DA 690 .1126 116 Copy 1 i ■^'. ■••,'.'•■. ■.■■(,••.•' ■■ ■ft I'vi:;.;;!?./:;; ; -gp^ 9a$ HISTORY OF. THE TOWN AND ABBEY OP MALMESBURY. PRICE, IN BOARDS, SEVEN SHILLINGS AND SIX-PENCE.. THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MALMESBURY, AND OF ITS ANCIENT ABBEY, 7%$ Remains of whufh magnificent Edifice are still used as a Parish Churchy TOGETHER. WITS MEMOIRS OF EMINENT NATIVES, AND OTHER DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS WHO WERE CONNECTED WITH THE ABBEY OR TOWNj TO WHICH IS ADDED, AN APPENDIX. X^^>: (EMBELLISHED WITH ENGRAVINGS.) Rev. /. M. MOFFATTy of Malmesbury. " Denique non lapides quoque vinci cernis ab sevo? ** Non altas tunes ruere, et putrescere saxa ? ** Non delubra Deum, simulacraque fessa fatisci ? ** Nee sanctum Numen Fati protollere fines " Posse, neque adversus Naturae foedera niti? ** Denique non monimenta virum delapsa videmns ** Cedere proporrd, subitoque senescere casu }" Lucretius, TETBURY, Printed (for the Editor) by J. G. GOODWYN: Sold by F. and C. Rivington, St. Paul's Church-yard, and T, Conder, Bucklersbury, London. 1805. *^ The most important advantages that result from these local accounts^ are derived from the materials which they furnish to the general History of the Country. These are the sources from which a great part of the most authentic information, belonging to the latter y may he drawn; and by which it may in future ages be, in a great measure, con- firmed or corrected. They may not only serve to ascertain property, preserve the genealogies of families, record illus- trious actions, uphold the memory of great characters, and retrace and bring to view the peculiar modes of life, the laws and customs, of past ages; but also contribute to perpetuate our happy constitutionJ*"^ '-'^^Co^imsoTLS History of Somer- setshire, Vol. I. pref. p. 8, 9. f SUBSCRIBERS. HoN.Ld. Vise. Andover (F.P.) R.Aldridge, Esq. Bristol, 8 Copies Rev. Mr. Ashe, Langley, Wilts Mr. J. Alexander, London Mrs. Adams, London Rev. R. Awbrey, Glocester Mr. Andrews, Stroud, Gloc. Mr. Adye, Surgeon, Bradford Mr. W. H. Awdry, Chippenham Mr. W. Adey, Malmesbury R. Bellew, Esq. London T. Bruges, Esq. Melksham Rev. Mr. Brindley (F. P.) Mr. Wm, M, Bethell, Surgeon, Yeovil, Somerset Mr. J. Britton, London, 4 Copies (F.P.) Mr. N. Beadles, Pontypool, Mon. Mr. Blackwell, Dursley, Gloc. Rev. Mr. Blair, Garsdon W. Biggs, Esq. Nailsvv orth, Gloc. Rev. G. Bissett, Dantsey Miss Burchall, Tetbury, Gloc. Rev. J. Bretland, Exeter, 4 Copies R. Browne, M. D. Minchin-harap- ton, Gloc. Mr. Bloxsome, Stroud, Gloc. Rev. J. Banister Mr. Barton, Foskell W. Blacken, Esq. Miss Bray, Frampton Mr. Bennet, Malmesbury Mr. E. Bliss, Nailsworth, Gloc. Mr. J. Barnard, Bath Rev. W. Bishop, Glocester Mr. Brind, Malmesbury Mr. J. Boucher, Stroud, Gloc^ Mr. B. B. Beddome, London iMr. J. Beddome, Ditto Mr. Beadles, Malmesbury Mr. W. Browne, Bristol (F.P.) Mr. W. Bathe, Purton Mr. Bovet, Taunton Mr. Barker, Sion-Hill, Bath Mr. J. Biedermann, Tetbury Mr. Ballinger, ChaJford Tho. Cooper, Esq, Woodchester, Gloc. Walter Coleman, Esq. Langley R. B. Cheston, M.D. Glocester Mr. Croome, Solicitor, Stroud Mr. Craddock, Tetbury, Gloc. Mr. Cruttwell, Oxford Mrs. Colborne, Chippenham Mr. J. Cambridge, Brown's-Hill, Gloc. Mr. S. Cambridge, Surgeon, Min- chin-hampton, 2 Copies, (F.P.)' Mrs. Cane, Foskell R. Chandler, Esq. Glocester Mrs. Creswell, Pinckney Mr. Cunnington, Heytesbury W. Coates, Esq. Bristol Mr. M. Coates, Ditto Mr. T. Coates, Ditto Rev. J. Coates, Birmingham W. Clare, Esq. Devizes Mr. Carter, Westport Mrs. Clark, Exeter Rev. J. Cornish Rev. T. Cook, LL.B. Minchin- hampton, Gloc. (F. P.) ^m P. Shepherd, Esq. Gatcomb-Park H. Sloper, Esq. Tetbury — Snowden, M.D. Stroud Mr. Sadler, Chippenham ■ ... St. Leger, Esq. London Mx. Henry btrong, London Mr. W. Seale, Malmesbury Mr. J. Siramonds, Berkeley Mrs. Skey, Mahnesbury Mr. Skey, Surgeon, Highworth Miss Stephens, Exon Mrs. Sabatier, Ditto Mr. Sweeting, Tetbury Mr. C. Smith, Bath, 3 Copies Mr. J. Shute, Taunton Mr. T. Seale, Malmesbury Mr. J. Seale, Ditto Mr. Spencer, Ditto Mr. J. Stratton, Hampton Mr. C. Sweeting, Stroud J. Smith, Esq. Bristol Mr. J. Sims, Stroud Mr. B. Smith, Nailsworth T. Smith, Esq. Bownhams Mr. Spilman, Glocester Mr, Spackman, Malmesbury W. Smith, Esq. Tetbury O. Smith, Esq. near Bath, (F.P.) Mr. G. Slade, Avening Rev. Mr. Sabine, Uley Mr. Stumpe, Cole-Park Rev. Mr. Stennett, Farnham Mr. W. Shrubsole, London Mr. A. Smith, Brink worth D. Sweet, Esq. Sidmouth N. Sutton, Esq. Jamaica Mr. J. Smith, Malmesbury Mr. E. Swaine, Henley, Oxf. Rev. W. Skey, Bedwin Mr. J. Sutton, Taunton Rev. J. Thomas, Charn T. Talboys, Esq. Tetbury J. iTucker, Esq. Axbridge Mr. Toghill, Chalford Mr. J. Thomas, Malmesbury Mr. T. Tanner Mr. Tovey, Malmesbury Mrs. H. Tremlett, Exon Rev. J. Toulmin, D.D. Birmingh, Taunton Reading Society Rev. Mr, Thorpe, near Oxford Mr. Trubridge, Corston Mr, B. C. Thomas, Malmesbury Mr. G. Thomas Nailsworth Mr. W. Tayloe, Chalford, (F. P.) Rev. Mr. Turner, Sherston Mr. Tovvgood, Exon Mr. Tovey, Glocester Tooth, Malmesbury Mr. Vezey, Melksham Mr. H. Vizard, Dursley Mr. Vines, Gretenham Mr. Vizer, Brokenborough Paul Wathen, Esq. Woodchester S. Wathen, Esq. New-House Mr. J. Williams, Nailsworth Mr. Wynne, Chalford Mr.R. Wight, Tetbury Mr. G.- White, Ditto Mr. J. Willis, Bath Mr. C. Ward, Doncombe Mr. N. Washbourn, Glocester Miss E. Washbourn, Ditto Mr. Washbourn, Bookseller, Ditto 2 Copies Mr. Whale, Melksham Mr. J. Wintle, Glocester Mr. J. Whittock, Bristol Capt. Wenman, Hotwells Rev. Mr. Webb, Bristol Rev. D. Williams, London T. Welman, Esq. Poundisford Mr. Walker, Colley-Cottage J Welsford, Esq. London, 4 Cop. Rev. C. Wmter, Painswick Rev. Mr. Winterbothara, Horsley, Gloc. ^ Mr. Young, Cowbridge PREFACE. Many years have iiow elapsed since the author of the ensuing work began to collect materials for completing it. He would have been glad to have seen the undertaking executed by some abler hand, but as such an occurrence seemed improbable, he at length, in compliance with the solicitations of friends, undertook the task himself. The original design included merely the history of the Abbey of Malmesbury, and an account of the present state of that interesting fragihent of Gothic architec* ture. But in the prosecution of this intention, so many circumstances were discovered, which served to elucidate the civil history of Malmesbury, that it at length was thought advisable to include in the proposed publication every interesting occur- rence that could be collected relating to the abbey and town. How far this object has been attained, must be left to the decision of the candid reader* Every history whether general or local, must be in a great measure a compilation. Judgment in the selection, and accuracy in the arrangement of his materials, can alone be expected from the author of a work like the present. The reader -^^ill perceive from the- xiumierous- references at the B foot XIV PREFACE.- national ev^ents- in which the inhabitants of the tawn have iiad some concern, and the celebrity of those literary and political characters, who have been connected with it, are circumstances which render the History of Malmesbury sufficiently in- teresting to attract the attention of the general reader. — —To this we may add that though se- veral antiquarian writers, have drawn together some imperfect notices concerning the ancient s^tate of the monastery, and others still more slight accounts of the town in works relating to general topography, yet Malmesbury has never before, been the subject of a distinct publication. It is . also worthy of remark, that some curious parti- culars have been brought forward in consequence of our researches, wdiich in a few years, would probably have been lost for ever, for want of being- recorded. On all these accounts, Malmesbury must be al- lowed to be a proper subject for a local history. In undertaking a work relating chiefly to anti- quarian subjects, the author was well aware that. be entered on a novel study; and he would not perhaps have made the hazardous attempt had he not been previously assured of receiving important assistance. He was ready to believe that patient research and industrious accuracy, might supply the place of more splendid abilities. Candour and impartiality are indispensably necessary, in a work of this kind; and it is hoped that if any passage should occur in these pages, which may be thought to PREFACE. X-^1^ to offend againsfc either, it will be attributed to mistake or inattention, and not to design. It will be proper here to give some account of the circumstances which attended the publication of this work; and of the concern which the editor had in the preparation of it for the press, and in the subsequent conduct of the undertaking. The materials from whence the history of Mal- mesbury was compiled, were collected many years since by the editor. Much additional information was received from literary friends, on the publica- tion of the proposals for printing the history : and the researches of the author brought to light many curious and interesting occurrences, which con- tribute to give value to the work. The plan of the intended publication was laid down, the whole of the materials arranged for- the press, and the three first sections, with a part of the fourth printed off, when the author was attacked by a complaint which prevented him from proceeding in his design. This attack in the course of a few months, proved fatal; and the task of conducting the remainder of this work through the press, fell to the share of the editor. This undertaking; ^^'as attended with o'reater dif- iiculty than what was at first apprehended. On examining the author's manuscripts, it appeared they were written chiefly in short hand ; and it became indispensably necessary that nearly the whole should be transcribed. In doing this some tirflinsc %IV PREFACE. trifling errors were corrected, and additional facts ajnd observations occasionally introduced. It must not be omitted that the life of Hobbes, contained in the last section, was drawn up by the editor. The Appendix belonging to this work, is much less extensive than the author intended to have made it; but as all the original and important matter designed for it will probal?ly be presented to the public under another form, it is hoped that the reader will not disapprove of the cur-^ tailment that has taken place. A more particular account of the origin, nature, and design of the intended publication, may be seen jn the following advertisement. The editor is unv/illing to conclude this prefa* tory address without observing, that this work would doubtless have been more advantageously executed, if the author had lived to complete and publish it himself. However, notwithstanding its acknowledged defects, it is presumed that the History of Malmesbury will not be found incapable of aifording information, or amusement to those who may be induced to peruse it. Bridport, J. M. MOFFATT August 14, 180,^. atitirefe to tje J^vMit. When proposals were first issued for publishing the History of Malmesburijy it was imagined that the whole wight have been included within the compass of a moderate octavo volume. But since that time, a considerable number of additional communications have been received, so that the Editor found it impossible to complete the work on the original plan, zvithout enlarging the volume so considerably as to render the proposed price in-- adequate to the expences of printing, 8^c. At length he determined to leave out several copies and abstracts of inonastic and municipal charters^ and other old records, which were designed for insertion in the Appendix. To many readers these papers would have been very uninteresting ; there are others however, who might wish to be possessed of them as they are almost all hitherto uTipub- lished, or only to be found in large or expensive works. It is therefore proposed to publish a Sup- plement to the History of Malmesbury, containing Tiot only all those original papers which were de- signed for the Appendix, but many others of equal importance ; comprising all the principal charters granted XVI granted to the abbot and conx^ent^ and to the cor- poration^ to which will he added a chronological table of the events mentioned in the history, — This supplemental volume to be printed on a si- milar paper with the present-^Price Ars, As the editor cannot conveniently enter on this under- taking zcithout being previously assured of the sale of a sufficient number of copies to defray the eipence of printing, he is under the necessity of (iddi?igj that as soon as the names of txvo hundred mid fifty subscribers are received^ the Supplement shall he sent to the press. Half of the money to be paid at the time of subscribing, and the other half on the delivery of the book. Subscriptions will be received by F. and C. Rivingtons, and T, Condery London; and J. G. Goodxvyn, Printer^ t§T. Tetbiiry, CONTENTS. SECT. I. Of the antient State of the Town The derivation of its Name Its Antiquity Its different Appellations The attack and burning of the Town by the Danes King Athelstan, assisted by the men of Malmesbury, defeats the Invaders Roger, Bishop of Sarum His quarrel with King Stephen Siege of Malmesbury Castle by Henry of Anjou Battle fought near the Town Surrender of the Castle The Town garrisoned for King Charles I. in 1643.. --.Taken by Sir William Waller Made a mi- litary station of either party alternately, p. 21 — 31. SECT. II. The origin of Monachism Account of the Coenobites and Eremites The Rule of St. Basil The Convent of Nuns at Malmesbury in the sixth century Settlement of Meyldulph near the Tov*rn Of the Building and first Endowment of the Abbey Deed of Lutherius.. - -Death of Meyldulph, and succession of Aldhelm to the abbacy Benefactors to the Monastery King Ina.. , . .Athelstan. - - -Edgar « Edward the Confessor William the Con- queror XVm eONTENTSi queror Queen Mathilda Description of the Ab^ bey. Its offices. . „ . Of the Rule oi St. Benedict Of the different Monastic Orders, Account of the Religious Ser- vices. . , , -The Officers belonging to the Abbey Of the Reformation; and the Suppression of Monasteries. Their Value The Knights Hospitallers of St. John Re- flections on the dissolution of monasteries, and the devas- tation committed by the Reformers Preservation of the Abbey , Church by William Stumpe. p. 32 — 64. SECT. Ill, A Description of the Remains of the Abbey Church..., King Athelstan's Monument Epitaphs Conjectures relative to the periods when the different parts of the Abbey were founded Of the prospects of the ruin from dif- ferent points of view. p. 65 — 78. SECT. IV. Of the different' rtio'des of Architecture used in religious edifices at different periods. Saxon Architecture. Go- thic stile of Building... -Its origin and progrefs General observations. p. 79 — 92. SECT, v., A description of the lesser Antiquities in and near Malmesbury The Abbot's House St. Paul's Church. * The Chapel House.. .^, The White Lion Inn The Alms-house Burton Hill Chapel Whitchurch The Work-house The Town Wall Castle Well St. Mary's Church St. Hellen's Chapel Supposed Roman Camp The Market Cross. p. 93 — 105. SECT. CONTENTS. XIK SECT, VL The History of the Borough First Corporation King Athelstan's Charter Observations on the Origin of Boroughs The Merchant's Guild Charters of Ri- chard II .Of Hen. IV Deed of Hen. V Char, ters of Edward IV PoHcy of Hen. VII. and Hen, VIII Charter granted by Hen. VIII Grant of John Stumpe, esq.- Charter of Charles I Of James II Of William III Account of the Landholders and Commoners Of the First Returns of Members of Parliament Account of several Elections and Returns from twenty -sixth of Edw. I/tothe last general Election, Observations on Parliamentary Reform Of the Manor of Malmesbury.- Of the first Proprietors of it Ex- tracts irom Domesday -book with Remarks Incidental Notices relating to the descent of the Manor. Titles of J^obility derived from the Town. p. 106 — 152. SECT. vir. Of the Situation of the Town The course of the River Avon Of the Turnpike Roads Description of the Town Public Buildings Westport Church. Dissenting Chapels, viz. Presbyterian, Baptist, Mora- vian and Methodist. Clothing Manufactory State of Trade in ancient and modern times Charitable Founda- tions Poor Rates Sunday Schools Number of inhabitants.. . . Act of Parliament for improving the Town. p. 153—167. SECT. VIII. Of the Antiquity of Malmesbury... -.Sonnet to the Avon Advantages of Monastic Institutions An account of the; Abbots of Malmesbury,. .^. List of the Penfions XX CONTENTS. Pensions assigned to the Abbot and Monks, at the dissolution of Monasteries Account of the Property belonging to the Abbot and Convent Arms of the Abbot. p. 168—186 SECT. IX. Biography St. Aldhelm Daniel' Bp. of Win- chester. Athelard Johannes Scotus ^Ifric Bp, of Crediton Oliver of Malmesb'ury Godfrey of Malmesbury Roger le Poer Peter Baldwin William of Malmesbury Anonymous Monks Wil- liam Stumpe Thomas Hobbcs Marquis of Whar- ton Mary Chandler. p. 187—234. Additional Facts; and Observations on some Parts of rhis Work. p. 235 — 242 Appendix. p. 243 — 248 PIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER, FOR PLACING THE ENGRAVINGS. Vieiv of Mahneshury Abbey, as a Frontispiece, The Gothic Gate-way, 8^c, to face p. 97. The Market Cross p. 104» Plan of the Town p. 153. fllSTORY OF MALMESBURY, SECTION I. Of the Town — Its Antiquity — Military Events, DIFFERENT derivations have been given to the word Malmesbury. A learned writer observes, " That the Greeks notified the places of their battles and victories by adding the term viy^n (victory) — whence Thessalonica, &c. The an- cient Britons did the same, by adding the British word mais (battle) — whence Malmaisbury,"* &;c. Leland says, This place received its name from one Meyldulph, a Scotch monk, who settled here, and built ^ monastery, f Accordingly, it is called by Bede MeylduJphi Urbs.X (Meyldulph's city) * Rees's edit, of Chambers's Cyclopaed. vol. i. under the term battle* But, It is to be noticed, that the Aame Malmefbury was not app'lied to this jla(;5 till after the coiftmenccment of the Saxon heptarchy. t LeUad's CoUc^. yoli i. p. 301. % Bed. fiiftor. £cclef. lib, v. c. 18; c which [ 22 ] which appellation, in course of time, was changed into Malmesbury. Rapin derives the name in part from Aldhelm, the immediate successor of Meyldulph in the monastery. He imagines, that it is a contraction of Meyldulph- Aldhelm-bury, i. e. the tomb of Meyldulph and Aldhelm.* This conjecture is somewhat probable, as in the Saxon annals the town is called Mealdelmesbyrig/f In regard to the high antiquity of this place, J shall cite a few passages from different authors, Leland tells us, that a castle was erected here about one hundred and seventy-four years after the founding of the city Rome; J or between four and five centuries before the birth of Christ. The author of '' Eulogium Historiarum§" (as quoted by Camden) II reports, that Malmesbury, and the castles of Lacock and Tetbury, were built by Dun- wallo Mulmutius, king of the Britons, and by him Malmesbury was called Cae?^ Bladon; that when the town had been destroyed by wars, there arose out of its ruins a castle, as historians record; that at the same time, the Saxon petty kings had their palace at Caerdurburge, (Brokenborough) at pre- •.-'■■ '•■ — % ^ Rapin vol* i. p. 60. ^ Camden^s Britan. (Gibfon's edit,) p* 196* ^ Caftellum fuit conftruftum poft conditionem urbis Romz, an. 174. Leland's Colledt. vol. i. part 2. p. 304. Auxil. CoUea, for Wilt/h. MS. ^ Itfeems, that work was compofed by a monk, of Malmefbuty. Eulogium hifloriarum in libros quinque divifum, a monacho quodam non Cantuarienfi (prout in catal. MSS. Cotton, p. 65.) fed Malmesburicnfi, confcriptum««-« Leland CoUeft. vol. i, p. 301. &c. Tanner"'s Notit. Monaft, p. 591. Jl Camden's Britani p. 196. sent [ 23 ] sent a village, about a mile ftom Malmesbury. Sammes also informs us, ** That Dunwallo is sup- posed to have built Malmesbury, and two neigh- bouring castles Lacock and Tetbury, and Devizes, formerly called Vies, Malmesbury was named by him Caer Bladon, though upon what account au- thors make no mention."^' But, as it appears, that the ancient name of the river, which flows by this place, was Bladon, f it is probable, that the river might have given name to the town;:]: and that, when the town no longer existed, the river still retained the same appellation. To the name Caer Bladon succeeded that of Ingelburne,§ Maildulf burgh, || Aldelmesbirig,^l" Meildunum.*'^ These, and similar names, have been applied to the town of Malmesbury. ff Hecords are wanting, in regard to the secular affairs of Malmesbury, during the existence of the Saxon heptarchy. The first event of moment that occurs in his- tory, respects an assault made on this place by the Danes, who are said to have burnt it. J J A disaster wjiiph happened probably in the seventh year of Alfred the Great, when the Danes entered a. d, the county of Wilts, plundering and de- 7^ ^ Sam. Britan. Antiq. illuft. p. 172. •|- Will, of Malmef. de geft. reg.Angl. lib. i. cap, 2, + Appendix Note I, § Camden p. 196. l\ Sara. Ibid. f[ Bed. verf, Saxon, et Camden. «* Gul. Malmflbur. •f-f Appendix Note U. J+ Spelman vita Alfred! p. 129. AuxH. CoUea, for Wiltfh. MS. ' .? c ^ stroyin [ 24 j stroying wherever they came.* The town was afterwards consumed by another fire, and restored by his son Edward, f In the reign of Athelstan, the inhabitants of Malmesbury assisted the king in his conflict with the Danes, and appear to have triumphed over the enemy. The special marks of royal favour, con- ferred on them for their valour, are noticed in the A. i>. charter, granted to the town by that ^39 prince. According to Leland, the battle was fought at Sod bury Hill, fourteen miles from Malmesbury.":}: But Mr. Hobbes, speaking of Athelstan, as rewarding the people for their bravery in an encounter between them and the Danes, in which much Danish blood wa^ spilt, considers the fight as having taken place near the town.§ To reconcile these writers, we may suppose, that the men of Malmesbury displayed their courage, iu two engagements with the Danes. During the reigns of Athelstan's immediate suc- cessors, we do not find any political transactions of moment, connected with this part of our his- tory. But, under the unsettled government of King Stephen, Malmesbury became the theatre of * GoldAnlth* Andrews. ^ Spelman. Ibid. If *• It appeareth by reeard ia Malmefbury, that Malmefbury was rewarded ibr fervice doae la battayle afore the con^uefl at Sodbu^y•.hI!I•*^ Lcl. Itin» vol. vi'u p. 96. ^ Praemia Tirtutls populo dedit Ule,« propIn(|UOS Sanguine Danorum quos madefeclt agros. Thorn. Hob, Malmelbur. vit. author, felp. p» 1. « A;he!ft5nus» i contests [ 2,5 3 contests betweeft that monarch and hia turbulent barons, and between him and his coonpetitor Henry f)f Anjou, grandson of our Henry I. Previous to the accession of Stephen to the throne, Roger, Bishop of Sahsbury, an ambitious prelate, had taken to himself the custody of Malmesbury Abbey. Whilst it was in his hands, he fortified the tow^n with walls and a castle, Camden informs us, *' That he erected, both in this place and at Salis- bury, structures for cost very chargeable, and for shew very beautiful. The stones were set in such exact order, that the joints could not be seen."^ Whilst Roger was engaged in building a. d, this castle of Malmesbury, he had a dis- *^2^ pute with the king, in consequence of his refusing to submit to his decision of a difference between the bishop, and Alan of Bretagne, Earl of Rich- mond. They proceeded to extremities, and both Roger and his nephew, the Bishop of Lincoln, were made prisoners by Stephen, who also laid siege to the castle of Devizes, where another of Roger's nephews had secured himself He took it, though he met with an obstinate resistance. Stephen shortly after seized Roger's castles of Salisbury, Sherborne, and Malmesbury. These proceedings made the whole body of the clergy his enemies, and, had it not been for the death of the bishop, which happened about the close of this year, it is probable tiiat the king must have submitted to him.-j* * Caniifl^'5 Br]iun; p. S7. f WiUlaroofMaJracf, Rapin* But [ 26 ] ; But this unhappy monarch only got rid of one enemy to meet \vith otliers still more formidable. These were^ the Empress Maud and her son Henry^ >vho invaded England^ claiming the cro^yn, as being more nearly allied to the late king than Stephen. The people in general, as well as the cJergy, having been disgusted by the behaviour of Stephen, the Empress Maud, supported by her brother the Earl of Gloucester, overcame the king, and she was seated upon the throne. The empress, however, not giving more satisfaction to the peo- ple than their form.er monarch, he was restored, . and she was obli^'ed to fly the kinodom. 1152 Her son Henry of Anjou, entered England to support his claims to the crown. ''Soon after his landing he laid siege to Malmes- bury, and took it in a very short time, together with the castle, except one tower (Jordan 'sTower)* which being too strong to be taken by assault, he blocked it up, with a design of reducing it by famine. Stephen, who had intelligence of his having performed this spirited action, almost as soon as he heard of his landing in England, was much alarmed. He made all the haste he could to assemble his forces, and having formed a great army, marched directly to the enemy, and offered them battle. But Henry, who was much inferior to .him in numbers, kept himself close in his camp^ * Jordan \yas the name cf the defender of it. VId. Gervafe Cantuar. p. 1372. Auxil, ColJea, for WHtih. MS. # • - ' t^ ^ which [ 27 ] vrliich on one side was defended by the walls of the town, and on the other by the river Avon, continuing still the blockade of the tower of Malmesbury, and avoiding to fight, unless Stephen should attack him, which he could not do in such a posture Avitliout extreme disadvantage. That monarch nevertheless determined to risk it, for he found his army sufter much by the severity of the cold, and apprehended that delay would strengthen the Duke. He therefore advanced to the river with a resolution to pass it, though he saw the enemy drawn up in order of battle on the op- posite bank. But, as he came on, there arose a wintry storm, with violent showers of hail and sleet, which drove directly in the faces of his men, who, quite benumbed with the w^et and cold, lost all use of their arms, all strength and courage ; w^iile those of the Duke, having the wind in their backs, and being much sheltered, suffered little by it. The river was swelled by the rains, and ren- dered impassable; so that Stephen, now despairing of any success, and unable to bear the inclemency of the weather, which continued very bad, re- tired to London. Soon afterwards the tower of Malmesbury was. surrendered."^ Towards the close of the year, by the good offices of some of the nobility on each side, a.d. a treaty of peace was effected, in which ^^^^ * Littleton's Hlft. of Hen. II. vol. iJ. p. 424, 225, The Saxon Chronld^ i:ient on this event, Auxil, CoUeiL Wilt/h, MS, Stephen [' 28 ] Stephen agreed to adopt Henry as his successor to the throne of England, and thus ended a cruel war, which had mged so furiously, and brought such extreme misery on the people.* We do not find Malmesbury mentioned as hav- ing any particular concern in the numerous and violent conflicts between the houses of York and Lancaster. It is only spoken of in history as one of the places through which Edward IV. passed, at the time he advanced to meet Queen Margaret, previous to the memorable battle of Tewkesbury, f when the Lancastrians were utterly defeated, and Margaret and her husband Henry VI. both taken, and confined in the Tower, where the latter soon ended his days. But though Malmesbury for a long period does not appear to have been the scene of any military action, yet, amidst the civil commotions which raged in the reign of Charles I. it felt in some measure the destructive hand of war. The infor- mation we have been able to procure, relating to that event, is chiefly from the parish register and tradition. A. D. We collect from the register that there * 43 ^v'as a royal garrison in this place. Tradition has preserved the following anecdote of King Cbarles. That he passed through Malmes- bury on his way to Cirencester, and spent part of a night in a building called " the Banqueting-House," * Appendix Note III^ f Speed, &C4 on t 29 ] on the eastern side of the town. Having received intelligence that a detachment of the parliament tary forces was approaching, the king in the course of the night rode to Cirencester behind Prince Rupert : Cirencester had been taken by that prince not long before this occurrence.* The prince, apprized of the king's danger, hastened from thence to Malmesbury to rescue him." This anecdote partly corresponds with a passage in the life of Lord Clarendon, viz. that King Charles, in 164'3, lodged at Malmesbury one night. f It also accords with what is said by other writers. About MAR. Sir William. Waller, after he had taken Chi- ^ "^^ Chester, made a quick movement through Wiltshire with near two thousand light horse and dragoons, and took for the parliament with little loss and trouble a small garrison of the king's at Malmesbury, before it was fortified or provided. J MAR. 27. Malmesbury surrendered to the Parlia- ■^43 ment.§ But in the same year, it appears * Kimber p, 309. •f- The life of the Eariof Clarendon, written by himfelf, in 3 vols, oftavo. Vid. vol. i. p. 127. Aux. CoUeft. for Wiltfh. MS There is this difagree- ment between the tradition and the hiftorian j the latter fays, ** The king was on fcis wat to Briftol," Biit ds Cirencefter was in the hands of the king rn the month of March, whereas Briftol was not until July in that year, (Kimber p. 309, 311.) confequently, in this particular the tradition may be deemed right. It may he, that after Briftol came into the pofleflion of the king, he pafled through Malmelbury again, and the hiftorian may refer to the fecond vifit. ■..+ d '■•(.',■• ■ ■ ■■ , "i - 'i-L ' ■ . ■ '■ + A hiftory o( the civil wars during the reign of Charles I. collefted from Clarendofl, Bifhop K.ennet,'Eachard, Sec, by J. Hooper, p*'2'54* ■■■-■•■ J. ' . :".:•■■/ "I.v:- > Poioter's Chron, Hift. of EngU p» 169. D to [ 30 1 to have been retaken by the king's troops. For Hooper says, that in the fall of the year the parliament army had not the least footing in Wilts.* And in the parish register is this me- morandum: — "Baptized the 6th of November, 1643, Elizabeth Dabridgeourte, the daughter of Thomas Dabridgcourte, esq; lieutenant-colonel in the king's armie, and deputie governor under Colo- nel Howe, (or HoAvard)! of the town of Malmes- biiry." At what time Malmesbury fell again iiito the hands of the parliament is not certain. J sEPi. Perhaps it was iii or near this time; for * 45 III the ^yall over one o'fithe lofty arches of the abbey church is a large hole, said to have been made by a Cannon-ball, in an assault on the town by Oliver (srom well. A field named the WorthySy tradition reports to have been the place of encampment; and it i^, evident, that the ditch on the southern side of this field, which is opposite the abbey, was thrown up for some other purpose than that of a mere field fence. § Now about the * Hoopef p. 318. ■\ The name of the gove;-por. is almaft defaced, but I rather judgejit to he Howard,, of whom Hooper fpeaks, as a cplonel in the king's army. ' otW ,'??-*i?BF*?^f/W?; ^^;'^"5gi%r»:^^^' ***:S?l!^?^^S*'r^;^44» the llewtenanUcolonel «£. the, gatrlfon was Pudfiej but we are not informed whether Mr.r Pudfie was ^ royalift or a parlian:ienta.Tian. " Married ,59th of September, 1644, Mar- m^duke Pa,dfie,ili,e|^teji%anjtf/Bg|ppel.pfj t^.gaf.iji^pi„,^fti!>lf§,;M4^rgaret:Jvye, of the abbpji.":,^ ■:>■;:.;',;>, -.Vm ■;'-: -.::r>'t;L; ••ir Jn:; f.^:-^^ . .■■- ' ::■:,,: rx^ii^-.. ^ Mr., John S^mwell,Q(fy bas.a deqd bearing date A.D. 1659, in which it is notified, that certain houfes formerly ftandjlng.in the Abbey-row were burnt down in the civil" wars. This cTrcumftance renders it probable that the par- liamentary troops nrfawiV tlipeif attack on t?itf tttv^n'fVom the Worthys. •.; a fore- [ 31 ]■ fore-mentioned time, Cromwell was in Wiltshire, and made himself master of the castle of Devizes.* It is therefore probable, that Malmesbury was ano- ther place in the county which he regained for the parliament. By means of the register, we traca the continuance of a garrison in Malmesbury to June, 1646. * Kimber p. 3I5» SECTION II. [ 32 ] SECTION II. Origin of Monachisin briefly noticed — History of Malmeshury Abbey, THE persecution which attended the first ages of the gospel, led the professors of Chris- tianity to withdraw from the world, and dwell in deserts and other places most private, where they employed themselves in acts of devotion. This manner of life became so agreeable to them, that when the persecution ceased, they were not dis- posed to return to their former habitations. From their example retirement acquired such repute, that the practice was continued by others,^ who perhaps were further influenced to adopt this mode, through misinterpreting such passages of scripture, as Luke xviii. 22. and xiv. 26. . Matt, xix. 29. t ^^^ some may have been induced to * Dr. Inef s Church Hift. 4- The above texts may be confidered as teaching the difelples of Jefus Chrlft in every age to have their affedlions moderated towards earthly things j and that when duty and the retaining woi-Idly pofleflions become inconfiftent, they fhould be cheerfully given up, that the deareft enjoyments fhould be readily refigned, even life itfelf.— Unlefs extraordinary circumftances fhould occur, the word of God, inflead of encouraging Chriftians to feclude themfelves from civil fociety, admonifhes them to unite a diligent profecution of their lawful common occu- pations, with an earn^zfi atteation Co the duties of religion* Rom. xii. iz« betake [ 33 ] betake themselves to this recluse state in conse- quence of their having* embraced the doctrine of the mystics. Paul, who lived in the third century, and retired to the solitary deserts of Thebais in Egypt, where he spent ninety years, has been deemed the first anchoret or hermit.* Mosheim thinks, that it was the mystic theology which led him to make this retreat. The mystics held, *^ That the faculty of reason was an emanation from God into the human soul, and comprehended in it the principles and elements of all truth human and divine. That silence, tranquillity, repose, and solitude, accompcinied with such acts of mortification as might tend to exhaust the body, Avere the means by which the hidden and internal word was excited to produce its latent virtues, and to instruct men in the knowledge of divine things. Many who embraced this doctrine, accordingly secluded themselves from society, and lived in caves, &c. where they macerated their bodies with hunger and thirst, "f * It is however to be noted, that though Paul is placed at the head of the order of the hermits, yet .that unfociable manner of life was very common in Egypt, Syria, India, and Mefopotamia, not only long before his time, but eveii before the coming of Chrift. And it is ftill pradllfed among the Mahometans as well as the Chriltlans in thofe burning climates. For the glowing atmof- phere that furrounds thefe countries, is a natural caufe of that love of folitude and repofe, and of that indolent and melancholy difpofition, that are remarkably common among their languid inhabitants. — Machine's Mofheim vol. i, p. 223. The T/avels of Lucas in I7i4» vol, ii, p, 363. ■f Molh* vol, i.p, 222. Anthony^ [ 34 ] Anthony, a native of Egypt, who Hved in the fourth century^ and inherited a large fortune, is said to be the first who formed the monks into regular bodies, and to have built many monas- teries,^ Such monks were called Coenobites, as they dwelt together an fixed habitations,! and the brotherhood, denoting that fraternal love which should prevail among them. The person who pre- sided over them was called Father or Abbot, which signifies the same in the Egyptian language. J An appellation suggesting this idea, that he was to govern the religious house with paternal authority and affection, Basil, surnamed the Great, Bishop of Ceesarea, who lived in this century, hath beeii considered as the first who made a code of laws for the monks. § William of Malmesbury says, that the first con- vent in England was at Glastonbury, and that it was founded in the fifth century. || * Mofli. p. 306.— Noorthouck*s Hiftor. and Claflic. Dift. ■f Whereas thofe monks who lived in perfeft folitude, and were fcatterei here and there in deferts, in the hollow of rocks, &c. received the denomi- nation of Eremites." Moih. p. 309% 4! Abbot may alfo be derived from Abba, a word in the Jewifii or Syro- Chaldaick language, which fignifies Father. Doddr. Fam« Expof. ^ Vid. Dugdale's Pref. Monaft. vol, i, Trufler. Some apprehend Pachomius was the firft who governed the monks by a code of rules. Fofb. 1} De reg. lib. i. c. 12. In this century arofe in the eaft, that order of men called Stilites by the Greeks, and Sandti Coluipnares, or Pillar Saints, by the Latins. Thefe were perfons who flood upon the top of pillars, exprefsly raifed for this exercife of their patience. The inventor of this ftrange difcipline was Simeon a Syrian; he pafled thirty-feven years of his life in this ridiculous manner. The learned Frederic Spanheim fpeaks of a fecond Simeon, the Styiite, who [ 35 ] Aiitiquarian writers inform us, that at the close of the sixth century there was a convent at Mahnesbury. It consisted of British nuns under the direction of Dinoth,^ abhot of the famous monastery of Bangor. f These nuns being charged (perhaps falsely) with living in a state of incon- tinence with the soldiers of the castle, were sup- pi^ssed by Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury.:!: ^.t,. ' About this time Meyldulph, a Scot, a ^^P . man of singular piety and strict holiness of life, being persecuted in his own country, left it, and travelled from place to place till he came to Alalmesbury, then called Ingelburne, which had been a town of note for many ages, and was at that time defended by a castle. Taken with the pleasantnejss of th& spot, he obtained a piece of ground at' the foot of the castle hill, where he raised an hermitage. Being a learned man he who lived in. the fixthcentjj^y.. This f^nati9 reoiained upon ^'^ pillar fixty- eight years. Span. Ecclef. HU^^. p. 1154. Evagrius Hlft. lib. vi. c. 23, Mofh, vol. i. p..3og. ... •, r.v , * Leland's Colled:, vol. i. p. 304. and vol. li. p. 395. Tanner, Grofe.— Dinoth is fpoken of as a prudent clerk, and well fkilled in what were afterwards called the feven liberal fciences. Sammes. 'J- Bangor monaftery (fays Mr. Hume) was a building fo extenfive, that there was a mile's diftance from one gate of it to another} and it contained two thoufandone hundred monks, of whom we are told that they maintaini:d them* felves by their own labour., ,;,..;- , ,j. Pope Gregory fent over to England, Auguftine, who was a Roman monk, and forty of his brethren, to attempt the converfion of the Anglo-Saxons.— Succefs attended thefe miffionaries, and Auguftine fubjeded the Church of Eng^land to Rome by owning the Pope's fupremacy, which, however, none of the Britiih bifhops in hHs time would acknowledge* Andrews, Noorthouck. established i 36 1 established a school for his support.* In process of time he collected a number of persons disposed to live under regular discipline, and built a small monastery. f The members of this society were so indigent, that with much difficulty they procured their daily sustenance. J: After long consultation between IMeyldulph and Aldhelm, a monk of the same place, it was determined to put this religious house under episcopal jurisdiction. § An applica> tion was made to Lutherius, Bishop of Winchester, and Primate of the West-Saxons. By means of this prelate, the abbey was raised from a low to a magnificent state. || It is probable that KeneA^alch, a king of Wessex, (over whom Lutherius had great influence)^ and Ethelred, King of Mercia, contri- buted towards the erection of the edifice.** The town of Malmesbury, which belonged to Lutherius, was given by him to the abbey. The following, is a translation of the original deed relating to * Camden, Hearne, Grofe. We are told that Nfaimefbury had tfi« firft fchool In England in which the Latin language was taught. HJc habuit primam lingua Latina fcholam.— -Hob. vit. p. I. •f- Malmeiburlenf. monafterium. A quodam Meyldulpho, natlone (ut aiunt) Scotto, cruditione philofopho, profeffione monacho, adeo anguftis fumptibus elaboratum. Will. Malmf. de geft. reg. Angl. lib. i. p. 6. -f. Ut inhabitantes quotldianum vi^lum aegre expedlrent. Ibid. § Ibid. W Lutherius. Malmef. Monaft. Intuitu ex humiil ad ampliilinium ftatum provexit. Ibid. ,' ^ Ibid. Sam. p. 566. ** It appears from an ancient deed, that Ethelred became a benefador to the abbey A. D. 675. Malmefbury was fituatcd on the borders of Weflex, adjoining to Mercia. that .[ 37 j that donation : — '^ I, Lutherius, by the grace of God, bishop and primate of the West Saxons, have been asked by the abbots, who are known to pre- side with pastoral anxiety over the convent of monks, subject to our parochial law,^' that I would vouchsafe to grant to Aldhelm the presbyter, for the purpose of enabling him to lead a monastic life, that land which is called Maildulfesburchy in which place he has constantly lived from his earliest infancy, and was there instructed betimes in the rudiments of liberal learning, and brought up in the bosom of our holy mother the Church. From this circumstance, principally, fraternal affection seems to suggest the present' petition. Wherefore, in compliance with the prayer of the aforesaid abbots, f and induced by the request of the brotherhood, I voluntarily grant the place itself to them and their successors, following the rule of the holy order with diligent devotion." — Done in public by the side of the river sept. 8, Bladon. ^75% Meyldulph did not long survive this ^.d. transaction. Willis says, that he died ^7^S and was succeeded by Aldhelm. Through his * Dugdale fays, the divifion of a diocefe into pariflies firft took place about A. D. 636. -f- Meyldulph, we may fuppofe, through the infirmities of age, became incapa- ble of dlfcharging the duties of his flation, and therefore received Aldhelm as an afliftant, who, it appears, had the title of abbot before the death of Meyldulph. ^ Will, of Malmf. de geft. reg, Angl. lib. i. p. 6, 7. Appendix, Note IV. ^ Mitred Ab. vol. i, p. 136. ' , E efforts, [ 38 1 efforts, and the favour of Lutnenus, tne mo a* astery became very prosperous, both as to its revenues, and the multitude of monks, who from all quarters flocked to it. And it seems, that religion and literature flourished in this convent ; for Aldhelm was a person of exemplary devotion and great erudition for that age.* Among the numerous benefactors to Malmes- bury abbey were, — Ina, Athelstan, Edgar, Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, and his Queen Matilda. A. D. Ina, one of the kings of Wessex, gave to 7°* Malmesbury abbey the manors of Cow- folde, Rodborne, Corston, and Burton, with the appurtenances. t He also confirmed a special grant made by Pope Sergius to Aldhelm the abbot, and his successors. J Ina has the character of a pecu- liarly just and humane prince, and is known for a code of laws still extant in the Saxon language. § He built several abbies.jl After a long reign, he resigned his throne, turned monk, and made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he had founded a col- lege for the education of English youth. On his return home, he shut himself up in a cloister, and there died.^ • "" ' ' j » " "' I ■ .1. . • . ■ . ■ - ■ - ~ * Tunc res monafterii In Immenfumefferri, tunc monachi undique aggregari: turrebatur ad Aldelmum totis compitis ; his vitse fanilimoniam, his literarum fclentiam defiderantibus. Erat enim vlr ille cum rciigionc fjmplex, (um eru- ditlonc multiplex. Will, of Malmf. Ibid. •f- From the regifter-book of the monaftcry of Malmelbury in the Britiib Mufeum Bibl* Cotton. Fauflin. b. viii* ^ Appendix, Note v. ? Sammcs, p. 570, &:c. \\ Appendix, Note VI. % Hume. Atlielstan C 39 ] Athelstan, son of Edward the elder, about and grandson of Alfred the Great, ^" gave ^^ Kemyll, Ewr3^ge, Horton, and Ewelme, to the abbey ;t also the estate of Alfred, a nobleman, which was confiscated on account of the conspira- cies into which he had entered against that prince : some curious particulars relating to the matter are mentioned elsewhere. J But the donation deemed most valuable was this: — Athelstan, among the presents from Hugh, King of France, had re- ceived the sword of Constantine the Great, in the hilt whereof Avas one of the nails which fastened Christ to the cross, and the spear of Charles the Great, reputed to be the same that pierced Christ's side; likewise part of the wood which composed the identical cross of Christ, enclosed in crystal; and part of the crown of thorns which he wore, enclosed in the same manner. The two last arti- cles Athelstan gave to Malmesbury abbey, and Wilham the historian says, he believes they con- tributed not a little to its prosperity. § ^f His grandfather Alfred had a high opinion of him when he was young, tnd knighted him; and he is faid to have been the fiift in EngUijd who re- ceived that honour. f From the rcgifter-fcook of the monaftery, &c. f Appendix, Note VII. y Hugo rex Francorum per nuncios a germano cxpetiit. Princeps hujus legationis fuit Adulphus. Is protulit muncra fane ampllflima— Enfetn Con- ftantini magni, in capulo fuper crafTas auri laminas clavum ferreum affixum cerneres unum ex quatuor quos Judaica fadio Dominici corporis aptarct fup- plicio. Lanceam Caroli magni. — Fcrebatur eadem effe quae Dominko lateri ctnturionis manu impada, preciofi vulneris hiatu paradifuno miferis mortalibus aperuit. — Particulam fandjc Sc adorandae crucis criftallo Jnclufam. Fortiuo- culam quoque cpronae fpineae eodera modo inclufdm.— Partem crucis et coronas Malmesburise [ 40 ] Such was Athelstan's veneration for Aldhelm the second abbot, that he chose him for his tutelar saint. His cousins Elwin and Ethelwin, slain in the famous battle of Brunanburgh, were by Athel- stan's order buried in the abbey church, near the sepulchre of St. Aldhelm. ^^ Athelstan himself A. D. dying at Glocester, his body was brought ^^* to Malmesbury in great solemn pomp, and interred under the high altar, f This prince, re- nowned for his bravery, political knowledge, and efforts to advance literature and commerce, having displayed such liberality towards Malmesbury abbey, and the inhabitants of the town having also been distinguished by his beneficence, in testimony of their gratitude, instituted a festival in comme- moration of their royal benefactor. It is annually kept on the second Tuesday after Trinity Sunday, and is deemed the principal holiday in the year. A. d/ King Edgar gave Escote to Malmesbury ^^"^ . abbey, J and it is supposed, that by him the conventual church was rebuilt. This is probable Malmelburls delegavit, quorum fuftentaculo adhuc credo vigere locum ilium, &c. Will. Malmef, de geft. reg. Angl. lib. ii. c. 6. It is not much to be wondered at, that a writer of William's abilities fhould make this reflection, when we confider the credulity and fuperftition common to the age, and the extravagant veneration which had been paid to relics throughout £urope. Some curious inflances are noticed by Mr, Andrews, vol, i, p. 80. w Will, Malmef. de geft, reg, Angl. lib. ii. c. 6. p. aS. + Id, p. 29. Vitae termino expleto & quidem immaturo, Athelftanus Gloceftria diem claufit* Exuviae triumphales Malmelburiam delatae, et fub altare tumulatae funt. Portata ante corpus multa in argento Sc auro donatia, timul et fan honours, and exemptions. Tanner's pref. p, 24.. •f As th« of5ce of the fillers of Jerufalem, was to be nurfes to the ficlc pil- grims— other charitable women, in feveral parts of Chriftendom, made it their bufinefs alfo to aflift, and take care of the fick and indigent people. The fimi- litude of their vocation, was probably the inducement of their afluming the habit of the fitters of Jerufalem j and probably made them choofe to refidc io or near the preceptories of the hofpitallers. CoUinfon, vol. ill. p. 97. ^ They wore a black habit with a white crofs upon it. Tanner Ibid. of [ 98 3 of Walter, then Lord Bishop of Sarum, between the vicar of the parish of St. Paul, Mahnesbury, and the master and brethren of the said hospital, about tythes; under the office seal, and seal of the abbot and convent of Malmesbury, who were patrons of the church.*' This hospital was situ- ated near the south bridge, f consequently the aforementioned arch, may be deemed a relic of the edifice, which belonged to that religious or- der. Here too stood the house of British nuns, ^ „^ which is said to have been under the ^03+ jurisdiction of Dinoth, abbot of Bangor. At a little distance to the south of the Alms- house, stands a private dwelling called Burton- Hill ChapeL It still retains fragments of some pointed windows, which render it probable that it might have formed a part of some religious edi- fice. This conjecture is strengthened by the fol- lowing passage from Leland : '' Sum say that ther was a nunnery toward the park longging to the abbate a litle without the tonne in the way to Chippenham." •^ From the regifter- book of the abbey of Mai mefbury preferved in the library of the Marquis of Lanfdowne. The record in the regifter indeed has np date, but from an examination of the biihop's regifter office at Salisbury, it feems that only two prelates of the name of Walter, fat in that fee previous to the reformation. Thefe were Walter de la Wyle, who was confecrated in 1263, ^nd Walter Scammei, who became Bifhop of Salilbury, in 1284, and died in 7x87. f Lei. Iiin, t Grofe's Antiquities. About i 99 ] About half a mile to the north-east of the town, is a farm house named Whitchurch ; on or near the scite of which a building is said to have stood, which bore the appellation of White Church. It perhaps belonged to the Carthusian monks, who were also styled White Monks, from their white habits. It has been suggested however, that the church derived its denomination from the cir- cumstance of divine service having been celebrated in it on Whit-Sunday. The preceding structure has no relics of aiitiquity in or nedr it: but there is a small orchard contiguous to it, which in au old deed bears the name of Chapel Close. THE WORKHOUSE Situated in Holloway, is an ancient building, in which are found the remains of some pillars H^hich indicate its former consequence. On one of the walls in the court-yard are two small pieces of sculpture, representing a calvary cross and an angel; whence it has been inferred, that this house (as well as the White-Lion) was formerly an hos- pitium to the abbey. It was here, according to tradition, that Henry VIII. and his retinue were entertained by Mr. Stumpe, the clothier, on their return from hunting in Bredon Forest. From the situation and appearance of the edifice, it is pro- bable, that this was the Banqueting House* in which * See page 22 and 29. On a fpot not far from this fabric and contiguous to the town wall, I am informed there flood, in the memory of man, a fummer- hottfe. [ 100 ] . which Charles I. was also entertained by the corporation in the time of the civil wars. THE TOWN WALL. Leland in describing the state of the fortifica- tions of this town, about the middle of the six- teenth century, says : *' in the toune be 4 gates, by the names of Est, West, North, and South, ruinous al. The walles in many places stond ful up, but are now very feble. Nature hath dikid the toune strongel}^"* Neither of these gates at present remain. The eastern gate situated in Hol- lo way was the last which was standing, and that was taken down bv order of the commissioners of the turnpike road in the year 1778. There was a gate named Postern Gate,| a little to the souths west of St. Paul's church, the remains of which wTre removed in 1794-, by Mr. R. Robins, of Mal- iiiesbury. Very near to the abbey stood an old arch or gateway which was destroyed by an ac- cident in August, 1799- It probably belonged t© some of the offices of the monastery, though it has been supposed to have been- connected with the fortifications. l»oufe, (which perhaps belonged to the Banqueting Houfe) in which it is faW the king took a fhort repofe on the night of his efcape to Cirencefter. * Itiner. vol. ii. -f Poftern gates or fallyports, in fortification, are underground paflages le^« ing from the inner to the outer works, defigned /or the conveyance of foldiers or artillery. Englifli Encyclopoedia vol. ix. p. 182. The gateway above no- ticed was probably eredled after the fubterraneous works bad been deftroyed and improperly called by the fame name*. At [ 101 ] At the entrance of the town from Cirencester, the principal relics of the walls are to be found; forming grand and massive boundaries on each side of the road. The great height, winding di- rection, and fine masonry which these ruins ex- hibit, cannot fail to arrest the attention of the traveller. It is impossible accurately to ascertain the period at which these walls were erected.- — There is, however, room for conjecture that they might have formed a part of the fortifications raised by the Bishop of Salisbury, in the reign of King Stephen.^ At a ;small distance from the base of this wall, about six feet beneath the surface of the earth, a substance has been discovered, which has been supposed to be vitrified matter,']' and it has been imagined that the place was formerly encom- passed with a mtrijied bank or vallum. Some specimens of this curious substance are in the possession of E. Wilkins, esq; at Malmesbury. There is a well denominated the Castle Well^ which is supposed to have belonged to the famous castle erected by Roger, Bishop of Sarum. It is situated on the summit of a field, commonly known by the name of Mundane's Close, and from * See p. 45, f Antiquarians have been at a lofs to account for the origin of this remark- able kind of matter ; confiderable quantities of which hafC been difcovered in the Highlands of Scotland.— Appendix, Note XXIV, isr thQ^ce I 102 1 thence the well lias sometimes been called Mun- daiie's WelL It is about three hundred feet N.N.W. of the abbey church. A master builder who has examined this well, remarks that it is very large, of great depth, and the workmanship neatly exe- cuted. It has been covered over for several yeai-s on account of its having been made a receptacle for ordure ; in consequence of which the water in the neighbouring wells, became spoiled. Near the west front of the abbey, not far from this well, is the gable end of an edifice, which is reported to have been a m^oiety of the castle. THE C^U^RCH OF ST. MARY, WESTPORT. This church, of which we shall give an account hereafter, is comparatively a modern edifice. We ^hall here only notice the fonty which appears to be very antique. It is of an octangular fonii, ornamented with scul[)ture, and supported by a mutilated column. It probably belonged to the old church which stood on, or near this spot. A little to the Avest of this church is an ancient pointed arch, forming a doorway and part of a window^ which seem to have been the relics of •« 0hapal. At the corner of a street, formerlv called Milk- Street, near the road to Sherston, stands a house which is denominated St. Hellenes, on the same spot where foi'ilterly stood St, Hellen's Chapel. In ' the [ 103 ] the wall of the garden belonging to this house^ is fixed a calvary cross. O^ Roman antiquities in the neighbourhood of Malmesbury, we have but little to communicate. The great Roman road, usually called the Foss,; runs about two miles north of the town. A field, called Cam's Hill, situated about a mile to the south of Malmesbury, exhibits two enclosures which appear to have been a part of the scite of a. Roman camp. The largest of these inclosures is perfectly square; each side measuring about one hundred and twenty feet. Adjoining to it is the smaller one, which is of an oblong figure, being about one hundred and twenty feet ixi length, ancl ninety or one hundred in breadth. AYhether these inclosures really were the scite of a camp, may ^dmit of some question. There are, however, several circumstances that render the conjecture proba]}le. The name Gam's Hill appears to have belonged to the field time immemorial, and there can be little doubt but it is a corruption of the term Camp Hill, (q. d. Mons Castrensis,) This field is moreover the highest ground in the neigh- bourhood of Malmesbury, and consequently re- sembles the situations in which the Roman con- querors of Britain usually encamped. We may add, that at the bottom of the hill runs one of the parent streams of the Avon, and there are still to be perceived the remains of a road, or embank- ment passing along the side of the lield down to the water. Adjoin- [ 104 ] Adjoining to Cam's Hill is a field called Castle. Ground^ in which is a circular inclosure where perhaps, in former times, stood a castle. Neither history, nor tradition afford us any information re- lative to the age, or people to which this castle belonged. Its situation, however, renders it not im- probable that it was a frontier castle of the king- dom of Wessex, during the existence of the Saxon heptarchy; and what adds to the likelihood of this supposition is, that very large stones have been dug up within the limits of this circle. This place is also called Burnt Growid; parti- cularly in a grant from Cpiarles I. to R. Bennett, esq; dated 16£8. Tradition reports that a battle was fought here between King Stephen and the Empress Maud,^ when probably this castle was destroyed by fire, and the spot from that circum- .stance acquired the appellation of Burnt Ground. THE MARKET CROSS. Crosses were formerly erected in market-places, vith a view to excite devotion. f Malmesbury has a curious monument of this kind, a little to * See p. 26, &c, ■f ** The original intention of erefting crofles, whether In churchyards or In public roads, was to remind paflengers of the meritorious crofs and paflion of our bleffed Saviour Jefus Chrift, and of the duty incumbent on them to pray for the fouls of their departed brethren. Formerly there was fcarce a village or hamlet but had one or more of thefe pious mementos. Some of them were infcribed with the names of the ereftors, and with admonitions to the devout pilgrim. Sermons were frequently delivered from them%" CoUinfon's Kift. of Somerfetih. vol. I. p. 224% the J. Taylor Jun^sc [ 105 ] the south of the abbey. I have noticed the cross last, as being of less antiquity than the remains before mentioned. But I have given a plate of this structure, because it is esteemed the chief or- nament of the town, the abbey excepted. The cross is thus described by Leland : " There is a right fair and costely peace of Avorke in the mar- ket place, made al of stone, and curiusly voultid for poore market folkes to stande dry when rayne cummith. Ther be 8 great pillers and 8 open arches, and the work is 8 square : one great piller in the middle berith up the voulte."* He says, that '' the men of the tow^ie made this peace of work in hominum memo7^id,'''\ or towards the close of the fifteenth century. This structure is, as Leland says, of an octan- gular form, and is much enriched with sculpture. On the turret, in the centre (supported by eight octangular flying buttresses) are a crucifix and several statues. The variety and elegance of the carving with which this building is embellished, have often been deservedly admired. This cu- rious piece of antiquity Avas, not long since, in danger of falling into decay, but it has, by the liberality of the Earl of SuiFolk, and Lady North- wich, been carefully repaired in the original style. * Itiner* voK ii. -|- Id. SECTION [ 106 j SECTION VI- Of the Borough — King Atheist an' s Charter — Confirmalions and neiv Grants of Charters-^ Of the Returns to P arliament for the Borough — E.vtr acts from Domesday-Book — Notices re- lating to the Manor. THE borough of Malmesbiny is among the most ancient in the kingdom, having been incoiporated by Edward the Elder, about the year 916. The privileges bestowed on the town by this monarch were confirmed to them by his son and successor, King Athelstan, in ^^% The followino; is the substance of Ath'elstan's charter,^ as contained in the preamble to that granted by King William III. — '^ I, Athelstan, King of England, do grant for myself, and my *successors, to the burgesses of the borough of Medulfusberg and their successors, that they shall have and enjoy all their functions and free cus- toms, as they held them in the time of Edward, my father. And I command all under my govern- ment, that they do them no injury ; and that they be free from the charge of Burghbote, Brig- * This is apprehended to be the earliefl charter extant j that granted by King Edward, being in all probability not now difcoverable,— — Caley's MS. bote^ [ 107 ] iote^ JVardwhite, Horngeld, and Scot. And I give and grant to them, that royal heath of five hides of land,* near my tov/n of Norton, for their aid given me in my battle against the Danes. ^' Signed with my seal, in the presence of Ed- mund, my brother, by the advice of Wolsin my chancellor, and Odo my treasurer, and Godwin my standard bearer, who procured this for the burgesses, "t • At present it would ]Drobably be a fruitless task to endeavour to discov-er the nature of the con- stitution of the corporation of Malmesbury, in the days of Athelstan. His charter does not, like those granted in modern, times, prescribe any par- ticular forms for the interior civil government of the borough. It is merely a grant of lands and privileges to a pre-existi ng body of men, charac* terized as the king's " burgesses of the borough of Medulf usberg. " As nothing but conjectures can therefore be offered on this subject, those who feel interested in it may judge for themselves, whether it is probable that there were from the beginning different orders of burgesses; or that the privileges granted them were equally enjoyed by all the members of the corporation. * As the quantity of land fignified by the term hi da, a hide is uncertain, and was probably arbitrary; it is impofCble at prefent/ to determine with ac- curacy, how far the heath here mentioned extended. It now conf.fts of about five hundred acres j but ferae enclofures have perhaps been taken out of it, in more modern times, + Appendix, Note XXV. The [ 108 ] The primary institution of boroughs was con- nected with the feudal system : but though these communities were formed on the principles of feu- dal policy, yet the effects they had on the state of civil society were such as to weaken, and at length destroy the influence of that system over customs and manners, in those countries where they were introduced. Corporate bodies, as they elect the major part of the members of one of the branches of legisla- ture, may be considered as forming an important adjunct of the British constitution. Montesquieu acutely observes, that ^' on reading the admirable work of Tacitus, on the manners of the Germans, it will be perceived, that from them the English drew the idea of their poMtical government. That 'beautiful system was derived from the forests.""^' A few observations on t^ne origin of boroughs will serve to corroborate the idea of this ingenious Frenchman. Among the ancient Germans courage and skill in the art of war, procured for the possessors of them a superiority over their followers in a time of peace. The victorious chief spent his days in idle state, whilst the multitude were employed in the drudgery, necessarily attendant on the task of procuring food for themselves and their masters. •Jf *« Si Ton veut lire Tadmirable ouvrage de Tacite fur les mceurs des Ger- mains, on verra que c'eft d'eux que les Anglois ont tir6 Tide^ de leur gouverne- ment politique. Ce beau fyfteme a ct6 tpeuvfe dans les bois." L*EfprIt dcs J-OJX. When [ 109 J When any portion of territory was conquered, the fertihty of which induced a wandering trihe of this description to settle in it; a division of it was made among the leaders of the tribe, in such a manner as to leave them dependant on their gene- ral. By these subordinate chiefs, each portion was subdivided among their foliov/ers, who often- times had another class of tenants under them. — These divisions at first, were only for the life of the holder, or proprietor, and at his death the fief reverted to the chief. But at length another order of things took place. On the death of a feudal lord, if he left a son behind him, the chief con- tenting himself with a fine, suffered the son to in- herit his father's possessions. A similar mode of proceeding was observed among other classes of tenants, and thus a feudal aristocracy became completely established. But under this system, the lower orders of the community possessed no landed 'property ; and were, in fact, little better than slaves to the feudal proprietors. The op- pressions under which they groaned, enervated their minds, and prevented them from acquiring courage to shake off the tyranny of their lords.* This probably was the state of society in Eng- land, at the time that Egbert put a period to the Saxon heptarchy. During the reign of Egbert's immediate successors, commerce began to be cul- * Vid. Dr. Stuart's Hiftor* Diflertatlon on the Anti(iuity of the Eng. Con- ftitution. Pt. u. Sea. i, o tivated [■ 110 ] tivated in England ; and bome of those monarchsf having been wise enough to observe the advan- tages that flowed from it, patronised in a particu- lar manner those who exercised it/^ and thus diminished, and after a time, in a great degree annihilated the power of the feudal lords. One of the iirst steps that was taken for the en- couragement of commerce, was the institution of boroughs. These at first, probably were only bodies of tradesmen in large towns, incorporated by a royal charter, which exempted them from the jurisdiction of the feudal lords. By this ex- emption, the members of corporations had tljeir situation in society very much improved ; for whereas many of them had probably been tenants of the YGvy lowest class, they now became in their corporate capacity, tenants of the king only.— But this Avas not the sole advantage that arose from the institution. The acquirement of courage followed the restoration of liberty; and thus the monarch, who erected corporations, raised a num- ber of active and zealous defenders of the country against its violent and piratical enemies the Danes. The gift of lands to corporations appears in early time^ at least, to have been in general, subsequent to their first institution. This seems to have been ■^ King Athslftan feems to have fhewn 4s much regard for commerce as moft mcnarchs. He enaded a law, whereby a merchant who had made three voyages, became entitled to the rank of a Thane. ** Et fi mercator tamen fit, e not less than ten pounds. And the exact time may be more nearly conjectured from an original memorandum,! whereby it appears that the allot- ments, or particular quota of each capital burgess, to make up the twenty pounds by quarterly pay- ments, were settled June 22 1629; about which time, probably the school and almshouse were es- tablished on the present foundation. Appendix, Note XXVJ, f Appeadix, "Note XXVH. From [ ^23 ] From the unfortunate Charles I. the members of the corporation received a new charter, ^vhh additional privileges, in the year 1636.* This grant is usually regarded as having altered, or at least modified the constitution of the borough, by the creation of an alderman, twelve capital bur- gesses, and twenty-four assistants; the alderman being endowed with the powers of a justice of the peace. But though this seems to have been the first charter in which these branches of the body corporate are expressly mentioned, yet there are documents which tend to prove that there were twelve principal, or capital burgesses, and an al- derman, Avho had an extraordinary share of the privileges and revenues of the corporation, long previous to this period. Indeed it is observable, that Ambrose Parris, otherwise Looker, who was the first alderman under this charter, bore the same office at the time of his appointment ; and that all the persons named as capital burgesses had served the office of alderman, though not in regular succession, as they do at present ; for in some instances, one person is found to have served as alderman for several years together. It is not an improbable supposition, that all the accessary branches of the corporation originated in the trading community beforementioned, called the Maxhanls' Guild; the members of which so- * Malmcfbury Burgo libertates conceflae in Comitatu Wiltefiae, 5 pars orig* Ao, II. Car. I. rot. ji. Appendix, Note XXVUI. ciet.v [ 124 '] cicty appear to have consisted of the most wealthy and powerful individuals among the burgesses.— Whether this trading company continued in exis- tence at this period, is not certain. But it is not unlikely that the persons (twelve in number) to As^liom the lands of the Hospitalars were granted by Mr. Stumpe, may have been the governors of the guild; and on the acquisition of this property, tlie title of which may have been defective, =^ they probably thought that the royal charter erecting tliem into a privileged body, distinct from the other members of the corporation, would most fninly secure their newly gotten possessions. The capital burgesses under the new charter, perhaps formed a kind of civic aristocracy; so that the principal offices in the corporation may for some time have been in the hands of particular families. Tlie benefits conferred on this town by King" Cliarles were repaid with loyalty by the inhabi- tants. This ill fated monarch was entertained by the corporation in the Town-Hall, during his short and hasty visit, in the time of the civil ^rar. f Under the government of Cromwell, it is pro- bable that the townsfolks suffered in their for- * This conjeduie receives fup^ort from a paflage in the chapter of King William HI. purporting that the premifes in queftion had been concealed, or detained from government. Mr. Stumpe's grant, hov^'ever, plainly ihews how the corporation acquired this property, though the fum paid for it feems to hav^ been much below its value, even at that period. t Vid. Sea. I. ad fin. tunes, [ 125 ] tunes, for their attachment to the royal cause; and the dechne of the commerce and manufac- tures of Malmesbury, may with propriety be dated from this period. However, on the restoration of King Charles II. the corporation again suffered; for in consequence of the act of parliament which passed December 20, 1661,* a writ of quo war- ranto was issued for the seizure of its charters, on which judgment passed and was entered on record; though it does not appear that the charters were surrendered. But in the ensuing reign a charter of confirmation was granted, for restoring the cor- poration to its ancient privileges, nearly similar to that of Charles I. This appears to have been granted in consequence of the judgment in quo warranto, which had probably invalidated the for- mer charters. A few years after the Revolution, the members of the corporation forfeited all their civic privi- leges ; for the alderman, capital burgesses, and all the officers and servants of the borough, except the high steward, Thomas Lord Wharton, | had neg- lected to subscribe a certain association, in an act of parliament passed November 22, 1695; entitled, *an act for the better security of his majesty's royal person and government.' In consequence of this omission, they w^ere incapacitated for the offices they had held ; and the body corporate being de- prived of its principal members, could no longer ex- * Appendix, Note XXIX. f See Sett. IX. a ercise [ 126 1 ercise its functions, but became extinct, in a po- litical point of view. Lord Wharton, however, so effectually pleaded the cause of the repenting bur- gesses, that a new and ample charter was granted them in the following year (1 696).* This charter extended the bounds of the borough; including within them the parishes of St. Paul, Malmesbury, St. Mary, Westport, and the precincts of the mo- nastery, now called the Abbey Parish. It establish- ed the legal existence and jurisdiction of the body corporate; and imparted the power of making a common seal. It appoints an alderman, twelve ca- pital burgesses, and twenty-four assistants. It fixes the time, &c. for the election of these officers, and limits the duration of their offices. It directs the election of a high steward, who is to act as a coun- sellor to the alderman and burgesses. It grants a power to meet in the Common Hall and hold coun- cils, and make bye laws for the government of the borough. It constitutes the alderman, high stew- ard, and their deputies justices of the peace. It declares the alderman and capital burgesses to be a body corporate in fact, deed, and name; with power to make additions to their property, or to dispose of the same or any part of it. It proceeds to notice landed property vested in the alder- man and capital burgesses. This consists chiefly of Sf, John's Hospital, (now used as the town- hall) and other lands and tenements to a con- * Appendix, Note XXX, siderable [ 127 ] siderable amount, situated in the counties of Wilts and Glocester, which had been possessed by the Knights Hospitalars ; the titles and occupations of which are specified at length. It charges the corporation with the payment of twenty pounds per annum, towards the support of a school and almshouse. It also confirms all the rights and pri- vileges of the corporation, and ordains that the enrolment of the deed shall be good in law. Beside the burgesses and assistants there are at present two orders of persons connected with the borough, styled landholders and commoners. — The commoners, who are called free burgesses in the latter charters, are the lowest members of the corporation. Their necessary qualifications are that they must be sons, or sons-in-law of capital or free burgesses, married and parishioners inhabi- tant ; and their chief privileges are the liberty of turning cattle on the common of Kingsheath, and the eligibility to the office of landholder. A situation between the assistant burgesses and the commoners, is occupied by the landholders, who are fifty-two in number. The office entitles them to the possession of an acre of land for life; and the vacancies in the class of assistant bur- gesses are filled up by elections from their body.^' . This ancient corporation has undoubtedly un- dergone considerable alterations in its internal po- lity since its first establishment; notwithstanding * Appeudix, Note XXXr. which [ 128 J ^ which there are still some customs remaining, which point to those days of yore, when symbolic ceremonies superseded parchment conveyances.— The memory of their great benefactor King Athel- Stan, is also still kept up by an annual feast which bears his name, when the capital burgesses and their families are entertained at the expence of the corporation. Thus we have given a short account of the most important occurrences in the history of- this bo- rough ; of its civil constitution ; and of the prin- cipal privileges, pre-eminences, and emoluments enjoyed by the different classes of the body cor- porate. There is, however, one valuable privilege which we have not yet noticed ; the right of elect- ing members of parliament; which is, at present, claimed exclusively by the capital burgesses, as belonging to them from ancient custom ; for no mention of it is made in any of the charters. How long this right has been exercised by the burgesses, does not clearly appear; it has not, however, been' preserved without encountering some opposition from the other branches of the corporation. The town of Malmesbury sent members to par- liament very early. The precise time, when this privilege was first exercised, is uncertain. In a late publication* indeed we are told that this bo^- rough first sent members to parliament the twenty- * An entire and complete Hiftory, political and perfonal, of the Boroughs of Great-Britain ; 2 vols, 8vo. vol. ii. p. 474. Vide etiam Dr. Squire's Hiftori- cal EfTay on the Anglo-Saxon Government. Edit. I753> P' 44^» third [ 129 ] third year of Edward I. But if with Dr. Stuart, we admit that during the reigns of the Saxon mo- narchs, persons elected by the commons had seats in the JVittenagemote, or great national council,* we may, without offending against probabiHty, conclude that the inhabitants of Malmesbury sent representatives to that council soon after they be- came a corporate body. It must be acknowledged, however, that from the imperfection of the re- cords, which relate to the earlier periods of Eng- lish history, every thing that is adv^anced on the subject of Anglo-Saxon parHaments, must be in a great measure conjectural. Henry I. who called a council at Salisbury, from which he procured an order for raising asub- * ** Every free-man In Germany aflembled In perfon at the councils of his nation, or voted for the reprefentative of his diftrlft. The fame conduft was obferved in England, The pofleffion of land was the mark of freedom amongft the Saxons J and in thofe ftates of the heptarchy, where the people could appear In a body, every Individual who had felzed, or been endowed with territory, had a title to attend its councils : but in thofe which were more populous, and where the individuals could not be eafily collefted, the holders of lands gave their votes for reprefentatlves : and from the time that the Saxon kingdoms were united, the commons appeared generally in the way of reprefentation. ** In every inferior court which had been formed in Germany and England, the free-men, or pofleflbrs of land in the territory over which It prefided, aflem- bled as the luiTORS there. Would we every where perceive the marks of a limited and free admlnlftration. In the loweft eftabllfliments, and yet find them to be wanting in that which was higheft and mofl Important ? It is Impofllble. The whole landholders among the Saxons were the Suitors of the council of.the nation. The boroughs, or towns, forming corporations and being endowed with land, had a title to be prefent by their deputies j and the wites, or wife men, who are mentioned as a part of the Anglo-Saxon parliament, were the Knights of the Shires, and the Borgeflles." Stuart on the Eng. Conftitution, p. 287, 28S, 289. sidy, [ 130 ] sidy, (by a tax on land,) wherewith to portion his daughter Mathilda, is usually represented as being the first monarch, at least after the conquest, who had a parliament. But the constitution of this assembly was probably so diiferent from those of later times, as hardly to deserve that name. It appears that writs were first issued for the return of members to parliament by Henry HI. The earliest writ extant is dated the forty-ninth year of his reign, 1£65. As aforementioned, the bo- rough of Malmesbury is usually considered as hav- ing been first summoned to return members to par- liament in the twenty-third year of Edward I. but Dr. Brady, in his historical treatise upon boroughs, notices that the first returns extant of knights, citizens, and burgesses, are dated in the twenty- sixth 3^ ear of the reign of that king. In that of Wiltshire for that year, annexed to the writ, there were returned two knights for the county, two citizens for New Sarum, two burgesses for Down- ton, two for the Devizes, two for Chippenham, and two for Ma hues bur]/, wiih -their manucaptors. It may be added, that writs were sent to the con- stable of Merleberge, and the bailiff of Calne and Wortle, who returned no ansv^er.*' At this pe- riod, and for some time after, returns of members to parliament were made in a very irregular man- ner I for the members of many corporations neg- * The original expreflion in the return is, " Conftabulario de Merleberge, e,t ballivis libertatis Calne et Wortle, qui nullum inde dederunt refponfum."— Thi-s return is ftill extant In the Towsr of London. Mr, Caley's MS. lected [ 131 ] lected to exercise their electorial rights. Instances of this omission occurred in the twelfth year of Edward III. when, as Dr. Brady informs us, the sheriff made his precept only to the boroughs of Wilton and Downton; and what is remarkable, he closes his return thus : " Non sunt plures civitates, 7ieqne burgi infra hall'wam meam:'' i. e, there are no more cities nor boroughs within my bailiwick or county: notwithstanding Bedwin, Calne, Chip- penham, Cricklade, Devizes, Ludgershall, Marl- borough, and Malmesbury, had often returned burgesses to parhament, previous to this period, as appears from the records of returns in this and the two preceding reigns. In compliance with the writs issued in the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Edward III. two members were returned for the borough of Malmeshury, with their manucap- tors ; and also for nine more boroughs in this county — though Ludgershall did not send any members this year, notwithstanding it had exer- cised the right of election six times before this period. A similar omission of Ludgershall, and three more boroughs occurred in the forty-third year of the same king's reign; but Malmesbury returned two burgesses that year.^ From the date of the first return extant, to the reign of Henry V. there are many returns for the borough of ]\Ialmesbury, by indenture between the sheriff and divers persons, whose quality or « Mr. Caley*s MS. Appendix, Note XXXII. situation [ 132 ] situation in life is not noticed. The members are said to be returned pr^o commiinitatey for the com- munity. In the thirty- third year of the reign of Henry VI. 1455, a separate indenture for Malmeshury was returned for the first time. The indenture is considerably mutilated. In it the alderman is described thus : Aldermannus et uniis Burgen^ slum. Fourteen more names have been made out; and there appear to have been several names ob- literated, all which are styled Burgenses Biirgi pdcti. The election was made by them, and the common seal of the burgesses mentioned to be annexed ; but the seal is destroyed. There is extant a return by schedule annexed to the writ for the year 1477, in the reign of Ed- ward IV. The names of some electors are given, and many other persons are said to have been present. In the fii*st year of the reign of Queen Mary, there is an indenture between the sheriff, and the alderman and burgesses, purporting that the elec- tion was made by the latter, and their common seal affixed to it.^' This is the second separate re- turn for Malmeshury. f In the following year is an indenture of return, which differs from the last, in omitting the alderman. From this time • The old common feal made ufe of has this infcripdonj ** Conum figill' Burg* de Malmelbury." + All the returns fubfecjuent to the accefllon of Queen Mary are by feparatc indentures. the [ 133 ] till the grant of a charter by Charles I. all the indentures represent the alderman and burgesses as the electors, and have their seal appended. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Charles I. 1640, which was four years after the corporation had received its new charter, is an indenture si- milar to the former; only that it contains a clause asserting that the alderman and burgesses elected for themselves, and the whole body, and inhabi- tants of the borough. It has affixed to it the old common seal. In the indenture of a return which took place the next year (l64l) the electors first assumed their new title. The election is said to be made by the capital burgesses, and signed by the alder- man only; but the old common seal was still used. The returns do not materially differ in their mode of expression, from this time to the year 1688: excepting that for the fourteenth of Charles 11. 1663, in which the alderman and capital burgesses assert that they elect for themselves, and the whole body of inhabitants of the borough. There having been no opposition in the borough during this period, the common or free burgesses had perhaps lain inactive, and been inattentive to their rights, placing full confidence in the capital burgesses who acted under KingCharles's charter. But the abdication of James II. and the grand revolution which followed that event, caused a considerable sensation in the minds of the people; and led to a general enquiry into the extent of their R civil [ 134 ] civil and political rights. This enquiry was alsQ accelerated by the Prince of Orange's precept for the Convention Parliament,* which directs " the election to be made by such persons only, as ac- cording to the ancient law^s and customs of right, ought to choose members of parliament ; and that the electors cause a return to be made by cer« tificate, under their seal, of the names of the per- sons elected, (annexed to the letter) to the clerk of the crown, before the twenty -second day of January." Addressed — To the chief magistrate, or such others of the borough of Malmeshury, in the comi- ty of Wilts, who have a right to make returns of members to serve in parliament, according to the ancient usage of the said borough, before the sei- zure or surrender of charters made in the time of King^ Charles II, In compliance with tiiis precept, January 15th, 1(789, a return was made by the alderman, accord- ing to the ancient usage of the borough, by the free and unanimous consent of tlie capital bur- 2:esses and otlier inhabitants dulv assembled. The common seal was annexed ; and this testimonial signed by the alderman, 'ten capital burgesses, fif- •vf " Dec. 25, 16S8. The Peers prefent the' Prince of Orange, two ad- drefiesj the firft of thanks, &c. and to defire his Highnefs to accept the govern- ment : the fecond to iflue out letters for a Convention Parliament, to fit January 2?.. 29, The Prince of Orange gave his anfwer to the faid addrefles. '* Jan. 5, 1689. The Prince of Orange publlfned an order for regulaj flections of convention-men.'*— —Pointer\? Chron. Hiit. of Eng. vol. i. "• ?54' 355 teeu [ \S5 ] teen assktants, nineteen landholders, and twenty- seven commoners ; in all seventy two persons. On this occasion, it plainly appears that all the different memhers of the corporation exercised their civic rights, as electors; since it would be absurd to suppose that the assistants, landholders and commoners subscribed their names merely as witnesses to the election. Four years previous to this return Colonel Whar- ton had preferred a petition against the usurpation of the capital burgesses, in support of the rights of the other branches. This petition it is true was not tried, because the parliament w^as dissolved before the day of trial arrived; however this gen- tleman was elected again, January 15, 1689? by the joint interest of his former friends, and of those who had before opposed him. Mr. Wharton having been chosen for another place, for which he took his seat, a fresh election was made January 30th, 1689? w^hich differed from the former in nothing but the number of the electors whose names were subscribed to the return. They amounted to but sixty. In the year 1691, there is an indenture purport- ing that the election was made hy the alderman, with the whole assent and consent of the rest of the burgesses; having appended to it the common seal of tlie alderman and burgesses. In the following year a return w\as made which is said to have been »rith the assent of the capital bur- [ 136 ] burgesses; but it has the same common seal with the last affixed to it. In l696j a similar return took place. In I697, a contest happened. The members chosen by the capital burgesses were returned; but a petition against this proceeding was presented to the House of Commons, December 14, I69S. Early in the year 1699, a fi'esh election took place, and a dispute, and a petition followed. — On this occasion a particular agreement was made between the heads of the corporation, in which it was determined, that the right of election was in the alderman and twelve capital burgesses.^' Thus the inferior branches of this body were by a decree of their superiors, deprived of their title to assist in chusing members of parliament. But few attempts have been subsequently made to re- gain the privilege, and these have been almost entirely unsuccessful. In 1701, another contest occurred, when Daniel Parke, esq; stood on the right of the common- alty; but the return was made in the name of the capital burgesses. A petition was presented against it, in the name of the burgesses and inhabitants of the borough; however, the candidate having also alleged bribery against the sitting members, and failed in proving the allegation, it was re- torted upon hin; and he Avas taken into custody, * See Journal of the Houfc of Commons, yol. xil, p. 662. Apr. 24, 1699. and [ 137 ] and ordered to be prosecuted by the attorney- general. This petition seems to have had some effect, notwithstanding the candidate who preferred it did not succeed; for at the election which took place shortly after, on the accession of Queen Ann, in 1702, the right of voting was exercised m its fullest extent, by all the incorporators; the word capital being omitted in the return, which is said to have been made by the alderman, with the consent of the rest of the burgesses. But the capital burgesses soon reassumed the ex- clusive management of the elections; and in some of the following returns the other branches of the corporation wxre unnoticed. In the indenture of return relating the election of 1715, the members are said to have power ' pr^o bu7*go prcedicto.' No candidate appearing to support the popular interest, the borough remained quiet till the year 1722. In which year a contested election hap- pened, in consequence of a division among the capital burgesses themselves. Lord Hillsborough and Sir John Rushout were returned; but a peti- tion complaining of the illegality of this election was presented to the House of Commons. At this time the agreement which had been made in 1699, Avas repeated.* By this agreement the right of election was vested in the alderman and capital ■^ See Journal of the Houfe of Commons, vol. xx. p. 77* Dec. 13, 1722. Hift. of the Boroughs of Gr. Brit, vol, ii, p. 222. bur- [ 138 ] burgesses only; and for a long time after the other branches of the corporation silently acquiesced in the determination. Upwards of seventy years now elapsed before any material contest took place; during which period the alderman and capital bur- gesses exclusively exercised the privileges of elect- ing members to serve in parliament. At the general election which took place iu I796y the candidates were Peter Isaac Thelluson, esq; and • Smith, esq; who were supported by the major part of the capital burgesses ; and John George Vassar, esq; and • Luxford, esq; who depended on the interest of the remain- ing branches of the corporation. Mr. Thelluson and Mr. Smith Av^ere returned representatives for the borough ; against which return Mr. Yassar preferred a petition to the House of Commons. — A similar petition against the return Mas also pre- sented in the name of the free burgesses, inhabit- tants of the town. Only the first of these pe- titions was attended to. On the second of November, 179^, the committee of the House of Commons met, and proceeded to try the merits of Mr. Vassar's petition; which stated that the right of election of members to serve in parliament for the borough of ^slalmesbury was in the alder- man, capital burgesses, assistants, landholders, and commoners of the said borough. In support' of this statement reference was made to former returns previous to the grant of the charter of King Charles I. and a few since that time. The * [ 139 3 The committee at length, after examining the arguments offered in support of the petition; and Hkewise those adduced in favour of the sitting memhers, determined that the latter were duly elected. Mr. Vassar, however, made another attempt to gain a seat in parliament for this borough ; and presented a petition to the House of Commons, in the following year. This petition was tried before a committee, in May following; and met with a fate similar to that of the former. ^ The event of this contest will probably prevent candidates in future, from venturing any lengths in opposition to the exclusive influence of the capital burgesses over the election of representa- tives for this borough. For since the decision of the tribunal, to which all appeals on this subject are carried, no person can with any probability of ■success, stand for the borough on the interest of the free burgesses; unless some such alterations should take place in the representative part of our constitution, as have been proposed by the advo- cates for parliamentary reform.^ Perhaps one of the best arguments for this re- formation is the very unequal manner in which the privilege of electing representatives is exer- cised. In some boroughs, the right of electing is allowed to all the inhabitants of the borough * For a lift of the members of parliament for the borough of Malmefbury, fet Appendix, Note XXXUI. who [ 140 ] who dress their own food, as at Taunton; in others, this right is attached to persons dvveUing in some particular houses, as at Wcstbury ; in some cases, the right of chusing members for a borough is extended to all the freeholders of the hundred, in, which it is situated, as at Cricklade; again it is sometimes circumscribed to the members of a corporation. We have elsewhere observed that in former times the obligation to elect members of parliament was considered as a hardship.* This was at a period when those who were returned were so far from paying for their seats, that they received a settled stipend from their constituents, Probably this circumstance may, in some measure, account for the unequal distribution of elective rights ; for the privilege of sending members to parhament may have been coveted by a particular class of the inhabitants of one town, when a si- milar class in another may have been equally unable and unwilling to receive the same favour. The necessity for parliamentary reform has been acknowledged by several eminent statesmen. — When the question relative to this subject was last agitated in parliament, it was opposed by Mr. Pitt and others on the grounds of its ineligibilit}^ at that particular period; and not as a measure in itself dangerous and unconstitutional. The cele- brated Lord Chatham had his mind so strongly impressed with the imperfections in the represen- See page 13T, ■ tative [ 141 ] tative part of the constitution, that he foretold that our rotten boroughs could not outlive the last century.* And although this prediction has not been fulfilled, yet the sagacity of that nobleman remains unimpeached; for the grand political re- volutions which have convulsed Europe since his death, have been so extraordinary as to defy the power of speculation ; and have so far involved the interest of governments in general, as to render it necessary for those that escaped the vortex to direct all their energy to the purposes of guarding against the encroachments of ambitious neigh- bours, and supporting their relative existence in the political scale ; and consequently rendered it dangerous to attempt any new modifications in the interior departments of the state. Before we conclude the civil history of Mal- mesbury, it will be proper to lay before the reader such information as can be collected relating to the manor. The earliest account upon record concerning the exercise of seignorial jurisdiction over this district, is the relation Avhich William of Malmes- bury gives of the deed m hereby Lutherius, bishop of the West Saxons, transferred to Aldhelm the ter- ritory of Malmesbury-t It is not, however, quite clear that this was an absolute transfer of manorial *• See Thoughts on Government, &c. by Geo. Rous, efqj 4th Edk, 1791, P- 45' f Vld. p. 37, huj. lib» ^ property ; [ 142 ] property; for Leland informs us that a king of the West Saxons, and a bishpp of Winchester were the founders of this abbey.* Therefore it may be in- ferred that the charter of Lutherius was the joint act of Kenewalch, king of Wessex, and the bishop. vlt appears probable that the land here referred to was of no great extent ; for it is said to have been called ]\laildulfesburch, which denomination is supposed to have been derived from the name of the abbot Maildulf, or Meyldulph; and conse- quently is likely to have been restricted to the precincts of the monastery which he had erected; or, at most only to have included the neighbour- ing village and castle of Ingleburne. In after times it plainly appears that the regular jurisdiction of the abbot did not extend over the town; but was confined to the abbey, with its various affices and appendages ; which, however, occupied a considerable portion of land.t For in the charter granted by Edward the Confessor, in 1065, the property then pertaining to the monas- tery is recited, bat the town of Malmesbury, is entirely omitted. At that period it appears to have formed part of the royal den>esnes. That valuable record of the state of landed pro- perty in this kingdom, in the reign of William I. which is usually stiled Domesday-book, shews that Malmesbury then belonged to the crown; and the revenues which it yielded sufficiently demon- * Leiafld's Itinerary, vol. iu -f Seep. 47* strate [ us ] strate its importance, as the following abstract will evince. " The king has 26 messuages in the borough of Malmesberie, and 25 other messuages, that pay no taxes. These houses pay 10 pence each, as rent, in all 42 shillings and six pence. Half a ruined messuage, part of the fee of the Bishop of Bayeux, does no services. The abbot of Malmesberie has 4 messuages and a half, and the out-burgesses have 9 cottagers, (coscez) who are assessed with the burgesses. The abbot of Glastonbury has 2 mes- suages. Edward the sheriff 3 messuages. Radulf de Mortemer has 1 and a ha/lf. Durand de Glou- cestre 1 and a half. William de Ow 1. Humphrey de L'isle 1. Osbern Giifard 1. Alured de Merle- bergh has half a ruined messuage. Geoffry Ma- ris cal the like. Tovi has one messuage and the fourth part of another, Drogo the son of Ponz half a one. The wife of Edric has one. Roger de Berchelai holds 1 under the king; and Ernulf de Hesding the like, which he unguardedly took pos- session of. These two do no services. The king has a waste spot of land which belonged to Azor."* " The king receives — from the third penny of Malmesberie 6 pounds, "f * Wiltshire, extradled from yomefday-Book j to which is added a tranflation of the original Latin into Engliih, By Henry P. Wyndham, 8vo. 1738* ^.3 and 5. The extrafts quoted above, are fomewhat abridged from Mt. Wyndhara*5 tranflation* t Uid.p, 13, *^ Walter [ 144 ] '' Walter H6sed pays the king 8 pounds from. Q parts of the borough of Malmesherie, and the borough itself paid as much T. R. E.* and the pleas of the hundreds of Cicemtone and Siiteles- berg wtYQ holden in this manor, which belonged to the king. The borough pays 100 shillings in money. The Earl Harold had an acre of land in this borough, in which are 4 messuages and 6 others ruinous, and a mili pays 10 shillings. All this paid T. R. E. 100 shiUings; and v/hen the king undertook any expedition, by sea or land, he accepted either 20 shillings towards the main- tenance of his sailors, or took with him one man for the honour of 5 hides."! ''The bishop (of Coutances) holds Malmesherie. Gislebert held it T. R. E. when it was assessed at 1 hide. Here is half a ploughland. Three yard- lands are in demesne, where is the half a plough- land, with S borderers (bordarii.) Here are 4 acres of meadow; and the pasture is in length 2 furlongs, and in breadth 1. It is worth \S shillings.":}: '' Chetel holds 1 hide in Malmesherie. Godwin held it T. R. E. Here is one ploughland, which is in demesne with 2 borderers (bordarii.) Here are 6 acres of meadow; and the pasture is 3 fur- longs in length, and half a furlong broad. It is Avorth 20 shillings. "§ * Tempore Regis Edvardi. — i. e . In the tirfle of King Ed ward the Confeflbr . + Ibid. p. 15. t Ibid, p, 91. (> Ibid, p, 481. In [ 145 ] In order to explain in some measure the above extracts, it is necessary to observe that daring tlie existence of feudal tenures in England, nearly the M hole of the kingdom was divided into a number of manors; some of which the king kept in his own hands, and the rest were granted to certain persons, on condition of their rendering knight's- service. These were called tenants in capite; and some of these tenures continued till thev were set aside by the statute 12 Car. II. cap. S^. The ma- nors Mdiich were thus held of the crown, were leased out by the lord to others under certain con- ditions. The dominium or demesne was usually kept by the lord himself, and was overlooked and tended by his servi or slaves; with respect to whom he possessed a power as absolute as a West- India planter possesses over his negroes. The rest of the manor was allotted to the villani, bordarii, coliberti, coscez, and cotarii, who were obliged to perform certain services, in return for the lands they occupied. From these several orders of subtenants have arisen the various kinds of leasehold, and copy-hold tenures which exist at present. The coscez and bordarii alone are mentioned in the preceding extracts. The former of these who are sometimes called coshes, i. e. couchees, (for the word seems to be derived from the French coucher, to lie down,) were obliged to furnish their lord and his retinue with lodgings, when ever they chose to demand it. The service which the bor» darii were obliged to perform, was that of furnish- ing [ 145 ] ing the lord with poultry, eggs and other menial provisions.''^ The other terms mentioned in the extracts, refer to the measurement of arable land.-— A hide (hida) appears to have been an uncertain portion of land that might annually have been worth about twenty Norman shillings ; and as the value depended upon the quality of the land, it consisted accordingly of a greater or less number of acres in proportion to their poverty or fertility. A ploughland (carucata) was a measure somewhat arbitrary, but may be fixed on an average at one hundred and twenty acres. A yard land (mrgata) was the fourth part of a ploughland. — There is a circumstance (in the se- cond of the foregoing extracts) which deserves special notice. A mill is said to have paid ten shillings, and in another part of domesday book twenty shillings. The privilege of building mills seems to have been granted by the lords only to particular persons, and under the special con- dition of having an annual rent in money; which rents generally appear to have been beyond all proportion higher than the value of the other parts of the estate. The profits arising from them must therefore have been certain and considerable : per- haps the tolls of the mills, and the general ne- cessity of bread (of Avhich there could be no fear * Probably the bor'darii, (borderers) were fd called from their living on th< frontiers or borders of manors which were in early times no doubt, wafte and un- cultivated. Perhaps on this account they fupported themfelves by feeding fowls, &c. onlv, as the nature of the land prevented them from raifing grain. [ 147 3 of a sale) made the payments in money easy.-r- Mills are of high antiquity, and for an obvious rea- son. The mill noticed in these extracts, may pro- bably have been situated on the same spot with one of those now standing. The distinction between meadow and pasture in domes'day, is, that meadow is appropriated to those grass grounds that were mowed, and pasture to those which were fed.* If succeeding monarchs had imitated the policy of William the Norman, in procuring surveys of the landed property of the kingdom to be made, similar to that contained in the domesday-book, it would have been an easy task to have traced the descent of manorial property. But as no general survey has been made from that of William, to the present time, it is often impossible to discover the intermediate proprietors of any particular domain. Charters, seignorial grants, and title deeds have sometimes been destroyed to forward the ends of designing persons; and during periods of anarchy, or civil war, valuable records of this description have been sacrificed by the indiscriminating ven- geance of riotous mobs, or ignorant and ungovern- able soldiers. As Malmesbury has not been ex- empted from these misfortunes, but has suffered particularly at the dissolution of monasteries, and -'■ ' I • < - ' i ■ ■ ■ I ' B ' * The reader who wifhes for further information relative to the origin and nature of feudal tenures, will do well to confult the following authorities from whence the above remarks have been taken. Chriftian's edit, of Blackftone'e Comment, b. ii. chap, 4. 5. Wyndham's Wiltfh. extracted from DomcCday- Book, pref, p. 5. et feot, or sheriff of the county, as a part of the pin-money of Elizabeth, Queen of Edward IV. according to the patent rolls of the seventh year of that king's reign. "f Notwithstanding these grants of rents arising from the manor, to particular persons, yet w^e may consider the abbot as having been the primary holder and Lo7^d of the Manor, until the dissolu- tion of monasteries. A few years before this de- privation took place, we find from the patent rolls of the twenty-first of Heniy VIII. that a fine was paid for a confirmation of charters and liberties to that avaricious monarch. :|: Richard Frampton, who was the last abbot, re- signed the monastery and its revenues into the hands of the king, December 15,- 1539. The lordship of Malmesbury, did not continue long in the possession of Henry, for in the year 1545, he sold the scite of the abbey and the surrounding demesne for fifteen hundred pounds, to William Stumpe, esq; of Malmesbury. § * See the pat. rolls, 39 Hen, VI. -f Fofbrooke, "^ Idem* R Grofc's Antiquities*— Mapfon's MS, T How [ 1^0 ] How long it continued in the possession of this gentleman and his family, is uncertain; indeed after this period nothing but a few detached me- morandums relative to the manor have fallen un- der our notice. It appears that some persons of respectability, named Stumpe, were connected with this town during the interval between the reign of Henry VHL and that of James I. but we cannot affirm that they were lords of the manor. In the seventh year of Queen Elizabeth, Henry Knyvett, esq; laid claim to the demesne in ques- tion ;^ and we may infer from a deed, whereby he granted the abbey to the townsmen for a parish church, f that he was proprietor of it in the follow- ing year which is the date of the grant. It seems that Mr. Knyvett, did not keep undisturbed pos- session of his new acquisition; for in the tenth year of this queen's reign, William Pore, alias Capper, claimed the manor of Malmesbury,;}: but we are ignorant of the result of his attempt. Ann Warneford widow, died, seized of the scite of the manor of Malmesbury, in 1631, and Wil- liam Plomer, son of Ann, wife of Plomer, an^ third daughter of the above Ann Warneford, was found to be the heir. William Cole, of Bristol, was at that time lessee of the above lands. § -' . ' ■■ , . -I r i» * Mich. Rec. 7 Eliz. rot. i6i. Fofbrookc's Auxil. Col. for Wiltfhirc, M.S' f See Appendix, Note XVUI. + HiU Rec. 10. Elfz, rot. 23, FofbrooJce. ^ In^uifitiones poft mortem. Com. by Mr. Folbrooke. From [ 151 ] From Fuller's Church History, we learn that Thomas Ivye, esq;^ held it in 1656. In I67I5 God wyn Wharton, esq; was lord of the manor. f This gentleman's family, and also that of the Warnefords, were related to the Stumpes, as appears from a monument in the abbey churche Mr. Wharton, who served as member of parlia- ment for Malmesbury in the year I695, seems to have been possessor of the manor for a number of years. How long it continued the property of the family is uncertain, but there is reason to be- lieve that Thomas Lord Wharton, afterwards Mar- quis of Wharton and Malmesbury, and also Philip Duke of Wharton (so notorious for the greatness of his abilities and the profligacy of his manners) were both lords of the manor, and it is not impro- bable that it was alienated by the latter. Our attempts to learn the particulars of the sub- sequent descent of this lordship have been unaTail- ing. We can only therefore inform the reader that the present proprietor of the manor of Mal- mesbury, is Lord Northwick, who inherits it from his father, the late Lord Northwick, formerly Sir John Rushout. This town, as is noticed above, gave the title of Marquis to the family of Wharton. The title be- came extinct on the death of Philip Duke of Whar- ton, in 1731. Malmesbury now gives the titles of * Vid. p. 71. •f Inquifitloncs poft mortem^ com, by Mr- Fosbrooke. Bar6n [ 152 ] Baron and Earf, to the Right Honourable James (Harris^) Earl of Malmesbury, Viscount Fitz- h arris, of Ham-Court, in the county of South- hampton, Baron Malmesbury, and Knight of the most honourable Order of the Bath. * Lord Malmesbury is the fon of James Harris, esq; of Salilbury, well known in the Titerary world, as the author of a philofophical grammar, entitled Hermes^ and feveral other ingenious works* SECTION hi 1;^ y4 ^^sl^i^^llM^i ,pB^3^oij:^ ^^o^ [ ^o3 ] SECTION VII. Of the Situation of the Town — Its present State — Public Buildi?igs — Trade and Manufactures-^ Chaintable Institutions and Donations. THE town of Malmesbury is situated on an eminence, which is peninsulated by two streams that unite to form the lower Avon.^ One of them comes from Newnton, through Broken- borough, to the north-west corner of the town, and running in a north-east direction, near the bridge at the south-east end of the town, meets with the grand head of the Avon, which comes from the village of Luckington, about seven miles off, and running along the southern side of the town, by its confluence with the other stream, makes the peninsula. The Avon also receives here a third branch, which comes from Oaksey through Hankerton, Charleton, and Gersdon. After this confluence, it runs S. W. to Chippenham, receiv- ing several small streams during its course. Then * Avon is a name common to feveral rivers in different parts of England 5 there is one which rifes about the middle of this county, called the Upper Avon, this is fometimes confounded with the river defcribed above. The Lower Avon according to Camden, fervcd as a boundary to divide the kingdom of Weffex, h»m that of Mercia* meeting [ 154 ] meeting with a branch from Corsham, it goes to Laycock and Melksham, and receiving some small streams passes on to Staverton, and S. W. of that place, meets with the Were. After this it runs to Bradford, and from thence to Freshford, a little to the east of which it is joined by the Frome. The Avon then passes on to Bath wick and Bath, receiv- ing in its course some considerable streams. Then It goes to Keynsham, where it receives the Chute* After this confluence it runs to Briselton, and then to Bristol, beneath which it receives a small stream on each side, and passes on by Clifton and Cro- camphill, into the Bristol Channel. Being situated on the road from London to Bath and Bristol, the town was formerly a considerable thoroughfare; but a new road having been made, some years past, Malmesbury is less frequented than formerly. It lies ninety- five miles west of London, and about twenty-one N. E. of Bath. The turnpike roads in the neighbourhood, arc in general exceedingly good ; but this may be re- garded as a modern improvement, since many of the inhabitants of the town recollect the construc- tion of the present roads, and the comparatively impassable state of the public ways, leading to the neighbouring towns at some seasons. About the middle of the last century, many turnpike acts w^ere passed, and from that period the general amendment of the public roads in the west of England may be dated. Though this must have been a very desirable object, neverthe- less [ ^05 ] less it appears from the periodical publications of that era, to have met with opposition from the occupiers of land in that part of the kingdom. Among other documents, the Gentleman's Maga- zine has preserved a satirical poem intitled ^ Dick the Western Farmer's Petition against Tur?ipikes.' The following lines form a part of this curious^'e?^ d' esprit : The Irish horse ploughed with a rope to his tail. Till an outlandish viceroy perverted the scale. And we, if the great ones will let us alone, Would poach in our dirt, for that dirt is our own: And pray can you make me a handsomer show, Than a farmer belaced with rich earth like a beau ? Where's the pleasure to dream on a uniform plain, And what is so cool as a road full of rain? A precipice still makes the prospect more airy. If you fracture your neck — 'tis a comic vagary. Nine inches of track are enough for a peasant. And gentry wont travel if roads are unpleasant: And why should they travel who have nothing to do. But to fool away money, and the country to view ?* The northern division of the county in which this town is situated, (formerly overrun with fo- rests, and at present sprinkled with woods) is hilly but fertile. The scenery around Malmesbury, Where the winding vale its lavish stores, Irriguous, spreads, -^ .f is not uninteresting. And though here are none of the extensive hills, the bold precipices, and the » Gent, Mag, vol. xxiii^ p, 44^ f Th»infon'fi Scafons, Spring, v, 49i» [ 1.^6 ] dark forests which vary the prospect in the neigh- bouring county of Glocester, yet the views may be deemed by some not less pleasing, though cer- tainly less picturesque. Those, however, who can relish the scenery pre- sented by a highly cultivated country, composed of gently rising grounds, and shallow vales, chec- quered with blooming orchards and grazing herd^ may, during the genial season of spring, receive a considerable portion of gratification from those views which the Maldunian landscapes afford. Though this town is at present surpassed by many in neatness and elegance of appearance, yet there is reason to believe that a few centuries ago, its magnificent abbey, its castle, and its fortifi- cations, combined with the other buildings, to ren- der it equal if not superior to any town in the county. The arrangement of the principal streets is regular and convenient. The High-street com- mencing at the market cross immediately opposite the south front of the abbey, passes some way in a straight line, then bending towards the east, crosses a bridge over the Avon, mentioned by Leland in his Itinerary,* and terminates at the grand and ex- tensive building raised by Francis Hill, esq; for the purpose of carrying on the clothing manufac- ture. At the top of this last runs a street called Oxford-street ; its direction is from west to east. The isolated steeple of the parish church of St. * Vol. 1i, Paul, [ 1^7 ] Paul, 13 situated at its western termination ; from thence it passes along the Jop of the High-street, to the Workhouse. The situation of these two streets is such as to form a figure resembhng that of tlie letter T. Parallel with the High-street, and a little to the east of it, is a street called Sil- ver-street, which passing from south towards the north, through a square called Cross-Hayes, meets the end of Oxford-street at the Workhouse, and a little farther on terminates in the road leading to Cricklade, Oxford, &c. The only remaining street of importance is one called the Abbey-row, w^iich commencing not far from the west end of the abbey leads through Westport, dividing at length into two branches; one of which terminates in the road to Tetbury and Glocester, and the other in the road by the Cross- Hands to Bristol. Many streets existed here formerly of which no traces are now to be perceived ; though the names of several of them are preserved in old char- ters, title deeds, and other ancient records. TliQ most important objects of attention in this town are the remains of antiquity : as these have been ah'eady described, the more modern public build- ings next come under our notice. These are of three classes. — Buildings devoted to the purposes of public worship; manufactories; and charitable foundations. The first class comprehends the church of St, Mary, in the parish of Westport/ and four dissent- ing cliapels^ V The " [ 158 ] "jThe parish of Westport within the borough has a church, which is a chapel of ease to the vicarage of Charlton/' a village about two miles from the town. The oldest inscription which has been dis- covered in it, is dated in the year 167C. The pre- sent edifice is (comparatively sj^eaking) modern. There was doubtless a church that stood on or near the same spot heretofore. For Hobbes informs us, in the account he has given us of his life, that his father, was the minister of Westport church in the year 1558, and we learn from Willisf that J. Wymbole, was the officiating priest in 1553. In the parish of Westport also is situated the place of public worship, belonging to the presby- terians. It was rebuilt in the year 1788. This dissenting interest has been of long standing, as may be inferred from the deed that respects the first place of worship, and also from the following anecdote, communicated by an aged member of the congregation. It appears, that in troublesome times, the minister and people assembled for di* vine worship in what is now called the old par- sonage house: one of the town, from whom the minister then suffered persecution, was afterwards so circumstanced as to need his protectfon; on * Wiltlhire. Living remaining in Charge. WESTPORT. icing's Books. C Vicarage with Charlton, and the 7 Yearly Tenths, i61, 17s. Sd. I Chapel of Brokenborough. J il. 13s. gfd. Bi»eman's Rdyal & Ecciefxaftical Gaz. or Clergyman's Pocket Kalcndar. p. 124. -f- Hlft, of Parliamentary Mitred Abbles. Vol. Ji'. . which [ m ] which occasion, this minister exemphfied that most amiable Christian virtue, which consists in rendering good for evil. Matt. v. 44, 45. As it appears the Rev. S. Gawen, vicar of the parish of St. Paul, Malmesbury, was ejected from thence by the act of uniformity,* it is probable that by him this society was established. The chapel belonging to the Anabaptists, is si- tiiated in the parish of St. Mary, Malmesbury, commonly called the abbey parish. It was rebuilt in 1802. It appears that this religious society has subsisted in Malmesbury, ever since the year 1720. In that part of the town called Holloway, is the place of worship belonging to the Moravians, erected about ten years since. The followers of George Whitfield, have a house in Silver-street, which is opened for public wor- ship on Sundays. This society of methodists owes its origin to the Rev. Mr. Davis, a clergyman of the established church, who died at Malmesbury a few years since. The second class of public buildings consists of those which are devoted to the purposes of trade. Of these none are of sufficient importance to merit notice, except two spacious manufactories built some years since, by F. Hill, esq. One of these buildings is situated at the extremity of the town, where the road leading to Chippenham begins.— Here nearly all the operations necessary for making * See Appendir, Note XXXIV, superfine [ 160 ] superfine broad-cloth are carried on.=* Mr. Stuinpe, a great clothier here, in the reign of Henry VIII. (according to tradition) had a manufactory on ot near the same ispot with that just mentioned. On the western side of the town is situated another manufactory, smaller than the last, belonging also to Mr. Hill. Repeated notices have already been given of the state of the clothing trade at Malmesbury, in former timeiS. The town has been celebrated for its share in this branch of manufacture, almost ever since it has been introduced into England. The members of the merchants' guild, already mentioned, page 1 1 2, were probably engaged en- tirely in the prosecution of the clothing trade. — The register-boak of the abbey contains some do- cuments which prove that there were some person^ of rank who belonged to this corporation. Leland is the earliest author who gives any particular in- formation relative to the state of trade in this town. He informs us that when he visited Malmesbury, (towards the middle of the sixteenth century) every corner of the vast hoiises of office which had be- longed to the abbey were full of looms to weave cloth in, that it was intended to make a street or two for clothiers, in the back vacant ground of * A defcription of the variou* proceites which wo6l andergots in being ma- aufadVured into cloth, would have been introduced here, h^d our limits admitted o( it J but asfimilar accounts are to be found in feverai modern publications, this omiflion will not be regretted by many of our readers. Thofe who may be at a lofs where to feek for information on this fub}e€l arc referred to Britten's Beauties of Wiltfhire. Vol, ii% the [ 161 ] the abbey ; and that about three thousand cloths were annually made in this place.* Camden says, that in Queen Elizabeth's reign, Malmesbury was in good repute on account of the clothing trade. f In a deed that bears date 1654, relating to a do- nation to the poor of Malmesbury, from a Mr. Grayle, he is said to have been a clothier and to have gained a plentiful estate in this town. King William's charter expresses that the borough was then inhabited by burgesses and others, largely carrying on the clothing trade and merchandize. We find from a work published in 17^9, that the manufacture of medly clothing, drugget making, and fine Spanish clothing, was carried on at that time in the county of Wilts, from Warminster south, to Malmesbury north inclusive. J About the middle of the eighteenth century at Malmes- bury it became extinct. It is somewhat probable there was a silk manu- facture, in this town. In the parish register is the following memorandum. ** February 26th, 1687, Robert James, of Malmesburie, silk weaver, wa5 th^n declared in the abbey church, to be the parish clerk of Malmesburie, upon the death of Nathaniel Speak, broad weaver, and the late parish clerk." Malmesbury, was famous in ancient times, for its annual fair, when a great number of strangers assembled. The fair and the method adopted to pre* 4f Leland*s Itin. Vol. iL + Camd. Britannia. + Ths Gentleman's and Farmer's Guide, by R, Bradley, F,R,S. p. 43. vent [ 16^2 ] %ent disorders, amidst such a concourse of people,, are thus noticed by Leland. *' The toune hath a great privileg of a fair, about the fest of St. Aid- elm, at which time the toune kepith a band of har- nesed men to see peace kept: and this is one of the bragges of the toune, and thereby they be fur- nished with barneys."* The fair was kept (tradi- tion says) in a meadow which lies a little to the sputh-west of the town, and to the present time bears the name of St. Aldhelm's Mead. It is now the property of the Earl of Suffolk. This fair has been long discontinued. The manufacture of woollen cloth at Malmes- - bury, having been entirely giv6n up about 1750, no attempts were made to revive it till within these ten or twelve years, when the extensive manufac- tory beforementioned, which furnishes employ- ment for great numbers belonging to the lower classes of society, was first established by Francis Hill, esq. The only trades and manufactures of importance carried on at Malmesbury, that remain to be no- ticed, are, brewing, tanning, lace-making, (which used to be the principal employment of the lower ranks of females, but is now almost superseded by the introduction of the clothing trade) garden- ing, the manufacture of leather, gloves, parch- ment, glue, &c. These different manufactures afford ample em- ployment for the poor inhabitants of this town. * Itin, Vol. ii. Jt [ 163 ] It ts to be lamented that those in the surrounding country parishes are far from being equally well employed. Previous to the invention of the nume- rous machines which are used in the making of wool- len cloth, large quantities of wool were brought into this neiohbourhood bv clothiers from Glo- cestershire, and elsewhere, in order to be spun into yarn. A considerable number of persons, chiefly females, were thus furnished with employment, of which they have been deprived by the new and improved arrangements in this branch of the cloth- ing trade. — Malmesbury has a weekly market on Saturdays^, for butcher's meat and other provisions. This has long been very inconsiderable, but there is a market for cattle, swine, &c. held the last Tuesday in each month, called '^ The Great Mar- ket;" which is in general very numerously attend- ed. This has been established about ten ^^ears. — • There are also three fairs annually, chiefly for the sale of horses and black cattle. The first is held on the 28th of March — The second on the 28th of April — and the third on the 5 th of June. The third and last class of public buildings to be noticed, comprehends those designed for the recep- tion of objects of charity. There are no buildings of this description at Malmesbury, that are par- ticularly remarkable; all those that were formerly attached to the monastery having been destroyed long since, or applied to other purposes. The only charitable foundations to be mentioned are two almshouses; one of them endowed by the corpora- tion, [ 16'4 ] tion, and subsCiquently by Michael Weekes, esq. This is situated adjoining to the arched gateway mentioned page ^7, The other ahnshouse was founded and endowed by Robert Jenner, citizen and goldsmith of London, but the endowment was lost more than half a century ago. This building is situated in Holloway. Neither of these ahnsliouses have any thing in their appear- ance which distinguislies them from the habitations of paupers, with wliich they are surrounded. There is also a free-school partly supported by a stipend from the corporation, with an additional endowment left by iMichael Weekes, esq. Another free-school in this town is endowed with a salary of thirty pounds per annum, left by Mrs. Elizabeth Hodges, of Sliipton Moyne, in the county of Glocester.* The amount of the parish rates for the relief of paupers in this town at different periods, confirm^ the conclusions that have been drawn from an * There are fcveral charitable donations which are not conne£led with the buildings noticed above. The principal of thefe are the profits of an cftate in the parift of Lea, left by Mr. Arch j ten pounds perlnnutn by Mr. Grayle* for apprenticing poor children } the intereft of one hundred pounds in the 3^ per cent, confolidated bank annuities, IJy Mrs. Rowlcsj foyr hundred pounds by Mr, Arnold to purchafe bank ftock, the intereft arifing fron» which to be laid out in bread for the poor; and two pounds per annum to be diftributcd in fix- penccs left by Mr. CuUurnc. The catalogue of public charities here Is by no means equal to thofe which fome towns can boait of. But this is not perhaps on the wboje 3 circumstance much to be regretted \ for revenues appropriated to this purpofe are fometimcs mifapplied^ and it not unfrequently happens that in confequencc of their being beftowed on improper objefts the poor's rate i> aoj in the leail di'miniihcd by the exiftencc of fuch bencfaftions, ex- r 165 ] examination into the state of this burthensonie impost in other situations. The following memo* , randums will shew that the increase of the poor's rate, during the space of one hundred and forty years, bears no relative proportion to the altera- tion in the value of landed property, or to the difference in the price of provisions. All the rates collected for the support of the poor in the town parish, in the year 1664, did not exceed the sum of eighteen pounds, seven shillings, and two-^ pence. The paupers who then received paroc^iial assistance wxre only eight in number. In the year 1801, the amount of the rates was nearly four hundred pounds; and since that time it is most enormously increased. The general inference to be drawn from these statements is certainly not in favour of the present system of poor laws. Indeed, when we consider that the act of parliament which provides for the relief of paupers, w^as made in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and that it introduced new regulations into the police of this country, we may conclude that the imperfections now discovered in the sys- tem arise in a great measure from the alterations that have taken place in the state of society, dur- ing the long period that has elapsed since it was enacted. But whatever may be the cause of the acknowledged insufficiency of the poor laws, it is certainly desirable that they should be amended, or renewed. Many plans have been devised for this purpose, though none of them have as yet X been C 166 ] been carried into execution; it is therefore the duty of those who are engaged in the manage- ment of the poor, to adopt such regulations as may be most suitable in particular districts, and to apply the existing laws in the most advanta- geous manner.* Among the various methods which have been practised with a view to ameliorate the condition of the lower ranks of people, there is none perhaps more praiseworthy, or effectual, than the well- known institution of Sunday Schools, These semi- naries have been the means of rescuing many indi- viduals from a state of ignorance and barbarism, and making them valuable members of society. A Sunday school was established at Malmesbury, some years since, and it had for a time the hap- piest effects; but in consequence of some particular circumstances it was set aside, and it has not since been revived. The town of Malmesbury probably contained a much greater number of inhabitants anciently than it does at present; but it appears from aa examination of the parish register, that the state of the population during the last century has not fluctuated very materially. From the number of people far advanced in years whose names are to * ■ ■ M ' - - ' = * The author of this hiftory has already fubmitted to the public, fomc ob. fervations on the beft methods for relieving paupers, in a fmall pamphlet en- titled, <« Hints refpe^ting a Scheme for the Relief of the unemployed Poor, and for reducing the Rates} humbly fubmitted to the Confidcration of the Public, end jjarticularly of Churchwardens, Overfcers, and others, who aflift in the ,M'«n||«t»ejnt«f Parochial Concerns.'* »79a» be [ m ] be found in the registers, it may be inferred that the situation of this town is congenial to animal life. Malmesbury may be considered as being in a state of progressive improvement. Its buildings are certainly mended within these few years. As an additional argument for the truth of this opi* nion we may observe that in 1798, an act of par- liament was obtained entitled *' An Act for Paving the Footways, and for Cleansing, Lighting, and Regulating the Streets, and other public passages and places within the Borough of Malmesbury, in the county of Wilts j and the Avenues lead- ing into the same ; and for removing and prevent- ing Nuisances, Annoyances, and Obstructions therein." This act is now carrying into execution. Section [ m ] SECTION VIII. Particulars relating to the Abbots of Malmes- buryy and other miscellaneous Information, MALMESBURY is denominated a city in the title to King Athelstan's charter, preserved in the British Museum.* In the reign of Edred, brother of Athelstan, it appears that there was at this place a mint ; for in Lowthorp's abridgment of '^The Philosophical Transactions" is an account of a coin of that king, from the letters on the re- verse of which the writer reads '^ malmesbury M0NEY."f When Domesday-book was compiled, in the reign of William the Conqueror, JMalmes- bury was the first town surveyed in the county of Wilts. At the time Leland visited IMalmesbury, towards the middle of the sixteenth century, its walls and gates were standing, though mucli de- cayed. Camden, in his Britannia, stiles it '' a neat town." - Malmesbury had a number of churches and chapels : the remains of some have been long since turned into private dwellings ; of others there are * See Appendix, Note XXV. ■f Alridg. of Phil. Tranf, Vol. iii. p. 440. no i 169 \ MO traces now existing. Some account has already been given of those foundations that have with- stood the ravages of time and violence;* but the following notices from Leland's Itinerary, appear to refer to buildings bf which no vestiges at pre- sent remain: " Ther was a little chirch joining to the south side of the Transeptum of th' Ab- bay Chirch, wher sum say Johannes Scottus, the great clerk, was slayne about the tyme of Alfrede king of the West Saxons, of his own disciples, thrusting and strykking him with their table poin- telles. Wevers have now lomes in this litle chircli, but it stondith and is a very old pece of work.f Leland also mentions three nunneries, J which are said to have been situated near the town ; but neither of them was standing at the period of his visit to Malmesbury. The account already no- ticed, § which this writer gives in his Collectanea, of a convent of nuns here, under the direction of Dinoth, Abbot of Bangor, if it could be depended on, would tend to demonstrate the importance of this place at an early period. But the reported connection .of Dinoth with a nunnery at so great a distance from his own monastery, throws a dis- credit on the whole story. There is, however, no necessity for recurring to relations of disputed au- ■' ■■ ■ ■ ■ - ■ ' i _ ■:■ * See Sea. V. + ItJn. Vol, li. X See page 95 (Note •^) and 98, for accounts of two of thefe foundations^ the other is faid to have ftood near the South Bridge, without the town, in tke v;ay to Chippenham. Itin. Vol. ii. ^ See page ^5. thority [ 170 3 thority, while the accounts of Meyldulph and his illustrious scholar Aldhelm, shew that Malniesbury as a school of science, was surpassed by few, if any establishments of the kind in Britain. The ideas contained in the following lines were suggested ?jy the perusal of the history of the foundation of iSIalmesbury Abbey. SONNET TO THE AVON. Reclin'd beside thy willow-shaded stream. On which the breath of whispVing Zephyr plays, Let me, O Avon ! in untutored lays. Assert thy fairest purest right to fame. What though no myrtle bowVs thy banks adorn, Nor sportive Naiads wanton in thy waves. No glitt'ring sands of gold, or coral caves Bedeck the channel by thy waters worn ; Yet thou canst boast of honours passing these : For when fair science left her eastern seat. Ere Alfred rais'd her sons a fair retreat Where Isis laurels tremble in the breeze, *Twas there — near where thy circling streamlet flows, E'en in yon dell, the Muses found repose. Monastic institutions were commonly, in the early ages, nurseries of learning. Immured in the obscurity of his humble cell, the monk frequently found it necessary to relieve his solitude by study- ing the classic writings of the Greeks and Romans. It was natural for him to preserve with religious care the sources from whence he derived so much pleasure. Thus the solitary recluse, whose hopes and fears ^ve^e confined within the narrow bounds of [ 171 J of his own convent, was the means of bestowing on succeeding generations a gift of inestimable vahie. But the preservation of the remains of an- cient literature is not the only benefit which we have derived from monachism. To ecclesiastics we are indebted for almost all the accounts of the early parts of English history which we possess. Doubt- less they were often induced to attend to this sub- ject for their own amusement or satisfaction; and some of their writings originated in a wish to gra- tify private resentment, or to gain an opportunity for bestowing praise on their patrons. But what- ever were the motives of the monks, we are jus- tified in asserting that had it not been for their labours, the earlier periods of the history of this country would have been enveloped in obscurity.* As another part of this history is dedicated to the purpose of recording individual instances of monastic merit and celebrity, f we shall now pro- ceed to give an account of the superiors of the monastery. The antiquity of Malmesbury abbey, and the confusion that occurs in its history, in consequence of the destruction of monastic charters and other records, which happened at the reformation, ren- der it impossible at present to give a complete ca- talogue of the abbots who presided here from the foundation of the abbey till its dissolution. That • See Andrews's HJft, of Gr. Brit. Vol. i. p. 3S. f See Se^^JX. indus- [ 17£ 1 industrious antiquary Brown Willis, has however collected the names of forty-six of them. To his labours we are chiefly indebted for the following^ account. MeTjldiilpli* who retired to this place and oc- casioned the foundation of the abbey, is reckoned the flrst abbot: though the abbey was scarcely founded till his death, which happened about the year 676. Adebn, or Aldhelrn, his scholar suc- ceeded him. He governed this abbey thirty-four years, and held the same, according to some au- thors, in conwiendam with the bishopric of Shir- bourne; of which see he was consecrated bishop in 705. He died May 25th, 709- On the decease of Aldhelm, or rather as Mr. Wharton's collections shew us, upon his being made bishop in 705, Daniel became abbot. To him succeeded in the year 746, Adelm^ or Aid- helm, nephew to the former of that name. — However he is mentioned as the next abbot in William of Malmesbury, who omits Daniel ; though Dr. Tanner doubts whether or no there was a se- cond Aldhelm. Ethelard occui^ next. He was in 780, pi'omo- ted to the bishopric of Winchester; and then translated in 793 or 794', to Canterbuiy. It is ^ A reliquary which is faid to have contained fome relics of Meylduph, h engraved in the Vetufta Monumenta, vol. ii. pi. 51, 52. It was fuppofed to have been brought from Rome in the eighth century by Aldhelm. A particular dcfcriptlon of this antique may be feen in Gough^s Sepulchral Monuments^ Ir,trod, vol. ii, p. cxcvii. said [ i73 j i&akl in Anglia Sacra^ that Etbelard left the abbey in 754". Cuthbert appears to have succeeded him; and continued in possession of the abbacy at least till the year 79^^ After Cuthbert we meet with no account of the abbots of Malmesbury, for the space of nearly two hundred years. This is rather a remarkable cir- cumstance, §ince it was during this period that King* Athelstan. bestowed various privileges and donations ou the mpnastery. Perhaps the secular priests who posse3sed the abbey after the monks were ejected by King Edwy, might have destroyed its records, and thus rendered obscure one of the most flourishing parts of its history. In Domes-^ day-book one Alesta^n is mentioned as having been, abbot of Malmesbury; but as we are not informed when he lived, it mqst be\mce^tain how far this may be the proper place to introduce him. The monks being restored to the possessio^ of the abbey by King Edgar ip 974, Elfric or Alfred was appointed abbot. Jn 977. he was made Bishop of Crediton, and succeeded here by At helwerd, ot Ethelwerd, He was abbot in 982, and his suc- cessor was Kinezoard, of whom, and of the fiv^ following we have merely the names. They were Brichtehnus, Britdnvaldus, Edricus, Wuhinus^ and Britchwoldus, This last was succeeded by Egehvard, who continued abbot ten years. His successor was Ehvinus, who sat a year and a half, and was then y replaced t 174 ] replaced by Brictxvold or Brkktvold, He coiitf- nued superior of this monastery seven years, and died in 1057. On his decease Herman bishop of Wilton, conceived the design of removing the epis- copal see to Malmesbiuy. The grandeur and ex- tent of the abbey, (to the increase of which he had himself contributed,*) was probably his chief in- ducement to this attempt. But though he obtained permission from King Edward the Confessor, to execute his project, it proved entirely unsuccessful. For the monks by means of their interest with Earl Godwin, Avho governed the royal councils, procured a revocation of the grant;; and shut the doors of the monastery against the bishop. They took care also to supply themselves with a superior by electing Brithric, who had been Prior of the monastery. Herman was so disgusted at the treat- ment he had received from the monks that he gave up his bishopric, and left the kingdom; but he returned not long after, on the death of Elfwokl bishop of Sherborn ; and accepting of that see^ he united it with Wilton, and removed to Sarum.f Brithric was deposed by King William the Conqueror, who made Tar aid a monk of Fescamp * See p. 75. -|- Several of our ancient hlltoilans cell us that the fee of the biihop of Berk- shire and Wiltfhire, was fixed at Malmefbury j as Abingdon, thehiftoriographer, and Radulphus de Diceto, who calls Odo (who was bifhop of Ramfbury,) bifhopL of Malmeibury j and Gervafe of Tilbury, wh^n he fays that St. Aldhelm had the city of Maidulf, that is Scireburn. Gibfon'sedit. of Camden's Britannia, J). 102. All thefe miftakeg^tirobabl^ orlgmated from tl^e circumftance noticed above- Ill [ 175 ] in Normandy, abbot in his room. He was trans- lated in the year \070, from hence to the see of Peterborough. Warin de Lira suceeded next; who died in 1081. He was succeeded by Godfrey GemetkensiSy procurator of the abbey of Ely, whom WiUiam the Conqueror translated hither. He died in 1105; and was succeeded by Edulf, a monk of Winches- ter, who was elected into office in the following year, as the Annates TVintonienses inform us. — After he had governed twelve years, Roger, Bishop of Sahsbury, deposed him in 1118, usurped his place, and kept the same till his death, Avhich hap- pened in December, 1 139. Early in the following year, the monks of Malmesbury, elected to the abbacy, Jolui, a member of this convent. He is said to have been a man remarkable for the bene- ficence of his manners, and the liberality of his mind. The pope's legate refused to sanction the flection, and the monks were obliged at length to purchase his consent.^' John •if Anno incarnati Verbi 1140, Monachi abbatiarum, quas Rogerius epif- copus contra fas tenaerat, rege adito antiqua privilegia & abbates habere me- ruerunt. Eieftus eft in Abbatem Malmelberise a Monachi s fecundum tenorem privilegii, (quod beatus Aldelmus a Sergio Papa jam ante 466 annos impetraverat, & a rcgibus Weftfaxonum Ina, Merciorum Ethelredo roborari fecerat) ejuf- dem loci Monachus Johannes, vir benignitate morum, & animi liberalitate apprinne infignis, Probavit Legatus caufam improbavit personam. NuUoenim modo menti ejus perfuaderi poterat regem praster dationem pecuniae eledlioni confenfifTe. Et quidem aliquantum nummorum promiflum fuerat caufa liber- tatis ecclefiae non eleftionis perfonae. Itaque Johannes quamvis immatura morte anno eodem prasreptus fuerit, asternam tamen et laudabilem fui memo- ,riam cundtis poft fe feculis dereliquiti Nullus cnim (vere fateor) ejus loci Mo- navhus C m 1 John continued abbot but a few months, dying in September, the same year. — WiHiam of Malmes- bury, mentions an event as having happened du- ring the government of this superior, which must not be passed by without notice. One Robert, a marauding soldier, took posses- sion of the castle of Devizes, and from thence made irruptions into the surrounding country, com- mitting horrid cruelties, and directing his venge- ance principally against churches and monasteries, lie attempted to destroy Malmesbury Abbey; and put to death all monks. All those at least who re- mained in the convent at the time of his attack.* The next abbot was PeteVy who, in 1142, as- sisted in a triumphal procession, when the Empress Mathilda entered the city of Winches ter-j:. The time of his death is uncertain. Gregorij, occurs next as abbot, in 1159. Robert^ was abbot in the year 1174. He was succeeded by Osbert Fo/iot, prior of Glocester, in 1180, who dying in 1181, or according to Ajinaks JVi- gornenses, in 1 1 82, had for his successor Nicholas a monk of St. Alban's, prior of Wallingford, from whence he was translated hither. — About the year 1175, King Henry II. sent Nicholas then prior of Wallingford, together \v\Xh William Fitzadelm, into Ireland, with the bull of Pope Alexander jiachus tantje magnanlmkatis fafto aflifteret, nifi Johannes inchoaffet. Itaque habeant fucceflbres ejus laudenn, fi libertatem ecclefiae tutati fuerlnt, ipfe pr«- culdubio earn a feivitute vendicavk, G. Malmes. Hift, Novellae Lib. ii« * See Appendix, Note XXXV.- f Hift. Nov. id. Lib. in. [ 177 ] III. in confirniation of the bull of Pope Adrian IV. and also that bull whereby Adrian granted the lordship of Ireland to the king.* — He was deposed in 1187, and Robert de Melun sub-prior of Winchester, was made abbot in his place. — He died in 1205, and Walter whose surname appears to have been Loring, succeeded to the office of abbot, w^hich he kept till his death in 1222. He was succeeded by John TVallensis. In the year 1224, the ninth of Henry III. this abbot at- tested Magna Charta.f The next abbot was Jeffry^ who was elected in 1246. He probably continued in office till 1260, when JVilUam de Colern became superior of the monastery. He held this station thirty-six years, dying in 1296. PFilliam de Badininton succeeded him. He died in 1324. Ada?n Atte Hok ox de la Hooke, then became abbot. According to Le- land he died at Malmesbury in 1340.:j: The ii€xt abbot was John de Tin tern ; on whose death in 1 348, Simon de Aumeney was raised to the abbacy* In the records of Edward III. there is a grant of a pardon to the abbot of Malmesbury, who it seems had been guilty of concealing Robert de Gurnay, one of the persons who perpetrated the murder of King Edward II. in Berkeley Castle. * See Ware's Ireland, C. 7. p. 13, Com. by Mr. Fofbrooke. + See Statutes at Large, by J. Keble. fol, p. 5. •^ CoUeftanea Volt i« p. 307, Whether [ 178 ] Whether this pardon was granted to the last named abbot, or to De la Hooke, or Tintern, is not exactly ascertained. De Aumeney died in 1360, and was succeeded hy Walter Camme, the time of whose death is uncertain. Probably it happened in 139^, when Thomas de Chelesxvortk was made abbot. His successor appears to have been named WiUlam, who according to Mr. Whar- ton's Collections, was abbot in 1423. Robert Persore was elected abbot in 1424, and goveraed this monastery till his death in 1434. Thomas Bristoxv succeeded him, who dying in 1456, had for his successor John Andover, who then became abbot. He died in 1462. His suc- cessor was John Aylee, the time of whose death is uncertain, but most probably it was in 1479. Thomas Olveston, after this had the temporali- ties of this abbey delivered to him, as appears by the patent rolls. He died in 1509. Richard Frampton, succeeded him, " whom (says Willis) I take to be the same with Richard whose surname w^as Frampton alias Selwin, the last abbot, who surrendered his convent, December \5, 1539."* This ingenious antiquary however, seems to have been mistaken in his opinion, for the name of the last abbot was Robert Frampton or Selwin, as ap- pears from an original paper which this writer has himself copied.; and which wq shall lay before the reader. ^ Hift. af Pari, Mitr. Abbies. Vol, i. p. 140. A [ 179 3 A list of the pensions assigned to the abbot and nionks of Malmesbury Abbey at the dissolutioji of monasteries. Extracted from the book of pensions remaining in the augmentation office, ^' The names of th' Abbott and bretherne of the late monastery of Mahiiesburye, with their pen- syons to theym assigned by the king's commys- sioners appointed to take the surrendre of the saide monasterye, the same to be paid unto them yerely during their lyves at 2 termes of the yere, viz. at the Feasts of th' Annunciation of our Lady, and Sainct Michall th' Archangel. The -first payment to begynne at the Fest of th' An- nunciation of our Lady which shal be in the yere of our Lord God, 1540." Robert Frampton abas Selwin Abbott, 200 Marc; Walter Stacye, sen. steward of lands and cham- berer 13/. 6s, Sd, John Coddrington B. D. prion Walter Sutton B. D. sub-prior, 10/. each. Tho- mas Tewkesburye sen. Philippe Bristowe, sen. — - John Gloucester, sen. and tierce prior, Richard Pilton, Stewarde to th' abbott, 6L I3s. 4td. each; John Gantine, Warden of the chapel, 8/. RaufF Sherwood, sen. Richard Asheton, sen. and far- merer, Antonie Malmesbury, sen. and sub-sexton, William Alderley, Thomas Dorselye, Thomas Gloucester, John Horseley, Chauntor, Thomas Stanley, Pitancier, William Brystowe, Thomas Froster, prest and student, Robert Elmore, prest, William. Wynchecombe, and William Byfley, 61, each, Also the said abbott to have one tenement in { ISO I In the higlie strete within the towne of Bristow** (Bristol) late in the tenure of Thomas Harte; and one garden lying in the suburbes of the saide towne agenst the Crosse called the Red Crosse, late in the tenure of the same Thomas Harte, for terme of lyffe, of the said late abbott, sine aliquo inde red- dendo. Sign'd Robei^t Southwell, Echmrd Came, ' JoJm London, Will Berne rs* Most of these pensions dropped in consequence of the deaths of the ci-devanf abbot and most of the monks before the year 1553; for in the Pension Rolls in that year we find that only seven persons then received pensions, of w^hich number four were married. The dividends which these seven re- ceived amounted to but fifiy-three pounds, six shillings, and eight-pence; which with thirty-nine pounds in annuities and fees, was all that issued out of the revenues of this late flourishing monastery. The following are the names of the monks who re- ceived pensions in 1553. Walter Stacy e, Richard Asheton, Thomas Froster, and Thomas Stanley, who were married; Walter Sutton, Anthony Mal-^ mesbury, and John Horseley, who were unmarried. The sums they respectively received may be seen in the above list.f * Willis' Hift, of Pari. Mitr. Abbles. VoU II, Addenda p, 63, and 64. Id. Lib^ Vol. I. p. 140* Some I 181 ] Some account has already been given of the principal benefactions bestowed pn the monastery of Malmesbury ; but no notice has been taken of the amount of the revenues of the abbot. Three records are at present in existence, which contain catalogues of the landed property possessed by the inhabitants of this convent, at three different pe- riods. These are Edward the Confessor's charter, granted in 1065; Domesday-book, compiled in 1081; and Pope Innocent's bull, issued in 1248. But as Domesday-book alone contains an account of the value of the abbey lands, \ve are under the necessity of drawing up our estimate entirely from that work. uifi accoufit of the la?ided property/ of the abhot of Malmesbury ^ in the year \Q?>\, The church of St. Mary^ at Malmesbury holds the manot of Hiwei (modern name Hywaye) Wilts, 11 hides; valued at, per annum Dantesief (Dantsey) 10 hides Sumreford;}: (Summerford Keynes) 5 hides Brecheorde^ (Brinkworth) 5 hides 23 * Meyldulph's firft church was dedicated to our blefled Saviour, St, Peter, and St. Paul: but in King Edgar's time the abbey was dedicated to the blefled Virgin Mary, and St. Aldhelm, Grofe's Antiquities. •f- Here was a mill which paid twenty ihiilings rent} and a wood three quar^ ters of a mile fquare. + A mill in this manor paid twenty /hillings. \ Tt cont^ned a wood two furlongs in length and one in breadth. z Nortone^ /. s. 8 6 5 4 [ 182 ] /. s, 23 Nortone* (Norton) 5 hides 4 Brocheneberget (Brokenborough) 50 hides 30 ChenieleJ (Kemble) 30 hides 13 Newentone§ (Newnton) 30 hides 12 Cerletonell (Charlton) 20 hides 8 Gardone^ (Gersdon) 3 hides 5 Credvelle^''^'^ (Crudwell) 40 hides 4 Bremett (Bramhill) 38 hides ' 16 Piritone:j:J (Purton) 35 hides 16 Liteltone (Littleton) Gloucestershire, 5 hides 5 Niwebold (Newbold) Warwickshire 3 hides 2 10 Total 138 10 The sum of one hundred and thirty-eight pounds ten shillings appears to be but a small annual in- * Had a mill which paid fifteen fhillings. ■f- In this manor were eight mills, they paid fix pounds, twelve fhillings, and fix-pencei It contained a wood four miles and half long, and three miles broad. ■ • * ^ Had two mills which paid fifteen ihillings. A wood one mile and half long, and three furlongs broad, ^ Here were two mills which paid thirty fhillings. |] In this manor was a mill which paid fifteen {hillings. It contained a wood two furlongs in length, and one in breadth. ^ Had two mills which paid twenty-five fhillings, and a wood three quar- tets of a mile long, and two furlongs broad, ^ •yJ*' Contained a wood three miles fquare, . -f, In.this manor were two mills which [aid thirty fhillings. A wood three miles long, and two furlongs broad, f + Had a mill which paid five fhillings. Contained a wood three miles fquare. ■ come; [ 183 ] come; but when a proper allowance is made for tbei difference in the weight of coin, and for the de- preciation which rmoney has sustained in con- sequence of its becoming more plenty, we shall find that the abbots of Malmesbury were in re- ality possessed of a princely revenue. The Norman pound, which is used in the valu- ations contained in the Domesday-book, was a pound weight of silver, divided into twenty shil- lings, each equal in weight, to three modern shil* lings. Therefore, in order to bring these ancient valuations to the same sterling standard as the present coin, it will be necessary to multiply the respective sums by three, which will give the an- nual rents in modern money. The next point to be ascertained is the proportionate vahie that mo- ney bore at the time of the conquest, to what it does at present. This may be most accurately done by drawing a comparison between the prices of labour at these different periods. Mr. Wynd- ham has brought forward some authorities, which render it probable that the weekly pay of labourers was equal to about eleven-pence of our money, at the period in question. The author of a critique on Mr. Wyndham's" work published in the Month- ly Review, conceives this valuation to be fixed too high; and thinks the wages of labourers did not amount to more than nine-pence per week, in the reign of William the Conqueror. If this last statement be admitted, and the present price of la- bour be estimated at seven shillings and six-pence per [ 184 ] per week, it will appear that the necessaries of life are worth ten times as much now as they were in 1081 ; and consequently the depreciation in the value of money is in the same ratio. *^ In order therefore to discover the present worth of thq ab- bot's revenues, it follows that the amount as o-iven in Domesday-book, must be multiplied by thirty; this will raise it to upwards of four thousand pounds per annum. And this sum probably is not equal to one third of the annual rent of these estates at the present time; since in consequence of improvements in agriculture, and from some other causes, land is Avorth three times a^ much as it was formerly. This estimate of the present probable value of the revenues of the abbot, may perhaps appear aomewhat extravagant. However Mr. Locke, of Highbridge, in a paper entitled '' An Historical Account of the Marsh- Lands of the County of Somerset," has given a statement of the relative value of those lands from whence it appears that the increase in value of those lands is beyond all proportion greater than that which we have as- signed for the manors of the abbot. Mr. Locke says " if we go so far back as Domesday-book, we shall find that the annual average value of marsh-land was at that aera estimated at one far- thing per acre, allowing the same quantity of acres to have then existed, as are at present charged j^ ~ • • - . I . .... , . ^ , * See Wyndham*s Wiltfhlre extraifted from Domefday-book, &c, Pref. p, tsTi. and fetj.—Monthl/ Review Enl. Vol* ii. p. 331% on [ 185 ] en the parish books. For the first four hundred years after this period, lands doubled their vahie every century; and from the reformation to the present time, the value of land has been doubled every 50 years. This enormous increase of landed property within the interval of 700 years may be estimated as two thousand is to unity, supposing we reckon a little more than forty shillings per acre for the present annual average value."* The following table given by Mr. Locke, as it is drawn from historical data, may be deemed of sufficient importance to arrest the attention of the yeader. A7inual value per acre (of the Soynerset marsh- lands) at different periods, from the conquest to the present ti?ne, i /. s, d. In 1086 — — — — ^ 00 OJ 1191 — — — — — 00 Of 1292 — — ^ — _ 1 1399 — — — — — 002 1500 — — — — — 004- 1550 — — — — — 00 7f 1600 —.— — __ 013 1650 (Inter-regnum) 2 6 1688 (Revolution) 5 1745 (Scots Rebellion) 10 1796 _ — — — — 2 5 Of --.- *. ■" • ■ ■ ■ ■■■ ' = = * Lett«rs and papers of the Bath Society, Vol, VIII, p. 259. •f- Id. p4 260* .It [ 186 ] It is pretty certain that the greatest part, if not all the property of the abbot of Malmesbury no- ticed in Domesday-book, was in a higher state of cultivation, when that work was compiled, than the marshes to which Mr. Locke refers: of course the difference between the value then assio-ned to it and its present value, cannot be so great, but in all probability it is much greater than we have stated it to be. The general statement of the annual revenues of the abbot of Malmesbury by the king's com- missioners,'^ Avhich was made just before the dis- solution of monasteries, cannot be considered as affording any certain information: since it is well known that the accounts they gave in, were shamefully inaccurate; and that the monasterial possessions were every where amazingly under- valued, f The Anns of the Abbot of Malmesbury. Upon a Chief argent, a Mitre or, between two Crosiers azure. On the fess and nombril points, two Lions passant gardant or. The base gules. * In the catalogue of religtous houfes in England and Wales, delivered to Hen. Vni. in the twenty -fixth year of his reign, the revenues of Malmefbury Abbey ars ftated at 803!. 17s. yd. Dugdale. -j- See p. 60. SECTION [ J87 ] SECTION IX. BiogiYiphical Notices of eminent Natives^ and other remar^kable Persons who were connected with the Abbey or Toxvn, MALMESBURY having b^en formerly a place of considerable importance, many illustri- ous characters have had some connection with it. The present section however will be confined, prin- cipallif, to the history -of persons who were natives- of the town, or who appear to have spent a con- siderable part of their lives in it. In the number of those who come under either of these descrip- tions, are to be found individuals who ranked among the most exalted characters of the times in which they lived. There are indeed one or two names among those noticed in the following ac- count, which are not equally celebrated; but though they appear perhaps for the first time on the^historic page, they will not be found to do it any discredit. ''It is the custom of the world to prefer the pompous histories of great men, be- fore the greatest virtues of others, w^hose lives have been led in a course less illustrious. This indeed is the general humour. But I believe it to be an error in men's judgments. For certainly that r 188 ] that is a more profitable instruction whichmay be taken from the eminent goodness of men of lower rank, than that which we learn from the splendid representations of the battles, and victories, and buildings, and sayings of great commanders and princes. Such specious matters, as they are seldom, delivered with fidelity, so they serve but for the hni- tation of a very few; and rather make for the os- tentation than the true information of human life. Whereas it is from the practice of men equal to ourselves, that we are more naturally taught how to command our passions, to direct our knowledge^ and to govern our actions."* These biographical sketches will be arranged as nearly as possible in chronological order. Meyl- dulpli, the first abbot of Malmesbury, would con- sequently have engaged our earliest attention, if every thing of importance that is known con- cerning him had not been already laid before the reader. I ST. ALDHELM. Aldhelm, or Adelm, whose literary attainments would have done honour to any age, occurs first in point of time among those of whom we are about to give an account. He has been deservedly deemed one of the few luminaries who relieved the darkness of the seventh century. J Sprat's Life of Cowley, prefixed to his works. Vol. I* p. + See p, 35, Sec. and p . 172. xxxivt. ' — 1 . jj, — — J- — f-. 4 G«n. BUs. Vol. I. Axtf Aldhelm. Historians [ 189 ] ~ Historians in general concur in representing Aldhclm as the son of Kenter or Kenred, the bro- ther of Ina king of Wessex. But William of Malmesbury says that Ina had only one brother, Avhose name was Inigild;* and that Kenter was not the brother of Ina, though he was nearly re- lated to him.t Aldhelm is said by some to have been born at Malmesbury ; but neither the place nor time of his birth can be ascertained with cer- tainty. His principal tutors were Meyldulpb, Adrian, abI>ot of St. Augustine's, at Canterbury, one of the most learned professors in England, and Theodore archbishop of Canterbury. Mr. Wharton indeed says that Albin, the pupil of Adrian, was his preceptor. J Whether he entered on his studies first at Malmesbury as some have as- serted, we cannot determine. Dugdale says, that Aldhelm was brought up at Malmesbury, and in order to learn logic, went to Adrian; and then returned to Meyldulph, and was shorn. § But William the Historian, begins the account of his education with informing us that Kenter sent his ^Jie^ 5J!L^ L^"" : ' , , ,;■' ■ .-.,.-■:■ .- ... =:^ * Fuerunt qui dicerent eum (fc Aldhelmum) Regis nepotem fuifle ex Kcn- tenio fratre, fed non placult nobis pro vero arrogare, quod magis videtur opi- nioni blandiri volaticae, quam ftabiritati convenire hiftoricse praefertim cum nufquam ab antique fcriptum reperiatur, & cronica palam pronunciet Inam nuJlum fratrcm habui(ft prater Inigildumj qui paucis annis ante ipfum de- ceilit. Non eget Aldelmus ut mendaciis afleratur, tanta funt de illo quae indu- biam depromant fidem, tot funt quae non veniant in litem* De Gcftis Reg, Aag. lib. !• cap. 2. f De Vita Aldhelmi—in XV. Scrlptor. ± Hlftory of Englirti Poetry. Difl; II. k Monsift. Ang. Vol. i. p. 50, AA son r 190 ] son to Canterbury, where Adrian then resided in the centre of science, and read lectures on J],nglish History.* It appears that at Malmesbury he was instructed in the Latin and Greek languages; in the knowledge of which, he made an extraordinary proficiency. After he became a monk he returned to study at Canterbury, but was obliged to leave that place on accoimt of his health; as appears from a letter addressed by Aldhelm to Adrian. — Aldhelm took the monastic habit about the year 662, fourteen years before the death of Meyl^ dulph. Aldhelm appears to have been a very active and useful member of the community to which he had attached himself. Monasteries were not in those early ages extensive and regular institu- tions, having a number of officers, under various degrees of subordination, to preside over their internal economy. In the time of Meyldulph, the management of the affairs of the convent, probably devolved entirely on the abbot. But Meyldulph seems to have been far advanced in years, when Aldhelm joined this society; in con- sequence of which, he soon became associated with his preceptor, in the government of the ab- bey. Their joint endeavours to raise the credit of the new establishment, and the charter ^^ranted them by the bishop of Winchester, have been no- ticed already.'!' It is universally acknowleged * De Vit, Aldh» + Sec p. 36 and 37. that [ 191 ] that the increasing reputation of the monastery at this period, was in a great measure owing to the industry and abihties of Aldhelm. But the liberality of this illustrious ecclesiastic was not confined within the walls of his convent. Wil- liam of Malmesbury, gives the following account of his philanthropic endeavours, to reform the barbarous manners of the inhabitants of Malmes- bury. ' AldhiClm having been perfectly instructed in the learned languages, studied his native tongue, and also the rules of poetical composition : so that according to Elfred, he surpassed all his contem- poraries in writing English poetry; and was re- markable for his skill as a vocal performer of mu- sic, and as an orator. Elfred also mentions a copy of verses, which he was accustomed to sing in public. The motives which induced him thus to descend in some measure from the dignity of his profession, were highly laudable; wisely con- sidering, that sermons, or serious addresses, were not likely to attract the attention of the rough and uncivilized people who dwelt in the vicinity of the monastery, this politic reformer assumed the attractive manners of a Troubadour. He placed liimself on one of the bridges which led from the town, to some of the neighbouring villages, and when he liad collected a crowd by singing some amusing songs, he, after a time, induced them to attend to such discourses as were calculated to ameliorate their manners. This mode of conduct he no doubt pursued for a considerable length of time . [ 192 ] time; and liis exertions were finally crowned with the desired success.'* The same author after celebratino; the diho-ence. piety, and justice of Aldhehn, informs us, that in order to mortify his body, he was accustomed to phmge himself up to the shoulders, in a foun- tain which was near the abbey. This discipline he continued, notwithstanding the severity of the frost in the winter, or the fogs that arose from the marshes in the summer. He even practised it during the night, without any injury accruing from it to his health. This fountain called holy loell is situated in the valley of the convent. It runs with a gentle stream, and is agreeable to the sight, and pleasant to the taste. In another spot, near the town, is a spring called Daniel's Well; because in that place holy Daniel kept Avatch by night, when he was invested by Ald- helm with the pontifical robes, f On the death of Meyldulph, in 676, Aldhelm succeeded him ; and occupied the station of abbot twenty-eight years. It was probably during this period, that he composed those Avorks which have so much contributed to preserve his fame. ?i.i\ ■:■.. ■-:,...■■,, "r ■ -■ . ...■■-, U th ■ . * De. Vit. Aldh. •f- This fpring ftill retains the name of Daniel's Well. It rifes in a hillock, fituated a little to the welt of the town, and after running two or three hun- dred yards, falls into the Avon. It is remarkable for the clearnefs and limpi- dity of its ftream, and for the excellence of the water. The difcipline which abbot Daniel underwent, feems to have been a work of fuperrogation j for it does not appear from authors who have written on the fubjeft^ that this cere- mony was commonly praftifed, previous to the inauguration of the abbot.— See Foibrooke's Britilh Monachifm. Vol. i. part a. When [ m ] When Ina, king of the West Saxons, divided liis kingdom into two dioceses; Winchester and Sherborne; he bestowed the latter on Aldhelm, for whom he had a profound respect. Aldhehii here- upon visited Rome, and was consecrated by Pope Sergius I. During liis stay with that Pontiif, God- win tells us, that he reproved him to his face for his incontinence.^' Bale, indeed, gives a different ac- count, and blames Aldhelm for not having availed himself of the opportunity which his intimacj with the pope, afforded for admonishing him.-f It seems probable however, that Bale had no just ground for casting such a reflection on Aldhelm, For the regard which Aldhelm always shewed for religion and virtue, the purity of his own charac- ter, the great courage which he possessed, and the intimacy which subsisted between him and Pope Sergius, — all contribute to render it probably that he did admonish his holiness. It is not un- likely that the rebuke was given in private; since he could not have spoken with freedom in public, nor have expected that his address would have a good effect on the pontiff. — Aldhelm when he re- turned from Rome, brought with him various cu- riosities ; in the number of which, was an altar of white polished marble, a foot and half in thick- ness, four feet in length, and three spans in breadth; with a compact ledge or border of the same mate- rial, projecting on every side from the top of it. J * De Praeful. Ang. f De Script. Brit. + G, Malmes, de Vit. Aldh, At [ 194 ] At the time that he became settled in his bish- opric, which was about the year 705, Aldhehn may be considered as having attained the, highest pitch of literary fame. The knowledge of his learning was so widely extended, that his corres- pondence w^as much sought by the literati of those times. Arevelle, a prince of Scotland, who had employed himself in writing, sent his works to Aldhelm for correction ; requesting him to rub oiF the Scotch rust, and give them the last polish. He was likewise a friend of the persecuted Wil- frid, archbishop of York. While Aldhelm was bishop of Sherborne, in all probability, he founded the convents of Frome,* and Bradford.-)' WilHam of Malmesbury also in- forms us, that he induced King Ina to expend an immense sum of money, in erecting and orna- menting a chapel at Glastonbury. J Neither did * ** Themonaftery at From? was founded in 705, in honour of St. John the Baptift. The monks that compofed this fociety were obliged to difperfe, on account of the perfecution of the Danes, during their inroads into thofe parts 5 and they feem never afterwards to have reaflembled. But the church exifted fo late as the reign of King Stephen ; as we learn from William of Malmefbury, who tells us, that in his days it was ftill ftanding, and by its du- rability had defeated the fliock of ages. G. Malmes. de. Vit, Aldh. in Ang, Sac. torn. ii. p. 8. There are fome veftiges of this old building ftill remain- ing, in that part of the town which is called Lower Keyfordj and are now converted into fmall tenements for poor families. *' CoUinfon's Hift. of Somerfetfh. Vol. ii. p. 186. -f- ** Bradanford or Bradford. Here was an ancient monaftery, dedicated to St. Laurence, and founded by St. Aldhelm." Tanner's Notitia Monaftica, p. 592. — —This prelate built feveral other churches, or chapels, indifferent parts of England. 4- De Geft, Reg, Ang. lib, i. cap. a, ■ he [ m ] he neglect tlie monastery in which he had been educated ; for besides the privileges which Aldhelm procured from Pope Sergius I. the donations be- stowed by Ina, on Malmesbury Abbey, may be justly supposed to have been granted in conse- quence of his solicitation.^ The writings of Aldhelm are very numerous, and relate to a variety of subjects. The regard he had for learning, and the nature of those sci- entific and literary pursuits which chiefly engaged his attention, are well represented in a letter which he wrote to Hedda, bishop of Winchester. Some idea of the extent of his studies, may be formed from the following account of his writnigs. The relative periods at which his different trea- tises were composed, cannot be ascertained; but the circumstances which gave rise to some of them have been recorded. Aldhelm at the request of his diocesan, wrote a book "Against the mistakes of the Britons, con- cerning the celebration of Easter." This brought over many of them to the Catholic usage, with regard to that festival. He wrote " A Treatise on the Eight Principal Virtues;" " Of the Dig- nity of the Number Seven, collected from the Flowers of the Old and New Testaments, and from the Doctrines of Philosophers;" — " Of the Ad- monition of Brotherly Charity :" — " Of the Na- ture of Insensible Things, metaphorically said to ■5f Vid. p. 38* huj. lib, be [ 196 ] be indued with speech;" — '^ Of the Monastic- Life ;"—'' Of the Praise of the Saints;"—^' Of Arithmetic;"—*' Of Astrology;"—'' Of the Rules of metrical Feet;" — " Of the Figures called Meta- plasni and Synaloepha;" — " Of the Scanning and Elipscs of Verses;" — " A Dialogue concerning Metre ;" — " Homilies and Epistles ;"— These pieces which are written in Latin, are mentioned by Bede and William of Malmesbury, but are not naw ex- tant. The poetical works of Aldhelm are *' Enig- mas," consisting of one thousand verses, written in imitation of the poet Symphorius; — " Ballads" in the Saxon language with other pieces, which were published by Martin Delrio, of Mentz, octavo, 1601. He likewise wrote a treatise partly in prose, and partly in hexameter verse, '' In Praise of Virginity;"*' dedicated to Ethelburga, Abbess of Barking. It is to be found among Bede's Opuscula. In a passage from one of his treatises on metre, cited by William of Malmesbury, Aldhelm boasts of himself, as the first Englishman who introduced Latin poetry into England. " These things con- * In the Britifh Mufeum, Bibliotheca Regla M. S. S. are three copies of Aldhelm's treatife de Laude Virginltatisj one of which contains a very antique portrait of the author. To another of thefe M# S« S. are appended, Nomina Rcliquarum, quarum partem dedit gloriofiflimus & vidoriofiflimus. ••...• . . , Monafterio Scae Maria?, ••.*...•• .— Antiquae LiteraturjE Sep- tentrionalis, liber Alter per H. Wanley, fol. p, 182.— —The names of the donor and of the monaftery have been obliterated j but probably the reliques jreferred to, were thofe given by King Athelftan to Uic abbey of Malmelbury, Vid p. 39. huj, lib* cerning [ 197 ] CcrniiiE: the kinds and measure of verse, I have written according to my ability, not without much labour; with whvork in his bosom. He also invited learned men out of foreign countries, and entertained them in his palace, that he might enjoy the be- nefit of their conversation, and afterwards pro- moted them to bishoprics and other dignities. On this account he induced Grimbald, a French- man, Avho was well skilled in music, and a very learned divine to settle in England; and made him abbot of a monastery that he had uewly built at Winchester. He also allured from Old Saxony, J oh^imies siirnamed Scotus, a philosopher possessing the most poignant abilities; and con- stituted him superior of the abbey 0/ JEthelingay. Both these men were very learned doctors, of the rank of priests, and by profession holy monks."* Thus far Ingulphus, who has omitted the date * Ing. Hlftona apud Script, poft Bcdara. of [ 211 1 of these transactions : though he mentions them after the great defeat of the Danes by Alfred; and they certainly took place several years sub- sequent to that event. V/illiam of Malmesbury gives a similar, but more brief account of the king's bounty to these ecclesiastics: but it is observable that he has omitted the cognomen of the abbot of iEthehngay, and calls him simply Johannes. After mentioning some other ecclesias- tical preferments, which probably happened at that time, this historian proceeds to relate the popular story concerning the murder of Scotus, at Mal- mesbury. He represents the sufferer as the friend of Charles the Bald, and the author of writings Avhich were composed by ^rigena, though he does not call him by that name. What follov/s relative to the death and epitaph of Scotus, we shall insert. '' Being induced by the munificence of Alfred to visit England, Scotus was, at our monastery, (as it is reported) stabbed by his scholars, with the iron styles which they used in writing; and was afterwards reckoned a martyr. I shall not attempt to conceal the circumstances of this outrage; since his sepulchre on the left side of the altar; and the verses of his epitaph, (which indeed are rough and want the polish of modern refinement, but are not to be despised considering the age in which they were written,) remain as monuments of his celebrity. Clauditur hoc tumulo sanctus Sophista Johannes, Qui ditatus erat jam vivens dogmate miro, Martyrio [ 212 3 Martyrio tandem Christi conscendere regnuni, Quo, meruit, sancti regnant per secula cuncti."* Roger cie Hoveden, who wrote , his History a- ])out fifty years after Wilham of Mahnesbury, gives a more particular account of ^rigena, called by him Johannes Scottus. He represents him as having been assassinated at Malmesbury, in the year 883; and concludes his relation with an ac- count of a miraculous light, which hovered over the grave of the murdered ecclesiastic, and by means whereof, the monks were induced to pay higher honours to his memory than they had be- fore intended. Hoveden then informs us, that in 887, king Alfred appointed John, a Saxon monk, abbot of iEthelingay.f From a review of these accounts it is very apparent that Scotus who w^as made abbot of ^Ethelingay b}^ Alfred was a different person from iErigena; and from tlie silence of Ingulphus, it may be fairly inferred that this last w^as not among the number of the learned men who were invited into England by the king. If the evidence of Yvllliam of Malmesbury relative to the account of the death of iErigena was direct and positive, it would be intitled to a great deal of credit; but it is worthy of observation, that this cautious liistorian relates the story merely as a popular report, and does not offer to vouch for its acfcu- * G. M. de Geft. Reg. Ang. Jib, ii. cap. 4. -f- Hoved. Annaijum pars prior— spud Script, poft Bedam. racv [ 513 ] racy. The epitaph which we have quoted from this writer is certainly more applicable to the ab- bot of ^thelingay, than to jErigena, who Avas one of the most learned men of the age in w^hich he lived. We ma}' reasonably conclude from the foregoing accounts, that it was the abbot of ^thelingay, and not ^rigena, v/ho resided at Malmesbury, and was there murdered. The abbey which King Alfred had founded at the place of his retreat was, as Dugdale informs us, far from being a desirable situation. '^Atheling is not an island in the sea, but so encompassed A\dth marshes and waters, that there is no coming at it but by a boat. The monks there were few and poor.*" Since therefore this monastery was from local circum- stances, so far from being a convenient place of residence, it is highly probable that Scotus took up his abode at the abbey of Malmesbury; where learning had flourished ever since the time of St. . Aid helm. The tragical catastrophe already mentioned, took place soon after. If the date given by Hoveden be correct, the death of Scotus, must have liap- pened in 887, or SSS. No doubt King Alfred made enquiry into the circumstances of this daring violation of the laws, and severely punished the assassins. But among the Anglo-Saxons, murder was not attoned for by the death of the murderer * Monaft, Ang. abr. p. 30. from G. Malmcs, de Geft. Pont. Ang. lib, ii, DB but [ 214 ] but by a fine.* Now it appears that the king erected a noble nionument to the memory of Scotiis, and also procured for him the honour of Ganonizajtion, This probably was done at the expence of the religious belonging to the monas- tery and others W'ho were concerned in the assas- sination ; and may be considered as the were-gild or fine levied upon them on account of that crime. Th.e monks having a public monument pf this disgraceful transaction conspicuously placed in the ^hhey church, n^ust of course have been de- sirous to lessen the odium of it, as much as pos- sible. Little or nothing could be done for this purpose immediately after the event. But when a convenient space of time had elapsed, it is pro- bable that the pride of the monks might induce them to alter the name of the Martyr; or at least to represent yErigena as the person who came to this untimely end. This will appear by no means * ** Every rank in fociety had its price (or wcre-glld) in cafe of murtber; jven the aflaffination of a king was fet at a certain fum« The proportions ran thus; The fovereign's were-gild was rated at 30,000 thrimfasj* the prince's 15,000; that of a biihopor eolderman 8,000; a fheriff's 4,000 ; a thane's or prieit's 2,000 ; a ceorI6s 266. Some trifling difference appears in the were- gilds of Kent, Mercia, &c. Wilkins, There ^^ete fines appointed with great precifenefs for wounds wrthout regard to the rank of the injured. Laws of Alfred. In different countries the ^nes for wounds were different in proportion to the wealth of the nation; and (as Dr. Henry humoroufly remarks) the nofe of a Spaniard might be fafe in En- gland, being valued at thirteen marks, while that of an Englifhman ran a much greater riik in Spain, having only 9 twelve fhilling Hne impofed on its Jofs." Andrews' H. of G. B, Vol. i. p. 84, Note [11.] * The thrimfa was a coin of an unfettled value, varying from three fifths U t^ree fourths Qf a ilii|ling« C^rke on Coins. imlikely, 1 ^^^ 1 unlikely, when we consider that /Erlgena was per- secuted during his life time, for opposing the doctrme of transubstantiation; and that his wri- tings v/cre burnt by order of the Pope, at Rome, about the middle of the eleventh century. At that period perhaps the murder of so dangerous an heretic would have been deemed meritorious; and from thence probably we may safely date the origin of the misrepresentation.^ iELFRIC. iElfric, Alfred, or Eluric, was a Benedictine monk, celebrated for his piety and learning, who was superior of the abbey of Malmesbury, in the latter part of the tenth century. He was con- temporary Avith iElfric the Grammarian, arch- bishop of Canterbury; and lived about fifty year^ before yElfric Bata, Archbishop of York; with both of whom he has been confounded. But few particulars can be collected relating to the life of ^Ifric. Of his birth, extraction, and * Before we conclude this article it may not be amifs to obferve that feveral modern writers appear to liave followed the erroneous account of Hoveden, re- lative to ^rigena. Among others, we have the refpedable names of Gale, (fee his edit, of Scotus de Divifi6ne Naturae j) Rapin, (Hift of Eng, Vol, i. p. 115}) Hearne, (Antiquit.) and Maclaine, (Tr, of Mofheim's Ecc, Hift. V. ii, p. 1I3» N. !Jt^* x;) and the ingenious Dr. F. Warner has committed a ftill greater error in faying that J. Duns Scotus was entertained by Charles the Bald, invited ta England by Alfred the Great, made profefTor in the monaftery of Malmelbary, and murdered there by his pupils* See his Ecclefiaftical Hift, of England. Vol. i, p, 178. It muft not be omitted that the erroneous account* of ^rigena, which have been (o often repeated, arecorrefted in that great national work the Biographia Britannica (bee Vol. v. p. 597 — 6co. education, L 216 ] education, we have not been able to obtain any information. His appointment to the abbacy b}^ King Edgar, after the secular priests were ejected from the monastery, has been already noticed.* It is not improbable that he was superior of this abbey before the monks were removed by King Edwy, and consequently that he was only restored by his successoi'. In the charter of Edgar, iEl- fric is characterized as a person well skilled in ec- clesiastical affairs. f From the accounts we have of his actions and writings this encomium appears to be by no means undeserved. It is probable that in the time of this abbot, the oldest part of the present remains of the abbey church was erected; and he is supposed to have superintended the undertaking, and to have had a considerable share in the embellishment of the building.:]: We are also informed that he caused instrumental mu- sic to be made use of in the church-service; but it is uncertain whether he himself practised that art.§ -r' ' ■ ■ . . ■■ ■ ..■■■- ■ . ■ i T- * See p. 41. •^ VIr In omnibus ccclefiafticis experientiflimus officiis, Ingulphi Hiftorla. j;; Hearne's Antlquit. & The celebrated St. Dunftan, who was contemporary with JFAfiic, was remarkably well fkilled in roufic, and likewife in painting and fculpturc. He prefented a fine organ to the monaftery of Glaftonbury, in the reign of Edgar* Andrew's Hift. of Gr. E. V. i. p. 88. This information feems to clafh with the opinions advanced by fome learned writers, that mufical inftruments, and particularly organs, were not ufed in churches until the latter end of the 13th cent. See Bingham's Antiq. of the Chriftian Church, VJ. p. 314, fol. edit. and Peirce's Vind, of the Difienters. p, 395. Eng. edit. ^Ifric [ 217 3 ^Ifric continued abbqt of Maln;Csbuiy, about? four 3^ears after bis appointment to tbat office by Edgar; and in 977, or 978, succeeded bisbop Sideniann, in tbe see of Crediton. He continued in possession of tbis bisbopric several years, and died towards tbe close of tbe tentb century.* Tbis learned ecclesiastic wrote a treatise entitled *' De rerum natura;'' i. e. *' Of tbe nature of things." He also compiled *' Tbe History of Mabnesbury x\bbey," according to ColHer: tbough Pits and otbers, assure us it was tbat of Glaston- bury; but tbey are probably mistaken. *' Tbe Life of St. Aldbelm" was anotber of ^Ifric's productions. t He is said likewise to bave trans- lated tbe Pe7itateuch, Judges, and Job, into tbe Anglo-Saxon language ; wbich translation was published at Oxford in tbe year l^^d-X Besides these writings, there is a collection of Homilies translated from the Latin into the Saxon language, which is still extant. This version has been generally attributed to ^Ifric archbishop of * Hiftorians differ widely as to the date of iElfric's tranflation to the fee of Crediton, and the time of his death. Sir H. Savile, and Mr. Wharton, agreo with our text, as to the period of his becoming bifliop ; but the former places his death in 994, vshilft according to the latter, he died Jan. 9th, 98S, at Crediton, and was there buried. Vid. Tab. Chron, ad fin. Script, poft. Bedam; & Anglia Sacra Vol. i. p. 265. — Godwin fays that he was promoted to his bifhopric in 98a, and died in 999. De Praeful. Ang. p. 454. And Dugdale afl'erts that he was not made bifhop till 990. Monaft. Ang. abr. p. 33. Non noftrum tantas componere lites, ■f- Fabricii Biblioth, Med. ^vi. V. i. p. \%u + Sup. Addend, and Cor. to Calraet's DiiS. art. Bible, fr. Le Long and Lewis, Canterbury, [ 218 ] Canterbury, though Mr. Wharton ascribed it to i^lfric Bata;* but there are reasons for believing that it was not done by either of these prelates, and that it was the work of iElfric, Bishop of Crediton. For it appears from a Latin address to Wulstan, Archbishop of York, prefixed to the translation, that it was executed at his request. Now this prelate died in 955, and as ^Ifric arch- bishop of Canterbury survived that period fifty years, it is probable that he must have been too young to have performed the task in question. — Dr. James also informs us, that a Saxon M. S. containing these homilies was found at Exeter, in the library belonging to the dean and chapter, by whom it was presented to the Bodleian Li- brary, f These circumstances certainly do not amount to a positive proof of the opinion just advanced; and perhaps at this distance of time it may be impossible to determine absolutely who was the translator, but it must be admitted that the claim of the Bishop of Crediton to that title is not entirely without foundation. OLIVER OF MALMESBURY, Oliver, Elmer, or Egelmer-was a monk of Mal- mesbury, who is said to have been born within the precincts of the monastery. He flourished in the eleventh century. Mathematics and astro- * Ang. Sacr. Vol. i. p. 125. + Trcatife on the Corruption of Scripture, &c. p. 196, 197. logy [ 219 ] logy were the sciences which principally engaged his attention. He also appears to have studied mechanics. In the works of William of Mal- meshury, we have the following account of this learned Benedictine. Not long after the death of Henry I. of France, (in IO6O,) a comet or blazing star made its appearance; which was sup- posed to portend some national revolution. El- mer, a monk of our monastery, on seeing this glittering meteor, broke out into the following ex^clamation. 'x\rt thou arrived, O! messenger of evil, omen of that destruction which shall cause many mothers to pour forth lamentations.'* Elmer, was not deficient in learning for the age in which he lived; but he undertook one en- terprize, when he was arrived at years of maturity which savoured strongly of juvenile audacity. — - For, having affixed wings to his hands and feet, he ascended a lofty tower, from whence he took his flight, and was borne upon the air for the space of a furlong; but owing to the violence of the wind, or his own fear, he then fell to the ground, and broke both his legs.f From this inrperfect account it is impossible to determine v\^hat degree of merit belonged to the invention of this monkish aeronaut. It may how- ever, be concluded that his machinery was con- * In thofe a^es wfien fuperftition had ufurped the feat of reafon, the appear- ance of comets was generally fuppofed to foretell national calamities. Vid, Hen. Hunt. Hiftor. lib. v. f PeCeft. Reg, Ang. lib. ii. cap. 13, structed [ 220 3 .^riictcd on the same principles with the para- chute. Oliver was probably the first Englishman who travelled through the aerial regions. He is said to have written on Astrology and also on Geometry, and other branches of mathematical science; but none of his works are now in ex- istence. In tlie tw^fth century, Godfrey of Malmes- t)ury, a Benedictine monk, wrote an account of the affairs of this country, from the arrival of the Saxons in England, to tbe twenty-ninth year of Henry I. under the title of "Annals." He gives an account of many transactions which happened in the northern parts of the kingdom. Roger de Hoveden, appears to have been indebted to this author, as the same accounts are to be found in the writings of both; though the circumstance may have arisen from both these historians having* had before them the same original records.* ROGER LE POER. Among those who were concerned in the trans- actions which took place in the former part of the turbulent reign of King Stephen, Roger le Poer, Bishop of Sarum, was one of the most conspi- cuous. This ambitious priest had gained the favour of Henry Beauclerc, long before his attaining the * Selden's notes on Fortefcue de Laud, Leg. Angl. p. 6. crown [ 221 J crown of England, by hurrying over a mass with such dispatch (when a poor curate at Caen, in Normandy) that the prince swore aloud Hhat he had now found a chaplain fit for a soldier,' and instantly attached him to his person as domestic priest.* Roger was made Bishop of Sarum, in 1107. He was also Lord Chief Justice, Lord Treasurer, and Lord Chancellor; and several times governed the kingdom in the absence of King Henry L Not- withstanding the numerous favours he had recei- ved from that monarch, this perfidious prelate as- sisted Stephen against Mathilda, the daughter of his benefactor. He met with a just reward for his ingratitude. Stephen wishing to lessen the power of the ecclesiastics, seized on several forti- fied castles which belonged to some of the bishops. Roger opposed this fancied encroachment on the rights of the church, but was at length obliged to deliver all his fortresses into the hands of the king, and with them the vast mass of wealth w^hich he possessed ; which is said to have amoun- ted to 40,000 marks in money, besides plate and jewels. This avaricious prelate was so much af- flicted at the loss of his property, that he survi- ved the event but a short time.f In 1 1 1 8, Roger seized the abbeyfof Malmesbury, and kept possession of it for more than twenty * Andrews* Hift. of G. B. Vol. i« p. 144. "j- C« Malmes. H, Nov. Tib. jl.— Dugdalc's Men. Ang. abr. p. 340, EE years. [ 222 ] years. He also appropriated to himself the abbey of Abingdon. Peter Baldwin who lived about the year 1130, was a Benedictine monk, and a member of the fraternity at Malmesbury. He was a very res- ])ectable poet in his time, and is said to have written the lives of the most eminent monks of this house, in verse; though none of his works are now extant.* He is said also to have culti- vated other branches of literature, besides poetry. WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. The celebrated historian, William of Malmes- bury was probably born in or near this town; hut however that might be, he was certainly bred up here. His paternal name was Somerset, which he relinquished, and took that by which he is more commonly known. By his industry in his youth, he became well instructed in all kinds of literature. Being made librarian to the monastery, and finding in the library many * Hearne's Antiq.—— William of Malmelbury, in his Treatife ** De Ges- tis Pontificum Anglorum" lib. ii. mentions a monk named Peter, whom he ftiles his companion, (fodalis ejus }) and reprefents as the writer of elegant La- tin poetry. It feems highly probable that this Poet was no other than Peter Baldwin ; for the Hiftorian has introduced an extradl from the works of Peter, by way of fpecimen of his abilities. Jt is an eulogium on a contemporary ec^ cleiiaftic, named Faricius, abbot of Abingdon, v/ho was a native of Arezzo jn Tufcany, a phyfician by profefiion, and had belonged to the monaftery of Malmelbury, This poetical encomium, whivh is written in Leonine Verfc, celebrates the virtues and medical fkill of the abbot. old [ 223 ] old manuscripts* and monuments of antiquity, re- lating to the transactions of the nation, in pre- ceding- ages, he thought he could not do better service to the learned in future ages, than to draw up such an abridgment of them as M^ould compre- hend the most material facts in the history of his native country. This task he executed, in a man- ner highly creditable to himself, and to the com- munity to which he belonged. The works of William are '^ De Gestis Regura Anglorum, Libri V." containing the history of the affairs of this country, from the arrival of the Saxons to the death of Henry I. — ^' Histories Novellee, Libri II." which carried on the history to the year 1143. In these two works are scat- tered various notices relative to Malmesbury mo- nastery; and still more copious accounts of Glas- tonbury. — William wrote another work entitled, '^ De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum, Libri IV." — This contains an account of the different bisho- prics in England with lists of the bishops. The two former of these works are dedicated ^' Hume has obferved that William of Malmefbury quotes Livy's defcription of Caefar's palTage over the Rhine j which was contained in a part of the works of that Hiftorian which is now loft. And. v. i. p, 445. The writings of William have been fearched in vain for this quotation. But in Hift. No- vel!». lib. ii, there a comparifon between Julius Caefar and Robert Earl of Glccefter, partly drawn from Livy's account of the circumftanccs in which Csfar was fituated previous to his paflage over the Rubicon j which makes a part of the loft Decades. It is not improbable that William had before him the whole works of Livy, which might h*ave belonged to the Library of this monaftery. bv [ 224 ] by the historian, to his patron, the gallant Robert, Earl of Glocester, son of Henry I. These three treatises were published by Sir H. Savile, with some other works on English history, under the following title. ** Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores post Bedam preecipui, ex vetustissimis Codicibus Manuscriptis nunc primum in Lucem Editi."* William also wrote a book entitled '^ De Vita iMdhelmi;" which was published in Wharton's Anglia Sacra\ and likewise among Gale's Quin- decern Scriptores, This work is written in a bom- bast stile, and is by no means equal to his other productions. Nothing of importance is known concerning the life and actions of William. — He appears to have spent his days in the humble stations of Librarian and Precentor to the monas- tery of Malmesbury; Avhere he died sometime betvv^een the years 1143 and 1148. No Avriter of English history, has more fre- quently received the tribute of deserved praise, than this modest friar; whose opinion with regard to his own writings deserves to be quoted. '^ I am not anxious about the praise or censure of my contemporaries. But I hope that when partiality and malevolence are no more, I shall receive from * Pits fays, that W. Malraefb. was epitomized by W, Herman, fometimc mafter of Eton fchool j but whether all his works, or fome part of them only were thus contrafted he does not t^l us, Pofiibiy he only tranfcribed what Simeon Dunelm. had before done to his hand. Nichoifon^s Engl. Hift. Libr. V, i. p, 154. posterity [ 225 ] posterity the character of an industrious though not an eloquent historian."* A late author after observing that the history of WiUiam does credit to the age in Avhich he lived, adds that it is a book which might al- most have been owned by a Livy; so pure is his stile. t And archbishop Usher calls him the chief of our historians. Learnino- flourished in the monastery of Mai- mesbury after the twelfth century; though the names of those literary characters who existed here since that period are buried in oblivion. — There were however two anonymous monks of Malmesbury, who must not be passed by un- noticed. The author of a work entitled " Eulogium Historiarum"J was a member of this convent. — This treatise contains many circumstances relative to the foundation of the abbey, the property with which it was endowed, and the lives of some of the abbots. § The time when he lived is not ex- actly known. Another monk of Malmesbury wrote " The Life ^ Prolog, ad Lib, de Geft. Reg. Ang. -f- Andrews' Hift. of Gr. Br. V. i. p. 253. + Vid. p. 22. huj, lib, ^ Leland calls the Eul. Hift. the Malme/bury Chronicle; and gives the fame title to another hiftorical work, which was probably written by the fame author. Both thefe chronicles are contained in one volume, in Bibl. Cotton, Galba, E. vii. — and excerpts from them are to be found in Leland's Collec- tanea, V. i. p. 301. &c. V. ii* p, 395, &c, of [ 1!26 ] of King Richard II." an edition of -which has been published by Mt. Thomas Hearne. WILLIAM STUMPE. Among those remarkable persons who have been connected with Malmesbury, William Stumpe, an eminent clothier here, in the sixteenth century, deserves some notice. He carried on a very great trade in this tOAvn, as the following anecdote will evince. It also indicates a peculiarity in the man- ners of tliat period; since it appears that manufac- turers must have been accustomed to supply with provisions their labourers, as well as their domestics. We are told that Henry VIII. after he had been hunting in Bradon Forest, (which lies about four miles north-west of IMalmesbury,) came, with all liis retinue of courtiers and servants, to dine with Mr. Stumpe. Though this visit was quite unex- pected, yet it seems our manufacturer was not at all disconcerted. He gave his royal and noble guests an hospitable reception; and ordering his train of workmen to abstain from eating till night, he had the provision which had been prepared for tliem, served up before his majesty, and his follow- ers. This supplied them with a plentiful though not a dainty meal; and they went away pleased with their entertainment.^ Mr. Stumpe was a great bcneftictor to the in- habitants of Malmesbury; for having purchased « Fuller's Worthies of Cng. 16S4. p. 859. the [ 227 ] the abbey of the king, after the dissolution of monasteries, he permitted it to be used as a parish church. The time of his death is uncertain. His son Sir James Stumpe, knight, was married to the daughter of Sir Edward Baynton; and served the office of High Sheriff for the county of Wilts, in the reiQ:ns of Edward VI. and Queen Elizabeth.^ THOMAS HOBBES. In the constellation of luminaries that enlight- ened the literary horizon of Britain, during the seventeenth century, Thomas Hobbes shines with distinguished lustre. The writings of this justly celebrated philosopher, contain the outlines of that moral and mictaphysical system, the propaga- tion of which has gained immortal honour for Hartley, Hume, and Priestley. Like all other in- novators in science, this great man experienced opposition, and even obloquy from his contem- poraries; but impartial posterity will admit, that such merit as he possessed, would have covered errors greater than he committed, and will allot him a distinguished place among those benefac- tors of mankind, whose efforts have contributed to burst asunder the chains which ignorance and superstition had forged for the human mind. * Leland's Itin. — Univcrfal Mag, Vol. xxxi. p. ii8. Fuller and Hearne call the clothier of Maimefljury, Thomas Stumpe; and fome writers have re- prefented Thomas and William Stumpe as two different perfons, both bene- faftors to the people of Malmeibury j but this appears to be a miltake, Hobbes [ 228 ] Hobbes was boni April 5, 1588, in the parisb of Westport,* within the borough of Mainiesbury ; of which parish his father was minister. At the time of his birth, the Spanish Armada was upon the coast of England; and his mother is said to have been so highly terrified at the alarm which it occasioned, that she M^as prematurely delivered. He was, however, of a strong and healthy consti- tution; and displayed, even in his earliest years very considerable abilities for learning. Though the father of Hobbes, had no taste for literature, and probably but little acquaintance Avith it, yet he did not neglect the education of his son. In the eighth year of his age, our author was put under the tuition of Mr. Robert Latimer, then master of the Grammar School at Mainiesbury ;f who having a high opinion of his capacity, treated him wn'th great kindness; and did all he could to assist him in his studies. In these he made so rapid a progress, that before he went to the uni- versity he translated the Medea of Euripides out of Greek into Latin verse. In 1603, he became a student of Magdalen- Hall, Oxford. While a^. college he was chiefly supported by an allowance from his uncle, Francis Hobbes, who was alderman of Malmesbury; and •sf The boufe in which Hobbes was born, was ftanding till within thefe few years. It was fituated near the pariih church. -f- At this fchool, John Aubrey, the antiquarian received the firft rudiments of his education. He was born at Eafton Piers, in Wiltfliire, in 1625 or x6a6, and died at the houfe of Lady l-ong, of Dray cot, in 1700. who [ ng ] AvHo at hi^ cleath, l^ft him a small annuity, that he might h^ ^nabW to pursue his studies. In 1607, he took th^ degree of Batchelor of Arts; and the following year, ou the recommendation of the Principal of Magdalen- Hall, he was taken into the family of Lord Hardwicke, afterwards Earl pf Devonshire, as tutor to his son. In I6l0, Hobbes m^de the tour of France and Italy, with his pupil. After his return, he pub- lished a translation of the History of Thucydides, He travelled again with the son of Sir Gervase CHfton, in 1631: but was recalled by the Coun- t^m Dowager of Devonshire, to be tutor to the youog (?arl, with w^hom he went abroad, and re- returned in 1037. About 1641, perceiving the probability of a civil war, he retired to Paris; and there wrote his books entitled De Cive; and The Leviathan; which startled the divines; and drew a great many pens against him. It was here that be taught mathematics to King Charles II. then an exile. At the Restoration he returned into England; and from that period till his death, he resided chiefly with bis patron, the Earl of De- vonshire. He was in favour with the king, who settled a pension on him of 100/. per annum, out of his privy purse. Hobbes was likewise visited by Cos- mo d^ Medicis, then Prince, and afterwards Duke of Tuscany; and by other illustrious foreigners. But his book called the ^Leviathan,' was condem- ned by the Parliament, in a bill against atheism and FF profaneness [ 230 ] profaneness, October, 1666; and the Convocation also condemned both that, and his book * De Cive,^ July ^1, l68o: as pernicious and damnable, and thereupon caused them to be burnt. f He died at Hardwicke, in Derbyshire, a seat of the Earl of Devonshire, December 4th, 1679; and was buried in the church of Hault-Hucknall, where a monument Avas erected to his memory. His writings are numerous, and relate to a va- riety of subjects. A volume entitled *^ The Moral and Political Works of Thomas Hobbes," was printed in London, folio, 1750. It contained "- Human Nature, or the fundamental Elements of Policy; — '^ De Corpore Politico; or the Elements of Law, moral and politic;" ** The Leviathan: or the Matter, Form, and Power of a Common- wealth, ecclesiastical and civil;" ^' Behemoth : or the History of the Causes of the civil Wars of England ;" besides some smaller pieces. He also published " An English Version of the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer;" and " Decameron Physi- ologicum : or Teu Dialogues on Natural Philo- sophy;" to which must be added several mathe- matical treatises, that did him no credit; as they contain many singular and absurd positions. Mr. Hobbes Mas a man of considerable learning and great abilities. He had a very high opinion of himself and his writings, which he took no' pains to conceal; nor did he. appear to consider it as any weakness. His genius Avas lively and pe- netrating, and he was studious and indefatigable in { 231 in his enquiries, but his reading was not very extensive. Homer, Virgil, Thucydides, and Eu- chd, were the authors with whom he was most dehghted.* Of his private character. Lord Clarendon has left the foliowins: testimonial. '^ Mr. Hobbes is one of the most ancient acquaintance I have in the world, and of whom I have always had a great esteem, as a man who besides his eminent paits of learning and knowledge, hath always been looked upon as a man of probity, and of a life free from scandal/'t Few authors have encountered more opposition than the Philosopher of Malmesbury. A vague charge of atheism has been brought against him by his adversaries; but since the philosophical principles he professed have been examined and admitted by some of the ablest de^ fenders of religion, more justice has been done to his charactjsr. His writings contain repeated testimonies in favour of Christianity; J and he practised the duties of religion. It is particularly deserving of notice, that he received the sacra- ment several times, with apparent devotion, ac- cording to the account of the Earl of Devonshire's chaplain, § His political principles were certainly reprehensible, as they were calculated to promote tyranny and oppression. — He was upon the whole * Britifh Biography. Vol. v. p, i6, 17. J- Survey of the Leviathan, p. 3. + See the Leviathan, p. 203, 204. and De Give. cap. 3. S. 33. ^ Noorthouck's Hilt, ^nd Clafs, Dift* Art. Hobbes. a '1 man of virtue; afid AVas titidoubtedly a bold and original thinker. Timidity however was a prominent trait in his character. He could ne- ver reconcile himself to the thoughts of death. The freedom of his opinions atld sentiments for- med a striking contrast with this part of hi§ G<)nduCt. Thomas Lx)rd Wharton, aftetwairds Marquis of Wharton and MalmesbLir}% was for many years high steward of the borough of Malm^sbury.-^^ His abilities as a statesmati were very considerable. He enjoyed the confidence of three successive sovereigns, William IH. AnnCj aifid George I. and held considerable employments under each of them. — —Lord Wharton was created Viscouftt Winchenden, in Buckinghamshire, atfid Earl of Wharton, in 1705, by Queen Anue. H6 a^&& ap- pointed Lord Lieutenant 6f Ireland, November 9.5, 1708. And in 1714^ ha Was advanced m the title of Marquis of Wharton atid Malmeshury, by George I. The same yeai' he WaS made Lord Privy-Seal. He did riot long enjoy the§e h^nDUr^, dying in 1715.* The Marquis of Wharton Was a man of genius aud learning, and an eftcoUraget of learned men. Sir Richard Steele prefixed to the fifth volume of the Spectator, a dedication in which he acknowledges his obligations to him for favours which he had received, and bestows * Bolton's Extindl Peerage, p. 302,— tablet of Memory, 4th edit. p. 21X. KImber's Hift. of Eng. p, 414. on [ £53 ] on him great and probably deserved encomiamj^. His lordship was an actor in the Revolution, iti 1668; and hjs general Conduct shewed that he ivas the friCnd of hberty; therefore his patronage does honour to the corporation of Malmesbury. MaRY CHANi)L1£iR. Mary Chandler was a lady who distinguished hCi'self by some ingenious poetical compositions. She ivas born at M^tlniesburyj in 1687. Her fa- ther, Henry Chandler,* was a dissenting iiiinister, who pubHshed a small tehgious tract, in 1705; from the title of which it appears that he then re- sided at Bath. As he was far from being wealthy he thought it necessary for his daughter to learn some business. She accordingly became a miU liner, and kept a shop at Bath. She was however carefully instructed in the principles of rehgion and virtue, by her father; and her conduct du- ring the whole of her life was very exemplary. From her childhood she was observed to have a turn for poetry, often entertaining her compa- nions with riddles in verse; and was extremely fond at that time of life of Herbert's Poems. In her riper years, she applied herself to the study of the best modern poets, and of the ancient poets likewise, as far as translations could assist her. * Dr. Samuel Chandler, a learned divine, was the fon of this gentleman. Befides many other literary produftions, Dr, S. C. was the author of ** A Critical Hiftory of the Life of David" Two Volumes 8vo, He died May 8, 1766, aged 73 years. It [ 234 ] It is said that she preferred Horace to both Homer and Virgil: because he did not deal so much in fable as the}^, but treated of subjects which lay within the sphere of nature, and had a relation to common life. Though deformed in her person, such was the goodness of her character, that a worthy country gentleman of considerable fortune, took a journey of one hundred miles to Bath to pay her his ad- dresses, which she declined ; as she had determined to live single. She published several poems, and one upon the Bath, which was well received by the public, and passed through several editions. It met with the approbation of Mr. Pope, who paid her a personal visit.* She died after nearly two years illness, September 11, 1745.t Mrs. Chandler appears to have been a woman of respectable abilities, and of a cultivated un- derstanding. Her poems which are written in an unaffected and natural style, breathe a spirit of true piety snd philosophy. * She was alfo honoured with the friendflilp of the celebrated Mrs Rowe. -{- Blogr. Brlt» V, Iji, p. 436. ADDITIONAI. [ Q35 ] ADDITIONAL FACTS AND OBSERVATIONS ON SOME PARTS OF THIS WORK. Sect. I. p. 24. The following occurrence which took place at Malmesbury, is interesting as it re- lates to the brave Edmund Ironside, the last of our kings of the first Saxon dynasty. Ethelred II. at the instigation of his treacherous coun- sellor Edric StreoUj having murdered at Oxford, Morcar and Sigefrid, (two earls, who though of Danish extraction, had fought for England,) he seized Algitha the wife of the latter, who was a very beautiful woman, and confined her as a prisoner in a convent at Malmesbury. Edmund Ironside, visiting this place shortly after, was so struck with the personal accomplishments of the noble widow, that he determined to deliver her from imprisonment and to marry her; which de- sign he immediately executed, without Avaiting for the consent of his father. G. Malmes. de Gest. Reg. Ang. lib. II. cap. 10. — R. de Hoved, Annal. pars pinor. p. 26. The town and castle of Malmesbury seems to have fallen into the hands of the par- tisans of the Empress Maud, and to have had a garrison placed in it soon after she first invaded England; for Gervase of Tilbury informs us that King [ $3$ ] King Stephen besieged Malniesbury in 1140; but we know not whether it was surrendered. — As William the Historian favour^ the cause of the empress, in his account of the transactions of his own times, we may infer that the monks of this convent were in general her friends. This opinion receives support from the account al- ready given of the conduct of the abbot Peter. (Vid. p. 176, ]n0, lib,) Indeed it must be ac- knowledged to be extremely probable that the townspeople a$ well as tlie religious of Mahnes- bury, were strongly attached to the empress, as a descendant of their beloved Saxon monarchs, to whom they were indebted for §0 many favours. This attachment was rewarded by Henry 11. who gave to the monastery six };ounds ten shillings of hundred silver, llegist. Abhat, MabMS. in JBibL Cott. Sect. II. p. 40. After the death of King Athelstan, the convent of Malmesbury flourished exceedingly, till Edwy ascended the throne; who expelled the monks froni all the monasteries they then possessed in England, and placed secular priests in their room. The abbey of Malmesbury was one of the benefices of which the monks were dispossessed on this occasion. William of Mal- mesbury thus indignantly notices this transaction. ** Nam et Malmesburiense coenobium plusquam ducentis septuaginta annis a monachis inhabitum, clericorun^ stabulum fecit" Be G^st. Reg, J?2g,. L ii. Q. 7, MalriKshiry Monastery^ tvhich had been [ 2S7 ] hem inhabited by mo7iks for more tha?i two hun- (b^ed and seventy yearSy zvas made a stable for clerks.'' The monks of Malmesbury were restored by- Edgar, in 974; about sixteen years after tlie date of their deprivation. p, 54. " See the grant of a mitre to the ab- bot of Malmesbury, in JVilkins' Councils. Vol. iii. p. 142, 143." Tanners Notit. Monast. Pref p. 25. Note (e) Though the abbot of Malmesbury vvMs one of the twenty-five fixed on for parliamen- tary abbots, by Edward III. according to the account already given, yet he had not a grant of episcopal ornaments and authority till the third year of the reign of Richard II. but he w^as before that time, exempt from the power of his diocesan; as appears from the above-noticed grant in Wilkins' Councils. Sect. III. Many drawings and engravings of Malmesburv Abbev, have been executed at dif- ferent times. In Dugdales Monasticon there is a soutli-west view, already noticed in p. 46. Ano- ther south-west view was engraved by Buck, 1 730. Dean Lyttleton, exhibited before the Society of Antiquaries, in 1754, very accurate drawings of .several parts of Malmesbury Abbey, which be- longed to Smart LetheuUier, esq. There are extant two engravings of the remains of this monastery, by Hearne, an ingenious artist, who was born in the neighbourhood of Malmesbury. Oneof tliem contains a view of the western tower, G G and [ 238 ] and the other of the north side of the abbey. — - Mr. J. Hanks of IMalmesbury, some years since, made four large drawings exhibiting two near, and two distant views of this relic of antiquity; from ^vhich, engravings in aquatinta were executed, by F. Jukes, of Howland Street, London, in 1789. Sect. IV. Some curious observations on Go- thic architecture, have been published in a paper *' on the Origin of the Greek Alphabet," in the Monthly Magazine, Vol. xii. No. 81. Sect. V, aS'^. ^ PauVs Ch urch . * From the ihed cited in p. 98, it appears that there was, so early as the latter part of the thirteenth century, a vicar of this church, who is stiled Walter, perpetual vicar of the church of St Paul; and that the ab- bot and cotivent here, were the patrons. In the Patent Rolls, 13th of Henry IV. (1412) there is the following memorandum, relating to the endowment of this vicarage. " Malmesbury Ab- bey for the payment of seven shillings there, to the vicar of the church of St. Paul, for lands in Brokenburge, Milbourn, Burton, and Malmes- bury." Hence it follows that this vicarage, like many others, was endowed with a salary issiiing out of the property belonging to the convent. — • See Teidmiii's Hist, of Tauntony p, 0,4 — 26. The * Wiltfhire Living difcharged, ST. PAUt's. Certified. Value. C «,. . .- , ^ ? Yearly Tenths, o, J -i Vicarage in Malmefbury. J- . K ,. 281. OS, od. i ^ ^ \ ol. i6s. aid. ' Bateman's R, and Ecc. Caz. p. 126. account [' ^S9 ] ajGcountof pensioiispaidto ipcumbents, Sec. of re- ligious houses and chauiitries, an, 1553; as the same ^vere issued out of the crown revenues, from the receipts of the abbey -lands, contains this article: '^ To Thomas Washeborne, priest, (St Paul's Church, Malmesbury") was granted five poundso Willis' Hist, of Mitred Abbies. Vol. ii. Sect. VL p. 149. The fee-farm of the abbey and convent of Malmesbury, twelve pounds was applied to the royal purveyance, 28th of Henry VI. Rot. Pari, ejusd. aiini. This paragraph should hava'been inserted before that relating to the grant to W. Elton, esq; which was likewise made in the Tisig-n of Henrv VI. Sir Henry Knyvett, knt. — '^ Charlton Park, the seat of the Earl of Suffolk, is situated one mile north of INIalmesbury, in the midst of a fine level lawn. The estate came into the family in the six- teenth century, by the marriage of Thomas Earl of Suffolk, with Elizabeth daughter and co-hei- ress to Sir Henry Knevit, of Charlton, and the house was built in the succeeding century, by the famous Inigo Jones." Warnefs E