England in the Days of Old Part 4

In the following month the Earl of Ess.e.x, in company of my Lord Wharton, returned from North Britain and received sugar and wine costing the town 4 14s. 10d. The details of the amount are as under:--

"Oct. 1594.--Paide for 3 sugar loves weide 30-1/4 lb. 18d.

per lb. 2 5s. 10d.

For clarid wine and secke 2 9s. 0d."

The Bishop of Durham was not overlooked. In February, 1596, we find an entry as follows:--

"Paide for 4 pottles secke and 2 quarte, for 3 pottles of white wine, and 4 pottles and a quarte of clared wine for a present to the bishop of Dorum 17s. 6d.

Paide for 11 lb. of suger which went with the wine 18d.

per pounde 16s. 6d."

"Mr. Maiore and his brethren" enjoyed sugar and sundry pottles of wine.

It is satisfactory to find that the ladies were not neglected at Newcastle-on-Tyne. Here is an entry referring to the entertainment of the Mayoress and other ladies:--

"April, 1595.--Paide for secke, suger, clared wine, and caikes, to Mrs. Maris, and other gentlewomen, in Mr.

Baxter, his chamber 6s. 8d."

In the same month is an entry far different in character. It is a charge of 4d. for leading a scolding woman through the town wearing the brank.

Payments for inflicting punishment on men and women frequently occur.

The accounts of the borough of St. Ives, Cornwall, contain an item as follows:--

"1640.--Payde Nicholas Prigge for two loaves of sugar, which were presented to Mr. Recorder 1 10s. 0d."

The records of the city of Winchester include particulars of many presents of sugar loaves and other gifts. On March 24th, 1592, it was decided at a meeting of the munic.i.p.al authorities to present the Lord Marquis of Winchester with a sugar loaf weighing five pounds, and a gallon of sack, on his coming to the Lent a.s.sizes. The accounts of the city at this period contain entries of payments for sugar loaves given to the Recorder for a New Year's present, and for pottles of wine bestowed on distinguished visitors.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WOMAN WEARING A BRANK, OR SCOLD'S BRIDLE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BRANK, OR SCOLD'S BRIDLE.]

At a meeting held in 1603 of the local authorities of Nottingham, it was agreed that the town should present to the Recorder, Sir Henry Pierrepoint, as follows:--"A sugar loaf, 9s.; lemons, 1s. 8d.; white wine, one gallon, 2s. 8d.; claret, one gallon, 2s. 8d.; muskadyne, one pottle, 2s. 8d.; sack, one pottle, 2s.; total, 20s. 8d."

A year later the burgesses of Nottingham wished to show the great esteem they entertained for the Earl of Shrewsbury, and it was decided to give to him "a veal of mutton, a lamb, a dozen chickens, two dozen rabbits, two dozen of pigeons, and four capons." This is a truly formidable list, and seems more suitable for stocking a shop than a gentleman's larder.

The porpoise in past times was prized as a delicacy, and placed on royal tables. Down to the days of Queen Elizabeth it was used by the n.o.bles as an article of food. In the reign of that queen, a penny in twelve was the market due at Newcastle-on-Tyne, when the fish were cut up and exposed for sale. The heads, fins, and numbles were taken in addition. The seal was subject to the same regulations. The porpoise was deemed suitable for a present. In 1491 it is recorded that a large porpoise was sent from Yarmouth as a gift to the Earl of Oxford.

The annals of Exeter furnish particulars of several gifts of fish. In 1600 it was decided by the local authorities to present to the Recorder of the city, Mr. Sergeant Hale, annually during his life, eight salmon of the river Exe. The Mayor for the time being had a like quant.i.ty allowed. It was resolved on the 10th January, 1610, to present, at the cost of the citizens, to the Speaker of the Parliament, in token of good will, a hogshead of Malaga wine, or a hogshead of claret, whichever might be deemed most acceptable, and one baked salmon pie.

Sir George Trenchard in 1593 received from the Mayor of Lyme a box of marmalade and six oranges, costing 7s.

Six months later the munic.i.p.al accounts of Lyme include an entry as follows:--

"1595.--Given to Sir George Trenchard a fair box marmalade gilted, a barrel of conserves oranges and lemons and potatoes 22s. 10d."

Mr. George Roberts, in his "Social History of the Southern Counties," has an interesting note respecting the potatoes named in the foregoing entry.

He says:--"The sweet potato (_Convolvulus Batatas_) was known in England before the common potato, which received its name from its resemblance to the Batata. This plant was introduced into this country by Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins in the middle of the sixteenth century. The roots were, about the close of the reign of Elizabeth, imported in considerable quant.i.ties from Spain and the Canaries, and were used as a confection rather than as a nourishing vegetable."

We will close this paper with particulars of a present which may be regarded more of an example of esteem than an attempt at bribery. Hull, in the days of old, was noted for its ale. The Corporation of the town often presented one or two barrels to persons to whom they desired to show a token of regard. Andrew Marvell, the incorruptible patriot, represented the place in Parliament from 1658 until his death in 1678. He was in close touch with the leading men of the town, and wrote long and interesting letters, detailing the operations of the House of Commons, to the Mayor and Aldermen. In one of his epistles to the Burgesses of Hull he refers to a gift of ale. "We must," says Marvell, "first give thanks for the kind present you have been pleased to send us, which will give occasion to us to remember you often; but the quant.i.ty is so great that it might make sober men forgetful." Marvell's father was master of the Hull Grammar School, and it was there the patriot was educated.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ANDREW MARVELL.]

Hull ale finds a place in proverbial lore, and is named by Ray and others.

Taylor, the water poet, visited the town in 1622, and was the guest of George Pease, landlord of the "King's Head" Inn, High Street. In Taylor's poem, ent.i.tled "A Very Merrie Ferry Voyage; or, Yorke for My Money," he thus averts to Hull ale:--

"Thanks to my loving host and hostess, _Pease_, There at mine inne each night I took mine ease; And there I got a cantle of _Hull Chesse_."

The poet, in a foot-note, says:--"Hull cheese is much like a loaf out of the brewer's basket; it is composed of two samples, mault and water in one compound, and is cousin german to the mightiest ale in England." Ray quotes the proverb, "You have eaten some Hull cheese," as equivalent to an accusation of drunkenness.

Rebel Heads on City Gates.

The barbarous custom of spiking heads on city gates, and on other prominent places, may be traced back to the days of Edward I. His wise laws won for him the t.i.tle of "the English Justinian," but he does not appear to have tempered justice with mercy. In his age little value was set upon human life. His scheme of conquest included the subjugation and annexation of Scotland and Wales.

David, the brother of Llewellyn the Welsh Prince, had been on the side of the English, and at the hands of Edward had experienced kindness, but in return he showed little grat.i.tude. In 1282 he made an unprovoked attack on Hawarden Castle. Subsequently his brother Llewellyn joined in the rising, and undertook the conduct of the war in South Wales, while David attempted to defend the North of the country. In a skirmish on the Wye, Llewellyn was slain by a single knight. David soon fell into the hands of the English, and was sent in chains to Shrewsbury. Here he was tried by Parliament, consisting of "the first national convention in which the Common had any share by legal authority, and the earliest lawful trace of a mixed a.s.sembly of Lords and Commons." Guilty of being a traitor was the verdict returned, and David was condemned to a new and cruel mode of execution, viz., "to be dragged at a horse's tail through the streets of Shrewsbury, and to be afterwards hung and cut down while alive, his heart and bowels burnt before his face, his body quartered and his head sent to London." The head of Llewellyn was also to be sent to London, to be spiked on the Tower encircled with a crown of ivy.

On the gates of old London Bridge have been spiked the heads of many famous men--not a few whose brave deeds add glory to the annals of England and Scotland. The heroic deeds of Sir William Wallace have done much to increase the dignity of the history of North Britain. After rendering gallant service to his native land, he was betrayed into the hands of the English by his friend and countryman, Sir John Menteith, at Glasgow. He was conveyed to London, was tried and condemned as a rebel, and on August 23rd, 1305, suffered a horrible death, similar to the fate of David, Prince of Wales. His body was divided and sent into four parts of Scotland, and his head set up on a pole on London Bridge. Edward I.

degraded himself by this cruel revenge on a patriotic man. In the following year the head of another Scotch rebel, Simon Frazer, was spiked beside that of Wallace.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OLD LONDON BRIDGE, SHEWING HEADS OF REBELS ON THE GATE.]

In the reign of Edward II., Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, rose to almost supreme power, but his rule was most distasteful to the people. It was oppressive and ended in disaster. In 1316, when the Earl was at the height of his fame, he discovered that a knight formerly in his household had been induced by the King of England to carry to the King of Scotland a letter asking that some of his soldiers might slay him. The Earl was then at Pontefract and had the knight brought before him, and by his orders he was speedily executed, and his head spiked on the walls of the castle.

The Barons met the forces of Edward II. at Boroughbridge, in 1322, and were totally routed, and their leaders, the Earl of Hereford was slain, and the Earl of Lancaster was taken prisoner, and afterwards executed at Pontefract. About thirty knights and barons suffered death on the scaffold in various parts of the country, so that terror might be widely spread.

Some of the bodies were suspended for long periods in chains, and amongst the number were those of Sir Roger de Clifford, Sir John Mowbray, and Sir Jocalyn D'Eyville. They were hanged at York, and for three years their bodies were hung in chains, and then the Friar Preachers committed them to the ground. Another rebel, Sir Bartholomew de Badlesmere, was executed at Canterbury, and his head was cut off and spiked on the city gate at Canterbury.

At Boroughbridge Sir Andrew de Harcla displayed courage of a high order, and was rewarded with the t.i.tle of the Earl of Carlisle, and military duties of a more important order were entrusted to him, but he did not long enjoy his honours. The Scots advanced into this country and met the English at the Abbey of Byland, and completely overpowered them; the Earl remaining inactive at Boroughbridge with 2,000 foot and horse soldiers. On a writ dated at Knaresborough, February 27th, 1323, he was tried for treachery, his collusion with the Scotch was clearly proved, and the following sentence was pa.s.sed upon him:--"To be degraded both himself and his heirs from the rank of earl, to be ungirt of his sword, his gilded spurs hacked from his heels--said to be the first example of its kind--to be hanged, drawn, and beheaded, his heart and entrails torn out and burnt to ashes, and the ashes scattered to the winds; his carcase to be divided into four quarters, one to be hung on the top of the Tower at Carlisle, another at Newcastle, the third on the bridge at York, and the fourth at Shrewsbury, while his head was to be spiked on London Bridge." "You may divide my body as you please," said the Earl, "but I give my soul to G.o.d."

On March 3rd, 1323, the terrible sentence was carried out.

Under the year 1397, John Timbs, in his "Curiosities of London," records that the heads of four traitor knights were spiked on London Bridge.

On Bramham Moor, Yorkshire, on Sunday, February 19th, 1408, Sir Thomas Rokeby, high sheriff of the county, fighting for Henry IV., completely defeated an army raised by the Earl of Northumberland, and other n.o.bles who had revolted against the king. The Earl was slain on the field, and his chief a.s.sociate, Lord Bardolf, was mortally wounded and taken prisoner, but died before he could be removed from the scene of the battle. The heads of these two n.o.blemen were cut off, and that of the Earl placed upon a hedge-stake, and carried in a mock procession through the chief towns on the route to London, and finally found a resting-place on London Bridge. He was popular amongst his friends, and they greatly grieved at his death. It was indeed a sore trial to those who had loved him well to see his mutilated head, full of silver hairs, carried through the streets of London, a gruesome exhibition for a heartless public. The head of Lord Bardolf was also spiked on London Bridge.

Some pa.s.sages in the life of Eleanor Cobham, first mistress and afterwards wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, furnish an insight into the superst.i.tions of the period. She was tried in 1441 for treason and witchcraft. The chief charge against her was that she and her accomplices had made a waxen image of the reigning monarch, Henry VI., and placed it before a slow fire, believing that as the wax melted the king's life would waste away. She was found guilty and had to do public penance in the streets of London, and was imprisoned for life in the Isle of Man. Three persons who had a.s.sisted her crimes suffered death. One Margaret Jourdain, of Eye, near Westminster, was burned in Smithfield. Southwell, a priest, died before execution in the Tower, and Sir Roger Bolinbroke, a priest, and reputed necromancer, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, and his head was fixed on London Bridge. The d.u.c.h.ess, in the event of Henry's death, expected that the Duke of Gloucester, as nearest heir of the house of Lancaster, would be crowned king.

The details of Jack Cade's insurrection are well-known, and perhaps a copy of an inscription on a roadside monument at Heathfield, near Cuckfield in Suss.e.x, will answer our present purpose:--

Near this spot was slain the notorious rebel JACK CADE, By Alexander Iden, Sheriff of Kent, A.D. 1450.

His body was carried to London, and his head fixed on London Bridge.

This is the success of all rebels, and this fortune chanceth even to traitors.

_Hall's Chronicle._

In 1496 two heads were placed on London Bridge; one was Flammock's, a lawyer, and the other that of a farmer's who had suffered death at Tyburn, for taking a leading part in a great Cornish insurrection.