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 WAKWICK (■ASTI.U (CTSAR's TOWEK).
 
 ISTORIC 
 
 ARWICKSHIRE 
 
 J, TOM BURGESS, F.S.A., 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 '' OA/ Kiio/is/i \\'i7i/ J'7'nfrrs," " .hinrii/ Eartlnvarks mid F<,rlificti lions nj 
 \\'(invirks/iirt\" " 'J'hr l.iisl lintllr uf the Roses',' <fr., irr. 
 
 SF.CONl) KDlllON. 
 Edited and Rf.\ iskd hy JOSEPH HILL. 
 
 MAKKl-rr l"l-A(K,|IilRMlXC,ll.\M (_I.AM i l..\ I I KV). 
 
 Birmingham, Lkicester, and Leami.ngton : 
 The MiiiLANU E ducat ion ai. Compaxv, Limithd. 
 
 London : 
 Simp kin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, and Co., Limited.
 
 The thanks of the PuhHshers and Editor are tendered to the 
 members of the " ^\'ar\vickshirt■ Photographic Survey " and other 
 gentlemen (whose names are given in the List of lihistrations at 
 p.ige xii.) for kindly aid in ])laring valuable negatives at their 
 disposal, also to Mr. W. ( !. Frutton, F.S.A., .Mr. R. '!'. .Sim|3son, 
 Mr \\ . Salt ISrassington, F.S.A., and others, Nir help given during 
 the reproduction of Historic Warwickshire. 
 
 Birmingham, 
 
 September ist, 1893.
 
 
 TO 
 
 LIEUT. -GEN. I'RANCI.S HUGH (lEORGE SEYMOUR, 
 
 THE MOST HONOUR.MiLE 
 
 THE MARQUIS OF HERTFORD, 
 
 THE REPRESENTATIVE OF IHE E1,DER I!RANCH OF THE 
 
 ANCIENT LORDS OF ARROW, 
 
 XTIMs IDolume, 
 
 EMliODYING THE LEGENDS, TRADITIONS, AND 
 ROMANCES OF WARWICKSHIRE, 
 
 IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED liV 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 5749.13 
 
 INQLISU LOCili
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 DURING the past eight years I have been busily engaged in collecting materials 
 for an historical description of Warwickshire, which should be at once exhaustive, 
 portable, and exact, yet published at a price which would bring it within the means 
 of every class of the community. With tliis view I have visited nearly every parish 
 in the county, and have consulted all the known available documents relating to the 
 past and present history of the county ; yet now, to keep even lingering faith to 
 those kind friends who so early encouraged me with their approval and subscriptions, 
 I have issued this volume full of the knowledge of its shortcomings and knowing 
 that it represents but the fringe and tassels of history. I felt, however, that these 
 legendary stories — the myths and traditions of the past — would perhaps create a wider 
 interest than a drier but more connected narrative of the events which have been 
 interwoven with the shire of Warwick. Some of the episodes here briefly related are 
 known to all, some are fresh and new, some are presented with newer facts and 
 under a different guise, and others will dispel a widespread belief in the fables of 
 history. There are some well-known romantic incidents I have purposely omitted ; 
 there are others I have foreborne to touch upon, because of the paucity and 
 uncertainty of the materials. The defence of Venusius, the Traitor's Ford at 
 Wichford, the Soldier's Bank at Willey, the parson-chaplain of Spernal, the [jrincely 
 pleasures of I-Cenilworth are amongst these omissions. There are some little scraps 
 of folk-lore and superstitions which have come to my knowledge since this volume 
 has been in the printer's hands. Dur ng this brief period, the discovery of the plaque 
 at the bottom of the Macer Bowl at Harbledown, near Canterbury, has thrown some 
 light on the legend of Guy of Warwick, for the knight there slaying the dragon 
 bears the arms of Beauchamp, and in all probability is intended for (kiy Beauchamp, 
 and the dragon for Piers Gaveston. It is of an earlier date than any known MSS. 
 of the legend, for we must not forget that the statue of Guy's Cliffe bears the 
 arms of the family of Arden.
 
 VI. PREFACE. 
 
 I have avoided, as far as possible, advancing any theory as to the origin of the 
 many legends embodied in this volume. It is the first time that an attempt has 
 been made to gather these strange stories and to divide the mythical from the 
 historical, and I have preferred rather to collect, abridge, and cull the most inter- 
 esting of the many romantic stories connected with the county of Warwick than to 
 speculate on their origin. If I, by so doing, have aroused a feeling of interest in 
 the history of this great Midland shire, I shall be well repaid, and may at no distant 
 period appeal to my many friends and readers on behalf of a more general, more 
 abstruse, but more original " Ancient History of Warwickshire," as well as of the 
 new borough of Royal Leamington Spa. 
 
 I had intended, and indeed have prepared, a long list of names and derivations 
 relating to the earlier history of the shire, as well as a glossary of Warwickshire 
 words, but this has grown from a few pages to the extent of a volume. 
 
 I have been indebted to many books and to many friends for the facts embodied 
 herein. My thanks are especially due to Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy, the late Dr. 
 O'Callaghan, Messrs. Evelyn Philip Shirley, J. Staunton, M. H. Bloxham, Joseph 
 Burtt, S. 'I'immins, Edward Scriven, Thomas Beasley, J- R- Planche, Walter de Gray 
 Birch, James Parker, Thomas Gibbs, W. G. Fretton, J. W. Kirshaw, J. Cove Jones, 
 and R. H. Hobbes, for many courtesies and assistance in this labour of love. 
 
 J. TOM BURGESS. 
 
 Grassbrooke, Leaming/on, jSjj.
 
 Contents. 
 
 Prince Fkkmund, tlie Son King Offa. — Saxon Church of Offchurch. — Murder 
 
 of Fremund. — Saxon Remains. —Royal Manor. — Knightley Family ... ... I to 3 
 
 The Great Siege or Kenilworth. — The Norman Castle.— The Clintons and 
 Montforts. — Earldom of Leicester. — Montforts of Beaudesert. — War of the 
 Barons. — First Parliament. — Sir William Trussell, Speaker. — The Battle of 
 Evesham. — The Siege. — Prolonged Defence. — Surprise of Warwick Castle. — 
 Dictum of Kenilworth. — The Chief Defenders. — Kenilworth Manor and the 
 Earls of Lancaster ... ... .., ... ... ... ... ,,, .. 4 to II 
 
 The Royal Favourite. — Piers Gaveston. — His Character and Career, — His 
 Arrogance. — His Surrender at Scarboro'. — Seized by the Barons. — Trial by 
 Council at Warwick Castle. — Summary Execution near Guy's Cliff. — Burial 
 at Oxford. — Memorial on Blacklow Hill. — The Council. — Warwick Castle and 
 its Lords. — The Ardens and the Newburghs. — Gaveston's Captors. — The 
 Fitzalans, Earls of Arundel. — Valances of Pembroke. — Plantagenets of Lan- 
 caster ... ... 12 to 19 
 
 The Forget-me-not. — Bolingbroke and Mowbr.iy. — Wage of Battle. — Lists at 
 Coventry. — Judgment of the King. — Culudon and Baginton. — The Connections 
 of Hereford and Norfolk. — Their Warwickshire Houses ... ... .. 20 to 28 
 
 The White Buck of Arrow. — The Burdetts of Arrow. — The War of the Roses. — 
 The Greys ot Astley. — The Warwick Nevilles. — The Widvilles. — Queen 
 Margaret and Coventry. — Edward IV. and Sir John Astley 's Widow. — The 
 Duke of Clarence and Burdott. — Killing the Buck. — The Burdetts and 
 Conways ... 29 to 37 
 
 The Foundling's Gratitude. — Burton Dassett. — The Beacon. — The Church — 
 
 Belknaps of Dassett. — Kimbell's Charity ... .. 38 to 41 
 
 The Last of the Beauchamps. — Warwick Castle. — The Bcauchamps and Nevilles. 
 — Benuchamp Chapel. — The Wars of the Roses. — The Kingmaker's Daughter. 
 —Richard HL— The Duke of Clarence.— The Final Battles.— The Warwick 
 Estates. — The Children of Clarence. —The Last of the Beauchamps 42 to 52 
 
 Willoughby the E.xplorea. — Early Explorers. — Sebastian Cabot. — Willoughby of 
 Middleton. — His Family. — Merchant Explorers. — North Seas Expedition. — 
 Its Result,— Willoughby's Diary 53 to 58
 
 VIII. CONTENTS. 
 
 A Tudor Tragedy.— The Smyths of Shireford. — Miss Chetwynd and the Old Knight. 
 — Intrigue and Tragedy. — Wolvey Heath.— Burnt at the Stake. — Shireford 
 and the Littletons .. ... 59 to 63 
 
 The Church of Expiation.— Baddesley Clinton.— John Brorae of Warwick and 
 Baddesley, — Slain by Herthill. — The Son's Revenge. — Nicholas Brome and 
 the Priest. — Expiation Churches of Packwood and Baddesley. — Alliance with 
 Sir Edward Ferrers. — Descent of the Manor. — The Baddesley Squire .. 64 to 68 
 
 An Old Love Story. — Park Hall and Kingsbury. — Two Ancient Families. — The 
 Ardens and Bracebridges. — Abduction of John Arden. — Edward IV. an 
 Arbitrator. — The Descent of the Families. — Shakespeare and the Ardens ... 69 to 75 
 
 Reformers and Martyrs. — Early Reformers, John of Gaunt and Wickliff. — 
 Seven Coventry Martyrs. — The Glovers of Baxterley and Mancetter. — 
 Lawrence Saunders. — John Careless. — John Rogers, of Deritend. — Gild School 
 of Deritend 76 to 85 
 
 The Swan of Avon.— The Stratford Burgher.— Shakespeares of Snitterfield.— 
 Ardens of Wilmcote. — William Shakespeare's Baptism. — His Father's Troubles. 
 — His Marriage Bond. — Children. — Will. — Burial. — .Snitterfield Connections. — 
 Park Hall and Wilmcote Ardens. — Journey to Worcester. — Marriage before 
 Church Ceremony. — Facsimile of Marriage License. — Early Traditions. - 
 Walter Roche, Schoolma5ter 8610103 
 
 The Heiress of Canonburv. — Compton Winyates. — The Compton Family.— 
 Lord William Compton and Elizabeth Spencer. — The Canonbury Alderman. — 
 Elopement and Di>inheritance. — Queen Elizabeth's Device. — Godfather and 
 Grandfather. — Lady Compton's Letter .. ... ... 10410110 
 
 The Bloody Hunting Match.— The Gunpowder Plot. — Robert Catesl>y, of 
 Lapworth. — Father Garnet. — ^Jack Wright. — Tom Winter. — Guy Fawkes the 
 Sapper. — The Plot. — Ferrers House. — The Westminster Cellar. — Thomas 
 Percy. — ^John Grant and Norbrook p'arm. — Winter and Bates. — The Little- 
 tons of Holbeach. — Francis Tresham, .Sir Everard Digby and Ambrose 
 Rokewood. — Coughton Court and Clopton House. — Lord Vaux's Daughter. — 
 Fathers Greenway and Garnttt. — The Lion Inn, Dunchurcli. — The Hunt- 
 ing Project. — Intended Capture of Princess Elizabeth. — The Bull Inn, 
 Coventry. — The Monteagle Letter. — Tresham Suspected. —Fawkes Arrested. 
 — Flight to Dunchurch. — The Ride through Warwickshire. — Fate of Con- 
 spirators ... ... II0t0I28 
 
 Le Preux Chevalier.— Sir Robert Dudley, his Father's Career, his Wives— Amy 
 Robsart. — Lady Sheffield and Countess of Essex. — Sir Robert as an Author. 
 — His Marriages. — Alice Leigh. — The Leicester Earldom — deserts his Family — 
 His Life Abroad. — His Wife Created a Duchess— Her Chaiities 129 to 136
 
 CONTENTS. IX. 
 
 The Queen ok Hearts. — The Princess Elizabeth. — The Harringtons of Combe 
 Abbey. — The Princess at Coventry — the Plot for her Capture. — Marriage 
 and Life Abroad. — The Cravens of Combe — Their Protection of Elizabeth. — 
 The House of H.anover. — Coventry in the Olden Time ... I37 'o 150 
 
 The Captain, Lieutenani and Ancient. — Warwickshire in 1634. — Coventry. — 
 Guy's Clill', Kenilworth. — Warwick Town and Castle. — Stratford-upon- 
 Avon 15' '0 '56 
 
 Cavaliers and Roundheads. — The Stu.nrts. — Before the Civil War. — Puritans 
 and Loyalists. — Fortified Houses. — Preliminaries of War. — Attack on Coventry. 
 — Skirmishes at Curdworth and Southam .. ... ... ... ... ... 1 57 'o 162 
 
 The Siege of Caldecote Hall. — The Purefoys and Lord Brooke. —Caldecote 
 Church. — Repulse at Coventry. — Prince Rupert at Caldecote. — James Purefoy. 
 George Abbott 163 to 168 
 
 The Cai'Tlre of the Standard.— Captain John Smith, of the Skills. — The 
 Rival Forces. — King Charles' March to London. — Birmingham.— Aston.— 
 Packinglon. — Kenilworth. — .Southam. — Edge Hill. — Richard Shuckburgh 
 Knighted. — Rupert at Wormleighton. — Hampden and Brooke at Stratford. — 
 The Field of Edge Hill. — The Fight for the Standard. —Cromwell and 
 Burton Dasset. — Henry Kingsmill. — King Charles meets his (Jueen on 
 Kineton Field. — Queen Henrietta's Progress. — Birmingham. — Kings Norton. 
 —Stratford 169 to 176 
 
 The Heiress oi' the Puckerincs.— The Priory, Warwick. — The Warwick Fish- 
 seller. — Thomas Hawkins, a/ias Fisher. — His Rapid Rise.- Queen Elizabeth 
 at Warwick. — Sergeant Puckering. — Wardship of Jane Puckering. — Her Abduc- 
 tion. — Marries Sir John Bate. — Sale of the Priory ... ... ... ... 177 to 179 
 
 For Faith and Conscience. — The Civil Strife. — Lords Brooke, Northampton, and 
 Digby. — Sufferings of the Clergy. — Stoneleigh and Astley. — -Warwickshire 
 Royalists. — Birmingham Fired by Rupert ... .. ... ... ... ... 180 to 184 
 
 The KiNc.'s Preserver. — After Worcester Fight. — Escape of Charles \\. — Boscobel 
 to Bentley. — Colonel Lane. — Charles IL and Jane Lane. — Sir Clement F'isher. 
 — Ride through Warwickshire. — Kings Standing. — The Blacksmith of Erding- 
 ton. — Packington. — Hampton-in-Arden to Snitterfield. — Stratford Bridge. — 
 His Stay at Long Marslon. — ^The Escape. — Jane Lane becomes Lady Fisher. 
 —The Order of the Royal Oak 1S5 to 191 
 
 The Bottle ok Laurel Water. — Lawford Hall and the Boughtons. — Miss 
 Boughton and Captain Donnellan. — Sir Theodosius Boughton. — Poisoned by 
 Donnellan. — Trial and Execution. ^The Evidence Examined ... ... 192 to 197
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 The Princess Olive.— The Wilmot Family. — Dr. Wilmot and Barton-on-lhe-IIeath. 
 George III. and Hannah Lightfoot. — Lord Archer of Umberslade. — The Duke 
 of Cumberland Marries Olive Wilmot. — Their Daughter Olive. — The Duke 
 re-marries. — Olive's Claims as a Royal Princess.— Continuous efforts to Prove 
 Legitimacy. — The Claim before Parliament.— Her Daughter, Mis. Ryves. — 
 Proceedings Fail in lS66 .. ... 198 to 202 
 
 The Stars and Stripes. — The Washingtons of Lancashire, Warwiclcshire, and 
 Northants. — .Seckington and Whiticre. — Villiers of Brokesby. — Spencers of 
 Wormleighton. — The American Flag ... 203 to 207 
 
 The Wager of Battle. — Trial for Murder. — Mary Ashford and Abraham Thornton. 
 — Not Guilty. — Appeal of Murder. — Prisoner claims "Wager of Battle." — 
 The Plea Upheld.— The Law Repealed 208 to 210 
 
 Warwickshire Gilds and Charities (by the Editor).— Dissolution of English 
 Gilds. — The Gilds of W'arwick — Coventry — Stratford ^Birmingham — 
 Deritend — Knoll. — The Halls of the Gilds. — Thomas Oken's Charity, W^arwick. 
 — Hale's. — White's, Ford's, and Bond's Foundation';, Coventry. — Shyngler's 
 Charity and Lench's Trust, Birmingham ... 211 to 222 
 
 THE LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS. 
 
 The Legends anii Mythical Lore. — Fabulous Tales with a Germ of Truth. — 
 Fortifications. — Battle-fields and Tumuli. — St. Werbergh. — Common Belief in 
 Subterranean Ways. — Alcock's Harbour. — Earthworks. — Chesterton Ghost. — 
 One-handed Boughton. — Streams and Wells. — Berkswell and Sutton. — -The 
 Centre of England. — The High Cross. — Hunger Vale. — Robin Hood's Well ... 225 to 236 
 
 The Heart ok England. — British Trackways. — Roman Road. — The Avon's Course. 
 — Feldon and Arden. — The Hills of Arden. — Norman Fortresses. — Religious 
 Houses. — Historic Wars, — The Sons of the Shire ... ... ... ... 237 to 245 
 
 The Rollright Stones. — The King Stone.— Whispering Knights. — Long Compton. 
 Tr.aditions. — RoUo the Dane. — Opinions of Early Historians. — Urn Burial. — 
 Relics. — British Tribes... ... ... 24O to 256 
 
 Saint Augustine and the Tythes. — Monkii-h Chronicles.— S. Augustine and 
 
 Long Compton. — The Legend 257 to 261 
 
 Saint Ecwvn. — The Alcester Smyths.— The Legend.— Roman Remains.— The 
 
 .Monastery. — Decay of Alcester ... ... ... ... ... 262 lo 263 
 
 Holy Edith. — Polesworth Nunnery. — S. Modwen. — Arnuljih. — Legend of Edith.— 
 Legend of Marmion and Somerville. — Dissolution of the [Nunnery. — Report 
 of the Commissioners. — Abbess Fitzherbert. — Pooley Hall. — The Cockains. 
 — The Gooderes 264 to 268
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Laoy Godiva. — Tennyson and the Legend. — Leofric, Earl of Mercia. — His Benefac- 
 tions. — Origin and Growlli of tiie Legend. — Dugdale's Authority. — Tiie 
 Peeping Tom .Addition — Character of Leofric — His Descendants ... ... 269 to 274 
 
 Guy, Earl ok Warwick. — Guy's Cliff. —Leland, Camden, and Fuller. —John Rous 
 and the Legend. — The Saxon Earls of Warwick. — Guy's Adventures. — Col- 
 brand the Dane. — Guy's alleged Armour. — Saxon Inscription at Guy's Cliff... 275 to 2S7 
 
 Sr. WOLSTAN, — Long Ilchinglon, — Birth and History. — Made Bishop of Worcester. 
 
 — The Council at Westminster. — The Staff ... ... . . ... ... 2S8 to 290 
 
 A Legend of Arden. — Wroxall Abbey. — "Measure for Measure." — Baddesley 
 Clinton. — Hugh de Hatton. — Shakespeare's Moated Grange. — The Church. 
 — The Modern Mansion. — Prioresses Isabel and Jane Shakespe.tre 291 to 295 
 
 RoniN Hood.— Loxley.— The Outlaw's Birthplace.— Coughton Church.— The Fitzodo 
 Family. — The Earls of Chester. — Earl of Huntingdon. — The Trussells and 
 Bagots 295 to 3C0 
 
 Amy Rob-SART.— Parentage.- Marries Sir John Dudley.— Scott's " Kenilworth."— 
 Fictitious Narrative. — Dudley, Earl of Leicester. — Queen Elizabeth.— Amy 
 Robsait's Death. — The Evidence Examined. — Cumnor Church ... ... 301 to 304
 
 Xist of 3llu9tration6. 
 
 Warwick Castie, Cesar's Tower, fhoto. \V. Jerome Harrison Frontispiece. 
 
 Oi.D Bull Rinc, Birmingham, diaiving, P. Braddon ... ... Title Page. 
 
 Portrait of J. Tom Burgess, F.S.A., photo xvi. 
 
 Cesar's Tower, Kenilworth, photo Page 4 
 
 The Siege of Kenilworth, woodcut 7 
 
 Kenilworth Castle, photo 9 
 
 Priory Church, Kenilworth, //w/o 11 
 
 Gaveston Memorial, //ic/n. Martin & Tyler IS 
 
 Gosforf) Green, pkoto 20 
 
 Kenilworth, from the Meadows, woodcut 24 
 
 The Cloisters, Whitefriars' Monastery, photo. 25 
 
 Cheylesmore Manor House, photo. 27 
 
 Eagington Church, pho:o. E. C. Middleton 28 
 
 Charter House, Old Carthusians, photo 29 
 
 AsTLEV Castle, />/;d/o. E. C. Middleton 34 
 
 Arrow Church, drawing, Allen E. Everett ... ... ... 37 
 
 Beacon at Burton Dasset, woodcut 39 
 
 Burton Dasset Church, pkoto. Harold Baker .. 40 
 
 Castle and Ancient Bridge, Warwick, <»/i:/««i>-az;/«^ 42 
 
 The Beauchamp Chapel, Warwick, /Au/<7. E. C. Middleton 43 
 
 Outside the Castle Walls, photo. J. Hill 52 
 
 MiDDLETOK Hall, //io^o. J. H. Pickard 54 
 
 The Hermitage, Wolvey Heath, photo. E. C. Middleton 62 
 
 Baddesley Clinto.v, photo. Harold Baker 64 
 
 Brome's Place, Bridge End, Warwick, woodcut 65 
 
 Interior of Baddesley Clinton Hall, photo. Harold Baker 66 
 
 The Church of Expiation, Baddesley Clinton, pkoto. E. C. Middleton 68 
 
 ICiNGSHURY Hall and Church, photo. J. H. Pickard 69 
 
 Peddimore Hall, Minworth, photo. J. T. Mouseley 71 
 
 RonERT Arden's House, Wilmcote, photo. ]■ Hill 75 
 
 Sutton Coldfield Church, photo. E. C. Middleton 77 
 
 Ruins of Merivale Abbey, pkoto. E. C. Middleton 79 
 
 Co\ eniry Churches and its Pageants, woodcut ... 80 
 
 Ueritend, pkoto. J. Lewis ... ... 84 
 
 John Shakespeare's House, old print 87 
 
 Shakespeare's House in 1806 ,, .. 88 
 
 Robert Arden's House at Wilmcote, woodcut ... 89
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XIII. 
 
 Shakespeare's Birthim.ace, before the restoration, wjodcul ... Pa;^e 90 
 
 LuDDiNUTON Old Church, woodcut 92 
 
 Shakespeare's House in 1769, old print 96 
 
 Aston Church, near Birmincham, Interior, photo. Bleasdale 98 
 
 Richard Hathaway's House, Shottery, photo. ]. Hart 100 
 
 Schoolmaster's House, Stkaikord, photo. J. Hill 102 
 
 Shakespeare's School Playcround, photo. J. Hill 103 
 
 COMPTON WiNYATES, photo. E. C. Midilleton IC4 
 
 Bushwood, old view, woodcut 113 
 
 Remains of Nokbrook, woodcut 117 
 
 Coughton ZoMKy, photo. ]. Simkins ... 118 
 
 The Lion Inn, Dunchurch, photo. E. H. Speight 120 
 
 The Lion Inn, Dunchurch, woodcut ... 123 
 
 Clopton House, photo. G. \V. Wilson 126 
 
 Temple Balsall Church, photo. E. C. Middleton 135 
 
 CooMBE Abbey, 1616, woodcut 136 
 
 CooMBE Abbey, present day, photo. 138 
 
 The Palace Yard, Coventry, photo MO 
 
 Whitefriars' Monasiery, Covf.ntry, photo 149 
 
 St. Mary's Hall, Coventry, photo. 150 
 
 Grey Friars' Gate and Church, old print 152 
 
 Guy's Cliff, in 1722, ivoodcut iS3 
 
 The Armoury, Warwick Castle, photo. ... '54 
 
 Stratford-upon-.\von Church, photo 156 
 
 The Army before Coventry, woodcut i59 
 
 Shattered Staircase, Asto.v Hall, photo. A. J. Leeson 160 
 
 Edgbaston Church, photo. Harold Baker '62 
 
 Tomb of the Purefoys, Caldecote, photo. E. C. Middlelon 165 
 
 The Restored Church at Caldecote, photo. E. C. Middletnn 168 
 
 Charlbs I.'s House at Southam, woodcut 170 
 
 The Tower, Edge H ill, //iu/D. E. C. Mid llcton 172 
 
 Kineton Church, photo. E. C. Middleton '73 
 
 Radway Church, photo. E. C. Middleton i?^ 
 
 Welch End, Birmingham, etching, E. H. New 184 
 
 Snitterfiki.d Church, photo. J. Hill 185 
 
 Leamington, old rrint 1^7 
 
 Old House at Escote, photo. H. Terry 189 
 
 Church of Barton-onthe-Heath, photo. E. C. Middleton 19^ 
 
 House of Washington, at Brington, woodcut 203 
 
 Seckington Church, photo. E. C. Middleton 204 
 
 Wormi.eighton, photo. E. C. Middleton 206 
 
 Casti.e Bromwich Chapel, photo. J. Hill 20S 
 
 Thomas Oken's House, photo. Martin & Tyler 214
 
 XIV. 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Gild Hall, Stratford on-Avon, photo. J. Hill 
 
 Seal of the Birmingham Gild, photo. J. Hill 
 
 Knowle Church and Gild Hall, photo. E. C. Middleton 
 Henley-in-Arden Church and Gild House, photo. E. C. M 
 
 FiLLONCLEY CHURCH, photO 
 
 High Cross, photo. E. C. MidcUelon 
 
 Druids' Well, photo. J. Hill 
 
 Maxstoke Priory, photo. R. Keene 
 
 Manor House, Ilmington, photo. E. C. JliJdleton 
 Remains of Norman Chapel, Hartshill Castle, photo. E 
 Ancient Font, Snitterfield, photo. E. C. Middleton 
 North Doorway, Stoneleigh, photo. E. C. Middleton 
 The Rollright Stones, photo. E. C. Middleton... 
 The King Stone, photo. E. C. Middleton .. 
 
 The Rollrich Stones, -luoodcut 
 
 The Rollright Sto^vs, ground plan 
 
 Thf Whispering Knights, woodcut 
 
 Long Co.mpton from S.'W., /hato. E. C. Middleton 
 
 Ai.cester Church, photo. E. C. Middleton 
 
 Polesworth Church, photo. E. C. Middleton 
 PcOi.ey Hall Chapel, photo. E. C. Middleton 
 
 Remains of Priory, Coventry, //;o/i> 
 
 Earl Leofric and Godiva, -woodcut 
 
 Guy's Cliff Miia., photo. W. Jerome Harrison 
 
 John Rous, old print 
 
 Guy's Cliff, 1656, old print 
 
 Statue of Earl Guy, old print 
 
 Guy's Cliff, photo. W Jerome Harrison 
 
 Saxon Inscription, woodcut 
 
 Long Itchington Church, photo. E. C. Middleton 
 Wroxall Church, photo. E. C. Middleton 
 House of the Shakespeares, photo. J. Hill 
 Shakespeare's Hall, Rowington, photo... 
 
 Loxley Church, photo. E. C. Middleton 
 
 lilLLESLEY Hail, photo. W.Jerome Harrison 
 
 Kenilwortii Castle, ;>/io/o. C. L Newey 
 
 Priory Remains, Kenilworth, photo. R. Keene... 
 
 C. Middleton 
 
 ddleton 
 
 Page 217 
 219 
 221 
 222 
 225 
 
 234 
 236 
 
 237 
 239 
 240 
 
 244 
 
 245 
 246 
 
 247 
 249 
 253 
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 259 
 262 
 264 
 267 
 270 
 272 
 275 
 276 
 2S3 
 2S4 
 285 
 286 
 290 
 291 
 292 
 294 
 296 
 300 
 301 
 304
 
 J. TOM lilKCKSS. F.5.A.
 
 3. Zom Buroc66, jf.S.a., 
 
 AVas born at Cheshunt, Herts, 17th February, 1828. His father belonged to 
 an old Northamptonshire family, settled at Brixworth ; his grandfather was an officer 
 of the ancient corporate town of Northampton, and the family had a former connec- 
 tion with the Manor of AVoolpage ; his mother was a Leicestershire woman ; and his 
 grandmother's family came from Scotland. 
 
 His father was apprenticed at Northampton, and was subsequently a bookseller at 
 Hinckley, and ']'om, his only son, was there placed at the School of Joseph 
 Dare, who was afterwards Missionary under the Rev. Charles Berry, of Leicester. 
 Subsequently he was at the School of ALr. Nutter, the Unitarian Minister of 
 Hinckley — thus he passed his earliest years on the borders of Warwickshire, 
 and having a penchant for collecting fossils, old coins, &c., he became known as 
 " Philosopher Tom ; " and at the age of thirteen and-a-half years had picked up a 
 "little Latin and less Greek," and was extremely young when he made his 
 first essay as a j<jurnalist as local correspondent of the Leicestershire Mercury, the 
 proprietor of which had married his cousin. 
 
 The South Leicestershire Record was started by his father. It had a short career 
 and became merged in the Hinckley and Nuneaton Reporter. 
 
 An apprenticeship was arranged with an old friend of his father's, Mr. George 
 Daniell, the Uppingham bookseller, which, however, i)roved abortive, yet 22 years 
 afterwards he married Daniell's daughter. 
 
 For a brief period he entered a solicitor's office in Northamjiton, and at the 
 age of fifteen, in the year 1843, he was engaged as reporter on the staff of the 
 Leicester Journal, and held the post for eighteen months. 
 
 At this period he resolved to make art a profession by which to earn a liveli- 
 hood, and became a wood engraver at Northampton, for some years he divided 
 his attention between landscape painting, wood-engraving, literature, and journalism. 
 In 1848 he removed to London, first with Messrs. Vizettley's and afterwards with 
 his friend W. H. Collingridge, of the City Press. At this period he studied hard
 
 XVIII. BIOGRAPHY OF AUTHOR. 
 
 at the British Museum, and obtained the Certificate for Anatomical Drawing — 
 but in 1850 returned to take up his pursuit of the arts in his old and loved town 
 of Northampton. 
 
 He was becoming a good landscape painter when he was drawn by the in- 
 fluence of Dr. Doudney, a connection of Mr. Collingridge, to accompany him 
 to Ireland to found a Printing School in the Town of Bonmahon. Subsequently 
 he became the editor of the Clare Journal ■SiXiA. also made a hasty marriage. During 
 a six years' connection with the Clare Journal he distinguished himself as the 
 champion of industrial progress. He also collected the materials fir a county 
 historical work, with the title of the "Land of the Dalcassians," but, although 
 well subscribed for, the legendary part only was published and was speedily out 
 of print. 
 
 Tempted by the offer of the editorship of the Bury Guardian he removed 
 to that Town in 1857, and was present during the wild scenes of the Election 
 of that year, here he remained six years, but losing his father, his wite, and 
 three children, he after a temporary visit to Ireland, removed in 1863 to 
 Swindon, and became the editor of the North Wilts Herald. 
 
 Influenced by a boyish remembrance he now sought in her old home, at 
 Uppingham, Miss Emma Daniel, whom he had known 22 years previously, and 
 finding she was settled in Bath, speedily visited her there, with the result that 
 they were married a few months afterwards, but a sudden breaking up of the 
 Wilts Herald — by which he suffered a serious loss — caused a removal the 
 following year to Warwickshire. 
 
 Here he entered upon the happiest period of his life, his active duties con- 
 nected with the Leamington Courier left him with ample time to devote to 
 pursuits congenial to his tastes, and in the midst of surroundings alike beauti- 
 ful and historical, associated with cultured men, with societies for the further- 
 ance of knowledge connected with all his favourite pursuits open to receive 
 him, he entered upon a new life, his field of labour was no longer barren 
 ground, nor was his labour in vain. After 14 years' connection with the Courier^ 
 he accepted a more lucrative .nppointment as editor of Berrows' Worcester 
 Journal. The esteem of his friends being testified, as it had previously been 
 at Bury, by a very substantial testimonial. After five years at Worcester, upon
 
 HIOGRAPHY OF AUTHOR. 
 
 failure of his health, he removed to London, where he spent three years, 
 mainly in researches at the British Museum. Being tempted to visit Leaming- 
 ton whilst in feeble health he died there 28th June, 1886. 
 
 The results of his painstaking and industrious life were of a diverse character. 
 His early geological and antiquarian pursuits were checked by his father selling his 
 collection. For many years his art struggles were heavy, whilst during his life he 
 edited several topographical works, wrote upon " .^rt," "Wood-engraving," illustrated 
 by himself; "Sketching from nature," and "Easy lessons in art ; '' also contributed 
 to the annuals, and wrote the " Rank and File of the Press." For twenty years 
 he was a newspaper editor. He contributed to and edited the Building News, 
 whilst his general contributions to literature comprised several valued historical 
 papers, his "Battle of Bosworth Field" (1872), "The Fortifications of Warwick" 
 (1875), "Historic Warwickshire" (the same year), being amongst the number. 
 He also published books upon "Angling," (VVarne and Co., t868), " Wild Flowers," 
 (Warne and Co., 1868), " Life Scenes," (Kent and Co.), " Velocipedes " (Routledge, 
 1869), and several books for boys. 
 
 His first published work was "Walks about Northampton." Somewhat earlier, 
 however, with a little assistance, he produced "The Barons of Hinckley," both out 
 of print. His earliest independent sketch related to the Queen's Cross, near 
 Northampton. His most ambitious work, " An Original Ancient, History of War- 
 wickshire," was never completed, "A List of Derivations," "A Glossary of Warwick- 
 shire words," of considerable extent, and a " History of Leamington " remained 
 works of promise only, while some of his books have gone through several 
 editions, and many are out of print. 
 
 Among his more learned contributions to literature were the results of his 
 researches among the tumuli and earthworks of Warwickshire, being a continua- 
 tion of those made by his friend, M. H. Bloxham, F.S.A., of these may be 
 mentioned " Ancient British Remains and Earthworks in the Forest ol Arden," 
 "The Saxons in Warwickshire," "Fortified Dwellings," " Fortification of Warwick," 
 "Saxon Remains at Offchurch," "Legends of Warwickshire Plants." His works 
 altogether fill a page of the Catalogue of the British Museum. 
 
 Mr. Burgess was a hard worker, an interesting writer, and a genial com- 
 panion, possessed of a wide and varied knowledge, and of a bright, merry.
 
 XX. 
 
 lilOGRAPHV OF AUTHOR. 
 
 and happy nature. He was widely known and esteemed, in 1878 he was 
 chosen a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries ; he was also a Fellow of the 
 Royal Historical Society, a Member of the British Archaeological Society, the 
 Warwickshire Field Club, and various kindred Societies, in all of which he did 
 good and earnest work.
 
 Cljc Jlomantic dD|jisobcs 
 
 of 
 
 ilavtrrichsbirc, 
 
 u
 
 prince jfreinun&. 
 
 HERE are but few visitors to Leamington who do not know 
 tlie soft and sylvan scenery of Offchurcli. The village church, 
 though restored, has many signs of antiquity. A recently 
 found cawed cap of a circular-headed window, on whicli 
 is figured a serpent, seems to belong to the original 
 church, founded here, according to the Saxon chronicle, by Offa, King of 
 Mercia, whom Charlemagne called the greatest of the western kings (circa 
 A.D. 790), in memory of his son. Prince Fremund, who was treacherously 
 slain between l.ong Itchington and Harbury. Between these villages a few years 
 ago some Anglo-Saxon spear-heads and bosses were found.* Unfortunately there 
 is no confirmatory evidence of the burial of Fremund here ; but that Ofla had 
 a residence near the site of the present seat of the Dowager Countess of Aylesford, 
 called Offchurch Bury, is certain. On the site of the parish nearest the Fosse way, 
 numerous relics of a battle-field have been found, and are preserved at the Bury. 
 The death of Fremund is recorded by Camden, who quotes an old chronicler as his 
 authority. He says, "Not far from Offchurch is Urtundon, now Long Itchingdon, 
 and Harbury. Neither verily are these two places memorable for any other cause, 
 but for that Fremund, sonne to King Offa, was betwixt them villainously, in times 
 past, slaine by those that forelayed him, a man of great renowne and singular piety 
 to Godward, unto whom nothing else procured envie and evill will, but because in an 
 unhappy time hee had by happy conduct quelled the audacious courage of his enemies. 
 Which death of his, notwithstanding, turned to his greater glorie, for, beeing buried 
 at his father's palace, now called Off.Church, hee liveth yet unto posterity as 
 
 ■ They were in the possession of the lale Mrs. Buffery, of Emscotte, who promised them to the \V,irwick Museun
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 who, beeing rannged in the catalogue of our saints, hath among the muhitude re- 
 ceived Divine honors ; and whose Hfe is by an ancient writer set out in a good poeme, 
 out of which let it bee no offence to put downe these few verses following, touching 
 tlie murderer who, upon an ambitious desire of the kingdom, slew him : — 
 
 ■■ ■ \on Mperaiis vibio Fienuindu, regis honur opl.ito se posse sui, melitur in ejus 
 Immeritan lacito mortem, gladioqiie profanus 
 Servio exerto servus, dominique jacentis 
 Tale nihil veritum sano caput amput ab ictio 
 Tatis apiid Wydford Fremundum palma coronat, 
 Dum simul et sontes occidil, et occidit, informis. 
 
 '• ' Past hope, whiles Fremund lived lo speed of wished regally. 
 All secret and unworthy means he plots lo make him dye. 
 With naked sword, prophane, slaine he, assaileth cowardly 
 His lord unwares, and as lie lay Iieheads him cruelly. 
 At Wydford thus I'rince Fremund did his glorious crown altaine. 
 Whiles slaying guilty folke, at once himself is guilllesse slaine." " 
 
 The eleventh Mercian King Ofifa, or OfTo, is chiefly known in history as the originator of the tribute 
 called "Peter's pence," the engineering work from the Wye to the Clwyddian Hills, known as Olil'a's 
 Dyke; the creation of an Archbishopric at Lichfield; the murder of F^lhelbert, KingofF^asl Anglia. 
 and the foundation of St. Allian"s Abbey. Bui the minor details of his life, by reason of his connec- 
 tion with Offchurch and Tamworth, have an especial local interest. 
 
 The real name of Offa is said to have been Winfrilh, and his family allied lo the former kings of 
 Mercia ; he was the successor to Ethelbald, who was slain or murdered at Secandiin (Secington), near 
 Tamworth, by Beornred, 757, Ofifa revenging his death a few months later. 
 
 Dugilale jioints out that the word Iniry signifies royal palace or court, burh, burg, and bury being 
 alternatively town, city, court, imlace. castle, or house : and ihc fact that Offa had Iwo courts in 
 Warwickshire intimately connects him Hit h the county. Previously lo the extension of Mercia to Ka.sl 
 Anglia, Oft'church would be in the heart of the kingdom. 
 
 The ancient writer of the good poem quoted by Cauulen says ihal Wydford was the place of the 
 murder of Kremimd ; but a marginal note in Camden .says that " Radford " .stands in some copies of 
 an ancient author in lieu of Wydford. The signification of the one is the road or track ford, and 
 the other the wide ford. Camden supposes the murder to have taken place on the heath between 
 I.ong Itchingdon and Ilarberbury, south of Ofi'a's Bury, the road from which [ilace is now marked on 
 the ordnance maji as the Welchman's Road. 
 
 Wydford may have been annilier ford on the Ichenc stream ; none such is nou know n. The only 
 known Wyd fords in Offa \s territory are Wydford, Gloucestershire, and Wydford, Hertfordshire— the 
 one on the Fosse, the other near St. -Mban's — both in districts traversed by OlTa, but, from their dis- 
 tance from Orias Bury, both improbable places.
 
 I'KINCE I'REMUND. 
 
 In 1043 Offchurch was a possession of Leofric, who as Karl of and local ruler in Afercia, was the 
 successor to the Mercian kings, presumptively, therefore, OITclnirch was a Royal Manor. By Leofric it 
 was given to the monks of Coventry, ami by tliem held until the dissolution of the monasteries. 
 
 Upon the dissolution of the Coventry I'riory Offchurch Jiury was granted to the Knightly family in 
 which it remained until the present century. It is now [mssessed by the Countess of Aylesford. 
 
 Oft'a died 798, and was buried near Bedford. His son Kgfrid had previously been associated witli him 
 on the Throne ; a daughter (AlHeda) entered the Monastery of Croyland, which had been founded Ijy 
 Offa's predecessor, Ethelbald, whilst Edburga, the wife and murderer of King Brihtric, became a beggar 
 in the streets of I'avia. 
 
 The foul murder of Ethelbert by Drida, Oft'a's Queen, prohably took place in the Court of Tamworth 
 or of (Jtifchurch.
 
 Z\K (Brcat Sicoe of Ikcnilvvovtb. 
 
 HE story of the first commoner, who married a princess of 
 England, is one of the most romantic episodes in the history 
 of our land. The hoary walls of Kenilworth have no better 
 story to tell. The desolate halls do not speak of this, but 
 the tall keep frowned on the scene, and the boundary 
 walls then, as now, marked the extent of the wards of this great midland fortress. 
 The castle was but little more than a century old when it came into the hands 
 of Simon de Montfort, as part of his wife's dower. It owed its existence to 
 Geoffry de linton, the chamberlain of Henry I., and we know it was erected between 
 the years 1123 and 1125. To this period the great keep, now known as Caesar's Tower, 
 must be ascribed The castle was garrisoned for the King in the reign of Henry II., 
 during the struggle between him and his sons, and the soldiers remained within the 
 walls for seventy-seven days. In 11 84, the walls were repaired at a cost of ;^26 6s. gd. 
 The history of the purely Norman castle now closes. In the reign of John, the castle 
 was still in the hands of the Crown, and was held for the King by the Sheriff, and 
 between the fourteenth and seventeenth years of the reign of John the castle was 
 greatly re-edified and repaired, at a cost of ^937 9s. These works are now to be 
 traced in l.unn's Tower, Water Tower, in the outworks on the east, and in a portion 
 of the western walls. In the reign of his son, Henry III, the greater portion of the 
 outer walls were rebuilt and repaired. The castle was one of the largest and most 
 perfect and complete fortresses in the kingdom, when Simon de Montfort, in 1238, 
 came to England and claimed the I^arldom of Leicester in right of his mother Amicia. 
 By the royal favour and authority he married Eleanor, the Countess Dowager of 
 Pembroke, the King's sister, notwithstanding the opposition of the Karl of Cornwall,
 
 THE GREAT SIEGE OK K ENirAVORI H. 
 
 the King's brother, a id iniiny of the powerful l''>nghsh haroiis, who viewed with 
 jealousy this promotion of a foreign subject and iiis alhance wiiii the royal family. 
 Simon de Montfort was soon the popular idol, the trusted friend of nobles and com- 
 moners, a master of the arts of war and of peace, a benefactor of the clergy, and a 
 defender of the realm against foreign encroachments During the next fourteen years 
 Simon de Montfort ruled in Guienne wi;h ability and honour. Me was the popular 
 idol of England, though in disgrace with the Kin,'. 
 
 The history of the English Parliament dates from this era. M Oxford, on the i ith 
 of June, 1258, the Mad Parliament, as it was termed, met and chose a council of 
 twenty-four to rule the kingdom and to give advice to the King. Amongst the 
 representatives of the barons in this council was Peter de Montfort, Lord of 
 Beaudesert, near Henley in Arden, who adhered to the foriimes of his great namesake, 
 and who subsequently had the honour of presiding over the first assemblage of the 
 knights of the shire, who represented the Commons in Parliament. There were many 
 changes and shifting scenes in the ne.xt five years ; a perpetual struggle between the 
 barons and the King for po«'er In April, 1 263, the great Earl of Leicester placed 
 himself at the head of the forces of the barons, and forced the King to comply with 
 their demands. A hollow truce followed. In May, 1264, hostilities again broke out, 
 and on the 14th of the month the famous battle of Lewes was fought, and the King, 
 together with Prince Edward, became prisoners to the Earl. With Simon de Montfort 
 fought many of the Warwickshire knights and birons. The end was at hand. 
 
 In 1265, Simon de Montfort summoned what was in reality the first English 
 Parliament, and over this assembly of knights of the shire and representatives of the 
 cities and boroughs of England William Trussell, of Billesley, a Warwickshire knight 
 of considerable ability, presided as speaker. In the meantime treachery was rampant 
 among the forces of the barons. Prince Edward found himself at the head of a large 
 force, whilst Simon de Montfort, still in charge of the King, guarded at Hereford the 
 Severn and the marches of Wales. The energy of Prince Edward destro)ed the boats 
 and bridges, but could not prevent the stout Earl from fording the river and marching 
 to Evesham, where he encamped early in August, in the hope of being joined by his 
 son Simon, who was in charge of Kenihvorth, ere he gave battle to the Prince : but 
 young Simon was surprised at night in a ravine near Kenihvorth, the exact site of 
 which is not known, and Prince Edward seized his stores, treasure, and many of his
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 knights, and forced the rest to take shelter within the walls of Kenilworth. On the 
 morning of the 4th of August, the Earl's barber discerned from the towers of the abbey 
 that the standards of young Simon were in sight ; but the shrewd Earl saw that they 
 were in the hands of enemies. On the front and rear the columns of Prince Edward 
 advanced, and in a masterly manner surrounded the Earl's forces. " They have learned 
 from me the art of war," he exclaimed. "The Eord have mercy on our souls, for I see 
 that our bodies are Prince Edward's." After partaking of the sacrament, the Earl first 
 attempted to force his way to Kenilworth, but, failing in this, he marshalled his forces 
 on the summit of a hill to the north of the town, which is still pointed out, and here 
 met the attack of the royal forces. In one of these charges the King, who was a 
 prisoner, was unhorsed, and was rescued by the Prince. Leicester's horse was killed. 
 His friends fell around him, and, at last, the great Earl died, sword in hand, and the 
 battle of Evesham was a royal victory. The treatment of the Earl's body and that of 
 his son was barbarous even in a barbarous age ; but ultimately their remains were 
 interred in front of the high altar of Evesham's princely abbey. What few of his 
 followers escaped made their way to Kenilworth, to the Isle of A.xholm, or to the 
 Cinque Ports to join young Simon, whilst the people mourned the death of" Sir Simon 
 the Righteous." Liberty seemed dead. The laws which had been bought so dearly 
 were set at naught. Rapine ruled the land. \'oung Simon released Richard, King of 
 the Romans, from Kenilworth, notwithstanding the wild cry of vengeance from the 
 knights, who heard with horror the treatment of the Earl's body on Evesham's corn- 
 fields. The men of the Cinque Ports ravaged the coasts, and in the midst of all these 
 disturbances came Ottobone, the Pope's legate, to preach clemency and forgiveness. 
 It is pleasing to know that Prince Edward gave his voice to the cause of moderation 
 Young Simon received, at Northampton, ])romises of pardon if he surrendered the 
 castle ; but the wild spirits who garrisoned it scorned the idea, unless the order was 
 given by the Countess of Leicester, who was then abroad, and Earl Simon escaped to 
 France. 
 
 A year elapsed ere the King found himself strong enough to attack the insurgents 
 who held the Castle of Kenilworth. They were bold and valorous knights. Under 
 the command of John Clifford, the governor, they surprised W'arwick Castle, took Earl 
 Manduit and his countess prisoners, and obliged them to i)ay 1,900 marks for their 
 ransom. They demolished the walls of Warwick Castle between the towers, and thus
 
 THE GREAT SIEGE OF KENILWORTH. 
 
 prevented the county town from protecting a hostile force. They ravaged the 
 country round, and boasted that they had enough provisions for several years' con- 
 sumption. In the meantime, the bands of dispersed insurgents were defeated near 
 
 Chesterfield, and many of 
 them, including Sir Henry 
 of Hastings, found their way 
 to Kenilworth, and awaited 
 the return of Sir Simon and 
 his foreign auxiliaries. Sir 
 Henry of Hastings was 
 warmly welcomed as their 
 leader. Sir William de la 
 Cowe and Sir John de la 
 Warre, the wardens of the 
 castle, surrendered to him 
 their authority, and they 
 awaited with complacency 
 the threatened siege. 
 
 They listened to William, 
 Archbishop of Edessa, 
 treated him courteously, but 
 refused the terms of sur- 
 render. They saw the 
 meadows around the castle 
 filled with the tents and 
 pavilions of the King's ad- 
 herents, but they blanched 
 not. They threw open their 
 gates, whilst they manned 
 their hoards, and made 
 •• 5>)H iS)^<V^ oy )^Qa)l<V-roF^GTj. • .'-t-'- j ready their mangonels and 
 petaries. Simon de Montfort was the famous military engineer of his -time. His 
 castle was fitted with all the warlike engines then known, and the garrison heeded not
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 the efforts of the Royal Engineers to supplant and overpower them. Edward had 
 been a pupil of De Montfort's, but the attackers were outmatched by the defenders. 
 A wooden tower, of wondrous height and breadth, was constructed by Edward, at 
 an enormous cost, from whose floor more than two hundred balistarri poured arrows 
 and other missiles on the garrison, but the stones accurately aimed from a mangonel 
 within destroyed it. A machine called " a bear," which sheltered a number 
 of archers, met the same fate, and was levelled by one of the petaries of the 
 besieged. The garrison made daily sallies, threatening even the King's supply of 
 provisions. The Brays were then but newly formed, and seem to have sustained 
 equally with the castle the fortunes of the siege. Seeing how little the 
 castle was vulnerable to his attacks, the King caused a number of barges 
 to be brought from Chester in order to attack the castle from the lake, 
 but this attempt was foiled also. The legate of the Pope was unceasing 
 in his efforts as a mediator. On St. Bartholomew's, August 24th, the siege had lasted 
 two months, and the Parliament then assembled desired peace. They granted the 
 King money, but they asked that the disinherited should be offered terms. They 
 propounded what is termed the Dictum or Ban of Kenilworth, which recognised 
 the right of those in arms to release their estates and compound for their mis- 
 demeanours by a pecuniary fine, equivalent to five years' ransom of their estates, 
 and with this a complete indemnity. Still the garrison were obdurable. The terms 
 were rejected, and the forty days of grace elapsed without the terms being accepted. 
 Then the Pope's legate, dressed in his red cape, surrounded by the bishops, 
 mounted a tall tower within sight of the garrison, and formally excommunicated 
 them. He was met with jeers and scorn. The walls were gay with pennons 
 and standards, and a mock legate in a white cape uttered a jesting e.xcommunication 
 against the besiegers. Tiiey knew that their friends were in arms in the Isle of 
 Ely, and they laughed at the King, his Parliament, and the legate from behind 
 those massive walls. Six weary months had the siege continued, and on the nth 
 of December the King ordered all the carpenters in the kingdom to assemble at 
 Nottingham. Tiie Sheriff of 0.\ford was ordered to attend, with the whole posse 
 comitaius, in order to overwhelm the contumacious garrison by sheer force. 'I he King, 
 however had powerful allies in disease and famine, and ultimately the garrison 
 marched out in warlike array, their ranks thinned by death, when only two days' 
 provisions remained in the castle.
 
 THE GREAT SIEGE O!'' KENILWOKTII. 
 
 * 
 
 During the tumult of the siege there occurred one of those solemn and romantic 
 episodes which sanctify even war. Suddenly the clang of arms ceased. The draw- 
 bridge was lowered, the postern gate was opened, and there issued from the castle a 
 
 funeral cortege carrying the 
 body of some knight who had 
 been captured and who had 
 died in cainivity. The warri- 
 ors paused as choristers and 
 priest went by, with lighted 
 tapers, chanting the De Pro- 
 fundis, and restored the re- 
 mains of the deceased knight 
 to his companions in arms. 
 The castle was again in the 
 hands of the King, and he 
 granted it to Edmund, his 
 second son, who held it till 
 1295, w^hen he bequfathed it 
 to his son Thomas. To him 
 we owe much that is beautiful 
 in the castle ruins ; but the 
 thousand visitors do not think 
 of the rude defenders of the 
 freedom of the people. They 
 people the desolate halls 
 with the gorgeous fintry of 
 the Tudors. Visitors sigh 
 over the imaginary sorrow of 
 Amy Robsart, and gaze out 
 of the windows of Mervyn's Bower, and dream of her beauty her wrongs, and her 
 sorrows, whilst the stout Earl and his comrades, who did so much for the freedom 
 of the nation, are remembered only by the huge stones which remain of his petaries 
 and mangonels. 
 
 KEMLWORIII CAS 1 I.E.
 
 lO HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 The Kenilworth of Saxon times was hekl l)y two distinct owner;.. That part hctween the church and 
 the present Castle ruins, called Optone (Upper or High Town) was held by AUjert the Clerk ; the other 
 part, Chine wrde, Chineus worth, or Kenilsworth, was held by Richard Chineu, otherwise Richard the 
 Forester, whose chief homestead was placed there. A castle stood within the precincts, but was on the 
 Avon side, close to Stoneley Abbey, the hill upon which it .stood being called Horn (Holm) Hill. This 
 early Castle was destroyed in the wars of Canute. When and by whom it was built is unknown. 
 
 The Norman Kings, William and Henry, held it more than fifty years, the latter granting it to Geofirey 
 de Clinton, who built the stronghold, of which Caesar's Tower yet survives, and founded the Monastery 
 of Black Canons, of the order of St. Augustin, of which very considerable portions have recently been 
 uncovered by excavation. It has long been supposed that all memorials of the I'riory were destroyed at 
 the dissolution of the Ablieys ; owing, however, to the lengthened time the foundations have remainerl 
 buried, much has been preserved to the present age. The duty of guarding these remains is manifest. 
 Great credit is due to William Dugdale for industriously collecting very considerable information 
 regarding its foundation and history. 
 
 Geoffrey Clinton, the Norman, was the fountler of the families which so King flourished in ^Varwick- 
 shirc as Lords of Kenilworth, Coleshill, Maxstoke, Baddesley, and other manors, and from wliich the 
 Earls of Huntingdon and the present Duke of Newcastle are also descended. 
 
 In 1 164 the Castle was in the hands of the King (Henry II.), and so remained, except for a few years 
 when it was held by Clinton's son, Geoffrey, whose son Henry (about 1200) finally released any claim he 
 had, and thereafter for fifty years it continued partly as a Royal Castle and partly as a prison. Eventually 
 it was granted (1253) to the King's sister, Eleanor, and her husband, Simon de Montfort, who had 
 previously (1243), five years after his marriage, obtained a restitution of the earldom of Leicester, a title 
 his father had olitained by reason of his marriage with Amicia, co-heiress of Robert Beaumont, the 
 former earl, but had lost by an act of treason, and been banished the realm. 
 
 The marriage, in 1238, of Simon Montfort with Elinor Plantagenet, daughter of King John, and 
 widow of William Mareschal, Earl of Pembroke, was the subject of much public discontent, and the 
 ojjposition from his wife's brothers drove him temporarily from the kingdom. He was, however, one 
 of the most remarkable characters in English history. Notwithstanding his close connection with the 
 Court, he became a popular leader, and in the insurrection of the barons he was made their General- 
 in-chief. Historians of various ages have depicted his character in terms of considerable variety. That 
 he was brave and skilful, and achieved great advantages for his country is, however, admittetl. 
 
 With the fall of Montfort at Evesham his family virtually became extinct in England. 
 
 I'eter de Montfort, Lord of Beaudesert, was descended of a Warwickshire family, established here 
 from the Conquest, and in no way related to Simon Montfort, of Kenilworth, who was the first of liis 
 line permanently settled in England. It is, however, singular, that whilst the one family succeede<l the 
 Clintons at Kenilworth, the Beaudesert Montforts, a century later, succeeded them at Coleshill, and 
 from them descended the Montforts of Bescole, Monkspath, Kingshurst. Sutton, and other places in the 
 vicinity of Birmingham. 
 
 The Trussells, of \\'arwickshire, of wliom ^^'illialn Trussell, of Billesley, was the sixth in descent, had 
 a continuous connection with that lordship from temp. Henry II. His elder brother Richard was killed 
 at the battle of Evesham, whereupon William succeeded to the Billesley estate, which his descendants 
 held for four centuries. Their grandmother was daughter of Robert Odonis, of Loxley, or Lockesle}". 
 (See " Robin Hood.") 
 
 During the period of the connection of the Shakespeares and the Ardens with Stratford and Wilmcote, 
 there is ample evidence of an intimate connection with their neighbours, the Trussells, and in 1 501 
 Thomas Trussell was party to a deed, apparently as a trustee for Robert Arden, the father of Mary, 
 the mother of William Shakespeare. 
 
 The battle of Evesham was fought 4th August, 1265. The siege of the Castle commenced 25th June, 
 1266, it was surrendered 21st December, 1266. The King's son, Edmund Crookback, was created ICarl 
 of Leicester, 25th October, 1265. and the following year he was granted the Castle, and subsequently
 
 THE GREAT SIEGE OF KENII.WORril. 
 
 made Kail of Laiu-.islur. The tillc ami cslatcs remained in his family imlil 1 361, when ihey passed 
 to John uf Gaunt, upim his marriage with the heiress, lilannh I'lantagenel, whereupon he was made 
 Duke of Lancaster, and up.m his death, at Ely House, llolbirn, 1399, passed to his son, Henry 
 I'lantagenet (Bolingliroke), ami, u|) )n his l)ecomint; kin^f, Keiiilworth M mm, Castle, Tillc, ami Instates 
 merged in the crown. 
 
 Sir Henry dc Hastings, the great military commander, to whose obstinate defence the lengthened 
 siege was mainly due, had been knighted by Simon Moiitfort. He was descended on his mother's side 
 of the Earls of Chester, and on his father's from the Hastings, Lords of Fillongley. His descendants 
 became Barons of Bergavenny (with a seat at Fillongley), and sid)sequently Earls of Pembroke, in 
 succession to Ayhner de Valence. 
 
 Con.spicuous among the other defenders, were Sir John Ilastang, whose chief seat was Leamington 
 Haslang ; and Sir John de Clinton (Lord of Coleshill), by whose ancestors the Castle of Kenilworth had 
 been built 140 years before. 
 
 Amongst the Warwickshire men wiui fell at ICveshani were Thomas de I^stley, or .\stley, of .\stley 
 Castle, near Fillongley, and his son-indaw, William de Berminghani. C)r the descendants of the 
 Astleys, a daughter (temp. Richard H.) married Reginald de Gray, of Riilliiii, whose son Edward 
 married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Ferrers, of Groby, and became Lord (Jrey ofGroby. 
 
 For a century after this marriage the Greys ofGroby occupied a jiosition of great historical interest. 
 Their son John married Elizabeth Widville, and fell at St. .Vlban's battle. 1461. His widow became 
 the wife of Edward IV. 
 
 William de Berminghani was the representative of his house who came to an agreement with 
 Roger de .Somery relieving hiiri from suit and service at Dudley Castle. Under the dictum of Kenil- 
 worth his son William redeemed his various man^irs in Oxford. Warwick, and other counties, but at 
 considerable cost. 
 
 I'RIORY CHURCH, Ki;.MI.\VORtlI (ST. NICI101..\s).
 
 ^he lRov>al jfavouritc. 
 
 UWARD LONGSHANKS was dead, and Edward II., fust Prince 
 of Wales, reigned in his stead. Guy Beauchamp lived in the 
 Castle of Warwick, which had been in some measure restored 
 since the raid of John Gifford, and Tliomas, Earl of Lancaster 
 had beautified Kenilworth. Tiiere had been jousts and tourna- 
 ments at Kenilworth. Guy had distinguished himself in the Scotch wais, but, like 
 many of the barons, was disgusted with the wanton lasciviousness of the King and his 
 foolish fondness for foreign favourites. In his father's days Edward had shown this 
 weakness, and now he was King he insulted both nobles and people by his conduct. 
 
 Foremost amongst the Court favourites was Piers Gaveston, a Gascon. He 
 had been banished the realm by Edward I., and the first act of Edward II. (1307) 
 was to recall his favourite and harass \Valter Langton, Hishop of Litchfield and 
 Coventry, through whose coniplaints Gaveston had been banished. The bishop was 
 imprisoned, his goods seized, and his movables given to Piers, who had married 
 the daughter of Gilbert de Clare, the King's Consul. We have a vivid description 
 of the handsoma Gascon in the chronicles of the time. His features were cast in 
 the finest classic mould. His eyes were dark, soft, and lustrous, so was his hair 
 which clustered in thick wa.xing masses over his broad intellectual forehead, liut 
 the great charm of his God-like countenance after all was in his sweet expression, 
 especially when his smile was brightened by the display of an even set of teeth (as 
 the chronicles tell us), " as white as egg-shells." Witty, brave, and highly accom- 
 plished, with the most irresistibly i)leasing manners, he had likewise a colossal 
 figure, as graceful as an Antinous, towering high even over the noble forms of tall 
 companions. To these physical advantages were superadded mental endowments of
 
 THE ROYAL FAVOURITE. I3 
 
 the highest order. Thus gifted with a sparkhng and brilhant intellect, Oaveston's 
 mind had been early imbued with all the fascinating charms of the soft and 
 chivalrous literature of the troubadours or minstrels of his native Gascony, But 
 although so endowed by nature, and by high cultivation, with such singular advantages 
 of a majestic and commanding presence, grace of form, and bewitching manners, 
 and so capable of creating the most passionate love and affection for him, he was 
 utterly destitute of those higher cjualities which serve to procure lasting esteem and 
 regard. A life of sensual enjoyment and luxurious magnificence was, unhappily, 
 too well suited to the impulsive passions of the young Plantagenet, for he and his 
 friend "Perot," as he used to call him by a pet name, ran together in couples 
 through every scene of loose intrigue and coarse debauchery. In vain was remon- 
 strance made to the weak King. He created his favourite Earl of Cornwall, and 
 loaded him with Hivours and presents. So great had become the scandal, that the 
 barons and earls combined together to banish the favourite out of the Kingdom. In 
 this compact, Guy, Earl of Warwick, bore a part. The Earls of Arundel, Lincoln, 
 Pembroke, Gloucester, and Hereford lent their influence, and Piers Gaveston 
 was banished by the authority of Parliament : but Gaveston went first to Bristol, and 
 from thence to Ireland, where the King made him Lord-Deputy, and sent him 
 presents. In 1309, the earls, finding that the King wasted his money on his 
 favourite, permitted his return. He was met by the King joyfully at Chester, and 
 the treasures of the realm were left to him. He took a tal)le and a pair of tressels 
 of gold, which he gave to a merchant, Armeric de Friscobald, and sent them to 
 Gascony. This table was one of England's heirlooms, and was reputed to have 
 belonged to King Arthur himself. Again he was banished to Flanders, but at 
 Candlemas, r3ii, he was home again. His arrogance was felt ]iast endurance. 
 The Earl of Gloucester was dubbed " a Bastard," the E:irl of Lincoln '• Bursten 
 Bellie," the Earl of Warwick " the Black Hound of Arden," and Thomas, Earl of 
 Lancaster, was " a Churl." These hard words did not alleviate the wrath of the 
 nobles, and they resolved on revenge. 
 
 The spring of 1312 had not melted into summer ere the earlj were in arms. 
 The King left Gaveston in Scarborough Castle and came himself towards Warwick. 
 The lords besieged Scarborough, and finally compelled Gaveston to surrender. They 
 promised him his life and to take him to the King. The Earl of Pembroke undertook
 
 14 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE, 
 
 to escort Gaveston as far as Wallingford, hut at Deddington they rested, whilst 
 Pembroke went to visit his wife, who was in the neighbourhood, and Gaveston was left 
 under a weak guard. In the night the Earl of Warwick, Gaveston's relentless enemy, 
 seized the opportunity and obtained admission into the castle and made Gaveston his 
 prisoner. Gaveston, who was then in bed, overcome with the profound sleep of 
 fatigue and long watchfulness, was roughly startled from his slumbers, and compelled 
 to dress with all possible speed, and come down the court yard. Here, to his utter 
 surpiise and alarm, he found himself face to face with his most detested foe. 
 Warwick strode up to him, and with a ferocious grin of exultation, told him that " 'the 
 Black Dog of Arden ' is come to keep his oath which he has sworn, that you should 
 one day feel his teeth. That day is come at last, and with the blessing of God 
 I shall not perjure myself" (javeston could not be induced to walk as fast as 
 his escort, so they compelled him to mount upon a mule so as to enable them to 
 reach Warwick before night-fall. In this way he was conducted in a sort of rude 
 triumph. As the procession approached the drawbridge, and before it passed through 
 the strong gates of the frowning towers which guarded the entrance to the old 
 castle, of which now not one stone can be traced, it was received with menacing 
 shouts of exultation and ferocious yells, accompanied by a loud crash of discordant 
 military music. Gaveston was immediately conducted to the great hall, where he 
 found those proud barons whom he had so often derided and insulted assembled 
 in dread array. It a])pears that he was detained in prison in a detached tower of the 
 castle for a few days after his arrival, in order that the barons should make arrange- 
 ments for some sort of trial ; for during this delay Pembroke, either affecting 
 surprise and indignation, or really afraid of the consequences to himself, formally 
 called upon Warwick to release him. But he was answered by the Earl of Gloucester, 
 ar.d told that Warwick acted with the full concurrence of the barons. He then 
 started off to Oxford, and asked the clergy and the Corporation to rescue Gaveston ; 
 but they all resolutely declined to interfere for his safety. A sort of council of war 
 was then assembled in Warwick Castle, which was attended by the Earl of Lancaster, 
 then residing in the Royal Palace of Kenilworth, the Earls of Gloucester, Arundel, 
 Hereford, Warwick, and others whose names have been preserved in the chronicles of 
 the time. Gaveston's colossal strength and agility, his surpassing beauty of counten- 
 ance and grace of form, his daring, almost reckless courage in the battle field, his
 
 I.AVHSION Mli.MORIAI.. 
 
 (From a Photo, by Uartin and Tyler, of Warwick.)
 
 TIIK kOYAr, FAVOURITK. 15 
 
 royal title ot Ivxrl of Cornuall, even his marna;;e witli a princess of the blood royal of 
 England, but above all his paramount inlluence over the King, were all now utterly 
 useless to him in presence of this awful trilninal. Durini; this mock deliberation, 
 some one, fearing the conseti lences of a fatal verdict, suggested the advisability of 
 delay : but a deep voice from an ancient, grave man from the back of the hall called 
 out, "You have caught the fox ; if you let him go now, you will ha\e to hunt him 
 again." The fate of flaveston was decided. Then the proud favourite, seeing the 
 inevitable approach of death, came down from his old haughty insolence of demeanour, 
 and threw himself upon his knees before the Earl of Lancaster, "the Old Hog," 
 as he used to call him, imploring him abjectly to spare his life. However, such 
 appeal was in vain, for the Earl is said to have exclaimed, in reply, " Take him away ! 
 take him away!" He was then conducted t'rom that dread fortress to the i)lace of 
 execution, on Blacklow Hill, on Cianerslie Heath, near Guy's Cliff, and there his head 
 was struck off, on the 20th of June, 1312, and in the twenty-ninth year of his age. 
 
 The place for execution was well cho-sen. It was a secluded spot outside the 
 jurisdiction of the Earl of Warwick just within that of the Earl of Lancaster, the 
 King's cousin. It overlooks a fair scene, but no one on that same day took heed of 
 that. We are told that when Gaveston's head was cut off it rolled into a thicket 
 underneath the rock, from which it was taken by a friar preacher (the priest who was 
 probably ordered to give him the last rites of the Church) and secretly carried off by 
 him concealed in his hood. He carried it to the monastery of the (Jrey Friars at 
 Oxford. Some of the brethren came over shortly after, brought away the body 
 also, and then buried the remains in their own church. In two years afterwards they 
 were removed by the King's orders, and re-interred in the King's own church, at 
 King's Langley, with great pomp. Edward himself deposited two palls of cloth of 
 gold on the coffin with his own hands. 
 
 There are but few now allowed to visit the scene of this wMld revenge. On a piece 
 of rock is inserted, "P. Gaveston, ist July, 131 2," and above this the late Mr Bertie 
 Greathead erected a simple cross, with the following inscription : — 
 
 " In the holluw of this rock 
 
 was beheaded, 
 
 On the 1st day of July, 1312, 
 
 by Barons lawless as himself, 
 
 Piers Gavesion, Earl of Cornwall, 
 
 In life and death 
 
 a memorable instance of misrule."
 
 r6 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 This date, however, is wrong. HoUingshead says that it took place on Tuesday, 
 the 20th of June. Dr. P. O'Callaghan* points that the e.xecution took place on the 
 fast day of Saints Protatius and Gervasius, two of our earliest Christian martyrs, and 
 supposed to have been twin brothers, who were beheaded by the Emperor Diocletian, 
 at Milan, in the fourth century. Their feast day is the 19th of June, so that the 
 old and the new inscription appear to have had eleven days added, instead of 
 deducted, to make it agree with the present style. 
 
 It is a curious circumstance that all the actors in this bloody tragedy met with a 
 violent death. Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster, the King's first cousin, to 
 whom Gaveston a|jpealed in vain for mercy, was put to death in a brutal manner 
 near Pontefract Castle, in Yorkshire, in 1321, and in the thirty-si.xth year of his age. 
 Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, and Constable of England, was run through 
 the body by a pike thrust through a crevice in the wooden flooring of the bridge, in 
 the famous battle of Boroughbridge, also in 1321, and in the forty-third year of his 
 age. Edmond Fitzallen, Earl of Arundel, was beheaded at Hereford, in 1326, in 
 the forty-fifth year of his age, Aylmer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, who played 
 such a treacherous part in the betrayal of Gaveston, was stabbed to the heart by an 
 assassin in France, while attending Queen Isabella, in 1323, at the age of forty-seven. 
 Guy de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, " The Black Dog of Arden " (as he was 
 nicknamed by Gaveston), was the only one who died in his bed, at Warwick Castle. 
 But then it was by poison, which was supposed to have been administered to him 
 by some adherent of Gaveston, in revenge for the active part which he took in his 
 murder. His death took place only three years after Gaveston's, and in the thirty- 
 sixth year of his age. His infant son was entrusted to the Despencers, the successors 
 to Gaveston, in the favour of the King. The Castle of Warwick was razed to the 
 ground, so that one stone did not rest upon another, and the princely mansion was 
 only worth 6s. 8d. for the herbage that grew in the ditches. 
 
 Within sight of that rock on the heath, the King directly met retributive justice. 
 His favourite, Despencer, was beheaded, his wife and son deserted him, and it was 
 at Kenilworth Castle that he was compelled to sign his abdication, and to relinquish 
 for ever the throne of England, which he had so long and so unworthily occupied. 
 Henry Plantagenet (second son of Edmund Crookback), who succeeded his brother 
 
 ' To Dr. O'Callaglian's courtesy and researches 1 have been indebted for some of the particulars of this sketch.
 
 THE ROVAI. FAVOURITE. 1 7 
 
 Thomas, murdered at Pontefract, was then residing in the Royal Palace of Keiiil- 
 worth, and as he was naturally disposed to treat the ca[)tive King, his relative, with 
 lenity and kindness, Edward was transferred to Berkeley Castle ; here he was sub- 
 jected to the greatest cruelties and indignities. At length, by private orders of 
 Mortimer, the queen's paramour, two murderers were secretly introduced into his 
 sleeping chamber at night. These hired assassins pressed the wretched King down on 
 his bed with a heavy oak table, and when by this contrivance they had secured their 
 victim in an immovable and unresisting position, they thrust a red hot piece of iron 
 through a horn up into his bowels, and so his death was effected after the most 
 frightful pains and torments. The guards and servants were horrified by the awful 
 screams with which the dying King filled the whole castle in his agonies. Thus the 
 degenerate, selfish, and perjured King terminated his inglorious career on the 21st 
 day of September, 1327, at the premature age of forty-three. 
 
 Cliiy Beaucliamji was tlie second Eavl of Warwick of thai name, and as the ending of the line of his 
 family is fidly given in " The Last of the Beavichamps," the particulars of the early descent may be 
 appropriately introduced here. The founder of the family was Hugh de Beauchamp. one of the adven- 
 turers from Normandy, but said lo lie of an eminent family. He received grants of estates in the 
 counties of Bedford, Bucks, and Herts. His thinl son, Waller, became Beauchamp of Elndey 
 Castle, near Evesham, and, through his marriage, hereditary Sheriff of Worcester ; and William 
 Beauchamp, the fifth feudal Lord of Elmley in descent, married Isabel, the cousin and heiress of 
 Margery de Newbuvgh, Countess of Warwick. 
 
 From a period shortly after the Conquest to the year 1242 five generations of the Newlnirghs succes- 
 sively held the Castle and title of Warwick. Henry de Newlnirgh, the first holder, and his elder 
 brother, Robert (afterwards Earl of Leicester), were sons of Roger Bellomont (Beaumont), Norman 
 Earl of Mellent. Both were distinguished at the battle fatal to Harold and the English. The elder 
 brother, Rt)l)ert, was accoiniled the "wisest of all men lietwixt this and.Jerusalem," and lliat as an 
 Earl "exceeded all the nobles of the realm in riches and power." The mother of Simon de .Montfort 
 was third in descent from this Robert. 
 
 1 lenry de Newlnirgh was rewarded at the expense of Turchill de Arden, Saxon Earl of Warwick, 
 who by reason of his not fighting for Harold was allowed by the Ccmqueror to retain forty-eight 
 out of fifty-two lordships in this county ; yet he lost the Castle, and William Rufus seized ujion 
 most of the remaining lordships, and gave them to Ne\N'burgh, who even appropriated his 
 well-known cognisance — "the rampant bear chained to the ragged stall." Some of the lord- 
 ships, however, remained in the .-Vrden family till recent times, and the honourable descent 
 from Rohund, Earl of Warwick, temp. King Alfred, and the blood of (aiy of Warwick, King 
 Alfred, and Leofric, Earl of Mercia, is to the present time continued in several well-known families, 
 among others those of Lord Norton and Lord Burton. 
 
 A daughter (Alice) of the fourth Earl Warwick (Newburgh), married William Manduit, Baron 
 Hanslape. A daughter (Margery) of the fifth Earl married first a Mareschal and second a I'lesset.
 
 l8 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. ■ 
 
 The sixth Earl died childless, and his sister Margery's husband, William Mareschal, hehl the title of 
 Warwick for one year afterwards ; her second husband, John de I'lesset, held it luitil his death in 
 1263, when William Manduit, son of Alice, the aunt of Margery, succeeded for four years, but dying 
 childless his sister Isabell, the wife of William Beaumont, of Klmley Castle, became entitled. 
 
 This William and Isabell had three sons, viz. : William, from whom descended the Warwick family ; 
 John, of Holt, Worcestershire, from whom the Beauchamps, of Kidderminster ; and Walter, of I'owyke, 
 the founder of the family of Powyke and Alcester. 
 
 The eldest son, William, was Earl from 1268 to 129S, and was father of C.uy Beauchamp, Gaveston's 
 " Black Hound of Arden." 
 
 Guy Beauchamp (second Earl) married a Toni, and had two sons and five daughters. The eldest 
 son was but two years old at his father's death, 13 15, so that the five daughters were all older. Of these 
 Maud married lieoft'rey, Lord .Say ; Emma, Roul Odingsells, of Solihull and Itchington ; Isabell, 
 John Clinton; and Elizabeth, Sir Thomas Astley, Knight, of Astley Castle, founder of the Collegiate 
 Church of Astley, and grandson of the .'Vstley who fell at Evesham. 
 
 Amongst the retainers and ailherents of the Earl who participated in these jiroceedings, and «ho 
 subsequently obtained pardon from Edward II., were : William Trussell, Billesley ; Rauf Grendon, near 
 Tamworlh : John de Montford, Beaudesert : Peter Liinesey, Solihull ; Edmund Trussell, jim., 
 Billesley ; John de Odingsells, Solihull; Osbert Clinton, Coleshill : Tebaud de (layton, Budbroke ; 
 Hugh de Culey, near Tamworlh ; Thomas Clinton, Coleshill ; John de Nasford, Barfortl ; and John 
 Beauchamp; and these were probably among the body guard of Piers Gaveston on that June day ride 
 of thirty miles from Deddington to Warwick. 
 
 The Earl of Arundel concerned was Edward Fitzalan, the eighth Earl. This was a fiimily of con- 
 siderable historical importance. Edmund inarried Lady Alice Plantagenet, sister of, and heiress to the 
 estates of, the last Earl of Warren and .Surrey ; he had also considerable territorial grants in Salop and 
 other parts of the Kingdom, and also of jiarls of tlie castles and manors of Roger Mortimer, of Wigmore. 
 His execution was the result of the fall of Edward II., as he had incurred the hatred of the Queen and 
 Mortimer. Edmund was grandfather of Thomas, .Archbishop of York and Canterbury, and of Richard, 
 the tenth Earl, who was executed by Richard 11. (.See " Korget-me-Not.") 
 
 Aylnier de Valence, second Earl of Pembroke, as created on the failure of the .Marshals (the former 
 Earls), of whom five brothers in succession held the title, and died childless. The first of these 
 lirothers (William) was the first husband of Eleanor Plantagenet, who afterwards married Simon Mont- 
 forl. William lie Valence, father of Aylmer, h.ad married the niece of the last of the Marshals. He 
 fought for Henry III. at Lewes and Evesham (1264 and 1265) and was slain in France, 1296. Ayhner 
 was one of the nobles specially instructed by Edward I. not to permit G.iveston to return to England, 
 whereby he incurred the hatred of the favourite, who called h\mJosep/i Ihe J(w, he being tail and pale 
 of countenance. 
 
 The house of Earl Pembroke, in Oxfordshire, which he visited when leaving Gaveston at Deddington, 
 was at Bampton. He obtained the King's license the following year to make this house a castle. He 
 also was owner of Wallingford Castle, Berkshire. 
 
 He was one of the Lords who in 1321, al I'ontefracl, condemned Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, 
 Lord of Kcnilwortli. lie was murdered in France, 1323, and although thrice marrieil left no children, 
 and the earldom again became extinct.
 
 THE ROYAL FAVOURITE. 
 
 Il was at the instance (if this Tlarl llial William dt- HiTniint;ltani in 1319 olitaincd a licunsi- to toll 
 towards paving the town of Bermingliam. 
 
 Thomas I'lantagenel. second Karl Leicester and DuUeof Lancaster, son of I'.dmimd (C'rookliacU), upon 
 whose death (1295) he iidierited Kenihsorlh t'astle. is said to have lieen charged I))' his father-in la\\ . 
 Henry ile Lacy, Karl of Lincoln, upon his death bed, to maintain the quarrel against (laveslon. 
 
 Blacklow Hill, the scene of Claveston's execution, was within the demesne and lordshi]) of Kenil- 
 worth, an indicalicm that the Karl was willing to lake liis full shari: of tin- respnnsiliilily nf putting 
 Ciaveston to death. .Suhsetpiently he maintained the popidar sitie against the new Cotnt favourites, 
 the Despencers, hut was made prisoner at the skirmish at lioroughbridge, and cruelly put to death al 
 I'ontefract Castle. 
 
 Piers (laveston was the son of a private gentleman in Cia.scony, and brought to theCouit of K<lward 
 L as a companion to the Prince, but the King, iliscovering the danger his son incurred from his evil 
 companionship, solemnly banished him. Upon his recall liy Edward II. and his elevation, he married 
 Margaret, datighter of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Cdoucester, and Joan d'Acre, daugliter of Edward L, 
 and by her left one daughter, who died young, .\lter (laveston's death she married I high de .\uilley, 
 sulisequently created Karl of Gloucester. 
 
 The restrictions existing in 1S76 against visiting the scene of Gaveston's execution are not now in 
 force, and no difficulty is experienced, on the cimtrary, by applying at the cottage or lodge opposite, 
 a small gate is unlocked and the visitor allowed, unattended, to walk a .short distance to the wood 
 at the edge of which the monument stands.
 
 Zbc jforoct*inc*1Rot. 
 
 And (5li ! be sine ye biing me this — 
 
 The love link 'tis of pure and precious tlioiight, 
 
 Moments blest of love-engendered bliss, 
 
 Balm of the soul ! 
 Ves ; bring the blue, gold-eyed Forget-me-Not.'' 
 
 T the time when John-o'-Oaunt had just finished that portion 
 of Kenihvorth Castle which is now known as Lancaster's 
 Buildings, his son, Henry Boh'ngbroke, Duke of Hereford, 
 was a widower. On a day variously named, hut which, 
 from an ancient MS. which gives a detailed account of the 
 occurrence, was on the i6th of September, 1397, there was a list royal prepared at 
 Gosford Green, in the neighbourhood of Coventry, with a sumptuous theatre, to 
 witness a wager of battle between Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray, Duke 
 of Norfolk. 
 
 The night before Henry found a home at Baginton — then the home of the Bagots. 
 The site of the castle where they dwelt can still "be discerned. Mowbray lodged at the 
 embattled mansion at Culudon, where a battered ruin alone attests the former 
 strength of the old crenelated dwelling of the Segraves and subsequently of the 
 Berkleys. This duel gave rise to the historical legend attached to tlie Forget-me-Not. 
 The combat is thus and best told in an ancient MS. : — 
 
 "A Combate to be foughte behvixte yt Duke of Hei-eforde and '1 homas Moivbraye, 
 fyrst Duke nf Norihefolke and Marshall of England. 
 
 "Henry, Earl of IJerbeye (soune of John of (launte, Duke of I-ancaster, and 
 fuwrthe begotten soune of Edward ye 1'liirde), being but a little before created Duke
 
 r( jprr r I iTVir i ] ! ii i Mr *i w^ iii - iii r-fli l rr Yi i Tft i i T iir -liriiMm wM'iaMiiiMiiiLl 
 
 ^r-
 
 THE FORGET-ME-NOT. 
 
 of Hereforde, a prudente and politique p'soune, beganne to consider howe that 
 Kinge Richarde, liis cousine germayne, did little regarde the counseile of his uncles 
 or other grave p'sounes, but did set his willc and appetite instead of Law and 
 Reasonne ; on a daye being in ye compaignye of Thomas Mowbraye, firste Duke of 
 Northefolke, beganne to break his mynde unto him (rather lamentinge on the behalfe 
 of his cousine germayne the Kinge, than for any malice that he bare unto him) 
 tellinge him that the Kinge little esteemed or regarded the nobles and princes of his 
 Realme, but that he soughte occasions (as much as in him did lye), to destroye 
 the greater p'te of them, nothinge esteeminge the blotte of honor, the damage of 
 the weale publique, the murmuringe of the nobility, the grudge of the Com'ons, nor 
 the wonderings of all men, at his unprincely doinge, desired the Duke of Northefolke 
 (w'ch was one of the Kinge's Privey Counsaile, and well harde [heard] with him) to 
 advertise ye Kinge to tourne the leafe, and to take a better lesson. 
 
 " Wlien the Duke of Northefolke had harde his device at fuUe, he toke it not in 
 good parte, but reckened that he had got a praye [prey], by w'ch he shoulde ob- 
 taine greater favoure of the Kinge than ever he had, so that at that time dissembled 
 the matter (as indeede he was a deep dissembler) and having fytte opportunitye, 
 opened the whole matter unto the Kinge, and aggravatinge the same to make yt 
 appear unto him more haynous [heinous] broughte the Kinge in great dislikinge 
 with the Duke of Hereforde. Neverthelesse, his furye beinge somewhat appeased, 
 he determined to hear bothe p'tyes [parties] indifferently, and called unto him 
 the Duke of Lancaster and his Counsaile, and also the Dukes of Hereforde and 
 Northefolke, and caused the accuser to reporte openly to him the worde to him de- 
 clar'd, w'ch rehersed them againe, as he had before related them to the Kinge. 
 When Duke Henry harde the tale otherwise reported than he either thought or 
 sayde (somewhat disquieted with ye untrewthe of ye matter) besoughte ye Kinge 
 that he would not conceave any evil opinion of him until he understoode more of ye 
 matter ; and towrninge [turning] him to his accuser, declared woorde [word] and 
 woorde what he had saide, and showed the cause whereupon he spake them, 
 afifirminge that if the Kinge wolde p'mitte [permit] and suffer him he wolde p've 
 [prove] his accuser a false forger of seditious tales by the stroke of a speare, and 
 dynte [dint] of a worde. The Duke of Northefolke affirmed constantly his sayinge 
 to be trewe, and refused not the combate. The Kinge demannded ot them bothe if
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 they wolde agree betweene themselves, w'ch they bothe refused ; and then he granted 
 them the battell, and assigned them ye place to be at Coventree \Cove>itry\ citye, in ye 
 monthe of Auguste next ensueinge, where he caused a surapteous theatre and list 
 Roiall [Royal] to be prepared. 
 
 " At the day appoynted, the 2 valiaunte Dukes came to Coventree, accompaignied 
 with ye nobles and gentiles [gentry] of their linages, w'ch encouraged them to ye uter- 
 moste. At ye daye of compate and fyghte, the Duke of Aumarle, that daye high 
 marshal], entred into the list with a great compaignie of men, apparailed in silk sendale, 
 embroudered with silver both richly and curiouslye, every man having a tipped stafife 
 to keep ye field in order. About the time of prime, came to the barriers of the list 
 the Duke of Hereford, mounted upon a whyte courser, barbed with blewe and 
 green velute [velvet] embroudered sompteouslye w'th swannes and anteloppes of 
 goldesmithes woorke, armed at all points. The constible and marshall came to ye 
 barriers demandinge of him what he was ? who answered, ' I am Henrye, Duke of 
 Hereforde, w'ch am come hether to do my devoyre againste Thomns Mowbraye, 
 Duke of Northefolke, as a traitor untewe God, tlie Kinge, his realme, and me.' 
 Then incontinente he sware upon the Holy Evangeliste that iiis quarrel was just 
 and trewe, and thereupon he desired that he myghte enter the liste. Then he put 
 his sworde (w'ch before he held naked in his hande), and put down his visor, and 
 made a crosse in liis forehead, and w'th speare in his hand entred into ye list and 
 descended from his horse, and set him downe in a chair of green velute, which was 
 set in a traves of greene and blewe velute at thone [the one] end of the list, and there 
 reposed himselfe, expectinge the cominge of his adversarye. Soon after him entered 
 into the field with great pompe Kinge Richard, acco'mpanied w'th all ye pieres [peers] 
 of his realme ; and there came w'tli him also the Erie of St. Paule, who came in 
 poste out of Fraunce, to see this challenge p'formed. The Kinge had about ten 
 thousand men in harnesse, lest some fraye or tumult myghte rise amongst his nobles 
 by parte taking or quarrelling. When the Kinge was set on his stage, w'ch was richly 
 hanged, and pleasauntly adourned [adorned], a Kinge of Armes made open p'clama- 
 tion, p'hibitinge [prohibiting] all men, in ye Kinge's name and ye high constable and 
 marshall's names, ujjon paine of death, not to enterprise, to approache any parte of 
 ye listes except suche as were appointed to order and marshall ye fielde. Which 
 p'clamation ended, another heraulde cried, ' Behold here Henrye Lancaster, Duke
 
 THE FORGET ME-NOT. • 23 
 
 of Hereforde, ai)|)ealante |ap[)ellant] w'cli is entered into ye lists Royall, to do his 
 devoyre against 'rhonias Moybraye, Duke of Northefolke, defendant, upon payne to 
 be proved false and recreante.' 'I'lie Duke of Northefolke hovered on iiorseback at 
 the entrye of the list, his horse heing barbed with crimson velute einbroudered with 
 Lyons of sylver and mulberry trees. And when he had made his othe before the 
 constable and marshall, that his quarrell was just and trewe, he entred ye field 
 manfully, sayinge aloude, 'God ayde [aid] him that liath je righte,' and then 
 he dismounted from his horse, and sate downe in the chayre, which was crimson 
 velute, curtened aboute with whyte and red damask. 
 
 "The I,. Marshall vewed theyre speares to see that they were at once equall lengthe, 
 and delivered th' one speare himselfe to the Duke of Hereforde, and sent the other 
 s[)eare to the Duke of Northefolke by a knighte. Then the heraulde p'claimed that 
 the travesses and chayres of ye champions should be removed, conniiandinge them 
 on ye Kinge's behalf to mount on horsebacke and to address themsehxs to the 
 battayle and combate. The Duke of Herefoide was quicklye horsed, and closed his 
 barrier, and caste his speare into ye reste, and (when ye trumpet sounded), sette for- 
 wardes courageouslye toward his enemy 6 or 7 paces. The Duke of Northefolke was 
 not fully sette forwarde when ye Kinge cast down his warder, and the herald's cried, 
 ' Ho, ho!' The Kinge then caused their speares to be taken from them, and 
 commanded them to repair unto their chayres, jwhere they remained 2 long 
 houres while ye Kinge and his counsaile deliberately consulted what way was 
 best to be taken in so weighty a cause. 
 
 "Then the heraulde [herald] cried, 'Silence!' and Sir John liorcye. Secretary to 
 the Kinge, read ye sentence and deleimination of the Kinge and his counsaile, in the 
 long rolle, pronouncing it in this manner : ' My lords and masters, I intimate and 
 notifre unto you by ye Kinge's Ma'tie [majesty], and his honourable counsayle, 
 that Henry of Lancaster, appealante, and Thomas, Duke of Northefolke, defendante, 
 have honourably and valiantly appeared here within the list Royale this daye, and 
 have been ready to darraine to battaile like 2 valiant knightes, and hardye champions, 
 but because ye matters is greate and waighty between those 2 great princes, the Kinge 
 and his counsayle have taken this order : — First, that Henrye, Duke of Hereforde, 
 tor divers considerations, and because he hath displeased the Kinge, shall, within 
 XV. dayes next following, dep'te [depart], out of the realme for ternie of x. years.
 
 24 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 w'thoute retourninge, except he be by the Kiiige repealed againe, upon ye paine of 
 deathe.' The heraulde then again cried ' O yes ! ' and then ye secretary pronounced : 
 — ' Thomas Mowbraye, Duke of Northefolke, by th' ordinance of the Kinge and his 
 counsayle, because he had sowen [sown] sedition in this realme, by his woordes, where- 
 of he could make no profe [proofj shall avoyde the realm of Englande, and dwell in 
 Hungrye, Eoehame, Pruce, or where he like, and never retourn again into Englande, 
 nor approache ye borders or confines of ye same, upon paine of deathe, and that 
 ye Kinge wolde staye ye p'ftes [profits] and revenewes of hys lands in his own hande 
 until he have receaved suche sommes [sums] of money as the Duke have taken up of 
 the Kinge's Treasurer for the wages of ye garrison of Callyce w'ch weare still unpaied.' 
 " When these judgments were thus develged, the Kinge called before him those two 
 exiles, and made them sweare that th' one should never come w'th in place where 
 th' other was (willingly), or keep compaignye [company] to go there in any forrayne 
 [foreign] regione, w'ch othe [oath] they humbly receaved, and dep'td [departed] from 
 the Lystes [lists]. It was supposed that the Kinge mistrusted, that if they two 
 should joyne in one againe and conspire to revenge againste him, that they mighte 
 worke him much trouble, and for that cause to have designed this othe. Then the 
 Duke of Northefolke (w'ch supposed he should have been borne out by ye Kinge), 
 repented sore of his enterpryze, and dep'ted sorrowfully out of the realme into Alniayne, 
 and at the last came to Hungrye, where (through thought and melancholie) he 
 diseased [died]. The Duke of Hereforde took his leave of ye King at Elsham, 
 which there released 4 yeares of his banishment ; and so he tooke his journeye to 
 Callice, and so into France, where, having gotten estimation with Charles, the French 
 Kinge, had like (by ye 
 hclpe of ye said Kinge) 
 to have married th' 
 only daughter of John, 
 Duke of Bery, uncle 
 to the French Kinge, 
 if Kinge Richarde (for 
 fear of ye mischiefe 
 
 that thereby might en- ■■■ ^yw^^J'^'^^^-^i^^^f'SriSS^^^i 
 
 sue unto his p'sounc '""" " ~~-^ ^==^^ ^-=-- 
 
 KENII.WORTH FROM THE iVUCADOWS. 
 
 *,v 

 
 THIi I-ORGET-ME-NOT. 
 
 25 
 
 [per.sonj, i( tlic Duke were so strongly alycd [allied], because ye Com'ons of linglaiul 
 loved him dearl)-, and greatly desired his retourne) had not cast a sto[j in his vvaye." 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding this, the banisiied Duke found favour wiih the Duke and 
 Duchess of Bretagne. Like Richard II., he had for his badge the humble myosotis, 
 and during his exile he is said to have twined it in his collar of S.S. As a remembrance 
 
 when lea\'ing the Duchess, 
 he is said to have given her 
 this badge as a token of re- 
 membrance, and his mot or 
 watchword Souveii^ne voiis 
 de may. On becoming King 
 he found Joan of Navarre a 
 widow. He remembered his 
 kind hostess, and redeemed 
 his badge by showing he for- 
 got her not, and made her 
 his ([tieen. Those who re- 
 member this as they gaze 
 on Kenilworth, or the pas- 
 ture of Gosford Green, will 
 perhaps picture to them- 
 THE CLOISTERS, WHITE fkiar's MONASTERY. selvcs Henry and Joan, side 
 
 by side in their tomb in Canterbury Cathedral, whilst on the other side lies the 
 stiff form of the Black Prince, whose son Henry deposed, if he did not put him 
 to a violent and ignominious death. At Kenilworth, at least, Richard II. was a 
 prisoner. 
 
 The wage of battayle was described by Dr. Cdwell, 200 years since, as "signifying in imr conimun 
 law a trial by coniljat, the manner whereof is long full of ceremonies and now totally disused.'' 
 
 .Shakespeare's "King Richard 11." opens with a very complete representation of these ceremonies. 
 The date he fixes is the 17th Seplemlier, and the scene "Open space near Coventry." It is jirobably 
 owing ttt this (hanintic poiutrayal (^f the jireparalion for combat that it lias lit-come one of the most 
 popular and interesting events in our history. The dale of Ihis intended combat is variously given as 
 the l6th Septentljer, 1397, the 29th April, ijgS, and the iblh -September, 1398. 
 
 The combatants were both connected with the county. Mowbray, whose age was 35. was
 
 26 
 
 HISTORIC WARWTCK^HIRi;. 
 
 entitled t(j CaUidon, two miles from Coventry, together with estates in Northamptonshire, from his 
 mother, Elizabeth, the daughter and heiress of the Segraves, whilst Henry of KolingbroUe (who 
 was a few years Mowbray's jimior), as the heir of John of (launt, would, at KeniUvorlh, five 
 miles from Coxentry, be in his own house. He, however, passed the night before the combat 
 under the friendly roof of Sir William Kagot, at Baginton, the same distance from (losford 
 Creen as Mowbray's house at Caludon. 
 
 As a young man, Mowbray had served under Kicliard Kit/ Alan, tenth Ear! of .\runilel. the 
 brave commander of the English l'"leel. at which time he marrietl l-^lizabeth, eltlesl daughter of 
 that powerful nobleman, a cousin of Hijlingbrolve's wife, and widuw of William Montacute, who 
 w.is killed, 1382, by his own father, the Karl of Salisbury, in a tilting, at Windsor. From 
 this niarri.age have descended through their daughter Margaret the Howards, Dukes cif Norfolk. 
 
 .\n(.ither daughter of Fitz Alan. \i/. : Joane. had married William Beauchaniji, a younger 
 brother of Thomas, fourth Earl of Warwick. Thi> William hail, in ri^jht of his mother, 
 obtained the barony and estates of Bergavenny, which included the Lordship of Killongley, 
 wherein she, I^ady Joane, mostly resided after her husband's death. Among many Warwickshire 
 possessions she held the Manor of Bordesley, Birmingham, and was the cause of a very 
 remarkable fight in the streets of Birmingham, 1431, between the townsfolk and her tenants of 
 Eillongly. Her will is given at length by Dugdale, under Fillongly. 
 
 Henry of Bolingliroke was also closely connected by marriage with the family of Mowbray's 
 wife, Mary Bohun's mother being a sister of the Earl of Arundel and the Archbishop. The 
 following pedigree will show the connecting links of the princijial parlies concerned in the 
 struggle which ended in the deposition of the King. 
 
 Henrj'; son of- Maud Chaworth. 
 Edmund I 
 Crookback. 
 
 Edmund Frtzalan, 8lh Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Here- 
 
 Earl Arundel. ford, killed at Uorough- 
 
 i bridge, 1321. 
 
 I I I 
 
 i \ ill "'I 
 
 Lady Joan =John, Lor J Lady Eleanor = Richard Fitz Lady^John de Bohun, William de Bohun, - Elizabeth, 
 Piantagenet 1 Mowbray. Plantagenet. I Alan, 9th E. Anne Earl Here- ist Earl Nor- I widow ut" 
 
 Arundel. Fitz Alan. ford. thampton. Mortimer. 
 
 
 
 4th- Eliza 
 
 Richard Fitz 
 
 1 1 1 
 -Elizabeth Ihomas, Arch- Jcane= Humphry 
 
 1 
 Eliza- 
 
 Earl 
 
 
 Lord beth Alan, lOlh E 
 
 de bishop York, de 
 
 beth Or- 
 
 
 Mowbray. Segrave. Arundel' 
 
 Bohun. called Arundel. Bohun. 
 
 n 
 
 londe. 
 = Henry 
 
 1 
 
 lohn. 
 
 
 1 1 
 Thomas, -Elizabeth J 
 
 1 1 
 oane = William Beau- Alianore^ Thomas of 
 
 Mary- 
 
 ..h' 
 
 
 6th Lor 1 
 
 (1st hus- 
 
 
 champ, Baron 
 
 Wood stock, 
 
 Boling- 
 
 Lord 
 
 
 Mowbray, 
 
 band 
 
 
 Bergavenny, 
 
 Duke of 
 
 
 broke, 
 
 Mow- 
 
 
 Ea.l 
 
 William 
 
 
 4ih son, 
 
 Gloucester, 
 
 
 son ot 
 
 bray. 
 
 
 Marshall. 
 
 Monta- 
 cute). 
 
 
 3rd Earl 
 Warwick.- 
 
 6ih son of 
 Edwd. IIL 
 
 
 John of 
 Gaunt. 
 
 
 
 Lady Margaret = Robert 
 
 Richard, Earl 
 
 K. Henry V. 
 
 
 
 Mowbray Howard, 
 
 Worcester. 
 
 
 
 
 
 D. Norfolk. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ilciiiy, in hi?, frcqucnl journcy.s hclwccn liis Inunc al Kciiilworlli and Iiis Castio of Tutlniry. 
 would become well acquainted with the northern pail ii( Warwickshire, by goiny lhri>iii;li 
 Coveiilry he would have his cousin's Castle, al I-'illongly, as a resting place ; if through .Solihull 
 he would take Birmingham and Sutlnn fuldlk-ld on his way ; or if ihe direct roatk Coleshill 
 would be a half-way house to Tannvorlh. 
 
 , * The viciims of Richard IL and Mowbray.
 
 THE FOUGET-MK-NOi. 
 
 27 
 
 The puliticMl hislury nt llir few |H(.re(liiig years is a ])r(iniinciu chapler of iniqiiily on 
 iIk- pnrls uf M.iwl.iay ami iIk- King. Tlu-ir ticep-lnid plols, (.•xcciUed at a nioniciil wlien 
 their victims were secure in the licliel' that past animosities and contentions were laid at 
 rest, l)y the Wackest treachery their victims — the King's uncle (the Duke of (Gloucester), 
 Richaril Fitz-Alan (Karl of Arundel), and his brother Thomas (Archbishop of York), with 
 Thomas lieauchamj) (Karl of Warwick) — were secretly arrested, the two former l)eint; put 
 to death, the Duke murileied Ijy Mowbray, at Calais, and the Earl of Arundel executed 
 at Cheapside in the latter part of 1397, his son-in-law (.\b)wl)ray) officiating as his 
 executioner, binding ii|) his eyes and, according to some authorities, actually striking ofl" his 
 head, being rcw'arded with a speedy grant of all (lie Arundel lands, the ruin of the others 
 being also completely effected. 
 
 Although no mention is made by historians of King Richard's stay in Coventry, it cannot 
 be doubted thai be came al least on the day previous, and prol)ably stayed at his Manor 
 House or Palace of Cheylesmore. That some pre-arrangement of the plan of wager and its 
 
 CHEYLl^sMtiKL \lA.\wk lhiLr.1-., 
 
 novel termination hail been made is also beyond doulit : the singular outcome of so much out. 
 ward show and bravery inclines one to suspect that the whole thing had been arranged the 
 same morning at St. Mary's Hall, and that the King, feeling that he had gone far enough in 
 his recent high-handed proceedings, and having realized the merciless character of Mowbray, 
 had deciiled that the present was too favourable an opportunity for his banishment to be
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 missed, hence the abortive termination of a ])ageant which hail attracted not only the partisans 
 of both combatants, but even a representative from the Comt of France. 
 
 A fragment of the castellated house of Cahidon, with traces of the moat, still exist. tios- 
 ford (jreen is now an improving suburb of Coventry. The castle of Fillongly, which must 
 have been visited by both Bolingbroke and Mowbray, ind wliich had so long been held by 
 the powerful family of Hastings, has long since vanished, and the estate of the Bagots, at 
 Baginton. has undergone great changes. The position of the old moat is to lie found, and 
 the spot where stood the original house in which Bolingbroke lodged, is distinguished by a 
 small stone building, with some undecipherable inscriptions. Long ago the Manor House, or 
 Mansion, was re-built on higher ground, and in 1710 was burnt to the ground, and a very 
 fine edifice replaced it, this costly building, long the home of the Bromleys, and subsequently 
 of the Hon. W. Yates Peel, was destroyed by fire in October, 1890, and still remains in ruins. 
 
 in'K( II (ST. IOIIn's). 
 
 In the church is a very fine brass, removed from the floor of the walls, to the memory of 
 Sir William Bagot, who played such a jiarl in the history of ihe Second Richard, but alihough 
 immortalized !)y the pen of William Shakespeare, as the associate of Bushy and (Ireene, it is 
 pleasant to reflect that Bolingbroke, whilst he summarily executed those two gentlemen when 
 in his power, yet spared the life of his friend and sometime host at Baginton. 
 
 Underneath the brass in the church, upon a ne.it modern marble, is the inscription ; 
 "Sir Wii.i.iam Bai;ot, a.nd MARi;.\Ki':r, iiis Wii r., wim l.ni-.n xv Bacinton Casti.k, a.h. 1407."
 
 CHARTER IlOUSli, Ol.U CARTHUSIANS. 
 
 <rbc Mbitc Bucl^ of arrow. 
 
 r was but natural that throughout the Wars of the Roses, Warwick- 
 shire and Warwickshire men should play an important part. 
 Though Warwick Castle was one of the seats of Richard Neville, 
 Earl of Warwick, which he had acquired by right of his wife, 
 Anne Beauchamp, Kenilworth was held by the Lancastrians, and 
 Henry VI. was loved at Coventry, and the city of Godiva remained true to 
 the Red Rose throughout t he long and bloody struggle for the English crown. 
 The famous Parliament which attainted Richard, Duke of York, his wife, the 
 fair " Rcse of Raby," his sons, the Nevilles and their friends, sat at Coventry 
 on the 2oth of November, 1459. From that moment reconciliation between 
 the rival parties was impossible. The respective claims of the Houses of York 
 and Lancaster could only l)e decided by the sword. The noblemen and gentry 
 of Warwickshire took different sides. Those on the west and south followed 
 the fortunes of the great Earl, but others cast their lot with the Lancastrians : 
 among the latter was Sir John Grey, of Astley. Among the former were William 
 Lucy, of Charlecote, and Thomas Burdett, of .\rrow. At this time many of 
 the Warwickshire families were represented by minors or heiresses, for the wars 
 with France had shorn the Midland shire of the pride and flower of its chivalr>-.
 
 30 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 The undulatory country of mid-England had many cliarms for Edward IV., for 
 it was on the boundary of the county that Ehzabeth WoodviUe had cast herself 
 at his feet on behalf of her infant children. Her husband, Sir John Grey, had 
 been slain at the second battle of St. Albans, and his estates had been forfeited 
 as a traitor. Edward's susceptible heart was touched by the pleadings of the 
 beautiful widow in the forest glades of Whittlebury, and Elizabeth did not plead 
 in vain, laquetta. the wife of the Duke of Bedford, had planned the meeting, 
 and did not misjudge the result. The meeting took place almost within view 
 of the castellated seat of the Ue Lyons, of Warkworth, from whom the AVood- 
 villes claimed descent, and in this fair and sylvan scene royal sunshine gladdened 
 the fortunes of the Lords of Astley and Fillongley, as well as of the A\'ocdvilles. 
 In the c.ilm woodlands Edward found a queen and Elizabeth a throne and a 
 husband. It mattered little in these times that the Greys had hitherto been 
 Lancastrians and had suffered for the cause. They now assumed the badge of 
 the White Rose in honour of their relative, and little recked that with royal 
 favours and honours they were accepting troublous days, which led to the 
 headsman's block. 
 
 AVhilst Clarence ruled at Warwick, and Sir Edward Neville, the friend of 
 the King, was owner of the joint estates of Hastings and Bergavenny, in right 
 of his wife, the heiress (f Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, Edward found friends 
 and sport in Warwickshire. He had forgiven apparently the treachery of " false 
 and perjured Clarence," and lived only in the smiles of his wife's relatives, 
 whom he had ennobled and raised to positions of honour. 
 
 The character of George, Duke of Clarence, is stamped in history and 
 immortalized by Shakespeare. That he was weak and treacherous, we know. 
 That he was avaricious and ambitious, we have abundant evidence. He deserted 
 his kingly brother as well as his powerful father-in-law ; yet he found many 
 friends, but none more faithlul or unfortunate than Tliomas lUirdett, Lord of 
 Arrow. 
 
 The Burdetts were an old Warwickshire family, long settled on the eastern 
 side of the county. Some time prior to 1159 (5th Henry II.), William Burdett 
 obtained from the Earl of Leicester a grant of a piece of land between 
 Seckington and Shuttinglon, and thereon founded a small monastery, known as
 
 THE WHITE liUCK OE ARROW. 3 1 
 
 Aucote Priory, in expiation of the murder of his wife, whom he slew o i his 
 return from the Holy Land. It appears that, like Othello, his jealousy was 
 excited by the foul tongue of his steward, who met him on his return to 
 England, and to hide his own attempts to dishonour his master, slandered the 
 lady, and thus caused her death. In the reign of Edward I., Robert Burdett 
 married Elizabeth Camvill, a descendant of the noble family who founded the 
 Abbey of Combe. By this marriage the Burdetts became possessed of Arrow, 
 and for many years held important positions in the county. On the 4th 
 February, 1333 (7th Edward III.), Robert Burdett received a licence to 
 impark his woods at Arrow. The family furnished sheriffs and knights of the 
 shire in successive reigns. They fought in the wars of Henry V. and VI. 
 Nicholas Burdett was chief Butler of Normandy, and Governor of Evreux in 
 that duchy, and was slain at the battle of Pontoise in 1439-40. His son 
 Thomas was one of the gentlemeti of the household of George, Duke of 
 Clarence. 
 
 In 1476, Isabella Neville, the wife of Clarence, died, it was alleged, by poison, 
 though both she and her sister. Lady Anne, appear to have been consumptive. 
 Shortly afterwards, Charles the Rash, Duke of Burgundy, was killed at Nancy, 
 leaving his daughter, Mary, heiress to his immense estates. Clarence's sister, 
 Margaret, was stepmother to this lady, and he proposed to marry the young 
 heiress with his sister's connivance and consent. The weak but ambitious 
 Duke was already rich and had many friends. He was known to be un- 
 scrupulous and untrustworthy, and this proposition raised the jealousy of Edward, 
 and the family of the Greys and Woodvilles ; indeed, one of the latter was also a 
 suitor for the lady's hand. Edward opposed the marriage with all his power, 
 and Clarence retired full of disdain, vowing vengeance in no measured terms. 
 Spies were set to watch him, and his incautious words soon reached the 
 Court. While he was absent, the King was hunting in Warwickshire in the 
 latter part of the year 1477, ^"d in the course of his sport killed in the park 
 of Arrow a white buck belonging to Thomas Burdett.* This gentleman was so 
 enraged at the killing of his favourite buck, that in his anger he passionately 
 wished the horns in the King's belly. Watching eyes and greedy ears carried 
 
 ' The spot where the buck was killed is traditionally said to be in the immediate neighbourhood of the Church.
 
 32 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 with ready tongue and willing lips this expression to the King, and Burdett 
 was arraigned, tried, and executed for high treason in consequence. About the 
 same time one Stace)-, a priest in Clarence's household, was arrested and tried 
 for having recourse to damnable magic, by burning certain images to hasten 
 the death of the Lord Beauchamj). Whilst under the agony of the rack, he im- 
 plicated Thomas Burdett as his accomplice. He, too, was executed, but both 
 died protesting their innocence. 
 
 The Duke of Clarence was absent when the trial and execution of his 
 servants took place. On hearing of it, he presented himself at the Council, 
 and denounced the proceeding in violent language. He was unsparing in his 
 epithets, and at last the King interfered, and Clarence was committed to the 
 Tower. He was publicly tried by his Peers on a variety of charges, some 
 formidable enough, but others absurd. Witnesses were found to depose to the 
 truth of them, and Clarence was condemned to death. His conduct must 
 have been outrageous, for the Commons and their Speaker prayed for his 
 execution. He was executed in private— drowned, it is said, by his own desire, 
 in a butt of Malmsey wine. His estates, or at least a large portion of them, 
 fell to the lot of the Queen's relatives, Warwick Castle falling by Act of 
 Parliament to his son, but ultimately came into the possession of Richard HI. 
 
 Thomas Burdett seems to have been unfortunate in his attachments. By 
 his first wife, Agnes Waldeif, he had one son, Richard Burdett : but he was 
 divorced from her by reason of their nearness of kindred, and in 1464-5, 
 having married another wife, he obtained the King's license to alienate his 
 lands to his younger son, John, and thus disinherit Richard. \Vhilst being 
 drawn from the Tower to the place of execution, he saw, in Mestchepe, near 
 St. Thomas a Becket's Hospital, now Mercer's Chapel, his eldest son. The 
 thought of the wrong that he had done his boy appears to have struck the 
 doomed man with remorse. He reciuested the cavalcade to stop for a moment, 
 in order that he might ask his son's forgiveness for the wrong he had done 
 him, for he thought that this deed was the cause of God's vengeance against 
 him. 
 
 Richard Burdett, his eldest son, had married Jocosa (Joyce), the daughter of 
 Sir Simon Montford, of Colcshill, and by her had two sons and a daughter.
 
 THE WKITK HUCK OF ARROW. 33 
 
 The sons died without issue in his lifetime, but before their death Richard had 
 instituted a suit against his half-brother, John, for the recovery of his estates. 
 The cause was decided against him. Subsequently his father's second wife, 
 Margaret, who had married Thomas Woodhill, and her son, John, agreed to 
 levy a fine on the manor of Arrow and other lands, whereby Richard became 
 possessed of them, with remainder to his heirs. On Richard's death, without 
 male heirs, John, to prevent these entailed estates passing into the hands of 
 strangers — for Richard's widow had married Hugh Conway, Treasurer of Ireland, 
 and her daughter Anne had married Edward Conway (the younger brother of 
 Hugh) — claimed that the fine should be annulled, and in support thereof alleged 
 that he had been in arms on behalf of the Earl of Richmond, with Henry, 
 Duke of Buckingham, and had been a faithful servant to Henry Xll. He 
 was in the retinue of Sir Edmund Howard when he presented this claim in 
 15 1 2 (4th Henry V'HI.), and in high favour at Court, but the suit dragged 
 its weary length along for many years. It was not until after Sir John Burdett's 
 death that it was agreed that Edward Conway and his heirs should have tiie 
 manor of Arrow, with other lordships, and that Bramcote, Seckington, Compton 
 Scorfin, and Wilmcote should be the portion of Thomas Rurdett, the son of 
 Sir John. From Thomas the Burdetts now living trace an unbroken descent. 
 Many of them have been distinguished, but none more so than Angela Georgina, 
 daughter of the famous Sir Frances Burdett, whom we know as Baroness 
 Burdett-Coutts. 
 
 The Conways long continued lords of Arrow. They served their country as 
 statesman, as soldiers, and as sailors. In 1683, Popham Seymour inherited the 
 estates of his cousin, the Earl of Conway, and, on the 17th March, 1702, his 
 brother Francis, who succeeded him, became Lord Conway and Baron Conway 
 of Ragley, county of Warwick. Ragley, the present seat of the lords of Arrow, 
 was acquired by purchase in the reign of Elizabeth. The present Lord 
 of Arrow is the most Honorable Francis Hugh George Seymour, Marquis of 
 Hertford. 
 
 Many of the earlier scenes of the ci\"il war of Charles I., and the earlier wars of the Roses, 
 which eventually seated Edward IV. upon the throne, were enacted in Warwickshire, and the
 
 34 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 chief actors were Warwickshire men. The first victim in the struggle, whofie life was sacrificed 
 as early as 1452. whilst the contending parties «ere halting between negotiation and war, was 
 Robert Arden of Park Hall, Castle Bromwich. He was beheaded at Ludlow in August, 1452, 
 for raising soldiers for the Yorkists, whilst the principals concerned escajied by a bold front and 
 skilful negotiation. At this time Edward was but 10 years old, and with his younger brother 
 Edmund was being educated at Ludlow Castle. 
 
 Even the earlier incidents, which fostered discontent against Henry VI., have a local connection. 
 The murder of "Good Duke" Humphry took place in 1446, when his wife Eleanor was kept 
 jirisoner at Kenilworth. 
 
 During the later years of Henry's reign, Coventry was at the height of its fame: its walls, 
 gates, and towers were of the strongest and most modern construction, whilst its abbey, churches, 
 guildhalls, and religious buildings were in the height of their s])lendour. Pageants at the drey- 
 friars were often presented ; the visits of the King and ()ueen were frequent ; the City was 
 called " Queen Margaret's secret harbour." A notable State visit was made on the 21st September, 
 1450, the '' Meyre, bredurn, and commonaltie, cladde in gowns of skarlet antl of grene and redd 
 hodes,' receiving the King in flaselwode, beyonde the brode oke, and after several days of 
 receptions, processions, and speeches, a present of " .xx'ie grele fat oxen, and a toune of wyne," 
 he rode forthe toward " Kellengworthe,"' accompanied by the Mayor and Corporation, " tille 
 they com on to a plase beyonde Astill Grove, agayne a brode lane that ledethe to Canley. " 
 
 After the Lancastrian reverses at St. Albans, 1455. and Blore Heath, 1458, Coventry was 
 the only safe place at which to convoke a I'arliament, and the one of December, 1459 (the 
 Parliamenluni Diaholicmn), is famous in history. Among the distinguished crowd which surroimded 
 the jjersons of Henry and Margaret, when holding their Court at Coventr}', were the young, 
 brave, and handsome cavalier, .Sir John Grey, the heir to the houses of ( Mey, Astley, anil 
 Eerrers of Groby ; and Elizabeth ^^'oodville, the l)eautiful ilaughter of Sir Kichard Woodville ; 
 and Jac|uetta, a Princess of Luxembourg, sometime wife of John I'lantagenct, the famous Duke 
 of Bedford. Elizabeth was Maid of Honour to the (Jueen, yet sought in marriage by more 
 than one of the warriors of the Yorki>ts ; she was Haltered by wrif.en jiroposaK. nn Ijehalf i>f 
 suitors, from the Duke of York and the Earl of Warwick : she preferred the more eligible otTer 
 of John (Jrey, and the love-making of the young couple was amid the romantic surroundings of 
 Kenilworth, and the more exciting camp life of Coventry. Her own home was at Grafton, 
 Xorlhampton, but her brief married life with her husband would be mainly spent at .Astley, or 
 (iroliy, or at Coventry, for she liecamc one of the four ladies of the Queen's bedchamber. This 
 marriage, which made Elizabeth Grey a Warwickshire woman, is said to have been a hajipy one. 
 It probably covered six years — 1455 to 1461, when Sir John, who had become the leader of the 
 Queen's cavalry, was fatally wounded in the second battle of .St. Albans, leaving his young wife 
 with two children, who in after years worthily sustained the honour of the family. 
 
 The circumstances attending the second marriage of .Sir John Grey's widow, whereby Queen 
 Margaret's Maid of Honour became her Queen are variously related. Edward I\'. , with a view 
 to his own popularity, travcllcil considerably about the country during the years 1463-64, and 
 early in the latter year was slaying in the neigbourhood of Whittle or W'hittlebury Forest, 
 which extended many miles westward from (iraflon Regis, and which hail been a favourite 
 hunting-place of early kings, who had therein a residence. Grafton House was the home of Baron
 
 IHE WHIiK IIUCK OF ARROW. 35 
 
 W'iihillc (Sir Kii'hanl WoiHlvilk' pVLvinus tn 1441S) and his will', lliu IJuclichS of licilloid, tu 
 uliioli Lady Klizaljclh Ciicy had icturned will) her (uo young sons. According to llic version 
 current in tlic nciglihourhood t»f (irafion, I%li/al)elh W'oodville, liaving resolved to a|i|)eal per- 
 sonall)' to tile young monarch {he was her junior hy about five years) for the restitution of the 
 lands of her late husband, went to the forest in f|ucst of him. l_'nder a tree in the direct 
 way to the forest, long known as the <^)ucen's OaU, she met a stranger, whom she requested 
 U> direct her t't the king, and u]ion the stranger mal\ing himself known to lier as King Edward, 
 she threw herself at his feet and imme<liately had her prayer granted : moreover, the King 
 gallantly accompanied her home and became siiitt)r to her in turn. So earnest did he become, 
 that on the 1st May, 1464, he came to Grafton early in the morning from Stoney Stratford, 
 and they were privately married by a priest in the presence only of her mother the Duchess, 
 the boy \\h<_> served the Mass, and two of I.ady ( irey's gentlewomen: the marriage being kept 
 secret for some time, and the coronation not taking place until 26th .May, 1465. 
 
 -Another version, useil in old chronicles, .says: — "That during the absence of Richard Xevile, 
 Earl of Warwick, arranging a marriage between King Edwartl and the Lady Bona of Savoy, 
 the King (as hee hunted in l^icA vooil neere to Stony Slrntford), came (for his repose) into 
 the Loidshi]) and Manour ol (Irafton, where the \.m\\ Jiuiuel (daughter to J'eler of Liixciiburgh 
 lale I'.arle of .V. Pan', and sometimes the widow of John the renowned Duke of Bedford and 
 wife to .Sir Riikard W'oodvile, Lord Ryi'et'i) there lay: upcin whom there attended her daughter, 
 the faire and fresh Ladie ElizabelJi, the widow of Sir John Coey, who was slaine as he fought 
 for King Henry at S. Alhons, in the last yeare of his raigne. This Lady was on the sudden 
 so like(.l, so lo\ed, so fawned and doated on l)y the lustie and young king, that hee resoKed, 
 without any further delay, advice, or counsell, to take her to his wife." 
 
 The situation of Cirafton is 30 miles from Coventry, 40 miles from .\stley, and 15 Iroai 
 the Warwickshire boundary, the ajiproximate 'lates of the e\ents, as set forth, aie as follow : — 
 .Sir Richard Widville was body-guard to the Duchess of Beilford on her return to England 
 on the duke's death in 1435. Their marriage, 1436. Birth of Elizabeth, 1437. |i>hn (Irey 
 was born 1432-3. Their marriage, 1455. Sir John killed 1461. The E.arl of March ( ICdwjrd I\'. ) 
 was born in the s]iring of 1442. 
 
 Although the families of (Irey and liunlelt were I'omiecteil some generations previously by 
 marriages with the Camvilles of Seckiiigton ami .\rrow, there is no connection between this 
 incident and the killing of the l)uck thirteen )ears later, save that the proclixity of the king 
 for hunting in the Midland fjrests led to Initli events, for .\rrow stood on the confines of 
 the extensive forest of Feckenham, and the wooded lands around Warwick Castle, including 
 Langley, Claverdon. and Snitlerfield, then held by his brother Clarence, and the adjacent estates 
 of the King's friend, luhvard Neville, I^ortl Bergavenny and Earl of Worcester, at Bearley ^x\^\ 
 Aston Cantlow , formed an attracti\"e stretch of country for so ardent a huntsman. 
 
 Although the Burdelts, through several generations, had been arms-bearing knights, serving 
 in foreign wars, .Sir Thomas Burdett. the granilfather of Thomas, the owner of the white buck, 
 appears to have been an exception. In the Records of the Cuihl of Stratford-upon-Avon are a 
 series of most interesting entries \vhich do ni.>t, however, include the name of Sir Nicholas 
 Burdett, who was slain in one of the sieges of I'ontoise. Thus, in 1415, are recorded the 
 expences of a Hall at the inlcr-lociilio, and for victuals for Sir Thomas Burdett and Sir Ahared
 
 J 
 
 6 , HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Tnissell : also fur piuvidinij liuoils clelivuix-d lo divers gL-iulcmcn. iiicn, and servants uf tlie (iild. 
 Thomas Burdett ami wife had 12 hoods, no other gentleman or officer having more than six. 
 In 1417, the sum of 3s. 4d. was paid to a harper in honour of Thomas Burdett. In 1422, 
 a breakfast was made in the f'lilcl Hall for .Sir Thomas Burdett, Knight, and his wife, to 
 whom also hoods were again delivered, the best casting 4s. each. In 1425, hoods for Sir 
 Thomas cost 5s.. for his wife 3s. 4d., fir his son 2s. iid. ; Sir Thomas was also entertained 
 in the Hal! of the (Iild newly built, 2od. being also paid to the Mynestreles of Warrwick. In 
 1428, were similar expences, and the Bishop of Worcester being present in the Hall, i buck 
 or doe with a tayle, I swainie, 2 heronsewes (hernshaws), and abundance of pigs, pullets and 
 game were brought from " Arow " and Grove Parke: two horses, hired two days, costing lid. 
 and a man riding to .\roM ami (irove I'arkc, l6d. ; a minstrel by command of Thomas Burdett, 
 2od. ; and to a servant of Thom.is Burdett, for carrying the swan and capons from Arow to 
 Stratford, lod. ; sulisequently, keep of Thomas Burdett's horses, on three occasions, is charged. 
 The same year Burdett also met the Baron of Weni* and the .\bbot of I'ershore, and fed 
 upon veal and pigeons, the entries continuing until 1443, when there arc payments in connection 
 with the obit, of Sir Thomas Burdett, Knight, who, therefore, survived his son Nicholas but 
 a few years, and, if Dugdale"s pedigree is correct, must have licen more than 80 at his death. 
 
 In 1449, is tlie interesting entry: — " 3s.' loil. fir wine gi\ en to Thomas Burdel and for 
 ])rovender for his horses, and for expenses incurred when Sir William Byrmynghanie, Knight, w.is 
 here " /ro tncnsiir^ I'U/x/. 
 
 In 1453-54 is the payment of 41I. to a man when he brouglu two deer by command of the 
 Karl of Warwick ; also 3s. 4d. f u wine given lo Richard. Karl of Warwick. f when he rode 
 by this way towards Wales: he also has 200 oysters, costing 8d. 
 
 In 1460, J.asper Tudor, Karl I'embroke, has 6}4 gallons of wine, and Lord Scales 1 j4 
 gallons, the cost being Sd. per gallon. 
 
 Shortly afterwards (no date), Thomas Burdet, Surveyor of the Karl of Warwick, is entertained, 
 and in 1464 Sir John Cirevyll, Knight, and Thomas Burdet, ICstp In 1465, 6d. is paid to 
 di\ers " nnnstrells " of Lord Warwicl^ and Lord ( 'doucester. and in 1473, Thomas Burdelte. 
 Ksquire, is mentit)ne<I for the last lime. 
 
 In 1478-79 is the entry ■• The lines of llie Illustrious I'rince (Kdward \M. ihe eldest son of 
 our Lord the King, 40s. Sir .\nthony Rivers, Knight, 20s."i Then lollow the Bishop and 
 Dean Pete, Priiir of Worcester : ..Sir Thomas Lyttelton, Justice »^f the King : Richard Burdet. 
 Ksquire, and others. Later in the same year the Master of the (luild rode to .Shrew sliury to 
 make the I'rince, .Sir .-Vnthony Rivers, and the Bishop Brethren of the (iuild, the Prince and 
 his retinue being proliably on his way to Ludlow, where he kept his Court under his uncle 
 .\nthony, l''.arl Rivers. 
 
 The making a Guild Brother of the Prince a]ipears lo ha\ e been of common occurrence, four 
 years later he and other notables became members of the Guild of Walsall. 
 
 This would be Ralph Nevill, whose wi.''e was one of ihe co-heirs 10 the Barony of Wein, then in abeyance; 
 he was the Lord of Oversley, in the parish of .\rrow, and styled Haron by courtesy 
 
 t T'he King-maker; this was shortly after the e.vecution cf Robert Arden. 
 
 J If intended for Sir .\ntliony Woouvillc, who had beconie Baron Scales, 1462, and liar! Rivers at his father's 
 death, 1469, it is a rctnarkabic entr>'.
 
 THE WHITE DUCK OF ARROW. 
 
 37 
 
 There is a reniarkal>le unaniniily among our historians in condfmiiini; tlu' execution of Burdett. 
 Speed says that Markham, then Chief Justice, left his oflice rather ih^in lie would assc-nl to the 
 judj^nient, and the extreme sentence is L^enerally accepteil as an intended ])rovocation to the 
 Duke of Clarence. 
 
 The daughter of .Sir .Simon .MontfnrI, who married Richard Hurdelt, is given in the 
 Warwick \'isitation, l6ig, as Mary, a)ul her name is also entered in the record of her secoml 
 marriage to Hugh Conway. 
 
 In the Calendar of State Papers, i8th October, 1592, is given a receipt liy (George linmie, 
 of Ilaulton, Co. Oxford, from .Sir John Conway, of -Vrrow, L'o. Warwick, of ./1 150 in full 
 payment of .^"3000 expressed in an Indenture of 25th October, 1591, and release of all right 
 or title which the said Brome might have in the Manor of Kagley and I'oppell, Co. Warwii k, 
 or any other lauds of the said Sir John Conway. 
 
 AKROW CllVRClI.
 
 Z\K jfounMino'6 (5ratitu^c. 
 
 N a promontory overlooking the Feldon stands the beacon tower 
 of Burton Dasset. It is one of the three old beacons which 
 in time past cast their lurid glare from cresset and tower over 
 the undulating face of Warwickshire. The others were at 
 l?ickenhill and High Cross. The tower of Burton is singular 
 in construction, and was erected in the fourteenth century, for the Belknaps, 
 lords of Dasset, held their lands under the condition of jjroviding a beacon on 
 this oolitic ridge, which forms a spur of the Edge hills. The large, interesting 
 church shows the ancient importance of tiiis old town, now represented by 
 four or five farm houses. On the south side of the church is a large well, 
 wliicli lias been long the conduit from which the neighbours have derived their 
 water supply. From hence the eye travels over the level jilain of Kineton 
 towards the wooded heights of Brailes. From hence can be seen the fringe of 
 trees which marks the boundary of Northants. In the east the heights of 
 Shuckbur^h may be discerned, and on the north the rolhng, billowy lantl of 
 the liassic sea to the bounds of Arden. A spectator on this hill <:ould have 
 discerned the march of the troops of Royalist and Roundhead prior to that 
 fatal October Sunday, in 1644, when King and Parliament first met in hostile 
 array on the fair |)lain beneatli. From the adjacent church tower Cromwell is 
 said to have viewed the battle, and was so shocked that he slid down the 
 bell ropes and ran away. Whether this story, published in the lifetime of the 
 Pretender, is true or false, it is certain that the fire on the old beacon tower 
 first told the Parliament and the citizens of London that blood had been shed, 
 and that the result was not adverse to the popular side,
 
 THK FOUNDLINGS ORATITUDE. 
 
 39 
 
 The parish of Burton Dasset inchides the hamlets of Northend, pronounced 
 " Norend," and Knightcote, and there are some interesting remains of old eccle- 
 siastical buildings at Northend, which is the most populous portion of the parish. 
 These hamlets are the recipients of a charity which may be appropriately termed 
 " A Foundling's Gratitude " The story is interesting, as it shows that the 
 ancient inhabitants discovered that they might entertain angels unawares. 
 
 The story is variously told ; but it appears that towards the close of the 
 reign of Henry VI., or early in the reign of Edward IV., when the \\'ars of 
 the Roses were desolating the land, and the " Red Horse " was freshly cut, 
 
 BE.VCON Al lU'RION D.^SSET. 
 
 a poor foundling besought help from the inhabitants of the then populous and 
 flourishing village of Burton Dasset. He was repulsed from their doors, but 
 found a home and a welcome at Northend, beneath the shadow of the hill on 
 which the beacon tower is now built. At what age the foundling was when 
 he sought food and shelter on these bleak hills no one knows ; whether he 
 was, or afterwards became a sweep, a shoemaker, or a sailor, the accounts 
 which have come down to us do not say with certainty ; but the welcome he 
 received appears to have touched the heart of John Kimbell, for in tliat 
 troublous time of war and desolation, when the King Maker was dead and his 
 widow penniless, he gave what he had to the people who had befriended him, 
 and their descendants even now enjoy the benefits of this far-off charity. The
 
 4° 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 historic facts connected with the gift are these, which are taken from the 
 "Report on the Charities of Warwiclcshire " : — 
 "John Kimljell, by deed dated the 14th Edward IV., conveyed a messunge and 
 two yard lands in Mollington to Ralph Wallis and his heirs, in trust that the 
 rents should be employed as follows : — 7s. towards the use and repairs of the 
 parish church of Burton Dasset, and 2d. in bread to be given to all the poor 
 householders in Knightcote and Northend, in the name of Dole, and all the 
 residue to be employed in such manner as the trustees and inhabitants should 
 direct. The trust estate, in which certain exchanges had been made, was, yth 
 March, 181 5, conveyed to 'I'homas Ledbrook and seven others in trust. 
 
 IIUKTON DASSEr (IllRrn. 
 
 " William Ledbrook, gentleman, of lUirton Hill, in the parish of Jiurton 
 Dasset, September 16, 1S64. conveyed to five trustees, viz., William Fairbrother, 
 F.dmund (liiffin, William Bisliop, Thomas A. Hawcutt, and John ISloxham (all 
 of this parish), farmers, a messuage, cottage, or tenement, and a close of land, 
 containing six acres, in Knightcote, upon trust, to let the same, and pay and 
 apply the rents for ever in aid and support of the salary of the schoolmaster
 
 THE FOUNDLINGS GRATITUDE. 
 
 4' 
 
 and schoolmistress of the parochial school of liurton Dasset, and also in aid of 
 a choir in the parish church of Burton Dasset, and the Episcopal Chapel at 
 Northend in the same parish. The land is now let at ^i8 per annum, and 
 the cottage is leased unto the original owner for thirty years, at a rent of 
 sixpence per annum, if she should so long live, after whose death the cottage 
 may probably let for ^5 per annum, making altogether ^23 per annum.'' 
 
 In 1474 (14 Ivlwani l\.l liurlon !);i^Mi \v.t> n luwn | )0-,.sessing a charier fur a wwkl)' 
 niarkul ami a three days' fair. It wa^ much dci>opiUalc(l lictween 1498-1508. 
 
 The Belknap's connection with Warwickshire is one of very considerable interest. Edward 
 Helknap was the Lord of Dasset who de]iopiilated the manor, until then an ancient market 
 town. He was the son of Henry Belknap, of Beckle (Cn. Sussex), and born 1471. So far 
 hack as 1397 a Sir Robert Belknap, a judi;e, incurred the ilispleasure of Richard II., and in 
 the succeeflinj; reit^n, Henry I\'., [i>an, the daughter of Sir Robert Belknap, Knight of the 
 County of Warwick, married Sir Edwanl Hampden, Knight, the ancestor of the great John 
 Hampden of the Commonwealth period, but the grandfather of Sir Edward was Hamon Belknap 
 who married Joan, the sister and one of two co-heiresses of Lord Sudley (Ralph Botelcr), 
 whereby the moiety of the Sudley estates came to him. His son Henry was the father of 
 Sii Edward and also of two daughters, Mary and .\nn ; Mary married (Jerard D.anett, their 
 ilaughter Margaret being the first wife ^)f Edward Bermingham, the last of the ancient line of 
 the lords of Birmingham — whilst Ann married Sir Robert Wotton, tlieir daughter Margaret 
 marrying Thomas Grey, second .Marquis of Dorset, of .-\stley Castle, grandson of .Sir John Cirey 
 and Kli/abeth Woodville, and grandfrlher of Lady lane (Irey. 
 
 Sir Edwaril Belknap lirsi lived at Wolston, but he had many posses.sions in the county, 
 having inherited a part ..f the estates of the Mountforts of Beaudesert. He re-built the .Manor 
 House of Weston - under - Weliiele ; \\as one of the commanders in tlie Battle of Stoke; 
 custodian of Warwick Castle, 1503; esquire of the liody to Kings Henry \'ll. and \'11I. ; and 
 one of the overseers of the will of his relative, Walter .-Vrden of I'ark Hall. By his will, 
 1520, he directed, in the event of his dying in W.arwickshire, to lie buried in the Charter 
 House, Coventry, but he died whilst with the English Army in France. 
 
 The arms of Kerrers (ol Chartley), impaling Belknap, were lormerl; in the windows of the 
 ( iild Hall of Birmingham.
 
 CASTLE AM) ANCIENT BRIDGE, WARWICK. 
 (From an Old Engraving.) 
 
 Z\K QLast Of tbc Bcaucbamps. 
 
 HI*2 history of the Beauchamp family belongs to the history of 
 the kingdom. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries 
 they were the heroes of romance and chivalry. The bear and 
 ragged staff were seen in the front of every battle where 
 an FJnglishman fought. The greatest treasures of England 
 were entrusted to their keeping, for to them again and again was entrusted 
 the governorship of Dover and of Calais. The early life of the first of the great 
 lieauchamps, and the closing scenes of the life of the last heroes of the 
 name, were marked i)y romantic episodes and vicissitudes of fortune, which 
 show on what a slender thread the glory of a great family rested in the 
 fourteenth and fifteentli centuries of our era. 
 
 When Guy dc lieauchani]), the rude judge and cajjtor of Piers (laveston, 
 died, he left two youthful sons as the heirs of his name and his family 
 honours. He had tried to secure their well-being by obtaining a grant from 
 Edward II. that his executors should have charge of his lands, during the 
 minority of his heir, by duly accounting to the King's Exchecjuer for the 
 same. But when C!uy was dead, his lands were seized, and by one of those 
 strange pieces of retribution which sometimes happen, the custody of the lands
 
 THE BEAUCHA.Mr ClIAPKL, WAKWirK.
 
 THE LAST 0F THE BEAUCHAMPS. 43 
 
 of the (raptor of one favourite of Edward II. was granted to another. The 
 heir of the IScauchamps was very young when his lands and castles passed 
 to the hands of Hugh le Despencer on the death of "the Black Hound of 
 Arden '' in 1315. 
 
 It seemed as if the sun of the Beauchamps had set. for their castle was 
 levelled to the ground, and the youthful Karl was in the hands of the 
 enemies of his house. P.ut the Despencers were not to live. The chivalrous 
 Edward III. had a sympathetic feeling for the bereaved and youthful Earl of 
 Warwick. He gave him his estates and a command in his army. He led 
 the van at Crecy on that glorious Saturday when the Black Prince won his 
 spurs and his crest from the chivalry of France. He fought and conquered at 
 Poictiers, and with the spoils and ransom that fell to his lot began to fortify 
 and rebuild the Castle of M'arwick and the churches of the old borough. 
 When he died, in 1369, and was buried in the choir of St. Mary's Church, 
 which he built, and where his effigy can still be seen, his second son, 
 Thomas, succeeded him. He w^as for some time governor to the young king 
 Richard II. ; but subsequently he fell into disgrace, and though he employed 
 himself in completing the works his father had begun at W'arwick, he was 
 arrested and banished, and afterwards thrown into the Tower of London, where 
 the Beauchamp Tower marks the site of liis incarceration. It was not till Henry 
 of Lancaster became King that he recovered his liberty and his rights. He 
 died in 1401, and the brass effigies of himself and his Countess are placed 
 near the entrance of the Beauchamp C'hapel, which owes its existence to the 
 will of their only son, Richard, who succeeded his father. It was this Earl 
 Richard who visited the Holy Land. He negotiated the famous treaty of 
 marriage between Henry V. and Catherine, daughter of Charles VI. of France, 
 after the "crowning mercy of St. Crispin's day," on the field of Agincourt. 
 He succeeded the Duke of Bedford as Regent of France, and died in Rouen 
 in 1439. His tomb stands in the chapel which bears his name, on the south 
 side of St. Mary's Church. His son w^as created Duke of Warwick, with 
 certain rights of precedency, but died at the early age of twenty-two years, 
 leaving an infant daughter, who speedily followed him to the grave. His 
 estates came to his sister Ann, the last heiress of the Beauchamps, then the
 
 44 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 wife of Richard Neville, who is known in history as the " Stout Earl of 
 Warwick," the " King Maker." Her history is the most remarkable and romantic 
 of all her race. 
 
 Ann Beauchamp was born at Caversham, in Oxfordshire, on the 3rd of 
 July, 1429. Her mother, Isabel Despencer, was the second wife of Richard 
 Beauchamp, and widow of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, cousin to 
 her second husband. In con.sequence of this relationship a dispensation from 
 the Pope was necessary to legalize the marriage. Her brother Henry, when 
 only ten years of age (1433-4), had married Cicely Neville, the daughter of 
 Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, and on the same day Anne Beauchamp 
 was espoused by Richard Neville, brother to Cicely. When the infant daughter 
 to the Duke of Warwick died, Richard Neville was created Earl of Warwick, 
 and he and his Countess Anne, then entailed the castle of Warwick, witli 
 numerous lordships in si.xteen counties, u[)on their joint issue, or the issue of 
 Anne, and, in default, upon the heirs of Margaret, the eldest daughter of 
 Richard Beauchamp by hi.s first wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Thomas, 
 Lord Berkeley. Margaret was married to John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and 
 tVom their eldest son, John, the Dudleys and the De Lisles derived their 
 descent from the Beauchamps, and made their claim on the estates. 
 
 Notwithstanding the fame and the power of Richard Neville, there is but little in 
 the county of Warwick that is associated with his name. There are a few 
 incised and carved wall markings in one of the rooms in Guy's Tower which 
 may belong to his time, and on the side of the steep hill which rises in 
 front of Tysoe Church, to the left of the road, there is the figure of a horse 
 cut, which is known to the country people, from the colour of the soil 
 e.xposed, as the Red Horse.* It is traditionally asserted that this figure was 
 cut to celebrate the victory which Richard Neville gained at the battle of 
 Towton, on Palm Sunday, 1461. On that day the Yorkists were placed in 
 circumstances of extreme peril. They had followed the Lancastrian army as 
 far as York, and when the Earl of Warwick saw the superior forces of Queen 
 
 * Fifty years ago the horse was a conspicuous feature in the landscape, but now it is hidden from view by 
 the plantations, and is much smaller than the old figure, which Dugdale states was annufilly .scoured by a free* 
 holder of tlie parish, wlio h^ld his lands under tllat tenure. The figure measured 34 feet from croup to chest ; 
 fro II ear to nose, 7 feet 6 inches ; from the shoulder to the cars, 14 feet ; to the ground 16 feet, or 57 hands 
 high.
 
 THE LAST OV THE liKAUCH AMI'S. 45 
 
 Margaret, his stout heart appears ahnost to have failed him. He ordered his 
 charger to be brought fortii, and in face of the whole army stabbed it to the 
 heart, at the same time solemnly swearing, by tiie cross on his sword hilt, 
 that on that day the hazards of the conmion soldier should be his also, and 
 that, though the Yorkist soldiers might run away, he would alone oppose the 
 hosts of the Lancastrians. " Zel him Jiy i ha I fly wi/l," said he, "/ 7vi// tarry 
 with him that will tarry with me." The battle was the most hotly contested 
 of the many battles of the Roses. It is said that those who buried the 
 dead counted no less than 38,000 corpses on the field. 
 
 The somewhat hasty love match of Edward IV. with Elizabeth Woodville, 
 the widow of Sir John (Irey, whom the amoro ^ l"^'",? had met on the forest 
 lands of the neighbouring county of Northants, appears to have been the 
 primary cause of the estrangement which subsequently took place between 
 Edward IV. and Richard Neville, the latter aggravating the Yorkist by demand- 
 ing what the former was'] sometimes unwilling to give ; but throughout the terrific 
 and bloody struggle which we know as the " War of the Roses," though " the 
 King Maker " occupies a foremost place, we have but occasional glimpses of 
 his wife, Anne, the heiress of the Beauchamps. 
 
 In the vicissitudes of that time, kings and queens were victors and fugitives 
 in their turn. ^Ve see the heroic Margaret of Anjou through the din of the 
 battles, now a cjueen, now a supplicant for a freebooter's protection ; now 
 taking the lives of the greatest of the land, and again fleeing to save her 
 own. It was a time when dukes and earls might one day be victorious and 
 powerful, and the next day be begging bread to satisfy their hunger. 
 
 It was in 1469, that the Earl of Warwick turned against his kinsman and 
 friend, Edward of York, and embroiled the country again in civil war. The 
 Duke of Clarence, Edward's eldest brother, followed the fortunes of the Earl, 
 and on the 12th of July, 1469, espoused his daughter Isabel in the church 
 of Notre Dame, at Calais, and received as her dower, half the lands of the 
 Beauchamps — the inheritance of her mother. Anne Beaucharap and her 
 youngest daughter, the Lady Anne Neville, were present at the ceremony, 
 which was performed by George Neville, Archbishop of York. 
 
 Whilst the ceremony was proceeding there was a large and tumultuous
 
 46 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 gathering in the north ; an army, if such it n-.ay be called, assembled and 
 tnarched towards London. They were opposed by Herbert, the new created 
 Earl of Pembroke, and a number of Welsh levies. The hostile forces met 
 on the very borderland of Warwickshire, at Edgecote, in Oxfordshire, on July 
 26th, when the Welsh were utterly defeated. Lord Rivers, the father of 
 Elizabeth Woodville, and Sir John, her brother, were captured and beheaded 
 at Northampton. Urgent messages were sent to \\'ar\vick and to Clarence to 
 come to the King's assistance. They found the King at Olney almost defence- 
 less. The insurgents departed on Warwick addressing a few words to them. 
 A few days subsequently, Edward was captured in his camp at Wolvey Heath 
 by the Earl of Warwick, and taken prisoner to the Earl's great northern 
 stronghold at iVIiddleham, in Yorkshire. Up to this time Warwick appears to 
 have been solicitous only to show his power and secure his old supremacy in 
 the State, for he marched against some insurgent Lancastrians, who had entered 
 England from Scotland, defeated them, and then released Edward at York. 
 Quarrels, bickerings, and jealousy were now common, and early in 1470 Warwick 
 and Clarence, with their wives and other ladies, fled the kingdom to Calais, 
 where they found the guns of the fortress turned against them by Warwick's 
 own lieutenant. Whilst waiting before Calais, Warwick became a grandfather, 
 for the Lady Isabel was confined of a son, the unfortunate Edward Plantagenet, 
 who lived to be the last of his race and name. The wily Louis XL of 
 France gave England's great military commander a warm welcome. It was now 
 that Warwick conceived the idea of betrothing his daughter, the Lady Anne, 
 to the Prince of Wales, the son of Henry YL and Margaret of Anjou. To 
 this project Louis lent a willing ear. It was twelve months after the marriage 
 of the Duke of Clarence and the slaughter at Edgecote that Warwick met the 
 unfortunate Margaret of .\njou at the old palatial fortress of Angers. There 
 Prince Edward first saw Anne Neville. There the stout Earl knelt at the 
 feet of the still young queen, the enemy of whose fortunes he had been. 
 Margaret was bitter, and a quarter of an hour ela[)sed ere she would grant 
 the Earl's pardon. There was witness to the scene many of those destined 
 to play a part in the tragedy of the next fourteen years. We know also that 
 at this meeting Anne Beauchamp was present, and she survived them all.
 
 THE LAST OF THE liEAUCHAMPS, 47 
 
 Margaret could not at first consent that the Lady Anne Neville should be 
 the wife of her darling son. Slic, however, obtained a clause in the agree- 
 ment, by which Anne Neville was to remain in the hands and keeping of the 
 Queen, and that the marriage should not be perfected until the Earl had 
 recovered the kingdom of England, or the greater part thereof, for the 
 House of Lancaster.* It would appear, therefore, as the Earl of Warwick fell 
 a few months afterwards, that the consummation of this marriage contract 
 never took place. When the ceremony, whatever it was, took place at 
 Amboise, at the end of July, 1470, Edward was but seventeen years of age, 
 and the Lady Anne a young girl of fourteen summers, for Anne was born at 
 Warwick Castle in 1456. In pursuance of this contract, the King Maker took 
 the first opportunity of embarking for England, and on the 4th of August left 
 Angers, and on the 13th of September disembarked what forces he had at 
 Plymouth and Dartmouth, and in an incredibly short space of time, so great 
 was his popularity, he found himself at the head of 60,000 men. Edward IV. 
 had delayed too long his preparations. In a few days he was a fugitive and 
 an exile, and his Queen an inmate of the sanctuary at Westminster, instead 
 of occupying a royal palace. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, accompanied his 
 brother, but the false and fickle Clarence was made the Protector of the 
 realm during the minority of Edward, Prince of Wales. 
 
 The crown was entailed on Clarence in the event of Prince Edward dying 
 without issue. But the voluptuous Edv;ard IV. was as bold and as courageous 
 as ever. He landed, six months after his flight from Lynn, at Ravenspur, in 
 Yorkshire, with 2,000 men. He marched unopposed to Leicester and Warwick, 
 where the Duke of Clarence deserted to him with 4,000 men. Edward was 
 anxious to fight, but for some reason Warwick, who was at Coventry with a 
 superior force, declined the combat, and in twenty-eight days from his landing 
 at Ravenspur, Edward entered London with acclamation. On the 14th of 
 April the Battle of Barnet was fought, and was the death scene of the stout 
 Earl and his brother, the Marquis of Montagu. The Duke of Gloucester 
 distinguished himself in this fight. Queen Margaret landed at Weymouth on 
 the day of the Battle of Barnet, and found sanctuary at the Abbey of Beaulieu, 
 
 * " Manner and Guiding of the Earl of ^ Warwick at Angers." [Harl. MSS. 543, fol. 169 b.
 
 48 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 where Anne Beauchamp and her young daughter had also found shelter. 
 Here the Earl of Pembroke and other Lancastrian barons found these ladies, 
 for there yet remained another chance for victory, but that chance disappeared 
 in the bloody field of Tewkesbury, when Fdward, Prince of Wales, met with 
 his early death, too probably by the hands of the King's relatives. Queen 
 Margaret was arrested in a church near Tewkesbury, by Sir William Stanley, 
 and taken to Coventry, where she first heard that she was no longer a mother. 
 She figured in the triumphal procession of Edward I\'. into London, after 
 which she was committed to the Tower, and in a few hours was a widow. 
 AVith her for a time the Lady Anne found shelter ; but she was speedily 
 removed by the Duke of Clarence and placed with her sister Isabel. Anne 
 Beauchamp remained m the sanctuary at Bcaulieu for some lime, and then 
 escaped privily to the north, where she had still many friends, for her noble 
 husband was not yet forgotten. 
 
 Clarence was even now a young man, yet he claimed at once in right of his 
 wife all the possessions of the King ALiker. He appears to have placed the 
 Lady Anne in some obscure street in London as a kitchen maid, in order 
 that the Duke of (lloucester, his brother, should not marry her. In this 
 wretched yard Richard found the heiress of the Nevilles and the Beauchamps. 
 Contrary to Shakespeare's version, Anne appears to have had no aversion to 
 Richard, whom she had known in her father's halls at Middleham, and went 
 gladly with him to the sanctuary of St. Martin-le-Grand, from whence she was 
 placed under the guardianship of her uncle, George Neville, .Archbishop of York. 
 Richard then api)ealed to tiie King and Council, and was allowed to marry 
 Lady Anne, but tiie date and ])Iace of his marriage is uncertain. She, however, 
 bore him a son in 1473. Now commenced a fierce quarrel between the 
 brothers over the estates, for the Duke of Gloucester naturally claimed a moiety 
 of the inheritance of the King Maker, but Clarence insisted on his e.xclusive 
 right to the whole of the inheritance. ''He may well have my lady sister-in- 
 law," said he: "but we will [jart no li\elihood." Subsequently both brothers 
 ap[)ealed to the King, and su])])orted their cause by divers subtle and acute 
 arguments. In 1474 an .\ct of Parliament was passed, which divideil the 
 inheritance of the two sisters between the brothers ; but no mention was made
 
 THE LAST OF THE BEAUCHAMPS. 49 
 
 cf the unfortunate and wretched mother, who was left in want and almost 
 beggar)-. Richard left the Court of his brother shortly after his marriage, and 
 went to reside in the north, where he was governor and chief seneschal of the 
 IJuchy of Lancaster. 
 
 On the 2nd December, 1476, Isaljel, the wife of the Duke of Clarence, 
 died in \\'arwick Castle, it is alleged by poison. Early in 1478, Clarence fell 
 a victim 10 his own folly and wild tongue, and was drowned, so it is popularly 
 said, in a butt of .Malmsey wine in the Tower of Dondon. The tragedy of 
 the White J'.uck of .\rrow luui taken place the prevous year. One of the 
 Hugfords of Emscote was made governor of A\'arwick Castle during the minorit}- 
 of Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, the son of the Duke of Clarence. 
 
 On July 6th, 1483, Richard, Duke of fMoucester, and his consort, Anne 
 Neville, were crowned at Westminster Abbey. In August, Richard proceeded 
 in state to visit the northern portion of his dominions. At Warwick he was 
 joined by " his gentle Queen, and in the old hall of the castle he received 
 the ambassador of Elizabeth of Castile, as well as the envoys of the King 
 of France, and the Duke of Burgundy, who came to congratulate him on his 
 accession." On the 15th of August we find him at Coventry, on the 17th at 
 Leicester, and on the 22nd at Notiingham. At ^'ork, on September 8th, he 
 was crowned again, and in the procession walked Edward, his son, then a 
 child ten years of age. The Queen, his mother, the Lady Anne, walked by 
 his side, holding him by her left hand. It was a proud day for Richard, for 
 he that day created his son Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester ; but in 
 seven months the child was dead. He died in Middlcham Castle, the scene 
 of his birth and his parents' happy childhood, on the 9th of April, 1484. 
 On the i6th of March, 1485, Anne Neville died at the early age of twenty- 
 eight. The battle of Bosworth was- fought on August 22nd of the same year, 
 and none remained of the Nevilles or the Beauchamps, save the children of 
 Clarence, but Anne Beauchamp, who survived fathers, husbands, daughters, and 
 fortune. Born to a high destiny, she was now but a beggar and 'an outcast, 
 a prey to misfortune. 
 
 The latter days of this unfortunate lady are involved in obscurity. In the 
 third year of Henry VII. (1488) she re-appears on the scene, but only to give
 
 50 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 legal force to the seizure of her lands by the King. A new Act of Parliament 
 was passed, annulling the Act which gave the estates of the King Maker and 
 his wife to the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester "as against all reason, 
 conscience, and course of nature, and contrary to the laws of God and man," 
 In consideration of the true and faithful service and allegiance by her borne 
 to King Heniy VII., as also that she never gave cause for such disherison, 
 he restored to her possession of the premises, with jjower to alienate the same 
 or any part thereof. The cause of this act was soon apparent, for on the 
 13th of December the same year she executed a deed of feoffment and a 
 fine thereon. She conveyed the whole on the King and entailed it ui)on the 
 male issue of his body, with remainder to herself and her heirs. Thirteen 
 manors in ^Varwickshire were included in this deed, with a hundred and five 
 others, and two years afterwards she received an assignment of the manor of .Sutton 
 for her maintenance. Where she died, when she died, or how she lived during 
 the remaining years of her life is involved in obscurity. 
 
 Her two grandchildren, the son and daughter of the Duke cf Clarence, 
 survived her. Edward, who was knighted by Richard III. at York, was sent 
 for security to Sheriff Hutton, in Yorkshire. After the death of Richard on 
 the field of Bosworth, he was imprisoned by Henry VII. in the Tower, and in 
 the year 1499 he plotted with Perkin Warbeck to escape. On the 21st of 
 November he was brought to trial before the Earl of Oxford as High Steward 
 of England. He was urged to confess, and throw himself on the King's 
 mercy, and he did so. He was condemned to death, and was beheaded on 
 Tower Hill on the 28th of the same mouth. He was the last male Planta- 
 genet, the last heir of the Beauchamps, and the hope of the house of York ; 
 the last Earl of Warwick of the old line. He was killed in order that no 
 obstacle should remain in the way of the marriage of Catherine of Arragon 
 with the heir of Henry VH. 
 
 His sister, Margaret, lived longer, but met her death on the same spot forty- 
 four years afterwards. She had married Sir Richard Pole, and was the mother 
 of the famous Cardinal Pole In 1513, Henry VIII. being then on tiie throne, 
 Margaret petitioned Parliament, being then a widow, as the sister and heir of 
 her brother, that she might inherit his estate and dignity, and so be styled the
 
 THE I.ASr OK TlIK HKAUCHAMI'S. 51 
 
 Countess of Salisbury, which was granted. Wliat estates she received were taken 
 away by attainder in 1539-40 for alleged privity to the conspiracy of Henry, 
 Marquis of Exeter. On the 27th of May, 1541, Margaret Plantagenet was 
 dragged to the block on Tower Hill by the hair of her head, and died ii> 
 the sixty-eighth year of her age, and thus perished the last scion of the 
 Beauchamps in the direct line of descent. 
 
 The Castle of Warwick, the monument of their greatness and their power, 
 yet remains to us. The Towers built by Clarence and (Gloucester have not 
 been finished. Since the death of the heiress of the Beauchamps, the castle 
 has been alternately a gaol and a palace. The sad fire on Advent Sunday, 
 1 87 1, though it did not destroy any portion of the castle erected by the 
 Beauchamps, revealed the old walls and arched doorways through which the 
 armed retainers had marched into the great hall, and the |iassages leading 
 to the ladies' chamber, from whence Anne Beauchamp witnessed the revelry in 
 the hall below. Something of this has been preserved by the restorers of the 
 castle. The hall may be seen now in all its fair and stately proportions, but 
 more beautiful than when the home of the last of the Beauchamps. 
 
 After the death of Guy Beauchamp, 1315. the custody of the Estates was granted to Hugh 
 Despencer, sen. — who had married Isabel, the sister of Guy — in consideration, it is said, of £6,'j'jo, 
 liut tile marriage of the heir, Thomas, the third Earl, was given to Roger Mortiiiier, to whose 
 daughter, Katherine, he was married ; whilst Agnes Mdrtimer, sister of Katherine, married 
 Laurence Hastings, first Earl Pembroke, an alliance which eventually proved of great advantage 
 to the Beauchamps. 
 
 Thomas Beauchamp, after .an active military career, died at Calais of jilague, 1369, age 56. 
 He had rebuilt the castle walls, freed Warwick of toll — founded St. M.iry's Church — erected the 
 Booth Ilall in the market place, and endowed Jfaxstoke I'riory with some yard lan<i at 
 Yardley, probably acquired from the Mortimers. Of his sixteen children the eldest son, Guy, 
 died before his father. Thomas, the second son, became fourth Earl, and William, the fourth 
 son, married Joane Fitzalan, and was appointed by his cousin John Hastings, second Earl 
 Pembroke, to succeed him in the Barony of Bergavenny, with the lordship of Killongly an^l 
 other large possessions. 
 
 Thomas, the fourtli Earl, born 1345, succeeded 1369, and died 1401, was one of the victims 
 of the treachery of Richard H. and Mowbray ; he married Margaret, daughter of William, 
 third Baron Ferrers, his lirother Guy having married Phillipa, the sister of the same Baron. 
 
 The only sou of Thomas was Richard, fifth Earl, whose chivalrous achievements over- 
 shadowed those of his ancestors, his second wife was Isabel, daughter of Thomas Despencer
 
 52 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 and widow of his cousin Richard, Earl of Worcester, son of William, Lord Bergavenny, their 
 children being Henry, the sixth Earl, and Anne wife of the King Maker. Earl Richard 
 founded a Chantry at Guy's Cliff, on the site of the ancient Hermitage, and by will (1435) 
 directed the erection of the magnificent Tomb at St. Mary's Church based on the solid rock. 
 
 Henr)-, the sixth Earl, born 1424, was married when ten years old — to prevent his becoming 
 marketable in the event of his father's death — to Cicely, daughter of Richard Nevill first Earl 
 Salisbury, niece of Cicely the Rose of Raby, and sister of the King Maker, who subsequently 
 married Anne Beauchamp, sister of Henry — at the age of 19 he was created Treniier Earl of 
 England, Duke of Warwick, and subsequently King of the Isle of Wight ; but died June, 
 1445, aged 21, leaving an only daughter, .^nne, born 1443. 
 
 The very desirable wardship of this young heiress was taken by Margaret, the ne«ly made 
 (,)ueen of Henry VI., but yielded small profit as she died 3rd January, 1449. 
 
 In the .Stratford Gild accounts is an entry (1451) for wine given to the Countess Warwick 
 in the house of Agnes Chacoml), thus, at the early .ige of 22 the wife of Richard Nevill had 
 entered upon the difficult duties of her position ; at 40 she saw her daughter Isabel married to 
 Clarence ; the following year (1470) her younger child of 14 was allied to Prince Edward : 
 1471 saw her a widow and an outcast, and her life ended in obscurity; the last record of her 
 name is the grant to her of Sutton Manor in 1490, and there she may have lived and died. 
 
 Upon the attainder of her grandson Edward, 1504, four years after his execution it was shown that 
 he was possessed of land in Witton Lordshi]), and these local references are the Last which 
 relate to the possessions of the Beauchamjis in Warwickshire. 
 
 OUTSIDK TIIK CASI l.E WALLS.
 
 xmiillouobbv^ tbc lEypIorcr. 
 
 HE spirit of adventure is not confined to any age or to any 
 shire. 'J'he love of a maritime life and a roving career has 
 seduced many a boy from his home and friends. In the 
 Midland shires the families are numerous who have sons at 
 sea. It seems as if the spirit of the old Vikings could not 
 sleep in the Midland vales which were assigned to the followers of Guthrin by 
 Alfred the Great. Every now and then a yearning for the wild freedom of the 
 •ocean comes over the home nurtured youth, and he goes to seek his fortune 
 abroad. 
 
 The Edwardian wars, and the cruel battles which marked the civil strife of 
 the Roses, gave a natural outlet to these adventurous spirits ; but when Richard 
 III. fell on the field of Bosworth, and Henry of Richmond had been filed at 
 Coventry, and had seized the rich heritage of the Beauchamps, peace reigned 
 on the troubled land, new thoughts and new aims found willing hands and 
 hearts to seek other fields for action. In 1497, eighteen months before Columbus 
 saw the mainland of tropical America, Sebastian Cabot, then in the service of 
 Henry VII., had landed on the coast of Labrador. It was then that this dis- 
 tinguished navigator thought of a north-west passage to India. In 15 17, he 
 was sent by Henry VIII. to Labrador again, and entered Hudson's Bay. After 
 a short service in .Spain, he came again to England, when the youthful 
 Edward VI. allowed him a pension, and sought his counsel on all naval matters. 
 .-\bout this time Cabot revived his idea of finding a northern route to India, 
 and the first Arctic expedition by the north-east route was planned. 
 
 There was living at this time one Sir Hugh Willoughby, of MiildL-^ton Hali
 
 54 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICiCSHIRE. 
 
 near Sutton Coldfield. He was a man of high hneage and mihtary renown. 
 His family had long settled at Willoiighby-on-the-\Vold, in the county of 
 Nottingham. His ancester, Bugg, first took the surname of Willoughby, and 
 in the thirteenth century, by marriage with the heiress of the house of Bee, 
 the head of the family became Lord Willoughby de Eresby. In 1320, the 
 family were in possession of the estate of W'ollaton, Nottinghamshire, and by 
 marriage with Margaret, a sister and co-heir of Sir Baldwin Freville, Hugh 
 Willoughby became Lord of Middleton. He died in 1431-2, and his widow 
 married Sir Richard Bingham, one of the justices of the King's ISench, who 
 
 MII)l>[,KI'ON IIAI.I.. 
 
 resided at Middleton till his death in 1452-3 ; but the last of the Frevilles 
 lived to see her grandson, Henry Willoughby, knighted for his gallant conduct 
 at the famous battle of Stoke. .Xt her death, Sir Henry, the father of Sir 
 Hugh Willoughby, became Lord of Middleton in rigiit of his grandmother and 
 his descendants still hold the lordshiii.
 
 WiLLOUGHBY TkE EXPLOREU. JS 
 
 Sir Hugh was the son of Sir Henry by his third wife, Ellen Egerton, of 
 Wrinchall, Cheshire, whose mother was one of the Gresleys, and it appears that 
 he was early destined for a military career. His father's second wife was con- 
 nected with the Brandons, Lady Jane Grey, and the Dudleys, and they led 
 the way to fame and fortune. In 1542, Hugh Willoughby went on the Scottish 
 expedition, under the Earl of Hertford and the Viscount L'Isle, who was sub- 
 seijuently Earl of Warwick and Duke of Northumberland, the father of Am- 
 brose, the " good Earl of Warwick," Robert Earl of Leicester, and Guildford 
 Dudley, the unfortunate husband of Lady Jane Grey, In this Scotch expedi- 
 tion Hugh Willoughby greatly distinguished himself. He ijravely defended Fort 
 Lowder in 1549-50. His military career stopped with the disgrace of the Duke 
 of Somerset. He married Jane Streeley, the daughter of Sir Nicholas Streeley, 
 who resided near \Vollaton, and she bore him a son, Henry. Of these we 
 hear no more. Men's minds were full of the discovery of new lands. New 
 sources of trade were being opened up by the Spanish and the Portuguese, 
 but no stranger was allowed to interfere. At this period, Cabot's scheme for 
 a north-ea?t route to Cathay (China) became popular, and in 1527 the "Mystery 
 Company and Fellowship of i\Ierchant Adventurers for the Discovery of Unknown 
 Lands " was incori)orated. Of this company Cabot was governor, and, under 
 his direction, a great expedition was planned, and Sir Hugh Willoughby appointed 
 commander-in-chief 
 
 The expedition consisted of three vessels; the Bona Esperanza, of 120 tons, 
 was commanded by Sir Hugh in person, and William Gefferson was sailing 
 master; the Edivard Bonaventura, 160 tons, was under the command of Richard 
 Chancelour, Stephen Borough being sailing master, and the Bona Confidentia, 
 90 tons, which was placed under the command of Master Cornelius Durfoorth. 
 Each vessel was sheathed with lead, and furnished with a pinnace and a 
 boat. The plans of operation were drawn out by Cabot, and the most 
 quaint and minute instructions were given to the commanders to regulate 
 their conduct and their crews. These regulations were thirty-three in number. 
 There were regulations for morning and evening prayer, for the reading of the 
 Scriptures, and other religious exercises. " Carding, dicing, and such other 
 devilish games " were prohibited. When Sir Hugh came to a strange country,
 
 56 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 be was instructed to make the people drunk, in order that the secret of their 
 hearts might ooze out, and, by the thirteenth item, he was enjoined not to 
 be frightened if he saw any people wearing " lyons and beares skinnes. having 
 long bowes and arrowes," " for such be worn oftentimes more to feare strangers 
 than to any other end." The young King Edward wrote to all the kings 
 inhabiting tlie north-east parts of the world towards the mighty empire of Cathay, 
 in English, Latin, Greek, and other languages, bidding them greeting, and, on 
 the iitli May, 1553 these three ships weighed anchor at Deptford, and pro- 
 ceeded on their perilous voyage. 
 
 There is preserved an account of the voyage, written at the dictation of 
 Richard Chancelour, pilot major of the voyage, by Clement Adams, "schoole- 
 master to the Queene's henshmen," and from his and o'her descriptions of the 
 departure we learn how keen was the interest felt in this voyage, how readily 
 the ^6,000 was subscribed towards the outfit of the ships. At Ratcliff the 
 crew saluted their acquaintance, " one his wife, another his children, and another 
 his kinsfolkes, and another his friend dearer than his kinsfolkes." The 
 " great ships " then dropped down to Greenwich, where the Court was towed 
 by the boats " The mariners were all apparelled in watchet or sky coloured 
 cloth. The courtiers came running out, and the people flocked together, 
 standing very thicke upon the shore ; the Privie Councel they looked out at 
 the windows of the Court, and the rest ran up to the toppes of the towers : 
 the shippes hereupon discharged their ordinance and shoot off their pieces 
 alter the manner of war and of the sea, insomuch that the tops of the hills 
 resounded therewith ; the valleys and the waters gave an echo, and the 
 mariners they shouted in such sort, that the sky rang again with the noise 
 thereof One stood on the jjoop of his ship and by his gesture bade 
 farewell to his friends in the best manner he could. .\nother walked upon 
 the hatches, another climbed the slrouds, another stood on the main yard, 
 and another on the top of the ship." lUil, alas ! the good King Edward lay 
 sick and ill, and ere the adventurous voyagers had reached the sea he died 
 and left the realm a prey to enemies. 
 
 At Gravesend the veteran Cabot visited the ships, with many gentlemen, and 
 gentlewomen, and bade them good-bye, and after tasting the i)est cheer the
 
 WILLOUGHIiV THE EXI'I.ORrR. 57 
 
 voyagers could give them, liberally rewarded the mariners. He asked them to 
 pray for the good fortune and the success of the adventure and then departed 
 commending them all to the governance of God. It was six weeks from the 
 time of leaving Ratcliff ere the expedition finally got to sea. 'I'hey had to 
 tarry for wind and tide at every point in the river and along the lowlying 
 flats of the east coast — Sir Hugh's diary gives us a few dates of t'lese 
 hindrances — but on the 23rd of June, 1553, they fairly got to sea. They 
 cast many a long, lingering look on their n.uive land, which many of them 
 were not to s^c again, and o;lier3 were to return with fame and glory. 
 Willoughby had left his son behind liim. Ri hard Chancelour was married to 
 a sister of Robert Dudley, and he was leaving two sons behind him in 
 England, while he sailed over the sea of uncertainty to the unknown realms 
 beyond the North Cape, which, up to that time, no English ship had 
 doubled, or, at all events, sailed eastward of the Wardhuys. 
 
 On the 14th of August, 1553, Sir Hugh Willoughby, in the Bona Espera'iaa, 
 came in sight of land. This was probably that part of the coast of Nova 
 Zembla lying between the Northern and Southern Goose Cape, Gussinii Noss. 
 The mainland of Russia was first seen by Sir Hugh on the 23rd of August, 
 and he landed the same day. This fact makes him the fir.;t Englishman who 
 trod Russian territory from the sea, for the Edioard Bonavenliira, with 
 Chancelour on board, did not cast anchor on the southern coast of the 
 White Sea till the 24th, when she was off the settlement " Possad " of 
 Nenocksa, not far from the Korelian mouth of the Dwina, where he waited 
 for the other ships, but the junction was not to be. 
 
 On the 14th of September, Sir Hugh effected a fresh landing on the 
 Lapland coast, in a bay westward of the island of Nokuj.-ff, where pretty good 
 anchorage was found. He sailed subsequently with both vessels in a south- 
 easterly direction towards the White Sea, and had he continued this course, 
 we are told by a Russian geographer, he would probably have readied the 
 monastery of Ssolovertz or joined Chancelour at Nenocksa ; but he appears to 
 have been caught in a whirlpool at Cape Natoi Noss, and this decided them to 
 return to the bay which they had left, and which is distinguished by the bold, 
 rocky isles of Nokujeff. They were in this bay on the iS'.h of September.
 
 58 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 In the meantime Chancelour reached Wardhuys in Norway, and after 
 waiting for some time he sailed on his voyage, notwithstanding the dissuasions 
 of some Scottishmen, until he reached " a land of everlasting sunshine, shining 
 with a continual light and brightness clearly upon the huge and mighty sea." 
 He had reached the dominions of Ivan Vassilovich, the Czar of Russia, and 
 Master Chancelour paid him a visit at his court at Moscow, a journey that 
 entailed a sledge drive of fifteen hundred miles. Thus he laid the foundation 
 of that Russian friendship and esteem which secured us peace until our day. 
 He regained his ship and reached England in the following spring. 
 
 In the summer of 1554, some Russian fishermen plying their calling on the 
 eastern coast of Lapland had their attention attracted by some large craft 
 lying between the black and craggy Nokujeff and the shore. They went to 
 them and found that they were the floating tombs of Sir Hugh and seventy 
 of his unfortunate companions. The unfortunate knight had been caught by 
 a severe winter where there was neither men or fuel. His diary gives a 
 fearful account of the sufferings of the crews. The chaplain was with 
 Chancelour, and there were merchants in both ships, of the name of Alexander 
 and Richard Gardiner. The snow-wreathed bodies of his sixty-five men frozen 
 to death affected Sir Hugh, for we learn from his diary that he was alive at 
 the end of January, 1554- The discovery of the bodies and ships was 
 reported to the Governor, and by him to the Czar, who ordered everything to 
 be sealed up, and the ships to be sent to Cholmogorn. The untimely fate 
 of Sir Hugh excited but little attention at the time ; Lady Jane Grey had 
 been beheaded ; the country was subjected to the bigoted rule of Queen 
 Mary, and when the soiled clothes of the knight, preserved at Wollaston, 
 were brought home, but few cared for the man who had been so unfortunate. 
 A century afterwards there was another \\'illoughby at Middleton, a naturalist, 
 and a friend of Ray the botanist. His history of birds and fishes was 
 published, and he died in 1672, in the thirty-seventh year of his age. To 
 him we arc indebted for much relating to the natural history of Warwickshire. 
 
 The black and rocky edge of Nokujeff still rises 400 feet above the sea 
 level. Here should be the monument of the first of our Arctic explorers, 
 and bis portrait should be preserved amongst the worthies of the county.
 
 H Zn^ot tlraocb^- 
 
 HII^ST all that was mortal of Sir Hugh Willoughby was enshrined 
 in an icy shroud on the desolate coast of Lapland, a tragedy 
 was being enacted on the eastern boundaries of Warwick- 
 shire, which has furnished a theme for the historian and 
 the romancer. The neighbourhood of Wolvey is full of 
 romance. The story of the seizure of Edward IV. here by the King Maker, 
 the fate of the neighbouring grange of the hermits on the heath, of the 
 Templars, of the Burdetts of Bramcote, are full of interest. The scene 
 of the tragedy at Shireford lies about a mile north of Wolvey, between 
 that village and Burton Hastings, for here stood in the first year of 
 the reign of Queen Mary a fair manor house, inhabited by .Sir Walter Smyth 
 and his young wife. The story is preserved in Uugdale, and has been 
 re-printed in Burke's "Vicissitudes of Families," and in Hewitt's "Visits to 
 Remarkable Places." 
 
 Shireford had been long in the possession of the family of Purefoy, and in 
 the reign of Henry VHI. it passed into the hands, by purchase, of a Mr. 
 H. Smyth, a wealthy citizen of Spon Street, Coventry ; the Purefoys retiring to 
 their ancient mansion of Fenny Drayton, some six miles further north along the 
 Watling Street. The new possessor of Shireford had a good estate at Fletchamp- 
 stead, near Coventry, and was a man of charitable disposition. His son, Walter 
 Smyth , succeeded to his estates, was married, and had a son and heir, 
 Richard Smyth, grown to man's estate. On the death of his first wife, Sir
 
 6o HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 \Valter was an aged man, and thought it time that his son was married. He 
 mentioned the circumstance to Mr. Thomas Chetwin, of Ingestre, in Stafford- 
 shire, a gentleman of ancient family and fair estate, and with whom the 
 Purefoys had been connected. Mr. Chetwin entertained the offer on behalf of 
 Dorothy, one of his daughters, and was contented to give ^500 portion with 
 her. " But no sooner had the old knight seen the young lady than that he 
 became a suitor for himself, being so captivated with her beauty, that he 
 tendered as much for lier, besides a good jointure, as he should have received 
 in case the match had gone on for his son. Which liberal offer so wrought 
 upon Mr. Chetwin, as that he spared not for arguments to persuade his 
 daughter to accept Sir Walter for her husband. Whereupon the marriage 
 ensued accordingly, but with what a tragique issue will quickly be seen ; for it 
 was not long ere that, her affections wandering after younger men, she gave 
 entertainment to one Mr. William Robinson (then of Drayton Bassett, a young 
 gentleman of about twenty-two years of age) son of George Robinson, a rich 
 mercer of London, and grew so impatient at all impediments which might 
 hinder her full enjoyment of him, that she rested not until she had contrived 
 a way to be rid of her husband. For which purpose corrupting her waiting 
 gentlewoman, and a groom of the stable, she resolved, by their help, and the 
 assistance of Robinson, to strangle him in his bed, appointing the time and 
 manner how it should be effected ; and though Robinson failed in coming on 
 the designated night (perhaps through a right apprehension of so direfull a 
 fact), she in no whit staggered in her resolutions, for watching her husband 
 till he w'as fallen asleep, she then let in those assassinates before specified, 
 and casting a long towell about his neck, caused the groom to lye upon him 
 to keep him from struggling, whilst herself and the maid, straining the towell, 
 stopt his breath. It seems, the good old man little thought that his lady 
 had acted therein, for when they first cast the towell about his neck, he 
 cryed out, ' Help, Doll, help ! ' But, having thus despatcht the work, they 
 carryed him into another room, where a close stool was plac'd, upon which 
 they set him ; aiid, after an hour, that the maid and groom were silently got 
 away, to palliate the business, she made an outcry in the house, wringing her 
 hands, pulling her hair, and weeping extreamly, with pretence that, missing
 
 A TUDOR TRAGEDY. 6l 
 
 him for some time out of bed, she went to see what the matter was, and 
 found him accidentally in that posture : which suhtill and feigned shews of 
 sorrow i)revented all suspicion of his violent death ; and, not long after, went 
 to London, setting so high a value upon her beauty, that Robinson, her former 
 darling (perhaps for not keeping touch with her, as before hath been said), 
 Ijecame neglected. But, within two years following, it so hapned, that this 
 woful deed of darkness was brought to light by the groom before specified, who, 
 being entertained with Mr, Richard Smyth, son and heir to the murdered 
 knight, and attending him to Coventre with divers other servants, became so 
 sensible of his villany, when he was in his cups, that out of good nature he 
 took his master to a side, and upon his knees besiught forgiveness from iiim 
 for acting in the murther of his father, declaring all the circumstances thereof. 
 Whereupon Mr. Smyth discreetly gave bin good words, but wisht some others 
 that he trusted to have an eye to him, that he might not escape, when he 
 had slept and better considered what might be the issue thereof Notwith- 
 standing which direction, he fled away with his master's best horse, and, hasting 
 presently into Wales, attempted to go beyond sea ; but, being hindred by con- 
 trary winds, alter three essays to launch out, was so happily pursued by Mr. 
 Smyth, who spared for no cost in sending to several ports, that he was 
 found out, and brought prisoner to Warwick ; as was also the lady and her 
 gentlewoman, all of them, with great boldness, denying the fact, and the gr,_.om 
 most impudently charging Mr. Smyth with endeavour of corrupting him to accuse 
 the lady (his mother-in-law) falsely, to the end that he might get her joynture. But 
 upon his arraignment, so smitten was he at apprehension of the guilt, that he publickly 
 acknowledged it, and stoutly justified what he had so said to be true to the face 
 of the lady and the maid ; who, at first, with much seeming confidence, pleaded 
 their innocency, till at length, seeing the particular circumstances thus discovered, 
 they both confe-.sed the fact; for which, having judgment to dye, the lady 
 was burnt at a stake, near the hermitage on Wolvey Heath (towards the side 
 of Shirford Lordship), where the country people to this day shew the place, 
 and the groom with the maid suffered death at Warwick. This was about 
 the third year of (^ueen Mary's reign, it being May 15, i Maria;, that Sir 
 Walter's murther so happened."
 
 62 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Such is the ston' as told by Dugdale. It is asserted that a reprieve was 
 granted to the young wife, hut, in consequence of the horse of the messenger 
 foundering near Cloudesley Busii, it did not arrive in time. 
 
 The subsequent fate of the estate of Shireford is remarkable as showing the 
 sharp and overreaching spirit of the times. Richard Smyth by his first wife 
 had only one daughter, Margaret by name ; whilst she was yet a child he 
 fancied that he had no probability of male issue, and therefore proposed to 
 Sir John Littleton, of Frankley, in Worcestershire, to form an alliance between 
 
 THE HERMITAGE, WOLVEY HEATH. 
 
 Margaret Smyth and William Littleton, Sir John's third sen. He offered in 
 consideration of such marriage to settle all his lands in remainder after his 
 decease, without other issue, upon the said Willi;im and Margaret and their 
 lawful children, but in default of such issue to descend to his family and 
 heirs. This draught agreement was prepared and sent to Sir John to have
 
 A TUnOR TRAnEDY. 63 
 
 engrossed, and on the day appointed Richard Smyth went to Franivley to 
 execute the deed. Here he found a goodly company of Sir John Littleton's 
 friends and excellent entertainment. The writings were brought forward in their 
 presence and began to be read, when Sir John's keeper came hurriedly in 
 and said, •' that there were two bucks at lair in the park whii-h carried a 
 glass in their tails for Mr. Smyth's dogs to look in. Now Mr. Smyth loved 
 coursing, and he had brought his greyhounds with him, but appeared to 
 hesitate. The keeper said that the market people ])assing through the park 
 might rouse the deer. Sir John urged Mr. Smyth to seal the deeds, vowing 
 they were according to the original draught. In a weak moment Mr. Smyth 
 did so, and went forth into the park. The youthful pair were then married, 
 though only nine years old, and lived in the house at Frankley with Sir John. 
 
 Some six years after this, William Littleton was killed by a t'all from his 
 horse, when Richard Smyth demanded his daughter, as she had no children ; 
 but to this Sir John demurred, and. on the deeds being produced, it was 
 found that, in default of William dying without issue, the Smyth estates were 
 to devolve upon William's heir, which was his eldest brother Gilbert. In the 
 meantime, Margaret was married to Sir John's second son, Clilbert. Great 
 suits of law followed the discovery of this perfidy, and when, on the death 
 of c;ilbert, the estates descended to his son |ohn, the litigation was continued 
 until the latter was drawn into the street brawl of the Earl of Essex with 
 Catesby and Winter, in the forty-second year of the reign of Eli;!al)eth (1601), 
 when lu- died in prison, and the estates were forfeited. 
 
 When James I. came to the crown, he restored these lands to Muriel, the 
 widow of John Littleton, and it appears that her nephew, John, the son of 
 George and Margaret, was staying here on the eve of the hunting match 
 at Dunchurch, 1605, and though solicited to join his brothers there, he 
 sullenly refused to go. Stephen Littleton, of Holbeach, the son of Margaret 
 and George, lost his life and estate for his [larticipation in the jjlot. Muriel 
 Littleton sold Shireford, or Shelford, as it is now called, to Sergeant Hele, a 
 great lawyer, who divided it between his five sons, amongst wliem it was the 
 subject of a family contention, when King Charles II. again reigned over 
 England.
 
 Z\K Churcb of lEjipiation. 
 
 X a gentle elevation in the very midst of the old forest land 
 of Arden, near to many of the nionarchs of the old wood- 
 land, stands the solitary church of Baddesley Clinton. Its 
 grey tower is scarcely seen amid the trees by which it is 
 surrounded, even by visitors to the flower-strewn glades of 
 Haywood. On the south side, a venerable yew tree stretches its sombre arms 
 over the moss-grown graves of the old inhabitants. Stately elms and beeches 
 fringe the lonely graveyard, and a quiet walk leads to the moated house of 
 Baddesley Clinton. In this intensely quiet spot it needs no effort of the 
 imagination to conjure up Mariana and her dreary days of longing for the 
 coming of the false lover, to whom Shakespeare has given an undying notoriety, 
 and Tennyson has embedded in one of his sweetest lyrics. Though there are 
 more than a hundred moated areas in Warwickshire, Baddesley Clinton is in 
 some respects an unique example of a fortified manor hou.se of the fifteenth 
 century. Its hall over the porch, its long passages and internal arrangements, 
 give it an interest not possessed even by the larger and statelier fortified 
 mansion of Maxstoke. The history and descent of the house has been poetically 
 rendered by Henry I'errers, the painstaking anti(|uary, who once li\ed here, and 
 whose descendants yet occupy their ancestral home. 'I'his Henry I'errers 
 occupied the house in \'incgar ^'ard, Westminster, which ac(iuired such an 
 unenviable notoriety in the Cunpowder Plot. 
 
 " This scat and soil fro' Saxon Bode., a man of honcsl fame, 
 Who held it in ye Saxons tynie, of Baddes ley took ye name. 
 I'lirportinge in ye Saxon tongue, ye feild or lea of Hade.
 
 IIADOESLEV CLIMON.
 
 THE CHURCH OF HXPIATION. 
 
 65 
 
 W'thout badcl meaninge in the name of man, or mention hadd. 
 And PIngland being conquered, in lotte it did alighle 
 Tn Geffry Whce of noble liirth, an Andegavia' Uniglite : 
 A nicml>er hamlett all this while of Hampto' neere att handc, 
 \\'"th Ilaiii|)lii' so to Mowbray went, as all ye Wiice's lande. 
 Now Alouiliiav. lord of all, devids these two. and gives this one 
 To Bheg ; in that name il comes awhile, and then is gone 
 To Clinto' as his heire, who leaves it to a yongcr sonne ; 
 And in that tyme ye na'e of Baddesley Clinto' was hegon. 
 Fro' them againe, by weddinge of their heire, at first it came 
 To Com'siiy, and after him to Fowkes, who wed ye same. 
 Fro' Fowkes to DiiJdhy by a sale, and so to Burdett past : 
 To Metley nexte, Ijy Metlies will it came to Brome at last. 
 Bioine honors much ye place, and after some descentes of Broines 
 To Ferrers, for a daughter's jiartc of iheires in match it comes. 
 In this last name it lasteth still, and so long — longer shall ; 
 As Crod shall please, who is ye King and Lord and guid of all." 
 The Bromes mentioned in this bit of antiquarian rhyme occupied a some- 
 what [trominent position in this neighbourhood and at Warwick in the fifteenth 
 
 and sixteenth centuries. 
 The family appeared to 
 have derived their name 
 from Brome's Place, or 
 Brome Hail, a moated 
 mansion, of which some 
 remains e.xist in the neigh- 
 bouring parish of Lap- 
 woith. For several gener- 
 ations in the fifteenth 
 century they were tanners in Bridge End, Warwick, here their ancient resi- 
 dence, known as Brome's Place, yet remains. 
 
 In the eighth Henry VI., John Brome was one of the burgesses for the 
 town of Warwick, and his son married Beatrice Shirley, the granddaughter of 
 Sir Hugh Shirley, who fell at Shrewsbury fight, and he was Lord of Baddesley 
 Clinton, and stood high in favour with Henry VI. and the Lancastrian party. 
 On the accession of Edward IV. he ceased to be employed in the public 
 service. He devoted himself apparently to the improvement of his estate, nnd 
 
 BRO.MES PLACE, BRIDGE END, WARWICK.
 
 66 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 the advancement of his children. His eldest daughter, Jocoso, became prioress 
 of the neighbouring nunnery of Wro.xhall, and his son Thomas proprietor of the 
 Woodloes, a substantial moated house not far from the priory at Warwick, 
 which from time immemorial had been held by the cooks of the Earls of 
 Warwick. John Herihill, steward to Neville the great Earl of Warwick, had 
 mortgaged the manor of Woodloes to John Brome, and wished to redeem it, 
 but the latter refused to part with the land. Herthill then stabbed him in the 
 porch of the White Friars, London, and it is said that Thomas Brome smiled, 
 when he saw his father stabbed, for his father forgave him doing so in his 
 will. His eldest son, Nicholas, succeeded his father at Baddesley Clinton, and 
 
 resenting his murder, he 
 
 INTERIOK Ol- 
 BADDESLEY Cl.INTON HAl.I,. 
 
 some three years afterwards 
 waylaid Herthill in Long- 
 bridge fields, on his way 
 to Barford to keep the Earl 
 of Warwick's Court, and 
 after a short encounter slew 
 him. For this he had to 
 pay for certain masses in 
 the church of St. Mary, 
 Warwick, and in his church of 
 Baddesley Clinton. Nicholas 
 was a man of many wives 
 as well as violent passions, 
 for coming into his parlour 
 at Baddesley Clinton he 
 found the parish priest 
 "chucking his wife under 
 the chin, " which so enraged 
 him that he killed the 
 priest He procured the 
 pardon of the King and 
 the Pope for this, but was
 
 THE CHURCH OF EXPIATION. 67 
 
 enjoined to do certain acts in expiation thereof. He "built the steeple of 
 Packwood church," and raised the tower of Baddesley church from the ground, 
 and bought three bells for il. He raised the body of the church ten feet 
 higher, and there are many evidences of his work in the manor house 
 adjoining, He lived until the reign of Henry VHI., August 29, 1517, and the 
 church of his expiation has recently been restored, and the monuments of the 
 Bromcs and Ferrers cleaned and repaired. From the intermarriage of his 
 daughter Constance with Sir Edward Ferrers, the manor and mansion descended 
 to the family who now inhabit it. 
 
 The Bromes continued to reside at the Woodloes, which they modified in 
 the reign of Elizabeth, for some time, and they had a town house on or 
 near the spot where the present gateway stands leading to Warwick Castle. 
 The present house of the Woodloes has the same chimneys and some of the 
 windows intact, but the house was rebuilt on a site considerably to the north 
 of the old house during the present century. 
 
 There is a strange anecdote told of one of the family of the Bromes at 
 Chilton Cantelow, Somersetshire,* where one Theophilus Brome was buried on 
 the 1 8th of August, 1670. He requested that his head might be taken off 
 and preserved in the farmhouse, where a head is still shown. The tenants have 
 not been able to bury it through the noises which ensue. The sexton in trying 
 to do so broke his spade. 
 
 If for no other reason than that it has been so long the home of the Ferrers family, Baddesley 
 Clinton claims the especial regard of all who taUe an interest in our County. 
 
 The first of the Bromes who held Baddesley, and from whom Sir Edward Ferrers derived, was 
 the Lawyer slain by Herthill, 9th November, 1468. He was an ardent Lancastrian, and in great 
 hatred with Edward IW, therefore the Kingmaker's Steward ran little risk in committing the 
 murder, and when Nicholas Brome revenged it by slaying Herthill in Longbridge Field in 147 1 
 the power of Neville had departed, the Battle of Barnet Field had probably been fought, and the 
 matter was deemed so trivial that it was referred to a friendly arbitration at Coventry on the l8th 
 March, 1472. It was awarded that Elizabeth, the widow of Flerthill, should not sue appeales for 
 the death of her husband, that Brome should pay ^5 to a priest to say mass in St. Mary's 
 Church, Warwick, for ye soules of John Brome and John Herthill, pay for like masses at 
 Baddesley, and also pay to Elizabeth £1 13s. 4d. 
 
 * CoUinson's " History," iL 339.
 
 68 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 The subsequent nuuder of the priest was uf cuurse a mure serious afl'air, but by another friendly 
 arrangement he was enjoyned to do something towards the expiation tliereof. 
 
 The brother, Thomas, who smiled when he saw his father runne through in \e church porch, 
 married Joane Middlemore, of Edgbaston, but left no issue, both lie buried in Birmingham Church, 
 whilst the sister, Joyce, was Prioress of Wroxall, where she followed Isaliel .Shakespeare, a 
 supposed relative of William Shakespeare, and where also Joan Shakespeare was Sub-Prioress. 
 
 Constantia, daughter of Nicholas Brome, married 1497 Sir Edward Ferrers, of the family of 
 Lord Ferrers, of Groby, they were succeeded by their grandson, P^dward, who died 1564, followed 
 by his son Henry Ferrers, who compiled the quaint lines printed above. 
 
 It was from the information collected by this Henry Ferrers that Dugdale's account of Baddesley 
 is derived. A copy of the communication, with many details not used, is still preserved in 
 Shakespeare's birthplace at Stratford-on-.\von. From him Baddesley descended through eight 
 generations, from father to son, to the late Marmion Edward Ferrers, who died in 1884, and 
 his widow subsequently married Edward Heneage Bering, who died 22nd November, 1892. 
 
 The well-known character of the late Marmion Edward Ferrers ; his antiquarian research and 
 valued publications ; his kindly hospitality, and his deep love for the historical mansion, of which 
 he was the owner, all tended to make him one of the best known and most revered War- 
 wickshire squires of our time. 
 
 rilF. rlU'kl H Ol' KNI'lAlinX, HAPriRSl.F.V n.INTO.N.
 
 KINGSBURY HAl.I. AND CHURCH. 
 
 an ®l^ Xove Stor^. 
 
 N a steep eminence overhanging the river Tame, not far from 
 the ford which gives the hundred of Hemlingford its name, 
 is the fortified mansion of the Bracebridges and the church 
 of Kingsbury. In the time of the Heptarchy, some of the 
 Mercian kings held their Court on this fair spot. In later 
 times it was the early home of the Bracebridges, the descendants of 
 that Lincolnshire squire, Peter de Bracebridge, who, in the Norman times, 
 left his home in the fens and came wooing to Warwickshire, where he 
 wedded the fair Amicia, granddaughter to the oft-quoted Turchill, the Sheriff of 
 Warwickshire during the time of the Confessor. During the troublous Plantaga- 
 net days the Bracebridges fought bravely, and held their heads amongst the 
 proudest knights and squires of the land. They fortified their home at Kings- 
 bury, and the existing fortifications show an interesting example of the crenelated 
 house of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Within these romantic walls, 
 during the time when the feuds of Yorkist and Lancastrian disturbed the land, 
 and the bear and ragged staff was the universal cognizance of the midlands.
 
 70 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 fair Alice Bracebridge dwelt and loved. She thought that she was loved also, 
 and that John Arden, the heir of Peddimore, dreamed of her fair face as he 
 wandered round Park Hall and thought of his Saxon ancestry and the mis- 
 fortunes of his house. His mother belonged to another race, for his father, 
 Walter Arden, had wedded Eleanor, the daughter of John Hampden, the ancestor 
 of the famous Buckinghamshire squire. They did not look with favour upon 
 the alliance of their son with the poor and proud Bracebridges, who owed to 
 the Ardens their estates and position in Warwickshire. 
 
 Richard Bracebridge, of Kingsbury, was not made of that yielding stuff to brook 
 in silence or in disdain the rejected alliance of his family by his kinsmen, 
 the Ardens of Peddimore. The lover was pining by the side of the Tame, 
 and Alice was watching the flowers brought down by the slow stream from 
 her absent lover. Her sighs and tears melted the old squire's heart, and early 
 one morning he called his retainers to boot and saddle and rode to the hall 
 of the Ardens and brought away the unreluctant heir to his moated house at 
 Kingsbury. The raid was unexpected, and the disconsolate parents on their return 
 home were loud in their demands for redress. To steal a man's daughter was 
 a venial offence, but to abduct a son was unpardonable. The Ardens appealed 
 to law — they represented the matter to King Edward IV., to the lords of the 
 land, and demanded justice and the restitution of their son and heir, but in the 
 meantime, John Arden remained within the strong walls of Kinsbury and 
 comforted himself with the company of Alice Bracebridge. It was a soft im- 
 prisonment, and it mattered but little to them what kings, lords, and lawyers might 
 say or do. They little cared when Sir Simon Montford, of Coleshill, and Sir 
 Richard Bingham, the judge then living at Middleton, took the matter into 
 their grave deliberation and decreed that the pair should be married in February, 
 1474, and that the lady should have a portion of 200 marks as a jointure 
 settled upon her. Richard Ikacebridge, in expiation of the trespass he had 
 committed, was ordered to give Walter Arden the best horse that could be 
 chosen in Kingsbury Park. When Walter died he made John Bracebridge one 
 of his executors. For njany years — for more than two centuries — the de- 
 scendants of John Arden and Alice Bracebridge lived lord.s of Peddimore at 
 Park Hall, and founded the Staffordshire family of that name,
 
 THE OLD LOVE STORY. 
 
 71 
 
 The double moat yet remains at Peddimore, and the home of the Bracebridges 
 is silently going to decay, like the family. Within the fortified walls there 
 remains the dwelling house erected in the time of Elizabeth, when the last 
 Bracebridge, of Kingsbury, sold his paternal estate, and the death of the last 
 of the Bracebridges was recorded when Charles Holte Bracebridge, of Atherston 
 Hall, was laid in his grave. 
 
 ■According to Mr. Drummond's " Noble British Families," few peers of the realm have an 
 origin so illustrious as the Warwickshire family of Arden. For a long continued connection with 
 the shire, the name of Bracebridge alone can enter into rivalry, among the accumulated honours 
 of a thousand years, even the now admitted connection and relationship with William Shake- 
 speare is shared by lioth families, and both claim descent from Rohund, the Saxon Earl of War 
 
 \ * 
 
 
 lEDDIMORF, HAI.I, (DOUBLE MOATED), MINWORTH. 
 
 wick, of Iviiii; .'Mfrcd's time, the marriage of whose daughter, Felicia, with Guy, of almost mythical 
 fame, and the siil)sec|uent alliances with King Athelstan and Leofric, Earl of Mercia, before the 
 Conqueror's days, advanced the Ardens to a position of great power. In the days of the Con- 
 fessor .-\ilwyn, and at the conquest his son Turchill had few equals in the kingdom. 
 
 This Turchill, the first to adopt the surname of .\rden, was twice married. By his first 
 wife, the Countess of Terche, through their eldest son Siward of Arden, has descended the 
 .Ardens of Curdworth, Park Hall and Pedimore : whilst, Ijy his second marriage with Leverunia,
 
 72 H1S10RIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 the daughter of Algar son of Leofrie and (lodiva, descended the stock which speedily became 
 represented solely by the Bracebridges, to whom passed the Kingsbury Seat of the ancient 
 Saxon Kings. 
 
 At the date of the romantic marriage of John Arden and Alice Bracebridge the two families 
 had been owners, if not neighbours, at Kingsbury. Curdworth, and I'ark Hall for nearly four 
 centuries. The Ardens acknowledged as their feudal lords the Earls of Warwick of the new 
 line ; whilst the Bracebridges held Kingsbury under the Karls of Chester, who represented the 
 male issue of Leofrie of Coventry. 
 
 Although the Bracebridges were a warlike race and upheld the great traditions of their 
 ancient seat liy jousts, tournaments, and feats of arms, the Ardens were the holders of larger 
 estates, and their intermarriages with wealthy families gave them a soincwhat higher status. 
 
 In 1382 the owner of Park Hall was Sir Henry .\rden, who served with Thomas, fourth 
 Earl of Warwick, the victim of Richard H. His son Ralph also served the same Earl at 
 home and abroad, and died. 1421, leaving his son Robert eight years -of age. 
 
 This is the Robert Arden whose fate as the first victim of the W'ar of the Roses has 
 evoked so much sympathy. During his minority hi' was in ward to Lady Joan Bergavenny, 
 the widow of William Beauchamp, brother of the fourth Earl Warwick. Lady Joan was the owner 
 of Snitterfield, Aston Cantlow, Shelfield, and other lordships near Stratford-upon-Avon ; she was 
 also owner of Bordesley manor, Birmingham, the sub-manors of which were owned by the 
 ."Xrdens and the Clodshales. She formed an alliance for Robert Arden with Elizabeth daughter 
 and sole heir of Richard Clodshale, one of the wealthy men of Birmingham, whose family 
 had considerable estates in Warwickshire, including Saltley and W'ater Orton, and in Worces- 
 tershire including Pedmore (by Stourbridge) and Stockton. Moreover, Richard Clodshale was the 
 representative of Roger de Bishopsden of Bishopton, near Stratford. 
 
 Richard Clodshale's wife, the mother of Elizabetli. was Isabel Edgbaston, the last of the name 
 and widow of Thomas Middlemore of Edgbaston. 
 
 By Richard Clodshale's will, made at Edgbaston, 1428, he appointed his executor, his 
 honourable Lord, the Htike of Bedford (the John I'lantagenet, whose widow, Jacqueline, married 
 Sir Richard Widville). so that he had probably served under thai great general. 
 
 Like his ancestors, Robert .\rden was a soldier. He served with Richard Nevill, the King 
 Maker, whose uncle, the Duke of V'ork, aspired to the throne ; but in raising soldiers in 
 proximity to his Manor of Stokton, on the Shropshire border, he was. as Dugdale says, laid 
 hold on, and executed at Ludlow in .\ugusl, t452. 
 
 By the Inquisition, taken 1454, his estates are set forth as I'edmore, Vardley, Stokton, *:c., 
 Worcestershire ; Saltley, Washwoode. (Xerton (Water Orton), Langley, Castle Bromwich, Little 
 Uromwich, Bordcslcy-ju.xta-Birmingham, Toneworth (Tanworth), .and Eddeston (Edston), Warwick- 
 .shire ; besides the famity estates of Park Hall. Curdworth, and Minworth. 
 
 The property at Eddestonc was a loft called " Carteres Yard"; it is, however, significant as 
 lying in the midst of Lady Bergavenny's possessions, and contiguous to the spot where Thomas 
 Arden, the ancestor of William .Shakespeare, settled some thirty years later. 
 
 Of Robert .Arden's seven children two only. Waller and John, are tracealile. Walter provided 
 lor this brother by settling him at I'edmore (near .Stourbridge), full details of an iniportan; 
 lawsuit between the brothers relating to it being in existence.
 
 THE OLIJ LOVE Sl'ORY. J$ 
 
 Walter Arden iicincri-il his lamls fnim Kdwanl IV., and married Eleanor daughter of John 
 Hampden, County Bucks, the ancestor of the great patriot. He died 1502, his will being 
 printed in full in the Shahespeareana Gcncalogiea, of Mr. (leorge Russell French, to whom, for 
 his researches, all .Shal<es])eareans are deeply indebted. 
 
 John Arden, the hero of the romantic marriage with Alice Bracebridge, was the eldest son 
 and heir of Walter. Thomas, the next in a family of eight, is shown by Mr. G. R. French 
 to have settled at Wylmcote, Aston Cantlow, and was the father of Robert Arden the grand- 
 father of William Shakespeare, and it is in connection with this fact that the details of John 
 Arden's life become important. His will is printed in W. F. Carter's reprint of Dugdale. 
 
 Although Robert Arden lost his life in the Yorkist cause, like the Nevilles the Ardens 
 became Lancasterians, and it is evident did Henry VH. good service, for not only was John 
 Arden made an Esquire of the Body, but a Robert Arden, the supposed younger brother of 
 John, was also made a Clnioni of the Chamber, and rewarded with liberal appointments and 
 lands in .Staffordshire. 
 
 In the grant of arms to John Shakespeare (1599) is the statement that his great grandfather 
 and late antecessor, for his faithful service to the late most prudent Prince Henry VII., was 
 advanced and rewarded with lands and tenements given to him in those parts of Warwickshire 
 where they have continued by some descents in good reputation and credit. This is now 
 accepted as referring, not to the Shakespeares but to the wife's family, the Ardens. 
 
 A grant — in exact accordance with this statement — made by Henry YII. to Walter Arden or 
 to his son John, the Esquire of the King's body, has hitherto been overlooked. 
 
 The manor of Langley, contiguous to Edston Bearley and Aston Cantlow, was long a posses- 
 ion of the Earls of Warwick, and, together with the adjacent estates, passed to the Duke of 
 Clarence and Richard HI., liecoming forfeit to the Crown after the Battle of Bosworth field. 
 
 It is shown in Dugdale's Warwickshire (page 499) that shortly afterwards its possessor was 
 John Arden of Park Hall, Kscjuier, who, upon the marriage of Thomas, his son and heir, 
 settled it (inter alia) upon him, which Thomas held it in 1554. Is not therefore this the 
 reward of land in those parts given by Henry \'II, to tlie Esquire of his body at tlie same 
 time as that given to the I'age of his chamber ? 
 
 This, however, is not a solitary instance. The remarkable and interesting Will of William 
 Arden, the eldest son of Thomas, of Park Hall, made in 1545, discloses that he was in possession 
 of the Lordship of Budbroke {another Beauchamp Manor, between Warwick and Langley), and 
 although his interest may have been under a Lease from the Crown yet it suggests strongl)' 
 that William Shakes|-)eare's ancestor, Thomas Arden of Wilmecote, may have participated, either 
 by grant or lease, in these Crown favours, a probaliilily consideralily strengthened by the known 
 intimacy of both the Park Hall and Wilmecote Ardens with the Throckmortons, Somervilles, 
 and Conways, old settled families in the neighbourhood of Aston Cantlow. 
 
 There is nothing authoritatively known as to the death of John Arden's wife, Alice Brace- 
 bridge. John Arden died. 1526, leaving his wife, Elizabeth, all the goodes that she brought 
 both here and at the Holt. Holt was part of the Kingsbury Manor. The second marriage 
 was probably made late in life. 
 
 The subsequent descent may be briefly stated. Thomas, the eldest son of John, died 1562-3 : 
 his son William married Elizabeth Conway, grandchild of Richard Burdetl, and died in London,
 
 74 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 1545 ; his son Edward, who married a ThrockiiKirum. was executed in SmilhfieUl. 15S4 ; his 
 son-indaw, John Somerville, had a mad craze for killing (,)ueen Elizalielh : Edward Arden had 
 incurred the eirinily of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and thereupon fell a victim to his 
 vindictive spleen; his son Robert succeeded him, and died, 1635; when, liis son, Sir Henry 
 Arden, having died in 1625 ; his grandson Robert followed him. Robert died unmarried, 1643, 
 and his sisters carried the estates and the ancient honours of the family to the Hagots and the 
 Adderleys. 
 
 The descent of the Bracebridge family is briefly as follows. John the son of Richard and 
 brother of Alice died 1516, and, his son Simon being dead, was succeeded by his grandson 
 Thomas, who was thrice married. Thomas by his first wife, a Catesby of Lapworlh, had three 
 sons, whom he disinherited in favour of the children by his second wife, Joyce \Vilson, and 
 died 1569. His eldest son, William, and his grandson, Michael, having died previously, 
 his second son, Edward, who settled at Leicester, liecame the representative. From him 
 descended, in a direct line, a succession of five Edwards, all woolstaplers of Leicester. The 
 last, or sixth, Edward, left a son John, also a woolstapler, who died at Leicester, 1782 ; his 
 son Edward, of the same business and town, died 1830, leaving a son Edward, who died at 
 Kilsby, 1868, and his son Charles Edward Hraceliridge. the |)resenl representative of the ancient 
 line, the thirty-fourth in descent from .\rthgal, a Knight of the Round Table of King Arthm'. 
 and thirtieth from (iuy, Saxon .E.arl of Warwick, at the present time is owner of lands once 
 possessed by Turchill of Warwick and his wife Leverunia. 
 
 Thomas Bracebridge (1569) by his second wife Joyce had three sons, the eldest, Thomas, who 
 married .Alice Rugeley, fell into jioverty and sold Kingsbmy. He died 1607. liis son IMward 
 married Dorothy Rugeley, and a later descendant a .Scott of (Ireat Barr. 
 
 .\nketillus, the third son of Thomas and Joyce, had a son Richanl oftlie lloli, Kingsbury, 
 and of .Atherstone, who entered his arms at the visitation of 1619, and left a son Samuel, 
 the father of Abraham Bracebridge who, about 1690, purchased Atherstone Hall built upon the 
 Ruins of the I'riory, and also of Thomas Bracebridge who married a Ludfonl of .Ansley, his 
 descendants afterwards assuming that name. 
 
 Abraham Bracebridge was succeeded by his grandson .\braliaiii. whose grandson .Miraham, 
 also of .\therstonir Hall, married Mary Elizabeth the oidy child of Sir Charles 11., he. the last 
 baronet of Aston Hall, and died 1832. Theii children were Charles llolte Bracebridge and 
 Mary Ilolte Bracebridge, the latter married her cousin Walter Henry Bracebridge, and died 
 1866 at the ,age of 90. Her brother, though not the last of liie Hiacebridges, was the last of 
 his line. Charles Holle bracebridge, a man of learning in the highest sense, a lover of art, 
 antiquary, Shakcsperian, and philanthropist, llie twenly-lirst in descent from the Saxon Sherifl 
 Ailwyn, died in July, 1872, one of the worthiest of Warwick.shire's worthies. 
 
 Kingsbury Manor House was sold, temp. Elizabeth, to Sir .Xmbrose Cave, who had married 
 Margery, the widow of Thomas Holt, Esq., of .\slon. and the remainder of Kingsbury to Sir 
 Francis Willoughby. 
 
 I'cdimorc Hall was sold by one of the co-heires.ses of Robert .\rden, in 1659, to William 
 Wood, and in 1767 to Miss Addyes, whose representatives .sold il lo .Mr. Ilorsefill. Upon a 
 stone over the door head is an ancient rude inscription :
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 75 
 
 DKVS NOSTER RKI-VGIVM. 
 
 The nnciunl seal ;il i'aik !l;ill lias long since vanished. Tlie thy nioal near ihc Colohill 
 Road is still visible ; another house near the Tame has replaced it, and bears the old name, 
 which serves to connect the present witli the old moated hall from whence John Arden was 
 >lolcn away ; [he innne with Cmdworth mid I'edimore of the ancient and historic Ardens. 
 
 PEDIGREE. 
 
 Leofwyn, 
 Karl of Mercia. 
 
 Wignt - Erm«nild, 
 a warrior Sister ol 
 temp. Earl 
 
 Ethel wold, Leofric. 
 Fikh in 
 descent 
 from Guy 
 Earl of 
 Warwick. 
 
 Ailwyii, 
 
 Sheriff of Warwickshire, 
 
 under his uncle Earl Leofric. 
 
 Leofric, = Lady Godii 
 Earl 
 of 
 Mercia. 
 
 Algar, 
 Earl of Mercia. 
 
 Here ward, 
 
 supposed Son of 
 
 Leofric. 
 
 Countess of^Turchill de -Arden 
 Ferche, j (held 53 Lordships of 
 I St Wife. 1 Warwickihire ) 
 
 I 
 From whom descended the Ardeiis of 
 Park Hall, llirmingham ; Yoxall. 
 Staffordshire ; and Wilmcote. 
 
 Leverunia. 
 2nd Wife. 
 
 Edwin. 
 
 From whom descended the Comptons 
 
 of Compton Winyates, and the 
 
 Bracebridges of FCingsbury. 
 
 ROBERT ARDEN'S HOUSE, WILMCOTE.
 
 IReformers m\t> flDart^re. 
 
 LONG the Watling Street way we find the traces of our reformers 
 and our martyrs. From Cesterover to Willey, the pinnacled 
 tower of Lutterworth is a conspicuous object in the land- 
 scape. Here Wickliff preached, wrote, and died. It was 
 along the little river .Swift that his honoured dust was borne, 
 when his bones were torn from his grave thirty-one years after his decease, 
 burnt, and cast into the river. " Each separate atom," as Fuller quaintly puts 
 it " became a germ of truth." The rivulet carried the ashes to the Avon, 
 the Avon to the Severn, the Severn to the ocean, and from thence ail over 
 the world. No one can forget how stoutly John of Gaunt, then Lord of 
 Kenilworth, stood the friend of Wickliff when cited to London to answer for 
 his opinions. Luther was equally well supported, when, 150 years afterwards, 
 he stood before the diet of Worms. Honest John Lacey, tlie parish priest of 
 Chesterton, was not afraid to harbour Sir John Oldcastle, the good Lord 
 Cobham, when an outlaw for his religious opinions, for we find that King 
 Henry V. granted the old priest a pardon for so doing in the third year of 
 his reign (14 15-6). In the very year of the battle of Bosworth, when Coventry 
 was full of renewed zeal for the Lancastrians, eight men and one woman were 
 charged with heretical doctrines, and were forced to recant and do penance, 
 because they did not believe th:it Popes were, successors to St. I'etcr, and 
 that prayer and alms availeth not the dead. They did not believe in either
 
 Ui:KlKMKkS ANIl MARTYRS. 
 
 77 
 
 purgatory or pilgrimages, but in the saving influence of faith and CJod's mercy. 
 They even thought it better to give ahns to the poor than to make offerings 
 to images of saints. They thought that every man should know the Lord's 
 prayer, and that bread should be alone the representative of the sacrament of 
 the Lord's Supper. In the year 1488, Margery Goit was accused of denying 
 the doctrine of transubstantiaiion, and was ordered to do penance. 
 
 SUTTON CHURCH. 
 
 It was not until the year 15 19, when Henry VIIL had been on the throne 
 ten years, that the faggot and stake were used at Coventry to repress heretical 
 opinions. In that year si.x godly men and one woman were burned on the 
 Little Park for Protestant heresies, and their goods seized by the Sheriff 
 There is preserved, in the ninth volume of the Stafford MSS., verses 
 indicative of the puritanic spirit, and of the aspirations for a Christian life, 
 written at Sutton Coldfield. It is dated May, 1546 (thirty-eighth Henry VIIL), 
 the year before Edward VI. ascended the throne: —
 
 78 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 ' Aryhc ycrly 
 Remember (Jud shoitly 
 Blesse the surely 
 Serve God devovitly 
 And the world Ijesely 
 Fear God inwardly 
 L(.)ve thy prynce ini'ly 
 And praye for him humbly 
 Worke thy dede wysely 
 ( iyfte thy amies secretly 
 Kate thy raeate merely 
 tioo thy wa)^^ sadly 
 Learne virtue dayly 
 Answer deinurcly 
 Chyde not wilfully 
 Stryke not hastely 
 Deale not to largely 
 Laugh not loudly 
 Goo to dyn appetly 
 Sytt thereat manly 
 Eate not surfetly 
 Ryse therefro tenipally 
 Comon not to boldely 
 Use not thy tong libally 
 Loke nott sowrely 
 Love not thy wyfe jeleusly 
 But loke on her pleasaimtly 
 
 Chastyce thy chyld duly 
 
 Pay thy dettes truly 
 
 Spend measureably 
 
 Do thy s'ves hedely 
 
 Kep thy offyce redely 
 
 Be arrayed honestly 
 
 Here ye masse devoutly 
 
 Paye thy s'vant ryghtuesly 
 
 Bourde not brodely 
 
 Ask thy dettes gently 
 
 Speak for thy ryghl boldly 
 
 Maynteyne Irueth manly 
 
 Crafte not pryvayly 
 
 Take god soundjpatyelly 
 
 And thank him tend'ly 
 
 Kewar othes accustomably 
 
 Nor swere not depely 
 
 Love thy wyft'e faythfully 
 
 Suffer her resonably 
 
 Loke on thy daughter dyligently 
 
 ^Lake thy bargain discreetly 
 
 At supp eat slenderly 
 
 Aryis therefrom sob'ly 
 
 Drynke thereat but softely 
 
 And then geave thanks hertly 
 
 To God that sends all to the 
 
 And go to bed in charyte." 
 
 When the Coventry heretics were doing penance, Hugh Latimer, of Thurcaston, 
 was fifteen years old, and full of zeal for the papacy. When he became the 
 first Protestant Bishop of Worcester, he found many zealous friends living almost 
 within sight of his birthplace. Amongst the numerous servants and dependents 
 of the monasteries was John (Jlover, of Baxterle), formerly an official connected 
 with the Cistercian Abbey of Merivale, and subsequently a retainer of Lord 
 Ferrers, who took back the Abbey lands his ancestor gave the monks more 
 than 300 years before. Haxterley is pleasantly situated on the bend of the 
 ridge on which Hartshill and Oldbury are placed, which overlooks a large portion 
 of the great Leicestershire vale. Here John Clover built a hall, and here 
 received Master Hugh Latimer as his guest, with his friend and servant, Austin 
 Bernher. There is an entry in the church books recording the fact that the
 
 RKFOKMKRS ANIl MARTYRS. 
 
 79 
 
 venerable old divine preached there. Robert (llover, the martyr, hud married 
 a niece of Latimer, and early in tiic rcii^-n of Edward VI. resided occasionally 
 with his brothers, John and William, at the Manor House, at Mancetter, which 
 yet remains adjoining the cluirchyard. One of the adjacent houses was, in 
 
 
 grt.-'.^'V vr.- 
 
 1* < . 
 
 RI,'1N> or MlililVALE AliBEV. 
 
 1 555,W inhabited by Mr. Thomas Lewis (who owiied a moiety of the manor) and 
 his wife. Edward VL was dead, and Mary reigned in England, and Dr. 
 Banes was Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry. 
 
 Coventry, renowned for its religious pageants, for its splendid churches, for 
 its cathedral, and ancient halls, was ai once the hoine of popish bigotry, and 
 staunch Protestantism. In the reign of Henry VIII. it had been noted as 
 the home of sectaries, yet there was a strong repugnance to destroy the 
 ecclesiastical monuments of their fathers. Miracle plays had been common, 
 and the pageantry of the priests pleased the mass of the people. (^n the
 
 8o 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 8th of February, 1555, Lawrence Saunders, Rector of Allhallows Church, 
 London, was burnt for heresy in Coventry. Originally designed for a merchant 
 he was educated at Eton School, and apprenticed to Sir William Chester. 
 
 II ^^^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 COVKNTRY CIUKCUKS AND IIS I'AGEA.NTS. 
 
 Saunders, however, preferred the ministry, and after being educated at 
 Cambridge, became the incumbent of Church Langton in Leicestershire, and 
 of Allhall(jws, Bread Street, London. When the persecutions of Queen Mary
 
 REFORMERS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 began, Saunders went on preachinj; as before in defiance of the Queen's 
 proclamation. After preaching against tlie errors of Popery at Northampton, he 
 was arrested and suffered imprisonment for a year and three months, notwith 
 standing he was offered mercy by the Bishops of Winchester and London, 
 with whom he had frequent disputes, if he would recant and return to the 
 Church of Rome. He refused these terms, and wrote a letter of condolence 
 to Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer, then in prison at Oxford. On the 4th of 
 February, 1555, Bishop Bonner went to the Marshalsea Prison, London, 
 degraded him, and deprived him of his ofificial character, and on the following 
 morning, Mordaunt, the sheriff, delivered him to the Queen's Guard, who were 
 appointed to conduct him to the city of Coventry, there to be burned. On 
 the 8th of February, he was conducted to the stake placed in the park, just 
 outside the city walls. Here he was offered pardon if he would revoke his 
 heresies ; but this Saunders refused to do, and after a humble prayer he, 
 clad in a shirt and old black gown, folded his arms around the stake to 
 which he was about to be chained, and kissed it, saying, " Welcome the 
 cross of Christ ! Welcome everlasting life ! " He was then fastened to the 
 stake, the flames ascended round him, and he was soon in the presence of 
 his Maker. 
 
 There are many signs that the execution of Saunders created a widespread 
 feeling of enthusiasm. He had been the friend of the Glovers, at Mancetter, 
 and here his memory and his fate were mourned. Mrs. Lewis appears to 
 have gone to mass regularly prior to his execution, but now she joined the 
 zealous ministrations of the Glover?, for John Careless, the brother of Mary, 
 Robert Glover's wife, was even then languishing in the King's Bench Prison, 
 in London, for holding heretical opinions. Careless had been a weaver in 
 Coventry, and was originally confined in the City Gaol, but after being 
 examined by Dr. Martin, he was sent to London. In the .-ame prison was 
 Archdeacon Philpots, and between the two a loving friendship appears to have 
 sprung up. There is extant a long correspondence between them, which took 
 place after the Archdeacon was imprisoned in the stocks in the coal-hole of the 
 prison. In one of these letters Careless playfully alludes to his name. He 
 says, " I will now, according to your loving request, cast away all care, and
 
 82 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 cast all my care upon Christ, who will care for me, and will be careless 
 according to my name ; for as soon as I had read vour comfortable letter, 
 my sorrows vanished away as smoke in the wind. I am sure the Spirit of 
 God was the author of it." He kept up a correspondence with many other 
 sufferers for conscience sake, but ultimately died in prison, in July, 1556, and 
 was buried in a dunghill. 
 
 In the previous year, the brothers (Jlover appear to have been residing in 
 Coventry, when the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield (Dr. Banes) issued a 
 warrant to the Mayor to arrest John Glover, who was the leader of his 
 brothers. The Mayor of Coventry gave him warning, and John and William 
 Glover escaped, but Robert being ill in l:)ed could not move, so the officers 
 found and seized liim. As his name Nvas not in the warrant the Sheriff who 
 was with them would have let him go, but the officers persisted in detaining 
 him until the Bishop came. Eleven days elapsed before Dr. Banes arrived ; 
 in the meantime Robert Glover lay in prison refusing the offer of a friendly 
 hand to be released on a bond. As soon as the Bishop arrived. Glover was 
 questioned as to the tiue church, the number of sacraments, the mass, the 
 confession of sins to a priest : but to these questions his answers were not 
 satisfactory, either at Coventry or at Lichfield, where he was removed. He 
 was remitted to the common gaol at Coventry to await a writ for his execu- 
 tion from London. Whilst in prison he was visited by his friend Austin 
 ISernher, a zealous preacher of the time, and who subsequently a|)pears to have 
 resided at Southam. To Bernher we are indebted for an account of the 
 faltering spirit of Robert Glover until the day drew nigh, when, in coni]iany 
 with Cornelius Bongay, a capper, of Coventry, he went cheerfully to the stake 
 and faggot on the 20th day of September, 1555- Therj is a touching letter 
 of Robert Glover's extant, addressed to his wife, who received letters of con- 
 dolence from Ridley, Latimer, and her bi-other Careless. 
 
 The fates of John and William Glover likewise demand pity and commisera- 
 tion. John injured his health from lurking about in woods. He several times 
 narrowly escaped capture, for a search was made for him at the end of Mary's 
 reign, as he had been excommunicated for his opinions. He died and was 
 cjuietly buried in Mancetter churchyard. No service was read over his grave ;
 
 REFORMERS AND MARTYRS. 83 
 
 no minister attended his funeral. Persecution did not rease with death, for 
 the Chancellor of the diocese, Dr. Draicott, demanded that the body should 
 be taken up by the vicar and cast over the wall into the highway. The vicar 
 protested that it was impossible, as the body had been buried six weeks. He 
 was ordered to do this after an interval of twelve months, and then the 
 place where he was buried must be reconsecrated. 
 
 William Glover died at Wem, in Shropshire, whither he had fled for refuge 
 nearly at the same time as his brother, and the body carried to the p.\rish 
 church, but the curate forbade the body being buried until he had heard from 
 the bishop. In the n^.-iitimc, a tailor, named Richard Morrice, attempted to 
 inter the corpse, but was prevented by one Thorlyne. By the Bishop's order 
 (Dr. Banes), dated 6th September, 1558, the body was removed in a dung 
 cart, and was buried in a neighbouring broom tield. 
 
 On the 18th September, 1577, Mrs. Lewis was executed at Lichfield, after 
 a long term of imprisonment and repeated examinations. 
 
 In Mancetter church, there are tablets erected to the memory of the Man- 
 cetter martyrs, by the late Rev. B. Richiiigs. In the chancel of the church. 
 Fox's " Book of ^L^rtyrs," and several religious books, are chained up for the 
 use of the people.* Within a mile or two of the home of the (Hovers is 
 the birthplace of George Fox, the founder of the Society of P'riends, and still 
 further on the Leicestershire side of the street way is Wykin Hall, the residence 
 of William Wightman, the last person burned at the ;take in England for 
 heresy. He denied the doctrine of the Trinity, and was executed at Lichfield, 
 1610. Fox was not born, however, until fourteen years after this event. I!v 
 the roadside is an obelisk to his memory, erected by the efforts of the late 
 Charles Holt Bracebridge, and on the hills above, at Hartshill, is one of the 
 earliest of the Quaker chapels and also a long established Quaker school. 
 
 The name of Juhii Rogers, reformer and martyr, ii al-sent from those here recorded, by reason, 
 jierhaps, of Dr. Fuller having slated that he was a native of Lancashire, hut upon what authority 
 is uncertain. That Rogers was a Deritend man rests upon the strongest evidence, procured by 
 the investigations of Strype the liistorian, .\nthony A. Wood the antiquary, Christopher 
 Anderson's "Annals of Enghsh Bible," Coopers " Athence Cantabrigiensis," Chester's "Life 
 
 ' There are chained books of divinity .lUo ru Woolon-Wawen church.
 
 84 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 (if Jiihn Riifjers." Colvile's " \\'arwickshiiL' WoiihiirN," and ulht-i aiuluuities. A careful jiLTiisal 
 cif ihc fads adiUiced by llicse authors leaves no doulit of the accuracy of their view. 
 
 A strung feature in the recorded evidence is that Daniel Rogers, who was employed ISy (Jueeii 
 Elizabeth as an agent or theological ambassador on the Continent, was the eldest son of John. 
 Wood says he «as son of John Rogers, of Deritend ; whilst Strype at first presumed him to 
 have been the son of tlie martyr, and afterwards, when he had the papers and MS. of Daniel 
 in his possession and examined them, positively affirms it. .\11 these authorities are readily 
 accessible, whilst no evidence exists to disprove their statements, or to claim John Rogers as a 
 native of any other place. 
 
 It appears, therefore, beyond doubt that John Rogers was the son of John Rogers the 
 l.orimer, of Deritend, and of Margery his wife, a daughter of Wyatt the tanner, and that he was 
 Ixirn between 1500 and 1509. 
 
 That the family was of a good position is shown by the fact that in his various dealings 
 with properties John Rogers used two seals, both of them I. R., one plain and the other 
 much ornamented ; moreover, the registry of the members of the Ciild of St. Anne of Knowle 
 shows that in 1495 William Wyatt and John Wyatt and wife were mendiers, and in the 
 same book is also found the entry : — 
 
 "A.D. 1511. John Rogers and Margar' and pro anima .Agnela- de Deritendc." 
 
 Tlu- house rif John Rogers was between the ( )ld Crown House and the river, exactly opposite 
 ihe aneieiil half-tind)ered house still standing, and which has been suiijiosed, but without 
 <viden<-e, !■) have been originally the House of the Cild of St. John the liaptist of Deritend, 
 and in lanuary. 1519, a Lease wots granted to John Rogers by ICdward Hyrmyngeham, Esquier,
 
 REFORMERS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 8S 
 
 of his huusf and gartlen vvilli land li. llic Kt-c, and subsccinenlly the Freehold appears to 
 have been sold to him, and the i>ro])erty is specially excepted from the next Survey of the 
 Manor, the sale of a part of the Manorial Estate at lliat period being very exceptional. 
 
 The life and sad ending of Ivlward Byrmingham, the last of the name, always creates a 
 sympathetic interest. The story, as told by Dugdalc, may not be correct in detail. l;\it it 
 contains the outlines of a plot of which he was the victim. He was an active man in the 
 management of his lordship, and it is pleasant to c<mlemplate an intimacy between him and 
 the Rogers' family, as shown by these transactions. The younger Rogers was a little 
 younger than Byrmingham, but his learning and ability would speedily .advance him with the 
 Chaplains, Schoolmasters, and chief men of the Town, 
 
 In the subsidy of 1525 John Rogers was assessed on ./. 6 in goods, and was party to a 
 deed in 1529, he probably died soon afterwards. He left, among other children. Ellenor. 
 married to Robert MylwarH of Alvechurch. 
 
 Nearly opposite the house of Rogers was the Free Cha|)el of St. John's. The minister w.as 
 elected by the poiiular vote, and .'rnm this fact it has lieen assumed, and with some reason, to 
 have been connected with the early reformers. The C.ild of Si. John, which was doubtless 
 influenced by the ministers of the Free t'ha]iel, supported and maintained a Free School, and 
 in this school would the younger Rogers receive his education. Upon the suppression of the 
 tiilds the School was swept away, and the whole of its revenues appropriated by the rapacity 
 of the band of courtiers who constituted the .advisers of the youthful Edward \'l. : but for 
 their greed Deritend would now be in the enjoyment of a .School, richly endowed, and rich 
 also in the memory of the connection with it of the friend and fellow -worker of William 
 Tyndale and Miles Coverdale, a scholar and early reformer, and the first martyr of i^)ueen 
 Mary's reign.
 
 
 M 
 
 FACSniII.F. OF F.NTRY IN REGISTF.R ROOK OF MARRIAGF. LICENSES AT WORCESTER. 
 
 Z\)Z Swan of Hvon. 
 
 N the banks of the placid Avon, the river over which the 
 lo\ing willows droop and kiss the surface of the stream with 
 their earliest catkins and grey leaflets, where the " mary-buds 
 ope their golden eyes " to greet the sun of spring and the 
 cuckoo flowers fringe the brooklet which rushes to hide itself 
 in the greater stream, the "Swan of Avon" first saw the light. The crown 
 imperial raised its coronet above " the pansies freaked with jet and the streak'd 
 gillivers " which Dorcas scorned, and in the meadows the bold oxlips raised 
 their freckled cups over the "violets dim," and the "pale primroses that die 
 unmarried '' to form the birthday garland of Warwickshire's greatest son. 
 
 The old river ran smoothly by the slopes of Copdock and through the 
 meadows of Charlecote as of yore. The big leaves of the water lilies had 
 not found a resting place on its boscm, when its face wreathed in smiles as 
 it passed through the many-arclied bridge, then just finished, and received 
 on its bosom the reflection of the church, which was to be for many ages the 
 shrine of the poetic pilgrims of the world. It washed the shores of the weir 
 brake ere it received the rays of the unclouded sun at Luddington's ford, as 
 it went on its way to Ilillborough and Bidford, where it was ever to be 
 associated with the name of Shakespeare in tradition and in story.
 
 THE SWAN' OF AVON. 
 
 «7 
 
 Elizabeth had been Queen of England some five or six years, and the people 
 had begun to breathe freely and think freely under the new freedom which 
 had succeeded the black clouds of Mary's reign, when, on a bright April 
 morning in the year 1564, a well-to-do burgher of Stratford-on-Avon, residing 
 in Henley Street, was greeted with the news that he was the father of a male 
 child. It was an event which gave no small delight to the gentle mother, for, 
 
 •"\. 
 
 
 ^^'^^F?— i:'"'^^^ 
 
 :rr-^^ 
 
 SS^SHSTASSif^aa^ 
 
 rr -riil |-1ilf"r--^ ^a^ifSt^ .^^J^ii^^'.-,^aatei»a.~»=«g*'^»«^a^#Tf'nT^, -. 
 
 JOHN SHAKESPEARE'S HOUSE (^From an Old Pr:nt). 
 
 though she had borne two female children during the six or seven years of 
 her wedded life, her tender nurslings, Joan and Margaret, had either died 
 in infancy or survived at most but a few months. There was joy, therefore, 
 in the house of John Shakespeare when his eldest boy first saw the light which 
 forced its way through the chequered quarries of the birth-room. The lark 
 sang at heaven's gate the joyful news, and the flower buds shook their bells in 
 the spring winds. Hope was young, and the gentle mother, whilst she pictured 
 forth the glorious future of her boy, shrunk somewhat with dread as she thought 
 of his dead sisters, who lay in the cold churchyard, with naught but the 
 company of the big elm trees and the idle ripple of the Avon to soothe their 
 last long sleep.
 
 88 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRK. 
 
 The well-to-do burgher, John Shakespeare, if he did not share the raptures of 
 the mother, thanked heaven that Mary had her wish, and that he had an heir 
 to the prosperity which had blessed his labours during the twelve years he had 
 resided in Stratford. He had worked hard it is true, but then he worked at 
 
 Shakespeare's house in 1806. 
 
 first with a view to provide a home for the sweetheart waiting for him in the 
 sylvan nook at Wilmcote ; but now he was married, and his wife's fortune had 
 helped him on in the world until he was a prosperous trader, though careless 
 of many matters which the Court of Aldermen deemed of importance. 
 
 In his dreams, John Shakespeare must have thouglit now and then of his 
 early days, when tilling the small f;irm at Snittcrficld, which his father, Richard 
 Shakespeare, rented from Robtrt Arden, of Wilmcote. From that upland village 
 his eye must have wandered over the extensive Feldon, diversilied by wood 
 and watered by the Avon He could see the fringe of hills which marks the 
 Oxfordshire boundary, as well as the heights of Ettington and Ilmington on 
 the west. As he strolled along the lane to Welcombe, he could see the 
 spire and towers of Stratford, by the side of the silvery Avon, over the tufted
 
 THE SWAN OF AVON 
 
 89 
 
 and bushy dingles which lay between. It was not more than three miles across 
 the table-land to Pathlow, and from thence could be seen the tree-embosomed 
 homestead of Wilmcote, which seemed so cosy in the valley beneath, between 
 the Alne and the Billesley hills. When the evening sun set behind the heights 
 of the ridgeway which overlooks the old Roman town of Alcester, how his 
 loving footsteps carried him along this walk night after night, for at the first 
 homestead at the entrance of the hamlet of Wilmcote dwelt Mary Arden, the 
 
 daughter of his father's 
 »^K^ -.^^'' '. "- ,(— , ^^~-" • ~ ..^ .-^ landlord. The house 
 
 yet exists in a bower 
 of greenery. The 
 
 apple trees nestle by 
 the side of the gables 
 and peep in at the 
 windows, and the 
 cawing rooks inhabit 
 the tall elms which 
 shade it from the 
 early morning sun. 
 Robert Arden, of 
 ROBERT arden's HOUSE AT WILMCOTE. Wilmcotc, was a yeo- 
 
 man of gentle blood. He could trace his descent from Alwyn and Turchill, 
 who were Sheriffs of Warwickshire when the Confessor reigned and the Conqueror 
 ruled the land. He iiad married a second time to a widow named Agnes 
 Hill, when John Shakespeare came courting his daughter Mary, who for her 
 part, did not look unfavourably on the energetic youth. If the Ardens 
 were of gentle birth, the Shakespeares had fought at Bosworth, and there were 
 many of them settled in various parts of the county, and along the Watling 
 Street Road. It was with a stout heart and stalwart hope that John Shake- 
 speare went forth to make a home for his beloved, and, though he married 
 Mary Arden in the year 1557, it was not until the 23rd of April, 1564 (old 
 style), that her son William was born in the old house in Henley Street. 
 If we turn to the tall vellum-bound parchment register of the parish of Old
 
 9° 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Stratford, in the church of the Holy Trinity, we find, amongst other entries, 
 this significant hne — 
 
 
 On the 26th of April, 1564, then, William, the son of John Shakespeare, was 
 baptized. As it was the common practice of the period to baptize the children 
 three days after birth, it is presumed, and the presumption is borne out by 
 tradition, that \A'illiam Shakespeare was born on St. George's-day, 1564. It is 
 strange that the day of England's patron saint should see the birth and the 
 death of England's greatest son. 
 
 When the summer days merged into winter, it is easy to imagine that the 
 bereaved mother's feelings were wrought into the highest pitch of anxiety for 
 the safety and life of her son, as the dreaded plague had found its way to 
 Stratford, and was decimating its inhabitants. Whether in answer to his mother's 
 prayers, or that the gifted child was destined to be spared, the plague passed by 
 
 the Henley Street household, 
 and left William Shake- 
 speare to grow up a 
 fair-haired, hazel-eyed boy. 
 AVhen Willie had reached 
 five years old, his father 
 I'i^j became the chief magistrate, 
 or High Bailiff of Stratford. 
 The iiousehold in the mean- 
 °-l[^ time had been increased by 
 another son and a daughter 
 and at ihis time (1569) 
 Gilbert was three years old, 
 whilst Joan was an infant, 
 ill life, though his business was 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHPLACE, 
 AS ir Al'PF.AKED BKI-'ORI-. THE RESTORATION. 
 
 John Shakespeare was evidently prosperin 
 a miscellaneous one. He combined with his trade of a glover that of a
 
 THE SWAN OF AVON. 9I 
 
 woolstapler and a dealer in farm produce. In the course of trade he might 
 occasionally slaughter an o.x or calf, but it is doubtful if he regularly carried 
 on the trade of a butcher or flesher. Although in 1848 the house in which 
 he lived presented the appearance of a squalid butcher's shop, in 1575, when 
 John Shakespeare bought it, it was a substantial dwelling. From the views which 
 have been preserved of it, skilled heads and careful hands have been enabled 
 to restore it to its ancient appearance.* 
 
 In the year (1575) in which John Shakespeare bought his house, Queen 
 Elizabeth paid her famous visit to Kenilworth Castle, where the whole country 
 side assembled to see the pomps and pageants provided for the entertainment 
 of the Queen. William was now eleven years old, and it is more than probable 
 that he accompanied his father to Kenilworth, and there saw some of the sports 
 and the festivities which greeted the Queen during the time of her visit. It 
 was a bright and prosperous time with the father, though there were troubles 
 looming ahead — troubles which in three years' time made the Court of Aldermen 
 exempt John Shakespeare and another alderman from paying the full levy of 
 6s. 8d, for equipping " three pikeinen, two billmen, and an archer," on account 
 of poverty. In the same year he was excused from paying towards the relief 
 of the poor, and in the next year he was a defaulter to the extent of 3s. 4d. 
 towards the levy for armour. No longer prosperous, he is obliged to mortgage 
 his wife's estates at Ashbie, near Wilmcote, and the next year he sells his interest 
 in his property at Snitterfield. Things are evidently going bad in Henley 
 Street, in spite of the assistance which his eldest son could give him, for, 
 notwithstanding the vagueness which enshrouds the career of William Shakespeare, 
 it is too probable that he early left school to engage in some handicraft, trade, 
 or profession ; but whether as lawyer, glover, or butcher, assisting his father, 
 or relieving him of the charges for board and raiment, there is no record to 
 prove. This was a sad time to think of, and we may e.xcuse some of the 
 vagaries attributed to the poet-boy when we picture the avaricious creditors, the 
 
 * The house was purchased by Mr. Peter Cuningham on the i6th of September, 1847, when it was put up 
 for sale by Mr. George Robins. The price, which was a little over .£3,000, was raised by public subscription, 
 and the house was placed under trustees on behalf of the nation. On the faith of a legacy of X^iSoo from 
 John Shakespeare, of Worthington, Leicester, the trustees commenced to repair the house, under the direction of 
 Mr. Edward Gibbs, architect, in 1856. The legacy was afterwards withdrawn, and the trustees had to rind the 
 money by other means.
 
 92 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 narrow means and gloomy prospcCLs of the home of Shakespeare, when the year 
 1580 dawned in Stratford It has been surmised that the records of debt and 
 poverty preserved arose because John Shakespeare had gone to Hve outside the 
 borough boundary, where the court was powerless to pursue him, but the " Swan 
 of Avon" was in all probability "cradled into poetry by wrong, and learned 
 in suffering what he taught in song.'' 
 
 In these limes, how he must have welcomed the "coming of the players," 
 who, year by year, visited Stratford, from the time of his father's bailiwick 
 to the time when he himself " fretted and strutted his little hour upon the 
 stage ! '■ During this period, too, the soft passion had changed his being. 
 In his rambles by the sunny Avon, or in the " daisy pied " meadows, or in 
 the tree-embowered lanes, he had met with Ann Hathaway, the daughter of a 
 yeoman residing in the neighbouring hamlet of Shottery. He wooed and won. 
 Late in the year he married her. William Shakespeare was only in his nine- 
 teenth year v/hen he and two neighbours from Shottery went with his sweet- 
 heart to Worcester, to enter into a bond for the security of the bishop in 
 licensing " William Shagspeie and Ann Hathway " to be married after only 
 one proclamation of banns. This bond is dated November 28, 1582, and is 
 preserved in the Consistonal Registry at Worcester. Where the marriage took 
 place is not known, but evidently at some village church. From the fact of 
 the registers of Luddington being destroyed, it is surmised * that the wedding 
 
 took place there. This 
 church has disappeared, but 
 Captain Saunders has pre- 
 served a view of it, which 
 is here reproduced. 
 f // ,^.>»^K«^psa^Ve^^^K»^a^^^«iBflHfflavi. ^i-.AW /. t^jj; months after their 
 
 marriage a daughter was 
 
 born, who was christened 
 
 Susanna on the 26th of 
 
 Hamnet and 
 
 I.IIDDI.NCION 01, 1) i:illiK(Ii. 
 
 May, i.sS.V 
 
 This surmise must now give place in favour of Temple Grafton. (See Note).
 
 THE SWAN OF AVON. 93 
 
 Judith, twins, were baptized on Ffbriiary 2nd, 1585. These formed Shakespeare's 
 family. Hamnet died in his twelfth year, Susanna married Dr. Hall, a physician 
 of Stratford, and Judith became the wife of Thomas Quiney. The marriage 
 and the married life of Shakespeare have been the theme of a thousand theories 
 and probabilities, but these facts only liave come down to us. At Shottcry, 
 the paternal home of Ann Hathaway still remains, and like the home of Shake- 
 speare, was a timber-framed structure — a panelled house with the panels filled 
 with " dab and wattle " — or, in other words, basket work covered with rough 
 plaster. This cottage, with its rustic garden and ancient well, gives us an idea 
 of what it was like in Shakespeare's time, when he sat with Ann Hathaway 
 in the old oak settle and conjured up the glowing ideas which are embodied 
 in Juliet, Olivia. Rosalind, Imogene, and other heroines familiar to us. It is 
 one of the very few relics of Shakes])eare's time it is possible to recall in its 
 original state. 
 
 The personal history of Shakespeare is a blank from his marriage to his 
 appearance in London. He appears to have resided in Stratford for some 
 four years after his marriage, hut, in 15S9, his name appears as one of those 
 who shared the profits of the IJlackfriars Theatre in London. In 1597, be 
 was rich enough to purchase New Place, at Stratford. In the same year his 
 father tendered the redemption of his mortgage. In the year before, an 
 application was made to the Herald's College by John Shakespeare for a grant 
 f)f arms, and the application was acceded to in this year. In the year 
 following, permission was given to impale these arms with those of .\rden, his 
 mother. Between 1604 and 1608 he retired to his native home, and died at 
 New I'lace on the supposed date of his birth, April 23rd, i6ifi. His burial 
 is thus recorded in the register of Hoi)- Tiinity Church, 
 
 ibib 
 
 Aut 
 
 i\ 1 n^iM <^^<^'^f>-^ ^-^ X 
 
 J
 
 94 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 and on his gravestone in the chancel, beneath the monumental bust erected to 
 his memory, are these remarkable and well-known lines : — 
 
 •■ (iOOU FRKND l"OR IeSI'S SAKE 1-ORIIKAKK 
 To DIGG THE nVST E>'CLOASEI) HEARE 
 
 E T 
 
 BlESTE BE Y MAN Y SPARKS THES STONES 
 
 T 
 
 And cnrsi be he y moves my bones." 
 His will, made the year before his death, commences thus : — 
 
 " 111 the name of (jod, Amen, I, William Shackspeare, uf Slratfurd-upon-Avon, in the 
 coimtie "f Warwick, gent., in peifecl health and memorie (God he praysed), do make and 
 ordayn ihi?. my last will and testament in manner and forme following : that is to say, first, I 
 comend my soule into the handes of God my Creator, hoping, and assuredlie beleeving, through 
 thonelie merites of Jesus Christe, my Saviour, to be made partaker of lyfe everlastinge ; and 
 my hodye to the earth, whereof yt ys made." 
 
 To his daughter Judith he left a considerable sum of money, and his '• brod 
 silver and gilt bole.'' To his daughter, Susanna Hall, he left the bulk of his 
 property, including New Place, the Henley Street estate, and the house in 
 Blackfriars. To his granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall, he bequeathed his plate. To 
 the poor of Stratford he bequeathed £io. His sister Joan (who had married 
 William Hart, a hatter), at this time occupied the house in Henley Street, in 
 which the poet was born, and he very considerately left it to her, for her 
 natural life, under the yearly rental of i2d. He also left her all his wearing 
 apparel. To Hamlett Sadler, William Reynoldes (gentleman), Anthonye Nashe, 
 Mr. John Nashe, and to his " fellowes, John Hemynges, Richard Btirbage, and 
 Henry Condeli, he left xxvj.f. viij''- a peece to buy them ringes." A sword 
 was left to Thomas Combe. To his godson, William Walker, he beqtiethed 
 x\-.f. in gold. To his wife he left his "second best bed, with ihc furniture." 
 
 William Shakespeare's will is written on three sheets of brief iJaper, thus 
 necessitating three autographs. The last signature, " By me, William Shake- 
 speare," is written in the middle of the third sheet. The second signature 
 stands thus —
 
 TMF, SWAN OK AVON. 95 
 
 Much comment lias arisen with respect to tlie bequest to his wife, a 
 bequest that was not unusual at that period, for the wife was provided for by 
 dower, yet it is as strange and as vague as all the records of the poet. 
 
 It is not for this that we keep the memory of William Shakespeare green in 
 our hearts. We cherish the few material relics which are left to us. We 
 like to be reminded of the things which surrounded him in the life, but in 
 his will he did not devise his choicest treasures and priceless jewels to anyone. 
 He left them free to all mankind, and mankind accepted the heritage. 
 
 The house he bought with liis savings, and in which he died, has passed 
 away, hut I.ear and Hamlet remain to us. Doubts may be thrown on his 
 life, but wc iiave Juliet and Miranda. Ariels may whisper to blundering 
 Calibans of drinking bouts and deer stealing ; 'i'rinculos and Stephanos swallow 
 stories of holding horses at play-house doors, of merry meetings at taverns, and 
 liaisons with the Dame ( juickly, of roadside inns ; but Shakespeare rests with 
 his wife and daughter in the chancel of the glorious old church whose shadow 
 falls on the bosom of the Avon. Yet the sweet "Swan of Avon," the friend 
 of Raleigh, of l!en Jonson, of Southampton, the countryman of Drayton and 
 Overbury, the honoured of queens, the pet of kings, the creator of kings and 
 queens, was a Warwickshire man, of whose life we know so little, hut whose 
 works will live for ever. 
 
 Meddlers may colour and recolour his monument, and tell us that his life 
 is made up of outside fragments. There is a fitness in this \agueness. It 
 makes our faith and wonderment the greater. The very book in which his 
 baptism and death are registered is a subject of doubt. We turn to the entry 
 of his wife's death, and the same uncertainty prevails. U'e read 
 1623. 
 Au(.;usi (Mrs. Shakspe.\rk, 
 
 S. ( Anna cxor I\iiii.\km James. 
 
 Did Ann Hathaway marry again? Hamlet's mother did. We go tc the 
 rolling hills of Northamptonshire and seek the grave of his only grandchild, 
 but can find it not. Loving hands and eyes have searched for it ; but, like 
 all the personalities of the poet, all is vague and dim.
 
 96 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 We remember with pride that he was gentle and was loved : that he was 
 'honoured by the great ; that his life, though overclouded by legends and 
 myths, was begun and ended in Warwickshire. The "Swan of .\von " was a 
 Warwickshire man, and no one should forget that the name of the "poet of 
 all time " was 
 
 <C 
 
 <«W ^^M^rAi'' ' 
 
 CJf William Shakespeare and his suiriiuivlings, his family connections, and his early life, our 
 knowledge advances but slowly, yet in two centuries the meagre traditional gossiji of Wanl, 
 Aubrey, Davies, Betterton, and Kowe, whicli so long did duly as the life of Shakespeare, has 
 grown into a reliable biography, many of the old stories have ticcome discredited, and trust- 
 worthy details of his home at Stratford, ' [and of his neighbours, friemls, and relati\es have 
 taken their |il.ace. 
 
 J liiJaiJJ'] 
 
 IT 
 
 r^ 1 ji 
 
 
 
 SMAKI'.SI'EARIC'S liOl'SH IN 1769.
 
 TkE SWAN or AVON. 97 
 
 Dealing aloiic with liis lii^toiic- cuniicctinii uilli ila- cciuiity it is pcissilik- lo comlcnsc llu' 
 ciullinus uithiii tliu space of a few pages. 
 
 .\lthoiigli the name " Shaliespeaie " existed in several (■(unities and even in Ireland (hirini; the 
 14th and 15th centmies, it is (inly in the last part of the l.itter thai any siicressidn of the 
 name indicating a permanent settlement is found, this i- allnrded I'y the Register hook iil the 
 (did (if Knoll, the first record being; 
 
 "1460. Richard Sliakspere and Alice, his Wife, nl Woldiche." 
 All the Shakespeares who follow are of Rowinglon, \\ roxhall, lialsall, and I'acUsvood, liiit the 
 name spread rapidly, Eastward to I'ackington, Coventry, I'illongly, and Leicestershire ; Westward 
 to 1 lenley and Worcestershire ; and Southward to Warwick ; hut what appears to be the main 
 slock remained at Rowington and Wroxhall, thus in 1464, John and Alice of Rowinglim, Richard 
 and Margery of Wroxhall, Ralph and Isabel and loan Shakespere were all members of the 
 Knoll Clild, therefore two Richards, both married and both in good circumstances, were then 
 living between Knoll and .Stratford, and two other Shake.speares with their wives were (lild members 
 before the end of the century. 
 
 Following these, Isabell, prioress of U'ro.t/iall, is shown to have died before 1504, and in 
 1527 Joan Shakspere, siih-prioress of Hroxhall, and Richard. William, and John, with their 
 wives, ."Vlice, Agnes, and Joan, were members, of these Richard was Bailiff to the Nuns of 
 Wroxhall. 
 
 In 1546, three Willi.im Shaksperes and a J(jhn (then deceased), of Wroxhall, are recorded, one 
 of these Williams being of a su[)erior position, and a copyholder under the I'riory, whilst a 
 Richard was holding land at llaseley, next llatton, and was succeeded by the Shakesperes of 
 Ilaseley and Warwick. 
 
 Which of these was the father of Richard Shakespeare, who between I52(^ and 1560 was 
 farming land in Snitterfield, belonging to the Collegiate Church of Warwick, and from 1550 to 
 1560 was tenant of Robert .\rden of Wilmcote, has hitherto baffled all se.irchers to prove ; but 
 that this Richard, yeoman farmer at Snitterfield fioin 152(J to 1560, was the grandfather of 
 Kngland's poet, admits of no doubt, and that he belonged to the Sh.aUespeares of Rowington 
 and Wroxhall, whose descendants spread into all the surrounding villages, and left their mark in 
 Shakespeare Hall .and Shakespere Green, and in iiimimerable local records, is almost e(|ually certain. 
 
 The death of Richard .Shakespeare probably took place before the commencement of the 
 Snitterfield Registers (1561). llis wife is said by R. B. Wheler to have been a Webbe, but 
 no proof exists. Two of his children were, Henry, who continued at Snitterfield, and John, who 
 settled in Stratford, and most probably two others were Thomas and Joan, both of Snitterfield. 
 
 The birth of John was in or before 1530. In 1552 he was a householder in Henley Street, 
 Stratford, and described as a CUover, to such a trade he must have served an apprenticeship, 
 and therefore was not a tiller of the Snitterfield soil, although whilst an apprentice he may have 
 slept at his father's house. In October, 1556, he had saved or borrowed sulificient money to 
 purchase two houses— one a part of the birthplace, the other in Greenhill Street. The following 
 year he married Mary, the youngest daughter of Robert Arden of Wilmcote, the marriage having 
 probably been deferred by the death of her father in November, 1556. 
 
 The family of Arden, from a remote period of Park Hall, has been referred to in the "Old 
 Love Story" (p. 72). The inxiofs of the connection, and the tables of descent were iiublished
 
 98 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 liy lliL- lale C. RusslII Fiench. 
 iinceslurs may hv useful. 
 
 A ffw ajipruximale dales lefcniug to Mary Ardun's immediate 
 
 Sir Ralph Arden died 
 1421, Ilis son, Robert, 
 I'orii 1413, married 
 Elizabeth Clodshalc 
 about 1433 '• "^'i^'l 1452- 
 riieir son, Walter, born 
 .iliuut 1434. married 
 about 1454 ; died 1502. 
 [uhii, his eldest son, 
 l^sciuiie to Henry \1[.. 
 born about 1455, married 
 .Mice Kracebridge, 1474: 
 died 1526. Thomas, 
 ^eeond son, born 1457- 
 1459, married about 
 1479: dieilahout 1546-7. 
 Robert, presumably eld- 
 est child of Thomas, 
 born about 1480, and i^f 
 full age on being made 
 party t'l a deed in 
 1 50 1 . 
 
 This deed of May, 
 1 501, is a con\c)'ance 
 ii> Thomas .\r<len of 
 Wylnirole. hi-- son 
 Kciberl. and four trus- 
 t ees. \ i/,. : — Roljert 
 Thrukmorton, Esq., 
 Thomas Trussell. Roger 
 Reynolds, and William 
 \\'oode, of an estate 
 in Snitterfiehl, inchnling 
 a messuage, afterwards 
 occu])ied for many years 
 b}' Richard Shakesjieare. 
 < )ne of these trustees 
 would, presumabl)*, be 
 a relation of the wife 
 of Thomas .\rden : 
 lioth the .\rilens and 
 
 >i tllic ARIiKNS. {Aston Church, near Birmingham.) 
 
 Shakespearenna Genealogici. London : Macmillon & Co. 1869.
 
 TMK swan of AVON. 99 
 
 Thrukmiirtun^ wciu railliful aiUniuiil^ of ihu Kiirls ul Warwick, ami favuuiuil liy I k-iiry \'II., 
 l)y whom Robert ThrokinorUm was kniyhlnl, wiUiin a year of tlic dalu of ihLs ilccik 
 
 The name of Ro1>crt Airlen's first wife is yi't unknown : he had seven daughters wlio attained 
 full age, of whom Mary, the niother "f William Shakespeare, was the youngest. 
 
 In 1550, when aliout 70 years of age, Kohert Arden remarried, his second (perhaps third) 
 wife lieing .\gnes Welilie, widow of one Hill of I'.earley, he then executeil Iwo settlements, 
 the first in respect of a Messuage and Lands in Snillerfield, occupied liy Richard Shakespeare, 
 with reversion to the three eldest daughters, vi/., Agnes, wid(jw of John llewins, and then 
 wife of Thomas Stringer: Joane, the wife of Kduunid Lambert: and Kalherine, the wife of 
 Thomas Edkins : and the second in respect of a Messuage, a Cottage, and Lands, in Snitler- 
 fielcl, occupied by Richard Henley and Hugh Porter, with reversion to three nf his four 
 youngest daughters, viz., Margaret, the wife of .\lex.inder Webb (brother of .\gnes), Joyce and 
 .Mice, both unmarried. Mary, the youngest child, was sid)bec|uently i)roviaed for bv will ni a 
 bequest of a small estate in Wilnicote, called Ashbyes. 
 
 Robert Arden died 1556, his daughter Joyce is believed to have lied about the same time, 
 and her share under settlement passed to her six sisters as co-heiresses. 
 
 The sulisequent dealings with these properties, as evidenced by various existing documents, 
 throw considerable light upon the family history during the next thirty years, the widow of 
 Robert Arden granted a lease of the Snillerfield estates to her brother, Alexander \\ebb, who 
 apparently occupied Richard Shakespeare's homestead after his death. AVebb died in 1573, 
 leaving a son Robert, and his widow, Margaret, became the wife of Edward Cornewell. 
 Robert Webb, who in 1581 married Mar;-, the ilaughter of John I'erks, gradually pur- 
 chased the shares of all Itis co-owners of both estates, except that of -Mice, the lease granted 
 to Alexander Welili being assigned to William Cooke, whose wife, Alice, may be identical 
 with .Mice Arden, one of the co-heiresses. 
 
 .\mong the witnesses to the documents before mentioned are found the names of John Shake- 
 speare, Henry Shakespeare, and \\'illiam Cooke: ami the register ..f Snitterfield Church proves 
 how fre<|uently members of the .\rden family became sponsors tn each other's children, the name 
 of the first godfather or godmother being generally given to the child, a custom which probably 
 explains the source of the names of John Shakespeare's children: thus Joan, 155S and 1569, 
 and Kdmund, 1580, may be traced in Joan and Kdmund Lambert : Margaret, 1562, Margaret 
 Webb: and William, 1564, William Cooke: whilst not one is named after father, mother, or 
 the maternal grandfather. 
 
 Among the many friends of William Shakespeare in and about Snitterfield, besides his relations, 
 the Webbs, Cornwells, Hills, Perks, Henry and Thomas Shakespeare, and probably the Cookes, 
 were the families of his father's early friends, or connections by marriage— the Porters, Wakers, 
 Townsends, and Maydes, so that in Snitterfield and its neighbourhood much of his time would 
 be passed ; thus Bearley, Claverdon, Langley, Budbroke, Fulbroke, and Hampton Lucy, with 
 other surrounding villages, would be the familiar spots of his younger days, before Shottery 
 became his haunt, or the traditional Piping Pebworth or Hungry Grafton became attractive. This 
 is the more certain from the knowledge that the Ardens of Park Hall still held landed property 
 at Langley and Budbroke, and that the Shakespeares in the second degree of cousuiship were 
 numerous in the district Ijetween Kowington and Warwick.
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHlRfe. 
 
 However iminobalile may 1)C the tiadiliunal deei-stealiiiL; exploit al Fulhroke, il is clear llial 
 he wouUl have a band of companions cKise to ihe old Fulliroke enclosuios, lo whom every 
 inch of ihe ground would be known. 
 
 The links evidencing ihe connection of the Ardens of I'ark Hall and of Wilmcole are numerous: 
 the ownerships at l.angley and Budbroke ; the alliances with the Throkmortons of Cough t on ; 
 the Conways of I.ucldington : the Somervilles, of Kdslon ; and the wills of John Arden, 1526, 
 and William Arden, 1545, being very striking : in the latter the names of Fulwood and Elston 
 are mentioned, names belonging to \Vilmcote and Kdston ; whilst the active part taken by Sir 
 Thomas Lucy of Charlcote, one of the I'.arl of Leicester's party, in the merciless and vindic- 
 tive persecution of Kdward Anlen after the mad-brained exploit of his son-in-law .Sonierville, 
 supplemented as il was by Sir Thomas Lucy's subsequent persecution of the Stratford 
 Shakes])eares. may fairly be assumed to have aroused the lasting resentment of John 
 Shakespeare's son, a resentment which has given to Sir Thomas Lucy his chief title to fame. 
 
 The Sonierville affair is too long to detail here, the Crou n Commissioner's head-quarters 
 were al Charlcote, from whence the arresl> of the Aniens, Throkmortons, and Conways were 
 planneil. Edward \rden was butchered : Sonierville connnilted suiciile ; ihe ladies suftered long 
 imprisonment ; and Arden's lands went to one of Leicester's henchmen. Amongst the ladies 
 compromised was Joyce Hill, of .Somerville's household. She is su]iposed, with every probability, 
 to have been a granddaughter of Robert Arden's widow. If this fact be proved, the intimacy 
 between the two families is established. 
 
 Klc llAKl) UM ll.WVAV's llOl'Sli, SlloriKKV.
 
 THE SWAN OF AVON. 10 1 
 
 Al lliL- ilalc of ilicsL' L'venis (15SJ), Sli;ilvL>iK':>rL' liU'l ln-in nKuiii.il clcvi-ii nmnllis. Nii inriilciU 
 ill tliL' pool's lilV- lias mi>ri.' intercsl llian his iiianingL' with Aiinr llallia«ay, Ac'cording to Ihr 
 inscriplion iipun Ikt Iniiili, Anne Malhaway is sii|.piiSL-il In Ikui.- Iilcii nimv ihan seven years her 
 hiisliamrs senior. This e\"i(lence is very ini'oiielii^ive, ami a eaiehil consiileralion ol her lalhet s 
 will makes ihis supposed inecpiality of age at least inipiohaliK-. 
 
 .Vniilher faMirite stricture upon Shakespeare's wife is that she heeanie Mrs. Shakespeare sis 
 niiitUhs only before the birth of her first child ; thai she was a wife, however, several months 
 before the ceremony in November, needs no argument. That this was an ordinary custom, lalie 
 the one case of Shakespeare's aunt, .Vgnes .\rilen, who is described in the sellleiiienl made by 
 her father, 17th July, 1550, as '-.Vgnes Strin{;jr, now Ih,: -,rif,- of Thomas Stringer, and late 
 the wile iif Jiihii llewins deceased:'' yet three months elapsed before the ceremony took place 
 in Bearley Church, the entry in the re,:;ister being "1550, October 15. Thomas Stringer unto 
 Agnes llewens, widdowe. " 
 
 The so-called hasty marriage is really free from any appearance of haste. (hi Tuesday, the 
 27lh November, 1582 (equivalent lo the present 7lh December), a period of comparative con 
 venience to the farmer and grazier, William Shakespeare, accompanied by I'uike or l-'owke 
 .Sandells, and John Richardson, the neighbours and e.secutor and witness respectively to the will 
 of Richard Ilathawey. and ]iossibly by .Anne herself, made the journey of twenty-four miles from 
 Stratford, or Shutleiy, through Broom \'illage. Cock Hevington (or by llidford and Salford), 
 and Klyford Flavell to Worcester. The day iiuist have been far advanced when the Diocesan 
 Registry was reached and the necessary instructions for the issue nl the marriage licence given. 
 
 The following record of the issue was sul)sei|uently made in the books of the Registry : 
 
 "Anno dm 15S2. Item on the same day (the 27111 of the same month of November) a like 
 
 licence (of matrimony) was issued between Wm. Shaxpere and Anna Whaleley ol Temple 
 Grafton." 
 
 The bond (which was customarily executed before the issue of the licence) is preserved in the 
 Regi.stry. After the instructions were given it liad to be drafted and engrossed. It is a long 
 and neatly written document, but contains one slight error, vi/.. thai the marriage should not 
 take place without the consent of ///)- friends instead of his friends. It was not executed until 
 the following day, Wednesday, and bears date the 2iSih Nowuiber. William Shakespeare, being 
 
 nB-
 
 t02 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRK. 
 
 uiulcr a-Jc. \\a^ n»it compelciU lo giNc llitf bunil, ami liiercfotc lojl^ lv\.j bj;KlsaK-ii, Samlclls 
 licing |)ro\Klcil «ilh the seal of Ricliaitl Halhaway, wliicli is aftixect lo the bond. 
 
 SliakuspL-arc ami hi-- friends slayeil in \Vi>icesler at least one niglit. ami attended tlie leyistiy 
 on the morning of the 2Sth lo sign the Imnd and lake up the licence. To rea^h ShoUery before 
 dark they would have to lea\e the city before noon, and as a market was hekl on \\'et.lne^tla)", 
 ihey may have deferred their retinji until Thursday. 
 
 I'roni its date the licence was apparently prepared on the 'I'uesday, il was customary to name 
 [he intended jilace of marriage, lience the insertion of Temple (Irafton, for nearly all marriages 
 look place in the bride's parish; but that Anne Hathaway diil not live at Temple (iraflon, the 
 bond conclusively jn'ovcs — the words arc: "and Anne Hathwey, of Stratford, in the dioces of 
 Worcester, inayden." ShoUery was in (Jlil Stratford. The wurd Whaleley shows that the original 
 off-hand memoranda on some draft or rough book for subse<pient entry in the registry was not 
 made with care : it contains, in fact, three inaccuracies — the tiate, the name, and tlie parish. The 
 original in Latin would be Annamhatlfwey, and when some days subse(|uently it was entered in 
 the register by a neat copyist, he mistook the " m " for " w,"' and the small and capital •' h" 
 being precisely alike he would be easily misled, particularly as it was an invariable habit at thai 
 period to curtail the terminal of a name, whilst the first stroke of "w" was formed by many 
 writers like the letter "t." 
 
 This licence entry w.xs discovered just in time to enable a shrewd .\merican author to produce 
 an interesting story of .Shakespeare having married a widow of Temjile Grafton, which ap]ieared, 
 with other original matter, as the cryplogramic work of Francis Bacon. 
 
 The period of Shake- 
 speare's life between liis 
 inarriage and leaving War- 
 wickshire is one of chief 
 inteiest, yet it is ihe [jeriod 
 of which we are without 
 information. The traditions 
 that he had been in his 
 younger days a schoolmaster 
 in the country, and also 
 iliat he had been sometime 
 an attorney's clerk, arc 
 rongly supported by his 
 plays. That he had a 
 legal training is prac- 
 tically certain, and this 
 necessitates an allusion to 
 Shakespeare's school- 
 master. 
 OLD HOUSE OH THE SIHOOI,M.\SJ'UR Of STRATIOKH-ON-.WON. 
 
 It is well known ihat in the sixteenth century there were a numerous class of .scholars who 
 c<jnibined the |)rofessir>ns of lawyer, clergyman, and sclioolniaslcr, and of such class was Waller
 
 THE SWAN OK AVON. 
 
 103 
 
 Roche, B.A., apjiointcd mnsler of Stratford Gild Scliool. 1569, actinj; as a lawyer for many years 
 after 1572, and minister cjf the church of Clift'ord Chambers, near Stratford, from 1574 to 
 1577. When his office of the (iilcl schoolmaster ceased is uncertain, hut he is lielieved to 
 have kept school at Clifford, where his house is still stamlini:;. lie was on friendly terms 
 with John Skakespeare, whose attendance he sought on the sealing of deeds, using on one 
 occasion (1573I his seal, inscril)ed "' W.S.,'' an exact copy of the seal, with the true 
 lovers" knot, afterwards belonging to William Shakespeare. lie, moreover, acted in 157') in 
 preparing deeds for the Corncwells and Welibs, relative to the Arden's Snitterfield property. 
 With such a master, our wonder at Shakespeare's legal attainments may cease, and if his 
 studies were continued as an assistant to Roche until he left for London, these traditions would 
 be verified, and much of the mystery of his early life cleared away. 
 
 SIIAKESrRARI', s SCIinni. I'l AVGROfNn.
 
 ^bc Ibeircss of Canonburv. 
 
 HERE is no spot so difficult lo lint), and no place better 
 worth seeing in the county of Warwick, than the old moated 
 mansion of Compton Winyates. The greater ])art of the nioat 
 is now filled up, and the spot on which the old stables 
 stood outside the drawbridge is now a verdant lawn, by the 
 side of which the road winds which leads you to the hoary portal of the 
 quaint and retired house. It is a place of intense quietude and stillness. Not 
 a sound breaks upon the ear. It might be the palace of the sleeping beaut)-, 
 for there are no signs of life discernible. 
 
 It is built in a recess or comb of the h^dge hills, about ecjual distances 
 from the villages of Tysoe and Brailes, whose handsome churches are the 
 pride of the country side : indeed the church of Brailes, desolate as it now 
 appears, is known as the cathedral of the feldon. In the quiet valley of the 
 Vineyard, for so its name imports, the family of Compton have long been 
 connected, and from it they have taken their name. Their name appears in 
 deeds as early as the twelfth century, and, indeed, they seem to have held 
 the estate under Turchill, the Saxon .sheriff, in the days of the Confessor. 
 The Comptons have been a rising family. They appear as knights of the
 
 THE HEIRESS OV CANONllURY. 
 
 105 
 
 shire, and as coroners, for many years ; but it was not until William Compton, 
 who was lel't fatherless at the age of eleven years, that the family assumed a 
 high position in the county. William Compton was a page to Henry, Duke 
 of York, the second son of Henry VH. When the Duke of York became 
 King, under the title of Henry VHI., William Compton became a Gentleman 
 of the Bedchamber, and was advanced to various offices and trusts. He was 
 knighted, was created Chancellor of Ireland, led the rear guard of the King's 
 troops at Therouene, and he built a fair mansion on his paternal estate, bring- 
 ing much of the material from the castle of Fulbrooke, on the north side of 
 the Avon. 
 
 From whichever side you approach Compton Winyates, you cannot obtain a 
 view until you are close upon it, and hence it is better known as Compton- 
 in-the-Hole than by its proper title. It is a brick and timber building of 
 singular construction. It is quadrangular in plan, with a projecting porch, and in 
 its most picturesque form admirably represented by the accompanying engraving. 
 
 COMPTON- WINVATES 
 
 'I'he timbers h.ive become dark with .ige, the bricks have lost their brightness, 
 and the lighter mortar gives a hoary tone to the whole. In the gable to the
 
 I06 HISTOKIC WARWICKSHIRK. 
 
 right are the officers' quarters, and beyond are the barracks. 'I'he turret leads 
 to the prison, the cell, and the outer walls, for Compton Winyates is a tran- 
 sition house. It is the last style of a fortified dwelling, for the garrison 
 occupied but a slight portion of the building, with a separate entrance for 
 the family and domestics. As you approach the time-beaten door, and raise 
 the heavy knocker, you cannot fail to be struck with the old-fashioned 
 escutcheons, the continued repetition of the Tudor badges on every panel and 
 spandrll ; and when at length you enter into the quiet courtyard, a portly 
 figure in a jaunty cap, slashed doublet, and baggy trunks would not much 
 surprise you, for so appropriate are the surroundings. On the right is the 
 room in which King Hal made merry. On the left King Charles slept the 
 night prior to the fatal battle on Edgehill. Tudor knight or cavalier might 
 even yet be peeping frcm the broad casements filled with small quarries and 
 no little painted glass. Across the courtyard, with its cracked and time-worn 
 flags, you enter the great hall. The screen, which fences the buttery hatcii 
 and kitchen, supports the minstrels' gallery, which yet remains. Its quaint 
 carvings have attracted the notice of hundreds of visitors. Pieces of tapestry 
 hang on the walls. The dais, where the Comptons sat, may be traced. There 
 is the so'ar, but it leads to a suite of rooms, and a new and spacious stair- 
 case leads to the rooms on either sides of the quadrangle. And what rooms 1 
 Here is the ghost room, and there the secret chamber. In that spacious 
 apartment, Tudor and Stuart princes have rested. Up that narrow staircase 
 hunted priests have performed mass in the little chapel in the roof But who 
 were the Papists.' There is a stately chapel on the ground floor, with its 
 fine iianel work disfigured by white paint. The white paint was added by 
 "tidy John," a bygone Earl of Northampton, with a genius for neatness 
 and whited sepulchres. The beautiful stained glass window of the chapel is 
 gone, taken away bit by bit, when Compton was dismantled and the furniture 
 sold a century ago. For years this fine mansion was a prey to the weather 
 and every idle loon in the neighbourhood. There is a bit of the glass in 
 Cherrington church, whirh affords an idea of its rich beauty when Dugdale 
 saw and described it. The whole roof can be traversed silently. There are 
 queer jiassages and queer rooms. It is a gigantic hiding place, and you are
 
 IHE HEIRESS OF CANONBURY. I07 
 
 not sure as you lean against the line cleft oak wainscoting that it will not 
 open and land you in an unknown apartment beyond, of which no one has 
 either the secret or the key. If the inside of the house is a study, the 
 chimneys are a marvel. They are of brick, twisted, knotted, turned, tinted, 
 billetted, capped, zigzagged, and ornamented in every conceivable form. What 
 grotesque figures peep from the woodwork here and there ! It is the very 
 home of romance, and it has a romantic history — it was the married home of 
 the heiress of Canonbury. 
 
 Sir William Compton had been dead si,\ty years when his grandson died in 
 1588, and Lord ^Villiam Compton succeeded to the estates. At this period 
 Elizabeth had reigned thirty-one years, and the memory of her famous visit to 
 Kenilworth had hardly faded from men's minds in Warwickshire. In London 
 the scions of many noble families were engaged in commerce, and making 
 those princely fortunes which enabled them to found a family. .\mongst the 
 princely merchants of the time was .-Mderman Sir John Spenser, knight, wlio 
 was an opulent clothworker, residing at Canonbury House at Islington. Sir John 
 had been more than once Lord Mayor, and had distinguished himself by his 
 munificence and hospitality. When Henry Quatre sent the Marquis of i.osny, 
 belter known as the Duke of Sully, as his ambassador to England, Sir John 
 entertained and lodged him in the most sumptuous manner at his own cost. 
 His public spirit and generosity made him a great favourite witli Elizabeth, 
 and his great wealth — for he was reputed to be worth a million sterling — made 
 him an object of wonder to the people. So great, indeed, was the repute of 
 his riches, that a pirate of Dunkirk once came over with a crew of twelve 
 men with a view of capturing rich .'Spenser as he rode to Canonbury House 
 in the evening, and then hold him to ransom. Fortunately, Sir John stayed 
 in the city the night this little plot was to come off, and thus frustrated 
 the bold design of the piratical crew. 
 
 Elizabeth Spenser, the heiress of Canonbury, was the only daughter of Sir 
 John, and was the object of many a young noble's devotions. She was the 
 richest heiress of her time, and her father resolved that she should wed a 
 sober citizen and merchant, and not one of the fly-blows of the Court. At 
 Canonbury she was secluded from nobles and gentles of whatever degree.
 
 I08 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 whilst her fatlier was busy in the city. Elizabeth was a girl of spirit, and 
 Lord William Compton a man of resource. They loved each other As 
 a baker's boy he gained admittance to Canonbury House, and one day, in 
 the year of grace 1593-4, Sir John on returning home, found that Elizabeth 
 had flown. Concealed in a baker's basket, Lord William had carried her off, 
 and Elizabeth Spenser was now Lady Compton. 
 
 Sir John was deeply irritated at his daughter's conduct. Time seemed only 
 to make his resentment deeper. The intercession of friends only added to the 
 sore sense of wrong, when suddenly Sir John received an imperative message 
 to meet her Majesty at her palace of Clreenwich. He at once prepared to 
 obey the mandate, and he was speedily in the presence of his Queen. Her 
 Majesty received him graciously, and hade him welcome. She explained to him 
 that she wished him to stand sponsor with her to the first child of a young 
 couple whose father had abandoned them. Sir John willingly consented, and 
 still feeling his daughter's disobedience, promised to adopt her Majesty's proti-ge 
 as his own. Her Majesty smiled her thanks, and said the ceremony must be 
 private, as befitted the condition of her poor little charge. Sir John bowed 
 accjuiescence, and the Court passed into her Majesty's private chapel, where 
 the baptismal ceremony was performed, her Majesty giving the name of Spenser 
 to the boy. The singularity of the incident, and the beauty of the child, affected 
 Sir John, who at once proposed to make his new nameson his sole heir ; and 
 in order that he might not relent, asked her Majesty to accept his estates in 
 trust for the infant, which he promised to settle irrevocably by deed. 
 
 Whether this generous offer was expected by the Queen or not, her eyes 
 sparkled with delight as she accepted the promise, stating that she knew it 
 would be faithfully kept, 'i'hen turning to a side door, she said, in a loud 
 tone, "You may enter." The door opened, and Sir John beheld Lord 
 Compton and his daughter, who at once knelt at his feet. The astonishment 
 of Sir John was increased when, before he could speak, the Queen said : — 
 "Sir John, the child whom thou has just adopted is thine own grandson! 
 Take these (his parents) also to your favour ; extend to them your forgiveness, 
 and make this one of the happiest hours in a Queen's life ! " Pardon ! 
 dearest father, pardon!' cried the weeping daughter. "Pardon" — conlinucd
 
 IIIK IIKIUICSS OK C.VNONIlUkV. 
 
 109 
 
 slie, taking the child from an attendant and raising it in her arms, — "pardon, 
 for this child's sake ! '' Lord Compton also joined in the appeal, which Sir 
 John could no longer resist. With a voice nearly inaudible by emotion, he 
 exclaimed, "Heaven bless you, my children!" embracing them by turns: "I 
 do forgive, with all my heart, the past : and I most sincerely thank her 
 Majesty, who has brought about this event, and which shall ever be 
 remembered as the happiest moment of my life ! '' 
 
 Thus is the story told of the elopement of the heiress of Canonbury, and 
 her reconciliation with her father, who lived until 1609, and then fulfilled his 
 promise of bequ?r.thing his wealth to his daughter and his daughter's 
 children. 
 
 It is said that the thought of so much wealth affected the brain of Lord 
 William to such an extent that the Lord Chamberlain )iad for a time to 
 administer to his affairs ; but if this was the case, Elizabeth, his wife, was a 
 woman of resource. She knew she was the inheritor of wealth, and she had 
 a noble idea of spending it. This stately dame penned the following letter* 
 to her husband : — 
 
 ■■Mv swKKT Li|.-K, — Now I have declared to you my mind for the settling of your estate, I 
 supp )SL' that it were lj;st for me to bethink and consider within myself what allowance were 
 
 meelest for nie I pray and beseech you lo grant to me, your most kind and 
 
 loving wife, the sum of ^^2600 cpiarlerly lo lie jiaid. Also I wouhl. beside that allowani'e, 
 have ;^6oo (|uarterly to be paid, for the performance of charilal>le works; and those things 1 
 would not, neither will be accountable for. AIsn, I will have three hnrse^ for my own s:iilille, 
 that none shall dare to lend or borrow : none lend bill I. none borrow but _\ou. .\lso. 1 
 would have two gentlewomen, lest one should be sick, or have some other let. Also, believe 
 il, it is an undecenl thing for a gentlewomen lo stand mumping alone, when (lud halh blessed 
 their lord and laily with a great estate. Also, when I ride a hunting, or a hawking, or 
 travel from ime hfuise In another, 1 uill have them attending; ^u. fm either of those said 
 women, I nuisl and will ]ia\'e for either of them a hor>e. .\iso, 1 will ha\e si\ or eight 
 gentlemen. Ami I uill have my two coaches, one lineil with velvel to myself, with four very 
 fair horses; and a co.ach for my women, lined with cloth and laced with gold, or otherwise 
 with scarlet and laced with silver, with four good horses. .Mso, I w il! have two co.achmen : 
 one for my own coach, the other for my women. Also, at any lime when I travel, I will 
 be allowed not only caroches and spare horses, for me and my women, and f will have such 
 carriages as be fitting for all, orderly, not pestering my things with my women's, nor theirs 
 with either chambermaids, nor theirs with washmaids. .\lso, for laundresses, when I travel, I 
 
 *Harl MSS.
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 will liavL' iheni sent away bfforc with the carriages, tu see all safe. And the chambermaids I 
 will have go before, ihat the chamber may be ready, sweet and clean. Also, that it is 
 indecent f )r me to crowd up myself with my gentleman usher in my coach ; I will have him 
 to have a convenient hoise to attend me, either in city or country. And I must Ithve two 
 footmen. And my desire, is, that yuu defray all the charge for me. And for myself, besides 
 my yearly allowance, I would have twenty gowns of a]iparel ; si\ of them excellent good ones, 
 eight of them for the country, and six other of them very excellent good ones. Also. I would 
 have to put in my jiurse ;/*2000 ami j^2O0, and so you to pay my debts. Alsn, I would 
 have ;^,6ooo to buy me jewels, and ,/'4000 to buy me a pearl chain. Xow, seeing I have 
 been and am so reasonable unto you. I pray you do lind mv children apparel and their 
 schooling. an<l all my servants, men and women, their wages. Also. [ will have all my 
 houses furnished, and mv lodging chambers to bu suited with all such furniture as is fit : as 
 beds, stools, chairs, suitable cushions, rarjiets, silver warming-pans, cupboards of plate, fair 
 hangings, and such like. .So for my draw ing-chamiier in all houses. 1 will ha\e them delicately 
 furnished, both with hangings, couch, canopy, glass, carpet, chairs, cushions, and all things 
 thereunto belonging. Also, my desire is thai yiiu would pay your debts, build up Ashby 
 House, and jnncliase lan<ls, and lend no money, as you lo\ e tiod. lo niy l,ord Chamberlain, 
 
 wlio would have all. perhaps your life, from you So. now that 1 have declared 
 
 lo you wlial I W'luld have, and what it is that I w.ndil not have. I pray you. when yi'U be 
 an carl. 1«> allow nic /'2000 more than I now ilesire. and di>ubl_- attendance." 
 
 This letter had the eftect of bringing T,ord WilHarn lo his senses, for it 
 showed him that if he had a wife with money, she had a notion of spending 
 it. Besides, he had his duties as Lord-T.ieutenant to perform, and a grent 
 career was l)efore him.
 
 <Ibc BlooD^ 1bimtiiu3 flDatcb at IDuncburcb. 
 
 HEN the sixteenth century was near its close, and it was 
 known that (iood Queen Bess could not long survive, men's 
 eyes turned longingly and wistfully towards her successor. 
 The fetes and junketings at Kenilworth were over. The 
 proud Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley, was dead ; and his 
 brother, the ''good" Earl of Warwick, had only survived him a year. Kenilworth 
 had fallen into the possession of Sir Robert Dudley under the terms of his father's 
 will, but he was absent from the country winning his spurs with the Earl of Esse.x 
 at Cadiz ; and with him were Carew, of Clopton, and Conway, of Ragley. The 
 Shirleys had leased their ancient house to the Underbills, and were in Persia 
 fighting the Turks : Shakespeare was buying property at Stratford ; Michael Drayton 
 was l)usy with his Polyolbion ; Thomas Overbury was dreaming and calculating his 
 chances in the great battle of life ; whiUt the studious Henry Ferrers, the anti- 
 quary, was collecting county pedigrees and other relics of the past, passing his 
 time alternately between London and his old moated mansion at Baddesley Clinton. 
 The more active spirits amongst tlie Puritans of the county sought employment 
 abroad, lighting for Protestantism in the Low Countries, w-hilst the Holtes, 
 Grevilles, Harringtons, and Comptons sought favour at Court, and waited 
 patienily for the coming change, which they knew could not be long delayed. 
 The members of the old faith, and they were many in Warwickshire at this 
 period, brooded moodily over their numetous \wongs. Many of them had been 
 heaxily fined as recusants, and they hoped that the coming change of dynasty 
 would bring them some relief. They had opened communic.itions with James, 
 and he had fed their hopes. They had seen his beautiful but unfortunate
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 mother escorted across their shire by the lending county gentlemen,* on her 
 last jourpey from Staffordshire to Fotheringay, and they knged for the time 
 when at least they could worship in their own way, freely, and in peace. 
 There were, however, some amongst these steadfast believers in the old faith 
 whose spirits chafed at delay. They could not wait, and were ever ready 
 with sword and dagger to take advantage of every opportunity to assert their 
 claim to religious equality, and to do what they conceived to be the bidding 
 of the church, and the dictates of their priests. Amongst these restless men 
 and ardent Catholics was Robert Catesby, of Lapworth, a descendant of the 
 great lawyer and faithful minister of Richard III., Sir William Catesby, who 
 paid the penalty of h's faithfulness to a losing cause two days after he was 
 taken piisoner in the field of Bosworth, and whose body rests in the church 
 of Ashby St. Ledger's, in Northants. 
 
 Robert Catesby appears to have been a gentleman of great force of character. 
 He was t.ill and stately in his demeanour, his face, "noble and e.Npressive" — 
 a man of great possessions, not only in NVarwickshire, but in O.xfordshire and 
 Northants. His father, Sir AVilliam Catesby, wlio died in 159S, had been 
 frequently fined and imprisoned for recusancy,! but Robert appears to have been 
 a Protestant at one period of his life ; and, indeed, it is upon record that all 
 those engaged in the (runpowder Plot were converts to the old faith, and that 
 Catesby, his father, and his cousins, the Treshams, owed their conversion to 
 I'ather Persons, Prefect of the Jesuits. Catesby appears to have been born at 
 Lapworth, in 1573, probably at his father's seat at ISusiiwood, which, though 
 adjoining Lapworth, is in the parish of Old Stratford. There is no entry of 
 his baptism either at Stratford or Lapworth, though the name of his servant 
 and fellow-conspirator, Thomas Bates, appears in the register of the latter 
 place. 
 
 That Catesby was at one time Protestant would appear from his having 
 married Catherine, a daughter of Sir Thomas Leigh, of Stonc'eigh, whose other 
 daughter, Alice, married the clever, eccentric, and unfortunate Sir Robert 
 
 ^ Sir John Harrington, Sir Thomas Lucy, Sir Fullte Greville, Sir Francis Willoughby, William Boughton, 
 Edward Boughton, and John Shuckburgh (a.ix 1586). 
 
 t On the isthV.Novcmber, 1581 (tw-ciity-third Kli/abeth), Sir Williim Catesljy, I.oril \;iu\ of HainjwJeii, and 
 ^ir Tho^. Tr(;^llalll were cited I>efore the Star Chamber fur liaiboiiiing Ji.-Mlil> in theii IiuUhe>
 
 nil:; r.l.DOIiV lirNllNC. MATCH AT DUNCHUKCH 
 
 «<3 
 
 Dudley, of Kcnilwortb, ard became in pubse(]iient years Duchess Dudley, 
 whcse pretentious monuinenl, erected in her life-time, yet remains in Stoneleigh 
 Church. The mother of Catesby was a 'Ihrockmorton, of Coughton Court, 
 an ancient AVarwickshire family of some note, and she resided in the days of 
 her widow-hood at the old hall of Ashby St. Ledger's. In his ardent zeal 
 for the Catholic faith, her son had joined the madcap Earl of Essex in the 
 street fij;ht with many other Warwickshire men, by which the discarded favourite 
 sought to i;ain access to the Queen, and was wounded and cai)tured in the 
 
 fray. He only obtaii;td 
 
 his liberty by paying 
 a fine of _j£3ooo. 
 Ever afterwards he was 
 a plotter, a stirrer up 
 of sedition, the bosom 
 friend of h'ather Garnet, 
 the Prefect of the 
 English Jesuits, and 
 the originator of that 
 strange wild plot which 
 gave rise to the 
 " 1! 1 o o d y Hunting 
 Match at Dunchurch.'' 
 The old (Jueen died at last — on the eve of Lady-day, 1603 : and the news 
 was conveyed to James L by Sir Robert Carey, who appears to have been 
 accompanied by his brother-in-law, who was a Warwickshire man. Thomas 
 Berkeley, of Caludon, near the city of Coventry. When the news reached 
 Waiwick, the great Lent Assize was being held, and Sir Fulke Greville, of 
 Beauchamp Court, threw up hii cap and cried, "God save King James," and 
 took immediate steps to proclaim the new king in the county town. The 
 owner of Combe Abbey, Sir John Harrington, hastened to his seat at Exton, 
 in Rutlandshire, to receive James on his progress from the north. Lord 
 William Complon, of Compton Winyates, accompanied Queen Anne from 
 Scotland 10 London, and was high in royal favour. George Carew, of Clopton, 
 
 r.usiiwooDj^AS rr appeakem .vr thk roM.\ii:N( kmkni' ok 
 rnii rRNiiiRY.
 
 114 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 was made Governor of Guernsey, and was shortly afterwards made a peer. 
 Harrington was likewise ennobled and entrusted with the education of the 
 Princess Elizabeth, the King's eldest daughter, at his mansion at Combe. 
 
 Whilst these honours were being distributed, Robert Catesby was a disappointed 
 fanatic, a widower, and a brooder over his religious wrongs. The whole 
 Catholic party were disappointed in James, but the Catholic party were divided 
 into two distinct sections. The old English Catholics, like the Ferrerses and 
 the Throckmortons, were disposed to obey the new order of things, and to wait 
 patiently for better or more auspicious times. Those Catholics who followed 
 the Jesuitical teaching of the day, and believed in Spain and the Vatican, 
 were anxious to show how detply they felt the hollow treachery of James, and 
 the disappointment he had caused. It was a time of plots ; and Robert 
 Catesby was a plotter. He was in possession of vast estates, not only in 
 Warwickshire, but in Northants and the adjacent counties. He possessed, 
 however, all the wild unreasoning bigotry cf a neophyte. He was stung by his 
 heavy fine, he saw his relations suffering in pocket, in liberty, and in position, 
 for the sake of the religion they professed, and as he passed to and fro from 
 his lodgings at Lambeth, to his house at Moorcroft, near London W'M, he 
 could see St. Stephen's at \\'estminster, where the laws he suflered from wer; 
 enacted : and gradually the idea grew that he could become the saviour of his 
 religion by striking one blow at King, princes, and lords, when they met in 
 Parliament assembled, and thus rid the country of Protestant ascendency. The 
 idea was a wild one, but was not new. It had been proposed before, and 
 the King's father had been destroyed by powder. Trains, mines, and powder, 
 were familiar military instruments in the Low Country wars. They had been 
 used for other purposes, and here was an opportunity greater than any before 
 conceived to show the power of the vile brimstone, and the avenging hate of 
 the Catholic people. It only required a strong will and helping hands, and 
 these the great Warwickshire squire knew he could find. There was living with 
 him at this time one Jack Wright, a master of fence, but a broken down 
 squire from the north. He and his brother Kit could be relied on as helping 
 liands, but active brains were required as well. There was Tom Winter, the 
 younger son of a small Worcestershire squire, a fellow convert, a man of
 
 IHK lU.OUDN HlJNIINi;. MAUII A I' hUNCI I UkCI I I15 
 
 (juick brains and active lubits, wlio liad bcun sunie bcrvicc loo he would 
 doubtless do his bidding. Catesby was no common man ; he was one of those 
 who could command and impress his fellows with his peculiar influence. But 
 Winter hesitated. Murder on so grand a scale startled him. He wanted to 
 know the result in case they succeeded. He thought that something might be 
 done by foreign help without so much destruction of innocent lives. These 
 scruples were overcome after some delay and negotiations, and thes ; four men, 
 tainted with sedition, and suspected traitors, set seriously and earnestly to work 
 to carry out their wild project of Catholic revenge and Protestant extermina- 
 tion. They had solicited foreign help : they had tried to enlist the assistance 
 of the bitter enemies of England in aid of their religion and cause. When 
 these plans failed, they began to perfect their plot without a thought of the 
 resulting horror which must ensue if they succeeded. They had procured 
 through Winter's mission to Sir William Stanley and Velasco, the aid of an 
 experienced sapper, named Guy Fawkes, who had been a soldier in the Low 
 Countries. He was a convert, too, and was well known to the Jesuit 
 Fathers. 
 
 These were the men, and these were the means they proposed to employ 
 to gain their ends. They proposed to mine under the throne, and when the 
 King was surrounded by the nobles and princes on the occasion of opening 
 Parliament, to fire the mine by means of a train and bury the King, Prince 
 Henry, and all the magnates of the land in one common ruin. Th'ey further 
 intended to seize Prince Charles, or, in default of him, the Princess Elizabeth 
 who was staying in the newly-built mansion of Combe with Lord Harrington. 
 She was of royal blood, and was chosen to be the representative of Catholic 
 rule in this broad land, and then to be married to some Catholic peer. 
 
 To carry out this idea of a mine it was necessary to obtain possession of 
 a building adjoining the Houses of Parliament. What house could they get ? 
 A cautious examination showed that there was a small stone tenement in 
 Parliament Place, which seemed suited for their purpose. It leaned against 
 the Prince's chamber, then forming part of the House of Lords. It was the 
 official residence of one Whynyard, a yeoman of the wardrobe, and had been 
 leased by him to the great Warwickshire antiquary, Henry P'errers, or " Ferris,"
 
 Il6 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 as he is called in the old histories and in the local dialect. AVhen Bates 
 brought this news to Catesby, the difficulty of obtaining possession seemed 
 insurmountable. Ferrers was the neighbour of Catesby. It is only a couple 
 of miles from Bushwood to Baddesley Clinton, and of course all Catesby 's 
 antecedents were known to Henry Ferrers. He would inquire what Catesby, 
 a pardoned rebel, would reiiuire the house for, for though a Catholic family 
 to the present day, the Ferrerses belonged to the English rather than to the 
 foreign Catholic school. Evidently some fresh accomplice was necessary, whose 
 character was free from suspicion and taint. This individual was found in 
 Thomas Perc\', a kinsman of the Earl of Northumberland, known in history 
 as the " Wizard Earl." Percy had been a gallant in his youth, but was now 
 a believer in the Jesuits, and had, moreover, married Jack Wright's sister. 
 He felt himself slighted by the Court, and readily fell into the plot. 
 
 The house was taken in his name, and as he was one of the band of 
 gentlemen pensioners, he readily satisfied Henry Ferrers as to his motive for 
 requiring a residence near the Court ; and on the 24th of May, 1604,* the 
 agreement was signed, whereby the old antiquary received ^20 for his lease, 
 and the rent of jQ^ per quarter. Preparations were now made to commence 
 the mine, but further help was wanted to take charge of the materials col- 
 lected at Lambeth ; and this induced the conspirators to admit Robert Kays, 
 a reducc(J Catholic gentleman, into the plot. The mine was, after many 
 fruitless attempts, abandoned, when it was found possible to obtain the cellars 
 under the Parliament House. Here the conspirators stored their powder, and 
 departed into the country to raise men and money. 
 
 .\ traveller from Warwick to Stratford-upon-.^von, after toiling up the hill of 
 Coplow, is rewarded by a view of the extensive landscape which stretches 
 across to the Edge hills on the south, and to Ilmington on the west. He 
 will have Charlecote, Fullbrook, and Hampton Lucy pointed out to him, and 
 his attention directed to the famous deer stealing exploits of Shakespeare. If 
 he turns to the north for a moment, when he reaches the third milestone, he 
 will see a bye-road leading to a lone farm-house pleasantly situated in the 
 
 The orig'm.-il agreement i> ill the St.tte Paper Oflice.
 
 THF, BL00I3V HUNTINC. MAICII A 1 ilUNCHUKCH. 
 
 J17 
 
 valley, amidst the undulating country of the red forest land of Ardcn. The 
 house is a modern structure of two gables, but it stands on the site of an 
 ancient moated grange or manor-house, known as Norbrook. The site of the 
 moat can yet be traced. This was the large and strong mansion house of 
 John Grant, an accomplished but a moody gentleman, who had been seduced 
 by Essex's promise of religious toleration into joining his ill-starred street 
 expedition. In the old Queen's time the persecuting spirit of the age had caused 
 
 grief and lamentation 
 within those moated 
 walls, and drant had 
 become of a settled, 
 melancholy disposi- 
 tion. He had married 
 Tom Winter's sister, 
 and in January, 1605, 
 he accepted an invi- 
 tation from Catesby, 
 his old neighbour, 
 '' to visit him at Ox- 
 ^^^^j ford, in company with 
 John Winter, of Hud- 
 dington, his brother- 
 
 RRMAINS OV NORRROOK, I'UIOK ID IIIE liEMOMI ION 
 
 in-law. Catesby wanted money. He had already sold his patrimonial estates 
 at Lapworth and Bushwood to Sir Edward (Ireville, of Milcote, and more 
 money was wanted to purchase the arms and equipment of the men necessary 
 to seize the Princess Elizabeth, and to march on London when the great blow- 
 was struck. After some deliberation, these two country squires gave in their 
 adherence, and were sworn into the plot. The Tapworth serving-man, Thomas 
 Bates, who had seen the mine at N'inegar House, and whose suspicions must 
 have been aroused, was also admitted to a knowledge of the plot, and sworn 
 to secrecy on the primer. He was the only one of the conspirators below 
 the rank of a gentleman ; and even he had suffered from the religious 
 persecutions during Elizabeth's reign.
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE!. 
 
 During the early part of the year it was found necessary to inform a 
 larger circle of gentlemen of the existence of a plot than was at first 
 contemplated. Power had been given to Percy and to Catesby to do this 
 according to their discretion, with a view to obtain money and men. Thus 
 Stephen Littleton, of Holbeach, and his younger brother Humphrey, were told 
 that Catesby was raising a Catholic regiment of horse for service in Flanders 
 
 ( ot'i;irroN corur 
 with the Cardinal Archduke : and the promise of a command in this regiment 
 induced Stephen Littleton to raise a troop of horse and e(|uip them for the 
 service. Francis 'i'resham, of Rushton, Northants, cousin of Catesby, .Sir 
 Everard Digby, of Coathurst, ]5ucks, and Ambrose Rokewood, a great breeder 
 of racehorses, of Coldham Hall, Suffolk, were induced to join Catesby, through 
 the "great love" they bore him. The first promised ^2000; the second,
 
 IlLOODN' HUNTINI^ MAK H A'l I H' N( IH'kf II. I t () 
 
 _;^i50o; and tlie latter, horses, men, and money. Nothing, however, could be 
 done until November ; and after the disposition of the forces to be employed, 
 the whole party, accompanied by the Jesuit fathers, went on a jiilgrimage to 
 St. Winifred's Well, in Flintshire. 
 
 The position of the conspiiators in Warwickshire was as follows: — Grant's 
 house at Norbrook was made the magazine and rendezvous of the conspirators. 
 The site of the powder room to the east of the present house is yet pointed 
 out. Catesby, after the sale of his property at Bushwood, appears to have 
 made his mother's house at Ashby St. Ledgers his home. Wright's family were 
 removed from Yorkshire to Lapworth, a good mile from Bushwood. Sir Everard 
 Digby took up his residence at Coughton Court, the seat of the Throckmortons. 
 'I'he uncle of Catesby, the representative of the family, appears to have been a 
 minor in 1605. Rokewood became a tenant of Clopton House, near Stratford- 
 on-Avon, the seat of Lord Carew, who had married the heiress of the Cloptons. 
 Coughton is nosv standing in nearly the same state as it was at the plot, and 
 the hall at Clopton is not much altered, though the house has been new 
 fronted. On the eastern side of Warwickshire, at Shelford, John Littleton 
 resided; and it was fondly hoped that he would join in the grand huntin" 
 match on Dunsmore, to which Sir Everard Digby had invited all the Catholic 
 gentry on November 5, 1605, the rendezvous being the Lion Inn, at Dunchurch, 
 from whence, on hearing of the blow being struck, ihey were to march on 
 Combe, and seize the Princess tllizabeth. 
 
 There was much consultation, and much running to and fro amongst those 
 interested in the plot, between the time of the pilgrimage and the time fixed 
 for the blow to be struck. In these movements. Father Garnet, Ann \'auN, 
 and Mrs. Brooksby, the daughters of Lord \'aux, of Harrowden, took a warm 
 part. In the early days of November, the two ladies, Father flarnet, and 
 F"ather Greenway were at Coughton. 
 
 In the centre of the flourishing village of Dunchurch, on the southern side 
 of the open space leading to the church, is a long, low-gabled house with 
 overhanging floors. The mouldings and general construction point it out to 
 be of the Tudor era, though, from a date on the northern gable, it appears 
 to have been repaired just prior to the Civil Wars. This was an old
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 pack-horse inn, called the Lion. Mr. Matthew I'.lo.xam was fortunate enough to 
 identify this old house by means of some old maps as the rendezvous of the 
 
 llir. I Hi\ INN. I>INi 111 kril. 
 
 great hunting match, on Monday and Tuesday, the 4th and sih of November, 
 1605: and thither Sir Rverard Digby, John (Irant, and his brother l'"rancis, 
 with his ret.tiners and friends, marched. It was known that Rokewood had 
 |)laced relays of horses along tlie rnad to London, and as the horses and the 
 rider were the best, the news would not be long delayed when the blow was 
 struck. The general feeling of those not in the secret was that n( uncertainty. 
 They knew that some mo>-'cment was on foot, but what they did not know. 
 We have a glimpse of the means employed to muster the gentlemen supposed 
 to be well-affected to the conspirators Tlie Bull Inn, at Coventry, the site 
 of the present barracks, in Smithford Street, in which Henry \TL was enter- 
 tained the night after the battle of I5osworth, and in which Mary Queen of 
 Scots had been detained, was the scene of (jne of these gatherings. Humphrey 
 Littleton, Robert Winter, Richard Votk, Stei)hen Littleton, and a person named 
 Clorven were there, hoping to meet John Littleton from Shelford. John, whose 
 hold of Shelford was not a secure one, did not come, and Winkr went over
 
 THF, m.OODY IIUNTINC MAI'CH AT ^UNCHURCH. 121 
 
 next morning to tell iiim that his brother had had a quarrel, and wanted him 
 at Dunchurch. John replied churlishly, and would not go.* Winter then rode 
 to Dunchurch, where he arrived about six o'clock. The news was not long in 
 reaching him and his friends on that chill November eve, for he rode on 
 with some of his companions to Ashby St. Ledgers, not farther, in a direct 
 line, than five miles from Dunchurch. 
 
 The leading conspirators hovered about London until the time was at hand 
 for the "great blow." On the 25th of October, Catesby was at White Webbs, 
 a house taken really by Father Oarnet, in Enfield Chase. The houfe taken 
 by Percy in Parliament Place, called Vinegar House, was inhabited by Father 
 Robartes, a Jesuit ; Mrs. Gibbins, the porter's wife, being housekeeper. Tresham 
 was in Clerkenwell. CJuy Fawkes was at his lodgings in Butcher Row, near 
 St. Clement's Danes. Tom Winter was at Montagu Close. Rokewood, Kay, 
 and Kit ^^'right, were lodging with a Mrs. More, at St. Giles's Fields, and 
 with them Percy was to stay when he returned to town with the Duke of 
 Northumberland's rents. Jack Wright was at the Horse Ferry, Lambeth. 
 
 Lord Compton, the Lieutenant of Warwickshire, was in town. All was quiet 
 and apparently unsuspicious about the Court. The Lady Elizabeth was still at 
 Combe. \Miy should the conspirators suspect anybody or anything wrong? 
 The famous letter was sent to Lord Monteagle on Saturday, October 26Lh, and 
 if Cecil or any of the courtiers suspected any plot prior to this, they have left 
 no evidence whatever to show it. On Monday, the 28th, Winter left Montagu 
 House in search of Father Oldcorn and Jack Wright. On Wednesday, the 30th, 
 C;uy Fawkes visited the vaults, and found everything as he had left it. Still 
 there was a suspicion of Tresham ; and it was only on his solemn affirmation 
 of innocence that the Northampton squire saved his life from Catesby's 
 poignard, for he was suspected of having written the letter to Lord Monteagle. 
 This was on Friday, and at one time it seemed as if the party was prepared 
 for flight, but Percy returned to town, and laughed at the idea of the plot 
 being discovered. Catesby spent Saturday in buying arms. Sunday arrived, and 
 
 John Littleton had been fined for joining in the street broil of the Earl of Esse.v, and though his name is 
 mentioned in the depositions, Dngdale states that he died in prison io the reign of Elizabeth. His nephew 
 John is probably alluded to. (See ante, p. 63 )
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 yet the conspirators could see no outward sign that their secret was known. 
 The Jesuits, Oldcorn and Greenway, left on Monday for the country, with 
 hopes of the successful result of the plot. Catesby and Jack Wright rode on 
 quietly to Enfield Chase, where they were to sleep, and then trot quietly on 
 to Dunchurch in the morning, believing all was safe Before midnight Fawkes 
 was a prisoner and the town alarmed It was then that it was seen that flight 
 was the only chance of saving their lives ; Fawkes might tell everything under 
 the torture of the rack. In the eaily morning of Tuesday, the 5th, by various 
 routes, the conspirators left London for the north. Rokewood was the last to 
 leave. He started at eleven, and soon caught those who hard started earlier. 
 At Brick Hill he caught Cattsby and Jack Wright, and beyond Fenny Stratford 
 they met Percy and Kit Wright. Rokewood made the whole distance of eighty- 
 one miles in less than seven hours. Tercy and Kit Wright had to cast away 
 their cloaks in that fearful race foi Hfe. They reached Ashby at six o'clock, 
 just as Lady Catesby and her guests were sitting down to supper. 
 
 A few hurried words told that all was lost. The old hall supplied them 
 with arms, and they rode hurriedly to Dunchurch — so hurriedly that one or 
 more of them lost their way. At Dunchurch they found a large company 
 assembled, and to them they could give but little hope. Morgan was there, 
 Pierson, and Dimock. There were Sir Robert Digby, of Coleshill, and many 
 other Catholic squires. It did not require any words to tell '■ all was lost," 
 that the mysterious scheme had failed, and that every one must look for 
 himself. Those who were not implicated in the plot, or otherwise compromised, 
 began to depart to their several homes. One of the servants of the inn, George 
 Prince, heard the words, " I doubt not we are all betrayed," spoken from one 
 of the casements of the inn, but what were the councils, and what the speech 
 that night at tlie old Lion Inn, we shall probably never know. A smith, 
 Bennette Leeson, of Ashby, says, that on the evening of the 5th of November 
 some one came to his forge and asked the way to Dunchurch, offering "to 
 contente him well if he would directe him thither,"' whereupon he went and 
 rode before him. Presently there followed him some twelve horsemen, amongst 
 whom was Mr. Robert Catesby. He "conducted them to Dunchurch, where 
 they alighted at the sign of the Lion, at one Morrisen's house ; and he walked
 
 THE MIOODY IIUNIINO MATCH AT DIINCMURril. 
 
 123 
 
 their horses about for a quarter of an liour, and had two sliiUings for his |)ains. 
 Bates, Catesby's man, came and entreated him to direct him the way to Rugby, 
 which he did, and received twelve pence. At Rugby they met nine more men 
 at the BayHff's house, who were well mounted, and returned with them to 
 Ouncluirch, where they saw Catesby. They then, within a quarter of an hour 
 of their coming, rode together Coventry way." 
 
 THE I.ION INN, DUNCHIIRCH. 
 
 They now wanted money and men, arms and horses. They had resolved upon 
 appealing to the Catholics for help, to make a stand against the King's forces. 
 If Warwickshire and Worcestershire would not rise, the staunch Catholics of 
 Wales would ; and who could tell the issue of such a conflict ? It was their 
 only chance, tiiough a desperate one, but, then, they were desperate men. On 
 they rode across Bourton Heath, crossing the Fosse way at Princethorpe, by the 
 old encampment at Wappenbury, beneath the sombre shadow of Weston, and 
 thence to Warwick through Lillington, halting at last at Norbrook. There were 
 horses at Warwick; horses at the Castle, belonging to the King; horses at Mr. 
 Benock's, the great trainer ; and these were stolen in the night. But during that 
 ride what thoughts must have passed through their excited brains ! It was the 
 time of the November meteors. If these " fiery shapes " met their eye, would 
 it not seem like Heaven's judgment on their great premeditated crime? In
 
 124 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 the midst of their tribulation, they did not forget the anxious hearts at Coughton 
 Court, where Fathers Greenway and Garnet, with Mrs. Brooksby and Ann Vaux, 
 were waiting. Bates was despatched to them with a note, for no one else 
 could be trusted who had a knowledge of the country lying between Alcester, 
 Aston Cantlow, and Norbrook. We have a vivid description of the consternation 
 of the two priests on the receipt of the news. There is an expression recorded 
 of extreme caution on the part of Father Greenway, who afterwards went with 
 Bates to Robert Winter's, at Huddington, where he met Catesby, and then went 
 on to Hendlip Hall, where (jarnet afterwards was captured. At Huddington, Tom 
 Winter joined the party — Rokewood, Percy, and Morgan were exhorted to confess 
 their sins, and make up their souls for death. Father Hart, a Jesuit, absolved 
 them, and tlie party then went northward, through .Stourbridge, to Holbeach, 
 near Himley, where Stephen Littleton lived, and where the ruling spirits re- 
 solved to make a stand or die. On their road thither they seized a store of 
 arms at Hewel Grange. Here came to them the Nemesis which had pursued 
 them, for in drying before the kitchen fire the powder, which had been wetted 
 in crossing the river, a live coal fell into the platter. Catesby, Morgan, 
 Grant, and Rokewood were ijlown from their seats, and their faces scorched 
 by the powder. The end was at hand. Sir Everard Digby, Bates, and 
 Littleton left during the night. Robert Winter followed, but Tom Winter 
 resolved to stand by his fellows and defend his compatriots to the last. At 
 eleven o'clock in the day. Sir Richard AValshe, the Sheriff of ^\'orcestershire, 
 with the posse coiiiitalus attacked the iiouse. Tom Winter was shot through 
 the right arm, Jack Wright and his brother Kit fell next, Rokewood was 
 wounded, and Percy and Catesby were slain. Rokewood, Winter, Morgan, and 
 (Irant were taken prisoners, and Kay, Stephen Littleton, Digby, Tresham, Bates, 
 and Robert Winter were also in custody. The plot was at an end, and the 
 plotters were in the hands of justice. 
 
 In the meantime there was consternation in Warwickshire, and the written 
 facts are somewhat in variance with those popularly received. Early on Wednes- 
 day morning, the 6th, whilst the conspirators were on their way to Huddington, 
 Mr. Benock, the horse trainer, of ^\'arwi(:k, writes to Lord Harrington, at 
 Combe, stating that he fears some great rebellion is at hand, for his ])rivate
 
 THE BLOODY HUNTING MATCH AT DUNCHURCH. 
 
 horses had been taken away by John Grant, of Norbrook, and asks what is 
 to be done. Lord Harrington naturally thought of his charge, the Princess 
 Elizabeth, and enclosed the letter of Benock to Lord Salisbury, and asks what 
 is to be done if a rebellion takes place. Later in the day he writes to say 
 that as the troubles were spreading, and being fearful of keeping the Princess 
 in an unfortified house, he had sent her, under the care of Sir Thomas 
 Holcrofr, to Coventry (where the citizens were loyal) for greater preservation. We 
 know from the town books that the citizens accepted the charge, called out 
 the civic guard, and lodged the Princess with Mr. Hopkins in the Palace 
 Yard, which yet remains. Early on the morning of the 6th, Warwick was in 
 arms. Mr. Ralph Townsend, the Bailiff, was in readiness. The idea of cutting 
 all the Catholics' throats is mentioned, but it was known that old Sir Fulke 
 Greville was rousing up the country side, and taking arms from houses where 
 the owners were absent, and munitions of war from the other. Sentinels were 
 placed at all the fords and bridges. Two waggon loads of trunks, and furni- 
 ture for houses, were seized at Barford. Mr. Combe, of Warwick, was an 
 active magistrate. Sir Richard Verney, the Sheriff, and Sir John Ferrers, of 
 Tamworth, loUowed the conspirators. The Bailiff of \V'arwick lamented the 
 absence of the Lieutenants of the train-bands in London, and mentions about 
 fifty names as being with the party, whose total numbers did not reach sixty. 
 From the many documents preserved, we know that early in September Roke- 
 wood took possession of Clopton, after a long parley with Robert Willson, 
 who was ill charge of the house. Grant and Winter vouching for Rokewood's 
 intimacy with Lord Carew. Catesby, Sir L^dward Bushell, Mr. Boise (who 
 married Mr. Grant's sister), Mr. John Grant and his two brothers, Mr. Wright, 
 Mr. AVinter, Mr. Thomas (a kinsman of Mr. Rokewood's), Mr. Kay and his 
 wife, Mr. Townsend, and Mrs. Morrison, a Lincolnshire gentleman's wife — 
 Morrison was reported as having been staying at Grant's — were frequent 
 visitors. On the Sunday after Michaelmas-day there was a great dinner, when 
 many strangers attended ; the practising of the great horses is mentioned, and 
 also that Rokewood " lived on his penny." A cloak bag, containing " massing 
 reliques," was captured by the Bailiff of Stratford. Mention is made of the 
 capture of some of the conspirators in Snitterfield bushes, and the country
 
 126 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 people yet point out the spot John Wright appears to liave lived at Elsham, 
 in Lincolnshire, for one of " his wenches '' was brought by a William Kyddall, 
 who afterwards went to London with Christopher Wright, and left, armed, on 
 Monday. He was arrested on Thursday, at Barford. The young Mr. Grants 
 ■ — Walter, Ludovic, and Francis — denied all knowledge of the conspiracy. Mrs. 
 Grant was arrested on the 13th, by Bartholemew Hales, of Snitterfield, "a 
 careful man in these uproars." She and her family appear to have been 
 much respected, for the Sheriff's house was fired on the 15th to release them; 
 and the Sheriff" writes to Cecil to say that he will transmit his prisoners as 
 soon as he could find fit men. 
 
 I I.OI'ION IIOUSK, NKAR STRATFORn-UPON-AVON. 
 
 The end was at hand. Gn the 23rd of November, Thomas Winter con- 
 fessed. Grant confessed on the 17th January. The conspirators were hung; 
 and Garnet shortly followed thcni to the gallows. Then came the grasping for 
 the plunder. Amongst the numerous papers preserved in the Record Office, 
 amongst those found by the Historical MBS. Commissioners, and amongst the 
 Burleigh papers in the British Museum, tlie letters asking for a share of the 
 effects of the conspirators are the most sad of all. The Sheriff (ilie \'arney
 
 tHE BLOODV HUNTING MATCH AT DUNCHURCH. 127 
 
 of Sir Walter Scott's novel of Kenilworth) asked for reward; but on July nth, 
 1606, John Levingston and Mr. Hale received a grant of the goods and 
 chattels of Sir Everard Digby, (Jrant, and Rokewood. On January 28tli, 1607, 
 Sir William Anstruther received a grant of the moiety of all goods belonging 
 to Digby, Rokewood, Grant, Winter, Tresham, Catesby, Percy, and (iarnet ; 
 and in November, 160S, one Ellis Rothwell presents a petition for certain 
 rents to ba granted to her out of the gunpowder treason. Thomas Lawley, 
 the first man who entered Holbeach, desires to be remembered because he 
 took Thomas Winter alive, and tried to revive Catesby, Percy, and the two 
 Wrights. 
 
 Out of this plot arose in some degree those agrarian disturbances at Hill- 
 morton a few years later. In May, 1607, large bodies of men, women, and 
 children suddenly assembled in Warwickshire, Leicestershire, and Northampton- 
 shire, to protest against the enclosure of hitherto open tracts on the estates 
 of those conspirators whose lands had fallen into the hands of new proprietors, 
 and on which the people had formerly right of pasturage. The feeling of the 
 people was strong against enclosure. At Hillmorton they cut down hedges, 
 filled up ditches, and laid open all enclosed fields which had been hitherto 
 free of common. They termed themselves "Levellers," and placed themselves 
 under a leader, named John Reynolds, whom they called Captain Rouch, but 
 who was evidently a madman. The train-bands sympathised with the people, 
 and it was only after a sharp skirmish with the regular troops, in which Sir 
 Henry Fookes, who led the foot, was " sore hurt," that the riots were put 
 down. Reynolds was hung, drawn, and ([uartered. ^Lmy were condemned to 
 death, though they neither committed "crime or atrocity," but acted in a 
 mistaken sense of upholding their presumed rights. 
 
 One of the chief points of interest relating to this conspiracy, is the mystery whicli attaches 
 to its discovery. Many details of the whole subject will be found in the narrative of " The 
 Gunpowder Plot, Jardine's Criminal Trials." Suggestions have been forcibly made that Lord 
 Mounteagle was not free of some knowledge of the plot, and that he was a party to the re- 
 markable letter which was delivered to him whilst at supper, and which he handed to one of 
 his gentlemen attendants, Thomas Ward, to read aloud. With many of the conspirators Mount- 
 eagle was intimate, whilst Ward was in direct comnumication with them. The letter com- 
 menced : — " .My lord, out of the love i beare to some of youer frends, i have a caer of youcr
 
 128 
 
 HISTOPIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 preservacion, therefore, i would advyse youe, as youe lender youer lyf, U> devyse some exscuse 
 to shift of youer attendance at this parleament," &c., tVc. Ward gave notice of this letter to 
 the conspirators through Winter, and also of its delivery to the Secretary of State ; yet its 
 only effect upon Winter and Catesljy was one of alarm and a jjreparation to fly, but no active 
 steps for investigation being taken, and the doors to the cellars and vaults remaining intact, 
 this alarm subsided, and, incredible as it may seem, a solemn statement from Tresham to 
 Winter that all was discovered, and an exhortation to instant flight, made in Lincoln's Inn 
 Walk, on Sunday, the 3rd November, was imhecded, and Fawkes, with remarkable courage, 
 continued his attendance at the cellars. He was stationed there on Monday afternoon, when 
 the Lord Chamberlain made a preliminary search. He came out only to give warning to the 
 other plotters, and returned to his post of danger. Here he was found at midnight, when the 
 search in force was made, but his warninij had drixen most of the plotters on their road to 
 Warwickshire. Percy and Wright remained till after the arrest, and Rookwood and Keyes 
 some hours longer.
 
 [2^k^^^^^ 
 
 rWV3 
 
 ILc iPrcujL- (Ibevalicr. 
 
 i\ tb.e Saturday preceding the great hunting match at Dun- 
 churcli, there was staying at Stoneleigh Abbey another 
 disap|)ointed man, who, in the |)opular opinion, was the 
 embodiment of all that was chivalrous, learned, and honour- 
 able. At home and abroad, in the opinion of his countrymen 
 and contemporaries. Sir Robeit Dudley, knight of Kenilwoith, was Ze Preux 
 Chevalier, the handsome, accomplished, but unfortunate son of Robert Dudley, 
 Earl of" I.eicesttr. On the 2nd of November, 1605, he found himself dis- 
 graced, his mother dishonoured, and his prospects blighted. Nine years had 
 elapsed since he had mairied Alice, the daughter of his neighbour, Sir Thomas 
 Leigh, and at this time was the father of four daughters. The year 1605 was 
 memorable to him, for the Court of Star Chamber had pronounced against 
 his legitimac) on the i;th of May, and he had spent the intermediate time in 
 vain endeavours to get the sentence altered. 
 
 The story of Sir Robert Dudley is the story of a hero of romance. He is 
 the hero of Kenilworth, for the novel of Scott fades in interest when com- 
 pared with his life, yet the scene and the actors are nearly the same. The 
 very origin of his f;imily is woven in mystery, for though his great grandfather, 
 Edmund Dudley, was fiscal counsellor to Henry VH., and was reputed to be 
 a descendant of the old lords of Dudley, cruel memories relate how Edmund's 
 father, John, was a carpenter, whose only claim to his surname was that he 
 followed his trade in the little town .which had grown around the princely
 
 130 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Castle of Dudley. Edmund had married one of tlie De Li.sles, and when 
 Henry \'I1I. ascended the throne, he was beheaded as a sacrifice to popular 
 feeling because of his cruel imposts and exactions. ^\'hen he died, his son 
 John was only eight years old, yet he lived to be Lord of Dudley, Earl of 
 Warwick, Duke of Northumberland, as well as the viitual ruler of the kingdom. 
 
 When Edward VI. died, he endeavoured to raise his daughter-in-law. Lady 
 Jane Grey, to the throne. This was an offence Queen Mary could not for- 
 give, and he too, on the 22nd of August, 1553, forty-three years and four days 
 after his father, lost his life and his head by the hands of the executioner. A 
 few months before Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne, in November, 1558, 
 the attainder against his sons, Ambrose and Robert, was removed. Ambrose 
 had distinguished himself as a soldier, and in 1562 recei\ed his father's earl- 
 dom, and was known as the " good " Earl of Warwick. Robert, who was a 
 polished and unscrupulous courtier, married Amy Robsart, but the Queen had 
 barely been on the throne two years ere the tragedy at Cumncr made him 
 a widower. Amy Robsart died on the 8th of September, 1560, and in less 
 than three years Lord Robert began to receive sul)stantial marks of her Majesty's 
 favour. On the 9th of June, 1563, he received a grant of the castle and manor 
 of Kenilworth, and on the 27th of September, in the following year, was created 
 Earl of Leicester, having been made Baron Denbigh the day previously. 
 
 Eor twelve years after the death of Amy Robsart, Robert Dudley was the 
 suppliant and grasping courtier of the Queen — dreaming of sharing the throne, 
 refusing the hand of Mary Queen of Scots, passing his time in idle dalliance, 
 in bold intrigues, or blustering insolence. His hopes of sharing the throne 
 with Elizabeth were high in 1566, when Elizabeth visited Kenilworth for the 
 first time. In August, 1572, she was again at Kenilworth, and in this year 
 Robert Dudley again ventured on marriage with Lady Douglas Sheffield. There 
 does not appear to be any reason to doubt the truth of this marriage at 
 Asher, in Surrey. It was solemnized in the presence of witnesses by a lawful 
 minister, and according to the forms of the Church of E .gland. It was jiro- 
 motcd by the Duke cf Norfolk, but, for obvious reasons, the Earl of Leicester 
 did not desire it to be made public. 'J'his was the marriage which Sir Walter 
 Scott confounded with Amy Robsart : the issue of this secret marriage was
 
 LE PREUX CHEVALIER. 13! 
 
 Le Frdix C/uTalier, Sir Robert Dudley. He was born at Shenc (now Rich- 
 mond), in 157,5, and at his baptism the Earl of Warwick and Sir Henry Lea 
 were his godfathers, and Lady Dacres hi.s godmother. Lord Leicester wrote 
 to his wife thanking Clod for the birth of his son, " vvho might be tlieir com- 
 fort and staffe in their old age," and subscribed himself " your loving hu.sband." 
 During the next three years Sir Robert was treated as the legitimate son of 
 the Earl ; but at the end of that time Walter Devereu.x, Earl of Essex, died, 
 leaving Lady Lettice KiKjllys his widow. Captivated by the charms of this lady. 
 Lord Leicester endeavoured to [jcrsuade his wife to disown her marriage, and 
 offered her the then princely income of ;^^7oo per annum, if she would do so, 
 in the Close Arbour of the Queen's palace at Greenwich, in the presence of 
 Sir John Huband and George Lfighy. On her refusal, he terrified her with 
 threats, and it was deposed that he offered her ^,"1000 to deliver up her 
 son to Sir Edward Horsey, Captain of the Isle of Wight, who was present at 
 the marriage, and, in fact, gave Lady Douglas away. 
 
 When, in July, 1575, Queen Elizabeth came to Kenihvorth on her famous 
 visit — when the ''Princely Pleasures" were arranged in her honour — Leicester 
 was perplexed with the rival claims and charms of Lady Douglas and Lady 
 Essex. There is a mystery about the death of Walter Devereux, which 
 Leicester's enemies — and he had many — attributed to poison, and fear of this 
 fate probably induced Lady Douglas to remain silent when Leicester married 
 the Lady Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex. Rumours of Leicester's free and 
 easy method of disposing of marriage ties had evidently reached Sir Francis 
 Knollys, and this marriage was celebrated in his presence, and in the presence 
 of witnesses, including a notary public. There was one child born of this 
 marriage, the " noble imp," who died in his boyhood, and is buried in the 
 Beauchamp Chapel, at Warwick. The marriage took place the year after the 
 " Princely Pleasures," and Elizabeth, when she heard of it through the malicious 
 interference of Mons. Simier, sent Leicester a (irisoner to Greenwich Castle. 
 
 During this period, and for seven years afterwards, Le Pteux Chevalier resided 
 with his mother, Lady Douglas ; but when the boy was ten years of age, he 
 was sent to school at Offington, in Sussex, and at the age of fifteen he was 
 entered at Christ Church College, Oxford, as comitis filius, in the beginning of
 
 t^i HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 the year (1588) in which Leicester died. By the will of his father, which was 
 made at Middleburg, the capital of Ledland, on August ist, 1587, Ambrose 
 his brother, was left his heir, with remainder to his " base born " son, Robert 
 Dudley. The young man was only seventeen years of age when he came into 
 possession of Kenilworth Castle, and the manors his father bequeathed to him, 
 by the death of Ambrose, Earl of Warwick. 
 
 The spirit of adventure \\as strong in Robert Dudley. ^Vhen he attained his 
 majority, his first act was to equip an expedition to the South Seas, and he 
 sailed for Trinidad the 6th November, 1594, in the />ei7/-. a ship of 200 tons 
 burden, with Captain Munck in the Bear's IP'help, and two small pinnaces. He 
 parted company with his Vice-Admiral, and went alone along the coast of Spain 
 to the Canaries, which he reached on December 14th. He had much sickness 
 on board, but, capturing two small caravels, he maimed them, and sailed for 
 the Island of Trinidad. 
 
 In the account which Sir Robert wrote for Hakluyt's " Early Voyages," he 
 describes his voyage, the native Indians, and the Carribean coast of Paria. Here 
 he found a silver mine, and his crew entered one of the mouths of the river 
 Orinoco. Here he was joined by one of his missing pinnaces, and after 
 waiting for Sir Walter Raleigh, who did not come, lie sailed for Bermuda, 
 hoping to meet her Majesty's ships, to apprise them of a Spanish fleet. Here 
 he met nothing but storms : but on his way home he fought a Spanish armada 
 of 600 tons, until his powder was [spent, and after narrowly escaping being 
 wrecked on the Isles of Scilly in a fog, he arrived home. He tells us that 
 though he and his fleet took, sunk, and burnt nine Spanish ships, including 
 the one he fought on liis way home, which subsequently sunk, he gained 
 nothing by the adventure. 
 
 About this time he married one of the daughters of Thomas Cavendish, the 
 great navigator; but she seems to have died shortly afterwards, and in 1596 
 Dudley joined the army of the Earl of Essex in the expedition to Cadiz, and 
 for hs gallantry was knighted by the Earl, who was the son of Lady I.ettice 
 Knollys, titular Countess of Leicester, by her finst husband. Later in the year 
 he arrived again at Kenihvorli, wooed and nianieci Alice Leigh, and in 
 September follov.ing his fir.-t daughter, Alicia Douglassa, was born.
 
 LE PREUX CHEVALIER. 133 
 
 Whilst Elizabeth was yet alive, he instituted i)roceedings to prove his legiti- 
 macy, with a view of claiming the earldoms of Leicester and Warwick. The 
 titular Countess of Leicester was residing at Drayton Basset, her dower house, 
 mourning the loss of her rash son, when slie heard of these proceedings, which 
 would render her marriage with Leicester null and void. She immediately filed 
 a bill against Sir Robert for defamation, and when James L ascended the 
 throne. Lord Sidney, of Penshurst, who had married Mary Dudley, the sister 
 of Robert and Ambrose, stopped the proceedings which had been taken at 
 Lichfield, and caused all the depositions to be brought to the Star Chamber, 
 where, after eighteen months' delay, judgment was pronounced against his claim, 
 on the 13th of May, 1605, and the whole of the papers and depositions 
 impounded and sealed up. Dugdale appears to have seen them, and they 
 were quoted as late as 1824 before a Committee of the House of Lords, on 
 a claim being made for the barony of De Lisle by the Sidneys, of Penshurst. 
 In the course of these proceedings, the cruel manner in which justice was 
 denied Sir Robert was plainly set forth. 
 
 Chagrined and disappointed. Sir Robert applied for and obtained license to 
 travel in Italy for three years. He left his wife and children behind him, as 
 well as envious hearts, fcr before his license expired he was recalled by writ 
 of Privy Seal, which he could not obey, and his castle and all his lands were 
 seized under the Statute of Fugitives for the King's use. In 161 1, a forcible 
 sale was effected for ;^i4,5oo to Prince Henry, the eldest son of James L, 
 though it had been previously valued at ;^38,55o, a sum admittedly below its 
 value. Only ^3000 of this sum was ever paid, in consequence of the death 
 of Prince Henry, and even this small sum never reached the hands of Robert 
 Dudley, for the merchant to whose care it was entrusted failed. 
 
 From this time henceforth, Sir Robert Dudley was a stranger in the land of 
 his biith. He settled in Florence, and though there are evidences of his 
 desire to conciliate King James, these were unavailing ; indeed, his book about 
 bridling parliaments and establishing a despotism saw the light at a time when 
 it was likely to do far more harm than good. He forgot and neglected Dame 
 Alice and his children, and entered into an alliance with Elizabeth Southwell. 
 He was the friend of Cosmo IL and the Duke of Tuscany, and busily
 
 134 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 employed himself in raising the then insignilirant fishing village of Leghorn into 
 a distinguished city and finely fortified port. In 1620, Ferdinand II., Emperor 
 of Germany, raised him to the title of Duke of Northumberland, by diploma, 
 for his distinguished services, for Dudley was the Admirable Crichton of his 
 day. He composed a healing powder, known in Italy as the Pulvis comitis de 
 Warwick — the Warwick powder — which was largely believed in. He published 
 the " Catholicon," a popular medical work, of which no copy now exists. His 
 great work, the " Del Arcano del Mare," — the " Secret of the Sea " — was in six 
 parts, and republished several times. In this work he illustrated the principle 
 of "great circle sailing." He was one of the first to train dogs to set a 
 partridge, and, indeed, the catalogue of his accomplishments would fill many 
 pages. In 1630, Pope Urban YIII. gave him the power of creating nobles. 
 When Lady Ltttice died the manors of Long Itchington, Temple Balsall, and 
 other property, was taken possession of by the Sidneys, of Pensliurst, under an 
 entail ; but Sir Robert instituted proceedings to recover this property, given to 
 him by his father's will, but died in 1649 before the question could be settled, 
 for the country was embroiled in civil war. In the church of St. Pancras, in 
 Florence, there is a carved shield bearing the bear and ragged staff, showing 
 where he and Elizabeth Southwell, and many of their children, found a last 
 resting place. 
 
 It must not be supposed that Dame Alice Dudley, his wife, and four daughters, 
 were unprovided for. She had a jointure of _;;/^i 4,000 on the Kenilworth 
 property ; and, in 1621, an Act of Parliament was passed to enable her to sell 
 this jointure in the lifetime of her husband, as though she was a fevtm sole. 
 She appears to have had possession of Dudley House, near Leicester Square, 
 when she died. On the 23rd of May, 1645, Charles I. n ade her a Duchess, 
 and her children were granted the precedence of duke's children. In 1660, 
 the Chancery suit was revived for the lecovery of the Long Itchington and 
 Balsall estates by Dame Alice Dudley, and this suit was successful, and 
 Charles II. confirmed her in the honour and title of Duchess. It was not till 
 the year 1699, more than sixty years after licr desertion, that this good and 
 noble woman died at Dudley House, St. Ciiles-in-the-Fields, at the age of 90. 
 Her stately tomb, erected in her lifetime, still remains in the chancel of
 
 LE I'RK.UX CHEVALIER. 
 
 '35 
 
 Stoneleigh Church, and an engraving of ii, without the inscription, may be 
 found in Dugdale. 
 
 The charities of tiie Duchess and her daughters yet remain. With ^3000 
 given by her eldest daughter on her death i)ed, the Duchess Dudley purchased 
 an estate at Mancetter for the augmentation of six poor livings — Leek, Wootton, 
 Ashow, Kenilworth, Monk's Kirby, and Stoneleigh — to the extent of ^20 a 
 year. To these churches she also gave the beautiful communion plate they 
 
 
 lEMl'IK Tl.M.S.Vl.I. CUURrll. 
 
 Still use. The youngest daughter, Lady Katherine Levison, founded the hospital 
 for thirty-five poor widows and the schools which still exist at the highly 
 interesting village of Temple Balsall, and charged her estate at Foxley, in 
 Northants, with sufficient funds to repair, and keep in repair the Beauchanip 
 Chapel at Warwick, in which her grandfather, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, 
 and his brother Ambrose, Earl of Warwick, are interred. 
 
 The finu dniighters nf Roliert Dudley and Alice Leigh were Alicia Douglassa, baptized at 
 Kenilworth, September, 1597 ; died, 1621. Frances, who married Sir Gilbert Knyveton, and 
 <lied 1663. Anne married Sir Robert Holboiune, and died 1663 ; and Katherine, who married
 
 136 
 
 HISIOKIC WAKWICKSHIKE. 
 
 Sir Kichaiil Lcvi»on of Trentham. fuundcd the Temple Kalsall A!ms-hi.iuses and ulhci cliaiilit-?. in 
 Warwick, Slaflbrd, Salop, and Northanls, and died 1673. 
 
 Although much sympathy is naturally felt for Koherl Dudley, in consequence of the great 
 injustice which resulted from the unnatural will of his lirutal parent, and though it must be 
 admitted that he possessed considerable ability, yet his good qualities must lie attributed to the 
 training of his mother, whilst the darker side of his character points to his lieing possessed of 
 much (jf the selfish and remorseless nature of his father and his grandfather, both of whi>m in 
 early life displayed considerable valour and statesmanlike qualities, and there can be little doubt 
 that had he succeeded in his claims to the family titles and estates, he would speedily have 
 proved himself a worthy descendant of those notorious villains. 
 
 CJf his short married life with his first wife, the daughter of Thomas Cavendish, nothing is 
 known, but immediately after her death he was remarried to Alice Leigh. In nine years he 
 cruelly deserted her and her four young children, leaving England with Elizabeth Southwell, 
 said to be a beautiful woman : turned Catholic, in order to obtain the I'ope's dispensation to 
 marry her, and, fortunately perhaps for England, never returned. 
 
 His intellectual capacity has been much extolled. He wrote on jiolitical and scientific subjects. 
 His " Propositions for Bridling of Parliament "' best shows his proclivities. Under five heads 
 he proposed: — "To have a ft}rtress in every considerable town; To make highways through 
 such town ; To garrison each with soldiers not belonging to the place ; To suffer no one to 
 pass through without a ticket or passport : Innkeepers to take tlie names nf all persons lodging 
 with them " — thus, in fact, establishing comjilete despotism.
 
 .BfrfffiirB 
 
 COMIIE MllUiV, 1616. 
 
 ^be (Siuccn of Ihcaits. 
 
 HE story of the " (Jueen of Hearts," as the Lady Elizabeth 
 Stuart, the eldest daughter of James I., was called in the 
 latter part of her chequered career, is one of the most pathetic 
 chapters of history. Born at Falkland, in Fife, on the 19th 
 of June, 1596, we know but little of her early years, save 
 that she accompanied her mother, Anne of Denmark, in her progress to England, 
 after the accession of her father, James I., to the English throne, on the death 
 of Queen Elizabeth, her great namesake. Her mother, notwithstanding her 
 many weaknesses and foibles, was fond of her children, and it requires no 
 effort of imagination to picture the parting of the mother and daughter at 
 Dingley, in Leicestershire, on the 25lh of June, 1603, when 1 lizabcth, according 
 to the custom of the times, was separated from her family in order to be 
 educated as became her rank, and instructed in sound Protestant principles. 
 The gentleman to whom she was entrusted was John, Lord Harrington, Baron
 
 138 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 of Exton, in the county of Rutland, and at this period, in right of his wife, 
 owner of Combe Abbey, in the county of Warwick. 
 
 Combe Abbey was one of the three great Cistercian abbeys of Warwickshire, 
 the others being Merivale, founded in 1148 by Robert, Earl of Ferrers, and 
 Stoneleigh, built by Henry II. in the year 1154. Combe was intermediate in 
 date, for it was built by Richard de Camville in the year 1150, and was largely 
 endowed. After being in possession of the monks for 389 years, at the dis- 
 solution of the religious houses it was giaiited by Edward VI. to John Dudley, 
 Earl of Warwick, and on his attainder it reverted to the Crown, and became 
 the property, by purchase, of Robert Kclway, a lawyer of some renown, whose 
 only daughter, Anne, married Sir John Harrington, of Exton. Lord Compton 
 had formed one of the escort of Anne of Denmark and the Princess from 
 Scotland, so the Princess did not come to Warwickshire an entire stranger to 
 
 
 COMBE .XBIiliY, VKKSENT D.\Y. 
 
 the principal inhabitants of the county. The Abbey itself had been adapted as 
 a place of residence, and its general aspect was preserved until a recent 
 period.* In the sylvan scenery cf Combe, in the old manor of Smite, the 
 
 * The east wingl has been recently pulled down and rebuilt on a more extensive scale, from the designs of Mr. 
 WesBeld. It Is far from complete.
 
 THE QUEEN OF HEARTS. 1 39 
 
 Lady l'",li/abeth found a home and many fiicnds. Lady Harrington appears to 
 have been a women of considerable ability, and her daughter Lucy was as versatile 
 as she was extravagant. Elizabeth's favourite companion was Ann Dudley, the 
 niece of Lord Harrington. With Ann Dudley lilizabeth formed a lasting friend- 
 ship. When the Lady Elizabeth became a resident at Combe, Lord Harrington 
 appointed J.Lister John Tovey, A.M., head master of the Free School, Coventry, 
 to be his chaplain and to assist him in the education of the Princess.* The 
 life of this yi ung girl seems to have been singular!}- happy at Ccmbe, and she 
 appears to have cheribhed the memory of the sylvan glades, the flower-decked 
 ways, green meadows, and long stretches of soft purple landscape over the 
 midland vale. She is described as showing excellent abilities at her studies; 
 she was docile, quick of a[iprehension, and exceedingly affectionate. Her por- 
 traits at Combe have a soft dreamy look, but she was in esrly life vivacious 
 and affable. Her graceful form she inherited from her mother, and from her 
 father she derived a love of pageantry and show. She appears to have visited 
 many of the county families, and on the 3rd of April, 1604, she made a 
 public entrance into the neighbouring city of Coventry, where she was enter- 
 tained in St. Mary's Hall, and presented with a silver cup, which cost the 
 city ;^29 1 6s. 8d. On this occasion Master Tovey preached a sermon before 
 her in St. Michael's Church. She rode to the Cross and visited the library 
 at the Free School, founded by Tovey two years before, and 'gave some 
 money to it.'' The attention to the Princess which this visit caused doubtless 
 led to the powder-plot conspiritors arranging for " the hunting match at Dun- 
 church," for Combe Abbey was defenceless ; and as the Lady Elizabeth at the 
 time of this visit was only eight years of age, it was thought that she might 
 be educated in the Roman Catholic faith, and affianced to seme nobleman of 
 the same persuasion. On the 6th November, Lord Harrington received intelli- 
 gence of the rising at Dunchurch, and late in the afternoon he removed the 
 Princess to Coventry for safety, and lodged her with Mr. Hopkins, who lived 
 at the Palace Yard, High Street, which still exists much in the same state as 
 when the Princess lodged there. The citizens mounted guard, and there is yet 
 
 ^ This gentleman was known for his uncompromising Protestantism. He died in 1614, after his return from abroad, 
 it is said of slow poison, administered by the Jesuits.
 
 140 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 preserved an account of the bows, pikes, black bills, corslets, partisans, halberds, 
 and j^loves delivered to Mr. Collyns, the mayor, and nine other citizens, from the 
 ciiy armoiirv on tliis occasion. W'lien the disturbances were over, Elizabeth 
 returned to Combe and resumed her studies. In 1609, she visited London 
 
 iHE rALAir; varii, covp:NrRY. 
 
 vith Lord Harrington and his family, and on this occasion she partook of the 
 Cou'-t festivities, and witnessed several of the rude and brutal sports of the 
 time, including lion, bear and dog fights, at the Tower. 'I'here is liitle re- 
 corded of ihe after life of the Princess at Combe. She appears to have been 
 serious and sedate, and her character imbued with a thoughtfulness far beyond 
 her years. She was only thirteen years of age when she addressed to Lord 
 Harrington the following verses : — 
 
 " This is a joyc — this is true pleasure. 
 If wo 1)esl tilings make our Iroasure, 
 .\iul enjoy them at full leisure, 
 I'.vcrniorc in richest measured 
 
 Ciod is only exccUenl, 
 Let up to him our love lie sent ; 
 Whose desires are set ami hent 
 On ought else shall much repent.
 
 IHE (JUEEN OF HEARTS 
 
 141 
 
 Theirs is n nicsl wrelchc-il case 
 Wild lliL-mselves so far disgrace, 
 'I'hat llu-y their aftectimis place 
 I'pnn things named \i!e and base. 
 
 Kartlily things do lade, decay, 
 Contentatioiis nut one day : 
 Suddenly they pass away, 
 And man camiut make ihem stay. 
 
 .\irthe vasi world doth contain 
 To content men's hearts in vain, 
 That still justly will complain, 
 .\nd nnsatistiecl remain. 
 
 Why shoidd vain joys us transport ? 
 Karthly pleasures are hut short. 
 And are mingled in such sort, 
 (iriefs are greater than the sport. 
 
 (iod, most hoi)', high, and great, 
 ( )ur delight doth make complete; 
 When in us lie takes His seat. 
 Only then we are replete. 
 
 Oh my soul, of heavenly hirlh, 
 Do thou scorn this 1 asesi earth; 
 I'lace not here thy jiiy and niirlli. 
 Where of Miss is greatest dearth. 
 
 From below thy hand remove. 
 And effect the things above ; 
 Set thy liearl and fix thy love 
 \\'here thy truest joyes shall prove. 
 
 To me grace, O Father, send. 
 On Thee wholly to depenrl. 
 That all may to Thy glory tend ; 
 
 So let me li\t 
 
 let me end.'' 
 
 In the early part of the year 161 2, EHzabeth, then in her si.xteenth year, 
 was introduced to her father's Court, on her education being completed. Here 
 she seems to have won all hearts, though her stay was but brief, for, as young 
 as she was, lier marriage was the subject of negotiation. The Elector Palatine 
 appears to have been in every way a suitable match for Elizabeth, though his 
 suit did not meet with the approval of the queen mother, whose great ambition 
 was to see her daughter a queen. She even went so far as to try to 
 dissuade her daughter from the match: "As you are the daughter of a 
 queen," she urged, "be also a queen yourself; think how you will like to be 
 called Goody Palsgrave .'" Palsgrave being the German title of the lilector 
 Frederick. Elizabeth waited patiently amid all this for the arrival of her suitor 
 before she gave a final answer. 
 
 On the 16th of October, 1612, Frederick embarked on board a splendid 
 yacht for England, and the next day arrived at Gravesend. On the i8th he 
 proceeded with a gay cavalcade on board a royal barge, and proceeded up the 
 Thames, amid the acclamation of crowds of spectators. On passing the Tower 
 he was greeted with a royal salute, and at Whitehall he was received by Prince 
 Charles, then eleven years of age, the Prince of \Vales being ill at the time.
 
 142 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 The Elector won the approval of the Court by his princely demeanour and 
 courtesy, though his want of a regal crown was lamented. Apartments were 
 assigned to him in St. James's Palace, and he had frequent opportunities of 
 joining the Royal family. Elizabeth appears to have been much pleased with 
 him, and at this time she was still under the protection of Lord and Lady 
 Harrington. She invited him to a solemn supper, which was followed by a 
 masque, then one of the popular entertainments of the Court. The joys and 
 festivities of the period were overshadowed by the untimely death of Henry, 
 Prince of Wales, to whom the Princess had been sincerely and affectionately 
 attached. Her letters to her brother are models of tender affection and fine 
 sensibility. The Prince Palatine showed how deeply he sympathized with the 
 Royal family in their affliction ; but the King liked not any melancholy humour, 
 and feasting, junketing, and jollity were maintained, for, as King James said, " If he 
 had lost one son, he had found another." Tlie King heeded not the whispers 
 that the Prince had died of poison, and that Robert Carr, Viscount Rochester, 
 his favourite, was implicated. On the 27th, Elizabeth and Frederick were 
 betrothed with great pomp, to the evident delight of the nation, who viewed 
 this Protestant alliance with great favour. 
 
 The general feeling of the nation is expressed in the lines addressed by Sir 
 Harry Wotton to Elizabeth, commencing — 
 
 " Vou lueaiK-i' liL-aiUios uf ihu n.ghl, 
 That weaklie satisfie uur cies 
 More by your nuiulicr than your lighlc. 
 Like common jieoiilc of the skies^, 
 What are you wIrmi iht- moon dolh rise.'" 
 
 The marriage took place on Valentine's-day, 16 13, the marriage being hunied 
 on by James, because of the lavish expenditure to which he was put by enter- 
 taining the Elector and his friends. We have contemporary records of the 
 ceremony. One writer,* in describing the I'rincess, says, " Her vestments 
 were white, the emblem of innocency ; her hair dishevelled, hanging down 
 her back, an ornament of virginity ; a crown of fine gold upon her head, 
 the cognizance of majesty, being all over beset with precious gems, 
 
 .Arthur Wilson,
 
 IHE QUEEN OK HEARTS. 143 
 
 shining like a constellation ; her train, supported by twelve young ladies, in 
 white garments, so adorned with jewels, that her passage looked like a milky- 
 way." Whilst the .Archbishop of Canterbury was performing the marriage we 
 are told " some eruscations and lightnings of joy appeared in her countenance 
 that expressed more than an ordinary smile, being almost elated to laughter, 
 which could not clear the air of her fate, but was rather the forerunner of 
 more sad and dire events." But these events were then in the unknown future, 
 and were not thought of in the general rejoicings, the ringing of bells, and the 
 firing of cannon. The city of London vied with the Court in celebrating the 
 event, and ere two months had passed away, the Elector and his fair bride 
 left the fireworks and the pastimes, friends and relations, to proceed to their 
 future home at Heidelberg. These espousals had cost the King no less a sum 
 than ^140,000, and the (^ueen had called her daughter publicly "Goody Pals- 
 grave." Lord Harrington received the privilege of coining copper money, to 
 recoup him for the trouble and expense of educating the King's daughter, for 
 the King was so impoverished that he had no other means of payment. 
 
 Ann Dudley and the Harringtons accompanied the Princess to Germany, and 
 the party arrived at Flushing on the 28th of April, and in their progress to 
 Amsterdam they were cordially received. Here the party tarried awhile, whilst 
 Frederick hastened forward to make arrangements for the reception of his royal 
 bride. The Princess and her suite in the meantime proceeded slowly up the 
 Rhine in a splendidly decorated yacht, to the sound of music. Touching here 
 and there, and everywhere received with demonstrations of joy, the beauty of 
 that month of May must have ever remained a green and sunny spot on Elizabeth's 
 memory. On the confines of the Palatinate she was met by her husband and 
 his retainers, and along the route to Heidelberg she found herself the object of 
 the people's love. Every person endeavoured to make her future home pleasant 
 to her, but none more so than the dowager Juliana, who welcomed her at the 
 gates of princely Heidelberg itself 
 
 The Castle of Heidelberg must always be associated in the minds of English 
 and Scotch with the memory of Elizabeth Stuart. It is grand even in its 
 ruins; but it was magnificent in May, 16 13. The British party were enchanted 
 with it and the reception they received. Jousts, tournaments, and spectacles
 
 144 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 were held for their entertainment, and the German nobility showed how warm 
 was their appreciation of the great Enghsh Princess. In a recess on the hills 
 the Elector caused a garden in the English stjle to be made for the pleasure 
 of Elizabeih, and over its portals the Royal arms of England can yet be 
 traced. 
 
 For five years the sun of felicity beamed on this happy pair. Sons and 
 daughters blessed their union. Religion graced their life, and every earthly wish 
 seemed gratified. It was, however, a period of intolerance and bigotry. Men's 
 passions and feelings ran high. Even in England men had been burnt for 
 heresy. Scotland was the home of furious Presbyterianism. I'he Puritans were 
 gathering strength in England. The fate of the Huguenots was not forgotten 
 in France. The Netherlands were full of memories of papist persecutions, and 
 Germany was the birthplace of Luther. Frederick himself was the hope ot 
 Protestant Germany. In his household Abraham Scultelus was established as 
 chaplain. He was an austere and a rabid disciple of Calvin, and he prophesied 
 day by day that " under Frederick's banner truth would spread and take root 
 over the wliole German Empire ; by his interposition, all were to be reclaimed 
 from idolatry to the pure faith of the Gospel." At this time Germany was 
 convulsed with the disputed succession to the crown of Bohemia, to which the 
 Archdukes of Austria, as Emperors of Germany, claimed a prescriptive right. 
 ■ The Emperor Ferdinand II. had just succeeded his father, the Emperor 
 Matthias, a rigid Catholic, when the smaller German Protestant States resolved 
 to elect a prince of their own persuasion to the vacant tlirone, and they offered 
 it to Frederick, the Elector Palatine. His mother dissuaded him from accepting 
 the perilous honour, but Elizabeth had high notions of kingly dignity and of 
 Protestant supremacy. Her mother had inculcated in her mind the wish to 
 be a queen. Years after it was remembered against her that, when her husband 
 hesitated to accept the crown of Piohcmia, she exclamed, "Let me rather eat 
 dry bread at a king's table than feast at the board of an elector." It was 
 a wild and romantic wish, loo soon, alas 1 to be realized. 
 
 The succeeding events belong not to Warwickshire, but to European history. 
 The result was the inauguration of what is known as the Thirty Vears' \\'ar. 
 At Prague, the capital of Bohemia, Scultelus stirred the smouldering fires by
 
 THE QUEEN OF HKAR'IS. 145 
 
 preaching against Lutheranisni as well as Popery. 'J'hus, at a time when all 
 should have been united, Protestants were divided amongst themselves. A year 
 after enteiing Prague the war commenced, and Frederick saw himself deserted 
 by his friends, his hereditary estates overrun by the Spaniards. He made a 
 gallant attempt to save himself and his kingdom on November 8, 1620, beneath 
 the walls of Prague ; but he had not only enemies without but treachery within. 
 Eh/abeih became almost heroic in her misfortunes She forbade the hopeless 
 defence of the city, and retired with her husband, derisively called the " Winter 
 King," to Breslaii, in Silesia Shortly afterwards, in the strong castle of Kiishin, 
 Prince Maurice was born, when kingdom, palatinate, electorate, rank, station, 
 high hopes, and grand designs were lost. Notwithstanding the touching letters 
 which Elizabeth wrote to her father; notwithstanding the indignation of the 
 people of England ; James I. neither gave encouragement or help to his only 
 daughter. He left her to her pitiable fate. Deserted, betrayed, and neglected, 
 the royal fugitives left Germany and took refuge in Holland. She was attended 
 by Ann Dudley — who had been married to Count Schomberg, killed at Prague — 
 by a young English volunteer named Hopton, and a few cavaliers, about eighty 
 in number, as a guard. Elizabeth's conduct in misfortune was admirable ; while 
 Frederick seemed to melt under adversity. The death of his promising eldest 
 son, Henry Frederick, under distressing circumstances in the Zuyd^r Zee, crushed 
 his spirits, and he never held up his head again. 
 
 In the struggles which ensued, we find the names of enterprising young 
 Englishmen mi.xed up with such historic names as 'I'illy, \\'allenstein, and 
 Gustavus Adolphus. When the Swedish hero was slain at the battle of Lutzcn, 
 Frederick was dying at Mentz. On the 17th of February, 1629, in the tliirty- 
 si.vth year of his age, he breathed his last, and found a grave in the now- 
 eventful town of Sedan. His unfortunate Queen then devoted herself to her 
 family. Her eldest surviving son, the selfish and airogant Charles Louis, who 
 ultimately succeeded to the Palatinate, showed a heaitless disregard of his 
 mother. Her other children were sources of anxiety to her. The English 
 civil wars interrupted the small annuity she received from England, and the Queen 
 of Bohemia became little better than a pauper begging her bread. Thus was she 
 punished for having resolved to be a queen. She had drunk misfortune to the dregs.
 
 146 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 In the meantime, her early home at Combe was undergoing strange vicissi- 
 tudes. Her old friend, Lord Harrington, had died on his way home from 
 Heidelberg on the occasion of her wedding. His son did not long survive 
 him, and Combe and its lordships fell to the inheritance of her old friend 
 Lucy Harrington, who had married the Earl of Bedford. Lucy was the friend 
 of Ben Jonson, and the cynosure of the literary genius of the period ; but her 
 extravagant liberality was so great that she had to sell Combe Abbey in 1622 to 
 Elizabeth, the widow of Sir Thomas Craven, Lord Mayor of London, whose 
 descendant, Lord William Craven, held it for many years. 
 
 Lord Craven, the owner of the mansion in which she had spent her youth, 
 generously and chivalrously devoted himself to her service. Whilst her sons. 
 Prince Rupert and Maurice, were fighting nnd shedding blood almost within 
 sight of Combe, the lord of the abbey was her faithful friend. There is a 
 touching tenderness in this romantic attachment, for though the " Queen of 
 Hearts " had the art of captivating all strangers who were brought in contact 
 with her, she had no pleasure or comfort with her children. The eldest and 
 the most promising of her thirteen children was drowned in the Zuyder Zee, 
 three died young, and Charles Louis inherited a portion of the Palatinate, and 
 neglected his mother. The wild and thoughtless Princes, Rupert and Maurice, 
 were a portion of their time but little better than pirates after the battle of 
 Naseby. Edward, the fourth son, abjured Protestantism and became a Roman 
 Catholic. Philip, the fifth son, slew a defenceless man in the market place 
 at the Hague, and fled to France, where he became a soldier of fortune, and 
 was slain in the Civil Wars. Edward was married, but became a Roman 
 Catholic. Her daughters, too, gradually deserted her.* The able and intel- 
 lectual Elizabeth left her mother to reside with her aunt, the Electress Dowager 
 of Brandenburg. Sophia, the youngest daughter, was received by her brother, 
 at Heidelberg. Henrietta Maria was espoused, in 1651, by Ragotski, Prince 
 of Transylvania, and died shortly afterwards. Louisa cruelly deserted her mother 
 without warning, and entered a convent in France. Thus the (Jueen of Bohemia 
 became childless and desolate, and in her old age, broken in health and spirits, 
 she accepted an invitation of her nephew, Charles U., to come to England. 
 
 ' Miss Henger, in her " Life of llie Queen of Bohenii.i," gives a long and iTUercstinc .iccount of ibe daughters.
 
 THE QUEEN Ol'' IIKARIS. I47 
 
 She arrived at Margate on llie lytli of May, 1661, and proceeded to the 
 mansion of her friend, Lord Craven, in Druiy Lane, then on the outskirts of 
 the metropolis. She returned only to die. She was neglected alike by Cavalier 
 and Puritan. She left all her worldly possessions — a few pictures and a few 
 books — to Lord Craven. Nothing is known of her decease, but in a con- 
 temporary chronicle occurs this brief notice, "On the 13th of February, 1662, 
 died the Queen of Bohemia — a princess of talents and virtues not often 
 equalled, rarely surpassed." Though she died in obscurity, Elizabeth Stuart 
 received a royal funeral, and her remains were interred in Westminster Abbey 
 on the ist of March, 1662. 
 
 Though Elizabeth, when young and when old, was under tlie protection of 
 the Lords of Combe, she was the ancestor of kings and queens. Her son 
 Rupert survived her, as Governor of Windsor Castle, till 1682. Charles Louis 
 died in 1680, but his son only survived him five years. His daughter, 
 Charlotte Elizabeth (who had been principally brought up by her aunt Sophia, 
 and well educated), in 167 1, at the age of nineteen, became the second wife 
 of Philip, Duke of Orleans, the only brother of Louis XIV. of France, whose 
 first wife was Henrietta, daughter of Charles L Charlotte's son became the 
 noted Regent of France during the minority of Louis XV. She lived till 1722, 
 when she died at St. Cloud. From her Louis Philippe is lineally descended. 
 Had they been Protestants, the family of Orleans would rightly have occupied 
 the throne of England. 
 
 Elizabeth's youngest daughter, Sophia, was the only one of her children, who 
 had issue, who remained a Protestant. Four years before her mothers death, 
 she had married Ernest Augustus, the titular bishop of Osnaburg. The match 
 was not a brilliant one, but by a succession of deaths, her husband became 
 the Elector of Hanover. In 1660, she gave birth to George Louis, who suc- 
 ceeded his father in 1700. Death and fortune had gradually cleared the way 
 between her and the English throne. By an Act of Parliament, passed in 
 1708, the crown of Great Britain was secured to her, and to her descendants, 
 being Protestants, to the exclusion of all other claimants. Like her mother 
 and grandmother, Sophia longed to be greeted with the title of queen. She 
 hoped to survive Queen Anne, but it was not to be. She died three months
 
 148 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 before Anne, and her son ascended the throne as George I. Thus, through 
 this unfortunate lady, so intimately connected with Combe Abbey, our present 
 Royal family claim descent through the Stuarts, the Tudors, and the Planta- 
 genets, to the throne of England. 
 
 Combe even now teems with memorials of the unfortunate Queen. Her 
 likeness and the likenesses of her husband, sons, and daughters, beam from 
 the walls and corridors. Though the west wing has been altered and the east 
 rebuilt, there yet remains the cloister in which she must have played and 
 studied, rooms in which she dwelt, and the gardens in which she wandered. 
 Many of the old trees, which now rear their hoary htads aloft were there in 
 her day. The armour hangs in St. Mary's Hall, Coventry, where she feasted, 
 and though desolate. Palace-yard is still in being. The Queen of Hearts has 
 a green memory among the glades of Combe. 
 
 ******** 
 
 In the early part of the [jresent century. Combe had another lady, named 
 Elizabeth, whose romantic autobiography has been published to the world. 
 Elizabeth Berkeley married Mr, afterwards Earl of Craven. She was the mother 
 of ^even children, and her portrait, which hangs at the head of one of the 
 smaller staiicases, shows her to have been a beautiful woman. After living 
 with Lord Craven for thirteen years, they separated, and she went a tour, and 
 found a home at the Court of the Margrave of Anspach. She visited with 
 him, and on the death of Lord Craven, married him, and came to England, 
 Queen Charlotte refused to receive her at Court. Her iiusband disposed of his 
 principality to the King of Prussia, and bought Brandenburgh House, Hammer- 
 smith, hi 1S06 the Margrave died, and the Margravine went abroad, and 
 died at Naples in 1828. She wrote many plays and poems, but htr auto- 
 biography is more interesting, from its reminiscences of Warwickshire and the 
 neighbourhood. There are few localities which can claim so intimate a relation- 
 ship with two German principalities as the old Abbey of Combe. 
 
 The -Vhljey of Conilie was one cif llie earliest foumleil in the Midlands under the rules of the 
 
 Cislerican Order, then recently inlrodnced into Kngland. The Cistercians were separatists . from 
 
 the Henedictines, adopting stricter rules, living liy their own laljour, wearing a simpler habit, 
 
 and seleclint; retired and beautiful spots for their monasteries. Thus, alihouyh practically connected
 
 THE (JUEKN OK HEARTS. 
 
 149 
 
 with Coventry, llic monks lived away from tlie city, in the valley watered by the small stream 
 from Brinklow, and surroimdod by woods. Their hal)it was to wear no leather or fine woollen 
 cloth, nor, except on a journey, to wear breeches. A simple white frock or cassock within the 
 monastery, and a l)lack over-cloak outside its walls. 
 
 .Some conception of the picturesque appearance of ancient Coventry may be formed when it is 
 remembered that, in addition to the greater monastery or priory of tlie Benedictines — the monks 
 of which richly endowed order clothed in black, with white woollen under-coat — there were the two 
 orders of Mendicant Friars, the Crey-coated Friars, or Franciscans, shoeless and girt with a knotty cord, 
 and the White Friars, or Friars Carmelites, swathed in a massive cloak of white, with cape-like 
 folds of the cowl. The streets of tlie city were of the narrowest, the churches of the finest. 
 
 Wlliri-; 1 KIAKS MONASTICRY, COVENTRY. 
 
 the priory of the richest, and the gilds, chantries, hospitals, and schools of the most prosperous in 
 the kingiloui. The city gates were both numerous and imposing, and the defence of its walls fully 
 maintained. The occasional appearance in the streets of the coarse black and white clothed 
 monks from Combe ^'alley would be sufficiently rare to make them objects of attraction, as 
 would also that of the still more recluse Carthusians, who, after 13S1, were housed at the 
 Charter House outside the city, and whose loose coat of white was, when walking abroad, 
 encased in black stuff.
 
 ISO 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 On llie occasions of their great pageants, which made Coventry famous, ami which even now 
 command our admiration, there would lie a marvellous gathering of the various orders ; abbots, 
 priors, almoners, sacrists, in one way or other would share in the celebration, down to the 
 humblest recruit of the Mendicants, whilst the robed gild masters, priests, chanters, clerks, 
 choristers, and vergers swelled the great gathering at Corpus Chrisli Fair, which caused a yearly 
 confluence of people from near and far, the memory whereof long continued. 
 
 The mystery plays, which formed a chief feature of the pageants, were mainly sustained by the 
 Grey Friars. Their memory is preserved in Crey I'"riars Lane and the steeple of (Irey Friars 
 Church, to which Christ Church was attached in 1832. The gate was removed in 1781. Of 
 the more important Benedictines, the ]iriory foundations may yet be seen, as may also a very 
 interesting survival of the monaster)' of ilie Carmelite order of ^^'hite Friars in the existing 
 fragments at the Workhouse, shown .n the accompanying illustration. 
 
 The picturesque and noble Mali of Saint Mary, anciently the Hall of St. Mary, St. Katharine, 
 and other (iilds, but long used as the Civic or Cild Plall, also remains. For nearly six centuries 
 it has been the reception and lian<|ueting |ilaci.- of I-'.nglish monarchs and nobles, and is unsur- 
 passed for its historic association-. 
 
 ST. Mary's hai.i,, coveniuv.
 
 ^I)e Captain, lieutenant, an^ Ancient. 
 
 HEN Shakespeare was but lately dead, when the country was 
 disturbed by the disputes between Charles I. and his Parlia- 
 ment concerning ship money and tonnage and poundage, 
 three travellers visited Warwickshire who have left us a vivid 
 and interesting description of the country in the Lansdowne 
 iMSS. (British Museum). They are described as the "Captain, Lieutenant, and 
 Ancient " of the military company at Norwich, which city they left on August 
 nth, 1634, and passed through twenty-six counties, and to them we are 
 indebted for a picture of Warwickshire, at the time when William Dugdale was 
 preparing his famous history. Th.; first place described is Coventry, where 
 our travellers say : — 
 
 "Here wee rested very quietly and contentedly, and in the morning address'd o'selves to a 
 stately fayie church, wch may compare wthout organs wi'' many calhedralls, though none itself, 
 lioth for largenesse, tightsomenesse, fayrenesse, and neatnesse, wch hath as fayre and lofty a spire 
 as any in this kingdome, built, as they crtdibly reporte, liy 2 niayds at a small charge. In 
 this church there are some fayre and ancient monuments, and amongst the rest these are of 
 eminency. 
 
 "Sir Thomas Berkley's tombe, of black and white mar1>lc, onely sane of Henry L<' Berkley 
 and his Lady Katherin, sister to Thomas D.. of Norfolkc, ami his sones. 
 
 "The Ld Swillington's tombe, himself in armour, in freestone, and his two wives. 
 
 "The 2 sisters fayre, gravestone in brasse, somewhat defaced, that built the fajTe high 
 steeple in that church. 
 
 " Neere adjoyning to this church stands another fayre one, wch hath a spired steeple, and 
 these two, w'h another little one seldom used, containe the whole city.
 
 '52 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 " This city as it is sweetly situated on a hill so it is boamify'J \v>h many fayie streets and 
 buildings, and for defence thereof it is compassed w'h a strong wall nigh 3 miles about, wih a 
 whole jury of gates, and many offensive and defensive towers, graced and much beautify'd 
 w'h a fayre, lofty 6 square crosse, though not altogether soe richly gtiilded as that vnparraleU'd 
 
 i:Ki;v IlilAKs c;AtK AND ClIfRi II. (From an Old Engraving.) 
 
 \ fayre large hall there is over .against iheir fayre cluirih. w ih a stately ascending entiaiice, 
 the vjipcr end adornM wth rich hangings, and all about w''' fayre pictures, (»ne more especially 
 of a noble lady (the Lady (lodiva), whose memory they have cause not to forget, for thai shee 
 purchas'd and redeem'd their lost infringed liberties and fiVeedonies, and oblainM leniission of 
 heavy tributes inipos'il upon them l)y vndcrtaking a bard and %'nseeml)' laske, w'-l* was to ride 
 naked openly, at high roone day thmugh the cily, ujion a niilkc- while steed, wtli she willingly 
 jierformed, according to her lord's strict injunction. It may bee xer\ well discussed heere 
 whether his hatred, or her love exceeded. Iler fayre long hayre did nuich offend the wanton's 
 glancing eye. 
 
 "The civill governm' is discreetly ordered and wisely adminislred by a generous ami prudent 
 mayor, wih his 12 discreet brethren, 2 sheriffes, and 10 aldermen, clad in scarlet, w'l> a fayre 
 sword and cap of maintenance, 5 maces and other ofiiccrs, an honl'lc, grave, and learned re- 
 corder [Sir Kdward Cooke] to grace and ]5rescrvc her a.icient liberties. As this precious place 
 is placed in the middle of this famous island, .soe doth she vercfy and make good the old
 
 THE CAPTAIN, LIEUTENANT, AND ANCIENT. 
 
 153 
 
 proverli 'in iuudiii coiisistil virlus,' for she wants mitliiny, c-'uIkt of [ilcasuic or profit, partici- 
 pating largulic of them both ; ffor both the sweet situation of the city and generous condition 
 of the people (some whereof the margent is graced wd' the mentioning) ' inviteil heere a longer 
 stay, but wee were call'd away to visite that famotis castle of C!uy of \\'arwicke. 
 
 " In our way thither, in the middle thereof, wee were detayn'd one hourc at that famous 
 castle of Kellingworth [Kenilworth], where wee were vshered vp a fayre ascent into a large and 
 stately hall, of 20 paces in length, the roofe whereof is all of Irish wood, neatly and handsomely 
 framed. In it is [are] 5 spacious chimneys answerable to sou great a roome. We next view d 
 the great chamber for the guard, the chamber of presence, the jirivy chamber, fretted about 
 richly with coats of amies, and all adornVl w'l' fayre and rich chimney peeces of alabaster, blacke 
 marble, and of joyner's worke in curious carv'd wood ; and all those fayre and rich roomes antl 
 lodgings in that spacious tower not long since buill and repayr'd at a great cost l)y tliat great 
 ffavorite of late dayes [Robert Dudley, Karl o( LeiceslerJ. The private, plaine retiring chamber 
 where in o^ renowned Queene, of ever famous uieniory, ahiayes made choise to repose her selfe. 
 Also the famous strong old tower, calleil Jidius Cesar's, on toj) whereof we view'd the i)rcscnt 
 large poole, continually sporting and playing on the castle, the parke, and the fforrest conligious 
 thereunto. But one thing more remarkable than any we had yet seen was the sight of tlie 
 massy, heavy armour of that fannais and rLdoul)ted warriorf whom wo next liasleiied to. 
 
 Sir Thomas Porter, Sir George Bray, and the Lady Littleton, 
 t Guy, Earl of Warwick.
 
 154 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 "In o' way Ihithur and w'tiin a mile uf Waiwicke, wee saw an old decayed chajjpelle, now 
 prophan'd in being made a wood house ; there we found his statue, fidl 3 yards in length and 
 answerable to his armour : there also we saw, close by the river side, in a rocke, his cave, 
 where in (leaving the world's cares) he retired and liv'd a hermit, after all his brave and 
 warlike atcheevmts, and there ended his days." 
 
 " Neerer to the towne (of Warwicke) and in the higli road stands his leaning crosse : and 
 soe w'e entered that old shire, Bayliffe Towne, which for a fayre and stately castle may com- 
 pare with most in England. It is most sweetly and very pleasantly seated on a rocke very 
 high, vpon that pleasant river (the Avon) that divides the shire in twaine : whether y= 
 sumptuousnesse of the building v/i^ the richnesse of the ft'urniture, the pleasantnesse of the seat, 
 or tlie strength of the brave, ancient, high towers, w'h her owne defensive situation, exceeds, 
 it is hard to be determined. At c first ascending entrance, wee pass'd over a large bridge 
 and then through a strong double gate into a fayre court leaning on either hand, a strong and 
 lofty defensiljle tower, namely, Julius Caesar's on the left and Guy uf ^\'arwicke"s on the light." 
 " This castle is seated on the sayd river Avon. By it a second Eden, wherein is a most 
 stately mount, wch overtops and commands a great part of her owne and some part of 4 
 adjacent neighbouring shires ; and the whole hill and declining Ijruw is so planted and furnished 
 th beech, birch, and several! sorts of plum trees, as it is most delightful and very jileasant 
 to ascend. 
 
 " By this large and pleasant peece of ground, w<^li is adorned w'l' all kind of delightfull and 
 shady walkes and arliors. pleasant groves and wildernessess, fruitfuU trees, delicious bowers, 
 
 oderiferous heibes and fra- 
 grant flowers, betweene the 
 river and the high rocky 
 rtbundation of the caslle, 
 un the soutli side thereof, 
 there are many rare ami 
 curious ftish ponds, all made 
 and hewn out of the solid 
 lock of Ifreeslone, like cis- 
 terns of lead, well are levell 
 u'h the river, and supply'd 
 \\ 'li great store of good ffish. 
 "This sumptuous, stately 
 building, this most pleasant 
 garden, and these delightfull 
 ffish ponds were made thus 
 rare and excellent at the 
 cost and charges of thai 
 worthy and famous knight, 
 her late owner and inhabi- 
 lanl (.Sir l''ulke Grcvillc, 
 I UK AKMlil'KV, WARWICK LAMl.K. '-'"■'' Uriiokc). ;\nd as at
 
 THE CAPTAIN, I.IKUTKNANT, AND ANCIENT. 1 55 
 
 llie last castle we met witli llie liiyh annul- i>f that warrior (( luy of Warwick) for his hoily, so heere 
 we saw that for his horse, his fearful! sword ami dagfjer, the large rib and tocjth of tlie wild bore, 
 wch they call a dangerous beast, that frequented the woods, the hills, and the rockes thereabout, 
 wch he encountered w'liall, and slew, if report passe for credit. 
 
 "After having visited tlie seat of Sir Thomas J'uckeving, called the I'riory, «ee then heard 
 of the rare monum's that one of the two churches that is in the towne alTorded ; thither there- 
 fore we hastened, and we found them lo transcend report. KHrst is the Ladye Chapjiell, built 
 by Richard lieauchamp, Karle of Waiwicke, Ad 1434, in the time of Henry \'[., the glasse 
 windowes whereof are richly and curiously painted. 
 
 Mo.NtiMENis. 
 
 " In the middst of the sayd cha])pell is a fayre and rich monument, whereon lyeth the sayd 
 Karle, all in brass, double gilt, about wch tomb are placed the engraven statues of the same 
 worke of 14 earles, countesses, lords, knights, and ladies of that fi'amily. At his head the 
 sv\an in a crov\net wth a helmet; at his feet the beare niuflled and a gryi^hen. This monument 
 for its bigness may compare wtli any in that famous chappell at Westminster. 
 
 "In the same chappell is another fayre rich monumt erected there Ad 1588 for Robert Dudley, 
 Earle of Leicester, and his Countesse. A third there is for Ambrose Dudley, E. of Warwickc, 
 his brother, Ad 1589, and Robert Dudley, who dyed at 3 years of age. In the middle of the 
 chancell lyeth Thomas Beauchanip, E. of Warwicke, in his coat of maille, sword and gauntlet ; 
 his Countesse by him, both in fayre, rich alabaster — hee a wiM be.ast, the vnmussled beare : 
 shee a tame beast, ye gentle lambe, ly crouching at their feet. 
 
 " In another chappell, on llie other side of the C|uire and chancell, wch was sometimes the 
 counsell house, wch is in a manner round w'h 10 seats of ffreestone about it, is a very fayre, 
 rich, an<l lofty tonibe, for that Honl''': Ld .S>r Fulke Clrevillc, Lord Brooke, built exceedingly 
 stately, wth 10 fayre pillars of touch [i.e., touchstone] and 6 of alabaster, 2 arches of the rich 
 table, all of lilacke excellent stuft'e, and curiously wrought and ])olished, and amongst inscriptions 
 about it engraven this — '.Sir l-'ulke (Irevill, servant to (^ueen Elizabeth, councillor to King 
 James, and ffriend lo .Sir I'hilip Sydney.' This now is called by his title Brooke's Cha|ipell. 
 
 " In the church is an ancient plaine monument of Tho. Beauchanip, E. of Warwicke, Ad 1402, 
 and Margaret, his Countesse. He was father to the Earle that built the chappell. 
 
 •'Another monument there is in the sayd church of Thomas Ffisher, Esq., and his wife. 
 This gentlemen built the neat jiryory there ; hee was sometimes steward lo ihe noble Duke of 
 Northumberland. 
 
 "The next day we marchl out vnder a long strong arch'd gate, hewne out of a rocke, over 
 wch is a fayre chappell, and were for Worcester ; and in the way we met w'h a seat and 
 parke, a ladyes (Snilfield, the Lady Hales), and likewise Ihe seats of 2 honorable persons, 
 by Auster Market, Beechley [y« Ld Brookes and the Ld Conweys] ; and another seat of a 
 worthy and generous knight, the then High Sheriffe, Sir Symon Clarke, and soe crossed over 
 a small swift streame [the Arrow]. .\t Coak Hill, S miles from Worcester, wee left the last 
 shire (Warwickshire) and came into the next, for there the two shires parted : close whereunto 
 is the house and parke of a gentleman of a very ancient (family (Mr. Fortcscue), and w'hin a 
 mile of the city the seat of an honW= Judge, Speechley, Judge Barkley's.
 
 156 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 '■ In that tl.iyes u*a\'cl wee came Ijy Stratford-upon-Avuii, \\here in ihe church in that towne 
 ihere are some monuments, which church was buiU liy Arcliliishop Slratfurd. Those worth 
 observing, and wliich \\e tooke notice of, were these — 
 
 
 •jf . 
 
 mM/ 
 
 .'..,*4>yl/ 
 
 .STR.\T1'OK1>-UPON-AVON CHI' KLH. 
 
 "A monument fi>r the K. of Totness and his lady, \et hving. 
 
 "The mcmiunenl of Sir Ilugli Clopton, who buih tlial strong stone bridge of iS fayre arches 
 over ye river. lie was I.d Mayor of London. 
 
 "A neat monument of tliat famous Knglisli poii, Mi. \\'" Shakespeare, who was born heere. 
 
 "And one of an ohl gentleman, a batciielor, Mr. Combe, vpi^n whose nauie the sayd }>oet 
 did merrily farn vp some witty ami facetious verse.ss wcl' time would not give vs leave to 
 lackc tip."
 
 davaltcrs au^ IRounbbeabs. 
 
 HE leaven of Puritanism was scattered far and wide through 
 Warwickshire by the teachings of Thomas Cartwright, the 
 elder Clarke, and Fenn, during the latter part of the six- 
 teenth and during the early |)art of the seventeenth centuries. 
 In the towns the teachings of the Puritans became popular, 
 and not a few gentlemen listened to the cold and austere preachers who made 
 their way into the reformed pulpits and enunciated the doctrines of Calvin in 
 their most uncompromising aspect. The teachings of the Puritan divines were 
 made tenfold more pungent by the example of the levity of the Court and 
 the symptoms of general corruption apparent. They had seen the fatuous 
 James I. promoting one favourite after another to the highest offices of State, 
 and making their favour the only avenue fo honour, distinction, and State 
 employment. The poisoning of Sir 'Ihomas Overbury in the Tower was not 
 forgotten in his native county, and though Carr was succeeded by George 
 Villiers, Midland born, the son of a poor knight of Brooksby, in Leicester- 
 shire, from him they could hardly look for better things. Long before George 
 \'illiers was created Duke of Buckingham his mother had married for her 
 second husband Sir Thomas Conipton, the somewhat craven-hearted, poor- 
 spirited brother of the first Earl of Northampton of that name, the sister of 
 the Duke was married to the head of the old house of Feilding, of Newnham- 
 Paddox, and a patent of nobility had followed the alliance. These events 
 happened whilst the Captain, Lieutenant, and Ancient were traversing the 
 country. Sir Fulke Greville, "the servant of Queen Elizabeth, the counsellor 
 of King James, and the friend of Sir Philip Sidney," was assassinated by his
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 servant in 1628, after repairing, restoring, and beautifying the Castle of Warwick. 
 In the following year the Duke of Buckingham was also slain by the knife* 
 of an assassin at Portsmouth. The new owner of Warwick Castle, Robert, 
 Lord Brooke, was a notorious Puritan. On the site of the present orangery 
 in the grounds of the castle there was a Presbyterian chapel, formed of an 
 old timber-framed, panelled house. Here the Lord Brooke listened to the 
 discourses of Samuel Clarke the younger until he gave him the vicarage of 
 Alcester. Coventry was the very hotbed of violent religious zeal. The inhabitants 
 had cordially received William Prynne when he went through Coventry in 1637, 
 on his way to Caernarvon Gaol, and had appointed Puritan preachers in the 
 churches under their control. Richard Vines was preaching in the east against 
 prelacy and priestcraft, at ^Veddington and Caldecote, and the fruits of his 
 preaching were soon seen in the iconoclastic tendencies of his patron. Colonel 
 Purefoy. 
 
 On every hand there were signs of a gathering storm. The action of the 
 King with respect to ship money, tonnage and poundage, and the Royal 
 prerogative stirred the country to the very dreg?. The ruling spirits of the 
 Midland shires were not inactive. In a small retired room, situated in the 
 upper storey of Broughton Castle, Lord Saye and Sele received the leaders of 
 the discontented spirits and debated upon the course to be adopted. Hither 
 came Lord Brooke, Richard Knightley, of Lawsley, whose eldest son had married 
 Hampden's daughter. Hither came Pym and Hampden himself, and bye-and- 
 by Lord Esse.\ and the Earls of ^Varwick and Bedford, to confer on the 
 state of the realm. At one time so much did they desjiair of their country 
 and the poijular cause that they formed the design of emigrating to America. 
 
 The famous Parliament of 1640 gave the malcontents an opportunity for 
 which they had been waiting, and on the 28th of February, 1642, the great 
 breach between the King and Parliament took jilace in Warwickshire. '1 he 
 King issued his commission of array to the Earl of Northampton, and the Parlia- 
 ment appointed Lord Brooke as their lieutenant to put in force the ordinance of 
 the militia. Whilst in other counties the townspeople" and burghers sided with 
 
 1 lir lijuble expanding knife or dagger used by I-'enton is preserved at Newnliam. It is engraved in 
 Ireland s "Views of the Avon."
 
 CAVALIEKS AND ROUNDHEADS, 
 
 159 
 
 
 '■j\«.. 
 
 .i--^:^ 
 
 
 the Paiiianient, tlic 
 country gentry, as a 
 rule, took the part 
 of the King. 
 
 ],ong before the 
 King could obtain 
 a r m s , men, or 
 money, there were 
 overt acts of rebel- 
 lion and outrages in 
 the Midland shires. 
 Zealous partisans 
 
 
 if^>3^'Si%^'^ ''''' ' ° ni''de e.\cursions on 
 K', W '' S v\ \.' '^ :2 A- ■ '''£"' o^^'''' account. 
 
 ■j^-ir 
 
 ^ ^. 
 
 J- 
 
 in the neighbour- 
 lio'id of Coventry, 
 and at Edgbaston 
 (afterwards a strong 
 garrison), and even 
 
 IllE AK\IY BKIORE roVENlKV. 
 
 in Warwick the signs of hostility were not wanting, whilst Charles was irresolutely 
 wandering about from place to place. 
 
 As early as June, 1642, whilst Sir \Villiam Dugdale was demanding, in the 
 King's name, stores of ammunition or the surrender of castles, Colonel Purefoy, 
 on Wednesday, the 14th of June, broke down the Cross in Warwick market- 
 place and defaced the monuments in St. Mary's Church. 
 
 It was known that the magazines of the county were at Coventry, of which 
 city the Earl of Nortiianipton was Recorder, and the trained-bands, as early 
 as Monday, the iith of July, preferred a request to Lord Brooke that he 
 would remove the magazines to Warwick. Two hundred volunteers enrolled 
 themselves in the county town for this purpose, rejoicing in the Parliamentarian 
 Lord-Lieutenant. On this day Lord Brooke, accompanied by 100 horsemen 
 and many wagons, went to Coventry and brought away the magazines and arms. 
 At Straiford-on-Avon large crowds met Lord Brooke with the train-bands, and
 
 i6o 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 400 men joined his regiment. On the i6th of June, 300 men, in addition 
 to the train-hands, met at Warwick, but no arms were forthcoming. On the 
 following Monday there was a rumour that Lord Northampton and 300 
 horse would oppose the Parliamentary ordinance at Coleshill. Altogether 
 Lord Brooke mustered 1,700 men with arms, in addition to large numbers 
 without. 
 
 In the meantime. Lord Northampton had not been idle. Many of the old 
 manor houses were repaired and fortified. Kenihvorth was garrisoned, as were 
 
 also Astley, Maxstoke, 
 Compton Winyate, Aston 
 Hall, Coughton, Milcote, 
 Wormleighton, Shuckburgh, 
 Charlecote, and many other 
 places ; but they were early 
 abandoned as points of de- 
 fence, and left to the tender 
 mercies of the most venture- 
 some of the local Puritanic 
 leaders. Amongst those who 
 espoused the cause of the 
 King were the Lord North- 
 ar.iptiin, the first Earl of 
 Denbigh, the Earl of Chi- 
 chester, Lord Craven, Sir 
 Charles Adderley, Sir Simon 
 Clark. Sir Clement Eisher, 
 Sir 1 Iciiry Gibbs, Sir Thomas 
 Holt, Sir Thomas Leigh, 
 SHATTERED STAIRCASE, ASTON iiAi.i.. gj^ Jo],,, Repington, Sir 
 
 Richard Shuckburgh, Sir Hercules Underbill, and many of the country gentle- 
 men, whilst the inhabitants of the town ranged themselves on the side of the 
 Parliament, supported by Lord ISrooke, I-ord Eeilding (afterwards the second 
 Earl of Denbigh), Sir Edwaril Peto, of Chesterton, Colonel William Purcfoy, of
 
 CAVALIERS AND ROUNDHEAIJS. l6l 
 
 Caldecote Hall, Mr. Abbott, of Caldecote, and many of the Presbyterian 
 ministers; thus, as in the instance of Lord Denbigli and his son, members of 
 the same family fought on opposite sides. 
 
 Warwickshire being in the very centre of rongland, and containing within 
 itself the royal stronghold of Kenilworth, was naturally the scene of the earliest 
 exploits. Early in August Rugby had been the scene of a Cavalier excursion, 
 and the same month King Charles marched out of Leicestershire with a body 
 of horse, hoping from the assurance of Lord Northampton tliat he might obtain 
 admission to Coventry and possession of the ammunition therein stored. His 
 troops appeared to have made Dunsmore Heath their rendezvous, and then to 
 have marched on Coventry ; but the citizens w-ere not to be cajoled or gained 
 over by promises. They were pleased to see his Majesty, but they would not 
 permit his Cavaliers to enter their gates in force. A guard of 200 might 
 be permitted, but no more. This was on the iSih of August. On the 19th 
 he planted his cannon against the gates, and thus the Civil War began in 
 earnest, for the King declared he would lay the city in ruins for the affront 
 he had received. The citizens manned the walls, repaired the breaches, sallied 
 out from the city with two pieces of ordnance, and attacked the Cavaliers, 
 forcing them to retreat. During this attack Charles stayed at the house of 
 Sir Thomas Leigh, of Stoneleigh, though popular tradition points to the now 
 demolished mansion of Fletchampstead, the seat of the Leighs, as the abode 
 of the King. 
 
 During this period Sir William Dugdale was despatched to remove the troops 
 and ammunition from Kenilworth, but, notwithstanding his celerity, he was 
 attacked near Curdworth by the men of Coventry and Birmingham, but 
 succeeded in joining the King in Leicestershire. 
 
 During the attack on Coventry, Lord Brooke had been collecting forces at 
 Northampton, and it was resolved to reinforce Coventry, and fortify and strengthen 
 the garrison at Warwick. On their way the Parliamentary forces met the 
 mounted Cavaliers near Southain, and a skirmish ensued, in which the Royalists 
 had the worst of it. The battle and pursuit seems to have continued as far 
 as Marton, for during the restoration of the church many bullets were found 
 In the walls and signs of fire on one of the church aisles.
 
 l62 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 The King withdrew his forces into Leicestershire, and on the 25th of August 
 set up his standard at Nottingham ; but Warwickshire was yet to be the scene 
 of bloodshed and of romance. 
 
 Elx;l)ASION CHURCH.
 
 ^be SiCGC ot Calbccote Iball. 
 
 N the lowlands which extend between the Watling Street Road 
 and the heights of Tuthill and Hartshill, on the east hank 
 of the river Anker, is Caldecote Hall. The house is now 
 an ordinary modern structure, though there are many signs 
 of the old manor house to be seen. When the strife 
 between King and Parliament broke out it was the residence of Colonel Purefoy, 
 the parliamentary representative <jf the borough of Warwick, an ardent Puritan, 
 who was the patron of Richard Vines, one of the leading Puritan preachers 
 of the day, and who was vicar of Caldecote at the time. The men belonging 
 to the Caldecote estate were drawn off to defend Coventry and to reinforce 
 Lord Brooke, when the King raised his standard at Nottingham, on the 25th 
 of August, 1642. On the 28th, being Sunday, Colonel Purefoy appears to have 
 visited his home, little suspecting the hasty march of Prince Rupert and his 
 Cavaliers to Warwickshire. Perhaps, next to Lord Brooke, Colonel Purefoy 
 was at this time the,nrost conspicuous leader of the Puritan party in Warwick- 
 shire, and his capture would have done much to dispirit the opponents of 
 the King in the Midlands. The following description of the attack on Calde- 
 cote Hall is taken from the oral traditions preserved in the family of one of 
 those engaged in the defence, whose grandson was alive in 1S44. 
 
 "We had," he says, "heard that the King had tried to seize the castle at 
 Hull, and that he had sent his nephews, Prince Rupert and Prince Morris 
 (Maurice), wild, devil-may-care fellows, harum-scaruming through the country, 
 frightening honest folks and setting them against the King. Well, the King 
 collected a parcel of gentlemen and troopers and came to Coventry, but the
 
 164 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 citizens would not let them enter the city. They did not care if the King 
 came, but they would not have the riff-raff of the country. The King got in 
 a mighty rage, and went to Stoneleigh, and sent his cannon to batter the 
 gates down. Thi-; put us in a great quandary, for we could hear the thunder 
 of the ordnance, and there were rumours that the Cavaliers had forced the 
 gates and were burning the city. We could see from the top of the church 
 tower the smoke, but whether it was from the powder of the culverins or the 
 fire of the houses we could not tell. Colonel Purefoy had come over to the 
 manor fiom Warwick Castle to see his son-in law, Master George Abbott, who 
 was also a Parliament man, to concert with him about the raising of more 
 men to join my Lord Brooke, who was at Northampton, and to see if more 
 provision could not be sent to Sir Edward Peto, who was in command of the 
 Castle at Warwick, and who e.xpected to be besieged. I recollect the time 
 well, for it was on Sunday morning, the 2-Sth of August, in the year of 
 grace 1641. Then I went up to the top of the tower to see if I could see 
 anything of Coventry spires and the fire, for I was anxious about my father. 
 My uncle Robin and three men had come over with the Colonel, but there 
 were but nine men altogether, including the Colonel and Master Ceorge, about 
 tlie house, and some of these men had wives in the village. I, as I have said, 
 went up the tower to look towards Coventry, bat I could see nothing but a 
 little smoke. I was looking at the river Anker, which shone so bright in the 
 sunlight, and thought how nice it was, when I saw the river move as I thought. 
 I looked again, and then I saw it was the steel jackets of a lot of soldiers 
 coming winding and glistening on the road like a silver serpent coming along. 
 I looked again and saw they were soldiers, l)ut not the men of our regiment, 
 but I thought of the devilskin Prince, of whom uncle Robin had told mc. 
 I nearly flew down the steps, for I was young then, and found the Colonel 
 and Master George walking together with the Rev. Richard \'incs, the preacher, 
 in the front of the house facing the river. I told him what I had seen. 
 The Colonel patted my head and said I was a good boy, but Master Vines 
 talked of the depravity of the human heart, and the sin of looking from the 
 tov,-er on the Sabbath. Master George's eye struck fire. He told me to go 
 with the Colonel into the hop garden and hide him there. I knew where he
 
 THE SIEGF, OF CALDI'.COIE H.U.I,. 
 
 i6S 
 
 meant, for \vc had ronlrived a .snug hiding place in the middle of the garden, 
 and had covered it willi old hop poles. People called that cowardice 
 
 afterwards, but we knew that 
 the King's men wanted the 
 Colonel, for he had spoken 
 boldly in Parliament against 
 the ship money and the King's 
 exactions. There were, at this 
 time, only eight men inside 
 the house, for we had not 
 time to call the villagers, 
 who did not know that the 
 Colonel was come home. Mas- 
 ter George said that all the 
 men who were worth anything 
 were away at ^\'arwick and 
 Coventry. So the bells went 
 tinkling for church as usual, 
 for the Colonel would not 
 have them taken away, though 
 Master Vines said they were 
 an invention of the evil one 
 and a relic of papistry. 
 
 Dame Purefoy (our mistress) 
 and Master George called us 
 together, and she said that 
 the King's men were coming, 
 but they had resolved to 
 resist them and prevent them 
 coming into the hall. It was 
 an old-fashioned house then, 
 for the Colonel liad rot begun the alterations you see now. We got the 
 good leather beds and placed them at the windows, and barricaded the doors. 
 
 lO.MB OF ]HR ITREFOYS, CAI.IiEl GTE.
 
 l66 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 The mistress told Dolly, the cook, to make up a fire and bring the pewter 
 spoons and plates to melt down for bullets, for we had some powder and 
 several guns but no bullets. Master George showed the women servants how 
 to load the guns, so that the men might watch the outside. Almost before 
 we had all the guns loaded we could hear the clattering of the horses' hoofs on 
 the road. Good Lord, what a row they made, and though it was the Sabbath- 
 day, they were singing snatches of profane songs. Master George had stationed 
 himself with the four men at the great entrance just opposite the courtyard, 
 but the mistress and I were at the ] orter's wicket at the side; the old 
 steward and uncle were in the upper rooms. While we were waiting my heart 
 went pit-a pat, but I did not feel much frightened. We did not know which 
 way they would approach: but we heard the halt of the troopers, for there 
 were eight or nine troops of horse — several hundred men altogether. Then a 
 trumpet sounded, and several officers and men came to our wicket. My mis- 
 tress asked who they were and what right they had to disturb godly people 
 on the Sabbath-day. They demanded entrance for Prince Rupert in the King's 
 name to search for a rebellious subject who had been levying war against the 
 King. My mistress told them to be gone as marauders. They said they 
 would have admittan e, and were about to force the door, when the dame 
 lifted one of the guns and said "God forgive me,'' pulled the trigger, and 
 fired. I peeped out and saw that one of the officers had fallen. There was 
 a scream, a groan, and a scuffle, and immediately afterwards a volley of bullets 
 were fired against the wicket. Master George, on hearing the shot rushed to 
 that side of the house, and we fired all the guns at the windows and loop- 
 holes. \\'e saw the godless troopers drop one by one, and the rest ran away, 
 we then drew a long breath, whilst the women loaded the firelocks again. 
 
 " We could see some consultation going on, and immediately a series of shots 
 were fired at the windows. We did not mind that. The glass was shattered 
 about the room. Master George conjectured that they were about to attack 
 the courtyard entrance, and stationed us all there. He was right ; for shortly 
 afterwards the court gates were burst open, and the troopers rushed at the hall 
 door with battering poles. 'Now then,' shouted Master George, 'steady, take 
 good aim,' and we all fired. Down dropped two or three officers and several
 
 THE SIEGE OF CAI.DECOIE HALL. 167 
 
 of the soldiers. We had spare guns and we fired again. Then tlie women 
 handed us tlie reloaded arms, and we fired a third time before they cleared 
 out of the courtyard. We all thanked God, and some of us thought that 
 they had gone after so warm a reception Master Abbott knew better. He 
 said that they would try to make a diversion. We did not know what he 
 meant, but soon found out. Some straw was brought to the front and fired, 
 and when the flame and smoke were at the highest the Cavaliers again made 
 a rush at the hall door. Again we fired, but though we did some execution, 
 it was not so much as before. They came on again, but our powder began 
 to run short. The soHiers now fired the stables, and Master George said we 
 should be obliged to give in. The dame said it was perhaps for the best, 
 and just as the Cavaliers, headed by Prince Rupert himself, were preparing for 
 a last attempt, the dame flung open the door, for the flames had nearly reached 
 the manor house, and cast herself at Rupert's feet, and besought him not to 
 injure the hair of the heads of a few poor women. The Prince and the 
 officers could not believe that we had so few souls and so many women. 
 Before he said aught he had the house searched for the Colonel, and when 
 he really found the bird was not there, he gave us all our lives, but wanted 
 Master George to accept the command of a troop of his horse, but Ma.ster 
 George said he could not conscientiously do so. The soldiers wanted to sack 
 the house as they had done others, but the brave Prince would not let that 
 be done. He said we had acted l)ravely, and he knew how to respect brave 
 men and women. They then took up their wounded, and went oft" in the 
 direction of Coventry. The villagers from Weddington, Mancetter, and the 
 neighbourhood came, and we soon extinguished the fire. We all laughed at 
 Dolly, who was lamenting over her broken and melted platters she had polished 
 so bravely. When night fell, the Colonel came in, and before morning was 
 off towards Northampton." 
 
 In Vicar's " Magnolia Dei Anglicani" a somewhat similar account is given of 
 this stirring incident. The officers killed were Captain May ford, Captain Shute, 
 and one Captain Steward, and fifteen men. 
 
 In Caldecote Church, which adjoins the house, there is a monument to Mr. 
 George Abbott, erected by his mother-in-law. The inscription runs thus : —
 
 1 68 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 " Here lieth the liody of George Abbott, late of Caldecott, in Warwickshire, Esquire, whose 
 eminent parts, virtues, ami graces, drawn forth to life in his exemplary walking with Clod, his 
 tenderness to all the members of Christ, who frequently fled to his charily in their wants, and 
 counsel in cases of conscience. His exact observation of the Sabbath, which he vindicated l)y 
 his pen, and on which August 28th, 1642, God honoured him in the memorable and un- 
 jiaralleled defence of this adjoining house, with eight men (Ijesides his mother and her maids) 
 against the furious and fierce assault of Princes Rupert and Maurice, witli 18 troops of horse 
 and dragoneers. )lis perspicuous paraphrases of the books of Job and Psalms, his judicious 
 tracts of public aftairs then emergent, his known integrity in public employments, rendered him 
 one of a thousand for singular piety, wisdom, learning, charity, courage, and fidelity to his 
 country, which he .-.erved in two I'arlianients, the former and the present, whereof he died a 
 member Fel>ruary the 2nd, 164S, in the 44111 year of his age. This monument was erected to 
 his memory by his dear mother anil executrix, Johan I'urefoy. the wife of Colonel William 
 Purefoy, his beloved father-in-law, the 2Slh day of August, Anno Domini 1649." 
 
 THK KIi.STORI-;l) ClU Kl 11 OK CALDl'XUTIi.
 
 Zbc Capture of tbe Stan^ar^. 
 
 NE of the least known, but one of the most gallant of the 
 Warwickshire Cavaliers who joined the army of the King 
 was Captain John Smith, of Skills. His old home yet 
 stands on the south-western edge of the county, where it 
 commands a fine view over the Arden and over \\'orcester- 
 shire. Early in the disturbances he was in command of a troop of horse at 
 Rugby, and took an active part in disarming the Roundheads there, and at 
 the puritanic village of Kilsby, where he met with a stout resistance, and shed, 
 it is believed, the first blood in the Civil Wars. His great deed was the 
 recapture of the King's standard at the fight of Edgehili. 
 
 Eetween the skirmish at Southam and the battle of Kineton the rival com- 
 manders had not been idle. Lord Northampton had made a dash at Warwick 
 Castle, but had been repulsed. The commander of the garrison, Sir Edward 
 Peto, of Chesterton, had hung wool-packs outside the gatehouse on great hooks 
 (which yet remain) to protect tlie walls from Lord Northampton's cannon. 
 On Guy's Tower he hung out, instead of the red standard, a winding sheet 
 and a bible to show he was ready to die for his faith. Parliament trembled 
 for the safety of this stronghold, but ultimately Lord Northampton withdrew 
 his troops, and both parties prepared for the first trial at arms in force. 
 
 Troops had been raised on all sides. Lord Brooke's purple-coated Warwick- 
 shire regiment was early in the field ; Hampden's green coats were not behind ; 
 Holles's red coats followed, so that in the course of a month the Earl of 
 Essex, as Commander-in-Chief for the Parliament, found himself in command 
 of a formidable army. He crossed Warwickshire in the month of September,
 
 170 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 on his march to Worcester, where lie rested to watch the King's movements, 
 who was raising troops at Shrewsbury and Chester. 
 
 The King evidently felt the importance of marching on London, and striking 
 a blow at the head quarters of Parliament before the Earl of Essex could inter- 
 cept him. According to the ''Iter Carolinian,'" he left Shrewsbury on the 12th 
 of October, 1642, and proceeded to Hridgenorth : from whence, on the 15th of 
 that month, he went to Wolverhampton; thence on the 17th, to Bremichem (Bir- 
 mingham), to the mansion of Sir Thomas Holt, Aston Hall: on the 18th he went 
 to Packington, the house of Sir Robert Fisher ; on the 19th to Killingworth (Kenil- 
 worth). Whether the castle was then garrisoned by the forces of the Parliament 
 or abandoned by them, whether for the night he took up his abode in the castle or 
 
 elsewhere, the writer of this 
 iter does not inform us Lord 
 Clarendon, however, states that 
 it was " a house of the King's, 
 and a very noble seat." He 
 was now with his army between 
 the two hostile garrisons of 
 Coventry and Warwick Castle. 
 On the 2 1 St of October he 
 proceeded with his army to 
 Southam, probably marching 
 by way of Chesford Bridge, 
 Cubbington, and Offchurch. 
 At Southam, the house in 
 which he slept yet remains. From hence he issued a proclamation to his 
 troops. On the 22nd of October he proceeded to Edgcote, Prince Rupert 
 taking up his quarters the same night at Wormleighton, at a fine Tudor 
 mansion belonging to the Spencer family. There is an anecdote related by 
 Dr. Thomas of Mr. Richard Shuckburgh, of an ancient family in Warwick- 
 shire, the possessor of the Shuckburgh estates in this county in the time of 
 the Civil Wars, as in no way inferior to his ancestors, and then goes on to 
 say, "As Charles L marched to Edgcote, near Banbury, on the 22nd of 
 
 UOUSK I.N WIIU II niAKLIiS I, sl.lvl'r XV SOUTHAM.
 
 THK CAl'TURE OF THE SlANlJAKI). 171 
 
 October, 1642, he saw him hunliiiL; in the field, not far from Shuckburgh, 
 with a very good pack of liounds, upon which, it is reported, that he fetched 
 a deep sigh, and asked who that gentleman was that hunted so merrily thai 
 morning, when he was going to fight for his crown and liberty ; and being 
 told that it was this Richard Shuckburgh, he was ordered to be called to him, 
 and was by him very graciously received, upon which he went immediately 
 home, arnifd all his tenants, and the next day attended him on the field, 
 where he was knighted, and was present at the battle of Edgehill. After the 
 taking of Banbury Castle and his Majesty's retreat from those parts, he went 
 to his own seat and fortified himself on the top of Shuckburgh Hill, where, 
 being attacked by some of the Parliament forces, he defended himself till he 
 fell with most of his tenants about him, but being taken up and life perceived 
 in him, he was carried away prisoner to Kenilworth Castle wheie he lay a 
 considerable time, and was forced to [lurchase his liberty at a dear rate." 
 There is in the church of Upper Shuckburgh a monumental bust of this 
 Warwickshire woithy and staunch Royalist, representing him, not unlike the 
 portraits of Charles I., with a moustache and piked beard, according to the 
 fashion which then prevailed. 
 
 The rear of the King's trcops was commanded by Prince Rupert, who took 
 up his quaiters at Wormleighton House, and occupied with his pickets the 
 highlands of Burton, Warmington, and Arlescote. The King was at Edgcote, 
 and the outlying pickets overlooking the vale of Red Horse saw the camj) 
 fires of the troops of the Earl of Essex, who had left Worcester on the 14th 
 of October, and had marched along bad roads and miry lanes in a line nearly 
 parallel with the King, but in profound ignorance of his whereabouts. 
 Hampden and Lord Brooke were about a day's march in the rear of Essex, 
 for they 1 ad crossed the Avon at Stratford on the iSth. 
 
 The King had decided to halt for the Sunday, but hearing of the vicinity 
 of the parliamentary army, he ordered his troops to extend to the westward 
 and occupy the oolitic bluffs which here form the fringe of Warwickshire, to 
 stop the advance of Essex and his troops. This order was not given till 
 three o'clock in the morning. The distance was only five miles from the 
 head-quarters of the King at Edgcote, and the appearance of Prince Rupert's
 
 172 HISTORIC Warwickshire. 
 
 Cavaliers on tlie Edge hills about eight o'clock was the first intimation that 
 the forces of Essex had that the King was so near them. 
 
 Standing at the Round Tower, which has been erected near tlie artificial 
 ruins which now crown the summit of the Edge hills between Ratley and 
 Kadway, we can see the whole of the position occupied by these rival English 
 armies. The whole of the green lane between the Round House and the 
 Sunrising was lined with troops. The right of the King's forces rested on 
 Bullet Hill, beneath the old British camp at Nadbury, above Arlescote, and 
 the left at Sunrising, where the road comes up from Stratford. No better 
 position could have been chosen. The King's forces were numerically superior 
 to those of the Parliament, for he had some 15,000 or 16,000 men and the 
 Parliament about 2,000 less. The King's strength consisted of cavalry. The 
 Parliament, thougli not weak in cavalry, were stronger in trained infantry. 
 
 Those who have visited tlie battle-field will be told how the King break- 
 fasted at a cottage at Radway immediately below the Round House, and a 
 small mound some four hundred yards west of Radway Church is said to 
 be the spot from whence the King surveyed the ])arliamentary forces. Lord 
 Lindsay, the King's general, counselled delay, but tlie impetuous Prince Rupert 
 over-ruled the experienced soldier. The King rode at the head of his troops 
 and addressed the men spiritedly. Lord Lindsay dismounted, and taking a 
 pike in his hand led the troo])s into the plain. His prayer is Fai'd to have 
 been "O Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget 
 Thee, do not Thou forget me. ]\Iarch on, boys '" It was late in the after- 
 noon of Sunday the 23rd of October, 1642, whilst tlie bells of the churches 
 had hardly ceased to sound for divine worship, ere the artillery roared, the 
 foremost lines advanced, and the battle had begun. 
 
 The contliit did not last long. Prince Rupert charged with headlong fury and 
 carried all before him, and had he not paused to plunder the wagons of 
 the enemy in Kineton streets, there would have been another tale to tell ; 
 but he had been used to the wars of Cermany, and forgot in pillage how 
 his presence might be needed elsewhere. The King's infantry was hard 
 pressed by Lord Essex, Sir Edward Xerncy, the standard-bearer, was killed, and 
 Ensign Voung seized the trojihy and delivered it to Lord Essex. He gave
 
 i 
 
 ?'#-<jfF 
 

 
 THE CAPTURE OF THK STANDARD. 
 
 173 
 
 it to liis secretary, Cliambers, who exulting in the ])rize, waved it round his 
 head, and accompanied by six troopers was carrying it from the field, when 
 Captain Smith, who had been stationed wiih his troop on the left wing, after 
 charging several times, found himself alone with one Chickley, a groom, the 
 rest of his troop following the pillage of the routed rebels. " As these two," 
 
 Kixi'.rriN ( iii'urii. 
 
 SO says the historian, " were passing on towards our army, this mirror f)f 
 chivalry espied six men (three cuirassiers and three arquebusiers) on horseback, 
 guarding a seventh on foot, who was carr)ing off the field, a colour rolled up. 
 which he conceived to be one of the ordinary colours of his Majesty's Life 
 Guards, and therefore, seeing them so strong, intended to avoid them. While 
 he was thus considering, a boy on horseback calls to him, saying, ' Captain
 
 174 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Smith, Captain Smith, they are carrying away the standard ! ' He would not 
 suddenly beheve the boy, till by great asseverations he had assured him it 
 was the standard ; who forthwith said, ' They shall have me with it if they 
 carry it away,' and snatching an orange scarf from a parliamentary soldier, he 
 desired Chickley, if he saw him much engaged, in with his rapier at the 
 footman (Chambers) that carried the banner (who was then secretary to Essex, 
 the rebels' general), saying, 'Traitor! deliver up the standard,' and wounded him 
 in the breast. Whilst he was bent forward to follow his thrust, one of those 
 cuirassiers with a pole-axe wounded him in the neck through the collar of his 
 doublet, and the rest gave fire at him with their pistols, but without any 
 further hurt than blowing off seme powder into his face. No sooner was he 
 recovered upright but he made a thrust at the cuirassier that wounded him, 
 and run him through the belly, whereupon he presently fell at which sight all 
 the rest ran away. Then he caused a foot soldier that was rear at hand to reach 
 him up the banner, which he brought away, with the horse of that cuirassier. 
 Immediately comes up a great body of his Majesty's horse, which were rallied 
 together, with whom he staid, delivering the standard to Master Robert Hutton, 
 a gentleman of Sir Robert Willyes's troop, to carry forthwith to his Majesty. 
 Next morning King Charles sent for him to the top of Edgeliill, where his 
 Majesty knighted him for his singular valour." He subsequently, with a small 
 party of horse, brought off three brass pieces of cannon that stood about tiie 
 left wing of the rebels' army in the battle. This worthy knight banneret, on 
 the 29th March, 1644, was mortally wounded in an engagement at Bramdean, 
 near Alresford, in Hampshire, and died the following day at Andover, and on 
 the ist of April his body was interred with military honours in the south- 
 east corner of the chapel on the south side of the choir in Oxford Cathedral. 
 Evening came on, and some thousand dead Englishmen lay on Kineton 
 field. The Cavaliers had retired to the Edge hills at the critical moment of 
 the battle. Both sides claimed the victory, but Essex, instead of renewing the 
 attack, retired to Warwick, and in the morning the King's troops moved to 
 Banbury. Both sides made mistakes, but when a Barlianientary soldier climbed 
 that night to the beacon tower on Burton Dasset Hill and fired the beacon, 
 it flared the news to the country side, and from thence to London, that the
 
 THE CAPTURE OF THE STANDARD. 1 75 
 
 men of the Parliament bad met those of the King and had not been worsted.* 
 The moral effect of the fight was that of a Parliamentary victor}'. 
 
 Whether, as Lord Holies stated, Cromwell saw the fight from the tower of 
 Burton Dasset Church and lied in terror we shall never know ; but the parish 
 clerk at Tysoe, who ran from church with the congregation to see the fight, 
 and the village tailor, who received a mortal wound as the reward of his 
 curiosity, are a part of history. It is related that a Roundhead gunner saw a 
 Cavalier officer on a white horse ; as the Royal army ascended the hill he fired 
 at him with his field piece, struck him on the thigh, and mortally wounded him. 
 He died, and was buried in the churchyard of Radway. Here, twenty-eight 
 years afterwards, his mother. Lady Bridget Kingsmill, erected a monument to 
 his memory. In Jago's poem of Edgehill there is a view of this monument 
 preserved, but only the mutilated remains of the figure now exist. These are 
 preserved in the tower of Radway new church. By the side is this inscription : — 
 
 '■ Here lyelh, expecting ye second comeing of our l/lessed Lord .ind Saviour, Henry 
 ICingsmill, Esq., second son to Sr Henry Kingsmill, of Sidmonton, in the county of Southampton, 
 Knt, who, serving as a captain of foot under his Matie Charles the First, of lilessed memory, 
 was at the liattell of Edge Hill, in ye year of our Lord 1642, as he was manfully fighting 
 in liehalfc of his King and country, unhappily slain liy a cannun bullet, in memory of whom 
 his mother, the Lady Bridget Kingsmill, did, in the forty-sixth yeare of her widowhood, in the 
 year of our Lord 1670, erect this monument. 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished 
 my course, henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.'" 
 
 The burial-place of the troopers is now marked by a plantation on Battle 
 
 Farm. The field is now enclosed, and the positions of the army of Essex 
 
 are difficult to make out. 
 
 # + #** **** 
 
 Some nine months afterwards, the field, on which Captain Smith had won 
 his spurs, was the scene of another historical event. On Monday, July loth, 
 1643, fhe Queen Henrietta Maria arrived in the Midlands to assist the King. 
 On that day she left Walsall and went to King's Norton, where Prince Rupert 
 (who in April had attacked and taken the town of Birmingham) met her. 
 On Tuesday, the iith, she went to .Stratfordon-Avon, and lodged at New 
 Place, the house where twenty-seven years before Shak.espeare had died. 
 
 The light was seen at Ivinghoe, in Buckinghamshire, and on the beacon there being lired it was seen at 
 Hariow-on-the-Hill, and the news thus reached London. This beacon tower is engraved on page 39 ante.
 
 176 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 On Thursday, the 13th, she proceeded on her way to Wroxton Abbey, and 
 wlien on the field of Kineton, King Charles met her, and in honour of that 
 event what is known as the Kineton medal was struck. During the autumn and 
 winter of 1642, the King's party in the west had gradually gained ground, and on 
 May 16th, 1643, defeated their opponents under the Earl of Stamford in a sharp 
 encounter at Stratton, in Cornwall. To support the Royal cause in those parts the 
 Marquis of Hertford and Prince Maurice were sent with a force, and having 
 joined the local partisans of the King, they proceeded towards the subjection 
 of Somersetshire. To check this party Sir William Waller was entrusted with 
 a complete army ; and, after several skirmishes, an encounter took place upon 
 Lansdown Hill, near Bath, without any decisive issue, but with considerable 
 loss on both sides. But Lord \\'ilmot inflicted a decisive defeat at Roundway, 
 near Devizes, at the very day and hour that Charles and Henrietta met on 
 Kineton field. 
 
 UAliWAV (lU'RCH.
 
 fi >.^,€2:"^ 
 
 Z\K ^bchxe£> ot the ipuchcringe. 
 
 1 III. ST King and Parliament were struggling for supremacy, 
 the interesting old house known as the Priory, at Warwick, 
 became the inheritance of a young lady whose romantic 
 career attracted great attention even in those stirring times. 
 This house, recently the seat of Thomas Lloyd, Esq., 
 was originally built in the eighth, year of the reign of Elizabeth, on the site 
 of the old Priory, by one Thomas Hawkins, who obtained the soubriquet of 
 " Fisher '' from the fact of his father having sold fish at the Market Cross at 
 NVarwick. h'ishtr had been ser\aiu to John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, 
 and by his talents and integrity had raised himself up in favour utitil he 
 became possessed of a vast amount of property, much of which had been 
 alienated from the Church at the Reformation. In the curious records of 
 the doings of the Corporation of Warwick, known as the Black Book, there are 
 many entries relating to this extraordinary man, who died in 1576, the year 
 following the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Kenihvorth. His son Edward, then 
 thirty years of age, succeeded him, and his estimated rent roll was no less 
 than _;^3,ooo per annum. This enormous wealth he quickly dissipated, for in 
 less than four years he had sold this fair seat and the lands about it to 
 Serjeant Puckering, the Lord Keeper of the Creat Seal. He attempted to 
 cheat my lord keeper by a fraudulent conveyance, and though he escaped the 
 penalty of his crime through the intervention of Robert Dudley, Earl of 
 Leicester, he ended his days miserably as a prisoner in the Fleet.
 
 178 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Serjeant John Puckering was the Speaker of the House of Commons (circa 
 1585). It was he who recommended that tlie sentence against Mary Queen of 
 Scots should be carried out. He was knighted in 1594-5, and died a year 
 afterwards, leaving a son, Thomas Puckering, as his heir, at Warwick. This 
 gentleman was renowned for his taste, education, and refinement. He had 
 travelled much, and was for several years the representative of Warwick in 
 Parliament. He died in 1636, leaving one daughter, Jane, to inherit his name 
 and lands. She was the last of the Puckerings. 
 
 Dugdale simply tells us that Jane Puckering was weak in body, and had 
 been attended by some misfortunes, which, for the sake of brevity, he omitted 
 to mention. But there are preserved in the Record Office, and in the journals 
 of the House of Lords,* some touching particulars concerning this " Heiress of 
 the Puckerings." On the loth of February, 1640, Lady Puckering, the widow 
 of Sir Thomas Puckering, Knight and Baronet, presented a petition to the 
 House of Lords on behalf of Jane Puckering, her only child. In this petition 
 she points out that the executors of her husband's will have got into their 
 hands large sums of money belonging to his estate ; but as they have failed 
 to make composition with the King as directed by the will for the wardship 
 of the heiress, she has been t:.hen away from her mother, and awarded to 
 Sir David Cunningham, an entire stranger to the family, but nearly related to 
 one of the e.xeculors, " who is to have the estate if the child fail." The 
 unfortunate heiress was at this time only ten years of age. She was sickly 
 and lame, and the mother pleads that the child requires more care than can 
 be expected from strangers, and petitions that she may have the custody of 
 the child on repaying to Sir David Cunningham the money he has expended. 
 She also prays that the executors may give an account of the proceedings, 
 and that the child may be brought before the House of Lords in order that 
 they may see how unfit it would be for any one but her mother to have 
 wardship of her. The young lady shortly afterwards again became the object of 
 cupidity and sinister designs. 
 
 When about sixteen years of age, whilst she was walking in Greenwich Park, 
 in the Autumn, a man named Joseph Walsh seized her, hurried her on board 
 
 * Lord's Journal, iv. z^8
 
 THE HEIRESS OF THE PUCKERINGS. T79 
 
 a boat, took her to a slii|) lying in wait, and carried her a prisoner to 
 Dunkirk, tlien the haunt of a number of lawless pirates, and here Walsh 
 announced that lie liad married her. 
 
 This barefaced abduction excited considerable interest. The few State jjapers 
 preserved belonging to this case show the energy which the Parliamentary 
 Council of State used in her behalf. We learn from tlie unpublished calendar 
 tlie following facts, but the petition itself does not appear to have been preserved. 
 
 " 1649, Oct 15. Whitehall. Council of .State to Sir Thomas Walsinghani and Col. Blount. 
 The enclosed petition, setting forth a foul fact committed at (Irecnwich, in seizing u|)on and 
 carrying away Mrs. Jane Puckering, having been presented to us, we desire you to use all 
 means for the recovery of the gentlewoman, and punishment of the offenders ; and in order 
 thereto, to examine the whole business upon oath, and return the examinations to us, that 
 further course may be taken by writing letters beyond sea or otherwise. Vou are also to take 
 order that those guilty of that fact be secured, in order to be proceeded against according to 
 law. [I. 94, p. 48S : 63, p. 140.] 
 
 "1649, Oct. 20. Council of State. Day's Proceedings. 18. Mrs. Magdalen Smith to have 
 a pass for Flanders, to seek Mrs. Jane Puckering, as also letters of favour to the parliamen- 
 tary agents there, to give her assistance in regaining Mrs. Puckering. Mr. Frost to confer with 
 the Spanish Ambassador, .and desire his letters for Flanders for the same object, as also for 
 the surrender of the offenders, who carried her away contrary to law. 
 
 " 1649, Nov. 5. Council of State to Col. Popham. We have been moved by some friends 
 of Mrs. Puckering, lately stolen from Greenwich, and carried violently into Flanders, that a 
 ship might be sent to Nieuport, to receive her on board, and bring her to England ; you are 
 therefore to order a ship of considerable force (as there is a party there that will endeavour 
 to engage the pickeroons thereabouts to rescue her), to go to Nieuport in Flanders, and there 
 receive her and her company, and carefully bring her over to England. The captain must give 
 her and her conip.iny the best accommodation the ship will afford. [I. 94, p. 517.] 
 
 " 1649, Dec. 10. Council of .Stale. Day's Proceedings. 16. To write Mr. Tlielwall to 
 press for the delivery of Mrs. Puckering, that she may be sent to England." 
 
 The alleged marriage was declared void, and in the following year Jane 
 married Sir John Bate, and died in child-birth, January 27, 1652. 
 
 Sir Henry Newton, the nephew of Sir Thomas Puckering, succeeded to the 
 estates, and assumed the name of Puckering. He died 1701, when Lady 
 James Bowyer succeeded, and after her decease Captain Grantham, whose pro- 
 fuse hospitality obliged him to sell the Priory, which was then purchased by 
 Mr. Henry Wise, of Brompton, the ancestor of the Wises of Woodcote and 
 Shrublands
 
 iTor jfaitb anb Conscience. 
 
 HE cause of Parliament was triumphant in Warwickshire long 
 
 before the battle of Naseby and the second Lord Denbigh 
 
 ruled over the Midlands, after the death of Lord Brooke at 
 
 Lichfield. At Hopton, Lord Northampton had died of his 
 
 wounds. At the capture of Birmingham the first Lord 
 
 Denbigh had been wounded and was in a fair way of recovery, when his 
 
 servant let him fall on the floor, and thus opened his wounds afresh. The 
 
 whole history of the Civil Wars does not contain a more touching episode than 
 
 the letters of the Feilding family during the struggle. The first Countess 
 
 Denbigh beseeches her son to continue loyal, but he fought on the side of the 
 
 Parliament at Edgehill. The letters of the second Lord Denbigh and of his 
 
 wife are preserved at Newnham still. 
 
 There are two episodes preserved in the original but unpublished MSS. of 
 
 Dugdale, which show the sufferings of the estabhshed clergy, and the indignities 
 
 they had to undergo at the hands of the dominant party. The Rev. Gains 
 
 White, of Packington, and the Rev. Samuel Wilks, the vicar of Wappenbury, 
 
 suffered with the Rev. Francis Holyoke, of Soutliam, for their attachment to 
 
 Church and King. 
 
 On the anniversary of the battle of Edgehill, or, as Dugdale puts it — 
 
 ' " In tlic year 1643, mi Sunday, Oclolier 22n(I, tlic minislLT of Sumely a1>out ti\e miles from 
 Warwick), l]L'ing in the jnilpit, where he lalnmreil lo move his aiulilory to relieve their jioore, 
 especially in these dayes when he could not goe abroad to beg of others, one Howyer, a
 
 FOR FAITH AND CONSCIENCE. 
 
 trooper of Sergeant-Major Touts, with two or three more of liis fellovves, came to the church 
 (loore anil discharged a pistoll. Afterwards they entered the church, where having heard a little 
 of the sermon, this Bowyer openly told the preacher that he lyed, calling to him in the pulpit 
 three or foure times. Tlic minister replyed that the church was no place for such unusual 
 language ; whereupon thease youths went into the churchyard and discharged their pistols against 
 the window near the pulpit, hoping thereby to have nuirthered the preacher, to the great 
 affrightment of all tlie people." This is the statement given in on one of the diurnals of those 
 troublous times, the Mercurius Angliciis (for the forty-fifth week ending November nth), under 
 the influence of the King's adherents ; but, as the I'arliamentarians have not denied the fact, 
 there can be no doubt of it. The Mercarius Bn'tanicus, a publication on the other side of 
 the question, thus comments upon the statements in its thirteenth number, 23rd : ' Anlicus tells 
 us of one Mr. Stonely (confounding the name of (lerson with that of the place), a prelaticall 
 minister, how Master Bowyer, a Parliament trooper, affrighted him in the pulpit, with the 
 shot of a pistoll. Anlicus, indeed it was a pity, I must needs confesse, for your ministers are 
 not so often in the pul[)it. that they need not be shot out again, and it was more the pity 
 that Master .Stonely was so used, because I understand by .some of his i)arishoners the good 
 man had not troubled the pulpit .sixe weekes before ; and they say he now sweare.s, since he 
 cannot be tjuiet he will not come in the pulpit in hast. I ever thought there was something 
 that made the clergj' so tender of coming there, but I never knew a reason till now. But 
 suppose Master Bowyer discharged a pistoll at the church walls, could not Master Stonely dis- 
 charge his duty in the church for all that. This miserable quibbler ends, as usual, with an 
 invective against the establishment, or, as he terms them, malignant clergy.' " 
 
 The old fortified house known as Astley Castle was taken b)- the Parlia- 
 mentarians early in the disturbances, and preserved under the circumstances 
 detailed by Dugdale as follows : — 
 
 "In the lime of the late . . . (sic.) the manor house was made a garrison by the 
 Parliament, and one Goodere Hum a shoemaker in Coventre, constituted Governour thereof; 
 for, beside a large and deepe mote yt it hath, the walls thereof are embattled, it having had 
 
 the reputation of a castle, upon w-ch occasion one Burton, the then vicar of 
 
 l'"ilongley (near at hand), having been a fierce instigator of ye people to take amies for ye 
 Cank (as they termined it), and therefore fearing to be disturbed at his habitation by some 
 of ye King's ptye, likewise himself to this strongholde for protection, where he became in the 
 nature of a chaplaine to ye soldiers, and preacht in the church of Astley, under the protection 
 of y' garrison. Whilst he continued there some of ye King's forces of Ashby-de-la-Zouch (in 
 Leicestershire) were taken prisoners and brought to Astley, who one day espying an advantage 
 by ye Governour's absence, and the weaknesse of those y' were then left in ye house, made 
 their escape, wherein this Burton, endeavouring to resist them, received such a knock y' he 
 shortly dyed, for whose buriall, his companions making a grave in the chancell hapned to digg 
 upon the beforemenconed coffin of lead, where the Marquesse his body lay, wch as a special 
 booty they took up, and converted the lead into bullets, turning out the bones and dust of that 
 nol le person into ye open churchyard (wch since, by the care of the said Mr. Chamberlayne,
 
 l82 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 were again buryecl), laying the body of y seditious priest in his roonie. From this Thomas 
 Marquesse Dors', is Henry, now Earle of Stamford, Lord Grey of Groby I by his second onne 
 John Grey, ipf Pirgo, in Essex) descended." 
 
 In 1655 was |)ublished a catalogue of the lords, knights, and gentlemen who 
 had compounded for their estates in Warwickshire. 
 
 This contains a list of perhaps the greater part of the Royalist nobility 
 and gentry in the different counties in England, with the several sums at 
 which each was assessed. The local names are arranged alphabetically. 
 
 Those of the county of Warwick are as under :— 
 
 Adderley, Sir Charles, Ham, Warwickshire 
 Broth, Edw. , of Edrington, Warwickshire, C.en\. 
 Brown, Hen., of Tiso, Warwick 
 Clark, Sir Sym., of Broom, Warwickshire, Bar. 
 Court, John, of Uhihall, Warwickshire, \eoni. ... 
 
 Clark, Matth., Oxhill, Warwick 
 
 Dugdale, Will., Shewstock, Warwickshire, Gent. 
 
 Fisher, Sir Clem., I'ackington, Warwickshire, Bar 
 
 Fisher, Fran., of Packington, Warwickshire, Gent. 
 
 Fisher, Thu., of Packington, Warwickshire, (lent. 
 
 Gwillin, Peter, of Southam, Gent. 
 
 ( Irosvenour, Fulke, Moxhull, W'arwickshire. Esq. 
 
 Grosvenour, Gowen, Sutton Coidfield 
 
 Glover, Robert, Mancetter, Warwickshire, Genl. 
 
 Giblis, Sir Hen., and Thomas, his son, of Hunlinglon, Warwick 
 
 Halford, William, of Halford, Warwickshire, Gent 
 
 Ilolbeche, Thomas, Colleshall, Warwickshire .. 
 
 lloll. Sir Thomas, of Aston Com., Warwickshire, Haroii 
 
 Lucy, Spencer, Charlcot, Warwickshiie, Gent. 
 
 Leigh, Sir Tho., Sen., of Stone Leigh Com., Warwickshire, Knight 
 
 Mather, John, Mancetter, Warwickshire, Gent. .. 
 
 Northampton, Earl James 
 
 Parker, Edmund, llartshil, Warwickshire ... 
 
 Philpot, John, Lighthotn, Warwickshire, Clerk 
 
 Palmer, Giles, of Compton, Warwickshire, Gent. 
 
 Rogers, Matthew, of Claverdon, Warwickshire 
 
 Repington, Sir John, of Aniington, Warwick.shire, Kt. 
 Raleigh, George, of Farnlmrough, Warwickshire, Es(|. .. 
 V'nderhill. Sir I k-rcules, and William, his nejihew, of Idlicoit 
 
 Knight 
 Warner, George, of Wolston, Warwickshire, E.scp 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. ,1. 
 
 
 40; 
 
 10 
 
 
 59 
 
 10 
 
 
 3 
 
 6 S 
 
 
 Soo 
 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 18 
 
 
 IS 
 
 
 
 
 168 
 
 
 
 
 840 
 
 13 4 
 
 
 422 
 
 '3 
 
 
 559 
 
 16 7 
 
 
 113 
 
 6 8 
 
 
 - 356 
 
 to 
 
 
 81 
 
 
 
 
 75 
 
 
 
 
 51- 
 
 
 
 
 9S 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 ... 4401 
 
 2 4 
 
 
 • •• 3513 
 
 
 
 
 ... 4895 
 
 
 
 
 43 
 
 10 
 
 
 ... 1571 
 
 iS 4 
 
 
 239 
 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 
 
 
 ... 1236 
 
 13 4 
 
 
 20 
 
 3 
 
 
 408 
 
 
 
 
 289 
 
 7 6 
 
 W'arwif 
 
 kshire. 
 
 
 
 1177 
 
 8 4 
 
 
 860 
 

 
 lOK TAITH AND CONSCIKNXE. 1 83 
 
 The attack of I'rinrc Kciperl and Kail Denbigli upon Hirniinj^'liam, mi I'.asUr Monday and 
 Tuesday, April 3rd and 41I1, 164J, is deserving of more than a passing nolire. The historians 
 of the Royalist cause have endeavoured to minimise its importance, yet it is manifest the obstinate 
 and desperate defence at the two bridges on entering the town aroused the fury of the attackers, 
 and their suhserjuenl losses, without corres]ionding advantage, led lo a very severe and \indieti\'e 
 retaliation. 
 
 The Royalist force, 2000 strong (mostl)' cavalry), reached liirminghani in iIk' afternoon of 
 Mond.ay. I'ossihly a short pause was made at Camp Hill, overlooking the town, formerly Kemps 
 Hill, but changed some fifty years jireviously to Camp Uill; the name, therefore, has no con- 
 nection with Prince Rupert. The principal defence was set up at Deritend Bridge, then a temporary 
 wooden structure, which had replaced the stone liridge destroyed in a storm flood on the loth 
 July, 1640. A second defence was at the little bridge over the original course of the river 
 forming the parish boundary, near the present Big Bull's Head. The first was yielded on the 
 attackers firing the houses near it, and breaking through Heath Mill Lane, and crossing the 
 Lake Meadow behind the Old Leather Bottle, thus outfl.anking the defenders, who fled. A 
 running fight ensued, in which some fourteen men of the town were killed. 
 
 A small troop of horse under Captain Cireaves l)eat a hasty retreat, and were pursueil by the 
 Royalists. The Captain, it is said, took the road to Oldbury (in which place were many 
 Parliamentarians), and in Shireland Lane turned at bay, charged his pursuers, and mortally 
 wounded the first Karl of Denbigh — a fact suppressed in the report sent by the Royalists from 
 Walsall on the 5th, although the P'arl died the following .Saturday at Cannock. Captain 
 (Jreaves afterwards proceeded unmolested to Lichfield. 
 
 A heavy contribution was laid upon the town, and considerable plundering and violence 
 followed ; whilst, on leaving the following day for Walsall, a systematic firing of the houses 
 took place, particulars of which are found in three letters and a pamphlet " Relation,*' all 
 printed for general circulation. The first letter was written by Robert I'orter. from Coventry, 
 on the 5th. I'orter was connected with the small force of foot which escaped out of the town 
 after the pursuit of Greaves' force had commenced ; he was also owner of the Blade Mill 
 (afterwards Lloyds' Slitting Mill), near Digbeth ; it was afterwards ])ulled down by what is 
 called a dtniiineering anti-guard left in the town. 
 
 The second letter was written by Richard Girdler (Captain (iirdler) during the same week, 
 and contains a comparatively fair report. The third, dated from Walsh.ill, on Wednesday, the 
 5th April. Tills was probably by Colonel Lane, Commander of the tlarrismi of Kusliall Hall, 
 who came to meet Prince Rupert. It admits that a few houses were tired 1)\ Rupert upon 
 his entrance on Monda)', but says ortlers were given on Tuesday not to fire the town, and that 
 some soldiers fired ii in divers places after the Prince had left, and that he immediately .sent 
 to the inhabitants to let them know it was not done by his command. 
 
 This letter was sent to Oxford, ^vhere the King was staying, and was probably an unofficial 
 report from the Prince. The words: "Vet it much troubles his highness that this accident 
 should now fall out," as his opponents "will be a]il to culumniate him for the firing of this 
 low'ne " — reads like an apolog)- and excuse. The letter was printed on the 14th. 
 
 A considerable body of Birmingham men formed part of the garrison at Coventry, headed by 
 William Colmore (Col.inel Colmore), afterwards, according to Dugdale, made Sherift" of Coventry,
 
 1 84 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 and the successful defence of Coventry was specially credited to the fearless bravery of .he 
 Birmingham men. Some disappointment was therefore felt that a force was not sent from 
 Coventry to protect the town. Upon the whole, some 80 or ico houses were burnt in and 
 about Bull Street, Dale End, and the neighbourhood of the Welch End, which is conjecturally 
 depicted in the illustration as it appeared some sixty years later, when a second story had 
 been added to the Welch Cross. The principal house (here shown) was pulled down a few 
 years since. It bore evidence of its main timbers having been fired ; several new and sub- 
 stantial h(3uses in Bull Street were burnt to the ground, but probably most of those destroyed 
 were of the meaner sort. 
 
 WE1.< H KM-i, HlRMlM.HAll {partly aoniectuial).
 
 SiNITIERI'IEl.I). 
 
 ^be 1kino'5 preserver. 
 
 HAT Cromwell called "the crowning mercy" of the battle of 
 Worcester, which made young Charles II. a fugitive and a 
 wanderer, was fought on the 3rd of September, 1651. He 
 left Worcester after the fight was over by St. Martin's Gate. 
 At Barbourn Bridge the King waited for a few minutes to 
 let his few faithful adherents come up, and then with heavy hearts they turned 
 their horses' heads towards the north. 
 
 Long experience had told the party that it was wise to avoid the towns. 
 Droitwich was therefore left on the right hand. They crossed the ford of 
 the Salwarp at Hawford Mill, passing the Mitre Oak for Hartlebury. The 
 party, who had long left Leslie and his horse behind, now skirted the valley 
 in which Kidderminster lies, and proceeded by Chester Lane and Greenhill to 
 Broadwaters The fine views were lost to them in the gloom of the evening 
 
 as they passed up Black Hill to Sion Hill, over what is now Lea Park, to 
 Kinfare Heath. The manifest dangers of the ^heath induced the party to
 
 l86 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 venture through Stourbridge, even at the risk of arousing any stray troops of 
 militia which might be quartered there. A sudden dash dispersed the few 
 parhamentarians who attempted to oppose their progress, and the party found 
 themselves on the road to Wordesley and King Swinford. The party, after 
 leaving Wonibourn, entered Brewood Forest, where Charles had determined to 
 seek shelter, for in this remote locality, then all forest land, the Giflards, 
 Lords of Chillington, liad two hunting lodges inhabited by faithful followers 
 named Penderel. The houses had been constructed by the Giffards in troublous 
 times as hiding places for proscribed Papists and their priests. In White Ladies 
 or Boscobel the King, it was certain, would find shelter, if not perfect security. 
 
 The grey streak of morning could be perceived in the east ere Charles- 
 Giflard, Colonel Carlos, and two or three faithful nobles and soldiers stood 
 with the King before the picturesque house known as White Ladies. The 
 ruins of a Cistercian Priory adjoined the house, and formed a picturesque 
 scene. At this house, after a hasty meal, Charles was disguised as a forester 
 with leathern jerkin and trunk hose. His long hair was cropped and his 
 hands sooted ; all his regal insignia was stripped off; his retinue departed, some 
 to seek safety in disguise, others to join General Leslie, in the hope of being 
 able to reach Scotland and safety. ^'et within a few hours Leslie was a 
 prisoner, his troops scattered, and many of Charles's friends in the hands of 
 their enemies. 
 
 Charles remainded all day concealed in a coppice at Brewood. In the 
 evening, under the name of Will Jackson, he supped with one of the Penderel's, 
 before he tried to cross the Severn by Madeley Bridge, in order to escape to 
 France by way of the Welsh ports. On arriving at Madeley House, inhabited 
 by Mr. Woolfe, a Cavalier, the King found the fords and bridges guarded, 
 and after a few hours' rest returned to Brewood, and on the morning of the 
 third day after the Worcester fight sought refuge at Boscobel. It was on 
 this day that the King and Colonel Carlos remained concealed in a large oak 
 near the house. The next day they had another narrow escape, and in the 
 evening they left Boscobel for Moselcy, near Wolverhampton. On the road 
 thither the King had a narrow chance of capture. After a brief stay at 
 Moseley, during which the house was searched and the celebrated priest catcher,
 
 mi; KINGS I'KISiCRVICK. 
 
 IH7 
 
 Southall, nearly found out his hiding place, he left at night for Bentley Hall, 
 near Walsall, whore he lodged in the servants' apartments under the name of 
 Will Jones,* a groom. 
 
 Bentley Hall was the seat of Colonel Lane, a distinguished Cavalier officer 
 who had fought at Worcester. He was the father of Mistress Jane I.ane, to 
 whose courage and devotion Charles H., after the Penderels, owed his life and 
 preservation from his enemies. Jane Lane had been introduced to the King 
 
 LEAMINGTOX {from an ola print). 
 
 at Worcester, and had there expressed her ardent desire to assist him against 
 his enemies. Within a brief week her desire was granted, and she became 
 the preserver of the King's life. 
 
 When the troubles which led to the Civil War broke out Sir Robert Fisher, 
 of Packington, was lord of the manor of Leamington Priors, and a devoted 
 Royalist. Charles L, in his progress through the country to levy troops a few 
 
 ' In the various accounts which have come down to us these names are used indiscriminately.
 
 l88 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 days before he attacked Coventry, on the i8th of August, 1642, stayed at 
 Packington, and the next day at Kenihvorth. Nine years had elapsed, and his 
 son. Sir Clement Fisher, had succeeded to his honours at Packington and 
 Leamington. Sir Clement was in the prime of manhood, and was the betrothed 
 husband of Jane Lane when the fugitive King arrived at Bentley House. 
 
 A project had been t:onceived by the King's friends which opened up a 
 means of escape. The brother of Jane Lane had procured a pass from 
 Captain Stone, the Puritan (iovernor of Stafford, for his sister and her groom 
 to proceed from Bentley Hall to Abbott's Leigh, near Bristol, the residence 
 of Mr. Norton, a relative of the family. It was originally designed that Lord 
 Wilmot should act as the groom, but the plan was changed, and the King 
 reluctantly consented to take his place. 
 
 On the following morning, after reaching Bentley, the disguised King left 
 the house with Jane Lane on a pillion behind him. Mr. Petre, who had 
 married Jane Lane's eldest sister, accompanied the pair with his wife, while 
 Colonel Lane and a servant or two followed some distance behind. The 
 first stage was Great Packington, some twenty miles acioss \\'arwickshire, where 
 the party were expected by Sir Clement Fisher to dine, and their course lay 
 to the east of Birmingham. Passing the high road to Darlaston, they struck 
 off towards Great Barr, through King's Vale, near the King's Standing. They 
 were now on the borders of Waiwickshire, close to Erdington, and in this 
 neighbourhood the horse on which the King rode cast a shoe, and on taking 
 the horse to the village blacksmith Charles chatted with the smith wliilst tlie 
 horse was shod, and in him he found an outspoken Republican who plainly 
 told him what he should like to see done, and Charles concurred, saying " if 
 the King was taken he deserved hanging more than the rest,'' on which the 
 smith told him he spoke like an honest man. From Castle Bromwich they 
 reached l'a<kington, where a warm welcome awaited the jiarty. After partaking 
 of some refreshment, they i)roceeded on their way to Long Marston, where it 
 was proposed to pass the night at the house of Mr. Tombs, a relative of 
 Colonel Lane's, 
 
 Passing through the quiet village of Hampton-in-Arden, tlie ([uaint iiouse of 
 \\'hnrley, at Escote, first met their gaze. They went from hence to Knowle,
 
 THK KlN(;s I'KESliKVKK. 
 
 189 
 
 leaving the old preceptory and church of Halsall on their left. From Knowle 
 their route was by Lapwortli, until they struck the high road from Birmingham 
 to Oxford and Stratford at I.apworth Bridge. At Henley-in-Arden, the i)arty 
 stopped to bait their horses, when they learnt that a troop of horse had pre- 
 ceded them on the way to Stratford. At Wootton Wawen, two miles on the 
 road, they were stopped by the troopers, and for the moment it seemed that 
 the capture of the King hung on the balance. On production of the pass 
 
 OLD lIonsK Ar ESCOTK. 
 
 they were permitted to go on their journey. At Bearley Cross they hesitated 
 at the route they should pursue. They knew that the bridges over the Avon 
 were strictly guarded, and the possibility of a ford higher up the Avon seems 
 to have been debated, for .Stratford was the well-known head-quarters of 
 jjarliamentary troops. 'I'hey, howe\er, passed forward along the heights of 
 Pathlow, where there was another road branching off to the wished-for river. 
 On arriving within a mile of Stratford, they perceived some troopers ahead of
 
 I go HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 them. It was this that induced them to retrace their steps for some distance, 
 when they turned to the south until they reached the road to Warwick, l)e- 
 tween Ingon and Snitterfield. They then, when near the Oak now called the 
 '• King's Oak," in King's Lane, turned their horses' heads again towards Strat- 
 ford Bridge, which they were thus enabled to approach, without entering the 
 town or encountering the troopers.* Though it is not known precisely how- 
 Charles crossed the Avon, there is no doubt the [iroduction of the pass would 
 satisfy the guard at the bridge and enable them to pass on to Long Marston. 
 
 Their progress appears to have aroused some suspicion, for some troopers 
 followed them to the old house at Long Marston, which still exists, and on 
 their appearance being noted, the cook in the kitchen set Charles to wind up 
 the jack, but seeing his awkwardness, struck him with the basting ladle, adding 
 some not very complimentary remarks just as the soldiers entered the kitchen. 
 This disarmed any suspicions they might have, and in this old house the 
 remains of the jack are still preserved. 
 
 On the following day they proceeded, via Campden and Stowe-on-tlie-U'old, 
 along the Cotswold Hills to Cirencester, where they passed the night, and the 
 next day passed on to Abbot's Leigh, where they arrived safely. When w-e 
 consider the roads, the distance traversed each day seems very great, though 
 the need was great to cross the hostile shire of Warwick, and the troops which 
 patrolled the county round Worcester and the vale of Evesham. 
 
 Disappointed of a vessel at Bristol, the fugitive monarch proceeded to Castle 
 Carey, where he was sheltered by Colonel Wyndham. At Lyme he hoped to 
 obtain a ship to France, and the King, Miss Coningsby, and Colonel Wyndham 
 started for Charmouth, where Captain EUesdon had engaged a bark to convey 
 a runaway bridal party to France. All preparations were made for the voyage, 
 but the skipper, one Lumbry, confided the secret to his wife, who not only 
 threatened to betray him, but locked him in his room, so that he could not 
 fulfil his engagement. In the meantime, Charles and his faithful friends during 
 half the night paced up and down the beach vainly expecting the boat. 
 Disappointed, l)ut not hopeless, the King next made for Bridport, with the 
 
 * In a privately printed work of Mr. Frederick Manning, of Byron Lodge, Leamington, this route and all the places- 
 associated with Charles's escape are accurately depicted.
 
 I'Mii king's preserver. 191 
 
 hope of escaping to the Channel Islands, and took shelter in the out-of-the- 
 way village of Broad Windsor. The joyful tidings were at last brought that 
 Lord Wilmot had been successful in procuring a ship. The King, therefore, 
 proceeded to 13righton, put up at the George Hotel, were they were introduced 
 to Captain Nicholas 'i'attersall. There they remained up all night, and at four 
 o'clock the next morning set out for Shoreham, from whence they set .sail at 
 seven o'clock the same evening. Next morning the King and his followers 
 landed on the coast of Normandy, and after being mistaken for thieves at 
 Rouen, reached Paris in safety. On the same day, just six weeks after the 
 crushing defeat at Worcester, Lord Derby was beheaded in his own town of 
 Bolton. 
 
 Jane Lane lived to become Lady Fisher. Her portrait still adorns the walls 
 of the re-ediiied Packington Hall. Her grandniece, the daughter and heiress of 
 another Sir Clement Fisher, married Heneage, the second Earl of Aylesford, 
 and thus the present owners of the manor of Leamington became Lords of 
 Packington and possessors of the estate of the Fishers. When the Restoration 
 took place, Charles thought of rewarding his faithful Cavaliers and friends by 
 bestowing on them a new order of knighthood, to be called " The Royal Oak.'' 
 In a MS. of Peter le Neve, Norroy, King of Arms, dated 1660, the follow- 
 ing names of intended knights, with the value of their estates, are given : — 
 Kicharil Middlemoie, Eilgbaslon ... ... ... ... ... ,/'2000 
 
 William Cijml)i;s, Stralfoiil ... ... ... ... ... ... 800 
 
 William Dylke, MaxstuUc Ca^lk- Soo 
 
 Kicliaril \'criK-y, Com])Uin ... ... ... ... ... ... 6cx3 
 
 Thomas Flint, Alleslcy ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 700 
 
 Thomas Boughtun, Lawford ... ... ... ... ... ... Soo 
 
 Kciward IV-tu, Chesterton ... ... ... ... ... ... iSoo 
 
 William Wood ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Soo 
 
 John Bridgmaii ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1000 
 
 John Keyte, Camden ... .. ... ... ... ... ... 1000 
 
 — SeabrighL, Reppington ... ... ... .. ... 1000 
 
 — Jennings, Bromisham ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1000 
 
 — Sheldon, Beoley ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2000 
 
 Captain Ceo. Kawley ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 700
 
 ^bc 36ottIc of Olaurcl Mater. 
 
 HAT portion of the borough of Warwick known as the Saltisford, 
 where Messrs. Webb and Barron's brewery now stands, has 
 been the scene of many exciting events. In modern days 
 the last Hon fight of England took place on this spot,* 
 when bull dogs were set to bate tame lions for the gratifi- 
 cation of brutal tastes and the winning of a few bets. Early on the second 
 day of April, 1781, it was the scene of an event which marked the end of 
 a tragedy of another kind, that of the execution for murder of Captain John 
 Donnellan. He was executed thus early because the executioner had that 
 morning to go to Washwood Heath to execute Hammond and Pitmore for 
 the murder of Mr. Berwick, a butcher, of Birmingham. 
 
 More than a century has elapsed since Captain Donnellan was executed, and 
 Lawford Hall, the scene of the Laurel Water tragedy, has long been levelled 
 with the ground. 
 
 In June, 1777, the Dowager Lady Boughton, of Lawford Hall, near Rugby, 
 went with her daughter to Bath to " drink the waters." At that juncture 
 Bath was popular and the inns were full. The Warwickshire ladies seemed 
 likely to have no more easy accommodation for the night than a couple of 
 chairs in the coffee-room afforded. A young and handsome young officer, 
 with a smooth tongue and pleasant manner, staying at the inn, heard of their 
 dilemma, and gallantly insisted on surrendering his bedroom to the ladies. 
 
 * In Hone's series of Every Day Books there is an account of the fight between bull dogs and " Nero '" and " Wallace," 
 two of Wombwell's lions on this spot.
 
 I'/inl.K OK I.AUKKI, UAIKK. 1 93 
 
 Charmed with his politeness and manner, the ladies not only accepted his 
 offer, but invited him to breakfast the next morning. Captain John Donnellan 
 had been a subaltern of the 39th Regiment, but had been deprived of his 
 commission, and had returned to England, where he was placed on half-pay, 
 and now, by gambling, fortune hunting, and other impostures of the day, he 
 sought advancement in life and a future livelihood Miss Boughton 
 had never seen such a man. He wooed and won. An elopement followed, 
 but the rage of her family was appeased when the generous Irishman agreed 
 to abandon all share in hi.s wife's fortune. A year after his marriage he 
 came with his wife to reside at Lawford Hall, where his brother-in-law, Sir 
 Theodosius Boughton, was brought from Eton, to begin life as a Warwickshire squire. 
 The character of Sir Theodosius was not a pleasant one. He had literally 
 " wallowed in vice " at Eton. He was wilful, sickly, and (juarrelsome, and 
 though only twenty years of age on August 3, 1780, he seemed to have ruined 
 his constitution by debauchery. He was in constant squabbles, from whicli 
 he was s^lad of the assistance of his experienced brother-in-law to extricate him. 
 Yet it was known that Sir Theodosius detested Capiain Donnellan, and hated 
 him with a hate that seemed like a presentiment of the fate in .store for him. 
 The biotherly interest which Captain Donnellan took in the young baronet 
 was shown in a variety of ways. He had spoken doubtfully of his health. 
 Before .August, 1780, he had suggested to Lady Boughton that "something or 
 other might happen." He had warned her, too, against drinking out of the 
 same cup, as the young squire was being salivated, and in the habit of mixing 
 poison for rats. In a conversation with Mr. Newsom, the rector of Newbold, 
 the gallant Captain had told some stories respecting the health of Sir Theodosius, 
 and in reply to a remark of the rector, had said that he did not think the 
 young man's life worth one year's purchase. This was on Saturday, the 26th 
 of August. On the Tuesday (29th August, 1780,) Samuel Frost, one of the 
 servants of the house, brought over some medicine, composed of rhubarb, jalap, 
 spirits of lavender, nutmeg water, and syrup, which had been prepared by Mr. 
 Powell, surgeon, of Rugby. The lad delivered the medicine, which was in a 
 two-ounce bottle, to Sir Theodosius himself on the staircase, and at six o'clock 
 Frost accompanied the young baronet out fishing.
 
 194 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 It was a pleasant time of the year, and Mrs. Donnellan accompanied her 
 mother during a walk in the gardens for an hour, and on their return to the 
 hall at seven o'clock they met the Captain, who said that he had been down to 
 see the fishing, and in vain tried to persuade his brother-in-law to return, as 
 he might catch cold witli the night air and the heavy dew. Captain Donnellan 
 then had a basin of milk, his usual supper, and retired to bed. At nine 
 o'clock Sir Theodosius came in, tired, but apparently well, had a little supper, 
 and went to bed after arranging with his mother to send Sam Frost to a 
 Northamptonshire gentleman, named Fonnereau, with a net for some fish, as he 
 expected some friends the following day. 
 
 At six o'clock the next morning, in obedience to a sjmmons from Sam Frost, 
 who wanted some straps for the fishing net, the young baronet jumped out of 
 bed and gave them to the boy. At seven his mother came in to give him 
 his rhubarb draught, and she found him very well. He told her where the 
 draught was to be found, and he asked for a bit of cheese to take the taste 
 out of his mouth. She read the label on the bottle to satisfy him it was the 
 right draught — "The purging draught, for Sir Theodosius Boughton." She poured 
 out the liquid, remarking it smelt like bitter almonds. Some of it was spilt on 
 the table in attempting to shake the contents. The boy ate a bit of cheese 
 and laid down on the bed, remarking how nauseous the draught was. 
 
 Ill a few minutes he began to struggle ; there was a gurgling in his throat ; 
 but directly afterwards he seemed inclined to sleep. His mother then left him, 
 hut on looking in a few minutes later, to her horror, she found him in 
 unusual agony, his teeth clenched, and froth oo/ing from his mouth. He was 
 evidently dying. In her agony she rushed down stairs, called the coachman, 
 William Frost, to ride for Mr. Powell, as her son was dying. There was only 
 one horse in the stable, for the Captain had gone to Newnham ^\■ells to drink 
 the waters. Just then the CajHain rode u\), and the coachman leaped on the 
 mare and rode off to Rugby. 
 
 The Captain had made some remark to the coachman which the other did 
 not hear, and he then went upstairs and coolly asked Lady Boughton what 
 she wanted. She told him what had happened, and that the medicine would 
 have killed a dog if he Jiad taken it. He asked where the physic bottle was.
 
 THF, nOTJI.E OF LAURF.L WATEK. I95 
 
 She pointed to two bottles, one which had heeii emptied on Satiirda)', and tlie 
 one that morning. Donnelhin took up tlie last Ijottle and began to pom- water 
 into it, shonl< if, and emptied its contents into a basin of dirty water. This 
 aroused the suspicions oi' Lady Boughton, who cried, " \ou ought not to do 
 that. What are you at? You should not meddle with the bottles." In spite 
 of this the Captain served the other bottle the same, and then mi.xing the 
 bottles together, asked Sarah Blundell to remove the water and the bottles. 
 Her ladyship interfered, when the Captain requested that the dirty linen in the 
 room might be removed. He remarked that the stockings might be wet and 
 occasion the boy's death, but Lady Boughton, on feeling the stockings, found 
 that they were not damp, nor had they been so. 
 
 The proceedings of the Captain were very strange. He requested the gardener 
 to kill a couple of pigeons to put to the boy's feet, and have them ready 
 when the doctor came. When the gardener took the pigeons in the house the 
 young baronet was dead. In the few still hours of that dark morning he 
 remarked to his wife that Lady Boughton had taken notice of his washing the 
 bottles out. He called the coachman to vouch that he only went out of the 
 house when he rode to the wells. When the doctor came he was told that 
 the young man had died in convulsions at'ter taking the medicine, but no 
 suspicions were mentioned of the contents of the bottle. 
 
 The Captain in the course of the morning wrote to Sir William Wheler 
 of Leamington Hastings, the guardian of the young baronet, a studious announce- 
 ment of his death. 
 
 In the meantime ugly suspicions were afloat in the servants' hall, in the 
 kitchen, and in the stables. Sarah Blundell remarked how queer the Captain 
 had behaved. Sam Frost declared that the young squire could not have died 
 from wet feet, for he never got off his horse the night before. It was found 
 that Captain Donnellan had never been near the fishers. The gardener remem- 
 bered that it was late when he came for the two pigeons, and how he had 
 exulted in being master of Lavvford Hall. These suspicions were not long in 
 flying round the country, and though on Sunday Sir Theodosius was soldered 
 up in his leaden coffin, and on Monday everything was prepared for the funeral, 
 and the tenants had assembled, the interment was not to be as yet. In the
 
 l()6 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 midst of the preparations Dr. Powell brought a letter from Sir \Villiam Whaler, 
 requiring a post-inoriem examination. 
 
 Captain Donnellan was equal to the occasion. He wrote to the guardian 
 assenting to the proposal, and to Dr. Rattray and Mr. Wilmer, of Coventry, 
 to perform the post mortem. These gentlemen came late, as well as another 
 letter from Sir William Wheler. A want of frankness was exhibited, and ulti- 
 mately the doctors departed without opening the body, but each with a hand- 
 some fee. On being told that the examination was only for the satisfaction of the 
 family, they recommended immediate burial. This was communicated in ambiguous 
 terms to Sir Williarn Wheeler, and the funeral was fixed for the next day. 
 
 In the meantime Dr. liucknill, of Rugby, offered to make the examination, 
 and on the following day Sir William Wheler wrote requesting that .Mr. Bucknill 
 and Mr. Snow, of Southam, should open the body. Here again prevarication 
 and delay ensued, and ultimately the body was buried at seven o'clock at 
 night without being opened. 
 
 The rector of Newbold and Lord Denbigh stirred Sir William Wheler tu 
 renewed action, and on the Saturday following the funeral an imiuest was held 
 at Newbold. The body was opened by Mr. Bucknill in the presence of Dr. 
 Rattray and Mr. AVilmer, and the acrid flavour of laurel water was detected by 
 Dr. Rattray. The inquest was adjourned till the 14th of September, when the 
 Captain wrote to the coroner for all the information he could collect, and 
 informing him of the careless way in which Sir Theodosius used poisons and 
 left them about. In spite of these asseverations, and his protestation of 
 injured innocence, the coroner's juiy returned a verdict of '-Wilful nmrder " 
 against the Captain, and he was removed to Warwick Gaol. 
 
 At the trial, 30th March, 1781, all these facts were deposed. .\ number of 
 doctors gave their opinion that Sir Theodosius came by his death through 
 drinking laurel water. A treatise on poison had been found in the locked-up 
 room in which the accused kept his still, with the leaf turned down at laurel 
 water. 'I he lies he had told, and all the prevarications he had made, his 
 boasting, smoothed-faced hyjocrisy were all laid bare by the keen counsel 
 employed against him. The ntl of circunslantial evidence was drawn close 
 around him.
 
 THE UOTVUi OV I.AURIil. WATKU. 197 
 
 The principal witness fof his defence was the celebrated anatomist, John 
 Hunter. The Captain gave an account of his own time to show non-access 
 to the medicine, which was entirely at variance with I,ady Boughton's evidence. 
 
 .\11 his evasions and explanations were in vain. He was found guilty and 
 condemned to death. In Warwick (lajl he accused I.ady Houghton of poison- 
 ing both her husbmd and son, and advised his wife to fly from a roof where 
 so many people had died suddenly. Before his execution, his last act was to 
 sign and depose to a declaration of his entire innocence and defence of him- 
 self, and called upon his solicitors, Messrs. Inge and Webb, to publish it. 
 That defence and the shorthand notes of the trial were published, and the 
 Coventry Mercury of June 4, 1781, contains some sharp queries addressed to 
 Donnellan's solicitor, Mr. Webb, who is said to have made a considerable sum 
 through the publication.* 
 
 .After the death of Captain Donnellan his wife assumed the name of Beechani, 
 and subsequently married Sir Egerton Leigh. Donnellan's two children, a boy 
 and a girl, were kept in ignorance of their parentage, and went by the name 
 of Beecham, until the son, who was intended for the church, was reproved at 
 a ball at Northampton by a tradesman, for what he thouglit improper conduct 
 towards a lady. The >oung man resented the interference of a mere trades- 
 man, when the latter replied that at least he was a", good as the son of a 
 murderer. .Stung by this remark, the young man made inquiries as to what was 
 meant, ■ and then learnt for the fust time who his father was. It preyed on 
 his mind so much that he destroyed himse'.f. The daughter of Donnellan died young. 
 
 The daughter of Sir Egerton Leigh and .Mrs. Donnellan became Mrs. Boughton 
 Leigh, of Brownsover, and at the death of Sir Egerton, his widow, and the 
 widow of Captain Donnellan, became the wife of Barry O'Meara, the well-known 
 surgeon who attended the first Napoleon at St. Helena. 
 
 In 1790, Lawford Hall was sold by Sir Edward Boughton to the Caldecotes. 
 It was then pulled down as a thing accursed, but some of the outbuildings 
 were preserved for farm purposes. A rude view of it is given in Ireland's 
 "Views on the Avon," and Mr. Matt. Bloxam, F.S..\., has a good drawing of 
 it, made from surveys and measurements, which has been engraved. 
 
 .\ skilled and experienced solicitor who has read the original papers, picserved in the Staunton collection of War- 
 wickshire antiquities, says the perusal left no doubt of Donnellan's guilt.
 
 \KTON-ON-THI>nK \ I II. 
 
 ^bc princess (©live. 
 
 r the period when (larrick was organizing the first Shakespearian 
 festival at Stratford-on-Avon, there was living at U'arwick a 
 family of respectability named Wih-hot, who were house painters 
 by trade. They had some c'aim to blue blood, if their story is 
 true that they descended from the witty Earl of Rocliester, of 
 the late Stuart era; but in 1772 the fiimily consisted of Mrs. Wilniot, her son 
 Robert, and his wife, Hannah Maria. There was another son at Oxford who had 
 some pretentions to scholarship, for in 1769 lie became a Doctor of Divinity. He 
 was born in 17 16, and at sixteen years of age he had been sent to Oxford, where 
 he took his M.A. degree in 1748. He was a fellow of liis college, and ostensibly 
 a bachelor. In 1782, he became a rector of Earton-on-the-Heath, in the south- 
 western part of the county of Warwick, a place famous for being the birth- 
 place of Sir Thomas Overbury. Though Dr. James Wilmot was presumably a 
 book-worm and a bachelor, he had been the actor in more than one marital 
 drama, which might materially affect the succession to the British crown, if he 
 was not the grandfather of the rightful heiress himself
 
 THE PRINCESS OLIVK 199 
 
 It was, however, years after the worthy doctor was dead that he was said 
 to have married a Miss, or rather the I'rinccss Poniatowski, whose brother was 
 subsequently elected King of Poland. This alleged marriage took place about 
 the time James Wilmot became a Master of Arts, for we are told that on 
 the 17th of June, 1750, he had a daughter bcrn whose name was Olive How 
 the doctor managed to keep his mariiage secret no one can tell ; but as he 
 is alleged to have privately married George III. to one Hannah Lightfoot prior 
 to the time the King married the Princess Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg 
 Strelitz, on September 8, 1761, he must have been an adept at keeping 
 marriage secrets. 
 
 In 1767 the doctor became connected with the family of Lord Archer, of 
 Umberslade, and is said to have visited at that nobleman's house, in Grosvenor 
 Square, with his daughter Olive, then a handsome young lady of seventeen 
 summers. At Lord Archer's house they met the young Prince Henry Frederick, 
 then twenty-two years of age, and created that year Duke of Cumberland. The 
 young Prince was smitten with the charms of the niece of King Poniatowski. 
 He wooed and won. The marriage was celebrated at Lord Atcher's house 
 on the 4th of March, 1767. For four years their felicity was unbounded, but 
 in 1 77 1 his Royal Highness the Uuke of Cumberland married publicly Lady 
 Anne Luttrell, daughter of the Earl of Carhampton, and widow of Mr. Christopher 
 Horton, of Catton, county Derby. The marriage gave such offence to George III. 
 that the Royal Marriage Act was passed the following year. The daughter of 
 the doctor, first wife of the Duke, found refuge, however, at her grandmother's 
 house at Warwick, and on the 3rd of April, 1772, gave birth to a daughter 
 which was chris-tened Olive by her grandfather on the same day. On the 15th 
 of the same month, in the same year, Robert Wilmot, the house painter, had 
 a daughter christened Olive at the church of St. Nicholas, and for forty years 
 these Olives were not known asunder, for the doctor did not acknowledge his 
 supposed granddaughter. He only recognised his niece. F"or forty years Olive 
 — the Princess Olive, as she called herself — was kept in ignorance of her high 
 lineage. 
 
 This was the more curious, as it is alleged that on the day following her 
 birth she was rebaptized by the King's command as Olive, daughter of the
 
 JOO HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Duke of Cumberland. This second baptism was not, however, entered in the 
 parish register, but was placed on record by a certificate signed by Dr. Wilniot, 
 his brother Robert, and John Dunning, afterwards Lord Asliburton. This 
 certificate was confided to the sacred care of the Earl of Warwick, as well as 
 the following document, which was afterwards put in evidence : 
 
 " (iEOKCE K. 
 "We arc pleased lo create (Jlivc of Cumberland Duchess .of Lancaster, and to grant our 
 royal authority for Olive, our said niece, to bear and use the title and arms of I,ancaster, 
 >hould she l>e in existence at the |K'rio<I of our royal demise, 
 "(liven at our Palace of St. James, .May 21. 1773. 
 
 'MWitnesses) CiiATilA»(. 
 
 "J. Df.NNI.NC." 
 
 The Duke of Cumberland died in 1790, and in the following year Olivc 
 married John Thomas Serres, a portrait and scene painter, the son of Dominic 
 Serres. It was not until after the decease of George IIL that Olive Serres 
 was made acquainted with her high lineage, but in the meantime she had 
 practised as an artist, and, in 1806, obtained the appointment of landscape 
 painter to the Prince of Wale?. In 1805, she had published a novel called 
 "St. Julian," and even in i8c6 she had another volume ready, consisting of 
 poetical miscellanies, which she termed " Flights of Fancy." .\n opera followed, 
 called the " Castle of Avala," together with a volume of " Letters of .\dvice to 
 her Daughter." In 181 3, she advanced the theory that her late uncle, Dr. 
 Wilmot, was the author of the " Letters of Junius, " but that was quickly dis 
 proved. This was four years before she was apprised of her royal descent, and 
 that Dr. Wilmot was not her uncle but her grandfather. She was, to use her 
 own words, "the said Olive Serres, having been informed of her proper position 
 in life shortly after the demise of his Majesty King George IIL, and being 
 (as she had foundation to believe) the legitimate daughter of Henry Frederick, 
 Duke of Cumberland, fourth and youngest brother of his said Majesty, assumed 
 the honour, title, and dignity of a Princess of the blood Royal : styled herself 
 ' her Royal Highness Olive, Princes.s of Cumberland,' and adopted the royal 
 arms, livery, and seals, in like manner as made use of by other junior members 
 of the Koyal family."
 
 THE PRINCESS OLIVE. 20I 
 
 In September, 1820, not long after succeeding; to the tliroiic, Ceorge I\^ 
 issued his command, through Lord Sidmouth, that the certificate of marriage 
 between his uncle, the Duke of CAUiiherland, and the elder Olive W'ilmot 
 should be " proved and authenticated." This was done ; it was duly authen- 
 ticated before Lord Chief Justice Abbott (afterwards Lord Tenterden) ; and the 
 lady in question was told— apparently, however, only verbally — by her solicitor, 
 a Mr. Bell, that his Majesty " had been graciously pleased to acknowledge her 
 Royal Highness as Princess of Cumberland, only legitimate daughter of his late 
 uncle, Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland,'' and to give orders that she 
 should have found for her a suitable residence until a permanent one could 
 be fixed upon, and that pecuniary means, sufficient to enable her to keep up 
 her dignity, should be at once placed at her command. .She was then living 
 in Alfred Place, Bedford Square ; and even by her own statement the infor- 
 mation does not appear to have been sent to her officially. 
 
 The Dukes of Sussex, Clarence, and Kent, it appears, were not slow in 
 acknowledging their new cousin, being satisfied that the documents with their 
 father's signature, "George R." were genuine; and although the Duke of Cam- 
 bridge did not acknowledge lier till a far more recent date {1S44), and the 
 Duke of York refused to follow suit altogether, she maintains that the Duke of 
 Kent had long previously gone so far as not only to make a will bequeathing 
 to her ;^i 0,000, and to assign to her and her child a yearly income of ;^40o 
 under his hand and seal, promising solemnly to see his " cousin reinstated in 
 her Royal birthright at his father's demise," but absolutely to nominate her 
 as the future guardian of his infant daughter, her Majestv Queen \'ictoria. 
 
 In the Session of 1822 or 1823 her case was introduced to the notice of 
 Partliament by Sir Gerard Noel. He moved for a Select Committee to inquire 
 into the truth of the statements made in her petition, which he had presented 
 three months before. It seems he was very earnest in her cause, thoroughly 
 believed in the genuineness of her case, and persisted in announcing that he 
 " had it in command from this Royal personage " to do so and so — " for Royal 
 personage he would continue to believe her " until she was proved and declared 
 to be an impostor by a Select Committee of the House of Commons. The 
 petition of that day seemed to aim not only at the declaration of Mrs. Serres'
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 legitimacy and Royal descent, but also to the acquisition of a grant from the 
 Civil List. Sir (lerard Noel declared that he '■ had always believed that every 
 member of the Royal family was upon the Civil List, but here was a member 
 of the Royal family quite unprovided for." 
 
 The motion was seconded by no less a person than Joseph Hume ; but 
 Sir Robert Peel, in a most convincing speech, showed the fallacy of the state- 
 ments, the hoUowness of the claim, as well as the injudicious character of the 
 documents used to support it. After sporting the Rojal liberties for a time, 
 after dining in State at the Guildhall in 1820, her husband died in 1824 ; and 
 ten years later this Warwickshire Princess died of broken heart in poverty, if 
 not within the rules of the King's Bench, and was buried in the churchyard 
 of St. lames's Piccadilly, and is entered in the register of deaths as a Princess 
 of the blood Rojal. 
 
 Though the Princess Olive was dead and buried, her claims survived. Her 
 daughter, Lavinia Janetta Horton Serres, married a Mr. Ryves, a Dorsetshire 
 gentleman, from whom she afterwards separated. Mrs. Ryves did not let the 
 claims of her mother rest. On the death of Cleorge IV. she filed a bill in 
 Chancery against the Duke of Wellington as the King's e.\ecutor for money due 
 to her mother from the estate of George UL, but was defeated by a legal 
 technicality. No other course was open to her until the passing of the " Le- 
 gitimacy Declaration Act, 1858," when she brought forward a suit to estab'ish 
 her own birth as "the lawful daughter of John Thomas Serres, and Olive his 
 wife." In 1865, she filed the petition to declare the legitimacy of her grand- 
 mother's marriage with the Duke of Cutnberland. On the 13th of June, 1866, 
 the Court for divorce and matrimonial causes declared that Olive Serres was 
 not the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Cumberland, and that there was 
 no valid marriage between the said Duke and Olive Wilmot. Against this 
 decision Mrs. Ryves appealed to the House of Lords as a last resource. She 
 failed, and the failure broke her heart. She died in poverty in lodgings in 
 Queen's Crescent, Haverstock Hill, at l.'hristmas, 1871, like her mother before her, 
 and is buried in the humblest of humble graves in the cemetery at Highgate. 
 
 Her husband died the >ear before his ambitious wife. Three daughters and 
 two sons yet survive, the heirs only of disappointed hopes and of vain ambition.
 
 JIOUSE OF WASHINGTON, AT BRINGTON. 
 
 ^ -'^r^^f^K 'V^ "■ ,v^'^«5^|^' W ^'■ 
 
 Vcsz Stars an^ Stiipee. 
 
 ilGENT, two bars gules on a chief of the first, three mullets 
 of the second. Such were the arms allowed by the Herald's 
 College ; such were the arms emblazoned in the windows of 
 Seckington Church as the heraldic insignia of the house and 
 family of Washington. 
 In the time of Henry VHI. Laurence Washington, of Wharton, in Lanca- 
 shire, left his native village to push his fortune in London. He had every 
 inducement to do so, for his mother's brother was an alderman and merchant 
 in the great city. Laurence entered himself as a member of Gray's Inn, but 
 under the advice of his uncle. Sir Thomas Kitson, he forsook the law to be- 
 come a merchant of the staple in the town of Northampton, the wool trade 
 then being the great trade of the Midlands. 
 
 In Northampton Laurence Washington found a home. In 1532 he was 
 Mayor, and when the dissolution of monasteries occurred he had no ditScuIty
 
 204 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 in procuring a grant of the manor of Sulgrave and other estates which had 
 formerly belonged to the monastery of St. Andrew's in the town in which he 
 lived. 
 
 To Sulgrave then the successful merchant retired, and erected a fair manor 
 house as the seat of his family. He died the 19th day of February, 1583-4, 
 leaving a family of seven daughters and two sons — Robert, who inherited the 
 
 family estates, and Laurence, 
 who appears to have followed 
 his father's original profession 
 of a lawyer. This must have 
 been the Laurence \\'asliing- 
 ton, of Oray's Inn, who pur- 
 chased on the 24th day of 
 February, 15S2-3, lands at 
 \Vhitacre inferior, in the county 
 of Warwick — lands which he 
 resold si.\ years after to the 
 poor Leicestershire squire, 
 George Villiers, of Brooksby, 
 whose son was destined to be- 
 come famous as the " Steenie," 
 Duke of Buckingham, the 
 favourite of James L and com- 
 panion of King Charles. 
 
 Robert Wa.shington succeeded 
 to the family estate at Sul- 
 grave, and married Elizabeth, 
 the daughter and heiress of 
 NValter Light, of Radway. He 
 had many kinsmen, who, like 
 the Spencers, of Wormleighton and of Claverdon, had made fortunes in the 
 wool trade, and had intermarried with members of the family of Sir Thomas 
 Kitson. Sulgrave is only some^ eight miles from Wormleighton, and barely 
 
 i 
 
 
 .■a, 
 
 
 . K 
 
 
 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 ,i^l 
 
 
 3 
 
 B 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ' '■ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 ''•■,'A 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 --'4.. 
 
 
 i-^Lji.^ 
 
 -.■■:-;..-^^Kj^r::.^^.&: 
 
 ;v^' 
 
 ■^ . -_ ...i" 
 
 '"■i'-'. 
 
 
 SECKINGTON CHCRCII.
 
 THE STARS AND STRIPES. 205 
 
 twice that distance from Althorp, the Northamptonshire seat of the Spencer 
 family. 
 
 It is a matter of common remark that tlie descent of the aHenated Church 
 property never reached the third generation in a direct Hne, and Sulgrave 
 proved no exception to the rule. The seventeenth century had but just 
 dawned when ruin fell on the family of Washington, and Sulgrave was to 
 know them no more. 
 
 In many of the church windows on the Northamptonsliire borders the familiar 
 
 red bars and mullets attest the importance of the family ; but it is at Great 
 
 Brington, some half a dozen miles from Northampton, that we must seek the 
 
 signs of the Washingtons. In this village, on the very edge of Althorp Park, 
 
 is a plainly built but substantial stone house, which bears over the doorway, 
 
 on a stone tablet, 
 
 "The Lord geveth, the Lord taketh away; 
 
 Blessed be the name of the Lord. 
 
 constructa, 1606." 
 
 In this house Laurence Washington found a home when his prospects were 
 sad and his home bereaved of his dear ones, for Lord Spencer remembered 
 the claims of blood and kindred, and gave a welcome and a shelter to the 
 ruined man. In 1610 the estate at Sulgrave was sold, and with the relics of 
 his fortune Laurence left Brington and the house to his brother Robert, who 
 lived and died therein. Robert appeared to have rented the windmill of Lord 
 Spencer, and though a frequent visitor at Althorp, did not occupy the position 
 which his elder brother and his children did. 
 
 There appears to have been considerable friendliness between the families of 
 Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, and the Washingtons — one of them married 
 Buckingham's sister — and by the good offices of the latter more than one of 
 Laurence's children received the honour of knighthood. They appear to have 
 been on very familiar terms at Althorp, for their names appear in the account 
 books as visitors there and at Wormleighton two or three times a year, until 
 the Civil Wars broke out and the Washingtons took the side of the King. 
 At this time Laurence Washington was dead and buried at Brington. His 
 epitaph records that he died on the 13th of December, 1616. His brother
 
 206 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Robeit died on the loth of March, 1622, his wife Elizabeth died on the 
 igth of the same month in the same year. 
 
 The sons of Laurence were Sir Wilham, of Packington, county Leicester, who 
 married Anne, the half sister of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, and Sir 
 John, of South Cave, county York, who married l\Lary, daughter of Sir Philip 
 Curtis, of Islip, and died in January, 1624, leaving three sons, Mordaunt, 
 John and Philip, 
 
 Of the part they took in the Civil Wars we know but little. We know 
 that they frequented the old hall of ^\'ormleighton, which yet remains, though 
 
 
 t 
 
 
 WORMI.EKUrrO.N. 
 
 it is said to have been burnt down in the Civil Wars. It was here 
 Prince Rupert slept the night before the Edgehill fight. Here may be 
 the relics of the " Star Chamber," the Clock Tower, and the Tudor Hall. 
 In 1657, John Washington and his brother Laurence, disgusted with 
 
 that 
 seen 
 
 the
 
 THE STARS AND STRIPES. 207 
 
 Commonwealth and the existing state of things, left England with one at least 
 of his sons for Virginia. He took with him the insignia of his race, the 
 mullet and the bars of his shield, and the spread eagle of his crest. 
 
 When a century later the great grandson of John Washington was a colonel 
 under General Braddock, and led the revolted colonists throui^h the War of 
 Independence, the new empire of the west required an ensign to distinguish 
 it among the nations of the earth. What could be more appropriate than the 
 red striped bars of the Washington family arms, with the star-like mullets 
 borne in chief? The out-of-the-way village of Seckington has lost the coat 
 which once shone in the windows of its church. A great nation has found 
 it, and for each stripe and each star there is a state, while the nation have 
 taken the eagle from the coronet and made it like the bird of Jove — ready 
 to sore aloft. 
 
 The claims of Brington as the home of the ancestors of George Washington are not undis- 
 puted. Only recently an endeavour has been made to prove that the John and Lawrence 
 Washington, whom 1657 or 1659 emigrated lo America, were sons of a Leonard Washington, 
 of Warton, Lancashire. The besi authenticated and most prol.iable descent, however, is as 
 follows : — 
 
 Lawrence Washington, the landowner, of Whitacre, in addition lo the two sons, Sir William 
 and John, had another son, Lawrence, of Oxford, in 1622, who was the father of John and 
 Lawrence, the American settlers, of whom John was father of a Lawrence who died in 
 Virginia, 1697, whose son, Augustus, was father of General Washington. 
 
 ConsiJerable doubt now exists if the Stars an<l Stripes of the American flag have any, other 
 than an accidental, similarity to the Washington arms — two bars and three mullets. It is also 
 a coincidence that the Eagle, the emblem of America, was also used as a crest upon the 
 Se.il of I,awrence Washington, the grandfather of the General, ami that a Seal Ring was left 
 to Lawrence Washington, of Oxford, by the will of Elizabeth, the widow of his uncle Robert, 
 of Brington, but this also appears to bj th^- result of accident, inasmuch as the emblem 
 of the States was an adoption of the Roman Eagle.
 
 CASTI.E )lRO.M\VR}I CHAl'EI.. 
 
 Zbc iiaaocr of Battle. 
 
 N lytli November, 1S17, an unwonted crowd gathered about 
 the Court of Queen's Bench at Westminster with a view to 
 obtain admission to witness a young bricklajer, tlie son of 
 a Yeoman, of Castle Bromwich, record his plea in answer to 
 an appeal for murder. 'I'hat day is memorable in the annals 
 of criminal jurisprudence for this plea ; for when the prisoner, Abraham 
 Thornton, was placed at the bar, the record was read, and he was asked " are 
 you guilty or not guilty of the felony and murder whereof you stand appealed?" 
 the young man took a sli]) of paper from the hands of his counsel, and said 
 distinctly, "Not guilty I and I am ready lo defend the same with my body;" 
 and with these words he tiirew down a large gauntlet or glove, liic fellow of 
 one he wore.
 
 THE WAGER OF BATTLE. 209 
 
 There was silence in the Court. For the first time for many long years a 
 pri.soner had demanded to be tried by " Wager of Battle," and that for a 
 cruel and brutal muider committed in \Var\vii:kshire. It was not a matter of 
 wonder that the Couit, over which Lord Ellenborough presided, should willingly 
 grant time to those who had to consider what counter plea could be adduced 
 in answer to this challenge. 
 
 The circumstances of the case were peculiar, and had become the theme of 
 the county side for many months. The evidence forthcoming on the question 
 was voluminous, but the facts themselves were but brief. 
 
 On the 27th of May, rSiy, a young woman named Mary Ashford, the 
 daughter of an Erdington gardener, but living with an uncle at Langley, attend. d 
 a dance at an inn, known as Tyburn House, near Castle Bromwich. She was 
 accompanied by a friend named Hannah Cox, and at the dance they met 
 with Abraham Thornton, who appears to have paid great attention to Mary 
 Ashford, and ultimately left the house with her, at twelve o'clock, with the 
 intention of going home. They were seen together shortly after this time, and 
 again at three o'clock. At four o'clock Mary Ashford went to Mrs Butler's 
 house at Erdington Green to change her dress aud put on the clothes she 
 had worn tlie evening before. Her friend, Hannah Co.\, let her in, and there 
 was nothing to lead to the supposition that at that time Mary Ashford was 
 not in her usual health and spirits. She left the house between four and five 
 o'clock, and at hnlf-past si.\ o'clock her shoes, bonnet, and the bundle con- 
 taining her dancing dress she had with her were seen by the side of a pit 
 on the road to Langley, and in that pit the body of Mary Ashford was found, 
 and there was no doubt she had been abused, violated, and murdered. On 
 the road between Erdington Green and Langley there were the marks of a 
 man and a woman's footsteps on the surface of a recently harrowed field, 
 apparently made by persons who had been running. There were marks of a 
 struggle, some signs of blood, and the mark of a man's footstep near the pit 
 itself. Thornton admitted being with the deceased until four o'clock. Evidence 
 was given to show that Thornton had been seen walking slowly at such a distance 
 away from the scene of the murder within so short a time as to prohibit the 
 idea that he could have traversed the distance in the time which had elapsed.
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 On the 8th of August, 1817, AVarwick was the scene of the trial which lasted 
 twelve hours, and resulted, after a brief deliberation, in a verdict of " Not 
 Guilty," and Thornton was discharged. 
 
 On Thursday, the 9th of October, 1817, John Hackney, a sheriff's officer, of 
 Birmingham, went to Castle Bromwich, armed with a writ from the Sheriff, and 
 arrested Abraham Thornton, to answer the suit of \\'iiliam Ashford, the eldest 
 brother and heir of Mary Ashford, on an appeal of murder. Under a writ of 
 Habeas Corpus Thornton was brought before the Court on the 6th of November. 
 'J'he writ of appeal and the subsequent proceedings were read, and the 17th of 
 November appointed to receive the prisoner's plea. 
 
 The proceedings had been taken under an old and obsolete law, which had come 
 from Celt to Saxon times, and had found favour with Norman lawgivers. Even as 
 far back as 1600 the law had been denounced as barbarous, cruel, and unjust, when 
 Ralph Claxton petitioned the House of Loids * that they would interfere against 
 such a plea for the avoiding of the shedding of blood, or otherwise by battle. 
 
 When Thornton threw down his glove as his " wage of battle," it was not 
 taken up, but was ordered to be kept in the custody of the officers of the 
 Court. The counter plea came before the Court on November 22. 181 7, and 
 the replication on January 24, 181S, and during this period Thornton was kept 
 a prisoner in the King's Bench as a State prisoner. On January 29, issue was 
 joined on the general demurrer, and on the 6th of February the argument 
 commenced. It continued on February 7th, and on April i6th, 1818, the 
 Court of Queen's Bench decided unanimously that, by the law of England, 
 .'\braham Thornton was entitled to his wager of battle. William Ashford de- 
 clined the combat, by reason of his extreme youth, and Thornton was discharged 
 from custody. This law was repealed (59 George HI., c. 46) June 22, 1819; 
 but 'I hornton, whose father held a respectable position at Castle Bromwich, 
 found public opinion so strong against him that he emigrated to America, 
 
 William Ashford, who thus declined the combat, lived till February 18, 1866, 
 when he died in Birmingham, whilst his sister, and the sister of the murdered 
 young woman, Mrs. Lovett, lived till April, 1875, when she died at Erdington, 
 not far from the spot where the murder was committed. 
 
 " Lord's Journal, iv. , 208.
 
 
 Manvichsbirc ^5il^5 ant) Cbaritice. 
 
 N the closing year of the reign of Heniy VIII., to satisfy the 
 growing greed of the Court, and as a sequel to the raids 
 upon the Monasteries, the plunder from which had scarcely 
 been divided, the fiat went forth into the cities and market 
 towns of England that the seizure was to be made of the 
 revenues and possessions of the time-honored (lilds, which comprised the 
 accumulated bounty of the charitable for centuries, and if we may judge by the 
 puny resistance made to check this latest and most impudent proposal for 
 confiscation, something akin to despairing panic must have seized upon the 
 various brotherhoods. 
 
 Forewarned by the impotence of the endeavours, which for twelve years had 
 been ineffectually put forth to save the religious houses, the cidzens and 
 burgesses would appear to have made no combined effort to save their insti- 
 tutions ; the feeble remonstrance of some of the more venturesome of the 
 Commons, was met with an assurance from the Protector to the young King 
 Edward, who had now, at the age of ten, ascended the throne, that the lands 
 to be taken would be returned to the communities to found free schools — a 
 promise in the sequel but partially and most reluctantly kept. 
 
 The Act was passed, commissions issued, and reports made, and with 
 astonishing rapidity the Gilds throughout the length and breadth of the land 
 were swept away.
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 In some few instances, Corporate bodies succeeded in recovering their lands, 
 in others, the burgesses, by persevering efforts, reclaimed a portion ; whilst in 
 some case?, even where a free school was a feature of their fallen Gild, the 
 community lost the whole. 
 
 Whatever may have been the effect of the reform in a religious sense, socially 
 the loss of the Gilds in Warwickshire, as in other counties, was very serious. 
 It is impossible, in a limited space, to enter fully into the organization of the 
 various brotherhoods — all were dedicated to one of the patron saints, and their 
 objects and ordinances were, upon the whole, fitting for the wants and require- 
 ments specially suited to their locality. In ihe larger cities, Craft or Trade 
 Gilds were supported by the members of specific trades. In many towns they 
 fulfilled the purposes of modern Corporations ; but in semi-rural districts the 
 Gilds covered the varied wants of the peo[)le as sick and burial societies. One 
 or more priests were supported, who, in addition to other duties, acted as peda- 
 gogues. In most of the Gilds, besides schools, almshouses for decayed brothers 
 and sisters were maintained, and public works — as repairing roads, building and 
 repairing bridges — since delegated to public authorities — were performed ; whilst 
 clerks, organists, miJwives, &c., were among the permanent officials. Wardens 
 or masters were annually appointed, and public pageants, annual feasts, love days, 
 and arbitrations were embraced amongst the objects of these remarkable societies, 
 full details of which may be gathered from a comprehensive and valuable history 
 by the late Mr. Touhnin Smith,* in which he treats of English Gilds very 
 exhaustively. 
 
 Prior to the Act of Dissolution, the inclination of the charitable almost 
 invariably led to the selection of the Gild organization for the reception of their 
 gifts and bequests. "Works of Charity" was a stereotyped phrase which described 
 the wishes of a founder. This frecjuently included masses in jierpetuity for the 
 repose of the souls of the donor, and as many of his living and dead relatives, 
 and as frequently as the amount of the gift would extend to cover. Therefore, 
 the instances of independent charities prior to that time are few ; but subse- 
 quently private charitable foundations became general, and the survival of the 
 eailier motive, a selfish desire to purchase with money or laud, no longer of 
 
 ^English ' Gilds— London, Earl^ English Text Society, 1870,
 
 WAUu'irKsiiiKM i;n.ns and cHaijitii'.s. 2r_^ 
 
 any other use, a place in Heaven, and in the go.jd regard of his feilowmen, 
 prevailed until recent times, Tliis is observable in many bequests for distribu- 
 tion of bibles and pious books, or for the preaching, upon the anniversiry of 
 the founder's birthday, of sermons against vice and immorality. 
 
 In Warwickshire, Gilds were numerous. In some instances, as at Aston 
 Cantlow, Mancetter, and Atherstone, Tamworth, Brailes, and Henley ; they were 
 comparatively unimportant, and mainly of a religious order. Al Warwick, two 
 Gilds, both founded about 1383, one dedicated to the Holy Trinity and the 
 Blessed Virgin, the other to Saint George the Martyr, were amalgamated before 
 1431. The revenue was ^32 los sd., from which the bridge of thirteen 
 arches, near the Castle Mill, was repaired, eight almspeople maintained, and 
 a new school erected. The priests occupied the chapels over the east and 
 west gates. 
 
 The hall of this Gild was just within the west gate, and was afterwards 
 acquired and converted into a hospital by Robert Pudley, Earl of Leicester, 
 for twelve men who were to don his livery, with the ragged staff badge on 
 the sleeve, and not to go into the town without. 
 
 Other buildings of the Gild, without the west gite, passed to Sir Thomas 
 Puckering, who purchased the U'arwick properties of Fisher, alias Hawkins, his 
 pickings from the religious house, perhaps no man in England benefited 
 more than Hawkins from this source. Here Sir Thomas founded and endowed 
 other almshouses. 
 
 \Var\vick is rich in charitable foundations. Part of the confiscated estate of one 
 of the religious houses of Warwick— an estate worth yearly about ;^5o — was, 
 '" 15451 given to the town by Henry VIII. ; and among a large number of 
 private charities are those of John ToUoos, founded, notwithstanding the whole- 
 sale suppressions of that period, in 1548, Thomas Oken 1571, and Nicholas 
 Eyflfler or Iffler, 1591. 
 
 The bounty of Thomas Oken has been attributed to the influence of a dream. 
 His foundation was wide in its scope and liberal in extent. He was the last 
 master of the old Gild. The house he occupied has been restored, and is a 
 worthy and lasting memorial. His benefaction e.\tended to Stratford-upon-zVvon, 
 with which place he probably had some connection.
 
 214 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 The Gilds of Coventiy were among the chief glories of that ancient city. 
 The oldest of these, "The Gild Merchant,'' 1340-41, was a lay Gild chiefly in 
 name. Its ordinances are similar to most others, including the support of 
 chaplains, and praying and chaunting for its dead. There is an absence of 
 public works, but it supported 31 poor members at a cost of ^35 3s. od., 
 and, moreover, kept a lodging-house to lodge pilgrims, and a woman to wash 
 their feet, at a cost of ^10. 
 
 THOMAS OKEN S HOUSE. 
 
 In 1343-4 was founded a Gild in honor of St. John the Baptist, and on 
 land called Babbelake, given by Queen Isabel!, was built a chapel dedicated 
 to St. John the Baptist, wherein mass for the souls of all sort and condition 
 of people was performed. This Gild was, 1392, united with the Gild of the 
 Holy Trinity, founded 1364, and subsequently with the Gild of Saint Katherine, 
 founded 1343-4. 
 
 To this amalgamated institution belonged the Gild Hall, now known as St.
 
 WAkWIC:KSHIRK Cil.DS AXIl CIIARITIKS. 215 
 
 Mary's Hall. That it was unusually wealthy is sliown by the return of its 
 revenues at the Dissolution at ^'iii 13s. 8d., and "so great a reputation," says 
 Dugdale, '' liad this fraternity far and iieer that King Henry IV. and King Henry 
 VI., with divers of tlie principal nobility, bishops, and other eminent persons, 
 thought it was no dishonour to be admitted thereof.'' It was an established custom 
 to appoint the ex-mayor of the ciiy as Master, who thereupon sat next the 
 Mayor at all [(ublic meetings. In the windows of the Hall were 28 coats of 
 Arms depicted in the pages of Uugdale, as also full-length figures of \\'illiam 
 Beauchamp (Bergavenny) and Joan, Richard Beauchamp and Isabella, and 
 Humphrey, Lord Stafford, and Joan, Duchess Norfolk. 
 
 In 1348 was founded the Gild of Corpus Christi, a speciality whereof 
 originally was that, " on the feast of Corpus Christi all the brethren and 
 sisteren shall be clad in livery and shall carry eight torches around the body 
 of Christ, when it is borne through the town of Coventry." Old customs long 
 survive, the famous pageants of Coventry, held at Corpus Christi fair, followed 
 the older Festival, and in later days the Lady Godiva processions sujiplied the 
 required sensation. 
 
 Still another Coventry Gild was that of the Shearmen and 'i'ailors, founded 
 iemj>. Richard II. Whatever there was of Trade connected with this Gild, the 
 customary priest to say Mass every day for the souls of the founders was 
 among the ordinances. Its home was near Gosford Gate, and it had a special 
 religious pageant play of its own. 
 
 The citizens of Coventry in 141 3 came to the conclusion that no extension 
 of the Gilds was advisable, and procured of Henry V. a patent declaring there 
 should be no more, but the young people and journeymen of the city, jealous 
 of the merry meetings and feasts of their masters, originated, without legal 
 sanction, a Gild of St. George, with a master clerk and officers — an infringe- 
 ment of the privileges of the established Gilds — which was speedily suppressed 
 by Royal proclamation. 
 
 The sudden withdrawal of public funds of so great an extent, following as 
 it did upon the loss to the city of the benefits derived from the monastic 
 establishments, must have proved a severe blow to the progress of Coventry — 
 the check upon education alone would have lieen a still greater injury had not
 
 2l6 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 tile deficiency been to some extent met Ijy [olin Hales' School Foundation, 
 whilst many of the objects of the Gilds were continued by the timely helj) of 
 Sir Thomns White's gift — by the exemption from the general confiscation of the 
 Hospital of William Ford, called Grey Friars, founded 15 17 — and in some 
 measure by the re-grant 2nd Edward VI. of Thomas Bond's Hospital, founded 
 1506, but to obtain the benefit of the latter the citizens were, as late as 1610, 
 forced again to purchase from the King the endowment claimed as "concealed 
 lands.'' 
 
 King Edward VI. has been greatly extolled as the founder of Free Schools, 
 Much may be said on the other side. His lender age, however, frees him 
 alike from blame or praise in the matter. The responsibility lay with his 
 advisers, and Coventry was badly used by them, for of all the large endow- 
 ments appropriated by the Crown, a considerable part of which had been 
 devoted to educational ])urposes, very little appears to have been returned to 
 the citizens. 
 
 Hales' School was founded and endowed by John Hales, who had received 
 from Henry VIII. extensive grants from the church lands and St. John's 
 Hospital, and may therefore be considered as a partial restitution. The endow- 
 ment was completed by his executors, Thomas Docwra and Bartholomew 
 Hales (of Snitterfield), 1573. 
 
 Sir Thomas White's foundation, 155 1, was distinctly to supply the place of 
 the Gild Charities in free alms to poor householders and loans to young 
 tradesmen. 
 
 William Ford's Charity is the one small satisfactory feature of the work of 
 the Commissioners of plunder, it proves that almshouses were sometimes spared, 
 for this charity connected with the Grey Friars, but vested in separate trustees, 
 escaped. 
 
 William Hindman, 155S, and Richard Baldwin, 1559, continued the good 
 work, but the Charities of Coventry are too vast for particularization ; the con- 
 tinuous flow of charity conclusively shews how the old Fraternities benefited 
 when they were the chief agencies of these endowments. 
 
 The Gilds of Stratford-upon-Avon and of Birmingham were similar in their 
 objects and their dedication. Many points of identity existed between the two
 
 WARWICKSHIRE GILDS AND CHARITIES. 
 
 2 17 
 
 towns, their staple was leather and skins. In Henley, Kings's Norton, and 
 Alcester the wool trades flourished, whereby the intercourse between the two 
 coniiminities was increased. Both towns had a second Clild dedicated to .St. 
 John the Baptist, but in .Stratford the two became united. Here the similarity 
 ends, for the records of the Birmingham (lilds have perished, those of Strat- 
 ford have been preserved. In the rapid growth of Birmingham its Old Gild 
 Hall has long since been removed, that of quieter Stiatford happily has been 
 spared. 
 
 The foundation of the dild of the Holy Cross of Stratford is so remote 
 that its date has been unknown for 500 years. Like all other Town Gilds it 
 supported priests, and its income of ^44 us. covered the maintenance of a 
 school and almshouses, also a Gild clerk, clock keeper, and cook, whilst a 
 master or warden, and anciently two aldermen, but subsequently two proctors, 
 were dignified officials of the Fraternity. 
 
 r.II.I) IIAI L, STRA'I FORD-UI'ON-AVON. 
 
 The accounts of the Gild, e.\tending over a period of 150 years, shew that 
 its annual feast was one of its best preserved custouis, and that members were 
 contributed by towns and villages far remote from Stratford, and included 
 noblemen, bishops, and even royalty itself
 
 2l8 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 At the general dissolution its estates, with one small exception, were restored 
 to the town ; its almshouses and school (Shakespeare's School) were preserved, and 
 documents of great historic value were permitted to remain with the community. 
 
 As the Royal favour of King Edward VI. was extended to the Burgesses of 
 Stratford, by permitting them to retain their Gild lands to support the alms 
 houses and school, and repair the great bridge of fourteen arches with its 
 causeway, tlie need for individual charity was not so urgent as in many 
 other towns. In 1554, however, Richard Lord and Emmota his wife left 
 three acres of land in aid of the almshouses, more than a century previously 
 one Edward Lord and Einota his wife had been members of the Gild. Other 
 benefactions to Stratford were made by Thomas Oken of Warwick, John Turner, 
 John and Thomas Combe, William Tyler, Richard and Hamlet Smith, Quiney, Sadler, 
 Tombs, Woolmer, and others — most of them swelling the Corpora'ion Endowments. 
 
 The original foundation of the Gild of the Holy Cross of Birmingham was 
 first made in 1382 by four wealthy burgesses of the town — Thomas Sheldon, 
 John Colleshull, John Goldsmythe, and William atte Slow, who granted 
 various projicrties in Birmingham and Edgbaston for the support of two Chantry 
 priests. Ten years latter (1393) Sheldon being dead, the three survivors, joined 
 the town authorities, ''the bailiffs, and commonalty of Bermyngehani," in abrogating 
 the former licence, and obtaining instead a licence to form a Gild of the 
 widest scope for men and women of Birmingham, and of other towns. 
 
 The religious element existed to some extent in all Gilds — even Craft Gilds. The 
 Birmingham fraternity followed the common rule and provided for two priests for 
 the welfare of the fraternity. The Gild Hall was, however, erected in New Street. 
 The priests occupied chambers over the gateway of St. Martin's Church. In 
 the windows of the (lild Hall was a full-length figure of Sir Edmund Perrers, 
 Lord of Chartley (whose wife, Elena, was Lady of the Manor, and heiress of 
 the J5erminghanis) and the Arms of Bermingham, Staflbrd of Grafton, Ferrers, 
 empaling Belknap, and others. 
 
 Beside a Master was a Gild Clerk, a Keeper of the Gild Hall and Great 
 (larden, an Organist, Midwife, &c. It maintained a set of almshouses, and 
 also permitted some decayed members to occupy houses rent free. It kept 
 in repair the highways and two stone bridges ; it also performed duties usual
 
 WARWICKSHIRE GILDS AND CHARITIES. 
 
 219 
 
 and customary with otiier (lilds. It is not, however, apparent that it su[)- 
 ported a public school, although it is difficult to believe it entirely neglected 
 education. The reason may, perhaps, be found in the fact that the school of 
 the Gild of Deritend was capable of supplying the want. 
 
 It is probable that the Almshouses escaped seizure, inasmuch as ancient 
 Almshouses in Digbeth were afterwards supported by the Town, and subseciuently 
 were, unendowed, joined with Lench's Trust. 
 
 Five years after the dissolution, and upon pressing petitions from llirmingham 
 and neighbourhood, lands to the yearly value of ^£20 were returned to the 
 Town to support a Free School, other properties in Birmingham and Edgbaston 
 were disposed of by the Crown, and the remainder, producing ;£io 15s. od. 
 yearly, were retained during the reign of Queen Elizabeth — the School Endow- 
 ment was therefore less than two thirds of the Gild Estates, and the portion 
 confiscated would now probably be worth nearly ;^2o,ooo per annum. 
 
 Equally deplorable is the loss to Birmingham of all the deeds and muniments, 
 including the Registers and Accounts of the Fraternity, the accumulation of 
 150 years, in return for which was received a formal document with the King's 
 seal appended. 
 
 The yearly feast and procession of Members in their livery or hoods would 
 take place on the 3rd of May, and in most respects its history may be read in 
 the records of other Gilds, particularly that of Stratford-upon-Avon. 
 
 THE SEAL OV GILD OV HOLY CROSS. 
 
 The common seal of the Gild, of which a facsimile is given, bears the 
 following inscription : 
 
 " Stgtir : comune : giMC»e : sancte : ciucis : 5e : bennvnoeb^m."
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 The history of the Gild of St. John the Baptist of Deritend is a sad one. 
 Founded aliout tlie same time as the Birmingham Gild its endowment, valued 
 at something over ^,13 yearly, was expended in the usual support of two 
 priests, of whom one taught a Grammar School. The confiscation of its lands 
 was apparently predetermined, and Deritend lost its lands, school, and muni- 
 ments, the professed zeal for grammar schools notwithstanding. The whole 
 estates ])assed in a circuitous n\anner to the Holte family. 
 
 Few are the instances of private charities dated before the dissolution of the 
 (;ilds, yet Birmingham lias three such foundations. The earliest of these com- 
 prised land in Aston parish, and bore the name of the Rev. John Shyngler. 
 At least two Shynglers were priests of Deritend Chapel; a John '■ Schyngeler " 
 lived at "Dory gate ende" in 1430. It is not unlikely that Shyngler was 
 trustee only and one of the Flolte family the donor of this land. The earliest 
 known trust was for repairing the ways. A second was Cooper's gift of land 
 called Loveday Croft, but the trust was for the repair of Rey Bridge. A third 
 was Lench's Foundation, 1527. in which considerable estates were included. 
 The trust was "to distribute in works of charity for the health of the souls 
 of William Lench and Agnes his wife.'' In 1540 the trustees wisely created a 
 Trust to repair ruined Ways and Bridges. Notwithstanding this most of the 
 lands were lost in 1541 to Thomas Holte and Edward Pye, in compromise of 
 lawsuits, and an attempt was made, many years afterwards, by an old Chantry 
 priest, to recover the properties as concealed lands. Lench's Trust now consists 
 of various amalgamated charities. 
 
 The Gild of St. Anne, of Knoll, was founded in 1402, in connection with 
 the Chapel and College, by Walter Cooke, a Canon of Lincoln (probably a 
 native of Knoll), and his Father, Adam Cooke. At the Dissolution its revenues 
 amounted to ;C'^9 '4s. 7d., from which three priests were maintained. It may 
 have been exclusively a religious fraternit)-, hut if so it is difficult to under- 
 stand why it became one of the most [jopular Gilds of the County. Dugdale says : 
 " that a multitude of persons whereof most of good quality ; nay, some of 
 the great nobility in those days had admittance to be of this Gild." This 
 statement was made on the authority of the Gild Register Hook, a rare and 
 valuable compilation, whicli formed part of the Staunton Collection, and was
 
 WARWICKSHIRE GILDS AND CHARITIES. 
 
 fortunately saved when that collection was destroyed in the disastrous fire at 
 the Birmingham Libraries in 1S79. It has now been com])letely transcribed by 
 Mr. W. B. Bickley, and will shortly be publislied. Nothing more satisfactorily 
 explains the great popularity of the Old (lilds than the details of the Register 
 of one of these Fraternities of which this of Knoll is a remarkable example. 
 
 A building, which was traditionally used by the priests of the Gild and the 
 College, and is still commonly called the Gild Hall, yet stands at the west 
 end of the Church, as shown in the illustration. 
 
 KNOWLE CHURCH AND CII.I) HALI. . 
 
 The county possesses a vast number of private charities. Coventry alone has 
 considerably more than a hundred, some dating back to the fifteenth century. 
 Among others of early date may be mentioned Hayward's of Willoughby, 1436-7; 
 Kimbell, Burton Dasset, 1474. At Lapworth are several charities of Ashby, 
 Hill, Ford, Underwood, and Sly, all dating from 1440 to 1527, whilst a 
 Claverden gift, 1526, provided for obit dirge and masses, a remarkable instance 
 of escape from confiscation. 
 
 The objects and intentions of these charities include payment of subsidies, 
 setting for soldiers, redemption of Christian slaves in Turkey, repairing bridges, 
 roads, and churches, for poor travellers, and relieving prisoners ; providing lectures,
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 sermons, and bell ropes ; whilst, in 1566, Coventry was enriched with a school, 
 because the Mayor had received from Spain barrels of cochineal and ingots of 
 silver in mistake for steel gads, and Tamworth had special benefits from Thomas 
 Guy, tlie founder of Guy's Hospital, London, particularly for his poor relations 
 bearins; the names of ^'au£!hton or Wood. 
 
 HF.M.ICV-IN-ARDEN CHURCH AND CUI.n HOUSE.
 
 0tb£ 
 
 f C0cnbs anb Cnibitlons 
 
 of 
 
 MlHtdTichsbirc.
 
 FILLON'GLEY CHURCH. 
 
 Zbc •Xcocn^5 an^ flD\)tbical Xore. 
 
 •'O liallowcd memories of the patt, 
 Ve legends old and fair, 
 Still be your light upon us cast, 
 Your music on the air. 
 
 . KiiWLisi; ^^ bards of the Gaels — the fathers of the land — sang in forest 
 
 ^■/' 'V -'I 'Tid in temple the glories of the past. The young were 
 incited to emulate the deeds of heroes, and receive their 
 reward in the land of the blest. 'I'he gleemen of Woden 
 and of Thor, the scalds of the north, took up the strain, 
 and in the famed days of chivalry the romancer and the troubadour threw a 
 poetic glamour over the glories of the knightly deeds of baron and squire. In 
 song, in story, and in legend many of these remnants of inythical lore have 
 come down to us, and have been preserved in the memories of the people ; 
 thus
 
 2 26 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 "The intelligilile forms of ancient poets, 
 The fair humanities of old religion, 
 The power, the beauty, and the majesty 
 That had their haunts in dale or piny mountain 
 Or forest, by slow stream, or pebbly spring. 
 Or chasms and wat'ry depths " 
 
 have been preserved, and though " they hve no longer in the faith of reason, 
 still the heart doth need a language," still the old instinct suivives and we 
 do not cease to love the lore which our fathers loved, mythical and fabulous 
 though it may be. 
 
 The mind easily grasps what it can see, and when ideas are wedded to 
 familiar objects they are easily retained, and we unconsciously clothe our hero- 
 Guys with all the attributes of heroism and our (iodivas with the perfection 
 of goodness and of charity. (iive these embodiments of love, of valour, and 
 of beauty a local habitation, and we have a key to the charm which the 
 novelist and the poet throw round the objects they describe. They people 
 each bosky wood, each lane, headland, or verdant dell with personages and 
 attributes which, if not ideal, are idealized embodiments of what they ought 
 to be. 
 
 Fabulous though many of these old wives' tales and fireside stories may be, 
 they contain a germ of truth and life amid their poetic and mythical surround- 
 ings. We find them continually intermixed with undoubted facts, and are related 
 day by dav as literal truth. \\"e cannot, therefore, wonder at their being pre- 
 served in monkish chronicles, or even in the ponderous pages of Dugdale. 
 There is a witching character about some of these old stories which effects 
 the imagination, and tliey linger for ages. There is a story told of an ancient 
 tumulus — of which there are many in Warwickshire — that it was haunted by 
 the sjiirit of a warrior clad in glistening armour. Not that any one had seen 
 the S])irit, but the memory of it remained. During a tit of antitjuarian research 
 the tumulus was oi)ened, and on the ground, beneath the superincumbent 
 eartli, there lay the figure of a warrior of old, with the remains of his armour. 
 Here popular tradition had preserved the memory of an event which must have 
 come down through many ages. In other instances, however, the original story 
 has been lost, and has been supplemented by another from some accidental
 
 THE LEGENDS AND MVTHICAI, LORE. 
 
 resemblance, or from the association with some huer event witiiin tiie memory of 
 the people whose ancestors resided in that part of the country, 'i'hus, in the 
 neighbourhood of Edgehill, anything which is observed of an unusual character 
 is referred to tlie fight there. 
 
 Historians know but little about those singular stone circles and monuments 
 in different parts of the country ; the common people have forgotten their 
 object, their origin is lost in the dim past. Hence we find traditional stories 
 relating to them, evolved only out of what Carlyle would call " the inner con- 
 sciousness of the people ;" yet fre(iuently their names embody their original 
 designation, though changed and adapted to the newer thought and the later ideas. 
 These old names frecjuently guide the etymologist to some long-forgotlen battle- 
 field, ancient temple, or lonely tomb. HartshiU and Varningale have been 
 pointed out as instances of this. Brailes indicates an outwork, and here are 
 fortifications, the outwork of the greater fortifications on the IvJge hills. Donnilee, 
 the ancient name of Beaudesert, would imply the place of the fort. The 
 Roman station of Bennones evidently alludes to its site at the top of the hill, as 
 Manduesedum shows tliat it was the seat of the stone ; and in its modern 
 name, Mancetter, we have literally the stone camp, the British prefix being 
 added to the Saxon castra. There is scarcely a parish in Warwickshire which 
 does not possess a field or hillock known as the Castle Hill or field, though 
 \vl- know that no castle in the niediajval sense of the term ever stood there. 
 1 he name points to the older tongue, when the uesatV stone fort, or f jrtified 
 dwelling of the old inhabitants, stood on the spot. There is one of these 
 fields close to the scene of the legend of the bell at Whitnash. There are 
 two castle sites at Fillongley, one the modern moated, fortified dwelling, the 
 other belonging to the older time and peo[)le, and is a good example of these 
 ancient dwellings. Frequently, however, as at Allesley, the older mound has 
 been adapted to the more modern purpose. Warwick and Tamworth mounds 
 are probably other instances. 
 
 Readers of history know the part the Frisians took in the invasion of England. 
 Curiously enough on the Fosse way on either side of the Roman camp at 
 Chesterton there are two Friz hills. The one in Radford [larish, near the 
 spot where the Crtat Western railway crosses the Fosse, is called F'rizmore.
 
 228 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Its top, like a similar but smaller mound near Ufton, shows signs of sinking 
 or of excavation. They may be denuded hills, but they seem like large barrows. 
 At Frizhill, near Combrooke, there are distinct tumuli in Bowshot Wood. These 
 tumuli are close to where the six mile station from Chesterton would be placed. 
 
 On the Edge hills, close to where the Red Horse is cut, is the Sunrising, and 
 curiously enough the only derivation suggested of Tysoe is Tighsollas — the house 
 of the sun or the house of light. The Celtic tig/i, pronounced /y or tee, is 
 found in Coventry. Dugdale says this is derived from Covent-tre — the house 
 of the convent. Others affirm that there was a tree before the convent, and 
 the town took its name from this obviously mythical tree. In Co-van-tigh we 
 have the house of the holy woman. A French writer derives it from cowen 
 bright, and tig/i, a house. On the Fosse way, near where it joins the Watling 
 Street way, is Cloudsley Bush. There was once a tumulus here, with a bush 
 or tree on the summit. This has been [ironounced to be a corruption of 
 Claudius, a commander of a Roman cohort, whose grave it was said to be. 
 
 These are some of the many old and modern names, which show obvious 
 signs of corruption and yet the germs of truth. 
 
 Amongst the many fables which remain to us which show signs of belonging 
 to ancient superstitions are those relating to birds. There are some who see 
 in Gaydon the " hill of the goose," and it is a favourite spot for breeding 
 geese now. The goose was a favourite and holy bird, and almost within sight 
 of this hill, says the story, the Northamptonshire legend of St. Werburgh and 
 the geeie took place. 
 
 There is one legend that is mentioned by Shakespeare which is yet pre- 
 served in the memory of the old inhabitants of his native shire. In 
 " Hamlet," Marcellus, speaking of that gracious time commemorative of our 
 .Saviour's birth, alludes to the cock, that is the trumpet to the morn :— 
 
 "This bird of dawning singcth all night long, 
 And then they say no spiril dare walk abroad ; 
 The nights are wholesome ; then no planets strike, 
 No fairy _lakes, nor witch hath power to chann, 
 .So hallow'd and so gracious is that time." 
 
 The belief is yet general in the power of the cock to foretell events, and in 
 
 many a country homestead you may yet hear sage remarks on the cock crowmg
 
 THE LEGENDS AND MYTHICAL LORE. 229 
 
 at unusual times, and tlius foretelling, like an oracle, births, deaths, and 
 
 unusual occurrences. 
 
 Though, perhaps, at the present time, not one in a thousand remembers the 
 
 pretty legend of the social- robin acquiring his ruddy vest by his loving attention 
 
 to our Saviour's wounds on the cross, there is a universal regard felt for the 
 
 pert and impudent homely bird which is associated with the reverent feeling 
 
 once felt for him. You frequently hear 
 
 " Remember that robins and wrens 
 Are Go'l Abiiighty's cocks and hens." 
 
 They are, therefore, to be preserved and cherished, in remembrance of the 
 forgotten legend which gave them almost a sacred character. 
 
 Whilst some of these mythical stories are confined to special localities, others 
 are so common and general as to be almost universal. Amongst these is the 
 belief in the existence of subterranean ways. Wherever an abbey stood, or an 
 old castle existed, there we find this belief. There is a notable instance in 
 the general belief of a subterranean passage existing between Kenilworth Castle 
 and Coventry, though no one has ever seen it. This story evidently derives 
 its origin from the fact that Simon de Montfort, when he received a grant of 
 Kenilworth Castle, cut the broad highway through the woods to Coventry, 
 which still exists. By this he freed the road from the predations of robbers 
 and rendered travelling safe. 
 
 On the high road between Stratford-on-Avon and Alcester, just beyond the 
 fifth milestone, where the road from Haseler to Temple Grafton crosses it, is 
 what appears to be an immense bairow; the wooded knoll of Rollswood rises 
 behind, and is cut by a green field or two from a remarkable conical hill, 
 called Alcock's Arbour. It is in the parish of Haseler and hamlet of Upton, 
 and adjoms the hills of Oversley. The neighbourhood is interesting, from its 
 proximity to the Roman station of Alauna — the Alenas of Ptolemy — which, from 
 certain expressions, was thought to have been an advanced post of the Dobuni into 
 the forest land. This is hardly probable, though there are indications of an 
 early camp, called Dane's Bank, in Coughton Park, not far from the British 
 road known as the Ridgeway, to the north-west of Alcester. 
 
 Alcock's Arbour is, from its singular and apparently artificial form, a striking
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 object in the landscape. The legend attached to this hill is given by Dugdale 
 in these terms : — 
 
 ".Southwards from Haseler (but within the same parish) is a coppice wood, 
 and in it a notable hill, which is of such a steep and equal ascent from every 
 side as if it had been artifically made, so that it is a very eminent mark over 
 all that part of the country, and by the common people called Alcock's Arbour ; 
 towards the foot whereof is a hole, now almost filled up, having been the 
 entrance into a cave, as the inhabitants report. Of which cave there is an old, 
 wives' story, that passes for current amongst the people of the adjacent towns, 
 vi/., that one Alcock, a great robber, used to lodge therein, and having got 
 much money by that course of life, hid it in an iron-bound chest, whereunto 
 V were three keys : which chest they say is still there, but guarded by a cock 
 that continually sits upon it. And thit on a time an Oxford scholar came 
 thither with a key that opened two of the locks, but as he was attempting to 
 open the third the cock seized on him. To all which they add, that if bone 
 of the party who set the cock there, could be brought, he would yield up the 
 chest. But leaving this fable to those that fancy such things, I come to a 
 place not far from it called (irove Hill, whence issueth a very . pleasant spring, 
 which anciently bore the name of Caldwell, being remarkable for an hermitage 
 that stood close by it, and at the foundation of Alcester Priory, by Ralph 
 Boteler, of Oversley, in King Stephen's time, was by him given thereto." 
 
 The hill itself I beliexe, has never been explored. It belongs to Sir William 
 Throckmorton, and would amply repay research. The legend is almost, if not 
 entirely, unknown in the immediate neighbourhood. There is a somewhat 
 similar story told in connection with "The Mound," on the south of the Fen 
 Lane hear Lindley Hall, but the robber in this case was said to be Dick Tur[)in. 
 
 'I'here are some curious covered ways — deep roads — apparently constructed to 
 provide for the marching of a body of men unperceived through the country. 
 There is a remarkable one near Bensford Bridge, apparently in connection with 
 the great earthworks of Brinklow. There is another which runs by the side of 
 Wixford church to Oversley road ; and a very curious one in the immediate 
 vicinity of Kent's moat, a large but irregular earthwork near the county 
 boundary at Yardley.
 
 THE LEGENDS AND MVTHKAI. I,ORE. 23 1 
 
 The Chesterton ghost was for many years the talk of the country side, so 
 much so, that when the ghost appeared to one of the inhabitants of Harbury 
 on Thursday night, May i, 1755, the Rev. Richard Jago, the poet of Edge- 
 hill, who was then vicar of Harbury, thought it necessary to ]ireach a sermon 
 on the occasion on the Sunday following. The sermon was printed and is now 
 scarce. 
 
 The story of One-handed Boughton is firmly believed in and around Lawford 
 and Rugby. Lawford Hall, prior to its being taken down in 17S4, was the 
 scene of a ghostly legend of one of the Boughton family, who lived in the 
 time of good Queen Bess, known to fame as the One-handed Boughton. The 
 bedchamber of this worthy was reported to be haunted, and many people tried 
 to sleep in it, but in vain. This One-handed had a fashion of riding about 
 the country in a coach and si.x, to the great disgust of the sober inhabitants 
 of the neighbourhood. At length a body of neighbouring clergymen met, and 
 managed to put the perturbed spirit into a phial, which they threw into a 
 neighbouring marl pit. It is alleged that the father of Sir Theodosius believed 
 in the ghost, and that when his neighbour, Sir Francis Skipworth, wished lo 
 see if there were any fish in the pond, he objected, saying that his ancestor. 
 One-handed Boughton, rested there and should not be disturbed. So great was 
 this belief, that it was with the utmost difficulty that workmen were obtained 
 to pull down the hall. This ghost stnry has been recently revived, and made 
 the subject of a Christmas story, but the writer forgot to add that at the time 
 the story was laid the hall did not exist. The pond has since been drained, 
 and the bottle containing the spirit of One handed Boughton is now in the 
 possession of his descendant, Mr. Boughton Leigh, of Brownsover. 
 
 The remembrance of One handed Boughton has descended until our own day. 
 Mr. Matthew Bloxani states that he had in his time conversed with old men, 
 who, if they had not seen that personage themselves, had heard from others 
 who had seen him. One old gentleman named Wolfe, who died three or four 
 years ago at the age of nearly a hundred years, remembered when a child, at 
 King's Newnham, sitting by his mother's side, when a man ran in breathless, 
 and said, " I have just seen One banded Boughton. I saw him coming, and 
 opened the gate for him, but he flew over it in a carriage and six." Another
 
 232 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 old gentlemen, Mr, John Watts, who died eleven or twelve years ago, in his 
 ninety-third year, was formerly an old and respected inhabitant of Rugby. He 
 said he knew a man who always professed to have seen One-handed Boughton. 
 Mr. Watts was with him one day, when he pointed to a distance, and said, 
 " There is One-handed Boughton." Whether this man had the gift of second- 
 sight it is impossibe to say, but Mr. Watts declared that, staring with all his 
 eyes, he could not see him. 
 
 There are traditions, which are more in the nature of prophecy, associated 
 with wells and streams. Between Barby Wood and Dunchurch there is a little 
 stream called Rainsbrook, which meanders through the valley, innocent of evil 
 as the stream at which Jacques saw the wounded deer. Vet this quiet brook 
 is the theme of an old tradition, that a great battle is to be fought in its 
 neighbourhood, and its pure limpid stream is to flow with blood. At this 
 battle, which is probably a memory of a past event, three kings are to be 
 present, and their horses will be held by a miller with three thumbs. Amongst 
 the legends of the lone country side, those connected with wells are the most 
 common. Many wells were sanctified, and dedicated to various saints, and 
 in many instances miraculous virtues were attributed to them. The well of St. 
 Keene, immortalized by .Southey, is a familiar instance. There are a number 
 of ornamental wells in Warwickshire, notably in the south-western portion of 
 the country. On the extreme east, adjoining the Watling Street way, there is 
 a well called Sketchley Well, which is supposed to have the power of sharpening 
 the wits of those who taste of its waters. It is quite a common remark to 
 a witty man that "he had lieen to Sketchley." The fact of the well being now 
 enclosed may perhaps account for the lack of wit now observed in the locality. 
 There was formerly an ancient well by the side of the Whitnash brook, to the 
 south of the footway from Whitnash to Radford, and concerning which this 
 curious legend is told : — That the ancient inhabitants, when removing their bell 
 from the ancient church to its present site, brought it to this holy well to be 
 freshly consecrated. In doing this it fell into the water, and gradually disap- 
 peared. The country people, who wish to know coming events, cast stones into 
 the well at night, and in the morning their (piestions are answered by the 
 sounding of the bell. The site is now drained, but the little stream of water
 
 THE LEGENDS AND MYTHICAL LORE. , 2^3 
 
 which flows into the Whitnash brook is still believed to be possessed of healing 
 power, and people come from great distances to procure the water. There is 
 a remarkable well near Berkswell churchyard, and another at Burton Dassett, 
 which appear to have been used for the purposes of baptism and immersion. 
 
 In Sutton Coldfield Park there is a spring long known as Rowton Well. It 
 was once in repute as a medicinal water, but -its virtue as such has long since 
 disappeared. It is now pure and cold enough, famed only by Charles Barker, 
 in his poem on Sutton Park. 
 
 " In Nuthurst's windings would you stray, 
 Or o'er wild heath and length'ning way 
 
 That leads to Rowlon Well ? 
 Pellucid fount ! what annual scores 
 Thy stream to cleanliness restores, 
 
 The scribbled post may tell ! 
 How many .Smiths and Joneses came, 
 And left to thee their votive name ; 
 How many more had done the same 
 
 Only they could not spell." 
 
 Amongst the folk lore of Warwickshire there is a widespread idea, not only 
 that the county is the centre of England, but different localities are specially 
 distinguished. Near Leamington, on the Lillington road, there is an oak tree 
 standing by the side of the road, on an elevated mound, which is universally 
 called the centre of England. At Meriden, the cross there is stated to be 
 the exact spot, though it has been moved in the memory of man The Roman 
 centre of England, and which is nearer the real centre than any other spot 
 known, is situated on high ground between the counties of Leicester and 
 Warwick, where the Watling Street and the Fosse ways cross each other. This 
 spot, known as High Cross, is near the Roman station of Bennones, known 
 to the Saxons as Cleaycestre. There are the shattered remains of a pillar 
 standing in a garden there, on the site of an ancient tumulus. The pillar 
 was erected in obedience to the following order of Quarter Sessions : — 
 
 "A.D. 1711, 10 Anna.— At the Easter Sessions, some Warwickshire Justices at High Cross, 
 'in order to have hands sett up there for direction of passengers, according to the statute in 
 that case made and provided,' this conference ended in a recommendation ' that there should 
 be something memoriable built in stone at a place called High Cross, between the two counlyes 
 of Warwick and Leicester, as well to direct travellers in the great roades called Watling
 
 234 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Streete and Fosse, as also (for) that it was esteemed the centre of England, and that there 
 should be allowed to the workmen that should finish the same forty pounds, viz., "forty 
 pounds by each county," which, on the report of Sir William Boughton, Bart., and John 
 Shuckburgh, Esq., two of Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace, was at the following ICpiphany 
 .■sessions, 1711-12, ordered to be done."' 
 
 There is a view of tliis cross in its perfect state in Stukeley's " Iter 
 Curiosum " (Vol. i., p. no). At present the inscription, whicli was written by 
 Mr. George Greenway, a schoohnaster of Coventry, is barely legible. It was 
 as follows : — 
 
 "Vicinarum provinciarum, Vervicencis scilicet et Leicestrensis, ornamenta, proceres patiiciique, 
 auspiciis illustrissimi Basilii Comitis de Denbigh, hanc columnam statuendam curaverunt, in 
 gratam pariter et perpetuam memoriani jani tandem a Serenissima Anna clausi A.D. 
 M.D.CC.XII." 
 
 Which is thus translated : — 
 
 " The noblemen and gentry, ornaments of the neighbouring counties of War- 
 wick and Leicester, at the instance of the Right Honourable Basil Earl of 
 Denbigh, have caused this pillar to be erected in grateful as well as perpetual 
 remembrance of peace at last restored by her Majesty Queen Anne, in the 
 ye?r of our Lord 17 12." 
 
 The inscription on the other side runs thus : — 
 
 "Si Veterum Romanorum vestigia quxras, hie cernas, viator. Hie enim celeberrim.x illorum 
 \ix mililares, sese niutuo secantes, ad extremos usque Britannia" limites procurrunt : hie slativa 
 sua habuerunt Vennones ; et ad primum ab hinc lapidem castra sua ; ad Stratam, et ad Fossum 
 tumulum, Claudius quidem cohortis prajfectus habuisse videtur." 
 
 Which may be thus rendered : — 
 
 " If, traveller, you search for the footsteps of the ancient Romans, here you 
 may behold them, for here their most celebrated ways, crossing one another, 
 extend to the utmost boundaries of Britain. Here the Vennones kept their 
 quarters ; and, at the distance of one mile from hence, Claudius, a certain 
 commander of a cohort, seems to have had a camp towards the street, and 
 towards the Fosse a tomb." 
 
 The ground here is so high, and the surrounding country so low and Hat, 
 that it is said fifty-seven churches may be seen from tliis spot without the heli) 
 of a glass. Here stood one of the three Warwickshire beacons ; the others were
 
 HIGH CROiS.
 
 THE HEART OF ENGLAND. 235 
 
 at Bickenhill and Burton Dasset. From hence you can obtain a view of the 
 great Midland Vale, and the backbone of England. 
 
 The traditions of wells and streams might be considerably extended. Any peculiarity, any 
 unusual appearance of running waters, was construed into a token of coming trouble, dearth, or 
 pestilence. John Warkworth, in his Chronicle of Edward I\'., shows how widely these beliefs 
 prevailed. Speaking of Womere, or Wemere, at a place called Markayate, seven miles from .Saint 
 Albans, he says it is " callede the Woo Watere, for Englyschmen whenne thei dyd fyrst inhabyte this 
 lend, sone as thei see this water renne, thei knewe wele it was a token of derthe, or of 
 pestylence, or of great batayle, wherefore thei callede it IVomere, for alle that tyme thei sawe it 
 renne thei knewe welle that woo was cominge to Englonde," and by way of confirmation of 
 the wonderful properties of this water, Warkworth then refers to divers such other waters that 
 betokeneth likewise — one at Lavenham, Kent ; another beside Canterbury, called Naylborne ; another 
 at Croyden, Sussex ; and " another vij. myle a this side the Castelle of Dodlcy, in the place 
 called Hungerevale, that when it betokenethe batayle it rennys foule and trouble water, and 
 when betokenythe derthe or pestylence it r>;nnyth as clere as any watere, but this yere [1473] 
 it ranne right trouble and foule water.'' 
 
 In the valley between Edgbaston and Harborne, long known as Good Knaves End, but now 
 as Chad Valley, may be identified Warkworth 's Hungerevale, or Hungry Valley; all the sloping 
 lands on the Edgbaston Hill side were anciently called Hungry Hill. In 1425 these fields belonged 
 to the Lords of Birmingham, and were then, and also in 1553, called by that name, ■ by 
 which they were also known in 1622, when they had passed to the Jennens family, celebrated 
 as iron workers, with one of whom may have originated the Bell Foundry, which long 
 flourished in this valley, and which provided bells for many of the steeples in the Midlands. 
 Warkworth, at the time of writing his chronicle, was MaUer of Saint Peter's College, 
 Cambridge, therefore his description, "seven miles this side Dudley Castle," very distinctly agrees 
 with the position of this Hungry Vale. Moreove-, a well is said to have formerly existed on 
 the slope of the Hill by the roadside. 
 
 Sutton Coldfield and Park have several wells other than that of Rowton, which aic deserving of 
 notice ; of these the Keeper's Well is the copious source of supply to the pool of that name. 
 This pool is nearly surrounded by woods of great natural beauty, and is supposed to have 
 derived its name some four centuries ago from John Holt, who was park keeper or ranger 
 under the Earl of Warwick in the reign of Edward IV., and probably constructed the dam. 
 
 Another well, very popular with the visitors to the Park, is that of St. Mary, commonly 
 called the Druids'. This is at the south-west end of Bracebridge Pool (the Queen pool of the 
 Park). How it tame to be called the Druids' Well is not known, it is scarcely necessary to s.ay 
 that it can have no Druidical connection ; it is very probable, however, that it was dedicated 
 to Saint Mary long before the dam of Bracebridge Pool was made by Ralph Bracebridge in 
 the reign of Henry V. 
 
 Rowton Well lies near the Roman Ikenild Street, and has therefore a claim to very early 
 fame. Rohedon was the name of a family in the neighbourhood, temp. Edward I., and there 
 was also a Rohedon Hill and a Rohedon Green at Erdington. This name, probably the
 
 236 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 origin of Rowton, may be of early derivation, and there is a tumulous near the well which favours 
 that view, yet a dedication to the Holy Rood in Saxon days may possibly be the original 
 source of the name. These and many other wellings which abound have not only supplied the 
 Park with its many clear rivulets, but have filled ils numerous lakes, thus giving to the place 
 its unrivalled beauty. 
 
 Although the custom prevailed in very early times of dedicating wells to the Saints, and 
 their sanctity was general, an occasional exception is met with, and a remarkable instance occurs 
 at Kineton. It appears that a castle, traditionally connected with King John, formerly stood 
 at the west end of the town, and a well at the foot of the hill upon which the castle stood 
 was locally called King John's Well ; whilst at Penns, near Sutton Coldtield, another ancient 
 well had apparently lost its saintly dedic.ition in favour of a popular one, and was known as 
 Robin Hood's Well. 
 
 DRUIDS WELL.
 
 MAXSTOKE PRIORY. 
 
 ^be Ibeart of Enolan^. 
 
 ' This song our shire of Warwick sounds 
 Revives old Arden's ancient bounds." 
 
 HE Heart of England ! The very name is suggestive of all 
 that is great and noble in a noble land. A thousand 
 associations are connected with the name, and the history of 
 a thousand years shows how many great men have been 
 nurtured on its undulating breast, and what great deeds have 
 been wrought on its bosom. It has been the nursing mother of poets and 
 the cradle of heroes. On its fair fields the battles of liberty and freedom 
 have been fought. The earliest records, which have come down to us through 
 the mists of time, tell us that it was a frontier land — the southern frontier, 
 held by the fierce tribes who inhabited the great forest land which extended 
 from the river Avon to the estuary of the Dee, that forest whose 
 " Right hand touched Trent, the other Severn's side."
 
 338 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 The memory of these eaily struggles and later contests appears to have lingered 
 among the people, for when English people began to speak the Saxon tongue 
 they called it by the distinctive name of Wsringawic — the bulwark of the 
 Wiccii — and the chief town, the citadel of the dwellers by the river. 
 
 Who were the Huicci or Wiccii ? Was this the old name of the original 
 tribes of the Cornavii resumed after the last Roman legion had left the shores 
 of Britain ? or was it the name of a newer people who had learned in the 
 Roman settlements the power of self-government, and extended their dominion 
 from the Severn to the great Midland Vale? Whoever they were, Warwick was 
 one of their camps or frontier posts, and gave its name to " that shire which 
 we the 'heart of England' well may call." 
 
 The old trackway, which stretches in a nearly straight line from Dover to 
 the Irish Sea, at its centrjl point crosses the river Avon, and marks the 
 " heart of England " on the adjacent hills. Along this trackway the students of 
 (iaul went to the great Druidical seminaries of learning of the time at Mona 
 and at lerna — the Isles of Anglesea and Erin. Along this trackway the Roman 
 troops advanced ; their camps and settlements are to be seen on either hand. 
 From this trackway the " heart of England " was first seen by strangers, and 
 the way was called Gathelian — the road or way of the stranger.* This great 
 road, which we know as the Watling Street, now forms for a long distance 
 the eastern boundary of Warwickshire, separating it from the sister county of 
 Leicester. From this boundary the rivers and rivulets flow to the eastern as 
 well as to the western seas, for it here traverses the depressed hillocks which 
 form at this point the back bone of England. To the left of this road, where 
 the setting sun casts its rays on hill and vale, may be seen the shire of 
 Warwick. 
 
 It is a country of gentle undulations, soft flowing rivers, and well timbered 
 vales. It stretches its angular form from the steep escarpments of the Oxford- 
 shire oolite and the " dumpling hills '' of Northants to where the still waters 
 of the Tame emjjty themselves in the Trent ; from the level expanse of the 
 Leicestershire pastures to the rolling hills of Worcester and Gloucester, over- 
 hanging Severn's side. 
 
 " Dr. Stukcley, "Iter Curiosum."
 
 THE HEART OF ENGLAND. 
 
 239 
 
 Close to the point where' the old Watling Street becomes the boundary of 
 the historic shire, it crosses the little tortuous stream which here represents 
 the midland Avon. This celebrated stream rises in the neighbourhood of 
 Naseby, in the adjacent county of Northants, and flows for a few miles 
 in a northerly direction to Welford, and then taking a westerly direction, 
 forms for a distance of eight miles the boundary between its native county 
 and Leicestershire. It enters Warwickshire at Dowbridge, near the site of the 
 ancient Roman station of Tripontium, in the parish of Catthorpe, and flows 
 through the county in a south-westerly direction, receiving its great tributary, 
 the Learn, in the neighbourhood of Warwick, and the lesser streams of the 
 
 MANOR HOUSE, ILMINOTON. 
 
 Swift at Bensford Bridge, near Rugby, the Sow near Stoneleigh, the Dene near 
 Charlecote, the Stour near Stratford, and the Alne near Bidford. The course 
 of the Avon marks the great natural division of the county. The southern open 
 country is termed the Feldon, or champagne country. The northern bank is 
 termed the Arden, or the woodland. The heights of Shuckburgh, Napton,
 
 24© 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Burton, and Brailes alone break the monotony of the plain of the Feldon, 
 which rises in successive undulating billows to Hodnell, Gaydon, and Welles- 
 bourne, and sinks to the foot of the Edge hills, on the Oxfordshire boundary. 
 On the western side the country is far more broken and diversified ; Ilmington 
 and Ellington form a prominent feature in the landscape above the valley of 
 the Stour. Many of these hill-tops were oolitic islands when the waters flowed 
 on the liassic bed of the plain. Nothing could be more natur.il than that 
 tliese elevated positions would be seized, even by the most barbarous tribes, 
 as "points of vantage," and here we find the remains of the earliest settle- 
 ments of the ancient inhabitants : and from them extensive views of the Feldon 
 and of the distant heiijhts which mark the Arden country can be obtained. 
 
 KK.MAINS OF NORMAN fllArKl., IIAKTSIIIM. CASTI.E. 
 
 Across the Avon the scene changes ; the country becomes more picturesque 
 along its banks. Spurs of the keuper sandstone stretch here and there into 
 the ])lain or skirt the river side, and form a natural boundary of considerable
 
 THK Hr.ART OK KNGLANI). 24 I 
 
 elevation. Here and there are giant trees, gaunt and grim, and Iioary with 
 age. The dwellers by the Leani side know nothing of the expansive views 
 which meet the eye from Cave's inn, Willey or High Cross, or from the rocky 
 edges of Hartshill and Oldbary, where the upheaval of the igneous greenstone 
 has brought within reach of the inhabitants coal, clay, and other materials of 
 manufacture. The tall chimnics and their smoky pennons show that in- 
 dustrious enterprise is not unknown on the east, though they are more numerous 
 on the north-west, where plastic ware and textile fabrics give place now, as in 
 ages past, to the workers in metal, whose metropolis is the " toy-shop of 
 Europe" — the great "hardware \illage" of Birmingham. The extent and beauty 
 of the ''heart of England" can be seen also from the hills of Loxley and Dasset 
 and the bluff fringe of the vale of the Red Horse. In the Arden land there 
 are fine views from Corley, from Meriden, and from the wild promontory of 
 Yarningale, as well as from C'oplow and Welcombe and Snitterfield. 
 
 The hills and the valleys, the woods and the rivers yet speak to us in the 
 tongue of the old fathers of the land. In the Avon we have the flowing 
 water. In the river Anker we have the lesser Avon, and in the Alenus or 
 Alne we recognise the forest river. The Arrow {Arov) yet maintains the rapid 
 motion which gave it its name. In the Blythe we have the many branching 
 stream and the Cole, the two-armed branch of the Blythe itself. The Stour 
 is the flowing stream, and the Tame the pool-like waters.* In the Learn we 
 have the contraction of Leamhain — the water of the elms — and the elm is even 
 now known as the Warwickshire weed. 
 
 The hills of Arden are full of significance. In HardresuU, the old name of 
 Hartshill, we have an aspirated form of the height of the sun. In Yarningale 
 we have a softened local form of Ardengael — the height of the stranger — and 
 through this name the low tumulus on its top was discovered. More obvious 
 derivations are on every hand. 
 
 These uplands and plains not only speak the language of an ancient race, 
 but are studded with the remains of past grandeur, strength, and power. The 
 summits of the hills still bear traces of the barbarous tribes who stayed for a 
 
 * See Bullet, " M^moircs sur la Langue Cellique." Vol. i.
 
 242 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 time the triumphant course of the legions of Imperial Rome. By their side 
 are the camps of the ultimate conquerors, as silent and as desolate as the 
 entrenchments of the conquered. The medieval chieftains built stronger 
 mansions if not more enduring. Warwick's embattled towers, Tamworth's keep, and 
 Kenilworth's proud ruins attest the power of the old Norman barons no less than 
 the minor fortresses and moated areas which stud the country side. On some 
 of these the comfortable manor houses and pleasant half-timbered granges and 
 mansions yet remain to attest the wealth and comfort of the yeomen and 
 squires of the past. 
 
 The great religious establishments suppressed by Henry VIII. may be traced 
 in bare ruins, or interspersed with more modern erections on the same site. 
 At Polesworth, Merivale, Nuneaton, Coombe, Maxstoke, Wroxall, Kenilworth, 
 Coventry, Stoneleigh, Pinley, and Henwood, and in many lesser establishments, 
 the monuments of the religious zeal of the middle ages may be found in 
 pleasant nooks by the side of still waters and flowery meads. 
 
 Many of these uplands and gentle vales have been bedewed with blood in 
 historic times ; tliey have witnessed struggles for liberty and aspirations for free- 
 dom as well as the cruel tortures of hard conquerors. The Conqueror's Norman 
 troops ravaged the country on their way to quell the great revolt of the north. 
 The records of Kenilworth and Warwick teem with accounts of civil strife, 
 when kings and kings' sons strove for mastery, or the fierce barons tried to 
 throw off the feudal yoke. The siege of Kenilworth is marked deep on the 
 page of history. Warwickshire furnished large contingents of men, gallant knights, 
 and able commanders for the French wars of the Plantagenet princes. Royal 
 favourites found lynch law even amid the sweet beauty of Guy's Cliff. Edward 
 II. and Richard II. saw mournful days in Kenilworth's lordly keep, for tlie 
 lord of the latter was Henry Bolingbroke, the first of the Lancaster Hue of 
 our kings. In the wars of the Roses, which followed, the fields of Edgcote, 
 Tewkesbury, and of Bosworth tell of the bloody struggle in many a sad page 
 of history, to be repeated some 150 years later at lulgehill and at Naseby. 
 But in all this, who can forget that prior to Simon de Montfort's defeat at 
 Evesham, Warwickshire furnished the first speaker of the first English Parlia- 
 ment in the Lord of Beaudesert, Petrus dc Montfort, a follower, but not a
 
 THE HKART OF ENGLAND. 243 
 
 relative, of his namesake, the great Earl of Leicester ; and the third speaker, 
 William Trussell, was also a Warwickshire knight. Looking hack, too, at liie 
 great Civil War, we remember that the cradle of constitutional freedom was 
 stained with the first blood shed in the sanguinary struggles between i)arlia- 
 mentary and kingly power. It requires no great stretch of imagination to 
 picture Richard Baxter disturbed in his preaching at Alcester on that famous 
 Sunday in October, 1642, and going forth to hear the distant boom of the 
 cannon which told of King and Parliament being in hostile array in the very 
 heart of the land. A hundred years later than this the troops of tiie Duke 
 of Cumberland were encamped on Meriden Heath, adjoining Packington Park, 
 to meet the wild Highlanders who were following the last Prince of the House 
 of .^tuart in his Quixotic attempt on the English throne. 
 
 It was but fitting, too, that the heart's core of England should be at once 
 the cradle and the shrine of England's greatest poet. By the placid A\on 
 William Shakespeare played when a boy. Tn the dairy-strewn meadows which 
 skirt the river's brink he gathered inspiration and uttered his love story to no 
 unwilling ears. Here, too, in the autumn of his days, and in the fulnets of 
 his fame and fortune, the bard of Avon sought the scenes of his childhood 
 to live and to die. ^Vith him, when he died, was another son of mid- 
 England, Michael Drayton, who threw the glamour of his verses over these fair 
 scenes. Neither must it be forgotten that .Sir Thomas Overbury received his 
 first breath from the same nursing mother, and in this consecrated land of 
 Arden, which has been peopled with ideal personages, Somerville and Jago 
 sang of the chase and of the glories of this mid-English land. 
 
 The sons of this shire were not only men of song but men of action. 
 Across these scenes have flitted men whose names are entwined with the 
 history of the land, and not a few noble women have left their impress on 
 the records of the shire. There yet remains the mounds on which the gallant 
 daughter of Alfred erected her castles after the fierce Mercian kings had 
 passed away. But there is some reason to think that nearly a thousand years 
 before her " coigns of vantage " these mounds had been fortified by the allies 
 of Cartismandua's rebellious subjects. At Polesworth " pious Edith," the 
 daughter of Egbert, the first English king, found a tomb in the religious
 
 244 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 house she had raised ; and who in thinking of mid England will fail to 
 remember that here dwelt the fair and benevolent Lady Godiva, whose legendary 
 story is enshrined in song, as her deeds are in the cartularies of monasteries 
 and in the history of the eleventh century. 
 
 The name of De Montfort, of Arden, Beauchamp, Hugford, Shirley, Astley, 
 Burdett, and Catesby are not dimmed by the later names of Throckmorton, 
 
 Greville, Dudley, Leigh, Brace- 
 bridge, Conway, or Willoughby. 
 Some of the old names have dis- 
 appeared, but the Shirleys, the 
 Chamberlains, the Comptons, the 
 Shuckburghs, the Lucys, and 
 the Throckmortons yet remain 
 in possession of their ancestral 
 seats, and though many of the 
 old families have disappeared, 
 their daughlers have intermarried, 
 and their estates have passed into 
 the hands of those who bear 
 another name, even though they 
 are allied in blood with the 
 original possessors, whose names 
 are enshrined in history. 
 
 When we search the ancient 
 records of this land we find the 
 earliest events shrouded by the 
 mists of ages. We can only 
 pierce the gloom darkly. Here 
 and there we can lift the veil 
 
 
 mmm -^m^l 
 
 ys^^mt '" 
 
 "' ^HHI 
 
 
 ■H 
 
 »^^^ 
 
 J 
 
 'Biw 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^^^H 
 
 1 
 
 E ^^■ 
 
 rm 
 
 
 Hp 
 
 
 I^^H 
 
 
 ^^^^^f\ •? 
 
 
 ■■■ 
 
 
 . "^N^ ^"f!llfe&*. " 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 1 : . 
 
 "H: 
 
 . . 
 
 mr- 
 
 
 -Sv 
 
 
 
 
 
 "■"^•^ 
 
 ANCIKNT FONT, SM'I TliRKIEI.I). 
 
 and point to the material and indisputable evidence of past events. Others 
 are entwined with fiction, changed by time or the ever varying disposition of 
 men to make the past chime in with the present. 
 
 To this latter feeling we must ascribe the mythical character of many of
 
 THE HEART OF ENGLAND. 
 
 245 
 
 the stories of past days which have come down to us, and whose obsecurity 
 we will try to pierce ; rejecting that which is indisputably false, and revealing, 
 as far as possible, the germs of trutli hidden in these legends, stories, and 
 episodes of bygone days. 
 
 NORTH llOOKWAY, ^ rONEI.Eli;]!.
 
 THE ROLLRIGHT STONES (PKesenr DAY ) 
 
 i^bc IRollviobt Stoitc5. 
 
 OARY and grey, as if ten thousand tempests had furrowed its 
 cheeks and blanched its rugged sides, the King Stone at 
 Rollright, or RoUrich, remains in its gaunt and solemn 
 solitude, the only stone monument of the prehistoric past 
 within the old shire of Warwick. In the dim gloaming it 
 seems to spread its arms as if to curse or bless the wayfiirer who may traverse 
 the ancient trackway which runs bleakly along the ridge of the high land, 
 which here separates for a long distance Oxfordshire from Warwickshire. Within 
 a hundred years it stood amongst well-defined barrows and ancient graves ; 
 these have disappeared by the operations of the busy agriculturist, but fortu- 
 nately the King stone yet remains. Eighty-three yards distant, but on the
 
 THE ROLLRIGHT STONES. 
 
 247 
 
 Oxfordshire side of the road, a clump of shattered fir trees mark the site of 
 the stone circle of Rollright. These wrinkled, wizened stones have stood there 
 for more than a thousand years we know ; and, if the story of their origin is 
 true, we may add ten centuries more to their age ere we reacli that remote 
 time when our forefathers gathered together the boulders and fragments of the 
 inferior oolite which were scattered about the old ridgeway, and formed that 
 curious circle of upright stone which now, furrowed and old, crown as of yore 
 
 he summit of this lofty hill. 
 Those wlio only know Warwickshire 
 from its alluvial plain can form but 
 little idea of the beauty of the 
 scene. At the foot of the iiill the 
 grey tower of Long Compton church 
 rises amid the sinuous line of 
 houses which form the only street 
 of the " town of the valley."* The 
 road winds up the hill towards Weston 
 Park, on its way to Shipston, and 
 beyond the wooded summit rise the 
 swelling, lofty Broadway and II- 
 mington hills, studded with many 
 a church tower, and tree-embosomed 
 liomestead ; and beyond all, in 
 clear weather, you may descern the 
 serrated edge of Bromsgrove Lickey. 
 The view is bounded on the south 
 by the Oxfordshire hills, crowned by 
 the tower of the church of Stowe- 
 in-the-Wold. The impressiveness of 
 the scene is increasd by the few splintered fir trees which wave their shattered 
 and battered branches over the "aunt stones. To the right stands the King 
 
 KttMAtdtt^ 
 
 -,--'-{ 
 
 tH,^" 
 
 p^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 m 
 
 4 
 
 . ■LW.^*^.v'.i4iJ"3K%&;r*a 
 
 nil-: KING STONE. 
 
 *Coomdf a valley; Un, a town,
 
 248 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Stone, and a little to the left in the distance may be seen the huge dolmen or 
 cistvaen known as the "Whispering Knights." 
 
 Around these stones the halo of romance has been thrown ; but, if we accept 
 the truth of the axiom, that "tradition is the paient of history,' we shall 
 probably find the clue to the name of these stones, and why they were erected. 
 The earliest known notice of these ancient remains is in a manuscript ascribed 
 to the Venerable Bede, which is said to be preserved in the library of Benet 
 College, Cambridge, and there tlie Rollright stones are described as the " second 
 wonder of the kingdom " — Stonehenge being alluded to as the first. In a list 
 of the wonders of Britain, given by Henry of Huntingdon, and written in the 
 earlier part of the twelfth century, Stonehenge is given as the second wonder. 
 There is a doubt as to the antiquity of the MSS. in question, and certainly 
 the Rollright stones are not so numerous or so im])ortant as those at Avebury, 
 in the county of Wilts. We have, however, many other testimonies as to the 
 antiquity of the stones and the wonder they have excited amongst the people. 
 In more than one of the old chronicles they are mentioned, and they are old 
 enough to give their name to the parish in which they stand. There is a 
 characteristic notice of these re^iiains in a catalogue of strange wonders, printed 
 by Hearne, under the title of " De Mirabilibus Britannia;," as an appendix to 
 " Robert of Gloucester." The notice is curious, and is at least five centuries 
 old. It thus reads : — 
 
 "Sunt magni lapides in O.xenfordiensi pagn, nianu honiimim quasi sub quadani conr.exione 
 disposili, set a quo tempore, vel a qua gente, vel .id quid niemoianduni vel signaudiim factum 
 fuerit ignoratur Ab incolis antem vacatur locus ille Rollendrych." 
 
 (There are great stones in O.xfoidshire, seemingly placed by the hand of man 
 in a ceitain connected order, but at what time it was done, or by what people, 
 or what it was intended to record or signify is not known. By the people 
 there the place is called Rollendrych.) 
 
 None of the very early i.otices afford us any indications of the common 
 name or of tlie legends which are now connected with the spot. 
 
 In the folio edition of Camden's "Britannia;," published in 1607, there is 
 an engraving of the stones, stated to have been then done " some time," 
 which, though it bears some signs of truthfulness, when compared with the
 
 THE ROLr. RIGHT STONES. 
 
 249 
 
 Stones as they at present exist, is by no means to be relied on in all its 
 details. Camden calls them " An ancient monument, a number of huge stones 
 placed in a circle and called by the vulgar Rollrich Stones, and fancied to 
 have been once men, changed by a strange metamorphosis into stones. They 
 are shapeless, unequal, and by length of time much eaten and consumed. 
 The highest of them, standing out of the circle and facing the east, is called 
 ' The King,' because they fancy ' if that had once seen Long Compton it 
 would have been King of England.' Five others adjoining are said to have 
 been knights, and the rest common soldiers. I am apt to think, it a memoria 
 
 THE ROLI.RICH STONES. 
 
 (From Camden's " Britanni.v," 1607. The King Stone and Five Knights are placed too near the circle). 
 
 of some victory, perhaps erected by Rollo, who afterwards obtained the 
 sovereignty of Normandy." This legend, thus alluded to as accounting for the 
 origin of the stones, states that when Rollo, the Dane, was about to invade 
 England, he was told by one of the good people or oracles he consulted that 
 
 " When Long Complon you shall see. 
 You shall King of Englaiid be,"
 
 250 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 A series of victories brought him and his army to tlie summit of the hill 
 where the great Warwickshire Vale stretched out before them until it melted 
 away into the primeval forests of Arden. The soldiers halted whilst their 
 leader advanced towards the brow of the hill, from wOiich Long Compton 
 could be seen in the valley below. Ere he could reach the spot from whence 
 the village could be discerned the good genius of the nation and of the 
 native king turned him and liis host into stone. The King Stone, situated 
 within the boundary of Warwickshire, is said to have been Rollo himself, and 
 the five stones standing about 390 yards due east of the circle are called the 
 Whispering Knights. The circle itself represents the fabulous army. 
 
 Similar legends are current respecting many other stone circles which yet 
 remain in Britain. The " Dance Maine," or " Dawn's Maen " — that is the 
 stone's dance — near Penzance, is said to have been a number of merry maidens 
 turned into stone for dancing on a Sunday. There are three large intersecting 
 circles of upright stones near Liskeard, in Cornwall, termed the " Hurlers," 
 which are stated by the inhabitants to have been formerly men, who were 
 transformed into stones for hurling on a Sunday. On the coast of the Bay of 
 Galway are several dolmens or cromlechs, of which the people can give no 
 account, save that they are " Bob and Joan's Beds," or small folds for sheep, 
 to shelter them from the westerly breezes. 
 
 The influence of the legend may be traced in the following history of the 
 stones from the pen of an O.xfordshire historian, who writes as if the legend 
 embodied ascertained facts : — 
 
 " Upon the verge of our county, in the neighbourhood of Chipping Norton, 
 is an ancient monument, to wit, certain huge stones placed in a circle — the 
 common people call them Rollrich stones, and dream they were some time 
 men, by a miraculous metamorphosis turned into hard stones. The highest of 
 them all, which without the circle looketh into the earth, they call the King, 
 because he should have been King of England (forsooth) if he had once seen 
 Long Compton, a little town lying beneath, and which one may see if he 
 go a few paces forward. Otlicr live standmg on the other side touching as it 
 were one another, they imagine to have been knights on horseback, and the 
 remainder the army. These would, I verily think, seem to have been the
 
 THE ROLLRIGHT STONES. 251 
 
 monument of some victory, and happily erected by RoUo, the Dane, who afterwards 
 conquered Normandy ; for what time he with his Danes troubled England with 
 depredations. We read that the Danes joined battle with the English at Hook 
 Norton, a i>lace for no one thing more famous in old time than tor the 
 woful slaughter of the English in that foughten field, under the reign of King 
 Edward the Elder. That this monument might be erected by Rollo the Dane 
 or rather Norwegian, perhaps may be true, but by no means about the time 
 of Edward the Elder ; for though it be true enough he troubled England 
 with depredations, yet that he made them in the days of King Alfred I 
 think that most historians agree — Anno 897, according to Florilegus ; but accord- 
 ing to Abbot Brompton, a much better author, in the year 875, near forty 
 years before the slaughter of the English in King Edward's days. Therefore 
 much rather than so, should I think he erected them upon a second expedi- 
 tion he made into England, when he was called in by King Athelstan to 
 assist him against some potent rebels that had taken arms against him, whom, 
 having vanquished, and reduced to obedience to their prince, and perhaps, too, 
 slain the designed king of them (who possibly might be persuaded to this 
 rebellion upon a conditional prophesie of coming to that honour when he 
 should see Long Compton), might erect this monument in memory of the fact : 
 the great single stone for the intended king, the five stones by themselves for 
 his principal captains, and the round for the mi.\t multitude slain in the liattle, 
 which is somewhat agreeable to the tradition concerning them." 
 
 The same writer further states : — " But if it happened the King fell in a 
 foreign expedition by the hand of the enemy, the army presently got together 
 a parcel of great stones, and set them in such a round, as well sometimes, 
 perhaps, for the interment of the corps of the deceased king as the election 
 of his successor. And this 'tis like they did, because they esteemed an election 
 in such a forum a good addition of title ; and, second, with all expedition 
 because, by the delay of such election too long, irreparable damages many 
 times accrewed to the Republick thereupon." 
 
 The legend of the " King Stones " has been accepted as a fact by more 
 than one Oxfordshire historian, though it is obvious that if the stones were 
 known to, or mentioned by the Venerable Bede, this story, or indeed any
 
 252 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 connection of the circle with Rollo, the Dane, must be fabulous, and suggested 
 only by similarity of sound in the name. 
 
 There is extant a letter of Dr. Gale's to Dr. Stukeley, describing these 
 stones, and it is curious to mark the difference of tone with which these two 
 learned antiquarians speak of them. Dr. Gale thought them meagre, and hardly 
 worthy of mention, beside the statelier monuments of Stonehenge, Avebury, and 
 other similar remains. There were, in his opinion, neither tumuli or barrows 
 in the neighbourhood. On the other hand, Dr. Stukele\-, who saw the Roll 
 right at a subsequent period, enters into a long disquisition respecting the 
 origin and unit employed in the erection of this and similar structures, and 
 this unit he traces to the Phoenician cubit. He points out that the diaaieter 
 of the circle is the same as Stonehenge, and he had no doubt whatever that 
 the remains were Druidical, or that the circle was connected with the worship 
 of the sun. Near the King Stone he describes a large tumulus, 60 feet 
 long by 20 feet broad, which he named the •' Barrow of the Archdruid." The 
 Whispering Knights, in his time, surmounted another tumulus : and Godfrey 
 Higgins, in his work on the Celtic Druids, mentions that tumuli and barrows 
 abound. Stukeley thought the King Stone the remains of an avenue of approach, 
 and derived the name from Rholdrwyg, the wheel or circle of the Druids, or 
 from Roilig — in Erse, the church or temple of the Druids. Elsewhere we have 
 seen that the Welsh derivations are hardly applicable to Warwickshire and the 
 midland shires. The old terms are far more closely allied to the Gaelic branch 
 of the Celtic language, and in Rollright or Rollrich, as it is spelt on the 
 ordnance map, we find only a debased form of Roithlean an Rign (pronounced 
 Koyl/an Ree, giving the second / the sound of y), and we have the circle of 
 the king — the common name being yet the King Stones. A writer in the 
 Gentleman s Magazine suggests that the name is derived from Rhol, a circle 
 or circular temple, and ric, of the region or kingdom. This is altogether un- 
 tenable. The balance of probability is in favour of the King Stones. Those 
 who believe that the circle was the necropolis of the neighbourhood — a bury- 
 ing-place of kings and chieftains — have this strong point in their favour : 
 Roilig (having the same origin as relic) signifies a churcli or churchyard. 
 
 Of the circle itself a general impression will be obtained from the view
 
 THE ROLI.Rir.lir SION'ES. 
 
 253 
 
 given on page 246. Its diameter from north to south is 107 feet, and 
 from cast to west 104 feet. 
 
 
 
 
 ^» 
 
 d d» 
 
 IIIE KOI.I.KIl-.IlT STONES. (IROUND PLAN. 
 
 ^ 
 A 
 
 *> c c 
 
 ^^-, 
 
 t 
 
 Q 
 
 <ii o 
 
 "20 40 , 60 80 100 
 
 Many of the stones are broken and [lartly hidden by the earth and the 
 brushwood. In October, 1869, there were fifty-eight, of which thirty-two were 
 upright. Originally there appears to iiave been about sixty stones placed close 
 together, so as to form a close fence. 'Hie highest stone is marked a on the 
 plan, and this stone is 7 feet 4 inches in height, and 3 feet 2 inches in 
 breadth. It is easily distinguished in Camden's view (page 249.) The average 
 breadth of the stones is 15 inches. 
 
 Tlie King Stone is 8 feet six inches in height, and 5 feet 3 inches in 
 breadth, and stands 83 yards north-east of the circle, across the road in the 
 direction marked (3 /') on the plan. Another large stone formerly stood on a 
 bank of earth 141 yards west of the circle, within the Warwickshire boundary, 
 marked d d. On the eastern side, at a distance of 390 yards (c c), there are 
 the five large stones, known as the Whispering Knights, which have been
 
 254 
 
 HIST0RIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 .2^ 
 
 FIVE 
 
 knights' 
 
 I'LAN. 
 
 removed by the present tenant. The plan of these stones is sub- 
 joined, and their present appearance is well depicted in the accom- 
 panying illustration. The stones, as now exposed, show other stones 
 driven in the ground around them to support the greater ones and 
 keep them upright. The largest stone is lo feet lo inches in height, 
 and as they stand together form a rude cell, or cistvaen, with an 
 entrance on the west. Probably not one stone would have been left of this 
 interesting monument, had not a dread of supernatural interference prevented 
 this further desecration. A local tradition asserts that a farmer once carried 
 away one of the large stones of the Whispering Knights to make a bridge, 
 ^^^^^g^gi^^^ but it so disturbed the man's rest, that 
 
 ^^ ' * -~ ^ v ^_ he restored it to its former position. 
 
 jt^^T* " ■ '•'■" _ It took, says the local tradition, five 
 
 horses to cart the stone away, but one 
 sufficed to bring it back again. A gentle- 
 man, now living in Leamington, states 
 
 THE \\HISrnRING KNIGHlb. 
 
 that when young he saw an attempt 
 made to upturn the King Stone, which 
 has since been much mutilated by wanton 
 mischief, but the attempt from some 
 cause or other failed. 
 
 Who shall decide whether these 
 grey stones, " corroded like worm-eaten 
 wood," as Dr. Stukeley remarks, " by 
 the harsh jaws of time, and that much 
 more than Stonehenge, was originally a temple to the sun, a crowning place 
 of kings, or the sacred and hallowed repository of their bones ? " Their j)ale, 
 ragged, and broken lips return no answer. If they could do so, we should 
 probably learn that they were all these. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Beesley, F.C.S., of Banbury, in an interesting paper on this 
 subject, and to whose courtesy I have been iinlebted for the plan and sketch of 
 the Whispering Knights, is of oiiinion that the circle is the remains of the outer 
 boundary of a burial barrow of the antient Celts, who 2,000 years ago inhabited
 
 THE KOLLRIGHT STONES. 25^ 
 
 those parts of Europe, where similar remains arc still found. Sir Thomas lirowne, 
 in his " Urn Burial," especially points out analogous structures used hy the 
 ancient Danes and Norwegians, for, though there have been no remains found 
 within the circle itself, though searched for by Mr. Ralph Sheldon in the 17th 
 century, the neighbourhood itself has been rich in treasures, and probably a 
 careful search would bring to light many more. Some 200 yards east of the 
 King Stone, within the Warwickshire border, there is a bank running north and 
 south, where the exposed soil is a darker colour than the surrounding earth, 
 and covers the remains of many men and horses. Burnt stones and a few 
 fragments of pottery are scattered about. East of this, about twelve skeletons 
 were found a few years ago, and the head of one was noticed as pointing to 
 the west. In the yeir 18,36, a hand-made urn, of black clay, without any orna- 
 mentation, six inches high, and about the same width, was dug up here. It 
 contained a few burnt bones and what the labourers called the blade of an 
 old razor. This urn is now in the possession of Mr. Minton, of Weston Park 
 farm, together with " a bronze ring fibula or brooch, of rather more than an 
 inch in diameter, the pin being gone," which was found on the jaw of one of 
 the skeletons, which it had stained green. The [jattern is a very simi)Ie one. 
 "A ring was also found of the same size as the fibula, and seven beads ot 
 glass. Three of these beads were about the size of peas, and of a blue 
 colour. Another, about the same size, is fiat, and of a red colour; th; other 
 three are of opaque white glass, with a very faint tinge of green, and of the 
 size of ordinary marbles. One has four little projecting spots of red upon it ; 
 the other two are ornamented with rudely cut diagonal crossing grooves." 
 Some fiattish pieces of brass, probably the common dish-shaped fibulpe, were 
 also dug up. Roman coins are occasionally found, and skeletons are frequently 
 dug up on the Oxfordshire side of the road towards the Five Knights. 
 
 In the collection of Mr. M. H. Bloxam, of Rugby, is a white sacrificial 
 flint, found in the neighbouring parish of Barton-on-the-Heath, by the Rev. F. 
 C. Colville. An engraving of it appears in the IVarivickshiie Antiquarian 
 Magazine, p. 82. 
 
 Whatever may have been the original uses of the sacred circle, it marked a 
 political or ecclesiastical centre of some importance to the people who erected
 
 256 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 it. The roadway which passes by it extends from the Ermine way, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Gloucester, to Northampton, and continues along the southern 
 bank of the Nene, until lost in the fens Its sides are studded with tumuli, 
 and along its course are the remains of numerous camps of undoubted British 
 origin. At a short distance on the northern side of the road are a series of 
 strong entrenchments, or fortified posts, evidently the frontier defence of a tribe 
 or tribes against a possible foe on the north. Many of these fortified positions 
 are within the shire of Warwick. The people who are recorded by Ptolemy 
 and Dio Cassius as inhabiting the southern portion of Warwickshire, part of 
 Oxfordshire, and Gloucestershire, were the Dobuni, the inhabitants of the 
 country by the river. To these people we must assign the erection of the 
 stones at Rollright. Their dead were buried there; their footprints may 
 be traced within our historic shire of Warwick.
 
 St. aiujustinc an^ tbc cTv^bca. 
 
 HE elder Disraeli tells us in his charming and ever-fresh 
 " Curiosities of Literature " that ' Before Colleges were estab- 
 lished, in the monasteries where the schools were held, the 
 professors of rhetoric frequently gave their pupils the life of 
 some saint for a trial of their talent at amplification. The 
 students being constantly at a loss to furnish out their pages, invented most 
 of these wonderful adventures." Joslin observes that " The Christians used to 
 collect out of Ovid, Livy, and other pagan poets and historians, the miracles 
 and portents to be found there, and accommodate them to their own monks 
 and saints," never dreaming that some day they might become articles of faith. 
 It is to this we may ascribe many of the wonderful stories which have come 
 down to us from monkish chroniclers respecting the county of Warwick and 
 other counties We may discern within these marvellous stories some truth, 
 and they probably are mere amplifications of historic fact, which have been altered 
 to suit the purpose of the monks and ecclesiastics — to inculcate some lesson under 
 the guise of a miracle. 
 
 The story of the Rollright .Stones and the many barrows and remains which 
 have been found in the neighbourhood point to it as an old ecclesiastical 
 centre, around which old faiths and superstitions would linger longer than in 
 other and less striking localities. 
 
 The story of St. Augustine is as well known as that of Gregory the Great, 
 who, seeing some young English slaves publicly exposed for sale in the market
 
 2 58 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 place at Rome, was struck by the beauty of their form, their bright com- 
 plexions, and long fair hair. He inquired to what country they belonged, and 
 was told that they were Angles. He answered, with a sigh, " They would not 
 be Angles, but angels, if they were but Christians." He continued his inquiries, 
 and playing on the names of their country and their king, he showed great 
 anxiety that the people so highly endowed by nature should not be left in 
 ignorance of Christian truth. At first he wished to visit England himself to 
 disseminate the Gospel, but being prevented, he, in 597, when Pope, sent 
 Augustine, prior of the convent of St. Andrew at Rome, and forty monks on 
 a mission to England. Augustine, who found Ethelbert, the Bretwalda, married 
 to a Christian princess. Bertha, was kindly received, and the result of his 
 labours was the re-introduction of Christianity into England. There is some 
 reason to believe that Christianity had not entirely succumbed before the Saxon 
 idols, for it is said that Augustine met the British bishops at a place in a 
 remote part of Mercia, known as Augustine's Oak, which Brompton ])laces on 
 the confines of the Britons and the West Saxons. It has been thought that 
 Hagley was the spot ; others have brought the place nearer the county of 
 Oxford, and not far from the Rollrich itself. From what passed between the 
 older bishops and Augustine, it would seem as if the story of the tythes in 
 connection with Long Compton was intimately connected with the conference. 
 Augustine died in 604, the year in which the following event, as related by 
 Capgrave, is said to have occurred at Long Compton, in the vale immediately 
 to the north-east of the stone circle of Rollrich : — 
 
 "About the year of our Saviour's Incarnation, DCIIII, St. Augustine, being 
 arrived in England to preach the Gospel, came hither : whereupon the priest 
 of this parish repaired to him and made a complaint that the lord of the town, 
 not paying his tithes, though admonished, was by him excommunicated, and 
 yet stood more obstinate. St. Augustine, therefore, conventing him for that fault, 
 demanded the reason of such his refusal. ' Knoweth thee not,' quoth he, 
 'that they are not thine, but God's?' To whom the knight answered, 'Did 
 not I plow and sow the land? I will, therefore, have the tenth sheaf as well 
 as the nine.' Whereupon St. Augustine reply'd, ' If thou wilt not pay them I 
 will excommunicate thee;' and so, hastening to the altar, publickly said, 'I
 
 ST. AUGUSTINE AND THE TYTHES. 
 
 259 
 
 command that no excommunicated person be present at Masse:' which words 
 were no sooner spoke than a dead man, that lay buried at the entrance of 
 the church, immediately arose out of his grave went without the compass of 
 the churchyard, and there stood still during the time of Mass ; which beini,' 
 finished, St. Augustine went to him and said ' I command thee, in the name 
 
 I.ONi; CO.Ml'TON KROM ^. \\ . 
 
 of God, that thou tell me who thou art ! ' To whom he made answer, 
 ' I was patron of this place in the time of the Britons, and though frequently 
 warned by the priests, yet never would pay him my tithes, and so died ex- 
 communicated and was thrust into hell.' AVhich answer occasioned St. Augustine 
 to command him 'to show where the priest was buried that so excommuni- 
 cated him ; ' who, being accordingly directed to his grave, said, to the end that 
 all men may know that life and death are in the hands of God, to whom 
 nothing is impossible, ' Arise in his name, for we have need of thee ! ' Who 
 thereupon came out of the grave and stood before them. To whom St. 
 Augustine said, ' Brother, dost thou know this man ? ' ' Yes,' quoth he ; ' but I
 
 26o . HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 would that I had never known him, for he was always a rebel to the church, 
 a withholder of his tithes, and even to his last a very wicked man, which 
 occasioned me to excommunicate him.' 
 
 '• Augustine replied, ' Brother, thou knowest that God is merciful, therefore 
 we must have pity on this miserable creature, who is the image of God, and, 
 redeemed with His blood, having so long endured the pains of hell' Where- 
 upon, delivering to him a scourge, he kneeled down, and craving absolution 
 with tears, had it granted ; and so by St. Augustine's command, returning to 
 his grave again, was immediately resolved to dust. 
 
 "Then said Augustine to the priest, 'How long hast thou been buried?' 
 ' .-\bove an hundred and fifty years,' quoth he. -4//j,\ ' How hast thou fared 
 hitherto?' 'Well,' quoth the priest, 'enjoying the delights of eternal life.' 
 Auj;. ' Art thou contented that I should pray unto God that thou mayst return 
 again to us ; and by ihy preaching reduce many souls unto Him that are 
 deceived by the devil?' 'Far be it from thee, O Father 1 ' quoth the priest, 
 ' that thou should so disturb my quiet as to bring m? back to the trouble- 
 some life of tills world.' Aug. ' Go thy way then, and rest in peace, praying 
 for me and for the universal Church of God.' So, accordingly entering his 
 grave, he fell also to dust. Then turned St. Augustine to the knight, and 
 said, ' Wilt thou now pay thy tithes to Clod, my son ? ' who, trembling and 
 weeping, fell at his feet, and confessing his offence craved pardon ; and, shav- 
 ing himself, became a follower of St. Augustine all the days of his life. 
 
 "'Hoc iniiaciilum videbitur illis incix'tlitnlc, qui ciediint aliqiiid Deo esse impossibilc ; scd 
 miUi didjiuin est, quod nunqu.im Angloruni duias cervices Christi jugo se submisissent, nisi per 
 magna iiiiracula divinilus sibi oslensa.'" 
 
 'I'his Story appears to show that there were rebellious subjects against the 
 supremacy of St. Augustine and Rome, and though Selden rejects the story 
 as a monkish fable. Bishop Kennett, in his " Parochial Antiquities,"* seems to 
 think that, divested of its miraculous disguise, it might be true, taking into 
 consideration that Augustine possibly was in the neighbourhood at the time 
 assigned. 'I he story was first told in the twelfth century, as far as can be 
 ascertained. 
 
 • Article " Tylhes,'' c. x. s. 2.
 
 ST. AUGUSTINE AND THE TYTHES. 
 
 261 
 
 The church of Long Comptoii is dedicated to St. Peter, and tliough the 
 
 present building does not show any architectural signs of antiquity, there has 
 
 been a churcli here from a very early period. There is a recumbent effigy 
 
 in the south porch, which the villagers associate with St. Augustine and the 
 tythes.
 
 ALL'ESTEK CHURCH. 
 
 St. i£cw\>n. 
 
 LCESTER — the Alauna Dubonorum of the Itineraries — to which 
 allusion is made in Alcock's Arbour, was once the seat of 
 a flourishing industry. The smiths who toiled there were 
 " vitious " from prosperity. They inhabited an old Roman 
 station on a great highway, and were the Birmingham men 
 of the early Saxon days. They toiled early and late. They cared not for 
 Sunday, or priest, and when St. Ecwyn, the third Bishop of Worcester, came 
 to i)reach to them, they sang and hammered at their anvils, as if it was as 
 necessary to their salvation as the words of the saint himself. They were 
 ignorant, and when St. Ecwyn called to them and they answered him not, 
 save by plying their hammers more loud than ever, he cursed them. He 
 cursed their trade. He even anticipated the Darwinian theory, and gave them
 
 ST. ECWYN. 
 
 263 
 
 tails. The Alcester smiths never survived this ; their trade fell away. They 
 no longer took pride in their work. They felt like beasts, for they had a tale 
 attached to them which they could not tell. It is now a i|uiet, (|uaint old 
 town, and its trade is represented by the making of a few needles only — a 
 warning to those who will not listen to the preaching of saints ! 
 
 Although Alcester has been a place of importance alike in Roman and Mediaeval limes, no 
 spot has been mote neglected by the historians of the County. That it was a Roman Station 
 or City of considerable extent has been abundantly proved by the continuous discoveiy of founda- 
 tions of buildings, of skeletons, and other Roman remains, widely distributed. The period of 
 Bishop Ecwyn's preaching was about the year 700, shortly afterwards a general Synod was held 
 here to confirm various giants to Evesham Abbey. 
 
 In 1140 the Monastery of Alcester was founded by Ralph Boteler, the originator of the War- 
 wickshire Boleleis, Barons of Oversley, a Lordship within the parish of Alcester, to which it 
 closely adjoins. The Monastery W3S built upon land partially surrounded by the River. Com- 
 plete isolation was effected by construction of a Moat and the spot was called St. Mary's 
 Isle. 
 
 Neglect and decay seems inseparable from everything connected with Alcester, through the 
 improvidence and neglect of a succession of Abbots, the Monastery was brought to such a low 
 condition that in 1466 it was transferred to Evesham Abbey. 
 
 The position of Alcester, upon the main road from Evesham to the North, as well as upon 
 the ancient road from Warwick to Worcester increases the wonder that it has not received the 
 attention its antiquity and importance deserves. Many special features exist in connection with 
 its Manorial history and its Monastery, and the frequent and oft-recurring discovery of Roman 
 relics alone should ensure attention and research. Prosperity would appear to be yet in store 
 for Alcester, and he who undertakes the collection uf material for its history will perform 
 a meritorious task.
 
 rOLF.SWORTH CHURCH. 
 
 1bol\> EMtb. 
 
 MONG the records of religious houses, there are none which 
 occupy a higher position or have purer annals than the 
 Nunnery of Polesworth, whose walls 
 
 "The holy Eilith graced." 
 
 It is situated within a few miles of Tamworth, and the 
 story of its foundation and refoundation is thus told by Dugdale : — 
 
 " King Egbert having but one son, called Arnulph, who was a leper, and 
 hearing by a bishop which came from Ireland that the then King of Connaught 
 had a nun to liis daughter, called Modwen, that healed all diseased people 
 repairing to her, sent liis said son, at the persuasion of that bishop, into 
 Ireland, where he was accordingly cured by the same holy woman ; which great
 
 HOLY EDITH. 265 
 
 favour so pleased King Egbert, thai he forthwith invited St. Modwen to come 
 into England, i)romising that lie would found a monastery for her and her 
 convent, of which tender she soon after accepted, forasmuch as the religious 
 house wherein she resided was by wars betwixt those petty kings of Ireland 
 burnt and wasted, and brought over with her two of her fellow nuns. 
 
 " Whereupon the king, having a great opinion of her sanctity, recommended 
 his daughter Edith unto her, to be instructed in religion after the rule of St. 
 Benet, giving her a dwelling place in the Forest of Arden, then called Trensale, 
 where the said Edith, together with St. Lyne and St. Osithe, lived together 
 in a holy manner, and soon after founded a monastery for them on the 
 bank of the river Anker, at this place called Polesworth — the first, poll, 
 imi)orting a deepness of water, and the other ivorth, a dwelling or habitation 
 — constituting the said Edith abbess thereof 
 
 "Which monastery being so founded and endowed, continued to her or her 
 successors till the Norman Conquest. That Sir Robert Marmion, having the 
 Castle of Tamworth and the territories thereabouts bestowed upon him by the 
 Conqueror, expelled the Nuns from hence, so that they were constrained to 
 resort to Oldbury (a cell belonging- to this house) ; but within the compass 
 of a twelve-month after this their expulsion, the said R. Marmion making a 
 costly entertainment at Tamworth Castle for divers of his friends, amongst whom 
 was Sir Walter de Somerville, Lord of Whichnoure, his sworn brother ; it happened 
 that as he lay in bed St. Edith appeared to him in the habit of a veiled nun, 
 with a crosier in her hand, advertised him that, if he did not restore the Abbey 
 of Polesworth unto her successors, he should have an evil death and go to 
 hell ; and to the end that he should be more sensible of this admonition, she 
 smote him on the side with the point of her crosier, and so vanished away. 
 By which stroke, being much wounded, he cried out, whereupon his friends 
 in the house were soon raised, and finding him grievously tormented with the 
 pains of his wound, they advised him to confess himself to a priest, and 
 make a vow to restore those nuns to their former possessions, all which being 
 performed his pain presently ceased ; wherefore, in accomplishment of his vow, 
 accompanied with the same Sir Walter de Somerville and the rest, he forthwith 
 rode to Oldbury, and craving pardon of the nuns tor the injury done them.
 
 266 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 brought them back hither, desiring that himself and the same Sir Walter de 
 Somerville might be their patrons and have burial for themselves and their 
 heirs in this abbey, namely, the Marmions in the chapter house, and the 
 Somervilles in the cloister. 
 
 The nunnery thus founded was dissolved by Henry VI [I. in the thirtieth 
 year of his reign, notwithstanding that the commission who were employed to 
 take the surrender of monasteries in Warwickshire stated, ' That after strict 
 scrutiny, not only by the fame of the county, but by examination of several 
 persons, they found these nuns virtuous and religious women, and of good 
 conversation, Alice FitzHerbert being then abbesse (having so continued for 
 xxvii. years, and at that time Ix. years of age), and that in this town 
 (Polesworth) there were then xliv. tenements and but one plough, the residue 
 of the inhabitants being artificers, who had their livelihood by this house.' 
 They implored Lord Cromwell not to suppress the house, but this appeal was 
 of no avail : the house was suppressed, the abbess receiving a jjension of £^2(> 
 13s. 4d. per annum, two of the nuns j[,2 13s. 4d. per annum, and twelve 
 nuns 40s. per annum, notwithstanding the honourable report. 
 
 Part of the church, which yet remains, is evidently the foundation of the 
 Sir Robert Marmion of the legend. In a portion of the conventual buildings 
 which remain there are unfinished fire-places and other signs to show that the 
 good nuns were spending their income like other religious communities, in 
 order that their wealth might not tempt the cupidity of the commissioners or 
 their royal master. 
 
 In the old iiuadrangle of the nunnery, where these religious and virtuous 
 ladies rambled and meditated, there )ct remains a tall sun dial, dating back 
 from the period of the 'I'udors. From it you can see the obelisk marking 
 the site of the chapel of St. Leonard at Hoo, and the misty steam of the 
 mail train north as it rushes through the cutting in the hill side. The scenery 
 is ([uiet and well wooded. Around we can trace the remains of a bygone 
 religious life, which existed here for nigh a thousand years. None of the 
 incised crosses on the stone coffin lids date from this distant period, but some 
 of them are five hundred years old and tell of the lady abbesses who ruled 
 over the foundation of St. Edith when our Henries and Edwards were kings
 
 HOLY EDITH. 
 
 267 
 
 in Englanil. The dial bears these inscriptions — 
 
 '•lloiliis ulrciiiKiUL- testis 110s cl nieditcmiur in hcirlo," 
 
 and 
 
 "Teiiipora nuitonliu iios c( imilamcr in illis.'' 
 Tiie first is surmised to be taken from some old monkish poem now 
 forgotten. The first " hortus " is understood as hortus paradisiacus, the second 
 " horto " as the garden of the old convent where the dial is placed. 'l"he 
 second inscription has a more personal application — the ever passing hours 
 reminding us that we grow older, greyer, and more infirm. " Mutantur 
 mutant " might be inscribed on the silent mentor of the passing hours in 
 house as well as in mrden. 
 
 
 
 iii^MiL. 
 
 
 I'OOI.EV IIAI.I, CIIAl'EI.. 
 
 The neighbourhood of Polesworth is very interesting from the remains of the 
 hermitages and chapels scattered about the estate of the good nuns. In this 
 neighbourhood is Pooley Hall, an elegant and interesting Tudor edifice of brick, 
 built by Sir Thomas Cokain in the reign of Henry VHI., and here dwelt the 
 poet Cokain.
 
 268 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Although the legend of Polesworlh Nunnery will not bear investigation, there is little doubt 
 its origin was about the jieriod assigned, that it dated back to the days of Egbert or 
 Ethelwulf, and that the bones of St. Modwen rested in the Abbey of Burton-on-Trent : more- 
 over, there is special proof that the neighbouring manor of Alrewas, given by King John 
 to the Somervilles ol Wichnor, was held by King Alfred, the son of Ethelwulf, and it 
 was Alfred, and not Arnulph, who is supposed to have been cured by Si. Modwen. Toles- 
 worth Nunnery may therefore be accepted as the first religious house in the county, and upon 
 that account the remarkable report of the Commissioners of 1527 has a special interest. After 
 the tribute to the character of the "Abbas, namyd Dame Alice Fitzherbert, of the age of xl. 
 yeres, a very sadde, discrete, and relygyous woman," and of the " xij. vertuous and religyous 
 nonne, under her rule," it proceeds, " Wherefore, in our opyneons, yf it myght so stande with 
 your lordship's [Lord Cromwell] pleasure, ye mought doo a right good and meryetoryous dede 
 to be a medyatour to the Kinges highnes for the saide house to stande and remayne unsup- 
 pressed ; for as we thinke ye shall not speke in the preferment of a better nonnery nor of 
 better women. And in the towne of Pollesworth ar xliiij. Tenements, and never a plough but 
 one, the resydue be artifycers, laborers, and vitellers, and lyve in effect by the said house, 
 and the repayre and resorte thar ys made to the gentylmens childern and sudjournmentes that 
 ther do lif to the nombre sometyme of xxxi'e, and .sometyme xltie, and moo, that their be 
 right vertuously brought upp. And the towne and nonnery standith in a hard soile and 
 barren ground, and to our estymacions, if the nonnery be suppressed the towne will shortly 
 after falle to ruyne and dekaye, and the people therin to the nombre of vj. or vij. score 
 persones are nott unlike to wander and to seke for their lyvyng, as our Lorde Code best 
 knowith, who preserve your lordshipe in good lif and longe, with encrease of honour. \Vrytton 
 at Maxstoke, beside Coventre, the xxviij daye of July. By the Kinge's Commissioners, fohn 
 Grcvyll, Symond Mountfort, Thomas Holte, Roger Wyg^lon, George Giffard, Robt. Burgoyn'' 
 
 .\fter the dissolution, the Nunnery and the Lordship of Polesworth were, in 1545, sold to 
 Francis Goodere, whose son. Sir Henry Goodere, was the patron of Michael Drayton, and who 
 was imprisoned for aiding Mary Queen of Scots. Dugdale devotes considerable space to the 
 history and the dissolution of the Nunnery, the reason for which is found in the fact that 
 the Grand-daughter of Sir Henry became the wife of his great friend and helper, Samuel 
 Koper, the Antiquary. .-Vnother Grand-daughter was the wife of the learned divine. Dr. 
 Samuel Hildersham, one of the ejected Ministers who died at Erdington, and was l)uried at 
 Aston Church, Birmingham. 
 
 The connection of the Cockain family with Polesworlh and Pooley goes back to 1410. 
 Poolcy Hall was built about 1506, by Sir Thomas Cockain, who also imparked the Woods. 
 Thomas Cockain, the father of Sir Thomas, according to Dugdale, was dwelling here at Pooley, 
 and having a difference with Thomas liurdel, of IJromcote, Esc|., his near neighbour so irritated 
 him with affronts that he was slain by Hurdet in his passage to Polesworlh Church, as the 
 tradition is. 
 
 Sir Aston Cockain, the poet, w.as descended of this Sir Thomas : he was born in 1605 
 and was buried at Polesworth, 1683. .Mtliough a friend of Donne, Drayton, Massinger, 
 and Sir Wm. Dugdale, he was of a reckless and extravagant nature, and became so reduced 
 in circumstances that he had to sell his Polesworth Estate, the i)urcliaser of which was the 
 rich Humfrey Jennens, of Birmingham.
 
 
 Xa^^ 6oMva. 
 
 HE story of Lady (lodiva is, perhaps, the best and most 
 widely known of all the legends of Warwickshire. Hundreds 
 of thousands iiave at different times " waited for the train at 
 Coventry," and as they watched " the three tall spires," have 
 thought of the fair and beautiful wife of the stern Earl, who 
 
 overtaxed the people. They have pictured to themselves the women coming 
 
 to the lady with their children, clamouring — 
 
 " If vw pay this tax we starve," 
 
 and how she went to the Earl, and Ijesought their relief from the tax. How 
 
 he told her — 
 
 " ' Voii would nut let your finger ache 
 
 For such as these V ' Bvit I would die,' said slie. 
 He laughed, and swore liy I'eter and by I'aul ; 
 He filliped at tlie diamond in her ear ; 
 'O! ay, ay, ay, you talk.' '.Mas," she said, 
 'But prove me what it is 1 would not do.' 
 And from a heart as rougli as Esau's hand 
 He answered, 'Ride you nakeil thro' the town 
 And I'll repeal it.' " 
 
 The heralds went fortli, and in the hot breath of noon with her rippled 
 ringlets (lowing, they knew how the fair Godiva flitted from pillar to pillar 
 "like a sunbeam," and then rode tlirough the silent streets "clothed on with 
 chastity,'' and thus 
 
 " Took the tax away. 
 And gave herself an everlasting name.'
 
 270 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 It is a beautiful legend, beautifully told by the Poet Laureate, but, unfor- 
 tunately, it is not true. But, unlike the story of Guy, there was a Lady 
 Godiva — a lady historically renowned for her piety, her beauty, and iier charity. 
 She was the daughter of Thorold, Sheriff of Lincolnshire, the founder of the 
 Abbey of Spalding. Her husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia, had a seat at 
 Coventry, at Cheylesmore it is surmised, as that manor wns claimed by his 
 descendants. He and his wife were liberal benefactors to the ecclesiastical 
 foundations of Worcester, Coventry, Evesham, Chester, Leominster, AVenlock, and 
 
 Stow-in-Lindsey. Coventry was 
 the more magnificently endowed, 
 and was wealthier than all the 
 others. The site of the minster 
 may now be seen to the north 
 of Trinity Churchyard, and there 
 are indications of the situation 
 of the monastic buildings ; but 
 no trace of any work that can 
 be attril)uted to the days of 
 Godiva can now be found in 
 the city of Coventry. Leofric 
 died on August 31, 1057, but 
 Godiva, his countess, whose 
 name is spelt by the Saxons 
 Godgifu, lived for many years 
 afterwards. Her son y\lgarus 
 only survived his father two 
 years. The fate of her children 
 Ki.MAiN. 01 I'Ki.iKv, ..nKMKv. jg somcwhat obscurc, hut a niece 
 
 and granddaughter intermarried with the Norman Earls of Chester, from whom 
 tlie present Grosvenor family claim descent. 
 
 The legend is given at length in JJrompton, page 949, in Knighton, 2334, 
 and in Roger of Wendover, i. 497. It was not heard of or mentioned by 
 any known writer prior to tlic end of tlie fourteenth century. In the reign
 
 LADY GODIVA. 27 I 
 
 of Edward III. the town was fortified with gates and towers, and had em- 
 battled walls. The tax on the citizens was very heavy, notwithstanding the 
 many benevolences in aid thereof. After the death of the Black Prince, who 
 had a castle at Cheylesmore, we first hear of the legend which would affirm 
 that Coventry was to be toll free.* There is no doubt that Leofric gave the 
 city many privileges ; but the ride of Godiva is purely apocry[)hal. 
 
 The story, as related in Dugdale, is thus given : — 
 
 " This Leofric married Godiva, a most beautiful and devout lady, sister to 
 one Thorold, Sheriff of Lincoln, and founder of Spalding Abbey. Which 
 Countess Godiva, bearing an extraordinary affection to this place, often and 
 earnestly besought her husband that, for the love of God and the blessed 
 Virgin, he would free it from that grievous servitude whereunto it was subject. 
 But he, rebuking her for importuning him in a matter so inconsistent with his 
 profit, commanded that she should thenceforth forliear to move therein ; yet 
 she, out of her womanish pertinacity, continued to solicit him, inasmuch that 
 he told her, if she would ride on horseback naked from one end of the town 
 to the other, in the sight of all the people, he would grant her request. Where- 
 upon she returned, 'But will you give me leave so to do?' and he replying, ' Ves,' 
 the noble lady upon an appointed day, got on horseback naked, with hei hair 
 loose, so that it covered all her body but the legs, and thus performing the 
 journey, returned with joy to her husband ; who thereupon granted to the inhabi- 
 tants a charter of freedom, which immunity I rather conceive to have been a kind 
 of manumission from such servile tenure, whereby they then held what they 
 had under this great Earl, than only a freedom from all manner of toll except 
 horses, as Knighton affirms. In memory whereof the picture of him and his 
 said lady were set up in a south window of Trinity Church in this city, about 
 King Richard the .Second's time, and his right hand holding a charter, with 
 these words written thereon — 
 
 ' I, Liiiyche, for the love of tliee. 
 Doe make Coventre Tol free." " 
 
 There is a sketch of this inscription in the notebook of Dr. Stukeley, of 
 which a fac-simile is given on the next page. It has now disappeared. 
 
 * It is somewhat remarkable that Warw.ck was made toll free by Thomas de Beauchamp. 32 Ed. 111., 1358-9.
 
 272 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 It will be seen, doubtless with surprise, that no mention is made of " Peeping 
 Tom " in the above legend, for the inquisitive tailor is an interpolation of a 
 later date. It was not known before the reign of Charles II. (Dugdale wrote 
 1656.) 
 
 In one account the "churl compact of thankless earth'' is said to be a 
 groom to Godiva ; in another a tailor : a third says he was a Dane, a stranger 
 to Coventry ; when Hertford Street was formed the figure itself was placed 
 at the corner in 1813-14, previous to this, it was in Grey Friar's Lane, at 
 the house of Alderman Abraham Owen. 
 
 The figure, which is of wood, is in armour ; the soUerets are broad toed. The 
 armour is somewhat curious, and the bassinet is of the date of Henry YI. 
 It is probably a figure of St. George, who, in Johnson's " Seven Champions 
 of Christendom," is stated to have been born in Coventry, and was taken from 
 one of the religious houses at their dissolution. The back of the figure is 
 chipped away by curious sightseers, anxious to secure a relic of the inquisitive 
 tailor. . 
 
 The legend that Godiva o1)taine(l the ledempticm of llie lilierlies and freedom tmd. remission 
 of hc.ivy tributes and taxes of the men of Coventry is of very gradual growth. Five centuries 
 ayo, the simple record that Leofric had made Coventry toll free out of love for his Wife, 
 was set up liy the Monks in a Window of tlie adjacent Church. If this inscription was
 
 LADY GODIVA. 273 
 
 correct the term ' tol free ' would imply that Leofric had given his tenants a charter that they 
 should freely buy and sell in all the neighbouring Markets, and to suppose that he would 
 relieve them of the payment of all customary taxes is an absurdity. 
 
 Dugdale has given as his authorities "John uf Tinemuth," and "Matthew of Westminster," 
 the inscription in the Window of Trinity Church dates from temp. Richard II., this was more 
 than a Century after the Church had been appropriated to that Priory which Leofric— at the 
 instigation it is said of Godiva — had founded, and more than three centuries after Leofric's 
 death. The legend— for it can scarcely be termed a tradition — has therefore no early authority. 
 Brewer, in his "Description of Warwickshire," 1S14, fully examines the Story: he shows that 
 all the more ancient authors who wrote of Coventry and its Monastery are silent as to the 
 circumstance, he also evidences the impossibility of the incident, from the well-known charac- 
 teristic of Saxon Ladies of the period, modesty of attire and scrupulous secretion of person as 
 a part of their religious merit, whilst female modesty and purity was most prized by Saxon 
 husbands. 
 
 The high-born Lady Godiva was a woman of pious life and religious feeling, that she was 
 rich and bountiful, and beautiful in person is proved by every record of her life, whilst not a 
 suggestion of her husband being a tyrant or an oppressor can be fo-.md ; on the contrary, all 
 the known incidents of his life tend to prove him a man of great benevolence, and one who 
 worthily fulfilled the duties of his exalted and responsible position. 
 
 Although the possessions of Leofric extended as far as Cheshire and Lincolnshire, his chief 
 homes were at Coventry, Ivingsbury, and Kings Bromley, near Lichfield, the latter place being 
 four miles from Lichfield, twelve from Kingsbury, and thirty from Coventry, an insignificant 
 distance in those days of rapid movement ; he died at Bromley 1057, and was buried in his 
 Monastery of Coventry. 
 
 Many reasons exist for considering Leofric a Warwickshire man. His sister married Wigod, 
 the hereditary Earl of Warwick, and the ancestor of the Ardens, their Son Alwine w.as Vice- 
 comes, or .Sheriff of Warwickshire, under Leofric, and the holder of several Lordships in the 
 County. 
 
 As the Earldom of Mercia was held by Leofric in the reign of Ethelred, 978-1016 — he 
 must have been wjll advanced in years when he died, after his death Lady Godiva held ICings- 
 bury, but lived chiefly in her native county, Lincolnshire, during her widowhood. Her estates in 
 that shire are said to have been claimed by the renowned Hereward, a supposed younger son, 
 whilst their elder son, Algar, who died 1059, and was buried at Coventry, succeeded to his 
 father's estate. Edwin, the eldest son of Algar, held among other manors Sutton, Erdington, 
 Aston, and Solihull. LLverunia, Algar's d,iughter, married Turkil, son of Alwine. They 
 were possessed of 52 manors in the county, among these were Curdwoith and a part of 
 Nuneaton, their descendants continued at Curdworth after being dispossessed of most of their 
 hereditary estates by ICing Rufus, several of these Lordships were derived from Alwine, and 
 Curdworth being held — according to the Doomsday survey — by Ulwine, in the reign of Edward 
 the Confessor, as was also Birmingham, the two names may probably be identical. 
 
 The direct descendants of Leofric and Godiva in the families of Arden and Bracebridge 
 continued in the neighbourhood of Birmingham for several centuries, and there and in other 
 parts of the County, and in Staflfordshire, several of them still continue.
 
 274 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 The growth of the wondrous Legend, its subsequent inclusion as the chief feature of the 
 pageants of Coventry, when shorn of the attractive trappings and, paraphernalia of the religious 
 houses, the delicate concession to modesty in the discovery that Godiva ordered the keeping 
 closed all doors and casements of the Citizens, and the ultimate fitting creation of a peeping 
 Tailor, Groom, or Dane, and the setling-up a wooden image in military garb, doubtless a relic 
 which a century previously had done duty in one of the dissolved houses, all combine to 
 render the stoiy of Leofric's wife chiefly wonderful that it has so long held a place in the 
 Legends of the County. 
 
 Similar legends were probably common in the early agej, but have passed into oblivion, 
 one connected with the Tovin of Castle St. Briavel's, on the banks of the Wye, mentioned in 
 B5'gland's " Gloucesteishire," page 236, and also by Rudder, is precisely similar to the Coventry 
 legend ; tire Lady in this case was the wife of one of the Earls of Hereford, the date the 
 twelfth century, and the privilege — the right of Common in a Wood. It may very readily be 
 surmised that a Lady endeared to the common people would be the subject of extravagant 
 stories, as having been willing to undergo any hardship for them.
 
 THE Mil, I, AT (iHV S CLIFl . 
 
 (5u^, Earl ot Marwicf^.. 
 
 HE earliest topographical writers on Warwickshire have gone into 
 ecstasy over the beauties of Guy's Cliff. Leland notices its 
 quietude and beauty, and Camden speaks of it in poetic 
 terms, unusual in the old herald. " There," he says, " have 
 yee a shady little wood, cleere and cristal springs, mossie 
 bottoms and caves, medowes alwaies fresh and greene, the river rumbling heere 
 and there among the stones with his streame making a milde noise, and gentle 
 whispering, and besides all this solitary and still quietness, things most grateful 
 to the Muses." Quaint old Fuller, who knew the spot well, speaks of it as 
 " A most delicious place, so that a man in many miles riding cannot meet 
 so much variety as there one furlong doth afford. A steep rock, full of caves
 
 276 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 in the bowels thereof, washed at the bottom with a christall river, besides 
 many clear springs in the sides thereof, all overshadowed by a stately grove. 
 This pleasant spot, with its thousand pleasant memories, is the scene of the 
 last days of the fabled Saxon hero, Guy, Earl of Warwick. 
 
 The place is the very home of romance, and there are many pilgrims thither 
 who taste of the crystal spring still flowing from Guy's Well and gaze on the 
 moss grown cave in which the husband of fair Phelice dwelt. They gaze on 
 the mutilated statue cut out of the solid rock, which yet remains in the chapel, 
 and wonder that any one could doubt the story of which there are so many 
 material evidences. Yet, when viewed through by light of historical research, 
 we find but little evidence of the truth of the legend. Its romance fades 
 away, and we are brought face to face with a few dry facts only. 
 
 The roll of the Earls of ^Varwick, composed 
 by John Rous, a chantry priest of Guy's Cliff, 
 who died in the year 1491, gives us the name 
 of Rohand, Earl of Warwick, in the lime of 
 Alfred the Great. He had a daughter, Phelice, 
 who married Gu}', son to Siward of \\':illingford, 
 the hero in question. As far as we know, Rous 
 liad little or no authority for the statements 
 contained in the roll. It is obvious, however, 
 that he knew the legend, for Phelice is repre- 
 sented as receiving from the herdsman the ring 
 sent to her by the dying Gu)'. The legend, 
 however, varies in many particulars. 
 
 Guy is stated to have been born in War- 
 wick, and at eight years old gave indications 
 of the vast strength and agility which at sixteen attracted the attention 
 of Earl Rohand, who was pleased with his skill in all manual exercises. 
 Here he met the fair Phelice, who was as beautiful as Venus herself, 
 and with her he fell in love. Her changeable moods pierced his heart. He 
 thought that she was ambitious ; he had no earldom to offer her — nothing 
 but a true heart and a brave soul. 
 
 JOHN KOis. 
 (Ffom an ancient Roll)
 
 GUY, EARL OF WARWICK. 277 
 
 In this mood he went to the castle and received a warm welcome, and an 
 
 invitation to a hunting match ; hut Guy pretended to be ill, and sat in a 
 
 window alone bemoaning his unhappy fate. Hope, however, grew in his heart, 
 
 and he avowed the love that was consuming him. To his vows and protestations 
 
 Phelice turned an answer soft but clear, " With her should virginity live and 
 
 die. Her youth and beauty were now in bloom, and these must not be thrown 
 
 away on inferiors." 
 
 • Guy was distracted, and Phelice was admonished by a vision to be more 
 
 kind to him and his love. She loves him and tells him to " make his valour 
 
 more glorious than the sun, to let it shine throughout the world, and she will 
 
 then crown him with her heart, and soul, and life." " Phelice," says he, 
 
 " This kiss is all thai now I crave, 
 And till I have |iurchase(l fame no more I'll have." 
 
 To Normandy then went Guy. Here he became the champion of an injured 
 lady condemned to be burned. The wrongs of the beautiful Dorinda fired 
 his chivalrous soul, and he overthrew her false and perjured accusers. Refusing 
 all rewards for this homage to virtue and to honour, Guy went to his ship, 
 weighed anchor, and went to sea. But the discomfited enemy followed. 
 Philbertus, the betrayer, hired a stout ship and followed the venturesome and 
 gallant Guy. The captain wished to flee, but no coward's heart animated (niy. 
 " Like Englishmen," said he, " let us meet the foe ; for the crown of l'"rance 
 I would not have it reported that Guy had ever fled." The ship was put in 
 a posture of defence, for Guy wished to bear the brunt of war himself alone. 
 The Frenchmen, confident of victory, crowded on deck But every blow Guy 
 struck had more than human force, and the deck was soon a scene of blood 
 and slaughter. Philbertus, the betrayer, was amazed. He wished to flee, but 
 Guy leaped on the Frenchman's ship, and his heroism made the soldiers cry 
 for quarter. Like all heroes he was merciful. He gave Philbertus his life, 
 took him on board his ship as prisoner, and sailed into that part of Normandy 
 nigh unto Germany, and there, discharging his ship, gave the prisoners to the 
 captain and went to the grand tournament for Blanche, the Emperor's daughter, 
 of Almaine ; for the victor by courage and might should have the damsel 
 mounted on a milk white steed, with greyhounds by her side and a falcon on
 
 >78 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 her wrist. Hundreds of knights and nobles we there, with golden glittering 
 armour, prancing chargers, and the clanging sound of many tiumpets. 
 
 Princes and dukes fell before the gallant Guy. '• Devil, magician, enchanter '. " 
 said they ; but Guy had no charm but good steel, a stout arm, and brave 
 heart. Envy surrounded him, success attended him, love rewarded him ; but 
 he was modest as well as brave. He was a poor Englishman, too lowly to 
 be more than the servant of such a princess. She was as beautiful as Phelice, 
 and as modest. His constancy won all hearts. He came to Warwick again, 
 when Phelice wished to receive him and praise the doughty deeds he had 
 done. 
 
 He told her that his sword had won an emperor's daughter, but Phelice's better 
 face had made him leave her. She assured him of her love and constancy, 
 and urged him to greater and more worthy deeds than winning a lady and 
 her steed. Abroad again gallant Guy must go. The wind was not fair, and 
 for six days together Guy lay idle in port. During this time fame made 
 known in every corner of the land that a dun cow, of enormous size, was 
 ravaging Dansmore Heath and putting the keepers to flight. The king was at 
 York when he heard of the havoc and slaughter which this monstrous animal 
 had made. He offered knighthood to anyone who would destroy her, and 
 many lamented the absence of Guy, who, hearing of the beast, went privately 
 to give it battle. With bow, and sword, and axe, he came and found every 
 village desolate, every cottage home empty. Men and beasts lay dead around. 
 His heart filled with compassion, and lie waited for the encounter. The 
 furious beast glared at him with her eyes of fire. His arrows flew from her 
 side as from adamant itself. Like the wind from the mountain side the beast 
 came on. Her horns pierced his armour of proof, thougli his mighty battle 
 axe struck her in the forehead. He wheeled his gallant steed about and struck 
 her again. He wounded her behind the ear. The monster roared and snorted 
 as she felt the anguish of the wound. ."^t last she fell, and Guy, alighting, 
 hewed at her until she expired deluged with her blood. He then rode to the 
 next town and made known the monster's death, and then went to his ship, 
 hoping to sail before the king could know of the deed. Fame was swifter 
 than (Uiv The king sent for him, gave him the honour of knighthood, and
 
 r,UY, EARL OF WARWICK. 279 
 
 caused one of the ribs of the cow to be hung up in Warwick Castle, where 
 it remains until this day. 
 
 Then Guy went abroad with three gentle knights, including Heraud of 
 Arden, and they were beset by sixteen villains in the forest. Ten of these 
 did (juy encounter and slay, but two of his knights were killed and Heraud 
 wounded. In rage he turned and revenged their deaths. .\i tournament and 
 siege Guy distinguished himself, but lamented the loss of his companions ; at 
 last he met Heraud in a pilgrim's garb, which much cheered his heart. He 
 relieved Duke Seqwin, and made him and the Emperor friends. He sailed 
 with 2,000 men to Byzantium, but storms scattered his ships, and Guy had 
 to defend hiniself against three Turkish vessels, which he disabled ; one got 
 clear away, another was burnt, but the third he sent as a prize to the duke, 
 his friend. Byzantium was besieged by 50,000 Turks and Saracens. These he 
 defeated, and entered the city. The next day the battle was renewed, and 
 here he defeated the proud and insolent Colbroud the pagan, the champion 
 of the Saracen host. Here, too, Heraud defeated Elendant ; and the Soldan 
 himself, challenged Guy, and likewise was slain. 
 
 After killing a dragon which had come off victorious in a battle with a 
 lion, at which he was present, Guy returned to England, where, after slaying a 
 bear and journeying to Northumberland to free that district of another dragon, 
 he sought his fair Phelice, whom he now found willing to reward his valour 
 and love. 
 
 They were accordingly married at Warwick amid great festivities. He became 
 Earl of Warwick in right of his wife, and had a son called Reynbourn, who, 
 whilst a child, was stolen away by foreign merchants. For some unrecorded 
 reason Guy was unhappy, and to expiate his pride he resolved on a pilgrimage 
 to the Holy Land ; presumably this would be before the stealing of his child. 
 During the period of his absence — which must have been very considerable — • 
 the ferocious Danes ravaged the land, and the king and the people were 
 desolate. 
 
 This happened in the year 926, the third year of Athelstan's reign. There 
 was scarcely a tower or a castle that the Danes had not destroyed as far as 
 Winchester ; and hearing that the king with his nobles were in that city they
 
 28o- HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 sent proposals to him to resign the crown to the Danish generals, Olaf and 
 Golanus ; to hold the kingdom by fealty and payment of tribute ; or, as an 
 alternative, to determine the dispute by single combat between their champions. 
 Athelstan accepted the last of these proposals, and calling together his nobles 
 offered a great reward to him that should conquer the Danish champion, called 
 Colbrand, and enjoined fasting and prayer for God's favour in the choice of 
 a champion, but in this choice Athelstan found great difficulty, forasmuch as 
 the Earl Rohand, the most valiant of a thousand, was dead, whilst Sir Heraud, 
 a most valiant and hardy knight of this nation, was then beyond the sea, 
 seeking after Reynburn, the son of his lord and master. Earl Guy, that had 
 been stolen away by merchants of a foreign country in his infancy and that 
 the same Guy, a man of extraordinary courage and skill in martial feats, after 
 his marriage with Lady Phelice before mentioned, being gone into the Holy 
 Land on pilgrimage, was not yet returned. But the king was visited by a 
 good angel, who directed that he should arise early on the morrow, taking two 
 bishops with him, and get up to the top of the north gate of that city, 
 staying there till the hour of prime, and then should he see divers poor people 
 and pilgrims enter thereat, amongst which there would be a personable man 
 in a pilgrim's habit, barefooted, with his hc-id uncovered, and upon it a 
 chaplet of white roses ; that he should entreat him to undertake the combat, 
 for he should conquer the mighty Colbrand and deliver his realm from the 
 Danish servitude. Whereupon King Athelstan hastened betimes in the morning 
 to mass, and sent for the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the Bishop of Chichester, 
 to whom he related his vision, taking them along to the gate assigned. 
 
 About this time it happened that the famous Guy, before specified, returning 
 from his pilgrimage landed at Portsmouth, and, being there advertised of Sir 
 Heraud's absence, with the occasion thereof, as also of Earl Rohand's death, 
 together with the great distress that the king and his nobles were then in, 
 hastened towards Winchester inunediately, and coming at night into an hospital 
 but little distant from the north gate of that city (in which place after- 
 wards the hosiiital in honour of the holy cross was founded), where he rested 
 himself ; on the next morning he went with other poor people to the city gate. 
 Here dressed as described, but looking wan and much macerated b)' reason
 
 OUV, FARL OF WARWICK. 281 
 
 of his travelling barefoot, and his beard grown to a very great length, he 
 was met by the king and bishops. 
 
 The palmer taking notice of the king and bisiiops, put off his chaplet, and 
 reverently saluting them, entered the gate. Whereupon tlie king tendered him 
 entertainment, but the palmer purposed " to depart thence and perform such 
 penance as he was to do for his sins." Whereunto the king replied, "Olaf, 
 of Denmark, and Golanus, of Norway, have besieged us here almost a twelve- 
 month, and now we have concluded a truce upon condition that we find a 
 man to undergo the combat with Colbrand, their champion, and in case our 
 champion shall overcome him, they are forthwith to ([uit the land without 
 doing injury to any and not disturb this realm any more ; therefore we 
 desire you, that you undertake this duel against that cursed pagan, for the 
 cause of God's Church and the Christian religion." 
 
 To this the palmer answered, " Oh, my lord, you may easily see that I am 
 not in condition to take upon me this fight, being feebled and weakened by 
 daily travel. Alas ! where are your stout hearty soldiers who had wont to be 
 in great esteem with you ? " 
 
 " Ah ! " quoth the king, " some of them are dead, and some of them are 
 gone to the Holy Land and have not yet returned ; I had one valiant knight, 
 which was Earl of Warwick, called Guy, and he liad a courageous servant, 
 named Sir Heraud de Ardenne ; would to God I had him here, for then 
 should this duel be soon undertaken and the war finished." AVhereat the 
 palmer assured him that he would, " in the fear of God, undergo that 
 combat." Then did they bring him into the city and to the church wNth 
 ringing of bells; the Te Deton was begun with cheerful voices, and they 
 entertained him with meat and drink, as also with bathing, putting apparel on 
 him, and for the space of three weeks cheered him up with the best refresh- 
 ments. After which, when the day appointed for that duel was come, the 
 palmer rose early and heard three masses ; which being ended, he forthwith 
 armed himself with the king's best harness, and girt the sword of Constantine 
 the Great about him, and taking St. Maurice's lance in his hand, got upon 
 the king's best courser, being accounted of all that then beheld him the most 
 proper and well appointed knight that they ever saw. From thence rode he
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 through the midst of the city towards the place assigned for the combat, 
 which was in a valley called Chiltecumbe, where he waited for Colbrand, 
 who shortly after came, so heavily harnessed that his horse could scarce carry 
 him, and before him a cart loaded with Danish axes, great clubs with knobs 
 of iron, square bars of steel, lances, and iron hooks to pull his adversary to 
 him; and so soon as he saw the palmer make towards him, calling loudly, he 
 bade him get off his horse and cast himself down with submission ; but the 
 palmer, arming himself with the sign of the cross, and commending himself to 
 God, put spurs to his horse to meet the giant, and in the first encounter 
 pierced his shield so far that his own lance broke into shivers, which so 
 enraged the giant that he bore up fiercely towards the palmer, and smote his 
 horse with such strength that he cut off his head. The palmer, therefore, 
 being dismounted, nimbly and with great courage directed his blow at the 
 giant's helmet, but by reason of his height could reach no further than his 
 shoulder. Then Colbrand smote at the palmer with a square bar of steel : 
 but he, seeing his danger, interposed his shield, which liDre off the blow, 
 and on a sudden did so vigorously lay at the corner cf the giant's target, 
 that his club, bossed with iron, fell to the ground ; which, whilst he stretched 
 out his arm to take up, the palmer with his sword cut off his hand. \Vhere- 
 upon the Danes grew much dismayed ; and on the other side was there as 
 great rejoicing by King Athelstan and the English, and \et notwithstanding 
 did Colbrand hold out the combat till the evening of that day, that by losing 
 so much blood he fainted, so that Cuy, with all his strength, fetched a blow 
 and cut off his head. 
 
 The victory, therefore, thus happily attained, occasioned the Danes with great 
 confusion to hurry away, and the valiant Cuy to give thanks to Cod, repairing 
 forthwith to the cathedral, where he was honourably received with solemn |iro- 
 cession by the clergy and others, and offered his weapon to Cod and the 
 patron of that church before the high altar, which Knighton saith, even to his 
 time, was kept in the vestry there, and called by the name of Colbrand's axe. 
 Piut this being done, he resumed his pilgrim's habit, and it was only at the 
 King's importunity and promise not to divulge it that Guy consented to divul^je 
 his identity to the King alone.
 
 GUY, EARI, OF WARWICK. 
 
 283 
 
 ' The pilgrim departed from the hall 
 Out of the town he took his way, 
 And hastily went towards Arderne 
 To a hermit whom he knew there. 
 He dwelt in a remote part of the forest. 
 Where he led a holy life. 
 Beside Warwick, the city. 
 It is called the Kybbe Cliff; 
 
 On the Avon this hermitage. 
 
 As is written in the history. 
 
 But the Hermit was dead ; 
 
 No living man dwelt there. 
 
 Then Guy resolved 
 
 That he will never go from thence, 
 
 But he will always remain there. 
 
 And will there serve God." 
 
 The Earl Guy then bent his footsteps towards Warwick, and coming thither not 
 known of any, for tliree days together took ahiis at the hands of his own lady, 
 
 ^msm 
 
 j^^3?p<^'Su. 
 
 ^SBS^^ 
 
 
 lil'i", 1 
 
 ^^m 
 
 
 "" -4 
 
 
 
 ] 
 
 it ekiuuwr.. lathtf fill ' 
 
 
 I T'"- ■■'''l"■"'"■■ 
 
 
 t If,.- rL,,..-li 
 
 
 L rk.- lioih.- 
 
 ] 
 
 1 
 
 .tv rkr ^S.-uiuo 
 
 hi Th.-r,U,- /o-.... 
 
 -.i-r^'fc*^-'.; 
 
 
 guy's CI.IM' in 1656. ^Frunl Dugdale). 
 
 as one of the poor people unto whom she daily gave reHef, and repaired to a 
 hermit that resided amongst the shady woods hard by, desiring by conference 
 with him to receive some spiritual comfort ; where he abode with that holy j 
 man till his death, which happened within a short time, and succeeded him in
 
 284 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 that cell the space of two years after ; but then discerning death to approach, 
 he sent to his lady their wedding ring, wishing her to take care of his l)urial ; 
 adding also that when she came she should find him lying dead in the chapel 
 before the altar : and, moreover, that within fifteen days after she herself 
 should depart this life : whereupon she came, and finding his body there did 
 honouraljly inter it in that hermitage ; and was herself afterwards buried by 
 him, leaving her paternal inheritance to Reynburn, her only son. Which depar- 
 ture of our famous Guy happened in the year of our Lord dccccxxix., and 
 of his own age the 70th. 
 
 Such is the legend of Guy. We find first that the ancient name of Guy Cliff, 
 at least as far back as Edward III , was Gibbeclyve. It is Clibcliff in other 
 instances. Like Bevis, of Hampton, the story has a 
 strange likeness to the French romances of the i2tli 
 and 13th centuries. In the 14th century Guy was 
 represented as a real personage, and in 1339 his 
 sword and coat of mail formed the subject of a 
 bequest, for the manuscripts of the 15th century, in 
 Magdalen College, Oxford, treated of the combat 
 between Guy and Colbrand as an historical incident, 
 whereas Copeland, in 1550, took no notice whatever 
 of the legend of the ^\'arwickshire dun cow. It was 
 first mentioned ' by Dr. Caius, who wrote the " De 
 Bonasi Cowibus,'' wherein he said that at Warwick 
 Castle, in 1552, in the place where the arms were 
 kept, was hung up the head of a bonassus ; that 
 the bladcbone of the same animal was hung up in 
 chains from the North Gate, Coventry, and the rib was 
 hung up in the chapel at Guy's Cliff. In 1636 the 
 body armour of Guy was exposed at Kenihvorth, and 
 horse armour at Warwick Castle, with liis sword and dagger, and the rib of his 
 the dun cow. Evelyn visited Warwick Castle in 1654, and saw the supposed 
 sword, staff, and the other relics of Guy. 'I'he armour exhibited at tlic porter's 
 lodge of Warwick Castle as that of Guy's consists of a bassinet of the time of 
 
 lUiy s SIAIIIF. IN TlIK rllAl'F.L.
 
 GUV, EARL OF WARWICK. 
 
 28s 
 
 Edward III.: his breastplates are two shields, one of the i5lh century, an 1 the 
 other of the time of James I. ; his sword is of the time of Henry VIII. ; his 
 staff is a curious and ancient tilting lance ; fair Phclice's slippers is a pair of 
 stumped irons of the 15th century ; (luy's horse armour is also of the .same date. 
 The celebrated Guy's porridge pot is, no doubt, an ancient garrison cooking 
 utensil. Mr. Matthew Bloxam has the bladebone ot tlie dun cow, and another 
 rib is in St Mary's Redcliffe Church, Bristol. The statue in the chai)el at 
 Guy's Cliff is recordeJ to have been cut and the chapel rebuilt by the directions 
 of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, between 1450 to i-)59, when the chantry 
 
 c.l'V S 1 l_l I.-|.-. 
 
 there was founded. The well was arched in at this time also. So that in 
 reality there is nothing, except the cave, which can be assigned to an earlier 
 date than 1450, more than 500 years after Guy had departed this life, and 
 the place was then known as Gibcliff. 
 
 On the other hand, it is known that Rous had access to many sources of 
 information which are not now available. Many of the deeds of Guy are
 
 286 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 supposed to be symbolized. We know that the sheriffs of the shires had great 
 power, and that the sheriff or reldermen of the marches of Mercia had a 
 difficult task. The Danes, who settled on the east side of the Watling Street, 
 made frequent invasions into Warwickshire. We can trace their settlements on 
 many points of land. Dunsmore, like the plain near P^dgcote, is supposed to 
 have been Danesmore, and the dun cow has been created out of the similar 
 sound of Daengow, a Danish tribe who fought there. We know that a bloody 
 battle was fought near Marton, from the arms and armour found there. There 
 is a curious similarity in the name of the Saracen, and the Danish 
 champion Colbrand. Whoever was the hermit at Guy's Cliff in the time of 
 Athelstan we may never know, but we do know the names of several who 
 resided there. 
 
 In 1870 attention was directed to some supposed Anglo Saxon writing in the 
 cave reputed to be Guy's. Early in the century Mr. Daniel Lysons reported 
 that such was the case : and in February, 1870, Mr. Ralph Carr Ellison care- 
 fully examined the panel in which the words occurred, and found the sentence, 
 whatever it was, written twice over — once in Saxon Runic characters, as well 
 as in partly Roman capitals. 
 
 ~'-'-">yy 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 va 
 
 ^ CRisTTut;>T,tec-fuh,5VM3f,ttl\-^,^7,;,i, .;;, 
 
 
 —'ill.'--'- r. 
 
 'liiis has been referred to the loth century, and indeed, to tlie lifetime of 
 the illustrious Guy himself. The inscription has been read thus — 
 
 " Vi) 
 
 CRI.STTU ICNIECTI 
 
 THIS I-WlHTril. 
 
 Giihthi"
 
 GUV, KARI, Of'" WARWICK. 
 
 287 
 
 ill the Mercian dialect of Anglo-Saxon. In West Saxon it would have been — 
 
 " Vt 
 
 CRIST-TU CNUITK 
 
 THLS (JEWIIIT. 
 
 Goda. " 
 
 This ha.s been inferred to mean — 
 
 "Cast out, tlioii Christ, (thy) .servant, 
 Or kniglit, this weight or burden." 
 
 Each term is repeated in Anglo-Saxon gloss. There are other letters, about 
 
 which there has been much vague but ingenious conjecture. The inscription 
 
 is now carefully preserved, and Lady Bertie Percy has had it carefully 
 copied.
 
 LONG ITCHINGTON CHURCH. 
 
 St. Molstan. 
 
 HE ancient town of Long Itchington, or Icentun, now but 
 an unimportant village, but once one of the principal towns 
 in the county, had the honour of being the birthplace of 
 of the great Saxon Bishop, W'ulfstan, or Wolstan, of 
 Worcester. 
 
 In the library of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, of Wynnstay, there is a 
 manuscript life of St. Wolstan in Latin hexameters. Notices of his life and 
 career are common in all English histories. He was the son of j^ilfstanus, a 
 theyn of Long Itchington, who held his habitation there by a grant from 
 Archbishop Oswald, by Wulfigu, his wife, who after his birth took monastic 
 vows. Wolstan was at first only a secular student at Peterborough, under one 
 Ervenius, ajiparently a foreigner. As a student he was distinguished for his
 
 ST. WO I.STAN. 289 
 
 chastity. Iiis [)ious demeanour, his skill of illumination, and bodily exercises. 
 At the age of 26, Brighteah, Bishop of Worcester, ordained him, and on 
 becoming a priest he entered the Priory of Worcester, of which, under Ealdred, 
 a subsequent bishop, he became prior. He went about to baptize the poor, 
 and devoted himself to religious e.xercises. 
 
 In 1062 the bishopric of Worcester became vacant through the translation 
 of Ealdred to the Archbishopric of York. The legates of Pope Alexander II. 
 were at this time in England, and they went to Worcester to persuade 
 Wolstan to accept the vacant see. Ethling, the Abbot of Evesham, was also a 
 candidate, but the Witan joined with the legates in urging the acceptance of 
 the high office on Wolstan, who at this time was about 50 years of age. At 
 last Wolstan yielded to the entreaties of his friends and was consecrated by 
 Ealdred. He was a friend of Harold's, and appears to have ruled the diocese 
 with considerable wisdom. He was one of those bishops who did not oppose 
 the coronation of the Norman Conqueror, and indeed, from some reason or 
 other, the Conqueror was well received at first by Warwickshiremen. Wolstan 
 is described by our chroniclers as a man of holy simplicity of life who 
 followed his predecessor Ealdred in submitting to William and actively serving 
 the King's cause, both in his ofifice and in the field — but he was of the old 
 English stock, and in 1076 was the only English bishop who remained, he 
 could not speak the language of the Norman, and therefore, must go. In 
 that year he was summoned to Westminster by Lanfranc and the King to 
 appear before the Council and surrender his bishopric to a more learned 
 ecclesiastic, who would be more subservient to the new rulers of England. 
 The chief motive of Wolstan's life seems to have been a reverent love for the 
 memory of Edward the Confessor, and to this his recognition of AVilliam must 
 be in a great measure ascribed ; but however peaceful his character this harsh 
 and ungrateful return for his valuable services aroused within him a spirit of 
 lofty and dignified resentment which has given lustre to his memory. He rose 
 before the assembly, and with the staff he was called upon to surrender in 
 his hand, " I confess," he said, " I am not worthy of ithis dignity. I knew 
 it when the ofSce was forced upon me. I am ready to obey, but I resign 
 the staff not to you, but to him by whose authority I received it." He then
 
 290 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 advanced to the tomb of King Edward, and addressing the dead King, said, 
 " Master, thou knowest how unwillingly I took upon myself this charge. Behold 
 new people fill this land, a new King is on the throne. A new King and 
 new laws. Thou, Edward, gave me this staff, to thee I return it." He laid 
 the crosier upon the tomb, striking the stone with the staff, and turning to 
 the Normans, said, " I received this from a better than any of you ; I return 
 it to him, take it from him if you can," 
 
 That this spirited action aroused the admiration, not unmixed with su[)er- 
 stitious fear of his hearers, is but natural. He was permitted to retain both 
 the staff and his office until his death in (according to Dugdale) 1096. 
 
 That tlie last English Bishop was honoured by the popular voice with the 
 title of Saint Wolstan is not any more a matter for surprise than that the 
 incident in Westminster Abbey should speedily become a miracle, so firmly 
 fixed on the minds of his countrymen that for centuries it remained an article 
 of their belief that the staff of St. Wolstnn remained embedded in the stone 
 of the tomb, irremovable by Norman strength.
 
 WROXATX CIU'RCH. 
 
 a Xcoc^^ of Hr^cn. 
 
 HO, loving Shakespeare as a Warwickshire man should, and as 
 an Englisliman ought, does not know the story of Mariana 
 and the Moated (irange ? The echoes of the song where 
 she is first discovered, in "Measure for Measure" (Act iv. 
 Scene i) — 
 
 " Take, oh take, those lips away, 
 That so sweetly were forsworn," — 
 
 linger lovingly on the ear ; and even if Shakespeare's description is not known, 
 
 Tennyson's song of intense weariness, the lay of the deserted yet loving heart
 
 292 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 of Mariana, is known. Never, perhaps, shall we truly know which of the many 
 moated areas of the county of \\'arwick suggested to Shakespeare his idea of 
 the moated grange. But we have still an old moated house preserving 
 the same substantial (ront as it did in the time of Shakespeare, when 
 it was inhabited by the painstaking and persevering county antiquary, Henry 
 Ferrers, of Baddesley Clinton. There are many amongst ^\'arwickshire men 
 who fondly regard this old house at Baddesley as the Moated Grange. 
 They remember that in the neighbouring village of Snitterfield Shakespeare's 
 father was born. They know that many of the Shakespeares resided 
 
 AN OLD HOUSE OK TIIK SHAKKSl'KAKK S AT SMTTEKFlEI.l). 
 
 at Rinviiigton for a long [)eriod ; amongst the " haunts " of Shakespeare's 
 youth we mu^t include the precincts of the Grey House at Baddesley, 
 and the shady haunts of Hey Wood, a portion of the primeval forest of 
 Arden, and around which at the present time many of the giants of the old 
 forest yet stand in gaunt maiesty. Beneath their shade we might hope to 
 behold the melancholy Jacques, and anon Rosalind and Touchstone. The 
 neighbourhood is even more identified with "Measure for Measure," a j'lay
 
 A LEGEND OF ARDEN. 293 
 
 believed to have been written with special reference to Lord Grey, whose lile 
 was then in danger from the machinations of hi; enemies. In this neighbour- 
 hood we may trace the monastery to which the duke retreated, the nunnery of 
 the votarists of St. Clare, as well as the moated grange. .Strangely, too, there 
 had been in the adjacent nunnery an Isabel Shakespeare, "■ (luondam prioressa 
 de JVtaxhale," as she is termed in the register of the Gild of St. .\nne, of 
 Knoll, in 1504. The foundation of Wroxall is the subject of the last of our 
 monkish legends. The story runs thus : — 
 
 "That one Richard, shortly after the Conquest, holding the lordship of 
 Hat'on and likewise this place of Wroxall of Henry then Earl of Warwick, 
 had issue a son, called Hugh, who was a person of great stature, and bore 
 the same arms as the Montforts of Beaudesert (near Henley\ in this county, 
 did, being a branch of the same family as was thought ; which Hugh going 
 to warfare in the Holy Land was there taken prisoner, and so continued in 
 great hardship there for the space of seven years. But at length he, consider- 
 ing that St. Leonard was the saint to whom his parish church had been 
 dedicated, and the many miracles that God had often wrought by the merits 
 of that his glorious confessor, made his addresses by earnest prayers to him 
 for deliverance ; whereupon St. Leonard appeared to him in his sleep, in the 
 habit of a black monk, bidding him arise and go home and found at his 
 church a house of nuns of St. Benet's order ; but the knight awaking took 
 this for -no other than a dream, till that the same saint appeared to him a 
 second time in like manner. Howbeit then, with much spiritual gladness, re- 
 joicing, he made a vow to God and St. Leonard that he would perform his 
 command, which vow was no sooner made than that he became miraculously 
 carried thence with his fetters and set in Wroxall Woods, not far distant from 
 his own house ; yet knew not where he was till a shepherd of his own pas- 
 sing through those thickets accidentally found h'm, and after some communica- 
 tion (though he was not a little affrighted in respect he saw a person so 
 overgrown with hair), discovered all unto him. Whereupon his lady and 
 children, ha\ing advertisement, came forthwith to him, but believed not he 
 was her husband till he showed her a piece of a ring that had been broken 
 betwixt them, which so soon as she applied the other part, in her own
 
 294 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 custody, closed therewith. And shortly after, having given solemn thanks to 
 God, our Lady, and St. Leonard, and praying for some divine revelation 
 where he should erect that monastery so promised by his said vow, he had 
 special direction where to build it, by certain stones pitclied in the ground in 
 the very place where the altar was afterwards set. After the structure where- 
 of, two of his daughters were made nuns therein, a lady from the nuns of 
 Wilton being fetched to direct them in the rule of St. Benedict." 
 
 The church and the site of the monastic buildings are now visible, in con- 
 sequence of the old hall which was built over the site being pulled down. 
 The site can now be traced, but the church is later than Hugh Hatton. 
 The place, however, is memorable as having been the seat of Sir Christopher 
 Wren. The proprietor, Mr. James Dugdale, built the present mansion in 
 1867. It contains a fine collection of oil and water colour paintings by the best 
 modern masters. The house was designed by Mr. Walter Scott, of Liverpool. 
 
 sUAKESl'EARK .S IIALI., ROWl.NGTuN.
 
 A LEGEND OK ARDEN. 
 
 29s 
 
 Tlic Monableiy of Nuns was founded, accordin;^ to Dugdale, alioul 1150 liut rebuilt ij'S. 
 Dugd.ile gives a list of 23 prioresses, l)ut after the name of Doinina Isabella Asteley, appointed 
 20 July, 1431, the next entry is " Uoin. Joyce Brome, daughter of John Brome, o' Hiddesley 
 Clinton, died 21 June, 1528;" she had, however, resigned in 1525, and pending the appoint- 
 ment of Annie Lytle in that year, Domina Jane Shakspere, sub-prioress, was the superii r of 
 the nunnery. This Jane Shakspere, in 1527, according to the entry in the Ciild B-Jok of 
 Knoll, was a sister of that Ciild, but the omission between the names of Isabel Asteley and 
 Joyce Brome is at least partially filled by the record in the Knoll (Jild Book of the death 
 in 1504 of " Isabella Shakspere, quondam prioressa de Wroxhale." 
 
 Here then is positive evidence that two ladies of the Shakspere family were superiors at 
 Wroxall, — that they belonged to the Rowinglon family, that those prioresses were chosen from 
 families of good posiiion, and that the Snitterfield Shakespeares were of this stock, — are all 
 facts subject to very little doubt, whilst there is none that in '■' Measure for Measure" Shakespeare 
 wrote of his own neighbourhood, and with a somewhat special intent of supporting the legality 
 of the old custom of contract before the ceremony of marriage, a custom followed by himself 
 and also by one of his mother's sisters. Few will therefore be found to question that the 
 character of Isabella is an embodiment of his reverence for the memory of Isabella Shakespeare, 
 " quondam prioressa," of the neighbouring nunnery.
 
 LOXLEY CHURCH. 
 
 IRobin 1boo^. 
 
 F the many popular traditions that have come down to us, 
 that of Robin Hood — Hode or Od — and his merry men has 
 been the most popular for the longest period. We have 
 an intimate acquaintance with Little John, Will Scarlett, 
 Alan-a-Dale, and Friar Tuck. We loll with them under the 
 merry greenwood, and every glade of Barnsdale and Sherwood seems known 
 to us. We know the tricks played on the Sheriff of Nottingham. We know 
 the ballad of the Tinker of Banbury, and how he made the Bishop of Hereford 
 dance in his boots. Robin Hood has all the attributes of a popular hero. 
 He was of noble birth, deprived of his inheritance. He chose the merry life 
 of an outlaw, and with a rough and steady sense of justice took from the rich 
 and gave to the poor. The poor blessed the man who felt for their wrongs
 
 ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 297 
 
 and their sufferings. They did not care for any abstruse law of ethics. There 
 was the noble hero, who defied the law and gave tliem out of the plentitude 
 of his heart something that had been extorted from proud, avaricious, or 
 grasping ecclesiastics. Yet the whole story is involved in doubt, and we are 
 indebted to Dr. Stukeley for the hint that it is [jossible that he may have 
 been a native of Warwickshire. 
 
 That Robin Hood was born at Loxley no one, who does not deny his 
 existence altogether, would presume to doubt. There arc but two, or at the 
 most three, Loxley's in England, and which of these may claim the honour 
 of being the birthplace of the bold outlaw, the hero of song, of ballads, and 
 the greenwood, is a question open for discussion. Robin Hood is claimed by 
 Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire as their special hero. Sherwood and Barnsdale 
 re-echo with his name. A Locksley has been found near Sheffield to claim 
 him as a son. The Loxley in Staffordshire has little probability of being 
 connected with Robin Hood. If he w^is not a native of Sherwood, he might 
 have been born on the fringe of the forest of Arden. 
 
 In the MS. collection of the late Robert Wheler, of Stratford, relating to 
 Warwickshire antiquities, it is recorded that " At the north side of Coughton 
 Church there is a window, almost at the lower end, towards the belfry, wherein 
 at the bottom is this written on the glass under the pictures of divers men : — 
 
 '"This window was made, and tliese men following wilh the money that Roljin Hood and his 
 men got.' " 
 
 Coughton Church is some 15 miles from Loxley, near Stratford, and we are 
 led to consider the evidence which can be brought to bear on the history of 
 the popular forester. 
 
 Robin Hood, according to the majority of his biographers, was born at 
 Loxley, or Lockesley, about the year 1160. He is said to have been of noble 
 p.irentage — an earl, in fact, whose real name was Robert Fizooth or Fitzodo, 
 and Ur. Stukeley deduces him from Ralph Fitzooth, a Norman, who came to 
 England with "William Rufus, and married Maud de Gaunt, daughter of Gilbert, 
 Earl of Kyme and Lindsey. This statement may or may not be worthy of 
 credence, but there was a Robert Fitzodo living at Loxley, then spelt Lockesley, 
 at this time, which is a very curious coincidence. It is thus mentioned
 
 298 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 in Dugdale, " Whether Robert fil. Odonis, who h'ved in Henry the 
 Second's time, was the first that had it, by the Earl of Warwick's grant, or 
 whetiier it was his father, I am nut sure : but that the said Robert possessed 
 it, and made it his place of residence, is out of doubt, for in his grant to 
 the Canons of Kenilworth of cxx. acres of his demesne lands here, with a 
 messuage, toft, and croft, and iis. rent, which for xii. marks of silver he sold 
 to them, he writes himself Robertas fil. Odonis de Lockesjeia ; and, besides 
 this so sold by him, he gave unto them for the health of his father's soul, 
 whose body lay buried in that monastery, and for the good estate of himself 
 and his posterity, pasturage for x. oxen and c. sheep in his demesne lands 
 here. Which Robert left issue only three daughters, his heires, whose matches 
 and descendants I have here inserted." One of these married a Bagot, and 
 another a scion of the ancient family of the Trussells, of Billesley. There is 
 a farther pedigree of these Fitzodos in Dugdale's account of Hnrbury, from 
 which it appears that Robert Fitz Ode had a son called Odo, who had issue 
 a son known as Robert FitzOdo, of Herberbury, who by his deed recorded 
 7th Edward I. in the rolls of Chancery bestowed upon the monks of Combe 
 his manor house, &.C., for the health of his soul, and that of his wife 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 One of the earliest notices of Robin Hood which is undisputed is in " The 
 Vision of Tiers Plowman," generally ascribed to one Robert Langland, and 
 written within a century after the date of ihe supposed death of the outlaw. 
 Sloth, in this early poem, says : — 
 
 " I cannot perfecllie my paternoster as Prest it singeth ; 
 But I can rymes of Robin Hood and Kandulf Earl of Chester." 
 
 The connection of the name of Robin Hood with Randulf Earl of Chester is 
 most singular, for in the year 1 152-3 Henry FitzEmpress, then Duke of 
 Normandy, uiion making peace with King Stephen, rewarded Randulf Earl of 
 Chester, surnamed Gernons, for the services he ha 1 rendered to him, with 
 many large estates, of which he had dispossessed some of his enemies. 
 Amongst them was the whole fee of Radulijhus, filius Odonis, wherever it 
 could be found.* Here is the outlawry of a FitzOdo by Henry U. in the 
 
 * Cottorn.in MS. — Thornlon, Hist. Notts. — Planch^'s " R.imbles with Robin Hood."
 
 ROBIN HOOD. 299 
 
 1 2th century, and the gift of his lands to Ranul[)h Earl of Chester, in nearly 
 the saine terms as mentioned by the author of " Piers Plowman," who, it must 
 be recollected did not live far from the Warwickshire borders. 
 
 In the curious pedigree of Robin Hood published by Dr. Stukeley, the out- 
 law's descent from Gilbert de Gaunt in the female line is made out ; and as 
 he is called the Earl of Huntington in the oldest ballads and on his supposed 
 tombstone at Kirklees, it is still more curious, as Mr. Planche has pointed 
 out, that in 11 84 the earldom of Huntington lapsed to the Crown on the 
 death of Simon de .St Liz ; and again, in 1237, on the death of John Le 
 Scot without issue. It is probable, if Robin Hood had such a pedigree, he 
 may have preferred a claim to the earldom when 24 years of age and again 
 when 77, for the outlaw did not die, according to the tombstone, till 1247. 
 
 The tradition of Robin Hood must not be lightly cast aside. The surmise 
 of his Warwickshire origin is amongst the matiy literary romances of the 
 county, and time nny throw some further light upon it. 
 
 The career of Robert Fitzooth, or Fitzodo, is a part of the history of our country, and 
 haJ his life not been one of continued war upon Churchmen we should have had some 
 authentic information regarding him from the chronicles of the various Norman Ecclesiastics. We 
 cannot complain of the extent to which the literature of all ages has paid him tribute, yet 
 have to confess that the investigations of Ritson and otlier enquirers have scarcely cleared the 
 grain from the chaff. 
 
 In claiming that Lo.\ley, Warwickshire — the Locheslei, of Offa, King of Mercii, the Locheslei 
 of Robert fil. OJonis, or Fitzooth, — is the birthplace of Robin Hood, we are met by the 
 statement, in a very early ballad, that he was born 
 
 " In Locksly town, in merry Nottinghamshire." 
 But no Locksly, or Loxley, has ever been known in that shire, and research has failed to 
 discover a trace of one. This awkward fact appears to have been realised at a very early 
 period, and was got over by adding, "or Yorkshire," and Fuller says, "he was a man of 
 this county (Notts), if not by birth by his chief abode," wliilst Vorkshire, upon examination 
 by antiquaries, has been rejected. No serious attempt has been made to identify Loxley, near 
 Tutbury, Staffordshire, as the place of the outlaw's birth, although one of the legion of black- 
 letter ballads is devoted to Robin's romantic marriage with the Tutbury shepherdess, Clorinda. 
 This Loxley lies on the outskirts of the Forest of Needwood, connected with the Forest of 
 Arden, by the Royal Forest of Cannock and Sutton Chase. Yet another place, viz., Kyme, 
 Lincoln, has been suggested by Dr. Stukeley, but need not be seriously treated. 
 
 Giving the name of a particular place or village argues some knowledge of a fact, but the 
 mere general statement, "Nottinghamshire" or "Yorkshire," indicates guess work, therefore, 
 when at the precise date of Robin Hood's birth a family of his name, Fitzothe, or fil. Odonis,
 
 300 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 is found in the Forest of Arden, owners of the Lordship or Manor of Loxley, near .Stratford- 
 upon-Avon, having lands also in Chesterton, Herberbury, Colon, Westcote, Newton, and Morton 
 Bagot, we at once perceive that evidence exists which tallies with tht earliest statement 
 relating to the name of the place of his birth, strengthened by the circumstance that 
 Morton Bagot adjoining to Coughton, long remained the residence of the descendants of 
 of William Bagot, who married a daughter of Robert til. Odonis of Loxley. 
 
 Thit Robin Hood ranged the Forests of England from the Midlands to the extreme north, 
 requires no contention. Every county has its Robin Hood's Well, ene of these being near Sutton 
 Coldfield. He is traced in story to the Forests of Cumberland and Yorkshire, Lincoln, Notts, 
 and Stafford. An especial haunt was Robin Hood's Bay, on the North-East Coast of York- 
 shire, but his head-quarters were mainly Barnsdale and Sherwood, and the Sheriff of Nottingham, 
 as is well known, was his especial acquaintance. 
 
 The probability appears to be that he was born at Loxley, that his family connection w'th 
 the Trussells of Billeseley, and the Bagots of Morton Bagot, made him acquainted with 
 Coughton, which lay against the great Forest of Feckenham, that he would rob near home, 
 is unlikely, and his selection of Barnsdale and .Sherwood placed him within reach of the 
 main roads to York, whence he made excursions into the principal forests of England. His 
 fleet-footed followers would probably cover fifty miles in a day, and forest tracks were not only 
 well used, but probably the most direct pathways. 
 
 Cowell's interpreter, speaking of the great thieves, called Robfrdmioi, mentioned in Acts of 
 I'arliament of Edward HL and Richard H., says, " Robinhood lived in Richard the First's time, 
 on the borders of England and Scotland, by robbery and spoil, and that these Roberdsmen 
 look name from him." 
 
 W^^^ms^^^. 
 
 iifii ,1111' lit tesi • *" 
 
 :M!Si: J~-S.Vir.^lj.o fci^vl , 
 
 
 .'-Mrf.-:^- ; i^. 
 
 ItlLI.ESLEY HAI-I..
 
 KENILWORTH CASTLE. 
 
 Siiiv IRobsart. 
 
 HE name of Amy Robsart is indelibly mixed up with the 
 glories and the decay of the princely Castle of Kenihvorth, 
 through the novel of .Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 When " the tall gentleman who leaned heavily on his 
 stick " visited the remains of Kenihvorth Castle more than 
 sixty years ago, probably he himself never dreamed that his pen would give so 
 great a popularity and almost immortality to the tragedy which he associated 
 with the pageantry of Elizabeth's visit in 1575. Wherever English books are 
 read the ruins of Kenihvorth Castle have received a new charm from the 
 magic wand of the " Ariosto of the North." Year after year pilgrims have 
 strolled among the crumbling ruins of Kenihvorth, more deeply interested in 
 the Pleasaunce, in Mervyn's Tower, in the sight of the old lake, in the pro- 
 bable scene of the meeting between Elizabeth and .Amy Robsart, and in the 
 endeavour to trace the exact sites indicated by Scott's romance, than in the
 
 302 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 great siege, its early feudal history, or even the magnificent pageantry with 
 which Leicester welcomed his royal mistress, the virgin Queen. 
 
 If seems a sacrilege to tear away this veil of fiction, so attractively woven 
 by the great Wizard of the North, and to dissect this romance of history 
 and class it with the legends and traditions of the past. Not one in a 
 hundred ever dreams of questioning the accuracy of Scott's great romance. 
 Not one in fifty would be willing to have a glorious dream of love, and 
 loyalty, and devotion dispelled. 
 
 Every reader knows Amy Robsart's story. How she was inveigled from her 
 father. Sir Hugh Robsart's home in Devonshire, and privately married to 
 Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, who placed her at Cumnor Place, the 
 residence of his servant, Anthony Forster, a gloomy misanthropic man, whilst 
 the Earl attended the Court as a bachelor beloved by the Queen, who would 
 have married him but for this secret ; and how Amy followed him to Kenil- 
 worth and was present during those brilliant festivities in July, 1575. How 
 she was taken from thence and hurried back to Cumnor to meet a horrible 
 and ghastly death at the very moment of lier reconciliation with her husband 
 and recognition as his wife. It is no new story. It may be found in 
 Leicester's " Cummonvvealth," and in the introduction to the novel itself. We 
 have the story in another form in Mickle's ballad, with the exception of the 
 visit to Kenilworth. The sense of secrecy and mystery has done much to 
 hide the true facts of this romantic story. 
 
 There are documents extant which give us a full account of Amy Robsart, 
 her life, marriage, and melancholy and somewhat mysterious death. Amy was 
 the daughter and heiress of Sir John Robsart, of Siderstern, in the county of 
 Norfolk, and was born in 1532, at Stanfield Hall, which has since acquired 
 an unhappy notoriety. On the 4th of June, 1550, slie was married to Sir 
 Robert Dudley, in the presence of Edward \T , with great pomp, and the 
 youthful king's diary records many of the facts. The marriage, therefore, was 
 not secret. Amy was never Countess of Leicester, for she died three years 
 before her luisband was created earl. She was not at the ])rincely pageants 
 at Kenilworth, for she had been dead fifteen years when they took place. 
 Kenilworth was not in Dudley's possession until he was created carl. His
 
 AMY KOliSAKT. .^O-^ 
 
 brother Ambrose was created Earl of Warwick in 1557, and it is possible that she 
 may have visited her hr(jther-in-law at the castle, and have stayed at Moreton 
 Morrell, which tradition says was tlie case. Sir Richard Varney was a relative 
 of the Verneys of Compton Murdac, now known as Compton Verney, and the 
 present Lord Willoughby de Broke claims kindred with him. His character, 
 like that of Anthony Forster, was needlessly blackened by Scott, who seems 
 to have perverted, through ignorance or design, the marriage of Dudley with 
 Douglas Howard, Lady Shefifield, in 1573, which was a secret marriage, and for 
 the purpose of his story, made .\my Robsart thi heroine, although she had 
 been in her grave fifteen years. 
 
 The death of Amy Robsart was, however, a mystery, which will probably 
 never be made clear. She did die suddenly — nominally from the effects of a 
 fall down "a p.iir of stiirs," at Cumnor, when all the servants of the house 
 were at Abingdon fair. The curious and minute facts preserved show how 
 anxious Dudley was that no blame or suspicion should fall upon him ; how he sent 
 " his good cousin " Blount to inquire into the facts ; how the said cousin 
 tarried at the inn at Abingdon, and "pumped" the host as to the news of 
 the place, without declaring his business or his motives; how he found that 
 Anthony Forster was in good repute ; how Amy herself had insisted on the servants 
 going to Abingdon fair, although it was Sunday, and was left in the house 
 almost alone ; how a coroner's inquest was held, but no satisfactory result 
 ensued, and no definite details were given of the cause of death ; how the 
 foreman of the jury had written to Dudley, who had reiterated his desire for a 
 full inquiry ; how the general belief was that Amy, wearied with her husband's 
 long absence and apparent neglect, had apparently tired of life, and had 
 probably ended her own life by a fall down stairs — possibly accidental, or 
 possibly designed. Ultimately the jury, after sitting from the loth to the 13th 
 September, 1560 — the accident happened on the 8th — returned a verdict of "Mis- 
 chance," which was tantamount to " Accidental death." 
 
 Forster and the other attendants were acquitted of any acts of violence. 
 There was no unseemly haste over the inquiry or funeral ; the proceedings 
 w'ere conducted in due legal form, and the only doubt is as to the exact 
 means by which .\my Robsart died. The implications on the character of
 
 304 
 
 HISTORIC WARWICKSHIRE. 
 
 Varney and Forster are shaken by the contemporary facts : the absence of the 
 servants was fully explained as occurring at Amy's own special wish ; her letter 
 to Mr. Flowerdew shows her desponding spirit, and thence it is highly probable 
 that her death was accidental from the fall, or possibly from her own design. 
 In any case, no charge of complicity against Dudley is proved by the existing 
 facts, and he is at least entitled to the benefit of very serious doubts as to 
 his alleged guilt. 
 
 Amy Robsart was buried at the Church of our Lady in Oxford, on .Sunday, 
 the 22nd of September, 1560, her husband not being present. The full account 
 of the funeral ceremony is given in a very illegible manuscript among the 
 Dugdale MSS. in the Bodleian Library, but is far too long to quote here, 
 and the subsequent career of Robert Dudley will be found in the notice of 
 his son, " Le Prieux Chevalier." 
 
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