_Biographical Sketches of some of the most distinguished personages of
other times_, _in Marshland and its vicinity_.
Of celebrated characters, or men who attained to high renown among their
contemporaries, but a very moderate number appears to belong to Marshland
or its vicinity. Some such, however, seem to have sprung up there, at
different periods, within the last thousand years: and of them, whose
names have been preserved, the first place, at least in point of
seniority, seems to belong to
1. HICKIFRIC, vulgarly called _Tom Hickatrif_ or _Hickathrift_. He is
supposed to have lived some time before the conquest, and to have been in
his day and generation,
“A village Hampden, that with dauntless breast
The little tyrants of his fields withstood.”
He has been represented as the proprietor of the _Smeeth_; though he
might, perhaps, be only entitled to the benefit of pasturage there, in
common with the rest of his neighbours. Be that as it might, it is
agreed on all hands that he was a person of uncommon strength, gigantic
stature, and unshaken fortitude. Very different from most other men of
might, it does not appear that he was ever accused of oppressing his
weaker neighbours, insulting their persons, or committing depredations
upon their property. His superior powers and valour were called forth
and employed only in defence of his own just right and property, and
those of his oppressed fellow-citizens. Tradition informs us of a
certain unwarrantable and base attempt being once made, by some lawless
and powerful men, to encroach upon the neighbouring inhabitants, and
dispossess them of their right to the _Smeeth_; or, at least, to deprive
them of some part of that fertile tract; and which was to be effected by
force of arms, as the inhabitants seemed determined to make resistance,
and not tamely to part with, or give up their rights. An engagement
accordingly ensued, which terminated in the total discomfiture of the
invaders, and the consequent reinstatement of the inhabitants in the
quiet possession of their wonted privileges. The victory was universally
ascribed to the singular prowess and irresistible exertions of Hickifric,
who fought that day, as the tradition says, with a cart-wheel in one
hand, instead of a buckler or shield, and an axletree in the other,
instead of a spear or battle-ax. In short he is said to have acquitted
himself on that memorable occasion, so as to establish his character, and
hand it down to posterity, as, at once, the firm patriot, and redoubtable
champion. A stone coffin, in Tilney churchyard, is shewn to this day as
having once belonged to him. But this, perhaps, may be questioned, as
may also some of the circumstances of the above story, though the
substance of it may be true: the affair of the _wheel_ and _axletree_,
for instance, like many other vulgar traditions, may be only
hyperbolically and not literally true; and implying no more than, that be
furnished himself for the said conflict with certain rustic, ponderous
and unusual weapons; which blind tradition and stupid credulity
afterwards converted into a cartwheel and an axletree.
2. _Saint_ GODRIC. He is said to have been a native of _Walpole_, and
to have originally followed the humble occupation or profession of a
_Pedler_. He afterwards went on pilgrimage to Rome, and even to
Jerusalem; but whether he relinquished his former profession before he
set off, or took his pedlery along with him, does not appear. Some of
the pilgrims of those times, it is said, used to engage, clandestinely,
in certain pedling, mercantile, or commercial adventures, and to find
their account in so doing, as the garb, or profession of pilgrims
exempted them from the tolls or duties imposed upon mere pedlers, or
merchants. Whether that was the case with our Godric, or not, he
acquired the character of a _Saint_, and was _canonized_; which yet with
some people will make no very great deal in his favour. In the latter
part of his life he became a _hermit_, and lived sometime at _Finchale_
near Durham, where he is said to have worn out no less than three
successive suits of _iron_ clothes, {123} which, with many, would be an
indubitable proof that his sanctity must have been far superior to that
of the wearers of _flannel_, _coarse woollen_, or even _haircloth_; by
which kind of dresses numbers of his brethren chose to distinguish
themselves. Godric died in 1170. Many miracles, of course, are ascribed
to him; and his _girdle_ that he left, was said to have in it such
uncommon and wonderful virtue, as to make barren women fruitful.—After
all, it seems not quite clear, or certain, that he was a better man, or
worthier character than Hickifric.
3. _Sir_ FREDERIC TILNEY. He was one of the attendants and Captains of
_Richard_ I, in his memorable expedition to the Holy Land, and was
knighted by that monarch, in his third year, at _Acon_ or _Acre_,
otherwise Ptolemais—[a place rendered very famous during the Crusades;
especially by the heroic achievements of the lion-hearted Richard and his
followers; and no less so of late years, by its obstinate and successful
defence against the arms and repeated assaults of Bonaparte.]—Sir
Frederic Tilney was distinguished for his great stature and vast bodily
strength; being, perhaps, a descendant of Hickifric. He survived the
expedition to Palestine, and returned safe to his native country, where
he ended his days in peace, and was buried with his ancestors at
Terrington, _by Tilney_; that is, at _St. John’s_, as it is supposed;
where we are told his height was to be seen as late as 1556.—Sixteen
knights of the same name (and supposed to be his descendants) succeeded
him, most, if not all of whom lived at Boston.
4. RICHARD DE TYRINGTON. He is said to have been one of the great
favourites of _King John_, who granted him, for his life, an annuity of
twenty marks. Little more is known of him. But as a king’s favourite,
he must have been a noted man in his day. That king had many favourites,
it seems, in and about Lynn. No part of his kingdom seemed to be more,
if so much attached to him. His favourites and adherents, and this
Richard of Terrington among the rest, may be presumed to be much of the
same cast with their royal, patron, and therefore the less said about
them is best.
5. _Sir_ FREDERICK CHERVILL, or _Chervile_, otherwise _Kervile_. He
lived in the reign of Henry III. and had considerable possessions in
Tilney, Islington, Wigenhale, and Clenchwarton. He was found, in the
thirty-fourth year of that king, to have a _Gallows_ in Tilney, and the
liberty or power of trying and hanging offenders; by which it appears,
that he was in his time a person of no small consequence and dignity in
this country. He lived at the time when the Ouse deserted its ancient
course or channel by Wisbeach, and mixed with the waters of Wigenhale and
of Lynn. Of the qualities of his heart, or his particular deeds, good or
bad, no memorial now remains.—The seat of the Kerviles, for many
successive generations, was the manor-house of Wigenhale St. Mary’s, of
which only the gate-house now remains, and is visible from the Wisbeach
road. Its appearance seems to indicate that the mansion formerly
attached to it was in its day a sumptuous edifice; and for no short
period, perhaps, the first house in all Marshland.
6. JOHN COLTON: a native of Terrington, chaplain to _W. Bateman_, bishop
of Norwich, and the first master of _Gonvil-Hall_ in Cambridge.
Afterward, on account of his great learning and piety, (as it is said)
Henry IV. advanced him to the archbishopric of Armagh, and primacy of
Ireland. While in that high station he was sent to Rome, and employed in
the affair of the schism between Urban VI. and Clement VII. which
occasioned his writing a learned treatise (as Fuller says) _De causa
Schismatis_; and also another _De remedio __ejusd_. He is supposed to
have resigned his archbishopric some time before his death, which
happened, it seems, in 1404. It does not appear that he was one of the
worst men of his order.
7. WALTER TIRRINGTON, LL.D. a celebrated writer and author, is said to
have been another native of Terrington. At what time he flourished, is
rather uncertain; though it seems not improbable, that he was
contemporary with _Colton_. Nor is it now known what these writings were
which made him so celebrated as an author. Whatever they were, and they
might be highly valuable in their time, they seem to have been long ago
swallowed up in the dark devouring abyss or gulph of oblivion; and from
which the very name of their author has hardly escaped.
8. JOHN AYLMER: born at Aylmer-Hall in Tilney, about 1521. When very
young, Henry Grey, Marquis of Dorset, afterward Duke of Suffolk, took a
great liking to him, entertained him as his scholar, and gave him an
exhibition at Cambridge, where his proficiency was so considerable, that
he was afterward deemed one of the best scholars of his time. {126} From
the University his noble patron took him to his family, and made him
tutor to his children, among whom was the memorable _Lady Jane Grey_. He
early imbibed the opinion of the reformers, and was very instrumental,
under the patronage of the Duke of Suffolk, and the Earl of Huntingdon,
in diffusing the same about Leicestershire, (in which bounty was the
Duke’s chief seat and residence,) where he seems to have had some
preferment, and to have been tor sometime the only preacher of that
description. In time he was promoted to the archdeaconry of _Stow_, in
the diocese of Lincoln, which qualified him to sit in Convocation, the
first year of the reign of Mary, where he defended protestantism with so
much zeal, learning, and acuteness, that he was soon after deprived of
his archdeaconry, and obliged to abscond and quit the kingdom, to avoid
the approaching storm. After he had embarked he was in no small danger
from the searchers, who came onboard, in quest of fugitives; but he
happily escaped, partly through his own diminutive size, (being of small
stature like _Zaccheus_,) and partly through the friendship of the
Captain, who placed him in the empty end of a wine _butt_, that had a
partition in the middle, where he sat very snugly, while the searchers
were drinking wine, which they saw drawn out of the other end. He was
sometime after landed on the continent, and got safe to Strasburgh,
whence he shortly after removed to Zurich, where he diligently prosecuted
his studies, and attended the Lectures of Peter Martyr. He afterwards
visited most of the universities of Italy and Germany, and at _Jena_, in
Saxony, he had the offer of the Hebrew Professorship, which he declined.
After the accession of Elizabeth he returned home, and was one of the
divines appointed to dispute at Westminster with an equal number of
popish bishops. He sometime after was made archdeacon of Lincoln; but
got no higher for a long while. At last, upon the translation of Sandys
to York, he was appointed his successor in the see of London. This
elevation he is said to have owed, in a great measure, to the interest
and friendship of that prelate, but which he afterward very ill requited.
He now forgot his former affection to the puritans, and became a bitter
persecutor. On Sunday afternoons he was fond of playing at bowls, and
would use such language at this game as justly exposed him to reproach.
When he happened to preach, if he observed his audience inattentive, he
would take a Hebrew bible out of his pocket, and read them a few verses,
and then resume his discourse. {128a} He was a man of great courage,
which he shewed on many occasions; one of which was his having a tooth
drawn, to encourage the queen to submit to the like operation. _Strype_
says, he was a man of metal, and could use his hands and arms well,
{128b} and would turn his back on no man. _Fuller_ says, he was foully
belibelled by the puritans; but does not say how much provocation he had
given them for so doing. He died at his Palace of Fulham, June 3. 1594.
9. _Sir_ ROBERT AYLMER, elder brother of the preceding, appears to have
been a person of some note in his time, and resided chiefly, as it is
supposed, at Aylmer Hall, above-mentioned; but as the particulars of his
history have not been recorded, and seem to be now entirely forgotten, no
more can be here said of him.
10. THOMAS HERRING. He was the Son of the reverend _John Herring_,
rector of Walsoken, where he was born in 1693. At a proper time he was
sent to Cambridge, and in 1722, became chaplain to Dr. Fleetwood, bishop
of Ely. In 1726 he was chosen preacher of Lincoln’s Inn, and appointed
king’s chaplain; in 1737 he was made bishop of Bangor, and in 1743 was
translated to York. When the rebellion broke out, and the king’s troops
were defeated at Preston Pans, the archbishop convened the nobility,
gentry, and clergy of his diocese, and by an excellent speech removed the
general panic, and excited such zeal among his auditors, that a
subscription to the amount of 40,000_l._ was raised; and the example was
followed in most parts of the kingdom. On the death of Dr. _Potter_, in
1747, he was advanced to Canterbury, and so attained to the very summit
of ecclesiastical preferment and dignity; but his health very soon began
to impair, and after languishing about four years, he died, in 1757,
leaving behind him a very amiable and excellent character, in spite of
the many disadvantages of his elevated situation, and his long course of
worldly prosperity. He appears to have been a real and warm friend to
civil and religious liberty, as well as one of the best and worthiest men
of the age in which he lived.
11. Dr. RICHARD BUSBY. He was not indeed born in Marshland, but close
by, at Lutton in Lincolnshire, in 1606. He had his education at
Westminster school, and afterward at Christ-Church, in Oxford. In 1640,
he was appointed master of Westminster school, and by his skill and
diligence in that laborious and important office, for the space of fifty
five years, bred up the greatest number of eminent men, in church and
state that any teacher or tutor could boast of in this, or perhaps in any
other country. In his school discipline, he was extremely and
proverbially severe, though he applauded and rewarded wit in his
scholars, even when it reflected on himself. After a long life of
unwearied assiduity and temperance, he died, in 1695, at the age of 89.
Here it may not be improper to add, that the noble families of the
_Howards_ and the _Walpoles_ appear to have originated in Marshland.—The
ancestors of the former, sometime after the conquest, bore the name of
_Wigenhale_, or _de Wigenhale_, from that being their place of residence,
and where they had their most considerable possessions. In the 12th
century lived a notable person of this family, whose name was Sir William
de Wigenhale, and who, it seems, went sometimes under the name of William
de Clenchwarton, from his having large possessions in that parish. John,
the Son of this William, in the 13th century, took the surname of
_Howard_, (on what account does not appear,) and his descendants have
borne that name ever since. William, the son of this John Howard, became
one of the most eminent lawyers and distinguished characters of his time,
being Lord Chief Justice of England, in the reign of Edward I. and one of
that King’s privy Council. He owned the manor of East Winch, and the
manor-house there appears to have been his principal seat, and where the
family chiefly resided for some generations. In the chapel of St.
Mary’s, on the south side of East Winch church, supposed to have been
built by him, he and many of his earlier descendants are said to have
been buried. The Howard family continued to reside at East Winch till
towards the close of the 14th Century, and perhaps longer. Sir William’s
great grandson, Sir Robert Howard, lived there, and there, it seems, he
died and was buried, in 1388.—Sir William Howard rendered much good
service, of some sort, to the corporation of Lynn, of which that body was
not insensible, as appears by divers presents, which he and his lady
received in return;—such as the carcase of an ox, one time, to lady
Howard, which, with the conveying of it to Winch, cost _eleven
shillings_, a sum equal, no doubt, to many pounds of our money. Another
time a present of wine, together with two calves, and a collar, or shield
of brawn, were sent as a present to Sir William, and valued at _thirteen
shillings_. Another time, two salmons were sent to Sir William, on the
vigil of Easter, valued at _eleven shillings_; {131} which, compared with
the value of the other articles, seems to indicate, that salmon was a
very great rarity at that period.—Such was the origin of the far-famed
House of Howard, which has been long since divided into so many noble
branches, and makes so conspicuous a figure in the British Annals, and
whose chief is now, and has long been the first peer of the realm.
As to the _Walpole family_, it appears to be no less ancient than that of
the Howards, although it did not rise so soon to very great eminence.
Like the Howards, or rather the _Wigenhales_, it first appeared among the
opulent Marshland families, not long after the conquest; but whether
either of these families is of Saxon, Danish, or Norman descent, does not
appear. The Walpole family took its name from the town of Walpole in
Marshland, where the forefathers of the family resided, and had large
possessions. Reginald de Walpole, who lived in the reign of Henry I. is
thought the lineal ancestor of the present family. His son, Richard de
Walpole, married Emma the daughter of Walter de Havelton (or de Houghton)
of Houghton, in Norfolk. From that time, the family, or the principal
branch of it, fixed its residence at Houghton, where it has continued
almost ever since. Sir John Walpole, knight, was a favourite of Henry
III. whom he accompanied in his expedition to Britany. His son, Sir
Henry de Walpole, was a Judge, about the 50th year of the same king’s
reign. Another of the family, Ralph de Walpole, was about the same time
bishop of Ely, and afterward of Norwich. {132} Some of the family, at
different times, long after the removal of one branch to Houghton, appear
to reside at Walpole; and in the reign of Henry VII. we find the owner of
Houghton residing at Lynn, as appears by his Will, where he is called
Thomas Walpole, Esquire, of Lynne Bishop. In that Will, among other
things, he leaves certain lands and tenements at Walpole, “to the
brodirhode of the Holy Trinity at Lynne Bishop, to the intent the
Alderman and Skyvens of the said Gylde shall find and pay yerly eight
marks to the wages of an abil prest to synge mess perpetually for his
sowl, and the sowl of Jone his wife, in the chapel of our Lady, in the
chapel of St. Nicholas in Lynne.”—For many ages the Walpoles made no mean
figure among the Norfolk gentry; but none of them appear to have been
advanced to the peerage till the eighteenth century; since which time,
they have ranked among the principal nobility of the kingdom. But of the
whole race, from first to last, the most distinguished and memorable
character was the famous Sir Robert Walpole, prime minister to our two
first sovereigns, of the present dynasty, and afterward created Earl of
Orford; of whom some account will be given in the next chapter, section
IV.
Here it may be added, that the family of the _Coneys_ has also, for some
ages, figured among the principal inhabitants of Marshland. They seem
however, to have been originally of Lynn, and to have ranked, at a pretty
distant period, among the principal people of that town. Some of their
modern descendants are said to have prided themselves, not a little, on
the score of their remote ancestry, but as the remarkable, or memorable
part of the history of those remote ancestors of the family, or even the
very names of more than one of them, {134} have not yet come to the
knowledge of the present writer; it cannot be expected that he should say
any more here about them.—The pride of ancestry, or the plea of being
descended from renowned progenitors, is often very idle and childish,
especially when none of the eminent or estimable traits which
distinguished and characterized those progenitors are discoverable in
their descendants.
CHAP. III.
Of the parts about Lynn, on the eastern side of the Ouse.
SECTION I.
_Aspect of the country—its agriculture and rural economy—Wayland
Wood—Memoir of Shuckforth—parish churches and other edifices_, _ancient
and modern_.
After passing from Marshland to the eastern side of the Ouse, the country
presently begins to exhibit a very different appearance. The surface now
ceases to be flat and even as before, and the very soil appears
considerably altered and diversified. A light sandy soil soon presents
itself, and the land becomes higher and comparatively hilly, as well as
in general much less fertile and productive than in Marshland. The
style, or mode and process of agriculture also differs considerably, as
do likewise even the very implements of husbandry. There are certainly
some slovenly farmers on this eastern side, but there are many others who
manage their farms in a manner greatly superior to what is generally done
on the other side of the river. Indeed the comparative poorness of the
soil here may operate in no small degree as a spur to superior exertion
and improvement. Where the land is poor nature requires the greater
attention and assistance; and without skilful, laborious, and expensive
management the cultivator cannot expect to thrive. Those farmers who
have distinguished themselves, by a close attention to the pursuit of
wise projects of agricultural improvement, have found their account
abundantly in so doing. They have generally attained to considerable
opulence, so as to be able to exhibit the appearance of wealthy
independent country gentleman, instead of a servile, cringing yeomanry or
tenantry. Not a few of them are supposed to live as well as their
landlords: but the conduct of some of them towards the _poor_ has been
thought cruel and tyrannical.
Dairies are said to be here rather neglected, and the farmers’ attention
chiefly directed to tillage and the growing of corn. The _cheese_ is for
the most part very ordinary and poor, and the _butter_ not excellent.—No
part of England exceeds Norfolk, or even equals it, in the culture of
_turnips_, for which its loose, light, and sandy soil is thought to be
very favourable. Much dependence is here placed on the turnip crop, for
subsisting the sheep and cattle during the winter season; and if it fail,
or is materially injured by early frosts, or other means, the complaints
become loud, and the consequences often prove serious and distressing.
The turnip was only cultivated in gardens, as a culinary plant in this
country till the reign of George I. when Lord Townshend, an ancestor of
the present marquis, who had attended the king to Hanover, as secretary
of state, observing the profit and utility of the field cultivation of
turnips in that electorate, on his return brought with him the seed and
recommended it to his tenants who occupied land of a similar quality to
that of Hanover. The experiment succeeded adequate to expectation: the
practice gradually spread over the county, and made its way into other
parts of the kingdom. This important root, the great source of abundance
to the county, has been gradually rising to its present state, for
upwards of seventy years—A good acre of turnips in Norfolk will produce
between thirty and forty cart-loads, as heavy as three horses can draw;
and an acre will fat a Scotch bullock from forty to fifty stone, or eight
sheep. But the advantage of this crop does not end here, for it
generally leaves the land so clean and in such fine condition, that it
almost insures a good crop of barley, and a kind plant of clover; and the
clover is a most excellent preparative for wheat, so that in the
subsequent advantages the value of the turnip can hardly be estimated.
It has however been observed, that the cultivation of this root has
reached its acme; and that at present, from some latent causes, it is on
the decline: for recently more seed is become necessary, and the crop is
said to be more precarious. Some have attributed it to the want of
deeper ploughing, and instances have been adduced of the extraordinary
depth to which turnips, and even _wheat_ will radicate. This however has
been thought insufficient to affix the cause of failure to shallow
ploughing. {137}
Among our enlightened agriculturists the first place in generally
allotted to those of Norfolk; and it has been observed, that the first
thing that attracts the eye of a stranger here, is the fine _tilth_ of
the soil, and the _succession_ of crops. The mode of cultivating the
arable lands is worthy, no doubt, of imitation, wherever it can be
adopted. The plough, which is of an admirable construction, is drawn by
two horses harnessed abreast, which with a pair of reins are guided by
the person who holds the plough. Instead of working the animals seven or
eight hours without drawing bit, as is the custom in some counties, they
are here worked eight hours in winter, and ten in Summer, by two
journeys, as they are termed, which enables them to do considerably more
than they would by one journey. The ploughings are repeated till the
land is high in tilth, when it is completely pulverized with _wheeled_
drags and harrows, which are violently drawn by the horses being kept
upon a _trotting_ pace. Owing to this rapid movement, the clods are very
effectually broken, and the land well prepared to receive the seed.
After this is sown or planted, the utmost attention is paid to keep the
land free from weeds. The ridiculous custom of letting the land lie
_idle_ one year in every three, for the advantage of what is termed
_fallowing_, is here properly exploded. The necessity of it has been
superceded, and the reasons of it done away, by a judicious course of
_cropping_; so that one crop may fertilise as the other exhausts; and in
this manner are the lands cultivated like gardens, yielding various crops
in perpetual succession, to the mutual benefit of the landlord and
tenant; and of general utility to the public.
The mode of cropping in general practice is what is termed a _sixcourse
shift_—the first year wheat; second, barley, with or without clover;
third, turnips; fourth, barley or oates, with or without clover; fifth,
clover mown for hay; sixth, grazed and ploughed up for wheat again. Some
vary this mode by a five or a four course shift. Wheat is a general crop
over the whole county, but thrives best on the stiff loamy lands. The
lighter soils are favourable to barley, vast quantities of which are
raised, malted, and in that state sent out of the county. Both wheat and
barley are principally either drilled, for which several kinds of
ingeniously-contrived _barrow-drills_ are used, or else planted with the
hand by women and children, called _dibbling_. The latter is among the
agricultural improvements that have originated in this county: it is very
generally practised, and its superiority, in several respects, or
circumstances, over the other methods has been generally admitted. The
quantities produced, according to the seed sown, are very unequal in
different parts of the county. Lands, in the hundred of Flegg and
Marshland, usually bear six quarters of wheat per acre, and ten of oats;
but in the very light soils, the farmer is glad to obtain two quarters of
oats, and three of barley. The average crops of the whole county may be
stated at three quarters of wheat, and four of barley, and other articles
in proportion, per-acre. {139} Oats are mostly sown only as a shifting
crop, and seldom more is raised than what are consumed within the county.
Other crops are rye, buck wheat, peas, beans, vetches or tares, coleseed,
clovers, rye and other artificial grasses; burnet; cocksfoot, chickary,
cabbages, mangel wurzel, luzerne, carrots, and potatoes. The latter,
though so valuable a root, and in other parts used as a preparatory crop
for wheat, has not lately been adopted as a field course in Norfolk.
{140a} _Flax_ and _hemp_, and even _mustard_ and _saffron_ are grown in
some parts about Marshland and the Fens.—Improved implements and
machines, to facilitate the operations of husbandry, are here in the
greatest variety and perfection. _Threshing machines_ are become general
throughout the county, as are also _drills_ of all kinds; but a
_drill-roller_ has been supposed to be peculiar to Norfolk. It is a
large cast-iron cylinder, with projecting rings round it, at about ten
inches distance from each other. This being drawn over the ploughed land
makes indentations, and the seed sown _broad-cast_ chiefly falls into the
drills, and is thus regularly and better deposited than in the common
mode of sowing.—Among _wheel-carriages_ the non descript one called a
_wizzard_, or _hermaphrodite_, is curious and remarkable; it is the
common cart, to which in harvest, or in pressing circumstances, a couple
of temporary forewheels are placed under the shafts, and two oblique
ladders to the frame, by which it is made to answer the purpose of a
waggon: in little farms, it is an object of no small utility, and in
large ones a great help in a busy season. {140b}
The fat cattle of these parts, except those sold at home to the butchers,
are commonly sent up to London, and sold in Smithfield Market, by the
authorized and sworn salesmen of that place, who regularly remit the
money afterwards to the respective owners, to their entire satisfaction;
for no murmurs against these salesmen, or reflections unfavourable to
their integrity are ever heard. One man, commonly called _a drover_,
generally takes charge of the disposable cattle of a whole district, and
among them sometimes very fierce beasts, that would prove unmanageable to
most other people, but which he contrives to drive along with tolerable
ease, assisted only by a trusty and well-trained _dog_, his sagacious and
constant companion.
The country eastward of Lynn, towards Westacre and Swaffham, soon becomes
more and more elevated and hilly: the soil also, in many places, is of a
very inferior sort—and so light, loose, and sandy, as to be easily, in
its ploughed state, drifted by the wind; for which the _marl_, that
abounds about those parts, is the very best manure, and almost the only
effectual remedy; and it is generally nigh at hand; often but a few feet
beneath the surface, and under the very soil that wants it. It is
usually laid on very thick, and seldom disappoints the farmer’s wish or
expectation, unless the soil be so incurably sterile as not to admit the
marl’s incorporating with it. Wonderful effects have often been produced
by this marling, upon lands that many would have deemed of invincible
sterility.
Not far from the last mentioned town of Swaffham, between Watton and
Merton, is a place called _Wayland Wood_, which gives name to the Hundred
in which it lies. It is commonly called _Wailing Wood_, and tradition
has marked it out as the scene of the pitiable, miserable, and horrid
catastrophe recorded and commemorated in the old and well-known ballad of
“The Children in the Wood; or the Norfolk Gentleman’s last will and
testament.” The origin of the tradition, or the time when that shocking
event happened, cannot now, it seems, be ascertained. Even Blomefield,
with all his antiquarian sagacity, and extensive means of information,
was not able to find it out. It was probably the occurrence of a very
distant period: but that it really did happen, the ballad and the
tradition may be considered as very sufficient proofs; and the latter
renders it very probable, or rather more than probable, that Wayland, or
Wailing Wood was the very theatre of its perpetration. Of the untimely
and tragical ends of helpless and friendless orphans, by the procurement
of unprincipled, unfeeling, and cruel relations, who were heirs to their
possessions, the history of rude and barbarous ages furnish but too many
and very shocking examples; and it is devoutly to be wished that nothing
of the kind, or nothing equally inhuman and shocking, could be said of
the history of what are usually called civilized and enlightened times.
At Saham Tony, not far from Watton and Wayland Wood, lived in the last
century a remarkable person of the name of _Shuckforth_. He was a
gentleman of good property, and resided there on his own estate. On some
occasion, unknown to the present writer, he retired from the world many
years before he died, and gave himself up to reading and meditation, and
to the practice of piety and charity. His religion appeared to be of
that cast that is usually and assumingly denominated orthodox and
evangelical, with no slight tincture of credulity, superstition, and
fanaticism. These, however, as his life was otherwise so inoffensive and
fruitful of good works, lost in him a great part of their deformity. His
oddities and eccentricities induced many of his neighbours, of the higher
orders, to impute to him a strong twist of insanity; while a great part
of their own conduct would have gone, perhaps, quite as far in supporting
a similar imputation against themselves. A course of life so singular,
unfashionable, and unadmired, as that which he chose and pursued, might
excite in many no small degree of surprize and disgust, but it ought not
to be taken as a proof of mental derangement. It was probably the result
of the sober exercise of his private judgement, and of a full conviction
that there was no other course in which he could so well serve God and
his fellow creatures, or promote his own present and future happiness.
He was seldom seen for many of his latter years, except by a few
domestics, one of whom was a constant attendant, and employed to read to
him, after his own eyesight had failed. He is also supposed to have been
the chief agent to distribute his charities, in the mean time, among the
neighbouring poor and indigent. Close to his house he had a lime-kiln
erected, from an idea that the smell, or effluvia of burning lime
conduced to health and longevity. Thus he passed his time, in innocent
and useful retirement, during a great part of a very long life. May his
opulent survivors imitate his benevolence and charitable actions,
whatever they may think of his peculiarities. He died in 1781, in his
91st. year, and was buried in one of his own fields, in a spot which he
had fixed upon, and enclosed for that purpose, near twenty years before;
and where he had erected a tomb, or a kind of mausoleum, with a long
inscription on each of its four sides, or on four different stones. The
inscriptions, as to the style and substance of them, have no great merit.
They possess no elegance; and may be very truly said to be far more
fanciful than judicious. But of the writer’s good intention, no doubt
ought to be entertained. As he had in his lifetime distinguished himself
by numerous acts of benevolence, so at his death; and by his will, he
left divers charitable donations to the poor of Saham and the
neighbouring parishes. Thus did he, in life and in death, remember the
poor, and maintain the character of the poor man’s friend. The blessing
of the poor, and of those who were ready to perish he doubtless obtained,
and even the blessing and approbation of Him who is the common parent,
benefactor, and righteous judge of the rich as well as the poor, the
creator, sustainer, and ruler of the universe.
The parish churches on this side the Ouse, for the most part, make but a
mean appearance, compared with those of Marshland and Holland. Here are,
however, and always have been other edifices greatly superior to anything
of the kind found in those districts: that is, the sumptuous mansions and
palaces, for which this county has been long remarkable, and not
inferior, perhaps, to any part of the kingdom. Of these, the most
distinguished, in former times, were, _Rising Castle_, once a royal
palace, and the residence, for many years, of queen _Isabel_, the relict
of Edward II; _Gaywode Castle_, the principal mansion, for some ages, of
the bishops of Norwich, and one of the best houses, in the meantime, if
not the very best, in the whole county; _Middleton Castle_, the seat of
Lord Scales; _Wormegay Castle_, the seat of lord Bardolf; _Castleacre_,
the seat of Earl Warren; and _Hunstanton Hall_, the seat of the
Lestranges.
Among the modern mansions, or palaces, in these parts, the most
distinguished is that of Lord Cholmondeley, at _Houghton_, built by the
famous Sir Robert Walpole; that of Thomas William Coke Esq. at _Holkham_;
and that of Lord Townshend, at _Rainham_. Besides these, there are many
others worthy of notice; such as that of Mr. Henley, at _Sandringham_;
that of Mr. Styleman, at _Snettisham_; that of Mr. Rolfe, at _Hitcham_;
that of Mr. Coldham, at _Anmer_; that of Sir Martin Browne Folkes, at
_Hillington_; that of Mr. Hamond, at _Westacre_; that of Mr. Fountaine,
at _Narford_; that of Mr. Tyssen, at _Narborough_; that of Sir Richard
Bedingfield, at _Oxborough_; that of Mr. Pratt, at _Ruston_; that of Mr.
Hare, at _Stowe_; that of Mr. Bell, at _Wallington_; and that of Mr.
Plestow, at _Watlington_; to which several others might be added; but
most, if not all of them, are of inferior consideration.
SECTION II.
_A further Account of the Castles_, _edifices_, _and places of ancient
note_, _in these
parts—Brancaster—Rising—Garwood—Middleton—Wormegay—Castle-acre_, _&c._
RISING, or, as it is commonly called, _Castle-Rising_, is generally
considered as the most ancient of all places in this vicinity, except
Brancaster, {146} with which it might originally have some connection.
It is supposed to have existed in the time of the Romans, as one of their
military posts, or inferior stations, which Spelman thought not
improbable, from its situation, and the coins there discovered. But it
seems by no means clear, or certain, that it is a place of so much
greater antiquity than Lynn, as is generally supposed. As a borough, it
may, and seems to be the most ancient of the two; but that its origin, as
a town, was much, if at all, anterior to that of Lynn, is not so very
probable or indubitable as most people have imagined. That it is a place
of great antiquity, must however be allowed, as well as that it was
formerly of far greater extent, population, and consequence, than it is
at present, and than it has been for several ages; otherwise it could,
surely, never have acquired the rank of a corporate town, with distinct
municipal laws, chartered rights, and the privilege of sending members to
parliament—even as many as the county itself: which must always have been
absurd enough, but especially at this time, when it is actually one of
the most inconsiderable villages within the whole county. It is said to
have been formerly a noted sea-port; but the silt and sand, choking up
its harbour, have long deprived it of that advantage. To that cause the
decay of the town is, probably, to be ascribed. Spelman says, that
Rising is a burgh of such high antiquity, that the royal archives and
records give no account of it. But may it not be questioned, if his
premises will really warrant his conclusion? or, if the silence of the
archives and records amounts to a proof of its high antiquity, as a
burgh? Might not that silence be owing to some other cause? and may it
not be concluded, that the origin of some burghs, of which those archives
and records give an account, is yet more ancient than that of Rising?
In its better times, Rising had two weekly markets, Mondays and
Thursdays; and also a fair, or free mart, for fifteen days, from the
feast of St. Matthew. But they have been long discontinued, and it is
doubtful, if any one now can tell when that happened. Rising has now
neither market nor fair, except a paltry, peddling merrimake, on or about
Mayday; the miserable remnant, probably, of the fifteen days mart.
Formerly the town was governed by a mayor, recorder, twelve aldermen, a
speaker of the commons, and fifty (some say seventy) burgesses. At
present the Corporation consists of two aldermen, who alternately serve
the office of mayor, and return two members to parliament, the mayor
being the returning officer. The burgage tenures are the property of Mr
Howard, and Lord Cholmondeley; and though five or six names generally
appear upon the poll, at an election for members of parliament, it is
said to be very doubtful, whether there is a single _legal voter_
belonging to the burgh, except the rector. {148} The arms are a _Castle
triple towered_. We are told that this burgh first sent members to
parliament in 1558.
The Church of Rising is an ancient pile, dedicated to St Lawrence, and
built in the conventual form, with a tower between the body of it and the
chancel, which last is now in ruins; the walls only of part of it being
standing; also a south cross aisle, joining to the tower, which is
entirely in ruins. The west end is adorned with antique carving, and
small arches; the roof of the church is flat, covered with lead.—Near the
east-end of the churchyard stands an hospital, built by Henry Howard,
earl of Northampton, in the reign of James I. It is a square building,
containing twelve apartments for twelve poor women, and one good room for
the governess, with a spacious hall and kitchen, and a decent chapel. It
is endowed with 100_l._ a year, out of lands in Rising, Roydon, S. and N.
Wootton, and Gaywood; also with 5_l._ every fifth year, toward keeping it
in repair, from an hospital in Greenwich, founded also by the said earl
of Northampton, and commonly called _Norfolk College_, for a Warden and
twenty pensioners, of whom twelve must be parishioners of Greenwich, and
eight of Rising and Shotisham in Norfolk, whose allowance is eight
shillings a week for commons, besides clothes, lodging, and salaries,
which are varied at the discretion of the managers. The whole income of
the said college, or hospital, amounts to about 1100_l_ yearly. {149}—The
allowance at Rising hospital is eight shillings a month for each
pensioner, and twelve shillings for the Governess, with some addition on
certain saints days, or festivals; also one chaldron of coals yearly for
each, and two for the governess. Each has also a new gown every year,
with a livery-gown, and hat, every seventh year.—The pensioners must be
all single women, of an unblemished character, and free from all
suspicion of heresy, blasphemy, and atheism. A further account of this
institution may be seen in the different histories of the county.
The _Castle_ of Rising is of much more modern origin than the town
itself. It is supposed to have been built about the middle of the 12th
century, by William de Albini, first Earl of Sussex, and son of another
William de Albini, who was butler to William Rufus, and to whom that king
had made a grant of Rising, upon the defection or rebellion of his uncle
Odo, bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent, to whom his brother, the
conqueror, had granted it, upon the forfeiture and seizure of the vast
temporalities of Stigand archbishop of Canterbury, in whose possession it
was before the conquest. The Earl of Sussex is said to have been one of
the most celebrated warriors of the age in which he lived, and to have
married _Adeliza_ the dowager queen of Henry I. from which last
circumstance the Castle of Rising appears to have been from the very
first a royal palace. This Castle and lordship continued in the Albini
family till the death of Earl _Hugh_, in 1243, when they went, together
with the fourth part of the Tollbooth of Lynn, to Roger de Montalto, lord
of Montalt, (in Flintshire) by his marriage to Cecily, fourth daughter
and coheiress of William Earl of Sussex, and one of the Sisters of Earl
Hugh, who made it his chief seat, and place of residence. It continued
afterward, with all its appurtenances, in the Montalto family, till the
death of Robert Lord Montalt, in 1329, when Emma his widow surrendered
and conveyed them, with all her other possessions and castles, agreeable
to a former deed, executed in the life time of her husband, to the
dowager queen _Isabel_, the mother of Edward III. In 1330, soon after
the trial and execution of her great favourite Mortimer, the Castle of
Rising became the chief place of that queen’s residence, and continued to
be so ever after to the time of her death, in 1358, when it descended to
her grandson, Edward the black prince; but it does not appear that he
ever resided there, though it seems very probable that he had been there
often in the time of his grandmother. In the second year of the reign of
his son, Richard II. it was granted by that king to John Montfort,
surnamed the valiant, Earl of Richmond, and Duke of Britany (the husband
of his half sister _Joan_) in exchange for the town and castle of Brest.
On the defection of Montfort, about twelve years after, the king gave it
to his uncle Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester; who being murdered
at Calais, in 1398, Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, another of the
king’s uncles, obtained a grant of it, with the manors of Beeston,
Mileham, &c. in Norfolk; and at his death, in 1403, it came to his eldest
son Edward, Duke of York; who being slain in the memorable battle of
Agincourt, it came to his brother Richard Earl of Cambridge; and he being
beheaded the same year, it fell to the Crown, where it remained till the
36th of Hen. VIII. when it was granted, with its manor and appurtenances,
together with the manors of Thorpe, Gaywood, South Walsham, &c. &c. to
Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk, and Henry his Son, Earl of Arundel and
Surry, in exchange for the manors of Walton, Trimley, Falkenham, &c. &c.
On the attainder of the Duke of Norfolk, in 15th Elizabeth, it came again
to the crown, and was granted to Edward, Earl of Oxford; but this grant
being soon revoked, it was then granted to Henry Howard, Earl of
Northampton, brother to the said Duke; and it seems to have continued in
the Howard family ever since, together with its appurtenances, with the
exception of a small farm, which was purchased by Sir Robert Walpole, and
is now in the possession of his descendant, the present Lord
Cholmondeley, which secures him a moiety of the influence, or command of
the borough, in the election of members of Parliament. Among the titles
of the Duke of Norfolk is that of _baron_, or _lord Howard_, _of Castle
Rising_.
The Castle, as Parkin observes,—
“stands upon a hill, on the south side of the town, from whence is a
fine prospect over land and an arm of the sea. Great part of the
walls of the keep, or inward tower, are still standing, being a
gothic pile, much resembling that of Norwich, and little inferior;
the walls are about three yards thick, consisting chiefly of
freestone, with [some] iron, or car stone; encompassed with a great
circular ditch, and bank of earth, on which stood also a strong stone
wall, as appears by a presentment, in 31st Elizabeth, when the wall
on the said bank was said to be in part, and the rest in danger of
being overthrown, by the warrener’s conies. This ditch, now dry, was
formerly, probably, filled with water. There is but one entrance to
it, [which is] on the eastside, over a strong stone bridge, about
thirty paces long, and eight or nine broad, supported by a single
arch, over which stood a gate-house. The inward part of the castle,
or keep, is all in ruins, except the room, where the court leet of
that lordship is held.”
The apartments were doubtless grand and sumptuous when queen Isabel
resided here, and when her son the great king Edward III. and his queen
and court were among her guests. A house resorted to by the very first
personages in the kingdom, or in Europe, and which could furnish suitable
accommodation and entertainment for them, may well be supposed to have
been both capacious and commodious, as well fitted up in a style of
superior elegance and magnificence. Some of our historians say, that the
king used to visit his mother here, once or twice annually, for many
years.
In 1340, the king and queen were here for some time, as appears from the
account rolls of Adam de Reffham, and John de Newland, of Lynn, who sent
his majesty, in the mean while, a present of wine. In the summer of that
year workmen were employed at the Castle in making preparations, and the
queen sent her precept to the Mayor of Lynn, for eight carpenters to
assist on the occasion. Afterward, in 1344, the King and his court were
here for some time, as appears from certain Letters which he sent from
hence to the bishop of Norwich, then at Avignon, to be there delivered by
him to the Pope. On the 22nd August, 1358, queen Isabel died at this
Castle; and in November following her remains were taken to London, and
buried there in the Church of the Grey Friars, now called Christ Church,
where also (it seems) her favourite Mortimer had been buried.
It is somewhat remarkable, that few of our historians seem to know where
this queen resided during the last 28 years of her life, or to have the
least idea of this Castle being ever the place of her residence. Rapin,
and Hume, and also the author, or authors of the Parliamentary history,
call the place of her habitation or confinement, “Rising Castle, _near
London_,” (they should have said, _near Lynn_,) and Petit Andrews calls
it “the castle of _Risings_, _in Surry_;” whereas it is a most
unquestionable fact, that it was no other than this very castle of Rising
tie _Norfolk_, which was formerly, as we have seen, a place of no small
note and consequence. But its best days are past, and its glory is
departed.
Of HUNSTON, or _Hunstanton Hall_, not much is known that is worth
recording. It was long the chief seat and residence of the ancient
family of the Lestranges; of which the most notable person, perhaps, was
the famous _Sir Roger Lestrange_, who wrote and published more books than
most of his contemporaries; of some of which he was himself the author,
of others the translator only. He was also among our earliest editors of
Newspapers, and always a flaming church-and-king-man. Queen Mary the
second is said to have anagrammed his name into _Strange lying Roger_.
Hunston House, or Hall, is now uninhabited, and in ruins; and is the
property of Mr Styleman of Snettisham, a descendant of the Lestranges by
the female line.
CASTLEACRE was formerly the principal seat and residence of the great
_Earls Warren_, who lived here in all the rude pomp and feudal splendor
which distinguished the great Norman barons, whom the conqueror
introduced into this country, and who largely shared in the fortunes of
their successful leader. The 11th 12th and 13th centuries were the times
when the Earls Warren flourished most. King Edward I. was entertained at
this Castle in 1297, by the then Earl Warren, who was one of the most
powerful among the English nobility of that time. The first English peer
of that name was nearly allied to the conqueror, and accompanied him
hither. He died in 1089. He that was the founder of Castleacre is said
to have owned no less than one hundred and forty lordships, or manors, in
Norfolk alone; and yet, among them all, no spot pleased him so well as
Castleacre; and therefore he determined to fix there his chief residence,
and to erect an edifice suitable to his high rank and vast possessions.
This Castle, or Palace, stood on a rising ground, including, with all its
outworks and fortifications, about eighteen acres of ground, in a
circular form. Through this there is now a way, or street, called Baily
Street, running directly north and south. At the entrance of this
street, on the north, stands a stone gate-house, with two round bastions.
The gate-house had an inward and outward door, with a portcullis in the
middle. A similar gate-house is supposed to have stood at the opposite,
or south entrance. On the east side of the north gate was a chapel for
the Castle, the walls of which are still standing; and on the east side
of the said street, near the middle, was another stone gate-house,
leading into the outward court of the great Castle, which was circular,
enclosed with a strong and lofty wall, of freestone and flint, &c.
embattled, seven feet thick. Further in is a deep ditch, and a lofty
embattled wall round it. Within this is the keep; and across the ditch
are three lofty walls at proper distances, which join the Castle wall, as
buttresses &c. The other part of the fortifications, on the west side of
Baily Street, is called the Barbican, and contains above ten acres of
land, and was enclosed with deep ditches, entrenchments, and high
ramparts.—Several coins of Vespasian, Constantine &c. have been found
here, and the spot is supposed to have been originally a Roman station.
From the North part of it there is said to run a way, by Castleacre
Wicken, and from thence across the country, leaving Massingham and
Houghton on the right, and Anmer on the left; then tending in a direct
course, leaving Fring a little on the right, for Ringstead and
Brancaster, which latter is known to have been a considerable Roman
station. This way is said to be commonly called the Pedder’s Way, and
probably went much further than Castleacre, even as far, at least, as
Castor by Norwich, the Venta Icenorum of antiquity.—From the beauty of
the situation of Castleacre, and the noble ruins at present remaining, of
which the semicircular wall of the Castle is a very grand and striking
part, the late Earl of Leicester, at one time, as it is said, entertained
an idea of building there: a situation which has been judged every way
superior to that of Holkham, which he afterward fixed upon. His Lordship
has been by some much blamed on this occasion; justly or not, cannot be
made here a subject of inquiry.—A little to the west of the Castle stood
the ancient _Priory_ of Castleacre; which was a building of great note
for many ages. The priory church was a large venerable gothic pile,
built in a cathedral or conventual form: the principal entrance was
through a great arch, over which was a stately window; on each side of
the great door were other doors to enter into the north and south aisles
under the tower, as the grand door served as an entrance into the nave or
body; at the north and south end of this front or west end, stood two
towers, supported by strong arches, or pillars; the nave, or body, had
twelve great pillars, making seven arches on each side, the lowest
joining to the towers; on the east end of the nave stood the grand tower
supported by four great pillars, through which was the entrance into the
choir: on the south and north side of this tower were two cross aisles or
transepts, and at the end of the north transept there seems to have been
a chapel, or vestiary. The choir was of an equal breadth with the nave
and aisles, but much shorter, and at the east end of it was in form of a
chapel, and here stood the high altar.—The cloister was on the south
side, and had an entrance at the west end, and another at the east end of
the south aisle, The chapter house joined to the east side, and the
dormitory was over the west part of the cloister, and adjoining was the
prior’s apartment.
Castleacre was purchased, of his relations the Cecils, by lord chief
justice Coke, and is now the property of his descendant, Thomas Wm. Coke
Esq. of Holkham.
Of WIRMEGAY, or WORMEGAY CASTLE but little seems to be known at present,
save that it was long the seat or residence of the Lords _Bardolf_, who
had great possessions, and bore no small sway for a long time in these
parts. This Castle of theirs appears to have been a place of
considerable strength and consequence. King Edward II. in his 18th year,
is said to have sent his precept to Lord Bardolf, to have great care and
guard of it, on account of the supposed approach of his queen and his
enemy Mortimer; as he also did to Lord Montalt in regard to his Castle of
Rising: which seems to imply, that they were two of the most important
places then in these parts.
MIDDLETON CASTLE {158} was long the chief seat of the Lords _Scales_,
descended from Hardewin, or Harlewin de Scalariis, lord of Waddon in
Cambridgeshire, probably one of the conqueror’s favourite captains. The
first footing which that family had at Middleton is supposed to have been
in the reign of Henry II. by the marriage of Roger de Scales, with
Muriel, daughter and coheiress of Jeffrey de Lisewis. The family
afterward resided here, and had great possessions and power in these
parts, for many generations. At what time the Castle was built is not
known; but it was, probably, in the time of the said Roger, or at an
early part of the residence of that family in this neighbourhood. It
continued in the Scales family till the reign of Edward IV. when it
passed into that of the Wodeviles, by the marriage of the memorable
Anthony Wodevile Earl Rivers, and Elizabeth the heiress of Thomas the
last Lord Scales. After the fall of the Wodeviles, it is said to have
been granted, by Richard III. to the Duke of Norfolk. At the accession
of Henry VII. being forfeited with the Duke’s other possessions, it went
to the heiress of the Scales, in the person of the countess of Oxford.
Afterward it passed by marriage to the Lord Latimer, and thence, from
time to time, into other hands; such as Sir Edward Williams, Sir Roger
Mostyn, &c. Of this ancient Castle nothing now remains but the
gate-house, or tower, which is still pretty entire, and seems to have
been the entrance into a court, or quadrangle, which was moated in. This
tower is built of brick, about seventeen yards long, nine broad, and
eighteen high, with turrets, &c. Over the arch is the shield of Scales;
the inside of it is much decayed; the area, or court within is about
eighty four paces long, and forty six broad. The situation is low and
swampy, and what would not now be deemed very eligible for the habitation
or residence of a noble or genteel family. The power and possessions the
Scales were formerly very great in these parts.
GAYWOOD CASTLE stood where the farm house, called Gaywood Hall, now
stands, as appears from the _moat_ which surrounds it, and which must
once have encircled a fortified edifice. That edifice could be no other
than the castle or palace of Gaywood, which was long the favourite, or
principal mansion and residence of the bishops of Norwich, who were from
an early period the temporal as well as spiritual lords of Lynn; on which
account the town was then called Bishop’s Lynn, or Lynn Bishop. So high
and mighty was the bishop’s lordly sway then at Lynn, that the very Mayor
was nominated and appointed by him, and was called _the bishop’s man_,
being in fact only his bailiff, or deputy. Afterward, the Mayor’s power
becoming more extensive and independent, would sometimes occasion no
small disagreement and strife between him and his prelatical master: a
very notable instance of which occurred in the reign of Richard II. and
the time of the famous bishop _Spencer_, of persecuting, fighting, and
crusading memory. This prelate, being one day in the town with his
retinue, quarrelled with the Mayor (who was supported by the townsmen) on
a point of frivolous etiquette. From words, the parties came to blows;
and a very serious battle ensued, which terminated in the total defeat of
the haughty prelate and his company, who were all driven out of town,
many of them much bruised and wounded. This bishop Spencer was sometime
after appointed generalissimo of Pope _Urban’s_ forces, in the war he
then waged against the antipope _Clement_ of Avignon; as is related by
Fox. It was he also who afterward prosecuted for heresy William Sawtre,
then minister of St. Margaret’s, and the first who suffered under the Act
_De hæretico comburendo_. Of these matters a more particular account
shall be given in relating the history of the town, at that period.
The bishops having so much to do at Lynn, and deriving from it so much of
their consequence, it was natural for them to choose to reside in its
vicinity: hence the origin of the castle, or palace of Gaywood. At what
time it was first built cannot now perhaps be ascertained. We are told
that bishop John de Grey (about 1200, or soon after) erected, or rebuilt,
a sumptuous palace here, for himself and successors, where he much
resided. Succeeding bishops continued to reside here, and to pay
attention to the improvement of the grounds, as well as of the palace. A
deer park, and a warren, appear to have been made here by bishop William
de Raleigh, about 1240; who also granted liberty of common pasture to the
Earl of Arundel and Sussex, and his men, from the park of Bawsey to the
bridge of Gaywood, and the cawsey between the river of Bawsey and the
wood of the said Earl. In 1388, bishop Spencer, abovementioned, had
licence to embattle his palace of Gaywood. This seems to have been after
his return from the crusade, or war, in which he had been engaged for
Pope Urban, against his competitor Pope Clement, as he had been appointed
commander in chief five years before. From the high spirit and wealth of
this proud prelate, it may be presumed that Gaywood Castle made a very
splendid and princely appearance in his time; and it is likely that the
same might be the case long after, even till the reign of Henry VIII.
when it was surrendered, together with the bishop’s rights and immunities
at Lynn, into the King’s hands. It was soon after, with its
appurtenances, granted to the Duke of Norfolk, and then probably pulled
down. Its site, and the adjoining estate passed afterward to the
Thoresbys of Haveless hall, in Mintling; and from them to the Wyches, of
Hockwold; and latterly to Philip Case Esq.—and now are the property of
William Bagge Esq. of Lynn. Of the castle, or palace of Gaywood, no more
needs now be said, but that it is fallen, never more, in all probability,
to rise, or recover the least portion of its ancient splendor and
consequence.
Besides the castles, or palaces above mentioned, there were formerly in
this country many religious houses, of different orders, and some of them
of considerable note: among which were Blackburgh priory, in Middleton;
Castleacre priory; Westacre priory; Crab-house nunnery, by Maudlin; West
Dereham Abbey; Flitcham priory; Massingham priory, and Pentney priory.
Of these some were extensive and noble edifices, and had large
possessions attached to them; but scarce any remains of most of them are
now to be seen, and their very memory seems to be approaching fast
towards oblivion. Such is the fate of the firmest fabrics: like those
who constructed them, they were composed of perishing materials.
SECTION III.
_Further Account of the modern palaces_, _and other notable mansions in
this country_.—_Houghton—Holkham—Rainham—Narford—Narborough—Oxborough_.
Of all the fine houses that now exist in this vicinity, and even
throughout all the eastern parts of England, the precedence, in point of
size and magnificence at least, is allowed to be due to
HOUGHTON HALL, now the princely seat of the Earl of Cholmondeley, but
formerly of the Earls of Orford, of the Walpole family, from which the
present possessor is maternally descended. This Splendid Mansion was
built by the memorable Sir Robert Walpole, while he was prime minister,
and between the years 1722 and 1735. The whole extent of the building,
including the Colonade and wings, which contain the offices, is four
hundred and fifty feet: the main body of the house extends one hundred
and sixty six feet. The whole building is of stone, and crowned with an
entablature of the Ionic order, on which is a balustrade. At each corner
is a Cupola, surmounted with a lanthorn. For a description of the inside
of the house, the reader is referred to the Norfolk Tour and other
printed accounts. It has been long distinguished for its noble
_Collection of pictures_, by the best masters; but it is no longer there;
it was sold in 1779 to the late Empress of Russia, for 45,500_l._ Its
removal out of the kingdom has been, much regretted, as a very
humiliating circumstance, and a national disgrace; and it has been
thought that the legislature ought to have purchased it, rather than
suffer it to be taken out of the kingdom. But it is unavailing now to
lament: that celebrated collection is irrecoverably lost to Britain.
Sometime before the removal of those pictures Lord Orford gave Mr Boydell
permission to take drawings of them, which he proposed having engraved by
the first artists, and published in fourteen numbers, at two guineas
each, which has been since done.
The duke of Lorrain, afterward Emperor of Germany, and husband to Maria
Theresa, was once entertained by Sir Robert Walpole, at Houghton, with
more than British magnificence.—Relays of horses were, in the meantime,
provided on the roads, to bring rarities thither from the remotest parts
of the kingdom, with all possible speed: and this extraordinary
expedient, it seems, was continued all the while that august guest staid
at Houghton. Sir Robert’s expenses, in buildings and entertainments,
must have been so very great, that one is apt to wonder how he could
manage to bear them, but he was a prime minister, and prime ministers are
supposed capable of doing great things in the pecuniary way, without
embarrassing themselves. One of Sir Robert’s successors, however, a late
prime minister, seems to have been an exception to that idea: with ample
means, and without any great apparent outgoings, (except what his private
revels, or midnight orgies, might cost him) he could by no means manage
to live, or keep out of debt, and actually died insolvent!—Circumstances
so dissimilar in the history of two men who stood in the same situation,
must needs be deemed somewhat odd and remarkable.
The woods, or plantations, about Houghton are extensive, and thought very
fine.
“In the road from Syderstone (says the Author of the _Norfolk Tour_)
they appear we think to the greatest advantage; they are seen to a
great extent, with openings left judiciously in many places, to let
in the view of more distant woods; which changes the shade, and gives
them that solemn brownness which has always a great effect. The
flatness of the country, however, is a circumstance which, instead of
setting them off, and making them appear larger than they really are,
gives them a diminutive air, in comparison to the number of acres
really planted. For were these vast plantations disposed upon ground
with great inequalities of surface, such as hills rising one above
another, or vast slopes stretching away to the right and left, they
would appear to be almost boundless, and shew twenty times the extent
they do at present. The woods which are seen from the south front of
the house, are planted with great judgment, to remedy the effect of
the country’s flatness; for they are so disposed as to appear one
beyond another, in different shades, and to a great extent.”
Next to Houghton (if that expression may be allowed) the very best house
in all this part of the kingdom is
HOLKHAM HOUSE, the splendid Seat and residence of Thomas William Coke,
Esq. the far-famed patron of the Norfolk agriculturists, and one of the
representatives of the county in this and several of the preceding
parliaments. Mr Coke is also a descendant of the famous Lord chief
justice of that name, who was himself a Norfolk man. Holkham is not of
so long standing as Houghton: it was begun in 1734 by the Earl of
Leicester and completed by his dowager countess, in 1760.
“The central part of this spacious mansion, built of white brick, is
accompanied by four wings, or pavilions, which are connected with it
by rectilinear corridors, or galleries: each of the two fronts
therefore display a centre and two wings. The south front presents
an air of lightness and elegance, arising from the justness of its
proportions. In the centre is a bold portico, with its entablature
supported by six corinthian columns. The north front is the grand or
principal entrance, and exhibits different, though handsome features.
The wings which partake of similar characteristics, have been thought
to diminish from the general magnificence of the building, by the
want of uniformity of style with the south front, and being too much
detached to be consistent with unity. The centre, which extends 345
feet in length, by 180 in depth, comprises the principal apartments:
each wing has its respective destination. One contains the kitchens,
servants’-hall, and some sleeping rooms. In the chapel wing is the
dairy, laundry, with more sleeping rooms. Another contains the suit
of family apartments; and the fourth, called the strangers’ wing, is
appropriated to visitors.
“This grand residence is rendered superior to most other great houses
in the kingdom, by its _convenience_ and appropriate arrangement.
The entrance _hall_, which forms a cube, has a gallery round it,
supported by twenty four Ionic columns. Next is the _saloon_, on
each side of which is a drawing room; and connected to this is the
_state dressing-room_ and _bed chamber_. Another _drawing room_
communicates with the _statue gallery_, which connects a number of
apartments in a most admirable manner; for one octagon opens into the
private wing, and the other into the strangers’, on one side, and
into the dining-room on the other. This dining-room is on one side
of the hall; and on the other is Mrs. Coke’s bed-room, dressing-room,
and closets. From the recess, in the dining-room, opens a door on
the stair case, which immediately leads to the offices; and in the
centre of the wings, by the saloon door, are invisible stair-cases,
which lead to all the rooms and respective offices. Thus here are
four general suits of apartments, all perfectly distinct from each
other, with no reciprocal thoroughfares; the state, Mrs Coke’s, the
late earl’s, and the strangers’. These severally open into what may
be called common rooms, the statue gallery, and saloon, all which
communicate with the dining room. There may be houses larger and
more magnificent, and in some more uniformity and justness of
proportion may be visible; but human genius could not contrive any
thing in which convenience could be more apparent than in this. The
fitting up of the interior is in the most splendid style, and, in
numerous instances with the most elegant taste. The ceilings of many
of the rooms are of curious gilt, fret, and mosaic work; the Venetian
windows are ornamented with handsome pillars, and also profusely
gilded. The marble chimney pieces are all handsome; but three are
peculiarly deserving attention, for their exquisite sculpture. Two
are in the dining-room, one ornamented with a sow and pigs, and a
wolf; the other has a bear and bee hives, finely sculptured in white
marble. A third, representing two pelicans, is exceedingly chaste
and beautiful. The marble side-boards, agate-tables, rich tapestry,
silk furniture, beds &c. are all in the same sumptuous style of
elegance.
“The _Statue Gallery_ consists of a central part and two octagonal
ends. The first is seventy feet long, by twenty two feet wide, and
each octagon, of twenty two feet in diameter, opens to the centre, by
an handsome arch. One end is furnished with books, and the other
with statues, &c. Among the latter, the figure of _Diana_ is
extremely fine. A _Venus_, clothed with wet drapery, is considered
exquisite. The Saloon is forty feet long, twenty eight wide, and
thirty two in height. This room, appropriated for paintings,
contains many by the most eminent masters; but they are not
exclusively preserved in this; a vast collection being distributed
over most of the apartments throughout the house.—In a brief
statement it will be impossible to give a just and adequate
delineation of the pleasure grounds and park, with the various
objects which environ and decorate this museum of taste and seat of
hospitality.” {168}
Nor would such a delineation be very necessary for this work, as but few
of its readers can be supposed altogether unacquainted with the
premises.—After Holkham, the next place is due to
RAINHAM HALL, the venerable seat and residence of the late _marquis
Townshend_. This house is of a much longer standing than either of the
former; being built, as we are told, about 1630, by Sir Roger Townshend,
bart. under the direction of that excellent and celebrated architect
Inigo Jones. Its situation has been supposed the most delightful in the
county. The house itself, though it has been greatly improved by the
late marquis, is said to be in the style of an exceeding good habitable
mansion rather than a magnificent one. The country around is rich, and
charmingly cultivated. The park and woods are beautiful, and the lake
below peculiarly striking. Extensive lawns, and opening views into the
country, enrich the enlivening scene, and display the beauties and
bounties of nature in their most enchanting and luxuriant pride. {169}
Since the death of the late marquis this house has ceased to be the
residence of the family.—To the preceding Mansions may be added
OXBOROUGH, or OXBURGH-HALL, the seat of the _Bedingfields_, which is said
to present features of a striking kind, and to be a peculiar and
interesting remnant of ancient domestic architecture. It was erected as
long ago as the latter end of the fifteenth century, by Sir _Edmund
Bedingfield_, who obtained a grant, or patent of Edward IV. in 1482, to
build the manor house with towers, battlements, &c. It is built of
brick, and was originally of a square form, environing a court, or
quadrangle, one hundred and eighteen feet long, and ninety two broad;
round which the apartments were ranged. The whole building resembles
Queen’s College, in Cambridge; a structure of about the same period. The
entrance is over a bridge, formerly a drawbridge, through an arched gate
way, between two majestic towers, which are eighty feet high. In the
western tower is a winding brick staircase beautifully turned, and
lighted by quatrefoil ilet-holes. The other tower is divided into four
stories; each consisting of an octagonal room, with arched ceilings,
stone window frames, and stone fire places. Between the turrets is an
arched entrance gateway, the roof of which is supported by numerous
groins; and over this is a large handsome room, having one window to the
north and two bow windows to the south. These windows, and the whole
exterior of this part of the building appear to be in their original
state. The floor of the great room is paved with small fine bricks, and
the walls covered with very curious tapestry. This appears to be of the
age of Henry VII. and is mentioned in several wills of the family. The
apartment is called “the King’s room,” and is supposed to have been
appropriated to the monarch just mentioned, when he visited Oxburgh. In
the eastern turret is a curious small closet, called a _hiding place_,
which appears to have been an original part of the structure: it is a
cavity, or hollow in the solid wall, measuring six feet by five feet, and
seven feet high, and is approached by a secret passage through the floor.
A similar hiding place is said to have been destroyed in that part of the
building which has been taken down. The great hall, which had an oaken
roof, in the style of the justly admired one at Westminster Hall; and
other rooms, which formed the south side of the court, were taken down in
1778, and the distribution of almost every apartment has been
successively changed. The offices are now on the east side, and the
dining parlour, drawing room, and library, on the west. The whole is
surrounded by a moat, about fifty two feet broad, and ten feet deep,
which is supplied with water from an adjacent rivulet. In the different
apartments, which are both spacious and elegant, are preserved a few good
pictures, by eminent painters, and a collection of ancient armoury. {171}
This venerable seat is the property of Sir Richard Bedingfield, but at
present the residence of Lord Mountjoy.
Of the other modern mansions in these parts, mentioned at the close of
the first section of this chapter, it seems needless here to give any
further account, except those of _Narford_ and _Narborough_. These, it
must be allowed, deserve a more particular attention; not on account of
the structures themselves, but of the curious and valuable articles they
contain—or lately did contain; for what did once so much distinguish
NARBOROUGH HALL, is no longer there.—It was a _noble collection_ of
_coins_ and _medals_, ancient and modern; and the most valuable private
collection, perhaps, in Britain, if not in Europe. Its possessor, the
late Mr. Tyssen, assured this writer, that it had cost him, from first to
last, above 20,000_l._ though he had been fortunate enough to purchase
many of the most valuable articles much under the prices they usually
fetch. In this collection were coins of the Grecian states and cities; a
regular series of those of Philip and Alexander, of Alexander’s
successors, of the Ptolemies, and the Cæsars—all in gold, in the highest
state of preservation, and of most exquisite workmanship, (all but those
of the former part of Philip’s reign, before he had become master of
Greece, and could command the service of its artists,) and far exceeding
the best of modern productions, except, perhaps, those of _Thomas Simon_,
and _Dossier_, which come the nighest to the ancients. Many other
curiosities were to be found at Narborough, and not the least among them
was a MS. copy of the _Eikon Bazilike_, one of the most perfect specimens
of fine penmanship extant, perhaps, on so large a scale. The pages, the
lines, and the letters, were uniform, and exquisitely neat throughput.
It was a quarto volume, and said to be written, or transcribed by I.
THOMASEN, schoolmaster, at Tarvin, in the county palatine of Chester. He
was said to have written three different copies, all in nearly equal
perfection: of the other two, one is deposited in the King’s library, and
the other in the British Museum; but this was said to be the best the
three. To the best of this writer’s recollection, Mr. Tyssen said, that
it cost him a hundred guineas, nor did he seem to repent of his bargain.
The price it fetched at the sale, however, fell greatly short of that
sum.—An ancient shield, denoting and commemorating the taking of
Carthage, was another of the late curiosities of Narborough: it
represented one of the fair damsels of that devoted city, bearing the
keys, and delivering them to Scipio, followed by a long train of the
principal inhabitants, whose dejected and woeful looks, bespoke the grief
and anguish that had then overwhelmed the Carthaginian nation.—Close to
Narborough Hall is an old fortification, the remains of an ancient
encampment, called the burgh; from whence to Oxburgh and Eastmore-fen,
extends a large foss and rampart, whose original designation seems not
very easy to discover.—In making a garden near the burgh, in 1600,
several human and pieces of armour were found. This place is said to be
peculiarly interesting to the antiquary; and it is supposed that a small
Roman station was once established here. John Brame, a monkish writer,
in a manuscript history, quoted by Spelman in his Icenia, says, that
Narborough was a British city, governed by an earl _Okenard_, about the
year 500, when it stood a seven months siege against a king _Waldy_: but
little reliance, however, can be placed on such authority. In the
adjoining parish of _Narford_, numerous Roman bricks and other relics,
are said to have been found: also a large brass vase, or urn, was dug up
in the court yard of the manor house,
NARFORD HALL, the seat of Andrew Fountaine Esq. It was erected in the
reign of George I. by the late Sir Andrew Fountaine, Knt. of whom some
account will be given in the next section. He was a great collector of
rarities, and made his house the repository of works of art and learning.
At present it is said to display a choice collection of pictures, ancient
painted earthenware, some bronzes, coins, and a fine library of books,
supposed to be the best in the whole county. The room, in which these
books are deposited, is forty feet by twenty one; and contains, beside
the books, several Roman and Egyptian Vases, and portraits of eminent
men. This library seems not to have been collected for mere ostentation.
The original collector is said to have been a man of letters, as well as
a connoiseur and virtuoso, and one, at least, of his successors has been
reputed a literary character, and a proficient in some branches,
especially _Spanish_ literature; in which language the said library
contains many rare and valuable articles, one of which he sometime ago
translated into English, and it has since made its appearance from the
Swaffham Press.
Several springs of mineral water, of the chalybeate kind, are to be found
in the neighbourhood of Lynn, on this eastern side; of which one is at
Riffley, and another on Gaywood common, both within two miles of the
town. There is also another beyond Setchey, on the Downham road. There
are others in East Winch parish, one of which is much more strongly
impregnated than any of the rest, and might, perhaps, be ranked, in point
of medicinal virtue, with some of those springs that have acquired so
much celebrity as to become places of considerable resort. This Spring
is said to be strongly impregnated with what chymists and mineralogists
call sulphate of iron.
SECTION IV.
_Biographical Sketches of some of the most celebrated_, _or memorable
persons who were natives of this part of the country_.
Of all the eminent men who sprung up in this part of Norfolk, the
precedence seems unquestionably due to
_Sir_ EDWARD COKE, the famous Lord chief Justice. He was the son of
Robert Coke, Esq. of Mileham, where he was born in 1550, or as some say
in 1549. At ten years of age he was sent to the free school at Norwich;
and after having spent there a competent time, he was removed to Trinity
College in Cambridge, where he continued about four years, and then went
to Clifford’s Inn, and the next year was entered a student of the Inner
Temple. He was called to the bar at six years standing, which in that
age was held very extraordinary. Lloyd tells us that “the first occasion
of his rise was his stating the Cook’s case of the Temple, that all the
house, who were puzzled with it, admired him; and his pleading it so,
that the whole bench took notice of him.” His reputation increased very
fast, and he soon came into great practice. When he had been at the bar
about seven years, he married a lady of one of the best families in his
native county, and with a very large fortune for that age. He now rose
rapidly: the cities of Coventry and Norwich chose him their Recorder; and
he was engaged in all the great causes in Westminster Hall. He was also
in high credit with Lord Burleigh and the other rulers, and often
consulted in state affairs. He became moreover, one of the
representatives of his native county in parliament, Speaker of the House
of Commons, and successively Solicitor-general, Attorney-general, Lord
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and finally, Lord Chief Justice of
England, or rather _of the King’s Bench_, as king James would have it
called. Sir Edward was a high spirited man, and on many occasions
discovered much firmness and integrity, even when the other judges gave
way, and the mandates of the Sovereign required a different conduct.
This kind of behaviour, in time, rendered him obnoxious to the Court, and
brought upon him its heavy displeasure, which issued in his expulsion
from the Council Table, and his removal from the office of Lord Chief
Justice; the king declaring, “That he was for a tyrant the fittest
instrument that ever was in England.” He afterward joined the country
party, and made a distinguished figure among the great parliamentary
patriots, in the latter part of the reign of James and the former part of
that of Charles I. He died at his house at Stoke Pogey, in
Buckinghamshire, Sept. 3, 1634, in the 86 year of his age, and expired
with these words in his mouth, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” He
was one of the greatest Lawyers that England ever produced. He had quick
parts, a deep penetration, a retentive memory, and a solid judgement. He
was greatly honoured and esteemed among his brethren of the long robe;
and when persecuted by the Court, and a brief was given against him to
Sir John Walter, that gentleman, though Attorney-general to the prince,
laid aside the brief, with this remarkable sentence, “Let my tongue
cleave to the roof of my mouth, whenever I open it against Sir Edward
Coke.” He was observed to make a better figure in adversity than in
prosperity; and he was so good at making the best of a disgrace, that
king James said, “Let them throw him which way they would, he always fell
upon his legs.” He valued himself, and not without reason, upon this,
that he obtained all his preferments without employing either prayers or
pence, and that he became Speaker of the House of Commons,
Solicitor-general, Attorney-general, Chief Justice of both Benches, High
Steward of Cambridge, and a member of the Privy Council, without either
begging or bribing. In this he was very different from many of his most
eminent cotemporaries, and especially from his great and celebrated rival
Bacon, who was remarkable for the meanness with which he used to solicit
preferment. He was in his person well proportioned, and his features
were regular. He was neat, but not nice, in his dress; and would say,
that “the cleanness of a man’s clothes ought to put him in mind of
keeping all clean within.” He was twice married, but his second marriage
proved unhappy. He left behind him a numerous issue, as well as a large
fortune; and may be ranked among the greatest men of his time. {177a}
In the latter part of his life he appears to have been among the reputed
_Jacobins_ of that day, [as is also said to have been the case, in the
estimation of some _wise_ and _virtuous_ people, {177b} with his present
descendant of Holkham, during the late memorable reign and rage of our
furious alarmists.] While he lay upon his death-bed, his house was, by
an order of council, searched for seditions and dangerous papers: and the
searchers took away his commentary upon Magna Charta; his commentary upon
Lyttleton, with the history of his Life before it, written with his own
hand; the Pleas of the Crown; and the Jurisdiction of Courts; his 11th.
and 12th. Reports, in MS; with 51 other MSS; together with his Last Will
and Testament, which contained the provision he had been making for his
younger grandchildren. These papers were kept from the family for
several years, and the Will was never heard of more. {178}
2. _Sir_ HENRY SPELMAN. He was born at Congham, in 1561, or 1562.
Before he was fifteen he was sent to Trinity College, in Cambridge; but
his father dying in about two years and half after, he was taken home by
his mother to assist her in managing the affairs of the family. About a
year after, he was sent to Lincoln’s Inn to study the law, where having
continued almost three years, he retired into the country, and married a
Lady of good family and fortune. Beside his own rural and domestic
concerns, which now demanded and employed the chief of his attention, he
was also very assiduous to improve himself in the knowledge of the
Constitution, Laws and Antiquities of his Country. He was early admitted
a member of the Society of Antiquaries, which brought him into an
intimate acquaintance with Sir Robert Cotton, Camden, and others of the
most eminent men for that kind of literature. In 1604, he was appointed
High Sheriff of Norfolk, and about the same time wrote a description of
that county, which he communicated to _Speed_: but it was not the first
book he wrote: a book on Heraldry, and another on the Coins of the
kingdom, he had before written; and perhaps more. In 1607, the king
nominated him one of the Commissioners for determining the unsettled
titles of lands and manors in Ireland; on which occasion he went thither
several times, and discharged the trust reposed in him with great
reputation. He was also appointed one of the Commissioners to enquire
into the oppression of exacted fees in all courts and offices, as well
ecclesiastical as civil; which gave rise to his treatise _De Sepultura_,
or of the Burial Fees, in which he made it evident, that most part of the
fees exacted by the clergy and church officers, on account of funerals,
is no better than gross imposition. His close attention to those public
employments proved prejudicial to his family and circumstances; in
consideration of which the government made him a present of 300_l_, till
something better could be done for him. His majesty also conferred on
him the honour of knighthood, which, however, did probably impoverish
rather than enrich him. His majesty did what was still worse, in
prohibiting the Meetings of the Antiquarian Society, lest, forsooth, they
might be led to treat of _state affairs_! {179} His wise majesty seemed
conscious that those affairs were too brittle to be handled, and too foul
to be exposed to open daylight. When about fifty he went to reside in
London, and gave himself up to archaiological studies. He collected all
such books and MSS. as he could find of that description, whether foreign
or domestic. In 1626, he published the first part of his well known
_Glossary_, which he never carried beyond the letter L, because, as some
have suggested, he had said things under _Magna Charta_, and _Maximum
Concilium_, that could not then have appeared without giving offence. He
wrote many things, most of which are still held in considerable repute.
He died in 1641: his posthumous works were published in 1698, in folio,
under the inspection of bishop Gibson. At his death his papers came into
the hands of his eldest Son,
3. _Sir_ JOHN SPELMAN, “the heir of his studies,” as he himself calls
him, who was also a very learned man, and had great encouragement and
assurance of favour from Charles I. That prince one time sent for Sir
Henry Spelman, and offered him the mastership of Sutton Hospital, with
some other advantages, in consideration of his good services both to
church and state. He returned his majesty thanks, and told him that he
was very old, and had now one foot in the grave, and should therefore be
more obliged if he would consider his son. Upon which the king sent for
Mr. Spelman, and conferred both the mastership of the Hospital and the
honour of knighthood upon him; and he afterwards employed him to draw up
several papers in vindication of the proceedings of the court. He
published the Saxon Psalter under the title of _Psalterium Davidis
Latino-Saxonicum vetus_, in 1640, in quarto, from a MS in his father’s
Library, collated with three other copies. He also wrote “The Life of
King Alfred the Great,” in English; which was translated into Latin,
sometime after the Restoration, by Mr. Christopher Wase, superior Beadle
of the Civil Law at Oxford; which translation, with notes and cuts by Mr.
Obadiah Walker Master of University College, was published, from the
Theatre Press, in 1679, in folio. The original English was also
published from the same press, by Mr. Thomas Hearne, in 1709. 8vo. Sir
John Spelman died in 1643.
4. _Sir_ ROGER L’ESTRANGE is another of the notable natives of this part
of the county. He was the youngest son of Sir Hamon L’Estrange, Bart. of
Hunstanton Hall, where he was born Dec. 17, 1616. He received a liberal
education, which he is supposed to have completed at Cambridge. His
father being a zealous royalist, took care to instil the same principles
in his son, which the latter eagerly embraced; and in 1639, he attended
the king, in his expedition into Scotland. His attachment to the royal
cause became now very strong; and sometime after nearly cost him his
life: for in 1644, soon after the Earl of Manchester had reduced Lynn to
the authority of the Parliament, young L’Estrange, thinking he had some
interest in the place, as his father had been governor of it, formed a
scheme for surprising it; and received a commission from the king,
constituting him is governor, in case of success: but his design being
betrayed by two of his confederates, (named _Leman_ and _Haggar_,) though
both bound under an oath of secresy, he was seized, tried, and, by a
court-martial, condemned to die, as a traitor. While he lay in prison,
he was visited by Mr. Arrowsmith, and Mr. Thorowgood, two of the assembly
of divines, who very kindly offered him their utmost interest, if he
would make some petitionary acknowledgement, and submit to take the
covenant, but he refused. After thirty months spent in vain endeavours,
either to have a hearing, or to be put into an exchangeable condition, he
printed a state of his case, by way of appeal from the court martial (by
which he had been tried) to the Parliament. About the time of the
Kentish insurrection, in 1648, he escaped out of prison, with the
keeper’s privity, as he himself says, and went into Kent, and retiring to
the house of Mr Hales, a young gentleman, heir to a great estate in that
county, he spirited him up to head the insurrection; but that design
failed of success. After this miscarriage, he escaped beyond sea, where
he continued till the autumn of 1653; when taking his opportunity, in the
change of government, upon Cromwell’s dissolution of the long parliament,
he returned into England, and having an opportunity to speak to Cromwell,
and obtaining a favourable hearing, he escaped any further trouble, and
shortly after received his discharge, by an order dated 31. Oct. 1653.
How he spent his time for the next six or seven years does not appear;
but it may be presumed that he remained pretty quiet, and avoided all
interference with political, or state affairs. He is said to have
sometimes played before the Protector on the bass viol, for which he was
by some called _Oliver’s fidler_. After the Restoration he was little
noticed, either by the king or his ministers, for sometime; which he very
much resented. Afterward, however, he was appointed to a profitable, but
odious office, that of _Licencer of the Press_; which he held till a
little before the Revolution. In 1663 he set up a newspaper, called “The
Public Intelligencer and the News,” which was afterwards put down by the
_London_ GAZETTE; for which, however, government allowed him a
consideration. After the popish plot, when the Tories began to gain the
ascendant over the Whigs, he, in a paper called _the Observator_, became
a zealous champion for the former, and an advocate for some of the worst
measures of the Court. He was afterward knighted, and served in the
parliament called by James II. in 1685. After the Revolution he met with
some trouble, as a disaffected person. He is said to have been
particularly disliked by the queen, who very curiously anagrammed his
name, as was mentioned in the first section of this chapter. He died on
the 11th. of September 1704, in the 88th. year of his age, and was
interred in the church of St. Giles in the fields, where there is an
inscription to his memory. He wrote many political tracts, in a high
tory strain, and often with little regard to truth; and also published
translations of Josephus’s works, Cicero’s offices, Seneca’s morals,
Erasmus’s colloquies, Esop’s fables, Quevedo’s visions, &c. His style
has been praised by some, while others have represented it as intolerably
low and nauseous: and Granger represents him as one of the great
corrupters of our language. But there was something in his character
that was still worse and more detestable than even his style.—Having
mentioned him as one of our early compilers of newspapers, it may not be
amiss here just to note, that he had been long preceded in that
occupation, by a country-man of his, _Wm. Watts_, M.A. who is supposed to
have been the very first compiler of a weekly, or stated English
newspaper; at least his employer, _Butter_, seems to have been the first
editor of such a paper, which was begun in August 1622, under the name of
“The certain news of this present week;” and Watts is thought to have
been the compiler of it from the first, and is therefore deemed the
_Gallo-Belgicus_ of England: alluding to the first newspaper, or
periodical publication of the low Countries, about the beginning of the
17th century, which went by that name. But as Watts is said to have been
a native of Lynn, a further account of him shall be given in its proper
place.
5. _Sir_ ROBERT WALPOLE, afterward Earl of Orford. He was born at
Houghton, in 1674. In 1700, he was chosen member of Parliament for Lynn,
which he also represented in many succeeding parliaments. In 1705 he was
made one of the council to Prince George of Denmark, as lord high
admiral. In 1707 he was made secretary at war; and in 1709 treasurer of
the navy. On the change of the ministry, the year following, he was
removed from all his places, and in 1711 was voted by the house of
commons guilty of notorious corruption, in his office as secretary at
war: it was therefore resolved that he should be committed to the tower,
and expelled the house. But being considered by the whigs as a kind of
martyr to their cause, the borough of Lynn rechose him, and though the
house declared his election void, yet the electors persisted in their
choice, and he sat in the next parliament. On the accession of George I.
he was appointed paymaster-general of the forces, and a privy counsellor;
but in a disagreement, two years after, with Mr. Secretary Stanhope, he
resigned, turned patriot, of course, and opposed the ministry. Early in
1720 he was again made pay-master of the forces, and the complaisance of
the courtier began once more to appear: nor was it long before he
acquired full ministerial power, as first lord of the treasury and
chancellor of the exchequer. The measures of his administration, during
the long course of his premiership, have been often canvassed, with all
the severity of critical inquiry, and variously determined. Though he
has been called the father of corruption, and is said to have boasted,
that he knew every man’s price, yet the opposition prevailed over him in
1742, and obliged him to resign. He was screened from any further
resentment of the house of commons, by a peerage, being created Earl of
Orford, and gratified with a pension of 4000_l_ a year. He is generally
allowed to have been a minister of considerable talents, and a notable
manager of parliaments. Whatever were his faults, and he doubtless had
many, he was evidently a _man of peace_, and _no war minister_, which
ought to endear his memory to posterity. Had his successors, and
particularly the late minister _Pitt_, been more of his disposition in
that respect, it had probably, at this time, been a happy circumstance
for the British empire, if not also for some other nations.
6. _Sir_ ANDREW FOUNTAINE. He was born at _Narford_, and educated at
Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied the Anglo-Saxon language, of his
skill in which he afterward gave good proof, by a piece inserted in Dr
Hicks’s Thesaurus, entitled, “Numismata Anglo-Saxonica, et Anglo-danica,
breviter illustrata ab Andreâ Fountaine eq. aur. et æd. Christi Oxon
alumno, 1705.” King William conferred on him the honour of knighthood:
and he was afterwards, it seems, in 1726, made knight of the Bath, by
patent; at which time he was Vice Chamberlain to the princess of Wales.
He travelled for a considerable time in various parts of Europe, and is
said to have made a noble collection of antiques and curiosities; of his
adventures in the meantime, not all over and above delicate or reputable,
some curious anecdotes are still remembered. In 1709 he drew the designs
for the Tale of a Tub, by Swift, with whom he is said to have been very
intimate, as well as with Pope, who complimented him for the elegance of
his taste. In 1727 he was appointed Warden of the Mint, which office be
held till his death, in 1753. He was reputed an eminent connoisseur,
virtuoso, and antiquary; and Narford Hall owes to him most, if not the
whole of its boasted curiosities.
7. MARTIN FOLKES, Esq. much distinguished in his time as a philosopher
and antiquary, was the eldest Son of a Barrister of the same name, by one
of the two daughters and coheiresses of Sir Wm. Hovell of Hillington
Hall; which accounts for the estate of the Hovells descending to him. He
was born in 1690, at Westminster, where his father then resided. His
education, which is supposed to have commenced at Westminster school, was
finished at Cambridge, where his proficiency appears to have been very
considerable. He became a member of the Royal Society in his 23rd year.
About ten years after, he was appointed vice president of the same
Society, to which he had been nominated by Sir Isaac Newton, the then
President. He was also a member of the Society of Antiquaries. On the
resignation of Sir Hans Sloane, in 1741, be was elected President of the
R.S. and not long after he was nominated one of the eight foreign members
of the Academy of Sciences at Paris. He died in 1754, and is said to
have been a person of very extensive knowledge and great respectability;
and in his private character polite, generous, and friendly. His
principal service to science was his elucidation of the intricate subject
of coins, weights, and measures. Though he had daughters of his own, he
left the seat and estate of his maternal ancestors, the Hovells, to his
brother, whose Son, Sir Martin Browne Folkes, bart. M.P. is their present
possessor.
8. _The honourable_ HORACE WALPOLE, afterward _Earl of Orford_. He was
the youngest Son of the celebrated Sir Robert Walpole, and born about the
year 1717. In 1739 he set out upon his travels, accompanied by his
friend _Gray_, the poet: but they afterward quarrelled and separated. In
the parliament of 1741 he was a member for Collington; in that of 1747,
for Castle Rising; and in those of 1754 and 1761, for Lynn. At the
expiration of the latter parliament he retired from business, and
attached himself wholly to literary pursuits, residing chiefly, if not
wholly, at Strawberry Hill, in Surrey, where he had a private
printing-office, for the purpose of having his productions edited under
his own eye. His principal works are The Catalogue of Royal and Noble
Authors, and The Historic Doubts respecting the character, conduct, and
person of Richard III. He wrote also The Mysterious Mother, Castle of
Otranto, and other works, which are considered as proofs of his being a
person of very extensive reading, and of eminent genius and talents. On
the death of his nephew he succeeded to the family title and estates; but
did not long enjoy them. He died in 1797.
9. _Admiral_ HORATIO NELSON, afterward _Sir_ HORATIO NELSON, and
latterly, _Lord Viscount Nelson_, and _Duke of Bronte_ in the kingdom of
Naples. He was the 4th Son of the Rev. Edward Nelson, rector of Burnham
Thorpe, where he was born September 29, 1758. He is said to have been
maternally related to the Walpoles and the Townshends, two of the first
families in his native county. He was sent early to sea, under the care
of a relation, who was a captain in the navy, where he soon distinguished
himself, and became in time one of the greatest naval commanders that
this or any other country ever produced. His most renowned achievements
were those at _Aboukir_, _Copenhagen_, and _Trafalgar_; the latter of
which he did not survive, being killed by a musket ball, near the close
of the engagement, which terminated in one of the most complete and
decisive victories ever recorded in the annals of naval warfare. He
arrived at high pre-eminence, through deeds of blood, and a vast
destruction of his species, which can have no place among the christian
virtues. But his biography and character are too well known to need
being here further enlarged upon. {189}
10. WILLIAM BEWLEY was for many years a most distinguished character
among the inhabitants of this part of Norfolk. He was not a native of
this country, but came hither, it is thought, from the north of England,
about 1749, and settled at Great Massingham, as a surgeon and apothecary,
where he continued for the remainder of his days, greatly respected as a
professional man, but more especially so as a _philosopher_, in which
character he was thought inferior to few, if any, of his cotemporaries.
With some of the most enlightened of them he was held in high and
deserved estimation. Dr. _Burney_ and Dr. _Priestley_ were of that
number; the latter of whom he very materially assisted in his
experimental pursuits, and was the first who discovered and suggested to
him the acidity of mephitic or fixed air. Intimate as these two
philosophers appear to have been, they were in some respects, it seems,
of very different sentiments. Priestley was an admirer of _Hartley_, and
a decided materialist, while Bewley, on the other hand, was a disciple of
_Berkeley_, and a firm believer of the ideal system. Between these two
systems there is evidently a very striking contrast; yet that occasioned
no breach in their friendship, or any coolness or abatement in their
esteem for each other. Among theologians, and minor philosophers, much
slighter differences might have occasioned (as they generally do) endless
jarrings, and an irreconcileable antipathy; but Priestley and Bewley were
men of another, and a very different cast, and knew how to entertain the
purest friendship for each other, while they held, on some important
points, very dissimilar, and even opposite opinions. Their friendship
commenced about the time that Priestley published his History of
Electricity. Bewley’s critique upon that work, in the Monthly Review,
was the means, as the Dr. says, of opening a correspondence between them,
which was the source of much satisfaction to him, as long as Mr. Bewley
lived. The Dr. used instantly to communicate to him an account of every
new experiment that he made, and in return was favoured with his remarks
upon them. All that Bewley published of his own (except those articles
which he furnished for the Monthly Review) were papers inserted in the
Dr’s. volumes _on Air_, all of which, says the doctor, are ingenious and
valuable. Always publishing in that manner, he used to call himself _Dr.
Priestley’s Satellite_. There was a vein of pleasant wit and humour (as
the Dr. informs us) in all his correspondence, which added greatly to the
value of it. His Letters to the Dr. would have made several volumes, and
the Dr’s to him, still more. He was in his latter years a valetudinarian
of a very sickly appearance. When he found himself dangerously ill, and
his dissolution fast approaching, he made a point of paying the Dr. a
visit before he died. He accordingly made a journey from Massingham to
Birmingham, for that purpose, accompanied by Mrs. Bewley: and after
spending about a week there, he went to pay another last or parting visit
to his friend Dr. Burney, and there, at his house in St. Martin’s Street,
London, he died, on the 5th. of Sept. 1783. He was for many years one of
the writers of the Monthly Review, and the articles he furnished for that
respectable publication were thought not inferior to the productions of
the very ablest of his associates. How many articles he furnished for
that work is not known, except, perhaps, to the Editor. The review of
_PRIESTLEY’S History of Electricity_, (as was before observed,) of
_WHITEHURST’S Inquiry into the original State and formation of the
Earth_, and of _Sir JOHN HAWKINS’ History of Music_, are understood to
have been drawn up by Mr. Bewley. The last mentioned article is said to
have been much admired at the time by the late celebrated Dr. _Samuel
Johnson_. Mr. Bewley was sometimes denominated _The Philosopher of
Massingham_, and with as much propriety, it was supposed, as _Hobbes_ was
styled _The Philosopher of Malmsbury_. The branches of knowledge in
which he was said chiefly to excel were those of _Anatomy_,
_Electricity_, and _Chemistry_. He had naturally a fine ear, and was
particularly fond of music; and was not only an excellent judge of
composition, but also a good performer on the violin. He cultivated the
art and science of music as a relief from severer pursuits, and applied
to it in the hours of relaxation, with that ardour which characterized
all his undertakings. A love for every liberal science and an insatiable
curiosity after whatever was connected with them, were his predominant
passions. So strongly and lastingly did they operate, that he desired
some books might be brought to him on the very evening before he died,
when the excruciating pains of his disorder had a little abated; and
though unable to read himself, he listened to what was read, and drank in
knowledge with his wonted eagerness, and,
—“with his latest breath
Thus shewed his ruling passion strong in death.”
He was a remarkably warm friend, and an excellent husband: and withal of
so benevolent and peculiar a turn of mind, that he would not willingly
hurt a worm; nor would he, it seems, cut a living twig from a shrub or
tree, because he did not know, (as he would say) but the operation might
occasion pain. Many will probably affect to smile at this, under an idea
of their own fancied superiority, whose characters, nevertheless, would
bear no comparison with that of William Bewley, not to say as _scholars_,
and _philosophers_, but even as _men_, and _members of society_. In
short, he appears to have been a very _good_, as well as a very wise and
great man. {192}
SECTION V.
_Of the ANIMALS_, _and particularly the BIRDS of this country_.
_Sir Thomas Browne_ seems to have placed the SPERMACETI-WHALE among the
animals of Norfolk. One of them sixty two feet in length, was taken, as
he says, near Wells. Another of the same kind, (he adds) about twenty
years after, was caught at Hunstanton; and not far from thence, eight or
nine were driven ashore, two of which were said to have young ones, after
they had forsaken the water.
The PORPESSE, the DOLPHIN, and the _GRAMPUS_, are also, by the same
writer, numbered among the Norfolk animals. The flesh of the two former,
he represents as good food, especially that of the Dolphin, which when
well-cooked, he says, is generally allowed to be a good dish. But it is
very rarely that one meets with any that have tasted of it.
As to the COMMON SEAL or _Sea-Calf_, being an amphibious creature, it is
not so unnaturally classed among land animals. Numbers of them are often
found sleeping on the shore and the sand-banks, below Lynn; while one, as
is said, is keeping watch in the meantime, lest his companions be caught
napping, and to apprise them of the approach of danger; in which case,
they all instantly rush into the deep and disappear.
OTTERS also are not uncommon in this country. The young ones, says Sir
T. Browne, are sometimes, preyed upon by buzzards, having occasionally
been found in the nests of these birds. By many persons they are
accounted no bad dish, as he says; and he adds, that Otters may be
rendered perfectly tame, and in some houses have been known to serve the
office of turnspits.
To the foregoing animals may be added _Badgers_, _Hares_, and _Rabbits_.
The latter are here more numerous than in most other parts of the
kingdom, and yet not so numerous it seems as they have been, owing to
modern agricultural improvements. Hares are also in general pretty
plentiful here in most places, and the game-laws very strictly enforced,
as many a poacher knows to his cost.