Book_— HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. The new History of the City of Gloucester, just pub- iished, contains an immense fund of useful, varied, and interesting ; information, and displays in a strong degree that spirit of inquiry and research for which its indefatigable author, Mr. Counsel, is so ' celebrated. As it forms a most valuable addition to our local pub- ; lications, we anticipate it will become a work of authority, and will ; assuredly recommend itself to all who take an interest in our an- ! cient city.— Gloucester Journal, Oct. 3, 1829. Wji? Ij'H'jl i|T|i|| lj< [\V. BULGIN, PRINTER, BRISTOL.] THE HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME; with an account of st. peter's abbey, the cathedral, churches, and other religious houses ; public buildings and charitable INSTITUTIONS ', THE SALINE CHALYBEATE SPA, WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE WATERS AND THEIR MEDICINAL PROPERTIES ; A DESCRIPTION OF THE ANTIQUITIES THAT HAVE AT DIFFERENT TIMES BEEN FOUND IN THAT CITY AND NEIGHBOURHOOD J THE ORIGIN AND PRESENT STATE OF THE port of 0lomt&Uv; THE GLOUCESTER AND BERKELEY CANAL, And an Account of the Duties payable thereon, fyc* DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT, Lord Lieutenant of the County, fyc, #r. By G. W. COUNSEL. GLOUCESTER: PRINTED TOR AND SOLD BY J. BULGIN, 5, WESTGATE-STREET ; HURST, CHANCE, AND CO. ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD, LONDON ; THE BOOKSELLERS IN CHELTENHAM; AND W. i,U~GI^, BRICTOL. •&29. •ox TO THE MOST NOBLE HENRY CHARLES SOMERSET, DUKE OF BEAUFORT* MARQUIS OF WORCESTER, EARL OF GLAMORGAN, LORD LIEUTENANT, LORD HERBERT OF CHEPSTOW, RAGLAND, AND GOWER, AND CUSTOS ROTULORUM OF THE COUNTIES OF GLOUCESTER, MONMOUTH, AND BRECON, COLONEL OF THE MONMOUTHSHIRE MILITIA, CONSTABLE OF ST. BRIAVEL'S CASTLE, AND WARDER OF THE FOREST OF DEAN, K. G. & D. C. L. ; The following Work is, by His Graces Permission, Very respectfully Dedicated. The Publisher avails himself of this opportunity of expressing his grateful acknowledg- ments to George Worrall Counsel, Esquire; for having 9 at his particular request, composed the following description of the City of Gloucester ; and far having gratuitously presented him with the copyright of the same. Gloucester, Sept. 21tf, 1829. PREFACE. The learned Fosbroke has observed, in his elaborate History of the City of Gloucester, that, " in undertaking a new work, where one preceding exists, it is a matter of course that deficiencies should be the leading object.' 5 In the present publication an attempt has been made to give a description of the antiquities which have at different times been discovered in this city and neighbourhood, and an account of the various alterations and improvements which have taken place since the Histories of Mr. Fosbroke and Mr. Rudge were written. X. The Archdeacon, in the preface to his History, acknowledges that " the principal part of his ma- terials is derived from the works of Atkins and Rudder, and that he waves all pretensions to originality." The Author has transcribed from Mr. Rudge's book whatever suited his purpose, and has endea- voured to compress within a small compass all the historical, descriptive, and statistical details, which residents of the city and neighbourhood might wish to possess, and visitors to consult. CONTENTS. PAGE Ancient State of Gloucester^ 1 Under the Romans Saxons After the Normans . Earls , Dukes Castle and Gates^ Bridges~~*~~ General Description 68 Abbey of St. Peter ™ 74 The Cathedral ™~ 89 The Choir „^™„ 97 The Tower ™v™„117 The Bishop's Palace 118 Monuments in Cathedral ^^v.119 College Green „~~~~<~~~~v~136 Parish Churches and Reli- gious Houses^wv^^w^^v^^lS? Dissenting Meeting ditto 161 Public Buildings ^^^^^^ 169 Booth and Shire Hall ib. City and County Gaol,^^^*, 172 PAGE The Banks ~~v~~v *, 173 Infirmary^^wv^^^wvw^ww^ «3 176 Lunatic Asylum ^~^~^. mm 177 Magdalen ditto ^~^*„r*~~. ~ 17S National School, &c. ,vw*~, -*, 179 Gas Lights ~~v~~w~~~~v~~ ™ 181 Triennial Music Meetings ™ 183 Saline Chalybeate Spa^^^, 186 Improvements of the City,„ 190 Kingsholm ^^^^^w^**^* 193 Antiquities ,»»^w 196 Travelling 209 Abstract of present Charter 210 Manufactories, Trade, and Commerce ^^w^w^vw^vwv, 213 Bell Foundry 217 Port of Gloucester, 220 Officers of the Port ™~ 234 Gloucester and Berkeley Canal ^_ 236 Tonnage Rates 239 AppenUlX«vvvvvvY**w*v*vwwvY>*> which might easily pass into Gloul A modern topographer has proposed to derive the name from glo, the original British word for coaly that is, the city of coaly and observes, that coals were ever a marketable commodity. This etymology is liable to great objections; for even if it were allowed, that the use of pit-coal was known among the early British, yet it can hardly be sup- posed that a place, situate at least twelve miles from the nearest coal-pit in the Forest of Dean, should receive its name from the supply of an article not necessary in those days, and therefore little valued, while the natural and extensive forests of the country produced abundance of fuel, nearer home, and with little trouble. Of these different opinions, the reader will chuse that which appears to him most probable, but the historian, who receives with caution the circumstances mentioned by British writers of early periods, will still adhere to the com- mon etymon of Caer Glou, or the bright city, till another more probable shall be discovered, though he is unable to assign a substantial reason why this station or settlement should, at so remote a period, have been distinguished by so honourable a title. There are almost as many opinions about the orthography as the etymology of this city. The fashion of writing " Glo- cester" has prevailed but a few years, but whether this or " Gloucester" be most agreeable to ancient usage, will ap- pear from the following observations. In the Saxon Chroni- cle it is variously written, Glewatircester, Gleaw-ceastre, Glew-ceastre, and Glowe-ceatfre. On the seal of the Con- stable Milo, Gloecestria. Walter de Frowcester, in the 14th 4 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, century, uniformly writes, Gloucesiria and Gloucestriensis m the records of the Abbey. In Dorney's Diurnal Account, and Corbett's History of the Siege, both published during the usurpation, the same appellation is always used. In Domesday-book, all the charters, and public instruments to the present time, it is the same. The weekly journal, which began to be published in 1722, was styled, The Gloucester Journal, and it was not till several years after, that the editor altered the mode of spelling. An almost infinite number of testimonies might be adduced to the same purpose, if it were necessary, but as the subject is interesting perhaps only in the estimation of an antiquary, it may be deemed tedious to lengthen the investigation. — Rudge. UNDER THE ROMANS. About the year 44, of the Christian sera, it is conjectured, that the Romans had penetrated as far as Caer Glow, under the victorious conduct of Plautius. This general having, in various battles, defeated the Britons, and possessed himself of such advantages as seemed to secure their total subjection, sent a request to the Emperor Claudius, that he would, in person, reap the glory of putting an end to the war. On his arrival he found little opposition, and easily pushed his conquest into the interior parts of the island. His great moderation and kindness to the conquered natives, while among them, raised him to so high a degree of estimation, that they erected a temple to his honour, and worshipped him as a god. The Romans finding here a settlement of the natives, pro- tected and improved it sufficiently to lay the foundation of UNDER THE ROMANS. 5 that consequence, which at no subsequent period has been entirely lost. This wise and politic people, indeed, carried with their victorious arms the arts and comforts of social life, and from the peaceable disposition, which characterised the inhabitants of these parts, it may be presumed that they profited by the superior attainments of their new masters. Glevum, however, as the Romans called it, was at this time a garrison, or military station, designed to check the incur- sions of the Silures, who inhabited on the western side of the Severn, and being brave and powerful, not only resisted all the efforts of the invaders with success, but were ready to seize every opportunity of harrassing them in their turn. Being thus a settlement of the Roman garrison, it became more numerous, and obtained the privileges of a colony: then the name of Glow, by adopting a Latin termination, was changed to Glevum: thus much appears from an in- scription on a monumental stone found some years since in a wall at Bath, near the Northgate. — Dec. Colone Glev. vixt. an. lxxxovi. This was first noticed by Camden, and was mentioned by Gibson and Horsely as remaining in their days, though now lost. Gale supposes this Decurio to have died at Bath, whither he had gone either for the recovery of his own health or the refreshment of his forces; Horsely imagines him to have been rather a senator in the colony, than a commander of ten horse in the army. It is said by Atkyns, that in the time of the Romans, the colony was governed by a consul. That this was a Roman station, of considerable conse- quence, though perhaps inferior to Cirencester, is indisput- ably proved by the various coins, fragments of pottery, military and domestic utensils, and pavements, which have been found. Among the former are burial urns, coffins of lead and stone, pieces of amphorae, a small brass lamp, an 6 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, iron hatchet, a brass patera with a handle, a small ornamental bell, part of a pair of brass compasses, several brass beads, and a statera or Roman balance of the same metal. Some of these are now in the possession of Samuel Lysons, Esq., and all have been described in different parts of the Arch- Opinions, however, diiFer about the exact situation of Glevum; though from the following considerations it may probably be inferred, that the present plan of Gloucester nearly corresponds with what it was in the time of the Romans. In the four principal streets, some remains have been discovered of Roman houses and buildings. In the cellar belonging to the master's house of Crypt school, is a piece of tesselated pavement, but whether it was there first discovered, or removed to it from some other place, is not known : but that such kind of flooring does exist in the Southgate-street, is proved by the discovery lately made of some in a house adjoining to the Ram Inn, in the digging of a well. On the south side of the Westgate-street, at a house then in the occupation of Mr. Parker, surgeon, in opening the ground for the same purpose as the preceding, stone steps were found, as if leading from the ground floor to an upper apartment, with part of the shaft of a broken Doric column, unquestionably Roman. In the Northgate-street, three or four years since, when improvements were making in the house of T. Mee, Esq. formerly called the Black Spread Eagle, a tesselated pavement was dug up, formed of dies in the usual way, but destroyed by the ignorance of the workmen. — Rudge. In the year 1806, as the workmen were employed in dig- ging the foundation for the new Blue-coat Hospital, in this city, they discovered, about six feet below the surface of the UNDER THE ROMANS. 7 earth, the remains of a very curious tesselated Roman pave- ment, running in a parallel direction with the street, and extending from east to west 30 feet, and from north to south 20 feet. It is divided into compartments, enriched with a great variety of scrolls, frets, and other architectural orna- ments ; having a wreathed or braided border, together with different figures of fish. The colours are white, red, bluish grey, and pale and dark brown. The tesserce are mostly cubes of different sizes, from one half to three-quarters of an inch : some are triangular, and of various other shapes. The cement on which the pavement is laid is about an inch thick, and appears to be composed of sand, pounded brick, and lime, forming together a very hard substance. The inster- stices are filled up with cement so hard, that it is even more difficult to break than the tesserce themselves. The white and pale brown tesserce appear to be of a hard calcareous stone, and bear a good polish : the red are of a fine sort of brick : the bluish grey are of a hard argillaceous stone, found in many parts of Gloucestershire, and called blue lyas : and the dark brown appear to be of the granite found at St. Vin- cent's Rock, near Bristol. A drawing has been made of a part of this curious and interesting piece of antiquity, which has probably existed for upwards of 17 centuries ; but we much regret that proper directions were not given for the whole to be carefully taken up and preserved, as no mean record of the historical importance of the place. The re- mains of the pattern exhibit fishes and serpents in a ring ; the guilloche, always occurring in these pavements, and the customary fret. Several coins of the Emperor Claudius have been found. A considerable relic of tesselated pavement exists in what is at present the cellar of the house attached to St. Mary de Crypt School : its depth from the surface of the street is about the same as that found in the Easteate-street, 8 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, The discovery of these pavements must place beyond a shadow of doubt the disputed fact of Gloucester having been a considerable Roman station. When the Romans had con- quered a great part of this island in their second expedition, by Aulus Plautius the Praetor, under the Emperor Claudius, about the forty-fifth year of the Christian sera, they stationed a colony at Gloucester, as the most convenient situation for the curbing of the Silures. It was called Colonia Glevum, as appears by an acient inscription to be seen on a stone near the North-gate, at Bath. The town was, at different times, enlarged by the Roman Emperors, as they had oc- casion to employ more forces. It is said to have been large and populous when the Consul of it was summoned, together with other great persons, to attend King Arthur's Court, to solemnize his coronation. Tesselated Pavement. (Pavimentum Tesselatum.) — A rich pavement of Mosaic work, made of curious small square marbles, bricks, or tiles, called tesserce, from the form of dies. Tesselated pavements were much used in the tents of the Roman Generals. Tessera, in Roman antiquity, denoted, in its primary sense, a cube or die, so called from the Greek word tessera, (four) respect being had to its number of sides, distinct from its two horizontal planes above and below. The church of St. Mark, at Venice, is entirely floored with Mosaic work. The mortar of the ancients was of such pro- digious hardness, that Vitruyius tells us, the pieces of plaster falling from old walls served to make tables. To these evidences it might be added, that within the last six years, in the Northgate and Southgate-streets, foot pave- ments, running parallel with the houses, have been found, at about the distance of seven or eight feet under ground (which is also the general depth of the tesselated floors). These were supported by timber piles, and about four or five feet wide. UNDER THE ROMANS. V It cannot then be doubted but that Glevum stood, in part at least, on the present site of Gloucester, but how far it extended, can only be conjectured. The opinion of some, that the Kingsholm was within its compass, is supported by the coins and other antiquities which have been found there, and the tradition that this was the direction of the Irmin- street. It is satisfactorily traced from Cirencester to the place where the turnpike-gate stands, half a mile from the city; and here is supposed to have deviated to the north- west, and to have continued in the direction of a lane to the Kingsholm, then crossing the Tewkesbury-road, a little north of the turnpike-gate, to have proceeded to an old channel of the Severn (now filled up, but plainly to be traced). Of the latter part of this route no vestiges remain, and in truth, if this was the line of the Roman road, it will be difficult to determine how the communication was maintained with the western side of the Severn, through swampy and marshy grounds, which must have been the state of those meadows in the time of the Romans, since so late as the great Rebel- lion they are called marshes. The more probable course of the road seems to be from the turnpike-gate through the town to the Westgate bridge. In those days, indeed, there were no bridges over the Severn, but there is no difficulty in supposing that bridges were soon built or boat ferries established under the improving hands of the Romans. It is to be observed, that it was the custom of the Ro- mans to bury without the mcenia or boundaries of the town; therefore, if the vast number of bodies dug up at the Kings- holm, were Roman, it is probable that Glevum did not ex- tend so far. The practice, indeed, of burying in towns did not commence till about 750, so that it might from hence be inferred, that this was the common place of sepulture for the town for two centuries after the Romans had ceased to be its inhabitants. — Radge. a 2 10 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, UNDER THE SAXONS. The Romans, soon after the commencement of the fifth century, finding that all their exertions were necessary to protect the country immediately around the capital, withdrew their troops from Britain, and left the inhabitants, who were just beginning to taste the pleasures of repose, in a wretched and defenceless state ; for it had been the uniform policy of the conquerors to enlist the flower of the British youth into their armies, and disperse them in the other provinces of the empire. The last legion left the island about 426 or 427. From this period the sufferings of the islanders were great, from civil contentions, and the irruptions of the Scots and Picts ; and the Saxons were invited to assist in their deli- verance. The auxiliary troops were put in possession of the isle of Thanet, and paid by the Britons : the first body ar- rived in 449. Gloucester does not appear to have been much concerned in the disputes which followed this unfor- tunate alliance, till the year 577, when Commail, Condidan, and Farinmail, three British Princes, were defeated by Ce- aulin, the Saxon King of Wessex, and his brother Cutha or Cuthwin, at Dyrham, and the taking of Bath, Gloucester, and Cirencester, was the consequence of their victory. In 584, the conquest was completed by Crida, an adventurer of the same nation, and of the race of Woden ; and the Britons, unable to defend themselves against these new invaders, re- tired into Cambria, beyond the Severn, leaving the empire of Britain wholly to the Saxons. UNDER THE SAXONS. 11 Oat of his several conquests, Crida, in 584, formed a large kingdom, known at that time by the name of the King- dom of the Middle Angles, but afterwards more generally of Mercia. Gloucester was one of the fifteen cities of which it was composed, and was doubtless, both during the wars between the Britons and Saxons, and under the government of the latter, a place of considerable importance, on account of its situation on a navigable river ; in the Saxon annals, however, either from the concise way in which they are written, or from the loss of others more full, Gloucester is seldom mentioned, except for the purpose of recording the arrival, departure, or death, of some great personage. Gloucester, in the time of the Saxons, was governed by a Portgreve. — Aikyns. As at the council, or synod of Grateley, held by King Athelstan, in 928, and also by the King's own order, it was appointed that there should be one mint for coining of money in all burghs, it might be expected that Saxon or Danish coins of the Gloucester mint, would not be scarcer than those of the Romans ; in fact, however, one only is mentioned in history, which is a silver coin of Harold, with the following inscription ; — Harold Rex Anglorum. The King had Crown and Sceptre. The reverse is, Wulfgeat on (de) GLE-aue-cester. With Pax in the middle. This is taken from Rudder's account, but he gives no authority, nor mentions the catalogue or cabinet where it is to be found. The following chronological account comprehends the whole that is upon record, relating to Gloucester, except what has been already recited, during the Roman and Saxon governments. 488. Hengist, the brave leader of the Saxons, is said by G. Monmouth, to have been beheaded at this place. Aure- lius Ambrosius, King of the Britons, having taken him 12 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, prisoner, at a battle fought at Masebell, beyond the Humber, in Yorkshire, brought him to Gloucester, and there assem- bled a council of the nobility to determine his fate. Edei, the Earl, Eldad, the Bishop, and Eldo, the Mayor, or chief governor, were present, and when the majority shewed an inclination to spare the prisoner's life, they were persuaded to deliver him up to the Mayor, who led him out of the city and put him to death. This account is altogether denied by the Saxon writers, as well as by the best modern historians, who assert that he died a natural death. 670,* or thereabouts, Wulfer, son of Penda, repaired the city, which had been considerably injured during the wars, and so much enlarged and beautified it, that according to Bede, it was esteemed, about the beginning of the eighth century, one of the noblest cities in the kingdom. 836, or soon after, the Danes possessed themselves of this place, and pitching their tents here, lorded it over this part of the country, and made themselves masters of the Forest of Dean, and great part of Herefordshire.- — Rudder. 896. A Wittena Gemot of the great men of Mercia was held at Gloucester, with the leave of Alfred. At this Gemot the Bishop of Worcester complained that he had been de- prived of his woodland. All the Witan declared that the church should have its rights preserved, as well as other persons. — He'ming Chart. Turner's Sax. 918. The inhabitants of this city were instrumental in routing and destroying the Danish army. 940. King Athelstan died here, and was buried at Malmesbury, with great funeral pomp.. — Will. ofMalmsb. Soon after this, Elgiva, the unfortunate wife of Edwy, * In the Monasticon Anglicanum the date is 679 ; this, however, cannot be correct, since Wulfer died in 675. UNDER THE SAXONS. 13 the eleventh King of England, was intercepted at Gloucester, and put to death, with circumstances of peculiar cruelty. Edwy had contracted a violent passion for his fair cousin Elgiva, but the marriage was condemned by Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Dunstan, on account of their being within the prohibited degrees. In consequence of their op- position to the opinion of the churchmen, Edwy and Elgiva suffered great persecution. He found his subjects in rebel- lion against him, and she, being seized by a party of armed men, was branded in the forehead with a hot iron, and sent to Ireland. On her return, she was intercepted, hamstringed, and cruelly put to death. Edwy died of a broken heart. — Anglia sacra. 964. King Edgar resided a short time in the town, and one of his battles against the Danes is said to have been fought here. Rapin, however, asserts, that during his reign, there were no invasion from abroad, and all was quiet at home, and that he did not once draw his sword. — Rapin and Hume, sub. reg. Edgar. Turner, vol. 3. p. 165, 178, 184. 978. Ethelred was crowned King, and in 980, the Danes, after an interval of nearly sixty years, again made a descent on England, in various parts at different periods. In 997, they appeared in the Severn, and at this time probably Gloucester was, for the third time, ravaged and almost con- sumed by fire, as mentioned by Rudder. 1016. Edmund Ironside, having been defeated at Ashdon, co. Essex, or Essedin, according to Atkyns, came to Glou- cester, for the purpose of recruiting his forces. Canute fol- lowed him, and in a short time the two armies, headed by their respective kings, stood in sight of each other at Der- hurst, five miles up the Severn. Here Edmund challenged the Danish chief to single combat, which, according to some authors, was accepted. The fact seems to be, that Canute 14 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, refused to accept the challenge, alleging, " that though he was superior to his rival in mental powers, yet he distrusted his own little body against a man of so great bulk," but he added, " that under present circumstances, it might be pru- dent for both to lay aside their resentments and divide the kingdom.' ' Both armies unanimously agreed to the proposal, and the English king, yielding partly to their desires, con- cluded a treaty in the isle of Alney, by which the kingdom of Mercia was given to Canute, and Wessex, with some appendages, including the city of London, reserved to Ed- mund. — Rapin, sub. an. 1016. W. of Malmsb. p. 40. Hove- derfs annals, p. 250. Huntingdon, snb. ann. 1016. 1051. Edward the Confessor, about this time took up his residence at Gloucester, where Eustace, Earl of Builoign, who had married the King's sister, visited him, and was magnificently entertained. This visit, however, was nearly fatal to Edward, for being without military force, with great difficulty he avoided an unexpected attack from Earl Godwin, whose resentment had been excited by the following circum- stance. The Earl of Builoign landed at Dover, where his followers were soon engaged in a quarrel with the inhabi- tants, and killed an Englishman. The citizens, enraged at this conduct, determined on revenge, but the Count being before-hand with them, began the attack, and killed many of both sexes, in the city, and trampled some children under their horses' feet. The people armed in consequence, and the Count fled to Gloucester, where the King was. When Godwin received information of this outrage, he was enraged that it should have happened within his authorhy, and came forward as the champion of the sufferers. He immediately raised from his own counties of Kent, Sussex, and Wessex, a military power, and his son Swein did the same with the counties of Oxford, Gloucester, Hereford, Somerset, and UNDER THE SAXONS. 15 Berks, which were under his government, while Harold, another son, raised forces in Essex and other counties. The King, by his friends, levied forces to oppose him, but could not prevent Godwin from marching to Beverston, in Gloucestershire, where he demanded of the King, the Earl of Bulloign and his followers, under a menace of hostilities, which the King, after some deliberation, refused. To pre- vent the miseries of a civil war, Leofric, a friend of the King, proposed that the King and Godwin should meet on an ap- pointed day, in London, and have the matters judicially determined by the Wittena Gemot. The proposal was ac- cepted, and Edward marched to London, while Godwin and his sons occupied Southwark. Godwin, however, being summoned to meet the Wittena, felt afraid to face it, and dreading the result of an enquiry into his conduct, fled during the night, and, with his three sons, escaped to Flanders. — Turner, vol. 3. page 321. 1053. The King held a great assembly of his nobles at Gloucester, in the ancient building of the monastery, in the time of Atkyns, called the Long Workhouse, but since con- verted into a dwelling-house, and now the property of Mrs. Smith, widow of the late Robert Smith, Esq. 1063. The King came again to Gloucester, and Harold was employed in reducing the Welch, who had long been accustomed to harrass the western borders, and then retire to the safe fastnesses of their mountains. Griffith, or Griffin, the reigning prince, had greatly distinguished himself in these predatory incursions, but now, in consequence, of the vigo- rous measures pursued by the English army, he was sacri- ficed to the fears of his own followers, and his head being cut off, was sent to Harold, who immediately transmitted it, with the gilded stern of Griffith's ship, to the King at Glou- cester. — S. Dunelm. Flor. Wore, &c. also Hume and Rapin, sub. ann. 1063. W. Malm. lib. 2. cap. 13. 16 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. AFTER THE NORMAN CONQUEST. William the Conqueror often held his court at Gloucester, and generally spent the Christmas here, attended by the principal nobility and ecclesiastics of the kingdom. In 1084, and again in 1085, the King, with his Lords, held his court here for five days. The Clergy also, with their Archbishop, held several synods here. — Fosbrooke. From the distin- guished selection of Gloucester, for these purposes, it seems at that time to have been a place of considerable importance, and magnitude also, to entertain so numerous a body of nobles and others, whom duty or business brought to the royal court. From the Domesday record may be formed a tolerable conjecture of its extent, population, and conse- quence, about 1086. " In King Edward's time, the city of Gloucester paid thirty-six pounds in money ; twelve sex- taries (gallons) of honey according to the measure of the burgh; thirty-six dicres of iron (each ten bars ) ; a hundred iron rods drawn out for nails of the King's ships, and some other small customs, in the King's hall and chamber. Now this city pays the King sixty pounds, twenty in ora fa Saxon coin about sixteen pence value) and of money the King hath twenty." " In the demesne lands of the King, Rogerius de Berckelai holds one house, and one fishery in the vill, and it is out of the King's hands. Balduinus held it in king Edward's time." " Osburnus, Bishop fofExon) holds the land and man- sions which Edmarus held. They py ten shillings with other custom." " Gaufridus de Manneuile, holds six mansions. In king Edward's time, these paid six shillings and eight pence, with other custom." AFTER THE NORMANS. IV " Willielmus Baderon, two mansions, of thirty pence." " Willielmus Scriba, holds one mansion, of fifty-one pence." " Rogerius de Laci, one mansion, of twenty-six pence." " Osbernus Episcopus, one mansion, of forty pence." " Bernerius, one mansion, of fourteen pence." " Willielmus Calous, one mansion, of twelve pence." " Durandus, the Sheriff, two mansions, of fourteen pence." " The same Durandus holds one mansion, of twenty-six pence, and another mansion, which pays no custom." " Hadeuuinus, holds one mansion, which pays gabel, and withholds other custom." " All these mansions paid royal custom in the time of king Edward ; now king William hath nothing thence, nor Robertus, his minister." " These mansions were in the farm of king Edward, when he was alive, and after his death ; but now they are taken away from the farm and custom of the King. ' In king Edward's time, there was demesne of the King in the city, all his entertainment and clothing. When Earl William was received to farm, he was likewise clothed.' There were six- teen houses where the castle stands, which are now wanting, and in the burgh of the city fourteen that are waste." Besides these, there are mentioned in the same survey, as belonging to different proprietors, eighty houses and burg- ages, and about a hundred, the property of St. Peter's Abbey ; the whole number at that period was, at least, two hundred and fifty-five. According to modern calculation, it is usual to reckon five persons to a house ; this, however, is scarcely high enough for that period, when the mansions were upon the larger scale; and greater state was maintained in the number of servants and dependents. On the suppo- sition that the average number in a family was ten, the population will amount to two thousand five hundred, 18 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. In 1087, or the following year, the town was nearly con- sumed by fire, in the disputes between William Rufus and his brother Robert. — Furnej/. In 1093, William II, was seized with a distemper while he was at Gloucester, which gave some hopes to the people, that by his death they should be released from the almost intolerable oppressions they laboured under ; but he reco- vered, and notwithstanding his promises while under the apprehension of death, he encouraged extortion, injustice, and rapine, as much as before, among his ministers and fa- vourites. About the same time, Malcolm, King of Scotland, conformably to an agreement made with the King, came to Gloucester, to settle some affairs that had been left unde- termined in the late treaty. On William's refusing to admit him to his presence, without having first received his homage, the Scotch Prince considered this demand as a pretence to affront him, and returned home disgusted at the haughty conduct of the English King. — Rapin, sub. ann. 1093. 1094, The Welch, under the command of William de Odo, or d'Eu, with the view of procuring the deposition of William, spoiled and otherwise did great mischief to the town. — Stowe's Annals> p. 132. 1099. William, agreeably to ancient custom, spent the Christmas at Gloucester. Hen. Htintingd. p. 216. 1101. On the eighth of the ides of June, the town, which was built principally of timber, was nearly destroyed by fire, and twenty years afterwards suffered the same calamity. — Antiq. Brit. S. Bunelm. p. 226. Atkyns. 1123. On the feast of the Purification, Henry had his court at Gloucester, and at a synod held at the same time, by his command, Curboil, Abbot of St. Bennett's, was elected Archbishop of Canterbury. — Sax. An. Hen. Huntingd. 1139. Matilda, or Maud, widow of the Emperor, Hen- AFTER THE NORMANS. 19 IV. on the invitation of her brother, Robert, Earl of Glou- cester, came to England with a view of taking the crown, which Stephen had usurped. She made her first quarters at Arundel, from whence she came to Bristol, and then to Gloucester, where she was received by Milo, the King's Constable, and Deputy Governor of the Castle, under Robert. During her residence here in the following year, King Ste- phen, after having exhibited astonishing feats of valour, in the battle fought near Lincoln, was taken prisoner and brought to her by the Earl of Gloucester. She ordered him to be confined in the Castle at Bristol, and soon after left this place, and passed through Cirencester, in her way to Winchester. — Will. Malmsb. 1141. Matilda having, by her haughty conduct, and breach of promise to the Bishop of Winchester, excited the hatred of the Londoners, suddenly left the metropolis, and again came to Gloucester, to concert measures with Milo. She then returned to Winchester, where she shut herself up in the Castle, and endured a close siege of two months ; but finding it difficult to hold out any longer, she sallied out, attended by her friends, and after many skirmishes, arrived at Devizes. From hence she escaped to Gloucester, whither, it is said by some authors, that she was carried in a coffin. Milo was near being taken during the march from Winches- ter, and came almost naked to Gloucester ; but Earl Robert was made prisoner, and after six months' confinement, was exchanged by the Empress for the King ; this sacrifice was due to a man who had been her constant friend, and had borne the expences of her house during the whole time, from her first coming to England. — Rapin, sub. ann. 1141. Brampton, p. 1032. Gervase. Malmsbury. Hence it appears that Gloucester continued firmly attached to ihe cause of the Empress, in opposition to the claims of 20 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, the Usurper; this adherence, however, was the occasion 01 great mischief and impoverishment to it. 1150. The city was again burnt in May.-— ikT5& C. C. C. Oxon. 1170. One Joce, a wealthy Jew of this place, was fined a hundred shillings for furnishing the rebels in Ireland with money, — Madox. 1172. Jorworth, Lord of Caerleon-upon-Usk, attended by a large body of forces, destroyed all the country with fire and sword, even to the gates of Hereford and Gloucester. — Furney. Lloyd's History of Wales. 1 175. Henry the second summoned hither a great council of his Earls and Barons, and Reece and other Princes of Wales; when orders were issued, that if any of the Welch made insurrections, the inhabitants of the countries where the assault should be made, were to fall upon them ; and the Earl of Gloucester and the Nobility were sworn to the ob- servance thereof. — Rudder. 1190. William Longchamp, the Pope's Legate, High Chancellor, and Bishop of Ely, being entrusted with the regency, during Richard the Second's absence, held a synod here. In the same year a great fire happened in the city, which consumed a great part of it. — MSS. Froivc. 1216. Henry the Third, then ten years of age, was crowned at Gloucester, on the 28th of October, in presence of the Pope's Legate, Henry, Archbishop of Dublin, Peter, Bishop of Winchester, and other Bishops, and great eccle- siastics. The crown which the late king had worn, having been lost at Wellstream, with the other regalia, in the inun- dation, a plain circle or chaplet of gold was used on the occasion. — M. Paris. Rapin. 1218. Twenty-four burgesses, in pursuance of the King's writ, were appointed to watch over the Jews in Gloucester, AFTER THE NORMANS, 21 and guard them against the insults of the Jerusalem pilgrims; and that they might be known, they were ordered to wear upon the forepart of their upper garment, two broad strips of white linen and parchment. — Toveifs Anglia Judaica. 1222. The whole parish of St. Mary, before the gate of the Abbey, (St. Mary de Lode,) was burnt on the second August.— MSS. Froivc. Another fire happened about the same time, or soon after, which spread devastation from Castle-lane, on both sides the Great-street as far as the Lich-gate, (Edward's gate;) and again another fire broke out early in the morning, extending from the Great Cross, and demolished the whole street, (sutorum et drapiorum) or Taylor's and Draper's row, and St. Mary de Grase-lane church, with both sides of the Great- street, (Westgate-street) to the placa where the former fire stopped. — MSS. Frowc. 1233. Henry III. summoned all the vassals of the crown to meet him with their troops at Gloucester, and on the refusal of the Earl of Pembroke and some others, lie ordered their estates to be plundered. He summoned all the Lords again in the same year to meet him at Gloucester, with horse and arms, the day after All Saints. With this army he marched into Wales, and while he was lodged, with most of his general officers, in the Castle of Grosmont, the Earl of Pembroke, in the night fell upon the army, which was quar- tered in tents without, and totally routed them. In conse- quence of this defeat, he retreated back to Gloucester. — Mat. Paris. Rapin, sub. ami. 1233. 1234. The King left Gloucester, where he thought him- self unsafe, on account of the Earl of Pembroke's victorious progress, and left the counties near the Severn, to the mercy of the enemy. — M. Paris, p. 394. In the same year a Council and Parliament were held here, 22 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. at the latter of which, the disinherited Barons were restored to the King's favour. — M. Westm. 1241. The King held his court here, and Nicholas de Farnham, was consecrated Bishop of Durham. In the same year also, David ap Llewellin, Prince of North Wales, came and did homage for the principality. — Rudder. Dr. Fuller observes, that Gloucester was more beloved by Henry, than London itself; and with good reason, for it was strong and loyal, and the place of his coronation. As upon former occasions however, so now, its attachment to the sovereign was the occasion of great sufferings. 1263. Sir Maci de Besile, or Matthias de Besille, a French Knight, was made Sheriff of Gloucestershire, and Constable of Gloucester Castle, by the King. This proceeding did not meet the concurrence of the Barons, who set up Sir William Tracy, a Knight of the County, in opposition to him. As soon, however, as the new Sheriff began to exercise the duties of his office, he was assaulted by a large body of the King's forces, headed by Maci, and being taken prisoner, was led in an insulting manner through the town to the Cas- tle, and there cast into prison. A successful attempt was made by the Barons, through the means of Sir Roger de Clifford, and Sir John Giffard, who besieged the Castle four days, which was bravely defended by Maci. The burning, however, of the first gate, and destruction of the wooden bridge, which led to the Castle, rendered the situation less tenable ; another entrance being also opened to the besiegers, by some prisoners who had been imprudently released, Maci and his men were obliged to retire to the high and strongest tower, where they defended themselves bravely, till the three iron gates and locks were forced, and the Castle was taken : even in this extremity, Maci refused to surrender ; he was, however, secured, sent prisoner to the marches of AFTER THE NORMANS. 23 Wales, and confined in Erdesley Castle. Sir Roger de Clifford then returned to his allegiance, and delivered the town and Castle into the King's hands ; but Sir John Gif- fard retired to Brimpsfield, where he assembled his vassals, and had frequent skirmishes with the King's forces at Glou- cester. — Rob. o/Glouc. A carpenter in the Castle, who had slain a gentleman of the beseigers, during the siege, was compelled by GifFard, to leap from the top of the Castle, after it was taken, and so died miserably. — Aikyns. 1264. The King again lost possession of the town, by the following stratagem : Sir John Giifard, and Sir John de Balun, covered with Welch cloaks, and riding upon two woolpacks, like woolmongers, were let into the town at the Westgate. As soon as they were admitted, they leaped off their horses, threw away their cloaks, and appeared in com- plete armour. The unexpected sight afrrightened the keepers, who instantly delivered up the keys, and the gates were thrown open to the Knight's followers, who were near at hand. But the Castle was still in the King's possession, and the town would have soon been recovered, had not the Prince, who was close at their heels, been checked by the breaking down of the bridge. This, however, he quickly repaired, and began an attack upon the town at the West- gate. This happened on Ash-Wednesday, but though troops were sent to his assistance from the Castle, little or no pro- gress was made. At length the Prince turned aside into the meadows, and passing the river in a boat, entered the Castle. The first information which the besieged received, was from a sight of the Prince's banner displayed on one of the towers. Notwithstanding this, Sir John Giffard still continued the seige of the Castle on the town side, which was strongly defended by the garrison. The Castle being 24 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. burnt, and the communication with the country cut off, and the near approach of Robert Ferrars, Earl of Derby, with a great reinforcement against him, at length induced Prince Edward to visit his enemies unarmed, and in a private man- ner. At this conference, he granted on oath, the demands of the Barons, who being thus satisfied, left the town in his possession. The unfortunate townsmen, who had ever been loyal to the King, and upon this occasion had let in the enemies by mistake, felt the unjustifiable resentment of the Prince, and were obliged to purchase their pardon at the expence of a thousand pounds, after having had the town nearly destroyed by fire during the siege. The Prince set about fortifying the town, which was quickly taken by the Earl of Leicester, and soon retaken by the Prince, and the Earl of Gloucester. They besieged it on the north side, and entered at a breach in the wall leading to St. Oswald's gate. — R. GIonc. Chron. coat. AT. Paris. Rudder. 1265. Robert de Ros, William cle Vesti, and other Knights and Gentlemen, to the number of three hundred, entered the town to defend themselves in it against the Prince, but were obliged to surrender, and having bound themselves by an oath, not to bear arms against him for a month, were suffered to depart. — The same. 1278. Edward I. on the octaves of St. John the Baptist, in the sixth year of his reign, held a Parliament in the long workhouse belonging to the Abbey. To this were surnmon- e / d by writs of enquiry issued by the King, all persons who were in possession of contested estates, to shew by what au- thority they held them. The laws then enacted, have since been stiled the statutes of Gloucester. — Fumey. 1290. Proclamation was made by the Sheriff, in obedience to the King's writ, that no one should hurt the Jews, or take from them the goods which the King had allowed them to AFTER THE NORMANS. 25 keep ; on the contrary, that they should have a safeguard appointed them 1 , on their paying for it, and returning all the pawns and pledges to those who were willing to redeem them, to convey them safe to London, for the purpose of their leaving the kingdom. These people, who are generally supposed to have begun to settle in England in the reign of the Conqueror, in small numbers, had, at this period, in- creased to fifteen thousand. The Kings, at different times, had granted them considerable privileges, for which, how- ever, they generally paid very dear, in the discharge of fines, ransoms, and compositions, by which the royal revenue was greatly assisted : at length, however, then* usury, adultera- tion of coin, and other iniquitous practices, were arrived to such a pass, that the Parliament this year came to the reso- lution of sending every individual out of the kingdom. — Anglia Jud, Rapin, sub, anno, 1290. 1321. During the quarrels between Edward II. and the Barons, the King was frequently here ; but in the winter of this year, the city was seized by the Barons, who had pre- viously outlawed the two Despencers, and demolished their castles. On this event he hastened to Gloucester, and hav- ing, in his way, sent a party to destroy the castle of the Giffards, at Brimpsfield, ordered John GhTard, usually called the Rich, and John Elmebridge, to be hanged here. — Knighton, Dugdale, Rapin. 1327. This year Edward the Second, after having suffered a long and cruel imprisonment, was murdered in Berkeley Castle, and buried in the Abbey Church of Gloucester. — Rapin, sub, ann, 1327. 1378. On the 20th of October, Richard the second held a Parliament here, in which the controversies ran high between the spiritual and temporal lords, each complaining of the others encroachments. It lasted twenty-eight days, and 26 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. concluded with the grant of a liberal supply to the King. — Rapin. Fumey. Bradey. 1399. A complaint was exhibited against the Bailiffs of Gloucester, for having imposed a tonnage of five-pence upon every ton of oil, or wine, brought up the Severn — Pari Rolls. 1407. Henry IV. held a Parliament here on the 20th of October, for the usual purpose of granting subsidies ; it was removed to Westminster in November. — Cotton's Abridge. 1420. Another Parliament was held here, which, after a. fortnight's session, was removed to Westminster. — Fumey. 1450. After Michaelmas, Richard, Duke of York, coming- out of Ireland, took Reginald, Abbot of St. Peter, Gloucester, and sent him, with others, to the Castle of Gloucester. — Stowe. 1452. One Booke, was lying in v/ait for Richard, Duke of York, at this place. 1461. Edward, Earl of March, received at Gloucester the news of the death of the Duke of York, his father, and removed thence to Shrewsbury. — Hollingshead. 1483. Richard III. immediately after his coronation, came to Gloucester, and continued there some time. From this place he sent an express order to Brackenbury, Governor of the Tower of London, to murder Edward V. and his brother the Duke of York. The conscientious Governor, with great submission, refused the office, and, by Richard's order, in writing, the government was entrusted for one night to Tyrrel, who, according to his own confession, executed the horrid deed. The tyrant had, no doubt, formed this plan before he left London, considering Gloucester as a situation distant enough from the scene of action, to remove suspicion from himself, and yet not so distant, but that he might receive speedy information of the execution of his iniquitous project. — Rapin, sub. anno 1483. AFTER THE NORMANS. 27 In the same year a writ was directed to the Mayor, Sheriff's and Aldermen, to forbid the wearing of any "lyverey of cloth- ing, baieux, signe, or other conisaunce of the yefte of any man or person, of what estate, degree or condition soever he be," but only that of the King's.— Harl. MSS. No. 433. 1*85. On Whitsun even, Henry VII. came from Wor- cester to Gloucester. Three miles from the town he was met by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Sheriffs, in scarlet gowns, ' and a great multitude of people on horseback. A procession of friers and ecclesiastics, belonging to the parish churches, attended him from between the two bridges, and the Abbot and other members of the Monastery, at the church door. On the Sunday, the Abbot, wearing his mitre, sung high mass, and in procession. The sermon was preached by the Bishop of Worcester; and on Monday, the King left the city. — LelancTs Collect. Vol. IF. 198. During the reign of Henry VII. this city paid £88. 10s. 8d. for aid for making Prince Arthur a Knight. — Pari. Rolls. 1581. The first payment of Sir Thomas White's benefac- tion, was made to the corporation. — Corporation Book. 1588. A letter was received from Queen Elizabeth and Council, about furnishing a ship against the Spanish invasion. — Corp. Book. 1593. The city was taxed on account of the plague, which carried off in London, and in the liberties, 10,675 persons. — Stowe. 1605. The plague raged at Gloucester, and John Tayler, an Alderman, was fined 100/. for keeping his servant, having the plague. — Corp. Books. About this time King James was at Gloucester, and resided at the Deanry, where he touched for the King's evil. — Rudder. 1626. John Tilsby introduced the manufactory of pins into Gloucester. 28 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, 1643. On the 10th of August* the city being summoned by Charles I. to surrender, refused. A declaration against the royal cause had been made, as early as 1641, when the Houses of Parliament declared to the kingdom then* resolu- tion of a defensive war. ." During the King's preparations in the north, they attempted to put themselves into a posture of defence : within the city, one company of volunteers was added to the trained band, and some pieces of ordnance ob- tained from London and Bristol : meanwhile the city was open on three parts, at least, and had no considerable defence, though capable thereof, by advantage of situation. The citi- zens shewed their care and affection in fortifying the town, but during these things, the enemy came not near it. About the first of January, 1642, the main strength of the King's army came before Cirencester, prepared, and resolved to storm it; and on the second of February, the town was assaulted and taken. The next day, the city of Gloucester was demanded by Prince Rupert, and though the fall of Cirencester had created considerable apprehension, yet a short answer was returned by Lieutenant-Colonel Massie, and the principal officers, that they were resolved, with their lives and fortunes, to defend the city, for the use of the King and Parliament, and in no wise would surrender at the demand of a foreign Prince. Another answer was sent from the Mayor of the city, that he was resolved, according to his oath and allegiance, to keep the city in his Majesty's behoof, and would not deliver the same according to his summons. To a second summons a similar answer was returned. At this time, however, the clouds gathered round the city; the enemy lay strong at Cirencester and Tewkesbury ; the inhabitants were confined to the town walls ; the works not half finished ; the soldiers within, mutinous and desperate ; no money coming from the state, and but small supplies out of the country; the vilest AFTER THE NORMANS. 29 mutineers were to be dealt with by entreaty ; their insoleneies suffered with patience; the city was constrained to free quarter, and great disbursements by way of loan, and the Governor to use his skill in keeping together the mal-contented soldiers. Such was the situation of things within the city, when a powerful Welsh army advanced towards it, und began to intrench at Highnam." — Corbett. Whether these forces wanted resolution, or waited for Prince Rupert's approach on the other side, a fatal error was committed by remaining five weeks without attacking even the out-guard, or making any other attempt than merely de- manding the town. " Sir William Waller immediately after the reduction of Malmsbury, bent his course towards Glou- cester, and formed the design of surprising the Welsh army. He crossed the Severn at Framilode passage, and, unobserved by the Royalists, drew near to Highnam-house, thus placing them between two fires. Upon this they sounded a parley, and were obliged to give up the house, and themselves as prisoners of war. On the 25th of March, near fifteen hun- dred were led captive into Gloucester, but were all set at liberty in a few days," not from any principle of lenity in the captors, but because they were burthensome and even dan- gerous to the safety of the garrison. Hitherto Lieutenant-Colonel Massie governed the city under the orders of the Earl of Stanford ; but his return not being expected, Massie received the appointment of Governor under the Lord General's commission, and with the approba- tion of the citizens. Affairs now assumed a more threatening aspect round the city, and after the unexpected fall of Bristol, serious apprehensions began to be entertained by the inhabi- tants. Many attempts were made by the royal party to recover them to their allegiance; letters, messages, and verbal solicitations were employed, but notwithstanding " the 30 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, mouths of the viler people were filled with curses against the authors" of the engagements which bound them to the par- liamentary cause, yet by the superior influence of the magis- trates and military officers, the resolution was taken of de- fending the city to the utmost extremity. " The strength of the garrison at this time is said to have been two regiments of foot, a hundred horse, with the trained bands, and a few refor- madoes, with about a hundred horse and dragoons from Berke- ley Castle, in the whole about fifteen hundred men ; forty single barrels of gunpowder, with a slender artillery. The works were of large compass, not half perfect : from the Southgate eastward, almost to the North Port, the city was defended with an ancient wall lined with earth to a reasonable height \ thence to the Northgate, with a slender work upon a low ground, having the advantage of a stone barn that commanded several ways : upon the lower part of the city, from the North to the Westgate, there was no ancient defence, but a small work newly raised, with the advantage of marsh grounds without, and a line drawn within from the inner Northgate under the College v/all to the Priory of St. Oswald's : from the West towards the Southgate along the river side, no more defence than the river itself, and the meadows beyond, level with the town : from the Castle to the South Port, a firm and lofty work to command the high ground in the suburbs : the ditches narrow, but watered round. In this posture did the city stand, when the King's forces hovered over the hills, and now and then skirted on the town, before the close siege commenced." " On Sunday, the 6th of Au- gust, General Garret faced the city with his brigade of horse in Tredworth field, and in the afternoon a small party of horse and foot commanded by Captain Blunt, and assisted by Lieutenant Colonel Matthews, Capt. White, Capt. Pury the younger, and Capt. Lieutenant Harcus, issued forth of the AFTER THE NORMANS. 31 Northgate, and at Wootton took about ten prisoners, and sending home the foot, the horse went along to Upton St. Leonard's, and from thence to the foot of Painswick hill, on the top of which they discovered a party of the enemy's horse, and so going round about by Matson, they retreated without the loss or hurt of any." On the 7th of August news was received by Capt. Pury the younger, that the enemy were plundering at Tuffleigh, in consequence of which a party set out after them, but found on their arrival there, that they were going away with their plunder to Mr. Wood's house at Brookthrop, to which place they followed them. Here some skirmishing happened be- tween the two parties, and some lives were lost ; the repub- licans, however, perceiving a party of horse which had been watching from the hill, now making towards them, retreated, and were met at the town's end by a party of musketeers, who were coming to their assistance. On the 8th of August, the King, with all the foot from Bristol, and carriages, came to Berkeley, with an intention to march speedily towards Gloucester, and on the following day his Majesty dined ut Prinknedge (Prinknash) with Lady Bridgeman. On the same day Lord Chandos dined at Brock- worth, at Lady Guise's, whereupon a party w r ent out of the Northgate towards Barnwood, skirmished with the enemy, and did some execution among them, and amongst the rest, a little boy of Capt. Nelmes's company, having shot away all his bullets, charged his musket with a pebble stone, and killed a commander of the royal forces. " On the 10th of August his Majesty, with about 6,000 horse and foot, the Welsh and Worcester forces coming after, faced the town in Tredworth field, and about 2,000 more in Walham, within cannon shot at random of the works. To- 32 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. wards the afternoon his Majesty sent a message by two Heralds at Arms, one of which, being Somerset Herald, read the message at the Tolsey as followeth. " Out of tender compassion to our city of Gloucester, and that it may not receive prejudice by our army, which we cannot prevent, if we be compelled to assault it ; we are personally come before it to require the same, and are graci- ously pleased to let all the inhabitants of, and all other persons within that city, as well souldiers as others, know ; that if they shall immediately submit themselves and deliver this city to us, we are contented freely and absolutely to pardon every one of them, without exception : and doe assure them, on the word of a King, that they nor any of them shall receive the least damage or prejudice by our army in their persons or estates : but that we will appoint such a Governor and a moderate garrison to reside there, as shall be both for the ease and security of that city and that whole country. But if they shall neglect this offer of grace and favour, and compell us by the power of our army to reduce that place (which by the help of God, we doubt not, we shall easily and shortly be able to doe) they must thanke themselves for all the calamities and miseries that must befall them. To this message we expect a cleere and positive answer within two houres after the publishing hereof, and by these presents doe give leave to any persons, safely to repaire to and return from us, whom that city shall desire to imploy unto us in that businesse. And doe require all the officers and souldiers of our army, quietly to suffer them to pass accordingly." " The herald mentioned the publishing of this message openly in the street, but his Majesty by his message not requiring the same, the Governor would no wayes permit it. The Heralds being withdrawn, after some debate in satisfying AFTER THE NORMANS. 33 Mr. Maior's scruples touching his oath of Maioraliy, an answer was drawn and agreed to, both by citizens and soul- diers, in the following words : — " We, the inhabitants, magistrates, officers, and souldiers within this garrison of Gloucester, unto his Majesties gracious message, return this humble answer, That we doe keepe this city, according to our oaths and allegiance, to and for the use of his Majesty and his royal posterity, and doe accordingly conceive ourselves wholly bound to obey the commands of his Majesty, signified by both Houses of Parliament, and are resolved, by God's helpe, to keepe this city accordingly." This answer being received by the King, who was then in Tred worth-field, attended by Prince Charles, the Duke of York, Prince Rupert, Lord Charles Ruthen, and others, the army immediately advanced towards the suburbs, on the east part, into Barton-street, where a commander was killed from the Eastgate in the first skirmish. The suburbs had been set on fire immediately upon the return of the mes- sengers, on the north, east, and south parts, as being likely to afford shelter to the royalists in their attack. Some houses, however escaped the flames, and under cover of these, some entrenchments were thrown up in Gawdy Green, on the south, and about Issold's house, on the east parts, within musket shot of the walls. The pipes which conveyed the water from Robins-wood-hill to the town conduits, were cut off; the course of water that drove the corn mills was di- verted ; and every method used to distress the town. By this time (August 11,) the Welsh forces under Sir William Vavasor, had advanced to the Vineyard-hill ; (an out-post intended to keep off the approach of the Welsh, but then deserted for want of men.) " Upon their drawing up on the side of the hill, a demeculverin discharged from the Pen, near the west bridge, fell amongst them and did b2 34 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, execution." " From hence the forces passed the river, and joined the newly arrived troops from Worcester, on the north-west side of the city, at Longford, and the King's holm. General Ruthen had placed his leager at some grounds behind the Priory of Lathony, somewhat sheltered from the enemy's shot by a rising ground that lay between. Sir Jacob Ashley, with a strong party, occupied some part of the suburbs on the east side. The east and south ports were dammed up, and rammed with a thickness of earth, cannon proof; and the walls on that side, from port to port, were lined to the battlements, as the main shock was ex- pected from that quarter." On the 12th of August, in the forenoon, a party, com- manded by Lieut. Harcus, sallied forth through a door made for the purpose, in a brick house, near the town wall, on the south-east part over against Rignall-stile, (making a bridge of ladders over the moat) and fell into the enemies trenches in Gawdy-green, and gained some advantages, without much loss. In the afternoon, Capt. Gray, with 150 musketeers sallied over the works at the Little Mead, and fell upon the Worcester forces, not yet joined by the Welsh, at the King's holm, marching up to the main guard, when they killed a captain, with eight or nine common soldiers, took five pri- soners and divers arms, burnt their main guard, and retreated without the loss of any. " On Sunday, August 13, a battery was opened at Gawdy- green, against the wall and brick house over against Rignall- stile, by which one man (no soldier) was killed as he was peeping through, but no other mischief done. " On Monday, Aug. 14, the cannon continued to play from Gawdy-green, and battered the town wail on the south-side of the Fryer's Orchard; but the breach was quickly made up with wool-sacks and cannon baskets. An attempt was also AFTER THE NORMANS. 35 made to drain the moat, and the water was much sunk be- tween the south and east ports. On the following day, James Harcus, Captain Lieutenant to the Earl of Stamford, was killed in the Fryer's Orchard, as he was too venturously looking what execution a grenado had done, which he then threw into the enemies trenches. " On Wednesday the 16th, about 150 musketeers, com- manded by Captain Crispe, sallied forth at the north port, and fell upon the enemies trenches, upon the east-side of the Fryar's Orchard, and killed above a hundred men, and with some other advantages, and only two men wounded* made good their retreat into the town." — Every day pro- duced more or less skirmishing, and on each side feats of valour were displayed; however, notwithstanding the strength of the royal forces, and the advantages they possessed in ex- perienced officers, and numerous artillery, the progress was very slow. The enthusiasm of the inhabitants enabled them to brave the greatest dangers, to surpass the most formida-. ble difficulties, and refuse the most artful solicitations, and powerful arguments, in favour of the royal cause : the ardour and intrepidity displayed in the course of this siege would have handed down to posterity the names of those who con- ducted it with glorious triumph, if to guard the crown and preserve the integrity of the constitution had been the object of their perseverance. " In the afternoon of September the third, a paper was shot upon an arrow into the town, with the following con- tents : — These are to let you undersfand your God Waller hath forsaken you, and hath retired himself to the tower of Lon- don: Essex is beaten like a dog. Yeelde to the King's mercy in time, otherwise, if we enter per force, no quarter for such obstinate traiterly rogues. — From a well wisher. 36 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. To which presently, upon another arrow, was returned this answer : — Waller's no God of ours — base rogues, ye lie ! Our God survives from all eternity ; Though Essex beaten be, as you doe say, Rome's yoke we are resolv'd nere to obey : But for our cabages which ye have eaten, Be sure, ere long, ye shall be soundly beaten. Quarter we aske you none if we fall downe, King Charles will lose true subjects with the towne. So saith your best friend, if you make timely use of him, Nicholas Cudgel you well. On Monday, the fourth of September, the garrison con- ceived hopes of relief from the discovery of two fires on Waynload-hill, made by two messengers, whom they had sent out the night before to give intelligence if any succours were approaching; these signals were answered by lights in the College Tower. On the following day, September the fifth, £he siege was raised ,• it had been appointed for a public fast, and the fortunate coincidence of circumstances produced the reflection, " that God had sent a deliverance, and that, in the close of a solemn fast, as a gracious return of prayer." — Corbet Dorney. That an army consisting of 30,000 men, well disciplined, under able commanders, amply supplied with means of offence, and of unquestionable loyalty, should invest a town so ill provided and weakly fortified, for twenty-six days, without the least impression made, or advantage gained on the place, justly excites surprise. Though abundantly pro- vided with battering cannon and ammunition, they fired few shots in comparison of what might have been expected, and the granadoes which were thrown into the town neither set fire to a single house, nor killed a single person. They had engines, invented by the Rev. Mr. Chillingworth, upon AFTER THE NORMANS. 37 the plan of the Roman tcstudines cum pluteis, which are thus described by Dorney : — " They ran upon cart wheeles with a blinde of plankes musquet proofe, and holes for four mus- quetiers to play out of, placed upon the axeltree to defend the musquetiers, and those that thrust it forward ; and carrying a bridge before it, the wheeles were to fall into the ditch, and the end of the bridge to rest upon our brest-workes, so making several compleat bridges to enter the city." Not one of these, however, was brought into action, but after the raising of the siege, they were drawm triumphantly into the town by the soldiers of the garrison.' ' The final resolution of abandoning the attempt, is more easily explained. " The friends of the parliament saw the abso- lute necessity of relieving Gloucester, as the only means of supporting their cause : the recruit of the army was too slow for the service, and every thing seemed to depend on the London trained bands, but for some time it was a matter of doubt who should undertake the business. The Earl of Essex was at length fixed upon, and that none might decline the service upon whom the lot should fall, the shop windows were commanded to be shut up, and trading for a time sus- pended : the expedition was hastened in every pulpit, and an army of 10,000, thus expeditiously raised, marched with incredible haste." Essex had with him two regiments of trained bands, three regiments of auxiliaries, and a regiment of horse, with eleven pieces of cannon, and three drakes, by way of reinforcements to his army. On the 24th of August, the Earl mustered his forces on Hounslow Heath, and then took up his quarters at CoJe- brook. On the 26th he marched to Beconsfield, and so forward to Beer ton, where he clothed his army. Prince Rupert, with the greatest part of the King's horse, drew off from before Gloucester, to oppose their march, whilst the 38 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, King carried on the siege. Scarce a day passed during the march without skirmishing, but the royal troops seldom gained any advantage. A reinforcement from London joined the Earl on the first of September, at the general rendezvous on Brackley Heath; and then the whole proceeded on the route to Gloucester. The Prince attacked them at Stow, on the fourth of September, with 4,000 horse, but the loss on both sides was nearly equal. On the 5th, Essex advancing to Prestbury Hill, drew up his army in view of the city, and there discovered the huts in the King's camp, on fire, and the siege raised. " A warning piece was fired, but by reason of the contrary winds, the report was not heard, nor did the news reach the city that night." A fortunate circumstance this for the royal army; since had either the approach of Essex been known, or their retreat been discovered, during " a tedious march through a tempestuous rainy night," and up a steep hill, the rear would probably have been extremely harrassed, by a soldiery flushed with success, and indignant on account of the difficulties they had experienced during a long siege. The arrival of Essex at that period was peculiarly season- able to the garrison, for " all things were prepared by the royal army for a general storm; their ammunition nearly consumed, only three barrels of powder left in the magazine, and not so much elsewhere;" their provisions also were alarmingly reduced, the granary being almost empty. During the siege, however, their actual loss was comparatively small, not more than fifty were taken or slain, while of the assail- ants, on the lowest calculation, a thousand at least were killed. To the royal cause, the raising of the siege was a fatal blow. At this time the public opinion began to waver, and the cry for peace was renewed with violence. Crowds of AFTER THE NORMANS. 39 women, says Hume, with a petition for that purpose, flocked about the house, and were so clamorous and importunate, that orders were given for dispersing them, and some of the females w r ere killed in the fray. Bedford, Holland, and Conway, had deserted the parliament, and were gone to Oxford ; Clare and Lovelace had followed them. Northum- berland had retired to his country seat; Essex himself showed some dissatisfaction, and exhorted the parliament to peace. The upper house had sent down terms of accommo- dation, more moderate than had hitherto been insisted upon; it had even passed by a majority among the commons, that these proposals should be transmitted to the King. By the interference, however, of some warm zealots, the thoughts of pacification were for awhile suspended, and preparations made for the immediate relief of Gloucester, on which the parliament was sensible ail their hopes of success is the war did so much depend. For it was the only remaining garrison possessed by the parliament in these parts, and could that have been reduced, the King would have held the whole course of the Severn under his command ; " and the granary of the kingdom in the heart of his country, on the west bounded by the sea, clear through the middle of the land to the northern parts, where also the Earl of Newcastle's army prevailed ; and, in breadth, reaching from the utmost Wales to the London Association, and backed with Ireland, with whom an accommodation was then preparing." — Corbett. Hume, Many attempts were afterwards made to recover the city, but without success. After the battle of Newberry, Sir William Vavasour was sent to Hereford, with a strong party to raise forces in those parts, and a command from the King, to distress Gloucester on the Welsh side. About the same time, Sir John Wintour, Governor of Newnham, plundered 40 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, the villages near the city, and afterwards, upon being informed that Massie had left Gloucester, with three hundred foot, and four score horse, for the purpose of assaulting Beverston Castle, advanced towards the city with a considerable force, in hopes of surprising it ; the Governor's return, however, embarrassed the plan, and they retreated in great confusion, These open methods of attack not succeeding, recourse was had to others more secret, but less honourable. An attempt was made by Lieut. Col. Stanford, to corrupt the fidelity of Capt. Backhouse, once his friend and acquaintance. For this purpose he wrote him a letter, which was conveyed by a confidential friend, wherein he held out the promise of the King's pardon, and a very considerable reward, if he would deliver the city into their hands. The letter was immediately shewn to the Governor, and it was agreed that the Colonel should be deluded by a seeming compliance, and a corres- pondence was accordingly opened between them. Captain William Singleton, an Alderman, and Captain Read, were privy to the plan of this illusive negociation. Ten weeks were spent in maturing the plot, the terms settled, and at a meeting on Corse-lawn, between Stanford and Backhouse, without arms or attendants, the latter received two hundred pounds in hand, and in part of five thousand he was to receive on conclusion of the business. At length, on the fifteenth of February, as it had been ageeed upon, the guards were drawn off from the further bridge, the sentinels taken in, and a messenger was dispatched from Gloucester to the enemy's quarters, with the watch-word for their assurance, and some private directions for their march up the town ; and Back- house himself was to wait at the gate, which he undertook to set open, if they came by nine o'clock, or within half an hour after. After the messenger was sent off, however, the ports were shut up round the city, trusty sentinels set, the Governor AFTER THE NORMANS. 41 called a council of war, acquainted the officers with the plot, and gave orders that citizens and soldiers should that night continue in arms ,• three pieces of ordnance were drawn to the Westgate, and four stout men were placed in a boat under the main arch of Over's Bridge, with direction, that upon the firing of the first ordnance, they should cut a cable rope, and the arch would then fall into the river. Thus far every thing seemed to favour the counter project, and the final success of it was prevented by an accidental delay on the side of the royal troops. " They advanced with their whole body of horse and foot, but before they came within a mile and a half of the city, it was open day, and thus having lost the time by the slowness of their march, they durst not ad- vance, but instantly retreated to Newent." Attempts were afterwards made to draw them into the snare but without effect, as they had received information of Backhouse's treachery. The last effort made to reduce Gloucester, was by Sir William Vavasour, " who having obtained two culverins from Oxford, with a proportion of powder, advanced with a strong brigade towards Painswick." He made no farther progress towards accomplishing the main object, except skirmishing with a small guard at Painswick ; either not venturing into the vale, where the enemy lay in considerable force, or being recalled to Oxford, in consequence of the defeat of Lord Hopton, by Waller, on the 29th of March, 1644, between Farnham and Winchester. The sufferings and losses of the inhabitants of Gloucester, during the siege, were very considerable, In a petition from the Mayor, Burgesses, and divers hundreds of the inhabitants of the city of Gloucester, presented to the supreme authority, the parliament of the commonwealth of England, it is stated, That in pursuance of the resolves taken to pull clown and 42 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, demolish the suburbs, two hundred, forty and one houses (besides barns, stables, out-houses, gardens, orchards, and goods) of the suburbs of the said city, wherein so many families lived, wereburned, pulled down, and utterly destroyed, the night before the leaguer was laid to the said city, by the late King's forces ,* whereby most of the petitioners were reduced to most miserable poverty, and the estates of most of them much impaired, and the said city in general very much impoverished. That their losses by the burning and destroy- ing their said houses, amounted to the sum of twenty-six thousand pounds and upwards, which they petition may be repaired out of the estates of the commonweath's enemies, who occasioned the same. Besides the actual losses occasioned by the siege, Glouces- ter bore a considerable proportion of the expences necessary for carrying on the plans of the parliament. In 1643, the city and county of it were assessed £62. 10s. per week, for the maintenance of the army, and in 1644, another assessment of .£10. 8s. 4d was laid on weekly, towards the relief of the British army in Ireland, and again in the same year, the sum of £ 100. per week was assessed towards the maintenance of the forces in the city garrisons and county at large, to continue for nine months. In 1645, other sums were ordered to be raised upon the estates of delinquents for the same purpose, and an imposition of forty shillings was laid on every ton of wine, for the main- tenance of the garrison. The important services performed by Massie, and the gar- rison, called forth the thanks of the parliament, whose cause they had so steadily supported, and the following rewards were voted by both houses of parliament on the 15th of September. One thousand pounds to the Governor ; propor- tionate largesses to the inferior officers, and a month's pay AFTER THE NORMANS. 43 over and above their arrears to the privates ; and in order to preserve the memory of the transaction, the fifth clay of September was ordered by the Mayor and Common Council, to be annually observed as a day of thanksgiving, which was called Gloucester-holiday, and so kept till the restoration. An estate of inheritance of £1000. a-year, was also voted to Massie, and Sir John Wintour's estates were charged with it ; in the mean time £200. per annum were paid him. In 1645, the parliament determined on his removal from Gloucester, and appointed him Lieutenant General of the West, much to the dissatisfaction of the whole city, who unanimously petitioned both houses of parliament " for his continuance in the government, representing in express terms, his noble disposition, constant and unwearied pains, blest by God with extraordinary success, and his main in- fluence on the hearts of the people in general, most of them being by him engaged in arms for the parliament, and upon the whole soldiery, who were kept together to serve in this country chiefly by the love and respect they bear to him." The Parliament, however, rejected their petition, and in- formed them, " that they were very sensible of the dangers that might attend the alteration in that kind, but that the Governor provided to succeed, might speedily give such assurance against such dangers, that there will be no cause for them to continue, much less to increase their fears ; that they were confident that their constant readiness to comply with the public, would also in this particular of Colonel Massie' s removal, make them rest content in the resolution of parliament in that matter. Though Gloucester be a place they prize and care for as much as any in the kingdom, yet for the present it was thought of greater necessity to employ him in that command of the western forces, and they cannot doubt of the concurrence and submission of those well 44 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, affected parts, in whatsoever is judged to be of public ad- vantage." Hereupon, on the third of June, by order of parliament, the government devolved on Luke Nourse, Mayor, Alderman Singleton, and Colonel Blunt, or any two of them, till another Governor should come down, or the parliament give farther orders. In consequence of the change of religious sentiment, which took place in the House of Commons about this time, and the superior influence of the independents supported by the intrigues of Cromwell, it is probable that some little sus- picion might attach to Massie, or at least, that he was too much a favourite with the inhabitants of Gloucester, to be consistent with the future views of the new party. Some- thing like this is implied in the concluding paragraph of " Corbet's Militar}^ Government, &c." Colonel Massie be- seeches the parliament to send down the succeeding Gover- nor, that he might seek to interest him in the hearts of the people : whom he never desired to endear unto himself, but to those masters whom he served, which was a full testimony of a true servant to the state, upon the sole terms of conscience and honour. The subsequent proceedings or disputes of the army and parliament, as well as the future conduct of Massie, give strong testimony to the supposition. The army were com- posed of a majority of independents, under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, whom Cromwell had contrived by the appearance of extraordinary zeal in religion, to manage to his own views ; but the parliament was made up principally of presbyterians. Among the latter was Massie, and in 1646-7, when the two houses intended to execute their reso- lution of sending forces into Ireland, he was one of the four commissioners who were to form the regiments and fill up the commissions, and was also named for Lieutenant-Gene- AFTER THE NORMANS. 45 ral of the Irish army, by the parliament. He was probably one of those able men of the House of Commons, who at that time saw through the designs of the independents, and wished to baffle or disappoint them, since in June 1647, he was marked as one of the eleven members whom the army demanded to be suspended the house, and who did volunta- rily suspend themselves by desiring leave to absent themselves from the house. He left the kingdom, but, returning, was made prisoner at St. James's, whence he escaped Jan. 18, 1648, and went to the Prince in Holland. In June, 1651, he bore the commission of Major General in the royal army, which then lay at Worcester, and before the battle of Sep- tember 1, he was obliged to abandon the bridge at Upton upon Severn, (which he guarded) after a sharp engagement with Lambert, a General in the army of Cromwell. After the victory obtained by the enemies of the King, at Wor- cester, Massie returned among the prisoners of Cromwell to London, on the 21st of September, and was committed to the Tower, from which he found means to escape. — Rapin. In 1659, after the death of Cromwell, when the royalists projected an insurrection in several parts of the kingdom, in favour of the King, Massie undertook to surprise Gloucester, but was taken in the attempt, or soon after, while he lay concealed in a small house near Simon shall, belonging to the family of Veal, who was a friend to the royal cause, and Massie' s relation. The troopers who took him, having been intoxicated before they left the place, were unable to keep their prisoner secure ; for though he was placed on horseback before one of the men, yet in going down Nympsfield-hill, Massie being a strong man, and taking advantage of the intox- ication of his guards, threw himself from the horse, and made his escape by the assistance of a dark and tempestuous night. In 1660, he appeared again in parliament, on the restoration 46 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. of the secluded members, and continued to represent the city of Gloucester the two following years, in the last of which he appears with the honour of knighthood. The successors of Massie in the government of Gloucester, after Col. Blount, &c. before mentioned, were Col. Thomas Morgan, in 1645 and 1647. Also Sir William Constable, in 1648 and 1650, and Edward Massie, Esq. again in 1660. — Corp. Books. About this time farthings were coined for necessary change. One in 1650. In the middle, a man erect with a bow and arrow in his hands, and round it Nicholas. LANE. APOTH.* On the reverse, N. L. in the middle, and round it, IN GLOUCESTER. 1650* Another 1651. In the middle, arms, ermine with a chevron in the middle, and round it WALTER TAYNTON*. On T the reverse, ^ p in the middle, and round it IN. GLOU- CESTER, 1661. Another 1657. In the middle the arms of the city ; round, FOR NECESSARY CHANGE. On the reverse, in the middle, C.G. round which, LUKE NURSE MAIOR. 1657. Another without date. In the middle, arms, supposed of Webb, and round it NATHANIEL WEBB* on the reverse, OF GLOCESTER. BREWER, and in the middle^ Another without date. In the middle a pot on three legs, and round it HENORY KNO WLE S. On the reverse, H K in the middle, and round it OF GLOCESTER*. Another without date. In the middle, the arms of the city; round them THOMAS PRICE, MAIOR. On the reverse, in the middle, C.G. round which A GLOCESTER FARTHING. Thomas Price was mayor in 1666. Another, with the city arms in the middle, and round AFTER THE NORMANS, 47 them, THE ARMS OF GLOUCESTER. On the reverse, in the middle C.G. 1669. Round it, A GLOU- CESTER FARTHING. In 1657, a letter was received from Oliver Cromwell, with an order to the Mayor and Burgesses, to put the city in a posture of defence against the cavalier party. — Corp. Books, 1658. Richard Cromwell was proclaimed Protector the 6th September, and soon after an address was sent to him to petition that twenty pounds of Cromwell's money be given to repair the College. — The same. 1660. Fee farm rents surrendered to King Charles the Second, and an address presented on his Majesty's restora- tion. In the same year the Duke of Gloucester was made Lord High Steward, with five pounds salary, and a piece of plate not exceeding ,£100 value. One hundred pounds also were presented to the King, with a petition against separating the county of the city from the city, without effect, and ano- ther hundred in 1662. 1662. The walls were razed by order of the King. — Heathy p. 512. 1665. Seven hundred and fifteen pounds were charged on the city for his Majesty's further support. About 1687, King James II. visited Gloucester in his pro- gress through the kingdom. — MSS. Life ofFrampton. From this period no interesting event has occurred till the year 1788, when the city was honoured with the visit of his late Majesty, George the Third. The royal family, con- sisting of the King, Queen, and four of the Princesses, left Windsor on the 12th July, 1788, for Cheltenham, where they were received on their arrival by Dr. Halifax, Bishop of Gloucester, and other gentlemen of rank and eminence. The roads were lined with vast crowds of people, who were anxious to testify their zeal and loyalty to a Sovereign uni- 48 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, versally acknowledged as the father and friend of his sub- jects. On the 24th, the whole royal party came to Glouces- ter, and alighted at the Bishop's Palace, where a most elegant collation was prepared. His Majesty was graciously pleased to receive the Dean and Chapter, and as many clergy of the diocese as were in the neighbourhood, in the Great Hall, where the Bishop addressed the King in the name of the whole body, in a short and elegant speech, which was answered with a promptness and accuracy equally gratifying and condescending. Every one was pre- sented individually to the King first, and afterwards to the Queen ; and it was remarkable that his Majesty had some observation to make to each, applicable to his situation or connections. The clergy were succeeded by the Mayor and Corporation, attended by the Town Clerk, who addressed his Majesty in the name of the body. After these ceremonies, the royal party visited the pin manufactory belonging to Messrs. Weaver and Co., the Infirmary, and the County Gaol then building. At every place his Majesty made the most pertinent observations, expressed himself highly pleased, and left behind some marks of royal bounty. They then returned to the Bishop's Palace, and his Lordship's six chil- dren had the honour of being presented to the King and Queen, who received them with many compliments. As soon as their equipages were ready, the whole royal party returned to Cheltenham. The concourse of people in the streets of Gloucester was very great, but by the prudent arrangements of the civil power, the utmost order prevailed, and the eager curiosity of all was gratified without inconvenience to the royal personages. On July 27, their Majesties, with the Princesses, came to Gloucester a few minutes after ten in the morning, and were met by Sir John Guise, Bart, the Duke of Norfolk, and the other members of the Corporation, by whom AFTER THE NORMANS. 49 they were escorted to the Bishop's Palace, where the garden in front was covered with carpets, and his Lordship's two youngest daughters strewed flowers before the royal visitors. The Queen was much delighted with the children, and re- peatedly caressed them in her arms. After partaking a cold collation, their Majesties, at eleven, proceeded to attend divine service at the Cathedral. The King was seated in the Dean's stall, and the Queen and Princesses in the prebendal stalls adjoining. Dean Tucker assisted in the service, and the sermon was preached from Matt. xxii. by the Bishop. The choir service was the grand composition of King, and was correctly and powerfully performed. An anthem, " Let your Light," &c, was performed with infinite taste and precision. After service his Majesty, as usual, made many observations, highly judicious and appropriate, on the internal decorations, commending with judgment the parts that were beautiful, and noticing the few defects with the critical discernment of an artist. Their Majesties returned to the Deanery, and thence to the Bishop's Palace, and set out for Cheltenham at two. On the 29th the royal party honoured G. A. Selwyn, Esq. with a visit, at Matson, where they were entertained in the most elegant and sumptuous manner. The loyal zeal which pervaded all ranks of people, was highly gratifying to the royal feelings, and the amiable condescension of the King, Queen, and Princesses, was received by the largest body of people that ever met at Gloucester on any occasion before, with sentiments of the most sincere gratitude and faithful allegi- ance to the best of sovereigns. October 5, 1807, the city was honoured with a visit from his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. A deputation of the Mayor and Corporation had previously attended at Berke- ley Castle, where his Royal Highness was on a visit, humbly requesting that he would graciously accept the freedom of 50 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. the city, and honour them with his royal company to dinner. In consequence of which he received the freedom in an ele- gant gold box at the Tholsey, from the hands of Daniel Willey, Esq. Mayor, and afterwards partook of a dinner with the members of the Corporation, at the King's Head. EARLS AND DUKES OF GLOUCESTER, 1. Eldol, or Edel, a Briton, is said to have been Earl of Gloucester in 461; he was, according to the account of Robert of Gloucester, and other historians, a knight of great prowess. He attended King Vortigern at the treaty of peace at Ambresbury in Wiltshire, to which they were invited by Hengist, the Saxon, with the express stipulation that neither party should go thither armed; but the Saxons having, contrary to their engagement, concealed long knives under their clothes, murdered great numbers of the Britons. Eldol is said at this time to have exerted himself so powerfully with a stake he happened to find, as to slay no less than seventy of the Saxons, and after having disabled many more, he escaped to Gloucester, his own city. He is also said to have behaved with uncommon courage in a subsequent battle, between Am- brosius, King of the Britons, and Hengist; when, irritated by the recollection of former treachery, he rushed through the midst of the Pagan army, took Hengist prisoner, and cut off his head. Both these accounts are denied by the Saxon historians, and are ascribed by Hume to a desire in the British of palliating the weak resistance made at first by them, and of accounting for the rapid progress and licentious devasta- tions of the Saxons. — Rapin. Hume, Robt. of Glou, 2. Swaine, or Suane, eldest son of Godwin, had the title EARLS. 51 of Earl in the time of Edward the Confessor. He deflowered the Abbess of Leominster, in Herefordshire, and not being permitted to marry her, through fear of continuing in Eng- land after such an atrocious act, fled to Denmark ; but having continued some time there in fruitless expectation of the royal pardon, he manned eight ships, and made open war upon the English, plundering tne merchants, and committing such barbarities on the inhabitants of the; sea coast, as exceeded those of the most cruel enemies. He was afterwards par- doned, and about 1051, again appeared in arms against his sovereign, in support of his father, who was determined to punish the Earl of Boulogne, for the injuries offered to the inhabitants of Dover. While Swaine was harrassing th« coast, Earl Beorn, through the intercession of Godwin, ob- tained some favourable concessions from the King on his behalf, and went to Swaine, for the purpose of persuading him to submit to the King's mercy ; but Swaine suspecting that Beorn was come with treacherous purposes, slew him with his own hand, and ordered his body to be thrown into the sea. Some time afterwards, the Earl feeling compunc- tion of mind for the murder he had committed, went from Flanders barefoot to Jerusalem, and died on his return, either by the hands of robbers, in Syria, or, according to Simeon of Durham, of a cold he got in Lycia, in 1053. — DngdaWs Bar. Rapin. Sim. of JDurk. 3. Hailward Snow next held the Earldom, and was suc- ceeded by — (Fosbrooke.) 4. Brictric, who being imprisoned through the influence of Maud, Queen to William the Conqueror, lost the title and estates appendant to it. This severity of the Queen origi- nated in a refusal of Brictric to an offer of marriage she made him, when he was on an embassy in Normandy. 5. Robert Fitzhamon, Lord of Corboil and Thorigny, in 52 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, Normandy, had the next grant. In the retaking of Falaize, in Normandy, he died of a blow received on his temple, and was buried at Tewkesbury. He had four daughters, by Sibil, daughter of Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, of whom Mabel, Sibel, or Maud, by marriage carried the title in 1109, to— 6. Robert Melhent, bastard son of Hen. I. by Nesta, the beautiful daughter of Rhees ap Tudor, or Theodore, Prince of South Wales. He is celebrated by all writers as a person of superior character for courage, prudence, and learning, but most of all for his steady attachment to the Empress his sister, during the various disappointments she experienced in supporting her claim to the throne of England. He died of a fever at Gloucester, Oct. 31, 1147, and was buried in the choir of St. James's Priory, at Bristol, which he had founded and endowed with his own lands. He left issue, William, Roger Bishop of Worcester, Richard Bishop of Noyon, Hamon Mabel, wife of Aubrey de Vere, and Ma- tilda, of Ranulph, Earl of Chester. — Rapin. sab. ann. 1 147. 7. William, the eldest son, succeeded to the title. In his father's time he was made Governor of the Castle of Warham. He had a great contest with one Yvor or Ivor, surnamed Bach, a man of little stature, but great courage, who kept himself chiefly in the woods and mountains, of which this Earl endeavoured to deprive him, or at least to contract his limits. Ivor, irritated by this conduct, came in the night to Cardiff Castle with his followers, and though the walls were of considerable height, and no less than two hundred soldiers within, besides archers, he scaled them, and carried off the Earl, his Countess, and their young son, into the woods, nor were they released till full restitution was made of what was wrongfully taken from him. He died November 23, 1173, or 1183, and was honourably buried in the Abbey of EARLS. 58 Keynsham, which he had founded, and amply endowed with lands, ornaments, and liberties, near to his son Robert, and his wife Hawise, daughter of Robert Bossu, Earl of Leicester. By this wife he had a son Robert, who died in his father's life time, and three daughters, Mabel, Amice, and Isabel or Evisa. Mabel married the Earl of Evereux in Normandy ; Amice married Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford ; and Isabel was the wife of John, son of Henry II. and afterwards King of England. Historians differ much as to the manner and even the time when John became Earl of Gloucester. It is probable that as the late Earl died without male heirs, the title reverted to the crown, and that in order to keep up the succession in the family, Henry II. gave it to his son John, with Isabel, one of the coheiresses, in marriage. This grant does not appear to have been legally confirmed in the life time of Henry, though he might bear the title ; Richard, however, on his accession to the throne, completely invested him with it, and this may account for the intimation in the pipe roll 1. R. I. that Richard I. received the rents of the manors of the honour before the King gave it to his bro- ther John. — Rudder. 8. John, however, continued Earl of Gloucester during his brother's reign. Within two years after his coming to the throne, he divorced Isabel, and retaining the Castle of Bris- tol and chaces thereto belonging, he sold her for 20,000 marks to 9. GeofFry de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, whom he created Earl of Gloucester, and gave him the county of Gloucester. In consequence, however, of his uniting with the Barons, who were in arms against the King, he was excommunicated by the Pope, and not long after he was killed by a French- man at a tournament held at London, leaving no issue. Isabel survived him, and was again married to Hugh de 54 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Burgh, Justice of England, but had no issue by him; in default of which the earldom passed to 10. Almaric, her nephew, and son of Mabel, one of Earl William's daughters, who is mentioned before as having mar- ried the Earl of Evereux. He died in a short time without children, and 11. Gilbert de Clare, son of Richard de Clare, who married Amice, the other daughter of Earl William, succeeded to the earldom, and was the first Earl of Gloucester and Hertford jointly, according to Leland, in the year 1216. He was among the Barons who opposed King John in the 17th year of his reign, and having been excommunicated by the Pope, and adhering to Lewis, the French King, was taken prisoner at the battle of Lincoln, by William Mareschal, Earl of Pem- broke, and carried prisoner to Gloucester. On the return of peace, he married Isabel, the third daughter, and at length coheiress of that Earl. He was one of the English noblemen who invaded Ireland, and subdued it to the crown of Eng- land. While he was returning from the Continent, he died at Penros, in Britanny, 1230, leaving issue by Isabel, three sons, Richard, William, and Gilbert; and three daughters, Amice, Agnes, and Isabel ; and was buried in the middle of the choir at Tewkesbury. 12. Richard de Clare, his eldest son, succeeded him, but being a minor, he was entrusted to the guardianship of Hubert de Burgh, then Justiciary of England. In 1227 he took up arms, with other Barons, and joined Prince Richard, the brother of Henry III. and husband of the Countess dowager of the late Gilbert Earl of Clare, to compel Henry III. to restore the charters to the Duke of Cornwall which he had lately annulled. In 1246 he was one of those peers who subscribed a letter then sent to the Pope, complaining of his oppressions, and threatening to do themselves justice, if they EARLS. 55 were not speedily redressed. In 1248 he brought the Augus- tine Friars first into England. In 1255 he went into Scot- land by the King's order, with John Mansel, the King's Secretary, on behalf of the King of Scotland and the Queen, sister to Henry, then kept in custody in the Castle of Edin- burgh, where, by an artful stratagem, he soon relieved and rescued them ; for, leaving his attendants at a distance, he got into the castle without opposition, and surprising the guard, made entrance for his followers, to effect the business. In 1257 he was made Commander-in-Chief of all the forces in the counties of Glamorgan and Pembroke, and other parts of South Wales, to suppress an insurrection of the Welsh. About the next year he narrowly escaped death by poison ; his brother William lost his life by it. In the same year he was chosen by the Barons one of the twelve appointed by them for the reformation of the kingdom. In 1260, being jealous of the Earl of Leicester, another of the twelve, he made a party against him, but was afterwards reconciled, and dying in July, 1262, his body was buried on the right of his father in Tewkesbury Abbey. 13. Gilbert, his son, succeeded at the age of seventeen, and was commonly called the Red, from the colour of his hair. Like his father he made a conspicuous figure in the transactions of the long and embarrassed reign of Henry III. He joined Simon Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the other mutinous Barons, against the King : he was with them at the battle of Lewes, when the King and Prince were taken pri- soners : in this battle the King of the Romans surrendered to him. This was, among others, the occasion of a quarrel between him and Leicester; for the latter, not content with his exorbitant acquisitions, applied to his own use the ransom of the royal prisoner. In 1265 the arbitrary conduct of Lei- cester was carried to such lengths, that Gloucester retired 56 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. from parliament to his estates on the borders of Wales, where Leicester followed him with an army, and brought with him the King and Prince to Hereford. Here the Earl con- certed with young Edward the manner of that Prince's escape, but before he promised his assistance, obliged him, by oath, to use his utmost endeavours to restore the ancient laws; and to banish all foreigners from about the King's person. In the same year he commanded a second brigade of the royal army at the battle of Evesham, in which Leices- ter and his eldest son Henry were slain. The Earl of Glou- cester not thinking his meritorious services sufficiently rewarded, took disgust, and instigated the mutinous populace of London to arms. Even for this second rebellion the King not only pardoned, but soon after received him into full favour, and in 1270 gave him livery of all his castles and lands which his ancestors had enjoyed. On the death of the King, and during the absence of Edward, he was appointed one of the regency. On the arrival of the new King in Eng- land, the Earl entertained him and his whole retinue most honourably for many days in his castle, at Tunbridge, in Kent, and again, in 1^85, as the King was going to Snowdon by West Wales, soon after the birth of Prince Edward. About this time he was divorced from Alice de March, his wife, daughter of Grey, Earl of Angoulesme, and about 1289 married Joan of Acres, second daughter of Edward I. by whom he had issue, Gilbert, and three daughters, Margaret, Isabel, and Elizabeth. He died at his castle at Monmouth, Dec. 1295, and was buried next his father and grandfather in the church of Tewkesbury. 14. Ralph de Monthermer married Gilbert's widow, and after some difficulties, in right of that marriage, had livery of all the lands belonging to this great earldom, and was sum- moned to parliament, from 1300 to 1307 inclusive, by the EARLS. 57 title of Earl of Gloucester and Hertford ; but was never summoned by the same titles after the death of his wife, or at least after Gilbert, the son of the former Gilbert, came of age. 15. Gilbert was but five years old at the time of his father's death ; when he came of age he was summoned, 1309, by the title of Earl of Gloucester and Hertford. He was busily engaged and highly respected during a short life. In 1311, the Earls being assembled at Bedford, he was by them made Keeper of England, and in the same year constituted Guar- dian of the whole Realm during the King's absence in the wars with Scotland, and again Regent in 1313, when the King went to France. On the 24th day of June, 1314, in the twenty-third year of his age, he was slain at the battle of Bannocksburne, and was buried on the left hand of his father at Tewkesbury, the place of his nativity. He had only one son, who died before him ; and thus the noble Earldom of Gloucester, which was formerly called the second pillar of England, was divided into three Baronies, and parted between this Earl's three sisters ; Eleanor, married to Lord Hugh Despencer ; Margaret, first to Piers de Gaveston, and after- wards to Hugh de Audley ; and Elizabeth, first to John de Burgo, son and heir of the Earl of Ulster, in Ireland ; after- wards to Lord Roger D' Amorie. 16. Hugh Despencer, younger son of the Earl of Winches- ter, by marriage, as before mentioned, became the next Earl ; but in 1326 being attainted, he was, by the Queen's order, drawn on a hurdle through all the streets of Hereford, on St. Andrew's eve, hanged on a gallows fifty feet high, beheaded and quartered, and his four quarters sent to several places in the kingdom, but his head was fixed on London bridge. 17. Hugh de Audley, the second husband of Margaret de Clare, was, bv favour of Edward III. created Earl in Parlia- c2 5S HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. ment in 1329. His castle at Thornbury had been seized by the King's order in the late reign, for neglecting to serve Edward II. and refusing to come to Gloucester, on the 3d of April, 1321, in pursuance of summons, but on account of some errors in the prosecution, it was restored in the first year of the next reign. In 1340, being with the King in France, and one of the Marshals of the English army, he was in that part of it which was drawn up for battle at Vironfosse, and led by Edward himself. In the year following he was in the memorable sea fight before Sluyce, between the English and French. After many other scenes of active life, in which he was engaged, he died in 1348, leaving issue only one daughter, Margaret, the wife of Ralph Lord Stafford ; and thus the honour of Gloucester came to the heirs of Lord Stafford. Earl Hugh was buried at Tewkesbury, on the north side of the high altar. 18. Lord Audley dying without issue male, the title was dormant till the year 1398, when Thomas le Despencer was made Earl by Richard II. with the rent of £20 from the revenues of the county. About 1398, being attainted, 1. H. IV. for conspiring to dethrone the King, he was first ignominiously degraded from his title, afterwards adjudged as a traitor, beheaded at Bristol, and buried in the middle of the choir, in Tewkesbury church. Since him the Earldom of Gloucester has not been revived. DUKES. 59 DUKES OF GLOUCESTER. 1. Thomas of Woodstock, the youngest son of Edward III. was created Duke of Gloucester, 9 Richard II. and with the title had a grant of £1,000. per annum, to be paid out of the customs of several ports. He was appointed to several offices of the highest dignity, but being of a fierce, headstrong, ambitious, and unquiet spirit, he incurred the hatred of the King, by whose privity and procurement, he was privately smothered between two feather-beds at Calais, in September, 1397. 2. Humphry of Lancaster, the youngest son of Henry IV. was created Duke of Gloucester in the Parliament holden at Leicester, by the King his brother, in the first year of his reign. He was a true friend and patron to his country, which he proved himself to be in the prudent ma- nagement of the realm during the twenty-five years' mino- rity of his nephew Henry VI. By the ambition and malice of Margaret of Lorrain, and his uncle the Cardinal of Win- chester, he was deprived of his Life, being found dead in his bed, on the morrow after he was apprehended, without any signs of violence on his body, in 1447. 3. Richard Plantagenet, younger brother to Edw. IV. was shortly after the coronation advanced to the title of Duke of Gloucester; too well known for the infamous mur- der of the young King Edward V. and his brother, in the Tower, and the usurpation of the crown in consequence of that event. He was slain in battle at Bosworth field, perish- ing there by a fate too mild and honourable for his multiplied and detestable enormities. Hume, 4. Henry, the youngest son of Charles L was declared Duke of Gloucester on the 8th of July, 1640, the day of 60 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. his birth, but was not created till May 13, 1659, by his brother Charles II.. After the murder of his father he was sent with two servants to Dunkirk, with a promise, it is said, of a small allowance for his support, provided he would not come near his brother, nor any of his relations. On his arrival, however, on the continent, he was con- ducted to his mother and brother at Paris. He accompa- nied his brother to England on 'he restoration, and soon after, on the 30th of September, 1660, died of the small pox. His body was buried in the royal chapel of Henry VII. at Westminster, and on his coffin was this inscription, on a silver plate ; — Depositum illustrissimi Principis Henrici Ducis Glocestriae, Comitis Cantabrigiae, filii quarto geniti, serenis- simi Regis Caroli (piae semper memoriae) defuncti ; et fratris serenissimi Regis Caroli ejus nominis secundi. Qui in aula Regia apud Whitehall, die Jovis, decimo tertio die Septem- bris, anno a Christo nato, 1660, in Domino obdormivit, iEtatis suae vicesimo. 5 William Henry, only son of George and Ann, Prince and Princess of Denmark, was born at Hampton-court, July 24, 1689. He was baptized on the 27th following, and immediately declared Duke of Gloucester by his uncle, King William the Third. He was made Knight of the Garter, January 6, 1695, and died of a fever in 1700, in the twelfth year of his age. 6. Frederic Lewis, son of George II. Prince of Wales, and Knight of the Garter, was created Duke of Glouces- ter in 1718. He was father to his late Majesty, George the Third, and died in 1751. 7. William Henry, second son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and brother to his late Majesty, was born Nov. 25, 1743, and on the 7th of Nov. 1764, the dignity of Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh was granted to him and his heirs, THE CASTLE. 61 together with that of Earl of Connaught, in Ireland. He died August 25th, 1805, and was buried September 4th, in St. George's Chapel, at Windsor. 8. William, only son of the late Duke, succeeded to the title. He was born at Rome, January 15, 1776, and is now living, an ornament to his elevated rank, and an illustrious example of virtue, uncontaminated with the vices of a dissi- pated age. CASTLE, GATES, AND BRIDGES. Gloucester was in very early days a fortified place, and is said to have been surrounded with walls by Cissa, second King of the South Saxons. — MSS. in Univ. Coll. Ox. A Castle was built before the Domesday survey, as appears from the following extract : — " There were sixteen houses where the Castle now stands." The fee of this was in the King, who appointed a constable, an officer of considerable consequence in feudal times ; when, however, through suc- cessive reigns, the power of the Barons had been put under reasonable control, and the reciprocal rights of sovereign and people were better understood, this fortress, like others in the kingdom, became useless as to its original purposes, and for many years served for a county gaol, till the year 1784, when an act of parliament was obtained, by which the crown relinquished its right, and the old building, which was of very great strength, was demolished, and the new gaol built on its site. Milo was constable of the Castle or deputy governor in 1139, and it is probable that at the time he so narrowly es- caped being taken prisoner on his march from Winchester, 62 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. 114-1, his seal was lost, which was found at the latter end of the last century, at or near Ludgershall, county Wilts, and was in the possession of Rev. Mr. Selwyn, minister of that parish. It was of silver, and had in the middle a man on horseback in complete armour, holding a lance, and round it, SIGILLUM MIL ONI S de Gloucestria, Archcelogia, Append, p. 276, 14 vol. King William the Conqueror, having settled the southern parts of the kingdom, came to Gloucester, and greatly liking the situation of it, as a barrier between England and Wales, from which, in those days, it was divided by the Severn, caused the north-east and south sides to be fortified with battlemented stone walls and gates, to repel the incursions of the turbulent Welsh, who had given much disturbance to Edward the Confessor. They were afterwards frequently repaired, particularly by Sir Thomas de Bradestan, who ob- tained a grant of the tolls, or rather the fee farm rent of the town, 19 E. III. for that purpose. At various times large sums of money were collected under the name of murages, by officers called murage-gatherers. In the time of Henry VIII. the town was strongly defended by its walls, and so continued till the siege in 1643; when, from the Southgate to the North Port or Postern-gate, was an ancient wall well lined with earth to a considerable height. Thence to the Northgate was a slender work raised upon a low ground. From the North to the Westgate was no ancient defence, but a small work newly raised, with the advantage of marshy grounds without, and the same within, from the inner North- gate to the Priory of St. Oswald. From the West towards the Southgate, along the river side, was no wall; but from the Castle to the South Port was a firm and lofty work, to command the high ground in the suburbs. The ditches or moats narrow, but filled with water. In 1662, the walls THE GATES. 63 were demolished by order of the Commissioners appointed for the regulation of Corporations. Four principal gates stood in the walls at the end of each street, and from their situation received their names. The Westgate was rebuilt in the reign of Hen. VIII. in a handsome style, and was assigned to the porter who attends on the senior Sheriff. The Eastgate was for many years used as a house of cor- rection, and was assigned to the porter attending on the senior Sheriff. It was also used as a school so early as the 57 H. II. and afterwards at the beginning of the last century. The Northgate stood upon Fullbrook, and served for the city prison, till the building of the new city gaol in 1786. The Southgate fell down soon after the siege, in conse- quence of the injuries it then received. In the same year it was rebuilt, and on it was inscribed in capital letters, round the arch, on the one side, a city assaulted by man but saved by god. On the other side, next the city, ever REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1743. GIVE GOD THE GLORY. It is said that the doors belonging to these gates were given, by order of Charles II. to the city of Worcester. The East, North, and Southgate were taken down when the last im- provements were made in the city, and the Westgate has shared the same fate within these few years, to make room for the new bridge. There were other gates of less importance within the city, viz. — King Edward's Gate, leading into the College Churchyard, was built in the reign of Edw. III. and repaired by Abbot Parker, but very much injured in the civil wars. It was formerly called Lichgate, because it was the place where corpses rested, or through which they were carried to the 64 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. sepulture at the Abbey. In order to open the view from the street, it has lately been entirely taken down, with the ex- ception of the side walls, which still preserve a memorial of its beautiful architecture, and the care of the original designer, by a very finely-pointed arch, not to obstruct the sight of the splendid and elegant south porch of the Cathedral. This arch was removed a short time since. In the year 1813, Thomas Gardner, of this city, Esq. on building his present residence, near the Cathedral, found a stone of very large dimensions, on which were carved the arms of Osrick, King of Northumberland, in excellent pre- servation, which was afterwards taken away with refuse of stone and other materials, and deposited in an obscure part of the Cathedral, where it remained, until it was last year (1828) discovered by Mr. Gardner, who then obtained pos- session of it, and with much good taste had it fixed up in one of the beautiful niches of the remaining part of this ancient gateway, where it now stands as a very interesting memorial of the Founder of the Abbey of Gloucester. Lady Bell's Gate (so called from the Lady Bell, who, with Sir Thomas Bell, her husband, lived at the Black Friers), or the Eastgate of the Black Friers, was a neat building of freestone ; it fell down about sixty years since. The Posterngate was a small gate between the East and Northgates, the design of which is explained by its name. The Blindgate, or St. Oswald's Gate, led to the Priory of that name. Besides these, which were within the liberties of the city, were Alvin and Lower Northgate, in the suburbs : the re- moval of them all has contributed very much to the conveni- ence and health of the inhabitants. It was before observed that the walls of the city were razed by order of Charles II. in 1662. It was indeed to be expected THE BRIDGES. 65 that care would be taken by the government to prevent for the future, as far as could be done, a repetition of that obstinate and unconquerable resistance, which had been made, under pretence of duty to the Sovereign, but may be ranked among the principal events which led to the utter subversion of the regal government, the murder of the King, and the establishment of an usurped and unconstitutional tyranny in the person of Cromwell. The remains of the walls and moats are visible on the east side of the city ; in other places buildings are erected where they formerly stood, and few traces are to be found. BRIDGES. Westgate Bridge. The old bridge was built by Nicholas Waldred, clerk, in the reign of King Henry II. Dame Joan Cooke, 31 Henry VIII. gave to the mayor and burgesses £5 per annum, towards keeping this bridge and the causeways in repair. Also, Sir Thomas Bell, 34 Henry VIII. £10 per annum, for the same uses. The old bridge being much out of repair, it was thought necessary to have a new one. A temporary bridge was therefore erected, and a noble structure with one arch, is now completed. The width, between the rails, is 25 feet. The bridge consists of a single arch, and the dimensions are as follows : — span, 87 feet ; height, from the level of the springing of the arch, 14 feet 2 inches ; height, from low-water mark, 23 feet 4 inches ; extreme height, from low-water mark to the footway, 28 feet 7 inches ; breadth, on the top, at the centre, 37 feet, and at the two ends, 44 feet. New Bridge at Over. This magnificent structure is now completed and open to the public ; and, notwithstanding the 86 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. immense mass of stone embodied in it, amounting to no less than eighteen thousand tons, its elegance and lightness are ex- tremely striking. It is not only the widest span of any stone arch hitherto completed in the kingdom ; but, with respect to its form, it is perfectly unique, as there is not another in the world erected upon the same principle. The arch presents a combination of an ellipsis and a segment of a circle gradually worked into each other, and the lower edge is so bevilled off, as to form a groin shape from the abutment to the centre, and offers to the eye of the spectator the difficult method of joining the two figures. To effect this object, much additional labour and expence have necessarily been incurred, as it must be obvious to those scientifically acquainted with the subject, that the course of the quoined stones used in the upper edge of the bevil must be worked to two different radii, thereby requiring the exercise of great nicety and skill. The effect, however, is eminently success- ful, in giving a character of airyness and lightness to the arch, which would seem to be utterly at variance with its extent and the ponderous nature of the materials of which it is composed. In bridges of one arch it is usual to lighten the spandrills by circular islets, which prevent the extremes from being too massy for the centres ; but this bevil answers the same pur- pose, and has this advantage, that it prevents the lower part of the arch being injured by vessels striking against it. The bevil describes an angle of 55°. The span at the springing of the ellipsis, which is about low water, is 150 feet ; and the height, from the level of that point to the underside of the soffit, is 35 feet, and from the latter point to the footway, 7 feet. The segment employed in the arch is a proportion- able circle of 450 feet diameter ; and the ellipsis is formed upon the three several radii of 18 J, 63, and 144 feet. This THE BRIDGES. 67 description applies solely to the arch. The building, under the close and unremitted superintendance of Mr. Cargill, the contractor, has been carried on with great expedition ; and the bridge, as well as the approaches to it, are executed in such a manner as to do that gentleman great credit. The cele- brated Rialto at Venice was after a design of Michael Angelo, and has always been esteemed a master-piece of art, but its span is only 90 feet ; the centre arch of the bridge at West- minster has a span of 76 feet ; the one at Blackfriars, 100 feet; the arches of Waterloo Bridge, 120 feet; those of the Pont de Neuilly, in France, 1*20 feet, which sunk 18 inches in the middle after the centres were taken away, but the bridge at Over sunk only 8 inches. So solidly and well constructed is the masonry, that every part is fully and properly sup- ported, and there is no false bearing or false joint throughout the whole structure. In circular arches, such as those of Westminster Bridge, the pressure on the centres, before the key stones are put in place, is not near so great as in ellipti- cal arches, like that at Over. The scientific manner in which this bridge has been constructed is the admiration of all who have seen it, and will be a lasting monument of Mr. Telford's skill and ingenuity. The Author is indebted to Mr. Cargill for the following Account of Stone used in building Over Bridge : — Stone in squared blocks, from the quarries of Higley and Alveley, in Shropshire, used in the Abutments, from their foundations up to low-water mark of the Severn, and for the interior masonry afterwards, 4,870 tons. — Stone in squared blocks, from the Forest of Dean quarries, used for the Arch and whole elevation of the bridge, 5,476 tons. — Rubble Stone, from the Forest of Dean quarries, used in building the Wing Walls of the bridge, also the Retaining Wails at the foot of the embankments, 7,871 tons, 68 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER Foreign Bridge consists of seven great arches, and certainly received its name from being forinsecus, or without the town. Since the contracting of the channel of Little Severn, several of the arches have been built upon and hid from view, but sufficient now remains in the pointed arches to shew the anti- quity of it. Leland mentions it as on the chief arm of the Severn. Cole Bridge was a little below Bartholomew's Hospital, and served, it is said by Leland, "to drain the meads," or convey coals to the Hospital. All remains are now de- stroved. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF GLOUCESTER. Gloucester is geographically situated at 2° 15' west longitude, and 51° 54' 30" north latitude, on an easy descent from the centre every way, and on the west and south-west to the Severn. It is divided into four wards, denominated from the four principal streets, which tend nearly to the four cardinal points of the compass, and in every direction are wide enough to open a view to the surrounding country. These streets are, the Westgate-street, Southgate-street, Eastgate-street, and Northgate-street. The Westgate-street, or anciently Ebrug-street, extends from the Cross to the West Bridge, and is 938 yards long, including the Island, which begins at Foreign Bridge. Seve- ral lanes branch from the main street on each side. On the south side are Mercer's Entry, Bull or Goose-lane, Catherine Wheel-lane, New Berkeley-street, Upper Key or Castle-lane, the Lower Key or Walker's or Fuller's lane, and Turnstile alley. Beyond the Foreign Bridge are no lanes. On the - GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 69 north side, Mary de Grace or John's lane, Trinity or Peter's lane, or College-court, King Edward's or Lich, or Lower College-lane, Abbey or Three Cocks-lane, Archdeacon or Leather-bottle-lane, Dockham or Dock-lane. The Southgate-street extends from the Cross to the place where the Sauthgate stood, and is 391 yards long. On the west side, a passage formerly led to Mercer's entry, but is now built upon ; Cross Key-lane, so called from the Cross Key sign ; Long Smith, or Old Smith-street, or the School House lane, or Bolt-lane ; Sater's lane, leading to the Black Friers ; St. Kyneburgh's, or Kimbrose-lane. On the east side, Bell- lane, formerly Travail or St. Peter's lane ; Crypt-alley, for- merly Mary-lane, Frier's lane, leading to the Grey Friers ; Sheep-lane, formerly, now built upon and lost. Scriven's Conduit. — " In the Southgate-street," says Mar- tin, who wrote in 1759, " stands an old conduit, with a small but not inelegant building over it, in the Gothic taste. This conduit, with the one at the cross, both supplied with water from a spring at Robin Hood's hill, were, till lately, almost the only places from whence the inhabitants in this part of the town could be supplied with good spring water. On the south side was the following inscription :— '. This was erected at the charge of Alderman John Scriven, in 1636.' " — The whole was taken down about the year 1784, and the conduit was removed and is now standing in a piece of ground ad- joining to a house belonging to the late Robt. Smith, Esq., and now in the occupation of Wm. Griffith, Esq., at the beginning of Barton-street. It is of octangular form, sur- mounted with a figure of Aquarius pouring water from a large jug to supply the conduit. The whole is a very fine specimen of Gothic architecture, beautifully executed, and in a good state of preservation. It would form a very appropriate ornament over one of the wells of our celebrated Spa; and TO HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. should this description of it meet the eye of the present public- spirited proprietor of this vestige of antiquity, it is not im- probable that he will make a present of it to the proprietors of the Spa, for that purpose. The Eastgate-street, extending from the Cross to the place where the Eastgate stood, is 294 yards long. This was formerly called Jewry-street, either because it was the chief residence of the Jews, or because they had a synagogue in the reign of Henry II. and a school in that of Henry III. A building still remains on the north side of the street, which is supposed to have been either their synagogue or school. It is built with pointed arches, and corresponds in style to that age. In the course of so many years, the ground has been considerably raised above, so that it now serves for a cellar or warehouse. This street was also called Hailes or Ailes-gate-street, and is so now by old persons. Whence the name was derived is not clearly ascertained, but the following reasons are given by Rudder : — First, because here was anciently a place for the reception of persons who had ails and distempers. Secondly, because hail was for- merly, as at present, used to signify health, vigour, and strength, and as this was a strong gate, it was called, by way of eminence, the hailes or strong gate. After all, it may pos- sibly be only a corruption of the original name, and greater and more unaccountable corruptions of words might be formed. On the north side is King's street, running parallel with the old wall ; and on the south side, opposite to it, Queen- street, extending to Constitution-walk, which is formed by the old wall. The Northgate-street, extending from the Cross to the place where the Northgate stood, is 180 yards. On the west side, the upper part was formerly called Cord- wainer's row; St. John's lane, connecting with Grace-lane. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 71 On the east side, New Inn-lane, formerly Graunt's or Ross- lane; Oxbody-lane; Sfc. Aldate's lane, leading to St. Aldate's church ; Almesham, Postern, or Sally-gate. Beyond the gates, in all, except the Westgate-street, the streets continue somewhat farther, to the city-stones. Be- yond the Southgate, is Lower Southgate-street ; beyond the Eastgate, is Barton-street ; and beyond the Northgate-street, is the Lower Northgate-street. There are also the following streets and lanes not immediately branching from the main streets : — Mary de Lode-street, in St. Mary de Lode-square ; Half-street, being a continuation of Three Gocks-lane, to the place where the Blindgate stood ; and next to that Water- street ; and some of little note in St. Catherine's parish. Bareland is a continuation of Long Smith-street to Castle- lane. It was probably so called, because at that time it was not built upon, as partly appears by an indenture between the bailiffs of the town and the butchers and victuallers, by which the former grant to the latter "a certain parcel of land, near the common Key, extending on the south side, where was a post of wood, in a direct line towards the castle, 24 rods, and 60 rods towards the Barelonde, for the purpose of depositing and emptying all 'garbage' and other nastiness belonging to the trade of butchery in the said town, paying longable or chief rent to the bailiffs." Dated 27 May, 32 Hen. VI. 1454. All cities and town are celebrated more or less for general salubrity, but, without being suspected of indulging an un- founded partiality, it may justly be said that there are circum- stances attached to Gloucester which will justify such an opinion. From its elevated situation, (except at the extre- mities), which raise it above the fogs of the surrounding meadows; from the strong current formed by the violent running in of the tide, which brings with it a portion of sea- 72 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. breeze, and prevents stagnation of vapours and moisture; from the excellence of the water, which either rises from springs within the town, or is conveyed by pipes from Robins- wood-hill ; and other causes not easily enumerated, such kind effects are produced that no disease is known peculiar to the situation, nor epidemical fevers, which often spread mortality in other places. It is worthy of remark, that in the most confined situations in the ehy, viz. Leather-bottle-lane, and the Magdalen-entry, there are two old women now residing and in perfect health, (Elizabeth Yates and Sarah Bower,) the first of whom is 104 years of age, and the other 102. In the suburbs of the city, Mr. Jackson died a few years since, at the age of 104, and his neighbour, Dame Smith, aged 100. The vergers of our Cathedral have, as far back as can be traced, lived on an average to be upwards of eighty years of age. When Bishop Warburton was enthroned, he was shown the Cathedral by two vergers, who were so remarkable for their superannuated appearance, that he addressed them in the following words, " Gentlemen, I suppose you have been here ever since the reformation." Mr. Thos. Bright, of Longhope, an ancestor of Mr. Bright, the present master of the workhouse, died at the patriarchal age of 130 years ! It has been much the fashion with tourists to describe Gloucester as a dull, heavy place, and it is enough that one of these itinerant topographers lead the way, for all the rest to tread in the same line of abuse; it is, however, too much for the traveller of a day, after having lounged a few hours through the streets, and spent as many more at an inferior inn, to decide on the character and manners of the inhabi- tants. The truth is, Gloucester differs little from other places under similar circumstances; whatever amusement and spirit depend upon, or are to be derived from, the various modifications of pleasureable indigencies, which modern GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 73 ingenuity has discovered, are to be found in Gloucester suffi- ciently abundant. On the whole, Gloucester holds a pretty high rank among the cities of England, in all points of view which relate to health, comfort, and convenience. The county of Gloucester, as well as the city, has always been remarkable for its salubrity and the longevity of its inha- bitants. Gloucester is a city through which there is a prodigious thoroughfare; about one hundred stage coaches regularly passing through every day. With regard to its police and internal management, no place, perhaps, will be found where fewer circumstances occur to disturb its peace. The inhabi- tants are hospitable and attentive to strangers ; the tradesmen civil and obliging ; and the lower classes, in general, orderly and industrious. Y4. HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, ABBEY OF ST. PETER. The first building is said to have owed its erection to Wulphere (son of Penda), who was King of Mercia, under the Heptarchy. He was an idolater when he came to the crown in 658, but afterwards embraced Christianity ; and as^ new converts are usually eager in shewing their zeal, he pro- bably planned, and even began, the monastery, though it was not completed before his death. The foundation was laid in 672, and Wulphere dying in 675, left the charge of finishing it to his brother and successor, Ethelred. By him it was entrusted to the care of Osric, his nephew, at that time Vice- roy in these parts, and afterwards King of Northumberland, who was from hence reputed to be its founder. — Tanner's Notitia Monastica. On its completion, Ethelred gave the town of Gloucester, and many lands in the county, to the monastery, and then, growing weary of the world, resigned his crown in 704, after which, having been first a monk, and then Abbot of Bardney, eounty of Lincoln, he died in 716. — Turner' s Saxon. In 682, the monastery was, by the care of Osric, dedicated to the honour of St. Peter, and consecrated by Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bosil, Bishop of Worcester, ABBEY OF ST. PETER. 75 under whose direction and advice it was also appropriated to the purpose of taking in nuns. Osric died in 729, and was buried in the church of St. Peter, before the altar of St. Petronille. His body is said to have been afterwards removed into the chapel of our Lady, and in Abbot Parker's time laid in a tomb near the high altar. His effigies are cumbent, bearing the plan of a church in his hand, with a crown on his head, as King of Northumberland. Against the east wall is inscribed Osricus Rex primus Fundator hujus monasterii 681. The effigies are certainly of older date than the tomb on which they are laid, and the obtuse arch, together with the arms of Parker and of the Abbey, joined to those of the Northumbrians, plainly refer the cenotaph to the reign of Henry VIII. This was agreeable to the practice of other abbeys, where monuments of this kind were raised in honour of their Saxon founders in the later ages of the monasteries, as an expression of gratitude. Kineburg, a woman of great sanctity, was constituted the first abbess. She is said, by Atkyn, to have been sister of Osric, also the wife of Alfred, King of Northumberland. She is called, in the Saxon annals, sister of Wulphere, and she probably had been the wife of one of the Kings of Mercia, since it is asserted in the Monasticon Anglicanum, that the three ladies who successively presided over this nunnery were, or had been, Queens of Mercia. The general account, however, of her being the first abbess, is uncontradicted. Who, indeed, so likely to have this compliment paid her, as the sister of him who first planned the work, or of him who finished it ? She held the office about twenty-nine years, and on her death was buried near to Osric. — MS$. Frowc. Eadburg, widow or sister of Wulphere, was consecrated the second abbess in 714, and after having governed the society with prudence and piety for twenty-five years, was 76 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. buried by Wilfred, Bishop of Worcester, near to her prede- cessor. Eva, probably the wife of Ethelred, succeeded. She, by good management, improved the income of the monastery, and dying in the thirtieth year of her presidency, was buried near to Eadburg. With her the office of abbess died, and the monastery became desolate for fifty years. Several rea- sons have been assigned to account for this long interval. The violation of the nuns, as mentioned by Rudder, during the wars of Egbert, King of Wessex, with the Mercians, or afterwards during the ravages of the Danes, is not likely to be the true one : because Egbert made no attempt on Mercia before 819, and the first descent of the Danes upon England was in 789, but no impression was made by them on the interior of the island till 833. The more probable reason may be found in civil wars, and the universal depravation of manners which prevailed at that time. — Rapin. Tanner, Not. Mon. Among the early benefactors to the monastery, are men- tioned, Cenred, King of Mercia, and OfFa, King of Essex. These princes exchanged their crowns for the monkish habit, and having received the tonsure from Pope Constantine, in 709, conferred many gifts on the monastery of St. Peter. — MSS. Frowc. In 821, the monastery was re-established, and repaired by Bernulph, King of Mercia, for the reception of secular canons. He restored to them all the lands that formerly belonged to the nuns, and added fifteen hides of land in Standish. From this period to the reign of Canute, the Dane, the society seems to have flourished in peace and happiness. In 862, King Burgred confirmed to it the possession of the lands which had been given by his predecessors, Ethelred, Ethelbald, Oflfa, Kenwolf, and other benefactors ; and, with ABBEY OF ST. PETER, *77 the consent of his great council, exempted it, with its appur- tenances and dependants, from all secular service. From this time to the reign of Canute, no records are extant of any transactions relating to the monastery, except that in 918, Elfleda, sister of King Edward the elder, daughter of Alfred, and wife of Ethelred, count of Mercia, having died at Tam- worth, county of Stafford, was buried in the east porch of the monastery of St. Peter, in Gloucester, and many years after, in removing the foundation of the old church, the bodies of herself and husband were found entire, and their looks are said to have been as graceful as when alive.— Sax. Ann. Malmsbury. Rapin. Gougfts Mon. In 1022, Canute, at the instigation of Wolstan, Bishop of Worcester, turned out the secular canons, and established, in their room, regular monks of the order of St. Benedict. — Mon. Angl. p. 992. The secular clerks had for some time lost their reputation, because, instead of devoting their whole time to spiritual employments, they gave a part of it to the company of their wives, the dalliance of their children, and the cares of a family. They lived also in considerable splendour and lux- ury, and with their hawks and dogs indulged with little restraint in the amusements of the field. This naturally excited envy among those who were obliged by their profes- sion to submit to the severities of Benedict's rules, and great pains were taken to induce a general belief that if the vast revenues of the collegiate endowments were transferred from the secular clerks into the hands of the monks, a more reli- gious use would be made of them. The alteration, however, was not effected without considerable discontents, and some opposition even on the part of the laity. The nobles, in par- ticular, were adverse to the change, under the persuasion that the guidance of the church ought not to be wrested out of 78 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. the hands of the ancient and lawful governors, and that the charges of avarice, gluttony, drunkenness, and luxury, which had been brought against them by Dunstan, in the reign of Edgar, and continued by his successors, were not well founded, or at least much aggravated by the partisans of the monks. When the monks, therefore, were first introduced into the monastery of Gloucester, the magistrates and popu- lace discouraged the innovation, and resolved on revenge as soon as an opportunity should offer. Wolphin, or Ulfine ie Hue, a nobleman of consequence, and at that time (1033) Consul, or Chief Governor, happening to meet a party of monks on the road between Gloucester and Highnam, at- tacked and slew seven of their number. He was sentenced by the Pope to maintain, for ever, seven monks in that monas- tery ; and for this purpose, his manors of Churcham and Highnam, with the meadows, plains, woods, and pastures, extending to the Severn, were appropriated. — LelancVs Itin. Andlia Sacra. The old church, built by Osric, stood a little to the north of the present building, on or near a place since called the Infirmary, as having been used by the Abbey for the reception of the sick and infirm. This was burnt down soon after the establishment of the monks ; and as mankind are fond of ascribing to the inter- position of heaven those events which favour their own notions, the following remark has been made by a zealous opposer of the monkish system : — " They were men blinded with utter darkness, and insensible of all christian duty, hard- ened against all virtue and godliness ; therefore God, who is jealous of his own honour, permitted the devouring flames to consume all the buildings of the monastery, and to level it to the ground." The demolition, however, was probably not completed by the fire, because it is said, that the decayed old ABBEY OF ST. PETER. 79 part of it was pulled down by Aldred, in the time of Edward the Confessor. Aldred, at that time Bishop of Worcester, and afterwards Archbishop of York, laid the foundation of a new monastery, or as it was then called, new minster, some- what nearer the town than it stood before. This building was finished in the month of October, 1058, and consecrated to the honour of St. Peter. The benedictines were now established, and the rules of the order fixed. — Man. Ang. v. i. p. 993. Archbishop Aldred seized upon the manors of Lech, Oding- ton, Standish, and Berton, and retained the possession of them a few years, for the purpose of reimbursing the money he had advanced in the new building. His successor, how- ever, Thomas, Archbishop of York, restored them in 1095, publicly in the chapter, in the presence of Serlo, the abbot, and the other members of the monastery, with many expres- sions of sorrow for having so long detained them from their right owners. In 1072, William the Conqueror, having kept his Christ- mas at Gloucester, repaired and enlarged the monastery. At this time there were only two monks of age, and eight scho- lars, (in consequence, probably, of so large a spoliation of its revenues by Aldred); in 1104, however, they were increased to a hundred, by the diligence and zeal of Serlo, aided by his own donations, and divers grants of lands, liberties, and con- firmations, which he obtained from William the Conqueror, William II. Henry I. and other great men. In 1088, the church and monastery were burnt down, and on the festival of the apostles Peter and Paul, 1089, the foundation stone of a new church was laid by Robert, Bishop of Hereford. — MSS. Frowc. In 1100, the church which the Abbot Serlo had built from the foundation, was dedicated with great solemnity, on the 80 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. ides of July, by Sampson, Bishop of Worcester, Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, and Harvey, (called Henricus in the Monasticon,) Bishop of Bangor. — MSS. Frowc. 1101. On the 8th of the ides of June, the Abbey suffered a great deal from fire, but the church probably escaped better than in 1088.— Leland. MSS. C.C.C. lib. Ox. Frowc. MSS. Sim. Dunel. 1 104. The Abbey was encompassed with a strong wall by the assistance and consent of Henry I. ; and the convent was enriched with a valuable collection of manuscripts from Abbot Peter; and about the same time the donations made at different times to the society were confirmed by King Ste- phen. — Rot. Cap. MSS. Frowc. 1122. At a synod held at Gloucester, Curboil, Abbot of St. Bennett's, was elected Archbishop of Canterbury. Sax. Ann. — On the 8th March, in the same year, while the monks were singing mass, and the deacon had begun the gospel, the tower was set on fire by lightning, and the whole monastery burnt, with all the valuable things therein, except a few papers, and three priests' vestments. — MSS. C.C.C. lib. Ox. 1134. Robert Curthose, Earl of Normandy, was buried before the high altar. 1150. The Archbishop of York renewed a claim to the manors which had formerly been kept by Aldred, by way of mortgage for the expences he had incurred, and afterwards solemnly restored to the Abbey by Thomas. Abbot Ham- meline went to Rome, and obtained an order from the Pope, to have it referred to the Bishops of Chichester and Lincoln, who decreed in favour of the Abbey, and Stephen confirmed it: however, in 1157, to prevent any future controversy, Oddington, Condicote, and Shurdington, with certain lands, were given to the Archbishop, who, on his part, with the assent of his chapter, and a general synod, renounced all ABBEY OF ST. PETER. 81 claim to the rest. This agreement was confirmed in or about the year 1164, by a bull of Pope Alexander III. in which it is observed, that the controversy about this matter had been agitated before his predecessor Adrian, who appointed the Bishops of Salisbury and Bath to act as delegates in this matter. 1179. On the 11th March, the Abbey was again burnt, and afterwards in 1190, when all the workshops on the south side of the Abbey, and two churches, namely, that before the gate of the Abbey, and the walls of St. Oswald, were much injured. — Froivc. MSS. 1-214. It experienced great injury from lightning, and again in 1223. 1222. The tower of the church which had fallen down was begun to be rebuilded, under the direction of Helias the sacrist. — Frowc. MSS. 1224. Ralph de Willington, and Olympias his wife, built the Lady's Chapel, (not the present one) in the church-yard of St. Peter's, for two foreign priests and a clerk to attend them, and erected a house within the precincts of the Ab- bey for their habitation. They gave lands of the yearly value of £8. 7 s. for their maintenance and support ; where- upon the Abbot and convent, extolling their great liberality, covenanted with them to keep all the buildings in good re- pair, and allow the chaplains a sufficient corody ; that every year on the day of Ralph's death this agreement should be - read before the brethren ; and he, Olympias, and all their ancestors and successors, in full chapter should be absolved, and made partakers of all the good works done in the Abbey, and in the churches pertaining to it; that on the same day every year the service should be performed as fully as for a monk; and that this agreement might continue inviolable, the convent in full chapter pronounced the blessing of God d2 82 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. to all those that keep it ; and his curse, as far as it lay in their power, to the violaters thereof. 1237. Helias having before built the stalls, made an aque- duct to supply the Abbey with water, and vaulted part of the church. 1242. The vault in the nave of the church was finished, and a new tower on the south side of the west end was be- gun. — MSS. Frowc. 1246. The west tower on the south front was finished; the old refectory was taken down and a new one begun ; at this time also, the mill near the Vineyard was built from the foundation by Abbot John de Felda. — MSS. Frowc. 1251. The Abbey had contracted a debt of three hundred marks, in consequence of which, the Bishop of Worcester, to whom they had applied for relief, excluded and forbad the reception of strangers, and retrenched the hospitality of the Abbey.— MSS. Frowc. 1263. The debt was increased to fifteen hundred marks, which was in some measure relieved by Edward I. who in 1272 took the Abbey under his protection, and appointed a commissioner to carry his grant into effect, and keep all per- sons from damaging or molesting the Abbey. Soon after the same King rebuilt a gate on the south side of the Abbey, which was then called Lichgate, (or gate under which corpses were rested in their way to the church-yard for burial,) but in after times, King Edward's gate. — Atkyns. Prinne's Intol. 1264. The Abbey received considerable damage from the contentions of the King and Barons. Prince Edward had taken the Castle from the Barons, who were in the town of Gloucester, but by the interference of Abbot de Homme and Walter de Cantelupe, Bishop of Worcester, a truce was made between the contending parties. — Rob. of Ghu. p. 343. ABBEY OF ST. PETER. 83 1265. Abbot Reginald de Homme was summoned for the first time to Parliament. The Barony was held solely of the King, and continued to the dissolution of the monastery. — « Dugdale Mon. 1283. Thirteen monks were elected from this convent to be instructed in learning in the new college, called at that time Gloucester College, afterwards Gloucester Hall, now Worcester College, in Oxford. On the feast of St. John the Baptist, agreeably to the will of John Giffard, Baron of Brimpsfield, the founder, Abbot Homme, was introduced in- to it. Three or four monks were maintained in this college at the expence of the Abbey, who allowed them fifteen marks per annum each, and appropriated the church of Chipping Norton, county Oxford, for their support. — MSS. Froivc. 1300. A fire suddenly surrounded the monastery on Epi- phany day, which consumed the belfry and great chamber, with some adjoining buildings. — MSS. Frowc. 1303. The old dormitory was taken down, and a new one begun, which was finished in 1313. — Willis Mit Ab. 1319. The South aisle was rebuilt. About the same time Edward the Second came to Gloucester, and was entertained by the Abbot and convent with all due honours. While he was sitting at table in the Abbot's hall, and observing the pictures of his royal predecessors, with which the room was decorated, he enquired of the Abbot whether his picture was among them. The Abbot answered, with a kind of prophetic spirit, that he hoped he should have him (the King) in a more honourable place than here, as it turned out. For after the King's murder, when the neighbouring monasteries of Bristol, Keynsham, aud Malmsbury, refused to receive the royal corpse, through fear of Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabel, Abbot Thokey brought him from Berkeley Castle in his own carriage, ornamented with the arms of the Abbey, 84 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. to the Monastery of Gloucester, where he was received by the members of the convent in procession, and buried in the north part of the church, near the great altar; a proceeding this, which secured almost incalculable advantages to the monastery. For Edward the Third, in the second year of his reign, in consideration of the great expences which had been incurred by the Abbey in his father's funeral, granted, That upon every vacancy of the Abbey, they should com- pound with the King at the rate of a hundred marks for the space of a year; but that all Knights' fees hoi den of the Ab- bey, escheats, and presentations to their churches, which should fall in the time of the vacancy, should belong to the King. The Prior, as president, and the Convent, should keep the Abbey in safe custody till another person was ap- pointed thereto. The Escheator or the Sheriff, upon a vacancy, to make only simple seisin within the Abbey and so to depart. The same King also, in the tenth year of his reign, granted to the Abbey, the hundred of Dudston, near Gloucester, with all its emoluments and appurtenances at the fee-farm rent of twelve pounds per annum. — Rapin. Willis Mit Ah. MSS. Frowc. So great were the offerings made by the numerous pilgrims, who resorted to the tomb of Edward for the purposes of de- votion, that many parts of the church were rebuilt or beauti- fied, and it is supposed that they were sufficient to have enabled them to rebuild the whole church. The King him- self, attended by his royal consort, Prince Edward, and several nobles and gentlemen, made a solemn visit to the tomb, at which they presented a ship of gold, and another ship, which, at the entreaty of the Abbot, was redeemed at the price of a hundred pounds. The Prince offered a cross of gold, having in its composition a part of the great cross and a ruby. To these the great vault of the choir, the stalls ABBEY OF ST. PETER. 85 on the Prior's side, and other parts of the building owe their present beauty and elegance ; and the Vineyard house, which was destroyed on the great rebellion of 1648, was also built out of the same fund: and yet, notwithstanding these great expenditures, Abbot Staunton left at his death in the trea- sury a thousand marks. 1329. The Abbot's chamber, which had been burnt down in 1300, was built near the garden of the Infirmary, by Wig- more, while he was Prior; and about the same time St. Andrew's aisle was built. — MSS. Chron. MSS. Frowc. 1378. A Parliament was held here, when the King and his court were lodged in the Abbey. The Lords assembled in the common hall ; the secret council of the nobles in the chamber, which for its elegance was called the King's, and the common council of Parliament in the Chapter-house. High mass was performed in the choir by the Abbot, under the King's directions, at which were present the King, two Archbishops, twelve Bishops, the Duke of Lancaster, with his two brothers (the Earl of Cambridge, and Earl of Here- ford) and many of the nobility and gentry. — MSS. Frowc. 1380. There were fifty-four monks in the convent, with •200 officers or servants; the yearly income was 1,700 marks. The revenue being much lessened by unusual inundations, pestilences, and other calamities, and continually frequented by guests, foreigners and natives, the expences were so much increased as to require the appropriation of St. Mary de Lode to defray them. — MSS. Froivc. 1381. Pope Urban, by the interest of the Duke of Glou- cester and others, granted to the Abbot and his successors the mitre, ring, sandals, and dalmatic ; and also the right of giving the solemn benediction at vespers, matins, and at table, if no bishop or legate of the apostolic see were present. About the same time the great cloisters were built. 86 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. 1422. The west front, south porch, and two western pillars of the nave were erected. 1429. The lane under the south wall of the Abbey was granted to the bailiffs and burgesses of the city by com- position. Their Serjeants were empowered to carry their maces before the bailiffs in the Abbey; and the bailiffs or their Serjeants might execute any of the King's writs, sum- monses, &c. within the Abbey, except upon the Abbots, Monks, their domestic servants or counsellors. — Ancient copy in custody of the Abbey. 1430. Henry VI. came to the Abbey previous to his set- ting out for France, and made an oblation. — Scac. Cap. 1447. By composition made between the Abbey and bailiffs, the latter, with the burgesses, were to have free common, and dig earth in the common ham; and to have the use of the wa- ter of Fulbrook, at the upper north gate, of the lane under the south wall of the Abbey, and of the two water-mills at the Westgate; and the Abbey to enjoy the stone wall, within fifteen foot of land in breadth within it, from St. John's church-yard to the Blind Gate. — Scac. Cap. About or soon after 1456 the old tower was taken down and the present one begun. — Willis Mitr. Ab. About 1460 the present lady's chapel at the east end of the choir was begun to be built. 1499. During the vacancy, the behaviour of the'monks was so disorderly and contentious in making interest for the Abbacy, that the King directed a mandate to the Prior, as president of the Abbey, to punish all the offenders, and to keep the Abbey in due order during the vacancy. The elec- tion to be examined according to law by the King's council. — Willis Mitr. Ab, 1510. The same disorderly conduct prevailed among the monks in the time of the vacancy ; on this occasion the Abbey obtained a conge d'elire. ABBEY OF ST. PETER. 87 1512 and 1513. The divisions between the Abbey and the town on account of common, which was said to be withholclen by the Abbey and its tenants, were so great, that nearly two hundred of the townsmen assembled and wounded some of the servants belonging to the monastery : in consequence of this the Mayor was ordered by the King's privy council to sup- press these disturbers, under the penalty of appearing at the Star Chamber, of paying ,£100, and forfeiting the liberties of the town, and to preserve quietness till the dispute should be determined. 1514. An agreement was made between the town and the Abbey, by award of the Abbot of Winchcomb, the Prior of Lanthony, and others. — Book belonging to the city. 1518 and 1519. This affair was again agitated and new agreements entered into, and an award made relative to the tenants of the Abbey at Maisemore. — The same. 1525. Cardinal Wolsey, by his commissary, Dr. Allen, exercised a legantine visitation in the Abbey, when their yearly revenues, according to common account, amounted to £1,022. 15s. Id., and the Abbey acknowledged themselves indebted to the Cardinal in £40. lis. 6d. 1531. The clergy of the kingdom having on indictment in the King's Bench been convicted of breaking the laws of the realm, and by sentence of the court declared to be out of the King's protection, and liable to the pains in the statute of praemunire, for having acknowledged the legateship of Wol- sey, were contented to give the King £100,000. to obtain their pardon. Of this sum the Abbey of Gloucester paid £500. as their proportion. — Stoive's An. 1540. On the second of January, the Abbey was surren- dered by Gabriel Moreton, the Prior, and the monks, under the conventual seal. The revenues amounted at the time of 88 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. its dissolution to £1,946. 5s. 9d. per arm. — Dugd. £1,550. 4.?. 5%d. — Speed. Or in clear money, £1,430. 4s. 3c?. — Na- smith's Tanner. Out of the revenues the following pensions were assigned : To ^Gabriel Morton, the Prior, £20.; to Edward Bennet, late receyvour, £20.; Thomas Kingswood, £13. 6s. Sd.; William Morwent, Edward Wotton, John Wigmore, eham- berer, Walter Standley, £10. each; * Thomas Hartland, hosteler, * Humphry Barkeley, Richard Anselm, kitchener, £8. each; * William Newport, £6. 13s. 4c?.; William Augus- teyn, £6. ; Thomas Lee, professed and no priest, * William Symes, alias Deane, 100 sol. each. Those whose names are marked with an asterisk continued without preferment, and received their pensions in 1553, and at the same time the following pensions were paid to others who were sometime monks here. To Thomas Saybroke, £13. 6s. Sd. ; John Terris, alias Clyfford, £10.; William Burford, £8.; Chris- topher Horton, £6. There remained also £32. 19s. 4c?. in fees, and £69. 13s. 4c?. in annuities, charged on the revenues of the late Abbey. THE CATHEDRAL. 89 ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS. THE CATHEDRAL. This beautiful and magnificent structure was the work of several periods, which are in general clearly marked by the varying stiles of architecture, and ascertained by existing records. The original foundation and progressive alterations have been cursorily noticed in the account of the Abbots ; we shall now proceed to a more minute analysis of the several parts, and for the sake of perspicuity shall begin with those which bear the marks of the highest antiquity. Of the original monastery founded by Wulphere, and finished by Osric under the direction of Ethelred in 682, no vestiges are now to be traced ; and but a few probably of the building erected by Aldred in 1058. Some antiquaries of high reputation suppose, that the nave and undercroft are of the original erection by Aldred ; the following reasons, how-, ever, offer in favour of a contrary opinion, that the church built by Abbot Serlo, in 1089, was entirely new. First, — Florence of Worcester, says, that Sampson, Bishop of Worcester, with Gundulph, Bishop of Rochester, and Harvey, Bishop of Bangor, dedicated the great church at Gloucester, which the Abbot Serlo had built from the founda- tion. Secondly, — The church begun in 1089, and finished in 1 100, was eleven years in building, which was a long period, 90 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. if the nave and undercroft, or the whole building from the altar to the last pillar but one of the nave, remained entire after the demolition occasioned by fire in 1088, which is said to have consumed the church and monastery; since Wulstan began the church of Worcester in '1084, and finished it in 1089. Thirdly, — Although some specimens of Norman building might have been produced a little time before the conquest, owing to the communication of the English with the Normans, and the partiality which Edward the Confessor shewed to their customs and manners, yet it can hardly be supposed that the increased dimensions of the Norman style would be so fully adopted at Gloucester, even before the King himself had set the example at Westminster. The old church at Westminster, was dedicated on the 28th of December, 1065, and, as Bentham observes, probably served as a pattern to the builders, and produced an expensive emulation at other places ; but it is hardly credible that Aldred should raise a fabric in imitation of another probably not begun, certainly not finished at the time. Bentham instances Gloucester Cathedral as built about the same time with Westminster, and says, that part of it is still remaining. In the fourth volume of King's Munimenta Antiqua, it is considered as probable, that the little arches as well as the great arches and pillars beneath, were a part of the old original work reared by Osric in 681 or 682, at the same time it is allowed that the ornaments of the arches have just the same indented zig-zag mouldings that were so prevalently in fashion all over the kingdom in Guldulph's and in Serlo's time; but to account for this, it is conjectured that they were thus ornamented afterwards in Serlo's time. In fact, however, if any part of Aldred's church be now standing, the whole is also; for the same circular arches and the same massive pillars are found THE CATHEDRAL. 91 from the second pillar near the west door to the full extent, where it connects with the Lady's Chapel, though in the choir the}' are concealed from view by a stone casing of more mo- dern date. The great characteristic difference between the Saxon and early Norman styles lay in the magnitude of their buildings. The form of both was nearly the same, and though the Saxon were in some instances finished with some elegance, they were, however, inferior in size, and generally destitute of the double or treble range of pillars and arches, and other additions, demonstrative of more magnificent ideas and im- proved conceptions of symmetry in the relative proportions of height, length, and breadth. The precise date indeed of a religious edifice cannot be ascertained from the form of its arches, for though semicircular arches, with capitals rudely ornamented, are distinguishing characteristics of that style of architecture which was in use before the conquest, yet it does not follow that all buildings, where this style prevails, were of that sera, because the Normans retained the same, differing only in size and workmanship, till about the middle of Henry the First's reign, (1117) or even later, when the pointed arch began to be generally adopted. Fourthly, — If the nave, north aisle, and the chapels round the choir, with the whole original substruction, according to Mr. Dallaway, were of Aldred's building, what part belongs to Serlo ? and it is evident from all historical writings, that a great deal, if not the whole, arose under his patronage, and the dedication of the new church, built by him, is expressly recorded, as was before observed. Hence I am disposed to believe, that no part of the present church is of Aldred's building, or even stands on the same site with it, but that Abbot Serlo, in strict language, raised it afundamentis. At the same time it is probable, that the pre- sent Library, without the additional part on the west, and 92 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Treasury on the east side of the Cloisters, were erected in the time of Aldred. The former was anciently used as the Chapter-house to the Abbey, and was certainly standing in 1085, if, as it is asserted, Walter de Lac}^, who attended the Conqueror in his expedition, was buried there in that year. This nobleman was accidentally killed by a fall from the bat- tlements of St. Peter's, in Hereford, which he had just finished, and the date of the event is precisely ascertained, A.D. 1085, obiit Walter us de Lacifundator Sci Petri Hereford, 6 Kal. April, cujus corpus apud Glocestriam in capitulo honorifice sepelitur, tempore Serlonis Abhatis. — JMonast. Angl. It is perhaps difficult to determine the exact spot where the old building of Aldred stood, but it seems not improbable that the principal western entrance to that or the monastery, was through the fine Saxon arch leading from the front of the Deanery into the Great Cloisters, parallel with the present Choir. This idea is somewhat confirmed by the opinion of Furney, that Archbishop Aldred' s church stood on part of what is now called the Grove. THE CRYPT OR UNDERCROFT. That this kind of substructions is of high antiquity, is un- questionable, but what was their peculiar destination or intention has created much difficulty and dispute. It has been thought, that they were intended to preserve the memo- rial of a practice, which from necessity prevailed among the primitive Christians, who being exposed to persecution in con- sequence of an open profession of their religion, were obliged for safety to assemble in caves and vaults, subter terram ; the remains of which are still to be traced in the famous catacombs THE CATHEDRAL. 93 of Rome. In these, it is said, they used to assemble at their devotions, bury the bodies of their martyrs and confessors, and frequently hold their councils. It has also been conjec- tured that crypts were the remains either of Saxon or British churches, and that they have been embosomed within the present structures, from a veneration of their having been the places sanctified and consecrated to God, by the piety and devotion of their forefathers, in the first ages of Christianity. Green's Worcester, vol. 1, p. 38. But, after all, may not the following more simple conjecture be equally satisfactory? The presbytery, including the chancel, of all cathedrals, I believe, is ascended by several steps, which furnished an easy opportunity of making a subterraneous building, either for the purpose of interment, or to gratify the warm feelings of those severer members of the church, who might be devoted to a more solitary and abstracted devotion, than what they could perform in the public offices with the congregation. The substruction of this Cathedral has no appearance of workmanship anterior to the upper building. The arches are semicircular, and the pillars round; the vaulting is strong, plain, and unornamented ; the form corresponds with the building above, the pillars of which exactly rest on the centre of the pillars below, and are supported by them : there is also an equal number of chapels ; and the dimensions of the whole are similar, except in the trifling variation produced by the greater width of the exterior walls. On one of the arches is an indented or zig zag moulding, and in one of the chapels is a receptacle for holy water, and a colonnade resembling that which is seen over the arches in the nave of the Cathedral. These chapels were probably in early times furnished with altars, and dedicated to particular saints ; but no memorials or traces now remain of either. The following extract from Pat. 14 Edward II. p. 2, or 13, — " Pro eccles. 94 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. de Haitherop appropr. ad inveniendos Capellanos in < le charnel house' construct, per Petrum Fox in cemiterio Abba- tiae," has no relation to the Abbey of Gloucester, but either to that of Cirencester, or more probably to the nunnery of Lacock, in Wiltshire. The bones which are collected from the opening of graves and vaults in various parts of the Cathe- dral, are now deposited here, and hence it is denominated the bone-house. The entrance is by a door near the north-east angle of the south transept. THE NAVE Is entered by the west door, and presents to the eye a scene of great sublimity and grandeur, the appropriate character- istics of the Norman style. The particular objects which first arrest the attention are the large circular pillars which on each side separate the nave from the aisles. They are four- teen in number (the first pair being about forty feet from the west door), and measure in circumference twenty-one feet four inches. Semicircular arches, of about eleven feet six inches diameter, connect them at top ; these are adorned with dentils and zig-zags on the mouldings. Over the pillars on the north side are a tiger's head, two females, a meagre nun, a man with flowing hair, another exhibiting a horrid grin, a mask with a tonsure, and a nun. On the south, a monk, another bald, a youth, a cadaverous head, another nun, two anchorites, and a terrific mask. These heads serve as brack- ets to sixteen clusters of short pillars, whose capitals are enriched with foliage of great variety. Those support a zig- zag string, on which rest the bases of other pillars, five in each cluster, with capitals of transcendant beauty. — Malcolm. Six of the eastern arches spring from the capitals of the THE CATHEDRAL. 95 lower range of short pillars, and each of these have heads, supporting slender columns for the ribs of the vaulted roof. Above every great semicircle are pierced windows to the galleries, divided by thick pillars, and bounded by others with zig-zag arches. Between those and the plainer clerestory windows, is a twisted string. The vault was finished in 1242, and consists of arches but little ornamented, except in the key stones, which are richly sculptured. At the same time were put in, the clerestory windows, pointed and finished on the outside with canopies, which were not introduced till the latter end of the twelfth, or early in the thirteenth century. The nave originally extended westward about ten feet and a half beyond the last circular pillars ; the remaining part, as it now appears, was built in 1422, by Abbot Morwent. The two pillars which support this new structure, differ much in style from the others, being lighter in their appearance and more ornamented. It is obvious that the connecting arch between the modern and ancient pillars was originally semi- circular, but on this occasion altered to the pointed form. The line of the old arch is now evident, and the centre of the new one rises above and breaks the string which separated the arches from the gallery. These two pillars were not the old circular ones, fluted by Morwent, as Rudder supposes, but certainly raised anew from the ground, as evidently appears from the courses of masonry, not at all corresponding with the ancient work. The vault of the nave, as it originally was built, was finished in 1242, and retains in a great measure the simplicity of that sera ; the modern addition is more diver- sified by interesting ribs, rosettes, and tracery : as likewise is that of the south aisle, which was built in 1318. The win- dows are highly ornamented, and exhibit a fine specimen of the increasing richness of the pointed style. The north aisle 96 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. appears, by the form of the windows, to be coeval with Serlo's building. The south porch and door-way were built at the same time with the west door ; when the tabernacle ornament was also added to the door leading to the cloisters. On this is a shield, having on the dexter a sword pendant, piercing a heart, conjoined with the wing of a dove in the base : on the sinister, a palm branch joined to another wing. Over this door it is said that there was once a painting of the twelve apostles, but nothing farther is known of it. At the upper end of the north aisle is a sacellum raised two steps above the floor of the nave, formerly inclosed and appropriated to the purpose of private worship. This altar, together with the tomb of Blackleach, which formerly stood there, were removed by the late Dr. Griffith at the time the new organ screen was erected, by which means an uninter- rupted view of the beautiful north transept may be obtained from the nave. It is said that there were places for lamps in the third and fourth pillars on the north side, or rather perhaps for small images. The pulpit, which was used when the sermons were preached in the nave, stood against the second pillar in the north range, and not the south, as incorrectly stated by Mr. Rudge : it was erected by Bishop Parry 1609, and had on it the letters H. Gr. 1609. At the lower end of the south aisle is the Consistory Court, on which are the royal arms between those of Bishop Fowler and Chancellor Penrice. The west window is of large dimensions, and was once ornamented with fine painted glass, which was probably re- duced to its present imperfect state by puritanic bigotry during the interregnum. THE CATHEDRAL. 97 THE CHOIR Was separated from the nave, where the rood-loft formerly stood by a screen so discordant in its componant parts, and so ill adapted to the surrounding style of architecture, that one is first surprised that it should ever have been permitted to be erected there, and next, that it should be the work of Kent, an artist famous in his day, and in many respects de- serving of the reputation he acquired. On the centre pannel was the following inscription : — -Martinus Episcopus fecit An. Dom. MDCCXLI et consecrationis suae VII mo - Before this was erected there was a screen of stone erected by one of the Abbots ; and directly opposite to the entrance of the Choir was a large door and arch over it, which had a chapel with an altar upon it, supported by two pillars. When these ancient parts were being removed, three stone coffins were found near the surface, containing the remains of three Abbots, with part of their gloves and robes remaining. Nearer to the cloisters' door another stone coffin was found, containing a sword, a small pewter chalice, a staff) and two skulls, which are supposed to have been those of Sir Nicho- las Gamage and his wife, who were buried near to their bro- ther, Abbot Gamage, one of the three above mentioned. The coffins were not removed. This was probably the place where most of the Abbots were interred, as prior to this there were five other large grave-stones found, with brass plates, three of which belonged to Abbots. In the year 1820, the present classically correct and appro- priate screen was substituted for the above. The organ stands on this screen, and breaks the view of the vault of the choir, and the east window at the altar, from the great west door. The blank walls in a line with the screen, separating the aisles 98 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, of the nave from the transepts, were taken down, and by their removal an uninterrupted view, and a new and pleasing cha- racter, are given to those parts of the church. The modern stucco altar-screen, which disfigured our Lady's Chapel, has also been removed, and the remains of the original altar- piece, which was of the richest workmanship, and superbly decorated with curious painting and gilding, are sufficiently perfect, though much mutilated, to afford a useful and inter- esting study to the architect and antiquary. The public are indebted for these improvements to the late Dr. Griffiths, one of the Prebendaries of the Cathedral, under whose direction the same were made from his own drawings, and who died soon after their completion. An ele- gant gothic monument has been lately erected to his memory near the north transept, with a Latin inscription, of which the following is a translation : — " The Dean and Chapter caused this tablet to be erected as a token of their grateful remembrance and regard for the memory of James Griffiths, S.T.P. Prebendary of this Church, and Master of University College, Oxford, by whose ingenious skill and judgment this new organ-screen, and a more extended view of the aisles, and other improvements more peculiarly adapted to the style of gothic architecture, were set on foot and completed, the expence also being for the most part defrayed by himself. A. D. 1823." The choir presents a most beautiful specimen of pointed architecture. It is constructed within the pillars and arches of Serlo's building, the side walls being raised from the ground, and so connected with them as almost to appear a part of the original plan. At the entrance the object which first attracts attention is the east windbw, the largest perhaps in England. It is a little embowed, and occupies the whole space of the choir. The arch has three chief divisions, or THE CATHEDRAL. 99 mullions, terminating elliptically, the middle of which includes six divisions on seven tiers or rows of compartments. The whole of the window is formed of painted glass, a great deal of which seems to have been collected from different parts, and put in without order or design. Some figures, however, may be discriminated with tolerable accuracy. In the lower row are Abbots and royal benefactors, among which Edw. II. Edw. III. Abbots Serlo and Horton may be selected. In the base are escutcheons of Edw. II. France and England, Edw. III. De Brotherton, Berkeley repeated, Beauchamp, De New- burgh, De la Riviere, Bradstone, Clare, De Bohun. The following are mentioned by Rudder : — Gules, a chevron ermine between ten crosses patee argent. Gules, a lion ram- pant, or. Berkeley. — Quarterly, 1st and 4th Gules, abend or, and argent. 2d and 3d, azure, five diamonds, or. — Gules, a chevron between cross crosslets, or. — Gules, a fess between six cross crosslets, or. Despencer. — Azure, on a chief two mullets, or. Montacute. — Earl of Clare. — Earl of Oxford. — Argent, six crosses fitchee on a chief between two mullets, or. Mortimer. — Vairy, gules and or. — Fretty, impaled with England. This window was put up in the time of Edward III. when stained glass was more frequent and excellent than at any other period, and the price was one shilling per square foot, so that it originally cost £139 : 18s. — Ballaway. The Presbytery, or Chancel, is entered by a flight of steps ; and the high altar is raised three steps higher. The pave- ment before it consists of painted bricks, upon which are arms, legends, and wreaths. Edward II. France and Eng- land, Clare, Beauchamp, Sebroke, and Branch frequently repeated. Many others have been lately brought from the chapels and different parts of the church, and disposed in their present order by the late Samuel Lysons, Esq. LcfC. 100 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. The original altar was painted in fresco, and represented damask, with pedestals, upon which stood the silver images. This was concealed by a modern screen of wainscotted oak, sumptuous and magnificent, but ill according with the general style of architecture. It was put up about the beginning of the eighteenth century, as it appears from the Chapter Mi- nutes, "that twenty pounds (free gift) were granted to Michael Bysack for extraordinary work to the altar. In 1807 it was removed, and a neat and appropriate altar of stone erected in its room. The absurdity of the former screen had long been censured by every judge of architecture ; nor had it escaped the observations of the members of the Cathedral, but the removal was first suggested, and the happy change effected, under the direction of Dr. Luxmore, then Dean of Gloucester, now Bishop of St. Asaph. On the south side of the altar are four subsellia, the canopies of which have a fiat entablature of intagliated tracery. Upon the architrave is carved a wand entwined with a ribbon, and at each end T. O. Above this the tabernacle work is continued with several lancet apertures, through which the relics were formerly exhibited. — Dallaway. On either side are thirty-one stalls with rich canopies, and seats of very grotesque sculpture ; the most remarkable of which are, two knights playing at dice, a knight running a tilt, a forester killing a stag, and a knight cutting off the head of a giant, with others not easily described. Stalls with simi- lar carvings are found in all old collegiate churches ; and are supposed by some to have been merely the effect of whim in the workmen ; by others to have been a satirical representation of the pursuits and vices either of the monks or secular clergy, as each happened to be triumphant. Nothing less than the most rooted enmity could have permitted such car- vings to have been executed in places set apart for solemn THE CATHEDRAL. 101 and sacred exercises. The least exceptionable are scarcely to be tolerated ; but the gross indecency displayed in Saint George's Chapel, Windsor, outrages all morality and decorum, and should not, for a moment, out of respect to the inge- nuity of the workmanship, be permitted to defile the purity of the sanctuary. The stalls on the Prior's side were built by Adam de Staunton, and completed by Thomas Norton. The principal stalls are, the Bishop's, at the upper end on the south side of the choir ; next to that the Archdeacon's, bearing no distinguishing mark but in the title Archidiaconus on the pannel ; about the middle the Chancellor's, with Can- cellarius over ; at the bottom the Dean's, and three Preben- daries. Opposite to the Bishop's is the seat lately appropri- ated to the Mayor, though for time immemorial heretofore belonging to the Archdeacon, and having Archidiaconus in the pannel ; about the middle, on the same side, the Regis- trar's seat; and at the bottom the Sub-dean and two other Prebendaries. The canopies of the stalls are executed with consummate nicety, and exhibit a most beautiful specimen of florid gothic or tabernacle work. By charter, the Archdeacon of Gloucester ranks nexts to the Dean, and it appears by a manuscript in the possession of the author, that Archdeacon Lye had a violent dispute with the then Mayor respecting his presuming to sit there without being authorised so to do ; in consequence of which the Mayor and Corporation left the Cathedral, and went to one of the parish churches. Unquestionably this is the proper stall belonging to the Archdeacon by virtue of his office ; but by an act of chapter, in 1804, he was appointed to sit immediately on the left hand of the Bishop. Thus it appears that the charter may at any time be altered by an act 102 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. of chapter ! In other Cathedrals, the Archdeacon's stall is opposite the Bishop's throne. The vault of the choir is an assemblage of innumerable beauties, so infinitely varied as not in one instance to be repeated. The tower is immediately over the middle of the choir, supported at the four angles by strong pillars, and rest- ing on the vault, and two arches on the north and south sides, the heaviness of which is relieved by a flying arch under each, with open spandrils, spanning- the width of the tower, and branching over the vault of the choir and adjoining tran- septs. The cross springers are of solid stone, and the vault, which they support, of the toph or stalactitical stone, or chalk combined with other materials, which form a light, though solid substance. The rosettes, with which the fine trellis work is ornamented, are infinitely diversified. In the centre of the tower is the star-hole, through which the bells are occasionally taken up or let down for repair, and is of less diameter than the great bell, which therefore was placed there prior to the building of the vault. The following statement respecting the great bell, and star- hole, appears in a note in Mr. Britton's account of the Cathedral, p. 61. — " There is much difference of opinion respecting the diameter of this aperture, and that of the great bell : it being generally asserted that the latter is greater than the former, and consequently could never have passed through the hole. Mr. Fosbrooke asserts, that the great bell must have been raised before the vaulting was finished, as " the hole is smaller than the great bell.' — (History, p. 258-9. J — The Rev. Mr. Bishop and Mr. Brayley examined and mea- sured the two in the autumn of 1827, with so much care and accuracy, that we may now speak with certainty on the sub- ject. The hole above the door-ledge is five feet nine inches THE CATHEDRAL. 103 from north to south, and five feet ten inches from east to west ; whilst the extreme diameter of the great bell is five feet eight inches and a half." It may be inferred from the above statement, that the star-hole is actually larger than the bell ; but I am requested by Mr. Bishop to give here a part of the communication made to Mr. Britton, but omitted in this note, viz. — that the diameter of the opening beneath the door on which the star is painted, must be less than the above dimensions of the opening above the door, by the breadth of the ledge on which the door rests, perhaps six or eight inches. The bell, therefore, could not have passed through the hole, unless the ledge could have been inserted afterwards. Directly over the altar the vault is ornamented with figures representing musicians playing on various instruments, which are easily distinguished by the naked eye. Over the western arch, which rises above the roof of the nave, is contrived a window, which enlightens the higher part of the choir, and as the sun declines after noon, throws a splendid glare over the fretted vault. In this window was a blasphemous picture of the Trinity, which had been over- looked or permitted to occupy its place there for several years after the Reformation, till, at the instigation of Dr. Fowler, then Prebendary, afterwards Bishop of Gloucester, it was broken in pieces by the following order of Chapter, 23d June, 1679 : — " Ordered that a certain scandalous picture of the Holy Trinity, being in the west window of the Quire, be removed, and other glass put therein.' ' Under the same window are now two monkish lines in old characters, to record the persons by whom this beautiful piece of architec- tural skill was planned and executed : — Hoc quod digestum specularis opusque politum Tullii, hcec ex opera Sebroke Abbate jubente. 104 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. And Abbot Parker has preserved the memorial of the fund from which the choir was finished ; speaking of Edward II. " By whose oblations the south isle of this church, Edyfyed was and built & also the Queere." Stanza Ibth. In the choir the service used to be chaunted every day in the forenoon and afternoon. Agreeably to an order of Chapter, 30th Nov. 1782, the morning and evening prayers, and the whole litany and communion service, began to be read as in parish churches, and not chaunted, except the psalms, hymns, and anthems. The learned Bishop Hallifax approved of this alteration, but it gave umbrage to many who were in the habit of daily attendance at the Cathedral ; the service was, at , length, much to the general satisfaction, brought back to its ancient mode by Dr. Luxmore, and is retained and encouraged by the good taste and scientific arrangements of the present Dean. A passage leads round the choir from the north to the south transept, coeval with the old building. On each side are two chapels or oratories. The first on the south side, which, before the putting up of Bishop Benson's monument, had a window, or was open into the south transept, is now convertedinto avestuary or robing-room for the Minor Canons. The next chapel, towards the east, has the shrine destroyed ; but on the pavement are, or were, bricks with the arms of Clare, King of the Romans; France and England; Beauchamp; A. Leopard; Abbot Braunch ; Audley, E. of Gloucester. The next, properly Boteler's Chapel, is on the north side of the entrance into our Lady's Chapel. It was built or fitted up by Reginald Boulers, or Boteler, Abbot about 1437. It is of a semi-octagonal form, separated from the aisle by a light screen. The shrine was erected by Johan Baptista THE CATHEDRAL. 105 Tyron, a monk of the Abbey, as did appear from an inscription on a painted brick at the west end of the chapel, Kvpte eXeicov ale Fratr. Johis Tyrou. It consists of three large niches, each between six smaller ones above the other, and over them two turrets, containing in arcades small whole length figures. The frize is ornamented with quartrefoils and escutcheons in two rows, namely, St. George ; Sa — within bordure argent : Brydges : Vele : Bouler's, or Boteler, Az. 3 cov. cups Or. : Az. a gules, 3 Griffins erased Or. : Az. an E displayed within a double tressure arg. : Boleyne : Montacute : Bro- therton quarterly Warren : Az. 3 crowns Or. : Two swords in Salt. pom. Or. : Sable, a X un base, and in Ch. 2 keys in Saltire & mitre Or. : Edward Confessor : France and Eng- land : Le Despencer : Beauchamp of Powick : Berkeley of Stoke : Throckmorton : Tracy : Greville : Whitington : Boteler a Park : Pauncefote : Arg. an in Ch. 3 roundlets az. : Bradstone : Boteler Abb. Glouc. Stafford : Diagram of the Trinity : Fr. & Engl. : Berkeley within a bordure arg. : Mill. Erm. a Millink sab. : Guise: Acton. Three are de- stroyed. On the pavement, arms of Boulars. According to Rudder, the following inscription was over the altar : — Hoc Baptista Tyrou Gloucestre fecit honore Fac hunc ergo frui Celi sine fine decore ; Hie etiam cultor precious memorare tuonim Et Rex celorum semper sit tutor eorum Hoc Pater et flamen concordat jugiter Amen. Opposite the north side entrance to the choir, over an arched door-way upon Escoch. between quatrefoils, is the letter O on one side, and C on the other ; a passage leads to St. Andrew's Chapel, which is open to the north transept. The shrine, or altar, contains three large and eight smaller niches, quite perfect, and of fine workmanship. Over the e 2 106 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. door-case leading to the chapter-room, are Escoch. beset with foliage, cherubs holding a scroll, the inscription defaced with white- wash. THE NORTH TRANSEPT Was built, according to Dallaway, by Abbot Horton, about 1370, in the chaste style of that era. The roof is finished with peculiar minuteness, and ornamented with rosettes. The eastern side is formed by a slender wall pierced with pointed windows or openings, which shew at different points the circular arches of the ancient building. On the north side is a building which is clearly additional, and subsequent in date. The architecture is beautiful and highly ornament- ed ; but the original designation of it is involved in obscu- rity. It is said to have been a place of confinement for refractory monks ; and the gratings, which are of wood, are produced in proof of the supposition. This, however, is the sole foundation on which it rests, as there are no written records to prove it. Is it probable that a place of confinement or punishment would have been made in the interior of an edifice consecrated to the purposes of religion, when in a monastery so large, many places might have been found better adapted to the purpose ? From the appearance of Abbot Parker's arms, it has been supposed, that whatever was the intention, it was erected in his time. It is now used as a vestuary for the lay clerks and singing boys. THE SOUTH TRANSEPT Is of nearly Norman architecture : and, a memorial, in black letter, for William Pipard, who was Sheriff in 1163, now appears on the outside of it. THE CATHEDRAL. 10 7 There are many beautiful specimens of early architecture in this cross arm, particularly in the roof, which exhibits in the groins great variety of unadorned triangular, square, and lozenge compartments. On the south side is a blank door, which probably opened originally into the church-yard. Each side is ornamented with large statues of angels, now much injured, which, by the reclining posture, seem to pay a submissive attention to the person passing through. The exterior of this transept shows antiquity, in the intersecting arches of the colonnade, and zig-zag mouldings, though the interior is more modern, and was decorated with its present beauties about 1330, in the time of Abbot Wigmore. In the south west angle is the door which leads up to the tower and the galleries which surround the Choir. In the first gallery is a curious painting of the Last Judg- ment, which was discovered some years ago behind the wain- scotting in the nave, at the time the seats were removed. It is generally supposed to have been an altar piece, and con- cealed at the time of the reformation : but the building wherein the blessed are represented as standing, and which seems to represent the New Jerusalem, is of Grecian archi- tecture, and therefore of more modern date. I should rather assign it to one of those periods, either when popery re- gained a short-lived triumph on the death of Edward VI. or on the compleat establishment of protestantism in the reign of Elizabeth. The victorious party in either case, but most likely in the former, might express their zeal by this fanciful representation of their opponents being consigned to the pun- ishment they were supposed to merit. It is said that two paintings were done in Abbot Wigmore' s time, one for the Abbot's chapel ; the other for the high altar, which Fos- broke supposes to be this ; in his time, however, the pointed arch only was used, and such might have been expected to be the style of the painting. 108 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. THE WHISPERING GALLERY Is mentioned by Lord Bacon, as being very remarkable, but the principles of acou sticks are now so much better un- derstood than formerly, and consequently the means by which the eiFects are produced, that we are no longer sur- prised. This was most likely not the effect of original design; the passage, which is seventy feet in length, was constructed as the obvious mode of communication with the northern side, and the octagonal form, by which the rever- beration of sound is produced, was best adapted to the east window of the choir, round which the passage led. On the right side, exactly in the middle, a door leads into a small chapel, with an altar table of stone, where the Abbot and others are supposed to have stood during the celebration of mass in the Lady's Chapel, and on the opposite wall the following lines are inscribed : — Doubt not but God, who sits on high, Thy secret prayers can hear, When a dead wall thus cunningly Conveys soft whispers to the ear. On the first floor of the tower, directly over the centre of the choir vault, is the great bell, weighing 6500 pounds. Its height, to the canons or staples, is 4 feet 9 inches. The exact age of this bell is not known, but it must be prior to the vaulting of the choir, because its diameter is 5 feet 8J inches, and that of the star-hole only five feet. On the out- side is this inscription, me fecit fieri muncutus nomine petri, with the arms of the Abbey, and a coronet of four fleurs de luce over them, whence it has been inferred that it was given by Peter, who was Abbot in 1104-, but this suppo- sition is probably incorrect; since muncutus may as well mean THE CATHEDRAL. 109 the building dedicated to St. Peter, as the person who pre- sided over it; and if the coronet, according to Rudder, refers to the Dukes of Gloucester, it must have been cast many years after Abbot Peter's time, as the first Duke was created in 1345, or thereabout. In the loft above is a peal of eight musical bells, which have the following inscriptions : — the first, Doctor Lewis, Deanne, 1598, on the top, and under, Robart Nevecome. of Leicester, mademee; the second, Sancte Petre, or a pro nobis ; the third, Gid. Jane, S.T.P. Dec. Anno. Dom. 1666; the fouth, Sit nomen Domini benedicium — (this has lately been broken); the fifth, In multis minis resonet, campana Johannis ; the sixth, Sum Rosa pulsata mundi, Maria vocata; the seventh, not intelligible, T.W. 6261, which appeal's to be an accidental inversion of the figures, as the letters refer to Thomas Winniff, Dean ; the eighth, Dan Xew- come, Decan* Th. Lye, Sub. D. Matth. Panting, Thesar. anno Dom. 1736. From the summit of the tower is seen a beautiful expanse of picturesque, and finely varied country, which is accurately represented by an engraving of Bonn or' s, entitled " A Sketch of the bearing from Gloucester College Tower, of the cities, towns, and eminences, which are in and contiguous to the vale of Evesham." THE CHAPEL OF OUR LADY Is continued in a direct line with the choir, and exhibits a complete specimen of richness and chastity of composition most happily united. It is entered under a fine obtuse arch, richly ornamented, and separated from the passage or ambu- latory, by a very beautiful screen, pierced into a number of 110 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. cinquefoil divisions, with ornaments of quatrefoils interspersed. " The ceiling of this porch has a cross of rich pendants, sur- rounded by the most elaborate ribs, judiciously intersected." The first object which strikes the eye on entering is the fine eastern window, adorned with painted glass of brilliant colors, and representations of our Saviour surrounded by Kings, Prelates, and Abbots, thirty-seven in number, and varied with great judgment and effect. The altar-piece, of stucco, resem- bling a radiation, has been removed, as mentioned in p. 98 ; and the tapestry which covered it, was given to the parish of Badgeworth, and is now placed in the church there. On the south side of the altar are three seats for the officiating priests ; " four buttresses exquisitely fluted, and enriched with foliage, enclose and support three sided canopies with indented trefoil arches, from each corner of which small clustered columns ascend to a cornice, forming eight arches, finely indented, and a diminutive colonnade ; the ceilings of the canopies are covered with slender ribs, that arise from pillars, not larger than a wand ; the piscina is quite perfect on a beautiful pe- destal." On each side are two chapels or chantries, one over another, which have ceilings profusely decorated ; they each contain twelve circles, with centre flowers, whose intervals are full of tracery ; between them are quatrefoils in circles, and the ascending arches are covered by nets of enriched pannels. The roof of the Lady's Chapel is one grand pointed arch, indented on the sides by the arches of the windows ; a centre rib, with one on each side, extend east and west ; seven others diverge from each column, and intersecting throughout the surface of the whole vault, form a vast variety of lozenges, radii, and angles, which are bound together by fillets ; the whole is covered with numberless rosettes, flowers, foliage and scrolls. The floor of the chapel and porch is paved with painted tiles, which, however, are in a great measure destroyed THE CATHEDRAL. Ill by grave-stones, or worn out by use. Mutilated inscriptions and arms are partially to be distinguished. A chapel was added to the choir first in 1222, at the expense of Ralph de Wylhngton, who gave a stipend yearly, to support two pres- byters, who were to celebrate mass for the dead. It was totally rebuilt, between 1457 and 1498, by the Abbots Stanley and Farleigh, and is 92 feet 1 inch long, 24 feet 4 inches broad, 46 feet 6 inches high. Morning service is performed here throughout the year about seven o'clock. THE CLOISTERS, Begun by Abbot Horton, were compleated by Abbot Frow- cester, in 1390, and are the most elegant and perfect of the kind in England. The sides and roof are profusely embel- lished, and the windows filled with mullions and tracery. It is perhaps a fanciful idea of Bishop Warburton's, that gothic architecture was intended to imitate an avenue of lofty trees ; yet if an appropriate colour were laid on, and the shades well preserved, the same idea would probably strike more ordinary observers on walking through these cloisters. Each side of the square is 148 feet. From the nave is an entrance through an open iron gate, with a window of stained glass at the termination, which throws the intermediate dis- tance into fine perspective. The place now occupied by the window was formerly the gate leading into the refectory, which probably survived the dissolution of the monastery several years, as the office of cook was not abolished till 1636, by an order of chapter. Near to this are places where the members of the convent used to wash before dinner. The 112 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. lavatory on the south side, now enclosed with pallisades, was supplied with water from Robinswood hill, and in the suda- tory opposite, napkins were hung, for the purpose of drying themselves. On the east side is a door leading up to the old library, now used as the collegiate school. Near to this is the door into the present LIBRARY. This was formerly the chapter-room of the Abbey, and the place where William the Conqueror and some of his successors used to meet the nobles, prelates, and other great men of the kingdom, lay and spiritual, to consult about im- portant concerns in church and state. The modern book- cases and shelves hid from view the circular arches, with zig-zag mouldings on each side. Samuel Lysons, Esq. whose authority carries great weight, supposes that the more an- cient part of this building was erected by William the Con- queror, who repaired and enlarged the monastery, then in a ruinous conditon. The entrance is through a door-way having a circular arch and zig-zag mouldings, and on each side, there either was or intended to be a smaller door. The east window is of large dimensions, and was certainly the work of a much later date; the style of that and the groins of the roof in the modern part, much resemble the extreme western part of the nave. The room is 72 feet by 33, and contains a good collection of ancient polemical divinity, and some old authors of celebrity. Some addition was made to the stock by the munificence of the late Dean Tucker. Ac- cording to Leland, the names of several eminent persons who The cathedral. 113 were buried here, were inscribed on the wall in his time, in black letter : — Hie jacet Rogerus, comes de Hereford. Hie jacet Richard Strongbowe, fills Gilbert e comites de Pembroke. Hie jacet Gualterus de Lacy. Hie jacet Philipus de Foye, Miles. Hie jacet Bernardus de Novo Mercato^ Hie jacit Paganus de Cadurcis* Their grave -stones are probably concealed under the wooden floor. " Thomas Pury, Jun. Esq. whose arms are on the north side of the east window, assisted by Mr. Sheppard, Captain Hemming, and others, made this library at a great expence in 1648, and as Sir Robert Atkyns has observed, encouraged literature to assist reason, in the midst of times deluded with imaginary inspiration. In 1656, this library was settled upon the mayor and burgesses, who made themselves guardians of it ; but Mr. Pury, Sir Mathew Hale, and the officers of the garrison, were the principal benefactors to it." Parallel with the library, is a passage or room, (over which are the treasury and the present chapter-room,) now called the stone- house, because the masons who were employed about the Cathedral, used it for a workshop. The entrance from the cloisters is walled up, though still visible. A door opens from it into the grove; on each side within, are several ar- cades or recesses of the same era with those in the library, and on the right side leading towards the grove, is a way down a flight of several steps, leading to a room fifteen or twenty feet square, intended and used heretofore, accord- ing to the opinion of some, for a dungeon, or as it adjoins, might communicate with the crypt under St. Andrew's chapel. 114 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. The north side of the south walk of the cloisters contains thirty recesses, in which, according to traditionary accounts, the monks used to sit, when employed in copying manuscripts before the art of printing was discovered. The modern bookcases and shelves, as well as the carved figures of the arts and sciences, have been very properly re- moved, as not at all harmonising with the building ; and this fine antique room has been lately fitted up in an appropriate and judicious manner, under the very able direction of the Rev. Mr. Bishop, one of the Minor Canons, and Librarian to the Cathedral. There are some very valuable works ; a copious collection of the Fathers and Digests, and in the manuscript department, a copy of Lydgate's Troy Boke, but only one Abbey Register out of several, the contents of which have been translated by Mr. Prinn, and still remain at Charlton Kings ; together with similar transcripts of those of Cirencester and Lanthony also lost: Abbot Frocester's Chronicle of the Abbey is missing ; and it is to be hoped that the remaining Register of Abbot Malverne will not meet with a similar fate. The Author has in his possession a copy of Abbot Froces- ter's Chronicle, and also copies of the Registers of Cirencester and Lanthony, all in the hand writing of Archdeacon Furney, which he intends to bequeath to the College Library. Mr. Britton, in his History and Antiquities of the Abbey and Cathedral Church of Gloucester, (p. 64) says, In 1826, and 1827, the Dean and Chapter very properly had the chap- ter-room again fitted up with care and skill for the preserva- tion of their present library ; and it is gratifying to know that it is placed in the custody of one so well qualified to guard its stability and pristine beauty as the present very amiable and estimable Librarian, THE CATHEDRAL. 115 THE EXTEEIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL Is equal at least in elegant design and masterly workmanship to the interior. The western front, which terminates Hor- ton's additional building of the nave, exhibits a facade of wide dimension, but the whole is well relieved by the win- dows, the open battlements, the arched buttresses, niches, pinnacles, and other accompaniments. On the north side of the central door is an escutcheon, bearing the arms of En- gland, quarterly, Three fleurs de lis, and three lions. On the opposite side are the arms of the Abbey. THE SOUTH PORCH Was built by the same Abbot in 1422, and every possible exertion seems to have been successfully made to concentrate all the beauties of gothic architecture in this small building. All the component parts are in perfect proportion : the side windows are extremely elegant in the tracery and disposition of the mullions. The ceiling is exquisitely fine : among the figures are discoverable those of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The outside is equally elegant and well finished, but it is to be lamented that the interior has suffered very much from wanton mischief, and rude repairs ; while the exterior has been equally injured by the influence of weather, on the friable materials with which it was built. On each side of the door is an escutcheon, bearing the royal arms and those of the see : but the former having a few years since gone to decay, were ignorantly put up again, quarterly, England and France, instead of France and England as at the west door. 116 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. It is worthy of remark, that this mode of placing the fleurs de lis, in the first and most honourable quarter of the shield, was adopted first by Edward III. according to Gwillim, to shew his undoubted title to the kingdom of France. Since the peace concluded with that nation in 1801, the fleurs de lis have been left out of the arms, and King of France out of the titles of the King of England. The south side of the Cathedral is variously ornamented. The projecting buttres- ses more immediately strike the eye at first view. In a niche on the front of each of them, was formerly placed a statue, probably of some benefactor ,• but fanatic ignorance, which, under the idea of destroying idolatrous worship, pays no re- gard to science or art, has left only mutilated remains. " The six windows, until they reached the south porch, are acutely pointed, and above the arching of their mullions, a branching radiates from the centre, with the usual ornament of foliage accommodated to the shape of each opening, their frame being closely studded. The windows of the upper tier par- take of the same beautiful proportion, the upper mullions springing from the crown of the under ones. A string course above these, carry the battlements, which are not perforated, but sufficiently enlightened for their situation." The addi- tional building of Horton is here accurately marked by the change of character in the buttresses ; those to the east of the porch have zig-zag mouldings, with slender projections, and terminating upward with a lozenge shaft, spiral cap'd ; whereas westward of the porch, they are more slender in shape; the spiral cap'd top is supported by a square shaft, and the buttresses spread southward above the arch which supports them. — Bomior's Perspective Itinerary. THE CATHEDRAL. 117 THE TOWER Ranks high among the most elegant and spendid buildings of this kind in England or elsewhere. " It was compleated a few years only before the suppression of the Abbey, under the direction of Robert Tuiley, (one of the monks, and after- wards Bishop of St. David's,) to whom that charge had been bequeathed by Abbot Sebroke, who died in 1457. The ornamented members and perforated pinnacles are of the most delicate tabernacle work, very full, but preserving an air of chasteness and simplicity. Its peculiar perfection, which immediately strikes the eye, is an exact symmetry of com- ponent parts, and the judicious distribution of ornaments. The shaft of the tower is equally divided into two stories, correctly repeated in every particle, and the open parapet and pinnacles, so richly clustered^ are an example of gothic in its most improved state. — Dallaway* s English Architecture. THE LITTLE CLOISTERS Are probably a part of the old monastery, and the place where Wilstan, the second Abbot, was buried, under the yew tree, in 1072, as a mark of disgrace for having wasted the property of the monastery. The south entrance exhibits a style coeval with the most ancient part of the building. Within these cloisters is a house belonging to the Prebendary of the second stall. Near the north entrance is another house belonging to the Prebendary of the third stall, standing partly on the site of the old Abbey Infirmary, which name is still retained. 118 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. THE BISHOFs PALACE Stands in Palace-yard, or Miller's green, so called because a mill for grinding corn for the Abbey stood in it. It was the residence of the Abbot, and granted to the Bishop with all its appurtenances, by the charter of Henry VIII. At different periods great improvements have been made by successive Bishops, by which a residence tolerably comfortable has been made, but still inadequate to the dignity of the episcopal station. The new front was built by Bishop Benson, — unfortunately of the Doric order ! — The hall is a large room, with a window occupying nearly the whole of the north end. Over the fire-place is a small tablet of marble, put up by Bishop Hallifax, and intended to perpetuate the memory of his late Majesty's most gracious condescension, who on the 24th of July, 1788, received the clergy into his royal presence in this room. The following memorial is inscribed: — GEORG1US III. Regum optimus Cum serenissima Regina Chaulotta Regiaque prole, Charlotta, Augusta, Elizabetha, Semel iterumque Has sedes invisere dignatus est, MDCCLXXXVIII. Samuel Episcopus Turn augusti hospitis accepti Grate raemor, Posteris notum voluit. The chapel is neatly fitted up, and has an elegant painted window at the east end, descriptive of the resurrection. This also was done at the expense of Bishop Benson, who, being endowed by nature with a Kberal mind, and possessed THE CATHEDRAL. 119 of an ample fortune by inheritance, was enabled to make improvements which the scanty revenue of the see would not otherwise have allowed. MONUMENTS IN THE CATHEDRAL. It would exceed the limits of this work were we to give an account of all the monuments in the Cathedral. The fol- lowing is a description of the principal ones : — The monument of Edward the Second (says the account of the Antiquarian Society) has been given in detail, on account of the extraordinary beauty and ingenuity of its design. It ranks among the very first of our sepulchral mo- numents, and the delicacy of its execution is fully equal to the elegance of its form. The effigy of the unfortunate monarch is, for the period, of uncommon merit. Mr. Carter says, " This exquisite monument, the work of the fourteenth cen- tury, the era when the ancient arts of the kingdom had arrived at their zenith of perfection, is, perhaps, both in ele- gance of design and delicacy of sculpture, the most perfect specimen remaining of the monumental architecture of our ancestors." The design consists of three principal stories : first, the basement, or tomb part, whereon the statue is laid ; second, the open screen, supporting the canopy over the statue ; third, an upper open screen, terminating with pinnacled cano- pies. In its length the screen has three arches, separated by clusters of pillars and buttresses of most elegant contrivance, which support the vault or canopy, and the design of the ends of the monument is an exact repetition of one of the lateral compartments in every particular. There is some difference in the work of the niches on each side of the basement : on 120 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. the south side there are three niches, while an the north side there are but two, the centre division being filled by an octan- gular bracket, on the top of which is an excavation, probably to receive the offerings made at this sacred memorial. " When it is considered how many irreligious and anti-royal hours, fraught with barbarity and savage despoliation, have passed since the erection of this noble tomb, astonishment is excited that in our day it still exists, so little havocked and so venerated." " The sculpture of the statue is elegant, and probably equal to any thing of that period. The attitude is full of repose and dignity. In the right hand, the sceptre ; in the left, the mundus, or ball ; on the head, the crown, supported by angels ; at the feet, a lion. The dress is a plain tunic, reaching to the feet, with an open mantle over it. The statue has suffered little : the bottom of the sceptre is broken, the cross on the mundus destroyed, the rays of the crown mutilated, and, by the small cavities in the circlet, jewels must once have been stuck there. In the front view of the face, we may fancy that indications of pain about the forehead are discernible. It was probably copied from a cast (wax) of the deceased, after the countenance had been composed, yet not so effectually as to do away all trace of the horrid torments he had endured. The view of the profile of the head is beautiful, in the lines benign and placid." Mr. J. C. Buckler says, that " for beauty of design and execution, it has perhaps only one rival, in the Percy monu- ment at Beverley." This grand memorial of an unfortunate Monarch was erected by Edward III. The effigy of the King attracted the admiration of Roubiliac, not Ruysbrack, as mentioned by Rudge, and other writers who have tran- scribed from his History of Gloucester. The elegant canopy is modern, and not strictly copied from the old one, which may be seen in Sandford's Genealogical History. The THE CATHEDRAL. 121 white stags are the family badges, borne afterwards by Rich. II. The representation of them has given rise to a vulgar tradition, that the King was conveyed to interment in a chariot drawn by stags, which is disproved by Mr. Smyth's account before given. However, as there is always some ground for tradition, it does appear that the late Earl of Orford was not the first who used a carriage drawn by stags. In Drayton's second Nymph al, Cleon offers Lyrope a chariot, and adds — " In which along the pleasant lawn, With twelve white stags thou shalt be drawn." Effigy of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy. — He was ori- ginally interred in the middle of the choir, opposite the high altar, with a stone over him marked with a cross. Above the stone was this effigy, the materials of which (Irish oak) bespeak its high antiquity. Mr. Gough thinks that it may be the second oldest instance of the kind carved in wood. The coronet is composed of pearls, fleurs de lis, and strawberry leaves alternately, which is a mixture of those princes of the blood in France and ancient dukes. There is no crest, shield, or helmet; the surtout is Norman, as are the chain-mail and wheel-spur. The buff breeches outside are anomalous, and probably intended to identify the figure in allusion to the term curl hose, or short hose, anciently signifying stockings and shoes united, modern pantaloons. Buff leather was some- times an aid to, sometimes a substitute for, iron armour. The sword belts, the hilt, and girdle, may be found in the Anglo-Saxon era. There is much expression in the figure, and spirit in the countenance. In 1641, the Commonwealth ruffians broke the figure to pieces. Sir Humphrey Tracey, of Stanway, bought these, and at the Restoration repaired and beautified the tomb. 122 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Mrs. Morletfs Monument— This is a fine specimen of mo- dern sculpture, and is justly admired. Mrs. Morley appears standing on the sea with an infant in her arms, while three angels are taking charge of her, in order to convey her and her infant to heaven. The sculpture (which is by Flaxman) is in general good, but the figure wants the Grecian round- ness of contour, to have the best effect. Blackleach's Monument — Mr. Dallaway, in Gent.'s Mag. June 1818, says, " In the Cathedral is the tomb of Alderman Blackleach and his Wife, in white marble, upon a slab of touch-stone, the figures of which are portraits scrupulously copied from Vandyck, and very finely finished." This author thinks this tomb to be either the work of Le Sueur, well known for the equestrian statue of Charles I. at Charing Cross ; or Fanelli, a sculptor equally eminent. Judge Powell. — Against the north wall in our Lady's Cha- pel is a magnificent monument, of white marble, for Judge Powell, with his effigy at length, in a judge's habit. He was a native of Gloucester, and resided in a house lately occupied by Mr. Raikes in the Southgate, nearly opposite to the Church of St. Mary de Crypt. He represented the city in Parliament in 1685, was called to the coif in 1686, and was appointed a Justice of the Common Pleas in 1687, at which time he was knighted, and was removed to the Court of King's Bench in the year following. He sat in that Court at the memorable trial of the seven Bishops, and having declared against the King's dispensing power, he was deprived of his office in 1688, but replaced by William III. in the Common Pleas in 1695. Queen Anne advanced him to the Queen's Bench in 1702, where he sat until his death, at Gloucester, THE CATHEDRAL. 123 on his return from Bath, June 14, 1713, far advanced in life. He was reckoned a sound lawyer and an upright judge ; and in private life was, to the last, a man of a cheerful facetious disposition. Swift, who met him at Lord Oxford's, calls him " an old fellow, with grey hairs, who was the merriest old gentleman I ever saw, spoke pleasing things, and chuckled till he cried again." He was a great friend to the citizens of Gloucester, making no distinction of party, which in his time ran very high : as in the case of several of the citizens, who, on meeting with the Mayor one night, rolled him in the kennel. As this was a great offence, to prevent a prosecution, Judge Powell became a mediator, and reconciled all parties. In his time the laws against witchcraft being unrepealed, one Jane Wenman was tried before him, for bewitching a young man, who appeared in court as the prosecutor, and proved the fact to the satisfaction of the jury. After Judge Powell had summed up the evidence, he addressed the jury in the following words : " Gentlemen, I have known many cases where men have been bewitched in a most extraordinary manner, but in every instance the witches have been beautiful young women, instead of an ugly old one. If you look at the prisoner at the bar, I am sure you will be of opinion with me, that whatever influence she has had upon mankind must long since have ceased. Some of the witnesses have sworn that she can fly in the air. Prisoner," said the Judge, addressing himself to the old woman, " can you fly ?" " Yes, my Lord," was the reply. " Well, then, you may : there is no law against flying. The woman must be acquitted;" and she was acquitted accordingly. Alderman Jones, — On the south side of the door, at the west entrance into the nave of the Cathedral, is a very curious 124 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. alabaster (not marble, as stated in Rudge's History) monu- ment for John Jones, Esq. in his aldermanic robes, painted with different colours, underneath which, on a tablet of black marble, is the following inscription : — JOHN JONES, Alderman, thrice Mayor of this City, Burgess of the Parliament at the time of the Gunpowder Treason, Registrar to eight several Bishops of this Diocese. And round the verge, in capital letters, is inscribed — " I HEARD A VOICE FROM HEAVEN, SAYING UNTO ME, ' WRITE, BLESSED ARE THE DEAD THAT DIE IN THE LORD.' " On each side of this monument are carved antique maces, such as were heretofore carried before the Mayor, and at the top is a globe, representing the general conflagration, where it appears that every thing is . destroyed except the Cathedral of Gloucester. He died in the sixth year of the reign of King Charles I. ; but there is no date upon the monument, although it is on the grave-stone upon the floor near adjoin- ing. He gave orders for his monument to be erected in his life-time. When the workmen had fixed it up, he found some fault with the over redness of the face, and said that poste- rity would suppose he was a great drinker : he, therefore, desired the workmen to alter it whilst he took a turn or two in the body of the church, which was soon done, and he was desired to come and see it. He then told the workmen that it was very well, and asked the master whether the monument was finished, who informed him that it was ; to which Mr. Jones replied, " and so am I, too, almost ;" and thereupon wave the workmen some money to drink, and desired the master to go along with him home and receive the money for the monument, which he accordingly did. This was upon a Saturday, and upon the Monday following Mr. Jones died. THE CATHEDRAL* 125 Alderman Jones resided at Brockworth, in this county, and was ancestor to Henry Yates Jones, of the same place, Esquire, to whom the monument belongs. Lady Strachan. — Against one of the pillars on the north side of the nave is a beautiful marble monument to the me- mory of Dame Mary Strachan, wife of Sir Win. Strachan, Bart, daughter and sole heiress of Edward Popham, late oi Tewkesbury Park, in this county, Esquire, who died Oct. 23, 1770. This fine specimen of sculpture was executed by Mr. Ricketts, a native of this city. The design of it is chaste and elegant, and the execution certainly equal, if not superior, to any in the Cathedral. A weeping cherub, with an hymeneal torch inverted, is represented leaning on a medallion of the deceased. On a tablet underneath is the following senten- tious inscription : — " In her life, gentleness of manners, firmness of affection, and sincerity in religion, characterized the woman, the friend, and the christian." Dr. Jenner. — In the year 1824, a marble statue, to the me- mory of Dr. Jenner, was erected in our Cathedral. It is placed at the west end of the nave, immediately before the first pier on the south side. The execution of this public monument reflects the highest credit upon the sculptor, R.W. Sievier,Esq. and manifests the judgment and taste of the committee in their appropriation of the subscription entrusted to their care, and in their selection of the artist. The Doctor is represented in the gown of his Oxford degree, which gives a fine display of drapery, so arranged as to render unobtrusive the ungrace- ful forms of modern costume, and, at the same time, to impart to the figure a degree of height and dignity which it might otherwise have wanted. In his right hand, which 126 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. crosses the body and supports a fold of the gown, he holds a scroll ; and in his left, which drops carelessly on the side, the appropriate academic cap. The whole figure is beautifully distinguished by classical elegance and simplicity; and, through the skill of the artist, seems to convey to the mind of the spectator an idea of the spirit of philanthropy which ever actuated the illustrious discoverer of vaccination. The statue is seven feet in height, placed upon a pedestal and base of eight feet. Upon the die of the pedestal is simply inscribed "Edward Jenner," with the time and place of his birth and death ; eulogium being an unnecessary accompaniment to a name which is never breathed but with blessings, and which has won its way into the remotest corners of the habitable globe. We cannot but hope that our venerable Cathedral may, at some future time, have placed in it a similar memo- rial to departed worth on the opposite corresponding side. Mr. Britton states, among the modern monuments of the Church, the first in distinction and merit is a colossal statue, placed at the west end of the nave, and commemorative of the fame and person of Edw. Jenner, M.D. L.L.D. F.R.S. &c. &c. who was buried at Berkeley, in Gloucestershire. This sta- tue was executed by R. W. Sievier, of London : a sculptor who, like Mr. Chantrey, served his apprenticeship to another profession, but, from a predilection for this exalted branch of the fine arts, devoted his ardent mind to it, and has fortu- nately attained an honourable eminence. The statue now under notice is distinguished by that union of simplicity and grandeur which belongs only to works of merit. Graceful in attitude and expression, with truth of portraiture, and clothed in the ample drapery of a doctor's gown, tastefully disposed, it is calculated to please the common observer and the refined critic. The name and celebrity of Dr. Jenner have extended over the globe. THE CATHEDRAL. 12? Sir G. 0. Paul, Bart. — The same artist has executed a splendid monument to the memory of the late highly-respected Sir George Paul, which was very lately erected on the south side of the nave immediately opposite to Flaxman's beautiful specimen of statuary, " The sea shall give up the dead," to the memory of Mrs. Morley. Mr. Sievier has been remark- ably successful in this work of art, which is composed of a sarcophagus, about seven feet in length, resting on claws sup- ported by pilasters, which bound on either side the inscrip- tion-table. Upon the sarcophagus is placed a fine marble bust, giving a likeness of the deceased. The whole is about nine feet in height. The table contains the following inscrip- tion : — To the Memory of Sir GEORGE ONESIPHORUS PAUL, Bart. who died Jan. 16, 1820, aged 74 years : a Man endeared to his friends by many virtues, both public and private, but who claims this mark of local respect by having first reduced to practice the principles which have immortalized the memory of Howard ; for to the object of this memorial it is to be ascribed that this county has become the example and model of the best system of criminal discipline, in which provident regulation has banished the use of fetters, and health been constituted for contagion ; thus happily reconciling humanity with punishment, and the prevention of crime with individual reform. The Rev. Richard Raikes. — A very beautiful Monument to the memory of this truly philanthropic and estimable charac- ter, from the design of Rickman and Hutchinson, Architects, Birmingham, has just been erected in our Cathedral. 128 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. In the composition of this design, it has been endeavoured to retain so much of the coldness of composition, and rich- ness of detail, found in the various monuments of the age of Edward III.* as was compatible with the arrangement of modern times, requiring a large space for inscription. The monument rises from the floor of the aisle ; the lower part consisting of an altar-tomb, flanked by two buttresses at the angles; the interior and upper part of the monument stands on this altar-tomb, and consists of an arch, also flanked by two buttresses at the sides ; the arch is surmounted by a canopy with rich crockets and finials, and having in the centre a shield. The mouldings of the arch and the points of the cusps, as also the spandrels of the latter, are enriched with flowers and foliage. The buttresses are united by flying buttresses richly crocketed ; and the canopies of the various side buttresses, and the pinnacles which terminate the large buttresses, have also rich crockets and finials. The whole of this monument is executed in Painswick stone, and is one of a series erected in various places, from * Certain refinements in this kind of architecture grew fashionable in or before the reign of Edward III. as is pretty evident from Chau- cer's description of the structure of his House of Fame : " And eke the hall and everie boure, Without peeces or joynings, But many subtell compassings, As habeuries and pinnacles, Imageries and tabernacles, I saw and full eke of windows. " And in an old poem, called Pierce the Plowman's Creede, written before Chaucer's, the author, in describing an Abbey Church, has the following lines : " Tombes upon tabernacles, tyled upon loft, Housed in homes, harde sett abouten Of armed alabaustre." THE CATHEDRAL. 129 the designs of Rickman* and Hutchinson ; in which, from the employment of stone as the principal material, instead of marble, they have been enabled to produce effects, resem- bling those of works of an early date, at far less cost than is usually incurred for extremely plain works in marble. It may, perhaps, be questioned, whether the present fashion of excluding totally from our most costly tombs all architec- tural ornament, and making them merely groups of sculpture, which have no effect at all when viewed from a distance, and on a nearer approach have nothing appropriate to their sacred situation, produces an effect either so splendid or so charac- teristic as the combination of architecture with sculpture, which the ancient monumental edifices, if they may be so called, present. It will no doubt be gratifying to the inhabitants of Glouces- ter, that a sepulchral monument, which, in elegance of de- sign and delicacy of sculpture, is one of the most perfect specimens of the style of architecture which prevailed in the fourteenth century, should decorate our magnificent Cathe- dral.f It will necessarily more frequently call to remembrance so estimable a character as the late Mr. Raikes, than if the same had been erected at the place of his interment. * Mr. Rickman is perhaps better acquainted with the Gothic Archi- tecture than any person in this kingdom. His justly celebrated book on this subject has already gone through three editions, and is un- questionably superior to any other publication of the kind. f An elegant writer on this subject, the Rev. F. D. Fosbroke, has most pathetically lamented the decay of gothic architecture : " Doom'd to hide her banish'd head, For ever gothic architecture fled." All men of taste, however, may now congratulate themselves on see- ing the revival of an art supposed to be lost ; and the name of Rick- man will be transmitted to posterity as the restorer of gothic architec- ture. f2 130 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. The following is a copy of the inscription upon the monu- ment : To the Memory of The Rev. RICHARD RAIKES, A.M. a native of this city : eminent from his youth as a Scholar, but still more eminent as a Christian. His unfeigned meekness, his unwearied benevolence, his unceasing labours, exemplified that union of industry and humility, which he regarded as peculiarly characteristic of the Christian life. These qualities were in him the more conspicuous, because maintained for nearly sixty years, under the pressure of broken health, and continued personal suffering. The principle which he felt and avowed as the source of his cheerful submission, and ready obedience, was Faith in his Redeemer : on whose merits alone he relied for acceptance. He was released from his labours September 5th, 1823, in the 80th year of his age. BLESSED ARE THE DEAD WHICH DIE IN THE LOUD. Osric, King of Northumberland, who died about the year 729, lies near the entrance of our Lady's Chapel. His effigy is in free-stone, with a crown on his head, and against the wall is written — Osricus rex i primus fundator hujus monaster ii, 681. King Osric; first founder of this monastery, 681. Near this monument were interred the remains of his sister Kyneburgh, daughter of King Penda, and wife of Alfred, King of Northumberland; she was the first abbess, in 682. — Near to her was buried her sister Eadburgh, second abbess : Also Eva, her sister, who was wife of Wulphere, son of King Penda : she was the third abbess, in the year 735. — Prince Ethelred, and his Princess Elfleda, who founded St. Oswald's Priory, were buried in the east porch of St. Peter's THE CATHEDRAL. 131 church ; when the old foundations were dug up, to make room for the new, their bodies were found entire. He died in 908, she in 920. Just as you go up the steps towards King Edward's monu- ment, were formerly several stairs down into a place called " Purgatory," where the coffins with the bodies were placed, and after so many masses were sung, they were permitted to be buried. Dean Tucker. — On the east wall of the south transept, near the place of his interment, is inscribed on his monument — Sacred to the memory of the Rev. Josiah Tucker,* D.D. Dean of this Cathedral, who in the long period of forty-two years, during which he filled that station, was never once obliged by sickness, or induced by inclination, to omit or abridge a single residence ; and the state of the fabric at the time of his death, bore ample testimony to the conscientious and liberal interest which he always took in the preservation and improvement of it. Distinguished by a vigorous, comprehensive, and independent mind, whilst his theological writings acquired him a high rank among the ablest divines, he was eminently conspicuous for political discernment, on the important subject of national com- merce; for the free spirit of which, unrestrained by monopoly and colonial preference, he firmly contended against preposses- sions long and generally entertained ; and he lived to see his opinions established on the sure basis of experience. His pub- lications were numerous, and of a nature not so soon forgotten. By them, "being dead, he yet speaketh," and will not speak in vain, as long as an earnest but well-tempered zeal for the established church, an enlarged policy, the true principles of commerce, and their alliance with the benign spirit of religion shall be understood, respected, and maintained. He died No- vember the 4th, 1799, in the 81st year of his age. * This celebrated Divine was born at Llangharne, county of Carmarthen, in 1712 ; his father was a farmer or yeoman. He was educated at Ruthin school, irom which he was removed to Jesus College, Oxford, on an exhibition. About 1735, he was ordained, and officiated as a Curate in Gloucestershire, till he went to Bristol, where he was Minor Canon in the Cathedral, and Curate of the parish of St. Stephen, of which he was afterwards Rector. He was appointed Chaplain to the Bishop of Bristol, and through his interest raised to the Prebendal Stall. In 1758, he was made Dean of Gloucester, in which situation he continued till the time of his death. IS2 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. William Lisle, Gent. — Against the east wall in the north transept is a handsome marble monument, inclosed with iron rails, bearing this inscription : — Near this place lies the body of William Lisle, Gent, who by his will gave fifty pounds a year for ever, in lands at Epney, in charity to the parishes of St. Nicholas in Gloucester, and St. Werburgh in Bristol. He died Dec. 2, 1723. Catherine Pembruge. — At the upper end of the south aisle of the nave, a neat marble monument is erected to the memory of Catherine, the wife of Wm. Pembruge,* with the following inscription, which has always been admired for its classical elegance : — " Siste gradum viator et a me discito quam vanas spes sint quam fiuxa hominum gaudia : Jacet heu ! jacet Catherina mea uxorum scil. lectissima, optima ; tarn venusta, tarn casta, tarn pia, lit nihil supra; si aetas, si forma defleuda sit, si corporis animive dotes, Luctui hie nullus erit modus : marmon hoc dicavit Gulielmus Pempruge, gen. memoriae suavissimae conju- gis, quaefato defunctaest 15 die Juniian aetatis26, salutis 1690." TRANSLATION. Stay, traveller, and learn from me how vain are the hopes, how fluctuating the joys of mankind. Here lies, alas! my Catherine lies, the choicest and best of wives : so modest, so chaste, so pious, that nothing could surpass it. If youth, if beauty, if the endowments of body or mind, be fit subjects of lamentation, grief here must be unbounded. William Pem- bruge placed this marble in memory of a most beloved wife, who died June 15th, 1690, aged 26 years. On the south side of the choir is a shelf monument for Bishop Aldred, of Worcester, who built the old church : his * This lady was descended from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the 4th son of King Edward III. (the ancestor of the Beaufort family). The late Wm. Pitt, Esq. of this city, was a descendant, ex-parte materna, of Mr. Pembruge, and thereby became possessed of his estate at Maisemore, now the property of William Goodrich, Esq. The above information Mr. Pitt communicated to the Author. THE CATHEDRAL. 333 effigy is carved in freestone on the tomb. — On the north side, opposite to Bishop Aldred's tomb, between two pillars, is a monument for Abbot Parker. His effigy, in his pontifi- calibus, is curiously carved in white marble, lying along the tomb. Also was buried in Abbot Parker's tomb, Bishop Cheney, who, in the days of bloody Queen Mary, opposed transub- stantiation, for which he was deposed, but afterwards restored. In making a tomb for Abbot Parker, was discovered the body of Lady Strongbow, Countess of Pembroke ; also, near the place, was found a cross wrapped in a bull's hide. No inscription appears to perpetuate the memory of the much-lamented Bishop Hooper, who was appointed Bishop of Gloucester, 3d day of July, 1550. He was an exemplary and learned man, and was very active in the visitation of his diocese, (then remarkably abounding with popery,) and greatly promoted the Reformation. He was afterwards ap- pointed Bishop of Worcester aud Gloucester by Edward VI. with authority to nominate all the prebendaries in both Ca- thedrals, both bishoprics being united into one. As Bishop Hooper strenuously opposed the Bishops Gardiner and Bon- nor, they had a peculiar enmity against him ; and when Edw. VI. died, it was resolved to make him the first sacrifice. Accordingly, on the 1st of September, soon after Mary's accession to the crown, he was sent to prison by an order from the Queen ; January 28th, 1555, he was brought before Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, and there condemned as an heretic. In February, he was degraded of his priesthood by Bishop Bonnor, in Newgate, where he had been severely used for several months; and afterwards sent from London to Gloucester, to be burnt. After a journey of three days, he had one day's interval, and on Saturday, the 9th of February, being market-day, was led by the Sheriffs, attended by the 134 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Mayor, &c. to the north-west side of the lower church-yard ; where, not being permitted to speak to the people (about 7000), as he was going, nor at the place of execution, and refusing all offers of pardon, they chained him to a stake, and burned him with three successive fires made of green wood. The good man supported himself, it is said, with all imagin- able firmness for about three quarters of an hour, and then expired, about the 60th year of his age. Copy of the order for burning Bishop Hooper, taken from No. 464 in the Cotton Lib. Brit. Mus. Cleopatra E. V. p. 380. " Whereas, John Hooper, who of late was called Bushope of Worcestere and Glocestere, is, by due ordere of the lawes ecclesyastyque, condemnned and judged for a most obstynate, false, detestyble heretycke, and commytted to our seculere poure, to be burned accordynge to the holsome and good lawes of our realme, in that case providede, forasmuch e as, in those cittyes and diocyes, therof he hathe in tymes paste preached and taughte most pestelente herrecies and doct^ne to our subjects theare ; wee have, therfore, geven ordere, that the said Hooper, who yet persistethe obstynate, and hath refused mercye when it was gratyously ofFerede, shall be put to executyone, in the sayd cyttye of Glocestere, for the example and terrore theare. And woll that yo re callynge unto some of reputacone dwellynge in the sheere, such as yee think beste, shall repayre unto o ur sayde cittye, and be at the sayd executyone, assystynge o ur mayre and sherifes of the same cyttye in his behalfe ; and forasmuche also as the sayde Hooper is, as heretickes be, a vayne gloryous person, and delytethe in his tonge, and havynge lybertye maye use his sayde tonge to persuade suche as he hathe seduced to per- syste in the myserable opynyon that he hath sown amongeste them, o ur pleasure is thearfore, and wee require yo u to take ordere that the sayde Hooper be nether at the tyme of his THE CATHEDRAL. 135 executyone, nor in goinge to the place thearof, sufferede to speak at large, but the other to be lede quietly, and in silence, for eschuenge of further infectyon, and such inconvenyencye, as maye otherwise ensue in this p ar te. Wherrof faylle yo- u not as ye tendere o ur pleasure." The Dean and Chapter will not permit any monument to be erected in the Cathedral, without a plan of it having been previously seen and approved of by them ; by which means, none but those that are appropriate can be placed there. Perhaps no Collegiate Church in the kingdom has had so many judicious alterations and improvements as have, within a few years, been made in this magnificent edifice, and such as are highly creditable to their liberality and good taste. The following are the dimensions of the nearly so : — Total length and breadth of the Nave Choir ... Transepts, each ... Tower, height from ground to leads Thence to the top of the spires Lady's Chapel ... Height of Choir of Nave of Side Aisles ... of Lady's Chapel of Choir East Window ... Length and breadth of Great Cloisters le Cathedral, or FEET FEET ... 421 by 144 ... 171 by 84 ... 140 by 3 ... 66 by 43 ... 176\ ... 49j -by 225 ... 90 by 27 ... 86 ... 67 ... 40 ... 47 ... 87 ... 144 by 148 On a comparative view of the Cathedrals on this island, Mr. Dallaway places Gloucester in the twelfth place, for total 136 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. length; in the thirteenth for length of transept; in the seventh, for length of choir ; in the fifteenth, for length of nave ; and in the fourth, for height of tower. THE COLLEGE GREEN, Formerly divided by a cross wall into Upper and Lower Church -yard, is partly planted with lime trees, and disposed into several pleasant walks. In the upper part, a portion is set apart for interment, and has during late years been com- pletely secured from that desecration which before was gene- rally complained of and lamented, by a handsome range of iron pallisades, put up by direction of the Chapter, and paid out of the funds of the Cathedral. At the top of the lower green, and near the west door of the church, is the Dean's house, a roomy building, and under the improving hands of successive possessors, modernized in the interior, and made convenient. On the south side are houses belonging to Prebendaries of the fourth and first stall ; on the west, to the .sixth ; and on the north, to the fifth stall. The precincts of the Cathedral were formerly bounded by a passage or lane on every side. The lane under the south wall was granted to the bailiffs and burgesses by composition in 1429, and part of it has since been built upon. The inha- bitants of the precincts are chargeable to the relief of the poor of the city, but in less proportion than the rest of the city. PARISH CHURCHES, ETC. 137 PARISH CHURCHES, AND OTHER RELIGIOUS HOUSES, ST. MARY DE CRYPT, Also called " Christ Church" and " St. Mart in the South." This is a handsome church, situate on the east side of the Southgate-street, consisting of a low aisle ; on each side of the nave there is a cross aisle ; and a neat tower with eight musical bells in it. There was a small chapel on each side of the chancel ; a large porch against the south aisle j and a smaller one at the west end. This church, it is said, received the name of Crypt (which signifies "a vault,' ' or " charnel- house,") from the vaults under it, of which there are two. That under part of the south and middle chancel, is thirteen yards long, ten broad, and about three deep. The other, at the west end, into which there is descent out of the street, seems to be larger. It is said that bodies were formerly deposited in these vaults. The rectory is now in the patronage of the Lord Chancel- lor, and formerly belonged to the priory of Lanthony, 1127, This church was built by Robert Chichester, bishop of Exon. By an ordinance of Parliament, in 1640, the parishes of All Saints and St. Owens were united to this parish. Upon several bricks in the church and chancel were some time ago found the arms of archbishop Deane, and the arms of the Berkeley family. IS8 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. MONUMENTS AND INSCRIPTIONS. In the south chancel, or St. Mary's chapel, against the south wall, is a raised tomb, upon the upper part of it, in the old character — The Tomb of Sir Thomas Bell, Knight, and of Dame Joane, his wife. Lower on the tomb is a painting of Sir Thomas Bell, kneel- ing, in a scarlet gown, with a chain of gold about his neck ; also his wife, kneeling, with an escutcheon of their arms between them. Inscription, in black character— Bereffe this lyfe, hery lyeth under stone Sir Thomas Bell, why lorn a Knight of fame : Who lyuing here gave foode to many a one, And eke behynd provision for the same Hathe left in store, for ever to be hadd, Amonge the poore that here in towne shall dwelL Of lime and stone an Almshowse hath he made For six poore folkes, and buylt the same full well, Here in this street, fast by the southerne gates, And hath the same with ljuelyhood endewede, That aye shall last, and never shall abate. Thryse, wt free uoyce, eke hathe this towne allowde This worthy man a mayor's rome to wealde, And thryse him cal'd in parelement to sytt Forre wealthe of them in rest at home that dwelde : And now hath dealhe his worthy traynale quyte, When he had runne of fowerscore yeres the race, Whose spryte in May, as pleasyd God prefyxe, The syxe and twentie daye, and yere of grace A thowsand fjue hundred threscore and syxe, This ayer fled into the heauenly sky, Where he, God graunt, an everlastynge tyme In ioye may lyue, and never more to dye. Below on the outside of the tomb, is the following inscrip- tion : — Dame Joane Bell, the widowe of Sir Thomas Bell, Knyght, hath caused this tombe to be made ; and fynished the same the xiii day of June, in the yere of our Lord God 1567. Near St. John the Baptist's altar lie the remains of John PARISH CHURCHES, ETC. 139 Cook, Esq. who died Sept. 14th, 1529, with Lady Joan Cook, his wife, the pious founder of Crypt School. Their effigies and inscription were cut on brass, and inlaid in green marble, but have been torn off and are lost. There is a beautiful marble monument representing Piety, in a sitting posture, before her a medallion, in high relief, of Mrs. Dorothy Snell. Also a monument to the memory of the late Robert Raikes, Esq. the reputed founder of Sunday Schools. Many other persons of note have been buried in this church. In this parish stood the Friery called the Black Friers, or the House or College of Frier Preachers. It was founded by King Henry III. and was afterwards surrendered to Richard Yar worth, suffragan Bishop of Dover. About the year 1540, Sir Thos. Bell employed a number of hands in the Friery, in cap-making ; for in the reign of Queen Elizabeth high-crowned hats were worn by the men ; and in the 13th same reign, a law passed, enacting " That " every person above seven years of age, should, on Sundays " and Holidays, wear a cap of wool, knit, made, thickened " and dressed in England, by some of the trade of cappers, " under a penalty of three farthings for every day's neglect." Part of the Friery still remains. There was formerly, in this parish, a Priory of Black Canons, founded by King Athelstan. In this parish stood also the Grey Friers, or the House or College of Friers Minors, or Franciscans. This house stood eastward of the church of St. Mary de Cr^t, and was founded by one of the Lords of Berkeley. In the choir of this monastery was buried, in the year 1452, the lady of James, Lord Berkeley. She had been unjustly imprisoned in the Castle of Gloucester, by Margaret, Countess of Shrews- bury, and was there kept till she died. Five guardians of the poor are returned to the workhouse, annually, by this parish. 140 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. ST. OWEN'S. St. Owen's parish joins onto St. Mary de Crypt, to which it was united in 1646, but separated at the Restoration; though the Rector of St. Mary de Crypt still performs the parochial duties ; and baptisms, marriages, and deaths, are registered there. The church was built in the year 1137, and was burned down, by order of the Governor, with the rest of the suburbs, at the siege of Gloucester. In this church stood a guild, or fraternity, dedicated to St. John Baptist ; a chantry, dedicated to St. Mary ; an altar, dedicated to St. Catherine ; and a Rood-light.* One guardian of the poor is returned from this parish. In this parish is Kyneburgh's Hospital, with a chapel in it, which was sold to Thomas Bell, who, being afterwards knighted, built five tenements on the place where the chapel stood, and another chamber at the west end of it, for the maintenance of six poor people, at Is. 6d. each per week, and 6d. quarterly. The management lies with the corporation. A portion of the old chapel was sold to the fraternity of cordwainers for their common hall. On the south-west side of it stood a stone monument, whereon was the effigy of a young lady, with a coronet on her head. The common tradition is, that it was the tomb of one Maud Kimbros, a noble lady of great quality, who is said to have been drowned in a well on the north part of the chapel, where are visible remains of a door supposed to lead to the said well. A few years since the hall was taken down, for the purpose of enlarging the city prison. * Rood-light — a cross dedicated to St. John the Baptist, being a cross with candles placed on the top, bottom, and sides of it. PARISH CHURCHES, ETC. 141 ALL SAINTS, OR ALLHALLOWS. This was a small church, consisting of one aisle, with a chancel. By an ordinance of Parliament, in 1648, it was united to that of St. Mary de Crypt. On account of this union, the Corporation pays annually £2. 13s. towards re- pairing the church of St. Mary de Crypt. Part of the chapel wall now stands ; on the other part of it the present Tolsey is built, where the mayor and aldermen meet and transact public business. ST. JOHN BAPTIST. This church was built in 1732 — 1734, and extends a little on the north side of the lower Northgate-street. It is a rectory, depending upon the benevolence of the parishioners. The Lord Chancellor is patron ; but before the dissolution, it belonged to the Abbey of St. Peter, and it was appropri- ated by abbot Hameline to the precentor, for maintaining the feast of St. Oswald. It is said that the old church was built by King Athelstan, and consisted of a large nave and south aisle of the same length ; a chancel, a slender steeple at the west end of the aisle, and a large porch on the north side. It was a stone building, 80 feet long and 50 broad. Soon after the old church was pulled down, & new one was built, which consists of three aisles, of which, the middle one is the widest. The old steeple being found to be strong, it was left standing, with a peal of six unmusical bells. The parliament in 1648, united St. Catherine's to this parish, which was annulled at the Restoration. The benefice has been augmented 142 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. by Mr. Hodges' legacy and Queen Anne's bounty; besides which, £3. a-year are left for prayers on Wednesday, and 10s. for a sermon. Francis Turner Bayley, A.M. is the present incumbent. The building and seating cost ,£1100. raised by briefs, parochial assessments, and contributions. In the steeple before mentioned were five bells, and a saint's bell, formerly rung at the elevation of the host, that all persons might then fall on their knees. In the old church was a chapel dedicated to St. Bridget ; a chapel dedicated to St. Thomas, wherein abbot Thokey, with the consent of the rector, in 1390, ordained that the rectors of the church should say mass every week ; a chantry dedi- cated to St. Mary ; a chantry dedicated to St. Ann ; a chantry dedicated to Holy Rood, or Cross ; light of St. Nicholas ;* and the light of St. Catherine. It is stated, in Mr. Rudge's History, that after the battle of Boswortji field, in 1485, wherein King Richard III. was slain, Francis Viscount Lovell and Lord Stafford fled to this church for sanctuary ; but Stowe says, that Francis Viscount Lovell and Humphrey Stafford, with Thomas Stafford, his brother, (not the two Lord Staffords, father and son), took sanctuary in this church. It was usual to seek refuge in these places, the priest, as at Tewkesbury, after the defeat of Queen Margaret, bringing out the host to stop pursuit of the fugitives. Richard Boyden was the last incumbent of it, and was allowed a pension of <£4. at its dissolution. This may appear a very trifling pension ; yet the matter will be seen in a very different light if we compare the price of things now, with what they were formerly. In the reign of King Henry VIII. * Light of St. Nicholas— money left to pay for the lighting up of candles before the image of St. Nicholas. PARISH CHURCHES, ETC. 143 a farmer (by way of discount out of his rent) reckoned only £1. 6s. Sd. for the vicar's diet for the whole year; so that £5. a year then, would maintain any one in great honour and credit. MONUMENTS AND INSCRIPTIONS. Upon a large grave stone in grey marble, which was in the chancel before the old church was demolished, was a brass plate, on which the effigy of a man at length, between two wives and several children, was engraven, and the following inscription, in old black characters : — Here under buried John Semys lieth, Which had two wives, the first Elizabeth : And by her six sons, and daughters five ; Then after by Agnes, his second wife, Eight sons, seven daughters — good plenty, The full number in all of six-and-twenty. He passed to God in the month of August 15, 1540. Upon an ancient stone, with a large engraving on brass, are the effigies of a man in armour, and a woman attired in her proper habit. The man has a sword by his side, his spurs on, and at his feet a greyhound couchant. Here lies John Briggs and x-Vgnes his wife. He died 19th April, 1483, and she in a little time after. God give them joy and everlasting life, That pray for John Briggs and Agnes his wife. A curious fact is recorded among the Epitaphs : — One Francis Yeate, cordwainer, at the time of his death, had seven apprentices, six of whom carried him to the grave in February 1699, and the seventh preached his funeral sermon. Abel Wantner, who compiled collections for the county, lies buried in this church, and happy it is for his memory 144 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. that they were never published Also seven persons who had served the office of Mayor in this city. Three guardians of the poor are appointed annually by this parish. ST. MICHAEL. The church is large, consisting of two aisles of equal dimen* sions, and a square tower at the west end with six bells in it. The largest bell but one is rung every night at eight o'clock. Formerly, as soon as this bell began to ring, the inhabitants were obliged to put out their fire and candle, under a penalty for their neglect. There is a smaller bell in the tower which rings at certain hours, to give notice of the beginning of market ; and it also rings when a fire happens in the city. It formerly belonged to St. Peter's Abbey, in 1285. It is a rectory, in the gift of the Lord Chancellor. By an ordinance of Parliament, in 1646, the parishes of St. Aldate and St. Mary de Grace were annexed to it, but were again separated at the Restoration. In 1653, the church, which was much decayed, was underbuilt with three new pillars. Abbot Malvern gave several rich vestments to this church, in 1499, for establishing a yearly orbit, or office for the dead. Mr. Charles Trippet, prebendary of Sarum, who was born in Gloucester, gave the interest of ,£600. to the minister to read prayers twice a day ; and Mr. Francis Yate gave £200. to be applied to the same use. Mr. Richard Elly left a good house and garden for the minister to live in, and a house to the parish clerk and his successors for ever. Part of this parish is without the city, and is called the out-hamlet of Barton St. Michael, to distinguish it from that part which is within the liberties of the city. PARISH CHURCHES, ETC. 145 In this parish was a fraternity of brethren and sisters, de- dicated to St. John the Baptist, who enjoyed and inhabited a certain house in the Eastgate-street, called Brethren-hall. The pretended Jewish Synagogue is the remains of this hall, as appears by unquestionable evidence. In order to ascer- tain the fact, the author waited on the proprietor, Mr. Bowyer, and requested his permission to examine his title deeds, and, having obtained his consent so to do, he found a regular de- duction of title from Henry VIII. to the present time; and in all the deeds the house is described by the name of St. John's Hall. There was a curious monument in this church, (viz. — a brass of a man between two women, with the figures of a bell and pot on three legs) to the memory of Wm. Henshawe, a bell-founder, and Agnes and Alice, his wives ; which has been thought to presume the great antiquity of that branch of business in Gloucester, afterwards so eminent here under the name and family of Rudhall. The church is a great ornament to the city, from the neatness and elegance of its structure ; for though there are some marks of impure gothic, the harmony of the whole is well preserved. The Rev. John Kempthome is the present rector. Five guardians are returned to the Workhouse by this parish, ST. MARY DE GRACE, Also called St. Mary in the Market. This church stood in the Westgate-street ; it kad a spire steeple, and stood on a place now known by the name of the Knapp. It was a rectory, and anciently a chapel to the Holy Trinity. This church was united to St. Michael in the year 146 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. 1648; but since the Restoration the parishes have been separate and distinct. In this church was a chantry for singing, and a director was appointed for the singers. In Grace-lane was a college, called the Priest's College. In 1648, the church was converted into a magazine for ammunition. In 1654, this church was entirely taken down by order of the Corporation, and part of the materials were used in repairing St. Michael's church. Two guardians are appointed by this parish. ST. ALDATE'S. This was a low-spired church, covered with shingles, or thin boards ; it consisted of one aisle. It was dedicated to St. Aldate, Aldaet, or Eldad, and was a rectory formerly belong- ing to the priory of Deerhurst. By an ordinance of Parlia- ment, this parish was united to St. Michael's, and the church was ordered to be pulled down in 1653, and St. Michael's Church ordered to be repaired with part of the materials. Since the Restoration, the two parishes have been divided. In this church was a chantry dedicated to St. Mary; a fraternity dedicated to St. John, the light of St. Catherine, and the light of the Holy Cross. ST. ALDATE'S CHAPEL Was built about 1750, on or near the spot where the old church stood, and Sir Thomas Bell gave a house to the parish towards keeping the church in repair ; but its greatest benefactor was Mrs. Elizabeth Aram, who, by her will, be- PARISH CHURCHES, ETC. 147 queathed £500 towards building the said chapel. She was buried in the nave or body of the Cathedral. This chapel is united to the church of St. John Baptist. Francis Turner Bayley, M. A. is the present incumbent. — One guardian of the poor is chosen from this parish. ST. NICHOLAS. This church stands on the north side in Westgate-street. It consists of a handsome nave with an aisle on each side of it, and a vestry at the east end of the north aisle. At the west end of the nave is a square tower with a spire on it. It has been taken down several yards, as it was feared that it would fall. On the spire is a mural coronet, whence it has been conjectured that the church was built by King John, who was once Earl of Gloucester. King Henry III. at the request of his Queen, gave it to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, in the 13th year of his reign ; and Pope Gregory, by his bull, confirmed it to the Hospital. It was afterwards granted, with the said Hospital, by Queen Elizabeth, to the Mayor and Burgesses of Gloucester. At the east end of the church a very splendid monument is erected to the memory of John Walton, Alderman of this city, who died in 1626, on which lie the effigies of Mr. Walton, in his aldermanic robe, and also of his wife. The figures are painted, and on examining them minutely, it appears they are nor marble but freestone. The execution of these figures is in the same stjde as the celebrated one of Blackleach, in the cathedral. An engraving of this very fine specimen of art was made many years ago by Bonnor, for Bigland's History of Gloucestershire, but no notice has been taken of it by other historians. 148 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. The church, when in its glory, was a fine gothic structure, having a slender graceful tower of three stories, with angular buttresses and large windows, the effect of which is much injured by the stump of the spire — like an amputated thigh in ancient statuary. It certainly inclined a little in one direc- tion, and the sapient inhabitants of the parish had it taken down for fear of its tumbling. Perhaps they never heard of the falling towers at Pisa, and Caerphilly Castle, the latter of which hangs nearly eleven feet out of a perpendicular. There were in this church — 1st, a chantry, or place for singing, dedicated to St. Mary ; 2d, another chantry, dedi- cated to St. Katherine, at which a light was provided for William Sandford and Owen Windsor, by the Prior of St. Bartholomew's ; 3rd, a chantry, for one priest, founded by the will of Thomas of Gloucester, dated May 18, 1446 ; 4th, an altar, dedicated to St. Thomas, at which the prior, or one of the brethren of the said Hospital, officiated for the souls of Sandford and Windsor; and a light burning for them from sun-rising to sun-setting, at the high altar ; and another taper burning before the cross. Six guardians are returned to the Workhouse. St. Bartholomew's Hospital is in this parish, and is situated between the bridges, on the north side of the Westgate-street. It is said to owe its origin to William Myparty, a burgess of Gloucester, who, when Nicholas Wal- red, clerk, began to build the west bridge, in the reign of King Henry II. gave him a piece of land, whereon the hospital now stands, and built a house upon it for the convenience of Walred and his workmen ; and retiring to it himself, with several other persons of both sexes, they all lived there together (in hermetical habits) under the government of a priest, upon the charity of well-disposed persons. But King PARISH CHURCHES, ETC. 149 Henry III. on the 26th of June, in the 13th year of his reign, being at Gloucester, gave them the church of St. Nicholas ; and from that time the house was called the Hospital of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. Soon after, the same King, upon their petition, granted them liberty to choose a prior ; and on the 12th of September, in the 49th year of his reign, gave them 16 ells of land in length, and five in breadth, to betaken cut of the street for the enlargement of their chancel. — There Was formerly a chapel in this hospital, dedicated to St. Ursula. By the interest of Mr. Pates, recorder of the city, Queen Eli- zabeth, by letters patent, granted this hospital to the mayor and burgesses of Gloucester, with the patronage of the office of master. No person can be admitted into this, nor the hos- pitals of St. Margaret and Mary Magdalen, under the age of fifty-two years. The old Hospital, which was founded by one of the Bur- gesses of this city, in the reign of Henry III., was taken down a few years ago by the Corporation, and rebuilt in a very handsome style. The learned Fosbroke calls it a pseudo- gothic Building. Indeed it is not by any means correct as a Gothic edifice, as it exhibits various specimens of that species of architecture of the earlier and more modern periods. How- ever, it is a convenient habitation, where a great number of aged persons, of both sexes, are accommodated with separate rooms, and receive the sum of 4s. 6d. per week each. The Corporation of Gloucester are the trustees of this excellent charity ; and the Bishop of the Diocese is authorised, by Act of Parliament, to visit the Hospital every third year to see that the Statutes be observed, which were drawn up by Archbishop Laud, in the year 1636. There is a chapel in the Hospital, in which divine service is performed every day. 150 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. NEW CHURCH OF ST. MARY DE LODE, Called also St. Mary before the gate of St, Peter, St. Mary Broabgate, and St. Mary Le Port. This Church, the body of which has lately been entirely rebuilt, was erected by Mr. J. Cooke, of this city. The front of it exhibits a very beautiful specimen of the gothic of the fifteenth century, and does great credit to the abilities of the architect. The west window is ornamented with painted glass * representing the arms of the Bishop and of the Dean and Chapter, and also the cap of maintenance, which were executed by Mr. Daniel, of this city, under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Mutlow, late Vicar of the parish of St. Mary de Lode. The Rev. John Bishop is the present Vicar. The old chancel has not been taken down, which is much to be regretted, as it might have been rebuilt in a style* to correspond with the new church. It is to be hoped, however, that the Dean and Chapter of our Cathedral, who are the impropriators, and to whom the chancel belongs, will not suffer it to remain in its present mutilated state. The tower of the old church is still remaining ; there was anciently a lofty spire upon it, which was demolished by a storm. The old church of St. Mary de Lode retained more marks of antiquity than any other ecclesiastical building in this city, the Cathedral excepted. Popes Urban the Sixth and Boni- face the Ninth appropriated the revenues of this church to the service of the Abbey of Saint Peter. There were in this church, first, a Chantry dedicated to St. Mary, and secondly, a Fraternity dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The west door, the circular arches of the south and part of the north side, with the pillars that supported them, were of a period prior PARISH CHURCHES, ETC. 151 to the Conquest. The two pointed arches at the east end of the north range were the alterations of a much more modern date. Near the west end of the south aisle, was. a very ancient flat-stone, covering the grave of a hermit, which had a cross bottonee upon it. In one of the Bodleian MSS. is the figure of a monk carrying a staff topped by a cross bottonee, which was a peculiar designation of religious persons in lower holy orders. The following inscription in black letters was visible thereon : — " Here lies John Bentra, one of the hermits of Senbridge."*' In the chancel, on the north side, was a recumbent figure of considerable antiquity, but certainly not of King Lucius, w T ho is said, in Colter's Historical Dictionary, to have been buried here. Archdeacon Rudge, in his History of the City of Gloucester, says that the honour is claimed, with some more show of probability, by the Church of Winchester, and that the costume of this effigy does not correspond with so early a period. The learned Fosbroke, in his elaborate and interesting History of the City of Gloucester/ states that it is a figure of a religious person, and has the robe of a monk, as well as the arms crossed upon the breast, which was the common attitude of these religious. In fact, it is a very difficult matter to ascertain where Lucius was buried. It is recorded that, in the reign of Marcus Aurelius A.D. 165, he was converted to Christianity,-)- and that he built a great number of churches in London ; but it is not likely the Romans would suffer it. It is also said that he converted several nations, especially the Grisons, in whose * Sembridge, or Saintbridge, was an ancient hermitage, distant about two miles from this city, and is now the property and residence of Jas. Wintle, Esq. f Bede L. 1. C. 4 152 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. country he was martyred. The figure is now restored to its former situation, under an arch in the north side of the chan- cel. Mr. Gough, in his book on Sepulchral Monuments, says that tombs, with heads or bodies emerging from them and under arches, and tombs with arches over them, are of the thirteenth century; also that monuments within the sub- stances of the walls of churches or chapels is good authority for supposing them founders or re-founders, and that the figure in question shews that it, as well as the church in the main, is of the thirteenth century, and belongs to the person by whose means or architectural skill the fabric was erected. The writer of this article begs leave to differ in opinion from so great an authority. The church, in the main, was certainly of Norman architecture. The chancel only is early English, and that, as well as the figure, are of the thirteenth century. Mr. Fosbroke states, that the sacrilegious persons who lived in the time of the civil wars were better rogues than antiqua- ries, for they opened this tomb in hopes of finding valuable treasures in it, but were disappointed. It was opened again a few years since, but was found to contain nothing but rubbish. Camden, as well as Collyer, says, that King Lucius was buried in the parish church of Saint Mary de Lode. In the Gloucester Journal of August 22, 1825, a description is given of a beautiful tesselated pavement which had been discovered in the church-yard of St. Mary de Lode, about five feet below the surface of the earth, and that the walls of the old church then were built upon it. This pavement has been suffered to remain, and the present structure is erected upon it. This parish was formerly intersected by a channel of the Severn, now filled up or at least reduced to a small brook, which falls into the river at the head of the Quay : to this PARISH CHURCHES, ETC. 153 circumstance the name is owing, Lode being Saxon for a ferry or passage. The land adjoining it belongs to the Cor- poration of this city, and retains the name of Old Severn. In old records it is mentioned under the title of Little Severn, and sometimes Old Severn. The course of it was from Long- ' ford Ham down Tween Dyke (vulgarly called Queen Dick), round the east sides of Meanham, skirting St. Oswald's Priory, where was once a Quay, and proceeding to the Foreign-bridge into the present channel at the Quay. The ancient channel was removed in consequence of a dispute between the Monks of the Priory of St. Oswald's and the townsmen. HOLY TRINITY. The church of the Holy Trinity stood in the middle of the Westgate-street, and consisted of one aisle, with a beautiful tower at the west end of it. It was anciently a rectory, but in the year 1391 it became a vicarage, and was appropriated to St. Peter's abbey. — By an ordinance of Parliament, in 1648, this parish was united to St. Nicholas ; but, at the Restoration, the ordinance was annulled, and the parish became distinct and separate. In 1698, the church, which for a long time had been in a ruinous condition, was taken down. The beautiful- tower was suf- fered to remain, because, according to the notion of those times, it was of public use as well as ornament to the city ; and beneath it a conduit was erected (in 1702); but by vir- tue of an Act of 23d George II. it was taken down, and the materials made use of in re-building the parish church of LTpton-upon- Severn. In this church were the following particulars : — 1st, a chan- 62 154 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. try, dedicated to the Holy Jesus; 2d, another chantry, de- dicated to St. Mary; 3d, a fraternity, dedicated to St. Thomas a Becket. — Three guardians are chosen for the Workhouse. ST. CATHERINE'S, alias ST. OSWALD'S. This parish is situate partly in the city and partly in the liberties thereof. St. Oswald, King of Northumberland, in the year 634, who was a devout and religious Prince, was killed by the Danes ; his relics first were carried to the Abbey of Bardney in Lincolnshire; but upon the approach of the Danes afterwards to these parts, they were removed to this place by order of Ethelred and the famous Princess Ethelfleda, who richly entombed his body, and built a college here, for secular priests, and dedicated it to the honour of St. Oswald ; but afterwards it was converted into a priory of regular canons. In the battles fought in and about this place, a great number of men were slain on both sides, who were buried in large pits dug for that purpose at and near a place called the Kingsholm, or Kingsholme. This priory had anciently a free chapel, with a spire steeple, standing upon the banks of the old river Severn, dedicated to St. Katherine, which afterwards became the parish church. Thurstan, archbishop of York, pulled down the old church, which was very spacious, built a new one, at great expense, and enlarged and repaired St. Oswald's tomb. There was a chantry in this church dedicated to St. Kathe- rine, and another called the charnel service. In 1648, the church, with its materials, was given to the corporation of the city. The church-yard is now made use of, to bury the parishioners in. PARISH CHURCHES, ETC. 155 In the church-yard there is a raised tomb with the follow- ing inscription : — Here lieth old Mr. Richard Tally, Who lived C and 3 years fully ; He did the sword of the city beare, Before the mayor thirty-one yeare. Four wives he had, and here they lie, All waiting Heaven's eternity. He died March, 1619. In this parish is the site of the Priory of St. Oswald. This house stood M.N.W. of St. Peter's Abbey, upon the bank of the Severn, near the old quay or wharf, and was many years in the possession of the Rev. John Newton. The best accounts that can be procured concerning this priory are from the " Saxon Chronicle," and from Bishop Tanner's " Monasticon." In the wars with the Danes, the monks were driven away, and from that time it became a college of secular priests, and was accounted a free chapel royal. They denied the juris- diction of the archbishop of Canterbury. At a provincial council held at Lambeth, in 1210, archbishop Peckham pro- nounced his sentence against the prior and convent, by which he commanded that no person should presume to sell them any bread, wine, or victuals, for their sustenance, to pay them any tithes, to buy any thing of them, or to have any com- merce with them. But the King issued his mandate to the bishop of Worcester, prohibiting the exercising any ecclesi- astical jurisdiction over the priory, its liberties or privileges, which put a stop to any further proceedings. — This parish appoints one guardian of the poor. In the year 1824, the remains of the priory were disposed of by public auction, and on digging out the foundations, the workmen found a bone of prodigious size, which, upon ex- amination, appeared to be one of the vertebrae of a whale, or 156 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. some other animal of large dimensions. It measured upwards of five feet in circumference. It was not in a fossilized state, the cancelli were open and the cartilages at each end perfect. It will hardly be believed that, in the nineteeth century, the Vandal who discovered this curious remain of antiquity, which in all probability was left there by the deluge, should have taken it home with him and made use of it as a chopping block for nearly a twelvemonth, until it came into the posses- sion of the writer of this article, who has since presented it to the Museum of Natural History recently established in this city. THE WHITE FRIERS, OR COLLEGE OF CARMELITES. This house stood without the lower North-gate, towards the west end of the meadow called Frier's ground. It was founded by Queen Eleanor and others. Great part of the friery seems to have been destroyed about the year 1567 ; yet, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, several of the buildings belonging to it remained, and the house of correction, for the luse of the city, was kept in part of it. This college was totally destroyed in the civil wars. Nicholas Cantelupe, by some called " Nicholas of Glou- cester," who was a Carmelite, presided over the convent. He was succeeded by David Boys, or Boetius, a Carmelite, who died about the year 1450 or 1451, and was buried among his brethren in the convent. RELIGIOUS HOUSES, ETC. 157 ST. MARGARET'S HOSPITAL. This Hospital was built in honour of the sepulchre of our Lord and St. Margaret. It was called " The Hospital (or House) of the Lepers- of St. Sepulchre's, and St. Margaret's;" also, " The Lower House of Dudstan," and is about a quar- ter of a mile from Gloucester. There were formerly houses of this kind in most cities and considerable towns in England, Ireland, Germany, &c. No longer ago than Cromwell's time, the leprosy was very common in Ireland. The disease formerly prevailed in those parts where the air was bad and the diet unwholesome ; but the causes of bad air are now, in a great measure, removed from us, by cutting down our large forests, draining our marshes, and cultivating Our lands. This loathsome disease was also occasioned by the people living so much upon salmon and other fish, which every river and brook abounded with. The English limited the use of such unwholesome food, and forbade it at a certain season of the year. They introduced the planting of colwerts and other garden-stuff^ in conse- quence of which, the poor people were cured, and the many hospitals expressly built to receive the lepers are now gone to ruin. It was formerly a standing condition in the indentures of apprenticeship at Gloucester, that the apprentice should not be obliged to eat salmon more than thrice a week ; which was undoubtedly intended as a precaution against this grievous disorder. The founder of this hospital, and the time of its foundation, are equally unknown : it consisted of a master or supervisor, a prior, a chaplain, and brethren and sisters. Alured, bishop of Worcester, in 1 158, granted to these lepers liberty to bury 158 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. in their own church-yard, which evidences the foundation to have been of great antiquity. It now maintains eight men at 4s. each per week ; at Christmas, a gift of 9s. 6d. ; and at Midsummer, 5s. each. On the S.W. side of the hospital stands a small chapel. At the east end were the prior's lodgings, the old hall of which was converted into a barn in the 31st year of Queen Elizabeth : and at the siege of the city, in 1643, some of the King's forces took up their quarters in the hospital, which seems to have been then very much damaged. ST. MARY MAGDALEN'S, OR KING JAMES'S HOSPITAL. This house is situate northward of St. Margaret's, and was therefore called "The Upper House (or Hospital) of Dud- stan." The prior of Lanthony is acknowledged as the founder, and used to supply it weekly with a certain quantity of bread. At some distance from the hospital, on the west side, next the highway, is a chapel which was called a parish church. The number of poor people at present maintained m it, amounts to ten men and nine women, with an allowance of 3s. per week each, and at Midsummer a gift of 9s. 6d. each to buy coal. THE PRIORY OF LANTHONY Is situate on the right hand of the Bristol road, and may be seen just without the city. It was founded in 1136, and the ground whereon this priory stood was given by Milo, Consta- ble of Gloucester, to Milo, Earl of Hereford, and the canons RELIGIOUS HOUSES, ETC. 159 of Lanthony, who built them a convent and church, and had it consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. A very small part of the ruins is now standing. The foundation of the church, and other parts, were discovered when the canal was digging. It is now an object of curiosity only for the historical anec- dotes which are related of its former fortunes, and the connec- tions it had with an abbey of the same name in Monmouth- shire. The following account, as extracted from the monkish writings, may be found amusing :— Milo de Laci granted a spot of ground, called Hyde, near Gloucester, to the monks of Lanthony abbey, in Monmouthshire, who were obliged to leave that situation on account of the continued insults and interruptions they received from a neighbouring Welshman. On this spot they built a church, and called it Lanthony, after the name of the former church. This was intended only for a temporary residence, and was a cell to the ancient monastery, to which the majority of the monks were enjoined to return on the restoration of peace and tranquillity. Milo and his family endowed the new establishment with large possessions, and at length it rose so much in opulence and splendour, that it even claimed a pre-eminence over the mother church. The new situation was also so far superior to the vale of Ewias, that they were unwilling, and absolutely refused, to relinquish their present comforts for the wild deserts of Wales. The Monk of Lanthony pours forth, in pathetic language, his sad com- plaints on the desolated state of the mother church. " When the storm (said he) subsided, and peace was restored, then did the sons of Lanthony tear up the bounds of their mother church, and refuse to serve God as their duty required : for they used to say there was much difference between the city of Gloucester and the wild rocks of Haytrel — between the river Severn and the brook of Hodani — between the wealthy English and the beggarly Welsh. There fertile meadows — 160 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. here barren heaths. Wherefore, elated with the luxuries of their new situation, and weary of this, they stigmatized it as a place unnt for a reasonable creature, much less for religious persons. There they have built lofty and stately offices ; here they have suffered our venerable buildings to fall into ruin. They permitted the monastery to be reduced to such poverty, that the friers were without surplices, and compelled to per- form the duties of the church against the custom and rules of the order. Our remonstrances either excited their anger or ridicule, but produced no alteration. All, therefore, acqui- esced ; and God, by his just, though to us unaccountable, will, permitted the library to be despoiled of its books ; the store- house of its silk vestments and relics, embroidered with gold and silver; and the treasury of all its precious goods. What- ever was valuable or ornamental in the church of St. John, was conveyed to Gloucester without the smallest opposition ; even the bells, notwithstanding their great weight, were trans- ported to that place." The yearly value of this priory, at the dissolution, is said to have been .£640. 19s. lid., which makes it appear to have been one of the greatest religious houses that was dissolved. So utterly was it abolished, that not one stone was left upon another that was not thrown down. All the buildings belonging to the priory were likewise destroyed, except some of the meanest offices, and the west and south gates, with part of the court walls, which were moated round — and these are the only remaining marks of its greatness. The convent of Lanthony was distant from Gloucester about a quarter of a mile, and was a beautiful piece of archi- tecture ; the ruins that remain are well worthy the observa- tion of the curious. The monks of this monastery were governed by a prior. The only prior mentioned in history, is Henry Deene, whose register book was extant some years ago. St. Owen's parish was formerly annexed to this priory. DISSENTING MEETING-HOUSES. 161 DISSENTING MEETING-HOUSES. No preceding writer has given any account of the different Sects of Dissenters in this City : the Author has attempted to supply this deficiency. INDEPENDENTS. The meeting-house belonging to the Independents is situ- ated in the Lower Southgate-street. Mr. Rudge and other historians have most erroneously called this the Presbyterian Chapel. It appears that the congregation of Independents in Gloucester associated with and worshipped in Barton-street until the year 1727, when they separated, and made use of a large room belonging to an ancient edifice in the Black Friers, formerly called the College of Friers Preachers, and now the property and residence of Mr. John Kendall. They then retired to the Lower Southgate-street, where, in the year 1730, they erected a house for worship, and hence arises their origin in Gloucester. Though formerly Presby- terian, this society, like most of the English Presbyterians that have retained orthodox sentiments, has become indepen- dent, or congregational. The Rev. Mr. Bishop has for many years been the minister of this congregation, the duties of which he has performed with great credit to himself and advantage to his hearers. The learned Fosbroke, in his History of Gloucester, says, " With all the leading charities of the city, this gentleman's name is connected." UNITARIANS. The meeting-house belonging to the Unitarians is situate in Barton-street. It was in existence as far back as the year 1699. Its first minister was the Rev. James Forbes, who was descended from an honourable family in Scotland ; was edu- 162 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. cated at Aberdeen, where he became Master of Arts ', and was admitted to the same degree at Oxford. He was, in 1654, sent by the powers that then were to the Cathedral at Gloucester, to which he was appointed lecturer, to supply the place of the Bishop, Dean, and Chapter,* where he preached with great success, to the apparent danger of shortening his life. He gathered a church, which was chiefly made up of his own converts ; and, after six years, he was ejected from the Cathedral, when Dean Brough took possession of it, but he still continued there, ministering privately as he could. Dr. Frampton, who was first Dean, and afterwards Bishop therej strongly persuaded him to conform, but he would not. In Yarrington's plot, (or Packington's, rather,) he was commit- ted to Chepstow Castle, where he was long kept in a strait and dark room, as was Col. Overton. When he was dis- charged, he returned to his pastoral care, in the pursuit of which he suffered divers imprisonments in Gloucester, one of which was for a whole year. In the reign of King Charles II. he was indicted upon the Corporation Act, the penalty of which was imprisonment ; he was also indicted on 23d Jas. I. the penalty of which was ,£20. a month ; and upon 35th Eli- zabeth, the penalty. of which was to abjure the realm or die ,* and, at the same time, he was excommunicated, and the writ * Mr. Dorney, in his speech on the election of Luke Nourse, Mayor of Gloucester, in the year 1645, says, that he (Luke Nourse) had a chief hand in the inviting and calling to us of a worthy minis- ter to supply the room of the Bishop, Dean, and Chapter in the College ; and in his speech at the election of Lawrence Singleton, in the year 1646, he says, " And now, instead of episcopacy, which seems to lie in the dust, a presbytery is expected, and preachers instead of readers, and a spiritual instead of a formal and pompous service." In the year 1657, an Act was passed for settling the late Cathedral Church upon the Mayor and Burgesses of Gloucester, and their suc- cessors, for public, religious, and charitable uses. DISSENTING MEETING HOUSES. 168 de excommunicato capiendo was issued against him. In Monmouth's time he retired to Enfield, and continued unmo- lested in his ministry. He was afterwards recalled, and returned to his own people, although to his disadvantage ; and he continued with them to his death, living in good fashion, though mostly upon his own. He was, in the whole, 58 years minister in this city, abundant in labours there and in the country round about. In his judgment he was a strict Calvinist and a congregational, but of a catholic temper. He was a holy, humble, serious, and learned man, full of good works, liberal even beyond his ability in life ; and, at his death, he, by deed of gift, gave his library, consisting of all his books and manuscripts, to trustees, for the use of the Protestant Dissenting Ministers of the city, and the Protest- ant Dissenting Congregation in the city of Gloucester, and also for the use of the Protestant Dissenting Ministers of the county of Gloucester, at the discretion of the trustees. Between the years 1720 and 1730, a separation took place : that part which went to the Southgate-street took the library with them, and it has remained at the minister's house and the chapel ever since. The objects for which the library was given by the benevolent donor have not for many years been carried into effect; but, from recent occurrences, it is hoped that it will now be opened to all entitled to the use of it. Mr. Forbes also gave four silver cups for the communion service, together with a sum of money for charitable purposes ; but which, through the neglect of filling up the trusts as the trustees died, have now been lost for many years. There have been some additions made to the library by other per- sons since Mr. Forbes's decease. His funeral sermon was preached by Mr. Isaac Noble, of Bristol. Palmer's Nonconformists' Memorial, Chalmers, Fosbroke, Rudge, and many other authors, make honourable mention of 164 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Mr. Forbes, but they give no account of the place of his inter- ment ; and it is a very singular circumstance that his tomb was accidentally discovered a short time since (Oct. 1827) under the communion table, near the pulpit, in the chapel : the coffin was much decayed, and the plate had his arms engraved on it, and also a latin inscription, of which the fol- lowing is a copy :— JACOBUS FORBESIUS, A.M. In hac civitate annos circiter 58 fidelis Christi Minister et testis veritatis et pacis evangelical arque studiosus. Obit 31 Maii, anno mdccxii. iEtatis lxxxiii. TRANSLATION. James Forbes, Master of Arts, a faithful Minister of Christ in this city about 58 years, and a zealous witness both of evangelical truth and peace. Died May 31st, in the year 1712, aged 83. Mr. Forbes was author of the following works : — " An Answer to J. Elliott, a Quaker ;" " The Christian Directed in his Way to Heaven ;" " God's Goodness to Israel in all Ages;" his remains, prefixed to his funeral sermon, viz. " A Letter to his People," to be communicated to them after his death ; " Sermon before Assembly at Stroudwater ;" " Some Instructions, &c. for Youth, concerning their Souls." THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS Have been established in this city ever since the reign of Charles II. Their meeting-house is situated in Park-street. George Fox thus notices Gloucester in bis journal : — " In Glocester we had a meeting that was peaceable, though the town was very rude and divided ; for one part of the soldiers were for the King, and others for the Parliament. And as I pass'd out of town over the bridge, a f d being with me, the DISSENTING MEETING-HOUSES. 165 soldiers there s d they were for y e King : when we were gone past them, and they understood it was I, they were in a great rage that I had escaped them, and s d had they known it, they w d have shot me with hail-shot, rather than I should have escaped them; but the Lord prevented their devilish design." This was A.D. 1660, and is the first notice we have of the existence of this people in Gloucester. WESLEYAN METHODISTS. This denomination of Christians appears to have had a small society here from the time the late Rev. John Wesley preached his first sermon in this city, on Thursday, July 15th, 1739. Their assemblies were then in obscure and concealed situations ; they afterwards worshipped in a large room which formerly was a chapel, and dedicated to St. Kyneburg, vulgarly called Kimbrose, belonging to St. Owen's Church, where Mr. Wesley occasionally officiated until the time of his death. He was certainly one of the most extraordinary characters that ever existed, whether we consider him as a various and voluminous writer, a zealous and indefatigable preacher, or the founder of the most numerous sect in the Christian world. By his great exertions in this city, a sense of decency, mora- lity, and religion, was introduced into the lower classes of mankind : the ignorant were instructed, the wretched re- lieved, and the abandoned reclaimed. Mr. W^esley died March 2d, 1791, aged 88 years. The present chapel is situ- ated in the Lower Northgate-street ; it was built about forty years ago, by subscription. The late Mr. George Conibere not only gave the land on which the chapel and the house for the minister are erected, but subscribed £100. towards build- ing the same. A very short time before Mr. Wesley's decease, he preached the last sermon at his chapel from the following text : — " There is but a step between me mid death" — 1 Sam. 20th chap, part of the 3rd verse. 166 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. LADY HUNTINGDON'S CONNECTION. A large and respectable society, bearing this name, assemble in a chapel in St. Mary's square. Their origin is traced to the labours of the late 'Rev. George Whitfield, who was born in Gloucester in 1714, at the Bell Inn. He was placed at a petty school in this city, and gave early proofs of good elo- cution and memory. At fifteen years of age he was well versed in the classics ; his fame recommended him to Dr. Benson, then Bishop of Gloucester, who made him a volun- tary offer of ordination, which Mr. Whitfield accepted,* and preached daily in fields, prisons, and open streets. About the year 1741, or soon after Mr. Whitfield's second return from America, which, in the course of his life, he is said to have visited seven times, he entirely separated from Mr. Wesley and his friends, " because he did not hold the decrees." Mr. Whitfield was chaplain to the Countess Dow- ager of Huntingdon. After a long course of peregrination, he died at Newbury Port, New England, Sept. 30, 1769. His followers worshipped in a variety of places in this city, until the year 1788, when the Countess of Huntingdon pur- chased the present building, which was then used as a theatre, and fitted it up as a chapel. THE BAPTIST CHAPEL. The Baptist Chapel is situated near the lower end of the Eastgate-street, and is very numerously attended. This edi- fice was erected a few years since, at the sole expence of George Box Drayton, Esq. late of this city, who constantly officiated there as minister. It has been customary to call the members of this sect Ana-Baptists ; but that is a very * He preached his first sermon in the parish church of St. Mary de Crypt, in this city, from whence he took his title. DISSENTING MEETING HOUSES. 167 erroneous appellation, and conveys a stigma which they do not deserve. This body of Christians consider immersion in water as essential to Christian baptism ; and they disapprove of the admission of infants to their ordinance. THE JEWS' SYNAGOGUE Was formerly in the Eastgate-street, on which reason it was known by the name of Jewry-street, or Judaismous, on ac- count of the Jews, many of whom settled here. In the reign of Henry the Second, during the abbacy of Hammeline, (1160) the Jews contrived to steal a boy of the name of Herald, and after having kept him concealed, from the 20th of March to the 16th of April, they put him to death with extreme tortures. A great number of Jews had assembled from different parts of England, in Gloucester, under pre- tence of circumcising a boy of their own religion, and cele- brating the feast of the Passover, according to the law. Whether they crucified him, or what was the nature of the tortures they inflicted, does not clearly appear. Brompton, page 1047, and Hen. de Knyghton, p. 2393, mention, that a boy was crucified at Gloucester (Glovernia) in 1 160, but Abbot Frowcester remarks, that no Christian being present, nor any discovery having been made from the confession of the Jews, conjectures could only be formed from the ap- pearances of the dead body. It happened, that on the sabbath following the transaction, which that year was on the 16th of April, the body was found by some fisher- men in the Severn, about nine in the morning, and being drawn out, was laid in a house near the place where it had been discovered. In this situation it was viewed by a great number of clergy and laymen, the following night. It was evident that fire had been used as one instrument of 168 HISTORY Of GLOUCESTER. the tortures he had suffered ; his sides, nose, hands, knees, and feet, had the appearance of having been roasted ; boil- ing fat had been let fall drop by drop over his body, melted wax had been poured into his eyes and ears, his teeth had been beaten or dropped out in consequence of the fire, and a crown of thorns had been fixed around his head. —On the evening of the following day, the corpse was carried, amidst a vast crowd of people of both sexes, to the church of St. Peter, where it was received by the Abbot, and the whole convent, with every mark of respect, the great bells ringing during the procession. The same night it was exhi* bited to the view of the brethren, washed clean, and more accurately examined. On the morrow it was buried, with great solemnity, before the altar of Edmund the Archbishop and Edward the Confessor, on the north side, and he was honoured with the title of martyr. — MSS. Frowc. p. 130. Many instances of similar cruelty were practised by the Jews of those days. A Christian child was crucified at Nor- wich 1135. Another at St. Edmundsbury 1172. Another at Northampton 1279, and another at Lincoln 1255. The body of the last was discovered in a wall in the house of one of the Jews, by John de Lexington, begged by the Canons of the church, and after the fullest view by numbers of people, in- terred honourably in the Cathedral, as the body of a precious martyr. Eighteen wealthy Jews in Lincoln, and more than twenty-three in London, suffered public execution on this occasion. During the Abbacy, in a MSS. collection, it is said they had a synagogue near St. Kimbrose chapel. In all pro- bability it is the place where they now assemble, which is not very far distant from it. The Roman Catholic Chapel is without the Lower Northgate-street. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 169 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. THE BOOTH HALL. This was the ancient Guildhall, or place like an Exchange, where merchants exposed their wares ; and at what time it was converted into an assize court for the county and city does not appear. It was rebuilt in 1606, and is a very lofty building, full of windows. During part of the reign of James the First, it was used as a prison to some of the citizens for any misdemeanour. It is a large uncomfortable room, sup- ported by double rows of pillars of chesnut timber. In this ancient hall was transacted a scene, perhaps unique in judicial history, viz. a female sitting as a judge. During the quar- rels between Lady Anne Berkeley and her relatives, she fled, says Mr. Smyth, to her old master, King Henry VIII. who granted her a special commission under the great seal to inquire, hear, and determine these riots and other misde- meanors, and made her one of the commissioners and of the quorum, whereupon she came to Gloucester, and there sat on the bench in the public sessions hall, impannelled a jury, received' evidence, found Sir Nicholas Poynz and Maurice Berkeley and their fellows guilty of divers riots and disorders, and fined them. THE SHIRE-HALL. This magnificent structure presents a specimen of architec- tural perfection highly honourable to the taste of Mr. Smirke, 170 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. and will remain, to a&er ages, a monument of the enlightened liberality of the magistracy of the county and city of Glouces- ter. The building is constructed wholly with Bath and Leckhampton stone. It is 82 feet in front next the Westgate street, and extends backwards 300 feet, having another entrance from Bareland. The front, which is copied from an ancient temple on the Illyssus (vide Stewart's Athenae), is remarkably elegant and classically correct. The portico in centre, fronting the street, is supported by four columns of the Ionic order, 32 feet high, the approach to which and to the two side doors is by a flight of steps extending the whole width of the building. The centre door opens into the main entrance for the public, 100 feet long, 16 wide, and 18 high, having the grand jury room for the county and city on the right, the offices for the clerk of the peace, clerk of the indict- ments, and apartments for the hall-keeper, on the left. Facing the extreme end of this avenue is a magnificent stone staircase, on the first landing-place of which are two doors leading to the gallery of the crown court, and from thence the stairs are continued on both sides to the next flight, where the entrances are to the great room used for concerts and balls at the music meetings, and for other purposes, the dimensions of which are 87 feet by 53, and 50 feet high. At the south end, against the wall, are the royal arms, and over the doors a fine bas relief, nearly 40 feet long, representing the signature of magna charta by King John. Both the courts are of semi- circular form, 76 feet wide by 38 in depth, and each having a gallery capable of containing 400 persons. The object of the architect, in the disposition of the courts, has evidently been to bring the judge, the magistrates, the jury, the prisoner, and the witness, into the most convenient space for the purpose of hearing. Both the courts are surrounded by-spacious cor- ridors, and the whole of the interior is so arranged as to PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 171 afford every description of persons attending on business an allotted situation. These courts were first made use of at the summer assizes (Aug. 26th, 1816,) and Mr. Justice Abbott, in his charge to the grand jury, made the following obser- vations : — " I have the highest pleasure in offering my congra- tulations to you on the completion of the very handsome and convenient courts wherein we are now assembled. A build- ing has been erected, containing ample and handsome courts, and convenient apartments for every class of persons engaged in the business of an assize, and this in a style manly and pure, suitable to the dignity that always ought to surround the administration of justice, and devoid of all that superfluous decoration by which, in some places, the expence of edifices intended for the same purpose has been greatly increased. The accommodation of those persons whose convenience was to be provided for, and the interest of those who were to defray the expence, appear to have been equally consulted. Nothing requisite has been omitted, and nothing unnecessary has been introduced." THE TOLSEY Is a handsome brick building, ornamented with stone, having the arms of the city beautifully carved in a triangular pedi- ment. Below it the lobby, and a court of justice, where the Quarter Sessions were formerly held, but have lately been transferred to the Shire-Hall, and above, the Council Cham- ber. — In it are beautiful full-length paintings of the late Duke of Norfolk, who was High Steward, and one of the Aldermen of the city; and of his Royal Highness the Duke of Glouces- ter, who has honoured the Corporation with a portrait of himself, finely executed by Sir William Beachey. The Tolsey 172 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. stands on the site of the ancient forum, or capitol, and though no remains exist, the appropriation of such a spot to forensi c purposes is sufficient. THE WORKHOUSE, Or House of Industry: — Timothy Nourse, Esq. was the founder of this charity, to which, besides a subscription, he gave £100 per annum for its support. Sir John Powell, knt., one of the Judges of the Court of King's Bench, was the first governor. The officers consist of a governor, deputy go- vernor, a treasurer, and six special assistants. These are chosen annually out of the guardians returned for the different parishes. The governor and guardians of the Workhouse also superintend the lighting of the city, and have a common THE CITY GAOL Was built in 1782, on a scale not sufficiently large for the number of prisoners; nor were their cells adapted to solitude and separation. It has recently been much enlarged and im- proved ; to which a chapel has been added, where divine ser- vice is performed by a chaplain appointed by the Corporation of this city for that purpose. Adjoining to this prison has lately been erected a place of confinement, called the Lock- up-House; where vagrants and other disturbers of the peace are kept under the custody of the Beadle. THE COUNTY GAOL, Though not strietly connected with the history of the city, as being in the county, deserves to be mentioned, both on account of the magnitude of its scale, and the important ends PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 173 it is intended to promote, which are the reformation and reco- very of the offender, by solitary confinement and labour, rather than punishment, by cutting him off from society. The building (with four prisons in the county, of much smaller dimensions, cost £34,873. 14s. 4?d.) is erected upon the plan of the great Howard, and, under the direction of Sir Onesiphorus Paul, Bart , is well calculated for the purpose of punishment, reflection, and reformation. It contains 203 separate cells ; 164 for sleep, and 39 for work. It is considered a perfect model of its kind. A very handsome edifice has lately been erected for the confinement of debtors, from the design of Mr. Collingwood, an eminent architect of this city, which reflects great credit on that gentleman's professional talents. The Rev. Mr. Cooper is the present chaplain ; J. P. Wilton, Esq. surgeon; and Thos. Cunningham, Esq. gover- nor. The last-mentioned gentleman has filled that office ever since the year 1792 ; during the whole of which time he has discharged the very arduous duties of that situation in such an exemplary manner, as to merit the most unqualified appro- bation of the magistrates of the county of Gloucester, as well as of the country at large. THE BANKS. The Governor and Company of the Bank of England have lately established a Branch Bank in this city. But this mea- sure was certainly unnecessary and uncalled for, as there are two banks here of great respectability ; both of which have withstood the late fiery ordeal with undiminished reputation : and, during the whole of the late eventful period up to the present time, have, with great humanity and kindness, accom- modated their respective friends with pecuniary assistance, 174) HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. and are, on that account, entitled to the most grateful ac- knowledgments of the public — they, therefore, ought to have the support of that public. One of them is, with the excep- tion of Child's, the oldest private bank in England, having been established by James Wood, Esq., the grandfather of the present proprietor, in the year 1716. The present James Wood, Esq., whose name is of so much celebrity, as to be known in almost every part of Great Britain, is, perhaps, pos- sessed of more wealth than any commoner in his Majesty's dominions.* PERMANENT LIBRARY. This Institution commenced the 1st January, 1818. The members consist of two classes, Proprietors and Subscribers. A payment of six guineas, and an annual subscription of £1. 5s. constitute the former; the annual subscription of £1. 5s. the latter. The President is chosen annually, but no person can be eligible two years in succession. The President for the present year is Dr. Shute. There is also a Treasurer and a Committee, which consists of fifteen propri- etors, that are olected annually at the general meeting, five * From the Supplement of The Gentleman's Magazine, for 1808. — " The Woods are of antiquity more than ordinary, and have been known in north Britain upwards of one thousand years. They have had the honour of Baronetage thrice conferred upon their represen- tatives. One is extinct ; the other two are vested in the persons of Sir Francis Wood, of Bowling Hall, Yorkshire, and Sir Mark, of Gatton, county of Surrey and Monmouthshire ; besides a fourth shortly to be made in the person of James Wood, Esq. Merchant and Banker in Gloucester. Sir Mark is, I am informed by him, en- titled to bear supporters to his arms, in consequence of Sir A. Wood, of X.angs, Fifeshire, having had them granted to him by James the First of Scotland. I know that his arms are neither those of the Woods of Gloucestershire nor South Wales." PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 175 of whom may act. The catalogue of the books is printed ; the collection is good, though not very large, but is con- tinually increasing ; the whole of which is in the custody of the Librarian, who sees to the due observance of the regula- tions of the institution, and a very excellent code of laws is drawn up for the regulation of the library. It is situated in the College-Court, adjoining to the premises in the occupa- tion of Messrs. Ryder and Tooby. The room, which is spacious and elegant, is admirably calculated for the purpose. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. A Society was established on the 1st January, 1828, deno- minated " The Gloucester Horticultural Society." It distri- butes prizes of different degrees for the finest productions in the various floral tribes, as well as in fruit and culinary articles. There are five annual meetings or shows of this Society, which are held in the National School-room, at Gloucester; the period of these shows is regulated by the seasons. The auspicious commencement of this society promises well in the departments to which it relates ; the exhibitions are numer- ously visited by the neighbouring gentry, as well as by the inhabitants of the city. The annual subscription is only seven shillings, which entitles the subscriber to introduce a visiter at each of the meetings or shows; and any person may, at any time, become a member, by paying the year's subscrip- tion to the Treasurers. A Committee is appointed to manage the affairs of the society, and a new committee is appointed every year for that purpose, who are chosen at the fifth meeting or show, four of whom are the Treasurers and Secretaries. — Messrs. Russell and Skey, are Treasurers ; and Benjamin Bonnor, and William Matthews, Esquires, are Honorary Secretaries. 176 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. THE HOTELS, INNS, AND TAVERNS Of Gloucester have been long and deservedly held in great estimation, not only for the reasonableness of the charges, but for the extreme attention and politeness which their guests constantly experience. The Bell and King's Head hotels stand pre-eminently conspicuous in that respect. THE MARKETS, Which are universally allowed to be equal, and in some re- spects superior, to any in the kingdom, are admirably well supplied, and at very reasonable rates. The new market- place, for cattle and sheep, is perhaps the most complete in Great Britain. It is much more commodious and convenient than Smithfield. The plan and arrangements of it do great credit to the gentleman who designed them. Mr. Baker, the Surveyor, has lately published a plan of it with the following dedication: — DEDICATION OF THE PLAN OF THE MARKETS. To J. Phillpotts, Esq., Barrister at Law, and one of the Alder- men of this city, who first suggested the idea of these markets, and by whose patriotic and unwearied exertions the same were completed, this plan is dedicated by his most obliged humble servant. B« BAKER. THE INFIRMARY Was erected in the year 1755, from a design of the late Luke Singleton, Esq. under the auspices of the late Lord Botetourt and the Hon. and Rev. Dr. Talbot. It has always been con- PUBLIC BUILDINGS. ITT sidered so well calculated for the purpose for which it was intended, that other hospitals (particularly that at Worcester) have been since built upon the same plan. The physicians and surgeons belonging to this establishment, are gentlemen of the greatest eminence in their profession, and the pupils of the latter have opportunities of acquiring as much practical knowledge as at any hospital in the metropolis. A very im- portant addition has lately been made to it, by the erection of an edifice, from a design of Mr. Rickman, for the reception of convalescents, the expense of which has been defrayed, in a great measure, by the voluntary donations of individuals. Mrs. Smith, a native of this city, has given no less a sum than <£500. for that benevolent purpose. LUNATIC ASYLUM. This magnificent edifice is situated on the east side of the city of Gloucester, from which it is distant about half a mile. It stands on an eminence, from whence the views of the sur- rounding country are very extensive and picturesque. The approach to it is through a pair of handsome iron gates into a spacious area. The front of the building, including the wings, extends from north to south 250 feet ; the central part of which is semicircular. The basement story is built with Bath stone, and contains a large kitchen, scullery, wash-house, laundry, and all other necessary and convenient offices. Above are three lofty stories, with water-closets to each story and to every division. All the remaining parts of the edifice are of brick, stuccoed with Roman cement, and coloured to imitate stone. The hospital is caculated to hold about 120 patients, all of whom have separate bed-rooms. There are also detached apartments for noisy and violent patients. The two h2 178 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. sexes are kept apart, and cannot even see each other. There are extensive grounds, inclosed with high walls, for each class, where they may have air and exercise in fine weather, and large and airy corridors in the building for the same purpose at other times. There are also commodious apartments for the superintendent, physician, and matron ; together with store-rooms and domestic apartments ; also two spacious day- rooms for the higher class, two for the second class, and four for the third class, or paupers. The establishment consists of a chaplain (the Rev. F. T. Bayley), physician (Dr. Shute), superintendent or surgeon (Mr. Hitch), matron, housekeeper, and numerous domestic servants. There are at present up- wards of 80 patients. This grand structure was erected by Mr. Collingwood, a very eminent architect of this city, at an expence of between 40 and £50,000. ; part of which was raised by subscription, part by the county of Gloucester, and part by the city, in the following proportions : — 11 -20th s by the county of Gloucester, l-20th by the city, and the remain- ing 8-20ths by the subscribers. The Asylum was opened for the reception of patients, 21st July, 1823. MAGDALEN ASYLUM. In the year 1821, this excellent institution was established. A handsome house and premises, situate in St. Mary's square, were purchased for that purpose, which is supported by sub- scriptions and donations. A committee of gentlemen, and another committee of ladies, are appointed, who meet at the Asylum the first Thursday in every month, for superintending this institution. There are also appointed three trustees, a treasurer, a physician, three surgeons, six chaplains, four secretaries, and a matron. His Grace the Duke of Beaufort PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 179 is patron, and sixteen vice-presidents belong to the institu- tion, consisting of the nobility and gentry, who either live in the neighbourhood, or are connected with it. It appears, by the annual report of this society, that many of those unhappy women who have been admitted into this Asylum have given evidence of sincere contrition, have been restored to society under auspicious circumstances, have continued to keep the right path, as far as can be ascertained, and expressed grati- tude for the benefits which they have received ; in fact, that nearly two out of every three admitted have been permanently reclaimed. THE NATIONAL SCHOOL, The foundation-stone of which was laid on the 6th August, 1815, by his Grace the Duke of Wellington, who, on that day, received the freedom of the city of Gloucester, in a superb oak box, lined with gold. It is supported by voluntary dona- tions and subscriptions, and conducted on the plan of Dr. Bell. The Duke of Wellington is Patron, and the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of the Diocese Vice-President. The salary of the master is £63. per annum, and that of the mis- tress £40. THE GLOUCESTER POOR SCHOOL Was opened on the 23d of August, 1813, for the reception of 200 boys. It is conducted on the Royal British Mode of Tuition. The master's salary is £63. per annum : in conse- quence of which he takes no scholars of his own. The go- vernment of this school is in the Corporation. 180 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. The late Robert Raikes, Esq. of this city obtained the name of Founder of Sunday- Schools by his unwearied exer- tions to render them general throughout the kingdom ; and this gentleman lived to see his benevolent efforts crowned with success. Every parish in this city has its Sunday- School : indeed they are now generally adopted throughout the kingdom, and Gloucester has the honour of having origi- nated the design. Besides which, every class of dissenters in this city, except the Quakers, have their respective Sun- day-Schools, the beneficial effects of which are evidently seen in the morals of the rising generation. THE BLUE-COAT HOSPITAL For the maintenance of 20 boys, with diet, lodging, clothing, and other necessaries, for the term of three years, after which they each receive <£10. to place them out apprentices. Some of the most respectable persons in this city and neigh- bourhood have received their education at this most admirable establishment. It was lately rebuilt by the Corporation of this city, who, as trustees under the will of Sir Thomas Rich, have expended more than .£5,000. for that purpose. The front of it is entirely of Bath stone, ornamented with a rustic basement, and coupled pilasters of the Ionic order, which support an appropriate entablature, and having wings decorated with Venetian windows; the whole of which has really a magnificent appearance, and does great credit to the archi- tectural abilities of the late Mr. Wheeler. It is built on the site of the Roman prsetorium. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 181 THE COLLEGE SCHOOL. This building was formerly the Abbey Library, but upon the foundation of the Chapter, in the time of Henry VIII. it was converted into a school, and repaired and made more convenient for the purpose, by Elizabeth Wiltshire, widow, in 1587. The present very learned master, the Rev. A. B. Evans, is justly esteemed for the extent of his classical attain* ments, as well as for his intimate acquaintance with most of the modern languages. Dr. Phillpotts and many other scho- lars of great eminence were educated at this celebrated school. THE CRYPT SCHOOL Was founded by John Cooke, alderman of Gloucester, from whence one scholar is elected every four years, who is sent to Pembroke College, where he continues eight years on the exhibition, which is now worth £50. per annum, with the chance of presentation to the livings of Colnbrook and Ux- bridge. GAS LIGHTS. In the year 1819, a bold adventurer proposed to the citi- zens of Gloucester to light the public streets and private houses with gas. A prospectus of probable expenditure and returns was circulated, in which it was shewn that, when the works should be completed, the advantage to subscribers would be £18f. per cent, on their advances. To produce this effect, it was calculated that not less than 800 private 182 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. lights, averaging £4?. per annum, would soon be engaged, which, with coke and tar, would produce the advantage stated. In the course of the same year an Act of Parliament was obtained (59 Geo. III.), " Enabling the Governor and Guar- dians of the Poor of the City of Gloucester to light the said city with gas, and to enter into the necessary contracts for that purpose." In consequence of which, extensive and commodious works, for the making of gas, were erected near the Quay, on the western side of the city. When the establishment was completed, it was soon found to be defective in all its branches. In the course of two years the number of private lights was under 25 per cent, of the number estimated ,• the public lights were contracted for at a price about 70 per cent, under what a sufficient quan- tity of gas for their supply could be manufactured ; the gas was impure, and the quantity produced inadequate to the several engagements. Under these circumstances, the pro- prietors had to regret their having embarked in the specu- lation, and the public were much disappointed in their expec- tations. In this state the proprietors had to choose, whether to abandon the concern, or subscribe a further sum of money adequate to the reorganization of it ; when, in the month of June, 1822, the latter was determined upon, and in the course of the same year the proposed alterations were completed. The sum expended in the first instance was ,£13,000. ; and lastly, for additions and alterations, the further sum of £787. On the 1st of January, 1823, the works, in their improved state, and under the very judicious management of Mr. Waring, began to supply both public and private engagements with light ; and to the present moment (nearly seven years) not one instance has occurred of the works being deficient in a supply of gas perfectly purified. THE MUSIC MEETING. 183 From the satisfaction entertained by the public from its improvement, an increase of private lights is derived, to the amount of 76 per cent, on the number of lights previously supplied, and the company are paying off a large debt which untoward circumstances had involved them in. As the unfavourable prejudices, which early disappointment had created, wear away, the company's interest will improve, and, in all probability, will be remunerated to such a degree as they may reasonably expect. At present, the returns to the company arise from gas, coke, and tar. In process of time it may be an object to the company to take advantage of some other of the component parts of the coal, namely, naptha, ammonia, &c. The purification of the gas is effected by means of quick-lime, barely moistened with water ; after which, the lime is applied to agricultural purposes ; as is the ammonia, a substance well known to be a powerful promoter of vegetation, with the aid of quick lime. The precincts of the College are excepted out of this Act; . but the Dean and Chapter, with a degree of liberality that is not often seen in corporate bodies, have the whole of the precincts of the Cathedral lighted with gas at their own expense. TRIENNIAL MUSIC MEETING. It is stated in Eaton's History of Worcester, that " This musical fete, one of the most respectable and popular of its kind in the kingdom, originated with the gentlemen of the Worcester Cathedral Choir in the year 1720. It may be considered as the parent of those numerous similar institutions which have since risen into existence, and been attended with such splendid success. Its first celebration took place in Worcester Cathedral, Aug. 1722. Similar meetings followed, 184 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. at Hereford and Gloucester, in the two succeeding years. A large share of public approbation soon awakened in its con- ductors an increasing spirit of enterprise." But Mr. Lysons, in his " History of the Origin and Progress of the Meeting of the Three Choirs," asserts that " The origin of this chari- table institution is to be traced to the year 1724, at which time the members of the three choirs of Gloucester, Worces- ter, and Hereford, had for some years held an annual meeting at each of the cities in rotation, for the purpose of enjoying the pleasures of harmony. It was in that year that Dr. Thomas Bisse, Chancellor of Hereford, preached a sermon at St. PauPs Cathedral, in which he made a proposal that, at these annual meetings, there should be a collection at the church-door for charitable purposes ; and, in the year 1726, Dr. Bisse preached his first sermon in aid of the charity, at Hereford, on the following singular text : — ' I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.' — Eccles. c. ii. v. 8. In a note to this sermon, he says, ' Having first proposed this charity, with success, at Gloucester, in 1724, and recommended it at Worcester in 1725, I thought myself obliged to promote it, in this way, in the church and diocese to which I belong.' " In the year 1734, performers of the first musical celebrity were engaged from the metropolis. About this period the institution assumed its present form. The money taken at the church-doors was devoted to the benevolent purpose of relieving the necessitous widows and orphans of clergy within the three dioceses of Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester. The nobility, gentry, and clergy of the respective counties, now came forward to its support in a very liberal manner ; and, under the designation of the " Meeting of the Three Choirs," in the year 1754, its alternate annual meetings were THE MUSIC MEETING. 185 placed under the superintendance of two stewards, the one appointed from among the nobility, the other from the clergy, assisted by a conductor of the highest professional eminence. In the year 1788, this annual festival was honoured by the presence, and its funds assisted by the bounty, of our late revered Sovereign, who, after the performance of the Messiah on the Friday morning, put £200. in the plate. Since that period the efforts of its conductors have been zealously di- rected to procure for it the support of the highest patronage and the aid of the most distinguished musical talent. Its growing popularity and usefulness sufficiently attest the ability with which it has been conducted, and the interest which is felt in its benevolent object. In the year 1798, the number of stewards was increased from two to six (three clergymen and three laymen). The amount of the money raised from the sale of tickets has sel- dom been found sufficient to pay the expences incurred ,• in consequence of which, the stewards have personally been considerably out of pocket ; but, by increasing their number, it is not so severely felt as formerly. The collection at the first meeting, in 1724, was, at 2s. 6d. a ticket, only £31. In the year 1752, the price of the tickets of admission was raised from 2s. 6d. to 3s. ; in 1758, it was raised from 3s. to 5s. ; in 1807, it was again raised from 5s. to Is. 6d. ; and is now increased to 10s. In the year 1811, the meeting at Gloucester was uncom- monly well attended : nearly 1,700 persons were present at the Messiah ; and in the evening of the same day, at the Booth-Hall, there were considerably more than 1,000 per- sons. It was Madame Catalani's first appearance here. Our justly-celebrated organist, Mr. Mutlow, has been the conductor ever since the year 1790, with much credit to him- self and advantage to this benevolent institution, 186 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. GLOUCESTER SALINE CHALYBEATE SPA. The grand source of attraction, which has given quite a new feature to the city, and has occasioned a prodigious influx of respectable inhabitants here, is the justly-celebrated Glou- cester Spa, situate about one-third of a mile from the Cross, on the south-east of the city, where some valuable springs were accidentally discovered, in the year 1814, by sinking a well, the water of which was then analysed by Mr. Accum, and it appears by the analysis that the impregnations on which the virtues of saline chalybeate waters depend, are more abundant in the Gloucester Spa water, than in any other hitherto observed in this country.* Its medicinal effects * The following table exhibits the strength of the water, as analysed by Mr. Accum, together with that of Cheltenham and Leamington : GLOUCESTER. CHELTENHAM. LEAMINGTON. Pint. Gallon. Pint. Gallon. Pint. Gallon. Grains. Grains. Grains. Grains. Grains. Grains Sulphate of Soda 18.25 146.00 22.7 181.6 20 00000 160.00 Sulphate of Magnesia. . 13.75 110.00 6.0 48.0 Muriate of Soda 38.50 308.00 41.3 330.4 53.75000 ' ' 430.00 Muriate of Magnesia.. 4.75 38.00 6.25000 50.00 Muriate of Lime 3.50 28.00 Sulphate of Lime 16.00 128.00 "2.5' 20.6 16.87500 ' ' 135,00 Carbonate of Iron .... 2.00 16.00 1.5 12.0 0.9375 0.75 GASEOUS CONTENTS IN 96.75 774.00 74.0 592.0 CUBIC INCH. Pint. Gallon. Pint. Gallon. Carbonic Acid Gas. . . . 16.00 128.00 1.50875 12.07 0.7500 Atmospheric Air 9.00 72.00 0.15125 1.21 Oxygen Gas 0.38315 4.03 The Cheltenham water to which we refer is Thomson's strong chalybeate saline water, marked No. 1. The- analysis was some time since performed by Messrs. Brande and Parke. That of Leamington was made by Dr. Middleton. THE SPA. 187 have fully confirmed what the chemical analysis led us to expect. It has been administered with the most salutary effects in a great variety of diseases, which had resisted the influence of other agents. It is considered as generally sti- mulant, useful in nephritic and calculous disorders, gastric, or acidulous dyspepsia, nausea, removal of biliary obstruc- tions, jaundice, excess of biliary secretions, diseases of debility, uterine derangement, chlorosis, scorbutic affections, incipient pulmonic cases, &c. A commodious and extensive boarding house, and a spacious billiard-room, for the reception and amusement of visiters, have been erected, and a great many very elegant lodging-houses have also been built. Hot and cold baths, on the most improved construction, have been recently made, and are in great request ; shrubberies and rides are annexed. A vast number of persons, irom various parts of the United Kingdom, have, by the use of these invaluable waters, been cured of the most obstinate complaints, after having had recourse to every other means without success. The advantage of these springs to those who reside in Gloucester must be very great, when we consider the beauty and conve- nience of the situation, the salubrity of the air, and the ex- tensive and picturesque views with which it abounds; together with the pleasant habitations which have been erected, and the delightful walks and rides which have been recently made, ornamented with trees and foreign shrubs of the most valuable kinds, and which will no doubt not only amply repay the public-spirited proprietors of this most enchanted spot, but become a place of residence to many individuals, who, while they enjoy the benefit of the waters and the pleasures of the country, can at the same time avail themselves of the medical advice of gentlemen of the greatest eminence, and the society and accommodations afforded by the immediate vicinity of a large city. 188 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Beaufort-Buildings — consist of a row of substantial and remarkably well-built houses, extending from east to west, and immediately facing the principal walk of the Spa, having a lawn ornamented with shrubs in the front. The situation of these elegant residences is very desirable, as they command beautiful, extensive, and highly picturesque views of the dis- tant hills and of the surrounding country. The proprietors of the Spa will never suffer the ground opposite to be en- croached upon ; the prospect, therefore, cannot at any time be intercepted. This circumstance is very important, espe- cially in a place like the Spa, where the buildings are increasing with such rapidity. It is no small recommendation to Beau- fort-Buildings that, like all the others in the neighbourhood, they are inhabited by most respectable families. Montpelier- Place. — On the north side of the approach to , the Spa, a row of elegant buildings has lately been erected by Mr. James Pollard, of this city, called Montpelier-Place. These beautiful edifices being ornamented with windows of stained glass, and having handsome verandas and highly-de- corated fronts, very much attract the notice of strangers. A neat Church in the Grecian style of architecture, from a design of Mr. Bickman, has recently been built there. A spacious and elegant mansion, from a design of Mr. Smirke, has lately been erected near the Spa, by John Phillpotts, Esq. ; also the Spa Villas, and a very handsome and commodious edifice called Sherborne House, by John Chadborn, Esq. Mr. Hicks has erected several handsome edifices at the Spa, particularly Waterloo-House, the situation of which is the most beautiful that can be imagined, and, with the gardens and pleasure grounds, adds very much to the attractions of that delightful spot, which is now become a place of fashion- THE SPA. 189 able resort, and under the very judicious and able manage- ment of Mr.Wathen, the present tenant, will no doubt obtain, if possible, still greater celebrity. Mr. Wathen intends, every year, during the summer season, to have balls and public breakfasts, and a good band of music is engaged ; we may therefore anticipate a full attendance of the beau monde. Brunswick- Square. — Adjoining to the Spa is a spacious square of new and elegant mansions, called Brunswick- Square. The area, which is very extensive, consists of a beautiful lawn and gravel walks, interspersed with valuable shrubs and ornamental trees of various descriptions, very judiciously disposed, and surrounded with iron palisades. The houses are handsome, particularly those on the west side of the square which are really magnificent, presenting a widely-extended front with rusticated basement, and decorated with Grecian pilasters and architraves. All these houses, like those at the Spa, are covered with Roman cement, and make a very splendid appearance. They are inhabited by families of great respectability ; the situation is warm and protected : it is sheltered on the north and north-east by the city, and this is a circumstance greatly in its favour, particularly as far as relates to invalids and to persons who have been accustomed to reside in warm climates ; whilst the constant flow of the majestic Severn, with its tides, not only brings a perpetual current of fresh and wholesome air constantly through it, but serves to drain the surrounding lands and to remove every offensive accumulation. The prodigious increase of the in- habitants of the Spa may be accounted for, independent of the superior efficacy of the mineral waters, from the circum- stance of the land there being extra-parochial, in consequence of which the rates are very trifling compared with other places. 190 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. It must be obvious to every individual who feels an interest in the trade and prosperity of this city, that the Spa has already been the means of annually introducing many families of the greatest respectability as permanent and more occa- sional residents here. And in proportion as the attractions and accommodations increase," we may reasonably expect an augmentation of visiters. Upon these grounds, and looking at the trifling sacrifice which is required from each individual, we feel assured that our fellow-citizens will, one and all, come forward, and in seconding the views of the proprietors, render an essential service to themselves. And we hope and trust that those persons who do not partake of the waters, but who are in the habit of frequenting these charming walks and rides will become subscribers to them. IMPROVEMENTS OF THE CITY. In the year 1821, (2d Geo. IV.) an Act was obtained for establishing a proper place for holding markets and fairs, for the sale of live stock in the city of Gloucester, and for watch- ing and otherwise improving the said city ; by virtue of which Act, the commodious market-places were constructed, which have been before described. Among other very salutary provisions contained in this Act, it is stated that a special vestry shall be held annually in each parish, for the purpose of electing three commissioners, who, with the mayor and aldermen of the city for the time being, shall be commissioners for ordering, directing, and regulating all public improvements within the said city ; and for carrying the same into effect, the mayor and one or more of the aldermen shall, by warrant under their hands and seals, IMPROVEMENTS OF THE CITY. 191 authorise and require the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the several parishes within the said city, to assess, collect, levy, and receive the sums that shall be certified to them by the said commissioners to be necessary to be raised for that purpose, provided that nothing shall authorise the commissioners in any one year to levy and raise more than the sum of £500. Great improvements have already been made by the money so raised in taking down projections and widening avenues in different parts of the city, and many more are in contempla- tion : we may, therefore, expect to see Gloucester eventually become one of the handsomest cities in the kingdom. The road from London and Cheltenham enters Gloucester at its north-east extremity. Along this road, coming into the city, are passed a considerable number of houses of every size and description, but mostly of modern erection : the best of them are covered with Roman cement, to imitate stone, and several deserve the designation of elegant and substantial mansions ; those lately erected by Mr. White are pre-emi- nently conspicuous. A very handsome row of houses, with Bath stone fronts, is built on the east side of this road, called Wellington-parade, and are all inhabited by families of great respectability. Two new streets have recently been made on the north side of the road, and which are named Albion-street and Oxford-street : in the latter the houses are all uniform, and being Roman cemented, make a very elegant appearance. The whole of this street, as well as the houses on the south side of it, are built on land belonging to John Bowyer, Esq. Few gentlemen can boast of a more desirable mansion than one lately erected by John Michael Saunders, Esq. situate some small distance on the south side of this road. The dwelling-house stands on a gentle eminence, and com- mands most extensive and beautiful views of the surrounding 192 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. country. The gardens, shrubberies, and pleasure-grounds, are not only laid out with much judgment, but are kept in the highest order, and do great credit to the taste of the very liberal owner of that most delightful residence. The suburbs on this road extend about half a mile, and may be described as a highly respectable and genteel neighbourhood. The approach from Bristol on the south-west side of the city has, within a few years, been prodigiously improved by the erection of a very handsome row of elegant houses, called Norfolk-buildings, and by one of the principal entrances to our far-famed and justly -celebrated Spa. Ail the houses in this neighbourhood must soon become very valuable from their contiguity to the basin of the canal, and will form very desirable residences for merchants and other persons who may have business to transact there. The situation is remarkably salubrious, and the views very extensive and highly pictu- resque. One of the greatest improvements that has recently taken place in this city, is the new street called Worcester- street. The idea of making this grand entrance into Glou- cester from the north of England, originated with John Phillpotts, Esq. who, after combating with many difficulties and conflicting interests, had the satisfaction of seeing his efforts crowned with success ; but which never could have been accomplished had he not introduced a clause in the Act of Parliament passed in the 58th year of the reign of his late Majesty, for repairing the roads leading from the city of Glou- cester towards Cheltenham and Tewkesbury. Hare-lane, Here-lone, i. e. Army-lane, was a road which passed in an angular direction to Kingsholm, and was the line of communication between the Roman station and the resi- dence of the civil authorities, the first British city, as pre- sumed. Back Hare-lane (now called Park-street) runs KINGSHOLM. 193 parallel with its fellow street of the same name. Both lead to the Roman burying-place at Kingsholm. On the west side of Park-street, but separated therefrom by a lofty wall, is a beautiful park, well stocked with deer, and ornamented with forest trees, some of which are of prodigious magnitude ; on the south side of which is the elegant mansion of Mrs. Pitt, the daughter of the late John Pitt, Esq. one of the representatives in Parliament for this city. Some idea may be formed of the rapid increase of buildings in this city and its environs, when it appears that near 400 houses have been erected within the last three years, upon land sold by the writer of this article for that purpose, all of which are inhabited. It certainly must be admitted by every unprejudiced and impartial person, that the corporation have made prodigious exertions for improving the city. They have done more in this respect during the last forty years, than their predeces- sors did for nearly four centuries. Witness the markets in the East, South, and Northgate-streets, the erection of St. Bartholomew's and the Blue Coat Hospitals, the building of the Bridge which connects the Westgate-street with the Quay, &c. &c. KINGSHOLM Lies about a quarter of a mile from the city, on the Tewkes- bury road, and is a place of considerable importance with the historian and antiquary. In 1815, as some workmen were employed in digging a cellar at Mr. Sims' s, at Kingsholm, they discovered, at about six feet below the surface of the earth, a stone coffin of large dimensions, and weighing about three tons. On removing 194 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. the lid (ten inches in thickness), they found inclosed therein a leaden coffin, not soldered, but hammered into its present form, containing a complete skeleton, with the arms folded across the breast, and the head placed towards the east ; on examining the skull, it appeared that a violent blow had been given to the deceased with the point of a spear or other sharp instrument, which had pierced through the oxfrontis, or forehead, and which probably occasioned his death. Many coffins of the same kind, as well as others, composed of rough stones set edgeway at the sides, and covered with one or more flat stones (the kistvaen, or early altar monument of the British), more than 1000 skeletons, also urns filled with ashes (paterce), spears, daggers, battle-axes, and other an- cient military weapons, gold rings, Roman steelyards, or balances, great abundance of gold, silver, and copper coins, of the latter empire, and various other antiques, have, within a few years been excavated there. It is certain that the Romans used stone coffins for interment, as well as for ceno- taphs — such coffins contained skeletons firm and entire, and laid in lime — they also buried in lead. We find two kinds of burial mentioned in the Theodosian Code — one, the burying of whole bodies in coffins : the other, the burying the bones and ashes in urns. The Romans, in Britain, buried their warriors near the via strata^ or military way, to put their bodies out of danger of insult ; and to prevent the scattering of their ashes, the whole army cast on them grassy turfs, which is the origin of many of the tumuli still found among us. As it was the greatest dishonour to lie unburied, it was most glorious to be covered with a large tumulus, whicK was probably one reason for the Romans burying their Generals near public ways, that passengers might be continu- ally adding to the heap, which it was judged a work of piety to do. The ancient Saxons laid the bodies of those who KINGSHOLM. 195 were slain in the field on the surface of the ground, and covered them with clods of earth, which were raised in pro- portion to their dignity ; they also used stone coffins as early as the year 695, and they may be traced from the 9th cen- tury to the reign of Henry III. and in some cases to that of Henry VIII. The Danes buried the bodies with the faces downwards, and the head towards the east, and enclosed between flat stones set on edge — a distinction, perhaps, of Danes from Christians. There is no doubt of Kingsholm having been a Roman station of considerable importance. It is well known that Antonine placed his colony, which was called Colonia Gle- vum, at Gloucester, and that the Claudian Legion was quartered there ; from which circumstance it obtained the Latin appellation Claudiocestria ; and, it is generally under- stood, that a principal part of the city was situate at Kings- holm at that time. Kingesham, or Kingsholm-street, occurs in ancient records (1213). Kingsholm, therefore, now altered in its mode of spelling, may mean nothing more than the King's Homestead. A traditionary account prevails, that in the Kingsholm Close once stood the palace of a Saxon king. Several of the old inhabitants remember the remains of this building. When Gloucester was besieged by Charles I. there was a street extending from the city to Kingsholm, but which was, by order of Massey, the governor, burnt down. — [The writer of this article has in his possession the title deeds of an estate at Kingsholm, wherein this circumstance is mentioned.] — It appears by a presentment of the grand inquest for the body of the county of the city of Gloucester, delivered to the Judges of the Assizes, holden for the city of Gloucester, in the year 1646, and by them presented to the Honourable the Parliament of England, [a copy of which is also in posses- 196 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. sion of the writer] that the value of the houses destroyed at Kingsholm during the siege (the exact valuation of each house, with the names of the respective proprietors being therein separately specified), amounted to the sum of £2310. This ancient document expresses, that the purpose for which this grant was sought, was to remunerate the parties for losses sustained in consequence of measures of defence necessarily adopted " for the securing of the city, and the garrison there- in kept by the Parliament, against the enemy of our religion and liberties." Dorney, the Town Clerk, in his speech addressed to the Corporation of the city of Gloucester, Oct. 5th, 1646, on the election of Lawrence Singleton, Esq. to the office of Mayor, alludes to this circumstance in the fol- lowing terms : " Some charge hath been made since these troubles, by the burning of the suburbs: so that it is as a garment without skirts which we were willing to part withal, lest our enemies should sit upon them" ANTIQUITIES. At the Kingsholm, near this city, (which was a burying place of the Romans) a great many curious remains of anti- quity have at different times been found, particularly stone and leaden coffins, Roman legionary and other swords, parts of helmets, breast-plates, shields, heads of spears and arrows, cuirasses, a statera or Roman steel-yard of brass, glass beads, rings, fibulae, lachrymatories, lamps, urns, and various other articles of Roman pottery : also coins, particularly of Tiberius, Nero, Claudius, and the early Emperors. A short time since, a bone of prodigious size, partly in a state of decomposition, measuring 22 inches in circumference, supposed to be the one of the ossa innominata, or part of the ANTIQUITIES. 197 pelvis of an elephant, was found there, in a bed of gravel, several feet below the surface of the earth, and which, in all probability, must have been deposited there nearly 1400 years,* as the Romans finally departed from Britain in the year of our Lord 448. This bone is in the possession of the writer of this article. In 1634, many bones of elephants were found in the neigh- bourhood of Westbury, in this county, and were collected by order of Charles I. A large bone of an elephant is still preserved in the parish church of Westbury. In many other places, bones of the same kind have been found. In the year 1730, in digging the great sewer in Pali-Mall, London, at the depth of 28 feet, in a bed of sand, were found several very large bones, which were supposed to be the remains of an elephant, particularly the accetabulum, the scapula, and se- reral of the vertebras > w T ith the bones of the two fore legs and feet. About 18 years before, similar bones had been dug up in St. James's Square, and also some in St. James's Place, all at the same depth.f The Grecians employed elephants in their wars, particu- larly Alexander the Great, when he defeated Darius at the battle of Arbella, A.C. 230.J Elephants were first intro- duced into Italy with the armies of Pyrrhus. In the first battle with the Romans, soon after his entrance into Teren- * It is not impossible, that the bone in question might have be- longed to an antediluvian animal. The bones of the mammoth have been excavated in the woods of America. A fossil crocodile has been discovered at Bath, and another fine specimen is now in the possession of the Rev. Peter Hawker, of Woodchester, which was found at Kingsholm a few years since. f Gent. Mag. 1758, p. 166. \ Philostratus vita Apolonii, lib. 1. cap. 6. — Curtius, lib. 8.«— Polybius, lib. 5. 198 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. turn, A.C. 286, he obtained his victory through his elephants, whose bulk and uncommon appearance astonished the Ro- man s. Dion informs us, that Claudius brought elephants into Britain, A.D. 43. Latety, the workmen employed by Messrs. Sims, of Kings- holm, in opening a fresh pit of gravel there, discovered, at about five feet below the surface of the earth, the tooth of an elephant, partly fossilized, but still retaining a considera- ble proportion of the enamel. It measures nineteen inches in circumference, weighs 5lbs. and is in a perfect state of pre- servation. The tooth is flat, and ribbed transversely on its surface. This curious relic of an antediluvian world, is in the possession of Benjamin Bonner, Esq. of Gloucester. In the year 1824, a W asset Bowl was discovered at the Haw. The Wastel or Wassel, (from the Saxon pcephcel, i. e. your health,") was a large bowl, wherein the Saxons, at their entertainments, drank a health to one another, in the phrase of "wass-keal;" and the Wastel-Bowl was placed at the upper end of the table, in religious houses, filled with a liquor made of apples, sugar, and ale, for the use of the Abbot, who began the health, or pocolum charitatis, to strangers, or to his fraternity. Hence, cakes, and fine white bread, which were usually soaked in the Wastel Bowl, seem plainly to be meant by the word Vastelhim, in the lives of the Abbots of St. Albans, by Matthew Paris, which saith " Abbas solus prande* bat supremusin refectorio habens Vastellum" The centre compartment of this Bowl or Basin contains a representation of a man dying, with two figures (ParcceJ before him, one holding a pair of shears, the other a lock of hair or web ; from the inscription it would appear to be the former ; in that case it may probably relate to some story ANTIQUITIES. 199 told upon another bowl not yet discovered. Inscription : " SCILLA . METENS . CRINEM . MERCATUR . CRIMINE." 1. Ganimede taken by the eagle of Jupiter. Inscription: " ARMIGER . ECCE . JOVIS . GANIMEDEM .SUSTULIS . ALIS." 2. Ganimede handing the cup to Jupiter and Juno. In- scription : PORRIGAT. UT . SCIATOS . DIS . CONVIVATIBUS . APTO." 3. Orpheus soliciting Pluto and Proserpine for the libera* tion of his Euridice. Inscription : " legibus . inferni . M0TIS . PROSERPINA . REDDI." 4. The separation of Orpheus and Euridice on his look- ing backwards. Inscription : " euridicem . jussit . sedeam . MORS . ATRA . REDUXIT." 5. Ceres with a bushel, speaking to a figure of a man who is in the act of going forward with a bag over his shoulder. Inscription : " mater . larga . ceris . miserata . fame . pe- REUNTES." 6. Triptolemus seated on a dragon, and scattering grains of corn. Inscription : " triptolemi . manibus . commissit . SEMINIS . USUS." All the figures on the bowl are engraved : and although the art of engraving on plates and blocks of wood, so as to afford prints or impressions, was not known till after the invention of painting in oil, having its rise no earlier than the middle of the 15th century, yet the ancients practised engraving on precious stones, crystals, &c. with very good success. It is difficult to account for the bowl being found in that situation. The Haw belonged formerly to the Priory of Deerhurst, as subject to the Abbey of St. Dennis, in Paris, and afterwards to the Abbey of Tewkesbury. It is possible that, at the dissolution of alien priories, in the reign of Henry V. or at the general suppression, in 1544, they might have been thrown into the river for the purpose of conceal- 200 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. ment, and, being buried in the sands, could not afterwards be found. All the letters are Roman capitals, with the exception of the Saxon M. Our erudite friend, the Rev. T. D. Fos- broke, who is certainly a great authority in these matters, states, that " in the 9th and 10th, and beginning of the 11th century, many manuscripts were written in England in cha- racters partly Roman, partly Lombardick, and partly Sax- on, and that Saxon characters were entirely disused in the beginning of the 12th century;" but we observe that the legends on the English coins, from the time of the Conquest to that of Mary, previous to her marriage with Philip, in- clusive, are all Saxon. The characters of the dresses have nothing Roman about them, but resemble those engraved in a book in our possession, entitled " The Fyrst Bohe of the Introduction of Knowledge, made by Andrew Borde, of Phi- sicke Doctor. Dedicated to the Right Honourable and Gracious Lady Mary, daughter of our Soverayne Lord Kyng Henry the Eyght." If we may venture to hazard a conjecture as to the date of this piece of antiquity, we should therefore assign it to the reigns of Henry VII. or VIII. About the same time, another Basin or Wastel Bowl, of similar form and workmanship to the one last mentioned, was found by the workmen employed in making the coffer-dam at the Haw Bridge. It is composed of a mixture of gold and copper, measuring 10 J inches across the top, 2 inches in depth, and weighing 24 ounces. At the bottom, within a circle, is a representation of Cadmus, in a sitting posture, with a book before him, and a pen in his hand. The follow- ing is the inscription: " cadmvs. grecorvm. scrvtator, GRAM AT A . PRIMVM." ANTIQUITIES. 201 The remaining part of the basin is divided into six com- partments, in which are represented the following subjects : 1. The birth of Hercules. Inscription: "maximvs. alc- MENA. LICET. INDIGNANTE . NOVERCA." 2. Hercules lying in a cradle, in the act of grasping a serpent. Inscription: "editvs. alcides. inmissos. stran- GVLAT. ANGVES." 3. Hercules subduing the Lernean Hydra. Inscription : " ALCIDES. VIGILEM. SOPIVIT. CLAVE. DRACONEM." 4. Hercules attacking the Monster Geryon. Inscription : " GEREONVS . POMPAI. RAPIT. ET . COMBVSSERAT . IDRAM." 5. Hercules fighting with Cacus. Inscription: " cacvs . CESSIT . EI . SVCCVMBIT . IANITOR . ORCI." 6. Hercules sitting on a burning pile, surrounded with flames. Inscription: "incendebat. evm. meretrix. dei- DAMRA. VIVVM." This bowl is in the possession of Mr. James Billinger, Haw Passage. On the 21st May, 1825, as some workmen were employed in making an excavation to enlarge the vaults of Messrs. Johnson, of this city, wine-merchants, they discovered, about seven feet below the,, surface of the earth, a very curious Roman tesselated pavement, in a perfect state of preservation, running in a direction from north to south, but to what extent has not yet been ascertained. The colours are white and blueish grey. The tesserae are about one inch in length and three-quarters of an inch in breadth. The cement on which the pavement is laid is several inches in thickness, and appears to be composed of sand, pounded brick, and lime, forming together a very hard substance. The white tesserae are of a hard calcareous stone, and bear a good polish, and the grey are of a hard argillaceous kind of stone, found in 202 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, many parts of Gloucestershire, and called blue lyas. Tesse- lated pavements have at different times been discovered in the four quarters of the city, and this additional evidence was by no means necessary to indicate the site of ancient Glevum. Several years ago a tesselated pavement was discovered in the cellar belonging to the Master's house of Crypt School ;* and another pavement of a similar description was found in a house adjoining the Ram Inn. In the Xorthgate-street, when improvements were making in the house of the late Thomas Mee, Esq. formerly called the Black Spread Eagle, and now occupied by Mr. Wm. Holtham, a tesselated pavement was dug up, formed of dies in the usual way, but destroyed by the ignorance of the workmen. The most complete disco- very, however, was made on the 26th of July, 1806, as the workmen were employed in digging the foundation for the New Blue Coat Hospital, in this city.f They discovered, about six feet below the surface of the earth, the remains of a very curious tesselated Roman pavement, running in a parallel direction with the street, and extending from east to west 30 feet, and from north to south 20 feet. On the south side there was a circular excavation, about two feet diameter, which, from the remains of ashes still there, and the burnt bricks, had evidently been used for a hearth or fire-place. From this a communication had been made in several direc- tions, by earthenware pipes, apparently intended to convey heat, under the pavement, to different parts of the building. The pavement (which unfortunately was not preserved * This spot, according to Kip's plans, was the residence of the Duo Legati ; and the Forum, or Capitol, was on the site of the Tolsey. f The Pr of which see Sel don's Notes on Drayton's Polyolbion.* Hennius stiles this River " one of the Arms of Britain ; and, by noticing its decay of trade in his time (7th century) insinuates its commer- cial greatness (" per quae olim rates vehebantur ad deportandas divitias.") in the Roman and British aera. " The Severn rises from a small pond on the north-eastern side, near the summit of Plinlimmon, in Wales. The inhabi- tants call it Hafiren, or Havren, as it flows through a wild dis- trict towards the S. E. to Llanidloes. As it approaches Newtown, it assumes the name of Severn. It then passes through the vale of Montgomeryshire, and, beyond Welsh- pool, enters Shropshire, and, having almost encircled the town of Shrewsbury, passes Colebrook Dale, flowing by Bridgenorth, Bewdley, Worcester, Tewkesbury, and Glouces- ter ; and continuing its course some miles beyond Newnham, is called the Bristol Channel, till it empties itself into the Atlantic Ocean, between the Land's End and the extreme point of Pembrokeshire. The distance of this course is more than 200 miles." It is certain, that the city of Gloucester was a place of con- siderable trade in the reign of the Saxon King Harold II. 1066, and which considerably increased for several hundred years after. Gildas, in his Description of England, describes the mouth of the Severn as one channel by which foreign luxuries were imported. " Queen of the Western Rivers, Severn, hsfcl ! " The boast of Gloucester, glory of her vale ; " Long may thy broad expanse of waters sweep " In rolling volumes to the kindred deep ! " * Guliel Slatyer, in his Paloe Albion, Ode 4, Canz. 6, page 93, derives the name from Sabrina, or Habren, daughter to King Loc- rine and the beauteous Estrild. " Pulchra Sabrina suis ludens prope flumina lymphis, " Ex ilia Cambros hac parte interluit Anglos." 286 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER* GLOUCESTER AND BERKELEY CANAL* NUMBER OF VESSELS From the opening of the Canal, to Dec. 31, 1827 2081 to Dec. 31, 1828 4272 to Apl. 26, 1829 1388 7741 TONNAGES tons. As above, to December 31, 1827 99,280 to December 31, 1828 228,574 to April 26, 1829 65,667£ 393,521 i The receipt of Duties at our Custom-house during the year 1828, exceeded that of the one preceding by £16,000. — This result, in its present state of infancy, justifies expecta- tions of an accession of commerce to an immense extent. In the printed report of the Committee of the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal, at a special assembly held the seventh of May, 1816, it is stated that — "The geographical situation of Gloucester will make her a port of the first-rate conse- quence, as her communications will open directly into the very heart and centre of the kingdom ; and looking at Bir- mingham and its vicinity, as the pivot upon which her com- mercial communications will directly operate, both as to the import and export trade, she will have a most decisive advan* tage over every other port in the kingdom. THE CANAL. 237 " The produce of the West- Indian and American markets, the trade of France, Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Ireland, South and North Wales, and the Northern States of Europe, will all find their way to the port of Gloucester, as the most central port for distribution of commerce, through the important manufacturing and trading districts of the kingdom, of which Birmingham may be con- sidered as the grand centre of motion. The opening of the Birmingham and Worcester Canal, and the speedy completion of the Stratford-on-Avon Canal, will tend very much to extend and improve the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal trade communications, and will, in a peculiar and striking degree, open most important channels with the extensive coal, iron, and other mines, and the produce of South Wales, which will with great facility and expedition be brought into all the interior parts of the kingdom, as the communication between Lidney and Sharpness Point will be open every day for all such coal and other trading vessels as can now only go to Gloucester during spring tides. At the same time your Committee beg leave to observe, that your Canal will add infinite value and importance to the Birmingham and Worces*- ter Canal, whose trade it will increase in almost a tenfold degree ; they therefore confidently rely on the interest, sup- port, and exertion of the Proprietors of that undertaking." — All these anticipations of the Committee have been realised ; and perhaps there is not one instance to be found, of any port in this kingdom having risen into notice with such rapidity. Some opinion of the immensity of this undertaking may be formed, when we state that the expenditure to the present time has amounted to half a million sterling. " By this great work we have the happiness of knowing, that we have opened to the commercial world the vales of Warwick, of Worcester, and of Gloucester, rich in their 238 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. varied stores ; and we trust that the natural consequence will be, that the time is not far distant when Gloucester will become the emporium of the west." Sharpness Point is a bold promontory, projecting a con- siderable distance into the Severn, and where, during ordinary spring tides, the tides flow from 23 to 30 feet; besides which, there are always from 4 to 10 feet at low water mark ; but at high spring tides there are upwards of 40 feet. A Pier has been lately erected there, which for excellency of workmanship, solidity, and every other necessary requisite, is not to be surpassed by any in the kingdom. It is entirely built of stone obtained from the Forest of Dean, and is of the most durable kind. The pier extends in length into the river about 200 feet, exclusive of the sea wall, three quarters of a mile in length. Height of the wall of the pier 40 feet. The lock gates are 40 feet high and 40 feet wide, and weigh 40 tons. There are three pair of those gates, of equal dimen- sions, near to each other, at one entrance from the Basin into the Canal, and others of smaller dimensions for barges at the other entrance. The Basin contains one acre. In making the foundations for the pier and the walls of the basin, it was necessary to employ gunpowder for blowing up the rock. The quantity used for that purpose was 30 tons. 570 men were employed in this arduous undertaking, which cost about the sum of .£35,000. exclusive of any other works on the canal. The whole expenses incurred in making the canal, basin, locks, bridges, culverts, &c, including the acts of parliament, amounted to the sum of at least £500,000. The Port of Gloucester appears to be very advantageously situated, with reference to the Irish Trade generally, and THE CANAL. 239 more particularly as to that of its staple article, Corn. Vessels bringing cargoes of Irish grain to Gloucester, will find a ready vent for their lading at Birmingham, in Staffordshire, and the Upper Districts, where the consumption is great, and the production of that indispensible necessary of life is compara- tively small. Back cargoes of coal, bark, salt, bricks, &c. may be obtained by the Irish traders at Gloucester, on terms as favourable as at any other Port. In order that the commercial public may be enabled to form an opinion as to the expense of sending a cargo to Gloucester, the Tonnage-Rates which the Canal-Company charges for Goods passing along the entire length of the Canal, are hereunder given, on a few of the principal articles of import — premising, however, that this Rate is the only charge made on vessel and cargo, excepting Id. per ton for lockage in certain cases. RATES. Bricks per 1000 .. . 3s. Butter per Ton .. . 3s. Cattle each . u Chalk and Clay ... per Ton . Is. 6d. Coals . 0s. 8d. Copper, Tin, Pewter .. . 3s. Corn per Quarter.. . 5d. &6d. Deals and Timber ... per Ton . 2s. 6d. Earthenware per Crate .. . 0s. 6d. Flints per Ton . Is. Flour ., . 4*. Glass Ware .. . 3*. 6d. Grocery of all kinds .. , 4*. Hay .. . 2s. 6d. 240 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Hemp and Flax ... per Ton. ... 3s. 6d. Iron ... Is. to 2s. Lead ... 2s. 6d. Molasses ... 3s. Oils of all kinds per Tun of 252 Galls. 5s. Potatoes per Ton ... Is. Rice ... ... ... 3s. Rosin ... 3s. Salt ... Is. 6d. Slates ... Is. 6d. Tallow ... 3s. 6d. Tobacco ... 4s. Wine per Pipe ... 2s. 6d< APPENDIX. REPRESENTATIVES IN PARLIAMENT. FOR THE CITY, EDWARD WEBB, Esq. 1816. ROBERT BRANSBY COOPER, Esq. 1818. FOR THE COUNTY, LORD R. E. H. SOMERSET, 1803. SIR BERKELEY WILLIAM GUISE, Bart. 1811. LORD LIEUTENANT OF THE COUNTY. His Grace the DUKE of BEAUFORT. MEMBERS OF THE CORPORATION. His R. H. the DUKE of GLOUCESTER, High Steward. The Right Hon. JOHN LORD SOMERS, Recorder. THOMAS COMMELINE, Esq. Chamberlain. HENRY HOOPER WILTON, Esq. Town Clerk. CHARLES WEAVER, Esq. Sword Bearer. TWELVE ALDERMEN. From this number, one is chosen yearly to serve the office of Mayor. TWENTY-FOUR COMMON COUNCIL. The late Mayor serves the office of Coroner, Newspaper.—- Gloucester Journal, by D. Walker and Sons, published on Saturday Mornings. Markets. — Wednesdays and Saturdays. Market for Live Stock.— First Monday in each Month. Fairs.— April 5th; July 5th; Sept. 28th; Nov. 28th. 242 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. POST OFFICE. jLccount of the Days and Hours of the Post going out of and coining into, the City of Gloucester, according to the latest Regulation. Goes out every day, except Saturday, at a quarter to six o'clock in the afternoon, for the following places : — London, Aylesbury, Buck- ingham, Fenny Stratford, and Stoney Stratford, in Buckinghamshire ; Alton, Andover, Aylesford, Basingstoke, Odiham, and Whitchurch, in Hampshire ; the Counties of Bedford, Cambridge, Essex, Hert- ford, Huntingdon, Lincoln, Northampton, Norfolk, Rutland, Surrey, Sussex, and' Suffolk ; — and Arrives every day, except Mon- day, at half-past eight in the morning. Goes out every day at a quarter before six in the afternoon, for Cheltenham, Northleach, Burford, Witney, Oxford, Abingdon, Beaconsfield, Cricklade, Colnbrook, Farringdon, Highworth, Hen- ley, Flounslow, Maidenhead, Marlow, Nettlebed, Swindon, Ox- bridge, Wantage, Windsor, Wotton Basset, Wyconib ; — and Arrives every day at half-past eight in the morning. The Letters for the above Towns, &c. must be put into the Office by Five o'clock. Goes out every day, at six in the morning, for Cheltenham, Pains- wick, Stroud, Mincbinhampton, Cirencester, Fairford, Lechlade, Sodbury ;— *and Arrives every day at five in the afternoon. Goes out every day, at nine in the morning, for Ross, Monmouth? Usk, Abergavenny, Hereford, Hay, Brecon, Llandovery, Cardigan- shire, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire ; Newnham, Chepstow, Newent ; and the southern parts of Ireland, by Packet, the way of Waterford; — and Arrives every day, at four in the afternoon. Goes out every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, at one at noon* for Ledbury ; and Arrives on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at twelve at noon. Goes out every night, at ten, for Dursley, Wotton-under-Edge, Bristol, Bath, Hungerford, Reading, Newbury, Tetbury. — Over the New Passage : Newport, Cardiff, Caerleon, Merthyr Tidvil, Swansea, Pontypool.— Hampshire and Wiltshire (with the exception of the Towns before stated), and all the West of England ; Guern- sey, Jersey, and the Isle of Wight. — Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Birming- ham, Bromyard, Campden, Hinckley, Holyhead, Isle of Man, Leominster, Moreton in Marsh, North W T aies, Stow, Tewkesbury, Winchcomb, Dublin, and the northern parts of Ireland, Edinburgh, and all Scotland.— Counties of Worcester, Y/arwick, Salop, Stafford, Derby, Chester, Leicester, York, Cumberland, Westmoreland, Not- tingham, Northumberland, Durham, Radnor; and Arrives every morning at eight. LIST OF MAILS AND LIGHT POST COACHES. FROM THE BELL OFFICE, SOUTHGATE-STREET. Mail to Birmingham, through Worcester, every night at twelve o'clock; to Bristol, midnight, atone; to Cheltenham, every morning at nine, APPENDIX. 243 Mail to Cheltenham, every morning at eight. A Coach to Birmingham, through Tewkesbury and Worcester, every morning at eleven and twelve. A Coach to Shrewsbury, through Worcester, Mondays, Wednes- days, and Fridays, at two in the afternoon. A Coach to Bath every day, except Sunday, at two. A Coach to Bath, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, through Stroud, at ten. A Coach to Bath, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings, at twelve. A Coach to Bristol every day, except Sunday, at half-past two, FROM HEATH'S OFFICE, SOUTHGATE-STREET. The London Royal Mail every afternoon at a quarter before six. Carmarthen Royal Mail every morning at half-past nine. Milford Royal Mail every morning at half-past nine. Tenby and Pembroke every morning at five and eleven. Carmarthen Post Coach every morning, Sunday excepted, at five. Cheltenham Coaches, seven in the morning, and at two and half- past four in the afternoon. London Post Coach every afternoon at two. London Day Coach, every morning, at seven. Oxford Post Coach every afternoon at two. Hereford Post Coaches every morning at five, and at three in the afternoon. FROM THE BOOTH-HALL OFFICE. London Day Coach (the Regulator) through Cheltenham raid Oxford, every morning at a quarter before six, to the White Horse Cellar, Piccadilly, Brown's Gloucester Warehouse, and Bolt-in- Tun, Fleet-street, London, by eight the same evening ; leaves London every morning at six, and arrives in Gloucester by eight the same evening. Carmarthen Day Coach (Regulator) every morning, except Sun- day, at a quarter before five, through Ross, Monmouth, Abergavenny, Brecon, Llandovery, and Llandilo, to the White Lion and Bush Inns, Carmarthen, early same evening ; returns every morning at five, and arrives in Gloucester by nine. Tenby and Pembroke Post Coach, Tuesday, Thursday, and Satur- day mornings, at a quarter before five. Shrewsbury Post Coach every afternoon, except Sunday, at three o'clock, through Hereford, Leominster, and Ludlow, to the Lion Inn, Shrewsbury ; where it meets the Holyhead Mail and Day Coaches. Hereford Post Coach, through Newent, every afternoon, at three o'clock, to the Hotel, Hereford, by eight ; returns every morning at five, and arrives in Gloucester by nine, where it meets Coaches to Bath and Bristol, also to Cheltenham, Oxford, &c. Bath Post Coach, through Rodborough, every morning, except Sunday, at ten, to the York House, Bath, by half-past three ; returns from thence every morning at nine, and arrives in Gloucester at half-past two. 244 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Bristol Post Coach (the Phoenix) every morning at nine, Sundays excepted, to the White Hart, Broad-street, where it arrives at half- past two. Bristol Post Coach (the Wellington) every day at three, to the White Lion and Bush Coach Offices. Birmingham Post Coach (the Wellington) through Tewkesbury and Worcester, every morning at half-past eleven, to the Castle and Saracen's Head Inns, Birmingham. Liverpool Post Coach every morning at half-past eleven, to the Saracen's Head Inn, Dale-street, Liverpool. Swansea Post Coach, through Newnham, Chepstow, Newport, Cardiff, and Cowbridge, every morning at nine, to the Mackworth Arms Inn, Swansea. Cheltenham Coaches every morning at half-past five and nine, and every afternoon at two and half-past two, to the Plough, Royal, and George Hotels. FROM THE KING'S HEAD OFFICE. The Retaliator, to London, every morning at seven o'clock, and returns every evening at eight. Coaches to Bristol, Birmingham, Cheltenham, &c. &c. FROM THE RAM INN, SOUTHGATE-STREET. A Coach to Bath every day, except Sunday, at half-past ten in the morning ; returns from Bath every day at half-past two. A Coach to London every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at two ; and every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, at three ; through Stonehouse, Cainscross, Stroud, Brimscomb Port, Chalford, Ciren- cester, and Abingdon. A Coach to Leicester every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning, at ten, through Cheltenham, Evesham, Leamington, Warwick, and Coventry. A Coach to Bristol every day at three o'clock ; and every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at twelve. A Coach to Cheltenham every morning at nine, and at half-past ten ; Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings, at half-past ten. A Coach to Birmingham (from Bristol through Newport) leaves Gloucester every day at one, through Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Worcester, Birmingham, and Manchester. A Coach (the True Briton) through Hounslow, Maidenhead, Henley, Abingdon, Farringdon, Lechlade, Fairford, Cirencester, Chalford, Brimscomb Port, Stroudwater, Caincross, Ebley, and Stonehouse ; also to Nailsworth, Uley, Dursley, and Wotton-under- Edge ; leaves Gloucester every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at half-past one in the afternoon, and arrives at the Angel Inn, Angel- street, St. Martin's-le- Grand, London, at nine the following morn- ings ; and will return every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday after- noon at four, and arrive at Gloucester the following mornings at eleven. APPENDIX. 245 CARRIERS. Ashmore's, J. and W., Birmingham and Bristol Fly Waggon Office, Quay-street, (C. Parker, Agent,) whence goods are carried to Worcester, Warwick, Stafford, Leicester, Derby, Manchester, Preston, Lancaster, and all parts of the North of England, Scotland, and Ireland ; also through Somersetshire, Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall, every day. By Howes, Gabb, and Shurmer, Quay-street, goods are forwarded to all parts of the kingdom. Dobbins, John, to Cheltenham every day, from St. Mary's square. J. Page's Waggons load at his Warehouse, Quay-street, for Ciren- cester, and all parts of Berks, Wilts, and London, every Saturday ; Tuesday and Thursday evenings for Ross ; South Wales every Mon- day and Thursday ; Ledbury and Hereford every Monday. Plaisted, Thomas, to Cheltenham, daily, Westgate-street. Tanner and Baylis's London and Gloucestershire Fly Waggons, Bear-land, from their Warehouses, Gloucester, and Winchcomb-str.. Cheltenham, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday ; arrive at the Saracen's Head, Friday-street, London, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday ; and return the following mornings for Gloucester and Cheltenham, where they arrive every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. — J. Troke's Waggon, from T. and B.'s Warehouse, Glou- cester, to Herefordshire, and G. North's, to Monmouthshire and South Wales, twice a week each. T. and B.'s London Fly Waggons, from Rodborough every morning and evening at seven o'clock, and from Cirencester at 12 (noon and night) ; arrive in London in two days ; start from their Warehouse, Grub-street, and Saracen's Plead, Friday-street, London, each place, daily, and arrive in Gloucestershire ia two days. T. and B.'s Bristol Waggons load four times a week, at the Bell Inn, Thomas-street, Bristol, and convey goods to Gloucester, Chel- tenham, and all parts of the county. — Waggons to and from Glou- cester, Cheltenham, and throughout the manufacturing districts, three times a week. — Goods forwarded to all parts of England, Scot- land, Wales, or Ireland. T. and B., Bear-land, to Bath, and all parts of the West of Eng- land, every day at noon ; Taunton, Exeter. Plymouth, Falmouth, Devon, and Cornwall, every morning ; SouthraGlton and Barnstaple, every Thursday morning ; Warminster, Salisbury, Southampton, Gosport, Portsmouth, and Isle of Wight, every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday morning ; Bridport, Beaminster, Crewkerne, Charmouth, and Hasselborough, every W ednesday morning ; Wells, every Tuesday and Friday morning ; Bridgwater, every morning. Tanner and Baylis have waggons regularly three times a week their Warehouses, Bear-land, Gloucester, and Winchcomb- str 2 et, Cheltenham, through Rodborough; to Bristol direct. Goods shipped by H. Wood, of the Bell-yard, Thomas-street, Bristol, every week, for Chepstow, Newport, Caerleon, Cardiff, Swansea, and all parts of South Wales, or forwarded by any convey- ance as directed. L-2 246 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER, CONVEYANCE BY WATER. From William Kendall and Son's Wharf,— from J. D. Walker's Wharf, — from Charles Parker's Wharf, — and from George Ames's Wharf, goods are forwarded to all parts of the kingdom. LIST OF FAIRS.— GLOUCESTERSHIRE. Berkeley, (W.) May 14. Bisley, (Th.) May 4, Nov. 12. Blakeney, ( W.) May 12, Nov. 12. Cambridge, first Tuesday in Oct. Campden, ( W. ) Ash- Wednesday. April 23, Aug. 5, Dec. 10. Cirencester, (M. and F.) Easter- Tuesday, July 18, 1st Monday in Aug. 1st Monday in Sept. 1st Mon. in Oct. Nov. 8 ; Sta- tute or Mop, Mon. before and after old Michaelmas day. Cheltenham, (Th.) 2d. Th. April, Holy Thurs. Aug. 5, 2d Th. in Sept. Dec. 7, 18. Coleford, (F.) June 20, Dec. 5. Dursley, (Th.) May 6, Dec. 4. Fairford,(Th.) May 14, Nov. 12. Frampton, April 30. GLOUCESTER, (W. and S.) Apr. 5, July 5, Sept. 28, 29, Nov. 28. Hampton, (T.) Trin. Monday, Oct. 29. Iron- Acton, April 25, Sept. 13. Lechlade, (T.) Aug.5,21, Sept.9. Leonard- Stanley, (S.) July 20. Lidney, (W.) May 4, Nov. 8. Little-Dean, Whit-Mon.Nov.26. Marshfield, (T.) May 24, Oct. 24. Mitcheldean, (M.) Easter- Mon. Oct. 10. Moreton, (T.) April 5, Nov. 1. Newnham, (F.) June 11, Oct. 18. Newent, (F.) Wed. bef. Easter, Wed. before Whitsuntide, Aug. 13, Friday after Sept. 18. Northleach, (W.) Wed. bef. May 4, last Wed. in May, 1st Wed. in Sept. & Wed. before Oct. 10. Painswick,(Th.)Wh.Tu. Sep. 19. Sodbury, (Th.) May 23, June 24. Stonehouse, May 1, Oct. 1 l,No. 10. Stow-on-the-Wold, (Th.) March 29, May 12, July 24, Oct. 24. Stroud, (F.) May 12, Aug. 21. Tetbury, (W.) Ash- Wed. Wed. bef. and aft. April 5, July 22. Tewkesbury, (W. and S.) second Mon. in March, 1st. Wed. in April, May 14, June 22, Sept. 4, Oct. 10, Wed. bef. and after do. a statute, and 1st Wed. Dec. Thornbury, ( S. ) Easter- Monday, Aug. 15, Mon. before Dec. 21. Tockington, May 9, Dec. 6. Westerleigh, Sept. 19. Wickwar, (M.) April 5, June 2. Winchcomb, (S.) the last Sat. in March, May 6, July 28. Winterbourn, June 29, Oct. 18. Wotton-under-Edge, (F.) Sept. 25. Westbury-upon- Severn, Thur. in Whitsun-week, Friday befsre old Michaelmas day. Great Market at Coleford, the Friday before the 30th Aug. APPENDIX. 247 ROUTES IN THE DIRECTION FROM GLOUCESTER, r right, I, left, m. market-town. TO LONDON. MILES. 1 Wotton. On the r a seat of W. Goodrich, Esq. ; on the I late Colonel Hopkinson. 9 m Cheltenham. A neat town, and much frequented for its medicinal springs. To the r Lord Falcornberg's house, where the King once resided. 12 Dowdeswell. A house lateE. Rogers, Esq. ; on the r is a seat of W. Hunt Prynne, Esq. at Charlton- Kings. 15 Frogmill Inn. On the I Sandywell Park, late Mrs. Tracy. 22 m Northleach. The Roman Foss runs through this place. Church ancient and hand- some. On the I is Farming- ton. Rev. E. Waller. Pass Stowell Park, T. Penrice, Esq. 26^ Barrington. Seat to the I Rev. Mr. Price. SI m Burford, Oxfordshire : no- ted for making saddles. 3S| m Witney, noted for making rugs and blankets. 42 Eynsham. 48 Botley. 49 m Oxford. Celebrated Uni- versity. 52£ Littlemore. 55 Nuneham. Lord Harcourt. 58£ Dorchester. Small town. 60 Shillingford. 61h Benson. Three miles to the I Brightwell House, W. L. Stone, Esq. 63 Beggar's Bush. 65| Nuffield^Heath. Beyond is Gould's Heath. G. Davis, Esq. 67 Nettlebed. On the I Joyce MILES. Grove, T. Tovey, Esq. ; on the r a windmill, said to be the highest ground south of the Trent. At a distance to the I Wallington Park, Mrs. Tilson. 69^ Bix. 71f m Henley-upon- Thames. On the I Badgmoor, J. Crote,Esq. lo\ Harley Bottom. On the r Temple Mills, one of the largest copper mills in Eng- land. On the I Park- Place. 79£ Golden Fleece. On the r, near the banks of the Thames, Bisham Abbey, G. Vansit- tart, Esq. 80 m Maidenhead, Berkshire. Between the bridge and town on the r Sir Isaac Pocock. On the I in the town, G. Powncy, Esq. Bridge. 85 SalthiU. On the r Windsor Castle. Eton Coll. Cran- bourn Lodge, Duke of Glou- cester. Slough. On the I formerly lived Dr. Herschel. 86^ Tetsworth Water. 88| m Colnbrook, Buckingham- shire. On the r Riching's Park, Rt. Hon. J. Sullivan. 90| Longford. 93| Cranford Bridge. On the r Cranford Park. 97| mHounslow. 100^ m Brentford. At the end of the town, on the other side of the Thames, Kew Palace. Beyond on the I Sion House, Duke of Northumberland. On the r Sion Hill, Duke of Marlborough. A mile for- ward, Osterley Park, Earl of Jersev. 248 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. MILES. 101 Turnham Green. 102^ Hammersmith. 104 Kensington, Middlesex. 1 05*Knightsbridge. 106 m London. TO 49 55^ en 73* 76 77 8*| 85 86* 90 91* 92* 95± 97i 100 101i 103 105 107 LONDON THROUGH WYCOMBE. m Oxford. Wheatly. A great many seats around it. Wheatly Bridge. Tetsworth. On Z Thame Park, Miss Wickham. Stoken Church, Oxon. West Wycombe. Lord De Spencer, Sir John Dash wood King, Bart. On the Z Rev. Mr. Levett. m High Wycombe. On the r Marquis of Lansdown. Wycombe Marsh. Loudwater. m Beaconsfield. On the r Gregories, late Mr. Burke. Gerrard's Cross. Balstrode, Duke of Somerset. Taddlingend, Bucks. m Uxbridge. M Lillington. Hayes. Southall. On the R. Seymour. Ealing. Acton. Shepherd's Bush. Kensington Gravel Pits. Tyburn. m London. TO CIRENCESTER AND LONDON. 4 Brockworth. 5 Witcomb. On the r Sir W. Hicks. 6 Top of Birdlip Hill. MILES. Along a Roman FossWay to 15 m Cirencester. 17 On the r Lord Bathurst's house and woods. On the I in the town, the Abbey, Thomas Masters, esq. 20* Eastington. 22~ Poulton, Wiltshire. 25* m Fairford : famous for the painted glass in the church. J. R. Barker, Esq. and on the r going out of the town, C. T. Morgan, Esq. 29 m Lechlade, Gloucestershire W. Fox, Esq. SO St. John's Bridge. 31 Buscot. On the r Buscot Park, E. L. Loveden, Esq. So m Faringdon. Faringdon House, — Bennet, Esq. 39§ Kingston Inn. On the r Wm. Bland, Esq. 41 Fifield. 42 J Tubney Warren. On the Z — Lockart, Esq. 46* Abingdon, Berkshire. 47j Cullum Bridge. 50* Clifton. 51* Buscot. On the r J. E. Tawney, Esq. 53 Dorchester. 103 m London. Lord GLOUCESTER TO BATH. 3 Quedgley. To the r seat of W. Hay ward, Esq. 5 Hardwick. To the r Hard- wick Court, J. L. Bakei\ Esq. 7* Whitminster. Cross the Canal leading to Stroud and London. 11 Frocester. Steep Hill. 12* Nympsfield. On the Z Lord Ducie. 16* Coldharbour. On the Z R. Kingscote, Esq. 25 Petty France. On the Z is Badmington, the seat of the Duke of Beaufort. APPENDIX. 249 MILES. 27J Crosshands Inn. On the r Doddington Park, Sir B. C. Codrington, Bart. 30i Tolldown House. 35^ LansdownMonument, erec- ted to the memory of Sir Bevil Granville, killed here in a battle fought with the Parliament Army in the time of Charles I. On the I T. Whittington, Esq. 39i m Bath. BATH by RODBOROUGH. 4^ To Cross Hands at Hard- wick, turn to the Z. 6£ Standish Church. 8£ Stonehouse. 10 Cain's Cross. 12£ Rodborough. On the Z Sir Ones. Paul, Bart. 14 Inchbrook. On the r Pud- hill House, J. Wade, Esq. ; and Spring Park, Lord Ducie. On the Z — Peach, Esq. Dunkirk House. 15 Nailsworth. 16^ Horsley. On the r E. Wil- braham, Esq. m Tipput's Inn. On the Z Chavenage House, H. Wil- lis, Esq. 18^ Kingscote. 38l m Bath. HEREFORD THROUGH ROSS. 2 Highnam. Highnam House, Sir B. W. Guise, M.P. 4 Churcham. 6 Birdwood. 7 Huntley. 11^ Lea. Castle End. Arch- deacon Probyn. 14 Weston, Herefordshire. F. MILES. Lawson, Esq. ; John Hard- wick, Esq. ; T.Nixon, Esq.; J. Swayne, Esq. 16 m Ross, situate on the Wve. John Kyrel, " The Man of Ross," built the spire. Nourse, Esq. 17 Wilton. Ruins of a Castle to the r. 2-i£ Harewood-end Inn. On the r Sir R. Hoskyns, Bart, 2;H Landenabo. On Z Broomy Close, J. Woodward, Esq. 27£ Great Birch. On the Z Bringwyn, Mrs. Phillips ; and the Meend, T. Sim- monds, Esq. 29 Cross-in- Hand. 29| Callow. On the Z at Ken- chester, the site of a Roman station. 33^ m Hereford. New Inn. City Arms Hotel. TO WORCESTER THRO' TEWKESBURY. 1 Longford. Rev. J. Ches- ton on the Z. 2% Twigworth. 5 Norton. Church on the hill to the Z. 11 m Tewkesbury. Borough town. Elegant Church. Stocking manufactory. On the r, at the Mythe, R. Jackson, Esq. Here the Avon falls into the Severn. Swan, Hop- Pole, Star and Garter. 13% Twining. Here is a spring said to be famous for leprosy. 14^ Shire Stone and Bridge, Worcestershire. \Uy 2 Ripple. 1 19 Severn Stoke. On the r Dr. Evans. l 20y 2 Clifton. 22% Kempsey. On the r Capt. I Baker. 250 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. ra Worcester. Ancient Ca- thedral. King John buried in the choir. Flight and Barr's fine China Manufac- tory. TO BRISTOL. 7% Whitminster. 10% Cambridge Inn.' 16 ■ Newport. On ther Berke- leyCastle, Col. Berkeley. 17% Stone. 18% Falfield. 24 Alve^ton. 25% Rugway. On the r Tock- ington, P. Peach, Esq. 26% Almondsbury. On the r Knoll, S. Worrall, Esq. SO Filton. On the I — Barns- ley, Esq. 32% Horfield. 34 ra Bristol. Bush, White Lion, White Hart, Grey- hound, &c. GLOUCESTER TO SWAN- SEA, THRO' CHEPSTOW. 1 3 Over. 6 Highnam. On the r High- Ram Court. 2 Minsterworth. 4 4 Westbury. 1 6 Broad Oak. lira Newnham. On the r Hay Hill. 3 Blakeney. 4 4 Aylburton. On the r Lyd- ney Park, Right Hon. C. B. Bathurst. 1 Alveston. 1 Woolaston. 4 Tiddenham. Cross the Wye. On the r — Wil- liams, Esq. 1 4 ra Chepstow. On the r Piercefield, the seat of N. Wells, Esq. 3 4 St. Pierre. 1 Crick. Crick House, Major M'Bean. i Caerwent. 4 Penhowe. On the r Went- wood Lodge, Duke of Beau- fort. 1 6 Cat's Ash. On the Z Llan- warren, Sir R. Salusbury, bt. 3 2 Christ Church. Cross the Usk. 2 5 ra Newport. Cross the Monmouth Canal, the Iron Railway, and further the Ebbw. Two miles and a half from Newport, on the I is Tredegar, Sir C. Morgan, Bart. 4 Castle Town. St. Melton's. On the r Ruppera House, Mor- gan, Esq. On the r Cefn Mabley, J. K. Tynte, Esq. 1 4 Rumney. Cross the river. 1 4 ra Cardiff. Assizesheld here. Cross the Taaff Z, on r Llan- daff Court. 2 2 Ely Bridge. Cross the Ely. 4 St. Nicholas. On the Z Dyf- frin-house, Hon. B. Grey. 1 6 Bonvilston. On the Z Llan- trythid Park, Sir J. Aubrey, Bart. 4 4 ra Cowbridge. OntherPen- llyne Castle, Miss Gwinnett. 3 5 Crack. 1 5 Corntown. 1 Ewenny. Cross the Ewen- ny and Ogmore. On the r remains of a Priory. 1 New Inn. 5 4 I'yle. 1 5 Margam. On the r Margam Park, — Talbot, Esq. 3 5 Taybaek. 1 1 Aberabon. Cross the Avon. 1 6 Bagland. On the r Bag- land Hall, — — Jones, Esq. AI'i'EXDIX, 251 1 2 Briton Ferry. On the r Lord Vernon's seat. 2 7 m Neath. Cross the 2% eath and Ciytha Copper-works and Iron-forges. Coal-pits. 1 1 Day. On the r Court Her- bert. 2 m Llansmalet. Cross the Tawe. 1 6 Morriston. Cross the Swan- sea Canal three times. 3 m Swansea. Cold and hot sea-water Baths, Pottery, Iron-found. Copper-houses TO MILFORD HAVEN. 4 16 m Ross. 8 5 Pencraig. 1 1 Goodrich. On the I W. Fosketc, Esq. and remains of its ancient Castle. 4 Old Ford, Cross the river Luke. 1 1 Whitchurch. W. Grove, Esq. and Col. Molyneux. 2 2 L 1 m Monmouth. Assizes held here. Henry V. born in this place. Half a mile on I Troy House. Duke of Beaufort. 2 Winastow. 2 7 Tregare. 1 7 Bryngwyn. On r Llanarth Court, J. Jones, Esq. 4 2 Llangattock. On the r Llangattock House, Rev. M. Lucas. 2 2 Colebrook Park. On the I Penpergwyn House, Rev. J. Lewis ; and further I Llanover House, B. Wad- dington, Esq. 1 6 in Abergavenny. On the r Colebrook House, J. Wil- liams, Esq. Dwrwyn Cot- tage, Mrs. Middleton. 1 4 Pentre. 2 6 Llangv, ryney. On the r Sunny Bank- C. Cracroft, Esq. On I Dan-y- Craig, J. \Vood, Esq. 1 7 m Crickhoweil. On /Llan- gattock Place, H. Williams, Esq. On the r Gwernvale, J. G wynne. Esq, 1 7 Pontybrynest. On the r Tretower, ruins of an anci- ent castle. 1 4 Skethrag. On the r Ske- thrag House, J. Jones, Esq. 1 3 Llanhamlaek, On the / Peterston Court, T. H. Powell, Esq. 3 2 m Brecon. Town Hall. Assizes held here. Saint David's. Cross the Arrow. 6 Lladspdderi. 6 Penpont. 3 Rhydbrue. On the I De- rynnock, Rev. H. Payne. Cross the Usk to 3 Trecastle. 4 Velindre, Carmarthenshire. 6 m Llandovery. Handsome stone bridge over the Towey. ancient Castle, several Leats. 3 3 Blanenose. OntherLlvwn- y-Brain Hall, Mrs. Rice. Llanwrda. Abermarles. On the r R. R. Folev, Esq. Cledvultch. Rosmaen. m Llandilo Vawr, On the r Dynevor Castle, Lord D. On the I Golden Grove, Lord Cawdor. 2 4 Rhewnader. On the I Ber- land-y-well, R. J. Llwyd, Esq. & Aberglasney, Capt. Dver. 3 Cross Hill. OntheZGron- gar Hill. 3 4 Cothy Bridge. 1 7 Alitygog. 1 5 Aberwite. On the / Palace of Bishop of St. David's ; and Clestandy, R. Thomas 1 , Esq. On the r Castle Pig- gin. 3 6 1 1 3 2 1 5 1 2 9:i9 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. 1 7 m Carmarthen. A corpo- rate town, assizes held here, iron and tin mills, smelting houses, &c. 1 3 Stony Bridge. Over the r Cowin. 2 Tavernplwcketh. On the r Wernafit House, Wil- liams, Esq. 8 5 Pool-y- Gravel. Cross the Abercwim & the Cliveham. 1 7 Llanvihangel. Abercwim. Cross the Abercwim and Tave. 2 5 Llandowror. 5 Tavernspite. 3 7 Cold Blow. 1 6 m Narbeth. Cross the river Abercwym to 1 7 Robbeston Wathen. On r Sodston House, — - James, Esa. 1 1 Caniston Bridge. Over the East Cleddy, r Ridgway, J. H. Foley, Esq. and Llawhaden House, Francis Skyrme, Esq. 2 3 Midcounty. 1 3 Arnold's Hill. On the I Slebeck Hall, and Wiston, seat of Lord Cawdor. 6 Deeplake. 1 7 Scurry Hill. Pass the river Milford, and, beyond, the West Cleddy, and enter 1 2 m Haverfordwest. A cor- porate town. 3 6 Merlin's Bridge. Over the Cheddy. Two miles on r seat of Wright, Esq. 3 Johnston. On the I Lord Kensington. 2 Stainton. On the I Har- meston, D, Hughes, Esq. 1 4 m Milford Haven. THE END. W. Bulgin, Printer, Corn- Street, Bristol.