[A] St. ALBANS is situated on the river Ver, or Muss, and co_Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11 Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set.

three parishes; parts of two of which, extend beyond the limits of the

borough. It is said to have been the site of the ancient British

metropolis of Cassibelanus, and is very near that of the ancient Roman

Verulam, mentioned by Tacitus, being the same as the Saxon

Watlingceaster, so called because seated on the road called

Watling-street. It was here that Queen Boadicea made her celebrated

assault on the Romans, and failed, after an immense slaughter of seventy

thousand men. In 795, Offa, king of Mercia, erected an abbey here, in

memory of St. Alban, the British protomartyr, who was born here in the

third century. He served in the Roman army, but was converted to

Christianity by a monk, named Amphilabus, and suffered during the

Dioclesian persecution, A.D. 303. The abbey subsequently obtained great

privileges, and became very rich, the revenues at the dissolution

amounting to upwards of L2500. per annum. Monastic foundations had their

origin in this country, about the time of St. Augustine, who came from

Rome, to convert the Pagan Saxons to Christianity; and when Offa

ascended the throne of Mercia, about twenty great monasteries had been

founded in England, and about the same number of episcopal sees

established. Offa's zeal prompted him to do what many of his crowned

predecessors had done; but being undetermined whom to select as the

patron saint of his establishment, it is recorded that, while at the

city of Bath, an angel appeared to him in the silence of the night,

desiring him to raise out of the earth the body of Alban, the first

British martyr, and place his remains in a suitable shrine. Even the

memory of Alban had been lost for three hundred and forty years; but the

king assembling his clergy and people at Verulam, an active search was

made for his body with prayer, fasting, and alms; when it is said a ray

of light was seen by all to stand over the place of burial, similar to

the star that conducted the magi to Bethlehem. The ground was therefore

opened, and, in the presence of the king, the body of Alban was found.

Offa is said to have placed a golden circle round the head of the

deceased, with an inscription, to signify his name and title, and

immediately caused the remains of the saint to be conveyed to a small

chapel, without the walls of Verulam, as the town was then called, until

a more noble edifice could be raised for its reception. This is said to

have occurred on the 1st day of August, 791, four hundred and

ninety-four years after the martyrdom of Alban. Offa afterwards made a

journey to Rome, and obtained the desired privileges of his intended

foundation, with great commendations for his zeal and piety, from the

pope, when he undertook to build a stately church and monastery, to the

memory of St. Alban. From this abbey the town originated, which early

obtained considerable importance. The abbey church, which claims

particular attention for its size, beauty, and antiquity, is constructed

of Roman brick, to which age has given the appearance of stone. A stone

screen, erected before the communion table, in 1461, is much admired for

the richness and lightness of its sculpture. The tombs of the founder,

Offa, and that of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, are shown here; and, not

many years ago, the leaden coffin, containing the body of the latter,

was opened, and the corpse found nearly entire. The Roman antiquities

discovered on the site have been very numerous. The effect of the

venerable abbey, when seen from a distance, is extremely imposing;

situated upon an eminence, its massive towers rise majestically above

the houses of the ancient town, which is well, known to have derived its

first importance from the Romans, since which, it has increased chiefly

under the protecting influence of successive abbots of this rich and

powerful monastery. The prospect of its mouldering ruins, forces upon

the mind a melancholy train of reflection on the instability of all

human institutions.

_Market_, Saturday.--_Fairs_, March 25 and 26; October 10 and 11, for

horses, cows, sheep, and hiring servants.--_Inns_, Angel, and White

Hart.--_Mail_ arrives 10.15 P.M. Departs 4.30 A.M.

[Sidenote: Originally the British metropolis.]

[Sidenote: King Offa's extraordinary vision, which induced him to build

the abbey.]

[Sidenote: St. Alban's body found after a lapse of 494 years; a golden

circle placed round his head.]

[Sidenote: Duke of Gloucester's body found nearly entire.]

Map| Names of Places. |County.|Number of Miles From |

+--+--------------------+-------+---------------+----------------+

+--+--------------------+-------+---------------+----------------+

|Dist. |

Map| Names of Places. |Number of Miles From |Lond. |Population.

+--+--------------------+-----------------------+------+---------+

38|Albourn pa|Cuckfield 6| 42| 362|

33|Albrighton to & chap|Ellesmere 12| 157| 1054|

33|Albrighton pa|Wolverhamp 7| 137| 98|

27|Alburgh pa|Norwich 16| 103| 586|

31|Albury pa|Wheatley 3| 45| 239|

+--+--------------------+-----------------------+------+---------+

Map| Names of Places. | County. | Number of Miles From |

+--+---------------------+---------+----------------+------------+

19 |Alconbury Weston chap|Hunts | ... 5| ... 8|

+--+---------------------+---------+----------------+------------+

|Dist.|

Map| Names of Places. | Number of Miles From |Lond.|Population.

+--+---------------------+--------------------------+-----+------+

18 |Albury pa|Buntingford 7| 35| 631|

37 |Albury pa|Godalming 7| 29| 929|

27 |Alby pa|N. Walsham 6| 26| 346|

12 |Alcester lib|Salisbury 20| 101| 227|

39 |Alcester[A] m.t. & pa|Bromsgrove 12| 103| 2405|

38 |Alciston pa|Lewes 7| 64| 266|

19 |Alconbury pa|Stilton 9| 63| 765|

19 |Alconbury Weston chap| ... 8| 63| 441|

27 |Aldborough pa|Holt 9| 126| 275|

43 |Aldborough to|Bernard Cas 10| 240| 522|

46 |Aldborough to & pa|Hedon 6| 185| 620|

45 |Aldborough[B] pa & to|Ripon 6| 207| 2447|

41 |Aldbourn[C] to & pa|Swindon 8| 73| 1418|

18 |Aldbury pa|Berkhampst 4| 34| 695|

22 |Aldcliffe ham|Kirk. Londs 17| 238| 96|

36 |Aldeburgh[D] m.t.|Dunwich 10| 94| 1341|

+--+---------------------+-------------------------+------+------+

[A] ALCESTER is situated at the confluence of the two small rivers, Alne

and Arrow, having a bridge over each. It is supposed to have been a

Roman station; Roman coins, urns, and similar relics, having been

frequently found here. The Roman way of Icknield Street also passed

through it, and from its situation it is deemed the Alana of Richard of

Cirencester. It was anciently a borough by prescription, and of some

note in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when it became the

property of the Beauchamps, and afterwards of the Grevilles. The church

is a fine gothic structure; the market is well supplied with corn; and

the manufacture of needles is very extensive. Here is a Free School,

founded by Walter Newport, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and various

alms-houses and small charities, originating in different benefactors.

Traces of the site of an abbey, founded in the reign of King Stephen, to

the north of the town, are still visible.

_Market_, Tuesday.--_Mail_ arrives 9-1/2 A.M., departs 8-1/2

P.M.--_Inn_, Angel.--_Fairs_, March 20, June 23, Tuesday before April

5, May 18, 2nd Tuesday in July, for cheese.

[Sidenote: A Roman station.]

[Sidenote: Many relics of antiquity found.]

[Sidenote: Traces of an abbey founded by King Stephen.]

[B] ALDBOROUGH. _Fair_, September 4.

[C] ALDBOURN. _Market_, Tuesday.

[D] ALDEBURGH is pleasantly situated in the valley of Slaughton, and

bounded on the eastern side by the sea, which has made considerable

encroachments, and nearly washed a street away. The river Ald runs on

the south side, and forms a convenient quay. The town is mean in

construction, and chiefly inhabited by fishermen and seafaring people.

Soles, lobsters, and other fish are abundant. It is remarkable as the

birth-place of the late Rev. George Crabbe, emphatically styled the

_Poet of the Poor_, who was born December 24, 1754. His father was an

officer in the Customs, and at first gave him an education, merely

suitable to follow the same pursuit; but when his prospects brightened,

he removed his son to a classical seminary, where he was instructed for

a surgeon and apothecary, to which profession he was in due time

apprenticed, but relinquished all views of establishing himself in

practice. At a very early period he became a versifier; and among his

precocious attempts was a prize poem, on _Hope_, which was inserted in

the _Lady's Magazine_, then published by Mr. Wheeble. Crabbe came to

London, in 1778, with L3. in his pocket, and made versification his

chief study. His first published work was _The Candidate_, a poem, in

quarto, which came into the world anonymously, in 1780, and was

favourably received. A short time afterwards, his poverty and poetry

induced him to seek the patronage of Edmund Burke, to whom he submitted

a large quantity of miscellaneous composition; he had no introduction to

Mr. Burke, excepting his own letter, stating his circumstances; no

recommendation but his distress, and yet his application was attended

with success. His patron introduced him to some of the first men in the

country, and soon after became the means of benefiting his fame and

fortune; he selected from young Crabbe's works, _The Library_ and _The

Village_, suggesting at the same time certain corrections and

improvements. Among the eminent persons to whom he was thus introduced,

was the Right Hon. Charles James Fox, Sir Joshua Reynolds, at whose

mansion he first beheld, and was made known to, Dr. Johnson, who gave

the young poet his opinion of _The Village_. Mr. Burke having directed

Mr. Crabbe's views to the church, in 1781 he was ordained a deacon by

the Bishop of Norwich, and priest by the same dignitary in the following

year; he was next appointed domestic chaplain to the Duke of Rutland at

Belvoir Castle. As Mr. Crabbe had not received a university education,

he was offered a degree by Trinity College, Cambridge, but eventually

received the grant from the Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth, and

thus became a Bachelor of Laws. Burke also introduced Mr. Crabbe to Lord

Chancellor Thurlow, who presented him to rectories in Dorset and Lincoln

consecutively. He had previously a curacy at Strathorn, a village near

Belvoir Castle, where he married and became a father; he was universally

respected for his talents and virtues, and died at Trowbridge, at seven

o'clock in the morning of the 8th of February, 1832. The publications of

Mr. Crabbe have placed him high on the roll of British Poets.

_Market_, Wednesday and Saturday.--_Fairs_, March 1, and May 3, for

toys.--_Inn_, White Lion.--_Mail_ arrives at 9-1/2 A.M. departs 5-1/2

P.M.

[Sidenote: Birth place of the Rev. George Crabbe, the poet. Biographical

sketch of his life.]

[Sidenote: Crabbe's arrival in London, 1778.]

[Sidenote: His first published work well received.]

[Sidenote: Crabbe's introduction to eminent persons.]

[Sidenote: Promoted to the church.]

[Sidenote: Died at Trowbridge 1132.]

Map| Names of Places.| County. | Number of Miles From |

+--+-----------------+----------+--------------+---------------+

+--+-----------------+----------+--------------+---------------+

|Dist. |

Map| Names of Places.| Number of Miles From |Lond. |population.

+--+-----------------+-------------------------+------+--------+

27|Aldeby pa|Lowestoft 7| 112| 530|

18|Aldenham pa|Elstree 3| 17| 1494|

41|Alderbury to|Farley 3| 80| 1323|

27|Alderford pa|Aylesham 7| 108| 40|

15|Alderley pa|Tetbury 8| 108| 200|

7|Alderley pa|Congleton 8 172| 1338|

4|Aldermaston[A] pa|Kingsclere 5| 49| 636|

42|Alderminster pa|Shipston-Sto. 6| 89| 454|

41|Alderton pa|Chippenham 8| 103| 213|

15|Alderton pa|Tewkesbury 7| 102| 330|

28|Alderton pa|Sto. Stratford 9| 58| 162|

36|Alderton pa|Ipswich 12| 79| 575|

7|Aldersey to|Malpas 5| 175| 138|

16|Aldershott pa|Frimley 6| 35| 665|

10|Alderwasley to|Bakewell 9| 138| 424|

7|Aldford to & pa|Tarporley 9| 177| 710|

45|Aldfield to|Borobridge 7|2 08| 133|

14|Aldham pa|Neyland 6| 48| 407|

36|Aldham pa|Ipswich 8| 66| 318|

38|Aldingbourn pa|Bognor 5| 62| 833|

22|Aldingham pa|Lancaster 15| 277| 884|

21|Aldington[B] pa|New Romney 8| 60| 732|

+--+-----------------+-------------------------+------+--------+

[A] ALDERMASTON. _Fairs_, May 6, July 7, for horses and cattle, and

October 11, for pedlery.

[B] ALDINGTON. Elizabeth Barton, commonly called the Holy Maid of Kent,

a religious impostor, lived in the reign of Henry VIII. She was a

servant at Aldington, and having been for a long time afflicted with

convulsions, which distorted her limbs and countenance, and threw her

body into the most violent agitations, acquired a power of

counterfeiting the same appearances whenever she pleased. Richard

Master, who then held this living, with other ecclesiastics, thinking

her a proper instrument for their purpose, induced her to pretend that

all she said and did, was by a supernatural impulse, and taught her to

act her part in the most perfect manner. Thus she pretended to be

honoured with visions; to hear heavenly voices and most ravishing

melody; she declaimed against the wickedness of the times, against

heresy and innovations; exhorting all persons to frequent the church, to

hear masses, to make frequent confessions, and to pray to our lady, and

all saints. This artful management, with her apparent piety, virtue, and

austerity of life, completely deceived even Sir Thomas More, Bishop

Fisher, and Archbishop Warham, the last of which appointed commissioners

to examine her, to whom she was instructed to say, in her counterfeit

trances, that she should never recover till she went to visit the image

of the Virgin Mary, in a chapel dedicated to her in this parish, which

was done. After that she pretended that she was called to be a nun, and

the Archbishop being fully satisfied with the reports, had her placed in

the nunnery of St. Sepulchre, Canterbury, where she alleged she had

visions and revelations of a divine nature, so as to completely impose

upon the public. The main object of the priests, her managers, was

directed publicly to announce how God had revealed to her, "that in case

the king should divorce Queen Catherine of Anjou, and take another wife

during her life, his royalty would not be of a month's duration, but

that he should die the death of a villain," which created considerable

excitement, and much controversy: encouraged by the lenity of the

government, the ecclesiastics in this conspiracy, resolved to publish

the revelations of the nun throughout the kingdom. They had communicated

them to the Pope's Ambassadors, and exhorted Queen Catherine to persist

in her resolutions. At length this confederacy became a serious affair,

and Henry ordered the maid and her accomplices to be examined in the

Star Chamber, where they confessed all the particulars of the imposture;

and afterwards, upon a scaffold erected at Paul's Cross, were compelled

to hear their confession publicly read; they were confined in the Tower

until the meeting of parliament, by whom the whole affair was pronounced

to be a conspiracy against the king's life, and crown. The nun, and her

confederates, were eventually attainted of high treason, and executed at

Tyburn, April 20th, 1534, where she confessed the imposture, laying the

blame on her accomplices, the priests; craving pardon of God, and the

King.

[Sidenote: The History of the Holy Maid of Kent.]

[Sidenote: Holy Maid of Kent.]

[Sidenote: The imposture detected.]

[Sidenote: Herself and confederates executed at Tyburn.]

Map| Names of Places. | County. | Number of Miles From |

+--+-----------------------+----------+--------------+----------------+

28|Aldwinckle-St Peter pa| Northamp| ... 3| ... 10|

+--+------------------------+----------+--------------+----------------+

|Dist. |

Map| Names of Places. | Number of Miles From |Lond. |Population.

+--+-----------------------+-------------------------+------+---------+

42|Aldington ham|Alcester 10| 96| 104|

35|Aldridge pa|Lichfleld 6| 116| 1804|

36|Aldringham pa|Dunwich 7| 94| 362|

38|Aldrington pa|Worthing 7| 55| 615|

9|Aldstone Moor[A] to & pa|Haltwhistle 10| 272| 6858|

15|Aldsworth pa|Burford 4| 78| 353|

16|Aldwark to|Winster 6| 145| 97|

44|Aldwark to|Knaresboro 9| 202| 190|

45|Aldwarke to|Barnsley 8| 172| ...|

28|Aldwinckle-all Saints p|Oundle 5| 76| 247|

28|Aldwinckle-St Peter pa| ... 5| 76| 171|

4|Aldsworth[B] pa|Newbury 11| 50| 268|

+--+------------------------+------------------------+------+--------+

[A] ALDSTONE MOOR, in Leath Ward, is situated on the borders of

Northumberland, in the most picturesque and romantic part of the county.

The town itself stands upon a hill, at the bottom of which runs the

river Tyne. The immediate vicinity abounds in lead-mines, on estates

which once belonged to the Derwentwater family. On the attainder of the

last earl, they were granted in aid of the support of Greenwich

Hospital, from the trustees of which national institution, the mines are

at present leased. Satin spar is found in this parish; there is also a

pool on Gildersdale Fell, the slime of which is used for painting

yellow. About three miles from the town, are the earthworks of Whitley

castle, where relics of antiquity have frequently been discovered.

_Market_, Saturday.--_Fairs_, last Thursday in May, 1st Thursday in

September, for cattle, horses, linen and woollen cloth.

[Sidenote: Picturesque and Romantic scenery.]

[Sidenote: The slime of a pool use for painting yellow.]

[B] ALDWORTH is pleasantly situated on a hill: here was anciently a

mansion belonging to the family of De La Beche, the site of which is now

Beach Farm. In the churchyard is a remarkable yew-tree, the trunk

measuring nine yards in circumference, at upwards of four feet from the

ground. The church is celebrated for its very ancient monuments, nine in

number, disposed in enriched arches on each side, and in the centre of

the interior; these are supposed to belong to the De La Beche family,

and from the costume of the figures upon the tombs, may be referred to

the fourteenth century; six of them are knights in armour; two are

females, and one in the common habit of the time; some of the knights

are represented lying cross-legged; these had vowed, or accompanied a

crusade; the workmanship is excellent, and the attitude and expression

of each of the figures that remain perfect, are exceedingly graceful,

but several of the monuments are now considerably mutilated. The font is

very ancient, and remarkably plain, but very capacious, and somewhat

singular in its form.

[Sidenote: Remarkable yew-tree, nine yards round.]

[Sidenote: Church celebrated for ancient monuments.]

Map| Names of Places. | County. | Number of Miles From |

+--+------------------------+----------+--------------+--------------+

+--+------------------------+----------+---------------+-------------+

|Dist.|

Map| Names of Places. | Number of Miles From |Lond.|Population.

+--+------------------------+--------------------------+-----+-------+

29|Alemouth to|Morpeth 19| 311| 415|

28|Alesworth ham|Peterborough 5| 87| 289|

37|Alfold pa|Haslemere 9| 41| 514|

24|Alford m.t. & pa||Louth 11| 142| 1784|

34|Alford pa|Glastonbury 8| 115| 137|

10|Alfreton[A] pa|Mansfield 9| 139| 5691|

42|Alfrick chap||Gt. Malvern 10| 119| 493|

38|Alfriston pa|Hailsham 6| 55| 694|

24|Algarkirk pa|Donnington 7| 111| 651|

31|Alkerton pa|Kineton 6| 77| 192|

21|Alkham pa|Folkestone 4| 69| 542|

15|Alkington ti & to|Dursley 3| 113| 1167|

10|Alkmonton to|Uttoxeter 7| 134| 79|

22|Alkrington to|Oldham 1| 187| 367|

41|Alcannings pa & to|Marlborough 9| 88| 811|

29|Allendale pa & to|Haltwhistle 10| 273| 5540|

29|Allen-Head pa|Allendale 4| 268| ...|

8|Allen, St. pa|Falmouth 12| 252| 637|

17|Allensmore pa|Ross 12| 131| 592|

29|Allenton pa & to|Bellingham 15| 310| 822|

34|Aller pa|Bridgewater 8| 128| 490|

9|Allerby to|Abbey-Holm 6| 313| ...|

43|Allerston pa|Scarborough 10| 220| 385|

46|Allerthorpe pa|M. Weighton 6| 212| 185|

43|Allerthorpe to|Thirsk 6| 218| 167|

22|Allerton to|Prescott 6| 202| 374|

34|Allerton Chapel pa|Bridgewater 11| 132| 313|

45|Allerton Chapel pa|Bradford 8| 194| 1730|

45|Allerton to|Keighly 4| 200| 1733|

45|Allerton Bywater to|Leeds 6| 182| 375|

45|Allerton Mauleverer[B] p|Borobridge 5| 202| ...|

+--+------------------------+--------------------------+-----+-------+

[A] ALFRETON, is situated about two miles from the commencement of the

moors, which extend so widely in this county. The town is supposed to

have been built by King Alfred, and to derive its name from him. The

spot is shown where the house stood in which he lived. The inhabitants

are principally employed in a stocking manufactory, and in the

neighbouring collieries. Earthenware is also made in this place, and the

Monday market, for corn, is considerable. In Greenhill Lane, near this

town, seven hundred Roman coins, were discovered by a labourer employed

in repairing a fence.

_Markets_, Monday and Friday.--_Mail_ arrives 2-1/4 P.M., departs

9-1/4 A.M.--_Fairs_, horses and cattle, October 8, and November 22,

statute.--_Inns_, Angel, and George.

[Sidenote: Built by King Alfred.]

[Sidenote: 700 Roman coins found here.]

[B] ALLERTON MAULEVERER, is situated in a very beautiful part of

Yorkshire. The park now in the possession of _Lord Stourton_, consists

of about four hundred acres, in which is a superb mansion; the land is

very rich, and charmingly diversified by a variety of hills, dales, and

groves, which are considerably enlivened, and receive much additional

beauty, from a very fine expanse of water. An octagonal tower has been

built on a lofty hill, finely shaded with trees; it consists of two

rooms, and is approached by a double flight of steps, each of which, as

well as the terrace around the building, are protected by iron

palisades. From this commanding situation, all the various beauties of

the park are seen to the greatest advantage, and many extensive and

diversified prospects are enjoyed. Here was a priory of Benedictine

monks, founded by Richard Mauleverer, in the reign of Henry II., which

was dissolved about three centuries afterwards by King Henry VI. The

manor was the seat of the Mauleverer family for more than five hundred

years, when Sir Richard, the last heir, who died unmarried, left the

estate by will to his mother, who, afterwards by marriage, conveyed it

to the Arundel family, and from them it became the property of the

Honourable, William Monkton Arundel, Viscount Galway, whose son, the

late Lord Galway, sold it in the year 1786, to the late Duke of York,

who afterwards occasionally resided in the park, with George IV., then

Prince of Wales. The estate, comprising four thousand five hundred and

twenty-five acres, was sold by the Royal Duke to Colonel Thornton, for

L110,000; and was, in 1805, resold by that gentleman to the late Lord

Stourton, father of the present proprietor. The mansion stands on a

gentle elevation; it was erected by his Royal Highness the Duke of York,

and has since been considerably improved.

[Sidenote: Extensive park and mansion.]

Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11 Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set. · 第 3 / 31 段

[A] St. ALBANS is situated on the river Ver, or Muss, and consists of