William Newman, Wm. Constantyne, and William Grene, merchants of Poole, to James Blount, lord Mountjoy, in the sum of £50, with a condition that if, by the charter then granted, there be any breach of the liberties, privileges, customs, and usages, of lord Mountjoy, as lord of the manor of Canford and Poole, they, on behalf of the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty, will make such com- pensation as the judges of assize shall certify ; also that his lordship and his heirs shall enjoy all privileges in buying and selling" within the town. The territorial rights of the lord of the manor were not affected by the operation of the charter ; and, accordingly, his court leet continued to be holden within the town once in each year. The steward's precepts were addressed " to the bailiffs of Poole, and to such other persons as the execution thereof shall appertain," directing them " to summon and warn the leet or law-day, and the lord's court to be holden at Poole, at the accustomed place, and on the accustomed day, viz., the 2nd of January," and to summon all the inhabitants within the precincts of the same leet, and all tenants as well free as others and all other persons owing any suit or service unto the said court, either resident or not resident, &c. Important as were the privileges conceded to the borough by the charter of Elizabeth, and greatly as it contributed to promote the prosperity of the town, by the stimulus it gave to commerce, and the facilities it afforded for obtaining justice, it effected comparatively trifling MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 187 alteration in the machinery of municipal government ; and still were the affairs of the borough administered by the mayor, his brethren, and the delegated but not legally recognized council, aided by the officers appointed in pursuance of the provisions of the charter. The election of the mayor, indeed, was somewhat varied. In lieu of the former practice of the whole body of burgesses, or the council on their behalf, nominating six individuals, of whom the manorial lord chose one to perform the duties of that office, it was provided that the selection should rest solely with the burgesses. But it has been questioned whether this right was ever fully enjoyed by the burgesses at large. For many years previous to the date of the charter of Elizabeth, the custom had prevailed, that the council proffered three names only to the lord's steward instead of six, as provided in the grant of Longespee : and it is said that the nomination system, which prevailed down to 1809, was founded on this custom, and came into opera- tion immediately upon the grant of Elizabeth's charter. Under this system, the mayor and his brethren, or in more modern phraseology, the aldermen, assembled on some day previous to the charter day, when they put three persons in nomination, of whom the burgesses, on the latter day, were to choose one as mayor. At what precise time this practice originated, is uncertain, but by means of the affidavits filed in Rex v. Skutt, 1728, Rex v. Masters, 1748, and Rex v. Durell, 1753, we are enabled to carry back parole testi- mony of its existence to about the middle of the seventeenth century, sixty or seventy years after the reign of Elizabeth. It prevailed until 1809, when Mr. John Strong was chosen under this system, on which an information, in the shape of a quo warranto, was filed against him. The case came on for hearing at the Dorset summer assize, 1810, before Mr. justice Bayly and a special jury, when a verdict for the plaintiff was returned, thus abolishing the custom ; and the subsequent elections took place in accordance with the terms of the charter. 188 MUNICIPAL HISTORV. The court rolls of the manor shew that after the death of lord Mountjoy, and when the manor had devolved on the earl of Huntingdon, disputes arose between the lord and what he called " the newly erected court," i.e. the court holden by virtue of the charter; and he attempted to recover his ultimate selection of the mayor. On the 2nd of January, 21st Eliz., a court was holden, at which the steward required that proper men might be returned for the execution of the offices, viz : such as were not sworn at the newly erected court ; but it is stated that the mayor and three other persons, little regarding the steward's authority, and contriving to defraud and deprive the said lords of their ancient customs, profits, and hereditaments, refused to return any other persons or officers than those who were elected and sworn at the newly erected court held at the feast of St. Michael, by virtue of the charter. From this period, the power of the lord's court for Poole appears to have fallen into decay. There are various minutes of courts between 1618 and 1636, but nothing appears to have been attempted with regard to the borough, until t. Car. II., after the judgment of ouster in the quo warranto against the corporation, of which more hereafter. The council, or assistants, were not recognised by this charter, but " the twelve men" continued to exercise municipal authority as before. In 1571, three years after the grant of the charter, we find the following entry in the corporation books : — "The names of those that are recorded for the benche for the good and quyett governement as allso for y e dy- recting of all good constytucyons ordynances and decres for y e better governement and presevacyon of this towene and counte of Poole recordyd the xv th daye of September a« 1571. Wyllm Grene mayor Mr. John Man Mr. Wyllm Constantyne Mr. Wyllm Neweman MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 189 Mr. John Hancocke Mr. Wyllm Byihylcome Mr. Crystoffer Roze John Rogers A-U thes as abovesayo 1 are Ppfpr OtvHptip appoynted for the benche beirg tt? 11 is I the nomber of xij by whom chef- W yllm Merett ely all matters ar to be deter- Mvcrell Daye mened and appoynted for the P^tor PnvA good government of thy stovne reier i^oxe and comonwelth of ye same# Similar entries occur in other years. It does not appear by whom the council were chosen, but it is more than probable that the burgesses were the electors. Nor does it seem that these elections took place successively for many years ; in several years no election of the council is recorded, and in a short time the practice appears to have ceased entirely, so far as regarded the election, and the council to have continued in the exercise of their power without appointment. It is fair to presume that the mayor and justices were regarded as being ex-officio members of the council; and this is rendered more clear by a subsequent entry, viz., in 1578, March 15, when at an assembly of *« the mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses,' • it was agreed that every Wednesday in the year, " the mayor ■, with the bench and their assistants, to the number of twelve," should meet at the townhall, and there to sit and hear and determine for the body of the whole town, and what they or the most part of them should do, should bind the rest. The charter worked no change in the legal constitution of the great body of the burgesses, who still continued to be the free inhabitant householders paying scot and lot, sworn and enrolled at the court leet : and it remained for time and circumstances to complete those conventionary in- novations, of which we have already traced the rise. That the term " burgesses," in the charter, implied the resident inhabitants, possessing the ancient legal qualifica- tion of burgess-ship, is evident from many passages in the charter itself, which is granted to the burgesses and inhabi- tants, and from the agreement for obtaining the charter, to 190 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. which we have referred, and which was entered into by about eighty of the " burgesses and inhabitants ;" — eighty being too large a number to admit of any supposition of a select and exclusive body, and those of the burgesses who had been admitted without possessing the scot and lot qualification, being distinctly specified. The practice of " making" burgesses, however, began now to be more frequent ; and the entries confirm the opinion already expressed on this subject, for although, in the course of a few years after the date of the grant, we find several entries of the admission of strangers to free burgess- ship, such admissions are accompanied by expressions evidencing the jealousy entertained of sanctioning the principle of burgess-ship being consistent with non-resi- dence, and such also as lead to the inference that the strangers were admitted to little beyond the privileges of the trading guild. In the instance already quoted, — the admission of William Pytte, of Weymouth, — he promised to reside at some future period, and paid a fine for his absence; and it was stipulated that for such corn or grain as should be laden by him that year, he was to pay half the duties. This passage manifests that freedom from the payment of the town dues, was the privilege sought to be obtained by Pytte. The earliest admissions are principally of merchants, of whom many paid a commutation for their privileges ; and the entries are frequently accompanied by the condition that the admitted burgess should not be invested with the honours of office, which those who purchased their freedom for pecuniary purposes would naturally be desirous of avoiding. As examples, the first ten admissions are now cited. 1. — The first admission of a burgess in the extant books of the corporation, is that of William Pytte, of Weymouth, March 16, 1583, already recorded. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 191 2. — The next is the admission, of which the following 1 is a copy : — " M d - the xxvij day of September, anno dni. 1585, Mr. Edward Man, of the towne and countie of Poole, merchaunte hath his freedome of burgiss-shipp freely geven unto him w th in the said towne, and y* is fully condescended and agreed in the guyldhall before Mr. Christopher Farewell, maior, and others, his bretheren, whose names are subscribed that the said Edward Man shall not be elected or choycen in any office of the offices insident vnto the towne of Poole for the service of the prince, duringe the space of syxe yeres from the day of the election of the maior of Poole last past before the date hereof & farther it is fully agreed in the presence aforsayde that the said Edward Man shall not at any tyme after the expiration of the said syx yeres be elected into any of the offices of water balyve or constable of the said towne of Poole." 3. — Dec. 15, 1585, Thomas Maudley, of Poole, had his " freedom of burgiss-ship" given him ; and was not to be elected water bailiff, constable, or sheriff. 4. — May 11, 1587, Thomas Siggens, of Poole, was accepted and sworne a free burgess, on a promise to give a calliver to the use of the corporation. 5. — Aug. 14, 1588, Robert Hamond, yeoman of Poole, and William Pynnell, of Poole, were accepted and sworn free burgesses. 6. — Sep. 5, 1589, Henry, earl of Pembroke, came to Poole, and accepted to be a free burgess of the same, affirming upon his honour to be a faithful burgess, &c.^ 7. — Aug. 11, 1590, Thomas Robartts, of Poole, was accepted and sworn a free burgess, on giving* a calliver. * This is the first entry in the books of burgess-ship being conferred as a matter of mere honorary distinction. The above nobleman was Henry, the second earl of Pembroke ; who was one of the peers on the trial of the duke of Norfolk, as like- wise on that of Mary, queen of Scots. He was husband to the countess of Pembroke, rendered illustrious by Pope's beautiful epitaph to her memory. The following memorandum, relative to his visit to Poole, appears in an old book : — " The towne p<* 61i. 5s. 5d. for a entertaynment for the eric of Pembroke and others that came to visit the towne." 192 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 8. — Sep. 19, 1590, Thomas Francis was made a free burgess " by concente of the whole howse." He gave £2 13s. 4d. 9.— On the same day, John Hayward, merchant, was made a free burgess, and was to give to the corporation £2 yearly for four years, and it was agreed not to impose any office on him during those four years, unless with his own consent. 10. — Dec. 9, 1590, John Hatrell, of Poole, merchant, was accepted and sworn a free burgess, " without pay- inge of anythinge, at the request of William Dicker, sen." It appears to have been a general rule established by usage, and afterwards by bye-laws, that each elected bur- gess, on his admission, should pay a fine to the corporation funds. This, however, was not universally the practice, as many burgesses, both honorary and others, have been, at divers times, admitted without such payment. This fine, or admission fee, has differed at various periods, according to the pleasure of the corporation, many persons in the most early times appearing to have paid 10s. or 20s. for such fines, and other different sums, not much exceeding the latter amount, till about the year 1688, at which time, and for some years afterwards, this fine appears to have been in general £5 for each person admitted ; and it was after- wards augmented to £20, at which amount it continued till a number of burgesses were made in 1775, when the fine was £25, which was the amount paid by each burgess admitted at the last "batch" in 1830. Amongst other considerations given in early times for the freedom of the borough, we find a great number of entries made of leather buckets (probably for use in case of fire) having been given by burgesses on their admission. The con- sideration seems to have also varied much as regards the value; of which we may cite as an instance, the admission of Richard Phellypes, gent., of Corfe Mullen, who " being now resident and dwelling within the town and county of .MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 193 Poole," was, Nov. 15, 1609, admitted and sworn a free burgess of the town, on the somewhat costly consideration that he should, at his own cost and charge, build a good, strong, and sufficient quay of the whole gap, called " Measurer's gap," of good stone work, and with a pair of stone stairs. From the time of Elizabeth, we find that in the borough of Poole, as elsewhere throughout the kingdom, the system prevailed of admitting to a factitious burgess-ship those individuals who were selected to represent the borough in parliament. For many years before this reign, the practice of sending non-residents as representatives had gradually grown up, until the greater part of the borough repre- sentatives having become strangers, it was by some deemed expedient to repeal the ancient statute of Henry V., under which the king's writ required every city and borough to elect none but members of their own community ; and, in order to give a sanction to the innovation which time had wrought, a bill was presented to parliament in 1571, in order to render valid elections of non-resident burgesses. This bill appears to have been dropped ; and, in order to meet the case by some other expedient, the fiction of a " made" burgess-ship was resorted to ; and thus arose a species of honorary freedom, which it became a matter of distinction to bestow upon those whom the inhabitants delighted to honour. From about this time the gradual and invariable course of the municipal transactions in the town, tended towards the establishment of the power of a governing body select, exclusive, and self-elected. The courts-leet becoming dis- used, the burgesses of the ancient qualification no longer possessed their distinctive mode of enrolment ; and gradu- ally suffered their rights to pass into abeyance, sanctioning, by their silence and conventionary assent, the usurped and unchartered sway of the council. And they were, pro- bably, more ready to acquiesce in this usurpation, inas- 2 c 194 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. much as, from all that now appears, it is pretty evident that down to this time the council had acted, in municipal matters and in more general politics, on principles with which the sentiments of the great body of the burgesses assimilated : whilst the mayor, aldermen, and council, comprising, in all likelihood, the whole of the influential merchants and leading inhabitants of the town, the bulk of the burgesses regarded their proceedings with little jea- lousy. It must also be remembered that, down to the reign of Elizabeth, parliamentary representation was regarded rather as a burthensome duty than as a, valuable privilege ; and the exercise of the parliamentary franchise being one of the duties of burgess-ship, there was, natu- rally, at that time little reluctance to relinquish this duty to those who were willing to pay the wages of the repre- sentatives. This growth of a select governing body out of the mass of the ancient burgesses, was about this time gradually taking place throughout the municipal system of the king- dom, encouraged not more by the disuse of courts-leet than by the measures of the court, especially under the dynasty of the Stuarts. After this usurpation became settled in the borough of Poole, we find the governing body to have been composed of the mayor, the aldermen, the council of assistants, and the made burgesses, being resident within the borough ; for, as we shall presently shew, the non-resident burgesses never enjoyed any settled participation in municipal government, their privilege being confined to an exercise of the parliamentary franchise. This alteration in the constitution of the governing body, it will have been seen y was an innovation of slow progress ;: nor was it until the middle of the seventeenth century that it became firmly established and recognised. And this establishment and recognition was not even then effected without some contrivances to give colour to the right of MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 195 the select body ; in evidence whereof, several singular erasures and alterations made in the corporation books, — some apparently during the commonwealth, — may be instanced. In 1654, an order respecting the internal regulations of the town was originally entered as made by the " bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty ;" but the word " burgesses" is struck through with a pen, and the word " commonalty" imperfectly erased ; the word " burgesses" being written over it. Another passage, of the same date, appears to have been originally entered, as made with the consent and advice of the " bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty ;" but the words " and commonalty" are partially blotted out ; and above, between the words " bailiffs, burgesses," the word *' and" is interlined in different ink and handwriting, — making the entry to read as made by the bailiffs and burgesses. Another alteration of an entry appears in 1661, but the design is not so manifest as in the instances quoted. In another entry in 1668, it is expressed that the "mayor, aldermen, burgesses, and commonalty," obliged them- selves to pay a salary to Mr. Hardy, their then minister ; but the words "and commonalty" are partially erased. From these interpolations, it. will be seen that it was sought to prevent an interference of the scot and lot house- holders, by regarding them as designated by the term " commonalty ;" and giving countenance to the hypothesis, that such commonalty had not been permitted to inter- meddle in municipal administration. The scot and lot householders also formed the same misapprehension, and in their contests with the select body their claim of privilege was chiefly grounded on thus giving to the term " commonalty" a meaning which cannot truly be applied to it. They alone were " the burgesses" of the charters ; their right was not founded on the 196 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. cumulative technicalities of legal documents, but ascended to the ancient burgess qualification, derived from the Saxon institutions of the land, ratified and confirmed, indeed, by many a charter, but never injuriously affected by the authority of parliamentary enactment, until the extensive alteration recently effected in all the municipalities of the kingdom. We proceed to enquire into the nature and extent of the privileges enjoyed by the non-resident burgesses. It has already been shewn, that non-residents were admitted to burgess-ship in the first instance with the view of freedom from the trading restrictions imposed by the governing body : — that the parliamentary representatives were after- wards admitted on the ground that burgess-ship implied residency, thus giving rise to a fiction afterwards danger- ously applied: — that burgess-ship was afterwards conferred on strangers, as a mark of honorary distinction. It is clear that none of these classes was ever recognised in the borough as entitled to participate in its government ; as is shewn in the following and other entries. 1631, Sept. 17. — An order was made that no burgesses should be made but of the inhabitants of the town, and of those that should be admitted by the general consent and approbation of the major part of the burgesses that should be assembled at the guildhall for making of burgesses. But the restraint was not to extend to noblemen's sons, knights, the recorder, and gentlemen elected to serve in parliament. 1645, Nov. 3. — It was ordered, that no free burgess should any longer enjoy the privilege or benefit of his burgess-ship than during the time he should continue a personal inhabitant within the town. 1695, Aug. 7. — It was ordered, that no burgess of the corporation should have a voice in electing the mayor, justices of the peace, senior bailiff, sheriff, water bailiff, or other annual officer, but such as were burgesses, inhabi- tants of the same. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 197 But, though the non-resident burgesses have always been excluded from participating in the election of muni- cipal officers, or of new burgesses, or in any other muni- cipal function, they were accustomed to enjoy the privilege of voting in the election of parliamentary representatives for the borough ; — a right which was affirmed by a decision of the house of commons, in 1661. On the restoration of the second Charles, stringent mea- sures were taken for the suppression of any spirit of disaffection yet lurking in the kingdom ; and amongst these was the celebrated act for the well governing and regulation of corporations, which enacted that commissions should issue for England, Wales, and Berwick-upon- Tweed, and that the commissioners should visit the different corporations, to carry the provisions of the act into effect ; all magistrates and persons bearing offices of trust in the cities, boroughs, corporations, and cinque ports, were enjoined to swear that they believed it unlawful, on any pretence whatever, to take arms against the king, and that they abhorred the traitorous position of bearing arms by his authority against his person, or against those that were commissioned by him : they were also to sign a declaration, renouncing all obligation arising out of the oath termed the solemn league and covenant : and all those who refused to take the oaths or subscribe the declaration, were to be removed by the commissioners, who had power given to them for that purpose ; as well as for the restoration of those who had been illegally removed, and placing other members or inhabitants there in the vacancies which should be made. The act also provided, that those who should, in future, be elected to office, in addition to the oaths and declaration prescribed, should have received the sacrament of the Lord's supper, within one year before their election, according to the rites of the English church. As might have been supposed, from the part taken by the borough in the wars of the rebellion, the presbyterian 198 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. party — against which this act struck — was found strong in Poole, and many removals took place. The commissioners appointed for visiting Poole were John Morton, esq. ; sir Ralph Bankes, knight ; Gerrard Napier, esq. ; sir John Strode, knight ; Giles Strangeways, esq. ; John Churchill, esq. ; Matthew Davys, esq. ; colonel Robert Lawrence ; Robert Culliford, esq. ; John Turber- ville, esq. ; Henry Whitaker, esq. ; captain John Ryves. Their visitation was made Oct. 17, 1662, and the following was the result of their proceedings : — Removed Replaced by John Colbourne, mayor Stephen Street Alexander Dennett, .water-bailiff, . . Richard Albert William Minty . . ^ r Allen Skutt Dennis Smith. . . ./ \ John Frampton William Pike f , Edward Patten . >• -burgesses. . John Burd .... John Gigger . . , William Constantine, George Skutt. . John Spence . . Roger Baker Peter Hall, jun. Thomas Osborne John Fooke. recorder > burgesses John Pine Bartholomew Hall Robert Dove .... John Dove John Polden .... Elias Bond John Trottle James Dewey. . . . Edward Butler . . Richard Smith . . Onesiphorus Bond But, notwithstanding this purging of the corporation, a desire not to sanction any interference on the part of the crown or of parliament, continued to prevail in the corpo- ration ; and though some of the more rigid presbyterians refused the conditions imposed by the act, yet many, pro- MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 199 bahly, found pretexts for qualifying- themselves : for we find that, although the commissioners had appointed Street to the office of mayor, in the room of the displaced Col- bourne, yet it appears that he never acted in that capacity, and that Peter Hiley was chosen to fill the office. Three years after this, Sept. 15, 1665, the king honoured Poole with the visit already recorded (p. 132); and, as will have been seen, he then nominated William Skutt to the mayoralty : — a nomination which was, however, rejected by the burgesses, in accordance with their reluctance to admit any semblance of the principle that the prerogative of the crown extended thus far. It is somewhat singular that the person selected on the rejection of the king's nominee, was no other than the Stephen Street, who had been set aside three years previously, for a like cause. This fact estab- lishes that such rejection could have arisen from no per- sonal objection to Street, but merely from an unwillingness to sanction the extreme opinions on the question of prero- gative, held by the court party after the restoration, when, as is always the case in national convulsions, the nation proceeded from one political extreme to its opposite. A charter was granted to this borough, dated Nov. 24, 1667, (19 Car.U.) which — reciting that Poole was "a free and populous town and county of itself, and from ancient time incorporated by the name of the mayor, bailiffs, bur- gesses, and commonalty of the town of Poole ;" and that the burgesses and inhabitants had enjoyed divers liberties, privileges, &c, beyond the memory of man: — reciting also, that by the charter of Elizabeth and other charters, these liberties, &c, were furnished and confirmed : — and further reciting, that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty had petitioned for a ratification and confirma- tion of the ancient privileges and liberties, and for the grant of other liberties and powers: — grants — that all liberties, privileges, &c, theretofore lawfully used or enjoyed by the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and 200 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. commonalty, by reason of any charters or letters patent, should be ratified and confirmed in as ample a manner as in times past they were used or enjoyed ; — that there should be four constables, viz., two new constables to be added yearly to the two constables within the town, yearly appointed in times past ; such additional constables to be elected as in times past, and within six months after the annual election of the two former con- stables ; the two senior constables to be styled head constables; — that there should be one discreet man, learned in the law, to be a recorder ; and that Anthony Ettricke, esq. should be the recorder of the town thenceforth during his life ; any vacancy in the office to be supplied by the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty ; that the recorder should have power to appoint a deputy ; — that the mayor and recorder, with four burgesses, to be annually elected according to the charter of Elizabeth, should be keepers of the peace, with the customary pow- ers, and that they, six, five, four, three, or two of them should be justices of the peace ; — that the sheriff and water bailff should be " eligible and elected out of the common burgesses and other honest and discreet inhabitants of the town and county aforesaid, at such time and times, and by such persons and members of the corporation aforesaid respectively as in times past within the said town, hath been had and used," anything in the charter of Elizabeth to the contrary notwithstanding. The charter then recites that there had been, beyond the memory of man, a fish-market in the town, held by custom; and grants a confirmation of such custom ; — that all fishermen taking fish in the fishing places of the town, its liberties, and precincts, should bring such fish to the common fish-market, to be exposed to sale for one hour, before being carried to any other market or place of sale ; MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 201 — that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty should have power and authority to appoint bye-laws for the government of the corporation, " and of all officers, members, ministers, artificers, burgesses, inhabitants, and residents whatsoever of the said town and county ;" and for the payment of all necessary public impositions and ex- penses, and of all other matters and things concerning the said town and county ; with power of levy and distress for fines ; — that burgesses chosen to any of the offices, except the office of town-clerk, recorder, and serjeant-at-mace, and refusing to serve, should be fined in such penalty as to the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty should seem reasonable ; with power of levy and distress ; — that the mayor, &c. should have power to fine absentees from meetings regularly summoned; no such fine to exceed five shillings for one default ; « — that the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty should have authority, as often as should seem necessary, " reasonably to tax and assess all officers, burgesses, and other inhabitants within the town aforesaid, or the county thereof, or the liberties or precincts of the same, for and towards the necessary reparations of the bridges, walls, and banks of the town and county aforesaid; and for and towards the necessary cleansing and purging of the waters, aqueducts, and channels of the said town or county, there- unto belonging or appertaining ;" and for and towards the necessary maintenance or defence of the lands, tenements, goods, chattels, rights, liberties, and privileges of the town and corporation aforesaid ; and for and towards the pay- ment and satisfaction of any necessary public charges and expenses of the said town, &c. ; with power of levy and distress and arrest ; — that the liberties, &c, granted, should be held without hindrance or molestation of any justices, sheriffs, &c. ; — that no writ of quo warranto should issue against the 2 D 202 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. mavor, &c, for any thing done before this charter ; and that they should not be accountable for any abuse before this charter ; — that the mayor, bailiffs, aldermen, recorder, sheriff, burgesses, and town clerk, and all other officers and ministers of the town, and the justices, should, before their admission into office, take the oaths of obedience and supremacy ; — that no recorder or town clerk should be admitted to office before being approved of by the king. Under this charter, in conjunction with that of 10th Elizabeth, the borough continued to be governed, till the 1st of January, 1836, except during the short time, to be presently spoken of, when it suffered deprivation of its privileges by an adverse judgment on a quo ivarranto. The additional privileges granted by this charter were few and of slight importance; and it would appear that the real, though not avowed object, of issuing it, was to afford some sanction to the select system that had been intro- duced, and which would naturally be encouraged by the court, at that time seeking to establish its rule on the more concealed power of influence, rather than on the bold exercise of a questioned prerogative. In this charter we find the first mention of two classes of burgesses, the one described as that of " capital burgesses/' The power of making bye-laws, so fully given by this charter, and several other parts of it, were well calculated to establish the change. Towards the close of his reign, Charles II. made a violent attack upon the rights of the subject, by an almost general seizure of the charters of boroughs, by virtue of writs of quo warra7ito. The king' was urged to this course by the dissensions with his parliament; and his object was to obtain an ascendancy over all the cities and boroughs throughout the kingdom ; and by such means to procure the return of a more accommodating parliament. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 203 The corporation of Poole had, probably, manifested a more sturdy spirit than the king had anticipated on the grant of the charter in the 1 9th year of his reign ; for that town was amongst the sufferers in the general seizure, June 27, 1683, 35 Car. II., a writ of quo warranto was issued by sir Robert Sawyer, the king's attorney-general, calling upon the mayor, &c, to show by what authority they exercised their privileges. The burgesses of Poole were intimidated by these pro- ceedings, and, as was the case with many other boroughs, prudently made a humble submission to the king, of which the following is a copy : — " The most humble address and submission of the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty of your majesties ancient corporation of your town and county of Poole, at the guildhall assembled. " Most Gracious Sovereign ; " From the deepest sense of our duty and God's great mercy to us in the happy deliverance of your sacred person, and dearest brother, James, duke of Yorke, from the late barbarous and bloody conspiracy contrived and carried on by men of trayterous and hellish principles,^ wee do most humbly beseech your most gratious majesty to accept this our most hearty and sincere suite, which (like the poor widdow) wee doe cast into the treasury of ad- dresses (beeing heartiely sorry that wee haue not done itt sooner), most humbly assureing your majesty that wee doe detest and from the bottom of our hearts abhorre that deuellish and hellish conspiracy, and doe heartiely pray the King of Kings and Gouernour of all things (whome wee blesse for your majesty's signall and miraculous pre- seruation) to continue his wonted providence, and grante your majesty a long life, and a prosperous reign over us. " And wee doe most humbly supplicate your majesty's gratious acceptance of our lives and fortunes which wee are mutually resolued to expose in the defence of your sacred person, your royal I brother, and lawfull successors, and • Allusion is here made to the Rye House Plot, "which had been discovered a few months before. 204 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the government by law established both in church and state, from all treasonable conspiracyes and trayterous associacions. And wee doe faythfully engage that when- soeuer your majesty shall vouchsafe to call your great council in parliament, wee will choose such persons for burgesses whose actions shall giue us greatest hopes of loyalty. " And whereas, notwithstanding your majesty has been gratiously pleased since your happy restoration to this your kingdom and crown (by a charter granted to us in the 18th [19th] yeare of your majesty's happy reigne), not onely to confirme our libertyes and franchises, granted to us in seuerall charters of your royall predecessors, but allsoe therein of your royall goodness to add seuerall pri- vileges and libertys thereto, yett such is our unhappiness att this tyme (by the ill management and abuse thereof by some amongst us) to give your majesty such just cause of displeasure as to cause a quo warranto to be brought against them. " Wee doe, therefore, in all humillity, and with the greatest submission, prostrate ourselves att your royall feet, earnestly entreating your gratious pardon for euery offence whereby wee haue incurred your majesty's dis- pleasure, and that of your great goodnesse you will not ruine so anscient and (may wee presume to say itt) loyall corporacione and towne and county for the miscarriage of some few disaffected persons, butt that your majesty would most gratiously incline to shew the same princely clemency and compassion to us as you have of late to your royall citty of London, by continueing to us our anscient libertyes and franchises, reserving to your majesty and successors the approbacion and confirmacion of our respective mayor, bailiffs, sheriffs, recorder, towne-clerke, or any other officer, in such manner as vour majesty, in your princely wisdom, shall think fitt. " And wee, in the name of ourselves and all the inhabi- tants of this towne and county, doe most humbly tender to your majesty the most faithfull and sincere promises and assurances of constant loyallty and stedfast obedience to your majesty, your heirs and lawfull successors, and of our dutifull and lawfull administration of the government of this towne and county for the future. And wee doe most humbly submitt ourselues in all things relateing to our MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 205 charter to your majesty's good pleasure, which wee begg to receive, being unanimously resolved to yeeld obedience thereunto, with all humility and thankfullness. In testi- mony whereof wee have caused the common seal of this towne and county to bee hereunto affixed ; and allsoe sett our hands this l$ th day of Sept., in the xxxv yeare of your majesty's reign." From a curious correspondence that ensued on the mat- ter, we find that this dutiful submission experienced a very favourable reception at the royal hands. The address was entrusted to Mr, Benjamin Skutt, of London, for presenta- tion to the king, and his letter is curious, as descriptive of the royal reception, and of the expressions that fell from the king on the occasion. It was as follows : — " London, the 4 th Oct., 1683. " Sirs, " I have received yours of the 1 st pres 1 with the enclosed address, which, according to your order, have been this morning delivered his majesty, and kindly re- ceived, which being a matter of so great importance, have thought it my duty to acquaynt you with all the circum- stances which attended it. As soon as received it, I accquaynted sir Benjamin Newland thereof, who the night before came to towne, and had promised to serve you in giveing countenance to itt by his presence, and then wayted on the earle of Rochester, who before knew of your designe and promised to favour you in itt. Hee read itt, and very well liked itt, and appointed our attendance at Whitehall, and then sent for us to the councill chamber, where his majesty beeing come to councill upon an extraordenary occasion, before the council sate, the lords beeing present, wee were sent for in, and his majesty receiving us with a pleasant countenance, wee, accquaynting him with the occasion of our attendance, uppon our knees delivered the addresse into his majesty's hands, who, receiving itt with all demonstrations of kindnesse, gave itt to one of the clarkes of the councill to reade itt, which beeing done, his majesty was pleased to give this gratious answer ; that he kindly received your addresse and submission, and that he would give directions to his attorney-generall that the matter relateing to your charter should be settled as you 206 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. pray'd for ; that hee never intended to take any tiling* from his subjects butt what should bee for their good, and would tend to the peace and quiett of his government and to keepe ill men out of itt that might disturb itt ; which answer had you heard from his majesty's own mouth 1 know would have been more pleasing to you coming from so great a king and the best of men, who studdyes the good of his subjects, and whoever suffers under his government, it's only from themselves, as wee of this citty have lately once sadly experimented, wee not haveing complved with our promises to soe good a king by the pre valency of factious illminded men, wee are now reduced from a famous citty onely to a great village, his majesty beeing provoked to enter up judgment agaynst our charter, all our libertyes, franchises, lands, &c.,~ are forfeited and seized into the king's hands, and many thousands of widdows and orphans left in a most deplorable perishing condition, and wee are now governed by the old lord mayor, who haue this day received a new commission from his majesty, and by virtue thereof now acts. You have taken a better course, and doubt not you will find the good effect of itt. I must acequaynt you that it is expected the attorney-gen- erall be attended, and a legall settlement made as he shall advise : his majesty expects onely to reserve the approba- tion of your officers which I understand must be done by some new instrument, the privileges of your former charters remaining in all other things as formerly enjoyed. If you please to command mee to undertake the conduct of itt, I shall performe itt with all care and respect to your interest, and observe your directions in all things. Soe present you my hble. service, and assure 1 am att your commands " "Ben: Skutt." The further services of Mr. Skutt were accepted, and the loyal corporation were ready to accede to any conditions required by the king, as will be seen by the reply to the above letter. " Poole, Oct. 8, 1683. " Mr. Benj. Skutt. « Sir, . " We have your's of the 4 th current; and considering itts contents, must acknowledg ourselves MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 207 highly obliged for your great care and kindnesse in the soe speedy delivery of our addresse and submission, the good successe whereof in meeting with soe gratious an acceptance from soe great a prince and best of men, as by observing the several! circumstances that attended the delivery thereof so particularly sett down in your's, occa- sioned great joy to all the auditors, which were many, at Mr. Mayor's house Satterday last; and this day at the guildhall it was ordered att a meeting- there, that your letter with the whole proceedings should be recorded/ and thanks returned to you for your kindnesse, and by you to the earle of Rochester and sir Benj. Newland, which, as you have opportunity, wee pray you to doe, and then further considering the latter part of your letter, what is further to bee done to compleat the businesse (who shou'd attend the attorney-generall), would not admit of any debate at all, as wee thought of noe person in the first place more fitt and on our application more ready to serve us in what is allready done, soe since you are now pleas'd to prevent a future request by soe readiely offering your conduct of what remaynes, wee doe unanimously and wholly leave itt to you, not doubting butt as you have been very tinde and dilligent hitherto, soe you will bee very cordiall and carefull in the management of what remaynes as much as in you lyeth for the corporacion's interest, and if you shall have occasion of advice, to advise with such councill as you shall think fitt, and when you shall have occasion of money please to advise us, and wee will take care to remitt itt you or pay itt to your order which shall be most for your convenience. Sir, wee wholly confide in you, trusting wee haue a very faythfull friend, and you shall ever finde the like in, "Hon d Sir, " Your assured lo : friends. " As you doe anything in this businesse, please to advise us thereof from tyme to tyme, and wee desire it may be finisht with all nesesary speede." But, notwithstanding the favourable manner in which the submission was received, and the readiness of the sub- scribers to accord with any royal desire, it appears that the matter was not then satisfactorily arranged; and, accord- 208 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. ingly, in the Easter term following*, judgment was entered up against the borough, and renewed in Trinity term, 2nd Jac. II. ;# the effect of which was to take away all the local privileges of the town, granted to it in all the previous charters. Immediately previous to the issue of the quo warranto, a commission of the peace was issued, dated Feb. 15, 35th Car. II. (1682-3), directed to sir Francis North, lord keeper of the great seal of England; John, earl of Radnor, president of the privy council ; George, marquis of Halifax, keeper of the privy seal ; the duke of Albemarle; Robert, earl of Lindsey, great chamberlain of England ; Henry, earl of Arlington, chamberlain of the household; the mayor of the town and county of Poole for the time being; Nathaniel Napier, bart. ; Thomas Erie, Thomas Chafin, William Culliford, Anthony Ettricke, George Ryves, Henry Constantine, and William Ogden, esquires; ap- pointing them jointly and severally to be justices of the peace in the town and county of Poole and the limits and boundaries thereof, with the customary powers, &c. This commission is still preserved, with the great seal appended to it.f In the species of interregnum that prevailed in the town from the issue of the quo warranto till the grant of the charter of the 4th Jac. II., the lord of the manor held his courts-leet in Poole, and attempted to recover his ancient right of electing a mayor out of three persons presented by the jury. The attempt, however, was unsuccessful, and the mayor and other officers appointed at the lord's court were never suffered to officiate, the duties of the mayoralty being performed by John Wyndham, of Salisbury, who * Although rules for judgment had passed upon information against a very great number of corporations and bodies politic of the kingdom, yet no judgments were entered upon record upon any such information, except against the city of London, Poole, Chester, Calne, St. Ives, York, Thaxted, Llaughour, and Malmesbury. + There is also in the archives of the corporation an impression of the great seal of queen Anne ; but the document to which it was affixed has not been preserved. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 209 was appointed to the office by commission, or by Allen Skutt, his deputy, also appointed by commission. The object of the forced surrender of the charters was not to destroy the existence of the corporations, but, by remodelling them through the agency of new char- ters, to bring them under the influence of the crown, and make them convenient instruments of government. To effect this purpose, new charters were granted to many boroughs, in which clauses were inserted, reserving the right of removal of officers to the crown, and providing other conditions with a similar tendency. Thus, in the 4th Jac. II. (Sept. 15, 1688), a charter was issued to Poole, containing' these objectionable clauses, and otherwise throwing the influence of the corporation into the hands of the crown. It recited the judgments upon quo zvarranto, and the petition of the inhabitants for renewed liberties, &c, and, in consideration thereof, granted — that the town should be a county of itself; — that the burgesses and inhabitants should be a body corporate, by name of the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the town of Poole in the county of the town of Poole ; to have perpetual succession, and to be capable of pur- chasing and holding lands, of sueing and being sued, &c, and to have a common seal, with power to alter the same ; — that there should be one mayor, one recorder, one sheriff, eighteen burgesses or common council men, and one town-clerk : Moses Durell was named the first mayor; Henry Trenchard, first recorder; Thomas Smith, first sheriff; Moses Durell, Richard Penney, John Gigger, William Minty, John Carter, Henry Jubber, James Halli- bread, and Joseph Hopkins, first aldermen ; William Pike, sen., Thomas Smith, Martin Rose, Richard Topp, John Lintren, sen., Timothy Bird, William Collands, John Hookey, Anthony Smith, Richard Buckenham, Robert Wharton, Abraham Smith, Walter Spurrer, Simon Whit- 2E 210 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. son, Richard Sutton, sen., Robert Bayly, jun., and George Olliffe, first burgesses or common councilmen ; John Blunt, first town-clerk ; — that the officers should continue in office as formerly ; — that the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses or common councilmen, should have full power to make laws for the good rule and government of the town, and to alter the same ; with power to levy penalties upon offenders, to be enjoyed to their own use without accounting ; — that the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses or council- men should have power to tax and assess all officers, burgesses, and other inhabitants, towards the necessary repairing of the bridges, walls, and banks of the town and county ; and towards the payment of the necessary taxes and expenses of the town, and towards any other matters and things necessarily touching and concerning the sup- porting of the said town and corporation ; with power of levy and distress ; — that the mayor, recorder, and three aldermen to be annually elected, should be justices of the peace within the town and its liberties ; — that the mayor should be sworn as mayor and justice ; the recorder, sheriff, aldermen, burgesses or common councilmen, and town clerk to be sworn ; — that the mayor might appoint one of the aldermen as his deputy mayor ; and that the recorder might also appoint a deputy ; both deputies to be sworn ; — that power should be reserved to the king to remove the mayor or any officer at his pleasure ; that others should be elected in the room of those so removed ; and that if the vacancies should not be filled within twenty days after such removal, the king should have power to nominate ; and in that case all other elections should be void ; — that the mayor, recorder, sheriff, aldermen, burgesses or common councilmen, and town clerk, and their successors, MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 211 should be exempted from taking the oaths of supremacy and allegiance, and the oaths in the act 13th Car. II., and from taking the sacrament and subscribing the declaration; — that no recorder or town clerk should be admitted without the king's approval ; — that the mayor, &c, should have power to hold lands not exceeding £100 annual value, with licence to let the same ; — and that they should enjoy the same liberties, &c, as they formerly enjoyed, paying and rendering for the same as theretofore. This charter was so distasteful to the inhabitants, that it was not accepted, it being wisely determined to reject the dangerous encroachments on the liberty of the subject involved in its provisions. At this time, too, a spirit of resistance to the arbitrary measures of James II. was generally springing up throughout the country, and that weak and misjudging monarch found, when it was too late, the danger of that extent to which he had carried his des- potic views. The acts of the last few weeks of his reign evince the existence of this too-long deferred conviction. Amongst those measures was the grant of a charter of complete restoration to the borough of Poole, without any of those objectionable provisions contained in the rejected charter just recited. This charter, which bears date Dec. 8, 4th Jac. II. (1688), in consideration of the good service of the bur- gesses and inhabitants of the town and county of Poole, as likewise for the good government of the same, released the burgesses and inhabitants, as likewise the late mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty, from the judgments obtained against the mayor, &c, upon the quo warranto^ and from the penalties and forfeitures consequent thereon ; and granted — that all their liberties, franchises, lands, tenements, &c, should be restored, as before the judgment ; and that the 212 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. burgesses and inhabitants of the town should be incorpo- rated by the name of the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty ; — that the mayor, recorder, bailiffs, capital burgesses or aldermen, sheriff, town clerk, and all freemen, officers, and ministers whatsoever, who were in office at the time of obtaining the judgments, should be restored to their res- pective offices and places ; and the following persons were declared so restored to the offices held by them at the time of the judgment in the 2nd Jac. II., viz. : — James Halli- bread to the office of mayor ; William White, recorder ; William Street, senior bailiff; Shadrach Beale, sheriff; James Hallibread, William Street, Moses Durell, sen., John Carter, sen., William Orchard, Nicholas Efford, John Willis, sen., and Allen Skutt, capital burgesses or aldermen; William Weston, water bailiff ; Moses Durell, jun., town clerk ; — that the mayor, recorder, capital burgesses or aldermen, and burgesses, should cause other officers to be elected in the customary manner and form ; that the burgesses and freemen should be convened and assemble to make and constitute laws, &c, as theretofore ; and that the burgesses and inhabitants should be gathered together in the usual place, to make elections, and do all other things requisite and accustomed; and that the mayor, recorder, capital burgesses or aldermen, and the burgesses, being gathered together in the common hall, should exercise the same power and authority as before ; — that the mayor, and recorder, and their deputies, and such aldermen as were justices of the peace at the time of the judgment, should be restored to the office ; — that a new mayor, new bailiffs, a new sheriff, and other new officers, should be chosen on the usual day, and in manner and form as before the judgment; — that the several officers should, before their admission to execute the duties of their respective offices, take the usual oaths. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 213 This charter of restitution was obtained by the influence and through the instrumentality of sir Nathaniel Napier, who sustained the expense incurred in procuring it; found- ing on his liberality in this respect, and on a considerable charitable donation made at the same time, a claim upon the suffrages of the burgesses on the summoning of the convention parliament. The charter was granted prior to the issue of the pro- clamation for restoring the corporations promulgated by James II., at Faversham, after his flight from London.^ * The king fled from London Dec. 12 ; and this proclamation was afterwards issued at Faversham,— the last act of his expiring power, too late to retrieve his errors, and only in time to shew that he was sensible of them, and desirous, if possible, of correcting them. It commences with a recital that several deeds of surrender had been lately made by several corporations and bodies corporate, of their charters, franchises, and privileges, which had not been recorded or enrolled ; and that upon the proceedings and rules for judgment which had been lately had upon the quo warrantos, judgments had not been entered upon record ; whereupon, notwithstand- ing, new charters had been granted in the reign of Charles II. and in his own ; which deeds, not being enrolled, did not amount to, or in law make any surrender of, the charters, franchises, or liberties mentioned : and such of the corporations against which rules for judgments had been made in the lifetime of king Charles II., or since, in the court of king's bench, but no judgment entered on record, were not discor- porate or dissolved -. and that it was in the king's power to leave such corporations in the same estate and condition they were in ; and to discharge all further proceed- ings tbat might be, of such rules for judgment and deeds of surrender. That the deeds of surrender made by the corporations and bodies politic, except the following, viz.: — Thetford, Jsottingham, Bridgwater, Ludlow, Bewdley, Beverley, Exeter, Tewkesbury, Doncaster, Colchester, Winchester, Launceston, Liskeard, Plympton, Tregony, Plymouth, Dunwich, St. Ives, Fowey, East Looe, Camelford, West Looe, Tintagel, Penryn, Tiuro, Bodmin, Hadleigh, Lostwithiel, and Saltash, were not enrolled or recorded in any of the king's courts. That though rules for judgment had passed upon information against the corpo- rations and bodies politic of several cities and towns, yet no judgments had been entered on record upon any such informations, except against those specified, p. 208. That to restore and put all cities, towns, and boroughs in England and Wales, and also the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, into the same state and condition they were in before any deed of surrender was made of their charters, franchises, or proceed- ings against them, the king directed that the corporations and bodies politic of all cities, towns, and boroughs, whose deeds of surrender were not enrolled, nor judg- ments entered against them ; and all the members in every of them respectively, should immediately proceed to act as a corporation or body politic ; and when places were vacant, to make immediate elections, and to execute every matter and thing as they lawfully might have done, if no such deeds of surrender or rules for judgment had been had or made. That all the corporate officers from their offices had been dismissed, which they claimed to hold only by charter, grant, or patent, from Charles II., or the king, since the dates of the respective deeds of surrender, &c, except such corporations whose deeds of surrender were enrolled, or against whom judgment was entered. The king also j>romised be would grant to the cities, corporations, and boroughs, any further act to connrm unto them all their charters, &c, which they at the times oi such deeds of surrender, held or enjoyed. 214 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. But although this charter bears date Dec. 8, it was not produced and promulgated in the town until the 24th of that month, when it was brought by sir Nathaniel Napier, and read, and the restored officers were duly sworn and admitted to their respective offices. From this time, the course of municipal government in the borough continued uniform down to the alteration effected by the act for the regulation of municipal corpo- rations, [5th & 6th Wm. IV., c. 76]. In 1833, the king issued a commission for the purpose of obtaining information respecting the condition of the municipal corporations. Though the legality of this com- mission was much questioned-f", and though several corporations with impunity resisted the investigation it purposed, yet the corporation of Poole, submitted to a searching enquiry instituted by Mr. Gambier, one of the commissioners, and afforded him ample information. Mr. Gambier visited Poole, for the purposes of the enquiry, Jan. 22 and 23, 1834. The following extracts from the That as to those corporations which had made deeds of surrender, or had judgments given against them, and which were entered on record, the chancellor, attorney and solicitor-general, should, upon application, without fee or reward, pass charters, instruments, and grants^ for the incorporating, regranting, confirming, and restoring to them their respective charters, liberties, &c. ; and also for restoring all their officers, at the times of such deeds of surrender or judgments, who were then in office. That divers boroughs, which had not been corporations before 1679, and had their charters of incorporation subsequently granted to them, should, from thenceforth, cease and determine ; and that all and every person in those corporations should be removed and discharged from their offices. That the king would do any other act that would render these matters effectual : and that it was his intention to call a parliament as soon as the general disturbance of the kingdom, by the intended invasion, would admit. To this conciliatory and beneficial proclamation, the fullest effect has been given by the courts of law. * Serious doubts were entertained by many, best informed upon these subjects, as to the legality of the commission. That the king, by virtue of his prerogative, is enabled, as part of the executive functions of the crown, — and, constitutionally speaking, is bound— to superintend the due execution of the law in the several muni- cipal institutions of the country, cannot be doubted. And, for such purposes, an oath might perhaps be ordered to be administered, in order to obtain the most correct information. But whether the crown can with propriety investigate the finances — or inquire into the property of the corporations — who are its grantees — is a question involved in great and serious difficulties, — Meeewethek and Stephens, 2270. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 215 report presented by the learned commissioner, will describe the nature and condition of the corporation at that time. " LIMITS. " Land jurisdiction. — The land jurisdiction of the cor- poration of Poole is co-extensive with the parish of St. James, and the boundaries are well understood and defined." " Admiralty jurisdiction. — The corporation have an admiralty jurisdiction, the boundary-line of which is not verv accurately ascertained, but which comprehends certain points which are perfectly well known^." " STYLE AND CONSTITUTION. " The style of the corporation is « the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonaltv of the town of Poole.' It consists of a mayor, two bailiffs, and an unlimited number of burgesses. The commonalty have no distinct character in this corporation : nor are any corporate functions vested in them by the charters. " Mayor. — The mayor is chosen annually on Friday before St. Matthew's day, by the whole of the burgesses, out of their own body ; but this qualification is annexed to the character of the candidates and to that of the electors, that all must be resident. No non-resident burgess is eligible to the office of mayor, and no non-resident bur- gesses are permitted to vote at his election. There existed at one time a practice for the mayor and aldermen to nominate three candidates, out of whom the burgesses elected one to be mayor. In 1810, this system of nomina- tion was resisted, and the mayor, who had been elected under it, was ousted by judgment in quo ivarranto. Since that time, and until very lately, the office of mayor was made attainable only upon having served certain other offices in the corporation ; and a bve-law, to that effect, was passed in 1830. But in the succeeding year that bye- * The admiralty jurisdiction will be separately treated of iu a future page. 216 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. law was rescinded, and there is now no such rule or re- striction as to the party who is to be chosen mayor^. The mayor takes the oath of office before the burgesses, at the time of his election. If the mayor dies during his year of office, another is chosen in the same manner, for the re- mainder of the year. Such an event occurred in Poole during the last year. " Bailiffs. — The two bailiffs are elected by and from the burgesses, at the same time and in the same manner as the mayor. The general practice (which has, however, been sometimes departed from) is that the mayor going out of office should be senior bailiff for the next year. The other bailiff is called the water bailifff. " Burgesses. — The burgesses are unlimited in number. They are chosen from time to time by the resident bur- gesses, the mayor and bailiffs being always present when they are elected. The right, if it be one, to form a select body of burgesses, is not conferred by the charter of Eliz- abeth, nor, indeed, as far as appears, by any other charter. It is a usage, however, which has so far been confirmed, that the elective franchise has been adjudged to exist in the select body of burgesses formed in this manner. Until lately no rule as to choosing resident inhabitants for bur- gesses has been observed. But, in 1830, the choice of burgesses was confined to those who resided in the borough. On that occasion 92 burgesses were created, many of them minors of all ages. With regard to these latter, it is understood that it is an honorary obligation on the corpo- rate body to re-admit them when they attain their full age. In general the election of burgesses is an open election, there being no right or practice to nominate either in any individual or in any class of persons ; but, in 1830, it was * This practice of rotation of office prevailed from a very early period, as lias been already shewn (p. 170). t The bailiffs were formerly distinguished as the high bailiff [capitalis ballivus] and under bailiff [sub-ballivusj. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 217 agreed that each burgess should nominate two candidates, and these were as a matter of course elected. Each bur- gess on his admission pays a fine to the general fund of the corporation. The amount of this fine is settled by the corporation at a meeting previous to the election ; it has varied from time to time, but of late years has been usually £25^. The newly-admitted burgess also pays the following fees : — £ s. d. '• To the town clerk 2 2 li To his clerk 5 " To each serjeant-at-mace, 10s. 6d. ... 1 1 3 8 Of " Although residence is not made a necessary qualifica- tion in a candidate for admission into the corporation, it is considered an indispensable requisite to the exercise of his corporate functions after being admitted. This has been already mentioned in speaking of the office of mayor, and it applies also to other casesj. There is an instance in 1819, of a non-resident burgess who came to Poole for the purpose of voting in a meeting- of the corporation, and whose name was, by reason of his being a non-resident, erased by the mavor from the list of those who had voted ; and a minute to that effect was made in the bookg. * The bye-laws regulating the election of burgesses hare varied occasionally in accordance with circumstances ; the variations being in regard to the number of burgesses whose consent should be deemed necessary to an admission, and the amount of the fine to be paid to the funds of the corporation by a newly-elected The gradual progress in the amount of this fine has been already alluded to p. 192). The practice of making burgesses was generally resorted to when the corporation funds happened to be low, and some improvement of the town was deemed requisite. Previously to the act of the 29th Geo. II., such a course was fre- quently adopted for the purpose of raising fuuds to improve the quays : and when 92 burgesses were admitted in 1830, at fines of £25 each, amounting to £2300, we learn from the commissioner's report, that " the whole of this fund was expended in the yean 1830, 1831, and 1832, in the improvement of the town." 1 lie has also to pay for the admission stamp. i The non-resident burgesses frequently attempted to interfere in the internal regulations of the borough ; but their right to do so was never sanctioned. In 1818, ted their case to Mr. Serjeant Copley (now lord Lyndhurst), and his opinion was adverse to their claim. Their privilege was confined to the exercise of the parliamentary franchise. 1 An instance occurs, 1080, of a burgess having been deprived of his burgess-shin ; but the power of removal docs not appear to have been well established. 2 V 218 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. " In the case of the mayor and bailiffs, the rule of resi- dence is generally with great strictness enforced. In 1829, and again in 1831, one of the bailiffs was removed on account of his being* in each case resident out of the borough ; and there are instances of other officers being 1 removed for the same caused. " OFFICERS. " The officers of the corporation are the mayor, recorder, aldermen, senior bailiff, four justices, sheriff, town clerk, water bailiff, two coroner?, two constables of the staple, key-keepers, a high constable and three other constables, two Serjeants at mace, crier, and hayward. There are also corn meters appointed by the corporation, a treasurer who keeps the accounts of the quay and harbour dues ; and a quay, harbour, and ballast master, who receives them-f*. " Mayor. — The mayor of Poole, who is also styled mayor of the staple, is a justice of the peace for the borough, one of the judges of the weekly court of record, clerk of the market, and admiral of the port. As clerk of the market he appoints a deputy, who is inspector of the market. The mayor has no salary. The only incidental emoluments which he receives, are a bushel of corn from * The earliest recorded instance of a penalty for absence, is dated May 22, 1583, when it was ordered that Christopher Farwell, senior bailiff", should be fined £30 for absenting himself from his office, by going to Newfoundland, without the consent of the mayor, justices, brethren, and the rest of the burgesses, + Porters also were formerly appointed by the corporation ; and in 1723, the rates of porterage were regulated by an order which is curious as affording some indi- cation of the confined extent of the town at that period. It settles that the porterage for a bushel of coals shall be as follows : — From the great quay to High Street — Court corner, Id. ; to Mr. Benjamin Skutt's gate, ljd. ; to Henry Strong's house, l§d. ; to Bull Head, l|d. j to any part of High street above Bull Head, 2d. Market Street — to Mr. John Durell's house, Id. ; to Mr. Wm. Fooks's house, l|d. ; to the east end of the Market house, l£d. ; to Market lane, l|d. ; above Market lane, 2d. Strand— to John Catridge's house, Id. ; to Pelly's entry, l$d. ; to Sutton's corner, l|d. ; to Gray's entry, ljd. ; thence to the end of Leg lane, 2d. West Street — to widow Bennett's house, Id. ; to Dudley Digges's house, ljd. ; to John Hose's house, l|d. ; to Mary Sutton's house, 13d. ; beyond the same, 2d, MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 219 every foreign vessel bringing" corn to the port, and a con- tribution of fish from all fishermen not belonging to the port, who bring fish for sale^. " Recorder. — The recorder is chosen for life, by a ma- jority of the resident burgesses, subject to the approbation of the crown. The approval of the crown is signified under the sign manual, countersigned by the secretary of state for the home department. The practice has been to elect barristers to this office. The recorder himself is not usually resident. There is at the present time a deputy recorder, who attends the sessions, but it is said to be an unusual thing to appoint a deputy. The recorder is one of the justices of the borough, and, when present, presides at the quarter sessions. He has no salary or other emolu- ment. " Aldermen. — The body of aldermen is composed of those members of the corporation who have served the office of mayor. They are mentioned in this place because it does not appear that they constitute, for any purpose, an integral part of the corporation. The charter of Charles the second directs that six justices of the borough should take the oath of justice of the peace in the presence of the aldermen or of any two of them ; and it is still the practice to administer the oath in their presence. They have also, conjointly with the mayor, the appointment of the two Serjeants at mace. There are now twelve aldermen in the corporation. * The mayor was formerly allowed a sum from the corporation fund to cover the necessary expenses of the office. In 1589, it was ordered "that the mayor for the time being should have his annual sums, viz., the recorder's fee, and for his diet, the mayor's yearly allowance for his kitchen, the Serjeants' yearly wages, and for his tahle." In 1589, it was agreed by the corporation, that thenceforth the mayor should "be allowed annually the sum of £24, in discharge of his mayor's feast, quarter sessions, monthly meetings, festival days, and other charges during his said yeare of mayoralty." The principal expense that devolved upon the mayor in late years was that contingent on the practice, still maintained, of giving a public breakfast to the inhabitants, bel I church on his first public appearance with tl office, which i si ond Sunday after his elec break f t, . b ... suite. 220 MUNICIPAL HISTORY, " Senior bailiff. — The senior bailiff is a judge of the weekly court of record, and is usually elected one of the four justices of the peace. " Justices. — Besides the senior bailiff, three other bur-* gesses are elected annually, on the Friday before St, Matthew's day, which is called the charter-day, and is the day for electing to all the annual offices of the corporation. They are elected in the same manner as the mayor. It is the practice for all the four justices to attend at the petty sessions, which are held at the same time and place as the weekly court, which will hereafter be mentioned. But the mayor usually takes upon himself the ordinary business of magistrate in the town. " Sheriff \ — The sheriff is elected annually, in the same manner as the mayor. He has the exclusive execution of all writs and process within the town and county, except those issuing from the weekly court of record ; and has in all respects the same power as the sheriff of a county at large. The sheriff has the usual fees of office, and receives also from the corporation the sum of twenty guineas for his quietus, " Town clerk. — The town clerk is elected for life, in the same manner as the recorder, and the choice of the corporation must be approved of, in the same manner, by the crown. He is clerk of the peace, clerk to the magis- trates, and prothonotary of the weekly court of record^. He has a salary of twenty pounds a year from the corpora- tion for attending their meetings and recording the pro- ceedings which take place. He receives fees at sessions as clerk of the peace, upon nearly the same scale as that which is made use of in the county of Dorset. The fees are said to be in some respects less than those of the county at large. As magistrates' clerk he also takes, it is said, the same fees as the clerk of the magistrates in the county ; Jle was also formerly appointed clerk of the staple ; and an old record book in £hg archives of the corporation contains the oath to be taken by him in that capacity. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 221 of Dorset ; but it seems to be doubtful whether the fees in Poole are regulated by those in Dorsetshire. One instance was mentioned in which the difference is considerable ; the fee for a summons in the count v of Dorset being- one shilling 1 , that in the town and county of Poole being" two shillings. The town clerk prepares the corporation leases, and is paid for them by the tenants. " Water bailiff. — The second bailiff is, as I understand, called the water bailiff. He has the charge of the silver oar ; and bv himself or his officer attends with it on exe- cuting; any process within the admiralty jurisdiction of the corporation. One guinea is the fee for the use of the silver oar ; and in civil cases the expense of the boat is always charged to the plaintiff in the action. It is the business also of the water bailiff' to superintend the oyster fishery, and the other fisheries of the corporation. Besides the fees for the use of the silver oar, he has a bushel of corn and a toll of fish, the same in each case as what is taken by the mayor. " Coroners. — Two coroners arc chosen annually from the burgesses, on the charter day, by the body there assembled. They have exclusive jurisdiction within the town and county of Poole. They receive the usual fees which belong to the office of coroner. " Constables of the staple. — Tw t o constables of the staple are chosen at the same time and by the same bodv. They have no duties, salary, or emoluments. " Key-keepers. — The mayor and justices are annually elected key-keepers, and overseers of the new alms-houses; but no duties or emoluments are attached to either of these offices. " Constables. — Two constables are chosen by the body en the charter-day, and two other constables are annually at the Easter sessions. One of the latter is a salary of £10 a year from the corporation. Th ral fees 222 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. " Sergeants at mace. — Two Serjeants at mace are ap- pointed by the major and aldermen, and continue in office during- the pleasure of the same body. They are the bailiffs of the weekly court of record, and execute the process of that court. They are the sheriff's officers for the town and county of Poole ; and one or other of them acts as crier at the court of quarter sessions. They receive a salary of £10 a year each, besides their fees. " Crier. Hay-ward. — The crier, who has been generally, but not always, also hayward, is appointed by the mayor, and receives one guinea a year from the corporation. " Corn meters. — A certain number of corn meters, as many as may be thought necessary, are annually appointed by the corporate body. There are now four or five. They are paid by the merchants employing them, and not by the corporation ; the rate of payment is a halfpenny per quar- ter, imperial measure. It is understood to be compulsory to employ thern^. " Quay treasurer. Quay and harbour master. — Under a local act, 29th Geo. III., [II.] the corporation are sole trustees for the management of the quay and harbour of Poole, and, in that capacity, appoint a treasurer, and a quay, harbour, and ballast master. The latter office was, for some time, divided into two, and there was a ballast master as well as a quay and harbour master ; but there is now a single officer only appointed-}". His appointment is a permanent onej. The treasurer is always one of the bur- gesses. The quay master collects all the dues, and after The right of the corporation to appoint a measurer of corn, salt, coals, &c, was disputed in 1!J02, by the lord high admiral ; but the right was affirmed. In an entry in tin- records, dated Sept. 17, 1(502, the mayor is ordered to be indemnified "for his expenses and chardges of a suite in the admiral tie courte betweene the lo' admirall & the towne in the defense of the towne's right for the mesuringe of salt, coles, & other thinges, &c." + The offices have been again separated since the issue of the commissioner's repoit. f By the provisions oi the act [sec, l aU the officers appointed wider it are remov- b.v .,, pleasure. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 223 paying the labourers and the small expenses incurred on the quay and in the harbour, pays over the balance to the treasurer at the end of every month. The treasurer dis- burses all other outgoings, and makes up his account in June every year. The act allows to these officers salaries not exceeding 10 per cent, on the gross proceeds. Of this allowance the treasurer receives nothing 1 : the whole is given to the quav master. " COURTS. " The courts held within the town and county of Poole are, a court of quarter sessions, a court of record, a court of admiralty, the monthly court of the sheriff, and the sheriff's tourn. " Quarter sessions, — The sessions are held four times a year, before the mayor, recorder, or his deputy, and the justices : either the mayor or recorder must be present. This court has exclusive jurisdiction over all cases arising in the town and county of Poole, and which, if it were not a county of itself, would be cognizable by the justices of the county of Dorset. Capital cases are thought to be tri- able at the sessions ; and there is said to be an old instance of a murder having been tried before the mayor. At the present day, it does not appear that any capital felonies are tried at the sessions^. The number of felonies tried there * The jurisdiction of the old court of quarter session in cases of capital felony has been seldom exercised. An instance, however, occurs in the time of the commonwealth. At the sessions holden March 28, 1654, a woman named Pearce, was convicted of murdering her illegitimate child, and condemned to be hanged. The warrant for the execution is still extant, signed by the mayor, recorder, and two justices. But, until late years, on the occurrence of any case of capital felony in the borough, the prac- tice was that one of the judges of assize on the western circuit attended at Poole for the purpose of trying it. Poole being included in the commission issued for that circuit, no separate commission was necessary on that account. Amongst the instances of such courts are the following : — In 1703 ; when the subjoined memorandum occurs in the record book. — "On the :5th day of July in ye year 1703, judge Powell was hear vpon the tryall of one Rich- ard Mullenton, for stabbing of one Sing Goodman, whereof he died : but Mullcnton was cpietted, by reason he stabbed him in his own diffence. li. s. d. "The clarke of the sizes fee was 10 " The marshall's fee was 2 " The Clarke's man's fee was 2 " The cryer of the court •.' 224 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. in the course of the year are from six to eight, and the same is about the number of misdemeanours. " Court of record. — A court of record is held before the mayor and senior bailiff, on Thursday in every week, having- unlimited jurisdiction in all causes, real, personal, or mixed. The practice and proceedings in this court are analogous to those of the superior courts. The writ to brin^ in the defendant is tested by the mayor and senior bailiff, and is generally signed by the mayor, under the seal of the corporation. It is returnable the next court day ; bail is put in before the mayor ; and it is the practice that the plaintiff should either declare immediately, or ask for time to declare. The pleadings are filed in the pro- thonotary's office, and are entered short in a book which is kept there. Writs of enquiry are not directed to the sheriff, but are executed before the court. There is no table of fees ; their amount is regulated bv what is understood to " They demanded 191i, ; but after they weave gone away we vnderstood that my lord ordered them to take but lOli. in all : soe that we paid 61i. in the towne's wronge : and sence do understand that att Southampton neuer any thing was paid on such an occation." Again, — "on the 21st of July, 1743, Thomas Hussey, esq., serjeant at law, being appointed by his majesty's commission one of the judges for the western circuit, came to this towne and county to try Elizabeth and Julian Wantner, the first for bur- glariously stealing nine guineas from Henry Gould, of this town and county, baker, the other for receiving part of the same knowing them to have been stolen, who, by the clemency of the jury, were both acquitted. "Then paid the fees to the several officers as undermentioned, viz : — " To the clerk of the assizes £5 5 " To the marshall 2 2 "Tothecryer 2 2 "To the judge's clerk 110 10 10 " At the which time was tried a cause — the king against William Barfoot and Chris- topher Jolliffe, who were indicted for a nuisance, by sinking in the channel, just above the quay head, the hull of a Dutch ship, which had been stranded in the hooe, near the harbour's mouth ; which indictment they had removed by certiorari, and were brought to trial and found guilty of the said nuisance." In 1781, March 15, the judges of assize held a court in Poole. In 1788, July 10, judge Buller held the assize in Poole, when Ursula Blake was tried, charged with the murder of her illegitimate child, and was acquitted : and a man was tried for stealing a part of a hawser, found guilty, and whipped. About 1791, also, the assize was held in Poole, for the purpose of trying a man named Okeman, on a charge of having murdered his wife and step-mother. The prisoner was acquitted on the ground of insanity. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 225 have been usual in former times. The costs are taxed by the prothonotary. In case of a judgment by default in debt, the costs are about £6 ; and this sum appears to be the minimum in any case of action carried to final judg- ment and execution. If the form of action were different, and it were necessary that a writ of enquiry should be executed, £3 or £4 would be added to the previous costs. The taxed costs in an ordinary action of assumpsit which is tried, and in which counsel are employed on both sides, are from £26 to £28. The number of writs issued in this court in the course of the year, vary very much in different years. They are occasionally very few; in other years above fifty; and in some approaching to a hundred. Trials are not verv frequent : two took place about three years ago ; and two occurred a week before my visit to Poole." " Court of admiralty. — The court of admiralty is now held at an interval of several years. The last was in 1827 ; the previous one in 1821. This court is held by the mayor as admiral, and a jury is impannelled, consisting usually of old shipmasters and pilots, who generally perambulate the bounds of the harbour, and ascertain the marks which limit the jurisdiction." " County court. — The sheriff holds his monthly county court whenever it is necessary ; and he also holds an annual court called his tourn, at which a jury is impannelled to examine weights and measures in the town. " Juries. — The juries summoned to the sessions, grand and petty, consist of 24 each. The town clerk makes out the lists for the sheriff, who summons them by the Serjeants at mace. There is no such list made out for juries when wanted in the court of record ; but the Serjeants at mace usually select whom they please." "REVENUE. " The income of the corporation is derived from the rents of houses and lands ; the profits of markets and fairs ; fines on the admission of burgesses ; and the interest of monv lent. 2G 226 MUNICIPAL HISTORY, " Houses and lands, — A considerable part of the pro- perty in houses and lands belonging to the corporation is let upon long' terms of years. There are six leases of 1000 or 909 years, the oldest of which commenced in 1724 ; the rents reserved upon them amount to £20 lis. Two leases of 199 years, one beginning" to run in 1764, the other in 1767, produce a rent of £8 10s, a year. There are twelve for 99 years, renewable for ever, the earliest of them in 1789; reserved rents, £36 8s, 6|d. Four for 99 and one for 88 years, the earliest in 1777, the latest in 1832 ; rents £9. Four for 99 years, determinable on three lives, two of them renewable for ever ; rents £10 5s. Of the remaining 1 leases, one for 31 years, rent £5 ; seven for 21 years, rents £231 2s. 6d ; one for 14 years, rent £15 ; nine for 7 years, rents £211. The above rents include the tithe allotment, £39 12s. 6d., but not the tithes themselves. Their total amount, deducting the rent of the tithe allot* ment, is £552 4s. 6±d,"^ " The fines on renewal of leases have been so trifling that they hardly deserve to be taken into the account in computing" the average income of the corporation. " Markets and fairs, — The whole of the profits of the markets and fairs, except the fish market, have been let by auction for £250 a year ; the fish market is let separately at £5 a year. " Fines on admission of burgesses, — A large revenue has arisen in times past from the fines paid for admission into the corporation. In 1830, 92 burgesses were made, many of them minors of all ages ; a fine of £25 was paid by each individual. The whole of this fund w r as expended in the years 1830, 1831, and 1832, in the improvement of the town." " Interest of money, — A sum of £300 was lent some years ago by the corporation to the scavengers, and a pay- * The above rents do not amount to the stated total. The statement of the learned, commissioner has, however, been implicitly followed. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 227 merit of £15, as interest on this loan, is annually made to the corporate fund by the surveyors of the highways. " Expenditure* — The above income is received by the mayor, and by him applied to the following purposes : salary of an organist, salaries and expenses of officers, town clerk's bill, entertainments, interest of debt, works, repairs and improvements, the sheriff's quietus, and other miscellaneous matters* The salary to the organist is a perpetual charge upon the corporation, a sum of money, which is now sunk in the general corporate fund, having been given for the purpose. " Debt.— The total debt of the corporation is £3,531 ; namely, — £1,400 borrowed from the quay fund, at 4 ^ cent. 831 charged on the tithes at 5 „ 1,300 in three mortgages, at 5 „ " The total amount of yearly interest is £162 lls«" " The accounts of the general fund are kept by the mayor, and are made up to September. The receipts and expenditure are accounted for to the corporation at large yearly, at a special meeting convened for the express pur- pose of auditing the mayor's accounts*"^ Such was the constitution and condition of the corpora- tion of Poole, when the " act to provide for the regulation of municipal corporations in England and Wales," [5th & 6th Win, IV*, c. 76,] received the royal assent, 9th Sept., 1835, This act effected a sudden and entire change in the constitution of nearly all the corporate bodies in the king- dom, sweeping away all charters inconsistent with its pro- visions, and establishing a new and uniform principle of municipal government. The alterations effected by the * By "a rentall of the rents and revenues belonging to the incorporation of the towne and county of Poole, the 23rd January, a.d. 1G48-9," it appears that the reve- nues of the corporation then amounted to £79 6s. 2d. Amongst the sources of revenue are " key age and cartage," valued at £'15 per annum; and "the allowance out of the three bruehouses in former times were computed to be worth aboute a matter of £30 per annum." 228 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. act in the borough of Poole were very extensive, and may be thus succinctly given. Limits. — The boundaries of the borough are declared to be those settled by the general boundary act, consequent upon the parliamentary reform act [2nd & 3rd Win. IV., c. 64], thus comprising the whole of the hamlets of Park- stone and Longfleet, and the parish of Hamworthv, in addition to the old town and county. This out-district accordingly became invested with all the exempt county and municipal privileges formerly exclusively attached to the more confined territory of the old borough. The borough was directed by the act to be divided into two wards, and this division was made bv the barristers appointed for that purpose, and approved by his majesty in council, as follows: — 1st, the north-west ward, comprising" that portion of the parish of St. James, to the north-west of the middle of high street, together with the tithing- of Parkstone ; — and 2nd, the south-east ward, comprising" that part of the parish of St. James, to the south-east of the middle of high street, together with the tithing" of Longfleet, and the parish of Hamworthy. Style and constitution. — The style and title of the new incorporation is " the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses" of the borough. The groundwork of the corporate body is the establishment of a burgess constituency, of an uniform description, in all the boroughs ; and the following com- bined requisites are necessary to the acquiring" of the new burgess right : — 1 . Being" a male of full age. 2. An occupancy, on the last day of August in any year, of any house, warehouse, countinghouse, or shop, within the borough, being an occupancy which has existed during the whole of that year, and during the whole of the two preceding years. 3. Being" an inhabitant householder within the borough, or within seven miles of the borough, during the specified time. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 22J* 4. Being rated to all poor rates in respect of the premises so occupied, during the whole of the specified time. 5. Payment of all such poor rates, and of all borough rates, if any, directed by the act to be paid by the claimant of burgess-ship, except such poor and borough rates have become payable in respect of the rated premises within six calendar months before the said last day of August. 6. Enrolment on the burgess list through the machinery of registration provided by the act. Governing body, — The government of the borough is entrusted to a council, composed, when full, of a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors. The councillors are to be chosen, nine from each ward, by the burgesses of the respective wards. They continue in office for three years, one-third part of the whole num- ber going out of office on the 1st of November in each year. Thus an election for three councillors in each ward takes place annually. The qualification required is, that the person elected a councillor shall be entitled to be on the burgess list of the borough, and, at the same time, possessed of real or personal estate in the borough, to the amount of £500, or rated to the relief of the poor, upon the annual value of £15. In addition to the customary disqualifications, are those of being in holy orders, or a regular minister of a dissenting congregation, and the holding of any office or place of profit, other than that of mayor, in the gift of the corporation, or having any interest, directly or indirectly, in any contract or employment, with or from the council. The aldermen are to be elected by the councillors, from themselves or from the persons qualified to be councillors, They continue in office for six years, one-half of the num- ber going out of office on the 9th of November in every third year, commencing from 1838, 1841, &c. The mayor is to be elected every year by the council, out of the aldermen or councillors. 236 MtfNiCTPAl HISTORY. The council, so composed* is invested with very impor- tant functions, and with extensive powers. They have the management and disposition of the borough fund; — by ihem the corporate officers are to be appointed; — they may appoint, out of their ovvn body, committees either of a general or special nature ;— they are directed to nominate a watch committee, who have the controUl of the police; — they are empowered to act as trustees, where the body corporate are sole trustees ; — in them is vested the requisite powers for lighting the borough ; — they have authority to make bye laws ; — they may order a borough rate, in case of insufficiency of the borough fund to meet the estimated expenses ; — and they possess divers other powers of muni- cipal government. Officers. — The officers of the new corporation are the mayor, sheriff, recorder, justices of the peace, coroner, two auditors, four assessors, a treasurer, town clerk and clerk of the peace, and registrar of the court of record. The mayor, who is the president of the council, has to sit, with the assessors, in the court for revising the burgess lists; and he has also to preside, with the assessors, at the election of councillors. He is justice of the peace ex officio, and continues so for the year following that of his mayoralty, and is to have precedence in the borough. Notices of meetings of the council are to be signed by him. He is authorised to open and adjourn the court of quarter session, in the absence of the recorder. The council are empowered to appoint a salary for the mayor. A sheriff is retained to Poole, it being a county corpo- rate. He is appointed by the council, and his duties are the same as before the alteration. The recorder is appointed by the king, to hold his office during good behaviour. He is a justice of the peace for the borough ex officio, and has precedence next after the mayor. lie is the solo judge at i\\e quarter session of the pence, as well as of the weekly court of record. He has a MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 231 salary, fixed bv the council at £50 per annum, paid out of the borough fund. He is precluded from being" a member for the borough, an alderman, councillor, or police magis- trate. He is empowered to appoint a deputy, in case of sickness or unavoidable absence. The justices of the peace are appointed in a separate commission of the peace, issued by the king. In addition to the magistrates appointed for life, the mayor is, ex officio, a justice during the year of his mayoralty and du- ring the succeeding year; and the recorder is also a justice ex officio. No qualification by estate is requisite for the office ; but each justice must be resident within seven miles. The justices are prohibited from officiating at any court of gaol delivery or quarter session, A coroner is also preserved to the borough, as it has a court of quarter session granted to it. His appointment is by the council, the office being held during good behaviour. The person chosen coroner must not be an alderman or councillor. He is to receive the same fees as coroners in counties. Two auditors are to be annually elected by the burgesses, on the 1st of March, in the mode prescribed by the act, each burgess voting for one candidate only. Their qualU ficafion is the same as that for councillors ; but no coun- cillor, town clerk, or treasurer, is eligible as auditor. Their duty is to examine the treasurer's accounts, on the first of March and the first of September in each year, and, if correct, to sign the same. Two assessors are chosen in each ward, by the burgesses, from those who are qualified as councillors ; each burgees voting for one candidate only. No treasurer, town clerk, or councillor, is eligible as assessor. They have to be present at the election of councillors in their respective wards, and, with the mayor, are to ascertain the result of the elections. The assessors of the mayor's ward are also, in conjunction with the mayor, to revise the burgess lists. 232 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. The treasurer is appointed by the council, of which he is not to be a member. He lias the charge of the borough fund, and must pay no money except upon order in writing* of council, or as is provided by the act. He is to submit his accounts when required by the council, and to keep an account of receipts and disbursements, &c, to be open to the inspection of the aldermen and councillors : and he submits his accounts, with vouchers, to the auditors, on the 1st of March and the 1st of September, in each year, causing an abstract thereof to be annually printed in September. The town clerk, in addition to his other duties, has to attend to the annual registration of the burgesses. As clerk of the peace, he is prohibited from being clerk to the magistrates. The registrar of the court of record has the same func- tions as before. The magistrates' clerk is appointed by the justices. He must not be clerk of the peace, alderman, or councillor. Courts. — The court of quarter session is holden by virtue of the royal grant, petitioned for by council, in accordance with the act. The recorder is the sole judge of the court ; but in his absence, the mayor has the power of opening and adjourning the court. It has no capital jurisdiction, its powers being the same as those of county courts of quarter session. Capital charges must be sent to the assizes for trial. The jurors, both grand and petit, are taken from the burgesses, if otherwise qualified ; they are summoned by the clerk of the peace, and are liable to a penalty for non-attendance ; but no juror can be com- pelled to serve oftener than once a year. The members of the council and officers are exempt from serving as jurors. The court of record may still be held, with the same jurisdiction as before. The recorder is the sole judge in it. The sheriff's courts continue as before. The court of admiralty is abolished. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 233 Registration. — The mere possession of the requisite qualification is not enough to constitute a burgess under the act, unless all the forms of the registration have been complied with. The course of registration being invariable in all the boroughs in the kingdom affected by the act, a detail of it here does not become essential. The first election of councillors under the act took place Dec. 26, 1835, when, after a severe contest, the following were declared elected : — For the north-west ward; — Robert Slade, George Welch Ledgard, Robert Slade, sen., Robert Slade, jun., George Holland, John Adey, William Adey, Samuel Clark, Thomas Slade, jun. For the south-east ward; — William Green, Richard Pinney, Robert Major, Richard Stanworth, George Lock- yer Parrott, Tom Rickman, George Ledgard, Francis Timewell Rogers, Tito Durell Hodges. On Dec. 31, the following were elected the first alder- men under the act; — Robert Slade, David Osmond Lander, Thomas Gaden, George Hancock, George Ledgard, Joseph Barter Bloomfield. On Jan. 1, 1836, Robert Slade, jun., was elected mayor, and Thomas Gregory Hancock, sheriff; the other offices were also filled up, and the new municipal system was brought into operation. Proceedings in the court of king's bench were shortly afterwards commenced against Mr. R. Major, and Mr. G. Ledgard, by informations in the nature of a quo warranto, calling on them to shew by what authority they exercised the office of town councillor. The informants alleged irregularity at the election and a fraudulent return, as the ground of their proceedings. The case was heard at the Dorset summer assize, 1836, before Mr. justice Alderson and a special jury, when a verdict was taken for the crown, subject to the decision of the judges on several reserved legal points. Judgment not having been yet moved for, the case still stands for argument. 2 11 234 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. Whilst this matter was in the courts of law, collateral proceedings were taken to effect the removal of the coun- cillors objected to, by means of parliamentary enactment. A petition was presented to the house of commons, Feb. 17, praying that the election of councillors, and all their proceedings, might be set aside, and a new election had. On the 2nd of March, a select committee of the house was appointed " to enquire into the circumstances connected with the election of councillors for the borough of Poole." After a long investigation, the committee reported to the house on the 25th of the same month, when a bill to avoid the election of councillors and to annul all their official transactions, was brought in. Repeated delays having taken place, the bill did not pass the house until the 27th July. It was then read a first time in the house of lords ; but, Aug. 3, on a motion for the second reading, the bill was rejected by their lordships as dan^ gerous and unconstitutional. The introduction of the new municipal system has pro- duced in the borough of Poole a state of party hostility, unparalielled in its rancour by any acerbity of conflict- ing feeling which the previous history of the town has developed. It would be a melancholy task to dwell upon the evils necessarily resulting from such a state of things. Whether the new system of municipal administration contain any essential advantages that may practically prove an adequate compensation for such evils; and whether such extreme of party rancour be the mere temporary effer- vescence of popular feeling-, consequent on the acquirement of a novel franchise, are questions to which time will give the most satisfactory solution. MUNICIPAL HISTORY* LIST OF MAYORS. 1422.— Walter Hodde.* 1518. — John Stocker. ***** 19. — Richard Havyland. 1437. — John Lypeman. 1520. — John Havyland. ***** 21. — John Bydylcome. 1461.— John Eweline. 22.— Luke Martyn. ***** 23.— William Havyland. 1472. — Richard Baker. 24.— John Ellys. ***** 25. — William Mesurer. 1483.— John Nanbye-. 26. — John Havyland. ***** 27.— JohnCroker, 1490. — John Norton. 28. — Davy Greene. 91.— The same. 29-. — Richard Havyland. 92.— Stephen Jordyn. 1530. — William Bitelcome. 93.— John Bedford. 31. — Thomas Whyte. 94. — James Havyland. 32.— John Ellys, 95. — John Aleyn. 33. — William Havyland. 96.— John Norton. 34. — John Havyland. 97. — Robert Jordan. 35. — William Mesurer. 98. — James Havyland. 36. — William Bitelcome. 99.— John Bedford, 37. — Richard Havyland. 1500.— Pfcter Dyker. 38.— Thomas Whyte. 1. — John Norton. 39.— John Mann. 2. — James Havyland. 1540. — John Northerell. 3. — John Bedford- 41.— John Ellys. 4.— Thomas Whyte. 42. — Richard Awstyn. 5. — William Mesurer. 43. — William Bydelcome 6. — James Havyland. 44. — William Havyland. 7. — Peter Dyker. 45. — Thomas Whyte. 8. — William Mesurer. 46.— Thomas Culleford. 9. — John Bedford. 47. — John Northerell. 1510.— Thomas Whyte. 48. — Morgan Rede. .11. — The same. 49. — John Mann. 12. — Richard Havyland. 1550. — Robert Rogers. 13. — John Stocker. 51.— Thomas Whyte. 14. — John Havyland. 52.— John Northerell. 15. — William Bitelcome. 53.— John Davy. 16. — William Mesurer. 54. — William Newman. 17. — Thomas Whyte. 55. — Thomas Byngley. * This is the first name that can now be traced. It occurs in a grant of land to the seneschals of the fraternity of St. George, made in the presence of the mayor and several others. 236 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 1556. — John Mann. 1595. — John Beryman* e-y C John Croke. ( John Scry ven*. 96.— William Levytt. 97. — John Bramble. 58. — John Mann. 98. — Thomas Fraunces. 59. — Richard Goddarde* 99.— Thomas Robarts. 1560. — William Greene* 1600.— Roger Mawdley. 61. — The same. 1. — William Bramble* 62.— The same. 2.— John Berryman. 63. — William Byngley. 3. — John Veyson. 64. — William Greene. 4. — Thomas Fraunces* 65. — William Constantyne* 5. — William Levytt. 66. — The same. 6. — Thomas Robarts. 67.— The same. 7.— William Hill. 68. — William Newman. 8. — John Lambard. gq 5 Christopher Havylande* I William Constantyne. 9. — Roger Mawdley. 1610.— Robert Polden. 1570. — Christopher Rose. 11. — John Veyson. 71. — William Grene. 12. — William Jorden. 72. — John Rogers* 13. — John Bramble. 73. — John Hancocke. 14.— William Hill. 74. — Peter Gaydon. 15. — John Harward. 75. — William Newman. 16. — Thomas Fraunces. 76.— Peter Coxe. 17. — Thomas Robarts. 77.— Michel Daye* 18. — John Lambard. 78. — William Bydelcom. 19. — George Dackombe* 79.— William Dicker. 1620.— John Veyson. 1580.— Robert Nyclys. 21.— George Skutt. 81.— Christopher Farewell* 22.— John Bramble* 82.— John Bremble. 23.— William Hill* 83. — John Rogers. 24.— John Harward. 84. — William Bedelcom. 25.— Thomas Frauncis. 85. — Christopher Farewell. 26. — John Melmouth. 86.— John Field. rehended in Poole, and the mayor was ordered to send him up to London in safe custody, with sir George Hastings and MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 241 Samuel Bond, esq., of the inner temple, counsellor at law, was appointed March 15, 1650. He was removed to make room for William Constantine, esq., who was restored July 26 4 1660; but was again displaced by the commissioners under the corporation act, Oct. 17, 1662. Anthony Ettricke, esq., was chosen Oct. 23, 1662, in the room of Constantine***. He resigned the office in January, 1682, and was succeeded by William White, esq., of the middle temple, barrister Sir. Hannam, jun., then prisoners there. Mr. Constantine -was committed to the king's bench prison, and at last compounded for his estate for £430. The vacancy- caused in the recordership by the removal of Mr. Constantine was not filled up till 1650, when Mr. S. Bond was appointed to the vacant offiee. On the restoration of the Stuarts, Mr. Constantine does not appear to have been forgotten. On June 22, 1660, a wrif was issued for his restoration to the office of recorder, to which the cor- poration returned in answer, that he had been disabled by an order of parliament, and that, by reason of the vacancy, they had chosen Samuel Bond, who had well performed the office, but that they were ready to submit to the authqrity of the court. On the 26th July following, another writ issued, in obedience to which they accepted Mr. Constantine as their recorder. Whether from the court not having been sufficiently mindful of his sufferings in the behalf of royalty, or from whatever other cause does not now appear ; but his opinions soon after this underwent some modification, for we find that, on the visit to Poole of the commissioners appointed in 1662, under the act for well governing and regulating corporations, Mr. Constantine refused to take the prescribed oaths, and he was acpordingly displaced from the re r cordership by the commissioners. This proceeding terminated his official connection with the town of Poole. * Anthony Ettricke, esq., of Holt lodge, near Wimborne, born 1623, was an eminent lawyer and antiquary. He communicated the additions for Dorsetshire in Camden's Britannia. He was a most eccentric gentleman; and grew, towards his latter days, not only humoursome and phlegmatic, but so credulous of an impulse of the spirit, that, having once a share in some ship and cargo which were announced to have safely reached the Portland Roads, he was still so far persuaded she would never gain the port of London, as to sell his share in the property at a considerable discount. The good man's forebodings were verified; the ship and her cargo were lost. He now persuaded himself that his decease was fixed for the year 1691, and had his coffin made, and that date engraven upon it. The year, however, arrived and passed, and Mr. Ettricke was still alive. He therefore resolved to fix the coffin with his own hands ; and having protested, in au old fit of spleen against the people of Wimborne, that he would be buried neither in their churph nor out of their church, neither above their ground nor below it, he obtained permission to fulfil the vow, by placing the coffin within the thickness of the wall, and on a level with the pavement. Here, in the year 1703, his Temains were laid at last ; and the coffin is still kept in good preservation by a rent-charge of 20s. per annum paid out of the - of the church of St. James, Poole. It stands beneath an arch in the wal| of Wimborne Minster church, is partly raised above the ground, painted with coats of arms, and clamped with iron. The original figures of the inscription can be plainly traced under the date afterwards written over them. Several neighbouring ilabs denote the graves of the same family. 2 I 242 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. at law. He also resigned Aug*. 26, 1699, then being of Sandford, Wilts. Nathaniel Bond, esq,, of Grange, Serjeant at law, was chosen Sep. 6, 1699^. Robert Erie, esq., of Sturminster Marshall, was ap-. pointed Oct. 1, 1707, on the death of Mr. serjeant Bond, He resigned the office June 30, 1719, and was succeeded by Dennis Bond, esq,, of Grange, whose appointment is dated July 1, 1719-f% On his death, The hon, James West, of Lincoln's Inn, M,P. for St, Alban's, was elected March 4, 1746, John Bond, esq., of Grange, M,P, for Corfe Castle, was appointed July 18, 1772. Michael Angelo Taylor, esq,, then M.P. for Poole, was appointed June 5, 1784J. During his recordership, Mr, * Nathaniel Bond, esq., of Lutton, in Creech Grange, was educated at All Souls' college, Oxford, and took his degree of LL.B. in 1654. He was made serjeant at law in 1689, and afterwards appointed one of the king's Serjeants. He was elected recorder of Poole 1699, and was also chosen recorder of Weymouth. He died in 1707. + Dennis Bond, esq., of Grange, was M.P. for Porehester, 7th Anne; for Corfe Oastle, 1st & 8th Geo. I. ; and for Poole, 1st Geo. II. He espoused, in 1729, Leonora Sophia, relict of Edward Dummer, esq., and youngest daughter of sir William Dutton Colt, knt., envoy at the court of Hanover, by Mary, his third wife (of whom she was coheir), eldest surviving daughter of John, and coheir of her brother, Wentworth Garneys, esq., of Boyland hall, in Norfolk, and Kenton hall, in Suffolk. This lady was born in Hanover, and obtained her baptismal name from the celebrated electress Sophia;, her sponsor. Mr. Dennis Bond died, without issue, in 1746, and the estates devolved upon his nephew, John Bond, esq,, of Grange. X Mr. Taylor was the son and heir of sir Robert Taylor, architect to the bank of England and other public offices, who was sheriff of London and Middlesex in 1783, and during his shrievalty received the honour of knighthood. He died in 1788, leav- ing a fortune of £180,000, entirely his own creation ; and some anecdotes of him will be found in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. lviii. p. 930. Mr. M. A. Taylor was a student of St. John's college, Oxford, where he took the degree of M.A. in 1781. He was called to the bar by the society of Lincoln's Inn, in Michaelmas term, 1774, and was, at the time of his death, supposed to be its senior barrister, as well as father of the house of commons (since the retirement of Mr. Coke). He was first returned to parliament for Poole in 1784, and in the same year was elected recorder of that- town. At the general election of 1790, he was returned to parliament for Heytesbury, and was also a candidate fo,r Poole, but his opponents, the hon. Charles Stuart and Benjamin Lester, esq., were returned, the latter by a majority of two, and the former by only one vote. Mr. Taylor having petitioned the house of commons, with other parties concerned, the committee, in Feb., 1791, declared that Mr. Stuart was not duly elected, and that Mr. Taylor should have been returned. He, in consequence, relinquished his seat for Heytesbury, and made his election for Poole. However, in 1796, he was not re-elected, but obtained a seat for Aldborough. In February, 1800, oil the resignation of sir F. V. Tempest, he was MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 243 Taylor appointed Mr. T. Bartlett, of Wareham, his deputy recorder* by whom the official duties were chiefly per- formed*. On the death of Mi\ Taylor, July 16, 1834, he Was succeeded by William Bond, esq., barrister at law, who now holds the office. His appointment is dated Nov. 5, 1834. elected member for the city of Durham; but in the parliament of 1802-6, we believe he did not sit in the house. In 1806, he was returned for Rye ; in 1807, for Ilchester ; in 1812, again for Poole; and in 1818, he recovered his seat for Durham, which he continued to represent until the dissolution of 1830. In 1831, he was returned for Sudbury ; having in the preceding February been sworn .of the privy council ; and he sat for this place till the time of his death. For many years Mr. Taylor's house was a rendezvous for the W T hig party ; and his liberal and elegant, but unostentatious, hospitality will be long remembered. He was one of the few surviving associates of Mr. Fox. He was on terms of personal friendship with George IV., and one of his counsel for the duchy of Cornwall. Mr. Taylor was of late years chiefly distinguished by his persevering exposition of the grievances of the chancery court ; and he lived to see many of his recommendations effected by the instrumentality of his friend lord Brougham. Mr. M. A. Taylor, and his father, sir Robert, were the authors of two very useful but complex acts of par- liament. Sir Robert's was the building act, which secured to the metropolis that most important safeguard against the spread of fire s the erection of party walls ; Mi*. Taylor's was the street act, by which most of the nuisances and obstructions, which heretofore deformed the metropolis, have been effectually got rid of. Mr. Taylor died at his house at Whitehall, July 16, 1834 ; and his body was interred on the 23rd, in the family vault at St. Martin's in the Fields. * Mr. Bartlett was the representative of the family of Bartlett, of Holwell and Cranbourne, Dorset. He was a gentleman of great legal and antiquarian knowledge ; and made considerable contributions to the second edition of Hutchins's Dorset. After his appointment as deputy recorder of Poole, by Mr. Taylor, his attention to his official duties was most exemplary, so that on the death of Mr. Taylor, and the consequent termination of Mr. Bartlett's services, the corporation resolved to present him with some testimonial of their respect and of the high estimation in which they held the integrity and efficiency with which, for more than thirty years, he had executed the office of deputy recorder of the borough ; and accordingly, in March, 1835, a superb silver vase was presented to him. The vase was richly chased with wreaths of vine leaves, intermingled with the fruit ; the handles were also enriched with the same pattern, while a beautiful blending of the acanthus leaf sur- rounded the lower part. The cover, Avhich was likewise enriched, was surmounted with a dolphin, hauriant (the crest of the corporation). On one side of the vase the Poole arms were neatly engraven, and the other side bore the following inscription :— " PRESENTED BY THE MAYOR, BAILIFF, BURGESSES, AND COMMONALTY OF POOLE, TO THOMAS BARTLETT, Esqre., AS A TOKEN OF RESPECT FOR THE HIGHLY SATISFACTORY AND IMPARTIAL MANNER IN WHICH, FOR A PERIOD OF VERY MANY YEARS, HE EXECUTED THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF DEPUTY RECORDER OF THE TOWN AND COUNTY OF POOLE." Mr. Bartlett died at Wareham, in March, 1836. 244 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. PARLIAMENTARY ANNALS. In entering" upon an investigation of the parliamentary history of Poole, it may serve to illustrate that enquiry to examine briefly the rise and gradual development of our great national council. The antiquity and progress of that assembly — its ancient constitution — and the period at which its component estates first assumed their several functions, are questions on which the ingenuity and the industry of antiquaries and historians have been frequently exercised; Prejudice, the fertile source of error, as is too often the case, has, how- ever, involved the subject in the ambiguity of party.* favouring theories* in addition to the obscurity with which matters of high antiquity are necessarily surrounded* Political partizans, of either extreme, have undertaken the investigation, not with the resolve of exploring facts to serve as the basis of their arguments, but with an estab- lished bias, and a predetermination to select such circum- stances only as might serve to justify that bias* But time, and the diligent research of impartial enquirers, have succeeded in tearing down the veil thus interposed, and enabled us to form something like a satisfactory view of this important subject* The British parliament, like ail other complicated fabrics of man's wisdom, did not spring into existence with the full development of perfected functions and in the exercise of matured power. To these the lapse of many an age, the occurrence of many a favouring" circum- stance, gradual changes in the relations of society, and the accumulated experience and judgment of wise men of successive generations, were necessary. For the nucleus of that institution which afterwards expanded into the British parliament, we must look to those national councils which have been held from times to which neither record MUNICIPAL HISTORYi 245 nor tradition extends. Like other northern nations, the ancient Britons had their supreme national assemblies, at which their priests and their warrior chieftains met to deliberate on questions of peace and war, and on matters of internal oovernment. In the time of the Saxons, the information relative to the national council, though not altogether free from obscurity, is, nevertheless, as clear as might be supposed, when the lapse of time is considered. This council, termed michel-svnoth, michel-gemote, or more frequently witenagemote, was composed of the bishops and abbots, the ealdermen or governors of counties, who, from the Danish times, were often termed jarls or earls, and the great thanes or allodial proprietors of lands : they were assembled by the king, to concur in and witness his laws, to advise on questions of peace and war, to take instructions for the assistance to be afforded by them, and to deliberate on the general affairs of the kingdom. Such an assembly existed in each of the Saxon kingdoms during the time of the heptarchy ; and, on the union of those kingdoms, formed one general council for the whole nation. After the Norman conquest, the institutions of the king- dom did not undergo so violent a change as has been generally apprehended. Beyond the more complete introduction of the feudal system, the alterations appear to have been comparatively trifling. The policy of the conqueror and of his immediate successors appears to have consisted chiefly of a wise endeavour to prevent the great mass of the nation from feeling that they were subjected to a new dynasty. Their laws are clearly of Saxon origin, containing many Saxon terms, and breathing the same spirit of liberty and equal justice which characterized the institutions of our earlier ancestors. There still continued in existence a supreme national council, denominated the curia regis, comprehending in reality the same class of people who had been members of the ancient witena- 246 MUNICIPAL HISfOfeYi gemote. It was composed, as we learn from Magna Charta* of the archbishops, bishops, abbots* earls, and the greater barons, who were individually summoned by the monarch, and all the other tenants in capite of the crown, who had a general summons through the sheriffs or king's bailiffs. In this court the king presided. It possessed many of the powers which we afterwards find vested in parliament ; but the court, as such, did not make laws ; nor had this assembly any regular and established civil or criminal jurisdiction. There is no ground for the hypothesis that at this time, what are now termed the commons formed a constituent part of the national council. All argument, all records, are opposed to such a position : and in speaking of the question whether the commons did or did not anciently form a part of the council, Daines Barrington has well said, " no man can read the old historians and chronicles, who will observe any strong allusion or trace of it, if he does not sit down to the perusal with an inten- tion of proving that they formed a component part." The council was essentially and entirely aristocratic ; charac- terized by nothing at all analogous to that democratic principle afterwards inherent in the house of commons. But we are now approaching a period in w r hich important changes took place, preparatory to the introduction of a more free constitution, by giving a definite organization to the supreme assembly, which soon became a " parliament" in name, possessing the germ at least of the powers which it afterwards assumed. The first introduction of the representative principle was in the case of the lesser military tenants of the crown, — the tenants in capite by knight's service, not holding a sufficient extent of land to constitute a barony, but who, being immediate vassals of the crown, owed attendance at the general councils. But as this attendance was no inconsiderable burthen for men of slender fortune to bear constantly ; and as we have seen from Magna Charta, that the crown tenants of this class MUNICIPAL HISTORY. j247 were summoned to the council, not individually, like the barons, but by a general citation directed to the sheriff of each county, they gradually relinquished the duty of individual attendance, deputing certain of their class to attend as their representatives, who thus formed the original of our present knights of the shire. This view is con«* firmed by the circumstance, that for some time after the establishment of a separate chamber for the citizens and bufgesses, the knights of the shire continued to sit with the greater barons. By the adoption of this system, these minor tenants appear to have lost their individual right of admission to the council ; and the citations to the sheriffs merely directed them to send a certain number of kni slits J o from each shire. Thus in 1254 [38 Hen. III.], the king summoned four knights from each county ; and 1261, [a. r. 45,] three knights were summoned from each county* Down to this time, citizens or burgesses were not men- tioned in any of the writs that have been preserved ; and, therefore, whatever opinions may have been entertained to the contrary, it is clear that the citizens and burgesses were not represented in parliament before or at this period. But now was effected the introduction of this important change in our national institutions, induced by royal necessities making' it desirable to establish a more con-, venient mode of communication with the growing interests of cities and boroughs than had before prevailed. Hitherto taxes had been chiefly raised by the justices in eyre; and in matters for which the consent of the people was required or thought expedient, the king or his representatives gene- rally negociated with the different cities and boroughs, treating them very much as if they were communities inde- pendent of each other, though dependent upon the crown. It was now deemed more convenient that the citizens and burgesses should consent to the taxes to be imposed upon them through their representatives in attendance at the great council, The first intimation of any summons to 248 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the cities and boroughs to send such representatives, occurs in 1265 [49 Hen. III.], when, during* the usurpation of the earl of Leicester, that nobleman, improving upon the example which had been already set in regard to the representative principle, issued writs for summoning, not only two knights from each shire, but also citizens, bur-; g-esses, and barons of the cinque ports ; the writs being directed immediately to the citizens and burgesses, and neither to the sheritfs of the counties, nor the mayors, bailiffs, nor chief officers of the cities or boroughs. But this novel scheme of Leicester was regarded as the unauthorized act of an usurper, and was not immediately followed up. Its convenience was, however, so amply evident, that in the following reign, (that of Edward I.,) it was again adopted for the purpose of obtaining a more ready assent to the supplies made necessary by the long continued wars and dissensions. In this reign we may trace the undisputed establishment of the commons as a permanent branch of the legislature. It was in the 23rd year of this king [1294], that the first parliamentary writs were issued, and 120 cities and boroughs or more were summoned to send members to parliament; the sheriff being directed to return two knights for each shire, two citizens for each city, and two burgesses for each borough within his bailiwick, provided with full and sufficient power from the community of such county, city, or borough, to consent and agree, in the name of the said community, to such things as the king and his council should require of them, and the earls, barons, and peers of the realm should ordain^. From this time is to be dated the first regular summons of citizens and burgesses to parliament, It was thus, as a matter of royal convenience, and to enable the monarch the more easilv to levv contributions on his * Poole was not summoned to send deputies to this parliament. The boroughs in Dorsetshire that sent deputies were Blandi'ord, Wimborne, Dorchester, Lyme Regis, 3.nd Shaftesbury. MUNICIPAL HISTORY'. 249 subjects, that that institution was called into existence, which has since proved so important in its power to pre- serve within wholesome limits the exercise of resral ore- rogative, and to give due expansion to national liberty. The house of commons, however, was yet but in its infancy ; and, in its then humble condition, offered little indication of the authority, and power, and privilege, with which it was to be afterwards invested. In its primitive state it was composed of burgesses only empowered to grant to the king a supply by one general agreement, in place of the separate bargains which had formerly been made with each borough. They composed not, properly speaking, any essential part of the parliament ; they sat apart from both barons and knights, who disdained to mix with such mean personages as the burgesses were then regarded ; they had no voice in deliberative proceedings ; and, their consent being given to the taxes required of their boroughs, they separated, even though the parlia- ment continued sitting. .Various alterations, however, were effected in the constitution, some temporary, some permanent. Amongst the former may particularly be noticed the continuation of the attempts made to restrain the exercise of the royal power, by the creation of special councils, &c. : and amongst the latter, the introduction of a class of peers, deriving their seats from writs of sum- mons, and not sitting in relation to land; the severance of the representative and hereditary principles, by the knights, citizens, and burgesses sitting together in a chamber separate from that in which the barons assembled. In the course of time also it was found convenient that the knights, citizens, and burgesses should not confine their views to that part of the community which they severally represented, but should agree in the duties to be paid in common by the whole of their constituents : they thus arrived at the suggestion of a general assessment upon the kingdom at large. From thus holding the 2 K 250 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. purse-strings of the nation, the parliament possessed a power over the monarch, of which it gradually availed itself in the augmentation of its authority and privileges, until it became invested with all those important functions which have marked the era of its maturity. In the reign of Edward III., the parliament, and especially the house of commons, acquired much greater importance than it before possessed, induced alike by the wise and liberal policy of that monarch, and by the neces- sity for frequent supplies into which he was plunged by his long and expensive wars. An important feature of this period is found in the attempts made by the king to create a representation of the mercantile or trading interests on a more extensive basis than had hitherto been effected through the ordinary borough representation. To most of the councils convened for this purpose, it has been already shewn [pp. 84 et seqj\ that deputies were summoned from the port of Poole, It is in this reign also that the parliamentary annals of Poole commence. Representatives were sent from this borough from the 14th to the 42nd year of Edward III., when it intermitted until the 31st of Henry VI., during a lapse of eighty-four years. This omitting to send repre- sentatives to parliament was by no means unusual at that time; as, long after the commencement of our parlia- mentary history, the duty of sending representatives was regarded rather as an onerous service than as an useful and important privilege ; and many boroughs found it more eligible to acquiesce in whatever aids the king thought proper to demand, than to be at the expense of supporting their deputies in parliament^, and were willing * In the early history of the house of commons, the members were paid wages for their attendance in parliament j knights of the shire receiving 4s. ty diem, and citizens, and burgesses 2s. ty diem, for as many days as their attendance was required. When the return of representatives, however, came to be regarded as a privilege rather than a burthen, the payment of wages began to cease : those who desired to influence the return undertook the payment, in the first instance, as the condition of their authority to nominate ; and the members themselves afterwards consented to pay their own charges. The celebrated Andrew Marvell is said to have been the last membey to whom wages were paid. municipal history* 251 to renounce the privilege in order to be free of the burthen attending- it. Nor was this renunciation a matter of dim*- culty, for, so long as the required supplies were forth- coming, little care was taken to secure the attendance of the deputies. It might also have been easily effected through the sheriffs, who* until the reign of Richard IL, possessed the power of including or omitting boroughs at their pleasure, the indefinite and general words of the writ directed to the sheriff of each county being " to cause to be chosen two citizens of e\erj city, and two burgesses of every borough." And whilst sufficient reason can be found for the relin- quishment by Poole of its privilege of representation, the cause of its being again summoned to send representatives to the parliament of the 31st of Henry VI, appears very clearly. We find that, at this period of our history, the house of commons had acquired considerable power, and exercised some influence in the disputes between the rival houses of York and Lancaster. Hence the return of members to parliament became a matter of political importance and of public interest: the great men of the nation appear now to have commenced their interference in the election of its members ; and it was highly desirable to the crown to acquire the means of exercising some influence in its deliberations. In the year preceding that mentioned, the duke of York had urged his pretensions to the crown; his followers were exceedingly active; and the house of commons manifested a decidedly Yorkist inclination. Under these circumstances it might be naturally looked for, that the king should encourage those boroughs, the manorial lords of which were his supporters: and as such lords had necessarily the power of influencing the elections, so as to procure the return of representatives favourably disposed to the reigning monarch, the restora- tion of boroughs that had previously resigned the privilege of representation, became a matter of essential policy. 252 MUNICIPAL HisfoRir. Poole was thus situated, and offers an instance of the pur- suance of this system* The manor was, at this period, held by Henry, duke of Somerset, who was connected with the monarch by ties of blood, and proved himself a faithful adherent to the red rose of Lancaster, in following* the fortunes of which his life was sacrificedi And not only was the borough then summoned to send representatives to the parliament, but it was also encouraged by the grant of the royal charter issued in the same year. From this period Poole has regularly sent representatives to thei house of commons. The growing importance of the house of commons just noted, continued increasing during the succeeding reigns ; Of which there cannot be stronger proofs than are afforded in the anxiety of the crown to obtain favourable returns, and the interference in elections that took place on the part of the leading nobility* Thus Henry VII., who had strong reasons for courting the assistance of parliament, seems to have succeeded in effectually bringing it under his controul and influence* which lasted throughout his reign* During the reign of Henry VIIL also* the parlia- ment was subject to courtly influence. Jn the short reign of Edward VI*, there is evidence of direct interference in elections on the part of the crown, particularly by the duke of Northumberland, after he had removed his rival, the duke of Somerset. Mary and Elizabeth both followed the same course* By such means* and by the restoration of the right of representation to boroughs that had relin- quished it — a practice which greatly prevailed under the Tudors, — ascendancy was gained over the parliament, and the prerogative of the crown was at its greatest undisputed height. When Elizabeth ascended the throne* she particu- larly found the necessity of maintaining this ascendancy in the house of commons. The reformation had given an impulse to the spirit of independence which is essentially inherent in that institution ; and to counteract this became a MUNICIPAL HISTORY; 253 subject for the serious consideration of the crown. As the best means of effecting her object, Elizabeth had discovered the expediency of obtaining an influence over the boroughs. In her reign no less than thirty-two boroughs, which had either long intermitted sending members to parliament, or had never previously done so, were required to send their representatives : and the influence on elections exercised by the government in this reign is very conspicuous. Of this the annals of Poole afford several distinct instances, to which we shall now refer. To the parliament of the 13th Elizabeth, George Carlton and William Newman were returned as representatives for the borough of Poole ; but by indentures bipartite between the sheriff and the burgesses, it appears that Newman only was chosen by the town, the burgesses having given power to the earl of Bedford, at his special suit and request, to nominate the other. On the election for the parliament of the 26th of the same reign, a similar indenture was executed, by which authority to nominate a representative for the borough was given to the earl of Leicester. This indenture, which is dated Nov. 11, 26th Eliz., made between William Reade, sheriff of the county town of Poole, of the one part, and William Bydelcome, mayor of the same town, the senior bailiff, and certain burgesses of the other part, " witnesseth that we, the said mayor, bailiff, and burgesses, at the special suit and request of the right honourable lord Robert, earl of Leicester, have given unto his lordship our full powers and authorities for us and in our names to nominate and appoint his and our trusty and Well-beloved in Christ, Laurence Thompson esq re, » to be one of the burgesses of the queen's majesty's most honourable court of parliament for the said town of Poole," &c. There are counterparts of this licence, the one signed and sealed by the sheriff, the other sealed with the common seal of the town. Notwithstanding the authority thus given to the earl of 254 MUNICIPAL HISTORY* Leicester, Thompson was not returned as his nominee; the return, which is dated the following day, presenting Francis Mills and Thomas Vincent as the representatives of the town. No circumstances appear in explanation of this discrepancy; nor are such> indeed* material; the chief point, the interference of the government, being established by the authority granted to the earl ; who was empowered also to nominate a member for Andover in the same parliament. In the succeeding vear the following letter was sent to the burgesses of Poole, by Giles Estcourt, then recorder of the borough : — " To the worshipfull my very good frendes the mayor & burgesses of the towne of Poole* " With my verve hartie eomendacions vnto all for that as y vnderstand there ys a P'liament to begynne in the xv th daye of October nexte, my desyre ys vnto vow that I maye have the nomination of one of y r burgesses, eyther yt shalbe yf yt please you for myne owen sonne or for some other such p v son as I will undertake shalbe fitt and dys- chardge the place w th oute any chardge vnto you God willinge I will be thankeful vnto you for ytt & be as reddye to requytt y r courtesyes any way I can as know th God, to whome I comytt you from Say this xxvj th of Sep- tember, a 1585. Y r verye lovynge frend to vse, Gyles Estcourte." In the next year is another letter to a like effect, on behalf of the earl of Warwick. " To o r lovinge freends the mayor of Poole and other th' inhabitants there geve these. " We haue sent you heere inclosed a l re addressed to yo 1 * mr. mayo r of Poole & yo r brethren from the right honorable the lord of Warwyck by the w ch he doth request yo r consent for the nominacon of one of the burges of yo r towne vppon the dissolvynge of the late P'liament and somoninge of a new to begyn out of hande and hath writen his like l res vnto sondry other portes & p'veledged places of this county in the vv ch he hath employe! vs to be a mean MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 255 vnto yow all for the bringinge of his hono rs request to good passe thereupon, in the w ch we hope there shall not neede much speach or great entreatie yo r selues knowinge how small the courtesie is and how thanckfull it vvilbe taken, only this we desire that in consideracon of the younge earle of Bedford and for the good love borne to yow all by his hono rs late grandfather that yow will have no less consideracon and dew regard of my lord of War- wvcks request heerin who hath the wardshipp of the voimge earle then always heertofore yow have had of yo r honorable good freend the old earle and thus desiring© yo r p'nte annswere we bidd yow right hartelie farewell, from Wolveton this xx th of September, 1586. Yo r freends, Thomas Horsey, George Trenchard." In these agreements and letters we observe clear indica- tion of the important change which the house of commons was undergoing about this time. The anxiety of the great men of the nation to have the power of nominating representatives yielded to them, and the readiness to pay the charges shewn by those soliciting the nomination, as in the letter of Mr. Estcourt, establish that the being returned to parliament was no longer regarded as a burthen, but had become an object of desire. It is obvious that there was going on in the parliament, at this period, a struggle between the gradually extending spirit of freedom which had been encouraged by the reformation and by the decline of the feudal system on the one hand, and, on the other, the desire of the crown to retain the unchecked exercise of authority. The house of commons had begun to feel its power and importance, which generated a desire in persons of station and property to obtain seats in it, and a necessity in the crown to put some species of restraint upon the increasing and ill regulated power of the people. But notwithstanding the influence exercised over the elec- tions, the house of commons in this reign asserted and acquired many of its most valuable privileges. At this 250 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. period, moreover, the house had become settled entirely upon that scheme which subsisted until the present age. In 1658-9, an irregularity took place at the election for Poole, which was brought under the notice of the house of commons. On the third of January, being the next county court after the writ for the election was delivered to the sheriff, sir Anthony Ashley Cooper and Samuel Bond, esq., were duly elected, and an indenture of such election was sealed and executed by the mayor and burgesses; but sir Anthony Ashley Cooper being afterwards chosen for the county of Wilts, the sheriff" of Poole, on the 24th of January, proceeded to a new election upon the same writ whereby the former election was made, and the mayor and burgesses elected John Fitzjames and Samuel Bond, esqrs., and, by a second indenture, returned them as duly elected. The circumstances were brought before the house of com-, mons, and referred to a committee of privileges, who reported their opinion that the first election was good ; that the indenture by which Fitzjames and Bond were returned should be taken off and withdrawn ; and that the sheriff should return the first indenture. This course was accordingly pursued. Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper afterwards made his election to sit for Wilts ; and a new writ was thereupon issued for Poole, on which Fitzjames and Bond were duly returned. The first question that arose, touching the right of elec- tion in the borough of Poole, occurred in 1661. At this day it will hardly admit of doubt, that at the commence-? ment of our representative system, the franchise in all boroughs uniformly pertained to those possessing the ancient scot and lot burgess qualification. But from the constitution and comparative insignificance of the primitive house of commons, it was not originally of much import- ance to any parliamentary borough in what manner its deputies were chosen, or who were the individuals who interested themselves in the returns. The honour of being MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 257 the representative of a borough was, in those times, little coveted ; and the privilege of voting* in his election was still less an object of contention. Thus, in many boroughs, the franchise fell, in the progress of time, into the hands of select bodies who had assumed, by delegation or by a species of conventional usurpation, the administration of municipal government, An attempt to trace the rise of such a body in the borough of Poole has been made in the preceding pages of this volume. The parliamentary fran- chise for Poole was, down to the late parliamentary reform act, constantly exercised by those who administered the municipal government, with the addition in later times of that interloping class, the non-resident burgesses. These did not exercise the privilege till some years after the charter of Elizabeth ; as is evident from the return made to the parliament of the 14th of her reign. The indenture of this return is made by the sheriff of the borough on the one part, and, on the other part, by Wm. Green, mayor of the borough, John Hancock, senior bailiff, John Mann, William Newman, Christopher Rose, John Rogers, Peter Gaydon, William Meryat, and Peter Coxe, " ac complures alios liberos et legales homines in eodem comitatu villas de Poole predictae commorcmtes et residentes" — [" and many other free and lawful men inhabiting and resident in the same county of the town of Poole aforesaid"] — expressions of high antiquity, and clearly indicating those who, in former davs, were free from servile feudal duties, and rendered lawworthy by enrolment at the sheriff's tourn or the lord's leet ; in other words, the freeholders in counties, and those who, in boroughs, possessed the ancient bur- gess qualification. In nearly all the other returns about that time, the electors are merely styled burgesses. The subsequent wording of the return has been the subject of great caprice. The following occur amongst the varia- tions : — " mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty ;" — " mayor, aldermen, burgesses, and commonalty 5" — 258 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. "mayor, and burgesses;" — "mayor, aldermen, and burgesses;" — "major, aldermen, and burgesses incorpo- rated;" — "mayor, aldermen, burgesses, and commonalty incorporated;" — "mayor, aldermen, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty incorporated." The question that arose in 1661, was relative to the right of the non-resident burgesses to exercise the elective franchise. Of the election this year a double return was made; John Morton, esq., and William Constantine, esq., being returned by one indenture ; and John Morton, esq., and sir John Fitzjames, knt., by another. The report of the committee of the house of commons thus appears on the journals of the house : — "June 15, 1661. — Serjeant Charlton made report from the said committee, touching the difference between William Constantine, esq., and sir John Fitzjames, knt., concerning their elections for the town of Poole, in the county of Dorset ; — That the first question before them was whether the out-burgesses of the said town of Poole had voices as well as the in-burgesses, and the opinion of the committee that the out-burgesses had equal voices in the election with the in-burgesses ; And that the second question being who had the majority of voices, it appeared that sir John Fitz- james had much more the majority of voices, and was duly elected one of the burgesses for the said town of Poole ; And the opinion of the committee that the said sir John Fitzjames was duly elected one of the burgesses of the said town of Poole, and ought to sit." The house affirmed the opinion of the committee, and sir John Fitzjames sat accordingly. Such a decision might have been expected from the disposition of the nation and the parliament, and the line of policy pursued by the court. In addition to the mo- mentum towards submission to royalty which the nation had acquired from the experience of republican evils, the crown, by greatly interfering in elections and other means, MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 259 had obtained a parliament so favourable to its views that we are told that not more than forty-six members of the presbyterian party had obtained seats in the lower house. It had been the steady policy of the court, during- the reigns of Charles I. and several of his predecessors, not only to foster the growth of the select governing bodies in boroughs, but also to establish and confirm the practice of admitting' non-resident burg-esses. This unconstitutional and unjustifiable practice had been found eminently effi- cient in promoting* the measures of the crown for obtaining 1 influence in the house of commons ; and it could not be looked for, therefore, that it would be discountenanced by a parliament so well disposed towards the desires of the court as that summoned by Charles II. after his restoration. Shortly after this time commenced the long- series of disputes between the select body, who exercised the cor- porate functions, and the inhabitants at large, concerning" the elective franchise. These contests will be noticed in chronological order. [Double Return: 1688: 1st Wm. & Mary.]— At the election for the convention parliament, Mr. Trenchard had a majority both of the select body and of the scot and lot householders ; sir Nathaniel Napier had 33 burgesses (meaning by that term the select body, who had by this time exclusively adopted that designation), and a minority of the householders ; and Mr. Thomas Chafin was supported by 22 burgesses, and a large majority of householders ; on which the sheriff made a double return, and returned Mr. Trenchard and sir Nathaniel Napier by one indenture, and Mr. Trenchard and Mr. Chafin by another indenture. Mr. Chafin petitioned the house of commons on the sub- ject ; and his petition was referred to the same committee as the double return. The proceedings thereon are thus recorded in the journals of the house, under the date of Feb. 9, 1688-9. " Col. Birch reports from the committee of elections and 260 MUNICIPAL HISTORY* privileges, to whom the merits of the double return and election of burgesses to serve in this present convention for the town and county of Poole was referred, the state of the fact, which he produced to the house in writing ; which, being read at the table, is as follows* viz* : — " * That it appeared to the committee that Henry Tren- ' chard, esq., and sir Nathaniel Napper were returned by * one certificate, and the said Mr. Trenchard and Thomas * Chafin 5 esq*, by the other certificate* " ' It was proved that sir Nathaniel Napper agreed to ' settle £15 per annum on the town, for their school, and ' that he was at the charge of passing their new charter, 8 before the prince of Orange landed^* " * To which it was answered by the counsel on the * other side, that what was done by sir Nathaniel Napper, * was done about the time he Was made free of the town, * and that it was usual to give presents to the town when * any person was made free-f- : and particularly that Mr. ' Trenchard and Mr. Chafin, when they were made free- 1 men of the said town, gave £50 apiece to the use of the 4 town, for their freedom* " * That the matter in question was whether the right of ' election be in the mayor and burgesses only, or in the * mayor, burgesses, and commonalty who pay scot and lot* * The prince of Orange landed Nov; 4 ; tlie charter produced by sir N. Napier^ was granted Dec. 8. — Qu. Was sir Nathaniel concerned in the issue of the rejected char- ter dated in the preceding September 1 vide p. 209; •t The following is the entry in the records of the corporation, concerning this transaction, which seems somewhat unaccountably introduced into the proceedings of the committee. The entry is under date of December 24, 1688 ; the day on which sir Nathaniel produced the charter of restoration, and the restored officers took their several oaths of office. ♦'Memorandum the day and yeare above written Sr Nathanell Napper kt. and barronett of Moor Creechill in the county of Dorsett was ellected and sworne a free burgess of this corporacon by and with the consent of us whose names are hereunto subscribed for which admittance hee gave to the said corporacon ther charter free of all maner of charge and further doth promise to settle the sume of fifteen pownds per annum on the skoole of Poole as his generous and free guift for the education of poore chilldren belonging to the said corporacon and then tooke the corporacon oath and the seu'all oaths menconed in the act of parliament for regulating of corporacons and subscribed the declaracon." MUNICIPAL HISTORY* 2(51 *' * That it appeared to the committee by many parlia- * merit returns which were produced to the committee, that * the right of election hath anciently been in the mayor and * burgesses only, except a return in the eighteenth year of * James I., wherein the commonalty are mentioned, with ' the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, in the indenture ; ■ but that indenture is sealed with the common seal by the 1 mayor, aldermen, and burgesses. " * That sir Nathaniel Napper had 33 burgesses, and 5 Mr. Chafin but 22. " * But of the commonalty, that Mr. Chafin was allowed * to have the greatest number. " ' And that thereupon the committee had agreed upon * 2 resolves;' which he read in his place, and then deli- vered them in at the clerk's table, where the same being read are as follows : — " * Resolved, that it is the opinion of this committee that * the right of election of burgesses to serve in this present * convention, for the town and county of Poole, is in the ' mayor, burgesses, and commonalty of the said town and 1 county, who pay scot and lot. " « Resolved, that it is the opinion of the committee that * Thomas Chafin, esq., is duly elected a burgess to serve « in this present convention for the town and county of ■ Poole.' " A debate arising in the house thereupon, " The question being put, That this house do agree with the committee, that the right of election of burgesses to serve in this present convention for the town and county of Poole is in the mayor, burgesses, and commonalty of the same town and county, who pay scot and lot, " It passed in the negative. " The question being put, That this house do agree with the committee that Thomas Chafin, esq,, is duly elected to serve in this present convention for the town and county of Poole, 262 MUNICIPAL HISTORY* " It passed in the negative. "Resolved, that sir Nathaniel Napper, bart., is duly elected a burgess to serve in this present convention for the town and county of Poole. " The clerk of the crown being called in, amended the return for the town and county of Poole, by taking off the certificate whereby Thomas Chafin, together with Henry Trenchard, esq., was returned; leaving affixed to his highness the prince of Orange his letter the other certifi- cate, whereby sir Nathaniel Napper was returned, together with the said Mr. Trenchard." Much observation has been made upon the proceedings of the house of commons in negativing the resolutions of the committee on this occasion. But a consideration of the extraordinary character of the report of the committee will somewhat account for the vote of the house. They state that all the returns produced were made by the " mayor and burgesses only," (adopting the usurped signification of that word,) with one solitary exception, — that exception, moreover, being, as described by the committee, greatly qualified ; yet they agree to resolutions adopting that exception, and rejecting the conclusion to be drawn from all the other returns. A more complete non sequitur was, perhaps, never seriously propounded. But, notwithstanding this peculiarity in their report, the committee were virtually right in their decision, which was no less in accordance with ancient law and constitutional right, than it was agreeable to the spirit of the revolution. The committee appear to have confused themselves, by identifying the select body with the " burgesses" of the charters and the ancient returns, — an error that was throughout fatal to the claims of the inhabitant house- holders. And, allowing due weight to the wording of the report in justification of the decision of the house, still it is in some degree remarkable that such a decision should have been made immediately on the assembling of the MUNICIPAL HISTORY. * 263 convention parliament, and on the very first question of a disputed return that came before the house ; one of the objects of the revolution being obviouslv and declaredly " to obtain a free parliament by the restoration of the ancient charters, and the annulling those that restrained the right of election, ,J which was assumed to have been the object of seizing the charters. But it is too frequently the case, especially in political transactions, that practical application does not follow professed principles: it was difficult, even for the whigs of the revolution of 1688, to adhere to their professions at the expense of a vote ; for it is worthy of observation, that "Mr. Chafin was obnoxious to a majority of the house then sitting, being a notorious tory." (Disputed Election of 111 4: 14th Geo. III.]— The right of exercising the elective franchise was again contested in 1774. At the general election this year, sir Eyre Coote and Joshua Mauger, esq., were candidates for the repre- sentation of Poole on the right of the exclusive body. The householders, however, resolved on asserting their claim, setup the hon. Charles James Fox and John Williams, esq., as candidates on what was termed the commonalty interest. At the election, Oct 11, upwards of 130 of the house- holders tendered their votes for Fox and Williams. Their claim, however, was not admitted by the sheriff, who took the votes of the admitted burgesses only, and returned sir Eyre Coote and Mr. Mauger ; the numbers on the poll being Sir Eyre Coote 59 I Mr. Fox 5 Mr. Mauger 55 | Mr. Williams 2 On the 6th of December in that year, a petition of the hon. Charles James Fox and John Williams, esq., was presented to the house of commons, setting forth that on the 11th of October last, the election of two burgesses to serve in par- liament for the borough of Poole, in the county of Dorset, came on ; and that the hon. sir Eyre Coote, knight of the 264 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. bath, Joshua Mauger, esq., and the petitioners, were can- didates; and that John Scaplen, sheriff of the said county^, and returning officer of the said borough, a known friend of the sitting members, presided at the said election, and shewed great partiality in favour of the sitting members-f-; and that the petitioners, knowing the right of election for the said borough and county, as well by the general laws and custom of the land as by the particular constitution of the said borough, to be in the inhabitants and householders within the same, paying scot and bearing lot, only polled such, and had a great majority of votes, and ought to have been returned ; but the said sheriff rejected the votes of the petitioners, and took upon himself to declare that the right of election was in the burgesses of the said borough exclusively; and that the votes of the petitioners being thus illegally rejected, on casting up the poll there ap- peared a majority of votes in favour of the said sir Eyre Coote and Joshua Mauger ; and therefore the said sheriff did partially, arbitrarily, and illegally, return the said sir Eyre Coote and Joshua Mauger, whereas the number of votes for the said petitioners would have far exceeded the number of those for the said sir Eyre Coote and Joshua Mauger, had the petitioners' votes not been rejected ; and therefore praying, &c. • This is the expression used in the Commons' Journals. t In the proceedings before the committee, neither argument nor evidence was adduced in support of these allegations of partiality on the part of the sheriff. These may be attributed to the height to which party feeling then prevailed in the town, and of which an instance occurs in the following extraordinary presentment made by the grand jury at the quarter session, holden a few days after the election : — " We, the grand jury of the town and county of Poole, at the general quarter ses- sion of the peace, holden at the guildhall in and for the said town and county, on the 14th day of October, in the I4th year of the reign of George the Third, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, king, &c,, before John Bird, Thomas Hyde, esqrs., and others, justices of the peace within the said town and county, do resolve that Mr. John Scaplen, who was sheriff and returning officer on the 11th day of October, instant, hath been guilty of a high misdemeanour, and a violation of the rights of election, in refusing to return, on the then election of members to serve in parlia- ment for the said town and county of Poole, the hon. Chas. Jas. Fox and John Williams, esq., chosen by a great majority of burgesses, freeholders, householders, and other inhabitants, paying scot and lot in the said town ; and we do approve and recommend petitions to be presented to parliament praying relief, and to have the ancient rights and privileges restored." MUNICIPAL HISTORY, 265 A petition of several persons, being inhabitants and householders, and also paying" scot and bearing lot, within the borough and county of the town of Poole, was likewise presented at the same time. It was of a like effect to the above. These were ordered to be taken into consideration, on Tuesday, March 21, 1775. On March 24, a committee was balloted for and ap* pointed"^. The proceedings before the committee occupied two days. The only question in the cause was whether the right of election was in the burgesses of the borough exclusively; or in the inhabitants and householders within the borough paying scot and bearing lot. Some argument arose whether the proceedings before the house of commons, in 1688, were a determination within the meaning of the statute 2nd George II. ; but the committee, without coming to a decision on this ques-» tion, resolved that the parties should proceed to give evidence of the right of election. The counsel for the petitioners endeavoured to prove the right to be as stated in the petitions, from general principles of law, and from the history, constitution, and ancient usage of the borough ; contending that the general rule of law was, that in boroughs where there was no original charter and no prescriptive usage limiting the right of election, it was in the inhabitant householders; a rule recognised in a variety of cases in Glanville's book, and in Whitelock's commentary : — that the ancient proper sense of the word * burgenses' or * burgesses' is the ' inhabitants of a borough ;' citing, as authorities, Spelman, Whitelock, and Madox, and the decisions of the house of commons in • The committee consisted of the following gentlemen -.—lord Charles Spencer, chairman, John Elvres, esq., Charles Turner, esq., John Tempest, esq., Thomas Knight, esq., George Grenville, esq., sir William Guise, bart., Charles Wolseley, esq., sir John Eden, bart., sir Adam Ferguson, bart., hon. Lucius Ferdinaud Cary, Thomas Powys, esq., Thomas Edwards Freeman, esq. : nominee of the petitioners, William Adams, esq., nominee of the sitting members, viscount Lisburne. 2 M 266 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the cases of Abingdon and Aldborough :— that, from an inspection of all the ancient charters granted to the borough of Poole, it was evident that down to that of the 10th of Elizabeth, esq.j and the earl of Carysfort, as nominees k MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 271 the right was in the inhabitants, the other four candidates were so inferior in point of numbers, that they intended to relinquish their respective claims. The petition of lords Haddo and Daer was therefore first taken into consideration by the committee. In this instance the same evidence was again adduced as had been laid before the committee on the hearing of the petition of Messrs, Fox and Williams, in 1775, and also before the committee on the petition of Mr. Mauger ; and a similar course of argument was pursued to that which we have abstracted as taken on the former occasion. The decision of the committee confirmed that of the two previous com- mittees, the determination being, " That the right of election for members to serve in parliament for the town and county of Poole, is in the mayor and burgesses only." The petition of lords Haddo and Daer having been thus disposed of, a compromise took place between the con-* tending parties on the poll of the burgesses. One vote was added to the poll of Mr, Taylor and Mr, Kingsmill, and another struck off from that of Mr. Lester and Mr, Stuart. The positions of Mr. Taylor and Mr, Stuart were thus reversed on the poll, which then stood as under : — Mr. Lester 49 I Mr. Stuart 48 Mr, Taylor 49 1 Capt. Kingsmill 43 The committee accordingly reported to the house, that the rio-ht of election was as above stated ; and that Mr. Lester and Mr, Taylor were duly elected. The return was then amended in conformity with the report. [Disputed Return of 1791*: 31st Geo. 111.]— But al- though, by the decision just reported, Mr. Lester was declared duly elected, that gentleman did not venture to take his seat. The allegations made in the petitions against his return, that at the time of his election, he was a con- tractor with the government were true ; and rather than incur the risk of being mulcted in the penalty of £500 everv time he might give his vote in the house, he deemed 272 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. it prudent to vacate his seat, by accepting the stewardship of the Chiltern hundreds. A new writ was issued on the 4th of March, 1791 ; the election took place on the 12th of the same month ; and the necessary time having- elapsed since the surrender of his contract, Mr. Lester again appeared as a candidate. He was unopposed so far as regarded the franchise of the select burgesses ; but the inhabitant householders again resolutely went to the poll, and tendered their votes for lord Daer, despite the four repeated decisions of the house of commons against their claim. March 28, a petition was presented to the house from lord Daer, setting forth the same statements as were made in the former petitions, with the additional allegation that, at the time of the election, Mr. Lester was not possessed of the requisite qualification according to the statute. This petition was not brought on for hearing in the course of that session, and it was renewed on the 6th of February, 1792. And on the 24th of the same month, the inhabitant householders availed themselves of the permis-. sion given by the act of the 28th Geo. III., c. 52, to make an appeal against the last decision within twelve calendar months ; and they accordingly presented, on the last day allowed them, a petition of appeal, which, after reciting the report of the committee, set forth that the petitioners were advised, and humbly insisted, that the right which had been deemed valid in the judgment of the committee, was not the ancient and true right of election in the bo- rough of Poole; and therefore praying to be admitted as parties to oppose the right of election which had been deemed valid by the committee, &c. Neither of these petitions came on for hearing that session, the days for their consideration being deferred until the prorogation. A few days after the commencement of the next session of parliament, a petition was presented to the house of MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 273 commons, precisely similar to that presented in the pre- vious session. On the 12th March, 1793, a select com- mittee was appointed'^, who immediately proceeded to try the merits of the petition ; and, on the following dzy 9 reported to the house that the sitting member was duly elected. This was the last contest in which the inhabitant householders enjjaijed in regard to the elective franchise. The failure of their endeavours is, in all probability, to be attributed to a reliance upon the opinion that they formed an integral portion of the corporate body, designated by the term "commonalty," instead of standing upon their common law right, as the possessors of the ancient burgess qualification. From this period the body of select burgesses continued to exercise the right of electing the representatives of the borough, down to the passing of the parliamentary reform act [2nd Wm. IV., c. 45] ; by which statute an uniform qualification for electors was established in all the cities and boroughs in England and Wales ; such qualification being the occupation of a house, warehouse, counting- house, shop, or other building-, separately or jointly with land, of the yearly value of ten pounds. The privilege is also preserved to those who possessed it at the passing of the act, so long as they continue qualified, under certain limitations and restrictions. Residence in or near the place to be voted for is made a principle pervading the whole system, and all without distinction must be registered in accordance with the directions of the act. Another act was passed about the same time, for regulating the boundaries of cities and boroughs ; and under this act the tithings of Longfleet and Parkstone, and the parish of Hamworthv, were united with the ancient borough, for the * This committee was composed of lord Grey, Robert Peel, esq., the lion. Edward Monckton, Clement Taylor, esq., John Campbell, esq., Philip Metcalfe, esq., Laurence Dundas, esq., sir Joshua Vanneck, bart., John Bond, esq., Charles Anderson Pelham, esq., William Colquhoun, esq., William Curtis, esq., Francis Annesley, esq., sir Peter Dunell, bart., James Aroyatt, esq. 2 N 274 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. purpose of electing* members of parliament. It has been already stated that, by the act for the regulation of municipal corporations, these suburban districts were subsequently consolidated with the ancient borough for all municipal purposes. LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE BOROUGH OF POOLE. 14 Edw. III.— John Goodriche, — Edward Triscote^. 36 „ Edward Barnaby, — Thomas Shaftbury. 42 „ Richard Fichebert, — Thomas Plonket. 31 Hen. VI. — , —William Denny. 33 „ John Skelton, — Thomas Boyen. 7 Edw. IV. — William Kelsey, — Richard Fayne. 12 „ John Stone, — John Flexby. 17 „ Henrv Martin, — William Joce. 1 Hen. VI IL— John Bedford,— 3 „ Richard Phelips, — Ralph Worseleyf-, 6 „ John Maloke y — William Bedylcome. 14 „ The same. 20 „ William Bedylcome, Thornhill. 21 „ William Bedylcome, 28 „ Thornel, 33 „ Richard [Lawrence, — John Carew.] * Carew and Willis both state that Poole first sent members to a council 14 Edw. III., and to two of his parliaments, viz., annis 36 & 42 ; after which, Carew says, it intermitted till the 33d Hen. VI. ; whilst Willis [Not : Pari : 18] states that it ceased returning members until the 31st Hen. VI. ; since which time it has constantly sent. ? Hutchinshas preserved he following memorandum respecting these represen- tatives : — " 1511. — Richard Plielyp and Ralph Worseley. 25 Feb. delyveryd them for their labor beyng burgensys of the parlyrnente, LXs. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 275 Edvv. VI. — John Hannam a , — Richard Laurence. Thomas Whyte, — William Newman. Anthony Dillington, — John Scryvyn. „ William Wightman, — Richard Shaw. 1 & 2 Ph. & M. — Anthony Dillington, — Andrew Hourde. 2 & 3 „ Robert Whytt, esq.,— John Phelips^. 4&5 „ Thomas Phelips, — Thomas Goo dwyn,esqrs* 1 Eliz,— Walter Haddon, LL.D., b ~Humphrey Mychell. 5 „ Humphrey Mitchell, — William Green, gents. 13 „ George Carlton, — William Newman. 14 „ William Green, — John Hastings, esqrs, 26 „ Francis Mills, — Thomas Vincent, esqrs. 28 „ William Fleetwood, jun., — Francis Mills, esqrs. ( a ) John Hannam, esq., of Wimborne Minster, was the son of Richard Hannam, of Somerset, who was the ancestor of the elder branch of this family, seated at Purse Caundle, having married the heiress of Bishop's Caundle. This John Hannam married Alice, daughter of Orange, of Wimborne Minster, and from this marriage issued that branch of the family of Hanham, now seated at Wimborne. In the 1st & 2nd Philip & Mary, he had a grant of lands in the tithing and chapelry of Plush; and in the 4th & 5th of the same reign, a grant of the site of the cell at East Holme, and the tithe of the farm in West Worth, belonging to it. He was chosen member for Poole, IstEdw.VI. ; and in the records of the town they are said to owe him "for his burgyschyp, xxvjs. viijd.' 5 He died 2nd Eliz. (b) Dr. Walter Haddon, a great restorer of the learned languages in England, was born in 1516. He distinguished himself by writing Latin in a fine style, which he acquired by a constant study of Cicero. He -was a strenuous promoter of the Reformation under Edward VI., and succeeded bishop Gardiner in the mastership of Trinity-hall, Cambridge. He concealed himself in Mary's reign, but acquired the favour of queen Elizabeth, who sent him as one of the three agents to Bruges in 1566, to restore commerce between England and the Netherlands. He was also engaged with sir John Cheke in drawing up in Latin that useful code of ecclesiastical law, published in 1571, by the learned John Fox, under the title of Reformatio Legum Ecclesiasticarum; his other works are published under the title of Lucubrations. He died in 1572. * The following memorandum has been preserved of this representative and his successor :—" 1555, John Phelips. 1557, Thomas Phelips. Burgeis of Parliament for thjs towne of Poole, in Jauuari, ano 1557, for so moche payde out by Matthew llavylande, bayle, for rccordyng Hie names of them, and for ynrolling and other chargys, xxxvijs. ijd." 276 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 31 Eliz. — Henry Ashley, esq. c , — Edward Man, mercht. 35 „ James Orange, esq., — Edward Man, mercht. 39 „ Roger Maudley,— Edward Man. 43 „ Robert Miller, esq., — Thomas Billett, gent. 1 Jas. I. — Edward Man, gent.,— Thomas Roberts, merch. 11 „ Walter Erie, esq. d , — sir Thomas Walsingham, 12 „ Sir Walter Erie, knt.,— Edward Man. [jn. knt. (c) Henry Ashley, esq., was the descendant of a noble and ancient family, settled in Wiltshire so early as the reign of Henry III. His father was knighted at the coronation of queen Mary. This Henry was born Sept. 11, 1548, and was appointed gentleman pensioner to queen Elizabeth. He represented Poole in the parliament of the 31st of that sovereign, and was afterwards knighted. He married Anne, daughter of lord Burgh, by Catharine his wife, daughter of the earl of Lincoln ; and by her he had three sons, who all died without issue. (d) Walter Erie, esq., of Charborough, was the son of Thomas Erie, esq., of the same place. He was knighted 1616. He married Anne, daughter and heiress of sir Francis Dymock, co. Warwick, and by her became the possessor of the manor of Erdington and Pipe, in that county, which he sold, 1st Charles I., to sir Walter Devereux, knt. and bart. He took a very active part in the civil wars, being throughout a zealous partizan of the parliament, and proving himself a mischievous opponent of the royal cause, particularly in the west of England. He was one of the managers, in 1641, against the earl of Strafford, at his trial, under- taking to manage the 24th article, relating to the alleged design of bring- ing over the army in Ireland to reduce England, which, for want of witnesses, he failed to prove, and was "very blank and out of counte- nance." [Whitelock, p. 40]. The earl, we are told, made a proper defence, and lord Digby "in a very witty and rhetorical speech took off sir Walter," The queen, who was present at the trial, enquired who that knight was whom lord Digby relieved; and being told that his name was sir Walter Erie, she said that " that water dog did bark but not bite ; but the rest did bite close." [p. 41]. He was appointed by the parlia- ment to be governor of Dorchester, during the troubles ; and the part which he took in those unhappy times may be seen in Rushworth, Whitelock, and Nalson's Collections, and in those of the historians of that age. In 1642, he, with Mr. Hollis, and other ephori (as lord Clarendon calls them), with 7000 foot, 800 horse, and four pieces of ordnance, came from Wells to Sherborne, to oppose the marquis of Hertford. He was made lieutenant of the ordnance in 1643, on the death of Mr. Pym. In the same year he commanded the forces besieg- ing Corfe castle, and after six weeks' endeavours, he was repulsed, through the noble bravery of lady Bankes, and obliged to raise the siege. Intercepted letters, and some taken at Dartmouth, written in characters, were decyphered by him, in 1645, for which he had the thanks of the MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 277 18Jas.iL — Sir Walter Erie, — sir George Horsey e , knts. 21 „ Sir Walter Erie, knt.,— Edward Pitt, esq. f 1 Chas. I. — Sir John Cooper, knt. and bart.s, — John Pyne, esq., of Curry, Somerset. house of commons. He -was one of the four commissioners to the king for peace, in 1646 : £750 of his arrears were yoted him the same year: and he was also one of the commissioners to receive the king and conduct him to Holmeby house. A commission passed 1647, for him to be master of the ordnance. He died 1665. (e) A sketch of the life of sir George Horsey, of Clifton Maubank and Melcomb Horsey, would bear a sad testimony to the vicissitudes of for- tune, and the evils of a profligate expenditure. He was knighted at Whitehall, Feb. 10, 1618, and was possessed of a noble estate, which had descended to him from his ancestors. But this he entirely alienated, and gave the'finishing stroke to a series of family misfortunes which had commenced with his father. From some of his letters, in 1637, to sir George Morton, and others, it appears that his manors of Horsey and Pegges were undersold to sir J. Stawel. His wife's jointure was then sold ; and sir George Morton absconded into Wales, on account of his engagements for him. By other letters, dated 1638, it appears that he was confined in Newgate; — sir George Morton still absconded; — his wife was sick in London; — he wanted bread, liberty, and necessaries; had not sixpence left, nor knew were to get a crown ; for two days he had not a farthing to buy bread for his servants, and lived only on water and oatmeal and three pennyworth of sprats. In 1639, he was living at his brother-in-law's, John Freke, esq., of Shroton : but a tradition says he was outlawed for a debt of £10, and died in the county gaol. What became of his children is not certainly known. John, his third son, was killed at the siege of Sherborne castle, in the service of the parliament. (f) Edward Pitt, esq., was the eldest son of sir William Pitt, knt., of Stapleton, Dorset, and Stratfieldsay, Hants, and Edith, daughter of Nicholas Cadbury, esq., of Arne. He was admitted a burgess of Poole at the time of being chosen a representative of the borongh. (s) Sir John Cooper was the son of sir John Cooper, knt., of an ancient family seated at Kockboume, Hants. He was created to the dignity of a baronet, by letters patent, dated July 20, 1622, being then denominated of Kockboume ; and he was afterwards knighted, and by the title of sir John Cooper, knight and baronet, was returned to serve in parliament for Poole, in 1625 and 1627. His first wife was Anne, daughter and sole heiress of sir Anthony Ashley, knt., of Wimborne St. Giles, — who had acquired considerable fame in the reign of queen Elizabeth, and was knighted at the taking of Cadiz, in September, 1596, when he served as secretary of war. From this marriage sprang the noble line of the earls of Shaftesbury, the iirst of whom was the eldest son of sir John Cooper. 278 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 2 Chas. I. — Christopher Erie 11 , — John Pyne, esqrs. 3 „ Sir John Cooper, knt. & bart., — John Pyne, esq, 15 „ John Pyne, esq., — William Constantino, esq., recorder. 1 16 „ John Pyne, esq., — William Constantine, esq. After the displacement of Constantine, a new writ was issued, March 25, 1645, on which George Skutt, esq., was chosen in his room. 5 Chas. II. — No return. 6 „ Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, knt. and bart. H Lady Anne died July 20, 1628, leaving two sons and a daughter. Sir John married, secondly, Mary, lady Morrison (widow of sir Charles Morrison, and daughter and coheir of Baptist Hicks, viscount Camden), who survived without any issue by him, and was married thirdly to sir Richard Alford, knt. Sir John Cooper died March 23, 1631, and was buried at Rockboume. (h) This Christopher Erie, esq., was descended from the Erles of Charborough, and nephew of the celebrated sir Walter Erie, of republi- can notoriety. He was the son of Christopher Erie, esq., of Sturminster Marshall, who was recorder and respresentative of Lyme Regis. Ho died in 1634. (i) Some memoranda relative to Mr. Constantine have been given ante, p. 240. (&) Sir A. A. Cooper, the celebrated first earl of Shaftesbury, was the eldest son of sir John Cooper, and brother of George Cooper, esq., both mentioned as representatives of Poole. He was born 1621, and, on the death of his father, in 1631, succeeded to the patrimonial estates. In the year 1636, he became fellow commoner of Exeter college, Oxford, under the famous Dr. Prideaux, then rector, afterwards bishop of Wor- cester; but removed thence to Lincoln's Inn, and studied the law, in which he attained the highest eminence. In 1639, he commenced his parliamentary career, having been elected one of the members for Tewkesbury. In 1640, on the breaking out of the rebellion, he was introduced to the king, at Oxford, and made the extraordinary proposi? tion to his majesty, spoken of pp. 116, et seq. From this period sir Anthony became concerned in all the political transactions of the momentous and stirring times in which he lived, and in which his vigour- ous and comprehensive mind, and his statesmanlike qualities, well fitted him to shine. His character and the events in which he took an eminent part, throughout the fearful trial to which England was subjected, have MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 279 8 Ch. II.— Edward Butler, esq. 11 „ Col. John Fitzjames, 1 — Samuel Bond, esq. m 12 „ Sir Walter Erie, knt., — George Cooper, esq. n 13 „ John Morton, esq.°, — sir John Fitzjames, knt. become matters of national rather than local import ; and require space and attention beyond what can here be devoted to them. During the early years of the rebellion, sir Anthony was found the advocate of rational liberty, and the firm assertor of the rights of Protestantism. The subsequent opponent of the despotic views of Cromwell ; he was the favourer of that restoration of the exiled royal family which was ultimately effected. On this event taking place, he was sworn of the privy council at Canterbury, May 26, 1660 ; was created baron Ashley, of Wimborne St. Giles, April 20, 1661, according to a stipulation in his father's marriage settlement, that, if the family should ever arrive at a peerage, their title should be that of Ashley. In the same year he was made chancellor of the exchequer, and one of the three commissioners of the treasury ; May 27, 1667, lord lieutenant of Dorset and Poole ; 1671, lord Cooper, of Pawlet, co. Somerset; and earl of Shaftesbury, by patent, April 23, 1672; Nov. 14, in the same year, lord chancellor; and president of the council, in 1679. His lordship died at Amsterdam, Jan. 21, 1682-3. The ship which transported the body to England was hung round with mourning, and adorned with streamers and escutcheons. The corpse was landed at Poole, where the principal gentlemen of Dorsetshire, to manifest the regard which they had for the memory of lord Shaftesbury, assembled together, though uninvited, and attended his body to his ancient seat at Wimborne St. Giles, in the church of which he was honourably interred; where also a monument, bearing a com- pendious history of his career, was afterwards erected by the fourth earl. (!) Col. sir John Fitzjames was the son of Leweston Fitzjames, esq., of Leweston, in the county of Dorset. During the war of the revolution, he took an active and decided part on behalf of the royal family; and, in 1645, his estate at Leweston, valued, in 1641, at £120 per annum, was sequestered by the parliament. On the restoration of Charles II., he was knighted by that monarch, and from that time he continued to sit in parliament as the representative for Poole, until his decease in 1670. There is a monument to the Fitzjames family in Sherborne church, in a chapel in the south side of the choir. (m) He was also recorder of the town during the deprivation of Constantine. (n) This George Cooper, esq., was son of the sir John Cooper mentioned above, and brother to the first earl of Shaftesbury. (o) He was of the family of Morton, originally seated at Morton or Marton, in Harworth, Nottinghamshire, which, with other hamlets, were 280 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 22 Ch. II. — Thomas Trenchard, esq.?, vice sir John Fitz- james, deceased. 25 „ Thomas Strangeways, esq. 5 vice Thomas Trenchard, esq., deceased. 31 „ Thomas Chafin, esq. q , — Henry Trenchard, esq. 31 „ Henry Trenchard, esq., — Thomas Chafin, esq. 33 „ Thomas Chafin, esq., — Henry Trenchard, esq. 1 Jas. II. — Thomas Chafin, esq., — William Ettricke, esq. r long the inheritance of this family, who held lands there in 1289. He was member for Poole in the 13th Car. II., and afterwards sat for Wey- mouth and Melcombe Regis in the several parliaments from the 31st Car. II., to the 2nd W. & M. He died 1698, aged 71. (p) He was son to Thomas Trenchard, esq., of Wolveton, and grandson to sir Thomas Trenchard, of the same place, who was knighted by king James, in 1613. He was member for Poole 22nd Car. II., and died in 1673. (q) Mr. Chafin was of a family eminent throughout the struggles of the seventeenth century for their devotion to the royal cause. They came originally out of Wiltshire, and in the visitation book for that county, 1565, there are six descents of them given. The Is ranch settled at Chettle, in Dorsetshire, of which the above Thomas was a member, is not yet extinct, but has taken the name of Grove. Thomas Chafin, esq., the father of the subject of this memoir, was a very active partisan of Charles I., in his struggles with the par 1 "anient. He was taken prisoner by the parliamentary forces garrisoned at Poole ; and, in 1645, the governor, colonel John Bingham, allowed him to go on his parole for forty days, for the purpose of endeavouring to settle his affairs with the parliament. His estates were sequestered ; but he eventually compounded for them, and paid £900. His son, who was afterwards member for Poole, was born in 1650. Whilst he sat as member for Poole, he commanded a troop of horse, raised in the county of Dorset, at the battle of Sedgemoor, against the duke of Monmouth ; and he was a very active officer in quelling the rebellion headed by that ill-advised and ill-fated youth. Five letters, written by Mr. Chafin to his wife at Chettle, both before and after the battle, are still in possession of the family. He died 1691, and in the church at Chettle is an epitaph to his memory, (r) William Ettricke was the son of Anthony Ettricke, esq., recorder of Poole. On a mural monument erected to his memory in the church of Wimborne Minster, is an inscription said to have been written by Matthew Prior. BIUNICIPAL HISTORY, 281 1 Wm. & M,— Sir Nathaniel Napier, knt and bart,, 8 — Henry Trench ard, esq ? ^ (3) Sir Nathaniel Napier was descended from an ancient Scottish family. but settled for several generations at More Gritchell, in Dorsetshire. He was the son of sir Gerard Napier, bart., and was educated at Oriel col- lege, Oxford. He married his first lady (Blanch, daughter and co-heir of sir Hugh Windham, knt., justice of the common pleas,) in his father's lifetime, and lived eight or nine years after at Edmondesham. In 16Q7, he went with his relation, secretary Coventry, as ambassador into Hol° land, where he spent about three months, and wrote an account of that country. He much beautified and adorned the house and gardens at Critchell, and rebuilt great part of Middlemarsh hall, the ancient seat of the family. In 1676, he was elected knight of the shire ; and was chosen, member for Poole and Corfe Castle in several parliaments, t. Car. II. and Jac. II. He was instrumental in obtaining for the borough of Poole the charter granted to it 4th Jac. II. , just before that monarch quitted the throne and kingdom. In 1698, with his second lady, (Susan, daughter of — Guise, esq., of Gloucestershire,) he went into France and Italy, and returned in 1700. In 1701, he made a second tour into Holland, and the same year was elected representative for Dorchester, in the first parliament of queen Anne, with his son Nathaniel ; and was again chosen, for that borough in the next parliament. In April, 1704, he made another short tour into Holland, intending to go into Hanover, but being taken ill, soon returned ; and two years afterwards went to Spa, where he recovered his health, but died the year after his return home, and wag buried at Mintern. Upon the brazen eagle on which the Bible lies in Oriel college chapel, is this written, " Hanc Orielensibus dedit aquilarn Nathaniel Naper, armiger, Gerardi Naper, de Middlemarsh hall, in com- itatu Dorset, militis et baronetti, films unicus, et hujus collegii sociug • In an old MS. journal of occurrences in Poole about this period, are some curious extracts in reference to proceedings, preliminary to this election. These entries are subjoined : : — "1689. April 13. News of the coronation of king William and queen Mary: great rejoicing at Poole. 'f April 20. Several gentlemen from London to discover the constitution of Poole ; who desired a vestry. " Two messengers from London for the same purpose. " May 4. Public notices for a vestry the following Tuesday. *•« The mayor and corporation attended, with near 300 of the inhabitants, in the body of the church, when the minister, after public service and an extempore prayer, opened the cause of their assembling, advising that at this crisis, which was most promising for future peace, care ought both now and ever to be had in the choice of members to serve in parliament, that Poole may not be blamed. "The town clerk then desired that all would be unanimous in their choice for ever in regard to the members. " The mayor concluded with saying that the welfare of the town of Poole greatly depended on the unanimity of their choice of members ; and hoped that, at their next meeting, which will be three weeks, all this desired end would be answered." 2 O 282 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. gW.&M,— Sir Nathaniel Napier, knt. and bart,,— sir- John Trenchard, knt/ commensalis, 1654." On presenting to the borough of Poole the charter; which he had been the means of obtaining, sir Nathaniel was elected a burgess of the borough ; and at the same time he made a considerable charitable benefaction to the town. (t) Sir John Trenchard, knt., was descended from the ancient and respectable family of Trenchard, tracing up to Paganus Trenchard, t. Hen. I. He was the second son of Thomas Trenchard, esq., of Wolve-. ton, co. Dorset; but was himself settled at Bloxworth. He was an active partizan of the duke of Monmouth, in whose rebellion he was far- engaged ; and *vyas charged \yith an attempt to raise a body of men in Taunton, in which, however, he failed. Bishop Burnet says of him, " he got out of England, and lived some years beyond sea, and had a true knowledge of foreign affairs. He was a calm and sedate man, and much more moderate than could have been expected, snipe he had been a leading man in a party. He had too great a regard for the stars, and too little for religion. He had moved the exclusion b\ll in the house of commons." He was at dinner with Mr. William Speke, at Ilmmsterj when advice came of the defeat of the duke of Monmouth, at Sedgempor. Mr. Trenchard immediately mounted his horse, and advised Mr. Speke to do the same, lest he should be seized and hanged for his attachment to the duke. Mr. Trenchard reached Lytchett, but instead of going to his house, concealed himself in the lodge of the park, belonging to the keeper, whom he sent to secure hirn a passage on board a vessel at Weymouth. Tradition says that, at the moment he was embarking, his friend Speke Avas hanging before his own door at Ilminster r He became the confidential friend of king William, by whom he was commissioned to concert measures with his friends on this side of the water, and insure his favourable reception ; for which purpose he made several voyages to Holland, and finally attended the king when he came over to take pos- session of the government. He was serjeant at law to king William and queen Mary ; and chief justice of Chester. Upon king William's offering to make him a judge, he declined, alleging his incompetency for the office, and contented himself with the place of chief justice of Chester. March 23, 1692-3, sir John Trenchard was sworn one of their majesties' principal secretaries of state, and of the privy council. He was bred at New college ; and, in some parliaments, represented the borough of Poole; in others sat for that of Taunton. He died 1695, and is buried at Bloxworth, where, on a mural monument, the following epitaph records his memory: — "Here lieth the body of Sir JOHN TRENCHARD, kt. of the ancient family of the Trenchards in Dorsetshire. He was called to the degree of serjeant at law, and made their majesties' serjeant by k. William and q. Mary, and also chief justice of Chester, and MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 283 7 Witt. III. — Hon. Anthony lord Ashley", vice sir John Trenchard, deceased. 7 „ Hon. Anthony lord Ashley, — sir Nathaniel Napier, knt. and bart. 10 „ William Jolliffe, esq. v , — William Phippard, csq. w principal secretary of state; which offices he faithfully discharged till his death. He was korn March 30, 1640 ; and dyed April 27, 1695, in the 55th year of his age. He left four sons, George, Henry, John, and William, and three daughters, Elizabeth, Mary, and Anne, by dame Philippa, his wife ; who tins monument has erected to his memory/' (u) Anthony lord Ashley, afterwards third earl of Shaftesbury, was the celebrated author of the Characteristics and other works. He was born at Exeter house, Feb. 26, 1671. His grandfather, the great earl, superintended his early education; and, at eleven years of age, he was able to ^converse both in Latin and Greek. In 1683, he went abroad with his tutor and sir John Cropley, who lived in the greatest intimacy with him the rest of his life. On the death of sir John Trenchard, he was chosen member for Poole. In 1709, he married Jane, daughter of Thomas Ewer esq., and died 1712. The following epitaph is engraved on a most exquisitely sculptured monument, in the church of Wimborne St. Giles :— " Polite Literature, in the person of a muse, laments the death of her most distinguished votary, the right honourable ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, third earl of Shaftesbury. He was born Feb. 26, 1670, and died Feb. 14, 1712." (v) William Jolliffe, esq., was a merchant of Poole, of a family long intimately connected with the most important mercantile interests of the town, and of which several branches are now existing. He was the youngest son of Peter Jolliffe, whose signal courage in taking a French privateer, with the assistance of two hands only, has been already recorded, p. 139. ( w ) William Phippard, esq., was a wealthy and eminent merchant of the port of Poole. He was chosen representative in parliament for that 284 Municipal history* 12 W. IIL—SirWiliiamPhippafdjknt.,— William Jolliffe, 13 „ The same. [esq* 1 Anne* — The same. 4 „ The same* — Samuel Weston, esq. 7 „ William Lewen* esq**, — Thomas Ridge, esq. 9 ti Thomas Ridge, esq., — Sir William Phippard, 9 „ Sir William Lewen, knt., vice Thomas [knt* Ridge, esq., expelled. 3fc 12 „ Sir William Lewen, knt., — George Trench- ard, esq.y 1 Geo. L — Sir William Lewen, knt., — George Trench- ard, esq. borough in 1698, 10th W. III., and was knighted by that monarch in the following year. With the exception of one parliament, he continued to represent the borough until the 12th Anne. He was a benefactor to the town of Poole; and, in 1695, gave £40 towards repairing and adorning the church, as is learnt from an inscription that was made on the wall of the north aisle of the old church. He went through the Various municipal offices, and was twice elected to the mayoralty, viz;, ' in the years 1697 and 1703. He died Jan. 23, 1723, aged 73. (x) Sir William Lewen was the son of Robert Lewen, of Wimborne, and brother of George Lewen, esq., who carried on an extensive com- mercial business at Poole. Sir William was lord mayor of London in 1717, and died March 16, 1721-2, aged 65. (y) He was the son of sir John Trenchard ; and, with the exception of one parliament, he represented the borough of Poole from 1713 to 1754; By his marriage with Mary, daughter of col. Thomas Trenchard, of Wolveton, he became possessed of the estates of another branch of his family, and was the ancestor of the Trenchards of Lytchett, Bloxworth, and Sturminster Marshall. His lady was, by her father's will, obliged to marry a son of sir John Trenchard, of Bloxworth. Mr. Trenchard died 1658. * The vacancy which sir William Lewen was elected to fill, was occasioned by the expulsion of Mr. Ridge. This Mr. Ridge was the queen's cooper at Portsmouth ; and had contracted to supply 5,513 tuns of beer, but had delivered only 3,313 tuns ; for the remaining 2,300, he paid a composition to the pursers at the rate of 30s. per tun, whilst he had 56s. per tun of the queen. There was a long examination on the subject before the house of commons, Feb. 15, 1710-11, when the committee com- puted the loss to her majesty to have been £18,846 15s. Mr. Ridge said, in his justification, that it was a common practice, and, indeed, many frauds of the kind were proved before the committee, who came to resolutions, stating the facts proved ; expelling Mr. Ridge from the house ; and recommending that her majesty would direct her attorney-general to prosecute him, MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 285 8 Geo. I. — George Trenchard, esq.,— Thomas Ridge, esq. 1 Geo. II. — George Trenchard, esq., — Dennis Bond, esq* 5 „ Thomas Wyndham, esq., vice Dennis Bond, expelled. 2 8 „ George Trenchard, esq., — Thomas Wynd- ham, esq. 18 „ Joseph Gulston, esq., — Thomas Missing, esq. 20 „ The same, — George Trenchard, esq. 27 „ Sir Richard Littleton, knt.^, — Joseph Gul- ston, esq. 1 Geo. III. — Thomas Calcraft, esq., — Joseph Gulston, esq. 5 „ Joseph Gulston, jun., vice Joseph Gulston, appointed to the stewardship of East Hendred. 8 „ Thomas Calcraft, esq. — Joshua Mauger, esq.-f- 14 „ Joshua Mauger, esq., — sir Eyre Coote, K.B. 20 „ Joseph Gulston, esq., — William Morton Pitt, esq. 3 ( z ) Dennis Bond was the son of Nathaniel Bond, of Creech Grange, esq., whom he succeeded in the recordership of Poole. His expulsion from the house took place in consequence of his having heen engaged in a clandestine and fraudulent contract for underselling the Derwentwater estates. Mr. Bond, and Serjeant Birch, two of the commissioners and trustees for the sale of the estates, and sir John Eyles, member for London, were concerned in this transaction, for which the two former were expelled the house of commons, and the latter was reprimanded in his place. For a few other memoranda relating to Mr. Bond, v. p. 242. (a) William Morton Pitt, of Kingston Maureward, Dorset, esq., was, on the death of the late earl of Chatham, the sole male representative of the ancient family of Pitt, long seated in Dorsetshire, and at Stratfieldsay, Hants, — a family which has been raised to the dignity of the peerage in the four titled branches of Rivers, Camelford, Chatham, and London- deny. The first of these titles, created in 1776, (to the elder line from John Pitt, clerk of the exchequer, t. Eliz.,) became extinct in the race * In Dec. 1756 [30 Geo. II.], sir Richard Littleton, K.B., was re-elected, having vacated his seat by accepting the situation of master of the jewel office. + A petition having been presented against the return of Mr. Mauger on the ground of his seat having been gained by a wholesale sort of bribery, his election was declared void, and a new writ was accordingly issued ; but he appeals to have been re-elected, immediately afterwards. ^86 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. of Pitt, in 1828, but has been perpetuated in that of Beckford (now, by assumption, Pitt-Rivers). The second, created in 1784, to Thomas Pitt, expired in 1804, on the premature death of his eccentric son, the second iord Camelford. The title of Chatham, originating in 1761, expired in 1835. That of Londonderry, conferred in 1719, as a barony, and in 1726, as an earldom, on the youngest son of the famous governor Pitt, the purchaser of the Orleans diamond, became extinct with his younger son, the third earl, in 1764. Mr. Wm. Morton Pitt was the eldest and only surviving son of John Pitt, esq., of Encombe, a commissioner of trade and plantations, surveyor of woods and forests, and M.P. for Wareham and Dorchester, (who was an uncle of half-blood to the first lord Rivers,) by Marcia, daughter of Marcus Morgan, esq., of Ireland. His name of Morton was derived from a remote ancestor : his great- great-grandmother, the wife of Edward Pitt, esq., of Stratfieldsay, (married in 1620,) having been Rachel, daughter of sir George Morton, of Milborne St. Andrew, Dorset, bart. Mr. Morton Pitt was a member of Queen's college, Oxford, and matriculated March 14, 1772 : but quitted the university without taking a degree. He first entered the house of commons at the general election of 1780, as a burgess for Poole, in association with Joseph Gulston, esq., having defeated Joshua Mauger, esq., one of the former members, and John Adams, esq., who petitioned against the return, but without success. In 1784, he was re-chosen, together with the late Michael Angelo Taylor, esq. ; and, in 1790, he was elected one of the county members, in the room of his cousin, the hon. Geo. Pitt, the late lord Rivers. On the I7'th of April, 1791, he vacated his seat, on what account we are unaware, by accepting the Chiltern hundreds ; but was re-elected ; as he was again to the seven following parliaments; and finally retired from parliamentary Efe in 1826. He generally supported the measures of his kinsman, Mr. Pitt, and the line of national policy marked out by that great statesman, and followed by his tory successors. He Was one of the members chosen on the part of the house of commons, Feb. 24, 1803, to form the court of East India judicature. Whilst he sat as the representative of Poole, he presented that borough with a magnificent pair of maces to be borne before the mayor, and with two superb glass chandeliers for the guildhall. In 1779, Mr. Morton Pitt was appointed lieut. -colonel of the Dorset- shire militia. Essentially a public man, throughout a long and laborious life, Mr. Pitt had the rare success of obtaining the good will of, and giving satisfaction to* all classes and parties : and whether as an active county magistrate* the duties of which office he fulfilled with zeal, ability, and discretion, for upwards of half a century ; or in the senate, where he sat for forty-six years, his time and exertions were unremittingly devoted to the public good. Nor was his private life less worthy. Beloved by his family, esteemed by his friends, and honoured by all, he passed through life distinguished by the possession of the purest virtues, and by the exercise of a diffusive philanthrophy, and extensive practical benevolence. 31 »» 36 >» 41 5» 42 5> 47 J» 47 JS MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 2S7 24 Geo. III.— William Morton Pitt, esq.,— Michael Angela Taylor, esq. b Benjamin Lester, esq., — Michael An^elo Taylor, esq, Hon. majoivgen. Charles Stuart, K.B, — John Jeffery., esq. George Garland, esq., rice Stuart, deceased.^* John Jeffery, esq., — George Garland, esq. The same. [2d. pari.] John Jeffery, esq., — sir Richard Hussey Bickerton , bart.-f To encourage industry and detach the population from smuggling, Mr. Pitt established a manufactory for cordage and sail cloth, near his domain in the isle of Purbeck, and he also erected, at his own expense, a manufactory for hats in the gaol at Dorchester. He was likewise one of the first promoters of Sunday schools, and addressed, in 1789, a publie letter to the London society, established for their encouragement, con- taining a plan for the formation of district committees and county societies in furtherance of their objects. He published, in 1798, an address to the landed interest, on the deficiency of habitations and fuel for the use of the poor : and he was the author of several communications to the Bath agricultural papers, and Young's annals of agriculture. He contributed to the 2nd edition of Hutchins's History of Dorsetshire, which was dedicated to him. Mr. Pitt was twice married. His first wife was Margaret, daughter of John Gambier, esq., governor of the Bahama islands, by whom he had an only danghter, Sophia, who was married Sep. 9, 1806, to Charles, second and present earl of Romney, and died in 1812, leaving issue, Charles, viscount Marsham, and four daughters. Mr. Pitt married, secondly, in 1815, Grace Amelia, daughter of Henry Seymer, esq., of Hanford, Dorset, D.C.L., by whom, who survived him, he left issue, a son and heir, and two daughters. Mr. Pitt died Feb. 28, 1836. (t>) A memoir of Mr. Taylor has. been given, p. 242. (c) Sir Richard Hussey Bickcrton, bart., K.CB. and K.G., admiral of the red, general of royal marines, F.R.S., &c. This distinguished officer • Mr. Garland, having been a contractor with government at the time of his return, subsequently vacated his seat, and the impediment being removed, he was re-elected. + A double return was made at this election. The candidates were Mr. Jeffery, Mr. Garland, and sir Richard Bickerton. The numbers for the last two were equal ; and a double return being made, a new writ was ordered to be issued, on which sir R. Bickerton was returned. 288 MUNICIPAL HISTORY, was born Oct. 11, 1759, the only surviving son of rear admiral sir Rich- ard Bickerton, M.P. for Rochester. He entered the naval service in Dec, 1771, as a midshipman on hoard the Marlborough, 74, commanded by his father, with whom he removed, in Oct., 1773, into the Princess Augusta, yacht, and from her into the Medway, 60, in which he con- tinued until 177Q, was then sent to the Enterprize frigate, and afterwards joined the Invincible, 74. In Dec, 1777, Mr. Bickerton was made a lieutenant, and soon after accompanied captain Middleton, (afterwards lord Basham,) into the Jupiter, of 50 guns. That ship (then under the command of captain Reynolds), in the bay of Biscay, Oct. 20, 1778, fell in with the Triton, a French line-of-battle ship, with which she sustained an action of three hours: the Frenchman then made sail for Ferrol, where she arrived, with the loss of her captain, and 200 men killed and wounded. For his conduct on this occasion, Bickerton obtained the rank of commander, On the 8th Feb., 1781, he was posted into the Gibraltar, of 80 guns ; and in the skirmish between the British and French fleets, under Hood and De Grasse, on the 29th of April, he com-; manded the Invincible, 74, He was subsequently appointed in succession to the Russell and Terrible, both of 74 guns ; but, finding the latter unfit for service, he exchanged into the Amazon frigate, which was paid off in Feb., 1782t Captain Bickerton was not again called into service until January, 1787, when he commissioned the Sybil, and proceeded to the Leeward islands, where he continued until 1790, On the 25th of Feb., 1792, he succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father. In the following year he commanded the Ruby, 64; and afterwards removed to the Ramillies, 74 ; and cruised with lord Howe in the bay of Biscay, until Oct., 1794. He then took gen. sir John Vaughan to the West Indies, where he continued until July, 1795 ; and was then ordered to New- foundland, whence he returned to England in the November following. During the whole of 1796, sir Richard Bickerton served in the North Sea, under adm. Duncan. In 1797, he was appointed to the Terrible, 74, one of the channel fleet, on which service he continued until pro- moted to the rank of rear-admiral, Feb. 14, 1799. In the autumn of that year, he hoisted his flag at Portsmouth, as assistant port-admiral. On the 13th May, 1800, sir Richard sailed for the Mediterranean, in the Sea-horse, having, as passengers, the great generals Abercromby and Moore, and the late earl of Donoughmore. He was employed for five months in the blockade of Cadiz ; and afterwards in that of the port of Alexandria, until it surrendered to the British arms. On the arrival of the news of peace, he was left, by lord Keith, at Alexandria, to superin- tend the embarkation of the French army; a service which he performed, with great zeal and dispatch. During the peace of Amiens, sir Richard Bickerton commanded in the Mediterranean, with his flag, in the Kent, 74; in 1804, he removed to the Sovereign, a first-rate, in which he was left in command of that station by lord Nelson, when he went in pursuit of the combined squadron to the West Indies. In the spring of 1805, sir MUNICIPAL HISTORY. 289 49 Geo. III. — Benjamin Lester Lester, esq., vice Jeffery, appointed his majesty's consul general at Lisbon. 52 „ Benjamin Lester Lester, esq., — Michael Angelo Taylor, esq. 58 „ Benjamin Lester Lester, — John Dent, esqrs, I Geo. IV.— The same. 7 „ Benjamin Lester Lester, esq., — hon. William Francis Spencer Ponsonby, 1 Win. IV.— The same. 1 „ The same. 2 „ The right hon. lieut.-gen. sir John Byng, K.B., vice Ponsonby, appointed to the stewardship of the Chiltern hundreds. 3 „ Benjamin Lester Lester, esq., — right hon. sir John Byng, K.B. 5 „ The right hon. sir John Byng, K.B. — Charles Augustus Tulk, esq. 5 „ The right hon. George Stevens Byng, vice sir John Byng, created baron Strafford, of Ha rmonds worth. Richard Bickerton was appointed to a seat at the admiralty, which he held until 1812. During this period, viz., 1807, he was elected one of the representatives for the town and county of Poole, for which place he sat until 1812. He then (having attained the rank of vice-admiral in 1805, and full-admiral in 1810,) succeeded sir Roger Curtis as commander-in- chief at Portsmouth, which command he held at the grand naval review, before the prince Regent and allied sovereigns, in 1814. He was nominated K.C., Jan, 2, 1815 ; was appointed lieutenant-general of marines, Jan. 5, 1818; and succeeded his present majesty as general of the same force, in June, 1830. Sir Richard Hussey Bickerton married, at Antigua, Sep. 25, 1788, Anne, daughter of Dr. James Athill, of that island, but had no issue. By his death, which took place, at the Circus, Bath, Feb. 9, 1832, the baronetcy became extinct. 2 P 290 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. County Franchise. — The possessors of the qualification of county electors, in Poole, have always exercised the privilege of voting for representatives of the county of Dorset; though since the creation of the borough as a county corporate, the right to do so became a matter of question which was never brought to issue. The parlia- mentary reform act> however, set at rest all disputes of this kind, by expressly giving to all the counties corporate the right of voting in those counties at large from which they had originally been severed. REMAINS OF THE TOWN WALL.— p. 95. 291 €l)e €ccle£ia£ticat $ijfto*p; The rectory of Poole, with the tithes of Parkstone and Longfleet appurtenant thereto, is impropriate. It is within the royal peculiar^ and exempt jurisdiction of Canford Magna and Poole. The officiating minister is perpetual curate-f*, nominated by the impropriators, and licensed by the official of the peculiar, and requires neither institution nor induction. The church of St. James, Poole, formerly appertained to the parish church of Canford Magna, as a dependant chapel, and, with the mother church, anciently belonged to the lords of the manor. One of these, earl Walter, who, in 1142, founded and endowed the priory of Bradenstoke, in the county of Wilts, seems to have conferred upon that priory some charge upon the church of Canford and its dependencies; for his son, earl Patrick, by charter, without date, grants to the prior and canons of Braden- stoke, inter alia, a residue of the manor of Wilecote, * A peculiar, in the canon law, signifies a particular parish or church that has jurisdiction within itself for granting probates of wills and administrations, exempt from the ordinary and bishop's court. Royal peculiars are exempt from ail spiritual jurisdiction. There are five royal peculiars in Dorsetshire, viz., Canford Magna and Toole, Wimborne Minster, Corfe Castle, Sturminstcr Marshall, and Gillingham. ♦ A perpetual curacy is a spiritual preferment in a church or chapel ; all the tithes and profits whereof are impropriated, and no yicarage endowed. 292 Ecclesiastical history. Wilts, with the church of that town, for the claim which the canons of Bradenstoke had in the church of Canford, and in the chapel of St. Andrew de Seccre [pro calump- nia quam canonic' de Braden' habebant in ecclesiam de Canford, &c] : also, a salt pit [salina] at Canford, at Waldeslete [que est apud Waldesletam]. The church soon afterwards became again part of the possessions of the priory, as William, son of the above Patrick, and next earl, by charter, also without date, for the love of God, and for the welfare of himself and Eleanor de Vitrei, his countess, and for the souls of his father, his mother, and his brother Patrick, and of his ancestors, granted the church of Canford, with all its appurtenances, in pure, perpetual, and free alms, to God and the church of St. Mary, of Bradenstoke, and the brethren serving God there. And by another charter he confirmed the one just recited, as well as all the grants made to the priory by his father and grandfather. All these grants were also allowed and confirmed by Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, whose archiepiscopacy lasted from 1184 to 1191 ; and by Hubert, who held the same office from 1193 to 1207. Hutchins says, but We know not on what authority, that, in 1232, William j earl of Sarum, confirmed all former donations. In 1252, William of York, bishop of Salisbury, with the assent of the dean and chapter of Salisbury, recites and ratifies the grants, inter alia, of the church of Canford with the chapel of Poole, and other chapels belonging to the said church of Canford. The church of Canford, with its dependencies, continued to belong to the priory until the surrender of the possessions of that house, Jan. 8, 1539^. It is probable that, whilst in the possession of the priory, the severance of the chapel of Poole from the church of Canford, and its creation into a distinct rectory, took place. * The surrender of the priory was made Jan. 8, 1539, by William Snow, first dean of Bristol, and last prior of this convent, with thirteen monks. Snow had a pension of £d0 per annum assigned to him. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 293 But of this there is no existing record : and the endowment of the rectory of Poole with the tithes of Parkstone and Long fleet, which, in all likelihood, took place at the same time, is left equally obscure. Perhaps, indeed, no docu- ment to this effect was ever prepared, and the priory, by custom, allotted those tithes to the support of the secular priests who were deputed to celebrate divine worship in the church of Poole, and that church thus acquired a pre- scriptive title to those possessions which was never deemed to require the sanction of express mention in the subsequent leases. There never was a vicarage endowed within the rectory of Poole, but the priory was entitled to all the profits, and became thereby obliged to find a fit curate to perform the spiritual duties of the church. The revenues of the church were generally leased by the priory to some secular priest, who thereupon undertook the duties. The last lease so granted by the prior, bears date Oct. 27, 1529. It demised the church of Poole, with all tithes, oblations, and other profits belonging to the said church, together with the rectory and its appurtenances, to William Birte, chaplain, for his life, at the yearly rent of £12, he covenanting to serve, by himself or some other fit chaplain, divine worship, and to bear the customary and extraordinary charges of the said church and rectory. By the surrender of the priory, with its possessions, in 1539, the churches of Canford and Poole became vested in the crown, and then, doubtless, acquired the exempt privi- leges of a royal peculiar; for in theTaxatio of pope Nicholas, 1291, they are stated to be in Whitchurch deanery, in the archdeaconry of Dorset, in the diocese of Sarum ; and in the Valor of Henry VIII., 1528, they are entered as " Canford and Poole, in the county of Dorset, diocese of Sarum." There is also existing, a will of Henry Bosum, of the town of Poole, containing many bequests for ecclesi- astical purposes, particularly to the fraternity of St. George 294 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. in Poole ; which will is proved in the court of the arch- deacon of Dorset [" coram nobis offic' dm' arch'ni Dors' apud Poole"]. On the decease of Birte, in 1547, letters patent, dated Dec. 20, 1st Edward VJ., were granted to John Han- nam, of Wimborne, gent., in consideration of a fine of £6 13s. 4d. paid by him, demising" to him the "church and rectory of Poole, with the appurtenances; and all tithes, oblations, obventions, pensions, portions, and all other possessions, hereditaments, revenues, and profits whatsoever," for the term of 21 years, at the annual rent of £12 : the lessee covenanting to find a proper chaplain, and to sustain the necessary burthens of the church and rectory. This John Hannam appointed Thomas Hancock, to the curacy, and continued to pay him a yearly stipend in consideration of his services. Nov. 9, 1566, 8th Eliz., on the surrender of these letters patent, her majesty, in consideration of the surrender, and for the better support of the curate, and that the cure of souls within the parish of Poole might in future be better performed, demised unto Matthew Haviland, clerk, the church and rectory, with the appurtenances (reserving to the crown " the advowson of the vicarage"), for the term of 21 years, at the yearly rent of £12^. Haviland, however, by a deed poll, bearing date Jan, 20, 1568-9, demised the church and rectory, for the remainder of his term, to " the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty of the town and county of Poole ;" and, Feb. 14, in the same year, the queen confirmed this deed by demising the premises to the corporation for the term of 21 years, commencing from the feast of St. Michael the archangel then last past, with the same rent, exceptions, covenants, and conditions, as were contained in the preceding deeds. * In the particulars for leases preserved in the Augmentation Office, we find the following memorandum respecting this demise : — " The premisses are scarce able to fynde a convenient ministre as ap'eth by testyraoniall from the towne of Poole:" and for this reason no fine was demanded. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 295 Dec. 16, 1584, on the surrender of the last lease, the queen demised the church, rectory, &c, to the corporation, for a further term of 21 years, subject to the same rent and conditions ; but on account of their having newly built the parsonage house, she remitted the fine^. April 16, 1606, James I., by letters patent, demised the church, rectory, and other premises, to the same corpora- tion, for the further term of 40 years, under the yearly rent of £12 16s., and with a fine of £12-f-. Prior to the expiration of this term, viz., May 9, 1633, Charles I., granted, by letters patent, to Thomas Aston and Henry Herryman, in trust, for the countess of Anglesea and her heirs, in fee farm, for ever, the rectory, advowson, church, and all its appurtenances, including all tithes, &c, " as well in the aforesaid town and county of Poole, as in the county of Dorset, to the aforesaid rectory and church of Poole belonging," reserving to the crown a fee farm rent of £12 16s. ; the grantees covenanting to provide a preacher, pay his stipend, and maintain the chancel, houses, &c. In the same year, June 5, Aston and Herryman, with the countess of Anglesea, conveyed the rectory, &c, to Thomas Smithby, of London, in consideration of £256 paid to the said countess, to be applied in discharge of her husband's debts. By a feoffment, bearing date Sep. 1, 1650, Thomas • The following memorandum is from the particulars in the Augmentation Office : ♦'The profitte of the said parsonage (as I am enformed) little surmounteth her mattes yerely rent, and in consideracon that the maior and burgeses of Poole did covenaunte to fynde a sufficient curate or preacher during the terme above mencioned (xxj yers) to serve the cure there, they had the same wthout fyne, which nowe alsoe they are humble sutors to yor hono r they maye in like sort have as well for the consideracons aforesaid as for that I am enformed by Robert Freke, gent. , her maties surveyor of the said countie, that they have (to their great charge) newe buylded the p'sonage howse there, wch was in great decaye, w& the said burgeses have heretofore by their sondrie l'res made knowen to yor hono r ." •t In the particulars in the Augmnetation Office is the following entry :— " The clere yerlie value of the p'misses xij.li. " The increase of rent one sheepe valued at xvj.s. "The ffyneone yere's rent , xij.li." 296 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. Smithby and Martha his wife, conveyed the rectory, &c, to Haviland Hiley, then mayor of the town of Poole, George Skutt, William Williams, Aaron Durell, William Skutt, Richard Dolbery, George Skutt, jun., Lawrence Gigger, Moses Durell, Peter Hall, John Powell, and Robert Cleeves, all merchants of Poole, for £100, " and divers other good causes and considerations." May 30, 1692, Moses Durell, the sole survivor of the above-named grantees, conveyed the rectory, &c, to Shadrach Beall, the then mayor, John Carter, William Philips, William Street, William Hooper, Peter Hiley, Moses Durell, jun., William Pike, Thomas Smith, Shadrach Beall, jun., Joseph Wadham, and Thomas Young. The indenture by which this conveyance was effected, stated the above purchase from Smithby and his wife to have been designed by the purchasers for the benefit and advantage of the town and county, and that the issues and profits should be disposed of by the mayor, magistrates, and burgesses, to such public uses as they should think fit : and that Durell, being, by right of survivorship, solely seised of the rectory and premises, to the intent that the trust might be fulfilled, conveyed the rectory, &c, to the above-named individuals, in trust for the mayor, magis- trates, and burgesses, for £44 12s., moneys of the corpora- tion, and which sum is said in the indenture to have been expended by Durell about the rectory and premises. Since the execution of this deed, the rectory, &c, remained in the possession of the select corporate body : not, however, without expensive litigation on proceedings taken by the parishioners at large, who, by a bill filed in chancery, in 1789, claimed the possession of the rectory, &c, for the purpose of exercising the right of nomination. They founded this claim on the deed of 1650, contending that the sum of £100, the consideration mentioned in that indenture, was the proper money of the parishioners at large, and raised from voluntary contributions, by collect ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 297 tions made from house to house ; and that the purchase was therefore made by Hiley and his co-grantees, in trust, and for the benefit of the parishioners. The corporation, however, denied these allegations ; and contended, on the other hand, that the said sum of £100 was actually advanced by Hiley and the other grantees out of their own money : and, in support of this statement, they cite a draft of an agreement, still in the corporation chest, made between Hiley and his co-grantees, about the time of the purchase, touching the management and disposition of the rectory, &c„ in which the several proportions of the pur- chase money paid by each of them are particularly stated, and by which it appears to have been agreed that, in the direction and management of the rectory, &c, each of the grantees should have one or more voices, in proportion to the sums respectively advanced by them : and it is stated that the receiver of the revenues should pay off the purchase money, by instalments, in six years ; and that during those six years, the residue of the profits, and afterwards the whole of the rents and revenues should be employed and disposed of, either to the benefit of the said church of Poole, or to other pious uses, — Two commissions were opened at Poole for the examination of witnesses, and the cause was heard before lord Thurlow, in Michaelmas term, 1791, when the complainants were ordered to find out the heir-at-law of the surviving trustee of the deed of 1692, This they were unable to do ; and the bill was dismissed with costs, in Hilary term, 1695. The fee-farm rent of £12 16s., reserved by the crown in the grant to Aston and Herryman, appears to have been subsequently granted by the crown to private individuals, by whom (probably by Anthony Ettricke, formerly re- corder of the borough) it was dispersed in the following manner, in which it has been paid by the corporation for a great number of years past : — 2 Q 298 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. To the poor of St. Margaret's hospital, at Wimborne, ) £ s. d. being a part of a charitable donation of the rev. W. > 9 16 Stone, to that institution \ To the churchwardens of Wimborne, for the repair of? , n n Anthony Ettricke's tomb \ L u u To the fellows of Queen's college, Oxford, to be spent in ) wine and tobacco on the fifth of November, yearly, > 2 (Ettricke's Pcenitentia) ) 12 16 The following is the entry, relative to this parish, in the Inquisitiones Nonarum, under date of April 20, 14th Edw. III. [1340]. "P'och' de P'le in com' Dors'.— Walt's Doge Thorn' Langford' A'd' Langford' Joh' Chacccroft Joh' Cobbe & Nich's le Reve p'och' ibid'in jur' p'sent q'd ecc'a ibid'm no' tax' s' val' p' annu' iiij u - Et die' q'd ix a p's garb' veil' & agn' val' p' a'm lxxiij 3 iiij d . Et no' plusq' residua' valor' ecce ejusdem consistit in d'nic' t'ris & p't in dot' ejusd'm dec' lini' feni et al' ininut' dec' oblat' obvent' val' p' annu' xijs x<3. " S'ni ix e p'tis lxxiij 8 iiijd."^ In the Taxatio Ecclesiastica-f- of Pope Nicholas [circ 1291], Poole is not separately mentioned, being doubtless included in the entries for Canford, which are as follows : viz., under the head of Spiritualities, " Diocese of Sarum — Archdeaconry of Dorset — Whit- church Deanery.— Taxatio. Tenths. " The church of Canford, 13 6 8—1 6 8 " The vicarage of the same, . . 6 13 4-0 13 4" * The object of this record was to ascertain the value of the nona, or ninth part of the corn, fleeces, and lambs, in each parish ; that portion having been granted to the king, as a temporary aid to him', in his wars with France. + In the year 1288, pope Nicholas IV. granted the tenths to king Edward I. for six years, towards defraying the expense of an expedition to the Holy Land: and that they might be collected to their full value, a taxation by the king's precept was begun in the same year, and finished as to the province of Canterbury, in 1291, and as to that of York, in the following year ; the whole being under the direction of John, bishop of Winton, and Oliver, bishop of Lincoln. This taxation is a most important record, because all the taxes, as well to our kings as the popes, were regulated by it, until the survey made in the 26th of Henry VIII. ; and because the statutes of colleges which were founded before the reformation, are also interpreted by this criterion, according to which their benefices, under a certain value, are exempted from the restriction in the statue 21st Henry VIII., concerning pluralities. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 299 And under the head of Temporalities, " Canford (the priory of Bradenstoke) 2 0—0 4 In the Valor Ecclasiasticus* of Henry VIJ1. [1534], is the following entry : — " Bradenstoke priory. " Canford and Poole, in the county of Dorset, diocese of Sarum. " The rent of assize to the same per annum, £22 13 4. " Without deductions." The return for Poole to the commission of 1650 is wanting-f*. At that period Poole was not included in the return for Canford ; and in the return for this latter place is the*following passage relative to the tithes of Parkstone and Longfleet : — " And, whereas, there is over and above this above s d the tythes of Parkson and Longfleete, being within this parish of Great Canford, which s d tythe is paid to Poole, in what right we know not, to the value of £20 per annum, or * The Valor Ecclesiasticus is a kind of Domesday of church property, taken pur- suant to commissions issued 26th Henry VIII., for the purpose of ascertaining the whole and true value of all possessions, as well spiritual as temporal, belonging to any manor of dignity, monastery, priory, &c, iu England, Wales, Calais, and the Marches. The importance of this record, which is the return of the commissioners into the Exchequer, to a writ of king Henry VIII., dated 30th January, 26th of his reign, and to instiuctions pu-uant to that writ, signed by the king himself, is generally known, and acknowledged. By this reeord, sometimes called the king's books, the true annual value of rec- tories, and vicarages, at the time of taking this survey is fixed ; and the first fruits and tenths due to the crown, are charged accordingly. It is the criterion also, by which is determined what livings were then under episcopal jurisdiction ; other livings, not there recorded, being considered as donative : but its greatest utility is that which is, iu some respect, ecjualiy applicable with respect to the Nona Roll, viz., that by ascertaining what are rectorial, and what vicarial tithes, the chasm of evidence occasioned by the loss of endowment, is supplied. •* April 3, 1650, a commission was directed to several officers of the commonwealth, and thirty-six gentlemen of the county, to enquire on oath into the number and veaa-ly value of rectories, vicaiages, &c, with or without cure of souls ; names of incumbents or proprietors ; who supplied the cure, and at what salary ; and what churches or chapels were fit to be united, and what to be separated ; pursuant to an act made 8th June, 1649, for providing maintenance for preaching minis ters. The returns were made into chancery, and are now in the Rolls chapel. They are also in the archbishop's library at Lambeth, in eighteen thick folio volumes, but in no Tegular order. The originals are said to have been burnt in the fire of London. About 21 returns were never brought in. 300 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. upwards ; and we do desire that it may be p d to our owti minister, being in our own parish." In the report of the ecclesiastical commissioners [1835], Poole is returned as a perpetual curacy, of the annual value of £307, on an average of the three years, ending Dec. 31,1831. The revenues of the rectory consist of the tithes of Parkstone and Longfleet, and the rent of an allotment Under the enclosure act of the 45th of Geo. III. A ques- tion has arisen, upon the deed of 1692, how far the corpo- ration were entitled to apply the profits of the rectory either to their own general purposes or to any other object, except that of supporting the curate, and the buildings which they were bound to repair. The practice of the corporation varied from time to time in its mode of dealing with this trust, and the interests which arise under it. Until 1807, the tithe account, as it is called, was blended with the general corporate account. In that year a separate account was, for the first time, kept, and has been continued to the present day. In the same year a resolution passed, that the curate should have the surplus of the tithes* In Feb., 1814, this resolution was rescinded, and the surplus was made applicable to the debts charged upon the fund. In November of that year, it was deter- mined that £200 a year should be paid annually to the perpetual curate out of the produce of the tithes, during the then existing leases. Those leases have expired, but the incumbent has continued to be paid on the same footing ; and there is also an annual vote of £100, to enable him to provide a curate. Both the mode and the amount of payment were, in earlier times, much varied. The leases by the priory and by the crown were occasionally granted to priests who served the cure and maintained themselves on the profits, as in the instances of Birte and Haviland. In 1568, just previous to a lease to the corporation, it may be presumed ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 301 that the stipend of the curate was insufficient, as an order was then made by the corporation, that every merchant and inhabitant within the town of Poole, freighting* any ship or bark crossing the seas in trade, should agree with the master or owner of such ship or bark, that the said master or owner should allow and pay out of every pound due for such freight, fourpence, which should be imme- diately paid to the mayor for the time being, to be appropriated to the preacher of God's word within the town. This payment has long fallen into disuse. Whilst Mr. Smithby held the rectory, it would appear that he appropriated the revenues without providing a competent allowance to the curate ; for, June 21, 1648, it was ordered by the house of commons, '-that it be referred to the committee for plundered ministers, to send for Mr. Smithby who has the impropriation of Poole; and to treat and confer with him upon the making, out of the profits thereof, some competent allowance to a preaching minister in the said parish, as hath formerly been used." In 1668, the corporation agreed to pay £15 per quarter to the rev. S. Hardy, during his curacy. In 1689, an order was made by thefcorporation, that the rev. John Russell should be paid £52 per annum, to be collected in the customary manner, and any deficiency was to be made good out of the town revenues. After the last date, it was the practice of the corporation, in their rectorial capacity, to lease the tithes to the curate at some low or nominal rent, as a roasting-pig or a pepper-corn, a practice that generally prevailed almost down to 1707. The official of Canford Magna and Poole is appointed by the lord of the manor. The rev. C. Bowie is the present official. 302 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY* PERPETUAL CURATES. 1. William Birte was appointed curate of this church in a lease granted to him by the priory of Bradenstoke, bearing- date Oct. 27, 1529.* On his death, in 1546, 2. Thomas Hancock was nominated by the crown. In what college or hall of Oxford, Thomas Hancock was a student, or whether he took any higher degree than that of B.A., 1532, does not appear. After he left that university, he retired to his native county, Hampshire, being born at or near Christchurch Twynham, and became a diligent preacher of the gospel, and a declaimer against papal abuses, in the latter years of the reign of Henry VIII., insomuch that Ms mouth being stopped by a strict inhibition of bishop Gardiner, he would preach in the diocese of Sarum, and being prohibited by Sallcott, bishop of that diocese, he was, in the beginning of the reign of Edward VI., countenanced and licensed to proceed in his preaching by archbishop Cranmer. At that time many zealous preachers of the gospel, without staying for public orders from above, did, in confutation of the sacrifice of the mass, and the corporal presence in the sacrament, and such, shew their good intentions to new learning, as it was then called. In Southampton, of the diocese'bf Winchester : in Salisbury, Poole, and Dorset, of the diocese of Salisbury, did this Hancock chiefly converse and officiate, in the latter end of the reign of Henry VIII., at which time he was suspended "a celebratione divinorum" by Dr. Robert Reynold, commissary under Dr. Steward, their chan- cellor under Gardiner, on pretence of the breach of the act of the six articles, because he had undertaken to prove, out of Hebrews ix., that our Saviour, Christ, once entered into the holy place, by which he obtained everlasting redemption, &c. — Vide Strype's Memorials of Cranmer, b. ii., c. 7 ; and Wood's Fasti Oxoniensis, v. i., p. 51. 3. Thomas Long occurs 1554. He was buried at Poole, Oct. 10, 1557. 4. Simon Berwyke was then appointed. He had been previously a monk in the abbey at Cerne. 5. John Seywarde succeeded in 1559. 6. Matthew Haviland served the cure, under the lease granted to him in 1566. The preaching of Haviland appears to ^have. been obnoxious to the town, as the mayor and others procured for him, June 12, 1570, from the treasurer of the cathedral of Wells, who was patron of the perpetual vicarage of Martock, the presentation to the said vicarage for one term, conditionally that the then incumbent should resign ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. the same, at the ensuing Christmas. On the resignation of the incumbent, at Christmas, however, Haviland declined acceptance of that vicarage ; and it is said that he was thereupon deprived. 7. Robert Ryckman was nominated in the room of Haviland. 8. Robert Fossey succeeded him in 1580. 9. Richard Marcan was nominated in 1581, on the resignation of Fossey. 10. William Hiley was nominated in 1582. He was buried June 22, 16! 1 ; and was succeeded by 11. Nicholas Jeffery, who was buried March 9, 1624. 12. Henry Anketel, on the death of Jeffery. 13. Swithin Cleeves, in 1630. He was at the same time, rector of Lytchett Matravers, having been instituted to that rectory 1615, and possessed of it until his death, 1657. He had resigned the curacy of Poole, previous to his death. 14. Josiah White, in 1642. He was nephew to the rev. John White, of Dorchester, who was conspicuous in the affairs of the Cromwellian rebellion. He died 16-13, and was buried here, Nov. 10th of that year. 15. John Gundv, in 1643, on the death of White. 16. Owfield, in 1645. 17. John Haddesley, on the resignation of Mr. Owfield, in 1647. He was nominated by Mr. Smithby, the then impropriator of the rectory. Mr. Haddesley was one of the divines ousted in 1650, by Cromwell, by whom he was imprisoned at Poole. He had £30 16s. allowed him out of lord Digby's estate, and died minis- ter of a dissenting congregation at Salisbury, 1699. On the ouster of Mr. Haddesley, from the perpetual curacy of Poole, a curious correspondence took place between the town and col. Rede, its military governor, (it being then garrisoned by the parliamentary forces,) who had endeavoured to force upon the town, a favourite of his own, Mr. Gardiner, as a curate. The inhabitants of Poole, however, determined to resist external interference, equally in ecclesiastical as in civil matters, objected to the nomination of Mr. Gardiner, and drew up the following petition, which was presented to Mr. Wm. Williams, then mayor, by major George Scutt, and Mr. Cromwell, on Monday, Dec. 30, 1650; on which the ensuing correspondence took place. " To the right worshipful the mayor, and aldermen of the towne and county of Poole. "The humble petition of the godly engaged party of the towne and county aforesaid. 304 ecclesiastical history. "Right worshipful; We, the inhabitants of this towne and " members of Jesus Christ haveing more than probable grounds "that it is the designe of our military governourto impose Mr. " Gardiner to be the pastor or teacher over us, and knowing that in " the judgment both of the presbyterians and independents (the " same agreeing with reason, right justice, and primitive practize) " We togeather with you, have a right to call or obiect against him " that is to watch over vs, and haveing much to obiect against the " said Mr. Gardiner both in the poynts of practice and doctrine,—- " Doe humbly pray you, " 1st. That you would meete together and consider of this " our petition. " 2nd. That you would signify the matter of this our peti- " tion vnto our military governour. " 3rd. That you would (on your owne and our behalfe) " desyre the governour to forbeare to prosecute the designe of " Mr. Gardiner any further ; That soe we may not loose our right '* by the power of the sword ; but that all occasions of clashing " betwixt the military and civill power, the people and souldyery " of the garrison, may be prevented in the tyme of this comon " danger, and that we and they may in a way of loue soe walke " togeather as that we may ioin (as hitherto) cordially for the " preservation of this towne against the enemy. " 4th. That if the governour will not desist you would, " according to your and our right, oppose the said Mr, Gardiner "as a pastor and teacher over us. And we shall humbly pray, " &c." This petition was " subscribed vnto by about 6 skora and 12 hands." In consequence of this petition, the following letter was sent to the governor : — " Honoured sir,— We haveing received a petition from the " inhabitants of this towne, and vppon consideration of the matter " findeing it to be iust, reasonable, and godly, and knowing the " ground of their desyre is true; doe therefore in our owne and " the names of the petitioners desyre you that you would forbeare " any farther to prosecute the designe of haveing Mr. Gardiner " our pastor or teacher, and that you would forbeare by force to " impose him any more vppon vs that soe you and your souldiry " and we and our fellow townesmen may each of vs keep our " right and places and all of vs walk in a way of loue for the " security and defence of this garrison (for whose preservation " Godh'ath made vs much instrumental hitherto in tyme of danger " against all enemyes of this comon wealth) according to our " engagement. But if you will endeavour to sett Mr. Gardiner over " vs we then must tell you that it will be you and not we that " will cause a disturbance and diuision, and that we are resolued " to oppose the sayd Mr. Gardiner to the vttmost of our power *' according to the desyre of the people. We haue noe more, sir, " but to craue your answere in writing, and that we are, sir, your "humble servants " William Williams, mayor, " George Skutt, " Aron Durell, " The 30th of Dec, " Haviland Hiley, " 1650." « William Skutt." ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 306 To this letter the governor sent the subjoined answer: " Gent ; — Yours of the 30th instant received, vnto which you " desyre my answere in writeing, I doe most willingly answere in " as much breuity as I may. And first I acknowledge that long " synce I did sett my hand vnto a certificate on the behalfe of " Mr. Gardiner, touching what he had beene (in general termes) " and how he had liued dureing the time of these late troubles, " vntil now, and for that the minister of your towne was outted " by a special order, and the people destitute of one to teach them, " did with others request that he might be authorized to exercise " his gifts as minister to this congregation, but in truth I never " did intend him for this worke any longer then one more meete " and answereable vnto your desyres and some others whom it " chiefly concerneth could be found out and settled among you, " yet in my judgment (whatsoever you or others doe yet imagine) " God is much to be admired for the gift of knowledg and vtter- " ance he hath bestowed vppon that man, if we consider seriously u the meane and low condition out of which he hath brought him, " and what haue we that we haue not receiued. Agayne you " desyre that I should forbeare by force to impose him any more " vppon you. I doe assure you that in this you take that for " graunted which never yet was donne. Yet if you hint at the " day when Mr. Gawping was procured by the maior to preach, " giue me leaue to tell you when the late thanksgiueing day " came, October 8th, to be obserued, Mr. maior (as his duty was) " prouided no man, but I was driuen to desyre Mr. Gardiner to " preach and gett the act published, and if he had not thaught, " then no man had, and of this the maior could be sylent as to " me. Therefore when I knew Mr. Hadsley was outted by ** specyall order, I spake tymely enough to Mr. Gardiner to " preach the next Lord's day ensueing, and of which I sent the " maior notice on the Thursday before, yet he on the Friday (as " it seems) spake to Mr. Gawpin which shewes had his spirit " beene as quiett as it might be might (as well for that tyme) " have spared his labour, as on the 8th October. But this it " befalls men when selfe leades them and not righteous princi- " pies. Now such principles as are iust and righteous must be " the grounds on which the townsmen and souldyers must be " vnited, else our peace will not be lasting, but breake in the " midst of triall. Therefore, I declare, if euer any minister be " imposed vppon you, I shall haue no hand in it (knowing it to " be a truth manifested to those that believe) but rather shall " earnestly desyre that your vnderstandinge may be enlightned " and your hearts drawne forthe to choose vnto you such a pastor " as is both approued of God and all such godly men as desyre " that profession should be wayghed in the ballance of the sanc- " tuary, which is according to the rules of the scriptures, and thus " walkeing we may be sure that our hands shalbe strong against " all opposition, and we shalbe vnited as one man serueing the " Lord with one shoulder, and this comon wealth, in our seuerall " places with one consent, with truth and faithfullnesse, accord- (t ing to the engagement, This (if the Lord will) shalbe the reall " practize resolution and desyre of " deare friends, " yours & the comon wealth's " faythfull friend & seruant, " Poole, Dec. 13, 1650. " J. EEDE." 2 R 306 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY* " For the right wor'p'll " Mr. Wm. Williams, maior, " George Skutt, Aaron Durell, " Haviland Hiley, and William " Skutt, esquires, in Poole, these." The remonstrance of the town thus had full effect ; and Mr. Gardiner does not appear to have been ever established in the curacy. 18. Thomas Thackham, in 1650, on the ouster of HacU desley. 19. Samuel Hardy, in 1667. Mr. Hardy was a native of Frampton, Dorset, where he was born, 1636. He appears to have been bred a nonconformist; for, although he studied atWadham college, Oxford, he was dismissed from the college because he would not take the oaths, when about to take the degree of M.A. He then went to Charminster, near Dorchester, which is a peculiar, belonging, at that time, to the family of the Trenchards, a branch of whom lived at Wolveton, close to Charminster. The minister there was, at that time, a kind of chaplain to that family ; he is neither rector nor vicar, nor does he take any institution or induction. Mr. Hardy continued in this place some years after the Bartholomew act, being pro- tected from the bishop's courts by its being a peculiar, and from the justices by the favour of the Trenchards, and by occasional conformity, reading the scripture sentences, the creed, command- ments, lessons, prayer for the king, &c. His moral character at this time appears to have been estimable ; and Calamy says, " Dr. Bridoke, the archdeacon, once came to Mr. Trenchard, and, after saying many good things of Mr. Hardy, began to persuade him that he might be instituted and inducted; which Mr. Trench- ard strongly opposed. Mr. Kent, this archdeacon's successor, had also a peculiar respect for Mr. Hardy, and proved his pro- tector. In this station Mr. Hardy, besides other good services, had an opportimity of doing something towards forming the minds of several young gentlemen in his patron's family; among whom was sir John Trenchard, who was afterwards secretary of state. He had a peculiar freedom in addressing persons of high rank, without anything of rusticity. When lord Brooke lay on his death bed, he went to him, and spoke to this effect: — "My lord, you of the nobility are the most unhappy men in the world; nobody dares come near you to tell you of your faults, or put you in the right way to heaven." Hereby he paved the way for dealing closely with his lordship, without giving him any offence. After Mr. Hardy had lived at Charminster a considerable time, the inhabitants of Poole invited him to that living, which was also a peculiar. He accepted of it, and there preached, prayed, and conversed, in the same manner as he did before. His sturdy nonconformity here appears to have been highly displeasing to the royalists; but this place also being freed from episcopal jurisdic^ ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 307 lion, there was some difficulty in the way of procuring his removal- Several endeavours, however, were made to entrap him. One, says Calamy, by a person who desired him to baptize his child. If he had used the Common Prayer, the conformists would have gloried in gaining him. If he had not used it, they would have articled against him and got him out. But archdeacon Kent happening to come to the town that day, Mr. Hardy applied to him to baptize the child for him, who readily consented, and so for the present the storm blew over. At this time a member of parliament was to be chosen for Poole. The earl of Shaftesbury, then lord chancellor, was very urgent to have his son elected. Mr. Hardy opposed him, and Mr. Trenchard was chosen. The chancellor Avas incensed, and wrote a very angry letter to Mr. Hardy. When he went to London, he was advised to wait upon the chancellor, and make his peace ; which he accordingly did, and behaved himself so that the chancellor was very well pleased, and ever afterwards spoke respectfully of him. His notoriety and popularity were such at this time as to prove very offensive to the royalists of the neighbouring places in Dorset, and we accordingly find that, in 1681, the grand jury of that county made the follow- ing presentment on the subject to one of the judges of assize : — ' k Item, — wee pr'sent the towne and county of Poole, within this county, beeing incorporated by charter, and a peculiar, governed, we feare, by a merceneary official, is a great hinderance to the execution of the lawes both civill and eclesiastical : all debtors flying thither for sanctuary from ,our county, as [to an] asylum; wiiich is further aggrevated in regard to y e [greal] number of the towns men all knowne to be ob[stynatt] opposers of his maj ts governm* influenced by the [seditious] preach- ing of one Samuell Hardy, an hired non-conformist preacher, who, for att least twelve yeares last past, hath made use of the church of y e said towne, as a conventicle, readeing little or none of y e litturgie of y e church of England; to whome multitudes of his maj ts disaffected subjects within this county doe constantly resort, the previledges of the said towne exempting the s d Hardy and them from punishment ; and therefore wee humbly beeseech yo r l d shipp to pr'sent this our great grievance to his maj 1 ^ and bee- seech him in his princely wisdom to think of some expedient for the redresse thereof." At the same time, too, a complaint was made to the king, by Allen Skutt and others, inhabitants of the town of Poole, setting forth that Hardy did not conform to the established church, inasmuch as he did not wear the surplice, omitted the sign of the cross in baptism, and did divers other things contrary to the rules of the church of England. In consequence of this presentment and complaint, a commission was issued to enquire into the matter, and the allegations being fully proved, Hardy was ousted by the following decrees ; which, as such proceedings in royal peculiars have been rare, are subjoined at length :■ — " Charles II., by the grace of God, &c. To our beloved in Christ, the mayor and community of our town and county of 308 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. Poole, -within our peculiar ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Canford Magna and Poole, in our county of Dorset i also to every one whom it may concern, the ministers, chaplains, curates, &c, of our church and chapel of Poole, in our jurisdiction of Canford, nominated and appointed hy our commissioners of the great seal, "before appointed in a certain matter of office against Samuel Hardy, minister of Poole, rightly to proceed against him for his manifest and incorrigible offences and disobedience* neglect of office, and not executing the same, contrary to the ecclesiastical laws of England, and canons, required in his oath made and sub* scribed at his admission into the said church, for the cure of souls of the inhabitants of Poole aforesaid : they do decree him to be deposed, removed, and deprived, by a definitive sentence, of all profits and emoluments from the church or chapel of Poole ; and the Said Samuel Hardy is hereby deprived according to noticej and the office is hereby declared vacant : lest the said church or chapel should be without a clerk for the cure of souls of the inhabitants of Poole, to administer spirituals, and administer the lawful rights within the same, we do, by the authority aforesaid, authorize them to meet and choose some fit and able man into the said church, &c, from the which the said Samuel Hardy is for ever deprived, &c. Dated 3rd of Aug., 34th of our reign, 1682." This was accompanied by the denunciation or declaration of the sentence to be done at Canford, as follows:— " Charles, &c.—To our beloved in Christ, the venerable . William Raven, clerk, of Great Canford, within our peculiar eccle^ siastical jurisdiction of Poole and Great Canford, in our county of Dorset, or his curate for the time being, SaluteminDeo. Whereas our commissioners against Samuel Hardy, do declare, pronounce, and decree, for his incorrigible offences and disobedience, neglect of office, &c, contrary to the ecclesiastical laws and canons of the church required, and oath subscribed, at his taking on him the cure of souls of the inhabitants of Poole, we do, by a definitive sentence, decree the said Samuel Hardy to be removed, deposed, and deprived from his office and function of the cure of souls, on any Lord's day or festival, and all profits and emoluments arising to him, and there publicly to be pronounced before the people, which you must do effectually, under pain of our contempt, and the penalty of the law; and what you have done in the premises ye are to certify to us, our commissioners, and those who are present/' Dated as above. On his ejectment, Mr. Hardy went to Badsley, where he continued two years, but met with much trouble for not conforming to the canons; after which he never preached in public again. He then became chaplain in the house of > Heal, esq., at Overy Hatch, in Essex. After spending two years in that situation, he went to /Newbury, in Berkshire, where he died, March 6, 1691, aged 54. He took great delight in doing good ; and, whilst at Poole, col- lected nearly £500, for the purpose of redeeming captives from slavery. His published works are ' A Guide to Heaven,* and 'Advice to Scattered Flocks.' 20. Robert Howson, in 1682, on the ouster of Hardy. 21. John Russell, in 1685, on the resignation of Howson. He was appointed preacher at St. John's, Wapping, in 1691, and thereupon resigned the curacy of Poole. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 309 22. James Hand, in 1691, on the resignation of Russell. 23. William Churchey, in 1692, on the death of Hand. 24 Daniel Hyde, in 1702, on the death of Churchey.^ 25. John Conant, in 1705, on the resignation of Hyde. 26. Christopher Derby, in 1720, on the death of Conant. He Avas also rector of Hook, Dorset. 27. Richard Derby, in 1734, on the death of his brother Christopher. Richard Derby was the eldest son of the rev. "William Derby, rector of Durweston* He was collated vicar of Turnworth, Sep. 1, 1716, and was afterwards vicar of Hilton, and minister of Poole. He died 1748. In 1717, he printed an assize sermon from Ps. cxxii. 6. 28. John Culme, M.A., in 1748, on the death of Rich- ard Derby. He was a fellow of Wadham college; and besides holding the perpetual curacy of Poole, was vicar of Old Cleeve, Somerset, and rector of More Critchell, Dorset. He died in 1755. 29. William Nairn, Oct. 15, 1755, on the death of Culme. Mr. Nairn was also vicar of Hindon, Wilts. 30. Samuel Fawconer, June 29, 1767, on the death of Nairn. 31. William Davis, Feb. 25, 1788, on the death of Fawconer.-}- 32. Peter William Jolliffe, M.A., May 4, 1791, on the resignation of Davis. * On the vacancy in the cure occasioned by the death of Churchey, sir William Phippard and the surviving feoffees named in the deed of 1692, claimed as such the right of nominating the curate, and appointed the rev. Mr. Mayo. The corporation, however, appointed the rev. Mr. Hyde, who was licenced by the official : on which an appeal was entered in the high court of delegates, and sundry proceedings were undertaken, and a great number of witnesses were examined under a commission issued for the purpose ; but judgment was never pronounced, the matter being dropped by the appellants. + It was on the vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr. Fawconer, that the legal proceedings took place spoken of p. 296. 310 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. THE CHURCH stands near the western extremity of the towm It is dedi- cated to St. James, and was anciently, as before stated* a chapel of ease to Canford, though for several ages it has been an independent church. It is surrounded by a spa- cious churchyard, and stands on the site on which for seven centuries, the successive generations of the inhabitants of Poole have worshipped at the altars of their God. The present edifice, which has been erected of late years, replaced an ancient and venerable structure, consisting of a body, two aisles, and a tower ; with a chancel divided only from the higher end of the body by rails. The body was the most ancient part of the building, and was the old chapel of St. James. The south aisle was of equal length with the body, and thought, by many merchants' marks and devices on the north side, to have been built about the time of Edward IV. The north aisle was built about the year 1500, at the charge of James Haviland and Helena his wife, as appeared by an inscription over one of the arches. In 1509, John Bedford willed to be buried in the cemetery of St. James's church, in Poole, and gave £10 to it. In 1517, William Mesurer, of this place, appointed his body to be buried in our lady aisle, in this parish church, if he died here ; and bequeathed, to the making of the new rood-loft and tower of the said church, all such money as rested unpaid at the hour of his death of the £20 he pro- mised to the edifying this fabric. From this it would appear that the " handsome tower and cupola," which had been descried by the Spanish invaders under Pero Nino a century before, were then about to be re-edified. Several altars were anciently founded in this church, dedicated to different saints, and each served by a separate priest. At the time of the reformation, this church was rich in plate, ornaments, vestments, &c, as we find from an ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 311 inventory, dated Nov. 30, 1545 : — " McT that one the laste daye of Nowe'byre and in the xxxvij yer of the rayne of kinge Henry the viij th and in the yer of oure lord God 1545, a invytory takyn owte of all jewellys and orneme'ts helongy'g to the churche of Pole, in presens of Thomas Whyt the eldyr then beyng mayr, Rychard Havyland, Wyly'm Havyland, and Thomas Gylleford, then beynge one of the churche wardens for y l yere. In primis A gret chaless* for the hye awter dowbull gylte. It' a nother small chaless for the hye awter for eu'y daye. It' mor i chales for seynt Gorges awterf dowbull gylt. It' mor i c-hales p'sell gyltt yt Richard Havyla'ds preste sy'vyth w^all. It' mor yt daye i chales p'sell gyltt yt Thomas Whytts preste sy'vyth w*all. It' mor yt daye i chales p'sell gyltt yt sir Tailar^ sy'vyth w tll all. Md' yt Wylya' Bedylcome & Jamys Mesnrer owt' a chales p'sell gyltt yt Wyll'm Mesewrer lost of the churche when he was robbyd. S'ma vij chales. Md' yt one yt daye was of y e churche store a fayre crosse dowbull gyltt e'amelyd w th a Mary and John. It' mor ther ys a small crosse of sylwer for eu'y daye. It' mor a payr of ca'styckes of sylwer p'sell gyltt. It' mor ij pyxe§ of syluer p'se' gyltt. It' ij sensers|| of syluer p'sell gyltt. It' i oyle vate of sylw'r. It' i schyppU of sylwer to put in fronkensensse in. It' i spone of sylwer to put yn y e sensse to sensse w* all. It' a pyxe of sylwer to put ye sakyrme't yn dowbull gyltt. It' mor a smaler pyxe of sylwer dowbull gyltt to bear the sakyrme't in. * It appears that a chalice as well as a priest was appropriated to each altar. + The altar belonging to the fraternity of St. George^ of which a particular notice will be given in a future page. X Brysse Tailar, a priest. One who has taken his first degree in the university is, in the academical style, called Dominus, and, in common language, was anciently termed Sir. \ The pixes, or little chests in which the consecrated host was kept, were fre- quently enchased, and otherwise ornamented, in a very costly manner. From this word is derived a ludicrous expression, still used by the lower orders, viz., "please the pigs." The Romanists were much addicted to adjuration, and frequently trans- ferred their prayers from the consecrated host to its receptacle: thus their "if it please the pix," was synonymous with the more modern ejaculation " if it please God ;" and when, after the reformation, the pix fell into general disuse, the expres- sion became easily corrupted into the above vulgarism. |] Censers. Vessels to burn frankincense in. IT A small vessel, in the shape of a boat, to hold the frankincense. 312 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. It 5 mor ther ys hongy'g ou'r ye canopy of the lesse pyxe xix belly s of sylwer dowbull gyltt. It' ther ys mor ij old crossys of brasse. Also ther ys mor yt daye 'longy'g to y e churche a sewt of vestments* sett w th peril the hole sewt. Also mor yt daye a sewte of vesteme'ts sett with goolde named bottekynf. It* a sewte of blewe felevat in browdryd. It' a sewte of rede felevat in browdryd. It' a sewte of why t damask wth f gold. It' a sewte of grene bawdekyn geven by Denyse Mesewr'. It' a sewt of old bawdekyn sylk. It' a sewt of black damaske. It' a cope:}; of blew tyssewe. It' a cope of rede felevat. It' iiij copyss of rede damaske. It' iiij copyss of blewe damaske. It' vj copys of whyt bodekyn. Also a sewte of awter clothes§ of rede felevet w th shalappe schells, for the hye awter, wth ij curtey's|| of rede sylk. It' also a sewte of awter clothys of bawdekyn sylke wth jj curtey's. It' a sewte of awter clothys of whyt sylk w*h ij curtey's. It' for seynt Gorge's awter a sewt of awter clothys of damask blewe and rede. It' a sewt of awter clothys for our lady's awter of damask. It' a corporesse cassell of cloth of goolde. It' a nother corporesse casse of cloth of tesewe. It' a nother corporesse casse of blewe felevat. * The garment particularly called the vestment, is the chasuble, casula, or planeta, an outer vestment, pulled over the head and cut open at the sides to the shoulder, which the priest wears at mass. i Baudkyn, bodkin, &c, was a peculiar kind of rich embroidery of silk and gold. t The cope, cappa, called also pluviale, used for the choir service and ceremonials. It resembles in its shape a large and flowing cloak, open in the front, and fastens on the breast by clasps. The copes were of various colours and materials. ? The altar cloth is often called in the English MS. • frontell.' The embroidery of scallop shells was very appropriate in a maritime port, and, probably, had reference to the armorial bearings of the town. |j The curtains here mentioned were to cover the tabernacle. tt Pockets for the corporals. The corporals were the cloths on which theeucharist was laid at the altar ; they were always made of fine linen, and were considered so sacred, that they must not be touched by lay hands, and were never even washed, but when old and dirty were burned. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORV. 313 It' iij baneres* of sylke for the crossys, i grene, i blewe, and i rede. It' iij pelowsf of sylke, and a nother pelow wrot w th sylk. It' another pelowe of ca'vas. The co'tent yt daye of clothys for the awter. It' iij schetts fyne for to dress the sppulcore on good fryday. It' i fyne awter clothe playne. It' mor ix awter clothys playne good and bad as they were. It' a xj dyapier clothys nara'd awter clothys. It' x tewellys j of dyapur. It' for the lent tyme iij awter clothys to honge aboue and beneth of playne cloth furnyshyd w th crossys of the same cloth. It' a uayle to be hongyd vppo' y e lent afor y e hye awter. It' for iiij awters, iiij payre and i canne styckes of latyn§. It' mor ij small canne of latyn beynge but pryckes. It' ther ys vj canne styckes w th bra'chys of latyn yt stode afor ymages. It' ij latyn basons and iij basons of pewter. It' mor a lampe of latyn and a bason of latyn for the paskals. It' a fote of laty' to sett y e crosse a pone the hye awter. It' a gret panne of a x galons. It' a brason crock w th iij leggys. It' a lytell panne of a petell. It' a tewell to couer the crosse & the pelow in y e sepulcor y e good fryday. It' a nother tewel to bere in the Esterholy dayys. It' a nother tewell of rede sylke to carry the oylc vatte at Ester." Other inventories, made about the same time, contain nearly the same particulars ; but there occur occasionally some additional items : — viz., " It' over the hye awter a canapye|| of redde sattyn in that a pyxe of yverye. " It' a pawlelT of blew felevat. " It' y e albes** longy'g to ye vestements saving iiij albes lackynge and worne. * Banners were used in procession, on vigils and fasts, appended to the crosses. + These pillows were cushions of silk for the high altar, to rest the mass hook upon. t Towels. The altar linen for various purposes. 5 Candlesticks of latten ; an alloy of copper and zinc. || The canopy cloth was borne over the eucharist on solemn processions, as on the feast of Corpus Christi, and in visitations to the sick. IT Altar-palls, to cover the altar, were of silk, velvet, &c, and either white, red, green, blue, or black, according to the festival day or office which was celebrated. ** The alb is a white linen garment worn by the priests, deacons, and sub-deacons, reaching down to the feet, and tied round the neck and at the wrists, and gathered by a girdle round the waist. 2 S 314 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, " It' iiij surplises for the pristes and clarkes. " It' ij cros staues* armyd with bras. " It' ij pay re of orgains. " It' more in ye church towre iiij bellis. " Item ther ys one side of one ylle of our churche couered w th ledd and two goters w ch we estyme to be 4 tons." From a note appended to one of the inventories, we learn that the greater part of the plate and several of the bells had been disposed of at their utmost value ; and that the proceeds had been applied, by command of the lord protector Somerset, in many charges and reparations done upon the fortifications of the town, such plate and bells having been given to the town for that purpose " by my lord's grace at his being in Poole." By an instrument [dated Jan. 9, 7th Ed. VI.] executed by the commissioners of church goods, for the county of Dorset, it appears that there were reserved for the use of the church of Poole, one chalice weighing 12 ounces, and two bells in the tower, weighing by estimation 6 cwt ; and that the residue of the bells, &c, had been sold and employed " for the makyng of bulworks and dyches for the defence of the said towne." But notwithstanding the church had been thus denuded of its rich store of plate, vestments, and other goods, at the period of the reformation, yet, on the re-introduction of popery during the reign of Mary, many of the articles necessary in the popish ceremonials were again procured, as is found from the following inventory taken in the 2nd year of Elizabeth's reign : — "Poole; beinge a peculiar, and of late belonginge to the pryorye of of Brad'stoke. " A newe inventorye indented of all suche belles, bookes, goodes, jewelles, and ornaments, as belonge and apertayne to the church of Poole, w th the names and surnames of all suche as hathe benne crystened, maryed, and buryed, sythens the feast of St. John the baptyste, in anno d'ni 1558, made and presented to the quene's ma ties comyssyon's at Blandforde, the xxviij daye of November, anno d'ni 1559. * Staves to which the cross was affixed when borne in processions. ■'/- - ■ ■ , ~\ ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 315 " Goodes. — Item one lytell challyce wthout a cover, of sylver, weinge vj ownces, w th servethe for the communyon table. One greate bell and a lytell bell] weinge by estymac'on vij c. One peare of vestments of satten of Brydges, and one cope of the same. One crosse. One peare of sensers, and one shippe of brasse. ij lynnen clothes wch s'vethe for the communyon table. " BooJces. — Item one massebook* ; one manuelf ; one grayle j ; and one precessyonall§. " Our images be all defaced and brente. " Xristened lxj persons [whose names are given]. " Buryed the nomber of one c & v p'sons. '•' Maryed xxix couples [named]. " The administrac'on of the sacram'ts are decently p'paryd for accor- dynge to the boke of comon prayar and the quene's ma'ties injunc'ons. " The quene's ma'tie ys patron of the p'sonage of Poole. John Sewar ys mynistar and servythe the cure. " The nu'bre of peoj)le be one thousand." On the 3rd of May, 1663, a service of plate, &c, for the communion table was presented by an unknown person* This was stolen from the church on the 6th of November following, and an Irishman was committed to gaol on sus- picion of being concerned in the sacrilege, but soon after- wards, and before he could be brought to trial, he died in prison ; and it was conjectured at the time that his death was occasioned by poison. The plate was never found. THE PRESENT CHURCH was erected on the site of the old structure, and opened for divine worship in 1820||. It is a large and commodious * Missals, containing the order of celebrating mass, with the proper masses of particular saints. -t Manual, the ritual, containing all things belonging to the sacraments, sacra- mentals, and benedictions. t Graduals. The gradual takes its name from the prayer chaunted gradatim, after the epistle. It is the choir book used for singing mass. i Books of the order and service for the ecclesiastical processions. II This church was erected at the cost of £9010 ; of which the parish voted £6000, the corporation gave £1000, and private subscriptions amounted to £2010. The tower, which was also rebuilt, cost £2730 ; making a total of £11,740. 316 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. edifice, consisting" of a nave and two aisles, with a small chancel ; but it possesses little or no architectural beauty. At the west end is a tower, in which are eight bells. The principal entrance to the church is by a vestibule leading through the tower, having the vestry on the one hand and the sunday school room on the other. The appearance of the interior of the church, on entering it, is very pleasing, and derives much effect from the large and lofty east window, which is of painted glass, representing Faith, personified in a female figure, kneeling on the cross, with the open bible and the cup of the new testament before her, suppliantly gazing upwards, whence a flood of light is poured on her. The window is divided by two mullions, and this painting occupies the centre compartment. The ceiling, which is supported by lofty but inelegant columns, is neatly groined. A spacious gallery runs round the church, excepting at the east end. The pulpit, reading desk, &c, are elegantly constructed of oak. In the chan- cel, underneath the east window, is an altar piece of rich mahogany, and of elaborate workmanship. It is divided into three compartments by fluted pilasters of the Corinth- ian order standing on a pedestal, and supporting an entablature with a sculptured frieze. The central compart- ment, which is the largest, is surmounted by a pediment. In this compartment are inscribed the Decalogue, and the following record of the donation of the altar piece : " The Gift of Richard Pinnel, esq., A.D., 1736. Repaired and Beautified, A.D., 1820." In the north compartment are the Lord's Prayer, and Proverbs, xix, 17: and the Apostles' Creed, and Psalm, xli, 1, occupy the south division. The embroidered cloth for the communion table was presented to the church, in 1821, by Miss JefFery. In the west gallery is a large, powerful, and richly toned organ, presented to the church, in 1799, by Benjamin Lester, esq., who, at the same time, vested in the public funds a sum of money producing £20 per annum, which he appropriated as a salary for an organist, appointing the ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 317 corporation to be the trustees. In the front of the same gallery is a clock, the gift of James Seager, esq. ; over which is a sculpture of the royal arms of England, pre- sented by G. W. Ledgard, esq., both in 1821. There are several brass chandeliers, for lighting the church, chiefly presented at various periods, by representatives of the borough. All the monuments now in the church are mural, several of them possessing much elegance. There was an altar tomb in the old church, to the memory of Thomas Robarts, a merchant, who was a considerable benefactor to the town ; but it was removed at the demolition of that struc- ture. The monumental inscriptions in the present church are as follows : — IN THE SOUTH AISLE. " Underneath lyes the Body of George Lewen, Esqre., a worthy member and three years mayor of this antient corporation. Obt. 15th November, 1718, ^Etatis sua?, 71." Above are the arms of Lewen, party per pale, g. & az. 3 bucks* heads erased, or. Crest, a buck's head erased, or. " To the Memory of Sir Peter Thompson, knt., a native of Poole, and member of its ancient corporation, F.R.S., member of ye Society of Antiquaries, Lon- don, and was representative in parliament for the borough of St. Albans. He died 31st Oct., 1770, aged 72 years. Also, Amy Haselden, his only sister, who died 27th Oct., 1770, Aged 65 years. James Thompson, of London, Merchant, who was born in this town V. IVN, MDCLXXXVII, and died VIII Mar., MDCCXL. And Thomas Haselden, F.R.S., head master of the Royal Academy at Portsmouth, who married Amy, the only sister of Mr. Thompson, and died XXV April, MDCCXL, aged LV, were buried here together, XVII May, MDCCXL." Above are the arms of Thompson ; — az. a lion passant guardant or. • Crest, a lion rampant or., with a ducal coronet round his neck. 318 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY* " This Monument To the Memory of the Rev. Samuel Fawconer, M.A. late vicar of Osmington, and twenty years minister of this Parish, was erected Aug. 27, 1 778, by Martha, his surviving widow. He was a man of strong Genius, sound Erudition, and of just Taste. His determined perseverance in the discharge of his Parochial Duties was such as commanded Respect. He died January the 23rd, 1788, in the 61st year of his t His remains, and those of his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of sir Sebastian Swale, bart., lie buried in the opposite isle. Also of Martha Fawconer, widow of the above Samuel Fawconer, who died 24th March, 1818." " To the Memory of Mr. John Masters, merchant of this town, whose tender affection to his Wife, sincerity to his Friends, liberality to the Poor, and general bene- volence to all mankind, rendered him universally esteemed. This Monu- ment was erected by his sorrowful relict, as a Token of her everlasting love for him. He died in London, June 20, A.D., 1755, in the 64th year of his age, and lies buried near this place." " In Memory of Francis Lester, alderman of this corporation, who died July ye 8, 1738, aged 70. Also, R ac hell, his wife, who died Jan. ye 21, 1768, aged 83, with Frans., Wm., Sarah, Susannah, and Rachell, five of their children. Also, John Lester, alderman of this corporation, and son of the above Francis Lester, who died August ye 28, 1775, aged 74. Also, Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of Wm. Goldwire, esq., who died Nov. ye_ 8, 1770, aged 84. Also, Isaac Lester, merchant, son of the above Fras. Lester, who died Sept. ye 20, 1778, aged 60. This Monument was erected . by Benjamin and Sarah Lester, the only surviving children. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 319 Sacred to the Memory of Benjamin Lester, alderman, and late representative in parliament for this town, who died 25th January, 1802, aged 78 years. Also, of Susannah, his wife, who died 4th March, 1798, aged 76 years. And Susannah, their daughter, who died 14th February, 1778, aged 21 years. Also, of Sarah Lester, sister of the above Benjamin Lester, who died 5th February, 1785, aged 75 years. Sir John Lester, knight, died the 12th January, 1805, aged 50 years." " In Memory of George Tito, Esqre., merchant of this town, and Elizabeth, his wife, She died 4th August, 1767, aged 60, He died 23rd October, 1774, aged 70= Also, Elizabeth Brice, their daughter, wife of Edward Brice, Esq., who died 11th October, 1761, aged 31. This Monument was erected by George Tito Brice, sole surviving son of the above Edward and Elizabeth Brice." " Near this place lies the body of Peter Jolliff, Who, in the late wars, Signalized himself against the French with uncommon courage, And frequently revenged their insolencies towards the English by captivity or death. William the Third, In justice to the merit of so brave a man, Rewarded his services with a commission, and a medal of Gold: George the First, at his accession to the throne, Gave him the command of the town in all military affairs. Thus, having been distinguished by these two great kings, He dy'd, in the 72nd year of his age, On the 12th day of November, 1730. 320 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. He left several children ; William, the youngest, caused this Monument to be erected to his Memory, On the 19th October, 1737. In Memory also of the above mentioned William Jolliff, (an alderman and a merchant of this town,) who died August the 7th, 1762, aged 64 years. And Elizabeth, his wife, who died January the 6th, 1747-8, aged 45 years. Whose bodies lie entombed near this place." Beneath are the arms of Jolliff: — s. a double-headed eagle expanded, ar. ; on a chief g. a lion passant, or. Crest an eagle's head erased s., beaked or. IN THE GALLERY OF THE SOUTH AISLE. " Sacred To the Memory of James Seager, merchant, an alderman of this town, who died 24th December, 1808, aged 71 years. Also, of Rebecca, his wife, who died 2nd March, 1821, aged 87 years. And of John and Sarah, their two infant children. Also, of Rebecca Noble, their daughter, who died at Malta, Svd May, 1808, aged 37 years. And of Amy Seager, wife of James Seager, (who caused this Monument to be erected). She died 22nd March, 1819, aged 41 years. Also, of Ursula Skutt Jubber Seager, second wife of the above James Seager, who died 4th January, 1825, aged 28 years. And of their infant child, James Gaden Seager, who, died 18th Nov., 1823." " Sacred to the Memory of Mary, wife of Robert Slade, merchant of this town and county, who died January 11, 1816, aged 45 years. Also, of Sarah, daughter of the above, who died April 12, 1807, in the 5th year of her age. Also, of Elizabeth Leer, another daughter of the above, (and wife of Robert Slade,) who died 9th February, 1829, aged 29 years." ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 321 IN THE NORTH AISLE. " Sacred to the Memory of Mr. Robert Young, of this town, who died the 1st of January, 1773, aged 64 years, and lies buried in this aisle. Also, of Mrs. Ann Young, wife of the above Robert Young, who died the 2nd of December, 1775, aged 65 years : And is interred in a vault in the churchyard of Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex." " To the Memory of Mr. Geo. Hyde, merchant, and alderman of this town ; and Elizth. his wife. She died Aug. 31, 1762, aged 55 years. He died May 11, 1763, aged 58 years. This was erected by their sole surviving, son, Thos. Hyde." " Sacred to the Memory of Thomas Jubber, merchant, late of this town and county, who died the 12th of September, 1778, aged 56 years. And whose remains are deposited near this place. Also, of Robert and Thomas Jubber, sons of the above Thomas Jubber, who both died abroad. Also, of Ursula Jubber, wife of the above Thomas Jubber, who died the 26th of June, 1793, aged 66 years. Also, of Ursula Jubber, daughter of the above Thomas and Ursula Jubber, who died the 6th of Feb., 1797, and at whose particular request this Monument was caused to be erected. Eternal Joys are in reserve for the righteous. Also, to the Memory of Benjamin Skutt Gaden, son of Thomas and Mary Gaden, 2 T 322 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. who died March 9, 1820, in the 21st year of his age. His modest worth secured him the esteem of all who knew him, and his Death is deplored by his Family as a loss never to be repaired. This humble Stone is erected by them as a lasting Monument of the warmest affection. His remains are deposited in the church yard." " Sacred To the Memory of William Spurrier, an alderman and merchant of this town, who died the 20th of March, 1809, aged 75 years. Also, of Mary, his wife, who died at Bath, July 27, 1781, aged 52 years, and who lies buried in Walcot church in that city. Also, of William Spurrier, son of the above William and Mary, who died April 18, 1800, aged 37 years." " In Memory of Egbert Henning, merchant, an alderman of this corporation : He was A generous and faithful Friend, A tender Husband, An indulgent Father, A lover of his Country, and a Friend of Mankind. He died May 30, 1757, aged 60. Here also lies Margaret, his wife, who died Feb. 17, 1736, aged 36. With George, Edward, and Margaret, three of their children. Margaret, a grandchild, daughter of Robert and Mary Henning. This Monument was erected by John and Robert Henning, the surviving sons." " In Memory of Sir William Phipard, knight, who represented the town and county of Poole in Parliament. He departed this life, Jan. 23, 1723, aged 73. And of Dame Mary, his wife, who died May 1, 1725, aged 44. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 323 Also, of George Phipard, their son, who died Aug. 28, 1739, aged 24. Also, of Elizabeth Phipard, their grandaughter, ■who died Feb. 4, 1767, aged 17. Also, of John Phipard, another son of the above named Sir Wm. and Dame Mary, and father of the said Eliz. Phipard, who died April 10, 1774, aged 63 ; Having by his will ordered this Monument to be erected. Near this place lie the remains of Eliz., wife of William Cleeves, late merchant of this town, daughter of the above named Sir William and Dame Mart Phipard, who died March 31, 1769, aged 55. Also, of William Phipard, esq., eldest son of the above named Sir William and Dame Mary, who died Dec. 27, 1788, aged 80 years." " The Souls of the Just are in the hands of God." Samuel Bowles died March 2, 1750, aged 44 years. Mary, his first wife, daughter of the Rev. Benjamin Culme, A.M., Rector of Studland, died March 21, 1746, aged 35 years. Margaret, his second and surviving wife, (who subsequently married the Rev. Thomas Coker, A.M., rector of Mappowder,) died in 1789, aged 84 years. Amy, the sister of the said Margaret, and the widow of Isaac Lester, an eminent merchant of this place, died August 6, 1788, aged 84 years. The above Margaret and Amy were two of the daughters of the Reverend Matthew Bowles, A.M., formerly rector of Corfe Castle. Elizabeth Tivirtoe, sister of Mr. Samuel Bowles, died April 7, 1788, aged 7S years. Hoc Monumentam renovari curabit Carolus Bowles de Shaston, Armiger, A.D., 1825 . 324 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. IN THE GALLERY OF THE NORTH AISLE. " Erected by the Brethren of the most ancient and venerable order of Free and accepted Masons, resident within the Province of Dorset, to commemorate the private worth of their respected Brother, Thomas Parr, of this town, as well as the Benefit conferred by him on Masonry. He was Deputy Provincial Grand Master' during 22 years, and died the 22nd of May, 1824, aged 56 years." It is a subject for regret that many of the more ancient monumental inscriptions, which were contained in the old church, several of them being records of individuals and families conspicuous in the early annals of the town, were not preserved within the walls of the new structure. Divine service is performed and a sermon preached three times on every Sunday, in the church, viz., at half- past ten, at three, and at six o'clock. The church is also open for divine service every Wednesday and Friday. The Sunday evening lecture is provided for by a bequest of sir John Lester, who, by his will, in 1805, bequeathed, for this purpose, a sum of money invested in the funds, of which the corporation were appointed trustees, directing the proceeds thereof to be applied in the following propor- tions : — £52 per annnm for the minister ; £10 for the clerk ; £10 for the organist; and £5 for the sexton. The rev. P. W. Jollhfe, M. A., at present holds the perpetual curacy ; and the rev. W. M. Dudley, B.A., is the assistant curate. The churchyard having been fully occupied by inter- ments, a piece of garden ground adjoining was purchased in 1773, in trust for the parish, and subsequently enclosed as a burying ground. This also having been found insufficient for the purpose, a large field atHungerhill was ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 325 purchased for the parish. It was enclosed, and, on the 3rd of July, 1781, was consecrated by Dr. Beilby Porteus, then bishop of Chester, afterwards bishop of London, and has since been used as a burying ground. The parsonage house, which adjoins the churchyard, was rebuilt by the corporation in 1786. THE FRATERNITY OF ST. GEORGE. We have already seen that in the church of Poole, prior to the reformation, there were four altars, of which one was dedicated to St. George. This altar belonged to the members of the fraternity of St. George, which formerly existed in Poole, and which was exclusively a religious foundation. Fraternities were ' of two species, secular and religious. The secular guilds or fraternities were the root of our present mercantile and trading companies or corporations ; and were associations founded for the purposes of mutual defence and protection, and the advancement of trade. The religious fraternities, on the other fiand, were estab- lished for purposes of devotion and alms-deeds. They formed a branch of those ecclesiastical establishments, taking their foundation in the palmy days of the papacy, by which its power was sought to be extended, and through the instrumentality of which not only was subsistence afforded to the multitudes who, allured by the prospect of a life of ease, and by the pomp and sanctity with which the papal priest was invested, eagerly strove for the sacerdotal office, but means were afforded for bringing the wealth and influence of the laity to assist in the great work of papal aggrandizement. These establishments took the various forms in which they have been found,— from the 326 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. stately and opulent abbey and priory, down to the more humble fraternity and chantry, and even to the lowly cell. A devotional fraternity partook considerably of the nature of a chantry. Now a chantry was an altar set apart in a parochial or other church, and endowed with certain property, on condition of masses, obits, anniversaries, lights, &c, being* performed or attended to. Their nature is very particularly described in the will of John Barton, of Buckingham, by which he appoints and endows a chantry in the church of St. Peter, in Buckingham^. Fraternities appear to have been an enlargement of this principle, and to have been incorporated associations to provide masses for the souls of deceased members and of those who had endowed the institution ; to sustain a con- tinually burning light before the altar of some particular saint ; to perform alms-deeds ; and to apply their funds to other religious and charitable purposes. The fraternity founded in Poole, and dedicated to Eng- land's patron saint, was clearly such an incorporation; reputative, however, rather than legal, for no charter of in- corporation can be found ; and although there existed many such fraternities without a strictly legal foundation, and which, consequently, were adulterine, yet they were suffered to remain until the dissolution of the monasteries, &c, where no distinction was observed between those legally founded and others which could not produce a charter of incorporation ; for a college or chantry in reputation, although it wanted sufficient foundation and incorporation in law, was given to the king by the act 1st Ed. IV., c. 14, because, we are told by Coke, the intent of the makers of the act was to take away all superstition out of men's minds, and not to suffer any to have continuance; and superstition was maintained as well in reputative chantries as in others. Coke, Rep., ii,, 07. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 3*27 The fraternity of St. George was, in all probability, founded in the latter portion of the fourteenth century ; as the earliest document of a donation to it, and which is numbered 3, bears the date of Sep. 20, 1408. The property with which it was originally endowed must have been very, small, but the society became subse- quently possessed of property of considerable value, by the piety of successive donors, who, under the influence of that comfortable superstition for the rich, invented by the papists, thought, bv purchasing the posthumous masses of the good priests, that they should escape, in a future world, impunity for the sins committed during life. In the coffer of the church of St. James, the brethren kept a register of the donations made to them. This cannot now be found, and was probably taken away when the possess- ions of the fraternity were surrendered. But there are in existence amongst the municipal archives, several loose papers, which are clearly the copy of a considerable por- tion of this register, or, at least, of some of the deeds of gift entered therein. From circumstances mentioned in some notes appended to this copy, it is manifest that it was made between the years 1548 and 1558. This document is in a very dilapidated condition, besides being deficient in several leaves ; yet we are enabled to form some idea of the extent of the possessions of the fraternity, bv the exist- ing papers, of which the following is an abstract. They are all numbered in the margin, and the first in order is 3. [3.]— John Pryker, by his will, dated Sep. 20, 1408, bequeaths to the wardens of the fraternity of St. George, a rent charge of 20d. per annum, arising from a piece of land and two houses. [4.]— Alicia Stowey, also by will, dated Sep. 17, 1460, gave a rent charge of 3s. 4d., arising from a piece of land. This rent charge was, in 1526, redeemed by the payment of £3 13s. 4d., by Philippin, the wife of Davy Green, to Stephen Reek and William Gcll, wardens of the brotherhood of St. Georsre. 328 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [5.] — Walter Haron and Eleanor, his wife, of Sherford, Hants, 20th January, 1529, by deed of gift, conveyed a garden adjoining' the house called the Almshouse. [6.] — Margaret Emmett, widow, gave, in mortmain, to John Mower and John Skynner, keepers and wardens of the light or fraternity of St. George, a piece of land (s. d.) As this copy is the most perfect, we give it entire, to shew the customary form of the donations : — " Bee ytt knowen to all men present & to them that bee to come I Margaret Emmett in my pure wydow- hode and lawffull powre in the towne of Pole in the shier of Dosshet, have gyven and graunted and by thes my present charytye confyrmed to John Mower and to John Skynner kepers & wardens of the light and fra- ternytye of St. George in the church of St. James's in the towne of Poole aforesayd And to ther successors for the time beinge a pece of my londs with all his por- tenance ther to longinge lyinge wythyn the libertye of the towne aforesayd, betwyxt the lond of Maud Libott of the west part and the lond of John Thomos of the Eest part And the king's waye by North and a lane callyd deerehayes lanne by South To have & to hold the foresayd pece of lond with his portenance unto the foresayd kypers & wardens to them and to ther successors for the tyme being in ffee for evermore under such conditions that the sayd pece of lond wyth his portenance shall never bee sold ne allyenyd by the sayd kepers & wardens nother by none of ther succes- sors ne ther assignes in ther name, but onlye all such profytts and revenews that groweth or maye growe of the sayd londs shall bee sett and imployed from yere to yere, by the supervise & gode guydinge of the sayd kepers and wardens unto the worshipp, lawde and praysinge of the gloryowse marter St. George & to the sustenacion of his service and light so everlastinglye to indure, yeldinge yerely to the chiefFe lorde of the ffee, rent and service thereof right accustomd And that the foresayd Margarett and myne heirs the foresayd pece of lond with all his portenance as is before rehersede to the foresayd kepers & wardens agaynst all worldly people warrantise and defend. In witnesse whereof J have registerd this my deede & entente in a book callyd ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, 329 a register of all the lands & tenements & rents per- tainge & longinge unto the kepers & wardens of St. George, the which book remayneth & abydyth in the comon coffer beyng in the sayd church of Poole." [7.] — William Perry, alias Baker; a piece of land, called Horwood's land, to John Lypeman and John Thomas, wardens, &c. (s. d.) [8.] — Joan Schankys ; to Robert Cone and Robert Webbe, keepers and wardens, &c, an annual rent charge of 6s. 8d., arising from a piece of land. (s. d.) [9.] — Edith Peres, widow; a piece of land to Stephen Howchyns and John Man, wardens, &c. (s. d.) [10.] — Edith Sampson, widow; shop, to Robert Johnson and Thomas Lacye, wardens, &c. (s. d.) [11.] — Harry Bosum ; a piece of land, to Robert Lambart and John Licsett, keepers and wardens, &c. (s. d.) The will of this Henry Bosum is still in existence, dated 31 arch 1, 1463, and proved in the court of the archdeacon of Dorset, on the 20th of the same month, in which he bequeaths, biter alia, to William Stowe and John Harrys, seneschals of St. George, and their successors, a piece of land, to be holden by them and their successors in perpetuity, conditioned that it should be disposed of to the laud and honour of St. George in the church of Poole. [13.] — Stephen Howchyns, alias Warner, a burgess of the town of Poole, grants his close called Windmill hill, to William Stowey and John Flexmore, seneschals, &c. (s. d.) [14.] — John Thomas, a burgess of Poole, grants a piece of land, called No Man's land, to John Stollock and William Boreville, seneschals, &c. (s. d.) [15.] — John Russell, alias Gosse, a burgess of the town of Poole ; an annual rent charge of 8d. on a tenement near the old town hall, to John Harris and John Brocke, keepers and wardens, &c. (s. d.) 2 u 330 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. [16.] — Alison Mower, widow, of Wimborne; an annual rent charge of Is. 4d. to John Colville and Thomas Baker, keepers and wardens, &c. (s. d.) [17.] — Thomasin Cotler, widow ; an annual rent charge of 2s. to Robert Johnson and Thomas Coke, keepers and wardens, &c. (s. d.) This rent charge was afterwards redeemed by the payment of 40s. [18.] — Alison Barmevyll, by will (s. d.), bequeathed the proceeds of certain tenements to the fraternity. By this will she bequeathed to her husband a house, with a curtilege and garden, and another tenement and garden in west street ; with remainder to Isabell Burdon and her children ; but in case of her dying without issue, the first house and curtilage are directed to be sold, " and the mony that shalbe therof ymade I will that ytt be ordaynyd and disposed to fynd a convenyent and a discrett seculer priest to sing masses and all other services in the church of St. James the appostell of Poole by the spac of a hole yere for my sowle and for the sowle of John Payne [her former husband], John Barmevyll, Isabell Burdon, and all my kynryd and for all cristyan sowles:" and the tenement and garden in west street are also directed to be sold, " and the mony therof recevyd to bee devyded in two pts. that is to save the one halff of hytt to the worke and reparacyons of the church of St. James aforesaid, and the other halff to remayne to the frater- nytye of St. George in Poole, that they dispose ytt in charytable almes deeds for the wealth of our sowles." [19.]— Sir John Myller, priest; a garden, near a close called Dyer Hayes, to John Pysett and Robert de Hawden, wardens, &c, 4th April, 1484. [20.] — John House; a rent charge of 8d., to William Bourdevyll and Thomas Perkyn, keepers and wardens, &c, July 16, 1498. [21.] — John Deane; a tenement on the west shore, to ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 331 Nicholas Chatte and Harry Pyke, keepers and wardens, &c, Sep. 24, 1500. [22.]— William Fillater; a close of land to the same wardens, Oct. 4, 1500. It will have been observed, that these documents are not numbered in chronological order. In several of these grants of land, Deer-hayes lane is said to be on one side of the property granted, and the land previously in the pos- session of the fraternity on the other side, and it is hence evident that the present burying ground and the adjacent lands were formerly the possessions of the society ; and this identity is confirmed by the concurrence of names. One of the pieces of land is stated in a conveyance of the pro- perty of the guild to be known as Mill Post, a name by which the present burying ground was commonly known till within a few years past. There is an ancient document in existence, purporting to be a rental of the lands given " to the chamber of the town of Poole," by the several persons therein named : it is without date, but must have been made previous to 1548. By this, the total amount of annual rent appears to have been £7 18s. 6d., the quit-rent payable thereout 6s. 10d., leaving a net rent of £7 10s. lOd. There is also an antecedent rental, dated in 1541, of the lands of "St. George's guild in Poole," which is evidently imperfect, but of which sufficient is existing to shew that the possess- ions are identical with those in the rental first named, and that the net rental was the same. The object which this guild professed chiefly to regard, was the safety after death of the souls of the faithful who had been members of, or had endowed the society. With this view, mass was constantly said in the chapel of the fraternity, and at the altar which they possessed and sup- ported in the parish church, and at which lamps were kept continually burning, and to which processions were made. As was customarily the case with such associations, 332 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. charity was another main object of the fraternity ; and the atms houses in church street, which formerly appertained to the fraternity, were, in all probability, erected for the purpose of accommodating decayed members with resi- dences* The guild-chapel appears to have adjoined this alms row. Whether this guild exercised any authority in the civil affairs of the town, cannot now be satisfactorily ascertained, unless chance should bring to light those records of its existence which a diligent search has been unproductive in finding. There is, indeed, some reason to suppose, from several circumstances, that the fraternity exercised no such jurisdiction; but that the mayor of the town was, ex officio, the head of the fraternity ; and, as such, he appears to have taken part in the appointment of the priests. Thus, June 1, 1541, "John Ellys, mayor of the town of Poole, in the county of Dorset, & the comin- yaltie of the same," appoint sir Thomas Gogyn to " the service of St. George within the church of St. James, in Poole aforesaid," at an annual salary of £6 13s. 4d« When Henry VIII. attacked the papal establishments in this kingdom, the fraternities Were not exempt from visita- tion; and though their doom was somewhat delayed, it was, nevertheless, certain. In 1544, we read in Rap in, that " this year most part of the colleges, collegiate churches, and hospitals, were surrendered to the king, by acts and deeds seemingly voluntary, but which were no more so than those signed by the abbots and priors, when they resigned their monasteries." Tindal, in his note on this passage, says "there were in the kingdom several colleges, chapels, chantries, hospitals, and fraternities, con- sisting of secular priests, who enjoyed pensions for saying- mass for the souls of those who endowed them. Now the belief of purgatory being left indifferent by the doctrine set out by the bishops, and the trade of redeeming souls being condemned, it was thought needless to keep up so many endowments to no purpose. Those priests were ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 333 generally ill attached to the king's proceedings, since their trade was so much lessened by them. Therefore many were dealt with to make resignation, and twenty-four of them did surrender this year.'' Now though these institu- tions are here spoken of as having for their object only the saying masses for the souls of their founders, yet all records prove that they were established for other purposes, especially the worship of some particular saint; and as this part of the Romish doctrine and discipline was as little regarded by Henry and the reformers as the saying masses for the relief of souls in purgatory, so it would not prevent their being annihilated. The final extinction of these associations, however, did not take place until the act 1st Ed. VI., c. 14, by which, 1st, are given to the king, all manner of colleges, free chapels, chantries, &c. ; — 2nd, all manner of manors, lands, tenements, &c, thereto belong- ing ; — 3rd, all manors, lands, tenements, &c, by any mean assurance, conveyance, &c, given, assigned, limited, or appointed to the finding of any priest to have continuance for ever, and wherewith or whereby any priest was sus- tained, maintained, or found, within five years, &c. ; — 4th, and also all annual rents, profits, and emoluments, at any time within five years, employed, paid, or bestowed toward the maintenance or finding of any stipendiary priest for ever;— 5th, shall be in the actual and real possession of the king, in as large and ample manner and form as the priest, wardens, masters, ministers, governors, or other incum- bents of them within five years, &c, last occupied or enjoyed the same, and as though the colleges, free chapels, chantries, stipends, salaries of priests, and the said manors, lands, &c, were in this act specially named. Under this act the possessions of the fraternity of St. George became vested in the crown, in 1547, and shortly afterwards it was determined that they should be purchased of the crown on behalf of the then corporation ; and, with this view, a valuation, under date of Feb. 1, 3rd Ed. VI., 334 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. was made of certain lands, &c, of " the fraternity of St. George in Poole," including the following tenements, viz. : £ s. d. A garden in Poole, valued at the yearly rent of 3 4 A messuage or tenement in west street 4 A garden called the " Mylles Post" 20 A garden in the tenure of James Reddehid .... 1 4 A piece of land called " Hungry Hill" 5 Two tenements in the tenure of Adam Haryvill > n R Q and Hugh Cocks $ u ° ° A garden in high street, containing an acre. ... 5 A garden at Pydwyn's 1 A garden in west street 2 6 1 10 10 But of which are reserved as chief rent for Edward, duke of Somerset, then lord of the manor 3 8 Leaving as the clear annual value 1 7 2 Calculations are then made for the purchase of 10s. 8d., at 15 years' purchase 8 5s. at 24 years' purchase 6 15s. 2d., at 15 years' purchase 11 7 6 25 7 6 The chief rent at 20 years' purchase 3 13 4 "And if so" 21 14 2 The valuation there goes on to say " The clere yerely value of the premises is xxvij s ij d which, rated at the several rates above rehersed, amountith to xxij 11 xiiij* ii d to be paide all in hande. " The king's majes tie to discharge the purchaser of all encumberances, excepte all leases and the covenantes in the same, and excepte the rent above allowed. " The tenure in socage. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 335 " The purchaser to have the profitts from michaelmas last. " The purchaser to be bounde for the woods. " For John Manne of Pole, in the county of Dorset. " Richard Sakevylle, " Walter Myldmay, " Robert Keylwey." The conveyance, however, was not made directly to John Man, who acted in this matter " with the advyse & consent of s'tin of his bretheren;" but by letters patent of the king, dated March 12, 3rd Ed. VI., the late fraternity of St. George in Poole, and all its rights and appurte- nances ; with a garden ; a messuage or tenement in west street; a garden called the Mill Post; two messuages or tenements occupied by Adam Haryvill and Hugh Cockes; a garden in high street ; a garden at Pydwin's ; a garden in west street ; and all other messuages, lands, tenements, cottages, gardens, meadows, pastures, rents, reversions, services, and hereditaments whatsoever, belonging to the fraternity of St. George, were granted to John Churchill, of Dorchester, draper, and William Samwisshe, and the heirs and assigns of Churchill, for ever, to hold by fealty only, in free socage, and not in capite. On the 22nd of May following, Churchill and Samwisshe conveyed the above possessions to John Man. On the 10th of February, in the following year, Man conveyed the premises to Robert Rogers, then mayor of Poole, John Notherell, Morgan Rede, Thomas Whytte the younger, and Christopher Haviland, esqrs., burgesses of Poole, to hold, &c, to the only and proper use and benefit of the burgesses of Poole. April 10, 28th Eliz., 1586, White and Haviland, two of the above trustees, by a deed, reciting the letters patent to Churchill and Samwisshe and the subsequent conveyances, 336 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. and that they were the sole surviving trustees, conveyed all the premises to the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and com- monalty of the town of Poole. From that time the property so conveyed has remained part of the possessions of the corporation of Poole. In the augmentation office is a certificate of Thomas Speke, Hughe Powlett, &c, com'vss'on's appointed of all and singular lands, tenements, jewellis, plate, goods, and stockes apperteyninge or belonginge to any college, chaun- trey, chappell, &c, within the countie of Dorsett; by vertue of the kinge's com'yss'on to them directed, dated the xiiij daie of Januarie, in the seconde yere of the reigne of oure sovraigne lorde Edwarde the sixth, &c. ; by which it is certified that there were then no ornaments, Jewells, plate, or other goods, belonging to "the ffraternyte of Seynt George in Poole." ALMS HOVSES, IN CHURCH STREET.— p. 332. \ \ mmi dm ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.. 337 €I)urtf) of M. $aul. The church of St. Paul stands towards the upper end of the High street. This church was erected a few years since, to meet the religious wants of the increasing population of the town ; the church of St. James, even in its new and en- larged state, being inadequate to the demand for church accommodation. The church of St. Paul, therefore, was built under the act 1st and 2nd Wm, IV. ; and was consecrated on the 17th of January, 1833, by the right rev. Robert Gray, D.D., then bishop of Bristol. It is a small and neat structure, in the Grecian style, and contains about 700 sittings, of which 200 are free. A gallery occupies the west end, in which is an organ, purchased by a subscription raised by the congregation. At the east end is a small chancel, on each side of which is a gallery for the use of the children educated in the Sunday school established in connection with the church. The east front is surmounted by a tower. The cost of erection and of the purchase of the land, amounting to upwards of £4000, was defrayed entirely by voluntary contributions. It is a per- petual curacy ; and the patronage in perpetuity, in ac- cordance with the provisions of the act of parliament, is vested in five trustees. It is also endowed as required by the act ; and from this endowment and the pew rents arises the income of the minister. The rev. Robert Otway Wilson is the first and present incumbent. Divine service, followed by a sermon, is performed in the church, every Sunday, at half-past ten o'clock in the morning, and at a quarter past six o'clock in the evening- : and there is also divine service, with a lecture, every Thursday evening, at seven o'clock. The church of St. Paul is under the immediate jurisdic- tion of the archdeacon of Dorset, in the diocese of Salis- bury ; and the churchwardens attend at the visitations of the archdeacon and of the bishop, at Blandford ; and are sworn at the archdeacon's court. . 2 X 338 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. SDi&^cnting Congregations?. Dissent greatly prevailed in Poole at an early period in the history of non-conformity. The stern opposition to the royalist cause that was manifested here daring the rebellion of 1640, may be attributed chiefly, if not entirely, to the prevalence of a religious principle that had descended from the puritans of the age of Elizabeth, and which sought, in separating from the church of Rome, to pass beyond the limits set by the reformed church as established in England, and to proceed to the opposite principle, equally extreme and dangerous. Throughout the troubles of the civil war, and during the continuance of the com- monwealth, the independents composed a very powerful party in the town of Poole ; and the alacrity with which the rev. Samuel Hardy was invited here on account of his non- conformity ; the protection which was here afforded him ; the presentment of the Dorsetshire jury [p. 307] ; and many other circumstances prove the preponderance of that religious party to whom the discipline of the established church was obnoxious. But owing to the rectory of Poole being a royal peculiar, and not subject to the ordinary ecclesiastical visitation, this prevalence of a non-conforming bias was enabled to exist here without that distinct severance from the communion of the establishment which was necessary in most other places ; and hence it is that the annals of dissent are so scanty in memorials of its early progress in this town. For many years the principles of non-conformity were here received into the bosom of the established church : and the ministers being elected in a somewhat popular manner, were necessarily tinged with the peculiar hues that distinguished the religious principles of those electing them. The earliest recorded intimation of a dissenting congre- gation assembling in Poole, occurs in connection with the life of the rev. John Wesley, A.M. This divine was the ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 339 son of Mr. Bartholomew Wesley, of Charmouth, father of the rev. Samuel Wesley, rector of Ep worth, and grand- father of the celebrated founder of Wesleyan Methodism. He was educated at the New Inn hall, Oxford; and, having taken his degree, was, in May, 1658, sent to preach, at Winterbourne Whitchurch, near Blandford. Soon after the restoration, his non-conformity brought him into trouble, and, in 1662, he was committed to prison and ejected from the living. He then went to live at Wey- mouth, but the corporation of that borough refused per- mission for him to settle there. He afterwards went to Bridgwater, II minster, and Taunton, in all which places he met with great kindness and friendship from the dis- senters ; but he ultimately repaired to Preston, a village about three miles from Weymouth. He then frequently preached at Preston, Weymouth, and other places round about. " After some time," says Calamy, " he was called by a number of serious christians at Poole, to be their pastor; in which relation he continued to the day of his death, administering alt ordinances to them as opportunity offered." Calamy, however, in another place says, that " he continued at Preston, (excepting a temporary absence) as long as he lived." But this apparent discrepancy may be reconciled on the presumption that, although he was the pastor of a congregation at Poole, he resided at Preston, — a practice that then prevailed greatly, — and which the circumstances of dissent in some instances made necessary, especially after the passing of the five-mile act. Although Mr. Weslev managed his meetings with great prudence, he was often disturbed, several times appre- hended, and four times imprisoned; once at Poole for half a year, and once at Dorchester for three months ; but the other confinements were shorter. After the death of Mr. Wesley, we are without any record of the progress of dissent in Pocle until the erection of the meeting house in hill street, in 1705. 340 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. THE OLD MEETING HOUSE, IN HILL STREET. The early non-conformists in Poole doubtless assembled for their religious worship, in some obscure building or private room; and there is no record of any separate edifice having been erected for this purpose before the year 1705, when the meeting-house in Hill street, now occupied by a congregation of unitarians, was built. In the sessions book of the borough, under date of January 14, 1705-6, is the following entry of this building being licensed in pursuance of the act of parliament. " The Meeting House, lately built in the garden of Richard Burkman, situate and being near hell street in the said towne and county att this court, is licensed for an assembly for religious worship, in pursuance of a certifi- cate to the justices of the said quarter sessions and registered there accordingly, according to the act of parliament in that case made and provided." Under whose pastoral superintendence the dissenters were at the time of the erection of this place of worship, cannot now be ascertained, nor who was the successor of Mr. Wesley. The congregation flourished to such a de- gree, that, in 1721, it was necessary to enlarge the building, which is now fifty feet square, having a double roof, sup- ported by four pillars in the centre, it has a substantial appearance, and is kept in good order, partly by means of a small endowment (the only one in possession of the con- gregation,) bequeathed for that purpose by the late Mrs. Ann Swetland, during the ministry of the rev. A. Bennett. This bequest was to the amount of £100, in 3 100 To the parish of Christchurch, „ 15 To— — —Newgate, 26 13 4 To Cripplegate, 26 13 4 To- Bishopsgate, 26 13 4 To St. George, Southwark, 26 13 4 To St. Sepulchre, 30 To St. Olave, Southwark, 30 To St. Giles, without Cripplegate, 30 To St. Leonard, Shoreditch, 30 To St. George, Southwark, 30 To Bishopsgate, 20 To St. Botolph, without Aldgate, 20 For maintaining four poor scholars, two in Oxford, and two in Cambridge, students in divinity, 400 Total £3040 6 8 418 CHARITIES. It appears from the accounts preserved amongst the documents relating to this charity, and particularly by a general statement under the date of March 25, 1605, that there was paid £ s. d. For land to build the alms house upon .... 10 Expended on the building 148 16 4 Remainder in the hands of the corporation, 207 17 £366 13 4 A subsequent augmentation was made to the fund remaining in the hands of the corporation, which, in 1610, amounted to £292. With this money a rent charge appears to have been purchased before 1614, payable out of certain lands at Merley, the property of Mr. Constantine. But this invest- ment seems to have been afterwards cancelled. For, by indenture, dated May 1, 1649, Abraham Strode, in con- sideration of £300, conveyed to Henry Harding, then mayor, and several others, aldermen and merchants of Poole, and their heirs, a messuage and certain lands and tenements in the parishes of Hampreston, West Parley, and Cranborne. And, by indenture, dated June 24, in the same year, the said Henry Harding and others, reconveyed the said pre- mises to Abraham Strode and his heirs, in consideration of the yearly rent or sum of £18 for ever, payable half yearly in the great porch of the church at Poole, with a power of distress and entry in case of non-payment. No trusts are declared by the preceding deeds. July 26, 1660, an undertaking was given by William Constantine, esq., to charge his own lands at Merley, with this annuity of £18, in case there should be any failure in the title to Mr. Strode's land. This rent charge of £18 was conveyed to new trustees by indentures of October 8 and 9, 1690, by Moses Durell, CHARITIES. 419 in whom the same had become vested as the only survivor of those named in the preceding* deed of June 24, 1649 ; but there does not appear to have been any subsequent conveyance. The annuity is now regularly received by the corpora- tion from Edward Greathead, esq., of Uddens, the owner of the property charged, and which is known as Hillam's lands. The allotment to the corporation, under the Great Canford and Poole enclosure act, comprehends three perches of land, set out in respect of these alms houses, which are included in the lease of John G. Godwin, men- tioned in the account of the preceding* charity. The alms houses consist of twelve tenements, of one room each, occupied by twelve women, who have hitherto been appointed by the mayor. Each of the alms people receives sixpence a week, amounting* to £15 12s. per annum ; and a distribution of coals has been made to them out of the funds every Christmas, which has more than exhausted the residue of the £18. The buildings were kept in repair at the expense of the corporation. The commissioner of inquiry thus concludes his report on this charity : — " No balance has been actually struck between the corporation and the charity since the year 1741 ; but the receipts and payments are regularly entered in the general account book of the corporation, from an examination of which it appeared that, independently of the repairs, and after giving credit to the charity for its proportion of the rent for the allotment, the corporation have paid annually more than the amount of the endow- ment." garland's alms houses. A range of alms houses, comprising twelve tenements, situate at Hungerhill, were built and endowed by the late George Garland, esq. 420 CHARITIES. By indenture of bargain and sale, enrolled in chancerv, dated April 12, 1814, George Garland, of Poole, esq., granted to the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty of the town and county of the town, and their successors, 12 tenements, each consisting of a sitting room and a bed room, and numbered respectively from 1 to 12 inclusive, lately erected by him, adjoining each other, situate at Hungerhill, in Poole aforesaid, and occupied by the several parties therein named, and the appurtenances, (except rights of common, and allotments in lieu thereof,) upon trust, to permit the then occupiers of the said tenements to reside therein during their lives, free of rent, subject to the power of amoval thereinafter mentioned ; and, upon their death or amoval, to place therein some other person or persons, to be nominated by the said mayor, bailiffs, bur- gesses, and commonalty, within eight days after such death or amoval, out of the poor people residing in and belong- ing to the parish of St. James, in Poole aforesaid ; such person or persons to be a widow or widower, or a man and his wife, having no child residing with them, and to be permitted to occupy the same, rent free, during their lives, subject to the power of amoval thereinafter men- tioned : provided that, if a man and his wife should be the occupiers of any such tenements, and one of them should die, the survivor should remain therein, subject as afore- said, during life, if he or she continued unmarried. And the said mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty were empowered to amove any of the said alms people, in case of their committing any waste or injury to the said tene- ments and premises, or keeping a disorderly house, or committing any other nuisance or disturbance, interrupting the comfort of any of the occupiers of the other tenements, or of the neighbourhood. And it is thereby further witnessed, that the said George Garland had paid to the said mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty, the sum of £200, upon trust, in the first instance, to invest the same on government CHARITIES. 421 or real security, and, as soon as convenient opportunity offered, to lay out the same in the purchase of freehold lands of inheritance in the county of Dorset, to be conveyed to the said mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty, upon trust, to apply the interest of the said sum of £200 previous to such purchase, and the rents of the lands when purchased, in keeping the said tenements in tenantable repair on the then plan and form of building, and to divide the surplus equally between the occupiers of the said tenements, on Christmas eve annually, the share of a man and his wife to be the same as that of a widow or widower, viz., one~twelfth part of such surplus : provided that, in case of the destruction or of material damage to the said tenements by fire or otherwise, or of their becoming ruinous from decay, then the said mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty should be at liberty to apply the whole of the said interest or rents for rebuilding or repairing the same, and also to keep the buildings insured from fire out of the said interest or rents. And it was provided that a distinct book of accounts should be kept, which accounts should be audited annually, by the auditors of the general accounts of the corporation, and signed by them. And, by another deed of bargain and sale, enrolled in chancery, dated August 1, 1822, the said George Garland conveyed to the corporation a messuage or tenement, and workshop, yard, and outhouses, in Market street, bounded as therein mentioned, in the occupation of Joseph Swaffield, and a messuage, tenement, workshop, and outbuildings, also situate in Market street, in the occupation of Joseph Lance, (but excepting the allotments in respect thereof, under the Canford and Poole enclosure act,) upon trust to apply one-third part of the rents and profits of the said messuages and premises to keeping the same and also the said alms houses in good repair ; and to place the surplus of such one-third part out at interest on government or real security, or their own security, and suffer it to 3 H 422 CHARITIES. accumulate for the purpose of forming' a fund for better providing for such repairs ; and at the end of every ten years to pay a reasonable part, not less than one-half of such accumulations, to the occupiers of such alms houses, by twelve equal payments, on the days when the monthly payments are directed to be made to them ; and as to the other two-thirds upon trust, to divide the same equally between the occupiers of the said alms houses, on the first Monday of every calendar month; the share of a man and his wife to be one-twelfth part thereof: with similar provisions in case of the destruction or material damage to the said alms houses, and for insurance, and for keeping a separate book of accounts, as in the previously recited deed. These premises produce a rental of £26 per annum ; and the dividends arising from the £200 which have been invested in the new three and a half per cents, amount to £7 19s. 4d. Out of the income, amounting in the whole to £33 19s. 4d., there is paid annually for insurance of the alms houses, £1 2s. 6d. ; and the twelve inhabitants have received 2s. 6d. each monthly, (being £18 per annum,) and £9 at Christmas, amounting in the whole to £28 2s. 6d. per annum. The payments for repairs at the alms houses and the other buildings have amounted, since 1822, to £56 13s. Id., besides a sum of £4 2s. 9d. for damage done by fire, and afterwards received from the insurance office. jolliffe's charity. Christopher Jollife, by will, dated March 6, 1809, gave to the mayor of Poole and his successors, £100 in trust, to invest the same in the three per cent, consolidated bank annuities, and to stand possessed thereof in trust to apply the dividends annually in the purchase of coals, to be divided every Christmas equally among all the poor CHARITIES* 423 persons inhabiting the twelve apartments called the Gifting-houses, in Poole aforesaid, and also the poor per- sons inhabiting the alms houses, in Market street, nearly opposite Levet's lane, in Poole aforesaid. This legacy was invested in the purchase of £150, three per cent, consols, in the names of Benjamin Lester Lester, John Foot, junior, James Seager, junior, and John Strong, in whose names it still stands. The dividends (£4 10s.) were paid to the mayor 9 § who expended the amount in coals, which were distributed in small quantities between the inmates of the Church street and Rogers's alms houses. benjamin lester's endowment. In the year 1799, Benjamin Lester, esq., gave to the parish an organ for the use of the church ; and, at his death, in 1804, he bequeathed £400 to the corporation, in trust that they should pay to the organist of Poole church, £20 per annum, as an endowment for ever : and it was directed, that the election of the organist should be vested in the corporation. This sum of £400 was paid to the corporation Dec. 5, 1804, and carried to their general account; out of which they regularly paid £20 to the organist of the parish church by quarterly payments, till the close of the year 1835, when a shipwright's yard and a clay cellar beloging to the corporation were conveyed to trustees to secure the payment of the £20 to the organist. The present organist was not named by the corporation, but was appointed in the usual manner by the vestry. sir john lester's endowment. Sir John Lester , knt., by will, dated Dec. 25, 1804, gave to the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty of Poole, £2566 13s. 4d., three per cent, consols, to be pur- chased by his executors out of his personal estate, free of legacy duty, and transferred into the names of the said 424 CHARITIES. mayor, &c, upon trust, out of the dividends to pay to the minister of the parish church of Poole* for the time being-, the clear yearly sum of £52, by half yearly payments, in January and July, upon condition that the said minister should read the evening service and 'preach a lecture in the parish church of St. James, between the hours of six and nine in the evening of every Sunday throughout the year; 20s* to be forfeited for every neglect of such duty: and to pay the clerk of the parish for attending the said service £10, with a discretionary power to the mayor, &c, to deduct 3s. 6d. for every neglect of duty : to the organist £10, subject to the like penalty for neglect : and to the sexton £5, subject to the penalty of Is. 9d. for neglect? such several forfeitures to be paid to the church* wardens, towards the expense of lighting the church for such evening service* This sum of £2566 13s. 4d., three per cent, consols, was transferred into, and still stands in, the names of Benjamin Lester Lester, James Seager, John Strong, and John Foot* The dividends, amounting to £77, are disposed of in accordance with the directions of the testator* The evening service is regularly performed and the lecture preached, the respective officers attending as required by the endowment* *** All the foregoing endowments, having been vested in the old corporation, are at present under the manage- ment of the provisional trustees appointed by the lord chancellor, under the powers given in the corporation act. The trustees have yet made no permanent arrangements for the government of the endowments. fawconer's charity. Martha Faivconer, by her will, without date, but pro- ved in the prerogative court, June 1, 1818, gave to her executors, George Garland, Christopher Spurrier, and CHARITIES* 425 Peter Jolliffe, £200, in three per cent* annuities, the inter- est thereof to be laid out in sixpenny loaves, and given to poor old women, at the church door in Poole, under the direction of her executors, and the minister and church- wardens of Poole, every Easter Monday for ever, and if they should omit so doing- for two years, the said £200 to be claimed by, and divided between, her nearest relations, or any one of them* In respect of this legacy, there is now the sum of £176, three per cent reduced annuities, standing in the names of George Garland, Christopher Spurrier, and Peter Jolliffe; £24 of the stock bequeathed having been sold for payment of legacy duty and expenses* Out of the dividends* (amounting to £5 5s. 6d. per annum,) Is. 6d. is retained for expenses, and the remainder, £5 4s., is laid out in the purchase of sixpenny loaves, which are brought to the vestry on Easter Monday, and distributed by the minister and churchwardens to poor aged persons of the parish, among whom a preference is given to widows. SWETLANft's CHARITY* Ann Sivetland, by will, dated Sept. 13, 1822, and proved in the prerogative court, gave to the churchwardens of the parish of St. James, in Poole, £200, three per cent, consols, upon trust to apply the dividends thereof in the purchase of bread, to be distributed in the month of January yearly, under the direction of the minister and churchwardens of the said parish., among the poor thereof. From this bequest, £20 7s. 6d. stock was sold for pay- ment of legacy duty and expenses. The remainder, £179 12s. 6d*, stands in the names of John Sydenham and John Turpin, who were churchwardens at the time of the testatrix's death* The dividends, amounting to £5 7s. 8d., are laid out by the churchwardens, in the month of January, in quartern loaves, which are given amongst poor persons of 426 CHARITIES. the town, at the discretion of the minister and churchwar- dens, who attend at the vestry for that purpose. The foregoing constitute the endowed charities of the town. There are, in addition, several other benevolent institutions that have been established, dependent on the sums annually contributed for their support. The principal of these are the Sick and Aged Society, and the District Visiting Society. The Society for the Relief of the Sick and Aged was founded in Poole, August 4, 1815. The object of this society is to devote the funds of the institution to the relief of the indigent sick and aged poor, of every denomination of religion. It is maintained by subscription, and by the contributions of the beneficial members, who are required to contribute four pence per month, by which they become entitled to the benefits of the fund, which is devoted to their relief in times of emergency. The busi- ness of the society is conducted by a president, a treasurer and secretary, and a proper number of visitors, whose business is to visit the afflicted, and seek for proper objects of relief. The District Visiting Society was founded in 1832, in connection with the established church. Its object is to provide for visiting the families of the poor as often as time and other circumstances may render expedient, with the view of promoting their temporal and spiritual improvement. There are also in the town the customary associations in connection with the many institutions founded in the kingdom, for promoting Christianity at home and abroad. Depositaries have likewise been formed here for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and for the Tract Society. 427 % public 25uiMng^ The public buildings of Poole, exclusive of the churches and dissenting" places of worship, which have been already described, are not verv numerous. The following are the principal : — THE GUILDHALL stands in the market place. It is a spacious and convenient structure, comprising a council chamber, a large hall of justice, retiring rooms for the jury, &c. ; having on the ground story a series of open arcades, occupied on market days by the butchers. The entrance to the hall is by a double flight of steps, leading to a portico beneath a pedi- ment, at the west end of the building. This edifice was erected in 1761, at an expense of £1500, presented to the corporation for that purpose, in equal proportions, by Joseph Gulston, and Thomas Calcraft, esqrs,, then chosen representatives of the borough. In the justice room, over the fireplace, is an emblazonment of the armorial bearings of the borough ; and on the opposite side of the room is a fine half length portrait of Mr. Gulston. In the great hall are suspended two large glass chandeliers, presented by William Morton Pitt, esq., who also gave the pair of splendid maces borne before the mayor on 428 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. occasions of state. The judicial business of the borough, at the quarter sessions and other courts, is transacted in this hall, and the public meetings of the town are generally holden here. The old guildhall, used before the erection of the present building, stood in Fish street, THE GAOL is situated in King street. It consists of six sleeping rooms, and one day room appropriated to debtors, There is a house of correction attached to the gaol, consisting of a single room ; and there is also a treadmill. Prior to the extension of the municipal boundary, the gaol was of good size, compared with the extent of the local jurisdic«« tion; but, since the addition of the out parishes, considerable inconvenience has been suffered from the relative smallness of the accommodation, and an enlargement or rebuilding of the gaol is contemplated, There is a spacious yard within the outer walls, The sheriff" has the charge of the gaol ; but the gaoler has hitherto been appointed by the justices in session, He is paid a salary of £30 a year out of the borough rate, and receives also 40s. a year as keeper of the house of correc-* tion. The gaol was erected about 40 years since s and is kept in repair out of the borough rate, A curious entry in the corporation books, under date of 1001, and which is subjoined, leads to a melancholy inference as to the uncertainty that must at that time have prevailed in regard to the provision for the maintenance of those who were so unfortunate as to be confined in our prisons, " M d - it is ordeyned condiscended and agreed this xviij th daie of September anno d'ni 1601 by Mr. WiU'm Bramble mayor of this towne and countie of Poole Mr, Richard Swayne recorder of the same towne and by his brethren and assistaunce that from henceforthe the PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 429 inhibytants of this towne whose names are heere under written eu'ie one of them accordinge to ther dwellings shall bestowe one after another daie by daie as they shalbe appointed one meales meate towards the releife of the prison' now in the gaiole duringe such tyme as he shall remayne ther And that the sherife shall appointe one honest poor bodie dulie to gather the same of those p'sons by ther howses orderlie as he shalbe appointed And if anie p'son or p'sons refuse to releeife the said prison' as they shalbe appointed thervnto by the mayor and the most p'te of his brethren that be of the councel of the towne then he or they to forfett for eu'ie such refusal! the some of vj s viij d And if anie more prison's heer.ifter shalbe comytted to the comon gaiole of this said towne which prison's are not of abilitie to releefe themselues then eu'ie of the said p'sons whose names are heere subscribed and suche others as the mayor of this towne for the tyme being and the comon councell of the same or the greatest p'te of them shall lymitt and appointe shall releive such prison's as heereafter shalbe comytted accordinge to suche order and direction as the said mayor and comon counsell or the greatest p'te of them shall directe and appointe vppon the like peyne of forfeyture of vj s viij d ." Then follows a list of the names of those who are to furnish the meals, specifying the day and the meal ; as " Mr. WilPm Bramble mayor Sonndaie at dynn' the xx th of September 1601. " Mr. Mawdley the same daie at supp'." &c. A small prison for temporary confinement adjoins the town cellars, near the quay. It is called " the Salisbury 5 " and is supposed to have derived that name from the build- ing that formerly stood on the same site, having been erected, as a place of imprisonment, by one of the Lon- gespees or Montacutes, earls of Sarum ; and this opinion of its antiquity was well confirmed by the appearance of the old structure, which was taken down about eighteen years since. 3 I 430 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. POLICE OFFICE. The police of the town, both daily and nightly, is very well conducted. It was formerly managed, conjointly with the lighting, by the commissioners appointed under the provisions of the local act of the 29th Geo. II. ; but, by the corporation act of the 5th and 6th Wm. IV., c. 76, the police of the borough was made subject to its provisions, and brought under the regulation of the town council. There are now six daily, and six nightly police ; with a day superintendent, and a night superintendent. Since this alteration in the system, a private house in hill street has been converted into a police office, in which the minor business connected with that establishment is conducted. GAS WORKS. The town of Poole has been lighted with gas for the last four years. The lighting is governed by the commissioners under the local act just mentioned. This act provides that the mayor and justices of the peace of the town and county of Poole, for the time being, and eleven of the principal inhabitants of the town, to be chosen annuallv on Easter Tuesday, by the inhabitants in vestry assembled, shall be commissioners for the purposes of the act, in regard to lighting the streets of the town, &c, to which end the commissioners are vested with power to appoint assessors to make an annual rate or assessment on the inhabitants, which is termed the lamp rate. Down to the year 1833, the streets of Poole were lighted with oil ; but in that year a gas company was founded, and the commissioners have since contracted for a due supply of gas. The works have been erected on a convenient site, on the south-eastern side of the town. The company is formed by shareholders, there being 400 shares, at £10 each. The affairs of the company are pro- ceeding very favourably, as nearly all the shops and inns, and many of the private houses in the town are supplied PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 431 by the company. All the capital was required for the erection of the works and the completion of the establish- ment ; but the returns have since been so abundant, as not only to provide for an annual dividend of 5 per cent, to the shareholders, but to have enabled the directors to contemplate a reduction in the price of gas supplied to the private consumers. The number of public lamps is 168, of which 134 are paid for from the proceeds of the lamp rate, and 34 for lighting* the quays are provided out of the quay dues. A lamp rate of 6d. in the pound per annum, is sufficient to provide the necessary funds. THE LIBRARY. The Town and County of Poole Library is situated at the lower extremity of the High street, near the quay. This institution was founded in the year ] 830, when the site, on which the building has been erected, was presented by Benjamin Lester Lester, esq., and the costs of the erection were defrayed by the hon. W. F. S. Ponsonby, those gentlemen being then the representatives of the borough. The room containing the library is lofty, sufficiently large, and well adapted to the purpose. The institution is supported by donations and annual subscript tions. The property is declared to be in those who have made donations of ten pounds or upwards, they also becom- ing annual subscribers : donors of five pounds also become proprietors when their annual subscriptions, added to their donations, shall amount to ten pounds ; and annual sub- scribers become proprietors when the aggregate amount of their subscriptions shall amount to fifteen pounds : but no proprietor is to continue entitled to a share in the property after the discontinuance of his annual subscription. The property, of every description, is vested in trustees, who stand possessed of the same on certain trusts declared in the deed. The trustees, with a committee of nine sub- 432 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. scribers, annually chosen by ballot, have power to make laws and regulations for the management of the institution. A treasurer and a secretary are appointed by the trustees, and chosen out of the proprietors. The annual subscrip- tion to the library is one guinea : and the subscribers are admitted by ballot. The number of subscribers is not so great as might have been anticipated from the extent of the population of the town and its neighbourhood. The number of books now belonging to the institution does not exceed 1700, and, from the circumstance just mentioned, additions are not made to any considerable extent. Strangers are admitted to the reading room on the introduction of a member. The front of the building bears the following inscrip- tion : — " Public Library, The gift of Benjamin Lester Lester, esquire, and the honble. W. F. S. Ponsonby y representatives of Poole in parliament, 1830." THE TOWN HOUSE. This building has been erected for the convenience of merchants and others, as a news room, and place of general resort. It is supplied with the leading London daily journals, provincial newspapers, and other periodical publications. Subscribers are admitted by ballot. The subscription is two pounds per annum. The present town house was erected in 1822, on the quay, on the site of the structure which had been built in 1727, for the same purpose. Over the entrance is sculptured, in bas-relief, a likeness of Benjamin Skutt, esq., in whose mayoralty the old town house was founded, to which he was one of the principal contributors. The reading and news room is on the first floor ; and in addition to the newspapers, &c, it is furnished with numerous maps. Over the fire- place is a very fine painting of king Charles II., in his robes of state, supposed to have been presented to the society by Mr. Skutt, whose grandfather was in close PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 433 attendance upon, and much favoured by, that monarch during his visit to Poole. Underneath this room is the office of the collector of the quay and harbour dues. The premises are holden under a licence from the cor- poration, dated May 1, 1822, granted to George Welch Ledgard and others, for 999 years, at the yearly rent of three guineas. And, of the same date, is a declaration of trust, by the said George Welch Ledgard and others, trustees, reciting that the said licence was granted to them at the request of the subscribers or society of the town house, the commissioners for watching and lighting the town, and the treasurer of the quay dues ; and then declaring the trusts to be observed. TOWN CELLARS. The large building on the quay, known as the town cellars, and which has been used for centuries as a place for the temporary deposit of goods brought to the town, is of considerable antiquity, but so mutilated by time, violence, and alterations, that it is difficult to trace in the structure itself the characters of its original use. It has been conjectured that the general architectural features bear indications that the building was formerly devoted to ecclesiastical purposes ; but no sufficient evidence can be adduced in support of this supposition : and it is more probable that the edifice was raised by the ancient lords of the manor, as a hall for their accommodation when visiting their burgh of Poole, or as a storehouse for the deposit of the goods imported here on their account, and of the corn and other merchandize taken by them as toll.* That it * Tallages were anciently taken in kind ; and, although in the charter granted to the burgesses of Poole by William Longespee, many valuable privileges were con- ceded, yet the lord retained to himself and his heirs the right to take tallage of the burgesses whenever the king should take tallage of his cities and boroughs, [cum uero rex quicunque fuerit de ciuitatibus siue burgis suis tallagium ceperit secundum consuetudinem ciuitatum et burgorum suorum de dictis burgensibus rneis michi et heredibus meis tallagium cepere licebit]. Madox [Exch. 516,] says, when the king granted to a subject a demeane manour or town, together with the homages, aids, tallages, and other profits thereof, to hold to the grantee and his hzhs : in su'.n case, the grantee und hit heirs had power to tallage the men of 434 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. was used as a storehouse so early as the commencement of the fifteenth century is clear from the account of the attack by the Spanish privateers, given ante [p. 92]. It is spoken of in the Spanish chronicle as a "large building"," a "storehouse," "full of arms and sea stores of all kinds." It is now held of the manor ; and it was leased to the cor- poration so long since as the middle of the sixteenth century, and by that body was used as a storehouse for merchandize brought to the port, and on which they made a charge for cellarage, according to an ancient scale, of which a copy is still extant. A view of this building is given p. 148. THE MARKET. It has been already stated that the open arcades beneath the guildhall have been appropriated to the purposes of a meat market ; but these having been found insufficient to afford due accommodation, a large space adjoining was set apart and covered in as an additional market place ; and want of accommodation being still felt, another extensive spot, on the north side of the Unitarian meeting house, was, in 1827, appropriated, with convenient sheds and a neat entrance, as a fruit, vegetable, and butter market. The markets of Poole are very well supplied, in regard both to the quantity and quality of the meat, vegetables, &c, brought for sale, and the prices in general are con- siderably lower than those of other markets. The market days are Monday and Thursday. The fairs, of which each excites the juvenile inhabitants of the town for eight days, are held annually on the feast of St. Philip and St. James, (May 1) and seven days following, and on the feast of All Souls (November 2) and seven days following. such manour or town, to their own use, when the king tallaged his demeanes and manours throughout England, but not otherwise or at other times. But such inferior lord could not rightfully raise tallage oftener or in other manner than the king raised tallage in his own demeanes. For the tenants were not, by the king's grant, tallage- able to the private lord in any other manner than they would have been to the king, if the seigniory had still rested iu the crown. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 435 The fish market is h olden in a modern edifice, built for the purpose on the quay. It is not well supplied. The tolls of the markets and fairs, which are vested in the corporation, are at present leased at the sum of £250 per annum. A pitched corn market was formerly held in Poole, in the open space, still known by the appellation of " the corn market," in the high street. In 1699, sheds were erected here for the convenience of the dealers, but these have long* since vanished, and the market has been dis- continued for a great many years past. THE WORKHOUSE. The house used as a workhouse is situated in west street. The following inscription, borne on the front of the building-, states it to have been erected from the munificence of Thomas Missing, esq,: — "How commend- able are the works of charity. This publick edifice, erected for the reception of the poor, was finished in the year 1739/ the necessary charges of building it, a?nowit- ing to £500, were voluntarily defrayed by the sole generosity of Thomas Missing, esq." A question was raised some years since by the corpora- tion, as to the property of the site of the building, but no documents to clear the point could be produced. The ground has been in the possession of the parish at least since 1739, and does not appear to have been the subject of any charitable endowment, either by Mr. Missing (who represented the borough), or any other person. Until the passing of the poor law amendment act, in 1834, and the consequent formation of an union, com- prising the parish of Saint James, and the adjoining parishes and tithings, the house in west street was amply sufficient for the purposes of the parish; but the accom- modation not fceing sufficiently extensive for the whole union, a new house is about to be erected on a spot of ground in Longfleet. 436 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. The great object of our early pauper legislation appears to have been the restraint of vagrancy. The earliest scheme of a provision for the poor sanctioned by the legislature, was by means of regular collections, which, in the course of a long" scries of statutes, ending in the 43rd Elizabeth, were almost insensibly converted into compul- sory assessments. Various modes of supplying the wants of the indigent prevailed in different parts and at different periods. And a practice formerly existed in this port, of levying" the tenth part of all grain shipped here, for the relief of the poor of the town. This practice appears to have been resisted after the passing" of the act 43rd Elizabeth, but by orders received from the lord high treasurer of the kingdom, by command of the privy council, dated December 22, 1603, and in October, 1604, it was directed that the tenth quarter of grain, should be set aside for the relief of the poor as formerly. In an old book in the town chest, entitled " a booke for the accompts of the overseers of the powre of the parryshe towne and countie of Poole," there are some curious entries. This book commences under date of 1598, and is con- tinued to 1624. In 1598-9, the whole of the receipts appear to have consisted of donations, bequests, and 28s. taken out of " the poor man's box."^ The payments were chiefly * Before the reformation, says Anthony a Wood, " in every church was a poor man's box." These boxes are often mentioned so early as the twelfth century. The common poor box in the churches appears to have been a shaft of oak, hollowed out at the top, covered by a hinged lid of iron, with a slit in it for the money to fall through into the cavity, and secured by one or two iron locks. Into these boxes it was customary for the benevolent to put money on Sundays. These poor boxes are expressly referred to in the statute 27th Henry VIII., c. 25, which directs that the head officers of corporate towns, and the churchwardens and two others of every parish, who are to remain in office only one year, do collect voluntary alms for the purpose of relieving the impotent poor, and that such as be lusty be kept to continual labour. The money collected is to be kept in a " common box " in the church, or committed to the custody of a substantial trusty man, as they can agree, to be de- livered as necessity shall require. Almsgiving, otherwise than to these common PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 437 sums paid as premiums with apprentices. With John Russell, who was apprenticed for nine years, a premium of 40s. was paid. In 1601, the overseers say that they "have gathered in the churche upon the book for the relieffe of the poore for three quarters of a yeare, their accompte being for no more, £9 15s. 6d.," of which there was paid to the poor, £9 15s. This " book" must have been the first rate levied under the 43rd Eliz. The sum collected offers a striking" contrast to some of the annual amounts levied in late years. In 1602, is this entry, " collected in the churche this yeare towards the reliefe of the poore, £11 4s. lid." In 1604, nearly all the sums " disbursed towards the weakly reliefe of the poore of this town," are stated to have been paid to paupers in sickness. 1609. — The total amount of payments this year was £17 7s. 2d. In 1611, they amounted to £21 13s. lid. In 1616, the ordinary weekly payments are stated at £18 12s. lOd. ; and the extraordinary payments, as pre* miums with apprentices, allowances to sick people, &c, at £10 10s. 7d., making a total of £29 3s. 5d. The state of the parochial affairs of Poole, immediately prior to the recent formation of the parochial union, may be gathered from the following extract from the report boxes or common gatherings, or to fellow parishioners or prisoners, is prohibited on forfeiture of ten times the amount given. After the establishment of a system of compulsory relief to the poor, these poor boxes became greatly neglected; and this neglect gave rise to several sly bits of satire. It is noted in Hogarth's marriage scene of the ''Rake's progress," by a cobweb covering the poor's box in the church. There is an intimation to the same effect in one of Beaumont and Fletcher's plays, which further intimates that poor boxes had posies : — " The poor man's box is there too : if ye find any thing Besides the posy, and that half rubbed out too, For fear it should awaken too much charity, Give it to pious uses : that is, spend it," Spanish Curate. The posies or mottoes on poor boxes were short sentences to incite benevolence,— such as " He that giveth to the poor leudeth to the Lord," &c. 3 K 438 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. furnished by D. O. P. Okeden, esq., who, as one of the assistant commissioners of inquiry, visited the parish in 1832. " Poole is a town and county, having' its own quarter sessions and gaol. It is entirely governed by its own magistracy, without any interference of the magistrates of the county. " Population, 6459. £ s. d. " Annual sum expended on the poor for > Q o«* q r the year ending Lady-day, ..1830, $ 32bb b b Ditto 1831, 3149 13 Ditto 1832, 3440 17 6 " There is but one parish in Poole, St. James's ; Poole is governed, as to the management of its poor, by the Gilbert act. " The assistant overseer has £30 per annum. The guardian acting, Mr. Hooper, who is the entire manager of all that relates to the poor, has £130. " The acting guardian and visiters settle the relief to be allowed to each pauper. There is scarcely ever an appeal to the magistrates. " The Workhouse. — The numbers, ages, and sexes of the inmates of the workhouse are at present, December, 1S32, " Old and infirm men, some above 90,. . . . 37 Ditto women, three above 92 42 Under 13 years old, boys, 21 Ditto, girls, 29 Total inmates, 129 " There are generally about five or six more, somewhat younger than the old men and women, who do the work of the establishment. " The women are mostly widows. The men have been sailors and mechanics. The old men occasionally pick a little oakum, and some of the less infirm sweep and PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 43& clean the streets. These employments may save the parish about £40 per annum. " The men and women are separated, except in the case (there are only two cases) of an old married couple. " The board, lodging", clothes, fuel, and all expenses of the house, and medical advice, for each individual, amounts to a sum not exceeding* 3s. lOd. per week. " The children are well instructed, go to the Sunday schools, and to church or meeting house. The boys are apprenticed to the sea line. There is a very accurate and constant visitation of the out-poor at their houses, and every means are used to ascertain their characters, and the validity of their claims on parish aid. The men, of the out-poor, are principally old sailors and some mechanics : the women, widows of those classes with families. When they have fathers or children able to support them, the parish does not relieve the poor, but apply for, and procure from the magistrates, an order on the relations. " If able-bodied men apply for relief, they are sent to the parish farm. Such applications are rare, and the applicants soon find work again. " About one-tenth of the resident poor are non-parish- ioners. The total number of poor relieved out of the workhouse is generally 700. The residences of the poor are rated, but the rates never demanded. There is a loss of about one-third on every rate on this item, as the land- lords are not made to pay the rates. " Removals and ajjpeals. — The expenses of removals are as under : — £ 5. d. For 1829, 32 5 6 1830, 27 11 3 1831, 21 8 9 Total of three years, 81 5 6 440 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. £ s. d a " Expenses of appeals for 1829, 14 10 6 1830, 21 13 1831,.... 19 9 3 Total of three years, 55 12 9 " The accounts are all kept by the acting guardian, and submitted to and passed, monthly, by the other guardians ; and every quarter they are audited and signed by the visiter. " The accounts are published annually, and sent to all the rate payers. " 1 have selected the town of Poole as an instance of the best management of the poor 1 have met with. " The interference of the magistrates is unknown. The present acting guardian took on himself the management in 1815. In four years he reduced the expenditure £2600; and though the population has nearly doubled since that period, the rates have never exceeded what they were after that reduction." Mr. Okeden adds, that he has selected Poole " as an instance of a large, trading, populous, borough town, where, perfect confidence being placed by the magistrates in the decisions of the vestry, and in the management of the assistant guardian of the poor, no interference takes pkice, and where all that relates to the government of the poor, seems to me to be of unrivalled excellence." Parochial Union. — The consequence of the inquiry, of which Mr. Okeden 's investigation formed part, was the adoption, by act of parliament, of a new system of admin- istering parochial relief, and the formation of several adjoining parishes into a parochial union. The Poole union, which was formed November 2, 1835, comprised the parish of St. James, Poole, with 4 guardians; the parish of Canford Magna, 1 ; the parish of Lvtchett PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 441 Minster 1 ; the parish of Lytchett Matravers, 1 ; the parish of Hamworthy, 1 ; the tithing of Kingston, 1 ; the tithing of Parkstone, 1 ; the tithing of Longfieet, 1. Total num- ber of elected guardians forming the board, 11. The three last-named tithings belong to the parish of Great Canford, but keep their poor separately. Since the formation of the union, the expenditure for the poor in each parish has been considerably reduced. The following is a statement of the annual expenditure in parochial relief for the parish of St. James, Poole, in different years : — In the year ending Lady-day, 1765, the expenditure was £637 18s. 3d.; in 1770, it had increased to £1062 15s. SJd. ; in 1780, it was somewhat reduced, amounting to £946 2s. 9d. ; in 1790, it was £1502 13s. 3f (). ; and, in 1800, it had advanced to £2577 Is. 2f d. It continued varying a little, but with about the same average, till after the close of the war in 1815, when, as the natural consequence of combined circumstances, pauperism suddenly increased to a most alarming extent. The'fol- lowing is a table of the annual expenditure in relief of the poor from 1815; together with the actual amount of poor rates levied in the parish in the respective years : — EXPENDITURE. 1815-6, 1816-7, 1817-8, 1818-9, 1819-20, 1824-5, 1829-30, 1834-5, £ s. 2842 5 3696 3 4529 18 3845 15 3534 18 3217 8 3265 13 2947 9 8 . 9 . 1 . 3 . 5i. 0J. . 7 . The apparent discrepancy between given year and the amount levied reconciled by the fact that many p; relief of the poor, are made out of SUMS LEVIED. £ s. d. . . 2376 18 4 . . 3726 11 11 . . 6309 5 10 . . 5102 17 6 . . 4170 10 .. 4020 9 7 . . 3809 7 9 . . 3224 10 4 the expenditure of a in that year, may be ivments, not for the the poor rate. The 442 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. county rate, for instance, down to the alteration in the municipal system, amounting* to £200 per annum, was paid out of the poor rate. It has been succeeded by the borough rate, paid from the same fund. The following" is a statement of the total expenditure for each parish in the union, from the formation of the union on the 2nd of November, 1835, to the 25th of Mareh, 1837, being* a period of seventeen months; together with other particulars, shewing" the comparative amount of reduction in the expenditure: — Parishes. Charge upon each parish. Average annual expenditure, from 1833 to 1835. Ratio of annual reduction. Popula- tion in 1831. £ s. d. £ £ s. Poole, 3306 15 4 3236 908 3 6459 Kinson, 343 14 61 384 141 8 775 Canford, .... 405 13 9 477 190 3 876 Longfleet. . . . 283 11 H 336 135 17 840 Parkstone, . . 131 14 3i 133 40 609 Hamworthy , . 117 1 2 149 66 8 308 Lytchett > Matravers $ 182 16 3J 277 142 4 505 Lytchett > Minster, . . 5 251 16 n 244 46 6 680 Total,. . . . 5023 2 in 5216 1670 9 11052 A custom has prevailed in the parish of St. James, Poole, of rating to the relief of the poor, not only houses and land, but stock in trade ; and this custom has occa- sionally given rise to protracted and expensive litigation. The relative proportions in which the different species of property are assessed are as follows : — In every rate of 3s. in the pound on land and houses, the stock in trade of tradesmen and the exports and imports of merchants are assessed at 7s. 6d. in every £100, and all ships of 30 tons and upwards, at 3Jd. per ton. 443 ftcmatftatrte $cc£on£* Brief biographical notices of the more distinguished individuals who have been from time to time officially connected with Poole, having been already given in the course of this volume, it now remains to speak of those few persons who, having the town as the place of their nativity, have been distinguished in their lives, though not associ- ated with Poole by any official tie. The rev. John Lewis, M.A., an eminent divine and antiquary, grandson of the rev. Mr. Lewis, vicar of Worth, in the isle of Purbeck, was born here in 1673, but his family having removed to Bristol soon after his birth, be was there baptised. He was educated at Exeter college, Oxford, and afterwards returned to Poole, where he taught grammar. He thus became acquainted with the rev. John Russell, at that time minister of Poole, and a warm friend- ship sprung up between them ; so much so, that on Mr. Russell being appointed preacher at St. John's, Wapping, he invited Mr. Lewis to leave Poole and reside with him. Mr. Russell being much favoured by archbishop Tennison, introduced his friend to that prelate, who, in 1705, pre- ferred him to the vicarage of Margate, Kent, which he enjoyed upwards of forty years. Through his acquaintance 444 REMARKABLE PERSONS. with Mr. Russell, the subject of our notice was also intro- duced to Mr. Joseph Ames, the celebrated author of " Typographical Antiquities," with whom he formed a friendship that ended but with the life of Mr. Lewis. Lt is worthy of remark, that by his attendance on the lectures of Desaguliers, in 1720, Mr. Ames also formed an acquaint- ance with Mr. [afterwards sir Peter] Thompson, another eminent native of Poole, which continued uninterruptedly till the death of Mr. Ames, in 1759. Sometime before the year 1730, Mr. Lewis, who had collected materials for a history of printing, suggested the idea of such a work to Mr. Ames, who, after a great number of years spent in collecting and arranging his materials, in which he was largely assisted by Mr. Lewis and other learned friends, published, in 1749, his very valuable and accurate work.^ Mr. Lewis, who died 1746, left many MSS., particularly two volumes, in folio, of the " History of the Anabaptists," now in the Bodleian library. His " Brief history of the rise and progress of Anabaptism in England," with some account of Wickliffe, with large additions in manuscript, prepared for the press ; and several others of his treatises of ecclesiastical antiquities so prepared, were purchased, at Mr. Ames's sale, by Mr. West. His " Life of bishop Peacock," with his manuscript notes, was purchased by Mr. Ratcliffe. Newton's " History of Maidstone," with Mr. Lewis's notes, came subsequently into the possession of Mr. Gough. " Notitia Diocesis Cantuariensis," " Col- lections for Kent," "Antiquities for Richborough, Sand- wich, and Stonar," were purchased by Dr. Cornwallis, archbishop of Canterbury. Wickliffe's New Testament, * Mr. Ames's private copy of his " Typographical Antiquities," interleaved with a great number of manuscript additions and notes, by himself, together with the plates, blocks, and copyright of the same, were purchased, at the sale of his library,. by his friend, sir Peter Thompson, for £'.), and by him sold to Mr. William Herbert, who, 1785 — '■)'), published a second edition, very greatly augmented, in three quarto volumes. The life of Mr. Ames prefixed to this edition, was compiled from memoirs furnished by sir refer Thompson. A third edition has since appeared, under the pen of the celebrated bibliographer, Dr. T. F; Dibdin. REMARKABLE PERSONS. 445 with a History of the several English translations of the Bible, with a great number of manuscript notes and ad- ditions, was bought by Mr. Wilcox, the bookseller. Dr. Ducarel had " A new preface to Mr. Lewis's History of Wickliffe," an octavo volume, in the author's own hand writing, and which afterwards came into the possession of Mr. Nichols. During his lifetime, Mr, Lewis had puta lished the following works : — The History of the English Translations of the Bible, 1731, folio, Republished in 8vo., 1739. A collection of Prayers for the Sick. An Exposition of the Catechism. The Life of Mayster Wyllyam Caxton, of the weald of Kent, the first printer in England, 1737, 8vo. Of this rare volume (Dr. Dibdin believes) only 150 copies were printed, all upon royal paper. It is a work of great value and utility, and was of much service to Pr f Dibdip, in his bibliographical researches. The Life of John Wickliffe, 1740, 8vo. Antiquity and Use of Seals in England, 1740, qto. The Life of bishop Peacpck, 1744, 8vo. The History of the Isle of Thanet, 1723, qto. Re-printed in 1736, The History of Feversham Abbey, 1?27, qto. Mr, Lewis was married ; and his wife died suddenly, of apoplexy, Dec. 15, 1719, aged 44. She was buried in the south side of the chancel at Margate, where her husband was also interred. He erected a mural monument, with an English inscription, to her memory; and a black slab, with a Latin inscription, has been placed over the remains pf both, The rev. Nicholas Gibbon, D,D., an eminent orthodox divine, and a firm adherent to the royal cause during the great rebellion, was the son of Nicholas Gibbon, of Heck-» ford, a burgess of Poole, and was born at Poole, 1605, Having been entered at Queen's college, Oxford, 1622, he removed to Edmund hall, 1632, where he proceeded D.D., 1639, having been rector of Seven Oaks, Kent, seven years. Steady and unwavering in his fidelity to the church and the throne, with a loyalty that no circumstances 3 L 446 REMARKABLE PERSONS. could shake, and a bold candour that ever forbade the concealment of his sentiments, he necessarily became one of the sufferers from the political and religious convulsions to which the kingdom was subject in his day ; and the fortitude with which he endured privation and distress of great extremity, the uncompromising integrity with which, under adverse circumstances, he maintained his principles, and the cheerful readiness he manifested to undertake the most menial offices, for the subsistence of himself and family, combine in forming a rare example of enduring virtue. He was sequestered in 1645. And after this, 1647, the king, who greatly esteemed him, sent for him to the isle of Wight. His attachment to his sovereign — an attachment which appears to have been reciprocal — occasioned his being turned out of Seven Oaks, with a family of eleven children. He then rented a piece of land at £4 per annum, tilling it with his own hands. He drove his plough himself, his second son, Dr. Nicholas Gibbon, afterwards a noted physician at Lyme Regis and Weymouth, holding it. But he was afterwards obliged to give up his land, and lived with a farmer as his servant. Even in this obscure condition, he was not free from persecution. Being seized, he was brought before the committee in Kent for examination. They asked him how he spent his time : he answered, that by day he wrought for his master, and a great part of the night he spent in study; and he then shewed them his hands, callous and hard with labour. Some pitied, others derided him ; to whom he made this spirited and noble return, "Mallem callum in manu quam in conscientia." The result of this examination was, that the committee tendered him the covenant for subscription, accompanied by a promise of his living. Uninfluenced alike by temptation or by menace, he at once rejected the offer. He afterwards encountered great difficulties; but was eventually presented to the rectory of Corfe Castle, though not admitted to it till after the restoration. He REMARKABLE PERSONS. 447 died and was buried there, 1697,, aged 92. He wrote several works on divinity, of which a list is given in Wood's Athenae. Sir Peter Thompson, knt., F.R.S., and F.A.S., the third son of captain Thomas Thompson, of Poole, was born there Oct. 30, 1698, and died Oct. 31, 1770. Sir Peter was an eminent Hamburgh merchant, engaged in mercan- tile business more than forty years, during which period he chiefly resided in mill street, Bermondsey, Surrey. He was included in the commission of the peace, and was appointed high sheriff of that county, 1745. Upon the breaking out of the rebellion in Scotland, he presented to the king a loyal address and association from the county, and on that occasion received the honour of knighthood. He represented the borough of St. Albans in parliament from 1747 to 1754. Endowed with great humanity and good natural parts, he supplied the want of a liberal education by a conversation with men and books; and made it his choice, in 1763, to withdraw from the engage- ments of commercial affairs, that he might enjoy the pleasures of studious retirement and reflection, and the conversation of his friends, in the place of his birth. Here he lived, respected by all ranks for his affability and benevolence. In 1746, he built a handsome house, in an agreeable situation in market street, and generally resided there till his death. At a great expense he formed a capital collection of books, manuscripts, fossils, and other literary and antiquarian curiosities. This valuable library and museum, by the bequest of sir Peter, became the property of his kinsman and heir, Peter Thompson, esq., captain of the company of grenadiers in the Surrey militia. The house is now the property and residence of Mr. George Kemp. Sir Peter was a lover of our national antiquities, and many years Fellow of the Royal and Antiquarian Societies. He collected, with great care and expense, 448 REMARKABLE PERSONS. ancient records relating to Poole, both from the public offices in London, as well as from the archives in the town, Which he kindly communicated to the rev. John Hutchins, when that gentleman was engaged in his History of Dorsetshire* His sister, Mrs* Haseldine, dying a few days before him, Oct. 26, they were both interred together, as his elder brother, and Mr* Haseldine, had been, some years before* in the churchyard of Poole. Sir Peter was admitted a burgess of Poole, June 6, 1744. Robert Rogers, an eminent merchant of London, and especially distinguished by the munificent charitable bequests contained in his will, of which mention has been already made, was a native of Poole* He founded the alms houses in west street* The honourable and astonishing exploits of captains Jolliffe and Thompson, both natives of Poole, have been recorded in a previous page. 440 ft9i£ceUfttieoUj£ $otttc£» From the nature of the plan that has been adopted* throughout this volume, of bringing down to the present day, the notices of each separate branch of historical or topographical inquiry, it necessarily follows that little is now to be added, in order to lay before the reader the actual present state of Poole. It remains merely to give a few miscellaneous notices of matters not immediately included in the regular series of subjects that form the body of the work. The town of Poole presents to the strangef a very favourable appearance. The streets are, in general, wide, well paved) and remarkably clean : the houses, substantially and comfortably built, indicate more than an average degree of respectability on the part of the occupiers; and the many alterations effected during the last few years, have materially improved the more striking features of the town* Amongst the public improvements may be mentioned the direct and pleasing entrance, by which the old awkwardly circuitous Way of approaching the town has been superseded* — the increased facility of communi- cation to the westward, by the erection of a bridge across the channel between Poole and Ham worthy, — the widen- ing and other improvements of the streets, — the extension 450 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. and augmented accommodation of the admirable line of quays,— the enlargement of the market place, — and the re-erection of the parish church, followed by the founda- tion of the church of St. Paul, and of a church in each of the three outlying hamlets. These public improvements, with others, have been effected within the last twenty years, and are in addition to that general enhancement of appear- ance that has naturally resulted from the increase of population, and the expansion of private spirit and speculation. Population, — The number of inhabitants of the borough of Poole, by the census of 1831, was 8216. The popula- tion of the different districts in 1801, 1811, 1821, and 1831, according to the census of the respective years, was as follows: — 1801 1811 1821 1831 Average of real property inl815 St. James, Poole, Longfleet, Parkstone, Hamworthy, .... 4761 504 206 330 4816* 485 231 288 6390f 810 385 313 6459+ 840 609 308 £10,870 1,604 729 793 Total, .. 5801 5820 7898 8216 £13,996 The present population of the borough (1837) is esti- estimated at 10,091. Some particulars relative to the population of the ancient borough of Poole, in 1573, are given p. 103, and that the • In 1811, there were in the parish of St. James, 2143 males, 2673 females, total 4816. The houses were 1029 inhabited, 2 building, and 28 uninhabited, total 1059. The 1029 inhabited houses were occupied by 1104 families, of Avhom 1032 were employed in trade, manufactures, or handicrafts, and none in agriculture. + In 1821, there were in the same parish, 3014 males, 3376 females, total 6390. The inhabited houses were 1118, 17 building, and 55 uninhabited, total 1290. The inhab- ited houses -were occupied by 1378 families, of whom 1311 were employed in trade, manufactures, or handicrafts, and 2 chiefly in agriculture. t In 1831, the population of the same parish was, males, 2884, females, 3575, total 6459. MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 451 number there mentioned (1-373) is the correct amount of the inhabitancy at that period, is evident from the institu- tion of a comparison between the parish registers about that date and those of more recent years, in which the unquestionable number of the inhabitants has been ascertained. The parochial register of St. James, Poole, is of a very early date, commencing in the very year (1538) in which that important document was officially instituted by the order of lord Cromwell."^ Many of the early pages of the baptisms are in so dilapidated a condition, that it is impossible to decipher the contents. The following is a statement of the numbers at various periods: — The average Years. Baptisms. Marriages. Burials . of 10 years ending Baptisms, Marriages. Burials, 1790 101 53 101 1550 50 9 30 1800 139 49 133 1600 38 16 30 1810 112 39 89 1654 47 19 37 1820 153 51 97 1700 49 17 30 In 1740 73 34 98 1830 191 66 143 1780 54 42 84 1836 187 51 132 * The general adoption of parochial registers of hirths, marriages, and burials, did not take place in England at so early a period as in some other European States. In Spain, for instance, it appears that these records -were instituted "by cardinal Ximenes, in the year 1497, in order to remedy the disorders arising from the frequency of divorces in that country; whilst the earliest period at which we find, in England, any decisive authority for the regular keeping of parochial registers, is in the year 1538, 30th Henry VIII., soon after Thomas, lord Cromwell, was appointed the king's vicegerent for ecclesiastical jurisdiction. In this capacity, he issued several injunctions to the clergy, one of which ordains that " every officiating minister shall, for every church, keep a hook, wherein he shall register every marriage, christening, and burial." The injunction goes on to direct the time and manner in which such entries shall be made, omission of which is made penal. Sundry procla- mations and orders were subsequently issued to enforce the proper degree of attention to be paid to this injunction, but it nevertheless appears to have been very imperfectly regarded, and the registers were subsequently found to be so greatly neglected, that Elizabeth rendered imperative a law which forbade any other substance than parchment being used in the preservation of the parish registers. This order was the more necessary, as the principal ground upon which the negligence of the culpable officers was overlooked was, that the registers, being formerly kept on loose and de- tached sheets of paper, were not only mislaid and lost, but also decayed and destroyed by age, damp, and, perhaps, by means less fair than these. This injunction, with others issued by the same sovereign in the 1st, 7th, and 39th years of her rei"-n, 452 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. The early registers of baptisms give, amongst other particulars, the names of the sponsors ; thus, " 1557. Thomas Lambard the son off Thomas Lambard vvasse baptvsed by s r brysse tayler y e xxi daye of October god- fathers John Scryuyn SynthynRede and godmother Marye Lambard." But in 1588, the entries were much simplified, and ran in the following style 2 — " 22 Sept. Edward Man the sone of Edward Man was baptized," Shortly after the commencement of the register, the following entry of a marriage occurs: — *' 1539. Mast r John Horssey knyght of the p'ysshe of Clyffton was maryd to Edith Stocker the wyffe late off John Stocker m'chawnte of Pole the xiiij day of December be p'vylegge gevyn by owr sup'me hedd of the chyrche of Ingelonde kynge Henry the viij th ." In the register of marriages, the following entry occurs under date of June 17, 1658: — " John Hanne late of the parish of Maugin in Cornwall now of wimborne in Dorset gent' and Mary Arrendell daught* of Tho! Arrendell gent' deceased was lawfully published in the markett place and no objection to the contrayie." Local Taxation^ — The pressure of local taxation in the town of Poole is by no means so heavy as in other similar towns. The poor rate in the old borough, for the last twenty-five years, has been levied on an annual average of 8s. 2d. in the £ on land and houses, but as these have hitherto been assessed only at about two-*thirds of the real caused somewhat better regard to be paid to these important records. Still, in many parts of England they were very negligently and imperfectly kept until late years, and being in the custody of the churchwardens, who changed from year to year, old registers were frequently lost or destroyed. As a recent instance, in Northampton- shire, a piece of an old parish register was not long since found upon the pillow of a, lace maker, with the pattern of her work pricked upon it, Since the year 1813, registers are appointed to be uniformly kept throughout the kingdom, and, perhaps, with few exceptions, they are so kept with great care. It is not to be inferred that no parochial registers were kept in England before the injunction of lord Cromwell; for there are many instances to attest that like records; were preserved in several parishes. Thus the parish register of Coombe Keynes, the earliest in the county of Dorset, commences so early as the year 1502, MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 453 annual value, the actual assess menf has been at the rate of 5s. 6d. only in the £ on the rental ; and a reduction on this amount has been effected since the formation of the paro- chial union under the poor law amendment act. The enactment of a law rendering the landlords of small tenements liable to payment of the poor rate would operate in a considerable reduction of the annual rate of assessment, in this parish, as nearly two-thirds of the houses assessed have been ordinarily excused on account of the poverty of the occupiers ; so that on an assessment of 3s. in the £, which is the usual rate, amounting to about £2000, little more than £1300 is actually collected; but the wisdom and justice of such a measure are very questionable on other considerations. The borough rate is included in the poor rate. A church rate of Is. 6d. in the £, towards paying off the principal and interest of a debt contracted at the time of rebuilding the church, is annually collected, under an act of parliament ; and will continue payable until about the year 1856. A rate of about 9d. in the £, for the current expenses of the church, is also annually collected. Stock in trade, shipping, and exports and imports, have been also assessed in these rates."^ The lighting rate amounts to 6d. in the £, per annum. There is also a scavenger's rate, which produces about £350 per annum. Communications, — The facilities of communication be- tween Poole and other parts of the kingdom, are very convenient ; and the number of coaches that now daily arrive and depart, connecting the town with all parts of the kingdom, the rapidity of their journeying, and the * Whilst this sheet was going through the press, the parishioners assembled in vestry, unanimously agreed that, for the future, stock in trade, shipping, and exports and imports, should not be assessed to the poor rate, and these descriptions of property are consequently exempted from contributing to any assessment in the parish. This determinatian will prevent the re-agitation of a much litigated question, and will, probably, tend to promote the commercial prosperity of the town, 3 INI 454 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. punctuality of their arrival, are favourably contrasted with the fact, that a few years since, the mail coach was the only established regular mode of communication, arriving three hours later, and departing two hours earlier, than at the present time. Wagons, also, for the conveyance of goods, to and from any part of the country, regularly arrive in and depart from this town. Packets, likewise, constantly ply between Poole, London, Portsmouth, Southampton, Swan- age, Wareham, and other ports; and an improvement in the communication by water, by the adoption of navigation by steam packets between the four ports first named, has been just effected. There is a packet also that sails to, and returns from, the islands of Guernsey and Jersey. The London and general mail arrives at nine o'clock, a.m., and leaves at five, p.m. The Wareham and Isle of Purbeck mail leaves at half past eight, a.m., and arrives at half past five, p. m. Education. — The institutions in Poole, for gratuitous education, are the schools established in connection with the national society, and the Sunday schools founded in connection with the parish church of St. James, the church of St. Paul, and the different dissenting congregations. The national school is situated at Perry-garden ; it is a large building well adapted to the purpose, and was erected in 1835, from funds raised for that object, to which the corporation contributed £100, and the national society £150, the remainder being provided by private subscrip- tions. The school is supported by private contributions, aided by the proceeds of Harbin's charity. There are now educated in the school, 137 boys and 96 girls. [y. p. 408.] The Sunday school established in connection with the parish church of St. James, has been already spoken of amongst the other endowed charities, [v. p. 412.] A sunday school was founded in connection with the church of St. Paul, immediately after the opening of that MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 455 building-. It is supported by private contributions, and about 200 children are educated in it. There is a Savings Bank in the town, of which Mr. J. B. Bloomfield is the actuary. At the period of the last annual report, viz. in 1837, there were 659 depositors, the aggregate of whose deposits amounted to £26,847 16s. A room in a private house in Barber's piles, has been set apart as a Masonic Hall; a lodge of freemasons having been founded here April 5, 1765, being the Lodge of Amitv, No. 160.* * In this lodge is preserved a memorial of one of the most striking instances on record, of the prevalence of masonic sympathy ; and which occured in the experience of one of the brethren of the lodge. This memorial is a biscuit of coarse bread, preserved in a glass frame, and hung up in the lodge, with the following inscription :— "This biscuit is preserved by the Lodge of Amity, as a memorial of their gratitude nnd brotherly affectum for Jacques de Bon, captain of the 'Junon,' French privateer, of St. Maloes, who captured at sea, on the 13th of December, at 11 a.m. 1813, in lat. 49<> 50' N., long. 70 o W., the brig ' Oak', of Poole, brother Stephen Pack, master, belonging to brothers G. W. Ledgard and John Gosse, on her passage from Bilboa to Poole, who, after treating him and his crew with every mark of kindness, returned him his vessel, and sent on board a dog (which before had been taken from a brother) with this biscuit suspended by a string round his neck, signifying that he would not keep a brother's dog in bondage, nor see him want bread. " Thus the man who holds forth his hand for the relief of his necessitous brethren, is amply repaid by the gratitude of those whom he relieves, by the approbation of his own mind, and X>y the favour of that Omnipotent Being, who tills all space, and whose omniscient eye cannot behold such a bright display of masonic viitues, without assenting his divine and everlasting approbation. " The occurrence thus commemorated, was related at the lodge on the 19th "of December, 1813, after another somewhat similar instance of the extent to which the fraternal regard and philanthropic charity, inculcated by masonry, had prevailed over the usages of warfare, in the conduct of the same capt. de Bon, had been detailed. The relation is thus recorded in the books of the lodge: — " Our R.W.M., G. W. Ledgard, related another pleasing anecdote of the same person, capt. Jacques de Bon : viz. a vessel of his, having been captured by the 'Junon', about a week after the capture of our Guernsey brother's s vesssel, the master, brother Stephen Pack, instantly on the coming on board of the prize-master, discovered himself to bea mason to him, who also happened to be one ; he took one turn on the deck, and then came and shook brother Pack by the hand, and told him he would not carry him a prisoner to France. He then hailed the privateer and received an answer, but what, brother Pack could not say (not understanding French). He was then ordered on board the privateer, where he received the same brotherly kindness from capt. de Bon, who immediately restored him to his vessel, and told him to make the best of his way for England. In getting into hia boat to return on board his own vessel, the Frenchmen, he observed, were very careful in putting a little dog also in the boat. Brother Pack told them he did not want the dog, and did not wish to have it, but they persisted in putting it on board his vessel. After the Frenchman had quitted him for good, he observed something hanging to the neck of this little dog, and on examination, he found it to be a cake of bread, with a hole in the middle, and was tied round the dog's neck with a ropeyarn. This dog, brother Pack afterwards found, belonged to a captain Storey, who was also a brother, and who had been captured, and again released, a few days previous to brother Tack's capture by our kind brother De Bon, 456 €J>e $eto SDijmict, All the municipal privileges of Poole were formerly confined to the parish of St. James ; but in 1832, by the boundary act, which was coincident with the parliamen- tary reform act, the chapelry of Hamworthy, the hamlet of Parkstone, and the tithing of Longfleet, were added to the old borough, for parliamentary purposes ; and by the municipal corporation act, in 1835, that district also be- came an integral portion of the borough, for all municipal purposes. These places constitute a territory, contiguous to and surrounding the old borough, Hamworthy being separated from the town by a narrow channel of the harbour, HAMWORTHY. The name of Hamworthy, etymologically considered, is admirably descriptive of its situation. ' Ham,' derived originally from ( himmel* the heavens, or over-canopy sky, denoted first a covering or shelter, and so came to signify a home, a house, or a hamlet ; and « worthy,' anciently 4 wearth,' designated a place situated between two rivers, or, as old Verstegan has it, "the nook of land where two waters passing by the two sides thereof, do enter the one into the other." Thus these two Saxon words, describing a hamlet between two waters, denote, as accurately as THE NEW DISTRICT. 457 concisely, the local peculiarity of Hamworthy, which is thus graphically delineated by Leland, " there lyith agayn the kay [of Poole,] a point of land, as a causey, after the facion of a brode swerd with a sharp ; the poynte is agayn towarde the town, and the broad part hangynge up to the land, and by this causey men cum from Lichet to the fery." Hamworthy is erroneously described in the boundary act as a parish, it being a chapelry, tithing, and hamlet, in the parish of Sturminster Marshall ; maintaining its own poor. It is situated in Cogdean hundred, and is now a separate manor, divided into Higher and Lower Ham, though it anciently followed the fortunes of Sturminster Marshall, and together with that manor, was amongst the possessions of archbishop Stigand, in the time of Edward the confessor, and, after the conquest, was granted to Roger de Belmont. It was afterwards, as we find by inquisitions of the 36th Ed. III., and 5th Hen. VI., possessed, together with Sturminster, by the family of the Turbervilles, who had large estates at Bere Regis and the neighbourhood. In the 17th Ed. 111., John de Beauchamp held a knight's fee here : and 8th Hen. IV., John Plecy held one carucate of land, in South Ham, juxta Poole, of the inheritance of the earl of Sarum, a minor; a third of a messuage in Sturminster Marshall, of the inheritance of Thomas Gorges, a minor; and six acres and a half of land, of William Stourton, as of his manor of Tarent-Vilers. Mr. Coker says, that a branch of the Carys, or Carews, had inhabited here for some descents. They were seated here till Hen. VIII., and derive their descent from Thomas, third son of John Carew, of Anthony, in Cornwall, a younger branch of the Carews of Haccomb, co. Devon. From 1646 to 1653, Mr. Carew's old rents of a manor house here, value £14 per annum, and his farm were sequestered. There still remains at Higher Ham, a large ancient house, once the seat of the family, but for many years past turned into a 458 THE NEW DISTRICT. farmhouse. Lower Ham seems to have formed at one time, a small separate manor : for 7th Eliz., Thomas, son of John Worsley, held the manor of South Ham, or Ham- worthy, 20 messuages, 10 tofts, and 4 JO acres of land, of the manor of Canford, by suit of court at the hundred of Cockdene, and 43s. rent : and left Frances, his daughter and heir, married to Lionel Tichborne, Get. 30. 14th Cb. I. two parts of this manor were granted inter alia, to Bryan Williams and Richard Bingham, for 21 years, by reason of the recusancy of — Carew, if it remained so long in the king's hands. Both these manors seem afterwards to have come again to the Carews, who conveyed them, in the beginning of the last century, to the Webbs, of Canford, and they have since descended with that manor. The chapel is a new building, having been erected in 1826, and stands at the east end of Higher Ham, near the mansion house, on the site occupied by the ruins of the old chapel ; which was ruined in the civil wars, and only the walls remained, until the present edifice was raised. The ruins denoted the old chapel to have been a small ancient fabric, consisting of a chancel, body, and a small turret at the west end. It was 54 feet in length by 17 feet in width. The inhabitants continued to bury in the chapel and chapel yard. The present chapel is a neat structure, and the foundation stone was laid, Sep. 8, 1825, by the hon. W. F. S. Ponsonby, and it was consecrated August 17, 1826, bv the right rev. Dr. John Kaye, bishop of Bristol. This chapelry is part of the vicarage of Sturminster Marshall, of which the provost and fellows of Eton college are the patrons, and the rev. Dr. Matthew Irving is the present incumbent. In the return to the commission of 1650, it was stated that the church was pulled down in the late wars, for the preservation of the Poole garrison : that it was five miles distant from Sturminster, to which it belonged ; that it was near to Poole, and two miles distant from any other church or chapel, and fit to be united / THE NEW DISTRICT. 459 to Poole; that the value of the parsonage was £13 6s. 8d., which, since the chapel was pulled down, was for the most part received by Mr. Hardy, of Sturminster, and the rest disposed of for ministers who came sometimes from Lytchett and Poole ; that four or five years after the chapel was pulled down, the profits of the parish were applied to the use of the garrison of Poole, and afterwards one year's tithe was paid to Mr. Haddesley, then minister of Poole. No donations or charitable benefits have been given to or belong to this place. The estimated annual value of real property in Ham- worthy, in the year 1815, was £793. The chapelry of Hamworthy does not extend over the whole of the peninsula on which it is situated, a portion of which, at the extreme point, appertains to the parish of St. James, Poole, and is locally known as the Ham side. The boundary between Hamworthy and the parish of St. James, is denoted by a stone erected there some years since. This part of the parish of St. James is used as a ballast quay, at which vessels load and discharge ballast, of which at times very large quantities are deposited here. There are, both here and in the adjoining portion of Hamworthy, spacious yards in which ship-building is carried on to a considerable extent. The communication across the channel dividing Ham- worthy from the town, was, for several centuries, by means of a ferry, belonging to the corporation. The most ancient document extant regarding this ferry is a lease, dated in 1541, by which the ferry and passage house were demised to John Henbury, for 51 years, at the yearly rent of a couple of capons. The ferry is still continued, and the lessee is entitled to one penny per quarter from every householder, and one half-penny for the passage of every stranger. The collection from the householders is made quarterly through the town. 460 THE NEW DISTRICT. The project of a bridge to make the connection between Hamworthy and Poole more intimate was frequently sug- gested, but was not carried into execution until very recently, when a company having been formed for the purpose, an act of parliament was obtained, under which an elegant wooden bridge has been erected somewhat farther up the harbour than the old ferry, in order that as little obstruction as possible should be offered to the ship- ping. The bridge is constructed on the swivel principle so as to afford easy passage to vessels. By the erection of this bridge, and the contemporaneous alteration of some of the roads in the neighbourhood, the town of Poole has been rendered a thoroughfare, and the distance between it and Blandford, Wareham, and other towns to the west, les- sened by about two miles. The bridge was opened in 1837. PARKSTONE. Parkstone is a hamlet in the tithing of Kinson, in the parish of Great Canford, maintaining its own poor. The village of Parkstone is delightfully situated, and from its scenic beauties, convenient distance from the town, and its proximity to the sea, it has, within the last few years, been much frequented, so that its population is rapidly increasing. It was in Parkstone that lord Mountjoy established his copperas and alum works : and after these went to decay, salterns were constructed there ; but these also are now in ruins, not having been worked for many years. Parkstone was without a church until very recently ; and for all ecclesiastical purposes the inhabitants had to resort to the church of Canford, five miles distant. The tithes, however, have been paid to the impropriate rectors of Poole from time immemorial, but there is no document extant touching the title to this impropriation. In the return for the church of Canford to the commission of 1650, the following passage occurs relative to the tithes of Park- ' ^**sgg THE NEW DISTRICT. 461 stone and Longfleet ; — " And whereas there is over and above the above said, the tythes of Parkson and Longfleete, being- within this parish of Great Canford, which said tythe is paid to Poole, in what right we know not, to the value of twenty pounds per annum or upwards ; and we do desire that it may be paid to our own minister, being in our own parish." It was asserted in a case drawn for the opinion of counsel for an appeal by the inhabitants of Parkstone, against the payment of church rates to Kinson, tLat Park- stone was said in the records of Poole to be formerly the out-parish of the town, and that the inhabitants paid church rates to that parish : but there appear to be no existing- records of the town to warrant such an assertion ; which probably originated in a vague memorandum that vet exists in the handwriting of the eccentric Richard Bramble, formerly town clerk of the borough, to the effect, that Parkstone, Longfleet, Hickford, and North Haven were anciently called the out parish of Poole, and within the liberties of the borough. The appeal spoken of above was heard and decided in favour of the appellants. The present church of Parkstone is a neat structure, erected in 1833. It was consecrated by the bishop of Bath and Wells, Dr. H. Law, who officiated for the bishop of Bristol, on the 26th of September, in that year. An ecclesiastical district has since been set apart for it, com- prising the whole of the hamlet of Parkstone. The rev. .lames Culshaw Parr, b.a. is the first and present minister. A Sunday school has been established in Parkstone, in connection with the church, and is greatly encouraged. The estimated annual value of real property in Parkstone, in the year 1815, was £729. This value must since have been very greatly augmented, in consequence of the extent to which building has been carried on, and the large tracts of heath land that have be n brought into cultivation. 462 THE NEW DISTRICT. LONGFLEET. Longfleet, deriving* its name from " long" and " fleet," — "a place where a river or stream doth ebb and flow," — is a hamlet and tithing in the parish of Great Canford, maintaining its own poor. It adjoins the north-east boundary of the parish of Saint James, Poole, and is of considerable extent. That part of the tithing which is immediately contiguous to the old borough, has been much built upon within the last few years, by which the entrance of the town has been greatly improved. The church is a new structure, erected from funds contributed chiefly by the hon. W. F. S. Ponsonby, the parish church being at too great a distance from this hamlet to accommodate the inhabitants. The church was conse- crated and opened for divine worship, on Wednesday, September 25, 1833, by Dr. Law, the bishop of Bath and Wells, acting as commissary for the bishop of Bristol ; and is dedicated by the style of St. Mary, in Longfleet. The rev. W. B. Clarke, a.m., is the first andpresent minister. Subsequently to the consecration, an ecclesiastical district was set apart for the church, comprised within a boundary, " commencing at Seldown, and proceeding westward, along Sandy lane, to a certain spot opposite Seldown house; then, turning to the north, following the boundary that divides the tithings of Longfleet and Parkstone, passing the public house called the Bowling green, to Longfleet church, and from thence, in the same direction, to a bound- stone on the side of Constitution hill, where the tithings of Longfleet, Parkstone, and Kinson meet ; from thence in a north-westerly direction, following the boundary line of the tithings of Longfleet and Parkstone, to another boun- dary between the parish of Great Canford and the tithings of Longfleet and Kinson, near the Poole and Ringwood old turnpike rojad: from thence in a westerly direction, passing Hatch pond, to a lane leading from the Poole and t § /■ u ^l^$g [ ^^g^** C*» , « THE NEW DISTRICT. 463 Wimborne turnpike road, near Darby's corner; from thence along the north side of the said lane to its western end; from thence in a straight line to the north-west corner of a close of land called Creekmoor; where it adjoins the boundary of the parish of Corfe Mullen; from thence in a southerly direction, along the boundary line of Corfe Mullen to Upton turnpike gate ; and from thence, in a straight line across the harbour, passing the town of Poole, on the north side thereof, to Seldown point, and from thence, in a northerly direction to the spot first named.' ' A sunday school has been established, in connection with the church. The estimated annual value of real property in the tithing of Longfleet in the year 1815, was £1604. The obser- vation in regard to this matter made relative to Parkstone, applies equally to the tithing of Longfleet. APPENDIX, ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE BOTANY OF / POOLE, AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD ; BY THOMAS BELL SALTER, M.D.,F.L.S., MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGES OF SURGEONS OF LONDON AND EDINBURGH ; MEMBER OF THE ROYAL MEDICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH, AND OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETIES OF EDINBURGH AND LONDON. 467 €§e 25otanp, etc* It is here intended to illustrate the Botany of the flowering plants and ferns of the neighbourhood of Poole. For this purpose, it is proposed to give a succint account of the general aspect and nature of the district, an alpha- betical list of the plants contained in it, and the habitats of some of the rarer species. In describing the general aspect and nature of the locality, it appears necessary to give a short account of its geolo- gical features, but this will be done as briefly as possible. The district on which Poole lies, is denominated the Poole Trough, being a portion of the Isle of Wight basin, comprising a considerable part of its western extremity ; though not its extreme point. Its northern boundary is between Wimborne and Hinton Martell, beyond which the chalk extends over a large tract of country. The southern boundary is a line of chalk, passing through Purbeck from near Corfe Castle to Studland, and corresponding with the chalk stratum running through the Isle of Wight. From the chalk line in Purbeck, passing south, the successively inferior strata rapidly appear, as far as the Portland stone, and Kimmeridge clay beds ; the former occuring at Tillv- whim, and the latter near Encombe at the place whence it takes its name. To the west of Poole, the chalk strata, THE BOTANY, forming the northern and southern boundaries, converge, but do not entirely meet, until they arrive as far west as Dorchester, which is the extreme western point of the Isle of Wight basin. To the east, there is no other boundary than a general rise of surface ; and even this does not exist immediately along the coast. Thus, it appears that there is a large district left by the chalk, which, near Poole, is about fifteen miles in diame- ter. This is occupied by the plastic clay, the level of which, descending from the northern boundary- before named, sinks at Poole, below the level of the sea, and rises again on the coast of Purbeck, forming the capacious haven known as Poole Harbour, Large patches of clay and sand, as is usual in this forma- tion, occur throughout this district, both varying much in colour. There are also large beds of gravel, some of them very extensive. . It would be irrelevant here, to speak of the excellence of the clay from this trough, and it is too well known to render this necessary. The gravel is in some places extremely fine and bright, in fact, the best I have any where seen. As it is not professed here to give a lengthened geolo^ gical account, it is not necessary to expatiate farther on the subject, but to apply the remarks already made, to the Botany of the district."^ It is evident then, that there is a great diversity of soil in the neighbourhood of Poole, and a very rich Flora may naturally be anticipated : when, however, all the peculi- arities and modifying influences have been cited, still higher expectations will be raised, yet 1 feel confident that no one will be prepared for the very numerous catalogue, which this district affords; and those who have taken a * For a further account of the geology of this district, see an interesting series of lepers on " The Geology of the south-east of Dorsetshire," by my friend the Rev. W. B. Clarke, now in course of publication in "Loudon's Magazine of Natural History." THE BOTANY. 469 casual glance of it, and that only, will be still more surprised. No strangers ever come within many miles of Poole, without being 1 struck with the apparent steri- lity of the scene. To the north of Poole as far as Wimborne and extending east and west to Christchurch and Wareham, dry heath land is the prevailing feature of the country. This is the general character also of the plastic clay portion of Purbeck. But to proceed to par- ticulars : — Poole is situated on a peninsula on the north side of the extensive harbour, and is very little above its level. I leave, however, the remarks I intend to make on the mari- time botany of Poole, to a future period. On quitting Poole in every direction there is an elevation of surface, which, however, is not considerable. The lower situations are generally dry pasture, but the higher are the heath lands before named. Both are cultivated, but the soil is not very productive except as garden ground. There is no river or stream of any importance within about five miles of Poole. In many places, how- ever, there are superficial springs; these are so highly ferruginous as to stain every thing they come in contact with, and deposit a considerable quantity of red peroxide of iron on the vegetables about them. Indeed the springs in general in the villages around Poole, are so strongly chalybeate as to be extremely unpalatable, The water from these springs, in many places, is interrupted in its course by the hills of gravel before alluded to, or by the beds of clay, giving rise, in some parts to pseudo-meadow land, as in different parts of Parkstone and Longfleet. These situations yield many of the meadow plants, but for most of them it is necessary to resort to the genuine mea- dows a little farther distant. Some of the rarer plants, however, are found in land of this description, as for example, the Bartsia viscosa, Lin., which with us is quite a common plant. An abundance of oak trees, growing 470 THE BOTANY. perfectly spontaneously, add greatly to the beauty of these fertile tracts. Though there are no rivers very near Poole, there are at about two miles distant occasional small streams and two ponds or tarns, one at Parkstone, and the other at Creekmoor, the latter containing abundance of the beautiful white water lily. In all these situations the Scutellaria minor, Lin., abounds. But meadow land is not so general a result of our springs as bogs, of which we have an immense extent, and all the varieties denominated moist heaths, turfy bogs, spongy bogs, &c, and in many parts there are large tracts of peat as perfect as I have seen in Scotland or Ireland. Between the roads to Longham and Christchurch, and within four miles of Poole, are hundreds of acres of peat ; one of the most remarkable instances of which is to be seen on the former road, about three miles and a half from Poole, where it passes over the small stream of Bourne. There is here a deep ravine about half a mile broad, in which lies an immense quantity of peat, containing large trees in a bituminous state. The peat here is fifteen feet deep.^ In many parts of Longfleet, Hamworthy, and Pur- beck, are large tracts of the same kind of soil. In all these situations the Rhynchospora alba, Vahl., and Rhynchos- pora fusca, Lin. abound, with many other of the Cyper- acese of which the most general is Schcenus nigricans, Lin. The heaths blossom freely in these districts, particu- larly the Erica tetralix, Lin., and the botany of them in general is very similar to that of the more northern regions. I do not mean to infer that the rarer northern plants are found with us, but that the bulk of vegetation in these situations is much the same as in similar soil, in Cumber- land and Scotland, as for example, the two Ericse and the Calluna grow in profusion, with the Melica coerulea, Lin., and Mvrica gale, Lin., of which there are hundreds of * See a notice .of a paper by Mr. Clarke, " Proceedings of Geological Society, vol. 2. p. yj\). THE BOTANY. 471 acres in the south east of Dorsetshire. We have, however, in abundance in one situation, what has not been found in Scotland, viz. the Erica ciliaris, Lin. In a locality of the kind already mentioned in the Isle of Purbeck, which I visit- ed last August, accompanied by my friend, Dr. Macreight, I enjoyed the no ordinary gratification of viewing this rarest and most beautiful of the English heaths to great u ,,r antage. Throughout nearly the whole space from Arne to Corfe Castle, a distance of fully four miles, we found it in profu- sion. Heath was the prevailing vegetation throughout the whole extent, and this the dominant species. Growing in its native bogs it is certainly not inferior to a Menziesia of which it has much the general habit. It is taller and more shrubby than the other British species of Erica. Many parts of the more superficial bogs are adorned with the splendid flowers of Gentiana pneumonanthe, Lin., as well as with the three Drosera? and Anagallis tenella, Lin., all of which, together with Pinguicula lusitanica, Lin., Exacum filiforme, Sm., and both varieties of Scirpus Savii, Spreng., may be esteemed common plants in our bogs. The residue of the plastic clay district is, it must be owned, that barren heath land which gives the prevailing feature to the district within about six miles around Poole- The Agrostis setacea, Curt., is the only grass which will flourish on this soil during the dry season, but this is so abundant as to constitute, with its rigid and shining panicles, a striking feature in our heaths. Beyond this barren portion, extending in every direction towards the chalk, before arriving at it, the soil is a rich loam, and extremely fertile. The surface in these situa- tions is also beautifully diversified and wooded with oaks. Spots of this kind are found in many directions, averaging the distance of five miles and a half from Poole, as at Stud- land, Organford, Lytchett, Corfe Mullen, Sturminster Marshall, the neighbourhood of Wimborne, Canford, 472 THE BOTANY. Longham, Cudnell, and Ensbury. These places afford the plants of woods, coppices and shady places ; and at Sturminster Marshall, Corfe Mullen, Wimborne, Canford, and Longham, the course of the Stour and its meadows yield the river and meadow plants. The soil covering the chalk in these fertile districts is very shallow, the chalk itself appearing at Lytchett and Studland, about six miles distant from Poole. These are its nearest points. At a little farther distance in either direction, chalk downs and consequently chalk plants become abundant. It remains to speak of the maritime botany of Poole. The harbour is a large sheet of water, which, though con- taining deep channels, is for the most part very shallow, the tide when it falls leaving immense tracts of mud which are covered with Zostera marina, Lin. In some situations where small streams empty themselves into the harbour, meadow land occurs, the lower parts of which are fre- quently covered with the tide, affording salt marshes with their plants. The rest of the shore of the harbour varies much, but in general it is muddy. There is abundance of Salicornia, the maritime grasses, and other maritime plants. A piece of land at Baiter, which is an island at high water, on which stands the " Powder House" is very interesting in its botanical productions; — its vegetation consisting almost entirely of Chenopodium fruticosum, Schrad., Atriplex portulacoides, Lin., Cochlearea danica, Lin., C. anglica, Lin., Statice armeria, Lin., and S. Limonium, Lin. The Chenopodium fruticosum is very ornamental, the plants being very numerous: they are shrubby and evergreen and somewhat resembling the juniper at a little distance. They average two feet in height and are some of them very old, having very hard wood, about two inches in diameter near the root. Poole harbour contains several islands, all of the plastic clay formation, which, though picturesque, and beautifully situated, afford little variety of indigenous species. The OF POOLE. 473 largest of these is Brownsea island, the watering residence of Sir Charles Chad, bart., which, among many other natural^beauties, possesses several fresh water tarns, similar to those of Parkstone and Creekmoor, one of which contains a great abundance of the Typha angustifolia, Lin* The woods in Brownsea abound with Listera ovata, Br. The mouth of the harbour is about four miles from Poole, and is composed of two valvate sand banks; the external one, the South Haven bank, is connected with Purbeck, and the other, the North Haven, with the main land of Dorset- shire and Hampshire. These banks are maintained by the creeping roots of Ammophila arundinacea, Host., Carex arenaria, Lin., and Festuca rubra, Lin. The beach on both havens, is fine hard sand, and from the North Haven continues so to the east, but from the South Haven point following the coast, the chalk and succeeding inferior strata make their appearance, and the beach is soon lost in the steep and high cliffs, which characterize the coast of Pur- beck. Before, however, the beach is lost, it becomes changed from sandy to pebbly, which is its character in Studland bay. There is a striking difference between the botany of the harbour, and that of the open sea beach : — the same plants are rarely met with in the two situations : Juncus mari- timus, Sm., and Carex extensa, Good., are remarkable exceptions. Atriplex patula is found both on the muddy shore of the harbour, and on the sandy beach of the open sea ; but the varieties are remarkably different. The Ballast quay at Ham, opposite Poole, frequently yields plants, not elsewhere found in the neighbourhood. Lin urn usitatissimum, Lin., Sinapis tenuifoiia, Br., S. muralis, Br. Cynosurus echinatus. Lin., and Medicago denticulata, JVilld., are the principal. Trifolium resupi- natum, Lin., found near this quay, must, I fear, be attri- buted to the ballast 3 P 474 THE BOTANY From the above remarks it is evident that the variety of soil is very great for so limited a space. A rich Flora is the natural result, I have already transgressed my intended limits, but I must yet make a few observations in reference to the effects of climate on the vegetation of this district. Poole, being low, nearly surrounded by water, and encompassed by hills beyond, is remarkably warm ; the soil, in general declines to the south, and from its sandy nature, except in particular spots, becomes very dry in the summer : this circumstance is increased by the great deficiency of partial summer rains, they being- attracted by the high chalk range, which so nearly surrounds us. From these causes, vegetation is pretty much suspended during the hot weather, except in the bogs and meadows. When, however, in the autumn, the rain becomes more general, the warm situation and aspect of the soil have a far different effect. After the suspension of vegetation, when heat and moisture are again enabled to exert their united influence, the herbaceous plants shoot forth and blossom almost as in spring.^ The heaths also have a second flowering far more luxuriant than the first, there being often spikes of Calluna vulgaris, Salisb., from six to nine inches in length. At this season, too, even the most barren of the heath lands show their beauty, and the surface which had appeared sterile and unattractive, through the period of the year generally deemed the most lovely, now suddenly assumes the most vivid colours : — the bright orange yellow of the dwarf furze, the rich purple of the heath and the vivid green of the broad blades of Melica coerulea, Lin., existing in varied proportions, give to the surface a splendour of colouring scarcely to be conceived of by those who have not witnessed it. The large furze, Ulex europaeus, Lin., has generally a * I commented forming an herbarium at the beginning of July, and was able before the winter, to collect most of the herbaceous spring plants, OF POOLE. 475 second flowering at this season, and during* many winters continues in blossom pretty freely, until the more abundant flowering* in the spring, when it is the great ornament of our hills and hedges, and produces a general fragrance every where. Many other plants continue to flower through the whole autumn, and during the early winter months. There are generally violets during the Christmas week and on New Year's day, and many exotics are fre- quently tempted to blossom, at this season, as the Persian Lilac, Syringa persica, Lin., and the Laburnum, Cytisus laburnum, Lin.: Myrtles and Pomegranates also stand the winter in the open ground. Indeed the whole winter here is remarkably mild. There is comparatively little snow in the immediate neighbourhood of Poole, rain frequently falling here, whilst there is snow at only a few miles distanced. With regard to the botany of Poole, in relation to the tables of Mr. Watson, it may be observed, that in the immediate neighbourhood it is rather British, than exclu- sively English ; and rather a larger proportion of western plants occurs than might be expected. The existence, (on a sandy portion of the beach at Studland,) of the Cynodon Dactylon, Pers., hitherto found only on the coast of Corn- wall, is an interesting fact. The subjoined list is similarly marked to that published by the Botanical Society of Edinburgh ; for considering it desirable that some general standard should be made use of in undertakings of this sort, I have adopted this, and recommend the same practice in other localities. I have, however, added similar marks after the names, indicative of a shorter distance-f-, and have chosen that of eight miles as * To the mild climate of Poole is to be ascribed its peculiar salubrity, though doubtless also much is due to the cleanliness of the inhabitants. "We are subject to no endemic disorder, and epidemics are never so severe in this as in most places. This was strikingly the fact with the influenza, which, though here as every where else very general, was in no instance fatal. Poole, though lying low and thickly populated, is very little subject to typhus or intermittent fevers. t The Society's list is marked in reference to a distance of 16 miles from Edinburgh, 47G THE BOTANY one not too extensive, but which, nevertheless, contains nearly every variety of soil and surface, that can be found in a much larger circuit. Some plants are marked as more common within the smaller distance than in the larger. As the larger district contains the smaller, it is obvious that the numerical number of specimens cannot be less, but must be more, unless the species be entirely confined to the smaller circuit. The proportional frequency, however, may be greater within the smaller distance, and, therefore, so marking* the species does net involve a contradiction as might at first sight appear. I have in all cases, for the sake of more easy reference, adopted the same generic names as those of the Edinburgh list, without regard to any difference of my own opinion, I have not however observed this rule with respect to species and varieties, with regard to which 1 have used my own judgment. OF POOLE. 477 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE PLANTS OF POOLE, &c. EXPLANATION OF THE MARKS. The marks prefixed to the names refer to a circuit of 16 miles round Poole; those after the names, to one of eight miles. ** signifies very common ; * less common, but of frequent occurrence ; § abundant in one or two localities ; -frare ; ? doubtful native ; X certainly introduced. Plants marked |J are beyond the distance specified, (\Q miles) but within 30 miles of Poole, and IF signifies that the mark given with regard to the circuit of 16 miles, is solely in consequence of a station or stations w-ithin the eight miles. The figures affixed to some of the rarer plants, refer to their localities, which are subjoined at the end of the catalogue. LIST, &c. Acer, L * *campestre, L. * * ?*Pseudo-platanus, L Achillea, L. **Millefolium, L.** *Ptarmica, L* Acixoe, Moench. fvulgaris, Pcrs. Acorus, L. f Calamus, L. 1 Adonis, L. *autumnalis, L.f Adoxa, L. *moschatclliua, L.* iEooroDiUM, L. f Podagraria, L, jEthusa, L. **Cynapium L.** ?*Agrimonia, I/. **Eupatoria, L.* Agrostemma, L. *Githago, L. * Agrostis, L. **alba, L.** *canina, L.* *setacea, Curt.** **vulgaris, With.** AlRA, L. **ca?spitosa, L.** fcanesccns, L.f IF **caryophyllea, L.** fcristata, L.f 2 A IRA, L. fflexuosa, L.f **prsecox,L.** Ajuga, L. **reptans, L.** Alchemilla, L. *arvensis Sm.** fvulgaris, L.f Alisma, L. *Plantago, L.* franunculoides, I Allium L. Ijfarenarium, L. *ursinum, L.f **vmcale, L.** 478 THE BOTANY Alnus, Tourn. *glutinosa, Gaert.* Alpecurus, L. **agrestis, L.* §bulbosus, L. §H 3 **geniculatus, L.** ♦♦pratensis** Althjea, L. f officinalis, L. 4. Amaranthus, L. HtBlitum, L. Ammophila, Host. *arundinacea, Host.* Anagallis, L. ♦♦arvensis, L.** f$. ccerulea, Schr.§ ♦tenella, L.** Anchusa, L. ?fsempervirens, L. Anemone, L. **nemorosa, L.** Angelica, L. *sylvestris, L.* Anthemis, L. ♦arvensis, L.* *Cotula s L.* ♦nobilis, L.* Anthoxanthum, L. **odoratum,** Anthriscus, Pers. **sylvestris, Koch** **vulgaris, Pers.** Anthyllis, L. ♦vulneraria, L.* Antirrhinum, L. ?*majus, L.?* *Orontium, L.** Apargia, Schreb. ♦autumnalis, Willd. ♦= ♦♦hispida, Willd.* Apium, L. ♦graveolens, L.* Aquilegia, L. Jf vulgaris, L.Jf Arabis, L. fhirsuta, Br.f5 Arctium, L. ♦Lappa, L.** *fi.Bardana, Willd.* Arenaria, L. **marina, CEd.** *peploides, L.** * rubra, L.* ♦♦serpyllifolia, L.** f tenuifolia, L. 6 *trinervis, L.* Ilfverna ARRHENATHERUM,BeaUV. BaRTSIA, L. **avenaceaum, Beauv.* ♦bulbosum, Dumort.** Artemisia, L. f Absinthium, L.f Ufmaritima, L. ** vulgaris, L.** Arum, L. ♦♦maculatum, L.** Arundo, L. **Phragmites, L.** Asparagus, L. f officinalis,! 7 Asperugo, L. fprocumbens, L. Aperula, L. *Cynanchica, L.f **odorata, L.* Aspidium, Sw. faculeatum, Sw.f **angulare, Willd.* f/8. lonchitidoides,f 8 **Filix-mas, Sw.** §Oreopteris, Sw. §11 9 fspinulosum, Willd. f ♦♦Odontites, Huds.f tviscosa, L.* Bellis, L. **perennis, L.** Berberis, L. Pfvulgaris, L. Berteroa, D.C. incana, D.C. 14 Beta, L. *maritima, L.* Betonica, L. ♦♦officinalis, L.** Betula, L. ♦alba, L.* Bidens, L. ♦cernua, L.f ♦tripartita, L.* Blechnum, L. ♦boreale, Sw.** BoRAGO,, L. Jf officinalis, L.Jt Botrychium, Sw. ||f Lunaria, Sw. Brachypooium, Beauv. **$.dilatatum, Willd.** §pinnatum, Beauv. § 15 Asplenium, L. ♦Adiantum-nigrum, L.* ♦Felix -fo3mina,Bernh.** fmarinum, L. 10 *Ruta-muraria, L.* *Trichomanes, L.* Aster, L. §Tripolium, L.* Astragalus, L. ilfglycyphyllus, L. Hfhypoglottis, L. Atriplex, L. *angustiiblia, Sm.* IJferecta, Huds. 11 §laciniata, L.§ 12 ♦littoralis, L.* **patula, L.** §portulacoides, L.§U Atropa, L. ?f Belladonna, L. A vena, L. ||§fatua, L. 13 * *flavescens, L.** fpratensis, L. fpubescens, L.f Ballota, L. **nigra, L.** Barbarea, Br. ♦♦vulgaris, Br.** **sylvaticmn, Beauv.* Brassica, L. ♦♦campe&tris, L.** ♦♦Napus, L.** ♦oleracea, L.* 16 +*Rapa, L4* Briza, L. «*media. L.** f minor, L.* Bromus, L. ♦♦asper, L.* ferectus, Huds. fgiganteus, Vill.f ♦♦mollis, L.** §racemosus, L.§ fsecalinus, L.f **sterilis, L.** f velutinus, Sclir. fU Bryonia, L. ♦dioica, J acq.* Bunium, Koch. **flexuosum, With.* Bupleurum, L. frotundifolium, L. 17 Hftenuissimum, LI 8 Butomus, L. §umbellatus L.§ Buxus, L. Ifsempervirens, L,jf OF POOLE, 479 Cakile, Gsert. *maratima, Willd.* Calamagrostis, Adans. UyEpigejos, Roth. ijflanceolata, Roth. Calamintha, Moench. *Nepeta, Pursh. Pfofficinalis, Moonch.Ff Callitriche, L. *auturanalis, L.* *verna, L.* Calluna,, Salisb. **vulgaris, Salisb.** Caltha, L. **palustris, L.** +(b.radicans, Forst.* Campanula, L. *glomerata, L. §hederacea, L. 19 fhybrida, L. f patula, L.f 20 |j if rapunculoides, L. **rotundifolia. L.** fTrachelium, L.f Capsella, D.C. **Bursa-Pastoris,D.C* Cardamine, L. famara, L. **hirsuta, L.** **pratensis, L.** Carduus, L. Ufacanthoides, L. *Marianus, L.* **nutans, L.* *tenuiflorus, Curt.** Carex, L. **arenaria, L.** fbinervis, Sm.fH **csespitosa, L.** f dioica, L. 21 f distans, L.f If 22 fdivisa, Huds.f **divulsa, Good.** *extensa, Good.* *flava, L.** *hirta, L.f fintermedia, Good.f *muricata, L.* *CEderi, Ehrh.* **ovalis, Good.** fpallescens, L. *paludosa, Good.* *panicea, L.** •fpaniculata, L. 23 fpendula, Huds. 24 *pilulifera, L.* **prsecox, Jacq.** Carex, L. f Pseudo-Cypems, L. fpulicaris, L.flf **recurva, Huds.** *remota, L.* *riparia, Curt.* *stellulata, Good.** fstricta, Good.f fsylvatica, Huds.f Chlora, L. *perfoliata, L.f Chrysanthemum, L. *Leucauthemum, L.* *segetura, L.** Chrysocoma, L. ||?f Linosyris, L. Chrysoplenium, L. falternifolium, L. 31- §teretiuscula, Good.§U 25 foppositefolium, L. 32 §vesicaria, L. **vulpina, L.** Carlina, L. *vulgaris, L.* Carpinus, L. PfBetulus, L.?f Castanea, Tourn. Xt vulgaris, Lam.Jf Catabrosa, Beauv. *aquatica, Beauv.* Caucalis, L. ?$daucoides, L.?§1[ 26 Centaurea, L. **Cyanus, L.* *Jacea, L. * * **nigra, L.** *Seabiosa, L.f llfsolstitialis, L. Centunculus, L. fminimus, L.f If 27 Cerastium, L. *aquatieum, L.* jifarvense, L. *tetrandrum, Curt.** **viscosum, L. ** *vulgatum, L.* Ch.erophyllum, L. *temulentum, L.* Cheiranthus, L. *Cheiri, L.* Cheledonium,L. *majus, L.* Chenopodium, L. **album, L.** *Bonus- Henri cus, L.* Ilfbotryoides, Sm. *filicifolium, L.* ^fruticosum, Schrad.§1f glaucum, L. 28 Shybridum, L.§ 29 *maritimum, L.** *murale, L.** §olidum, L.§fl 30 fpolyspermum, L. IJfrubrum furbicum, L.f Cichorium, L. ♦Intybus, L.* Cinenaria, L. fcampestris, Retz. Circlea, L. *Lutetiana, L.* Cistopteris, Bernh. ffragilis, Bernh. 33 Cladium, Schrad. UfMariscus, Br. Clematis, L. *Vitalba, L.f Clinopodium, L. **vulgare, L.* Cnicus, L. **acaulis, Willd.* *arvensis, Hoff,* Hferiophorus, Willd. **lanceolatus, Willd.** **palustris, Willd.** §pratensis, Willd. § 34 Hftuberosus, Willd. Cochlearia, L. **anglica, L.** Xf Armoracea, L. Jf *danica, L.** Hfgroenlandica, L. *officenalis, L.* Colchicum, L. fautumnale, L. 35. Com arum, L. §palustre, L.§ Conium, L. *maculatum, L.* Convallaria, L. Pfmajalis, L.?f Ufmulliflora, L. ||f Polygonatum, L. Convolvulus, L. **arvensis, L.** **sepium, L.** §Soldanella, L.§ 36 CONYZA, L. fsquarrosa, L.f 37 Cornus, L. **sanguinea, L.* 480 THE BOTANY Coronopus, Gsert y didyma, Sm.§H 38 *Ruellii, Sm.** CorydAlis, D.C. fclaviculata, D.C. CORYLUS, L. **Avellana, L.* Cotyledon, L. *Umbelicus, Huds.** Crambe. fmaratima, L. Crataegus, L. **Oxyacantha, L.*** Crepis, L. *biennis, L.* **tectorum, L.** Crithmum, L. *maritimum, L.* Crocus, L. Jf vermis, L.jf Cuscuta, L. *epithymum, L.** feuropaea, L. Cynodon, Rich. fDactylon, Pers.fU Cynoglossum, L. ♦officinale, L.f Cynosurus, L. **cristatus, L.** ?§echinatus, L.?§U Cyperus, L. flongus, L. Cytisus, L. **Scoparius, D.C.** Dacylis, L. **glomcrata,L. ** Daphne L. fLaurcola, L.f f Mezerram, L. 39 Datura, L. If Stramonium, J f Daucus, L. **Carota, L.** fmaritimus, With.f Delphinium, L. tfConsolida, L.Jf DlANTHUS, L. f Armeria, L.f DlGlLATIS, L. **purpurea, L.** Diotis, Desf. jlfmaritima, Cass. Ditsacus, L. ;fFullonum,|t 1 pilosns, L. 40 **sylYCStris, L.** DoRONICUM, L. Ilfplantagineum, L. 41 Draba, L. **verna, L.** Drosera, L. *anglica, Huds.** ♦longifolia, L.** *rotundifolia, L.** Echinophora, L. Hfspinosa, L. Echium, L. *vulgare, L.* Eleociiaris, Br. ♦csespitosa, Linck.* *fluitans, Hook.** §multicaulis, Sm.§U 42 **palustrus, Br.** Htpauciflora, Link. Elymus, L. farenarius, L. Epilobium, L. ||?fangustifolium, L. *"hirsutum, L.* **montanum, L,** **palustre, L.«* *parviflorum, Schreb.* Ufroseum, Schreb. 43 *tetragonum, L.* Epipactis. Br. fgrandiflora, Sm. 44 f latifolia. Sw. 45 fpalustris, Sw. 46 Equisetum, L. **arvensc, L.** ♦fluviatile, L.* *limosum, L.* **palustre, L.** f#. alpinum, Hoo&.f%i7 Erica, L. §ciliaris, L §*!T *'*cinerea. L.** **Tctralix, L.** Erigeron, L. facris, L.f Eriophorum, L. *angustifolium, Roth.** Erojdium, L'Hcrit. **cicutariurr, Sm.** maritimum, Sm. 48 Ufmoschatum, Sm. Ervum, L. **hirsutum, L.** *tetraspermnm, L.* Eryngium, L. *maratimum, L.* Erysimum. L. **Alliaria, L.** fckeiranthoides, L. Erythrea, Reneal. *Centaureum, Pers.* fpulchella, Hook.f EUONYMUS, L. **europaeus. L.* Eupatorium, L. *cannabinum, L.* Euphorbia, L. **amygdaloides, L.* **exigua, L.* *helioscopia, L.** HlfLathyris, L. jjfparalia, L. **Peplus, L.** §platyphylla, L. 49 fportlandica, L. Euphrasia, L. **officinalis, L.* Exacum, L. ♦filiforme, Sm.** Fagus, L. *sylvistica, L.* FediA, Vahl. ||t Auricula, Gaud. jlfdentata, Vahl. Hferiocarpa, Desv. *olitoria, Vahl.* Festuca, L. *bromoides, L.* **duriitscula, L.** §elatior, L.§50 floliacea, L.f fMyurus, L.f **ovina, L.** ffi.vivipara, Sm.f ♦pratensis, L.* *rubra, L.* || funiglumis, S oland. Fceniculum, Hoffm. §vulgare, Gaert.j/f Fragraia, L. **vesca, L.** Fraxinus, L. *excelsior, L.* Frittillaria, L. ||§Meleagris, L. 51 FU MARIA, L. **eaprcolata, L.** ♦♦officinalis, L.** */3. media, D.C* fparviflora, Lam.fTI Gagea, Salisb. Hflutea, Ker. Galanthus, L. ?fnivalis, L,?f Galeobdolon, Iluds. ♦luteum, Huds. * OF POOLE. 481 Galeopsis, L. fLadairum, L.if **Tetrahit, L> Galium, L. **Aparine, L.** §cruciatum, L.§ f erectum, Huds.f % 52 **Mollugo, L.* *palustre, L.** **/3. Witheringii, Sm.*' *sexatile, L.** Ilftricorne, With. fuliginosum, L.f *verum, L.** Gastridium, Beauv. Hflendigerum, Beauv. Genista, L. *anglica, L.* ftinctoria, L.fTI Gentiana, L. ♦amarella, L.f fcampestris, L.f fPneumonanthe, L.* Geranium, L. fcolumbinum, L.f **dissectum, L.** §lucidum, L. **molle, L.** Hjfphseum, L. *pratense, L. *pusillum, L.§* **robertianum, L.** Geum, L. frivale, L. **urbanum, L.** Glaucium, Tourn. *luteum, L.* Htphoenicium, Geert. Glaux, L. *maritima, L.** Glecoma, L. **liederacea. L.** Gnaphalium, L. Hfdicecum, L. *germanicum, Huds.** f minimum, Sm.* sylvaticum, L. */3. rectum, Hook. *uliginosum, L. Grammittis, Sw. ||f Ceterach, Sw. Gymnadenia, Br. *conopsia, Br.f Habenaria, Br. tbifolia, Br.t fchlorantha, Hook. 53 f viridis, Br. Hedera, L. **Helix, L.** Helianthemum, Tourn. **vulgare, Gaert.* Heleborus, L. fviridis, L.f Helmenthia, Jus?. f echiodes, Gaert f Hei ySCiADiUM, Koch. • §r undatum, Koch.§54 * aodirlorum, Koch.* frepens, Koch.55f Heracleum, L. **Spondylium, L.** Hieracium, L. *murorum, L. **Pilosella, L.** fsabaudum, Sm.f56 *sylvaticum, Sm.** fumbellatum, L.f 1f57 Hippocrepis, L. fcomosa, L. Hippuris, L. f vulgaris, L.f Holcus, L. **lanatus, L.* *mollis, L.* Hordeum L. Hfmaritimum, With. *murinum, L.** **pratense, Huds.* Hottonia, L. fpalustris, L.fH58 Humulus, L. **Lupulus, L.* Hyacinthus, L. **non-seriptus, L.* Hydrocharis, L. §Morsus- Ranee, L.$1T59 Hydrocotyle, L. *vulgaris, L** Hyoscyamus, L. *niger, L.* Hypericum, L. f Androssemum, L.f Pfcalcinum, L. *elodes, L.* fhirsutum, L.f *humifusum, L.* fmontanum, L.f 60 **perforatum, L.* * **pulchrum, L.** **quadrangulum, L.** Hypoch/eris, L. Hfmaculata, L. **radicata, Lv** Ilex, L. **Aquifolium, L.** Impatiens, L. ?fNoli-me-tangere, L.PflT Inula, L. f Helenium, L. 61 Iris, L. **foetidissima, L.* **Pseud-Acorus, L.** Jasione, L. *montana, L.** Juncus, L. facutiflorus, Ehrh.* §acutus, L. §1162 **bufonius, L.** *compressus, Jacq.** **conglomeratus, L.** **effusus, L.* **glaucus, Sibth.* *lampocarpus, Ehrh.* **maratimus, Sm.** fobtusiflorus, Ehrh.f *squarrossus, L.** *uliginosus, Sibth.** *fi.subverticillatus, Hook* Jiiniperus, L. || f communis, L. Knautia, L. **arvensis, Coult. * * Lactuca, L. fSaligna. L.f63 fvirosa, L. Lamium, L. ♦album, L.** *amplexicaule, L.** Hfincisum, Willd. **purpureum, L.** Lapsana, L. **commuuis, L.** fpusilla, Willd. 61 Lathr^ea. L. Hfsquamaria, L. Latiiyrus, L. f Alphaca, L. 65 ||§Nissolia, L. Ilfpisiformis, L. **pratensis, L.** fsylvestris, L. 66 Lavatera, L. ||§arborea, L, Lemna, L. Hfgibba, L. **minor, L.** ||§polyrhiza, L. ftrisulca, L. Leontodon, **Taraxicum, L.** *fi.palustre ) St. Amans.* ty.lecviffatum,St.A?n.jG7 3 Q 482 THE BOTANY Leonurus, L. jfCardiaca, L. Lepidium, L. Hfcampestre, L. §ruderale, L.§1T *Smithii, Hook.** Leucojum, L. feestivum, L.f Ligustrum, L. ** vulgar e, L.* Limbardia, Adans. fcrithmoides, Hook. Linaria, Juss. :]:*Cymbalaria, Mill.+* fElatine, Desf.f fminor, Desf.f ||§repens, Ait. fspuria, Mill. ffi.pelorioides, 68 ** vulgaris, Mcench.** Linum, L. fangustifolium, Huds.f **catharticum, L.** Hfperenne, L. Jfusitatissimum, L.£f Listera, Br. fNidus-Avis, Hook.f69 §ovata, Br.§ LlTHOSPERMUM,^L. *arvense, L.* fofficinale, L. LlTTORELLA, L. flacustris, L. Lolium, L. **perenne, L,** ftemulentum, L. Lonicera, L. **Periclymenum, L.** Lotus, L. **corniculatus, L.* **major, L.** *tenuis, Walld. & Kit.* Luzula, D.C. **campestris, Br.** *(Z.Congesta, D.C* ||§Forsteri, D.C. *pilosa, Willd.§70 *sylvatica, Bich.§71 Lychnis, L. **Flos-Cuculi, L ** **sylvestris, Hoppe.* *vespertina, Sibth.** Lycopodium, L. fclavatum, L.f^F *inundatum, L.* f Selago, L.f Lycopsis, L. *arvensis, L.* Lycopus, L. *europaeus, L.* Lysimachia, L. fnemorum, L.f fnummularia, L.f * vulgaris, L.* Lythrum, L. *salacaria, L.* Maeva, L. *mosehata, L.* *rotundifolia, L.* ||f/3. pusilla, Sm. **sylvestris, L.** Marrubium, L. fvulgare, L.f Matricaria, L. HfChamomilla, L. Meconopsis, Vig. Hifcambrica, Vig. Medicago, L. §denticulata, Willd.§1T ffalcata, L.f IT **lupulina, L.** *maculata, Sibth.** Jfsativa, L.Jf Melampyrum, L. ||§arvense, L. Hfcristatum, L. *pratense, L.* Melica, L. *C03rulea, L.** *uniflora, L.* Melilotus, Tourn. fleucantha, Koch.f1T72 f officinalis, L.f Melittis, L. llfMelissophyllum, L. Mentha, L. ||*arvensis, L. ♦gracilis, Sm.* **hirsutus, L.** Jfpiperata, Sm.Jf f Pulegium, L.7 frotundifolia, L.?f fsylvestris, L.f Menyanthus, L. ♦trifoliata, L.* Mercurialis, L. *annua, L.** **perennis, L.* Mespilus, L. ||?fgermanica, L. Milium, L. *effusum, L.f Mcenchia, Elirli. **erecta, Sm.** Monotropa, L. f Hypopitys, L.73 Montia, L. *fontana, L.** Muscari, Tourn. Jfracemosum, Mill. |f IT Myosotis, L. **arvensis, Hoff.* *csespitosa, Schul.* *collina, Hoff.* **palustris, Kiph.** **versicolor, Lehm.** Myosurus, L. f minimus, L.f 74 Myrica, L. *Gale, L.** Myriophyllum, L. fspicatum, L.f IT fverticillatum, L.f Narcissus, L. **Pseudo-narcissus, L.** Nardus, L. *stricta, L.* Narthecium, Huds. *ossifragum, Huds.** Nasturtium, Br. ♦•officinale, Br.** fsylvestre, Br. 75 f terrestre, Br. Neottia, Jacq. ^spiralis, Rich. §517 6 Nepeta, L. fCataria, L. Nuphar, Sm. *lutea, Sm.* fpumila, D.C. 77 Nymph^ea, L. *alba, L.* CEnanthe, L. *crocata, L.** ffistulosa, L. fpeucidanifolia, Poll, f Phellandrium, Spreng§78 *pimpinelloides, L.** OENOTHERA, L. |f biennis, L.Jf Onobrychis, Tourn. Jfsativa, Lam. Ononis, L. *arvensis, L.* ffi.spinosa, L.f Onopordum, L. §Acanthium, L.§ Ophroglossum, L. §vulgatum, L. Ophrys, L. fapifera, Huds. f 79 ||f arachnites, Willd. Hfmuscifera, Huds, OF POOLE. 483 Orchis, L. *latifolia,L.** *maculata, L.* **mascula, L** *Morio, L.** fpyramidalis, L.f fustulata, L.SO Origanum, L. *vulgare, L.f Ornithogalum, L. HTpvrenaicum, L. §umbollatum, L.§H81 Ornithopus, L. *perpusillus, L.* Orobanche, L. §elatior, Sut. f major, L.f fniinor, Sm.f Orobus, L. **tuberosus, L.* OSMUNDA, L. *regalis, L.** Oxalis, L. **Acetosella, L.* ?§corniculata, L.?§1I Papa\er, L. f Argemone, L.§ fdubium, L.f flrybridum, L.f **Rh8eas, L.** Parietaria, L. ♦officinalis, L.* Paris, L. fquadrifolia, L.82 Park ass i a, L. fpalustris, L.f 83 Pastinaca, L. **sativa, L.* Pedicularis, L. *palustris, L.f ♦sylvatica, L.** Petlis, L. *Portula, L.** Petasites, Desf. ^vulgaris, Desf. Petroselinum, Hoffm. Xf sativum, Koch.j/f fsegetum, Koch. Phalaris, L. **arundinacea, L.* Jfcanariensis, L.jf Phleum, L. j|§arenareum, L. **pratense, L.* Picris, L. fhieracioides, L.f Pilularia, L. fglobulifera, L.ffl PlMPINELLA, L. f magna, L. **Saxifraga, L.* PlNGUICULA, L. *lusitanica, L.** f vulgaris, L.f 84 Pinus, L. +**sylvestris, L.£** Plantago, L. *Coronopus, L.** **lanceolata, L.** **major, L.** *maritima, L.* **media, L.* Poa, L. **annua, L.** §aquatica, L.§ ll^compressa, L. Tdistans, L.fH85 **fluitans, Scop.** fmaritima, Huds.f fnemoralis, L. **pratensis, L.** §procumbens, Curt.§ frigida, L.f **trivialis, L.** POLYCRAPON, L. Ijftetraphyllum, L. PoLYGALA, L. **vulgaris, L.** Ufamara, Don. Polygonum, L. *amphibium, L.* *fi.terrestre, Hook.* **aviculare, L.** fBislorta, L.f *Convolvulus, L.** JfFagopyrum, L.Jf *Hydropiper, L.** **lapathifolium, L.** Hfmaritimum, L. fminus, Huds.fH **Persicaria, L.** ||§Robertii, Lois. POLYPODIUM, L. **vulgare, L.** Polypogon, L. flittoralis, Sm.fTT Populus, L. §alba, L.§ Pfcanescens, Sm.?f f nigra, L.f jftremula, L.ff POTAMOGETON, L. |jfcrispus ? L. POTAMOGETON, L. *grammeus, L.j *heterophyllus, Schreb.' *lucens, L.* **natans, L.* fpectinatus, L. *perfoliatus, L.* fpusillus, L. fzosterifolius, Schum. PoTENTILLA, L. **anserina, L. * * *argentea, L.* **Fragaria, Poir.** **reptans, L.** POTERIUM, L. **sanguisorba, L.* Prenanthes, L, fmuralis, L.f Primula, L. **veris, L.** *fi.elatior, L.f **y. acaulis, £.** Prunella, L. **vulgaris 3 L.** Prunus, L. ?*Cerasus, L.?* Jfdomestica, L.jf *insititia, L.* **spinosa, L.** Pteris, L. **aquilina, L.** Pulicaria, Geert. **dysenterica, Cass.* ♦vulgaris, Gsert.f PULMONARIA, L. Ufangustifolia, L.86 ||§officinalis, L.87 ||?fvirginica, Willd.88 Pyrethrum, Hall. *inodorum, Sra.** fmaritimum, Sm.f *Parthenium, Sm.* Pyrus. L. f Aria, Sm.f89 tfaucuparia, Gaert.jf |j§domestica, Sm. fMabas, L.f ftorminalis, Sm.fOO Quercus, L. *Robur, L.** Hfsessiliflora, Salisb. Radiola, Gmel. *millegrana, Sm.** Ranunculus, L. **acris, L.** **aquatilis, L.* Ufarvensis, L. 484 THE BOTANY Ranunculus, L. fauricomus, L.f9l **bulbosus, L.** **Ficaria, L.** **Flammula, L.** **fi. reptans, Sm.** *hederaceus, L.** fhirsutus, Curt.* f Lingua, L.f *parviflorus, L.§ ** rep ens, L.** *sceleratus, L.** Raphanus, L. *Raphanistrum, L.* Reseda, L. Jfalba, Willd.JfIT *lutea, L.f *Luteola, L.* Rhamnus, L. *catharticus, L. *Frangula, L.* Rhinanthus, L. **Crista-Galli, L.* Rhtnchospora, Vahl. *alba, Vahl.** ffusca, Sm.* Ribes, L. * Grossularia, L.* fpetramm, Wulf.M!92 **rubrum, L.* Rosa, L. **arvensis, L.* **canina, L.** Rubus, L. Sambucus, **rhamnifolius,W.&N.** *nigra, L. *rudis, W. & N.**1T ** vulgaris, W. & N.* Rumex, L. **acetosa, L.* *Acetosella, L.** *acutus, L.* **crispus, L.** *Hydrolapathum, Huds. fmaritimus, L.f IT **obtusifolius, L.** *pulcher, L.* ^sanguineus, L.* **fi.viridis, Hook.* Ruppia, L. *maritima, L.** Ruscus, L. *aculeatus, L.§ Sagina, L. *apetala, L.* *maritima, Don.* **procumbens, L.** Sagittaria, L. **sagittifolia, L.* Salicornia, L. **herbacea, L.** Samolus, L. fValerandi, L.* Sanguisorba, L. fofficinalis, L. 98 Sanicula, L. **europaea, L.* Saponaria, L. * If officinalis, L.ff Saxifraga, L. *granulata, L.f ||?fhypnoi'des, L. *tridactylites, L.* Scabiosa, L. *columbaria, L.f **succisa, L.** SCANDIX, L. **Pecten-Veneris, L.* SCHCENUS, L. *nigricans, L.** Scilla, L. Hfverna, Huds. Scirpus, L. *lacustris, L.* §fi. glaucus, Hook.§ *maritimus, L.** ** Salix, L. **acuminata, Sm.* *alba, L.* l.sarmentacea, Hook** *amygdalina, L.f97 Sm.** **$.procumbens,Hook** *Savii, Spreng.* fradicans, Sm.f *j&.monastachys,Hook.** ffi.fncticosa, Hook.f *f[96 *setaceus, L.* *collina, Woods.* fmicrantha, Sm.f Pfrubiginosa, L.?f *spinossima, L.** Hftomentosa, Sm. ROTTBOLLIA, L. ||§incurvata, L. W^fi.filiformis, Roth. Rubia, L. fperegrina, L. Rubus, L. *affinis, W. & N.* *caesius, L.* **cordifolius, W. & N.** *discolor, W. & N.* *dumetorum, W. & N.* fcchinatus, Lindl.f93 *fastigiatus, W. &N.* **fruticosus, L..** §fusco-ater, W.& N.§U94 Salvia, L. fidscus, L.f *verbenaca, L.f §leucostachyg, Sm.§H95 Sambucus, L. *plicatus, W. & N.** HfEbulns, L. **aquatica, faurita, L. **caprsea, L.** fcinerea, L.f fdecipiens, Hoffm.f *fragilis, L.* *fusca, L.* **$.repens, Borr.** fHelix, L. fincubacea,f1T ||§Lambertiana, Sm. Hfrosmarinifolia, L. Hfrubra, Huds. ?fRusselliana, Sm.?f Hftriandra, L. Jfviminalis, L.* ||f*vitellina, L. Salsola, L. *Kali. L.* fsylvaticus, L. SCHLERANTHUS, L. *annuus, L.** SCHOLOPENDRIUM, Sm. **vulgare, Sym.* SCROPHULARIA, L. *aquatica, L.** **nodosa, L.* Scutellaria, L. fgalericulata, L.f f minor, L.* Sedum, L. *acre, L.f || f album, L. *anglicum, Huds.** §reflexum, L.§TO9 llfrupcstre, L. Ijfsexangulare, L. JfTelephium, L.Jf Sempervivum, L. Jftectorum, L4f Senecio, L. **aquaticus, Huds.* **Jacob3ea, L.** *sylvaticus, L.** */3. liviclus, L* **tenuifolius, Jacq_.* Oj^ POOLE. 485 Senecio, L. fviscosus, L* **yulgaris, L ** Serratula, L. ♦tinctoria, L.* Sherardia, L. *arvensis, L.* Silaus, Bess. *pratensis, Bess.f Sil^ne, L. *anglica, L.** **inflata, Sm.** ♦maratima, With.* SlNAPIS, L. ♦alba, L.* **arvensis, L.** §muralis, Br.§U ♦nigra, L.§ §tenuifolia, Er.§1T Sison, L. **Amomura, L.* Sisymbrium, L. **officinalc, L.** §Sophia, L.§1T100 ♦thalianum, Hook.* Sium, L. **angustifolium, L.* flatifolium, L. Smyrnium, L. fOlusatrum, L.f Solanum, L. **Dulcamara, L.* *nigrum, L.** Solidago, L. *Virgaurea, L.** Sonchus, L. **arvensis, L.* **oleraceus, L** *$.asper, D.C.* fpalustris, L.f Sparganium, L. fnatans, L.flllOl ♦ramosum, Huds.* §simplex, Huds. § Spartina, Willd. ||§alternifolia, Lois. 102 ||§stricta, Sm. Spergula, L. **arvensis, L.** *fi.pentandra, Lindl* *nodosa, L.* ♦subulata, Sw.* Spir^a, L. fFilipendula, L.f ?fsalicifolia, L.?f **Ulmaria, L.** Stachys, L. *arvensis, L.** ♦♦palustris, L.** **sylvatica, L.* Statice, L. ♦Armeria, L.** *Limonium, L.** Ufspathulata, Desf. Stellaria, L. §glauca, With. 103 *graminea, L.** **hoIostea, L.** '♦♦media, With.** ♦uliginosa, Murr.** Symphytum, L. **officinale, L.** Tamarix, L. ||?fgallica, L. Tamus, L. *communis, L.* Tanacetum, L. Pfvulgare, L.?f Taxus, L. Hfbaccata, L. Teucrium, L. ||f Chamaedrys, L. ♦Scorodonia, L.** Thalictrum, L. ♦flavum, L.* Thesium, L. ♦linophyllum, L. Thlaspi, L. f arvense, L.flf Thrincia, Roth. **hirta, Roth.** Thymus, L. **Serpyllum, L.** Tilia, L. ^♦europsea, L.J* TlLL^EA, L. *muscosa, L.** Torilis, Adans. **Anthriscus, Gsert.** *infesta, Spreng,* ♦nodosa, Ga3rt.§ ToRMENTILLA, L. ♦♦officinalis, L.** *reptans, L.* Tragopogon, L. Htporrifolius, L, fpratensis, L. Trifolium, L. *arvensc, L.* **filiformc, L.** *fragiferum, L.** tglomeratum, L.f fmaritimuni, L.f If Trifolium, L. * medium, L.* **minus, Rehl.* fochroleucum, L. **pratense, L.** ♦procumbens, L.** **repens, L.** ?fresupiuatum, L.?f1flQ4 f scab rum, L.f fstriatum, L.f *subterraneum, L.** Triglochin, L. *maritimum, L.** ♦palustre, L.f Triodia, Br. *decumbens, Beauv.* Triticum, L. *caninum, Huds.* *junceum, L.** floliaceum, Sm.f **repens. L.** Tulipa, L. |Jf sylvestris, L. 105 Turritis, L, || f glabra, L. TUSSILAGO, L. ♦Farfara, L.* Typha, L. §angustifolia, L.§1f flatifolia, L.f Ulex, L. ♦♦europseus, L.** **nanus, Forst.** Ulmus, L. **campestris, L.** Hfcarpinifolia, Lindl. 106 || f glabra, MiU.107 Htfmajor, Sm. 108 $*montana, Bauch.J* **suberosa, Elirh.* Urtica, L. **diocca, L.** Pfpilulifera, L.Pflf **urens. L.** Utricularia, L. f minor, L.f II f vulgaris, L.f Vaccinium, L. *Myrtiilus, L.* HfVitis-Idsea, L. Valeriana, L. fdiccca, L.f ♦♦officinalis, L.* Ifrubra, L. Verbascum, L. fBlattaria, L. fnigrum, L.f 3 R 486 THE BOTANY Verbascum, L. Htpulverulentum, Vill. **Thapsus, L.* Verbena, L. officinalis, L.* Veronica, L. **agrestis, L.** f Anagallis, L.f **arvensis, L.** **Beccabunga, L.** **Chamffidrys, L.** **hederifolia, L.** fmontana, L.f * Officinalis, L.* *polita, Fries.* fscutellata, L.f *serpyllifolia, L.* Viburnum, L. **Lantana, L.* *Opulus, L.* Vicia, L. *angustifolia, Sibth.** fbithynica, L. 109 **Cracea, L.** jlfleevigata, Sm. flatlryroides, L. 110 Hflutea, L. Ill ?fsatira, L.?f **sepium, L.** fsylvatica, 112 VlNCA, L. ?*major, L.?* ?fminor, L.?f Viola, L. **canina, L.** **hirta, L.* flactea, Sm.f **odorata, L.** ftricolor, L.f **j3. ai-vensis, D.C.** Viscum, L. f album, L f Xanthium, L. Pfstrumarmm, L.?f Zannichellia, L. fpahistris, L. 113 Zostera, L. *marina, L.** For many of the localities alluded to in the above marks, and some of which are named in the references below, I am indebted to the kindness of others, but my limits do not permit me to make the acknowledgment in each seperate case^fc. I may here, however, record * The author of this appendix is about to publish a Flora of Dorsetshire, in which he will have the opportunity of correcting this omission. To aid him in this undertaking, and to render it as complete as possible, he takes this public opportunity of requesting the botanists of the county, to inform him of any of the localities of the rarer plants, which may have come under their notice. All information of this kind, or on any other subject of local botanical interest, addressed to him at Poole, will be thankfully received and duly acknowledged. OF POOLE. 487 my obligations to my excellent friend Dr. William Bullar, of Southampton, who formerly resided several years at Poole; to my lamented friend, the late John Roice, esq., of Wimborne, and others for some of the nearer localities, and for many of the more distant, to Miss Maria Attersoll, of Weymouth, to Mrs. Mary Frampton, of Dorchester, to the Rev. A. Bloxam, ivho left at Mr. Commins 9 library, a list of the plants he found during a visit to Weymouth, and to Mr. Commins, for his kindness in lending me the list. I have availed myself also of the following vwrks, ** Pulteney 9 s catalogue of the more rare plants of Dor- setshire ;" " Turner and Dilhuyn 9 s Botanists 9 Guide' 9 ; ** Watson *s new Botanists 9 Guide ;" and " Sheridan 9 s Guide to the Isle of Wight, 99 — a large portion of the island lying within thirty miles of Poole. For other information in the last named locality, I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Bromfleld, of Ryde, for the use of his MS. of a Flora of the Isle of Wight, ichich he is about shortly to publish. 488 THE botany- LOCALITIES OF THE RARER PLANTS. The Figures answer to the references in the Alphabetical List. 1, In the Stour, above Blandford. 2, on the Downs between Swanage and Studland. 3, on the sea shore at Seldown. 4, near Christchurch. 5, Corfe-Castle. 6, Blandford race-ground. 7, sea shore at Lake, in Ham, 8^, in Purbeck, &c. 9, in the boggy fields by the straw- berry gardens, at Constitution Hill. 10, at Tillywhim. 11, in a lane leading from the Weymouth and Chickerell road to Wyke Regis. 12, North and South Haven beaches. 13, about Weymouth. 14, " In the year 17G6, I found a considerable quantity of this plant near the rope-walk at Weymouth, and on the spot where Gloucester Row and the Royal Terrace now stand. It was lost in three or four rs after that period." Dr. Pulteney, 15, Corfe-Castle 16, Purbeck cliff's. 17, near Spetisbury. 18, about uth. 19, near Witchampton. 20, in lanes atMerley. 21, in a bog in Purbeck. 22, sea shore at Seldown. 23, by * I have given this name (louchitioides) to a variety of this fern, (Asnidiura angulare, Willd., resembling the so named variety of A. loh;itum, Sw. fiF POOLE. 489 the Stour, rarely. 24, Encombe wood. 25, near the shore at Seldown. 26, about an old kiln at South Haven. 27, wet heaths, Parkstone, &c. 28, formerly found near Blandford. 29, abundantly as a weed in a garden at Poole. 30, at the foot of the walls in some streets in Poole. 31, and 32, by a spring at Melbury, near Shaftesbury. 33, by quarries in Purbeck. 34, Poole and Corfe Mullen old road. 35, meadows near Blandford. 36, South Haven beach. 37, Corfe-Castle. 38, ballast quay, Ham. 39, Cranborne Chase. 40, in Purbeck. 41. in a hedge near Sturton, on the road to Mere, in a situation apparently truly wild. 42, Parkstone. 43, in a garden at Salisbury as a weed. 44, woods at Grange. 45, Broadley wood. 46, near Sturminster Newton. 47, between Wareham and Corfe- Castle. 48, formerly found near Poole. 49, Langton farm. 50, on the cliffs at Studland, abundantly. 51, in common mead fields and elsewhere near Gillingham. 52, Canford. 53, at Encombe wood. 54, and 55, at Lake, in Ham. 56, and 57, road side at Longham. 58, and 59, in watery places near Wareham. 60, and 61, at Langton. 62, ballast quay, Ham. 63, at Corfe-Castle. 64 ; Langton and Spetisbury. 65, near Blandford. 66, at Encombe. 67, on chalk downs, and on walls. 681 on Hod Hill^r. 69, Broadley wood. 70, and 71, woods at Lytchett. 72, ballast quay, Ham. 73, Stour Paine bushes, near Bland- ford. 74, in corn fields by the Salterns, Parkstone. 75, by the river near Blandford. 76, in the field by the " Case is altered," at Tatnam. 77, in a pond in Purbeck. 78, in the Stour by Longham bridge. 79, in Purbeck. 80, near Cranborne. 81, in a hedge at Seldown. 82, near Wim- borne. 83, and 84, on Wareham heath. 85, near Ham bridge on the Poole side. 86, and 87, near Holburv house, * This is a variety of Linaria spuria, Mill., first noticed I believe, by Dr. Pulteney, in the situation above named, and subsequently in other situations, by Sir W. Hooker and others, but without any distinctive appellation. It resembles the Peloria of L. vulgaris, Mcench., and I have therefore given it the name of pelorioides. 490 THE BOTANY in the New Forest. 88, near Netley Abbey. 89, and 90, about Lytchett, 91, and 92, in the copse at Bare-cross. 93, Encombe. 94, about Poole. 95, at Corfe-Mullen, in the lane to Knowle. 96, ballast quay, Ham, 97, near Wimborne. 98, near Corfe-Castle. 99, Swanage. 100, on the shore at Ham, to the west of the ropewalk. 101, clay-pit, near Corfe-Castle. 102, by the Itchin ferry, near Southampton. 103, in meadows about Charlton. 104, near the ballast quay, at Ham^. 105, near the church at Melbury, near Shaftesbury. 106, 107, and 108, near Weymouth. 109, and 110, in Purbeck. Ill, on the banks of the Backwater, between Weymouth and Radipole. 112, Stoke Hill. 113, In ditches communi- cating with the Stour, * In 1831, I discovered this second British station of Tbifolium Resupinatum, L. at the east end of the rope-walk, close by the anchorage, at Ham. From specimens •which I hare distributed to different botanists, it is now generally known to grow near Poole, though a great mistake prevails as to its frequency and abundance. Accordingly Watson in the supplement to his " Botanists' Guide," writes, " Shores of Poole harbour, but I did not find it. — W. A. Bs.omfie.ld. MSS." and Sir W. Hooker, in the fourth edition of his " British Floiia." gives it as found in " meadows about Poole." The plant was always confined to a few square yards in the above named situation, These circumstances are correctly stated in the Supplement to the English Botany, in the the text accompanying Tab. 2789, which is taken from a specimen I sent Mr. Sowerley in 1834. I fear from its being so near the ballast quay, it can scarcely be considered indigenous, and I am sorry also to add, that of late it has become nearly extinct. OF POOLE, 491 ENUMERATION OF THE PLANTS CONTAINED IN THE CATALOGUE. GENERA. Within 8 miles of Poole, indigenous 335 ; ? 9 Within 1 6 miles of Poole, indigenous, 366 ; ?12 ; Beyond 16 miles, and within 30 miles, of } 9^ . ? ^ Poole, indigenous, TOTAL NUMBER OF GENERA. £15 J15 S{ 422. SPECIES AND VARIETIES. Within 8 miles, . . 1 sp ' ' 5 var. Within 16 miles,.. 1 sp ' ' 3 var - Beyond 16 and £ sp. within 30 miles. S var - I. II. III. Total 776 29 877 30 112 2 Indigenous. 1 23 25 6 * 31 32 5 ** ! 285 9 260 9 , 250 11 301 11 1 I 51 2 52 2 17 1 t 190 7 264 8 94 1 722 29 820 30 101 2 Total within 30 ? sp. miles \ var. 921 32 31 37 26C 9 3021 69 111 3 1 358 I 9 1 989 1 32 Those found within 8 miles, and not< otherwise within 16 miles, are. . . .< GENERA, ....11. SPECIES, ....57. VARIETIES,.. 2. The varieties in the catalogue would appear more numerous, but it was thought unnecessary to give more than the principal ones. ERRATUM : In the List, for Mentha gracilis, Sm., read M. agrestis. Sole. END OF APPENDIX. VC7 ERRATA. p. 24, line 5 from the bottom, for "1266," read "1256." p. 32, line 9, for " 2nd Edw. Ill," read " 10th Edw. III." ADDENDUM. p. 60. The Hon. W. F. S. Ponsonby was, in June, 1838, by letters patent, raised to the peerage by the style and title of Baron de Mauley, c£ Canford, in the county of Dorset. Lady Barbara Ponsonby had a claim to the barony de Mauley, as the descendant and representative (through her maternal grandmother) of Elizabeth, one of the two sisters and co-heirs of the eighth Peter de Mauley. This Elizabeth de Mauley married George Salvayne, esq,; and the wife of the last Sir John Webb was the representative of this branch of the family. ,'C7