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M E M O I R S
ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE
HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES
COUNTY AND CITY OF LIN COLN.
M E M O I R S
ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE
HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES
OF THE
COUNTY AND CITY OF LINCOLN,
COMMUNICATED TO THE ANNUAL MEETING
OF THE
3rtijaeological Hºngtitute of Great 33ritain amb Hitelamb,
HELD AT LINCOLN, JULY, 1848,
WITH A GENERAL REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETING, AND A CATALOGUE
OF THE MUSEUM FORMED ON THAT OCCASION.
L O N D O N :
PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICE OF THE INSTITUTE, 26, SUFFOLK
STREET, PALL MALL EAST.
TO BE OBTAINED THROUGH ALL BOOKSELLERS, FROM (THE PRINTERS)
MESSRS. BRADBURY AND EVANS, WHITEFRIARS.
MDCCCL.

LONDON :
BRADBURY AND EVANs, PRINTERs, whiteFRIARs.
PREFACE.
—$—
IN presenting to the Members of the Institute the TRANSACTIONs
of the Meeting held at LINCOLN, the Central Committee desire
to express their regret, that the production of the Annual
Volumes has unavoidably been impeded by causes which
they have in vain sought to control. The contribution
to Historical and Antiquarian knowledge, now at length
completed, is not a mere Report, or Abstract of Proceedings;
it comprises the results of long and careful enquiry; the
fruits, in several cases, of many years of assiduous investi-
gation. A due regard to the convenience of the numerous
authors to whom the Society has been indebted on the
present occasion, called for no ordinary indulgence, in
facilities for the revision of their respective productions;
whilst the preparation of so many illustrations has demanded
greater time and care, than will readily be appreciated by
persons not fully conversant with the difficulties attendant on
such publications.
The satisfaction with which the achievement of this
undertaking must be regarded, would have been greatly
enhanced, had it proved practicable to include a subject of
paramount importance,—the Architectural History of the
Minster. The Committee would assure the Society that no
endeavours on their part have been wanting to secure some
adequate memorial of the Discourse, which formed so striking
203048
vi PREFACE.
a feature of the Proceedings. The Society will entertain a
cordial esteem of the kindness of Professor Willis, in fore-
stalling annually for their satisfaction a portion of the great
subject, to which his attention has been so long addressed ;
and at the same time regret deeply, that his pressing avoca-
tions render it impracticable to continue the series commenced
with such agreeable and instructive effect in former volumes
produced by the Institute. Since the desired opportunity
has been denied them of giving, in the present volume, that
pre-eminence to the Illustration of the Minster, which it
justly claims, the Committee have sought to make some
amends, by availing themselves to the utmost of other
subjects of prominent local interest. In this endeavour the
friendly assistance of an antiquary, whose name has long
been in high and honourable repute in connexion with all
that concerns the Investigation of the Antiquities of his
native city,+Mr. Willson, has proved of the utmost value,
and claims the most grateful acknowledgment.
The Committee have again the gratification of recording
the liberality which has aided the present undertaking.
They would express their thanks to many whose assistance
has proved of signal advantage; and especially to the
Marquis of Northampton; Richard Ellison, Esq.; the Rev.
the President of the Gentlemen's Society of Spalding; to
the Rev. J. L. Petit, the Right Hon. C. d'Eyncourt, M.P.,
and other gentlemen, who have enriched the volume by
contributing illustrations.
The Committee beg to state distinctly that they must not
be accounted answerable for any opinions or statements
which may occur in the Publications of the Institute ; the
authors being alone responsible. -
26, Suffolk STREET, PALL MALL EAST,
July 1, 1850.
C O N T E N T S.
-O-
PAGE
General Report of the Proceedings of the Meeting . & g & tº ... xiii
Catalogue of the Museum, formed at the County Assembly Rooms during the
week of the Meeting tº . . * ſº * * * tº . . xxvii
THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN. By EDWARD JAMES WILLSON, Esq.,
F. S.A. º * tº * & º e gº & º tº ge 1
THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN. By the REV. C. H. HARTSHORNE, M.A. 19
THE CASTLE OF LINCOLN. By the same. . g º * º gº . . 38
THE PALACE AND PARLIAMENT OF CLIPSTONE. By the same . tº re 45
THE ANCIENT MINT of LINCOLN. By EDWARD HAWKINS, Esq., Keeper of the
Antiquities, British Museum . e * • * . . . • • . . 49
THE GRECIAN STAIRs, LINCOLN.—By the REV. FRANCIS C. MASSINGBERD, Pre-
bendary of Lincoln . . tº º e te e is * > e . 58
MEMOIR ON THE FEUDs OF OLD LINGOLNSHIRE FAMILIES. By the Right Hon.
LoRD MONSON, F.S.A. tº e ‘e º * s * e & . 65
THE GENTLEMEN's SoCIETY AT SPALDING, with Notices of the researches and
labours of the earliest Lincolnshire Antiquaries. By the REv. WILLIAM
MooRE, D.D., Prebendary of Lincoln, and President of the Spalding Society 82
The interesting illustration accompanying this Memoir, being an unpub-
lished Portrait of MAURICE JOHNSON, the Founder of the Spalding Society,
from the original preserved by his family, has been liberally presented to
the Institute by his granddaughter, the late Mrs. Dinham.
AN Account of THE PAINTED GLAss IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL AND SOUTHWELL
MINSTER, with some general Remarks on Glass Painting. By CHARLES
WINSTON, Esq. . dº * © e tº e ſº tº * * e 90
AN INQUIRY INTO THE SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONs which prevail in the Nave of
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. By F. C. PENROSE, Esq., M.A. 125
PHILOSOPHICAL REMAINS OF BISHOP GROSSETETE. By GEORGE BooDE, Esq. 139
AN Account OF KING HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE, in
the year 1541. By the REv. Joseph HUNTER, F. S.A. 145
AN ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT RELATING TO MILITARY MUSTERs, in the parts of
Kesteven, Lincolnshire, during the reign of Elizabeth, A.D. 1590. By
HENRY G. ToMKINS, Esq. . . . . . . . . . . 157
viii CONTENTS.
THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY, October, 1663. By the REv. F. C. MASSINGBERD,
Prebendary of Lincoln . º º º & e * * * º tº
MEMORIALs of SIR Edward LAKE, Chancellor of Lincoln, relative to his loyal
services, and interview with Charles I., after the Battle of Edge-Hill. From
original evidences. By the REv. S. BLOIs TURNER, M.A., F.S.A.
REMARKs on SouTHwBLI, MINSTER. By the REv. J. L. PETIT tº tº * *
The accompanying illustrations have been liberally presented by Mr. Petit.
ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. By CHARLES C. R. CoCKERELL,
Esq., R.A. © e º g º º & o º & -
The illustration, representing a portion of the Presbytery, has been kindly
presented to this volume by Professor Cockerell.
A SHORT DISSERTATION UPON THE MONUMENTs at the upper end of the North-
eastern part of the Presbytery, in the Cathedral of Lincoln. By the VEN.
THE ARCHDEACON OF LINCOLN e º e º - • *
Memoir on the Leadeh Plate, the Memorial of WILLIAM D'EYNCOURT, preserved
in the Cathedral Library, at Lincoln. By the Right Hon. C. TENNYSON
D'EYNCOURT, M.P. wº g g e gº - e & g e &
The illustrations of this memoir have been liberally presented to this
volume by the Author. -
THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN, with Notices of the Seals of the
Earls. By JoHN Gough NICHOLs, Esq., F.S.A.
LINCOLN CASTLE, notices of its History and the existing remains; illustrated by
a Plan, from actual Survey. By EDWARD JAMES WILLsoN, Esq., F.S. A.
NoTICE OF THE ANCIENT DEANFRY, LINCOLN. By the same o ſº
The drawings, from which the accompanying illustrations have been
prepared, were kindly supplied by the Ven. the Archdeacon of Lincoln.
NoTICE of ST. MARY's CoNDUIT, LINCOLN. (Represented on the Title page.)
By the same * * * e
MEMOIR ON THE REGULATIONS ANCIENTLY PRESCRIBED IN REGARD To Swans,
on the Rivers of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and other parts of the
Realm; and on an Original Book of Swan-marks. By the late JoHN MAy
BROMEHEAD, Esq.; communicated by E. A. BROMEHEAD, Esq., of Lincoln .
TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENTS, preserved in the Chapter Muniment Room in
Lincoln Minster, comprising the Will and Inventories of Effects of Richard
de Ravensere, Archdeacon of Lincoln, 1386. Communicated by the REv.
THE PRECENTOR of LINCOLN. Edited by ALBERT WAY, Esq.
PAGE
176
190
197
215
241
248
253
278
291
294
295
310
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.*
—º-
PAGE
St. Mary's Conduit, Lincoln. (See p. 295.) . g º Q e ... +Title
Thirteen pages, comprising representations of various Antiquities exhibited,
and illustrative of the Museum Catalogue. (Thirty-four Woodcuts.)
xxvii. to lvii.
Map of Modern Lincoln. (Prepared for the use of the Members at the Meeting
in that city.) p e * º w g ſº º e & . . xiii
“LINDUM CoIONIA,” Map of Ancient Lincoln, from Stukeley's Itinerarium
Curiosum, 1722 g * , te e º g e º * º s lx
Ancient Episcopal Palace, Lincoln —
Chapel range, and Bishop Alnwick's Tower g * g * º º 1
Ground Plan g & & & & & * * g gº º 18
Longitudinal Section of Hall and Kitchen & * g ſº g g 18
Elevation of S. gable in the Hall-range . tº * º e e g ºt 18
External elevation of a bay of the Hall . & e c ë ſº $ 18
W. end of Dining-room tº e º te e & o e . . *18
These Illustrations have been executed from designs, the result of careful survey and
measurements, by Mr. Willson.
Lincoln Castle. Two Views . g º tº * g e $º g ſº 38
Clipstone Castle . g tº tº tº tº * g e tº tº gº 45
Portrait of Maurice Johnson, Founder of the Spalding Society . g * 84
This plate, from a miniature by Vertue, in the possession of the family, was most kindly
presented to this Volume by the late Mrs. Dinham, of Spalding, grand-daughter
of Maurice Johnson.
Diagram, showing arrangement of subjects in the Great Rose Window,
N. Transept, Lincoln . g gº & e ſe ſº & e . . * 100
Outline of Ground Plan, Lincoln Minster e te e tº e º . #127
Diagram, showing the proportions of the Nave, Lincoln . e g . . # 130
Elevation of a Bay, and Half Section of the Nave, Lincoln . e e . 137
SouTHWELL MINSTER . © g tº g º º * e *º . 197—214
An original Etching, by the Rev. J. Louis Petit, representing the View of the Minster,
the West.
Thirty-one illustrations, forming fourteen pages, and comprising the Ground Plan;
Elevation of W. end; a Bay of the Nave; a Bay of the Choir; Vaulting under the
Organ Screen; a Pier of the Nave; View of the Chapter House; Capital, from
entrance to Chapter House; Norman Ornaments; one of the Flying Buttresses, and
Norman work, E. side of N. Transept; a Chimney on N. Porch, and Clerestory
Window, Transept; seventeen Sections of Mouldings.
The whole of these admirable illustrations, executed from drawings prepared by the
special direction of the Rev. J. Louis Petit, have been very generously presented
by him as a contribution to this Volume.
* The Illustrations marked * are in the letter-press. The remainder are to be placed at the pages
indicated.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
AGE
Ancient Sculptures, in the Choir of Angels, Lincoln Minster. Eleven Plates. P
215–240
A Bay of the Choir of Angels, showing the position of the Sculptures . . 215
Heraldic Escutcheons on Tomb of Bishop Burghersh, Lincoln . tº . . 243
Leaden Plate, Memorial of William d'Eyncourt e tº tº * & . 248
Seal of Edmund d'Eyncourt ge & g º tº c tº is . . $250
These Illustrations have been kindly contributed by the Right Hon. C.T. d'Eyncourt, M.P.
Seals of the Earls of Lincoln. Seven pages, comprising eleven Woodcuts . 278
Four of these Illustrations are presented by John Gough Nichols, Esq., F.S.A.
Plan of Lincoln Castle . tº º † de & g & º & . . 280
Two Views of the Buildings at the Ancient Deanery, Lincoln. * g . 292
Twelve Specimens of Swan-marks, formerly in use in Lincolnshire . . . 296
Swan-marks of the Crown, &c. & & tº * º ** sº * . *297
Seal of Richard de Ravenser, Archdeacon of Lincoln. * e º . . *327
NOTE.
In the Museum Catalogue (p. xxviii.) the correct reading of the sepulchral inscription discovered
in Monson Street, Lincoln, has been recently ascertained, by a cast, presented to the Institute by
Mr. Trollope. The upper part of the tablet had been much broken, which had caused an error in the
reading previously received.
. D. M. .
C L A V D I A E
C. R. I SI DI
V IX IT.
A N . L X X X X
H E R E D E S.
. P. C. .
3rchaeological institute of Great Britain amb frtlant.
ANNUAL MEETING, 1848.
HELD AT LINCOLN, COMMENCING TUESDAY, JULY 25, AND
TERMINATING MONDAY, JULY 31.
33att0tt.
THE LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN, F.R.S.
33rtºilettt. -
THE EARL BROWNLOW, F.R.S., F.S.A., Lord Lieutenant of the County of Lincoln.
tº icº-ºrtstütnts.
THE DUKE OF ST. ALBAN’S.
THE MARQUIS OF NORTHAMPTON, F.R.S., F.S.A.
THE EARL OF YARBOROUGH.
THE EARL OF ENNISKILLEN.
THE VISCOUNT ALFORD, M.P.
THE LORD MONSON, F.S.A.
RICHARD ELLISON, Esq., High Sheriff of the County.
SIR HENRY DYMOKE, Bart., the Hon. the Queen's Champion.
THE WORSHIPFUL THE MAYOR OF LINCOLN.
THE VERY REV. THE DEAN OF LINCOLN.
THE VEN. THE ARCHIDEACON OF LINCOLN.
The following Gentlemen connected with the county and city signified their desire to give encouragement and
support to the Meeting:—
Hon. C. Leslie Melville. Glynne Earle Welby, Esq., M.P.
Right Hon. C. T. d'Eyncourt, M.P. Robert Adam Christopher, Esq., M.P., F.R.S.
Sir William Earle Welby, Bart. Charles Chaplin, Esq., Blankney.
Sir Montague J. Cholmeley, Bart, M.P. George Fieschi Heneage, Esq., Hainton.
Sir Charles H. J. Anderson, Bart. Edward Heneage, Esq., M.P. -
Sir John Nelthorpe, Bart. Col. Sibthorp, M.P.
Sir Robert Sheffield, Bart. G. T. Waldo Sibthorp, Esq.
Sir John Trollope, Bart., M.P. Ayscoghe Boucherett, Esq.
Sir John Thorold, Bart. Col. Cracroft, Hackthorn.
Sir Edward Ffrench Bromhead, Bart. Col. Jarvis, Doddington.
Sir Thomas Whichcote, Bart. Weston Cracroft, Esq.
Sir Robert Heron, Bart. Christopher Turnor, Esq., Stoke.
The Rev. The Chancellor. Thomas George Corbett, Esq., Elsham.
The Rev. The Precentor. Henry Bacon Hickman, Esq., Thonock.
The Ven. The Archdeacon of Stow. W. Hutton, Esq.
Rev. F. C. Massingberd, M.A., Prebendary of General Reeve.
Lincoln.
38Cretatitä.
Peter Cunningham, Esq. T. Hudson Turner, Esq.
Charles Tucker, Esq., F.S.A. Albert Way, Esq., F.S.A.
3.0tāl (tommittee.
THE WoRSHIPFUL THE MAYok OF LINcoln, Chairman.
Richard Carline, Esq. W. A. Nicholson, Esq.
E. P. Charlesworth, Esq., M.D Rev. Rich. Pretyman, M.A., Precentor of Lincoln.
Richard Mason, Esq., Town Clerk. Arthur Trollope, Esq.
Hon. C. Leslie Melville. E. J. Willson, Esq., F.S.A.,
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING.
SECTIONAL COMMITTEES.—HISTORY.
33rtgfuent.
HENRY HALLAM, Esq., F.R.S., Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries.
ºf ict-ºregitients.
SIR JOHN P. BOILEAU, Bart. F.R.S.
JOHN MITCHELL KEMBLE, Esq., Secretary of the English Historical Society,
REV. FRANCIS C. MASSINGBERD, M.A., Prebendary of Lincoln.
SIR THOMAS PHILLIPS, Bart., F.R.S., F.S.A.
THOMAS STAPLETON, Esq., Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries.
William Henry Blaauw, Esq., M.A., Secretary of
the Sussex Arch. Soc.
Rev. Philip Bliss, D.D., F.R.S., F.S.A., Principal
of St. Mary Hall.
Charles Cardale Babington, Esq., M.A., Treasurer
of the Cambridge Antiq. Soc.
C. Wentworth Dilke, Esq., B.C.L.
Rev. W. Fletcher, M.A., Head Master of the
Grammar School, Southwell.
Edward Foss, Esq., F.S.A.
Edwin Guest, Esq., F.R.S., Secretary of the
Philological Society.
Rev. Charles Henry Hartshorne, M.A.
Rev. Joseph Hunter, F.S.A.
Charles Knight, Esq.
Sir Charles Lemon, Bart., M.P.
John Murray, Esq.
John Gough Nichols, Esq., F.S.A.
Rev. Richard Pretyman, M.A., Precentor of
Lincoln.
Henry Crabb Robinson, Esq., F.S.A.
Dr. Tunstall, Bath.
Rev. John Wilson, B.D., F.S.A., Fellow of Trinity
College, Oxford.
$5tcretarits.
Joseph Burtt, Esq., Chapter House, Westminster.
T. Hudson Turner, Esq.
ARCHITECTURE.
#tegiuent.
SIR CHARLES HENRY J. ANDERSON, Bart.
Tºſice-ºtegiDents.
THE WEN. H. K. BONNEY, D.D., Archdeacon of Lincoln.
THE VERY REV. THOMAS GARNIER, D.C.L., Dean of Winchester.
ALEXANDER BERESFORD HOPE, Esq., M.P.
THE REV. FREDERICK C. PLUMPTRE, D.D., Master of University College.
Rev. Henry Addington.
Rev. George Atkinson, M.A., Stow, Gainsborough.
Rev. Charles Boutell, Downham Market, Norfolk.
John Britton, Esq., F.R.S., F.S.A.
John Buckler, Esq., F.S.A.
Talbot Bury, Esq.
Charles C. Cockerell, Esq., R.A., F.S.A.
Rev. Irvin Eller, Secretary of the Lincolnshire
Archit. Soc.
Benjamin Ferrey, Esq.
Richard Greene, Esq., F.S.A., Lichfield.
Philip C. Hardwick, Esq.
Rev. Edward Hill, M.A., Christ Church, Oxford.
The Very Rev. John Merewether, D.D., F.S.A.,
Dean of Hereford.
W. A. Nicholson, Esq., Lincoln.
F. C. Penrose, Esq., M.A., Magdalen College,
Cambridge.
Rev. J. L. Petit, M.A.
Ambrose Poynter, Esq.
Rev. Henry Rose, M.A., Rector of Brington,
Northants.
Edmund Sharpe, Esq., M.A., Lancaster.
Rev. D. J. Stewart, Ely.
ven, W. B. Stonehouse, LL.D., Archdeacon of
tow.
Rev. William Staunton, M.A.
The Rev. Professor Willis, M.A., F.R.S.
Thomas Henry Wyatt, Esq.
Digby Wyatt, Esq.
$tcretatics.
M. Rohde Hawkins, Esq.
|
E. J. Willson, Esq., Lincoln.
John Henry Parker, Esq.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING. xi
EARLY AND MEDIAEWAL ANTIQUITIES.
33rtstüttit.
THE LORD MONSON, F.S.A.
ºſicº-33rtsidents.
THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF NORTHAMPTON, F.R.S., F.S.A.
THE VERY REV. WILLIAM BUCKLAND, D.D., F.R.S., Dean of Westminster.
EDWARD HAWKINS, Esq., Keeper of the Antiquities, British Museum.
SIR CHARLES LEMON, Bart., M.P.
SIR RICHARD WESTMACOTT, F.S.A., Professor of Sculpture, Royal Academy.
The Lord Alwyne Compton.
chaº Fredenek Barnwell, Esq., M.A., F.R.S.,
Rev. John Bathurst Deane, M.A., F.S.A.
John Disney, Esq., F.S.A., The Hyde, Ingate-
Stone.
Rev. William Drake, Coventry.
Robert Fitch, Esq., F.G.S., Norwich.
Rev. J. Hamilton Gray, M.A., Bolsover Castle.
Rev. William H. Gunner, M.A., Chaplain of
Winchester College.
Edward Hailstone, Esq., F.S.A., Bradford.
Andrew Lawson, Esq., M.A., Boroughbridge.
C. R. Manning, Esq., Diss, Norfolk.
Rev. J. Morton, B.D., Prebendary of Lincoln.
Charles Newton, Esq., M.A., British Museum.
Henry Shaw, Esq., F.S.A.
William Salt, Esq., F.S.A.
Rev. John James Smith, M.A., Tutor of Caius
College.
James Talbot, Esq., M.R.I.A.
W. B. D. Turnbull, Esq., Secretary of the Society
of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Rev. Samuel Blois Turner, M.A., F.S.A., Hales-
worth.
W. S. W. Vaux, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., British
Museum.
Richard Westmacott, Esq., A.R.A.
§5?cretariºs.
Arthur Trollope, Esq.
| Charles Tucker, Esq.
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING.
—º-—
IN pursuance of a Resolution passed at the General Meeting, held at
Norwich, in 1847, the Annual Meeting was held, this year, in the ancient
city of Lincoln, commencing on Tuesday, the 25th July. A very large
number of visitors and members congregated at the County Assembly
Rooms, at noon; and the proceedings commenced by an address from the
BISHOP OF NoFWICH.
The learned prelate said, he addressed the meeting with mingled feelings
of regret and satisfaction; sincere regret, that during the year that he had
held the office of President of the Institute he had been able to do so little
for its interests, not because of the want of earnest good-will, but because
of the onerous duties which devolved on him as the Bishop of an ex-
tensive diocese. He had now the satisfaction to deliver that office into
other and abler hands; in LORD BROWNLow he saw a President who
had more leisure, and it was a satisfaction to feel that no one could have
greater zeal, energy, and anxiety to discharge the duties devolving upon
him. Before he resigned his functions, he was anxious to say a few words,
however feeble they might be, with respect to the advantages to be derived
from the cultivation of the sciences and arts. They might be looked on as
conferring an additional sense; how far higher than the simple peasant
was the astronomer led !—one looked at the stars as mere spangles, the
other gazed on them with high and increasing veneration for the Great
Being who filled the firmament with light; the geologist,-how diffe-
rent from him who was ignorant of science As to the cultivation of
Archaeology, there were some who ascribed to its promoters a desire to
return to old forms and antiquated ceremonies; he looked at the science
in a more enlarged view, and deemed it suited to aid in the rescue of
ecclesiastical architecture from the degraded puritan standard which had
been too prevalent. In archaeology, whichever way they turned, they must
derive benefit, knowledge, and satisfaction; let them look at many a
modern church, comparing it with the edifices upon which the excellencies
of ancient art were lavished, and how would their feelings be ennobled by
the impressive contrast 2
His Lordship then appropriately alluded to the expressive sentiment
of the poet, that the truly enlightened mind will find sermons even in
stones; and passed an eloquent eulogy on the great and master spirits of past
ages, and that earnest piety, which were combined to raise such magnificent
edifices as Lincoln Cathedral. Archæologists were not retracing their steps
to carry back humanity to the darker periods of history, they sought to
xiv. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING.
glean from them all that was good, and go forward with a swifter and
firmer foot. To those who thought the science tended to encourage ancient
superstitions, he would say, the design of archaeology is to cultivate good taste
and love of the arts, so that its researches might not only prove an example
to stimulate men of the present age, but serve as a beacon for the guidance
of the future. When he looked on the noble Minster, how could he find
sufficient admiration for those by whom that wonderful pile was erected?
They might live under error in faith, but it was a faith worthy of admiration,
when, with hand, and heart and will, they had raised an edifice which it would
be difficult, if practicable, to rear in modern times. His Lordship added, that
he had conversed with one of the most talented men of America, and had
asked him what were his feelings on first entering an English Cathedral?
He replied, “I did not allow a word to escape my lips, for I should have
thought a human voice heard in such a place was improper, it seemed
full of the presence of the Almighty.”
His Lordship concluded with his congratulations to the Institute that so
numerous a body had assembled to welcome them in old Lindum; and that
this, the fullest meeting he had, as yet, had the pleasure to attend, would
be held under the auspices of a nobleman whose classic taste and patronage
of the arts, modern as well as mediaeval, was so well known, and in whose
favour he vacated the President's seat.
The EARL BROWNLow, in taking the chair, claimed the indulgence of the
meeting for the inadequate manner in which he was able to express his
feelings at the high encomiums bestowed on him by the Bishop of Norwich.
He felt incompetent sufficiently to do justice to those kind observations;
he would, however, do the utmost in his power, and all that his indifferent
state of health would permit, to promote the objects of the meeting. It
was more than fifty years since he began to cultivate a taste for antiquarian
pursuits, and he felt his zeal therein unabated. Lincoln was full of
vestiges, British, Roman, Saxon and Norman, and rich in specimens of
every grade of pointed architecture; not only would the Ecclesiastical
Buildings of the city excite attention, but within its limits were a larger
series than most localities possessed of the domestic buildings of past ages.
For the noble Minster, however, he must claim pre-eminence; if it had a
rival in this country, it had, at most, but one. He felt that it was a sort of
grand religious Epic, and that its component parts were so many Cantos in
the Poem. During the present century, especially in the early part of it,
irreparable injuries had been committed in our Cathedrals and Churches:
he thought the proceedings of societies like that over which he was now
called upon to preside, would prove the means of reviving good taste;
that purity of style would follow, and that no more of those solecisms would
be witnessed which had too long prevailed. His Lordship then eloquently
expressed a most cordial welcome to the numerous strangers around him,
from all parts of the kingdom; he was proud to see that so many had
honoured Lincoln with their attendance, and trusted they would derive
great pleasure in exploring the antiquities of the city and neighbourhood.
The MARquis of NoHTHAMPTON then proposed a vote of thanks to the
Bishop of Norwich, for the zeal and ability with which his Lordship had
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING. XV
discharged the duties of the Presidential Chair. He said that he also
joined in the mingled feeling, before expressed on the occasion,-pleasure
because the sceptre laid down had been placed in the excellent hands
of Earl Brownlow, and regret, that, in its annual course, the fostering
care of the learned Prelate had come to its termination. His Lordship
then proceeded to defend the Institute from the unfounded accusation
that its operations tended to encourage superstition. In beautifying
and adorning Churches of Protestants, they were not departing from
Protestantism; but, could they do less than expend some portion of their
wealth in beautifying the Temples dedicated to the Almighty? His
Lordship proceeded to illustrate how, from impressions of beauty, the
mind was raised above the level of cold utilitarianism, and finally exalted
in admiration of the Supreme Architect of the universe.
The BISHOP of LINCOLN said he desired cordially to second the
proposal of the noble Marquis. He had had the happiness of knowing
his Right Reverend Brother for fifty years, and he knew that his excel-
lent qualities had gained him universal love and esteem. The success
with which he had prosecuted scientific studies was known to all; and,
indeed, in the address they had recently heard his Lordship had given
evidence of his extensive attainments. He was no less distinguished for the
liberality with which he endeavoured to promote the advance of knowledge in
every path of literature. His Lordship then observed that he himself had
not much acquaintance with the science of archaeology, but that he was
fully alive to the striking works of past ages, and that the study was an
important chapter in the history of the human race. His Lordship con-
cluded with suitable congratulations to the accomplished nobleman who now
filled the chair of the Institute.
The BISHOP OF NoFWICH returned thanks; The LoRD MONSON then
proposed—that the best wishes of the Citizens of Lincoln be given to the
Institute for the honour they had done the city in selecting it for the scene
of their annual visit. This proposition was seconded by the Mayor,
WILLIAM MARSHALL, Esq., and carried unanimously.
SIR CHARLEs ANDERSON, Bart., moved a resolution, expressive of the
respect which modern archaeologists must entertain towards the “Gentle-
men's Society of Spalding,” the oldest antiquarian institution in the kingdom;
he briefly noticed the changes that had occurred in Lincolnshire since its
first establishment, and the care that Society had taken to chronicle events
and preserve historical antiquities. This proposal, seconded by SIR JOHN
BoILEAU, Bart., was also carried unanimously.
MR. ALDERMAN EDWARD J. WILLson then read to the meeting the im-
portant historical memoir on the Ancient Palace of the Bishops of Lincoln
(published in this volume). His Grace the DUKE of ST. ALBAN's briefly
complimented Mr. Willson on the careful research and historical knowledge
displayed in his highly interesting address. This vote was seconded by the
REv. PROFESSOR WILLIS, and the morning Meeting terminated.
The Temporary Museum formed for the meeting of the Institute was
then thrown open, and excited the highest admiration and interest. At
half-past three, Mr. Willson accompanied a numerous party of ladies and
xvi PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING.
gentlemen to the ruins of the Palace, and there elucidated, by the remains
themselves, the remarks in his memoir read in the morning. Other parties
visited the Castle, the Mint Wall, the Roman Gateway, Mounds and
Fosses of ancient Lindum. The members of the architectural section,
more especially, examined the curious buildings, “The Jew's House,”
the Hall of St. Mary's Guild, the structure commonly known as John of
Gaunt's Palace, the Monastery of the Grey Friars, of which part is now the
Grammar School, and the “Monk's House,” being the remains of a cell
formerly belonging to St. Mary's Abbey at York.
In the evening a Banquet was served in the spacious new Hall of the
Corn Exchange. More than three hundred of the nobility and gentry,
including not less than fifty ladies, assembled. The Earl Brownlow
presided, supported by the Bishops of Lincoln and Norwich, the Duke of
St. Alban's, the Marquis of Northampton, Earl Yarborough, Lord Monson,
Lord Braybrooke, Lord Alford, Lord Alwyne Compton; the Deans of
Westminster, Hereford, Ely and Lincoln; Lady Brownlow, Lady Marianne
Alford, Lady Amelia Cust, Lady Monson, Lady Buxton, Lady Anderson;
the Hon. and Rev. R. Cust, Sir John Boileau, Sir C. J. H. Anderson,
Hon. W. J. Monson, Sir Henry Watson, the Rev. the Precentor, the
Ven. the Archdeacon of Lincoln, the High Sheriff of the County,
Mr. Sibthorpe, Mrs. Trollope, Miss Kaye, Miss Anderson, Mr. Hallam,
Professors Willis and Cockerell, &c., &c., &c.
On Wednesday morning the subterraneous passage near the ruins of
St. Giles' was inspected. In the ancient map by Stukeley, a facsimile of
which had been prepared for the gratification of the members, and is given
in this volume, it is called a “supposed Roman Catacomb;” it has also been
conjectured to have been a quarry from which stone for building the
Cathedral was procured. ---
At the meetings of sections at the Assembly Rooms, MR. WINSTON's paper
on Stained Glass (see page 90) was read; PROFESSOR CoCKERELL delivered
his memoir on the Sculptures in the “Choir of Angels,” in the Cathedral,
(see page 215); MR. C. PENROSE read a discourse on the mathematical pro-
portions shown in the design of that edifice (see page 125). MR. NICHOLSoN
also gave a highly interesting memoir on Tattershall Castle. PROFESSOR
WILLIs then delivered his lecture on the Architectural History of Lincoln
Cathedral, rendered peculiarly attractive by his popular mode of illustration;
in the afternoon the Professor, accompanied by a large audience, visited
the Cathedral, and there pointed out the indications of dates and styles, with
the several points of prominent interest or peculiarity on which he had
dwelt more particularly in his lecture in the morning. ARCHDEACON
BONNEY then read a notice of the curious Burghersh monuments in the
Presbytery, and the heraldic adornments, indicating the personages to whose
memory they were erected (see page 241). At the numerously attended
Evening assembly of the Mediaeval Section, LORD MONSON presided, and
MR. KEMBLE delivered an address, of great interest, on Runic characters,
illustrated by alphabets, copies of inscriptions from pillars, crosses, monu-
mental stones, swords, and other relics. MR. TROLLOPE exhibited a curious
comb, found in an excavation made in St. Mary's Parish; Runic characters
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING. xvii
were inscribed on it, which Mr. Kemble decyphered, and he stated that its
reading was, “Thorfutt makes a good comb,” a fresh indication of the
frequent commercial intercourse of the Northmen with Lincoln, of which
so many curious vestiges have enriched Mr. Trollope's Museum.
Thursday was chiefly devoted to an Excursion to visit the venerable
Church of Stow. After examining that ancient fabric, with its vestiges of
Saxon work, a numerous party found a hearty welcome at Sir Charles
Anderson's hospitable mansion, at Lea Hall. From thence they pro-
ceeded to Gainsborough, and visited the interesting remains of the
“Old Hall; ” portions of this venerable pile are considered to be as old as
the reign of Stephen, but the principal building is stated to have been com-
menced by Richard de Gaynesburgh, at the latter end of the 14th century.
He was then a mason of great repute, employed on the works of Lincoln
Cathedral; the west wing was added by Sir Thomas Burgh, temp. Hen.VII.,
and the east wing by the Hickman family, in 1600, as shown by a
dial with that date, the initials W. H., and the legend, “Deus mi ut
umbra sic vita.” Since the year 1760 this fine old pile has been converted
to all kinds of unworthy purposes, and it is now in a most neglected
state. From Gainsborough the excursionists returned by way of Torksey,
a site rendered memorable as the place where Blecca, the Saxon Governor
of Lincoln, was converted to Christianity and baptised. “Torchesey” had
102 “mansiones” at the time of the Domesday survey. Some ruins of the
Castle still remain, and there is a ferry over the Trent at the spot.
At the Historical Section, in the morning, the account of the “Gentle-
men's Society of Spalding,” by DR. MooRE, was read, (see page 82). In the
evening, at eight, SIR CHARLES ANDERSON presided in the Architectural
Section, when the REv. C. H. HARTSHORNE read a Memoir on Lincoln
Castle. MR. E. SHARPE gave a lecture on the different forms and arrange-
ments of tracery in windows, of the pointed styles of architecture, and
suggested hints for a more perfect momenclature than that in general use;
this lecture was illustrated by a large number of beautiful designs.
MR. PETIT read his account of the Minster at Southwell (see page 197);
illustrated, also, by a number of very admirable drawings.
On Friday morning more than 200 persons set off, by special train, to
visit Newark, Southwell Minster, and Wollaton Hall, near Nottingham.
At that magnificent mansion, the noble owner, Lord Willoughby, had
made the most hospitable preparations for the entertainment of his
numerous guests, and had arranged, with great kindness, every facility for
their gratification. A special train brought the party back to Lincoln, in
time to attend the Soirée given, in the most liberal manner, by the
Mayor and Corporation of Lincoln, to the Members of the Institute and
Visitors attending the meeting. The whole suite of the Assembly Rooms
was brilliantly illuminated, the Temporary Museum was thrown open, and
a band of music enlivened the scene. Upwards of 400 persons were
present at this most agreeable entertainment.
On Saturday morning the lovers of excursions were again on the
alert, and a large number started on the unopened line of Railway to-
wards Boston, by a special train, which had been liberally supplied by
b
xviii PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING.
the Directors of the Great Northern Railway, who conveyed the party to
and from Tattershall, and also very hospitably entertained them at luncheon.
By means of this seasonable facility a large party were enabled to visit the
remarkable Castle of Tattershall, an edifice of brick-work, 150 feet high, of
Perpendicular Style, on an oblong plan, with octagonal turrets at the corners;
it was erected about 1440; the summit is boldly machicolated. Gough has
given an account of this building; (Sep. Mon., vol. ii., pt. ii., p. 101). The
Church of the Holy Trinity, a cruciform edifice of late Perpendicular date,
was inspected; as were also the fine ruins of Kirkstead Abbey, founded
in 1139.
In Lincoln, during the morning, SIR CHARLES ANDERSON presided at a
meeting of the Architectural Section, when the REv. C. H. HARTSHORNE
read a paper on the Palace and Parliaments at Clipstone (see page 45),
after which MR. C. TUCKER read an elaborate account of the fine Church of
Heckington, communicated by MR. LEWIN of Boston, accompanied by a series
of admirable drawings illustrative of its beauties and peculiarities. It is a
fine example of Decorated work, of the early part of the 14th century, with a
tower and spire at the west end, a south porch, nave, with north and South
aisles, north and south transepts, and a chancel. In this church the
“Easter Sepulchre” remains entire, in its original position, and has been
justly celebrated for the beauty of its design and excellence of workman-
ship. The Founder's Tomb remains in the north wall of the chancel;
and in some of the windows still exists the appropriate motto — “The
Lord love De Gaunt,” in commemoration of members of that family who
were large contributors to the building. The MARQUIs OF NoFTHAMPTON
remarked that the noble east window appeared to present an exact resem-
blance to that of the Abbey Church at Selby, Yorkshire, and inquired of
Mr. Sharpe whether the mouldings, as well as the design, were similar 2
MR. SHARPE stated, that in the general arrangement, as well as some of the
mouldings, there was perfect identity, but there were differences in detail.
Sir Charles Anderson having quitted the chair, it was taken by the
Marquis of Northampton, who presided over the Historical Section in the
absence of Mr. Hallam. MR. KEMBLE read a highly interesting paper on the
“Rights of Royalty in England previous to the Norman Conquest,”
which excited very great interest in his audience, and which we hope
will be given to the public hereafter by the learned author. M.R.C..TUCKER
then read a memoir, communicated by the REv. C. BIOIs TURNER, of
Halesworth, Suffolk, describing an interview between Sir Edward Lake
and King Charles I., after the Battle of Edge Hill, (see page 190);
Dr. Lake, afterwards Sir Edward, is interred in Lincoln Cathedral; the
memoir was accompanied by a copy of the docket, by which the King
granted the dignity of a Baronet, and also the power to make a Baronet, and
an augmentation to the coat-armour of Sir Edward, in recognition of his
services. MR. HunTER inquired whether this were the same Edward Lake
who had left some curious Biographical Memoranda, containing information
as to the Court of Charles I.; with respect to the power granted to
Sir Edward Lake to create a Baronet, that was not an uncommon expedient,
and was resorted to both by Charles I. and II., to reward persons who had
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING. xix
rendered services to the Crown; he thought the power had on some occasions
been questioned by Parliament. MR. J. Gough NICHOLs believed the
writer alluded to was not the same person as Sir Edward Lake referred
to in the memoir.
MR. TUCKER afterwards read a paper, communicated by MR. BooDE, of
Lincoln, on the Philosophical Remains of Bishop Grossetête (see page 189).
In the evening, at eight, the MARQUIs of NoFTHAMPTON presided at a
Meeting of the Early and Mediaeval Section; the REv. F. C. MASSINGBERD
read a curious account of the peculiar locality in Lincoln known as the
“Grecian Stairs,” (see page 58). A very crowded audience had assembled
when JoHN BRITTON, Esq., whom the Noble Marquis introduced as the
“Patriarch of British Archaeology,” addressed the meeting.
Mr. BRITTON expressed the high gratification which he felt in responding
to the invitation of the Noble Marquis, and bearing his testimony to the
importance and interest of Archaeological inquiries. He adverted to his
last visit to the ancient city of Lincoln, nearly half a century since, when
the name even of archaeology was unknown; and he compared the
state of public interest in the subject, at the period when he first
engaged in the illustration of national antiquities, with that of the
present age. He regarded with most lively satisfaction the numerous con-
course around him, comprising so many accomplished and zealous votaries
of the science, to which, long almost a solitary labourer in the field, he had
devoted the energies of so many years. Mr. Britton cordially commended
the beneficial influence exercised by societies like the Institute, in diffusing
taste and Sound information; he alluded to the satisfaction which he had
derived from the profound knowledge and skill so eloquently displayed by
Professor Willis, in illustrating the Architectural Histories of various
cathedrals, and he desired to record his lively sense of the value of labours,
which few, perhaps, could more fully appreciate than himself.
After this the Marquis delivered an admirable Address to the Members
of the Mechanics' Institute of Lincoln, who were present, by special
invitation, in order that they might inspect the Museum. He was followed
by SIR CHARLES ANDERson, who spoke, shortly, on the liberality of the
members of the Institute in inviting them, and of the kindness with which
the curators had consented to explain all matters of archaeological interest
which might excite their attention. The numerous visitors then proceeded
to the Museum, and were engaged until a late hour in examining the
invaluable collection of objects, there brought together, illustrative of the
manners and customs, habits of life, and curious vestiges of the inhabitants
of Lincoln and the surrounding country, in early and mediaeval times, as
well as the extensive collection derived from distant places and from public
establishments, especially the fine series of arms and armour from the Tower
of London, supplied by the liberal permission of the Honorable the Board
of Ordnance.
On Monday, the 31st July, the MARQUIs of NoFTHAMPTON took the
chair of the Early and Mediaeval Section, at ten, when the attendance was
scarcely less numerous than on any former day; a paper on the Mint of
Lincoln, and subjects connected therewith, from time to time discovered
b 2
XX. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING.
in the city, was read by MR, HAWKINS, (see page 49), and a discussion
took place between MR. J. M. KEMBLE and Mr. HAWKINS as to the proofs
which could be brought forward of an Anglo-Saxon Mint at Lincoln.
MR. TALBOT read a memoir on the peculiarity of style exhibited in the
architecture of the Chapel of Chesterblade, in Somersetshire; and the
DEAN OF HEREFORD made some observations on a richly ornamented Cross
recently found at West Farleigh, Kent, and a Processional Cross, found
concealed in the tower of Hereford Cathedral; drawings of both were
exhibited by the Dean. In the Historical Section LoRD MONSON delivered
his highly interesting account of the feuds of the chief Lincolnshire
families in early times, (see this admirable memoir, page 65). This was
succeeded by a paper on the Earls of Lincoln, read by MR. JoHN GOUGH
Nichols, illustrated by numerous representations of early Seals, which he
exhibited, (see page 253).
MR. E. J. WILLSON then gave a curious detailed account of the sickness
and death of Queen Eleanor, who died at Hardby, in Lincolnshire, having
been removed thither from Clipstone, in Sherwood Forest, where the King
had convened a Parliament, 1290. Hardby is seven miles from Lincoln.
The Queen died on the 28th November; the corpse was embalmed, and the
bowels buried in the Lady Chapel, at the east end of Lincoln Cathedral;
the tomb was remaining in Dugdale's time, with a recumbent effigy, which
is stated to have been of gilt metal, resembling that still preserved in
Westminster Abbey, whither the Royal body was conveyed for interment.
Mr. Willson added an interesting account of the progress of the cortège,
and of the several monumental crosses erected at the stations at which the
procession halted. MR. HUNTER, in the course of a conversation relative
to some observations offered by Mr. Willson, observed, that at an auction
lately held in London, a record of the Household Expenses of Queen
Eleanor had been offered for sale, and was purchased by a private individual,
having, by a few pounds, exceeded the offer of the representative of the
National Collection at the British Museum. He remarked that it was
exceedingly to be regretted that MSS. of such interest for the elucidation
of national history should pass into private collections; and, indeed, it was
a matter of surprise that such documents should have been found at a
public sale ; he stated, in reply to a question from LORD NORTHAMPTON,
that both the seller and the buyer preserved a mysterious incognito.
Thanks were then, severally, proposed to The Lord Monson, Mr. Hawkins,
the Dean of Hereford, Mr. J. Gough Nichols, and Mr. E. J. Willson, for
these valuable communications. The Section closed; and the Marquis of
Northampton retired, his place being forthwith occupied by the Earl
Brownlow, who then took the chair to preside at the concluding General
Meeting.
The NoHLE PRESIDENT expressed his regret that the conclusion of the
business of the meeting had arrived; all the papers received, with one
exception, had been read, and he regretted there had not been time for that
communication. DR. THURNAM had prepared it with considerable care, and
had brought the curious remains, with which he had intended to illustrate it,
from York, at considerable risk and expense. He believed, however, that the
TROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING. xxi
members would not lose this memoir, as it would be read by Dr. Thurnam
at one of the monthly meetings, in London, during the ensuing Session of
the Institute." His Lordship added, that he felt assured the proceedings of
the meeting had afforded the greatest gratification and pleasure to all who
had taken a part in them, and he thought it might be fairly anticipated
that the volume of Lincoln Transactions would be superior even to those
preceding it. He then called on the Hon. Secretary to read the Report.
MR. C. TUCKER regretted, that, in consequence of the serious illness of
MR. HUDSON TURNER, and the unexpected absence of MR. CUNNINGHAM,
the Report had not been completed with the care and detail, customary
on former occasions. He mentioned the progress that the Institute
had made during the past year; successful as had been the meeting at
Norwich, he believed, that all who had been present at both, would
admit that the Lincoln meeting had been more numerously attended, the
papers of much higher interest, and the Museum the best that had, as
yet, been formed. The gratifying assurance had been thus afforded that
the science of Archaeology was gradually, but firmly, gaining ground in
public estimation; and as a proof, he added, that the Committee had received
pressing invitations from the cities of Salisbury, Oxford, Hereford, Chichester,
Peterborough, and from other places, that the future meetings might be
held within their walls. The Committee desired to recommend Salisbury
as the place of meeting for 1849. Mr. Tucker then added a Report of
the Finances of the Institute, showing, that, in the past year, the Receipts
had been 856l. 15s. 11d., and the Disbursements 746l. 17s. 8d., including
a sum of 80l. 14s. 3d., which it was probable might be lost, through the
failure of the Bankers, Messrs. Cockburn. The PRESIDENT moved the
adoption of the Report, which was agreed to, unanimously.
It was then announced that the following Gentlemen had been selected
by the Central Committee, to go out of office according to the customary
practice:—
Vice-President.—SIR PHILIP DE MALPAS GREY EGERTON, BART., M.P., F.R.S.
Members of the Central Committee.
EDWARD BLORE, ESQ., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A.
THE VERY REV. THE DEAN of MANCHESTER.
WILLIAM BROMET, ESQ., M.D., F.S.A.
ANDREW LAWSON, ESQ.
CHARLES NEWTON, ESQ., M.A.
HENRY REEVE, Esq., of Her Majesty's Privy Council Office.
And that the following Gentlemen had been nominated to fill up the
vacancies:—
Vice-President.—SIR JoHN P. BoILEAU, BART., F.R.S.
Members of the Central Committee.
CHARLEs R. CocKERELL, Esq., Professor of Architecture, Royal Academy.
M. RoHDE HAWKINS, ESQ.
JoHN MITCHELL KEMBLE, Esq., M.A., Secretary to the English Historical
Society.
THE REV. #ssay MACKENZIE, M.A., Rector of St. Martin's in the Fields.
CHARLES WINSTON, ESQ., Barrister-at-Law.
DIGBY WYATT, Esq.
* This Paper has since been published in vol. vi. of the Archaeological Journal.
xxii PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING.
The following Gentlemen were also proposed as AUDITORS for the year
1848 :—
CHARLES FREDERICK BABNWELL, Esq., F.S.A.
WESTON STYLEMAN WALFORD, ESQ., Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law.
The list having been submitted to the Meeting, was adopted unanimously.
It was then proposed that the Annual Meeting for the ensuing year
should be held in the City of Salisbury; and this motion having been
carried unanimously, it was intimated that the RIGHT HON. SIDNEY
HERBERT had kindly signified his assent to preside over the Meeting of
the Institute in Wiltshire.
In reply to a question, Mr. Tucker stated, that possibly the Institute would
visit Oxford in 1850; the decision would rest with the meeting to be held
at Salisbury, in 1849. The DEAN OF HEREFORD hoped that the interesting
Cathedral, over which he had the honour to preside, would not be forgotten,
and observed that there were a great many objects worthy of examination in
Hereford and its vicinity. The MARQUIs oF NoFTHAMPTON put in a claim
for the Cathedral of Peterborough, and suggested that Durham was a place
to which early attention should be directed.
The NoHLE MARQUIs then moved, prefaced by a few very apposite
observations, “That the warmest thanks of this Assembly be given to
Earl Brownlow, President of the Meeting, for his valuable exertions and
kind encouragement of the efforts of the Institute on the present occasion.”
This having been carried, by acclamation, the NoHLE PRESIDENT expressed
the satisfaction he had derived from the opportunity which had now been
afforded to him, of participating in their proceedings, and evincing his
cordial interest in the promotion of Archaeological Science. He hoped
that his health might permit him, as it would be his duty and desire,
to be present at Salisbury, to resign the office he now held to Mr. Sidney
Herbert, who had been selected as his successor. He felt much indebted
to the Meeting for the kind manner in which they had expressed their
approval of his exertions.
LORD MONSON then rose, and said it was a pleasing duty to move the
next resolution;—“That the cordial thanks of the Meeting be expressed
to the Lord Bishop of Lincoln, as Patron on this occasion, for the sanction
and support which he had given to the proceedings.” The character of
the Right Rev. Prelate must be esteemed by every one who had the pleasure
of knowing him; his courtesy and amenity must have been felt by all who
had attended the meeting, and having himself the pleasure to reside in his
Lordship’s immediate neighbourhood, he had the more cause to appreciate
his excellent qualities.
The BISHOP OF LINGoLN believed his noble friend had paid him an
undeserved compliment; the expressions for which he was indebted to
Lord Monson's kindness, and which had called forth the warm applause of
the Meeting, might, he felt, have too highly commended the services which
he had been enabled to render to the Society on the present occasion.
He most heartily thanked his Lordship and the Meeting at large.
MR. J. M. KEMBLE said, he accepted the duty of proposing the next
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING. xxiii
vote with much pleasure, as he felt, what all must feel, that no branch
of the Institutions of our Country deserved more respect, and, indeed,
more generally enjoyed our esteem, love, and admiration, than the
Clergy of our native land. Certainly there could be no place more proper
to give expression to those feelings than that in which the meeting was
then assembled, under the shadow of so noble a Cathedral. Of that
glorious edifice it must be remembered that the Dean and Chapter were
the guardians and trustees; he, therefore, proposed, “That the thanks of
the Meeting be given to the Dean, the Precentor and Chapter of the
Cathedral Church of Lincoln, and to the Archdeacon and Clergy of the
Diocese, for the facilities afforded in the examination of the Minster, and
for their hospitality and friendly encouragement.”
The DEAN OF LINCOLN said, the authorities of the Cathedral were
much gratified when they heard that the Archaeological Institute pro-
posed to visit Lincoln; and he could now say, with truth, that all their
anticipations had been fully realised. They had had the pleasure of
meeting many valued friends, and of seeing many, who although personally
unknown to them, are known over the world by distinguished scientific or
literary attainments. They had received many valuable hints as to their
Cathedral, by which they hoped to profit; they feared it was not likely that
the Institute would soon honour them with another visit, but if any section
of the Society, or any individual members came amongst them, they might
depend on a hearty welcome, and earnest endeavours to aid them in any
Scientific object they might have in view.
ANDREW LAWSON, Esq., in terms of well merited eulogy, then moved,
“That the thanks of the Meeting be tendered to the Mayor and Cor.
poration of Lincoln, for their liberal hospitality, and for the gratification
which they had afforded to the Members of the Institute and the Visitors
here assembled.” The MAYOR cordially acknowledged the compliment.
LORD ALWYNE COMPTON moved, “That thanks be cordially returned to
the Vice Presidents of the meeting, to the High Sheriff of the County, the
Duke of St. Alban's, the Earl Yarborough, the Wiscount Alford, and the
Nobility and Gentry of the County and City of Lincoln, for their coun-
tenance and friendly support.” The DEAN OF HEREFORD seconded this
resolution, and said, that, as a stranger, it did not become him to expatiate
on the merits of the several personages, but there was one individual he
might well take occasion to mention, as it was to him the Institute were
mainly indebted for their visit to Lincoln, he meant Sir Charles Anderson.
He felt sure that the mention of his name would excite enthusiasm; and let
it be remembered, that in the publication of a Guide to the localities which
they had lately visited, that gentleman had done good service to their
object. It was gratifying to find the taste for archaeology springing up in
the country and pervading it generally, and more especially taking firm
root in every district that the Institute had visited,
LORD MONSON returned thanks, cordially expressing his kind feeling to
the Society.
The PRESIDENT then moved, “That the humble thanks of this Meeting
be tendered to Her Majesty the Queen, for her most gracious permission
xxiv. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING.
to exhibit in the Museum the golden Torc, one of the most precious
relics of ancient art ever brought to light in these Kingdoms.” The MAYoR
of LINcolN seconded the resolution, which was carried by acclamation.
The HoN. E. L. MELVILLE then proposed, “That the hearty acknow-
ledgments of this Meeting be returned to the Honorable the Board of
Ordnance, for their liberal permission to select for exhibition a choice series
of examples from the National Armory in the Tower; to the High Sheriff
of Lincolnshire; to the Honorable the Queen's Champion; the President
and Members of the Gentlemen's Society of Spalding; the Lincolnshire
Architectural Society; and to all those persons whose liberal contributions
to the Museum had so essentially augmented the gratification of the
meeting.”
The BISHOP OF LINCOLN said, that when invited, last year, to become
the Patron of the meeting, he had consented upon condition that he
should be spectator and listener only; but he had been now called upon to
move a resolution, and certainly, if he had to propose any on the
present occasion, there was none he could have greater pleasure in
submitting to the meeting;-“That thanks be given to the Presidents and
Vice-Presidents of the Sections during the present meeting, especially
to The Lord Monson, Mr. Hallam, the Rev. Francis Massingberd,
and the Dean of Westminster; to the Members of Committees; and to
all who had given their friendly cooperation on this occasion.” His
Lordship expressed regret that engagements had prevented his being
present when Lord Monson read his interesting paper connected with the
history of their county; he trusted that his Lordship would be enabled
to complete that most desirable work, for which he had many years been
collecting materials—a good County History—it was scarcely credible
that so large a county, historically so full of interest, should be without
such a record. Mr. Hallam's name was known to all, he possessed all the
qualifications to constitute an accomplished historian. He thought the public
were much indebted to Mr. Massingberd for a history of the Reformation,
the careful perusal of which he would recommend to all who felt an
interest in that momentous event, as a work devoid of party spirit,
which had marred so many otherwise good ecclesiastical histories. The
next name, that of the Dean of Westminster, was well known, not only
in this Country, since he enjoyed an European reputation; he had highly
gratified and instructed them much during the meeting, as an Archaeologist
as well as a Geologist.
The DEAN of LINcoLN seconded the resolution, observing, that he could
add nothing to the well-merited praise which his Lordship had bestowed
on the distinguished persons named in it.
MR. MASSINGBERD returned thanks. He heartily concurred in the objects
of the Institute, and felt gratified if it had been in his power, in any way,
to advance them on the present occasion.
The MARQUIs of NoFTHAMPTON said, he had a resolution to move,
which he was sure the Meeting would receive with as much pleasure as he
felt in proposing it;-“That the cordial thanks be given to Lord
Middleton, Sir Charles Anderson, the Archdeacon of Nottingham,
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING. XXV
Mr. Chaplin, the Magistrates of the County, the Directors of the Railways,
and all whose hospitality, welcome, or liberality in affording facilities for
the Excursions and other arrangements, had contributed to the successful
issue of the Meeting.” His Lordship observed the resolution was long,
but this arose from the extreme liberality and kindness that every one had
shown to them; he briefly alluded to the entertainment at Wollaton, and
the hospitalities at Sir Charles Anderson's : he mentioned that gentleman
that he might again hear his voice; they had often heard it with pleasure,
but at no time more so, than when, at York, Sir Charles first invited the
Institute to come to Lincoln.
SIR CHARLES ANDERSON acknowledged the compliment. MR HAWKINS
then moved, “That the warmest thanks of the Institute be given to the
Lincoln Local Committee; to the Worshipful the Mayor, their Chairman,
and their Secretary, Mr. Carline; for their zealous and valuable assistance
in preliminary arrangements; to the President and Council of the
Mechanics' Institute; the Trustees of the City Library; the Curators of
the Public Records of the Church and Diocese, Mr. Swan and Mr. Smith;
for facilities of access and attentions obligingly rendered on this occasion.”
He remarked, how warmly and cordially all the members of the Institute
felt the assistance rendered to them, and which they most fully appreciated.
MR. ALBERT WAY seconded this resolution, and said, that however
much they might appreciate all the kindnesses his friend Mr. Hawkins
had enumerated, there was one other feature of this meeting, which had
shed additional lustre on their proceedings, and thrown a charm and
grace over them unknown on former occasions. It had been most grati-
fying to perceive how many ladies had followed the bright example of
Her Most Gracious Majesty (by whose permission so precious a relic of
Early British times had enriched the Museum) in the encouragement of
archaeological inquiries; their presence had cheered and crowned with success
proceedings hitherto accounted by some dull and unattractive. He would,
therefore, beg permission to propose “The most cordial thanks of the
Meeting to the Countess Brownlow and the Ladies of Lincolnshire.”
The NoHLE PRESIDENT, having put the two last resolutions, they were,
like those which had preceded them, carried unanimously, amidst hearty
acclamations. The business of the meeting having been concluded, the
President retired; a large number of those present then repaired to the
Museum to take a farewell inspection of the treasures there collected.
DONATIONS.
-->-
The following list comprises the Donations towards the Local Expenses and General
Purposes of the Institute, on the occasion of the Lincoln Meeting.
THE EARL BROWNLow, President . tº tº º º
THE MARQUIs of NoFTHAMPTON (for the Lincoln Volume).
THE LORD BISHOP of LINCOLN, Patron of the Meeting
RICHARD ELLISON, Esq., High Sheriff (Lincoln Volume)
SIR. RICHARD WESTMACOTT tº º ſº gº
MRs. TRoDLOPE (Lincoln Volume)
THE WEN. THE ARCHDEACON OF LINCOLN
THE REV. PROFESSOR WILLIS
RICHARD CARLINE, Esq.
J. BAILEY LANGHORNE, Esq.
JoBN HAYWARD, Esq. e tº e
ALBERT WAY, Esq. (Lincoln Volume) .
CoNTRIBUTIONs, by J. Drew, Esq.
36
15
10
I
0
I
CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES,
EXHIBITED IN THE MUSEUM FORMED DURING THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, HELD AT LINCOLN, IN JULY, 1848.
ANTIQUITIES BROUGHT FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES, COMPRISING
ANCIENT REMAINS, EGYPTIAN, ETRUSCAN, GREEK, or ROMAN,
|NOT CONNECTED WITH BRITAIN.
A Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, comprising figures and ornaments of
bronze and porcelain, scarabaei, necklaces, alabaster vessels, a singular fictile
vessel of yellowish-red ware, from Thebes, with one handle (the form much
elongated in proportion to its diameter), amulets, and other remains. Also, a
small vessel, or unguentary, formed of a kind of steatite, from Athens.—The
Rev. Edwin G. Jarvis, Vicar of Hackthorn.
Scarabaeus, from the tomb of the Egyptian Kings, within the Great Pyramid of
Gizeh.— Mr. A. S. Melville.
Fictile vessel, brought from Egypt, about 1802, by the Hon. Capt. Courtney
Boyle, and stated to have been found in one of the Pyramids. It is of greenish-
grey ware, formed, apparently, to serve as a kind of dredger, having, a few inches
below the mouth, a false bottom, with many perforations; and at the bottom
there is a hole, as if to put in flour, or any like substance. There is one small
handle. Height, 94 in. ; width of mouth, 3} in.*—Rev. John Wilson.
Three Etruscan vases, from the Collection at Sudbrook, Holme, one of very
beautiful form, resembling that of a glass vase, from Agrigentum, exhibited by
Lord Northampton; another being a vase, with two handles, of elegant design.
—Richard Ellison, Esq. -
Antique fictile lamps, two of them remarkable as bearing Christian emblems.
An exquisite glass vase, from Agrigentum, and specimens of glass, from excavations
at Nola.-The Marquis of Northampton.
A bronze fibula, of the bow-shaped type, the curved portion very much dilated,
and hollow ; ornamented with striae and the little concentric circles, of frequent
occurrence both on Roman and British objects of metal or bone. Montfaucon
gives several examples of this peculiar type: Antiqu. Expl., Tom. III., pl.xxviii.
Length, about 4 inches. Purchased at Perugia.-Rev. Edwin G. Jarvis, -
Terra-cotta lamp, dug up at Tivoli, about 1820. There is nothing remarkable
in its form, but it deserves notice on account of the words—AVE NERON
stamped upon the base.—Bev. John Wilson.
* It bears some resemblance in form to that of the Egyptian Wase, Brongniart, Traité,
pl. xxii., fig. 8.
xxviii CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
EARLY BRITISH ANTIQUITIES, ROMAN ANTIQUITIES DISCOVERED IN
GREAT BRITAIN, AND ROMANO-BRITISH ANTIQUITIES.
AN arrow-head, of white silex, found on Manton Common, near Brigg, Lindsey,
and a stone axe-head, of the early British period, found near Lincoln.
Mr. E. J. Wºllson.
A bronze celt, found in North Lincolnshire.—Miss Ellen Slater.
Eleven bronze celts, of various forms, part of a collection discovered in the
river Witham, near Lincoln.*—Mr. E. J. Willson.
Bronze celt, found at West Ashby, near Horncastle, Lincolnshire.
Rev. W. M. Pierse.
A bronze celt-mould, found in Washingboro’ Fen, near Lincoln, and a celt of
the same metal.—Mr. Edward Betham.
A bronze spear-head, with the jaw of a boar, found four feet below the surface,
in Potter Hanworth Fen, in 1841.-Mr. W. Brown, of Bardney.
Three bronze swords, found near the Witham, at Washingborough.
Mr. E. L. Betts.
A bronze sword, found in the river Witham. The hilt is of bronze, formed
with two volutes, resembling some discovered in the north of Europe, as also
the bronze swords found at Heilly, near Corbie, and at other places in France :
(Encycl. Method. Recueil d'Antiquités, pl. lxix., texte, p. 29; Worsaae's Primeval
Antiquities of Denmark, edit. by Mr. Thoms, p. 28.)—Mr. E. J. Willson.
Two bronze swords, found in dredging in the river Thames.
Mr. Robert Porrett, F.S.A.
An unique object of bronze, a kind of chisel, found in a tumulus at Pitcur, co.
Fife. (See woodcuts.)—The Hon. J. Talbot.
An inscribed tablet, discovered in 1849, in Monson Street, Lincoln. The spot
appeared to have been a cemetery in Roman times; and the tablet, with other
remains, was found broken (as supposed) intentionally, and thrown into a cavity
in the soil. They lay about 8 feet beneath the surface. The inscription has been
read thus:– “Titus Waerius Titi filius Claudia (tribu) Pudens Savia miles
Legionis II. Augustae pia, fidelis Centuriae Dessenni Proculi. Annos XXX.
AEra ... II. . de sua pecunia, hic situs est.”—Mr. Arthur Trollope.
Sepulchral tablet, found on the side of the river Witham, towards Saxelby,
Lincolnshire. The inscription has been thus readt :—
* L Q M +
C L A V D I A E
C R IS ID I
V IX IT +
A N + L X X
H E R E D E
* P + C
X X
S +
2k
Exhibited by Col. Sibthorp, M.P.
Roman sculptures and dedicatory inscription, discovered at Ancaster, Lincoln.
shire (possibly the cAvsHNNAE of the Itinerary), about the year 1838. These
interesting remains consist of a representation of the Deae Matres, found, with a
* Some specimens of this collection were kindly presented to the Institute by Mr. Willson,
at the close of the meeting.
+ The ivy-leaf, frequently introduced in Roman inscriptions, is here represented by an *.
ANTIQUITIES EXHIBITED IN THE MUSEUM OF THE INSTITUTE AT LINCOLN.
Unique bronze implement, found in a tumulus near Pitcur, N. Britain.
Exhibited by the Hon. James Talbot,
(Length of orig. 73 in. Catal.,p. xxviii.)
Urr, found in the centre of the burial-place at Larnel Hill, near York.
(Height and greatest breadth, about 12% in.)
Exhibited by Dr. Thurnam.
13-3
Bone skates found at Lincoln.
Exhibited by Arthur Trollope, Esq.
(Museum Catal., p. xxxii.)



ROMAN REMAINS, FOUND AT ANCASTER (CAUSENNAE), IN LINCOINSHIRE.
Museum of the Institute, at Lincoln.
Altar, inscribed slab, and rude sculpture representing the Deae Matres.
Exhibited by the Rev. Z. S. Warren.
(Catalogue of Lincoln Museum p. xxix.)

CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. xxix
short column, an altar, and considerable remains of a basement or foundations of
stone, in digging a grave in the churchyard at that place, on the south side of the
church. The altar has a focus on the top, the praefericulum and patera on one
side, and, on the other, a hand grasping a ring. The inscription was discovered
on the north side of the village, very near the surface; with fragments of Roman
pottery, bones, and other remains. (See the annexed Illustrations.) It may be
thus read:—
IMP. C. FL. WAL. CONSTANTINO
P. F. INV. AVG. DIVI CONSTANTI.
PII AVG. FILIO.
(Imperatori Caesari Flavio Valerio Constantino Pio Felici Invicto Augusto Divi
Constantii Pii Augusti Filio.) Constantine the Great, eldest son of Constantius
Chlorus, who died at York, A. D. 306, then assumed the title of Caesar, and received
that of Augustus in 308. He died in May, 337.*
The CAUSENNAE of the Fifth Iter, between Durobrávae and Lindum, is placed
by Horsley at Ancaster; but Reynolds considered the site to be at Boston.f
The Rev. Z. S. Warren, Vicar of Ancaster.
Various ancient relics, found at Holywell Hall, Lincolnshire; comprising a
ring-fibula, of bronze, ornamented with little impressed circles, and possibly of
Anglo-Roman date; a bead, of reddish-coloured agate, found in anaged tree; a small
vase, of fine grey ware; a bronze scale, for weighing; a bronze armilla, the edge
indented, resembling those found, with Roman remains, in Cadbury Camp, Devon.
(Arch. Journ., Vol. V., p. 193.) It was found at Careby, Lincolnshire. Also, a
few Roman coins, from the same neighbourhood.—Rev. J. B. Reynardson.
Bronze armillae, rings, pins, &c., rings of jet or anthracite, signet-ring set with
a fictitious gem, bearing a singular device; fragments of urns, and various remains
of late Roman times, discovered in a shaft or ancient well, in Cadbury Camp,
Devon, excavated in 1848. (See Arch. Journ, Vol. W., p. 193.)
Mr. Charles Tucker.
A bronze Roman lamp, in the form of a dragon; found in Lincoln, with a sepul-
chral inscription to the memory of Sempronius Flavinius. Two cinerary urns, of
the Roman period, found at Boultham, near Lincoln.-The Mechanics’ Institute,
at Lincoln.
Romano-British cinerary urns, found at Lincoln. (Presented to the Institute.)
—Mr. Frischney.
An extensive and valuable assemblage of ornaments and remains of the Anglo-
Roman age, discovered in recent excavations at Lincoln ; comprising, especially,
some bronze ornaments, inlaid with white metal, curious relics formed of bone,
jet, &c., with a very instructive series illustrating the progress of Fictile manu-
factures and the productions of the figuli of LINDUM.— Mr. Arthur Trollope.
Roundel, or tessera, of bone, ornamented with small impressed circles; found,
with Roman remains, in the High-street, Lincoln. Possibly a piece used in some
game resembling draughts; its date questionable.—Mr. Philip W. Brockedon.
Two similar roundels, of bone, found, with Roman remains, at Caerleon.
Mr. John E. Lee.
A bronze figure, of diminutive size, or lar, representing Minerva; discovered at
Dene, in Northamptonshire.—The Ven. the Archdeacon of Lincoln.
A small bronze figure of Mercury, found at Pierse Bridge, Durham (AD TISAM).
See Archaeologia, Vol. IX., pl. xix., p. 289.-Mr. J. G. Wichols.
* Compare the dedicatory inscriptions to Constantine. Horsley, Westmoreland, No. 2;
Northumberland, No. 81.
+ Camden considered Ancaster to be the Crococolana of Iter VI., and speaks of Roman
remains there: ed. Gough, vol. ii., pp. 335, 358. See Stukeley’s Notices of Ancaster, Itin.
Cur. p. 81, and Horsley, p. 433; Reynolds, Iter Britann., p. 261.
XXX CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
Two bronze skillets, found in 1845, in Arnagill, near Swinton, Yorkshire, and
preserved in the Museum at Swinton Park. On the handle of one of them is repre-
sented a thyrsus. (See the annexed representations.)—Mr. Charles Tucker.
Roman, or Romano-British remains, found near the East Gate, Lincoln, com-
prising various fibulae, a bronze bell, pins and ornaments of bronze, &c.; also,
armillae of bronze, found on the arm-bone of a young female interred in a singular
tomb formed of tiles of Roman fabrication, discovered in the grounds adjoining
to the residence of Mr. Dudding.—Mr. John Dudding, Lincoln.
A beautiful example of enamelled work of the Romano-British age, a bronze
fibula, found in Lincolnshire.—Miss Ellen Slater.
Another enamelled bronze fibula, of the same period, of very elegant form,
found in Lincoln.—Mr. E. J. Willson.
Roman fibulae and ornaments, of the same rare character as the last, of enamelled
bronze, the cavities for the enamel chased out on the surface of the metal, as in
the champ-levé process of the twelfth century. Discovered at Caerleon, South
Wales.—Mr. º and Mr. J. E. Lee, of ºriº
Specimens of tessellated pavement, found in 1846, during excavations for the
erection of the New County Jail, within the precincts of the Castle, at Lincoln;
also, various specimens of glass, probably of the Roman period, found in Lincoln.
Mr. Arthur Trollope.
Portion of tessellated pavement, found in the Castle, at Lincoln, in 1846; a
specimen of Roman tile, with one of the metal fastenings used therewith, found
at Lincoln, in 1848; and a specimen of Roman concrete, with a stratum of yellow
cement, obtained in a cutting through the ancient via, in the High-street, Lincoln.
Also, seven beads, of coloured vitreous paste, found in Lincoln; a brass pyx, of
unknown use (see Woodcuts), fragments of “Samian º' found with it, and other
remains.—Mr. Philip W. Brockedon.
Portion of an ancient conduit, for the supply of water to the Roman city of
Lindum ; found in forming the New Road, Lincoln. A curious account of former
discoveries of this nature at Lincoln, with illustrations, may be found in Cam-
den's Britannia, ed. Gough, Vol. ii., p. 366.—The Rev. C. C. Beatty Pownall.
Fictile vessels, specimens of “Samian,” and Anglo-Roman ware, of great
variety of form and fabrication, comprising many examples of interest, wholly
collected during recent excavations in and around the city of Lincoln. This series
was very remarkable on account of its instructive and varied character. Amongst
the potters’ stamps may be noticed on fragments of Samian,—MACRIANI. M.–
..NDECENIM—vocEw F (?)—ATILIANI M-VXoPIII. M.–SExTws F—PEcVLIARIs F—
MAIAvoni—M BVCIAN1–TITV..o..(?) Diviz.F., also osAsFR, on the broken handle of
an amphora or dolium,_solivs F. on a vessel of pale red ware, and—Lv. L.E. on
a large wall tile.—Mr. Arthur Trollope.
Specimens of ancient pottery, chiefly of Anglo-Roman fabrication, cinerary urns,
and a few examples of “Samian,” found near the East Gate, Lincoln; also, a
Roman wall-tile, with other vestiges of the same age.—Mr. J. Dudding.
Several interesting specimens of ancient pottery, found in Lincoln.
Mr. J. Fardell, F.S.A.
Two small lamps, of terra-cotta, found in Lincoln, and a small urn, of fictile
ware, found near the Asylum, in that city.— Mr. E. J. Willson.
Fragments of Roman pottery, tesserae, and specimens of concrete and mortar,
from the theatre recently discovered at Verulam. A full description of this
interesting structure, first noticed and investigated by Mr. R. G. Lowe, has been
published by the St. Albans' Architectural Society.*—Mr. J. M. Kemble.
* Published by Mr. Bell, Fleet Street, 8vo., 1848, plates.
ANTIQUITIES EXHIBITED IN THE MUSEUM OF THE INSTITUTE, AT LINCOLN.
Bronze buckle found at Lincoln,
Exhibited by Edw. J. Willson, Esq. (Orig. size.)
Bronze box, found with Roman remains at Lincoln.
Exhibited by the late P.N. Brockedon, Esq. (Catal., p. xxx. Orig. size.)
Bronze skillets, found near Swinton Park, Yorkshire.
Exhibited by Charles Tucker, Esq. (Catal., p. xxix. One quarter size of the originals.)



CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. xxxi
ANGLO-SAXON OR ANTE-NORMAN, AND EARLY IRISH ANTIQUITIES.
A very singular vase, or shallow cup, of silver-gilt, most curiously ornamented on
both sides with filagree work, fictitious gems, and plaques of vitreous paste,
forming a kind of mosaic, resembling Oriental work in its design. In the centre
of the vase there is a figure of an animal, possibly a cameleopard. This remark-
able vase appears to have been contrived so as to be suspended, and it was possibly
one of the hanging pelves anciently used amongst sacred decorations. "It was
found in clearing out the bed of the river Witham, near Lincoln, about 1820, and
was purchased by the late Coningsby Waldo Sibthorp, Esq., by whom it was
bequeathed to his brother-in-law, John Hawkins, Esq.-John Heywood Hawkins,
AEsq., Bignor Park, Sussex.
Three pins, of silver-gilt, headed with flat disks, measuring about 1% inches
diameter, highly ornamented with interlaced work and intertwined dragons or
wyverns, in the style of the sculptured crosses of the ante-Norman period. Each
of these circular plates had a jewel or fictitious gem in the centre, surrounded by
four others, and the general arrangement of decoration appears intended to give a
cruciform effect, analogous to the sculptured heads of some stone crosses in Wales,
Ireland, &c. The disks are linked together by narrow plates, 24 in. in length,
chased with scroll ornaments of the same period. These unique ornaments had
been supposed to have been worn in the hair, or as a kind of coronet, being fixed
into a head-dress of tissue. The pins are extremely sharp. They were found in
the bed of the river Witham, near Lincoln.
A dish, or pelvis, described as of pure copper, found about 1700, on the site of
Chertsey Abbey, Surrey. It bears on the rim an inscription, in characters partly
Runic or Anglo-Saxon, partly Roman, which have been thus read by Mr. Kemble:
—GAETEOH URAEcko, and interpreted as signifying—“Offer, Sinner 1 " . It was pro-
bably an offertory vessel, and may be assigned to the eleventh or twelfth century.
It is the property of Mr. Wetton, of Chertsey, whose family had long possessed
the Abbey lands. Dimensions:–diameter, 7 in. ; depth, 14 in. (See Archaeologia,
Vol. xxx., p. 40.)—Mr. J. M. Kemble.
An oval dish, or basin, of mixed yellow metal, found in the bed of the river
Witham, about five miles below Lincoln, with various antiquities assigned to the
Ante-Norman period. Dimensions, 12% in. by 7% in. ; depth, 24 in.
Mr. E. J. Willson, F.S.A.
Ancient bell, of bronze plate, hammered and rivetted together. Found on the
supposed site of Offa's Palace, at Marden, Herefordshire. Engraved in Arch.
Journ., Vol. v., p. 329.-The Dean of Hereford.
Cruciform fibula, of bronze, of the Anglo-Saxon age, found in Suffolk.
Mr. W. Whincopp.
A very curious sword, the blade of iron, sheathed in a scabbard of bronze, which
is mounted with a peculiar embossed and engraved ornament, bearing resemblance
in the character of design, to that of the bronze coating of a shield, found about
1826 in the Witham, near Washingborough, and now preserved in the armory at
Goodrich Court.* (See Archaeologia, Vol. xxiii., pl. xiii. Skelton's Illustr.
of the Meyrick Armory, pl. xlvii.) It was also discovered in the bed of the
river Witham.— Mr. E. J. Willson.
Two iron swords, in bronze scabbards, one of which has some appearance of
gilding. They were found in the Witham, at Washingborough, and bear much
resemblance to the remarkable weapons discovered in 1787, in the same river,
* Presented to Sir S. Meyrick, through the Earl Brownlow, by the Rev. Humphrey
W. Sibthorpe, near whose property this unique object was found.
xxxii CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
near Bardney Abbey, one of which, represented in Philos. Trans., 1796, tab. xi.
may now be seen in the Library over the Cloisters at Lincoln Cathedral.
S. M. Peto, Esq., M.P., and James Peto, Esq.
Another iron sword, in a bronze scabbard, found in the Witham, at Bardney.
Length of the scabbard, 2 ft. 74 in.—The Rev. the Precentor.
A collection of weapons and antiquities, discovered in Ireland (see woodcuts),
consisting of two iron swords, iron spear-heads, dagger, axe-head, chain and ring
(supposed to have been a manacle), an iron ladle, a small knife, and other curious
relics, found in a remarkable tumulus at Lagore, co. Meath. (See Arch. Journ.,
Vol. vi., p. 101.) Also, a bronze sword, found near Innfield, co. Kildare ; a
small celt, and bronze arrow-head; an object formed of stone, supposed to have
been a projectile for the sling ; four arrow-heads, of silex, and one lozenge-formed,
discovered in co. Antrim; and three small axe-heads, of stone, found in Ireland.—
The Hon. James Talbot.
Cast, in plaster, from a bronze torc, originally ornamented with gems or ficti-
tious pastes, found in the parish of Wraxall, Somerset.—Mr. Arthur Trollope.
A bronze torc, of the beaded type, found in a small bronze basin, in Sochar Moss,
Scotland. (Archaeologia, Vol. xxxiii., pl. xv.; Arch. Journ, Vol. iii., p. 159.)—
Mr. Thomas Gray, of Liverpool.
A bronze ring-fibula, either of the late Roman or of Saxon date; found in
Lincoln. Diameter, 14 in. Another, precisely similar, found with Anglo-Roman
remains at Chesterford, is in the Hon. R. Neville's Museum, at Audley End.—
Rev. Edwin Jarvis.
Armilla, of bronze, twisted, 2% inches internal diameter; found in the Castle
Yard, Lincoln, in digging for the foundations of the New County Hall, Dec., 1822.
Four or five other armillae were found at the same spot, at a depth of twenty feet
or upwards. Many foundations of buildings were discovered, some of them
having been anciently arched over, with semicircular arches. The other armillae
were all broken, and most of them of slighter form than this specimen; a second,
similar to it, was found broken into two pieces. They were ornamented with
circular marks, engraved or impressed on the outside. Similar armillae were dug
up at Kingerby, when the Hall was rebuilt, about the end of the last century:
one of them, as it was stated, was found upon the arm-bone of a human skeleton.
—Mr. Edward J. Willson.
Skates, formed of the leg-bone of a small horse, or other animal, discovered in
Lincoln. One side was shaved off, presenting a smooth flat surface, and in some
examples there is a transverse perforation through one end, doubtless to pass a
strap; and, at the other end, another, in a lengthwise direction, which might
receive a peg or hook, for the purpose of attachment to the foot. Similar skates
have been found at York, and are preserved in the Museum there. They have
been also found in various parts of London, especially in the boggy soil of Moor-
fields, as stated by Mr. Roach Smith, in whose collection they are. It is very
remarkable that Stephanides, in his account of the sports of the citizens, describes
sliding on that very moor, north of London, and says, that “some bind to their
shoes leg-bones of animals, therewith moving with speed as a bird,” &c. The
practice was in use in Northern Europe, and is described by Olaus Magnus.* One
of the relics of this nature exhibited was of greater length and weight than is
suitable for such use, and possibly was used with some kind of sledge, or as a
“runner,” to facilitate the removal of a boat ; it was found, in 1848, near an
ancient canoe, disinterred in forming the Great Northern Railway, at Stixwold
Ferry. (See Woodcuts.)—Mr. Arthur Trollope.
Collection of remains of various kinds, found in excavations at Lamel-hill, near
York, in 1847-48, with fragments of metal, supposed to have been affixed to coffins,
&c., deposited in the singular tumular cemetery at that spot, attributed to the
* See Mr. Smith's Collectanea Antiqua, p. 167, where representations of these curious
relics are given.
ANTIQUITIES FOUND AT LAGORE, C0. MEATH.
i
|
\
º
Á'
b-r-ţ-Er--r-j Inches
Iron weapons and part of a manacle.
Exhibited in the Museum of the Institute, at Lincoln, by the Hon. James Talbot
(Catal., P. xxxii.)






ANTIQUITIES FOUND AT LAGORE, C0. MEATH.
Iron axe, Length 7 in.
g 5.
--- - 2 ------ = tri's
A.ſ, AY, diet. o.jø. Witºr. &c.
Iron spear-heads. Enamelled plate (Orig. size.)
Bronze pin.
(Orig. size.)
t * - - !-- £-> *—-1 tºt,
Bronze bowl and iron ladle.
Exhibited in the Museum, at Lincoln, by the Hon. James Talbot.




ANCIENT ORNAMENTS, OF GOLD. MUSEUM OF THE INSTITUTE, AT LINCOLN.
Portion of an unique gold torc, found in 1848, in Needwood Forest
Orig. size. Weight, 1 lb. 1 oz. 7 dwts. 10 grs. (Museum Catal. p. xxxiii.)
ExHIBITED BY PERMISSION OF HER MosT GRACIous MAJESTY THE QUEEN.
Goid ord a ment, found at Brahalish, near Bantry, CJ Cork.
Weight, 3 oz. 5 dwt.s. 6 grs.
(From the Piltown Coll. Orig. size.)


CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. xxxiii
Anglo-Saxon period, as described in the Archaeological Journal, Vol. vi., pp. 27,
123. Also, a remarkable urn found in the centre of the tumulus, supposed to be
likewise of Anglo-Saxon times Height, 124 in. ; diameter, 13 in. (See woodcut.)
John Thurnam, Esq., M.D.
Portion of the masses of molten lead, found at Stow Church, Lincolnshire,
about 1846, with charred wood, and other evidences of violent combustion, 24
feet below the level of the Norman floor, where a more ancient floor and founda-
tion walls appeared, indicating the existence of a prior fabric, destroyed by fire.
These vestiges are regarded as interesting, since they corroborate the notion that
the church of Stow had been the Saxon Cathedral of Sidnacester, and of the diocese,
founded A. D. 678, ultimately removed to Lincoln. This original church is believed
to have been burned by the Danes, in their great inroad, A. D. 870.* (Presented to
the Institute.)—Mr. Frischney.
ORN AMENTS OF GOLD DISCOVERED IN ENGLAND AND IN IRE LAN D.
THE unique Toro, of fine gold, from the Roy AI, CoLLECTION, discovered in May,
1848, in a wood called the Greaves, part of Needwood Forest, at the mouth of
a fox-earth, recently made, and brought to light by a singular chance, in conse-
quence of the soil being thus disturbed. It was found by the keeper, on the sur-
face of the freshly turned-up mould. This very remarkable ornament is peculiar
in being formed of several twisted bars, eight in number, each pair loosely twined
into a separate strand, and the four cords again loosely twined together; the
extremities of the whole being welded into massive loops, which are curiously
tooled with chevrony lines and small circular indentations, the upper edge beaded.
By these loops this singular collar might be attached, either by means of a cord,
a flexible hook, or ring.t (See the annexed Illustrations.) The weight is 5,590
grains, or 11b. 1 oz. 7 dwts. 10 grs. A representation of this torc is given in the
Archaeologia, Vol. xxxiii., p. 176. This magnificent ornament was exhibited by
the permission of HER Most GRAcious MAJESTY THE QUEEN.
A precious series of gold ornaments, torques, rings, “ring money,” and fibulae,
from the collection of the late Mr. Anthony, of Piltown, Ireland, and wholly
discovered in that country. They consisted of specimens of the peculiar crescent-
shaped ornament of thin gold plate, supposed by some antiquaries to have been
worn as a gorget, by others to have enriched the head-dress like a tiara ; they are
mostly engraved with chevrony lines; armillae, of various types, plain and twisted,
one with a small wire gracefully twined around a larger one ; also, specimens
with cup-shaped extremities; torques, one formed of a flat gold bar, like a twisted
ribbon, another of quadrangular wire; three torque-rings, similar in general character
to those represented in the Archaeologieal Journal, Vol. vi., p. 58; an ornament
of gold, supposed to have been an ear-ring, or nose-jewel ; six penannular rings,
very massive, of the kind frequently called “ring money;” two massive pieces
of gold, perhaps intended to be used in traffic, as money; and a remarkable orna-
ment, a thin circular plate of gold, discovered at Kilmuckridge, co. Wexford,
supposed to have been worn by the early Christian Kings of Ireland. It measures,
in diameter, 23 in. ; and is ornamented with a cross, surrounded by circles.:
Mr. Henry Farrer.
* See a Memoir on Stow Church, by the Rev. G. Atkinson, in the Third Report of the
Lincolnshire Architectural Society, 1846.
+ Compare the “annulus ex aurichalco gigantis, ut fertur, Islandici,” formerly in Wormius’
Museum. Bartholin. de Armillis, p. 44.
£ See similar ornaments found in Ireland, Dublin Penny Journal, vol. i., p. 244,
Archaeologia, vol. ii., pl. 1. There is one now preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, found
near Ballyshannon, and figured in Ware's Antiqu. of Ireland, and Camden’s Britannia. This
choice assemblage of Early Irish ornaments, &c., above noticed, has subsequently been added
to the collections in the British Museum.
C
xxxiv. CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
MEDIAEVAL ANTIQUITIES, ARMS AND ARMOUR, &c.
mass of indurated chain-mail, probably a hauberk, found with a human skull,
an iron sword and javelin head, at a depth of nearly 5 feet, in cuttings
near Stixwold, adjacent to the banks of the Witham. A small stud or button of
bright metal, supposed to be gold, is seen in the mail. A similar semi-fossilised
mass of mail, found in railway operations in France, is in the Lord Hastings'
Museum, and was exhibited by him in the Archaeological Museum, at Norwich,
in 1847.—Mr. Philip N. Brockedon.
A fine sword, of the fourteenth century, found in the Witham. The blade
bears an inscription: the letters inlaid in yellow metal. (See the accompanying
Illustrations.) This interesting weapon was presented subsequently to the
Institute. A notice of its discovery is given in Gent. Mag., vol. xcvi, pt. 2,
p. 302–Mr. Swan.
A sword, with basket-hilt, of the times of the Commonwealth, dredged up in
Brayford Mere.—Mr. Philip W. Brockedom.
A short sword, found in ploughing at Barrow-on-Humber. Date, about 1450.
Iron weapons, found in the Witham, a gisarme, three spurs, &c. Also a curious
fire-arrow, one of a large number of these destructive missiles found in an old
timbered house near the High Bridge, Lincoln. Actual length, in broken state,
10} inches. The head is barbed, and just below it is attached an oval mass of
combustible matter, covered with cloth, and compacted by a net-work of cord.
Near the top still appear little broken pegs of wood, which served to close certain
cavities in which fine priming-powder was placed, and were taken out when the
missile was used. See similar arrows represented in the “rich Cabinet with
variety of Inventions by J. W(hite).” Lond. 1658, p. 119. They are termed
arrows of wild-fire, to be shot from a cross-bow, and an excellent way to fire sails
of a ship, or wooden gates, &c., in time of war.—Mr. E. J. Willson.
Two suits of armour, cap-à-pee, from the collection at Scrivelsby Court, one of
them having been worn by the Hon. the Champion at the coronation of
George IV.-The Hon. the Queen's Champion.
A pair of breast and back plates, and an open head-piece, of the seventeenth
century, from the old City Armory, at Lincoln.-Mr. E. J. Willson.
Series of head-pieces of various periods, from the ToweR ARMoRY, commencing
with the basinet of the reign of Richard II. or Henry IV., with the camail of
chain-mail attached thereto, a specimen of very great rarity; another basinet, of
the reign of Henry W. ; a remarkable “standard of mail,” or defence for the neck
and throat, which succeeded the camail towards the latter part of the fifteenth
century; salades, one of them with a visor, of the times of Henry VI. and
Henry VII. ; a burgonet, of the time of Richard III. ; morions, one richly
engraved, also a “combed” morion, both of the reign of Elizabeth ; a singular
“spider helmet,” of the time of Henry IV., of France, formed with bars radiating
from the crown, and hanging over the face; the open head-piece with cheeks, worn
with buff coats by the dragoons, t. Charles I. ; the barred and the pot-helmets of
the infantry, at the same period; and the “skull,” or iron cap, worn in the crown
of the hat, in the reign of Charles II. Also a collection of daggers, anelaces, t.
Henry VIII., stilettos, a plug-bayonet, the first form of that weapon, being only a
dagger with a handle to fix in the muzzle of the firelock; it was thus used in the
reign of Charles II. Also a leathern glove, partially overlaid with very fine
chain-mail. This rare specimen is probably of the seventeenth century. The
whole of these were sent from the National Collection.—Exhibited by permission
of the Hon. Board of Ordnance.
is sº... , , , ſº tº gº sº.s. . . . . . . . X-1, - * - - . . . . . .
ºº::== ºria--as----------,
Nº ºr Nº ºn tº sº. . . . . . . . . . . - ------- --...--... 2 3-º-º:
"Lºº-º-º-º-º-º: sº sº. º.º. º.
D @ 3) & 3) & Y G)
Inscribed sword found in the River Witham, in 1826.
Presented to the Institute by Robert Swan, Esq., Registrar to the Bishop of Lincoln.
(Catal. of Museum, p. xxxiv.)
gºesº
º Sº sº sº. ~
The Gad-whip, formerly used in the Manorial service rendered at Broughton, Lincolnshire.
Presented to the Institute by Joseph Moore, Esq., of Lincoln. (Catal., p. xxxix.)










CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. XXXV
The Clephane iron arm, an ingenious piece of mechanism, intended to supply
the place of an arm, lost in battle by one of the gallant Clan Clephane, of Carslogie,
near Cupar. It is contrived with much skill, so as to enable the wearer to close
the fingers, and clench a weapon.* Engraved in Sir Walter Scott's Border
Antiquities.—The Marquis of Northampton.
An iron spur, of the Norman period, with a pyramidal head, of very massive
and ponderous dimensions, the neck very short, the shanks curved. Found in
the parish of St. Martin, Lincoln. Another iron spur, of rather different fashion,
found at Boultham, near Lincoln ; the head pyramidal, and neck of moderate
length. Date, twelfth century.—Mr. Arthur Trollope.
An iron spur, with a pyramidal head, also of the twelfth century, the neck
longer than the last, and the form better fashioned. Another iron spur, with a
six-pointed rowel, the neck long, a good example of the latter part of the fifteenth
century, in excellent preservation. Also, a bronze pomel of a dagger or small
sword ; on the flat side is engraved a plain cross. It was found in the River
Witham.—Major Ellison.
An iron pryck spur, of the same age, preserved in the Tower Armory. Also, a
remarkable massive silver spur, with a very large rowel of many points, the
shanks straight, inscribed outside,-A TRVE KNIGHT, BY. GoD ANGER ME AND TRY ;
and within—wiN THEME AND warE THEME. 1574. The original leathern straps,
and complete silver mountings, are in perfect preservation.—The Hon. the Board
of Ordnance. -
A battle-axe, found at Dunvegan Castle, in the Isle of Skye.—Also, a singular
object of bronze, found in Ireland, supposed to have been attached to a horse's
bridle, and to have supported a plume or other ornament above the head. See
a similar relic preserved in the Museum at Trinity College, Dublin, and repre-
sented in Gough's edition of Camden's Britannia, Vol. iv., Pl. xv.
Mr. R. Porrett, F. S. A.
An iron branks, of unique and most singular fashion, with a long peak resem-
bling a snout, bearing some resemblance to the peculiar form of the military head-
piece, t. Richard II. This curious vestige of ancient customs was intended for the
wholesome discipline of an incorrigible scold, upon whose head it was attached,
with a lock, and it served as a gag. (See the annexed Illustrations.)
Col. Jarvis, Doddington.
Various ancient relics, found amongst the remains of the Preceptory at Temple
Bruere, Lincolnshire, now the property of Charles Chaplin, Esq., M.P. They consist
of fragments of painted glass; a knife-handle of bone, very elegantly carved ; a
small brass bell, or grélot, for a hawk or hound; three keys, bronze buckles, and
an arrow-head of iron; also a miniature match-lock gun, of brass, t. Elizabeth,
found at Blankney.—Charles Chaplin, Esq., M.P.
A collection of ancient ornaments, rings, seals, fibulae, keys, knives, and objects
of metal and bone, &c., chiefly discovered at Colchester, in the Thames, and in
various parts of London.—Mr. W. Whincopp, Woodbridge.
Four ancient knives, discovered in dredging in the River Witham.
Mr. J. W. Colman.
SACRED ORNAMENTS, SPECIMENS OF GOLDSMITH'S WORK, PERSONAL
ORNAMENTS, AND APPLIANCES OF DOMESTIC USE.
charger, or laver, of fine latten metal, of German fabrication, used for ablutions,
either after a repast, or occasionally in the services of the Church. The
central device is the Holy Lamb, represented as bleeding, the blood received in a
* In the armory at Goodrich Court, an iron arm of the sixteenth century is preserved.
Skelton’s Illustr., pl. 67. The iron arm of Gottfried of Berlichingen, who died 1562, still
preserved in his castle, is celebrated in Germany, and an account of it, with plates, has been
published at Berlin.
c 2
xxxvi CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
chalice. . This symbol is surrounded by an elegant border of vine-leaves, and an
inscribed band, bearing the following words, five times repeated, *ich“BART"
GELVK AIZEIT. Diameter of the charger, 164 inches. Date, about 1550–
Mr. Wºllson.
. The ancient iron keys of Fotheringhay Castle, four in number, with a set of
implements, turn-screw, &c., supposed to have been used for fixing the fetters of
prisoners.-The Ven. the Archdeacon of Lincoln.
A stone mortar, found in the parish of St. Swithin, Lincoln, in 1848.--
Mr. Arthur Trollope.
Another stone mortar, of different form, found in Lincoln.—Mr.J. W. Colman.
Several knives, shears, resembling those which are often seen on sepulchral
cross-slabs, and a very curious stirrup, of mixed metal, elaborately inlaid with
metal of a different colour, forming a complex scroll-ornament. This curious
object was presented to the Institute.—Mr. Hayward, Beaumont Manor.
The head of a crosier, a choice specimen of the enamelled work of Limoges,
about the close of the twelfth century.—The Marquis of Northampton.
A crucifix, discovered in Hereford Cathedral.—The Dean of Hereford.
Central portion of a processional cross.-Mr. J. Gough Wichols, F.S.A.
A processional cross, of latten metal gilt, probably of Flemish workmanship.
Date, late in fifteenth century. Also a tablet of gilt metal, representing the
Crucifixion, a rosary of agate beads, a “string of tens; ” and two small bronze
crucifixes, of early date, found in Lincoln, and a bronze buckle of very remarkable
workmanship. (See woodcut.).—Mr. E. J. Willson.
A chalice of silver, parcel-gilt, of Florentine workmanship, of the early part of
the fifteenth century.—Mr. H. Porteus Oakes.
Episcopal rings of gold, set with gems, discovered in the tombs of John Stanbury,
Bishop of Hereford, who died 1474, and Richard Mayew, Bishop of the same
See, deceased 1516, and interred in Hereford Cathedral.—The Dean of Hereford.
An interesting collection of relics discovered at various times in tombs of eccle-
siastics interred in Lincoln Minster. It comprised a silver chalice, a gold pontifical
ring, and portions of a pastoral staff, stated to have been found with the remains
of Robert Grossetête, Bishop of Lincoln, 1235–1254; a silver chalice and paten,
from the grave of Benedict de Gravesend, Bishop of Lincoln, 1258–1280; a
paten, on which is represented an episcopal personage, with his hand upraised in
benediction; a chalice, in a very decayed state, described as having been found in
the tomb of Simon de Barton, Archdeacon of Stow, who died in 1280; another
gold ring, set with a gem, and a ring, the setting lost; a chalice of pewter; a
large brass matrix of a seal connected with the diocese of Lincoln; and several
curious drawings, representing stone coffins, and various discoveries of sepulchral
remains in the Minster.—The Dean and Chapter of Lincoln.
A chalice and paten, of pewter, found in excavating a stone-quarry, in the East
Field, near the East Gate, Lincoln.—Mr. J. Fardell, F.S.A.
A chalice and paten, of pewter, found, in 1847, in a stone coffin discovered in
excavations at Lincoln.—Mr. Arthur Trollope.
A chalice and paten, found in a stone coffin, amongst the remains of St.
Nicholas' Abbey, Yorkshire.—Mr. Bruno Bowdon.
Four ancient chess-men, supposed to be the queen, the alfyn, or bishop, and
two pawns, found with numerous vestiges of various periods, in the course of
excavations amongst the ruins of Woodperry, Oxfordshire. Also a fragment of
the green porphyry or serpentine, highly prized by the ancients, cut into a thin
crusta, probably to be used in mosaic work, found at the same locality.
The Rev. John Wilson.
A priming-horn, formed of wood, mounted with two silver medallions, repre-
senting the Battle of Neusiedel, in 1663, and that of Vienna, in 1683.
Mr. J. M. Kemble.
CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. xxxvii
Three wooden fruit-trenchers, from Gloucestershire, of the time of Elizabeth,
curiously painted and guilt. Diam. 53 inches. In the centre of each is inscribed
a monitory verse, of which the following is a sample—
Content yi selfe wth thyne estatt :
And sende noo poore wight from thy gatt
For why this councell I the geue :
To learne to die and die to lyue.
See notices of such trenchers, Archaeol. Journal, Vol. iii., p. 394; Journ. of the
Archaeol. Assoc., Vol. i., p. 329; Catalogue of Archaeol. Museum at the Norwich
Meeting, &c.—Miss Georgiana M. Way.
A small knife, with a haft of horn, supposed to have been one of the knives
given to visitors of Croyland Abbey, on St. Bartholomew’s-day. This old
custom, abolished by Abbot John de Wisbech (1469–1476), had become a great
and idle expense to the monastery: it was in allusion to the knife with which
St. Bartholomew was flayed, as Gough states in his History of the Abbey, (Bibl.
Topog. Britann., No. xi., p. 73). Mr. Hunter, he observes, had great numbers of
them, of different sizes, found in the ruins of the Abbey and in the river.
Engravings of these are given by Gough, from drawings in the Minute-books of
the Spalding Society; one with the forge-mark Y. on the blade, inlaid in copper;
another, IHESvs, and the letter R. ; he gives also, an inscription on the silver collet
of one, found 1744, in Maurice Johnson's possession. Three knives were quar-
tered with three whips, much used by the Saint, in an heraldic coat (assigned to
this Monastery).* The same device appears on the reverse of a town-piece, “The
poores halfepeny of Croyland, 1670.”—Mr. E. J. Willson.
Two exquisite jewelled ring-fibulae, found in Ireland. One of them was dis-
covered during the demolition of the old Abbey at Enniscorthy, in 1830. It is
set with emeralds and carbuncles, and bears the inscription, KAMEs : AMIE AvesM
PAR GEs PRESET (sic). Weight, 99 gr. The other is most elegantly formed with
two hands clasping an opal, possibly to represent a heart (?) the inscription being
intended to express the Angelical Salutation, Ave MARIA G., so frequently found
on mediaeval ornaments. Weight, 69 gr. These beautiful brooches were formerly
in the Museum of Mr. Anthony, at Piltown, in Ireland, and have been purchased
(subsequently to the Lincoln Meeting) for the British Museum.—Mr. Hawkins.
An heraldic ornament, intended to be inlaid in some object of metal,—pos-
sibly, the centre-piece of a dish or charger. It is a thin disk of copper, chased
for enamel, some traces of colour remaining. Diam. 1; inches. It bears an
impaled coat, a lion rampant impaling crusuly, a crowned lion rampant, gules, (?)
queue fourchue. Fifteenth century. The two lions are placed so as to be
respectant, or facing one another, which is unusual. Also, a round plate of silver,
engraved with representations of the Evangelistic Symbols.-Rev. C. R. Manning.
A magnificent Monstrance, recently brought from the Jesuits’ College, at
Lucerne, of silver gilt, most elaborately designed, and presenting an unusually
choice example of the skill of the German goldsmiths of the fifteenth century.—
Mr. Henry Farrer.
A candlestick, of latten metal, found near the site of Hevenynges Priory, a
mile east of Lea Church, near Gainsborough.-Sir Charles Anderson, Bart.
Enamelled tablet, of brass, with sacred subjects in low relief, used as a portable
altar-piece by Christians of the Greek Church. It was dredged up, with several
others, in the harbour at Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and very probably had been
brought over in some Russian or Baltic merchant-ship. A fine triptych, of the
same kind, found on the coast near Harwich, is in the possession of Mr. Hooker,
of Manningtree, Essex.t-Mr. E. J. Willson.
* The seal of Croyland, as given by Reyner and Fuller, engraved also in Tanner's
Notitia, bore, quarterly, 1.4, three St. Bartholomew's knives; 2. 3, three St. Guthlac's whips.
+ Engraved in Dublin Penny Journal, vol. iv., p. 92.
3: See Archaeol. Journal, vol. vi., p. 182.
xxxviii CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
A painted triptych, of Greek art, representing the Saviour and several saints.
Sixteenth century.— Mr. A. W. Franks.
A Manual of Prayers, with a Litany, Almanack, and Kalendar, encased in solid
gold, ornamented with enamel. It is supposed to have been presented to Queen
Elizabeth by the Lady Elizabeth Tyrwhit, and worn by that Queen, appended to
a chain at her girdle. This remarkable little book is a choice example of the
enriched goldsmith's work, in the Italian style, of the period. Its dimensions
are, 2% inches and one-sixteenth by 1% inches, the thickness # of an inch. The
precious binding is closed by two clasps; each side of the volume has a ring at
the top for suspension. On the obverse side is represented, in relief, enamelled,
the elevation of the Brazen Serpent, and the following inscription around the
verge:–º MAKE THE AF(T)YR YE, SERPENT. AN. SETT IT ve. For A. syGNE. That As
MANY. As ARE BYTTE. MAYE LOKE. vpon IT. AN. LYVE. On the reverse is seen the
Judgment of Solomon, inscribed,—H. TheN. The. KYNG. ANSVERED. AN. SAYD. Gyve
HER. THE. LyvyNG. child. AN.SLAY IT NOT. For. She Is THE MOTHER THEREOF. 3 K.
A detailed account of this singular Manual is given in the Typographical Anti-
quities of Great Britain, and in Gent. Mag., Jan. 1791, p. 27. The little volume
was printed by Henry Middelton, for Christopher Barker, London, 1574. On
the back of the title are these arms, a lion rampant double queued, within a
bordure charged with eight escallops. (Oxenbridge, Hants.). There were two
intermarriages between the Oxenbridge and the Tyrwhit families.*
Mr. Henry Farrer.
Some precious specimens of mediaeval goldsmith's work, consisting of a pendant
jewel, of gold, exquisitely enamelled, in the style of the times of Cellini; an
ornament probably intended as a memorial of a deceased relative, and worn
pendant to the neck; it is of gold, enamelled, in the form of a diminutive coffin,
in which, on being opened, appears a skeleton; it bears English inscriptions, but
no name or evidence for whom it was executed. Date, about 1560. Also, a superb
baldric of silver, parcel-gilt, and enriched with figures beautifully chased, of Ger-
man workmanship, date towards the close of the sixteenth century.—Mr. Farrer.
A silver pomander, of globular form, so fashioned as to be opened, several
interior cells being disposed so as to receive various perfumed pastilles. The
exterior is exquisitely chased and enamelled. Date, about 1560.-Miss Leycester.
Silver gilt pin, with globular head enriched with filagree; it was dug up on
the premises of Mr. Thomas Pratt, of West Walton, near Wisbeach.
Rev. S. Blois Turner.
A watch, in form of a cross, the mechanism enclosed in a case of rock-crystal.
A Norwegian Runic almanack, in the form of a walking staff, called in the
north of Europe a “primstaf.” The symbols indicating saints' days, festivals,
occupations of the seasons, &c., are fully explained in a treatise by M. Wolff,
entitled, “Runakefli, le Calendrier Runic,” Paris, 1820.
Mr. Sampson Hodgkinson.
A watch, or table-clock, supposed to have been in the possession of Louis XIV.;
the case is of rock-crystal.—Mr. J. W. Butterworth.
A silver table-book and perpetual almanack, of German workmanship. Six-
teenth century.—Mr. Fardell, F. S. A.
A “Goa-stone,” a singular perfumed compound of a metallic nature, brought
from the East. This singular aromatic substance, of globular form, was esteemed
in Europe, in former times, for supposed medicinal qualities. (See Catalogue of
the Museum formed during the Winchester Meeting, p. xlvii.) It is enclosed
in a silver case of elegant filagree work, surmounted by a dove.
Mr. Charles Tucker.
* The most particular description of this interesting volume will be found in Gent. Mag.,
1791, vol. lxi., p. 27 (by W. H., dated Cheshunt), and in the same volume, p. 321, a fair
representation is given of its most costly binding. See also 1790, p. 988.
CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. xxxix
A coffer of mother of pearl, of the most choice workmanship, chased in very
low relief, with designs representing mythological subjects.--Dr. Charlesworth.
A beautiful silver peg-tankard and cover, of capacious dimension, with six pegs
on the interior side.—The Right Hon. C. T. d'Eyncourt.
A wooden peg-tankard, from Norway, showing the use of these drinking
vessels, retained in northern Europe in later times.—Sir Charles Anderson.
A pint tankard of jacked leather mounted with silver.—Mr. Richard Carline.
Two silver spoons, one of them a christening gift: a figure of Hope on the
handle.—Mr. J. Dudding.
A wooden “wassailing bowl,
Rev. H. Sibthorp.
A silver ring, supposed to be of the kind termed “cramp-rings,” inscribed,
iſjå mataren’ rep itibaeor.—Rev. C. R. Manning.
Another silver ring, representing hands conjoined, the hoop inscribed, ific *
maga " renug, Silver ring, ornamented with three figures of saints. Also an
exquisite gold ring, of the fifteenth century, found at Orford Castle, Suffolk. It
is engraved with representations of the Trinity, St. Anne with the Virgin Mary,
and the Mater Dolorosa. (See the annexed Illustrations.)—Rev. S. Blois Turner.
Two silver rings, one of them a decade ring, used for numbering prayers, in
like manner as telling a string of beads. Sixteenth century.— Mr. E. J. Willson.
A ring in the fashion of a garter, with a buckle, inscribed, MATER. DEI.
MEMENTo. Sixteenth century.—Mr. W. Hylton Longstaffe.
A cup, formed of the horn of the rhinoceros, ornamented with designs carved
in Oriental style. It was found in the river Witham, near Washingborough,
three miles east of Lincoln. Drinking-cups of this kind were esteemed in former
times, probably on account of some supposed virtues against poison. In the
inventory of jewels and plate in the Tower, of which valuation was made in 1649,
with cups and beakers of unicorn's horn, is entered, “A rinoceras cupp, graven
with figures, with a golden foot; ” valued at £12. Archaeologia, Vol. xv., p. 282.
Major Ellison.
A large specimen of the bog-yew, dug out of the Carr, near to the Ancholm
River, on the estates of his Grace the Duke of St. Alban's.-Eahibited by
the Duke of St. Alban's.
A “Gad-whip,” one of those which had been used in former years in the strange
and profane custom observed as a kind of tenure-service, rendered at Caistor,
Lincolnshire. Certain lands in the parish of Broughton, in that county, were held
subject to the service of cracking such a whip on Palm Sunday, at the Church of
Caistor, during the reading of the lessons. To the whip, which measures in
length 5 feet 8 inches, with a heavy lash, 7 feet 9 inches, a purse of leather con-
taining 30 pieces of money was tied, and four pieces of the wych-elm. A memoir
on this singular usage, now discontinued, is given in the Archaeol. Journal, Vol. vi.,
p. 239. See the accompanying representation of a gad-whip, presented to the
Institute by Mr. Joseph Moore, of Lincoln.—Mr. E. J. Willson.
Another “Gad-whip,” a new one being annually provided, and deposited, after
rendering the service, in the pew appropriated to the lord of the manor of
Hundon.—Rev. W. B. Powmall.
The REGAL1A of the CoRPoRATION of LINcoLN, by kind permission of the
Mayor, was displayed in the Museum. It consists of a great silver-gilt mace, of
the times of Charles II., measuring about 4 feet 2 inches in length ; the handle
ornamented with roses and thistles, in allusion to the union with Scotland ; and
is surmounted by a large globular head (diam. 6 inches), bearing the royal devices
embossed in high relief,-the crowned rose, thistle, fleur-de-lys, and harp, each
between the initials C. R. The imperial crown, of very bold design, forms the
summit; and within the circle of the crown is the royal achievement, in bold
relief—C. II. R. On the upper part of the handle is a scutcheon of the city
of the latter part of the sixteenth century.—
xl CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
arms, a cross, charged with a fleur-de-lys in the centre. An inscription records
that the mace was “Beautified in the Mayoralty of William Hayward, 1818.”
Its weight is about 7 lb. 8 oz.-The state sword is a fine double-handed weapon,
the blade possibly as early as the fifteenth century;” the silver-gilt pomel, cross-
guard, and mounting of the scabbard, are of later date. It measures, with the
scabbard, 4 feet 7# inches in length; the scabbard is covered with crimson velvet,
embroidered with the rose and crown, and other devices, in silver ; also the
royal and the city arms, the initials C. L. and R. F. 1818. The pomel exhibits
the city arms, “John Kent, Mayor, 1777,” on one side, and on the other, “The
City of Lincoln, John Kent, Mayor, 1734.” Around the edge of the pomel,
“John Becket, Esq., Mayor, A.D. 1760.” On the cross-guard are the royal arms
on one side, with—IESvs EST AMoR MEvs ; the city arms on the other—A DEO ET
REGE. On the mount of the scabbard is inscribed, “Regilt and new scabbard,
Robt. Featherby, Mayor, 1818;” on the other, “Regalia restored, 1845, John
Stevenson, Esq., Mayor.”
Two maces, one of silver, in length measuring 19 inches, with a globular head
encircled by a coronet of fleurs-de-lys and crosses patées alternately. Around
the head are scutcheons, charged with the city arms, St. George's cross, and the
Irish harp ; on the flat top appear the royal arms. Weight, about two pounds.
The second is of wood, tipped with silver, and the caps are engraved with
the arms of the city and of the see of Lincoln. There were formerly four ;
customarily carried before the mayor by the serjeants at mace.
The hat or cap of maintenance, usually worn by the sword-bearer when pre-
ceding the mayor, is a curious relic of municipal state. It is supposed to have
originated in the red hat recorded to have been sent from Rome to the city about
the close of the fifteenth century. It measures 19 inches in diameter, the crown
11 inches, and it is covered with maroon-coloured velvet, the royal arms displayed
in front, a great rose on the crown, and the city arms, with the inscription,
“M. Sewel, Mayor of the city of Lincoln, 1814.” It has long cords and tassels,
like a cardinal's hat—The Worshipful the Mayor of Lincoln.
Two swords of state, one distinguished by the name of “The Lent Sword; ”
the scabbard is covered with black velvet. It was usually carried before the
mayor, when he went to church during Lent. The pomel is pear-shaped and
octangular, and, as well as the cross-guard, it is elaborately engraved; but having
been painted black, the delicate foliated ornament is concealed. The date of this
sword appears to be of the earlier part of the fifteenth century.—The other may
be of rather earlier age : tradition states that it was presented to the mayor by
Richard II, on the occasion of a royal visit to Lincoln. Upon the pomel appear
the quarterly bearings of France (semée of fleurs-de-lys) and England: on each
side of the shield is introduced an ostrich feather : the cross-guard is inscribed
thus : IHESVS EST AMOR MEWS A DEO ET REGE. On the mount of
the scabbard, which is covered with royal devices, and the initials C. L. (Civitas
Lincolnie 9) is inscribed,—“Thomas Kent, Mayor, Anno Domini, 1685.” Length
of the sword, 3 feet 8 inches.—Also an old cap of maintenance, used in the time
of John Kent, Mayor in 1734. In decoration it resembles that already described.
Richard Mason, Esq., Town Clerk of the City of Lincoln.
The silver oar, richly gilt, presented by Queen Elizabeth to the Corporation of
Boston, Lincolnshire. On the blade of the oar is the royal arms, France and
England quarterly, under an imperial crown, and the initals E. R. The other
ornaments of the oar, all of which are in high relief, are, a crown, the arms of
the town of Boston, a ship in full sail, the sails charged with three crowns, and
an anchor beneath. The assay marks are the leopard's head, the lion passant,
* A cross within a circle, and initial R, are the forge marks, inlaid with gold, on one side
of the blade.
+ In an old M.S. chronicle of the succession of mayors, sheriffs, &c., the entry occurs,
“A.D. 1488, a redd hatt was brought from Rome.”
CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. xli
and the Roman capital letter K., both on the handle and blade of the oar, indi-
cating the year of its fabrication. (? 1587.) The length of this interesting relic of
municipal state in former times, is 39 inches. It was sold, in 1832, by the Town
Council of Boston to Francis Thirkell, Esq., and presented by his widow to the
Earl Brownlow. By his lordship's kind permission it was exhibited in this museum.
Two silver chains, of very singular design, purchased at the sale of the
Corporation plate of the town of Beverley, Yorkshire. These chains used to
be worn on occasions of state by the waits, especially when walking in procession
before the mayor, at Christmas time. The ornament is composed of the eagle
and beaver, the armorial insignia of Beverley.—Richard Ellison, Esq.
Three ancient chasubles, of white, red, and purple tissue, exhibiting curious
details of embroidery; a white, a red, and a crimson frontal; a maniple; and
two embroidered corporas cases. Also, a representation of the Blessed Virgin,
in an aureole of glory. Embroidery of the sixteenth century.— Mr. E. J. Willson.
A rich and most curious antependium of crimson velvet, embroidered in gold,
supposed to be of the time of Edward I. ; two embroidered chasubles, one of
purple and crimson velvet, the other of brocade of the same colours; an ante-
pendium, formed of white silk and coloured velvet, in alternate stripes, and a
band of embroidery for the decorations of the altar, of green velvet worked with
gold.—Bruno Bowdon, Esq., Chesterfield.
An embroidered cope, now used as a pulpit cloth, in the church of Skenfrith,
Monmouthshire, and traditionally designated as “King John’s mantle.”—The
Very Rev. the Dean of Hereford.
A frontal of rich damask silk, preserved in the church of Great Campden,
Gloucestershire. It is embroidered with flowers: in the centre of the cloth is
represented the Virgin Mary, surrounded by a radiated aureole, and supported by
angels.—Rev. C. E. Kennaway, Vicar of Campden.
A richly embroidered quilt, of the sixteenth or seventeenth century.
Lady Anderson.
A coverlid of fine Spanish embroidery, wrought with gold and silk ; a work
of the seventeenth century.—Mrs. Humphry Sibthorp.
A very curious counterpane of linen, chequered in open work and close squares,
alternately. Amongst the designs, are figures in the costume of Elizabeth's reign,
animals, &c. Near two female figures seated, are the initials M. E.; a scutcheon
occurs with a lion passant, also a crowned lion passant, and a crowned swan.
This interesting relic of ancient needle-work is supposed to have belonged to the
Comberford family, of Staffordshire, and to have descended from them to the
Ensors, and subsequently to the family of John Dyer, the poet, whose descendants
are now possessed of it. Also an embroidered pouch of elaborate workmanship.
—Mr. W. Hylton Longstaffe.
A curious pair of embroidered gloves, which belonged to Dr. Moore, Physician
in Ordinary to Henry IV., King of France, and afterwards Physician to Henry,
Prince of Wales.—The Rev. J. Hamilton Gray.
The “STUART RELics,” in the possession of the Rev. John Hamilton Gray,
Bolsover Castle. They comprise the following interesting objects:—
Queen Mary’s watch, made by Etienne Hubert, of Rouen; its case is of gold
filagree. Presented by Mary to Margaret, Marchioness of Hamilton, daughter of
Lord Glamis. It remained as an heir-loom of the Hamilton family, until the
Duchess of Hamilton, wife of William, the second duke, gave it to her daughter,
Lady Margaret, on her marriage with William Blair, of Blair; and it continued
in possession of that family till the marriage of Janet Blair with Mr. Tait, clerk
of session in Edinburgh. It was given by her to her niece, Catherine, daughter
of Sir — Sinclair, Bart., of Munkle ; who, in 1823, transferred it to Mrs.
Maddrop, of Dalmarnock; by whom it was presented to her nephew, Mr.
Hamilton Gray. Another watch, made by Etienne Hubert, is preserved in
Scotland, stated to have been given by Mary to John Knox. It is in the posses-
xlii CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
sion of his descendant, Mr. Thomson, of Bauchory: it is of larger size than that
now described, but the mechanism is similar. (See App. to Life of Knox, by
Dr. Mac Cree.)—Relics of Prince Charles Edward : his pistols, of large size,
massively mounted with silver. They were given by him, after the expedition
of 1745, to Edgar, the confidential secretary of James III., and, on his death,
descended to his relative, Mr. Edgar, of Glasgow ; by whom they were sold, and
thus came into Mr. Gray's possession. He purchased also a ring, set with an
intaglio, a portrait of Mary on white cornelian, formerly the property of James III.
and the Cardinal York, and which had been presented to Mr. Edgar.—Miniature
of Prince Charles Edward, by a German artist, named Kamm, painted during his
residence in Germany, after the expedition in 1745. Purchased in Rome, by
James Dennistoun, Esq., with an original portrait of the Cardinal, Duke of York,
painted in early youth, and formerly in the Villa Muti at Frascati, his residence
as Bishop of that see; whence it came into Mr. Dennistoun's possession.—The
episcopal mitre of the Cardinal, as Bishop of Frascati, in a red morocco case, orna-
mented with the royal arms of England, under a cardinal's hat ; also his berretto,
or cardinal's cap. These relics had been preserved by the Marchese di Mala-
testa, heir of the prince's secretary, and by him were sold to Mr. Dennistoun, who
sold them to Mr. H. Gray.—A bronze medal of Cardinal York, also from the
Palazzo Muti, presented to Mr. H. Gray by the Hon. Henrietta. Otway Cave.—A
large map of Charles Edward’s expedition in 1745, in eight sheets, engraved in
Rome for James III. Four of these maps existed, in the possession of James,
Charles Edward, and the Cardinal, and were preserved by the Marchese di
Malatesta, who sold them to the head of the Scottish College, to the Marquis of
Douglas, Lord Walpole, and Mr. Dennistoun.-The Rev. John Hamilton Gray.

CARWINGS IN IVORY, &c.
Roundel, of ivory or the tooth of the walrus, found at Thorney Abbey, Cam-
bridgeshire. It is sculptured very curiously, representing men in conflict with
wyverns or dragons. Diameter, 23 inches; thickness # inch. It was possibly
intended to be used as a piece for the game of tables, being not dissimilar to those
used for draughts in modern times. (See Woodcuts.) Similar roundels exist in
the Ashmolean Museum.—The Venerable the Archdeacon of Lincoln.
An “oliphant,” or warder's horn of state, of ivory, elaborately sculptured with
figures of men, subjects of the chase, or conflicts with animals, &c., and elegant
foliated ornament. Some of the details partake of an Oriental character, but it
is possibly of Scandinavian workmanship. It had been long preserved by the
Clan Clephane as an heirloom, and is now deposited at Castle Ashby. An
account and representation of this horn is given by Sir Walter Scott, in the
“Border Antiquities.”—The Marquis of Northampton.
An exquisite specimen of sculptured ivory, representing the Death and the
Coronation of the Virgin; apparently the central portion of a triptych.
Bruno Bowdon, Esq.
Tablet of sculptured ivory, representing twelve subjects from the Passion of
our Saviour; it is probably of French workmanship ; date about 1420.
Dr. Charlesworth.
One of the covers of a table-book, or set of waxed tablets, frequently used in
mediaeval times, for writing with a “pointel,” or stylus ; French workmanship,
fifteenth century.—Rev. W. M. Pierce.
Two beautiful carvings in ivory, of the sixteenth century, one of them repre-
senting St. Jerome in the desert.—Mr. John Gough Nichols.
A candlestick of ivory, carved with the most exquisite delicacy of workman-
ship. Supposed to be of Italian fabrication; sixteenth century.
Richard Ellison, Esq., Sudbrooke Holme.
ANTIQUITIES EXHIBITED IN THE MUSEUM OF THE INSTITUTE, AT LINCOLN.
from branks, or head-piece, and gag for the discipline of incorriffible scolds
Exhibited by Col. Jarvis, of Doddington. (Catal. of Lincolm Museum, p. xxxv.)
Roundel of ivory, or horn of the walrus, found at Thorney Abbey,
Cambridgeshire. Orić size.
Exhibited by the Wen, the Archdeacon of Lincoln. (Catal., p. xlii.)


EXAMPLES ILLUSTRATIVE OF FICTILE MANUEACTURES, AT LINCOLN.
Exhibited by Arthur Trollope, Esq.
! 22
, 2.2%
%
Stamps, for noulding ornaments for vessels of 31azed ware.
Found near a potter's kiln, at Lincoln.
2.2%2.
2.2%
2.2% 22
2^2
Fragment of green-giazed ware, XIVth Cerit., with moulided ornarxient
" Hand-brick," or clump of terra-cotta, found with pottery on the
coast of Lincolnshire.
(Half-length of orig. Catal. of Museum, p. xliii.)



CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. xliii
MEDIAEVAL POTTERY, DECORATIVE TILES, &c.
N extensive and highly curious assemblage of specimens illustrative of the
fictile manufactures of mediaeval times, whölly collected in and near Lincoln,
during the excavations carried on in 1847-8. The early examples of green-
glazed ware were especially deserving of careful examination, and their grotesque
ornaments occasionally afford decisive evidence of date. With the exception of
the collection placed in the York Museum, not yet fully classified, no series of
examples had been hitherto formed to show the processes of this branch of
mediaeval manufacture, and the various forms of the household vessels used by our
forefathers, of which a striking variety were here exhibited. The unique stamps
with which ornaments in relief were affixed to these fictilia, are highly curious;
and the design, as well as the square head-dress of the reign of Edward III.,
sufficiently prove their age. These implements of the Lincoln potters, in the
fourteenth century, were discovered near an ancient kiln for firing the glazed
ware, in the parish of St. Mary le Wigford, Lincoln. (See the annexed Illustra-
tions.)—Mr. Arthur Trollope.
A good example of mediaeval green-glazed ware: a jug, the front ornamented
with a large leaf. Found in Lincoln ; fifteenth century.—Mr. John Fardell.
Two mediaeval vessels, found in North Lincolnshire.—Miss Ellen Slater.
A collection of decorative pavement-tiles, found during recent excavations at
Beaulieu Abbey, Hants.-The Rev. F. Baker.
A decorative pavement-tile, of large dimensions, found in Somersetshire, repre-
senting a mounted knight; fourteenth century. Mr. C. Tucker.
A singular ridge-tile, found in Lincoln, surmounted by a grotesque head,
intended to serve as part of a decorative crest, along the ridge of a roof. It is
faced with brown glaze. (See woodcut, Parker's Gloss. of Archit., 5th edit.,
p. 389.)—Mr. T. M. Keyworth.
A “hand-brick,” stated to have been found in the foundations of an ancient
church, now covered by the sea, near Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, where it is believed
that considerable encroachment on the shore has taken place. These singular relics
are found in abundance on the coast near Ingoldmells, in the beds of black mud
off the shore, or washed up after gales of wind. They are rudely-shaped cylinders
of baked clay, bearing the impress of the grasp of the fingers, and mostly formed
by the left hand.* They are about four inches in length, diameter 13 to 2% inches.
(See the Illustrations.) Fragments of pottery, of uncertain date, are occasionally
found with them. There is an ancient earth-work in the neighbourhood, called
the “Roman Bank.” Objects precisely similar have been found by Mr. Lukis in
Guernsey. (Archaeol. Journal, vol. vi., pp. 70, 175.)—Rev. J. B. Reynardson.
MEDIAEVAL INSCRIPTIONS, ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS, AUTOGRAPHS,
AND MANUSCRIPTS.
AN original of the Great Charter of Liberties, granted by King John, in the
seventeenth year of his reign, preserved in a perfect state, and apparently of
superior authority to either of the two charters in the British Museum. From
the contemporary indorsements of the word Lincolnia, this may be presumed to be
* A specimen has been since added to the Collections of the Institute, by the kindness of
Mr. W. A. Nicholson, of Lincoln. It is represented in the annexed Illustrations.
xliv CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
the charter transmitted by the hands of Hugh, then Bishop of Lincoln, one of the
prelates named in the introductory clause.*—The Dean and Chapter of Lincoln.
A facsimile engraving of the aforesaid charter of 17 John, preserved at Lincoln.
Presented to the Library of the Institute.—Mr. S. Paddison.
A cruciform leaden plate, found in a stone coffin, on the S. E. side of the
Minster Close, at Lincoln, in 1847. Dimensions, 43 inches by 44 inches. On
one side is inscribed, transversely, the following memorial: corpws : sifordſ :
PRESBITERI : SCE : ELENE : ET SCE MARGARETE TITVLATvs Hic IACET. The forms of
the letters appear to indicate the latter part of the tenth or early eleventh
century, as the age of this curious relic. (See the Illustrations.) On the reverse
is an inscription in minuscules, now illegible, carried across the plate in both
directions, covering all the limbs of the cross. Sepulchral plates of lead have
rarely been found in England. A considerable number of cruciform plates were
discovered in the graves of the Bishops of Metz, as represented in the history of
that city.—The Venerable the Archdeacon of Lincoln.
Inscribed leaden plate, discovered, about 1670, near the north door of the choir
in Lincoln Minster, in the grave adjacent to the tomb of Remigius, Bishop of
Lincoln, founder of the cathedral. It commemorates William, son of Walter de
Aincourt, or Deincourt, who held large estates in Lincolnshire, as appears by
Domesday Book. This remarkable relic of the eleventh century measures 13;
inches by 8%. The inscription was printed by Dugdale (Baronage, vol. i. p. 386)f
Some parts are now much decayed. It may be thus read: { HIc 1ACET wi(LL’)
FILI' wal.T'I AIENCVR(IEN)SIS c'sANGVINEI REMIGII EP'I Licol'IENSIs Q' HANc EccL’AM
FECIT P'FAT' will M’ REGIA STYRPE P'oeNIT’ DV I cwRIA REGIs will” FILII MAGNI
REGIS will.’ Q' ANGLIA c'Q'sivit ALERET’ III. CAL. NowM obilt. A Memoir on this
curious relic, now preserved in the Chapter Library, has been contributed to this
volume by the Right Hon. C. d’Eyncourt (see page 248), accompanied by an
accurate facsimile of the plate.—The Rev. the Precentor of Lincoln.
Registers of the Guild of the Holy Trinity, at Louth, from the year 1473 to
1528, and an original book of accounts of the expenses incurred in the Spanish
wars, in the reign of Henry VIII.-The Lord Monson.
The “Order of Swans,” an original book of swan marks, a very curious MS. of
the sixteenth century. See the Memoir in this volume, p. 215.
Mr. E. A. Bromehead, Lincoln.
Five volumes of Minute Books of the Gentlemen's Society at Spalding, the
earliest provincial Antiquarian society instituted in Great Britain, and comprising
a minute record of their researches and of communications received from the most
eminent archaeologists of the last century. They commence in 1710–The Rev.
William Moore, D.D.. President of the Spalding Society.
The pocket-book and autobiographical memorials of the learned Lincolnshire
antiquary, Dr. Stukeley; two volumes of a series in his own hand-writing,
comprising notices of his own literary labours, and of his contemporaries. Some
curious Extracts are appended to this Catalogue.—John Britton, Esq., F.S.A.
Seven manuscripts, service-books, &c., consisting of the Treatise of Julian of
Toledo, “De origine mortis humanae,” MS. of the twelfth century; the Com-
mentary of Origen on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, a MS. of the same
period; the Biblical Commentaries of Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury,
a very rare MS. of the thirteenth century; a MS. Psalter of the fourteenth
century, believed to have been one of the service-books of Lincoln Cathedral
before the Reformation ; this interesting volume was, in 1561, in the possession
of Sir Robert Hare ; a MS. of the Vulgate, of the early part of the fourteenth
century; a MS. service-book, in the old Flemish dialect of the fifteenth century;
* See the Appendix to First General Report from the Commissioners on Records, p. 97.
+ See also Archaeologia, vol. i., p. 31; vol. ii., p. 188. The plate is represented in
Hearne’s Pref. to Trivet's Annals, and Gough's Camden, vol. ii., pl. vi. ; Sepulchral Mon.,
vol. i., p. 49; vol. ii., p. 232, pl. xiv.; Pegge's Sylloge, No. 17; and in this volume, p. 248.
ANTIQUITIES EXHIBITED IN THE MUSEUM OF THE INSTITUTE, AT LINGOLN.
*
PPNSSFOR)|PRCSPIRE
*Rl 5ſéELENE-SèESSºcºts
* *
22
MºVSHTATET.
...cº. rº) e e? 2- UTT INC.DELETsz
#
Inscribed Leader, Plate, found in a stone coffin, in the Minster Close, Lincoln.
(Orig. size. Museum Catal. p. xliv.)
Exhibited by the Ven. the Archdeacon of Lincoln.




CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. x.lv
and a service-book of the same period, written in Italy.— Mr. Sampson
Hodgkinson.
A service-book, beautifully illuminated throughout, a valuable example of
Flemish art. Date, about 1450. It formerly belonged to the family of Matthew
Beiland, of Breda.-Richard Ellison, Esq.
Document, dated A.D. 1163; being a deed of Roger Trehampton, of Lea, near
Gainsborough, confirming the grant, by Ralph, his father, of land in Bole Ferry,
in the parish of Lea, to Revesby Abbey; executed and witnessed in the house of
Ranulf, Sub-Dean of Lincoln. (Not noticed in the Monasticon.) Also several
charters relating to Sherwood Forest.—Sir Charles Anderson, Bart.
Deed of conveyance, by Richard Bullock to John Barker, of a messuage, &c., at
Barnsley, Yorkshire, dated 13 Edw. III., 1340.—Rev. C. B. Powmall.
Transcript of Sir William Dugdale's survey of the monuments in Lincoln
Minster, dated Sept., 1641; copied by the Venerable the Archdeacon of Lincoln, in
1815, from the original MS. preserved in the possession of the Hatton family, now
in the library of the Earl of Winchilsea, at Eastwell Park, Ashford, Kent.* It
contains views of many interesting memorials now destroyed, especially the
“feretrum S. Hugonis ala australi;” the tomb and brass effigy of Queen Eleanor,
in the Lady Chapel; a “feretrum ” in the same part of the Minster, and a
remarkable series of sepulchral brasses, now lost. This transcript was presented,
in 1845, by Dr. Bonney, to the library of the Dean and Chapter.-The Venerable
the Archdeacon of Lincoln.
Facsimiles of some of the Records of the Knights of Malta, preserved in the
library at Valetta, comprising entries relating to several Lincolnshire families,
and a notice of Temple Bruere.—The Rev. F. C. Massingberd.
Two documents, bearing the sign-manual of Oliver Cromwell, as Protector, in
1656. Also a commission, as Captain of Dragoons, signed by James II., to
Colonel Thomas Pownall, who, as High Sheriff of the county, entertained King
William III. on his visit to Lincoln, in 1695–Rev. T. B. Pownall.
Grant of arms to Robert Lee, of Quarndon, Bucks, Gentleman-Usher to
Henry VIII., from Thomas Wriothesley, Garter King-at-Arms, and Thomas
Benolt, Clarencieux, with their official seals appended. Dated, 18 April, 1513.
Mr. W. J. Thoms.
MATRICES AND IMPRESSIONS OF SEALS, SIGNET RINGS, &c.
SEALS of Christ's Hospital, and of the Gild of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross,
Lincoln. The former is a small circular seal, bearing a cross moline,—IESUS +
CHRIST * HospitaLL * L’. The seal of the gild is a rudely engraved circular
matrix, diameter 1% inches, a scutcheon in the centre charged with a cross
humetty, between four fleurs-de-lys, and a fifth on the centre of the cross. At
the sides, the initials, p. g. ( ?); the legend, K gigillu gilbe eraltacio'ís g’ce
crucig. Also a small circular seal exhibiting an embattled gate tower, over
which is a peacock displayed, the initials C. P. at the sides of the tower, and,
underneath, LINc.—Mr. Carline.
Matrix found at Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire, the seal of John Copuldyke.
The design exhibits a scutcheon suspended on a tree, quarterly, 1st and 4th, a
chevron between three cross-crosslets, 2nd and 3rd lozengy, an ermine spot on
every alternate lozenge. The family were settled at Harrington, Lincolnshire.
: gigillum : ioſ)annia: copulopſ; : Date, earlyxvth century.—Mr. Weston Cracroft.
* Browne Willis, in his Survey of the Cathedral, p. 4, describes this MS. in Lord Hatton's
library, and also cites a MS. of Bp. Sanderson's, giving from it a list of the monuments of
“which draughts were taken, Anno 1641,” Sept. 10, forty-four in number; and he concludes.
by comparison of these MSS., that Bp. Sanderson attended Dugdale, and that they assisted each
other in copying the epitaphs.
xlvi CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
Sulphur cast from the curious circular matrix found near Boston, Lincolnshire.
The device is a knight, wholly armed in mail, combating a lion ; on his shield is
a lion rampant; the background appears to represent a forest. Diameter, 1}
inches. * ola : GARDEz. BEL. AMI. TROP. FoET. BATAILLE. I. A. cI : Thirteenth
century.* . The original, of iron, belongs to the Rev. J. Tunnard, of Boston.
Engraved in Thompson's Hist. of Boston, p. 215.-Mr. E.J. Willson.
Impression of a small circular seal, found at Higham Ferrers. Device, a lion
couchant. * s” HENRICI CHAvcER. Date fourteenth century.—Mr. E. Richardson.
Small bronze seal found at Latton Priory, Essex. Device, two arms couped
above the wrist, the hands conjoined. * LEL AMI AveT.—Mr. William Stellibrass.
Matrix; of pointed-oval form, the seal of the Archdeacon of Colchester. A
cross-church, with central tower; around the verge : * sigillviM * ARCHIDIAconi +
ARCHIDIAconATVs * colcKSTRIAE. Dimensions, 2% inches by 2 inches. Sixteenth
century. Also a collection of impressions in gutta percha (presented to the
Institute), from seals attached to deeds, comprising the seal of Agnes, daughter
of Walter Austin (not dated) a fleur-de-lis, xiiith cent. ;—seal of the Benedictine
Nunnery of Bungay, Suffolk, from a deed dated 33 Edw. III. (Mon. Ang. new ed.
vol. iv., p. 337; it is engraved in Gent.’s Mag., May, 1810);-seal of Katharine
de Brewes, 48 Edw. III., inscribed, Đirgine : prier : put : flaterime;—seal of
William Bardolf, lord of Wyrmegey, 6 Rich. II. ;-seals of William de Clopton,
and his wife, 8 Rich. II. ; seals of Roger le Boys, Thomas Plays, Robert Howard,
and Edmund Thorp, 11 Rich. II. ; common seal of Mettingham College, Suffolk,
the matrix made in 1405-6 (see woodcuts);-seal “ domine iohanne Swillington,”
4 Hen. WI. ;—and the seal of Robert Chapman, 27 Hen. VIII.
The Rev. C. R. Manning.
A collection of brass matrices, from the museum of Mr. Whincopp, comprising
the following: A fine seal, pointed oval, date about 1250, representing a design
of tabernacle work in two stages; above, the Virgin and child, with two angels;
beneath, a tonsured personage kneeling before St. George ; s’ MAG’RI . willELMI.
DAREL : Two other seals of ecclesiastics, of like form, of rather later date. Cir-
cular seal, representing a man in secular costume, with a falcon on his fist, and a
bird's gamb as a lure, in his right hand; *s' IoHANNIS FRAvNCEIs. Circular seal,
representing an embattled gateway, the portcullis raised ; in the gate, a scutcheon
of arms, charged with three chevrons (Clare?). At the sides, the initials t . h .
fourteenth century. Circular seal, representing the Virgin and Child, * AvR.
MARIA GRACIA. A singular seal, apparently of the Commonalty of Romney
Marsh : it represents a church, with a central spire, between figures of St. Peter
and St. Paul,t and, beneath, an escutcheon, quarterly,–France and England;
dated 1568 (above the church ;) : SIGILLVM . commvNE . MARISCVM. DERVMNE. Of
circular form ; diameter, 13 inches. The common seal now in use, of which a
representation is given by Mr. Holloway, in his “History of Romney Marsh,”
bears a church, under a three-masted ship ; it is dated 1665. The charter of
incorporation bears date 1461, but no seal of that period is known to exist.
Mr. Whincopp.
Impression of a pointed-oval seal, the bronze matrix stated to have been found,
at a depth of seven feet, in the tumular cemetery of Saxon times, at Lamel Hill,
near York, as related in the Archaeological Journal, vol. vi. p. 35. The inscrip-
tion is, SK s” comvne : c’ToDI CAPELLE . B'E MARIE DE NORT" Folliot; or possibly
MoRT' Folliot. Castle Morton, in Worcestershire, was anciently known as
Morton Folliot, and a chapel existed there which appears to have been connected
* A curious seal-ring of the same period, and bearing the device of the combat with a
lion, was in the possession of Sir Richard Worsley, and is figured in the Archaeologia, vol. iii.,
p. 176, pl. xix. See also vol. viii., p. 321 ; vol. xxiii., p. 387; and the fine seal of Roger de
Quinci, Constable of Scotland, given in the Notes on Spelman, in Upton, p. 105.
+ The church of Newchurch, in Romney Marsh, one of the places of assembly of the
Bailiff and Commonalty, is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul.
RING AND SEALS EXHIBITED IN THE MUSEUM OF THE INSTITUTE, AT LINCOLN.
| 1. ſ: º
in Ilºilſ".
º
Gold ring, fourhö at Orford Castle, Suffolk.
. Exhibited by the Rev. S. Blois Turner. (Catal., p. xxxix.:
|
Seal of the Chapel of the Virgin,
IIorton Folliot, Worcestershire.
Matrix found in Lamel Hill, York.
Exhibited by Dr. Thurnam. (Catal., p. xlvi.)
Seal of the Chantry of Mettingharn, Suffolk.
From an impression exhibited by the Rev. C. R. Manning.
(Catal., p. xlvi.)








CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. xlvii.
with the Church of Longdon, Gloucestershire, part of the possessions of the
monastery of Westminster.* It is difficult to explain how the seal of the Custos
of this chapel, in a remote county, could have been deposited in Lamel Hill. It
has been conjectured that it might have been conveyed thither at the time of the
siege of York, during the Civil Wars, some disturbance of the Hill having
apparently occurred at that time (See Woodcuts).-John Thurnam, Esq., M.D.
Impressions of the seals of the Gild of the Annunciation, and of the Gild
of St. Clement, at Berkhamstead, Herts.-Mr. J. M. Kemble.
Matrices and impressions of seals, relating to the northern counties, and com-
prising a brass circular seal, described as that of the farrier of the see of Durham;
device, a horse-shoe, with hammer and two nails; -K s” RADVL' MARESCHAL. D’
LEvechie D’VRoM ; diameter, 1 inch; fourteenth century; found near Darlington.
Casts of the corporation seals of Hartlepool. Brass seal of the Ogle family, of
Northumberland; bearing a quarterly coat, 1st and 4th, a fesse between three
crescents, Ogle, 2nd and 3rd, an orle, Bertram; t crest, a bull's head, ducally
gorged; diameter, l; inches; date, about 1600. Impressions from a small oval
seal of a monk, or official, of Arbroath Abbey, N. Britain; it represents St.
Thomas the Martyr, in whose honour that monastery was founded, and beneath
is a kneeling figure ; s’ F’ w. MATH'If MONAc . D ABERBROTHoT. Such a seal,
found in the ruins of Arbroath, is now in the Museum of the Antiquaries
of Scotland. It is figured in Gent. Mag., Nov. 1802, p. 993. Impressions
from a seal found in demolishing Old London Bridge; it is in the form of
a scutcheon, the device a stag's head, a cross between the attires; on a
chief some letters, not explained ; fifteenth century. A burlesque seal; device,
a purveyor monk returning to the convent-gate ; on his shoulders a sheaf of
wheat, which, by a pair of legs hanging therefrom evidently conceals some fruit
defendu. Seals, with this device, sometimes bear the inscription, Pain au
couvent.—Mr. W. Hylton Longstaffe.
Facsimiles, by electrotype, from the seal affixed to an indenture, dated 1326,
between Thomas de Appilgarth and the burgesses of Richmond, Yorkshire. The
parties interchangeably set their seals thereto, and this deed being in the custody
of the town authorities, the seal was probably that used by the former.
Mr. W. Hedley.
Brass matrix of the seal of Peter, Bishop of Monte Marano, in the Neapolitan
states. It was discovered, about 1817, in the moat of a pleasance, or embanked
garden of the old fashion, at Penley Hall, Flintshire. The form is pointed-oval;
in the centre, the Annunciation, beneath is a bishop kneeling, and two escutcheons
of arms, probably those of the see, and the personal bearing of the prelate;
s. PETRI. DEI . GRA . EPI . MonTIs . MARANI. According to Ughelli, the only
bishop of this see named Peter, lived in the time of Benedict XII., and was
translated in 1345.-Mr. John Carline, of Shrewsbury.
A fine Italian seal of the fifteenth century; form, pointed-oval; it represents
the Trinity, the Supreme Being supporting a crucifix, and seated under a rich
canopy of shrine-work. In a small niche (below,) a small kneeling figure of an
archbishop, St. Thomas of Canterbury; g’ frat’mitat' bospitalis . gauct . thome
mart'íg i'ronta.S Matrix discovered at Botesdale, and formerly in the possession
of Mrs. Pallant. Also, three other matrices; one found at Leiston Abbey,
Suffolk ; s’ RICARDI . P'oris. DE . ME. MAGDALENE ; the prior is represented kneel-
ing before a crucifix. It was probably the seal of Richard Dunmowe, 1475.
The Rev. S. Blois Turner.
* See Nash, Hist. Worc., vol. ii., pp. 107, 114.
+ Sir Robert Ogle, of Ogle Castle, t. Edw. III., espoused Helen, d. and h. of Sir Robert
Bertram, of Bothall. f Or MATIA (?).
§ Two other seals of the Hospital of St. Thomas the Martyr, at Rome, have been found, and
were formerly in Gale's collection. One bears the legend—Sigillum procuratorum Hospitalis
s’ti Thome martyris in Roma; the other—S. ad Causas Hospitalis S. Thome Mart. in Roma.
Beneath, the arms of France and England, quarterly.
xlviii CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
A seal, of pointed-oval form, of jet, preserved in a collection of miscellaneous
relics of antiquity, at Diss, Norfolk. It is engraved on both sides, the central device
being the knop of expanding leaves, not unfrequently found on early seals, possibly
intended to represent a fleur-de-lys. One side, much effaced, appears to be of
much later design than the other. That best preserved bears the legend,
*H TECTA . TEGE. LECTA LEGE. Dimensions about 14 inches by Fr.”
The Rev. C. R. Manning.
Another seal, of jet, of the same form and date, found in opening a stone
quarry in St. Peter's parish, near the East-gate, at Lincoln. On one side is
engraved a representation, rudely designed, of the Virgin and Child; >{ Ave :
MARIA : GRACIA PLENA. On the other, somewhat defaced, appears a human head
tonsured (?), a flaming star above, and a crescent beneath ; >{ ocvli : MEI : SEMP':
Ad Dominvm. It is formed with a perforation at the upper end, for suspension.
This very curious matrix may be assigned to the twelfth century.— Mr. Way.
Impressions of the unique seal of Southwick Priory, Hants, so formed as to
exhibit figures, &c., appearing through apertures in the architectural design. See
Archaeologia, vol. xxiii., pl. 32.—Rev. Edwin Jarvis.
Impressions from the seals of the Church of Lichfield, and that of Milo of
Gloucester, created Earl of Hereford, in 1140. This matrix was found at Lud-
gershall, Wilts. Archaeologia, vol. xiv. pl. 47–Mr. John Gough Nichols.
Impression of the seal of Sir William Clifford, Knt.—Mr. Porteus Oakes.
A massive gold ring, found at Lincoln, the impress being the initial W. Fif-
teenth century. (?)—Mr. E. J. Willson.
A gold ring of most beautiful workmanship, bearing the device of the bear and
baton ragulé, with the motto inscribed above—#oulement bite. Around the hoop
are the words—be gobbig fapre foot; this singular legend has been supposed to
have reference to the miraculous impress of the Saviour's feet on the Mount of
Olives, which was regarded by pilgrims with extreme reverence, and, like the five
wounds, was probably used as a symbol of talismanic virtue. This ring, formerly
in the possession of George IV., now belongs to General Johnson. Weight, 230 gr.
Compare a silver ring communicated to the Institute by the Hon. James Talbot.
Archaeological Journal, vol. ii., p. 78.—The Rev. S. Blois Turner.
Brass signet ring, found in the Cathedral Close, at Hereford. The impress is a
kind of merchant's mark, a cross, with the lower extremity barbed like an arrow,
between the initials, G. M.–The Dean of Hereford.
A set of five small seals, attached to a hoop of brass, like a wheel, the inner
side of the hoop thus inscribed—" WPRIGHTLY " DEALE. The sixth seal lost.
Devices, a lion rampant, a barrel with a branch issuing from it, a lion's or dragon’s
head, &c. Sixteenth century.—Rev. C. R. Manning.
Two brass signet-rings, found in the Thames, on one of them the device of the
bear and ragged staff; on the other, a monogram or cypher.—Mr. Whincopp.
PAINTINGS, AND WORKS OF SCULPTURE, ARCHITECTURAI,
DECORATIONS, SEPULCHRAL BRASSES, &c.
remarkable painting, a sacred subject, of the Early Flemish School, formerly in
** the possession of Lord Newburgh, and given to the Rev. Mr. Bostock, Roman
Catholic priest at Leicester. It exhibits the brilliant colouring and high finish of
the works of the early part of the sixteenth century, and it has been attributed to
Lucas Van Leyden.—Richard Ellison, Esq.
* See notices of jet seals, Catalogue of Museum of Institute at York, p. 23; Archaeol.
Journal, vol. vi., p. 405. -
CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. xlix
Design by Holbein for a clock-stand. From the Strawberry Hill Collection.
Mr. E. Graves.
Several paintings, of much interest as illustrative of the appearance of the city
of Lincoln and its architectural monuments in former times. They represent
the Newport Arch; a view of the city from Brayford or from Swanpool (on which
the Corporation kept swans); a south-west view of the Minster, with the spires
on the western towers, which were taken down in 1808, and before the orna-
mental parapet had been placed by Essex on the great tower ; also, a south
view of the Minster, and two views of the east end and Chapter House.
John Fardell, Esq., F.S.A.
Elevation of the south Transept of Lincoln Minster.
Mr. Willson, the Bażl, Lincoln.
Oil painting, a view of Lincoln, taken in the last century. Two coloured
drawings, one representing a scene in Lincoln, and a view of Louth.
Messrs. W. and B. Brooke, High Street.
A Collection of Drawings and Engravings, illustrative of the antiquities of
Lincoln, Louth, Croyland Abbey, and various Lincolnshire churches.—Also,
Fowler's tessellated pavements and painted glass, chiefly in the same county.
The Lincoln Permanent Library.
East view of Lincoln Minster, and the part of the Close on that side, as it
appeared about the year 1770. An unfinished painting in oil, by Governor
Pownall, F.S.A.—Also, a coloured drawing (to scale) taken by Mrs. Ellen Carter,
of Lincoln, in 1794, and sent to Governor Pownall. It represents the tessellated
pavement in the Cloister Court of Lincoln Minster, as it appeared when first
discovered in June, 1793.-Coloured plate of the fine tessellated pavement,
discovered at Winterton, Lincolnshire, in 1747–Representation of the Cross,
erected at Geddington, in memory of Queen Eleanor—Copies of inscriptions
found on top-stone of the spire of Louth Church, Lincolnshire, as taken during
the repairs in 1824.—Rev. C. Beatty Pownall. -
Drawings representing the Old Deanery, at Lincoln, with its interesting gate-
way tower, demolished in 1847 (see page 291), and some parts of the Minster,
illustrative of the peculiarities of that structure.
The Ven. the Archdeacon of Lincoln.
A painting, representing St. Giles' Church, Lincoln, in its former and more
perfect state ; and a drawing of Kirk's House in Lincoln.—Mr. Carline.
Selection of interesting drawings, illustrative of Lincolnshire, consisting of a
south-east view of Lincoln Minster, taken in 1799; north-east view of Southwell
Minster and Chapter-house, with a north-west view of that fine Church, 1809;
the Church and Bridge at Boston, 1807; north-east view of Grantham Church,
1811; north-east view of Newark Church ; north-west view of Belton Church,
and a view of Belton House, 1817; view of the singular late Norman Font at
Belton Church, and detailed representations of the eight subjects sculptured on its
sides, amongst which appear figures of a bishop and ecclesiastics, an acolyte
ringing the bells,” &c.—John Buckler, Esq., F.S.A.
A collection of drawings, comprising a very interesting and instructive series
of Early British Remains and “Druidical" Monuments, Stone-circles, Cromlechs,
&c., existing in Wiltshire, Cornwall, Wales, and other parts of the kingdom.-
Also, several Illustrations of Architectural Antiquities, views of Hengrave Hall,
the Abbey Church, and Market Cross at Malmsbury, the eastern side of York
Minster, and other interesting examples.—John Britton, Esq., F.S.A.
A collection of original drawings by the old masters, Polidoro, Carlo Maratti,
Albani, &c. They were brought from Italy by Dyer, the poet.
Mr. W. Hylton Longstaffe.
A collection of valuable drawings, thirty-five in number, by William and
* See an engraving in Simpson’s Baptismal Fonts.
l CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
T. Espin, chiefly illustrative of the Architectural Monuments of Lincolnshire.
They consisted of views of Newport, the striking Roman Gateway on the north
side of Lincoln ; the Entrance to the Chapter House, and exterior view of that
building, with Sketches of other portions of the Minster; views of Thornton
Abbey; several views of Southwell, the Chapter-house and ancient Palace ;
Tupholm Priory, representing the Refectory as it appeared in 1813; Legbourn
Abbey Church ; Bullington Abbey, a fragment of a wall, almost the only remaining
vestige; Beleau Abbey; an exterior north view of Croyland, and interior view
(now the parish church); the remains of the Chancel of Louth Park Abbey
Church; south and west Doors of Stow Church; the Bishop's Bridge, near Spittle;
the ancient Churches of Alverington, Cockerington, Clee, and Saxelby, with
representations of several fonts (at Croyland, Leasingham, Maltby le Marsh, and
Covenham), and sepulchral effigies and monuments in Southwell Minster, &c.;
the figures, at Saxleby, of a knight and lady, t. Ric. II. (the arms on his jupon,
three fusils in fesse), and an effigy at Alvingham.—Also, the curious oak chest in
Louth Church, sculptured with royal heads, rose and crown, &c.; and the seals
of Louth Abbey and School.—Mr. S. Paddison, Lincoln.
View of Caythorp Church, Lincolnshire —Rev. J. L. Petit.
View of Southwell Chapter-house.—Mr. W. Brooke.
Drawings, representing the proposed restoration of the Gateway of the White
Friars' Monastery at Stamford, with a ground plan and model in stone, of this
interesting example of mediaeval architecture.—Mr. W. Hopkinson, Stamford.
Drawing, by Mr. Cottingham, representing a curious processional cross, dis-
covered in the church-yard at West Farleigh, Kent, and now in the possession
of the Dean of Rochester; also a processional cross, recently found deposited,
probably for concealment at the Reformation, in one of the “pockets” of the
groining of the tower at Hereford Cathedral.—The Dean of Hereford.
Ancient portraits on panel of Henry IV., Edward IV., and Henry VII. The
latter from the Collection of the Rev. T. Howson.— Mr. E. J. Wºllson.
Two miniatures, of exquisite execution, by Mr. Henry Shaw, being copies from
the original portrait of Queen Mary, by Lucas de Heere, in the collection of the
Society of Antiquaries of London; and the original portrait of Mary Queen of
Scots, in the collection of Patrick Frazer Tytler, Esq.—Mr. Henry Shaw, F.S.A.
A collection of exquisite miniature portraits, in enamel, specimens of the art of
the last century.—Also, a curious miniature, representing the sable-featured
Madonna, supposed to be copied from some celebrated image of the Virgin, in
Portugal.—Dr. Charlesworth.
The Crucifixion, a spirited carving in oak, of the sixteenth century.—Also,
three carved panels of oak, from an ancient house in Lincoln, exhibiting the plume
of feathers and the devices of Prince Edward, afterwards Edward VI.
CŞ. Mr. E. J. Wºl/soº.
The Nativity, a carving in wood, gilded, probably of Flemish work, part of
an altar-piece or retable. Sixteenth century.—Rev. Edwin Jarvis.
A bronze statuette, of cinque-cento style, found at Castor, Northamptonshire.
It is a naked figure (height, 7% in.) One hand placed on the breast, the other
leans on a shield of sixteenth century form, charged with three lozenges or fusils.
—The Ven. the Archdeacon of Lincoln.
A portion of mosaic work, the opus Alexandrinum, from the dome of the
Mosque of Santa Sophia; some of the tesserae exhibiting gilding, laid in the
thickness of the glass, of which they are composed.—The Rev. Edwin Jarvis.
Model of Grantham Church, Lincolnshire. Scale, sixteenth of an inch to a foot.
—Mr. George Calder.
Models of the Ancient Gate of the House of the White Friars, near Stamford,
now the approach to the Infirmary; and of the Font at Fotheringhay Church,
Northamptonshire.-Mr. Langley, of Stamford.
CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. li
Models of Baptismal Fonts in Lincolnshire, executed under the direction of the
Cambridge Camden Society.—Copy of a curious inscription in the churchyard at
Thurlby, near Lincoln ; and drawings of the screen, and other details in that
church.-Sir E. Ffrench Bromhead, Bart.
Fragments of a miniature effigy of a Knight, possibly sepulchral, found amongst
the materials of the walls of the old buildings of the Hospital, at Lincoln,
demolished in June, 1848. The costume appears to be of the time of Richard II.
(Presented to the Institute.)—Mr. Philip W. Brockedon.
Cast from a miniature effigy of a mitred Ecclesiastic, existing in the Church of
Abbey Dore, Herefordshire. A representation of it is given in the Journal of
the Archaeol. Association, vol. ii., p. 361. In its present mutilated state the
slab measures 14% in. by 10 in. at top, and 8% in. across the bottom. Part of an
inscription appears on the margin, as follows, . . IA. PONTIFICIS. CO . . . . .
XPISTE: IOHPI . . .-The Very Rev. the Dean of Hereford.
Cast from the ancient scutcheon-plate and ring on one of the doors of Boston
Church, Lincolnshire.—Sir C. J. Anderson, Bart.
Rubbings from sepulchral brasses in St. Botolph's Church, Boston; with one
from a remarkable incised slab, discovered about 1820, on the site of the
Franciscan Friary, now occupied by the Grammar School at that town. (A repre-
sentation is given amongst the Illustrations.)—Mr. R. Goodacre, Boston.
Original monumental brass, the effigy 9 inches in length, with an inscribed
plate commemorative of Richard Littlebury, of Staneby, co. Lincoln, and Elizabeth
his wife, daughter of Sir Edmund Jenney, of Knoddishall, Suffolk, Knt. He died
in 1521, and Elizabeth in 1523. From the Church of Ashby-Puerorum, in Lindsey,
Lincolnshire, in which it was forthwith to be replaced.— Mr. E. J. Willson.
Sepulchral brasses from Continental Churches, including several beautiful
specimens from Bruges, and a very singular “Palimpsest.” These valuable
rubbings were most kindly presented to the Collection of the Institute.
Sir Charles Anderson, Bart.
Four rubbings from the fine sepulchral brasses, preserved in Westminster
Abbey, Archbishop Waldeby, 1397; Alianora, Duchess of Gloucester, 1399;
Sir John Harpedon, 1457; and John Estney, Abbot of Westminster, 1498.
Sir E. Ffrench Bromhead, Bart.
Rubbing from the remarkable sepulchral brass of Thomas de Topclyff, 1391, in
design resembling those attributed to Flemish engravers. It is preserved in
Topcliffe Church, Yorkshire (Archaeol. Journal, vol. ii., p. 207).
Mr. W. Hylton Longstaffe.
Rubbings from the inscription and sepulchral slabs existing in the Church of
St. Peter at Gowts, at Lincoln. (Manual of Cross-slabs, by the Rev. E. L. Cutts.
Pl. XIII. ; Boutell's Christian Monuments, p. 33).-Mr. Philip W. Brockedon.
Escutcheon of mixed metal, the heraldic bearing expressed by coloured enamel,
inlaid on the surface of the plate. It was formerly affixed to the monument of
John Russel, Bishop of Lincoln, who was interred under an altar tomb in the
Chantry Chapel, founded by him on the south side of the Lady Chapel.
He died in 1494. The arms are— Azure, two chevronels or, between three
roses argent. Two coats were borne by this bishop, and both are to be
seen in the dining-hall at the ancient episcopal palace at Buckden, with
his device, a throstle (!) carrying in its beak an inscribed scroll,—IE SWIS LE
RvscELLvy.” The earlier bearing was a chevron between three cross-crosslets
* In Camden’s Brit., ed. Gough, vol. ii., pl. vi., p. 25l., a representation is given of this
device, a roundel, probably a boss, described as “cut on the dormants of the dining-room;"
the bird is called there a hawk, but it is probably the redstart, rutacilla, in Italian revezuolo,
or corossolo (red tail). Cotgrave gives the old French names, “Rousselet, the river
nightingale. Rozelet, a very small and beautiful bird, which useth to sing very much,” living
among reeds, &c. This scens to be the reed-bunting, or tulaw des roseaua.
lii CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
fitchy : he subsequently bore the three roses, probably in allusion to the name of
Russel. Another escutcheon, formerly on the tomb of Bishop Russel, at Lincoln,
was removed or stolen about the year 1809. The bearing was, Ermines, a
chevron parti per pale, or and sa. (?) The field had been inlaid with white metal.
According to the sketches given by Henry Chitting, Chester Herald, in his notes
of Lincoln Minster, July, 1634 (Orig. in Coll. Arm. f. 12 vº.), the throstle
was represented in the Russel Chantry standing on a white rose.—The Rev. the
Precentor, Canon in Residence.
A letter N. of brass or latten plate, doubtless formed to be inlaid on a sepul-
chral slab, as part of the inscription around the verge. Slabs are of frequent
occurrence on which cavities or matrices appear, in which similar letters, now
removed, had been inserted. Height of the letter, 1% in.* Also, two frag-
ments of sepulchral brasses, taken from two distinct memorials; they are
two of the evangelistic symbols, within quatrefoils, the winged ox, and the eagle.
—Mr. E. J. Willson.
A letter T., for the like use, formed of latten plate, found near East Gate,
Lincoln. Height, 2 inches.—Mr. Dudding.
Ornamental leaves, formed of lead, and formerly gilded, used to decorate the
stalls in the choir of Lincoln Minister. The twelve stalls only towards the west
end, six on each side, were thus ornamented. The bosses of the canopies were
of wood, turned in the lathe, and each boss, at the intersection of the ribs of the
canopy, was covered by an ornament of this kind, attached by nails, and bent up
at the four corners to fit it for its position.—Mr. E. J. Willson.
SEPULCHRAL BRASSES OF LINCOLNSHIRE.
By the kindness of the Committee of the LINcolNSHIRE ARCHITECTURAL SocIETY, in
communicating the Collection in their possession, the series of incised memorials dis-
played for the gratification of the Institute, was nearly complete, comprising all the
remarkable eacamples eacisting in Lincolnshire, hitherto little known. We are indebted to
the obliging attention of the REv. F. PYNDAR Lowe, Hon. Sec. of the ARCHITECTURAL
SocIETY, who supplied a “List of Lincolnshire Brasses,” and the kind assistance of
MR. FRANKs, by whom the following detailed and descriptive Catalogue has been
prepared. It includes a few memorials, not comprised in the valuable collection
eachibited by the Lincolnshire Society.
ALGARKIRKE.—Nicholas Robertson, merchant of the Staple of Calais, and his
wives, 1498. Nave. He wears a gown, with gipciére and beads, to which is
attached a ring : on each side is a female figure. Inscription,-Sis testis Xpe
quod fi iacet hic lapis iste Corpus utornetur sed sp's ut memoretur. Quisquis
er' qui transier' stap'lege plora. Sü quod eris fuerä q’d esp' me p'cor ora.”
BARTON-UPON-HUMBER—Simon Seman, vintner, and Alderman of London, 1433.
A large figure; under the feet are two barrels. Chancel.
BIGBY-A lady, with pedimental shaped head-dress; circa 1500 –“Here
lyeth Elizabeth Skypwyth late the wyf of Willim Skypwyth Esquier Son and
heyre of Sº John Skypwyth of Ormesby in the counté of Lincoln knyght and
daught’ unto Willm. Tyrwhyt of Kettylby in the sam counte knygt.”
Dr. Edward Naylor, his wife and progeny, 1632. A mural brass.
Boston.—Walter Pescod and wife (her figure lost), 1398. He wears a gown
powdered with peas-cods and flowers, a mantle fastened on the right shoulder,
and a hood ; the figures placed under a large square canopy, the sides of which are
* These metal letters are rare. Gough, in his History of Croyland Abbey, Bibl. Topog.,
No. xi., p. 73, gives a representation of an A. of about the same dimensions as the above,
dug up about 1750, in a grave in the Abbey Church.
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Memorial of Visselus de Srđaier.burgh, found in 1 55, near the site of tr.
Franciscan Friary, at Boston, Lincºlnshirº
From an Impression exhibited by Mr. Goodacre, of Boston.
(Catalogue of Lincoln Museum, p. liii.)



CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. liii
formed with fifteen niches, five on each side, and two at the top, containing figures
of the Apostles. Three central niches probably contained figures of the Saviour
and angels with censers (now lost). Beneath the great canopy are two triple
canopies, one over each figure. Various parts are ornamented with the canting
device of peas-cods. North aisle.
A large figure of a priest, vested in a cope and stole, having in the orfrays figures
of St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. James, St.
Andrew, St. Bartholomew, and one other, probably an apostle. Circa 1410.
Chancel. (Noticed by Gough, Sep. Mon. Introd., Vol. ii., p. 314.)
Portions of figures of a civilian and two females, under a small triple canopy,
circa 1420. One of the female effigies only is perfect. South aisle.
A lady, circa 1460. She wears a long gown, girt very high, and a variety of
the horned head-dress. At her feet is a dog. No inscription.
Figures of a civilian and his wife, both much defaced ; circa 1470.*
A remarkable incised slab, memorial of Wisselus de Smalenburgh, merchant, of
Munster, 1312. It was discovered on the site of the Franciscan Priory, on the
south-east side of the town of Boston.f The foreign design of this interesting
memorial would lead to the supposition that it was engraved by a German artist.
A rubbing was kindly supplied by Mr. R. Goodacre, of Boston, and the effigy with
the shrine work surrounding it, has been carefully pourtrayed in the accompanying
woodcut, skilfully executed by Mr. Utting. The site of the Friary is now occu-
pied by the Grammar School... (See Archaeol. Journal, vol. vi. p. 54.)
BROUGHTON.—Knight and lady, holding hearts between their hands; circa 1370.
Height, 4 ft. 9 in. Chancel. (Engraved in Boutell's Brasses, p. 30.)
BURTON CoGGLES.–Sir Humphrey Cholmeley, and wife, 1620.
BURTON PEDWARDINE.-A female figure, circa 1631.
BuslingTHORPE.—Sir Richard de Buslingthorp, circa 1300. A small demi-
figure in chain mail, with surcoat and ailettes, the gauntlets scaled. In his hands
he holds a heart (?). The head rests on two cushions. The slab on which this
brass is laid, is coffin-shaped, and bears this legend in “Lombardic” capitals:—
“K ISSY . GIT SIRE • RYCHARD - LE FIZ SIRE IOHN DE .
BOSELING THORP - DEL • ALMY DEKY . DEWS - EYT - MERCY.”
(Figure engraved in the text of Waller's Brasses; the slab in Boutell's Christian
Monuments, p. 146.)
CoATES, GREAT.-Isabella Barnardiston, circa 1420. Nave.
Thomas Barnardiston and his wife, with the Resurrection, 1503. Chancel.
CoNISHOLME.—John Langholme, 1515, his wife, five sons, and six daughters.
Inscription as follows:– “Yº Hic sub lapide marmoreo tumulantur corpora
Johannis Langholme de Conisholme in Comitatu Lincolne Armiger et Anne
uxoris eius qui quidem Johannes obiit primo die mens’ Octobris Anno Christi
Millesimo quingentesimo quinto decimo quorum Animabus propicietur deus.
Amen. Ihu m'cy Lady helpe.”
CovenHAM, St. BARTHOLOMEw.—John Skypwythe, 1415. A figure in armour,
basinet and camail, jupon, and transverse sword-belt. Length, 2 ft. 10 in. :-" Hic
iacet Joh’es Skypwyth? Armiger qui obiit xv" die Mensis Julii Anno di Millimo
CCCC” XV” cui’aie p’piciet, d's, amen.” Chancel.
CRoft.—The head and arms of a figure in banded mail; part of a surcoat appears.
Circa 1300. (Boutell's Christian Monuments, p. 147.)
* In the Thorp Chantry chapel there was a brass of Isabella, d. and h. of Sir Edm. Thorp,
and wife of Philip Tilney, 1436. † Allen's Hist. of Lincolnshire, vol. i., p. 255.
† There was another fine incised slab near Boston, at Wyberton, representing Adam de
Franton, 1325, and Sibilla his wife.
liv CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
DRIBY.—James Prescot, and Alice his wife, 1583. Kneeling figures. Nave.
FISKERTON.—A priest, vested in a cope; circa 1490.
GRAINTHORPE.-A very rich foliated cross, standing on a rock in the sea.
Length, 7 ft. Shaft lost. Circa 1400. (Engraved in Boutell's Brasses.) Chancel.
GUNBY.—A knight and his lady, circa 1405. Armour of plate, with basinet
and camail, collar of SS, jupon and cingulum. Length, 5 ft. 6 in. In the nave.
Arms, three quatrefoils, in chief a boar. (Massingberde.) Double canopy, much
broken ; inscription around the verge imperfect, evidently of later date, in raised
letter, partly cut over an inscription in incised letter. The lady wears a crespine
coverchief, and collar of SS. “Pº Syr Thomas Massyngberde . . . . hys wyfe
specyale desyres all resuabull creaturs of yowr charyte to gyfe . . . . of evyr
lastyng lyfe wyth” . . . . (Two plates in Boutell's Brasses. See also Burke's
Commoners, vol. iii.)
William de Lodyngton, 1419. A fine figure, in judge's robe, mantle, and coif;
an anelace hangs at his girdle ; his feet rest on a spotted leopard. Over the
figure, which measures nearly four feet in length, is an elegant single canopy, and
two scutcheons, the dexter one lost; the other bears these arms —Paly of six
(arg, and az.) on a chief (gu.) a lion passant quadrant or, Lodington, impaling
crusuly a cinq foil or, Saltmersh. Under the figure are two inscribed plates:—
“Loudington William stricto tumulo requiescens—Justus erat quoniam sit celesti
dape vescens;” and the following —“Hic iacet Will's de Lodington quonda
unus iusticiarior” illustrissimi d’ni Regis Henrici quinti de co’i Banco qui obiit
nono die mensis Januar' Anno drii Mº CCCC° XIX” Cuius alie p’picietur de'
amen.”* Chancel. (Engraved in Illustr. of Monum. Brasses, Camb. Camd. Soc.,
p. 199.)
HAINTon.—John Henege and his wife, 1435. He wears a short gown, with a
hood. Inscription as follows:—“Hic jacet Johés Henege et Alicia uxor eius
qui obiit xxij" die Mensis Septembris Anno drii Mill'mo CCCC” XXXV". Cui'
a’ie p’piciet' de' amen.” North Chantry.
Sir Thomas Henneage, son of the last, 1453, his wife and daughter. He wears
an armorial tabard over his armour, and kneels at a desk. His wife wears
an armorial mantle; and behind her is another female effigy. Scrolls proceed
from their mouths. Two scutcheons of arms remain. Chanceſ. It is placed over
a tomb.
“Here under lieth Sir Thomas Henneage knight Chief Gentilmà of the prevey
Chamber to yº kinge of famous memorye King Henry the eight Sonne & heyre of
John Henneage Esquier who maried Kateryne Daughter of Sir John Skypwyth
knight whiche Sir Thomas and Kateryne had Isshu Elizabeth now being wyffe to
the right honorable the lorde Willoughbye of Parh’m . the said Sir Thomas
Henneage departid this liffe xxj* daye of August in the yere of our Lorde God
M! ccccc liij. uppon whose soul Jh’u have mercy. Amen.”
HALTon Holgate.—Bridgett Rugeley, 1658. Well-designed effigy, seen in three-
quarters.-" Here lies buried the body of Bridgett the wife of John Rugeley
daughter and heire of Thomas Thorey who Deceased the 15th day of May in ye
yeare of our Lord 1658. AEtatis suae 21.” Nave.
Holbrach.—A figure in armour (head lost) and a lady; circa 1420.
HoRNCASTLE-Sir Leo, or Lionel, Dymoke, 1519. He is represented kneeling ;
a mural figure. N. aisle. Four scutcheons of arms. On the pavement he is
again represented in his shroud.—“In Honore Scte et individue Trinitatis
orate p’. ai'a Leonis Dymoke milit' q' obiit xliijº die més' augusti A* Dni
Mº CCCCXIX. Cui' &c.”
* “Will. Lodington—constitut. 16 Junii, 1416. Pat. 3 Hen, W.” Dugd. Orig. Judic.
SEPULCHRAL BRASS AT IRNHAM, LINGOLNSHIRE.
E
ſ % } º º
£ixº~ºdº Hº
Júcartººtasſuttahºgaisºniquobuſvt/
|Dustführābāmūowgºng wºrld,
Sir Andrew Louttrell, lord of Irnham, died Sept. 6, 1390.
(Catal. of Museum, p. lv.)


CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. ly
INGOLDMELLs.-William Palmer, 1520. He wears a gown with long sleeves ;
at his side is a staff or crutch.--"Pray for the sowle of Will'm Palmer wyth yº
Stylt whiche decesid on holy Rode day Inyº yere of ow" lord god a M'CCCCC XX*
on whose sowle ihū haue mercy.” (Archaeol. Journal, vol. ii., p. 248.)
IRNHAM.—Sir Andrew Loutrell, 1390.* In a chantry north side of chancel.
Elegant canopy, but imperfect. Under the feet an inscription—“Hic iacet
Andreas Louttrell miles dii de Jrnh’m qui obijt vi" die septèbr' a” dili mill’o ccco
Nonagesimo cui’aie p’piciet' deus.” (See the annexed representation. It is also
engraved in Illustr. of Monum. Brasses, Camb. Camd. Soc.)
A figure in armour: circa 1430.
KELSEY, SouTH.—Knight and lady, circa 1410. In the nave. Length, 4 ft. 8 in.
A very curious example of military costume, especially in the defences of plate
for the face and throat; the singular recurved plates protecting the arm-holes,
the mitten-like gauntlets, and rich flexible cingulum. (Engraved in Boutell's
Brasses.)
LAUGHTON.—A fine figure in armour; circa 1400. He wears camail, jupon
with foliated skirt, transverse belt as well as cingulum; at his sword-hilt a
scutcheon charged with a flamboyant star of six points; at his feet a lion. A
triple canopy, with groining, in which appear two flamboyant stars. The canopy
appears to have suffered bad restoration. Underneath is this inscription (a later
insertion):—“Hic iacent Willmus Dalison Armig' quondā vicecomes & Escheator
comitat lincoli ac un’ justiciar' pacis & quor’ in eodem com. Et Georgius Dalison
filius et heres eius dé Willmi. Qui quidé Willms obiit decimo octavo die mésis
Decebris Anno di Mº CCCCC” xlviº & A" regni nup’ regis Henrici octavixxxviij.
Et dictus Georgius obiit xx" die mensis Junii Anno di Mº CCCCC” xlix & Anno
regni nup’ regis Edwardi sexti tertio. Quar’ afiiar' p'picietur deus. amen.”’t
(Engraved in Boutell's Monumental Brasses, p. 34.) Altar tomb, S. aisle.
LEADENHAM.—Lady Elizabeth Clynton, 1624.
LINwooD.ſ-John Lyndwode and his wife, 1419. Figures under a double
canopy; seven children below, under small canopies. A woolstapler standing
on a woolsack. Nave.
John Lyndewode, 1421. A fine figure of a merchant in a loose gown, full
sleeved, close at the wrists, and girt at the waist. An anelace hangs from his
girdle ; his feet rest on a wool-sack, marked with a merchant's device. Over the
figure is a rich single canopy, formerly surmounted by a rectangular one. One
scutcheon remains,—a chevron between three leaves (doubtless of the lynde or
lime-tree) or. Nave. The inscription, partly imperfect, is as follows:—
Hunc lapidem cernens lyndewode Johis Qué mors p’sternens . c
. M C quater & bis uno; Julii quoqu' mense festo praxedi mortisque.
Sic q' patris tumulo nati tumulus sociatur Quo velut in speculo mortis .
Ergo qui transis magno medio puer ausis Puras funde preces nobis
MABLETHORPE.-Elizabeth Fitzwilliam. Figure of a lady, with long flowing
hair, as having died unmarried. The inscription is as follows:—“Here lieth
Elisabeth dowghter of George Fitzwilliam of Malberthorp Esquier wich George
maried Elisabeth dowght of Sº Thomas barneston of great Coot knyght & the
* See the memoirs of the Louterels of Irnham, in Mr. Stapleton’s Account of the Holy
Trinity Priory, York, p. 177, in the York Transactions of the Archaeol. Inst.
+ This singuiar appropriation of an earlier memorial was noticed by the Rev. W. Drake in
Archaeol. Journal, vol. ii., p. 189.
it It deserves mention, that a slab with the indent of a cross-legged brass effigy exists here.
The name, Sir Henry . . . . . . w8 remains. The knight had ailettes : length of the figure
about 28 in.
lvi CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES.
said Elisabeth the yownger decessed the iij day of May the yere of o' lord god
M' ccc.ccxxijon whose Soule ihū haue m'cy amen.” Chancel.
Northorpe.—A man and his wives, circa 1600.
Norton DISNEY. —Slab bearing the impress or indent of a brass representing a
cross-legged knight.
An inscription with figures, commemorative of William Disney and his wife,
and Richard Disney, with two wives. Date 1578. It is a “Palimpsest,” with a
Dutch inscription on the reverse. This plate is now affixed to the wall, on hinges,
so that both sides may be examined. (Engraved in Gough's Sep. Mon.)
ORMSBY, SouTH.—A curious female figure, circa 1410. She wears her hair
enclosed in a crespine, with jewelled bordure, a veil thrown over it : her dress
closely buttoned up to the chin ; she has a necklace of beads, and the fastenings
of her mantle are large circular ornaments of rich chased work. Chancel.
Sir William Skypwyth, and his lady, 1482. A figure in armour, the lady
with coverchief and barbe, under a double canopy. Inscription as follows;·-
“Orate p’a‘iabz dāi Will’i Skypwyth Militis et Annetis ux'isei’ qui inferi'iacent
qui quidem Willm's obiit vicesimo septimo die Nouembr’ anno di Mill'mo
cccc lzXxij". quorum Animabus propiciet' deus.” Chancel.
PINCHBECK.—Elizabeth, wife of John Carr, 1600. A square plate, on which
appears a kneeling female figure, surrounded by armorial escutcheons, arranged
genealogically. Chancel.
SALMonBY.—A civilian, much defaced, xvth cent. Nave.
ScottER.—Marmaduke Tirwhit and his wife, 1599. Mural brass. Nave.
ScRIVELSBy.—Sir Robert Demoke, 1545. A figure in armour, the head resting
on a helmet, the beard very long. Over him is an escutcheon of the arms of
Dymock, with Marmion and other quarterings.—“Here liethe the Body of Sir
Robert Demoke of Scriuelsby knygt & baronet who departed owt of this present
lyfe in ye yere of own lord God Mº De xlv" upon whose sowle allmyghte God
haue m'cy amen.” Sir Robert was Champion at the Coronations of Richard III.,
Henry VII., and Henry VIII. Altar tomb.
SoMERSBy.—George Littlebury, 1612. Mural brass. Chancel.
SPILSBY-Margery, Lady Wylughby de Eresby, 1391. A lady, clad in the short
sideless garment, over her kirtle, and a mantle. Her hair is enclosed in a cres-
pine, and her head rests on a cushion. At her feet are two dogs. Of eight
escutcheons seven remain, bearing the arms of Bohun, Ufford, and Beke, quar-
terly, Zouch, Roos, Beaumont, and Ufford with Beke quarterly, impaling Zouch.
Inscription, as follows, “Hic iacet Margeria que fuit uxor Roberti de Wylughby
dili de Eresby que obiit xviij die mensis (octobris amo dni Mill'im” ccc) nonagesimo
p'mo cui’ ale p’piciet' deus.” The symbols of the Evangelists are placed at the
corner of the slabs.”
Knight and lady, of the Wylughby de Eresby family; circa 1410. Armour
chiefly of plate, skirt of taces. A coronal of roses round the basinet. Details
very rich. Under the knight is a scutcheon, quarterly 1 and 4, a cross engraved,
2 and 3, effaced. On a small scutcheon on the scabbard is a lion rampant.
Length, 4 ft. Chancel. Canopy-shafts and inscription lost. (Two plates in
Boutell's Brasses. See also Shaw's Topographer, vol. i., p. 349.)
STALLINGBURGH.—Sir William Ayscugh and his wife, circa 1510. Chancel.
* An interesting account of the monumental effigies and memorials of the Bekes and
Wylughby's, at Spilsby, is given by Gervase Hollis in his Lincolnshire Church Notes, Harl.
MS. 6829. See also Shaw's Topographer, vol. i. p. 349.
CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES. lvii
STAMFord.—St. John's.-A priest in the mass vestments. Henry Sargeant, 1497.
A burgess, or secular person, Nicholas Byldysdon, 1489, and his wife.
St. Mary's.-A female figure, Margaret Elmes, 1471.
All Saints.-An inscription in very beautiful character. A figure of a civilian,
with a girdle having a curious pendant, and a purse or aulmonière. In 1837, this
plate was kept at the vicarage.
John Brown and his wife, figures placed under canopies, 1480. They appear
standing on woolpacks; device, the pelican, in piety, with “Christ me spede,” as
a motto.
A Female figure, 1481.
See engravings in Peck's Annals of Stamford.
STOKE Rochford.—Henry Rochforth, in armour, 1470.
TATTERSHALL.-William Moor, Provost of the College, vested in a cope, the
orfrays ornamented with figures of saints. 1456. A fine example. (Engraved by
Gough, Sep. Mon., Vol. ii., pl. lxvi.)*
Ralph Lord Cromwell, Lord High Treasurer, Founder of the Collegiate Church
at Tattershall, 1455, and Joan his wife, 1469. Only part of his figure remained
when Gough gave his account of the monuments: these memorials have since
suffered mutilation, and portions still remaining are misplaced. (Engraved in
Gough’s Sep. Mon., Vol. ii., pl. lxii.)
Maud, daughter and heiress of Lord Cromwell, and wife of Robert Lord
Willoughby, 1497. An interesting figure under a canopy. (See Gervase Hollis'
Lincolnshire Church Notes, Harl. MS., 6829, and Shaw's Topographer, Vol. i.,
i. 239.)
THEDDLETHORPE.-Robert Hayton, 1424. An interestingexample, about 224 inches
in length. Basinet and camail; armour of plate and skirt of taces. Two escut-
cheons with these arms, billety, a lion passant. Beneath is an inscription, in
raised letter.—“Hic iacet Robertus Hayton Armiger qui obijt xxv" die Mensis
Februarij Anno di Millimo ce.cc vicesimo quarto cui’aie p’piciet' deus amé.”
South aisle. (Engraved in Boutell's Monumental Brasses.)
WALTHAM.—John Waltham, son and daughter, demi-figures. 1420. Nave.
WINTERTON.—The wives of John Rudd. 1504. Chancel.
WINTHoRPE.-Richard Barowe, and his wife. 1505. He was merchant of the
staple of Calais.
Robert Palmer. 1515.4
A fine bowl of Oriental porcelain, decorated with figures and ornaments from
designs transmitted from England for the purpose, probably in the earlier part of
the last century. The subjects represent the Four Ages of Human Life ; the
infant in arms, the youth beating a drum,_the well-dressed coxcomb, and the
* There was formerly another sepulchral brass here, of an ecclesiastic, Hugo de Wondeby,
1411 (Gough). The church and monuments have suffered greatly from injury and neglect.
+ To the above Catalogue may be added the following.—Hatcliffe, Brasses of a knight
and lady: he has a collar of SS. (Gent. Mag., vol. xcix., p. 409.) At Kingerby there was a
slab with a demi-figure of a man, bearing a scutcheon on his right arm, a chevron between
three birds. At Great Grimsby were brasses of William Wele (with collar of SS.) and his
wife, in the N. aisle. Also, Galfridus Pedde, 1408. Many incised memorials, now probably lost,
are described in Gervase Hollis's Church Notes, taken 1634 (Harl. M8,6829): Frescheville's
Notes, taken 1680. The brasses formerly in Lincoln Minster, are sketched in Dugdale’s
Visitation, in Lord Winchelsea's library, at Eastwell, Kent, of which a transcript is preserved
in the Library of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln. Stukeley, in Itin. Cur. pl. 16, gives
the curious brass of William, Bishop of Lincoln, 1514, formerly near the W. entrance of the
Minster.
(2
lviii NOTICE OF THE STUKELEY COLLECTIONS.
monk, an aged man on his death-bed. In the centre is inscribed, Sic via est
hominum, and the four ages are characterised by the following verses:-
(1) Behold the child by Nature’s kindly law,
Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw.
(2) Some livelier plaything gives his youth delight,
A little louder, but as empty quite.
(3) Scarfs, garters, gold, amuse his riper stage,
And beads and pray’r-books are ye toys of age.
(4) Pleas'd with this bauble still as that before, *.
Till tired he sleeps, and life's poor play is o’er.
Eachibited by the Rev. Henry Jarvis.
A fine specimen of Italian ware, painted with a subject, supposed to be after
Giulio Romano, representing a battle-scene.—Mrs. Arthur Trollope.
Two beautiful cups, of Oriental workmanship, lined with gold,—Mrs. Humphry
Sibthorp.
A plate of Oriental porcelain, emblazoned with an armorial achievement,
supposed to be connected with the Tyrwhitts, of Stainfield Hall, Lincolnshire.
The arms are, Gules, a castle arg., in base a lion seiant retrogardant, or, im-
paling, arg., a chevron engrailed between three lapwings (?) Sa. Two crests,
a Saracen's head, and a sword erect. Motto, -VE DAL AM DARO-Richard
Ellison, Esq.
Specimens of a service of fine Oriental porcelain, emblazoned with the bearings
of the Hodgson family of Northumberland, and identical with those of Sir
H. Hudson, of Wanlip, co. Leicester, Bart.—Mr. W. Hylton Longstaffe.
NOTICE OF THE STUKELEY COLLECTIONS.
IN THE PossESSION OF JOHN BRITTON, ESQ., F.S.A.
AMongst the valuable MSS. exhibited in the Museum formed at Lincoln,
during the Meeting of the Institute, and briefly described in the foregoing Cata-
logue, two books are mentioned of more than ordinary interest to the Lincolnshire
archaeologist and to antiquaries in general. They are the autograph memorials of
Stukeley, a native of the county, and who sought with unwearied zeal to illustrate
its antiquities; the first secretary, also, of the Society of Antiquaries of London,
when that institution was founded, in 1718. These volumes form a portion of
the curious collections in the possession of Mr. Britton, by whose kind per-
mission the following particulars are here given. They cannot be regarded as
inappropriate in a volume expressly devoted to antiquarian researches in Lincoln-
shire. The entire “Stukeley Collections,” may be described as comprising an
autobiography of considerable length, with a series of his diaries and journals,
and accounts of the transactions of various literary and scientific associations
with which he was intimately connected. It includes his correspondence with
many eminent historians and antiquaries of his time; particularly numerous
unpublished letters from Bishop Warburton; and the whole of the communica-
tions with Bertram, of Copenhagen, in reference to the Itinerary of Richard of
Cirencester, on the history and authenticity of which they throw light. There
are also numerous drawings by Dr. Stukeley, antiquarian notes and personal
memorials, supplying altogether a remarkable amount of information, not less in
regard to the state of science and literature in his times, than as materials for a
memoir of one of the most eminent Lincolnshire antiquaries of the last century,
by whose indefatigable industry and devotion to researches—then viewed with

NOTICE OF THE STUKELEY COLLECTIONS. lix
derision, the rise of a more intelligent taste for the study of national antiquities
was essentially encouraged. -
The two little volumes, produced at Lincoln by Mr. Britton for the gratification
of the meeting, comprised various details curiously pourtraying the growth of
Stukeley’s love of antiquity as also the spirit of his times. The germ of his strong
taste for antiquarian investigation may probably be traced to the following inci.
dents. Speaking of his early delight in seeking herbs at Fleetwoods, near
Holbeach, with James Ayscough, a relation of Sir Isaac Newton, Stukeley
remarks: “Another place in our own parish took up some of my time, called
Barringtons, full of motes, banks, and ruins of a fortify’d hall, belonging to that
antient family, much wood being then in the place. About this time,” (in the
spring of 1700, when Stukeley was thirteen years old,) “one Lenton found a
great pot full of Roman coyn, digging to make a grip round a hay-stack, at the
next parish, Fleet: these were of the lower empire and 30 tyrants; but this
much excited my curiosity and latent love of antiquitys. I presently got some
of them, and began a collection, and drew ‘em out with exactness.”
The subsequent circumstances of Stukeley's early life ; his vain attempt to
read law at Staples Inn, in compliance with his father's wishes ; his admission
at Corpus College, Cambridge, in 1703, where his thoughts seem to have been
more devoted to making a “ground plot" of that ancient city, than to any
academic studies; his subsequent study of physic, whilst he indulged his taste
for taking drawings of churches and rambling far to visit historic sites;–all
these, and much more, are quaintly detailed in this autobiography. He seems to
have been singularly partial to forming societies for scientific objects: in 1710,
when practising physic at Boston, on his first return from London, he records
that he “ erected a Botanic Club ;” and resuming his “life of study and
curiosity’ in the metropolis, in 1717, he took an active interest in founding the
Antiquarian Society." Of his habits at that time, he notes the following parti-
culars: “In 1718, Mr. Roger and Sam Gale and I took a journey, thro’ my eager
desire, to view Abury, an antiquity altogether unknown ; but of which I had
conceiv'd an high notion. Then we went to Stonehenge, which surpriz'd me
beyond measure ; we visited Wilton, and that laid the foundation for the great
intimacy my Lord Pembroke (Thomas) honor'd me with.-I was the first person
made a free mason in London for many years : we had great difficulty to find
members enough to perform the ceremony ; immediately upon that, it took a
run, and ran itself out of breath, thro’ the folly of the members.-I began a
vertuoso meeting in Ave Mary Lane. I began another in Orange Street ; we had
old Mr. Johnson's picture hung up in the room; we paid for painting it by
Highmore. My old friend, the ingenious councellor, James Hill, pronounc'd a
discourse there memoriter, about the Druids. In the memorable South Sea year,
1720, I traded in the Ally, and used to get 30 or 40 pound in a morning. This
increas'd my distast to business.”
Stukeley soon abandoned his practice as a London physician, and retired to
Grantham, to pursue his speculations on Druidism, and institute literary or
antiquarian periodical meetings, in concert with Peck and a few other persons,
at Croxton, at Greetham and West Deeping. But his efforts to introduce a taste
for such pursuits in his native county were of small avail. “I twice endevor'd
to erect a truly literary society at Stamford, by the name of Brazen Nose Society,
but in vain. I fill’d some quarto books with the memoirs; but, as at first I
might say, quorum pars magna fui, in a little time, pars tota.” The only efficient
society in Lincolnshire, at that period, seems to have been that formed by
Maurice Johnson at Spalding, which still exists; and we are indebted to the
president, the Rev. Dr. Moore, both for the interesting Notices included in this
volume (see p. 82), and for his kindness in producing the original Minute-books,
replete with curious local information, for the gratification of the Institute,
during the meeting at Lincoln. They were liberally deposited in the Museum,
for the examination of the antiquaries assembled on that occasion.

* See a full account of this Institution—Introd. to the Archaeologia, vol. i., p. xxxiii.
lx NOTICE OF THE STUKELEY COLLECTIONS.
There is much in the “Stukeley Collections” which appears well-deserving of
publication, and we hope that Mr. Britton may carry into effect the intention
which he has expressed of giving to the world some of these interesting me-
morials. The present purpose has been solely to avail ourselves of his courteous
permission, by calling attention to their curious character, more especially as
connected with the county to which this volume specially relates.
A century since, Stukeley could find scarcely any one in Lincolnshire or its
vicinity of tastes congenial to his own. He was not, however, without encourage-
ment from distinguished patrons, especially the Duke of Montague, who ultimately
recalled him to London, and gave him preferment. “Whilst I was rector of
All Saints, Stamford, (Stukeley notes in his pocket-book,) I became well ac-
quainted with Beverley Butler, Esq., owner of Barnhill House, which I after-
wards bought of him and lived in it, till I removed to London by the Duke of
Montagu's nomination. In that house was an old family painting on board,
seemingly done by Hans Holben, being the monumental effigies of the Wingfield
family, of which Mr. Butler was descended. It was done in a genealogical
descent from the Earl of Salisbury and his countess, whose pictures and arms
were there delineated—that Earl who was one of the founders of the garter and
ancestor of the Duke of Montagu. This painting, of great value, I presented to
the Duke of Montagu, who was infinitely delighted with it. I presented to him
a fine seal of one of his ancestors in Henry VIII.'s time, cut in box. I presented
intaglias, coyns, drawings innumerable, accounts of antiquitys, whatever I
thought agreeable to his Grace, that was curious, for I had no body near me that
set º value upon curiosity, and I look’d upon myself as dead to the learned
World.”
This note of a highly curious work of art has been extracted, not merely as
a sample of the contents of the volumes kindly exhibited by Mr. Britton, but
because this identical painting was produced at one of the meetings of the
Institute in London, by permission of his Grace the Duke of Buccleugh, in whose
possession it is preserved. . It was then stated, by Mr. T. Hudson Turner, who
gave a detailed account of the picture, that it may be attributed to Guillim
Stretes, painter to Edward VI., rather than to Holbein. The curious details of
costume show that, probably, it had been copied or composed from some work of
art of a much earlier period.




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THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN.
BY EDWARD JAMES WILLSON, ESQ., F.S.A.
A SPACIOUs and convenient mansion for the bishop's
residence, near to his cathedral, would, of course, be one of
the first appendages required, upon the establishment of the
episcopal see at Lincoln. Here, in future, was to be his
principal house ; although the vast extent of the diocese,
reaching, as it formerly did, from the Humber to the Thames,
made it expedient for the bishop to have several other man-
sions in the different counties subject to his jurisdiction, as
well as one in the metropolis, in order to his occasional
attendance at Court. The translation of the see from Dor-
chester in Oxfordshire, then a poor and small town, to
Lincoln, which at that period was esteemed one of the most
populous and important places in England, took place very
soon after the Norman Conquest; but the exact year has
been much disputed. By some historians it is dated in 1088,
in the second year of the reign of William Rufus; but this
is certainly too late. From a careful collation of the state-
ments of our ancient chroniclers, it appears to have been
decreed in 1072; as the late Dr. Samuel Pegge, Prebendary
of Lincoln, a most industrious antiquary, concluded, after a
minute investigation."
The difficulties, however, attending the foundation of
Lincoln Cathedral, which was strongly opposed by Thomas,
Archbishop of York, who claimed all Lindsey and Lincoln as
parts of his province and diocese, the great cost of land to
* MSS. now in the Bodleian Library at
Oxford. King William the First in his
charter says expressly, as Dr. Pegge has
observed, that he had granted the trans-
lation of the see from Dorchester to
Lincoln “ auctoritate et consilio Alex-
andri Papae et Legatorum ejus.” This
was Alexander the Second, who died
20th April, 1073; consequently, this
transaction was prior to that date, and
probably it was ordered in 1070, when
three legates were here, at which time
Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, was
deposed.
B
2 THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN.
be purchased for the site of the church, with houses around
it for the dean and canons,—and other obstacles, so far
delayed the proceedings of Remigius, our first bishop, that
at his death, in 1092, the cathedral church was unfinished;
although so far completed as to be thought fit for consecra-
tion; which ceremony was accordingly performed with great
solemnity immediately after his death. The good bishop had
probably contented himself in his visits to Lincoln with a
temporary abode in the house of some of his clerical brethren,
as we find no notices of any palace in his time.
The foundation of the Bishop's Palace has been commonly
ascribed to Robert de Chesney, the fourth Bishop of Lincoln,
on account of a grant made to him by King Henry the Second
about the year 1155, in which the site of the palace is clearly
described. But this charter was no more in fact than an
exemplification of a former grant, made by King Stephen to
Bishop Alexander, at least ten years earlier. Nor was even
that the original charter; for King Henry the First had
given license to Robert Bloet, the immediate successor of
Remigius, to make a gate in the wall of the Bail; a privilege
which could be of no value to the bishop unless he had
acquired some land on the outside of the wall, where the
palace was afterwards erected.” This was probably about
the year 1110.
Another charter is extant by which Henry the First granted
to Bishop Alexander the “Port of Eastgate, with all the lands
that are beyond it, for his dwelling;” for so the record reads
according to the copy published in the Monasticon ; but a
transcript of this charter, in an ancient register of the cathe-
dral, describes the Port of Eastgate, with the tower that is
over it.” We need not stop to inquire which of these is the
more correct reading, the object of the grant being evidently
to enable the bishop to make at least a temporary lodging at
* See the royal charters granted to * Monast. iii. p. 266*. “De portà de
the Cathedral of Lincoln, in Monasticon
Anglicanum, Vol. iii. pp. 257, &c. Edit.
1673. In the enlarged edition of this
noble work, 1830, the account of Lincoln
Cathedral is placed in Wol. vi. Pt. III.
pp. 1266–1292. The additional matter
is not of much importance.
Eastgata.” In Remigii Chronicon, a very
ancient record in the Archives of the
Cathedral, the words are, “Sciatis me
dedisse et concessisse Alexandro Episc.
Lincoln. portam de Eastgató, cum turri
qui supra ipsam est ad 8e hospitandum.”
THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN. 3
the east gate of the Bail; where accordingly we find the
bishop possessed of some land long afterwards, which was
ultimately given up for the enlargement of the deanery.
Here it may be useful to observe that the upper town, on
the top of the hill, was anciently called the Bail, a name
which probably was given to it on the erection of the Castle
by William the Conqueror. This was the site of the Roman
city, Lindum. The plan was quadrangular, being about
1300 feet from east to west, and 1200 feet from north to
south. It was surrounded with strong walls; and on three
sides with large ditches; the southern wall standing upon
the edge of the hill, where no excavation was required; and
being also included within the extended walls of the city,
which ran down the hill towards the river. The Bail had
four gates, facing the cardinal points of the compass; and
the space within the walls was divided into four quarters by
streets. The castle occupied the south-west quarter. The
South-eastern one was chosen for the cathedral ; a noble
situation, certainly ; but of only moderate extent in its
original limits, before the Close was enlarged by subsequent
purchases and royal grants. The Bail, or Liberty of the
Castle, and the Close, or Liberty of the Cathedral, were both
exempt from the municipal jurisdiction which the burgesses
of Lincoln exercised by charters from the Crown.
The charter granted by Henry the Second to Bishop Robert
the Second, or De Chesney, as above mentioned, grants to
him “all the lands for his buildings and houses, with the
fosse of the Bail wall on the eastern side, by the cemetery of
St. Michael's church, as far as the cemetery of St. Andrew ;
and from St. Andrew's cemetery as far as the city wall
towards the east. And that he might freely perforate the
wall of the Bail, for his entrance and exit, towards the
church ; and so to build that his building might extend from
one wall to the other.” Agreeably to this permission, we
find the site of the palace bounded on the north by the
southern wall of the Bail; on the east by the city wall; on
the west by the church and cemetery of St. Michael-on-the-
* Monast. iii. 26.7°. “De fossato et muro Ballii ad faciendam portam.” The date
must have been about 1155.
B 2
4. THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN.
Mount ; and towards the south by the site of St. Andrew's
church, which has been long since taken away, together with
many other ancient parochial churches in Lincoln.
Bishop Henry de Burghersh obtained license in 2nd of
Edward the Third [A.D. 1328], to crenellate and fortify his
palace at Lincoln with turrets and battlements. The same
prelate, who was then Chancellor of England, also procured
another patent, in the following year, for enlarging the palace,
by concession of the Mayor of Lincoln. The garden extending
along the south side of the palace was then probably added
to the former limits; and a very pleasant and useful addition
it was. Richard the Second confirmed the liberties of the
Bishop's Palace, as well as those of the Cathedral Close, when
Dr. John Buckingham was bishop. The palace has always
enjoyed every legal immunity, being extra-parochial, and
subject to no municipal authority, nor chargeable with land-
tax, poor-rates, or other local impositions.
No regular accounts of the progressive building of the
palace have come down to us, and only a few scattered
notices can be gleaned from the ancient writers. Bishop
Bloet, who filled the see thirty-one years, might begin the
foundations; he died in 1123. His successor, Alexander,
was a powerful and munificent prelate, and sat almost twenty-
four years. He repaired the cathedral, which had been
greatly injured by fire, and arched it over with stone. Bishop
Alexander erected three castles on his episcopal estates; at
Sleaford, in this county; Newark, in Nottinghamshire; and
Banbury, in Oxfordshire. The palace at Lincoln, undoubtedly,
was not overlooked by this prelate; but we cannot assign
any part of it to him with certainty. Nor have we any
record of the works of Robert de Chesney; but as he obtained
a confirmation of the site from King Henry the Second, we
may be sure he would not neglect the buildings. This
bishop died in 1167. St. Hugh, who was Bishop of Lincoln
from 1185 to 1200, is recorded to have begun a fine hall in
the palace, which was left unfinished at his death. This hall
was completed by Bishop Hugh de Welles, who also built the
kitchen, bestowing great cost on these buildings.” His
* Martilogium Dec. et Cap. Linc. Cath. See also Giraldus Cambrensis, in Anglia
Sacra, Pars 2da, p. 419 ; folio, 1691.
THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN. 5
decease happened in 1234. Bishop Grosseteste does not
appear to have occupied himself much in building, the
spiritual duties of his high office in the church engrossing all
his thoughts. He is said, however, to have built a hall,
which I think was probably at Buckden Palace, in Hunting-
donshire, where his death took place in 1253. The hall at
Buckden, which was entirely pulled down during the period
of the Commonwealth, resembled that of Lincoln Palace,
being divided into a centre and two aisles, by pillars and
arches, and having a large porch at the entrance vaulted
with stone ; but it was less than half the size of this.”
Bishop Henry de Burghersh, as we have already seen,
embattled and fortified this palace; as he also did three others
of his episcopal mansions, viz., that of Stow Park; Nettleham,
near Lincoln ; and Liddington, in Rutlandshire, where also
was a park. His successor, Thomas Beke, is said, in some
modern descriptions of the palace, to have added to its build-
ings, but this is erroneous ; the arms of Bishop William
Alnwick having been mistaken for those of Beke, being
similar in form, but different in colour.”
Bishop Alnwick was translated from the see of Norwich
to this of Lincoln in 1436, and here he presided until his
decease about the end of the year 1449. He must have
been a most liberal and active builder; for, besides what he
had done at Norwich, he contributed much to the embellish-
ment of the western towers and entrances of our cathedral,
and particularly of the vestibule under the southern, or
St. Hugh's tower. He also erected a new chapel in his
palace, with the inner entrance tower, and several convenient
rooms adjoining to the chapel. In short, Bishop Alnwick
seems to have done more towards the improvement of the
palace buildings than any prelate since its first erection.
* The Parliamentary Survey of Buck-
den Palace, made in 1647, describes the
hall as being “twenty yards long, and
twelve yards broad, about half covered
with lead, the rest with stone slatt.” The
hall of Lincoln Palace is said by the sur-
vey to be “60 foote of assise in breadth,
and 90 foote of assise longe.” These
rather exceed the actual dimensions,
which were 84 feet by 58.
7 The arms of Beke were gules, a cross
sarcelly argent; those borne by Bishop
Alnwick were argent, a cross sarcelly
sable. This prelate's arms still remain
sculptured on the doors of the tower built
by him, and in other parts of the ruins;
and the same shield was formerly painted
in the windows of the palace.
6 THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN.
The arms of Bishop William Smith, the founder of Braze-
nose College, at Oxford, still remaining over the outward
gate, show that he made Some reparations of the palace.
He died in January, 1513-14.
Bishop John Longland, who presided over the see of
Lincoln from 1521 to 1547, was the last prelate who was
able to display the magnificent style of living which had
heretofore been maintained by the Bishops of Lincoln. He,
indeed, by giving way to the capricious measures of a
tyrannical and sacrilegious prince, escaped destruction ; but
he saw his cathedral plundered ; the abbeys, monasteries,
and hospitals of his diocese destroyed; and he himself
degraded by a participation in the shameful scenes of the
successive royal marriages and divorces. The arms of France
and England impaled with those of Howard, quartering
Brotherton, &c., painted in the chapel and other apartments
of the palace, were melancholy memorials of the visits of Henry
the Eighth and his youthful bride Catharine Howard, in 1541,
when the King made a progress to York, and was entertained at
Lincoln by Bishop Longland. Here, in a cellar, as one historian
asserts,” or in the Queen's chamber, as another version of
the story runs, this unhappy young creature was accused of
entertaining a long interview, during the night, with Thomas
Culpepper, a gentleman of the Court, and her own maternal
relation. The parties were not alone, and their conference
might be perfectly innocent ; but it was added to the other
criminal allegations; and nothing short of torture and a cruel
execution could satisfy the vengeance of Henry the Eighth.
Dr. Henry Rands, alias Holbeche, the immediate successor
of Bishop Longland, was compelled by the ministers of the
young king, Edward the Sixth, to give up almost all the
episcopal estates, and to accept of impropriate tithes, a part
of the plunder of the monasteries, in lieu of lands; a most
inadequate exchange. He was married, and had a family to
provide for ; and therefore such a residence as the Palace of
Lincoln was greatly above his means of living. Nettleham
* Burnet's Abridgment of the History of the Reformation, 2nd Edit. 8vo. 1683,
p. 272. See Vol. iv. of Miss Agnes Strickland's Lives of the Queens of England,
p. 410. Edit. 1842.
THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN. 7
Grange, or Manor-House, suited him better, and there he
died in 1551.
After this period Lincoln Palace appears to have been
much neglected; the bishops making Buckden their usual
place of residence. In June 1617, when King James the
First make a visit to Lincoln, he was entertained by Bishop
Neale, at dinner in his palace, after his Majesty had heard a
sermon preached by the bishop in the Minster, and had
touched fifty persons for the cure of the King's Evil; but the
royal lodgings were at St. Catharine's Hall, on the outside of
the South Barr, then a mansion belonging to Sir Thomas
Grantham, and formerly a Gilbertine Priory.
The celebrated prelate, Dr. John Williams, Lord Keeper of
the Great Seal, Dean of Westminster, Precentor of Lincoln, &c.,
became Bishop of Lincoln in 1621; and about four years after-
wards he undertook the repair of this palace, as well as that
of Buckden. Lincoln Palace was then so greatly dilapidated
that the bishop's biographer, Dr. Hacket, speaks of its repara-
tion as a work of formidable expense; however, a thorough
repair was accomplished in three years' time. Dr. Williams
also purchased a collection of books for a library in this
palace, and had timber prepared towards the building a room
for this purpose, but this generous design was defeated by
the troubles in which the bishop soon became involved; and
in the disordered times that succeeded, the books were
stolen, and the timber was taken for the fortification of
the city. The destruction of this stately mansion speedily
ensued.
At the commencement of 1643 the High Sheriff of the
County was ordered to remove the prisoners out of Lincoln
Castle, in order to the speedy fortifying of the same, and
the Bishop's Palace was to be taken for a temporary
prison. In 1647 three surveyors were sent by the trustees
appointed by the Long Parliament for the sale of archbishops'
and bishops’ lands and possessions; the hierarchy of the
Church of England having been abolished by an Act of the
preceding year. The report of these surveyors, which is
still preserved in the episcopal registry, gives a particular
account of the palace as it then stood, with the items of
8 THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN.
weight and measure of all the materials. This is an important
document, without which it would be impossible to ascertain
the appearance and form of the palace as it stood in its
perfect state. A copy of the whole survey would far exceed
the limits of this paper, and the information to be derived
from it will be most conveniently taken in the course of the
description of the several buildings.
I have not been able to discover how the palace was
disposed of after the Parliamentary survey was made, nor
whether any sale of it took place; but in 1660, that learned
and respectable prelate, Dr. Robert Sanderson, succeeded to
the possession of it, together with the other estates of his
predecessors in the see of Lincoln; all the sales and alienations
of church property made during the Commonwealth being
declared void. Bishop Sanderson has left a brief record of
the state in which he found these premises, as well as that of
other parts of his possessions. Lincoln Palace had been
stripped of its leaded roofs, and almost totally ruined. A
house, then inhabited by Colonel James Berry, had been
formed out of the chapel and the tower, with some rooms
adjoining to it; the buildings of Bishop Alnwick. There was
a stable with a coach-house then standing,” and a long
building containing about eight rooms, which seems to have
stood on the site of the modern house. The whole site is
described as containing about three acres of land, which
rather exceeds the true measure, of which about half an acre
is contained in the lower garden. Dr. Sanderson repaired
Buckden Palace, which had also been alienated, and grievously
ruined, in the time of the Commonwealth ; and from that
period the Bishops of Lincoln made it their residence until
the recent changes of the diocese, when Buckden Palace,
including the noble brick tower built by Bishop Russell in
the reign of Henry the Seventh, was abandoned and reduced
to ruin ;-too stern a measure for the lover of antiquity to
look upon without regret.
Lincoln Palace appears to have remained in the same ruined
* This stable and coach-house were built in 1726. Their removal led to a discovery
on the west side of the hall, which had of the bay window, and of the remains of
been then reduced to a ruin. These other windows of the hall.
buildings are shown in Buck's Views taken
THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN. 9
state in which Bishop Sanderson found it, until the year
1726 ; when Dr. Richard Reynolds, then bishop, unfortu-
nately gave leave to the dean and chapter to pull down the
ruins, and take away stone for the repairs of the cathedral,
during a period of three years. This permission had been
sanctioned by the royal assent, and by a faculty from the
Archbishop of Canterbury. It may be lamented as doubly
unfortunate; for, not only were the ruins of this stately edifice
reduced, and deprived of their characteristic ornaments, but
the materials thus obtained were used in building up those
clumsy arches and walls that obstruct the entrances into the
cathedral, under the western towers." In the beginning of
the following year, 1727, the same bishop granted a lease of
the premises to Edward Nelthorpe, doctor in medicine, then
of the Close of Lincoln, for twenty-one years.
The lease sets forth that this ancient palace. “is, and for
many years last past has been, wholly ruinous and decayed,
so that no part thereof has within time of memory been
habitable, except a small dwelling-house, or tenement, now
in the tenure of James Debiah, clerk; and whereas the said
Edward Nelthorpe proposes and agrees to improve the said
dwelling-house, or tenement, and premises, at his own cost
and charges; so as to make the same more commodious for
the bishops in the time of their said triennial visitations.”
The premises are then demised to Dr. Nelthorpe, “and so
much of those buildings now ruined and decayed, called the
Palace, or Bishop's Palace, as shall not be moved and carried
away for the repairs or use of the cathedral church.” The
use of the house was reserved to the bishops, at the times of
their visitations; and accordingly their lordships used to
inhabit it on those occasions for a few days.
The house, or tenement, above mentioned, formerly in-
habited by Colonel James Berry, and lastly by the Rev.
James Debiah, was pulled down by Dr. Nelthorpe; only
* This tasteless work has been untruly
ascribed to James Gibbs, the architect.
the vaulting of the nave, was removed by
Mr. James Essex, who substituted the
Mr. John James was the person employed.
The most offensive part, consisting of a
low and heavy arch, with stone-work
above it which blocked up the space be-
tween the towers, reaching quite up to
light arch now standing in its place. ‘The
arms of Bishop Reynolds, carved and
blazoned on a large shield, were set up in
the centre of Mr. James's work, as a
memorial of the bishop's liberality.
10 THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN.
Bishop Alnwick's tower being left standing; and the present
mansion was then erected. After the death of Dr. Nelthorpe,
the lease was transferred, in 1738, to Mrs. Eliz. Amcotts.
It was successively renewed from time to time, until the
remaining term was sold to the present bishop, when his
lordship came to reside near Lincoln, and took the palace
into his own possession. Richard Smith, Esq., the bishop's
registrar, is the present occupier of the palace ; and under the
care of this gentleman these interesting ruins of a once
magnificent pile will be safely preserved from mischievous
hands.
The peculiar situation of the palace, “hangginge in decli-
vio,” as Leland describes it, on the side of a steep hill, obliged
the builders to accommodate their plans to different levels,
so as to distribute the several apartments in convenient
order. The original entrance was through a gate formed in
the southern wall of the Bail, which must have made a very
steep and inconvenient descent into the palace yard; this
entrance was afterwards blocked up, when the enlargement
of the Close towards the east allowed of the present approach
being made. Probably this was the work of Bishop Henry
de Burghersh, at the time when he embattled the palace.
The outer gate bears the arms of Bishop William Smith,
the founder of Braze-nose College, Oxford, who probably
erected it in the reign of Henry the Seventh. The passage
from this to the inner gate lies between the Cantilupe Chantry
House, on the right hand, and the Court or College of the
vicars-choral of the cathedral on the left. The inner gate
was rebuilt lately by Charles Mainwaring, Esq., the last
tenant of the palace whilst it was held on lease. And here
I must beg leave to notice the liberality of this gentleman in
the improvement of the premises, during the few years they
were in his hands. An immense accumulation of rubbish,
which blocked up the vaults and lower parts of the palace,
was taken away. Some rude modern buildings were removed;
and many parts of the ruined arches and walls were carefully
repaired, in order to stay the destructive progress of time.
The first building we meet with on entering the palace yard,
containing the stables and coach-houses, was built by the
THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN. 11
same gentleman. It stands immediately in front of the
chapel, which was finally destroyed in Bishop Reynolds's
time. Passing the beautiful remains of Bishop Alnwick's
tower, we come to the great hall, which stands nearly in the
centre of the whole area. The parliamentary surveyors have
left us this description of its state in 1647.
“The Greate Hall is very faire, large, lightsome, and of
stronge freestone buildinge, in good repaire, beinge 60 foote
of Assise in breadth, and 90 foote of Assise longe; Greate Han
the forme of buildinge consisteth of one large middle *
allye, and two out Iles on eyther syde, with 8 gray marble
pillars bearinge up the arches of freestone in the forme of a
large church, having large and faire freestone win- Thingty; alſº
dows very full of stories in paynted glasse of the # º:
kinges of this land. The fyre is used in the iºn
middle of the hall; the roofe of very stronge roomes for use.
tymber covered all over with leade. The proporcon of yt is
much lyke the bodye of Christe-church in London.” *
The porch, as we are also told, had a fair chamber over it,
with a chimney. The great bay window at the upper end
of the hall was undoubtedly added by Bishop Alnwick; the
few remains that were found of its mouldings corresponding
exactly to those of his other works. This noble window was
totally destroyed, and even its basement was covered by a
range of stables, built in the time of the Commonwealth,
which extended from the great porch at the south end of the
hall, to the turret stairs at the north end. This building
was removed by Mr. Mainwaring ; who also opened the
windows of the hall, which had been entirely walled up.
The character of these windows will be best explained by the
accompanying Plates, which have been drawn from frag-
ments, measured and brought together with much thought
and pains; nothing being left standing above the lower half
of their height, excepting a remnant attached to a quoin of
Bishop Alnwick's tower, which intrudes on the north-east
angle of the hall, blocking up one window. It is probable
that only the upper half of these windows was originally
glazed; the lower lights being closed by boarded shutters, as
was the case in many ancient halls and other apartments.
12 THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN.
In winter time the shutters would be constantly closed, to
keep out the cold air; and perhaps hangings of tapestry
extended over the openings. It seems likely that the lower
parts of these windows were walled up by Bishop Alnwick,
when he built the bay window, and set up the portraits of
the kings of England in stained glass, with legends in Latin
verses, and many coats of arms; of which descriptions are
still extant.
The six pillars of dark grey marble which sustained the
roof are totally gone, but some fragments of their bases and
capitals have been found, which show that each column con-
sisted of a central pillar, with four smaller and four larger
round shafts attached to it ; the whole height of these
pillars being about twenty feet, divided into two parts by
central bands. The responds, or half-columns, at each end
of the hall, are partly remaining; these rest upon projecting
corbels. Two of the three doors with pointed arches, at the
south end of the hall, opened into two pantries, and that in
the middle into a passage which communicated with the
kitchen. Over this passage, and the pantries on each side
of it, was a spacious room, to which you ascended by a turret
staircase at the south-west corner of the hall ; and the
chamber over the porch was entered by the same stairs.
This room, which I take to have been the Great Chamber,
an ordinary appendage to the hall in an ancient mansion, had
two tall windows in the south front, with a fireplace between
them ; and there were two other windows at the east and
west ends of the chamber. The roof, being a continuation of
that over the hall, was supported by two stone arches, resting
upon corbels of marble, and rose up in the centre into a lofty
ridge.” We find from the survey that the passage from the
hall to the kitchen, where it crossed the arched bridge, was
flanked by two larders, above which a flat roof of lead
extended from side to side, under the windows in the south
* See Pugin's Examples of Gothic Ar- on a similar plan to this at Lincoln, but
chitecture, Vol. ii. 4to. 1836, p. 43, &c., exceeded it in size, being thirty-one feet
for a description of the beautiful hall in longer. The roof was plundered of its
the bishop's palace at Wells, built by lead in the reign of Edw. WI., and one
Bishop Robert Burnell, who presided in side has been pulled down in the course
that see from 1275 to 1292. It was built of some late improvements.
THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN. 13
front of the Great Chamber. The kitchen had five fire-
places;” of which only the back walls, faced with tiles, are yet
standing. The fireplace in the south-west corner is deeply
recessed in a circular form, and is very spacious. The roof
of the kitchen was of timber, covered with lead, and rose up
to a great height in the centre, in the form of an octagonal
pyramid. Passing again through the hall, we come to two
doors in the north-east corner, communicating with Bishop
Alnwick's tower. The smaller door, strongly secured by
bolts and straps of iron, leads to the foot of a staircase. The
larger one opens into the vestibule, which is very neatly
vaulted with ribbed arches. Opposite to this door is another,
which led by an arched passage towards the chapel. The
survey describes the chapel as “very faire, with seates and
many other convenience, and very faire painted glasse win-
dows.” From other accounts we find that the windows
contained many coats of arms, as well as figures of Saints,
and Latin rhymes recording its dedication by Bishop William
Alnwick to the honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” At
the west end of the chapel were two floors of rooms; con-
taining a study, with a lobby on the lower floor; and a
withdrawing-chamber, with a closet-pew looking into the end
of the chapel, on the upper floor. These apartments com-
municated with the chamber over the vestibule in Bishop
Alnwick’s tower, over which was another chamber. All
these buildings were constructed with the nicest regard to
convenience ; and the mouldings and details of the doors,
windows, &c., are very elegant. An engraved view of the
north front, by Nathaniel Buck, in 1726, gives a pretty good
idea of these buildings, as they had been left by the
Parliamentary tenant in 1660. A tiled roof, with garret
windows on its sides, had been put over the chapel, in place
of the original lead covering.
The tower was disfigured by
* Dr. Stukeley, in his Itinerarium
Curiosum, says, the kitchen had seven
chimneys, and this has been repeated by
several later writers. Stukeley also speaks
of “many large bow-windows of curious
workmanship, looking over the tops of
the lower city.” P. 87. Edit. 1724. No
traces of bow-windows remain on the south
side of the palace ruins.
* Peck's Desiderata Curiosa. Folio,
1732. Book viii. p. 32. Notices of the
painted glass, in the windows of the
bishop's chapel and hall, may be found
in the notes taken by Gervase Holles,
Esq., in the time of Charles I., now
among the Harleian MSS.
14 THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN.
a similar addition, which is seen above the battlements.
The chapel windows were divided into two heights, in order
to suit the two stories of rooms which had been formed
within it. The bay window over the door of Bishop Aln-
wick's tower was then entire, but its three lights appear to
have been blocked up. Its projecting basement, which has
since perished, was sculptured with the royal arms of France
and England in the centre, with those of Bishop Alnwick on
one side, and of the see of Lincoln on the other. The inside
of this window, and the walls of the chamber to which it
belongs, bear deep traces of fire, the walls having been made
red-hot : but we know nothing of the time or other circum-
stances of this fire. The lofty gable at the south end of the
hall range was yet standing entire, with two very high
pinnacles at the sides, and a third in the centre, which
formed the top of the chimney in the Great Chamber.
Several other high chimney-shafts were also standing, which
are now levelled. Passing through Bishop Alnwick’s tower
we enter into a narrow court, having the Great Hall on the
west side, and a range of building on the east, in which was
an apartment called, in the survey, the Little Hall, with a
large dining-room beyond it, and further on a chamber called
the study, which extended to the South-east corner of the
palace. Under the chapel was a private dining-room, or
parlour, the front of which looked into an inner court, and
had a bay window projecting from the centre.” There were
pantries, and cellars, with closets adjoining to this room, and
winding stairs communicating with the apartments in the
upper stories. At the lower end of the middle court stood a
brick building, described in the survey as the lesser, or privy
kitchen, and the pantry. Close to this building is a well.
Under the lesser hall and the adjoining rooms, were three
* This room was elegantly constructed,
as we may perceive from the few details
remaining of the stone work. The floor
was laid with coloured tiles, of which some
are yet left. A line of yellow tiles laid
across the floor appears to have marked
the dais, but without any step; the space
beyond this line included about one-third
of the room. At the eastern, or upper,
end of the room is a pantry or buttery,
with a vaulted roof, still entire. The fire-
place on the north side is all destroyed,
except some fragments of the jambs. At
the west end was a table of stone, set in
an arched recess, with two doors at the
sides; one leading into a cellar, the other,
by a passage curiously vaulted, into the
Little Hall, and other apartments.
THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN. 15
large vaults, yet standing, of which the uses can only be con-
jectured, as they are not specified in the Survey. They are
all roofed with semicircular stone arches, and the biggest
apartment has a large fireplace on the west side, and has
been lighted and ventilated by small windows on both sides,
placed very high. It has also a well at the upper end, in an
arched recess; perhaps this vault may have been originally a
brewhouse. On the west side of the middle court, at the
lower end, is a flight of stone steps, very steep, ascending to
the great kitchen. Beneath the kitchen is a room which is
described in the survey as a brewhouse. The vaulted roof
has fallen in. It evidently had a column in the centre; and,
from certain marks on the walls, the original form of the
arched roof, and also the entrance, must have been altered
by some of the ancient builders. Opposite to this building,
towards the north, is the principal cellar, which formed the
basement of the south end of the hall-range, being under the
Great Chamber and the two pantries, to which there was an
ascent by winding stairs in the south-west turret. The roof
of this cellar is vaulted, and groined in a bold and good style,
with large moulded ribs, springing from corbels. The south
end of the hall-range was separated by a space of thirteen
feet from the kitchen, and the communication between the
two buildings was made by an arched vault, or bridge, as it
may be fairly termed; over which was a passage from the
hall to the kitchen, with two larders on its sides, already
noticed. The arch of this bridge is groined in the centre,
and is decorated with moulded ribs, similar to those in the
great cellar. All these lower parts of the buildings show an
early style, very massive, and judiciously proportioned to
their purposes. The west side of the vault under the kitchen
bears marks of alteration, made subsequent to its original
construction. There were two, or perhaps three, blank
arches in the wall, sharply pointed, and resembling others on
the inside of the vault, but not corresponding in breadth.
These blank arches are partly covered by two great but-
tresses; one of enormous thickness. The biggest buttress, as
well as some other parts of the buildings, have been patched
with brickwork, which material may have been employed for
16 THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN.
the sake of economy, when Bishop Williams repaired the
palace in the reign of Charles the First. Westward from the
kitchen there appears to have been a range of buildings that
probably extended as far as the western wall of the palace;
which might have been offices belonging to the kitchen
department. These buildings, however, appear to have been
taken down before the Parliamentary survey was made, as
they are not described in it. The court where they stood,
which now forms a flower-garden, lies on an intermediate
level, below the principal court and the modern mansion on
the north, but overlooking the gardens towards the south,
where is now a terrace, supported by a high wall with
handsome buttresses, built by Mr. Mainwaring. The south
front of the kitchen-buildings, which rise to a great height on
that side, is strengthened by two noble buttresses,” built with
Ancaster stone, in fine large courses of masonry: these
buttresses are evidently of later date than the original
buildings, and perhaps were erected by Bishop Burghersh in
the reign of Edward the Third. Returning to the upper
court, we may notice that the south end of the modern house
stands upon some remains of ancient building. The Parlia-
mentary survey describes “a range of stone buildinge called
the officers' lodgeinges, with a little stable at the end under,
being built upon the Pallace wall upon the west syde thereof,
towards the cittie; conteyninge 8 bayes of buildinge, and
consistinge in all of roomes and chambers over, and garrets
in the roofe, being 12 roomes.” These officers' lodgings
stood upon the ground occupied by the present mansion.
The gateway in the western wall of the palace yard, a little
beyond the north end of the house, was only modern, and is
now blocked up. The arch of the original entrance through
the great wall, which forms the boundary between the Bail,
or to speak more properly, the Close, and the palace, may
still be seen. This was the gate for which King Henry
the First granted a license to Bishop Robert Bloet. It is a
* Mr. Gough speaks of “three stout but points. These buttresses were necessary
tresses” on the south front of the palace, to stop the sinking of that side of the
which he ascribes to Bishop Williams buildings where the hill declines rapidly,
[Camden's Britannia, 2nd Edit. 1806. making the foundations insecure.
Vol. ii. p. 372]. He is mistaken on both
THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN. 17
plain semicircular arch, not quite six feet wide. Its jambs
are buried in the mound at the base of the wall, up to the
springing. Nothing can be seen of this gate on the north side
of the wall, it being below the surface of the ground: but, from
Some remains of ancient fireplaces, it seems that there were
rooms and chambers adjoining to the Close wall in this part.
We may also notice that this gate stood exactly opposite to
the great porch of the cathedral called Galilee, which would be
the ordinary entrance into the church when the bishop came
from his palace. In later times, when the eastern gate of
the palace was formed, the bishop's entrance into the
Minster would usually be through the beautiful porch on the
south side of the presbytery.
In closing the account of the Bishop's Palace, which I am
afraid may be thought tediously long, I need not make any
observations on the various beautiful views over the city,
and a wide expanse of distant landscape, nor of the many
picturesque scenes which the ruins themselves afford; nor,
above all, is there any need to point out the matchless
grandeur of the cathedral, which can nowhere be seen under
more happy circumstances than when viewed from the
Bishop's Palace.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE BISHOP'S
PALACE, LINCOLN.
1. Ground-plan, taken on the level of the Hall-floor. The oldest parts
of the buildings are black; those of more recent erection are shaded lighter;
and the destroyed portions are shown in outline only.
2. Wertical section, taken through the centre of the Hall and Kitchen,
with the vaults beneath them, &c.
3. Elevation of the southern gable of the Hall-range. The two upper
windows belonged to the Great Chamber. The tracery of these windows has
so totally perished that a restoration of their original form would be very
doubtful. Beneath these windows appears a door in the passage, leading
from the hall to the kitchen, with two windows opening into the butteries ;
and at the bottom are seen the arches of the Bridge, and three small lights,
C
18 THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL PALACE, LINCOLN.
of the cellar. The upper parts of this front were destroyed in the last
century, and have been here restored from Buck's Views.
4. External elevation of one bay of the Hall, showing a pair of the windows
restored. The tracery, mullions, jambs, transoms, §c., were all of grey
marble. • * * º
5. Elevation of the north front of Bishop Alnwięk's Tower, with the
chapel and rooms erected by that prelate, as restored frºm Buck’s Views, and
sketches made from the ruins. *,3
§
6. Wignette.—The west end of the Dining-room, beneath the chapel, erected
by Bishop Alnwick. . . . .
. E. J. W.
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THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
ON a former occasion I endeavoured to show, whilst
tracing the history of the Parliaments of York, the rise and
gradual development of our English representative system,
and it will, therefore, be only necessary at present to enter so
far upon the result of those inquiries as will serve to connect
them with the first Parliament assembled at Lincoln. A very
brief reference to the leading features of that more extended
investigation will be sufficient to link together the illustrations
of those portions of our constitutional history which are
conjointly supplied by the conventions held in these two
important cities. Provincial assemblies being usually convoked
under extraordinary emergencies, such as the pressure of
financial difficulties, intestine grievances, or immediately
impending war, they exhibit the most varied phases English
nationality has presented. And we may reasonably expect
to perceive these local councils faithful interpreters of the
general voice of the age. By their help, perhaps more
distinctly than we can by aid of the discussions carried on at
the metropolitan seat of legislation, we shall be able to follow
every progressive change in our political system, so as to
pursue it from a state of ill-instructed servitude, when nature
struggled against barbarism, and humanity walked blindfolded,
to the principles on which government should rest, till we
reach a period of social progress, when men began to grow
inspired by fervent patriotism, and liberty directed their
footsteps as the visible spirit.
It was not until the close of the reign of Henry the Third,'
that the first writs of general summons to Parliament were
issued by the Crown, and on this occasion York and Lincoln
were the only two cities actually named as required to
* 49 Hen. III (1265).
C 2
20 - THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
return two burgesses. Even far on in the ensuing reign,
the mode of election was extremely uncertain, and we
can but very faintly observe the rude outlines of an infant
system slowly unfolding itself. Nothing seemed fixed or
decisive. The regulations under which the knights were
called to Parliament were far from being determined until the
twenty-third year of Edward the First (1295), when, for the
first time in his Parliament at Westminster, we catch the dawn
of an attempt to construct a regular and legitimate mode of
representation. The Parliament, for instance, was now com-
posed of three estates of the realm, the lords spiritual and
temporal, knights and burgesses, acting under the King.
Perhaps this extension of the number of representatives, com-
prehending even the inferior orders of the clergy, may be
mainly attributed to the pecuniary necessities of the Crown.
But from whatsoever cause it originated, we cannot help being
struck by the sudden change of policy which it displays
towards the subject. The tone of language, also, in the
preamble of the writs, which had before been cold and
exclusive, all at once breathes the temper of equity and
conciliation. It is imbued with the highest feeling of legal
responsibility, and asserts, as an axiom never to be lost sight
of by rulers and statesmen, that the justest law decrees that
what concerns the common good should have universal
approbation. These ideas of moral reciprocity disclose an
instinctive sense of what is truly right and noble in the
science of legislation, and after such an exposition of regal
duties, we are prepared for the further extension of electoral
privileges, to witness a voluntary union betwixt the King and
his subjects, and an enthusiastic readiness of a devoted people
to rescue the monarch out of any difficulties by which he
might be surrounded. They are sentiments which, so far
from betraying monarchical timidity, evince, on the contrary,
political prudence and patriotic circumspection, and in our
own aspirations for liberty, we shall do well to remember the
mutual obligations imposed upon governors and those who
are taught to render obedience, for without this we shall never
be entitled to the sacred bequest.
The time when these regulations came into operation was
THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN. 2]
one of great national embarrassment. Edward had been
engaged in constant warfare with Scotland, and his subju-
gation of that kingdom was far from being completed. Added
to this, Serious misunderstanding existed betwixt himself and
Philip of France, who, profiting by the present difficulties,
had taken an opportunity of seizing the kingdom of Guienne,
and moreover had formed an offensive alliance with the Scots,
Various were the decisions of conflict for some years, as the
battles of Berwick, Dunbar, and Stirling afford mournful
proof, since the trophies of victory carried away from the
two former fields of glory were as speedily lost at Stirling
as they had been won. The fight of Falkirk (1298) caused
for a short time a cessation of these fatal contentions, though
it became the means of introducing a new claimant to the
Scottish kingdom. In its peril, the nation had besought the
intervention of Pope Boniface the Eighth, and desiring to live
under his protection, they had charged their ambassadors to
offer him the Sovereignty. A pontiff, whose character more
than others has been described as imperious and ambitious,
required little solicitation to induce compliance with this
favourable opportunity of temporal advancement. With eager-
ness he at once closed with the tempting offer, and on the
strength of the invitation, and by a very novel process of
reasoning, asserted boldly these new claims to the kingdom.
The Pope had been accustomed to consider himself above all
worldly dignities—monarchs and princes were contume-
liously regarded as his vassals or dependants; and having
exacted implicit obedience from the King of France, refused
confirmation to the Emperor of Germany, and pronounced
the King of Denmark a rebel, he readily assured himself of
receiving the same complacent submission in this new field of
his Supremacy.
In the vain confidence of such credulity, he addressed,
through a willing minion, John Archbishop of Canterbury, a
Bull to King Edward,” in which he reminded him that the
kingdom of Scotland had always belonged, as it still did, to
the Church of Rome. He could not be ignorant, he said, that
its temporalities from the earliest ages appertained to the
* July 28th, 27 Edw. I. (1299).
22 THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
Apostolic See, and he proceeded to justify this arrogant
assumption amongst other pleas on the grounds of Scotland
having been converted to the faith by the venerable relics
of St. Andrew. Nor was the preference of these claims the
whole of his demand, since he constituted himself judge in
all matters of controversy betwixt the English and Scotch,
and ordered the King to nominate ambassadors to Rome
within six months at the latest, when if he could establish a
proper title to any part of Scotland, the Holy See would
deliver its final sentence.
A proceeding doubtlessly advised by the emissaries of
Scotland, but stamped with all the insolence and duplicity of
an usurper, roused Edward to a sense of the precarious tenure
of his recent acquisitions. Already he felt them eluding his
grasp, and now more than ever he had need to exercise the
vigour and resources of his comprehensive mind. With
Philip of France he was driven to conclude a hasty but not
dishonourable peace. Did he, however, shrink from the
impending storm, or like that mean-spirited potentate ignobly
quail under the fear of papal displeasure ? Rather inspired
with fresh energies, and warmed to active resistance, he
resolved perfectly to execute his conquest, swearing, in his
towering wrath, that if he heard again of these inordinate
pretensions, he would utterly exterminate the Scots from sea
to sea. The envoys, animated with equal impetuosity, replied
in turn, that ere matters could arrive at such a fearful pass,
there were none of their countrymen who would hesitate to
shed their blood.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, who was charged with the
delivery of the papal missives, adjured his royal master to
yield unreserved submission to the Pope, since Jerusalem, he
said, would not fail to protect her citizens, nor Mount Zion her
worshippers; to whom the lofty-hearted monarch, in the
indignant spirit of wounded majesty, answered, that whilst
there was breath in his nostrils, neither for Zion nor Jeru-
Salem would he desist from his intentions, or cease from
defending with all his power those rights which were
notorious to the whole world.
This unusual aspect of affairs was universally regarded as
THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN. e 23
one of common danger: for not merely was the honour and
dignity of the Crown in peril, but the actual independence
of the English nation. Edward having learned to identify
his personal interests with those of his people, had looked
upon the representative system as the foundation of national
strength. He had already ceased to isolate himself in regal
solitude, and begun to govern the country by the unfettered
voice of his Parliaments. In such assemblies freely chosen
he had been habituated to seek for council and support in
his difficulties, and regarding his military feudatories and his
barons only as a component portion of his subjects at large,
he found all classes prepared to unite together for the
general security when their co-operation was needed. With
such enlarged view of his duties, when he received the Papal
Bull from the hands of the Metropolitan, he wrote a dignified
reply, stating that it was the custom of the English kingdom
in every matter touching the welfare of the realm to require
the advice of all those persons who were interested, and
there being many prelates, nobility, and other influential
persons then absent from the army, it would be necessary to
consult them before he was capable of returning a conclusive
allSWGI’.
Immediately after this epistle was drawn up he disbanded
his men-at-arms, and spent a fortnight in privacy at the
Abbey of Holmcoltram, on the borders. About the middle
of September he passed southwards to Rose Castle, and
having by this time matured his plans, he associated the
present Episcopal Palace of Carlisle with a lasting degree of
interest, by issuing from thence his writs of summons for a
great, “general” Parliament to be held at Lincoln on the
octaves of St. Hilary in the ensuing year, when the pretensions
of the See of Rome to the kingdom of Scotland were to be
fully considered.
The preamble of the writs addressed to the archbishops,
bishops, abbots, and priors, recites, that as lately the King
had granted for the common utility of his people that the
Great Charter of the Forest should be observed in all its
articles, that as persons had been assigned to make perambu-
lation, and returns been made by them, yet since by reason
24 . THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
of the absence of those by whose advice he meant to be
guided he had hitherto been unable to act upon the report,
he wished, as well by the assistance of his ecclesiastics and
magnates, as by others of the community, to inquire fully
into the question. He also desired to deliberate (habere
colloquium et tractatum) upon certain arduous affairs con-
cerning the state of the realm.
In this preamble there appears a clause of much importance,
since it shows how completely Edward considered the obli-
gations of the nobility to be identified with his own, in observing
and upholding the laws of the kingdom. Its language expressly
states as much by saying that they were bound to his side by
the chain of an oath to observe and maintain with himself the
rights of the Crown and realm.” Special writs were sent
to several deans, abbots, and priors, enjoining them diligently
to Search in all the chronicles, archives, and secret muniments
of their houses for information touching the kingdom of
Scotland.* Besides the usual writs to knights and burgesses,
other special writs were directed to those who had attended
in the former Parliament at Westminster," but if any of
them should happen to be dead or infirm, so as to be pre-
vented from attending at the time appointed, the sheriffs
were authorised to cause another individual to be elected
in their stead : all of whom, moreover, were to have their
reasonable expenses paid for going to, and returning from, the
Parliament." In addition to the provisions embodied in the
writ of summons, the Close Roll of the following year con-
tains a similar order of allowance to the knights and others
who attended on the occasion.” Besides the two arch-
bishops, eighteen bishops, eighty abbots, the masters of
Sempringham, the Temple, and the prior of St. John of
Jerusalem, there were summoned to this assembly, eighty-nine
knights and barons, forty-six representatives from those
counties where there were forests, and twenty-six where
there were none; the two justices of the forests north and
south of Trent ; sixteen masters learned in the law ; twenty-
* Parl. Writs, p. 88; Rep. Dig. Peer. * Dated at Nettleham, Jan. 30th, Rot.
p. 112. Claus. 29 Edw. I. m. 17 d.
* Parl. Writs, p. 92. 7 Dated at Nettleham, Jan. 30th, Rot.
* March 6th, 28 Edw. I. (1300). Claus. 20 Edw. I. m. 17 d.
THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN. 25
two of the council; the chancellors of Oxford and Cambridge,
with a few from both universities who were skilled in the
written law : altogether there were upwards of three hundred
individuals summoned to the Parliament of Lincoln, who for
aristocratical position, ecclesiastical, military, or legal influence,
or as being the popular organs of the general voice of the
country, fully embodied the power of giving utterance to the
universal feeling of England upon the momentous question
for which they were convened.
The forest laws had been a perpetually recurring cause of
exasperation and dispute from a very early period. The
formation of these vast royal inclosures dated from so remote
a time, that neither history nor records make mention of their
beginning. Tradition itself has been lost in the sylvan laby-
rinth of their primeval antiquity. The complaints of the
people, however, run concurrently with the earliest allusions
to their existence. Hence we hear unceasing remonstrances
against the severe regulations by which they were governed.
The difficulty of determining their uncertain boundaries, and
the mode of obtaining redress in the courts of the Chief
Justice in Eyre, or in the various subordinate ones of attach-
ment, Swainmote and regard, were looked upon as heavy
oppressions and hindrances to relief. The second year after
Henry the Third ascended the throne (1217), the barons
obtained from his guardians, since he was then under age,
some remission of the rigour by which the forest laws were
administered. Seven years afterwards he granted a con-
firmation of these charters himself, and for a repetition of
this valuable concession in the twenty-first year of his reign
(1237), the people gave him an extraordinary aid of a thirtieth
of their moveables. When Edward the First reconfirmed
them in the twenty-fifth (1297), twenty-seventh (1299), and
twenty-eighth (1300) years of his reign, the charter granted on
the first occasion recites the important provision, that the aids
which had been made to the King in consequence, for his wars,
or for other purposes, were to be taken as the grant of the
people's free-will,” and not to be drawn into a precedent. In a
Parliament held in the twenty-eighth year, the King directed a
* Rep. Dig. Peer. p. 228.
26 THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
general perambulation of these demesnes; but not having been
completed when the assembly broke up, he now commanded
the sheriffs to proclaim throughout their bailiwicks, that all
those who had lands or tenements within the bounds of the
forests in their respective jurisdictions, and who desired to
complain of the perambulation, should come before the King
in his Parliament at Lincoln, and set forth their grievances.
The more urgent business, however, for transaction, was
the reply to be given to the demands of Boniface the Eighth
upon the kingdom of Scotland. After the Bull had been read,
much angry discussion ensued as to the kind of answer the
King should return ; or whether, in fact, he should so far
compromise his dignity as to condescend to offer any. The
various bearings of the question were debated in a series of
comprehensive propositions, more especially whether the
King should appoint messengers to the Pope, to assert and
defend the English title to the kingdom of Scotland. Even
to entertain the subject would, it was argued, bring into
doubt his just authority over that realm; on the other hand,
the future intervention of the Papal See could hardly be
expected, in the event of quarrels arising betwixt Fngland
and Scotland, if Edward should now decline entering upon
the cause of contention. Again, the Pope was judge in his
own cause, and therefore danger might arise from sending a
secular envoy, who might be unwittingly entrapped by the
subtle questions of his Holiness, and so exceed his injunc-
tions. After these, amongst various other points, had been
maturely considered by this large body of representatives,
they terminated the discussion by drawing up an epistle to
the Pope, in which they told him, that the King of England
had immemorially enjoyed the right of sovereignty over
Scotland, as its liege lord, and that at no time whatsoever,
or by any kind of title, had its temporalities pertained to the
See of Rome. The unanimous judgment of Parliament would
never permit these rights to be called in question hereafter,
or that ambassadors should be sent to Rome. And lastly,
most strenuously asserting their resolution to defend them,
they requested the Pope to allow them the full exercise of
their ancient privileges.
THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN. 27
Two copies of this memorable declaration of spiritual and
temporal peers, barons, and commons assembled at Lincoln,
in the twenty-ninth year of Edward I. (1301), still exist
amongst the documents pertaining to the Chapter House at
Westminster, several of the seals affixed to both of them
being yet perfect. It is doubtful whether a third copy of
this letter was ever transmitted to Rome, and probably these
two were made for the purpose of keeping one, and sending
the other; though some persons have inferred that Edward
intended this manifesto as much an appeal to the public
mind at home, as against the apostolic authority. The size
of the documents is about eighteen inches by twelve. Of the
original seals, now detached, which are interesting to the eyes
of the curious, and may possibly possess a higher value, fifty-
seven are described as in good, and three others in very good
condition. A hundred of them were engraved by the Society
of Antiquaries in the “Vetusta Monumenta,” and the whole
are fully described in the eighth report of the deputy keeper
of the public records.” Three months afterwards the King
himself addressed a long and elaborate epistle to the Pope,
in which he took a less convincing line of argument, by
attempting to show from the visionary genealogies of monkish
historians, that Scotland had always been dependent on the
English Crown from the fabulous ages of Brutus, first King
of Albion.
There are several points of antiquarian interest so inti-
mately connected with this Parliament, and, at the same time,
so vividly illustrative of the habits of the period when it sat,
that a passing notice of them may perhaps not intrusively be
introduced. They are gathered chiefly from the original
accounts of Hugo de Bussey, who, being sheriff of Lincoln-
shire, when the body of representatives assembled, was
officially charged with making arrangements for their main-
tenance. From these documents, the respective items of which
are entered with singular minuteness, a practice entirely ac-
cordant with the usual tenor of all contemporary accounts, we
learn that the bailiffs of Kesteven, Holland, Northorpe, Calce-
worth, Candleshou, Wester, and other districts, were charged
* App. ii. No. 9.
28 THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
with the carriage of all the corn, oats, and malt, carcases of
oxen, sheep, and pigs, consumed on the occasion. The sum
of carriage from these different divisions of the county
amounted to nearly 171. One extract will serve to exhibit
the general nature of the entries:–“Walter de Auclound
seeks payment for four carcases of oxen, and ten carcases of
mutton, carried by land from Bourn to Lincoln, for thirty
miles, two shillings and eightpence.” From another bill of
particulars it appears that the sheriff delivered to Walter
Waldeshef, the King's baker, 356 quarters and two bushels of
corn, for making bread; eighty-three quarters and six bushels
at an advanced price, and ninety quarters and two bushels of
malt. To the clerk of the kitchen he delivered oxen, pigs,
and sheep, to the value of 77/. 5s. 10d. He paid the clerk
of the market, for oats for the horses during the months of
January, February, and March, A.D. 1301, 139/. 3s. 5%d. ;
making, under these heads, without the carriage, a sum total
of 323/. 9s. 5%d.
Again, he disbursed to divers creditors of the King, in the
same county, during the sitting of the same Parliament, for
its provisioning, and various other expenses, such as oats and
fish, 117. 5s. 9d., besides a payment to two clerks of
7, 16s, for making the prescribed provision (provisionem
praescriptam).
Another compotus for flesh and fish, corn, firewood, and
hay, amounts to 226l. 0s. 7d., so that the sheriff's rolls
alone contain particulars of the indispensable requisites of
life to the amount of upwards of 700l. Nor was this the
whole charge returned to the exchequer, as we have pay-
ments to the amount of 57l. 16s. 3d. for brushwood, coal,
salt, and other necessaries, for the use of the scullery, besides
the cost of 3121 gallons of ale, at 1d. per gallon, drank
between Sunday, the 19th of February, and the 1st day of
March inclusive, which would be the liberal allowance of
about one gallon per day to each representative during the
eleven days on which he sat. Stephen Stanham, a merchant
of the city, who had been elected one of its representatives,
had also a demand against the royal wardrobe of 96.14s. 5d.
for Sugar, figs, and other articles; of 54!. 10s. in the office of
THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN. 29
the cook for fish; and of 6l. 16s. for herrings and stockfish
supplied for the entertainment of Edward, the King's son,
then scarcely seventeen, during the month of February.
There were also disbursements to coachmakers and sad-
dlers; and it appears by the bills of particulars that fifty-one
horses and fifteen chariots were purchased at a cost of
21/. 3s. 4d.
From these bills we learn the prices of the respective
supplies to have been as follows:—Wheat stood at 4s. a
quarter; malt at 3s. 2d.; sheep at 1s. 6d. ; oxen at 2 marcs ;
pigs varied from 2s. to 4s. ; John Hayward paid for his
cart and four horses 5 marcs ; Roger, the door-keeper,
gave 10s. for his horse ; William, clerk of the royal chapel,
34s. ; and master Peter, the surgeon, went as high for his
as 3/.6s. 8d.
Then, again, the writs of privy seal are in existence,"
addressed to the sheriff of Lincolnshire from Dumfries (Octo-
ber 28th, 28 Edw. I., 1300), ordering him to provide 400
quarters of corn, 400 quarters of barley, 1000 quarters of oats,
and as much hay as was necessary for 400 horses for a month ;
and 100 cows and oxen, 100 pigs, and 300 sheep, against the
meeting of Parliament. Another writ, tested the 9th of
November, at Carlisle,” enjoins the same individual to procure
in his bailiwick 400 quarters of corn, 100 beves, sixty live
pigs, and 400 sheep, for the use of the royal hostel, and to
deliver the 400 quarters of corn aforesaid to Walter Waldes-
hef, and to well salt the 100 beves and 400 sheep aforesaid,
and place them in the larder at Lincoln.
By referring to the bailiff's accounts for carriage, it appears
that the delivery and the purchase of these various provisions
closely tally with the order in the King's writs. The number
of quarters of corn, of pigs, and carcases of meat, very nearly,
and the number of sheep exactly agree.”
All the requisite arrangements for transacting the business
were not yet, however, completed. The King, therefore,
under a similar writ of privy seal,” tested on the 2nd day of
December,” at Worksop, enjoined the sheriff to procure in
* See Note A at end. * See Note B at end. * See Note C at end.
* See Note D at end. 5 28 Edw. I.
30 THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
his bailiwick sixty dozens" of good parchment, necessary for
recording the various business which would come under con-
sideration; and before the assembly broke up the King issued
a writ for procuring four-score dozens’ more of the best
quality, which an entry on another bill shows to have been
intended for the use of John de Langeton, the Chancellor.”
It is unnecessary to follow these illustrations any farther,”
nor would they indeed have been so diffusely examined, had it
not appeared that they contained in themselves the means of
elucidating something more than merely plans for provision-
ing the Parliament; since they throw some light on the value
of agricultural produce at a period of great political excite-
ment; they show the expenses attendant upon drawing
together so large a body of representatives (if they were not
actually fed at the national charge), and furnish an incidental
proof that several of the members of Parliament elected from
the community were those whom honest exertion had raised
to importance in the eyes of their fellow-citizens, and whose
industrial avocations qualified them for taking, if not the
most refined view of their legislative duties, one at least
Originating from practical acquaintance with business.
It has been already observed that when Edward summoned
this Parliament, he was in the north of England. In his
journey southward, he rested at Ripon, Knaresborough, and
Doncaster, in the month of November, 1300. At Worksop,
Newstead, and Wykington, the early part of December.
From the 22nd of this month, to the 11th of January, 1301,
he was at Northampton. He then passed on to King's-cliffe
for the purpose of hunting in Rockinghamshire Forest. On
the 24th he was at Wellingborough (Wendlingburg), and
the day following at the Royal Palace of Nettleham, close to
Lincoln. He staid here till the 12th of February, when he
took up his quarters within the city, constantly remaining
here till the 4th of March, when he again left the county
by way of Grantham for Northampton.
* There was only payment demanded * See Note E at end.
for fifty-nine, at 5l. 10s. 8d. * These documents, with the accounts
* Payment was made 101 dozens and of Hugo de Bussey, are preserved at
four skins, 7l. 3s. 7d. Carlton Ride.
THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN. 31
In alluding to these transactions, a rhyming chronicler of
the period, Peter Langtoft (p. 312), says—
“At the Pask afterward, his Parlement set he,
The gode King Edward, at Lyncoln his cité.
At Sant Katerine hous the Erle Marschalle lay,
In the brode gate lay the Brus, Erle was he that day;
The Kyng lay at Netilham, it is the Bisshopes toun,
And other Lordes there cam in the cuntre up and doun.”
In addition to the forementioned business exercising the
attention of Parliament, a statute for escheators was passed,
and a few petitions were heard, but which being unimportant,
they may pass without further comment ; there was also a
grant of six years' pavage for the city." There were, how-
ever, some questions involved in the discussion upon the
forest perambulation, which call for a more detailed notice,
because they declare the origin of a system of granting
supplies, and redressing grievances, which has continued to
our own time.
The King, as has been previously observed, wished the
perambulation to be shown to the “bones gentz’ who came
to the Parliament, and when they should have examined in
what manner it had been made, and, at the same time, con-
sidered the evidences which he understood could be produced
on his behalf, if they advised that it should stand, and he
could assent to their judgment without violating the corona-
tion oath and disinheriting the Crown, he wished the survey
to continue good. If matters stood in need of reformation,
it should be done in such a convenient manner as they should
provide ; or, if this was not agreeable, some medium course
should be devised, so that, with due regard had to their
allegiance, and the oath of the King respecting his rights,
the dignity of the Crown might be saved.
Let us now carefully mark the reply to this cautiously
guarded stipulation, since it evinces the nascent germ of that
healthy and vigorous tone of thought which has always
constituted the proud characteristic of an independent repre-
sentative. The “genz de la communauté de la terre” replied
that they dared not answer which of the two ways should be
adopted, on account of the perils that might ensue, and they
* Rot. Pat. 29 Edw. I. m. 25, dated Lincoln, February 26th.
32 THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
immediately availed themselves of the opportunity to present
to the King twelve several articles. They required a con-
firmation of the two great charters, of the Franchises and the
Forest ; that all the statutes opposed to them should be
repealed; that the powers of the justices in guarding these
charters of liberties should be defined ; that the perambu-
lations should be completed before the ensuing Michaelmas;
in consideration of which they offered him, supplies and
redress always going together, a fifteenth instead of a
twentieth, as recently granted from their moveables, but
coupling the proposal with the reserve, that if the survey
was not finished by that time, then the contract on their part
should become void.
The language of his writs (tested February 11th, 30 Edw. I.)
shows the view he took, by stating, that although in the form
of taxation sent to the commissioners, it was his intention
that the spiritual goods of the clergy should not be assessed,
he declared by this writ his intention that all temporal goods,
as well of ecclesiastical as of secular and other persons, should
contribute.”
To eight of the most important articles of the bill the King
gave express consent, and the four others met with condi-
tional acceptance. When, however, the matter of taxation
was canvassed by the clergy, they demurred, on the plea of
not daring to make their contribution without the sanction of
the Pope, a resolution approved by the community, but as
may be naturally expected, very far from being agreeable to the
King, who could have no particular affection for Boniface the
Eighth, whilst he had also immediately before him the pros-
pect of requiring assistance for Scottish and continental war.
Other Parliaments in the ninth (1316) and tenth (1316)
years of Edward the Second ; though both in the same year,
in the months of January and July, 1316; and in the second
year of Edward the Third, were convened at Lincoln, but
none of them, excepting the first of the three, has seemed
sufficiently interesting in its proceedings to invite a similar
prolixity of examination. Having stated then that the chief
feature of local concern in this Parliament, which sat twenty-
* Rep. Dig. Peer. p. 240.
THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN. 33
five days, was the payment of a fine of 300l., for a confirm-
ation of the city charters and an extension of privileges, it
would be more convenient to refer the reader for its fuller
investigation to the Report of the Dignity of the Peerage,
and to Parry's Parliaments and Councils of England,” more
especially as it will demand an abstract and dry inquiry
into questions of constitutional history, which can be more
profitably studied in those volumes than read in the present
narrative.*
But, if there be indeed historical associations connected
with these inquiries, capable of animating our feelings, and
linking the impressions received from our forefathers with the
*The Parliament sat in the hall of the
Dean, and the Clerk of Chancery drew
up a record of the proceedings. On
Friday, 13th Feb., the prelates and pro-
ceres met in the Chapter House. The
Parliament sat from 27th Jan. to 20th
Feb., 1316. The circumstances of this
Parliament are detailed at length by Mr.
Parry, as being more formally and regu-
larly recorded than the proceedings in
any former Parliament, as well as being
in themselves interesting. See Parry,
pp. 80, 81. The proceedings of this very
important Parliament, which was con-
vened for the purpose of supplying an
army for the King's service in Scotland,
may be used to show what was then
deemed the constitutional law with
respect to giving aid to the Crown, and
on what principles the constitution of
Parliament for such purposes was founded.
—Rolls of Parliament, vol. i., pp. 350–
356. Report Dignity of the Peerage, vol.
i., pp. 272—277. Parl. Writs., vol. ii.,
pp. 171—174.
* Instruments dated at Lincoln.
29 Edw. I.
Restoration of land in Scotland to
Alan La Zouche.
Restoration of lands to Matilda, widow
of Robert Corbet.
Admittance of Adam de Bothum to
bail, for death of John Parker.
Restoration of land to Prior, &c., of
Christ Church, which land had been
held of the said Prior by Gilbert Iweyn,
who was hanged for felony.
Walter de Gloucester, the King's
Escheator, is not to interfere at present
with the lands late of Roger Le Sauvage,
deceased.
Warden of the forest of Deane to give
Peter de Insula, Archdeacon of Wells, ten
oaks, and ten to Philip Martel.
Walter de Gloucester is not to interfere
with lands of Richard de Grey, deceased.
Restoration of land to Richard de
Culnaz, of Tyndale.
Order for assignment of Dower to
Margery, widow of John Fag.
Friars Minors of Colchester six dry
oaks for firing.
Roger Le Bigod ordered to meet the
King at Berwick-upon-Tweed with horses,
arms, “magnifice et decenter munitus,”
to go against the Scotch.
William de Byrlay, parson of church
of Warsop, to have ten oaks in the King's
park of Clipston, fit for timber.
Eustace de Hacche exhibited a petition
“in Parliamento nostro apud Lincoln"
that the arrears of wages owing to him
for services in Gascony, might be allowed
in the debts which he owed the King.
Sheriff of Southampton to have forty
oaks in the forest of Pambere, to repair
the houses in the Castle of Winton.
"Persons appointed to make provision
for the King's journey into Scotland.
Bishops of Worcester and Exeter, and
Abbots of Evesham, Tewkesbury, Winch-
comb, Pershore, Abingdon, &c., ordered
to be present with the King at the inter-
ment of the body of Edmund, late Earl
of Cornwall, in the monastery of Hailes,
on Thursday before Palm Sunday.
Summons of nobles and others, to join
Edward, Prince of Wales, at Carlisle, to
go against the Scotch.
D
34 THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
quiet experience of maturer life, we must not forget, under
the impulse of enthusiasm, or among the angry strife of party
conflict, that the value of all these early acquired rights,
which ancestral virtue so vigorously fought for, mainly
depends upon the prudence that modifies their resistance to
social progress, and the circumspect resolution by which they
are retained. Time has cast its hallowed mantle over their
rude and imperfect frame, and it should be the work of
successive ages only, to improve or adorn its features. With-
out, however, wandering into any of those theories which
have divided the human mind into contention and civil
discord, and spread the delusive mists of uncertainty over
what is consistent and solid in our political fabric, we may
not, in conclusion, irrelevantly inquire what are the just
inferences to be drawn from the foregoing narrative.
The first thing that excites our attention is the reply
returned in universal and voluntary concord to the Pope's
demand upon Scotland; which answer not only estab-
lished the sovereignty of King Edward and his successors
on the throne to the fullest extent over that kingdom, but
also embodied, in a spirited protest against the usurpation
of Boniface, a resolute determination to resist his claims.
Though later enactments have, in great measure, concealed
the twofold agitation of this and similar questions from
view, and echoed with the same voice the terms of interna-
tional intercourse, as established betwixt the Courts of
England and Rome, the principles on which the relationships
are founded, really date from the time of the Plantagenets.
Even so far back as the reign of Henry the Third, John
Bracton, a most eminent lawyer, declared that the King was
head of the state, a legal aphorism which no one conversant
with the spirit of the English government will presume to
call in question.
Yet on this very epistle, so memorable as it is for the
ardent spirit of nationality breathing throughout, claims have
been founded within a very recent period, which could tend
to limit the royal prerogative; attempts having been made
to use it as important evidence to establish titles to peerage
by reason of tenure ; and assertions having been advanced
THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN. 35
that all the persons whose names appear in the instruments
were as earls and barons of the places in connexion with their
names, summoned as such to the Parliament of Lincoln,
though the signatures of no less than thirty-four of their
number do not occur on the roll of writs of summons to that
assembly, and though there exists no evidence, as far as the
labours of a committee on the dignity of the peerage were
able to discover, that some of the persons so named were
ever called to any Parliament before or after this period.
Further endeavours have been made, on the strength of
these signatures, to prove a sitting in Parliament under a writ.
Both these questions have, however, been reported upon by
the same official body, and are now placed beyond the reach
of future controversy.
The only remaining inductions to be drawn from the
transactions of this Parliament are purely of a constitutional
kind. Such, for instance, as its being called a General Par-
liament, and that they whose names were inserted in, and
whose seals were affixed to, the letter, appear to have
assumed a power of addressing the Pope for themselves and
the whole community, without the open show of any dele-
gated authority to do so from the knights, citizens, and
burgesses then met together. This, however, might have
happened in consequence of the signatures of the most
influential portion of representatives being deemed suffi-
ciently weighty and authoritative in themselves as to make
others unnecessary ; or because the commonalty were
engaged more particularly in drawing up and discussing the
bill of twelve provisions.
And, lastly, we find that the King granted for himself and
his heirs, that if any statutes were contrary to the Great
Charter of Liberty, confirmed and amplified by his father,
and the Charter of the Forest, or to anything contained in
them, such defects should be amended in due form by
the common council of the realm, or even annulled ;” thus
referring to a method, as to an established precedent, by
which laws binding the whole kingdom were framed.
It was this comprehensive power of thought on the part
* Charters of Liberties, p. 44.
D 2
36 THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
of Edward the First that guided the gradual development
of legislation ; the resources of his own genius, and his
unity of purpose, enabled him to amalgamate the discordant
elements of despotism, popular feeling, and feudality, and
to create in their stead that political fusion of different
ranks, and that spirit of moral reciprocity, which has been at
once the support and ornament of the English constitution.
NOTES TO THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN.
–2–
NoTE A.
Edward par la grace de Dieu Roi Dengleterre Seigneur Dir-
launde à Ducs Daquitaine: au visconte de Nicot saluj. Pur ce
quil nous couient auoir gant estor de totes manieres de viures a
Nicot pur nie pehein parlement à nous y bioms tenir : vous
mandoms à hastiuement veues ces lettres no facies purueer deing
vie baillie. cccc. quarts de fourment. cccc. quarts de brees mil
quarts dauenne i tant de feijn come couendra pur. cccc. cheuaux
par on mois et. c. boefs ºf vaches. c. porcs i, ccc. moutons ‘t les
facie; bien garder * saud tant à vous eueies autre mandement de
nous. E faites faire bones endentures entre vous # touj ceux de
quiles dites purueances serront prises qui conteignent les choses
purueues ºf leur pris, issint à nous enpeussoms faire faire leur gre
duement de nie Garderobe qant nous y vendroms audit parlement.
Doñ sous nie pue seal a Dumfres le. xxviij. iour Doctobre. Lan
de nie regne vint % oijtisme. (A.D. 1300.)
(In dorso) Pimú bfe.
NOTE B.
Bdward par la grace de Dieu Roi Dengleterre seigneur Dirlaunde
* Ducs Daquitaine : au visconte de Nicole salu;. Nous vous
mandoms fermement enioignant; q hastiuement veues ces lettres
faciej porueer den; vie baillie cocc. quartiers de forment c. beefs
THE PARLIAMENTS OF LINCOLN. 37
lx. porcs vifs ºf cocc motons por les despens de nie houstiel. Et
les. cccc. quartiers de forment auant dit; facie; liuerer a Wauter
Waldeshef nie pestour porteur de ces lettres por les faire fornir
contre nie parlement sicome nous li auoms en chargeş. Et les c.
boefs ºf cocc. motons auantdit; facie; bien salier ‘t mettre en lardier
a Nicole en due manere, si (; nous les eoms prestement a nie venue
illueques. Et ce ne leisse; sicome vous vole; q nous ne soioms
deserui.; par vie defaute. Et les coustages qui vous y mettre; vous
feroms allouer duement en vie aconte ou paer de nie Garderobe.
Doñ souj nie pºue seal a Cardoill le. ix. iour de Nouembre lan de
nre regne vint it oijtisme.
(In dorso) Sédm bre.
NOTE C.
Pateat vnitsis p presentes §d Ego Johes de Langefford chicus
dmi Regis recepi de Hugoń de Bussy vić Liné viginti septem libras
sterlingo; ad disas puisiones ifius dri Regis faciend De quibs
quid viginti septem libris pºděm Hugoñ de Bussy tsus dim
Regem ºf alios quoscumq, aquietabo imppetuli. In cui” rei testióm
huic presenti scipto sigilt meli apposui. Dat Liné die dhica prima
post festii sãe Agnet virgis. anno. regni Regis Edward vicesimo
nono. Itm idm Hugo lib eidm Johi triginta sot stºling, anno
sup”dco.
NOTE D.
Edward par la grace de Dieu Roy Dengleterre, Seign” Dirland
* Ducs Daquitaine au visconte de Nichole salug. Nous vous
mandons que hastiuement veuhes ce; lettres vous face; p"ueoir en
vre baillie seissante doujeines de bon parchemin ensuit j nous
laions en nie Garderobe ou que nous soiens le xiij. jour de cest
mois de Decembre au plus tard. Et les coustages que vous hi
metre; nous ferons paier de nie dite Garderobe ou duement aloer
en vie acounte au plus tost nous en Sons Stefies. Don sou; nie
priue saiel a Wirksop le. ij. iour de Decebre lan de nie regne vint
ºf nueuisme.
(In dorso) Receſ xx. mar. de H. buss.
Libatú fuit die dnica prima ań festum séi Nichi p man” Egidij
de Rothewelf. Ytt bilt.
38 THE CASTLE OF LINCOLN.
NOTE E.
Edward par la gace de Dieu Roi Dengt, Seign” Dirlaund ‘t Ducs
Daquitaine au visconte de Nicole salu;. Nous vous mandons à
hastiuement veuhes ce; lettres face; p”ueoir en vie baillie quatre
ving dogeins dou meillor pchemin § vous pore; tºuer, it le face;
venir en nie Garderobe ou q nous soiens le second Diemenche de
cest q^nsme pchainefit auenir san; plus loingtain delay et les
custages à vous hi metre; nous (ferons) de nie dite Garderobe
paier, ou s” vie acounte dueñt alloer qant no’en Sons 8tefies. Doñ
sou; nie priue saiel a Nicole le xiij. jour de Feurier, lan de nie
regne vint # nueuisme. (A.D. 1301.)
(In dorso) p q’t vigint xij, pcamene.
THE CASTLE OF LINCOLN.
THE history of military, and other buildings, for warlike
and domestic purposes, dates from a much earlier period in
this country, than that of structures erected for religious uses.
When, therefore, the Conqueror had subdued England, he
proceeded to strengthen his conquest by the erection of
castles, and, in this respect, he surpassed all his predecessors.
It does not appear, that of the forty-nine castles enumerated
ni Domesday, more than one of them, Arundel, existed at
the time of Edward the Confessor. Of these forty-nine castles,
eight are known to have been built by the Conqueror himself;
ten were erected by the greater barons; eleven others, of
whose builders we have no particular account, are noticed in
the Survey, either expressly, or by inference, as newly raised.
In some instances, these military structures were accom-
modated to works previously in existence. The Castles of
Dover and Pevensey obtained their position in consequence
of the fortifications or inclosures formed by the Romans,
LING OLN CASTLE.
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THE CASTLE OF LINCOLN. 39
which were found to be available to increase their strength.
For having already a long curtain of defence, it was a saving
of time and cost to make this subservient for the new erec-
tions. How far this method might have been adopted with
respect to the first English fortress built at Lincoln, can
now only be a matter of conjecture, because there is not that
direct evidence existing to show it, which we see at the
places already named.
There were halls and mansions standing at Lincoln when
the Conqueror's survey was made, and as many as 166 had
been destroyed on account of the castle. Sixty-four more
were lying waste at this time beyond its precincts, as the
record states, not because the inhabitants had been oppressed
by the sheriffs, and King's officers, but because the people
were in poverty, and had been greatly injured by fire.'
We are justified in inferring from this entry, that a castle
already existed at Lincoln in the days of the Conqueror, and
it is probable that it would be conformable to the usual
buildings of this nature which he had erected in other places,
namely, a central square tower, with an advanced wall of
inclosure.
That it existed in the reign of Henry the First, there can,
however, be no kind of doubt, as such a building is spoken of
as belonging to the Crown during that period ; under what
terms we shall shortly have an opportunity of examining.
The circumstances under which Stephen ascended the
throne, will account for the great increase of castles in
England during the whole of his reign. Having no just
claims to the sovereignty, he could only support himself in it,
by means of the various strongholds he had either built
himself, or allowed his barons to build throughout the
country. The clergy had been mainly instrumental in
securing the crown to this usurper, and indeed they were as
desirous of strengthening themselves in their temporal pos-
Sessions as the most warlike or ambitious of his subjects.
* “De prædictis wastis mansionibus infortunium et paupertatem ct ignium
propter castellum destructae fuerunt 166. exustionem.”—Domesday, vol.ii.fol. 336b.
reliquae 74. wastatae sunt extra metam Tochti had a hall within, and Goisfridus
castelli, non propter oppressionem vi- a hall without the walls.
comitum et ministrorum, sed propter
40 THE CASTLE OF LINCOLN.
Hence, we find Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, possessing two
castles, as strong as they were stately, at Sherburn and
Devizes: he was actually building another at Malmesbury.
Alexander, his nephew, Bishop of Lincoln, had erected one
at Newark, and another at Sleaford; not scrupling to declare
it as being intended as much for his security, as the dignity
of his church. Why should I speak of the magnificence
of Gundulph's Castle at Rochester—or the strength of
Vaulcher's at Durham—of the strongholds of the Bishop
of Hereford at Lydbury—or the safe seclusions of Saltwood
and Acton Burnell, built respectively by the Primate, and
the Bishop of Wells
Stephen being thus elevated to the throne chiefly by the
instrumentality of the clergy, soon found himself, however,
engaged with them in hostilities. The Bishop of Salisbury
had espoused the cause of Matilda, the rightful heiress to the
throne ; and after a variety of changes in the event of war,
she retired from the Castle of Wallingford, and fixed upon
that of Lincoln as her head-quarters. She was here sharply
besieged for some days, and at last, whilst the articles of
capitulation were being drawn up, she escaped, and left the
fortress to be defended by her father, the Earl of Gloucester.
Stephen confidentially believing he was now secure in his
conquest, left the castle to be protected by a small number
of soldiers, who being suddenly surprised by the Earl of
Gloucester, were overpowered, and the King himself taken
prisoner. The histories of the period dwell with much pro-
lixity upon the feats of valour the King exhibited in this
conflict, a battle which will always be memorable in the
English annals as being the cause of placing, for a time,
Matilda upon the throne. The chances of war speedily
reversed the position of affairs, and in the commencement of
1143, the Papal Legate summoned a council to Lincoln, in
which Stephen took part ; nay, he even celebrated his
Christmas here four years later, with great ceremony, wear-
ing, according to regal custom at that time, his crown upon
his head, notwithstanding a prophecy foretelling great mis-
fortunes to those monarchs who should affect such pomp.
With this general introduction I will now trace the History
THE CASTLE OF LINCOLN. 4]
of the Castle of Lincoln as illustrated by entries on the Great
Roll of the Pipe, and other national documents.
8 Hen. II.-Item sic reddat compotum de 8 l. 1 s. 9 d. de
munic. castelli vendita in operat. civitatis. (Under Terra Com.
Cestriae.)
14 Hen. II.-In operacione gaiole 4 l. per assisam.
20 Hen. II.-In liberacione decem militum residentium in
cast. 1071. de 214 diebus: et liberacione xx mil. solidar. 511.
de 51 diebus.
34 Hen. II.-In emendacione gaiole in castello. 40s.
2 Ric. I-Pro 60 paribus annulorum ferreorum ad prisones
custodiendos Lincol. portati prius cancellar. In reparacione
et emendacione castrum, 20 m.
3 Ric. I.-In ferramentis et machinis pro castro.
6 Ric. I.-In emendacione gaiole et ferramentis ad prisones
retinendos. 24 s. 6d.
9 Ric. I.-In reparacione castri 100 s.
10 Ric. I.-Pro seris et ferramentis ad prisones 10 s. et pro
judicio et justician faciendo. 32 S. per totum annum.
2 John.-In liberacione constabulario de Lincoln xxl. ad re-
paracionem nove turris et gaiole castellide Lincoln,et sociis suis
attornatis ad custodiam operis castel. de Grimesbi, 80 l. attra-
hendum hoc quod opus fuerit ad edificationem ejusdem castri.
3 John.—Et in reparacione gaiole de Lincoln, 5 l. 2 s. 3 d.”
13 John—In emendacione gaiole et castri. 20 s.
15 John.—In emendacione gaiole et castlride Lincoln. 20 s.
The Close Roll supplies the following notices —
9 John, (1208).-A writ to Will. de Cornhull, Archdeacon
of Huntingdon, commanding him to value the grain at Nettle-
ham, let him know the amount, and deliver it to Gerard de
Kanevill, to whom it was assigned, to place it in the castle
of Lincoln.”
16 John, (1215).-A writ to Phillip March, commanding
him to give Nicholas de Haya six balistas “ad strumum,” and
two balistae “ad turnum,” for fortifying the castle of Lincoln.”
* Rot. Canc. 164. 3 101. bows for light conflict; ad turnum, Fr.,
* 196. Balistae ad strumum, cross- d. tour, wound up with a winch.
42 THE CASTLE OF LINCOLN.
19 John, (1215).-The castle garrisoned by Falk de
Breauté, to oppose the King's enemies.”
18 John, (1216).-An order of release from gaol for
certain prisoners confined in the castle.”
2 Hen. III. (1217).-The Sheriffs of Somersetshire and
Lincoln ordered to afford to Nicholas de la Haya reasonable
aid for the soldiers and free tenants in his bailiwick, for
discharging the debts he owes whilst he was besieged in our
castle of Lincoln."
2 Hen. III. (1218).-The Mayor and Provosts of Lincoln
ordered to pay Nichola de la Haya 40 marcs of the farm of
the town for the reparation of the castle.”
A similar order, repeated in August ;” 40 marcs being
for sustaining the castle, and 60 for mending it.”
3 Hen. III. (1218).-The Mayor and Provosts ordered to
pay Nicholaa de la Haya 40 marks for repairing the castle.”
3 Hen. III. (1218).-Order of payment to the King's
uncle, Wm. Earl of Salisbury, of what was adjudged right by
the opinion and testimony of a judge, to repair the castle of
Lincoln in time of peace.”
3 Hen. III. (1219).-The manor of Munden, which was
Gerard de Furnevall's, who, it is said, is gone to the Holy
Land, assigned during the King's pleasure to Nicholaa de
la Haye, to sustain herself in the castle of Lincoln ; the
wife's dowry being saved to her.”
Among the letters in the Wakefield Tower, one (No. 235 is
calendared) from Fulk de Breauté to Hubert de Burgh.-
Being at Northampton with the King, Nicola la Haye had
sent for assistance against the Earl of Salisbury, who was
endeavouring to obtain entrance into the castle of Lincoln,
offering her hostages. Breauté promises to defend the castle
for her.”
3 Hen. III. (1219).-Of the amerciaments collected by the
Sheriff of Lincoln in the last journey of the itinerant justices,
Fulk de Breauté to have 250 marcs, to be paid to N. de la
Haya, for the sustentation of the castle of Lincoln.”
* Rot. Pat. 159 b. 7 356. 10 382. * Rep. Dep. Keeper,
5 275. 8 367. 11 383. IV, p. 156.
6 344. 9 367.6. 12 390. 14 398.
THE CASTLE OF LINCOLN. 43
4 Hen. III. (1220).-Order of payment to F. de Breauté
for three soldiers in the castle of Lincoln."
A writ to the Mayor and Provosts of Lincoln to pay from
the debts owing from the city 100 marcs, to be made to
Nicholaa de la Haya, for the sustentation of the castle.”
Payment of 2 s. per day for three soldiers; to be settled
with F. de Breauté. Subsequently repeated.”
5 Hen. III. (1221)—Payment ordered to N. de la Haya
of 50 marcs to sustain herself in the castle of Lincoln.”
Order to the Sheriff to repair the gaol in the castle of
Lincoln without delay."
7 Hen. III. (1223).-Order to Sheriff of Lincoln for paying
18l. 4s. 5d. for the wages of serving-men and cross-bowmen at
7; d. per day.” A similar kind of order repeated.”
Barons of the Exchequer ordered to pay the Sheriff of
Lincoln 30 l., for the custody of the castle, for six-score days.”
Sheriff of Lincoln to pay wages of 8 serving-men.”
8 Hen. III. (1224).-Sheriff of Lincoln to be paid for the
custody of the castle, 151. 10s. 0d. for 62 days, at 5s. a-day.”
Order to the Sheriff to give the Bishop of Lincoln, out of
his issues, reasonable sustentation for the constable and his
family for holding the castle.”
9 Hen. III. (1224).-Order to the Barons of the Exche-
quer to pay to Wm. E. of Salisbury 374 l. 15 s. 0d., which he
had laid out by royal precept in the work of the castle, in the
first year of his reign, after the capture of the city over the
barons, when he received it into his custody.—Also, order
for 85 l. for the expenses of soldiers and serving-men in
custody of the said castle, from the feast of the Holy Trinity,
after the foresaid capture, to that of S. Faith, in the 1* year
of our reign, immediately after the first peace made between
us and Lewis and our Barons.”
9 Hen. III. (1225). The Sheriff of Lincoln ordered to
place in repair the gate of the castle of Lincoln, towards the
church of St. Mary, and the tower of Luce, to the amount of
twenty marcs, of which ten were expended in a barbekan.”
* 419. * 456. 7 547. 10 580. 13 29.
° 426. 5 466. 8 553. 11 584.
° 439, 457. 6 536. 9 553. * W. ii. p. 5.
44 THE CASTLE OF LINCOLN.
Order to the Sheriff to let Jordan de Esseby, constable,
have 100 s. for the works of the castle."
10 Hen. III. (1226).-The constable of Chester ordered
to let Osbert Giffard, Constable of Lincoln Castle, have 40
great pieces of timber in the park of Tunner, for strengthen-
ing the castle of Lincoln.”
Osbert Giffard 50 marcs for custody of the castle.”
Payment of 60 marks ordered to be made to him for
operations in the castle.*
14 Hen.III.-The castle committed to Fulke debreauté.”
3 Edw. I. (1275).-On the Inquisitions printed in the
“Hundred Rolls,” is a complaint of the citizens of Lincoln
against Walter Bek, constable of the castle, that he had
inclosed two acres of land and more, called the Batail-place,
where the men of Lincoln were used to play, to feed their
cattle, the brethren to preach, the thieves to fight, and the
citizens have other recreations."
9 Edw. II.-In the Parl. of 9 Edw. II. at Lincoln, it
appears that Hugh Gerveyslaker Avenel was confined in the
castle as a spy of Robert de Brus.”
By an inquisition held by twelve citizens of Lincoln before
two justices of the Crown, in the 3rd year of Edward the
First, it appears that the castle was a fee of the Crown, and
had been in the royal demesne in the time of King Henry
the First, in the time of Henry the Second, Richard and John,
“and they held that castle in demesne with the city of Lincoln;
and that a certain soldier, Gerard de Cawmwile by name,
held the aforesaid castle as in custody, and by the assignment
of King John, during his pleasure. And after the decease
of the said Gerard, his wife Domina Nicholaa de la Haye,
held it during royal pleasure in time of peace and war. And
the aforesaid lady Nicholaa delivered the keys of the castle
to the King as to its Lord, and he besought her saying,
‘My beloved Nicholaa, I will that you keep that castle as
hitherto, until I shall order otherwise ;’ and so she retained
it as long as King John lived. And afterwards King Henry
the Third delivered the custody of the castle of Lincoln to
! 68. 3 143. * Rot. Pat. 15. 7 Rot. Parl. i. 346.
* Bruges, 135. * 144. * Rot. Hund. 312, 320.
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Clipstone Palace.
In Sherwood Forest, built in the Reign of Henry II,


THE PALACE AND PARLIAMENT OF CLIPSTONE. 45
Phillip de Lascelles, Sheriff, and he afterward gave up its
custody to Walter de Ewermue, and he held it till the King
requested William de Longespeye to take the custody; and
after his death, William, his son, held it during Royal pleasure,
as the Jurors believed. And after his decease, the Lady
Elianora, then Queen of England, held it, and had custody
of the son of William de Longespeye, junior, until he arrived
at full age. And Lord Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln,
because he had married his daughter, now holds that castle,
by the will of the King, as we believe, but we know not by
what warrant.”” i
The Pat. 1 Ric. 2, p. 2, m. 5. 1st, recites an inquisition
taken at Lincoln, 5 March, 4 Edw. I., on death of H. de
Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, which returns that he held the con-
stableship of Lincoln Castle in right of his late wife, Margaret
Lungespeye ; and that Alesia, their daughter, aged 26, was
the heir of the said Margaret. 2ndly, recites a writ, 27 May,
in the same year, to the escheator, commanding him to give
possession of castle, &c., to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, who
married the above-named Alesia, and had done homage to
the King for her lands. 3rdly, a writ, 24 Feb., 15 Edw. I.,
desiring the Sheriff to take the castle into the King's hands,
as it had got into the possession of the King's enemies.
4thly, a release from the said Alesia, then a widow, (16
Edw. I.) to the King, of the constableship, &c., which the
King afterwards restores.
THE PALACE AND PARLIAMENT OF CLIPSTONE.
THE sylvan beauties and venerable age of the oaks in
Sherwood Forest are almost as well known throughout Eng-
land as the tradition of its having been the scene of the
exploits of Robin Hood. The dramatist and the poet have
invested the locality with an undying charm, and it is perhaps
mainly owing to the agreeable narrative by which they have
* Rot. Hund. p. 315.
46 THE PALACE AND PARLIAMENT OF CLIPSTONE.
commended it to notice, that the unimpressive and scanty facts
respecting its actual history have escaped observation. Yet
it may boast of some claims to a passing notice, having been
selected at a very early period as the temporary residence of
the English Kings.
A small portion of the building they occupied still remains,
but the entire absence of mouldings prevent us from speaking
with any degree of certainty as to its age. There is, however,
nothing in its appearance to controvert the idea of it having
been built in the reign of Henry the Second, when the first
notices on the documents commence.
As the two first Edwards spent a considerable portion of
their time here, previous to their assembling Parliaments at
Lincoln, the few scattered accounts we have relative to their
Sojourn may serve to illustrate, in a slight degree, this period
of their personal history, but, like those connected with the
Castle of Lincoln, they are too disjointed to weave into a
continuous narrative. I shall, therefore, merely set them
down in the order of their date.
EXTRACTS FROM THE GREAT ROLL OF THE PIPE.
11 Hen. II.-In operacione domorum Regis de Clipestona
XX l. per breve Regis.
17 Hen. II.-In operacione camini de Clypeston. 21.6s. 8d.
24 Hen. II.-In operacione camera et vivarii et capellae de
Clypeston. 36 l. 6 s. 8d.
25 Hen. II.-In expensis apud Clypeston et apud parcum
de Clop.
7 Ric. I.-In custodia domorum Regis 60 S., et parci 4s.
1 John.—In operacione domorum Regis. 14 l. 4 s. 6 d.
6 John—In emendacione pontis. I marc.
8 John.—In reparacione domorum. 12 l. 15 s. 3 d.
11 John.—In reparacione domorum et vivarii. 131. 9s. 10d.
THE PALACE AND PARLIAMENT OF CLIPSTONE. 47
EXTRACTS FROM CLOSE AND OTHER, ROLLS.
16 John (1215).-The Sheriff of Nottingham ordered to
provide payments for the two chaplains at Clipstone and
Harstane, ministering there, for the soul of Henry II."
5 Hen. III. (1220).-The Sheriff of Nottingham to be
paid 7. 0.8., which he has laid out in repairing the great
pool (stagnum) and the mill, and the palisade round our
houses at Clipston.”
7 Hen. III. (1223).-Repairs ordered in our chamber at
Clipston.”
In the 18th of Edward the First, 1290, the King spent
from September 19 to 23 at Clipston, and again from the
12th October to 11th November ; during one of which
sojourns he heard two pleas of justice, in what the Rolls term
a Parliament; but this could only have been a council of his
nobility, and not a general assembly of that nature usually
called a Parliament.*
18 Edw. I.--Thos. de Normanvill to have six oaks in Shir-
wood Forest, fit for timber, to repair the King's pool—stagnum.
(Close).
27 Edw. I.--Richd. de Havering, warden of the King's
manor of Clipston, to have 20 oaks, fit for timber, in Shirewood
Forest, to repair the King's houses. (Close m. 2.)
1 Edw. II.-The King spent a week here in September.
9 Edw. II.-The King spent the whole of November and
great part of December, and all January, when he went to
Lincoln, and staid there till the 27th Feb., when he again
returned to Clipstone for a fortnight.
10 Edw. II.-He spent many days here in December and
January.
12 Edw. II.-He was here again in the month of September.
15 Edw. II. (Close m. 16).-The houses within the King's
manor of Clipston are to have all the repairs they want, under
the superintendence of Thomas Atte Mark, the King's bailiff
of that manor.
* Rot. Claus. 182. * Rot. Claus. 441. 3 533. * Rot. Parl. v. i. p. 45.
48 THE PALACE AND PARLIAMENT OF CLIPSTONE.
19 Edw. II.-The houses and walls of the King's manor
of Clipston are to have all the repairs they want. (Close.)
The chaplain celebrating divine service daily in the chapel
of the manor of Clipstone has five marcs a year. Thomas
Atte Mark, the King's bailiff of the manor, and custos of the
Pele (Pelae nostrae) there, has three-pence a day; and Roger
de Warsop, custos of the paling round the King's park there,
has two-pence a day. (Close.)
1 Edw. III. (Fine, m. 1).-In recompence of the loss which
the men and tenants of the town of Kingsclipston have sus-
tained by the inclosure made by Edw. 2" of a wood anciently
called “Clipston Park,” the King grants them common pasture
for their cattle, and in Birkeland in Sherwood Forest.
2 Edw. III.-The King granted to Robert de Clipstone the
custody of his manor and park of Clipstone ; the manor to
be kept up at the King's expence; the paling of the park at
the said Robert's, having wood out of the park for that pur-
pose, and 7 d. a day for himself, the park-keepers, and the
makers of the pales.
2 Hen. IV.-The manor of Clipstone granted to George
Dunbar, Earl of March, for life.”
CHARLES HENRY HARTSHORNE.
* C. Rot. Parl. 244.
THE ANCIENT MINT OF LINCOLN.
WHEN the Archaeological Institute is welcomed into the
City of Lincoln, where its members have assembled this year
for the purpose of investigating its history and examining
the monuments it still retains of days long gone by, it will
be expected that something should be said about the Mint
which once flourished in this ancient city, and of the coins
which once issued from its presses. For the gratification of
this expectation I will endeavour to state clearly what is
known respecting this local establishment, hoping for a few
minutes to engage the attention of those who are interested
in the history of this city, but without the expectation of
giving instruction to those who have previously directed their
attention to numismatic studies, or have already made them-
selves acquainted with these establishments which formerly
existed in this place, and which are evidences of that
estimation in which it was held, and of that influence which
it exercised in the surrounding districts, and to which these
institutions and establishment largely contributed.
The ground which I would now trace has been already
explored, its prospects have all been opened to the inspection
of the curious, and all its peculiarities have been explained.
Mr. Maurice Johnson, a gentleman whose name is well known
to every antiquary in the kingdom, especially to those con-
nected with the County of Lincoln, has already investigated
this subject. He was the founder, and for many years a
very active and energetic supporter of the Literary and
Scientific Society, established at Spalding, in 1710, and a
large contributor to its transactions. In a paper which was
read before that Society, upwards of a century ago, that
gentleman discussed at considerable length the history of the
Mint at Lincoln, and with the fond partiality for his native
county, which will occasionally warp the judgment of even
a stern antiquary, he endeavours to give a Lincoln origin to
E
50 THE ANCIENT MINT OF LINCOLN.
various coins issued under the authority of the Roman
Emperors, upon which certain letters appear. Amongst
these are found the letters L. C., which he interprets
to be the initials of Lindum Colonia." It is upon the
authority of these two letters alone, that Mr. Johnson ven-
tures to attribute the coins upon which they occur to the
Lincoln Mint. Admitting that Lindum Colonia was the
Roman name of Lincoln, it does not follow as a matter of
course, that the letters L. C. upon these are intended for the
initials of this city. L. may, and with more probability, be
assigned to Londinum, London, or Lugdunum,_Lyons, for
it is by no means certain that the coins in question were
struck even in this island ; the letter C. may stand for
Civitas, a word applicable to any of these towns; or it may
stand for cusa, and, indeed, so it has been interpreted upon
numerous coins, on which it occurs, intimating that the coin
was cusa or struck at the place indicated by the preceding
letters. As, for instance, P. L. C., or P. LON. C., Pecunia
Londini cusa.
Though it has been deemed necessary, in obedience to the
dictates of truth, to invalidate the claims of Lincoln to a
Mint in Roman times, founded upon the letters L. C., I am
far from having the boldness of asserting that a Roman Mint
was not established in the city. From the comparison of
the various associations of letters appearing in the exergues
of the coins of the Constantine period, it can scarcely be
disputed that these letters refer to the places where the coins
were minted, and that the privilege of coining was enjoyed
by several cities in various parts of the empire and its colonies.
There are not any records, beyond the coins themselves,
existing to show in what cities this power was exercised, but it
is generally admitted that TREV. stands for Treves, LON. for
London, because the number of letters limits the application,
whereas, when only a single letter appears, it is applicable to
every town commencing with the same letter, and additional
evidence is requisite to justify its appropriation to any
* Dissertation on the Mint at Lincoln, read Aug. 28, 1740; printed in Antiqui-
proved from undoubted monuments, and ties of Lincolnshire, Bibl. Topogr. Brit.
money in several ages there coined, &c., No. XX. vol. iii. p. 56.
THE ANCIENT MINT OF LINCOLN. 51
particular place. We cannot therefore with confidence assert
that L. stands for Lincoln, when it may be equally applicable
to several other places; nor does its juxta-position with the
letter C. strengthen the evidence in favour of this city, because
that letter is found in connection with various other letters,
and generally receives an interpretation, having no peculiar
application to Lincoln. That this was once a Roman station
there cannot be a moment's doubt, its existing remains
sufficiently attest that fact, and their extent and magnitude
are sufficient evidence that the station was one of considerable
importance ; it is therefore by no means improbable that
Lincoln may have been one of the many places where coins
were struck when Britain was under the dominion of the
Romans, and we fear that upon this probability alone, Lincoln
must rest her pretensions to be considered a Roman Mint, for
it is difficult to discover any collateral evidence to fortify this
claim. It is true that there is still in existence a piece of
wall, called “the Mint-wall,” and it is also indisputably true
that this piece of wall is of Roman construction, and I am
disposed to attach considerable value to local tradition, and
to esteem names as important guides in historical investiga-
tions. I am ready, therefore, to admit the very great
probability that this wall was a part of the premises where a
Mint once existed. I cannot, however, go so far as to admit
that it was therefore part of a Mint-house in Roman times.
It may have been the site of a Mint in later times, when all
know that a Mint did certainly exist in Lincoln, and that its
name of “Mint-wall” may have been given to it at that time,
and been retained to these present days.
Although we cannot find sufficient evidence to justify the
assertion, that coins were struck at Lincoln by authority of
the Roman emperors, we have quite sufficient to enable us to
maintain, that coins professing to be Roman were manufac-
tured in this city; but whether forgeries by individuals, with
a view to deception for their own particular profit, or by
persons, perhaps officials, whose practices were connived at,
though not regularly authorised, is a question upon which
antiquaries are not at present agreed, and probably never
will be. It is very well known to numismatists that moulds
E 2
52 THE ANCIENT MINT OF LINCOLN.
of baked clay made for the purpose of casting coins, have
been found in various parts of this kingdom. These moulds
consist of flat pieces of clay, having on each side an intaglio
impression from a Roman coin ; these are placed one over
another, generally in three piles: through the raised rim of
each mould a small notch is cut, which is turned towards the
centre of the three piles; the whole is then inclosed in a case
of clay contracted at the top, so that the external appearance
resembles that of a common stone bottle.” The melted metal
is poured into the neck of the bottle, passes down the hollow
space left in the centre of the three circular piles of moulds,
and from thence through the notches in the rim of each
mould into the moulds themselves. The whole mass is then
broken up, the metal is separated from the moulds, the edge
of each piece is carefully cleaned and polished, and thus are
false coins rapidly and cheaply constructed. It cannot be
doubted that coins so formed are forgeries; but the question
has been much discussed, whether they are private or public
forgeries. From an examination of very many of these
moulds, many of them arranged within the bottles ready for
use ; some also still unseparated, with the metal remaining
within them ; it is evident that they were formed from coins of
various types, and even various emperors; and from coins also
in various states of preservation, some fresh and sharp, some
partially worn by use: the forgeries, therefore, would not
resemble a recent issue of coins of the emperor then reigning;
but the general mass of coins, of past as well as present
emperors, which were in ordinary circulation at the time, in
the locality where these pieces were made. Under such
circumstances, the pieces would carry with them no indica-
tions of the place of their birth ; pieces made at Lincoln,
might have been cast in moulds formed from coins, struck in
London, at Treves or Constantinople, or any other part of the
Roman empire. It is not necessary here to discuss the ques-
tion, by whom these pieces were made, especially as there are
not any records to which we can refer for authority, and
either side must be supported by arguments, deriving the
* See a representation of moulds of this kind, and the pile, as above described,
in Mr. Artis’ Durobrivae.
THE ANCIENT MINT OF LINCOLN. 53
whole of their force from the ingenuity of the combatants,
unsupported by evidence. It may only be stated in favour
of the practice having been connived at, if not authorised,
that these moulds are generally found in the sites of large
stations, dispersed over a large surface of ground, and in
considerable quantities, leading to the opinion, that the ope-
rations were conducted more generally and openly than
would be consistent with an illegal act, which would subject
a culprit to severe punishment. Moulds, such as we have
been describing, have been found in Lincoln ; but, if I am
rightly informed, not within the boundaries of Roman Lincoln;
possibly, in what at that time may have been an obscure
suburb, a locality well adapted for carrying on any clandes-
tine operations. We cannot, therefore, be sure, that these
pieces made at Lincoln had that guarantee of publicity, which
might give them some claim to authenticity. We must rest
contented with the fact proved, by the discovery of these
moulds, that Roman coins, or at least, the representatives of
Roman coins, were made at Lincoln ; but still we are quite
without any evidence of the existence in this city, of an
established and Roman authorised Mint.
After having been reluctantly compelled to invalidate the
evidence of the claims of Lincoln to a Roman Mintage, I
must endeavour to make some amends by establishing its
right to Mintage in Saxon times, at a somewhat earlier date
than Ruding and some other numismatic writers have been
willing to admit. AEthelstan, who ascended the throne
A.D. 924, ordained certain laws for the regulation of his
coinage, and appointed a limited number of moneyers in
specific towns, amongst which the name of Lincoln does not
appear; from which omission Ruding has somewhat incau-
tiously concluded that “this Mint, if it ever really existed,
must have fallen into total disuse, from which it did not
recover even in this king's reign.” Now, although the name
of Lincoln does not appear in these ordinances, yet it is
enacted that besides the number of moneyers assigned to
places especially named, there should be one moneyer in the
other burghs of the kingdom. Lincoln might possibly, nay,
probably, have been one of them, but Ruding was perhaps
54 THE ANCIENT MINT OF LINCOLN.
confirmed in his opinion that there was not any Mint here at
So early a period, because he had not been able to discover
any coin bearing upon its surface the name of Lincoln, of
any earlier reign than that of Edgar, who commenced his
reign A.D. 959. This mistake is somewhat remarkable, as
one of the many instances of the mind becoming uncon-
sciously closed against the admission of new ideas, from its
being occupied with preconceived notions; for Ruding himself
gives an engraving of a coin of Alfred, bearing upon it the
monogram of Lincolnia. Upon the coins of this illustrious
prince the monogram of London frequently appears, and is
perfectly well known to numismatists; the general appear-
ance of the two monograms is somewhat similar, and certain
authors, thoughtlessly supposing they must be the same,
omitted to examine carefully the Lincoln monograms, and
described it as that of London. See Ruding, Pl. XV. fig. 9,
and his description of the coins. Here then, we have indis-
putable proof of the existence of a Lincoln Mint, in the time
of Alfred, about fifty years earlier than Ruding had been able
to trace it. *
The next coin to which I would direct attention as evi-
dence of a Lincoln Mint, is one bearing the words LINCOIA
CIVIT., and the name of Saint Martin. This coin, there is
every reason to believe, was struck very early in the tenth
century. It much resembles certain coins struck at York,
bearing the name of St. Peter, many of which were some
years since discovered amongst a parcel of coins which must
have been deposited in the place where they were discovered,
in the earliest years of that century. They also resemble the
coins of Eric, King of Northumberland, from the year 927
to 951, and it is exceedingly probable that the St. Peter and
the St. Martin coins were struck during his reign. The con-
nection between St. Martin and this city was established, if
tradition is to be believed, cotemporaneously with the revival
of Christianity in this part of the kingdom, in the seventh
century, when Paulinus, who contributed to the conversion of
Edwin, King of Northumberland, was consecrated Archbishop
of York, where he built a church, dedicated to the honour of St.
Peter. This prelate is said to have built a church at Lincoln,
THE ANCIENT MINT OF LINCOLN. 55
at that time within the Province of York, and dedicated it to
the honour of Christ and the Blessed Virgin, to which names
was added shortly afterwards the name of St. Martin. I am
quite unable to refer to any unquestionable evidence in sup-
port of this tradition, but from the conjunction of St. Martin's
name with that of this city upon the coins in question, it is
most probable that he was, when the coin was struck, that is,
at the commencement of the tenth century, generally esteemed
the Patron Saint of the city, and it is not unreasonable to
suppose that he was so considered, in consequence of the
first Christian church within the city having been dedicated
to his honour.”
These two coins which we have just described, establish
beyond doubt the existence of a Mint in Lincoln before the
times of Æthelstan, and the omission of the name of this
city, in the laws which he ordained for the regulation of the
coins of his kingdom, goes no further than to show that, in
all probability, there was only one moneyer assigned to it, it
being comprised in the general terms of other burghs in
which there was only one. Notwithstanding the existence
of a Mint in this city, no coins bearing its name are now
extant, which were struck in the reigns of Edward the Elder,
AEthelstan, Eadmund, Eadred, or Eadwig. Of all the suc-
ceeding monarchs, however, coins still exist, and the public
records relating to the Mint show that Lincoln was rapidly
increasing in wealth and importance. In the reign of Edward
the Confessor, the city paid 30l. to the King and Earl ;
but when the Domesday Book was compiled, it paid 100l.,
and the Mint 75l.-a larger sum, as far as we may rely
upon the accuracy of that record, than was paid by any
other Mint.
After the Conquest, we find that the Lincoln Mint continued
in operation, from coins still existing of William the First and
* St. Martin was deemed a cotitular
Saint and patron with our Blessed Saviour
and the Blessed Virgin Mary, of a church
built by Paulinus, Archbishop of York,
at Lincoln, A.D. 629, originally dedicated
to Christ and the Blessed Virgin; after-
wards to them and St. Martin, taken in
as a cotitular Saint with them when
Popery and superstition prevailed, by
Blecca, Thane of Linsey, patron. It is a
prebendal church, the vicarage thereof
now in patronage of the long-since vacant
Prebendary of St. Martin, in Lincoln
Cathedral. St. Martin is supposed to be
the most ancient church in Lincoln.
56 THE ANCIENT MINT OF LINCOLN.
Second, Henry the First, Stephen, and Henry the Second. Of
the reigns of Richard the First and John, we have no remain-
ing coins whatever, but we have records which prove that the
Mint establishment was still maintained; for Richard the First,
at the commencement of his reign, granted certain privileges
to the citizens of Lincoln, from which the king's officers and
moneyers were excluded. King John, in the ninth year of
his reign, commanded the moneyers and officers of certain
specified cities, of which Lincoln was one, to seal up their
dies with their own seals, and to appear at Westminster,
within fifteen days of the morrow of St. Denys, to re-
ceive there the king's commands. Money still exists of this
Mint, struck by Henry the Third. It is known to numis-
matists, that a controversy has long existed respecting the
appropriation of certain coins, formerly known by the name
of short-cross pennies; some persons assigning them to
Henry the Second, others to Henry the Third. I some
years since expressed my opinion that they were struck
by the earlier of these monarchs: very strong reasons,
founded upon existing records, have been since adduced for
assigning them to the later monarch, and I must admit it
Would be difficult to set aside the evidence of the documents
referred to. Much, however, has, and still may be said on
both sides, but this is not the proper place to enter into the
discussion, nor should I have at this time alluded to it, were
it not that a circumstance connected with the Lincoln Mint,
may have some bearing upon the question. There are certain
coins which bear upon them, the word NICOLE, as the name
of a town, which was at one time a puzzle to numismatists,
who, not having referred much to written documents, were
at fault in the appropriation of these coins to their proper
birth-place. It is now perfectly well known, that Nicole and
Lincoln are the names of the same place ; but why the name
of this city should be changed from Lincoln, which it had
borne for centuries, to that of Nicole, is still with many a
source of perplexity. Gough and several others supposed it
to arise from a transposition of letters; others from the
obscure manner in which the letters are formed upon many
coins. Reference to a succession of early and cotemporary
THE ANCIENT MINT OF LINCOLN. 57
documents shows that it arises entirely from that propensity,
even to this day remaining, of our continental neighbours to
alter and transpose every name they have occasion to use.
Upon consulting the rolls of Parliament from the 18th of
Edward the First down to the time of Henry the Eighth, we
shall find, that whenever an entry is made in the Latin
language, the name of this city is Lincoln ; whenever it is
made in French, the name is Nicole ; amongst the later
entries, 3 Henry the Seventh, the Bishop is called “L’Evesq.
de Lincoln.” In the proceedings and ordinances of the Privy
Council, the same peculiarity occurs; but in these docu-
ments the word Lincoln is occasionally used in French as
early as the reign of Henry the Fourth. It may then,
perhaps, be established, that Nicole is the French name
of Lincoln. Now this French name occurs upon English
coins only upon the short-cross pennies, which some writers
have supposed to have been struck by Henry the Second
in the year 1180. It is, therefore, worthy of remark, that
in this very year Henry introduced a French artist, Philip
Aymary, of Tours, to superintend a new and improved
coinage ; and if those writers are correct in their attribution
of these coins, the introduction of the French artist and the
French name of Lincoln would synchronise.
Edward the First struck coins at Lincoln, but later than
this reign, we have not any certain evidence of the existence
of a Mint at Lincoln.
THE GRECIAN STAIRS, LINCOLN.
THERE are a few names of places in the ancient city of
Lincoln which may deserve a brief notice, as having retained
to this day the use of words long since obsolete in our ver-
nacular English. I need hardly mention the name of the
Stonebow, as it will have occurred to every one, the least
conversant with such matters, that it is the old English name
for an arch ; preserved also in the name of Bow Church, or
St. Mary-le-Bow, St. Mary-with-the-Arch, and in the expres-
sion of a bowing-wall in our Bible version of the Psalms;"
which expression, I believe, is still in use.
Not far from thence, immediately below the High Bridge,
will be seen an inn, bearing now the sign of the Black Goats.
It has been altered, within a few years, from that of the Three
Goats, which I can well remember to have heard my father
say was derived from the three gowts,” or drains, by which
* Psa. lxii. 3.
* The writer is indebted to the kind-
ness of Mr. Way for being able to give
the undoubted meaning and origin of
this word, Gowt, or Gote. Mr. Way
refers to Bishop Kennett's MS. Glossarial
Collections, Lansdown MS. 1033, who
says, “A wide ditch, or water-course, that
empties itself into the sea, is called in
Romney Marsh a gut, from old Danish
giota, Scrobs; thence gutter, drain, a mill-
gut, a gote, i.e. a flood-gate, Northumber-
land. Ang. Sax. 3eotan, in praet. 3ut, plur.
3utan—fundere.” And again, “Goutes,
sinkes, vaults. Bristol is eminent for these
goutes or subterranean vaults, by reason
of which they draw all things on sledges,
for fear the shaking of cart-wheels should
loosen these arches.” Also, to his own
edition of the Promptorium Parvulorum,
for the Camden Society; a compilation
which seems to have been made at Lynn,
in Norfolk, circa 1440.
“Gote or water schetelys ;
Goote, water schedellys (in another MS.)
Latin, aquagium, sinoglocitorium;”
upon which he has, in his edition, the
following note –“The stat. 33 Hen.VIII.
c. 33, after setting forth the decayed state
of the fortifications of Hull, grants certain
duties levied on the importation of fish,
to repair and maintain the walls, ditches,
and banks, as also ‘other clowes, getties
gutters, goottes, and other fortresses there,’
for the defence of the town and haven.
Statutes, vol. iii., 872. The stat. 2 and 3
Edw. WI., c. 30, recites that the channel
of the Camber, near Rye, had become
choked up, in part by casting ballast
into it, “ and partly bycause dyverse
mershes inned take in no water to scower
the channel, but lett oute ther freshe
water at guttes, so that the road for ship-
ping was much injured.’ Stat. vol. iv.
p. 72.”
Mr. Way further observes, that “this
word is retained in several counties. Skin-
ner and Ray give ‘gowts,’ a word sig-
nifying, in Somerset, channels, or drains
underground. In the Craven dialect it
signifies a channel of water from a mill-
dam, as does goyt in Hallamshire. Jamie-
son gives “goat and got,' a small trench
or drain. A similar word occurs in old
French : * Goute, gouttiére, egout.’—
Roquefort. Leland often uses the word
gut, as implying a small channel; for
instance, Itin. vol. i., pp. 4, 38, gut or
THE GRECIAN STAIRS, LINCOLN. 59
the water from the Swan Pool, a large lake which formerly
existed to the west of the city, was conducted into the bed of
the Witham, below. A public-house having arisen on the
bank of the principal of these three gowts, in honour, probably,
of the work when it was made, the name became corrupted
into the Three Goats; a corruption more easily accomplished
in our Lincolnshire English, than in more polite language;
and thus the Three Goats at length made their appearance
upon the sign, from whence the hand of a modern artist has
lately driven away all trace of their origin, by substituting
the epithet black for the number three.
But the name which especially claims our attention is that
of The Grecian Stairs, a flight of steps by which the ascent
is gained from about midway of what is called the New Road,
to a small ancient gateway, leading towards the Minster
Yard. This name appears to be rather a remarkable instance
of more than one peculiarity in the English language, for it
exhibits, if I do not mistake, at once the tendency to attach a
meaning to a word, however absurd that meaning may be,
and the practice of adding an explanation to a word which
was becoming obsolete, even though at the expense of a
tautology. The proper word is presumed to be “the
Greesen,” which is the early English plural of a gree, or step,
to which the word stairs has been added, without dropping
the original name when this was becoming obsolete ; thus
making it, the Greezen stairs. There is, indeed, another
derivation sometimes given, which I find on Stukeley’s map of .
the ancient city, namely Gree-stan stairs. If by this should
be understood merely greystone, as is sometimes said, I must
wholly dissent from it. But if it mean the gree-stone or step-
stone, it will not make any material difference whether we
understand it to be the stepstone stairs, or, simply the plural
of the same word explained by a repetition, the greesen stairs.
If indeed, of which I am not aware, this word “Greestan.”
should be found in our old writers, signifying a step-stone, or
even if the name of these steps should be so written in any
lode; p. 48, gut, &c.; and in Lincoln- to small streams flowing from the fens
shire, the Ordnance Survey proves the into the ocean.”
frequent occurrence of the term, applied
60 THE GRECIAN STAIRS, LINCOLN.
contemporaneous documents, contemporaneous, that is, with
the use of the word, and not merely assigned to it by
antiquaries—in such a case this might seem to be the
preferable interpretation. But the difference is so slight
between Greestan stairs and Greesen stairs, that it is hardly
worth discussing.
It will, perhaps, be worth while to give a few instances of
this use of the word gree and its plural, greesen, from our
early writers; and first to show that such is the meaning of
the word itself, after which the use of the expletive in
conjunction with it, will confirm the interpretation given to
the name in the instance before us.
The word is sometimes written grize, with an i, and 2,
and sometimes gree, with a double ee; the latter appears to be
the more ancient, being that of Wickliffe and Chaucer ; the
former being used by Shakspeare, Ben Jonson, and others.
Thus in Wickliffe's Bible, (Acts of the Apostles, ch. xxi.
v. 35,) where we now read, “When Paul came upon the
stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers for the
violence of the people ;” Wickliffe has it, “And whanne Poul
cam to the grees it bifel that he was borun of knytys for
strength of the peple”—(where it may also be observed that
the word knight is used in the same sense as miles for a man
at arms, though, from the dignity attached to the profession
of arms, both terms came to signify a person of rank and
title). But still more, in the last verse of the same chapter,
where we read, “And when he had given him license,
Paul stood on the stairs,” Wickliffe has it, “Poul stood on
the greezen.” &
The same word is used in the singular number by
Chaucer —
“In thank thy service wol I take,
And high of gree I will thee make.”
Romaunt of the Rose, fol. 126.
And by Lydgate—
“The time of yeare, shortly to conclude,
When twenty grees was Phoebus' altitude.”
Prologue to Troy Book.
Ben Jonson has the word in the plural:—“Which were the
daughters of the Genius, and six in number; who in a
THE GRECIAN STAIRS, LINCOLN. 61
spreading ascent, upon several grices, help to beautify both
sides.”
And lastly, Shakspeare, in that exquisite passage of the
“Twelfth Night,” where Olivia confesses her love for Viola,
disguised as a man —
“ Vio. I pity you.
Ol. That’s a degree to love.
Vio. No not a grize; for 'tis a vulgar proofe
That very oft we pity enemies.”
To which I need hardly add the celebrated place in Timon
of Athens —
“Every grize of fortune
Is smooth'd by that below.”
If these instances may suffice to show the use and meaning
of the word gree and greesen, as a step or stair, it remains to
illustrate in like manner the practice of adding the expletive
to the obsolete word, in the way still to be noticed at Lincoln,
when we speak of the Greesen Stairs. And it so happens
that we have several instances in different writers of this
practice as regards this very word. And first, to take
another example from our great poet, we find in Othello,
where the Duke intercedes with Brabantio for the pardon of
Desdemona —
“Let me speak like yourself; and lay a sentence
Which, as a grize or step, may help these lovers
Into your favour.”
Othello, Act i., Sc. 3.
So also in Udall's Commentary on Hebrews, ch. vii.”
“Truly it was given for a season, to the intente it shoulde be
a certaine griece or stayre to bring us at length to a better
hope :” meaning that the imperfect law of Moses was a step
to conduct us to the perfect law of Christ.
Again, in Hackluyt's Voyages, vol. ii. p. 57, in describing
the palace of the king of Java, he says: “The king of the said
land of Java hath a most brave and sumptuous palace, the
* I believe also that in some ancient been able to verify this quotation.
records of the building of King's College * See Richardson's Lexicon, from
Chapel, the length, from the entrance to whence this quotation and the following
the steps of the choir, is stated to be “to one are taken.
the grees of the quire:” but I have not
62 THE GRECIAN STAIRS, LINCOLN.
most loftily built, that ever I saw any, and it hath most
high greesses or stayers, to ascend up to the rooms therein
contained.”
In each of these three last instances we have the Grecian
stairs, in such a way as, it may be hoped, will leave little
doubt as to the origin of that name, with this only difference,
that these last writers adopt the more modern form of the
plural, greezes, whereas Wickliffe retains the Anglo-Saxon
form of greezen, as I am supposing to have been done at Lincoln.
But it may be further observed, that we have, at least, one
instance of such an explanation of an obsolete word in the
Prayer Book, where we say, “we, who by our sins and
wickedness, are sore let and hindered in running the race
that is set before us.” As for the tendency to attach a
meaning to a word that has become unintelligible, by altering
it to another word with which it has no connection, the
instances are too obvious to require to be quoted. It
is this which has given us such words as sparrow-grass, for
asparagus, and a thousand others which might be named ;
but one only may here suffice, because it is connected with
one of the most illustrious of our bishops, Robert Grosteste.
It is well known that this surname was given him from a
personal peculiarity, his family name having been Copley;
but we find that many writers, who were fond of quoting him
for several years afterwards, called him, not Grosteste, nor
yet Greathead, but, by a most singular confusion, Grosthead ;
joining together an English termination, which was also a
translation, to the first syllable of the French or Norman
word.
It is to be hoped it need not follow that we ought to
abolish at once this name of the Grecian stairs, though
perhaps it was a superfluous care which, not more than ten or
twelve years ago, caused the words to be inscribed in large
letters on the adjoining wall,” or imitate that somewhat
pedantic practice which is spreading among us, of restoring
words to what we think their derivative origin. The Belle
* See the preceding note. writing the ancient Ermine Street –
* It was a less excusable error which Hermin Street.
was committed at the same time, by
THE GRECIAN STAIRS, LINCOLN. 63
Sauvage, who now figures on the sides of omnibuses in the
form of a wild young lady with dishevelled hair, does not
answer the purpose of a sign better than the bell and the
savage of less enlightened days. And this pedantry has the
disadvantage of destroying vestiges of ancient language and
its changes, interesting to those who are curious in such
matters, and harmless as regards the rest of mankind. I
trust, therefore, that our children's children may still climb
the Grecian stairs, and, as they climb the steps of life, may
their “every grize of fortune be smoothed by that below.”
F. C. MASSINGBERD.
NOTE TO THE GRECIAN STAIRS.
The writer has been favoured by Mr. Albert Way with the following
notes in further illustration of this subject.
“In the two earliest English Dictionaries extant, the word “Grece’ is
thus given :-
“A Greece—gradus: gradare, id est gradus facere, vel per gradus ducere.”
Catholicon Maternå Linguá, compiled in Lincolnshire or Southern Yorkshire,
A.D. 1483; where the author seems to include the verb, as well as the
noun—although he does not repeat the word—that is, “to grece” seems
understood between gradus and gradare.
“Greece or steyre, Gradus;” (in another MS. “Grece or tredyl,”) and
again under letter T, “Tredyl or Grece (tredyl of grece in another MS.)
Gradus, pedalis.” Under the letter W, “Wyce, round grece, or steyer,
coclea.” Another MS. gives it thus: “Wyce, rounde gre.” The obsolete
term, vice, being used for a corkscrew staircase.
These last words are taken from the “Promptorium Parvulorum,” the first
printed English-Latin Dictionary, compiled at Lynn in Norfolk, by Brother
Galfridus, named Grammaticus, of the Friars Preachers in that town.
Palsgrave, in his curious “Eclaircissement de la Langue Françoyse,”
1530, gives “Grece, to go up at, or a stayre, degré.” he spells it also
“Grese.”
A MS. vocabulary of the 15th century gives “Coclea, turnegrece.”
Another has “Gradus, a grece or stappe. Grado, to leede or greys”—the
very verb which has been supposed to be understood in the first citation.
From to grece or greys to the verb pro-gress the step is an easy one.
In the unpublished version of Vegetius de Re Militari, attributed to
64 THE GRECIAN STAIRS, LINCOLN.
Trevisa, a curious illustration of this word occurs. In the instructions how
to defend a fortress by a double wall, with earth rammed in between the
walls, it is added—“ and ever in the making of the inner walle at every fourty
or fifty fote of length esy gresinges fro the playn grounde of the citie up to
the walls.”
Sir John Maundeville has afforded also illustrations, as following. Of the
state of the “Great Chan of Chatay.—The grees, that he gothe up to the
table, ben of precyous stones, medled with gold.”—“Wesselle of Sylver is
there non, for thei telle no prys there of, to make no vesselle offe, but thei
maken ther of Grecynges and Pileres and Pavementes to halles and cham-
bres.”—Travailes, pp. 259, 263.
Lastly, the provincial word “Grissens” is given by Forby in his “East
Anglian Dialect,” as used in Norfolk, denoting “stairs”—“gree-stones”—
but perhaps more truly “grisen.” Forby speaks of the Grecian stairs at
Lincoln. “Many a learned dignitary,” he says, “better skilled in Greek than
old English, has, no doubt, been puzzled to conceive how they could have
acquired such a name.”
A very happy and singular illustration was also supplied by the Rev.
William Gunner, of Winchester College, who was present at the Sectional
Meeting where this Paper was read, in the following quotation from the Rolls
of Winchester College, temp. Hen. IV. :—“In expensis Stephani Austeswell,
equitantis ad Thomam Ayleward," ad loquendum cum ipso apud Havant, et
inde ad Hertynge, ad loquendum cum Dominá ibidem, de evidenciis scru-
tandis de Pe de Gre progenitorum haeredum de Husey, cum vino dato eodem
tempore, xx. d. ob.”
7 Thomas Ayleward was Rector of family of Heose, Hose, or Husey, once
Havant, and one of the executors named of note in Hampshire and Sussex, as also
in the will of William of Wykeham. The in Wilts.
Lady of Hertyng was probably one of the
FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES.*
GREAT interest attends an inquiry into the transitions of
our social state, when our ancestors, though their quarrels no
longer led to Baronial wars, had not yet learned to rely upon
the law of the land for assistance or redress, but inclined to
— “the good old plan,
That those should take who have the power,
And those should keep who can.”
The spirit of the times was in favour of physical force.
As a decision in public wrongs, it admitted trial by battle ;
in private disputes, the duel; and in family feuds, any
deference (if it can be so called) to the constituted authorities
was, in sequence to some outrage, to apply to them rather as
allies, than as arbitrators, the aggressors making out a case
for support, and the aggressed for protection and relief.
There is much, therefore, that is curious in the history of
these feuds ; and though the contemporary accounts are
often prolix, yet they are at the same time so quaint and
graphic, as to warrant the selection of copious extracts.
The feud, perhaps, best remembered in the County, is that
of the Ross and Tirwhit families, owing to a traditional
anecdote connected with it, thus related in the modern
Histories of Lincolnshire. “The spirit of rivalry was carried
to such a pitch by their vassals, that, on the two parties
meeting on a hunting excursion, they proceeded to blows, and
many were killed on both sides.” It goes on further to say,
that “King James the First, being soon afterwards in
Lincolnshire, ordered a gallows to be erected on the spot
where the fight occurred, and caused it to be weir, Lincoln.
enacted that in future any person, slain in an ***
encounter of this kind, should be deemed murdered, and the
perpetrator of the crime hanged.” -
The well-known dread of James against turbulence, and
* Acknowledgments are due to Arthur Larken, Esq., for assistance in collecting the
materials for this account.
F
66 FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES.
his fondness for summary jurisdiction, render the relation
characteristic enough ; nevertheless, it is most probably an
embellishment of the real facts. The occurrence to which it
alludes, instead of being shortly before, took place about two
hundred years previous to any visit of James to Lincolnshire;
and the fact of the erection of the gallows," is said by
canaº, Baum. Camden, to be kept up by the Earls of Rutland,
**** without any allusion to James. Moreover, at the
very period of the accession of the Stuarts, the family quarrel,
if it had not been extinct years before, must surely then have
comin, vol. i. p. ceased, for it singularly happened that the actual
*** possessor of Kettleby, Robert Tirwhit, was the
husband of Lady Bridget Manners, the daughter of the owner
of Melton, and the representative of the Rosses.”
The feud, in fact, arose as follows:—In the year 1411,
13 Henry IV, Sir Robert Tirwhit (a Justice of the King's
Bench, let it be observed) seized and laid waste, with a
retinue of five hundred followers, the Manor of Melton Ross,
belonging to William Lord Ross. It is probable that
Lord Ross having much larger possessions elsewhere, was not
resident at Melton ; whereas, Kettleby was the chief seat of
the Tirwhits, which may account for the superiority of force
brought by the latter family. Eventually, Sir Robert was
forced to confess his fault before Henry IV., and to agree to
the award made by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord
Gray, Chamberlain to the King. The conclusion of the
decree of the arbitrators is very characteristic of the times:–
“It was enjoyned to the sº Sir Robt. Tirwhit that at a day
certaine he should prepare at Melton Ross 2 Tunnes of
Gascoygne Wyne, 2 fatt oxen, 120 fatt shepe, and other
preparation fit therefor; and that hee should bringe thither
all Knightes, Esquires and Yeomen that were of his crew,
Ian. Mss.svg, when they should all confess theire faults to y”
** Lord Rosse, and crave pardon, and further offer to
y" Lord Rosse 500 marks in recompence, and y” Lord Rosse
* The gallows was renewed by Lord * One circumstance attending the mar-
Yarborough, the possessor of Melton, riage may, however, be thought as tending
about twenty years ago, according to the to revive rather than allay the feud—it
information of M. Graburn, Esq., the took place after an elopement.—Lodge,
resident on the estate. vol. ii. p. 479.
FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES. 67
should refuse y” money, grant them pardon, and take y” dinner
only.” Thus both judgment and pardon are made to appear
as proceeding, not from the arbitrator, but the complainant.
Cases of civil dissension became at this period, or soon
after, very prevalent between the great families and the
Ecclesiastical establishments of the county. The former,
materially weakened during the wars of the Roses, found
much was exacted from them as a right, which hitherto had
been bestowed out of a spirit of pious patronage. The feud
of the Delalaunds and the Knights Hospitallers of Jerusalem,
seated at Temple Bruer, is an apt illustration of this. The
Delalaunds inherited, by marriage from the Esshebys, the
lordship of Ashby Delalaund, and in the days of their
prosperity were considered as the patrons and benefactors of
their neighbours at Temple Bruer; but the Delalaunds
(owing, there is reason to suppose, to the political changes of
the times”) became, in the reign of Henry VII., much
impoverished in circumstances. Their relation with these
more wealthy Ecclesiastics was influenced by the alteration,
and the endowments, before granted by, were now usurped
from them. An endeavour of Robert Delalaund to recover
the advowson of the Church of Ashby is slightly sketched
in the History of Sleaford. In consequence of hist of seaſora,
the death of Robert, the Knights defeated the 143.
attempt ; but a far more characteristic aggression on their
part soon after followed.
John Anwicke had died, seised of a messuage in Ashby,
leaving by his first wife a son, John, then a minor. At the
inquisition, proving these facts, 11th December, * ſº
8 Henry VII., Robert Delalaund, as chief Lord *.
of Ashby, became seised of the said lands, and held them
in possession during the nonage of the minor. The said
John Anwicke the younger was of weak intellect, and “lived
in the meanwhile at Temple Bruer,” as the account quaintly
says, “with Sir John Boswell,” (Commander of the Hospitallers)
* Sir Thomas Delalaund was seated Thomas, as a stanch Lancastrian, Was
at Horbling, only a few miles from Ashby, executed at Grantham, March 15, 1469;
and bore the same arms—the supposition and about this time the decay of the family
that he was a branch of the family is commenced.
credible, though called a Gascon. Sir
F 2
68 FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES.
“as his Fole and Ydeot, and was a natural Fole indede.” John
Anwicke, senior, had married a second wife, and this widow,
Jenet, having remarried John Glayston, of Boston, was bribed
by Sir John Boswell, to give up to him the evidences of the
property of Anwicke Place. A will was forged to prove
Jenet the inheritrix of the property, and it was pretended
she had made a sale thereof to Sir John Boswell, who,
previous to his departure for Rhodes, where he died, gave the
estate to a natural son of his, William Boswell. During this
transaction, Thomas Delalaund, son of Robert, was in his
minority, and, as he says of himself, “I, the sayd Thomas
Delalaund, was but poor, and in service at London,” (he was
in the retinue of the Earl of Oxford.) “and not able to
serve the Remedie of the law.” He was twelve years kept
out of the property, but we are authorised to believe the
justice of his statement, as he eventually, in 20 Henry VII.,
is said to prove the whole of his case, and to recover the
estates from the feoffees.
Other aggressions were at the same time carried on by
Sir Thomas Newport, successor in the commandery of Temple
Bruer, in consequence of a change of road across Ashby
Heath, which enabled him to claim a much larger share, as
belonging to the Order. The evidence” on the trial is
curious, as being sworn to by very aged men ; and the
suit seems to have gone on from the 18 Henry VII. to
3 Henry VIII. The issue is not known ; but Thomas
Delalaund says of his antagonists: “They are so mighty to
dele with and to sue against, that a pore gentleman kan not
be able to reckon his right of them, for that they do dryve
such as do sew the law with them for their right to an
Addit. Mss.4987, extreme cost and labor, and that all they of their
religion bear the charges of Sute in comon, and that they
have so many of the best learned men retained of their
counsell and parte.”
Ten years subsequently, in 1520 or 1521, Delalaund
“piteously complaineth to Cardinal Wolsey against the Frere,
John Babyngton, of the order of St. John of Jerusalem, for
“It is partly given in the History of Sleaford.—Hist, of Sleaford, 340.
FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES. 69
certain grete injuries done to him.” It is the old story of
infringement of property : besides many otheraddit. Mss. 4937.
trespasses specified, he charges him, in the fourth article,
with “having caused his Chaplain and xvi of his servaunts, in
the Rogation days of the xi of the King that now is, to go in
a riotous manner that is to say, with Byllys and Bows, Arrows,
Swordes and Bucklers, and oder wepons, under color of a pro-
cession, ab" the said Hethe of Ashby: ” and Babyngton answers
to this, “that the said xi yere, the beginning thereof, was
very dry, and the said S. John being at London, his Priest
and v other men and iij women-persons went in procession,
in peaceable devout manner about all the Temple Hethe, to
pray for seasonable weather.” This extract is sufficient to
understand the nature of the complaint and the answer.
A few years more the Reformation extinguished this power
of oppression. Thomas Delalaund, at the age of seventy-five,
was still living 32 Hen. VIII., he must, therefore, have seen
the total destruction of his rivals, but though he certainly had
issue, it is probable that poverty also had done its work:
henceforth nothing more is heard of that ancient name, and
the property passed into the family whose representatives
still possess it.
From the date of the Reformation the country gentry were
the principal actors in county quarrels, which, though they
were accompanied by much seeming violence, loud threats,
and a gathering and arming of retainers, led more Seldom
than would be supposed to forcible collision, and still more
seldom to serious casualties. No better instance of this can
be given than in the case of one who was the most notorious
brawler of his day.
Arthur Hall, of Grantham, a gentleman of good family, is
now best known as the first translator of Homer into the
English language, a task in which if he failed, it could not
have been from a want of sympathy with the character of his
hero. His own was formed on the same model,-
Alei Yap to èpis te pſam.
But let him describe himself. “No want of audacity ; of
sufficient courage; well-disposed to liberality ; loving and
70 FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES.
sure to his friend. On the other side, overweening of
himself; furious when he is contraried; without patience
to take tyme to judge, or doubte the danger of the sequel.”
ºf A. The account of his dispute with Mallerie will be
priºr. 3, found in a reprint of an old tract; and his whole
parliamentary career was a scene of contention. He quar-
relled, first, with the public on account of privilege, then with
the parliament itself, and got expelled: he libelled them,
was put into prison ; abused the judge who condemned
Ian. Mss, ºr, him; and, lastly, attacked his constituents, because
** they would not pay him wages after his expul-
sion. These facts are only alluded to as corroborative of his
character, the incident which connects him more especially
with the present subject is his feud with the Thorold family.
The MS. account has no date itself, but in the catalogue it
is attributed to 1581, and this is probable, for it speaks of
Lans. Mss.si. Anthony Thorold as being somewhat aged, and he
*** was then sixty-one ; yet it must have been before
1585, for in that year Thorold was knighted. The dispute
arose from Arthur Hall having taken umbrage at the inter-
ference of Anthony Thorold, in the choice of aldermen at
Grantham, on account of which he sent, 27th October, a letter
to Mr. Thorold, but the contents he does not give ; we may
however conclude, from the circumstances which follow, that
it was one of deliberate insult.
On the 2nd November a letter was delivered to him by a
servant of Mr. Thorold's, which Arthur Hall, “mistrusting
that it was prejudicial to his repute and credit, and because
of Mr. Thorold's age he could not have made any convenient
challenge,” he returned, sealed, to Marston. On the following
day a second letter was given him, as if sent from London,
which he opened, but did not read further than to see it was
signed by Anthony Thorold, he therefore folded it up and
returned it to the landlord of the George, at Grantham,
through whom it came ; but afterwards “ considering that by
being returned unsealed, it might by any be read to the
disgrace of him, without any convenient challenge to Mr.
Thorold, from consideration before recited, he called for the
said letter and before divers tore yt in pieces.” He then
FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES. 71
explained to Mr. Thomas Ellis that “if the said Thorold had
anie malice to him and would send him anie message by
anie one the said Arthur Hall had equal, whereby the want
in Thorold aforesaid might be satisfied, he would answer him
in all respects.”
On the 5th November, William Thorold the son, with two
horsemen with swords and bucklers, and a footman carrying
Thorold's buckler, and other footmen carrying staves, came to
Grantham, to the George, and calling a meeting of certain of
the townspeople, declared he came to call “the said Arthur a
knave, saying he had misused his father, the cause whereof
he had drank too much wine with his oysters, with many
other unseemlie words.” They also drew their swords upon
two of Mr. Hall's men, one of whom riding back to inform
Hall, he came out with Mr. John Leake and five retainers,
but the enemy he found retired.
“On the 7th November William Thorold, with twenty-four
men having swords and gauntlets, others swords and bucklers,
most of them with privy cotes, came, under color of Hawking
(though no Hawkes could any one see), to the stone-pits hard
by the house, and asked if Hall were at home.” It appears
he was absent, but Mr. Charles Bawde and two servants went
out to remonstrate. William Thorold said the quarrel was
his on his father's behalf, for that Mr. Hall had called him
knave, and retaliates with similar words. John Markham,
who had married a daughter of Anthony Thorold, was in
company, and said “Mr. Hall was in latebris, to which Mr.
Bawde answered, if he had been in, he would not have hid
his face from any man.” There is much other vulgar
altercation repeated, but it ends in nothing.
On the 8th, John Markham and William Thorold made
another foray into the grounds with twenty men, and with
greyhounds, and this night Arthur Hall was sent for. On
the next day it seems to have been Hall's turn to rally his
followers, and he says, “Divers of his friends and tenants
came to y” house offering their good-will for the defence of
them and the house, because of the disorder proffered yester-
day, and the day before.” Mr. Hall entertained them, but
afterwards, he declares, requested them earnestly to repair to
72 FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES.
their homes, and that he “went with only nine or ten of his
own men, until he came to Belton town side, but seeing his
company following, he twice or thrice sent one of his men
back, desiring them to goe home.” The same day was the
statute fair at Long Bennington, a mile and a quarter from
Marston, and many of Mr. Thorold’s retainers being there, it
was given out “that Sir Thomas Cecil and Arthur Hall would
come and pluck Mr. Thorold out of his house and fire it, and,
indeed, it was reported that the House was already on fire.”
Between six and seven hundred repaired to Marston, and the
bells were rung at Westborow to levy the people, yet again
nothing seems to have come of it.
The following day, the 10th, Hall says he dined at the
George with his friends, and had his servants armed, in order
to prove that he dare show his face, contrary to the reports
of William Thorold and John Markham; and then “remaining
awhile after dinner he came home to his house,” a very “lame
and impotent conclusion” to what at first appeared a very
“pretty quarrel.” The affair seems to have been inquired
into before the justices at Ancaster, but no issue reported.
Old Anthony Thorold survived all his sons, and died
1594. Arthur Hall did not die till 3 James I., and it is
singular that in after-years his son Cecil Hall married the niece
of his old antagonist, viz. Alice, daughter of Sir Edmund
Hari. Mss.1233. Thorold, halfbrother of Sir Anthony. The family
of Markham concerned in this quarrel were embroiled on
Rawlinson other occasions. In the Rawlinson manuscripts
** are some challenges that passed between them
and the Hollis family, of too gross language to be here
Talbot Mss, repeated, and indeed they have more relation to
** the county of Notts. In the Talbot MSS. at the
Herald's College is a letter to Lord Shrewsbury from John
Bonn, wishing him to interfere to keep the peace on this
Han. Mss.sºss, occasion. One of these Markhams afterwards, in
art, 2. 1616, was fined in the Star Chamber for a libellous
letter arising out of a hunting quarrel with Lord Darcy. The
story is amusing, but not relative to the present subject.
That occasionally these feuds were not without serious
casualties may be evidenced by a letter of Richard Thimelby,
FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES. 73
of Irnham, in 1592, to Lord Shrewsbury, narrating a
rencounter with some retainers of his Lordship's brother,
Henry Talbot; but the particulars in connection Talbot Mss.
with this affair are scanty, and the relation to * *
which we shall now pass will be amply sufficient to understand
how family differences were at that time conducted.
During the reign of Elizabeth, the man who kept the
county in the greatest irritation was the peer who took from
it his title. Henry, second Earl of Lincoln, passed a life, the
whole object of which seems to have been quarrel. With
his inferiors he was tyrannical, with his equals suspicious
and aggressive. It is said of Denzil Hollis, that, "ºº",
“living much at Irby, he used to confront Henry .
Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, who was a great tyrant among the
gentry of Lincolnshire, and to carry business against him
in spite of his teeth.” Denzil Hollis died in 1590: cominºreer.
subsequent to this the Earl's conduct certainly ****
increased in violence, though at no period was it distinguished
by forbearance. Lodge speaks of a Roger Fullshaw of Wad-
dingworth, who, in 1596, prayed for protection against the
most horrible outrages committed by the Earl, and yet in that
same year, unfit as such a man seems for diplomacy, he was
sent upon an embassy to the Landgrave of Hesse, and his
conduct at that court is bitterly arraigned by Mr. Anthony
Bacon. Lodge says his whole behaviour is strongly tinctured
by insanity, and indeed there is no other way for accounting
for much that will appear in the course of the narrative.
Before he succeeded to the title, and consequently when
he had not so much power to oppress, the following series of
aggressions took place on his neighbours, the Savilles of
Powlam. It is necessary to premise that Sir Robert Saville,
though he was a knight of good estate (much of which he
acquired by marriage with a daughter of Sir Robert Hussey,
and in her right, as widow of Sir Richard Thimelby, lived at
Powlam, near Tattershall) and though his descendants became
Earls of Sussex, nevertheless was a natural son of Sir Henry
Saville, by Margaret Barkston, “his Ladies' Gentle- lan. Mss.
woman,” a circumstance not forgotten, as will be ***
seen by his lordly adversary. The occurrences took place
74. FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES.
in 1578. They were neighbours, and jealous of trespass.
There is evidently some previous misunderstanding unmen-
tioned, but, on the 13th June, Lord Clinton, “with 7 men, with
cross-bowes and long bowes bent,” forced himself into the
parlour of Powlam, and, after threatening words, struck
Sheffield Saville, the son, over the head. The elder Saville says
he prevented his son from noticing the outrage. On the 25th
June following, Lord Clinton hearing Sir Robert's hounds
hunting in Mr. Welby's wood, seized five of them, and then
sent a threatening letter that he would hang them before his
house, and, in fact, ten days after, did hang them as Sir
Robert says, “upon my own tree within my own ground.”
The next affray may be described from a letter of the Earl's
friend, Mr. Metham, which, allowing for a trifling bias, little
Ian. Mss. differs from the account given by the Savilles.
*** Early in July, Thomas Metham, having previously
received Lord Clinton at Metham, was on a return visit at Tat-
tershall, and (as Metham relates) “it pleased him " (Lord
Clinton) “to carry me with my companye through his parke
unto the chase, where his meaning was to have made sport w”
hounds and greyhounds, and leading us by into the meadows
he shewed me certain of the great deer of the chase, such as
he kept rather for shew than to be hunted.” The deer, it
appears, broke away into Mr. Welby's woods, and “thence,
as my Lord affirmed with an oath, into the mouths of the
Savilles.” Lord Clinton's retinue followed the hounds; Lord
Clinton himself (according to Metham) did not, but in passing
along a lane encountered some of the Saville followers, “in
number 20 or 24, the more part having swords, bucklers, and
daggers, some pyked staves, one a cross-bow with an arrowe,
another a long bow and arrows :” while words were passing,
“ould Mr. Saville” came up, and the following uncourteous
dialogue was the result. “My Lord Clinton, yf thou be a
man light and fight with me.” “With thee, Bastardlye
knave,” quoth my Lord, “I will deal with thee well enough,
and teach thee, knave, thy duty. Upon which words
Mr.Saville called my Lord a cowardly knave,” and challenges
passed between them and with Sheffield Saville, who, upon
Metham seeing the poignancy of the words just spoken, and
FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES. 75
withdrawing (as he says) Lord Clinton by the arm, called
out after him, “You a Lord, you are a kitchen boy.” Sir
Robert, after their departure, having got hold of one of
Lord Clinton's dogs, meant, the letter says, “to use it with
like courtesy as my Lord had done his.” This is uninten-
tionally admitting the former aggression. Metham relates
that Lord Clinton again approached Sir Robert's house, and
that a challenge passed through John Saville to fight six to
six, “w” by good entreaty was stayed.” Metham Lans. Mss.
acknowledges to know no more ; but Saville, in ***
his narrative, says, that the followers of Lord Clinton
were entertained at Horncastle, the same day, with a buck;
and getting hold of an unfortunate tailor, some ten or twelve
of them drew their swords upon him and sore wounded him,
saying he should have that and more for his master's sake,
Mr. Sheffield Saville.
It would be tedious to relate all the ways invented by the
Earl to annoy his opponents. They are detailed in certainly
not less than eleven articles, but the MS. is torn and so
decayed, as not to be easily decipherable. At one time he
overran the lands of Powlam with sixty men, armed with
guns, cross-bows, and long-bows; at another, intercepted and
ill-treated all the messengers sent to Tattershall on domestic
errands; incited the neighbours to send challenges ; tried to
entice into the park the younger Savilles, and laid ambushes
for them; and made false charges against the poorer tenants,
one of whom in consequence died in prison; moreover, the
Earl is accused of malversation in respect to the money raised
in the previous January, for the levy of troops in Lincolnshire.
The Earl's character leads us to suppose that these
accusations are not much exaggerated. His conduct to his
own tenants at Tattershall was so atrocious, that at last, in
1594, they made open complaints of his treat- Lans. Mss.
ment. He inclosed their commons, and if found "***
on them he fined or put them in the stocks as trespassers.
He even took away their highway, arbitrarily altered their
ancient custom in the payment of tithes, and, what seemed
especially to Scandalise his poor neighbours, “The said Earl
hath taken away a part of the churchyard, and putt it into
76 FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES.
his mote, so that divers people were digged up, some green
Lans. Mss. 7, and lately buried, and thrown into the mote to fill
** up :” then follows the specification of many oppres-
sions exercised against particular tenants mentioned by name.
But all these forays are mere episodes in his life. The
one great quarrel continuing for years, was with his cousin, Sir
podsworth Mss. Edward Dymoke. In one of the Dodsworth's
**** MSS., but without date, it says it had then lasted
twelve years, and as there is an answer of Sir Edward Dymoke,
written in 1594, it supplies the omission, and the feud must
have begun in 1582 or a few years before the old Earl's death.
The same MS. supplies sufficient for us to ascertain the cause,
which arose out of the inheritance of property, resented
more bitterly from the nearness of kin. The relationship
between the Dymokes and the Earl of Lincoln is rather com-
plicated. Sir Edward Dymoke's grandfather (also called Sir
Edward) married Ann, the sister of Gilbert, Lord Talbois.
The widow of Lord Talbois, the celebrated Elizabeth Blount,
mistress of Henry the Eighth, remarried the Earl of Lincoln,
and had three daughters, co-heirs; of these, Bridget married
Sir Robert Dymoke, son of Sir Edward and father of the
second Sir Edward. Henry, Earl of Lincoln, being son by a
second wife, was half-brother to Lady Bridget Dymoke.
Thus Sir Edward's grandmother was only sister by marriage
to the old Countess of Lincoln, and Sir Edward’s mother
half-sister to the Earl. Lord Lincoln seems to have accused
Sir Edward Dymoke of being indebted to his family for the
inheritance of Kyme, to which Sir Edward replies, that as
the Talbois family in the male line was extinct, his grand-
mother, the sister of the last Lord, was heir-at-law not only
of Kyme, but would have been so of much larger property
if it had not been dissipated by the daughter of Lord Talbois,
who married the Earl of Warwick, and was the half-sister of
Lady Bridget Dymoke, and that in reparation she left Kyme,
which was all that remained, to Sir Robert and Lady Bridget
Dymoke, while the old people (the Earl of Lincoln and Sir
Edward) only joined in the conveyance to see the property
sufficiently assured. It is certainly clear, that Henry, Earl
of Lincoln, had little claim to the Talbois property, his only
FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES. 77
connection with it being by his step-mother. The Earl also
taunted Sir Edward that it was only by alliance with his
family he derived his ancestral honours, in refutation of
which a long genealogical analysis is given to prove that
“for more than 500 years before y” match with Doawoºd, Mss.
y” said Earl's daughter, the Dymokes have ever ****
matched in very honorable houses, by wº matches they have
both large inheritance and good title to honor.”
The feud was not only in full force in 1594, as appears
from a letter of Lord Lincoln of the 27th October, but his
old enmity to the Savilles was, after sixteen years, Han. Mss.goog.
still rife. He begs of Lord Burleigh for favourable l114.
assistance “in these great and rare extremities of dangers,
long practised by Sir Edward Dymoke and Saville, and still
prosecuted most malitiously and cunningly by his servants and
agents, who spare no indyrect means to endanger my life,
kill my servants, to make me odious by raising others to
make continual accusation to your Honour.” (This probably
referred to the complaint, in the same year, of the tenants
at Tattershall, but no one indulged in such accusations more
recklessly than the Earl of Lincoln). In the year subsequent,
1595, there is another long letter to the Lord Han. Mss. ººr,
Treasurer, in which, first denying the authorship * *
of a libel on Sir Edward, he trusts that this shall not warrant
Sir Edward “to deface any nobleman or gentleman in his
country, by setting up cartels and challenges upon the crosses
in market towns where they dwell, even in the tyme of the
chiefest assemblies of the sessions at one place ; at the tyme
of assembly to a sermon, and during divine prayer on Sunday
at another ; yea, by sending his cartel unto the dwelling-
house of my son, when he was with his sick wife, lying then
in Cannon-row ;” all which he terms his Italian revenge.
Another letter of the 21st November still harps Han. Mss.gpº.
upon the “unnatural practices many years con- . 67.
tryved by Sir Edward Dymock and his complices,” among
whom he includes Armyne, and calls him Sir Edward's cousin.
Bartholomew Armine had certainly married Ann, heiress of
the Dymoke of Friskney, but this branch had separated from
the parent stock in the time of Richard the Second, more
78 FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES.
than 200 years before. Another letter, without date, speaks
of his “ancient enemies, known,” Dymoke, Askough, and
Armine. Sir Edward Ayscough was the Earl's own brother-
in-law. In fact Lord Lincoln seems to have had the common
characteristic of a madman, that of imagining every one
plotting for some dangerous purpose against him.
There are other letters on the same point, but we will pass
to four or five years later, when the Earl was accessory to
a singular kind of revenge upon the Dymokes; a little pre-
vious explanation of the family history is, however, necessary.
Sir Edward Dymoke, his father having died intestate, took
upon himself the provision for his sisters; of them, Mary mar-
ried a Mr. John Shute, to whom he gave with her a dowry of
400l., and a lease worth 80ſ. per annum, a fortune sufficiently
handsome in that day. Shute was a man of extravagant and
dissipated habits, spending his own inheritance and what
Lans. Mss. he got with his wife, in, as the MS. says, “Aqua
* * vitae, seck, tobacco, and other misdemeanours.”
These misdemeanours, by the bye, include acts of very
great profligacy. Sir Edward, finding that if the husband
died, his sister would be left penniless, as the lease had been
sold, pressed Shute to settle something out of the remnants
of his fortune on his wife, and Shute first promised 500l., then
100ſ. ; at length Mrs. Shute got out of him “with much ado,
three-score and fifteen pounds,” which she brought to Lady
Dymoke to keep for her and her children. Sir Edward had not
only for some time to support his sister, but her husband being
arrested, she drew out at divers times the whole money lodged
with Lady Dymoke, so that not more than twelve pounds
remained, and they seem to have taken advantage of a regular
acquittance not having past, to endeavour to get the whole
money paid over again. This was an incident the Earl of
Lincoln was but too happy to take advantage of He, as Sir
Edward says, “did egge and sett y” said John Shute forward
to attempt my patience,” and consequently he came to Scri-
velsby, but Sir Edward would not see him, offering, however,
to pay the remainder of the deposit money. “To this he
answereth nothing, but railing and raging, swore by great
oaths he would speak with me, whether I would or no, being
FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES. 79
angry, as it should seem he could carrie my Lord of Lincoln
no newes to please him, by my overshooting myself in
anger. Hereupon I called two of my men to lead him
gentlie out of my house, wºº they did wºº their hattes in
their hands, entreating him to be patient, without anie
violence or yvll wordes, as they will be readie to depose, all
w” he aggravated to my good lorde the Earl, the vere same
day.” It is worthy of remark, that Sir Edward Dymoke
always in his communications speaks of the Earl with a
certain degree of fear and respect.
The next mode of annoyance is the one most characteristic
of the time. During a short absence of Sir Edward, in August,
1599, Mrs. Shute came to Scrivelsby, and was Lans. Mss.
hospitably received ; in return for which she com- **
plained unto the Justices of Kesteven, of certain words spoken
by Lady Dymoke, touching prophecies : “herewith also was
my honorable Lord, the Earl of Lincoln made acquainted,
and hath lent the complainants money to bring them to
London, and animated them to this complaint.” Such was
the uncertain state of the Government at this period, that it
was thought worth while to appoint a commission of Lord
Willoughby and Mr. Hennage, to inquire into this statement;
and the report was to the following effect. Mrs. Shute, at
the dinner-table, having been asked what news there was at
Boston from which she last came, answered, “None good ;
for the King of Spain did vowe to be in England on Saturday
following, and y” he had sent word to the Queen that he did
not care if her Ma" knew he came to London ; ” and a
disbelief being expressed, Mrs. Shute said again, “they came
so provided that they did not doubt to invade England.”
Lady Dymoke's reply was, “that she hoped that should never
be soe, for there was one Mr. Ealand here not two days ago,
that told me that in 1588, there was an Italian writt a book
to y” King of Spain, and tould him that if at that time he
came he should never land, and this year being 1599, he hath
writt another book to the King of Spain, that if he doe come
perhaps he may land, and see y” corne, but shall never taste
of it. Katharyne Monson, Lady Dymoke's sister,” (for they
were both daughters of Sir John Monson, of Carleton,)
80 FEUDS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE FAMILIES.
“having then asked whether this book was sent to the King of
Spain, the said Examinant answered it was, and therefore the
King of Spain is but a fool to come, seeing the other proved
so true. Then Mrs. Shute answered, Mr. Ashfield had
confessed that the King of Scotts had assured y” King of
Spain 40,000 strong in England. Then the said Examinant
answered, she did not believe that the King of Scottes would
make war against England; and these be all the words that
passed between them, touching any of the matters aforesaid.”
It is needless to add, that the Commissioners, in their report,
found no such offence as was conceived, but it is amusing as
compared with the times in which we are now living, to see
the speeches (uttered in private society too) that were thought
worthy of official inquiry.
The Earl of Lincoln and Sir Edward Dymoke both lived
for some years after. Many letters show that the Earl's
affairs became embarrassed, and his irregularities threatened
him, in the words of his own letter, “with high preferment to
the Fleet.” Nevertheless, he forgot not his old animosities.
Tano, Mss. In the amusing Autobiography of his son Sir
** Henry Fynes, Sir Henry says, “at his Father's
command, and only to cross Sir Edward Dymoke,” he begged
a lease his Majesty had of Horncastle, and this lease he
Bridge, pers of owns turned out worth nothing. But there is a
*** valuable moral in the conclusion of this history.
After the Earl's undeviating tyranny against this son had
called forth a severe reproval from the King himself, the natural
consequence of oppression and bad example followed. The
latter end of the Earl's life was embittered by lawsuits prose-
cuted against him by his own child ; and after his death, his
two sons inherited his propensity for violence, and, until the
death of the eldest, never ceased from mutual aggressions.
With the commencement of the seventeenth century this
account of Lincolnshire feuds must be brought to a close.
During the reign of Charles I., the scenes of family violence
that occurred, arose more out of political differences, and
henceforth our dissensions gradually subsided from the
turbulent manifestations of the early times, into the more
slow, but peaceable course of modern litigation.
Sir Edw. Dymok
of Scrivelsby, died
16th Sept.—9 Eliz.
*
PEDIGREE TO SHOW THE CONNECTION OF THE DYMOKE, TALBOYS, AND FYNES FAMILIES.
—Ann, d. of Sir George
Talboys, remarried
Sr Robº Carr.
Gilbert, Lº Talboys
of Kyme, died 15th
Apr. 1530.
Robert Dymoke of T-Bridget, d. of Edw.
Scrivelsby, died 12th E. of Lincoln, sur-
Sept., 1580.
viving 1580.
!
-]
John Blount of Kyn-
let, Salop, m* 1st Ld.
Talboys—2° Earl of
Lincoln.
-Elizabeth, d. of Sir-
27 Eliz.
HEdward, Earl of Lincoln, died 16th Jany,
L
T
George Talboys died
S. P.
Sir Edward Dymoke, T-Ann, d. of Sir John
buried Sept. 2, 1625, Monson, (2nd wife).
at Scrivelsby.
Mary married John
Shute.
Elizabeth, d. and
heir, mard Thom"
Wimbish--2°ly, Am-
brose Dudley, Earl
of Warwick.
Margaret m” Charles
Ld. Willoughby.
Katharine mº Wil-
liam Lord Burgh.
Lord Stourton.
HUrsula, d. of Will., (second wife).
Henry, E. of Lin—T-Elizabeth, d.
coln, died 29th Sept.,
l
of Sir Richd
Morison,
died 1611,
(second
wife).

Sir Henry Fynes of
Kirkstead, 24 survi-
ving son, born 30th
Sept., 1587.


THE GENTLEMEN'S SOCIETY AT SPALDING,
WITH NOTICES OF THE RESEARCHES AND LABOURS OF THE EARLIEST LINCOLNSHIRE
ANTIQUARIES.
BY THE REW. WILLIAM MOORE, D.D.,
PREBENDARY OF LINCOLN, AND PRESIDENT OF THE SPALDING SOCIETY.
IN order to form a correct idea of the circumstances under
which “The Gentlemen's Society” at Spalding was first
established, it will be necessary to mark the progress which
had been made, at that period, by the learned men of this
country, in the investigation and study of antiquities.
In the earlier part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, a
number of persons, who were impressed with the obvious
importance of endeavouring to collect and preserve the vast
number of Records and other valuable documents which had
been scattered abroad by the pillage of the Monasteries, held
their meetings, for the mutual communicating of information
upon these subjects, at the house of Sir Robert Cotton, under
the patronage of Archbishop Parker. In process of time
they had it in contemplation to apply to the Queen for a
charter; reciting in their petition, in order to show the
importance of their design, that King Edward the First,
when he was searching for proofs of his title to the crown of
Scotland, ordered diligent inquiry to be made in the libraries
of the Monasteries; and that Henry the Eighth did the
same, when he was desirous to bring evidence against the
usurpations of the Pope. This petition was signed by
Sir Robert Cotton, Sir John Dodderidge, and Sir James Lee ;
but whether it was ever presented is a matter of doubt.
The Society, however, continued to exist for thirty years,
having numbered among its members in that period the
Early Antiqua names of Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Philip Sidney,
ries. Lord Burleigh, Henry Earl of Arundel, the two
Herberts Earls of Pembroke, Sir Henry Savile, Bishop
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" W " Sì （II ， N (0) ≤ N. JEI (O) ſº ºſ O JI?， Illº， №.
： ： ： ：




THE GENTLEMEN'S SOCIETY AT SPALDING.' 83
Andrewes, John Stowe, and William Camden. Its disso-
lution was owing to the suspicious policy of James the First,
who is said to have been afraid, at the time of his accession,
lest these prying antiquaries should get an insight into the
arcana of kingcraft. In 1617, an unsuccessful attempt was
made for its revival, through the mediation of the favourite,
Buckingham. During the disturbed state of the country, in
the civil wars, certain eminent Scholars pursued their
researches in private, frequently communicating with each
other, but not holding stated meetings. Among these were
Dugdale, Dodsworth, Somner, Spelman, Selden, D’Ewes,
Usher, and Ashmole. Ashmole in his diary mentions some
kind of mustering which they had, about the time of the
Restoration, called the Antiquaries' Feast; and after this the
learned body seem to have been dormant for nearly half
a century.
In the year 1707, we find symptoms of stirring among
them. A few gentlemen, with the intention of prosecuting
investigations into the ancient history of Great Britain, began
to hold weekly meetings at the various coffee-houses near
the Temple. In 1710, we find the names of one..., a.s.
Browne Willis, the two Gales, Stukeley, Rymer, º.º. º.
and Maurice Johnson. A sketch of the different :"#";
heads under which they proposed to carry on "
their researches is still extant. In 1717, they formed them-
selves into a regular Society, electing a president and other
officers. Previously to this it seems to have been agreed,
that as soon as their funds should prove sufficient to enable
them to buy books, Maurice Johnson should be appointed
their librarian.
Maurice Johnson, however, was now removed from the
congenial society of London, to his native town of Spalding.
He had exchanged the company of wits, at Button's Coffee-
House ;-and of antiquaries, at the Temple Change —the
company of Addison, Gay, and Steele, of Willis, Stukeley
and the Gales, for the ordinary society of a country town.
And so great was his love of learning and science, that he at
once entertained the bold design of establishing a Literary
Society in the very heart of the fens of Lincoln. It was, as
G 2
84 THE GENTLEMEN'S SOCIETY AT SPALDING.
he said very truly, “an endeavour new, and untried before.”
The persons to whom he looked for aid were “unaccustomed
to such a mode of spending an evening.” He was himself
“only just arrived at manhood:”—and “all his advisers and
encouragers were at a great distance.” Yet did he resolve
well, and manfully persevere. Taking care not to alarm
the country gentlemen by any premature mention of antiqui-
ties, he endeavoured at first to allure them into the more
sºs.s., flowery paths of literature. In 1709, a few
*** of them were brought together every post-day,
at the Coffee-house in the Abbey Yard; and after one of
the party had read aloud the last-published number of the
“Tatler,” they proceeded to talk over the subject among
themselves. Thus were “the men of sense and letters,” he
says, “drawn insensibly into a sociable way of conversing.”
After a while the “Spectators” were read in like manner;
and now and then a new poem, by Gay or Parnell, was
brought forward, or an essay or letter upon some subject of
polite literature. These papers were carefully preserved, and
the attention of the gentlemen was turned to the formation
of a library. In 1712, so well satisfied were they with the
proceedings of the last three years, that it was determined to
place their meetings upon a footing of permanence. Proposals
were issued for the establishing of “a Society of Gentlemen,
for the supporting of mutual benevolence, and their improve-
ment in the liberal sciences and in polite learning.” A pre-
sident was elected, and a short code of laws was issued for
the regulation of their meetings: their founder modestly
undertaking the subordinate office of secretary, and at once
Managemen commencing the Minutes of their transactions.
** The first recorded subject of their examination
was the sketch of an ancient monumental stone and inscrip-
tion, in Peterborough Cathedral. At the next meeting, the
secretary communicated two poetical epistles, the one in Latin,
from a gentleman at Eton to his friend; the other in English,
upon the departure of the Duke of Marlborough to take the
command of the Allied Forces, in Germany. He also read
a paper on the “Choice of Colours and Materials for Miniature
Painting,” after the directions of Albert Durer and others.
THE GENTLEMEN's SOCIETY AT SPALDING. 85
In these Minutes of the first two meetings which have been
recorded, we have a fair specimen of the range of subjects
into which they pursued their investigations. Under the
head of polite literature, besides ephemeral productions such
as those above mentioned, sundry pieces by Swift, Prior,
Arbuthnot, Eusden, Young, Gay, and Pope, were read as
they came out. Several, indeed, of the poems of Gay and
Pope were communicated by the authors themselves, with
whom Maurice Johnson had become acquainted at Button's
Coffee-house during his residence in London. In 1751, we
find it on the minutes, that a certain “Elegy in a Country
Church-yard” was read, which had just before come out
anonymously. Under the head of Arts and Science, we may
class the communications which were made, from time to
time, upon painting, Sculpture, and music ; upon anatomy and
medicine; upon mathematics and mechanics. The fens around
them furnished curious specimens in ornithology; and the
fen-men listened with peculiar interest to the description of
engines and machines for draining. For their botanical
studies, they were supplied with rare plants and flowers from
the garden of their secretary, and also from a physic-garden
of their own.
But the favourite and most fruitful subject was that of
Antiquities. Among the monastic institutions of the district,
proverbially rich and magnificent, a conspicuous place was
occupied by the mitred Priory of Spalding. Of this spalding Priory.
foundation many chartularies and registers were still in exist-
ence, some of them in public libraries, and some in the posses-
sion of the secretary himself, to whom they had descended from
his great-grandfather, Sir Richard Ogle, who was one of Queen
Elizabeth's commissioners for inquiries respecting Abbey lands.
From these ancient records he communicated, from time to
time, much valuable information relating to the town and
priory, amounting at last to a continuous and complete history.
And when other subjects failed, “on a pinch,” as he says,
“and to enliven our chat,” he brought out in chronological
order his own ample collection of coins, exhibiting them “with
some discourse.” By such communications, aided by those
which he elicited from Stukeley, Gale, and others at a distance,
86 THE GENTLEMEN’s sociFTY AT SPALDING.
as well as from the more intelligent members on the spot, he
raised the Society to an eminence which has perhaps never
been reached by any provincial Society whatever, under
similar circumstances; and at which it remained for the long
period of forty years. “By the favour of Providence,” as he
piously expresses it, his exertions were crowned with success.
He never lost an opportunity of asking for communications
and correspondence, backing his request by the authority of
Sir Isaac Newton, who had recommended it as the surest way
to keep the Society in active operation. He adopted every
form of solicitation. To one person he says: “Your letters
willmore promote science among us fen-men, (who are thought
to labour under a very stupid air,) than the missionaries of
Rome have promoted religion, truly so called, among the
Chinese.” g
The interview with Sir Isaac Newton, just alluded to, took
place in 1720. Having, at the suggestion of Dr. Jurin,
interview with addressed a letter to him, Maurice Johnson was
*** requested to call at Newton's house, in St.Martin’s-
street, Leicester-square. The reception he met with was
extremely courteous. The venerable philosopher kept him
in conversation for some time, “highly commending” the
Society at Spalding, and giving his consent to become a member
of it; “although he was now declining almost everything, and
did not go even to the Royal Society.”
In 1733, the Archi-mandrite or Abbot of one of the con-
vents on Mount Athos, who was travelling with his chaplain,
probably for the purpose of soliciting contributions for his
convent, was present at a meeting of the Society; and in
compliance with his own request, written by him in Romaic
or modern Greek in the Minutes, he was admitted as an
honorary member. In fact, the Society had members in every
part of the globe. At one time they receive a present of
minerals and fossils from Norway; and at another time a
letter is read from one of their members residing at Panama.
They exhibited on all occasions a praiseworthy desire to
admit as many as could attend, to a participation in their
privileges and advantages. The master of the Grammar School
at Spalding was allowed to bring one of his upper boys to
THE GENTLEMEN'S SOCIETY AT SPALDING. 87
each of the meetings: and as the “auditores” were admitted
for five years in the Academies of ancient Greece, so were
these youths encouraged to listen and to learn. Several of
them became afterwards intelligent and useful members of
the Society.
We cannot be surprised to find that, during the long period
of forty-five years, there were times when it was found
difficult to carry on the proceedings “with becoming dignity
and spirit.” The professional men were “liable to constant
interruption" from professional duties; and the young were
“allured, and deterred, and drawn away, by parties of
pleasure,” and by the more congenial amusements of
“dancing, cards, bowls, billiards, and the like.” Besides
which, the subject of politics, “upon which every man thinks
himself wise,” was carefully excluded by the rules. It must
have required, not only considerable energy and perseverance,
but also much courtesy and tact, to surmount these obstacles.
In short, it was the work of no ordinary mind to plan, and
establish, and maintain for the period of nearly half a
century, in that isolated district, a Society which “earned the
approbation of eminent philosophers, and of persons held in
reverence by the whole learned world; ” numbering among
its members the names of Newton and Bentley, of Pope,
Addison, and Gay. Other societies were formed after its
example and model, some of which met with tolerable
Success; but the rest, “though in cities of greater frequency
of men brought up and beneficed for letters,” proved abortive.
In order to gratify as much as possible the tastes of all
the parties concerned, it was agreed that the anniversary
meeting of the Society should be celebrated by a dinner;
but the Secretary has recorded his complaint, that this
dinner proved “an idle and expensive mode of helping the
Society, feeding the body rather than the mind.” A Con-
cert was also given, “in order that the Society might have
an opportunity of entertaining the ladies, and treating them
with a glass of wine.” He politely acknowledges that
this “answered well, and did the Institution credit and
service.” In 1741, a parody, written by Lord Bacon, upon
a Greek epigram of Posidippus on the vanity of human life,
88 THE GENTLEMEN’s sociFTY AT SPALDING.
which was sometimes sung on grand days in the Middle Temple
Hall “to the original music,” was sung at this meeting by Dr.
Heighington, a musician of some eminence, accompanied by
his son.
After discharging the laborious duties of Secretary for
thirty years, Mr. Johnson was the President for the remainder
Mauregonon of his life. As he advanced in years, it gave
** satisfaction to the good old man to present to the
Society communications from four of his sons, whom he had
“taken care to train up to a liking of it from their infancy.”
His son Maurice, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Duke of Cum-
berland's Foot Guards, and Aide-de-camp to the Duke, sent,
at one time, an account of the Battle of Dettingen, at
other times, drawings and descriptions of Roman remains,
altars, coins, statues, and monumental inscriptions, which he
had met with during the campaign in Germany. John,
another son, who was a member of St. John's College,
Cambridge, sent down the poetical effusions of the wits of
his University. Martin, from on board his Majesty's ship
“Experiment,” sent accounts of the proceedings of the fleet
under Admiral Vernon. And Walter, who resided on the
spot, gave his aid to the Society, not only as an active
member, but also by discharging the office of Treasurer.
In 1753 appears an entry in the Minutes, in the well-known
hand-writing of the venerable founder, but less firm and
vigorous than in former days, complaining that age will not
permit him to perform, in so accurate a manner as he would
wish, the task of making an index to the Society's papers
and records. He was afflicted with a disorder in the head,
which in 1755 put an end to his life. Of those twelve
gentlemen who sat, nearly half a century before, to hear the
weekly reading of the “Tatler” and the “Spectator,” pro-
bably Maurice Johnson was the only one who survived to
hear the “Rambler,” which came out about this time, and
was read as the others had been. To say that the Society
died when its founder died, would scarcely be correct : but it
can excite little surprise to find that it soon sank to the
condition of an ordinary country club ; tending perhaps,
in some degree, to promote “mutual benevolence,” but doing
THE GENTLEMEN'S SOCIETY AT SPALDING. 89
very little to improve its members “in the liberal sciences,
or in polite literature.”
It appears that Mr. Johnson's sons, to whom he chiefly
trusted for the future maintenance of the Society, so seldom
resided at Ayscough Fee Hall, the family seat there, that
they were unable to devote the personal attention and
support essential to the preservation of the Institution.
As he himself observed in a letter to his friend Gale, “realms
and all communities have their periods.” Nevertheless, as
Gale in return assured him would be the case, – the
“Supellex Literaria” of the Society still remains, “a glorious
monument of the public spirit and learning of its founder,
and the record of a noble attempt, which otherwise would
scarcely be credited by posterity.”
W. M.
NOTE.-Mrs. Dinham, of Spalding, daughter of Colonel Johnson, and
grand-daughter of the intelligent founder of the Society in that town, has,
with kind liberality, presented to the Institute the Portrait accompanying
this memoir. This gratifying memorial of cordial interest in the endeavours
of modern Archaeologists to pursue the researches which Maurice Johnson
first promoted in Lincolnshire, will be received with much satisfaction by the
Members of the Institute ; and the Central Committee desire to record their
hearty acknowledgment of this generous contribution to the Lincolnshire
Wolume.
AN ACCOUNT OF
THE PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER :
WITH SOME GENERAL REMARKS ON GLASS PAINTING.
—4–
I PROPOSE in this paper to give Some account of the remains
of ancient painted glass existing in Lincoln Cathedral, and
Southwell Minster. But as I have reason to believe that the
subject of Glass Painting is far from being generally under-
stood, and that it has not received that degree of attention
which it deserves, whether considered as occupying a promi-
nent place among the arts of the Middle Ages, or as an art
which the taste of the present day has caused to be exten-
sively revived; I shall venture to take a wider range than is
absolutely necessary, and instead of confining myself to a
description of these remains, combine with it such an account
of the process of glass painting, and of its past history and
variations, as by affording some knowledge of the practical
details of the art, may remove an obstacle, which meeting
the antiquary or amateur at his first entrance on the study
of glass painting, often deters him from pursuing the subject,
or giving due attention to it. In conclusion I shall offer a
few remarks on the present practice of the art, and sug-
gestions for removing some of the difficulties which beset its
advancement.
The art of Painting on Glass, which it may be proper to
state is very different from the art of making coloured glass—
an art of remote antiquity—was probably suggested by the
very ancient practice of painting on earthenware with enamel,
and the use of coloured glass in mosaics: but from the
silence of classical authors on the subject, the absence of
antique specimens, and the character of ancient buildings, as
well domestic as public, it seems to have been invented
subsequently to the coming of our Lord. Yet although it
PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 91
cannot be carried back beyond the Christian era, the art is
undoubtedly of considerable antiquity, as the Treatise on the
subject, which is found in the second book of the “Diversarum
artium Schedula” of Theophilus, is of itself sufficient to
prove. This treatise, which is as early as the tenth century,
describes so perfect and complete a process of glass painting,
as to justify the conclusion that the art itself must have been
invented at a much earlier period." So perfect indeed is the
method given in the Treatise, (which has been rendered
accessible to the general reader by the recent publication of a
French, and two English translations)” that it continued to be
followed, without any material change, until almost the middle
of the sixteenth century. But to however remote a period
the invention of the art may be referred, the most ancient
specimens of it which at present exist, are not so early as
even the tenth century. The oldest existing painted glass
to which a date can, with certainty, be assigned, has been
considered by M. de Lasteyrie, and other eminent French
antiquaries, to be the remains of the glass at St. Denys;
which was painted in the middle of the twelfth century, by
order of Abbot Suger, who has left an interesting account of
it. But it is not impossible that painted glass much earlier
than this may be discovered; indeed M. Gérente, an ingenious
imitator of ancient painted glass, lately exhibited to me
tracings made from some painted glass at Mans Cathedral, in
France, which glass seemed to be as early as the latter part
of the eleventh century. Theophilus, in the treatise before
mentioned, particularly extols the skill of the French glass
painters, and France is at this day the grand storehouse of
painted glass of the earliest style. The little we possess in
England is however not inferior in quality to the French
glass. Some of the oldest glass in this country, is part of a
Jesse window in Canterbury Cathedral; and part of another
Jesse in York Minster, which has been inserted into the
* The art of glass making is also de-
scribed in this treatise. The glass was
formed into a cylinder, and opened or
spread out into a sheet. Sheets so made
have straight selvedges. It is not impro-
bable that the glass found in the ruins of
Roman villas, and which has a straight
selvedge, was made in this manner.
* Those by Count De L'Escalopier, by
Mr. Hendrie, and in the appendix to the
“Hints on Glass Painting.”
92 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
tracery lights of the Decorated clerestory windows of the
nave.” All this glass is of the last half of the twelfth
century; so that the glass at York, is older than any part of
the existing edifice, with the exception of the crypt under
the choir. And this is by no means a Solitary instance of
the original glass having been preserved when an old structure
was pulled down and rebuilt in the Middle Ages.
Having thus alluded to the probable antiquity of the art,
and noticed a few of the most ancient specimens, I think it
will be convenient briefly to describe what may be called
Theophilus's System of Glass Painting, and the alterations
that were afterwards ingrafted upon it ; since by so doing
I shall give a general notion of the process of glass painting,
and show the chief sources of the varieties of style that are
afterwards specified.
As I shall have occasion to mention several different kinds
of glass used in glass painting, for the sake of perspicuity
and brevity I will state, that by White glass, I mean, glass
which in the course of its manufacture has not intentionally
been coloured; that by Coloured glass, I mean, glass to
which some colour has purposely been given in its manu-
facture; that by Pot Metal glass, I mean, a particular kind of
coloured glass, viz., glass coloured throughout its entire sub-
stance; and that by Coated glass (which is sometimes,
though inaccurately, called Flashed glass), I mean another
kind of coloured glass, viz., glass coloured on one side only
of the sheet. The glass painter, it should be added, does
not make the glass he paints; though, at an early period, it
would seem that he did so.
The glass painter having made his design, which in the
earliest period was drawn with lead, tin, or chalk, on a board
or table prepared for the purpose, transferred it to the
glass in the following manner. He cut from the sheet pieces
of white and coloured glass, corresponding in size and shape
to those parts of the design which he intended to be white
and coloured respectively, and fitted them accurately together,
so as to form a piece of coarse mosaic work; each colour of
* See Proceedings of the Archaeological Institute, at York; Paper on the Painted
Glass, p. 18.
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 93
the design being represented by a separate piece of glass.
He then proceeded to paint the outlines and shadows of the
design upon these pieces of glass, using for the purpose an
Enamel Colour, similar to that now known amongst glass
painters by the name of “Enamel Brown;” and which, like
any other enamel colour, is composed of two ingredients,
Flux, that is, soft glass which melts readily in the fire, and
some kind of Colouring Matter indestructible by heat. The
next step was to subject the glass to the action of Red heat,
in a kiln or furnace, in order to make the Enamel Brown
attach itself to the glass by the melting of the flux ; and the
process was completed by connecting together the various
pieces of painted glass with Lead-work, and setting up the
glass painting in the window. A more simple method of
producing a pictorial effect can hardly be imagined. The
picture was coloured by using white and coloured glass; its
outlines, shadows, and diaper patterns alone were painted by
the artist. In the early part of the fourteenth century, the
glass painters discovered a means of Staining white glass
yellow ; and of imparting a yellow tint to most kinds of
coloured glass. The principal ingredient of the Yellow Stain
is oxide, or chloride of silver; it imparts its tint to the
glass, penetrating it a little way, -on being exposed to the
action of a red heat. A new mode of executing the shadows
and diaper grounds with the Enamel Brown was adopted
just before the close of the fourteenth century. Previously
to this time, a coat of Enamel Brown was smeared over those
parts only of the glass that were intended to be in shadow,
the lights being left clear and untouched; but according to
the new method, the Enamel Brown was spread all over the
glass, and stippled” whilst moist, to obliterate the marks of
the brush, and give smoothness to the coat; and the parts
intended to represent the lights of the picture were after-
wards restored to their original transparency by the removal
of the enamel ground from off them. The first and oldest
“The stippling process was not a ently called, “ smear shading stippled,”
novelty : it was occasionally used, even as to distinguish it, both from the ordi-
early as the reign of Edward the Second, nary “ smear shading,” and “stipple
to soften the effect of the smear shading. shading.”
Shading, so executed, may be conveni-
94. PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
kind of shading may be called Smear shading, and the
second Stipple shading; the distinction being important to
the antiquary and artist. Towards the middle of the
fifteenth century a method was discovered of exhibiting to
view patches of white glass in the midst of a coloured surface,
by the destruction of corresponding portions of the coloured
stratum of coated glass, an invention which facilitated the
representation, in their proper colours, of heraldic bearings
and other minute subjects; but this being tedious and
expensive in practice was not extensively resorted to. At
the beginning of the sixteenth century the introduction of
another Enamel colour, rather redder in hue than the Enamel
Brown, may be noticed. It was chiefly used to heighten the
complexions, and to warm the flesh tint. No other innova-
tions, however, on the System of Theophilus, which may with
propriety be called the Mosaic System of Glass Painting,
were made until the middle of the sixteenth century. The
most gorgeous glass paintings in existence, all which were
executed during the first half of the sixteenth century, owe
their plenitude of effect simply to the fuller development of
the Mosaic System.
In the middle of the sixteenth century, however, or in
France and Flanders a few years earlier, it was discovered
that all other colours besides yellow, brown, and light red,
could be given to white glass by means of Enamel Colours
and the Stain ; and thus the artist became in a measure
independent of the glass-maker for colouring glass. But the
introduction of the Enamel System of Glass Painting, as
this may be called, did not immediately lead to the disuse of
coloured glass; the enamels being at first employed either to
colour those parts of the design which, from the difficulty of
leading in pieces of coloured glass, must otherwise have
remained uncoloured, or improperly coloured; or to heighten
the tint of the coloured glass. The joint operation, however,
of colouring glass by means of enamels, and the disuse of glass
paintings on an extended scale, led, at last, to the abandon-
ment of the manufacture of coloured glass in France, and
to its great deterioration in this Kingdom and elsewhere.
Le Vieil informs us, that in 1768 no coloured glass was made
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 95
in France.” In England the Pot-metals continued to be made,
but the manufacture of Coated glass appears to have ceased
towards the latter part of the seventeenth century. I have
not met with any example of Ruby glass, i. e. Coated Red
glass, later than that in the east window of Lincoln Cathedral,
which was executed by Peckitt in 1762. It is of very inferior
quality, but not worse than what was made some sixty years
before. The manufacture of Ruby,” as well as of other kinds
of Coated glass, was revived in France about twenty years ago;
but its having lain dormant for a period, together with the
deteriorated quality of Pot-metal glass, have given rise to a
belief that the art of glass-painting, as formerly practised, has
been lost. This belief is fast wearing out, but its effect is still
felt in the propensity to be satisfied with a glass painting,
whatever may be its demerits as a work of art, provided it
exhibits bright and striking colours.
* “L’Art de la Peinture sur Werre et
de la Vitrerie, par feu Le Vieil,” p. 84.
* A careful microscopical examination
of several specimens of modern and
ancient “ruby glass,” has convinced me
that the old was manufactured in the
same manner as the new.
The red colour is clearly ascertained to
be producible by copper, in a high state
of oxidation. [See Clarke's translation
of Otto Fromberg’s “Handbuch der Glas-
malerei,” in Weale's Quarterly Papers;
and Lardner's “Porcelain and Glass Ma-
nufacture,” p. 276.] The ingredients for
making ruby glass are mentioned amongst
the receipts for colouring glass, given in
Neri, “De arte vitrariä,” in the French
work of Blancourt, and also in the
“Mappa Clavicula,” a MS. of the 10th
century, printed in the 23rd vol. of the
Archaeologia, p. 183, et seq. See the
chapters celvii., cclviii., entitled, “Con-
fectio vitri rubri.” None of these authors,
however, describes the mode of forming
the glass into sheets. The chapter in the
treatise of Theophilus, which, from its
heading, “De vitro quod vocatur Gallien,”
we may suppose bore on the subject, is
lost, [See “Hints on Glass Painting,”
p. 311.] There can be no doubt, however,
that ruby glass was anciently formed into
sheets, as it is now, by blowing a lump of
white glass covered with a coat of ruby,
into a hollow sphere, which was after-
wards converted into a flat sheet, in the
usual way. A specimen of ruby glass, of
the 13th century, exhibiting the mark of
a “punt,” or “bull's eye,” is described in
the “Hints on Glass Painting,” p. 341.
This, in connection with other circum-
stances, is decisive as to the mode of ma-
nufacture. I have met with a similar
instance, but not older than the 15th or
16th century, in one of the windows of the
tower called “Cook's Folly,” near Clifton:
and no doubt many others exist. Peckitt's
ruby was, I am sure, manufactured
exactly as above described; the failure
of the red and the green tint imparted to
the glass in places, are defects not unfre-
quently exhibited by more ancient spe-
cimens, and may easily be accounted for.
A new kind of ruby glass, which, for
convenience sake, may be called “ena-
melled ruby,” has lately been manufac-
tured by Mr. Hartley. The colouring
matter is spread, with a brush, over the
surface of a sheet of yellow or white glass,
to which it becomes united, like a trans-
parent enamel, on exposure to a sufficient
heat in a kiln. A similar process is
described, as applicable to other colours,
in, “L’art de la peinture sur verre et de
vitrerie, par feu le Vieil,” part 2, ch. 3.
It is clear that the ancient ruby was not
manufactured in this manner.
96 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
The very changes which have taken place in the practice
of the art, thus afford, of themselves, a means of ascertaining
the age of any particular glass painting ; but in consequence
of the length of time during which each mode was practised,
they do not present any precise evidence of date, nor do they
furnish the means of a classification sufficiently discriminating
in other respects. We are, therefore, obliged to look amongst
minute details for the distinguishing characteristics of the
successive periods of glass painting, and to found upon them,
in conjunction with the changes above-mentioned, the division
of the art into those several styles which, together with a
brief notice of some of their peculiarities, I shall presently
enumerate.
Theophilus's, or the Mosaic System of Glass Painting,
continued to be followed, as already stated, until about the
middle of the sixteenth century, and thus comprehends all
the medieval varieties; and those varieties may be conve-
niently divided into styles, like the varieties of medieval
architecture, and in like manner may be classed under the
head of the Early English style, the Decorated style, &c.
The Early English style includes all glass paintings executed
prior to 1280. Some works of this period I have already
mentioned, when speaking of the antiquity of glass painting.
The great Rose or Wheel window of the transept of the
Cathedral of this city also belongs to it. The description
which I shall presently give of this window will afford an
opportunity of indicating some of the characteristic features
of the style, and it will also serve to illustrate the arrange-
ment which is usual in similar works of this age. I there-
fore abstain from entering at all into these particulars at
present.
The Decorated style prevailed from 1280 to 1380. There
are numerous and excellent specimens of this style in England,
though hardly any remains belonging to it are found in
Lincoln Cathedral. As early examples, I may mention the
painted glass in the choir of Merton College Chapel, Oxford;
in the Chapter House at York; in the chancel of Norbury
Church, Derbyshire, &c. And as later examples, the glass
in the choir of Bristol Cathedral; in the nave of York
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 97
Cathedral; in Stanford Church, Northamptonshire; in the
east window of Gloucester Cathedral, &c. The earlier exam-
ples of this style are distinguished from the Early English,
principally by the architectural details of the canopy work (a
common accompaniment to Decorated Picture glass paintings),
and the flowing tendril scrollages, and naturally-formed
leaves in the ornamental patterns. The later examples, in
addition to these peculiarities, generally exhibit the Yellow
Stain, and are also less intense in colour compared with
Early English glass paintings. In all Decorated painted
glass, the outline is usually less strong, and the drawing less
vigorous than the Early English.
The Perpendicular style prevailed from 1380 to 1530. In
the choir of York Minster is an excellent series of examples,
extending from the last quarter of the fourteenth century to
about the middle of the fifteenth. There are also some good
early remains in the Antechapel of New College, Oxford;
and later ones at Malvern Church, Worcestershire ; and
especially at Fairford Church, Gloucestershire, the painted
windows of which edifice are of the early part of the sixteenth
century. I may also mention another well known example,
rather earlier than the glass at Fairford, the windows of
the North Aisle of Cologne Cathedral. The grand charac-
teristics which distinguish Perpendicular glass paintings from
Early English and Decorated, are greater breadths of un-
broken colour, tints of diminished intensity, and the intro-
duction of a greater proportion of white glass even in the
most richly-coloured Pictures. The later examples, as at
Fairford, are often highly picturesque in treatment and
design. The foliaged ornaments, the devices on the quar-
ries, of which the ornamented Patterns in this style are
formed, are highly conventional and unnatural in form ; and
the style of execution is very delicate and finished. The
Stipple Shading is also an important feature in glass paint-
ings of this style, and will often enable the student to de-
termine whether a particular example is Perpendicular or
Decorated.
The style which succeeded the Perpendicular, after having
been for nearly thirty years concurrent with it, I have called
H
98 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
the Cinque Cento. It prevailed from the beginning of the
sixteenth century until the general introduction of Enamel
Colours, about the middle of that century. The character of
the ornamental details—whence the name of the style—is of
itself sufficient to distinguish Cinque Cento from Perpen-
dicular glass paintings, in which the Gothic details are
followed. In other respects it would not be easy to draw
the line between the later examples of the one style and the
earlier examples of the other; the same mode of execution
being used in each. The finest specimens of Cinque Cento
glass paintings are amongst the works of the Flemish School;
these possess a power and a richness in comparison with
which the French and English examples appear weak and
timid. There are some splendid specimens of the style at
Lichfield Cathedral, brought from the neighbourhood of
Liège, in the early part of the present century. The east
window of St. Margaret's, Westminster, which has all the
appearance of being Flemish, is another splendid work; but
perhaps no windows so fully impress the spectator with the
power of painted glass, as those of the chapel of the
Miraculous Sacrament, on the North side of Brussels Cathe-
dral.
It seems unnecessary to enter into any lengthened remarks
on the styles of glass painting which have prevailed from the
Cinque Cento period until within the last twenty years; for
with the exception of the East window of the choir of Lincoln,
there is no example here to which such remarks can apply ;
and this, being a kaleidoscope of plain pieces of glass, need
not be further noticed. Such glass paintings are in general
easily to be distinguished from the Cinque Cento, by the
Enamel Colouring which is used in them ; as well as by their
dullness and opacity in several instances, and by their
washiness and flimsiness in others. The last defect is most
apparent in those specimens in which the use of white glass
coloured with enamels, instead of coloured glass, has prevailed
to the greatest extent. The best English examples of the
combined use of Enamel Colouring and Coloured glass, are
the works of the Wan Linges, in the first half of the seven-
teenth century, and those of the Prices in the early part of
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 99
the eighteenth. It cannot be denied that a very powerful
pictorial effect is produced by many of these works; yet
even in the most favourable examples we seek in vain for that
sparkling brilliancy and translucency which characterise the
equally powerful glass paintings of the Cinque Cento period,
and indeed constitute the chief beauty of a glass painting.
The poverty of glass paintings, in which the colouring is
wholly produced by enamels, is well exemplified in the
“washy virtues” at New College Chapel, Oxford, and in the
windows of Arundel Castle, Sussex.
The preceding outline, however imperfect, of the progress
of glass painting, and of the styles under which the ancient
varieties are classed, will enable us to enter upon an exami-
nation of the windows of this Cathedral, and of Southwell
Minster; and in the course of it I shall occasionally introduce
a few remarks which may serve to illustrate what has before
been said.
The glass of the Early English style remaining in the
Cathedral, is, I think, of the first half of the thirteenth century.
The great Rose or Wheel window in the North transept, must
be admitted to be one of the most splendid, and in its present
state, one of the most perfect works, of the thirteenth century.
The subject of the window is, The Church on Earth and
the Church in Heaven. The central part of the window is
occupied with a representation of the Blessed in Heaven, with
Christ sitting in the midst. The sixteen circles which form
the outer part of the window, set forth the mysterious
scheme of Man's Redemption, and the efficacy of Holy
Church. In the topmost circle is represented our Saviour
seated on a Rainbow, and displaying the Five Wounds. The
two next circles on each side the window, contain angels
supporting the Cross, and other Instruments of the Passion.
In the next circle on each side, are Holy Persons in the act
of being conducted to Heaven by St. Peter and other Saints.
The two next circles on each side are, or have been, occupied
with a representation of the General Resurrection ; and each
of the lowest five circles is filled either with the figure of
an Archbishop, or of a Bishop in Mass vestments. This
description will be rendered more intelligible by a reference
H 2
100
PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
to the diagram given in the note.” It is much to be regretted
that no engraving exists of this window ; the want of accurate
71. A representation of our Saviour,
or God the Father, seated. The
picture is in a very mutilated
State.
2. Represents three unnimbed figures,
sitting, in attitudes of adoration,
and looking towards No. 1. The
first figure of the group, counting
from the centre of the window,
wears a mitre.
3. A similar subject.
sists of a nimbed female figure, and
two unnimbed male figures.
The group con-
4. A similar subject. The first figure
of the group is a bishop, the other
two are males. None is nimbed.
5. A similar subject, but very much
mutilated. Only one, unnimbed,
figure remains.
6. A similar subject. The two first
figures of the group are males,
nimbed; the third is a female, not
nimbed.
7. A similar subject, consisting of three
unnimbed figures; the last of the
group has the head of a monk, but
this may be an insertion.
8. A similar subject, but very much
mutilated. Only one figure, not
nimbed, remains.
9. A similar subject, consisting of a
group of three male figures, the
two first only are nimbed.
10. A similar subject. The three figures
are, I think, those of males, none
is nimbed,—one has shoes.
11. Each of these seven compartments is
filled with painted glass, evidently

AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
10I
prints of entire windows is, indeed, a serious obstacle to the
study of ancient glass.” One only of the subjects, the Angels
collected from other windows, but
of the same date as that forming
the original design.
12. Each of these four compartments con-
tains the figure of an angel, tossing
a thurible.
13. Each of these eight compartments
contains, or did contain, a small
four-leaved ornament, in a circle.
14. Each of these sixteen compartments
contains, or did contain, a white star,
of five points, on a blue ground.
15. Each of these sixteen compartments
contains, or did contain, a red star,
of six points, on a blue ground.
16. A representation of Our Saviour, the
stigmata are shown, sitting on a
rainbow, with a candlestick on each
side of the figure. The picture,
which is enclosed in a quatrefoil
frame or border, is supported by
the Evangelistic symbols.
17. Represents two angels support-
ing a cross, inscribed IHC
NAZARENWS. This subject is
engraved in Fowler’s “Mosaic
pavements and painted glass.”
18. Two angels carrying the spear.
19. Two angels, one carrying the three
nails and the napkin, the other, a
thurible.
20. Two angels, one bearing the crown of
thorns, the other, a thurible.
21. St. Peter with the keys, preceding
two nimbed figures, behind whom
is a regal personage, not nimbed,
on his knees. Two other nimbed
figures bring up the rear.
22. Three nimbed figures, their heads
raised in adoration; behind is an-
other figure, not nimbed.
23. Two angels sounding the trumpets.
24. A similar subject.
25. The dead rising from their coffins.
The picture is very much mutilated.
26. This picture is an insertion, having
evidently been brought from some
other window. It represents the
expulsion of our first parents from
paradise.
27. A bishop, seated, giving the bene-
diction.
28, 29. The same subject repeated.
30. An archbishop, seated, giving the
benediction.
31. The same subject repeated.
The above description is, I believe, sub-
stantially correct. I examined the window
most carefully with a pocket telescope
from the clerestory gallery of the transept,
but owing to the dirty and mutilated state
of the glass, it is not impossible that I
may have fallen into some errors. The
following extract from Mr. E. J. Willson's
letter to me, which accompanied the
drawing from which the above cut was
made, is interesting, as showing the pre-
sent state of the window :—“The outside
of this window is very neatly ornamented,
and is in a much better condition than
the inside, but it is inaccessible without
scaffolding; and, therefore, the drawing
could only be made from the inside, which
is in a condition of great rudeness, owing
to the repairs which have been made from
time to time, in order to keep the glazing
from being blown out of the stone frame.
I find the stone work rebated round the
edges of every opening, for the reception
of the glass, about two inches each way.
As to the condition of the glazing, I look
upon it as in a most perilous state of
decay. The lead seams, which are only
about an eighth of an inch broad, are
weakened with rust, and the force of high
winds has bent the surfaces of the glazed
compartments inward and outward, two
or three inches, and more in some parts.
The pieces of glass have thus been
loosened, and forced out ; and every year
brings the loss of some integral portions
of the pictures.”
8 Such has been the destruction or
mutilation of the works of the English
School of Glass Painting, that it is diffi-
cult to form a series of entire windows,
or of considerable portions of windows,
sufficiently perfect to satisfy the student.
Even in the short list which follows,
some imperfect specimens are necessarily
included. In the choir of Canterbury
Cathedral are many good specimens of
Early English Medallion windows, and
considerable remains of Figure and
Canopy, and Jesse windows. Lincoln
Cathedral has the splendid north Rose
above described. Salisbury Cathedral
contains some excellent Early English
white Pattern windows. Later examples
of the same kind are afforded by the Five
Sisters at York; and the east window of
Chetwode Church, Berks; in the last,
102
PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
supporting the Cross, has been engraved, but not accurately,
in Fowler’s “Mosaic Pavements and Painted Glass.”
No
other portion of the Early English glass is in its original
position.
It is clear that the white Patterns which fill the
five windows immediately below the North Rose, have been
the effect of introducing Pictures into a
white Pattern, may be seen. The five-
light east window of Selling Church,
Kent, is a Decorated white Pattern, with
Pictures inserted, of the latter part of the
reign of Edward the First. The east
window of Checkley Church, Stafford-
shire, bears a considerable resemblance to
the last. The side windows of Merton
Chapel, Oxford, are white Pattern win-
dows, with Pictures inserted, of the latter
part of Edward the First's reign; and the
head of the east window is a rich speci-
men of decorative colouring. The win-
dows of the Chapter House at York are
early in the reign of Edward the Second.
They consist of white patterns with
Pictures inserted. The side windows of
the chancel of Norbury Church, Derby-
shire, are of the same date and general
design as the last, but contain shields of
arms instead of Pictures. The head of
the east window of Froyle Church, Hants,
is an excellent specimen of heraldic
decoration, of the latter part of the reign
of Edward the Second. Of the same date
are the Figure and Canopy windows in
the choir of Tewkesbury Church, and in
the clerestory of the choir of Wells Cathe-
dral; as well as the Jesse east window of
the same cathedral. This window, though
more perfect, is inferior in design to the
Jesse east window of Bristol Cathedral,
the date of which is about 1330. The
west window of York Nave is a Figure
and Canopy window, early in the reign of
Edward the Third ; and amongst the side
windows, which consist chiefly of white
Patterns with Pictures inserted, may be
enumerated a Jesse, and some Figure and
Canopy windows, all being of the early
part of the same reign. St. Denis Church,
York, has a Figure and Canopy window
late in the reign of Edward the Third; of
which date is the magnificent east win-
dow of Gloucester Cathedral. It consists
chiefly of Figures and Canopies, and
partly of White Patterns. The east
window of Levrington Church, Cam-
bridgeshire, is a very early Perpendicular
Jesse. The Antechapel of New College,
Oxford, contains several Figure and
Canopy windows of the reign of Richard
the Second. There are some equally early
examples in the clerestory of York choir.
Indeed, the Choir of this Cathedral is
a perfect mine of Perpendicular glass,
varying in date from this time to the
reign of Henry the Sixth; and comprising
in its aisles a Jesse window, as well as
windows whose design, like the east
window, consists of a number of Small
Pictures placed one over the other.
St. Martin’s Church, York, has a west
window full of small Pictures, and cleres-
tory windows with Figures and Arms,
on quarry grounds, of the time of Henry
the Sixth. The Hall windows of Ockwell's
House, Berks, are filled with heraldic
achievements of the middle of the
fifteenth century, consisting of shields,
mantlings, &c., of the boldest and most
striking design. Good Pattern windows
of the latter part of this century may be
seen in the Hall of the Bede House,
Lyddington, Rutlandshire; and in the
Dean's Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral.
Fairford Church, Gloucestershire, con-
tains a number of Picture windows, of
various designs, of the early part of the
sixteenth century, which deserve the
greatest attention. King's Chapel, Cam-
bridge, is full of early Cinque Cento
Picture windows. The East window of
Bowness Church, Westmoreland, also
belongs to this style; as well as the
beautiful Jesse at Llanrhaidr Church,
Denbighshire; and the East window of
St. Margaret’s, Westminster. The East
window of Peterhouse Chapel, Cambridge,
is a favourable specimen of the style
which succeeded the Cinque Cento. Of
the works of Wan Linges, there are
abundance at Oxford, particularly in the
Cathedral; and in Lincoln's Inn Chapel.
The East window of St. Andrew's, Hol-
born, which was painted by Price, is
deserving of notice. This list might be
greatly increased by adding more muti-
lated, though hardly less valuable, speci-
mens to it.
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 103
removed from other windows; and the same remark applies
to the contents of both the lowest North windows of the
transept. In the westernmost of these two windows near
the bottom, the figures of five angels, playing on musical
instruments, have been inserted. These are late Decorated,
of excellent character, and belong in all probability to the
West window of the nave. Most of the glass in the Southern
Rose is Early English, collected from other windows: a
collection of various pieces of Early English glass, chiefly
pictures, likewise fills the other four South windows of the
transept. The lower lights of the East windows of the North
and South Choir Aisles, are also filled with a similar collection
of Early English glass paintings; amongst which are some
Medallions representing, according to the opinion of Mr. E. J.
Willson, of Lincoln, incidents in the Life of St. Hugh, of
Lincoln. St. Hugh died Bishop of Lincoln in 1200, and was
canonised by Pope Honorius the Third in 1220. I am
informed by Mr. Willson, that this glass was removed about
sixty years ago from the windows of the aisles of the nave
to its present resting-place ; and that a chantry in a chapel
adjoining the nave, having an altar dedicated to St. Hugh,
was founded by Bishop Hugh de Welles, who died in 1235.
The glass exhibits internal evidence of being of corresponding
date. It is easy to recognise in these remains, those striking
features which indicate the Early English style of glass
painting; such as the extraordinary intensity and vividness
of the colours, the strength and boldness of the outline, the
tallness of the figures, their vigorous and spirited attitudes,
and classical air of their heads; also the conventional
character of the foliaged ornaments, as displayed in the
borders and white patterns, and which resemble the orna-
ments of the contemporary sculpture. The North Rose,
which has been already described, also exhibits the general
principles of composition common to any Early English
window that contains a number of Pictures. Each Picture,
the design of which is always very simple, is placed in a
panel having a stiff-coloured ground, and well-defined border.
The panels are also embedded in a stiff-coloured ground.
Very little white glass is used, so that the window consists
104. PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
of a mass of rich and variegated colouring, of which the
predominant tints are those of the grounds. The design,
owing to the smallness of its parts, is confused when seen
from the floor of the transept. The various panels which
have been inserted into the other windows, no doubt once
formed integral parts of Medallion Windows. The North
Rose shows the general effect of a Medallion Window; and
Some idea of its design is conveyed by the modern imitation
Window in the south aisle of the cathedral. The original iron-
Work of a Medallion Window still remains in the first window
from the west in the South aisle of the Nave, and may be
regarded as indicating what were the principal divisions of
the design of the glass painting.
There are a few fragments of Decorated glass of the time
of Edward the Second, in the tracery lights of the first
Window from the east of the South aisle of the Choir, and a
little more, somewhat earlier, in one or two of the windows
of the opposite aisle. The East window of the Choir has been
deprived of its original glazing. It appears from a note taken
of it a few years previous to the Rebellion, and brought to
my notice by the Venerable the Archdeacon, that it contained
the arms of many of the English nobility; from which
circumstance it may be inferred, that the original glass was
early Decorated, or at all events of transitional character;
Heraldry not being found in the more ancient examples of
Early English glass. A portion of a late Early English white
Pattern is inserted in the east window of the Chapter House
at Southwell. It has been engraved in “Shaw's Ornaments.”
The glass which fills the upper tracery lights of the West
window of the Nave of Lincoln is late Decorated, a little
later, perhaps, than the middle of the fourteenth century.
The five angels already mentioned as being in one of the
lower windows of the north transept, are of the same date as
this: they most probably formed part of the West window.
This window, judging from the forms of the foliaged scroll-
work remaining in its tracery lights and round the angels,
Seems to have been a Jesse window. The Smear Shading
in the angels and foliaged ornaments deserves attention.
I should here notice a small piece of the foliaged scroll-work
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 105
belongs to this window, which has been inserted in the
Decorated South Rose window, near the bottom of its eastern
side ; because this glass, when compared with the surround-
ing Early English glass, betrays, by the lightness of its effect,
the great difference in texture that certainly exists between
Decorated and Early English glass.”
At Southwell Minster, in the Chapter House, are some
few remnants of early Decorated glass of the reign of Edward
the First. They consist chiefly of portions of tracery lights,
and of the spires and crockets of canopies belonging to the
lower lights. These crockets are identical in form to those
carved in stone round the Chapter House. In one of the
tracery lights of the second window from the east, on the
South, is a small medallion of white glass; on which is
represented a Knight on horseback, tilting, with a long spear
under his arm. He is habited in a long surcoat which reaches
below the knees, and is armed in a hauberk, and chausses of
mail. His helmet is surmounted with a crest, resembling the
wing of a bird. In one of the opposite windows are remains
of heraldic borders, consisting of the yellow castles of Castile,
and of a white lion rampant on a red field.
The Perpendicular remains of glass in Lincoln Cathedral
are but trifling. Three small circles emblematic of the
months of March, April, and July, are inserted in the midst
of the principal tracery lights of the East windows of the
South and North Aisles of the Choir. A head in this style
has also been supplied to the lowest of the five Decorated
angels already mentioned as being in one of the north win-
dows of the transept ; in this head, as well as in the other
Perpendicular work, Stipple Shading is used. An heraldic
border, composed of small parallelograms of white glass, each
bearing a black chevron, between three black crosses botonné,
and a black border with yellow pellets; remains in the
central lower light of the third window from the east of the
north choir aisle. I suspect that these parallelograms were
* I am thus minute in noticing speci- differences, this is the least appreciable
mens calculated to show, in a striking by casual observers, though all who have
manner, the difference in texture between studied ancient painted glass will agree,
glass of different dates, because, of all that it is one of the most important.
106 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
originally separated from each other by small pieces of plain
coloured glass. They are, I think, of the middle of the fifteenth
century.
At Southwell, the remains of Perpendicular glass are
equally scanty ; being confined to a few late shields of arms,
and other fragments, in the West window of the Nave. The
four lower East windows of the Choir of this building are
filled with Cinque Cento glass paintings, of the French
school; the gift of the late Mr. Gally Knight, in 1818, and
which represent the Baptism of Christ, the Raising of Lazarus,
the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, and the Mocking of
Christ by the Jews. The first subject considered as a glass
painting is rather poor, being weak both in colour and
shadow. The whole of this picture below the knees of our
Saviour, is a modern addition, by the late Mr. Miller, who
adapted the glass to the present lights. The three other
subjects are effective and good; particularly the second, in
which, by a skilful management of the background, a striking
effect of distance, and aerial perspective is produced. The
third, as a composition of colour, is perhaps the best. These
windows, though less powerful, are more brilliant than
Flemish glass paintings of the same period. As Pictures
they go far to establish the claim of Glass Painting to be
considered one of the Fine Arts.
If glass painting could be considered merely as an object
of antiquarian curiosity, I should here terminate my remarks
on the subject ; but as it is a practical art, and as the
principal motive for investigating its past condition and
history is a desire to advance and improve its present
cultivation, I trust that few of those who interest themselves
in the study will think that I am abusing the present occa-
sion, if I proceed to offer some observations on the best
mode of developing its resources, and carrying it onwards to
perfection.
It will not be denied, I think, that the glass paintings which
have been executed for churches within the last twenty years,
with few exceptions, leave very great room for improvement.
To include all these works under one common condemnation
would no doubt be unjust, yet it must be admitted that
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 107
hardly any, even of those most recently executed, can be
considered satisfactory, or worthy the cost that has been
expended on them, except perhaps so far as they may have
been the means of bringing the Mosaic System of Glass
Painting" again into favour. They are for the most part,
Servile, but faulty imitations of older examples; and, like
copies in general, magnify the defects of their originals
without seizing upon their excellencies.
These evils are in great measure attributable to a habit
amongst the patrons of glass painting, of being satisfied with
any work that in their opinion possesses a chance of being
mistaken for an original example. Hence exactness of
imitation is all that is aimed at, and glass painters are led to
value ancient glass paintings only so far as they supply a
means of making copies; instead of endeavouring to pene-
trate into their principles, and found upon them a new and
consistent style of glass painting—an object for which the
ancient examples are deserving of the closest study.
The ground on which an exact imitation of Gothic glass
paintings is generally, and most plausibly maintained, is an
opinion that they harmonise with Gothic architecture, and
that no others are capable of doing so. It is important
therefore, as well for those who advocate the system of
Servile imitation, as for those who would free artists from the
fetters which this system imposes, to inquire in what respects,
and how far, Gothic glass paintings do harmonise with
Gothic architecture; whether we have the means of obtain-
ing by mere imitation of them, that degree of harmony
which they may be found to possess, and whether the
desired harmony is best to be obtained by a more independent
process.
When it is said that glass paintings ought to harmonise
with the architecture with which they are united, the mean-
ing is that they should assist and heighten the effect of the
architecture, and present no features at variance with it. To
produce this result, agreeably to the ordinary rules which
govern other kinds of decoration,-for a glass painting, as
* The superiority of the Mosaic System over all others, is attempted to be shown in
the “Hints on Glass Painting,” part ii. section 2.
I08 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
well as a fresco painting, is undoubtedly a species of decoration,
—a certain degree of congruity is necessary between the
glass painting, and the architecture and Sculpture, in their
general character and composition. A glass painting inten-
ded for a church, should possess a graver character than
one intended for a secular building, and the ornaments,
figures, and draperies represented in a Picture glass painting
should resemble those in the sculpture, in style, and general
excellence. Moreover, if the interior of the building, or
even the particular situation of the window, be dark and
obscure, the glass painting ought to exhibit a predominance
of deep hues; if light, a lighter cast of colour in the work
might be preferable. If the character of the architecture
be cheerful, the tone of the glass painting should be warm;
if sombre and melancholy, the tone of the glass painting
should be cold. Thus, buildings having dark interiors, as
Westminster Abbey, or St. Paul's Cathedral, would require
more powerfully coloured glass paintings than the Choir of
Southwell Minster, or the Church of St. Clement Danes, in
the Strand; but as the character of Gothic architecture is
sombre and melancholy compared with that of the Greek
and Italian, glass paintings designed for Westminster Abbey,
or Southwell Minster, should be colder in tone than those
designed for St. Paul's, or St. Clement Danes. In like
manner, windows situated in the Dome of St. Paul's, or the
Transept of Lincoln Cathedral, might require to be more
deeply coloured, than the windows in the Choir of St. Paul's,
or in the Choir of Lincoln ; yet the tone of colouring that
would harmonise with any part of Lincoln Cathedral would
be colder and more grave than that which would suit any
part of St. Paul's.
Tested by these rules, Gothic glass paintings will be found,
in Some respects, to harmonise with the Gothic edifices that
were contemporaneous with them. They harmonise with
the sculpture in the form of their foliaged ornaments,
heraldry, &c.; and (except perhaps in the latest examples)
with the grave and sombre character of the architecture, in
the simplicity and cold tone of their colouring. All glass
paintings earlier than the last quarter of the fifteenth century
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 109
are more or less cold in colour: and it is a circumstance
worthy of remark, though it seems to result from accident,
rather than design, that in proportion as Gothic architecture
became less gloomy and sombre, Gothic glass paintings,
generally speaking, became not only lighter in hue, but less
cold in tone. Thus we find that the glass paintings which
were contemporary with the Early English and early Deco-
rated styles of architecture, (which have a more sombre air
than any of the succeeding Gothic styles of architecture) are
in general the coldest in tone. This arises from the green
hue of the white glass, and the peculiar tints of the other
colours, (which may perhaps be affected in some degree by
the hue of the white glass that forms their basis) as the
crimson tinted Ruby, the cold though rich Pot-metal yellow,
and the green hue which corrects the violet in the blue glass.
The yellow stain, though it enriched the effect of the early
Decorated glass paintings, can hardly be said to have
diminished their coldness of tone, for it always partook of the
hue of the white glass. It was not until nearly the end of
the fifteenth century, at which time the sombreness of Gothic
architecture had greatly diminished, if not entirely dis-
appeared, that we perceive in painted glass anything ap-
proaching warmth of tone. Indeed, even as late as the
beginning of the fifteenth century, examples are to be seen
hardly less cold than Early English glass paintings. Again,
though it would be difficult to prove that in proportion as
Gothic interiors became less dark and obscure, a preference
was given to windows wholly or principally composed of
white Patterns, it cannot be denied that as Gothic interiors
became, by reason of the increased size and number of
their windows, more light, the Picture glass paintings them-
selves not only contained a less quantity of coloured and a
greater proportion of white and yellow stained glass, but,
eventually, their colours individually became less intense in
hue. The glass used in all Early English glass paintings,
whether white or coloured, is owing to its peculiar texture
remarkable for intensity of hue. Even a white Pattern
window of the Early English style, has a solidity of effect,
arising from the strong rich green tint and porcelain-like
110 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
nature of its material, that would seem but ill calculated to
accord with a lighter style of architecture than the Early
English. Nothing could harmonise better with the character
of the North Transept of York, than the “Five Sisters.”
But the deepest colouring known in painted glass occurs in
Early English Picture windows: especially in the earlier
examples. In these windows but little white glass is used,
and this generally is of a strong green tint ; deep blues and
reds predominate, and the lighter shades of colour, as pink,
purple, and violet, possess a relative degree of strength. The
colour of each Picture is, in principle, simple and grave.
The flesh colour is deep, the draperies are stiff patches of
white or coloured glass, not designedly varying in depth ;
and the figure or group is usually backed with a stiff blue,
or red ground. Landscapes with a gradually tinted sky never
occur. The general appearance of the window is a mass of
variegated and brilliant colouring of the deepest hue, and
most solemn tone. Decorated Picture windows, however,
though they exhibit the same simple and grave principle of
colouring, and though, at least in the earlier examples of
them, tints often occur individually as intense as those of an
Early English window, are, owing to the greater infusion of
white glass into their design, considerably lighter in their
general appearance than Early English Picture windows.
Progressive changes in the manufacture of the glass tended
to diminish its intense hue and apparently dense texture, but
this so far from checking the employment of white glass in
Picture glass paintings, had the reverse effect: as is shown
by the Picture glass paintings of the Perpendicular style, in
which there is always a much greater proportion of white glass
than is seen in Decorated examples. The palest Picture
glass paintings are those of the latter half of the fifteenth
century, in which, in connection with a light cast of colouring,
the principle of employing a large proportion of white glass
is carried to the fullest extent.
But the harmony between Gothic Picture glass paintings,
and Gothic architecture, does not seem to extend beyond
what has been stated. It is clear that these glass paintings,
in order perfectly to harmonise with the architecture, ought
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 111
to be in all respects, as refined and advanced, in point of art,
as the architecture and sculpture are. It can, however, be
easily proved, that Gothic Picture glass paintings of every
period, are very inferior in design and execution to the
buildings, and architectural ornaments, with which they are
associated. But it will be sufficient to point out the incon-
gruity, in some respects, of Early English Picture glass
paintings, and Early English architecture, since these are the
most popular styles of painted glass and Gothic architecture,
and between which the greatest degree of harmony is usually
supposed to exist.
A favourable specimen of Early English architecture sug-
gests, at least to ordinary observers, no incompleteness either
in the character and proportions of the architecture itself, or
in the form of its conventional ornaments. Yet any
representation of the human figure when attempted in
the sculpture, is immediately perceived to be palpably
incorrect both in its proportions and details, defects easily
accounted for, when we consider the peculiar study which
the human form demands, and recollect, that in the
thirteenth century, to use the words of Flaxman,—“the
sculptor could not be instructed in anatomy, for there were
no anatomists.”
On examining an Early English Picture glass painting, we
find the human form still less correctly rendered than in the
sculpture, which is not surprising, because, at a time when
the laws of Perspective were unknown, it was more difficult
to draw correctly, than to model. In this respect, therefore,
there is a want of harmony between the glass and the archi-
tecture. But the inferiority of Early English Picture glass
paintings to Early English architecture, is apparent in many
other particulars. For instance, that flagrant violation of the
rule of composition that regulates the size and complication
of ornaments by the distance from which they are intended
to be seen, which is so common in Early English Medallion
Windows, rarely, if ever, occurs in Early English architecture,
or sculpture.” Again, the figures and canopies, and alto-
* Lectures on Sculpture, p. 15. senting the General Resurrection, which
* The figures of the alto-reliefs repre- occupies the upper part of the west front
112 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
reliefs that adorn Early English architecture, are remarkable
for their boldness, and prominence ; for strongly contrasted
lights and shadows, and deep undercuttings; yet in Early
English glass paintings, the Pictures are, on the contrary,
remarkable for their excessive flatness. The canopy, for
instance, conveys scarcely any other idea than that of a
border to the coloured ground in which the figure is
imbedded ; and in the Medallion Pictures, the objects in the
background are universally represented in the same plane
with the group in the foreground. This flatness, being unin-
tentional, as clearly appears from the abortive attempts made
to overcome it, can only be regarded as a defect, and a fur-
ther proof of the incompleteness of Early English Picture
glass paintings, in comparison with Early English architec-
ture and sculpture. It is otherwise with Early English
Pattern glass paintings ; they are but a species of mere
surface decoration, and their flatness is perfectly consistent
with the nature of their design.
It could easily be shown that all other Gothic Picture glass
paintings disagree with the contemporary architecture in
many respects; but it is unnecessary to pursue the inquiry
further to justify the conclusion, that although Gothic Pattern
glass plaintings may be considered to harmonise with Gothic
architecture, Gothic Picture glass paintings do so but imper-
fectly. It of course follows that the modern imitations of the
latter, even if they were exact, cannot harmonise with the
architecture, since the originals do not. But the observations
which Ishall now proceed to make on the nature of modern
glass, will show that these imitations cannot be exact ; and
that all imitations of Gothic glass paintings, whether Patterns
or Pictures, and more especially those of the earlier styles,
will be deficient in that part of harmony which is dependent
on the tone and colouring of the work : the imitations of
Picture glass paintings thus failing of the desired harmony
On tWO accountS.
of Wells Cathedral, are distinctly visible component parts from the floor of the
from below; yet the same subject, which Cathedral, even with a pocket telescope.
occupies the lower lights of the East win- It is true, that the glass is Early Deco-
dow of the choir, is executed on so small a rated, and the sculpture Early English,
scale, that it is difficult to make out its yet the comparison may be fairly made.
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 113
It has been stated in a former part of this paper, that
various changes in the texture of the glass itself took place at
various periods in the history of the art, and that the nature
of the material, is always, to a certain extent, characteristic
of the age of the glass painting. Therefore, in order to make
an ea'act copy of any ancient glass painting, we must possess
either a material identical to that of which it is composed, or
something equivalent to it. Down to the present time, how-
ever, the glass manufacturers have not succeeded in repro-
ducing a material identical to that even of the sixteenth
century, which is less homogeneous, and, consequently, appa-
rently denser in its texture” than modern glass. The modern
imitations of the still earlier kinds of glass, are, as might be
expected, still less successful. Every expedient that has yet
been tried, had produced but a slight approximation to what is
required. No material having the porcelain character, rich-
ness, and gem-like brilliancy of the glass of the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries has yet been made. The modern
glass is all too clear and homogeneous in texture, and too
uniform in depth or shade of colour. Modern Ruby glass is
poor in comparison with the rich streaky Ruby glass of the
thirteenth and fourteenth cenruries; and the “Rolled ”
Pot-metal and white glass, being of uniform thickness all over,
have none of the richness and vivacity of the ancient Pot-
metal and white glass, which having been blown in a rude
inartificial manner, are very irregular in thickness, and, con-
sequently, exhibit corresponding varieties, or shades of tint.
Thus, it is evident that, until the manufacture of the ancient
material is effectually revived,—and against this there are
obstacles more numerous and formidable than would at first
be supposed,” modern imitations of ancient painted windows
and especially of those belonging to the earlier styles, must
necessarily be more or less faulty.
* I use the expression, apparent den-
sity, because, in fact, modern glass is
more dense, i.e., specifically heavier, than
old glass.
* Before the ancient material is repro-
duced, the manufacturer must have
recourse to the ancient mode of preparing
the materials, and colours of the glass;
and perhaps to a different kind of furnace
from that now in use. But such an
entire change of system is hardly to be
expected, when we recollect how small
a quantity of glass, compared with what
is annually manufactured, is consumed by
the glass painters.
114 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
A comparison of the modern imitation of an Early English
Medallion Window, lately put up in Lincoln Cathedral, with
the genuine Early English glass remaining in the transept and
choir windows, will show the fruitlessness of attempting to
reproduce an Early English Picture design in modern glass.
In order, no doubt, to correct the thinness of the modern
material, and to give it as much as possible the apparent
substance of the old, the glass in the modern window I am
speaking of, has been covered with a coat of Enamel Brown
paint : an expedient which, though it perfectly destroys the
brilliancy of the glass, fails in its object to impart to the
window the requisite depth and solidity. The window is
flimsy, as well as dull in appearance ; its colours have none
of the gravity and gem-like brilliancy of the old ones; and
owing to the highly homogeneous texture of modern glass,
which renders it peculiarly unfit for minute mosaics, the little
bits of Red and Blue in this window run together, and form
a violet, when seen from a little distance. As, however, it
may be objected that this window is by no means a favour-
able specimen of modern craft, I will refer to another work
put up about the same time as the last, in Ely Cathedral,
(both windows bear date 1847) by M. Gérente, the French
glass painter before mentioned. In this window also, the
design and execution of an Early English Medallion Window
have been closely imitated, and with better success. In par-
ticular, the window is brilliant, the glass not having been
much dulled with the Enamel colour, and the blue used in it
very closely resembles the ancient in its hue ; nevertheless,
the uniform depth of the coloured glass, and more especially
the thin and flimsy appearance of the window, are fatal to its
correctness as an imitative work. Affecting to be an Early
English Picture window, it wholly wants the essential charac-
teristic of an Early English Picture window, the grandeur
arising from the use of solid, deep, and vivid colouring.” At
"The most favourable place for viewing
this window from, is in the churchyard,
through one of the windows of the north
transept, whence the colours appear
sufficiently deep and strong; the eye being
unable to take in more than a small por-
tion of the rays that pass through the
glass, owing to the contraction of the
pupil, caused by the glare of the outdoor
light. From the interior of the Cathe-
dral, however, the colours appear weak
and feeble, as stated in the text; owing
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 115
Chester Cathedral, two modern Picture windows have lately
been put up ; the one is in imitation of Early Decorated, the
other of Perpendicular glass, but notwithstanding the great
difference of their detail, both windows are immediately per-
ceived to be of the same date, because glass alike in texture
has been used in the formation of each.
It is far more easy, however, to point these defects, than to
suggest the means by which similar failures may be avoided ;
and yet it is necessary that attention should be directed to
the subject, in order that we may be able to impart to Gothic
glass paintings that harmony with Gothic architecture, which
is considered an essential requisite in them.
Harmony, as we have seen, is dependent partly on the
nature and execution of the design; partly and principally, on
the tone of the colouring. On the former of these sources of
harmony I shall not make many observations, as it is that
which is most within the reach of the modern artist, and in
which he may, without much difficulty, succeed, though his
ancient predecessor has failed. The succeeding part of this
paper will therefore be principally directed to a consideration
of the best means of obtaining harmony from the second of
these sources.
The chief difficulty lies in devising some method by which,
in a Picture glass painting (for the object may be more
easily accomplished in a White Pattern), an effect of colour
may be produced that will harmonise with the more gloomy
Gothic edifices, such as those of the Early English style.
“By colouring,” says Sir Joshua Reynolds, “the first effect
of the picture is produced.” This remark applies with the
utmost force to a glass painting, of which the colouring is
so important a feature, that everything else may be con-
sidered subordinate to it. We have already seen, that the
colouring which best accords with the sombre character
of Gothic architecture is of a cold tone, and that tints, the
most Solid and intense, harmonise best with the darkness
to the dilation of the pupil, which the introduction of more painted windows,
darkness of the place occasions. Of course the colours of M. Gérente's window will
it follows, that, if at any time the Cathe- appear proportionably lighter.
dral should be rendered darker by the 7 Discourse, 4.
I 2
116 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
of an Early English interior. Yet of the glass which the
modern glass painter must use, one or two sorts only can
be said to approximate to the effect of Early English glass
in their cold grave hue and substantial appearance. Most
of the modern colours, besides being raw, have a warm,”
rather than a cold tone. This is particularly the case with
the blue glass. Still I am inclined to think that glass paintings
might be made to harmonise with Gothic buildings, even
with those of the Early English style, in a greater degree
than has hitherto been the case, by the exercise of some care
and judgment in making the design, arranging its colours
and executing the work.
The principle that regulates the colouring of an Early
English window, by which all nice and prettily graduated
tints are excluded, and distinct uniform and forcible colours
only are used, is of itself, by reason of its simplicity, an
element of grandeur, which ought to be adopted in a work
that aims at solemnity of effect.” Therefore, in a modern
window designed for an Early English building, it would
seem preferable to use stiff-coloured, or white back-grounds
for the pictures, than landscape back-grounds; for the latter
could only be adequately represented by using graduated
tints, which would not only destroy the simplicity of the
colouring, but necessarily involve a diminution of its depth.
So the flesh colour of the figures should be deep, and their
draperies consist of stiff simple tints. But whilst adopting
generally the medieval principle of colouring, it will be found
necessary to introduce certain modifications in the use and
arrangement of individual colours, and some novelties in the
design and execution of the Picture, in order to compensate
as much as possible for the thinness and weakness of modern
glass, and produce an effect of depth, as well as brilliancy.
The principal innovations that seem desirable, are the
adoption of a broader and less mosaic system of colouring,
* The warm tone of the colouring of would, however, have been unobjection-
the great south window of the transept of able, had the painting been put in a dark
Westminster Abbey is a defect, though, I building, in the Italian or Palladian
fear, one that could not by any possibility style, as St. Paul's Cathedral.
have been avoided, in a work intended * Reynolds' Discourse, 4.
for such a place. The warmth of colour
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 117
the use of a greater proportion of white glass, and the
employment of shadows far more effective and powerful than
are usually met with in an early English Picture window."
These (and others of hardly less importance might be men-
tioned, such as the correct drawing of the human figure
and scientific treatment of drapery,) may be advocated as
improvements on the ancient system;” but their adoption, as
a means of producing the desired effect, is rendered necessary
by the peculiar texture of modern glass. Any one who has
paid attention to the subject must have perceived, that
modern glass diffuses, or spreads its hue laterally, in a much
greater degree than the glass of the thirteenth century; and
that the confusion of tint arising from this circumstance
increases in proportion to the minuteness and pellucidness
of the pieces employed. We have seen the ill effect of
attempting to correct this diffusion of colour at the expense
of the transparency of the glass: the most obvious expedient .
is to avoid, as much as possible, the use of such minute
mosaics, and to design the window accordingly. The
employment of white glass in much greater quantity than
is seen in ancient Early English Picture windows is necessary,
in order to increase by contrast the apparent depth of the
modern coloured glass; which, unlike the glass of the thirteenth
century, is not solid enough to withstand the weakening
effect on individual tints, caused by placing a number of
strong colours in juxta-position, unrelieved with white glass.”
This, and the want of more powerful
* Even were it possible to obtain glass
shadows, and clear lights, especially in
exactly like that of the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries, I should still advo-
cate the use of powerful shadows.
* The propriety of imitating the defec-
tive drawing of the medieval artists, is, I
believe, now pretty generally denied by
its former advocates. Other notions, such
as the necessity of keeping Glass painting
purposely in an undeveloped state, “lest
it should cease to be the Handmaid of
Gothic architecture,” will probably be
exploded in due course of time, when the
subject is better understood.
* The window of the South transept,
Westminster Abbey, has white glass
enough to have given value to the other
colours, had not its tint been too much
subdued by the enamel brown shading.
the larger subjects, seem to be the chief
technical defects of the window as a glass
painting. Yet such is the superiority of
this work over its contemporaries, both
here and abroad, (and it should be recol-
lected that it is the first English work in .
which any attempt to carry out a legi-
timate system of glass painting has been
attempted,) that, had Mr. Nixon done
nothing else besides, it would have been
sufficient to entitle him to the respect of
those who desire to see the true revival of
a neglected and underrated branch of art.
I will venture to say, that this window
will be appreciated in proportion as glass
painting becomes better understood.
118 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
If white glass of a sufficiently green and cold tone is used
for this purpose, the grandeur and solemnity of the window
is rather increased than diminished by its introduction. In
proof, I may refer to the Jesse which occupies the south end
of the transept of Stafford Church; a work scarcely inferior
to an original example in depth of effect, though a greater
proportion of white glass is used in it than would appear in
an ancient Early English Jesse, from which its design is
borrowed.*
Powerful Stipple Shadows" in the figures and draperies
will materially check the tendency of modern glass to diffuse
its tint without destroying its transparency, and will also
serve to increase the depth and richness of the colouring,
and the general solidity and grandeur of the design. Such
shadows, when combined with brilliant lights, and confined
within due limits of superficial extent, as we find them in
Cinque Cento glass paintings, can never, however strong,
produce a dull effect; for the brilliancy of the material is
shown in the sparkling lights, and is enhanced by the dark-
ness of the shadows. They also promote harmony of effect,
and serve to correct the natural spottiness of a Picture glass
painting, by preventing too violent transitions from one colour
to another. They also materially conduce to the distinctness
of the design, by separating the various objects from each other,
and cutting them out from the ground of the picture. It is
obvious that the mere use of strong contrasts of light and
shade, without diminution of the depth of the local colours,
cannot detract from the simplicity of the design ; and that
strong outlines may be united with strong shadows whenever
they may be necessary in order to make the execution of the
figures harmonise with that of the mere pattern work. Yet
the employment of strong shadows in any Picture glass
painting, and particularly in one designed after an Early
English model, has been so pertinaciously objected to, that it
seems worth while to examine the grounds of the objection.
The most plausible ground of defence for the flatness of
* The window was painted by Ward and Nixon.
* The superiority of stipple to smear shadows, is shown in the “Hints on
Glass Painting.” pp. 249,286.
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 119
medieval Picture glass paintings is founded on the opinion
that, as these works formed part of that system of surface
decoration which covered the walls and sculpture with flat
patches of burnished gold, and gaudy colours, they ought to
be flat in order to harmonise with the flatness of the pictures
on the wall: the flatness of the latter being maintained on
the ground that it was contrary to the principles of medieval
art to practise ocular deception. The proof of this last
assertion however lies on those who make it : and when we
perceive that a medieval mural Picture, unlike a mural
diaper Pattern, is not wholly devoid of shadow, and that
linear perspective is not unfrequently attempted in it, the
inference is that the flatness of the Picture has its origin
rather in an imperfect and undeveloped state of the art of
representation, than in any deliberate intention: an inference
which is strengthened by the fact, that this flatness often
appears to vary in degree with the skill of the artist as
shown in his treatment of the subject in other respects.
Assuming however the correctness of the opinion above
alluded to, it affords an additional reason for discarding
flatness from modern Picture glass paintings. For the
medieval system of surface decoration no longer existing, a
detached part of it (like the unconnected portions of any
other whole when deprived of their proper accompaniments),
can hardly be expected to please. Flat Picture glass paint-
ings disjoined from the surface decorations of which they are
supposed to have formed a part, would stand alone without
anything to countenance and harmonise with them. Even
if this were not the case, it would be unreasonable to execute
modern Picture glass paintings, which must depend on their
own unsupported merits, as if they were to form parts of a
whole which has no existence. Flat Picture glass paintings
according to the opinion above noticed, will be out of place
except in buildings where the walls are stiffly illuminated
after the medieval fashion. Therefore, if we wish to intro-
duce them, we must, in order to be consistent, also illuminate
the walls. But modern taste will probably always prevent
this practice, which, though it might have harmonised with
the gaudy and glittering costumes of our medieval ancestors,
120 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
would present too glaring and violent a contrast to the more
sober and more elegant colours now in use.
Another objection which has been urged against the use
of strong shadows in a Picture glass painting, from a fear
that they might diminish the brilliancy of the work, has
already been answered ; a third objection, to apparent
roundness being given to objects in a Picture glass painting,
because calculated to convey an idea of their substantiality,
contrary to our perception of the fact that the light actually
does pass through them, seems unworthy of serious notice ;
for it strikes at the root of all imitation whatever. On the
other hand it is difficult to reconcile the flatness of medieval
Picture glass paintings with the relief of the contemporary
sculpture ; or perhaps with any sound principle of taste.
Indeed, if it be proper that the conditions of glass painting
should be reduced below the conditions of sculpture, and
that its Pictorial productions should continue to be like the
medieval examples, little else than flat mosaics, it would
always be better to choose for the subject of a glass painting
a mere Pattern, rather than a Picture ; because a more exact
balance and arrangement of colour can be preserved in a
mosaic consisting of a stiff formal Pattern, than in one
composed as a Picture, of figures and draperies.
It will be observed that the foregoing suggestions and
recommendations, however inconsistent with the practice of
making servile copies of ancient Picture glass paintings, are
in no wise opposed to the use of designs founded on their
principle. The idea suggested by an Early English Medallion
Window might be well carried out, by treating the medallions
strictly as Pictures, having stiff coloured, or white grounds.
No attempt should be made, as in the original, to represent
a landscape background to the Picture, either by merely
introducing conventional objects, according to the practice of
the medieval artists; or, by means of aerial perspective, in
conformity with the truer principles of modern art: for the
first course would involve an absurdity unworthy of per-
petuation, and the light tinted effect produced by the latter
would be opposed to the stiff and solemn colouring of the
rest of the window. Each medallion should contain simply
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 121
a group of figures, relieved with bold shadows, and
contrasted in colour to the ground of the panel. The
character and arrangement of the figures and draperies might
be borrowed, not copied, from the sculpture of the thirteenth
century, which abounds in noble and graceful draped forms,
that, without any loss of simplicity, might be perfected by the
refinement of modern art. And the importance of the Pictures
should be fully maintained by making the surrounding orna-
mental details subordinate to them in all respects. The
Early English Figure and Canopy Window, and especially
the Jesse window, might with similar modifications be made
to harmonise with the architecture more completely than the
ancient examples. If the former type should be followed,
the canopy, which is as much an integral part of the picture
as the figure, should be represented as an object covering the
figure, and as a niche into which the figure casts a shade.
A small amount of shadow might suffice, but enough should
be used to insulate the figure as completely as this is done
in the sculpture. No Early English designs are, however,
more worthy of study, certainly none are so well suited to
the nature of modern glass as white Pattern windows. The
cold tone and substantial appearance of these windows have
been well imitated in “Powell's Pressed Glass,” in the transept
windows of the new church at Hackney,” and more especially
in the east window of the south aisle of Stafford Church,
the work of Ward and Nixon. Pictures (if inserted into
these windows) would have a rich effect, owing to the con-
trast which the white of the pattern would present to their
colouring. - -
In like manner many of the ancient Decorated designs
might suggest useful hints to the modern glass painter. The
white Pattern windows could be imitated in the modern
material as successfully as the Early English white Patterns.
The usual design of the ancient Figure and Canopy window,
would, however, if adopted, require considerable modification
to render it satisfactory, owing to the great disproportion
which the architectural accessories bear to the figure, by
* The design of these windows is not alluded to.
122 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
which the latter, instead of being the principal object in the
picture, is often rendered the most insignificant. It would
be better, in the case of large single figures, to follow another
ancient arrangement, and place them on a background of
ornamented quarries. In the choir of St. Sebald’s church,
Nuremburg, is a late Decorated canopy, representing the
interior of an apse with figures in it, which extends quite
across a four-lighted window. Such a canopy, if properly
treated, might be rendered highly conducive to the general
effect of the picture. Whether its strong cast of colour
might not prove too heavy for a mullioned window, is a
question that cannot be easily determined without trying
the experiment. It certainly would not be heavier in effect
than many ancient designs. I consider strong Stipple
Shadows, good drawing, and a large quantity of white glass of
a cold tone, indispensable to the full effect of a Picture
founded on the ancient Decorated model. The artist would,
I think, do well to avoid, in these works, a too liberal use of
the yellow stain, on account of its tendency to impart a
yellowness to the surrounding white glass. Many modern
windows in which much stain is used, especially those
composed of the yellow tinted “Cathedral Glass,” appear
at a little distance as if they were wholly yellow. It should
be borne in mind that the stained yellow being rarely,
like another colour, surrounded with an outline of con-
siderable strength, there is little to counteract its diffusive
tendency. *
It is unnecessary to make any lengthened observations on
the subject of Picture windows, designed for Perpendicular and
Classical edifices. The artist would notfail to borrow, as suitable
to the nature of modern glass, the breadth and arrangement
of colour, which is equally displayed in the works both of the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries ; whilst a careful study of
the Cinque Cento style would teach him to avoid, by means
of strong transparent shadows, the spottiness and indistinct-
ness of Perpendicular Picture glass Paintings, and to produce
the most powerful and striking effects with the most flimsy
materials. It would be easy, without, of course, using Cinque
Cento forms, to adopt the Cinque Cento improvements on
AND SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 123
Gothic designs, so as to increase the general effect of the
picture by means of its architectural details. A gayer tone
of colouring might easily be imparted to glass paintings
intended for Classical buildings; and in these works, if not
in the glass paintings intended for the later Perpendicular
architecture, the use of landscape back-grounds, exhibiting
Such graduated shades of colour as the modern improvements
on the Mosaic System can effect, would not be out of character,
except in those cases where, owing to the darkness of the
situation or other circumstances, a more simple style of
colouring would be requisite ; and which might involve the
use of plain back-grounds to the pictures. In like manner
a more severe character could be imparted to the glass
painting in other respects, according to the severity of the
architecture. Indeed, severity of style, that is, the simplicity
which suggests no defect, as in Greek art, is not only attain-
able in a glass painting, but seems most in accordance with the
principles of the art. The ornamented quarry patterns would
be as appropriate now as they ever were for Perpendicular
buildings, and it would be easy to enrich them when necessary,
by the introduction of small coloured pictures, or knots of
foliage: whilst “Round Glass,” in panes of at least 6 inches
diameter, would be found a cheap, appropriate, and effective
material for white Pattern windows, intended for Classical
edifices.”
The foregoing observations will not have been useless,
should they merely have the effect of directing attention to
a point in general too little regarded in the Selection of a
painted window ; its fitness for the place it is intended to
occupy. Of course the mode of execution must depend on
the artistic skill of the painter.” We cannot expect any
general improvement in glass painting to take place so
long as considerable patronage is bestowed on unworthy
objects; so long as great countenance is given to works,
7 The windows of Michael Angelo's noble design for the church of St. John
Baptist, at Florence, are represented as glazed with Round glass. See Jacob de
Rubeis, “Insignium Romae Templorum,” plate 48.
* I presume that The Commissioners on the Fine Arts are not responsible for the
execution of the painted windows of the House of Lords.
124 PAINTED GLASS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
the design and execution of which would not be tolerated
in any other branch of art.
My best thanks are due to the Dean and Chapter of
Lincoln for granting me free access to the glass in their
Cathedral, and other assistance which materially facilitated
my researches.
C. WINSTON.
AN INQUIRY INTO
THE SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONS WHICH PREVAIL
IN THE NAVE OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
I. IN an age when no dominant system of architecture is
recognised, and every builder does very much that which is
right in his own eyes, there is great danger lest the canons
of art, which are universal, and wholly independent of the
language or clothing in which at any time the art is dressed
or embodied, suffer from the same licence with which all
styles of architecture are treated. And a short inquiry
whether any regular system of proportions was used in
designing the magnificent structure which we are examining,
whose harmonious whole, from whatever cause it sprung, we
all confess, may form a fit companion to the archaeological
investigation which is happily in such able hands, and into
which field I shall not presume to enter.
On the importance of the harmony of proportion in clas-
sical art, all writers, from Vitruvius downwards, have insisted,
and it is found written in the clearest language in the monu-
ments of antiquity and the works of all architects since the
Revival, who have produced anything great and good. But
there have been some bold enough to assert, or what is
worse, to show by their practice a disbelief in its importance
in Gothic architecture, and to maintain that it is not found
in the works of the medieval builders, and that the success
of their architecture is the result of lucky accident, and
perhaps caprice. Beauty in art, without system, or the
presence of a master mind, which is a system to itself is
almost as absurd as if, after admiring the beauties of nature,
we should raise the question,
“Whether some soul encompassing this ball,
Unmade, unmoved, yet making, moving all;
Or various atoms interfering dance,
Leapt into form the noble work of chance.”
DRyDEN, Relig. Laic. 15.
126 SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONS IN THE
Hence it is most probable, that whenever in art the result
is entirely successful, we may feel sure that good reason exists
for every part, and by diligent search may be found: the
following remarks are intended to contribute in a humble
way to this most desirable result.
The pursuits of the Archaeological Institute necessarily
combine the parts both of the Architect and the Antiquary ;
and although to the latter all subjects which elucidate the
history of nations through the medium of architecture, which
has been always a faithful mirror of the state of a nation's
life and feelings, are most justly the objects of his most
careful attention, it is only when these works are combined
with beauty that they are to be selected as models for the
architect.
The respect in which Vitruvius was held in the middle
ages renders it improbable that the maxims of numerical
proportion which he inculcates were quite thrown overboard
by the architects of those times; and although very much
that was done is barbarous and absurd, yet many of their
works are worthy of all admiration, and none more than this
Cathedral of Lincoln.
It by no means follows that all structures which have
numerical ratios in their proportions look well, but it will be
interesting to inquire whether a building, which certainly is
beautiful, possesses the principle of regular proportion, as it
may still be absolutely essential to beauty that architectural
fitness in other respects be combined with harmony in the
dimensions of the leading parts. In following out investiga-
tions like the present great care must be taken to have a
uniform system of comparison of the different parts; and in
what is about to follow I will state that all ichnographical
dimensions, except otherwise particularly mentioned, are
taken in the clear between walls and piers, &c.; and all
dimensions of elevation are taken to the top of each separate
architectural division : as by sometimes measuring from the
top of one moulding and the bottom of another, we are liable
to stumble upon accidental proportions which are of course
fallacious; and though they may sometimes contribute to
beauty, are no evidence of design in the architect. All the
NAVE OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 127
following remarks relate to the interiors of the different
buildings about to be alluded to. The opinion, I believe, is
shared by many, that the architecture of the nave of Lin-
coln Cathedral is of the highest order of beauty and dignity,
and superior, especially in the latter respect, to all other
parts of the Cathedral. I have endeavoured, by a careful
admeasurement of this part of the building, in which I have
been kindly and effectually assisted by the Dean and Chapter,
to find out whether or no the proportions do agree with one
another numerically. The accompanying section and eleva-
tion of one bay of the interior are reduced from large
drawings made on the spot for this purpose.
It will first be necessary, if possible, to explain a re-
markable irregularity of plan which is seen at the west end
of the nave, and which would seem at first sight to render
visionary all ideas of congruity.
If we refer to the accompanying diagram (fig. 1), in which
this irregularity has been somewhat exaggerated, it will be
observed, that the axis of the choir is continued in a straight
line nearly to the end of the nave, and then breaks off Sud-
denly to the North, and falls into the axis of the Norman
West Front.
Now it appears, that the architect who built the choir
intended to have given the axis of the nave an obliquity
with respect to that of the choir, as the line CW ; as is found
to be the case in many foreign and English cathedrals and

128 SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONS IN THE &
parish churches, otherwise there was then no occasion for him
to have built that part of the church out of parallel with the
axis of the Norman work. However, when the rebuilding of
the nave was commenced, the architect, or those who em-
ployed him, were not so much under the influence of sym-
bolism (if indeed, the inclination of axis alluded to be
symbolical, and not intended to produce a variety in the
perspective,) and very properly decided on carrying out the
axis of the new work in a continuous straight line, CA, with
that of the choir, intending, no doubt, to clear away all the
Norman work, and build an entirely new West Front, at
right angles to the line of the choir, which the present Front
is not.
Reckoning from the central, or Rood Tower, as it is called,
(now, vulgarly, Broad Tower, by a perversion of the old
name.) five of the seven architectural bays of the nave are
about 26:6 feet” in extent, from east to west—the sixth and
seventh are 213 feet. We may suppose that at the time
the building arrived at the sixth arch economical reasons
suggested the incorporation of the Norman work in the
clumsy way in which we see it ; and the contraction of the
span of the last two arches, and a sudden lowering of the
vault by about 2 feet, (which takes place over the sixth arch,)
are the signs of the sacrifice of architectural propriety at
which this saving was effected. Had seven bays been carried
out, of the same breadth as the first five, and with a deep
porch, perhaps similar to that of Peterborough externally, the
whole of the consecrated area” might have been covered by
* St. Peter's at Rome, Ratisbon Cathe-
dral, Norwich, Peterborough, York, and
many others. The most remarkable and
extravagant case which I have observed,
is St. Mary's, Oxford.
* I scarcely need apologise to the
reader for facilitating any calculations
which he may be disposed to make upon
the above dimensions, and those that will
follow, by using the decimal subdivision
of the foot; which system I have found
of So much advantage, both from its ease
in reading off, and decreased liability to
error in measuring, as well as facility in
operations upon the dimensions obtained,
that I can confidently recommend those
who are occupied with the measurement
of architecture, for its own sake, to pro-
vide themselves with rules and tapes
decimally divided ; although we must
await the tardy movements of the legis-
lature before it can be generally intro-
duced into commerce and the measure-
ment of artificers' work.
* A point which, though perhaps not
always insisted on, was yet considered of
great importance in the middle ages.
A desire to inclose in the new church
the whole of the ancient Basilica, led in
St. Peter's at Rome to the abandonment
of the Greek cross of Michael Angelo.
NAVE OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 129
a uniform structure of simple proportions. We indeed may
be thankful for the archaeological interest which this circum-
stance has preserved to us in the remains of Bishop Remi-.
gius's West Front, and admire in the exterior the skill and
beauty with which the Early English Front is composed
around the Norman nucleus; it nevertheless cannot be denied,
that the interior suffers greatly from this irregularity, and it
may be safely affirmed, formed no part of the original inten-
tion of the architect.
II. Mr. Cockerell has shown from the authority of Cesariano,
an early commentator on Vitruvius, who published his work
in 1521, [see Winchester Volume, that frequently the plans
of the medieval churches were laid out on a system of squares,
which by their intersections, determined the centres of all
the main supports of the building.
The tendency towards this system with greater or less
degree of approximation, is found to occur in so many
churches, that after comparing a sufficient number of exam-
ples, we can hardly refuse to admit that it is a law which
had great authority with, at least, the more orthodox of the
middle age architects, although they did not scruple to
modify it when they saw occasion; as all artists of distinc-
tion, as well as poets, have ventured to do with the laws
which they in the main obey; preserving the spirit, while
they dispense with the letter.
This method of squares, called by Cesariano the Rule de
Pariquadrato, will be found to a considerable extent impressed
on the Nave of Lincoln. If we divide the space inclosed
within the centres of the four great piers of the tower, A,B,C,D,
on diagram, (Fig. 2), into four squares, and continue similar
squares westwards, and north and south, as far as is neces-
sary to inclose within their reticulation the whole of the nave,
we shall find that the system exactly coincides with the
outside of the walls HF, with the line of the centres of the
piers B G, and with the axis of the nave E W. Also that
the interval between the piers is such, that the fourth inter-
columniation (to borrow a term from classical architecture,)
agrees very nearly with the intersection of the fifth square
reckoned from the west pier of the Rood Tower; and the
K
130 SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONS IN THE
sixth pier, had the arches been all equal, would have been
found exactly in the middle of the eighth square.
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Now, these two circumstances taken together, viz., the
absolute coincidence of the squares reckoned North and South,
with the outside of the walls, and the line of the centre
of the piers; and the approximate coincidence of four inter-
columniations with five squares, reckoned East and West ;
suggest strongly that the original draught of the plan con-
templated seven” arches, the interval of whose piers from
centre to centre should have a proportion of five to four with
the sides of the above-mentioned squares. The sides of the
latter, as derived from the measurements of the breadth, are
21-65 feet, and five-fourths of this is 27-06 ; seven times this
latter dimension would be 189:42, the presumed length in-
tended for the nave from the centre of the Great Tower pier
to the West wall. The intervals of the arches (as is likely
on the first draught of the plan,) being supposed all equal,
and irrespective of any differences in the size of the piers.
(See diagram upper half, A and K.)
Now, when we come to consider the actual dimensions, we
* It is hardly necessary to point out the constant recurrence of this number in
ecclesiastical architecture.

NAVE OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 131
find that the semi-diameter of the Tower piers is 5.51 ; the
first arch of the nave nearest to the Tower is 21-63 in clear
interval: the # diameter of the ordinary piers, 2:15; the
clear intervals of the second and three following arches are
very nearly equal to each other, and average 22:30; that of
the last two arches is 17:00. The distance from centre to
centre in the former case being 26-6, in the latter, 21-30. I
have endeavoured to show that these last were not originally
intended to be smaller than the rest, and assume it to be so
granted in what follows, observing only that, when it was
decided to alter the first design, it was thought desirable to
make these two intercolumniations equal to the sides of the
pariquadrato squares.
Now, when it became necessary in the further working out of
the plan, to determine the exact sizes of the piers, we may sup-
pose that the architect was unwilling to alter the full extent
assigned to the nave in the first draught of his plan, as before
mentioned, and obtained the space necessary for the extra-
diameter of the Tower piers, by reducing the intervals of all
the arches. With regard to the small difference between the
arch of the nave nearest the Tower and the other four of
similar span, there appears strong evidence, from examina-
tion of the flat nature of the mouldings of the piers of the
Tower, a circumstance pointed out by Professor Willis, that
these piers were strengthened subsequently to their first
design, and most likely when the works of the nave were
commenced : this would readily account for the contraction
in the span of the first arch of the nave to the extent of
'67 feet. In which case the originally intended diameter of
the Tower piers would have been 9-78 feet, which is about
two-and-a-quarter of the ordinary piers, which latter are
exactly one-fifth of the sides of the squares.
However this may be, the distance between the centre of
the Great Tower Pier and that nearest to it Westwards is
29-28 instead of 27:06, as first designed (according to the
hypothesis). Taking this quantity together with six times
26:60, the average interval of the piers, we obtain 6 x 26.60 +
29:28 = 188-88, for the entire length of the nave, as given
by the actual dimensions, after eliminating the irregularity of
K 2
132 SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONS IN THE
the two western arches. The difference between this last
dimension and 189'42 is just 1 in 350, a small quantity,
which in a Gothic building need not, I think, be questioned.
Supposing this dimension to have been carried out, the whole
internal length of the Cathedral would be exactly bisected by
the centre of the eastern arch of the Tower, so that the
intended length of the nave may have determined the actual
extent of the Presbytery; and we may readily conceive that
the architect to the Presbytery had access to the original
drawings prepared for the earlier parts of the building.
On the lower half of the diagram No. 3, I have shown a
block plan of the actual arrangements of the nave, and on
the upper half that which I imagine to have been marked
out on the first draught of the plan, before the sizes of the
piers were determined ; and I have further ventured to
suggest a West front, somewhat similar in character to the
present, but unfettered by pre-existing Norman works—the
pier of the large arch of the front being placed over the
intersection of the 10th square, and brought forward to the
line of the Old Norman Front.”
The unparalleled lightness of the piers, with reference to
the arches, &c., which they support, resulting from the
above-mentioned ichnography, is most important to be
* I have not taken any dimensions to
elucidate this question beyond the nave,
but I find, judging from an accurate plan
made by Mr. E. J. Willson, that the choir
seems to be built upon the true Pari-
quadrato principle, the squares being of
the same size as those in the nave; but,
inasmuch as the choir is wider than the
nave, the squares which are there outside
the walls are here inside—a licence ob-
servable in many instances. The centres
of the columns are precisely deter-
mined by the intersections of the squares.
A desire in the architect of the nave to
obviate the low effect produced by the
choir, perhaps may have led him to place
his walls within, instead of without the
squares, according to the stricter pari-
quadrato arrangement.
. The arches of the presbytery seem
pariquadrate with the outside of the
walls, but the middle space is less than
two squares; so the method there pre-
vails in the aisles, but not in the central
opening.
The height of the choir appears to be
obtained, as is so frequently the case,
from that of an equilateral triangle,
whose base lies within the walls. In the
nave it is obtained by a square placed
within the same limits, which, though
less symbolical, is more commensurate. .
Again, I think it will be found, if the
length of St. Hugh's choir can be reco-
vered, that the whole length of the
church, from west to east, was then such,
that it included the transepts within the
Wesica Piscis, (vide Professor Cockerell's
Paper, Winchester Volume.) At present,
owing to the extension of the Presbytery,
the transepts are very nearly half the
entire length, the dimension, including
their north and south walls, being just
the internal length from the rood-screen
to the east wall.
NAVE OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 133
noticed. Their diameter is 4.28 feet, which is only one-
tenth of the distance measured, across the nave, from the
centre of one pier to that of the opposite, the latter dimension
being 43.32 feet.
The bold and scientific manner with which this is effected
is worthy of the distinguished mathematician who then
occupied the see of Lincoln ; for though there seems to be no
actual evidence that Grossetete took any immediate part in
these works, his influence must, nevertheless, have been felt.
The ratio of voids to solids appears to be more remarkable
than is to be found in any vaulted building in Europe ; at
least, among the larger structures.
Measurements taken immediately above the plinths give
the following proportions:— *
Voids, 1056; supports, 107; or the former nearly ten
times the latter, including in the supports the external but-
tresses and walls; in the voids the clear internal area of the
church.
The greatest care was taken by the architects in the foun-
dations of the piers. The footing courses, as may be seen by
reference to the engraved section in a following page, have
so much projection that they extend laterally, until they
meet those of the aisle walls. Evidence is to be found, on
examination, above the capitals of the piers, that, at first,
timber tie-beams were left connecting the springings of the
arches with each other, and with the aisle walls—a provision
of great value during the progress of the work, and until the
perfect solidifying of the mortar.
These precautions (without which it could not have been
safely raised with such slight supports), and the advantage
of Solid rock for the foundation, have preserved this admirable
structure to the present day.”
The architectural effect produced by this bold, but scien-
tific construction, is admirable, and seems to be peculiar to
this cathedral ; especially when viewed in a somewhat sub-
* Judging from the appearance of the bequestioned whether much greaterlight-
building, for which, however, thanks to mess in the supports could have been ob-
the judicious care of the Dean and Chap- tained with impunity.
ter, no fears need be entertained, it may
134 SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONS IN THE
dued morning or evening light (for the destruction of the
stained glass in the nave is greatly to be deplored, as much
more light is now admitted than is suitable to the archi-
tecture), a marvellous idea of space and grandeur is produced.
If we stand under the eastern arch of the cross at the
rood-screen, the eye is enabled to penetrate through three
bays of the nave, and receive the full effect of the size of
the whole building—sufficient richness being secured to the
aisle walls by the happy arrangement of giving two bays of
aisle windows to each arch.7
The appearance of size is, by this, so much enhanced, that,
although the choir and presbytery are really wider than the
nave, it is impossible to be persuaded of the fact without
measurement. This increase of apparent size is certainly
one of the tests of fine proportion in buildings, notwith-
standing that much has been said and written to the con-
trary; and St. Peter's at Rome has frequently been cited in
confirmation of the idea that fine proportion gives the effect
of small size. Mr. Joseph Woods, in his agreeable and able
work (“Letters of an Architect,” &c., vol. i., page 372, et seq.),
has completely controverted this position in the case of St.
Peter's. The following method, which may be tried in any
cathedral or large parish church with aisles, will show that it
is generally fallacious.
It must be admitted that, abstractedly,” the proportions of
the central nave of this, or any other cathedral, are better
than those of the aisles, each of these parts being considered
Separate from the other. For instance, in the nave of
Lincoln Cathedral, we have—Height, 2; breadth, 1 ; length,
5 ; very nearly. In the aisle—Height, 2; breadth, 1 ;
length, 10 ; very nearly. Hence, in the one, the length is
excessive ; in the other, it is fairly balanced.
Now, if it be true that the appearance of small size is pro-
duced by good proportions, it follows that bad proportions
tend to give the effect of great size. Hence the aisle, because
* I know of no other example of this to relations between moderately small
arrangement in this country. It occurs numbers, such, for instance, as produce
occasionally in Italian gothic. harmony in music. Thus e.g. 5 : 3: 2 is
* When proportions are spoken of as better than 3:2 : 13 (et sim.).
good in the abstract, they must be limited
NAVE OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 135
of its want of good proportion, ought to look longer than
the nave.
But let a spectator stand in the transept over against one
of the aisles (say the southern), and first look westwards
along the aisle sufficient time to receive a full impression of
the size of the different parts, and especially the distance of
the west wall; then let him proceed northward, past the
line of pillars, and as soon as the nave opens upon him, the
idea of size of every kind will be increased ; he will imagine
himself to be in a much longer structure than before, and
the west wall will appear, at least, one bay further off; and,
unless he know the building well, he will be liable to doubt
whether the end of the aisle be really in the same place with
that of the nave.” Hence the comparatively ill-proportioned
aisle, so far from looking longer than the well-proportioned
nave, is shown to produce quite an opposite effect.
III. The following observations relate to the general pro-
portions with reference to length, breadth, and height.
We must all have remarked that the continental cathe-
drals have their central naves loftier—both actually and also
with respect to their breadth—than ours; on the other
hand, in ours the length is much greater in proportion.
No doubt in the relations of breadth to height this is alto-
gether the case. But with regard to the no less important
proportion of length to height, the difference which at first
appears to indicate two states of feeling, widely at variance
with each other, may yet be in some measure reconciled if
we take into consideration the important feature of the rood
screen, which is almost always much less considerable and
often a mere railing in the foreign cathedrals;' but in Eng-
land, with scarcely any exception, it divides the church
into two parts, and is so lofty that it almost entirely destroys
* The nave of Lincoln Cathedral is not
very favourable for this experiment, owing
to its western parts being so much ob-
structed by the piers of the Norman
Towers and their clumsy casing, but the
same method may be applied to other
parts of this cathedral, or to any other.
It first occurred to me in the Church of
St. Sulpice, Paris. The effect will be in-
creased if there be no figures to give a
scale to the architecture.
* No doubt, in many cases on the Con-
tinent, where the rood Screen is now
wanting, it has been demolished, but in
some it can never have been anything
but a mere railing. This is especially
the case in Italy.
136 SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONS IN THE
the effect of the perspective from end to end. But if we
stand at the rood screen itself, and look east and west, we
find that the length resolves itself into two harmonious
proportions, each of which does not differ much in the ratio
of length to height from that of the single proportion of the
great French churches.
In this comparison of English with foreign cathedrals I
confine my remarks to the proportions of the central naves
only, as these occupy the whole attention at first sight; and
the discrimination of the differences produced by double or
single aisles, or other diversities of plan, is a subsequent
process of the mind.
In Lincoln Cathedral the rood screen is under the centre
of the eastern arch of the great tower. Measured from
hence, the length of the nave is 255 feet, that of the choir
2315 feet, the height of the former is 80 feet, the latter
about 74. The proportion of length to height in both these
is as 16 to 5, very nearly. The clear breadth of the nave
is 39:04 feet, and the proportions may be thus given : length
160, height 50, the breadth being 24.5.
The following are the dimensions of the central nave in
the very perfect and uniform Cathedral of Bourges—length
328 feet, height 119:5, breadth 41, which may be reduced
into the following proportion : 160 to 58, the breadth being
20, where the ratios of length to height do not differ very
greatly from the proportions derived from the nave and
choir of Lincoln, considered separately.
The great length affected in the English cathedrals may
have had the aim of producing external importance, an
object which has certainly been attained. But the interiors
appear to suffer much from it, unless their parts be viewed
by themselves as here suggested. The rood screens are
very valuable in this respect, namely, that they break the
excessive length of our first class cathedrals. The nave of
Lincoln and the choir of York seem to have nearly reached
the perfection of Gothic architecture, both in their propor-
tions and their details; but it may be questioned whether
both would not greatly suffer by the demolition or removal
of the rood screens; which on the other hand would be
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NAVE OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 137
beneficial to such a building as Westminster Abbey, where
the height is sufficient to balance the entire length. s
I shall conclude with some remarks on the symmetrical
relations among the heights of the different parts:–In the
elevation of one bay of the interior, given in the plate,
the height to the underside of the vault above the clerestory
windows, is just 80 feet, which is the same as the height of
the centre of the vault, as well as the horizontal internal
breadth between the aisle-walls. The measurements given
below were taken with great exactness from one of the
middle bays on the north side.” If we divide this height
into 26 parts, these will be found to agree in an exceedingly
accurate manner with the principal divisions of the bay.
(Referring to the letters on the woodcut).
From the ground to the top of the capitals of the piers, A:
8 parts, 24.62; measured height, 247. Hence to the top
of the triforium string, B: 6 parts, 1846; measured height,
1837. From hence to the top of clerestory string, D: 5
parts, 15:38; measured height, 15:04.” Hence to the under-
side of the vault, E : 7 parts, 21.64; measured height, 22:0.
The height of the springing of the vault is 54.1 from the
pavement; had it been 53-4 we should have had for the
vault, one-third of the whole height, and two-thirds for the
height of the springing above the pavement. This may
have been the proportion first selected, and afterwards
slightly modified when the vault came to be considered, for
* A partial disagreement which is found
in the heights of the north and south sides
of the nave must not be passed over, other-
wise, if unexplained, it would seem in-
compatible with that love of symmetry
which I wish to attribute to the archi-
tect. The tops of the bases of the columns
on the north side are nearly a foot (76
feet) above the level of those on the
south. The piers are equal in height,
and the compensation takes place in the
space occupied by the pier arches, for the
similar members on each side above the
capitals are on the same level with one
another. This licence, or whatever it is
to be called, must be laid at the door of
the preceding architect who built the
choir, on whose freakish disposition Pro-
fessor Willis has commented, for the
same irregularity is found in the height
of the bases and capitals of the choir
piers, and these lines having been already
continued through the transepts, it was
probably thought inexpedient to alter
them when the works of the nave were
commenced.
3 The appearance of the triforium jus-
tifies the conclusion that the calculated
quantity was that really intended, as
there appears to have been some little
difficulty in working out the design with
the actual dimension, and the tracery of
the triforium is somewhat crowded into
the space provided for it. It seems the
more likely that this was owing to an
error of the workmen, as the excess of
the clerestory division would exactly fill
up the deficiency of the triforium.
138 SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONS IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
the centres of the circles which form the transverse ribs are
found to be so placed that the distance between them (16
feet) is exactly one-fifth of the whole height of the nave.
Other cases of proportion and symmetry could be pointed
out in Lincoln, and in other English and foreign cathedrals.”
Those which I have pointed out, which are entirely derived
from my own measurements, are sufficient to show that there
is evidence of design shown by the builders of the middle
ages in the selection of their dimensions; and I think we
can hardly resist the conclusion, that it is in a great mea-
sure owing to these relations among the leading proportions
(doubtless carried much further than I have at present traced
them) that the results in the medieval structures are for the
most part so harmonious, and so justly to be admired, in spite
of their many and inexplicable extravagances in details.
F. C. PENROSE, M.A.
* In Bourges Cathedral (to the lead-
ing proportions of which I have already
alluded,) the height of the vaults agrees
with that of an equilateral triangle, whose
base occupies the breadth from centre
to centre of the external walls. Some of
the heights of the subdivision may be
obtained from parts of this triangle,
others seem to have been determined
by integral numbers of French feet.
The height from the floor to the under-
side of the vault, both on the centre and
above the clerestory windows, is 119.5 feet,
equal to 112 French feet. There are 50-3
French feet to the top of the columns.
The height to the top of the triforium
string is half the base of the great
equilateral triangle, 64.6 French feet.
The springing of the vault is the same
height with the top of the clerestory
string, which is 19:1 French feet above
the triforium string, and a dimension of
28.3 French feet more reaches to the
underside of the vault.
In the Cathedral of Metz the height is
130 French feet, 1386 English feet.
If the whole height be divided into
300 parts, 50 will determine the capital
of the piers, 100 the triforium string, 160
the clerestory string, 195 the springing
of the vault; [this is also 30 —– 7 ×
breadth;] 240 the springing of the arches
of the clerestory windows, 300 the under
side of the vault.
It will be seen that although there is
no analogy whatever in this example to
the symmetries of Bourges Cathedral,
where the pier arches are the grand fea-
ture, being ºr of the whole height very
nearly, while at Metz they are only fºr,
their height being sacrificed to that of
the magnificent clerestory, nearly 65 feet
in height; yet we find in both cases that
the divisions were determined by rule.
In the Cathedral of Ratisbon, whose
proportions seem to be among the finest
in Europe, the ratio of the height to
length is as 3 to 8; the height is 104-2
English feet, 110 Bavarian feet. This
height, as in the case of Bourges, agrees
precisely with that of an equilateral
triangle, whose base extends from centre
to centre of the external walls. The height
of the bay of the nave above the clerestory
windows is 102 feet. This is precisely
2.5 × breadth between the pillars. If it
be divided into eleven parts, we shall
discover the following symmetries.
From the pavement to the top of the
capital of the piers, four parts. Thence
to the top of the triforium string, two
parts; two more to the springing of the
vault. To the springing of the arches of
the clerestory windows, one; and lastly,
two parts remain for the tracery and
mouldings of the windows. The triforium
is small, and, as at York, merged into the
design of the clerestory windows.
ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL REMAINS OF BISHOP
GROSSETETE.
IN looking over the catalogue of printed books in the
library of the British Museum, I lately met with the following
entry: “Libellus Linconiensis de phisicis lineis, angulis, et
figuris, per quas omnes acciones naturales complentur,” i.e.,
“the tract of Linconiensis concerning the physical lines, angles,
and figures, according to which all natural actions are accom-
plished.” The tract to which this title refers is a small Latin
quarto in vellum, printed at Nuremberg in the year 1503;
and it purports to be a republication, under the care of
Andreas Stiborius Boius, a ſhember of the Ducal College of
Vienna, and Professor of Mathematics, of a treatise which is
described as “profound in learning and utility” but “very
rare,” and “through the slothfulness (ignavia) of the scholars
of our age hitherto unknown.” On the title-page is a coloured
engraving, representing the Sun's rays streaming upon a convex
mirror, and the phenomenon of refraction as exhibited by a
stick in a vessel of water. The author of this treatise was the
celebrated Robert Grossetete, who died Bishop of Lincoln in
the year 1253, and who is well known for his contributions
to scholastic literature, for his theological writings, and for
the prominent stand which he took in defence of the liberties
of the English Church.
The tract above referred to appears to have escaped the
notice of Dr. Pegge, the biographer of Grossetete, as it is not
mentioned in his catalogue of the editions of the prelate's
writings. It seems to have been the first of Grossetete's
physical tracts which was printed, and it is probably the only
one which appeared in a separate form. A commentary on
Aristotle's Posterior Analytics had, however, before been
issued at Venice, in the year 1479, which passed through
at least five editions. Eleven years after the publication of
140 PHILOSOPHICAL REMAINS OF BISHOP GROSSETETE.
the tract at Nuremberg, a collection of nineteen tracts by
the same author, including the one above mentioned, was
published at Venice. There is reason to think that all these
tracts were written at Oxford, during the period of Grossetete's
engagement as a lecturer in the schools. Of these the tract
whose title has been given is by far the most remarkable. It
comprises the sum of Grossetete's conclusions, original as well
as derived, upon the constitution of the physical universe,
with a particular application of those conclusions to the
questions of the reflection and the refraction of light ; and it
contains some of the most ingenious examples with which I
am acquainted, of a mode of investigation which, for a long
period, was thought to be adequate to all the purposes of
discovery in things divine and human. I design to give some
account of this tract, and to show the relation which it bears,
both in its method and in its general results, to the investi-
gations of modern science. The copy to which I shall refer
is the one contained in the Venice edition, this being much
the more accurate of the two. It is a folio in black-letter,
and is said to be extremely scarce.
I must beg to premise one or two remarks upon the general
spirit and manner observable in the philosophical remains of
the author. The method of philosophising common in his
time consisted in assuming certain general principles, either
upon the ground of their supposed reasonableness, or upon
the authority of Aristotle and his leading commentators, and
arguing from these as if they were laws of nature. Such is
the method which Grossetete adopts in all his treatises; but
in doing this he allows to himself a greater liberty as to the
forms of argument employed in the process of deduction, than
perhaps was customary at the period. There are some
writers of that and of a subsequent age who never reason
but in syllogisms, and deem it unlawful to deviate in any
particular from the rigid forms of the scholastic logic. Grosse-
tete, however, employs a more natural style, and in some
instances analyses, and in others refutes, the arguments of
his great master. In one tract he endeavours to show that
the four-fold division of causes recognised by the followers of
Aristotle, may be immediately derived from the consideration
PHILOSOPHICAL REMAINS OF BISHOP GROSSETETE. 141
of one primary description of cause, viz., that which Aristotle
terms “the efficient cause.” In another tract he attempts to
show the fallaciousness of certain deductions of Aristotle,
who, Setting out from the assumed principle, that “whatever
exists actually had before existed in its cause potentially,” had
arrived at the doctrine of the eternity of motion. Thus,
although, in general, Grossetete thinks it enough to refer,
after the manner of his age, to the authority of Aristotle
for the support of a principle, yet there is sufficient in his
writings to show that he was an independent thinker, and
had by no means sacrificed the right of individual judgment.
Grossetete lays it down as the first principle of his doctrine
of physics, that “every natural agent multiplies or dissemi-
nates its virtue,” by which I understand him to mean its
active power, “upon all surrounding objects, whether they
be sensible or simply material.” And in support of this
doctrine he urges, that a natural agent does not operate by
deliberation or free-will, and therefore can but operate after
one constant manner; the difference of effect produced
depending upon the difference of capacity in the things acted
upon. Thus he remarks, that the same action of the sun
melts ice and hardens clay, through the difference of the
passive recipients of that action.
He postulates as a second principle of physics, that the
virtue or active force exerted by a natural agent is more
powerful, the shorter the distance it has to traverse. And
to this he adds from Aristotle, the principle that Nature
operates by the shortest method possible. From which the
conclusion is left to be inferred, that the mode of Nature's
operation is the most powerful possible.
Again, he lays down the principle that Nature operates
in the best mode possible. Then, assuming from Boetius that
equality is better than inequality, and adding to this, that a
right line possesses equality in its parts, he infers that the
virtue of natural agents operates in straight lines, and thus
operates in the best mode possible.
Similarly referring to Aristotle for the principle that there
is greater union and unity (unio et unitas) in a straight line
than in any other, and assuming that all united virtue is
142 PHILOSOPHICAL REMAINS OF BISHOP GROSSETETE.
more powerful than that which is not united, he deduces that
Nature operating in straight lines fulfils the prior condition
of operating more powerfully than in any other way.
And by such arguments he infers that light travelling
unimpeded through a single medium will move in straight
lines. Some of the intermediate steps, however, have no
logical connexion with this or any other physical conclusion
arrived at ; and one of them involves a fallacy in geometry,
in what, in the present day, would be called the doctrine
of limits.
When there are two media, he remarks that the second
either impedes the transit of light, in which case the ray is
reflected; or permits its transit. And in the former case he
states the true law of reflexion, needlessly distinguishing,
however, between the case in which the incident ray is
perpendicular and that in which it is oblique. But he does
not attempt to deduce that law from his principles, nor does
he give any other explanation of reflexion than by saying
that reflexion weakens the virtue of the ray. |
If there be two media, he remarks that the ray will be
refracted into a course intermediate between its original direc-
tion and the direction of the perpendicular to the bounding
surface, i.e., toward the perpendicular, when the second medium
is denser than the former, and that it will be refracted in the
opposite direction, in the opposite case ; of both which facts
(for they are clearly facts of observation,) the implied expla-
nation is that the virtue of the ray is less weakened by
refraction than by reflexion, and therefore the ray deviates
less from its original course. Of the law of refraction after-
wards deduced by Suellius, there is, as we should expect, no
account.
The difference between the action of polished and unpolished
surfaces on light, is referred to that principle of the stronger
virtue of uniformity and equality, which has already been
stated. #
Grossetete enlarges upon his original assertion respecting
the action of natural bodies, by affirming that this action is
propagated spherically around them, not moving in the
circumferences of spheres, but along their radii.
PHILOSOPHICAL REMAINS OF BISHOP GROSSETETE. 143
It will probably appear to those who have been taught by
the lessons of modern science to estimate the value of exact
definition, that a part at least of the above reasoning is little
better than an ingenious play of words, to which no fixed
meaning has been attached. I think, however, that there
are one or two principles asserted to which a somewhat higher
regard is due, and upon these I will venture to offer a few
remarks. *
The several principles, that Nature operates in the best,-in
the shortest,-in the most effectual methods possible, have
some affinity with a principle of the modern mechanical
physics, which properly understood and rightly applied is
sufficient to lead to a solution of the problem, which Grossetete
had proposed to investigate. But the principle to which
I refer—the principle of least action, as it is termed—is a
logical consequence of the ascertained laws of motion. It
has a definite meaning, and is applied by known and definite
and demonstrable methods. Far otherwise the case rests
with Grossetete's assumption. I think it, however, an
interesting fact that some faint and immature conceptions
of such a principle should have been put forth by him, in
connection with a problem which, after the lapse of centuries,
it was to be shown capable of resolving.
The principle that the virtue or efficacy of natural agents
is disseminated around them spherically, and along the radii
of the spheres concerned, is undoubtedly an induction from
experience. It is probable that Grossetete had speculated
upon the circular motion of waves in a canal, from a centre
of disturbance, the diffusion of sound and of odours, and
other similar phenomena. In fact the so-called d priori
positions of the schoolmen in physics are, for the most part,
of one or the other of the two following kinds. Either they
are imperfect inductions from experience, or they are expres-
sions of a perhaps unconscious belief in the optimism of the
constitution of nature. Of the latter kind are such principles
as the following—that Nature employs the shortest route,
that equality in the mode of her operation is rather to be
looked for than inequality, regularity than irregularity,
perfection in figure than imperfection,--with many similar
144 PHILOSOPHICAL REMAINS OF BISHOP GROSSETETE.
propositions with which the writings of Aristotle abound.
Such positions have, indeed, a certain measure of truth,
although it is only in an advanced state of knowledge that
the nature of that truth can be appreciated.
And it may, in conclusion, be remarked, that whichsoever
of these distinct sources we assign to the axioms of the
scholastic philosophy, in either case, the necessity and exclu-
sive sufficiency of the inductive method will become apparent.
For, if those principles are founded on imperfect inductions,
drawn from limited experience, it is clear that more accurate
and more extended observation must be needed as a basis
for the induction which shall conduct to juster views. On
the other hand, if they are based on the inquiry: What is the
best constitution of Nature ? the answer which was given by
Bishop Butler to the same question, somewhat differently
applied, at once suggests itself, viz., that we have not faculties
for this kind of speculation. So that the slow but certain
method of patient experiment, followed by cautious inferences
from its results, is the only one that is left to us, as at once
consonant to our faculties and adequate to the purposes which
we desire to accomplish.
GEORGE BooDE.
AN ACCOUNT OF KING HENRY THE EIGHTH'S
PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE,
IN THE YEAR 1541.
BY JOSEPH HUNTER, F.S.A.
THE Progresses of Queen Elizabeth and of King James
the First have been described and illustrated with much
industry and success, by a family who have in three gene-
rations deserved eminently well of English literature, and
especially of antiquarian and historical literature : but
hitherto we have had only slight casual or occasional no-
tices of the progresses of our earlier sovereigns, though they
were all great travellers, some of them visiting during their
reigns almost every portion of their dominions.
At the meeting of the Institute, which was held at York
in 1846, I gave such account as I was able to collect of the
visit which King Henry the Eighth paid to the county of
York, in the thirty-third year of his reign, A. D. 1541. I
showed his removes day by day, and gave slight notices of
the places least familiar to the public ear, at which he
halted, both as he advanced to the city of York, and as he
returned southward. Both in going and returning he passed
through Lincolnshire, and it has been suggested to me by a
gentleman of this county, who is a distinguished member of
the Institute, that a similar account of this part of the
progress will not be unacceptable or inappropriate on the
occasion of the assembling of the Institute in this ancient
city.
The king's intent in visiting York was to hold a personal
conference with his nephew, the young King of Scotland,
to consult on public affairs, touching the relations of
the two kingdoms. But there was probably a secondary
object: and he might not unreasonably expect that his own
presence, that of his whole court, and the splendour of the
royal magnificence, in the two lately disturbed counties of
L
146 HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
Lincoln and York, might have the effect of dissipating the
recollection of his former most extreme severities, and in-
ducing a submission at least to the new ecclesiastical state
which he was establishing in the realm. He took with him
his young and beautiful queen, Catherine Howard, to whom
he had been but a few months married, and the ladies of her
gay court, together with the most eminent of his grave
counsellors, and the most distinguished persons of the realm,
including the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, Cuthbert Tunstall
the Bishop of Durham, the Earls of Oxford, Southampton,
and Hertford, Lord Russell, Sir Ralph Sadler, and other
members of his Privy Council. The whole progress appears
to have been conducted with all imaginable pomp and
state. Yet the public business of the country was not
neglected, for the council sat every day, and they sometimes
listened to complaints which arose in the country through
which they passed, and gave judgment concerning them.
For the information by which we are enabled to trace
the removes of the court from day to day, and from place
to place, we are indebted almost entirely to two distinct
contemporary records. First, the Journal of the King's
Household for the year; and secondly the Daily Minutes of
the Privy Council for the time. The latter were printed in
1837, by the Commissioners on the Public Records, one of
their valuable contributions to the store of printed materials
for the history of the country. Next to these is the infor-
mation to be collected from the Itinerary of Leland, who in
his first journey, as the journeys are arranged by Hearne,
followed so closely in the king's track, both in part of the
journey to the north, and in part of the return, that there is
reason to suppose he may himself have formed part of the
royal Suite.
The king left his palace at Westminster on Sunday, the
1st of July, and passing through Enfield, St. Albans, Dun-
staple, Ampthill, and Grafton, arrived at Northampton on
the 21st. On the 23rd he was at Pipewell, the lately sup-
pressed monastery on the borders of Rockingham Forest.
HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 147
Leland speaks of the fairness of the buildings at Pipewell,
and informs us that the king hunted in a park of his own,
near the monastery. Hunting, we may observe, formed a
part of the royal amusements in the whole of the progress.
He remained for five days at Pipewell, and on the 28th was
at Liddington, where was a manor-place belonging to the
Bishop of Lincoln, who was at that time John Longland.
The king was the bishop's guest for three days, and then
removed to Colly-Weston, where was a house of his own.
The greater part of this house had been erected by his
grandmother, Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derby.
He was now close upon the borders of Lincolnshire, Colly-
Weston being but a few miles south of Stamford.
The council sat at Colly-Weston on the 2nd and the 4th
of August. They sat also on the morning of the 5th for a
special purpose. It was to consider what it was proper to
do in respect of a difficulty which had arisen in the town of
Stamford, on receipt of intelligence that the king intended
to honour that ancient borough with a visit. It was a case
of precedence, service, and punctilio. The difficulty lay in
determining at what precise point the king was to be
received by the alderman of the town, who claimed to attend
upon the king from the moment of his entrance into the
parish of St. Martin, which is on the Northamptonshire side
of the stream. This claim was resisted by the sheriff of
Northamptonshire, who maintained that it was his right or
duty to carry the white rod before the king, till the cortège
arrived at the foot of the bridge. The question became
more involved by a third claim, which was set up by the
bailiff of the liberties of Peterborough, that it was his right
or duty to do the honours which the sheriff was accustomed
to do, from the king's entrance on the parish of St. Martin
till his arrival at the foot of the bridge. This was no doubt
a most unseasonable dispute, and most inconvenient inter-
ruption. But the council found means to dispose of the
questions in a summary manner, avoiding the establishing any
thing that could be construed into a rule or precedent for
the time to come. Because the sheriff was his majesty's
* L 2
148 HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
principal and ordinary officer in the county of Northampton,
and the council had not before them any precedent of the
bailiff having ever exercised the privilege which he claimed,
or any charter granting to the alderman of Stamford the
right which he claimed to exercise south of the bridge,
therefore it was determined that the sheriff of Northamp-
tonshire should carry the white rod before the king, not
merely to the foot of the bridge on the St. Martin's side,
but unto the middle of the said bridge, and then the alder-
man of Stamford should meet the king with his mace at the
foot of the bridge on the other side, and attend upon him to
the furthest precinct of the town, on the further side of the
water. As to the bailiff of the liberties, he must for this
time surcease, and in no wise intermeddle. It was recorded
on the minutes however that the decision was made for this
time only, and only for the avoiding of confusion in the
attendance on his majesty, and was by no means to be taken
in prejudice of any claim which either the alderman or the
bailiff might hereafter set up, or affect in any manner the
accustomed duties in respect of subsidies or of town-bur-
thens of the inhabitants within the parish of St. Martin.
Thus the difficulty was removed, and the king entered
Lincolnshire in peace. -
We have nothing to show whether or not it had been the
king's intention to have remained for a day or two at
Stamford; but we know that the king merely passed
through the town, proceeding immediately to Grimsthorpe,
where he arrived in the evening. -
“The place of Grimsthorpe,” says Leland, “was no great
thing before the new building of the round court: yet was
all the old works of stone, and the gate-house was fair and
strong, and the walls on each side of it embattled. There
is also a great ditch about the house.” It was at that time
a house of the king's brother-in-law, Charles Brandon, Duke
of Suffolk, to whom, and to his duchess (Mary, the king's
sister being then dead) it had been given, with other great
possessions, by the king to hold to him and to his duchess.
This lady was the sole daughter and heir of the last of the
HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 149
male-line of the Lords Willoughby de Eresby, and allied to
some of the most splendid houses in Europe by her mother,
a Spanish lady, who came to England in the train of Cathe-
rine of Arragon. I need Scarcely add that this was the
Duchess of Suffolk, who, after the duke's death, married
Richard Bertie, in whose posterity Grimsthorpe descended,
the duchess losing her two sons, the Brandons, successively
Dukes of Suffolk in one and the same day.
We have no account of the entertainments, whatever they
may have been, provided for the king on this visit to Grims-
thorpe ; but it may be presumed that the time was passed in
splendid revelries, when we recollect what was the personal
Čharacter of his brother-in-law, and find that though the
council sat on the 6th and 7th of August, yet no business
was done.
On the 8th the court removed to Sleaford, which is de-
scribed by Leland as a town built for the most part all of
stone, and having two houses that were superior to the rest,
the one belonging to the parsonage, the other the residence
of the Carrs, then represented by a person whom he calls
“one Carr of Sleford, a proper gentleman, whose father was
a rich merchant of the staple.” But it is presumed that in
neither of these houses did the king sleep that night, but
rather in what Leland calls “the house or manor-place,
lately almost new-builded of stone and timber, by the Lord
Hussey, which standeth northward without the town.” This
house was probably then the king's own, as it had been
forfeited by the attainder of Lord Hussey, who having been
engaged in the great Lincolnshire insurrection, had been
beheaded at Lincoln, in June, 1537.
A council was held at Sleaford on the 9th of August, and
the king reached Lincoln in the evening.
The reception of the king into this city was no doubt
conducted with all municipal pomp: but I know not that
any account has ever been given of what was done on this
occasion ; the record, if any exists, will be in the books of
corporation proceedings.
The council sat at Lincoln on the 10th and 11th. On the
150 HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
latter of these days letters were written to the Earls of
Westmoreland and Cumberland, requiring them to cause
the Lord Scrope, and certain other persons of the county of
York, to repair with diligence to the city of York, to be
ready there to meet the king, and that the two earls should
remain in their own houses on the borders, till they knew
more of the king's pleasure.
But of the sojourn at Lincoln, short as it was, a sad story
is to be told, for it was there, and on this occasion, that the
first acts of criminality charged against the queen were com-
mitted; for which, soon after the return from this progress,
she was brought to trial, convicted, and put to death.
Lightness of conduct undoubtedly there must have been,
but it is hardly credible that in the midst of so many
observers she can have been so guilty as the records of her
trial represent her.
The king, it will be observed, was on his way to York;
and as he had also the intention of visiting Hull, where very
extensive works were contemplated, it would appear to have
been the natural course for him to have taken, to have pur-
sued his way along the ancient road which conducted directly
from this city to the Humber. But there was yet no inform-
ation of the King of Scotland having left Edinburgh, and no
certainty or even probability that he would be found at
York if the King of England speeded his journey thither.
In fact, the counsellors of the King of Scotland looked with
something of suspicion, and with much disapproval, on the
proposed personal interview, and ultimately the King of
Scotland was induced to remain at home. Further, it had
been a part of the plan from the beginning, and so in the
old phrase, “the gests had been set down,” that the king
should visit his own manor-place at Hatfield, near Doncaster,
and there take the diversion of hunting, which was to be
enjoyed there in greater variety, and in higher perfection
than perhaps any other of the king's forests and chases.
When the king left Lincoln, he therefore turned aside from
the direct course, and we find him on the evening of the 12th
at Gainsborough, where he remained stationary for four days.
HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 151
The business before the council in those days, respected
only certain works which were in progress at Calais. The
queen was charged with other acts of criminality during the
residence of the court at Gainsborough.
Leland, whom we find treading precisely in the king's
steps, going from Lincoln to Gainsborough, and from thence
to Scrooby and Bawtry, describes Gainsborough as a good
market-town, with little worthy of particular notice, except
the parish church and its monuments, of which the most
remarkable was that of Sir Thomas Borough, a knight of
the garter, grandfather to the Lord Borough, who was
then living.
There could be no house at Gainsborough which could
receive the king, except the house of Lord Borough, which
Leland describes as being a moated manor-place, by the
west end of the churchyard, built by Sir Thomas Borough,
whose monument was in the church ; and there was no
doubt that the king during the time of his stay at Gains-
borough, was the guest of Lord Borough, who had been called
to the House of Peers about twelve years before, and who
had had the good sense or the good fortune, to take no part
in the tumultuous proceedings which had brought destruction
on several of the old families of Lincolnshire. There are at
Gainsborough considerable remains of the house of the Lords
Borough.
It is somewhat remarkable, that so little is said concerning
this Lord Borough, the real founder of the dignity which his
family enjoyed; and how uncertain and imperfect are the ac-
counts of this eminent house in all the printed books to which
we go for information concerning the dignities of the realm.
It is, perhaps, not the family of all the noble houses of England
which can be contemplated with the highest satisfaction,
though the grandson of King Henry's host, the third Lord
Borough, was a conspicuous person in the reign of Elizabeth.
But when we find the children of one member of the family
disowned, and the mother repudiated, and two brothers both
losing their lives through private violence, we cannot but sus-
pect that the pure ermine of their lilies was sometimes Sullied
152 HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
by crime, and that they sometimes drooped under severe
misfortune. Dugdale's account of them is exceedingly
unsatisfactory; and in the account which he gives, in which
there is much uncertainty, he has no notice whatever of the
marriage of one of them with Catherine Parr, and the conse-
quence has been, that later writers of the life of this distin-
guished lady, have been unable to show to which of the
Boroughs it was to whom she was united, and have even so
far erred, as to represent her as the wife of the father of
the Lord Borough whom the king visited, instead of his
eldest son and heir apparent, who died before him. I speak,
however, without the authority of contemporary record, and
rely only on what appears the better testimony of the old
heralds, who have left notices of this family. The inquiry
is curious (considering that in a very short time Catherine
Parr herself became queen), whether she were at Gains-
borough at the time of this visit of the king, and whether
she was at the time the wife or widow of a Borough ; or,
which is the more probable supposition, had, before this
time, contracted her second marriage with Lord Latimer.
Dates are here greatly wanted. Dugdale, by a most unac-
countable oversight, twice speaks of her as the mother of
the last Nevil, Lord Latimer.
As to the Lord Borough, he had married the daughter of
Sir William Tyrwhitt, of Kettleby, and the king would find
him surrounded with a numerous family.
At Gainsborough the king crossed the Trent on the seven-
teenth, and leaving the county of Lincoln, proceeded to
Scrooby, where the Archbishop of York had a house: he
slept there that night, and the next day reached his own
manor-place, in the centre of the chase of Hatfield.
Here the thread of our story is broken. He was in York-
shire from the eighteenth of August to the beginning of
October. There has already been laid before the Institute,
such account as I have been able to give of the incidents
of that part of the king's progress. It is printed in the
Volume of the transactions at the York meeting.
We take up the thread again, when the king returns to
HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 153
Lincolnshire. He crossed the Humber from Hull to Barrow.
It was either on the fifth or sixth day of October, for there
is a discrepancy between the two journals on which we rely
for our chronology. On his arrival on the Lincolnshire coast,
he proceeded at once to Thornton College.
This was the seat of a religious community, of which the
king himself was the founder ; for, having dissolved the
monastery of the foundation of William Earl of Albemarle
in the reign of Stephen, he transferred its possessions to a
new religious community, consisting of a dean, and about
twenty prebendaries, seated on the same spot. The inhabi-
tants of the college met their founder in solemn procession,
and conducted him to their house. He remained with them
on the sixth, seventh, and eighth of October, the council
sitting every day. On one of the days, a poor joiner from
Louth was brought before the council, accused of neglecting
to come to the king's works when summoned to do so, and
of using disrespectful words concerning the king and the
council. It appears to have been a malicious charge, as he
had only required a little time to take order for the con-
veyance of his corn; and as to the contemptuous speaking,
he utterly denied it. The council dismissed him harmless.
The religious community, the college properly speaking,
of Thornton, had a very brief existence; for it was quite
newly-founded in 1541, when the king was there, and it was
dissolved in 1547, in pursuance of the act for the suppression
of all foundations of the class to which it belonged. The
buildings appear, from descriptions given of them when
reduced to a state of ruin, to have been very extensive, and
of an architecture highly elaborate and ornamented. De la
Pryme, who visited the place in the year 1697, was amazed
at the number of statues and other architectural ornaments
which he found there, as well as at the extent of ground
over which the ruins were spread. When dissolved, the site
was granted to the Bishop of Lincoln in exchange for other
lands ; but, in a few years, we find it in possession of the
family of Skinner, who held it for several generations, and of
whom it is said, that they formed for themselves out of the
154. HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
ruins a mansion, which soon perished in some remarkable
and inexplicable manner, when they built for themselves a
second house, not on the site, but near to it. To these
Skinners belonged Cyriac Skinner, the friend of Milton.
They descended in the female line from Sir Edward Coke;
and they married in the family of Wentworth in its best
days. They appear to have been a family of taste and
refinement, of which we need no better evidence than the
singularly touching and simple epitaph in the neighbour-
ing church of Goxhill on the two youths, who had given
early proof “that they were descendants of their virtuous,
generous, and religious father, who had gone before to take
possession for them of more continuing inheritances.”
When the king left Thornton College, he bent his course
to Kettleby, where, at that time, lived Sir Robert Tyrwhitt,
father-in-law to the Lord Borough whom the king had
visited at Gainsborough. Sir Robert must have been at that
time an old man, since, at his death, in 1547, his grandson,
Robert Tyrwhitt, was found to be his heir, and at the age of
twenty-two years and more. His lady was a Tailboys,
a family in great favour with the king, so that the Tyr-
whitts had at that time splendid alliances on both sides.
The business done at the council, which sat on one of the two
days which the king spent at Kettleby, was unimportant,
and not at all connected with the county or with the pro-
gress. Of anything else during the king's stay, we have
no information ; nor does Leland say anything of either
Kettleby or Thornton. A century and a half later, when
De la Pryme visited the place, he was told that the hall,
then in being, had been built in the reign of James the First,
“to entertain the king when he came a hunting into those
parts;” and, further, that “Kettleby Hall has been a very
fine structure, but they are now pulling it down.” This
was in 1697.
On the eleventh of October, we find, by the printed copy
of the Minutes of the Privy Council, that the king was at
Mr. Tourner's house. But “Tourner” is certainly an error
either of the original scribe, or of Sir Harris Nicolas, the
HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 155
editor under the Record Commission, as Tourney was the
name, since the Tourneys were the owners of Kenby (Caenby),
the name of the place to which the king removed from
Kettleby in the Journal of the King's Household. But
though the king himself was at Kenby, the council sat at
the neighbouring village of Bishop's Norton, where they
transacted business.
The Tourneys were a considerable family among the
gentry of Lincolnshire of the sixteenth century, and were
comprehended within the circle of which the Tailboys were
the centre; John Tourney who was at that time the head
of the family having married a sister of Gilbert Lord Tail-
boys. There was a race of Tourneys descended of this
marriage at Kenby.
The king made no stay at Kenby, but proceeded on the
next day by an easy day's journey to South Carlton, the seat
of Mr. Monson, where he slept on that night. The council
did not sit on that day.
Though called only Mr. Monson in the Records of the
Privy Council, he was a knight at the time of his death;
and it is supposed was knighted by the king on this visit to
his mansion. He was an ancestor of the eminent family of
Monson, who were among the first persons admitted into the
order of baronets, and were afterwards raised to the peerage.
He was an old man at the time of the king's visit, and at
that time connected with the Tyrwhitts and Boroughs by
the marriage of his son, William Monson, with a daughter of
Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, and, consequently, a niece of Lord
Borough. Sir John Monson lived only seven months after
he had received the honour of this visit, dying on the twenty-
sixth of May, 1542.
The king was now in the near neighbourhood of Lincoln, and
must have passed through the city a second time, as his next
day's remove was to Nocton, where he slept on the thirteenth,
but made no other stay there, proceeding on the next day to
Sleaford. Nocton was at that time the property of Thomas
Wymbysh, who had married the only daughter of Gilbert
Lord Tailboys, the half-sister of Henry, Duke of Richmond,
156 HENRY THE EIGHTH's PROGRESS IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
the king's illegitimate son. Wymbysh died early, and his
widow married Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, one of
the sons of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. We
see then here again, that the king, in his visits among the
Lincolnshire nobility and gentry, kept himself within the
circle of one great family connexion, consisting of the Tail-
boys, Wymbyshes, Boroughs, Tyrwhitts, Monsons, and Tour-
neys, all relatives. When, not long after this progress, he
married Catherine, the widow of Sir Edward Borough, he
might be said to become himself a member of this family
circle.
From Nocton the king removed to Sleaford, where he
received an ambassador of the King of Portugal, come to
treat concerning the conveyance of certain wheat from Eng-
land to Portugal. He made no longer stay, but proceeded
to Grimsthorpe, where he slept ; and on the next night he
had left the county, and was at his own house at Colly-
Weston, in Northamptonshire.
In ten days he was returned to Windsor, having passed
through Fotheringhay, Higham-Ferrers, Willington, Ampt-
hill, Ashridge, and Chenies, by the way. He arrived at
Windsor on the twenty-sixth of October.
AN ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT RELATING TO
MILITARY MUSTERS
IN THE PARTS OF KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE, DURING THE REIGN OF
ELIZABETH, A.D. 1590.
AT the interesting period of English History when the
country had been aroused in determined opposition to the
hostile incursion of Spain, and the menaces of her Invincible
Armada, the necessity of organising National defences of a
permanent nature was viewed by the government as an object
of paramount importance. A Commission of Array issued
from her Majesty in Council to all the Justices of the Peace,
in the various counties, “for general musters and trayning of
all manner of persons, hable for the warres, to serve, as well
on horseback as on foot.” The result of this commission
was a strange and motley “weapon-Schawing” in the various
hundreds, when every man who had hanging up by his
fireside, any “armure or weapons mete for the warres,” came
forth in all the bravery he could muster, and was enrolled in
a book, to be sent to the Commissioners, according to his
“hability” and equipment. And, if any poor man was
destitute of even a rusty sword and ill-fitted corslet, and
came unarmed to the field, he was examined as to “ hability”
alone. If he were “stout and deliver,” [i. e., nimble], he
would be returned in the column of “able men,” but if he
were a craftsman of peaceable calling and sober timidity, he
would be deemed and recorded an “artificer,” or a “pyoneer,”
and serve in such humble calling accordingly.
“It is certain,” says Rapin,” “that there are no trained
bands in the world more proper for a bold action than those
of England,” and this opinion is confirmed by the official
returns of these musters in many counties; but unhappily,
in Lincolnshire, this was scarcely the case, in comparison
with some other counties, especially the southern provinces,
* Peck's Desiderata Curiosa. * Vol. II., p. 135.
158 MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE.
as Kent, or Sussex, and, I may add, the royal county of
Berks. This is partly accounted for, as Lord Monson reminds
me, on the natural principle that “the nearer the danger, the
better the patriot.” Still, however, it must be confessed that
our author had too much reason for his sharp rebukes, for we
find that the large county of Lincoln furnished to the defence
of England such a scanty contingent in 1574, as the following
extract from the contemporary register exhibits:*—
Able Men, Armed Men. Selected Mem. Artificers. Pyoneers. Demilances. Light Horse.
6000 608 *se 1300 gºss smºs tº-º-º-º:
Indeed, to so low an ebb was the martial spirit in these
parts reduced, that, as the writer of the MS. declares, “no
contrey that I knowe hathe lesse use daylie, then ours hathe,
eyther of bowe, gunne, or any other warlike weapon; and
beinge not enewred, they are growen to a wonderfull sluggishe
fearfulnes, in so muche that (as the proverbe is) it is as easye
to drawe a beare to a stak [the stake, to which the bear was
chained for baiting] as to bringe a rude Lincolnshier man,
without auctoritye, to theise exercises.”
This lethargic state of un-valour (to use no harsher term)
so stirred up the spirit of some patriotic gentleman of the
parts of Kesteven, evidently of the military profession, and
probably an experienced officer, that he employed his leisure,
about the year 1590, as appears by the MS., in devising a
scheme, or “Platforme,” for arming in a volunteer militia
the “willinge, forwarde, and martiall mynded youthes” of
that district. This curious document has here been printed
with every care in the collation of the text with the original
MS., which is preserved in the possession of Charles Tomkins,
Esq., M.D., F.L.S., of Abingdon, Berks.
I much regret my inability to afford any account of the
author, whose name has not been recorded, the document
itself being abruptly broken off, without any collateral
evidence by which the writer may be identified. It is just,
that I should return my best thanks to the Right Hon.
Lord Monson, the Rev. B. Bandinel, D.D., and Sir Henry
Ellis, for their kind assistance in prosecuting my unsuccessful
* Peck's Desid. Cur., Wol. I., lib. ii.,p. 22.
MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE. 159
inquiries as to the authorship of the MS., and to my friend
Mr. Albert Way, for suggestions as to sources of information.
The MS. had been preserved in a collection of old
family documents, amongst which it was discovered
some years ago; and, having been carefully decyphered and
transcribed, it is now for the first time printed.” It is written
in a very distinct hand, on paper, and embellished with
fanciful borders and decorations, occupying more than nine
closely written folio pages, and it breaks off abruptly in the
tenth page. The style of composition is spirited, and shows
a hearty singleness of aim and patriotic enthusiasm, which
cannot but awaken our fellow-feeling towards so gallant an
“old English Gentleman,” who endeavoured with hearty
good-will to quicken the “wonderfull sluggishe fearfulnes”
of the Fen-countrymen into his own fervent loyalty, and
zealously felt that “there behoved him to set up the standard
of Her Grace.”
HENRY G. TOMIKINS.
PROPOSAL ADDRESSED TO THE GENTLEMEN AND INHABITANTS OF
LINCOLNSHIRE, TO ENCOURAGE THE RAISING OF A VOLUNTEER
FORCE, OR MILITIA, ABOUT THE YEAR 1590.
A PLATFORME FOR THE VOLUNTARIE TRAYNINGE OF THE GENTILMEN AND
OTHER YoUTHEs of THE P'TIES of KESTIVEN” IN THE COUNTIE of
LINCOLNE.
THE proportion, Order and p'vičán," required for the Lawdable Exersise
and warlike Trayninge, of the willinge forwarde & martiall mynded
youthes of the p’ties’ of Kestiven, in this Countie of Lincolne, aswell
gentlemen & yomen as Artificers and husbandmen, wº the manner,
meanes & Order, necessarie to be observed at the tymes of their assemblies,
in their Trayninge & Martiall exersises: how to begin, p’ceed” &
continewe the same wº daylie encrease, aswell in Number, as in order and
* The contractions in the original
where the evident sense of the text ren-
MS. have been retained, with the excep-
dered them desirable.
tion of the terminal contraction in the
* Kesteven is the S.W. division of the
plurals of several words, which, appear- county.
ing by the context to denote — es, has * Provision.
been so printed in extenso, as in pykes, 7 Parts. French, parties.
corslettes, &c. The punctuation has also * Proceed.
been retained, with a few additions only,
160 MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE,
furnyture. A devise althoughe upon a sudden by me rudlie plotted, yett
maye yt in short tyme (as I suppose) by the grave advice of the wyse &
experienced, accrewe to suche p’fection, as shall not onlye be a Pleasante
exercyse and recreation to the actors, & a plawsible Content to the
beholders, but also p’fitable in manye respecttes to our Contrey, and in
tyme maye make yt bothe stronge and famos. To the better execution
wherof not onlye I, but manye others also yonge gentlemen my betters
that be thus resolved, do humblye ymplore and beseche, bothe the honorable
and worshipfull of this our Contrey, to putto their helpinge handes in
some measure, to sett forward theise our good endevoires: the wºn their
Curtesies, we will alwaies have in reverent regarde as our dutie is.
THE CAUSES AND occATIONS MOVINGE US.
Seinge therfore yt hathe pleased thalmightye Creator, to gyve unto us
Englishemen generallie, more then to other Nations, not onlie suche bodies
as be stronge, well p’portioned and deliver,” but coragious hartes, undaunted
spirittes & myſn]des' invincyble by nature; therin surpassinge moste of
thinhabitantes of this greate Globe of the Earthe: wherunto yf exercyse,
knowledge, experience & polycie were annexed (wherin forreymers our neigh-
boures, bothe Dutche, Frenche, Spanyshe & Italians do far surmounte &
surpasseus) I cannot se, Isaye, but yf this great wante in us were supplied,
we should then be farre more fearfull & terrible to our fooes, the better able
(throughe God's assistance) to defende our Contrey in all sudden attemptes
and invations, and the more readie to revenge injuries receyved upon or *
enymies, even at their owne dorres: as by experience of late, we maye Se
to what excellencie in service many of o' contreymen are growen, bothe by
sea & land to their lastinge fame.” wherin for that verie few, or none of us
can possiblie be ymployed, yet lett us resemble them as shaddowes, and
followe them as yt were a farre of, ynytatinge in showe their warlike exer-
cisies: wherbie in tyme thorowe attentyve diligence, we shalbe made more
aptt & readie, and the better p'pared whensoever we shalbe called to sºve
or prince ‘8. Contrey: and therin also not unlyke to ye auncient Romanes,
who were conquero's of ye worlde, furthered therein expetiallie by their
martiall exercises & trayninges in their yonger yeares, and by the strickt
observation of warlike dissiplyne. Lett us therfore (in some measure
thoughe not altogether) leave off our ordinarie vayne, unlawfull & unprofit-
able exercises, wºn besides the losse of tyme that cannott be recovered,
& thoffence of God and all goodmen, hathe brought, eyther to miserable
wantt & extremity, or ells to that wºn is worst, to shamfull deathe &
destrucCón, manye towarde youthes our Contreymen, pper" & actyve men of
p’son," suche as wº good gov'nmt might not onlie, of them selves have lyved
in good estat & condičān,” but also have p'ved” p’fitable members of this
* Nimble. See Prompt. Parv. in V. * Q. Elizabeth. Afterwards called in
* Minds. ? Our. this document “Princes.”
* The writer probably refers to the * Proper. * Person.
exploits of Drake, Howard, Raleigh, &c. 7 Condition. 8 Proved.
MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE. 161
comonwealthe. But to p’ceede, wayinge the worthynes of this exercyse, wº
the small waighte of expences we shalbe putto” for a whole yeare, wch is
but XL for a gentleman, & xIII* IIII" for a yoman, who will make staye
herat 2 or what is this charge in complison of the manifolde soñes, so
lavishlye caste awaye at dice, cardes, tables & Suche like daylie, and yet
notw'standinge we can vaunte & make tryumphe of our losses wout care or
regarde, pynchinge at one penye well ymployed, but makinge no spare of
manye poundes so plunged into that bottomlesse Pytt.
Now lett yt be presupposed, yt upon our humble sutes, by ye sufferance or
allowance of the L* of ye Councell, the Lorde Liueteñnte of or Countrey & ye
favorable furtherance of his L. deputies, we maye be admitted to p’ceede in our
ent'prises, (w'out whose honorable consent we dare' not p’sume to assemble)
that ye same I saye once obtayned, we shall win the space of three yeares
amounte to ye number of xveth. voluntarie sufficient able men for service (as
we tº me them) And all those whin the space of three yeares more, so well
exersised, trayned & experiensed, as any other Contreymen, in lyke or lesse
number whatsoever trayned souldiers in Englande, considering that ye charge
is pryvat & not publique; yea, & muche better (we dare be bolde top'sume)
then manye of our owne Contreymen, that have bene trayned for ye space of
these sixtene yeares past,” under or Ordinarie Muster Mrs,” to the Contrey's
greate & intollerable charge, some one exercyse of this fowrthe p’te of our
Contrey (Kestiven I meane) accrewinge to occoli, charges for the trayninge of
GCCC" men in fower dayes; and yet suche were the moste of theise selected
Souldiers, and suche Somtymes the preposterous p’cedinge in the action,
that manye, or the moste p’te of theise men, wente home as good souldiers
as they came, morover yf our fiftene hundreth men, shall not onlye in sixe
yeares space, be sufficientlie trayned (as before) but all the numbers
furnyshed wº Capteynes, Liueteñntes and other Officers servicable well dis-
Siplyned & instructed: armed also wº swordes, daggers, targettes, corsslettes,
pykes, bowes, arrowes, sculls, “muskettes, Calivers, morlions,” halberdes,
p'tizans" & bills, flasques, mowldes,’ cartages,” powder, bullettes & matche,
convenyent and p’portionable for suche a number of men (a sufficient
Coronells” charge) and all this furnyture, new, stronge, good & well Sutted,'
and fytted for everie man, & that accordinge to their owne choyse and likinge
(wº undoubt[edlie] is one good pollycie in warr) and yet all the same
p'cured & p'vided at our owne private charge, win the lymyttes of our owne
Companye, wout taxinge or burdeninge or Contrey wº one penye, other then
voluntarie they will yealde and bestowe. Yf this maye come to effectt
(as afforseide) and as there is hope & greate liklihoode that yt maye: looke
then what difference you shall fynde in theise complisons?” for tyme:
betwixte vi yeares and sixtene; folr number, betwixt coccºh & Xveth; for
* Shall be put to. * Steel scull-caps.
* darre, or darst, MS., indistinct. * Morions.
* The instructions for general muster * Partizans.
issued in 15 Eliz. 1572, but the earliest 7 Bullet-moulds.
record of numbers in training bears date * Cartridges.
1574, precisely corresponding with this 9 Colonel.
statement. ! Suited.
* Masters. * Comparisons.
M
162 MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE.
furnyture: * betwixt the new stronge [brighjte well fitted and serviceable
Armor of the one, and the olde, rustye, thynne, crasie unfytt & unserviceable
furnytſ of the other, and so muche difference we doubte not but you shall
fynde & then see to be approved, in the choyce of the men, in the disposi-
tion of their weapons, in their knowledge and martiall use of the same, and
in their readie serviceable & skillfull execution, Suche as becomethe volun-
tarie men to have. Suppose then wº us, that this our purposed intendm'
maye have this yssue, what nede shall there be afterward of any musters,
vewinge of armor, chargable Trayninges or further charge for service in our
Contrey? Seinge this charge wilbe more then ever was ymposed upon us, &
this number greater then at any tyme hathe bene requiered, by a thowsande
men in this fowerth p’te of the Shier, and consequentlie by MMMM in the
whole, yf the residue of our Contrey wilbe as readie to pursew, as we to
p'ceede, & to followe us, as we are resolved to gyve good ensample to them.
Butt I feare it will fall out to be verie difficulte for us to bringe to the
harvest or harmlesse intentions, yf by any meanes we be never so litle
crossed or resisted: consideringe the greate wantes in manye of our Contre-
men farr above others, beinge never exercised or experienced in anythinge
belonginge to martiall dissiplyne, for no contrey that I knowe hathe lesse
use daylie, then ours hathe eyther of Bowe, Gunne, or any other warlike
weapon; and beinge not enewred," they are growen to a wonderfull sluggishe
fearfulnes, in so muche that (as the p’verbe is) it is as easye to drawe a
Beare to a stak[?], as to bringe a rude Lincolnshier man wout auctoritye,
to theise exercises. So that we muste eyther use all good meanes & pollicies
in layinge our Platforme: otherwise we maye be assured, bothe to begyn
and ende theise tragicall showes our selves.
CoNSIDERAc'ONS TO BE HAD of TYME, DAYES, & PLACE.
We muste therefore principallye have Consideračán, of the tyme of the
yeare, of the Dayes appointed for Trayninge, and of the Places where wilbe
moste convenient to make our assemblies.
TYME. THE SPRINGE TyME ONLYE.
For the Tyme the Springe is the best (in my Judgm'), for then the ayer is
moste template,” the wether and waies are comonlye faier, and the dayes be
then at the longest: so that wº us in the Contrey, after Seede tyme and
before Harvest is moste convenient.
DAYES. THREE.
The dayes of our Trayninge woulde be but fower" at the moste, espetiallie
when our companies are growen to a greate number, for avoydinge of
charges, trouble & hinderance of the artificers, laborers and porer sorte:
Holydaies therefore be moste mete for o' exercyses, and nether the work-
daies nor the Sabothes in any wise, yf we pºphane' the Lordes daye we
shalbe guyltie before God, yf we assemble on ye workdaies we shall
* Accoutrements. * Inured. * Temperate.
6 Four. 7 Profane.
MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE. 163
endamage the comofi state of or Countrey: the daies yº be thought most
mete, be the Mondaye in Easter weke, the first daye of maye, and mondaye
or Tewsdaye in Whitsonweeke.
THE PROVITION OF WEAPONs AND ARMOR, & OTHER FURNITURE FOR THE
WHOLE NUMBERs, How & BY WHAT MEANES, IT MAY BE P'VIDED &
P'FECTTED.
Forasmuche as we are in good hope, to have our bandes encreased to a
Coronells charge as before, & seinge for that number ther is required 450
armed Pikes, 150 Billes, 300 Bowes, & 600 shotte : the p’vition of weh
furnyture wilbe verie costlie & chargable, besides xviren Drummes, xviren
antientes or ensignes, 48 halberdes, 24 muskettes, XV leadinge staves,” xv
Javelins or halffe pykes, 30 Partizans, II° brave morlions wº pluñes, & two
targettes of p'ſfe,” for the generalls, eighte harqueb'z' on Crookes,” VIIIti
duble muskettes & twelve chambers, morover two brave & costlye suttes
of riche app’ell,” for the two Generalls, furnished in all gallant manner, wº
Caparisons for their horsses, and furniture for their footmen, all to make a
strange, heroyacall 4 & magnifique showe, for to countenance & content the
companye, & fullye to Satisfie the beholders, wº admiration, and to enforce
them (as yt were) to a gratfull contentm', wherby they wilbe made more
readie & willinge at all assaies to advance our enterprises. I wilbe bolde
therfore to cast a rate, of supposed charges and disbursmtes, and to satisfie
& discharge the same, suche yearlie receiptes contributions & cessmtes, as
moste willinglie & gratfullye wilbe yealded & paied. and wheras I shall
sett downe some benevolences & yearlie contributions to be had, at
thandes, of the comissioners of the peace, of the Cheiffe Constables of
Hundredes, and of everie Townshippe win Kestiven, Sofie Captious
Reader, maye p'adventure herupon cavill wº us & Saye, these youthes
p'mised erwhile that they woulde not be burdenous to their Contrey, but
loe, how longe dothe this coveſinte contynew 2 we maye well answere;
that this is a benevolence & not a burden, yealded willinglie, & not collected
upon comandm' & constrainte, by payinge to us one penye, they save to
them selves a Pownde, besides muche labor, travell & daylie charge, wherof
we ease them, and also by our martiall exercises, shall not onlie p'cure to
ev'ye Kestyven [man] bothe prayse & thankes from all men: but also great
securitye to everie one, bothe generallye & p’ticularlye, by reason of this
Arminge & trayninge of all their lustye and able men, this answere I hope
will satisfie ev'ye reasonable man.
* A light kind of javelin or long- an account of the rest, and of the Arque-
handled weapon for the officers. bus à Croc, Archaeologia, vol. xxii, pp.
9 Proof. 66, 67, 102.
* Harquebuses. * Apparel. 4 Heroical.
* Rests to support them in firing. See * The hands.
M 2
164: MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE.
THE RATE OF ALL CHARGES & DISBURSSM*, SUCHE AS THE CoMPANIE
SHALBE BURDENED W*ALL, FOR THE TERME OF SIXE YEARES, W* WILBE
A SUFFICIENT COMPLEM*.
Imp'mis for 450 flanders Corsslettes & Pykes at xxvii” ye pece ſº tº . Dcli
Itſäfor 150 Bills & 150 sculls" at xvd le pece, II* vi" both tº g . . xx"
Itin for 300 Bowes furnished, at viº. 84 le pece . tº º . . . cli
Itfi for 600 Calivers furnished, at xx" le pece . . tº º sº . . Dch
Itm for 17 Drummes, at xx" le Drum . tº * ſº ſº § e . xviili
Itm for 2 silke Ensignes, at v, le pece § e e tº e * . . xli
Itm for 15 Ensignes of bowlter, at xxv, le pece . & * & © ... xviiili
Itm for 48 halberdes fringed & armed, at Ivs le pece . tº tº & . . xli
Itfi for 24 muskettes furnished, at xxxv, le pece . wº & g 9 . xlii
Itin for 15 leadinge staves gilte & silke fringd, at 8° le pece . º © . . will
Itm for 15 Javelins, at vis 8d le pece * º gº tº g e . vli
Itm for 30 Partizans, at v1° virid le pece . * & © * tº . . xli
Itm for 8 harqueb'z on crookes, at x* le pece . e g sº e g . vli
Itm for 8 duble muskettes, at x* le pece . is tº e © g . . vli
Itm for 12 chambers, at x* le pece & sº tº º e tº tº ... wili
Itm for 2 targettes & 2 morlions, wº plumes º & e e g . . xli
Itfin for two suttes for the two generalls . * g e º * & . Li
Itm for Caparisons for their horses wº plumes . * * e & . . xx"
Itfi for two suttes for to furnishe their footmen . g sº tº se ... xli
Itſä yearlie charges to drumes, fyffes, trumpeters, musitions, fensers & fier M's 8 at
wi" xIII" Ivº le yeare, in sixe yeares . & g * e e . . xiii
Itim for ye yearlie rent of an house for our armorie at III" p. anii . º . xviiili
Itfifor ye dressinge, trymminge, & kepinge of o' armo' yearlie v'. g . . xxx"
Itäfor Powder for the feilde peces yearlie, v' in six yeares . ge & . xxxii
Summa. MDCLX"
I thought good in this manner to sett downe in p’ticulers, everie thinge,
yº our companye shalbe generallye charged w'all, that everie one maye see
the sofie" & help forwardes to the fynall finishinge herof, the wº"althoughe
yt shall seeme to great a charge in soñe mens eyes, beinge thus at large
somfied together, yet in truthe, in complison of many wayne & unp'fitable
expenses that we willinglye put our selves unto yearlie, this in Respectt
therof is nothinge: lett everie man therfore thinke upon his owne p’ticuler
charge herin yearlie, & lett this generall sofie lye in Oblivion, so shall yt
nether trouble us nor staye us. manye waies also will this generall charge
be eased, as one waie for yt sondrye of our Souldiers, espetiallye the
haqueb'ziers, the Bowmen & Billmen, will most willinglie furnishe
them selves, because they will have the use & Custodie of their owne
weapons, many drummes, Trumpettes & others also will serve wºout wages,
gratfullye, muche wilbe saved also in the three firste yeares of the charges
sett downe, and lastlie untill our abilytie will extende, to make our full
p'vision of all thinges of they earlie cessm”, we maye be bolde to borrowe
manye thinges yt wilbe readilie lent us.
* Scull-caps. bered guns, Archaeol., vol. xxviii., pl. 21.
* A kind of cannon, fitted with separate * Fencers, sometimes termed whifflers,
receptacles for containing the charge, and to keep the ground at reviews, and fire-
attached to the breech, after being loaded, workers to make petards, &c.
by bolts. See representations of cham- 9 Sum.
MILITARY MUSTERs, LINCOLNSHIRE.
TES 1
THE RATE of THE YEARLY CESSM
AND CONTRIBUTIONs.
Imp'mis” of 30 principall officers xls a pece yearlie, in sixe yeares. cockLi
Itin” of 15 Captens of hundredes, yearlie xxx." A pece. ut s’ cxxxvii
Ità of 15 Lieuten’ntes, yearlie xx" le pece, 15 § º Lxxxx"
Itm of 15 Ensigne bearers at xiirº IIII'le p’ce, x', in six yeares. Lxli
Itim of 30 Sergeantes, at x* le p’ce, xvi yearlie, in 6 yeares Lxxxxii
Itſä of 60 Corporalls, at viº 8° le p. xx! in 6 y's . tº tº º cxxii
Itm of 120 Disners,” at III* IIII" le pce xx! . . e & © cxxii
Itm of evºye Comission of ye Peace, yºlye xx, 20 Com'ss' xx! . cxxii
Itm of evºye Cheiffe constable. 18. yºlye v". IIII' x* . § tº . xxvii'i
Itm of evºye Townshippin Kestiven in number aboute ** Townes, at x*le
Towne one wº an other, yearlie Lxxx. in sixe yeares . . . . . cccCLXxx"
Itſm all benevolentes, giftes, rewardes, penalties, forfaytures &c that be
casuall & not certen, we valew to x1 yearlie, in sixe yeares • CCXL
MDCCCXXII"
ccLxxvii. xIII* IIII"
The yearlie expences after our numbers be complete will amount to
li
CCCVII
The yearlie receiptes then, maye likwise amounte to the some of .
PROVISION FOR THE COMMON SOULDIERs,
We muste have great regarde & a p'vident carfulnes, even evºye one of
the Seide superiors & officers, to se to the good usage of our comon Souldiers,
we muste be familiar, affable, curteise" & gentle to ev'ye one of them, we
muste comforte them, exhorte them, cofiende & praise them in all
their acóóns," thoughe at the first they execute them but meanlie,
still anymatinge them to p’ceede & to learne wº all dilligence to
better & supplie their wantes ageinst the next exersyſs]e:’ we will take
order wt the Townsmen where we shall trayne, (by the Surveyor of our
Victuells and his deputie,) that a souldier shall not paye above IIIrd for a
meale, & yet to farewell; nor in the Towne for his drinke any more then
one peny for a full quart of beare or alle ; and in the feilde for his drinke
not above one peny for a potle, & yet ye same to be good & holsome
beere; everie supper is to be rated at IIII'd & breakfast at IIId so yºye charges
of everie souldier for one myght & one daye is VIII" and yf he staye ye
seconde night, then VII" more, or VIII" at ye moste, payinge nothinge for his
bedd: thus, our souldiers, yt dwell win VI miles of the place of thexercyse,
shall spende for their charges at ev'ye trayninge but VIII", and those yº
dwell further of, xv.d the harqueb'ziers wilbe put to more charges, then
other their fellowes, by reason of thexpence of powder, viz. for ev'ye daye
of trayninge, VId for halffe a lb. of powder, therfore, so muche as maye be,
the shott would be selected & chosen in those Townes next adjoyninge to
ye place of exercise, for easinge their charge. Sixe shott wilbe sufficient
for a harqueb'zier to discharge in one daye, viz II° in the Towne and fower
in the feild, weh amounteth in all to sixe thowsande & sixe hundreth
shott, at 1° le shott, toto xv", besides, dagges,” pistolls, muskettes & feilde
* Assessments. * Imprimis. * Item.
* Disners, or deseners, officers commanding ten men (decem).
* Courteous. * Actions. 7 Exercise.
* A dag was a kind of pistol, with the stock shaped somewhat like that of a
carbine. See Archaeologia, xxii, p. 89.
166 MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE.
peces. Everye Bowman muste have two or three arrowes fethered at bothe
endes, for the skirmoches and battells, and that is his charge; the other
sortes Pikes and Bilmen are at no more charge then before: we nede not
make a generall assemblie, of all the bandes, at one place, any more then
once in the yeare, except by gen’all consent yt shalbe otherwise deter-
mined, neither yet at ev'ye tyme to arme our men, meanes to kepe our
armor the better, & to ease our men.
The Officers muste be suche, as wilbe paynfull, dilligent & readie to
instruſc]t everie one, bothe wº exhortation & demonstration, the souldiers
muste be made flexible & docible” by all good meanes, to receyve their
instrucööns & to execute the same: the manner & Order of their trayminge
& instrucóón is here to longe,' to muche & to tedious to sett downe in
these notes, yt shall therfore be referred to better leysure & other tyme
& place of our firste convenčán, where shalbe sett forthe at full, for ev'ye
one to vewe, how we entend to begin and p’ceede.
PLACE, AT SOME MARKETT Town E.
As for the Place, at our firste entrance yt is not materiall where yt be,
consideringe that our first convenčán wilbe but slender, not above one
hundreth p’sons: but when our cohorttes be encreased to fower or fyve
hundred, then we muste have our meetynges at some markett Towne,
eyther Grantham or Sleforde, for that theise Townes stande in the harte &
midle of Kestiven, & therin be many youthes & muche necessarie furniture
for our uses. At the Place of our assemblies, we entend everie morninge
before we repaier to the feilde to heare a Sermon, the Preacher wherof
beinge before hand prepared to commend that our exercyse, muste above
all p’swade us to modest, quyett and peacable behavior, to voluntarye
obedience and readie submission to good orders, to avoyed excesse in all
thinges, and espetiallye so to behave our selves, that our actions may
redownde to the glorie of God, to the readiers'vice of our gratious Prince,
to the goode ensample of others, and to make our Contrey more stronge
and forcable ageinste all Romishe Rebells: thus we entend to begin & plceed.
CIVILL Poll.ICYES, FOR GovernINGE & AUGMENTINGE Y” NUMB.
We will also, after our numbers be encreased, Crave the assistance,
countefince & companye of Sofie of the Commissioners & Justices of our
Contrey, whose presence wilbe a bridle to those that be obstinate, rashe
or unrulie amongst us, and who soeverwill not be obedient in submittinge
him selffe to the Orders and lawes approved, shalbe sequestred from our fel-
lowshipp & abandoned o' companye, untill he reconsile him selffe w sub-
mission & duble cessm’.” we will under a payne forbid all swearinge,
blasphemie, fightinge, brawlinge, & disdaynfull scornfulnes, that suche as
be unskillfull amongst us, yonge Scholars & movices, maye be admonished
wt gentilmes as a fellowe souldier to reforme them selves: everie Officer
teachinge and instructinge those y' be under ther charge, wº all affabillytie
° Docile. * Too long, &c. * Double contribution.
MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE. 167
& gentilnes, havinge alwaies in mynde y' we be all voluntary men, & not
pressed nor constrayned to be under obeysance and comande one of
another, otherwise, by ye neglectinge of this gentle pollicye, we shall not
onlye stand at a staye wout augmentacán of our numbers, but also shall in
short tyme have our fellowshipp dissolved and diminished to nothinge : we
will utterlye banishe all Papistes from amongst us, & all notorious evill
disposed p’sons: we doubte not but so to behave ourselves, in our orderlie,
souldierlike dissipline & governm', yº never any outrage shalbe suffered or
cofiytted amongst us, whatsoever we do, shalbe done in an overtt place,
before the Comissioners, by their direction & allowance, & before ye face
of all ye contrey: we will wº all reverend regarde forsee, that ev'y one
behave him selffe sob'lye and peacablye, in all humble obedience to or
gratious sovereigne, her Males Lawes, magistrates and officers, vowinge &
p'testinge generallye & p’ticularlie, y' our spetiall intentes and purposes in
theise our acóns", is onlye the better to enable our selves, to sºve her Maſie
& our Contrey: and when soever we shalbe ymployed to spende our bloude
& our lyves (moste deare to us) in the defence of her highnes Royall p’son,
and of her moste godlie & Christian p'cedinges: and he that will not resolve
thus wº him selffe, God in mercie Soone alter him or ells in Justice
confownd him.
For the better upholdinge of this our Platforme, for the furnishinge
of o' banddes in tyme, wº drums, Ensignes, armor & weapons con-
venyent, for payinge of wages & dispatchinge all charges: we will by
generall consent, ympose upon everie one A cessm' or yearlie contri-
bution, accordinge to ev'ye mans abillytie & office, viz. of all the principall
Officers of the feilde to the number of thirtye, xLs a pece yearlie, of
everie Capteyne of one hundred men xxxs yearlie, of everie Lieutefinte
xxs, of everie Ensignebearer XIIIs IIIId, of everie Sergeant Xs, of everie
Corporall VI* VIIId, of everie Disner IIIs IIIId, theise ymposisitions (sic) to
be diminished upon occasion, but never to be augmented, and the same
to be payable not above sixe yeares, for in that space we hope fullye to
furnishe our selves in moste brave & forcible maner, and after that tyme the
charge wilbe small, and yett our furniture wilbe greate & gallant, & Suche
as in or Contrey the like was never seene before. we will use all pollicie
& good husbondrie “in makinge our p'vičán, bothe for tyme, place & p’sons
(ordinarie meanes to pull downe the prises of all thinges) &, beinge had,
we will take order for the good usage & saffe custodie therof wº great
regarde, and the same we entende to continewe & leave to our Successors,
that shall supplie our places & to our Contrey for ever, weh we suppose
will amounte to ye valew of two thowsande m'kes in the Seide sixe yeares.
Some poltique (sic) meanes muste be used also for the spedye supplie of the
wańtes that shalbe in or numbers and severall bandes, wch devise maye not
be p'crastinated, yf we entende to atcheive & bringe to sofie good p’fection
theise our ymplottmtes” in sixe yeares space, seinge we have for everie yeare
but three or fower dayes at the most, and those muste be spent rather in
exercyse then exhortation: in my opinion therfore yt shalbe best, at our
first convenčán & assemblie, to appointe for the first yeare, not any generalls,
* Actions. * Frugality. * Schemes.
168 MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE.
but two Coronells, for either divition one, theise to have either of them an
Auncyent" & a druñe, and under either of theise Colonells, shalbe fyve
Capteines of hundredes or tenne Centurions in the whole, theise Centurions
shall have tenne Lieutefintes, twentye S'geantes & fortye Corporalls (yf so
manye apte & meete men will in that tyme be had for those places) we
will have but one S'geant Major for ye martiallinge & trayninge of our
small number, one Threasaurer' for collection of the Cessm"es, one Mr of
thordinance or lieutefinte for the Custodie of our p'vičán, one Muster Mr
for callinge the severall banddes & kepinge a Boke of the numbers, one
Srveyor of the victuells, for makinge p'vition for the Companye. theise
Officers do amounte in number to LXXXXIon p’sons. All theise, and
whosoever ells, shalbe at our firste exercises, muste be p’swaded to do
their uttermost endevoier, to encrease our numbers daylie, by all goode
meanes & plausible p’swations they can use : Everie Centurion or Capten
of one hundred muste be tolde, that their bandes muste no otherwise be
furnished, then by the p"curm” & dilligence of them selves & their under
officers, and that when their bandes be encreased to fiftye, then shall they
have a drumme delivered, and, upon the accomplishm' of their full number,
they shall Receyve their Ensigne or Ancyent, & not before: no man shalbe
enforced to sºve under any Capteyne ageinst his will, but I suppose yt to be
the best pollicye, to gyve that lib'tie to everie inferior to make choyce of his
Superior, onlesse the numbers be full & complete before, then he is to make
a second choyce: this is the readiest waye in shorte tyme to accomplishe
o" number, in my simple Judgmt: wº this Cawtion & forwarninge notwſ-
standinge, that none be Receyved to sºve under any Ancyent, but suche as
be p'per men of p’son, actyve & delever for shott, & for armed men, suche
as be stronge & well p’portioned.
THE DIVISION OF WEAPONs
IN EVERE HUNDRED OR CENTURIONS CHARGE, viz.:
Men. Pykes, Bylles. Bowes. Shotte.
100 30 10 20 40
200 60 20 40 80
300 90 30 60 120
400 120 40 80 160
500 150 50 100 200
600 180 60 120 240
700 210 70 140 280
800 240 80 160 320
900 270 90 180 360
1000 300 100 200 400
1 100 330 1 10 220 440
1200 360 120 240 480
1300 390 130 260 520
1400 420 140 280 560
1500 450 150 300 600
* Ensign. 7 Treasurer. * Procurement.
MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE. 169
BREIFFE NOTES OF TRAYNINGE.
As firste to teache everie souldier, to knowe his furniture, bothe armor
& weapon, & ev'ye p’te & plcel therof, by name, then how wº expedition, on
a sudden, to arme him selffe therwº, & to that ende to have it in a readines,
then the use therof everie waye, for the defence of him selffe & thoffence of
his enimye, thus knowinge his armor, how to arme him selffe therwº, & the
use therof: he muste then learne his dutie to his Capteyne, to his lieutefinte
in his absence, & to all other ye inferior Officers; he muste be admonished
to followe & not for any pell” to forsake his Ensigne: he muste have
dilligent care to the severall sowndes of ye Druńe & muste be taughte to
knowe them p'fectlie & to distinguishe them : he muste have understandinge
of the lawes of the feild, y' he maye be more apt to obs’ve them, and
knowinge the penalties, more fearfull to transgresse them; he muste knowe
what an honor it is to him, to be called to the degre of a souldier, how
therbye he is made a Champion for God's Churche, for the state, & for the
Comonwealthe : he muste be taughte, the spetiall ornamentes of a souldier,
bothe to knowe them & practize them, that is silence, obedience, secretye, (?)
sobrietie, hardines, & truthe: he muste then be brought to the feilde &
there by demonstracán & ymitation,' be made readie & p'fectt, to marche
forwarde, to Retire backwarde, to dubble the rankes, to redouble them in
order, to staye upon the sudden, to stand firmlye, to turne everie waye, to
gyve a charge, & retire Safflye & to rerecharge the enimye, to assaulte
feirslye, to pursue spedilye, to Invade the Enemye, to prease" upon him, to
compasse him & to fighte under his Ensigne; in skirmoche” to marche
lustilye, to traversse warelye, to charge spedelie, to discharge surlie," to torneº
quicklye, to Retyre safflye, to recharge readilye & to do all this boldlye.
for to advance his Pike, to Cowche ye same, to crosse for horsmen, to pushe
at footmen, & to tosse the same bravelye. to bende his Bowe, to unsheffe
his arrowe, to nocke yt spedilye, to drawe stronglye, to ayme surlye, to lowse
sharplie, to strick deadlye. theise, and manye other necessarie poyntes to
be observed, muste in tyme & by measure & leasure be learned of our
unskillfull Contremen, the wºn to atcheve & bringe to passe, for my pºte I
will do my uttermoste endevoier, accordinge to my small skill & experience,
hopinge that some worthie & sufficient souldiers will conjoyne wº me & my
fellowes, to supplye our wantes and to helpe to bringe to sofie good p’fection
theise our enterprises, web doubtles wilbe a comendable stratageme.
THE OFFICERS NEDFULL AND REQUISITE To BE HAD, ASWELL FOR SHOWE,
COUNTENANCINGE AND CONTENT OF THE COMPANYE, As For WARLIKE
DISSIPLYNE.
The better to governe our selves in theise our exersises, we muste nedes
have a certen forme or shaddowe of Warlike Dissiplyne, whiche in theise
rude notes I will but touche breifflye, Protractinge yt at large to be
augmented, when as our numbers be growen to fower or fyve hundred : in
9 Peril. * Press. * Surely.
* Imitation. * Skirmish. 5 Turn.
170 MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE.
the meane time thus muche I sett downe, referringe yt to the reformaćn
of others more experienced & considerate.
Forasmuche, as in scarmochinge & ymbattallinge one ageinste another, we
mustenedes sever our selves into two Cohortes: yt is necessarie therfor
that we shoulde have equall sortes of martiall officers on eyther side, viz."
* Generalls or Grand Capteines, two . e e º º . 4li
* Martialls of the feilde, two . tº tº tº tº e . . 4
* Generalls of the horsmen, tw * tº * * & & ... 4
* Threasaurers, two º g º e & g ſº . . 4
* Mrs of the Campe, two . º e g ſº g * ... 4 li
—XX*
* Coronells generall, two e g sº e t § 4
* Mrs of the munytion, two & º & g tº . 4
* Sergeant Majors, two . sº * * * tº º . . 4
* Muster Mrs, two . & e 4
* Surveyors of the victuells, two . 4 li
—XX*
* Corporalls of the feilde, fower . © tº & e º ... 8
* Clarkes of the Armye, two . tº & g g sº . . 4
* Lieutefintes of the horse, two . ę & te * e ... 4
* Provost martialls, two . e e * & * tº . . 4 li
—XX*
* Lieutefintes of thordinance, two tº g e * . . . 4
* Under Coronells, fower & & * º © * . . 8
* Captens of the garde, two ge e gº e ſº º . 4
* Lieutefintes of the garde, two . g * g {e . . 4 li
—xx"
The Cessm'tes of these fortie principall officers is Lxxx" yearlie, in sixe
yeares cocc Lxxxx".
* Standerd bearers for yºgen'alls, two tº e ë tº . 3li
* Cornettes for the horsmen, two } e e tº . . 3
* Capteynes of hundredes, fifteme . tº & & & . 30 105
+ Lieuten’nts under them, 15 g e * & g . . 15
+ Ensigne bearers, 15 . tº tº tº & e © ... 10
+ Sergeantes of bandes, 30 . & & * gº e . . 15
+ Corporalls under them, 60 . g * # e & . 20
† Drumes for the generalls, 2
: Drommes for the Centurions, 15
+ Disners, or Desenners, 120 º * tº e * . . 201i
§ Gunners for ye feilde peces, 4
§ Armorers for ye munition, 2
° Fyer Mrs for fierworkes, 2
° Fencers or Swordplaiers, to make roome, 2
° Trumpeters, 4, 6, or 8
Q
Sagbuttes & cornettes in fee, one moysey
° Hooboyes, in fee, one noyse.
Inferior Officers yearlie cviii". x", in six yeares Dcli".
Places for gentilmen Lxxvi; places for yomen ccxxv. Of the garde xlviii halb'des, musketers
24 in all of ye garde Lxxii. at 111° Ivº le pece, in A9 xII* LxxII*-all these paye yearlie co*
in sixe yeares Mccº. tot'lis MMLx* all yºlie coczlº.
* The officers enumerated in this list this document, although the intention is
are classified by distinctive marks, pre- not apparent. They probably referred to
ceding their several designations. This some later part of the MS. not preserved.
distinction has been retained in printing 7 Band. See Nares' Glossary, v. Noise.
MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE. 171
PERTICULER RATES FOR VI YEARES.
The yearlie Collections, amountinge to GCCL*, as we are in good hope yt
will growe to no lesse, yf the seide contributions wilbe paied, before
Candlefis next, 1591, and so yearlie alwaies before the springe, for seven
yeares space together, we will upon the Receipte therof precentlye make our
p'vičán, accordinge to theise p’ticuler yºlye rates followinge, viz:
R’ at Candlems, 1591, cccL" first yeare.—(cccd.c. men & one garde, margin.)
Wherwº buye co* Calivers furnished for xxs le pece, all new & good . . ccº
Itm cºh bowes, so manye sheffes of arrows & cºh redd cappes at 8° le furniture xl."
Itin coºh single pikes, at II* viºle pike ſº tº º e tº . . xxvii
ItinyxIIII" halberdes, at 4° le pece for ye garde . & e {} gº . xli
Itm one silke ensigne for ye generall . º º • e º . . viili
Itin fyve ensignes of bowlter,” at xl.” p’ce . g e e e te ... xli
Itin for fyve leadinge staves . * > * * e tº º tº . . Lº
Itm for fyve small Javelins at vs tº tº † gº t © e ... XXV8
Itin for tenne p’tizans at viº 8° le pece . ſº g tº º . . . III, vis80
Itm for xxi.111° hattes & fethers & so manye redd mandillions,” for ye garde, at
xx" le p’ce e e e g e tº gº e tº xxIIIIli
for sixe drumes at xx" le pece ſº © e tº º te . . will
for hattes, fethers & scarffes for ye sixe auncientes at xxs le pece . ſº ... wili
for a leadinge staff & Javelin for ye Capten & lieutefint of the garde . . . xv.
for hattes & fethers for v1 drumes & * º te º te wº . XL*
disburss” for ce” of powder at Ixº le ib, with 8* IIII" & cariage ob’ le th virs
vid g 8li
Allowe for ye dryinge ye seide powder ob’le thy' is viſº VI" & deliver it to ye
shott for XII* the pound so gayned xxx" g e o
e
charges in buying the seid p’vićon . ſº e g e te g . . vili
Sma cocliili
R’ at Candl's, 1592, cocL", second yeare.—(occc. ye generalls & their gardes, xlviii, margin.)
for co calivers furnished . º tº ſº † & & e & . ccli
for c bowes furnished . e xLi
for xxiiII halberdes, xxHII hattes, fethers & mandillions for ye garde, all grene! Yxx"
for 3 auncientes, 3 drummes, 3 leadinge stafs, 3 javelins, vi p’tizans, hattes
fethers & scarffes for ye auncientes, hattes & feth's for driºus?. ſº . xviiji
furniture for yºgenºalls owne p’sons . tº * > g 4- © . . Li
for their targettes & morlions tº g tº ſº e * gº . xiji
charges in makinge this p'vićon ye seid viljº R' for powder . e . . 8'i
Sma cocLH
R’ at Candlems, 1593, cocL*. thirde yeare.—(Mcc men, muskettes xxiiII. xi, corslettes, margin.)
li
for c bills, cred mandillions & capps . g g º © e e • L
for c bowes furnished in grene . gº * g e g º . . xl."
for XXIIIj muskettes furnished & 24 fethers. & & º te e . xlvii
for c bills furnished wº grene te tº ſº tº ſº º * . . Li
for C single pikes s & Cº. . . . . . . . xij" x*
for 4 auncientes, 4 drums, 4 lead’g staffes, 4 javelins, 8 p’tizans, hattes, fethers
& scarffes as before . º tº * tº ge § e xxiiiji
Caparisons for ye generalls horses e t & g e e * . xxii
furniture for their pages & footmen e {º sº * & e . . xvii
for Lx corsslettes, at xxxiijº IIIjd lepece . tº (e º i.e. tº ... cli
charges in makinge this p’vićon . gº tº e o e * . . wili
charges at ye generall trayninge. . . . • * e e . xvli
Sma cocLxxx"
car" 8 xxx" therfore we must buye but x1 corslettes.
* Probably the same as bowltel, a * Coats.
coarse tissue, according to Mr. Halliwell, * One of the Tudor colours.
possibly because used for making sieves * Sic, Drums, i.e. drummers.
or “bulter-cloths.” See Kennett's Glos- * Caret, 30:6. deficient.
sary, Paroch. Antiqu. under that word.
172 MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE.
R’ at Candleſfis, 1594, cocl.", fowerth yeare.
wherw' buye cº single pykes . . . . . . . xii! 2"
ccº calivers furnished . . . . . . . . . . ccº
Lx corsslettes. sº
three ancientes, 3 drumes, glear st & javelins & v1 p’tizans,hatts, fethers & scarffs xviii"
charges in all . sº
- cli
xxii
Sãa cccLH
In the beginnyng of this IIIIth yeare ye genºalls wilbe fully furnished, their gardes LXXII. fur-
(nished) pc calivers, ccc bowes, cc Billes, czz Pikes all fully furnished, capteines
lieutfintes, Sergentes, auncyentes & drumes, then is there ccLxxx single pikes unfur-
nished, in all about MDCC men
R’ at Candlems, 1595, cccL."fifte yeare.
wherw' buye clxxx. corslettes g * g º ©
xxIIII chambers
powder for them . gº tº
charges in all . e e &
R’ at Candlems, 1596, coc'L sixte yeare.
for c, corslettes & gº
for xxHII. duble muskettes .
for powder . * & *
for rent for ye Armorie II° yrs
cocº
xvili
IIIIli
xxxii
SIf a cocli
clxxx"
Lli
vli
vili
xli
for keping yº armor º *
for wages to trumpettes, drums, fyer M*, gunn’rs, fencers, and to musitions &c. x."
for two Robynettes © e & &
for wheles & cariage for ye duble muskettes .
ir e
powder this yeare . º e e o e e ©
wages ordinarie o gº * tº
charges of p'vićon. & gº º g &
xiili
e . . viii"
vili
xxii
xLi
Sma cocili
Thus in sixe years have we MDCC men furnished, viz.:
Calivers .
Pykes
Bowes
Bylles
Halberdes
Muskettes . e &
Javelins or Halfe Pykes
Partizans . g gº
Targettes for Capteynes
Aunncyentes & Drumms *
Other Officers furnished . * ge
DC
CCCC
CCC
CC
xlviij
XXIIIj
XVIJ
XXX
XX
xxxvi
XXX.
Toto MDcc men
How THE CAPTAYNES AND OFFICERS AFFORSEIDE SHALBE YMPLOYED.
A GENERALLS OFFICE.
There shalbe two generalls or grande Capteines, over eyther devition
one, Eyther of them shall have the comandm', leadinge & orderinge of
eighte hundreth men at the leaste, under either of them ther wilbe an
hundreth and fiftye officers, and sixe hundreth & fiftye comon souldiers:
theise havinge place & plemynence" above all shalbe honored & attended
accordinglye, they shall have their gen’all druñes, & their Standerdes or
Ensignes of silke, their collowres shalbe, the one white & grene, signyfy-
* Pre-eminence.
MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE. 173
inge the pure Virginytye of our Royall Princes,’ & the p'petuytie of her
flowringe Vertues, alwaies grene & florishinge, & daylie in their Vernall
encreasinge: thother shalbe whyte & redd, signifyinge the whyte & redd
roses the Princelie cognizances of the two dutchies of Yorke & Lancaster,
now happilye unyted in her Matie. under weh colloures p'stratinge" our selves
at her highnes feete, in all humble Obedience, we her highnes most
faythfull subjecttes, bothe capteines & souldiers, do offer or poore sºrvice &
to spende or lyves in the defence of her Royall p’son, and therfore have we
bene bolde, thoughe altogether unworthye, to make choyse of theise coloures,
prayinge p’don for our presumption. theise our generalls shall have their
Gardes, consistinge of fortie eighte halberders & twentye & fower musketers
equallye devided betwixt them, wº their Capteynes and Lieutefintes over
them : they shalbe gallantlie & ritchlye appointed for the honor of the
Companye, they shall reteyne this prehemynence but for two dayes, viz, at
two trayninges of their followers, the one pryvat, the other publique: after
w” others shall succeed in their places.
THE MARTIALLS OFFICIE.
The martialls muste not onlye take care & charge of ye orderinge,&
martiallinge of all the Squadrons, mayne Battles, trowps, wynges, sleves, &
forlornhopes, both of ye horsmen & footmen, in ranges & arraye (for ye next
under ye grand Capteynes they maye gen’allye controll:) But espetiallye
must censure all misdemeanors of all under officers and souldiers, and for
grevous defaultes muste sett downe penalties & forfaytures of money,
accordinge to or Lawes agreed upon for the feilde: wherof he or his
p'vost martiall shall gyve notice to ye Clarke of ye armye, yt it may be pº
accordinglye to thandes’ of ye Treasaurer.
THE OFFICE OF THE GENERALL OF THE HORSMEN.
The Generalls of the horsmen, be so called, not for y' we entende to have
any horsmen of s'vice in our Companyes, but for this cause espetiallye, for
yº we knowe ther wilbe at all or publique or generall Trayninges manye
horsmen, bothe gentilmen, s'vingmen & others to the number of fower or
fyv hundreth horsmen, who wilbe glad to be ymployed, theise by the
sownde of the Trumpettes attendinge on the generalls & their Lieutefintes
must be called together & marshalled in Troupes & wynges, under their
Cornettes or guydons, & placed on eyther side of of (sic) the mayne Battle
for winges, shall marche wt the same in goodlie order to augm” showe,
& make the same seeme more terrible & forceable: and afterwardes,
severinge them selves from the squadrons, shall in good order fierslye
charge the same, to the weh ende ev'ry horsman or most of them must be
p'swaded to p’vyde” a pistoll or dagge, & shall do suche further s'vice as
shalbe comanded & appointed. they shall have attendinge on them, two
Lieutefintes, fower Cornettes, & fower Trumpettes, & shalbe assisted by the
Sºgeåt majors. -
* Princess. It is scarcely needful to observe that the colours, to which this
symbolical import is here given, were the Tudor livery colours.
* Prostrating. 7 The hands. * Augment. 9 Provide.
174, MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE.
THE THREASAURERs of FICE.
The Treasurer must not onlie have the Custodie & charge of all our
money: but must have the Collection of all annual Contributions, Sessmte",
benevolences, penalties, gyftes, rewardes or whatsoev’ money any waies
accreweth to thencrease of or comon stocke: and y” same shall he disbursse
& defraye, accordinge to thappoyntmt of the generall & warlike Councell:
he shall paye wages & fees to Armorers, Gunners, fier Mrs, fencers, druñes,
Trumpettes, fyffes, Sagbuttes, Cornettes & hooboes,’ &c., & shall yearlie gyve
up his accompte: he shalbe assisted by the Clarke of the armye.
THE OFFICE of THE M** of THE CAMPE.
The Mrs of the Campe shall have ye espetiall plusall,” direction &
appoyntm', of y” Townes feildes & places, where our assemblies, exercyses
& trayninges shalbe: the plottinge & platforminge of or encampinges, shall
ymp'ke” ye place for execution of or exployettes," shall appoynt listes &
bowndes for ye Contrey people, in suche sorte yt they neither endangere
them selves nor trouble us; he muste espetially have regarde y' ye stations
be large and spatious, y' ev'ye one may vew at pleasure, & espetiallye ye
Lädies & gentle women, for whom he muste p'vide a skaffolde yt maye not
be annoyed wº wynde or Sonne. he shall] cause Turkes' & m'kes to be sett
up, for our musketers, harqueb'ziers & Bowmen, & shall p’form all other
thinges app'teyninge to his charge.
THE YMPLOYINGE of THE OFFICERs.
THE OFFICE OF Y” GRAND CORONTELLs].
These gentilmen havinge charge of all the footmen in eyther divition,
next under the gen'all Capteines, may comande, aswell the under Coronells,
as also all Capteines, lieutefintes and souldiers, they be therfore appoynted
for the ease of the generalls, & be amongst the infanterie as their deputies:
theise be as the orators bothe to & for the armye, they muste make all ye
publicke motions, & give gem'all intelligence of all sudden Resolutions, &
muste se ye same put in execution, by the helpe & readie s'vice of the
S'geant majors & Corporalls: they muste forsee that everie Regement do
p'forme their s'vices appoynted wº celeritye & silence. they muste examyn
the elections of all inferior Officers, and establishe or displace them as they
se cause, infynyt lyke sºvices belonge to theise officers, wº" here for brevytie
I will omytt.
THE M** OF THE MUNYTION OR ORDINANCE.
The mºs of thordinance are to have ye charge & Custodie, of all o' armor,
munytion & artillerie, viz. fower hundreth corsslettes furnished, two
hundreth Bills, three hundreth Bowes and six hundred calivers likwise
* Hautboys. in warlike exercises as early ast. Edw. III.
* Perusal : See Meyrick’s Crit. Enqu, vol. i. p. 145.
* Imparke, i.e., enclose. Pluvinel gives a representation of the
* Exploits. Saracen Quintain in his Horsemanship,
* Figures of Turks to be shot at as published 1628.
marks. The image of the Infidel was used
MILITARY MUSTERS, LINCOLNSHIRE. 175
furnished, xxLIIjor muskettes, XLVIIjº halberdes, xxx p’tizans, fiftene halffe
pikes, xvi Capteines staves, xx targettes & morlions, two Robinettes, xxHij
duble muskettes, Xij harqueb'z on crookes, XXIIIj chambers, all our matche,
powder & engines for fier workes, the furnt" also for ye Generalls, ye
Caparisons for their horses, fyve hundred mandillions or souldiers cootes
cco hattes fethers & Scarffes, fower guidons," XVIj Ensignes, & XV1j drumes.
they or their deputies muste deliver powder to all ye shott on ye trayninge
daies, readie dryed, for Xij" the pounde. they must also furnishe the
gunners for the great shott, & the fier mº for their fierworkes, wº sufficient
powder & matche out of the comon store. they must have two lieutefintes,
two fier maisters, fower gunners, & two Armorers at their comande.
THE SERGEANT MAJORs.
The Grande Sergeantes above others shoulde be gentlemen selected for
their skill & experience, learned & well studied, men of singuler capicytie
& memorie, for that, to their office belongeth to appoint ye manner of the
marchinge of ye whole Armye, viz. how manye men shall march in a
Rancke, how manye of those Rankes in a manyple, how many of those
manyples shalbe placed in the Vowarde," how manye for the mayne Batle,
and how manye for ye Rerewarde, when & where ye manyples shall staye
to be confronted into Squadrons & Caparanconed” together; they must be
readie & skillfull informyinge & plattinge' of all sortes of Battles for ev'ye
occas'on, Somtymes appoyntinge ye shott as winges to garde ye Pikes, at
other tymes ye pikes must garde the shott from ye violence of ye men at
armes or horsmen, ye shott beinge placed win ye pikes, must wade thorowe
the ranges to gallye horses & to skirmishe, retyringe to their places, theyse
gentlemen must w" great dilligence & travell, martiall, trayne & instruct
the whole numbers, beinge assisted by the Corporalls of the feilde.
THE MUSTER MAISTERs.
Theise gentlemen, beinge assisted by the clarkes of the Armye, shall by
their bokes of ye numbers, (at everie of our generall assemblies) call all the
principall Officers by their names, & yf any make defaulte, except there be a
sufficient excuse for his absence, he shalbe grevously fyned, then shall they
call all the Inferior Officers & lastly
[Here the MS. ends abruptly, leaving a portion of the page blank.]
* Sic, furniture. * Sic. Caparaçonner. Fr.
7 Banners. 1 Plotting.
* Wanward, or advanced guard.
THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY.
THE Battle of Winceby, or, as it is sometimes called, of
Horncastle, has obtained less celebrity in the general history
of the Great Rebellion, than the importance of its results and
the future celebrity of those engaged in it might seem to
deserve. Hardly alluded to by Clarendon, whose attention
was occupied at the time by the transactions in the West,
especially by the siege of Gloucester and the first battle of
Newbury, and to whom the names of Cromwell and Fairfax
were as yet unimportant, the date of the day on which it
occurred is uncertain, and we are indebted for the minute
details, which we possess, to the lively descriptions of a
parliamentary chronicler, who, whatever might be his other
qualifications, certainly had no want of zealous devotion to
the cause which he espoused.
This writer is that same John Vicars whose Muse, however
inspired, is thus invoked by the author of Hudibras:–
“Thou that with ale or viler liquors
Didst inspire Withers, Pryn and Vicars,
And force them, though it was in spite
Of nature and their stars, to write.”
Hudibras, c. i., p. 645.
(a compulsion, alas! to which others before and since have
been subjected, perhaps with no better success). The
poetical talents, indeed, of our friend Vicars appear to have
been by no means remarkable. It is said of him by the
annotator on Hudibras, that “He translated Virgil's AEneids
into as horrible a travestie in earnest as the French Scarron
did in burlesque, and was only outdone in his way by the
politic author of Oceana.”
But whatever might be his qualifications as a poet, his
contemporary chronicle of the stirring events of this period
has all the life and reality of an actual record of events which
THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY. 177
he had witnessed, and we may take his account of facts,
whether we choose or not to adopt his opinions. His account
of the battle of Winceby is in the third part of his Parlia-
mentary Chronicle, which he is pleased to entitle “God’s
ark overtopping the world's waves,” and which he professes
to publish “for God’s high honour, and the great encourage-
ment of all that are zealous for their God, and lovers of their
country, by the most unworthy admirer of them, John Vicars.”
His book is, indeed, no longer confined to the library of the
British Museum, or limited to the researches of the antiquary,
since much of its contents has been transferred to the pages
of Mr. Carlyle, and illustrated by his peculiar style. Some
additional facts are, however, to be found in Rushworth’s
collection, who has published a short account of the battle,
given by Lord Widdrington, one of the commanders on the
other side, in a letter to the Marquis of Newcastle, which
was intercepted by the successful party. A few other scraps
of information may yet be gleaned from other sources. And
as the most important transaction of those times connected
with Lincolnshire history, this battle may deserve some
notice on this occasion.
It was in the month of October, of the year 1643, and
consequently after the great successes of the Royalist forces
in the west of England had been somewhat damped by the
result of the siege of Gloucester, but revived again by the
doubtful success of the first battle of Newbury, that Cromwell
and Fairfax found it necessary to call in the assistance of the
Earl of Manchester to oppose the Royal Forces in the county of
Lincoln. The Marquis of Newcastle was in command in the
north, and had been foiled in his attempt upon Hull, and still
more by Sir Thomas Fairfax in the encounter near Wakefield.
But these reverses were more than compensated by the defeat
of Lord Fairfax at Atherton Moor; and the prospects of the
Royalists were becoming more and more promising in these
parts. The castle of Newark, it is well known, was held for
the King. Lincoln also was in possession of the Royal Forces,
where Sir William, afterwards Lord, Widdrington, of Blankney,
was Governor; and Sir John Henderson was deputed by
Newcastle with several troops of horse, and a considerable
N
178 THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY.
body of foot, to oppose the Parliamentary forces, who, as we
learn from Vicars, retreated before them from the neighbour-
hood of Louth, though commanded by Cromwell and Fairfax.
The Castle of Bolingbroke also was held for the King, with a
considerable garrison, so that almost the whole of the high-
grounds and the north of the county was in the possession of
the King, whose party would be greatly strengthened by
the vast power of the loyal Earls of Lindsey, of whom the
father had fallen in his cause at Edgehill, and the son,
hitherto Lord Willoughby de Eresby, was still devoted to his
side.
On the other hand, the marsh and fen districts appear to
have favoured the Parliament, and this cause was aided by
the valour and genius of Cromwell, at that time a simple
M.P., and Colonel of horse, but who was now just rising into
notice. He had signalised himself in the July preceding by
the defeat of “the gallant Cavendish,” as Hume calls him,
in a fight at Lea, near Gainsborough, and we find his name
occurring more than once in the constables' accounts of
parishes in the district of the Marsh, which have preserved
some record of these transactions.
The important town of Boston also seems to have been
devoted to the Parliament, and from thence the way was open
to Lynn, where the Earl of Manchester was stationed, having
not long before received from the Parliament the command of
the forces raised by what were called the Associated Counties,
viz. Hertford, Essex, Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Hunt-
ingdon, to which that of Lincoln was added by the victory
we are about to describe.
Such was the situation of the respective parties, when the
Earl of Manchester moved with his whole force from Lynn,
and by way of Boston towards Bolingbroke, in order to
support Cromwell and Fairfax, who would otherwise have
been overpowered by the Superior forces of Henderson and
Lord Widdrington.
But let us hear the way in which Vicars inaugurates his
narration of the events that followed; for it is by such means
that we can alone hope to understand the motives and prin-
THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY. 179
ciples by which men were actuated in the parties they espoused.
“And now,” says he, “having formerly touched upon the
mention of that famous fight and most glorious victory which
our good God graciously conferred upon that as virtuous as
valiant General, the noble Earl of Manchester, against the
Popish and Atheistical forces of Newcastle in Lincolnshire,
under their papistical Commander the Lord Widdrington and
General Henderson at Horncastle, I shall now, in the next
place, give the reader a most exact and full and fair account
thereof also in all the material and substantial passages of it;
especially for the first advancement of the honour of God,
and the great comfort of all that wish the welfare and
prosperity of our Jerusalem.”
The plan of operations appears to have been to concentrate
their forces in the neighbourhood of Bolingbroke Castle, as
if with a view to besiege it, but with the intention to draw
the Royal Forces together to its relief, and to engage them
at the first advantage. It seems to have been on Monday,
the 9th of October, according to Vicars, who is corroborated
as to the date, by the narrative in Rushworth, though
Sir Ingram Hopton's monument, in Horncastle Church,
makes the battle to have been fought on the 6th ; but the
day is unimportant :—it seems, however, to have been on
Monday, the 9th of October, that Lord Manchester drew out
all his forces from Boston, placing ten companies of foot at
Bolingbroke, to observe the Castle, under the command of
Major Knight, while Colonel Russell's regiment of infantry
was stationed at Stickford, and his own at Stickney; the
horse being quartered in the surrounding villages, within
eight or ten miles distance.
As the Castle of Bolingbroke is now a heap of ruins, with
hardly a vestige of a wall remaining, it is interesting to know
what was its condition at that period. And this information
is happily supplied us by our Lincolnshire antiquary Holles,
at that time M.P. for Grimsby; from whose MSS. in the
British Museum, the following description is taken. He
says: “As for the frame of the building, it lyeth in a square,
* Harl. MS., 6829.
N 2
180 THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY.
the area within the walls contayning about an acre and an
half: the building is very uniform. It hath four strong forts
or ramparts, wherein are many rooms or lodgings; the
passage from one to another lying upon the walls, which are
embattled about. There be likewise two watch-towers all
covered with lead. If all the rooms in it were repayred and
furnished (as it seems in former times hath been) it were
capable to receive a very great prince, with all his train.
The entrance very stately, over a faire drawbridge. The
gatehouse a very uniform and strong building : materials
sandstone. There be certain rooms within the Castle (built
by Queen Elizabeth, of freestone) amongst which is a fayre
great chamber, with other lodgings. In a room in one of the
Towers of the Castle, they usually kept their audit once by
the year, for the whole Dutchy of Lancaster, having been the
prime seat thereof, where all the records for the whole
country are kept. The Constable of the Castle is Sir William
Mounson, Lord Castlemayne.”
Such, then, was the state of Bolingbroke Castle, when, on
this same Monday evening, it was summoned in the name of
the Earl of Manchester, to which summons this answer was
returned, that “bugbear words must not win Castle, nor
should make them quit the place ;” on which some
approaches were begun with the intention next day to break
open the church, which stood near, and mount a mortar on
the church-tower, and, as Vicars expresses it, “thence to fire
the Castle.” The next day some shots were fired from the
Castle, and a few of the besiegers killed and wounded. But
news soon arrived of more important work in hand. The
Royalists had drawn out all their forces from Lincoln, Newark,
and Gainsborough, and were advancing to give them battle.
Lord Manchester rode that afternoon, Tuesday, to Kirkby, a
village adjoining to Bolingbroke, where he was met by
Lord Willoughby; Sir Thomas Fairfax being stationed at
Horncastle, with his advanced guard at Edlington, about two
miles further towards Lincoln. This Lord Willoughby was
Lord Willoughby of Parham, whose seat was at Knaith,
near Gate Burton. He espoused an opposite side to that
taken by the Lindseys, and was husband of the Lady whose
THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY. 18I.
imaginary journal of these times has been published a few
years ago.
Here a message was received from Fairfax of an alarm
having been given in some of his quarters, indicating the
approach of the King's troops; but as the intelligence was
as yet uncertain, Lord Manchester determined to call in all
his forces, appointing Horncastle as the rendezvous, with the
intention to make it his own head-quarters. On his way
thither, however, he received fresh intelligence that the
Royalists had fallen upon the advanced posts of Fairfax, and
were making towards Horncastle. He advanced sufficiently
near to see his outposts driven in, and then issued fresh
orders, appointing Kirkby and Bolingbroke for the point of
union, instead of Horncastle. This caused some confusion,
as many of the troops who had received the first summons,
and not the Second, came to Horncastle, and found it in
possession of the enemy.
One instance of this, which is given by Vicars, is so circum-
stantial that it is worth relating. Three troops of the rebel
horse were at Thimbleby, to the S.W. of Horncastle, under
Captain Johnson, Captain Samuel Moody, and Captain
Player, and were there surprised in their quarters. They
had to break through two bodies of horse, of one thousand
each, as they affirmed, which they did by a bold stratagem ;
and then advancing towards Horncastle, where they expected
to find the Earl of Manchester with his army, were still more
surprised to encounter another body of the King's troops.
They pretended to be of their party till they had passed
them, when they charged back upon them, and so drew
towards Horncastle. But here they were again disappointed
at finding the town barricaded against them, by carts and
timber, which the towns-people had collected at the entrance;
though it does not well appear whether this act was hostile
towards their party, or intended against the King's troops.
They succeeded, however, in joining the main body; “and
all that night,” says Vicars, “we were drawing our horse to
the appointed rendezvous”—(it will be observed that the
infantry were already stationed at and near Bolingbroke)—
“ and the next morning, being Wednesday, my Lord gave
182 THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY.
order that the whole force, both horse and foot, should be
drawn up to Bolingbroke Hill, whence he would expect the
enemy, being the only convenient ground to fight with him.”
But he adds, that Colonel Cromwell was no ways satisfied
that we should fight, our horse being extremely weary with
the hard duty two or three days together.
It might be expected that some vestige would remain of a
traditional record of this eventful night. These vestiges are
slight ; but there was a few years ago, a gate across the high
road from Tetford to Horncastle, where Mr. Fardell's lodge,
at Holbeck, now stands, which was called clap gate, and the
tradition was, that it was so called by the country people
ever after, in recollection of the eager interest with which
they had listened to the clapping of this gate, all night, as
successive troopers passed towards the rendezvous. On the
hill beyond Tetford was an ancient Roman encampment, in
the parish of South Ormsby, where the story goes, that some
troops passed the night, while another watch is said to have
been kept on an opposite hill ; on which spot, an old man has
told me, that he has picked up bits of broken pipes and burnt
bricks, such as Soldiers would leave around a fire. In a house
in the same parish, it is reported that Cromwell slept, which
is not very probable, though some officers may have done
So, or he himself, perhaps, some nights before. It is less
improbable, as is told by the same informant, now an old
man, that he has spoken with a man whose father had told
him that he remembered a man who had sat up all night
casting bullets, at the same house.
But to come to the fight itself. The Castle of Bolingbroke
was situated in one of those deep recesses of the plain as it
descends into the fen country, formed by the withdrawal of a
line of high sandstone hills, which here runs along to the
south of the escarpment of the chalk.
It was necessary, therefore, to the Parliament army, to gain
a higher ground, which was afforded by the heights above
the Castle, where they had the double advantage of expecting
the arrival of their enemy, if he should advance by the plain,
by way of Scrivelsby and Revesby, from Horncastle, or of
choosing their own ground to fight, if he should attack them
THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY. 183
by the upland side. Henderson and his forces took the latter
course, which would lead them by way of High Toynton and
Scrafield, towards Winceby. This little village stands on some
of the highest ground in the country, which is intersected on
the north by one of those deep ravines which occur in the
sandstone rock, and slopes down on the South gradually
towards the plain, so that he had the ravine on his left, as he
advanced. The place still bears evidence of the ravages of
that day's work; the church appears to have been burnt,
and to have been covered in the rudest way with a roof of
thatch, as it still remains; and of the former village, the
vestiges only exist. The King's forces appear to have
proceeded a little beyond the village when they encountered
the advanced guard of the enemy's horse, who had moved
about two miles forward from their position.
With regard to the numbers on either side, it is stated by
Vicars that the Royalist army had seventy-four colours of
horse and twenty-one colours of grenadiers in the field, in all
ninety-four colours, while his own side had not more than
half so many colours of horse and dragoons; but he adds,
“indeed I believe we had so many men, besides our foot,
which indeed could not be drawn up till very late.” That
is to say, they had as many horse in number, though not so
many companies, owing, probably, to the way in which the
gentlemen on the King's side ranged the few men whom they
could raise under their own banners. That the force on either
side was very considerable, is evident; but we have probably
now no means by which to ascertain its amount.
It is stated by Vicars, that neither party expected to meet
their opponents as they did. From which it may be inferred,
that the royal army having had intelligence that the enemy was
in position on Bolingbroke-hill, probably near the small village
of Hareby, expected to find them there, whereas Cromwell
with the cavalry had advanced about two miles towards them,
perhaps without certain information of the time of their
approach. But this arrangement had this advantage for him,
that the King's troops had to encounter an enemy whom they
were not immediately prepared to meet, and on ground
which was, at least on one side, unfavourable for cavalry,
| 84 THE BATTLE OF WINCEBy.
from the ravine to the north, and which did not give room
for the horse to retire without obstructing the line of the
infantry, as actually happened; whereas, it was Cromwell's
object to engage them without giving them time to form, or
leaving them space to manoeuvre. And this view of the
matter is confirmed by Lord Widdrington's letter, who says,
that the ground the enemy had chosen would not admit of
more than three divisions to charge at once. It seems, there-
fore, that however unwilling Cromwell may have been to risk
a battle until his horses were refreshed, yet, when it was
decided to fight, he did not fail, with his accustomed Sagacity,
to avail himself of every advantage. “It was about twelve
o'clock,” says Vicars, “ere our horse and dragoons were
drawn up ; after that, we reached a little nearer the enemy,
and then we began to descry him by little and little coming
towards us. Until this time we did not know we should fight,
but so soon as our men had knowledge of the enemy's coming,
they were very full of joy and resolution, thinking it a great
mercy that they should now fight with him.” The forlorn
hope was led by Quartermaster-General Vermeyden, with
five troops, supported by Cromwell, who commanded the van,
and was seconded by Fairfax. The word was, on the side of
the King, “Cavendish,” to signify their resolution to avenge
the death of Colonel Cavendish, who had been slain in the
fight at Lea, near Gainsborough, in the July preceding. On
the side of the Parliament, it is stated by Vicars that the
word was “Religion.” But in Rushworth's Collections it is
said to have been “Truth and Peace.” The royal cavalry
were in three divisions, two being Sir William Saville's, and the
third Sir John Henderson's. It was this last which had the
left wing and was engaged with Cromwell. Each side drew
up their “dragooners” in front, who gave the first charge,
and then the regular horse engaged; those of the Parliament
singing psalms as they advanced to the shock.
Opposed immediately to Cromwell was the gallant Sir
Ingram Hopton, and the fight between these two was, for a
short time, bravely contested. Cromwell charged home with
his horse, as soon as the front ranks, or dragooners, had fired
the first volley, but he was received with such brave resolution,
THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY. 185
that he encountered a second volley within pistol shot. His
horse was killed under him, and he was never perhaps in
more imminent danger; for he fell under his horse, and, as
he rose to his feet, he was knocked down again by Sir Ingram
Hopton, who, as we are told on his monument, attempted to
take him prisoner. But the fortune of the day soon turned ;
Hopton received his death-wound in this attempt, and
Cromwell mounted a trooper's horse and was reserved for
another and more conspicuous, -shall we say, for a nobler
or happier fate 7 t
It was now that the disadvantage of the ground, or else of
the way in which the King's forces had advanced, was fatally
exhibited. The fight had lasted about half an hour, and
the left wing, where Hopton was, had put the enemy in some
confusion, when the right and centre, being Saville's horse,
were seized, as Widdrington affirms, with a panic, and falling
back with broken ranks on their main body, who should have
seconded them, put them also into disorder. Cromwell was
not the man to give them time to recover it ; he was upon
them with his horse, who, as Vicars says, “fiercely charged
within them all.” The dragooners, who seem to have
dismounted to discharge their matchlocks, were left behind
and taken prisoners; the infantry, already thrown into
confusion by the retreating cavalry, retreated with them, and
it soon became a rout of the most disastrous kind. The
pursuit was continued for five or six miles, “all the way being
strewed with broken arms, dead men and horses.”
The tradition of the country has preserved one record of
this fatal flight, which, in conjunction with the account given
by Vicars, is too consistent and circumstantial to be omitted.
The country being then uninclosed, the only boundaries were
those of parishes, which were divided by hedges, having gates
upon the high-way where the boundary crossed a road. At
the boundary of the parishes of Winceby and Scrafield, near
the bottom of a slight descent on the way to Horncastle, there
stood a gate, which opened towards the scene of battle, in a
corner formed by an angle of the fence. The flying horsemen
pressing in multitudes against this gate, it became impossible
to open it ; the enemy pressed upon them from behind,
186 THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY.
and here such numbers were cut to pieces, that this lane
obtained the name of Slash-lane, which it has preserved to the
present hour.
The victory was indeed most complete. The Castle of
Bolingbroke immediately surrendered, or rather was deserted,
for two hundred horses were found there, their riders having
fled. Besides Sir Ingram Hopton, Sir George Bowles,
probably Bolle, of the family of Thorpe Hall, and Colonel
Agnes (or Agnew'?), were among the slain. It is said by
Vicars, that two thousand horses were taken, a thousand
prisoners, and as many killed, on the royal side ; and, though
it is probable that these numbers are greatly exaggerated, it
is certain that the rout was so complete that no considerable
body of the vanquished side was to be found together. Thirty-
two standards, out of ninety-four, were taken, and to complete
the success, a very small number, indeed, of the Parliament
army was killed, and but a single officer. On their side it
was entirely an affair of cavalry, for their foot did not come
up till the battle was won ; and it seems to have been owing
to great neglect on the part of the royal commander, that his
army should have advanced in such a way as that it should
be possible for a charge of cavalry to drive his own horse pell
mell upon his foot, and put them all into confusion. Either
this was so, or else the minds of the infantry were by no
means well affected to the cause, of which there is some
indication in Vicars's narrative of the excuses which the
prisoners made for themselves afterwards: to this it may be
added, that some of their arms appear to have been nothing
else than Scythes at the end of poles, a number of which were
placed as memorials in Horncastle Church, where a few of
them may still be seen.
The loss of all Lincolnshire to the royal cause was the
consequence of this defeat. The Earl of Manchester soon
after advanced to Lincoln, but his exploits there shall be told
by Vicars himself: —“About the 24th October the most noble
and virtuous Earl of Manchester, whom the Lord raised up
(and so forth) in pursuance of his late victory at Horncastle,
went on most courageously to the City of Lincoln, and upon
the summoning thereof it was soon surrendered to him.
THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY. 187
Wherein he found and forced to be left, in the City Close,
and Minster of Lincoln, arms for at least two thousand five
hundred men, twenty-eight or thirty colours, three pieces of
ordnance, and great store of ammunition: the cormorants or
cavalerian officers having leave to depart on horseback with
their swords, the common soldiers with only sticks.” They
retired first to Gainsborough, but this also was soon abandoned,
and so they retreated to Newark.
Here we take leave of the pious Vicars, for it suited not
his purpose to relate what else befel when his “noble and
virtuous” Earl possessed himself of this ancient City. This
was in the year 1643, and it was but two years before, that,
happily for the cause of history and truth, Sir William
Dugdale and Dr. Sanderson, afterwards the famous bishop of
this see, had inspected and copied the monuments in the
Minster. At that time, every window appears to have
preserved its rich stained glass, the monuments were entire
with their brasses and sepulchral effigies. The long line of
our bishops, the ancestors of our nobility and gentry, here
reposed in peace, with the heart of the beloved Queen
Eleanor, and the wife and daughter of John of Gaunt. Let
it be for ever remembered, that it was not by the Reformation
or its agents that these monuments were destroyed, or these
churches defaced and desecrated. It was the same fanatic
spirit which destroyed the Church of the Reformation, and
subverted the monuments of its Temples. They were the
soldiers who advanced to Winceby fight with the praises of
God in their mouths, who thought they did God service in
destroying and desecrating our glorious Minster and making
it a stable for their horses. Nor was this confined to the
Minster alone: we possess indisputable evidence in the extant
MSS. of Holles, that up to this period the monuments and
the stained glass remained entire in all the Parish Churches
in the County ; for he made notes of them all, from personal
inspection, but a year or two before the war broke out. We
know, but too well, the mutilated state in which its conclusion
left them.
The Register of the Parish of Winceby has preserved no
records whatever of burials within the year in which the battle
188 THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY.
occurred; its victims met a soldier's grave, and died, for the
most part, unrecorded. But there exists one” interesting
memorial in the Church of Horncastle, being a monumental
hatchment to the memory of Sir Ingram Hopton. The
inscription is as follows:—
Here lieth the worthy
and memorable K* Sir Ingram
Hopton, who paid his debt
to nature and duty to his King
and Country in the at-
tempt of seizing the Arch-rebel
in the bloody skirmish near
Winceby, October y” 6, A.D.
1643.
Nec tumultum
Nec mori per vim metuit tenente
Caesare terras.
The above on the hatchment, and below it—
Paulum sepultae distat inertiae
Celata virtus.
He was the brother of the celebrated Sir Ralph Hopton,
who, for his gallant conduct in the West of England in this
same year, had been made a Peer by the King. They were
nephews of Arthur Hopton, mentioned by Anthony Wood as
a prodigy of learning, and grandsons of Sir Arthur Hopton,
Knight of the Bath, of Wytham, in Somersetshire, by Rachael
daughter of Edward Hall, of Gretford, in Lincolnshire. It
was, perhaps, owing to this connexion that the younger son
had a command in this county.
This is not the place to discuss the merits of either party ;
each had their own principles for which they manfully con-
tended, and it becomes us rather to be thankful, as well we
may, to the good Providence which has kept us almost
exempt from civil strife now for two hundred years. But if
we should be called upon to sympathise with either side, not
on the ground of their religion, or even of their principles in
general, but merely because their opinions led them to be
* There is also another name con- the slain on the side of the King was a
nected with this fight, which though at Lincolnshire gentleman of the name of
that time unknown to fame, has since Hallam, the immediate ancestor of the
acquired an undying celebrity. Among Historian of the Middle Ages.
THE BATTLE OF WINCEBY. 189
energetic and, as the phrase is, real in the business they took
in hand, it may, perhaps, be contended that the cause which
enlisted on its side the meek wisdom of such men as Falkland,
and the chivalrous virtue of such as both the Hoptons, must
have supplied principles not less real, and must have formed
characters not less true or less devoted, than such historians
as Vicars, or even such generals as Cromwell.
F. C. MASSINGBERD.
MEMORIALS OF SIR EDWARD LAKE,
CHANCELLOR OF LINCOLN, RELATIVE TO HIS LOYAL SERVICES, AND
INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES I., AFTER THE BATTLE OF EDGE-HILL.
From Original Evidences.
COMMUNICATED BY THE REW. SAMUEL BLOIS TURNER, M.A., F.S.A.
SIR EDWARD LAKE was the eldest son of Richard Lake,
Esq., of Erby, in the county of Lincoln, by Anne, youngest
daughter and co-heiress of Edward Wardell, Esq., of Realby,
in the same county. From an early period the family were
seated at Normanton, in the county of York, and resided on
the estates which passed into the Lake family by the mar-
riage of John Lake to Jeannett, daughter and heiress of
William Cayley, Esq., of Normanton.
Sir Edward Lake embraced the profession of the law, and
became Chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln.
From a love of his sovereign, and full conviction of the
justness of his cause, Dr. Lake laying aside the gown,
took up the sword, and followed his royal master to
the battle of Edge-hill. In this engagement he received
sixteen wounds; and having lost the use of his left hand by
a shot, he placed his horse's bridle between his teeth, and
held out the combat, fighting with his sword in his right
hand, till the armies parted by the coming of night. The
friendly and affectionate part taken by the amiable and
unfortunate monarch, in the concerns of this loyal subject, is
set forth in an original MS. in Sir Edward Lake's own hand-
writing, of which the following is a copy :-
“After I had made my escape from my imprisonment at
Mr. Bents at Corsby, where I was kept seven weeks after
the battle at Edge-hill, I went to Bangor in Caernarvonshire,
SIR EDWARD LAKE's INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES I. 191
in Christmas, 1642; there I writ to Dr. Steward," the Clerk
of the Closet, at Oxford, certifying in what condition I was,
and of the hurts I received at Edge-hill, and he sent me
back an answer, desiring me to send up the certificate thereof,
under the surgeon's hand, which afterwards I did, under the
hands of Mr. John Angel, the physician, and Mr. Edward
Loffman, the surgeon, both of Leicester, who were employed
upon my cure. The next year, about a fortnight after
Michaelmas, I went out of Wales towards Oxford, where I came
about the 20th of October, 1643: Dr. Steward wished me not
to come into the King's presence till the 23rd day of that
month, the anniversary day of Edge-hill, which he, the
said King, intended to keep solemnly, with public thanks-
giving for the victory on that day; and upon that day, a
little before dinner, in the presence-chamber at Christ Church,
I kissed his Majesty's hand, Dr. Steward being with me, who
said to his Majesty, as I was going to kiss his hand,-‘Sir,
this day twelve-months, the Doctor was in another case,’
(Dr. Steward having formerly, as he told me, showed his
Majesty that certificate of my hurts, received at the battle
of Edge-hill). His Majesty, looking upon me, said, ‘It is
true you lost a great deal of blood for me that day, and I
shall not forget it, but you shall be remembered for it both
by way of armory and otherwise.” Then looking upon
Dr. Steward and others, standing by, said, ‘For a lawyer, a
professed lawyer, to throw off his gown, and fight so heartily
for me, I must needs think very well of it.’ I humbly
thanked his Majesty for his gracious acceptance of my poor
endeavours to serve him, and praised God for preserving me
for further service to his Majesty, to the best of my power,
and according to my bounden duties. “And, Doctor, (said
the King, bending his head a little towards me) I have
reason to believe it;’ and so went into the privy-chamber.
“Above two months after, his Majesty sent me to Worcester,
* Richard Steuart was born at Pates- ter, 1638; Provost of Eton, 1640; Dean
hull, Northampton. He was Fellow of of St. Paul's, 1641; Dean of Westminster,
All Souls, Oxford, 1613; Prebendary of 1644. He died at Paris, Nov. 14, 1651,
Worcester, 1628; Prebendary of Salisbury, aged 68, and lies buried at St. Germains.
1629; Dean of Chichester, 1634; a Clerk —Granger, vol. ii., p. 348.
of the Closet; Prebendary of Westmins-
192 SIR EDWARD LAKE's ACCOUNT
then garrisoned by Sir Gilbert Gerard, the King's governor
there, to whom his Majesty writ: which letter signified to
him the loss of my estate in England and Ireland, by the
rebellion, and sixteen wounds which I received at the battle of
Edge-hill. With this letter, about the beginning of Christmas,
I went down to Worcester, and taking my leave of Dr. Steward,
he (whether his Majesty had when he signed that letter
or at any other time spoken to him thereof. I know not, but
most probably he had) asked me, whether I had drawn up that
note, touching an addition in armory, which the King said
he would give me, when I kissed hands on the anniversary
day of Edge-hill. I told him I had done nothing therein.
He bade me advise with some herald thereupon, and draw
up a note, to that purpose, for the King to sign, and to leave
it with him.
“I did thereupon advise with Sir William Le Neve, but did
not acquaint him with the King's word touching armory,
and after I had talked with him, I drew up such a note for
his Majesty's signature, mentioning only that coat of aug-
mentation (without any mention of one of the lions of
England,) and the crest. This note I left with Dr. Steward,
and the next summer, his Majesty coming to Worcester, and
Dr. Steward with him, the Doctor gave me this docquet
signed by his Majesty, and attested by the Doctor, touching
the baronetship and arms.”
The Docquet copied from Sir Edward Lake's own handwriting.
Signed, CHARLES REX.
WHEREAs, our Trusty and well-beloved Edward Lake, Dr.
of Laws, and Advocate General for our Kingdom of Ireland,
in all causes Ecclesiastical, Civil, and Maritime ; and by the
tº ſº tº º º with the Loss of his Estate and Employment,
and also in England, more especially at the Battle of Edge-
hill, receiving sixteen Wounds, to the extreme danger of his
Life ever since,—being deprived of his estate here, we cannot
* This interesting document was printed there given varies considerably from that
by Collins, in the “English Baronetage” of the Docquet, as above, from Sir
(vol. iv. p. 134, ed. 1741), but the text Edward's own writing.
\
\
OF His UNTERVIEW WITH CHARLES THE FIRST. 193
but look upon him as a subject well deserving of us; and
whom, when God shall enable us, we intend to repair in his
Estate, and otherwise to reward him ; and in the mean time,
we do hereby create him a Baronet, and do give him the
making of a Baronet, not doubting that he will recommend
any Person for that dignity, but such a one, who for his
Condition and Quality, shall be fit for the same; and for his
further Encouragement, and as a Mark of our Especial
Favour towards him, Whereas in that Battle of Edge-hill, he
received sixteen Wounds, and his left Arm being by a Shot
wounded, he was disabled, he held his Bridle in his Teeth,
fighting with his right Hand; Therefore we do hereby give
him for a Coat of Augmentation, to be borne before his own,
in a Field Gules, a right Arm, arm’d, carrying upon a Sword
a Banner Argent, charged with a Cross, betwixt sixteen
Shields, four in each Quarter . . . . . of the First, and in the
. . . . Point, one of our own Lions of England; and for a
Crest to the same Coat of Augmentation, a Chevalier in a
fighting Posture, his left Arm hanging down Useless, and
holding a Bridle in his Teeth; his Scarf Red, his Sword and
Horse Cruentated : To have and to hold the said Dignity of
a Baronet to the said Edward Lake, and the Heirs Male of
his Body begotten, or to be begotten, for ever, and for want
of such Heirs Male, then, to the Heirs Male of the same
Edward for ever, and to have and to hold the same Coat of
Augmentation with the Crest aforesaid, to him the said
Edward and his Heirs, and all descending from him and
them for ever; all this to be put in form into his Patent.
Given at our Court at Oxford the . . . Day of December
in the Year, 1643.”
To all the Officers and Ministers, whomsoever, whom under these
Presents shall any ways concern.
“Of the addition of one of the lions of England in the coat
of augmentation, (in which, the eight points, four in each
3 In the copy, as given by Collins, the date is thus stated,—The 30th of December,
the 19th year of our reign.
O
194 SIR EDWARD LAKE's Accouny,
quarter, are memorial of the sixteen wound; he received; the
lion of England being placed in the centre of the standard,
in the additional crest) and besides, to have the nomination
of a baronet, and to be a baronet myself, being altogether
beyond my expectation, I asked the Doctor the reason
thereof. He told me, that presently on my going to Wor-
cester from Oxford, he showed his Maj esty that note for the
coat of augmentation which I left with him ; his Majesty
read it, and said, ‘I deserved more, and should have more; I
should have one of his own lions too, and I should have the
making of a baronet, and that I should be a baronet myself;’
and his Majesty himself, with his own hand, interlined some
words touching the bearing of that lion, and for the nomina-
tion of a baronet, and the creation of me to be a baronet, and
bad the Doctor bring it to him, written more at large;
whereupon the Doctor, within a day or two after, brought it
written, as it is here, to his Majesty, which he signed, and
said to him, ‘Doctor, you shall be secretary for this business;
Set your hand to it, and witness my signature, and tell
Dr. Lake, that he may keep this awhile by him, and not take
out the patent, till I shall better provide for him ; ' and the
Same day, at Worcester, as before, when Dr. Steward had
told me this, which was at the Lord Bishop's Palace at Wor-
cester, I went with him into the presence, and there kissed
his Majesty's hand, who said to me thus, ‘The Doctor there
(looking at Dr. Steward) I suppose, has told you my mind.”
I said, ‘Yes, sir, and most humbly I thanked his Majesty
for his exceeding favours to me. Then his Majesty being, as
it seemed, in haste upon business, went out of the presence ;
and as he was going, looked back towards me, and beckoned
to me, and I made my address to him, who said thus to me,
“Doctor, if you will, you may keep that awhile by you,
(meaning the aforesaid docquet) and not take out the patent,
till I shall better provide for you, which I hope I shall do ere
long,' and so he went away, and I kept this by me as thou
seest.”
Sir Edward Lake married Anne, eldest daughter and
co-heiress of Simon Bibye, Esq., of Buckden, Huntingdon-
OF HIS INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES THE FIRST. 195
shire, and appears to have resided at Bishop's Wooton, in the
county of Lincoln. On his dying without issue, in 1674, the
property fell to his brother, Thomas, from whom it passed to
his son Thomas, who was at the bar, and a member of the
Middle Temple. Notwithstanding the above mentioned
docquet, the brother and nephew seem to have suffered the
matter to lie dormant. But, in 1711, soon after the death
of the last mentioned Thomas Bibye Lake, his son (it is
presumed) laid the docquet before the Earl of Oxford, who
stated that, through the great hurry of affairs the grant was
lost. However, her Majesty Queen Anne, being well satis-
fied of the services of Sir Edward Lake, made Bibye Lake
a grant by letters patent, dated 17th October, 1711, though
with precedency only from the date thereof.
Sir Edward Lake was buried in the Cathedral at Lincoln,
and in one of the chapels on the south side of the choir,
known as Bishop Russell's chantry, are still to be seen the
remains of his monument, exhibiting his arms, as follows:
Quarterly, 1st, for a Coat of Augmentation, gules, a dexter arm embowed,
in armour, issuing from the sinister side of the shield, holding in the
hand a sword erect, all proper; thereto affixed a banner argent,
charged with a cross between sixteen escutcheons of the first; on the
cross a lion passant, guardant, or.
2nd. Sable, on a bend between six crosses crosslet, argent, a mullet for
difference. Lake.
3rd. Quarterly, argent and sable, on a bend, gules, three mullets of the
first. Cayley. -
4th. Argent, a chevron between three lions' heads couped, sable. On a
chief vert as many bezants. Wardell.
Crests.-lst. A chevalier in complete armour, on a horse courant argent,
bridle and trappings all proper, in the dexter hand a sword, embrued
gules, holding the bridle in his mouth, the sinister arm hanging down
useless. Round his body a scarf in bend of the last.
2nd. A sea-horse's head argent, pinned or, gorged with three bars gules.
All inquiries have been in vain in the endeavour to ascer-
tain at what period, or for what cause, the removal and
destruction of the memorial of Sir Edward Lake was per-
mitted. Mr. Willson, who has been many years engaged in
the careful investigation of all details connected with the
Minster and its monumental antiquities, supposes that this
O 2
196 SIR EDWARD LAKE's INTERVIEW WITH CHARLEs I.
reckless act of desecration may have taken place about 1727,
when the arch near the western end of the Minster was
built, subsequently removed by Essex. He has been inclined
to think it probable that the memorial of Sir Edward Lake
occupied a portion of the nave near the western extremity,
and adjoining the Consistory Court, in which Sir Edward
had presided, and wherein a scutcheon of his arms still
remains. He was the Bishop's Chancellor, an office distinct
from that of the Chancellor of the Cathedral.
To this monument was formerly attached a Latin inscrip-
tion, which has not been given by Browne Willis in his
Survey of the Cathedral, published in 1730, nor is it found
in any work relating to that structure and its sepulchral
memorials. It will, therefore, not appear inappropriate to
give here a copy of an inscription of no slight local interest,
in connexion with the history of this loyal gentleman of the
county of Lincoln :
Depositum D. Edri Lake, de Norton Episc. in Agro Lincoln. Barti L.L.D.
Dioces. Linc. Cancellar. Regiae Majestat. p. Rno suo Hiberniae Advocati General.
ex antiqua familia ejusdem Cognomin. Normantoniae juxta Pontefract, in Agro
Eboracensi, hic subtus jacet. Qui Deo, Eccli’ae, Regi, et Patriae suae, Pacis
et Belli tempore, fideliter inservijt. Honor inde adeptum Cristae & Insignior.
Augmentatio honoraria demonstrat. Ad Annum AEtat. Sue . . . p’vectus
º Die . . . Anno a Partu Virgineo 16 . . . Animam Deo reddidit.
In Uxor. habuit hic juxta contumulatam Annam Filiam Natu maximam &
Cohaeredem Simon. Bibye, Armigeri, Foeminam lectissimam, pijssimam, For-
tunae Conjugalis, Temporibus durissimis Comitem, Participem patientem, con-
stantem, fidelem maxime.
Un Dieu, un Roy, un Coeur.
Patruo suo charissimo Thomas Lake posuit.
Thomas Lake, nephew and heir of Sir Edward, who erected
this monument to his memory, was a barrister of the Middle
Temple, and, dying in 1711, was buried in the Temple
Church. His monument, originally near the north corner of
the middle east window, has been removed during recent
alterations, and may now be seen in the triforium. Collins
gives the inscription to his memory. It may deserve notice
that in the coat of Augmentation, twice introduced upon this
monument, the banner has a bordure gobonée, sable and argent,
not mentioned in the description as stated in the docquet.
*
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SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
ON approaching Southwell from the direction of Newark,
or, indeed, from any point on the north or west of the town,
little of the fine Collegiate church, a building inferior to few
of our cathedrals in dignity and interest, is to be seen, except
the upper parts of the towers. The wooded eminences, how-
ever, which close it in so as to limit in number the favourable
points of view, add very much to their beauty. Perhaps the
best is from some meadows to the left of the road, as we
enter the town on the eastern side. We may there select a
point from which we have a complete view, nearly to the
ground, of the fine east front of the choir; behind which rise
the three Norman towers, nearly of equal height above the
roof. On the north is seen the outline of the Chapter-house;
and that the opposite side of the picture may not be deficient
in interest, the ruins of the old palace, once the favourite
residence of the Archbishops of York, seem almost to abut
upon the southern transept.
The architectural antiquary will not be disappointed when
he examines more closely the structure, whose outline and
general character he has studied at a distance. He will have
seen at a glance, that the three earlier styles are exhibited,
without confusion or intermixture, in grand and distinct
masses. The nave, transepts, and towers, are Norman ;
having, indeed, later insertions, but still presenting a larger
proportion of the original work unchanged, than we com-
monly find in buildings of that date. The Choir is pure
Early English ; the addition of a decorated pinnacle or two
in the aisles, and the alteration of the eastern gable, appear
to be the only infringements upon the original. The Chapter-
house is decorated. Its windows have the geometrical tra-
cery; but its ornaments and general workmanship show an
advancement in the style. The large west window, and most
198 SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
of the aisle windows of the nave are Perpendicular insertions;
but it is rather in the domestic buildings, than in the church,
that we must consider this style as having contributed its
beauties to the group. The aspect of the building has been
somewhat changed by the demolition of its high pitched
roofs, and of the wooden spires on the western towers. These
latter are given in the elevation of the front in Rastall's
History of Southwell. The pinnacles are therefore of recent
date; but they are well imitated from those of the central
tower, of which we shall have occasion to speak presently.
The roof of the nave and transepts rose nearly as high as
the lower string of the tower ; that of the choir was much
higher, rising nearly to the top of the arcade above. And
from a print in Rastall we learn, that the Chapter-house had
also a lofty pointed roof, as at York and Lincoln. In this
instance, the alteration has certainly been no improvement to
the edifice, as it makes the nave deficient in height. The
elevation of the western towers would not have been so much
injured by the height of the gable and pitch of the roof, as it
is by their present connecting parapet, a horizontal embattled
one, and the character of the central tower being massiveness
rather than height, a little reduction of its height above the
line of the roof, would have been far from prejudicial.
There do not seem to be at present extant many records
calculated to throw light upon the architectural history of this
church. Rastall refers principally to the Registrum Album,
or white book, which is in possession of the Chapter of South-
well, and “contains a very curious collection of charters and
grants from popes, kings, and other persons, to the Arch-
bishops of York and Church of Southwell, beginning from a
period very little posterior to the Conquest, and continuing to
the latter end of the reign of Henry VIII.” From this, how-
ever, more is to be gained relative to the government and
privileges of the church as a collegiate body, than to the
actual progress of the fabric. He also cites from Torre's
Collection, in the custody of the church at York.
It has been suggested to me, that there may still be found,
among the documents existing at York, some, bearing upon
SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 199
the dates of the building now under consideration. And I
much regret that I have not had an opportunity of making
inquiries on this head, as I cannot but think that they might
tend to elicit many curious particulars as to imitations from
the large metropolitan church carried out in inferior ones
connected with it. It cannot escape notice, that in many
points, Southwell Minster resembles in plan, proportion, and
general aspect, the more magnificent Cathedral of York. This
resemblance, where the respective dates of the styles admit of
the supposition, suggests that the Smaller building was copied
from the larger, and it is impossible to conceive the case
to be otherwise, as regards the Chapter-honse in the present
instance. But where, in the points of similarity, the smaller
building is earlier of the two, we are led to the inference that
the larger one, though it be altered in style, and perhaps dimen-
sions, still retains in some degree, the design and character
of a former structure, which may have afforded a type to the
architect of the smaller fabric. In short, the present aspect of
Southwell Minster may suggest, that the Norman Minster of
York had the characteristic features of the present one,
namely, the three towers; and these not very much differing
in proportion from those which now exist.
I was much struck, on a recent visit to Lindisfarne Abbey,
with its resemblance, in certain points, to Durham Cathedral,
especially in the piers of the nave, which, as at Durham, are
alternately massive enriched cylinders, and clustered pillars,
with shafts. It seems, also, to have had, like Durham, three
towers, though the resemblance is not carried out to the later
additions at the east end. Now, the Norman work at Lin-
disfarne is not of the very earliest character: it is, therefore,
not unlikely that the present fabric was, in some degree, copied
from the new Cathedral of Durham, after the removal of the
see to that place. If, however, I am wrong as regards the
relative dates of the two buildings (and I formed my opinion
after a very cursory survey), it is still easier to account for
the resemblance ; as nothing would be more natural than for
the architects of the new cathedral to retain, where it was
possible, the character of the old.
200 SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
I am aware that what I have advanced may be treated as
mere conjecture; but it is surely no uninteresting speculation
which may enable us to form an idea, from the existing
forms of Southwell, of the destroyed forms of York, belonging
Jo another period, and, from the known dates of the fabric of
York, of the unknown dates of Southwell. But before we
pursue further the subject of architectural history, let us
examine the structure itself.
We enter the churchyard, on the western side, through a
Late Norman arch, above which is a gable formed of large
steps, apparently of a subsequent period. Here we obtain
an excellent view of the west front, which consists of two
towers corresponding with the aisles, and a central portion
now exhibiting a horizontal embattled parapet, considerably
higher than the clerestory walls. All the Norman work of
this compartment above the lower stage has been obliterated,
and a large and not very graceful perpendicular window of
seven lights, with a transom, inserted. As the point of this
window is higher than the roof of the nave, the wooden roof
is raised between the towers, snfficiently to show the whole
window from a short distance. The external form of this
roof corresponds with the internal, being the segment of a
cylinder. In the lower stage of the central compartment of
the front, is a fine enriched Norman door-way of five orders.
Above the basement stage, which is low and plain, is a string
enriched with the chevron, which runs round the sides of the
Norman part of the building in nearly an unbroken line, and
where it meets the door-ways on the south side and transept,
it follows the curve of the arch. Above this string each of
the towers has six stages, of which the three lower ones are
comparatively plain, the upper ones exhibiting the usual
Norman enrichments. The parapet cornice is supported by
heads or brackets, as are those in the south porch ; the
nebule occurring in the corresponding parts of the nave,
central tower, aisles, and transepts. The north tower has in
one of its stages an arcade of intersecting arches, which is
answered in the south tower by one of the pointed arches,
the same in number and general character with those formed
SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 201
by the intersections. On the west face of the northern tower
is the mark of some building erected against it ; but to judge
from the restored arch below, this was probably of a late
period. In the face of the south tower corresponding with
the aisle range, is a decorated window of three lights, with
double foliations in the heads and in the tracery lights.
Entering by the western door, we are struck with the great
massiveness, solidity, and simplicity of the structure. The
round arch prevails throughout, in the nave and transepts.
The piers of the former are cylindrical, of low and massive
proportions, being 15 feet in circumference, the height of the
column between base and capital being only nine and a
half. The capitals are enriched with several Norman orna-
ments, but no figures or foliage. The abacus follows the
circular plan of the pier, as in Tewkesbury and Gloucester.
The arches have two orders and a label, which latter has the
billet or some other of the smaller Norman ornaments. The
torus is used in the mouldings of the arch. The soffit of the
inferior order has a group of mouldings, which, though per-
haps common enough, still gives a peculiar character, and
may be indicative of the date. It consists of a rectangular
edge projecting from the surface, between two tori, and
produces greater breadth, but less sharpness of line, than the
usual way of placing the torus in a re-entering right angle.
The same moulding occurs externally in the central buttress
of the tower of St. Alban's Abbey, in the upper stages. One
of the same kind, though modified to suit its position, occurs
in the face of some arches in the very curious apsidal church
of Gillingham St. Mary, in Norfolk, where it certainly gives
an air of considerable antiquity.
The triforium presents, in each bay, a single round arch of
two orders, of much the same character with the pier arch
below, but with shafted imposts. In the highest point, and
at the springs of the inner order, is a curious projection, as
if there had been an intention of dividing the arch into
smaller ones, and bringing a shaft up to the crown of the
larger arch, as in Romsey. The openings of the arches are
now blocked up by plaster partitions. The clerestory,
202 SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
throughout the whole Norman part, consists of a single
circular window, surrounded externally with a string, and in-
ternally set in an arch whose soffit is quite plain. A clerestory
gallery runs through the thickness of the wall. The aisles
are vaulted and ribbed ; and the imposts being mere
brackets in the wall, there appears not to have been sufficient
support for the vaulting, which has, in consequence, cracked
very considerably. The foundations, indeed, on the south
side, have been proved to be so shallow and insecure, that
it has been necessary to underbuild them ; and, what is a
curious and somewhat puzzling circumstance, fragments of
Norman work, with the billet and other mouldings, have
been taken out of the old foundation. The piers of the
central tower are clustered, and project in the ground-plan
considerably beyond the line of the nave piers; the distance
between the north and south pier of the western arch being
less than 19 feet, while that between the opposite piers of
the nave is nearly 28. And it is remarkable that the span
of the arches into the transepts is greater than of those into
the nave and choir. In the tower arches, which are
extremely fine in their elevation, and those of the transept
windows, we observe a new feature, namely, a remarkably
bold cable moulding—perhaps the most effective of any, not
even excepting the chevron, which could have been designed
to be seen from a distance. The transepts are without
aisles, and their fronts have two bays, with a triple tier of
windows. In the south front is a door, with a very seg-
mental head. The east side of the north transept has some
early English work inserted; evidently of the date of the
library to the eastward. The south transept, like many
others, has a large arch, which may have opened into an
eastern apse. This arch is now walled up, leaving a
recess internally, between two and three feet in depth. In
the wall is inserted a Norman doorway, now also blocked
up, which seems to have been no other than one of the
Norman windows of the aisles. Externally, in an angle
formed by a projection beyond the buttress of the transept,
is a Norman shaft and capital, with the line of the arch,
SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 203
which is on a level with the masonry, and appears to have
been a part of the original impost. It is remarkable that
this shaft leans outwards, or to the Southward, while the
projection against which it stands, has a leaning in the
contrary direction, as if to counteract the pressure of the
apsidal arch. And a string, enriched with chevrons, is
carried round the angle of the projection I have mentioned,
stopped by the shaft, and again resumed in the wall, filling
up the apsidal arch, though but for a short distance. The
plan of using the old Norman work in restorations has
already been adverted to in the case of the foundation to
the aisle walls. The neighbouring church of Thurgarton
presents a curious instance of the use of old pieces of detail.
It consists of part of the nave of a much larger building, the
pier arches built up, and the east end of course belonging to
a date subsequent to the destruction of the fabric. But the
old windows are inserted in such a manner as to give the
whole almost the air of an original design. We often meet
with apparent anomalies, which we can only explain by
admitting this practice to have prevailed to a very consider-
able extent.
Some large Norman churches still retain the eastern apse
in one or both of the transepts. Among these are Norwich,
Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Romsey, and the ruined Abbey of
Lindisfarne. And some exhibit only the indications, as in
the example before us. This is the case at Worcester, and
at Pershore, in its neighbourhood. The former must have
opened (if we are to judge from the crypt still remaining)
not merely into a semi-circular area, but into a long aisle or
chapel, like that at Ripon, with a semi-circular termination.
The ground about this transept at Southwell is so much
disturbed, that it would probably be useless to seek for any
foundations. -
The lower story of the tower, now the ringing-floor, has
evidently been open as a lantern; the arches have been
enriched with the chevron, but are now plastered over; they
have the appearance of having at some time suffered by fire.
The upper stages, which are richer externally, are much
204 SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
simpler in the interior. Indeed, in most Norman central
towers belonging to large conventual churches, we may
remark that the richer surfaces externally correspond with
the plainer internally, and vice versä. Tewkesbury affords a
striking example.
Before we quit the Norman part of the church, it will be
as well to notice one or two characteristic details. Above
the range of aisle windows is a string, and above that,
immediately under the parapet, is in each bay a small
opening with a segmental, in fact nearly a square, head,
having Norman shafts in the jambs. It breaks into the
nebule table, so that to admit it, one at least of the nebules
is cut off below, and in most cases the square part finished
with the same moulding that runs round the whole ; but in
one case it seems cut off somewhat inartificially. I mention
this, trifling as it may appear, because such things may
sometimes lead us to discriminate between work of different
periods. The ornaments are in general, the chevron, which
is applied both ways, on the face of the arch and on the
soffit; the billet moulding ; the hatched moulding ; the
nebule ; and the very bold cable in the tower arches and
transepts. The pinnacles of the western towers are modern ;
but those on the central tower, upon examining closely, and
taking into consideration both the nature of the material
and the workmanship, I am inclined to believe are original
pinnacles, though not in their original position. In the
parapet of this tower much stone is worked up which
evidently belonged to the transept gables when they had
their original pitch. The base of the pinnacles is clearly
modern, and, I believe that when the transept gables were
lowered, they were removed from their position at the angles
of the same gables, and forthwith transferred to the tower.
The intermediate ornaments are evidently modern.
The work still remaining in the two transept gables is
different in detail, though similar in character, and it is
reasonable to suppose this was the case with the pinnacles.
Accordingly, we find the two north pinnacles of the tower
of one pattern, and the two southern ones of a different.
SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 205
On the north porch, the gable of which, though low, seems
to have been untouched, are two very striking turrets of a
cylindrical form, with conical spires. One of them is (and
appears always to have been) a chimney. The parapet table
of this porch has some curious masks as brackets.
The choir is a very perfect specimen of early English,
and is vaulted throughout. As the roof has a longitudinal
rib, it is probably late in the style, and all the shafts are
filleted, which, when it occurs generally throughout a building,
seems to be a mark of an advanced style. But all the
windows are lancets; there is no sub-division by any shaft
or mullion, nor any combination into the forms of a larger
window, unless the east end, when its gable was complete,
may have suggested one. The toothed ornament is freely
used. The mouldings, both of the capitals, and arches, are
deep and numerous. There are some very beautiful balls
and bosses; and the corbels or brackets of the vaulted
shafts are enriched with some very excellent work. The
capitals are not ornamented with foliage. The western
compartment of vaulting nearest the tower is very narrow,
and has no pier arch corresponding, the whole bay being
filled up by the wall, which gives a good abutment to the
lower arch. The neglect of this precaution, in rebuilding
choirs, has, probably, occasioned the fall of several Norman
central towers. As the engaged column for a pier arch
eastward of the tower remains, and also arches corresponding
with those into the nave aisles, we infer that the Norman
choir also had aisles. It seems that the eastern termination
of the old Norman work was discovered during some repairs
in the choir, in the last century, and that it extended about
a third of the length of the present choir, or 52 feet ; and
that the additional extension of the building was erected on
a new base, the material employed being a soft stone found
in the immediate vicinity, differing both from the Bolsover
stone of the nave, towers, and transepts, and the Mansfield
stone of the choir, while detached fragments of columns,
capitals, and other parts of the prior dilapidated building,
were seen confusedly scattered about among the rubbish."
* Rastall.
206 SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
The present choir consists of six bays, having arches
opening into the aisles, and two beyond, without any aisle.
On the north and south sides are small transepts or chapels
projecting from the aisle. The vaulting of the choir is quadri-
partite, and from the narrowness of the cells, compared with
the principal vault, the elliptical curve in the clerestory
arches is very evident ; this is the case with most Early
English vaulting. The clerestory arrangement is beautiful,
and well suited to the elevation of the building, which is not
so great as in some of our minsters. The bay is divided by
an enriched cluster of shafts, which stands free, into two tall
arches, in each of which is set the window above, and a small
blank arch below, corresponding with the triforium stage.
A similar arrangement is to be observed in Pershore Church,
in Worcestershire ; and it is no less suited to the tall verti-
cal lines of the Early English style than the more usual
triple division. The height of the choir arches is considera-
bly greater than of those in the nave. One on the south
side is lower than the others, and has an ornament between
its apex and the story above. It has been suggested to me
that this may possibly be a stone enclosing a relic. The
aisle vaulting is quinquipartite in most of its bays, having a
couplet of windows with a vaulting shaft between them.
The eastern part of the choir is very fine, and if I may
judge from the base mouldings, the earliest part, perhaps,
commenced before the destruction of the Norman choir. In
the impost of the easternmost pier arch is a detached shaft
with a band ; a feature which does not occur in the other
piers. The east end has two tiers of windows, each tier
consisting of four lancets ; in the lower one has been intro-
duced some fine cinque cento painted glass; on which, as it is
described by Mr. Winston in the present volume of “Trans-
actions,” I need not make any observations. A vaulting
shaft and rib occupies a central position, making the vaulting
of this portion similar to that noticed in the aisles. This
bisection of an east front is not very usual, as it prevents
the introduction of a central window. It occurs, however,
at Romsey, and in Glasgow Cathedral. The sides have also
SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 207
two tiers of windows. The buttresses throughout are exceed-
ingly fine, being deep and bold, with good bases, and high-
pitched triangular heads; the sides are slightly splayed off.
The eastern ones are terminated by large shafted pinnacles.
Of a later period than the choir, but still in the Early
English style, is an addition to the east side of the north
transept, which is about equal to its height. The lower part
is used as the library ; a portion of the upper part, as the
treasury. That this was an addition not contemplated at
the time of the erection of the choir, is proved by the cir-
cumstance that some external strings of the aisle, especially
a cornice moulding under its parapet, are visible in the
interior of the new work. At the head of the staircase
leading to the treasury, is a Sculptured shaft, apparently
Norman, worked up into the later building. The door at
the head of the staircase is left in a rude and unfinished con-
dition. There are some windows, externally lancets, but
with a trefoil head internally. Some windows of flowing
decorated, are inserted in the Early English archways
in the library. As belonging to the Early English style, we
may notice an arch in the south aisle of the nave, now
destroyed for the insertion of a modern Norman window.
It is much to be regretted that the wish to restore buildings
to their original state should so often lead to the destruction
of inserted work, excellent in itself, and still more valuable as
evidence in the architectural history of the building.
We now come to the decorated part, namely, the Chapter-
house. But, first, we should notice a few unfoliated arches
of an arcade in the passage leading to it—probably, of
decorated date, and, indeed, showing marks of decorated
work; an instance of the assimilation we sometimes find of
later to earlier work. In some cases the architect's intention
seems to have been to make the transition as gradual, in others
to make the contrast as strong and startling, as possible.
But, perhaps, in the latter case, a thorough change of the whole
fabric was contemplated, as at Winchester and Gloucester.
The door of the Chapter-house, one of the most beautiful
specimens within the range of Gothic art, is divided by a
208 SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
#
slender, mullion-shaped shaft, with a capital of exquisite
foliage—with which, also, the capitals and architecture of
the Superior arch are enriched. The room is octagonal,
vaulted, and, as at York, without any central pillar; the
windows are of three lights, with geometrical tracery.
Externally is a parapet, of open work, with a series of arches
on corbels under its cornice ; and crocketted pinnacles,
crowning deep buttresses, at the angles. Engaged in the
South-west face is a circular stair-turret.
We must not omit to notice the beautiful decorated screen
at the entrance of the choir. It opens into the nave with
three canopied arches having free foliations, and it presents
some fine panelling of flowing tracery. The roof is flat, but
supported by ribs, which, if the interstices were filled up,
would form a regular vault. The intersections are enriched
with bosses; and the space between the flying rib and a flat
one corresponding to it on the actual roof, is occupied by a
trefoiled circle. The effect of the whole is extremely rich.
Among the monuments may be noticed some good incised
crosses, and one fine raised cross—now under the north-west
tower. There is also an alabaster effigy, much mutilated,
beneath a round-headed Early English or decorated recess in
the north aisle. I understand this monument was removed
from the choir. A similar recess occurs in the South pro-
jection or transept of the choir aisle.
The dimensions of the building are as follows:–
Feet. Inches.
Total length inside, about . & g tº . 307 5
Length of nave, from the west wall to the western
face of the tower arch . . . . . . 143 7
Total width at the intersection of the transept . . 122 3%
Width of nave and aisles . e & & . . 66 0
Width between two opposite piers of nave & . 27 104
Width between two adjacent piers . g . . 13 2
Height of the parapet of the transept, above the base
moulding, about tº sº º g & . 47 0
Parapet of central tower, above that of the transept . 53 8
The parapet of the western towers is lower than that of the central by
about 6 feet.
In all the three styles the work appears to have been most
SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 209
--
carefully executed, and affords, perhaps, as pure examples of
each as are to be found in any building now extant.
The architectural history of this church must (unless
records should come to light which are yet unpublished)
remain a matter of reasonable conjecture, rather than positive
certainty. When we see that Rastall, who assigns an ante-
Norman date to the nave and transepts, is convinced by
facts on record, in the face of all distinctions of style, that
the choir is of the date of Edward III., and the chapter-house
at least as late as Richard II. ; that is, that the pure Early
English work of the one was contemporaneous with work of
a late Decorated style; and the early Decorated of the
chapter-house, with decidedly Perpendicular buildings; and
this, while the patrons and great benefactors of the church,
the Archbishops of York, showed themselves to be rather in
advance than behind-hand, in point of style, we shall admit
that the existing records are, at least, of a nature that
renders them liable to be misunderstood. We will refer to
these as we notice“the parts of the fabric on which they are
thought to bear. -
In a certificate of the Commissioners for the Survey of
Chantries, &c., 37th Henry VIII., it is stated (and apparently
on the authority of records then in possession of the Chapter)
that the collegiate church of Southwell, of ancient time, was
founded by the right famous of memory, Edgar, the King's
most noble progenitor. This, probably, refers, not to the
first foundation of the church, but to considerable benefac-
tions—perhaps the rebuilding of the fabric.
Alfric, the twenty-second Archbishop of York, who was
consecrated to that see in 1022, lived and died at Southwell,
and was a great benefactor; and Kinsius, his immediate suc-
cessor, is said to have given two large bells to the church at
Southwell, as well as to that of Beverley, and two more to
that of Stow. This latter church has been shown to contain
ante-Norman work in its transepts, which proves it to have
been cruciform, and consequently a church of considerable
importance before the Conquest, and there can be no doubt
that at the same time Southwell Church was a structure of
P
210 SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
some consequence. But I need not say, that the date of
foundation, however well authenticated, does not necessarily
mark the age of the present building. Most of our cathe-
drals and large conventual or collegiate churches were rebuilt
soon after the Conquest, on a scale of greater magnificence,
even if the work then existing was very recent. In the
case before us, I am informed by the person who conducts
the repairs of the building, that a few years ago some
foundations consisting of rubble work, and exceeding at
least two feet in thickness, running north and south, were
discovered within the area of the north transept, the western
face being about eight feet from that of the eastern wall of
the present transept. It is to be regretted that this clue to
the original position of the church, should it be one, was not
followed out at the time.
As for the architectural details discovered under the
foundations of the aisle, they are not such as we should
expect to meet with in structures of the Saxon period; in
fact, they belong to a somewhat advanced Norman. They
exhibit, with little or no variation, the same ornaments that
occur in the nave, especially the billet-moulding ; and it
seems difficult to account for their position, except by sup-
posing the aisle walls to have been rebuilt, whether for the
sake of strength, or the addition of the vaulting, or of room;
or else that after the insertion of the Perpendicular windows
the same operation was found necessary that is now resorted
to, that of underbuilding the walls.
When we consider that the Norman choirs of large build-
ings, generally the first parts completed and consecrated, are
now, with few exceptions, destroyed to make room for a
later style, and that the rest of the edifice, not being so
immediately required, often proceeded slowly and gradually,
we shall readily admit that the buildings which remain to
us of a period between the Conquest and the end of that
century are extremely limited in number. The transepts
of Winchester seem clearly to establish a claim to that date.
Those of Ely; some of the eastern part of Norwich ; parts of
Gloucester Cathedral and of St. Alban's Abbey; the Chapel
SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 211
in the White Tower, London, with several crypts, may also
be safely referred to the same period. In looking at these,
though we observe a prevalence of plain orders, of a rectangular
Section, and without mouldings in the arch, yet we cannot
say that the round torus and other mouldings, approaching
to those in the building we are now considering, are excluded;
and again, although as the transition of style began to
appear, mouldings were so multiplied as often to give the
work of Henry the Second's time a character as completely
distinct from that of Henry the First, as the late is from the
early Perpendicular, yet the plain orders are by no means of
rare occurrence. Neither is the cylindrical pier, even with
a circular capital, of itself a criterion of style or date. In
short, I am not aware of any one tangible feature in the
nave and transepts of Southwell Minster, that would lead us
to pronounce with confidence upon their actual age. At the
same time the general character of the whole, the careful
distribution of ornament, so as to give sufficient richness
without destroying simplicity, the fine composition and pro-
portion of the tower arches, the excellence of the mouldings,
which relieve the heaviness of the style, without suggesting,
by an undue lightness or multiplicity, the near approach of
a new one ; these, with the good close-jointed masonry, induce
me to assign it a date subsequent to the very first appear-
ance of Norman, but much antecedent to its transition into
Early English. I should give it to rather the earlier than
the latter part of the reign of Henry the First, but perhaps
allow Tewkesbury Abbey, commenced at the beginning of
that reign, some slight priority. I cannot help imagining,
that after the completion of York according to its com-
mencement by Archbishop Thomas, who presided from 1070
to 1100, attention was turned to the important church of
Southwell, so closely connected with that see, and the Nor-
man structure commenced, of which the present nave and
transepts are the principal part.”
* Mr. Dimock has kindly furnished Thomas the First (who was Archbishop
me with the following extract from the of York from 1070 to 1100), or Thomas
White Book, observing that the letter the Second (1108 to 1114), for the only
must have been written “either by other Archbishop Thomas was Thomas
P 2
212 SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
As the intersecting arcade occurs in the north porch, and
the upper parts of the central and north-western tower,
and the pointed arch in the corresponding one, I conclude
that these do not belong to an earlier date than the reign of
Henry the Second.
In Henry the Third's time (I quote from Rastall) an indul-
gence of thirty days was granted for the consummation of
the fabric of St. Mary of “Suwell,” long since begun to be
restored. It bears the date of 1235, and is in Torre's Collec-
tion at York.
We could not possibly assign a more satisfactory date than
this to the choir, which may not unreasonably be supposed
to have been undertaken on the completion of that of York,
which, to judge from the present transepts, was rebuilt in
the Early English style. º
The next document is a letter from John, Archbishop of
York, dated 1293, assigning certain fines “ad fabricam novi
capituli.” Whether this signifies the new chapter-house
already erected, or in course of erection, or a new chapter-
house about to be erected, it seems to point to a date not
much differing from 1293, as assignable to the beautiful
edifice which now forms the chapter-house. And this is a
likely date for a building which exhibits geometrical tracery,
and will not be contrary to the supposition that the original
of the design was the fine chapter-house of York. Inter-
mediate, both in position and date, is the eastern addition to
the northern transept ; an Early English work, in which
Decorated windows are inserted at a later period.
de Corbridge (1299 to 1303), and long
before his time the Nottingham clergy
annually met in synod at Southwell, and
peccatorum vestrorum adjuvetis de bene-
ficio elemosinae vestrae ad faciendam ec-
clesiam sanctæ Mariae de Suwella. Et
had not to go to York; as is plain from
Pope Alexander's Bull, 1170, and there-
fore Thomas de Corbridge was not the
granter of the privilege nor the writer of
the letter.”
From WHITE Book, p. 124.
“Litera Archiepiscopi pro sustentacione
Ecclesiae Suthwell.
“Thomas Dei gratia omnibus paroch-
ianis suis de Nottingham scira salutem
et di benedictionem. Precamur vos
Sicut filios carissimos, ut in remissionem
quicunque ibi vel de minimo auxilium
fecerit, erit usque in finem hujus seculi
particeps omnium orationum et benefici-
orum quae fient in ea, et in omnibus
ecclesiis nostris. Et ut hoc libentius
debetis facere quo vobis relaxamus ne
vos oporteat per singulos annos visitare
Eborum ecclesiam, sicut omnes alii paro-
chiani nostrifaciunt, sed ecclesiam sanctae
Mariae de Suwella cum ibi habetis idem
pdoñn () quod habetis Eborum. Walete,
&c.”
SOUTHWELL MINSTER. 2.13
But, according to Rastall, most of the donations during
the reign of Edward the Third were made to the fabric. A
letter of request was issued in 1352 from the Chapter of
York for the purpose of collecting the alms and charitable
contributions of the people within that city, diocese, and
province, for the furtherance of this fabric of St. Mary of
Southwell; and in the 11th year of this reign a royal
licence was given to the Chapter to get stone in the quarries
of the forest of Shirewood, for the purposes of the fabric.
From these, and from some supposed heads of Edward the
Third, Philippa, and the Black Prince, which he represents
as occurring in the building, he infers that the choir, not-
withstanding its style, must have been in course of erection
as late as 1352; though the nave of York, of pure Decorated,
was completed in 1315, and Thoresby, who commenced its
Perpendicular choir, was archbishop from 1352 to 1373.
Now the only part, besides the insertion of some windows,
and perhaps the finish of the upper part of the chapter-
house, that can at all correspond with this date, as regards
style, will be the rood-screen (which has been noticed) and
the sedilia.
But may we not account for the great preparation at this
period, by supposing that after the completion of the Deco-
rated nave at York a similar re-erection was contemplated
at Southwell by the archbishops who frequented it, a suppo-
sition somewhat favoured by the Decorated window in the
west face of the south tower. The design was indeed aban-
doned, and the only recurrence to it, at a somewhat subse-
quent date, was the substitution of Perpendicular for Norman
windows in the aisles, and the rebuilding of the central part
of the west front, above the entrance-door.
But I have offered these as mere suggestions. We must
be cautious, lest the invaluable treatise of Rickman, by the
precision with which it marks the difference of styles, should
render us too positive in assigning dates, and too careless of
actual records. The researches of Professor Willis have opened
an ample field of employment for a multitude of labourers,
who will, from the sources of information which they are
214 SOUTHWELL MINSTER.
continually enabled to develope, throw a light, not merely
on dry details of date, but upon the spirit and principle on
which our ancestors carried their magnificent designs into
effect. -
I have now to express my thankful acknowledgments to
the Ven. Archdeacon Wilkins, for his kindness in affording
me every facility in the examination of this interesting
edifice ; and very particularly to the Rev. J. Dimock, minor
canon of Southwell, who has pointed out to me all the
features most worthy of notice, many of which I should
probably have overlooked, and to whose observations, as well
as to the documents which he has collected for my use, I am
indebted for any light I may have been enabled to throw
upon the history of the fabric.
J. L. P.
*** The Central Committee have the satisfaction to record their grateful esteem
of the kind encouragement and liberality shown on so many occasions by Mr. Petit;
to whom the Society is indebted for the whole of the Illustrations of the foregoing
Memoir, presented by him to this Wolume.
SOUTHWELL MIINSTER,
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Lincoln Minster. Choir of Angels.
A Bay, or division of the Presbytery, or “Choir of Angels,” showing the position of the sculptures.

ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
THE easternmost portion of the Cathedral-church of Lincoln
has commonly obtained the name of the Angel Choir, from the
conspicuous elegance of the winged figures, in high relief,
which adorn the spandrils of the Triforium arches.
This elongation of the church was effected about the
year 1282" for the reception of the canonised remains of
St. Hugh, which were deposited in a golden shrine of
exquisite workmanship, admired and venerated by popular
devotion in the length and breadth of the land.
Its admirable sculptures could not fail to attract the
regard of artists; with whom they have at all times been
in high estimation. Mr. Wild, in his elegant engravings
of Lincoln Cathedral, Plate XIV., was, however, the first to
illustrate them in any degree, by a selection (in a small scale,
indeed) of some of the most striking ; but no attempt has
hitherto been made by that gentleman or any other to pene-
trate the significance of this angelic host, or to set forth the
merits of their conception, and of their execution.
The Puritan dread of imagery, which still clings to our
Church (contrary to the highest authorities on this interesting
question”), and the long disuse and depreciation in this
country of the sculptor's art as applied to religious archi-
tecture, have occasioned these precious relics of a noble
school to be ignored by the public to the present times; and
perhaps we owe their fortunate preservation rather to their
lofty position than to the clemency of the authorities ;
* In 1256, the Dean and Canons peti-
tioned for leave to remove the city wall,
in order to extend the choir, and carry
out this “new work.” From 1186 to
1258, Bishops Hugh de Grenoble (or St.
Hugh, who is said to have laboured
with his own hands in the work), William
de Blois, Hugh de Wells, the famous
Grossetete or Greathead, Lexington, Bene-
dict de Gravesend, and Oliver Sutton,
had rebuilt the Cathedral from West to
east.
2 See Dr. Wilson's
Churches considered.”
“Ornaments of
216 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
for, in Worcester Cathedral, a contemporaneous work, of
similar arrangement, and probably, therefore, of equal merit,
has been lamentably effaced by the iconoclasts of the
seventeenth century.
The investigation of the series in Lincoln Cathedral, so
happily preserved during 570 years, in every detail, has a
twofold interest ;-first, the expounding of the religious Sub-
ject ; the thesis which animated the author of this sculptured
homily; — and, secondly, the claim which it undeniably
asserts in favour of the English school of sculpture, as coeval
and of equal merit with that of countries hitherto reputed as
the originators of the revival; and the proof it affords that
the national genius distinguished itself in this fine art, no less
than in those other branches of science and renown which
surround the names of Roger Bacon, Greathead, Michael
Scot, Duns Scotus, and many others of our countrymen in
the thirteenth century, with such imperishable lustre.
Next to the written page, sculpture and painting undoubtedly
present to the lover of antiquity the most familiar and explicit
illustrations of the intellectual spirit of their day, in fact,
a hieroglyphic of almost equal value, it is by their means
that many precious details, disdained by the historian, or
treated as matters of course, are made manifest to us. In
such a series as this, we read at a glance, in terms which
architecture could not possibly convey, and which the his-
torian would require space and time to explain, the state of
religious doctrine, the taste of poetic expression, the manners,
the humour, wit, grace, and devotional feeling of the times;
of which it is the transcript and the mirror.
To the artist attracted primarily by the beauty and cogency
of the design of these sculptures of the Angel Choir, per-
ceiving its regularity, and the unmistakeable intention of the
principal figures, a lofty and most appropriate purpose is
Soon apparent ;-and a little meditation soon developes a
consistent series of consecutive subjects relating to the
Promises of the Almighty from the beginning of the world ;
the Revelation of His Word through the Patriarchs and the
Prophets; the Incarnation of the Word;—the great doc-
ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LIN COLN CATHEDRAL. 217
trines of the Atonement, of Judgment to come, and of
Rewards and Punishments; the joys of Heaven ; the dignity
of the Church, as the depository of divine things; and,
finally, the Revelations of the future destinies of man.—And
truly, the adequate treatment, in thirty pieces,” of a subject
so awful and momentous ; with propriety, Solemnity, and
pathos; free from pedantry and superstition ;-a theme
worthy a Miltonian spirit ; implies a profound knowledge of
the written Word (as well as a culture of the poetic faculty,
and of art in the expression of it to the popular feeling)
of extraordinary attainment in any age ; and which cannot
fail to raise our estimation of that age in our own country,
which was then in another preparing a Dante and a Giotto.
As an illustration of the theological spirit which up to this
time had animated the Church, these sculptures are most
important ; and in their spirituality we recognise, in the
words of Dr. Henry, that “the schoolmen of the former
period made the scriptures the chief subject of their studies,
and the texts of their lectures, as some of them still continued
to do, who for that reason were called Bible Divines.—It
was in the course of the thirteenth century that the Holy
Scriptures, together with those who studied and explained
them, fell into great neglect, not to say contempt. The
illustrious Roger Bacon inveighed very bitterly against
this abuse ; and his excellent friend, Robert Greathead,
(Bishop of Lincoln from 1235 to 1253), wrote a pathetic
letter to the Regents in Theology in the University of Oxford
on this subject, earnestly entreating them to lay the founda-
tion of theological learning in the study of the Scriptures,
and to devote the morning hours to lectures on the Old
and New Testaments. But all these remonstrances and
* Two hands, of very different merit, particulars. They are carved in the same
are plainly exhibited in these works. Of stone employed in the architecture of the
the best are 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, Cathedral. They were wrought in the
14, 15, 16, 17, 18; the remainder, though sculptor's workshop, and subsequently
often of excellent design, are of inferior placed in their positions; this fact is
execution. We must hope that a future plainly shown in the wings of No. 11,
and more elaborate examination of these across which the joints of the stone were
sculptures, with scaffolding and other not adjusted in the building exactly as
appliances (wholly wanting in the present) they had been wrought in the workshop.
will reveal other and more interesting
218 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
exhortations had little or no effect.” It was in the latter part of
the thirteenth, and the beginning of the fourteenth centuries,
that the extravagant devotion of the Schoolmen to the study
of Aristotle, while it perverted the science of Theology, was
fatal, also, to her handmaidens, the Arts; and paved the way
for all that decline and triviality into which they fell rapidly
in the following century.
The intellectual energy of more than six centuries, in
this country, had made religion its chief business; by
institutions, by predications, and by illustrations of all
kinds, from Bede and Alfred to Robert Greathead. Lat-
terly a more popular method had been adopted, and the
imagination was engaged and amused by allegorical repre-
sentations of the great doctrines of the faith. This great
prelate (Robert Greathead) embraced this method, and
amongst many theological works, “ de Septem Vitiis et
Remediis” — “the Pricke of Conscience,” and others, he
wrote the “Chateau d'Amour,” a poem which, under the
ideas of chivalry, represents the fundamental articles of the
Christian belief, and has the air of a system of divinity
written by a troubadour *—in effect, the Pilgrim's Progress
of the thirteenth century.—Robert Mannynge (about 1300)
translated many works into English rhyme; amongst others,
“Meditacyuns of the Soper of our Lord Jhesu, and also of
hys Passyun, and eke of the Peynes of his swete Modyr
Mayden Marye, the which made yn Latyn Bonaventure
Cardinall.”
But the prevalent defect of letters made other still more
popular illustrations necessary for the great end. The
powerful aid of the fine arts—the mute eloquence of the pencil,
the chisel, and the line and rule—was largely invoked ; and
even histrionic art was made the vehicle of religious instruc-
tion. Such elements of education of the public mind were
well calculated to produce the sculptures of Lincoln.
* Warton, Hist, of Eng. Poetry, vol. i., fet e ordiné de Saint Robert Grossetete
p. 73, tells us that in the Bodleian are two ke fut eveque de Nichole” (the French for
MSS. of this poem ; one thus entitled, Lincoln).
“Celest la vie de D : Jh'u de sa humanité,
ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 219
In attempting to trace the intention of these sculptures,
and the scriptural and noble manner in which it appears to
have been carried out, so unexceptionable to the most austere
Reformer, it is hoped the reader will pardon the presump-
tion of a layman in handling these sacred things, and in
suggesting to better judgments those interpretations which
his acquaintance with the language of art enables him pro-
fessionally to offer. The texts occur so naturally from the
consideration of the individual subjects, and their significant
symbolism, that their citation can hardly be hazardous, at
least as a guide, and must ever be edifying-treating, as these
works do, of things “which the Angels delight to look into.”
The reader acquainted with the architecture of this age
(the 13th) will readily follow the customary arrangement of
the Triforium, which placed two arches (each inclosing
their foliated openings) over the single bay of the pier
arches of the nave. This arrangement offers one complete
spandril and two half-spandrils in each ; the latter formed
by the up-shooting column which carries the main ribs
of the vaulted ceiling. Thus the five bays of the Angel
Choir (more properly called the Presbyterium) contained
fifteen spaces on either side, north and south, which had to
be adorned by the sculptor, making thirty in all, and forming
a beautiful frieze of 118 feet on either side.
Finally, in approaching the explanation of this solemn and
beautiful cycle of the Revelations of God, we may well quote
the Epilogue of Paul's Epistle to the Romans:—
“Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according
to my Gospel, to the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to
the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since
the world began, but now is made manifest; and by the
Scriptures of the Prophets, according to the commandment
of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the
obedience of Faith ;
“To God only wise be glory, through Jesus Christ, for
ever, Amen.”
220 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE I.
No. 1.—This angel, the first of the series, in a small scale,
and with a minute scroll, appears in the day-spring; the South-
east angle of the Presbyterium (somewhat darkened by its
position, as is the opposite one, No. 30, the Revelations);
symbolising in this circumstance, that comparative obscurity
in which the Promises of the Almighty were, and for the
future are, shadowed forth ;-then the “hope” only of the
Promise, and now to be confirmed by faith and patience.
This angel may be regarded as the epitomised symbol of the
covenant of promise to Abraham and the Patriarchs, from
the beginning of the world, of the coming of the Messiah.
No. 2. —The Patriarch David plainly appears in this
figure, in his spiritual, his prophetic, and his poetical charac-
ters; as the type of that King of Righteousness who should
“sit upon the throne of his kingdom for ever :” apotheosised
as it were, with extended wings, and sitting upon clouds, his
harp in his left, his right (in royal Gothic fashion and feudal
guise, inevitable in the 13th century) akimbo, crowned and
enthroned.
“The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David ; He will not
turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy
throne ;” Ps. cxxxii. 11; and John, vii. 42.
No. 3.−An angel holds a scroll of much greater extent
than the first, seeming to announce those plainer and more
developed prophecies exhibited to mankind by the inspired
writings of David, and to foretel the certain advent of the
Messiah, according to the expression of Peter, “which salva-
tion the prophets have enquired and searched diligently,
who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.
Searching diligently of what people, or of what period, the
spirit of Christ which was in them did signify,” &c. &c.
PLATE II.
No. 4.—An angel in a bold action, remarkable for the
energy of its expression, sounds the trumpet, as telling that
“in his seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed ;”
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ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 221
“The fame of David went out into all lands;” H Chron. xiv.
17;-“Praise the Lord, proclaim his name;” Ps. xii. 4 ;
—“Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time
appointed;” Ps. lxxxi. 3, &c. &c.
No. 5–An angel of remarkable corpulency and of well
designed composition of attitude and drapery, with a scroll
of much larger dimension than the foregoing, seems to tell
of the “wisdom and prosperity” of Solomon, which exceeded
“the fame;” 1 Kings, x. 7;-of the king who “made silver” to
be “in Jerusalem as stones;” 2 Chron. ix. 27;-of “the meat
of his table”—“ the sitting of his servants”—“the attendance
of his ministers, and their apparel”—and “his cup-bearers.”
The scriptural significance of this fatness (however quaint
in the figure here given), as applying to spiritual as well as
temporal things, will be acknowledged by the reader. See
Gen. xxvii. 28; Ps. lxiii. 5; Jer. xxxi. 14. Solomon in all
his glory, the magnificence of the kingdom of Israel in its
political as well as its spiritual prosperity, could hardly,
perhaps, have been more aptly expressed than by the
instinctive Lincoln sculptor. -
No. 6.—An angel exhibiting a scroll, with all the solemnity
of a settled purpose, may possibly allude to the prophecy of
Abijah, that for the sins of Solomon, the kingdom should
be rent like the garment of Jeroboam, “for thus saith the
Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out
of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee;”
1 Kings, xi. 31.
PLATE III.
No. 7 proclaims the verification of this prophecy in a less
questionable manner. The kingdom “divided;” the “halting
between two opinions;” 1 Kings, xviii. 21 ; the two-fold doc-
trines, of the Lord God and Baal : the sins of Rehoboam
and Jeroboam—of Jerusalem and Samaria—are aptly and
ingeniously typified by the double trumpet. The quaint and
vulgar attitude of this figure is one possibly common to the
performers on this instrument in the 13th century; the
expression of the face and limbs is admirably rendered, and
222 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
contrasts singularly, both in this and No. 4, with the grave
and imposing character of the prophetic angels.
No. 8, with pipe and tabret, the monster at his feet, for the
first time, (till now the angels have been seated on clouds),
admirable in composition and significance of character, is
hardly less so in its expression of the deplorable state of
decline and sin into which the Chosen People had fallen;–
so emphatically expressed by Isaiah, v. 11, 12, 13, “Woe unto
them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow
strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame
them ; and the harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and
wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of
the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands.
Therefore my people are gone into captivity,” &c. &c.
No. 9 is, doubtless, the Angel of Daniel; he holds in his
left the sealed book (expressed by a band across it) cast into
the Hiddekel, and raises his right significantly, referring to
the vision described Chap. xii. 7. “And I heard the man
clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river,
when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto
heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever, that it shall
be for a time, times, and a half, and when he shall have
accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all
these things shall be finished ; and I heard, but I understood
not : then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these
things and he said, Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are
closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”
Under his feet is again the monster, the Old Dragon, with
a bearded head and tiara, as possibly referring to the
idolatrous Babylonians or the apostate Jews.
PLATE IV.
No. 10.—An angel reads with a holy concern and ear-
nestness (which the original only can fully convey), from a
scroll held in his hand. An abortion is seen under his feet.
The prophet Isaiah could hardly have been more fully
described than by these symbols: and we call to mind, “This
day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy:
·
LINCOLN SCULPTURES Plate III.
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ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 223
for the children are come to the birth, and there is not
strength to bring forth;” Isaiah, xxxvii. 3. Deep anxiety is
depicted in the countenance, as if reading the letter of
Rabshakeh, which the good king Hezekiah spread before
the Lord. -
No. 11 is a no less bold and singular type of Ezekiel,
exhibiting the same imaginative aptness of illustration which
we witness throughout these works, but very naturally by
the feudal machinery of their day. A youthful, robust
angel smiles as he offers the lure with his right to a large
falcon perched upon the glove or gauntlet of his left. He holds
both playfully at a respectful distance, as unwilling to provoke
his formidable beak and talons; an attitude that gives a
grace to the whole composition ; which is ample, enterprising,
and, though somewhat familiar, is highly pleasing. The
manners of the times must excuse this type of feudal nobi-
lity. “No Gentleman,” says Warton, Eng. Poetry, vol. i.,
p. 169, “appeared without a falcon on his fist, unless going
to battle. At the royal Palace of Clarendon, the Soldan
is represented as meeting Richard with a falcon on his fist.
In the tapestry of the Norman Conquest, Harold is exhibited
on horseback in the same manner.” The sculptor of Lincoln
could give no greater nobility to this image than by the
attribute of the falcon. The throne, or faldistory, is of a
peculiar form, having two horns, the motive of which is not so
plain, unless it may be supposed to apply to the Babylonian
and Egyptian Empires. At the feet is the usual monster.
This daring composition appears to be suggested by the
17th Chapter of Ezekiel, in which “a riddle and a parable
are put forth unto the House of Israel,” to wit, the eagle of
Babylon, which cropped off the twigs of the cedar-trees of
Lebanon, &c. &c.
No. 12 is plainly the Angel of Jeremiah, with an emphatic
expression. He holds his “Lamentations” mournfully in his
hands, as if penetrated with grief and despondency at their
contents. The monster is still at the feet.
And thus are the four major Prophets significantly repre-
sented by the sculptor of Lincoln.
224, ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE W. “
These having been satisfactorily conveyed in the pre-
ceding angels, the present (No. 13) seems to be intended
as the epitome of the twelve minor Prophets. An angel
in ecstatic action, and with a joyful expression of counte-
nance, points the finger energetically to the passages of the
book which showed that “the time of the Promise drew
nigh;” Acts, vii. 17;-that “the Lord whom ye seek
shall suddenly come to his Temple, even the Messenger of
the Covenant, whom ye delight in ;” Mal. iii. 1. See Micah,
v. 2; Zech. iii. 8 ; and xiv. 1, &c. &c.
From under the feet issues a monster of peculiar and dis-
gusting deformity, the last that appears in the series; signi-
fying the final expulsion of “the Dragon, that old serpent,”
the bruising of whose head was now about to be accomplished;
the Father of lies “cast out” for ever.
“And then at last our bliss
Full and perfect is,
But now begins; for, from this happy day,
The old Dragon, under ground
In straiter limits bound,
Not half so far casts his usurped sway;
And, wroth to see his kingdom fail,
Swinges the scaly horror of his folded tail.
“The oracles are dumb ;
No voice or hideous hum
Runs thro’ the arched roof, in words deceiving.
Apollo from his shrine
Can no more divine,
With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving.
No nightly trance or breathed spell
Inspires the pale-eyed priest from the prophetic cell.”
Milton's Hymn on Christ's Nativity.
No. 14.—An angel of a grave and priestly aspect—a figure
of the utmost dignity, and grandeur of design—holds towards
the young Messiah (No. 15) and his Blessed Mother, a small
figure with the hands upraised in prayer. A napkin envelopes
reverentially the hands of the angel, as fearing to touch so
sacred an emblem (apparently the soul in the act of prayer)
with unclean hands.” The story of revelation interrupted
* Cicognara sulla Scultura, v. i. pl. front of the Cathedral at Strasbourg of
xxxviii, p. 473, gives a bas-relief in the the 13th century, over the south door,
LINCOLN SCULPTURES. Plate W.
_ - - - - - -
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The Angel Choir-South Side

LINCOIL N SCULPTURE. S. Plate WI
15.
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ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 225
by this apostrophe ; the first appearance of the soul, and
its presentation to its divine Image and Maker; has a sublime
in the idea, and a peculiar propriety in this place ; as
accompanying the triumph of the Advent, and as the an-
nouncement of that Holy One exhibited in the following
subject : the soul's rest ; intercessor ; sacrifice ; atonement;
sure hope and Saviour.
The head of a woman under his feet (contrasted with
the serpent in the previous subject), possibly alluded to the
“Enmity between thee and the woman” (Gen. iii. 15), or
to the passage of Galatians, iv. 4, “God sent forth his son
made of a woman.”
PLATE WI.
No. 15 presents a group, of singular purity of design. The
artist has relied wholly on the idea, form, and grace of the
composition and of the parts; eschewing every extraneous
ornament. No hair, scarcely the flesh, “the nude.” or acces-
sory of any kind appears; an austere but noble plainness
characterises the whole, and we are captivated by the intrinsic
beauty of the conception, and the execution, unaided by the
common resources sought by the vulgar in after-times, when
the religious spirit by which these works were inspired, had
declined.
The Godhead of the child Jesus appears in the dignity of
his attitude and gesture, especially as contrasted with the
angelic boy acolyte, who ministers incense to him with offi-
cious zeal. With one hand upon his mother's breast, and
standing on her lap, He seems affectionately to confess the
taking of our human nature upon him; while with the other
he unveils Her whom all generations should henceforth call
Blessed. Her nobility, modesty, graciousness, and youth,
fulfil all the idea of the Virgin mother.
which he considers one of the most an-
cient representations of the death of the
Virgin. In this an Apostle holds up a
small figure precisely in the same manner,
which he interprets as the soul of the
Virgin. This type is not unfrequent
in mediaeval painting. See description
of the paintings of Orcagna (nearly a
hundred years posterior to the sculpture
of Lincoln) in Kugler's Campo Santo of
Pisa. (Hand Book of Painting, part i.,
p. 71.)
Q
226 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
Under her feet is the serpent, according to the prediction
that “her seed should bruise its head.”
It may safely be proposed to compare this composition
with any other known of this or of any previous Christian
epoch.
*. terminates the series occupying the five southern
bays of the Presbyterium ; and we cross to those of the
north side, with the westernmost bay of which the subject
continues.
PLATE WII.
In this we have most poetically and epigraphically ex-
pressed, the one great Sacrifice, the atonement once offered
by the Saviour for the sins of man. His cross and passion
are concisely told in the crown of thorns held up so compas-
sionately to our regard, and the spear which pierced his side ;
together with the sponge on the reed; held in a napkin, as
a sacred thing; or possibly that of St. Veronica.
The great occasion of this sacrifice is expressed in the
centre. The fall of man, represented in the expulsion of
our first parents from Paradise, by the indignant cherubim
holding the flaming sword. At his feet is again the woman's
head, as possibly signifying the primary cause of the fall, and
the source of its remedy, and of our salvation.
Thorns and thistles are seen at the feet of the afflicted
pair. The energy of action, and the fullness of expression in
this composition, will not fail to be remarked, as in the
grandest style of epic art.
PLATE . VIII.
The great doctrine of the Resurrection appears to be pre-
sented to us in the most pathetic manner by No. 19. The
Saviour, crowned with thorns, opens his garment with his left,
and points to the wound in his side.
“Then saith he to Thomas: reach hither thy finger, and
behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it
into my side; and be not faithless, but believing.
- - - -
LIN COLN SCULPTURE S Plate VII
17.
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The Angel Choir–North Side





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ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 227
“And Thomas answered, and said unto him, My Lord and
my God!
“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me,
thou hast believed : Blessed are they that have not seen,
and yet have believed l’
To the left again is the youthful angelic acolyte, who
holds up the soul in the spirit of prayer addressed to the
Saviour. It will be observed that the Christ is placed in this
spandril somewhat differently from the others, the object
being that this important and touching symbol should be
presented to the congregation assembled westward.
Those who are intimately acquainted with the works of the
Italians in the subsequent century, see in this type the con-
demnation of a sinful world in the single finger of the right
hand; the benediction being signified by two, as in the fol-
lowing angel. And certain it is that Orcagna has so employed
this action in the Campo Santo, and M. Angelo, after him, in
the Sistine Chapel, in their great pictures of the Judgments.
—Which of these interpretations applies to this figure, as
representing the God of Mercy, or of Wengeance, must be
determined by those better acquainted than myself with the
theology of the age, and the examples of mediaeval art.
The same elegant symbolism and epigrammatic concise-
ness which we have remarked in all these works, is con-
spicuous in No. 20, in which the doctrine of the Judgment to
come is so scripturally and significantly expressed. Here are
none of the trite and common-place figures, the expanded
jaws of hell, and the puerile exhibition of devils and pitch-
forks, and the frying of the sinners in the flames of the gulf,
but an angel, “a pair of balances in his hand” (Rev. vi. 5);
weighs the souls “in the balances of justice” (Job, xxxi. 6);
the good fall into his lap, the light are scattered. His sin-
gular attitude expresses aptly the effort of the weight, and
his right in benediction seems to mark the Joy of Angels in
the Salvation of one sinner.
The following, No. 21, the Angel of Incense, seems to pro-
pitiate the Saviour, and to seek the mitigation of the awful
penalties of judgment, through the prayers of the Saints.
Q 2
228 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the
way: when his wrath is kindled, but a little; blessed are
all they that put their trust in him.”—Ps. ii. 12.
“And the angel came and stood at the altar, having a
golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense,
that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the
golden altar which was before the throne.”—Rev. viii. 3.
The censer is thrown gracefully forward, the action of the
hands is true, and full of delicacy and intelligence of design ;
and the whole figure of the angel occupies the spandril most
efficiently.
PLATE IX.
In this bay, we have plainly the doctrine of rewards and
punishments, and the increase of joy and peace in believing.
(Rom. xv. 13)—“The peace of God, which passeth under-
standing.”
The palm branch in the left hand of the angel, No. 22, is
conventionally significant of martyrdom, and may refer to the
angel of Revelations (xx. 4): “And I saw thrones, and they
sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them : and
I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of
Jesus, and for the Word of God.” -
No. 24 may possibly refer to Rev. xiii. 8: “And all
that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are
not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world.” And again (Rev. xx. 11): “And I
saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it; from whose
face the earth and the heavens fled away; and there was
found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great,
stand before God; and the books were opened, and another
book was opened, which is the Book of Life ; and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the
dead who were in it; and death and the grave delivered up
the dead who were in them, and they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and the grave were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And
LINCOLN SCULPTUR E S Plate IX
23.
The Angel Choir --North Side
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ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 229
whoever was not found written in the Book of Life, was cast
into the lake of fire.”
Nothing can be more angelic than the calm assurance of
the angel (No. 22), or the anxious search of the angel
(No. 24), as applied to the passages before us.
These two figures appear to refer especially to No. 23, an
angel, having a starry crown on his head, holding crowns in
either hand, and smiling, as ready to reward the just, and
holding up to all “the recompense of the reward.”—“Ye
shall receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away.” (Peter,
v. 4).-“There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,”
(2 Tim. iv. 8).-* For the hour is coming, in the which all
that are in the grave shall hear his voice, and shall come
forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of the
life. And they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation.” (John, v. 28, 29.) -
Sweetness, dignity, and modesty are conspicuous in the
aspect of this beautiful figure. The naïve innocence of the
attitude, the gracious turn of the head, and the smile which
seems to say—“I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
(Rom. ix. 15.) The grand symmetry of the attitude, so
entirely relieved from all driness by variety in the lines of
the drapery, and those quiet indications of expression, all
display the great master.
A singular type appears under the angel’s feet, being two
heads, male and female, proceeding from one body, possibly
alluding to those rewards as equally offered to both sexes, or
as representing the married life —or the final unity of
nature in respect of sex in heaven, where “they neither marry
nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God.”
(Matt. xxii. 30.)
PLATE X.
This bay seems entirely devoted to Praise, the joys of
Heaven, the reign of Peace. The enthusiasm of the per-
formers (Nos. 25 and 26) may be conceived by their attitudes,
but they must be visited in the original to feel the earnestness
230 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
of their movement. They may possibly refer to Rev. xv. 2:
“And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and
the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy
works, Lord God Almighty : just and true are thy ways, thou
King of Saints,” &c. &c. No. 27, crowned with stars, and
holding a palm branch in the left, and a scroll in the left,
appears to refer to Rev. xiv. 6.
“And I saw another angel in the midst of the Heavens,
having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto those who dwell
in the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue,
and people, saying, with a loud voice, Fear God, and give
glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come ; worship
him who made the heavens, and the earth, and the Sea, and
the fountains of waters.” The direction towards the congre-
gation below, remarked in the Christ, No. 19, is given also
to this figure, and for the same reason.
PLATE XI.
Gives us the fifth and last bay, at the north-east end,
opposite to the commencement of the series at the south-
east. No. 28 appears to form part of the preceding group,
crowned with stars, sounding the harp, which has a remark-
able drapery at the lower extremity, possibly the case or
clothing of the instrument, not yet removed by the graceful
performer. This figure may possibly refer to Rev. xiv. 1:
“And I heard a voice from heaven, loud as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of a great thunder, and I heard the
voice of harpers, harping with their harps: and they sung a
new song before the throne, and before the four living
creatures, and the elders : and no man could learn that
Song,” &c. &c.
To these last figures it is difficult to assign a more definite
purpose than is here suggested : they seem to present the
triumph of the Christian covenant, the acknowledgments of
God's mercies, the daily sacrifice of praise, and prayer, and
peace in believing, the Hallelujah which should terminate this
noble homily. The following, No. 29, is more decidedly
significant, as the angel of Revelations, xii. 1 : “And there
LINCOLN SCULPTURE S Plate XI.
Printed by humandel， walion
The Angel Choir-North Side


ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 231
appeared a great wonder in Heaven ; a woman clothed with
the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a
crown of twelve stars.” Jesus Christ is called the “Sun of
Righteousness.” Mal. iv. 2.; He enlightens, comforts, and
Quickens His people ; the moon signifies the Church, clothed
with the righteousness of Christ, purity of doctrine, and a
holy conversation, condemning and undervaluing worldly
things, and the Mosaical worship. The Church appears in
the moon in the form of a female head, and thence a Scroll
depending, and containing the doctrines, of which she is the
sacred depository:—and exceedingly grand and impressive
is this symmetrical symbol in the hands of our Lincoln
sculptor.
No. 30 is the last angel, possibly, of the last chapter of
Revelations xxii. 10 : “And the angel saith unto me,
Seal not the saying of the Prophecy of this book: for the
time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still:
and he who is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he who is
righteous, let him be righteous still ; and he who is holy, let
him be holy still. Lo! I come quickly ; and my reward is
with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first
and the last.”—The position of the angel conforms to this
passage, as also the scroll held in the hand, much of which is
still unrolled.
The apology already offered for the boldness of these inter-
pretations of Sacred things, must here be repeated ; as also
the wish that they could have been undertaken by more
professional persons. They may be accepted meanwhile by
the indulgent as sufficient to direct a more careful investiga-
tion into the solemn and important intention of their subject.
For the style of design and execution in these works of
so remote a period little apology need be made ; like the
subject of them it is of all time, and with very few exceptions
might be applied to works of the present day ; and ample
compensation for all defects will be found in the vigour,
freshness, and originality of idea which abound in them.
232 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
They betray no trace whatever of the stiff Byzantine style,
so frequent in the English sculpture of the preceding century,”
and which was still adhered to in the works of the contem-
porary Italians, Cimabue, Gaddi, Duccio, and others: no
formal constraint or superstitious enthusiasm, nor any undue
employment of allegory (with which they are reproached),
offend us in the sculptures of Lincoln ; all the freedom and
naturalness attributed subsequently to Giotto, who was but
an infant when these works were executed, are here antici-
pated, and strike us in every instance. Complete emancipa-
tion from any known prototype or prevailing manner, is
apparent; the artist dealt with his subject and material with
all the originality and freedom of a master.
Unrestrained by classical doctrine or example, the mediaeval
sculptor availed himself of every resource which imagination
could present to convey the meaning of his work ; as in the
drama of the revival in this country, all means were lawful to
his ends. The nice distinctions of conceit and legitimate poetic
license were not scrupulously regarded in his illustrations, since
the means of his explanation were limited ; for convention had
not (as in the classical art) so decisively prescribed the cha-
racteristics of the popular subjects of art, as to make them
immediately recognisable. Indeed, it was found necessary,
about the middle of the thirteenth century (after the great
experience of Wells Cathedral, in which they were omitted),
to append scrolls, on which the names or explanatory pas-
sages of Scripture were inscribed : which these of Lincoln,
probably contained.
Of course the Gothic quaintness and the barbaric feudal
association are inevitable : the royalty of David is expressed
by the imposing Swagger of the Gothic King; and the
nobility of the Angel of Ezekiel, by the attribute of the
“ars venatoria,”—the falcon and the gloves. The ab-
sence, also, of academic study often presents attitudes and
arrangements which shock our habits; but to make up
for these defects, other qualities, new and at all times rare
* See the south gate of Malmsbury, by Roger of Salisbury.
ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 233
to be met with, impress us throughout ;-a religious purity
of thought and a natural gladness; so much idea and so
little ornament ; simplicity of attitude, and gentle signi-
ficance of gesture; the all-sufficiency of the drapery in mass
and dignity, made out of the simple vesture of the acolyte,
yet varying the lines, and giving action and expression to
the figures. The heads and limbs of the angels present a
seraphic character, neither sex is distinguishable; the heads
are crowned with stars; awfulness, anxiety, Serenity, and
even playfulness; grace and dignity will be found in the
different subjects, accordant with their position and circum-
stance. The surpassing composition, No. 15, may suffice to
celebrate a School. The science of composition will be
admired in many of them as of signal merit, and the
manner in which the wings are folded, and the composition
adapted to the whole or the half spandril, is always ingenious
and admirable—the reader restoring in imagination the ex-
tended wings, which occupy their localities so happily, and
regretting (as he certainly will do) their necessary curtailment
in the lithographs.
In the delineation of these works, the accomplished pencil
of Mr. Stevens has been engaged;’ and his devotion, in Italy,
to the works of Giotto and the masters of the fourteenth
century, (which he assures me are surpassed by those of the
Lincoln Sculptor,) renders his assistance of the greatest value.
The smallness of the scale in which they have been executed,
has unavoidably obscured many of those expressions which
only the careful observation of the originals can appreciate.
The recognition of the merits of these sculptures, no less
as works of art than of religious sentiment and Scriptural
learning, renders the question of the epoch of their perform-
ance and of the hands by which they were probably wrought,
of the highest interest to those who delight in the aspirations
of our countrymen, in every age, to honourable renown, in
all the branches of intellectual and of chivalrous prowess.”
* The whole of these lithographs are the remainder are from mine—C. R. C.
by this gentleman, and the Nos. 4, 5, 6, * All English experience confirms the
7, 8, 13, 14, 15, are from his own drawings: observation of Cicognara, vol. i., p. 368,
234 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
Allowing the reasonable time required for the preparation
of the design and the maturing of the execution, there can
be little doubt that, finished in 1282, these sculptures must
have been determined about 1275. At that period, one
only name is recorded by the Italians (always jealous of
priority in this walk of science) in the annals of art, namely,
that of Nicolas Pisani, as signal, and capable of works of this
kind. Cimabue, the father of Italian painting, was not born
till 1240, and his renowned pupil, Giotto, till 1276.
It appears that the first work of Nicolas, the sarcophagus of
St. Dominico, begun 1225, was finished in 1231. In 1267, he
was engaged in carving the stalls of the new church at
Sienna ; having, the year before, completed the famous
pulpit at Pisa. No suspicion is entertained of his employment,
(nor of those renowned cotemporary painters) north of the
Alps. His son, Giovanni, and his School, could not have had
the smallest hand in them, since the sculptures at Orvieto
(executed by them), were not undertaken till 1300. We
owe to the Chevalier Cicognara very long and elaborate re-
searches into the history of the early sculpture of Italy, and
engravings, chiefly illustrating the merits of the Pisani; and
we may refer to the plates of his first volume, from the
plates VII. to XVIII., in proof that they are wholly of another
style ; inspired, and often directly adopted, from the antique
Roman sarcophagi; without the originality apparent in the
School of Lincoln, and England generally; and having, in
fact, nothing in common, at the period in question, with the
Schools north of the Alps. The figures of the Pisani sculp-
tures, crowded, and piled upon each other, after the manner
of the decline of classical art; and relating to the common
places, the torments of hell, the miracles of St. Dominico, the
visit of the Magi, the Resurrection, &c., bear no comparison
“that the humility of the mediaeval artist
prevented his appending his name to a
devotional work. The renowned names
of the Pisani and others are recovered
from other sources, and not from their
works.” We are not, then, surprised at
the loss of the names either of the sculp-
tors or architects of Lincoln.—“What-
soever ye do, do all to the glory of God,”
“and through the knowledge of Him
that hath called us to glory and virtue"
—appear to have been the motives and
rewards of the mediaeval craftsman. Ac-
cording to Wasari, however, most of the
early Italian painters did inscribe their
Ila,IIlCS.
ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 235
to the originality of mind or design which this intellectual
cycle exhibits, and must be unequivocally pronounced as
inferior in conception to our Lincoln sculptures. The com-
parison of their execution must depend on casts which we
may one day hope to obtain.
As may be naturally concluded, the Italian School never
emancipated itself from the trammels of the antique, and it
is not till we examine the sculptures of Steinbach, at Stras-
bourg, executed about 1318 (see Cicognara's Plate XXXVIII.,
figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), and those of England, France, and
Germany,” that we can discover the peculiar style of the
northern school, and recognise our relationship to that, rather
than any Italian or Byzantine models of the twelfth or thir-
teenth centuries."
Indeed when we consider the very small number of works
in architecture executed in Italy in the thirteenth, compared
with those of the North in that age, especially in England,
where no fewer than one hundred and fifty-seven religious
houses were built, besides additions to almost every church
(cathedral, or others) during the reign of Henry III. alone;
(1216 to 1272); and that the much descanted churches of
Sienna and Orvieto were the chief works of that century in
Italy; and the fact, that wherever they commenced works
of magnitude, as at Assisi, and Milan, and Florence, the
Italians themselves invited and employed the more practised
artists of Germany; we are not surprised at the greater
advancement in that age in the North ; and we protest
against the pretensions of the modern writers of Italy to
superiority or priority in art in that century. Very little
pains in comparing the works of which we have indications by
engravings or casts, and the consideration of the respective
histories of England and Italy in the thirteenth century, will
force us to acknowledge the arguments which the sculptures of
Wells, Salisbury, Lincoln, and others, adduce to prove that there
* “Quicquid in auri, argenti, cupri et * It is astonishing that Cicognara
ferri, lignorum lapidumve subtilitate should have taken the miserable figures of
Solers laudat Germania,” are the words of Mars and Hercules, figs. 1, 2, evidently the
the Monk Theophilus. See Cicognara, works of modern hands of the worst style,
vol. i. p. 366. for German works of the 14th century.
236 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL,
were Schools in the North of a distinct and original character;
naturally resulting from a much more extensive patronage
and practice of these arts than existed, in that century, in
the South.
And it is reasonable to suppose that the moral elevation
which distinguishes the biography of a Greathead or a Roger
Bacon, in learning and religion; and that the “upright heart
and pure” which are so conspicuous in the poetical minds
of the North, must necessarily have stamped their impress
upon the productions of art, (so soon as they were emanci-
pated from the trammels of pupillage, and they could speak
for themselves,) no less characteristically under the hand of
the unimpassioned Saxon than under that of the more sanguine
and imaginative Italian. -
In addition to the names of English artists already known
through Walpole and other writers, the researches of the
Rev. Joseph Hunter bring much light to this interesting
question.” That gentleman has recovered the names of nine
sculptors,” three architects or contractors,” and two painters,”
(all, but one, of English names) engaged by Edward I. in
the execution of those exquisite works, the Crosses of the
good Queen Eleanor, who died in 1290 ; shortly after the
completion of the Angel Choir. (See Archaeologia, Vol. xxix.)
Indeed history amply confirms these evidences, and we
read that several of the clergy, and particularly the monks,
applied to the pious work (as it was then justly esteemed) of
adorning their churches with sculpture.” Walter of Colchester,
2
XXIXth vol. Archaeologia.
Richard de Stowe.
John de Battle.
Dyminge de Legeri.
Michael de Canterbury.
Richard de Crundall.
Roger de Crundall.
William de Ireland.
Alexander le Imaginator, or de
Abyndon.
Master William Torrel.
* William de Hoo.
William de Suffolk.
Roger de Newmarsh.
* William de Durham.
John de Bristol.
3
* The religious spirit of the mediaeval
artist is well described by a fragment of
Ghiberti, cited by Cicognara, vol. i., p. 368.
Speaking of a sculptor of Cologne of about
1400 :—
“In Germany, in the city of Cologne,
there was a sculptor of great skill; he was
of an excellent talent, and lived with the
Duke of Anjou, who gave him many
works in gold to do; amongst others was
a relief in gold, which with every pains he
conducted wonderfully. He was perfect
in his works, and equal to the ancient
Greeks. He made the heads wonderfully,
and every naked part; there was no fault
but that his figures might be a little
ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 237
sacrist of the Abbey of St. Alban's, is celebrated by Matthew
Paris, his cotemporary and monk of the same abbey, as an
admirable statuary ; and several of his works are described
as extremely beautiful.”
Again, a hundred years later, we have a remarkable evi-
dence to the fact of works of statuary transported from
England into Italy,” which may be deemed a full and suffi-
cient proof of the merit attributed by Italians themselves to
the English School, at a time that Giotto and his followers were
in such high reputation, and when Orcagna (1380) had just
completed his pictures in the Campo Santo of Pisa. In
the year “ 1382, Richard II. granted a licence to Cosmo
Gentilis, the Pope's collector in England, to export three
great images, one of St. Peter, of St. Paul, and of the
Virgin, and a small image of the Holy Trinity, without
paying any duty or custom ; which seems to indicate that
certain customs were then payable on the exportation of
such commodities.”
But the portrait of Richard II., (of about 1385, probably
an unique work of this date in Europe,) is a very remarkable
specimen of the arts in Englanh at that time, and offers
a conclusive and tangible evidence no where sufficiently
insisted on, of the merits of the English School of painting
at the period of its infancy still in Italy.”
“Certain youths who studied the arts
of sculpture told me how entirely learned
he was in the arts, and how he passed his
time. He was indeed learned, a great
short. He was a most able and learned
master, and excellent in his art. I saw
many of his figures; they had a beautiful
air; he was indeed most learned. He
saw some work of his done for a public
place, in which he had used his utmost
skill and love, altered by the Duke, and
all his labour thrown away. He cast him-
self upon his knees, and, raising his eyes
and his hands to heaven, he exclaimed,
“O Lord, who governest Heaven and
earth, and madest all things, it becomes
not my ignorance to follow other than
Thee. Have mercy on me!” So having
said, he immediately disposed of every-
thing for the love of God, and retired to
a mountain where there was a monastery,
of which he became a member; doing
penance all the rest of his days. He lived
long, and died in the time of Pope Martin.
draftsman, and very docile and kind.
These youths who desired his instruction
used to go to him begging his advice, and
he received them with the greatest hu-
mility, giving them every instruction,
showing them proportions and measures,
and many examples; for he was most
perfect, and of the greatest humility.
He died in that monastery, and was indeed
most excellent in his art, and of a most
holy life.”
7 Matthew Paris, Vitae Abbatum, pp.
80, 81.
8 Henry's Hist. vol. viii., p. 296.
9 See Ornaments of Churches Con-
sidered.
238 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
Although it is not the intention here to attempt the
description of the other sculptures which adorn the Cathedral
of Lincoln, the omission of their recommendation, as of the
highest Archaeological interest, would not be pardoned by
the pilgrim to its venerable precincts. As this Cathedral
contains the most admirable specimens we possess (so far as
I have ascertained) of the climax of the art of sculpture in
this country, so it displays those of its dawn and of its
absolute decline amongst us ; each of which deserves a
special illustration.
The frieze over the western doors, relating to the Old and
New Testaments, is pronounced by Gough to be of Saxon
workmanship ; and I entirely coincide in the opinion of that
learned antiquary. First, from the evidences furnished by
the manner of their insertion in the front, built by the Norman
Bishop Remigius, about the year 1088; secondly, from the
disrespect shown by his successor, Bishop Alexander, only
thirty years after, to the work (not of his Norman predeces-
sor, but only of the despised Saaron) in breaking down the
centre and key of the subject (now happily preserved by the
learned and courteous architect of the Cathedral, Mr.Willson)
for the sake of his new door-case ; and thirdly, from the inter-
nal evidences of the work itself. A detailed investigation into
these arguments, and of the very curious and original symbols
contained in this interesting frieze, would well repay the
lover of Saxon remains; and would go far to establish an
unique example of the attainments in the art of that revered
ancestry.
Over the west door are eleven kings, under canopies, from
William the Conqueror to Edward III., reasonably considered
to have been placed there under the active but tasteless super-
intendance of the Treasurer Welbourne, about 1370. The
costume and details may possibly contain some archaeological
interest; but so wretched are the design and workmanship
of these carvings, that they furnish matter of painful edifica-
tion in tracing the rapid decline, which may be effected upon
the sensitive existence of fine art during one century only.
The causes of this deplorable decay during this period,
ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 239
may be found sufficient to account for it. The salt of the
Church had lost its savour, -the heart-affecting lessons of
Holy Writ had ceased to be the study of the clergy; scho-
lastic divinity and the so-called philosophy of Aristotle, had
superseded the Scriptures. The artist, no longer taught by
them, followed the subtleties of the new schools, in cold
refinements and trivialities. The pomp of heraldry had
usurped the places which scriptural illustration had hitherto
occupied. Military rapine and all its accompanying ills of
pestilence and famine in the fourteenth, combined to dash
the hopeful advancement which art had promised in the
thirteenth century.
Of that happier period, however, three other specimens
are to be remarked in the east end; first, upon the face of
the altar of the holy Sepulchre are three Knights Templars,
admirably composed and executed ; the heads however have
been sadly defaced. They will repay the artist in their sen-
timent and expression, in their well contrived groupings, and
the artistic arrangement of their accessories.
The south gateway of the Presbyterium is an excellent
(and in England unique) example of the porch so frequent
in France ; it is profusely adorned with sculpture, described
by Mr. Wild in p. 32, and in Plate XIV., fig. 3. It is also
referred to by Flaxman in his lecture on Composition, p. 168,
Plate XXXIX. It represents the Judgment. Though of the
prosperous period of art, its merit as compared with the
Angels of the choir may well be questioned ; at all events it
is clearly (as are also the four statues in the porch) by another
hand.
Against the south-eastern pier is a group of the King and
Queen, Edward and Eleanor, of consummate grandeur and
interest. The King bears his shield and tramples on the
enemy. The beloved wife of his youth follows him closely.
There is a freedom and energy of style in these figures which
are rarely seen in any period. Both have unhappily lost
their heads, and that within these few years. In the next pier
is a statue of a Queen, who may possibly be designed for
Edward's second spouse, the French Princess Margaret ; and
240 ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
this conjecture is strengthened by the expression of fashion
and refinement, even to the fingers' ends, which the sculptor
attributed to her country. The neglect and decay of these
fine works, so interesting to history and to art, is a reproach.
A little cost and pains would suffice to secure that which is
now subject to every vulgar spoliation. Casts in plaster
should be taken, and our Museum enriched by these precious
works which not only illustrate our history, and do honour to
our countrymen, but may also help to resuscitate the noblest
exercise of a now declining art.
C. R. COCKERELL.

ESGUTCHEONS ON THE TOMB OF BISHOP BURGHERSH, LIN COLN MINSTER,
3. Lionel Earl of Ulster. 2. Edward, Prince of Wales. 1. King Edward III.
6. Henry, Duke of Lancaster. 5. Edmund of Langley. 4. John, Earl of Richmond.
These escutcheons, illustrative of the Marks of Cadency borne by the Plantagenet family, are numbered in the
order in which they appear on the tomb, commencing from the West, or head of the monument.


A SHORT DISSERTATION
UPON THE MONUMENTS AT THE UPPER, END OF THE NORTH-EASTERN PART OF
THE PRESBYTERY (OR CHOIR OF ANGELS). IN THE CATHEDRAL OF LINCOLN.
BY THE WEN. THE ARCHDEACON OF LINCOLN.
IN approaching the subject of the monuments called the
Burghersh Tombs, we should be impressed with this opinion,
that they are designed to convey, through the instrumentality
of armorial bearings (for they bear no inscription, either on
brass or stone), not only the alliances of the persons to whose
memory they were erected, but also to point out the sove-
reign, the princes, and nobles, under whom and with whom
each of these persons principally served in the course of
their life.
This impression will assist materially in ascertaining whe-
ther the following statement lead to a just conclusion, and
correctly appropriate each tomb to the memory of the person
for whom it was erected.
The monuments in question have, by different writers,
been supposed to commemorate various individuals. Dugdale
has stated, and with apparent truth, that the tomb and
monument in the north wall of this part of the Cathedral is
to the memory of Bartholomew, Lord Burghersh, brother of
the bishop of that name. On the contrary, Browne Willis,
in his Ichnography of this Church, assigns it to Leo, Lord
Welles, slain in 1461. Now, independently of the style of
architecture, which is the Decorated, the monument has, in
its details, no reference to that family; and, by examining
the armorial bearings, which form a prominent feature in its
decoration, it will appear to be, as Dugdale has asserted, the
tomb of Bartholomew, Baron Burghersh.
As the evidence which I have to adduce is contained
in the armorial bearings, let me present the most copious
pedigree of this noble family which has come to our know-
242 A SHORT DISSERTATION UPON MONUMENTS
ledge, extracted from a work of great research, Streatfeild's
“Excerpta Cantiana,” circulated by its author amongst private
friends and connexions. This pedigree will show the heiresses
introduced into the family of Burghersh, and their other
alliances, and therefore will account for the bearings to be
expected on their tombs.

SIR WILLIAM DE BURGHERSH I . . . . d. and co-h. of de Chedington.
Robert de Burghersh, Warden F . . . . Sister of Bartholomew, Lord Badlesmere,
of the Cinque Ports, 26–30 (see Blore, 204.) (Arms, a fess double cotised.)
Ed. I. Summoned to Parlt.
32—3. Died 34 Ed.I. (Arms,
a lion rampant double
queued.)
Sir Stephen de Burghersh;T . . Henry, Bp. of Sir Bartholomew=Eliz. d. and co-h. Robert.
son and heir, aged 23, Lincoln, Lord Warden of the of Theobald de Ob. s. p.
34 Ed. I. Ob. 2 Ed. II. Treasurer and Cinque Ports. Verdon.
Lord Chancel- Sum. to Parlt. 28. (Arms, a fret.)
lor. Ob. 15 Ob. 29 Ed. III.
Ed. III.
1st, Sir Walter-FMaud, d. and ha-Sir Thomas d’Al-
Paveley. Ob. Aged 5, 3 Ed. done, Sen. Ob.
1 Ed. II. II. 25 June, 35
Ed. III.
Sir Henry=Isabel, d. of Hugh, Joale, dà.
Ob. 23 and sister of Ed- of John de
Sir Walter Paveley, ºf
Ed. III. mund St. John, Mohun, of
TI
Sir Edward Paveley, Sir Walter, brother who married, se- Dunster.
S. P. Ob. 7 Dec. and heir. Ob. Sep. condly, Lucas de
49 Ed. III. 4 Rich. II. Poynings.
1st, Cicely, d. and=Sir 'Bartholomew=2nd, Margaret de J ohh. Ob. FMaude, d.
h. of Richard de R.G. Ob. Ap. 5, Badlesmere, who before 31 ſ and co-h. of
Weyland. 43 Ed. III. married, second- Ed. III. Edmund
ly, William Bacon.
Burcester.
Sir Edward le Despencer-FElizabeth, d and h. John. Ob. TIsmania, d. of
Ob. 1375, 49 Ed. III. Aged about 24, 19 Rich.II. . . . Hunham,
43 Ed. III. and widow of
Ralegh.
Tº: Earl of:-Cº. : of
oucester. und o r-l—
Langley, Duke Margaret-1st Maud-Thos.
of York. to Grenville, Chaucer.
- 2ndly to Arun-
1st, Richard Lord F Isabel. =2nd, Richard - del.
Bergavenny, Earl of
and Earl of Warwick.
Gloucester.
The Sir Bartholomew, Baron Burghersh, mentioned in this
pedigree, is stated in Lodge's extinct Peerage to have been
elder brother of the Bishop of Lincoln. He was the third
baron, and latterly had the addition of “senior” attached to
his name. From the account given of him, he was in the
wars of Scotland and France during the reign of Edward the
Second,-in the retinue, be it remarked, of Bartholomew, Lord
Badlesmere, his kinsman, by the mother's side; but in the
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF LINCOLN. 243
15th of the same reign, joining Thomas, Earl of Lancaster
(whose armorial bearings are on the monument), after the
battle of Boroughbridge, he was taken prisoner with Lord
Badlesmere and sent to the Tower. He was restored to his
freedom and rank on the arrival of Queen Isabel and the
Prince, and constituted Governor of Dover Castle, and
Warden of the Cinque Ports, trusts conferred upon him by
King Edward the Third, in whose reign he became still more
highly distinguished, sharing in the glories of Cressy, and
is recorded in the Chronicle of Froissart as a Knight conspi-
cuous for courage and humanity. He also filled several
important offices, such as that of Lord Chamberlain of the
Household, Constable of the Tower, &c. He married Eliza-
beth, daughter and co-heiress of Theobald de Verdon, of
Staffordshire, a powerful baron.
We will now give reasons for stating that this tomb was
erected to his memory.
Above the head of a recumbent effigy, clad in plate
armour, and reclining on his helmet, is this armorial bear-
ing:—a lion rampant, double queued, supported by two
angels. This is the coat armour of the Burghersh family,
and, by its prominent position on the tomb, applies to the
person represented below.
Above this tomb is a rich canopy of three tabernacles, on
the spandrils of which are the shields of arms of Edward the
Third and his sons; namely, the Black Prince ; Lionel, Duke
of Clarence; John of Ghent, and Edmund of Langley, with
the shield of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster and Lincoln, under
whom Bartholomew, Baron Burghersh, served. -
On the side of the altar tomb are the shields of families
with whom he was either immediately allied or connected.
Burghersh.
. Bohun, Earl of Northampton.
. Hastings and Valence, quarterly.
. Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick.
. Mortimer.
. (Defaced).
. Stafford, (a chevron).
i
R 2
244, A SHORT TXISSERTATION UPON MONUMENTS
8. Badlesmere.
9. Werdon.
10. Roos.
11. Stafford (a chevron charged with three estoiles).
12. Tibtoft, or Kerdeston, (a saltire engrailed).
That the tomb opposite to that of which we have been
treating was erected to the memory of Henry de Burghersh,
Bishop of Lincoln, no person has ever doubted ; and, after
we have inspected the armorial bearings on it, and the tomb
at its foot, and taken them in connexion with that last
described, we shall find that the one illustrates the other.
The tomb, to which we now turn our attention, bears upon
it the effigy of a bishop in pontificalibus, without any legend
on its verge. His mitre is on his head, and is supported by
two angels. In front of it, within its borders, are represent-
ations of the bull and eagle, the symbols of St. Luke and
St. John : probably the other two symbols of the remaining
evangelists, the angel and the lion, ornamented the back part
of the mitre.
On the sides of this tomb are several armorial bearings of
a character, in many instances, similar to those on the tomb
of Bartholomew, Lord Burghersh.
Beginning on the north side at the head, and thence pro-
ceeding towards the feet, we meet with the armorial bearings
of King Edward the Third and his four sons, in regular suc-
cession as, (on the upper part of the tomb of Lord Burghersh,)
with those of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, whose only daugh-
ter, Blanch, married John of Ghent. These interesting
examples of heraldry are shown in the annexed illustrations.
After these follow, in small spandrils, over as many small
effigies, two and two seated, a series of armorial bearings,
female and male; and all allied, immediately or remotely,
with the De Burghersh, in a great degree through their
alliance with Badlesmere.
The two first of these armorial bearings are over two male
figures, that on the right having a cross between four lions
rampant, double queued, and on the left, Hastings quartering
Valence, the same as on the tomb of Bartholomew, Lord
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF LINCOLN. 245
Burghersh. In the next panel, two male figures, also seated
at a book ; that on the right having over it the armorial
bearing of Bohun, Earl of Northampton; and that on the
left, Clare, Earl of Gloucester. Continuing the series of
armorial bearings along the side of the tomb at the foot of
the Bishop's, which was erected for Robert de Burghersh his
brother,' and once had a recumbent effigy upon it, there are
two figures, alternately male and female, under each panel.
Over the first figure, the armorial bearing of Bohun, Earl of
Northampton; over the female, that of Maud, daughter of
Bartholomew, Lord Badlesmere, and widow of John de Vere,
seventh Earl of Oxford. In the next compartment, over the
male, the shield of Edmund Mortimer; over the female, that
of Elizabeth, daughter of Bartholomew, Lord Badlesmere,
widow of Bohun, Earl of Northampton. In the next com-
partment, over the male, the shield of Vere, Earl of Oxford ;
over the female, that of Roos impaling Burghersh. In the last
compartment, over the male, the shield of Roos, of Hamlake;
over the female, that of Tibtoft impaling Badlesmere.
On the south side of Bishop Burghersh's tomb, in large
panels, are escutcheons bearing the following arms:–
. A lion rampant.—Burghersh (?)
Checky, a fess.-Beauchamp (?)
. A lion rampant, crowned.
. A bend, in chief a label of five points, St. Pierre.
. A saltire engrailed.—Tibtoft.
. A fess checky, between three leopards’ heads, jessant.—Cantilupe.
. A lion rampant, double queued.—Burghersh.
. A lion rampant, within a bordure engrailed.
Over these tombs were formerly rich canopies, which, by
the injudicious license of the then keepers of the Cathedral,
were thrown down by the boys who used to climb upon them,
as they passed with their baskets, &c., through the church.
Much of these canopies remains in the adjoining chapel,
which, being carefully brought together and repaired, might
restore these beautiful monuments to their original state.
They are of exquisite workmanship, and are highly interesting.
* See Dugdale.
246 A SHORT DISSERTATION UPON MONUMENTS
On this spot stood St. Catherine's Altar, at which a chantry
was founded for six chaplains, by Bartholomew, Henry, and
Robert Burghersh, to pray for their souls, &c. So Browne
Willis states, quoting a MS. in the Cotton Library.” But the
account which he himself received of the chantries in this
cathedral, only denominated it Lord Burghersh's Chantry.
These priests inhabited a mansion in James Street, still
known as the Burghersh Chantry-house, and retaining some
remains of its ancient character, particularly the decorated
tracery of one of the windows in the Refectory.
NOTE ON THE CANTILUPE AND ADJOINING MONUMENT IN
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
This monument consists of an altar tomb elevated upon a high basement, and
has on its south side, towards the aisle, at the end of which the Cantilupe Chantry
Priests officiated, and which was dedicated to St. Nicholas, the following
armorial bearings, each within an eight-point panel. Cantilupes thrice
repeated; namely, Gules a fesse vairé, between three Leopards' heads inverted,
jessant fleurs-de-lis, or. Recumbent on the top of the tomb is an effigy armed
with his surcoat which bears the same arms, his head reclining on a helmet,
the limbs of the effigy being mutilated. At the head of this tomb similarly
elevated is a tomb of like construction, having the effigy of a Canon in his
habiliments, and on its south side, towards the Chantry, the following
armorial bearings—first shield, three narcissus flowers; second, Quarterly,
first, three Lions passant guardant; second, five bends; third, a Lion
rampant; fourth, three narcissus flowers; third Shield, a Lion rampant.
(Wimbishe, of Nooton, Lincolnshire.)
Over these tombs are two rich canopies, supported by slender buttresses
and terminating in pinnacles crocketed with decorated pediments above two
trefoiled arches on either side, with rich tracery, mouldings, and crockets.
These slender buttresses partake of the character of the buttresses at the
ends of Catherine Swinford's monument, the lower parts of which only
remain. This might lead some persons to suppose that they belong to an
age posterior to the tombs; but the tracery upon them is of the Decorated
style, and we learn that Sir Nicholas de Cantilupe, the third baron of that
name, died in 1355, and that his widow, Joan, Lady Cantilupe, who was
* Survey of Lincoln Cathedral, p. 34. The MS. now in Brit. Mus. is marked
Tiberius, E. 3.
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF LINCOLN. 247
buried between his tomb and the altar of St.Nicholas, founded a chantry at that
altar. It is probable that she also erected these superb canopies. On the
middle buttress on the south side is an escutcheon, on which was emblazoned
the arms of St. Hugh, a saltier between four fleurs-de-lis, now almost faded
away, but still discernible. The opposite sides of these tombs, towards
the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, or rather of St. John, served for sedilia for
the use of the Priests officiating at St. Mary’s altar, where also was a
chantry for Queen Eleanor: the socket for the piscina may be seen under the
second arched panel from the Cantilupe tomb.
THE TOMBS OF CATHERINE, DUCHESS OF LANCASTER, AND HER
DAUGHTER, JOAN, COUNTESS OF WESTMORLAND.
These tombs were originally side by side, but, upon the repairing of the
Cathedral, were, by curtailing the tomb of the daughter, placed in the same
line,—to the great damage of the Countess of Westmorland's tomb, which, by
that proceeding, has been considerably shortened, and the matrix of the
original brass effigies been deprived of the head. Over the tomb of the
Duchess originally was a splendid canopy, the remains of which are preserved,
extending nearly from pier to pier on the south side of the choir, and
covering not merely the tomb, but also the altar at the foot of the tomb,
where her Chantry Priest performed his office: this canopy had a frieze
added to it, it is presumed, after the restoration, in the time of Bishop
Fuller, who, according to the taste of those days, endeavoured to repair the
dilapidations which had taken place during the Commonwealth. The main
part of the canopy still remains, and has considerable parts, attached to it, of
the slender and elegant buttresses which supported its angles: these seem to
have been the work of an artist or architect who was either the same
individual, or copied closely the design of the admirable canopies which are
over the tombs of Lord Cantilupe and Canon Wymbish; and for that
reason, we may be led to imagine (if not to conclude) what sort of termina-
tions these buttresses had over the tomb of the Duchess. The construction of
these buttresses is peculiar, being placed angularly, and unlike most buttresses
that we meet with, therefore the more to be remarked; and as over the tomb
of Cantilupe and that of the Duchess this peculiar style is apparent, we may
reasonably suppose that the mind employed on the latter took its idea from
the former, so that in the restoration of the latter (the Duchess's) we may
fairly think we should not err if we were to copy in great part that of the
former; except possibly in the termination of its finials, in which I should be
inclined rather to adopt those over the tomb of Henry IV. at Canterbury, as
coming near the date of Catherine Swinford’s tomb.
ANCIENT INSCRIPTION TO THE MEMORY OF
WILLIAM D'EYNCOURT,
WHO DIED IN THE REIGN OF KING WILLIAM RUFUS.
In the library of Lincoln cathedral is preserved a relic, discovered in
1670, which is perhaps unique of its kind,-namely, an inscription on lead,
which had in some manner been used to indicate the depository of a young
nobleman who died in the reign of William Rufus. Sir William Dugdale, in
his account of the barony of d'Eyncourt, Vol. i., p. 387, of his Baronage,
writes as follows:—
“At the time of the Norman Conquest, Walter d’Eincourt coming over
with Duke William in that signal expedition, merited so well that he had
very ample Possessions given him by that renowned Victor; for, by the
General Survey, it appears that he then enjoyed four Lordships in the
West Riding of Yorkshire, one in Northamptonshire, thirty-four in Not-
tinghamshire, eleven in Derbyshire, and seventeen in Lincolnshire, whereof
Blanchney was one, which became his principal seat, and head of his
Barony.
“This Walter had a son called William (probably the Eldest) who
having his Education in the Court of King William Rufus, there died upon
the third of the Calends of November, as appeareth by this Inscription made
on a Plate of Lead, in Saxon Capital Letters, with abbreviations; and
lately found in his Grave in the Churchyard, near to the West door of the
Cathedral Church of Lincoln; a copy whereof being transmitted to me
by Dr. Michael Honywood, the worthy Dean of that Church, I have here
added for the venerable antiquity of it, in the very Character.”
An engraving of the leaden plate here follows, and being the only
illustration contained in that most learned work, it shows that Sir William
Dugdale considered this a very remarkable curiosity.
He superadds this reading of it:-
* Hic jacet Wilhelmus
filius Walteri Aiencurien-
sis consanguinei Remigii Episcopi
Lincoliensis, qui hanc Ecclesiam
fecit. Prafatus Wilhelmus, Regiã styr.
pe progenitus, dum in Curiá Regis Wilhelmi,
filii magni Regis Wilhelmi qui An-
gliam conquisivit, aleretur,
III Kalendas Novembris obiit, K.
MEMORIAL OF WILLIAM D'EYN COURT,
º
w
º º
- ºy/
*It
*
A vºl.
Tº *Sºy 9. º-
Leader Plate discovered in 1670, at Lincºln, and prescrw, d in the Cathodral Library.
(Dimensions of the original, 133 in. by 83 in.)
This Illustration is presented hy the Right Hon. C.T. d'Eyncourt M.P.

INSCRIPTION TO THE MEMORY OF W. D'EYNCOURT, 249
Or, in English, thus—
>{ Here Lyeth William, son of Walter de Aincourt, Cousin of Remi-
gius, Bishop of Lincoln, who built this Church. The aforesaid William,
being of Royal descent, died, while receiving his education in the Court
of King William, son of the Great King William who conquered Eng-
land, on the 3rd of the Kalends of November. X,
It appears from the inscription, first, that Walter the father was nearly
related by blood to Remigius de Fescamp, Bishop of Lincoln, which must
have arisen from a connection between the families in Normandy, prior to
the Conquest which brought Remigius and Walter d'Eyncourt to England
in 1066. Secondly, that William (not Walter) was of Royal descent. This
must, therefore, have been through his Mother. Thirdly, that William d'Eyn-
court died in his youth, for he was then receiving his education in the Court
of King William II. That monarch came to the throne in 1087, and died
in 1100. We cannot exactly fix the date of William d'Eyncourt's death,
because the year is not specified in the inscription, but it was evidently
after the completion of the Cathedral, which, according to Matthew Paris
(p. 12) was finished in 1091, and probably also after the decease of
Remigius, who died in May, 1092, on the eve of the day appointed for
its consecration." [W. Malmesb., lib. iv., p. 290. Edit. Francof. 1601.]
Supposing William to have been sixteen or seventeen years of age, and to
have died in 1093, his birth would have occurred about 1076, that is,
nine or ten years after the arrival of his father in England.
From all this we may conclude (especially if William was, as Dugdale
supposes, the eldest son) that his father married eight or nine years after
he had settled in this Country, and as the Conqueror sometimes rewarded
his favourites by contracting them in marriage to wealthy and distinguished
Saxon heiresses, thus carrying their inheritance into the Norman line, it is
* W. of Malmesbury, wbi Supra, speaking tifices regium edictum acciverat. Solus Ro-
of this noble work says,
“Ad Lindocolniam, civitatem unam ex
populosioribus Angliae, emporium hominum
terra marique venientium, Remigius in ho-
norem Dominae Matris fundatam Ecclesiam
Canonicis multis implevit, et ipsis literarum
scientia et divitiarum affluentia quas ex suo
coemerat eminentibus. Coenobium monacho-
rum apud Sanctam Mariam de STOU ex novo
fecit: alterum apud Bardenei ex Veteri favore
suo innovarit. Quod eo jucundius erat, quia
ipse pro exiguitate corporis pene portentum
hominis widebatur, luctabatur excellere et
foris eminere animus, erata :
Gration eaciguo veniens é compore virtus.
Quem ideo natura compegisse videtur, ut
sciretur beatissimum ingenium in miserrimo
corpore habitare posse. Feliciter ergo acta
vita in ipso apparatu consecrationis suae Lindo-
colniam pridie futurae dedicationis aemula
illum mors tantis gaudiis subtraxit. Nâ et
magnanimi viri hortatu omnes undiq: pon-
bertus Herefordensis venire abnuerat, et certà
inspectione siderum dedicationem tempore
Remigii non processuram viderat, nec ta-
cuerat.” And Matt. Paris, p. 12, says in
reference to Remigius and the Cathedral,
“Mercatis igitur in ipso montis vertice praediis,
ecclesiam ibidem construxit. Et licet Ebora-
censis Archiepiscopus, locum et Civitatem ad
suam diocesim assereret pertinere, assertiones
tamen ejus Remigius parvi pendens, opus
inchoatum non segniter peregit, peractumque,
clericis, doctriná et moribus probatissimis
decoravit. Erat quidem Remigius staturá
parvus, sed animo magnus, colore fuscus, sed
non operibus, de Regiã quoque proditione
aliquando accusatus, sed famulus suus igniti
judicio ferri dominum purgans, regio amori
restituit, et maculam dedecoris pontificalis
detersit. Hoc autem autore, hoc tempore,
et his de causis incepta est, ecclesia moderna
Lincolniensis.” See also Hen. of Hunting-
don, p. 371. Edit. 1601.
250 ANCIENT INSCRIPTION TO THE
probable that Walter had married a scion of the Anglo-Saxon Royal Family.
It is difficult to imagine what other royal family could be referred to,
unless we suppose the lady to have been a daughter, perhaps illegitimate,
of the Conqueror himself.” *
The name of the deceased son “William,” might favour this last notion.
The arms, A.D. 1301, of Baron Edmund d'Eyncourt, a Fesse dancette,
between ten billets—as shown on his seal appended to the famous letter,
protesting against Papal jurisdiction in temporal affairs, addressed to Pope
Boniface VIII. by the Barons of England, assembled in Parliament at
Lincoln, 29 Ed. I., are in an escutcheon placed in a
Square, as on a banner, having four lions passant, one
at each corner. It is the only coat of arms so placed,
and these lions may have been adopted to commemorate
his descent from the Conqueror; the education of
William d'Eyncourt in the King's Court, invites the
supposition of such a connexion, if, indeed, the language
of the inscription does not imply it. See Vetusta
Monumenta, Vol. i., plate xxviii., for a copy of that remarkable document
and an engraving of the seal of “Edmundus de Eyncourt.” [Also Rym.
Foed, II., 873.]
A duplicate of the letter itself, with the seals appended, is extant in the
Treasury of the receipt of the Exchequer: Chapter House, Westminster.
In 1741 (see Archæologia, Vol. i., p. 31), a body, sewed up in leather,
was discovered near the West door of the Cathedral, in what was supposed
to be the very tomb where the Inscription had been found in 1670, and
the writer in the “Archaeologia” naturally imagines that this might be the
body of William d'Eyncourt. The singular manner in which it was
encased, may be accounted for by the circumstance, that William having
died, as it appears, in the King's Palace, at London or Westminster (dum
in curia Regis), had been brought to Lincoln, a very tedious and rude
journey in those days, and the body would, therefore, be protected by some
unusual means from the effects of such a removal. Of this Inscription
another copy, purporting to be a fac-simile, is to be found in “Hearne's
Works,” No. IV. of the Appendix to his Preface to Thomas Sprott's
Chronicles and referred to in page xxvi. of that preface. Gough has
also, in the second part of his Introduction to his Sepulchral Monu-
ments, p. 232, and in his Camden's Britannia, vol. ii., edit. 1806, and
p. 208, edit. 1789, given two representations of it. Pegge has given
it in his “Sylloge" of Inscriptions, p. 27, No. 17. It is, moreover,
peculiar, from the example it affords of small letters being included in the
Capitals. Three other instances of small letters so inserted, are noticed
in “Archaeologia,” Vol. ii., p. 188, viz.: one at Monkton Farleigh, found
in 1744; another found in 1733, in taking down the steeple of St. George's
Church, Southwark; and a third in the nave of Salisbury Cathedral, of
the time of Henry I.
* It is stated in Blore's Rutland, p. 149, Matilda, the wife of Walter the grandson and
that her name was “Matilda.” But the third Baron, in the reign of Hen. II. [Mon.
authority which he cites, clearly refers to Ang. III., 529, 30, 31.]

MEMORY OF WILLIAM D'EYNCOURT. 251
The copy, in its original character and present condition, with which we
have illustrated this notice, is free from the errors in those given by Sir
William Dugdale, Hearne, and Gough ; but the leaden plate has sustained
some injury by having been exposed, during 180 years, to frequent manual
examination. It has, however, by the care of Mr. Albert Way, during
the Meeting of the Institute at Lincoln, been lately secured by a frame and
glass from future accident of the same nature. The accurate representation
of it, now first submitted to the antiquary, is drawn to a scale of half the
actual dimension.
Sir Wm. Dugdale informs us, that to Walter d'Eyncourt, mentioned
in the Inscription, succeeded Ralph, as his son and heir, who founded
and endowed the Monastery of Thurgarton, Co. Notts, one of the Lord-
ships of which his father was possessed, temp. Will. Conq.-Walter,
son of Ralph, was the 3rd Baron, and it appears (Mon. Ang. i., 93) that
his son Oliver, when a youth, was rescued by a Priest, from captivity and
death, in the Battle of Lincoln, 1141, when fighting on the side of King
Stephen; for which service his father bestowed upon the Priest a consi-
derable gift of land, in Braunceston (near Lincoln), to pray for the soul of
Oliver, who had died in his father's lifetime, and was buried at Belvoir.
(Mon. ii., 532.)
This powerful family flourished during more than four centuries in
Lincolnshire, held high and honourable positions in the state, and per-
formed distinguished services. [See Blore's Rutland, Parish of Kelthorpe;
Dugd. Baronage; and Burke's Landed Gentry, Tit. Tennyson d'Eyncourt.]
It was expressly in consideration of such services on his own part, that
Baron Edmund, who in 29 Edw. I. was party to that remarkable letter from
the Parliament at Lincolm to the Pope, being much alarmed lest his name
and arms should be extinguished by their descending to his great grand-
daughter and heiress, Isabel, obtained, 7 Edw. II., a special license from
the Crown (of which there is no other example extant) to limit his Lord-
ships to his grandson, William d'Eyncourt. [See Dugd. Baronage, vol. i.,
p. 388 ; Camden's Brit. vol. i., p. 559; Blore's Rutland, p. 149; Riley's
Plac. Parl., p. 547.]
Edmund's female heir afterwards died without issue, and the Barony
remained, by descent as well as by virtue of the License, in William
d'Eyncourt and his posterity until its forfeiture, 11 Hen. VII., by the last
Baron d'Eyncourt of Blankney, who then also bore the title of Wiscount
Lovel. This William was an eminent warrior, and one of the most distin-
guished men of whom the County of Lincoln has had to boast. He
signalised himself, both in war and council, during the glorious reign of
Edward III., in England, France, and Scotland. He attended, as a Guard
of Honour, Queen Philippa, when she appeared in the field and exhorted
the soldiers before the battle of Durham, in 1346 [See Barnes' Edw. III.,
p. 379, and Froissart]; and, having had a chief command in this great
victory, he was thanked for his services on that occasion by a letter of the
King. [Hollingshed and Rot. Scot., 20 Edward III., m. 5.] Afterwards
he had the custody of John, King of France, who had been taken pri-
soner by Edward the Black Prince, at the Battle of Poictiers, 1356.
252 INSCRIPTION TO THE MEMORY OF W. D'EYNCOURT.
(See Blore's Rutland, pp. 153,154; Barnes, 538.) During a consider-
able period of that Monarch's residence in England, Lord d'Eyncourt
held him in courteous and gentle captivity, at Somerton Castle, an exten-
sive portion of which still exists, about six miles from Lord d'Eyncourt's
residence at Blankney, and about eight miles from the city of Lincoln.
Blore (ubi supra) gives, with the authorities on which they rest, the very
curious details of King John's journey into Lincolnshire, and afterwards,
on his return to France, in 1860, through Lincolnshire, &c., to London;
that monarch being, on both occasions, under Lord d'Eyncourt's charge.
John, his younger brother, represented Lincolnshire in Parliament in
1336, 11 Edw. III.
A female heir, Alice, Baroness d'Eyncourt, temp. Hen. WI., carried the
barony into the family of the Lords Lovel, where it was lost, temp.
Henry VII., by the above mentioned forfeiture of her grandson, Lord Lovel
and D'Eyncourt, whose skeleton (as it was supposed to be,) was found about
140 years ago, seated in a chair in a concealed room at Minster Lovel,
in Oxfordshire, where he had probably been secreted, after the battle of
Stoke-upon-Trent, and subsequently abandoned.—(See “Banks' Baronage,”
and “ Burke's Extinct Peerage.") A lineal descendant of this ancient stock,
through William, second son and ultimately heir male (unattainted in blood)
of Alice, Baroness d'Eyncourt, now resides at Bayons, antiently Bayeux,
Manor, Lincolnshire, which was the property of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux,
brother of the Conqueror, and subsequently part of the vast inheritance of
Lord Lovel and D'Eyncourt. (See Statutes of the Realm, 28 Hen.VIII. c.46.)
It is a castellated and stately pile, 16 miles N.E. of Lincoln, and well corre-
sponds with the romantic history of this baronial family. The proprietor,
the Rt. Hon. Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt, M.P. for Lambeth, in com-
pliance with a direction in his father's will (to commemorate his lineal
descent from the Barons d'Eyncourt of Blankney, and his representation
as co-heir of the Barons d'Eyncourt of Sutton), bears the name and arms
of D'Eyncourt, by Royal license, thus responding to the anxious wish of
Edmund Baron d'Eyncourt, gratified by Edward II. as above related. He
also possesses an interesting property and residence at Aincourt, situated
in a high and beautiful country, about two miles from the river Seine,
between Mantes and Magny, within the French Vexin, on the borders
of Normandy. Hence came, at the Conquest, Walter de Aincourt, named
in the inscription, who figures in Battle Abbey Roll, and whose English
possessions are recorded in Domesday Book: his name having been gradu-
ally corrupted by English pronunciation and orthography, into “Eincourt”
or “Eyncourt.” This residence stands near the remains of the ancient
castle, which was the stronghold of the Seigneurs de Aincourt before and
after the conquest of England, and would have been the inheritance of
William, to whom the Lincoln memorial relates.
*** The accurate representation of this remarkable memorial has been kindly presented to
the Institute, accompanied by the foregoing Memoir, by the Right Hon. C. Tennyson
d'Eyncourt, M.P.
THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
BY JOHN GOUGH NICHOLS, ESQ., F.S.A.
THE nature of a modern earldom is readily understood.
It is a dignity which is inalienable, indivisible, and which
descends in regular succession to all the male heirs of the
body of the grantee until they fail. Such is the dignity of
Earl of Lincoln, which has now existed for two hundred and
seventy-six years in the family of Clinton. It has descended
without interruption in two successive direct lines. Having
been conferred by Queen Elizabeth in 1572 on her aged
High Admiral, Edward Lord Clinton, it descended in the
first line of his posterity to Edward the fifth Earl, who died
in 1692; when the Barony of Clinton fell into abeyance
between his aunts, and has since been successively vested in
the several families of Fortescue, Walpole, and Trefusis, but
the Earldom devolved on Francis Clinton, the cousin and heir
male, of whose direct descendants there have been five more
Earls, so that the present Duke of Newcastle is the eleventh
Earl of the creation of 1572.
But the descent of the ancient Earldom of Lincoln, of
which it is my purpose to treat, will be found to differ in all
respects from the simple succession of the modern dignity.
In the course of its chequered history, we find it divided
between coparceners; we find it more than once transferred
in an arbitrary manner; we find it retained in the hands of
the Crown and let to farm; and, throughout its early history,
instead of a quiet succession from father to son, it exhibits
an almost constant dependence on the rights of female
inheritance. At the same time, we have further to remark
that, during all its vicissitudes, it never became extinct, until
it finally merged again in the Crown, and its rights and
estates became parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster. Though
it descended very irregularly, and was vested in several
254 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
successive families, still the claims of legal inheritance were
never wholly forgotten, and, even if latent or superseded for
a time, they emerged under more favourable circumstances,
and were again recognised by the Crown, under new arrange-
ments or modifications. The interest which arises from this
investigation commences at a very early period of our history,
for we find that the claims of inheritance to the dignity of
Earl of Lincoln were derived originally from Anglo-Saxon
ancestorS.
We are not, however, authorised to conclude that the
Earldom itself existed in the times before the Conquest.
Camden, it is true, commences his enumeration of the Earls
of Lincolnshire with the Saxons Egga and Morcar," the former
of whom he says flourished in the year 716, and the latter
he describes as the maternal uncle of William de Roumare,
the first Norman Earl of Lincoln. The former name, Egga,
is not merely apocryphal, but purely fictitious. It occurs
only among the witnesses to the spurious foundation-charter
of Croyland Abbey, a document fabricated by the monks of
a subsequent age.
Morcar is a person whose existence is better ascertained.
He was the son of Algar, Earl of Mercia, and brother to
Edgiva, the Queen of the unfortunate Harold ; but he
appears in history as Earl of Northumberland, under which
designation, and not as Earl of Lincoln, he is noticed by
Dugdale.
Morcar is stated by the Croyland chroniclers to have had
an only sister named Lucia (for they seem to have forgotten
Harold’s queen), and this Lucia is represented as the mother
of William de Roumare, who was Earl of Lincoln in the reign
of Stephen. It is this statement which Camden and most
of our older writers on the Peerage have followed. There is
ample evidence of the reality of such a person as the Countess
Lucy; but it is impossible that she could have been, as the
Croyland chroniclers assert, at once the sister of Earl Morcar,
the wife of Ivo Taillebois, before the year 1071, again mar-
* Britannia. Dugdale also admits Egga into his Baronage, vol. i. p. 6. The name
has been printed Eggo by Mr. Kemble, Chartae Anglo-Saxon., i. 79.
THE TESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 255
ried after a lapse of forty-three years to the father of William
de Roumare, and a third time to Ranulph, Earl of Chester,
having further issue two sons and two daughters.
The most probable explanation of the circumstances thus
crowded upon one lady is, that there were two successive
heiresses, bearing the same name of Lucy, and that the first
was the wife of Ivo Taillebois, and mother of the second, and
that the second, by her two marriages, gave birth to the
half-brothers, William, Earl of Lincoln, and Ranulph, Earl of
Chester, whose history is so much connected with that of
this city.
The name of Lucy, as belonging to the former of these
ladies, occurs not only in the Croyland chronicles, but also
in a charter of her husband, whereby he gave, in the year
1085, the Church of Spalding to the Priory of St. Nicholas
at Angers. Another record” mentions two of her uncles, or
immediate relations, namely, Robert Malet and Alan of
Lincoln. The former was the son of William Malet, who
was slain at York when the Danes besieged that city, in the
year 1069 ; and his mother was Hesilia Crispin, the sister
of Emma Crispin, whose descendants of the name of Condie,
or Cundet, inherited various estates in Lincolnshire. Alan
of Lincoln, the other “uncle,” was doubtless a kinsman of
Alured of Lincoln, who held an extensive fief in Lincolnshire
at the Domesday survey (as his descendants did for some
generations after), and who probably was the same person
who is designated under the city of Lincoln in that record
as Aluredus nepos Turoldi. Now, Turold is the name of the
first recorded Lord of Spalding, who gave land in that place
to the Church of Saint Guthlac at Croyland, as the Domes-
day survey relates, “Hanc terram dedit Turoldus, vicecomes,
Sancto Guthlaco, pro animä suá,” and who, in the charter of
Ivo Taillebois already cited, is mentioned as the kinsman of
his wife Lucia.
* Charter of Henry, Duke of Nor melius et plenius unquam tenuit. Et
mandy, and Comte of Anjou, dated at foeudum Alani de Lincolia ei dedi qui
Devizes in 1152, granting to Ranulf, Earl fuit avunculus matris sue, et foeudum
of Chester, “totum honorem de Eia, sicut Ernisii de Burum sicut haereditatem.”—
Robertus Malet avunculus matris sue Orig. Charter in the Cottonian Collection.
256 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
In regard to the Saxon ancestry of the Earls of Lincoln,
this fact is further remarkable, that, after Turold the vice-
comes, or sheriff, had been Lord of Spalding,” we find him
succeeded there by Earl Algar, in the time of the Confessor;
and it therefore becomes worthy of consideration how much
credit may be given to the assertion of one of the Croyland
charters (though the charter itself be a forgery), that Turold
of Buckenhale (the same who gave the land to Spalding) was
brother to the Countess Godiva (of Coventry fame), the
wife of Earl Leofric, and mother of Earl Algar. It may
here be noticed that the genuine Saxon charter of the foun-
dation of the Monastery of Stow, near Lincoln, shows that
Godiva, there styled Godgife, joined with her husband, Earl
Leofric, in that work of piety.”
Ivo Taillebois, on whom the Saxon heiress was bestowed
by the Conqueror, was a native of Anjou. The Croyland
historians style him Comes, and several authors haye in con-
sequence fastened him on to the sovereign house of the Counts
of Anjou. In so doing, they clearly were not justified ; and it
seems more probable that the old chroniclers bestowed the
designation of comes with reference to his acquired position in
this country. Indeed, they state that he was a candidate
for the Earldoms of Northampton and Huntingdon, on the
death of Earl Waltheof in 1075 ; and in Lincolnshire he
occupied the same position in which his descendants were
afterwards recognised as Earls.
The case of the first Earls of Salisbury is somewhat similar.
Edward of Saresbury is the vicecomes, or sheriff of Wiltshire,
in Domesday book; his posterity became Earls of Salisbury.
Ivo Taillebois died in the year 1114, and was buried in
the Priory Church of Spalding. Besides the second Lucy, to
whom we shall next proceed, it seems that he and the former
Lucy were also the parents of Beatrix, wife of Ribald of Mid-
dleham, brother to Alan Earl of Richmond, and of Matilda, wife
of Hugh Fitz Ranulph, brother to Ranulph Earl of Chester.”
* See the records relating to Turold * Monasticon Angl., i. 262.
further investigated in the Topographer * See authorities cited in Topographer
and Genealogist, 1843, vol. i. pp. 10, 11. and Genealogist, i. 15.
THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 257
His daughter, LUCY, afterwards Countess of Chester, was
married to her first husband, Roger de Roumare, before the
death of King Rufus, 1100. He was the son of Gerold, who
had been dapifer or seneschal to William Duke of Normandy
before the conquest of England, and who is supposed to
have been the son of another Gerold, two other sons being
Ralph and Edward; the former the ancestor of the Tan-
carvilles, the hereditary chamberlains of Normandy ; and
the latter the same Edward of Saresbury, already alluded to
as the ancestor of the Earls of Salisbury. Roger de Roumare
must have died young, as we have no further particulars of
him; and his only child on record is William, afterwards Earl
of Lincoln.
His widow was soon after married to Ranulph de Brique-
sard, who was the eldest son of Ranulph, Wicomte of the
Bessin, in Normandy. He also bore the surname of Mischinus,
le Meschin, meaning Ranulph the younger. After the death
of his cousin Richard, who, in 1120, was drowned in the
White Ship, together with King Henry's eldest son, and
many other persons of high rank, Ranulph le Meschin
became Earl of Chester; and dying in 1129, was buried at
Chester. It is doubtful whether this Earl was not recognised
as Earl of Lincolnshire also ; for in a catalogue of tenants of
lands in this county made during the lifetime of his prede-
cessor in the Earldom of Chester,” the words COMES LINC. are
twice placed over the names of Ranulphus Mischinus. It is
more probable, however, that these words were a subsequent
addition, implying that the lands of which Ranulph was lord
at the making of the roll, had since devolved on the Earl of
Lincoln. But after his death we find the rights of his widow
in this county fully recognised. The Countess Lucy was
thereupon admitted to the inheritance of her father's lands
in Lincolnshire, for which she paid a fine of 400 marks into
the Exchequer, and became bound at the same time, under
the penalty of 500 marks of silver, not to take another hus-
band (without license from the Crown) within the next five
* MS. Cotton. Claud. C. v. ff. 8, 9, printed in the additamenta to Hearne's
Liber Niger.
S
258 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
years. She further rendered account of 45 marks to be paid
for the conclusion of this covenant, and bestowed on whom
the King willed; and of which 20 marks had already been
given to the Queen. And she owed 100 marks for the pri-
vilege of administering justice in her court among her
vassals.” Her son, Earl Ranulph (who must then have been
of age), accounts in the same roll as a debtor to the Crown in
500 marks of silver for the agreement which the King made
between him and his mother respecting her dower. The
Countess Lucy, in her second widowhood, confirmed the
manor of Spalding to the monks of that place,” where either
she, or her mother, or perhaps both, were buried.” The
Countess Lucia's children were, by Roger de Roumare,
William, Earl of Lincoln ; and by Ranulph, Earl of Chester,
two sons and two daughters, viz., Ranulph de Gernons, Earl
of Chester; William, said to have been Earl of Cambridge;
Alice, the wife of Richard Fitz Gilbert, ancestor of the Clares,
Earls of Gloucester and Hereford; and Agnes, the wife of
Robert de Grandmesnil.
Her eldest son, WILLIAM DE ROUMARE, EARL OF LINCOLN,
had already highly distinguished himself after the violent
spirit of the age, and had made his prowess and his influence
very sensible both abroad and at home." His name first
appears during the rebellion in Normandy, in the year 1118.
As governor of the frontier fortress of Neufmarché en Lions,
the care of which had been committed to his grandfather
Gerold by Duke William the year before the invasion of
England, William de Roumare was for some time the sole
supporter of King Henry's authority in Normandy. This
rebellion was quelled by the victory of Brenmule, on the 18th
of May, 1119. The name of William de Roumare is again
mentioned before the close of the same year, as having been
one of those who had the prudence to quit the ill-fated
White Ship, which was about to convey to England the
flower of the English court, in attendance on the King's son,
7 Magnus Rot. Scaccarii, 31 Hen. I., * The following historical particulars
8vo. 1833, p. 110. are from the Chronicle of Ordericus
* Mon. Angl., i. 308. 9 Ibid. i. 504. Witalis.
THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 259
and which unhappily foundered at sea: the caution of those
who refused to take the voyage is said to have been roused
“ because they perceived the ship was filled with too
numerous a company of wanton and arrogant youth.” The
event, however, had a material influence on the fortunes of
William de Roumare ; for, as already mentioned, it brought
the Earldom of Chester to his stepfather, Ranulph le Meschin,
whose predecessor in that Earldom was among those who
were lost in the wreck. On obtaining investiture of the
Earldom of Chester, Ranulph was induced to surrender to
the King some considerable part of the estates of his wife
Lucy. This excited the indignation of her son William,
who thus lost the prospect of his inheritance. He demanded
of the King the restoration of his mother's land, and also the
manor of Corfe in Dorsetshire, which had belonged to his
uncle Robert FitzGerald; but the King refused his claims,
and answered him with reproaches. Exceedingly incensed
at this denial of his rights, and the King's disregard of his
past services, William de Roumare passed over into Nor-
mandy, and determined to show the King that his power was
as great as ever. Having communicated with those who
were still inclined to favour the claims of William, son of
Duke Robert Curt-heuze, to the sovereignty of Normandy,
he gathered them to the castle of Neufmarché, and from
thence most bitterly renewed the war upon the Normans.
For two years he continued to gratify his revenge with raids
and firings, and the capture of prisoners; nor did he desist
from his enterprise until the King had yielded to him com-
petent satisfaction, and restored a great part of that which
he had claimed. Subsequently, on the death of William,
Comte of Flanders (the claimant of Normandy), in 1128,
William de Roumare was the first among the Normans of his
party to be reconciled to the King, whose familiar guest and
friend (says Ordericus Vitalis) he became from that time.
Upon the event of King Henry's decease, in 1135, William
de Roumare was dispatched with Hugh de Gornai and the
other Lord Marchers of Normandy, to defend the Duchy;
and, on his return to England in Advent, 1137, he was
S 2
260 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
appointed by King Stephen one of the Justiciars of
Normandy.
We have now arrived at the time when the dignity of Earl
of Lincoln is recognised by name, in the person of William
de Roumare. There is not, however, any charter, or record
of that character, to testify to the fact ; but the very first
sentence of an important historian, William of Malmesbury,
is to this effect: “Before Christmas, in the year 1140, King
Stephen had peacefully departed from the province of Lincoln,
having increased the honours of the Earl of Chester and his
brother.” With this statement we must combine the circum-
stance, that another historian, Ordericus Vitalis, at this time
terms William de Roumare “Earl,” and his wife “Countess.”
It is in the following very remarkable account of the seizure
of Lincoln Castle –
“In the year from the Incarnation of our Lord 1141, great
disturbance arose in the kingdom of the English, and a sudden
change ensued, to the detriment of many; for Ranulph, Earl
of Chester, and William de Roumare, his uterine brother,
rebelled against King Stephen, and by stratagem seized upon
the citadel which he had retained in his own hands at Lincoln,
to protect the city. Craftily finding an opportunity when the
garrison was dispersed abroad, they sent before them their
wives into the castle, as though for the sake of pastime. And
so, while the two Countesses continued their visit, playing
and chatting with the wife of the knight who was in charge,
the Earl of Chester came unarmed, and without his coat of
mail, as if to fetch his wife away, followed by three knights,
no one suspecting any harm. Thus having effected an
entrance, they suddenly seized the crow-bars and arms that
lay near, and violently ejected the King's guards. Then
William, and armed knights with him, arrived as had been
before arranged. And so the two brothers subdued the
castle, with the whole city, to themselves.
“Upon this, Alexander, the bishop, and the citizens sent
word of the occurrence to the King, who, on hearing the
intelligence, was mightily enraged, and astonished that they
who had been his greatest friends, to whom he had given an
SEAL'S OF THE EARLS 0F LIN COLN.
William de Rouman'a, Earl of Lincoln.
1140–c. 1165.

THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 261
increase of honours and dignities, should commit so black a
crime. Therefore, after Christmas, having collected an army,
he immediately marched to Lincoln, and, by aid of the citi-
zens, surprised in the night and made prisoners about seven-
teen knights who were lying in the city. The two Earls
were, with their wives and intimate friends, within the cita-
del, and, being thus suddenly surrounded, they were at first
undetermined how to act. At length, Ranulph, the younger
and more active, and who was exceedingly bold, got out by
night with a few attendants, and made his way to his own
feudatories in the province of Chester.” There he lost no
time in assembling an army, which, with the aid of his father-
in-law, Robert, Earl of Gloucester, he brought to Lincoln in
time to relieve his besieged brother, and gave the King battle
on Sexagesima Sunday, February 2nd, 1141. In this con-
flict Stephen was defeated and taken prisoner.
The great feudatories were at this period more than a
match for the Crown. The Earl of Chester successfully with-
stood a second siege of Lincoln by Stephen in 1144.” He
continued to maintain the quarrel of the Empress and her son.
In 1146, King Stephen seized upon him when at his Court,
nor could he obtain his liberty until he had surrendered the
castle of Lincoln ; and, thereupon, King Stephen was crowned
at Lincoln.” Having made his escape, the Earl was, in the
following year, himself unsuccessful in an attack on the city.”
In 1151 he was again imprisoned by Stephen ; but, in the
next year took place the memorable meeting at Devizes, at
which the rivals for the throne, and their potent abettors,
agreed upon terms for the pacification of the kingdom. On
this occasion, the Earl of Chester received charters of various
grants or confirmations from each of the competitors. From
King Stephen” he had the castle and city of Lincoln, to enjoy
until he should be restored to his land and castles in Nor-
mandy, with permission to fortify one of the towers of Lincoln
Castle, and to retain the same in his custody until the King
* Simeon Dunelm. * Ypodigma Neustriae, Tho. Walsingham.
* R. Howeden. * See the substance of this charter in lugdale's Baronage, i. 39.
262 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
should deliver to him the Castle of Tickhill, which being done,
the King was to have the castle and city of Lincoln again,
except the Earl's own tower, which his mother (that is, the
Countess Lucy) had fortified;" together with the office of
constable of the castle and of the whole county, which
belonged to him of hereditary right. Henry, Duke of Nor-
mandy, by his charter to the Earl of Chester," made him
several grants, among which were the fees of Robert Malet,
and Alan of Lincoln, his mother's uncles, before alluded to.
To this charter the first witness on the part of the Earl of
Chester is his brother, William, Earl of Lincoln. There are
also extant several charters of William himself, in which he
uses the style of “Earl of Lincoln,” and the ascertained dates
of some of these prove his continued enjoyment of this dignity.
These are, his foundation charter of Revesby Abbey, about the
year 1143;* a charter to the Cathedral Church of Rouen
not earlier than 1148, and one to the Abbey of St. Ouen, in
that city, which bears the date of 1153.” The year of his
death has not been ascertained, but it was before 1168
(14 Hen. II.) when his grandson and heir, William de Rou-
mare, rendered account in the Exchequer for 39/. 10s. to the
aid of Matilda, the King's daughter, for his knight's fees in
Lincolnshire.
The seal of William de Romara, Earl of Lincoln, of which
an engraving is annexed, is attached to a charter preserved
in the Hôtel Soubise, at Paris: it forms an interesting monu-
ment of an English Earl, at so early a period of our history.
Having been made a monk in his last illness," as a pass-
port to eternal Salvation, the Earl was buried in the abbey
which he had founded at Revesby, where his tomb stood
before the high altar, with this inscription : *—“Hic jacet in
tumba Willielmus de Romare, Comes Lincolniae, fundatoristius
monasterii sancti Laurencii de Rewisby.” It may here be
mentioned that the castle of Bolingbroke, afterwards the birth-
* Supposed to have been the principal * Monast. Angl. i. 823.
tower or keep; see Mr. Willson's paper * Topographer and Genealogist, i. 22.
hereafter, p. 288. * Monast. Angl. i. 305.
7 Printed in Ormerod's Cheshire, i. * Ibid. i. 532.
(See the former note in p. 255.)
THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 263
place of King Henry the Fourth, is by old tradition ascribed
to the erection of Earl William de Roumare. His wife was
Hawise, daughter of Richard de Redvers, Lord of Tiverton
in Devonshire and Christchurch in Hampshire, and sister to
Baldwin, first Earl of Devon. By the title of Comitissa
Hawysia de Romare, she gave the church of Feltham, in
Middlesex, to the Hospital of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, near
London. She joined in the foundation of Revesby Abbey,
and her name is attached as a witness to other charters.”
Her son,
WILLIAM DE ROUMARE THE SECOND died before his father,
in the year 1151,” probably slain at the time when his ances-
tral castle of Neufmarché, in Normandy, was taken by the
French ; and the next heir of the family,
WILLIAM DE ROUMARE THE THIRD,” son of the preceding by
Agnes, daughter of Stephen, Earl of Albemarle, was evidently
a child at his grandfather's decease. He was never confirmed
in the dignity of Earl of Lincoln, though many particulars
are on record regarding him, which show that he not only
inherited large estates in this county, but also that he main-
tained the rank of an Earl. We learn from his own charter,
founding the Abbey of Cleeve, in Somersetshire, that he was
educated in the court of King Henry the Second; and a
monastic genealogist" states that he obtained from that
Sovereign all the lands of his grandfather. At the taxation
in 1168, he made returns of fifty-seven knight's fees in
Lindesey and in Wiltshire.” He still also retained the
ancestral estates of his family in Normandy, amounting to
fourteen knight's fees. In 1172 he gave a confirmation
charter to the Abbey of Revesby, styling himself “nepos
Willielmi Comitis et heres ejus.” He had previously joined
with his grandfather in two charters to the Priory of Spalding,
in one of which he is styled “the heir,” and he used the like
designation in a confirmation charter of his own. In several
inquisitions respecting the lands of his fief in Lincolnshire
* See particulars in Topogr. and Placit. Abbreviatio, p. 75.
Genealogist, i. 24. * Mon. Angl., i. 305.
* Chronicon Rob. Montensis. 7 Liber Niger Scacc. 8vo. 1771, p. 263.
* So called in a pleading temp. John,
264. THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
during the reign of John, the title of “Earl” is likewise
ascribed to him; and, finally, it may be noticed that in a
charter of John, Earl of Mortaine, to the metropolitan church
of Rouen, his attestation appears among the Earls as “Earl
William de Roumare,” and before that of Geoffrey Fitz Piers,
Earl of Essex.” There is a story in the Chronicle of Croy-
land, respecting a contest between the Abbey of Croyland
and Priory of Spalding, relative to their respective rights of
property in Croyland marsh, in which William de Roumare
is described as the intimate and bosom friend of Earl John,
afterwards King. William de Roumare, as the hereditary
founder of Spalding, was bound to espouse its cause ; on the
other hand, William de Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, the
Chancellor, whom King Richard had left Justiciary of the
kingdom, was brother to the Abbot of Croyland. The Earl
of Mortaine, both from his friendship for William de Roumare,
and his constant opposition to the Chancellor, was induced to
throw the whole weight of his influence against the interests
of the Abbey of Croyland ; and its historian, in consequence,
bitterly complains of his violence and injustice. This trial
took place at London on Ascension Day, 1192. The third
William de Roumare married a princely bride, Philippa,”
daughter of John, Comte d’Alençon ; but he died without
issue, in the year 1198.
Having thus accompanied this family to its termination,
we must now go back for more than sixty years, to the time
of the battle of Lincoln in 1141, in order to examine how
THE EARLDOM WAS DIVIDED, how it was that there were two
Earls of Lincoln at once,—Earl William de Roumare and Earl
Gilbert de Gant; whilst during the same time their potent
kinsman, the Earl of Chester, was the actual lord of the castle
and city of Lincoln, and, in fact, acted as the arbiter of the
fortunes of both the Earls.
We are told," that when the Earl of Chester defeated
King Stephen, and took him prisoner at the battle of Lincoln
* See Observations on the Rolls of the and Genealogist, i. 27.
Norman Exchequer, by the late Thomas * John of Hexham's continuation to
Stapleton, Esq., W.P.S.A., vol. ii. p. 159. the chronicle of Simeon of Durham.
* See further regarding her in Topogr.
SEALS OF THE EARLS OF LING OLN.
ºſºvº
*
Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln
1141—1156.

THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 265
in 1141, he also made prisoner Gilbert de Gant, then a youth,
who was compelled by the Earl to take his niece in marriage.
But we can scarcely suppose that this compulsory marriage,
which brought with it an Earldom, involved any extraordinary
hardship. It is certain that the youth was already a person
of importance, from the wide extent of his domains, chiefly
lying in this county; and this was probably the considera-
tion which made the Earl of Chester anxious to secure his
alliance. GILBERT DE GANT was the representative of a
family which flourished for many generations, both before
and after his time, in the possession of large territories in
Lincolnshire. His grandfather of the same name had come
into England with the Conqueror, being nephew to Matilda,
the consort of the Norman Duke, and son of Baldwin, Earl
Flanders. The second Gilbert's father was named Walter,
and his mother was Matilda, daughter of Stephen, Earl of
Brittany. He was himself born, baptised, and educated at
Bridlington, in Yorkshire, as he relates in a remarkable
charter,” by which he bound himself to the Church of
St. Mary of Bridlington, that, whenever he died, his body
should there receive sepulture; engaging, moreover, to become
a monk of that house, should God ever move him to assume
the habit of religion. We have evidence that he continued
to use the title of Earl of Lincoln contemporaneously with
Earl William de Roumare, for many years after the battle of
Lincoln ; and, indeed, there is no doubt that he was so styled
until his death in 1156, which was fifteen years after. Many
of his charters under this title are extant. * They do not
immediately present us with dates; but of two of them it
may be stated, that he styles himself “Earl” in his charter,
whereby the Abbey of Rufford was founded, the date of
which event is placed by historians either in 1146 or 1148;
and that his charter removing the Cistercian monks of Byham
to Vaudey in this county, was granted at the request of
Eugenius the Roman bishop, who occupied the papal chair
from 1145 to 1153. We may, therefore, fairly conclude,
* Mon. Angl., ii. 165.
* See the enumeration in Topogr. and Genealogist, i. 305.
266 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
that Gilbert de Gant continued Earl of Lincoln until his
death. His Seal in the annexed engraving is from a charter
preserved in the British Museum.”
We have seen that Earl Gilbert acquired his title to this
dignity with the niece of the Earl of Chester. Her name
was the Countess Roheis; but her actual parentage has not
been precisely ascertained. It will be found that all our old
writers on the peerage consider her as the daughter of Earl
William de Roumare. This was an opinion which they
would obviously adopt, on hastily supposing that the Earl
had no male heir. But we have already seen that such was
not the case ; and it is quite certain that the Earl of Chester
could not have possessed the power of giving away the rights
of either the son or grandson of his half-brother. It is, on
the contrary, perfectly consistent with the usual circum-
stances of such transactions, to conclude that the lady had
really hereditary rights of her own, and that the Earl of
Chester exercised the ordinary duty, or prerogative, of pro-
viding a suitable match for her. It has been already stated,
that the first Lucy, wife of Ivo Taillebois, had, besides Lucy,
Countess of Chester, two other daughters, Beatrix, wife of
Ribald of Middleham, and Matilda, wife of Hugh Fitz
Ranulph. The Countess Roheis was probably the daughter
of one of these two ladies;” and in either case she was niece
to the Countess Lucy, and cousin to the Earl of Chester, who
united her to Gilbert de Gant. If she was the daughter of
Hugh Fitz Ranulph, she was the Earl's cousin both by father
and mother. After the death of Earl Gilbert, she was
married to a person styled Robertus Dapifer, a name which
implies that he was seneschal or steward to the great house
of Percy.” I am able to exhibit engravings of two Seals of
the Countess Roheis; one of which was used whilst she was
wife of Gillebert de Gant, as its legend declares; and the
other is attached to a charter granted by her in conjunction
with her second husband, Robertus Dapifer. In the legend
* Harl. Cart. 50 F. 31. It has been * See this more fully considered in
printed in the Topographer and Genealo- Topogr. and Genealogist, i. 302.
gist, vol. i. p. 317. * See the words quoted, ibid. p. 306.
SEALS OF THE COUNTESS OF LIN COLN.
Two Seals of Roheis, Courtess of Lincoln

THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 267
of this she is styled Rohesia Comitissa Lincolnie. The pat-
tern seems intended to represent the vairy fur worn by
ladies of high rank, rather than heraldic chevronels, though
it very probably unfolds the real origin of the latter. Her only
issue by Earl Gilbert was a daughter named Alice, and
married to Simon de St. Liz, who succeeded to the earldom
of Northampton in 1153, and in 1174 recovered the earldom
of Huntingdon, which had also belonged to his father, but
had subsequently been held by Malcolm and William, kings
of the Scots. Earl Simon died without issue in 1184, and
was buried at the Priory of St. Andrew in Northampton.
The Countess Alice was buried at Bridlington, the founda-
tion of her father's family. She used a seal 7 covered with
chevronels, like the second seal of her mother, and it is in-
scribed SIGILLUM ALICIE COMITISSE FILIE COMITIS GILEBERTI.
The Earldom of Lincoln was now considered vacant; and
King Richard the First, who it seems did not choose to
recognise the hereditary claim of William de Roumare the
third, early in his reign sold (or let to farm) the custody of
the castle of Lincoln, and the revenues of the county, to
Gerard de Camville,” who had married Nicholaa, daughter
and co-heir of Richard de Hay, Constable of the castle
in fee. Gerard accounted for them from the second
year of that reign, 1190–1191, to the sixth, 1195.” This
Baron took a decided part with John, Earl of Mortaine,
in his struggle with the Chancellor Longchamp, during the
absence of King Richard; and the Chancellor in consequence
laid siege to the castle of Lincoln, but it was relieved by the
arrival of Earl John." The Chancellor, however, succeeded
in ousting Gerard, not only from the office of constable of
Lincoln Castle, and the shrievalty of the county, but from his
own lands also ; * so that he was constrained to give 2000
marks to repossess his own estate, and obtain the King's
favour. But on the accession of John he was restored to the
7 MS. Cotton. Jul. C. vii.I. f. 148. Decem Script., fol. 1652, col. 1223.
* “Gerardus de Camvilla, vir dives et * Pipe Rolls, quoted by Dugdale,
mobilis, a rege castelli Lincolniae custo- Baronage, i. 627.
diam emerat cum adjacentis provinciae * Bromton, ubi supra.
praesulatu.” Chron. Johannis Bromton, * R. Hoveden, p. 459.
268 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
shrievalty, which he continued to hold until the seventh year
of that reign.” He was still living in the 10th John,
1208–1209, when he was one of the justices itinerant in
Lincolnshire,” but he was deceased in 1216, in which year his
widow Nicholaa courageously defended the castle of Lincoln
for some time against the Earls who headed the King's
party, when, according to a contemporary Latin poem,-
66 longa superbia belli
Fluxit ad obsessam matronae nobilis arcem.”
It is to this juncture that we have to assign the nominal
Earldom of THE SECOND GILBERT DE GANT. This Baron was
the nephew and heir male of the former Gilbert ; but,
inasmuch as his uncle had been Earl only by right of mar-
riage, the succession to the Barony of Gant was not
accompanied by any just pretensions to the Earldom of
Lincoln. Gilbert de Gant, however, was a popular person,
as we may judge from the monks of Vaudey terming him
Gilbert the Good ; * and he had some ambition, for which the
crisis in which the kingdom was placed seemed to offer a
favourable opening. If the French prince might claim with
probable success the crown of England, Gilbert de Gant had
at least as much pretension to the Earldom of Lincoln.
Coming therefore to London, says the historian Matthew
Paris, he there received from Louis the sword of the county
or Earldom of Lincoln. This was the usual mode in which a
new Earl received seisin of his dignity; and it may be
remarked by the way that the sword of the Earldom of
Chester is still preserved in the British Museum, inscribed
HUGO COMES CESTRIAE.
Earl Gilbert was immediately required to assert by the
sword what he had received by the sword; but in this, it
will be seen, he was attended with very slight success. His
first operations were directed against the royal garrisons in
the castles of Nottingham and Newark; he then seized the
city of Lincoln, but not the castle, and levied a tax upon the
* Rot. Pip. and Rot. Claus., 6 Joh. m. 1. * Dugdale, Baron, i. 627.
* Mon. Angl., i. 334.
THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 269
whole province. The district of Holland he subdued by
force and spoliation, but still he could not reduce the castle
of Lincoln, which, after having been gallantly defended for
some time by the widow of Camville the sheriff, had now
been garrisoned by the Earl of Chester, in the name of King
John. Whilst pursuing the siege, Earl Gilbert was alarmed at
the approach of the King himself, and consequently retreated;
and though he renewed the siege when the King had retired,
it was still with no better success. So impregnable in
ancient times was the castle or citadel of Lincoln, as we have
now had several occasions of remarking. In the meantime
King John died at Newark; and at length, on Whit Monday,
the 15th of May, 1217, Earl William Mareschall, the custos
of the realm for the infant King Henry, assembled the royal
forces at that place, from whence they marched to Lincoln.
Four days after the decisive battle was here fought, in which
the French were defeated, and Earl Gilbert de Gant was
taken prisoner, having never obtained possession of the castle
of Lincoln, which had remained in the hands of his cousin
and rival the Earl of Chester. He survived, in the rank of a
Baron only, to the year 1241.
RANULPH, EARL OF CHESTER AND LINCOLN, was one of the
most potent subjects of his own or any other age. He was
the third Earl of Chester of his name, and he had the unusual
fortune to enjoy that dignity for more than half a century.
For some time, in right of one of his wives, he was also Duke
of Britany. He was the son and heir of Hugh II., surnamed
Cyvelioc, Earl of Chester, by Bertreia, daughter of Simon,
Earl of Montfort and Evreux; and he is distinguished in the
succession of the Earls of Chester by the surname Blondeville,
given him from his birth at Album Monasterium, or Blonde-
ville, in Powis, now called Oswestry. I shall not attempt
to detail the history of his long career in places distant from
Lincoln ; but we may dwell with some interest on the
important events of 1217, which established at once the peace
of the kingdom, and confirmed Earl Ranulph in the Earldom
of Lincoln. It has been already stated, that the forces of
the loyal Earls and Barons were assembled on Whit Monday
270 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
at Newark, where the Earl of Chester assumed the chief
command of the army. He led it on to Lincoln,” where the
French Prince and the confederate Barons had arrived four
days before. The Comte of Perche, the general of the
French, is said to have observed, on seeing the Earl of
Chester, “Have we stayed here all this while for the coming
of such a dwarf?” To which Earl Ranulph replied, “I vow
to God and our Lady, whose church this is, that before
to-morrow evening I will seem to thee to be stronger, and
greater, and taller than that steeple.” Thus parting, he
betook himself to the castle.
On the next morning, the Comte of Perche, armed at
all points except his head, entered the cathedral, and left
Prince Louis in safety there ; having done which, he chal-
lenged our Earl forth to battle ; who, immediately answering
to the summons, caused the castle-gate to be opened, and
made so fierce a sally, that the Barons were defeated, the
Comte of Perche slain, and Louis, captured in the church,
was immediately taken to the high altar, and required to
swear, upon the gospels and holy relics there deposited, that
he renounced his claim to the crown of England, and would
forthwith depart the realm. This done, Earl Ranulph sent
for young Henry, who also had been placed under the pro-
tection of the Church, whilst his fate was dependent on the
issue of the battle, and lay concealed in a cow-shed belonging
to Bardney Abbey. On his arrival he was placed upon the
altar (that is, we may suppose, upon the steps of the high
altar) by the Earl of Chester, who gave him seisin of the
kingdom as his inheritance, by the delivery of a white rod in
lieu of a sceptre, doing his homage to him, as did the other
peers then present.
Earl Ranulph's hereditary claim to the Earldom of Lincoln
was, on this important change in affairs, immediately admitted;
and, by writ” dated at Lincoln on the 23rd of May, only
four days after the battle, the sheriff of Lincolnshire was
commanded to render to him the third penny of the county,
* The historical particulars here given are derived from the chronicle of Walter
de Wittlesey. 7 Rot. Claus., 1 Hen. III., m. 17.
SEAL'S OF THE EARLS 01' LINGOLN.
Seal and Counterseal of Ranulph, Earl of Chester and Lincoln.
1217–1232.



SEALS
0F THE
COUNTESS OF LIN COLN.
our tess of Lincoln
t
~
Hawise de Quincy, C
1232.

THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 271
which (it was added) belonged to him by hereditary right
derived from his father Ranulph—meaning, of course, his
grandfather Ranulph, the son of the Countess Lucy, for, as
already stated, his father's name was Hugh. In this writ he
is styled Earl of Chester; but in a similar writ,” dated the
15th of March following, he is expressly styled Earl of
Chester and Lincoln, and the third penny, to be taken of
the monies arising from the pleas of the county of Lincoln,
was to be received by the name of Earl of Lincoln—perci-
piendum nomine Comitis Lincolniae. This dignity he retained
for fourteen or fifteen years; but shortly before his death,
which occurred at the castle of Wallingford, in Berkshire, on
the 28th Oct. 1232, he transferred the Earldom of Lincoln,
by a charter” which is still extant in the British Museum, to
his sister Hawise de Quency. This important charter is
burdened with no superfluity of words. The terms of the
transfer are simply these : “Be it known to all &c., that I
have given to the lady Hawise de Quency my dearest sister
the Earldom of Lincoln as fully as it hath pertained to me, to
hold of my lord the King of England and his heirs to the same
Hawise and her heirs freely, quietly, fully, peacefully, and
entirely, by hereditary right, with all its appurtenances and
all the liberties appertaining to the said Earldom.” The
charter bears a Seal of green wax, made on a cord of knotted
silk, as shown in the accompanying engraving.
HAWISE DE QUENCY was a widow, having one daughter
Margaret, married to John de Lacy, who became the next
Earl of Lincoln. Her husband had been Robert de Quency,
eldest son of Saher, Earl of Winchester; and nothing further
is known of his history, excepting that, after the decease of
his father, who died in Palestine in the year 1220, his next
brother Roger had livery of their father's lands, because
Robert also was then absent in the same holy voyage." It
appears, therefore, that he too was one of that large propor-
tion of pilgrims of whom it has been said that there were
vestigia nulla retrorsum. The Countess Hawise, on the par-
* Rot. Claus, 2 Hen. III., m. 9.
* Printed in the Topographer and Genealogist, vol. i. p. 313.
* Rot. Claus., 3 Hen. III., m. 15.
272 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
tition of the Earl of Chester's lands between his four sisters
and co-heirs, received for her share all the lands in the pro-
vinces of Lindsey and Holland, of which the castle and manor
of Bolingbroke was the caput honoris:* paying on that occa-
sion fifty pounds, as her relief.” Immediately after her
brother's death, she transferred the dignity of Earl of Lincoln
to her son-in-law John de Lacy. This arrangement was
completed and confirmed by a royal charter, which is dated
at Northampton on the 23rd Nov. 1232—that is, within a
month after the death of the Earl of Chester. In terms
equally simple with those employed on the last transfer of
the Earldom, the King declared, that, at the request of
Hawise de Quency, he had granted to John de Lascy, con-
stable of Chester, those twenty pounds which Ranulph, late
Earl of Chester and Lincoln, had received as the third penny
of the county of Lincoln, by the name of Earl of Lincoln, and
which the said Earl had in his life given to the said Hawise
his sister: and which twenty pounds John de Lascy was to
have and hold by the name of Earl of Lincoln, to him and his
heirs issuing of Margaret his wife, the daughter of the said
Hawise, for ever.”
The Seal of the Countess Hawise exists in an imperfect
impression in the British Museum.” The circular device in
the centre is slightly sunk, and it was possibly a large antique
intaglio, set into the matrix. Above and below, is placed a
mascle, the armorial bearing of Quency, her husband's
family.
JoHN DE LACY was descended from Ilbert de Lacy, lord of
Pontefract by gift of the Conqueror; and he was hereditary
constable to the Earls of Chester. He lived for eight years
as Earl of Lincoln, and died on the 22d July, 1240. His
Sealis inscribed “Sigillum Johannis de Lascy comitis Lincolnie
* Rot. Claus., 17 Hen. III., m. 17. of the late Francis Townsend, Esq.
* Rot. Pip., 17 Hen. III., Linc. Windsor Herald, in Collectanea Topogr.
* Pat. 17 Hen. III., m. 9, No. 25; et Geneal. vol. vii. p. 131.
Coucher book, Duchy Lanc., ii. f. 477 b. * Harl. Cart. 55 B. 8. This charter is
“I take this to be the first precedent that published in the Topogr. and Genealogist,
appears upon record of entailing an vol. i. p. 320.
honour to the heirs of the body.” Opinion
SEAL'S OF THE EARLS OF LINGOLN.
Seal and Counterseal of John de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln
1232–1240.

THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 273
et constabularii Cestrie.” The arms it exhibits are blazoned
thus: Quarterly or and gules, a bend sable.
On the Seal of his Countess Margaret the same arms are
displayed on her robe, and placed on a shield held in her right
hand; whilst on her left side is a shield of a lion rampant,
probably intended for the arms of the Earldom of Lincoln.
Margaret his widow was shortly after his death re-married
to Walter Marshal, the fourth of five brothers who suc-
cessively inherited the Earldom of Pembroke. He had only
attained that dignity by the accidental death of his brother
Gilbert in the year 1241. In the following year (after some
difficulty, owing to the disfavour in which he stood with the
King,) he both obtained livery of his own lands and of the
office of Marshal, and also of the lands which were of the
dower of Margaret his wife;" and in the next year he paid
relief for such lands as Hawise de Quency, his wife's mother,
held in capite.”
Earl Walter Marshal died without issue on the 24th Nov.
1246, being survived by the Countess Margaret, who in her
subsequent charters styled herself Countess of Lincoln and
Pembroke.” It is nearly certain that she also survived
her son Edmund de Lacy, and this would be the reason why
he was never allowed the Earldom,”—as in the case of the
* Rot. Claus., 26 Hen. III., m. 2. stabularius Cestriae.” Dugdale's asser-
7 Rot. Pip. 27 Hen. III.
* Charter to John Beke. Cart. Harl.
52 H. 44. It has lost its seal.
* Dugdale says (Baronage, i. 103,)
“As to the title of Earl of Lincoln, he
never used it; nor was it ever attributed
to him in any grant; though he enjoyed
the tertium denarium of that county, as
may be seen by a record of after time
(Claus. 4 Edw. II., m. 22);” but the
authority of “a record of after time."
cannot be admitted in such a point, and
it had already received its reply from Sir
Peter Leycester, as follows: “And how-
beit Wincent upon Brook, p. 318, cites a
record out of the close rolls to prove that
this Edmund, by way of recitation, had
tertium denarium comitatus Lincolniae,
yet certain it is that he was never styled,
in any of his charters, by the title of Comes
Lincolniae, but only Edmundus Lacy con-
tion, in fact, involves a contradiction: if
Edmund had enjoyed the third penny, he
would ipso facto have been the Earl. It
is true that Matthew Paris styles Edmund
de Lacy “Earl of Lincoln" on the occa-
sion of his marriage in 1247; and even
in a formal document, being letters of
safe conduct to the King and Queen of
Scotland in 1255 (Rymer, i. 563), he has
this title ascribed to him ; but this must
be regarded as of courtesy, and merely as
an acknowledgment of his right in expec-
tancy. We have met with a similar case
in the third William de Roumare, already
noticed; and so the second William
Longespée was sometimes called Earl,
though the Earldom of Salisbury was still
vested in his mother. Occasionally we
read of the junior Earl Marshal, or the
junior Earl Ferrars, &c., which were similar
titles of courtesy.
T
274 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
Earldom of Salisbury and the second William Longespée,
who died before his mother the Countess Ela, with whom it
had come to his father. Edmund de Lacy, constable of
Chester, died on the 5th June, 1258.
HENRY DE LACY, his son and heir, was admitted to the
degree of knighthood together with Edmund, Earl of Cornwall,
and fifty-four other gallant bachelors, upon the feast day of
St. Edward, in the year 1272; and on the same occasion the
young Edmund of Almaine and he were each girt by King
Henry the Third with the swords of the respective Earldoms
of Cornwall and of Lincoln." It was, however, five years
after before he received livery of the fee which his ancestors
usually received nomine comitis Lincolnie, with all the
arrears from the time of his investiture.”
Instead of the ancient arms of Lacy displayed on the
shield of his grandfather, Earl Henry bears on his Seal a
rampant lion, which was probably considered as the arms of
the Earldom of Lincoln. In a counter-seal, different to that
now engraved, he has the old arms of Lacy, with a garb of
Chester on either side;” and in a smaller or privy seal he
bears the shield of the lion, with a lion on either side, as the
dragons appear on this counter-seal, but the lions turn their
backs to the shield, and are guardant.”
Having enjoyed the Earldom of Lincoln for forty years,
and united to it the Earldom of Salisbury in right of his
wife Margaret, heiress of the house of Longespée, Henry de
Laci died in the year 1312, at his house in the suburbs of
London, which has ever since retained the name of Lincoln's
Inn. He had lost two sons by similar untimely deaths,
Edmund the elder having been drowned in a well within the
castle of Denbigh, and John the younger having fallen from
one of the towers of Pontefract,” whilst attempting to run
* I have gathered this from Dugdale's 1272, Henricus Lacy factus miles et comes
Baronage, vol. i. pp. 103, 765, and he Lincoln.” Collectanea, edit. 1715, vol. i.
derived it through Glover's Collections p. 419.
from a MS. in the Bodleian Library * Claus., 5 Edw. I., m. 8.
(K. 84, Cant.), but I am not aware whose * MS. Cotton. Julius, C. VII. f. 195.
chronicle that may be. But Leland * Ibid. f. 147, b.
quotes, “Ex annalibus Thomae Wike * Dugdale, Baronage, i. 106; and
canonici de Oseney;” that “Anno D. Monasticon, ii. 188.
SEALS 0F THE EARLS OF LINGOLN,
Seal and Counterseal of Henry de Lacy, Earl of Linc in
72—31.

THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 275
round its battlements, and when he was thus left without
male issue, his only daughter, Alice, in consideration of her
great inheritance, was bestowed in marriage on a prince of
the blood royal,
THOMAS, EARL OFLANGASTER, grandson of King Henry III.
This potent and popular nobleman, already Earl of Lan-
caster, Leicester, and Derby, acquired also, in right of his
wife, a title to the Earldoms of Lincoln and Salisbury. It is
not the purpose of this paper to enter into biographical
details, even if the particulars of his public career were less
known than they are : but an anecdote connected with the
latter days of his life may be introduced, as showing how far
Earldoms were then deemed to be alienable possessions in
England. It is said that when the Earl of Lancaster (then
in arms against the royal authority as administered by the
Despensers) was encountered near Boroughbridge by the
sheriff of Yorkshire and Sir Andrew de Harcla, warden of
the marches towards Scotland, he attempted to overcome
the loyalty of the latter by offering to transfer to him one
of those five Earldoms which he had in possession." In
acknowledgment of his services and fidelity on this occasion,
Sir Andrew was made an earl, by the title of Earl of
Carlisle; but the next year he was deprived of that dignity,
with memorable ceremonies of degradation.
The Earl of Lancaster was beheaded at Pontefract on the
22nd of March, 1322. His marriage, which had not been
blessed with children, had terminated unhappily some years
before : for a divorce had been pronounced, in connection
with scandalous stories concerning the lady, which need not
be here introduced. However, on his attainder, the Countess
Alice, like other ladies suffering under such misfortunes, was
forced to enter into a compromise with the Crown in regard
to her inheritance. On the 27th June, 1322, she became
bound under a penalty of 20,000l. not to alienate any of her
possessions without the King's special license;7 and she imme-
diately afterwards executed deeds of conveyance of all her
* Leland's Collectanea, edit. 1715, vol. i. p. 464.
7 Rot. Pat., 15 Edw. II., p. 2, m. 3.
T 2
276
THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
lands to the King, his heirs, and assigns for ever. The King
then granted back, for her support, Giffard's castle in Wales,
and several manors, including that of Holborn, to hold during
her life, with reversion to Hugh le Despenser the younger
and his heirs. On the 20th December he also restored to her
for life the twenty pounds pro tertio denario Comitatus Linc.,
and she thus again became CountESS OF LINCOLN. She was
shortly afterwards married to Ebulo le Strange, younger son
of the lord Strange of Knokyn, and in 18 Edw. II. she had
livery of the court of the fee of De la Hay and of the gaol
standing before the gate of Lincoln castle, as also of the
annuity of 20l. as the third penny of the county of Lincoln.”
In 19 Edw. II. the sheriff of Lincolnshire received a further
mandamus to pay all arrears of the annuity for the Earldom
of Lincoln to the said Ebulo or Alice, or their attorney, and
to continue to pay the said annuity,” and from this circum-
stance Ebulo le Strange has been by some writers ranked
among the Earls; but (though he is so styled in a
charter of his nephew and heir Roger le Strange, a”. 13
Edw. III.') it is certain that he never really enjoyed that
honour, (unless possibly by courtesy,) for he was summoned
to Parliament as a Baron only, from that period to his death,
which happened in 1335. In a petition to Parliament,
4 Edw. III., when he and his wife claimed the restoration of
her inheritance, and in the charter of such restoration which
followed, he is only styled Ebulo Lestrange, nor does his
inquisitio post mortem give him any other title, though it
calls his wife Countess of Lincoln. He died without issue in
the campaign in Scotland, about Michaelmas, 1335; and the
lady, who was then about fifty-three years of age, had before
the 8th of July in the following year taken a third husband,
named Hugh de Freyne, a knight of Artois.” He also, in
* Rot. Claus., 18 Edw. II., m. 23. In
this record we see the ancient perquisites
of the two hereditary offices of Earl of
Lincoln and Constable of Lincoln Castle
united, having been brought together
by the marriage of Henry de Lacy and
Margaret Longespée. Margaret was fourth
in descent from Nicholaa, wife of Gerard
de Camville, the original heiress of Hay,
whose successful defence of Lincoln Castle
has been noticedinaformer page. Nicholaa
was mother of Richard de Camville, father
of Idonea, the wife of William Longespée II.
They had issue William Longespée III., the
father of Margaret, Countess of Lincoln.
9 Rot. Claus., 19 Edw. II., m. 10.
* Collectanea Top. et Geneal., vi. 151.
* Who, at that date, obtained livery of
THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 277
consequence of this marriage, was summoned to Parliament,
but only in the rank of a Baron, on the 29th Nov. and 14th
Jan. following, but died in the month of December, between
those two summonses, likewise in Scotland, at St. John's
town, now Perth.”
Alice, Countess of Lincoln, died on the 2nd of October,
1348, being then sixty-seven years of age; and her body
was buried in the conventual church of Barlings, in Lincoln-
shire, near that of Ebulo, her second husband.” Her inherit-
ance, thereupon, devolved on her first husband's nephew,
HENRY, EARL OF LANCASTER ; for so it had been arranged in
case of failure of her issue, when Earl Henry, her father,
surrendered his estates to the Crown, to be resettled upon
her marriage.
By letters patent, dated the 20th August, 1349, Henry,
Earl of Lancaster and Derby, was created Earl of Lincoln,
with the annual fee of 20l. in lieu of the third penny, as in
former cases. In 1351 he was advanced to the dignity of
Duke of Lancaster. In his will, made at his Castle of
Leicester in 1361, he styles himself, “Henry duc de Lancastre,
counte de Derby, de Nichol, and de Leicestre, seneschal
d'Engletere, seigneur de Bruggerak et de Beufort.”
Blanche, his daughter and ultimately sole heir, was married
to JOHN OF GHENT, the fourth son of King Edward III.; and
John of Ghent assumed, in consequence, the title of Earl of
Lincoln, as is shown by his privy seal,” in which his style is
thus set forth :—John, Duke of Lancaster, Earl of Richmond,
Derby, Lincoln, and Leicester, Steward of England.
In connection with Lincoln, it may here be mentioned
that, in 1396, John of Ghent was married in this city to his
third wife, Katharine Swinford, already the mother of his
children the Beauforts. She seems to have continued to
reside at Lincoln after the Duke's death; and dying on the
10th May, 1403, she was buried in the Cathedral."
the Castle of Builth, in Wales, which had 4 Monasticon Angl., ii. 190.
been previously granted to Ebulo le * Engraved in Sandford's Genealogical
Strange. MS. Dodsworth, vol. lxxxiv. History of England, and in Nichols's His-
p. 41. tory of Leicestershire.
* Walsingham. * * Walsingham, Hist. Angl.
278 THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN.
John, Duke of Lancaster, died in 1399; and his son, HENRY
OF BOLINGBROKE,-probably the only English King that Lin-
colnshire can boast as its native, who up to that time had
been generally styled the Earl of Derby, in the same year
ascended the throne as KING HENRY IV. Thus was the
Earldom of Lincoln at last merged in the Crown as parcel
of the Duchy of Lancaster.
At the coronation of Henry IV., the King appointed his
half-brother, John, Earl of Somerset (the eldest illegitimate
son of John of Ghent), to perform the office of Carver, apper-
taining of right to the Earldom of Lincoln ; and which their
father, John, then King of Castile and Leon, in right of this
Earldom, had performed at the preceding coronation of
Richard II. by his deputy, Hugh, Earl of Stafford.
The title of Earl of Lincoln was not, however, distinctly
revived until, in 1467, King Edward IV. conferred it on his
nephew, JoHN DE LA POLE, son and heir apparent of the Duke
of Suffolk. Twenty years after, he died without issue.
Again, in the year 1525, King Henry VIII. bestowed this
dignity in precisely the same way on his sister's son, HENRY
BRANDON, son and heir apparent of Charles, Duke of Suffolk.
But this time it was very short-lived, for this Earl died in
childhood.
Lastly, the Earldom of Lincoln was conferred by Queen
Elizabeth on the Lord Admiral CLINTON, in whose family it
has descended, as noticed at the commencement of this
paper, to the present Duke of Newcastle.
In order to show at one view the descent of the Earldom
of Lincoln, as traced in the present memoir, a catalogue of
the Earls is here subjoined, after the model of Sir Harris
Nicolas's Synopsis of the Peerage; but comprising, it will be
seen, very different results from those to which that writer
was led by the authorities on which he relied for informa-
tion —
THE DESCENT OF THE EARLDOM OF LINCOLN. 279
EARLS OF LINCOLN.
I. —I 140. WILLIAM DE ROUMARE, son of Lucy, Countess of Chester,
and a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon lords of Lincolnshire;
made Earl of Lincoln by King Stephen, in 1140; died before
1168, his grandson and heir being then under age.
II.-1141. GILBERT DE GANT, became Earl on his marriage with the
Countess Roheis, another descendant from the same Anglo-
Saxon race; was Earl contemporaneously with William de
Roumare; died 1156, without male heir.
1216. GILBERT DE GANT, nephew and heir male to the pre-
ceding, but having no right of inheritance to this dignity; made
Earl of Lincoln by Prince Louis of France, but never obtained
full possession of the dignity.
III.-1217. RANULPH DE BLONDEVILLE, Earl of Chester, great-grand-
son of the Countess Lucy first mentioned; confirmed Earl of
Lincoln in 1217; died 1232, having shortly before his death
transferred this earldom, by charter, to his fourth daughter,
IV.-1232. HAWISE DE QUENCY, widow of Robert de Quency.
W.—1232. JoHN DE LASCY, Constable of Chester, having married
Margaret, daughter of the Countess Hawise, confirmed Earl of
Lincoln, by royal charter, November 23, 1232; died 1258.
WI-1258. HENRY DE LAGY, son and heir ; also Earl of Salisbury in
right of his wife, Margaret de Longespée ; died 1272.
VII.-1272. THOMAS, EARL OF LANCASTER, Leicester, and Derby,
having married Alice, only daughter and heir of Earl Henry
de Lacy; beheaded 1322.
VIII.-1822. ALICE, widow of the last earl; restored to her ancestral
dignity of Countess of Lincoln nine months after her husband's
death; died 1348.
IX.-1349. HENRY, EARL of LANCASTER and Derby, nephew and heir
to Earl Thomas; created Earl of Lincoln 20th August, 1349;
created Duke of Lancaster, 1351; died 1361.
X.—1362. JoHN of GHENT, Earl of Richmond, fourth son of King
Edward III., having married Blanche, daughter and heiress of
Duke Henry, was created Duke of Lancaster, and also used,
among his other titles, that of Earl of Lincoln ; died 1399.
His son, Henry, Earl of Derby, in the following year, became
|King by the title of Henry the Fourth, and the representation
of this ancient dignity became merged in the Crown.
LINCOLN CASTLE.
LINCOLN CASTLE was one of the eight fortresses which
William the Conqueror is known to have erected in different
parts of England, immediately after he had established his
dominion over this country. Lincoln was at that time con-
sidered one of the most important and populous cities in the
kingdom, as our old historians all testify. One quarter of
the upper town, originally built in a quadrangular form by
the Romans, and fortified with walls, and four gates, was
sacrificed on this occasion. We learn from Domesday-Book
that a hundred and sixty-six mansions were destroyed
“propter castellum,”—meaning, no doubt, that they had been
pulled down to clear the site for the new fortress.
Some persons have supposed that a castle existed here in
the Saxon times, but without any authority; and the con-
trary is apparent from the brief but decisive statements in
the record above quoted.
From its first foundation by William the Conqueror, the
Castle, with the Bail, or liberty attached to it, continued to
form parcel of the royal demesnes, until the reign of
Edward I. By his special charter, King Stephen conferred
on Ranulph (or Ralph) de Gernons, Earl of Chester, the
castle and city of Lincoln, to enjoy until he should be restored
to his lands in Normandy, and castles there ; and thereupon
gave him leave to fortify one of the towers in Lincoln Castle,
and to have the command thereof, until he should deliver
unto him the castle of Tickhill, in Yorkshire; which being
done, the King to have the city and castle of Lincoln again,
except the Earl's own tower, which his mother had fortified ;
as also the constableship of that castle, and of the whole
county, which belonged to him by hereditary right." This
* See Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 39, &c.
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LINCOLN CASTLE. 281
grant was made probably in the latter part of King Stephen's
reign; for before that time the Earl of Chester, who was a
stirring warrior, had joined the party of the Empress Maud, or
Matilda, who claimed the English crown as her inheritance.
In 1140, the Empress Maud got possession of the city and
castle of Lincoln, which she fortified, and stored with provi-
sions and ammunition, in expectation of a siege from her
opponent, King Stephen. The expected assault soon followed,
and Lincoln was taken by Stephen ; but the Empress had
found means to escape secretly. The castle was shortly
afterwards surprised by Ralph, Earl of Chester, who, with
his wife and his half-brother, William de Romara, Lord of
Bolingbrook, and first Earl of Lincoln, took up their abode
here, and prepared to celebrate the Christmas festivities in
the castle with their friends. But the citizens of Lincoln,
who favoured the King's interest, sent him notice of the
Earl's occupation of the castle, which was not in a condition
to make any great defence. Stephen, who was indefatigably
active, immediately hastened to Lincoln, and invested the
castle on Christmas-day, the citizens assisting in the attack.
The two Earls, apprehensive of being taken prisoners, con-
trived for the younger brother, the Earl of Chester, to sally
forth and make his escape, which was effected. He went to
the Empress, to beg assistance for the rescue of his wife and
brother, whom he had left besieged ; and being joined by
Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and raising forces in his own
county of Chester, and amongst the Welch, returned towards
Lincoln with great expedition. They forded the river Trent
on Candlemas-day, and formed a camp very near to the
castle. King Stephen was soon ready to meet his enemies;
and a severe battle ensued, in which Stephen himself, after
fighting at the head of a body of foot-soldiers with desperate
courage, until both his battle-axe and sword were broken,
was knocked down by a great stone, and a knight seizing
hold of the nasal of his helmet, secured him as his prisoner.
The unfortunate prince was imprisoned in the castle of
Bristol, where he was treated with vindictive indignity; but
was delivered in exchange for the Earl of Gloucester half-
282 LINCOLN CASTLE.
brother to the Empress, who had been made prisoner, and
was then confined in Rochester Castle, in the custody of
William of Ypres. King Stephen's affairs becoming more
prosperous, the Earl of Chester again taking part with him,
and yielding up several castles which he had held, a treaty
was agreed upon, and King Stephen celebrated Christmas
with great solemnity at Lincoln, in 1144.
By the deed of pacification made in 1153, which at length
put an end to the contentions for the crown, which had
harassed the kingdom almost eighteen years, it was stipu-
lated in one of the articles that Lincoln Castle should be put
into the hands of Jordan de Bussey, as governor, who was to
swear that he would yield it up to Prince Henry, or whom he
should appoint, immediately after the death of King Stephen.”
King Richard I. committed the custody of the castle and
city of Lincoln to Gerard de Camville, whom he appointed
sheriff of the county; but he was deprived of these offices
in a parliament, or great council, held at Nottingham in
1194. It would seem, however, that a new grant was made
to this baron, for it was stated in an Inquisition respecting
the castle of Lincoln, taken A* 3, Ed. I. (1274-5) that
Nichola de la Hay, who had married Gerard de Camville,
held this castle, after the death of her husband, at the will
of King John, both in peace and war. “And once it happened
that, after the war, King John came to Lincoln, and the said
Lady Nichola went out of the eastern gate of the castle,
carrying the keys of the castle in her hand, and met the
King, and offered the keys to him, as her lord, and said she
was a woman of great age, and had sustained much labour
and anxiety in the said castle, and was unable to bear such
fatigue any longer. And the King graciously said she
should still retain the keys if she pleased ; and so she kept
the said castle all the life of King John, and after his decease
she still kept it under King Henry, the father of the King
that now is.” This lady, who appears to have been a
woman of distinguished talents, was constituted sheriff of
* Rymer, Foedera, tom. 1. 25.
* This Inquisition is printed in Kennet's Parochial Antiquities, p. 282.
LINCOLN CASTLE. 283
the whole county ; John Philip de Mare being appointed as
her assistant; * and the Lordship of Munden was assigned
to her, for the better maintenance of her office. Afterwards
she retired to her manor of Swaneton,” and died in 1231.
In the war which broke out between King John and the
Barons, Lincoln was assaulted and taken by Gilbert de
Gaunt, whom Prince Louis, the Dauphin of France, created
Earl of Lincoln ; this happened in 1216. The castle, how-
ever, still held out for the King; and the city was aban-
doned by the victorious party on the expected approach of
John. His days were soon terminated by death, at Newark
castle, 9th October, in the same year. After the decease of
King John, the citizens of Lincoln supported the rights of
his son and successor, Henry III., against Prince Louis and
the insurgent barons, and the city was besieged by them.
At length Falco de Breauté, a powerful baron, on the King's
side, succeeded in reinforcing the garrison of the castle, and
the Earl of Pembroke coming up to assail the besiegers, the
confederates were defeated. This battle was fought 19th
May, 1217 ; and it served to quell the contention, peace
being restored soon afterwards.
During the reign of Henry III. Lincoln Castle was some
time in the custody of Philip de Lascells, and of Walter de
Everum ; after which the same king granted the office of
constable to William de Longespée, Earl of Salisbury, in fee :
and at his death it came to his son, William, who married
Idonea, the daughter and heiress of Richard de Camville.
This earl was slain in the crusade, at Damietta, A.D. 1250,
leaving a daughter named Margaret, who was sometimes
called the Countess of Salisbury. During her minority,
Queen Eleanor held Lincoln Castle for her as her ward; and
afterwards, by her marriage with Henry de Lacy, Earl of
Lincoln, he became entitled to it as tenant by courtesy.
His daughter, Alice, becoming heiress to his estates and
titles, by the premature death of her two brothers in their
* Falco de Breant, or de Breauté, was a charter of 1152, he signs it as Falcasius
ordered to assist her in the defence of the de Breamt. Rymer, tom 1. 148.
castle. The name of this warrior is vari- * Swaton, near Falkingham, co. Lin-
ously spelt by the antient chroniclers. In coln.
284 LINCOLN CASTLE.
father's life-time, married Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of
Lancaster, Leicester, and Derby; who became, in her right,
also, Earl of Lincoln. This lady married twice after the
death of her first husband, who was attainted and beheaded
at Pontefract, in 1321 ; but, having no issue, she, by her
deed, bequeathed all her inheritance and honours to Henry
of Monmouth, the son of Henry, Earl of Lancaster, the
brother of her first husband. She died at Michaelmas,
1348; from which time the castle and bail of Lincoln con-
tinued to be held by this Earl of Lancaster, who was created
a Duke in 1353, until his death ; when they passed, by the
marriage of his daughter, Blanch, to Prince John of Gaunt,
the fourth son of Edward III., who, in her right, was created
Duke of Lancaster, and Earl of Leicester, Lincoln, and
Derby. The bail and castle of Lincoln thus became annexed
to the Duchy of Lancaster; and so continued until the year
1832, when the magistrates of the county were empowered,
by act of parliament, to purchase the castle of the King, as
Duke of Lancaster. The custody of felons, and other pri-
soners, within the county, (but exclusive of the city of
Lincoln, with its own county or liberty), always appertained
to the constableship of the castle ; and the assizes and
sheriff's courts were always held in the hall of the castle.
On the eve of the civil war, in the reign of Charles I.,
an order of both houses of parliament was made, dated 9th
January, 1642-3, that the high sheriff of the county, and
Smith, the gaoler and keeper of the castle, do forth-
with remove his prisoners out of the castle, to some safe and
secure place. The castle was ordered to be delivered into
the hands of the Earl of Lincoln, and to be speedily fortified.
The royalists afterwards obtained possession of the castle, as
well as of the city; but, in May, 1644, they were both taken
by the parliamentary forces, under the command of the
Earl of Manchester; Sir Francis Fane being then the
governor of the castle."
The general outlines of the castle will be best explained
by the engraved plan, in which the ancient parts are dis-
* Rushworth's Historical Collection, vol. v., &c.
LINCOLN CASTLE, 285
tinguished by a dark shade from the modern buildings. The
crooked and irregular lines of the walls seem to indicate that
they were built in haste ; probably by the forced labour of
the neighbouring people. The situation of this castle, on a
dry limestone rock, made it impossible to surround it with
water ; but wide and deep ditches were excavated on all
sides, and broad and high mounds were raised within the
circuit of the ditches, to form foundations for the walls.”
These dry fosses would make the approach of assailants very
difficult, and prevent their setting battering engines near to
the walls. The keep, or principal tower, stands separately
upon a high mound, and the ditches entirely surround its
base, the castle walls on the South side of the great quadrangle
not being raised upon mounds, so that the keep completely
overlooks them, and was defensible independently of the rest
of the castle. The masonry of the castle walls, wherever
the original facing remains, is very rude, the stones being
laid together in unhewn masses; but the whole was so well
grouted and filled up with good mortar that the substance of
the work is mostly sound and firm. In some parts, the walls
were faced with thin stones, set diagonally, the courses
leaning alternately to the right hand and to the left, in what
is called the herring-bone fashion, which has misled some
persons to take these parts for Roman work; but the Norman
masonry of this sort bore only a superficial resemblance to
the Roman ; the oblique position of the stones being only
found on the outsides: whereas, the Romans carried the
same method of laying the stones through the whole thickness
of their work as we find in the old city walls of Lincoln.
The extensive repairs that were made in the walls and towers
of Lincoln Castle, since it was purchased by the magistrates
for the use of the county, brought to light some curious par-
ticulars of their ancient form and construction. The bottom
courses of masonry were found to have been set upon frames
of rough timber, in which three or four parallel lines of beams
were laid upon the rubble on which the walls were to be
raised, and these lines were crossed, at short distances, by
7 The bottom of these ditches has been partly filled up, and their depth lessened.
286 LINCOIN CASTLE,
other beams, to hold them in their right places. All this
timber-work had decayed and fallen to dust in those parts
that were discovered, but the cavities in the walls showed
plainly the forms and sizes of the beams.
Sir Henry Ellis has remarked, in his very valuable “Intro-
duction to Domesday Book,” when speaking of the forty-
nine castles mentioned in that record, “It is singular that
the ruins which are now remaining of almost all these castles
have preserved one feature of uniformity. They are each
distinguished by a Mount and Keep : marking the peculiar
style of architecture introduced into our castellated forti-
fications by the Normans at their first settlement. The
castles of Dover, Nottingham, and Durham, known to have
been built by the Conqueror, with the White Tower in the
Tower of London, are unnoticed in the Survey.” The
accuracy of the above remark has been questioned;9 but it
appears to be true that a round or polygonal keep, raised
upon a mound, is one distinctive feature of almost all the
castles erected immediately after the Norman conquest.
Hence arises a question of the greatest interest in the history
of castellated architecture ; viz., how, and at what period,
was the round tower, with its proper mound, superseded by
the lofty square tower, which needed not to be so elevated
at its base ? From my own observations on the subject, I
am induced to believe that the round keep, built on a mound,
was the prevailing style for a castle at the period of the
Conquest, and had been so for a long time before ; and that
the first castles built here by the Normans were erected
hastily, without any attempt at a new style; but that soon
afterwards, when the country had become more settled, the
stately quadrangular tower, which required a longer time
and greater skill for its construction, obtained the preference
over the older and simpler form. We may here remark that
* General Introduction to Domesday Wallingford, &c. are denominated castra;
Book, vol. i. p. 233. 1833. the Tower of London is specified by its
* In the charter executed in the year proper name. Windsor and Oxford cas-
1153, by King Stephen and Prince Henry, ties are described by the term mota ;
for the succession of the latter to the and this castle as “firmitas Lincolnie."
throne of England, the castles of Norwich, Rymer's Foedera, tom. i. pt. 1, 18.
LINCOLN CASTLE. 287
Arundel Castle, in Sussex, which still presents one of the
most perfect examples of the round keep built upon a mound,
is expressly recognised in Domesday Book as existing in the
time of King Edward the Confessor. Gundulph, Bishop of
Rochester, who came into that see in 1077, and died in
March, 1107-8, has the credit of inventing the lofty castel-
lated keep. That of Rochester Castle was begun by him,
but was not finished until fifty years after his death. The
Tower of London, which has also been attributed to him, was
probably not built when Domesday Book was compiled, as it
is not mentioned therein. Its distinctive name of the Tower
may have originated in the novelty of its plan.
A satisfactory investigation of this curious subject is far
beyond the limits of this paper ; and, therefore, it shall be
passed over, with a suggestion that no real elucidation can
be expected from imaginary theories, such as some writers
on ancient architecture have set up for the amusement of
themselves and their friends; it being only by careful and
strict examination, both of the buildings themselves, as well
as of the historical records relating to them, that a true
knowledge of such a difficult question can be obtained.
The keep of Lincoln Castle originally consisted of two
stories, but the upper one has been totally destroyed. The
plan is an irregular polygon, measuring above ninety feet
from east to west, and eighty feet from north to south,
including the walls. It has two entrances ; one opening
outwards, towards the south-west,--the other inwards, facing
the north-east. The inner gate is the largest, and has a
handsome porch, vaulted with a semicircular arch, formed
of a double course of stone very neatly wrought, but quite
plain. The arch is inclosed by a carved hood-mould, and has
small imposts at the springing. The inner arch, immediately
over the door, is a segment less than a semicircle ; and the
arches of the opposite entrance are also of that form. Both
these entrances were carefully restored, in the recent repairs
of the castle, from the fragments that remained ; for the
arches had been broken down and the openings walled up.
The buttresses at the angles, the chamfered courses round
288 LINCOLN CASTLE.
the base, &c., were also restored in exact accordance with the
original work. The inside of the keep, which is now open,
and serves as a burial-place for criminals who have suffered
the last penalty of the law, probably had a small court in
the centre, into which the doors and windows of the lower
rooms opened; for there was no window, nor even a loop-
hole for light, in the outer walls. It is likely, too, that a
well was sunk within the keep for the supply of water in a
time of siege. On the west side are still the remains of a
privy-closet, constructed within the thickness of the main
wall, to which a narrow flight of stone steps gave access.
There is a small loop-hole for light, opening towards the
castle-yard, and a drain with a sloping stone at its outlet on
the same side. A small square room formerly adjoined to
the eastern side of the keep, which has been totally demo-
lished. The lower story appeared to have been covered by
a groined vault, springing from four small round shafts,
placed in the angles. There was a chimney on the north-
side of this room, and a staircase adjoining to it which led
to the upper story.
The name of Lucy Tower was formerly attached to the
keep of Lincoln Castle, and so continued down to a recent
time. It has been improperly transferred to a small round
tower which formed the termination of the city wall at the
south-west angle, next to Brayford-water. Only a fragment
of this tower is now standing, incorporated in the front of a
modern warehouse. This erroneous change of name seems
to have originated in a statement of Dr. Stukeley; who, in
his “Itin. Curios.” (p. 84 of the original edition, 1724), when
describing Lincoln, says, after mentioning “Maud, the
empress,”—“at the bottom of it, towards the water, is a
round tower, called Lucy Tower, and famous in her history.”
Now, this tower was too small and insignificant to be ever of
any importance or famous in history at any time; but there
is good evidence of the keep of the castle being called Lucy
Tower, both in ancient and modern times.
This, it appears, was the tower described in the charter
given by King Stephen to Ranulph, Earl of Chester, to which
LINCOLN CASTLE. 289
Sir William Dugdale refers, in the passage already cited.
The name was derived from his mother, Lucy, the daughter
of Algar, the Saxon Earl of Leicester; who was also the
mother, by her first marriage, of William de Romara, Earl
of Lincoln.
The keep was reduced to a mere shell at least as early as
the reign of James I., as we learn from a survey dated in
1608. All the ancient domestic buildings of the castle had
been demolished before that time; when only the county
gaol, the keeper's house, with some offices, and a court-house
are described. Of the great hall, the chapel, and other
apartments of the ancient castle, we know nothing; but we
may rest assured that there never was a square keep in the
centre, as some have imagined ; otherwise some traces of so
important and durable a fabric would certainly have been
discovered. -
The south-east angle of the castle appears to have been
guarded by a tower, set upon a mound of equal height with
that of the keep. No certain plan or dimensions of the
Original work have been discovered ; the ancient remains
being covered and mixed up with some modern erections.
There seems to have been a considerable mass of buildings
in this quarter of the castle ; and a communication was
made with the chambers over the eastern gate, by a range of
galleries, or narrow rooms, in two stories, abutting upon the
outward wall of the castle. -
The inner wall is destroyed, but its foundation may still
be discerned. Some little windows, with semicircular arches
over them, may be seen in the outer wall; and a semi-
circular recess was discovered in the side of an upper room,
when the late repairs were made. A circular staircase was
also found, which descended below the ground-floor, and
then entered a subterraneous passage, which was traced a
short distance towards the west, where it was stopped by
ruins. All the ancient walls in this part of the castle bear
indelible marks of fire, the stones having been made red-hot.
It is the same in some other parts of the buildings.
The eastern gate, which is the only one now in use, shows
U
290 LINCOLN CASTLE.
two ages of construction. The lower parts are of the original
Norman style, roughly built, with thick and short blocks of
stone, set with coarse mortar and wide joints. The arch
over the gates is semicircular." Above this work is a pointed
arch, and the remains of a tower of good masonry, with two
circular turrets, formerly containing staircases. The upper
story has been destroyed, and only some ruinous portions
remain. Probably it rose some fifteen or twenty feet higher
when complete, and resembled Micklegate Bar or Monk Bar
at York, being erected in the fourteenth century, as they
also were. The barbican in front of this gate had two round
towers, of which the outlines are shown in the plan ; but
this outwork was pulled down in the latter part of the last
century, in order to make the approach to the castle wider
and more convenient.
The western gate is now walled up, and has not been
used for a long time. It appears to have been nearly similar
to the eastern gate, but had no later additions erected upon
it. The situation of this gate being very near to that of the
Roman city, its principal arch was supposed by some anti-
quaries to have been actually part of the Roman gate ; and
to have afterwards been adopted and applied to their own
purpose by the Norman builders of the castle. The late Sir
Henry Englefield made an examination of these ruins, and
several drawings, which were engraved in Vol. vi. of the
Archaeologia. The learned baronet was too good a judge of
architecture to mistake a Norman arch for a Roman one ;
but still he thought it might be of older date than the castle
itself. The western gate of the Roman city was, however,
accidentally discovered in 1836. It was found standing,
covered up by the mound, or knoll, which formed the north-
west bulwark of the castle. The arch was luxated by the
giving way of one of its abutments ; and the whole was so
ruinous that it fell down a few days after the discovery had
been made.”
1 The modern doors are set in the * A good lithographic plate was pub-
grooves where the portcullis hung; the lished from a drawing taken by Mr.
ancient ones were placed about six feet Samuel Tuke, just before the final ruin
farther back. of these curious remains. The great arch
LINCOLN CASTLE. 291
The north-east tower of the castle, called Cobb-Hall,” was
probably erected at the same time with the front of the
eastern gate and the barbican. Perhaps they were the
works of John of Gaunt, who is said to have made great
improvements in the castle, of which he was constable and
hereditary possessor, being created Earl of Lincoln in right
of his first wife.*
The uncommon form of this tower, which is round on the
outward side, but square on the inner front, is shown in the
plan. It contains two stories, both of which are vaulted
with groined and pointed arches. The upper room has four
narrow loops, deeply recessed in the outward walls, each of
which is secured by a broad iron bar, set upright, with cross-
bars passing through it ; and the little cells, formed by the
splaying of the jambs, are all furnished with great iron rings
for the confinement of prisoners. Two small doors opened
outwards upon the terraces below the eastern and northern
walls of the castle. These doors, no doubt, were intended
for use in case of an attack.” Beneath the floor of the prin-
cipal apartment is a smaller dungeon, lighted by three loops,
similar to the upper ones. The walls of these dungeons still
bear marks of the efforts of some unhappy prisoners to amuse
the dismal hours of their captivity, by cutting crosses and
various figures on the walls.
In the lower dungeon, the
hunting of a stag has been engraved on a stone, by the
resembled that of Newport-gate, but there
were no posterns to this gate. In the
Gent. Mag. 1836, pt. i. p. 583, is an ac-
count of this discovery, with a view of
the Roman gate.
* This odd name was probably given
on account of this being formerly a place
of temporary confinement for petty de-
linquents. Cobbing was a jocular term
for the beating a poor rogue behind with
a leathern belt.
* A quantity of stone balls, roughly
cut, was found laid up in the recesses of
these doors. They had been provided for
use in some of the old engines of war.
* John of Gaunt is said to have resided
in a mansion in the lower part of the
city, which appears to have been very
extensive and stately, but is now almost
entirely demolished. An oriel, or bay-
window, of the richest workmanship, was
lately purchased from the remains of this
palace by the Earl Brownlow, lord lieu-
tenant of the county, and set up in the
castle for future preservation. This cu-
rious window was engraved in the first
volume of Pugin's Specimens of Gothic
Architecture, 4to, 1821. It is of a later
style than the time of John of Gaunt,
and was more probably erected by his
daughter, Joan Beaufort, the widow of
Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland, who
died at Lincoln, and was buried in the
Minster, with her mother, Katharine,
Duchess of Lancaster, A.D. 1440.
U 2
292 THE DEANERY, LINCOLN.
feeble light which one of the loops afforded to the poor
artist. -
The top of this tower, which now rises very little above
the side-walls of the castle, was probably one story higher
when perfect. It is now covered by a flat roof of lead, and
here the execution of criminals is performed.
The restoration of the battlements on the castle-walls has
greatly improved their appearance. The ancient battlements
were probably thrown down after the cessation of the Civil
War, two centuries ago, when most of the old English castles
were “slighted” and made incapable of defence, by order of
the Long Parliament. It is much to be lamented that the
mounds and dykes on the outside of the walls have not been
made public property, as well as the castle itself. Had
this been done a few years since, before the ditches were
encroached upon and filled up, Lincoln Castle would have
presented a grand and picturesque specimen of the ancient
fortress; but now, its stately walls are closely surrounded
by masses of mean and vulgar buildings, whilst every year
brings an increase of this intolerable nuisance, so that the
“castle dykes” are become a reproach to the city.
THE DEANERY, LINCOLN.
THE old residentiary-house of the Dean of Lincoln was a
spacious mansion, inclosing a quadrangular court. The
buildings were various in style and age, and had been much
disfigured by successive repairs and alterations. The found-
ation has been attributed to Richard de Gravesend, who
became Dean in 1254, and was promoted to the bishoprick
four years afterwards;' but this statement is wrong, for the
site had been purchased and the first buildings of the house
erected by one of his predecessors, about the year 1190,
when St. Hugh was Bishop of Lincoln. The deanery had
its share in the calamities of the Civil War ; and is described
in the survey taken by the parliamentary commissioners,
* Gough's Camden, vol. ii., p. 371, edit. 1806.
ANCIENT DEAN ERY, I, IN COLN.
ſ
:
h
º i. --- º -
His *R
| |
ºillºlliſiºn,
|;|
§º.º.
º |iſ
$1. ºff; fºſiſ, ºr tº
º
* †
Southern Entrance Tower, erected by Dean Flemyng, (1451–83)
- Sºº-º-s
=ºsºsºse-
5:=s===
º
- º:-
>------ --- sº-sº *-*-*.
: J & . . . . s r. ** g ri Afs gºre
The Ancient Buildings of the Deanery, on the North Side of Lincoln Minster.
From Drawings by Mr. T. Willson, communicated by the Ven. the Archdeacon of Lincoln.


THE DEANERY, LINCOLN. 293
who made a strict valuation of all the property of the “late
Dean and Chapter,” in 1649, as being mostly in a ruinous
state; and only worth by estimation #8 per annum, although
the site is said to comprise about an acre of ground. The
hall stood on the north side of the court. It was supported
by two pillars, and the roof was covered with lead ; but part
of this had been stripped off and plundered. The great
kitchen, the buttery, and other offices stood in the same
range of buildings, all of which were demolished or quite
altered in the repairs made after the restoration of the
hierarchy in 1660. The southern entrance-tower, which was
the best part of the old buildings lately remaining, was some-
times ascribed to Cardinal Wolsey, who held the deanery
from 1509 to 1514, when he became Bishop of Lincoln;
which dignity he quitted in the course of the same year for
the archbishopric of York. But Dr. Robert Flemyng was
really the builder; and his arms remained on both the north
and south fronts of the tower. He also built the stables and
chambers adjoining to the tower, as well as the porter's
lodge and some other rooms, on the same side of the
quadrangle. The lower chamber of the two apartments over
the gateway had a door in one corner, opening into the cathe-
dral library, which was built and furnished by the liberality
of Dr. Michael Honywood, in the reign of Charles II.” In the
upper chamber were two curious little windows with arched
two-light heads, of the style of the fourteenth century.
These had belonged to some other building, which Dean
Flemyng had removed ; and, when the tower was pulled
down, many fragments of richly moulded jambs, and other
details of the same style were found mixed up in the later
work.
The destruction of Dean Flemyng's Tower was much
regretted by all admirers of the picturesque antiquities of
Lincoln, as it served to give an advantageous scale to the
* In the late Dr. T. F. Dibdin's Biblio- library. It was beautifully copied, on a
graphical Decameron, 1817, vol. iii., are miniature scale, by the late William
some particulars of Dean Honywood Hilton, R.A., and engraved for Dr. Dib:
and his library. A capital portrait of din's work.
him, by Cornelius Jansen, is in the
294 THE DEANERY, LINCOLN.
vast height of the cathedral tower, which rose majestically
above it in certain points of view.”
The parliamentary surveyors describe “a fair Dining
Chamber, with a fair Cant window,” in the south part of the
deanery. This “fair cant window,” which is shown in one of
Hollar's views of the Cathedral in the Monasticon,” was taken
down in the course of alterations made by the Hon. James
Yorke, who became Dean of Lincoln in 1762, and held this
dignity in commendam about twenty years; being bishop,
first of St. David's, and afterwards of Gloucester.” It had
been erected by Dr. Roger Parker, the initials of whose
name, R. P., with the date of 1616, were engraved upon it.
Dr. Samuel Fuller, who died in March, 1699-1770, after
holding the deanery about four years, is said to have made
extensive repairs in his mansion, and his arms were placed
over the front door.
The whole of the old buildings were pulled down in the
latter part of the year 1847, with the exception of some very
ancient walls on the north side next to the street, called
Eastgate, which were left standing to form a screen for the
garden planted on the site of the old buildings. An ancient
chimney, one of Dean Parker's windows, with many interest-
ing pieces of mouldings and sculpture, taken out of the ruins
by order of the present Dean, have been placed in front of
this wall, on the side next to the new garden.
The new house has been erected a little eastward of the
old buildings, where was formerly a garden. It is com-
modious, and well suited to the modern habits of life; and
its mullioned windows, and other external details of archi-
tecture, bear so much resemblance to the old style, as to
harmonise tolerably well with the surrounding scenery; the
Sober effects of colour which time alone can give, will gradually
improve its appearance.
E. J. W.
* The deanery-tower is shown to advan- castle, by Mr. F. Mackenzie.
tage in a beautiful view of the Minster, * Vol. iii. of the original edition.
on the north-west side, taken from the * Dr. Yorke became Bishop of Ely in
roof of the tower called Cobb-Hall, in the 1781, when he resigned this deanery.
ST. MARY's CONDUIT, LINCOLN. 295
ST. MARY'S CONDUIT, LINCOLN.
WE learn from a passage in Leland's Itinerary that this
curious little structure represented on the title page had been
erected a short time before his visit to Lincoln, in 1540.” It
is composed of materials brought from the dissolved convent
of the Carmelite or White Friars, which stood on the oppo-
site side of the street, where is now the Midland Railway
Station. “Tempora mutantur !” Many delicate fragments
of small niches, and other ornamental details, are inserted in
the walls of the conduit ; and at the back are some coats
of arms, which have originally adorned the gable of a roof,
as is shown by the oblique form of the panels in which the
shields are inserted. The style of all these details is very
late, and the chapel to which they belonged must have been
built only a few years before the destruction of the convent
to which it was attached.” The date of 1672 upon the north
end of the building undoubtedly refers to some repair made
at that time, when the two round balls that so ingeniously
finish the gables were set up. There are three conduits of
water in the city; this, which stands in front of St. Mary's
Church, and was anciently at the White Friars; another at
the Flight Bridge ; and a third at the Grey Friars, whose
conventual chapel is now the grammar-school. The water,
which is of excellent quality, comes from a spring on the hill
side, about a mile off, in lands formerly belonging to the
Black Monks, a small Priory of the Benedictine Order.
E. J. W.
* Leland's Itinerary, vol. i. p. 34. conduit, were dug up on the site of the
* Some sculptured fragments, corre- White Friars Conduit, in the year 1832.
sponding with those which decorate the
MEMOIR, ON THE REGULATIONS ANCIENTLY
PRESCRIBED IN REGARD TO SWANS,
ON THE RIVERS OF LINCOLNSHIRE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, AND OTHER PARTS
OF THE REALM ;
AND ON AN ORIGINAL BOOK OF SWAN-MARKS.
THE following document supplies a very curious memorial
of laws and usages, anciently found requisite to regulate the
possession of swans upon the larger rivers and waters in
England, in times when that bird, now produced rarely even
in municipal festivities, was more generally esteemed. The
original MS. was exhibited by Mr. E. A. Bromehead, in the
temporary museum formed at Lincoln during the meeting of
the Institute. It had been formerly in the possession of Mr.
Jephtha Foster, Proctor at Lincoln, having been found,amongst
various old papers, in his office ; and, on his decease, in 1817,
it passed into the hands of his successor, the late Mr. John
May Bromehead. It is imperfect, but it is both more exten-
sive and, apparently, a more ancient transcript of the Ordi-
nances, first reduced, probably, into order in the reign of
Henry VIII., than has hitherto been made public. The
accompanying memoir, laid before the meeting of the Insti-
tute by Mr. Bromehead, had been prepared by the deceased
relative of that gentleman, and originally destined for publi-
cation by the Lincolnshire Topographical Society. It com-
prises both an interesting summary of information regarding
this curious subject, and a detailed account of the document,
so essentially connected with ancient Lincoln, and the distin-
guished families of the county, whose names are here found
enrolled. It must, therefore, be received with satisfaction, as
a valuable contribution to the “Transactions” of the Institute,
commemorative of their visit to Lincolnshire. We regret to
be unable to give the entire series of swan-marks; the curious
character of these distinctive symbols are already known by
SPECIMENS OF ANCIENT SWAN MARKS, USED IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
O .
M\ || |\ || |\ || UAV
Earle Riuiers. Lo. Scroupe. De: of Lincolne. Swinshead Abbey.
+ + |3
...] §
| | | | U | "jºu ſº
Craycroft, Rich. k. Dymock, Edw. k. Damytt, g. Kneuit, Lady.
§
" || Mu || Mu
Steward, Rob’t. Tempest, John, k. Tempest, idem. Tarrold, k.
Frcrºm the Original Book of The Order for Swans
In the possession of Mr. Bromehead, Lincoln.








ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS. 297
the plates which accompany the communication from the late
Sir Joseph Banks, published in the Archaeologia. The accom-
panying specimens, carefully copied from the MS. now first
made public, will suffice to show the singular nature of these
marks, and the ingenious skill with which they were varied.
The marks appropriated to the Crown, and “the Sworde,”
supposed to be also a royal mark, are here given, of the same
size as the originals. The other examples are reduced. It is
very singular that, with very few exceptions, these symbols
appear to present no analogy with the heraldic charge or
badge appropriated to the owner of the swan-mark. The
scutcheon with a chevron, the bearing of Stafford (see
woodcuts), is, however, an heraldic variety.
1. 2.
+ºtºs exerrº fºſ”:
U ||U U
Several other rolls or lists of swan-marks are in existence,
none, however, as we believe, of as early date as Mr. Brome-
head’s.” In the possession of Sir Thomas Hare, Bart., a book
of swan-marks on the river Ouse, is preserved, assigned to
the times of Queen Elizabeth. In the Parker Collection, in
the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, may be
* Amongst the Luttrell Muniments at Dunster Castle, Somerset, is a memorial of
the marks by which swans on Glastonbury mere were distinguished, temp. Hen. VIII.



298 ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS.
seen a fragment of a roll of swan-marks used by Richard Cox,
Bishop of Ely, in the same reign (1559–1581).
Little has been added, by the researches of later antiqua-
rians, to the following observations by Mr. Bromehead. The
earliest evidence of any official appointed by the Crown, as
keeper of swans, is found in Pat. 35 Edw. III., in which
Thomas de Russham is appointed “supervisor et custos
omnium cignorum Regis per totum regnum;” and in Pat.
16 Ric. II., in which Ralph Scot is named by the King
“Custos cignorum nostrorum.”
In endeavouring to illustrate the ancient ordinances relating
to Swans, it has proved impracticable to divest the subject of
legal technicalities, since the evidences regarding it are
wholly supplied by legal authorities.
Tomlin, in his Law Dictionary (tit. “Swan”), says, “The
Swan is a noble bird of game, and a person may prescribe to
have game of Swans within his manor, as well as a warren or
a park. A swan is a bird royal ; and all white swans not
marked, which have gained their natural liberty, and are
swimming in an open and common river, may be seized to
the use of the King by his prerogative.”
So also Lord Coke tells us, that “a swan is a royal fowl,
and all those, the property whereof is not known, do belong
to the King by his prerogative ; and so whales and sturgeon
are royal fish, and belong to the King by his prerogative.”
“And the King may grant wild swans unmarked.” Chris-
tian, in his Notes to Blackstone, adds, “But these are the
only animals which our law has conferred this honour upon.”
But a subject may have a property in white swans not
marked, as any man may have such Swans in his private
waters, and the property in them belongs to him and not to
the King ; he cannot, however, have a swan-mark unless
possessed of an estate of freehold of the annual value of five
* The corporation of the city of Norwich clusively in that city. See Norfolk
are possessed of an ancient roll of swan- Archaeology, vol. i. p. 371.
marks, a valuable memorial of ancient * 7 Coke, 16.
usages regarding an ancient delicacy of * Ibid. 18.
state festivities, now retained almost ex- * Blackstone, vol. ii. p. 419.
ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS. 299
marks, or 3!. 6s. 8d. ; and should he presume to mark his
Swans, any other subject, having lands or tenements of that
value, may seize such Swans as forfeited, one-half to his own
use, and the other to the King's, by stat. 22 Edw. IV., c. 6.
If such unmarked swans escape out of their owners’ private
waters into an open and common river, he may retake them;
though it is otherwise if they have retained their natural
liberty, and swim in open rivers without pursuit.
Blackstone," speaking of the young of animals, says that
the brood of young cygnets belongs equally to the owner of
the cock and of the hen (or, as they are technically called,
the cob and pen), contrary to the general rule of English law,
that, of all tame or domestic animals, the brood belongs to the
owner of the dam, or mother.
Stealing swans lawfully marked and pinioned is felony,
even though they be at large ; SO also, even if not marked, if
they be kept in a private moat, pond, or river, and reduced
to tameness; 7 but if the latter be abroad, and shall attain
to their natural liberty, then the property in them is lost, and
felony cannot be chargeable by taking them.” These latter,
however, would belong to the King, as before stated; and
the King's officers may seize them to his use by his pre-
rogative. Also, the King may grant them, and, by conse-
quence, another may prescribe to have them within a certain
precinct or place.
If a wild swan be taken and marked, and turned loose in
a river, the owner's property in him still continues, and it is
not lawful for any one else to take him ; but it is otherwise
if the swan leave the neighbourhood.”
A question may arise whether swans can be considered as
heir-looms. Blackstone says: “Heir-looms are such goods
and personal chattels as, contrary to the nature of chattels,
shall go by special custom to the heir, along with the inhe-
ritance, and not to the executor of the last proprietor. They
are generally such things as cannot be taken away without
damaging or dismembering the freehold ; otherwise, the
6 Blackstone, vol. ii. p. 390. 7 Hale's Pleas of the Crown, 68.
* Dalt., c. 156. * Blackstone, vol. ii. p. 392. * Ibid. p. 427.
300 ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS.
general rule is, that no chattel interest shall go to the heir,
notwithstanding it be expressly limited to a man and his
heirs, but shall rest in the executor. But deer in a real
authorised park, fishes in a pond, doves in a dove-house, &c.,
though in themselves personal chattels, yet they are so
annexed to and so necessary to the well-being of the
inheritance, that they shall accompany the land, wherever it
rests, by either descent or purchase.”
By a parity of reasoning, therefore, it may be supposed
that, if a man can legally prescribe to have game of Swans
within his manor, they would descend to the heir ; but,
unless he could show such prescription, or a grant to the same
effect, they would become the property of the executor.
Swans may be estrays, but not any other fowl; whence
they are said to be royal fowl. Estrays are such valuable
animals as are found wandering in any manor or lordship,
and no man knows the owner of them, in which case the law
gives them to the King, and they now most commonly belong
to the lord of the manor by special grant from the Crown.”
Stealing or destroying the eggs of Swans, or even taking
them on a man's own ground, or driving them away when
breeding or providing to breed, is punishable by imprison-
ment for a year and a day, and fine at the king's pleasure,
by statute 11th Henry VII., chap. 17. And by 1st James I.,
chap. 27, every person who shall take the eggs of any swan
out of the nest, or wilfully spoil them in the nest, and shall
be convicted thereof before two justices by confession, or the
oath of two witnesses, shall be committed to gaol for three
months, unless he pay to the churchwardens, for the use of
the poor, 20s. for each egg; or, after one month of his com-
mitment, become bound by his recognisances with two
Sureties in 201, each, not to offend again in like manner.
And by 7th James I., chap. 2, one witness is sufficient to
ensure a conviction.
It will be seen from the above remarks, and from the
accompanying “Order for Swannes,” that the laws relating
to them were uncommonly severe, and the fines extremely
* Blackstone, vol. i. p. 296.
ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS, 301
heavy; for it must be borne in mind that money, in the
fifteenth century, was worth ten times what it is at present.”
These laws appear to be in force even to the present day,
but are rarely heard of
If a person did not compound with the King for his mark
(for which he was charged 6s. 8d.), his swans were to be
seized for the King's use. No person (except the heir
apparent to the Crown) could possess either swan or swan-
mark, unless possessed of freehold to the value of five marks,
or 3!, 6s. 8d. yearly (now equivalent to nearly 35l.), by
statute of 22nd Edward IV., chap. 6. -
If any weirs were found upon any rivers without grates
to them, any owner, Swan-master, or Swanherd, might
destroy them. *
Masters of swans appointed regular Swanherds, who were
to produce their deputations once a year, for the inspection
and allowance of the King's swanherd, for which he received
the fee of a groat. No person could be swanherd or deputy
for more than two masters, nor could an owner of Swans be
Swanherd to another owner, under the penalty of 40s.
No person but a Swanherd might carry a Swanhook,” unless
accompanied by two Swanherds, under the penalty of 13s. 4d.,
half of which went to the informer. No person was allowed
to mark his swans earlier than the Monday after Trinity
Sunday, nor without the King's swanherd or his deputy were
present, under the penalty of 40s. for each swan marked.
Hunting for waterfowl with dogs was not allowed from
Easter till the Sunday after Trinity Sunday, technically
called, Fence-time ; nor were nets to be set from Easter till
Lammas, under the penalty of 6s. 8d.
If Swans were found with two persons' marks, they were
seized till proof was given to which owner they belonged, and,
if not proved, they were forfeited to the King.
No person could sell his swans, or deliver them, unless
* Henry's History of England, vol. x. quently introduced as a symbol amongst
p. 271. the varied devices composing the Swan-
* The Swanhook, attached to a long marks in the MS. A similar implement
pole, by means of which the bird might is still used by the Norwich swanherd.
readily be captured by the neck, is fre-
302 ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS.
the King's Swanherd or deputy were present, under penalty
of 40s.
No person was allowed to fish with nets from the Invent-
tion of the Cross (3rd May), till Lammas, under the penalty
of 20s.
Any person erasing or altering marks was to be im-
prisoned for a whole year, and pay 31 6s. 8d. (equivalent to
nearly 35l.) to the King.
It appears that at the time of marking or of taking up
young swans, the King's Swanherd or “Maister of Game,”
his deputy, and other swanherds present, were allowed their
commons, that is, their dinner or supper, at the expense of
the owner of the swans taken up or marked ; and it is
ordained that the cost of this meal should not exceed sixpence,
or eightpence at the most, and, if the owner were absent, the
Master of the Game was to lay it down for him, and to be
allowed it again; but how it was to be recovered, we are not
informed.
Any person obtaining a swan mark, either by inheritance
or purchase, was to pay 6s. 8d, for an alienation fee, besides
fees for the enrolment thereof. It may be observed in the
MS. that many alienations had taken place between the time
of its being written, and the years 1609 and 1610, 1614 and
1622, when it appears to have been revised by other hands.
With respect to the date of the MS., it certainly was not
written prior to 1541, because the Bishop of Peterboro’
(a see which was erected in that year) has several marks men-
tioned in it. It does not notice an act passed 31st Henry VIII.,
1539, which made it felony to take eggs in the King's grounds,
but which was repealed 1st Edward VI, 1547, again re-
enacted in the seventh year of that reign, and finally repealed
1st May, 1553. Neither does it notice the act of 1st James,
chap. 27. Had it been written subsequently to the passing
of that act, there would no doubt have been some mention of
it in the different laws; the probability therefore is, that it
was written about the latter end of the reign of Mary, or the
commencement of that of Elizabeth.
The MS. itself is imperfect : the whole of “the order for
ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS. 303
Swannes” is preserved, but many pages of marks are
wanting, and it appears never to have been completed.
An Index at the end, which is evidently finished, gives a
list of 899 names of owners. Fifty pages of marks appear
to have been completed, the first six of which contain twelve
marks each ; twelve pages are then wanting; the subsequent
pages contain fifteen marks each ; after the twenty-sixth, six
are lost; and from the thirty-third to the fiftieth, both inclu-
sive, the MS. is perfect ; the next page, which is not num-
bered, has never been completed, the marks having been
inserted, but no names affixed to them ; this also, from the
colour of the parchment, and the ink, appears more modern
than the remainder, and is only written on one side: the sixty-
seventh, sixty-eighth, sixty-ninth, and seventieth pages have
been ruled and prepared but not used.
The outline traced in each compartment of the page
appears to represent the bill of the bird, with the nostrils
and “berry,” and the black mark at the tip ; the distinctive
marks appear to have been impressed upon the bill, most
probably by cutting or burning, and then blackening. We
sometimes find mention made of a mark upon the leg, the
foot, or the heel of the bird, in addition to those on the bill.
Amongst the various names we find the following in Lin-
colnshire and the neighbourhood —
Lord Parre, (in 1610, Herbart Pelham's), Lord Hussey,
Lord Willoughby, Bishop of Ely, five marks, Bishop of Peter-
borough, three, Dean of Lincoln (the Bishop does not
appear to have had a mark, at least his name does not
appear even in the Index), Dean of Ely, Dean of Peter-
borough, the Chapter of Ely, Trinity College, Cambridge,
Tattersall College,” Trinities in Walsoken (most probably a
guild or company), Vicar of Sutton, Vicar of Pinchbeck,
Parson of Toft, Swineshead Abbey, Chatteris Abbey, Sawley
Abbey, Thorney Abbey, two marks, Spalding Priory, three
marks, Richard Craycroft, Cony, of Yaxley, (in 1609, Lady
Hatton's), Cony of Kirton, two marks, Cheney of Fleete, Cray
* This is a very simple mark, being only an angular notch on either side of
the beak. A note is made of an additional mark, rarely occurring in the list:—
“A penny crosse ouer the legge.”
304 ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS.
of Ely, Sir Edward Dymoke, Kt., two, John Disney, Richard
Disney, Edmund Dethicke, two marks, both subsequently the
Earl of Warwick's, John Denys, (in 1609, John Welby's),
Croyland; John Dethe, (in 1609, Matthew Skipworth's), Sir
William Fitzwilliam, two, Irby, three, Kirkham, Kaye, (in 1614,
John Stamford's), Thomas Kyme, William Kyme, Mounson,
three marks, Nettleham of Ryhall, Pulvertoft, two, Proctor
of Frampton, John Smith of Stanground, John Tempest,
two, Robert Tempest, Tunnard, two, Adlard, Welby,
Thomas Welby, two, Wymbitch of Blankney, two, Sir
Gyles Allington, three, William Ashley, of Croyland, two,
William Atkyn of Lynn, Bardney Abbey, Barlings Abbey,
Bolington Priory, Edmund Buckforth, two, Bromley, Richard
Buckworth, John Bonham of Stanground, Lord Clynton (in
Sir Joseph Banks' roll called Earl of Lincoln), Clements of
Well, Cecil, Earl of Exeter, eight marks, Crumwell, two,
Coppledyke, Robert Carre, Lord Delaware, John Darby of
Croyland, John Fisher of Croyland and William Fisher of
Gedney, Frekingham of Whaplode, Sir Thomas Grantham,
three, Henry Goldwell of Wisbech, Haverholme Priory, Hall
of Kyme, Robert Jackson of Spalding, Kirkstead Abbey,
Kyme Priory, Sir Thomas Lovell, Lambert of Well, two,
Thomas Norton of Cotterstocke, Earle Rosse, Lord Tailbois,
Tupholme Priory, and Sir George Taylbois.
In January, 1810, Sir Joseph Banks laid before the Society
of Antiquaries a similar document, consisting of Ordinances
respecting swans on the River Witham, Lincolnshire, and the
swanmarks appertaining to the proprietors on the said
stream. This roll is thus entitled :—“Swanmoote.—The
true copy of a Parchment Roll, touching the Swannery,
delivered to me, W. Monson, by Mr. Matthew Nayler, now
Officer thereof, under Mr. Secretary, this June, 1570, 12th
Elizabeth.” This document is given at length in the Archae-
ologia (vol. xvi., p. 153), with three plates, containing ninety-
seven swan-marks, copied exactly from the original roll.
Many of the ordinances in this roll, stated to have been made
May 24, 15th Hen. VIII. (1523), appear to be extremely
similar to those preserved in the MS., the subject of this
ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS. 305
memoir, though not exactly verbatim, nor in the same order.
So are also many of the marks on the roll, but these seem
to be in general reversed, probably by a mistake of the
engraver; they do not appear to have been so well executed,
in the original, neither is this roll so extensive as that
now described, which, by the index, appears to have
contained 899 marks, 462 of which are still perfect and
completed; whereas Sir Joseph Banks' contains only 97,
but these last are, of course, all Lincolnshire persons, or con-
nected with the county. In a note to this last roll, by the
Rev. Stephen Weston, will be found observations on the terms
“Swan with two necks,” and “Swan hopping.”
J. M. BROMIEHEAD.
THE ORDER FOR SWANNES.
—4)-
CoMPOUNDING wº" THE KING FOR A MARKE.
First, you shall enquire, if ther be any person, that doth posses any
swanne, and hath not compounded wºn the Kinges Majesty for his mark:
viz: viº. viijº, for his marke during his life. If you know any such, you
shall pºsent them, that all such swannes may be seazed for the King.
DISPENDING 5 MARKES A YEERE.
Also you shall enquire if any person do posses any swamme or signet,
that may not dispend the cleere yeerly value of five markes of freehold
(except heire apparant to the Crowne) then you shall p"sent him, 29 Ed: 4.
DRIVING AWAY SWANNES PROVIDING TO BREEDE.
Also if any person do drive away any swan or swannes, breeding, or
providing to breed, be it upon his owne ground or any other mannes
ground, he or they so offending, shall suffer one yeeres imprisonment, and
fine at the Kinges pleasure, xiijº. iiijº. 11 Hen : 7.
WERES wº"OUT GRATES BEFORE THEM.
It’m if ther be found any weres upon the rivers, not having grates
before them, it is lawful for every owner, swanmaister, or swanheard, to
pull up, or cut downe ye birdnet or gin of the said were, or Weres.
X
306 ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS.
CARRYING A SWANHOOKE.
It’m if any person or persons be found carrijng any Swanhooke, and the
same person being no swanheard, nor accompanied wºn two Swanheardes:
every such person shall pay to the King xijº. iiii", viz. iijº. iiij". to him
that will informe & the rest to the King.
LAND BIRD.
It’m the antient custome of this realme hath and doth allow to every
owner of such ground, where any such swan shall heiry,' to take one land
byrd, and for the same, the Kings Maº must have of him that hath the
land bird, xijd.
STEALING EGGES.
It’m it is ordeined, if any person, or persons do convey away or steale
away, the egg, or egges of any Swann, and the same duly proved by two
sufficient witnesses, that then every such offender, shall pay to the King
xiiijº. iiij". for every egg, so taken out of the nest of any Swanne.
THE MAISTERs FEE of IIII". YERLY.
It’m it is ordeined : every owner that hath any Swannes, shall pay iiij".
yeerly to the maister of the game for his fee, and his dinner, and supper
free, on the upping day:” And if the maister of the game faile of his iiij".
then he shall distreine the game of every such owner, that doth so faile
payment.
SWANNES UPON SEV'ALL.
It’m if ther be any person, or persons that hath swannes wº do heire
upon their severall waters, and after come to the comon river, t_ey shall'
pay a land bird to the king, and be obedient to all swan lawes: for divers
such persons do use it for collusion to defraud the king of his right.
MARKING DAY.
It’m it is ordeined: that ev'y person having any swannes, shall begin
yeerly to marke, upon Monday next after Trinity sonday, and no person
before, but after as the company may, so that the maister of the King's
game or his deputy be present. And if any take upon him, or them, to
marke any Swannes or signet, to forfeit to the king's Maº Xls for every
SW8.0118.
MARKING w”oUT THE DEPUTY.
It’m it is ordeined: that no person, nor persons, being owners or
Swanheardes, nor other, shall goe on marking, wºout the maister of the
game be p"sent, wº other swanherdes next adjoining, upon payne to
forfeit to the Kings Maº Xls.
! See Note A. - 2 See Note B.
ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS. 307
HUNTING w” DoGGEs.
It’m it is ordeined: that no person shall hunt any duckes, or any other
chase, in the water, or neere the haunt of Swannes in fence time wºh any
dogges or spanielles, from the feast of Easter, to the sonday next after
Trinity sonday, upon payne for every time so hunting to forfeit viº. viij".
SETTING FOR Foul E.
It’m it is ordeined, that if any person do set any manner of snares or
nettes, lime or ingines, to take bittores” or Swannes from the feast of
Easter, to the sonday after Lammas day, he, or they to forfeit to ye
Kinges Maie for every time so setting vis viijd.
TAKING UP UNMARKED CIGNETTES.
It’m it is ordeined that no person take up any Cignet unmarked, nor
make any sale of them, but that the kinges swanheard or his deputy be
present, whother swanheardes next adjoining, or have knowledg of the
same, upon payne to forfeit to the King xls.
THE DEPUTY NOT TO ENTER INTo Yº DUCHY, NOR THE DEPUTY of
THE DUCHY INTO Yº GILDABLE.
It’m it is ordeined, that the Swanheard of the Duchy of Lancaster shall
up no swan, nor make any sale of them, wºout the maister of the Swannes,
or his deputy be pºsent, upon payne to forfeit to the King's Matie xle. And
in like manner the King's Swanheard shall not enter into the liberties of
the Duchy, wºout the Kinges swamheard then be pesent, upon the like
paine to forfeit xls.
SWANNEs DoubDE MARKED.
It’m it is ordeined, that if any swannes or cignettes be found double
marked, they shall be seized to the Kinges use, till it be proved to
whome the said swannes or cignettes do belong. And if it can not be
proved to whome they do belong, that then they to be seized for the King,
and his grace to be answered the value of them.
SELLING WHITE SWANNES.
It’m it is ordeined, that no person make any sale of any white Swannes,
nor make delivery of them, without the maister of the game or his deputy
be present, with other swanheardes next adjoining, upon paine to forfeit
xls, whereof vis. viii". to him that will informe, and the residue to the
King's Matie. -
SETTING FOR FISH IN THE DAY TIME.
It’m it is ordeined, that no person shall lay leapes, set any nettes, nor
drag," whin the common streames, or rivers, upon the day-time, from the
feast of the invention of the crosse, unto the feast of Lammas, upon payne
so often as they be found offending to forfeit xx".
* Note C. 4. Note D.
X 2
308 ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS.
SEAZING STRAY SWANNES.
It’m it is ordeined, that if the maister of the swannes, or his deputy, do
seaze any swannes as strayes, or take them up to the kinges use, that he
shall keepe them in a pit wººin xx. foote of the Kinges streame, or wººin
xx. foote of the common hyeway, that the Kinges subjectes may have a
sight of the swannes so seazed, upon payne of xl”.
Foy LING OF MARKES.
It’m it is ordeined, that if any person do rase out, counterfait, or alter
the marke of any swan, to the hindering or loss of any mannes game, and
any such offender duly prooved before the kinges Maſies commissioners for
swannes, shall suffer one whole yeares imprisonment, and pay iij" vi' &
viijd to ye King.
DINNERS AND SUPPERS,
It’m it is ordeined, that the commons, that is to say, the dinner or supper,
shall not exceede above vi" or viijd at the most ; and if any game be found
on that river wher such dinner and supper is had, and the owner of the
same game absent, nor any for him: the maister of the game or his
deputy, to lay vi", or vilj" for every such owner and to be allowed againe
of every game whose owner is absent.
SwANNEs ONLY FORFEITED TO THE KING.
It’m it is ordeined, that ther shalbe no forfeiture of any white swanne
or cignettes, but only to the King, as well wººin the franchises and liberties
as wºout: And if any do deliver any swan or cignet to any person so
seased, but only to the maister of the Kinges game or to his deputy, to
the Kinges use, he to forfeit vi vijº and the swanes to be restored to the
maister of the game.
TAKING FLIJNG SWANNES.
It’m it is ordeined, that no person shall take any gray swanet or
cignettes, or white swannes flijng, but that he shall wºlin iiij dayes next
after, deliver it or them to the Maister of the Kinges game or his deputy,
and the taker to have for his paines in taking the said swan vilj".
NOMAN HAVING GAME OF HIS OWNE TO BE SWANHEARD FOR ANOTHER.
It’m it is ordeined, that no man having game of his owne, shalbe
Swanheard for himself, nor keeper of any other mannes swannes upon
payne to forfeit to the Kinges Majesty xl".
SUING ONE ANOTHER.
It’m it is ordeined that no swanheard, fisher, nor fowler shall vexe any
other Swanheard, fisher, or fowler, by way of action, but only before the
Kinges justices of sessions for Swannes, upon paine of forfeiting to the
Kinges Maº x1'. -
ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS. 309
PARTING THE BROOD.
It’m the Maister of the Kinges game, shall not take away any vnmarked
swan, coupled with another mans swan, for breaking the brood, and when
they do heire, the one part of the cignettes to the King and the other to
the owner of the marked swan.
ONE SWAN LEADING Yº BRooDE.
It'm it is ordeined, that if any heire be led wih one swan, the swan and
the cignettes shalbe seazed to the King, till due proof be had whos they
are, and whos was the Swan that is away, be it cobb, or penne.”
TAKING WNM'KED SWANNEs.
It’m that no person shall take up any unmarked swannes or cignettes
except he be requested therunto by a sufficient company in the feild upon
the marking dayes, nor do carry them to the deputy, or other persons,
except he tooke them ſlijng.
DEPUTIES FOR Two ownBRs.
It’m that no man shall serve as deputy for above ij masters being
owners, and that every such deputy before he shall do any service therein,
do shew to his Majesties Swanheard or his deputy, and the company as-
sembled, his deputation, and do pay yearly iiij". for the allowance therof. And
that no owner be deputy for an other owner. ->
PARTING COMPANY.
It’m that no person in upping time shall depart from the company to
marke any other broode, wºout license of the deputy: nor put out the old
swannes before the whole brood be marked, neither put out the old Swannes
before he have pulled them in the heades.
SETTING HINGLEs.
It'm that no person shall set any hingles, snares or engines for foule,
from Shrovetide to Sº Lukes day.
SELLING swan NES.
It’m that no deputy shall sell any Swannes, or cignettes, except the same
be his maisters.
ALIENATION. -
It’m if any person by inheritance from their auncesters, after the death
of their predecessors, by sale, or exchaunge have obteined any swanmarke,
and hath any game of the same, he shall pay vi’ vilj" for his alienaCon, and
the due fees for the enrolment therof.
5 Note E.
310 ANCIENT REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SWANS.
NOTES.
A. To heiry, or heire, appears in its first sense to signify “to make a nest and lay eggs,”
but here also, “to brood,” “to have young,” as we read afterwards in the clause for parting
the brood, “when they do heire,” one part to be the King's, &c. The noun “heire”
(here also found) seems to be the same as usually written aery, aiery, or more correctly
eyrey, from the obsolete word ey, an egg, plur. eyree or eyren ; it is used by Shakspeare,
Ben Jonson, and other writers; but it usually denotes the nest of an eagle or hawk, and
sometimes the young brood. See Nares.
B. “Upping day,” the taking up of cignets for the purpose of marking them, as explained
by Mr. Weston in his observation on the civic “swan-hopping,” evidently the same
word with a metropolitan aspirate. Archaeol., vol. xvi., p. 163. In a subsequent clause
it is enacted, that the swan-herd of the Duchy of Lancaster “shall up no swan,” &c., by
himself, explained in the “Ordinances” in the Archaeologia, “shall take up.”
C. “Any engines, or any manner of snares, to take bitters or swans.” Ordinances
printed in the Archaeologia, vol. xvi., p. 161. The bittern was a delicacy in request
for the table informer times. See “diett for the King's Majesty,” Ordinances of Eltham,
17 Hen. VIII., in Household Ordinances, published by the Society of Antiquaries,
p. 174; Abp. Neville's Inthronization Feast, in Warner's Antiq. Culin., p. 98, &c.
D. “Nets, called drayes, nor draw with no net.” Archaeol., vol. xvi., p. 162.
E. In the Roll touching the Swannery, 1570, the only distinctive terms then used
are, -“ the sire and dam.” Archaeologia, vol. xvi., p. 156. The terms used in this
document seem not to have been hitherto noticed by Glossarists. Cob is a word appa-
rently employed in old language as expressive of large dimension, e.g. a cob-nut, and
it signifies in the Cheshire dialect a leader or chief. (Wilbraham's Cheshire dialect.)
Ben Jonson, however, speaks of a “cob-swan,” (ed. Gifford, vol. iv., p. 236), which has
been explained to be merely a bird of large size.
There exists a rare Tract, printed in 1632, which does not appear to have come
under the notice of the author of the foregoing Memoir. It is entitled, “The Orders
and Lawes and Ancient Customes of Swanns, by John Witherings, Esq., Master of the
Royal Game of Swans, 1632.”
In addition to the curious documents relating to swan-marks already enumerated,
we are enabled to notice the Book of Marks in the possession of the Rev. William
Cooper, Rector of West Rasen, Lincolnshire, which he has had the kindness to commu-
nicate for examination. It comprises about 300 cigninotae; the dates, 1607, 1608,
1610, and 1612, occur in its pages. It relates chiefly to the meres and rivers near
Ramsey, in Huntingdonshire. Two other books of marks, formerly in the library at
Strawberry Hill,—one containing 810 marks, the other 80,—are now in the possession
of the Earl of Derby. In Feb. 1847, a parchment roll, of the date of 1629, was
exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries by George Bowyer, Esq., F.S.A., entitled
“The Standard of all Gamesters of the Game of Swans, uppon the River Colney.”
(Minutes, vol. i., p. 173.)
TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENTS
PRESERVED IN THE CHAPTER MUNIMENT ROOM, IN LINCOLN MINSTER.
THE WILL AND INVENTORIES OF THE EFFECTS OF RICHARD DE RAVENSER,
ARCHDEACON OF LINCOLN, 1386.
COMMUNICATED AT THE MEETING OF THE INSTITUTE
BY THE REV. RICHARD PRETYMAN, M.A.,
Precentor of Lincoln.
IT has been regretted by Some who take interest in the
transactions of the Institute, that various documentary
treasures, preserved amongst the ecclesiastical or municipal
records of cities successively visited by the Society, should
not be rendered more extensively available. In one im-
portant feature, indeed, of the annual assemblies, hitherto
held only in cathedral towns, the value of those stores of
information, too long overlooked in remote local depositories,
has been repeatedly shown with most advantageous effect by
Professor Willis, in his admirable Architectural Histories of
the several Cathedrals. It were to be desired, that the
example of his zealous industry might stimulate other mem-
bers of the Institute, to draw from those exhaustless sources
of historical and antiquarian knowledge; and to demonstrate
how much therein remains to be learned, not merely of
topographical detail, but vestiges of the progress of national
institutions, of manners and customs, and of the spirit and
life of times long past.
With a conviction, how desirable it is that attention should
be called to a more detailed investigation of the local records,
to which at these yearly meetings of the Institute facilities
of access are most liberally afforded, I have gladly availed
myself of the kindness of the Precentor of Lincoln, to bring
before the Society the following curious documents.
A. W.
312 TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENT§
THE WILL OF RICHARD DE RAVENSER, ARCHDEACON
OF LINCOLN,
VITEI INVENTORIES QF HIS EFFECTS TAKEN IN 1386.
FROM THE ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPTS PRESERVED AMONG8T TIIE CHAPTER MUNIMENTS AT LINCOLN.
IN dei nomine, Amen. Ego, Ricardus de Ravenser, clericus, die lume,
quinto decimo die Maii, anno domini millesimo, ccc'"°. octuagesimo quinto,
condo testamentum meum in hunc modum. In primis, lego animam meam
deo et beate Marie, et omnibus sanctis, et corpus meum ad sepeliendum in
partibus quibus me mori contigerit. Videlicet, si apud Ebor', tunc volo
quod corpus meum sepeliatur in ecclesia Collegiata beati Johannis Beverlae',
videlicet, ante ostium chori ejusdem ecclesie; et, si in comitatu Lincoln',
tunc sepeliatur in ecclesia Cathedrali sancte Marie virginis, apud Lincoln';'
et, si apud London', tunc sepeliatur in ecclesia Westm', subtus tumbam
domine Philippe, nuper Regine Angl'. Item, lego fabrice ecclesie beati
Johannis Beverlac', si corpus meum ibidem sepeliatur, xx. li. et, si alibi, x. li.
Item, lego pro exequiis meis faciendis, die sepulture mee, et pro distribu-
cione pauperibus facienda, secundum disposicionem executorum meorum,
videlicet, in quinque cereis, quorum quilibet sit vj. lib. cere, xij. torches, et
pro pauperibus hominibus vestit' de panno russeto, quorum quilibet perci-
piet ij. denar' pro dictis torcheis tenendis; et quod dicti quinque cerei
ardeant unus post alium juxta tumbam sancti Johannis Beverlac', quousque
duraverint, si contigerit me sepelire ibidem ; et sex torchei remaneant in
ecclesia ubi corpus meum fuerit, tumulatum; et quod reliqui dantur
ecclesiis parochialibus, secundum disposicionem executorum meorum. Item,
lego domino Johanni Ravenser unam peciam argent', cum cooperculo, voca-
tam Bolle : xij. discos argent' de melioribus et xij. Salsar', unum aquarium,
unam pelvem argent' de minoribus novis, et lectum meum viridem, cum
garbis et aquilis broudat', cum tapet'is eidem pertinentibus, et vj. pecias
planas de Paris argent', et unum vestimentum radiatum. Item, lego Hen-
rico fratri meo unam peciam platt' cum cooperculo, et unum lectum de
rubeo worstede cum corvo, et xx.li., quas solvi pro eo Thome de Ettone;
et remitto illi illas xx.li. quas sibi prestiti per manus domini Johannis de
Cotyngham. Item, lego Katerine uxori ejus unam robam de liberatione
Episcopi Lincoln', cum cloca furrata, existente apud Strettone, et xl.s.
Item, lego Willelmo de Ettone unam peciam cum cooperculo argent' de
novo fact*; et Margarete uxori ejus unam robam de liberacione domini
Regis, et xx.li. de illis xl.li. quas idem Willelmus michi debet, per literam
suam obligatoriam. Item, lego domino Johanni Waltham clerico unum
vestimentum album existens apud Strettone, unum lectum de serico
' The Archdeacon was there interred. Browne Willis gives his Epitaph, Survey, p. 101,
g, mentions his name in the enumeration of Founders of Chantries in Lincoln Cathedral,
p. 34.
IN LINCOLN MINSTER, 3] 3
maskild' de rubeo et glauco, existentem apud London', et unum portifo-
rium” notatum quod emi de executoribus Magistri Johannis de Branktre’,
unum aquarium, et unam pelvem argent' de minoribus. Item, lego cuilibet
moniali de ordine de Sempyngham “in Comitatibus Lincoln' et Ebor', i.j. s.
Item, cuilibet recluso vel anacorite in Comitatibus predictis ii. s., exceptis
Johanne recluso de Gysburne, cui lego C. S., et Johanne recluso apud sanc-
tum Egidium, Ebor', cui lego xx. S. Item, lego magistro Roberto de
Westone, nuper Officiali meo, unam peciam argent' cum cooperculo. Item,
lego domino Henrico Officiali meo unam peciam argent' cum pede mobili,
cum cooperculo. Item, lego domino Waltero de Gretham unam peciam
argent' cum pede mobili. Item, lego domino Johanni Popultone x. marcas
argent', et unam peciam argent' cum pede mobili. Item, lego Willelmo de
Hotone unam peciam cum cooperculo. Item, Johanne uxori ejus unam
robam de liberacione domini Episcopi Lincoln', cum cloca furr'. Item,
lego domino Johanni Hermesthorpe unum ciphum deauratum, ad modum
calicis, existentem apud London', et vestimentum meum album, cum porti-
tale,” cum calice et toto apparatu, simul cum parvis coffris. Item, domino
Johanni de Wythornwyk'" illum ciphum argent' quem emi de executoribus
Jacobi de Raygate. Item, domino Thome de Ettone parvum missale meum
album, quod ipsemet scripsit. Item, lego domine Eustachie de Ravenser
Priorisse de Stikeswolde xx. li., et cuilibet moniali dicte domus iij.s. iiij.d.,
percipiend’ de illis demariis in quibus michi tementur per scriptum suum
obligatorium communi sigillo suo consignatum. Item, lego Willelmo de
Holme vestimentum meum palliatum de syndone de nigro et rubeo, et
remitto eidem Willelmo xx. marcas, pro maritagio filie sue, deillis c. marcis,
quas michi debet ; et lego Johanne uxori sue unam peciam argent' planam
cum cooperculo. Item, lego magistro Ricardo de Holme’ unum librum
sextum decratalium," quem Magister Johannes de Carletone habet apud
Lincoln'; unum librum vocatum, Hostiensis, et unum librum vocatum,
Rosar', et xx. li. de illis c. marcis, quas predictus Willelmus frater suus
michi debet. Item, lego Thome Percy x. li. de predictis c. marc', ultra
illos denarios, quos recepi de legacione patris sui per manus Roberti de
Beverlac', et quos solvi Stephano fratrisuo. Item, lego Jacobo Hotone c. s.
de predictis c. marc', et armatur’ pro uno homine. Item, lego eidem Will-
elmo de Holme residuum dictarum c. marcarum, ad maritandam unam de
filiabus suis. Item, lego Thome Shirbure x. marcas, et armatur’ pro uno
* There is a character, or mark, before the
word notatum, in the MS., the import of
which is not ascertained. It resembles, but
not precisely, a minuscule .C. in small court
hand.
* Probably Braintree, Essex. Thus written
in an extract from Cott. MS., Jul., c. vi. in
Dart's Canterb. App., p. xxxi. “Branketre,
villa Eastsexac.”
* Sic. There were several monasteries of
the order of St. Gilbert, of Sempringham, in
these counties, as Bolington, Alvingham,
Stixwould, &c., in Lincolnshire, Watton and
Malton, in Yorkshire.
* Sic. Described in the Inventory, under
Capella, as “vestimentum album portatile
cum calice,” &c. It is not clear whether the
term designates a portable altar (superaltare
occurring in the context), or a complete suit
of vestments and appliances for the service of
the altar, adapted for use in his visitations or
journies.
6 Wythornwykes 2
7 Richard Holme was Rector of Wer-
mouth, Durham, and succeeded John
Ravenser in the Prebend of Holme Episcopi,
in the church of York, 1393. He died 1424.
Browne Willis, York, p. 141.
8 Sic. Sextus liber decretal', in the In-
ventory.
314 TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENTS
homine. Item, lego Johanni de Routhe c. §. et armatur' pro uno homine.
Item, lego Willelmo de Rysome firmam de Botheby, quam emi de domino
Rege, usque ad legitimam etatem uxoris sue, solvend' firmam Hegi.* Item,
lego Willelmo coco meo xl. s. Item, lego Willelmo Baker valetto meo
c. s. et unam robam linatam, de liberacione Cancellar', pro uxore sua.
Item, lego Nicholao Dunkane xl. 8. Item, Ricardo Hayme xl. 8. Item,
Jamino garc' coquine xl. s.' Item, Willelmo Moises xl. 8. Item, domino
Ricardo de Elyngtone, capellano meo, unam robam linatam de liberacione
Cancellar', et c. 8. Item, lego domino Thome Capellano paroch' in capella
sancti Martini Beverl', ut oret pro anima mea, v. marcas. Item, lego
domine Is' de Fryskeneye illum librum de Apocalips' quem habet in pres-
tito. Item, lego magistro Waltero de Skirlawe * unam tabulam argent'
deaurat' et aymallat' pro pace danda, et illum librum de Cronicis quem
habet de prestito. Item, lego Willelmo Mountayne zonam meam de
serico, qua utor cum curtis vestibus, et vestimentum bluet' de tartar'.
Item, lego hospitali sancti Leonardi Ebor' lectum meum rubeum, cum
tapetis, cum corvis,* et aulam de blueto poudr' cum stellis, existent' apud
Ebor'. Item, lego cuilibet pauperi eorumdem existent' in infirmar'
iij s. iiij d. Item, cuilibet choriste ejusdem hospitalis iij s. iiij d., perci-
piend' de illa summa que michi debetur per dictum hospitale. Item, lego
cuilibet Fratri dicti hospitalis xiij. s. iiij. d., et Matildi la huswyf xiij. s,
iiij. d., et cuilibet alii sorori dicti hospitalis vj. s. viij. d., percipiend' ut
supra. Item, lego Priorisse de Staynfelde xx. s., et cuilibet moniali ibidem
ij. s. vj. d., percipiend' de illis xiiij. li. quas michi debent, ut orent pro
animabus domini Edwardi, nuper Regis, et Philippe et Isabelle quondam
Regimarum Anglie, et mei. Item, lego Priorisse de Goukewelle' vj. s. viij. d.,
et cuilibet moniali ibidem ij. s. ut orent, ut predictum est. Item, lego
Priorisse de Grymesby xl. s., et cuilibet moniali ejusdem domus ij s., ut
orent pro amimabus predictis. Item, lego utrique ordini Fratrum apud
Grymesby, videlicet, cuilibet fratri capellano ij. s., et alii fratri non capel-
lano xij. d., ut orent pro amimabus predictis. Item, lego utrique ordinum
Fratrum minorum et predicatorum Lincoln', videlicet, cuilibet fratri capel-
lano ij. s., et alii fratri non capellano xij. d., et utrique ordinum Augustin'
et Carmelit', videlicet, cuilibet fratri capellano ij. s, et alii fratri non
capellano xij. d. Item, lego Fratribus Ebor', videlicet, minoribus et predi-
catoribus, Carmelit' et August', cuilibet fratri capellano, ij. s. et alii fratri
non capellamo xij. d. Item, lego Priorisse sancti Clementis Ebor' iij. s.
9 The sense is obscure. It seems to be : was translated to Wells, and finally to Dur-
until the lawful age of his wife, paying rent
to the King, who, probably, was only entitled
to the rent for a certain period, and had
granted it to the testator.
* Garcio, either a page of the kitchen,
as described in Household Ordinances, 33
Hem. VI., or one of the memials termed ** chil-
dren of the kechyn, tourne broaches.” Ibid.
? Walter de Skirlaw was Treasurer of the
Church of Lincoln, 1381 ; he was also Arch-
deacon of Northampton, and raised to the see
of Lichfield, 1385; in the year following, he
ham, 1388. He died in 1406. His works
were of an important character at Durham
and other places; his liberality also contributed
largely to the erection of the lanthorm tower
at York.
8 Possibly for raven8, a canting device,
allusive to the mame of Ravenser. In the
Inventory, subsequently, occurs an ouche of
gold ** cum uno corvo in medio,” &c.
* Gokwell Priory, founded by William de
Alta Ripa, at Broughton, Lincolnshire.
Tanner calls it Goykewell.
IN LINCOLN MINSTER. 315
iiij. d. Item, lego Katerine moniali de Noncotom xx. s. Item, cuilibet
anacorité infra Ebor' iij. s. iiij. d. Item, lepros' apud Ebor' vj. s. viij. d.
Item, lego Fratribus minoribus et predicatoribus Beverl', videlicet, cuilibet
fratri capellano ij. s. et fratri non capellano xij. d. Item, lego Fratribus
predicatoribus Carmelit' et Augustin' London', videlicet, cuilibet fratri
capellano ij. s., et fratri non capellano xij. d. Item, cuilibet ordini Fra-
trum apud sanctum Both'm,* videlicet, cuilibet fratri capellano ij. s., et
fratri non capellano xij. d. Item, lego Isabelle nuper uxori Petri Ughtrede,
nepti mee, unam peciam planam cum cooperculo, et unum lectum viridem
cum rosis, quem emi de executoribus testamenti Jacobi de Raygate. Item,
lego xx. li. ad distribuendum inter parochianos meos de Knaresburghe, magis
indigentes, per executores meos. Item, lego xx. li. ad distribuendum inter
parochianos meos de Empyngham' magis indigentes. Item, lego Ricardo de
Gartone clerico x. li. Item, lego domino Johanni de Roderham unam
peciam argent'. Item, lego Johanni de sancto Martino xl. s., et armatur'
pro uno homine, ac j. Jack'. Item, lego ministrantibus presens testa-
mentum meum, nomine regardi, xl. li. Item, volo quod illa mesuagia que
perquisivi de Willelmo de Strette, et que fuerunt Johannis de Mideltone, in
Kyngestome super Hulle, vendantur ad perficiendam voluntatem meam
alibi in operibus caritativis, secundum disposicionem executorum meorum,
Item, volo quod manerium de Stapilforde vendatur ad perficiend' et auxi-
liand' pro uno capellano de vicar' Lincoln' celebraturo ad sanctum Egidium
extra Lincoln', cum tenementis que fuerunt Johannis Totille in eadem, in
quibus dominus Johannes de Waltham et dominus Johannes de Ravenser
sunt feoffati, pro anima mea, fratris mei, patris et matris et omnium bene-
factorum meorum. Residuum vero omnium bonorum meorum, non legato-
rum, lego domino Johanni de Ravenser et domino Johanni de Popiltone, ad
distribuend' et faciend' pro anima mea, et pro animabus domini Edwardi
nuper Regis, et Philippe et Isabelle quondam Reginarum Anglie, et ani-
mabus omnium benefactorum meorum, et ad perficiend' cantar' predictam
unius vicar', capientis per annum vj. marcas, apud Sanctum Egidium extra
Lincolm'. Prius tamen solutis debitis meis et legatis. Dominos Johannem
de Waltham supervisorem, et dominum Johannem de Ravenser, si vivat,
principalem, Johannem de Popiltone et Magistrum Ricardum Holme facio,
ordino et constituo executores meos, ut disponant pro anima mea et anima-
bus supradictis, prout eis melius videtur expedire. In cujus rei testimonium
presens testamentum meum ultimam voluntatem continens feci patens et
clausum sigillo meo signari."
In dei nomine, Amen ; ego, Ricardus Ravenser, Archidiaconus Lincoln',
facio hunc codicillum dependentem ex testamento meo, et volo quod
omnia legata in dicto testamento meo alicui persone mortue sint vacua
et adnullata, quia illa revoco per presentes. Item, lego Isabelle de
sancto Martino moniali de Swyne consanguinee mee xx. 8. argent'.
Item, eidem Isabelle alios xx. s. Item, filio Isabelle Bryam xl. s.
Item, lego Willelmo RysOm x. marcas, et remitto sibi omne illud quod
° Botolphum ? Is St. Botulph's, in Lin- criber, the first sentence of the notification
colnshire, in the district of Holland, intended? by the Bishop of Lincoln, of exhibition of the
° Here follows, by an error of the trans- will and codicil.
- £» : •
¢* 1 • . • - -
* . • • , * • . z.
316 TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENTS
michi debet pro firma de Botheby. Item, lego Willelmo de Holmetone
fratri Johannis de Holmetone quinque marcas. Item, constituo executores
testamenti et hujus voluntatis mee Johannem de Ravenser clericum,
Johannem de Popiltone clericum, et Ricardum de Holme, in testamento
meo nominatos. Ac eciam Philippum Tylney, ch'r, et Willelmum de
Holme executores meos et coadjutores, per supervisum Johannis de Wal-
tham clerici, ut ibidem continetur. Item, lego Katerine uxori Roberti de
Grymesby x. marcas, ita quod denarii illi mittantur in usus ipsius Katerine,
per disposicionem executorum meorum, et quod non veniant in manibus
neque potestate dicti mariti sui. Item, remitto conventui de Stikeswolde
xx. marcas de una summa michi per eas per scriptum suum obligatorium
debita. Item, lego Willelmo Barbur, camerario meo, xx. marcas. Item,
Margerie Pype, moniali de Stykeswolde xl. s.
Dat' apud Strettone, decimo septimo mensis Maii, anno domini millesimo,
cccmo octogesimo sexto.
Item, lego fratri Johanni de Mideltone, sacre pagine professori, de ordine
beate Marie de Monte Carmeli, c. s. Item, eidem, si predicaverit in die
sepulture mee ibidem, xl. s. Item, volo quod si Johannes Ravenser velit
emere aliqua bona mea, et tanturn pro eis dare quantum alii rationabiliter
optulerunt, quod ipse ea habeat pro rationabili precio, inter ipsum et alios
executores meos assidemdo.
[Here follows the certificate by John (Bokingham) Bishop of Lincoln, of
the Probate of the Will, and a codicil ammexed: this document being dated
at his mamor of “ Netalham," Jume 1, 1886, and in the 23rd year of his
consecration.
Certificate of Probate by the sub-deam and chapter of Lincoln Cathedral,
the Deam being absent; dated June 9, 1386.
To these succeed the following Codicil :]
Im dei nomine. Amen. Ego, Ricardus de Ravenser, Archidiaconus
Lincoln', do, lego et concedo omnia tenementa mea cum pertinenciis in
Civitate Lincoln' et suburbiis ejusdem, et in villa de Kyngeston super
Hulle, Johanni de Ravenser clerico, Johanni de Popiltone clerico, Philippo
Tilney militi, et Willelmo Holme, executoribus meis, habend' et tenend'
predictis Johanni, Ricardo, Philippo et Willelmo, heredibus, et eorum
assignatis, omnia tenementa mea predicta. Et volo quod omnia tenementa
mea predicta vendantur et distribuantur pro anima mea, per avisamentum
et ordinacionem executorum meorum predictorum. Salva ordinacione mea.
et voluntate in priori testamento meo de predictis tenementis expressa. In
cujus rei testimonium sigillum meum presentibus apposui. Hiis testibus,
Willelm ode Rysom, Johanne de Seynt Martyn, Simone Wynter et aliis,
ut hoc testamentum meum et ultima voluntas mea omnibus innotescat.
Datum apud magnam Strettone, die veneris proxima ante festum sancti
Augustini, Anglorum apostoli, anno regni Regis Ricardi secundi nono.'
[After which is a transcript of an indorsement, being the certificate of
John, Bishop of Lincoln, relative to the said codicil. Dated at “ Nettil-
ham," June 1, 1386.
7 A.D. 1386, the Festival of St. Augustine being May 26.
IN LINCOLN MINSTER, 317
Certificate of Probate by William (Courtenay) Archbishop of Canterbury,
dated 30th June, 1886, in the Chapel of his Manor of “Otteforde.”
To these succeed the following Inventories of the effects of the Arch-
deacon, taken at his residences, in London, and at Stretton in Lindsey, a
manor which he had acquired from Gilbert Umfraville; also of his rich plate,
vestments and wardrobe, in the custody of Walter de Windsor, at the time
of his decease.]
Inventarium omnium bonorum nuper domini Ricardi de Ravenser, Archi-
diaconi Lincoln', factum apud London'.
Camera.
In primis, j. lectum de rubeo worstede, widelicet, coverlit, tester cum
dim' selour, ii. tapet', iij, ridelles, ij. costers, vi. quissyns de eodem panno
pro dicto lecto, prec' lx. s. Item, j. lectum de blod’ worstede, widelicet,
coverlit, tester, cum dim' Selour, ii. tapet'is, iij. ridelles,iiij. costers, j. banquer,
et vi. quissynes de eodem panno, prec’ xl. s. Item, j. coverlit cum j. tapet'
de viridi cum leopardis in glauco inpressis, prec' vij. s. Item, j, coverlit
cum j. tapet' de blod' de Northefolke, cum foliis vitium et rosis de glauco
intextis, prec’ iiij. s. Item, vi. blankett', quarum j. par melius, ad ij. S.
iiij. d, j. par medium, ad ij. S. et j. par pejus, ad xx. d. Summa vi. S.
Item, j. matrays magna, utraque parte de blod’ card', prec' iiij. s. Item,
j. matrays nova, exteriori parte de blod' card', et inferiori parte de canavas',
prec' viij. s. Item, j. matrays usitata, utraque parte quondam de rubeo
bukrame, prec'ij. s. Item, ii. matrays debiles, quarum altera de blod' card'
nullius valoris; et altera de viridi card' in exteriori parte, prec'xij.d. Item,
ij. paria linthiaminum nova de panno de lake, prec' xij, S. iiij. d. Item,
v. linthiamina de panno de Reynes, quorum j. par majus, ad xij. S. iiij. d.
j. par minus, ad x. S. et j. linthiamen pro capite, ad vi. S. Summa xxix. S.
iiij. d. Item, v. paria linthiaminum debilia, prec' v. S. Item, j. covertour
pro lecto de blod' furr' cum menevoir, prec'x. s. Item, j, covertour de
rubeo, furr' cum grys, prec'xx. s. Item, j. covertour de rubeo, furr' cum
cuniculis griseis, prec' iiij. s. Item, vi. quyssynes de tapester' cum corvis,
prec' ii. s. Item, j. bankQuer de tapester' plan' rub', prec’ xij, d. Item,
ij. bankQuers de blod’ worstede usitat' prec' iiij. d. Item, j. bankQuer de
eodem panno bon’, prec' vilj. d. Item, j. bankquer de tapestre cum arbori-
bus et avibus intextis, prec' vi. d. Item, ii. pillues de rubeo sindone, prec'
iij. S. iiij. d. Item, vi. pelves metall’ rotund'e et cave, prec’ (blank). Item,
ij. fustians pro j. lecto, prec'v. s. Item, j. pillue alba et longa, brouder'
cum diversis literis, prec’ xx. d. Item, iiij pillues curte albe, quarum ij.
dantur emptori furr'ex convencione, et iſ, remanent, prec' xij, d. Item,
j. chaufeour metalli, prec'ij. s. Item, iij paria de aundirnesferr', prec'(blank).
Item, j. furgon” ferr', prec'(blank). Item, j. shovell' ferr', prec'(blank). Item,
j. cista magna rubea ferro ligata, prec'x. s. Item, j. cista debilis ferro
ligata, nichil, quia datur ecclesie paroch’ de (blank) ad instanc' domini
Michaelis de Ravendale, pro libris et vestimentis imponendis, intuitu
* The reading in extenso may be Furgoun, also indicate a Latin termination in this and
or, perhaps, furgone (furgoñ). The final other words. “Furgone or fyre forke, Rota-
contraction, usually denoting a mute e, may bulum, Arpagio.” Prompt. Parv., p. 183.
3.18 TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENTS
caritat', nichil. Item, iij. coffr’ magni, quorum iſ. majores, prec'vj. S. et. j.
minus, prec' xij. d. Summa wij. S. Item, ii. coffr’ parvi, prec’ iſ. S. Item.
j. cathedra. Item, j. candelabrum ferr'. Item, j. longum sedile, prec'v.s.
Item, j. tabula curta, cum iſ. tristellis, prec'ij. S. Item, j. tabula men-
salis de firre, cum ii. tristellis, prec'xvj. d. Item, j. Scaccarium cum Scaccis,
prec’ (blank). Item, (blank).
Garderoba.
Item, j. mantell' fresede rub' liniat' cum blanket, prec'vj. s. viij. d. Item,
j. mantell' nov' fresede de violet, prec' viij. s. Item, j. mantell' nov' de
rubeo fresede, prec' vij. s. Item, j. mantell' de russet', prec' v. S. Item,
iij. mantell' rub' valde debiles, prec’ v. s. Item, j. mantell' nigr’ nullius
T valoris. Item, j. roba de liberacione * domini Regis, ad Nat’ domini,
anno ix9. videlicet, Surcot, Surcotov't,' tabarde et capucium furr', cum
kirtill de rub' medle, prec” . . . Item, j. roba de violet mixt', de
liberacione Regis, videlicet, surcot, Surcotov't, tabarde et capucium furr'
cum kirtille, anno vij9. prec'. . . Item, j. Surcot, tabarde et capu-
cium furr' cum surcotov't et kirtille single de rub' mixt', de
liberacione Regis anno vij9. prec' . . . Item, j. cloc' cum Surcot et
capucio furr' ac j. kirtille de Sanguyn mixt', de liberacione Archiepis-
copi Cantuariensis, anno x9. prec' . . . Item, j. cloc' Surcot et capu-
cium furrat' cum kirtille de viridi mixt', de liberac' ejusdem, prec'. . .
Item, j. cloc' surcot et capucium de nigr’ furr', cum j. kirtille, prec'
. . . Item, j. goune de blod' furr' cum menevoir, cum iſ. capuciis
de blod', quorum j. dupl’. Item, j. Surcot de blod’ furr'. Item,
jj. corset de blanket furr' cum croupes. Item, j, cloc', Surcot et kirtille,
cum capucio, de liberacione domine Regine, non consut', prec' xiij. S. iiij. d.
Item, j. Surcot, Surcotov't et tabarde cum capucio liniat' cum viridi tartryn,
cum j. kirtille de morrey mixto, de lib' estivali Regis, anno vij9, prec'xx. s.
dantur Rectori ecclesie paroch'Sancte Brigide. Item, j. Surcot tabarde de
blod’ mixto, cum capucio limat' cum viridi tartryn, etj. Surcotov't et kirtille
single de blod’ mixto, de liberacione estivali Regis, anno vijº., prec'xiij. s.
iiij. d. Item, j. Surcot de rub' mixto liniat' cum viridi tafita, prec’vj. s.
legatur uxori Willelmi Baker. Item, j. cloc', j. Surcot cum capucio absºlue
furr', et kirtille de Sanguyn, prec' x. S. Item, j. goune liniat' cum blanket,
cum capucio liniato cum nigr’. de russet' fresede, prec' vi. s. viij. d, dantur
Johanni de Lethom Ebor' pro anima domini. Item, j. goune single, cum
capucio duplo de nigr’, prec’ iſ. S. Item, j. kirtille de russeto liniat' cum
blanket, prec'xvj. d., datur Stephano garcioni Willelmi de Rysome, intuitu
caritatis. Item, j. corset de blanket double, prec'vj. d. Item, j. corset de
blanket single, prec' iiij. d. Item, xij, capucia dupla et j. Capucium single,
prec' v. s. Item, ix. virge dim. de burnet, prec' virge ij. S.—xix. s. Item.
j. robe non consuta, de liberacione domine Regime. Item, j. furr'de calabre
rub' venditur superius cum dictis furr', infra summam xxiij. li. Item, ii,
canavas' magne pro lectis, prec’ iij. S. iiij. d. Item, j. canavas' conti-
nens ij. ulnas, iij. quart', prec' viij. d. Item, iiij. pecie de blod' card',
9 Query, liberat' P In the will occurs “de liberaćbe diſi effi Lincoln.”
* Surcotou't, MS.; query surcot overt? “The value of this and following items is not stated.
IN LINCOLN MINSTER. 319
valde debiles, prec’ iſ. s. Item, ii. remanentes panni stragulati, prec'
ij. S. Item, j. remanens de blanket, j. remanens de rub' mixto, cum
capucio non consuto, prec’ iſ. s. Item, ii. furr'de bys. Item, v. furr'de
menevoir, quarum j. pro cloc' et j. proj. goune, vend' superius cum pre-
dictis furr', infra summam predictarum xxiii. li. Item, iiij. virge de
sarsnet” rub'. Item, ii. virge de vellvet rubeo. Item, ii. flaneol “de panno.
de Reyns. Item, linure de rub' taffita pro ij, surcot' et j, capuc'. Item,
j. virga de nigro bukram. Item, j. linura de nigro bukram. Item, j. Jak’
de nigro vellvet defensabilis, prec' iij. S. iiij. d. Item, ii. manice de blod’
camaca. Item, furr' pro ij. manicis. Item, j. aquila brouderizata. Item,
iij. virge j. quarter' de russeto albo, prec' virge ij. s. v.j. d.—vij. s.j. d. ob.
Item, iij. Virge de rubeo mixto, prec' virge xvj. d.—iiij. s. Item, j. virga de
viridi mixto, prec' xij. d. Item, xvij. ulne iij. quarter' panni linei de Flandr',
prec’ ulne x. d. Summa xiiij. s. X. d. Item, iiij paria de trencheours." Item,
ij. speres." Item, j. cista. Item, (blank) borde pro pressur’. Item,
j. Screne de virgis magn'. Item, iij paria tristell'.
Capella,
Item, j. coffr’ ferro ligat'. Item, j. portiforium novum non notatum.
Item, j. portiforium novum notatum, prec'x. li. Item, j. missale magnum,
prec' xiij. li. Vj. s. viij, d. Item, j. Ordinale, prec' xxvi. s. viij. d. Item,
j. vestimentum de tartryn rub' radiato, videlicet, casula, alba, amita,
stola, phanul', zona, frontell', subfrontell', parvus frontellus, et j. ridell' de
dicto tartryn radiato, prec' xxxiij. S. iiij. d. Item, j. Osculatorium argenti
deaurati pro pace ministranda, ponderans xv. s. de pondere troie. Item,
j. phiala argenti magna, ponderans xvij. S. j. d. Item, j. calix argenti.
deaurati ponderans iiij. li. viij. S. ix. d. Item, j, cuva pro aqua benedicta.
cum aspersorio, et j. candelabris de auricalco, prec' vilj. s. Item, j. super,
altare de marmore nigro, nichil, quia legatur domino J. Ravenser. Item-
j. pillue parv' de panno lineo legatur eidem et liberatur eidem, nichil.
Item, j. coffr’ parv' pro nebulis imponendis. Item, viij. tapet' palliata de
, rubeo et albo, prec' v. S. Item, j. campana enea parva legatur domino J. de
Ravenser, nichil. Item, j. pecia de blod’ card' pro coopertor' altaris.
Item, j, casula cum alba, amita, stola, phanul' et parrur' (sic) develwet motle,
le chaumpe nigr’, prec’ xl. s. Item, j. casula cum j. capa, ii. tuniculis de
camaca rub’, cum stol', phanul', iij. albis et amit' cum parur', prec'
cvj. s. viij. d. Item, ii. cape palliate de baudkyn blod' et glauco de serico
cum casul', j. tuniculis, cum parur' non consut', prec' lx. s. Item, j. Super-
frontale develwet tannede," cum crucifixo, Maria et Johanne consut' cumij.
augment' in fimb'," prec’ xxx. s. Item, j. subfrontale cum j. parvo subfron
grave. See “Inventory of Furniture in a
Merchant's House in London, 1481 :” in
the parlour—“a spear with two leves.”
* Saronet, MS. pro sarsnet, or sarcinet?
Compare—“j. pecia de sarcinet,” infra.
* Sic MS.; query flameole, kerchiefs?
* Not trenchers, upon which the food was
cut, but carving knives. The double signifi-
cation of the term is distinctly marked in the
Prompt. Parv. “Trenchowre, scissorium—
Trenchowre, knyfe, mensaculus.” .
* A kind of screen. “Spere or scuw (al.
screne), scrineum, ventifuga.” Prompt.
Parv. “Speere in a halle, buffet." Pals-
Churchwardens' Accounts, p. 118. Compare
Gage’s Hengrave, p. 42, &c. &
7 Query, taunede: tanny, a reddish brown
colour, from the French “tané, enfumé, de
couleur rousse.” Roquefort.
8 Or, possibly, finib', finibus.
seems preferable.
Fimbriis
320 TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENTS
tello de panno et auro, et j. corprax. Item, ii. ridelles de Sarcinet palliat',
prec’ xx. s. Item, ii. crucifixi cum Maria et Johanne brouderizat’ in iſ.
peciis, prec' x. s. Item, j. virga, j. quarter' dim. et le mayl de panno de
damask et auro, cum ix. minutis peciis de eodem pamno. Item, j. pecia de
nigro velwet. Item, j. pecia de sarcinet radiat' cum rub' et albo. Item,
j. pannus rub' et aur' intiger, prec' lxxiij. s. iiij. d. Item, j. remanens de
blod' satyn continensj. virgam. Item, v. pecie sindonis viridis, prec'pecie
ij. s. vi. d.—xij. s. vi. d. Item, viii. virge stricte de fustian, prec' virge Vij. d.
iiij. s. viij. d. Item, j. tabula consuta de auro de cipre, cum salutacione
Angelic', prec’ xx. s. Item, j. tabula lign' depicta cum diversis ymagini
bus cum ij. foliis includentibus tercium, prec'x. s. Item, i.j. paria preca-
minum de laumbre. Item, viij. zone pro vestimentis de filo lineo. Item,
ij. sconses, quorum j. legatur J. de Ravenser, et j. datur J. Roderham.
Libri.
Item, sextus liber Decretal' cum glosa Johannis et glosa digni Super
titulo de regulis juris, et cum Clementinis, et glosa Johannis, in eodem
volumine. Item, Summa summarum, j. degestum novum, j. inforciatum
melius. Item, liber quintus Innocencii quarti super libro decretal.’ Ven-
dantur magistro Willelmo de Waltham pro vij. li. xiijs. iiijd. Item,
Codex, liber juris civilis, prec'x. S. Item, j. degestum vetus, prec'xiij. s.
iiij. d. Item, j. par' decretal', que magister Willelmus de Waltham habet
de prestito domini. Item, j. liber cum ii. glosis, quarum j. glosa arch'i
super libro sexto, et alia glosa Willelmi super Clementinis, qui estin mani-
bus magistri Roberti de Westone, de prestito per dominum. Item, j. liber
yocatus Archidiaconus in Rosar' super decretal', in manibus magistri
Johannis Kyngtone, de prestito per dominum. Item, liber vocatus Summa
Reymundi cum libro brocardicorum, prec' v. s. Item, iij. quaterni de casi-
bus, iij p'marum colacionum. Item, j. biblia, prec’ xl. s. Item, j. liber
cum Septem psalmis penitencialibus glosatis in gallic'. Item, proj. parvo
libro de narrac' devocionufh.” Item, iij. quaterni de decima colacione.
Wessellamenta argent' alba.
Item, j. pelvis major, cum aquar', ponder' vij. lb. v. S. de pondere troie.
Item, j. pelvis rotunda et cava, cum parvo aquar' ponder' (blank). Item, j. olla
continensj. lagenam, ponder' v. lb. iij. S. j. d. ob. Item, iij. Olle potellers,
ponder' viij. lb. xij. s. v.j.d. Item, ii. pelves, ponder' vij. lb. iij. s. vi. d. ob. v.j.
chargeours ponder'xj. lb. xiiij. s.vij. d. Vj. pecie plane, ponder'v. lb. xv. s. v.d.
xij, cocliaria, ponder' xix. S. iij. d. qa'. j. Salar' ponder'xv. s. vij. d. de pondere
de troie. Wend' domino J. de Waltham pro lilj. li. xij.s. ga', qualibet lb. troie
stant'ad xxvi. s. viij.d. Item,ij.olle quart'ponder'iij. lb. ix.s. ii. d. de pondere
troie. Item, ii. Olle munit” arg’, ponder'ij. Ib.ºxj. s. viij. d. de eodem pondere
Item, iij. pecie plane cum cooperculis, quarum j. cum pomell’ plat, ponder'
j. lb. xvi. s. viij. d. j. cum pomell' square, ponder'j. lb. xiij. S. ix.d. et j. cum
pomell' rotundo, ponder'j. lb. x. s. vij. d. Summa, v. lb. xxij, d. ob. Item, ii.
chargeours de touche London', ponder' v. lb. xx. d. Item, xij. disci potagers
* “In manibus hazay ad vidend.”—Margin. This note includes the previous item. Haxay
is mentioned again in the inventory at the close of this document. 1 Or minut'?
HN LINCOLN MINSTER. 321
majores, etxij. Salsaria de touche de Parys,” ponder' XX. lb. iij. s. iiij. d. Item,
xij.disci potagers minores de touche de Parys, ponder' xj. lb. xiiij. s. vij. d.
Item, j. salar' cavum cum cooperculo, pond’ (blank). Item, vi. cocliaria
vetera cum glandibus, pond’ (blank).
Wessellamenta deaurata.
Item, j. ciphus argent' cum cooperculo deaurat' cum j. cervo in fundo
coopercul’ insculpto cum trailes, pond’ iſ. lb. v. S. Item, j. ciphus argent'
cum cooperculo deaurat' cum alto pede ad modum turris de verr', pond'ij.
lb. ii. s. v.j. d. Item, j. olla parva deaurata ponder'j. lb. xv.j. s. viij. d. Item,
j. sigillum, fine tantum deaurato, pond' iij. s. v.j. d.
Jocalia.
Item, j. nouche aur' cum uno apro in medio. Item, j. firmaculum aur'
cum j. febula (sic) de perles. Item, j. candelabrum aur', dimissumin custodia
domini ad salvo et Secure custodiendum.
Aula.
Item, j. dorsor' magnum cum iſ. costers de tapistre, prec’1. s. Item, iij.
bankQuers. Item, iij. tabule mensales, quarum j. debilis. Item, ij. paria
tristell'. Item, ii. pelves plane, cum iſ. lavacr' de auricalco, prec'x. s.
Panetr' et buteller'.
Item, j. mappa de parys, cont’ xv. virg’ dim. usitata, prec' v. S. X. d. Item,
j. mappa de parys, usitata, continens viii. virg. dim. in long', prec' virge
iiij. d.—ij. S. Item, j. mappa de parys, usitata, continens Vij. Virg.'j. quart'
prec'. iij. S. Vj. d. Item, j. mappa de parys, continens vij. virg.’ dim. prec.
xx. d. Item, iij. mappe de denant, qualibet continens v. virg'. prec'. virge
vj. d.—vij. S. Vj. d. Item, j. mappa de demant v. virg'. iij. quart', prec'ij. S. x.
d. ob. Item, j. towail de parys, continens xx. virg’, prec'v. s. Item, j. towail
de parys, continens viij. Virg. dim. prec’ij. s. Item, ii. towails curt’ de
parys, in j, pecia, contin' viij. Virg. prec’ iſ. S. Item, j. towaile de parys,
cont’ iiij. Virg. prec. xij. d. Item, ij. towails de parys, utraque cont’ iſ.
virg. in long'. prec’ xij. d. Item, iij. Sanapes, qualibet cont' vij. virg. dim.
quarum j. debilis, quarum j. melior, prec' viij. d. j. media, iiij. d. j. debelior,
prec'iij. d. Summa, xv. d. Item, j. Sanape, cont’vj. virg. iij. quart' prec'vij. d.
Item, iij. canavas' pro tabulis valect', debiles. Item, j. cista longa. Item,
j. dolium pro pane imponendo. Item, iij. tankards de cor” potellers. Item,
j. tankarde de cor' quarter. Item, v. candelabra de auricalco. Item, j.
chippyngborde. Item, j. scabell'.
Celar'.
Item, ii. pipe vini rub' plene, prec’ (blank).
Coquina.
Item, iiij. olle enee majores. Item, ii. olle enee, utraque cont’ iſ. lag'.
Item, j. olla enea, cont'j. lag' dim. Item, ii. olle enee, cont’ utraque j. lag'
Item, j. patella magna de metello, (sic) debilis. Item, iij patelle minores
* The assay-mark of Paris was a fleur-de-
lys, as that of England, by the stat. 28
Edw. I., was a leopard’s head. In the Ward-
robe Book, 28 Edw. I., is the item—
“8 coclear’ argenti signata in collo signo
Parisius, scil. de quodam flore glegelli.”
p. 352.
3 Probably for corio, leathern pottle-pots,
or black jacks. “De cornw" has also been
suggested.
Y
322 TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENTS
quarum iſ. debiles. Item, j. patella parva, cont’ iſ. lag. dim. Item, j.
brandrethe' long de ferro. Item, j. par de rakkes ferr', cont' iiij. pec'.
Item, j. par de cobbardes, debil’. Item, j. craticula ferr'. Item, j. frying-
pan ferr'. Item, ii. spites long' ferr' squarr'. Item, ii. spites ferr' rotund'.
Item, ii. broches rotund' pro anguillis. Item, j. myour.” Item, j. flescroke.
Item, j. securis. Item, j. par de pothokes. Item, j. morter' lapid’ cum j.
pestell' lign' long'. Item, iiij. cuve lign'. Item, j. tubbe minut' lign'.
Item, j. cadus pro verjus. Item, j. cuva major et j, cuve minores pro
carn' sals' imponend'. Item, j. par obbarum pintis pro sinap' et verjus.
Lardar'.
Item, iij. carcos' ii. quart' bow’ sals'.
xvi. pisc' Sals'.
Item, xiiij. perne bacon'. Item,
*s-
Pistrina.
Item, v. tubbes.
alte pro balneac'.
Inventarium bonorum Domini Ricardi de Ravenser nuper Archidiaconi
Lincoln', inventorum in custodia domini Walteri de Wyndesore, tem-
pore mortis ejusdem Archidiaconi.
Item, ii. Sacci. Item, j. pele ferrat'. Item, ii. cuve
In primis, una cuppa argenti deaurat' cum pede longo et cooperculo.
Item, unum magnum Bolle argenti deaurat' cum cooperculo. Item, i.j.
ciphi argenti deaurat' ad modum calicis, cum cooperculo. Item, unus
ciphus argenti deaurat'ad modum dolii, cum cooperculo. Item, due magne
pelves argenti aymellat' cum ymaginibus mulieris et unius Wode Wose in
medio. Item, due pelves minores, similiter aymellate cum similibus
ymaginibus et uno castro. Item, una pelvis argenti cum uno scuto in
medio. Item, una pelvis argenti cum foliis deauratis in medio. Item,
due pelves cum ymagine beate Marie in medio. Item, duo lavacra argenti
plana. Item, duo lavarr' (sic) arg’ cum signis in cooperculis. Item, una
navis pro elemos'. Item, due parve pelves argenti pro altari. Item, due
olle argenti plane provino. Item, una olla argenti swarr' cum scuto in
cooperculo. Item, unum parvum aquarium argenti cum tribus spoutes.
Item, due pecie plane argenti cum cooperculo flatte, de una secta, que
legantur H. de Selby, et uxori Willelmi Holme. Item, una parva pecia
cum cooperculo, cum ymagine beate Marie. Item, vi, chargeours argenti
de una secta. Item, iiij. chargeours argenti de alia secta. Item, unum
salarium argenti cum cooperculo.
Item, unum Ouche de auro cum uno corvo" in medio.
Item, xxiiij. disci argenti de una secta, cum
Item, xxiiij. disci argenti plani, de alia secta.
cum pede argenti deaurat'.
Scutis et armis Regis Anglie.
* “A brandryth, tripos.” MS. Dictionary,
entitled Catholicon Materna Lingua, 1483.
In the Promptorium Parv., a trivet is called
“Brandelede.” Amongst the culinary appli-
ances enumerated in Roy. MS. 17, c. xvii.,
tripes is rendered “branderthe” and “burn-
derthe.” The word is still used in north
country dialect. Brockett's Gloss. v. Bran-
dreth.
* “A myoure, micatorium ; To mye
brede, micare.” Catholicon Materna Lingua,
Item, ii. Saleria (sic) arg’ cum pedibus.
Item, unum Maser
MS. in Lord Monson's library, dated 1483.
Grated bread was very much used in medie-
val cookery. See the Forme of Cury,
Warner’s Antiquitates Culinarie, &c.
* Doubtless a canting device, in allusion
to the name of Ravenser. Compare the
bequest of a bed, “cum tapetis, cum corvis,”
and the items, “cape cum orfrays albis
poudrat” cum corvis: lectus de rubeo Wor-
stede cum corvis, lectus cum tapeto cum corvo
stante super rupem,” &c.
IN LINCOLN MINSTER. 323
Item, vi. disci argenti de alia secta. Item, vi. disci argenti cum scutis in
medio. Item, xij, disci argenti de una secta quasi novi. Item, vi. disci
argenti cum stellis in medio. Item, x. disci argenti.de una secta. Item,
xj. disci argenti de alia secta. Item, xj. Salsaria argenti cum Scutis de
armis Regis. Item, x. Salsaria argenti cum armis de leonibus. Item, vi.
Salsaria, unde v. cum stellis in medio. Item, ix. Salsaria argenti de unica
Secta. Item, xij. ciphi argenti de unica secta, unde unus est aymellatus in
medio. Item, iij. pecie argenti plane, ad modum Bolle, legantur domino
Johanni de Ravenser. Item, iiij. pecie argenti cum uno cooperculo cum
pedibus mobilibus, unde tres pecie et cooperculum liberantur domino H.
Officiali, J. de Popiltone et Waltero de Gretham, ex legato. Item, due
parve pecie antique argenti plane. Item, xxx. cocliaria argenti et duo
cocliaria deaurata. Item, una tabula cupri deaurat' pro pace danda.
Item, inventarium bonorum ejusdem Domini Archidiaconi apud Strettone
inventorum eodem tempore.
Item, in primis due pelves argenti cum foliis deauratis in medio,
et duo lavacra argenti plana pro eisdem pelvibus, legantur domino
Johanni de Waltham et Johanni de Ravenser. Item, ii. pecie plane
argenti de unica secta cum cooperculis. (Alie due ejusdem secte libe-
rantur superius eisdem. Erased.) Item, una pecia argenti cum cooper-
culo cum Scriptura, ecce agnus dei, &c. assignatur fratri Jacobo Hos-
pital' Trinitatis Beverlac'. Item, una alia pecia argenti plana bene
ponderans cum cooperculo, cujus pomellum (capud erased) est deauratum.
Item, unum salarium argenti coopertum. Item, iij. pecie argenti, de tour
(sic) de Parys, legantur domino J. de Ravenser. Item, vi. cocliaria argenti
in usu. Item, xij. disci argenti de una secta. Item, vi. disci argenti de
una secta cum stellis. Item, vi. disci argenti de alia secta. Item, xj.
Salsaria argenti. Item, (blank.)
Item, unum sigillum argenti de Archidiaconatu Lincoln' cum cathema.
Item, una zona rotunda de serico rubeo. Item, una tabuletta aurea
aymellata.’ Item, unus amulus aureus cum quodam Saphiro cum quodam
cristallo pendente. Item, una pixis argenti aymellata tribus Scutis. Item,
ij, anuli aurei cum perles Scoticis. Item, vi. anuli argenti aymellati cum
lapidibus de forma diamantis. Item, xxxiiij. anuli aurei parvi cum diversis
lapidibus. Item, xxxvij. castones." Item, unum firmaculum aureum de
forma trifolii cum uno diamande. Item, unum firmaculum deauratum
aymellatum cum literis—[h'c. Item, iij. burse, de operibus diversis, et j.
alia de velwet. Item, iiij. anuli parvi aurei aymellati cum literis. -
Capella.
Item, unum vestimentum album portatile cum calice et toto apparatu,
legatur domino J. de Hermesthorpe. Item, aliud vestimentum album,
cum ryban de damask', et umum portiforium notatum, legantur domino
J. de Waltham. Item, unum missale portatile, legatur domino Thome
7 This item erased, with a note. “Vacat or collet of a jewel, the roundels or ornaments
hic, q' d'Ile de molynn" (?). containing a relic, enamel, &c., such as were
* Casto, chasto, in Fr. chaton, the setting affixed to goldsmiths’ work, or vestments.
324 TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENTS .
Ectone. Item, unum portiforium notatum, unum salterium cum oracionibus,
et rubius (?) liber de canone misse, in una quaterna. Item, unum super-
altare nigrum, et aliud viride, et j. alba. Item, ii. candelabra argenti.
Item, due urcioli argenti et deaurati. Item, unum thuribulum argenti.
Item, una cuva cum spersasor” (sic) argenti. Item, unum caas' corporas'
broudatum de ymag'. Item, unum sufronter album de Sarezynes. Item,
ij. amys de Gray. Item, superpelicium de panno de Reynes. Item,
unum amys de panno lineo. Item, unum rochetum. Item, j. canopium
de serico. Item, unum canopium de filo albo. Item, unum pulvinar album
cum cruce rubea pro capella. Item, una capa migra antiqua debilis Valde.
Item, unum portiforium de usu Lincoln', sine nota. Item, unum vesti-
mentum broudatum cum apris, cervis et rosis, continens tres albas, tres
amitas, duas stolas, iij. manipulos, tria singula, unam casulani, et duas
tunicas. Item, due cape de panno ad aurum cum orfrays albis poudrat'
cum corvis. Item, una zona de serico herneysiata, (legatur W. Moun-
tayn, added.) Item, una pixis et campana argenti, et unum candelabrum
argenti. Item, ii. ursioli argenti. Item, unum portiforium non notatum,
datur domino J. de Popiltone, Senescallo hospicii domini, in recompen-
sacione unius portiforii sui' dum idem Johannes in arduis negociis domini,
causa presencie Comitis Notyngham, occupatus fuerat, furati. Item, ii.
candelabra de auricalco.
Camera.
Item, unus lectus de serico maskelede, cum curteyns et v. Costers et
tapetis, legatur J. de Waltham. Item, duo coopertoria de eyrmyn. Item,
unus lectus de rubeo Worstede cum corvis, et curtyns, legatur H. de Selby.
Item, unus lectus de viridi Worstede broudatus de garbis et aquilis cum
quatuor costeris, tribus curtynis, duabus tapetis et vi. Quyssynes, legatur
domino J. de Ravenser, prec’ (blank). Item, unus lectus viridis, broudatus
derosis albis cum tribus ridellis, quatuor costeris, prec’ (blank). Item, unus
lectus continens superlectule et tapetum de papejays et papilionibus glaucis.
Item, unus lectus viridis debilis. Item, unus lectus cum literis C. et R'.
Item, unum superlectule cum (lupis erased) leonibus glaucis. Item,
unum superlectule album modici valoris. Item, vi. Costers de albo et
rubeo palede. Item, unum tapetum viride. Item, unus lectus viridis
cum superlectul’et tapeto cum corvo stante Super rupem. Item, unus
lectus cum superlectul' et tapeto. Item, unus lectus glaucus cum
chapellettis et rosis albis. (Item, x. blankettes, et tria paria de
Stamyns. Item, j matras', de sindone viridi. Item, duo matras' de
blueto et unum aliud de viridi. Item, unum matras' album spissum, et
aliud album debile. Item, unum matras' album, et aliud modici valoris.
Item, duo Quyltes albe, et tria Federbeddes. Item, xij. linthiamina quorum
quedam Valde debiles. Item, iiij. Quyssyns de Syndone. Item, iiij.
Quyssyns distinct', cum uno remamente de eodem panno. Item, una aula
de tapisserie rub' continens v. pecias cum corvis in broudura et tres Ban-
cours de eaden secta, et vi. quyssyns. Item, una aula de bleueto, et rub'
palleat' cum draconibus et Wode Woses,' cont’ v. pecias. Item, una aula
* Sic in MS. Spersorium, Duc. the holy water sprinkle, aspersoir.
* A wild inan of the woods, called by corruption Woodhouse.
IN LINCOLN MINSTER. 325
palleata de viridi et blueto Worstede, et broudata cum garbis et corvis, con-
tinens v. pecias. Item, una aula distincta cum miraculis Sancti Johannis
Beverlacensis, continens tres pecias. Item, una alia aula palleata de corvis
et unda, (2) cum tribus peciis).” Item, j. coverlit et j. tester, cum capitibus
leopardorum inclusis inter griffons, prec'. xx. s. Item, j. coverlit
et j. tester, cum capitibus leopardorum de glauco et rosis albis
ac avibus et griffons intertextis, prec’ xviij. S. Item, j coverlit com-
bust' prec’ xiiij. d. Item, j. chalon, . . . . prec' xj. d. Item, j.
covertour de blod' carde liniat' cum serico et furr' cum ermyn, prec’ xl. s.
Item, j. covertour de blod' panno, furr' cum albis cuniculis, prec' vi. s.
vij. d. Item, j. par de blankettes cum migris listis, prec' iiij. s. v.j. d.
Item, j. par de blankettes cum rub' listis, prec' iiij. S. iiij. d. Item, j.
par de blankettes cum listis de russeto, prec'ij. S. iiij. d. Item, j. pared
blankettes quorum j. cum blodiis listis, et alter sine listis, prec' xx. d.
Item, j. par de stamyns, cum long’ secur' pro signo, prec' iij. S. Item, j.
par de stamyns med', prec’ij. s. v.j. d. Item, j. par de stamyns minus,
prec’ ii. s. ii. d. Item, ii. pirpoyntes, prec' iij. S. iiij. d. Item, j. matras
de viridi sindone liniat' cum bocram, prec'vj. S. viij. d. Item, j. matras
de blod' carda, ex utraque parte, prec' vi. s. viij. d. Item, j. matras cujus
j. pars de blod' carde, et alia pars de viridi carde, prec'ij. S. Vj. d. Item, j.
matras de viridi carde, liniat' cum panno lineo, prec’ij. S. iiij. d. Item, j.
matras alb’ nov', prec'x. s. Item, j. matras alb” usitat', prec. v. S. Item,
j. matras alb’, cum j. foramine in latere, prec'. ii. s. v.j. d. Item, j. matras
cum rosis in quolibet angulo, prec’ xviij. d. Item, j. matras alb' cum rosis
insutis ex utraque parte, prec’ iij. iiij. d. Item, j. matras cum rosis in
fimbriis, prec' xv. d. Item, j. quylt, prec' v. S. Item, j. matras, non
implet’, prec'xvj. d. Item, ii. paria linthiaminum melior' cum R.’” contin'.
iij. virgas in long', prec’ xiij. S. iiij. d. Item, j. par linthiaminum cum R.
in medio, prec' iiijs. Item, j, par linthiaminum dilacerat' in medio, prec'
xviij. d. Item, ii. paria linthiaminum debiles, prec’ xvj. d. Item, j. par
linthiaminum cum nodis in fimbriis, prec'xviij. d. Item, j. linthiamen valde
debile, prec' iij. d. Item, j. pylowe coopert' cum syndone, prec' viij. d.
Item, j. lectus plumalis cum j. bolster melior, prec'xiij. s. iiij. d. Item, ii.
lecti plumales unius quantitatis, prec'x. S. Item, j lectus plumalis debilis,
prec’ xviij. d. Item,.ij. ridell' de viridi Worstede, prec' v. s. Item, iij.
ridell' de rubeo Worstede, prec’ iiij. s. Item, j. travers de sindone rub,’
prec' vi. s. viij. d. Item, j. ridell' de carde viridi, prec’ iſ. s. Item, j.
tapet nigrum cum j. banquer nigro, prec’ xviij. d. Item, j. Canavas con-
tinens Vj. virgas, prec' xviij. d. Item, j. canavas' continens Vij. Virgas,
dim'. prec’ iſ. s. viij. d. Item, j. canavas' continens iij. virgas strict', prec'
iiij. d. Item, j. canavas continens iij. virgas strict’ mel', prec' viij. d. Item,
ij. canavas', utraque continens ij. virgas, prec'x. d. Item, j. Canavas' cum
magno foramine, prec' iiij. d. Item, j. canavas' cont’ iſ. virgas prec'iiij. d.
Item, j. (canavas' erased) Sarpler de canavas', prec' ix. d.
Garderoba.
Item, furr' de menever cont’ xij. timbre in cloca de rub' mixto, de lib'
domini Episcopi Lincoln', prec xl. s. Item, furr' in capicio de eadem secta
* These items are erased in the MS., commencing “Item, x. blankettes.”
* Obviously the initial of the name Ravenscr.
326 TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENTS
de menever, prec' iij. S. iiij. d. Item, furr' in supertunica ejusdem robe de
bys, prec' vi. s. viij. d. Item, pannus ejusdem robe cum kirtelle de eadem
secta, prec' xiij. S. iiij. d. Item, furr'de menever in j, cloca de marbryn,
de lib' domini Episcopi, prec’ xx. s. Item, furr' de menever in capicio,
prec' iij. s. iiij. d. Item, furr'de popill' in supertunica ejusdem, prec' v. s.
Item, pannus dicte robe cum j. capucio et j. kirtelle, prec' xj. s. Item,
furr' in cloca de viridi mixto, prec’ xxxiij. s. iiij. d. Item, furr'de menever
in capucio ejusdem, prec' iij. S. iiij. d. Item, furr'de popill' in supertunica
ejusdem, v. s. Item, pannus dicte robe cum kirtelle, prec’ix. s. Item,
furr' de menever in blod'cloca, prec’ xxxiij. S. iiij. d. Item, furr' de gray
in capucio ejusdem, prec' vi. s. viii. d. Item, pannus dicte cloce et
capuc' cum kirtelle de eodem panno, prec' xj. s. Item, furr' in toga de
blod' perce, prec' xviij. S. Item, pannus dicte toge cum capucio dupl,’
prec' vi. s. viij. - d. Item, furr de gray in cloca nigra, prec’ xx. S.
Item, furr' de gray in major' migr’ capuc', prec' vi. s. viij. d. Item,
furr' in toga de nigro, prec' vi. s. viij. d. Item, furr' in facie in
capucio migro de menever, prec' xviij. d. Item, furr' de' gray in facie
alterius nigri capucii, prec' xj. d. Item, pannus predicte cloce, toge,
et iij. capuciorum, prec' vi. s. viij. d. Item, j. pilche de Bever, prec'
xiij. S. iiij. d. Item, j. pilium furr' cum Bever, prec' vi. s. viij. d. Item,
iij. amys de gray, prec' cujuslibet xxx. S. iiij. li. x. S. Item, j. cloca cum
supertunica et capucio tannez liniat' cum plunket' taffit', cum kirtelle de
eadem secta, prec. xiij. S. iiij. d. Item, j. cloca cum capucio et supertunica
liniat' cum blod’ taffit' cum kirtelle, prec' xx. S. Item, j. cloca cum capucio
nigr’ liniat' cum migr’ tañt', prec'x. s. Item, supertunica cum tabarde et
capucio liniat' cum viridi tafit' cum kirtelle, prec’ xx. s. (tamen (?) legatur
W. Baker, et liberatureidem, added.) Item, j. toga nigra liniata cum bucram,
absºlue capucio, prec' vij. s. Item, j. toga curta de viridi mixto liniat' eum
tafit' de Inda, prec' V. S. Item, j. toga de russet' liniata cum viridi say
cum capucio de eodem, liniat' cum viridi tafit'j. capucio singl’ et j. kirtelle,
prec' viii. s. Item, j. toga curta de Worstede nigro liniata cum blanket,”
prec' vi. viij. d. Item, j. kirtelle de eodem melior, prec’ iij. s. iiij. d. Item,
j. kirtelle de Worstede debilior, prec’ij. s. vi. d. Item, j. cloca de nigro
panno lan' curt', prec' iiij. s. Item, j. cloca de russet' liniat' cum viridi
mixto, pro equitac', prec' v. S. Item, iiij. capucia nigra et dupl,' prec’
iij. s. iiij. d. Item, j. capucium de Sanguyn liniat,' prec' xviij. d. Item, j.
capucium de murrey liniat', prec’ xviij. d. Item, iij. capucia dupl’ de
diversis sectis, prec' iij. s. Item, j. capucium de Scarlet, Sengle, prec'
xviij. d. Item, ii. Capucia singl’, prec' xvj. d. Item, j, kirtelle de blanket'
furr' cum migr’ agnell,' prec’ (blank). Item, ii. wardecorps de blanket,'
prec' ij. S. (tamen dantur iſ. carectario de Meltone intuitu caritatis,
marginal note.) Item, j. wardecorps de blanket,” prec' viij. d. Item, j.
capa nigra ad ministrandum in choro melior, prec' xx. s. Item, j. capa
debilior nigra pro choro, prec'vj. s. viij. d. Item, j. remanens de marblyn,
continens v. quart', prec' xx. d.
[The next twelve pages are occupied by accounts of later date, “Musk-
ham.—Computus ibidem post festum Michaelis, Anno R. R. Henrici sexti
tercio " (1424) “exitus grang’”—miscellaneous expenditure, wages, farm
produce, &c., to 7 Hen. VI. North and South Muskham, Notts, apper-
IN LINCOLN MINSTER. 327
- - *
tained to the church of Southwell. Then follows a long list of bonds under
various heads, and monies due, written at various times, occupying two
pages and a half, entitled “Debita que debentur domino Johanni de
Tenelby canonico ecclesie Lincoln', ad festum Nativitatis sancti Johannis
Baptiste, Anno D. 1432.” He was, perhaps, interested in the Prebend of
Muskham; amongst the debts occur—“De Johanne Clerk de Newerk
firmario de Muskham, pro firma prebende ejusdem debit' primo die Maii,
A9. dicti Regis xhio, xviij. li.” “De vicario de Muskham, ex prestito, &c,
vj. s. viij.” (10 Hen. VI. 1432). To these succeeds one blank leaf, and
on the last three leaves are written inventories of plate, which comprise
many curious items, but do not appear to relate to the estate of Arch-
deacon de Ravenser. - º
The transcript forms a thin folio volume, bound in a limp parchment
cover. It is written on paper of stout quality, presenting three distinct
water-marks; a dragon, an eagle with a nimbus, standing on an object of
lozenge shape (possibly intended to represent a book, St. John's Gospel),
and a pole-axe, with a long triangular blade. 3.
The silver seal of the archdeaconry, with a chain, occurs amongst the
effects found at Stretton. (See p. 322.) Through the kindness of Mr.
Wilson I am enabled here to give a representation of the official seal of
Richard de Ravenser, from an impression. The design is very elegant;
the legend, $5.’ titi. Út. rauenger, artijfti.” lintolnit. Beneath is an
escutcheon of his arms. The three birds which appear upon the chief, as
also two introduced at the top of the seal, are probably ravens, a canting
allusion to his name.
In printing the foregoing documents, the greater part of the contracted
words are given in eaſtenso ; in every case where any question might occur
as to the power of the contraction, it has been retained. In the MS.,
each item, it must be observed, forms a separate line or paragraph; but
they have been brought together and printed continuously, to save space.
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ADDITIONAL NOTE TO THE MEMOIR ON THE PAINTED GLASS
IN LINCOLN MINSTER.
—Q--—-
SINCE the foregoing paper on the painted glass in Lincoln Cathedral was printed, my
friend, Mr. Willson, of Lincoln, has kindly subjected the figure which occupies the
central compartment of the north rose-window to a careful examination. He has
ascertained that the figure is clearly intended to represent our Saviour; but, unfortu-
nately, no means exist of ascertaining whether or not the stigmata were exhibited.
The figure is seated, the right hand is elevated, but is shown so much in profile as quite
to conceal the palm. The left hand and both feet, and, indeed, the lower half of the
body, are totally destroyed.
C. WINSTON.
I.ON DON : R RADB URY AN ID EVANs, PRIXTERs, white FRIARs.
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