Part 17 (1/2)
[B] BANSTEAD is celebrated for the excellent herbage which the neighbouring downs afford the sheep, which are highly prized for the delicate flavour of the mutton. There are many elegant seats in the vicinity, amongst which are Banstead House, Miss Motteux; Cold Blow Cottage, General Sir Edward Howorth; and the Oaks, the seat of the Earl of Derby. This celebrated villa was erected by a society of gentlemen, called the ”Hunter's Club,” and the present n.o.ble proprietor can accommodate his guests with more than 50 bed chambers; and a pack of hounds are kept on the establishment, which has been long noted for its hospitality. On the 26th of February, 1834, Mr. John Richardson, a farmer, returning from Epsom to Banstead, was robbed and murdered on these downs.
[Sidenote: Seat of the Earl of Derby.]
[C] BANWELL is an agreeable village, situated under the northern declivity of the Mendip hills, and is supposed to derive its name from a spring strongly impregnated with mineral properties, which expands into a fine sheet of water, and after turning two mills, empties itself into the channel near the ruins of Woodspring Priory. The church, which is a fine specimen of the florid gothic of the Tudor age, contains a richly carved screen and rood loft, a beautiful sculptured stone pulpit, and several windows of the richest stained gla.s.s. This manor has been in the possession of the Bishops of Bath and Wells, from the reign of Edward the Confessor, with little exception, till the present time. They had for many centuries a palace here, but nothing of it remains except a private residence called Banwell Court, still interesting for its antiquity. The park has been divided into enclosures, which afford at every point a most pleasing variety of landscapes. The Bishop of Bath and Wells has also a cottage ornee, for the accommodation of his family and of the numerous visitors which are driven hither to view the two singular caverns which have been discovered of late years in this neighbourhood. The monastery of Banwell was founded by the early Saxon monarchs. a.s.serius, or a.s.ser, the scholar and biographer of King Alfred, was made Abbot by that monarch. This Abbey was destroyed by the Danes; it was afterwards restored, but never recovered its pristine importance; for instead of arriving at the point of prosperity usual in Royal foundations, it sunk into obscurity long prior to the dissolution of religious houses. Banwell is remarkable for two extraordinary caverns discovered in the year 1824, which occasioned no inconsiderable number of the curious to resort to the village. They were first discovered by some workmen digging a shaft in search of Calamine, which intersected a steep narrow fissure; after they had descended about 80 feet it opened into a s.p.a.cious cavern, 150 feet long and 30 broad, and about 30 feet high. This is called the stalact.i.te cavern, from the beautiful specimens of crystalized stalact.i.te, which lay covering huge fragments of rock about the floor. In this place were found two pieces of candle, encrusted with lime, supposed to have been left by the miners after working for ochre, calamine, &c. A rich vein of iron ore, with some cobalt and manganese, was also discovered, the working of which has long since commenced, and the produce is conveyed to the smelting works on the southern coast of Wales. The workmen, in order to facilitate an easier method of entrance, opened another fissure lower in the rock, when suddenly another cavern presented itself, the floor of which was covered with a ma.s.s of sand, limestone, teeth, bones, &c. Professor Buckland, who surveyed this place, states, that a shaft being driven into this ma.s.s, proved it to have been nearly 40 feet deep. The bones consisted of various specimens of the ox tribe, including the elk.
Skeletons of the wolf, and a gigantic bear, in point of preservation, like what are to be found in ordinary churchyards--supposed to be of antediluvian origin, where found here. In the roof of the cave is a large chimney-like shaft, formerly rising to the surface, but now blocked up by fragments of limestone, mud, and sand, adhering together by incrustation, and through which dreadful pitfall, it is presumed, this immense number of beasts were precipitated at the great inundation.
The rubbish has been partially cleared, and the bones are used to decorate the sides of the walls. A British earthwork crowns the summit of the neighbouring eminence, enclosing, within its irregular rampart, an area of about 20 acres; and, about a quarter of a mile further, is an entrenchment nearly square, the ground in the centre of which is elevated in the form of a cross.
_Fairs_, Jan. 18, and July 18, for cattle, sheep, and cheese.
[Sidenote: Formerly a Bishop's Palace.]
[Sidenote: Extraordinary caverns.]
[Sidenote: Antediluvian bones.]
Map
Names of Places.
County.
Number of Miles From
+--+-----------------------+---------+----------+---------------+ 28
Barby pa
Northamp
Daventry 6
Welford 11
39
Barcheston pa
Warwick
s.h.i.+pston 2
Kineton 9
38
Barcombe pa
Suss.e.x
Lewes 3
Uckfield 6
44
Barden pa
N.R. York
Leyburn 3
Richmond 4
44
Barden to & chap
W.R. York
Skipton 8
Paitley Brid. 9
14
Bardfield,(Great)[A] pa
Ess.e.x
Thaxted 5
Dunmow 7
14
Bardfield-Saling pa
Ess.e.x
4
7
24
Bardney[B] pa
Lincoln
Lincoln 12
Horncastle 9
+--+-----------------------+---------+----------+---------------+
Dist.
Map
Names of Places.
Number of Miles From
Lond.
Population.
+--+-----------------------+--------------------+-----+---------+ 28
Barby pa
Crick 4
78
637
39
Barcheston pa
L. Compton 5
83
198
38
Barcombe pa
Brighton 11
48
931
44
Barden pa
Bedale 8
231
106
44
Barden to & chap
Otley 13
218
214
14
Bardfield,(Great)[A] pa
Haverhill 10
48
1029
14
Bardfield-Saling pa
10
48
359
24
Bardney[B] pa
Wragby 9
136
1098
+--+-----------------------+--------------------+-----+---------+
[A] BARDFIELD, (Great.) _Market_, formerly Tuesday (now disused.)--_Fair_, June 22, for cattle and toys.
[B] BARDNEY, anciently Beardanam, is situated in a marsh on the north bank of the river Witham. An abbey was founded in the time of the Saxons, prior to the year 641. Here Ethelred, divesting himself of the splendour of royalty, retired to devote his days to religion, and became superior of the monastery. King Oswald is said to have been buried here, but the body was afterwards removed to the church of Gloucester. The hand was retained by the monks as a relique, to which they ascribed the power of working miracles, and for a long period imposed upon the credulity of superst.i.tious pilgrims. In the year 870 the monastery was burned by the Danes, but was afterwards rebuilt by Gilbert De Gaunt, Earl of Lincoln, who annexed to it several extensive estates. At the dissolution its annual revenues were estimated at 429. 7s.
[Sidenote: King Oswald buried here.]
Map
Names of Places.
County.
Number of Miles From
+--+----------------------+----------+-----------+------------+ 23
Bardon Park to
Leicester
Leicester 9
Loughboro' 5
22
Bardsea to
Lancaster
Ulverston 3
Dalton 5
50
Bardsey Isle[A]
Caernarvon
Aberdaron 4
Pwllheli 20
45
Bardsey[B] to & pa
W.R. York
Wetherby 5
Leeds 9
+--+----------------------+----------+-----------+------------+
Dist.
Map
Names of Places.
Number of Miles From
Lond.
Population.
+--+----------------------+----------------------+-----+-------+ 23
Bardon Park to
Ashby 9
107
65
22
Bardsea to
Cartmel 8
276
...
50
Bardsey Isle[A]
Nevin 18
256
84
45
Bardsey[B] to & pa
Tadcaster 8
193
331
+--+----------------------+----------------------+-----+-------+
[A] BARDSEY ISLE, is near the south-east point of the promontory of Llyn, in Caernarvons.h.i.+re: it is of a moderate elevation; in length two miles, and in breadth one. The third part of its contents of 370 acres, occupied by a high mountain, affords sustenance to a few sheep and rabbits. It is about a league distant from the main land, and only accessible to the mariner on its south-east side, where there is a small well-sheltered harbour. There is no reptile ever seen on this island, except the common water-lizard. The soil is clayey, but produces excellent barley and wheat. The inhabitants are employed in cultivating the land, and in fis.h.i.+ng. The abbot's house is a large stone building, occupied by several families, and near it is a singular chapel, or oratory, being a long arched edifice, with a insolated stone altar near the east end. Dubricius, archbishop of Caerleon, almost worn out with age, resigned his see to St. David, retired here, and died in 522. He was interred upon the spot, but such was the veneration paid to his memory in after ages, that about the year 1107, his remains were removed, by the procurement of Urban, then Bishop of Llandaff, and re-interred in the cathedral of that see, of which he had been the first bishop. St. Dubricius was a man of singular eminence for learning and piety. He was Archbishop of Caerleon, and Metropolitan of all Wales, in the time of Aurelius Ambrosius; and prior to this elevation, he taught a school on the banks of his native river, which was much resorted to from all Christian countries.
[Sidenote: No reptiles on this island.]
[Sidenote: St. Dubricius.]
[B] BARDSEY, comprises the towns.h.i.+p of Bardsey, with Rigton and Wathersome. Near the church is a mound called Castle Hill, supposed to have been the site of a Roman fortress. At Bardsey Grange, in this parish, resided occasionally, and died, Francis Thorpe, the tyrannical Baron of the Exchequer; but the same house is rendered memorable as the birth place of the poet Congreve, in 1670. This clever and celebrated poet, was baptised in the church of this village in the month of February of the same year. When an infant he was carried to Kilkenny, by his father, who had the command of the army there. He received his education in the school of Kilkenny, and from these circ.u.mstances it is probable that persons had fallen into the erroneous impression that Congreve was a native of Ireland. In 1685 he was admitted into the university of Dublin. In 1691 he became a member of the society of the Middle Temple, but soon relinquished the dry study of the Law. At the age of twenty-one, he published his novel called ”Incognita,” or, ”Love and Duty Reconciled.” Soon afterwards, he brought out the Comedy, called ”The Old Bachelor,” of which Dryden says, ”he never saw such a first play in his life;” it was performed in 1793, with the most unbounded applause. Lord Falkland wrote the prologue. The singular success and merits of this production, recommended him to the patronage and notice of the Earl of Halifax, who settled him in an office of six hundred a year, and during his life patronised him in every way he could. His next piece was ”The Double Dealer.” On the death of Queen Mary, in 1693, he wrote a Pastoral on the occasion, ent.i.tled ”The Mourning Muse of Alexis,” upon the appearance of which King William, her husband, granted him an annuity of 100. per annum. In 1695, he produced his Comedy, called ”Love for Love;” and in 1697, the beautiful Tragedy of ”The Mourning Bride.” Having lived a high and honorable life amongst the most celebrated wits and cla.s.sical men of the age, he died at his house in Surrey-street, in the Strand, January 19, 1729. On the 26th his corpse lay in state in the Jerusalem Chamber, at Westminster, and the same evening was carried into Henry the Seventh's Chapel, and afterwards buried in the Abbey. His pall was supported by the Duke of Bridgewater, Earl G.o.dolphin, Lord Cobham, Lord Wilmington, Hon. George Berkeley, Esq., and Brigadier-General Churchill. Dr. Johnson says, ”He has merit of the highest kind; he is an original writer, who borrowed neither the models of his plot, nor the manner of his dialogue.” And Voltaire remarks, ”That he raised the glory of comedy to a greater height than any English writer before or since his time.”
[Sidenote: Birth-place of Congreve, the poet.]
[Sidenote: His works.]
[Sidenote: Died in Surrey-st., London.]
Map
Names of Places.
County.
Number of Miles From
+--+-----------------------+---------+------------+--------------+ 36
Bardwell pa
Suffolk
Bury 10
Ixworth 3
22
Bare to
Lancaster
Lancaster 3
Burton 10
23
Baresley to
Leicester
Leicester 10
Melton 8
27
Barford pa
Norfolk
Wymondham 5
Dereham 13
39
Barford pa
Warwick
Warwick 3
Stratford 7
31
Barford,(Great)[A] pa
Bedford
Bedford 6
St. Neots 7
3
Barford,(Great) pa
Oxford
Deddington 2
Banbury 6
3
Barford,(Little)[B] pa
Bedford
St. Neots 3
Potton 7
31
Barford, St. John's, ch
Oxford
Deddington 3
Banbury 5
41
Barford, St. Martin, pa
Wilts
Wilton 3
Salisbury 6
43
Barforth to
N.R. York
Richmond 10
Barnard Cas 10
+--+-----------------------+---------+------------+--------------+
Dist.
Map
Names of Places.
Number of Miles From
Lond.
Population.
+--+-----------------------+----------------------+-----+--------+ 36
Bardwell pa
Thetford 9
80
799
22
Bare to
K. Lonsdale 14
243
110
23
Baresley to
M. Sorrel 10
105
...
27
Barford pa
Norwich 10
105
420
39
Barford pa
Kineton 8
92
748
31
Barford,(Great)[A] pa
Potton 7
53
731
3
Barford,(Great) pa
Chip Norton 11
71
350
3
Barford,(Little)[B] pa
Biggleswade 9
54
176
31
Barford, St. John's, ch
Chip Norton 11
72
131
41
Barford, St. Martin, pa
Hindon 10
87
570
43
Barforth to
Darlington 9
243
128
+--+-----------------------+----------------------+-----+--------+
[A] BARFORD, (Great). At this place is a piece of land, called White Bread Close, left, as is generally believed, by one of the Shepherd family, formerly residents of considerable opulence in the parish, for the purpose of purchasing loaves of white bread, to be thrown among the populace from the church porch. This whimsical custom at last became such a scene of scrambling, fighting, and disorder, that it was prohibited by the curate, and the money applied towards the purchase of coals for the poor, at Christmas. The boys, and even men, seemed to have partic.i.p.ated in this sport, the same as at a game at foot-ball, or other play; and an old gentleman in the adjoining village fully remembers taking an active part in the scramble, and bearing off the wheaten loaf in triumph.
[Sidenote: Curious custom.]
[B] BARFORD, (Little), is situated in the hundred of Biggleswade, and is chiefly celebrated as the birth-place of Rowe, the dramatic poet, who was born here in the year 1673. His father having designed him for the study of the law, took him from school at the age of sixteen, and entered him a student in the Middle Temple. He made considerable progress, and was called to the bar, but Homer and Virgil had more charms for him than either c.o.ke or Littleton. He was strongly solicited by his friends to practice, but nothing could overcome his affection for the muses; and his play, the ”Ambitious Step-mother,” having been received with great applause, he resolved to make poetry his profession.
He had imbibed in his youth the most n.o.ble sentiments of liberty, of which he gave a specimen in his Tragedy of ”Tamerlane.” This was the second play that he wrote, and until of late years it was usual to perform it on the 4th and 5th of November, in commemoration of the gunpowder treason, and the landing of King William. Mr. Rowe being out of all employment, went one day to wait on the Earl of Oxford, Lord High Treasurer of England, when, among other things his Lords.h.i.+p asked him, whether he understood Spanish. He replied in the negative, and his Lords.h.i.+p said he would advise him to learn it as soon as possible. Rowe took his leave, applied himself to the study of that language, and expecting some lucrative employment, again waited upon him. How great was his disappointment, when his Lords.h.i.+p, on being informed of his acquisition, merely exclaimed, ”How happy are you, Mr. Rowe, that you can now enjoy the pleasure of reading ”Don Quixote” in the original!”
His death took place on the 6th of December, 1718, in the 45th year of his age, and he was buried with great funeral pomp, in Westminster Abbey, where a handsome monument is erected to his memory.
[Sidenote: Rowe, the Dramatist.]
[Sidenote: Anecdote.]
Map
Names of Places.
County.
Number of Miles From
+--+--------------------+----------+------------+-------------+ 21
Barfreston pa
Kent
Wingham 6
Dover 8
19
Barham pa
Huntingdon
Kimbolton 6
Alconbury 4
21
Barham pa
Kent
Canterbury 7
Dover 9
36
Barham pa
Suffolk
Ipswich 5
Needham 5
24
Barholm pa
Lincoln
M. Deeping 4
Stamford 6
23
Barkby pa
Leicester
Leicester 5
Melton 11
23
Barkby-Thorpe to
Leicester
4
12
4
Barkham pa
Berks
Wokingham 4
Reading 7
14
Barking[A] m.t. & pa
Ess.e.x
Romford 5
Woolwich 4
36
Barking pa
Suffolk
Needham Mt 1
Stow Market 4
+--+--------------------+----------+------------+-------------+
Dist.
Map
Names of Places.
Number of Miles From
Lond.
Population.
+--+--------------------+-----------------------+-----+-------+ 21
Barfreston pa
Canterbury 10
65
114
19
Barham pa
Huntingdon 10
68
73
21
Barham pa
Sandwich 11
62
1053
36
Barham pa
Debenham 9
74
825
24
Barholm pa
Bourn 8
94
155
23
Barkby pa
Houghton 5
100
806
23
Barkby-Thorpe to
5
100
72
4
Barkham pa
Bagshot 11
35