Curiosities Of Great Britain: England And Wales Delineated Part 19

[A] GREAT BARR is an agreeable village, which has long been the property of the Scott family, who have here one of the finest mansions in the county. This seat stands in a beautiful valley, affording the most delightful prospects of hill and dale, varied by wood and water. Shady walks and rustic seats furnish the most attractive conveniences for the promenade. One object in particular fixes the attention; it is an urn near the flower garden, to the memory of Miss Mary Dolman, the cousin of Shenstone, whose elegant pen supplied a beautiful tribute in Latin. The summit of Barr Beacon, which is 653 feet in height, was the spot from whence the Druids gave notice, by watch-fires, of their periodical sacrifices; and it was used both by the Saxons and the Danes, as a beacon to alarm the country in times of danger. The chapel of the village is of remarkable beauty; its eastern window contains a painting on gla.s.s by Mr. Eginton, who has improved upon the design of the Rev.

Mr. Peter's "Spirit of a Child."

[Sidenote: Barr Beacon, 653 feet high.]

[B] GREAT BARRINGTON is a parish containing about 1000 acres, including some portion of Oxfordshire within its limits, as well as a small tract belonging to Berkshire. Previous to the conquest, the manor was held by Earl Harold; the present owner is Lord Dynevor, Lord Lieut. and Cust.

Rot. of Carmarthen. Barrington church appears to have been erected about the time of Henry VII. Beneath one of the windows of the aisle are the monument and effigies of Captain Edward Bray, grandfather of Sir Giles Bray, lord of the manor, who is represented in armour, with a ruff round his neck and a sword girt on the "right" side. This peculiarity originated from the captain having killed a man at Tilbury camp; and, in token of his sorrow, he determined never more to use his right hand.

Lord Chancellor Talbot was buried in this church; he was the son of William Talbot, Bishop of Durham, and was born in the year 1684. After being elected a fellow of All Soul's College, Oxford, he married, and consequently was compelled to give up his fellowship. When he left the university, he was admitted a member of the society of Lincoln's Inn, and was speedily called to the bar. He was chosen to represent the now disfranchised borough of Tregony, in Cornwall, and afterwards was made member for the city of Durham. He died in the enjoyment of the highest character, after a short illness, on the 14th of February, 1737. Few Chancellors have been more lamented, both in public and private life.

Lord Talbot acquired universal esteem. The Hall was built by him in the year 1734, soon after which it was destroyed by fire. The grounds furnish a good specimen of the "ferme ornee," (ornamental farm) and the park, about three miles in circ.u.mference, is well planted with a variety of beautiful trees.

[Sidenote: Capt. Edward Bray.]

Map Names of Places. County. Number of Miles From +--+-------------------------+---------+--------------+-------------+ 33 Barrow pa Salop M. Wenlock 4 Bridgenorth 6 36 Barrow pa Suffolk Bury 6 Newmarket 9 34 Barrow-Gourney pa Somerset Bristol 5 Axbridge 12 7 Barrow, Great pa & to Chester Chester 6 Northwich 13 24 Barrow-on-Humber pa Lincoln Barton 3 Grimsby 17 34 Barrow, North pa Somerset Castle Carey 3 Ilchester 8 34 Barrow, South pa Somerset ... 4 ... 7 23 Barrow-on-Soar[A] pa & to Leicester Mount Sorrel 2 Loughboro' 3 24 Barrowby pa Lincoln Grantham 2 Newark 12 32 Barrowden pa Rutland Uppingham 6 Stamford 8 22 Barrowford to Lancaster Colne 2 c.l.i.theroe 5 54 Barry pa Glamorgan Cardiff 9 Cowbridge 7 54 Barry Isle[B] Isle Glamorgan ... 9 ... 8 +--+-------------------------+---------+--------------+-------------+ Dist. Map Names of Places. Number of Miles From Lond. Population.

+--+-------------------------+------------------------+-----+-------+ 33 Barrow pa Broseley 2 146 351 36 Barrow pa Mildenhall 9 69 856 34 Barrow-Gourney pa Pensford 7 120 279 7 Barrow, Great pa & to Tarporley 5 183 436 24 Barrow-on-Humber pa Brigg 11 167 1334 34 Barrow, North pa Wincanton 8 116 150 34 Barrow, South pa ... 9 117 139 23 Barrow-on-Soar[A] pa & to Leicester 9 107 6254 24 Barrowby pa Colterswor 10 112 687 32 Barrowden pa Oakham 8 92 485 22 Barrowford to Burnley 6 216 2633 54 Barry pa Llandaff 9 169 72 54 Barry Isle[B] Isle ... 9 169 ... +--+-------------------------+------------------------+-----+-------+

[A] BARROW. This large and pleasant village appears to have taken its name from an ancient tumulus. It is occupied princ.i.p.ally by gentlemen farmers, many of whom, however, derive great profit from the quant.i.ties of lime which they get up and burn. This village having been for many centuries celebrated for a hard blue stone, similar to that in the vale of Belvoir, and when calcined, produces a very fine matter, from which is prepared a particularly hard, firm, and greatly esteemed cement.

Various fossil remains are found amongst the limestone. One of the petrifactions, still preserved at Cambridge, with Dr. Woodward's fossils, is a plain and bold representation of a flat-fish, about twelve inches long. Mr. Jones, in his "Philosophical Disquisitions," notices it by saying, that "our country hath lately afforded what I apprehend to be the greatest curiosity of the sort that ever appeared. It is the entire figure of a bream, more than a foot in length, and of a proportionable depth, with the scales, fins, and gills, fairly projecting from the surface, like a sculpture in relievo, and with all the lineaments, even to the most minute fibres of the tail, so complete, that the like was never seen before." Dr. William Beveridge, one of the most learned prelates of the English church, was born here in the year 1638. At St.

John's College, Cambridge, he applied himself with intense application to the study of oriental literature. He reviewed the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Samaritan tongues, and produced a Syriac grammar. He was raised to the see of St. Asaph, in the year 1704, but he enjoyed his new dignity for a short period,--his death took place in the year 1708.

In his divinity he was Calvinistic; from the simplicity and piety of his character, he was beloved by all parties. He lies buried in St. Paul's Cathedral.

[Sidenote: Superior lime quarries.]

[Sidenote: The pious Beveridge born here.]

[B] BARRY ISLAND, the name of which has been thought to have been derived from St. Baroche, a hermit, who, according to Cressy, died here in the year 700. This island, which lets for about 80. a year, is estimated to contain about 300 acres. In Leland's time there was, in the middle of it, a "fair little chapel used," but there was no dwelling.

Since that period, however, a house has been erected for the residence of a farmer, which, in the summer, is converted into a boarding-house, for the reception of sea-bathers. The family of Giraldus de Barri, are said to have taken their t.i.tle from this island, of which they were once lords. "It is remarkable," observes Giraldus, "that in a rock near the entrance of the island, there is a small cavity, to which, if the ear is applied, a noise is heard like that of smiths at work--the blowing of bellows, strokes of hammers, grinding of tools, and roaring of furnaces; and it might easily have been imagined, that such noises which are continued at the ebb and flow of the tides, were occasioned by the influx of the sea under the cavities of the rocks." Sir Richard h.o.a.re, in his additions to Giraldus, observes as follows:--"Towards the southern part of the island, on a spot called Nell's Point, is a fine well, to which great numbers of women resort on Holy Thursday, and, having washed their eyes at the spring, each drops a pin into it. The landlord of the boarding-house told me, that on clearing out the well he took out a pint full of these votive offerings." On the main land, opposite the western extremity of the island, lies the village of Barry, near which are some remains of the castle. A few miles north-westward from Barry are the remains of Penmark castle, anciently the property of Sir Gilbert Humphreville, one of the followers of Fitzhamon. Llancarvan, in this vicinity, was once the seat of a religious house, said to have been founded by Cadoc the Wise, in the 6th century. Llancarvan is also distinguished as the birth-place of Caradoc, the Welsh annalist, who compiled a history of the Princ.i.p.ality, from the abdication of Cadwaladyr, 686, to his own time. Tref Walter, or Walterston, in this parish, was the residence of Walter de Mapes, a writer of some note towards the middle of the 12th century. He was Archdeacon of Oxford, and Chaplain to Henry I. He built the church of Llancarvan, a large substantial edifice, and the village of Walterston, with a mansion for himself. His literary labours comprise a translation of the British Chronicle into Latin, and a Welsh version of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fabulous paraphrase of the same work. He wrote also a Treatise on Agriculture in the Welsh language.

[Sidenote: Remarkable noises heard here.]

[Sidenote: Curious custom.]

Map Names of Places. County. Number of Miles From +--+---------------------+---------+-------------+-------------+ 36 Barsham pa Suffolk Beccles 3 Bungay 5 27 Barsham, (East) pa Norfolk Fakenham 3 Walsingham 3 27 Barsham, (North) pa Norfolk Walsingham 2 Wells 6 27 Barsham, (West) pa Norfolk Fakenham 3 Walsingham 3 39 Barston pa Warwick Warwick 12 Coventry 9 17 Bartestree chap Hereford Hereford 5 Bromyard 14 7 Bartherton to Chester Nantwich 2 Whitchurch 10 21 Bartholomew lib. Kent Canterbury 13 Deal 7 7 Barthomley[A] pa & to Chester Sandbach 7 Newcastle 7 7 Bartington to Chester Northwick 4 Warrington 8 6 Bartlow[B] pa Cambridge Linton 2 Haverhill 6 14 Bartlow End ham Ess.e.x 3 6 4 Barton ham Berks Oxford 6 E. Illsley 9 6 Barton pa Cambridge Cambridge 4 Caxton 8 7 Barton to Chester Chester 10 Malpas 7 +--+---------------------+---------+-------------+-------------+ Dist. Map Names of Places. Number of Miles From Lond. Population.

+--+---------------------+-----------------------+-----+-------+ 36 Barsham pa Halesworth 9 109 182 27 Barsham, (East) pa Burnham M. 10 102 219 27 Barsham, (North) pa Fakenham 4 113 84 27 Barsham, (West) pa Creek 4 112 101 39 Barston pa Birmingham 13 100 342 17 Bartestree chap Ledbury 12 132 50 7 Bartherton to Audlem 4 163 34 21 Bartholomew lib. Ramsgate 6 68 61 7 Barthomley[A] pa & to Nantwich 11 157 449 7 Bartington to Knutsford 7 177 76 6 Bartlow[B] pa Saff. Walden 6 48 106 14 Bartlow End ham 5 47 205 4 Barton ham Dorchester 7 56 14 6 Barton pa Royston 12 49 273 7 Barton to Tarporley 12 175 168 +--+---------------------+-----------------------+-----+-------+

[A] BARTHOMLEY contains several townships. The nave of the church has a richly carved wooden roof, dated 1589. On the 22d of December, 1643, a troop of Lord Byron's pa.s.sing through the village, made an attack upon this venerable edifice, into which several of the inhabitants had gone for safety; they soon got possession of it, and having set fire to the forms, rushes, and mats, made such a smoke that the men who had retreated into the steeple were obliged to call for quarter, but their a.s.sailants having got them into their power, are said to have stripped them all, and most cruelly murdered twelve of them in cold blood, three only being suffered to escape. A free school was founded here, in the year 1676, by the Rev. Mr. Steele, in which ten children are educated.

In the year 1787, Mrs. Mary, Mrs. Margaret, and Mrs. Judith Alsager, ladies of the manor, obtained an Act of Parliament to enable them to finish a new church, or chapel, to be called Christ's Church, or Chapel, in that township. The same ladies built a school-house, and founded a school there, for the education of children of both s.e.xes.

[Sidenote: Cruel murder.]

[B] BARTLOW. Near this place, are four contiguous barrows, known by the name of Bartlow Hills, from their situation with respect to Bartlow Church. These are vulgarly, though erroneously, regarded as the tumuli raised over the slain in the battle fought between Edmund Ironside and the Danish King, Canute, in the year 1016. It is evident, indeed, from our account of Ashington, at page 50, that the place of action should be sought for, rather in the vicinity of the sea than at the northern extremity of the county. Camden states, that these stone coffins, with broken human bones in them, were found in one of these barrows; and Hollingshead affirms, that two bodies were found in one stone coffin.

Mr. Gough remarks, that we do not find the use of stone coffins amongst the northern nations in their Pagan state; and the Danes were not converted until long after the time of Canute. The origin of these barrows, therefore, cannot now be traced.

Map Names of Places. County. Number of Miles from +--+----------------------------+----------+-------------+-------------+ 17 Barton to Hereford Kington 1 Presteign 5 30 Barton pa Nottingham Nottingham 6 Rempstone 7 40 Barton, (High),[A] pa & to Westmorlnd Appleby 3 Orton 6 23 Barton ham Leicester M. Bosworth 2 Leicester 14 27 Barton Bendish pa Norfolk Stoke Ferry 4 Swaffham 8 10 Barton-le-Blount pa Derby Derby 10 Ashborne 9 3 Barton in the Clay pa Bedford Silsoe 3 Luton 7 44 Barton, St. Cuthbert pa & to N.R. York Darlington 5 Richmond 7 34 Barton, St. David's, pa Somerset Somerton 4 Glas...o...b..ry 7 36 Barton, (Great) pa Suffolk Bury 3 Ixworth 4 5 Barton Hartshorne pa Buckingham Buckingham 4 Bicester 8 39 Barton on the heath[B] pa Warwick Shipston 6 L. Compton 2 +--+----------------------------+----------+-------------+-------------+ Dist. Popul Map Names of Places. Number of Miles from Lond. -ation.

+--+----------------------------+------------------------+-----+-------+ 17 Barton to Hereford 21 156 ... 30 Barton pa Derby 13 121 379 40 Barton, (High),[A] pa & to Brough 11 272 1537 23 Barton ham Ashby 10 108 163 27 Barton Bendish pa Downham 8 92 459 10 Barton-le-Blount pa Uttoxeter 8 136 60 3 Barton in the Clay pa Ampthill 4 38 720 44 Barton, St. Cuthbert pa & to Barnard Cas 14 238 499 34 Barton, St. David's pa Castle Cary 7 120 410 36 Barton, (Great) pa Thetford 13 74 702 5 Barton Hartshorne pa Brackley 6 59 145 39 Barton on the heath[B] pa Chip. Norton 7 79 208 +--+----------------------------+------------------------+-----+-------+

[A] BARTON. Stockbridge Hall, an ancient edifice, was the seat of the Lancasters, whose arms are yet seen on the ceiling of the dining-room, and who continued here through twelve generations, when their estates fell to the Lowthers. The church, which is a low and extensive building, with a heavy tower between the chancel and the nave, contains the tomb of one of the Lancasters; some escutcheons of several families in the neighbourhood, and a bra.s.s plate, on which is this remarkable epitaph:--

"Under this stone, reader, interred doth lie, Beauty and virtue's true epitomy.

At her appearance the noone sun Blushed and shrunk in, 'cause quite undone.

In her concentered did all graces dwell; G.o.d plucked my rose that he might take a smell.

I'll say no more, but weeping, wish I may, Soone with thy dear chaste ashes come to lay."

The lady thus extravagantly eulogised, was Frances, the wife of Launcelot Dawes; she died in 1673. Barton school was founded in 1641, by four priests, natives of this parish.

[Sidenote: Remarkable epitaph.]

[B] BARTON. Near this village is a large stone, called Four-shire stone, from its forming the point of junction of the four counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Warwick, and Oxford. Here once resided an attorney of so pacific a disposition that he usually acted as mediator when disputes arose. This anomalous person, named Dover, inst.i.tuted the annual festivities termed Cotswold Games, and was for forty years their chief supporter. These diversions were celebrated upon the Cotswold Hills, in Gloucestershire, and prodigious mult.i.tudes are said to have resorted to them. They consisted of wrestling, cudgel-playing, leaping, pitching the bar, throwing the sledge, tossing the pike, with various other feats of strength and activity. A castle of boards was erected on this occasion, from which guns were frequently discharged. Dover received permission from James I. to hold these sports, and he appeared at their celebration in the very clothes which that monarch had formerly worn; but it is said there was much more dignity in his form and aspect.

John Heywood, the epigramatist, speaking of these games, says--

"He fometh like a bore, the beaste should seem bold, For he is as fierce as a lyon of Cotsolde."

[Sidenote: Cotswold games.]

Map Names of Places. County. Number of Miles From +--+------------------------+-----------+---------------+-------------+ 24 Barton[A] m.t. Lincoln Hull 7 Brigg 11 22 Barton on Irwell to Lancaster Manchester 6 Newton 14 36 Barton, Little pa Suffolk Mildenhall 1 Newmarket 9 44 Barton, St. Mary, chap N.R. York Darlington 5 Richmond 7 35 Barton chap Stafford Burton on Tr. 5 Lichfield 9 28 Barton Segrave pa Northamp. Kettering 2 Thrapston 8 16 Barton Stacey pa Hants. Whitchurch 6 Andover 6 31 Barton Steeple[B] pa Oxford Deddington 5 Woodstock 7 15 Barton Street ham Gloucester Gloucester 1 Cheltenham 9 43 Barton in Street pa N.R. York New Malton 5 Pickering 5 27 Barton Turf pa Norfolk Coltishall 5 Worstead 4 31 Barton Westcott pa Oxford Enstone 4 Woodstock 7 43 Barton in the Willows, t N.R. York York 10 New Malton 8 45 Barugh to W.R. York Barnsley 3 Wakefield 9 43 Barugh, Gt. & Little pa N.R. York Pickering 3 New Malton 5 23 Barwell pa Leicester Hinckley 2 M. Bosworth 7 14 Barwick pa Ess.e.x Chipp. Ongar 6 Dunmow 8 34 Barwick pa Somerset Yeovil 2 Sherborne 6 41 Barwick Ba.s.set pa Wilts Calne 7 Swindon 8 +--+-----------------------+------------+---------------+-------------+ Dist. Popul Map Names of Places. Number of Miles From Lond. -ation.

+--+------------------------+---------------------------+-----+-------+ 24 Barton[A] m.t. Lincoln 34 167 3231 22 Barton on Irwell to Warrington 14 185 8976 36 Barton, Little pa Bury 12 70 591 44 Barton, St. Mary, chap Barnard Cas. 14 238 ... 35 Barton chap Abbotts Brom 8 130 1344 28 Barton Segrave pa Wellingboro 8 75 203 16 Barton Stacey pa Winchester 9 62 626 31 Barton Steeple[B] pa Charlbury 9 63 606 15 Barton Street ham Ross 17 103 786 43 Barton in Street pa Helmsley 10 222 436 27 Barton Turf pa Norwich 13 121 391 31 Barton Westcott pa Deddington 5 64 258 43 Barton in the Willows, t Sutton 10 206 202 45 Barugh to Huddersfield 14 175 946 43 Barugh, Gt. & Little pa Scarborough 18 223 294 23 Barwell pa Leicester 11 101 1505 14 Barwick pa Chelmsford 10 27 97 34 Barwick pa Crewkherne 8 123 415 41 Barwick Ba.s.set pa Marlborough 8 83 164 +--+-----------------------+------------+---------------+-----+-------+

[A] BARTON. This ancient town is pleasantly situated about three-quarters of a mile from the southern bank of the Humber. It was formerly surrounded by a rampart and fossee, the remains of which are still discernable. It was doubtless a place of great strength before the conquest, and served as a barrier against the irruptions of the Saxons and Danes. At the period of the conquest it was a princ.i.p.al port of the Humber, and until the rise of Kingston-upon-Hull it enjoyed an extensive commerce. At present its derives its princ.i.p.al consequence from being the point whence the communication with the Lincoln road is continued across the Humber to Hull, a distance of about six miles and a half.

_Market_, Monday.--_Fair_, Trinity Thursday, for cattle.--_Mail_ arrives 3.0 afternoon; departs 11.15 morning--_Inn_, The Waterside Inn.

[Sidenote: Once a place of importance.]

[B] STEEPLE BARTON. In this parish is situated Rowsham, which was, for several centuries, the seat of the Dormers, and it continued in their possession until the decease of General Dormer, in the year 1750. That gentleman bequeathed the mansion and estates to his cousin, Sir Clement Cottrell, Knight, Master of the Ceremonies to George II., who annexed the name of Dormer to his own, and in whose family the property has since remained. The situation is extremely fine, and the grounds, which were laid out by Kent, during the life-time of General Dormer, afford a variety of picturesque and pleasant views. The mansion was built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but a few alterations were made at subsequent periods. The walls are embattled, and the doors are singularly enough perforated with holes (with slides to cover) so as to admit muskets being pointed through them. There is a large hall, and valuable library, containing many old and rare authors. A very excellent collection of paintings, (about 180 in number), and of busts and other figures in bronze, (amounting to fifty-five), has also been formed here. Horace Walpole, in one of his eloquent letters to George Montague, has thus spoken of this place:--"But the greatest pleasure we had, was in seeing Sir Charles Cotterell's, at Rowsham: it reinstated Kent with me; he has no where shewn so much taste. The house is old, and was bad; he has improved it--stuck as close as he could to gothic; has made a delightful library, and the whole is comfortable. The garden is Daphne in little, the sweetest little groves, streams, glades, porticoes, cascades, and rivers imaginable: all the scenes are perfectly cla.s.sic. Well, if I had such a house, such a library, so pretty a place, and so pretty a wife, I think I should let King George send to Herenhausen for a Master of the Ceremonies." The pleasure-grounds are beautifully shaded by flourishing and n.o.ble beech trees; they are also ornamented by several stone statues, which all throw up water, except a very fine one of the dying gladiator, and a group of the lion tearing the horse, by Sheemacher.

[Sidenote: Rowsham House.]

Map Names of Places. County. Number of Miles From +--+----------------------+----------+-------------+------------+ 27 Barwick pa Norfolk Burnham 4 Wells 11 45 Barwick pa & to W.R. York Wetherby 7 Tadcaster 7 33 Baschurch pa Salop Shrewsbury 8 Oswestry 10 7 Basford to Chester Nantwich 5 Sandbach 8 30 Basford[A] pa Nottingham Nottingham 3 Mansfield 12 35 Basford[B] to Stafford Leek 3 Longnor 7 45 Bashall to W.R. York c.l.i.theroe 5 Lancaster 16 4 Basilden pa Berks Reading 8 Streatley 2 14 Basildon chap Ess.e.x Billericay 4 Gravesend 12 16 Basing, Old[C] to & ch Hants Basingstoke 2 Odiham 5 +--+----------------------+----------+-------------+------------+ Dist. Map Names of Places. Number of Miles From Lond. Population.

+--+--------------------+--------------------------+-----+-------+ 27 Barwick pa Fakenham 11 117 35 45 Barwick pa & to Abberford 2 188 1922 33 Baschurch pa Ellesmere 9 161 1321 7 Basford to Woore 7 160 85 30 Basford[A] pa Arnold 3 127 6325 35 Basford[B] to Cheadle 7 151 300 45 Bashall to Blackburn 10 222 310 4 Basilden pa Wallingford 8 47 780 14 Basildon chap Rochford 12 27 124 16 Basing, Old[C] to & ch Alton 12 44 1113 +--+----------------------+------------------------+-----+-------+

[A] BASFORD lies in a bottom, approached from the race-ground. The scenery around it is rich in the extreme. This village has greatly increased of late, from various manufactures, and the improvements consequent upon them. Here are corn and cotton-mills, and the bleaching and dying branches of business are carried on with considerable success.

The church has a very handsome spire, with a nave and side aisles in very good order, but there are no ancient inscriptions. The importance of this place has also been kept up, by its being the seat of the Court of the Honour of Peverel, since it was removed from Nottingham. It sits twice in the year, to try causes as high as 50. A jail for the court is situated here, which Howard describes as having, at the time of his writing, merely one room, with three beds; but the keepers told him he had another little room for women prisoners, of whom there being none in his custody, he applied the apartment to domestic uses. A bowling-green, close by the jail, is much frequented by the inhabitants of Nottingham.

At Mapperley, a hamlet in this parish, is a handsome seat of Ichabod Wright, Esq., a banker of Nottingham.

[Sidenote: The trade.]

[B] BASFORD. Here was born, in 1630, the celebrated Charles Cotton, a burlesque poet of the seventeenth century. He received his education at Cambridge, and afterwards travelled through France. On his return to England he resided with his father at Basford, in the neighbourhood of the Peak. His first production was, a poetical essay on the gallant Earl of Derby. In 1656, he married a daughter of Sir Thomas Hutchinson, a Nottinghamshire Knight. Two years after this his father died; he then succeeded him in the family estate, which was enc.u.mbered with mortgages: being of an improvident disposition, he was subject to constant embarra.s.sments, and was even confined for some months in a prison for debt. After the death of his first wife, he married the Countess Dowager of Ardgla.s.s. He died at Westminster in 1687. Some of his poems, of considerable merit, were published after his death.