for black cattle, sheep, and horses.--_Mail_ arrives 9.49 morning;
departs 2.1 afternoon.--_Bankers_, Commercial Banking Company; draw
on Jones, Lloyd, and Co.; Batson and Co.: draw on Glynn and
Co.--_Inns_, King's Arms, and Red Lion.
[Sidenote: The disputed town.]
[Sidenote: Countess of Buchan shut up in a cage six years.]
[Sidenote: The first cannon-ball used in England.]
[Sidenote: The church and convents.]
[Sidenote: The bridge 24 years in building.]
[Sidenote: Municipal officers.]
[Sidenote: Salmon and herring fisheries.]
Map| Names of Places. | County. |Number of Miles From |
+--+------------------+----------+--------------+--------------+
4|Besselsleigh[A] pa|Berks |Abingdon 5|Oxford 6|
43|Bessingby pa|E.R. York |Bridlington 2|Carnaby 1|
27|Bessingham pa|Norfolk |Cromer 6|Holt 6|
27|Besthorpe pa|Norfolk |Attleborough 1|Buckenham 4|
30|Besthorp to|Nottingham|Newark 8|Tuxford 8|
22|Beswick to|Lancaster |Stockport 7|Bury 9|
46|Beswick chap|E.R. York |Beverly 7|Gt Driffield 7|
37|Betchworth pa|Surrey |Reigate 3|Dorking 3|
21|Bethersden pa|Kent |Ashford 6|Tenterden 7|
+--+------------------+----------+--------------+--------------+
|Dist.|
Map| Names of Places. | Number of Miles From |Lond.|Population.
+--+------------------+-------------------------+-----+--------+
4|Besselsleigh[A] pa|Farringdon 14| 60| 124|
43|Bessingby pa|Hornsea 12| 238| 83|
27|Bessingham pa|Aylesham 8| 116| 137|
27|Besthorpe pa|Wymondham 6| 95| 542|
30|Besthorp to|Saxilby 9| 132| 322|
22|Beswick to|Bolton 12| 183| 248|
46|Beswick chap|Hornsea 13| 190| 205|
37|Betchworth pa|Leatherhead 7| 26| 1100|
21|Bethersden pa|Smarden 4| 54| 973|
+--+------------------+-------------------------+-----+--------+
[A] BESSELSLEIGH, is a small village, in the hundred of Hormer. The
manor formerly belonged to the family of Legh, from which it passed, by
a female heir, to that of Besils, or Blesells, which flourished there
for several centuries. "At this Legh," says Leland, "be very fayre
pastures and woodes. The Blesells hathe bene lords of it syns the tyme
of Edwarde the First, or afore, and ther they dyd enhabite. The place is
all of stone, and stondithe at the west end of the paroche churche. The
Blesells cam out of Provence in Fraunce, and were men of activitye in
feates of armes, as it appearith in monuments at Legh, how he faught in
Listes with a strange knighte that chalengyd hym, at the whiche deade
the Kynge and Quene at that tyme of England, were present. The Blesells
were countyd to have pocessyons of 400 marks by the yere." In the year
1516, the estates of the Blesells were carried, by the marriage of an
heiress, to the Fettiplaces, a respectable Berkshire family, one of whom
Besil Fettiplace, Esq., was High Sheriff in the 26th of Queen Elizabeth.
The manor of Besselsleigh was purchased of the Fettiplaces, by William
Lenthall, Esq., Speaker of the Long Parliament, whose descendants now
reside at Burford, in Oxfordshire.
[Sidenote: The Blessell's family.]
Map| Names of Places. | County. | Number of Miles From |
+--+---------------------+----------+-------------+---------------+
25|Bethnal Green[A] pa|Middlesex |Popular 2|Stratford 2|
35|Betley pa|Stafford |Newcastle 7|Nantwich 8|
12|Bettescombe pa|Dorset |Lyme Regis 6|Axminster 5|
53|Bettesfield |Flint |Whitchurch 6|Ellesmere 6|
21|Betteshanger pa|Kent |Sandwich 4|Deal 4|
33|Betton ham|Salop |Drayton 2|Adderley 4|
33|Betton ham|Salop |Shrewsbury 3|Ch. Stretton 11|
33|Bettws pa|Salop |Knighton 7|Bis. Castle 11|
49|Bettws pa|Carmarthen|Llandillo 7|Camarthen 18|
52|Bettws-Yn-Rhos[B] pa|Denbigh |Abergeley 4|Aberconway 9|
54|Bettws pa|Glamorgan |Bridgend 5|Pyle 5|
55|Bettws to|Merioneth |Bala 2|Corwen 11|
26|Bettws pa|Monmouth |Newport 3|Careleon 4|
26|Bettws ham|Monmouth |Abergavenny 5|Lanthony 7|
56|Bettws pa|Montgomery|Newtown 4|Montgomery 7|
51|Bettws Bleddrws[C] pa|Cardigan |Lampeter 2|Tregaron 9|
58|Bettws Clyro pa|Radnor |Hay 4|Kington 8|
58|Bettws Diserth pa|Radnor |New Radnor 8|Builth 6|
+--+---------------------+----------+-------------+---------------+
|Dist.|
Map| Names of Places. | Number of Miles From |Lond.|Population.
+--+---------------------+------------------------+-----+---------+
25|Bethnal Green[A] pa|Clapton 3| 1| 62018|
35|Betley pa|Keel 5| 157| 870|
12|Bettescombe pa|Charmouth 5| 146| 65|
53|Bettesfield |Oswestry 14| 173| 359|
21|Betteshanger pa|Wingham 5| 67| 20|
33|Betton ham|Woore 6| 155| |
33|Betton ham|Wenlock 11| 159| |
33|Bettws pa|Ludlow 22| 164| 389|
49|Bettws pa|Neath 13| 211| 830|
52|Bettws-Yn-Rhos[B] pa|Denbigh 11| 214| 912|
54|Bettws pa|Neath 13| 186| 362|
55|Bettws to|Llandrillo 7| 195| |
26|Bettws pa|Pontypool 7| 151| 95|
26|Bettws ham|Crickhowel 8| 151| |
56|Bettws pa|Llanfair 7| 175| |
51|Bettws Bleddrws[C] pa|Llandovery 20| 211| 235|
58|Bettws Clyro pa|Glasbury 7| 160| |
58|Bettws Diserth pa|Rhayader 15| 173| 141|
+--+---------------------+------------------------+-----+---------+
[A] BETHNAL GREEN. There is a curious legend relating to this place, of
which Henry de Mountfort, son of the ambitious Earl of Liecester, who
was slain with his father at the memorable battle of Evesham, is the
hero. He is supposed to have been discovered among the bodies of the
dying and the dead (by a young lady) in an almost lifeless state, and
deprived of his sight by a wound which he had received during the
engagement. Under the fostering hand of this "faire damosel" he soon
recovered, and afterwards marrying her, she became the mother of the
celebrated "Besse," the heroine of the popular ballad of the beggar's
daughter of Bethnal-green, written in the reign of Elizabeth. Fearing
least his rank and title should be discovered by his enemies, he is said
to have disguised himself as a beggar, and taken up his residence at
Bethnal-green. The beauty of the daughter attracted many suitors, and
she was at length married to a noble knight, who, regardless of her
supposed meanness and poverty, had the courage to make her his wife: her
other lovers having deserted her on account of her low origin. At
Bethnal-green is an old mansion, which the inhabitants, with their usual
love of traditionary lore, assign as the palace of the blind beggar. The
tradition, though with very little grounds for its foundation, is still
preserved on the sign posts of several public houses in the
neighbourhood. On the 19th September, 1826, the parish officers of
Bethnal-green waited on the Secretary of State for the Home Department,
and stated that a lawless gang, of 500 or more, thieves infested that
neighbourhood and committed the most dreadful outrages nightly, upwards
of fifty persons having been robbed and beaten in the course of a week;
the secretary ordered forty men mounted, to patrole the parish, and aid
the local authorities in bringing the offenders to justice. The hospital
called the Trinity House, founded in the year 1695, for twenty-eight
ancient seamen, who have been masters of ships, and their widows, is in
this parish. The funds arising from the ballast-offices, lighthouses,
buoys, beacons, &c. are appropriated by parliament to this corporation.
Each of the inmates receives 16s. a month, 20s. a year for coals, and a
new gown every second year. Many of the streets of this parish are
almost wholly occupied by the operative silk-weavers.
[Sidenote: The blind beggar of Bethnal-green.]
[Sidenote: Gang of 500 thieves, in 1826.]
[B] BETTWS-YN-RHOS. _Fairs_, February 20, May 8, August 15, and November
20.
[C] BETTWS BLEDDRWS. In this neighbourhood there exists a curious custom
relating to marriage, called a bidding, which takes place about a week
previous to the day of ceremony. The banns are published as in England.
A bidder goes from house to house, with a long pole and ribbons flying
at the end of it, and standing in the middle floor in each house, he
repeats a long lesson, with great formality. He mentions the day of the
wedding, the place, the preparations made, &c. The following is a
specimen:--Speech of the Bidder in 1762. "The intention of the bidder is
this; with kindness and amity, with decency and liberality for Einion
Owain, and Llio Elys, he invites you to come with your good will on the
plate; bring current money; a shilling, or two, or three, or four, or
five; with cheese and butter we invite the husband and wife, and
children, and men-servants, from the greatest to the least. Come there
early, you shall have victuals freely, and drink cheap, stools to sit
on, and fish if we can catch them; but if not, hold us excuseable; and
they will attend on you when you call in upon them in return. They set
out from such a place to such a place." The gwahodder, or bidder, has
eight or ten shillings for his trouble. Saturday is always fixed on as
the day of marriage, and Friday is allotted to bring home the furniture
of the woman, consisting generally of an oak chest, a feather bed,
clothes, &c. The man provides a bedstead, a table, a dresser and chairs.
The evening is moreover employed in receiving presents of money, cheese,
and butter, at the man's house, from his friends, and at the woman's
house from her friends. This is called purse and girdle, it is an
ancient British custom. All these presents are set down minutely on
paper. If demanded, they are to be repaid. On Saturday, the friends of
the man come all on horseback, from the number of eighty to a hundred,
and have bread and cheese, and ale at his cost, making at the same time
their presents, or pay pwython, i.e. the presents that have been made at
their weddings. From ten to twenty of the best mounted go to the
intended bride's house to demand her. The woman with her friends are
expecting the summons, but she appears very uncomplying, and much Welsh
poetry is employed by way of argument; one party being within the house,
the other without, abusing each other much. Several persons then deliver
orations on horseback, with their hats off, demanding the daughter from
the father, who were answered by persons appointed for the business. At
length the father appears, admitting and welcoming his guests. They
alight, walk in, take some refreshments, and proceed to church. The girl
mounts behind her father, mother, or friend, upon the swiftest horse
that can be procured. Her friends then pretend to run away with her,
riding like mad folks, in any direction. During this time, the girl has
no pillion, sitting upon the crupper, and holding by the man's coat, at
last the horse is tired, or the bride growing impatient consents to go,
using only some feints to get out of the road, till they arrive at the
church. The ceremony being over, they return to the married couple's
house, eating at free cost, but finding their own liquor. Sunday being
come, the married pair stay at home receiving good will and pwython. On
Monday the drink is exhausted, and the cheese, &c. is sold, frequently
making, with the money presented, a sum of L50 to L60. On the following
Sunday, most of the company attend the young pair to church, and the
ceremony closes. Among the eminent natives of this neighbourhood, was
David ap Gwylim, of Bro Ginin, whose works appeared in a large volume,
in the year 1789. He nourished from about the year 1330 to 1370. In
early life he enjoyed the munificent patronage of Ivor the generous, an
ancestor of the Tredegar family. Under the influence of a passion for
the fair Morvudd he composed 147 poems. Their loves were mutual, but her
friends induced her to accept a wealthy connection, named Rhys Gwrgan,
an officer of the English army, who served at the battle of Cressy,
1346; Dab Gwilym persuaded Morvudd to escape with him, during the
absence of her husband in France; in consequent of which he was
imprisoned, but liberated through the influence of his friends. It is
from the poems of this author, that the modern literary dialect has
chiefly been formed.
_Fairs_, August 17, and September 23 and 27.
[Sidenote: Curious marriage customs.]
[Sidenote: A Welsh poet.]
Map| Names of Places. | County. |Number of Miles From |
+--+-------------------+----------+------------+-------------+
50| Bettws Garmon pa |Carnarvon|Carnarvon 5| Beddgelart 7|
+--+-------------------+----------+------------+-------------+
|Dist.|
Map| Names of Places. |Number of Miles From |Lond.|Population.
+--+-------------------+-----------------------+-----+-------+
50| Bettws Garmon pa |Llanberris 6| 230| 128|
+--+-------------------+-----------------------+-------------+
Map| Names of Places. | County. | Number of Miles From |
+--+-------------------------+----------+-----------+--------------+
55|Bettws Gwerfyl Goch[A] pa|Merioneth |Corwen 5|Bala 11|
51|Bettws Jevan pa|Cardigan |Newcastle 7|Cardigan 10|
51|Bettws Lleuce pa|Cardigan |Lampeter 8|Tregaron 6|
26|Bettws Newydd pa|Monmouth |Usk 4|Abergavenny 7|
50|Bettws-Y-Coed[B] pa|Caernarvon|Llanrwst 5|Bangor 20|
30|Bevercoates pa|Nottingham|Tuxford 3|Ollerton 5|
42|Beverege isl|Worcester |Worcester 2|Droitwich 5|
46|Beverley[C] m.t. & bo|E.R. York |Hull 9|Scarborough 35|
+--+-------------------------+----------+-----------+--------------+
|Dist.|
Map| Names of Places. |Number of Miles From |Lond.|Population.
+--+-------------------------+----------------------+-----+--------+
55|Bettws Gwerfyl Goch[A] pa|Ruthin 12| 199| 273|
51|Bettws Jevan pa|Llanarth 9| 236| 386|
51|Bettws Lleuce pa|Aberystwith 16| 217| 381|
26|Bettws Newydd pa|Monmouth 12| 142| 890|
50|Bettws-Y-Coed[B] pa|Corwen 23| 217| 348|
30|Bevercoates pa|E. Retford 7| 140| 51|
42|Beverege isl|Bewdley 12| 113| |
46|Beverley[C] m.t. & bo|York 28| 183| 8302|
+--+-------------------------+----------------------+-----+--------+
[A] BETTWS GWERFYL.--_Fairs_, March 16, June 22, August 12, September
16, and Dec. 12.
[B] BETTWS-Y-COED. At this village, which contains scarcely a hundred
houses, is the picturesque bridge of Pont-y-Pain, beneath which is a
famous salmon leap; and the road leads into the luxuriant vale of
Llanwrst, in the neighbourhood of which are many seats. The principal of
these is Gwydir House, an ancient mansion of the Wynnes; and now an
occasional residence of Lord Gwydir. Two miles northward is the village
of Trefrew, remarkable chiefly for a saline spring, and the site of a
royal palace, built by Llewelyn. Between two mountains, near this place
are some capital mines, the produce of which are lead, calamine, mixed
with iron, ochre, and pyrites. Bettws-y-Coed lies on the mail-coach road
to Holyhead. From Cernioge Mawr, through this place to Ogwen Lake, a
broad smooth, and well protected road has been made among the rocky
precipices with which the mountainous country abounds. The village
church contains an ancient but very perfect tomb of Gryffyd, grand
nephew of Llewellyn, the last prince of Wales. This interesting monument
is concealed rather awkwardly beneath one of the benches.
_Fairs_, May 15, and December 3.--_Mail_ arrives 6.30 afternoon;
departs 6.0 morning.
[Sidenote: Gwydir House.]
[C] BEVERLEY. This important market town lies at the foot of the wolds,
it was anciently called Dierwald: the wood of the Deiri; from its
extensive forest. Its present appellation may be a corruption of Beaver
ley; beavers having abounded in the neighbouring river, Hull. Its origin
and early history were totally unknown, till the beginning of the eighth
century, when St. John of Beverley founded a church and monastery, and
died there. This institution was several times destroyed by the Danes;
and there is a pause in its history, till Athelstan granted to it many
priviledges, and built a new college. Many archbishops of York were
benefactors to the monastery, and expended large sums in beautifying the
church. In the early part of the civil war, Charles I. had his quarters
here; and subsequently the town was taken by the parliamentarians. It
appears that Beverley derived its first and greatest importance from its
connexion with the saint. In its present state, the town is extensive
and pleasant. The entrance from Driffield, through an ancient gateway
into a spacious street of elegant houses, is particularly beautiful. Its
market-place also being large and commodious, is a principal ornament.
The church of St. John, which is in excellent preservation, is a superb
edifice, adorned at its west end with two lofty steeples. Within it is
rich in relics of antiquity. Gisbon, describing it, says "the minster
here is a very fair and neat structure: the roof is an arch of stone. In
it are several monuments of the Earls of Northumberland, who have added
a little chapel to the choir; in the windows whereof are the pictures of
several of that family, drawn in the glass. At the upper end of the
choir, on the right side of the altar place, stands the freedstool, made
of one entire stone, and said to have been removed from Scotland; with a
well of water behind it. At the upper end of the body of the church,
next the choir, hangs an ancient tablet, with the pictures of St. John
and king Athelstan, and this distich:
'Als free make I thee,
As heart can wish, or egh can see.'"