North-Country Sketches - Forgotten Books

NO RT H - C O U NT R Y

S K E T C H E S

NOTES,ESSAYS AND REVIEWS

G E O . NE A S H A M

WITH 1 3 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS , AND 47 WOODCUTS

BY THOMAS AND JOHN BEWICK AND THE IR PUPILS

D U R H A MPRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY THOS.CALDCLEUGH

MDCCCX CI II

THOMAS SPENCE R , OF RYTON,E SQU IRE ,

A PATRON OF THE CHURCH,

A FRIEND TO EDUCATION ,

AND THE CHIEF BENEFACTOR TO A PLACE WHERETHE AUTHOR SPENT THE HAPPIEST

YEARS OF HIS LIFE,

THIS BOOK IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED.

P R E F A C E .

AT a publ i c func tion not long ago ,S ince he began

wri t ing th i s book,the au thor was asked to express h i s

opin ion on a knotty po in t wh i ch ha d puzzl ed many peopl e.

The wr i ter i s able to exp ress h i s thoughts on pape r w i th

fac i l i ty,bu t he neve r possessed the powe r to add ress an

aud i ence at any l ength , and all that h e coul d s tamme r ou t

in reply to the invitat ion was M r. Cha i rman,—The

p robl em wh ich you men t ion w i l l , I th ink , be found so l ved

in a wo rk wh i ch I am now w r i t ing ; and i f you and the res t

of the gent l emen presen t rea l ly fee l an in te res t in i t, and

w i sh for en l ightenmen t,I beg to say that I shal l be

de l ighted to supp ly the who l e of you w i th a copy of the

book as soon as i t is publ ished.” S im i lar ly , i f the reade r ,not know ing the w r ite r personal ly , be cu rious to l earn

someth ing respecting h im ,he is refe rred to the fol low ing

pages, wherein h is opin ions and feel ings and sen timents

on a var i e ty of subj ects , in a w i de area,w i l l be fou nd fu l ly

reflected.

In w r i t ing th i s book , the author has fo l lowed no beaten

t rack. The re has been no re-d ress ing of o ld figures.

H is exper iences have been the experi ences of an act i ve l ife ,

and i t has been h i s pr iv i l ege to cu l l from s torehouses of

informat ion wh ich have not been access i bl e to any p revious

w r i te r. H is op in ions th roughou t are ent i re ly his own ;

he has endeavou red to contr i bute someth ing new to the

l ite ratu re of the two coun t i e s of Durham and North

umbe rland and if the re be any me r i t in o r iginal i ty he lays

cla im to i t. To interes t the reader , and to be ins tructive

whe re he could,have a lways been h i s a ims and he hopes

and trusts that noth ing that h e has wr i tten w i l l cause the

l east pa in or give the s l igh test offence. Many of the

rev i ews and essays , and a great number of the short

vi PREFACE.

sketches , have al ready enjoyed the advantage of a wide

and important c i rcu lation in the co lumns of the Newcastle

Daily journal and the Newcastle Daily Chronicle and he

th inks i t but fa i r to himself to say that the condi tions

unde r which the sketches we re wr itten we re almost as

various as the occas ions and c i rcumstances which cal l ed

for them. Many we re penned in the qu i et sol i tude of some

secluded spot On the banks of his favou r ite North-country

streams , when the trou t would no longe r be tempted by

h is lu res whi le others were scr i bbled out when ramb l ing

in the neighbou r ing woods wi th h is ch i ld ren , whose

merrimen t occas ional ly l en t a playfu lness to h is pen.

This explanat ion he offe rs as an apo logy for the styl e of

many of them,and w i l l , he hopes , in some measu re pl ead

his excuse for any imperfect ions which may be found in

them. They we re most ly the spontaneous u tte rances of

his mind , and as such , w i thout much emendat ion or

ampl ification ,they are now launched on to the Ocean of

Lite ratu re , where he leaves them to S ink or sw im.

In concl uding these few p refatory rema rks , he des i res

to thank the Rev.J.T.Fow l er fo r looking ove r the sheets

as they passed through the press ; he has to thank the

Art Edi tor of the [l lasz‘ra lea’ London News for p resent ing

the b lock show ing the Ha l l of Du rham Cast l e ; he i s

indebted to M r.J.W.Barnes for the loan of two of the

cho i cest of B ew ick ’

s ta i l-p ieces ; and h is thanks are al so

due to Mr.Holman Hunt , R.A., and Mr.Robe rt Barrass ,of the Rembrandt Art Studio , Newcastle , for permiss ion

to reproduce the portra i t of S i r Henry A. C laver ing,

Bart.

THE FIRS , LANGLEY PARK ,

DURHAM ,

Feb.28th , 1 893 .

L I S T O F P L A T E S .

The J udges ’ Cook,Du rham Castl e.

John Graham Lough.

M i lo.

Robe rt Smith Su rtees.

Ebcheste r Chu rch.

S i r Henry A. C lave r ing ,

Durham Regatta,

1848.

John Annandal e.

John Mu rray.

Burnhopeside.

George H edley.

C rook Ha l l.

Wil l iam Jenkins.

C H A P T E R I .

ART AND THE DRAMA.

The Or igin of Ve rdan t Gre en. —She ridan and S ir ThomasC lave r ing.—Shakespea riana.—The Bamburgh Cast le Picture s.Lough and M i lo.—Osmond Tea rle and his In te rrupte r.

WHY di d the ve rsat i l e au thor of “ Ve rdan t G reenadapt thi s work to the Un i ve rs i ty of Oxfo rd in stead

of his own A lma [lfaz‘er iJ Peopl e have often wonde redhow a Du rham man cou ld descr ibe Oxford so w el l , and ithas been sa i d that his desc ri pt ion s we re the mo re l ife- l ikebecause the au thor was un t rammel l ed by any of thosecons i de rat ion s which membersh ip of the Un i ve rs i ty woul dhave made binding. The fact is that afte r l eav ing Durhamin 1849 ,

Edward B radley wen t to l ive for a t ime at Oxfo rd ,whe re he became fri end ly w i th the Rev.J .G.Wood and

othe rs,who figu re in th e pages of “ Verdan t Green.

But a l though th e U n i ve rs i ty of Durham is passed ove r onaccoun t of it s infancy when cho i c e i s be ing made forMr. Green ’

s d est inat ion , i t i s ev iden t that much of thecolou ring and some of th e inc idents of the book are

d rawn from Du rham. B radley was a man of whom theNorthe rn Un ive rs i ty may be p roud , and his fame w i l llast as long as academ ica l l i fe con t inues to be attract i ve

,

and freshmen affo rd mate r ia l for a l ittl e d ive rs ion to

humo ri s ts of the Bounce r and Charl ey Larkyns type.The reason why the scen e of Ve rdant G reen ’s adventu res

was Shifted to Oxford i s given in a note to the or ig inal

d raw ings in wh ich the vagar i es of th e young freshman

are cl eve rly dep icted in pen and ink. Shortly afte r

B radl ey ’s death in 1889 , w e secu red these and other

2 NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

c l eve r draw ings wh ich he made whi l e an undergraduate

between the years 1846-

49. Two of the sketches are

now in th e Reading Room of the Un ion Soc iety of theUn i ve rs i ty of Durham

,and th ei r h is to ry is thus given

in a note in Brad l ey ’s autograph

The se ske tche s origina te d “ Ve rdan t Gre en. I showe d them to

Mark Lemon ,e ditor of Pun ch, to wh i ch I was then a con tr ibutor

w ith pe n and pe n c i l , and he a sked m e to adapt the ske tche s to

C ambridge , and tha t he wou ld pub l ish them in Pun ch , w ithl e tte rpre ss by Profe ssor Tom Taylor (of Trin ity Co l lege , Cambridge ,a fte rwards e di tor of Pun ch). I de c l ine d th is offe r ; bu t sa idtha t I w ou ld adapt the Ske tche s to Oxford , wh i ch I did , and

Mark Lemon a ccepted them for pub l ica t ion in Pun ch. Someof those on the oppos i te page w e re u t i l ize d fo r “ Ve rdan t Gre en.”

A bout fifty w e re d rawn and e ngrave d for Pun ch,whe re they

w e re to appear,a page a t a t ime , when Mr. He rbe rt Ingram ,

of the I l lustra ted Lon don News,

s ta rte d a se rie s of spe cia ls upp leme n ts to his pape r, chiefly con tribute d by Pun ch m en

Dougla s Je rrol d , Ma rk Lemon , Tom Taylor,Sh irley Brooks ,

G.A.A ’

B e cke t , John Le e ch , John Te nn ie l , &c.—and Ma rk Lemonp roposed to m e to exchange the se rie s of ske tche s to the I l lustra ted

News supp lements , whe re tw i ce the numbe r of ske tche s coul da ppea r a t on ce on the ir la rge page. I consen ted , and tw o la rgepage s had appea re d when Mr. Ingram changed his mind

, and

d e cided to have mus i ca l supp lemen ts by Charle s Ma ckay a nd

B ishop. So the“ Ve rdan t Gre e n ske tche s , w ith the ir few l ine s

-of le tte rpre ss , w ere summa ri ly s toppe d. Subsequen tly,I w ro te

le tte rp re ss to the ske tches , a nd they we re pub l ished as a ra i lwayb ook.—CUTHB ERT BEDE.

The draw ings are headed,

“ Ye Freshmonne,h is

A dven tu res at Un iv. Co l l., Durham.” The fi rs t dep ic ts

h is arr iva l at the old Ra i lway S tation, wh i ch was then

in Gilesgate. The scene as the ’

bus passes C laypath

C hains w i th its fre ight of s tuden ts and boxes is ve ryamus ingly dep icted. The road here is con s i de rably lowe rt han the footpath on each s i de

, and the su r rounding

houses are cleverly sketched. The roadway was not

then so good as i t is now,

and as the resu l t o f i ts

unevenness a hat-box is seen flying off at one s id e of

the'

vehicl e , wh i l e a t runk , labe l l ed “ Glass, w i th care ,

”

is dropping off at the o the r. There is the o r iginal o f

Ve rdan t’

s famous dream of futu re greatness and be ingmade a bishop. In the in te rvi ew w i th the Warden ,

i tis not difficu l t to dist ingu ish A rchdeacon Tho rp ’s gen ia l

featu res. The view of Un ive rs i ty House and the Pa laceGreen ,

w i th Verdan t in search of rooms , is ve ry fIInny ;a nd what he saw on be ing shown th rough the in te r io rof th e first-named bu i ld ing caused the s tick to fa l l from

ART AND THE DRAMA. 3

h is finge rs and his ha i r to r i s e. The b i rd ’s-eye sketchof the Castl e and its su rroundings i s a l so ve ry cl eve r.Having mat r i cu lated , Ve rdant is next seen d isport ingh imse lf on the Banks , to the great amusemen t of many

young ladies and alarm of seve ral bab ies,

'

who, w i th

the i r nu rses , are a lways to be met the re. H i s movementson th i s occas ion are given in th ree compartmen ts. In

th e cen t re on e i s a bevy of you ng ladies,who cas t s id e

glances at the freshman as they coyly march across th e

Prebends ’ B ridge. O n hi s way to his rooms he meetsDean Waddington

,whom he sa l u tes in a Characte ris t i c

fash ion,and of w hom there is a s tri k ing l iken ess. Afte r

dinne r he partakes of the “ freshman ’

s w ine ,”

of wh i ch

he had previous ly drawn a men ta l p i cture,and found

the real i ty far beyond his expectat ion. Afte r having hisheal th d runk as a jo l ly good fe llow

,

' Ve rdan t showedthat he w as one by taking too much w in e

,unde r the

influen ce of wh i ch w e see h im carr ied to his own roomsby a coupl e

'

of u nde rgraduates,who seem to be enjoying,

the fun immense ly. Poor Ve rdan t must have passed

an uneasy n ight on his hearth-rug ,for i t is the re that

the bed maker finds h im when she ente rs his roomn ext mo rn ing.Her Maj esty ’s J udges of Ass ize are en te rta ined at th eCastl e du ring thei r stay in Durham

,and in the palmv

days of the pa lat inate the i r cook was a ve ry importan t

functionary indeed. B radley ’s d raw ing facing the t i tl e

page is a rep resen tat ion of th i s we l l -developed ind ividual

s tand ing in the k i tch en doorway.

The characte rs in th e S choo l for Scandal and The

Riva ls are made to occupy many cur ious pos i t ions,and

to go th rough many adven tu res,but none of them eve r

experi enced so many ups and downs as the au thor h imself.The l ife of th e cl eve r but reckl ess dramati st seems to have

been a hand- to-mou th exi stence. At one t ime he is

ho l d ing a l evee of J ews and c red i to rs , at anothe r he ise l bow ing his way th rough a c rowd of such in the lobby o f

the H ouse of Common s , or ho ld ing them at bay in the

manage r ’s offi ce at D ru ry Lane,t i d ing over one such


d ifliculty afte r anothe r by shee r d in t of l u ck,audac i ty , or

fasc inat ion , t i l l at last the spel l woul d work no mo re , andhe d i ed fri endless and alone beneath the ba i l iff’s eye. In

the l ife of R i chard Brins l ey Sheridan by Moore, and aga in

in that w r i tten by M r. Saunde rs,w e catch occas ional

gl impses of hi s impecun ios i ty , bu t you wou l d never gathe rfrom the i r pages that th e w i ly I ri shman l i ved in a rooflesshouse. Yet i t was so. The house in which She ridan

l ived belonged to a North-coun try baronet,S i r Thomas

C laver ing , of Axwe l l and Greenc roft., When the ren t daycame round , Sheridan usual ly had some excuse ready.

The paymen ts w ere severa l years in arrear , and thelandlord ’s pati ence becoming at l ength exhausted , hefinal ly in trusted h is agen t to get rid of the d ramat ist byhook or by c rook. What fo l lowed w i l l p robably furn i shan addi tional chapte r fo r some futu re b iographer of theau thor of “ The Schoo l for Scandal. I t is a comedywhich is embodi ed in a series of l e tte rs w r i tten by Mr.Christopher Ebdon to S i r Thomas C lavering , and wh ichw e possess. A few extracts therefrom w i l l show how

d ifficu l t the Baronet found i t to r id h imsel f of a bad

tenan tSheridan had a l ease of the house

,and know ing that a

year of th is was s t i l l to run,he not on ly decl ined to pay

the ren t o r give up possess ion ,bu t he wou l d al low no one

else to look at the place w i th a v i ew to taking i t. Beingunw i l l ing to pu t the law in fo rce

,S i r Thomas in structed

his agen t to inform Sheridan that he had reso l ved on

sel l ing the house to a M r.Caste l l. The sh rewd I rishmanwas equa l to the occas ion

,how eve r

, and coo l ly rep l i edthat he h imself thought of pu rchas ing it

,there be ing an

Optional clause in his l ease to that effect. O n the Z I S t of

Apri l , 1 790 , M r.Ebdon info rms the landlo rd that he hadbeen severa l t imes to She ridan ’

s house, but cou l d n eve r

get a s ight of him. The place rema ined in a state of s i eget i l l the sth of May, when the agen t thus w rote to S i rThomas

Mr.Ca ste l l be ing de s irous to have an answe r about the house ,w rote aga in to Mr.She ridan for pe rmiss ion to look a t tha t pa rt of itwh i ch w ould not dis turb the family , a nd the se rvan t wa s de s ired to

wa i t for an answe r. Whe n he took the le tte r he wa s to ld Mr.Sheridan wou ld not be st irring for two hours , and wa s de s ire d to ca l l


aga in. H e ca ll'

d aga in in about an hour , and the n he was informe dtha t Mr.She ridan had gone out. I had be fore to ld Mr.Caste l l thatthe re w ou l d be no chance of ge tt ing an answe r w ithout the se rvantwa ite d. Next day he w en t aga in , about tw e lve

,and wa i ted t i l l nea r

thre e , and then sen t up word that he was a fra id his maste r wou ld beangry w ith him fo r wa it ing so long , and then he wa s promise d an

answe r in ha lf an hour ; bu t afte r wa it ing more than tha t t ime , Mr.She r idan sent word that he shou ld send an an sw e r a t n ight , butn eve r took any furthe r not i ce of Mr.Caste l l ’s le tte r. I w en t on the

26th of last mon th,a t tw e lve

,a ccording to his own appo intmen t , to

mee t Mr.We st ley, but after wa it ing t i l l thre e , no Mr.We st ley‘came ,

and I ju st go t a s ight of Mr.She ridan on the sta irs , who , a fte r sayinghe did not know I had be e n wa it ing so long, de s ire d m e to ca l l nextd ay. I ca l le d on the a7th ,

and had a s n ea rly long a ttendan ce w itha s l itt le e ffe ct. I d e sired the se rvan t to say to Mr. She ridan tha t Iw ished to speak to him ,

but shou ld not de ta in him two minute s. Mr.She r idan sen t word down that i f it wa s about the house , he cou ld notg ive an answe r. I then de s ire d the se rvan t to in form him I d id not

w ish to pre ss him for an an sw e r about it a ll I d e sir ’

d a t pre se n t was

that he wou ld g ive Mr.Caste l l pe rmiss ion to look a t the lowe r pa r tof the house. To th is me ssage Mr.She r idan sen t me word he wou l dw rite to Mr.Ca ste l l in the even ing. I saw Mr. Ca ste l l on Fr iday

,

and he to ld m e Mr.She ridan had not wrote.

Fu rthe r d iplomacy was u sed to get admiss ion,but i t all

fa i l ed. Final ly the agen t , accompan i ed by a w i tness,made

a forma l demand for possess ion of th e house , bu t th is had

no more effect than the notice in timat ing that the ren t hadbeen doubled. S i x months late r She ri dan was sti l l maste r

o f the S i tuat ion. O n th e l o th of Decembe r,M r. E bdon

informed S i r Thomas that he had tr i ed in va in to se e

She ri dan,and

, as a las t reso rt,he had starved h im ou t by

remov ing the roof of the house.

As eve ryth ing Shakespear ian i s of in te rest , w e may beexcused de l ive ring ourse lves of some Shakespear ianawhich w i l l be new to mos t people. John Boydel l

,Alde r

man of London ,who d id more than any o the r man to

encou rage Engl ish art and to popu lar ize the wo rks of

Shakespeare , belonged to an o ld fami ly of parsons. Thelast o f them was th e esteemed V i car of Wingate

,the

Rev.E.N.V.Boydel l. When Mr.Boydel l d ied , in 1884 ,

h i s l i b rary was so l d. I t con ta ined thousands of manuscr i p t

se rmons , wh i ch had been preached by M r.Boydel l and h i s

ancestors s ince the days when Char l es the Second sat on

th e th ron e. They bore ev idence of having been dressed

and re -d ressed by success ive gene rations of the family.Many of them had been in the hands of John Boydel l

,the


founde r of the Shakespeare Gal le ry and there are notes inh i s hand show ing that the worthy A l de rman h imself hadp reached some of

'

them to the members of his family in hisown house. A few years ago , the copy of a New cast l e

ed i tor was constan tly d i sappear ing from his study. A tlas t i t was di scove red that a ma id was cu rl ing thech i ld ren ’

s ha i r w i th i t. A wo rse fate befe l l hund reds,

of

the Boyde l l se rmons. They had been placed in a sto reroom ,

whe re they rema ined in safety ti l l a scarc i ty of fi re

pape r occu rred in the domes ti c c i rcl e , when the l earned andp iou s discourses of many good men we re sacr ificed at the

sh rine of Vesta. The re we re many left , how eve r , and it isbel ieved that some of these are s t i l l do ing duty in theNorth- count ry. There we re many beau t ifu l models for

festivals and funera l o rat ions , not the least in te restingamong the latte r be ing that de l ive red at the funera l ofJohn Boy del l h imse l f. The re w ere a few re l i cs of the greatShakespeare Gal l e ry

,wh ich we bought , the finest be ing

B oyd e ll’

s own copy of the p rin t of the scene between Heroand U rsu la , w i th Beatr i ce l isten ing , in Much Ado abou tNoth ing.”

W as the re eve r an o rigina l po rt ra i t of Shakespeare!G ra inge r , on the au thor i ty ofWa lpo l e , te l ls us that theren eve r was one taken from the l ife

,but that Thomas

C larges , after the poet ’s death , caused a portra i t to bedraw n fo r h im from a person to w hom he bore a closeresemblance . O ldys ,

in a manusc r i pt note to h is ed i t ionof Langbaine , says that the portra i t palmed off on Pope ,from w hich he had his fine plate engraved

,was a juven i l e

po rtra i t of K ing James the Fi rs t. There used to be a

l i keness of Shakespeare at Lumley Cas tl e. I t is sa i d to

have been one of the famous con temporary portra i tsco l l ected by John Lord Lumley

, ancesto r of the Earls of

Scarb rough , who died a few years before Shakespeare.A copy of th i s was publ ished in the middl e of th e presen tcentu ry.

The fo l low ing history of the port ra i t is taken from theprospectus whi ch was issued by the publ ishe r. As wil l beseen , i t possesses loca l in te rest from the fact of th e o rigina lbe ing then in the hands of a gen tleman living at No rthShie lds.

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looks all the bette r afte r his repeated abl ut ions. The

portrai t must have been taken ea rly in life,p robably

immediate ly afte r he w as made B ishop of Du rham. I twas his you thfu ln ess then that gave ri se to the k ing

’

s

wel l-known mot,“ he w i l l mend of that eve ry day.

”

C rewe,

as eve rybody know s, began a somewhat d i s

c red i table caree r under th e Duke of Yo rk,whose ma r r iage

w i th Maria d’

E s te in 1 673 he so l emn i zed , rece iving th eS ee of Du rham as his reward th e year fo l low ing.A l though C rewe Show ed a time-se rv ing spi r i t in earlyl ife

,he made amends for i t on accepting the b ishopri c

of Du rham. He was a capabl e admin istrato r of thetempora l i t i es of the S ee , and

,l i ke the lamen ted B ishop

Lightfoot , made h imself popu lar in h is d iocese by hiscon s i de rat ion for o the rs and h l S acts of gene ros i ty. In

1 700 ,he marr i ed for h i s second w ife Do rothy

,daughte r

of S i r W i l l iam Forste r , of Bambu rgh. He was then

67 and h i s w i fe 24 years old. This lady i s not to becon founded w ith the Do rothy who rode to London on

a doub l e horse , behind an Adde rs tone blacksmi th,and ,

getting an imp ress ion of the p rison key,l i be rated he r

b rothe r,the Gene ra l , and rema ined a p ri sone r in h is

place. Lady C rewe ’s portra i t is in the co l l ection,

howeve r , in the characte r of a shephe rdess. By thedeath of he r b rothe rs , Lady C rew e was co-he i r w i thhe r n ephew

,the Gene ral , to the manors of Bambu rgh

and Blanchland , but , as the es tate was encumbered,i t

was so l d by o rde r of the Court of Chan ce ry in 1 704 ,

and was bought by Lo rd C rew e for I t i sgenera l ly sa i d that Crew e pu rchased th e es tates afte rthe Jacob ite r is ing in 1 7 1 5 , whi ch i s not the case.Lady C rew e d i ed in 1 7 1 5 , and was bu r i e d at S ten e

,

the B ishop h imsel f dying seven years late r at th e age

of 88, and by his w i l l l eaving the castl e of Bambu rgh

and the estates whi ch he had pu rchased in No rthumberlandto t rustees for chari table purposes.

By Lord C rewe ’s s ide is a po rtra i t of th e Rev. S i rGeo rge Whele r , kn igh t. This auste re- looking gen t l emanin the sku l l cap l ived ti l l h e was 74. He was a Prebendary

of Durham and Rector of H oughton-le-Spring , to Wh ichhe was co l lated and appo in ted by his patron Lo rd C rewe

,


thu s accoun t ing for the presence of h i s po rtra i t at

Bambu rgh. The re we re some good tra i ts abou t S i r

Geo rge. He was a Ch r i s t ian,

and a good to l e rantne ighbou r to boot. I ndeed

,he was j u st the sort of

man that w e shou ld l i ke to grapple to our soul w i th

hooks of s teel. We canno t say what quar ry was hun tedat Houghton in S i r Geo rge ’s day,

bu t h e was of op in ion

that the l i k ing for i t might be indu lged ve ry innocen tly.

Shoot ing and fenc ing w e re also both dive rting and useful ,

he though t,

“and I had rathe r hear good mus i c ,

” hesays

,

“and see fine danc ing than the harsh rattl ing of

d i ce and the shuffl ing of cards. S i r Geo rge wou ld

tu rn ove r in his tomb in the Gal i l e e i f he kn ew how

th e revenue of the Cath ed ra l church has been cu rta i l eds ince the days when he and hi s b rothe r p rebendar i e sgave the i r res ident ia l en te rta inmen ts in th e Co l l ege. I tmay be sa i d that hi s descr ipt ion i s al l that i s l eft of

them. “ Each p rebenda ry in his tu rn ,he w r i tes ,

“ en te rta in s w i th great l i beral i ty the poor and ri chn e ighbou rs and s t rangers w i th gene rou s w e l come , Ch r istian

freedom, modest deportment , good and pl en t i fu l chee r ,mode rate eat ing and sober d rinking. They give God

thanks , read a chapte r in the midst between the cou rses ,du r ing wh ich al l m en reverently uncove r the i r heads ,and afte r grace aga in the re i s seldom more d rank than

the Pocu lum Char z'

ta tz'

s, or the love cup ,and the king ’s

good hea l th,

and then eve ry one to his own home ,bus iness , and s tudies.

” The love cup ,i t may be remarked ,

ho l ds a p int , w hi ch , t ru ly , was not much in these days.

There are othe r fine po rtra i ts in the co l l ect ion , eachw i th a his tory of its own. O ne is that of D r. Sharp ,Archb ishop of York

,and the re is a l so one of his son

,

the A rchdeacon of No rthumberland. The proud old cast l e ,“ th e grace and glo ry of Northumbria ’

s st rand ,”is

rep resented in a var i e ty of ways and from diffe ren t po in ts ,and by a rt i sts who l i ved long ago and are now a lmos t

forgotten.

The l ives of many loca l men who have risen to fame and

em inence show what may be accompl ished by perseverance

and self-den ial in early l ife. John G raham Lough , the

I O NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

scu lptor , who was bo rn at Greenhead,about th ree m i l es

from Shotley B ridge,fo l lowed the plough w hen a boy

He afte rwards se rved his apprent iceship as a s tonemasonat Shotl ey Fi eld

,and on reach ing manhood betook h imself

to London to push his fo rtu ne in the wo rld of ar t. H is

jou rn ey fo rms one of th e mos t roman tic ep isodes in his

l ife. He persuaded the capta in of a co l l i e r who was ju s tsa i l ing for Lond on to take h im on board

,o ffe r ing h im a

gu inea fo r his passage’

money ; bu t on th e i r a r r iva l thecapta in refused to take a farth ing. A t Lough ’s request ,the capta in took him to the B ri t i sh Museum , whe re incompany w i th th is kind

,rough compan ion

,he saw what

he was pant ing to find , the E lgin marb les. The capta inIns IS ted on Lough retu rn ing and s l eep ing on board hisvesse l as long as i t was deta ined in the docks ,

final ly

u rgi ng h im n ot to rema in in such a w i lde rn ess place as

London , adding,

“ i t shal l cos t you noth ing to go backw i th me to canny Newcast le.

” I This w as in 1824 ,and

Lough was then twen ty-six years old . Sho rtly afte r h i sgo ing to London

,the Squ i re of M ins teracres , Mr.Geo rge

S i lve rtop , ca l l ed on him and wished him to go to Rome to

study the models of the great I tal ian scu l p tors , and offe redto defray his expenses when in Rome. Lough , how ever ,refused to go ,

and sa i d that he wou l d not se rve a secondapprent i ceship.” M r. S i lvertop took offence at Lough ’srefusa l , and l eft h im to his una i ded resou rces. I t was

doubtl ess du r i ng this pe r iod , w hen no hand w as s t re tchedou t to help him

,that he suffe red the te rr ibl e p ri vat ion s

touch ingly a l luded to by H aydon the pa in te r. Afte r a

t ime , how ever , i t seems that M r.Silvertop’

s hea rt mi sgavehim , and he cal l e d on Lough as he was engaged in his

room scu l p tu ring his “ M i lo.” M r. S ilve rtop addressedhim w i th the fam il iar words , Wel l , Lough , how are you

coming on! Lough answ e red , Oh , very w el l , sir ; Iam wo rking aw ay he re and l iv ing on b read and wate r

, as

I have been accustomed to d o.” Whil e Lough was thus

engaged, a c i rcumstance occu rred w h ich th reaten ed to be

the fore runn e r of his ru in ,bu t wh ich proved

, how eve r, to

be the tu rn ing poin t in his fo rtune. H is room be ing too

I Part i cu la rs supp l ie d to the wr ite r by M rs.Lough.

I 2 NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

n e rvou s tempe ramen t , a good story i s to l d in Barrere and

Leland’

s D i ct ionary of S lang,Jargon ,

and Can t of an

inc iden t that is sa i d to have happened w h i l e S tephenK emble

’

s company was playing in th e o ld Newcas tl eTheat re. The Fi rst Witch in “ Macbeth was a gen tl eman who had no t been long on the stage , and in thein can tat ion scene

,when he had spoken the fi rst two l ines

Round about the cau ldron go ,

In the po isoned e n tra i ls throw ,

a sudden movemen t in the boxes disconcerted h im ,and he

w as unabl e to proceed. Afte r an agon iz ing pau se heresumed

Wha t come s next I cannot gue ss ,So mix the lot up in a me ss.

The audi ence was natural ly fu rious at th i s r ibal d tamperingw i th the text

,and the gods h issed mos t l u sti ly. This

sound , so unp leas ing to the actor ’s ear , had an instan teffec t on him. Looking up at the gal l e ry , with a s lywink ,he p roceeded

Funky a ctor, lost the word ,Goose from ga l le ry , awfu l b irdTw ist his ne ck off l ike a sho t ,And bo i l him in the charmed pot.

The audac i ty of th is qu i ck-w i tted response so t i ckl ed thegods that they no t on ly ove rlooked h i s sudden loss of

memo ry,but gave him a hearty round of applause in to the

barga in.

C H A P T E R I I .

GHOSTS.

Ghosts not Prope r ly Unde rstood.—The ir Appear ing in C lothe s.Mode o f Addre ss ing a Sp irit.—Rea sons for Appear ing.—AnneWa lke r ’s Ghost —A De rwe ntwa te r Romance.

THE fact that a Ch r i s tmas numbe r devoted to ghos t

stor i e s was publ i shed in 189 1 i s suffici en t evi dencethat su ch ta l e s are j us t as acceptable to th e p resent as

they w e re to a pas t gene rat ion.I At Ch ri stmast ide

, our

an cesto rs w e re w on t to gathe r round the ingle nook and

en te rta in each o the r w i th sto r i es more or l ess marvel lousand ho rr ific. O ne s to ry begot anothe r

,and w e can

imagine the younge r members of the group draw ing

close r to each othe r on the reci tal of some w ei rd ta l es t i l l more th ri l l ing than th e last. Notw i thstanding our

be ing so highly educated nowadays , sc i entifical ly , technical ly , and otherw i s e , the re are many peopl e who sec retlydevou r Ride r H aggard ’s and such l i ke novels , who l i s ten

w i th b reathl ess Inte res t to the recita l of some bygon et ragedy

,and who are spel l -bound by the wa i l ings of an

uneasy spi r i t c ry ing out fo r vengeance.

Exper ience has made us famil iar w i th ghosts , and we

are consequen tly en t i t l ed to speak w i th a degree of

au thor i ty on the subj ec t. S pi r its do not l i k e to beexamined too cr i t i cal ly ; hence i t is that sc i en t ists , l i keC rookes and S i dgw i ck , have neve r been pr iv i l eged to

commun e w i th them. People w e re more respectfu l to

ghosts , and th ey w e re bette r understood , before the worl d

became so en l ightene d. In fo rme r t imes nearly eve ry

v i l lage in Northumberland and Du rham possessed a ghost ,and the re was not an old man or woman bu t had seen a

I “ Ghost S tories , edited by Mr. S tead , wa s the Christmasnumbe r of the R eview of Pe

'

z/z'

ews for 189 1.I t is the most conven ientco l le ct ion of evidence bea ring upon the que s t ion of apparit ionswh i ch has h i the rto appea red.


Sp i r i t at one pe r iod of thei r l i ves. Now they show themselves on ly to the favou red and el ec t.

I t certa in ly looks unseemly to cas t r id i cu l e on ghos tsbecause they have the modesty to appear in clothes. An

unapparel l ed ghos t in Hamlet wou l d be a strange s ightindeed. The fact is that there is no rest r i ct ion amongghosts as to dress. They may appear in th e c lothes theywore w h i ls t l iv ing , o r they may be arrayed in whi te. An

instance is on record of a lady ’s Spi r i t appearing in blackAnd clay col d was he r l i ly hand that he l d he r sable

shroud. The hand of a ghost , i t may be obse rved in

pass ing , is a lways as co l d as a clod ,”w hi ch c i rcumstance

may have given r ise to th is No r th -coun try exp ress ion.Few peopl e know how to approach a ghos t properly. I t

is no t gene ral ly known that a sp i r i t has not the powe r

to speak ti l l i t has been spoken to. Not many pe rsonshave the cou rage or the p resence of mind to address an

appar i t ion ,whi ch accounts for so few be ing fami l iar w i th

the sound of a ghos t ’s vo i ce. The mode of address ing a

sp i r i t i s by commanding i t , in the name of the th reePe rsons of the Trin i ty , to d isclose its i den t i ty and i tsbus iness. Some ghos ts van ish in a flash of su l phureousl ight

,others disappear amid the clanking of cha in s

, whi l e

othe rs are so cons i de rate of you r nervous system as to

des i re a momen tary c los ing of the eyes dur ing their exi t.

The re are various reasons why ghos ts are doom’

d for

a certa in t ime to wal k the n ight. Some are the sp i r i ts

of mu rde red persons ; o thers cannot rest un t i l the i r

w rongs are red ressed. Thei r ways and action s are not

the ways and act ion s of the worl d. At the presen t d ay,when a mu rde r i s committed , informat ion is given to th eneares t constable. The ghos t , how eve r , commun i catesits w rongs to some innocen t , sympathe ti c n e ighbou r

,

who rare ly fa i ls to carry ou t its behes ts. Thi s was theway in w hi ch the sp i r i t of Anne Wa l ke r b rought he rmu rdere rs to j ust i ce. The facts of th i s case w e re broughtto l ight at Durham Ass izes in 1 632 ,

and the c i rcums tan ces

and inc i den ts conn ected the rew i th must have created theintensest exc i temen t at the t ime

, and wou l d no d oubt forlong afte r afford ample mate rial for many a ghostly ta l e

at Chr istmast ide.

GHOSTS. I 5

Ann e W al ke r was a s ingle woman and acte d as house

keepe r to J ohn Wa l ke r , he r k insman ,a w i dowe r l iv ing a t

Lumley,

n ear Cheste r-le-Street. An imprope r intimacy

hav ing sprung up be tween the two ,Wa l ke r

,to concea l the

fact , dete rmin ed to r i d h imse lf of the gi rl , and, w i th that

obj ec t in V iew ,took in to h i s confidence a re lat ive named

Mark S harp. Accordingly,one dark n ight

,unde r th e

p retence of p lac ing the young woman w i th a midw ife,

She w as sen t out in charge of Sharp , who , having murde red

he r,concea l e d the body by throw ing i t in to an old p i t

shaft,Wal ke r taking care to accoun t for he r disappear

an ce by affi rm ing that she had gone to a re lat i ve ’s house

in Lancash i re. The crime took place in the au tumn, and

a l though he r con t inued absence was frequent ly commen ted

on by the n e ighbou rs , no susp ic ion of the truth was

e n te rta in ed. B u t as w in te r app roached,the unhappy

sp i r i t of th e gi r l b ecame exceed ingly res tl ess , and on theChr i s tmas Eve afte r the mu rde r , at

The ve ry W it ch ing t ime of n ight when churchya rds yawn,

the ghos t of th e mu rde red woman sudden ly confronted theLumley m i l l e r

,James Graham by name. The m il l e r was

an indust r iou s man , and , Ch r istmas Eve though i t was , h ishoppe r w as s t i l l go ing when he observed the appari t ions tan ding befo re h im on th e.middl e of the floor. A large

c loak enveloped he r figure. For a momen t th i s was

th rown back,reveal ing a baby clasped to her breas t. The

mi l l e r looked at the figu re befo re h im w i th that degree of

mingled aw e and horro r which a man may be reasonablysupposed to expe ri en ce at the s ight of a supernatu ra l

b e ing. The re w e re five large w ounds on he r head,and

from these blood oozed and tr i ckl ed down he r face and

n eck. She looked at him w i th a fixed,s tony

,l i fe l ess stare

that fo r a momen t froze the cu rren t of his blood. Whenh i s a larm had subsi ded

,how eve r , the m i l le r summone d

s uffic i en t cou rage to ask h i s ghostly v i s i tan t who she was

and w hat she wan ted I am the Sp i ri t of Anne Wa l ke r,

”

she repl i ed ,“and one n ight was sen t away w i th Mark

Sharp , who s l ew me w ith a p i ck , and gave me these five

wounds , and afte rwards threw my body in to a coal p i t.”

The sp i r i t a lso imparted the info rmat ion that afte r the

m u rde r , Sharp’s shoes and stockings be ing bloody he


endeavou red to wash them , but being unable to get out thesta ins he h id them and the pi ck unde r a bank. Them il l e r was fu rthe r to l d to revea l these facts

, othe rw i s e heshould have no rest. As may be imagined , th is in te rvi ewwith the appar i t ion made the m il l e r ve ry uneasy , bu t be ing

a qu ie t m an,and no t w ish ing to a larm the ne ighbou rhood

,

he hes i tated to divu lge what h e had seen and heard.Time afte r t ime the ghost appeared to h im

,w i th a s t i l l

mo re angry coun tenance on each occas ion , ti l l at l ength ,afte r repeated inj unction s and th reats

,the mi l le r wen t

befo re a magist rate and made the who l e mat te r known.

S earch was at once made for the body , w h ich was found

in the p i t shaft as desc r ibed. There w ere five wounds inth e head , eviden tly infl i c ted w i th a pick , whi ch was a lsod iscovered , togethe r w i th the bloody Shoes and s tock ings

wh i ch Sharp wo re on the n ight of the mu rde r. Thep receding facts w e re el i c i ted at the tria l , whe re a s ti l l moreremarkable inc i den t is sa i d to have occu rred. Afte r theevi dence had been heard , the ghost of the woman appeared ,w i th an infant in he r arms , and po in t ing to the prisoners

and he r wounds , to conv ince both judge and jury that they

we re he r mu rde re rs , u tte red the fo l low ing d is ti ch whi le

swinging her baby to and fro

Hush a baby hush a baby hush a baby be’Twa s Sharp and Wa lke r tha t ki l led thou and me

Mr: S tead has s tated that the ghos t of Lady Derwen t

wate r wal ks n ightly n ear Dils ton Cast l e. We can assu r eh im that no ghos ts have been the re s in ce the Spi ri t of

Amel ia ,the last Coun tess of Derwen twate r , departed

thence. When the old lady died w e bought the box in

which she kept the family papers. This box has a history

w i th a ghos tly flavou r abou t i t. Derwentwate r , as we

know ,was th e anc i en t seat of th e Radcl iffes , and w hen the

old kn ights of Derwen t lived the re they kept the i r earlycharte rs in i t. O ne n ight the box was s tol en by men who

c rossed ove r to the is land in a boat , bu t be ing pu rsuedthey th rew i t ove rboard in to the lake , w here i t was

mi racu lou s ly fi shed up aga in some 200 years late r,by

somebody who was t ro l l ing for trou t. This may smack of

romance , bu t t ru th , they say, is s tranger than fict ion, and

sceptica l people are refe rred to Canon Ra ine’

s Depos i t ions

GHOSTS. 1 7

from Yo rk Castl e fo r confi rmat ion on the po int. What

became of the or iginal con ten ts o f the box w e are no t

p repared to say. The Coun tess u sed to affi rm that th ewashed-out w r i t ings had been depos i ted in the B r i t i shM u seum

,w he re M r. S tead or some o the r s tuden t of

h i story and love r of the marve l lous may find them. For

h i s and the i r benefit i t may be sa i d that th e I s l e of Derwent

was hel d for th e K ing du ri ng the c iv i l wars by Co lone l

Ph i l i pson ,who

,from his dar ing explo i ts , ea rned for

h imse l f the soubri qu et of Robin th e Dev i l. O ne Sunday

n igh t two men named Cuthbert Gascarth and Ral phH eaton broke in to Lord Derwen twate r ’s house , and

carr i ed off the box whose adven tu res are given above.

The re w as something of the supe rnatu ral in Gascarth’

s

end. He w as found dead in a fish ing n et on the lake , and

a woman who was cal l ed to give evi dence at the inquestdeclared tha t She had seen Gascarth pass he r w indow

some time afte r he must have been d rowned!Here isampl e mate rial fo r a good ghost story.

C H A P T E R I I I .

SUPERSTITION AND WITCHCRAFT.

S t i cking Pins in to Wi tche s.—The Broomst i ck.—The How l ing of

Dogs and othe r Omens.—John We s ley ’

s Man ifes ta t ions from the

Invis ib le World.—A Burn ing Body a t Ebche ste r.—Confe ss ionsofWi tche s.—K i l l ing a Witch no Offen ce —Witch Confe rence s.

IN th i s matte r-of-fact age , any refe rence to th e super

natu ra l is rece ived w i th a smile.I When a ghost i sfoo l hardy enough to appear in a ques tionable shape , i t ise i the r run to ea rth

, where all w el l -behaved ghosts oughtto rema in

, or unce remon ious ly la i d w i th the staff of somew i de-awake constable , who obj ects to spi ri ts on princ ipl e.Demons

,fa i r i es and the l i ke are popu larly supposed to

have disappeared when monks , sa ints and masses w e reban ished from this is l e of ours ; but for long afte r theReformat ion

,w i tches con tinued to r i de on broomst icks

,

and every o ld woman w i th a w r inkl ed face or a c ross-eyes tood in danger of be ing tortu red or dragged th rough thev i l lage pond. Didn ’t the exorcists s ti ck p ins in to thebuttocks of the anci en t dames of New castl e a l i ttl e ove rtwo hundred years ago P And fo r long afte rwards

,when

a cow was bew i tched in Northumberland , the o ld farmersbel i eved that the su rest way to find ou t the so rce re r wasby putting a pai r of breeches on the an imal ’s head , and

beat ing her ou t of the pastu re w i th a good th ick cudgel.There has a lways been magic in the brooms ti ck. Thosepe rsecu ted o ld women ,

the w i tches , invariably had one or

two s tanding in the ingle nook. When one of these old

ladies w ished to make a journey by n ight al l she d id was

I Supe rst i t ion and ghosts a re kindred subj e c ts. Bo th a re

in te re s t ing theme s. During Ep iphany Te rm , 189 1 , they a ffordedthe s tude n ts a t Durham a nd New ca s t le ma te ria l for two pre s iden t ia la ddre sse s a t the Un ion Socie t ie s. Tha t on Ghos ts was de l ive red byMr. Morton , of the Co l lege of Scien ce , a nd wa s a ve ry C leve r a ndingen ious psycho logi ca l o ra t ion in the ir de fe nce. The o the r wa s

a n equa l ly in te rest ing addre ss by Mr.Alpe , on the Ph i losophy of

S upe rst it ion.


the raven fo r the mishap,bu t the bi rd repl i ed that the fau lt

was all her own,for bad she but saddled another ho rse

Sure -footed Dun had ke pt his legs,

A nd you ,good w oman

, say'd your eggs.

The Roya l Family i tself wasfl ong pr ivy to much of thes upe rst i t ion that pervaded al l classes in the s i xteenth and

seventeen th cen tu ri es , the r id i cu lous Roya l pre rogative oftouch ing for th e K ing ’s Evi l hav ing been exercised evenso late as the re ign of Queen Anne.

The Roya l Family has a lways been thought to bepecul iarly susceptibl e to the influence wh ich a l te rnately

affo rded joy and sor row to our forefathers. In theBodle ian Library at Oxford the re is a l e tte r reco rding the

omens that happened at the coronation of K ing Jamesthe Second. The c rown was seen to totte r upon his head ,and the flag at the top of the Tow e r w as to rn at themomen t that the s igna l was given to i t that he was

c rowned. Respecting this un fortunate monarch , h isb rothe r Charl es is sa i d to have utte red the fo l low ing

prophecy in a conve rsat ion w i th S i r Richa rd Bu lstrodeI am weary of t rave l l ing ,

”sa i d he ,

“and am reso lved to

go ab road no more. But when I am dead and gone , Iknow no t what my brothe r w i l l do. I am much afra i d ,w hen he comes to the thron e , he w i l l be obl iged to trave l

aga in. Aubrey no t i ces seve ra l po rten ts w h i ch happenedbefore changes of gove rnmen t in his time. S i r Charl esTrenchard of Do rset had a plas te r cas t of the head of

K ing Charl es , and on the fi rst day of the s i t ting of

Pa rl iamen t in 164 1 , wh i l e the family we re at d inn e r,the

SUPER STITION AND WITCHCRAFT. 2 1

head fe l l to the floo r. I t was al so obse rved that the headof th e K ing ’

s can e fel l off du r ing his t rial. Befo re

C romw el l’

s death a great whal e was cas t up at Greenw i ch.Mo re recen tly,

w hen Geo rge I I I. was c rown ed,

a large

eme ra l d fe l l from the c rown,and i t was during his re ign

that Ameri ca w as los t.In many famil i es death i s sa i d to be presaged by the

how l ing of dogs , and acco rd ing to the Da ily News th i somen was heard at Sand ringham on the n igh t p receding

the Pr in ce ’s death. S hakespeare ev iden tly regarded th e

how l ing of a dog as a po rt en t, and in Hen ry V I. refe rs to

i t thu sThe ow l shriek

’

d a t thy b irth—an evi l S ignDogs how l ’d , and h ide ous tempe sts shook down tre e s.

Gros e says that w hen the how l ing of dogs is heard by a

fami ly i t is a ce rtain s ign of death. An o lde r w r i te r,

Dr.Home , ho l ds a s im i lar op in ion. “ I f,he says

,

“ doggs

hou l e in the n ight n ee re an hou se where somebody is s i ck ,’t i s a S ign of death Thi s op in ion i s also shared by

A l exande r Ross,who declares tha t h is to ry and experi ence

teach us that the how l ing of dogs is a ce rta in porten t of

death. Whether peopl e at tach any importance to th efact or no t

,i t is ce rta in that dogs hav e been know n to

s tand and bow l over the bodi es of the i r maste rs w hen th eyhave been mu rde red or died an acc iden ta l o r sudden death.When J ohn Wes l ey was in Newcastl e he heard a

marvel lous account of the bu rn ing-up of a man’s body

at Ebcheste r th rough supernatu ra l agency. The story i sgi ven in his “ Journa ls ,

”and is on e of the ser i es of

unexpla ined phenomena which the great div ine l eft beh ind

h im. Abou t the m i ddl e of last cen tu ry there l ived at

Ebches te r H i l l,in the De rwen t Va l l ey

,one Robert John

son , gen tl eman. H is son Cu thbert hav ing mar ri e dw i thou t h i s con sen t

,th is so en raged h im that in the

heat of pass ion he w ished that his r ight arm might bu rn

off i f eve r he gave or l e ft h im Sixpence. H oweve r in

1 7 57 , be ing taken i l l , be al tered his mind,and l eft h im

'

all h i s es tate. Shortly afte r Johnson ’

s death,and before

the body had been coffined,obse rving a d isagreeabl e smel l

and find ing the room fu l l of smoke,the re lat i ves examined

the corpse , and found the righ t arm n early burn t off. The

body a l so was on fi re,and afte r the horr ified re lat ives had


pu t i t into the coffin,a no i se of burn ing and crackl ing was

heard the re in. The reade r may take th i s story for what

i t i s worth. I t is bel i eved , howeve r , that something ve ryunusual d i d attend the obsequ i es of some person who

was bu ri ed at Ebcheste r about the time stated , for on

examin ing the registe rs the re du ring Mr. Lin thwaite’

s

i ncumbency w e found that the l eaf con ta in ing the bu r ials

in 1757 had been torn out. This c i rcumstance seems to

favour the Rector’s theory that i t had been removed bythe fri ends or re lat ives of some one bu r ied the re , and

respecting whom the regi ste r reveal ed something whi ch

they w ished to conceal.

The Wes l eys had many man i festations from theinvis ibl e wo rld when John was a boy, wh i ch mus t havemade a marked impress ion on him ,

and wh i ch have n eve rbeen expla ined to this day. O ne n ight the ma id was

nearly frightened ou t of he r w i ts. The sounds she heardwere of var ious kinds. Sometimes the mos t dismalgroan ing proceeded from the

’

hal l,the w indows rattled

vio l en tly , and there was con tinual knock ing the re was a

c lanking sound as of a cha in fa l l ing,fo l low ed by the c rash

of breaking potte ry , the j ingl ing of money,the b reaking

of some hard substance l ike coal,the gobbl i ng of a tu rkey

cock , and the dragging,heavy tread of some heav i ly

d raped figu re. A l l these we re ho rr ib le enough to be su re,

though no t so bad as the sounds and s ights wh ich a

Cockney footman declared that he had heard and seen a t

Hamsterley H al l a few years ago. The poo r fe l low had

fai l ed to make himself popu lar among his fe l low s at thenorthe rn home of the ro l l i ck ing , in imi tabl e au tho r of

Handley C ross , w i th the resu l t that du r ing his sho rtstay he smelt so much brimstone , and saw s igh ts so w e i rd

and no ises so horrific , that be imagined h imself in theregions of Meph istophel es. Bu t to retu rn to the Wes l eyhouseho ld. The spi r i t , or whateve r i t m ight be , becameat las t so fami l iar that i t v is i ted the study of the e lde rWesl ey , and once or tw i ce gave h im a hearty push. Oncei t w ent so far as to l ift the bed on w h i ch one of Wesley ’s

siste rs was lying awake , and she was wondering if th eplayfu l gobl in i ntended carry ing her off when she was se t

down w i th a thud.

SUPERSTITION AND WITCHCRAFT. 23

The poo r beldames of the Da rk Ages!To th ink thatthe i r w r inkled faces , the i r dec rep i t bodies , wasted andwo rn by the infirmities of age , shou ld have exposed themto th e sport of the i r fe l low -mortals. We have the con

fess ions of these so-cal l ed w i tches,bu t many of them are

not on ly absu rd , but they w e re obta ined from the poorw retches on the rack. “ I w en t once

,

” says S i r George

Mackenz i e , when I was J us tice Depu ty, to examin e

some women that had con fessed j udi c ial ly, and one of

them , who was a s i ckly c reatu re , to l d me , unde r sec recy ,

that she had not confessed because she was gui l ty,but

being a poo r c reatu re who w rought for he r meat, and

be ing defamed for a w i tch, she knew she shou ld s tarve ,

for no pe rson the reafte r wou l d give her meat o r lodgingand that al l m en wou l d beat he r and hound dogs at he r

,

and that the refore she des i red to be out of the wor ld.”

W re tchedness and oppress ion , di sorgan i z ing the body as

w el l as the mind , w i l l make even w i s e men mad. At

l ength the w i tch became w i cked in thought , though not

in deed. The hat red of the world p laced he r out of thepa l e of soc i ety. Detest ing and detes ted

, she sought toinfl i ct those ev i ls wh i ch she cou l d not effec t ; and halfcons c ious of a delus ion w hich she cou ld not ove rcome

,

she became reckless of he r own mise rable l ife,yie l ding

to th e fran t i c despa i r wh i ch compel led he r to w ish to

bel i eve that she was in l eague w i th the pow e rs of hel l.This superst i t ion of the Dark Ages finds an i l lus t rat ion

in the thi rteen th cen tu ry ass ize ro l ls fo r the Coun ty of

Northumbe r land,edited by Mr.Page.

I O ne day a woman,

reputed to be a w i tch , ente red the house of a certainJohn de K e rneslaw e at the hour of vespers and assau l tedh im becaus e he s ign ed h imself w i th the S ign of th e c ross

,

as was done when Bened i c i te was sa i d. In defending

h imself, as he thought , from a dev i l,John hit the woman

and ki l l ed he r. Afte rwards , by j udgmen t of al l the cl e rgy ,the body of the poor woman was bu rn t as that of a w i tch.The ins trumen t of he r death , i t seems , w ent mad

,and on

coming to h is s enses took sanctuary at Durham , fear ingthat he might be pun ished for the mu rde r. K i l l ing a

I Thre e Ea rly Ass ize Ro l ls for the Coun ty of Northumbe rland ,edi te d for the Surte e s Soc ie ty by Wi l l iam Page.


woman might haun t a man ’

s consci ence in those days ,but the eye of the law looked at i t in the l ight that th ek i l l ing of a mad dog wou l d be regarded now ,

and Johnwas al lowed to return home.But the o ld ladies w i th w r inkled faces no longer insp i resupe rst i t ious awe. Occas ional ly , in both Northumberlandand Du rham

,a horse-shoe is to be found na i l ed to the

byre o r stable doo r of some farmstead , bu t this may havebeenplaced there by the laddie , who heard his grandmothe rsay that i t safeguarded the cattl e. The farmer h imself

,

how eve r,laughs at the boy ’s s to ry of a midn ight confe rence

in the dark nook of a ce rta in secluded glen,and he has no

fear of w i tches en te ring his stable du ring the n ight and

r i ding his best horses w i th thei r enchanted bridles. Someen te rta in ing matte r respect ing these w i tch mee tings of a

bygone age has been publ i shed by the Su rtees Socie ty.I

I t seems that those who p ract ised the black arts possessedthe powe r of changing thei r v i ct ims in to beasts of bu rden.At the Northumberland Ass izes in 1 673 a sp ins te r ladynamed Ann Armstrong w en t before the Judge and unfo lded

an extrao rdinary sto ry,which must have made a great

st i r at the t ime , from the fact of the people incr iminated

occupying respectable pos i t ions in l ife. Acco rd ing to

M i ss Armstrong , she had been t ransfo rmed into a horse

on d ive rs and several occas ions , and , much aga inst he r

own incl inat ion ,ri dden to many out- o f- the-way parts of

No rthumberland. O n one occas ion she was so meta

morphosed by a lady named Anne Fors te r , who rode upon

her c ross- l egged to Riding M il l B ridge E nd ,where she

was met by Anne Dryden of Prudhoe , Lucy Thompson

o f M i ckl ey,

and abou t a dozen o thers!

, all s im i larlymou n ted on s teeds whi ch had been t ransfo rmed from thehuman fo rm div ine. At the head of the cava l cade rode asable indiv idual on a bay gal loway.O n coming

'

to a su i table spot , the Amazons dismountedand te thered the i r steeds. Afte r danc ing awh il e theyadjou rned to the

f’house of John New ton

, of The Rid ing ,w here refreshmen t had been prov ided. This

, strange as i tmay appear , was got by s imply tugging at a rope wh ichdangled above the table and commun i cated w i th the loft

I Depos i t ions from the Ca st le of York , edited by Canon Ra ine.

SUPERSTITION AND WITCHCRAFT. 25

above. Lucy Thompson was a w i dow,and she favou red

her host w i th the fi rs t orde r, wh ich was for a bo i l ed capon.

Th is having been sen t down and placed befo re the ch i ef,

who sat in a b righ t cha i r resembl ing go l d,Lucy made

anoth e r tug at the rope,th i s time demanding the broth

w h i ch the capon was bo i l e d in . I t was du ly sen t down in

a dish , a long w i th a bottl e of W in e. Ann,wife of R i cha rd

Fo rste r , of Stocksfie ld ,n ext made a pu l l at the rope

,and

at th e fi rst tug down came a cheese,

at the second a

beatmen t of wheat flou r descended,

and a th i rd essay

b rought hal f a quarte r of bu tte r, wh i ch w as to be u sed as

a subs titu te for wate r In kneading the flou r,the use of

wate r be ing prohib i ted by the hos t. Anothe r of th e partyhad a tu rn at th e rope

, and was rewarded w i th a pound of

cu rran ts , a quarte r of mutton,

and a bottl e of sack.Margaret , w i fe of M i chae l Ayns l ey , got a flask of ale

,ha l f

a bush el of w heat,and a p iece o f beef. A l l the rest pu l l ed

the rope in tu rn, and go t whateve r they cal l ed for. O ne

of th e mos t p romin en t of th e w i tches appears to have beenAnn

, the w i fe of Thomas Ba i tes, of Mo rpeth , tanner.

From M iss A rmst rong ’

s s tatemen t,M rs. Ba i tes had met

the dark - Skinned individua l at B erw i ck and e lsewhere anddan ced w i th h im , sometimes ca l l ing him he r p rotecto r and

at o the r t im es he r sav iou r. O n on e' occas ion,be ing in

he r fa the r ’s hou se , M rs. Ba i tes en te red in the fo rm of a

gray ca t,w i th a br idl e hanging on he r foot

,overpow e red

h er by b reath ing upon her , and c ri ppl e d he r. Therendezvous was on th i s occas ion n ea r a b ridge

,where

the pa rty stopped and repeated th e Lord ’s Praye r back

wards, afte r wh i ch everybody presen t gave an accoun t of

the m isch i ef they had commi t ted in the in te rva l s ince the i r

las t meeting.

The w i tches , i t seem s,he ld the i r l ives on l ease on ly.

Thu s,M rs. Fo rs te r , who pu l l e d the rope so successfu l ly

at the banquet , had a l ease for fo rty-seven years , whe reof

s even w e re yet un expi red , wh i l e Widow Thompson’

s had

nea rly run ou t. An endeavou r was made to induce M i ssArmstrong to l ease he r ow n l i fe fo r th reesco re years , a

promise be ing held ou t that she shou l d neve r wan t money

i f she wou l d do so. Befo re and afte r the con fe rence the

w i tches danced a jig round the i r ch ief. The repo rts of


some of the beldames are amus ing in the extreme. O n e

confessed to bew i tch ing a horse and an ox belongingto Edward Lumley of M i ckl ey. Ann e Dryden had causedthe death of a n e ighbou r ’s ho rse at Prudhoe , wh i l e Mrs.

Fors te r of S tocksfie ld admitted that she had influenceover I sabel New ton

,who had pined away to noth ing.

Some of the ladies tormen ted the i r n e ighbou rs in the

shape of a cat,and others changed themselves in to bees

or bumble rs. Among o th e r p ranks , the woman Drydenand a man named Ayn s l ey had r idden as bees beh ind Mr.E rring ton

’

s man from Newcastl e. Mary Hunte r of Bi rks i de info rmed the company that she met John Marsh and

his w i fe r id ing a mare from Bywe l l to thei r home at

E dd esbridge ,and that she flew unde r the mare ’s bel ly in

the l ikeness of a swal low un ti l she got the powe r of i t.Dorothy S trange r had bew i tched a marr ied woman namedMilburne because the latte r refused to inv i te her to a

w edd ing party. O ne n ight,a cat appeared in M rs.

M ilburne’

s chamber,and in mos t unmis takable language

informed her that she , or i t , had come for he r l ife.Ove rcoming her fear by an effo rt , she sai d

,I defy thee ,

the dev i l, and a ll his works ,

”whereupon the fel ine vis i to r

van ished. The n ight fo l low ing , howeve r , the same cat

aga in appeared , sprang at her throat , and bi t her arm.

O n a subsequen t occas ion ,M rs. S tranger appeared to he r

in he r own form. She was then in bed w i th he r husband ,who p revented the w i tch carrying her off. O n one

occas ion M rs. S tranger rushed in to he r bedroom in theform of a gray cat. She wo re an old black hat upon he rhead , and was atti red in a green w a istcoat and a brown ishco lou red petti coat. Sho rtly afte rwards

,apparent ly rel ent

ing ,she appea red to the affrighted woman du ring the

n ight and c raved for fo rgiven ess , on rece iv ing wh ich she

van ished th rough the w i ndow.


for the e rection of the sai d pi t , and l ikew ise for mak ing a

s ta i th on the Tyne,w i th in the lo rd ’s fo rest , on th e lord

’

s

so i l , to be a l lowed by the lo rd ’s fo rester fo r plac ing thesa i d coal s and they are to have l i kew ise a suflicien t way

l eading from the sa i d p i t to the sa i d s taith , to be a l lowedby the counse l of the lord b ishop ; and the sa id farme rsthen in Cou rt a l low ed that i f they or e i ther of them diddamage to the lo rd ’s tenan ts

,w i th in the v i l lage or w i thout ,

the t respass shou ld be repa i red w i thou t impedimen t.

That inj u ry to the lord’s tenan ts by reason of co l l i e rywo rkings was the subj ect of enqu i ry at the Halmote

,

appea rs from the fo l low ing entry under Whickham a few

years late r I t is found by the ju ry that John de Penr i t his inj u red by a coal m ine of Roge r de Tho rn ton ,

so that

th e house of the sa id John is a lmost th rown down, to the

damage of the sa i d John of z os.,assessed by the ju ry ;

the refore i t is cons i de red that the sa i d Roger repai r thesa i d house to the val u e aforesa i d , or satisfy the sa i dsum.

” I

The o ld accoun t books of the Neashams of Houghton

give much cu rious mat te r respecting the w inn ing and

working of coal,the profi ts real ized , and th e wages pa i d

to workmen. The Newbottl e p i t was won by them. The

l ease by wh i ch they acqu ired the right to work the mine rals

bea rs date 4th Feb ruary , 1740. The cos t of w inn ing theco l l i e ry

,w h ich was fifty

-th ree fathoms deep , and e rect ing

an engine , was The yearly ren t pa i d was £400 ,

and by agreemen t w i th Mr.Tempest , who l et them bothwayleave and s taithroom , they w e re l im i ted to an annua lvend of chald rons. The tota l cos t of th e coal ,including working , l ead ing , wayleave

,and o ther inc iden ta l

expenses , w as 85 . pe r chal dron. When it was sol d to thefi tte rs at the s ta i ths , the p ri ce was 1 os. pe r cha ld ron

,bu t

when sen t to Sund er land it ranged from 1 z s. 6d. to 1 3s.

The average p rofi t was 25 .6d. a cha l dron . So that, afte r

deduct ing £400 ren t and £250 in te res t on cap i tal, w e

have a yearly p rofi t to the l essees of £850 on thecha ld rons. Under date 1 765 the cos t of working a po rtionof th e p i t is given as fo l lows z—Seven men hew ed 86 score

at 1 3d. per score in a fortn ight of n ine days,for wh ich

1 H istory ofWe st Durham.

M INING AND M INERS. 29

they were pa i d £4 1 3s. 2d.,w i th an add i t ional 63 . 6d.

for dri v ing n in e yards of headway and cons iderationmon ey. Fou r dri ve rs rece ived 1od. pe r day, or a to talof £ 1 1os. for the fortn ight. The o the r expenses of

work ing w e re : s l edging , I S. 3d. ; onsett ing, 7S. 6d.

le tt ing down, 6s. sm i th wo rk , 4s. 3% d. w heel ing

,6s.

taking up the th i l l,I O S. 6d. James C lark , 1 sh ift at 16d.;

86 score of candles at 2d.pe r score ; and ove rman ’

s wages,

1 7s. The corf in use con ta ined twe lve pecks , each peck

measu r ing fou r and a hal f gal lons. A s ta i th ba r row cos t

65 .6d. a corf, 1 s. 6d . and p i t p rops,2d. each.

He re is an o ld debtor and c redi tor accoun t , the perusal

of wh i ch w i l l doub t l ess c reate among m ine-own ers a

longing for a retu rn of th e “ good old t imes

ACCOUNT OF PROFITS OF BYK ER , JESMOND ,B USHB LADE S

,BY E RMO OR ,

AND THE LANDS,FOR THE YEAR 1 742.

RECE IPTS. s. (1.

By cha ldron s of coa ls de l ive re d from Byke r a t

1 1 5 .8% d .cha ldrons of coa ls de l ive re d from Je smond

a t 1 1 8.8% d.cha ldrons of coa ls de l ive re d from B ushblad e s

an d Bye rmoor a t 1 1 5 .8% d.cha ldron s of coa ls on s ta i th , comput ing 16

cha ldrons to a te rm, a t 1 1 8.S l

/é d.

amoun t of4 , 197 cha ldrons of coa ls , so ld a t diffe re ntpri ce s from the Lands

EX PENDITURE.To amoun t of workings , le adings , re n ts , &c., for

Byke r 5Je smond 7Bushblad e s and Bye rmoor 1 2

fo r the Lands 1 5 9

1 7%To ba lan ce be ing profit 2 7

4 2%

Equa l ly in te res ting is the Bye rmoor Pi t b i l l fo r th e

fortn igh t ending Feb rua ry 28th ,1 770. The co l l i e ry

employed e ighteen hands , t en hewe rs and e ight pu tte rs ,th e fo rme r be ing pa i d at the rate of a sh i l l ing pe r score of

corves , wh i l e th e latte r rece ived n inepence pe r sco re. The

to tal quan t i ty of coa l ra ised du r ing the fo rtn ight of n in e

days was 1 62 sco re and 5 co rves , fo r wh ich the hew e rs

re ce ived £8 25 .3d., and the putte rs £6 I S.8% d. When i t


i s expla ined that a corf contained 1 2 pecks , or 54 gal lons ,it may enable those in te res ted in the wages quest ion to

determine whethe r the wages pa i d now to the m iners of

Du rham and Northumbe r land are relat ively highe r than

those pa i d to the i r fel low s at Byermoor 1 23 years ago.

F rom The C lavering Househo l d Book,we l earn that

at th i s t ime beef was 5d. per pound , and flou r 23 . 8d. a

stone. A pound of tea cost 145 . a pound of butte r,8d.

a ch icken , 6d. a turkey,1 5 .6d. a duck

,I S. 1 d. a l eg

of veal , 4s.6d. a couple of rabb i ts , I S.6d. a cal f’s head

and feet , 25 . 2d. and a pound of cheese, 5d.

The fo l low ing is the pay-bi l l refe rred to. I t w i l l be seenthat the las t e ight men in the l i st of hewe rs acted also as

putte rs

HEWERS. 3°

k; (y; 2 Eff

Thoma s Wa lke rThoma s Kenda leJohn Ande rsonRobe rtEdwa r‘d Wa i le sM i chae l Smi thThoma s MortonBa rtho l.C.Ba inbridgeRobe rt S tobsJohn Kenda leJohn Ja cksonJame s C la rkWil l iam Cod l ingThoma s

Thos.C lem isonJohn Dav isonJohn

PUTTERS.John Ke nda leJon.Ja cksonJame s C la rkWil l iam Codl ingThoma sThos.C lem isonJohn DavisonJohn Murton

NCA

CA

N

N

N

NCA

162

C.£ S.

0 0

0 0

15 0

10 0

15 0

15 0

10 0

0 0

5 0

1 5 0

1 5 0

0 0

5 0

1 5 0

1 5 0

0 0

5 0

5 8

NCA

OJ

N

N

N

NC»)

N

M INING AND M INERS. 3 1

The early p i ts w e re ve ry sma l l,the number of hands

employed varying from hal f-a-dozen to a score. A bonddated 1 779 te l l s u s how th e p its w e re wo rked. I t i s theagreemen t betw een S i r Thomas C laver ing

,Bart., and the

hew e rs and pu tte rs of Andrew ’

s House and Byermoor p i ts,

in the coun ty of Du rham and i t is a suggest ive fact thats i xteen ou t of th e n ineteen S ign the i r names wi th a c ross .The hew e rs rece ived tw enty- two shi l l ings b inding money

,

and ha l f a gu in ea w as pa i d to th e putte rs. In the early

h istory of coalm in ing the coals w rought by the men w e repu t in to a co rf

,or w i cke r basket

,and th is was drawn on

a s l e d from the w o rk ings to th e shaft of the p i t. As the

work ings extended,pu t t ing became expens ive , and th i s

l ed to the in trodu ct ion of wooden ra i ls and the i nven t ionof a so rt of t ram on

'

wheel s,capable of rece iv ing two or

th ree of the co rves at a t ime. Each corf con ta ined fromfive to six cw t. This was the sys tem in vogue at Bye rmoor in 1 779 ,

th e p resen t wooden tub not having beenin t rodu ced t i l l abou t the y ear 1 797 , J ohn Cu rr of Sheffie l d

being the inven to r. The terms o f the agreemen t at

Andrew ’s H ous e and Bye rmoor a re cu rious. The hewe rs atthe fi rs t-named pi t are to rece ive 1 5 .8d. pe r score for the

who l e coa l,2s.for the w ho l e coa l under the top , 1 8.8d.and

I S. 6d. for th e p i l lars , and 8d. a yard for headways in the

whol e m in e,and 6d. a yard for the p i l lars , each corf to

con ta in tw en ty-fou r pecks. For every sco re w rought at

Bye rmoor , I S. is pa i d , and 4d. a ya rd headways , and

cons i de rat ion mon ey for hard and troublesome wo rk ings.

The d rive rs a re to pu t the coal , and ass i s t the hew ers in

fi l l ing,at a fixed rate of 1 5 . pe r day. In the bond whi ch

was made the fo l low ing year , the putte rs are to be pa i d at

th e rate of 5d .pe r score for a distance of s i xty yards fromthe shaft , w i th an addi tional penny for eve ry add it iona l

n ineteen yards. The men p romise not to neglect the i r

wo rk , and agree to forfe i t I s. for every day lost ~

through

negl ec t , and they are al so unde r a pena l ty to keep the i r

coals cl ean from stones , and to dri ve the i r boards prope r ly.

A Vi ewe r had the sup e rvi s ion of a numbe r of co l l i e ri es at

th is t ime , and as a very smal l sa lary was pa i d , his vis i ts

w ou l d be few and far betw een. The sum pa i d to John

Ramsey for vi ew ing Bye rmoor for two years was seven


gu ineas. As eve ryth ing that th rows l igh t on the wo rk i ngof old coal p i ts is of in te rest

,a pape r con ta in ing a

val uation of the gear ing a t Bye rmoor may be quoted.I t bears a str ik ing contrast to th e expens ive machine ryand gear wh ich are now indispen sabl e in the working of

a col l ie ry.A VALUATION OF B Y REMOOR PITT GEERS. 5 . d.

9 shove ls,a t z s.2d. ea ch 0 19 6

5 t rams , a t 5 9 . e a ch 1 5 o

3 tram ax le tre e s and whe e ls , a t 16d. o 4 o

1 79 ya rds of B a rroway dea ls , a t 5d. 3 14 732 ya rds of B a r roway un la id

,a t 5d. o 1 3 4

5 new props , a t o 1 0%

£6 1 7 s%In add it ion to the above , men tion is made of a Ginns tanding upon the Pi tt ,

”and fo rty p rops

,but the i r va lue

IS not given.The co rrespondence o f our old famil ies throws muchl ight on the coa l t rade of the two coun t i es last century.The great-great-grandfathe r o f the presen t honouredbaronet of Blagdon , Matthew Ridley , of Heaton ,

may be

sa i d to have been the founde r of Blyth. This gentl eman

was fou r t imes Mayor of Newcastl e , and al though he

unsuccessful ly con tested the borough in 1 74 1 , he rep re

sen ted New cas tl e in the five success ive Parl iamen ts from

1 747 to 1 774. I t was of h im that a local poet sangBrigh t s ta r of Hea ton ,

You ’re aye our da r l ing swe e t one,

May Heave n’

s b le ss ing l ight onYour lady , ba irns , and you.

The heavy expenses of the memorable contest in 174 1

impoverished M r. Ridley to such an exten t that he was

obl iged to sel l several of his co l l i e r i es. The cor respondencerespect ing this t ransaction has been preserved , and an

extract from one of M r. Ridley’

s l ette rs to his agen t in

1 743 m ay be g iven. Speaking of his coa l p its , he says

The be s t pa r t of Hea ton rema ins un touched , and might be won

through Byke r a t the expe nse of Then you take in Li tt leBen ton ,

M r.Bonn e r '

s,Byke r , and Wa lke r. The se lie con t iguous ,

and the coa l is of the ve ry be st sort , but now cannot be touched fromthe w e igh t of wa te r upon it. In th is compu ta t ion you w i l l obse rvetha t I have n o t men t ioned Je smond , a s tha t co l l ie ry , though now

good , w i l l not la s t above thre e or four yea rs , a nd in tha t t ime mayproduce on ly London cha ldrons. Ne ithe r have I men t ionedBlyth , wh ich ought to be exp la ined , as the re is an e sta te the re now

le t , inc luding the house s , pan t i le w orks , and mil l , for I t is

an exce e ding good seaport , and fi t for ca rrying on any trade. The

M INING AND M INERS. 33

coa ls a re of a sort we l l known a t London. About Londoncha ldrons a re yea rly sent from the re. The ren t of the co l l ie ry isabout £24 pe r annum , and a lease in be ing of nea r 60 yea rs. The

on ly expense is leading , so the co l l ie ry turns to profit ye arly goodin c luding the Sa lt Pans , wh i ch a re e re c ted to consume the

sma l l coa ls.The re have been seve ra l memorable st r ikes in Du rham.

In th e latte r part of the las t and the early years of the

p resen t cen tu ry the re was a great scarc i ty of labou r , and

in making fresh yearly engagemen ts the maste rs found it

necessary to offe r large p rem iums to the men. I t i s not

qu ite cl ear when the year ly bond fi rs t came in to ope rat ion.In the fi rst decade of th e p resen t cen tu ry so great was the

scarc i ty of hewe rs (ow ing no doubt to th e wars)that asmuch as tw enty gu in eas was sometimes given to each man

a t the bind ing. There was also an a l lowance of bee r , and

the mas ters gene ra l ly cont ri buted someth ing towards a

donkey , or cuddy,

” race,th e fes t iv i ti es inc idental to the

day be ing apt ly desc r i bed by Wilson in the Pi tman ’

s

PayJust l ike w or ma istors when wor bun ,

I f men and lads be ve rra scan tThey whe edle us w i

’

ye l and fun ,

And coax us in to what they wan t.

The fi rs t notewo rthy s tr i ke had its or igin in th e year lyb inding. The maste rs w ished th i s to expi re at the end of

the year , and p repared a bond to this effect , wh ich the men

s igned , but they struck wo rk the next day, and w e re

committed to p rison in such large numbers in consequence

t hat th e gao l at Durham w as fi l l ed to ove rflow ing. This

str i ke took place in 18 10 , and las ted seven w eeks. TheB ishop of Du rham s i ded w i th the mas te rs , and instead of

ac ting as mediato r , as Dr.Wes tco tt d id du r ing the st rike

in 1892 , actual ly l en t his stables on the Pa lace Green as an

ove rflow p rison.

Bu t the condi tion of th e m ine r and the worki ng man has

vastly changed. When Edward the Th i rd sat on the

th rone (1 327 a statu te was passed regulat ing the

wages whi ch we re to be pa i d to wo rk ing men , and if they

di d not accep t these wages they had the alte rnat ive of'

go ing to gao l , and we are to l d that even then the re we resome rathe r w i l l ing to beg in i d l eness than by labou r to

get the i r b read.” A workman might also be impr i soned

i f h e took more than the regu lat ion wage , wh i l e the


man who employed h im fo rfe i ted double what he pai d.

Before the pass ing of the above s tatute , and down to the1 5 th cen tu ry , men w e re pressed to wo rk at fixed wages ,regardless of the i r w i l l as to th e terms and place of work.Diggers and hewe rs of stone , masons , and carpente rs , aswel l as ordinary labou re rs , w ere so impressed , and by

s erv ices thu s obta ined the bu i ld ings at Windso r for theKn ights of the Round Table , on the insti tu tion of theO rde r of the Garte r , we re e rected. In th is case thesheriffs w ere commanded to take securi ty from the workmen no t to depar t from W indsor w i thou t the perm iss ionof Will iam of Wykeham

,the King ’s su rveyor. Notwith

s tand ing these precautions , many workmen , so imp ressed ,secretly l eft

,in o rde r to wo rk fo r othe r pe rsons at highe r

wages , and w ri ts were d i rected to the Sher iffs of London,

commanding them to make proclamation proh ib i t ing any

p e rson from employing o r reta in ing any of the wo rkmen

on pa in of fo rfe i t ing al l the i r goods , and ,as regards the

m en ,commanding the i r a rrest and imprisonmen t.

We can on ly conclude our remarks on this subj ect of

m ine rs and min ing by quot ing from a pape r wh ich theA rchdeacon of Durham read at the Chu rch CongressM eeting at Derby in 1882 , respecting the Chu rch and its

relat ionship to wo rking men. No race of men in

the world , says Dr. Watkins , are more honest than

t he working men of England. They have a prej udice

aga inst black coats , bu t th is may not be al togethe r

undeserved , and a t al l even ts i t may ve ry soon beremoved. Perhaps we have some natu ra l p rejudice aga ins t

b lack faces. A c row d of artiz ans pour ing out of a

workshop , or a number of p i tmen coming from a night

s hift , do not always look l i ke me n and brethren ; but youneed '

not be afra i d o f the coa l dus t. I t w i l l wash off.

The diamond is in ano the r form , bo th on the man and in

h im and when you get face to face w i th these .men,when

you look at th ings from the i r s tandpo in t, when you are

w i l l ing to l earn in orde r that you may teach , when you

have seen that the re is a rea l man beneath the black face,

a nd they have seen that there is a real man beneath the

b lack coat , and that ne i the r is a scarec row, you w i l l find the

g reat heart of human i ty here , as everywhere , beating true.”


house , smi thy or forge,and p igeon-house , would be the

orde r , p robably , of most of the v i l lages both in Durhamand Northumbe rland.I

Those who t i l l ed the so i l on the s lopes of Northumbe rland at the daw n of the present cen tu ry had the i r goodseasons and the i r bad seasons. The i r c rops we re subj ect

to the same cl imat i c influences that exist now ,and the i r

ho rned cattl e sometimes wandered in to ho l es , or we rechoked whil e mas t i cating a tu rn i p , or succumbed unde rthe many infectious and contagious d iseases to wh ich thebovine flesh is l iabl e.The Rev. Will iam Adey , who held th e cu re of Lan

ches te r,in a l et te r to S i r Thomas C lavering

,gives an

accoun t of an ou tb reak of influenza among the hornedcattl e in the m iddle of last cen tu ry

, and ment ions a

wonde rfu l cu re that had been discove red to stamp out thed is tempe r. “ This very day,

” he w ri tes,

“ fi re and smokeran from Du rham , th rough Witton ,

Lancheste r , towardsthe w es t seas w i th prec ip i tation. The farme rs cal l i t ap rese rvative fromthe d istempe r , but you ’l l th ink i t h ight ime for me to te l l you from whence the cu re p roceedsand how p ropagated. A ce rtain tree in Yorksh i re hasmi racu lous ly taken fire ; that fi re is commun i cated fromone farme r to anothe r in a rag ,

w hich , they say, loseth itsp revent ive qual i ty i f i t loseth fi re ; and by vi rtue of th i s

o r ig inal rag the fi re and smoke have been ,in the greatest

hu rry,carri ed th rough the above places , the farmers

obl iging al l'

thei r ho rned cattl e to stand in the smoke ,whi ch fumigates them.”

I t is just a hundred years s ince th e fi rs t agricu l tu ra lsoci e ty was establ ished in the coun ty of Du rham , and

s ince then the sc i ence of agricu l tu re has made greats tr ides. New impl emen ts have been invented , new modesof cu l tu re have been int roduced , and great improvementhas been made in the b reeds of catt l e , sheep

,and othe r

an imals. B ut w i th a ll th is i t is di fficu l t to determinewhethe r farm ing is mo re p rofitab le than i t was lastcentury , or whether farmers are as a body comparat ivelybette r off mate r ial ly. In tel l ectual ly and soc ial ly

,the con

di t ion of the tenan t farmer is much bette r. The l i ttl e

H istbry ofWe st Durham.

FARMERS AND FARM ING. 37

educat ion the sons o f farmers got last cen tu ry was

gene ra l ly in the w in te r mon ths,in the inte rva l between

harves t i ng and sp r ing sow ing. In Summe r they wo rked

from fou r o ’clock in the mo rn ing ti l l e ight at n ight,and

at othe r seasons from sun r ise to tw i l igh t,so they “ rose

early and took res t late They we re obliged‘

to tu rnthei r hand to anyth ing and eve ryth ing. As a local bal ladexp resses i t

The farme r ’s son wa s taught to p lough and sow

A nd in summe r l ikew ise to reap and mow.

W i thou t doubt th e young farme r a l so ate the bread of

carefuln ess. H is breakfast u sual ly cons is ted of brown

bread and m i l k , and in w in te r , when the latte r was scarce ,hasty puddi ng and c rowdy w e re subst i tu ted. For dinn e r

he got pudd ing or dumpl ing , and potatoes,w i th a smal l

po rtion of an ima l food. For suppe r he had brown bread

and milk , o r po tatoes and milk , t reac le bee r be ing used as

a subst i tu te when mi lk was scarce.The re is also a great con t ras t between the daughte rs of

p resent-day farmers and those of a pas t gen e rat ion.Fancy th e young ladi es of the p resen t day go ing to

chu rch in black bonne ts , cotton gowns,we l l -blackened

shoes , and s tockings as wh i te as snow,w h i l e the ha i r

was n eatly parted ove r th e forehead,instead of being

fr i zzl ed and made to resemble the head feathe rs of a

Poland fow l! A Du rham ba l lad wh i ch was w r i tten


hal f a centu ry ago shows that new-fangled not ions had

a l ready begun to tu rn the heads of the young women

The farme rs ’ daughte rs forme rly w e re taugh t to ca rd and sp in ,

And by the ir own industry good husbands they could w inB ut now the card and sp inn ing whe e ls have to take the ir chance ,Wh i le they hop off to boarding schoo ls to le arn to s ing and dance.

Some idea of the condi tion of the farme r last centu rymay be gathe red from the househo l d books of the anci en tfamily represented by the present baronet of Axwel l , S i rHen ry C lave ring. The renta l of his ances to r , S i r Thomas ,the seven th baronet

,Shows that th e ren ts var i ed as much

in the year 1 749 as they do now. A s seve ral famil i es havecon tinued to farm lands in the Derwen t Va l l ey and the

coun try bo rde r ing on the Tyne for gene rat ions , theenumerat ion of the fa rms in the par ishes of Whickham ,

Tanfie ld and Ryton , w i th the tenan ts’

names, and the ren t

pa id by each , possesses some inte res t. The ren ta l was

drawn up by S i r Thomas’

s agen t,Fewste r T easdal e

,and

is dated 1 749.

In Whi ckham pa rish , Wi l l iam Brown pa id £100 a year fo r Eas tand We s t Bye rmoor

,con ta in ing 184 a cre s. Ambrose Crow ley

,E sq.,

fo r 1 10 a cre s a t Axwe l l , inc luding H igh Dams , Garde n or Boa t C lose ,and E vans

’

s Banks , pa i d £86 wh i le Jame s Sad le r for H ighBroad Meadow and thre e othe r close s , 32 a cre s in a ll

,pa id £28.

Pe te r Cockram and M ichae l Whea t ley occup ied H igh South F ie ld ,South and North B rockenny Beds , and C lough C lose , 67 a cre s , andpa id £55. The re n t pa id by Will iam Smith for the park a t Axwe l la nd Gre e n Law Lane , 7 a cre s , was £9 45 . and for H igh Wood ,Scroggs

,We l l C lose , and the H igh Pa s ture , 32 a cre s , John Davison

pa id £27 143. John Wilson pa id £55 for Ho l l ing H i l l and Low

Pa sture ,Short Broom ,

Lady’

s Pa sture , Brock Ho le s , and o the rc lose s , 64 a cre s. N i cho las Spence r pa id £1 2 for Hag H i l l , 1 2 a cre sGeorge Bowe s

,E sq., for a qua rte r part of Fawdon

’

s F ie ld , 20

a cre s , pa id £10 ; Wi l l iam Hun te r pa id £25 for five close s in

Morrisfie ld , 27 a cre s An thony Newton and Wil liam'

Lamb pa id £40fo r six c lose s , 48 a cre s ; Mr. Cuthbe rt Maxwe l l for 1 1 a cre s pa id£8 ; wh i le Hugh Pa rk pa id £5 for 4% a cre s. Newfie ld , a lias WindyH i l l

, 47 a cre s , wa s occup ie d by John Dav ison ,who pa id £1 5.

Thoma s Wh ite wa s the te nan t of South F ie ld and two of Campbe l l ’sclose s , 73 a cre s , and pa id £60. The G inn C lose and pa r t of Axwe l l ,1 7 a cre s , w e re fa rmed by Mr.M i cha e l Be l l , who pa id £23. JohnNew ton occup ied Cha cke r H i l l , Broom H i l l , and Ea rle ’

s C lose ,17

a cre s , and pa id £24 ; Mr. Robe rt Ma r ley pa id £100 for 1 10 a cre s ,inc luding Wh i ckham Thorns , We ste r Haugh

,Brockwe l ls , and Ayre

’

s

C lose ; a nd John Brow n , fo r Na rrow Scr ibe , Sour Le tch and LongSpa rt le s , 43 a cre s , pa id £48. Goose Moor , con ta in ing 16 a cre s , was

re n ted by M r. John Ba rras , the re n t be ing £6. Fo r Ba ck Ga rths ,Ha lf We t Land s , Meadow S ide s , and part of Da rwen t Mouth

, 58

a cre s , Thomas Cockram and pa rtne rs pa id £72 105 . Andrew Bra ckpa id £58 for 57 a cre s , in cluding Li tt le In ta ck , Gre a t In ta ck , and

Saugh C lose. Rose a nd Lamp Acres , Easte r Haugh , and Ande rson ’

s

FARMERS AND FARM ING. 39

Meadows , 1 5 a cre s , we re in the occupa t ion of John S te phenson, a t a

rent of £1 2 1 25 . Jose ph M i lburn pa id £8 for Ha l f the R id ing , 6%a cre s ; John Arms trong pa i d £44 fo r Cow Loan , Twe lve Score

,and

four c lose s , 32 a cre s ; wh i le for North Gaps and o the r lands , 39a cre s , Ge orge Hoppe r and E l i Maddison pa i d £48. Short Spa rt le s ,7 a cre s , wa s he ld by John O rn sby, who pa id £10 and John A ins leypa id £14 for Swa lwe l l Corn M i l l and Cha cke r Bottom , 4 a cre s.House s , e tc.—Mr.Wm. New ton

,B ob Engine House s

, £3Mr.Wm.New ton ,

a house in Bye rmoo r Lane,105 . Thos.Lave rick ,

a house, &c., Burdon P la in , £2 ; John Grey, a house ,

Bye rmoor

Lane , £1 1 5 s. ; John Cook,

a house in Bye rmoo r Lane , £1 ;

John Gamwe ll,a house in Bye rmoor Lane ,

Jame s Johnson ,a

house in Bye rmoor Lane , Mr. Dan Wa lte r , a house in

Swa lwe l l, £5 ; Mrs.E l i z.Be l l , 2 house s , £3 ; Thos.B rookbank ,

pa rtof C laxton Ha l l , Swa lwe l l , £6 Jame s Ca r t

,the othe r pa rt of C laxton

Ha l l , Swa lwe l l , £1 John Pe scod,seve ra l houses in Swa lwe l l

an d y.dock s ta ith , £2 I I S.; John O l iver , a house in Swa lwe l l ,£1 Robe rt O l ive r, a house in Swa lwe l l

,E l iz. N ixon ,

Hebron ’

s House , £2 Thos.C rose r , a house Darwen t Mou th , £1 5 5 .

Joseph Ke l l , a boa t landing a t Da rwen t Mouth , £1 1 5s.In the pa rish of Tanfie ld

,Mr. Samue l New ton occup ie d three

fa rms , name ly,Andrew ’

s House ,in c luding H igh H i l l , Rabb it

Pasture , Long C lose , Ca rr C lose , M i l l Pa sture ,and Cock Shot F ie ld ,

149 a cre s , fo r wh i ch he pa id £60 ; Be ckley , 87 a cre s , in cluding LongR id ing , Pas ture H i l l , a nd We st F ie ld , re n t , £50 ; and Crookbank ,

ren t £50, in clud ing Grea t M eadow,Lime Ki l l H i l l , G i l l , and Broom

H i l l , 60 a cre s. Barkas C lose con ta ined 95 a cre s,ren t £55 , Ra lph

Barron te nan t. Thomas Sud d e s pa id £4 105 . for Cadge r B og , 8

a cre s. Mr.Wil l iam New ton and Thomas Lave rick pa id £3 108.and

£2 re spe ct ive ly for house s.In Ryton pa r ish ,

Jose ph Wi l l in pa id £35 for 2 1 a cre s ; Ma tthew

N ew ton and Thomas Rout ledge pa id £83 for 80 a cre s,in c luding

Boa t C lose , Ma labar ’

s C lose , and H igh and Low S tro the rs ; wh i leHugh Pa rk and John Pe scod pa id £13 for 19 a cre s , the Hurrocks ,Pr ingle S ta ith , and Is land. Joseph Ca rlton

’

s ren t for 1 14 a cre s was

£86. Wh ite House Pa rk , De e r C lose , and B laydon Haugh , 290

ac re s , ,w e re in S ir Thomas ’

s own hand. Ambrose Crow ley , E sq.,pa id £30 for Ho lme or Square , and Brye r C lose , 1 3 a cre s ; and

M i chae l Be l l pa id £5 fo r ha lf of S tank ley’

s Garde n , 4 a cre s. Ge orgeBu l le rw e l l wa s tenan t of Lint z ford , inc luding Haugh , We st Bank ,Ho lm e C lose

,Pa rke r Ea s t Banks , and Lamb Park , 190% a cre s , re n t

£48. Robe rt Ma son wa s tenan t of Pa ston B irks , 58 a cre s , ren t £19.

Spen Bank , 1 1 1 a cre s , wa s le t to Samue l R i chardson , who pa id £1 3.

We st She rburn Gre en , 5 1 a cre s , was fa rmed by John R i chardson ,

ren t £26 ; and he pa id £30 fo r East She rburn Gre e n , 74% a cre s.John Haswe l l pa id £35 for M iddle She rburn Gre e n , 97% a cre s ,in c luding Lady C lose R iggs , Foxho le Burn , H e l l

’

s Ho le , How l Burn s ,and Low M eadow. House s , e tc.—Wa l te r B la cke t t , E sq., a wa te rcourse a t B ladon , £10 108. G e o.Bowe s , a boa t landing a t B ladonHaugh

, £2 25 . Sam.R i cha rdson , a house a t H igh Pa rk Ga te , I os.;Jose ph Wi l l in ,

part of Ba te House , £2 5 5 .

S ir -Thomas’

s to ta l ren ta l in the se thre e pa r ishe s was 95 .

In two of them ,Ryton and Tanfie ld , w i th a tota l re n t of £663 7s.,

the tenan ts w e re £573 195 .6% d.in a rrea r.

In an add ress I to the members of th e New castl eFarmers ’ C lub in 189 1 , Professo r F ream , of London ,

1 “ Te chn i ca l Educa t ion in Agri cu lture.


remarked that wh i l e a sc ientific educat ion is not to .bewho l ly ignored as a help to farm ing , st i l l i t i s of l i tt l e val uewithout pract ica l know l edge or appl i cation. Sc i ence has

come to the rel i ef of the farmer in some respects ,and

bette red his condit ion in o the rs,but i t has not enabled

h im to dispen se w i th plough and harrow ,men and horses.

Too much atten t ion, w e fear , has been pa i d in ce rta in

quarters to the sc i ent ific educa t ion of the farmer ’s sons,

many of whom have been taught to regard agricu l tu res imply as a sci ence

,whereas i t is an industry , and one ,

mo reover , that w i l l not pay un l ess those employed in i thave l earn t to labour. “ In the sweat of thy face shal tthou eat bread is a maxim that ought to be hung up ineve ry farm-house in Durham and Northumberland.

Mos t farmers know how difficu l t i t is to get femal ehands to work in the fields. At the meeting a l luded to

,

the H igh Sheri ff of No rthumberland (Mr. Cadwa l lader J .Bates)expressed h i s be l i ef that i t wou l d be much bette r

for the women and gi rls i f they wo rked a l i ttle more ou t ofdoo rs , instead of always t r ipp ing in to the town to l earnd ressmaking. There used to be a time when a lmos t a llthe c rops were won by femal e labou r , and a confirmat ion

of th is occurs in an o ld accoun t , or , as i t is endorsed ,a note of sheering Corn ,

”for the year 1 768. The bi l l is

so in te res t ing , as giving the names of the people l iv ing at

Whickham , and the wages pa i d for th is class of labour

mo re than a cen tu ry ago ,that a copy of i t is given.

3OTH SEPTEMB ER , 1 768.—NOTE OF SHEERING CORN IN

WH ICK HAM SOUTH FIELD TH IS YEAR.

Ma ry Taylor days a t 8d .

Ha nnah O l ive rDoro thy BurtonMarga re t C la rkSa rahE l i zabe th Hun te rMa rga re t Wh itfie ldE l i zabe th E l l io ttE l izabe th DobsonE l i zabe th Rob insonMarga re t CrawfordMarga re t PurdyIsable Taylor

£ 1 17 2

FARMERS AND FARM ING. 4 1

I t wil l thu s be seen that th e women rece ived 8d. pe rday, and that a gi rl was pa i d 6d. In the mon th fo l low ing

the re i s a paymen t in anothe r accoun t to th e gi rl I sabel laTaylo r of 6d. pe r day for making straw ropes and th ere

i s a l so a paymen t of 45 . to Mary Taylo r for cove r ing

s tacks , Show ing that th i s work,w h ich is now exclu s ive ly

done by m en,was then performed by the women.

In one of the publ i cations of the S tirtees Soc i ety,The

Farm ing Book of Hen ry Bes t,the re is much cu r ious

info rmat ion respect ing the condi t ion of the agri cu l turallabou re r in th e seven teenth cen tu ry. He was much moredependen t on his mas te r than he is nowadays. Whenmen w ere engaged at the s ta tu te h i r ings

,which we re then

in force , they usua l ly made i t a condi t ion that they we reto have an o ld su i t

,a pa i r of breeches , an o ld hat

,or a

pa i r of shoes, wh i l e the ma i d se rvan ts w ere to have an

apron ,smock

,or bo th. Abou t a fo r tnight o r ten days

be fore Mart inmas,th e Chief

‘Cons table of eve ry d ivi s ion

sen t his p recep t to the petty cons tables tel l ing them to

give no t i ce to a l l mas te rs and servan ts that he intendeds i t t ing at such a place on such a day, and command ingthem to make a re tu rn of the names of a ll mas te rs and

s ervan ts. O n the day appo in ted the Chief Constable

cal l ed the maste r by name , and asked h im if he was

w i l l ing to se t such and such a s e rvan t at l i be rty. I f hewas

,he made the servan t his t i c ke t , and the se rvan t gave

h im twopence for his pa ins. In the even t of the mas te r

refus ing to give th e servan t his discha rge,the Chi ef

Con s tabl e made known what wages the’

statute a l lowed,

and he had a penny o f the mas te r fo r eve ry se rvan t thats tayed two yea rs in a p lace , or was not se t at l i be rty.Whateve r may be sa i d aga inst s tatu te h i r ings

,they had a

tendency to keep se rv ants in one place , and preven t

their roaming from one maste r to ano the r, as the yearly

bond had of mak ing th e o l d gen e rat ion of mine rs more

se ttl e d in the i r l ives and hab i ts. H irings , i t may be

added , w e re frequen tly held in a chu rchyard,

and in

making cho i c e of w omen i t was a maxim among maste rs

n eve r to h i re such as l ived too n ear thei r fri ends. The

favou r i t e d ays of remov ing from one mas te r to anoth e r


we re Tuesday and Thu rsday. Monday was accounted an

unl ucky dayM d fl

‘

ton ay I

Neve r sit.

In barga in ing w i th a man i t was usual at that t ime , as

i t i s now , to ask him what he cou ld do. When th is

question was put to a young fel low he is sai d to have

made the fol low ing answe r

I can sow ,

I can mow ,

And I can sta ck ,And I can d oMy ma ste r too

When he turns his back.

Wo rking men gene ral ly are apt to cavi l w i th the i r lot ,but in Northumbe rland and Durham the agr i cul tu ra llabou rer earns fa i r wages , and i s bette r fed and morecomfortable and enjoys greate r freedom than his sou the rn

fe l lows, and , on the who l e , he has l i ttl e to find faul t w i th.

A glance at his past h isto ry w i l l enable h im the bette rto unders tand his present pos i t ion. People often talken thus iast ical ly of the good o ld t imes w i thou t know ingmuch about them. In the year 1 530 ,

the merry times of

that arch-scoundrel K ing Hen ry the E ighth (the tongue ofthe man that sa i d such a th ing wou l d have been d rawn

and his head cu t off 362 years ago), the man who wou ld notwo rk was publ icly whipped

, afte r wh ich the upper partof the gristl e of his right ear was clean cut off.I O n theaccess ion of Edward V I.

,a law was passed whe reby ,

when a labou re r ran away from his maste r , the latte r hadthe power to mark him on the forehead or bal l of thecheek w i th a hot i ron. He then became his maste r ’ss lave for l ife

,and i f he ran away aga in the offence became

felony , and he was to suffe r the pa ins of death. Themaste r might put a ring of i ron abou t the neck

, arm,o r

l eg of his s lave to prevent his runn ing away , and therewas a penal ty on any person help ing him to take i t off

,

and i f the s lave res isted correct ion he was to be executedas a felon. H e might a lso be so l d by his mas te r o r

devised by w i l l as othe r goods and chatte ls. This s tatu te,

i t is true,was repeal ed three years afte r

,bu t noth ing can

E ncyCIOpr—e dia Britann i ca.

C H A P T E R V I .

OLD SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS.

Ecc les iast ica l Wea lth of Durham.—Educa t ion Forme rly in the

Hands of the C lergy.—Ignorance of Working C lasse s in the

E ighte enth Ce ntury.—A Schoo l a t Che s te r- le -S tre e t.—Schoo lsLicensed by the B ishop.—Early Educa t iona l Efforts in the

D ioce se.—A Durham Schoo l N ine ty Yea rs Ago.—Durham

Tra in ing Co l lege.—System of Tea ch ing Revo lut ion ized.

NOTWITHSTANDING the eccles iast i ca l w ea l th of thediocese of Du rham ,

its sp i r i tual dest i tut ion and

moral darkness upwards of a cen tu ry ago were thereproach of the ne ighbou r ing dioceses , wh ich , a l thoughless favou red in their endowments , yet s trove to advancein both respects in p roport ion to the i r inc reas ing weal thand popu lation. In Du rham , as in o the r places , therecogn ized system among the bishops and cle rgy of non

res idence and plura l i ti es kept the masses in sp i ri tualdarkness. The exten t to w h ich th is pern i c ious systemwas carri ed may be gathered from the fact that dur ing theepiscopate of Bishop Chandle r i t was reported to h islordsh ip that the ho lde r of a ri ch l iv ing in Northumberland had been ah absen t ee fifteen years

,and that in fact

he had neve r set foot in the parish The educat ion of thepeople was practica l ly in the hands o f th e poor cu rate,who occas iona l ly , as did the h istorian of No rthumberlandat Lanchester in his early days , increased his pal trystipend of £25 or £30 a year by teach ing the vi l lageschool , the managemen t of which was usual ly in the handsof trustees , who no t infrequen tly

,from var ious causes

,

found themselves two or th ree years in arrea r. Unde rsuch a system i t is not surpris ing that the ch i ld ren of thepoor received l i ttl e o r no education. We find an illlustra

tion of th is in the fact that out of the n ineteen men-who

s igned the yearly bond at Byermoor Pi t , in 1779 , on ly th ree

OLD SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMA STERS. 45

w e re ab l e to w r i te the i r names. John Buddle was the

fi rst to at t empt to extend the benefi ts of educat ion to them in ing classes , al though h i s efforts met with cons i derabl eoppos i t ion , that , too ,

du r ing the ep iscopate of the gen ialand l earned B i s hop But l e r. In the year 1 76 1 , Buddle set

up a pr i vate schoo l at Cheste r- le-S treet but one Thomas

R i dl ey, of the same . place , gen tl eman , who ev iden tly

regarded a l itt l e l earn ing as a dangerous thing ,exhibi ted

art i cl es in the Eccl e s iast i cal Cou rt aga ins t him for so

do ing. At that t ime no man migh t teach schoo l o r

instruct chi ld ren e i the r publ i c ly or p r ivate ly, w i thou t fi rs t

hav ing obta in ed an au thor i ty or l i cense unde r the hand

and s eal of the B ishop ; and as the p itmen’

s in struc to r

had non e of these th ings , he was o rde red to be canon i cal ly

corrected and pun ished , bes id es be ing condemned in a ll

lawfu l expenses of the su i t. The manusc rip t records of

th i s tr ial w e fou nd in the B ishop ’s Regis t ry on the Palace

G reen,and they are inte resting as showing the d iflicu lties

that bese t ear ly p ri vate educat ional efforts in the d iocese.The treasu re r of the fi rst pub l i c schoo l in Durham was

Mr. Wil l iam Sh ie l ds,and i t is a cu r ious fac t that h i s

g randson ,the late M r.John Shi elds , of Weste rn L odge

,

shoul d have been e le cted to act in that capac i ty in

connexion with the No r th-Easte rn Coun ty Schoo l,

opened at Barnard Castl e in 1886. The palatia l bu i l d ings

of th e latte r , w i th its maste rs and large s taff of teache rs,

affo rd a s tr i k ing con tras t to the las t-cen tu ry schoo l.The re w as no cons t i tu ted au tho r i ty in enforc ing attendance in those days , bu t the maste r

’

s powe rs,neve rthe less

,

far exceeded those possessed by the modern Schoo l Board,

inasmuch as he cou ld fine eve ry scho la r one farth ing, and

each ass is tant teache r one halfpenny , for eve ry hou r’

s

absence from schoo l ; and he l ikew i s e had the powe r of

expel l ing any scholar seen playing or i d l ing abou t the

s treet. In the gi rls ’ departmen t of the schoo l,

five

sp inn ing wheels we re kept constan tly employed ; and,

according to the rules , the ass is tant mistresses , whos e

du ty i t was to supe r intend the working of the mach ines,

w e re obl iged to attend at seven o’clock in the morn ing

,

and rema in as long afte r schoo l t ime in the even ing as

the mi st ress m igh t d i rect , in o rde r to c lean the schoo l


room, and to ass i s t the mi s tress in any of her househo l dconce rn s.The jubilee of the Durham Tra in ing Co l l ege for Schoo lmaste rs was held in 189 1 , and marked an epoch in theeducat iona l p rogress of No rthumberland and Durham.The found ing of the col l ege fifty years ago revo lut ion izedthe system of teach ing in ou r v i l lage schoo ls. Then , as

M r. Bernays recen t ly remarked in the B ede Col leg e

M agaz ine ,the schoo lmaste r was usual ly a man who had

fa i l ed in every oth e r wa lk of l i fe , or whose misfortune itwas to be deprived of the u sual complemen t of l imbs.And the con t ras t between the teach ing of th e pas t andpresen t is st i l l greate r i f we go two o r th ree decadesfu rthe r back. In the co l l i e ry d is tr i cts

,ch i ld ren we re

usua l ly sen t to work before they w e re e ight years old.. Ahundred years ago , as we have seen ,

few of the p i tmen of

Durham cou ld w ri te the i r names. The chi l dren of t radesmen and the middle class w ere bette r off

,the i r educat ion

be ing gene ra l ly attend ed to by the cu rate of th e pari sh,

who had no o the r means of augmen t ing his scan ty income,

but those of the wo rk ing classes rece ived l i ttl e or no

educat ion. Ve ry frequen tly the on ly object of th e parentin

'

sending them to schoo l was to get them ou t of the way.

The bu rden of a homely d is t ich appl i ed to him says thatthe vi l lage domin i e taught his scho la rs a l l he cou l d

,w h ich

was not much,as a ru l e , w e fear. A re you the schoo l

maste r P” asked a gentl eman who vis i ted one of the old

t ime schoo ls. Y es , s ir.”

And what d o you teach thech i ld ren P” Nothing , sir. Noth ing—how is that P”

Because , repl i ed the man,w i th characte ris t i c s impl i c i ty

,

I know noth ing myself. I took care of th e squ i re ’shorses for a number of years , and when I go t too o ld for

that they sen t me here to take care of the ch i l dren.”

The o ld gen eration of schoo lmas te rs is a lmos t extinct.Of those who taught in our schoo ls befo re the inaugu rat ionof the Du rham Tra in ing Col l ege

,v e ry few su rvive. Thei r

method of teach ing was prim itive and at t imes ve ryamus ing. O n one occas ion , abou t tw en ty yea rs ago , w e

entered a schoo l , and found a group of boys on the i r kneesin the middl e of the room. Befo re them

,spread out on

the floor , was a map , and they were trying to find out th e

OLD SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS. 47

s i tuat ion of Card igan Bay. In the i r search they we regu i ded by the mas te r

, w ho ,

'

as the i r finge rs trave l l ed nearto or away from the spot , a l te rnate ly kep t cal l ing out

,

“ Co l d l” Colde r!” Co l d as i c e!” Hot!” “ Ho tte r!”Hot as fi re!” th e last-named ejacu lat ion l eading to the

d i scove ry of the p lace sought for.The schoo l - room fu rn ishes many funny stories. O ne of

th e best that we eve r heard we had from the l ips of M i s s

Watson,head-mist ress of the Du rham Gi rls ’ Pract is ing

S choo l. S he had given her pup i ls an accoun t of Jacob

and h i s twe lve sons , and had drawn a pi ctu re ‘

of Joseph

and his coat of many co lou rs. At the c lose of he r remarks

she summar ized the lesson , and w i sh ing to convey themean ing that Joseph was his father ’s favou r ite son ,

she

aske d w hat the lat te r must have been to dese rve such a

mark of h i s favou r. She was both amazed and convu l sed

when a ve ry young miss held up he r hand and tr i umphan tly

excla imed,

A masher

C H A P T E R V I I.

THE OLD SH I PS OF THE TYNEAND WEAR.

F irst Life -boa t a t South Sh ie lds.—Ren t of the Fe rry a t the Mouth of

the R ive r Tyne 300 years ago.—Ancient To l ls for Anchorage at

North Sh ie lds.—A Pe r i lous Voyage.—Early Wre cks a t Sh ie lds.Pr ivate e rs.—De script ion of O ld Co l l ie rs —D iary of a SunderlandSkippe r of the Las t Cen tury.—Profits and Losse s in CarryingCoa l.—Cost of a Voyage to Portsmouth in 1 770.

—The O ldBa l last Wharve s a t Sunde rland.—Sa i lors ’ Wage s.—R iva lrybe twe e n the Thame s and the Tyne.—H is tory of Sunde r landFe rry.—Ke e ls on the Wea r. - Increase of Exports a t Sunde rland.—Ke e lme n F ined fo r Working on Sunday.

T seems bu t yeste rday that the ill-fated sh ip S tan ley

struck on the Black M iddens , at North Sh ields. Yettw enty-eight years have elapsed s ince th

'

e shri eks of thec rew w ere heard above the how l ing sto rm that November

n ight in 1864. And i t was about this t ime a hundred and

th ree years ago ,in 1 789 , that the fi rs t l i feboat was bu i l t at

Sou th Shi elds. Her conception was due to the loss of the

Adven ture , a Newcas tl e sh ip , whose c rew , l ike the

S tan ley’

s,d ropped from her r igging one by one , as She lay

stranded in the p resence of thousands of spectators,not

one of whom cou ld rende r ass istance to the d rown ing men.

A mighty change has taken place at the mouth of ther i ve r s ince Grea thead

’

s boat fi rs t b reas ted the waves at

Sh iel ds bar. B ut greate r far must be the transfo rmat i ons ince th e days of Queen Bess. The p resen t magn ificen tb reakwate r at e i the r s i de of the rive r was then u

'

ndreamt

of. The passage at the mou th then was by fe rry-boat , asnow ; but i t was on the s trong arms of the hardy fe rry

man ,and often on his cou rage , that its safety depende d.

At that time the ferry was under the j u r isdi ct ion of theB i shop of Durham , and w e l earn from an o ld manusc rip t

in Bishop Cos in’

s Lib rary that the rent pa i d in respec t of th is

TH E OLD SHIPS OF THE TYNE AND WEAR. 49

was 65 .8d. pe r annum. Some i dea of the grow th of the

Tyne ’s comme rce du r ing the pas t 300 years may be fo rmedwhen i t i s s tated that the to l l s

,customs

, and p rofi ts for theancho rage of sh ips

,boats , and othe r vessels at North

Sh i e l ds we re l e t by the B i shop for th e yearly ren t of

£3 65 . 8d. O ne of the ear l i est , as wel l as th e mos t

peri lous,voyages from the Tyne , of which we have any

wr i t ten reco rd , was that made by col l i e rs du r ing the re ign

of Edward the Thi rd. When th e K ing improved h i s

res idence at W indso r , i t was found that th e o rdinary fue l

was insu ffic i en t to keep the forges go ing , and accordingly

the mas te r of the wo rks ins tructed the Sheriff of Northumberland to purchase 726 chal d rons of coal at Win laton.These

,w hi ch cost 1 5 . 5d. per chal d ron , we re conveyed by

keel to Newcastl e , and thence sh ipped to London. A

mighty tempes t arose du ring the voyage,and part of the

cargo had to be th rown overboard to preven t the co l l i e rs

s inking.

Many a ga l lan t sh ip has been cas t ashore on ourNorthEas t coast s ince those days. A manusc rip t book w hi ch

belonged to Mr.John Douglas , a Newcast l e Town C l e rk

nearly a couple of centu ri es ago , enables us to give an

un recorded chapte r in th e early sh ipping and comme rce ofth e Tyn e. The re is an accoun t of a sh ipw reck at th emou th of th e r i ve r 1 62 years ago. In May,

1 730 ,a ship

cal l ed the Nel l of Ro tte rdam , Co rnel i us Landme t te r

maste r , laden w i th brandy and othe r merchand ise,whi ch

she had in va in t r i ed to sel l in I re land and Scotland,was

making for the Tyne , and when o ff Dunstanborough

Cast l e she w as met by H is Maj esty ’s sh ip the D ea l Castle ,

Capta in M ead commande r , who forthw i th took possess ion

of the Nel l , sending six of his own m en on board of he r.Capta in Landmette r and two of his c rew he o rde red on

board his own sh ip,the D ea l Castle , and kept them the re

til l Tynemouth Haven was reached , when he sen t them

back to the Nel l , accompan i ed by the ch ief mate of the

Dea l Castle and a pi lot , who had instruct ions to take the

sh i p up the r ive r. In en ter ing , howeve r , the Nel l was.

sunk by be ing th rown upon the H u rd , a sand at the mouth

of the harbou r , by which the ship was sunk and the men

lost al l thei r effects. The owne rs of the Nel l regarded the


se iz ing of the i r sh ip as a high-handed proceeding ,and they

consu l ted the ce lebrated Geo rge Grey , then a counsel lorat- law in Newcastl e

, as to the l ega l i ty of Capta in M ead’

s

conduct. H is opin ion is dated Ju ly 7 , 1 730 ,and is in the

fol low ing wo rds Ye ship be ing taken a t sea ,tho sunk

in ye mouth of ye harbou r , I am of op in ion yt ye proper

remedy is in the Admi ra l ty , by action aga inst ye capta in

o f ye man of war fo r ye damage susta ined both of ye ship

and goods. I am a l so of opin ion yt an ac tion of trover

wi l l lye for ye sh ip.”

From the same sou rce we learn that on the 18th of

S eptember,1 720 ,

eleven ships we re lost at the mouth of

the Tyne. I t is so stated in the affidavi t of E l i sha Hun te r,

maste r of th e sh ip Speedwel l , who says that two of his

men,John Barton and Thomas Smith

,were so benumbed

that they los t the use of.the i r l imbs whil e ano ther man,

Wil l iam A l l en ,had two of hi s fingers “ burst ” off. O n

the 2nd'

day of September , 1 706 , the maste rs of several

sh ips w ent before the same notary and made oath “ that i ti s mora l ly imposs ib le for us to get to Russ ia th i s year.”

S torms w e re not the on ly dange r that th reatened themar ine r. In 1708, the A nn of Newcastl e

,laden with corn

and w ine , was taken prize off Tynemouth Bar by a Frenchprivateer. I t was agreed to ransom her for £75 , for thepaymen t of whi ch the mas te r sen t one of his m en , JohnKel ly

, on board the privatee r as hostage. Anothe r Tyne

sh ip , laden w i th corn and he rrings , was taken prize by aprivatee r of twen ty -fou r guns belonging to Os tend. The

capta in of the p r i vatee r ca rri ed off al l the herrings , as wel l

as the clothes belonging to the men o f the A nn, bu t he

condescended and agreed that the corn aboard should beransomed fo r £80 ,

which the mas te r agreed to give, and

s en t his son capt ive aboard the pri vatee r for the saidransom money.”

These engagemen ts between p rivatee rs and the loca lships w e re often w i tnessed by the dwel le rs on the coast

,

who in turn w e re always on the look-ou t for flo tsam and

jetsam. There were cattl e- l ifte rs and freeboote rs in landbu t we fear that some of these res i den ts on the coas t weremore to be dreaded than those who made noctu rna l

d escen ts upon the cattl e of thei r neighbours across the


upon whi ch the wax- l ights and candles are placed in thechu rch of Sadberge.Wreckers were not the on ly dange r that sa i lo rs had

to encoun te r. In the Open sea pi rates abounded , and

sca rcely a day passed w i thout a b ru sh with these beingreported. So great was this dange r that in 1 628 a p rocla

mation w as issued ‘ proh ib i t ing the go ing or re tu rn ing of

any sh ip to or from the Tyne w i thou t convoy. In Apri l ofthat year the commanders of th ree of these convoys to

New castl e co l l i ers repo rted an engagement w i th Dunki rksh ips. O ne of these was chased , but got cl ear away. O n

s tand ing in to the sho re they came ac ross five more of

them , great sh ips , and of too much force for them to

deal w i thal.” The commanders of the convoys appeal edfor mo re ships to be sen t

, otherw ise they were l i ke tofind the coas t too hot. The fo l low ing year

,the E ndeavour

of Newcastle , w i th th ree other sh ips , had a fight w i th two

great Dunki rk sh ips , by whom they we re taken. Twen tys ix sh ips of the K ing of Spain w ere then at sea. A

Berw i ck ship was al so captu red , and the captain reportedhav ing seen abou t forty sa i l of pi rates , bes i des Span ishsh ips. At that time three hundred ships w ere in the Tyneready to be laden for London and othe r places but thepresence o f the p i rates kept them in port. There was in

consequence a great scarci ty of coals in London ,and th is

l ed to a protes t being sen t to Newcastl e , in whi ch theLo rds of the Admiral ty complain that the commanders of

the ships appo in ted to convoy the Newcastl e col l i e rs were

not perfo rming thei r duty.When the o ld -fashioned col l i e rs pl i ed between the Tyne ,Wear and Thames ,

they made an ave rage of n ine or tenvoyages annual ly. They ca rr i ed from 1 30 to 200 chald rons ,and ,

in addition to the maste r , mate , and carpen te r , weremann ed by four or five seamen and two or th ree app ren

‘t ices. M uch l ight is th rown on the history of these earlyco l l i e rs by the manuscri pt diary o f Geo rge Wil k inson

, a

Sunde rland skippe r of the last ce n tu ry.I Geo rge was born

in a part of the town known as Baines’

s Lan e. He w ent

to sea at an early age , as was then the cus tom, and by

1 The fa c ts se t forth in th is in te re st ing dia ry w e re con tr ibute d to

the Newcastle Da ily Ch ron icle.

THE OLD SHIPS OF THE TYNE AND WEAR. 53

s teady , plodding indu st ry became the owne r of a couple offamou s co l l i e rs , the B etty, named afte r an on ly daughte r

,

and the B r iton. The first-named sh ip was mostly engagedin the ove r-sea t rade

,whi l e the latte r invar iably sa i l e d

between the Wear and the ports of London ,Portsmou th

,

Lymington , and Sou thampton. Mr.W i l k inson seems tohave nav igated both sh ips in turn

,and in his dia ry

,wh i ch

we possess , he hasl

ente red a most m in u te accoun t of theexpen ses incu r red du ring each voyage

,togethe r w i th the

p rofi ts ar is ing the refrom. O n the 16th of May,1 770 ,

hesa i l ed in the B riton w i th 195 cha l d rons of Pon top

coals , wh i ch he so l d at Portsmou th for £2 19 75 . 6d.

H is disbu rsemen ts,

as wi l l be seen,

amounted to

£ 196 145 . 8% d ., l eav ing a p rofi t on the voyage of

£22 1 25 . 1od .

16To 195 cha ldrons of Pon top coa ls 66

Ke e l due s, £7 65 .8d. custom house , £8 14s 7d. 16

3 cw t.of bread a t £2 1 1 5 . two bushe ls of peas , 9 5 .

Be e f and sma l l be e r a t Sh ie ldsTrimming

,p i lo tage

,and postage

Foy boa t an d cob lem en In Sunde rlan d RoadThe sa i lors heaving ba l lastA coa l shove l

,25 .6d. sa l t , 25 .6d. foy boa t , 5 5 .

B locks, sheave s and p ins , 3 5 .6d. expe nse s , 1 5 s.

Wash ing the boys ’

sh irts , z s. cooking la st voyage , 7s.6d.Me nding a be e f tub

To bond e n try and re turn , 1 5 5 . duty a nd l ights ,

ha

!

ha

N\O

OO

O

U1

\I

O\

OO

O

H

O

10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

w

O

O

O

O

O

O

H

UI

QO

£54 148 8/ d 55 9Butche r ’s b i l l , £5 5 5 .9d. sa ck , 9 5 . 5 14 9Me tage , £3 40 ton s of ba l last , £2 105. 6 o 0

Four coa l baske ts and a load of wa te r 0 4 10

Suppe r to the me rchan t , 1 3s. fre sh meat and bread , 7S. 1 o 0

To Ricka rby, 105 .6d. ; Adamson , 7s.6d. oakum , 5 s. 1 3 0

To gin instead of sma l l bee r, 14s. sa lt , 45 . o 18 0

To the due s , 105 . to be e f unpa id for last voyage , £1 1 7 o

Sa i lors ’

wage s , £18 45 .6d ma ste r’s d o.and expense s ,£10 1 5 . 28 5 6

Cooking, 75 .6d.; foy boa t in to the harbour, 1 1 5 .6d. 0 1 9 0

To heaving ba l last o 5 o

This sum of 5 5 .was un i fo rmly given to the sa i lors whenbal last was l ifted , and i t was u sual ly supp lemen ted by a

p l en tifu l a l lowance of sma l l bee r. Sometimes,when ha l f

a-dozen sh i ps we re ly ing alongside the bal last wharf, a'

good dea l of squabbl ing took place for p recedence. When

a vesse l was un loaded , i t was the p racti ce of the others to

s lacken the i r moor ing ropes to a l low he r to move out of

he r be rth. Th i s they occas ional ly fa i l e d to d o at the


prope r time, and se rious consequences fo l lowed more than

once. An amus ing,but w i tha l tragic , inc iden t occu rred in

connexion w i th one of these bal las t Wharves , whi ch , fortyyears ago ,

was own ed by M ess rs. Jonassohn and Co.

Three vessels were lying a longs i de wa i t ing to be un loaded.Next the quay was an Engl ish schoone r , next the schoone rwas a French lugger , and next ou ts i de the lugge r was a

la rge French vessel,of wh ich Joseph Peyre was mate. A

man named Greenwood had charge of the w harf, and

,

when the schoone r had un loaded , he cal l ed on the crewsof the lugger and F rench vesse l to slacken. Peyre ’s on lyresponse , howeve r , was a laugh , whereupon Greenwoodrepeated the cal l in F rench. The Frenchman sti l llaughed , and sa id , No ,

no!” on whi ch Greenwoodexcla imed that he wou l d lacher un peucable, mean ing hewou l d loosen the rope from the mooring post i f Peyre didnot loose i t on board. He then p roceeded to loosen the ropefrom the mooring post , and the Engl ish schooner moved

out of he r berth. While th i s was go ing on,someone

cal l ed out that the mate had a gun. He was seen to geton board the lugge r , knee l down

,rest the gun on the

bu lwark,and take aim. Neve r having had a quarre l w i th

the man , and bel i ev ing i t to be a joke , Greenwood pickedup a s tone and threw i t towards the mate.

’

Peyre thereupon once more took aim

, and d ischarged his p iece. Thecon ten ts lodged in the foreman ’

s head and co l lar bone ,and the s igh t of one eye was total ly destroyed. Whenthe mate was tri ed for the offence at Du rham Ass izes

,he

p l eaded his igno rance of the custom of the port as someexcuse , and the judge not w ishing to deal harshly w i thh im

,he rece ived the l ight sen tence of six months ’

i mprisonmen t.

Betw een the 26th of February , 1 770 ,and January 3rd ,

1 772 ,the B r iton made s i xteen voyages

,the B etty making

fou rte en du ring the same period. Some of the i tems

of expend i ture are inte resting , as show ing the cost ofa sh ip ’s furn i tu re and the wages pai d to sa i lors at th ist ime. S i x yards of canvas cost 45 . 6d., and £9 1 5 . 1 1 d.

was pa id for fixing a new topsa i l. The tota l amoun td isbu rsed for wages during a voyage to and from Londonwas £35 45 . Of this the maste r got £6 the mate


and carpente r£6 1 5 5 .between them ,five sa i lo rs we re pai d

£ 1 2 1 5s., and £9 45 .was pai d in labou re rs ’ wages. Two

port sa i ls cost 1 25 . 6d., and a h i ckory handsp ike 1 5

Forty tons of bal last cos t £2 and a couple of shi l l ingswe re pa i d for a speaking t rumpet. A new 4

-hou r glasscost 4s., and a 2-hou r glass 25 . The mete r and l ightermenwe re not ente rta ined to suppe r l i ke the merchan t to whomthe cargo was so l d , but they had sundry dr inks , wh ich

cost 65 . Two sh i l l ings worth of w ine was given to th e

Cu stom H ou se office rs , bu t why th is was subst i tu ted fora mon ey paymen t o r a t ip does not appear. A tSou thampton a mishap occu rred to the B r iton

’

s anchor.At Dea l a new anchor was

'

purchased for £ 1 3 8s., and a

sum of £2 45 . 6d. was pa i d to a boat for seek ing the old

ancho r. During a voyage to London,the appren t i ces on

board th e B r iton mu t in i ed,and the maste r pa i d 1 7 5 . 6d.

for conveying them to B r i dewe l l , and the i r keep there costh im a fu rthe r sum of £2 1 3s. 2d. I t is noteworthy thatdu r ing th i s voyage the maste r had , at the c rew

’s request,

given them gin instead of th e u sual smal l bee r.

O n the 1 3th of Septembe r , 1 77 1 , the B etty sa i l ed

w i th 1 3 1 chal drons of South Moor coa ls , for whichshe pa i d 1 5 5 . 6d. pe r chal d ron , and sold at the po rt

of Newhaven for 25s. pe r chald ron. The du ty on

the cargo amounted to £32 1 5 . 3d. Her next

voyage was to W isbeach w i th 1 34 chald rons of Harraton

Moor coal s , wh i ch she bought at 1 5 5 . 6d. and so l d for

1 9s. pe r chal d ron. The total of what she made out

was £ 1 27 105 . 9d., wh i l s t he r disbu rsemen ts amoun ted

to £ 1 20 35 . 6d., l eaving a profi t on the voyage of on ly

£7 7 5 . 3d . The B etty’

s subsequen t voyage to Sch iedam ,

in Ho l land , was equa l ly unsatisfactory. He r cargo con

s i s ted of 1 18 chald rons of coals , which sol d for£ 1 66 5 5 .6d.

The expen ses amoun ted to £ 1 62 1 1 5 .8d., l eav ing a p rofi t

of £3 1 35 . 1od. These facts Show that shipp ing was not

a p rofi tabl e bus ine ss a centu ry and a quarte r ago.

A hundred years ago ,when the wooden wal l s of o ld

Eng land we re the foundat ion and bu lwark of he r p re

em in ence in the eyes of Europe , i t u sed to be the boast of

the Thames sh ipbu i lde rs that thei r vessels we re super iorboth in po in t of mate r ials and wo rkmansh ip to those bu i l t


on the Tyne and other r ive rs on the North-Eas t coast. .Theoak of th e south was supposed to be bette r than thatgrown in the North-country ; the bo i l ing ki lns on the

Thames w ere sa i d to warp the timber mo re expedi tious lythan the old -fash ioned bu rn ing process in vogue on theTyn e ; and i t was c laimed that the i r sh ips we re puttogethe r w i th greate r atten tion to shift of t imber and

plank,that they used longer floor t imbers

,more dead

wood , and that the bo l ts they used were mo re in number,

larger in s ize , and bette r dr iven. Not on ly so,but they

boasted that the i r Sh ipwr ights were superior in ab i l i ty tothose reared on the northern r ive r , and Tynes ide bu i ldersw ere taun ted w i th seduc ing Sh ipw r ights from the southe rnr iver.

Before Row land Burdon con ce ived the idea of connectingthe two W earmouths with a bridge

,the people thereabouts

were ferr ied across the r ive r in boats. The ferry belonged

to the B ishops of Durham , and a l ease of i t occurs as far

back as the year 1 1 54. In 1 66 1 i t was l et to the Ett ri ckfamily , and so con t inued unt i l 1795 , when i t was pu rchasedby the Commiss ioners of Wearmouth Bridge. The ferry

was farmed by the E t tri cks to u nde r-tenan ts , who latterlyp rovi ded the boats and repa i red them. Thei r condi tion

was sometimes a matte r of compla in t'

to the Bishop , one

w r i te r remark ing that they were in such a c razy and

tatte red cond i tion that his lordsh ip ’s dog , w i thout he was

a most excel l en t sw immer , wou ld hes i tate before c rossingthe water in them.

I The progress i ve advance of Sunderland canno t be bette r shown than in the figu res affordedby the books of the E ttri ck fami ly

,giv ing the amoun t of

the rent paid for the ferry during a period of 100 years

Y EAR. is YEAR.1 683 Let for 60 1766 Let for 1 78

1 69 1 n . 70 1 769 180

1 7 1 9 u . 100 1 779 200

1 720 n . 1 20 1 782 220

1 753 u . 1 58 1 785 250

1 763 u . 1 68

I These fa cts we re ob l igingly commun i ca te d to the wr ite r by Mr.Ra lph Ne lson , of B ishop Auckland.


O n the Wear , coa l i s s t i l l sen t down from the n eighbourhood of Pen shaw j u s t as i t was two hund red yearsago. The baff Satu rday quest ion had no t th en c ropped

up , for some of the keelmen w ere so indifferen t about

weekday and Su nday that they !pl ied the i r cal l ing on theday se t apart for rest. The matte r became so notor iousin the years 1685

-6 that the Eccl es iasti cal Cou rt inte rfe red ,and many of the men w e re fined. I t was abou t th i s t ime

that the exports of Sunde rland began to inc rease. Coalhad been expo rted from the Wear as early as th e fourteenth

cen tu ry , but on ly to a l im i ted exten t , Ow i ng to the

shoa l ines s of th e chann el at the mouth o f the rive r. The

harbou r then was so choked up w ith sand that the co l l i e rswe re obl iged to coa l in the road. A s on the Tyne ,occas iona l ly the keels w e re so deeply laden by the fi tte rsthat the l i ves of the men we re endangered. Somet imesthey car r i ed ten and el even cha ld ron s ,

w i th wh ich they

cou l d not s tand when the w ind was h igh. A rep resentat ion

on the i r part gave r ise to a movemen t wh i ch in many

respects resembled th e Pl imso l l agitat ion ,and was attended

w i th p reci s e ly s im i la r resu lts. Both on the Tyn e and theWear

,an inspecto r was appo in ted to see that the keels

w ere not ove rloaded , and if one w as thought to be too

deep laden i t was taken to th e quay and examined by the

inspecto r,who dete rmined the po in t.

C H A P T E R V I I I .

ROAD S AND RA I LWAYS.

Northumberland F irs t in Sc ience and Inven tion.—Newcast le Coachbu i lde rs. —Ea rly Mode s of Trave l l ing —Bad Condi tion of Roads.—Encoun te rs w ith H ighwaymen.—Trave l l ing on Horseba ck.The Capt iv i ty of S ir Thomas C lavering , Bart.—D iary of Trave lsthrough England.—Extra cts from Le tte rs.—Ear ly Ra i lways.The Stanhope and Tyne Line.—The Londonde rry Line.—Rap i dLocomot ion.—Remin iscence s of an O ld Engine Drive r.

THE sons of No rthumbria have been eve r fi rst in the

fie lds of sc ience and invention. They inven ted and

pe rfected the s team engine,and if they did not l ead the

way in coachmaking they have at any rate done more than

any othe rs to pe rfect i t , and to make road,locomotion

easy. The admittance of M r.Will iam Phi l i pson , partne rin the fi rm of Mess rs. Atkinson and Phi l ipson ,

and M r.

J.S.Fogge t t , a gentl eman on the s taff of the same company ,to the freedom of the London Coachmake rs

’ Company , in

1890 ,was a gracefu l t ri bute to her sons. When coaches

fi rs t made the i r appearance in Newcastl e cannot bedete rmined , a l though the new mode must have t ravel lednorthward a lmos t as fast as the new fashions do now ,

s ince mention is made of the j udges - ri ding in coaches in

the i r p rogress th rough Du rham and No rthumberland morethan two hundred years ago. I t was then usual for th eSheriff of Northumberland to esco rt the judges to theboundar ies of Cumberland , to guard them from thefreeboote rs who infested the dis tri ct. O n one occas ion ,

the road between Newcastl e and Hexham beingimpassable , the j udge was obl iged to take horse and r idemost of the way, being gua rded by the tenan ts of theseveral manors through wh ich he passed. They were a

comica l sort of people ,

”we a re to l d , rid ing upon nags

,

with long beards , cloaks , and long broad swo rds, w i th


horseback. Many old ladies among the yeoman famil iesof Northumberland can yet remember how the i r grandmothers , moun ted on p i l l ions behind the i r husbands ,t ravel l ed l e isu re ly up to town

,and made themselves

famil iar with the mann ers and cu stoms of the c iv i l izedworld. Prev ious to the in t roduc t ion of cha i ses and

char io ts,the nob i l i ty and gen try moved abou t in veh icles

resembl ing a Noah ’s ark.”

In t ime , w i t h the improvemen t of the roads

,publ i c conveyances and p r ivate

carr iages began to t ravel a long the great thoroughfares ;but the jou rneys we re both w earisome and per i lous.

In the days when cattl e w e re driven a long the highwaysto th e southe rn markets , the herbage by the ways ide wasoften all that they got on the journey , and i t was on th isaccoun t that the roads we re set out 5 0 w ide when thetu rnpike system was adop ted about the middle of the lastcen tu ry. The condi tion of the North-count ry roads at

that time may be infe rred from the wel l-known coupletmade in commemorat ion of Gene ra l Wade ’s imp rovementof them

If you had se en the se roads be fore they w e re made ,Y ou wou ld l ift up your hands and ble ss Gene ra l Wade.

B ut even for long afte r the tu rnp ike system was

adopted, in Du rham and No rthumberland , coach

trave l l ing had its peri ls. Abou t 1 760 , the roads from

Rushyford to D urham we re so bad that Wi l l Roughead ,

gua rd of the Telegraph ,”was in w in ter p rovided w i th a

flambeau. This he carri ed befo re the coach , ca l l ing out

to the driver to pu t his horses to the r ight or the l eftaccording as the ho l es w ere mo re or l ess deep. And

even down to the year 18 1 1,the road between Du rham

and Darl ington was so rough that M r. Hou l t , of

Rushyfo rd ,los t no fewer than seven horses that year

by reason of broken l egs. And an occas iona l encounte rw i th a footpad o r highwayman added to the te rrors of

early travel l ing by coach. When o ld peopl e se t out on a

journey they no t unfrequently made up a pu rse for theh ighwayman ,

and concea l ed the res t of the money abou tthei r persons , in order that on being stopped they m ighthand i t out as a species of blackma i l to pu rchasepermiss ion to pass w i thout search. In the early par t of

ROADS AND RA ILWAYS. 6 1

the las t centu ry , the road be tween Du rham and Su nderlandwas much frequen ted by a notor ious indiv i dua l named

Robe rt D rummond , who at one time was a deal e r inhardwares at th e last-men tioned place. For stopp ingand robb ing an o ld gen tl eman in th e ne ighbou rhood of

Houghton- le-Spring he was sent ou t of the coun try,bu t

afte rwards , retu rn ing from transportat ion ,he was hanged

for a s imi lar offence. The p racti ce of retu rning fromt ranspo rtat ion , a lthough pun ishable w i th death

,was ve ry

common in those days. I t was for th i s offence that th enoto r ious S i r W i l l iam Brown rece ived sen tence of deathat New castl e. He begged earnestly to be t ranspo rtedaga in ,

bu t the j udge giv ing no ear to h im,S i r W i l l iam

broke out in to all the opprobr ious language he coul d think

of aga inst both his lordsh ip and the w ho l e cou rt. Denham,

of Pierceb ridge , in on e of h i s ra re t racts , tel ls us that,

i twas S i r Wi l l iam ’

s horse w hi ch sunk up to its knees inmud

,and tossed its r ide r n ear Tho rnton Hal l

,the seat

of Squ i re Bow es , w hi ch mishap caused the h ighwaymanto give u tte ran ce to the impromptu couple t

Who know s , but M iste r Bow e s ,

In his o ld age , may mend his ways.

The s low p rogress made on the road by our ances tors,

as compared w i th the presen t marvel lous ly rap id system

of locomot ion ,i s i l lus trated in the manusc ri pt diary of

S i r Thomas C lave r ing of Greencroft. S i r Thomas was in

France at the c lose of the second war of the Revo l u tion ,

and rema in ed a p ri sone r the re un ti l the abd icat ion of

Napo l eon in 18 14 ,when he was a l low ed to retu rn to hi s

native coun t ry. He was fond of t ravel l ing on horseback,

and in his diary he gives an i t ine rary of his jou rneyingboth in th i s coun t ry and in F rance , bes i des jott ing down

many amu s ing anecdotes of the persons whom he met inh i s t ravels. Unde r date 1 797 , the re i s an accoun t of a

tou r w i th h i s fr i end , th e Rev. James Grevi l l e , the then

Recto r of Whickham. Sett ing out from London to the

no rth by the lakes , on the i r own horses , on F r i day , the

I st of J un e , they t ravel l ed every day except ing Sunday ,when they ha l ted at Ambles ide , and ar rived at Axw el lPark the fo l low ing Wednesday , the tota l d istance of 378

mi l es having been accompl ished in th i rteen days. In


ment ion ing the ce lebr it i e s he met at Bath , S i r Thomas te l l sone o r two funny s tori es. M iss Chudl e igh (afte rwardsCoun tess of K ingston)having met Lord Cheste rfield , to l dh im how scanda lous the worl d was grown. On ly th inkthat du r ing my absence from town they have been sayingthat I have been brought to bed of tw ins.” Don ’t m indsuch i l l -natu red reports ,

”answe rs the gal lant lord for

my part,I have made i t a ru l e neve r to bel i eve more than

half of what I h ear.” The baronet ’s favou r i te horse,

Harl equ in,is affectionately referred to in the diary.

Never was th i s good old horse ,” he says , i l l or off h is

food. D ied at Greencroft in 183 1 , afte r having beentu rned ou t to grass for many years , at the age of 28. In

1832 , S i r Thomas made a two mon ths ’ tou r th roughEngland and S co tland. In speaking of the celebri ti es ofWindermere and the n e ighbou rhood

,he says , Mary of

B ut te rm ires , who was remarkable for he r beau ty, was an

innkeeper ’s daughte r. She rej ected many admi re rs,but

at last consen ted to marry a handsome s tranger , travel l ingin great s tyl e

,and cal l ing himsel f the Honou rable

Augustus H—e .’ Afte rwards i t tu rned ou t that he was

a notor ious fe lon in disgu ise.

O ne of S ir Thomas ’s mos t in te resting and pleasu rableequest rian tou rs was made in the summer of 1838 ,

when

he proceeded on his horse B lucher to Blagdon ,where

he saw his fri end S i r Matthew White Ridley , who had

supe r in tended the education of his son Will iam dur ing hisimprisonmen t in France. From Blagdon he proceeded to

Carl is l e , thence to Longtown , Langho lme , Haw i ck , and

Selk i rk. The diary con ta in s noth ing of note un ti l Abbotsfo rd is reach ed , whe re the curios i t i es of the en trance hal l

much in te rested ,the t ravel le r. Saw Rob Roy ’s pu rse ,

p ictu re of Pu rd i e , S i r Wa l te r ’s gamekeeper , the dogs cal l edN imrod and Ginger

,and a H ighland swo rd. Wen t to see

M el rose Abbey , a very fine ru in ,258 feet in l ength , 1 38 in

breadth , and the c i rcumference 944 feet. We had a veryc ivi l and in te l ligen t fema l e gu ide , and bought some viewsof he r. Next w en t to Dryburgh Abbey , a fine ru in nearthe Tweed , over wh ich is a suspens ion bridge made by theEar l Buchan. Kelso ,

1 20 miles. The C ross Keys is a

very good inn. Went to see New ton Don, a seat

ROADS AND RAILWAYS. 63

belonging to my o ld acqua intance and fel low-pr i sone r,

S i r A.Don. Saw Fleu rs,the seat of the D uke of Rox

bu rghe , a magn ificen t bu i ld ing. The View from the housei s ve ry fine and extens ive. Great a l te ration s are be ing

made the re , and when fin i shed i t w i l l be a p rince ly

res i dence. The Sp read Eagle at J edbu rgh is a cap ita lgood inn , kept by Mr. La ing. Hors l ey , 167 mi les , a longstage , part of wh ich i s in te res t ing and p retty

,with fert i l e

so i l l e t at £2 an

'

ac re.” Return ing by way ofWoodbu rnand H exham , S i r Thomas reached G reencroft on the 3othof Augus t , hav ing in S i x days cove red a distance of 2 1 2

miles. He travel l ed th rough Cumberland w i th his fri endColonel Carighan th e fo l low ing year.

“ The Bassenthwa i te ,

” he w r i tes ,“ is fou r m i les in l ength and one in

b readth. I t is p retty , but not to be compa red to the othe r

lakes e i the r for beau ty or grandeu r. The uppe r partpl eased me much , as i t had some resemblance to the Lakeof Como. The road from Cocke rmouth to Keswick l i esth rough the val e of Emble ton

, which is highly cul t ivated.Saw Derw en twate r , w hich is th ree m i les long , and in someplaces !

a mil e and a ha l f in breadth. I t did,not p lease me

so much as U lleswate r and Windermere. U l leswate r

scene ry is ve ry fine,ow ing to the lofty moun tains

,but in

my op in ion not so beau tifu l a lake asWindermere. F romU lleswat e r we w en t to Low the r Castl e , the magn ificents eat of the Earl of Lonsdal e. The re is a very fine sta i r

case of cast i ron.” S i r Thomas and his fri end drove backto Pen r ith by way of the park , in which trees hadbeen uprooted by a hu rri cane of w ind.

Du r ing S i r Thomas C lavering’

s res i dence and cap tiv ity

in F rance,he rece ived many lette rs from his nat i ve

coun try. Some of these con ta in much loca l info rmat ion.In May,

1800,beef was s el l ing in Newcastl e at a

sh i l l ing a pound. Wr i t ing on the 28th of August,

the same year , one of S i r Thomas ’s co r responden ts

says — “ Yes te rday , the Usworth , Axw el l , Gibside , and

Ry ton Vo l un tee rs w e re rev iew ed by Gene ra l Ba lfou r on

Gateshead Fel l. I t ra ined the who l e day. The Axw e l lt roop numbe red 42 , the largest number that was the re ;Usworth muste red , I th ink , 38 Gibsid e and Ryton abou t

the same numbe r. He i nspected the who l e in fron t


and rear ranks, and afte rwards they passed him in

s ingle fi l e. Afte r s taying abou t th ree-qua rte rs of an

hou r , the gen era l se t off to B rasside Moo r,nea r Durham

,

to rev i ew M r. B urdon’

s t roop , and some others in

that ne ighbou rhood.” Writ ing on the 14th of Octobe r,

180 1,the same co rrespondent says Both cattle and

sheep are u ncommon ly dea r , and l ean catt l e parti cu larly

so. I do no t know wheth er concluding a peace withFrance w i l l make any change in the pri ce of cat tle and

sheep,bu t corn is a great deal cheaper w i th in the last two

market days at Newcastl e and Du rham.” In Apri l,1802

,

oats w ere se l l ing at 25 .2d. pe r bushel , hay at £3 35 . perton ,

and cattl e at a fou rth lowe r than in the previous year.The hay harvest in 1802 was a failu re

,

'

and in J u ly i t wass el l ing at £6 105 . and as high as £7 a ton. In view of

connecting th e Team Va l l ey w i th the Annfie ld Pla in district

by ra i l,the fo l low ing lette r , unde r date Octobe r 2nd

,

1802 , is inte resting —“There is a meeting advertised to be

ho l den at Du rham , reques ting the p ropri etors of land inth e county , and othe rs , to attend and cons ide r the propriety

of applying to Pa rl iamen t fo r a bi l l to enable them to

make a canal from the Tyne , near Redheugh , to the Wear ,not far from Ches te r , or at l eas t the l ine to run nearCheste r , and from that part of the Wear to near. Kyo.The intended canal from Newcastl e to Hexham is at

p resen t n eve r spoken of.”

O n the z ud of March,1803 ,

S i r Thomas is info rmed that co rn is lowe r In NewcastleMarket at th is t ime than i t had been for seve ral years past.In the year 1806 many of the fishe ries on the Tyne w ereun l et , the number of fish taken du r ing prev ious seasonshaving been so smal l that the l essees cou l d not afford to

pay the fishe rmen’

s wages.

A wonderfu l t ran sformat ion has been effected in ra i lwaylocomot ion s ince the days when th e o ld S tanhope and

Tyn e Lin e was put down. Then the traffic was haul ed

over the dist ri ct in a most extrao rdinary fashion. Justbefore Consett was reached , the t ra ins w ere made to goup and down the almos t perpendicu lar s ides of a rav ine

1 70 feet deep , known as Howen’

s Gi l l. When a t ra inreached the terminat ion of the level ground i t was s topped

,

and one waggon at a t ime was tu rned upon a c i rcl e,w i th its

ROADS AND RA ILWAYS . 65

s i de towards the p rec i p i ce,and pu shed forward and fixed

in to a movabl e p latfo rm. This was'

on the ve ry br ink of

t he gi l l , and rested upon the ra i ls w i th its fou r wheels ,th e

two fo remos t of wh i ch be ing of large r d iamete r than the

h ind ones caused i t to con t inu e in a ho rizon tal pos i t ionwhi l e go ing up and down the s teep incl in es w i th its loadedwaggon.

There has l i kew ise been a great imp rovemen t in locomo tion s ince the old Londonde rry l ine from Sunderland

to D u rham was fo rmed. In the early days of its hi sto ry,

the col l i e ry peopl e who t ravel l ed to Sunde rland we res towed away in cove red vans attached to the coa l t ra ins.Riding in th is rough and ready s tyl e was a novel ty

,and i t

w as a t reat to see the el derly ladies bounc ing out on to

what se rved as a p latfo rm w i th the i r market baskets,l i ke

so many sheep from a t ruck. The women w e re not l essmodes t then than now. B u t the re was an unsoph ist i ca ted

ness abou t them whi ch rem inded the obse rve r of whatwoman m us t have been in the days of her p rim it iveinnocence. There was no regu lat ion respect ing the

carry ing capac ity of the carr iages , nor did the gen tl emen

as a ru l e su rrende r the i r seats to the ladies when they

w ere overc rowded. Afte r tw i ce as many had squeezedthemse lves in to a van as it wou l d comfortably ho l d

,the

femal e passengers d ropped on to the knees of the ma l epassenge rs , the backs of the heads of the fo rmer bumpingin to the faces of the latte r as the w i re rope w hich drew th emineral and th e human fre ight eve r and anon tightened

and s lackened. In th e faces of many of those who had

n eve r travel l ed in th is way befo re was occas ional ly blended

a look of fea r , admi ration and aston ishmen t. O ne d ay

we remember see ing a country lad ’s cap blown off close toPi tt ington. Woa!woa shou te d he , apparen t ly

th ink ing that th is was al l that was needed to s top the

mov ing tra in.The perfect ion of th e ra i lway sys tem was i l lustrated in

189 1 , when an office r of the Guards h i red a specia l t ra in at

Sti r l ing,and afte r a race of 1 18 mil es , whi ch was cove red

in as many minutes , overtook the ma i l at Carl is l e. As i t

i s on ly s ixty years s in ce the locomot ive was invented ,the re are pl en ty of peopl e l iv ing who can remembe r what


rai lway travel l ing was l i ke in its infancy. M r.Will iamSmith , the man who ran the fi rs t t ra in ove r the Pen shawB ranch to Sunderland , and made the fi rs t jou rney to theC i ty of Durham w i th the “ J ohn Buddle ,

”is sti l l l iv ing in

Du rham. H is earl i es t experience w i th th e locomotive asa drive r was w i th the “ M i chael Longridge

,

”whi ch ran

between Fatfie ld and Sou th Sh i elds , the s tart ing po intbe ing a hos tel ry ca l l ed afte r its buxom landlady

,

“ Fat

Nel ly.” When th e tra in commenced its jou rney i t usual lycons isted of a coupl e of carr iages resembl ing modern cattl et rucks

,to wh ich were h i tched a numbe r of coa l waggons.

The rewe re no brakes attach ed to locomot ives at this time,

and w hen i t was des i red to s top the t ra in the fi reman

w al ked or cl imbed ove r the tops of the waggons and put

d own th e hand brakes. A couple of candles placed inlarge t in lan te rns consti tu ted the engine l ights , but thesewe re in t ime superseded by the oil lamp

,which was the

inven tion of a loca l sa i lor. Prev ious to that period rear

g uards had no t been deemed necessary , and they were

on ly in t roduced when i t was fel t that the publ ic safety

absolute ly requ i red them. The experiment was fi rs t tri ed

o n Mr. Smith ’s t ra in ,and in o rde r that the new lamp

shou l d have a fa i r t ria l , the inven to r was a l lowed to

accompany i t. Whether the lamp was held in the sa i lor ’s

hand , o r attached to the h indmost waggon,M r. Smith

does not remember , bu t he has a dist inct recol lectionthat the unavo idabl e jo l t ing and bumping caused by the

g radients threw both off.


of thei r s trifes and content ions ; of the i r attempts , not

a lways ineffective,to grasp the p rincipl e of co-operat ion

,

as shown by the i r by- laws ; and of the i r relat ions

w i th th e Prior,who rep resen ted the Conven t

,and alone

s tood in relation of lord. He appears always to havedeal t w i th his tenants

,e i the r in person or th rough his

officers , w i th much cons i de rat ion ; and in the impos i tionof fines j ust i ce was invariably tempered w i th mercy.

The Court was held th rice a year,and was cal l ed the

Cou rt of the Prior. There seems to have been fourd ifferen t classes of tenan ts —First

,the v i l lan s and cotmen

,

who hel d fo r l ife ; second,the n i efs , who held at the w i l l

of the lo rd , and we re bound to res i de in the vi l l, and

suppl i ed the labour necessary for the cu l t ivat ion of thedemesne lands ; th i rd , the tenan ts o f the demesne lands

,

who held fo r te rms of years o r l ife,and whose ren ts were

payable to the Prior ’s excheque r fourth,the free tenan ts

,

who had a recogn ized estate of inheritance,and owed

homage and feal ty to the lord in his Cou rt, and were

subj ect,in some cases at l eas t

,to ren t and fines on en try.

The worldly goods of the tenan ts appear to have been of

smal l va lue. Indeed , the lo rd frequen tly supplied theplough ing oxen or horses for cu l t ivating the ho ld ing

,and

in a fresh demise the tenan t usual ly en te red on the ti l lageland once or tw i c e ploughed , from which i t m ay be infe rredthat arrangements w ere made for con tinu ing the ordinaryhusband ry operat ions when the ho ld ing was vacan t

, so as

to preven t the inconven i ence whi ch wou l d fo l low on any

part of the open fie ld rema in ing uncu l t ivated. Theregu lation a lso for manu ring , and aga inst the sal e of

manu re ou t of the various town sh ips,a lso the orders now

and then met w i th for e radicat ing w eeds,Show a des i re

on the lo rd ’s part to make the most of the so i l. Thosewho delight to t race p lace-names to the i r or igin w i l l findan in te res ting example on page 1 18 , where there is an

order on a ll the tenan ts of Edmondbyers to clear theground of go l d ” (herbanz voca tam gold). In the adjo in ingtownsh ip of M ugglesw i ck the re is now a fa rms tead cal ledGo l dhil l ,

”which may be so derived. The o rde rs made

at the Cou rt fo r the comm on w ea l of the townships,and

wh ich affected the relat ions of the tenan ts towards each

MANORIAL RIGHTS AND CUSTOMS OF DURHAM. 69

othe r , show a keen app rec iat ion of the benefi ts ar is ing

from co-ope rat ion. Thus p rovi s ion i s made for the maintenance of a common forge , to wh i ch the smith was boundto repa i r at s tated inte rva ls ; for the ma in tenan ce of the

p info l d , and aga ins t ove rbu rden ing the common pastu re

ground w i th cattl e for keep ing a common shephe rd and

harvest-man and the paymen t of the i r salar i es ; for the

main tenance of and heat ing in tu rn the common oven or

bakehou se fo r the employmen t of common brewe rs and

regu lat ing the p ri ce of ale ; for plough ing to the bes tadvantage , so as to p reven t waste of ground by leavingthe outs ides u nploughed

,or wa te r standing in the fur rows

,

and fo r fixing the t ime for tu rn ing the catt l e in to thes tubbles and preven t ing the cattl e l eav ing the townsh ip s

w i thout p rope r cus tody. In some of the v i l ls the duty of

tending the cattl e appears to have been taken by thetenan ts in tu rn.

Among the regu lat ions affect ing the cotmen , we find

them l im i ted to pas tu re for five sheep,for wh ich one cow

seems to have been an equ iva l en t,as in W earmouth.

The land occup ied w i th a cottage w as usual ly from fou r toseven ac res. In Dal ton w e find the cotmen occupying a

separate pas tu re , w h ich the husbandmen a re not to

depastu re,as they d i d befo re the mu rra in. In Ferryh i l l

the cotm en a re forbi dden to l eave the vi l l wh i ls t thetenan ts hav e wo rk to be don e. The princ ipa l wo rk of th e

cotm en appea rs to have been in harvest ing on the

demesn es of the mano r. Unde r Ferryh i l l , the tenan ts areorde red to make “ do ls (gu i de-posts), so that thosec ross ing the moo r m igh t know the h ighway. We bel i eve

that i t is no t a l lowable to burden the vo lumes of theSu rtees Soc i ety w i th notes , howeve r in te resting or ho rrific

,

or Mr. Booth m ight have in troduced a chapte r on thegu i de-pos t or stob wh i ch was se t up on the same spot

th ree cen tu r i e s late r to commemo rate the murde r of theB rass fami ly. The s treams , spr ings , and we l ls we re p ro

tected from pol l u t ion by o rders made at the Cou rt. In

East Ra in ton ,the ba i l iff is o rde red to arrest those who

p lace the i r plough- i rons in th e spring. At a subsequen tCou rt , the tenan ts are o rde red to make a pond n igh th esp r ing for coo l ing the i r plough- i rons , so as to preserve i t


from pol lu t ion. In the adjo in ing vi l l ofWest Ra inton , thetenan ts are forb idden to use the common we l l fo r washingc lothes and other th ings. S imi lar orders are made at

Wes toe aga inst 5 0 u s ing Holaw-Poo l , reserved for

wate ring cattl e and domesti c pu rposes , and a lso a watercou rse n igh the chapel. The commun i ty of the vi l l ofNether-Heworth appears to have rese rved the Smith-burnfor brew ing and making bread , and its use for wash ing isfo rb idden. B i l l ingham affo rds an instance

‘of another

nu isance from which'

th e vi l lagers w e’re able to protectthemse lves by an o rde r made at the Court , when ThomasH e rynge r is forb idden afte r Ch ristmas to make o l eum

(p robably fish oil)at home unde r the penal ty of -half amark , as a l l the tenan ts compla ined of the smel l

,and none

cou l d pass w i thout dange r.The offences for which a fine was not an exemplarypun ishmen t necess i tated the e rect ion w i th in the v i l l s of thetime-honou red s tocks.I In one instance the tenants of

Sh ields are fined for not hav ing a duck ing-stool. Judgingfrom the repeated warn ings given to the women at theCou rt in ev e ry v i l l to res tra in thei r tongues , we may

imagine that th is mode of pun ishmen t was no t infrequentlyresorted to.

2 The proceedings at both Wolv is ton and

B i l l ingham show us that troublesome servan ts , l iketroublesome chi ld ren ,

might be chas tised by the i r mastersunder the Court ’s di rection. We think that M r. Booth

w i l l agree w i th us that i t would not be w ise or safe to put

th is powe r in to the hands of employers nowadays.The duti es wh ich the tenants in the vi l lage commun i t ies

owed to the lord and their neighbours are fu rthe r exem

I It is not ve ry eviden t from the Court Ro l ls who was re spons iblefor putt ing the s tocks in requ is it ion. It may be tha t the jurors of the

v i l lage s cou ld exe rc ise the who le some discip l ine of the s tocks , or

tha t a ny one was a l lowed to hand ove r a de l inquen t to the vi llagecons ta b le , tak ing upon h imse l f the re spon s ib i l i ty. In Norton (7thS kir law), the re is a comp la in t aga ins t Will iam Ruke for orde ring theconstab le to p la ce John Spurnha re in the stocks , w hi ch it was foundin Cou rt he had done con tra ry to law , and to his injury to the amountOf 6d.

2 The v i l lage sco lds we re w e l l looked a fte r, and probably ove rthem the stocks would have a sa luta ry in te rrorem effe c t. A t

S e dgefie ld , w i th common consen t , a by- law wa s orda ined among a ll

the te nan ts a t the Cross tha t i f any w oman shou ld cause strife , orun lawfu l ly in te rmeddle in he r ne ighbours ’

affa irs , she shou ld pay to

the lord ha l f a mark.

MANORIAL R IGHTS AND CUSTOMS OF DURHAM. 7 1

p lified by the reco rd of penal t i es and ame rcemen ts infl i c ted,

and of damages assessed fo r b reaches of the condi t ions of

th e i r tenu re , or of thos e ru l e s and regu lat ions of th e

comm un i ty to wh ich they we re bound to conform. Thetenan t was obl iged to repa i r his tenemen t

, or his goodswe re l iabl e to be se ized to make good the defects. Timbe rcou l d not be out w i thou t l icense. In Edmondbyers

,John

Edeson is assessed for an oak cut down ; and unde r

Aycl i ffe there is a dis tinc t cha rge agains t the V icar of

p i l fe r ing young oak t rees. A t Will ington a tenan t i sassessed for cu l t i vat ing a c rop of oats in stead o f beans or

pease. Trespasses on the ne ighbou rs ’ co rn , as might beexpected unde r the open -fie ld sys tem of cu l t i vat ion

,are

frequen t. H irsill,or the obl igat ion of th e tenan ts to

send the i r catt l e , geese and p igs from the v i l l unde rp rope r cu stody , wou ld obviate to some exten t the wan t offences , but w e cons tan tly find hot d ispu tes among th etenan ts from th is cau se , whi ch often l e d fi rs t to manywords and then to hard blows. Indeed

,the frequen t

orde rs upon the tenan ts not to t ransgress in word or deed ,or w i th s taves , a rrows , or kn i ves

,and the numerous fines

for d raw ing kn ives to s trike , and the vo lubi l i ty of thev i l lan s in cou rt , rathe r sugges t some po in ts of res em

blan ce be tween the tenants of th e Prio r and the peasan tryof to-day in ou r s i s te r is l e.

The s trength of th e bee r was asce rta ined by taste rs ,and the brew ing of i t appears to have been farmed from thePr io r. I t was , the refo re , necessary to give brewe rs p ro

t ection , and acco rd ingly w e find i t an offence to sel l bee r

whi ch had been bought ou ts i de the tow nsh ip. In Sh ie lds ,R i chard B u rdon ,

Richard Harpe r , and Robe rt B enedic i te

are assessed for buying bee r at Newcastl e and sel l ing i t at

Sh i e l ds,to the inj u ry of the farmers of the brewhouse. I t

i s cu r iou s to find the reta i l ing of ale in the hands of the

fema l e tenan ts. There seems to have been occas iona l ly a

re l u ctance to sel l off the p remises , and at the p ri ce fixed by

the tas te rs. In one instance , A l i c e de B e l lassiis had the

hard ihood to se l l bad bee r to an officia l of th e Conven t.

The ass i ze and qua l i ty of b read sol d w e re under theregula t ion of the v i l l , and i t was an offence to se l l b read

baked wi th unsound co rn bu t the compla ints respect ing


b read are rare r than those made of the qua l i ty and pri ceof the beer.I

The barbarous customs of “ marchet and “ leyrwit are

noti ced on the ro l l s. “Marchet ” was the regu lar paymen tmade by a n i ef on the marriage o f his daughte r. Amongstthose fined for “ leyrw it

”is Preciosa ,

daughte r of the v icarof M e rrington. Incon t inence was common in the v i l l s. I t

does not appear on what grounds the tenan ts wereforb idden to play ad pilam , if a game at footbal l is mean t ,un l ess some element of gambl ing or roughness , l eadingto free fights

, as late r at Oxfo rd,w e re invo l ved in the

game. There are frequen t inj unct ions to th e tenan ts not

to play. In East M e rr ington the constables of the v i l l arecharged not to a l low ad p ila rn unde r a penal ty of 405 . I tmay be that th is game merely in te rfe red w i th the p ract iceof a rche ry. In 1 363 , Edward I I I. commanded the genera lp ract i ce o f a rche ry on Sundays and ho l idays in l i eu of theo rd ina ry ru ral past imes . In Southw i ck the play appears tohave l ed to a breach of the peace

,and the tenan ts of the

Prio r w e re in great bodi ly danger from the Lord of

Hil ton ’

s m en. A ris ing out of thi s is a cur ious order thatthe Prior ’s tenan ts , on any t respass or w rong done w i th in

the lordship,are not to seek aid from another lord , nor

p rocu re his se rvan ts to in te rmeddle. Poach ing seems to

have been as frequen t in those days as i t is now ,w i th the

d ifference,howeve r , that the offenders then w ere frequen tly

in a s tat ion of l ife wh i ch , we might have expected , wou ldhave placed them above temptat ion. In Aycl iffe , Robert

Chaun ce lor,John Cailes , and Will iam Powys (cape llani)

are fou nd to be common hun te rs. S im i lar presen tmen ts

are made aga ins t Dominus J ohn Gray and others in

Pitt ington ,the V i car of Hes ledon ,

and also agai nst the

I A sha rp look-out appea rs to have be e n kept by the ne ighbourstha t the be e r wa s of the requ is ite stre ngth. O n one occas ion

,it may

be suppo sed , during the hea r ing of the se comp la in ts , the cle rk of theCourt amused h imse lf by compos ing the fo l low ing La t in dist i ch ,w r itten in the ma rgin of the Ro l l in a nt i c ipa t ion of the de cis ion of the

CourtTenu is e s t potus

,e t gra cfl is mensura ,

S i non so lva tur to tus in ocu lo sit le sura.[Thin is the drink , and s le nde r the measure ,

If it be not fu l ly pa id , may he ge t a b la ck eye.!The re su lt , howeve r , showed the w ri te r judged too has t i ly

, a s it 15

re corded aga inst the supposed cu lpri ts (four of them)no de fau l t.

MANORIAL RIGHTS AND CUSTOMS OF DURHAM . 73

Mas te r of the W es tpitte l in Hewo rth,for hun ting w i th his

se rvan ts w i th in th e lo rd ’s wa rren, and aga in st W ille lmus

C le ricus de Tyn emouth in Wa l l send. In th is vi l l thetenan ts are fo rb i dden to keep greyhounds fo r taking

hares. Le H opp at Sh ie lds, whe re th e inhabi tan ts are

ve rv often fin ed fo r cu tt ing ben t,

”seems to have been a

favou r i te place for rabb i ts , and the re are frequen t o rde rsno t to take dogs the re. In Cowpen the tenan ts are

o rde red to take the fi sh ing ne t of the Maste r of Gre tham.

The lo rd’

s fishe ri es and fishe rmen w e re protected by

var ious inj un ctions , and th ey in retu rn we re bound to

supply the wan ts of the lo rd ’s tenan ts. In Shi e lds the reis an o rde r aga in s t fish be ing so l d to be taken out of the

b i shopri c. New cas tl e , how eve r , is an exception,for afte r

supplying the b ishop , prior , and oth e r lo rds , and those

dwel l ing betw een Tyn e and Tees , the res idue may be takenth i the r ; bu t th is i t i s declared to be on accoun t of thegood-ne ighbou rly feel ing and affect ion the Prio r had for

th e Mayo r and commun i ty of the town of Newcas tl e, andfor no o th er reason. North Sh ie lds was no t s im i larly

favou red , fo r the tenan ts are fo rb idden e ith e r to take or

buy fish the re w hen i t can be had of the Pr io r ’s fishermen.The fe rryboat was not to be u sed for any such pu rposew i thou t the Prio r ’s l i cense. The tenan ts of B i l l inghamw e re s im i la rly to have the opportun i ty of buying fish

,and

in re tu rn th ey w e re no t to buy on the south s i de of theTees. Each vi l l had a ba i l iff and a harves t-man. Thelatte r regu lated the gl eane rs , and unde r B i l l ingham we

find h im blow ing his ho rn as a s igna l for the tenan ts tocome and glean

,and when he sounded aga in they w ere to

depart. The offic ia l s befo re whom the Cou rt was he ld as

they moved from place to place had the i r v i c tua ls carr i ed

by the tenan ts. I t was probably fo r the use of the lo rd ’s

Cou rt that the th ree whi te loaves of bread we re be ingcar ri ed to Westoe w hen the se rvan ts of Joh n Gray and his

w i fe ate th em. The tenants we re al so obl iged to provid e

b eds for those at tend ing the Cou rt. O ccas ional ly we find

a kno tty po in t b rough t before the Cou rt , as at K i rkM e rr ington ,

whe re a bond tenan t is sought to be made

respon s ibl e fo r the loss o f the Prio r ’s beas t o f bu rden.The car r iage to D u rham w as not a lways sat i sfactori ly


pe rformed. Unde r B i l l ingham ,those charged w i th the

du ty of conveying corn to the Pr io r ’s granary at Du rham

are ordered to come w i th sound sacks and in dayl ight.

The perusal of these and o the r s im i la r records of pa ins and

penal ti es , and rep ress i ve enactmen ts and Obse rvances , l eadsus to conclude that human natu re in the mediaeval t imes

was pretty much l ike what i t is now,and that , no twith

s tanding thei r marks of bondage , the poo r co tmen and

n i efs,and othe r tenan ts of the Prior and Convent of

Durham ,were as happy and con ten ted w i th the i r lot as

we are w i th ours to-day.I

I Mr.J.J.Stua r t Edwa rds , of B ishop Auck land , furn ishe s us w i th a

curious in stan ce of the ma nne r in wh i ch the origin of o ld customs ,&c., may be come pe rve r ted in the course of time. H e says , “Amongstthe se rvice s in kind wh i ch the bond tenan ts rende red to the lord was

a ce rta in numbe r o f bushe ls of oa te s of sca te’

o r‘

sea te b lade.’In proce ss of t ime , a s the bond te nan ts be came more inde pende nt ,th is se rv i ce in k ind wa s commu ted for a money payme n t , and in a

short t ime the e n try be came sca te b lade two shi l lings,

’

and was so

con t inue d for a numbe r of yea rs. It then changed tofca t b lade

,

’

subsequen t ly to‘ca t b lade s ,

’

and eve n tua l ly, some two hundredyears or so a fte r the e n try wa s firs t found

,an unusua l ly ‘ in te l l igent

officia l of the lord ,’ imagin ing , no doubt , tha t a n a nnu i ty

,fe e farm ,

or fre e ren t was re ferre d to ,took upon h imse l f to change the entry to

Ca the rine B lade s , two sh i l l ings ,’

and it so,con t inue s in the books

of the succe ssors of the B ishops o f Durham to the pre se n t day.Tha t the payme n t of wha t wa s origina l ly ca l le d oa te s of sca te

should in proce ss of t ime , by easy grada t ions , come to be known as“sca te b lade ,

” “ca t b lade ,

”

and then “ca t b lade s , and fina l ly

a ssume the human form divine in the pe rson of Ca the rine B lades,

”

is funny to the la s t exten t , and its occurre nce in the M iddridge ro l lsof the Ha lmo te Courts on ly i l lustra te s the imposs ib i l ity of perfe ct ionin ph i lo log i ca l s tudie s.


en l i st under the banner of Fox was Law rence Appleby,

tai lor and draper , l iv ing in Tubwe ll Row. Joshua , his

eldest son ,se rved hi s t ime to the bus in ess unde r his

father. H is inden tu res are dated 1682 , and the re in he i ssu rrounded w i th rest ri ct ions whi ch the young men of the

p resen t day wou l d regard as exceed ingly i rksome , one

being that he was not to frequen t p lay-houses. At theexpi rat ion of his appren ti cesh ip he wooed and won Grace ,the daughte r of another Fri end , named Joseph Fishe r ,dyer

,of H oney Pot House , near Cocke rton. Thei r

wedding took place a t the Meet ing House at Darl ington ,

in 1 702. The even t is recorded in a parchmen t deed

wh ich was drawn up and s igned by the assembled Friends ,and as th is documen t is p robably the earl i es t evidence ofsuch an even t in the Quake r town

,

”a fu l l copy of i t

is appended

Whe rea s , Joshua App leby , son of Lawren ce and Margare tApp leby , of Da rl ington ,

and Gra ce F ishe r, daughte r of Josephand Gra ce F ishe r , of Hon ey Po t House ,

have de c lared the irin ten t ion of tak ing each o the r in marriage be fore seve ra l publ i cme e t ings of the pe op le of G od (ca l le d Quake rs)a t Da rl ington ,a ccording to the good orde r use d among them ,

whose proce edingsthe re in w e re a l low ed by the sa id me e t ings , they appea r ing clear ofa l l o the rs , a nd hav ing the con sen t of re la t ions conce rn ed now these

a re to ce rt i fy whom it may conce rn tha t for the further a ccomp l ishingof the ir Sa id inten t ions of ma rriage , th is , the twe n ty-e ighth day of

the se cond mon th,in the year, a ccording to the Engl ish a ccoun t ,

one thousand a nd seven hundre d and two ,they appeared in a pub l i c

me e t ing of the a fore sa id pe op le,and in a so lemn manne r he the sa id

Joshua App leby , tak ing the sa id Gra ce Fishe r by the hand , didopen ly de cla re a s fo l lowe th Frie nds , in the fe a r of G od , and in

the pre sen ce of th is a ssemb ly , I take Gra ce F ishe r to be my w ife ,promis ing to be a fa ithfu l and loving husband un to he r unt i l it pleasethe Lord by dea th to sepa ra te us. And the n and the re in the sa ida ssemb ly , Gra ce F ishe r did d e cla re in l ike manne r Friends , inthe fea r of the Lord , and in the fa ce of th is assemb ly , I take JoshuaApp leby to be my husband , promis ing by the Lord

'

s a ss istance to bea loving and obedien t w i fe t i l l it sha l l p lease my G od by dea th to

sepa ra te us. And the sa id Joshua App leby a nd Gra ce ,now his

w ife,a s a furthe r confirma t ion the re of d id to the se pre sen ts se t the ir

hands a nd w e whose name s a re he reun to subscribed , be ing presen ta s w i tnesse s , have a lso se t our hands the day and yea r abovewr itten.Mary Ta te. Henry Gra inge r. Will iam Co l l ing.Mary T rueman. De borah F ishe r. Wm.Dobson.Magda len Al lanson. Ann F ishe r. Abra.Foggitt.Dorothy M iddle ton. Sa rah Johnson. Will iam S ingle ton.Ma ry F low e r. E l i z.Morley. Edwa rd H inke.Ann Pa rkin son. Ann Co lye r. Will iam Harrison.Susanna Foggit. A nn F ishe r. R i chard F ishe r.E l i z.Wil l iamson. Ma cey Megg ison. Tho.Morley.

A P ICTURE OF THE EARLY QUAKERS. 77

Tho.Fa llow ley. Rebekah Trueman. Sam.F ishe r.Wi l l iam Gou lds E l iz.Fogga tt. Robe rt Ta te.brough. Jan e App le by. Ge orge Co l lye r.Rob t.G ou ld sbrough. Al i ce G ou ld sbrough. Ca leb Appleby.Thoma s Foggit. Jose ph Johnson. Christophe r Appleby.Thoma s S tocke ll. R i cha rd Wi lson. N i cho la s Cooke.T im.M i dd le ton. Thomas M eggison. Joshua App leby.Ge orge Dobson. Wi l l.Benson. Gra ce F ishe r.Jno.Pa rkinson. Wm.Ca the rick. Joseph F ishe r.Wi l l iam Dobson , jun. Na than ie l Wa iste l l.

The seven th in descen t in a di rect l ine from th is marr iage

i s Mr. Geo. W. Appleby , of B i rm ingham, and in h is

possess ion are family regis te rs of that date, show ing that

fou r teen ch i ld ren w e re bo rn to the sa i d Joshua and

Grace Appl eby. O f these , on ly seven reached maturi ty

namely,six sons and one daughte r. Edward

,the e ldest

son ,who settl ed in the c i ty of D urham

,marr i ed S usanna

,

daughte r of Geo rge Paxton , of that p lace , merchan t. Thece rtificate of mar riage is dated the 1 2th of Ju ly

,1 727 , and

is s ign ed by all the assembl ed Quakers , forty-one in

numbe r. Edwa rd d i ed at Durham in 1 736 , his w i dowsu rv i ving h im for the long space of 5 5 years. There we refou r ch i l dren of th i s mar riage , th ree o f whom we re a l ive

at the t ime of the i r mothe r’

s death in 1 79 1 . Wil l iam , one

of the sons ,who rece i ved the honou r o f kn ighthood , is a

con sp i cuous figu re in the c iv i c annals of D u rham. I t was

S i r Wil l iam who fo rmu lated the ce l ebrated address to theThrone on the occas ion of the K ing ’

s recove ry to hea l th

and w isdom in 1 789. Compa red w i th the commonplace

u tte rances of the presen t day, the respl enden t e loquence of

S i r Wil l iam marks the declens ion of c ivi c o ratory in the

once gifted and glor iou s capi tal of the Palat-inate.

Most Gra c ious and Poten t Monarch , says he , Grea t Brita inthe Que en of Is les and Pride of Na t ion s , Arb i tre ss of Europe (pe rhapsof the w orld), the Nurse ry of the Arts , Fre edom ,

and Independence ,the Te rro r of he r Enemie s and Scourge of Tyran ts—is on ce morera ised from a depending , humble s i tua t ion to its pre sen t glorious and

re splenden t a cme of powe r, opule nce , a nd grandeur, bya de scendantof the gre a t and i l lustrious Cha tham and h l S re spons ible coadjutorsin admin istra t ion ,

unde r the imme dia te dire ct ion , ben ign and sp iritua lausp i ce s of our most gra cious , pote n t , and o

much-be loved Sove re ignfor whose happy re stora t ion to the Ine st imab le ble ssmg of hea lth ,dome st i c fe l i c i ty, and for the po l i t ica l sa lva tion and comfort of the se

rea lms , the humb le and gra te fu l adora t ions to theo

Omn Ipote nt be

ever d ue. The va l leys may now aga in be jns tly sa id to laugh and

s ing , and the moun ta in s to leap for Joy, pra is ing the O ne Ete rna l forH is infin ite me rc ie s.

C H A P T E R X I .

MR. WILLIAM HENDERSON.

His Fami ly.—Thea tri ca l Cha t.—The K emble s.—Durham Theatre.Liston Dying a Se cond T ime.—Hooking a Poodle a nd a Ca t.

Coque tda le.—Charl ie E bdy.—A D iscredited Angle r.—Search ing

for Dead Bodie s.—A Pig ’

s Fondne ss for Worms.—A Pe rp lexedGameke e pe r.—Landing a Que e r F ish.—Story of a Pa ir of

Wading Boo ts.—Frank Buck land and Dr.Routh.

We twa hae fishe d the Ca le sae c lea r,An

’

s treams o’ mossy Re ed

We’ve tr ied the Wansbe ck an

’

the Wea r,

The Teviot an ’

the Tw e ed —Doubleday.

THESE l ines w i l l find an echo in the hearts of many whohad the p riv i l ege of a l i fe- long fri end sh ip w i th Mr

Wil l iam Henderson ,one of the best-known men in the

No rth-coun try , whose death occu rred in Novembe r , 189 1.

A l though he w i l l no mo re wande r w i th his fri ends by the

streams w hich he loved so we l l , yet he w i l l continue tol inger in the i r reco l l ec tion , and none but pleasan t memori es

w i l l be assoc iated w ith his name.The family from which M r.Hende rson descended was

of Scotch o rigin ,his ancesto rs having come from Fife

mo re than two cen tu ri es ago , and engaged in farming inthe w estern part o f Durham. M r. Henderson ’

s grandfather , a hal e o ld gentl eman at eighty

,but tes ty in temper

and ove rbearing to al l except his w ife,whose marvel lous

gentl eness neve r fa i l ed to soften th e domes ti c autocrat ,en te rta ined the opin ion that the re was no occupat ioncomparable to t i l l ing the so i l

,and though his tal ents

and tu rn of mind po in ted in a differen t d i rect ion ,Mr.

Henderson ’

s father was made a farme r. He neve r tookkindly to i t , howeve r , and early in l ife

,hav ing married

and settl ed in the c i ty of Durham ,he se t up a loom ,

whicheventual ly developed itself in to the carpet facto ry that i snow known al l ove r England

,and st i l l bears his name.

MR. WILLIAM HENDERSON. 79

Mr. Henderson ’

s ea rl i es t reco l l ec tion s w e re o f the r ive rWea r. He was bo rn in a house s tand ing on its banks ;it s st re ams mou l ded his

,

baby thoughts , and , l ike a young

duck, he was hardly out of the shel l befo re he took to thewate r. To catch the s t i cks and s t raw s w hi ch floated

down th e s t ream , combine and ba lance them, and set

th em’

off aga in in a con test of Speed,cons ti tuted his

ear l i est del igh t. H is reco l l ec t ion of me n and th ings datedback to an early pe riod in his l ife

,and no man was fu l l e r

o f happy rem iniscences of the rod and l ine . A warmfri endsh ip ex isted betw een his moth e r and M rs. S tephenK emble , and many of his even ings w e re spen t at The

Grove l isten ing to s to r i es respecting Gar rick,Mackl in

,the

K embles and M rs. S iddon s , Kean ,M acready

,Liston

, and

o the rs. O n e littl e an ecdote of Liston dw e l t in his memo ry.Liston had a tal en t fo r comedy , bu t w i th a

“

strangepe rve rs i ty he h imse lf decla red that his t rue fo rte w as deeptragedy. The m anage r of the Du rham Theatre had no

bel i ef in Li s ton ’

s tragic ve in ,and did a l l he cou l d to set

the ac to r r igh t , but to no pu rpose. At last he gave an

u nw i l l i ng con sen t to his appearan ce on the boards in thecha racte r of Richard I I I. The hou se w as c rowded

,for

Liston was a so rt of l ion at th e t ime,and much curios i ty

was fe l t abou t his p resen t pe rfo rmance. For some timethe p iece p roceeded to l e rably , th e audience being p re

d i sposed ih his favou r , but w hen the death scene at

Boswo rth F ie ld came befo re them , the postures of thedying Richa rd w e re so extrao rdinary and unnatu ra l that

the gods in the gal l e ry , gen e ra l ly p retty good judges ,c r i ed out w i th one vo i ce ,

“ That w on’t do , Liston ; d ie

ove r aga in ,d i e ove r aga in O n hea ring these exclama

t ions the natu ra l ins tin cts of th e man ove rcame all o the rcon s i de rat ions. He rose s low ly from the ground , as if h e

w e re waking from a t rance , gazed for some time at th e

aud i ence , fixing his large , s to l id eyes as i f in a

“

stupi d

stare , wh i l s t his wonde rfu l ly mob i l e coun tenance worked

and tw i tch ed as none bu t Liston ’

s cou l d then frant i cal lythrow ing arms and l egs about , he flung h imself aga in

upon the g round , and d i ed a second t ime.

M r. Hende rson mus t have been a sad pest to h ismothe r ’s hou seho l d afte r the acqu is i t ion of his fi rst fish ing


rod. While his ba i t was l im i ted to lob-worms all went

wel l,but in an ev i l hou r he succeeded in acoaxing the cook

to give h im some scraps of meat for the pu rpose. Thesewe re soon placed upon the hooks ,

and he was p reparing

to th row the l ine into the wate r , when his mo the r ’s poodle ,which had fol lowed him down to the r ive r , w renched i t out

of his hand , and an immediate howl tol d the horrid factthat the dog had hooked h imself. O n anothe r occas ion

the cat swa l lowed a minnow whi ch had been l eft dangl ing

on a l ine , and when the youthful angle r rushed ou t to hear

what was the cause of all the commot ion ,he saw the cook

hol d ing on to one end of the l ine,wh i l e Grima lk in , perched

on th e ri dge of the house- top , with his tai l and eve ry ha i r

of his back as e rect as a maypo l e,held the o the r in

his mouth. The B rowney and the Wea r affo rded M r.Henderson ample scope fo r his favour i te d ive rs ion in his

youth , but on reach ing his eighteen th yea r he disda ined tobe cramped w i th the bounds of Weardal e. Like youngNorva l , he

Had hea rd of ba t t le s , and he longedTo fo l low to the fie ld some warl ike lord.

Coque tdale , made famous by Robert Roxby’

s imperishableGarland ,

”was at that t ime the po in t of attraction to

every angle r , and young Henderson was anxious to cast afly in the s treams so beloved by th e aged poet and so

v iv idly described by him.

The Coque t fo r eve r the Coque t for aye

The Coque t , the k ing 0’

the s tream an’

the bra eFrae his h igh moun ta in throne to his be d in the sea ,

O h where sha l l w e find such a rive r a s he P

Under the gu i dance of his o ld men to r and fri end,Charl es

E bdy, he commenced operat ion s in the s tream nea r thefamed Weldon Bridge , where he landed his fi rs t bul ltrout. E bdy was a characte r

, and his know l edge of thetri cks of the honest d isciples of the c raft nearly got himinto t rouble. They had not fished long ti l l they met abrothe r angle r from Newcastle. M r. Joseph H u tch inson ,

of Durham ,was tel l ing us the othe r day of a certa in

Novocast rian who neve r'

returned home empty-handed.John ,

my dear ,” remarked his w ife one morn ing as they

sat togethe r at breakfast , those trou t you brought homelas t n ight were st inking. I real ly w i sh you wou l d catch

MR. W ILLIAM HENDERSON. 81

them fresh. O n looking at th e fish in the c ree l of h is newacqua in tance , Charl i e no ti ced in a moment that the mou thof eve ry trou t was fixed as w ide ly Open as poss ibl e. Now ,

i t i s av e rred by know ing ones that th i s is the d ist ingu ishing symptom of fish that have been taken by n ight l in es

,

and Charl i e w as not s low in int imat ing the fact. Theresu l t was that the d isc red i ted angle r th reatened to knockhim in to the middl e of the fo l low ing week , and woul d no

doubt have p roceeded fo rthw i th to give h im a tas te of

futu r i ty had he no t sough t the shelte r of a stou t t ree.

But though E bdy decl ined the combat , he was no coward.We are o ld enough to remembe r h im

, and i t was hi s

success in ca tch ing big eels unde r the arches of E l ve tB ri dge that fi red our ow n zeal as an angle r. In his day,

he was pe rhaps the greatest he ro in the c i ty of Durham.

His wo rkshop was a pa radise of del ights , and conta in ed a

squ i r re l revo lv ing in an e laborate cage , a parro t that

indulged in th e rac i es t s lang,

a bu llfinch that p ipe d“ Jock o

’ Haze l dean ,

”and a snake w h ich took i ts morn ing

d r ink from a sauce r. He to l d yarns w i th the greates tfac i l i ty and fel i c i ty , and wou ld make you r ha i r s tand on

end , and you r blood cu rdle in you r ve ins , by the rec i tal of

stor i es o f ghos ts and gobl ins. We fan cy i t must have been

from Ebdy that Mr. Hende rson d rew h i s early inspi ration

for the marvel lous , and i t is poss i b l e that the o ld gent l eman ’

s wonde rfu l tal es fo rmed the nuc leu s of the inte rest ing

book w h i ch he publ i shed in afte r l ife on fol klore and

kind red subjects. As w e have sa i d , Charl ie was a

charac te r. With h im l inge red m any old t ime supe rst i t ions.

I f some ma i den ,c razed by ca re or c rossed in hopeless love ,

sought a refuge in some poo l , he was su re to be seen at

once in sea rch of the body w i th a large wh ite-b read loaf

loaded with me rcu ry , as fi rmly convinced that this wou l dl ead to i t s d iscove ry as is the I ndian when he floats a ch ip

of cedar wood n ear the place w he re his fr i end was

d rowned , in fu l l confidence that i t w i l l stop and tu rn rou

nd

at the exact spot whe re the body rests. I f a house was on

fi re,he was th e fi rst to reach the roof in the battl e aga ins t

the rag ing el emen t. Like the val ian t H igginbottom

S t i l l o ’

e r his head , wh i le fa te he braved ,H is wh izz ing wa te rpipe he waved.


M r.H ende rson and Ebdy vi s i ted th e Coque t every y ear ,but st i l l there we re long in te rva ls in the angl ing seasonto be d isposed of

,so , to keep the i r hands in p rac tice , they

occas iona l ly took a day ’s fishing in the Wear o r B rowney.

M r. Hende rson was fond of re lat ing the facts of an

amus ing inc iden t that happened one day. Mos t peopleknow that p igs are fond of worms. Tired of fishing , theye nte red the l i ttl e inn wh ich stands by the s i d e of the

s tream at Sunderland Bridge , l eaving thei r rods outs ide

w ith a worm at the end of each l ine. While enjoying a

crus t and a glass of bee r they heard a w i l d grun t , and on

rush ing to the doo r a ha l f-grown pig was seen makingo ff w i th Charl ie ’s rod. By d in t o f much runn ing

,he

managed to se ize the rod , and not w ishing to break it,

he fo l lowed on ti l l,finding the pace too severe for h im

,

Charl i e caved in ,and w i th a dexterous tu rn of his w rist ,

snapped the line , l eav ing poor piggy to digest the ba i t asbes t he could. These we re hal cyon days for anglerscompared w i th the p resen t. There we re then few stre tches

of wate r closed to the man who pursued his sport fa i rly

w i th rod and l ine. The l i beral i ty of owne rs of river

p rope rty w as so genera l that in a ll his fishings in theTweed , Ti l l , and Eden ,

extending ove r a period of e ightyears , M r.Henderson was neve r quest ioned except once.That was at Nen tho rn ,

where a gamekeepe r asked h im for

his card. The temptation to a joke sudden ly possess ingh im

,he gave the man a card bearing his name. As he

t u rned the bi t of card th is way and that in evidentpe rplexi ty

,M r.Henderson bade him good morn ing and

pu rsued his fish ing. O n re tu rn ing past Nen thorn in the

e ven ing , however , the same man approached him in a

t owe ring pass ion , and ho ld i ng out the card, asked him

what he mean t by giving him tha t th ing , which he had

d iscove red w as no t a fi sh ing ca rd a t a l l. No doubt a

wee d rap w en t a long way to mo l l i fy the man ’

s w rath

a t hav ing been foo l ed , and no d oubt,too ,the angle r had

some misgivings respect ing the mo ral i ty of the cou rse by

w h ich he had fi l l ed his basket.

An angler ’s l i fe is no t w i thout adven ture. M r. Hender

s on had many in his day,some w i th a comic

, othe rs w i th as e rious s ide. O ne day, fish ing in the Dryburgh wate r


t ion than M r. Buckland,

and that o f longevi ty be ingbroached

,he tol d Mr.Hende rson that h i s fathe r , the wel l

known Dean ofWestminste r , had taken him when a lad

to see Dr. Rou th,the Pres iden t of Magda l en Co l l ege

,

Oxfo rd. They found the vene rable o ld man,then in h is

hundredth year , seated among his books , w ear ing h i scol lege cap ove r a wig ,

and a gown a lmos t as anc ient asi ts wearer. Plac ing his hand on Buckland ’s head

,the

doctor said , Remember , my l i ttl e fel low , when you are

an old man , that you have tal ked to one who has seen an

old woman who had seen K ing Charl es I I. a t Oxfordw ith his span i e l dogs. K ing Charl es d ied in 1 685 thusthe re w e re on ly two pe rsons in the cha in whi ch conn ec tedM r.Buckland with the Me rry Monarch and his span i e ls of

187 years befo re. B ut can the .reader say that the re isnoth ing even tfu l in an angler ’s l i fe when he is tol d thatthese obi tuary l ines are be ing w ri tten by a brother of therod in s ight of the very books amid wh ich D r. Rou th sat

When he patted M r. Buckland on the head , and that thew ri te r

,as he pens these last few words , touc hes w i th his

hand the i dent i cal wig and cap then worn by the gentl e

and l earned Pres ident of Magda len.I

1 Dr.Routh bequea thed his l ibrary to the Unive rs i ty of Durham.H is o ld cap and wig a re pre se rved the re.

C H A P T E R X I I.

TH E L IFE AND M I RACLES OF ST. CUTHBERT.

Manuscript Life in old North-country Engl ish.—Cuthbe rt’

s Paren tageInvo lved in Obscuri ty.—Boyhood. -Game s a t Schoo l.—Miraculous S t iffen ing of his C lothes wh i le standing on his Head.A Monaste ry a t South Sh ie lds.—A Storm the re.—‘

The Monks indange r.—Cu thbe rt Prays and the Sea is ca lmed.—AncientR iva lry be tw e en Tynemouth and South Sh ie lds.—Cuthbe rt as a

He rdsman.—V is ion of A idan ca rrie d up to Heaven.—Wha tCuthbe r t see s in cross ing Northumbe rland.—H is Horse findsBread and M eat.—H is Subsequen t Life.

IN one of the vo lumes of the Su rtees Soc iety ,

“ The

H ousehol d Books of Lord Wil l iam Howard (th efamou s Bel ted Wil l), men t ion is made of a manuscri pt l ifeof S t.Cu thbe rt as exis t ing in the l i b ra ry ofCastl e Howard.I

I t is in Engl ish ve rs e , and seems to have been w r i tten

abou t the middl e of the fifteenth cen tu ry, and was thought

to be ve ry su i table for publ i cation by the Soc i e ty , as

afford ing a good example of No rth-country Engl i sh as i t

was spoken and w r i tten at that t ime , and also as

embodying the whol e of the h i s tory and the bes t part of

th e fo lklore relat ing to one of the most famous of our

no rthe rn sa in ts. The Ear l of Carl is l e hav ing placed the

m anusc r i pt at the Soc i ety ’s d isposa l , the work of ed i t ing

i t '

w as undertaken by Mr. Fow l e r , whose fac i l i ty in

dec ipher ing mediaeva l w r i t ings , and w hose ph i lo logica l

atta inmen ts , added to a w i de acqua in tance w i th Cuth

be rt ine l i te ratu re and art,eminen tly qual ified h im for

th e task.The ear ly part of Sa in t Cu thbert ’s l ife is invo lved in

much obscu r i ty , and the accounts given by h is tor ians

re lat ive to h i s o r igin are a l so extremely contradictory ,

I The Life of S t. Cuthbe rt in Eng l ish Ve rse , from the orig ina lmanuscript in the l ibra ry of Cas t le Howa rd. Edi ted by the

‘

Rev.

J.T.Fow le r, M.A., F.S.A.


seve ral asse rt ing that he was the son of an I r ish king,

and the others contending that he was of plebe ian race.The Castl e Howard manuscr i pt gives h im an I r ish ancestry

,

though i t does not make K ing Mu riadac h is fathe r. Thelatte r , acco rding to the manuscrip t , was K ing of Leinste r.The re seems to h ave been as l i ttl e love between the headsof the people in that coun t ry then as now. Mu riadac

’

s

next-doo r neighbour was the K ing of Connaught , and

between the se roya l pe rsonages the re was a long-standingfeud. Knowing that h e was no match for Muriadac whenawake

,the ru l e r of Connaught wa i ted ti l l midn ight

,when

he w i th his men invaded the other ’s kingdom ,and put all

to the swo rd,on ly one chi ld

,Muriadac

’

s daughte r , beingspared.

Bot a lytil mayde n ch i lde ,The kynge s d oghte r meke and myld e ,H ir to sla ,

him thoght shame ,For gyfe he did , he los t his name.

This roya l mai den ,w e are to ld

,was good and fa i re of

shape,

”and when the K ing of Connaught returned home

to his roya l conso rt , who was chi ldless,he carri ed the

co l l een back w i th h im. But the royal ogress,qu i c kly

noti c ing her lo rd ’s amorous atten tions to the Leinste rdamsel , made her a s lut ” in the rega l doma in ,

th inkingthat men ia l work wou ld her “ fleshy fairnes to abaite.

Abou t the middle of summer i t was customary for thewomen to embel l ish the Queen ’

s chambers w i th b ranchesof flowers gathe red in the woods

To fo tte [fe tch!byrdyns of braunche s and floures

Forto e nbe lysce the whene s boure s.

The fa i r ma i d of Leinste r fo rmed one of the party , and

du ring the day, becoming detached from the res t , she metthe K ing in the wood.

It fe l l that by a ryue r s ideThe Kyng on hawkyng went tha t tydeH e a ll ane [a lone!the mayden me tt ,H e spake til hir hir luf to ge tt.

M i racles began w i th the b i rth of S t. Cuthbert, who is

described as a“ fa i re knave [boy!chi lde , ” a l ight from

heaven hav ing i l lumined the house as soon as he wasin his

'

cred ill la i de.” Cu thbe rt ’s or igin is not accountedfor by Bede or the Lindisfarne monk , and i t is possiblethat there may be a germ of histor ic truth at the bottomof the I r i sh story.


on these occasions know how difficu l t i t is , when the windi s westerly and a strong ebb tide is runn ing , to row in

aga in. I t was such a wes terly squa l l that sp rung up one

day and bore away the boats belonging to th e monks of

Sou th Shie lds , who ,w i th seve ral of the i r b reth ren who had

put off to thei r ass istance , we re on the po in t of be ingdrowned when Cuthbert , who was p resent , knel t down and

p rayed that th is might not be the i r fate , whe reupon the w indimmediate ly changed and the boats we re b rought safelyhome aga in. The per i l of the boatmen is thus qua intly

descr ibed in the manuscriptCe rtayn bre thir of th is abbayWe n t forthe be wa ter on a d ay,

Tre e s and fowe l [fue l!forto ge tt.In s like [such!pe ryle tha i w e re se tt ,

That whe n tha i wend [thought!to row to lande ,A w e st wynd e wa s rysand e ,And bare the bote s ne re to the se.

Tha i we re lik ly lost to beTha ir bre thir bra the ly w e r abouteTo save tha im ,

and sen t ba te s out.

B o t tha i wa r le tt be [hindered by!wynd and flod e

So tha t tha i myght d o na gode.

The re we re five boats thus imperi l l ed , and they w e redriven so far seaward

Tha t tha i seme d fyue litil brid d e s

We lte rand the wawe s in myd d e s ,

whi ch,trans la ted in to mode rn Engl ish prose , means that

the boats had the appearance of five l i ttle b i rds w el te r ingamid the waves.There is a rival ry between South Sh ie lds and Tynemou th now , and i t is cu rious to find this feel ing exis tingmore than a thousand years ago. The dwel l e rs on theno rth bank of the Tyne l i ked not the manne r in whi ch thefol ks of Shiel ds comported themselves

,and when the

boats we re bu ffeting w i th the waves,and the affrighted

monks expected each momen t wou l d be the i r last,they

looked on scoffing ly, and j eer ingly sa id that i t se rvedthem right.

O n the north wa te r bankeS tode many me n w e re nought to thanke ,For tha i had no compassioun

Of tha ir neghburs confusioun

Tha i scorn ed tha ir mane r of leuyng [l iving!,For it a cord ed to tha irs na th ing.

Before reach ing his fourteenth year,C uthbe rt was

employed as a he rdsman on the h i l ls near th e r i ve r

THE L IFE AND M IRACLES OF ST. CUTHBERT. 89

Leader , a t ri bu tary of the Tweed. While thus engaged ,he saw in a vis ion the sou l of B ishop A i dan ca rri ed up to

heaven by ange ls. I t was th is vi s ion that dete rmined h imto ente r the monast i c l ife. Accord ing ly he se t off on a

horse one d ay for the monaste ry of M el rose O n hi s way

ac ross th e w i l d h i l l s of Northumbe rland he saw many

dese rted hol l e tts,or he rdsmen

’

s huts.

H ird e s hole tts sowe he thare ,

Of man and be ste he fand e tha im bare.

These temporary habi tations we re cal l ed sheals or shealIngs in Camden ’s t ime , and he speaks of them as be ingoccupied by the he rdsmen from Apri l to Augu st. Asn ight set in ,

Cu thbert took refuge in one o f these huts.

Neithe r horse nor r ide r had broken fast du r ing the day,

and both were hungry,as may be imagined. Bu t th e

Providence that had watched ove r Cu th be rt d id no t fa i l

h im on th is occas ion ,for wh i l e he prayed and h i s hors e

n ibbl ed at th e thatch that cove red th e roof o f the hut ,there be ing no th ing bette r to eat

,the an imal pul l ed down

a cloth con ta in ing both b read and meat— probably thesuppe r of some

—

poor he rdsman who had h idden i t the refor safety !

Cuthbe rt ’s l i fe subsequen t to rece iving the tonsu re i s

famil iar to eve ry s tuden t of h is tory , and need not berepeated he re. The accoun t of the harryings of Northumberland by the Danes

,the fl ights and wander ings of the

Haliwerfolk with the body of S t.Cu thbe rt , some remarkable mi racl es connected w i th it , the mu rde r of B ishopWa l che r

,and the fina l sett l ement a t Durham unde r

B ishop Wi l l iam,al l these are ful l of i n te rest. Those who

know the pa instaking care that characte rizes al l Mr.Fow l e r ’s w ri tings n eed hardly be to ld that a fu l l and

comp rehens Ive index accompan i es the work ,and that i ts

pages br is tl e w i th those in te res ting l i ttl e footno tes w h icha re the outcome of a w i desp read know l edge , and wh ich ,bes i des se rv ing to i l lust rate or ado rn a ta l e , may some

t imes be us’

ed to flavou r a l i te rary banquet.

C H A P T E R X I I I .

HUNTING AND COURS I NG.

Ear ly Hunte rs.—Robert Smith Surte e s.—Ha rd R ide rs in the NorthDurham Hun t.—M r. Taylor-Smith.—Corone r Fave l l.—Squ ireBake r.—The Bra e s of De rwe nt.—The Raby Pa ck.—Hardw i ck.—The Russe l ls.—A Hun ting D iary.—A t a Cours ing Me e t ing.

FROM the remotest ages of the world , man has assumed a

r ight to appropriate to h imse l f the beas ts of the field ,th is righ t in all probabi l i ty hav ing been founded on thewo rds of the fi rs t chapter of Genes is

,where pow e r is given

to man ove r eve ry l i v ing th ing. N im rod , th e th i rd in

descen t from Noah , was a great hun te r.H e taught to turn the hare , to bay the de e r,And whe e l the course r in his mad care e r.

Sau l perhaps hun ted partridges in the moun ta ins,

and

Samson mus t have been addicted to th e pl easu res of thechase

,for he i t was that conce ived the nove l i dea of ty ing

fire-brands to the ta i ls of foxes which he had caught andl ett ing them loose among the s tand ing co rn of thePhi l istines. I f we accept less rel iable autho r i ty

,Po l l ux

was the fi rst tra ine r of dogs , wh i l e his tw in brother,

Casto r,was the fi rst who broke and t ra ined ho rses.

A l exander the Great kep t a kennel, and had a favou ri te

old dog w i th a nose as keen as his own swo rd. Xenophon,

the cel ebrated Athen ian general and phi losophe r, w rote a

book on sport. He was of Opin ion that i t hab i tuated men

to co ld , heat , and fatigue , that i t k indled cou rage , e l evatedthe sou l and inv igo rated the body , and rende red the sensesmo re acute ; that i t retarded the s tiffen ing effects of o ld

age , and that the pl easu re i t afforded was a sove re ignremedy aga ins t all men tal uneas iness. The No rth-coun trypi tman who th inks that the re is no prope rty in game takeshis v i ews from the ju risprudence of the Romans

, who

establ ished i t as a maxim that al l w il d an imal s w e re the

HUNTING AND COURS ING. 9 1

p roperty of h im who fi rs t took them. When J u l ius Caesarspoke in commendat ion of the people of the no rth

,he

p ra i sed the i r expe rtness in hunt ing and war. So late as

the th i rd centu ry,th e unconquered B r i tons beyond

Hadrian ’s Wa l l must have subs is ted a lmos t en ti rely on

game. A fou rteen th-centu ry manuscr i pt shows that ladi es

of rank and beauty had hunt ing parti es , w i thou t ma l e

attendants. These femal e N im rods rode astr id e , but th is

indecorous custom ,i t is presumed

,was n eve r gene ral.

Among mode rn foxhun te rs who have rendered themselves famous ih th e anna l s of th e chase , none occupy a

more p rominen t p lace than the Squ i re of H amsterley ,Robert Smith Su rtees. Having been born and b redw i th in h ear ing of Mr. Ral ph Lambton and his famousfoxhounds

,he commenced h i s career w i th some accoun t

of the i r do ings in the Old Spor ting M agaz ine . In the year183 1 he publ ished

“ The Ho rseman ’

s Manual ,” be ing a

t reat i se on soundness , the law of warran ty,and general ly

on the laws rela ting to ho rses. Very shortly after thepubl i cat ion of th i s t reatise , M r. S u rtees , in conjunction

w i th M r. Rudo lph Ackerman , s tarted the New Spor tingMagaz ine , wh ich he ed i ted un t i l 1836. He con tr ibuted a

s er i es of adm irable pape rs to Bel l ’s s e in London,wh ich

w e re subsequen t ly got together in a handsome vol ume ,en t i tled “ The Analys i s of the H un t ing Field ”

; and he

also publ ished H i l l ingdon H a l l,or the Cockney Squ i re

,

”

wh i ch is pe rhaps the l eas t known o f his w r i t ings. H is

othe r works , how eve r , Handley C ross,

” M r. Sponge ’sSpo rting Tou r

,

” Pla in or Ringlets,

” “ Ask Mamma ,

”

M r.Facey Romford’

s Hounds,

”a t tained for the i r au thor

a w i desp read popular i ty and an immorta l fame. In 184 1 ,

Mr. Su rtees marri ed E l i zabeth Jane,daughte r and co-he i r

of Addison Fenw i ck,Esq., of Fiel d H ouse and Pa l l ion

Hal l. He d ied at Brighton on the 1 6th of March,1864 ,

l eav ing issue a son, Mr. Anthony Su rtees , who died at

Rome on the 1 7th of March , 187 1 , and two daughters,

E l i zabeth Anne, co-he i r of Hamste rley w i th he r younge r

s i s te r E l eano r,marr i e d to th e Hon.John Gage Prendergast

Vereke r , eldest son of V i scoun t Gort.

Ou r portra i t of Mr. Su rtees is the on ly one that haseve r been publ ished , and i t i s sa i d by hi s fr i ends to be an


admirable l ikeness of the gal lan t old fox-hun te r. H i s was

a face to be remembered, and the l i keness w i l l not fade

from the memo ry wh i l e his second daughte r , the Hon.

M rs.Vereke r,l i ves. This lady also inheri ts he r fath e r

’

sgen i us and or igina l i ty. Once , w hen Mr. Su rtees was

asked to support the efforts of th e Du rham Agr i cu l tu ra lProtection Soc i ety

,he lacon i cal ly repl i ed : Dear S i r ,

No mo re agitat ion for yours ve ry t ru ly , R. S. Surtees.

When his daughte r was asked to lay the foundat ion-stoneof the add i t ion to Ebcheste r Chu rch , in 1892 , he r replywas equal ly characteristi c— she consen ted on ly on cond it ion

that the recto r d id not go to the expense of buying he r a

s i lve r t row el. Befo re its restorat ion in 1876 ,Ebcheste r

Chu rch , w i th its t iny lancet w indows , its s ton e a l tar tableand pisc ina , was a qua int- looking place. ‘

As a p roof of

i ts an t i qu i ty , it may be ment ioned that when the ch ancelwas a l te red stone seats were fO I

'

Ind a long its wal ls. In

1 553 a hand-bel l was in use at Ebcheste r. Dur ing M r.Surtees

’

s t ime,he p resented two bel ls to the church , but

one o f th em was sto l en , and the othe r becoming cracked ,h i s w i dow provided anoth er pa i r. The bel l s were stol en

from M edoms l ey and Chopwel l Chu rches at the same time ,and i t is a cur iou s fact that not a trace of any of them was

eve r found.

There are seve ra l hard ride rs at the p resen t day amongM r. Roge rson

’

s merry men ,bu t perhaps no t one member

of the No rth Durham H un t equa ls the late M r.EdwardTaylor-Smith in th is respect. Barring Co rone r Favel l ,who used to conduct inquests in his red coat when hecoul d conven i en tly ho l d an inquis i t ion and a ttend a meet

in one day,he was the mos t en thus ias tic N im rod that we

eve r met. A few years befo re his death the hounds unde rMr. Maynard h appened to be at Co lepike on the

ann ive rsary of M r. Taylo r-Smith’

s bi rthday. The o ld

Squ i re was out on his favouri te moun t , and , happen ing tobe asked his age jus t as a fox broke away , he rep l i ed , ashe pu l l ed his ho rse togethe r for a jump , “ Here goesn inety-five. Bu t these combined ages of ho rse and ride r

w ere sho rt of the tota l sco red by the Squ i re of E lemore

and his famous hun te r. In his younger days , Squ i re Bake r

was looked upon as one of the best gen tleman ride rs and

HUNTING AND COURS ING. 93

amateu r boxe rs in England. H e i t was who gave thes i lve r coa l waggon that the cel eb rated Beesw ing won at

Newcast l e. Some of his exp lo i ts a re yet remembe red.O n one occas ion , r i d ing to hounds over spring co rn

,the

exaspe rated farme r pu l l ed h im off h is horse,and a set-to

resu l ted. The Squ i re got the wors t of the encoun te r inth is instance

,howeve r , but he solaced h imsel f by offering

to give any of his j eer ing fr i ends a hundred gu ineas totackl e the vanqu i she r.

Major Cow en ’

s B raes of De rw en t have an inte res ting

reco rd,be ing one of the fi rs t regu larly hun ted packs in the

No rth-coun t ry. Bu t the system of hunt ing has been muchchanged s ince the time when Reynard fi rst scampered up

th e Derwen t Yale and across the banks and braes of

No rthumberland w i th hounds at his brush,Then the

hounds met in the early mo rn ,and found the fox by his

drag— that is , by the l in e he took to his kennel on h is

re tu rn from a foraging expedi t ion. The precise date whenhounds w e re fi rs t kept en t i rely for fox-hun ting is not

known. In his “ Sports and Pu rsu i ts of the Engl ish ,”

Lo rd W i l ton says that i t was about the yea r 1 750. E ight

years late r w e have a record of a fox-hun t in Northumbe rland. Afte r a run of twen ty mi les , the fox ,

being hardp ressed , ran in to an o ld coa l p i t , wh ithe r he was fo l lowed

by fou r couple of the bound s , w h ich w ere drown ed. Withfavou rable w eathe r in January , fox-hun ting is then in fu l l

sw ing,and Reynard is rattl ed abou t hi the r and th i the r in

a manne r that wou ld have satisfied and del ighted a

Lambton o r a Surtees , or even the maste r of the famousRaby Hun t. The noble ow ne r of Raby was one of the

mos t passionate fox-hun te rs that eve r best rode a horse orb lew a horn. H is daughters are sa id to have been equal ly

fond of the sport. They knew the names of a ll thei rfathe r ’s hounds , and made no th ing of l eaping ove r a six

barred gate. I t must have been a s ight to see the Ear l ofDarl ington and his merry fo l low e rs tearing ove r h i l l anddal e wh i l e l igh t lasted , and to beho ld them afte rwards

seated in th e ha l l at Raby rehears ing the wonde rs and

acci dents of th e day. From con tempo rary ev idence , we

fear that some of these ear ly n ineteen th-cen tu ry N imrods

w e re rathe r bo iste rous , and somewhat given to r iot at the:

fes t ive board.


Few places in the coun ty of Durham equal Hardw i ckfor the beauty of the i r surroundings. In 1890, a fine Maymorn ing drew us out to Ferryhi l l. We were on pleasu reben t , w i th no parti cular destinat ion in view

, ourpu rpose

be ing to catch fish l egi t imate ly,whethe r in stream or pond

or lake was qu i te matte rl ess. We had proposed go ingMa insforth-wards , but got to Hardw i ck instead. This

place was the patr imony success ively of the fami ly of thatname , the H ebburns , and the Nevi l l es. I t now belongsto Lo rd Boyn e. At the t ime of our vis i t

, workmen w e re

p repar ing the place for the reception of the hei r of

B rancepeth , the Hon. Hamil ton Russel l, who has s ince

made i t the headquarters of the Sou th Durham H un t.The re is a good-s ized lake just below the house

, and

ove rlooking this expanse of wate r are scul ptured temple sand i vy-clad ru ins , the who le be ing shel tered by fineavenues of trees of a hundred years ’ growth. A fine

b i rd ’s-eye Vi ew of the surrounding country is obtainedfrom the top of one of these bu i ld ings. In the d istanceis B ishop M i ddleham Chu rch

,where

,tradi tion says , the

Rev.John Braban t and a t roop of sold ie rs forcibly ejectedthe vicar in C romwel l ’s time. The pari sh ioners on thi soccas ion are sa i d to have defended the old parson rightva l iantly , gett ing possess ion of the pu lp i t

,whi ch they ve ry

p roperly regarded as the i r chi ef strongho l d. But B rabant,

not to be beaten , retreated to the chancel,and w i th a

b race of pisto ls by his s i de,he is sa id to have addressed

the vi l lage rs at great l ength from the commun ion table.In 1892 ,

the present v icar , the Rev. M. B. Parker,and

Canon Ba i ly,

of Ryton ,contr i buted some in teresting

remarks to the Newcastle Daily journa l respectingB raban t ’s conn exion w i th B ishop M iddleham. S ince th isappeared

,M r.Ralph Nelson , J.P., has favou red us w i th a

number of extracts from the minute book of the BishopAuckland Gramma r Schoo l , of which he is a governor ,which conclus ively fix the time of B raban t ’s going there.The facts mentioned by M r.Nelson seem to have escapedthe noti ce of prev ious w ri te rs , and they throw some l ight

on the exci t ing even ts whi ch dis tracted the palatinate

d u r ing the civi l war. O n October 27th ,1 635 , Bishop

Morton was elected a governor of the schoo l,but unde r


examp l e has been fo l lowed by h is k ind many a t ime and

oft s ince. O n the 9th , there was an hou r ’s run , whichhad an unusual fin ish. The meet was at Flass. A fox

was found in S tan l ey Wood,whence he was taken past

U shaw Col l ege and down the val l ey into the B rowney, in

c ross ing wh ich he sank and was drowned. Both houndsand field had a hard day ’s wo rk on the 1 5 th, when themeet was at Brancepeth. Afte r being kept go ing two

hours and a hal f, Reynard took refuge in a d ra in. I t i snot recorded how many empty saddles there w e re duringthe run. Those l eft in the field were glad to get a

refreshe r whi l e thei r w inded ho rses s tood w i th loosenedgi rths , and as blood had been wel l-earned by the hounds ,the fox was dug out and gi ven to them. Over-ridingsometimes occurred then as now

,a fox being lost in this

way on the 14th of January , 1840. The foxes had a

part ial i ty for the flues of B rancepeth and the dra ins underBurn H al l , and these they Sometimes reached just in the

n i ck of t ime. M ent ion is made of one run which lasted an

hou r and fifty-S IX minu tes , du r ing wh ich al l the horses

pe rfo rmed seve ral somersaul ts. The diarist is not often

descr i ptive , bu t one or two en tri es are worthy the pen of

an Appe rl eyo r a Su rtees. O n the 1 7th of January ,Reynard had been found in S tan l ey Wood , and was

po int ing for Hedley Fel l. Before reaching the latte r place ,he re -cons i de red matte rs , and took shel te r in a drain.

The hounds and horsemen being drawn as ide , by the aid

of pick and spade he was dis lodged. Fancying the coastc l ea r , Reynard came bo l dly ou t , gave one look aroundh im

,shook his brush , and ga l lantly dashed down the hi l l ,

runn ing fi rs t for Robin Proud ’s Gil l , the who l e packmaking the w elkin ring in his wake. Afte r a courageous

run of two hours , Reynard sank exhausted in a lanel eading to Wil l ington Bu rn ,

and died game in a ditch.

The fo l low i ng mon th a fox was so hard pressed that he

took refuge in a pig-s tye at Woodlands Hal l.

W i th Saxon ”as gu i de , phi losopher , and fr iend , we

bid adi eu to musty o ld tomes and h ied away to the WestRain ton Cou rs ing Meeting in 189 1 . We have fished in

all the North-count ry streams , and have had someexpe r i ence of fiel d sports in our day,

but never before had

HUNTING AND COURS ING. 97

the sport of cou rs ing any at tract ion for u s. The re was

ce rta in ly much to in te rest and amuse an ordinary

obse rve r. The men w e re intensely in earnest,and i t

was a s tudy to watch the i r faces as the sl ippe r,

somet imes c rouched beh ind a fence,d id h i s work or when

M r. Corbett , of Chi lton Moor , who super intended the

arrangements and seemed to part i c ipate to the fu l l[

in

the men ’s p l easu re , p rocla imed that th e game was afoot

by ra i s ing his s ti ck. “ The black has he r!” “ The

wh ite has he r!” and such l ike ejacu lat ions given in theve rnacu lar , a l te rnated between the run up and the j udge ’s

deci s ion,afte r wh ich the hard-se t featu res of the men

relaxed aga in. The love of sport'

is inhe rent in an

Engl ishman ,and as the gracefu l h ounds fo l lowed the

tu rn ings and tw i s tings of the bare in the t ract of country

w i th in Vi ew of th e Old chu rch at Houghton , w i th PenshawH i l l looming in the di s tance , and the b road acres ly ing at

its base , our mind’s

,

eye w en t ove r the same ground 500years ago ,

w hen th e same breed of hares afforded sport togen tl e and s imp le. Then the owne rsh ip of dogs was

l im ited to the farme r , and they somet imes did a l i ttl epoach ing on the i r own accoun t , j ust as the m ine r does

nowadays. And i t was not confined to laymen,for in

1 353 we find that Wi l l iam de Masham and John de

Lom ley,monach i , and Dominus de H i l ton , w e re p resen ted

at the Halmote Court of Ches te r for hun t ing hares overthese ve ry fie lds.

C H A P T E R X I V

THE HOUSE OF CLAVERING.

Descent.—Foremost in the Ba ron ia l Wa rs.—Barony of Alnw i ck.Foundat ion of Alnw i ck Abbey.—Lords of the Cast le and ManorofWa rkworth.—Manors of Newburn ,

Rot‘hbury, and Corbridge.

Magna Charta.—Ca l la ly.—Ch i ld Be trotha ls and Marriage sI l lustrious Al l iance s.

T was the pe rusal of the vo l uminous correspondence andanc ient records of the above i l lustrious fami ly , placed

at h is d isposal in the mos t un rese rved and generous way,

which fi rst led the w r iter to the study of local h istory and

genealogy. The C lave rings have weathered the blasts of

s even centu r i es , and the p resent representative of thefamily , S i r Hen ry Augustus C lave ring

,Baronet

,the

d escendan t of twen ty-five gene rations of Engl ish gentl emen

, i s the on ly man l iv ing who can prove a di rect mal e

d escen t from a custodian of Magna Charta,the foundation

of Engl ish l iberty , the great h i stor ical c ris is of King John’s

reign. The names of his ancestors are emblazoned on theh i s tor i c ro l ls of ou r country. They left behind themb r i l l ian t mementoes of the exci t ing part they played

d u ring the Norman era ; they fought bravely and loyal ly

a l l through the fierce and incessant struggles of thePlantagenets , and were not pass ive spectators of thepol i t i cal and re l igious dissens ions wh ich characterized

the Tudor dynasty. They w ere among the barons,the

fi rs t o rder of nobi l i ty,created by the No rman Conqueror ,

and from these he roes of feuda l t imes is S i r Hen ry

descended.What a bri l l ian t array of images these baron ial progen i to rs affo rd ; what a vast fie ld is here for those who

love to s tudy the v i c iss i tudes of fami l ies , the complexi ty

and ever-changing cou rse of human affa i rs. In imagination ,

we see these brave , fearless o ld warriors mounting

t hei r war-horses for the last t ime , and watch them str i ke

thei r last b low w ith the gl i tter ing steel. They have r idden

THE HOUSE OF CLAVERING. 99

on in to e te rn i ty , the i r hopes and fears Ial l ended , th e i r

combats and st ruggl es for vi c tory all ove rIn h is inaugu ra l address at Ed inbu rgh , in 1866

, Carlyl e

remarked that th e kings of England , al l the way down

from the Conquest to the t ime of Charl es I., had ,as a ru l e ,

bes tow ed the i r favou rs on m en w i th m inds fu l l of j ust i ce ,valour and human i ty , and al l those qua l i t i es that m en

ought to have who ru l e ove r o the rs. The record of thespl endi d abi l i ti e s and patr iot i c condu ct of the C lave ringsis a remarkabl e “ ve r ificat ion of th is fac t. In th e pedigrees

of some of our fami l i es , chi l dren have been massacred

w i th as l i ttl e remorse as we re th e infan ts of Beth l ehem,

and p rol ific issue has been given to ma i den ladies w i th as

great fac i l i ty as the fa the r has been made to d escend from

the son. B ut in t racing the h i s tory of th e C lave rings

the re is no n eed to reso rt to the performan ce of suchgenealogica l feats. By mean s of documen ts that are

publ i c and i r refu tabl e,th e fami ly may be traced s tep by

s tep , in a cl ear and regu lar se r i e s,th rough more than

s even hun dred years.

Among the nobles who accompan i e d Conque ro r Wil l iam

to England w e re Se rlo de Bu rgh and his b rothe r,J ohn

Fi tz-Eustace. Afte r the Norman autho r i ty was es tabl ished,

and n ea rly the w ho l e landed prope rty of the coun t ry hadbeen apportion ed among the Conque ro r ’s fo l low e rs

,S erlo

rece i ved a gran t of mano r ia l lan ds in Yo rksh i re,re turned

a s“ was ta ”

in Domesday Book , w he reon’

he bu i l t the

Cas tl e of Knaresbo rough , and wh ich was te!

lands,du ring

h i s d i l igen t occupation ,w e re conve rted in to the lordsh ip

O f Kna resbo rough. Dying w i thou t ma l e issue,his cast l e

and lands de scended to his nephew , Eustace Fi tz-J ohn ,

s on of th e John previous ly ment ion ed , who w as namedM onocu lus ,

” from hav ing the s ight of on ly one eye.Eu s tace w as one of those who swo re a l l egian ce to the

Empress Maud , and he was frequen tly engaged upon he r

beha l f in con tes ting S tephen’

s possess ion of the th rone,as

the ea rly monas t i c ch ron i c l es test i fy. H is fi rs t w i fe w as

B eatr i c e , daughte r and he i r of Ivo de Vesci,by which

a l l ian ce h e acqu i re d the baron i es of A lnw i ck, in No rth

umbe rland ,and Ma l ton ,

in Yo rksh i re. He was a great

ben efacto r of rel igious houses , and h is name occu rs as

I OO NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

wi tness to the charte r of foundat ion of the abbey of

C i renceste r in 1 133. The abbey of A lnw i ck was foundedand endowed by h im in 1 147 , and th ree years late r hefounded the pr io ri es of Wal ton and Mal ton in Yorkshire.The o riginal chartu lary of the pr iory of Mal ton i s in thePubl i c Reco rd Office. In 1 1 57 , being then

A bea rde d kn ight in arms grown o ld ,

he accompan i ed Hen ry th e Second in to Wa l es, to adjust

the quarrels of Owen Gwynneth and his brothe r, Cad

walad e r. H is cou rse was then run,howeve r , for he was

s la in in the pass of Consilt , whe re the k ing himself was ingreat danger from the cowardi ce of the Earl of Essex :He on ly saved himself by fl ight

, and the event is the theme

of a sp i r i ted ode by Cyndde lw ,a con temporary bard , who ,

address ing the king , saysKn ighthood , to the ge nerous beas tTha t saved thee , K ing, thou owe st a t least.

Eustace ’s l ife was passed in acts worthy of the he ro ism of

h is ancestors. He is descr ibed by the early chron i clers as

a great and aged man dist ingu i shed among the proceres

or nobles of England.”

By a second w ife , Agnes, daughte r o f Wil l iam FitzN igel

,Baron of Ha l ton and Constabl e of Cheste r , he had

a son ,Richard Fi tz-Eus tace , who succeeded to his

possess ions. Richard l eft a son , Roge r Fi tz-Richard ,

who had a gran t by charte r from King Hen ry the Second

of the castl e and manor of Warkworth , in Northumberland. The castl e of Warkwo rth , bu i l t in the ant ique

s tyl e of bow and spear , at a t imeWhen on ste ep a nd on cragStreamed banne r a nd flag

And the pennon s and plumage of wa r,

was then the p rinc ipa l no rthe rn residence and possess ion

of the C lave rings , and from a sketch of its ru ins , made in

1 776 ,a fa i r es timate may be fo rmed of w hat the stronghold

of a Borde r Warden w as l ike in th e days when Engl i shlords and Sco tt ish ch ie fs w ere foes , though , happi ly ,

The mart ia l te rrors long have fledTha t frown

'

d of o ld around its he ad.

In a c'

on temporary metrical ch ron i cl e of the war between

the Engl ish and Scotch in the years 1 1 73-

4 , w ri tten in

F rench by Jordan d e Fantosme, the re is early not i ce of

Roger F itz-Richard and his castl e. The ch ron i c l e r records


Fi tz-Robert ,’

by K ing John’s charte r dated the 1 2th of

Augus t, 1 2 1 2.

John Fi tz-Robe rt marri ed Ada,daughte r and co-hei ress

of H ugh de Bal io l , and was Sheriff of No rfo l k,Suffolk

,

and Northumberland. He was one of the twen ty-fivebarons appo inted to enfo rce the p rovis ions of MagnaCharta , and i s there in desc ribed as Lord of Warkworthand C lave ring. For h is adherence to the rebel l iousba rons on tha t occas ion his lands were confiscated and

he was deprived of hi s sh ri eva l t i es,though

, afte r thedeath of K ing John , they w e re res tored to h im by Hen ry

the Thi rd. In 1 240 , he was succeeded by his son,Roge r

F itz-John , who was ki l led n ine years late r whi l e engaged

in a tou rnamen t at Argencia ,in France. H is son

,Robert

F itz-Roger , who was about eighteen mon ths old at thet ime of his father ’s death

,succeeded h im. During his

minor i ty , accord ing to feuda l custom,he was placed in

the wardsh ip of Will iam de Va l e‘nce , the king’

s brother.Robe rt was a baron by w r i t and a lord o f Parl iamen t

, and

sat as a pee r when sentence was passed upon Llewe lin,

Prince of Wal es. Betw een the years 1 276- 1 309 , herece ived no fewe r than forty-n ine summonses to serv i ce

,

twen ty-five of these being summonses to Pa rl iament. O n

the 18th of October , 1 297 , he was appo inted Capta in of

the Marches in Northumberland , and on the 20th March,

1 3 10 ,he was e l ected and swo rn at Wes tm ins ter as one of

the peers to whom was committed the refo rmation of theS tate and the regu lation of the Royal Househo ld , ow ing

to the imprudent conduct of K ing Edward the Second.H is death occu r red the same year

,and among his

possess ions at the.

t ime was Ca l la ly , in No rthumberland ,which he acqu i red from Gi lbert Fi tz-Will iam. Thisp roperty con t inued in the possess ion of the C laveringfamily fo r six cen tu ri es , un ti l May,

1877 , when i t was sol d

to Major B rowne. The charte r granting Cal la ly to

Robert F i tz-Roger is dated 6th of Augus t , 1 27 1 , and

possesses a pecu l iar in te rest , s ince , had i t not been for

its acquis i tion and settl emen t upon a younger son , A lan ,

the C lavering family , in the exec rable p rimogen i t iveselfishness of an elde r brothe r , wou ld have been enti rely

be reft of landed estate.

THE 'HOUSE OF CLAVERING. 103

Robe rt Fitz-Roge r marr i ed Margery la Z ouche. In theyear 1 277 he made arrangements for the betrothal of h i s

e l dest son , John , who wou ld then be of the tende r age of

abou t seven years. The betrothal s ett l emen t i s cu r ious.In i t Robe rt covenan ts that h i s son John shal l marryHaw ise

, daugh te r of Robe rt de Tibe tot,on Fr iday , the

25 th of Novembe r , 1 277 ; and that the ch i ld-groom shal lendow h i s ch i ld-b r i de at the chu rch door w i th on e hund redl ibra tw of land. This mim ic marriage was du ly sol emniz ed . Such ear ly betrothals w e re usual at the t ime , and

we re Specu lat i ve ly arranged,in Vi ew of dow e r , by wea l thy

paren ts. Robe rt se rved in the wars in Scotland , Wa l es ,and Gascony

,and

,

‘

with h is son John,was presen t at the

s i ege and su rrender of Carlave rock Castl e. In the

inte rest ing con temporary descr i p t ion of th is s i ege known

as the Ro l l of Carlave rock,

” both are refe rred to as

be ing in the Earl of Lincoln ’s ret inue

The good Robe rt F itz-Roge rSaw I range his banne r.Tha t of John his son and he ir,Who has the surname of C lave ring ,Was not a t a ll differen t.

John succeeded h is fathe r in 1 3 10. He appears to havebeen of a con ten t ious dispos i t ion , and , according to thepubl i c reco rds

,was cons tant ly invo l ved in l it igat ion , even

w i th his younger b rothe rs. By his w i fe,HaWise , he had a

daughte r E va,but no son.. In many respects he seems to

have resembled! the baron H ilton ,

who ,in a fi t of

despondency,ru ined his family in the seventeen th century

by leaving hi s estates to the Mayo r and Corporation of

London. Be ing disappo in ted of m a l e issue,J ohn a l i enated

the whol e of his es tates to th e K ing , by wh ich transact ion ,

wh i l e i t augmented his income,he dep r i ved h i s b rothe rs

and the i r descendan ts of a noble inhe ri tance. Theimportan t barony of Warkworth , wi th the manors of

Rothbu ry , Newbu rn and Corb r i dge,in Northumbe rland

,

and the manor of I ve r , in Buckinghamshi re , w e re by th is

al i enation settl ed upon K ing Edward the S econd. The

manors of Aynhoe in Northamptonsh i re and Blythbu rgh

in Suffo l k,w i th the reve rs ion of the manors of C lave ring

in Essex and H orsford in No rfo l k , we re settl ed upon Ralph

de Nevi l l e,one of the baron ial p rogen i tors of the p resen t


marqu isate house of Abergavenny. John was the fi rs t ofthe family who adopted the pe rmanen t su rname of

C laver ing , wh ich he d id by command of K ing Edward theF i rst. H e died in 1 332 ,

l eaving an on ly daughter E va,

who Was betrothed to Thomas de Audley before she was

two years old. Thomas died a year afte r his betrothal,

and his ch il d spouse had the u sua l ass ignmen t of dowe r.A year afterwa rds she was betrothed secondly to Thomasde Uffo rd

, who was s la in at the battl e of S t i rl ing in 1 3 14 ,

l eaving her aga in a w i dow. She was betrothed thi rdly,and may be sa i d to have been fi rs t married

,to S i r James

Audley,by whom she was mother of the ch iva l rous ly

celeb rated S i r James Audley , the hero of Poictiers.I

Such are a few of the names of those whose valou r and

martia l deeds in the i r sovereign ’

s behal f have shed a

l u stre on the H ouse of C lavering and made them famousin the annals of our coun t ry. The i r al l iances have been

wi th the leading famil i es in England. Among those may

be coun ted a K ing and Queen of the realm ,a Duchess of

Yo rk , a Duchess of C larence , a Duke of Bedford , a

Marqu i s of Mon tacute , an Earl of Westmorland , an Earl

of Sal isbury , an Earl of Kent , the cel ebrated Earl of

Warw i ck , a Lord Latime r , a Lord Abergavenny , an

A rchb ishop of Yo rk , an Earl Marshal of England , and an

Earl of No rthumberland. James C lavering , the twelfth in

descen t from S i r A lan de C lave ring , was created a baronet

in cons i de rat ion of his serv i ces to Charles the Second , and

his descendan ts have been no l ess famed in h is to ry. Few

men ,in fac t , can po in t to immediate ances tors so

d ist ingu ished as S i r Hen ry Clave ring’

s. H is grandfather

was Brigadie r-Gene ra l Mordaun t C lavering , by whose

marr iage w i th the Lady Augusta , eldest daughter of thefifth Duke of A rgyle , he i s al l ied to that i l l ustrious family.

Among the lette rs at Axwel l none“

possess a greaterh istori ca l in te rest than those penned by his g reat-grandfathe r , S i r John C lavering , 2 Commande r-in-Ch ief and

I For many of the forego ing fa cts the author is indebted to a

priva te ly prin ted and ve ry able Monograph of the C lave ring s by Mr.G.Bla cke r Morgan.

2 Under da te Augus t 3rd , 1745 , the re is a le tte r from Sir John , who

was then a capta in in the 5 2nd Foo t. He was w i th the Eng l ishtroops when they w e re de fea ted by the French a t Fontenoy , and in

C H A P T E R X V .

CREMAT ION AND BUR IAL.

Canon Greenwe l l among the Anc ien t Bri tons—Early Buria ls.Cremat ion.—Burying Bodie s U ncoffi ned.—Bury ing a t M idn ight.—F ixing Su ic ide s w ith a S take.—Vau lts in the Crypt a t

Bamburgh.—The Bodie s of Genera l and Doro thy Forster.Fune ra l Customs and M ishaps.—Dean Wh itt ingham.

N 1889 , Canon Greenwel l was unea rth ing the sku l ls and

th igh bones of the fie rce B ri tons who roamed abou t

the wolds of Yorkshi re a coupl e of thousand years ago.

A brief survey of the manner in wh ich the dead have beendisposed of du r ing the past two or th ree thousand yearsw i l l be found to embrace many cu rious featu res and po intsof in te rest.

With the exception{

of Egypt,where bodies we re

embalmed , J udaea , whe re they were put in sepu l chres ,and Ch ina , where they we re bu ri ed in the earth , cremationmay be sa i d to have been the genera l p ractice of theancien t wo rl d. Dr. Farrar

,the learned Professor of

Divin i ty at the Un ivers i ty of Du rham , speaking , in 1889 ,

to the studen ts , gave some curious facts respecting thed isposal of the bodies of the anci ent monarchs of the fi rstnamed coun try. So recen tly as 1882 ,

the sec ret bu ryingplace of the tyran t Rameses I I. was di scovered there.

The body was removed to Ca i ro,and here the proud

Rameses , who years ago ,l i ke a Ch inese Emperor ,

might nei ther be looked upon nor approached , now l i es in

the publ i c museum ,unswathed , as an obj ect upon which

p resent generations can gaze. I t was the daughte r of

th is Rameses I!.who saved Moses. Among the Greeks,

inhumation and c remation preva i l ed at the same time.The Romans at fi rst bu ried the dead w i thou t bu rn ingthem

,afte rwards they pract ised cremation ,

and final lyreverted to the fi rst mod e ; bu t a t no t ime was the

observance in ei ther way un i ve rsal.

CREMATION AND BURIAL. 107

Excavat ions by Canon G reenwel l in Northumberland,

and in Yo rksh i re , show that the appl i cat ion of fi re to thebody was one of th e r i tes wh ich was common ly p racti se d

by the anc i en t B r i tons. The p roport ion of burn t to

unbu rnt bod ies d iffe rs ve ry cons ide rably in va rious

di str i c ts. In the Yorksh i re barrows , for instance , the

forme r amounts to rathe r more than a fou rth. Thus,

out of 379 bu r ia l s examined by Canon Greenw e l l ,on ly 78 we re afte r c remat ion , wh i l s t 30 1 w e re by

inhumat ion , or bu r ial of th e body in the condi t ion in wh i chi t was l eft when l i fe d eparted .

I In Northumberland ,howeve r

,the p roportion of bu rnt to unbu rn t bodies was

almos t two to one—out of 7 1 bod ies , 45 be ing afte rc remat ion and 26 by inhumat ion. Where unbu rn t bodiesare found

,sometimes t hey are placed in th e mound

w i thou t anyth ing to protect them from the su rrounding

earth o r s tones. Sometimes a body l i es in a sma l l box of

s ton e , o r c ist , at oth e r t imes in the ho l lowed trunk of a

t ree, or a grave sunk below the su rface of the ground.

Occas iona l ly the bottom of a grave has been lai d

w i th s labs of wood. Where bu rn t bod i es have been

depos i ted,the bones are sometimes placed in an u rn ,

w h i ch u sual ly is standing upright , but sometimes i sreve rsed ove r the bones. The mouth is now and then

found to have been c losed w i t h clay. J udging from thecare fu l w ay in wh ich the bon es have been col l ected afte r

the bu rn ing,i t wou l d on ly be natu ra l to expect that some

p rovis ion shou ld have been made for pro tecting them fromthe su rrounding earth , and i t is not un l i kely that the

mouth of the urn was occas iona l ly cove red w i th c loth or

h i de. In the greate r numbe r of cases , the body appears

to have been bu rn t apart from the place where the bon es

w e re u l t imately depos i ted but nume rou s instances occu r

whe re the cal c ined rema ins have been inte rred on th e s i te

of the fune ra l p i l e , wh ich was frequently con structed ove r

a ho l low ,p reviously made to con tain th e bones. In some

rare cases , the bones we re not co l l ected afte r the bu rn ing,

bu t w e re left in the pos i t ion they had occup ied before the

fi re was appl i ed. Whe re inhumat ion took place,the body

was a lmos t a lways found to have been la i d u pon the s id e,

1 Brit ish Barrows , by Canon Gre e nwe l l and Dr.Ro l le ston.


with the knees d rawn up towards the head , which is

general ly more or l ess ben t forward. So invariable is t he

ru l e,that out of 30 1 bu r ial s examined by Canon Greenwel l

on ly in fou r Instances had the body been la i d at fu l l l ength.The exten t of the bu rn ing var i ed much , as might beexpected. Sometimes the bones we re reduced a lmos t topowder ; at othe r times they are so l i ttl e consumed thateach parti cu lar bone can be recogn ized , whi ls t in somecases on ly a part of them has been acted upon by fi re

,

othe r portions being in a perfectly unca lc ined s tate.

To many peopl e the i dea of burn ing human bodies i srevo l t ing , and the re is someth ing shocking in the proposalto treat what has been the abode of a sou l as i f i t we re somuch fue l or rubbish. Sen timen ts and feel ings , as a

w r i te r on th is subj ect in the D urham -Un iversizy journa l

po ints out, are very real th ings , and we none of us l i ke to

have them trampled upon. But sent imen ts and feel ingsmay be changed , as we al l know from experi ence.Increase of know l edge wou l d p robably in many personsp roduce a change of sen t iment. I t is becau se a ll of us

have frequen t expe rience of what takes place when fleshof any kind is exposed to the rapid action of fi re , and so

few have any expe rience of what takes place when i t ’ i sexposed to the s low action of the earth , that so manypeople th ink i t a very horr ibl e th ing to bu rn a corpse , yetsee nothing ho rribl e in burying i t. Probably to have onceseen a human body afte r i t had been bu ri ed for somemonths wou l d p roduce an en ti re change of Opin ion on that

pom t.

There can be no doubt that c remation was in genera luse in th is coun try un t i l the fourth centu ry , when i twas prevented in great measu re by the C hrist ian doctrineof the resurrection of the body, and partly also by thenot ion that the Christ ian ’

s body was redeemed and

pu rified. I t is not qu i te clear when the presen t mode of

bu rying in a coffi n came into use. Probably i t may

s tartl e some peopl e , and remove much sen t imen t on th esubject

, to be tol d that un ti l qu i te recen t t imes , down to

the middl e of the last centu ry , in fact , i t was u sua l to bu rypoor people in our chu rchyards w i thout any coffin at all

,

I I O NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

Soc i ety v i s ited Howden in 1885 , a par ish coffin of oak was

found there , st i l l p rese rved , though d i lapidated. I t was

of the usua l coffin shape,but w i th the ends made for a

coped l i d. There used to be a custom of bu ry ing peop l eat midn igh t. Many people w ere bu r i ed in S t.Nicholas ’sChu rch

,Newcastl e , in th is way. Torches we re used at

the fune ra ls of th e great in the s ixteen th centu ry,bu t in

more recent t imes tapers and flambeaux were substi tuted.Why the pract i ce of bury ing the dead at midn ight was

fo l lowed so long is not qu i te c lear,

and is the moresu rp ris ing when i t is remembered that su i c ides werein te rred at this hour , w i th a stake driven th rough thebody. This fixing of the body was thought to get ri dof corpse and ghos t togethe r

,and

,from the practice

having been fo l lowed in No rthumberland and Du rham so

late as the second decade in th is centu ry,shows how

supe rst i t ion l ingered w i th us. To th is day some tribesin Gu inea th row thei r dead in to the sea ,

in the bel i ef thatevi l sp i r i ts cannot r ise from the deep. The K am tchadales

keep specia l dogs fo r the purpose of consuming the dead,

reconc i l ing themse lves to th is custom by the doctrine thatthey who are eaten by dogs he re w i l l d rive fine dogs in the

othe r world. Certa in tribes of the anc i en t Scythians are

sa i d to have eaten thei r dead , and Burton a l l eges that

at Dahomey the body of a pe rson ki l l ed by l ightn ing is

not bu ried l ike others , but is backed to pieces and eatenby pri ests. Skertchley,

howeve r , says they do not actual ly

eat i t , bu t on ly make-bel i eve to do so ; but the makebel i eve is probably the su rv ival of what was once therea l i ty. Certa in of the American tribes bu ry thei r chi ldren

in a separate grave-yard from adu l ts , and others bu rythem by the w ays ide , that the i r sou ls may ente r intopersons pass ing by. The New Z ealander ’s method of

expressing his gri ef on the death of a fri end is to daubh imse lf w i th red p igmen t and gash his body w i th broken

shel ls. The Hawaians also d isfigure themselves , knock

out the i r fron t teeth , cu t off a finger join t or an ear and

on the death of a king , wh ich i t is to be hoped is not of

frequen t occu rrence , the nation fe igns un ive rsa l madness ,

and mu rders , robs , and commits al l manner of c rimes as

a ceremon ia l exp ress ion of a sorrow which has driven

them fran t i c.

CREMATION AND BURIAL. I I I

In the town shi p of Co rnfo rth,in Durham

,there i s a

fa rm cal l ed Stobcross , wh ich der ives i t s name from be ing

the bu rial p lace of a man who had committed su i c i de byd rown ing. Some years befo re , he had dece ived a poor

gi r l,who pu t an end to he r l ife n ear a ru in ed dovecot ,

wh i ch had been the place of meet ing w i th he r tra i tor

love r. Some of th e Old people of Cornfo rth declare that

he r sp i r i t s t i l l hove rs round the spot in the form of a

w h i te dove , w i th th ree d ist in ct crimson spots on th e b reast.B u t th e barbarous custom of bu rying su i c ides in th is wayw as proh ibi ted by an Act passed in 1823 , requ i r ing the

co rone r to d i rect the private in te rmen t , w i thou t rel igiousr i tes

,w i th in tw en ty-fou r hou rs after the inquest

, and

be tween th e hou rs of n ine and twelve at n ight, of those

who have committed felo-de-se. Ch ri s tian bu r ial,as we

know ,was den i ed by canon law after the Reformat ion

to a ll excommun i cated persons , su i c i des,crimina l s

,

u su re rs , sch ismati cs,and he ret ics , and th is l ed to many

in s tances of bu r ial in p r ivate p laces.

The examinat ion of old vau l ts seems to have had a

charm for th e fi rs t ward en of the Un ive rs i ty of Durham,

the gifted A rchdeacon Thorp , who found the coffin con

ta in ing the bodies of severa l members of the Fo rs te r

fam ilv. The ci rcums tances are in te rest ing. O n the 24th

of Septembe r , 1847 , the Archdeacon’

s cu r ios i ty l ed himin to the c rypt beneath Bambu rgh Chan cel. O n a rude

,

stone platform w ere five coffins. The fi rs t was perfect,

and con ta ined the body of M r. Bacon Forste r , of Adde r

stone , who died in 1 765. The second con ta ined the body

of Fe rnando Fo rste r , who died in 1 70 1 . The coffin had

fal l en to p ieces , bu t there w ere t races of a w ho l e figu re.The leg and th igh bones we re en t i re , and in place of th e

sku l l,on wh ich the coffin l i d had fal l en ,

was a mass of

dus t l i ke w h i te l ime. Thi s was the Fo rste r that was sa i d

to have been murde red at Newcastl e by Fenw i ck of

Byw el l. The re had been a long-standing feud betweenth e two , and at l ength , du ring the Ass ize w eek , when the

p rinc ipal gen try of the coun ty we re assembled at Newcas tle ,Forste r chal l enged Fenw Ick to combat. At the ou tset

,

Forste r s l i pped and fel l on h is back , and wh i l e ly ing inth i s pos i t ion h i s adve rsary ran up and stabbed h im th rough

I I 2 NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

the heart. Vengeance , howeve r , was speedy,for Fenwick

was executed at the‘

White C ross the month fo l low ing.In the th i rd coffin was the body of John or Will iamForste r , who died in 1 700. The coffin was in much the

same state as the p receding,w i th the diffe rence that the

sku l l was perfect. The fou rth coffin conta ined the bodyof Genera l Forste r

,the leade r of the Northumberland

rebels , whose incompetence was so fata l to the youthfulLord Derwen twater and his co l l eagues. The body was.

b rought from France in 1 738. The ou ter coffin of elmwas en t i re and s trong. The body rested in sawdust

,

closely packed. The l inen c lothes were the re,and the

Archdeacon saw that one of the l egs was fleshy and

perfect. In the dia ry of Lady Cowper , Lady of the Bedchamber to the Princess of Wal es

,and daughte r of

‘

John C lave ring , E sq., of Chopwel l , the re is a cu rious

testimonv to the Gene ral ’s incompetence. Fo rste r was

he r cousm , and the messengers ,”she says in he r diary ,

“ had been down in the summer to take h im up , but he

had h id himself at my cous in Fenw i ck ’s

of Bywe l l,so they d id not get h im. I

conj ectu re that i t was for the sake of his

uncl e and aun t (Lord and Lady C rewe).that he was made gene ral , and not at all

from the fi tness of the th ing , for he had

neve r seen an a rmy in his l i fe. The

concern and agi tat ion of mind wh ich my

Lady C rewe had ,for fear the messenger

shou ld take him up ,ki l l ed her , for she

fel l in to convu ls ions and died in fourdays.” The fifth and las t coffi n con

tained the body of Do rothy Fo rste r , who

was buri ed in 1 739. The coffin had

fal l en to p ieces , and the rema ins w ere not

consumed. The ribbon whi ch had con

fined the jaw of the co rpse was lying

near i t. A note inse rted by A rchdeacon

Thorp says that Dorothy marr i ed Arm

strong , afte rwards of the Friars , an

infe r ior person. I t is asserted by Sykes

and othe r local w r i te rs that M rs. Arm

I I 4 NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

respect a second ed i t ion of th e E l sdon worthy. H e loved

home-brew ed , and was regarded as the best-hearted and

jo l l i est fe l low w i th in twenty mi l es. When a person di edat th is t ime , the who l e count rys i de flocked to his fune ral

,

and when the mi l l e r was gathered to his fathe rs,at th e

r i pe age of fou r-score and ten,i t was found that he had

l eft in his w i l l the sum of twen ty pounds wherew i th toprovide meat and drink to all who attended his funeral.M uch of both was consumed , i t n eed hardly he remarked ,and when the body of the mi l l e r was l ifted i t soon becamee viden t that the mourne rs had imbibed too free ly. The

C l e rk of Greystoke,who headed the p rocess ion

,did his

best to wal k erect,and with a dign i ty and sedateness of

manner befi tt ing the occas ion ; wh i l e the beare rs a lsoe ndeavou red to keep in a stra ight l ine w i th each othe r andthe hearse. The fog of a Novembe r even ing was fal l ingw hen the company reached the road leading to the church ;but by some means or othe r , instead of

‘ keeping to ther ight , they tu rned to the l eft and w en t in the d i rection of

Pen r i th. They had not gone far t i l l they met o ld Squ i reHuddleston

,of Hutton J ohn , who , concluding from the

uns teady appearance of the mou rners that someth ing was

w rong,commanded the process ion to stop

,and inqu i red

if the mi l l e r had des i red his rema in s to be carr i ed to

m arket befo re bu r ia l. As may be imagined , there was

g reat d ismay among the leaders , each cast ing the blame

on the other for the mis take. Having retraced thei r s teps ,the party at l ength reached the chu rch , bu t found that

the parson ,t i red of wa i t ing , had gone home. While a

m essenger w en t off in search of h im ,the bearers shou ldered

the coffin ,and preceded by the clerk , prepared to ente r the

C hu rch. Now ,i t so happened that the re w ere three steps

down from the porch , and fo rgett ing th is fact,the cle rk

fel l head—foremos t in to the chu rch , the six bearers fol low ingimmediate ly in his w ake tumbling pell-mel l afte r him

,the

c offin fal l ing on the top of them w i th a crash, and the

v iol en t concuss ion bursting open the s i des and reveal i ngthe shrouded body of the o ld mil l e r. The affair c reated a

g reat sensation at the t ime , a l though everybody imm ed i

ately concerned did his bes t to hush i t up. By commonconsen t , the whol e blame was put upon the poor cle rk

,

CREMATION AND BURIAL. I 1 5

who i s sa i d to have p resented a pit iabl e and humi l iat ing

spectac l e as he took his p lace in his l i ttl e desk the fol low ingSunday morn ing.

When i t i s remembe red how sparsely th e di str ic t was

populated , i t need not be matte r for wonde r that the Oldla i rds imb ibed somewhat freely du r ing the long w in te rn ights. They had l i tt l e e l se to do ,

and no rat ional enjoymen t be ing w i th in reach , they w ere obl ig ed , as they pu t

it , to drink in s elf-defence. The Rev. C. Dodgson was

Recto r of E lsdon in the m idd l e of the las t cen tu ry , and in

a lette r to a fri end he gives a cu r ious p ictu re of his so l i tud eand eve ry-day l i fe the re. I am obl iged

,

” he w r i tes ,“to

be my own su rgeon ,apothecary

,and phys i c ian ,

for the reis not a creature of tha t profess ion w i th in s i xteen miles of

me. A clog-maker combs ou t my w ig upon my curate’

s

head by way of a block,and his w ife powders i t w i th a

dredging-box. To keep myself warm,I l i e in the parlou r

betw een two beds. In ano the r l etter , speaking of theco ld

,he says

,

“ I am deprived of everyth i ng save myreason ,

though my head i s en trenched w i th th ree n ightcaps

,and my throat is fo rt ified w i th a pa i r of s tock ings ,

tw isted in the form of a cravat.

In former t imes peopl e l i ked to have a good , respectablefunera l. Among the upper classes , those who cou l d -w ri tes en t inv itat ion s to all the i r fr i ends

,wh i l e poore r peopl e

s en t “ bidders,

” funerea l- looking ind ividua ls , who may

s t i l l b e seen go ing from hou se to house,general ly of an

e ven ing,in remote coun try places

,whe re old cus toms di e

hard. We possess an old inv i tat ion to a fune ra l,and its

q ua in t po l i teness tempts us to give i t w i thout a l te ration

S ir, —We e a re heart i ly sorry to invite you to Newha l l on th is disma lo cca tion , but as It

’

s a Debt wh i ch we a ll must soone r or la te r pay,

hope you’ l honour my S iste r and I w ith your company on Thursday

n ext by 1 1 o’c lock in the fore noon ,

in orde r to a t tend he r Husband ’

s

Corpse to Lan che ste r Church and the favour w i l l a lways be

a cknow ledged by the Fami ly, and , S ir, your most Obedien t , Humb leS e rvant , G.WHITTINGHAM.N ewha l l , Octobe r ye 8th , 1 75 1.

Th is miss ive i s addressed to George C lave r ing , E sq.,of G reencroft. George Whitt ingham was the son of

Z achar iah , and b rothe r to Timothy Whitt ingham ,whose

d aughte rs E l izabeth and Sarah carr ied port ion s o f the

e state in to the Hun te r and Cookson famil i es. To the

1 16 NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

l e tter is pinned an indentu re,dated 1690 ,

whe rebyZ achar iah Whi tt ingham , of Newhal l

,in the pari sh of

Lancheste r , grants to S i r James C laver ing , for a periodof fo rty-two years

,certa in t i thes w i th in the Manor of

Greenc roft , at the yearly ren t of£4. The Whit tinghams

t raced the i r descen t from the cel ebrated DeanWhitt ingham,

of whom there i s a mos t in teres t ing accoun t in a l et te rwh ich has come in to the w r i te r ’s pos sess ion. I t was

w r i tten by M r.Geo.T. Edwards , secretary to th e B rit ishand Fore ign B ibl e Soc iety

,and is addressed to the

Rev. John Dingle , late V i car of Lancheste r. The documen t , as w i l l be seen

,possesses cons i derable h istor ical

in terest.Lake V iew , Winde rme re , 28th De cember, 1875.

My dea r S ir,—Y ou may remembe r my ca l l ing upon you a few

w e eks ago to inqu ire about Will iam Wh itt ingham,who wa s a nat ive

of your parish , and the trans la tor of the Genevan New Te stament ,the vers ion tha t pre ceded our prese nt authorized one. The principa lpart i cu lars about him a re as fo llow —He was the son of Will iamWhitt ingham , E sq., of Holmse t , a fte rwards ca l led Ho lmside Ha l l ,in the parish of Lanches te r. H e be came a commone r of Brasen-nose

Co l lege ,Oxford

,in 1 540, having be en born in 1 524. He made such

proficien cy tha t he was e le cted Fe l low of Al l Sou ls in 1545 , and was

a fte rwa rds chosen one of the se n ior studen ts of Chris t Church. In

May, 1 550 ,had leave gra n ted him by the Dean and Canons to trave l

for thre e ye a rs , and w en t to France , spe nding a year and a ha lf a tPa ris a nd Or leans Un ive rs i ty. Soon a fte r his re turn , Edward VI.die d , and during the troub le s of Ma ry ’

s re ign he aga in went off to

the Con t inent , a nd u lt ima te ly se tt le d a t Geneva , where he tran s lateda nd prin te d an edi t ion of the Engl ish New Te stame nt , for wh ichCa lv in w rote a pre fa ce. He wa s a lso pastor of the Engl ish ex i les a t

Geneva , and , w i th the he lp of o the rs , he a fte rwa rds brought out thewho le Engl ish B ib le. I t was a revis ion of Tynda le

’

s ve rs ion.Re turn ing to England a fte r the a cce ss ion of E l i zabe th , he a fte rwardsbe came De an of Durham ,

though neve r e p iscopa l ly orda ined , and hedied in 1 5 79. The curious po in t in his h is tory is tha t he is said to

have ma rried a s iste r of Ca lvin , and in Browne Willis ’

s book , “ ASurvey of the Ca thedra ls , a s w e l l a s in Hutchinson ’

s H istory of

the Coun ty Pa la t ine of Durham , the e p i taph is given from a monumen t e re ct ed to him in Durham Ca thedra l , a s fo l lows In obitum

d oc tissimi v ir i G u lie lm i Wh ittingham i, De can i o l im Dune lmensis.

Ma rit i Ca the rina sororis Johann is Ca lvin,Theo logi

, qui Ob i it anno

1 579. Th is monume n t , it se ems , wa s de s troyed w i th othe rs by theScots whe n they invaded England in 1640. Bu t when I was in

Gene va ,in 1866 , I inspe cted the re cords of the Engl ish ex i le s in the

Pub l i c Library , and found the fo l low ing Wil l iam Wh itt inghamof Che ste r, in England , and Ca the r ine Ja quemayn e of Orlean s , inFran ce , w e re marr ied Novembe r i 5 th , 1 556. Pre sen ted a son forbapt ism 1 7th August , 1 55 7. Cheste r mus t e ithe r be a con tra ct ionfor Lan che ste r, or re fe r to the Che ste r Wa rd of the Coun ty ofDurham , the coun ty be ing div ided in to four wa rds , a nd Lan che ste rbe ing in the Che ste r Ward. But how came the fa c t to be s ta te d tha the married Ca lv in

’

s s is te r P If you can he lp to c lea r tha t up , I sha llbe glad.—I am ,

s incere ly yours , G E O.T. EDWARDS.


The name of an early clockmake r occurs in 1 7 14 ,when

George Wheatl ey was pai d 25 . for cl ean ing a c lock.M r. Pete r Potts was pa i d £ 1 1 5 .6d. for a pound of Boheat ea

, Mr. Todd 105 . for a couple of l ive ry hats , and

Anthony Kel l 145 .for making two l i ve ri es. A black marecos t £5 a K eyley bu l l £ 1 14s., a cow and calf

£4 1 25 . 6d., wh i l e £7 1 5s.was pa i d for a pa i r of oxen

bought at S tagshaw. Du r ing hay harves t , Wil l iam Bel lwas pai d a sh i l l ing a day w h i le he mowed , and at othe rt imes 8d. pe r day. Black c loth was 185 . per yard , a sw i l l2d ., a th rave of oat straw 4d., ch imney sweep ing 2d., and

w hen th e new ma i d w as engaged she rece ived a shil l ingearn es t money. H al f-a-c rown was pa id for a pound of

w ax candles and Robert Go l ightly received £ 1 1 5s.for a

w ig. In 1 7 1 5 , w e come across the name of anothe r localwatchmake r , M r.Joseph Harr i son ,

looking to my watchyearly

,25 . 6d. Wil l iam Tu rton was pai d fou rteen pence

a d ay for saw ing wood , and was twenty-three days ins inking a w el l

,for which he was pa i d at the rate of s ixteen

pen ce a day. Seven shi l l ings and S ixpence was pa i d forb reaking the gray mare , and £ 1 1 2s. for fou r anchors of

ale. A pa i r of cart-wheels cos t £ 1 I S. 6d., and £ 1 45 .

was pa i d fo r putt ing ou t two cows to grass dur ing thesummer. S tu ff bought of Mr. Ra lph Paxton for a pai r of

breeches cost 9 5 .5d. a dozen p ints of sherry , 85 .4d. and

at Candlemas Peggy Ward rece ived 1 25 . 6d. for herqua rte r ’s w ages. In 1 7 16 , Grace Smith was pa id 75 .for

a bedstead Do rothy M i e rs I s. 1od . for a frying pan and

Nicho las Emmerson 18s. for two tables. Two blackl eathe r skins for breeches cost 7 5 . 6d. a D utch cow was

sol d to Phi l ip Car r fo r £4 5 5 .6d. and 5s. 6d.was pa i d for

a pa i r of gray wo rs ted s tockings. Snuff cost half a gu inea

a pound in 1 7 1 9 ,and under March 2nd , 1 721 , is the

en try A tooth draw ing 105 . but the name of theden tis t is no t given. In 1 723 , A rch iba ld Watson was

pa id five guineas fo r a setting bitch, and M r.Shadforth ,

the barber, £ 1 105 . for a yea r ’s salary. When Andrew

Wood was unable to pay his ren t , 5 5 . 4d .was paid to thesal e cal l e r for cal l ing his goods , and the auction ee r ’scharge for sel l ing them was 3 5 . 1od.

OLD NEWCASTLE TRADESMEN. 1 19

Unde r date 1 737 , James Anderson i s pa i d 105 . 5d. for

glaz i e r work done in Cow Gate, and John Ho l l iday

£ 1 85 . 1 d. for b r i cklaye r work in M i dd le S tre e t. I t

seems that at th i s t ime br i cks we re 105 .pe r thousand, and

M r. H o l l i day himself charged 2s. pe r day for his labou r.Joseph Langs taffe was pa id a coupl e of sh i l l ings for hal f ahundred pan ti l es , and George H are ten sh i l l ings for two

i ron shu tte rs for the ovens in M r.Pooly’

s house in M i ddl eS treet. Mr. Thomas Sw inhoe pa i d £4 1 5s. for ha l f-ayear ’s ren t of five rooms and a shOp in the C lose , and

M rs. Sarah Kel l ’s year ly ren t for a Shop in the same placewas £2 5 5 . Mr.Thomas Wilkins pa i d £ 1 1 5s.hal f-yearly ,

for th ree rooms and a garre t in the Javil Group. At th ist ime M r. John Cook was sec retary to the Company of

B ricklaye rs , and he was pa i d 1 25 . for s i x bow l s of l ime.John Dixon , pl umber , was pa i d £ 1 1 1 5 .6d. for pu tting up

a n ew l ead c is te rn,the l ead used be ing va l u ed at 25 . pe r

stone. O n the 2o th December,1 738 , 85 .8d.was pa i d for

a year ’s D urham Cou ran t. James Ch i l ton was pa id 5 5 . fora salmon

,

'

Joseph Bran tingham 1 25 . for fou r boWls of

potatoes,and ha lf a ton of hay cos t 105 . M r. Thomas

Cockram was pa i d 1 5 .8d. for a pa i r of ham -s t i cks, £ 1 45 .

for a long car t and two axle trees,and 5 5 .for a pa i r of car t

l immers. In 1 740 th e re is a paymen t of a pound to

Hen ry H andcock for a new plough and a long cart,and

R i chard Tu rne r was pa i d at the rate of 3s. pe r day for

l ead ing hay w i th his horse and cart. John M ie rs’

s chargefor making two sher iff ’s l i ver i es was and fo r al te r ing

two wai stcoats 1 5 . 6d. An thony N icho lson charged 8d.for a l te r ing two bo l ts and mending the lock of a house inDenton Chare. Th ree gu ineas was spen t at Dr.Askew ’

s

ch ri sten ing in 1 742 and £2 was rece ived for th e B laydonFishe ry.

Hav ing thus taken a gene ra l su rvey o f the o ld t rades

men and the p ri ces of the i r goods dur ing the yea rs

1 7 14-42 ,l e t Us t ry to pi ctu re to ou rselves w hat New cas t l e

mus t have been in 1 786 , and hav ing done that , to imagine

ourselves jogg ing Newcas t l e-wards w i th we l l- l ined pockets

for the double pu rpose of making our market ing and

paying th e Ch ristmas bi l l s. Ou r fi rst hal t is at the

Newcastle Couran t Office , whe re we take M r. Thomas


Sa in t’

s rece ipt for two years ’ papers. The Couran t , as

e ve rybody knows , made i ts fi rs t appearance in 1 7 1 1 . I twas prin ted by M r. John White , and was the fi rs tnewspape r publ ished north of th e Trent. Mr.White d iedin 1 769 , and was succeeded by Mr. Sa in t. B idd ing Mr.Sa in t good-day, we s tep ove r to M r.David Akenhead ’

s,

and pay h is b i l l for statione ry and b ind ing. Runn ing our

eye over i t , w e find that a hundred qu i l l s cost 4s., a p in t ofink 8d., half a ream of foo lscap a s ti ck of red wax 6d.

,

a qu i re of fine cartr idge pape r 1 5 . 6d., and two qu i res of

w h i te brown 6d . Two qu i res of demy paper cost 45 .rul ing i t

, w i th 44 l ines to a page , cos t 7 5 .4d. and b indingthe who l e cost 45 .6d.more. B inding Dods ley

’

s Annua l

Registe r ” in ca l f cost 1 5 . 9d ., and 9d. was charged forMoore ’s A lmanack. Before proceeding to the market wemust look in at Mr. Charn l ey the booksel l e r ’s shop.He pockets our £3 w i th a smile

,and hopes that the

th i rd , fou rth , fifth,

and s i xth vo l umes of “ TristramShandy ”

arr ived to our sat isfaction.

We must now look for someth ing more subs tan tial.Reachi ng the market we pay 7s. 1o% d. fo r 10% lbs. of

butte r,being 9d . pe r lb. a fo requarte r and loin of veal

cos t 105 .4d.; a coupl e of rabb i ts , 1 5 .4d.; seven ch ickens ,

4% d. each ; six tongues , 14s. 200 apples , 5s. a bushel

of salt,

1 3 stone of beef, £2 75 . 3d. a twen ty-poundcheese

, 7 5 . 6d. 1 2 l emons , 2s. 6d. two chickens ,th ree spring mouse- t raps , 1 5 . 6d. two tin pots , 6d. fourmops , 4s. ; a basket , 7d. ; two chamber pots , 1 5 . 2d.

two bas ins,I s. 44 lbs. of mutton , 105 . 1 d. fou r ducks ,

2s. six geese , 9s. a tu rkey , 1 5 . 6d.; ten sma l l cups , I s.

six square j e l ly glasses , 2s. six large brown dishes , 25 .e ight ga l l ey pots , 25 . 1 d. 1 2 smal l brown di shes , 25 . 3d.

six quart mugs , I s. ; 14 smal l mugs , 1 1 d. and 4 cream-colou red gi l l mugs , 6d. A peck and a ha l f of oatmeal forthe ch ickens cos t 35 . 6d. a ga l lon of E liker (Al egar P),1 5 . 4d. ; six sw eetbreads , 3s. ; a veal ’s head , I S. 6d.ca lf’s feet , 4d. six sheep rumps , 25 . 500 damsals ,

1 5 .8d. a stone of flour , 25 .8d. 1 2 lbs. of honey-comb ,1 2s. 100 oys te rs , 2s. and a stone of pipe-clay , 1 5 . 3d.

The saddle r ’s b i l l has rema ined unpa i d th ree yea rs , and

our next v i s it is to Mr.Gabrie l Marl ey ’s shop. A sh i l l ing,

I 22 NORTH -COUNTRY SKETCHES.

Su rtees , Johnson , and Co., wine me rchants , we re pa i d

£50 for a pipe o f red port. M ess rs.Rudman and H al l

charged 3s. 6d. for a pound of coffee. Joseph Be l l,

pa in te r at the S t. Luke , H igh B r idge ,”for pa in ting th e

outs ide of 43 w indows , con ta in ing 768 squares,charged

£3 45 . He charged £ 18 75 . 1 1 d. for pa in ting 883 yardsof dead white , and £8 16s. 6d.for 706 yards of fine wate rwh ite

, and £7 3 5 . for s ta in ing 143 yards a pea green.E ight sh i l l ings was charged for pain ting and l e tte r ing two

boards fo r man- traps and finding the boards ; 25 . was

charged for 6 lbs. of putty, £2 5 5 . for c lean ing and

varn ishing 1 8 pictu res , £ 1 16s. for I z lbs. of fine greenpa int , 25 . for a quart of varn ish

,and 1 5 . 6d.for 3 gil l s of

tu rpent ine. Dr. I ngham ’

s accoun t for medic ine is madeup of gargles and n ight d raughts. The former cost 3s.,and the latte r 1 5 . Dr. Rayne ’s is more var i ed. A dose

of phys i c cos t 6d. a vis i t,25 . phys i c aga in

, 6d. a dose

of rhubarb , 6d. drops , 6d. blooding , I s. Open ing and

cu r ing a large tumour in the neck, 5 5 . an embrocation ,

a large bottl e of drops fo r the housekeepe r , I s. a

pu rging infus ion for the same , and the mixturerepeated , 45 . 1od. Hadwen Bragg , the founde r of thefi rm of M ess rs. B ragg and Company , did not begin

bus iness at the end of Mos l ey S treet , as a l inen drap er ,merce r

,haberdashe r , and hos i e r , un ti l a year afte r th e

above b i l ls w e re pai d , bu t w e possess seve ra l of his

accoun ts for subsequen t years. He was one of the fi rstt radesmen in New cas tl e to use an engraved b il l-head

,and

in one of these , to which M r. Bragg’s rece ip t is affixed on

a twopen ny s tamp, we find that in 1 794 hal f-a-dozen lawn

pocket-handke rch iefs cos t £ 1 26 yards of stoutcal i co

, £ 1 3 5 . 1 od. and 1 0 ya rds of tape-s triped dimi ty ,1 9s. 3d. wh il s t a couple of bo rdered mus l in handkerchiefscos t half-a-gu inea each. A good dea l of in te rest attachesto these early engraved bi l l-head s. The ear lies t that we

have ever seen bears the name o f Samue l B rews te r and

R. Rich , coachbu ilde rs , and is dated 1 760.

C H A P T E R X V I I .

PENANCE.

Indu lg en ce s.—Fast ing.—Pun ishment of C lergy and La ity.—TheArchdea con ’

s Court.—Penance of Ge ra rd Sa lvin and Pa t.

Sande rson.

HERE is a bel i ef that the early chu rches of th is co un try

w ere bui l t by fo rced labou r. The tru th is that many

of th em w e re bu i l t to a great exten t by the grant ing

of indu lgences. Thi s s tatemen t may sta rtl e some peopl e ,bu t it is qu i te true , and documentary ev idence exists to

p rove i t. In the regis te r of Richard de K e l lawe,edited by

S i r Thomas Duffy Ha rdy,i t is shown that the B ishops of

Du rham w ere as l i bera l as othe rs w i th the i r numerous

indulgences. In 1 235 an indu lgence of fo rty days in each

year was gran ted fo r seven years to al l who shou ld , out of

love to S t. Cu thbert,con t ribute to the bu i ld ing of the

eas te rn t ransep t of D urham Cathedra l. And the mun i

ment room of the Dean and Chapte r abounds w i th

documen ts of a s im i la r natu re, all se rving as foundation

s tones for that beautifu l part of the anc i ent fab ri c. Theymay all be summed up in a genera l man ifesto by PriorM elsonby , who made i t known to all the wo rl d that an

immun i ty from enjo i ned penance for 430 days , and thebenefi t of Psal te r se rvi ces

, and masses,might

be cla imed by anyone who fu rthe red the work. O ne, of

B ishop K e l law e’

s fi rs t publ i c acts afte r h i s consecrationwas to grant an indulgence to all par ishione rs in h is

d iocese , re l eas ing them from the i r penance du ring fo rtydays for the i r s ins , on condi t ion of the i r offe ring up

praye rs for the sou ls o f al l persons bu r i ed in thei r

respect ive cemete r i es. I t was not always for th e bu i l d ingof chu rches that indulgences w e re gran ted , no r were anychu rches bu i l t so l e ly out of the p roceeds of indu lgences.


Wh i l st some of them we re for rel igious pu rpose s , othe rs

were for Observances more in conform i ty w i th the supe rstitions of the t ime , and not a few fo r the fu rthe rance ofusefu l p roj ects , such as the bu i ld ing and repa i r of br idgesfor the publ i c benefit. Thus they were extended to all who

con tri bu ted to th e fabri c of the new bridge commenced by

W i l l iam Brack of Auckland,and to all who con t ributed to

the mak ing,repa i r ing, and keep ing up of the bri dge

and causeway between B i l l ingham and Norton.

Many facts of h isto ri cal and soc ial in te rest,not el se

where reco rded,may be gathe red from the indu lgences

gran ted by B i’

shop K e l lawe. In the comminat ion servi ceof our Book of Common Praye r i t is stated that in thep r im it ive Chu rch there was a godly disci pl ine ; that suchpe rson s as stood conv i cted of notorio us sin were put toopen penance

, and pun ished in th is Worl d , that the i r sou lsm ight be saved. Here in is the o rigin of the indu lgence

,

and i t has preva i l ed , unde r the name of penance, w ith

more or l ess severi ty , from the age of the Apostl es. Byth is d i sc ip l in e people we re requ i red , during the te rm of

the i r penance,to fas t on bread and wate r two or three

days in the week , to s l eep at n ight on the bare floor,and

to refra in from all word ly d ive rs ions. Du ring the fi rstper iod of the i r repen tance they w ere not al lowed to en ter

a chu rch. O n Sundays and fest ivals they stood clothed insackcloth near the chu rch doo r , sol i c i t ing the praye rs of thefa i thfu l as they en te red. Du ring the second and thi rdperiods they w ere a l lowed to en te r the chu rch , but wereto rema in kneel ing or p rostrate at the lowe r end. For

some s ins the te rm of penance was twenty years,for others

fifteen,for oth e rs seven

,and for o thers a few days on ly.

For the sin of i do latry or apos tacy i t was usua l ly enjo inedfo r l ife. Under spec ia l c i rcums tances these penancesw e re remitted or relaxed by an indu lgence. As i t was not

a lways des i rabl e to carry ou t the en ti re rem iss ion of

penances,

a mode of condonat ion was resorted to ,by

wh i ch an offender cou l d be rel i eved through commutationby mon ey fo r penance enjo ined. The tariff, or graduated

sca l e of paymen ts , for those who w ere enjo ined to fast ,and w e re unable to bear i t , w i l l c reate a smil e even in the

serious. O ne day ’s fast ing might be redeemed for a penny,


The pun i shmen t of an eccl es iasti c for an assau l tcommitted w i th in the chance l of the chu rch of B ishopwear

mouth i s al so recorded. The chaplain th ere , W i l l iam de

Norham ,p robably annoyed by the a i rs assumed by Ral p h

de Roper , a youthfu l c l e rk in m ino r orde rs,took him by

the scruff of the n eck and p itched in to h im r ight and left.

To obta in the benefi t of absolut ion for thi s offence,the

fol low ing penance was enjo ined. He was to fast on bread

and wate r for twe lve Fridays w i th in on e year afte r,to say

the Ps al te r twelve t imes ove r , and to find food for one poorperson on th ree severa l F ridays. The re i s an accoun t ofmany scandals in w hat may be cal l ed the high l i fe of the

day. Being brought before the B ishop , one John de

Alwent confessed to adu l te ry w i th Agnes de Raby and

Annabel de Durham ,for. wh i ch offence the fo l low ing

protracted penance was enjo ined. O n six days,Sundays

and feas t days , he was to wal k round the chu rch of

Ga info rd , clad in l inen on ly,before the par i sh ioners ,

wal king in process ion ,and be publ i cly flogged th is done ,

on S i x Mondays he was to wal k round the market-place ofDarl ington ,

and the re be beaten as we l l.

The right of pun ishing peopl e for re l igious indecorum

was reta ined by the Chu rch un t i l comparat ively recen tt imes. In 1636 , Joseph Phenn was arra igned because hedid smil e , as many others did , at one that came in to thechu rch w i th his face all crook

’

t.”

In 1 6 1 7 , R i chardDownham was presen ted for s l eep ing in chu rch

,and

anothe r pe rson , evident ly of a mo re l ively tu rn of mind,

was p resented for cas tingth ings at th e maid es in se rmontyme

,and s t i cking feathers on a maid e

’

s wa is tcoat.”

The Archdeacon ’s Cou rt at Durham I used to be a muchd readed inst i tu tion ,

where both cl e rgy and la i ty we re won t

to make the i r bow— the former , occas iona l ly , for neglectof duty and immoral conduct , and the latte r for braw l ingin chu rch , laying vio l en t hands on the pa rson

, and th e l ikeoffences. As all the part i es have long s ince passed away

,

1 Most of these de ta i ls a re taken from origina l docume nts in theB ishop ’s Registry a t Durham , supp lemen ted by extra cts wh i ch we remade by the Rev. Fran c is Thompson , V i ca r of S t. G i les , one ofDurham ’

s most pa instaking and re l iab le an t iqua r ie s upwa rds ofth irty years ago ,

whose son ,Mr.Hen ry Thompson , of Newcas t le ,

ob l igingly pla ced them a t our disposa l.

PENANCE. 1 27

w e may be pe rmi tted to peep into the reco rd of the fa i l ingsof those who w ere p resen ted to the Archdeacon of

Durham ’s cou rt betw een the years 1685- 1 732. From S t.

Andrew ’s Auckland , several bu tche rs are p resen ted forsel l ing flesh on the Lord ’s Day, and at S t. Hel en ’

s the

chu rchwarden s repo rt that they have a cu rate who does hisduty as w el l as some of h is ne ighbours

, whi ch was not

saying much in hi s favou r. A t Aycl iffe,in 1 732, th e

curate l ed such a scandalous l ife that th e peopl e we re

l eav ing th e chu rch. O n one occas ion he w en t so drunk tochu rch that he cou l d not read the lesson s properly

,and at

anothe r t ime he broke out in to fi ts of laughte r du r ing the

admin istrat ion of the Lord ’s Supper. At B rancepeth the

c hu rchya rd is profaned by the w innow ing of co rn the re in.fl n 1 7 1 6 ,

Will iam Appleby is presen ted from Da rl ington forh arbou ring his own daughte r Mary wh i l e unde r sentence

of excommun i cat ion , and in 1723 Martha B ingley i s

p resen ted from the same place for att empting to speak or

preach to the congregation. Wa l te r H are,the cl e rk of

S t.Gi les , in Durham ,is presen ted for s lande r and othe r

v i c es , and for making false accounts. Here is thecharacte r of Thos. Patt ison ,

of Escomb— “ A w i cked,

profanepe rson ,a common sw eare r , a noted ra i l e r , a sowe r

of sedi tion ,faction , or d isco rd among his ne ighbou rs.”

In 1 723 the parson of E sh is presented fo r not reading thelesson s , ep i s tl e , and gospel. From Greatham in 1 7 1 1

..comes th is wa i l—“ W e have a midw i fe , bu t she i s a

Pap ist , and for su rgeons or phys i c ians , w e have none.”

In 1 722 compla in t is made from Hartl epoo l that th e

,.chu rch is ready to fa l l , and that Robert Wheat refuses to

pay h is marr iage fees. A t Huns tanworth , in 1 708, there

is n ei the r par ish cl e rk nor sexton ,and the parson i s

w i thou t a su rpl i ce. At M i ddleton-in -Teesdal e the min i ste r

i s bette r c lothed , havi ng a“ comely large su rpl i ce to

w ear. S eve ral are p resen ted from Coxhoe for not paying

for b read and w ine at th e Sac rament , and at Lan cheste r

c omp la in t is made that two Quake rs refuse to pay the i r

marriage fees. In 1 7 1 1 John Rennoldson,of Blaydon

,i s

p resen ted from Ryton for gr ind ing corn on Sunday, and

W. Pruddah and R.And rew s are l i kew i se p resen ted for”

h un t ing wi th hounds on the same day. Sockbu rn


fu rn ishes a long l is t of complain ts. The chu rch i s so

ruinous that i t is infested with ow ls. John Fl in t grindscorn on Sundays , R.Johnson sows sed i t ion and profanesthe Sabbath , whi l e Thomas Farrow serious ly m isconducts

h imsel f.’

S ta indrop compla ins that G.E lgy,of Raby

,does

not pay his cl e rk ’s groat, and the V i ca r of. Stockton is

rep r imanded for not catech is ing the you th thereabouts.Thomas J ones , the Cu rate of Hunstanworth

,is p resen ted

in 1 7 1 1 fo r mar rying Thomas Johnson and Mary C rawhal lclandest inely. In 1 732 , complain t is made that the churchof St. H ilda ’s , South Sh i elds

,i s -too l i ttl e for the

inhabitan ts. The chu rchwardens of S t ranton report thatthey have a cu rate who ofliciates

,but i t i s suspected that

he is not in orders. From Trimdon compla int i s made ofJames A lmond

i

absent ing himself from chu rch,bu t putt ing

h i s horse in to the chu rchyard du r ing the n igh t. There isa l ive ly pugi l isti c scene from S t.John ’s Chapel

,Weardal e

and at Whickham,Ralph Thompson shoes his ho rses on

Sunday,w h i l e Edward Maxwel l

,of Whitbu rn

,w i thholds.

h is ti th e-pig from the parson.

There is an early reco rd of card-playing,a batch of men

hav ing been presen ted for card-playing on Sunday at

B ishop Auckland in 1693. I t is sa i d that ce r ta in ladies goto chu rch late to show themselves in th e fash ions . This

must be a very o ld custom indeed , for in 1 685 E l izabethShaw made the acqua in tance of the archdeacon for go inglate toWinston Chu rch. In 1 686

,a coupl e we re presented

fo r not l iv ing togethe r as man and w i fe. The yearfo l low ing , Robert Jurd ison ,

of Eas ington ,was p resen ted

by the cu rate for go ing to a w izard for lost goods. Thepoo r fel low ’

s credu l i ty may he laughed at now ,but i t was

excusable then ,see ing that one of the mos t famous pro

fessors in th is l ine , Parson Vaux , l i ved in the neighbouringparish of S t.Helen ’

s Auckland. Vaux exposed a lmanacsfor sal e on th e commun ion table , and cas t figu res , whe rebyhe pretended to tel l what had become of s to l en goods.When ci ted to appear befo re the archdeacon

,h i s usual

reply w as Did not Samuel tel l Saul what was become

of his fathe r ’s asses P” Nowadays , w hen a publ i can

a l lows drinking on hi s premises du ring proh ibi te d hou rs ,he is stra ightway summoned befo re the j ust ices ; bu t in


married Joane , daughte r of R i chard No rton ,

“ the aged

Patr iarch of Rebel l ion ,

”as Su rtees dubs him

,refused to

conform to the establ ished o rde r of rel ig ion,and he seems

to have bur i ed his s i re w i thou t the in te rvention of e i the r

p ri es t or m in iste r. For th is seriou s offence aga ins t theeccles iasti cal laws he was o rde red to do publ i c penance inthe par ish chu rch of S t. Oswal d ’s

,on Trin i ty Sunday

,

being the 10th day Of June , 1 57 1 . Accord ingly , on thed ay named , in

“

presence of th e vi car and his fel lowpar ish ione rs

,th e seven th Gerard di d penance in the

fo l low ing wo rdsI

I am for my own re forma t ion, and your example , appo in ted a t th ist ime by the Que e n ’

s Maj e sty ’

s commiss ion to appo in t myse lf he reb e fore you. The cause is th is—that

,whe reas the Que en ’

s Maje styha th se t forth a Book of Common Praye r , whe re in is con ta inedamong othe r god ly ri te s and ce remon ie s an orde r a lso to bury the

dead by a lawfu l pr ie s t o r min iste r in a ny church or chan ce l,the

wh i ch godly orde r I of la te w i lfu l ly and of se t purpose le ft undone inb urying my fa the r, Ge ra rd Sa lvin ,

he re in th is our pa rish church , inc ontempt of the sa id law and book , my fa the r

’

s shame , a nd evile xample of a ll good and obedien t subje cts. I a cknow ledge tha t

e ve ry na tura l born and loving subj ect is bound by God ’

s law to obeyour Sove re ign Lady the Que en ’

s Maje s ty. I a cknow ledge tha t of

late , re ce iv ing pardon a t he r Gra ce ’

s hands , I , by a so lemn oa th ,

p romise d to obey a ll he r laws ye t , not having the fea r of G od be foremy eye s , but minding othe r w i l fu l and s in iste r cons ide ra t ions , Iinde cen t ly , unna tura l ly , and unne ighbourly

,bur ied my fa the r as

though he had not died of God ’s k ind. The re fore I am hearti lys orry for th is my misd emeanour , confe ss ing the same of my own fre ew i l l , de s iring you , a ll my ne ighbours , and pa rish ioners , not on ly tobe w itne sse s of my repentance , but a lso to take good examp le by mypun ishmen t to e schew the l ike offence. And I promise he re be foreG od and you my furthe r amendmen t he rea fte r, for the obta in ingw he reof I requ ire you to pray un to our Heaven ly Fa the r w ith me and

for me.

The pen i ten t then repeated the Lord ’s Prayer , afte r wh ichhe rece ived the Ho ly Comm un ion. In cons i de rat ion

,no

d oubt , of his pos i t ion he was pe rmitted to wear h isaccustomed apparel.

In this he was more fo rtunate than Pat ri ck Sanderson ,

w ho ,att i red in a l inen sheet

, s tood on the s too l and did

p enance in the same chu rch nea rly 200 years later.Patr ick was the repu ted authoi' of a l i ttle

'

book cal l edThe An t iqu i t i es of Durham Abbey.” He was a book

s el le r in the an c ien t c i ty and,l i ke many anoth e r wo rthy

tradesman , dearly loved a b i t of goss i p. I t was th i spropens i ty that led h im into trouble and was the cause of

h is subsequen t tortu re of mind. In 1 766 , a t roop of

PENANCE. 13 1

horse chan ced to stay in Du rham all n ight. Some of

the young fel lows w e re sm itten w i th the charms of the

Du rham nymphs , and as the latte r w ere rathe r pleased

than otherw i s e w i th the atten tions of the gal lan t son s of

Mars,a great deal of j ealousy was shown by the young

men of the town,Patr i ck , among the rest , be ing heard t o

say that the gi r l s of the anc i en t c i ty we re no bette r than

they shou l d be. But the fa i r sp ins te rs w e re not to bemal ign ed w i th imp un i ty , and one of them ins t i tu te d

p roceedings in the Cons istory Cou rt aga inst Pat for

defamat ion of characte r. The charge aga inst h im was

found p roved , and on the 1 7th of June,Patr i ck

, wear ing

a l inen sheet , stood before his fel low par ish ion e rs , and

made submiss ion for h i s offence in the fo l low ing

declarat ionWhereas , in b reach of the bond of Ch r i s t ian love and

char i ty, I have defamed Margaret Dickinson by sayingthat a so l d i e r was w i th her , I do he reby confess my sa i d

offence , and am heart i ly sorry for the same ; and do

he reby humbly des i re the sa i d Margaret Dick inson to

forgive me the sa i d ofl'

ence fa i th fu l ly p romis ing n eve r tooffend in the l i ke he reafte r.


months in ' the year P And yet th is is what the Rev.JamesStephen Lush ington did a hundred years ago ,

and that ,too , w i th the sanct ion of h is diocesan. Mr.Lush ington

hel d a fourth l i v ing in E ssex,where he p refe rred to spend

h is t ime. This extraordinary fact i s not recorded by theh istor ian of Newcast l e

,p robably because the Rev. John

B rand was himsel f non- res ident.

Beg inn ing with K i rkwhelp ington , which was a par ishconta in ing 1 69 fami l i es and 640 inhab i tan ts , we find thearchdeacon l eaving instruct ions for the earth to beremoved from the foundat ion of the sou th wal l of the

chu rch. When th is was done,the lowe r part of the wal ls

of the transept was taken up , and a tombstone found w itha figu re in the m iddl e of i t

,and an inscript ion round the

margin w h i ch nobody cou l d read. When Hodgson wroteh i s h i story of No rthumberland

,this tombstone 'had not

been heard of for ten years. I t wou l d be interes ting to

know i f i t s ti l l exists. The cu rate of Gosforth’

s su rpl icewas on a par w i th the in te rior of the chu rch

,the forme r

be ing tatte red and torn to such an extent as to be scarcelyrecogn izable , whi lst the latte r was so offens ive to the eyethat Dr. Thorp thought that on ly whitewashing wouldmake i t w ho l esome. At Craml ington he a lso suggestedthat wh i tewash ing would make the in te r ior of the churchsw ee te r

,that a new su rpl i ce wou l d g ive an air of greater

respectabil i ty to the sub-curate,tha t to preven t acc ident

the reading desk and cl e rk ’s seat ought to be made secure ,and that a cush ion wou ld improve the aspect of the pulp i t.D i rection s w e re l eft at Long Ben ton for the Rev.John C lapto repa i r his Prayer Book

,and to have more regard for

the Sunday clothes of the par ish ione rs by p rovidingkneel ing boards. O ne of the benefact ions

'

here showsthe absu rd i ty of peopl e bequeath ing money for char i tableuses and l eaving the i r own re lat ives to s tarve. A man

had l eft fou r acres of land for the use of the poor,and

at the time of Dr.Thorp ’s v is i t the ren t was be ing paid

to h is own daughte r-in-law to keep he r from starvation.At Tyn emou th , £3 1 5s., the in te res t of money

‘

inves ted,as

wel l as the rent of a garth and the rema inde r of ha lf thet ithes of Tynemouth town

,afte r 405 .was pa i d to th e v icar ,

w e re annual ly d istr i buted to the poor. Earsdon Chu rch

THE CHURCHES OF NORTHUMBERLAND. 1 35

was sai d to be too smal l for the par i sh , wh ich con ta inedabou t 700 famil i es. What wou l d the p resen t v i car th inkof be ing to l d to change h is su rpl i ce

,and adv i sed to

keep his books cleane r P Wha l ton,w i th 90 fami l ies and a

popu lat ion of 360 , had a res i den t rector,D r. Bates ; and

the land wh ich was bough t w i th the £20 l eft for th e

educat ion of poor ch i ld ren by M rs.Marga re t Moore was

l e t at a gu inea pe r annum. At Bo lam,whe re the re we re

e ighty fami l i es,the archdeacon o rdered the w indows in

the towe r to be latt i ced , and a new w indow to be put inat the west end of the chu rch

,bes ides cas em ents in two

o thers.

Woodhorn,wh ich w i th Newbiggen contain ed 308

fami l i es,was in want of a new bas in for th e font , and th e

roof of the chance l was in a bad state. The chu rch at

Newbiggen was kept in repa i r w i th the ren ts of fou r ac resof land , and three houses and a garden

,whi ch we re l e t at

£8 a year. A l though the re were 10 1 famil i es and 404 ,

inhab i tan ts in th e chape l ry of Widdrington when Dr.Thorp v is i ted i t on the 7 th of J une

,1 792 ,

both the cu rate ,H en ry Johnson , and James W i lk inson ,

th e sub-cu rate ,w e re absentees.With so much indifference and n eglect

,

i t was not su rpris ing to find the chu rch tumbl i ng down

and the wal ls damp. The chapel ry of H o rton con ta ined1 35 fami l i es and 560 inhab itan ts , and had a res iden t cu rate ,who was o rde red to get a n ew su rpl i ce. At Heddon-on

the-Wa l l an o rde r was l eft for the chu rch to be wh i tewashed and co lou red.” The v icar of Ponteland was

res iden t about fou r months in the year , and his cu ratelooked afte r the par i sh , wh i ch was ten mil es from east tow es t , and s ix from north to sou th. Newbu rn ,

w i thinhab i tan ts , had a vicar who did not res i de on his cu re.

The floo r of the chu rch here had been much inj u red bygraves. Rent-charges amoun t ing to £8 105 . were

d i str i bu ted to the poor annual ly.

Ovingham con tained 465 fami l i es. The chu rch was in

pretty good repa i r ,”bu t needed whi tewash ing , and a new

bas in for the fon t was requ i red. Ovingham was th eb i rthplace o fJohn Jackson , a pup i l of Thomas Bew i ck and

the accompanying cu t of Ovingham Chu rch was engraved


by Jackson , as was also the engraving of Alnmou th

Chu rch , wh ich was made from a d raw ing in 1 783 , ten

years before the date of D r.Thorp ’s su rvey. The rectorof E l sdon , M r. Dutens , incurred the archdeacon ’

s dis

p l easu re by refus ing to inte rfere w i th the old w indows inthe chancel. The di rect ions conce rn ing K irkharl e are a

s trange mixing up of the anci en t and modern , sash and

Goth i c w indows be ing ordered togethe r. There were 227famil i es and 940 inhab itan ts in the par ish of Longhorsley ,and the incumbent , the Hon. Mr. Cochrane , res ided On

h is cu re. The chu rch had been rebu i l t five years prior to

the archdeacon ’s V is i t in 1 792. The v i car of Corsens idel i ved at Bel l ingham ,

the nearest market town. There

we re on ly 55 fami l i es in the parish. M i tford , w i th 576

inhabi tan ts , had a res iden t curate , bu t a non-res identincumben t. The cu rate was ordered to array h imself in

a n ew su rpl i ce , and p rovide a cloth and napkin for theCommun ion table. The real va l u e of How i ck was

£90 out of wh ich the cu rate had £40 and a house

and abou t th ree acres of glebe land. Corbridge had a

res i den t v i car , a l though the par i sh i s descr i bed as“not

ve ry popu lous.” The incumben t al so held Hal ton ,

and be

suppl i ed bo th places in th i s way—p rayers and se rmon in

the forenoon and prayers in the afternoon ,two Sundays at

Corbr idge ; the th ird at Ha l ton Chapel in t he fo renoon ,

and p raye rs at Corbr i dge in the afte rnoon ; The on ly


1 773 , the incumben t of K i rkhaugh was Thomas Moses ,who al so held the curacy of A l l enton

,where he res ided.

The st i pend at K i rkhaugh was £32 and the surpl ice fees.Th i s M r.Moses farmed by al lowing a sub-curate the fees

and £20,the res idue be ing pocketed by h imself. The

sub-cu rate,M r. Chalme rs , was upwards of e ighty years

old in 1773 , and being no longe r able to d ischarge thedut i es he res igned that year. B ishop Ege rton seems to

have wr i tten to Moses respecting the vacancy , for there isa l ette r from Moses in which he exp resses a hope that hi slordsh i p w i l l no t ins ist on more than £20 and the fees

being al lowed to the sub-cu rate,o therw i se he would have

to res ign. The income of Al l enton ,

” he adds ,“ is so

smal l that I do on ly l ive decen tly by the advantage of

having three boys unde r my care. The church at

Hal twhistl e was In ru Ins when Archdeacon Thorp Vis i tedi t in 1793.

“The chu rch is un roofed , and the parish ionershave peti tioned for a commiss ion in o rde r to obta in a

l icense to d ispose of the lead and cover the chu rch w i thblu e s lates , and make other a l terat ions.” The parish was

th en twelve mi les from east to w est and ten from north to

south , and con ta ined 500 famil ies. The fo l low ing benefactions are noted “ Lady Dowage r Capel l , in 1 72 1 ,

l eft by w i l l £8 65 . pe r annum charged on an es tate cal ledPerry Cou rt , in Kent , to be paid at K ew Chapel on the23rd day of May. N. Ridley left 405 . pe r annum to thepoor. Pa i d by John Ridley

,E sq., of Ridley Ha l l.” At

Knaresdal e,w i th eighty fami l ies , the re w ere a lso several

benefactions for the poor. A l though Byw el l S t. Andrewwas a large parish i t was not popu lous , and all the spi r itualinstruction tha t the parish ioners rece ived was a se rmon

every th i rd Sunday. Warden was a parish thi rteen milesin l ength and seven in breadth , and included the chapel r ies

of Haydon and Newbrough. The ubiqu i tous vi car thus

apportioned his services among the three p laces—sermon

two Sundays in the month at Warden,two at Haydon ,

and one every mon th at Newbrough. Haydon was themost popu lous place in the parish , conta in ing 2 1 7 famil ies.

The chapel at Newbrough was in ru ins , but thepar ishioners had ra ised £300 and obta ined a l i cense to

rebu i ld i t. Alston included Garr igil l , and conta ined 800

THE CHURCHES OF NORTHUMBERLAND. 1 39

famil i e s. The las t-named place had a benefact ion of £5p e r annum de ri vabl e from a ren t-charge on lands at

Bowes , in Yorksh i re , of wh i ch £3 was pa i d to a schoo lmaste r , 1 05 . for a se rmon ,

105 . to the poor , and 205 . to

the fou r t rustees. Cho l l e rton con ta ined 2 14 famil ies , andthe v i car had 405 . pe r annum for do ing du ty and preach ingat B i rt l ey on Ch r istmas Day, Good F r i day , the fi rst

Sunday afte r M i dsumme r, and th e fi rst S unday afte r

M i chae lmas. W e are to l d that at H artburn the ch i ld renare catech i sed in Lent. At Morpeth th e re we re 600

famil i e s. The benefac tions cons i sted of £9 9 5 . 1od.,the

rent of houses , which was given annual ly to the poor , and

the in te res t of£40 and th e ren t of the gal l e ry on the north

side of the chu rch. O n Easte r Day a rent-charge of 305 .

pe r annum , on lands at Lownsd en,was distr i bu ted to the

poor of U lgham,wh i ch then conta ined fifty famil i es and

200 inhab i tan ts. D r. Thorp ’s su rvey of the chu rches

conc l udes w i th Bo lam cum Sheepwash. These placeswere at one t im e dis t inct pa r ishes , but in 1 792 th ey w e re

one. The re was no chu rch at Sheepwash,bu t the rectory

hou se was the re. The par ish extended ten miles from

east to w est and s i x from no rth to south , and conta ined

1 35 famil ie s.

C H A P T E R X I X .

PLACE-NAMES I N DURHAM AND

NORTHUMBERLAND.

Puzzl ing Name s.—Fa t Ne l ly’

s.—Pity Me.—Dumpl ing Ha l l.—BiteAbou t.—Penny-pie -House.—Te the r Cock. - Se ldom Se em—ColdComfort. -Mise ryHa ll.—Hard Strugg le.

-Lang—Man-o’-Bolihope.—Rake House.—F idd le rs ’ Green.—Thrive -if-you

-can.—C l ickem-in. -Make -em-ri ch.—Ta i l-up-on-end.—Conse tt.—De rwent.

THEREare many in te res ting places in Durham and

Northumbe rland w i th names which are both quee r andpuzzl ing. Fat Nel ly ’s” was a hostel ry kept by a wel lcond i t ioned dame n ear Fatfie ld

, and was,half a century

ago , as famous among the p i tmen on the Wear as theBar l ey Mow had been. This was kept by Ailsie

Mar l ey , who i s commemorated in the famous songbeg inn ing w i th the stanza

O d’

ye ken Ailsie Marley , honey,The w i fe tha t se l ls the barley , honey P

The pate rn i ty of Fat Nel ly ’s i s indispu table,but there

are othe r names of p laces wh ich cannot be so eas i ly traced

to thei r o r igin. From what , for example , does the vi l lage

of Pi ty Me take i ts name P The coun try th ere is flat , andi t is sa id that at one t ime the re was a poo l or lake on thes ite of the p resent vi l lage , and that the Monks of Finchalecal l ed i t Peti t Me re , or the petty poo l , to distingu ish i tfrom a large r poo l at New ton H a l l. Lette rs

,l i ke so l diers ,

are ap t to drop off in a long march , and in cou rse of timePi ty Me was subst i tu ted for the longer Peti t Me re.Dumpl ing Hal l , in the par ish of Newton

,i s sa i d to have

der ived i ts name from the st iffness of its hostess ’s suetdumpl ings wh i l e B i te About , at Low i ck , p robably had i ts

orig in in the homely custom whi ch i s st i l l observed when

a coup l e of kn i fe l ess lads eat an apple. We need not seek

for the de r i vat ion of Penny-pie-house , near Shotl ey,or


might revel in Bumper Hal l , near Sadberge. The t imidand reserved would find shel te r at Seldom-seen

,near

B i shop Auckland , and those who w ish to S tand-alone are

advised to remove to the parish of Kel loe. The Fr i endsought to ho l d the i r meetings at Peaceable Hal l

,near

Bu rdon ; whi l e those who are fond of “ s inging hinn i es ”

ought to remove to Wh i te-cake-row,

near Cheste r-leS treet.I

The name Consett puzzled Surtees, as it has puzzled

oth ers s ince h i s t ime. Seven hundred years ago i t was

Conekesheved , but the or iginal appel lat ion bears l ittl eresemblance to the name by wh ich the E l Dorado ”

of thenorth i s now known. I t i s by no means clear when the

old des ignat ion gave place to Consett. Certa in it is,

howeve r , that the latter name had been in constant usefor more than 300 years before ra i lway gu ides werethought of. The ear l i est men t ion of the name occurs inBo l don B uke , p. 3 1 , whe re “ Arnaldus pistor habet

Conekesheued in escambium de Trillesd ena,

e t reddit

Canon Greenwe l l , in h is translation of BoldonB uke

,rende rs the forme r Consett , and gives the trans

lation thus — “A rnal d,the bake r

,has Consett in exchange

for Tursdale , and rende rs 24s. He adds , In a chartergran ted by him (Arno ld)to the A lmone r of the Convent ofDu rham ,

he ca l ls himself A rna l dus de Concheshuet filius

Joce lini (Arno ld of Consett,son of Jocel ine). We have

found innumerable variation s in the spel l ing so that , w ith

so much confus ion exist ing both in the prefix and affix,i t

is exceedingly d ifficu l t to a r rive at a sat isfactory inter

p re tation of th e name. “ Head ” i s c l early meant by“ heved.” We have an instance of th i s in Gatesheved

(Gateshead). This , the famous narrow s treet l eading

to Newcast l e , was not long ago known as Gates ide ,w hich leads u s to th ink that “ s i de ” is equ iva l en t to “ head ”

fo l low ing S —hence the cor ruption from Conshead to

Cons ide. W i th regard to th is latter name and Consett ,both occu r in o ld deeds from the time of Henry V I I I. In

many documen ts , w here th e text is in Lat in ,the name is

g i ven Con s ide , whi l e the usua l endorsemen t in Engl ish at

1 Much of the forego ing appeared in a pape r,

Odd P la ce -NamesinNorthumberland and Durham ,

”in the Newcastle Da ily Ch ron icle.

PLACE-NAMES IN DURHAM AND NORTHUMBERLAND. 143

the back is Con sett , from w h ich i t may be infe rred thatthe forme r was th e anci en t and the latte r the popular or

common name in late r years.In popu lar etymology , Derw ent i s sa i d by some to meancl ear , w h i l e othe rs ma in ta in that i t s ign ifies w inding or

tortuous. Both mean ings would o riginal ly apply to theDe rwen t. I t s t i l l w inds i ts way th rough h i l l and dal e , bu t ,in the low e r reaches of i t , at l eas t , the river is no longe r

th e l imp id stream that th e poets would have u s bel i eve i tis. In an old manusc r i p t su rvey , wri tten in 1 764 , and

e ndorsed,

“ A Desc ription of the Boundary of Blanch landLordsh ip

,the two becks at the head of the Rive r De rwent

a re respect ively des ignated the De r and the Went. I t

w ou l d occas ion no su rp r ise if it w e re found that th e

s treamlets , De r and Wen t , w e re ch ris tened afte r giants.According to th e class i cal D r.Carr , the coun try up the re

used to be famous for th em. Corbr idge,Con sett

, and

B enfiel dsid e w e re al l named afte r b ig men who had l i ved

in these places. They w e re brothers , and w ere famil iarlyknown as Cor , B en ,

and Con. The i r st rength must havebeen prodigious. At th row ing the hammer or hatche tthey had no equal s then o r s ince. There w e re no i ron

wo rks on the h i l ls then , and hamme rs w e re so scarce that

the tr io had on ly one among them

A hamme r in common they had ,And the use of it easy to a l l

Ea ch whist led , ea ch brothe r wa s gladTo throw it thre e league s a t his ca l l.

C011 i s sai d by the poets and h is tor ians to have been a

great wag ,and a b i t of an an ti quary to boot. He l ived in

a cave at How en’

s Gil l , and i s bel i eved by some to have

been bu r i ed the re.When Con was approa ch ing his end ,Dea f

,b l ind , and beginn ing to rave ,

With a ploughman he begged , as a friend ,To conve rse a t the mouth of the cave.

Th is ploughman ,as pruden t men d o

,

He ld his p loughshare h imse lf to e scapeB l ind Con p in che d his p loughshare In two ,

And pronounced it the a rm of an ape.

C H A P T E R X X .

THE COST OF OLD PARLIAMENTARYELECTIONS.

Past and Pre sent Ele ct ions Compared.—Ea t ing and Drinking.Bribe ry and Corrupt ion.—O ld E le ct ion Accoun ts.—Open Houses.

N th i s chapte r i t i s not p roposed to do more than referb r i efly to the subj ect of parl iamentary rep resentation.

The pol iti ca l h is tory of Du rham is not w i thou t interest,

and some day, i f w e are spared,w e may give , from records

wh i ch have h ithe rto escaped the Observation of al l prev iousw r i te rs , a deta i l ed accoun t of th e elect ion s wh ich tookplace in the coun ty in and subsequen t to the reign of

Charl es the Second. Ou r presen t remarks are merelyintended to i l lustrate in a general way the keen in terestthat such con tests exc i ted in former days.The expendi tu re in connexion w i th modern elections is

a flea-bi te compared w i th the cost incu rred on behalf of

candidates for Parl iamentary honou rs in fo rmer times.There are peopl e l iv ing who can remembe r how lav i shlymoney was spen t during the memorable el ection for

Northumberland in 1826. In some of the Du rhamelect ion s fortunes we re squande red , and many a fa i restate was impover i shed. Th is was espec ial ly so in theboroughs , w here the free and independen t did l ittle but

eat and drink for many weeks p receding an elect ion. Mr

Fow l e r , the p resen t membe r for Durham C ity , possesses

a cu rious col l ection of el ection bal lads , in wh ich thecel ebrated Vete r inary D r. Marshal l thus expresses the

freemen’

s j ub i lat ionAn e le ct ion ’

s the t ime , I’

ve oft heard say,When the fre emen ea t a ll and the candidate s payThen rouse up , my lads, and to dr ink le t

’

s beg in ,For at these merry t imes to be sobe r’s a sin.


d inners Peter B lenk insopp p rovided 48 d inne rs at the

Coffee-house at the modest cost of £20 35 . 1od. JohnShaw , of th e “ Go lden Lion ,

”had 1 1 5 guests , whose

e nterta inmen t cost £46 1 5 . 2d. ; Hen ry Welle r , of the“ K ing ’s Arms

,

” charged £52 7 5 . 2d. for 92 dinners ;w h i le Thomas Marsha l l , mine hos t of the “ GreenD ragon ,

” charged £30 105 . 6d. for 55 d inn ers , be inga t the rate of 1 1 5 . 1 d. pe r head. S i xteen supporters of

the cha i r rece ived 105 .6d. each , el even way-clearers were

pa i d a s im ilar sum, and four men were pa i d 5 5 . each for

d el ivering handbi l l s “ whe re the ente rta inmen t was

p rov ided.” This funct ion took place in the AssemblyRoom ,

and cons isted of tea ,cake , and w ine , the cost

w hereof was £59 105 . Among the other innumerablei tems is a paymen t of£2 9 5 . 1 od. for repa i r ing and new

cover ing the cha i rs , and for r i bbons to decorate them.At the coun ty el ection s ix years late r , when S i r ThomasC laver ing and S i r John Eden were returned , the expendi

t u re was st i l l greate r. Marshal l , the landlord of the“ Green D ragon ,

”was dead

,but his w i dow

,E l eanor

,

s urvived , as does her b i l l now. She was not so modest ashe r husband in her charges , he r account for entertaIn Ing

1 10 freeho l ders to dinne r be ing no less than £98 1 75 . 5d.

The actua l cost of the d inne r is set down at £ 16

being at the rate of 3s. pe r head. The difference , how

e ver, £82 7 5 . 5d., i s made up of incidentals. Eating

and ale before d inne r ” is respons i bl e for £3 1 25 . During

d inner,the freeho l de rs quaffed ale and porter to the tune

of £9 they had 180 bottles of port , 72 bottles of

Lisbon , 40 of Made i ra ,23 of claret , 4 of sherry , 6 of hock ,

37 of rum ,24 of brandy , and 10 bottles of c ider. Another

publ i can charged £ 1 34 185 . 2d.for p roviding 182 dinners ,

a nd a th i rd£ 1 1 1 1 25 . for 145 dinne rs. The total cost of

p rovid ing 62 1 dinners was £459 05 . 2d. The en ti re bi l l

of the landlo rd of the New Inn ,

” Lau rence Richardson ,

i s gi ven as an elect ion curios i ty

1780,Se ptembe r 19th.

—S 1R THOMAS CLAVERING , BART., to

LAURENCE RICHARDSON , NEw INN , DURHAM.

D inne rs , 145 a t 35.

C lare t , 66 bott le s at 5 5 .6d.

Made ira , 36 bot t le s a t 5 5 .6d.

H ock , 24 bott le s a t 65.

PARL IAMENTARY ELECTIONS. I 47

Lisbon , 48 bott les a t 25 .3d.

Port , 186 bott le s a t 25 . 3d.

She rry, 1 2 bott le s a t 35 .6d.

Brandy, 18 bott le s a t 5 5 .6d.

Rum,25 bott le s a t 5 5 .6d.

Mounta in,1 2 bott le s a t 25 .3d.

C i de r , 6 bott le s at 1 s.

Porte rA le and Be e rBroken glasse sS table b i l lSe rvan ts

Tota l £1 1 1 1 2 0

20th Se p tembe r,1 780.

—Re ce ived the above con ten ts in fu l l.LAU. RICHARDSON.

The b i l ls of the publ i can s w ere heavy enough in al l

consc i ence , but w hat th e vo te rs pu t in the i r stomachs was

sma l l compared w i t h what some of them pu t in the i r

pocke ts.I The joy fel t by the el ecto rs in a coming fight i s

exp ressed in the open ing l in e of an e lection songThe w r it is come

,now bea t the drum.

Each s ide re ta ined a certa in number of publ i c-houses,just

in the same way as a candidate reta in s an elect ion agen t

nowadays. These houses we re free to all comers,and th e

tap ran from morn t i l l eve. Over and above th i s un l im i teddrinking

,periodical t reats w e re provi ded by the cand idates

,

and as these n ecessar i ly influenced the voting,care was

taken to make them as att ract i ve as poss ib l e. Each was

a sort of “ free-and -easy ,”

and was p rov ided ove r byI Th irty years ago , for instan ce , whe n a mun i c ipa l con te st occurre d

in the C ity of Durham , the loa fe rs got in to prime condit ion. O ne of

the be st known was Ga riba ld i.” It is sa id tha t a ga l lon of be e r isbrewe d in England eve ry d ay for the man who w i l l drink it. Ga riba ld i ” had a h un l im i te d ca pa c ity in th is re spe ct , and more than a

double a l lowance fe l l to his Share. O ne day,towards the e nd of a

c on te s t , he and two othe rs e nte re d the shop of the la te Mr.Chapman,

whose son-in-law ,the la te Alde rman He rbe rt Robson , was a

c and ida te for mun i c ipa l honours. They had be e n ro l l ing abou t theMarke t P la ce , and ne ithe r the ir hands nor the ir fa ce s w e re ve ryc lean. Ga riba ld i a cted as spoke sman ,

and expre ssed his be l ie ftha t the ir e fforts tha t day had se cure d Mr. Robson ’

s re turn. Mr.Chapman looke d p leased , but , instead of putt ing his hand in his

p o cke t , he wen t to a box ,and took the re from thre e packe ts of soap ,

wh i ch , w ith a me rry tw ink le in his eye , he p la ced be fore them.Ga riba ldi ,

”

howeve r,wa s not to be out-gene ra l led by such a move.

Qu ie tly p i cking them up , w ith an a ir of the utmost innocen ce , hesa id , “Thank you ,

Mr.Chapman ; I suppose you haven’

t such a th ingas a sh i l l ing to buy a towe l w ith P” It is need less to ad d tha t the

tradesman Cou ld not re s ist the force of such a ready-w itted appea l.


committee-men. The modus operandi i s best shown in thefol low ing extracts , wh ich are taken from a very curiousdocumen t , which seems to have been drawn up by theagent of Major Gow land

,who contested the c ity of

Du rham aga inst General Lambton in the year 176 1.

After th e names of the committee men is the resol ut ionThat trea ts be g iven to the fre emen in the Major’s in tere st the

even ing after the Gene ra l ’ 5 trea t , un le ss the above gen t lemen at the irme e t ings sha l l th ink o the rw ise. That two house s be opened In eachdistr i ct ea ch w e ek , and tha t the same be taken in rotat ion ; Thatthe fre emen in the Major’s in te re st be trea ted w i th a le on ly, and thatfour anchors be given ea ch n ight in ea ch distri ct , in such proportiona s the gen t lemen then pre s id ing sha l l th ink prope r

,hav ing a lways

re spe ct to the numbe r of voters pre sent ; but i f any of the districtssha l l be so la rge tha t thre e house s sha l l be ne cessary to be Opene dthe re in , then tha t S ix anchors be expended. That the gent lemen use

the ir endeavours that none but freemen a re pre sent a t such treats ,and to d ismiss the company as soon a s they appear to be in l iquor.

Fo l low ing the reso lu tions is a l ist of toasts to be made use

of by the company before reach ing the stage whi ch brought

abou t thei r d ismiss ion ,one of which was , May there

n eve r be wan t ing in Pel low Wood a tree .to hang a

st inking old tarri e r upon,

” but whether the latte r had

al l us ion to the can ine race or to some musty old document

i s a quest ion that is l e ft for othe rs to determine.


forefathe rs in the two counti es of Northumbe r land and

D u rham.

At the p resen t day, few peopl e woul d care to weareven the bes t clothes of a

’

d eceased fr i end,much less a

w el l-worn pa i r of l eathe r breeches. Ye t th is was thel egacy which Pete r R i dley

, of Morpeth,bequeathed

to h i s fr i end John Herington in 1 580. When S i r

Ralph Delaval made his w i l l in 1623 he had e ightsons and s ix daughters l i ving. He di rected his bodyto be inte rred in the chapel at Seaton Delaval

, and

was apparen tly a fune ral reforme r,s ince he requested

h i s executor to bu ry him w i thou t va in pomp and needlessexpense. James C lave r ing , alde rman ,

of Newcastle,held

s im i lar no t ions , and made a l ike request in his w i l l in 1625.

In str ik ing contrast , howeve r , IS the w i l l ofWil l iam Selby ,of Newcast l e , who instructed h is execu tor to distr ibuteb lack gowns at his fune ral , and also s t ipu lated thatth i rteen poo r men w ere to go befo re h is corpse ‘

in new

black coats. At the fune ral of Roge r Anderson ,of

J esmond , in 1622 , a sum of£ 19 1 25 .9d.was expended on

mourn ing , c omfits,and w ine

,and the re is an i tem of

2 1 5 . 6d . for“two hats and making the wenches coats.”

In the inven to ry of the testato r ’s goods i s an i ron chimneyval ued at forty sh i l l ings. I t would be di fficul t to divinethe mot ive wh i ch l ed Wil l iam Birch

,the pastor of

S tanhope in 1 575 , who n eve r had a helpmate himself, to

l eave twen ty poor mai dens th ree gu ineas a piece , as a

marr iage po rtion. And i t was st i l l more strange in him to

p rovide th ree gu ineas more for the fi rst twen ty w idows

who succeeded in gett ing fresh spouses.

With one foot in the grave,many of these old testators

w ere troubled w i th a smal l vo i ce, and when Cuthbert

B urrel l,of Headlam , made his Wi l l in 1 562 he remembered

some forgot ten t i thes , and made resti tut ion to the parson

accord ingly. TO his e ldes t son John he bequeathed an

i ron-bound wa in ,a feathe r bed and a ll that be longed to i t ,

and the harness in wh ich he was pledged to serve theQueen for the de fence of the rea lm , that was to say, a

jack , a stee l cap , a s tuffed coat , a sword and buckler,a

bow and a qu i ve r. In his w i l l , dated 1 580 ,Thomas

Shepperdson ,of Ryhope , yeoman , gives to E l izabeth

THE GOODS AND CHATTELS OF OUR ANCESTORS. 1 5 1

Bu rdon a s i lve r gi rdl e , and to John Sheppe rdson a s i l ve rdagge r ; whi l e Robe rt Bowes , of Berwick , gent l eman

,

whose w i l l is dated the same year,d i rects that the £30

wh i ch was th en due to him for his penson was to be usedin the paymen t of h i s debts. The year fo l low ing , ThomasD uckett , of Auckland , l eft his n i ece a yoke of sto tts

, and to

his son Thomas he bequeathed .a jacket wh i ch had been

late ly taken to p ieces.

O u r ancesto rs we re not ove rbu rdened w i th fu rn i tu re .M en tion is made in John Nesham ’

s w i l l of a“ d raw ing

table standing in the hal l ,”w hi ch was to be an he i rloom ,

with the fo rms and seats belonging to i t. This testator

l ived at Darl ington in 1 580 ,and l eased the Pi l lory Shop

in the Market Place. Among h i s beques ts is one of two

shil l ings “ towards the bu i ld ing of Dar l ington B r idge ,when the work goeth forward.” The inven to ry attached

to th e wi l l Of Matthew Chapman,a New castl e m e rchan t ,

dated 1 606 , ment ions a s tanding table of wa inscot worth

235 . 4d., and a fo rm and th ree cha i rs w hich we re va lued

at 1 65 . Two sp inn ing-wheel s were sa i d to be worth 23 5 .

wh i l e an i ron ch imney and a pore (poke r).we re p rized at

405 . In the inven tory of th e goods of Lione l Taylor , of

Stobilee , dated the 29th, of Octobe r , 1603 , e ight oxen are

p rized at £ 18 o r £2 65 . 7% d. each , two s tots are

va lued at £3 65 . 8d., wh i l e ten k in e or cows are sai d to

be wo rth £20. Five wh ies are va lued at £7 s ix

ca lves at £3 , a mare and a foa l at forty wethe rs at

£ 10,and twen ty hoggs at £3. Two coup wa ins and a

long wa in ,w i th the gear ing belonging to them ,

are sa i d

to be worth .4os. Fou r hens and a cock are app ra ised at

tenpence , which woul d make the pr ice of fowl twopence

each. A b rass candles ti ck , one kettl e , two pans,

a

recking crook , tw o scyt hes , and an axe ,a re va lued at 105 .

S i l ve r plate usual ly formed no incons ide rable portion of

a tes tator ’s w eal th. A l though the househo ld fu rn i ture of

ThOmas Tunstal l , A l de rman of Durham ,was wo rth no

more than £9 1 3s.4d., he had 106 ounces of s i lve r , wh ich ,at 45 . 1od. an ounce , was worth £25 1 25 . 4d. Tu nstal l

w as a deal e r in tobacco ,and th e inven to ry of h is goods is

inte rest ing as g iv ing the p r i ce of the plant in 1644. I t

m ust have var i e d greatly in qual i ty. Some of i t was


val u ed at a sh i l l ing a pound, another so rt was p ri ced at

thirteenpence , and the re was a quanti ty wh ich so l d at

e ighteenpence. Span ish tobacco,which mus t have been

the best , was va lued at 85 .per pound. Ano ther Du rhamtradesman , John Bayles , whose w i l l is dated 1 640 ,

had in

his shOp twelve gal lons of s tomack wate r,

” twenty

gal lons of an iseed , half a hundredweight of sugar-candy ,th ree pounds of gunpowder (worth 6 5 . a gross of

tobacco p ipes (worth 25 . and tw enty-two ear w i res,

va l u ed at twel vepence. In his ki tchen were two muskets,

a halbe rt , a fow l ing p iece , and a sword.

Many cu r ious and inte rest ing facts are inc idental lyment ioned in these early w i l l s. Reginald S toke r

,Vin tner

,

of Newcastl e , gives to Mat thew Bee,jockey , his smal l

hun ting saddle and a gun w i th a w i de bore. H is w i l l i sdated 1 700 , and among othe r legacies men tioned is a

v io l in to M r.Edward B lackett. In 1643 , Thomas Wal l is,

of Rock , in the par i s h of A lnw i ck,makes the fol low ing

declarat ion :“ B rothe r George Wa l l i s , I am goinge uppon

se rvi ce. The Lord knowes whethe r eve r I come back

againe o r no. A l l the estate that I have in the worlde is

fiftie pound es. My w i l l and'

p leasu re i s that i f i t shal lplease God to cal l me befo re I come backe againe that

£30 the reof shal l b e given to you ,and £ 10 a pece to

eyther of my two s is te rs,U rsala and E l len.” The w i l l of

John H un te r,of Newcast l e , gent leman ,

is short and to thepo int. “ I give everyth ing to my fa i thfu l se rvant , Al iceTaylor. Thi s w i l l is dated Oc tober 1 , 1 702. ThomasHarr ison ,

barbe r and su rgeon , of the same town,in his

w i l l , dated 1 670 ,says ,

“ As for my relat ions , don’t trouble

me about them ,for I was neve r 5 5 . the bette r by any of

them. What es tate I have I go t by and under M r.Carr ,and I give the same to Will i e Ca rr.

oJohn Sanderson , of

Westgate , Newcas tl e , plays the part of the unfo rgiv ingparen t in his w i l l

,dated 1 669. Whereas my daughte r

I sabel l Haggett hath by her marriage unknown to0

me

much grieved my heart , and overth rown herself and poorchi l dren

,my w i l l is that she sha l l enjoy my house and land

in Barnard Castle on ly for he r l i fe , and afte r that th eyshal l go to he r son and his he i rs— I mean her son J ohn

on ly and I des i re my executo rs and supe rvisors not to l et


and now kep t in the Pudding Chare,the sum of£ 100 ,

thesame to be put ou t at in te rest. In the same year , Doro thy

H i lton , of Hilton Castl e , w idow ,di rects £20 to be la i d out

at he r fun era l and Widow A l l en,of New cast l e , gives

to her cou s in ,M rs. E l izabeth Hende rson

,the same year

,

a large s i l ve r cup , a damask table c loth,one dozen

damask napkins,and a damask dresse r cloth.

Cyn i ca l people and old ladies of the Pu r i tan type oftenho l d up the i r hands at what th ey ca l l the extravagances ind ress of the young men of the pe riod But as a matte r offact , the ward robe of the mode rn masher ” represen tson ly a t i the of the appare l possessed by young men in the

re ign of J ames the Fi rs t. Noth ing is known of C laud ius

Delaval save an inven to ry that was made of hi s pe rsona leffects afte r his death in 1623. There in he is descri bed as

of Newcastle,gen tleman. He m ust have been a beau of

the fi rst wa te r. In his ward robe was a tawny su i t,

cons ist ing of a satin doublet and b reeches,

and cloakedged w ith lace

,the whol e be ing valued at £8, wh ich

wou ld represen t fu l ly ten t imes that amoun t at the presentday. Two su i ts we re valued at £2 105 . each

,one being

composed of black satin,laced all ove r

,wh i l e the o the r

was made of mate r ial cal l ed black Tu rkey. A taffetydoublet and hose w ere prized at 505 . There was an o ld

pa i r o f black sat in breeches , l ined w i th sarcenet,va lued at

and three hats were wo rth a coupl e of pounds. Ac loak must have been an expens ive i tem at th is t ime ,S ince a black one of cloth

,l ined through w i th black velvet

,

and edged w i th sat in lace , was sa i d to be wo r th £8.Beau Delava l possessed fou r othe r cloaks

,va lued at

£7 19s. 4d., one being a co lou red rid ing cloak. Thisw as probably w o rn when he left home att i red in his

colou red Span ish su i t,wh ich was va lued at £4 105 .

Fou r laced cambric ruffs , two shi rts , n ightcaps, and

handkerchers ,”we re es t imated to be wo rth £5 3 5 .

Th ree pairs of boots , fou r pa i rs of Span ish l eathe r shoes,

and four pa i rs of s i l k stock ings, tw o of them co lou red

,

w e re valued at £2 1 5 5 . Three pa i rs of s i l k garte rs,and

roses to the above , w e re se t down at 1 65 . Thi s exqu is i tea l so possessed a viol-di -gamba (a large r ins trument of thesame form as the v io l in), a sword

,and a watch.

THE GOODS AND CHATTELS OF OUR ANCESTORS. 1 55

The re i s a s ti l l earl i e r refe rence to th e V io l in the w i l l of

R i chard Ross , othe rw i s e cal l ed D e la Ros se , who d iedat New cast l e in 16 1 1 , and appears to have been a teache rof music. H e asks that the re may be no fal s e b i l l s

p resen ted to his on ly compan ion , a fema l e se rvan t , afte r

h i s “ departu re out of th is s in fu l world ,”and declares that ,

a l though not endowed w i th r iches,he owes not a g roat.

H is effects are val u ed at £3 16s., and include a sol itary

green man t l e,a bass vio l

,an old bandore (an inst rumen t

resembl ing a lu te), th ree o ld lu tes , and a gi tte rn (gu i tar).Th is early Newcastl e mu 5 1c 1an was bur i ed w i th in the

chu rch of A l l Sa in ts ’ , and i t would be in te res ting to know

i f the regis te rs the re con ta in any refe ren ce to him.At the presen t day the man who t ravels from place to

p lace w i th his wares is cal l ed a pedlar or a packman. Thename given to him formerly was Chapman ,

and in the

ta i l-pi ece we see him rid ing on his donkey , between w e l lfi lled baskets. Will iam Lascel l es

,who desc ri bes h im self

as a Chapman ,seems to have been taken i l l at B rancepeth ,

in 1644 ,and in his w i l l he bequeaths to John Pearson

th ree wooden bott l es , two sa l t fish,a s traw basket , a pa i r

of boots and a pa i r Of stock ings , his best coat and

breeches,all h i s w eights and measu res

,bes i des a shi rt , a

cap , and a pa i r of sci sso rs.

C H A P T E R X X I I .

FAMOUS NORTH -COUNTRY FAM I L IES.

Pride of Ance stry.—S ir Cuthbe rt Sharp , H istorian and Genea logist.—Wil l iam B e lasys.

—S ir Be rtram Bulme r.—S ir Henry Brabant.-S ir Fran c is Brand l ing.—The Conye rs Fa lch ion.—S ir AmbroseCrow ley. -The De rwe nt a Spawn ing Ground for Sa lmon.Dr. Samue l Garth.—Ane cdote of S ir Toby Mathew.—S irThomas R idde l l.—Lord E ldon.—The Vane s , Whittinghams ,

and Co le s.

THE pr i de of ancestry is a pardonable weakness ; Everybody knows the s tory of the Scotchman who ,

in p roofof his descent from the Admi rable C ri chton , was won t to

p roduce an anc i en t sh i rt marked A.C. in the tai l,

p rese rved,as he sa i d

,as an he i rloom by the family. The

mann e r in wh i ch James the Fi rst,du ring his stay at

Lumley Cas tl e,was w ear i ed w i th a long deta i l of the

ancestry of that house is equally w el l known. In there ign of the fi rs t Edward , S i r John Huddleston was amongthose s

‘

ummoned to a counc i l at Newcastl e-on-Tyne. Hewas the d i rect ancesto r of one of the heroes of Agincou rt ,and his house flou rished in the No rth of England for

severa l gene rat ions an te r ior to the downfal l of the Saxon

dynasty. The pedigree begins w i th an Adam ,and on i t i s

sa i d to be emblazon ed a represen tat ion of Noah go ingin to the A rk

,carry ing under his arm a smal l t runk on

wh i ch i s insc ribed Papers of the house of H uddleston.”

The family name is gen era l ly al lowed to be de rived from

Hode lston in Yorksh i re bu t a recen t member of it always

mainta ined that i t was a corruption of Athel staneHuddleston was a fri end of th e eccen tr i c Duke of

Norfo l k, and the two often met ove r a bottl e to discuss

the respective pre tens ions of the i r pedigrees. O n one of

these occas ions the discuss ion was p ro longed t i l l the

descendan t of the Saxon ru le r rol l e d from his chai r upon


Du rham , and i ts val u e is enhanced by the addi t ion of

numerous seven teen th-centu ry au tographs and seve ra lportra i ts. O n page 7 i s an au tograph of Wil l iamB e lasys , of Morton Hou se , H igh She r iff of the coun ty of

Durham'

from 1 625 ,to 1640 ,

one of whose ancestors,

having exchanged the pate rnal estate for anothe r,is thus

refe rred to in a couplet

B e llasys , B e llasys , da ft was thy sowe l lWhen thou chang

’

d B e l lasys for He nknowe ll.

The degene racy of famil i es is i l lustrated in the career ofS i r Bertram Bulme r

,of Tursdale

,a gal lant kn ight

, one of

the fi rst c reated by James I. This gay cava l i e r ra i sed a

regimen t of foot w h ich he led to th e wars in the LowCoun t r i es

,whe re on on e occas ion his men deserted him in

a w e t di tch. He was taken p ri sone r by the Span iards ,and part of his lands w e re so l d to pay his ransom. Hisdescendan ts w e re reduced to great poverty

,and one of

them,Be rtram Bu lmer

,in 1 726 , kept the cock-pi t and

bow l ing green in Gray ’s Inn Lane. He had then in his

possess ion a spl endid ly i l luminated fami ly pedigree— bu t asorry memen to of its p rev ious greatn ess.The fate of S i r H en ry B raban t , who was kn igh ted byCharl es I I., ought to s tand as a warn ing to all who thi rst

afte r c ivi c honou rs. He was a prominen t Novocastrian inhis day,

hav ing se rved the office of Sheriff in 1662,and

was Mayo r in 1 667 and 1 685. So poor was he at his

death , how eve r , that the Common Counc i l orde red thesum of £5 to be given to Lady B raban t “ in chari ty.There is an au tograph of the resolute

,spi ri ted S i r

Franc is B randl ing , of A lnw i ck Abbey, who on one

occas ion shu t up the Archdeacon’

s offic ia l of Northumberland

,and the who l e c l e r i ca l convocat ion

,in the chu rch of

A lnw i ck , un t i l they rel eased h im from some sp i r i tualc ensures whi ch he had incu rred in the execution of his

offi c ial dut i es.A p ropos of the fal chion quest ion , whi ch has so frequently

e ngaged the attent ion of our loca l qu idnuncs,there i s a

p ortra i t on vel lum of the last descendan t of th e fal ch ionkn ight of Sockbu rn

.Whe re Conye rs so trustyA huge serpen t did dish-up ,Tha t had e lse eat the Bish-up.

FAMOUS NORTH-COUNTRY FAM ILIES. 1 59

The an t i qu ity of this rhyme has been questioned by thosel earned in th e fo l k- lore and l egends of the coun ty , and i t

has been more than once att r ibu ted to Su rtees , who was ,l i ke h i s fr i end Ra ine , an adep t at that so rt of impos i t ion.

Var ious accoun ts of the famous S i r Ambrose C row l ey,

of “ C row l ey C rew ”notor i ety

,have been handed down to

u s,some of them myth i cal , othe rs con ta in ing a substratum

of tru th. S i r Ambros e seems to have been much in te res ted

in the Win laton I ronwo rks , and among othe r th ings the re

i s an o r igina l l e tte r of h is to S i r George Bow es,dated

November 1 3 th ,1 702 ,

in w h ich he speaks of his d isappo in t

men ts and losses. To begin w i th , the r ive r Derwen t hadmade a seve re b reach u pon his i ron mil l , and he had los t

a sh ip con ta in ing a cargo of i ron. The Derw en t seems tohave been at th is t ime a spawn ing ground for salmon

,

wh i ch in th e middl e of November wou l d be ascend ing the

r ive r for that pu rpose. Poach ing was ev i den tly one of themany peccad i l loes to wh i ch the Crow l ey C rew ”

w ere

addi cted , and in his l e tte r S i r Ambrose p romises to restra inh is wo rkmen ,

hav ing a l ready th reatened to discharge from

his se rv i ce any w hom he found destroying the salmon.There is a copy of a pet i tion to the king asking protection

for seve ral o f his wo rkmen who had come from Liege,

that be ing the on ly place in Eu rope for the smith trade ,”

and who had taught the Engl i shmen th e i r wo rk bette r

and sw ifte r than fo rmerly , and to make such nai ls as are

used in Ho l land for sheath ing ships.”

An in te res ting sketch , to wh i ch is added a characte r i st i c

po rtra i t of S i r Samuel Garth , th e phys i c ian ,is given. In

th e n ew“ D ict ionary of B iography i t is sa id that D r.

Garth was a Yorksh i reman. But that i s not so. He was

the eldest son of Wi ll iam Garth , of Bo lam ,and was

e ducated at the publ i c schoo l of Ingleton , Du rham. The

e lde r Garth ’s w i l l , dated February 1 3th , 1 703 , i s en ro l l ed

in the Du rham Probate Reg is t ry , and in i t h e l eaves S i r

Samuel a l egacy of on ly £ 10 ,in consequ ence of his having

been at great’

charges and expenses in h is education at

the Un i ve rs i ty of Cambr i dge and el sewhe re , and in h i s

taking hi s degree there of Doctor of Physi c.”

S i r Toby Mathew ,son of the B i shop of Durham of that

name , i s desc r i bed in a l ette r as a deep intr igu ing po l it i c ian


and a spy in the se rvi ce of Rome. The Bi shop had th ree

sons , whom he d i sc r im inated by saying that his son Tobyhad wit and no grace , that his son Samue l had grace and

no wit , and that th e th i rd had ne i the r grace nor w it.Loyal ty to the S tuart cause was the pri ce of many a fa i res tate in the North-coun try. I t was hered i tary in the

family of Riddel l,of Tun stal l

,whose rep resentative

,S i r

Thomas , co lone l of a regimen t of foOt , di ed in exi l e at

Antwerp , in the year 1652. I t was his grand-daughte r,

Margaret , that , on the forced abdicat ion of James I I.,

made a so l emn vow neve r to w ear e i the r Shoe or stockingun t i l h e was replaced on the th rone of h is ancestors and

howeve r pa infu l th is a l te rnat ive mus t have been to a

woman of del i cacy , yet she re l igious ly kep t he r vow , and

to he r death she cou l d neve r be p reva i l ed upon to wear

any other than sanda ls.S i r Cu thbe rt has p rese rved a copy o f a qua int , chattyl ette r of the fi rs t Lo rd E l don to a fri end. I have longbeen compel l ed , w r i tes the great lawye r

,to w i thhol d

mysel f from al l that is pleasan t in th is worl d ; and i f

n ecess i ty , wh ich has no law ,had not flogged me i nto th e

acqu is i t ion of as much law as I cou l d get'

,my own

d ispos i t ion would have l ed me whe re I st i l l cannot helppe rsuading myself that mo re of rea l happ iness is to befound than w i l l fal l to my lot in th is wo rld— to a parsonage

fi res i de.”

Much in te res ting matte r is given respecting the, Vanes ,the l ineal ancestors of the presen t noble house of Londonderry. There is an au tograph lette r on vel lum of Henrythe younger , whom M i l ton immorta l izes in the l ine

Vane , young in years , but in sage counse l o ld.

In his noti ce of S i r Wal te r,th i rd son of S i r H en ry the

younger , who was envoy to the E l ecto r.

of Brandenbu rg,

S i r Cu thbe rt men t ions the fact that the i l lus trious JohnLocke was in his t ra in

,and says that he had seen several

of his l ette rs in th e l ib rary at .Wynya rd. The Vanes sti l l

flou rish , but what of th e Whittinghams and Co l es P Thelatte r rose almost per sa l tum from the smi thy to the

baronetage , but the family fel l as sudden ly as i t rose ,“ l i ke a bright exhalat ion in the even ing

,th e grand

ch i l dren of the second barone t dy ing in landl ess poverty.

162 NORTH -COUNTRY SKETCHES.

The contents of the Pi ttington book, w h ich comes fi rs t

in o rde r , are given in fu l l , as be ing more w i th in compasst han the rest , and Mr. Barmby having felt a pardonable

part ial i ty for the records of his own par ish. I t is

sat i sfactory to know that they are in such excel l en t hands.Time used to be w hen registe rs and accoun t books wereso l i tt l e va lued and thought of that

,as at Mugglesw i ck

,

the parson ’s w ife baked he r tea-cakes on l eaves which hadbeen to rn the refrom. Unde r date 1 585 there i s an en tryconce rn ing rogue money , wh ich was a spec ia l cessment

p a i d by the par i sh to th e h igh-constabl e for the main ten

ance of p risone rs and the re l i ef of mariners and sold ie rs.A t Easte r , 1 589 ,

6s. 8d.was disbursed for ten quarts of

w ine to serve the commun ion. The quan t i ty of w in e strikesus as be ing much in excess of what wou l d be consumednow (for there seems to have been seldom more thanfou r cel ebrat ions du ring the year), al though i t was muchl ess than that used in S t.O swal d ’s par ish

, where in one

year fifty quarts and a p in t we re consumed at a cost of

34s.4d. Al l the parishione rs at th i s t ime were compel ledt o commun i cate once a year at l eas t

,th rough the act ion

of the Courts. Such long-con t inued and vexat iousc ompu ls ion may,

perhaps,account in some measure for

the n eglect of commun ion s by the Church-go ing popu lation

g ene ra l ly in more recen t t imes , afte r d isc ipl ine had ceasedfor , as Mr. Barmby remarks , people woul d be l ikely to

have a dis taste for the o rdinance to whi ch they had been“d r i ven aga in st the i r w i l l , and often on pol i t i cal rather than

r el igious grounds. Nor can w e wonder at the bad odourinto whi ch the sp ir i tual cou rts gene ra l ly fel l when we

p e rce ive from these books how harass ing they must havebeen to pari shes , w i th thei r constan t c i tat ions , at the

instance often of in te rested appari tors , the i r protracted

p roceedings , the i r cont inual injunct ions of penance , and

t he i r exaction of fees. The case of John John son ,of

Sh incl iffe , given in the append ix , i l lu s trates the p rocedu re

o f these courts. I t.was protracted from the beginn ing of

J une , 1600 ,to the 22nd of May in the fo l low ing year ,

having been n ine t imes before the cou rt. I t arose from

John son being presented by a chu rchwarden for susp i c ion

o f incont inency wi th anothe r man ’s wife. Having been

THE PARISH RECORDS OF DURHAM. 163

declared contumac iou s and th reatened w i th excommuni

cat ion for‘

not appear ing before the cou rt afte r c i tat ion,he

at l ength p resen ted himself,

and den i ed the charge.Ingram Maughan , the appar itor of the cou rt

,p romoted

the offi ce of.j u dge aga in st h im. The charge rest ingon ly on al l eged common report

,his accusers w e re requ i red

to adduce p roof of s uch repo rt ; whereupon at a

subsequen t s i tt ing of the court they produced n ine

inhab i tan ts of Shincl iffe to swear,not to the fact of the

man ’s gu i l t , bu t to the gene ra l be l i ef of i t. The accused ,be ing cal l ed upon to reply

“

,aga in den i e d the charge on h is

oath ex -ofi cio. Being then requ i red to p roduce fou r

hon es t n e ighbours as his compurgato rs to swear

that they bel i eved h im to have sworn tru ly— he did so,

and was acqu i tted. But,no tw i thstand ing th is

,he was

compel l ed , u nder pa in of excommun i cat ion, to pay the

w ho l e costs of the long su i t. Had the case been proved

aga inst th e man,he wou ld have had to stand in his sh i rt

du r ing D ivin e serv i ce, and do a l i ke penance in the open

market.In 1 598 fou rpen ce w as pa i d to George H a l l iday for

'

a

fox ’s head. Thi rty years late r th is note occu rs in one of

the books I t was agreed uppon by the gen tl emen and

tw e lve of th is pari sh that whosoeve r shal l take any fox ,or

pate (badger), and bring the heade to th e chu rch,sha l l

have twe lvepence pa i d by the chu rchwardens.” B u t

Reynard su rvived all th i s vu lp in e war,and had his revenge

in the days o f the o ld Squ i re of E lemore of fox-hunt ingfame , when he was prese rved and fattened at the expense

of h i s fo rme r pe rsecutors. I t is in te rest i ng to note howth e repa i rs of the ch u rch w e re effected and supe r in tendedby the chu rchwarden s. Nothing is del egated to o the rs

,

o r con tracted for , as w ou l d have been the case in mo re

recen t t imes. The quain t ph raseo logy and spel l ing in

some of the books wou ld l ead us to th ink that the par ish

sc ribe mu st have been a b i t of a humor i st. Thus there i s

a payment to Christophe r Hodgson for “ staying a j est ,”

bu t as“ jo i s t was mean t , i t i s ev iden t that no joke is

in tended. As the re we re no mashe rs or twopenny

swel l s in those days , we conc lude that th e payment of

twopence for a swe l l must have been for that p r im i t i ve

a rt i c le of husband ry known as a Sw i ll.”

164 NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHE S.

The re are occas ional payments for the slaking of l imefor repa i r ing the chu rch

,but the slak ing of th i rs t must

have gone on con t inual ly, s ince nearly eve ry page contains

di sbu rsements for d r inks. I t may be noted as a cur iousfact that the giv ing of bee r to workmen was a lwaysobserved in the seventeenth cen tu ry

, and late r , and was

usual ly st ipu lated in a con tract. In an old agreementbetween John Douglas , a former Town C l e rk of Newcastle

,

and a local b ri ckmake r , we find that th e former i s to make

the latte r ’s workmen a certa in al lowance of beer dai ly.In the year 1622 , probably in Vi ew of the i r l iabi l i ty for the

suppor t of th e poo r unde r E l izabeth ’s Poor Laws , theinhab i tants are fo rb idden to -en te rtain or harbour any

s tranger w i th in th e par ish.

In the par ish of Pitt ington w e find an anc ien t wayof ra i s ing the funds requ i red for parochial pu rposes.They did not accrue , as in late r t imes , from rates (exceptwhen

,from t ime to t ime , there was a spec ial cessment

for some special pu rpose), but from the profi ts of a flock of

sheep,cal l e d “ the chu rch shepe ,

”which were pastured

free ly on the seve ral farms in the parish. I t does not

appear that th i s system or iginated in 1 584 , though in thatyear the p roport ional l iab i l i ty of the farmers for thepastu rage of the sheep was defined , namely , one sheep to

be fed for eve ry £4 of ren tal. This system , inte resting as

suggest i ve of a s imple past oral commun i ty , cont inued for

forty subsequen t years , dur ing which the churchwardens’

accoun ts show the sums rece ived in each year for

sheep,lambs , and woo l , and the disbu rsemen ts for new

pu rchases , togethe r w i th frequen t statemen ts of the

state of the flock on the several farms in the par ish.

These accoun ts of the flock are fu rthe r in te rest ing as

show ing the curren t prices at the t ime. In 1624 , the

chu rch flock , being then in a decayed s tate , was sold. I tcons isted at that t ime of six w ethe rs , t en ewes , and fivelambs , and rea l ized , togethe r w i th the woo l , £6 35 . 2d.

Thencefo rth the p rim itive plan , prov ing inadequate , was

given up as obso l ete , an d th e pa rish ione rs began to be

regu larly rated as in modern t imes .

These records th row cons iderab l e l ight on the or igin

and p rogress of the system of appropriat ion of seats in


of our extracts wi l l be modern i zed for conven i ence sake.

Upon Sundays they shal l r ing the fi rs t be l l at twe lveo’

clock , for the second bel l at one o’clock they shal l ch ime

two bel l s , and when all in they shal l ch ime th ree bel l s or

al l, and r ing the great hel l for the se rmon bel l.” “ The

sexton shal l have for r inging a bel l at fou r o’clock everymorn ing , and r inging a bel l at e ight o

’clock eve ry n ight,

and for his othe r wages belonging to the chu rch , twentyshi l l ings a year.” This custom of r inging the bel l at fourO ’clock in the morn ing would no t fa l l in with the habits of

the p resen t generat ion.In the h ighlands of Scotland , we bel i eve , i t i s st i l lc us tomary for the shepherds to take the i r dogs to kirkw i th them. In 1646 ,

\

J ohn Laz ing was appo inted beadleof Pitt ington ,

for driv ing doggs out of chu rch in t ime ofpubl i c wo rship.” In a v is i tation se rmon p reached at

B ren twood , in E ssex , by D r.Read , p r inted at London in

1636 , th e p reache r gives an extraordinary descr iption of

th e p resence and do ings of dogs in chu rch. In those days

an old woman was sometimes engaged to keep ou t strayingdogs and poul try , and there is a sto ry of a Durham parson ,

who had seen a hen wal k into the chu rch as he was reading

the fi rs t l esson ,shocking his congregation by baw l ing out

afte r the wo rds And the Lo rd sa id unto Moses— Peggy ,get up and put that hen ou t

C H A P T E R X X I V

SLANG.

Gradua l Refinemen t of Language.—Pr im i t ive use of Te rms.—LordCheste rfie ld

’

s Defin it ion of S lang.—I l lustra t ion s.

E are becoming so refined in our i deas that much of the

language of our ancesto rs i s be ing lost. Many of th eexp ress ions—good Saxon words some of them— that passedcurren t in our grand fathe rs ’ t ime are now se t dow n by thel exi cographe rs as obso l e te , or are regarded by po l i tepeopl e as vulga r isms. An instance of th is may be given.O n the 10th day of Feb ruary

,in the year of grace 1 7 1 5 , a

young man los t his l ife at Hart l epoo l whi l e s inking fo r a

draw -w el l in the yard attached to his father ’s hou se. TheHartlepud lian s w e re a pr im it ive peopl e in those days , and

in reco rd ing the even t in the Chu rch registe r the par ishsc ribe says that th e unfortunate young man was smooredto death s ink ing for a draw -w el l in his father ’s backs ide.” Probably D r.Mu rray

’

s n ew d ictionary w i l l devote

some space to the word “ yard,

”and we may be tol d

w hen i t was fi rs t used as an equ ival en t for the longe r

word,whi ch w as in common use at the ear ly part of the

p resen t cen tu ry,i t be ing recorded by Denham in his

Prove rbs ,and Sayings of Du rham , that h e once heard

an anci ent lady innocen tly address a ne ighbou r in this

w ise What a bonny backs i de ye hev ,Mr.Brown

In th e opin ion of a very great many respectable people,

s lang i s s imply a col l ec tive name for vulga r express ion s,

the mos t refined indiv idual be ing the one who u ses i t l east.Lord Cheste rfie ld ’

s defin i t ion of S lang Is that i t is used

on ly to convey the mean ing o f uneducated m inds. But i t

has come to be used so frequen tly in genera l conve rsat ionthat i t i s difficu l t to d i s tingu ish be tween s lang te rms not

as ye t recogn i ze d by the l exi cographe rs and those which


are firm ly establ ished. Occas ional ly a class s lang word i sadopted by the publ i c , just as a section of i t has fa l l en intou s ing that ve ry foo l ish express ion ,

“ Thanks , awfu l ly.”I t

i s qu i te poss ibl e for people who do no t belong to the sea

far i ng frate rn i ty to hear of a husband having to “ look out

for squal l s ” when he comes home heel ing over ” fromhaving d ined too wel l , even if he has not

“ caps ized ” or

been th rown upon h is beam ends in the gu tte r. S langhas become such an essential in every-day l i fe that a

dict ionary embrac ing i t and p idgin-Engl i sh,tinkers ’

jargon , and othe r i rregular ph raseo logy , has been com

p i l ed on the subj ect by M ess rs.Barrere and Leland ; butas on ly a l im i ted numbe r of cop i es of the work has beenp r inted , and these have been i ssued to subscr ibers on ly

,

i t wi l l not come w i th in the reach of the general reader,to

whom a br i e f summary of the cu rious book may beaccep table.

I

When a man i s all r igh t and comfortab l e he i s sometimesheard to say,

“ I am A I .” The exp ress ion originated

from Lloyd ’s to indicate the characte r of a shi p and i tsappo intments. To be classed A I at Lloyd ’s means thatthe vesse l

,its ancho rs , sa i ls , tackle , and s tores have been

examined by offic ia l su rveyors, and found to be in good

tr im,ent i tl ing i t to be ranked as first-class. “ That’s

abou t the s iz e of i t , is an express ion used in a very w ide

s ense : In th is coun try the parson offic iat ing at a weddingrece ives the affirmat ive

,I w i l l ,

” before tying the nuptialknot

,but ac ross th e Atlan t i c the ce remony is conducted

much in th is way So you take th i s woman ,whose

hand you ’re a squeez in’

,to be your lawfu l w ife , in flush

times an’ skimp P” I reckon that ’s about the s ize of i t ,

squ i re.” Among vagran ts , re l i ev ing officers are known

as“ Accel e rators ,

” from the i r occas iona l refusal to givefood to the dying ou tcas t

, and the -u sual r ider

accompanying the ju ry ’s ve rd ic t of natu ra l death ,accel erated th rough the want of the common n ecessari es

of l i fe.” The saying ,“ Accord ing to Cocker

,

”originated

in 1756 , and was taken up by the peopl e from Mu rphy ’splay of The App ren t i ce , in wh ich the s trong po int of

I “ A D i ct ionary of S lang, Ja rgon , and Cant , by Albe rt Barrereand Chas.G.Le land.


had its or igin , we bel i eve , in the coun ty of Durham,

whe re the saying , “ Beef to the heels , l i ke a Du rhamhe i fe r ,

”was common at the beginn ing of th is cen tu ry.

The edi tors have given on ly one rende r ing of the wordCal l i thumpian ,

”which they assoc iate w i th a d iscordant

se renade. Hartmann ’s ne ighbou rs thought i t would bea b r ight th ing to give h im a cal l i thumpian se renade

, so

they got under his w indow and blowed and snorted, and

rung the i r dinne r bel ls,and b rayed on the i r horns ti l l

the re was a pause. Then Hartmann stuck his head out

of the w indow , and sa i d ‘ Fri ends,Romans

,and fe l low

c i t izens I thank you for the honou r of th is mus i cal treat ,which I suppose to your ears is as good a one as can beg iven. B ut i t wan ts one th ing. I t lacks the exh ilaratingtones of the shot-gun ,

and there i t is , bless you Sayingwhich he fi red two barre ls of smal l shot among them

,and

the se renade was ove r.” An acqua in tance w i th North

coun try l i te ratu re would have shown the compilers that ad iffe ren t mean ing is attached to the wo rd in the county of

Durham. In a l i ttl e work w r i tten by the late M r.Boydell ,v i car ofWingate , and publ i shed by Hi l ls of Sunderland , in1862 , a mine r is asked if he eve r wen t to church. No ,

”

was th e reply '

; there are but two pe rsons in the world of

the same re l igion that I am , and one of them is in America.”

What is that P was the inqu i ry. Ca l l i thumpian ,

”was

the answ e r. “ And pray what are the opin ions of the

Ca llithump ians P”asked the vicar. Plen ty of meat and

d rink, and no grumbling

,was the p itman ’

s rejo inde r.

Du rham man, a knock-kneed man was so cal l ed , and

was sa i d to grind mustard betw een his knees.” Such is

the explanation given in the new S lang Dictionary of a

saying w hi ch is as o ld as Du rham musta rd. Nick-names

s ti ck , and th is one is st i l l appl ied to knock-kneed men

from the i r be ing sa i d to grind mustard between theirkn ees in wa lking. There is

,.a popu la r bel i ef that the city

of Du rham was t he home of mustard ,but it is qu i te certain

that thi s usefu l condimen t was used in No rthumberland

n early th ree cen tu r ies befo re Dame C l emen ts in troduced i t

to the publ i c. In the accoun t ro l ls of the monks of Fam e ,men tion is made of mws te rt qwe ryngs

”

(mustard

SLANG. 1 7 1

qu e rns)unde r the year I 436.I And in the H ousehol d

Book of the fifth Ear l of Northumbe r land,the re is an

orde r for th e p rovis ion of 1 60 gal lon s of mustard for theuse of the house for oone ho l e ye re ,

” the cost of wh i chis set down at 345 . 4d. Fu rthe r on in the book i s the

en try :“ Whe reas mustarde hath beyn boght of th e

Sawce-make r affore‘

tyme,that now i t be made with in

my Lord is bou s , and that one be p rovid it to be Grome of

th e Skul l ery that can make i t.” At th is time,and for long

afte r , the mustard seed was coarsely pounded in a mortar ,as coarse ly separated from the in tegument , and in that

rough state p repared for u se. Abou t the year 1 720 , i t

occu rred to a lady named C l emen ts,res i d ing in the c i ty of

D u rham , to grind the seed in a mil l,and pass i t th rough

the seve ra l p rocesses whi ch are resorted to in making flou r

from wheat. The secret she kept many years to herself,and in th e pe r iod of he r exclus ive possess ion of i t she

supp l i ed the p r incipa l parts of the kingdom ,and in

parti cu lar the metropo l i s , w i th th is art i c l e. M rs.

C l emen ts regu larly travel l ed for orde rs , and in t ime the

mustard luxu ry sp read to al l parts of the coun try.

Some of the w o rds wh ich are used in eve ryday journal i sm

are becoming sta l e , and our descr ip tive w r i t e rs might w i th

advan tage , jus t by way of saying someth ing new , tu rn to

the S lang D ict ionary for a few or iginal te rms. There they

wi l l find that exp late rate”may be u sed in explain ing

and i l l u s trat ing thei r mean ing and when next they find a

speake r at a loss for a w ord,or w i tness his d iscomfiture ,

they may w i th safety say that he was d iscombobberated.”

Some of th e footba l l scr ibes might also dip in to i t for a

wr inkle or two. They ta l k a lo t abou t scr immages , bu t

non e of th em seem to be fami l iar w i th the new word

foik ,”wh i ch is pi ck ing up a ba l l w i th you r hands befo re

i t is fa i rly ou t of the sc r immage , Or to kick i t out of thesc r immage backwards to one of you r ow n beh inds , to g ive

h i m a chance of a run.

I Ra ine ’

s North Durham , p.35 1 .

C H A P T E R X X V .

EPITAPH S AND REGISTERS.

Flatte ring Ep itaphs.—Carlton ’

s Monumenta l Inscript ions.—Printers ’

Errors —Curious Ep itaphs.—Transcrib ing Pa rish RegistersRegiste rs of St.Oswa ld ’

s , Durham.—Pre se rva t ion of Registers.

HE renewal of epi taphs on the gravestones of eminentNovocast rians has cal l ed attent ion to the matter of

monumen tal inscrip tions gene ral ly,for those in several

of the local chu rchyards have been copied by members of

the Newcastl e Soc i ety of An tiquar i es,and in cou rse of t ime

thes e may be embodied in the proceed ings of the Society ,or pe rhaps p rin ted in a separate form. I f the sepul chralmemor ials one often meets speak the t ruth , th is can

hardly be looked upon as a fal l en world. Inscript ion afterinsc ription s ings the p ra ises of the departed , and tel ls us

that a bette r parent,husband , b rothe r , and son never

l i ved. The memo ry loves to dwel l on the good qual i tiesand not the fa i l ings of the dead

,and thi s natu ral impulse

often l eads us to speak of them as i f th ey had been almostfault l ess. Many epi taphs are made up of flattery , and

“to l i e l ike an ep i taph has passed in to a proverb.

The re is a soc iety for the p rese rvat ion of tombstones , and

the re ought to be anothe r for the making of epi taphs. I t

is notewor thy that the fi rst attempt to prin t a completeco l l ect ion of monumen ta l inscript ions connected w i th any

town in England was made by the late M r.Carlton ,

Iof

Du rham,whom we once met up to hi s knees in snow in

I “ Monumenta l Inscript ions of the C ity of Durham,by C. M.

Carlton , Vol.I. The se cond vo lume has not be e n issued.


When anothe r poor mortal made his sudden exi t th rough

an acc ident , h is fr i ends we re more expl i c i t

He re l ies John Adams , who re ce ived a thumpR ight in the forehead from the par ish pump.

Many quain t seventeenth-centu ry insc rip tions remain

scatte red up and down the two coun t i es of Du rham and

Northumbe rland , and the majo ri ty of these seem to have

escaped the not i ce of local w ri te rs. Among the manu

scr ipts bequeathed to B ishop Cos in ’

s Library on the

Palace Green at Durham is a fol io vo l ume con ta in ing a

rare col l ect ion of those memor ia ls. I t was made byChristopher M i ckl eton ,

a pa instaking ant iquary. Some

of the epi taphs are very cu rious , as ,

”

for in stance , thatb rought out of the H ighlands of Scotland in 1 7 1 5 by the

Earl of Cadogan

He re liggs Wan tonWilly of ye Wood ,He ma rr ied a r i ch a ld w i fe

H e did it for his da i ly foodAh was tha t no t a pa infu l l i fe P

There has been a d ispos i tion among a few of our local

an ti quari es to make transcripts of some of the par ishregiste rs , and in one or two ins tances , as at Gainford ,these have been prin ted , whi l e the publ icat ion of others iscon templated. M r. Bla i r has made excerpts from theregiste rs of many par ishes in No rthumberland and

Durham ,and publ ished these in the‘ Newcastle Couran t,

and the material thus col l ected w i l l doubtless be of great

use and va lue hereafte r to the histor ian and genealogist.A l though there is not

,in t ruth

,much vari ety in the

pastime , i t wou ld seem that the copying of o ld registershas as much attraction for the femal e as the ma l e m ind ,M iss Mart in hav ing read a paper on the Egl inghamRegiste rs at a recen t meeting of the Newcastl e Soc i e ty of

An tiquari es.

S t.Oswald ’s , in the ci ty of Du rham,is the on ly par i sh

chu rch in the diocese that can boast of an unb roken seriesof registe rs , dating from the 3oth year of HenryV I I I. when Lord Cromwel l fi rs t provided thatregis te rs shou ld be kept. Begun by Capta in White , a

genealogist of abi l i ty,

and a gen tleman imbued w i ths trong l i te rary and anti quar ian tastes , the task of

making a fu l l transcr ipt of the registe rs for a per iod

EP ITAPHS AND REGISTERS. 1 75

of 2 1 3 years has been completed by the V i car , ass istedby h i s daughter I The magn i tude of th e wo rk may

be judged w hen i t i s men t ioned that i t runs to 33 1 c losely

p rinted fo l io pages. A l though the cle rgy lost p res tigeafte r th e Reformat ion ,

and many of them we re l i t tl e

b ette r than p rofl igates and infide ls du r ing the re ign o f

E l i zabeth,there i s ev i dence that d i sc ip l in e was ma in ta ined

a t St. Oswal d ’s“

, o the rw ise the vi car wou l d not have daredt o excommun i ca te M ist ress Grace B oo th

,Of Houghall , fo r

not rece iv ing the Ho ly Commun ion. He refused to giveh e r Christ ian bu ria l the d ay afte r he r death in 1 586 , and

she was bu r i ed , as the regis te r exp resses i t,

at xj. of th e

c lock in the nyght.” The year fo l low ing people d ied for lack

of bread , w heat be ing 1 65 .4d.a bushel , but i t fe l l to 35 .4d.t he summer fo l low ing. In 1 589 , numbers w ere carr i ed

off every d ay by the plague thus w e have th e so rrowfu l

e n try that Adam Mas terman and iiij. of hys sys te res

buryed of ye plage ye 26 ,27 , 28

,29 of September.”

There is th e record of th e bu r ial of fou r Papists,who had

been hanged and quarte red at D ryburn in 1 590. A s imi lar

e n try is aga in st the names of two m en eight years late r,

a nd in 1 603 the hanging'

of Richard H eyrine and Cuthbe rtWil l iam son i s reco rded. These be ing bu ri ed w i thin the

c hu rch shows that they we re not o rd inary c rimina ls,and

who they w ere , and why executed , are ques tions that

inv i te inqu i ry.M uch in te rest ing loca l h istory and gen ea logica l matte r

m ay be gathe red from r‘egis te rs , but in deal ing w i th the

e arl i es t ones great ca re n eeds to be exerc ised in making

t ran scrip ts , the orthograph ica l pecu l iari t i es be ing carefu l ly

noted , and all refe rences ve rified whe re p racti cable. Too

much ca re canno t be taken by the cl e rgy of the smal l es t

fragmen t that fal ls in to th e i r hands , i f it only bears the

fa in tes t resemblan ce to be ing part of a pari sh regi ste r.

This w as i l lus tra ted in a loca l case wh i ch was t ri ed abou t

th i rty years ago. I t invo lved the l egi timacy of the

pla in t iff’s ancesto r , who was born in 1 789 , and was

al l eged to be the son , before marr iage , of Andrew

A i t cheson and E l eanor Embleton. The property in

I The Pa r ish Reg iste rs of St.Oswa ld ’s , Durham ,by the Rev.

A.W.Head lam , V i car.


d i spute was a smal l estate in the neighbou rhood of

Alnw i ck. Afte r the decree d i rect ing the act ion , searchwas made in the Cons isto ry Cou rt of Du rham , and a

l i cense to marry was found gran ted to Andrew A i tchesonin 1 788. The bond rec i ted that E l eano r Embleton l ivedat the par i sh of K i rknewton

,and th is l ed to a search in

the regi sters the re,and to the discovery of a very cu rious

p i ece of ev idence. I t appeared that the par ish registers ofK i rknew ton had been des troyed by fi re in 1788, and therewas no t race of any marriages the re befo re that time. I twas admitted that th e pla in t iff’s ancesto r was born in

November,1 789 , and the fi re

,i t appeared , had taken place

between the gran t ing of the l i cense and th i s b i rth. Thecle rk to th e pla in t iff’s attorney was induced before thetr ia l to go ove r to K i rknewton and make further search

and in answe r to his inqu i r i es the incumbent handed toh im a bundle of bu rn t fragmen ts of pape r , the rema ins of

the former par ish regi ste rs , t i ed up in a piece of newspape r

,and kept by him in the church. O n reading

carefu l ly th rough these fragmen ts a part of a l eaf was

found having on i t the names of E leano r Embleton and

Andrew A i tcheson ,w i th part of the word marr i ed and

the date 1 7 part of the figu res being burnt off. This

ev i dence was deemed to be conclus ive that thedefendan t ’s counse l pe rm itted a ve rdi ct to be taken

aga inst h im.


a party of horse and foot soldi e rs. Having fin ished thei r

devot ion s , the men w e re t i ed up to the ga l lows , and in

abou t five minu tes the body of one,that of Colonel

Town l ey , was cut dOwn and la i d on the stage. These

part i cu lars are g iven in a rare tract publ i shed at the time,

and the re in i t is s tated that s igns of l ife be ing sti l l v is ib le,

the execut ione r s truck him seve ral vio l en t blows on his

b reast , and then cu t off h is head , took out his bowels, and

flung them in to the fi re whi ch was bu rn ing near the

gallows.” I A l l the othe r men having been served in the

same way,the heads and bod ies were pu t in to coffins and

conveyed back to the gao l. E ight years afte r th is event,

a woman w as executed on the Newcastl e Town Moor,but

as her offence was not treason i t is i mprobable that She

suffe red any of the indign i ti es which accompan i ed thehanging of the rebels. Seventy-five years late r

,in 1829 ,

Jane Jameson rode on he r coffin to the same spot for a

mu rde r whi ch is sti l l r emembered by many Novocastrians.She was preceded by the town sergean ts on horseback

,

w i th cocked hats and swords , and was guarded on each

s ide by e ight free porte rs w i th the i r javel ins,and ten

constables w i th thei r staves.

Tw i ce in the coun ty of Du rham the revo l t ing spectacle

of hanging a person tw i ce has been w i tnessed,the rope

w i th whi ch the cu l pr i t was to be strangled hav ing broken

in both instances. The fi rst occas ion was at the execution

of Mary Nicho lson ,for po i son ing he r mistress

,E l izabeth

Atkinson. Tried at the Summer Ass izes in 1 798, she was

found gu i l ty , bu t not sen tenced , some po in t hav ing beenra ised wh ich was refe rred to the twe lve judges. A yearpassed away

,dur ing which she performed domest i c duties

in the county prison , and was sent on errands in to the city ,

p ass ing to and fro among the inhabitan ts as a free

s ervan t ; bu t on the 16th of J u ly,1799 ,

the judges before

whom she had been tr i ed returned to Du rham, and she

w as sen tenced to die , and was acco rd ingly hanged at

F ramwel lgate Moor on the 22nd of the same mon th. O n

be ing launched from the cart , the rope broke , and she fell

to the ground. An offic ial who was p resen t on a pony

1 “A Genu ine Accoun t of the Behaviour and Dying Words of

Francis Town ly, Exe cuted a t K enn ington Common.

HISTORIC EXECUTIONS A~ND HANGMEN. 179

rode to the town for a new rope, and the poor woman sat

moan ing on he r coffin un ti l h i s retu rn,n ear ly an hou r

afte rwards , when the sentence of the law was carr i ed ou t.

A s im i lar spectacl e was witnessed at the execution of

Matthew Atkinson for the murder of h is W ife. When,

on the morn ing of the 16th of March,1865 , the sentence

of th e law was be ing carr i ed out , a rumbl ing no ise was

heard w i th in the scaffol d as the d rop fel l,and at the same

momen t a broken rope was seen dangl ing in the air. As

the fact that the rope had b roken dawned upon th eimmense crowd wh ich had assembled

, a s l ight chee r was

set up ,unde r the popu lar bel ief that when once a man had

undergone the process of be ing tu rn ed Off he was free.Amid the uproar that ensued

,specu lat ion was r i fe as to

w hethe r th e doomed m an was dead or not,and

,if he w ere

s ti l l a l ive,in what manne r he coul d aga in be placed on the

scaffol d. Afte r th e mishap the official s c l eared the scaffo l d

in a tw inkl ing , but in a minute or two a man wa lked on to

the drop , and peered down the abyss in to wh ich the bodyhad fal l en , and i t was then seen that Atkinson was s ti l ll i ving. His moan ing ,

in fact,cou ld be dist inctly heard by

those s tand ing n ear. He was qu i te sen s ibl e,and on be ing

placed unde r the beam a second time , a new rope havingbeen p rocured meanwh i le , he met h is fate w i th the

greatest composure.

Of all forms of murde r,that of po i son ing is p robably

held in the greates t abhorrence. In an ord inary way

the v i ctim of an open murde r has some opportun i ty of

res istance , but the po i sone r w o rks in secret,and is an

assass in of the wo rs t type. I t was on this accoun t thatpersons gu i l ty of po ison ing w e re in forme r t imes pun ishedmore seve re ly than othe r cr imina ls. In the re ign of

Hen ry V I I I.bo i l ing to death was the pun i shmen t metedout to po i sone rs. Fortunate ly murder by po i son ing hasbeen of rare occu rrence in the count i es of Du rham and

Northumberland , the ~most notorious crim ina l in th i s

respect being Mary Ann Cotton. John Winship , a

farme r l iv ing in the n eighbou rhood of Monkw earmouth,

was hanged in 1 785 for po i son ing h is ma id-se rvan t,and

fou rteen years late r the tw i ce-hanged Mary N ichol son

was executed for po i son ing he r mistress. The on ly othe r


recorded instances unde r th is head,except ing the West

Auckland case , are that of Robe rt Peat, who po i soned a

re lative '

at Dar l ington in 1822, and E l izabe th Pearson

,

who suffe red death for poi son ing he r uncl e at Ga inford in1875.

The re have been several noted men,in modern t imes

,

among those much-dreaded functionar i es , the fin ishers of

the law. Before Calcraft ’s days the best known was JohnM u rdock , who hanged the Pruss ian mate at Durham in

1839 for the mu rder of his capta in in Su nderland Harbour.How many pe rsons met the i r death at Calcraft

’s hands

wi l l p robably neve r be known. His experi ence as an

executione r began in 1828,when he was in his 28th year ,

and con tinued un t i l 1874 ,dur ing which he operated

upon many noto r ious c rimina l s,the earl i est among them

be ing B ishop and Will iams for the murde r of an I tal ianboy in Bethna l Green

,whi ch created an extraordinary

sensat ion at the time. Ca lcraft was ve ry reti red in his

manner and habi ts , and he was unw i l l ing to give any

informat ion regarding the deta i ls of his office. He had a

great d is l i ke to the gent l emen of the press , and i t needhard ly be added that the d is l i ke was rec ip rocated. Atexecut ions where he was employed he placed every

obstacl e in the i r‘

way. SO disgusted was he on one

occas ion at the s igh t of nearly a sco re of reporters whohad assembled to w i tness the execut ion of a notoriousc r iminal at Du rham ,

afte r p ri vate hanging was in t roduced ,that he pretended he cou l d not find the cu lp r i t among so

many , and ,to show his displeasu re , the o ld man threw

the p in ion ing s traps round the legs of a prominen t gaol

officia l , much to the d iscomfitu re of that ind ividua l. Likemost of those who have wo rn Jack Ketch ’s mantle ,Calcraft was fond of the bus iness

,and i t is probable that

he wou l d have cont inued to ho l d office un t i l his death if

he had not been asked to resign. H is successo r , Will iamMarwood

,was a diffe ren t man in every respect. O ne was

reserved and mo rose ; the othe r was good-natured ,commun i cative , and easy of approach on all occasions.

Calcraft was a firm bel i eve r in a short d rop , wh ich , he

used to say,had the meri t of being su re , if i t was not so

speedy in its resu l ts. Marwood,

on the other hand ,


Sunde rland in 1883. The conviv ial ity of the n ightp reced ing that event must have had its effect upon hisne rves , and p robably accounted for the extraordinary and

pa infu l scene on the scaffold. O n that occas ion the ropebecame en tangl ed about the cu l

'

p r i t ’s head and ches t, and

he was pul led out of the cavi ty a l ive , and in fu l l possessionof h is senses. The unhappy man sat whi lst the hangman

readj usted the rope , and not the l east pa infu l part of thehorr ify ing inciden t was that in which he was se ized by theshoulde rs and hu rl ed back in to the cavity. Marwood wascal l ed upon to expla in the c i rcumstances at the inquestwhi ch fol lowed

, and den i ed the imputat ion of having beenineb riated at the t ime.

C H A P T E R X X V I I

PICTURES OF OLD NORTHUMBERLAND

AND DURHAM.

The C iv i l Wars. -Law le ssne ss in the Seventeen th Century.—ARe ctor of Botha l C l ipp ing the King ’

s Money.—D iscove ry of

S i lve r The re.—H idden Treasure.—Due ls.—A Wise Man on

Tyn e s ide.—Cre du l ity of Sa i lors.—S lande rous Women.—Comp l imen ta ry Exchange s —A Barbarous Shrove Tue sday Custom.An c ie n t Fa ir on the Sandh i l l. -Courtsh ip and Marriage.Pe nan ce for Re fus ing to Marry.—An Infa tua ted Love r.— S ingula rMa tr imon ia l Cause. —Irreve rence in Church—Putt ing the Cura tein the Stocks.

SINCE the days w hen death ended Surtees ’s and Hodgson ’slabou rs

, and Ra ine put fi n is to his No rth Durham ,

”

much new matte r has come to l ight respecting the eve ryday l i fe of our ancestors in No rthumber land and Durham.

The most exc it ing epoch in No rth-coun t ry h is to ry i sundoubtedly that wh ich immediately preceded and fo l low ed

th e c iv i l wars in the m iddle of the seven teen th cen tu ry.

Many fa i r es tates w e re then sequest rated , and the i rown ers

,powerfu l famil i es that had enjoyed the i r pat r imony

for cen tu ri es , w ere reduced to begga ry , or a l togethe r

disappeared from the h istor i c ro l l of the two coun t ies.O the r famil i es

,howeve r

,la i d the foundat ion of the i r

w eal th and powe r whi l e these exci t ing even ts we rep rogress ing. The convu ls ions in the S tate shatte red the

foundat ions of soc i e ty, and party sp i r i t ran 5 0 high

,eve ry

fami ly hav ing i ts own feuds and w rongs to avenge,that

the re was rapine and bloodshed on eve ry s i de. Men of

the h ighest pos i t ion in the country we re often found

d r inking and stabb ing each othe r , and thei r evi l influence

was no t lost on the i r poore r ne ighbou rs. The gao l s were

fi l l ed to ove rflow ing , and an occas ional escape was

regarded by the au thor i t i e s in the l ight of a good r i ddance.


The j udges cleared the prisons tw i ce a year, and took

notes of al l the cases that came befo re them ,just as i s

done now. These manusc r i pt notes are depos i ted at York

Castl e, and we re unknown t i l l Canon Ra i ne mad e use of

them in the vo l ume of D epos i tions which he edi ted forthe Su rtees Society.

I These give a pi ctu re of Northumber

land whi ch i s to be found nowhe re el se.

Men ’

s misdeeds are ap t to be forgotten. In lookingove r the l i s t of rectors of Bothal , near Morpeth , as theyappear in the county histor i es , no one would suspect thatthe Rev. John Booth cl ipped the K ing’s money , and that

he was a smooth-faced hypocr i te and mal efactor of thewors t type. But the re can be no doubt about i t. Therector occup ied apartments in Botha l Castl e , and in thedepos it ions a mason named Ralph Daglish swears to

bu i ld ing a fire-hearth or furnace at his request. Boothhad borrowed a pa i r of bel lows from the vi l lage smith

,

and a person comes forward who had heard the smithwondering “ what the parson d id w i th them

,for they

a lways had a bette r blas t afte r he used them.” Ramsey,

or Ramsgi l l (for the name is spel t both ways), a Newcastlego l dsmi th , deposes to buying of Booth abou t goo ouncesof round s i lver

,thus show ing the large scal e on whi ch the

operations had been carr ied. O n be ing found out,Booth

at once fled,and he a lso appears to have don e his best to

keep the w i tnesses aga inst h im out of the way. Theabsence of Hen ry Thompson is men tioned in thedepos i t ions. He had been car ri ed into Yo rkshi re , butBooth was unable to keep him qu i et

,and afte r some time

he w rote to S i r Hen ry Goodricke in timat ing his readiness

to swear aga ins t h im. He persuaded me to go out of

the coun ty t i l l his troubles were over,

”w r i tes Thompson ,

and to l d me that none knew of his actings save myselfand a mai d in th e house. Bu t as for her , he sa id hewou l d give he r a dose ; w hi ch young ma id was taken

away by one Doughty, a highwayman ,

by Booth ’s orde r ,and brought to Knaresborough , where she d ied very

s trangely and sudden ly.” The naive manner in wh ich Mrs.

Smithson gave he r evidence mus t have caused some

amusemen t. I t shows how cl everly she ou tw i tted bothI Depos it ions from the Cast le ofYork , edi ted by Canon Ra ine.


near Carl i s le. The finde rs we re two labou re rs , one of

whom had his hat fu l l of the co ins,whi l e the other had

two stocking feet c rammed w i th th em. And i t was only

qu ite recently that a board of groats , hal f groats and

penn i es was found near Nevi l l e ’s C ross , in the county ofDu rham. There was an importan t find of Engl ish s i lverand gol d co in at Al nw i ck in 1667. The discovery caused

some st i r at the t ime,and an inqu i ry was held before the

Co rone r respecting it. The evidence given before h im ish ighly inte rest ing. Mary Davison ,

a se rvan t l iv ing wi thM r.Thomas Metcalf in A lnw i ck

,says that one day Luke

Weatherhead coming home from the plough exceedinglymerry

,she asked h im the reason of his mirth , whereupon

he answe red that he had found a potfu l o f si lve r and muchgo ld in the m iddle of i t. The same n ight Weatherhead

went to the fiel d w i th a man named Sanderson ,and the

latte r brought the money home on his back. J ane Bel laccompan i ed them

,and car ri ed a good dea l o f the money

in a poke under he r arm. The woman says the gold co ins

were as big as 1 2d.,and from he r descr i ption of them

th ey appear to have been 205 . p ieces.

There is w ithout doubt much buried weal th al l overDurham and Northumberland , and i t on ly needs thefinding to make somebody ve ry rich. A ches t of moneyis said to be bu r ied at Ebcheste r , on the Derwent , to

which M r. Lax thus refers in his poem Ebchester ” 1

Tradi t ion te l ls,and I repea t the story ,

Tha t'

nea th th is v i l lage in some cave wa s hid ,Whe n Rome had boundle ss w ea l th , and , too , had glory ,A che s t of money , and upon its l idA crow was pe rched and some o ld man to ridH is bra in of doubt of w ha t the Romans did ,Worked hard for w e eks

'

the treasure to exp lore ,B ut ne i the r go ld nor crow to l ight cou ld e

'

e r re store.

The o ld man,it seems ,

who profoundly bel i eved the story ,se t to work about fifty years ago ,

and sunk two differentshafts

,where he labou red w i th a w i l l in the hope of finding

the t reasu re,bu t success did no t c row n his efforts. He

final ly abandoned the work , more th rough exhaustion

than fa i l ing fai th in the money be ing bur i ed somewhere

w i th in the p recincts of the old Roman stat ion.

I H istor i ca l and De script ive Poems , by Joshua Lax.

PICTURE S OF OLD NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM. 187

The gentry of Northumbe rland had a ready mode of

sett l ing the i r d iffe rences a coupl e of centu r i es ago. Tave rnaffrays w ere common ,

and many te rminated fata l ly. Themode in wh ich a Northumb r ian of old cal l ed out his ad ve r

sary i s shown in th e fol low ing characte r i s ti c miss i ve whi chwas w r i tten in 1652

S irrah —Y ou have in your apprehens ion putt mee to d isgra ce it18 not your she epskinns w i l l repa ire you. I expe ct sa t isfa c t ion fromyou th is n ight , othe rways I w i l l p roc la ime you a coward. I scorneyour baseness , the re fore I re s t my owne , not yours.—Wil l iamE lrington.

The gen tleman to whom th is i s addressed was no l ess a

pe rsonage than the Mayor of Beve rl ey. E l rington was

a Northumbrian , and i t is not qu i t e cl ear what bus in esshad ca l l e d h im sou thward when he w as affronted. I t may

be infe rred from E lring ton’

s refe rence to sheepskins that

the mayo r was a tanne r. The re was no hosti l e meetingbetween the two , how eve r , his worsh ip preferr ing to lay

an info rmat ion before the j usti ces to c ross ing swo rds w i thh i s oppon en t.

Of the host i l e meetings,non e wou l d c reate a greate r

sen sat ion than that wh ich took place in 1 672 between

Mr. James Sw inhoe , of Chatton , and M r. Andrew Carr.The depos i t ion of Richard H ende rson gives a v ividdescr ip tion of the fatal rencon tre. A large party ,in cluding M r. James Sw inhoe , his b rothe r Gilbert , and

M r.Car r , w e re d rinking at a tave rn a t Ch i l l ingham when

a dispute occu rred be tween the two last-named gen tlemen ,

Gi lbe rt Sw inhoe in the end giv ing Carr a blow w i th his

fist. Fu rth e r host i l i t i es w e re preven ted for the t ime by

the in te rven t ion of friends. Afte r they had separated for

the n igh t,how eve r , (

“

arr sen t a w r i tten chal l enge by hi sfr i end

,En s ign Ho rn e , but to wh ich of the brothers i t was

addressed i s not known. Henderson was staying in th esame inn w i th the Carrs , and when they wen t ou t at

s un r i s e the next mo rn ing he fo l low ed them. O n reach ing

a garden at th e rear of a tave rn , kept by one An thonyD uns ton ,

he saw James Sw inhoe and Carr fight ing w i th

swords. W i sh ing to p revent bloodshed , he in te rfe red ,and preva i l ed on Carr to en te r the inn wi th h im. He rethey sat d r inking for the space of an hou r , at the end of

wh i ch t ime Carr l eft. Some t ime afte rwards , hear ing a


woman cry out that two men we re fighting in the samegarden , he went th ithe r and found the same men fight ing

,

and saw Carr give Sw inhoe h is death wound. About the

same t ime , M r. Edward Fo rste r was ki l l ed in a duel bySqu i re Craistor , of Craistor ; M r.F ranci s Rob inson met al i ke fate at the hands of Mr. Musgrave Ridley

, of

Hal twh ist le ; whi l e fou r othe r Northumbrians,M r.Wm.

S elby , S i r Charl es Carnaby,M r. Edward Ogle

, and

M r.John Thi rlwel l each ki l led a man.

Al though sa i lors are general ly al lowed to be brave and

fearl ess in the face of dange r,c redul i ty and supersti t ion

have always been marked w eaknesses in the i r character.At the t ime of wh ich we w r i te

,Jack Tar rarely embarked

on a long voyage w i thout firs t consu l t ing the local wiseman as to whethe r such voyage wou ld be propit ious or

othe rw ise. I t has been sa id that wh i l e credu lous people

exist , the re w i l l a lways be imposte rs to gul l them. Tynes ide boasted of seve ral of these so-cal l ed w ise men. Themost successfu l was Peter Banks. H is career reveals a

st range bl ending of impudence,fol ly , and credul i ty , and i t

is a cu rious fact that a woman was the first to expose hisimpostu res. In 1674 , she la i d an informat ion aga inst him ,

and on the 19 th of June he was brought before RobertRoddam

,the then Mayor of Newcastl e. Jane , w ife of

Cuthbe rt Burrel l,was the ch ief w i tness aga inst him.

Banks , she says in her depos i t ions , i s a mos t strange

seduce r and en t i ce r of the K ing ’s subj ects and people , and

deludes them in a mos t wonderfu l manne r , persuading and

making them bel i eve that he can l et leas es to people for a

te rm of years and for l i fe. In consequence of th is reputa

t ion ,she con t inues , many seamen pu t t hei r trust in

his conju ration s. H is fee for gran t ing a l ease for l ife was

205 . By acc iden t she d iscovered that Banks had granted

one of these l eases to he r husband. I t ran thus

I cha rge you and a l l of you ,in the h igh sword name , to assist

and b le sse Cu th.Burre l l , and pre serve him from a ll rocks and sands ,s torms and tempe sts , for th is yea re.

O n finding th is p iece of pape r,M rs.Bu rrel l says that

she was much gri eved and m ighty angry, and in her anger

she th rew i t in the fi re. She at once to l d Banks what she

had done , w hereat he was ve ry w roth, and th reatened to


wil l p robab ly ask what i t i s for but tof talk'

w i th. The

magistrates of Newcastl e used to put the branks on thosewho exe rc i sed the organ too freely , bu t thi s pun ishment

of placing the i ron b i t in the i r mouth was on ly awarded inextreme cases. O rdinari ly , women who were given to

S lander ing the i r ne ighbours we re proceeded aga inst in theEccl es iast i cal Court.I Thus

, when Jane t Fors te r metJanet Po i l l in th e streets of Newcastl e , in 1 565 , and

accused he r of hanging out the w i sp ,” the latte r took

the law of he r by layn an info rmation aga ins t her beforethe Commissary Cou rt. At fi rst S ight the express ionhanging out the w isp wou l d seem harmless enough

,

but w hen the reader is informed that i t was sa i d of a man

that he “ hung out a broom when his w ife was fromhome , the ins inuat ion conceal ed in the remark at oncebecomes apparen t. Not long ago two women had to be

separated in the s treets of Durham because the daughter

o f one had , dur ing an al te rcat ion,sa i d to the other that

he r mother was once carri ed home in a wheelbarrow.This is a fa i r sample of what bi t ing women say to each

other in the i r tan trums. In 1 564 , whi l e E leano r B ainbriggand Agnes C rozi e r w ere abus ing each othe r in Gallowgate ,the latte r took a part ing shot at her riva l by accusing her

of hav ing borne two chi ldren whose fathers w ere hanged.Th ree years late r , A l i ce Rob inson chanc ing to meetA l exander Fe thers tonhaugh , aga inst whom She bore an

old grudge , accused him of being a th ief,j eeringly adding

that he wou l d be hanged , as all his fore ld ers were. JanetGil l i s was summoned the same year for abus ing MargaretDawson and l iken ing her to a

“ barre l d rome.” A cu riouss lander occu rs in the records for the year 1 568. Accordingto a barbarous custom then observed on Shrove Tuesday ,a cock had been s to len in o rder that i t might be ston ed todeath. The fow l belonged to Will iam Bramwe l l

,who on

d iscovering his loss w ent in to the s treet and expressed thew ish that he might hear the bi rd crow in the bel ly of himwho stol e i t , at the same time indicating a neighbournamed George Wilkinson as the th ief. Anciently a fa irwas held on the Sandhi l l , on St. Luke ’s Day.People

I “ Depositions and other Ecc le s ia st i ca l Proceedings from the

Courts of Durham,

”

edited by Canon Ra ine.

P ICTURES OF OLD NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM. 19 1

flocked to th i s fa i r from al l parts, and e very ava i lable spot

was occup ied w i th stal l s. O ne of the s ta l l ho l de rs was

Marge ry Ande rson ,and wh i l e some of he r cloth was be ing

measu red w i th a yard -wand,anothe r stal l ho l de r

,named

Wil l iam Pace,came up and ins inuated that the s tick was

Shorte r than i t ought to be. This l e d to a Sharp passagebetw een th e two

,and in the end Pace

,al low ing his temper

to get the bette r of h im , l e t loose a stock of explet ives

w h ich so Shocked M istress Anderson that she stra ightway

hau led h im before the cou rt appo in ted for regu lating the

language and co r rect ing the moral s of Queen Bess he rl i eges. B u t for a cho i ce vocabu lary (and he re in D r.M u rray may find someth ing new for his Dict ionary)theC i t i zens of Durham seem to have carr i ed off the palm.

O ne day,in 1 587 , I sabe l Rothwe l l , wi fe of Richard of that

name,was pass ing the shop of George Smith w i th one

Law ren ce Thompson , when Smith asked Thompson if he

was not afra i d to be seen in a lady ’s company. The re

w as an ev iden t innuendo in the observat ion,for I sabel

immediate ly repl i ed ,“ I may as t i te (soon)be a lady as

thou a lo rd, pricklouse

I that thou art.”

To which Smithmade an sw e r ,

“ Thou art a tan tarbaud , and a tan tarbaud

someth ing else.

Much cu rious informat ion may be gathe red from therecords of the cou rt respecting cou rtsh ip and marr iage inthe two coun t i es more than th ree hundred years ago. In

1 562 we find W i l l iam B randl ing agree ing w i th I sabel

Carle ll for the custody of the i r base-born chi ld , the mothe rgiv ing up al l r ight to it on condi t ion of B randl ing makinghe r a year ly al lowance of a bundle of l in t o r flax w hich

she might spin and convert in to mon ey. B randl ing was

,

n ephew to S i r Robert of that name , and even tual ly became

his he i r. He was evi den t ly then a w i l d fel low about town,

for we find h im the same year C i ted to appear fo r figh t ing

and b raw l ing in S t.Andrew’

s Chu rchyard. At th is t imei t was customory for young peopl e to pl ight troth and behandfasted ”

to each o the r. This was regarded as a

forma l engagement. If a man refused to keep his promise

I The po in t of pri ck louse doubt le ss wa s tha t Smith was a tailor.Pe te r Smart taun te d B ishop Cos in about pri cking a louse in his

fathe r’s shOp a t Norw ich (mean ing o ld lousy c lothes).


the woman had he r remedy in the Eccl es iast i cal Court,

and as a ru l e the te rrors Of penance did what the charmer ’s

vo i ce had fa i l ed to do. In 1 565 , Janet Wood complainsthat Will iam Rand had not marri ed her

, accord ing to

promise. Some Of the evidence may be given. EdwardA l lanson , the parson Of Pon te land , aged seventy- three

,

says Rand is his s ister ’s son. He n ever heard any wordsof con tract betw een the part ies

, al though he admi ts thatthey woul d have marr ied if w i tness had given his consentto the i r l iv ing in h is house. Wil l iam Love

,Of Newcastle

,

mar ine r , says that Rand courted Janet at his house , andhe had a lways pred icted that the two woul d some daymake th ree. When Henry Smi th i s c i ted for not marryingE l izabeth F r i zze l l , and is ordered to do penance

,he agrees

to marry the gi rl ,‘

and as a prel iminary step goes intothe V i ca r of Newcas tl e ’s house to be handfasted. Taking

ho l d of the young woman ’

s hand he pl ights t roth in theusual w ay,

bu t is observed by the summone r of the court

to look down his nose the wh i l e. The summoner taxesh im w i th go ing th rough the ceremony to avo i d penance

on ly , and says he has no real in tent ion to marry the gi rl

afte rwards. Smith then pleads that he is but an

app ren ti ce and canno t marry. In 1 579 the Court ordersAn thony Whitelock to do penance in the Open MarketPlace at Durham for refusi ng to marry E l izabethMo rrison and the year fo l low ing John Rowe

'

l l and U rsu la

Tugall , of the No rth Ba i l ey , are o rde red to be whipped and

carted in all Open places w i th in the c ity of Du rham for

l iv ing togethe r clandes tinely. The mos t infatuated man

men t ioned in the records appears to have been EdwardJohnson ,

of S tran ton ,who ,

in defiance of the court , sti l lcon t inued to harbou r Janet S late r. In his defence Johnson

says that i f the re w e re a hundred harnessed m en betweenhim and Jane t , w i th drawn swords in the i r hands , he

wou l d run through them al l to her. A s ingularmatrimon ia l cause is given unde r date 1 570. The pla intiffwas Thomas Manwel l , who sued E l eano r Cou lson for

breach of promi se. The parti es l ived in Newcas tle.Having met at the house Of one Will iam S tory

,Thomas

asked E l eano r i f she was the same woman that she was

at the i r last meeting. “ Y ea , ce rta in ly ,”was the reply.


Par l iament House,whe re the s tocks w ere then kept. At

Wo ls ingham al so the re was great i rreverence among the

young men ,John Leyburn , Will iam Marl ey , and others

hav ing on one occas ion inte rrupted the Church service by

releas ing a c row ,and al low ing i t to fly in face of the

congregat ion. These and othe r p ranks of the young men

of that per iod find an i l l u s tration in the cut given below,

w here a cat whi ch has been chased in to a chu rch is sav ing

its l ife by leap ing from the parapet of the tower.

C H A P T E R X X V I I I

T H E H O U S E O F P E R C Y

The ir Coming w ith the Conque ror.—Taking Arms aga inst K ing John.—Vic iss i tude s Of Fami l ies.—Genea logy of the Pe rcys. —Wi l l iamw ith the Wh iske rs —A lan the Grea t.—Will iam d e Pe rcy.—LordJoce l ine and his De scendan ts —He nry, first Lord Pe rcy of

Alnw i ck.—The H e ro Of Ha l idon H i l l a nd Nevi l le ’

s Cross.—Theth ird Lord Pe rcy.—F irst Ea r l of Northumbe rland.—Hotspur.The Ba t t le Of Otte rburn.—Re ve rse s.—H en ry

,se cond Ea r l Of

Nor thumbe r land.—More Reve rse s.—Murde r of the fourth Earl.Honours Re stored —A lge rnon , fifth Earl , Pa tron of Lea rn inga nd Gen ius.—Cost ly Appa re l.—Magn ifice nce Of the House OfPe rcy.—Househo l d Book.—The s ixth Ea r l and Anne Bo leyn.Subse quent H istory.

SIR Bernard Bu rke , in his account Of the Pe rcys , saysthat the i r nobi l i ty dates as remote ly as the sove re ign ty

of No rmandy,and that the i r renown

, coeva l w i t h i ts

nobi l i ty , has flou rished in eve ry age , and co-exi s ted w i th

e very gen e rat ion s ince. Thei r sh ie ld exh ib i ts an assemblage of n early n in e hundred quarte rings , and amongthem a re the arms Of Hen ry the S even th , and Of severa l

younge r bran ches of th e blood roya l , of th e sovere ignhouses of France

,Cast i l e , Leon ,

and Scotland , and Of theduca l hou ses of N o rm andy and Bri ttany , th e w ho l e

fo rming a ga laxy of fami ly hera ld ic honours al togethe r

unpara lle led.I

A t A lnw i ck the re is a genea logica l t ree of the Pe rcys ,w i th Charl emagne at its root. They cla im descent from

one Manfred de Pe rcy , a Ch iefta in who cam e out of

Denmark befo re the adventu re of the famous Ro l lo.

G eoffrey , son of Man fred , ass isted Rol lo in the conquest

I Th is was w ritten in connex ion w ith the coming Of age Of LordWarkworth in May, 1892. The ch ie f authori t ie s a re

“ Co l l ins ’

s

P ee rage , by S ir Ege rton Brydge s ,“ A rchaeo log ia , and Burke ’

s

Pe e rage.


Of Normandy in 9 1 2 ,and from him descended four

gene rat ions before the Conquest in 1066. Wi l l iam and

Ser lo ,sons O f Geoffrey de Pe rcy , were among the nobles

that accompan i ed W i l l iam into England , and the firstnamed , being in h igh favou r w i th the Conque ror

,

obta ined vast possess ions in Yorksh i re , Lincolnsh i re ,and Hampsh ire. This Wil l iam de Pe rcy , who was

d ist ingu ished among his contemporar i es by the addit ionof A lsgernons ,

” which in modern F rench wouldmean “ Aux Moustaches , and in Engl ish “ Wi l l iam

w ith the Whiske rs ” (and whence the name Algernon

so frequen tly assumed by his poste r i ty), deserves specialnoti ce for having refounded the noble abbey Of Whitby

,

which had been destroyed by the Danes , and of which

his brothe r S e rlo became fi rst p rior. He went to

the H oly Land w i th othe r Norman Ch iefta ins , underDuke Robert

,in the fi rs t crusade in 1096 , and died

at Mountjoy , near J e rusal em ,the celebrated eminence

whence the p i lgr ims of the C ross fi rs t v iewed the'

holy ci ty.He re his body was in te rred w i th all due honou rs , bu t ,according to the p racti ce of those days , his heart was

brought home and depos i ted in Whitby Abbey. Will iam

w edded Emma de Port , w hom Charl ton,the author of

the H istory of Whitby Abbey,th inks was daughter of

Gospatric , the great Saxon Earl o f No rthumberland ,whose estates in Yo rksh i re were included 'in those grantedto h im afte r the subj ugat ion of the Saxons. A writerquoted by Co l l ins says he marr i ed the daughter Of theEarl “ in discharging of his consci ence

,

”and adds

that he had interes t and generos i ty enough to save he rfather ’s l ife when he , w i th o ther Saxon lords , made an

effort to Shake off the No rman yoke in 1069.

Afte r his death , Will iam was succeeded in h is feudalr ights and possess ions by A lan de Pe rcy

,who wedded

Emma , daughte r o f Gi lber t de Gaun t,nephew to Queen

Maud , w ife of Will iam the Conqueror. The earlychron i cl e rs cal l h im Alan the Great , but all the hero i cach ievements by which his h igh dist inct ion was Obta inedhave been long bu ri ed in ob l i v ion ,

and al l we know of

him is that he l eft seven sons , whose names all appear in

the chartulary of Whitby Abbey,e ithe r as benefactors


belonged to h i s e ldest son W i l l iam, who was then a

minor,as a matte r of fact his youngest b rothe r R i chard

took possess ion of them and reta ined them du r ing thegreate r part of his l ife. At l ength

,afte r infin ite l i tigat ion

,

i t was settl ed between h im and his nephew Will iam de

Percy , afte r a so l emn hear ing before the K ing in person,

on the 6th of J uly,1 234 , that the estates Shou ld be divided

in to equal portions between the part i es du ring Richard ’sl i fe

,and that afte r his death all the anci en t patr imony

of the family shou l d devo lve to hi s nephew,

a smal lreservat ion be ing made for R i chard ’s own son and hei r

,

Hen ry. A l though Richard was rea l ly a usu rper,as we

have shown,i t may be men t ioned , as a featu re of the

times,that he con tinued fo r th e whol e of his l ife at the

head of the family,and enjoyed al l its baron ial rights.

He was one of the great barons who took up arms againstthe tyranny of K ing John in the year 1 2 1 5 , and had a

p rincipal hand in extort ing from him the great charte r ofEngl ish freedom. In consequence Of th is active zea l inthe cause of l iberty

,he was excommun i cated along w i th

the other barons by Pope I nnocent I I I. A t Richard ’sdeath , abou t 1 244 , William came in to fu l l possess ion of all

those r ights and propert i es w hich had been usu rped at thedecease of his mothe r

,bu t he on ly l ived a year to enjoy

them. Wil l iam was tw i ce marri ed , and l eft issue by hissecond w ife

,E l eano r , daughte r Of Inge lram de Bal l iol ,

who brought with he r in dowe r Da l ton Percy in theB ishopri c of Du rham , Hen ry de Pe rcy , his eldest son

and heir , who pa id to Hen ry I I I. a fine Of £900 for l iveryof his lands , and fo r l ibe rty to ma rry whom he pleased.In 1 257 he had summons to attend the K ing at Bristol ,w el l fu rnished w i th horse and arms

,to march aga ins t the

Welsh ; and the year afte r,when the Earl Of Men te ith

had rebel l ious ly se ized on his K ing,A l exander I I I.,

then in his minori ty,he was one of the northern barons

summoned to rescue h im from res t ra in t. In 1 263 he took'

part w i th the rebel l ious barons, on whi ch his lands were

s eized , but afte rwards coming in and submitt ing himself,he had rest i tut ion of them aga in. The same year he was

w i th the barons that adhe red to the K ing at Oxford , and

ass i sted in the storming of Northampton ,when i t was

THE HOUSE OF PERCY. 199

taken by the same monarch. O n May 14th the year

fo l low ing ,wh i l e fighting s toutly for the K ing at the

batt l e of Lewes , He was taken pr i sone r w i th manyothe rs , bu t was soon afte r re l eased. H e marr i ed E l eanor ,daughte r of John Plan tagenet

,Earl ofWarren and Su rrey

,

and , dying In 1 272 , was succeeded by h i s on ly su rv iv ingson and he i r , Hen ry de Pe rcy , n in th feudal lord , who was

the fi rs t Of h is name to Obta in a gran t of the barony of

A lnw i ck. The h is tory Of the family from th i s po in t i s fu l lo f exc i ting and memorabl e even ts and inc iden ts.

The family had i ts or igin,as we have seen

,in Manfred

,

a Dan ish Ch iefta in who flou r ished towards the close of th en in th cen tu ry

,w hos e descendan ts w ere among the nob i l i ty

of the Conqueror ’s fol lowe rs at the Conquest,receiv ing

extens ive gran ts of lands in Yorksh i re and e lsewhere forthe i r servi ces. We have also seen how ,

at the death of

the th i rd Lord Wi l l iam,the el dest b ranch of the race Of

Percys from Normandy became extin ct in the ma l e l ine,

thei r r i ch doma in s be ing carri ed by Agnes , Lo rd Wi l l iam’

s

second daughte r , in to the p r incely house of Jocel ine of

Louvaine,by w hose poste ri ty the name and barony were

revived and perp etuated w i th addi t iona l l u stre.

I t was in the fi rst decade Of the fou rteen th centu ry that

the Pe rcys , who up to that t im e had the i r greatest

possess ions in Yo rksh i re , acqu i red the barony of A lnw i ck ,and in orde r that i ts h isto ry may be clear ly stated , i t w i l lbe necessary to go back a l i tt l e way. At the No rman

invas ion ,a compan ion in arms Of Wil l iam , the fi rs t Baron

Pe rcy,was S erlo de Burgh , who rece ived from the

Conqu e ro r a gran t of manor ia l lands in Yorksh i re,

whereon he bu i l t th e castl e of K naresbrough. This S erlo

dying w i thout mal e issue , h is possess ions descended to h is

n ephew,Eu stace F i tz-John ,

who ,accord ing to Dugdal e ,

was the founde r of the baron ial house of C lavering. At

th e tim e of th e Conque ror ’s coming , A lnw i ck was held by

a Saxon nobl e named Tyson ,who was S la in at the batt l e

of Hast ings. H i s daughte r and the barony of A lnw i ck

the v i c tor ious k ing di sposed of in marr iage , along w i ththe baron ia l inhe r i tan ce Of Malton in Yorkshi re , wh i ch had

al so belonged to he r fathe r , to one Of h i s favou r i tes , Ivode Vescy,

whose daughte r and he i r, Beat r i ce , K ing Hen ry I.


gave in marr iage , w i th the above baron i es , to th e Eustace

Fi tz-John a l ready men t ioned , and whose poste r i ty,

adopting the name Vescv,enjoyed i t t i l l the year 1 309 ,

when i t was so l d to Hen ry , the n in th feudal Lo rd Percy,

by Anthony Bek , Bishop Of Durham. Bek was as warl i ke

in his d ispos i t ion as the barons themselves , and theh istor ians are not agreed as to the manne r in which hebecame possessed of the barony , one w ri te r asserting thatJohn de Vescy,

grandson of Eus tace , gave i t to an

i l l egi t imate son , who ,be ing a minor , was placed under

the guardiansh ip of the p rince-bishop , and who refused to

a l low him to take possess ion of i t ow ing to his misconduct.

Howeve r,be that as it may, the barony had been fou rteen

years in the b ishop ’s hand before i t was pu rchased byH en ry de Percy

,and he was th erefo re in no way conce rned

in any t ransaction between Bek and the rep resentat ive of

the Vescys.

Hav ing thus shown how the Percys acqu i red Alnw i ck ,we shal l now proceed w i th ou r accoun t O f this illustriousfami ly

,whose hi s tory is co l latera l w i th the h istory of our

coun try. Hen ry,fi rs t Lord Percy of A lnw i ck

,was one of

the great barons who subscr ibed , in 1 29 1 , the celebratedl etter to Pope Bon iface V I I I. upon the attempt of his

Hol iness to in te rfe re in the affa i rs of the k ingdom ,

in t imat ing that “ the i r K ing w as not to answer in

j udgmen t , for any right Of the C rown o f England , beforeany tribuna l unde r heaven , &c.

,and that

,by the help

of God , they wou l d resolutely , and w i th a ll thei r force ,ma in ta in aga inst al l men.

”In March

,1 296 , Edward I.

kn ighted h im before Berw i ck, an d in Apr i l he was in the

battl e of Dunba r , where the Engl ish Obta ined a memorablev icto ry. Afte r the depos i tion of John Bal l io l

,in the same

year , Edward appo in ted h im Governor of Gal loway , and

he was one of the K ing ’

s mos t act ive agents in the sub

j ugation of Scotland. He had summons to Parl iamen tfrom December 29th , 1 299 , t i l l 1 3 1 5 , in wh i ch yea r he d iedand was bu ri ed at Foun ta ins Abbey in Yo rksh i re , beforethe high al tar. By his w i fe

,the Lady E l eanor F i tz-Alan ,

s ister of Richard and daughter Of John,Earls of A rundel ,

he had Hen ry de Percy,second Lo rd of A lnw i ck

,who was

s ixteen years of age at the time of his father ’s death. In


in S cotland. In 1 354 he was empowered to rece ive fromS i r John de Coupland (the valorous Northumbrian who

immortal ized h imself at Nevi l l e ’s Cross in captu ring the

K ing , though , as the s tory goes,

not before Dav i d,

w i th his gaun tl e t,had knocked two of his teeth out)the

body of the Scottish K ing,and to set h im at l ibe rty on

payment of n inety thousand marks. Lo rd Percy ’s first w ifewas the Lady Mary Plan tagenet

,whom he marr ied when

She was on ly fou rteen years of age ,and by whom he had

two sons,Hen ry and Thomas. Both became earls of the

kingdom , Thomas ,the younge r , being created Earl of

Worces te r , and becoming an eminen t warrio r and

s tatesman w hi l e his brothe r H en ry , fou rth Lo rd Percy of

Alnw i ck , a lso became a dist ingu ished commander. Atthe coronation of Richard I I., in 1 377 , n ine yea rs after hisfathe r ’s death

,Hen ry acted as Marsha l of Eng land , and

was advanced to the dign i ty and t i tle of Earl of No rthumberland. Sho rtly after

,he res igned his marsha l ’s rod

,and

w en t in to Sco tland again st the Earl of Dunbar , at the headof ten thousand m en

,and wasted his lands. In 1 381 a

dispu te arose betw een h im and John of Gaun t,Duke of

Lancaste r,which had n early proved fatal to him. As

commiss ione r for guard ing the marches,with special care

of the cas tles and garrisons , he had appo in ted S i r MatthewRedman his l ieutenant at Berwick. Redman

,acting

st ri ctly up to his t rus t , refused to admit the Duke of Lan

caste r in to the place, on his retu rn from Sco tland. In the

same manne r he was shu t out at Bamburgh Cas t le ,though his prov isions w ere sto red in both places , and hisfamily had taken refuge in the latte r fortress. The Dukecompla ined Of his treatmen t in the presence of the King ,at a meeting of the nobles

,and taxed No rthumberland

w i th ingratitude,unfaithfu lness , and disobedience ; upon

w hi ch the Ea rl becam e fu r ious , and used such reproachfu llanguage that the K ing , who had in vain commanded him

to be s i l en t , o rde red h im to be arres ted bu t the Earls o f

Warw i ck and S uffol k undertaking for his appearance at

the next Parl iamen t,he was se t at l iberty. Lancas te r and

No rthumberland both attended the n ext Pa rl iamen t w ith

large bodies o f armed men,to the te rro r of the people ,

and compla in t was made of i t to the K ing , who decided


the quarre l and reconc i led them fo r the t ime. Two yearsafte rwa rds he chast i sed the S cots who had made an

incu rs ion upon No rthumbe r land,and had se ized Be rw i c k

th rough th e treache ry of the l i e u tenant-gove rnor. This

fu rn i shed a fit occas ion fo r h is o ld enemy,the Duke of

Lancas te r , who was inten t upon humbl ing him,to accuse

h im in Par l iament , and obta in sen tence of death and

confiscat ion aga in st h im ; bu t the K ing se t as ide the

judgmen t , and No rthumberland repa i red the acciden t by

recove r ing Berw i ck. Hen ry,the fi rs t Earl

,marr i ed

Margaret , daughte r of Ral ph Lord Nevi l l e of Raby,by

whom he had issu e the renown ed H otspu r.

In feuda l t imes the sons of the nobi l i ty we re men and

he roes befo re they w e re out of th ei r teens. Shortly after thefou rth Lo rd Pe rcy of A lnw i ck was c reated Earl of Northumberland

,in the year 1 377 , at the coronat ion of Richard

I I., his e ldes t son Hen ry was kn ighted. He had a l readybegun to d i sp lay those mart ia l ta l en ts wh ich have S ince

consecrated his name in h istory as one of the greates tCh iefta in s of his count ry. According to Ho lingshed

he fi rs t spread his banner u nde r his fathe r at thes torm ing of Berw i ck in 1 378, do ing so valiant lie that hedese rved S ingu lar commendation ” Anothe r old w r i ter

,

desc r ib ing him in 1 399 ,says he was then esteem ed the

mos t va l ian t and app roved kn ight in England.” He l ived inan age in wh ich valou r may be a lmost sa i d to have beenthe ch i efes t v i rtue , and he has t ransmitted a characte rfor ch ival rou s achi evements superio r to mos t of thewarr iors of h i s time. He was as much the hope of E ngland in th i s resp ect as the B lack Prince before h im

, or

S i r Ph i l i p S i dney in late r days. Hi stor ian s rarely men t ionh im w i thout admi rat ion

,h is name is celebrated in bal lads ,

and befo re his death he was refe rred to by the p retended

seers as the resto re r of the fo rtunes of his coun t ry.Becoming assoc iate d w i th his fathe r in the charge of theS cott ish marches , he acqu i red a ll th e i n t rep id i ty and ente r

p ri s e of a Bo rde r Ch i efta in ,and the en e rgy he displayed

aga in s t the Scots occas ion ed them to give h im very ea rly

the i ron i ca l appel lat ion Of H otspur.” I ndeed,one of the

fi rs t not i ces of h im that occu rs in the publ i c Acts of

S cot land runs to th i s effect z— “ Liliat C ross in the marches


of Scotland was a place at wh ich the Engl ish and Scotch

used to dec ide the i r pe rsonal quarrel s by s ingle combat.John Chattowe , a Scotch squ i re , had chal l enged Wi l l iam

de Badby , an Engl ishman,to fight he re on the feast of

St. Cathe r ine,Novembe r 25 , 1 381. Such formal duels

took place befo re a j udge Of the combat and as the D ukeof Lancaster

,then th e K ing ’s l i eu tenant in that d istri ct

,

was absent In attendance upon Parl iamen t , Hen ry Pe rcy ,the el dest son of the Earl of Northumberland , with John ,e ldest son of John de Nev i l l e of 'Raby , and two kn ights

,

were di rec ted to attend in his stead. In 1 386 , Richardmade h im gove rnor of Berw i ck and the easte rn marches.I t may be conj ectu red that young Hen ry was now a betterfighte r than discipl inar ian. The farmers of th e fishery at

Berw i ck made forma l compla in t to the‘

K ing that hissol d ie rs poached in the Tw eed

,and that the townsmen

took by fo rce the i r victuals and the i r goods. With thesediso rde rly bands he scoured the Bo rders , and it

l

was no

doubt his v igi lance in this respec t that earned him the

name H otspu r. We know that in t ime of hosti l i ty the

marchman ’

s spu r was seldom al lowed to be co l d. By the

regulat ion s Of the barony of Gils land,at an afte r period ,

eve ry tenan t by the Borde r serv i ce was obl iged to havesuch a nagge as is able at any tym e to beare a manne

twen tie mil es w i th in Scotland and backe againe ,w i thout

a ba i te.” Shortly afte r his appo in tmen t to the governorship of Berw i ck , he was sen t to the defence of Cala i s , butfinding there no employmen t equa l to his ardour , he soon

retu rned into England. In 1 387 he undertook,w i th a

very inadequate force , to ac t agai nst the French by sea ,

upon an expectation of. an invas ion , and acqu i tted himself

w i th honour. The year afte r occu r red the memo rable battle

of O tte rbu rn. Taking advan tage of the d i ssensions go ing

on in England , two d ivis ions of the S cots , the largest ledby the Earl of Mar

,and the othe r by the young Earl of

Douglas , c rossed the Border. Hav ing la i d was te greatpart of the b ishopri c

,the army under Douglas advanced

to the gates o f Newcastl e,whi ch was then gar risoned by

Hotspu r and his younger brother,S i r Ra lph. Here he

resolved to try the mettle of the Engl ish kn igh ts. Norwas he doomed to disappo in tmen t

,for many and wel l


and mortal ly wounded. Both armies showed the utmost

b rave ry dur ing th is engagemen t,and i t woul d be d iflicult

to say which had the bette r of the day. Froi ssart assertsthat of all the battl es great and sma l l th i s was the best

fo'

ught , and the most severe,for there was not a man

,

kn ight or squ i re,who did not acqu i t h imself w i thout stay

or fa in t-heartedness.” As an Old ba l lad has i t

They closed fu l l fast on eve ry s ide,

NO s la ckne ss the re was foundBut many a ga l lan t gen t lemanLay gasp ing on the ground.

D ur ing the melee Hotspu r was taken p risoner, w i th his

b rothe r Ra l ph , and carr i ed in to Scotland. However , hiscapt iv i ty was but of short cont inuance , for in thefo l low ing year we find him at Calais

,and afterwards

ra i s ing the S i ege of Brest. A t rifl ing bus iness of a veryd iffe ren t nature from any of the preceding

,in which he

was at thi s t ime an agen t , is deserv ing of observat ion,as

i t shows that the h igh-born ladies of Scotland interestedthemselves in concerns worthy of the pastora l age.

Hotspu r was then warden of the west and east

marches , and governo r Of Carl is le , and had power of

grant ing safe conduct to persons go ing to or coming out

of S cotland. In the exe rcise of th is power he gavepe rmiss ion to the Scotch Coun tess of March , and Maria

Herring , that two flocks o f one thousand and six hundred

sheep , the i r respect ive property , w i th two shepherds

a ttached to » each of them ,might have safe conduct and

l eave to pastu re at Colbrand spa th three years.

H otspu r was now reta ined to se rve the king in peace

and war , w i th a pens ion out of the exchequer of a hundredpounds per annum du ring l ife. In 1 39 1 he was in thecommiss ion for keep ing the peace w i th Scotland , and two

yea rs late r he was aga in at Ca la is , whence he was recal led

to his fo rme r pos t at Berw i ck , and in the east march ,bes i des whi ch he was made governor of Bo rdeaux. By

his warden ’

s commiss ion he had fu l l pow er to pun ish all

offenders aga inst the peace , and al l who held corres

pondence wi th the enemy

,and to cal l ou t the able men of

Northumberland and the marches between the ages of 16

and 60 ,and to see that they we re p roperly armed and

a rrayed. At the beginn ing Of the year 1 399 , ow ing to


R i chard ’s cruel and arb i t rary treatment,bo th Ho tspu r

'

and h i s fath e r w i thdrew thei r al l egiance,and jo ined in the

revo l u t ion wh ich p laced the Duke of Lancaste r on theth rone as Hen ry IV. In the th i rd yea r of tha t monarch ’sre ign he was w i th his fathe r at the v ictor ious battl e of

Hom ildon Hi l l. The n ext year saw both in Oppos i t ion to

Hen ry IV. There is much unce rta inty w i th respect to th e

ground Of the i r d i saffect ion. Some have affi rmed that i tw as on accoun t of money long d ue to them for the

wa rdensh i p of th e ma rches , whi ch Hen ry was unw i l l ing to

pay ; o the rs that i t o rig inated in a di spu te about the

p ri sone rs taken at Homildon. Be that as it may,the

s tou t and h igh-sp i r i ted Hotspu r appeared in arms aga ins t

the K ing at Sh rew sbu ry , and his fate the re is famil ia r toevery reader. Neve r for the t ime was fiel d more fie rcely

con tested. He di ed as he had l ived,in arm s

, and his las t

words before the battl e w e re th ese “ S tand to i tva l ian tly

,

”sa i d he to his so l d i e rs

,who w e re much inferio r

in po in t of numbers to the K ing ’s,

“ fo r this day w i l l e i the r

advance us al l , if w e conquer , or fre e us from the K ing ’spow e r if w e be ove rcome

,s ince i t is more honou rabl e to

fal l in battl e for the publ i c good , than afte r the fight to di e

by the sen tence of an enemy.”

While the battl e wh ich resu l ted in the death of the brave

H otspu r was p rogress ing at Sh rewsbu ry , his fathe r the earl

had been co l l ec t ing fo rces in the north w i th a Vi ew to

jo i n ing him , and had a l ready set ou t on the jou rney

sou thwa rd when he heard of his son’

s death , which SO

a ffected h im that he reti red to his cas tl e a t Wa rkworth.

He afte rw ards w en t peacefu l ly to th e K ing at Yo rk, and

w as placed in cus tody ; but such was his power and

influ en ce that n ext year he was acqu i tted Of treason in fu l lPa rl i ame n t , and had al l his honou rs and possess ions

res to red to h im. This c l emency was p robably ow ing to

the K ing ’s reco l l ect ion ofw hat he owed h im ,o r from a fear

that al l the no rth m igh t revo l t to the Scots. A l l confidence ,how eve r , between him and the K ing was at an end

,and

in 1405 he jo ined Archb ishop Sc rope’s ris ing , and was in

consequ ence obl iged to fl ee to Scotland , and subsequen tly

to Wal es and be ing afte r a wh i l e induced to re tu rn to his

own coun try , he was defeated and ki l l ed at B ramham Moor ,


on the 19th of Feb ruary , 1408. The t i tl e and estates ofthe Pe rcys were thus forfe ited , bu t by an act no less

gracious than pol i t i c , H enry V. restored them to his

grandson Henry , who became second earl , be ing moved

the reto,

”as Wal s ingham expresses i t , not on ly wi th

compass ion for the hapless estate of this young nobleman,

who was then a p r i sone r w i th the Scots , and by the i r both

be ing descended from common ancestors. From that

day the loyal ty of the family to th e hou se of Lancaste r

was steadfas t and undeviat ing. In 1450 ,in cons ideration

’

Of the second earl ’s great se rvices , Henry consti tu ted himConstable of England. O n the breaking out of the civi l

war between the houses of Yo rk and Lancaste r , he was a

stout asse rte r of the Lancastr ian in te rest , and d ied unde rthe banne r of Hen ryV I.at the battl e of S t.A lbans in 1455.

By his w i fe , the Lady E l eanor Nevi l l e , daughter of theEarl of Westmoreland , he had n ine sons and threedaughters , and was succeeded by the eldest

’

su rv iving son

Hen ry , th i rd earl , who marr ied E l eanor , daughter and solehe i r of Richard , son Of Lord Poyn ings , by which marr iagethe baron i es of Poyn ings , Fitz payne , and Bryan cameinto the family of Percy. His lordship fel l l eading the

van of Lancastr ians , sword in hand , at the battle of

Tow ton ,in 146 1 , and his honours became subsequently

fo rfe i ted by an act of atta inde r , but we re restored

to his on ly son Hen ry , fou rth earl , who was confined inthe Towe r of London from the death of his father unti l

1469 , when ,be ing brought before Edward IV., he

subscribed an oath of al l egiance and was restored to his

freedom and dign i ty. In 1489 he fel l a vict im to the avarice

of Hen ry V I I. That year the Parl iament gran ted theKing a subs i dy for carry ing on the war in Bri ttany

,and

the tax was found so heavy in the north that the wholecountry was in a flame. The Ear l of Northumberland ,then Lord ~Lieu tenant , w rote to inform the K ing of the

discontent , and praying an a batement ; to wh ich Hen rype remptori ly repl i ed that not a penny should be abated.Th is message the earl del ivered to the populace w i th tool itt l e cau tion , and ,

be l i eving him to be a party to the K ing ’sextortionate demands , they broke into his house at

Cocklodge , in Yorkshi re , and murdered him and several of

2 I O NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

seve ral castl es , who en te red into wa iting in regular

success ion. A l l the head Office rs Of his househol d were

gen tl emen both by b i rth and Office,the table where they

sat being cal l ed “ The Kn ights ’ Board. Dying in 1 527 ,

he was succeeded by h i s e ldes t son,Hen ry-Alge rnon

, s ixthearl

,who

,whi l e be ing educated in Card inal Wolsey

’

s

family and du r ing his attendance w i th h im at Court,

conce ived a s trong pass ion for the beauti fu l butunfortunate Anne Bo l eyn ,

then one of the ma ids-of—honourto Queen Cathe rine , whose good-w i l l to marriage heObta ined. B ut thei r courtsh ip coming to the ears of theK ing

,who found h imself in dange r of los ing a beauty

w hom he had contemplated so long that She had becomehis deares t obj ect , the Old earl was summoned to Court

and asked to interpose his au thor ity , wh ich he did bymaking him renounce the lady of h is cho i ce in favou r of ad aughte r of the Earl of Shrewsbury. Lord Herbert

, who

re lates this event , says the hat red wh ich Anne Boleynconce ived aga ins t the Cardinal

,who was an inst rument in

the match be ing broken off, did not end t i l l she had

procu red his final ru in. Marrying a woman he d id not

love,the earl d ied ch i ld less in 1 537 , and his brother S i r

Thomas Percy , hav ing been previous ly atta inted and

executed , al l the honou rs of the family became forfeited,

and the ti tl e of the Duke o f Northumberland was' granted

,

by Edward V I., to the ambi tious D udley,E a rl ofWarwick ,

who was atta inted in the succeed ing reign . I t was restoredin the days Of Queen E l i zabeth to Thomas Percy

,who

,

be ing a s taunch Catho l i c , was one of th e th ree earls whotook the lead in the celeb rated Ris i ng in the North

,

”

and was beheaded at York in 1 572. H is brothe r Henry,

who succeeded h im as e ighth earl,was no l ess unhappy.

Invo lved in Throgmorton’

s consp i racy,he was committed

to the Towe r , and was supposed to have shot himself inbed w i th a pisto l which was found bes ide him but therewere grave susp icions that i t had been discharged by

another hand. H is son Henry,the n inth earl

,suffe red

l ike his two predecessors for his attachmen t to the rel igion

Of h is forefathe rs. The C rown lawyers sought in vain to

impl i cate him in the Gunpowde r Plot , and he was

impr i soned for fifteen years in the Towe r , and compelled

THE HOUSE OF PERCY. 2 1 1

to pay a large fine. The ear l su rv ived h i s rel ease abou ttw e lve years , dying in 1 632 ,

and be ing succeeded by h i s

e l des t su rv iv ing son, Alge rnon ,

ten th earl, who was a

Par l iamen tary gene ral in the C iv i l Wars aga ins t Charl es I.,though he was ent i rely free of any part i c i pat ion in h i s

mu rde r. At’

l ength,in 1 670 ,

the mal e l ine of th i s

i l l u st r iou s fami ly became ext inct,j u st five hundred years

afte r the marr iage of Agnes de Percy w ith Jocel ine of

Louvaine. The h istory of the Pe rcys from this period n ee dnot be traced. I t may be remarked , in conclu s ion ,

thatthe success ion of the name of Hen ry in th i s fami ly i sal togethe r ext raordinary. For fou r gene rat ions befo rethe fi rst Earl of No rthumbe rland

,and fo r five diffe ren t

descen ts afte r h im,th e head of the house was a Hen ry.

Such a remarkable con t inuance Of a Chris t ian name wou ldhave been l ess su rp r i s ing in late r and more peacefu l t imes ,when w e might reasonably have expected th e eldest son to

succeed the fathe r qu i e tly th rough many gene rations.

But the fi rst fou r earls of the family were all S la in in battl e

or in c iv i l tumu lt,and the he i r-apparen t of the fi rst , th e

ga l lan t Hotspu r,was cut off in the same way du r ing h i s

father ’s l i fe t ime. Th roughout the who l e range of Engl i sh

h istory,not one of the nobl e houses is so d ist ingu i shed as

that wh i ch has the vene rabl e grandfathe r of Lord

Warkworth at i ts head. I t is remarkabl e a l i ke for i ts

long unb roken l ine , its high ach ievements , and its gen era l

c ultu re Of art and of l e tters.

C H A P T E R X X I X .

THE CHURCH BELLS OF DURHAMAND NORTHUMBERLAND.

Ant iqu ity of Be l ls.—Be llring ing 200 Years Ago. —Curious Customs.—Frequen t U se of Be l ls in Forme r T ime s —Cost of Be lls.Re cord Of an Early Be l l.—Be ll Hun t ing.—Rubb ings and

Sque e ze s.—De script ion of Be l ls in the two Coun t ies.

WHAT a wo rl d of though t is awakened by the mentionof chu rch bel ls— the i r ch imes

,pea l s , knel ls , and

Cu rfew. Of a ll the mate r ia l th ings which serve as l inksbetween the Chu rch of the p resent d ay and the ancientEngl ish Chu rch , there are pe rhaps none whi ch haveundergon e SO l i ttl e change as those bel ls which havesu rv i ved the use and abuse of ages. In many an old

chu rch tower in Durham and Northumberland may st i l l befound one or mo re of those inte rest ing and valuable rel ics

of the past , and they st i l l speak for God and the Church

in the s e lfsame tones as of o ld.

Some t ime s for joy, some t ime s for sorrowMa rriage to-day, and dea th to-morrow.

While a l tars have been l evel l ed in the dust , and sacredvestmen ts destroyed or put to profane uses , wh i le , perhaps ,not a s ingle chance l has been a l lowed to remain as in timepast , whi l e the da i ly sac rifice has ceased , and deso lation ,or vu lgari ty , and p rofan i ty , have preva i l ed where once men

cou ld wo rship the Lo rd in the beau ty of hol iness , sti l lnumbers Of Old bel ls have remained una l te red from the

day of the i r sol emn consecrat ion even unt i l now. And

they possess a pecu l iar charm for some minds. What is

so sacred to the ear and heart of a Chu rchman—so endued

with an almost personal consecrat ion—as an o ld chu rchbel l

,which has sung its song ofjoy and sorrow

,and borne

its bu rden of sympathy w i th human feel ings,for hundreds

of years P


they would aston i sh the p resent gene rat ion of bel lr ingers.The re we re some famous be l lfounders at York and

Darl ington in the seven teenth centu ry , and i t was the

custom of the t ime to upho l d all new bel l s for a year afterthey we re hung. F rom the old accoun t books of S t.Oswal d ’s

,Du rham

,we l earn that the middle bel l the re cost

£ 14 1 1 5 . 8d. The re we re S i x r inge rs for the five bel ls atS t.Nicholas ’s in the same c ity who we re pai d a Shi l l ing a

piece when all the bel ls w ere rung. The bel l r ingers wereprohibi ted from recei ving money in pe rson afte r a funeral

,

the sexton o r cle rk be ing the persons depu ted to col lectsuch accoun ts. O n the King ’

s b i rthday , the sth of

November , and Roya l O ak Day, the bel l r ingers were paidseven Sh i l l ings. The chu rchwardens bel i eved in freet rade , and bought the bel l ropes of those who Sol d themcheapes t and bes t.There can be no doubt of bel ls hav ing been used in the

se rvi ce of the Chu rch of England in the seventh century ,for our own h istor ian ,

Bede,in the 23rd Chapter of the

fourth book o f his “ Eccles iasti cal H istory , descr ibes a

C i rcumstance connected w i th the to l l ing bel l so exqu is i telyS imple that it fa i ls not to bring befo re the reader the nunengaged in her pious avocat ions. Perhaps the fi rst bel lthat ever came in to the north , ofwhich we have any record ,was one that Prior Turgot b rought from London to

Du rham Cathedra l be tween the years 1087- 1 100.

I I t was

cas t in London ,and w as so heavy that i t taxed the

ingenuity of the w rights to make a wa in or S l ed substantialenough to bear i t. Twen ty-two oxen w e re yoked to theSl ed

,wh ich wen t right enough on l eve l ground , but the

d r ivers had none of the modern appl iances in go ing downa h i l l , and w e are tol d that

Al l the d ryve rs ware agasteTha t the S ledd su ld ga

’

our fas te.

Noth ing is mo re famil iar to ou r ears than the sound of

the bel ls of our pa ri sh Church. Ye t few people knowanyth ing abou t the bel ls themselves. Even the ringersare con ten t to pu l l the ropes year afte r year w i thoutinqu i ring after the i r archaeo logy. Campaning is a hobbywh i ch not many indulge in. And sti l l

,notw i thstanding

I Fow le r’s S t.Cuthbert.”

THE BELLS OF DURHAM AND NORTHUMBERLAND.

i ts pecu l iar pe r i l s and d ifficu l t i es,the re mus t be a certa in

amoun t of exci temen t and adven tu re in bel l-hun ting.Equ i pped wi th his lan thorn and bag of mate rials and

apparatus , the t ru e campano logist i s sa i d to feel all theexc i temen t of the spo rtsman o r the angle r in taking“ squeezes and rubbings.” The fo rme r are impress ions

taken in pipeclay,or a so rt of pu tty made for the pu rpose.

F rom these , plaste r casts can be taken at home , fromwhich , aga in

,d raw ings o r engravings can readi ly be

made. Rubb ings are best taken from bel ls by tying a

long s tr i p o f pape r ove r th e insc r ipt ion ,and rubb ing w i th

heel-bal l or a b i t of new Shoe l eathe r. A quarte r of a

cen tu ry ago ,w hen he was more act ive in his l imbs than

he is at th e p resen t d ay,that vete ran eccl es io logist , the

Rev.J .T.Fow l e r , v is i ted many of the bel l- lofts in Durham

and Northumberland , and in 1865 he gave an in te rest ing

accoun t of his “squeezes ” and rubbings ”

in the

Gen tleman’

s At St.Margare t ’s , Du rham ,two

out of th e th ree bel l s are mediaeval , and two of those at

St Gil es ’,in the same ci ty , are anci en t. The fi rst has

Campana Sanct i Egid ii (the bel l of S t.Giles)and thel e tte r “ I ” tw i c e on the soundbow ,

wh ich M r. Fow l e r i s

unabl e to exp la in. The second bel l has Sancta Mar ia

ora p ro nob is (St Mary , p ray for us), and the monogramof Jesu S , I.H.C.

At Pi tt ington there are th ree anc i en t bel l s , and there i s

a pecu l iar i ty here in the const ruct ion of the bel l frames.

The fi rs t and second at Cheste r-le-St ree t are mostin te rest ing bel l s. They appear to have been cas t at

the same time , be ing un iform in des ign and genera lcharacter. The c rown moulding is pecu l iar , and of

e legan t des ign. Both have upon them l i ttl e figures of a

sort of dragon ,wh i ch i s not met w ith elsewhere , and Mr.

Fow l e r hazards the conj ec tu re that i t may be a rep re

sen tation of the far-famed Worm of Lambton.”I f so ,

i t car ri es the story back to the beginn ing of the fifteenth

cen tu ry. The fi rst has th is inscr ip t ion Magiste r

Robe rtus Aschburn Decanus Cest rie me fec i t ” (Mr.

Robe rt Aschburn ,Dean of Cheste r , made me); and in

a l ine beneath th is , Hec campana data Cuthbe rtus sit

vocitata (Le t th i s be l l , be ing given , be named Cu thbert).

I


The second has “ Dominus Iohannes Luml ey me feci tfie ri

,hec campana p ie datur h ic in hono re Marie (Lord

John Luml ey had me made. This bel l is pious ly givenhe re in honou r of Mary). There was a Baron JohnLumley

,1405

- 142 1 ,'

and a John de Ashbourn, Dean of

Cheste r- le -S treet,in 1409 , to whom Robert may have

succeeded,though this latte r name is not given in the

h isto ri es. The th i rd bel l was recast in 1 665 , but was

probably fi rs t cas t at the same time as the other two ,for

i t was given by Bishop Langley , who occupied the see of

Du rham from 1406 to 1 437. In the towe r of the anc ientchu rch Of S t.Pau l , a t Jarrow ,

are two bel ls. O ne is qui tep la in and devo i d of inscription o r device. The other has

Sancte Paolus ora pro nobis (S t.Pau l , pray for us). AtStran ton

,near Hartl epoo l , one bel l is dated 1664 and

anothe r 1699.

Three of the bel ls of Heighington are anc ien t , and veryfine. The fi rs t is a parti cu larly sweet-toned bel l. I t bearsthe inscript ion , O mate r d ia me sana v i rgo Maria ”

(0Divine Mother , V i rgin Mary

,be thou my hea l th), in black

l ette r, w i th a ri ch ly-ado rned lette r O and in i t ial c ross , and

a l so a sma l l figure of O ur Lady ho l d ing the infan t J esus in

her arms. The second bel l has , in good Lombardicl e tte rs

,

“ Tu Petre pulsatus pe rve rsos mitiga flatus (ThouPete r

,be ing rung

, assuage adverse tempests). And thethi rd inscription

,in the same letters , may be trans lated

thus ,“ Thou Pau l , jom us pur ified to the Court of

Heaven. M r. Fow l e r speaks h ighly of the tenor bel l at

Sedgefie ld . The inscription is in black- l e tte r , l ike the firstat Heighington

,each word

,how eve r

,beginn ing w i th a

r ichly-ornamen ted Lombard i c capital. He also tookrubb ings of the o ld bel ls in the Chu rch of S t. Nicholas ,in New castle. The s ixth bore the fo l low ing melodious

inscrip tion ,in wh ich

,howeve r

,orthography is sacrificed

to rhyme Sum Nicholaius onans cunctis mod ulamina

p romans (I am rejo i c ing Nicho las , sounding melodies to

all). The fou rth had Du lc is s isto mel is campana vocor

Micae lis ”

(I am of sweet melody ; amcal l ed M i chael ’sbel l). The seven th bel l had the same insc ription as thefi rst at Heigh ington. Fou r of the bel l s of S t. Andrew ’s ,Auckland , are dated 1720 ,

and the re are two at Ayclifl e ,

C H A P T E R X X X .

LEADM INING AND LEADM INERS.

The Wearda le M ine s.—Barga in Book.—Employment ofWomen.O ld M ine s in the De rwent Va l ley.—The Te e sda le M ines and

Sme lt ing M i l ls.—M ine s in A l lenda le.—The Alston M ine s.Cost of ‘

Production.—Earn ings.—Output a t the M ine s.

KING Coal has re igned supreme in Durham and Nor th

umbe rland s ince the fi rs t men tion was made of himby B ishop Pudsey in the year 1 180 , when we are told inBoldon Buke that a certain co l l i e r finds coa l for makingthe i ronwork of the p loughs of Coundon.” Coeval w i ththi s indus try mus t have been that of leadmining ,

but whi lethe former is stil l unaffected by the minera l wea l th of

othe r nat ions , fo re ign competi t ion has u tte r ly ru ined thelatte r , and a lmos t driven the leadmine r out Of existence.We have a l ready added a chapte r to the h istory of

coalm ining , and o r igina l papers in our possess ion enableus to con tribute a great dea l that is new respec t ing theold l ead-mines of Du rham and No rthumberland.Up to the year 1876 ,

the mines in the two count iesyielded more than one ha lf of the lead o re and l eadproduced in England. M r. Beaumon t ’s min es , w i thin theparishes of S tanhope and Wo ls ingham ,

in Wearda l e , werefo r a long period the bes t l ead-produc ing mines in

the North of England,and the decadence of th is industry

in the Wear val l ey is d ue to the low price of l ead causedby importations from othe r coun tr i es. The dead- ren t pa idby M r. Beaumon t to the Eccles iasti cal Commiss ioners

was per annum, and a n in th Of .the ore ra ised.

Finding that he coul d not work the m ines at a p rofi t , and

fa i l ing to obta in from the Commiss ioners what he regarded

as a satisfactory abatemen t of te rms , he deci ded in 1881

to reti re from min ing al together. He suggested that a

company Shou l d be formed to work the mines , but the

LEADM INING AND LEADM INER S. 2 19

pub l i c wou l d not take shares, and the Commiss ione rs

themselves decl ined to buy Mr.Beaumon t out. M eanwhi l e,

Operat ions w e re a lmos t at a standsti l l,and al though some

of the m ines w e re l e t by the Commiss ione rs to a companyw h i ch was subsequen tly fo rmed in London

,the prospe ri ty

of the dal e may be sa i d to have closed w i th Mr.Beaumon t’

s

fina l re ti rement in I SS3.I

O ne of the o l des t m ines in Weardal e was the B reckens i ke , wh ich , acco rding to Westgarth Fors te r

,y ielded in

the yea r 1809 the large quan ti ty of bings of l eadore. We possess the or igina l Partn e rship Barga in Bookof th is and the ne ighbou ring mines for

’

th e years 1 75 1-

59.

I t is a smal l quarto,bound in vel l um

,and the scribe who

kept i t , hav ing apparen tly the old poe t Heywood ’sparaph rase on weal th in his mind ’s eye

,has w r i tten o n the

fi rs t page an ep i taph , the fi rs t s tanza of which runs thusHe re Wi l ly l ie s who le ft fu l l baggsTo e n ri ch poor G e ordy clad in raggsPray wha t is go ld but ve ry dirt ,Tha t can ’

t afford poor Ge orge a sh irt!

The mines emb raced in the book a re B reckensike,G reen

fie ld,C raw l ey , Hes l ey Gi l l , Whesenhope , S toup S l i tt

,

B roadmea S l i tt , S l i tt Heads , Cow Haust , Grove Rake ,Bal e H i l l , Scraith Head , Pike S tone , Great S l i t t , and

Newmeadow Head Level. A l l these w e re then wo rked by

S i r Wa l te r B lackett. The substance of a few of the

barga ins m ay be given ,as Show ing the names Of those

We cannot he lp thinking that the Commiss ion e rs w e re part ly tob lame fo r the pa rt ia l c los ing of the mine s in Wea rda le. A lthoughroya lty ren t may be c la ime d whe the r a mine is profi tab le to the party

'

working it o r not , it is fre que nt ly good as w e l l a s l ibe ra l po l i cy togrea t ly re duce or even remi t it for a t ime during pe riods of

tempora ry de pre ss ion o r loss , as an owne r or company may thus be

en couraged to make furthe r tria ls , wh i ch in the e nd may provebenefic ia l to both pa rt ie s. Much abuse wa s show e re d upon Mr.Beaumon t by the miners a t the t ime of his re t iremen t , but the lapseof ten yea rs , and the gradua l de c l ine of the le adm ining industry inthe North-coun try in the in te rim , have fu l ly borne out his pre dict ions ,and jus t ified the course wh i ch he fe l t bound to adopt. We a lsove nture to expre ss the op in ion tha t the m en themse lve s , by the irintempera te language and c lamour for emp loyme n t when non e cou ldbe found for them ,

haste ne d the cris is wh i ch took pla ce in Wearda lea dozen yea rs ago. The ir treatmen t of the agen ts , M r. Ca in and

M r.Rumney, was unjust to the la st exten t. The forme r, in part i cu lar ,had a lways done eve ryth ing in his pow e r to promo te the in te re s ts andw e lfa re of the mine rs and pe op le of Wea rda le , and in gradua l lycurta i l ing the numbe r Of hands he wa s me re ly ca rrying out

Mr.Beaumon t ’s ins truct ions.


engaged in the industry , and the manne r Of working,

nearly a cen tu ry and a half ago. The fi rst bargain occursunde r date 3 I st December , 175 1 , when Thomas Bel l andpartne rs agree to drive the i r forehead ten fathoms at 205 .

pe r fathom , and they are al so to have 203 . per bing ‘ for all

ore obta ined. John Bainb r i dge , Joseph Beastin , Ralph

Featherston,George Fu rnace

,Joseph Harrison , Matthew

Nattress , Will iam Thompson ,W i l l iam Mart in , Thomas

H i l l,Chr is topher Bel l , and George Peart , w i th thei r

respect ive partners , made S im i lar engagements at the

same time. O n the 9th of January , 1752 , Jonathan K iddand n ine partne rs agree to open an Old shaft , next to

Heathe ry C l eugh Bu rn,at 7 5 .6d. pe r fathom and on the

10th of the fo l low ing mon th the same m en engage to dr ivethe low l evel oppos i te to the Shaft on the Bank Top ,

and

to S ink and ho l e the sa i d Shaft in to the l eve l , for the sum

of £25. John M i lbu rn and fou r partne rs agree , on the1 7 th February , to s ink the lowest sump at £9 per fathom

wh i lst Joseph Maughan and partners barga in to s ink a

shaft ten fathoms at z os.per fathom. S tephen Emerson

and par tn ers agree to get ore where they w rought last at

205 . pe r bing. Barga ins are a lso l e t to George Whitfield ,Edward Gi l l , William Fa i rl ess , John Cou l thard , and

Joseph Harr ison. At Greenfield,Joseph Li ttl e barga ins

to wash up the cutt ings at presen t drawn to the bank at

205 . per b ing. James Pringle and partners undertake to

r ise a sump and drive a drift to air th e low sump in

the B reckensike at 5 5s.pe r fathom. O n May 5 th , JosephMaughan and partners agree to

“ bore and S ink theforemost shaft from the top to John Ba inbridge

’

s h igh d riftfor £90 ,

and prov i ded they meet w i th imposs ib i l i ti es theyShal l be re leas

’

d The same day Jonathan K i dd and

partne rs engage to drive the low l eve l forehead at Green

field twen ty-fou r fathoms , and to s ink a Shaft at the eastend

,for £5 5 , and 205 . for a ho leing drink. The next

ent ry,under date Ju ly 3rd , is in te res ting ,

as Show ing thatwomen w ere then engaged abou t th e m ines. O the r women

and gi rls are men tioned at a late r per iod. “ Ann

Muncaste r,Mary S tephenson ,

Sarah Barker , to washcuttings and deads at Littl e Shaft at 16 5 . pe r bing

‘

till

I A b ing con ta ined 8 cwt.


Memorandum , March ye 20th,I 754.

—A Gran t of a Ta ck of Scrathhead to Thos.Wa tson , Jno.Wa tson , Thos.Armstrong , Wm.G ibson ,Jos. Ha rrison ,

Wm. Thompson , Jno.Wa tson, Juo.

Will iam Ba con ,E sq., be agreeable when he come s a t age , and they

a re obl iged to work he r constan t ly w ith six men a t fewe st ; andprovided Mr.Ba con be no t agre eab le the maste r is to sa tisfie themfor what work they have w rought in the partne rsh ip end.Stoup S l itt , June 2oth

,1 754.

—Le tt to Ma tthew Whitfie ld and

pa rtne rs a ba rga in to S ink a sump a t the end of the ir cross cut to the

dep th of the shaft foot , a t 25 s.p e r fa thom and p rovide dl

the wate rhappen to rise so a s it cannot reasonab ly be drawn

,they sha l l then

be re le as’

d.

Cow Haust , June 20th , 1754.—Le tt to Thos. Eme rson ,

JohnEme rson ,

John B ea stin,Wm. K e e n lisid e , and John

,Wa tson a

barga in to ge t oa r from Bounde r Sha ft ea stwa rd a t 25 s.pe r b ing,to June 3oth , 1 758 a nd provide d they negle ct work ing w i th 6 men 20

days toge the r,w i thou t show ing sufficie n t rea son why, th is barga in

sha l l then be vo id to a ll in te n ts and purpose s.B re ckensike ,

Septembe r 16th , I 754.—Le t t to John Rumney and

Jos. Jame s a ba rga in to g e t ore out of the o ld wa ste s , whe re Ar thurWa tson had his la te ba rga in , a t 185 .pe r b ing , to June the 3oth ,

1755.

B re cken sike,Septembe r 1 7th ,

1755.—Le tt to Joseph Maughan and

7 partne rs a barga in to g e t ore from the Leve l Head w e stwardand eas tward te n fa thom , be fore Jno. Ca in

’

s Sump , at 263. pe r

b ing , t i l l Sep tembe r the 3oth ,1 756.

Scra ith Head , in Burnhope Fe l l , Ju ly 8th ,1757.

—Le tt in a Ta ck,

to

the Reve rend Mr. Joseph Craddock , Mr.Wm.Wa tson ,Mr.Wm.

Dockw ray, an d M r.Jos. R i chardson , a t 3os. pe r b ing , bound e ringfrom Brown G i l l Bounde r w e stward a s the ve in lye s , 600 ya rds inlength , and twen ty yards on each s ide of the ve in to have a TackNo te w i th a ll conve n ie n t Spe ed. N.B .— Jose ph R i chardson ha s onlypa r t of the above gran t of a Ta ck , Mr. Dockwray and Mr.

Craddock and Mr.Wa tson have five -e ighths.

In the higher reaches of the Derwen t val l ey,from

Healeyfie ld upwards , much lead ore was found in theseventeenth cen tu ry. The mine at H ealeyfie ld was

wo rked in the latte r part of E l izabeth ’s re ign ; and we

possess an indenture , dated 1690 , whereby Wil l iam Forster ,of B ambrough , gen tl eman , l eases the min e cal l ed J effrey

’

s

Grove , w i th in the lands o r grounds of Blanch land , to

Thomas Raw lin ,of the City of Du rham ,

J ames Emmerson ,

of Dunston , John Morton“

, of Harraton,gen tlemen

,and

John Trotte r , of New castl e , merchan t , for twen ty-one yearsat a ren t of a seven th part of the ore w rought. In a

subsequen t l ease the ren t is fixed at a ten th,and the

l essees are to wo rk w i th in a compass of 300 yards on

e i ther S i de of the Grove.The val e of the Tees a lso was long famous for the

r i chness of its mines and for its smelting mi l ls. In a

manuscrip t w r i tten by B ishop Chandle r in 1 737 ,the re is

an accoun t of early m in ing at Eggleston. The lord of th e

LEADM INING AND LEADM INERS. 223

mano r at that t ime was Will iam Hutchin son,E sq., w hose

c la im to the l ead-min es w i th in th e mano r was res i sted by

the B ishop of Du rham. The mano r was o r iginal ly a par tof th e fo rfe i ted estate of the Earl ofWestmorland

, and i tappears by an inqu i s i t ion taken at Flakebridge on th e28th of Sep tembe r , in th e 1 3th year of Queen E l izabeth ,that the m ines w e re w rought in th e Earl ’s t ime before h i sa tta inde r and that afterwards a l ease thereof was gran te d

by the C rown to Ralph Bow es for the te rm of twen ty-oneyears at t he yea rly ren t of 6os.

,and a fin e of £6. In

1 663 , Chr i stophe r Sande rson was lord of th e manor, and

that year he l e t the mines to Thomas I re land for a term of

fou rteen yea rs , yi eld ing and paying to the l esso r one

horse load of c l ean w ash’

d oar out of eve ry e ight load.”

S i x years late r anothe r l ease of the mines was granted

by Sanderson to the ce lebrated Ambrose Barn es , of

Newcastl e , to ho l d from the 29 th September , 1 700 ,for

2 1 years , yield ing a s ixth part of the ore.

M uch of th e l ead w rought out of the noble C ross Fel l

Ve in w as taken to Eggleston and th e adjacen t smel tingmi l l s. The C ross Fel l M ine was open ed in

'

1804 by John

Li ttl e,E sq., and Company. The or iginal pay-sheets and

papers conn ected w i th th i s and th e o th e r old mines in th e

manor of A lston ,and in A l l enda l e , have been placed at our

disposa l , and from these authen t i c sou rces , wh ich w e re

not ava i lable to e i the r Sopw i th or Fo rste r , o r any other

w r i te r on the subj ect , we Sha l l endeavou r to t race the

h is tory o f leadmining du r ing the period w hen the greates t

numbe r of mines was in Ope rat ion ,when l ead so l d at th e

highest pri ce that i t has eve r been know n to reach , and

w hen employe r and employed w e re in the zen i th of

prosper i ty. We cannot w i th in the l im i ts of th is sketch do

more than give a bare summary of the papers , but th is wi l lbe suffic i en t to indicate the yearly y i e ld of th e var iou s

mines , th e cost of p roduction ,and the w ages rece ived by

those engaged in and about th e m in es.

Beginn ing w i th C ross Fel l w e find that between

S eptembe r 29 , 1804 , and Septembe r 29 , 1805 , seven ty-th ree

men ra i s ed b ings , 6 cw ts., of ore ,for wh i ch they

we re pa i d 1 5 . Geo rge Littl e and seven partne rs

rece ived £ 189 85 . 6d. ; J onathan Watson and fou r


partne rs were pa i d £233 83. 3d. ; John Cowpe r and fou r

partne rs go t £203 9 5 . wh i l e Thomas Wal ton and four

partne rs earned £224 1 25 . The tota l expense connected

with the mine du ring the year , exclus ive of l ead carriers’

b i l l s and the cost of smel t ing , was I S. 1 d. A fewof the i tems of expend itu re may be given. Wi l l iam Ritsonand fou r partners had 1403 . pe r fathom for s inking thel imestone Shaft. John B rown and fou r partne rs we re fou r

weeks in discovering the North Vein ,and were pa id at the

rate of 1 5s. per week. John Li tt l e acted as agen t , and he

was pa i d £52 105 . The o re ra ised in 1805-6 amounted to

bings, 5 cw ts., and the tota l expenses to

2s. 1 d. Joseph Watson and six partne rs had for thei rshare £632 1 5 5 . 7d. H un te r Ward and S ix partners drew

£472 45 . 2d. ; John B rown and fou r partne rs had £49819s. 3d. among them ; I saac V i pond and fou r partnersrece ived £306 1 9 3 .9d. Joseph Cu rry and the same number

of partne rs earned £327 1 65 . 5d .; whi l e on ly£ 192 1 35 .

fel l to the Share o f Thomas White and six partners. In

1806-7 , the yield was bings, 3 cw ts., and the total

work ing expenses of 1 1 8. 5d. Coals cost 3S. perload ; John Teasda le , o fWeardal e , was pai d £36 1 5 5 . for

five gal loways , four bought of Feathe rs ton Wa l lace cost

£33 and there is an i tem of £85 145 . 5d. paid toGeorge E l ias , innkeepe r , for eating and drinking. In

1807-8, when p ig lead was sel l ing at £35 per ton ,

the mineyie lded b ings

,1 cwt. The largest sum

, £669was earned by Joseph Mart indal e and six partne rs. Theexpenses at the mine amoun ted to I 4s. 8%d.Cal eb Twedd le was pa i d £3 5s. 3d.for making kibbles ;S tephen Robson charged £ 1 14s. for two S i eve bottoms ;John Smith was paid £ 1 for a pa i r of clo'g boots ; and

Jonathan Greenwel l £ 1 8S. 9d.fo r w imbles. John Little’s

salary for agency had been ra ised to £84 , and ThomasWa l ton was pa i d £52 for S im i lar serv ices.

The pay-bi l ls for the carr iage of l ead ore from Cross Fel l

to the smelting mil ls , and the cos t of conveying the p igs

to the coast for Sh ipmen t , are also inte rest ing. In 1807 ,

Charles E rr ington charged £25 19 3.for carring 173 bings

of ore from Knock to Hel ton M i l l. Donkin’

Dover ’scharge for carry ing ore from C ross Fel l to Eggleston M i l l


Thomas C rawhal l rece ived £ 1 1 5s.; and Wi l l iam Peart,

£6 1 5s. Hugh S hield was pa i d £2 103 . for keeping

schoo l,being at the rate of £ 10 pe r annum. The smiths

were pa id 103. 6d., and the Sharpers 9s. pe r week. Thetotal amoun t of the pay-bi l l for the th i rteen weeks was

33 . 5d. Of the o re‘

ra i sed,

bings we re takento Dukesfie ld Smelt ing M i l l , and the rema inder to Al lenheads Smelting M i l l. In 1 793 , the p r i ce of pig l ead was

£ 1 9 pe r ton. Leadmining is , and always has been, a

p recar ious bus iness , and as l i ttl e or nothing is known of

the actual earn ings of the men engaged in the industry

a cen tu ry ago , the au tho r ventu res to give the

accompanying quarterly pay-bi l l for getting ore at the

Coal cl eugh mines in th e year 1 793. The figu res in thefi rs t co lumn denote the number of men in each partnersh ip

Men.

2 Abraham Engl ishD itto

4 Ma tthew2 John Cow in2 John Liddle3 Joseph Sw inbankWill iam Coa te sG e o.Wh itfie ldMa t thew Lidd leThomas Tea sda leJohn Liddle and

John Che s te rR i cha rd Fe the rstoneJohn ShortThoma s Va rtyJohn Dawson

He nry R idleyCu thbe r t S imn

Thomas Dawson

Jose ph Forste r and Son

Ma t thew K e en lisid e

Thos.Moor and Brothe rJoseph

D ittoD itto

John Wh i teWill iam and Thos.Edge rThos.Edge r and laboure rsWill iam WilsonJoseph MorrahEdwa rd Sh ip ley and WaughAndrew Eme rsonD itto

Wil l iam and Dav id Edge rHenry Hende rsonD itto

A

w

wwmn

ox

N

N-P

H

H

G

NmA

m-P-

Oxww-p

mo

m

m

n

w

m

mm

LEADM INING AND LEADM INER S. 227Men.

2 John Swinda le

D it to4 Wi l l iam Be l l4 Thoma s Wa rd

D ittoD itto

4 Thomas LathanD itto

4 An thony Burdass4 Thomas Edge r6 D itto2 R i cha rd Parke r

D itto2 Jame s Dodd6 Thomas

6 Jose ph B ownass

D i tto2 Wi l l iam Harr ison

D it to4 John Wa lton4 Wil l iam

D ittoD i ttoD itto

4 Thoma s DoddEdward R i cha rdsonEdwa rd Hende rsonThoma s Forste rJame s D ickinsonThoma s Norman

John Tay lorJose ph Wa lesThomas Be l lThos.Makepea ce and Son

Thomas Makepeace , jun.John Cow inWi l l iam LishM i chae l Ma rt inPe te r RobsonMoses R i dleyJose ph ArmstrongD it toD ittoD itto

An thony JohnsonJohn Wh iteDan ie l HudsonD i tto

Thoma sJohn Wa ltonGe orge Wi lsonJohn Gi l lSamue l Brown

N i cho las Ca rrJa cob Dawson

Edwa rd ArmstrongThoma s De n t

2 Jonah Wa rd

«h

m

w

w

m

n

n

n

n

n

-b

m-e

-P-

N

to

A

wmn

p

m

m

n

mmP-P-

N

Tota l 1890 2 £2944 1 o

Bings.t s s.

I 3520 30

I 33 2 356 3 30

7 35

47 2 3528 30

89 II

/2 30

4 ’ 3 30

4 II

/z J) 30

57 0. 351 5 30

I I 35

42 351 5 1 1 30

1 2 248 1 20

9 30

I 7 3528 2 352 28

49 0a) 35

29 0 1 , 30

8 25

5 1 30

30 35O 30

100 1 30

27 0 35109 2 20

73 0 1 , 28

4 o 30

32 3510 3 3525 0 351 1 o 356 1 35

3 3 35I I a) 30

IO 3 a, 35

34 0 23

30 O 2520 o 28

35 0 30

24 I 35I o 1 3527 0 28

18 3 351 ya 30

6 I2 1 1 35

2 n 351 1 356 35

7 35

3 3O

6 3 30

6 2 30

1 I 1 , 35


The pape rs from which we ' have been quot ing g ive us

th e exact numbe r of mines in ope rat ion w i th in the manor

of A l ston from 1822 to 1842. I n the first-named year the re

w e re 62 mines , 52 of which were on the eas t S i de of ther ive r Tyne

,the res t be ing on the w es t s i de. The total

quant i ty of ore ra i sed that year was bings , 2 cwts.The Rampgill veins yie lded a total

'

of bings , 1 cwt.,

the Hudgill Bu rn , bings , 5 cwts., and the B rown l ey

H il l ve ins b ings , 6 cwts. In 1832 ,the re were 42

mines on the east and n ine on the west s ide of the r iver.The total quan ti ty Of ore ra ised that year was bings

,

1 1 2 cw ts. Of th is , the Rampg ill veins yie lded b ings

aga inst ten years p rev ious ly , wh i l e the Scaleburnve ins yielded 8 18 b ings aga inst 3 10 before. The H udgill

Burn veins , wh ich in 1822 yielded bings,th is year

yielded on ly In 1832 , the Rodd e rup C l eugh veinsyi elded b ings aga inst 10 bings in 1822. The totalquant i ty of ore ra ised at the 45 mines on the eas t S i de andthe five on the wes t S i de of the Tyne in 1842 was

b ings 4 cw ts. The fo l low ing tabu lated statemen t givesthe names of the who l e of the mines and the quan ti ty of

ore raised in each for the years 1822-32-

42

1822. 1832. 1842.

Bings. B ings. B ings.Hudg il l Burn Ve ins 1 1609 35 20 3 10

Rampgill 3304 2 1 1 3 1 786

Brown ley H i l l Ve ins 1 745 1 5 14 593G ra ssfie ld Ve ins 760 430 142

Carrs South E nd 7 10 1 27Ho lyfie ld 594 228 62

Sma l l C leugh F la t t 5 28 1 2 206

M iddle C le ugh Ve ins 5 22 285 44Hudgil l Cross Ve in 449 3 28

Tyne Bot tom Ve ins 393 1330 320

B lagil l a nd Lough Ve ins 33 1 1 53 4 1 1

Fle tche ra s 3 14 40 9Sca le Burn Ve ins 3 10 818 447We llgil l Cross Ve in 193 86 238

Cap le C le ugh Ve ins 1 78 768

B rowngil l Ve in s 1 59 7 14Na ttrass Ve ins 1 54 169Buga l Burn Ve ins 1 22 650

Gre engi l l We st E nd 1 1 5Carr’s We st of Nen t 1 10 59B entyfie ld Sun Ve ins 109 17Long C le ugh 107 193 1

B lag ill Foot Cross Ve ins 97 3

G uddamgill Moss Ve in 92 68

Buga l Burn and Dowgang Ve ins 2 10 650

C H A P T E R X X X I .

F E S T I V A L S .

Christmas—New Year’s Day.—Cand lemas.—Carl ing Sunday.

Pa lm Sunday.—Good Friday.—Ea ste r.—Ascens ion Day.

Ha l lowe ’

en.—The F ifth of Novembe r.—Al l Foo ls ’

Day.

EITHER Ch r i s tmas is du l le r than i t used to be

, or thefestival has los t its charm and attract i veness in our

eyes. Yu l e Tide in our j uven i l e days was an even t thatwas talked about at Martinmas

,at which period a beast

was ki l led and cured for w inter use. As t ime passed and

Christmas d rew neare r our whol e thoughts we re of fun,

fro l i c , and festivi ty. The re we re the practisings of theswo rd dance rs in a barn or empty house to awe and

as ton i sh w i th thei r real swo rds and fan tast i c dresses ,and the re w e re a lso the you thfu l “ gui se rs ” rehears ingthe tragedy where in the he ro ,

w i th blackened face , bo ldly“opens the door and ente rs in

”w i thou t p revious

int imation or ce remony. The vis i ts of these sabl e younggentlemen we re not a lways wel come on Christmas E ve ,and they sometimes went out qu i cker than they en te red.Then what a feast ing there was on Christmas Day. Wereal ly forget what became of al l the spice bread , Cheese ,mince p ies , and “ yule dooes. These latter weresometimes toothsome morsels , w i th big ra is ins for eyes ,and cu rran t-constructed mouths that seemed to grin at thethought of be ing eaten. W i th the yu le log , the l ightedcandles , the games and amusements , and a pl ent ifu l supply

of everyth ing that the youthfu l fancy could suggest ,Ch ri stmas was in our t ime a season of real p leasu re and

innocen t diss ipat ion.Jus t as age increases our love for the home of our

boyhood and the scenes of our youth , so does the lapse of

years mel low the recol l ect ion of many a me rry Chr i stmas

FESTIVALS. 23 1

into vene rat ion. I ts assoc iat ions gladden our sp i r its,

arouse our sympath i es , and qu icken our affections for

kindred and home. I t has been w el l sai d that at thi sseason age forgets i ts infirmities , heart becomes kn i t toheart , and sou l feas ts wi th sou l. We open w i de thedoor of hosp ital i ty , and invi te fr i ends

,relat i ves

,and

n e ighbou rs to part i c ipate in our pleasu res, and in

' thebount i es of our boa rd.

As w e l i s ten to the exp i r ing s igh of the Old year , andwel come in the new year , we think of the buri ed yearswhi ch have carr i ed many of .us to middle age and o thers

in to th e w in te r of l i fe. The Ob i tuary record of a s ingleyear rem inds us what a fleeting pagean t i s human l i fe.Many who beg in the jou rn ey w i th us fal l by the way.

Those who rema in to pass the m i l e-ston e tu rn ove r a n ew

l eaf in the vo l ume of l ife ’s jou rney , thei r boat s t i l l gl idesdown th e s tream , and n eare r l i es the land to wh i ch they

go. O n New Year ’s Eve our ch i ld ren play at a thousand

and one games , not forgett ing“ bl ind man ’

s buff. Some

of them go to bed ear ly , afte r hanging thei r s tockings onth e l in e above the fi rep lace , in expectat ion of a v is i t fromSan ta C laus , who ,

pe rhaps,forgot to come down the

ch imn ey w ith his toys and sweets on Christmas Eve.The b ig boys stay up unt i l the bel l s are set a- r inging , and

in the co l l i e ry vi l lages of Northumbe r land and D urham ,

the lads go from house to house shou ting ,as they rattl e

at th e doors w i th the i r st i cks

A happy New Yea r, the bott le’

S a s t ir,P lease w i l l you g ive us a New Year ’s g ift

Whe re the hou sehol d has al ready arranged for a first-foot ,they are to l d to go away , but at the n ext house they w i l l be

admi tted and rece ive sp i ce-b read and cheese , and , maybe ,

a Sixpence. I f the re be no respons e to the rattl e of thei rst i cks

,pe rhaps they take revenge by upsett ing the ra in

tub and ro l l ing i t to th e end of th e row. This fo rm of

amusemen t was so common among country lads th i rty

years ago that many o ld women usual ly stood on guardwith a pa i l fu l of wate r. We have heard of one Old lady

who c leve r ly b u t somewhat cruel ly avenged the loss of he r


rain-wate r and the d estruction of her tub. Rap , rap , went

the s t i cks as usual , w i th the accompany ing comp l imentary

wish. Come in ,

” croaked the anc i ent dame but whenthe sneck was l i fted , and the firs t-foote rs ente red

,th ey

rece ived on thei r heads the freezing con tents of a pai l

which had been suspended ins ide the door ready for them.We are not qu i te ce rta in what rhyme the lads across the

Tweed make use of now when they go firs t-foot ing , but itu sed to be in the fol low ing words

G e t up , gude w i fe , and dinna swe ir,And dea l your cakes and che e se wh i le ye a re he reFor the t ime w i l l come when ye ’ l l be de ed ,And ne ithe r n eed your che e se nor breed.

At Candlemas (February 2nd)the days have begun to

l engthen,and a person ought to be able to read w i thou t

candl el ight at six o’clock in the even ing. In the work shops

of Durham and Northumberland upwards of hal f a cen tu ryago , operations were carr ied on a l l t h rough the w inte rmorn ings and even ings by candlel ight. Candlemas Day,

howeve r , was the last on wh ich l ights we re used. Therewas a tax on candles un ti l 1832 , and they wou ld

,

therefore,be a cons iderable i tem of expendi tu re both in

the wo rkshop and the househo l d. When dames ’ schoolsw e re in fu l l sw ing ,

candles w e re sometimes l ighted whenthe w inte r afte rnoons were unusua l ly dark , and these wereoften suppl i ed by the scho lars. O l d J eann i e Robinson ,

who kept one of these schoo ls in the C i ty of D urham,had

a ve ry ingen ious way of getting a supply of candles. I twas a ru l e that al l he r scho lars w e re to carry a candle toschool on Candlemas Day. These having been l ighted ,three cheers were given for the old lady , who then blewout the l ights and dismissed her pupi l s for the d ay. O n

the borders and in Scotland the charac te r of the weathe ron Candlemas Day was supposed to dete rm ine the Comingsp ring.

I f Cand lemas Day be bright and fa ir,The ha lf of w in te r’s to come and ma ir.

If Cand lemas Day is fa ir and c lea r,The re ’ l l be twa w in te rs in the yea r.


seems to be al lowab l e , though to be seen with i t in thecoat or in the hand on othe r occas ions would in o ld e n

t imes have impl ied a man ’s being forsaken by hi s m istress.

A w i l low garland thou didst se ndPe rfum

’

d last day to m e ,

Wh i ch did but on ly th is portendI was forsook by the e.

And in H e rr i ck ’s Hespe r i des the re i s th is s tanza to the

wi l lowWhen once the lover’s rose is dead ,Or la id as ide fo rlo rne ,

Then w i l low ga rlands ’bout the head ,B e d ew

’

d w i th tea rs , a re worne.

In p re-Reformat ion times the boughs of palm trees we recarr i ed in p rocess ion

,in im i tation of those wh ich the J ew s

strewed in the way of Christ when He wen t up to J e rusal em.

So far as we have been abl e to find , the re is no refe renceto the palm in any o f the annua l d isbu rsemen ts connectedw i th the chu rches in No rthumberland and Durham afte rthe s ixteen th cen tury. B ut the branches of the b i rch are

frequently men tioned as being se t up in the chu rches of

the last-named coun ty. Thus,in th e chu rchwardens ’

accounts,the re is a payment fo r setting the bi rches and

s trew ing the rushes and d ress ing the Chu rch of S t.Nicholas in the ci ty of Du rham.

Good Friday , the ann ive rsary o f Chr is t ’s cruc ifixion , is

assoc iated with much that savours of superst i t ion. Eggslai d on Good Friday we re carefu l ly put away and al lowedto accumu late ti l l a fi re broke out , when they were used

as fi re extingu ishe rs , the odou r from th em,i t may be

assumed , having the same e ffect on the flames as th econ tents of a modern hand-grenade. When the fa rmer

w i shed to keep rats and mice out of his th reshed co rn ,

th ree loaves baked on the same day were placed amongthe gra in. The hot c ross bun is in timately conn ected w i t hthe obse rvance of Good Friday. The distingu ish ing mar k

of the bun is general ly attr ibu ted to early Ch ristian t imes ,bu t i t can lay cla im to a much h ighe r ant i qu i ty , .the c rosshaving been used as a sacred symbo l by th e Egyptians

and the Greeks , who offe red to the i r gods a sacred cakemarked w i th a cross , wh i ch would rende r i t more eas i ly

FESTIVALS. 235

breakab l e and dividab l e. To th i s day, the hou sewives of

North umbe rland and Du rham mark the i r cakes in th i sway, and al though they cannot have got the idea from

the Greeks,i t woul d at all even ts be a conven i ence at a

t ime when kn ives we re not always ava i lable , and when a

sharp appet ite was won t to make people help themse lves.

What mi rth and happ iness, w hat pl easant memor i es of

ch i ldhood and youthfu l assoc iat ions,are conju red up by

the retu rn of Easte r. Peop le tal k d isparagingly of th e goodold t imes , but what worse w e re w e for be ing ear ly as t i r on

Easte r Day,and watch ing in th e fields for the ris ing sun ,

in the bel i ef that he danced to those who caugh t the fi rs tgl impse of h im!I f he happened to Shine b righte r thatmorn ing

,and his rays chanced to sparkl e on some b r ight

obj ec t,then the hal lu c ination was complete

,and we w e re

rewarded. I f not , the wa l k in the Sharp morn ing air d idus no harm ,

and we we re encouraged by the w i sh that

bette r luck migh t awa i t our early r i s ing the fol low ingyear. But th is sort of th ing is al l exploded in the p resen ten l ightened age , and our lads and lasses l i e abed wh i l e thelark and blackbi rd warble fo rth the i r w el come to the

retu rn ing ve rdu re. And then how anxious we we re that

the ta i lo r who sat c ross- l egged on a table in the frontparlou r should fin ish our new clo thes befo re Satu rday n ight.

A t Easte r le t your c lothe s be new ,

Or e lse be sure you w i l l it rue ,

was our favou r i t e couplet,and the l ines we re early inst i l l ed

into us w i th the maxim that to secu re good fo rtune theyw e re to be worn for the fi rs t t ime at chu rch. The out-door

amusemen ts w e re suspended in o rde r that we might be in

evi dence w hen th e j acket was to be fitted on,and the

button-ho l es marked with Chal k ; and w hat a sm i l e of

sat i sfaction the re was w hen th e eye glan’ced down th e

ampl e S l e eves beyond wh ich the t ips of th e finge rs w e re

j us t d i sce rn i b l e The re w e re no misfits in those days. I t

was once obj ected aga in st a bi shop of Du rham that he was

too young ,a fau l t wh ich i t was sa i d he wou ld soon grow

out of. I t was th e Oppos i te w i th our new clothes we had

to grow in to them , and the re w as pl en ty of room at the


beg inn ing. O n the Sunday, afte r chu rch s e rvi ce , too ,

the lads took off the lasses ’ shoes, and the gi rl s returned

the compl iment the fol low ing day by runn ing off w i th the i rcaps. What a scandal such customs would cau se if

pract i sed now!I t i s sa i d that in anc i ent t imes the ch iefbu rgesses of Newcast l e

,headed by the Mayor , al dermen ,

and she r iff , used to assemble at Easte r to w i tness theyoung peop l e dance and play at hand-bal l and othe r

games but th i s was at a t ime when Novocast rians weres imple r in the i r l ives and humbl e r in the i r asp i rations thanthey are now.

Ascens ion Day, or Ho ly Thu rsday. People used to cal lth is Gang Week

,from the pe rambulat ions of par i shes

which took place on the th ree days preceding Ascens ion

Day. When there w e re no hedges or fences to mark theboundari es of our ancesto rs ’ possess ions , they were not

,

we fear,ove r scrupu lous in adding an od d ac re or two to

thei r possess ions,thei r recogn ized princ iple of act ion being

the good old ru l e

Tha t they Shou ld take who have the powe r,And they shou ld ke e p who can.

Du r ing the seven teen th centu ry,when many of the

commons of No rthumberland and Durham fi rs t began to

be divi ded,and land w as becoming mo re va luable , there

w e re frequen t pe rambu lat ion s. When Blackbu rn Fel l was

perambu lated las t cen tu ry , the B ishop of Du rham ’

s bai l iff

headed the process ion w i th a horn , on wh ich he blew a

blast that wou l d have sat isfied the most a rden t fox-hunter.

When its echoes died away,he scatte red spice and whi te

cakes among the ch i ldren. Sometimes i t was thoughtdes i rable to impress the recol l ection of var ious boundari es

on the m inds of the young people, and in o rde r to do so

effectua l ly , a few of them w ere w hipped on the boundaryston e , afte r w h ich they w ere feas ted.Ascens ion Day is a lso assoc iated w i th Barge Day and

i ts anc ien t pagean try on th e Tyne , and i t is the ann ive rsary

of the death of a modes t teacher on Tynes i de,the head of

the monkish schoo l at Jarrow,the Vene rable Bede

,the

fathe r of Engl ish hi story. We know that the day of hi sdeath was the Feas t of the Ascens ion ,

by a l ette r wh ich


St i l l , wh il e ready to laugh at the i r s impl i c i ty and c redul ity ,we cannot help t reas u ring up the tradi tions that are

assoc iated with the feast of Ha l low e ’en,i ts feast ing and

dan c ing ,mirth and merriment. Prying in to fu tu ri ty by

means of charms and spel l s was a fa i l ing common to

our ancesto rs , and the i r weakness in th is d i rection i s

character i st i cal ly pou rtrayed by Bu rn s in hi s poem

Hal lowe ’en.”

Some me rry, friendly, coun tra fo lksToge the r did conve ne

,

To burn the ir n its ,’

an pou the ir stocks ,A n

’‘

haud the ir Ha l lowe’

en.

I t was then that the matrimon ia l horoscope was scanned.While some vi l lage mai d trembl ingly performed w i th inthe humble cot the incantat ion wh ich was to afford he r a

s ight of he r futu re lord , the l ess t im id nymph proceeded

at midn igh t to some secluded spot on the same e rrand ,bu t sometimes , in place of her futu re spouse , saw the

w i tches , dev i ls , and othe r uncanny th ings that we repopularly supposed to be abroad on Ha l lowe ’en. Nutbu rn ing was perhaps the most popu lar charm. Each lad

and lass had a parti cu lar nu t ass igned them,and they

w e re thrown on the fi re in pa i rs. I f they bu rn t qu i e tlytogethe r , i t was a favou rable augury but i f they jumped

o r started from each o ther , so the i ssue of the cou rtship

would be The cus tom is described by Gay in hi s

Pastora lTwo haze l nuts I throw in to the flame ,A nd to ea ch nut I g ive a swe e thea rt ’s name.

The custom of sow ing hemp seed was common fifty years

ago ,but i t i s bel i eved that i t is not often p ract i sed by the

fa i r sex now ,who are perhaps l ess dar ing than the i r

grandmoth ers , who ,as everybody knows

,used to steal

out at midn ight , unperce ived , and sow a handfu l of hempseed on a mound in some graveyard , harrow ing i t w i th a

rake. As the p rocess proceeded the lady who w ished to

s ee he r love r repeated the wo rds — “ Hemp seed,I sow

t hee , hemp seed , I sow thee , and h im that is to be my truelove come and mow thee.” At the last cal l the person

invoked usual ly put in an appearance—so our grandmothe rs say. The fa i th that used to be pu t in the charm

of hemp seed cannot be better i l lus trated than by the rec ital

FESTIVALS. 239

of an even t that happened to the w r i te r ’s mothe r,abou t

the year 1820 , when she was in he r teens. With two

othe r gi rl s of he r own age she w en t to Eggles ton Chu rchyard on a hemp -sow ing expedi t ion. Afte r all the

p re l im inar i e s had been“

re l igious ly perfo rmed , and wh i l ethe tr io w e re s tanding in t rembl ing expectat ion of

beho l ding the i r future husbands,a w hi te Obj ect

,c rown ed

with a ta l l b lack hat,sudden ly s tepped from beh in d a

tombs tone. Gradua l ly the figu re grew tal l e r and tal l e r,

unt i l at las t i t was about tw elve fee t h igh. The gi rl s

v i ew ed the spectre wh i ch thei r incan tat ion had evoked inspeech less te rror , wh ich was increased as the fearfu l th ing

,

resembl ing a huge inflated bo l s te r,moved towards them .

They sought safety in fl ight,but our mate rna l ancesto r

was las t in the ret reat , and she was so te rribly frightened

that she fa inted. The shri eks of her compan ions brough t

ass istance , and when the vi l lagers hu rr i ed to the place

they found the curate endeavou ring to b r ing he r to

consc iou sness. Having heard Of the p roposed expedi t ion ,

th e curate w ent the re befo rehand. W rapping a sheet ove r

h im,and attach ing ano the r to a long st ick , and topped in

the mann e r a l ready descr i bed,he awa i ted the i r arr i val

,

and at the p rope r time elevated one shee t above anothe r

by means of the st i ck.

Thomas Mo rton had for schoo l fel low Guy Fawkes.Both we re educated at the free schoo l j us t ou ts ide th e

c i ty of Yo rk. O ne became Bishop of Du rham , and th e

o the r a noto rious conspi ra to r , in w hose memo ry mo re

powde r has been exploded and bonfi res blazed than tha t

of any othe r man. Gunpow de r Plo t was in the ca l endar

of Thanksgiv ing Days for mo re than 200 years afte r the

attempt to blow up the Engl i sh Pa rl iamen t , and the bel ls

of our pa r is h chu rches used to be se t a- r inging a t an ea rlyhou r to remind the people o f the fact. This is a lmos t the

on ly carn iva l now l eft to boys. The 3o th of January , the

29th of May, and the 5 th of November w e re h igh days and

ho l i days hal f a centu ry ago ; bu t th e Marty rdom of K ing

C ha rl e s has a l l bu t d isappeared from the ca l endar, and

youth da re no longe r lock the schoo lmaste r out of his

doma in on Roya l O ak Day. Customs change as Time


rol ls h i s ceasel ess course along, and hence i t i s that in the

city of Durham , th i rty years ago ,the Dean and Chap te r

encou raged what the c iv i c au thor i t ie s the re and e l sewhe renow regard as an offence aga ins t the law. In the old

ep iscopal days the lads of the c i ty assembled in the

Col l ege Square , where the Chapte r caused tw en ty sh i l l ings

in copper to be scrambled for. This was cal led push

money ,”and the custom preva i l ed un ti l about a quarte r of

a centu ry ago ,when i t was d iscont inued , ow ing , p robably ,

ei the r to the curtai l ed revenues of the Chapter , or the

inab i l i ty of the then canons to stand fire.

Nobody has eve r been w i se enough to unrave l the mysterythat ensh rouds the o rigin o f the foo le ri es connected w i th

the F i rs t of Ap r i l.

The firs t of Apri l , some do say,Is se t apart for Al l-Foo ls ’

DayB ut why the pe op le ca l l it so ,

Nor I , nor they themse lve s d o know.

The custom of making foo ls is anc ient and almost

un iversa l , and the season i tsel f affo rds many a l l ego r i calc i rcumstances to wa rrant the arch and fro l i csome in

playing the i r dece i tfu l pranks on the unsuspecting. I t

has been sa i d that Apri l is to March what a smi le is

to a ste rn coun tenance , a mere relaxat ion of sever i ty , a

compl imen t without warmth or stabi l i ty the smi l e,in fact

,

which causes the regretfu l tears to fa l l w i th greate rb itte rness and fu lness. Withered blossoms , the frost

n i pped flowe r , and b lighted hopes are Often the

concomitants of the season ushered in on A l l-Foo ls ’ Day.

The first of Apri l is assoc iated w i th jokes and hoaxes.A l though the

'

s i l ly habi t of making foo l s has ex13 ted for

ages , i t is ce rta in that the number o f gowks and

s impl etons does not grow l ess.

XVhe n Apri l morn he r fol ly ’

s throne exa l ts ,B ob ca l ls to Ne l l , and laughs be cause she ha ltsWh i le Ne l l me e ts Tom a nd says his la ce is loose ,Then laughs in turn ,

and ca l ls poor Thomas goose.

O ne of the best p i eces of Apri l fool e ry was the tr i ck of

Rabela is , who ,being at Marse i l le s w i thou t money

, and

desirious of go ing to Paris , fi l l ed some via l s w i th bri ckdus t

or ashes , label l ed them as con ta in ing po ison for the Royal

C H A P T E R X X X I I .

C O N S E T T .

Bird ’s-eye V iew of the D istri ct —Scene ry from the Park.—Progressof Conse tt.—EarlyWa te r Supp ly.

HERE i s a robustness abou t the Con sett peop le which isvery marked. The word “ fa i lure ” i s not in the i r voca

bu lary. They obta in whateve r they seek. The i r motto

ought to be , A bsque labor m’

kz’

l (w i thou t labou r noth ing).Un t i l recen t years the Consett d istr i ct was a term z

’

ncogm’

z‘

a

to most people , and the re are thousands s t i l l who know i t

on ly by repu te. Like M iddlesbrough , its growth has beenrap id

,but

,un l ike many large indus tr ial cen t res

,its p ros

p e rity has been las t ing. Fifty years ago i t was a bleakh i l l-s ide. The View from its Park is one of surpassinggrandeu r and lovel iness. What was once a ll ugl iness

and barrenness has been , by the expendi ture Of muchmoney , transformed in to a scene o f fe rt i l e beauty.Those who have been absen t from the place w i l l look

in va in for the famous Blue Moun tains ”of Berry

Edge. The heaps of scoria , the unsightly depos i ts fromthe town

, the rema ins of the Old Tin M i l l Pit,

al l

have disappeared , and in the i r place are serpen t ine

wal ks and a w eal th Of shrubs and flow ers. The Parkfaces the Derwent Va l e , at an a l t i tude of more than850 ft. above the leve l of the sea

, and commands a

fine and extens ive v i ew of the su rrounding coun try.Below i t , and shel te red by i ts overhanging ridge of hills ,l i es the flou ri sh ing town of B lackhill

, where not a housebu t one , that at B lackfine

,existed half a centu ry ago.

Immediately Oppos i te , and r is ing w i th a gradua l ascen t ,are the No rthumbe rland hi l ls , graced here and the re w i tha var i ety Of woodland. In the far distan t north

, w i th

t he i r summits seemingly sa l u t ing the sky,are the Chev iots

CONSETT. 243

wh i l e westward , as far as th e eye can reach,the landscape

i s bounded by w i l d and rugged heather-clad h i l ls , from

which the pu re mounta in air is wafted as a deodor ize r tothe fumes from the gigan ti c Consett I ron Works. Beneaththi s chain of moun ta ins the eye d i scove rs the r i ve r Derwen tw inding i ts way th rough deep enchant ing val l eys , whos e

s lopes are deco rated w ith hanging woods and sca tte redenclosu res. I t i s imposs i bl e , indeed , to conce ive anyth inggrander in natu re than thi s d ive rs ified v i ew of th e De rw en tas seen from the new park. I t was from th is p romon torythat Mr. Lax w rote his Lines to the De rw en t

,

”whence

Knol l , wood land , glen ,and fie ld

In mingle d beauty bla ze.

Leadgate l i es on the othe r S i de of the town,overlooking

the Lancheste r va l l ey , in whose bosom reposes the vi l lage

of that name , w i th the square tow e r of its once co l l egiatechu rch standing out bo ld ly as a reminder Of its forme rgreatness ; wh i lst fu rther down the val e

,pee ring

,as i t

w e re,from an abyss , is the mass ive and w eather-beaten

cen tra l towe r of th e grand old cathedra l chu rch of S t.Cu thbert. Such IS a b i rd ’s -eye vi ew of a group of remark

able places —remarkable al i ke in grow th and prosperi ty.

What a wonderfu l change the re is between the appeaf

ance Of the Con sett of th e p resen t and the Consett

of twen ty years ago!A l though pretty familiar w i th theLan cheste r val l ey in his young days , the w r i te r n ever saw

Con sett t i l l th e early spring o f 187 1 , and his fi rs timpress ion s w e re no doubt the impress ions Of many o the rs

who for the fi rs t t ime scann ed the su rroundings in thejourn ey from the railway station to the top Of the h i l l.The ground now la i d ou t in to s t reets above the station w as

th en an Open space,a sort Of a huge clay-ho l e and d epOt

for Odds and ends , ove r wh ich the eye ranged at pl easure

as th e travel le r p i cked his way across i t. O n th e right ,w he re the Royal Hote l now rears its head , was an o ld

tumb le-down bu i ld ing known as Trege lles’

s Foundry ; and

a hund red yards or 3 0 fu rthe r up , a cau seway led ac ross a

t ramway , wh i ch , paradoxical as i t may appear , conn ected

a p i t above w i th an i ronworks below. This old Tin M i l l

Pi t at the s ide of the h i l l , su rrounded by immense heaps

o f scor ia ,resembl ing huge gian ts or sph inxes ready to


topple over , was a qua in t,ri cketty- looking place , but it

was not more so than the causeway or bri dge , whose

footway con s isted of t ransvers e p i eces of wood , whichw ere constantly

,l i ke the hand- rai l ings

,gett ing out of

place. NO soone r had the travel le r run the gaun tl e t Of

these trap-ho l e s than he had to sk ip over an Open sewe r or

gutte r. In wet weathe r th is was not an easy matte r , andw e fear that before the road became navigabl e many a

Con se ttonian ,w i th sa i ls fu l l se t

,ran aground in that

parti cu lar spot , and lay the re t i l l dayl ight enabled him to

s teer a correct cou rse.

The town of Conse tt i tse lf was then supposed to havemade rap id s tr ides arch i tectu ra l ly and san i ta r i ly

,but in

these respects the progress was relat ive on ly , and thecompa r ison was between i tsel f and its ne ighbou r Leadgate

,

and n e i the r was very good- looking , or p resen ted manyoutward attraction s. The on ly decen t- looking shops inM i ddle S t ree t w ere those belonging to M r. Ayns l ey and

M r. Shaw. The o the rs w e re mostly low co ttages,with

shop w indow s inserted,and i t was on the s i tes of these

t hat the p resen t commodious bus iness p remises in M i ddleS treet we re reared.

A l though Consett is now san i tar i ly far ahead Of mostplaces , and its peopl e are more v igo rous and many of

them in tel l ectual ly superior to the inhabi tan ts Of towns

possess ing greate r educationa l faci l i t i es , we fea r that i tmust have been a very dark Spot indeed fifty years ago

and al l the mo re honou r is the refo re d ue to those who,in

many instances by the sac rifice o f t ime and money,have

con tributed to its late r grow th and prosperi ty. O n e who

can remember Consett close on fifty yea rs ago ,M r.John

Calvert (who s t i l l lives to wa tch over, w i th fatherly

tenderness and pride , the fo rtunes of the town whosep rogress he has helped so largely to develop), has

given us a descr i ption of the place as he found i tin 1844. M r. Calve rt was th en l iv ing at Shotl eyB r idge , and in pass ing the H ighgate publ i c-house on

h is way to B lackhill be w i tnessed a s igh t which was

not uncommon in those days. “ In the lower roomsOf the publ ic-house ,

” he w ri tes , there was not a

table or chai r but had i ts l egs b roken Ofl'

, and these a


en l ightened pol i ce system , p rope r ty i s now almos t as safeby n ight as i t i s by day.

The mind cannot dwel l on th e past w i thou t recal l ingthe forms of those who we re once our fri ends

,and the

reco l l ection of the inc idents of whose l ives creates w i th inus a var i ety of emot ions. I t i s j us t a l i ttl e ove r a sco re ofyears s ince Jonathan R i chardson

,the founde r of Consett

,

d ied , and s ince then many wel l-known figures have passedaway , among the mos t no table be ing his son-in-law ,

J onathan Priestman,the Olde r gene rat ion Of Annandal es ,

the D ick insons , and David Ba l l eny. We a lso miss qu i e t,

unassuming Annandal e Town,w i th whom we spen t many

a happy d ay on the Derwen t above A l lansford. Theportly figu re of Fathe r Smith is no longer seen pass ing to

and fro ,and the v i l lage pond at Ives ton no longer troubles

the m ind of Canon Kearney. Both Edward Charl ton and

his successor , Will iam Brown,have crossed th e ra i lway of

l i fe for the las t t ime,and a l though the reco l l ection of

others that have made the same journey is al ready fadingfrom memo ry , that Of John Gledstone is kept green by thefoun ta in w h ich perpetuates i t. Bluff John Mu r ray and

dappe r l i ttl e John S eymou r have also gon e the way of al l

flesh,and kind-hearted Wil liam Shel l and gen ial Robert

H edley , Joseph Armst rong , l i ttl e Robert Jackson theundertaker

,

“ Dr.” Rou tledge , Geo rge B rown,T. S.

Atkinson ,and Geo rge Co l l inson (the latte r , alas , cu t O ff in

the flowe r o f manhood), have a lso c racked the i r las t joketogethe r in M iddle S treet. No r w i l l Robert Telfo rd and

J ohn E l l iott d iscou rse aga in on the grave r subj ects of thep r i ce of beef and the keeping of the Loca l Board accoun tsand as for natty l i ttl e Thomas Rawes he has blown thelas t blas t on his hun t ing horn , and the buzze r is now theon ly sound wh ich rouses the peopl e of Fron t S t reet fromthei r s l umbers at six o

’clock in the morn ing. Anothe r thanGeorge Hawdon s tartles the househol de rs w i th a doubleknock and a demand for rates ; brave , but m isgu i ded ,Harry B rown and suave John J enkins have rece ived thei rlast b id ; David Imri e no longe r amuses w i th his pawkyhumou r ; whi l e loquac ious , argumentative John Ta i t andsubtl e Jonathan C.Wyl ie have had the i r last disputat ion.These are but a few of the men who we re best known in

CONSETT. 247

Consett twen ty years ago , and seve ral of whom wereamong i t s p ionee rs.

The growth of the Consett dist r i ct has been in eve ryway remarkable. In 1837 , the on ly habi tat ion s in th e

immed iate n e ighbou rhood of Con sett we re Delves House,

Carr House , Barr House , a coupl e of thatched cottages inw hat is now known as Sherbu rn Te rrace

,and one or two

othe r dw el l ings Of a S im i lar characte r. Three years late r

the i ron works w e re started,and s ince then handsome

streets and bu i l d ings have sp rung up all around,and what

was on ce a bleak h i l l top , where the rabb i t bu rrowed inpeace

,and the shri l l c ry of the cu rl ew alone broke the

S i l ence,is now a large and flou r i sh ing cen tre. I t is no

figu re of speech to say that the peopl e l iving in the Consettd ist ri ct can accompl ish anyth ing. They can do everyth ingexcept pay mon ey when they haven

’t got i t. In few places

are the re so many thri fty wo rking m en own ing houses.When a par ish chu rch was needed , the wo rd was passedround that one had to be bu i l t , and was imme diatelysubscri bed. The Prim i t ive M ethod ists sa i d , l e t us have aChapel and Sunday S chool , and came out of thepockets of the work ing men before the name of th e pro

ve rbial John Rob inson cou ld be u tte red. The Wes l eyan sra i s ed far mo re money for the same pu rpose w i th as much

a lacri ty ; and in 1893 , finding the Old one too smal l,th ey

Spen t n early in bu i lding a new Chape l. So w ith

the rest of the re l igious denominat ions ; I t i s no secretthat some of the commiss ioned officers in Gen e ra l Boo th ’s

a rmy compla in of the insufliciency of the rations se rved

ou t to them in many places whe re the Sal va t ion tents are

pi tched,bu t at Conset t no Len ten provende r i s p rov i ded.

In the matte r of e lemen tary educat ion , Consett is far ahead

of mos t places. The Roman Catho l i cs , w i thout ask ing

for a S ingle S ixpence ou t of the par i sh , bu i lt a magn ificentschoo l w i th the con tr ibu t ions of the work ing men ; the

Wesleyans bu i l t anothe r and when an attempt was made

to in troduce Board Schoo ls the work ing men sa i d w e ’l l

have none Of them ,and stra ightway put the i r hands in

the i r pockets , and , w i th the ass i s tance of Mr. ThomasSpence r , of Ryton ,

en larged the exi st ing Nat iona l Schoo ls

at a tota l cos t of


The way in w hi ch the early res iden ts Of Consettove rcame d iflicu lties wou l d have won the admi ration of

Napo l eon himse lf,who thought the re was noth ing

imposs ibl e un ti l h e found that he cou ld not beat

Wel l ington on the pla ins ofWate rloo. Thei r endeavou rs

to Obta in a supp ly of wate r may be c i ted as an instance,and

the reco rd Of the i r s truggles in th i s d i rection deserves to

find a place in the pages of h isto ry , s ince the i r efforts,and

the pe rsona l sacrifices then made , have far exceeded the

l im its of the i r scheme.and benefited a much w ide r area

than that o riginal ly mapped ou t,the pen t-up r ivul ets

and s treams on the heathe r-clad h i l ls above Consett now

supplying a pr inc ipa l necessary o f l i fe,as we l l as a great

san i tary agen t , to the cap ital Of Du rham itse lf, and othe rplaces even farthe r away. Before the year 1860 , the wate r

was co l l ected at the n e ighbou r ing springs in carts , and l edfrom door to door. Two of the p ioneers of Consett werethe late M r. John Gledstone , and the presen t

’

M r. John

Ca l ve rt , to w hose unweari ed zea l and dis in te rested efforts

the peopl e are indebted for the presen t wate r supply.

Both of these gen tl emen kept a d iary , in wh ich they jotteddown from time to t ime the i r hopes and fears. Some of

the ent ri es w i l l p rovoke a smile. Thus M r. Gledstonesays “ The demand for wate r is so keen that numbe rsof women race a quarte r of a mil e to be fi rs t at the cart ,and ,

of cou rse , many of them retu rn w i th empty cans.Afte r working hard a ll day the m en have to wait fo r suppe r ,t i l l at las t the necessary wate r is bo rrowed of a neighbou rwho is able to spare i t. Cattl e have access to one dam ,

and bes ides be ing contaminated by them , the ca rtman hassevera l t imes bathed in i t before fi l l ing his ca rt.” M r.Ca lvert ’s diary shows wha t may be accomplished byoppos ing to al l obstacles an indomitable w i l l and res istlessenergy. “ There is no wate r

,

” he w ri tes ,“ except what

i s d rawn from the Old p i t shaft. The women are there bythree and fou r O ’clock in the mo rn ing. There is many a

fight among them. The cartm en get wate r ou t of a dub

in Kn i ts l ey Bu rn whi l e the lads a re bath ing in i t. Wate r

i s pumped from Boggle Ho l e in to a pond,wh i ch i s a

receptacl e for dead dogs and cats ; bu t the peopl e have nocho i ce. Th ree or fou r in a family hav e to wash in one

C H A P T E R X X X I I I .

CHARMS , DREAMS , OMENS , AND CURES.

A Charm aga inst Fits.—A Cure for Wa rts.—Anothe r for N ightmare.—Fe tch ing a Swe e theart.—Prognos t i ca t ions.—Hea l ingMedic ine sand Savoury Drinks.—Cure for a Woman ’

s Tongue.

E are apt to laugh and scoff at what we cal l thesupe rst i t ion of the common peopl e , bu t the medi cal

rec ipes which M r.Weddel l publ i shed in I 89 II show that

men of deep l earn ing and acute obse rva t ion w e re imbuedwith it. The prescriptions men tioned in M r. Weddel l ’smanuscr i p t book a re nauseou s enough

,but nau seous

medicines have ever been deemed the most e ffi cac ious , onthe assumption

,probably , that as eve ryth ing medic ina l is

nauseou s,eve ryth ing that is nauseous must be med ic inal.

S i r Theodo re Mayence,who was phys i c ian to th ree Engl ish

sovereigns, and who is supposed to have been Shakespeare

’sD r.Ca i u s

,frequen tly p rescribed the most d isgust ing and

absu rd medic ines , such as the heart of a mule r ipped upal ive , a port ion of the lungs of a man who had died a

v io l en t death, or the hand of a th ief who had been gibbeted

on some parti cu lar day. To this day a s tone w i th a hol ein i t may be found suspended at the head of the bed

,in

the bel i ef that th is preven ts n ightmare. At Alansford,on

the Derwen t , may st i l l be seen an amu l e t wh ich was

supposed to preven t w i tches taking horses out Of thestable and r id ing them dur ing the n igh t. In 1858 , a poorwoman ,

the w ife of a p i tman,was taken before the

Du rham magistrates on the charge of s teal ing a fow l.She made no attempt to deny the fact , but sa i d that shehad committed the theft for the pu rpose of work ing out a

charm wh ich was to resto re her s i ck ch i l d to l ife. Thech i ld

,it appeared

,had been long a i l ing ,

and was p in ing

I Arcana Fairfaxiana , or Y e Apothecarie , by George Wedde l l ,pub l ished by Mawson , Swan , and Morgan , Newcast le.

CHARMS , DREAMS , OMENS , AND CURES. 25 1

away when the mothe r consu l te d a loca l oracle. The latte r

so l emnly charged the mothe r to s teal a hen ,take out the

heart , s ti ck i t ful l Of p in s,and roas t i t at midn igh t ove r a

s low fi re , fi rs t clos ing up eve ry commun i cat ion w i th theoute r air. 1 The woman di d as she was to l d

,bel i eving that

heal th would retu rn to the suffe r ing ch i ld as the fi re

gradual ly consumed the fow l ’s heart. And more recen tly

s t i l l , in the same coun ty , one domes ti c was aston i shed to

find in the box of a fel low-se rvant a tal low candle s tuck

th rough and through w i th pins. “What ’s that , Mary ,asked Betsy

,that aw seed i ’ thy box P” Oh

,repl i ed

Mary ,“ i t ’s to bring my sweetheart. Thou sees

,some

t imes he ’s s law a-comin,and i f aw s t i ck a candle-end ful l

0’ p ins , i t a lways fetches h im.”

Bu t the re was a class Of pati ents who had moreconfidence in d ream s and p rognost i cations than in thep resc r i p tions of th e docto r or apothecary. I f a man -Chi ld

was born on a Sunday i t was bel i eved that he wou l dl ive w i thou t anxiety and be handsome. I f born on a

Monday he was ce rta in to be ki l led. Those born on a

Tuesday grew up s infu l and perverse , w hil e those born on

a Wednesday w e re wasp ish in tempe r. A ch i ld bo rn on

Thu rsday , how eve r , was sure to be of a peacefu l and easyd ispos i t ion

,though averse to women. Friday was

supposed to be the mos t un l u cky day of al l, i t be ing

p rophes ied that a ch i ld born on th is day wou ld grow up tobe S i l ly

,crafty , a th ief, and a coward , and that he wou l d

not l ive longe r than mid-age. I f bo rn on a Satu rday , hisdeeds wou ld be renowned : he wou l d l i ve to be an

a l de rman ,many th ings wou ld happen to h im

,and he

w ou l d l ive long.“ What are vou gathe ring P” we asked a Durhammin e r whom w e met in the woods. “ A few yearbs ,

”

was the reply. What are yea'

rbs P” inqu i red a you thfu l

compan ion at ou r s ide. We expla ined that the old

gen tl eman was co l l ect ing herbs for medicina l pu rposes ,j ust as , p robably , the inhabi tants of the county di dbefore the Norman Conquest , when they no doubt used

the same word to desc r ibe the Saxon he rbar i um ,its sound

be ing pu re ly Saxon. The man was a s tuden t of nature,

and his know l edge of the p ropert i es and Vi rtues Of the


p lan ts put our own ignorance Of them to the bl ush. Bu tthe re was another th ing about h im whi ch s ti l l fu rthe rassoc iated h im in the m ind ’s eye w ith Saxon t imes , andi l lustrated the h istory of medic ine a t that rude pe r iod.

H e suffe red from a sp ra ined arm,and wore a brown pap e r

charm on i t. This may appear ve ry heathen i s h in thep resen t en l ightened age , but the p ract ice is by no means

uncommon in both Northumberland and Du rham. We

u sed to know an Old lady at Consett who made a

respectable l iv ing by te l l ing fo rtunes to young gi rls,

and sel l ing charms to those of mature r years. Anothe r

old dame , a repu ted w i tch , l i ved’

near Edmondbyers , and

i t was ce rta in ly amus ing to see th e coun try peoplegr i pp ing the thumb in the pa lm of the hand as theypassed he r cottage by the road s i de

,in th e fi rm bel i ef

that th is was a safeguard aga in st the supposed bad

influence of the poo r O ld lady ’s eye. Herbs gene ral ly

affo rded the Saxons their mate r ials fo r hea l ing all bodi lyinfirmitie s.

NO doubt the Old apo'

theca r i es managed to extract a fa i r

share Of hea l ing med ic ines and savou ry drinks from roots

and he rbs , th e rec ipes fo r which had been handed down to

them from Saxon t imes. O n th e pr inc ipl e that l i ke cu resl i ke

,that for the headache used to be bu rn ing a dog ’s

head to ashes ,and applying the latte r to the human

cranium.I Short-s igh ted people ate l i ttl e meat

,combed

the i r heads , and drank wormwood. A thousand years

ago ,i t was be l i eved tha t a wo rm caused toothache

,and

the impress ion s t i l l l ingers. The Saxons ca l l e d i t tooth

wa rk ,”and i t is s t i l l so denominated. This is how i t was

cu red Take an o ld ho l ly l eaf and one of the lower

umbels of ha rtwort,and the upward part of sage , bo i l two

dol es (tha t is , two of wo rts to one of wate r)in wate r ,pou r in to a bow l , and yawn ove r i t

,then the wo rms shal l

fa l l in to the bow l.” When a man ’

s nose began to bleed ,somebody pushed a who l e ear of barl ey in to his ear

unawares. The Sharn of an old sw ine,wa rmed and la i d

on th ickly , was an infa l l i ble cu re for pa in in the s i de.Thigh ache , wh ich wou l d correspond to our mode rn

1 Le e chdoms , Wortcunning , and Starcraft, by the Rev.Oswa ldCockayne , M.A.


The Saxons w e re far ahead of M. Pasteu r in the matte r ofcu ring dog bi tes. A l l they d id was to place a hand on theb i tten man ’

s bel ly , and say th’

r i ce n ine t imes, S tolpus

tumbled out Of heaven.” Thos e who are habi tual ly

attacked w i th spasms or bel lyache may avo i d furthe r

suffe r ing by taking care to put the i r l eft shoe on first.Gouty subjects are recommended , befo re getting out of

bed in the morn ing , to sp i t on the i r hands , rub all the i rs inews

,and say,

Flee,gout

,flee.” B u t somet imes fai th

p roduced a Vi s ib l e and usefu l effect among our Saxon

ances to rs. A woman who had bad eyes Obta ined an

amu l e t to,cu re them. Hopefu l of the efficacy , she

refrained from shedding tears , and he r eyes recove red.But some zealous enemy of so rce ries attacked her uponthe w i ckedness of gett ing wel l in th is way,

and preva i l ed

on he r to give h im the amu l e t to examin e. When unfo l ded,

the paper show ed noth ing but these words,

“ May thedev i l scratch th in e eyes ou t. As soon as the woman saw

how she had been cu red , she lost fa i th , took to tearsagain

,and he r eyes became as bad as eve r.

I t is genera l ly believed that the re is no rel i ef from a

woman ’

s tongue. A couple Of hundred yea rs ago ,the

sco l ds and te rmagan ts Of Newcast l e w e re pun ished w i ththe branks

,an i ron b ridl e w i th a b i t to res t on th e tongue.

This instrumen t is no longer used , though the vice whichi t was des igned to cu re s t i l l exis ts. Anothe r pun ishmentinfl i cted upon the ladies for diffus ing know l edge too freelywas the duck ing-stoo l. I t was of greate r an tiqu i ty thanthe branks

,and o rdinari ly cons isted of a post se t up in

the n earest pond. Upon it was placed a t ransverse beam ,

tu rn ing on a sw i vel , w i th a cha in at one end Of i t. In

this the sco l d was placed , and the end tu rned to the pond

and l e t down in to the wate r. The scol d ing women of

No rthumberland and Du rham were in the fou rteen thcen tu ry pun ished by the Cons isto ry and Halmote Cou rts.The Old apothecari es of Newcastl e cu red many th ings w i ththe i r roots and herbs

,but they cou l d never restra in a

woman ’

s tongue. How eve r,they did

,or attempted to

do ,the next bes t th ing

, and that was to counteract itsvenom. The rec ipe was ve ry s impl e Late at n igh t

eat a root of radish. A woman ’s chatte r canno t harm thee

CHARMS , DREAMS , OMENS , AND CURES. 255

the fo l lowing day. I t seems that women occas ional lysudden ly became dumb in those days. The re are manymen who w i sh that the i r spou ses we re s im i larly affectednow. When the fit came on

,a b i t of pennyroyal was

rubbed to dust. This was w rapped up in woo l , and la i d

unde r the s i l ent woman , who immediate ly recove red the

u se of he r tongue.

C H A P T E R X X X I V

NATURAL H I STORY.

Hab its of the Cuckoo.—Ra ts.—Cur ious Not i ce to Qu it.—Rura lDe l ights —The Sandp ipe r. -De struct ion Of Hawks.—B e e s.

The schoo lboy wand’

ring by the Wea r,TO pu l l the flowe rs so gay.

Sta r ts thy curious vo i ce to hea r ,A nd im ita te s thy lay.

THE cuckoo ’

s note is the vo i ce of sp r ing among the trees.I t tel ls of l engthened d ays , of coming blooms , and is

the symphony of many a song.I Pe rhaps no bi rd has so

much occupied the atten tion both of natu ra l is ts and of

those who are not natura l ists , o r has had so much w r i ttenabout i t as the cuckoo. Its c ry is confined to the mal esex and to the seasons o f love. The cock comes fi rst ,being fo l lowed in a few days by the hen. Amato rycontests betw een keen and loud-vo i ced su i to rs are to befrequently noticed , un t i l the respective p retens ion s of th er iva ls are decided. AS the season advances the song isl ess frequen tly heard ,

and by the end of Ju ly an Old cuckoois se ldom to be found , though a s tray exampl e may

occas ional ly be seen fo r a mon th longer.

Comparati vely few peopl e have had any experi ence of

its breed ing. Yet the re are those who know that di l igentsearch fo r the nes ts of our common littl e b i rds , especia l lythe t i tlark and the hedge-spa rrow

,is frequent ly rewarded

by the discove ry of the egg of the myste rious s tranger

which has been su rrept i tious ly in troduced there in ; and,

wa i t ing til l th is egg is hatched , they may be w i tnesses of

the mu rd e rous ev i ct ion of the r ightfu l tenan ts of the nes t bythe in truder , who , ho ist ing them one afte r anothe r on his

b road back , heaves them over to d ie neglected by thei r

1 In 189 1 the cuckoo wa s firs t heard in Durham on Saturday,Apri l

25 th, wh i ch was about ten days la te r than usua l.


be expected when the i r horned cattl e hol d up the i r heads

and sn iff the air , or l i ck the i r bodies aga inst the ha i r , butthey may not be aware that it i s a porten t of ra in whenfleas b ite.

Rats are not n i ce things. They are hunted all the world

over by fe rrets , cats , and dogs , and i t i s even sa id that agood , b ig lus ty trou t w i l l sometimes make a b i te at them.I t was sai d Of the paupe r boy in

“ O l i ve r Tw i s t,

” Hit h imhard , he a in

’t a ’

got no fr i ends ,”and so i t is w i th the rat.

Man is perhaps h i s most remorseless enemy. Y e t hefol low s h im and h is commissar iat whereve r he goes. I fh e sets up a farmstead

,one kind w i l l take possess ion of

his s tacks , wh i l e if he bu i lds a sh ip and goes on a voyage

anothe r w i l l accompany h im. We have heard i t sa i d that

as many as 500 Of the verm in have been ki l l ed at a t ime ina Ship n ew ly arri ved from I ndia. And i t is s tated thatwhen two diffe ren t breeds happen to be on board , one

confines i tself to the stem , and the other to the ste rn Of thevessel— thus show ing that they are as j ealous of soc iald istinct ions as thei r fel low-passengers fo re and aft. Frompractical experi ence , w e shou l d imagine that a rat w i l l eatanything—from a decayed donkey to a p iece Of parchmen t.We once unconscious ly harbou red a co lony of the l i ttl eb ru tes in a room wherein was s tored a lo t of Ol d deeds and

other w ri t ings. The larde r down below mus t haveaffo rded them very l i ttl e , we fea r

,for they not on ly

d evou red the deeds but a lso mos t of thei r wax seals.On ly those who have had rats abou t the i r houses and

farmsteads know how rap idly they sp read. Thi rty-five

years ago w e remember go ing from schoo l to a farm nearPi ttington H allgarth, in Du rham ,

to see a cartload of them.They had taken possess ion Of the farmer ’s co rn - r i cks

,

wh ich w ere so honeycombed that one Of them fel l in whena man got on top of i t to supply the thresh ing mach ine.A regu lar battue fo l lowed , the sla in fi l l ing a cart

, as we

have sa id. How to get rid Of rats is a problem that hasoften puzzled the B ri tish farmer. I t was to th e blackspecies that the king ’s rat-catche r , w i th his scarl e t d ressembro i dered w i th yel low worsted

, on wh ich were figures

NATURAL HISTORY. 259

of rats destroying wheat sheaves , owed his Office in forme r

t imes. Var ious means have been used for gett ing r i d of

them. In a place infested wi th them,one was caugh t and

c lothed in s carl e t , and then al lowed to rejo in h is b reth ren.H i s appearance i s sai d to have fi l l ed the frate rn i ty wi thsu ch te rro r that they sough t fresh quarte rs instan te r.Tying a t iny bel l to th e n eck of anothe r rat l e d to an

equal ly successfu l rou t. In No rthumberland,las t cen tu ry

,

th e farmers had a qua in t method of gett ing rid of th em.

This cons is ted of a w r i tten not i ce to qu i t,bu t the

in t imat ion to cl ear ou t had the advantage o f be ing

accompan i ed w i th a b i l l et for fresh lodgings, wh ich mus t

have been pl eas ing to th e rats , though i t wou l d hardlybe viewed in that l igh t by those on whom they w e re to be

new ly quartered. Mr. Dand , of Hauxley Cottage,has

favou red us w i th a s ight o f one of those s trange bi l lets.I t is t ru ly a rel i c Of the superst i t ion of our ancesto rs— and

that,too ,

at no remote pe riod. I t is w r i tten on a sheet of

quarto paper , and is endo rsed ,“ To al l th e Rat ts in th e

house , Barns , B iers , s tabls and Ou thou ses belongingRobe rt M i l bu rn of U lgham.” The fo l low ing is an exac t

copy of th i s cur ious documen t

A B ILLET FOR RATTS.

Th is is to D ischarge you a l l , in the Name of Tibra ct,Prince

of Catts , to begon from th is Pla ce , a s you a re bad Ne ighbours ,a nd D isturbe rs of our pea ce ; but you must go and Lodge w ithWi l l iam Tw e e dy a t U lgham Pa rk , wh i ch a re no t above a mileto the Nor we st from th is p la ce. Tha re you w i l l have goodqua rte rs , and Plen ty of Food S O adne , bad Ne ighbours , adue.

T here is a pos tscrip t to th i s bi l l e t wh ich is not l ess

c u r ious

B e shour you Lay th is B i l le t whea re the Rafts Re sorts. Afte r itis sea le d up it is not to be look

’

d on by no pe rson , as they may l ike lytake d [take it!from the pla ce you lay it in. Th is has be en we l l trieda t S indry [sundry!p la ce s.Many stori es are to l d of rats , and another deserves to be

a dded to the l i te ratu re on the subj ect. The facts are so

c u rious and in te rest ing that i t is deemed w ise to authen

t icate them by giv ing the name of the gen tl eman unde r

whose Obse rvat ion they came. O ne even ing,Mr. J. F.

Bel l,Of Northend , Durham ,

who has been a s tudent of

natu re S in ce h i s boyhood , and i s w el l ve rsed in field and

natu ra l h istory lore , was s itt ing by the s ide of the r i ve r


B rowney,near the large poo l below Witton Gilbe rt S tat ion ,

when he heard the c ry Of a rat unde r the embankmentimmediately oppos i te. I t was one of th e black Speci es ,w hich , as i s wel l known , sometimes take the wate r as

freely as the b rown ones. Presently the old rat was

jo ined by a young one. This i t tr i e d to gen tly push in tothe wate r

,but the intentions Of the paren t we re frustrated

by the youngster always scampering Off. At l ength she

got a p iece of flat wood , which by means of he r teeth sheplaced on the wate r qu i te close to .th e edge. He r inten tionwas soon made eviden t. With he r head she endeavou redto push the young rat on to i t

,and eventual ly , her

coaxings be ing unava i l ing,she seized i t by theback of the

neck,and placed i t on the raft. This she then pushed off

,

and w ith one end in he r mouth she steered the t iny bark

across the beck , right under the spot where M r.Bel l was

seated.

Wha t promise in the ve rdan t p la ins , wha t hope is on the w ingA b less ing on thy ba lmy brea th, thou merry month of spring.

Spr ing,sp ring

,what good news ye bring!The notes

of the blackbi rd and th ru sh , th e chatte r ing of the starl ing

and sparrow ,th e bright sunsh ine and mild w eather , all

ind icate the gradual retu rn ing of sp ring. In one l eafless

hedge we Observe a schoo l of sparrows , w hich have

eviden tly formed themselves in to a mutual admi ration

soci ety. The mal e bi rds are on the i r bes t behaviou r , and

al l seem ben t on forming a l l ian ces for the coming season.

Is i t t rue that the same bird s‘

pair year afte r year P O r do

they fo rm fresh matrimon ia l engagemen ts every season P

Not far from the spar rows are three rob ins , two mal es

and a fema l e. The latte r have a se t-to ,much in the style

of the fighting figu res in th e Old Punch and Judy shows ,

the cause of the encoun te r be ing a pass i ve spectatormeanwhi l e. The combat is renew ed aga in and aga in ,

w i th va rying success , and as the re is no appearance of

e ithe r w i thdraw ing his atten t ion s , w e p roceed onward.Perhaps M r.Feathers tonhaugh , or M r. M i tton

, or some

othe r natu ral is t or orn i tho logis t who has oppo rtun i t i es tostudy the habi ts of bi rds , may be able to te l l us how


he caugh t a keepe r on the B rancepeth estate shooting a

kestrel. “ Why did you shoot that bi rd!” asked the

Canon. “ Because i t ’s ve rmin,

”was the reply. Now

,

ook here , Observed the Canon ,in h is u sual matte r-Of-fac t

way,

“ if you find a feather or anything to support you r

V i ew in that b i rd ’s crop , I’l l give you five shi l l ings.” The

pa i r the reupon sat down,opened the c rop , and , much to

the keepe r ’s su rpri se and mortification , found nothing in i tbut wi re worms.

There is a supe rs t i t ion among coun try peop l e that a

dead man ’

s bees neve r thr1ve. SO genera l is th i s bel i efthat in some places i t i s found difficul t to sel l them. Mr.G.H. Procte r

, of Flass Bogs , info rms us that two or th reeyears ago a gen tleman bought severa l h ives wh ich had

belonged to a Blanchland farme r. He was to ld that theywou l d no t l ive the year out

,and as i t happened to be a

bad bee season,and a severe w in te r , his p rognosti cat ion

was fu lfi l l ed,and the popu lar bel i ef was thus s trengthened.

When gardens begin to fade,and they can no longe r find

the sw eet j u i ces Of the c love r blossom ,i t is des i rable to

find fresh pastu rage for the bees. This is found on thefe l l s , among the luxu rian t bloom of the heathe r.


Th i rty years ago , Du rham Regatta was looked upon as

the ch i ef aquat i c gathe ring in the North of England. Townand gown jo ined together to make i t a success. The Tynesen t her champion oarsmen

,R.Chambe rs , the C

'

laspers,

and E.Winship , w i th the Matfins,the Taylors

, and theWal laces thrown inf Thus

,in 1869 ,

no fewe r than eightc rews competed for the Grand Chal l enge Cup ,

namely,

the Yo rk Amateu r Row ing C lub,Un ive rs i ty Col lege

(Durham), Tynemouth Row ing C lub , Durham S chool,

Wear Boat C lub , Tynemou th Amateu r Rowing C lub ,Oxford Un ivers i ty Boat C l ub

,and the Durham

Amateur Row ing C lub. At the p resen t t ime the RaceCou rse is the p romenade for those attending the Regatta

,

bu t in the old days,befo re short cou rses became popular

,

the fin ish was w itnessed from the Banks. ColonelShipperdson

’

s garden was Open for those who chose toen ter i t ; the people never weari ed of l isten ing to the OldC i ty Band playing such s imple a i rs as Flow on

,thou

sh in ing rive r ,”and Meet me by moon l ight whi le

, as

the day wo re on,the lads and lasses Of the town got on to

the “ Sw inging Gates,

near the Coun t ’s Co rner,where

they had the i r fi l l Of innocen t enjoyment. B ut theprocess ion was the ch ief attraction. I t was preceded bythe aforesa i d band , towed by O ld Joe , - the Col l egePostman

,bette r known in the c ity as

“ Bonn i e Bacon.”

Joe was original ly a keelman ,and the greatest smoker of

h is day. Most people have some pecu l iar i ty , and Joe ’swas his abi l i ty to consume his own smoke

,l ike J ukes ’s

Paten t. After Joe and the band came an eight-oared

outrigger,in the bow Of which stood the Squ i re of

D ryburn ,M r.Wharton

,a fine specimen of the Old Engl ish

gen tl eman,who di rected the p rocess ion l ike a second

Nelson commanding a fleet. Near the Coun t ’s House , all

oars w ere ra l sed whi l e the National An them was played ;the waving of M r.Wharton ’

s white hat was the s igna l for

three such chee rs as have not s ince been heard on thebanks of the rive r thereafter the band s truck up Rul eB ri tann ia

,

”and the bumping race fo l lowed Shortly after

wards. The scene thus described , Cu thbert Bede,

” the

au thor of Ve rdan t Green ,

”has admirably dep icted in the

sketch which i s given at the beginn ing of th is chapte r.

BOAT-ROWING , FOOTBALL , AND CRICKET. 265

C r i cket and footbal l are the nat ional games of Eng l i shmen. The forme r i s a modern game , bu t the latte r may

be traced to the Greeks and Romans. The firs t d i st inctm en t ion of footbal l occu rs in a twelfth-cen tu ry record.I

The earl i e st reference to i t that we have been able to findin Du rham and Northumberland occu rs in the Du rhamH almote Cou rt Ro l l s about the year 1 363. M en tion of thegame is made in some ecc les ias t i cal p roceed ings at Yo rkin 1 569. I t seems that one Sunday fou r young m en

car ri ed a bal l into the M inste r du r ing d ivine service , and

in a momen t of misch ief they ki cked i t ove r the heads of

the congregat ion. The Offenders w e re b rought befo re the

Eccles ias tica l Cou rt, and two of them w e re placed in th e

s tocks , afte r w hich they rece ived six strokes w i th a b i rchrod upon the i r bu t tocks. Du r ing the ep iscopate of Dr.

Barn es,Bishop Of D urham

,John Bonke ll su ffe red a week ’s

impr isonmen t , and had to d o penance in church , for

playing on a ce rta in Sunday in 1 579. Sunderland has an

early record of the game,a player hav ing been k i l l ed there

in'

1 667. The accoun t of i t in the parish registe r i sRichard Watson ,

who was ki l l ed at footbal l , of

Sunde rland , sepu l t. 1 5 th Jan., 1 667-8. The young men

of Du rham a coupl e of centu r i es ago mus t have been even

greate r enthus ias ts in footbal l than they are now,for they

u sed to play on Sundays. When any person excel s in

sports o r games i t is common ly sa id of h im that he playson Su nday ; and it was p robably th is bad pract ice wh ichgave rise to the express ion. In s tead o f go ing to chu rchon the Sunday

,the young men of M i ddl eton -in -Teesdal e

played footbal l. For th is offence aga ins t the eccles iasti ca llaws they w e re in 1 70 1 presen ted to the A rchdeacon

’

s Cou rtat Du rham , and sui tably admon ished. Both footbal l andc ri cke t seem to have been scrambl ing games in the i r

in fancy. There was no code of ru l es in footba l l , and th eso l e aim of the playe rs appears to have been to d r i ve the

ba l l th rough the oppos ing s ide ’s goal , by fa i r mean s or fou l.In the “ Basilikon Doron

,

” the game 18 descr ibed as

meete r for laming than making abl e the use rs the reof.”

The peop l e of Cheste r-le-S t reet aver that th e Romanl egion s p layed at i t du r ing the i r occupation of th e town.

I E ncyc lopa d ia Britann i ca , vol.IX , p 367°


Anc i ently , th e par i sh cle rk of Sedgefie ld was obl iged tofind a footba l l for the use of the townsmen. Sh roveTuesday was i ts h igh fest ival , and by all accoun ts the remust have been a great deal Of rough play. Shutte rs hadto be pu t up and houses closed in orde r to preventdamage at both the p laces named.

Footbal l has l eft many an indel ibl e mark by wh ich itsh isto ry may be traced , but as cri cket had ne i the r l egs nor

stumps in its i nfancy,the evidence Of i ts b i rth and growth

and subsequent movements is not to be depended upon, or ,

as De Qu incy wou l d have sa i d , not re lyuponable. A holewas s imply sc ratched in the turf

,and in to th is the striker

p laced the base Of his bat afte r a run. I f the outs ide rreturned the ba l l in to the cav i ty befo re he did so

,he was

out. This mode of playing was p racti sed by the monks ,bu t i t is no t exclus ively ancien t , fo r there is many a Northumbrian and Dune lmian l iv ing who can remember brayinga ho l e in the tu rf w i th his bat when a stick or stone was

not handy. In l ieu Of the hol e came one stump. Then a

second was added,bu t they w ere put two fee t apart , w i th

a cross-bar on the top.I Under th is hu rdle was the hol e

for putt ing the bal l into. The present shaped bats camein to gene ra l use towards the close of the fi rst quarte r of

the p resen t centu ry. Prev ious ly they had been made with

a sweep ing cu rve at th e base.

Authori ti es are div ided in the i r Opin ion as to whether

s ingle or double w i cket came in fi rs t. Round-han d

bow l ing became fashionabl e in the sou th abou t s ixtyyears ago ,

bu t in the No rth -count ry underhand con tinuedto be the favou ri te styl e fo r long afte r the famous Al lEngland el even began playing matches in the p rovincesin the year 1846. The Z ingar i c lub had popu lar ized thegame du r ing the p rev ious year

,and both No rthumberland

and Du rham had a l ready the i r crack teams. O ne of th eearl i est matches on record between the two coun t i es tookplace on the Northumberland ground on the 14th and 1 5 thdays of Ju ly , 1845. The official retu rn Of th is match is in

I E ncyc lopx d ia Britann i ca , vol.V I , p 578°

C H A P T E R X X X V I .

S K E T C H E S

The Ant iquarie s Puzzled.—Roya lt ie s and Wayleave s.—The Wan

d e re r’

s Re turn.—Charle s Li lburn, of Sunderland —Qua int

Picture s of Sunde rland.—Engl ish Ep igrams.—The “ Counte ssof De rwentwa te r and her Ba i l iff —Angl ing Remin iscence s.A Summe r Day Reve rie.

WE possess an Ol d p r in t bear ingan inscr ip tion which sorely

puzzled the an t iquari es in thedays when George the Thi rd was

king.

consort , Jane.

B E N E .

A.T.H. TH. ISST.ONERE. POS '

. ET.H.CLAUD. COS TER. TRIP.

E SELLERO.

F.—IMP.I.N.GT. ONAS. DO.

TH. H I.S. C.

ON. SOR.T. IA. N. E.

Such i s the l egend that is sup

posed to mark the p rogress of

the Romans , and respecting w hichthe bew igged gen tl eman w i th thelong nose is e loquen tly and

l earnedly discou rs ing to h isbrothe r an t iquar i es. I t seemsalmost a pi ty to so lve the myst i cl etters “ Beneath th is stonereposeth C laud Coste r

,tripe

sel l e r , of Impington , as doth h i sas much attent ion was given to

SKETCHES. 269

an inscrip tion on a remarkably fine E l izabe than oak p ress,

w h i ch was in M ess rs.Rushworth’

s Art Gal l e ry a t Durhamin 1890. I t puzzled the l earned and un l earned. The dead

languages coul d yi e l d noth ing l i ke the cabal i s ti c l etters.B : A zR : N: I zH : T :H :P: H zE : S :K :E : T :H

SO spake the an c i ent carve r. B ut the S impl i c i ty of h i slanguage was forgotten ,

and mode rn l earn ing trans fo rmed

i t into eve ry conce ivable shape and form. The di scove ry

of th e correct reading was as great a blow to the w ise men

Of Dunelm as th e key to the t r i pe-sel l e r ’s ep i taph. Barn iH esketh

,Phebe H esketh

,

”is just such an inscr ip t ion as

might have been expected on the p ress of a we l l-to-do butimperfectly educated yeoman of the time of Queen Bess

,

and i t is as pla in as a p ikestaff that the owne rs w e reBarney Hesketh and h i s w i fe Phoebe.

Royalt i es and w ayleaves are impos i t ions of anc i en tdate

,and the re has a lways been an indispos i t ion to

pay them ,j ust as th ere has been to pay ti thes. When

the North of England had a lmos t a monopo ly of thecoal trade

,i t orig inated the system of wayleaves , but the

te rm has in cen tu ri es changed i ts mean ing s l ightly.When the min e ra l w ea l th Of th e anc i en t b ishopri c of

Du rham began to be deve loped , towards the latte r part of

the seven teenth centu ry,the gran ti ng o f wayleaves

became a sou rce of revenu e as w el l to the bishop and

h i s copyho l de rs as the lo rds of private manors. In the irl eaves , the fo rme r exerc i sed the r ight of gran t ing pe r

miss ion to the l essees to carry the coal ove r the lands of

the i r copyho l de rs , and the latte r cou ld not l e t the i r lands

above a year for a s im i lar purpose , w i thou t paying a sma l lfine to the b ishop. S im i larly lay lo rds of manors ins is ted

on a fine and large ren t when coa l was carr i ed ove r the i r

own grounds and wastes , and when ove r the lands of

the i r copyho l de rs from thei r own co l l i e ri es. And whenthese coa l tracks we re made on the lands of the i r Copy

ho lde rs by the owne rs O f freehol d co l l i e r i e s , the lay lo rds ,l i ke thei r eccl es iast i cal supe r iors , obl iged the i r copyhol de rs

to t reat with them. These fines and rents we re large lyinc reased abou t the year 1 67 1 , when wooden ways

,cal l e d

“ wayleaves ,” we re inven ted for the eas i e r carriage of


coal s. Long before the “ Grand A l l i es got a monopolyOf the trade , astute adven tu re rs occas ional ly made fortunesout of coal m in ing. Thus

,in the ear ly part of last centu ry ,

Mess rs.Cotesworth and Ramsey , hav ing got l eases Of themanors of Gateshead and Wh ickham , played the tyran tove r the i r n e ighbou rs

,and made themselves maste rs ove r

the wayleaves and great part of the col l i e r i es. Theycharged 5s. per ten for all coa l l ed th rough the l ibe rti esincl uded in the i r l eases

,and the reby n etted near ly

per annum fo r one co l l i e ry. B ishop C rewe was so sen s ib l eof the w rong and of the oppress ion

,that he compel l ed the

lessees to give h im a bond in to indemn i fy h imfrom the prosecu tion Of the person s inju red.

The principle recogn ized by these early l essees of thewayleaves seems to have been that men t ioned by Wordsworth

They shou ld take who have the powe r,A nd they shou ld ke ep who can.

In the race for weal th then , as now ,men we re not

scrupulous ly honest in the i r dea l ings w i th each othe r.We have an i l lustration of this in w hat took place in theparish Of Ryton about a coupl e of centu r i es ago. Then thecopyhol d land cons isted of large Open fields

,each con

tain ing some hundreds of ac res. Before the d iv is ion of

these lands there w ere fou r separate waggonways l eadingfrom differen t col l i e r ies to S tel la

,namely

,C rawcrook

Freeho l d Way,w hich pa id to the b ishop a wayleave of

£ 10 7 3 . 8% d. per annum ; the Ma in W ay pa i d

£4 1 43 . 5d. ; the Moo r Way, £9 103 . 1% d., whi l ethe fou rth , the Cow C lose W ay, pa id £ 10 183 .9d. Thefi rst-named was cal l ed the Freeho l d Way,

because i t l edfrom a freeho ld col l i e ry the o the r th ree l ed from co l l i e ri esin the copyho l d lands. When the d ivis ion took place

,the

a l lottees bound themselves to keep Open and in repai r thewaggonways passing through the i r severa l a l lo tmen ts.S i xty or seventy years afte rwards the freeho l d co l l i e ryceased working , whereupon Mess rs. Su rtees and Lawson

,

who owned the land through which the waggonwaypassed , and in defiance of the b ishop

’

s r ights , bu i l t a wa l l

at each end of i t. Ten years afterwards two gen tl emennamed Wr ightson and Wate rs , who had commenced a


once narrow ly escaped fal l ing a Vi ctim to the notor iousKel ly and Su l l ivan ’s gang of cu t-th roats

, who hes i tatednot to shoot down those whom they suspected of

possess ing nuggets. But subsequen t p rosper i ty com

pen sated for al l these and othe r hardsh ips , a w ife now

chee rs his lot , and he has h is qu iver fu l l of ch i ldren.

Let us now fol low our fri end a l i ttl e close r. He hasploughed the deep for two mon ths , and has gone to

Morpeth to see the compan ion Of his youth. Ente r ing

his shop he asks a few quest ions, and fina l ly expresses a

w ish to see the mas te r. The latte r has grown o l de r , butthe featu res and the vo i ce are the same. Y ou appear tohave some n i ce cloth

,

” Observed the s trange r. “ I am

glad you th ink so,

”was the modest response. Cou ld

you measure me for a su i t!” asked the s tranger.“ With pl easu re ,

” repl i ed the t radesman. The measu remen ts hav ing been taken ,

the customer sa i d he expectedthe su i t wou l d be ready for h im the fol low ing d ay,

as his

stay in the tow n, he remarked , w ou l d be l imi ted to tw en ty

fou r hou rs. The tradesman expressed a fear that such an

order might poss ibly ove rtax the resou rces of his establ ishmen t

,and suggested that the su i t cou l d be fo rwarded to

the gen tl eman ’s add ress. B ut I l ive in an ou t-of- the-way

place ,” Obse rved the s tranger , and I fear that you r

messenge r might lose his way. Howeve r ,” h e added ,

w ri ting down on a S l i p o f paper,Thomas H .Garth

,of

Ahau ra ,and handing i t to the ta i lor

,here is my address ,

and ,since I have not to pay for the th ings , you might as

w el l th row in a silk hat a long w i th them.” The stranger ’smanne r had a l ready produced a s l ight uneas iness in thet radesman ’

s m ind , and when he sudden ly gave the old

gent l eman a thump on the back and asked h im to go out

and partake of a glass of bee r,he began to ente rta in

grave suspicion s respecting the sanity of his new pat ron.I am very sorry , s ir ,

” he remarked,that I canno t ava i l

myself of you r kind invitat ion. Perhaps,

” he con tinu ed,

handing him the same S l i p Of pape r , wh ich he had no t as

yet pe rused ,“you w i l l have the goodness to a lso w r i te

down the name of the gentl eman who has to pay fo r the

goods. The s tranger did as reques ted, and the ta i lo r

,

having adjusted his glasses , read his own after his

SKETCHES. 273

cu stome r ’s name. A l though the name of the' compan ion

Of h i s youth had not sl ipped from hiS ‘ memory, there was

noth ing to assoc iate the s trange r w i th him, and the

compact between the two more than thi rty years before

he had en t i rely forgotten. O n reading hi s own name , hewas convinced that the man before h im was an escapedl unat i c

,and was on the po in t of cal l ing in the ass i s tance

Of a constable when,to his fu rthe r aston ishmen t and

del igh t,h is long-absent fri end reveal ed his i den ti ty.

The late Mr. Charl es Lilburn I used to say that

Sunderland was“ gett ing ou t of kenn ing ”— the sh ips on th e

r ive r by the cu t of theirjib ,the harbou r in its greate r scope

and depth , in the extens ion of the town an d its industri esin all di rections , and in the manne r and pu rsu i ts of the

peop le. What a ramshackle old plac e the W earsid e town

must have been two hundred years ago ,w i th its h igh and

low stre ets and commun i cating a l l eys,i ts confined i rregu lar

shops and bu i ld ings , w i th the i r owne rs s tand ing at the

door retai l ing the latest b i t of goss ip,its coblemen on the

cons tan t look-out for a chance Of tu rn ing an honest penny,

its bonny lasses run n ing h i the r and th i the r for n ew s of the

expected arr iva l Of the True B r iton or the B etsy A nn.

Let us,from a manusc rip t ro l l in B ishop Cos in ’

s Library

at Du rham ,draw a fa i thfu l p i ctu re of what the place

was l i ke on Tuesday , th e 10th of November , 169 1 . Thatthere is someth ing unusua l ast i r i s evidenced by the factthat the l eading tradesmen and many househo l de rs of both

sexes,dressed in the i r Sunday clothes , are making the i r

1 Mr.Li lburn died in 189 1. H e did not l ive long to e njoy his new

home a t G lens ide ,wh i the r , the last t ime w e saw

‘

him , he was mov inghis be long ings , his p i cture s , his books , a nd a ll the o the r kn ick-kna ckswh i ch a refined taste leads a man to hoa rd up and treasure. For ,rough though he wa s in ex te rior, Mr.Li lburn had the inborn taste s

of a cu l tured mind. H e wa s one of na ture ’

s gen t leme n. The re was

no namby-

pamby affe cta t ion o r conven t iona l ism about him. He was

a lways the same , and neve r asp ired to be thought one degre e be tte ror cleve re r than he rea lly was. H is ea rly tra in ing and hab its madehim a ke en man of bus ine ss. This was carrie d even in to his

favouri te b ib l ioman ia ca l hobby. Although gene rous to a fau lt ino the r re spe cts , he neve r gave a gu inea for a book when a sove re ignw ould buy it , and the sav ing of the sh i l l ing se eme d to afford him the

most exqu is ite de l ight. Th is tra it is inherent in many O ld fam i l ie s ,and is sa id to be indigenous to the book co l le ctor, whe the r r i ch or

othe rw ise.18


way up the H igh S treet to th e Mano r Cou rt of the B ishopThere is a Johnson ian r ing in the Good mo rn ing ,

sir ,

salu tat ion of the ju rors as they en te r the room and p lacethei r b road -brimmed hats upon the tabl e in fron t of them.

Then , when the ro l l has been cal l ed ove r by the s teward ,and he has in t imated his readin ess to rece ive any

p resen tmen ts that they have to make , Ann e Wilson and

e ighteen others are ushered in to the room. The Sunde rlandpeopl e in those days bel i eved in gett ing thei r fu l l quan t i tyof flour w i th the i r quarte rn loaf, and compla in t hav ingbeen made of M istress Wilson ’

s bread wan t ing w eight ,she and her fe l low - s inners in th is respec t a re very properly“ fyned and amerced ”

in the sum of on e shi l l ing each.Will iam Den t

,a cobleman

,n ext takes his p lace

,and is

fined 33 . 4d . for keep ing sw ine and feed ing them in theopen s tre et. There is qu i te a hubbub w h i l e a compla in tis be ing investigated aga inst Squ i re E ttri ck

,who is fined

6 3 .8d. fo r a l low ing his cel lar sta i rs to be uncovered and

the Cou rt also o rders him to erect a“ pa i re Of sta i res

in the wa l l l eading from the H igh S tree t on the north un toh is house on the sou th.

The owne r of H igh Barnes having taken his l eave,

Thomas A l l enson ,for expos ing bad vea l in the market

,

r ece ives a warn ing and is dismissed w i th a paymen t of

3 s. 4d . This is a lso the fine imposed on I sabel laWilkinson for encroaching upon the ma in street when she

bu i l t her house ; bu t poo r Widow Greenw el l , whose on lyo ffence seems to have been the sett ing of a cobble r ’s s tal ltoo far fo rwa rd in to the s treet , is amerced in the lawyer ’sfavou r i te sum of 6s.8d. John Shepherdson

’

s Offence hasb een grea t , and his pun ishmen t is proport ionate. He didnot bring his co rn to the Ma rket Place

, and took an unfa i radvan tage over his ne ighbou rs by sel l ing i t befo re the bel lwas rung , and he a lso refused to pay the usua l s tandaget o l l , a ll of w hich w as a grievous con tempt o f the law

,for

t he wherefo re he is o rd ered to pay 39 3 . 1 1 d.—from wh ichO dd sum mu st su rely have Sprung the mode rn habi tp reva i l ing among drapers of marking their goods a pennyshort of the sh i l l ing. Where the common p in fo ld w as

.at th is time we cannot say. B ut that i t was in a bad w ayis certa in ,

for those charged w i th i ts ma in tenance, the


Many epigrams have been di rected aga inst the med icalfacu l ty. I t is very much of a toss-up whethe r doctors k i l lor cu re , as is shown by the admiss ion Of the famou s D r.

Let tsom ,who died in 18 1 5

When pe ople ’

s i l l , they come to II phys ics , b le eds , and swea ts

’

em.

Some t imes they l ive, some t ime s they d ie

Wha t ’s tha t to I P I le t ’s ’

em.

Bishop Barr ington ’s name is wel l remembered in the

d iocese Of D urham. At the time the b ishop was trans latedfrom Sal isbu ry to the palat inate see

,in 1 79 1 , the re was

another Barrington who had made h imse lf a ce l eb ri ty , not

by what he gave out of his own pockets fo r the ben efit of

o the rs l ike his lordsh ip , but by what he took out of othe rpeopl e s pockets for the benefi t of himse lf. He d id th i s ,howeve r , once too O ften ,

and the ve ry year of h i s namesake ’s p romot ion he was condemned to tran spo rtat ion for

s teal ing a snuff-box at a levee,the fo l low ing l ines

commemorat ing the double even t

Two of a name—both great in the ir wayA t court la te ly w e l l d id be s t ir ’

em

The one wa s transported to Bo tany Bay,

The othe r trans la te d to Durham.

We have had some experience of the wo rl d , and havemet and associated w i th many queer peopl e. Thestrangest and mos t determined lady that w e eve r knew

was Amel ia,Coun tess of Derw en twate r , the same who

fought s ingle-handed fo r the resti tution of the estates of

he r unfo rtunate ances to r , James , the thi rd earl , who afte rembrac ing his w eeping wife and unconsc ious baby boy inthe cou rtyard o f D ils ton that au tumn mo rn ing in 1 7 1 5 ,rode away , fu l l of hope and ambi tion

, to jo in his com

pat rio ts in a rms at Hexham.

Lord De rwe n twa te r rode aw ayWe l l moun ted on his dapp le grey.

But the ente rprise in which he engaged, and on wh i ch the

div ine bless ing w as invoked in Di ls ton Chape l the p reviousn ight , resu l ted inglorious ly , and brought him to a vio l en tdeath. And the w i dowed Lady Derwen twa te r

, Whatbecame of her!Two years afte r the body Of he r bravebu t misgu ided lord was buri ed in thei r No rthumbe rland

SKETCHES. 277

home , England hav ing become intol e rabl e to he r, she

settl ed at Louva in ,whe re she d i ed in 1 723. He r son

John d id not long su rvive he r. Accord ing to the popu lar

bel i ef, he d ied in 1 73 1 , from the effects of a fal l from a

horse. This even t i s said to have occu rred in London,

w hen th e young man was n ineteen years of age. Insteadof dying in the manne r stated , howeve r , he is sai d , by the“ Countess

,to have fled to Ge rmany

,out of reach of

those who were thi rs t ing for h i s blood,and to releas e

h imself from the oath of al legiance to Geo rge I I. Thi sJohn Radcl iffe marri ed

,at Frankfo rt-on - the-Ma in

,in the

year 1 740 ,E l izabeth Arabel la Mar ia

,daughte r and he i ress

of th e Count of W ald s teine , who was put to the sword ,and di ed for h i s royal maste r

,Charl es X I I . of Sweden.

John,the fou rth earl

,di ed in 1 798, and was succeeded by

James,the eldest of el even ch i l dren. James was born at

Norham , No rthumbe rland , in 1 743 , and died in 18 16.

H is b rothe r,John James

,bo rn at A lston

,No rthumberland

in 1 764 , succeeded to the pate rna l d ign i t i es of his familyand thus became the s ixth Earl of Derwen twate r. In

181 3 , he marr i ed Amel ia Anna Charlotte,Princess

Sobiesky. He died at Schwe rin in 1833 , and l eft two

chi ldren,John James , born at Carl is l e in 18 1 5 , who

succeeded as seventh earl , and Amel ia,the celebrated

Coun tess ,”who

,on th e 29th of September , 1868, en te red

upon the grounds at Dilston ,and took up her res idence in

the ru ins of the old castl e , from which she was forc iblyremoved a few days late r by the agen ts of the Admi ral ty.

The Cou ntess made many people bel i eve in he r pe r

sonality, to the i r cost. Bu t whoeve r she was, and

w hatever he r’

fau lts,she was a brave l i ttl e woman

,and

looked eve ry inch a Coun tess when she made the acquaintance of he r n ew ly-acqu i red tenan try , seated in theident i ca l coach of he r ancesto rs

,drawn by fou r horses

gu ided by pos ti l ions in the o rthodox red jackets and

p igskin t ights,w i th he r ba i l iff

,Har ry B rown

, on the

d ic key. The Coun tess he rself,we remembe r , was d ressed

in black sat in ,and on her head was pe rched one of the

neatest Dol ly Vardens eve r seen. By her s i de reposed

the d ress rap ie r of the beheaded earl , insc r i bed Di lstonChapel , Th is was one of the many Derwen twate r


re l i cs scatte red up and down the coun try. A t Capheaton ,

S i r John Sw inbu rn e has prese rved a lock of Lo rdDerwen twate r ’s ha i r , a piece of his blood-s ta in ed l inen

sh i rt,and Lady Derwen twate r ’s w edd ing ring. We u sed

to possess a ve ry fine i l luminate d m issa l on vel lum ,

con ta in ing the Derw entwate r pedigree. A tempting Offe rinduced u s to part w i th the book , wh i ch i s now in one of

the great houses in No rthumberland. We always regardedthe pedigree as a fo rge ry , and th i s V iew was shared bymany fri ends. The Coun tess u sed to Show u s the oakencupboard wh ich conceal ed Charles Radcl i ffe afte r h isescape from Newgate , and she also possessed portrai ts of

Genera l Fo rs te r and h is s iste r , Dame Dorot hy , the latterevi den tly be ing a rep l i ca of that now at Bambu rgh Castl e.Where and how he r ladyship became possessed of all

these th ings w i l l p robably rema in a myste ry to the end of

t ime. The Countess a lways made use of the anci entappel lations in w r i t ing an d speaking of he r ancestry. HerOld leathe r hat-box ,

whi ch we possess,st i l l con ta ins much

of he r finery , and i s inscri bed Coun tess of W alds teine ,

and in a ll he r l e tte rs to us she ins isted in giv ing the Old

spel l ing,Darwen twater.

” We we re one of the few people

who fo l low ed the unfortunate Coun tess to ' her grave,and

kn ew the s t ra i ts to which she was put in the decl in ingyears of her l i fe.

The Psa lm is t te l ls us tha t we are to take heed un to thething that is r ight , fo r i t w i l l b ring a man peace a t last.H ow Often in the batt l e of l i fe d o w e

,w hi ls t honestly

bel i ev ing that w e pu rsue the right cou rse,get on the w rong

t rack,

'

bo th in sp i r i tua l and wo rldly matte rs!The poorEarl of Derwen twate r though t it was his duty to jo in thePre tender in 1 7 1 5 , and los t his l ife and estates in thes t ruggle. When , a cen tu ry and a ha lf late r

,Amel ia ,

Coun tess of Derwen tw ate r , cla imed these es tates , Hen ryB rown

, then a Coun ty Cou rt bail iff and auctionee r, as a

No rthumbrian ,whose ancestors had fa rmed under the un

fortunate earl , and w i th a loya l ty that d id c red i t to his heart,

i f no t his head , was the fi rs t to en l is t unde r he r banner.Neve r had gene ra l a sol d ie r that was brave r o r s tood moreloyal ly by h im. He fought for he r

,bled for he r

, suffe redimp r i sonmen t for her sake , and wou l d w i l l ingly have d ied


embedded in the flesh far in to the mouth,whi l e the fou r

feet of cast ing l ine a lso lay co i l ed in the same cavi ty!M r.Henderson ’

s explanat ion is that th e fish wen t at th efl i es Open-mou thed , and w i th su ch a rush that he tookboth and the l ine at one and the same gu l p.

M r. Henderson was w i thou t doubt a ski l l ed angl e r and

a pl easan t companion. The contemporar i es of his boyhooddescr i be h im as having been “

an imaginat ive ch i ld.” This1mag inat1ve o rgan w i l l be found to be largely developed inmost angl ers

,and indeed in all people fond of sport.

When the he ro of the p reced ing remarkable inc identpub l i shed his book

,he asked if any brother angler had eve r

met wi th a para l l e l case. Of cou rse i t was not to beexpected that such an appea l wou ld be made in va in ,

and

in a playful momen t his fr iend,M r.J.W. Barnes

,showed

that Mr. Henderson ’s expe r i ence was no t un ique. For

some reason or othe r,however , the author of “ My Life

as an Angle r ” did not give his corresponden t ’s lette r in

the second edit ion of his book , and as i t has just comeinto our hands

,the publ i cat ion of i t now ,

afte r the lapse of

twen ty years , may not be w i thou t in te rest. The w ri te r

was at that t ime unde r the tu telage of Charl ey Ebdy, of

Durham,and had gone down to Northumberland to a

r i ve r so th ickly s tocked w i th fish that , as Charl ey averred ,they could be s t i rre d round w i th a bussom shank l ike a

c rowdy.” This

,no doubt , was one of Charl ey

’

s exagge ra

t ions , but the long-bow is pe rmi tted to angle rs in an equal

degree with those who fo l low the s is te r sports of shoot ing

and hun ting. Arr ived at the r iver , the w r ite r made a castw i th his l in e , on which w ere two fl i es

,fou r fee t apart , bu t

i t was a w retchedly bungl ing one,the l in e descending

upon the w ate r in a complete tangle, and he was on the

poin t of w ithdraw ing i t w hen someth ing pu l l ed. Hepu l l ed in tu rn , then it pu l l ed again ; the rod was bentdouble , and the s i tuat ion w as becom ing mos t c rit i cal.J ust at the momen t when he fel t that e i the r the tacklemust g ive way o r be dragged in to the river

,the agi l e

Charl ey sprang to his s i de , seized the rod, and wh ipped

ou t a fine fish. Charl ey did not waste time in the con tem

p lation of its beau ty , but seiz ing the fish by the head heforced open its mouth , and w i th his finge r w i thd rew both

SKETCHES. 28 1

of the hooks. Why,what a v i c iou s and vorac ious

monste r , to se ize one fly and dart at th e oth e r.” V i c iousand vorac ious fiddle-st icks

, was Charl ey ’s rejo inde r,

“ why, you cl umsy th ickhead , i f you th row the line all ‘ in

a heap the fl i e s are su re to get knotted,and th e fish cannot

hel p Swal low ing both M r.Barnes,no doub t , fe l t much

hu rt that Charl ey ’s ve ry dogmat i c teach ing was not sp iced

w i th a l i tt l e more cou rtesy , and , the refore , made no

Obse rvat ion,bat from that t ime unto th is hi s m ind has

been,and st i l l rema ins , we bel i eve , in doubt upon th e

subj ect.

O ur pleasan test experi ences w i th the rod were in thel impid beck under the Shadow of M r.Featherstonhaugh

’

s

qua in t l i ttl e chu rch at Edmondbye rs,or amid the same

range of heather-clad h i l ls a t Blanchland— that c lean,

s l eepy,an tiquated l ittl e v i l lage where peace and calm re ign

supreme,

and where no ise , and s trife,and bus tl e

,and

uproar are unknown. The place is h idden by h i l l s r is ing

away to the moo rlands , and can on ly be pe rce iv ed w henone is close upon i t. The re is a t radi t ion that the Abbeythe re at fi rs t escaped the pry ing eyes of th e S cotch army

,

and that th e marauders w e re on ly made aware of i tsv i c in i ty by the sound of the bel ls ,

wh ich the monks,in

the i r fanc i ed secu r i ty,had rung fo r joy. I t then met the

fate of many a no rthe rn shrine. B ut the beau ty of th ischa rm ing place had a lways a drawback in ou r eyes. Theslopes Of the rive r above and below i t are the home of

innume rabl e adders,

”wh ich in summer bask among the

warm s tones on ei th e r s i de of th e s tream. The repti l es,

in tru th,w e re as much afra i d of us as w e w ere of them

,

and gl ided off to the i r ho l es on our approach. Those whoare fami l iar w i th adders w i l l readi ly admi t that they are

th e pe rson ification of eve ryth ing that is ev i l and w i cked

looking. Young ones , on ly a couple of inches long,w i l l

’

dart abou t and h iss l i ke fiends. Once , in looking for worms

unde r a s tone,a big one gl ided ou t. A flat s tone , in tended

to give the repti l e its qu i e tus , tumbled on to the lowe r

par t of i ts body. Find ing'

that i t coul d not escape,i t

e rected its head , and , w i th i ts keen eyes , dodged the s tones

that w e re hu rl e d at i t. Taking its l ife under such C i rcum

s tances was pe rhaps somewhat unsportsman l i ke , bu t an


an tipathy to the who l e fami ly Of c raw l ing th ings whichseems to be inheren t among mortals l ed to its speedydeath in the on ly manner that p resen ted i tself.

Blanchland is a bad place for docto rs. With its air

u nta in ted by the fumes whi ch usual ly fo l low in the tra in of

the des truction-b reath ing i ron horse,w i th its sweet wal ks

in i ts pas to ra l va l l ey and on its ve rdured S lopes , i t is an

elys ium to the love r of natu re. Indeed , there is a cottagecal l ed Paradise

,just at the en trance to the v i l lage. Many

years ago we used to fish in th e l imp id s t ream which

r i pp les th rough the vi l lage , and on one occas ion the localmedico , a chatty , gen ial O l d gentl eman ,

info rmed us that

the on ly d isease up the re was among the grouse. Thewomen on ly n eed help at inte rva ls , the ch i ld ren won

’t take

the whoop ing cough or the meas l es , and the e lde r ly peopl e

p lace mo re fa i th in the v i rtues Of a glass of whiskey than

in medic in e and p i l ls. Be tween th i rty and forty years ago

the mos t popu la r medi cal man in the De rwent Val l ey was

Dr. John Renton,S i re of the two gen tl emen of that name

p ractis ing a t Consett and Cheste r- le -S treet. Dr. Renton

w as th e fr iend o f,and the advise r to ,

all the people l iv ingbetween B lanchland and M in steracres. The Old farmers

sen t fo r h im jus t for the pl easu re of having a c rack ”

w i th h im. He w as a great favou ri te w i th the celebratedGeorge S i lve rtop , who ,

when he d i ed,l eft h im a hundred

gu ineas. He w as one of th e Old schoo l , and was

affectionate ly cal l ed the O l d Doctor ” to d is tingu i sh

him from his sons.

This is ‘w ritten in a grassy va l e, amid the sw eet perfume

of v io l e ts , and a w eal th of primroses and butte rcups.Overhead , the w a rbl ing of the la rk mingles w i th thejoyous no tes Of the blackbi rd. The circl i ng Of i nnumerablec rows above you fores t of t rees and the sharp c rack ing of

guns and r ifles procla im the death-knel l o f many a rook.There , among the young shoo ts of co rn

, s its a woundedc row ,

affectionately attended by its mate, w hose p ro

clamation of ou r app roach , caw , caw ,is unheeded by the

d isabled bi rd. While we make a posy,the cuckoo sounds

his note of welcome on the edge of a wood a corncrake

C H A P T E R X X X V I I .

S K E T C H E S

Anc ient Gr inding of Corn.—A Hodge Podge.—Newcast le and its

Ear ly Wa te r Supply.—H istory of the Pos t Office —Ca l la lyCast le —Anc ien t F ire Escape s.—S ir John Duck , the DurhamButche r.—Newcast le ’

s F irst F ire Engine —A Durham C lergyman. Bishop

,Tucke r. A Famous Mosstroope r. Growth

of Pa rishe s.—Fa irs and Hopp ings.—Canon Tristram.— The

Lambton Worm.

EW of us , as we eat our da i ly bread , eve r give a passingthought to the mann e r in which ou r rude forefathers

O f the hamlet ground thei r -co rn. We can , however ,pictu re them seated at the i r querns from morn t i l l n ight , ands inging

,maybe

,as bl i thely as the jo l ly m il l e r of the Dee.

These Old que rns tones and mills tones we re often dug out Ofthe bed of a n eighbour ing s tream. Sho tl ey Bridge , on theDe rw en t

,was a famous place for mil ls tone gr i t. The

ho l es from which i t was taken may s t i l l be seen between

M essrs.Annandal e ’s paper mi l l s and the bridge crossing

the Derw en t. The v iew from this po in t is exceedinglyp ictu resque

,whether you look up or down th e r i ver.

Immed iate ly above the b ridge the r ive r dashes over a

l edge Of mi l lstone gri t , through which the wate r has cutnumerous channel s , in to a poo l known as

“ J enny ’s Ho le ,”

from wh ich many a nob le t rou t has been taken in daysgone by , when the adjo in ing hoste l ry of th e B ridge Innwas a favou r i te reso rt for anglers. M r. Booth has

furn ished us w i th a few refe rences to the taking Of stonesfor mil l stones. In the el even th year of B ishop Skirlaw

(1 399)men t ion is made in the Ha lmote Ro l ls that Johnthe M i l l e r of I veston had taken five mil ls tones from thebed of the rive r at Shotl ey Bridge w i thou t the lo rd ’s l eave

,

and on a subsequen t occas ion th e I veston mil l e r was

arrested for taking two pa i rs of mi l lstones of th e va l u e of


two sh i l l ings. At the same time Thomas Brown was fined

4d.for taking a pai r of querns tones w i thou t pe rmiss ion.

There must be as great a diffe ren ce betw een the anc i ent

and modern methods of drying corn as the re is in thegrinding of i t , a l though

,in the old process , in whi ch an

i ron pot was used , the dryers wou l d keep pace w i th thegrinders. In an Ol d book of accoun ts which w e possessfrequen t refe rence i s made to the drying of co rn. In 1 745 ,

the sum pa i d for drying 300 bushels was 193 . 6% d , or % d.per bushel , wh i ch was the regu lar price. The fo l low inghodge-podge of extracts from the same source may not be

w i thout in te rest. A l l the i tems occu r under the above

named year. Newbottle was famous for its pan ti les,

w hich w ere 5 3 .a fo ther. The cost of keep ing three cows

w i t h grass , hay, &c., was £3 per head. A summer ’sgrass for one cow was 203 . A fat ox cost £5 1 7s. 6d. a

fat cow ,five gu ineas and a kyloe

, £2 1 5s. S i xty-th reeewes bought at Morpeth cos t £20 63.6d., and 56 wethers

£28 93 . 3d. Forty-four bushels of ha i r for the masonscost £ 1 93 . 4d ., and a black gelding £6 93 . Ski l l ed

workmen rece ived 1 6d.a day ; women had 6d.and labou ring

m en 8d.pe r d ay for cl ipp ing and greas ing sheep. Wool

was 83 . 6d. a stone. A ta i lo r charged 73 . for making a

butl e r ’s l ivery,23 . for making a pa i r of breeches , and 1 3.

for a pa i r of boot tops. Lime was 63 . and wheat straw

5S.a foth e r. S eed barley was 1 3 . 7% d. pe r bushel , and

I S. 1% d. was pa i d for wash ing a parson ’

s su rpl i ce.

Cheese was 1 3 . 9d. a stone ; but i t must have been old

Peg ”at th is p ri ce. A quarte r of beef cost 4s., and 1 50

hedge-s takes 3s. 9d. A man and h is d raught rece ivedfrom ha lf-a-c rown to 43 . a day,

the large r sum being paiddu r ing harvest , and the sma l l e r for team wo rk

,such as

l eading s ton es. Charcoa l was a sh i l l ing per bushel. Rye

was 33 . a bushel at New castl e , and at Du rham wheatfetched th e fol low ing prices du ring the year —March I st

,

20 bushels , £4 103 . Augus t 3oth ,10 bushels

, £2 1 3 . 2d.

September 1 6th , 8 bushels , £ 1 October 16th,8

bushels, £ 1 83. December 3 1 3 t , 18 bushels

, £3 33 .

Waste not , want not i s a househol d“

maxim w ith

wh ich all are fami l iar. Wate r i s such an in est imable

s


occup i e rs the reof shou ld be wi l l ing to take in and pay for

the same. Y arnold seciI red all th e ava i lable sp ringsins i de and outs i de the wa l ls , and e rec te d c is te rns on

col umns in differen t parts of the town,and in to these he

forced the wate r w i th an engine. The ag reemen t betw eenY arnold and the Co rporation is dated 1 1 th Oct., 1697.

Three years late r the contracto r admi tted h is fri endDouglas , and fou rteen o othe r p rinc ipa l town smen , intopartnersh ip

,rese rving to h imself, howeve r , the enti re

p rofits connected w i th the laying down of new branchesand the sal e of brass cocks

,bosses , l ead p ip ing , and

sowder.” Being unabl e to personal ly superin tend theundertak ing

,Y arno ld depu ted his fri end Douglas to

manage for him ,and he in tu rn appo in ted Lione l Moore

his depu ty. Thus matte rs progressed t i l l the year 1 707 ,

w hen Y arno ld aga in vis i ted Newcastl e and quarre l l ed w i thh i s head agen t , w i th whom he had a costly and p rotracted

act ion at law.

The art of read ing mus t be as Old as that of w ri ting,

though the fo rmer wou l d be more difficu l t to acqu i re,

ow ing to the complex sys tem of abb reviations used by the

anc ien t scribes. Last cen tu ry le tte r w ri t ing was confined

to tradesmen and.

the uppe r classes. Thei r correspondence ,how eve r , mus t have been very fitful , s ince i t is recordedthat the l ette r-bag from London once arr i ved in Newcastl e

w i th a s ingle l ette r.'

Prio r to the year 1 784 the postal commun i cat ion of the

coun try was in the hands of the postboy,of whom Cowpe r

S ingsH e come s , the he ra ld of a no isy world

,

With spa t te re d boo ts , strapped wa ist , and frozen locks.

He was supposed to ride at the rate of five mi le s an hou r ,bu t he frequen tly dawdled on the road

, and sometimes hewas stopped by highwaymen , who ,

howeve r,discont inued

the p racti ce on finding that the publ i c had ceased to send

anyth ing of va lue by such an unsafe and uncerta in mode

of conveyance. Private famil i es of pos i t ion gene ra l ly kept

a postboy , and these sometimes r isked thei r l i ves intravel l ing to and from the n earest pos t town w i t h l e tte rs.Thus , in a l ette r w r i tten on Ch r i s tmas Eve

, 1 739 , and

SKETCHES. 289

franked by John H edwo rth,

one of the membe rs OfParl iament for the coun ty of Du rham

,S i r Thomas

C lave r ing , of G reenc roft , w r i t ing to his b rothe r Geo rgeat Oxfo rd , says “ The seve r i ty of the weathe r

,

and th e badness of the roads ove r the moors,makes

the coun try at p resent ve ry disagreeable,for th e!

winds have con t inued 3 0 high t i l l w i th in these two days,

b low ing the snow, that th e re neve r was a path ove r the

moo r two hou rs togethe r,wh i ch p reven ted anybody

coming he re , or our sending the pos tboy to D urham , on

whi ch jou rney he wou l d assu redly have been lost.” O ne

of the postboys in the same ne ighbou rhood abou t th is t imewas -John Moses , w hose ca ree r is fu l l of in te rest. Com

mencing l ife in th i s capac i ty at Mano r House,

nearLanches te r , he acqu i tted h imself so w el l that his maste r

,

M r. Mowbray , in t rodu ced h im to a fri end res i ding at

H u l l. Thi s gen t leman was a partne r in a fi rm engaged incomme rce , and th e good qua l i t i es of young Moses be ingsoon discove red , the fi rm advanced h im from a subordinate

pos i t ion to the coun t ing house. Shortly afte rwards he

was sen t as res iden t agen t to the fi rm at Riga,where his

integrity and bus iness ta l en t induced his employers to

admi t h im to a sma l l share. O n his retu rn to th is coun tryhe marr i ed

’

a lady worth She dying sho rtly

afte r the i r un ion ,he marri ed anothe r w i th a l i ke fo rtune

,

and the same fate attending he r , he marr i e d a th i rd , who

was a lso mistress Of a large sum of money. By thi s t imeMoses was a man of immense w eal th , par t of wh i ch hela i d ou t in pu rchas ing an estate at Kni ts l ey , a hamlet at

the head of the Lancheste r Val l ey , w i th in s ight of the

scen es of his early st ruggles in l i fe , and wh ich rema ined

in the hands of h is descendan t , an on ly daughte r , who ,

he i ress to i mmense w ea l th , became Duchess of' S t. A lbans.A pe rusal of the le tte rs w r i tten by the uppe r classes in the

las t cen tu ry w i l l show that mos t of them are franked by

members of Parl iamen t , who exe rcised that p r 1vilege.

Letters thus endorsed we re carr i ed free of charge. The

r ight was ve ry greatly abused , the ladies espec ial ly being;respons ibl e for much of i t , some of them u sual ly having

half a qu i re or so of pape r in stock ready endo rsed w i th

the au tograph of the neares t member of Parl iamen t. In

I 9


May, 1 784 , an attempt was made to l im i t the p rivi l ege ,and in connexion w i th th is an amus ing bu l l was

perpetrated , a clause enacting that any member who , fromil lness or othe r cause

,shou l d be unable to w r i te , migh t

author ize some othe r person to frank for h im , p rov i dedthat , on the back of the l ette r 3 0 franked , the membe r at

th e same time gave unde r h i s hand a fu l l ce rtificate Of h isinabi l i ty to w r i te

Cal laly Castl e,the anc ien t home of the baron ial lords

of C laver ing , has been furn ished w i th th e most recen tappl iances for extingu ish ing fi re. H isto ry repeats i tself.Mo re than a cen tu ry ago a new fi re-escape was invented

,

and one was in t roduced at Ca l laly by the then owne r,

Ra l ph C laver ing. Anothe r was put up at Greenc roft byS i r Thomas C lavering

,Bart. That at Cal laly may have

been beaten in to ploughshares,i f Major Browne has i t not in

his co l l ect ion of an tiquar ian and othe r rel ics but that atGreencroft st i l l rema ins to th i s day,

Mr.Tom Taylor-Smith

hav ing had i t carefu l ly ove rhau l ed and repa i red when hemodern ized the mans ion about ten years ago. Nobody

has eve r discovered when fi re first became subject to man’

s

con tro l. The miss ionary Krapf was tol d by a s lave of a

tr ibe in the sou the rn pa rt of Shoa who l i ved like monkeys

in the bamboo jungles , and we re tota l ly ignoran t of fi re.

When Magel lan ,w roth at the p i lfe rings of the inhabi tants

of the Mar ianas Arch ipe lago ,set the i r huts ablaze , they

thought that fi re was a w i l d beast , and whi l e some

app roached the flames and w e re bu rn t , the others kept

a loof, fea ring to be torn or po isoned by the powerfu l

b reath of the te rr ible an ima l. The anc i en t gods and

demons are sa i d to have had some command of fi re.Hephaestus looked afte r the subte rranean fi re and its vast

smith i es ,and when Ved ic A ryans fi rs t con templated the

fi rs t struggl e betw een fi re and wate r he mus t have beenawestruck. From one of Pl iny ’s l ette rs to the Empero rTrajan respecting a fi re in the c i ty of Nicomedia

,i t is

c erta in that the anci en ts had fire-escapes and appliancesfor extingu ishing flames.There is a cu rious en try in the Rev. M r. B armby

’

s

Par ish Books respecting a fire-escape for the ci ty of


B igg , John Paul , John Ande rson ,Nathan i e l C layton ,

and

W i l l iam Lloyd.

Prosperi ty invar iably c rowns the efforts of people whobegin the battl e of l ife w i th a dete rminat ion to succeed.Nearly th i rty years ago ,

M r. Steggal l , the p resent v i car ofConsett , began bui ld ing a chu rch for the accommodationof a large numbe r of peopl e who we re st range rs to herse rvi ces , and by d int of much hard work he raised

Then a towe r was added , and one by one bel l s were pu tinto i t , ti l l at l ength as merry a peal was rung from thebelfry as the most enthus ias ti c campanologis t cou ld w i sh

to hear. Most men,afte r rel i eving the publ i c of so much

money , wou ld have hes i tated before making further

appea ls for help , but no t so Mr. Steggall. He did not

send the hat round th is t ime , but went w i th i t h imself,and ra ised du ring a very short p i lgrimage

,his

persuas ive eloquence d raw ing from one gentl eman,M r.

Thomas Spence r , of Ryton ,a cheque for the magn ificent

sum of towards the erection of schoo ls , wh ich are

envied by every cl e rgyman in the diocese. This gen tleman

is the fathe r of the Rev.A lbert R. S teggall , whom BishopTucke r , in the cou rse o f his rema rks on Uganda and i tspeople , at the Durham Un ive rs i ty Commemorat ion in 189 1 ,

I

inc iden tal ly men t ioned as the Du rham graduate that i s

w orking ,

‘

single-handed and w i th extrao rd inary success

,as

a miss ionary in Easte rn Equatorial Afri ca. With such a

s i re i t is not surp ris ing that M r. S teggall has succeeded.I t seems bu t the o ther day that we wa l ked w i th S teggall .

as a boy on the w i l d h i l ls of Weste rn Du rham, and now

he is a man fu l l of vigour , and l ikely to become one of theforemos t of labou rers in the m iss iona ry field.

O n a broken freestone s lab wh i ch has been bu i l t in to thegable of a farmstead at Satl ey , near Lanches te r

,is a

I In 189 1 , the Un ive rs ity of Durham confe rre d the degre e of Doc torof D ivin ity on B ishop Tucke r , who was for seve ra l ye ars cura te of

S t.Nicho las’

s Church , Durham. H e was a grea t favourite in tha tc i ty, and it was his earne stne ss ra the r than his e loquence , the

home l ine ss of his i l lustra t ions , and his un conve n t iona l manne r, that

so a ttra cted people to him. H e is ful l of sympa thy, and is just theman to convert the hea then , whe re tha t is poss ible.

SKETCHES. 293

port ion of an Ol d grave-cove r w i th part of an in scri pt ionupon i t. The othe r port ion of the stone

,w i th the res t of

the insc r i p t ion,i s in the garden attached to A l lansford

House,th e res idence of M r. J. T. Potts , J.P. W hen

jo ined,th e ep itaph on the two stones reads thu s Here

Lye th the Body of Thomas Raw of Wharn ley Bu rn , who

departed thi s l ife Janua ry th e 30 , Anno Dom :

Accord ing to the popu lar bel i ef, Raw was a moss-t roope r.B eing excommun i cated by the Church , and probably

know ing that he wou ld be refused Chri st ian bu ria l at hi s

deceas e,Raw

,before his death

,requested his fri ends to

bu ry h im in a field on th e c rest of the h i l l near his house,

because he had spen t much t ime the re wat ch ing the

approach of his pu rsuers,and from that p lace tak ing the

bes t rou te to e lude them. The exac t spot w here the body

was bu ri ed used to be ind icated bya large frees ton e s labthe same whose whereabou ts w e have indicated.The remova l of the large r portion of the ston e to Satl ey

is accoun ted for in th is way. In the yea r 1864 , w hen

Wharn ley Bu rn was so l d to the late M r.Annanda l e Town,

the p rev ious own e r , M r.John Emmerson ,ofWil low Green

,

Froste rl ey,had i t conveyed to his fa rm at Satl ey

, six or

s even miles d istant. A few years before it was removedfrom the fie ld

,M r. Frank Bel l

,at that t ime tenan t of

Wharn ley Bu rn ,and M r.Geo. S idd le

,butche r

,Castl es i de

,

opened Raw ’

s grave and found the Skeleton,wh ich was in

a good state of prese rvat ion , probably ow ing to the dryness

of the so i l in wh ich the body was depos i ted. A v is i t to thehouse at Wharn ley Bu rn show s that i t has not been much

a l t e red s ince Raw ’

s t ime. There are th ree room s on th e

ground floo r,and the cen tre one was po inted out to us as

hav ing been th e s l eep ing apartmen t of the moss troope r.The latte r i s sai d to have sl ept in a beau tifu l ly carved boxbed

,w hi ch stood aga inst an oak part i t ion separat ing h is

room from the n ext apartmen t,whe re there i s a doorway

l eading to a den se wood. The door from Raw ’

s room to

the apartment adjo in ing was conceal ed by the bed refe rr ed

t o,and i t i s sa i d that he u sed th i s sec ret doo r as a mean s

of escape from his pu rsue rs. This inte rest ing Old bed was

bought a few years ago by Mr.Scot t , of the Sycamo res , by

whom i t was so l d to M ess rs.Rushworth , of Durham , who


in turn conve rted it into a m an te lp i ece for one of the roomsat Greenc roft Hal l.

That Raw was bu r i ed in the field i s beyond the shadowof a doubt. Why he was in te rred there w i l l p robably

rema in a myste ry. We found his w i l l in the ProbateRegi stry at Du rham , and in this he d i rects that h i s body i sto be bu r ied accord ing to the discretion of his execu tors

,

his b rothe rs M i chael and John. Raw ’

s w ife Ann was thenl iv ing , and to he r he l eaves an annu i ty of fou r pounds

, a

bed and c lothes , a p ress,a chest

,and one cow. To

M i chae l he l eaves Wharnley Bu rn , and to his othe r son,

John, he dev ises Todd H i l ls , w hi ch at h i s decease i s to goto his son Thomas. To his n ephew Thomas he l eaves the

farm of Hollinhall,whi ch was l eased from Dr. Oxley.

Two othe r n ephews , Joseph and John Marsha l l , and a

n i e ce , Hannah New ton ,are men tioned in the w i l l. The

inven tory Of Raw ’s goods made afte r his death i s dated27th J une , 1 7 1 5. H is appare l was worth £5 , and debtsamoun t ing to £ 1 14 we re ow ing to h im.

Nowhe re in the coun ty of Du rham do recent censusretu rns Show a steadie r inc rease in popu lation than in theLancheste r Un ion. Pi t afte r pi t has been s tarted duringthe pas t th ree decades

,and land , whi ch was not deemed

w or th the enclos ing at the t ime Lancheste r common was

div ided,is now the s i te of large min ing commun i t ies , who

l i ve and flou rish on the min e ra l wea l th below. The grow th

of E sh may be in s tanced. I ts popu lat ion was at one t imeexclus i ve ly engaged in agricu l ture. Spi ri tua l ly i t was

se rved by one Cu ra te , who a lso se rved Lancheste r and

Satl ey. Now the popu lation of E sh a lon e is served by a

v i ca r and two cu rates. What wou ld M r. White and his

two cu rates th ink of being pa i d £ 1 5 19 3 .6d.pe r annum forthe i r m in is trations P And yet th i s was a l l that was a l lowedfor the cu re of E sh in the year 1 742. Satl ey was s t i l lpoore r , £ 10 23 . 6d.being the sti pend pa i d the re. O ne of

M r. Warnefo rd’

s predecesso rs , M r. M i l es Patrick , thus

w r i tes about i t The Chapel of Satl ey hath been so longand a lmos t en t i rely neglected that I cannot come at any

parti cu lar informat ion of its fo rme r state. But as far as I


four pence ; and a p ig,e ightpence. The p r i ce Of horses

must have fluctuated greatly dur ing the two succeeding centuries. In 1 185 , fifteen b rood mares we re so l d for thesmal l sum of £2 1 23 .6d. Twen ty years late r , ten ho rsesof a good kind w ere so ld for £20 each , wh i l e a pa i r OfLombardy steeds , which

'

we re impo rted in 1 2 1 7 , fetchedthe extravagant pri ce of £38 1 33 .4d. The invento ri es of

the goods of fa rmers are a re l iable reco rd of th e value of

stock afte r that t ime. In 1 353 , a horse for agricu l turalpu rposes was worth forty pence

,and a cow 5 3 . In 1403 ,

at Lancheste r,Robert Todd was sued by Richard Ske lle tt

for the un lawfu l de ten tion of one horse , w i th saddle and

b ridle , one bow and twen ty-fou r arrows , and a pa i r of

spu rs, of the va l u e , in the who l e , of 9s.8d. O n the death

of Richard Watson,at Eas ington

,about ten years later ,

he left goods of the val u e of 84s.9d., among wh i ch was

an ox val u ed at a cow worth 73 . 1od., fou r sheep ,

5s. and a st i rk , 40d. In 1 582 a bay horse was worth

£4 , a black mare , £3 63.8d. a black fi l ly , 33s. an ox ,

£2 103 . and a Cow , £2. The ho l d ing of markets and

fai rs in churchyards l ed to great abuses , and,in the

thi rteen th year of Edward I I I., a p roclamat ion was issued

by the king fo rb idd ing e i the r be ing held the re.

Canon Trist ram is equal ly at home whether officiating

at a function of Mark Masons or playing the rOle of a

hakeem,

”o r medicin e man

,among the Bash i-Baz ouks.

In the investi tu re of h i s b rothe r masons he comportsh imse lf w i th as much grace and ease as he did one day

when,travel l ing in the land of Moab

,he unexpectedly

found himself in the ten t of a Bedou in woman ,whose

uncombed and unwashed p iccan inn i es smothered h im w i thk isses in the hope of gett ing backsheesh. And th i s

adaptab i l i ty to c i rcums tances does not desert h im whenth e to i ls of the day are over , and the members of his craftp roceed from labou r to refreshment.” The Canon has

banqueted on co l d Sheep ’s head and r i ce in the p resence ofnaked Bedou ins. He knows what i t is to l i ve on A rab

flat barl ey damper for three w eeks at a s tretch,and he has

satisfied his hunge r whi l e an accommodating she i kh hasafl ectionate ly stroked the canon i ca l s tomach. He has

SKETCHES. 297

been Ha i l !fel low , wel l met wi th an eccl es iast i cal

warr ior , a ragged de rvish, who boasted of hav ing sla in

th i rty men in fight w i th hi s own hands , and he has been in

more than one Arab ski rm ish. I t mus t have been a rare

treat to see the vete ran Canon of Du rham on the war- path.

Whil e among the Arabs he had few equals as a d ip lomat i s t ,and non e knew bette r how to take a bul l by the ho rn s or

b row -beat a bul ly. H appen ing on one occas ion to fa l lin to the hands of a horde of th ieves , he forced his way to

th e spot where they w ere s i tt i ng in so l emn con clave , and

p resen ted h imself befo re th e ch i ef in his boots and Spu rs.

The chief is sai d to have been as much as ton ished as theOl d B edou in lady was afte r the Canon had admin is te red to

he r,by acc ident , an ove rdose of c ro ton oil.

In 189 1 , Lord Du rham opened a new br idge connect ingthe north and sou th s i des of the r ive r Wear. I t is so close

to the h i l l w h ich is associated w i th the l egendary worm of

Lambton that the t radi t ion may be bri efly re-to l d. Thestory is best narrated by Su rtees

,and ranks amongs t the

most popular tradit ion s of the coun ty. I t has been

t ransmitted w ith very l i ttl e variat ion from father to son for

seve ral cen tu r i es. O ur fo refathe rs impl i c i tly bel i eved the

s to ry,and a t the beginn ing of th is cen tu ry the Lambton

reta iners used to show v i s i tors a p iece of h ide wh i ch was

sa i d to be a po rtion of the worm ’

s skin and a sword , made

a hundred years afte r the s laying of the monste r , was a l so

po in ted to as the i den ti ca l w eapon by w h ich the wormpe rished. Accord ing to the accepted tradit ion ,

the he i r

of Lambton was one Sunday mo rn ing fish ing in the Wear ,as was his p ro fane custom

, when be booked a wo rm ,

whi ch h e ca rel essly th rew in to a w el l. The worm grew

t i l l the we l l became too sma l l for i t,and one fine morn ing

i t was seen co i l ed round a huge ston e in the m iddl e of the

r i ve r. Sometimes i t sought a change o f res i dence by

c raw l ing to a h i l l about fifty yards d i stan t , whi ch i t

enc i rc l ed in its fo lds. He re i t lay,watch ing eve ryth ing

that passed , and swal low ing up man ,woman ,

and ch i l d ,and

,In fact

,everyth ing that i t cou l d waylay and transfe r

to its capac ious maw. SO te rr i b l e d id the repti l e become

that the ne ighbo u r ing farme rs,despa i ring of ri dd ing


themselves of its presence,ente red in to a truce w i th the

monste r , and as i t had shown a prefe rence fo r milk , th eygave i t the p roduce of n in e cows da i ly. Meanwh i l e ,young Lambton had repen ted of his you thfu l imprudences ,and know ing that the grow th of the wo rm was th e ou tcomeof h i s Sabbath-b reaking

,he dete rm ined on s laying the

fie rce monste r. Consequently,afte r consu l t ing a w ise

woman , be armed h imself in a coat of ma i l studded w i thrazor blades

,and w ent down to the ri ve r s i de in search of

the se rpent,which he found co i l ed round a t ree. S tepp ing

into th e st ream,w i th sword in hand he awa i ted i ts attack.

In a momen t i t gl i ded under his l egs and wound i tselfround the body of the kn ight , who th rust h i s sword intoi ts mou th , and who had the sat isfac t ion to see the enemycu t in p ieces by h is own efforts

,wh i ls t the stream wash ing

away the severa l parts prevented the possib i l i ty of the i rreun ion

,as they had done on a p revious occas ion before

the femal e o racl e had been con su l ted.

C H A P T E R X X X V I I I

S K E T C H E S

Sword Making at Shot ley Bridge —Pape r Making.—John Annanda le.—George Tay lor-Smith.—An c ien t Fre eho lde rs.—John Murray.How Poor Pe op le used to Live —H istori ca l Re l i cs.—JohnWa lton.—Rooks and Crops.—Evange l i ca l Sermons.—Centenarians. -S ign -boards.

HISTORY repeats i tself. A coupl e of cen tu ri es ago the

art i sans of the De rwen t Va l l ey v ied w i th To l edo inthe manufactu re of s tee l , and now To l edo and the famouswo rks ove rlooking the De rwen t at Con sett are aga inforemos t in this industry

,though the product of the i r

labou r i s no longe r for the des truction of mankind. The

swords and othe r w eapons of warfare p roduced on th eDe rw en t two hundred years ago equal led in flexib i l i ty

,

s trength , and el egance those of e i the r To l e do or Damascus.As an in stance of th is

,i t is re lated that one of the sword

makers,Robe rt O l ey

,made a wager w i th e ight sm i ths

that he wou l d p roduce w i th in a fortn igh t a sp ring whichshou ld excel any they m ight make. At the exp i rat ion of

the stated t ime , O l ey appeared at the place of meeting.

Coo l ly plac ing his hat on the table,he announced that h i s

sp r ing was the re , and asked some one to take i t out of

the hat. None,howeve r , compl ied w i th the request , for

the sp ring wh ich lay co i l ed up in the hat w as a fine

doub l e-edged sword. O l ey himse lf now took out thesword , and th enoffe red to pay the amoun t of the wage r

to any one who cou l d tel l wh ich way the weapon had been

co i l ed , but no one was able to do so.

The fi rs t s tee lworke rs on the Derwen t w ere Ge rmans ,who l eft the i r fathe rland ow ing to re l igious persecut ions.

The ch i ef of them w e re the O l eys. This family st i l l exi sts

at Shot l ey B ridge,

and i s rep resen ted by the veteran

au ct ionee r of that name. The account prese rved by Mr.

O l ey of h i s ances tors settl ing on the Derw en t is that theysough t for a p lace su i te d to the i r pu rpose in seve ra l part s

of Eng land , especia l ly near th e metropo l i s , but wan t ing to


The name ofM r.George Garry Taylor-Smith , of Colepike

Ha l l , has to be added to the l ist of those whose spi r itswere wafted to immortal l i fe in the year 189 1 . The familyfrom wh ich M r. Taylor-Smith t raced h i s descen t ownedlands at Cornsay Row and Satl ey in th e S i xteen th centu ry.Few famil ies can boast a mo re honou rable l ineage.Success ive generat ions Of them have l ived and died in thepar ishes of Lancheste r and B ran cepeth , a ll adhering to thefa i th of thei r fo refathe rs , and that , too

,in face of the

rigo rous persecut ions which w ere d i rec ted against RomanCatho l i cs in the years subsequent to the Refo rmat ion.Among the thousands in all parts of the coun try who thensuffered for being Popish Recu san ts we re the Taylors (the

an c ien t pat ronymic of the family)and many others res id ing

in Durham. For refus ing to attend the i r parish Churches,

or obj ecting to take the oath of a l l egiance,many persons

w ere con s igned to the dungeons of Durham Castl e. In

the manuscrip t closet of Bishop Cos in ’

s Library at

Du rham are many documen ts which bear S i len t w i tness tothe r igorous measu res that w ere enforced aga inst them.There is a command in the middl e of the seventeen thcen tury that noe person be ing a Popish Recusan t now

in pr ison be di scharged , but such as are very aged or

infirm by reason of some disease or sycknesse.” I t

appears that there w e re then seventeen Pop ish chapel s

w i th in a radiu s of seven mi les of Durham Castle. Thel ist was compiled by o rde r of the b ishop of the diocese ,and some of the informat ion i t conveys is so cu rious thatthe con tents may be b riefly indicated. The Bishop was

info rmed that the Pop ish pri ests appeared publ icly , and

tha t the Archdeacon had been s l ighted and aff ronted for

taking noti ce Of them ,and discouraging thei r pervers ion

of Pro testan ts. Divers Popish chi ldren had been sen t to

s eminar i es beyond the sea ,and there was then being bu i l t

at Du rham a noble structure which was sa id to be for

Madame Radcl iffe , bu t w hich was rea l ly designed for a

n unnery , for the en te rta inmen t of young ladys of that

p ersuas ion. Compla in t was a lso made that at Gerard

S alvin’

s chapel at C roxda l e , twen ty fami l i es , almost the

ent i re populat ion of that parish , had been perve rted whil e

a t Coxhoe , the incumbent da i ly conversed and hobnobbed

SKETCHES. 303

with the Popi sh pri es ts. Happi ly,the age of re l igious

in to l e rance and pe rsecut ion has passed away.

Besides be ing a ju sti ce of the peace,M r.Taylo r-Smith

was cha i rman of th e Lan cheste r Board of Guardians. In

th e gu idance of a large publ i c body,qu i te as much tact

and judgmen t are needed as in the managemen t of a team

of horses and the runn ing of a stage coach. Jus t as the

young and sk it t ish horse has to be held w i th a fi rm hand,

and the paces of an Olde r one accele ra ted by an occas ional

c rack of th e whip,so in l ike manne r mus t a cha i rman

a ttempt to regulate those un der him,now tighten ing the

r i bbons on some loquac ious or no i sy member, and now

relaxing the grip as the team jogs a long even ly. Du r ing

the ten vears that M r. Taylo r-Smith pres i ded ove r the

mee tings of th e Lancheste r Guardians, his Sh ip was

sometimes in difficu l t i es , but his tact an d timely appl i cat ionof a l i ttl e O i l on the t roubled wate rs a lways enabled h im to

w eathe r the s to rm . The Board has existed a l i ttl e overhalf-a-cen tu ry

,and

,w i th the exception of the late M r.

Nathan i e l C lark,of Beami sh Park , whose bright face and

g en ia l manners st i l l l inger in the memo ry of his Old fri ends ,i t is no t too much to say that non e of its cha i rmen we remore personal ly popu lar than M r. Taylor-Smith

, or

c onducted th e bus in ess of the un ion w i th greate r ski l l ande ffic i en cy.

In a paper , Systems of Lan d Tenu re in England and

I reland Compared ,”whi ch was read to the members of

t he New cas tl e Farme rs ’ C lub in 1890 ,M r.N.G.C layton

s tated that there had been a gradua l absorption of the Old

freehol de rs S ince the t ime of Charl es the Second. Th is

s tatemen t is confi rmed by exis ting documen ts. In 1675 ,

w hen the freeho l de rs of the coun ty of Du rham sen t

represen tat i ves to Parl iamen t , thei r numbe r was upwards

o f Ninety years afterward s,when the en ti re

popu lat ion of th e coun tyiis supposed toh

have been about

sou ls , the numbe r of freeho lde rs had r isen to

B ut i t i s a cu r ious fact that w hi l e the populat ion

in c reased from in 1 794 to in 182 1 , the

numbe r o f freeho l de rs had gradua l ly d imin ished. With

t he grow th Of the coa l trade and the inc rease of manu


factu res , in the second ha lf of the e ighteenth centu ry ,came a des i re for' increased possess ions among the r i chand prosperous landowne rs , and in th is way th e smal lestates o f the freeho l de rs w ere gradua l ly absorbed by the i rweal thy ne ighbours

,who we re bette r abl e to spare

’

the

cap ital necessary to imp rove them.

In these days of search ing afte r o riginal ity in all th ings ,we wond e r that the p romo te rs of concerts and en te rta in

ments do not in troduce in to the i r programmes a few songs

and bal lads o f the Old schoo l. A pla in tive di tty of tw en tyfou r ve rses u sed to be the correct th ing in days gone by,

with an occas iona l comic song of s im i lar le ngth. M r.Scott , of The Sycamores , Rowl ey , tel l s

“

a good storyrespecting these Old-fashioned en terta inmen ts. Befo re theuse of the piano became general , young ladies did not

Often s ing in publ i c ; and the i r pe rformances , when theyd id appear on a platfo rm ,

did not always satisfy the ru ra lm ind. O n one occas ion the late M r. John Murray

, of

Consett , chanced to pres i de over a con cert wheresen t imen tal ism largely predominated. He seemed to

appreciate the effo rts of the fa i r sex in the fi rs t part of

the p rogramme , bu t w hen the middle of the second port ion

was reached he los t al l pati ence , and excla imedHouts!hou ts!w i th that cate rwau l ing. Let ’s have a

good com i c song!” M r. Mu rray was

’

a conn ecting l inkbetween the pas t and the p resen t cen tur i es , and the re was

a robus tness about his sent imen ts and language whi ch was

always refreshing. He was at one t ime an auct ionee r,

and his vocabu lary of descriptive te rms woul d have formed

a Joe Mi l l e r in pu re Saxon. As the “ fathe r ” of theflourishing agri cu l tu ra l soci ety in North-Wes t Du rham

,

he was wel l known to the agricu l tu rists of the coun ty,

being president Of the loca l meetings , to which his

presence a lways l en t an in terest. We remember onc e

accompanying the Old gen tl eman to Beamish on the

occasion of a ploughing match supper. H is comfo rtablebu t Old-fashioned fou r-wheele r was never known to go

more than fou r mi les an hou r , and no remon s trance cou ldinduce him to increase the pace , his usua l rep ly be ing that

a good man took care of his horses , not on ly whi l e they

SKETCHES. 305

w e re useful to h im , bu t a l so afte r age rendered them unfi tfor se rvi ce. O n th e retu rn jou rney , a l i ttl e before m idn ight , the pin connect ing one shaft and the frame Of th e

conveyance s l ipped out and was lost , bu t i t in no way

upset the equ i l ib r ium of M r. Mu rray,who qu ietly p ro

ceed ed to repa i r the loss w i th the l eathe r laces of his

boots. The poo r o ld gentl eman ’s end was sad and tragicin the extreme. Retu rn ing home one n ight down a steepbank

,the pony , know ing the hab i ts of its indu lgent

maste r , mu st have stopped sudden ly,for when found M r.

Mu rray was lying dead , having eviden tly been ki l l ed byhis head fal l ing on a s ton e on the road.

O ctogenarians te l l us that in th e i r days large fami l i eswe re b rought up on 143 .a w eek. Flour was sometimes

33 .6d.per s tone , t ea was more than thr ice its presen t p r i c e,

suga r was 6d.1

per lb.,w h i l e flesh meat was not much

deare r than that now suppl ied by fore ign markets. The

so lu tion of the p roblem ,how they did i t , seems to l i e in

the fact that people , and the wo rk ing classes especia l ly,

have los t the s impl i c i ty of the i r ways and mode of l iving.Things have greatly Changed. Fo rty years ago ,

poorpeople made both ends meet in a var i ety of ways. The i rsons and daughte rs w e re taught to work. At the harves tt ime they gleaned as much corn as se rved them du ringthe au tumn. Most famil i es bought a rope or two of

potatoes. The bes t w e re consumed by themselves , thesmal l e r ones helped to feed the p ig , wh ich in tu rn fed thefamily w i th bacon du r ing the w in te r mon ths. The t imeshave changed even in the matte r of names. Now , ins tead

of the fami l ia r Do l ly , Ma ry , and Jane , we have E thel

asked to fetch some coals , Constance is requested to c lean

the boots , wh i le F lo rence b rings us a glass Of wate r.

And there is qu i te as great a con trast between the present

day t radesman and his prototype Of fo r ty or fifty years

ago. A t radesman was then a lmost as s tat ionary as hi s

Shop. He was constan tly to be found there. Now ,

howeve r , he can’t submit to sit kicking hi s heels in h is

Shop. H e mus t goss i p and discuss pol i t i cs or the affa i rs

of the town w i th his n eighbou rs , l eaving his shopmeanwh i l e in th e hands Of ass i s tan ts and app ren t i ces , who

too Often play , ,as the m i ce do when the cat i s away.

20


There was a n i ce l i t tl e b i t of loca l , as wel l as national ,h istory connected w i th a sal e which M r. Sarsfie ld con

ducted in th e c i ty of Du rham in 1892. With it i sin t imately in te rwoven the r ise and fal l of several of our

o ldes t famil ies. Just two hundred years ago ,S i r Mark

M i lbanke , of Dald en Tow er,Du rham

,mar r ied Jane

,the

daughter of S i r Ralph Carr, of Cocken. Thei r great

g randson , S i r Ralph M i lbanke , of Seaham ,who took the

name of Noel in 18 1 5 , was the father of Lady Byron. S i rRal ph had a brothe r and s iste r

,the latte r marry ing

Viscoun t M elbou rn e. The i r portrai ts are given in a

pa in t ing wh ich was made du r ing ch i ldhood,

and thi s

p a in t ing , w i th other M i lbanke rel ics,came in to the hands

of the E l l i s family th rough the marr iage of the late M issE l l is ’s fathe r , Capta in E l l i s , w i th M iss Richardson ,

whosegrandfather

,John Drake Bainbridge

,had marri ed Jane ,

o ne of the fou r daughters of Cuthbert Routh , of Dinsdale,whose w ife was Judith

,daughte r Of the S i r Mark M i lbanke

fi rst ment ioned. This histor ica l oil-pa in ting was boughtby a relat i ve of the fami ly

,Dr.Adamson ,

of Hetton ,who

a lso secu red a fine portra i t of Lady Byron ’

s aun t , E l izabeth ,Lady M elbourne

,pa in ted by H udson

,pupi l of Jonathan

Richardson the e lder,and maste r of S i r Joshua Reyno lds.

A s i lve r tankard which had belonged to John DrakeBa inbr idge

,sol d for 1 93.an ounce , whi le a bow l which had

been presen ted to the Company of Skinn ers and .Curriers

d u ring the mayo ra l ty of Thomas Masca l l , of Du rham ,in

1 667 , fetched s1 s. per ounce , the Mayo r of Durham ,

(M r.G. P. Blagdon)be ing the purchase r. Mascal l was

an attorney , and wedded the daughter of the celebratedTimothy Whitt ingham , of Ho lmsid e

,who used to marry

t he coun try fo l k round abou t Lancheste r in his own housed u ring the Commonw ea l th. He died in 1 686

,and

,acco t

d ing to the manusc rip t diary of Jacob Bee,was bu ried in

C rossgate Chu rchyard. The Rev. C. Morris,vicar of

Marston ,Oxford , pa i d £9 103 .for a very handsome dress

swo rd which had belonged to Capta in E l l is,and o ther

hei rlooms fetched equal ly h igh prices,Dr.Adamson paying

£ 14 for a remarkably fine and beaut ifu l Old ch ina punch

bow l , wh ich had pa in ted on i t a se ri es of hun t ing scenes.


attacked the son from behind , and th rew h im on to a dung

hi l l. Thereupon the father th rew O ff his gown,chal l enged

James to combat,and the pa i r fought lusti ly ti l l an un lucky

blow knocked the cu rate ’s s taff out of hi s hand , after

wh ich a wel l-di rected crack on the head from the layman ’sstaff te rm inated the fight.

He re is a n i ce l i ttl e cal cu lat ion for the membe rs of theNorthumberland Association for con tro l l ing the number

of Bi rd Pes ts of the Farm ,

”or fo r those who happen to

be long to an Ant i -B i rd Destruction Soci e ty. In 189 1 , a

Durham farmer sowed a five-ac re fie l d w i th wheat. Thefo l low ing morn ing we not i ced an army of rooks in

possess ion of it. What are they afte r P w e 1nqu 1red of

a bind who was ploughing in an adjo in ing field.Picking ou t the corn ,

” Was the rep ly “ Are they not

looking for grub P w e suggested “ Aye,they w i l l eat

grub—when they cannot get corn ,was the sh rewd re

spouse. The bi rds w e re so spread over the field that we tookthe trouble to coun t them. We coun ted to 360 ,

and therewou l d be a few more. A day o r two afte rwards they w e reaga in in the field , the o rigina l number being apparen tlyaugmented. Having in ou r mind a l e tte r whi ch A lde rmanScott had w ritten in the Newcastle Dailyjou rna l respectingthe damage d one to the farmer by rooks , w e cal l ed on a

n eighbou r and asked him to shoot one of the bi rds. Hedid so

,and

,on open ing the crop

,found 78 gra ins of corn

in i t. There was no grub d isce rn i bl e. Now, assuming

that each bi rd had on an ave rage seven ty gra ins in its

crop (probably a low compu tation), this w ou ld give a tota lof grains devou red by the rooks at one mea l. I twou ld be in te resting to know the exact measu re or

quan tity of co rn represen ted by grains. M r.George Grey , Of Millfie ld , Woo l e r

,obl igingly answe rs the

quest ion in the fo l low ing in te resting communication

If the who le of the se we re to ge rmina te and a rrive a t ma turity , Ith ink they wou ld ea ch produce on an ave rage four heads , w i th about37 pi ck le s in ea ch head , or a to ta l of, say, 1 50 for ea ch one p lan te d.The wh i ch the rooks a ctua l ly took wou ld the re fore haveproduced by A bushe l of whea t w i l l conta inabou t p i ckle s. D ivide by and we have 5 4bushe ls as the produce of the corn taken by the rooks.

SKETCHES. 309

A ve ry cons ide rab le deduct ion , must , however, be made for non

ge rmina t ing seeds and for losse s from othe r cause s. I th ink the

fo l low ing mode w i l l be found to show more a ccura te re su lts. The

usua l quan t ity of se ed sown pe r a cre is 2% bushe ls. From th issowing we wou ld expe ct , say, 42 bushe ls , or a ra te of in crease of

168 . Now , mu lt iply the quan t ity con sume d by the rooks , viz .,p i ck le s , by 1 68 and w e ge t p i ckle s as the produce. Th is (onthe suppos i tion tha t the re are gra ins in a bushe l)is e qua l toabout th re e -fifths of a bushe l.If we take the pri ce of wheat a s be ing 43 . 4d. p e r bushe l , then

thre e -fifths of tha t wou ld be about 23. 8d., and th is la st-men t ionedsum repre sen ts the cost of a l low ing 360 rooks to have on e freebreakfa st.

I t is sa i d that ou r cu rates are so hard worked dur ing

the w eek l that manyuare unable to snatch the necessaryt ime that i s requ i red for the preparat ion of a sermon ,

and

that,consequen tly , they are obl iged to adopt one that has

been obl igingly prepared to meet such cases o f emergency.

The late A rchdeacon Bland , the mos t amiable of m en,

always carri ed a family sermon or two in his pocket , and

these on many occas ions helped a b rother out of a ser iousdi lemma. B ut of the thousands of se rmons that are

preached every year,i t is surp r is ing how few are pr in ted.

Some of the bes t , the most e loquen t , because S implest

in the i r language , that w e know of we re the p roduction

of a curate.l They w ere so evangel ica l in tone , so

sympatheti c , so fu l l of freshness and or igina l i ty , thatB ishop Bar ing p resen ted the au tho r to a l iv ing on th e

fi rs t vacancy.Let us hope that a s i m i lar reward may fo l low the

publ i cat ion of a vo l ume wh ich was issued in 1892 by

anothe r graduate of Durham ,th e Rev.A lfred O. Smith.

Balaam and o the r Se rmons ,”is the t i tl e The discou rses

are a departu re from the dry-as-dus t o rder , as may beinfe r red from the fact of the i r be ing dedi cated to Dr.

Farrar , the l earned , m i rthfu l , anecdota l Professor of

D iv in i ty in th e Un i vers i ty Of Durham. The re a re manybeaut ifu l thoughts and images in the d iscou rse based on

the exp ress ion used by the Psa lm is t I t is good for me

that I have been affl i c ted. H ard though i t be to grasp

the tru th,i t is n eve rthel ess a fact that the b i tterest cup

that w e have to drink is sometimes mixed and admin iste redby the most lov ing hand in the un ive rse. Vari ed as are

I Se rmons , by the Rev.J.Wi l lmore Hoope r.


the forms wh i ch suffe ring assume s , the expe r i ence of ageshas taught us that when affl i ct ion comes i t i s des igned forou r benefi t or to do us good. In his memoi r of BernardGi lp in

,the Rev.Mr.Co l l ingwood te l ls us how an acciden t

saved th e l ife of the Apostl e of the North. While hi senemies w ere taking him to London a p ri soner , to

martyrdom,as he thought

,he b roke his l eg on the jou rney

,

his ar riva l be ing thus delayed t i l l the news of QueenMary ’s death freed h im from fu rthe r danger.

’

Few motivesto praye r are mo re pow e rfu l and effectual than thosefu rn ished by affl i c t ion. In its pa in and helpl essness thesou l inst inct ively tu rn s to the Omn ipoten t and breathesits wants to God. I t was the poet Cowper

,Speaking from

deep and pa infu l expe ri ence,who sa i d

Tria ls make the promise swee t ,

Tria ls give new l ife to praye r,Tr ia ls bring me to H is fe e t ,Lay m e low

,and ke ep me the re.

The l ives of centenar ians wou ld , we bel i eve,

affordin terest ing mate r ia l for a book. People seem to havel ived longer las t cen tu ry than now , and when au then t icatedin stances of longev i ty occu rred they usua l ly found thei r way

in to the new spape rs. Such i tems w e re ch ron i cl ed in theb riefes t te rms , howeve r ; hence i t is that l i ttl e or nothing

has been handed down

'

to us of the l ives of such people ,beyond the ste reo typed remark that they reta ined thei r

facul ties to the las t.”

Recen tly,in tu rning over some Old papers in the B ishop ’s

Regist ry , at Du rham ,w e d iscovered a number of docu

men ts wh ich th row considerable light on the caree r of a

lady who w as a prominen t figu re in Newcastl e upwards of

a cen tu ry and a ha lf ago ,and whose husband

,the Rev.

Dr. Thomlinson ,w i l l a lways be rem’embered as hav ing

given his valuable col lection of books to the Chu rch Of St.Nicho las , many years befo re.his death at Whickham in

1 749The tomes whi ch D r. Thoml inson gave to the churchcaused much con ten t ion for many years

,and i t is some

w hat s ingu lar that the disposal O f the wo rldly goods of his

w i dow a lso created a vast amoun t o f con ten tion and s trife.She died in 1769 , in he r 102nd year , l eaving a w i l l wh ich

3 1 2 NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

having asked my name, she wou ld repea t the que s t ion , and then add

,

I th ink I have bee n a s le ep aga in s ince you cam e in ,

”

and in rea l itywas so some t imes.

M rs. Askew,w i fe of Dr. Askew ,

o f Newcastle , thusdescribes a vi s i t she made to M rs.Thoml inson a few yearsbefore he r death “ I was once p resen t w hen a party at

ca rds was made, which was a great amusemen t to her ;

and in playing,when any of the party played the game

,

which was common ly Looe ,’

w rongly , she wou ld inte rpose and tel l them that they di d no t play the gameproperly. With in two years befo re she d ied she made mea present Of a pa i r of garte rs Of he r own kn i tt ing.” M rs.

Thoml inson had tol d M rs. Askew of Lord and LadyRavensworth

’

s v is i t to he r and,referring to th is c i rcum

s tance,M rs.Askew says She (M rs.Thoml inson)tol d

me that she imagined Lo rd and Lady Ravensworthexpected to meet w i th an Old woman upon c rutches , butthat She rece ived them at her chambe r doo r w i thou tc rutches.

M rs.Car r , of Dunston H i l l , wen t w i th her n i ece to see

M rs. Thoml inson in Octobe r,1 769.

“ She was ly ing inher bedchamber

,and asked who my n i ece was , and upon

tel l ing her She took my n i ece by the hand and sa id,I am

glad to see anybody that belongs to M rs. Car r , and

particu larly you ,B u t afte r th is v is i t Mrs.

Thoml inson lost the use of her facu l ti es,and for seve ra l

w eeks preceding he r di sso lution she was in a state of

abso lute dotage. M rs. O rnsby,the w i fe of a cl erk to

M rs. C row l ey , desc ribes her clos ing momen ts in th efo l low ing manner S evera l toys and babies

,such as are

used by ch i ldren ,w ere made for her

,and I caught bu tte r

fl i es for her , w i th a ll which she played and amused herself.Amongs t others she had a toy in the shape o f a lamb

,

wh i ch She sometimes pu t in to her mou th and say she

wou l d eat i t. She frequen tly asked where she was , and

on be ing tol d at Whickham,she wou l d immediate ly say

she d id not know whe re W h ickham was. When we wereundress ing he r for bed she wou ld inqu i re w hat we meant

to do w i th he r , and on tel l ing he r she would immediate ly

ask what to do there. She Often tal ked about TomThumb , cal l ing he rself Tom Thumb

’

s w i fe and Punch ’s

SKETCHES. 3 1 3

w i fe. She wou ld say, W i l l you th row me into theTyne! Who keeps me!’ ‘ How are we for cl e rgymen now!’ ‘ Who i s the rector!’ Is i t Chris tmas!’I s i t the hopp ing!’ She wou l d look th rough the

w indow of he r room at the chu rchyard,and cal l the grave

s ton es p igs and sw in e.’

I f parish reco rds and monumen tal inscr i p t ions may be

rel i e d on, the pe rcen tage of our forefathe rs who reached

the age of 100 years was greate r than i t is now. In

the par ish o f Jar row,between 1 786

- 18 18,no few e r than

s even cen tenar ians are men t ion ed in the records. Thelast-named year affords an ins tance of a patr iarchal pa i r ,who had l ived and loved togethe r through many a

changing year,dying w i th in a few hou rs of each o th e r.

O n February 2 1 3 t,Hannah Bel l

,aged 100 ,

d ied at

Heworth at th ree O ’clock in the morn ing and her spouse ,who was th ree years he r sen ior

,died of a broken heart six

hou rs late r , both be ing bu r i ed in the same grave. A

para l l e l case occu rred at Eggleston in 1 826,w hen M r.

Will iam Hu tch in son and hi s w ife died w i th in a few hou rsof each othe r

,and w ere s im i larly in te rred. A year before ,

a midw ife named Do rothy Dal e d i ed at Low Heworthwho was th e mean s of br inging no few e r thanch i ldren in to the wo rld. This woman must have been as

grea t a benefactress to the human race as the lady whosedeath is reco rded at S t. H ilda ’

s , Sou th Sh ie lds. -Hername was Doro thy Watson

,and she died in 1 705 , aged

83 , hav ing l ived to see the fou rth gen e rat ion,to the

number of 1 16,

all sprung from herse lf. Anothe r

matron ly Do l ly is men t ioned in the same registe r. She

was th e spou se of Ra lph Harr ison for .the long period of

74 years , having marri ed w hen she was n in eteen. Shel ived t i l l she was 93 , wh i l e he r husband was w i th in two

years of being a cen tenar ian when he d i ed.

The case Of David M i tchel l,who died at Lancheste r

Workhouse in 1883 , is an in stance of the p rolongat ion of

human l i fe far beyond the usua l l im its. M i tche l l was fu l l

of rem in iscences of the war betw een England and France

in th e early years of th i s cen tu ry. O riginal ly a seaman,

be’

was captu re d by a p rivatee r and confin ed as a p ri sone r

at Va l enc i enn es a long w i th S i r Thomas C lave ring and


other North -countrymen. He was in his 104th year when

he died,and he used to say that the pleasan tes t periods of

his l ife w ere when he was on paro l e as a prisoner in

France,and that po rt ion of i t wh i ch was spen t w i th M r.

B rotherhood,the master of the Workhouse.

I t may be accepted as a gen era l ru l e , that the soone r abeing atta ins matu ri ty the sooner i t p ropagates , and theShorte r w i l l be the du rat ion of its l ife. B ut the re are

exception s to this ru l e , as in th e cat , for instance , wh ich ismatu re before the end Of the fi rs t year , and st i l l occas ion

a l ly l ives to the age of twenty years. The du rat ion of

l ife among an imals var ies much. .The ho rse does not l ivemore than forty years , the ox fifteen to twen ty years , sheep ,goats , hares , and rabbits from seven to ten years. Dogsand p igs l ive from fifteen to tw en ty years. Among treesthe yew perhaps l ives longest. The oak grows from 800

to years. The l ime w i l l flou r ish in some s i tuationsfor a thousand years. Those on the Pa lace Green at

Du rham are sai d to have been plan te d in the re ign of

E l izabeth.

In a p rev ious chapte r w e have shown that the re are

many cu rious in sc riptions on grave-stones. In out-of

the-way places , qua in t inscrip tions are st i l l occasional ly tobe found on shop and trade s igns. In the v i l lage of

B rancepeth , near Du rham,there used t o be a l i tt le shop

w i th the fo l low ing whims i ca l int imation above thedoo rway “ Bread and beer so l d here to-mo rrow for

noth ing. I t wou ld be spo i l ing the joke to expla in i t.Thi rty years ago the l eading sweep in the c i ty o f Du rhamwas John K innear. He lived when boys w ere sen t up

ch imneys instead of paten t brushes,and it may be said to

his credit as an honest w o rkman that he a lways in s is ted

on the brush being held ou t of the ch imney as proof thatthe work w as don e tho roughly. The S ign of his house inFramw el lgate bore the fo l low ing poeti cal e ffus ion

John K innea r l ive s he re ,Swe eps clean , bu t no t too dearIf your ch imney’s se t on fire ,He ’ l l pu t it out a t your de s ire.

There used to be a poet i cal sw eep in the Derwen t Va l ley.He was bes t known as the Mayor of Shotl ey B ridge

,at


Near the Duck Pond,in Gilesgate , Du rham , the re

former ly exi sted a publ i c-house,

“ The Dun Cow , wi thth i s S ign

Come ye from the eas t ,

Or come ye from the we st ,

Just taste the Dun Cow’

s mi lk,

You ’l l find it is the best.

C H A P T E R X X X I X.

S K E T C H E S .

Freemasonry.—Tithe s ,

”

O ffe rings and Ob lat ions.—The Writ ings and

Le tte rs of Athanas ius.—Ho lyWe l ls.—Dr.We stcott —Ane cdote sof B ishop Bar ing and the Ca thedra l Ve rge r.—Change s in

Durham.—Prea che rs and Prea ch ing —Gre ek o r no Gre ek.Sedgefie ld.

—Co l le ctors and An t iquarie s.—The He d ley Fami ly.

WE w i sh that Canon Tri stram , or M r. S trachan ,or Mr.

Logan ,or some othe r Mason i c au thor i ty would

en l ighten us mo re abou t early Freemason ry. I t wou l dinte res t us all to know someth ing respect ing the men who

bu i lt the old cas tl es in Durham and No rthumberland,and

to know what lodge the bu i l de rs of Durham Cathedra lb elonged. P robably the masons w e re among the fi rst tohave a gu i l d of the i r own. St.A lban ,

th e fi rst martyr for

Chris tian i ty in th is coun try,i s sai d to have been a great

pat ron of the masons. There seems to have been a

successfu l agi tat ion among them for h igher wages in h is

t ime,and on ly soci e ty men w ere permi tted to wo rk on

any bu i l d ing w i th w hi ch th e members of a lodge w ereconcerned. There was a maste r and warden connected

w i th each lodge , and the w ho l e dwel t in an encampmen t

near the bu i lding they w e re employed to erect. I t is a

noteworthy fact in connexion w i th Mark Masonry in

Northumbe r land and Du rham that the North-country

fu rn ishes the fi rst record of Mark Mason ry in the king

dom. Un t i l recen tly the year 1 777 was ass igned as theearl i est reference to the Mark Degree bu t in looking ove r

the m inu tes of th e Marquess of Granby Lodge , M r.Logan

made the discove ry that a Mark Maste r Mason ’

s Lodgeexi sted in th e c i ty of Durham fou r years an te r ior to that

date.I The refe rence to i t i s un der the date Decembe r

I H istory of Fre emasonry in the C ity of Durham ,by Wil l iam

Logan.


2 1 3 t, 1773 , thus B ro.Barw i ck was a l so made a Mark

’

d

Mason ,and B ro.James Mackin lay ra ised to the Degree of

a Maste r Mason,and a l so made a Mark Mason , and pa i d

acco rdingly.

To any one not w i th in the mysti c c i rcle , the groups of

cap i tal l e tte rs , PGJD ,PPGMO

,and so on ,

fo l low ing thenames of the gen tlemen who u sual ly take part in thep roceed ings of the Masons

,mus t be as un intel l igibl e as

reading the d ictionary was un in te res ting to the poorcountry lass who waded through its hard words in thebel i ef that i t was a new novel. How long Mason ry hasexisted in A lnw i ck is a mystery that the craft i tse lf cannotdetermine. An en thus iast i c brothe r once averred that i tflou ri shed the re when its pride and glo ry , the princelycastl e of the Percys , fi rs t ra ised its head. Anyhow

, a

lodge seems to have been held there so far back as theyear 1 70 1 . I f the records of th is o ld lodge exist , theywou l d th row some l ight on the working of the c raft , andperchance tel l us someth ing of the m en who flou rished on

the Aln du ring the reign of Queen Anne. But i t i s to befeared that they have gon e the way of the o ld w r i tings of

many other lodges. In a schedu l e Of the j ewels,furn i tu re

,

and books belonging to the Marquess Of Granby Lodge in1 775 , men t ion is made of a large oak box , conta in ingpapers and many other th ings relating to

'Mason ry.When M r. Logan made an inventory of the goods of

that lodge , he was unable to i den t ify a s ingle art i c le , saveone l i ttl e book , Hu tchinson

’

s Spi ri t of Mason ry ,”whose

dog-cared , di lapidated condi tion had appa ren tly saved i t

from the common fate. B ox,j ew els

,seals , Copper-plates ,

prin ts of the Dedicat ion ,and a vi ew of So lomon ’s Temple

,

and o ther moveables , represen t ing the goods and chatte l sof the anc i en t and honourable frate rn i ty Of Free and

Accepted , all had disappeared. Even the pa i r of fustaindraw ers , probably wo rn by S i r Cu thbert Sharp himself,had been spirited away , and not a l eg rema ined of themahogany cha i rs on wh ich erstwhi l e sat the Maste r and

the Sen ior and Jun io r Wardens. Quart,p int

, and gi l lmeasu res , th i rty-seven drinking glasses , w i th the emblems

of Mason ry on them ,had been swept away as ru thless ly as

the bean box had been torn from its pedestal.


the membe rs had se r ious thoughts of clos ing the lodge ,ow ing to the b reth ren refus ing to pay thei r subsc r ip tions .

On Decembe r 3o th ,theW .M., Brother Tu rnbu l l , concl udes

h is record of the meet ing in the fo l low ing words TheHo ly B ibl e and wo rk ing too ls belonging to th i s lodge arenot forthcoming. S tri ct inqu i ry ought to be m ade

r especting the same,be whe reve r they may.

” The lodge

was erased from the l i s t n ine years late r.

The lega l recogn i t ion of t i thes dates from about 786 ,

and there seems a lways to have been an ind ispos i t ion to

pay them. In fo rmer days , and in fact un ti l w i th in ha l f acen tu ry ago ,

the machine ry of the ecclesiast ica l cou rts was

in constant mot ion aga inst those who w i thhel d the usua l

oblations ,Obven tions

,and Offe rings exacted by the Chu rch.

The Cons istory Cou rt of the B ishopri c of Du rham , w hich

had j u risdiction ove r the two coun ties , was from time tot ime the theatre Of much protracted l i tigation. O n e of th emany remarkable cases that appea r on its reco rds was

that of Pete r Watson ,of Chester- le-S treet

,whi ch began in

182 1 and lasted seven years. Pete r was a cordwa ine r o r

shoemaker. As,in his inves tigations and suppo r t of his

Opin ions , he spen t 1 23 . 1 d.of his substance amongthe lawye rs , and more than two years of his l ife in prison ,

he may be jus tly a l low ed to know something on thesubj ect Of t i thes , Offer ings , Oblations , &C.

1 When sum

moned to appear before the V i car-General for non-paymen t

of an“ Oblation due to the chu rch at Chester- le-St reet

,

the cobble r p roved himself more than a match fo r thatOfficial. “ Pray , sir ,

”said he

,

“ what does the oblations ign i fy!These Oblations , no doubt , had the i r o r igin in

the ignorance , and w ere blended w i th the Popish sup e rs ti

t ion of our fore fa thers. When affl i c ted w i th s i ckn ess, or

when i t was supposed they were draw ing n igh unto death,

they sen t for the i r pr iest confessor , whose fi rst care was to

impress on the mind of the suffere r the importan ce of

l eav ing a large portion of his worldly substance to theChurch , by w h ich , and the prayers of the p rIest , he was

I “ The Laws of T ithe s , Offerings , Obla t ions , &c., by Pe te rWatson.

SKETCHES. 32 1

assu red he wou ld be enabled to pass th rough Purgato ry

stra ightway into the M eadow of Ease,whe re h e wou l d

remain unt i l i t shou l d pl ease St. Pete r to open for h im the

gates Of Paradi se.” Wel l , Obse rved the V i car-Genera l

t ry ing to hide a laugh ,“ there i s al so an obven t ion..

“ Aye,repl i ed Pete r ,

“ th i s or iginated in the year 693 ,w hen Ina re igned K ing of the West Saxon s. At th i speriod an i ron chest was fixed in the porch of the chu rch ,or in some conspicuous place near the en trance. He resuch persons as attended divine servi ce depos i ted thei r

mite— some a ha lfpenny , some a penny , others twopence ,or w hat they thought p rope r and conven i en t , whi l e o therscon tr ibu ted noth ing. As soon as divine serv ice was over

,

the min i s te r and chu rchwardens examined the ches t , and

gave the con tents to char i table u ses— to succou r the w idow

and the fatherl ess o rphan,th e s i ck

,the infirm , and the

dest i tute ; but ,” he added w i th d ramat i c effect

,

“ i t was

n eve r appl ied to , or in tended for , the use of such persons

as the cu rate of Cheste r.” The cu rate ’s o riginal c la im

was for 1 3 . 2d., wh i ch included a demand of 4d. fo r h i scl e rk. This the court dec ided to be i l l egal , and reduced i t

to 1od., unde r the fo l low ing heads —6d.for an Offering

hen,

”1 d for smoke penny ,

”and 3d.for two commun i

can ts. Y ou see,

” remarked the cu rate ’s p roctor,

coaxingly , th ere is on ly tenpence demanded.” Then,

”

answered Pete r ,“ if the demand i s bu t tenpence

,how

comes the cu rate to have co l l ec ted 1 3 .2d.P”—The Proctor :

Then you refuse to pay the sum of 1 od. 3 0 charged P”

Pete r I do and rathe r than submi t to pay an exac tion

so ev idently i l l egal , w i thou t more p roofs in just ification of

the cla im than you have p roduced , I w ould suffe r mysel f tobe flayed al ive and my skin to be na i l ed to the chu rch doo r

,

to in t imidate othe rs from coming to you r cou rt

The town of Sunde r land fu rn ishes some cu r ious factsrespect ing the col lec tion of t i thes. In 1 767 the re existed

an an c i en t custom of paying the Rector of B ishopwear

mouth certa in sums Of money known as Easte r offe r ings orOblat ions. Each plough in the par i sh was taxed to thetun e of a penny , cal l ed a plough penny the commun i cants

at church pa i d th ree-ha l fpence ; and t here was a thi rd to l l

of S ixpence wh ich was te rmed a hen-penny. O ne of the

21


rector ’s par i sh ioners was Wil l iam E ttr i ck,of the H igh

Barnes. M r.E ttr i ck was a man of i rasc ibl e temper , and

held the clergy in l ight esteem. Bu rnett , one of theh is tor ians of Sunderland

,says of h im , that he was a

most act ive and usefu l magistrate , of independen t spirI tsometh ing of a humor i s t , and both feared and respected.H is humou r took a s trange tu rn at t imes , and i t is certa int hat he was much more feared than loved. He possesseda remarkably large hand-bi l l or chopper

,very sharp on

both edges,w i th whi ch he lopped off an overgrown tw ig or

flou rished i t abou t the head of his n eighbou rs,j us t as

c i rcumstances arose and the humour se ized him. Whenhis w ife ventu red to l ight the fi re w i thou t his pe rmiss ionhe would scatte r the burn ing coa ls abou t the room. Somet imes he amused h imself by th row ing his w ife ’s l inen out of

the bedroom w indow. He obj ected to expens ive dinners,

observing that s econd courses and expen s ive ones were thebane of n e ighbourly i nte rcourse. O n one occas ion heinvited M r.S torey

,a ne ighbou r , to dine w i th h im. Finding

that his spouse had p rovided some custards,he threw a

skimm ing dish at he r head,and o rdered one of the ma ids

to th row the custards down the hol e of an outbu i lding.When the demand was made upon h im fo r the Easte rreckon ings , he flew in to a rage

,and i t is more than

p robable that the ti the r ’s head wou ld have pa i d the penal tyof his temeri ty if the two-edged Chopper had been at hand.Dr. Bland , the then rector , th inking that his pe rsuas i vee loquence might have a bette r effect , next presentedh imse lf at High Barnes. O n the men tion of hen-pennyand plough-penny , M r. E ttr i ck smiled ben ign ly

,as a cat

w ou l d smile on a mouse befo re devou r ing it. Bu t theparson was se rious , and so was M r. E ttri ck. The latte rs low ly pu t off his coat , whereupon the rector , know ing hisc ombat i ve d ispos i t ion , made a backward movemen t

,in

wh ich he was helped by a snarl ing dog ,wh ich seemed ben t

on do ing its master ’s b idd ing. These facts are not d rawn

from the imaginat ion ; but from the w ri t ten reco rds of th eCons istory Cou rt at Durham , whither M r. E tt ri ck was

s ummoned to appea r. Bu t the recto r was as unfo rtunatethe re as he had been on the scene of bat tle

,i t being proved

by Mr.E ttri ck that H igh Barnes,Low Barnes

, and Pa l l ion


than true , when we cons i de r the Odds aga in st him.Ar ian ism re igned supreme from the throne downwa rds.In 359 , at the Counc i l of Ar im inum

,the cause of Arius

seemed triumphan t ; as S t.J e rome sa id , the who l e worl dgroaned and was as ton i shed to find i tself Ar ian.” Butthere is no n eed for us to go in to de ta i l s. Those whow i sh to maste r the his tory of this impo rtan t period of

Chu rch h is to ry canno t do better than take Mr.Robertsonas the i r guid e.

I H is book conta ins most i f not all of theimportan t wo rk of Athanas ius. The translat ion is p rinc ipal ly the Oxford t rans lation revised by the ed i to r

,though

a large port ion of the wo rk is due to M r. Robertsonh imself ; espec ia l ly the renderings Of the two booksaga ins t the heathen ,

the defence of D ionys ius , and thepe rsona l l e tte rs. Of these works there is no n eed to say

more than that,in addi t ion to being a close vers ion ,

thet rans lat ion is eminen tly Engl ish. But to say this is s implyto assert that the scho larship is good , and no one who i s

acqua in ted w i th the edi to r ’s l i ttl e ed i tion of the DeIncarnat ione

,

” publ ished some years ago , wou ld haveexpected anyth ing else. The wo rk in wh ich the edi to r isreal ly able to do jus ti ce to h imself is to be found , however ,in the maste rly p rol egomena and in troductions. Thein troduction to the V i ta An tonii, and

,above al l

,the

in troduction to the l ette rs , may be taken as examples.Here

,if w e mistake not

,Mr.Robertson has been able to

th row a new l ight on some of the unsettl ed po in ts in thech rono logy of Athanas ius. Here , a lso

,he has tu rned to

good use the “ H istoria Acephala”and the “ Festal Index.”

Turn ing to the pro l egomena ,i t may bejust ly sa i d Of i t that

the w r i ter speaks—if the exp ress ion may be a l lowed— fromthe abundance of his know l edge. In no s ingle book heretofo re has i t been poss i bl e to ge t such a grasp of the h isto ryof the Nicene age and of the problems which had then to

be so lved. B u t i t is no good go ing on trying to p ick bitsout for commendation when all is good , though perhapschapte r v

, and the two tables which succeed, wil l be found

special ly usefu l. M r. Robertson has made a no tableaddit ion to English patris ti c l i terature , and his fou rth

1 “ Se le ct Writ ings and Le t te rs of Athanas ius , B ishop of Alexandria. Edited w i th Pro legomena , Indice s , and Tables by the Rev.

Arch iba ld Robe r tson , Principa l of B ishop Ha tfie ld’

s Ha l l,Durham.

SKETCHES. 325

vol ume of the S el ect Lib rary of Nicen e and Post-Nicen e

Fathe rs ” i s a welcome add i t ion to a valuable se r ies.Among those spec ial ly men t ion ed as hav ing rende red himassi s tance are the Rev.H en ry E llershaw and M iss Payne

Smith , the former having tran s lated the l i fe of Antony,

wh i l e the latte r revi sed the Oxford translat ion of the bu lkof the Festal Letters.

Northumberland and Durham used to possess manyho ly w el l s

, whose or igin i s a matte r of histo ry and need

no t be repeated. These sac red foun tains w e re though t topossess heal ing vi rtu es. There is one at Shotl ey B ridge.While the Saxon rema ined the mo the r tongue , the place was

denominated the Hal ly Wel l hal ly be ing a late r form

of the Saxon word “ halig , mean ing ho ly , as so many

w el l s w ere accoun ted. Many th ink that ha l ly wel l is a

corruption or p rovinc ial ism ,bu t

,as Ryan po ints ou t in h i s

in te res ting l i ttl e h istory of Shot l ey Spa ,the name correctly

desc ribes the anc ien t founta in , and the fact of its st i l l be ing

appl ied to the place by the old res i den ts in the De rwen tVal l ey shows that the common people p rese rve the

or igina l Of names longe r than th e learned. The w ater atShotl ey is thought to be reme d ial in scrofu lous compla ints

,

the un i ve rsal opin ion the reabou ts be ing exp ressed in a

coupletNO scurvy in your skin can dwe l lIf you on ly drink the Ha l ly We l l.

THE HALLY WELL IN 1840.


The Holy Wel l i s s ituated in the middle of the Spa

Grounds , and is surrounded by some roman t i c scene ry.

Afte r pass ing th rough the lodge gates , a broad wal k or

carr iage road , w inding unde r a lofty canopy Of t rees , l eadstowards the foun ta in

,on reach ing whi ch the vi s i to r

obse rves that he has en tered a natu ra l park , and treads on

the arena,or rather the meadow floor , of a vast amph i

theatre,formed by the gracefu l c i rcumvol u tion of th e banks

tower ing around the trees , of r i ch and var i ed fo l iage , and

r is ing above each othe r on the val l ey sides , appear as

innumerable spectators. Around the area of th is amph itheat re , the carr iage road , pleas ingly curved , runs nearlya mile

,sometimes sk i rt ing the wood , and aga in go ing

unde r its canopy,sometimes being inflected by the De r

wen t ’s pebbled channel,and aga in a l low ing an inte rven ing

plan tat ion to close in the scene and increase the mus i ca lr ippl e of the stream. While contemplat ing these beaut ifu lsu rroundings the v i s i tor may be tempted to excla im w i thM r.Lax ,

in his poem ,Shotl ey B ridge

H e re,in these shade s , in summe r’s gen ia l a ir ,

’M id gardens s lop ing towa rd the rive r’s shore ,A re flowe rs as fragra n t

,b lush ing ma ids a s fa ir,

A s Eas te rn c l ime can boast , or gods adore.

D r.Wes tco tt , successo r to Dr’

.Lightfoot , add ressed theundergraduates of the Un i vers i ty of Durham ,

in B ishopCos in ’

s Library , on the 28th Of May,1890. The reception

given to the new V is i to r mus t have been one of the mos tpleas ing inc iden ts connected w i th his acceptan ce of theB ishopric. Dr.Westcott seems to be an in ten se ly earnestman. This is shown by his speech and in al l his movements. Cheer afte r cheer greeted his happy comparisonof his late surround ings at Cambridge w i th those at

Du rham ,and these we re echoed du r ing his gracefu l

al lusion to the teach ing staff of the Un ive rs i ty. As thenew Bishop gripped the hands of those who were the re tob id h im w elcome , and subsequen tly marched O ff w i th h i sown carpet bag , we cou l d not help th inking that thed iocese had got a worthy successor of a great and goodman. In him ,

as in Dr.Lightfoot,immense l earn ing i s

bl ended w i th extreme humil i ty. In th e Old days of

ep iscopal p ride and luxu ry , the bishops of Durham moved


howeve r , one woman

’

was heard tel l ing another who had

los t he r cow that the latte r was in D unho lme , and neve rsu rely did the vo i ce Of woman sound mo re melodious and

heaven ly than i t d i d that day in the ears of the d is tressedmonks.

The greatest change that has been made in the Old c i tydu ring the past fifty years is

,perhaps

,that in The Banks ,

those sylvan shades so dear to the lads and lasses of

Dune lmia. The Dean and Chapte r,w i th a laudable des i re

to improve the i r own doma in , and to give i t addi t ionalattractions in the eyes of the c it izens and pleasu re-seekers ,have made addit iona l wal ks and beautified the woodswh ich fringe the rive r. I t is in the E lve t Banks that arthas ass isted natu re most. Canon Trist ram has been headgardener

, so to speak,and w i th Flora ’

s help,and a w i de

experi ence of such matte rs ga ined du ring his easte rn

travels,he has transformed w i ld , b racken hi l ls i des in to

primrose banks , and ugly gutte rs and dripping rocks in towate rfal ls and min iature cascades , the who l e , as vi ew edfrom a bend in the rive r

,rem inding one

‘

of Gray ’sdescript ion of a s imi lar p rospect

, which , s l ightly a l te red,

may be appl i ed to Du rham

Y e distan t sp ire s , ye an t ique towe rs ,

Tha t crown the wa t’ry glade ,

Whe re gra te fu l Science st i l l adore sSa in t Cuthbe rt ’s ho ly shade.

In Our un ivers i ti es and co l l eges the re are professors of

Greek and Hebrew,

of the class i cs,mathemat i cs

,and

modern languages , but the re is nobody to teach the art of

w ri t ing and preaching. This branch of a cle rgyman’

s

education has been sadly neglected,w i th the resu l t that

many men cannot read , w i th decency , the sermon w h ichthey may have pu rchased for a trifle. Not long ago , an

incumben t l iv ing in on e of the M i dland counties consu l ted awel l-known chu rch dign i tary w i th a view to his son

’

s comingto Durham. The young man was a c r ippl e

, short- s ighted

,

and , in fact , on ly one remove from an imbeci l e. Su re ly,

s i r , you don’t ser ious ly in tend him for th e Chu rch!”

p rotes ted the conscien tious professor. Oh, yes ,

”was

the reply of the cle ri c ,“ the p resentat ion of the l iv ing of

SKETCHES. 329

i s in our family , and the re i s noth ing e l s e for him.D r. Bu rgess says that the Nonconformists have

, on an

ave rage , the greates t p roportion of effect ive Speake rs and

p reache rs in the i r ranks. Th i s i s accoun ted for by the

fact that in the theo logical co l l eges the s tudents are

requ i red to p ract i ce se rmon-w r i t ing and the art of

del i vering them. I t has been sa i d that the secre t of

th e popu lar i ty of most of ou r good preache rs l i e s in the i r

hav ing recou rse to eve ry kind of info rmat ion wh ich can

i l l u strate the i r cal l ing. Like the bee , they co l l ect from all

quarte rs whateve r i s l i kely to fu rn ish an i dea for a

discou rse.

The old -fash ioned preache r has all bu t d ied ou t in’

the

town s and large centres of populat ion , bu t in some remote

parts Of the two count i es the peopl e s ti l l clamou r for a

good,long

,st iff d iscou rse , such as the Pur i tan fathe rs

del ighted to del ive r. In the seven teen th centu ry,th e

Sabbath ’s mo rning discou rse from the pu l p i t usual lyextended to two hou rs. The t ime occup ied by a few of

the best known loca l p reache rs among the Dissente rs doesnot fal l far short of th i s at the presen t t ime. Some of

these gen tl emen are of Opin ion that a discou rse is dry

w i thout anecdotes , and occas ional ly they i l lustrate the i r

observat ions in a most pecu l iar way. The“ local ” who drew

such a har row ing p i ctu re of the bottom of the bottomlessp i t was not so practi ca l as a Leadgate brother , who ,

in

i l lust rat ing the Observation that the natu ra l “ tenden cy of al l

ev i l th ings is downward , gradual ly low ered his body in thepu l p i t un t i l h e d isappeared from v i ew a l togethe r. Theexc i temen t of th is preache r was SO great that , accordingto the testimony of a respectable chapel s teward

,be

knocked one pu l p i t to pieces,and danged the guts out

of two bibles.

At a t ime w hen schoo l boys a re beginn ing - to specu late

upon the poss ib i l i ty of pass ing th rough a un ivers i ty caree rwithou t any know l edge Of G reek , any con tr ibu t ion on the

subj ect by those famil iar w i th the language ought torece ive at ten t ion. Boys , we bel i eve

,find i t difficu l t to

whip the i r Greek into shape,and many m en wou ld no

doubt be glad if i t cou ld be al toge the r el iminated from


thei r -cu rr i cu lum. The re was a debate on the subj ec t atthe Un ive rs i ty of Du rham in 189 1. In his exe rc i ses in

Iambic verse,the Professor of Greek the re , D r.Kynaston ,

expresses the hope that some des i re w i l l su rvi ve Ofbecoming famil iar w i th the language in which the Greek

tragedians wrote,and th is sen t iment was endorsed by a

major i ty of the unde rgraduates,who apparen tly thought ,

w i th the Rev.J. R.Shortt , that the study of Greek refinesmen ’s tastes

,sharpens the i r intel l ects , and en larges the i r

sympath ies. But notw i thstanding all th is , many w i l l takes i des w i th Mr. J. R. Smith , the p res i den t Of the Un ion

Soci ety, who spoke in the in te rest of those who came up

from the modern s id e of schoo ls,or who had neve r been

able to make much p rogress in the language. Such men,

he sa id, were who l ly untouched by the fine qual i t i es Of th e

Greek language and l i te ratu re , and me rely exe rc i sed thei rmemori es to cram acc idence and t rans lation. Po l i t i ca leconomy

,mechan i cs , or Engl ish l i te ratu re wou l d , he

contended,give a more real educat ion than elementary

Greek.

Every spot round about Sedgefie ld teems w i th h isto r i cinte res t and s ti rring inc iden t. The town i tself s tands on

a gentl e accl iv i ty , from wh ich there is a prospect of th esurrounding coun try , w hich is in a h igh state of cu l tivat ion

,

the land being w el l shel tered in places by be l ts of fine

t imbe r. I t was at one t ime a hea l th reso rt,and i ts

superior i ty ove r every othe r place w i th in s ight of i tschu rch steeple is thus refe rred to in an Old rhyme

Tr imdon trough-legs stands on a h i l l ,Poor s i l ly F ishburn s tands stock st i l lButte rw i ck wa l ls a re l ike to fa l l ,But Se dgefie ld is the flow

’

r of them a ll.

Trimdon , howeve r , al though not a place of beau ty,has

an equa l c laim to an t iqu i ty , s ince i t was here that K ingCanute and his su i te trimmed the i r beards and had thei rpol l s shorn ere they set out on th e fina l s tage of the i rpi lgr image to S t. Cu thbert ’s shrine at Du rham. Sedge

fie ld , as has been sa id , is an in te rest ing town h istor i cal ly.I ts men have always been noted for the i r act ivi ty of l imb

and love of field sports. S teepl echasing and footba l l have


othe r people we have had a hobby o r two. O ne was co inco l l ec ting. About fifteen years ago ,

an I r ishman found a

large hoard o f Roman co ins in No rthumberland. Theway in wh ich he r igged ” the ma rket w i th them was

certa in ly credi table to his astu ten ess. Most of th enumismatis ts in Du rham and No rthumberland w erebamboozled by the fel low. H ad he kept sobe r he m igh thave been sel l ing co ins to this day. With an Odd co in or

two in his pocket,he gen e ra l ly managed to whet th e

appet i te for more. O ne day,howeve r , he Open ed our eyes

by asking us to buy a hundred. A pound fo r fiv e scorewas not too much , w e thought , but when ,

afte r abou t a

week had e lapsed,a second hundred was produced

,th en

a th i rd and a fou rth,w e began to take our bear ings

,and

refer red the sh rew d fel low to a numismat i c fr i end who was

endowed w i t h more Of th is w o rld ’s goods. How manyco ins there w ere in th is board w i l l probably n eve r b eknown. O ur own share was c lose on five hun dred

,and a

number of Newcas tl e co l l ecto rs bought even moreextens ively , in the bel i ef that th ey w e re secu ring the who l efind.

The gyrations o f a moth-hun ting fri end once gave sucha shock to an Old lady

,who took h im for an escaped

madman , that She died sho rtly afte rwards. We haveheard i t said tha t a docto r in Du rham cou l d n eve r keepwh iskey in the house t i l l he hit on the i dea of pu tt ing i t ina closet along w ith severa l sku l ls , th igh bones , and oth e rhuman rel ics. The disposa l of anothe r doctor ’s co l l e ct io nof bones was attended w i th much trouble

, and caused not

a l i ttl e a larm. Wishing to be rid of the Obj ects w h i ch hadaffo rded him materia l for many an experimen t in his

younger days , he in structed his coachman to car ry themto Lanchester for burial. The latte r one even ing acco rding ly removed them from his employer ’s house to his ow n

,

in tending to place them in a box for conveyan ce to

Lanchester the fo l low ing day. B u t his w ife, on see ing SO

many gruesome rel ics of mo rta lity , qu ickly d ispersed th ecol l ect ion by throw ing the lot in to the ashpit. Nextmorn ing , however , they were co l lecte d togethe r in a box

,

and carri ed to Lancheste r. Pa rson Thompson then hel dthe incumbency , and happen ing to be from home

, hi s


of trade are due in the ma in to that marve l lous out

come of human ingenu i ty and ski l l , th e inven t ion of th e

locomot ive , w i th wh ich the names of Geo rge S tephen son

and Will iam Hedley mus t fo r eve r be assoc iated. Rey

mo lds , Co l bu rn , and many o the r w ri te rs have p rovedS tephenson ’s indebtedness to Hedley ,

’

whose sha re in th e

inven t ion was for long unj us tly igno red. Mr. MarkArcher , in his book on th e locomot i ve , has ably v i ndicatedH edley ’s cla im

, and proved that whi ls t S tephen son’

s enginewas no t comple ted un t i l J u ly

,18 1 4 , two of H edley

’

slocomot ives w e re in use on th e Wylam Ra i l road in May,

18 1 3. I t is , too ,on ly w i th in very recen t years that the

credi t was given to Hedley Of be ing the fi rs t to make thed iscovery that the w e igh t of an engin e was suffic i en t togive the amoun t of p ropu l s ion n ecessary to enable i t tomove and carry w e ight upon a smooth l ine. This hec learly demon strated in 18 1 2

,as w e find from the cu rrent

l i te ratu re of the pe r iod , the Newcastle Chron icle remarking

of h is experiments that he had “ es tabl i shed and successfu lly carri ed out the p rinc ip l e that locomotion cou l d beeffected by adhes ion or fri ct ion a lone of the w heel s '

uponthe ra i ls

,the reby upsett ing the precon ce ived ideas on the

subj ect.” M r.Hedley was bo rn at Newbu rn on the 1 3th

of Ju ly,1 779 ,

and , afte r a l i fe of successfu l labou r , di ed at

B urnhopesid e , nea r Lanches te r , on Janua ry the 9 th , 1 843 ,in his 63rd year. He left fou r sons. The e ldes t

,Oswa l d

Dodd Hedley , died in 1882 ,in his 79th yea r. Thomas , th e

second son ,w i l l ever be remembered as the founde r of th e

Newcastl e B ishopri c. The thi rd son, Will iam , was a l so a

zea lous Churchman. Unde r a somewhat gruff exte riorthe re was conceal ed a kind heart and a depth of fee l ingw h ich rece ives i l lust rat ion in the fo l low ing inc i den t , Afew years befo re his death , which occu rred in 1888

, a loca lcl e rgyman w en t

“

and asked h im for a dona t ion towa rdsbu i l d ing a n ew chu rch. The housekeeper received himand asked h im to sit down.

“Presen tly M r.Hedley en te redthe room and g ruffly asked h im what h e wan ted. Thecle rgyman stated his bus iness , but M r.Hedl ey seemin g lypai d l i t tle attention to his rema rks

, and l eft the rogmw i thout speaking. Whilst pondering ove r the characte ristic reception he had received , and when on the po int of

C H A P T E R X L .

S K E T C H E S

U shaw Co l lege.—Pon top.—C rookha l l.—Dr.Linga rd.—The M ine rs ofDurham.—Pluck.—South Sh ie lds.—Ma rriage Fe e s.—Vege ta rianism.—Monopo ly of Pew s.—The Po l i ce System. —O ld Prisons.John Lloyd Wharton.—He rodotus ’

s V is it to Dune lm.

SOME of our prett i est and mos t in te resting places are l eas tknown. The o rd ina ry tou rist rare ly finds his way to

Ushaw Co l l ege , from the fact that i t i s in a manne rinaccess ibl e to h im. Yet i t is open to the publ i c on

Tuesdays and Thursdays , and few places a re so rich inart treasures o r possess more a rch i tectura l att ractions.These are fu l ly described in a

‘

book wh ich the Rev.Hen ry

Gillow has w ritte n.I The Co l l ege i tse lf s tands on a

wooded hil l 600 feet above the l eve l of the sea,fou r m i l es

to the w est of the C i ty of Du rham , c lose up to the Ol d

abbey lands of Bearpark and Durham , the anc i en t doma inof S t.Cu thbert , and is v is ibl e for mil es a round. The re isa noble chapel occupying the cen tre of the south fron t

,

which stretches eas t and w es t of i t in a l ine close upon

900 feet long. Some idea of its exten t may be gath e redwhen i t is s tated that a str ing carri ed round the en t i re p il eof bu i ld ings , bu t excluding those that canno t be reachedby C lo isters w ith in ,

wou l d include an area of e ight ac res.The place , in fo lk-etymology , derives its name from Y ew

Shaw ,or the wood of Yews

, whi ch , tradit ion says,the

Normans plan ted to commemo rate the ir comrades who

fe l l in battle w i th the Engl ish. Of this wood on ly one

tree surv ives , and th is is gnarl ed and ho l low ed by time.At the Co l lege Jubi lee , in 1858, a second tree was p lan tedto succeed the Old one then fas t decaying

, and to pe rpetuate the tradit ion. Ushaw i s in the Chapel ry of E sh

,

I The Chape ls a t Ushaw, w ith an H istor i ca l In troduct ion.


necess ity been slow ,the publ ishe r looked sou rly enough at

the h istor ical pages Offe red for his approva l and pu rchase.

I t i s on ly in rare ins tances,we fear , that publ i she rs look

beyond the i r noses. Immediate ga in is the i r Obj ect , and

at that time few Of them w e re d isposed to specu late.

H ume’s his tory had been a fa i lu re in the fi rs t in stance ;w hat was to be hoped from the l i te rary labou rs of a somewhat obscu re

,though no doubt ve ry l earned and pains

taking , Roman Catho l i c pr i es t! Such we re Mawman’

s

reflect ions when he la i d as ide th e manusc ript , l i ttl e doub ting but that

, afte r d ue cons ide rat ion ,he shou ld po l i te ly

return i t to the au thor. But Lord Ho l land happen ing to

tal k one day w i th Mawman ove r the cou n te r , the pub l i she rmen t ioned the manuscr ipt whi ch he had in his drawe r.H istory of England!” exclaimed his lordsh ip , “ I on lyknow one man at the p resen t t im e qua l ified to undertake

such a work , and that i s D r. Lingard.”

And that ’s my

man!” cri ed Mawman , and soon adve rt ised and brought

out a work equal ly remarkable for the research and

honesty of the w r i te r , a wo rk w hi ch has done more than

any other to moderate the host i l i ty of the publ i c towardsCatho l i cs on h isto r i ca l grounds , and wh ich fi l ls up

innumerable gaps in the annals of eve ry othe r h isto rian.Lingard ’s inte res t in the Co l l ege at Ushaw was a lways the

m os t l ively , and’

as he was attached to i t in l ife,so he

wou l d no t be seve red from it in death fo r,acco rding to a

spec ia l p rov is ion in his w i l l , he now l i es i n te rred the re—bythe s i de of those who ,

in early l i fe,had been share rs in his

j oys and t ria ls. There is a s tri ki ng po rt ra i t Of h im,by

Lonsda l e , in the hal l of the Co l l ege,to wh i ch he be

queathed i t.

The mine rs of Durham are a sympatheti c body of men,

and a good maste r has qu i te as much cla im on th e i r

sympath ies as one of the i r own class. This was shown

when S i r George E l l io t , Bart., was fi rs t retu rne d for

North Durham , and aga in when the mine rs of th eHoughton-le-Spr ing Divis ion retu rned M r. Nicho lasWood. NO name among the large employe rs of labou r inDu rham i s more honou red than that Of Londonde rry.The re are thousands of men in the county who fi rs t saw

SKETCHES. 339

the l ight in the comfortable,though Old-fash ioned

,houses

provided at the Londonderry co l l i e r i es,between the C i ty

of Du rham on the west , and Seaham on the eas t,where

success i ve gene rat ions of the i r ancestors l ived and died.Peopl e who know noth ing abou t the early p i t famil i es of

Du rham tal k of the imp roved condi t ion of the min ing

p opu lation. This i s no doubt t rue in the ma in ,as i t must

be of al l p rogress ive sect ions of the commun i ty,bu t i t

seems to us that in many respects the men are wo rse Offnow than they w ere in the middl e years of th is centu ry.Then the Londonderry family

,the Lambtons

, and indeedall the large employe rs of labou r

,exe rc ised a pate rnal

care ove r the i r workmen. Men rare ly moved from placeto place as they do now. Eve ry reasonable comfo rt was

w i th in the i r reach. They had constan t and ce rta i nemployment , and the i r large famil i es were born to themin one house as a ru l e

,from wh ich they we re rare ly

,

i f eve r , d istu rbed when age caused them to rest from the i rlabours. Wh i l e an O ff-hand job cou l d be found abou t thep i ts for the aged hewe r , and as long as he cou ld wa l k back

w ards and forwards to i t , he was kep t on ; and whenNatu re coul d no longer ho ld out

, he and the aged partne r

of his l i fe we re a l lowed to enjoy undis turbed possess ion of

the house wh i ch had been the i rs in joy and sorrow,in

w eal and woe.I

Engl i shmen admi re pluck w heneve r and whe reve r i t isexh ib i ted. The man who w i l l stand up s ingle-handed and

express the sen timents of his mind in a r ighteous,though

unpopu lar cause , regardl ess Of blows and a c ross-fire of

flou r-bal ls and potatoes and ro tten eggs,is j us t the so rt

of man that we shou l d l i ke to fight. He wou l d not str ike

1 These notes w e re w r itte n during the con te st for M id-Durham , in

1890, when Mr.John Wilson was re turned. Wh i lst be ing the nomine eOf the miners , Mr.Wi lson commands the re spe ct of the const ituencya t large , and he deserved ly me ri ts the confiden ce of his fe l low -men.

NO one who has watched his care e r w i l l deny him the credit of be ingan honourable man

,and one who has be en a ll a long a ctua ted by a

s ince re de s ire to benefit the important commun1ty w ith whom his lotis cast. H is opponent , Mr. Adolphus Vane Tempe st , had the

advan tage of b irth , wea lth , and pos it ion but in othe r re spe c ts ,s e tt ing a s ide party que st ions , the candida tes came be fore the e le co ra te w ith an e qua l c la im for support.

NORTH-COUNTRY SKETCHES.

below the bel t, and wou ld take no advan tage of a fa l l en

foe. We once saw the Rev. H . E. Fox ,the v i car O f

St.Nicholas ’

s Chu rch,in Du rham

,in the pos i t ion above

descr ibed. He stood on a waggon in the open Marke tPlace dur ing a po l i t i ca l el ection tu rmo i l , and the pl ucky ,nay hero i c , manne r in which he waved a loft the tempe r

ance banner un t i l one potato larger than the rest la i d h imhors-a

’

o-comha t, and necess i tated his remova l from the fiel dmore dead than al ive , was suffic i en t to e l i c i t the admi rat ion

of even his b i tte res t foes.

I t seems bu t yeste rday that a start was made w i th thestupendous break-wate r at th e mou th of the Tyne

,and ye t

we have got our second teeth , and lost the v igou r of youth ,and our ha i r has changed its co lou r , since

’

it was begunabou t forty years ago. South Sh ie lds has progressedmuch in the in te rva l. I ts ma in thoroughfa re

,K ing S treet

,

has grown l i ke a tre e in fu l l v igour and its branches now

cove r a w i de area that was w i th in comparatively recen tt imes an ugly

,barren h il l -s i de. Forty years ago Shie lds

was a smal l p lace. From an offic ial documen t fu rn ished

to the Dean and Chapte r Of Du rham by thei r res iden t

agen t at that time i t appears that the popu lation of thebo rough amoun ted to This documen t was

compiled by o rde r of the Chapte r , consequ en t on the

Governmen t Inspector Of Schoo ls hav ing , as was al l eged ,l i bel l ed the town by saying that the juven i l e popu lat ionw as

“ bese t bv much igno rance , and many mora l evi ls,

th rough the wan t of schoo l accommodation. O l d DeanWaddington waxed so w roth that he w rote to th e CouncilOf Education on th e subj ect , protest ing aga in st the

imputation ,and asse rting , on behal f of the inhabi tants ,

that Sh ie lds was a very industrious , in tel l igen t , and wel lconducted bo rough.” Acco rding to the co rrespondence

,

there w ere ten publ i c schoo ls fo r the lowe r classes Of a llre l igious denominations , w ith a da i ly attendance ofThe repo rt is cu r ious , as show ing the great number of

private schoo ls w i th in the borough. There we re no fewe rthan th i rty for the lowe r classes , w i th chi ld ren in

da i ly attendance whi l e 597 ch i ld ren of the middle c lasse swere taught at eighteen school s.


every n ight suffe rs l ess than anothe r man whose excesses

are on ly occas ional. Like othe r peopl e who w i s h to l i ve as

long as poss ible , we have tr ied many modes of l i ving. A

Newcastl e gen tl eman whom we once me t in the tra in

d iscou rsed So e loquen t ly about vegetarian ism , and drew

such a gruesome p ictu re of the ev i l effects of sal t , that we

w e re induced to en l i s t unde r h is bann e r. Du r ing t en days

w e rung the Changes on r i ce , rhubarb and cabbage and

B raz i l nu ts. But the c raving for someth ing more subs tan tial produced a perpetual n ightmare

,and obl iged us to

re tu rn to our forme r way of l iving. O ne fr i end suggestedthat suppe r was th e cause of our pe rtu rbed s lumber , andto bed w e w ent fast ing. Bu t

,

Who goe s to bed suppe rless ,All n ight tumb le s and tosse s.

And so i t was. I t is Often the boas t of teetotal ers thatthey look bette r and feel bette r than those who partake ofintoxicants ; but , afte r a fa i r tr ial of both systems , theconvict ion remains that temperance in all th ings is best

,

and most l ikely to p ro long our years.

The monopoly of pews in our pari sh chu rches used togive rise to much bad feel ing

, and was producti ve of manyan unseemly inc iden t , wh ich too Often l ed to p ro longed and

expens i ve l i t igat ion in the Eccl es iasti ca l Cou rts of the Oldd iocese of Du rham. In the fi rs t ha lf of last cen tu ry one of

the l eading par ish ioners of Whickham was John Barras.He attempted to bu i l d a square pew in the body of thechu rch , and his pretens ions being resen ted by h is n e ighbou rs , a long and cos tly law-su i t ensued. The learned

D r.Thoml inson was then rector , and w i th a View of putt ingan end to the s tr ife he pe rm itted Barras to bui ld a pew

next his own, on the nor th s ide of the chancel. I t was to

be so fo rmed as to be eas i ly moved w hen the re shou ld beoccas ion to bu ry under i t and as an acknow l edgmen t forthe favou r Barras agreed to pay the recto r a shi l l ing eve ry

Whi t Monday. This agreemen t,i t may be added

,i s

witnessed by Wil l iam S toddart,cu rate ; D.Fishe r , schoo l

mas te r ; and George Dods , pari sh cl e rk. There was a

most amus ing pew squabble at Berw i ck in 1829. Theparti es to i t were M r.W.H.Thompkins , sen ior chu rch

SKETCHES. 343

warden of the par i sh,and Mrs. Sarah W i l k i e

,of Fou lden

House. M r.Thompkins had been absen t from the parishfor many years

,and on finding that h i s pew was

app rop r iated by anothe r par i sh ione r , he appl i ed to

M rs.Wilkie for pe rmiss ion to s i t in that belonging to he r.He was , he sai d , the more embo ldened to p refe r his reques tby the fact that M rs.Wilki e on ly attended the church

’

on

h igh fest ivals. This evoked from the lady the fo l low ing

characte r ist i c rep ly

Yeste rday, I re ce ive d a le tte r from a Mr. Thompkins , a personqu ite unknown to me

,and w ith a reque s t most extraordinary

,to a l low

h imse l f and family to take the ir sea t in he r pew in Be rw i ck Church,

wh i ch she cons ide rs a l ibe rty not to be pe rmitted e ithe r on Sundays or

on fes t iva ls. The ge n t leme n and ladie s from the coun try a re pe opleof conseque nce , and my frie nds and se l f a re qu ite uncerta in on wha t

days we may a ttend church. I the re fore de s ire tha t you w i l l nottake up sea ts in my pew , permiss ion fo r wh i ch w i l l no t be gran ted.

Determined to obta in a s i tt ing , the sen ior chu rchwarden

approp riated one wh ich he thought was vacan t,but he had

not been long there before the r ightfu l owner and his son

ente red. Refus ing to budge an inch , they se ized h im bythe co l lar , shook thei r s ti cks

,and swore at h im (a l though

it was Whit Sunday), and fina l ly bundled h im out. Ofcou rse , as was to be expected , the part i es to th is unseemlyb raw l w e re c i ted to appear in the B ishop ’s Cou rt. In the

end ,M r. Thompkins was l eft in possess ion of the field.

But he seems to have acted mos t magnan imous ly in the

matte r , for he thus w r i tes to the vanqu ished M rs.Wilki eimmediate ly afte r the battl e

Madam ,—Al though I have had the pew in Be rw i ck Church , wh ich

you la te ly occup ie d , a l lotte d to myse lf, family, and servan ts , I begleave to say tha t a t any t ime you may fe e l incl ine d to a ttend div inese rvice , you have my pe rmiss ion to d o so in my pew. -I rema in ,

madam , yours re spe ctfu l ly, W.H.Thompkins.’

O n th i s subj ect of pews , Mr. H. E. Taylo r , TheH e rm i tage , Whickham , favours u s w i th the fol low ing

notes from the papers of hi s grandfa the r

1821 , Se p.3.-Pa id Mr.Fle ck for pew No.52 and two sea ts in No.

5 1 in Wh ickham Church , £7 1 1 3.6d.

1822, Mar. 29.—Pa id A.O l ive r and Son for making and fitt ing up

a new family pew ,No.5 1 and 52 in Wh ickham Church; £8 03.6d.

The re a re many s im i lar transa ct ions , such as my fa the r purchas ingthe pew of my grandfa the r

’

s exe cutors , wh i ch fina l ly reve rted to

myse lf. When the church was en la rged and re-seated some 25 yea rsago , I was conten t to a ccept in l ieu of the O ld one a pew in anothe r

part of the church. I a lso possess some ve ry curious re ce ip ts g iven


by the churchwardens for re pa iring our pew s. The se a re a ll pr in te don parchmen t. O n one s ide is a l i thographed p lan of the church ,show ing the pews a ll numbe red , and on the reve rse is a prin te d formof re ce ip t for fi l l ing in and re fe rring to the numbe rs on o the r s ide.Here is a copy of one of them

Wh i ckham Ve s try.Re cd. 17 day of Ma rch

,1825 , of Mr. John Taylor the sum of Te n

pounds two sh i l l ings for re pa ir ing pews NO. 67 a n d 68 In

S t.Mary’

s Church ,Wh i ckham.

RALPH FENWICK , 1G.W.T. SEATON’j

Churchwa rd ens.

What w ith purchas ing and repa iring Of pews for Use of fami ly an d

se rvants about th is t ime w e se em to have pa i d about £34.

The year 1892 may be sai d to mark an epoch in thepo l i ce sys tem of Du rham ,

for at the beginn ing of i t th ehead of the po l i ce

,Colone l White , the Ol des t ch i ef

constabl e in England , reti red on a pen s ion ,and towards

the close of the year , M r.O l i ve r , the sen ior superin tenden t

of the county , ret i red afte r th i rty-e ight years ’ s e rv i c e.

Co lonel White served the coun ty of Du rham for the longperiod of forty- th ree years. Few men in an Offic ia lcapac ity eve r discha rged the i r duties mo re effic i en tly o r

more consci en tious ly , and fewe r st i l l eve r retired in toprivate l ife so un ive rsal ly respected by the i r subo rdinates.He was always cons iderate to his m en

,and in the d is t ribu

t ion of prefermen t never ignored the cla ims of those w ho ,

by thei r s teady conduct , meri ted p romot ion. The manne rin wh ich the po l i ce pe rfo rm thei r oftent imes unp l easan t

and arduous duti es mus t command the admi rat ion and

meet w i th the approva l of a l l respectabl e c i ti zens and

peopl e possess ing w el l- regu lated m inds. The pos i t ionw hich M r. O l ive r held so long was a pos i tion of h igh

respons ib i l i ty , and the perfo rmance of his dut ies had a

mate r ial effect upon the mo rals and characte r of a largeproport ion of the community. The effic i en t pe rfo rman ce

of a superin tenden t’

s du t i es invo lves inqu i ry,and j udgmen t

upon that inqu i ry , and th is may be exercised to th eadvan tage or disadvan tage of the commun i ty. Again

,th e

characte r and effic iency of his fo rce must la rge ly dependupon the ins ight as w el l as the rigou r b rought to bear uponthe individua l members of i t. That the people placed fu l lrel iance in Mr. O l ive r

’

s judgmen t and impa rtia lity was

fu l ly demonstrated on many occas ions and the effici ency


memory. Before the separate system was adopted , a

coup l e of score of men and boys , from the re tu rnedtransport to the innocent , a l though suspected

,man

,w e re

thrust into one common room ,w i thou t an oflice r to wa tc h

ove r them, and w i thou t emp loymen t.

The da i ly l i fe of th is den of infamy is cu r iously reflectedin the characte r book ”

of the p resen t Ven e rab l e Archdeacon of No rthumberland , who was chapla in of Du rham

Gao l nearly half-a-centu ry ago , and whose ear ly effo rts as

a prison reformer and ph i lan th ropis t b rought him unde r

the not ice of his diocesan. The p r i sone rs w e re exceedinglycommun i cat ive to the archdeacon ,

who used to jot down

his expe r i ences among them.I O ne pri sone r sa i d to

h im —“ I have been he re e ight w eeks , and du r ing thattime there have been fou r fights

,in one of w hich I fough t

w i th S each fight las ting abou t ha lf-an-hou r. Wehad our Shi rts O ff

,and made as l i ttl e no ise as poss i b l e.”

The men , i t seems , passed away mos t Of the i r time intel l ing each othe r s tori es of what robbe r i es they had

committed , w hat gao ls they had been in, and ar ranging

for othe r robberi es. They played cards made by themselves , gambled for thei r d inne rs

, and held mock tr ial severy day. This latte r was a favou ri te past ime

,the names

of the oflice rs of the court be ing put in to a hat , and

whoever drew out“ cha i rman was judge. The arch

deacon w i tnessed one Of those tr ia l s h imself, w hen

unobse rved by the prisone rs. A retu rned t ranspo rt actedas judge , and the archdeacon saw h im admin iste r an oath

upon the Testamen t , in the usua l so l emn manne r, to a

fel low prisone r , who acted the part of a pol i ceman. Thes tate of education of some of the prisone rs at that t imemay be j udged from the fo l low ing en t r i es in th e booka l ready men tioned D. B., a pitman

, aged 2 1 years ,from Lancheste r , when asked Who was the Saviour of th eWorld P

’

answe red ,‘ Adam , wasn

’t “ R. R., a

pi tman , from B ishop Auckland,fathe r dead

,mothe r

supported by pri sone r wen t in to the p i t when n ine yearsold. Cannot say the Lord

’

s Praye r, nor the C reed

,nor

the Commandments. Neve r was at schoo l, nor at chu rch

,

I “ The Prisons and Prisone rs of Forme r Days , a pape r con

tributed to the Newcastle Da ily Chron icle.

SKETCHES. 347

except at hi s fathe r ’s fune ra l. Does not know the

.Saviou r ’s name neve r sai d a praye r.”

'When Howard v is ited the Du rham Debtors ’ Pr i son hefound the inmate s l iv ing on boiley,

” which was the on ly

nou rishmen t some had had fo r a twelvemonth. Bu t i t i s

sa id that the re i s a compan ionsh ip in misfortune , and it

seems to have been th i s fel low-fee l ing wh ich chee red thehearts of th e in so lvent debtors , and mad e l ife bearable

w ith in the wa l ls of a dungeon. During ArchdeaconH ami lton ’s Chapla incy , when a fresh vi ct im was admitted

,

the re was a custom known as reading in a chum.” Thepe rson so honou red was requ i red to pay a fee of ha l f-a

crown,and afte r the form of in i t iat ion had been read ove r ,

he was thus rece ived in to the frate rn i ty

We lcome , w e lcome , brothe r debtor,To th is poor but me rry p la ce ,Whe re no ba i l iff , burn , or se tte r,Da re to Show his ugly fa ce.

Ne’

e r rep ine a t your confinemen tFrom your ch i ldren ,

home , or w i feWisdom l ie s in t rue re s ignmen tThro ’

the varied sce ne s of l ife.Pe rhaps you may have brave ly str ivenAga inst the t i de of adve rse fa te

Ove rwhe lmed , a t last you have be en drivenHe re , pursue d by fiend - l ike hate.Give not way to id le sorrow ,

Dr ive away the spe ctre careB r ight ye t sha l l dawn the morrowFor those who nob ly scorn de spa ir.We

’re a l l brothe rs in distre ss ,Le t not trifle s cast you down

You ’ve sha re s of our he arts and me ss

When you ’ve t ipped us ha lf-a-crown

I t i s a laudab l e des i re to gain the'

goodwil l of our

ne ighbou rs. That M r. John Lloyd Wharton ,Cha i rman

of th e Du rham Quarte r Sess ions and al so of the D u rham

County Counc i l , has succeeded in do ing so was amp ly

shown in 189 1 by the manne r in wh i ch h i s fr i ends , pol i t i ca l

and non-pol i t i cal , ral l i ed a round h im on the occas ion of h i s

portra it be ing presen ted to h im. M r.Wharton comes of

a good stock , and those who know h im most in timate ly

love h im the best. H i s name i s synonymou s w i th

eve ryth ing that i s man ly and good. No man carr i e s his

honou rs with more modesty , or val u es and guards more


the trusts that are reposed in h im as a publ i c man. The

Whartons have been i den tified w i th Du rham s ince the.

daw n of the seven teen th cen tu ry , and i t is no t too much to

say that during the past fifty years his has done mo re for

the advancemen t of the c i ty than any othe r fami ly. The i r

name sheds a lustre on the c iv i c and Pa rl iamentary annal s

of th e c i ty. I t was to M r.Wharton’s late unc l e , W i l l iam

Lloyd Wharton,that the peopl e are indebted for the

beaut ifu l park wh ich , befo re the banks we re made more

attract ive,was a sou rce of p leasu re and del ight , not

on ly to the c i t izens , bu t to the thousands that flockedto Du rham to w i tness the “ Wharton Fé te s.

”These

w ere looked fo rward to w i th pleasu rabl e ant i c i pation

by all classes , and the l ibe ral p r izes M r. Wharton

offe red s timu lated th roughout th e year the p racti ce

of those feats of st rength and skil l wh i ch so di stinguish the nationa l characte r. In fact , i t was the

Squ i re o f Dryburn who a lways took the l ead in publ i cmerry-making and the pedes tr ian and eques t r ian

con tests,the sw imming and pun t ing matches , the po l e

l eaping,the rifle shoot ing , and o th e r th ings wh i ch he

p romoted,and in wh ich rich and poo r

,o ld and young ,

shared his boun tifu l hospi ta l i ty , w il l long keep his memorygreen. I t was M r.Wharton who establ ished the Rega tta in1834 , and i t is a lso to him that the c red i t belongs of hav ingfi rs t created in the c i ty and n e ighbou rhood a tas te for w hathas now become a great nationa l pas t ime and impor tan tarm of defence

, namely,r ifle shooting. Befo re any

vo luntee r corps had been establ ished in th e distri c t,he

prepared an excel len t rifle range at his ow n expen se ,e rected a target , purchased some rifles

,and o rgan ized a

Club. The Du rham o r C i ty Rifle Co rps (now ca l l ed theDu rham Light I nfan try)was formed in 1860. Mos t Of thoseci tizen so ld i e rs have passed away

,bu t a few vete ran s

sti l l rema in in and about the c i ty to rem ind us of the earlyvo lun tee r movemen t. Among these may be men t ionedCanon Greenwe l l , Co l.Monks

,M r.John Cald cleugh , J.P.,

M r.Joseph H utch inson ,Counc i l lo r Ho l dswo rth

, J.P., Mr.John Tindal e (Brancepeth), M r. Thomas Fo rd (Sh incl i ffe),Se rgt.- I nstructo r Flack

,M r. G.

“D. Newby , Rev. JosephLawson (Brandon), Counc i l lor E l l ison‘

,M r.George Sa l ke ld

,


co l d , most of them p refe rred to rema in unwashed. In th eear ly records of th is coun try the words ad p i lam are

general ly supposed to mean the game of footba l l , and th ech ron i cl e Of B enedic t Coope rus confi rms th i s bel i ef in a

most cu r ious way. The youths of nobl e blood,

” he says ,Obtain the sk in of a pig , or othe r beas t , and when theskin has been sewn up , in fo rm l i ke an o l i ve fru i t , bu t in

s ize as great as a man ’

s head , in such a way tha t wa te r

pou red into i t w i l l not run out of i t aga in , they ret i re to a

pla in, and the re they fi l l the h ide

,not w i th wate r , nor w i th

anyth ing else bu t air. Now the hide , fi l l e d with air , i sdr iven about by the feet Of these young men , by somequ ickly

,but by othe rs mo re s low ly but of the young m en

those who are unable to s tri ke the h ide wi th the i r fee t ,str ike not the h ide

,but the l egs of h im whosoeve r may

chance to be n eares t to them. But he c r i eth out,and i f

poss ible , ove rthroweth h im that s truck him on th e l egs.


W i l l iams , of M i ddlesbrough, one of the ables t men of his

t ime in the manufactu re of i ron and s tee l,and many o the r

men of exceptiona l commerc ial tal en ts and nat i ve wo rth »

no t the leas t i l lus tr iou s of the group be ing the p resen t

manager of the Conse tt Wo rks.The Op in ion was cu rrent in comme rc ia l c i rcl es a qua rter

of a cen tu ry ago that Consett , lacking the advan tages o f a

sea-board o r r ive r fron tage,wou l d cont inue to be ou tpaced

by the i ron manufac tu ring fi rms on the no rth-eas t coas t.

Mr. J enkins , who had been for the long period of 34

success i ve yea rs a t Dowla is , had heard of the s t rugglesexperienced at Consett. There was a gene ra l b e l i ef that

th e wo rks w e re too iso lated to be conducte d w i th p rofit ,an eminen t au thor i ty hav ing reco rded his opin ion that i ron

cou ld no t be successfu l ly prod uced'

in the d is t ri c t , whi ch ,in his Opi n ion , was adap ted on ly for a coa l-p roduc ingcentre. Noth ing daun ted by the n ews Of pas t fa i lu res

,

M r.J enkins was induced to pay a v is i t to the d is t r i c t , and ,

having carefu l ly s tudied its natu ral resou rces and hi sto ry,

he was impressed w i th the idea tha t , w i th the co-ope rat ion

of the directo rs and the combined cou rage of the Offic ial

s taff, the re was a bright fu tu re in s to re for i t. The res u l to f th is v is i t was that he decided to bid farew e l l to Dow la isand take the helm and di rec t affa i rs at Consett. W hatfo l lowed fo rms an in te res ting epoch in the r i se and

progress of iron and s tee l manufactu re on the no rth- eas tcoast of England.

The p ivo t upon w h i ch Mr. J enkin s ’s operat ions at the

ou tset tu rned was th e immediate inc rease Of the ou tpu t ;and to practical men the w isdom Of such a s tep must be atonce apparen t. There are two or mo re methods of

multiplying the resou rces of any commerc ial conce rn ,

namely , the in troduct ion of new plan t, or the tu rn ing to

bette r accoun t , at l i ttl e ou tlay , of the mach ine ry al ready inoperation. Capi tal , and capi ta l on ly , is required to car ryout the fo rmer ; but to st r ike O ff th e Shackles of Old and

effete appl iances and fo rge new l inks in touch w i th the

spi ri t of modern progress , w i thou t saddl ing a fi rm w i ththe paymen t of huge accounts , can on ly be accompl ishedby men gifted w i th exceptional tal en ts. In those days theConsett Company , having had some bitte r expe ri ences of

SKETCHES. 353

what was to be los t and won in the seduct i ve paths of

specu lat ion ,was no t p repared to give the rein to furthe r

efforts in th is d i rect ion ,and

, know ing that , Mr.J enkinsw i se ly dete rm ined to make the most of the mate ria l at his

command. His extens i ve know l edge Of men and thingsenabled h im to grasp the s i tuat ion at a glance. He was

not s low to pe rce ive that by l ighten ing the d uties '

of the

workmen th ei r s trength woul d be husbanded, and the

labou rs of the day completed w i thou t putt ing thei r ene rgi eson the rack. S tanding before flaming fu rnaces , and

handl ing hot i ron and heavy plates for twelve hou rs at astretch

,taxed to the u tte rmost the strength of the

s trongest. At Consett , as el sewhe re , i t was no uncommon

occu rrence for squads Of m en to l eave the works hoursbefore the prescri bed numbe r of rounds of heats had beenregiste red , and i t was to obv iate such a state of th ings

that M r. J enkins introduced nume rous inexpens iveimprovements , al l tend ing to render the du ti es of the

workmen l ess a rduous than before. The ga in acc ru ing

from the new o rde r o f th ings was twofo l d— the men by the

amoun t Of labour performed , or numbe r of hours worked,

earn ing higher wages , and the company , by the increased

outpu t , secu ring a large r retu rn of profits than unde r th e

o ld ré gime.

In many ins tances the mos t exhaust ing of the dut i e s

devo l ving on the i ronwo rke r w e re en t i re ly removed by the

in troduct ion of s team powe r. No working man eve r la i d

as i de his coat to d o harde r wo rk than tu rn ing hot plates in

a rol l ing mi l l. Afte r do ing such work for an hou r Of amorn ing , the men w e re unequal to the du ti es of the day,

and ,obse rvan t to a degree , M r.J enkins pe rce ived that the

men cou l d w i th advan tage be re l i eved from the task, and

the su rplus steam made to pe rfo rm the wo rk. I t was by

proceedi ng on th ese l ines that h e succeeded,by the

accumu lat i ve labou r of years,to win for the Cons ett

Company the foremost place among the stee l and i ronmanufactu r ing fi rms of the wor l d.

Having taken p ract i cal s teps to make the i r labou r l es s

to i l some than before , he n ext se t h imsel f to the task of

making the homes of the men more comfortable.Addi tiona l rooms w e re bu i lt on to a whol e stree t of

23


cot tages belonging to the company , and at a late r s tage

of his managemen t en ti re s tree ts and te r races w e re ba l l t

a t Consett and B lackhill , th e houses be ing of a c lass mU Ch

super io r to workmen ’

s dw el l ings in no rth-w es te rn D u rham.

The honou rs show e red on M r. J enk ins in 1890 ,on the

o ccas ion of th e complet ion of his tw en ty-one years’

connexion 'w ith the wo rks , indicate ve ry po in tedly that h i s

good . name and fame become deeper engraven‘

in thehearts and minds of the people among w hom his lot has

been cast. B ri efly expressed , the sec re t of his s ucces s a t

Consett l i es in the harmon ious bl end ing Of ra re commercialtal en ts w i th a broadn ess of sou l rare ly to be foun d among

the l eading membe rs of great indu str ia l conce rn s. With

h im the jo in t r ights of the cap i tal is t and th e to i l ing wo rkman have been in separable , and he has hi t the happy mean

by sat isfy ing the des i res of th e fo rme r wh i l e imp roving the

men tal and moral cond it ion of th e latte r.

Fo r some time afte r the remova l of the o ld wooden

b r idge w hi ch connec ted the Cocken and Finchale banks of

the r i ve r Wear, a p i lgrimage to the ce l l o f S t.Godri c was

we l l-n igh imposs ibl e. Bare- l egged swa in s at t imes fo rdedthe r ive r w i th fa i r bu rdens

,and

,when a b road back was

not ava i lable , the ladies made l igh t of c ross ing the

Hel lespon t a lon e. How eve r,a new foot-bridge now spans

the s tream,and love rs may v i s i t the i r favou r i te sh rine

w i thou t expe r i enc ing any coo l ing i nfluences on the way.

I t must have been at Finchale that many No rth-countryma i dens fi rs t che r ished the roman t i c thoughts of love

,and

it must have been he re , amid th e gentl e shades tha t deckthe banks of the r i ve r

, o r’

n eath the lofty rocks frown ingo’

er th e foaming st ream ,that many of them w e re w ooed

a nd won. When Hen ry V I I I. c losed the gates of thec onven t on Will iam Benn et , who is sa i d to have been th elas t Prio r of Fincha le , he con s ide red h imse lf re l eased fromhis monast i c vows , and immediately took to h im se lf a w i feAnn Thomson by name , and among the M i ckl eton man u

s cr ip ts at Du rham occu rs the couple t

The Prior Of Fincha le ha s got a fa ir w i fe ,

A nd e ve ry o ld monk w i l l soon have the l ike.


j ust one. Festina len te (hasten s low ly)is a maxim whiCh

is re l igiously Obse rved by the c i t izens , bu t i t is a l i be l , or

rathe r a fl ight of rhetor i c,al lowable , pe rhap s , in a w r i te r

of fict ion, to l i ken the i r movemen ts to

“ those of an

unfortunate sp ide r which has , by mischance , p ut its fee t

i nto an ink-bott l e or a jar of t reacle The anna l s of th ec i ty from the days of S i r John Duck , the poor butche r boy,

Show how good names have been made and fo rtunes bu i l tup by

‘

honest , plodd ing indust ry. S in ce M r. Hatton’

s

connexion w i th the p lace ceased , anothe r gen e rat ion of

t radesmen has Sprung up ,but seve ral Of those who b egan

the battl e of l i fe a quarte r of a cen tu ry befo re his t im e s t i l lrema in

,whose motto has been to labou r and to wa i t , and

to look back on a l ife w el l spen t. What , fo r ins tance ,wou l d have become of the p i tmen of Du rham dur ing thememo rable s tr i ke of 1844 bu t for the sp i r i t and en te rp ris eof Mr. James Fow l e r

,whose flou r w aggons , du r ing five

long,weary mon ths

,kept them and the i r fami l ies from

sta rvat ion!The m en resumed wo rk w i thout ga in ingthe i r obj ect , i t i s t rue , but the help that M r. Fow l e rextended to them du ring the s truggl e was none th e lessp ra isewo rthy on that accoun t.

The rector of Gateshead , the Rev.W.Moore Ede , whod raw s such l ife-l i ke p i ctu res of

l

o ld age and '

d epe‘

nd ence

and poverty , ought to w r i te a homi ly on th rift and the

way to w eal th. In the sunsh ine of l i fe, and the p len ty

and abundan ce of our youthfu l years , we are not apt to

th ink about the sombre shades of even i ng or th e w inte rof ou r days— that even ing demands the produce of the d ay,

and tha t th e decl in ing year requ i res a s upply from thesuperabundance of its summer. W e fea r that th e rectorof Gateshead w i l l find i t as d ifficu l t to make m en prov i den t

as the teetotal e rs do to make them sober. Adve rs i ty i sp robably the best schoo l that w e can be taught in. Those

who d o no t yet know the va lue Of money w i l l l ea rn w henthey t ry to bo rrow i t. There was a great deal o f t ru th inthe obse rvation made to the Newcast l e fa rmers

, in 1889 ,

respecting breede rs sel l ing the i r own s tock.I “ I f you1 ( I How to B uy,

Fe ed , a nd Se l l Graz ing Ca tt le, pape r read by

Mr.Joseph Robson , M iddle Fa rm ,Wa l l.

SKETCHES. 357

would have you r bus iness done, go ; i f not , send , is a

maxim as we l l worth remembe r ing as that in thecoup l e t

H e tha t by the plough would thrive,

H imse lf must e ithe r ho ld or drive.

M r.Ede ’s advi ce to th e shopkeepers would no doubt,be

to keep thy shop , and i t w i l l keep thee. Those whosquander the i r money on the l uxu r ies of l ife ought to taketo heart th e Ol d adage —“Who da in t i es love shal l beggarsp rove.” I t was a favou r i te saying of the late A lde rmanDodds that fools make feasts

, and w i s e men eat themand he used to rebuke the ladies who bussed ou t so

extravagan tly by saying S i l ks and satins,scarl e t and

velvets,put out the k i tchen fi re. Nobody knows bette r

than the Grand O l d Man that l i tt l e s t rokes fel l greatoaks , and i f w e wou l d enjoy advanced age in easycheerfulness i t must be by plodding di l igence

,self-den ial ,

and fruga l i ty.

He re i s a t ru e s tory , which the cou rtesy of M r.Wat ts,

the rector of Witton Gilbert , near Durham,has enabled

u s to extract from the par ish registe rs there , and fromwh ich some imaginat ive w r i te r is at l i be rty to weave a

h igh ly in teresting narrative,wh ich might be cal l ed The

Romance of a Noble.” In the year 1624 , Wil l iam Watson,

a substan tia l yeoman ,died a t Witton Gi lbe rt , and l eft a

sum of ten pounds , which h i s brother Richard was to

d ispose of at his discret ion. Thirty years prev ious ly,

Richard had gone to Cambri dge , his fel low-vi l lagers

l ending him,at parting

,a noble , or smal l gold co in of the

va lue Of s ix sh i l l ings and e ightpen ce. This l i tt l e kindnesshe always remembe red w i th grati tude , and afte r h i sb rother ’s death , having meanwhi l e gone to London to

seek h is fortune and p rospered , he w rote a l e tter to thefr i ends of h i s you th , in wh ich he says The testimony

of you r love w h i ch I rece ived at my go ing to Cambridge Ihave employed these th i rty years , and , being des i rous tomake some re tu rn of thankfu lness , I have retu rned unto

you you r l ent noble , w i th thi rty- two nobl es more , beingthe inc rease of i t , twe lve pounds in all

,as an add it ion to

my brothe r Wil l iam his ten pounds.” This sum of £22


w as subsequen tly invested in land , the ren t whe reof has

s ince then been equa l ly d iv i ded betw een the chu rch and

th e poo r of Witton Gil be rt pa rish. Not many char i t i es in

England can boas t of such a roman tic o rigin.

The Maste r of Sherburn House,the Rev. H .A.M i t ton ,

has compiled an in te res t ing h is to ry of that o ld place.

O riginal ly founded by B ishop Pudsey for th e reception of

l epers of both sexes , its his tory fo r upwards of fou rcen tu ri es i s assoc iated w i th abuses of the most gla r ing

desc r i p tion ,maste r afte r maste r hav ing .pocketed its

revenues long afte r l eprosy had ceased to exi s t in thi scoun try. In 1857 , th ree years afte r the death of the las t

of the Old mas te rs , the house was recons ti tu ted, the

managemen t being en trusted to fifteen gove rnors,and the

ent i re p roperty of the Hospi ta l i s now ves ted in th is body.Prior to that t ime the maste rs pa i d the statu tablea l lowances to the b re th ren ,

and pocketed the en ti re balance

of the revenues , bu t unde r the n ew const i tu tion th e sa la ry

of all the Officials was fixed,and p rovi s ion was thu s made

for a cons ide rabl e extens ion of the u sefu lness of the House.Th i r ty Ol d men are now ma in ta ined out of par t Of itsrevenues , and a Hosp i tal , bu i l t at a cost Of

affo rds an asylum for a s im i lar number Of s i ck pati ents of

both sexes. The Dispensary , a lso ,w as th e ou tcome of the

n ew scheme , and its presen t popula r i ty may be gauged

w hen i t is ment ioned that t i ckets are annual lyd is tr ibute d to poo r peopl e requ i ring medical aid.

I t is scarce ly poss ibl e to i magine a mo re peace ful orhappy l ife than that passed w i th in its wa l ls. A l l the i rw ants are an t i c ipated and prov i ded fo r. They rece ivelodging , food , c loth ing , and attendance , togethe r w i th a

money a l lowance of 4s. per w eek , wh ich enables them to

pu rchase the extra comfo rts wh i ch some of th em enjoyedin mo re p rosperous days. In the beau ti fu l and carefu l lykept quadrangle

,and in the wooded domain attached to

the house , they wander at w i l l , enjoying the in te rcou rse o fthe i r fe l lows and ta lking ove r pleasan t remin iscences and

the even ts of the past. The neat and wel l-appo in ted l i t tl echu rch at the far end of the quadrangle keeps them in mind

360 NORTH -COU NTRY SKETCHES.

Su rte es, was ba i l iff under Greenw i ch H osp i ta l. H e was

connected w i th Majo r Su rtees , who commanded th e

Northumberland M i l i t ia du ring Lo rd Geo rge Go rdon’

s

r iots. A loca l song in p ra ise Of th is ga l lan t regimen t , th e

No rthumberland Buffs , says

Fu l l fifty thousan d , s tout a nd bo ld ,We re a ssemb le d in th is r io tF ive hundre d of Northumbe rland boysMade a l l the se thousands qu ie t.

W e owe much to photography and the mag i c lan tern.They have made us fami l iar wi th places and th ings thatu sed to be far beyond our ken. At one t ime peopl e knewl i ttl e or nothing abou t the sun and moon

, and the othe r

cel est ia l bodies. A come t was regarded w i th awe, and

i ts coming assoc iated w i th some pending calamity whi l e

the most that boys w e re taught respecting the moon was

that i t was inhabi ted by a naughty man who once gathered

st i cks on a Sunday , and whose lugubrious coun tenance

d i d more , pe rhaps , than any o the r agency to keep the fourthcommandmen t in remembrance. Among as tronomers

,

the moon has a lways been an Obj ect of i n te rest. The Rev.Temple Cheva l l i e r , who was the fi rs t Obse rve r at Du rhamUn i ve rs i ty , used to say that she had given h im morepee led shins and so re th roats than a ll th e o the r luminous

o rbs pu t together. I t was Thal es , we bel i eve,that fel l

in to a pi t wh il e watch ing an ecl i pse. NO doubt he,too

,

experi enced many othe r m ishaps w h i l e groping abou t inthe dark. Cosmo logy was a r isky profess ion in the ea rlydays. When an as tronomer go t ou t of his reckon ing and

made a mistake he was qu ickly made to jo in the ce les t ials.He s tood in greate r fear of his l i fe than Ride r H agga rd ’sprophe t in the s to ry of K ing So lomon ’s M in e. H i andHO of Ch ina were the fi rs t as t ronome rs of whom w e haveany record. They l ived in the re ign of Chou -Kong

,

yea rs before Christ , and both w e re beheaded for getting on

the spree , and fa i l ing to fo retel l an eclipse. A s w e haveremarked , comets and changes in the cel es tial bod i es w e realways looked upon as even ts of the most po rten tous k ind ,

I sa iah and othe r sacred w r i te rs speak of ecl i pses as

indicat ive of the w rath Of the A lm ighty ; and Homer,

SKETCHES. 36 1

Pl iny , Pindar , and many o the r anc i en t w r i te rs al so makemen t ion of them in a s im i lar way. B ut s ince these days

the moon has a l lowed herself to be sketched and photographed for ou r home amusemen t

,and we have become as

int imate w i th he r as w e have w i th th ings ter res tr ial. Bythe aid of photography and the magic lan te rn

,stay-at-home

peopl e may now vi ew th e s ights and wonders of the world,

from the rema ins of anc i en t Rome to the pyramids OfEgypt—those prodigi es of human pow e r , the admirat ionof ages pas t and to come. Let us look at one of thosegigan t i c p i l es as M r. J evons desc ri bed and i l lustrated i tdu r ing a l ec tu re at Durham in 189 1 . The re i s one

entrance to i t , and from that b ranches ou t many passages.

O n e l eads to an empty p i t , anothe r i s in te rcepted by a

w el l e ighty feet deep , and is blocked by many Obstacles ,includ ing seve ra l wal ls. A th i rd passage is barred by a

huge gran i te b lock , and the w o rkmen find i t eas i e r to cut

round th i s than through i t. Thi s stupend ous monumen t ,these w inding passages and in te rven ing Obstacles , thi smigh ty expendi tu re of labou r dur ing many many years ,a ll are i ntended to cove r and concea l the co rpse of one

man!A t las t a chambe r is reached con ta in ing a sarco

phagus , but the latte r , mirabile d icta ,con ta in s no corpse

Where can i t be P The place is tapped,and gives forth a

ho l low sound. Here,then

,is the key to the grand secret.

A ho l e is qu i ckly made,revea l ing a s ta i rcase. Descend

ing ,the explo re rs—afte r w i nding through lofty hal ls and

narrow passages— at last a r rive at th e actua l sepu l ch ra lChambe r

,the ab iding place of the roya l mummv Qu ite a

thri l l of inte res t runs th rough us as th e magic lante rn

reflects the actua l po rtra i t of Rameses the Second— th eve ry Pharaoh who so c ruel ly opp ressed the ch i l dren of

I s rael. H is head is smal l , en ti re ly out of p roport ion to

his gigan ti c body,his fo rehead low and nar row , h is nose

p romin en t and booked ,his ch in squa re and p roj ect ing.

O n the back of th e h ead is found whi te ha i r two incheslong

,wh i l e the ch in i s cove red wi th a grow th of half an

inch. P robably the attendan ts had not shaven the i r roya l

maste r du ring his fina l i l lness,or maybe i t had grown

afte r death


The marriage of M iss Edi th Mary Duncombe Shafto to

Captain Randol ph,in 1 89 1 , was an epoch wh ich w i l l b e

remembered by the lad ies o f Du rham,who flocked to th e

p retty l i tt l e v i l lage of Brancepe th to w i tn ess the ce remony.

Happy the b ri de on w hom the sun shines. He di d ju s tShow his face

,whi ch was regarded by the ladies as a l u cky

augu ry. We hope that i t may be so,and that b r ide and

b ridegroom have a brigh t and bl issfu l futu re befo re them.

By the i r a l l iances w i th the Swinbu rnes , th e B ert rams , th e

R iddel l s,the B randl ings

,the Edens

,and the W idd ring tons ,

the Shaftos have some of the bes t blood of the Northcount ry in the i r veins. The rank whi ch the Old lo rds of

Shafto held on the Bo rde r is immor ta l iz ed in song and

t radi t ion. They Often took part in the host i l e meet ings

between the Scotch and Engl ish wardens , and on e Of the

war-c ri es of the latte r used to be “ A Schaftan and a

Fenw i ck. The p resen t rec to r o f B rancepe th s pringsfrom the ‘ Ma rk Shafto who was mayo r of New cas tl e in1 548. H is grandson Of

'

the same name was reco rde r of

th i s c i ty in 1 648 , and i t was he who pu rchased Whi two rthin 1652. Robert , his son

,was a lso recorde r

,du r ing the

ho l d ing of wh ich Office he rece ived the honour of kn igh thood. S i r Robert d ied in 1 705 , and w as succeeded by h i sson Mark

, ofWhitworth , who was High She r iff Of Du rhamin 1709. Robe rt Shafto ,

his e ldes t son, was member of

Parl iamen t fo r the c i ty of Du rham in 1 7 1 2 , and a lso in

1 727. Dying in 1 729 ,his bro the r John was e l ected to hi s

seat the same yea r. Robert , a son of John,rep resen ted

the coun ty between the years 1 760-68. Th is is th e BobbyShafto for whom M iss B e l lasis , the he i ress Of B rancepeth ,conce ived an a l l-consumi ng love

,and of whom she sang

thus admi ringly and hopefu l lyBobby Sha fto ’

s br ight and fa ir ,Comb ing down his ye l low hair ,H e

’

s my a in for ivve rma ir

H ey fo r Bobby Sha ftoBobby Shafto ’

s gone to sea ,

Wi’ s i lve r buckle s a t his kn e eWhe n he come s ba ck he ’ l l ma rry m e

Bonny Bobby Sha fto

The re are u sua l ly two s ides to a ques t ion. Colon elCou lson and his suppo rte rs are a la rmed at th e man n ishatt i re and spo rt ing tenden c ies o f the ladies

,the t ruth of


a proof that th e lovers of the e ighteen th cen tu ry w e re in

the habi t of ty ing the nuptia l knot in a so l i d and

substan t ia l manner. The bridegroom ’

s su i t was made in

London,and cost £6 1 23 . There was five and a ha l f

yards of c loth in i t, wh ich at 183 . pe r yard amoun te d to

£4 14s.6d. The mate ria l for the l in ings and pockets co s t

5 3 .6d., and the bu ttons and tw is t cos t and the chargefo r making the su i t was £ 1 103 . The b ri de ’s dress , or

rathe r he r trousseau,we shou ld imagine , was al so made in

th e M etropo lis. We mus t admi t that the i tems are qu iteun in te l l igibl e to us

,bu t th e lad ies may unde rstand the

u ses to wh ich the b ri de pu t a l l th e yards of lace , musl in ,

b rocade , &c., se t down in the b i l l. To begin w i th,the re

is an i tem of 103 . for five ya rds of Iooped lace at

£2 18s. The n ext is a charge of £4 103 . for one and a

half yards of what appears to be “ grounded ” lace, and

the re is a charge of £4 1 3 . for a fu rthe r supp ly of looped

lace. A yard and a quarte r Of cambri c cost £ 1 .

’

Then ext i tem is £2 103 . for two and a hal f yards of lawn.

Five and a quarte r yards Of mus l in cos t £5 1 5s. 6d.

What cou ld a lady wan t w i th twen ty-e ight yards of r i chc rimson flowe red ve lvet P The to ta l cos t of th i s was £42 ,

being at the rate of 303 . pe r ya rd. The las t i tem is

£ 1 7 103 . fo r th ree and a ha l f ya rds of go l d brocade. Thetota l cos t of the mate ria l a lone was £9 1 163 . 6d.

, wh ichseems to us to be a large expend i tu re fo r a lady

’

s ou tfi t inthe early years of the re ign of the Fi rs t Geo rge.

NO m an in the coun ty of Du rham was eve r moreun ive rsa l ly or more deservedly respected and honou redthan Thomas Charl es Thompson , whose death occu rredat Eas t Grinstead in 1892. A harsh or unchar i tabl esen t imen t w i th regard to othe rs n ever fe l l from his l i ps

,

and in his death w e have los t a l earn ed,gene rou s

,good

man. In private l i fe he was the most amiable of men,

and in the po lit i ca l wo rld he was esteemed and respectedal i ke by his fr i ends and oppon en ts. By bi rth

, educat ion ,

and early assoc iations , M r. Thompson was warm lyattached to everyth ing connected w i th the coun ty ofDu rham. He was a bo rn s tuden t

, and graduated w i thhonou rs at Du rham in 1839 , be ing then on ly eighteenyears Old. The on ly othe r man who took class i ca l

SKETCHES.365

honou rs that year was the la te Canon Dwarris. Durhamwas then in its infan cy , on ly twenty -e ight studen ts having

graduated the re before M r. Thompson did 30. Among

these we re F ranc i s Thompson,vicar of S t. Giles ’

,

Durham ; Hen ry Stoke r,vicar of Pi tt ington and

F reder i ck B rewste r Thompson,v icar of B enfie ldside

, all

of whom are dead ; though one of the i r fel low-studen ts,

D r.Cund il l , who was'

the fi rs t s tuden t of the Un i vers i ty,

i s s ti l l l i ving. The p resen t Canon Greenwel l grad uated at

Durham a long w i th M r.Thompson , as did a lso Me red i thB rown and John Frede r i c B igge

,the fo rmer of whom is

s t i l l l i ving , we bel ieve. The MS.d ay-books at the l i brary ofthe Un i ve rs i ty show that class i cal l i te rature was the bentof M r.Thompson ’

s mind,and that Canon Greenw el l was

even then dabbl ing in archaeo logy. Hav ing read extensive ly and j ud ic ious ly , M r. Thompson

’

s mind was a

s torehouse of info rmation. He possessed a wonderfu l lyreten t ive memo ry. An instance may be given. Dur ingthe D urham C i ty e lection in 1885 , he w ished to i l lus tratesome rema rks wh ich he was about to make by a quotat ionfrom Homer , and ca l l e d at th e Un ivers i ty Library to

verify i t. Be ing asked w hat ed i t ion he wanted he repl iedthat he knew the w hereabou ts of the book he needed

,

having read i t w hen a s tudent,and at the same moment

wa l ked to the p lace whe re i t was kept , and , afte r a br i ef

search , took down from the shel f the vo lume whi ch he hadhandled mo re than fifty years before.

Few men gave to the poor more l ibe ral ly or unostenta

t ious ly. Abou t thi rty-five years ago he acqu i red the

Sherburn H al l estate, and wen t to res ide the re. His

go ing was s ignal ized by an act wh i ch the w r i te r w i tnessed.

An old woman , a w idow ,was in arrear w i th he r rent

,and

the ba i l iff’s men se ized her fu rn i tu re and placed i t on a

cart , p reparato ry to removing i t to Du rham. I t happened

to be the day of M r. Thompson ’s arr iva l in the vi l lage ,and noti c ing the commot ion he made inqu i r i es. In th e

end he sat isfied the landlo rd ’s cla im,and th e w i dow ’

s

fu rn i ture was res tored to he r. Mr.Thompson had then a

commanding figu re,w i th a fine presence. H is pleas ing

manne r and gen ia l ways w e re best seen to advantagedu r ing an el ec tion contest. In the c i ty of Du rham

,a


dozen years ago ,one of the mos t popular m en was th e

present membe r for R ipon , M r. John Lloyd Wha rton.

There is much sent imen t in th is wo rld of ou rs,and i t is

wel l known that many peopl e are swayed by tr ifl ingth ings. During one of his con tes ts w i th M r.Thompson

for the representation of the c i ty , M r.Wharton en te re d

th e house Of a vote r , w i th whom be exchanged the u sualc iv i l i t i es. As the man was repu ted to be a Con se rvative ,he d id not wish to appear importunate , and w i th his

characterist i c del i cacy s imply expressed the hope that h e

m ight receive his vo te on the day of the el ect ion. A few

minu tes afte r M r. Thompson en te red. The lady of thehouse was then washing some clothes in the m iddle of the

floo r , and her a rms up to he r elbows we re covered w i th

soap lather. Advanc ing to' her , M r.Thompson ,w i th one

of his mos t agreeable smiles , sa i d ,“ I a lways l i ke to shake

hands w i th the lady of the house fi rst,

”and at the same

momen t , before the woman had time to remove the lathe r,

he gave her hand a cordia l grip. M r. Grange r,who

w i tnessed the act , says that the lady smiled a l l ove r , and

he r husband was SO del ighted with th i s l i ttl e ma rk of

condescens ion that he recorded his vote for Mr.Thompsonon the day of election.

Ho rse rac ing and cockfighting we re at one t imeinseparably connected. O ne gave a fillip to the o the r , andboth at Du rham and Newcas tl e an adjou rnmen t tookplace to the cockp it as soon as the races w e re ove r.Occas ional ly there was a match or two afte r the usualp rogramme had been run O ff. We can we l l imagin e whatinteres t wou ld be centred in one that took place on th eNewcastl e Moor in 1 730 , betw een the grisse l gal lowaybelonging to I saac Grieve , of Fryerside , gen tl eman , and

the gray gal loway owned by Anthony Tul ly,of Newcas tl e

,

merchan t. The former car ri ed catch we ight, w hi l e the

latte r carr i ed ten stone , and the di stance was ove r th eusual cou rse of four m i l es. We cu l l these facts fromthe orig inal art i cl es of agreemen t

, wh ich fu rthe r te l l usthat the stake money , £20

, had been depos i te d in th ehands of

‘

Thomas Hal l , of Gibsid e,gen tl eman

,but th e

d ocumen t does not say wh ich horse won the race.

C H A P T E R X L I I .

NOTES AND ANECDOTES.

Dean Waddington.—M r. Henry Smi th , of E sh Ha l l.—Se rgean tMorland.—Mr.Wi l l iam B rigna l.

—Book Co l le c tors —Pa rrots.A Loqua cious M ine r.—Light Butte r.—Judge Manisty.

—Curing aDrunken \Vife.—Stamme ring.—The Duke of C leve land.—TheChangeab lene ss of Human Li fe.—A New ca st le Shave —Ama te urPicture C le ane rs —The Ma rque ss of Londond e rry

’

s“ Irish

Brigade.

WHILE the late au thor of Ve rdan t Green was an

undergraduate at Durham , he made many port ra i tsOf the dign i ta ri es and people abou t the Un ive rs i ty and

Cathedral , most of wh ich we possess.I Not th e l eas t

inte rest ing is one of Dean Wadd ington,whose gene ros i ty

and kindness of hea rt w i l l be long remembe red. Thegood Old Dean ,

in his wa l ks abou t th e c i ty,had eve r a

smile and a kindly greeting for those whom he knew. His

vest pockets w ere usual ly fi l l ed w i th smal l change in s i lve r ,wh ich he gave to the lads of the town w i th no n igga rd lyhand and he was a lways ready to help the poor c i t izens

,

whose appeals to him for aid w e re rare ly made in va in,

I t is to be feared , howeve r , that he more than onc ebes tow ed his chari ty on Obj ects qu i te undese rv ing of his

1 O ne of the be s t is a pen-and -ink ske tch made in 1848, re pre se n t inga group of s tude n ts reading for the June examina t ions in thegarden Of Un ive rs ity Co l lege. In the top group a re John Bo l land(buried in Je rusa lem , i f w e mistake no t), w i th his he e ls in theair ;

“Ve rdan t Gre e n ,

” H.Co l l ins , and H.Fyne s C l in ton (cous in of theDuke of New ca s t le), the la tte r lean ing on a sofa cush ion a ndsmok ing. The bo t tom group in clude s Ga rth

,F. M. S t. John , and

the pre sen t B ishop of Abe rde en and the Orkneys , the R ight Rev. theHon.A.G.Douglas. Un ive rs ity l ife in Durham then wa s much morevaried than it is now. The course wa s thre e yea rs , and the unde rgraduate s had more t ime for re laxa t ion. Many of them hun te d a tleast once a w e ek ; they kept dogs of eve ry conce ivab le b re ed andshape wh ite ra ts and mice , and o the r vermin

,found a home in the

Cas t le Ke ep ; and they amused themse lve s much in the way tha t“ Ve rdan t Gre e n ’

s tormentors a re sa id to have done. A ltoge the rDurham was ve ry much differen t from wha t it is now.

i

NOTES AND ANECDOTES. 369

sympathy , as the fo l low ing c i rcumstance w i l l show.More than th i rty years ago the re l ived in Gilesgate , with inthe p recincts of the Chu rch Lane

, a marri ed coupl e , whose

imp rov ident and worse habi ts caused them to be rathe rnotor ious in the neighbou rhood. The w i fe was no strangerat the Deane ry , and the husband was w el l known to the

Dean pe rsonal ly. O ne morn ing the former presen tedhe rself at Dr. Waddington ’

s hou se w i th the mou rnfu lnews that he r hu sband had di ed du ring the n ight

, and thatshe had not the means to bu ry h im

,l e t a lone to give h im

a decen t fune ral.

The sympathet i c Old Dean ’s heart was touched ; but

someth ing in th e woman ’s manne r making h im susp icious,

he decided to vis i t h e r house in o rde r that h e might ve r i fyher s tory , and

, i f n eed be , rende r immediate help. H e

acco rd ingly info rmed the woman that his bus iness thatafte rnoon ca rri e d h im into Gilesgate , and that he wou l dthen ca l l and see he r. She left w i th profess ions of

grati tude on he r l ips , bu t he r mind must have been i l l atease , as the seque l w i l l p rove. As the day wore on

,the

famil iar figu re of the Dean was seen approaching. The

bereaved woman met h im at the door w i th all the marks ofgri ef on he r visage. The house i tsel f p resen ted thefeatu res usual ly to be found on such mou rnfu l occas ions.In one co rn e r stood the fou r-po l ed bed , and on i t was the

body of the recen tly departed one. Con trary to thew i dow ’

s expectat ions,the Dean exp ressed a des ire to see

the face-cloth removed. The face was death- l i ke in its

repose , bu t the re was a ve rm i l ion hue abou t the nosewh ich the good Dean ,

'

in h i s wide experi ence,

n eve rremembered to have seen in a corps e before. He

remarked on the unusual appearance , and suggested to

the woman that i t was poss ib l e that he r husband was bu t

s leeping off a debauch , and that he m ight not be dead

afte r al l. He was abou t to carry his invest igat ions a

l i ttl e fu rthe r,when the corpse gave a yawn and op ened i ts

eyes , as i f in confirmat ion of the Dean ’s suppos it ion, and

to the apparent wonde r of i ts weep ing spouse.

Many men would have cal l e d in a pol i ceman at once,

bu t not SO the Dean. The s ight was so l u di c rou s that the

d eath chambe r rang with h i s laughte r , and afte r he had24


l ectu red the couple on the i r fu ti le attempt to i mpose on

h im,he retu rned home

,not , howeve r , befo re he had given

the woman the means fo r p rocu ri ng both food and

s t imulants for her resusc i tated spouse.

The death of Mr. H en ry Smith , of E sh Ha l l , in 189 1 ,

removed the las t connect ing l ink between the o ld

Lancheste r magis trates and the new. They w ere a pa instaking lot of men ,

those old magistrates , and early in the

s even ti es , w hen t rade was br i sk and many m in e rs and i ron

workers Spen t the i r earn ings mer r i ly if not w i sely , i t was

not an unusua l th ing to find them adm iniste ring just ice bycandlel ight in the l i ttl e room that was then u sed as a

cou rthouse. In the cha i r sat the handsome,broad

shou l de red fox-hun t ing M r.Kearney , and on his r ight and

left w ere grouped M r.Taylo r-Sm i th , anothe r fox-hun t ing

squ i re , M r. John Greenwe l l , M r. J ohn C lave ring , Mr.Hen ry Smi th , and M r. Ta lmadge , al l of w hom ,

a las!e xcept the latte r , now awa i t judgmen t at anothert r ibuna l than the i r own. In one co rne r

,on a bench

,sat

b l ind,gray-headed Old Tinkle r , one of the earl i es t members

of th e po l i ce fo rce , whose eyes we re del i be rate ly and

c ruel ly gouged ou t du r ing h is attempt to quel l a publ ichouse d is tu rbance. Nea r h im stood the cl ean -shaven ,

much-dreaded Mo rland , the ch ief of th i ef catche rs in his

d ay. I t was his boast that on ly two men in his parish hade scaped him , the parson and the schoo lmaste r. A l be i t theterro r Of ev i l-doers , he was a lways on the best o f te rmsw i th them. Now

, John ,

” he wou l d say to some poo rmortal whom he was p rosecu t ing fo r drunkenn ess , and

who had den i ed the impeachmen t , d idn ’t I set you tw i ceon your l egs before you fe l l in to the gutte r!The fac tis , John , you w e re mortal lious

,thi s latte r favou r i te

e xp ress ion Of his conveying the mean ing that the defendan tw as u tterly in capable.

Morland was the most methodical of po l i c eman. A t onecou rt he brought up a regimen t Of drunk and diso rde rl i es

,

at the n ext he had twen ty or th i rty p i tch-and -toss cases,

and at the succeeding cou rt he would u she r in a batch of

d el inquents for garden-breaking and such l ike Offences.H e would neve r confess to be ing ove r-matched but once

,


exact d istance between two places. And why did you

take the t roubl e to measu re i t!” asked Mr. B rigual.

“ Because I thought some feyul of a so l i c i tor wou l d ask

me,

”was the reply. He had the laughte r of th e cou rt

aga in s t h im on anothe r occas ion , when his cl i en t ’s arm

was sa id to have been pe rmanen tly inju red in an assau l t.

The inj ured l imb cou ld not be rai sed beyond a ce rta in po i n tdu r ing Mr. B rignal

’

s examinat ion ,but when h is young

fr i end M r.Barnes , in apparen t sympathy , asked the man

how h igh he cou ld l ift i t before the assau l t , he sudden ly

ho i s ted his arm and sai d , Right up.”

Book col l ectors are thus class ified by I saac D i s rael i

A bibliognoste is one know ing in t i tl e pages , colophons ,and edi t ions , the p lace and year when pr inted , the p resses

whence issued,

and all the m inut iae of a book. A

b ibl iographe i s a describe r of books and o the r l i te rary

arrangemen ts. A bibl iomane is an indi scr im inate accumu

lator who bl unders as fas t as he buys , cockbrained and

pu rse-heavy. A bibl iophi le,or love r of books‘

,i s the on ly

one of the class who reads them for h is own pl easu re. Ab ibl iotaphe bu ries them unde r lock and key and framesthem in glass cases. To wh ich section of the p reced ingthe late M r.Rob inson belonged , i t wou ld be hard to say.

He was an en thus iasti c book co l l ecto r , and bu i l t up at

Houghton- le-Spring , and latte rly at Hardw i ck H al l , whe rehe died

,a l i brary which , in its spec ia l col l ect ions

,rem inded

us of those fo rmed by the B rocket ts and the Charn leysand the Bel ls of a pas t gene rat ion. This l i b rary was

dispersed in Newcastl e by M ess rs. Mack in 1890 , and

attracted buyers from many parts of the wo rld. The rew ere many rare books and tracts , and

,as might be

expected , a goodly array of B ewickiana ,the i l lust rations

of upwards of 1 50 lots be ing att ri buted to the B ew i ck

schoo l of engravers. M r.Robinson ’

s spec ia l ty was locall i terature , and his co l l ection embraced a lmost eve ryth ingthat has been issued from the pr in t ing presses of th e two

counties of Northumberland and Du rham since the daywhen the roya l p rinte r , Robert Barke r , se t up shop at

Newcastl e. There w ere many civ i l war tracts, and

severa l rare things from the Gates ide press of S tephen


Bu lkley. I t wasa five days ’ sal e. The description of thelots may be sai d to be a b ibl iography of local l i te ratu re.E very conce ivable th ing was there

,from Thorbu rn ’s “Fox

Chace at Shot l ey B r idge to the once cel eb rated but long

defu nc t Tyne M ercu ry’

s accoun t of the “ mil l betweenTom Dunn and J em Wa l lace on Barlow Fel l. There is a

s tory that M r.Rob inson ’

s father once took h im on to th etop of H oughton H il l

, and po in ted ou t to him the broadacres belonging to the pate rnal estate. And they w i l lal l be th ine some day,

Tom,

” remarked the Ol d gen tl eman“ what w i l l thou d o w i th them!” Make them fly

,

father!” l i sped the young squi re. The books of anothe rnoted col l ecto r , M i s s J u l ia Boyd , were dispersed byM essrs.Dav ison and Son

,of Newcastl e

,in the year 1892.

M iss Boyd was a lady w i th artisti c and an t iquariantas tes

,and , having the wherew i tha l to grat ify them

,

she converted he r home in to a museum. She was th edaughte r of Edward Fenw i ck Boyd , E sq., of Moo r House

,

and was connected w i th the o ld Fenw i cks and Andersons

of No rthumberland. Afte r her father ’s demise she w en t

abroad , and was travel l ing in New Z ealand at the time ofher death , whi ch had a pecu l iar sadness about i t , from thefac t of its occu r r ing ten days afte r that of her b rothe r

,

Rober t F enw i ck Boyd.

Manv amu s ing sto r i es have been to l d of the im i tati vepropens i ty of the gray parrot. A South Sh ields working

man own s one that is noted for its loquaciousn ess. He i spardonably p roud Of the b i rd , and has taught i t to say

some quee r things. O ne even ing,du r ing the summer of

189 1 , he retu rned home accompan i ed by a fri end. Both

w e re in a jo l ly mood , and P011 was eviden tly expected to

say some of he r fu nn i es t th ings. She occupied he r usua lpe rch

,bu t i t was not i ced that she did not salute he r

mas te r in the u sua l way. Speak , Po l l he h iccuped ,coaxingly. Bu t Pol l was in a tac i turn mood , and not a

word wou ld She u tte r. At l ength,in a fi t of i l l-humou r ,

th e man ,se iz ing he r , sa i d , Speak , yor beggar , or aa

’

l l

tw i s t yor neck roond ,”

and at the same time threw the

poor b i rd unde r the table.‘ Afte r the fri end ’s departu re ,

he be though t of the par rot , wh i ch had meanwh i l e made


her es cape into the yard, whe re the re w e re some young

ch ickens. Fou r of these she had ki l l ed,and as the owne r

app roached the spot where Po l l was standing sen try ove rthei r dead bodies , she c ri ed out

,Speak , yor beggar , or

aa’

ll tw is t yor neck roond.

A loquac ious mine r,wel l known in the cou nty of

D urham, was ai r ing his e loquence before a select

company in the Lambton Arms ,”

at Chester- le-Street.He contrasted the p resen t cond i t ion of his fel lows w i ththei r lot before the abo l i t ion of the yearly bond , not ing

the strides that had been made by them mo ral ly and

intel lectual ly,

and,w i th pardonable p ride

,po in t ing to

h imself as an exampl e of what education had ach ieved.H omer and V i rgi l were refe rred to as old fr i ends

,and the

subtl e ties of A ris totl e ’s eth ics seemed as pla in to h im as

the ru l es fo r the wo rking of his co l l i e ry. H av ing

expressed h is readiness to answe r questions or speak on

any subject , a meek- looking individua l,who had been

s i tt ing in an obscu re part of the room,submitted to h im

the fo l low ing pose r How wou ld you d i rect a bow

l egged man the stra ight road to C rook! to which the

p itmatic Demos thenes , not to be beaten,rejo ined by

asking him Did you eve r nav igate a perambu lator

to the foot of Shincl iffe Bank Top P

A bad excu se is bette r than non e. So the farmer ’s w i feev idently thought when she sought to excuse the short

w eight of her bu tte r by saying that the wate r had run out

of i t. The practi ce of giv ing shor t w e ight is no t new.

When the markets w ere superv ised by ba i l iffs,peopl e w ere

frequen tly fined for such offences as sel l ing l ight butte r,

buying i t up and sel l ing i t aga in in the same market, whi ch

was ca l led regrat ing , or buying i t befo re i t was publ i cly

offe red and sel l ing i t at a higher p rice, whi ch was te rmed

fores tal l ing the marke t. A stri ct look-out was kept at

Bishop Auckland Market , and in conn exion w i th this a

good story is to l d of a Cockfie ld farmer who used to takebu tte r there. He was what is known as a

“we t hand

,

”

not in bu t ter-making , but in the sense that Wa l po l e wou ldhave used i t , namely , in l i qu idat ing his w i fe

’

s bu tte r money.


that ’s you rself,is i t no t excla imed his lordshi p , to whi ch

the w i tness naive ly repl i ed,Aye

,sartin ly

I t is d ifficul t to cure a drunken w ife. A poor man in

the Nor th-coun try is sa i d to have been so re ly affl i cted in

th i s respect. A friend at l ength suggested a remedy.

When the craving came on ,the good lady was wel l p l i ed

w i th her favou ri te beverage , and in t ime she became

helpl ess. She was then carr i ed into th e cel lar , whe re she

was sh rouded and placed in a coffin. As the effects of the

drink wore off,the woman began to grope about w i th he r

hands , and as he r finge rs scratched the ins ide of he rnarrow prison she began to moan ,

fea r ing that the end

had come. “ Oh,where am I!” groaned the affrighted

woman. “ In Hades,

” came the low response “ Lordhave mercy upon me pen i ten tly ejacu lated the doomedlady

,as she endeavou red to take a view of her sur

roundings by the dim l ight of a candle wh ich was bu rn ingin the farthes t co rner of the cel lar. I t w as some rel i ef to

her,howeve r , when she found she was not alon e in the

horr ib le place , and as her facu l ti es became brighte r sheven tured to ask her compan ion in misfo rtun e how longhe had inhabi ted the nether regions. The response , Fiveyears

,and s ti l l in pu rgatory ,

” caused he r to u tte r anothergroan. She tried to ra ise he r body from the cofi‘in

,but

,

care hav ing been taken to fasten he r down w i th co rds , th eattempt was fu t i l e , and her exertions on ly accele rated thedes i re that she fel t for someth ing to s lake the ragingth i rst w i th in her. Oh , dear me she exclaimed to he rinvis ib l e compan ion ,

do come here and put you r han d inmy pocket. I have S ixpence , and i t wil l pay fo r a po t of

wh iskey between us l” This unfortunate woman must

have been as incorrig ible as the H oughton - le-Springcobble r. The latte r usual ly retu rned home from his

carousals by the footpath l eading through the chu rchya rd.H is spouse often lamen ted his weakness to an offi c ial

of the parish , who determined to attempt a cu re.Acco rd ingly , one n ight when the cobble r go t ove r the

s t i l e , and was staggering a long the footpath,he tumbled

into a big ho l e wh ich had been p repared for h im. H et r i ed to get out of i t in va in , and whi l e he lay on his back

NOTE S AND ANECDOTES. 377

a figu re in w h i te ben t ove r h im, and in sepu l ch ral accen ts

sa i d , Mo rtal , what dost thou in my grave“ What

i s thou do ing out of i t was th e reply of the cobble r.

A l though stammering i s a pa infu l infi rm i ty,i t is

p roduct i ve of many amus ing inc i den ts. Here is one

wh i ch came unde r our own observat ion in the City of

Du rham. A workman who stammered was repa i r ing a

house be longing to a gen tl eman whose son a lso had an

imped imen t in his speech. Wan ting a hammer,he to l d

h i s son to ask the wo rkman fo r the loan of his. Boths tammere rs w e re ignoran t of the other ’s infi rm i ty

,and th is

l ed to a mos t pa infu l scene between them. Pl-p l-p l-pleasew i l l you le -le - l end my fa-fa-fa-fathe r you r ha-ha-hammerj e rked ou t th e young man.

“Te-te- te-tel l th’

fa-fa-fa-fathe rt ’ ba-ba-ba-buy hi-hi- his awn ha-ha-ha-hammer

,repl i ed

th e pe rson addressed , w i th a glare in his eyes whi chp la in ly indicated a des i re to throw the too l a t the youngman

’

s head. Each resented the supposed affron t , and thes i tuat ion was becoming rea l ly se rious , w hen fo rtunatelythe owne r of the house s tepped up and offe red an

explanation. Bo th w ere exceedingly so rry , of cou rse , and

in his confus ion the wo rkman thus addressed the young

man W h—wh-why didn’t th ’ te-te - te- te l l me that thou

s t- tu t-tu t tered

During a shor t s tay,in Teesda l e a good sto ry was to l d

to us respecting the late D uke of C l eve land ’s Raby estate ,and his Grace ’s conce rn fo r the comfo rt of his tenan trv.

Women, as w e know , pay more attention to domesti ccomforts than thei r husbands ,

and the re was one lady in

part i cu lar who made the cond i t ion of he r house a specia lgr i evan ce , and a l lowed he r hu sband no res t on the subj ect.

Time afte r time she t hreatened to app roach the Duke ’s

agen t and give h im a bi t of he r mind abou t what she

ca l l ed the tumble-down s tate of t ’ aad house , and, bu t

for h er good man’

s repeated promise to m en tion thematte r to Mr. S ca rth a t the next ren t day, i t is probablethat th e lady , who was known in the da l e for the l ength of

he r tongue , wou ld have carr i ed he r th reat in to effect. The

Duke,as is wel l known

,was of a reserved d ispos i t ion ,

and


mixed l i ttl e w i th his tenan t ry, to most of whom he was

consequen tly un known. O ne day, an elderly gentl eman

appeared at the farms tead, and

,as he looked l ike a

s tranger,he was inv i ted by the lady to wa l k in and

partake of a glass of milk , which he d id. Obse rv ing thegen tl eman ’

s eye scann ing the fal l ing-off pape r in th e bes t

parlou r,she began pou ring ou t her gri evance i n to his ear.

She compla ined bi tte rly of the landlord ism that doomed

her to l ive in a place where she sa i d t ’ aad Duke wadd ent

pu t his pigs ,”

and made many uncompl imen tary al lus ionsto the head of the noble house of Raby. Sho rtly afte r thegen tleman l eft

,th e farme r himself re tu rn ed from the fields ,

and,much to his w i fe ’s su rprise

,sai d that he had j us t met

the Duke,who to l d h im of his hav ing cal l ed at the house.

H is Grace,howeve r , had no t sai d anyth ing abou t th e

lectu re that he had heard on the dut i es and respons i b i l i t i esof landlo rds ,

no r of the est imate that had been formed of

his own characte r by his tenant ’s w i fe. With in a w eekwo rkmen we re there pu l l ing down th e old house and

outbu i ld ings , and in the i r p lace is now one of the fines tfarms teads on the Raby es tate.Shyness and unos ten tat ion w e re tra i ts in the late Duke ’scharacte r. He mixed l i ttl e w ith the wor l d

,and for long

was as l itt le known in London as he was on his own

estates. O ne day, sho rtly afte r his access ion to the t i tle,

he was bidding fo r a p iece of s tatuary in a London auctionroom. H is Grace had made up his m ind to buy th emarble , and i t was even tual ly knocked d own to him at a

high figu re. The Duke ’s qu i e t bu t spi ri ted bidding had

attracted atten tion. There was much specu lat ion as to

who the shabby- looking gentl eman w i th artis t i c tas tescou ld be. The auctioneer ev idently eyed him suspi c ious ly ,and a look of incredu l i ty passed over his face w hen

,in

response to his que ry , the stranger ca l l ed ou t C l evelandas the pu rchaser. “ C l eveland!C l eveland !wha t C l eveland!he asked , amid the titte rs of the company. TheDuke of C l eveland ,

”was the qu i e t reply.

I t frequen tly happens tha t those who have been inseparable in l i fe are no t d iv i ded in death. The tru th of th isremark is occas ional ly ve rified in the obitua ry co lumns of


A few years ago , a coupl e of Du rham pa inte rs went in to

the country to pa in t the house of an old lady , a widow.

Both men we re fond of whi skey , and they often lacked the

whereW1thal to get i t. O ne morn ing , the , c raving for a

dram of the i r favou r ite potation was u nusua l ly intens e ,and whi l e the twain we re devis ing ways and means to

ra ise the w ind , a br ight thought flashed in to the head ofo

one .of them. In the din ing room was the portra i t of the

fo rme r maste r of the hou se. The o ld lady ’s attention was

cal l ed to i t,and she was to ld that wash ing the canvas w ith

whiskey wou ld not on ly remove the di rt , but wou l d freshen

and bring out the co lours amazingly. She readily assen tedto the i r clean ing the p ictu re , espec ial ly as no charge was

to be made , and retu rned to the room w i th a bott l econ ta in ing nearly a pin t of the necessary lot ion. A l i ttl esoap and wate r soon removed the coat ing of di rt from theportra i t

,whi l e the contents of the bottl e wen t down the

th roats of the amateur p ictu re c leane rs. In due t imethe o ld lady was inv i ted to look at the resul t of the i r ski l l.She was in ecstas i es , and ,

as she v i ewed.the l ikeness of

her departed spouse , she excla imed On ly to th ink thatI have kept that wh iskey in the house six years. My poorhusband was a great suffe re r , and I used i t ove r and ove raga in on his sore legs , and he a lways sa i d i t eased h im

Dav i d Tweedie , of the 2nd Life Guards, who d ie d at

D urham in 189 1 , was as fu l l of remin iscences of the armyas an egg is fu l l of meat. Ow ing probably to h i sconnexion w i th Durham , he became a great favou r i t ew i th Charl es , the th i rd Marquess of Londonde rry and fi rs tEarl Van e , who was co lonel of his regimen t

,and p romote d

h im to the rank of corpora l -majo r.“

O n one occas ion i twas found necessary to recru i t the ranks from I reland

,

and fifty s talwart , hungry- looking young fel lows w e rebrought ove r. Tweedie ch ristened them the “ I r ishBrigade ,

”and they w ere , barring the Greek gips i es who

vis i ted England a few years ago ,perhaps the mos t ragged

troop o f men that had set foot on th e shores of o ld

England s ince the dayWill iam landed w i th his freeboote rs.I t was imposs i bl e to distingu ish the top from the bo ttom

of the i r coats , and s l eeves from the body. The i r b reeches


we re in tu rn used as coats, and the coats as b reeches.

The hats they wo re w ere of a ll colou rs and Shapes,the

b rims and c rowns be ing mos tly kept togethe r by piecesof tw in e. O ne great b ig gian t of a fel low

, s tanding6ft. 4in. c reated some amusemen t when brought befo re

th e Marquess. H is ragged coat was a mixtu re of fr iezeand p ieces of Sheep skin

,the w ho l e be ing tied and kept

togethe r by p ieces of co rd. What ’s you r name askedthe co lone l. O

’

Laurence, O

’

Te rrence, O

’

Locklin,

O’

B rien , O’

Flahe rty, H al t !” shouted the

Marquess , ev i den tly imp ressed w i th the bel ief that theman had rece ived al l the names of the anc i en t k ings of

Munste r , Leinste r , Connaught , and U lste r at his baptism.Indeed he put his M i l es ian descen t beyond a doubt whenthe Marquess asked h im to what cou n ty he belonged.Coun ty , ye r honou r ,

” repeated Pat , w i th a scrape ,any coun ty ya

’

ve a mind , ye r honou r I belong to ive rycoun ty in O ire land.”

Most peop l e are aware that the judges of Ass ize are

a lw ays en t e rta in ed at th e Castl e during thei r s tay in thec i ty of D u rham. Among the M i ckl eton manuscrip ts

,

quoted by Mr. Boyle in his “ Gu ide to Durham,

”is a

cu r ious accoun t of th e cos t of en te rta in ing them at theSummer Assizes in 1 66 1 . At the p resen t t ime the judgesdine in the Senate Room ,

but in th e Old pa latinate days

the repas t was se rved in the Hal l,w he re they had greate r

va r i e ty and fared mo re sumptuously. Among the th ingsp rovi ded in 1 66 1 was a fat ox , costing £ 1 1 and the re

was mutton , vea l , and othe r butche r meat,which cost

£6 65 . I od. The re was ven ison from the park at Auckland

,in addi t ion ,

as we l l as Westphal ia hams , neat ’stongues , and cheeses , cos ting £2 4s.9d. Mr Grove

,of

New castl e , charged £9 8s. fo r sw eetmeats , w ett andd ry

,

”wh i l e M r. Davison was pa i d £4 105 . 8d. for

groce r i es. The bi l l of Mr. Tyzack , o f Gateshead,for

anchovies , Ol ives , and cape rs , amoun ted to £ 1 7 5 . I od.

The ma l t consumed by the ducks and geese in the p rocessOf fatten ing for th e lega l s tomach cost no l ess than

185 . 6d., and there i s an addi t ional paymen t Of 1 5 5 . to thewomen who c rammed them. The re w e re S i xteen geese ,


th ree dozen tu rkeys,ten dozen ch ickens

,n ine p igs , and

two and a hal f dozen ducks. Seven and a half s tones of

bu tte r w e re used in lubri cat ing the j udges ’ th roats ; and

they also swal lowed,w i th the ass istance of the n e igh

bouring gen try , a tun of French w ine,bes i des many dozen

bottl es of sack and » other sweet w ines. M eanwh i l e the i r

reta iners refreshed themselves w i th ale and smal l bee r at

a cost of £4 , and their ho rses ate oats and beans to thetune of £3 6 5 . rod. The sum total of the en te rta inmen t

was £ 14 1 145 . 2d., wh ich wou ld represen t abou tOf our presen t money.

O ur v i ew Of the Hal l is from a draw ing made by M r.Fred.W.Morgan ,

and show s the new screen and gal l e ry

wh ich were added in 1888 from des igns by M r.HodgsonFowle r.


The l ette rs w ri tten by the members of the C lave r ingfamily g1ve us a qua in t p ictu re of fash ionabl e l ife in th etime of Queen Anne. The younges t daughte r of John

C lave r ing , E sq., of Chopwel l , Ann,who marr i ed H en ry ,

son of S i r H enry Liddel l, and was s is te r to Lady Cowpe r ,

w ife of the Lo rd Chancel lo r , kept the Axwe l l family wel lposted w i th the latest Cou rt n ews

,and he r l e tte rs , wh i ch

we possess , wou ld form an in te res ting suppl emen taryvo l ume to Bu rton ’s “ Reign of Queen Anne.” Here i s a

cho i ce morse l of scandal unde r date Septembe r grd ,

I 7O9

A S to Dome stick n ews , nothing spoke of but Lord Sha ftsbury’

s

wedding , wh i ch was of Monday , to a re la t ion of his own—on lyfortune ,

wh i ch has given S ir JO S.Cross ley ye | vapours. Thiswedding is a surprise to the world , tha t so sple ena tick a man Shou ldma rry. Th is

,the re fore , re nde rs it eviden t tha t ne ithe r tha t nor

vapours , nor any othe r me lan cho ly , can se cure one from th inking of

tha t word Ma tr imony. We see one t ime or o the r a ll fo lks a re caughtin tha t snare. I ’m a lso to ld ye Grea t Dutch loose s groundda i ly , that a l l is done tha t poss ib ly can to make he r throw up he r keywh ich the world says is d e sign

’

d for Lady H ide. Pride and

cove tousness ha s been y e ru in of tha t Lady , and wou’d soon be se en

we re it no t he r husband. The town ta lks tha t the Duke and Duche ssof Ormond a re a lso come toge the r aga in , and tha t he

’

s discharge dLady Mary.

The County of Durham ,its Castl es , Churches , and

Mano r Houses , is the ti tl e of a book wh ich was publ ishedm 1 892. The au tho r of i t is M r.J.R.Boyle , who is bes tknown as the author of Vest iges of O l d Newcas tl e andGateshead. The book conta ins ample evi dence that

when M r. Boyle looks at an anc ien t p i l e,i t is not w i th a

dul l arch i tectu ra l eye, bu t w i th a l ive ly sense of its poeti ccharms , and a jus t apprec iat ion o f its histo ri c cla im s.A l though profess ing to be on ly a gu i de

,i t is tin real i ty a

most rel iable , complete , and comprehens ive h isto ry of the

Coun ty of Durham ,and every on e of th e 800 pages is

brimfu l of in te res t.

The in troduction of the manufactu re o f s tee l in to the

county is asc ribed to the Germans , who settl ed at Shot l eyB ridge abou t the year 1 690. M r. Boyle po in ts ou t that amuch earl i e r date has been mis taken ly ass igned to the

adven t of the German swo rd-makers. B u t he e rrs in

stat ing that the originator of the erro r was the late M r.Thomas Spencer. Its or igin i s ludicrous enough

, and


though mis l ed by the gent l eman who fi rst pe rpetrated i t,

we w e re the fi rs t to d iscove r the e rror. An en try in the

Ebcheste r par ish registe r reads as fol low s E lline r thedaughte r of Math ias Wr ightson C l e r was bapti sed 1 1 th

day of June , In the first half of the p resen t cen tu ry,

the Rev.John Ryan marr i ed M i s s O l ey, a descendan t of

one of the or igina l settl e rs,and in the year 184 1 he

pub l i shed an interest ing l ittl e book,the H istory of

Shotl ey Spa ,in which

'

he fixed the beginn ing of the

s eventeen th cen tu ry as the date of the sword-makers ’

coming , from the supposed fact of the name O l ey be ingment ioned in the Ebcheste r Regi ste r unde r date 1628. He

had seen the almost i l l egib le entry in the old reg iste r book ,“ Math ias Wrigh tson C l e r (Clericus), wh i ch he read as

Math ias Wr ightson O l ey ,”and concluded that the O leys

and Wrightsons had e i th e r in te r-marr i ed or werepart i cu lar fr i ends at the t ime. But , as a matte r of fact ,the fathe r of the ch i ld was not O l ey at all

,but Wrightson

clericus , the incumben t of Ebchester. Probably M r.Boyl e may thank us for plac ing the pate rn i ty of this

cu r ious e rror on the prope r shou l de rs.

I N D E X .

A I, origin of, 168.

A’

B ecke t , G.A., 2.Abe rde en ,

Bishop of, 368.Acke rman , Mr.Rudo lph , 9 1.Actor, a w i tty , 1 2.

Adams , Mr.Alexande r, 29 1.John , 1 74.

Adamson ,Mr.H.A., 7.Dr., He tton , 306.

Adde rs , 281.Addre ss , a flowe ry , 77.Adey , Rev.Wm., 36.Adu l lam ,

cave of, 169.

Agri cu l tura l Societ ie s , 36.A idan ,

B ishop , 89.A ins ley , John , 39.

A itche son , Andrew ,175.

Akenhead , Mr.David , 1 20.

Aldin Grange , 95.

A l lansford , 293.

A l lanson ,Rev.E d.

,192.

Al l Foo ls ’

Day, 240.

A l lan,Ge orge ,

145.

Allen ,Ca rdina l , 337.Cha s., 245.Widow ,

1 54.

Al lenda le , 225.

Al lgood , Widow ,15 3.

Almond , James , 1 28.

Alnmouth , 1 32, 136.

A lnw i ck , 99 , 1 58, 1 76, 186, 195 ,83 1

Alpe ,Mr.A.J., 18.

A lston , 1 38, 228, 367.

A lwen t , John d e , 1 26.

Ance s try , pride of, 1 56.

An cho rage , anc ie n t , 49.Ande rson ,

Jame s , 1 19.

Mr.John , 292.Marge ry

,19 1.

Roge r,150.

Andrew ’

s House , 3 1.Andrews , R., 1 27.

Ane cdote s , 368A ngl ing , 78, 279.Angus , Ca leb , 59.Annanda le , family of

,246, 284 ,

30 1.

An t iquarie s , 268, 33 1.Appare l , cost ly , 209.Appleby , family of, 76, 1 27.Archdeacon ’

s Court , 1 26, 265.

A rche r, Mr.Mark , 334.Arche ry, 72.

Armstrong,John , 39.

Mr.Joseph , 246.A rt and the Drama

,1.

Asce ns ion Day, 236.

A schburn ,De an

,2 15.

Askew ,Dr., 1 19 , 3 1 2.

Mrs., 3 1 2.

Astronomy, 360.Athanas ius , 323.Atkinson and Ph i l ipson

, 58.

Atkinson,E l i zabe th , 1 78.

Ma tthew , 1 79.

Mr.T.S., 246.Axwe l l , 38, 63 , 30 1.Ayc l iffe , 7 1 , 72, 1 27 , 14 1 , 216.

Aydon Cas tle , 363.Ayns ley , Mr.Wm. 244.

Backs ide s , 167.

Ba con , J.W., E sq., 222.

Badby, Wm.d e , 204.Ba i ly , Canon , 94.

Ba inbridge , John Drake , 306.Bainbrigg ,

E leanor, 190.

Bake r, Squ ire , 92, 145 , 163.

Ba lcanqua l , De an , 95.

Ba lfour, Gene ra l , 63.Ba l io l , family of, 102

,200.

Ba l le ny , Mr‘

.Dav id,246.

Bamburgh , 7 , 1 1 1, 202.

Banks , Pe te r , 188.

Barge Day,236.

Ba r ing,Dr., 327.

Ba r ley Mow , 140.

Barmby,Rev.J., 109 , 16 1

, 290.Barne s , Ambrose , 223.

B ishop , 265.Mr.C.E.

, 372.Mr.J.W.

, 281.

Barne s , H igh , 322.

Ba rna rd Ca s t le , 45 , 1 52, 34 1.Baron ia l wars , 98.Ba rras , John , 38, 342.

Barrere a nd Le land,1 2.

Ba rron , Ra lph , 39.

Ba rt le tt , Thoma s , 2 17.Bar ton exe cuted , 18 1.

Ba te s , Dr., 135.

Mr.C.J., 40, 363.Bayles , John , 15 2.

Beamish Pa rk, 303.

Beaumon t , Thos.R., E sq., 225.Mr.

,2 18.

B ede Col lege M agaz in e , 46.

388 INDEX.

B rigna l , Mr.W., 37Br it ish barrows

,106.

Britons , ancie nt , 107.

B rookbank , Thos., 39.Brooks , Sh irley, 2.Broom , 95.

B room ,hang ing out the , 190.

Broomst i ck , 19.

Brothe rhood , Mr.W., 3 14.

Brown ,E l iz.

,153.

nJohn.38Mr.George

,246.

Mr.He nry,246 , 277, 278.

Mr.Will iam , 246.

Rev.Me redith , 365.Browne , Major, 102, 290.

B rowney,260.

Brus , Adam d e , 197.

Buck land , Mr.Frank , 83.Budd le , John , 45 , 66.

Bul le rwe l l , Ge orge , 39.Bulme r , Be rtram ,

1 58.

Bumpe r Ha l l , 142.

Bunke r ’s H i l l , 359.Burdon ,

142.

E l i z.,150.

family of, 56, 64.

Mr.Wil l iam , 29 1.

R i chard , 7 1.Buria l customs , 106.

Burn Ha l l , 95.Burn ,

M r.Thomas , 3 19.BurnhOp e sid e , 334.

Burn ing body , a ,2 1.

Burre l l , Cu thbe rt , 1 50, 188.

B ushblad e s , 29.

Butte r, l ight , 374.Bu tte rw i ck , 330.Bye rmoor Pit , 29.

Byke r, 29 , 32.

Byron , Lady , 306.Lord , 333.

Cadogan , Ea r l of, 174.

Ga i les , John , 72.

Ca in ,Mr.J.C., 219.

Ca lcraft , hangman ,180.

Ca ld cleugh , Mr.John , 348.Ca l la ly , 1 02, 290.

Ca l le nde r, M.and J., 1 21.

Ca l l ithump ian ,1 70.

Ca lvin ,John ,

1 16.

Ca lve rt , Mr.John , 244, 248.Candlemas , 232.Cape!, Lady , 138.

Caphea ton , 278.

Card-p laying, 1 28.

Carighan ,CO l., 63.

Car le ll , Isabe l , 19 1.

Car l ing Sunday , 233.Carl is le , 186.

Earl of, 85.Carlton

,Jose ph , 39.

Mr.C.M., 172.

Carnaby,S ir Cha s., 188.

Carr Dr.,143.

M r.Andrew ,187.

M r., New cast le ,1 52.

M rs., Dunston H i l l , 3 1 2.Phi l ip , 1 18.

S ir Ra lph, 306.

Cart , John , 39.

Caste l l , M r., 4.

Cast le Howard , 85.Cast le s ide , 293.

Ca tt le , ep idemic among , 36.Cen tenarians , 3 1 0.Cha lme rs , Rev.M r., 1 38.

Chambe rs , Isabe l , 1 21.

Robe rt , 264.Chand ler , Bishop , 1 33 , 222.

Chapman ,Ma tthew , 1 5 1.

M r., Durham , 147.

the o ld,1 55.

Charit ie s , 1 33 , 357.

Charlton , John , 379.

Mr. Edward , 1 2 1 , 246.

Cha rms , 250.

Charn ley , M r.,1 20.

Chatton,G i lbe rt , 187.

Cha ttowe , John ,204.

Chaunce lo r , Rob t., 72.Che ste rfie ld , Lord , 167.

Cheste r-le -Stre e t , 45 , 64 , 97 , 142,2 1 5 , 265)282, 3 19)320)374 °

Cheva l l ie r, Rev.Temp le , 360.Ch i ld ma rriage s

,103.

Ch i l l ingham, 187.

Ch i lton , Jame s , 1 19.Moor

, 97.Cho l le rton , 1 39.

Chopwe l l , 92, 1 1 2.

Christma s , 230.

b i l ls , 1 19.

Chudle igh , M iss , 62.C iv i l wa rs , 183.

C lap , Rev.John,1 34.

C laren ce , Duke of, 19.

C lark , Mr.Na than ie l , 303.C larke , Capt.Thos., 1 53.C la ss dis t in ct ions , 165 .

C lave ring , family of, 4 , 3 1 ,

-

36

38, 6 1 , 98, 1 1 2, 1 1 5 , 1 17 , 145

146 , 1 50, 1 57 , 199 , 20 1 , 289 ,290, 29 1 , 3 1 3 , 370.383 , 384

C layton , Mr.N.G., 303.Mr.Na than ie l , 292.

C lemen ts , Dame , 1 70.

INDEX.

C leve land , Duke of, 377.

C l i ck- ’em-in,14 1.

C l inton , H.Pyne s , 368.C l ipp ing money, 184.

C lockmake rs , O ld , 1 18.

Coa chbu i lding , 58, 1 22.

Coa l-mine s , ear ly , 27.Coa l-roya lt ie s , 269.Cochrane , H on.Mr.

,1 36.

Cockayne , Rev.O ., 252.

Cocke n, 306 , 354.

Cocke r, a ccording to , 168.

Cocke rton , 76.

Cockfi e ld, 374.

Cockfighting , 367.

Cock-pit , 1 58.Cockram

,Mr.Thomas, 1 19.

Pe te r, 38.Thoma s , 38.

Coffins , pa r ish , 109.

Co ins , 186 , 332.

Co ld Comfort , 14 1.

Co le,Jame s , 1 53.

Colep ike , 92, 302.

Co l le ctors , 33 1.Co l l ie rs (sh ips), 52.Co l l ingwood , R ev.C.E.S., 3 10.Co l l ins , H., 368.Co l l in son ,

Mr.Ge orge, 246.

Combe r, Dean , 1 65.

Commun ion , 1 62.

Confe rence s , w itch , 24.Consc ie nce money , 1 50.

Conse tt , 64 , 142, 1 73 , 242, 292,299 , 304 : 345 , 35 1 , 37 1 °

Conye rs , family of,129 , 1 58.

Cook , John , 39.

Mr.John , 1 19.

Cooke,A l i ce

,1 5 3.

Cookson ,family of, 1 1 5.

Coope r, Canon , 349.

Co-Ope ra t ion , 69.

Corbe tt , M r., 97.

Corbridge , 10 1,1 73.

Corf, 3 1.Cornforth , 1 1 1.

Corn,grinding of

,284.

Corn say, 302.Corsens ide , 1 36.

Cos in ,Bishop , 19 1.

John ,New cast le , 1 53.

Cost of l iving , 1 18.

Coste r, C laud , 268.C o te sworth and Ramsey, 270.Co tmen ,

69.

Co tton ,Ma ry Ann

,179.

Cou lson , Co l., 362.

E leanor, 192.Coup land , S ir John ,

202.

389

Cours ing, 96.

Court scanda l , 383.Courtsh ip , 19 1.

Cowe n , Major, 93.Cowpen

, 73.

Cowpe r , Lady , 1 1 2.

Coxhoe , 1 27, 302.

Cradock , Rev.Joseph, 222.

Craml ington ,1 34.

Crampton , Robt., 193.

Craw crook,270.

Crawha l l,Mary

,1 28.

Crema t ion , 106.

Cre sswe l l , Mr.Wil l iam , 5 1.

Crewe , Lord , 1 1 2, 270.

Cr i cke t , 266.Crook , 3 1 5 , 374.C rookha ll

, 337.

Cross Fe l l , 223.Grossby , Jan e ,

189.

Crow l , M r., 383.

Crow ley , M rs., 3 1 2.

S ir Ambrose, 38, 39 ,

1 59.

Thomas , 39.Croxda le , 1 29 , 302.

Croz ie r, Agn e s , 190.

Cru i ckshank,Mr.Alex., 173.

Cuckoo,256.

Cu lt iva t ion, sys tems of

,68.

Cund ill , Dr., 365.Cures , 250.Curr, John ,

She ffie ld, 3 1.

Cuthbe rt , S t., 85 , 1 0 1 , 1 23 , 327,

330

Cut-throat- lane , 14 1

Dag lish , Ra lph , 184.

D a ily News,2 1.

Da ld en Towe r, 306.

Da le , Dorothy , 3 1 3.Da lton ,

69.

Dand , M r., Hauxley Cottage ,259.

Darl ington , 75 , 1 27 , 1 5 1 , 2 17.

E a r o 93.

Dav id , K ing , 20 1.Davison and Son ,

1 57 , 373.

John , 38.

Mary,186.

M r., 381.

Qua rte rmaste r-Sergt.,349 °

Dawson , Marga re t , 190.

Dead , search ing for , 81.De lava l , C laudius , 1 54.

fami ly of, 383.

S ir Ra lph ,1 50.

Denham ,M.A.

,167.

390 INDEX.

Dent,Rev.R., 3 1 1.

De rwentwa te r, “ Coun tess Of,16 , 276.

Ea rl of, 1 1 2, 276.

Lady , 16.

D iary of a skippe r, 5 2.D i ckinson

,family of

,246.

Marga re t,1 30.

Mr.Wm.,279.

D i lston ,16 , 276.

D ixon ,John , 1 19.

Dockwray, Mr.Will iam , 222.

Dodd , Mr.Will iam , 349.

Dodds , Alde rman , 357.

Dods , G e o.,Wh ickham

, 342.

Dodgson,Rev.C., 1 1 5.

Dog b ite , cure for , 254.Dogs , how l ing of, 2 1.

in church ,166.

Do ls (gu ide pos ts), 69.Doughty , h ighwaymen ,

184.

Douglas , Earl of, 204.E l i zabe th

,20 1.

Hon.A.G., 368.

Mr.John , 49 , 164 , 287.S ir Charle s , 145.

O ley.363Dow la is , 35 1.Dreams , 250.Drummond , Robe rt , 6 1.Drunkenne ss , 376.Dryburn , exe cut ions a t

,1 75.

Squ ire of,264 , 347.

Duck , S ir John ,29 1 , 356.

Ducke tt , Thomas , 15 1.

Due ls , 1 1 1 , 187.

Dukesfie ld , 226.

Dumbne ss , cure for , 255.Dumpl ing Ha l l , 140.

Dunston,An thony

,187.

Durham C ity , 33 , 74 , 145 , 192,

306, 3 14 , 3 16.345.364, 379Durham ,

An nabe l d e , 1 26.

Bede Co l lege , 46.B ishop ’s Registry , 1 26 ,

3 1 0.

butche rs , 29 1.Castle

, 302, 381.

Ca thedra l,

10 1 , 1 16,

1 23 , 1 25 , 214 , 2 17 ,

327 , 349 ; 355 °

Durham Churche sS t.Gile s ’

,2 15 , 365.

S t.Marga re t 's , 29 1 , 306.S t.Ma ryle -B ow , 217.

S t. N i cho las ’

,16 1

, 193, 213 ,234 , 29 1 , 292» 340

S t. Oswa ld ’

s , 109 , 1 29 , 16 1,

173, I 74)2141 2 17°

Durham , Bishop Cosm S Libra ry,

I 74 : 273 , 302

County Counc i l , 347.Cou ran t , 1 19.

cus toms in,67.

Dean and Chapte r of,240, 249 , 340: 349 °

Earl of, 297 , 3 19.Ecc le s ias t i ca l Courts ,

1 25 , 192,

320, 322, 342.

e le c t ions , 144.

exe cut ions , 1 78.

Gramma r Schoo l , 375.mine rs , 338.musta rd , 170.

Na tura l is ts ’ Assoc iat ion , 26 1.

P lague a t , 1 75.

Proba te Registry , 149 ,1 59.

pubhcans , 145.

Rega t ta , 263.

Sanc tuary a t,23.

ske tche s of, 183.

Skinne rs ’

Company,

306.

Un ive rs i ty,1,2, 18, 84 ,

106, 1 1 1, 263 , 292,

309 , 326, 3301 365 ;

368.

Un iversity jou rna l ,108

, 327.

Un ive rs ity Museum ,

Vo lun te e rs , 348.Wa te r s upp ly

, 287.Dutens , Rev.M r.

,1 36.

Dwa rris , Canon , 365.

E ar-ache , 253.Earsdon , 134.

Eas ington , 1 28, 217 , 296.

Eas te r, 235.Ebche ste r , 2 1 , 2

,186

, 8E bdon

, Christoghe r , 4.359 3 5

E bdy, Char le s , 80, 279.

Eccle s ias t ica l Commiss ione rs,

2 18.

E d e,Rev.W.Moore

, 356.Eden , S ir John , 146.

Edeson,John

, 7 1.

Edmondbye rs , 68, 7 1 , 281 , 333.Edwards , Mr.G e o.T.

, 1 16.

Mr.J.J.S., 74.Ege rton , B ishop , 1 38.

Eggleston , 222, 223 , 239 , 3 13 ,

379Egglestone, Mr.W.M.

, 367.

392 INDEX.

Good Friday, 234.Goodri ck , S ir Henry, 184.

Gore ’

s Bampton Le c ture s , 323.Gort , V iscoun t , 9 1.Gosforth , 1 34.

Gout,cure for , 254.

Gow land , Major, 148.

Graham , Corone r, 359.Jame s , 1 5.

Grand Al l ie s , 270.Grange r

,Mr.A.W.

, 366.

Grave -cove r, 293.Gray , John , 72.

Grea tham , 73 , 127.

Greek , study of, 329.

Gre encroft , 290.Gre e nhead , 10.

Gre enwe l l , Alan , 121.

Canon ,106, 142, 348,

365.

Mr. John,Broom

sh ie lds , 370.Grevi l le , Rev.Jame s , 6 1.Grey, John , 39.

Mr.G e o., M illfie ld , 308.Wil l iam

, 287.

Greyhounds , 73.Greystoke mil le r

,1 13.

Grie ve , Mr. Isaa c , 366.Grove , M r., 381.

Gu ise rs,230.

Gunpowde r Plot,2 10, 239.

Hadley , M r., B irmingham , 3 15.

Hagge tt,Isabe l , 1 5 2.

Will iam,1 53.

Ha l idon H i l l,20 1.

Ha liwe rfo lk , 89.

Ha l l , Mr.Thos., 367.Mr.S i las

, 349.

Ha l l iday , Ge orge , 163.

Ha l lowe’

en , 237.

Ha l ly We l ls , 325.Ha lmote Courts , 67 , 265.Ha lton ,

1 36.

Ha ltwh ist le , 1 38, 188.

Hamilton , Archdea con , 346.

Mary , 1 53.

Hamste r ley , 22, 9 1.

Handcock , He nry, 1 19.

Handfast ing , 192.

Hard-struggle , 14 1.

Ha rdw i ck , 94, 37 1.Hardy , S ir T.D., 1 23.

Hare , George , 1 19.

Wa lte r,1 27.

Hargreave s , Mr., 14 1.

Harpe r, R i chard , 7 1.Harra ton Moor, 55.

1 Harris , M iss , 363.Harr ison ,

Mr.Joseph , 1 18.

Ra lph, 3 13.

Row ley , 5 1.Thomas , 1 5 2.

Ha rtburn , 139.

Hart lepoo l , 1 27 , 167 , 295.

Hasw e l l , John , 39.

Ha tton , Mr.Joseph , 355.Hawdon ,

Mr.George , 246.Haydon ,

1 38.

B.R., 10.

Head-a che , cure for , 252.Head lam

,Brian

,193.

R ev.A.W., 1 75.

Hea leyfie ld , .222.

Hea ton, 32.

Heddon ,135.

Hedley, family of, 334.

Mr.Robe rt , 246.Hed ley Fe l l , 96 , 27 1.Hedworth , Mr. John ,

M.P., 289.He igh ington ,

216.

He irloom s , 1 5 1.

Hemp-se ed , 238.H en-penny , 321.H ende rson , M rs. El izabe th , 1 54

Mr.Wm., 78, 279.R i cha rd , 187.

He rbs , 25 1.He rington , John , 1 50.

He rodo tus in Durham , 349.

He rring, Ma r ia , 206.

H e rynge r , Thos., 70.He ske th , Ba rn i , 269.He s ledon

, 72.

He s lop , John , 29 1.

He th , Mr.Topp , 33 1.Heworth , 70, 73 , 3 1 3.H eyrine ,

'Richa rd, 1 75.

H i cks , Cap t.Rob t., 1 53.H ighwayme n ,

60.

H i l ls and Co.,Sunde rland

,1 70.

H i l ton , family of, 97, 103 , 1 54,

24 1 , 34 1.

H irings , 4 1.Hodgson , Chris topher, 163.

Re“ John) 44 , 134,183.

Ho ldsworth, Coun c i l lor, 348.

Ho l land , Lord , an e cdote of, 338.

Ho l le tts in Northumberland, 89.

Ho l l iday , John , 1 19.

Ho lme s , M rs., 379.Ho lmsid e

,1 16 , 306.

Honey-pot House , 76.Hoope r, Rev.J.W.

, 309.

Hoppe r, Ge orge , 39.Hopp ings , 295.

INDEX.

Hornby, Dr., 263.Hom e , Ens ign ,

187.Horse , an aged

,62.

ra c ing, 33 1.shoe s , 24.

va lue of, 295.

Horsfa l l , Rev.Mr., 193.

Horton , 1 35.

Ho tspur, 203.

Houghton- le -Spring, 9 , 6 1

, 97,16 1

1 3381 359 1 372)376°

Hou lt , M r., 60.

Howa rd , Lord Wm., 85.B owe n

’

s Gi l l,64 , 143.

How i ck, 1 36.

Huddle s ton , S ir John , 1 56.

Squ ire , 1 14.

Hunstanworth , 1 27 , 1 28.

Hun te r, family of, 1 1 5 , 1 16, 359.

John , Newcast le , 1 52.

Wil l iam, 38.

Hun te rs (poa che rs), 72.Hun t ing

, 90.

Hurworth , 14 1.

Hutchinson , M r.Jose ph, 80, 348.

Mr.Wm.,223 , 3 13 ,

379I bis , 257.

I l lustra ted Lon don News , 2.

Im r ie , Mr.David , 246.In con t in ency

,162.

Indu lgen ce s , 1 23.

Influenza , 36.

Ingham , Dr., 1 22.

Ingle ton,1 59.

Ingram , Mr.He rbe r t , 2.

Invis ib le worl d,22.

Irreve rence ' in church,193.

Ive ston , 279 , 284.

Ja ckson ,

fihn

fi1

35.

6r. o 24Jameson , Jane , 1 78.

Ja rrow,2 16

,236 , 3 1 3.

Javil Group , 1 19.

Je ffrey ’

s Grove , 222.

Je ffrie s , Cap t.John , 153.

Jenkins , Mr.John , 246.

Mr.Wm., 35 1.Je rro ld , Douglas , 2.Je smond , 29 , 1 50.

Jevon s , Mr.F.B., 36 1.Jockey, a n ea rly , 1 52.

Johnson ,Edwa rd

,S tra n ton ,

192.

Jame s.39John ,

162.

John , Se dg efie ld ,193.

R., 1 28.

Thomas , 1 28.

393

Johnson ,Rev.Henry, 1 35.Robe rt

,21.

Joicey, Mr.Jame s , M.P., 27.

Jonassohn , Me ssrs., 54.Jones , Rev.Thomas

,1 28.

Joseph and his coa t , 47.Judge s , cos t of en te rta in ing , 381.

Kearney , Canon ,246.

Mr.Ma tthew, 370.

Ke epe rs a nd vermin, 26 1.

Ke l l , Jose ph , 39.

M rs.Sa rah,1 19.

K e llaw e, B ishop , 5 1 , 1 23.

Ke l loe ,142.

Kemb le , fami ly of,1 2

, 79.Ke tch , Ja ck , 1 77.

K ing ’

s Evi l,20.

K inn ea r , John , 3 14.

K irkharle , 1 36 , 14 1.

K irkhaugh,1 37.

Kirkley,Mr.R.W. 349.

K irkme rring ton , 73.

K irknew ton ,1 76.

K irkwhe lp ington ,134.

Knare sda le , 1 38.

Kne es , in Pa rl iamen t , 383.Kn ight , Will iam , 145.

Kn its ley,289.

Kynaston,Rev.Dr.

, 330.

Labour, cos t of, 40, 307.Lamb , Mr.Joseph , 29 1.

Will iam, 38.

Lambton,family of

, 9 1 , 93 , 148,I S7 , 339 °

worm , 21 5 , 297.

Lan che s te r,

1 1 5 , 1 27 , 289 , 292,2961 302, 303 : 306 , 3079 3 1 31 3329

334 , 345 , 346 , 370

Langley,B 1sh0p , 2 16.

Langley Grove, 95.

Langstaff, Joseph , 1 1 9.

Language , refin emen t of, 167.

Lave rick , Thoma s , 39.

Law re nce ,Capt.Will iam ,

15 3.

Lawson , Re v.Jose ph , 348.S ir Wilfrid

, 379.

Law ’

s de lay , 162.

Lax,Mr.Joshua

,186

,243 , 326.

Leadga te , 329.

Leadm ine rs , name s of O ld , 219229.

Leadmining in Al le nda le , Alston ,Te e sda le , a nd Wearda le , 2 18

229.

Le e ch ,John, 2.

Lemon,Ma rk

,2.

Leyburn , John ,194.

394 INDEX.

Leyrwit , 72.

Lidde l l , fami ly O f, 1 57, 384.

Mr. Cons,

e tt 37 1.Life , dura t ion of, 3 14.

unce rta in ty of, 379.

Ligh tfoot,B ishop

,

Li lburn , Mr.Chas. 273.

Lilia t Cross,203.

Lingard,Dr.

, 337.

Lin thwa ite, Rev.Hy., 22.Lint z ford

, 30 1.

Lis le , Deve rgy, 1 2 1.

Liston ,a ne cdo te of

, 79.Litt le , John , E sq., 223.

Livingstone,de riva t ion of name ,

359L loyd , Mr.Wil l iam ,

292.

Locomot ion ,rap id

, 65.

Locomo t ive , inven tor of, 333.Logan

,M r.Wm.

, 3 17.

London Coachmake rs’

Company ,58.

Londonde rry,family of

,160

, 339,

380.

ra ilway, 65.

Longbe n ton ,134 , 14 1.

Longho rs ley , 1 36.

Longstaffe ,Mr.W.H.D., 59 , 67.

Lonsda le , John ,1 21.

Look-out,14 1 .

Lough , John Graham , 10.

Love cup , 9.

M r., Newca s tle , 192.Lucky days , 25 1.Lum ley Cas t le , 6.

fami ly of, 97 , 1 56.

murde r a t,1 5.

Lush ington ,Re v.J.S., 1 34.

Lyon ,E l i z Newca st le , 153.

Mack , Me ssrs., Newca st le , 372.Ma ckay , Cha r le s , 2

Maddison ,E l i zabe th

, 39.

Madne ss , cure for , 253.Mag i c lan te rn , 360.

Magna Cha r ta , 98, 198.

Magp ie s , 283.Make -

’

em - r i ch ,14 1.

Manisty, Judge , 375.

Manoria l r igh ts , 67.Man -traps , 1 22.

Manwe l l , Thomas , 192.

Marche t , 72.Marley , Mr.Gabrie l , 1 20.

Mr.Robe r t , 38.Will iam , Wo ls ingham ,

194.

Marriage s , 103 , 1 50, 192, 34 1 ,

Marsha l l , Ve t.Dr., 144.

Thoma s,146.

Mart in,M iss , 1 74.

Rev.John ,193.

Ma rwood , W.,hangman

,180.

Masca l l , Thoma s , 306.

Ma son ,Robe rt

, 39.

Mas te rman , Adam ,1 75.

Ma t fens , oarsmen ,264.

Ma thew ,S ir Toby

,1 59.

Maughan ,Ingram , 163.

Maynard , Mr.A.L., 92.Maxwe l l , Edwa rd , 1 28.

Mr.Cu thbe rt , 38.Me doms ley , 92.Me lbourne , V iscoun t , 306.M e tca l f

,Mr.Thomas , 186.

Me lrose , 89.Me rrington , 72.

Me rthyr Tyd vil , 35 1.M i ckle ton ,

Chris tophe r, 174 , 381.M iddle sbrough

, 35 2.

M iddle ton -in-Te e sda le ,1 27, 265.

M iddridge, 74.

M iers , Dorothy , 1 18.

John ,1 19.

Mi lbanke ,family o f, 306.

M i lburn ,Joseph , 39.

Rob t., U lgham ,259.

M i l lstone s , 284.M i lne r , Rev.R i chard

, 307.

M ine rs of Durham , 338.

M in ing and mine rs,27.

M ins te ra c re s , 282.M ise ry Ha l l , 14 1.

M i tche l l , David , 3 1 3.M i tford , 1 36.

Be rtram , 1 93.

M i tton ,Re v.H.A.

,260, 358.

Monkw ea rmou th , 179.

Monks , Col., 348.Moore , Lione l , 288.

M r.,B la ckhill , 245.

Mr., ve rge r , 327.M rs.Ma rgare t , 135.

Thoma s , 4.Morga n

,M r.G.B.

,104.

Morgan , Mr.F red.W., 382.

Mor land , Se rgean t , 370.Morpe th , 1 1 0 , 18 2 1 2

Morris , 30 .

5 , 7, 95

Morr ison , E l i zabe th , 192.

M r.M. 29 1.

Morton,B ishop

, 94 , 239.

John,222.

Mose s, John ,

289.

Rev.Thomas , 138.

Mosstroope r , 5 1 , 293.

Mowbray,Mr. 289.

396 INDEX.

Penance , 124, 192, 193.

Penny-p ie -house,140.

Pe nshaw , 66 , 97.

Pe rambu la t ions, 236.

Pe rcy,family of

, 35 , 195.

Pe scod , John , 39.

Pews , 165 , 342.

Phenn , Joseph , 1 26.

Ph i l ipson , M r.,so l i c itor, 249.

Mr.Will iam, 58.

Photography, 360.

Phraseo logy,qua in t

,163.

Pi l lory ShOp ,Da rl ington , 1 5 1.

Pinch-me , 14 1.

Pinfo ld , 69.Pira te s , 5 2.Pi tt ington , 65 , 72, 16 1

, 21 5 , 258.

Pi ty M e , 140, 379.

Pla ce -name s,140.

Plague a t Durham,1 75.

P lough- irons , 69.Plough-penny

, 321.

Plumme r, Rev.Dr., 275.Plura l i t ie s , 133.

Poa ch ing, 72, 159.

Po i l l , Jane t , 190.

Po isone rs , 179.

Po l i ce system , 344.

Pon te land,135 , 14 1.

Pon top coa ls, 53.

Pon top Ha l l, 337.

Poo ly , M r.,1 19.

Popu la tion,increa se of, 294.

Porten ts , 20.Potts , M r.J.T., 293.

Mr.Pe te r , 1 18.

Prea ch ing, 329.

Pri ce , Thoma s , 1 21.

Price of goods , 1 18.

Prick louse , 19 1.

Prie s tman ,Mr. Jonathan , 246.

Prin te rs ’

e rrors , 1 73.

Prisons , o ld , 345.Priva te e rs , 50.Procktor , Mr.H.J., 379.Proc te r, M r.G.H., 262.Profits of m in ing

,29.

Pro te ct ion , 92.

Prud dah,W.

,127.

Pruss ian ma te exe cuted , 180.

Pub l i c-house s , O ld , 145 , 3 15.

Pudsey , Bishop , 218, 358.Pun ch , 2.

Purga tory , 321.Push money a t Durham , 240.

Pyramids , 36 1.

Quake rs , 75 , 1 27.

Quernstone s , 284.

Qu insy, cure for , 253.

Rabe la is , ane cdo te of, 240.

Raby, 378.Agne s d e , 126.

Hun t, 93.

Radc l iffe,Madame , 302.Mr.J.B.(“ Saxon96.

Ra i lways , early, 64.

woode n , 3 1.

Ra ine , Canon ,16 , 24 , 5 1 , 184 , 190

Re v.Jame s , 159 , 183.

Ra in ton , 69 , 70, 96.

Rake-house , 14 1.

Ramsey, go ldsmi th , 184.

John ,viewe r, 3 1.

Ramshaw ,Mr.Thos., 349.

Rand,Capt.Jame s

,153.

Will iam , 192.

Rando lph , Capt., 362.Ra ts , 258.Raven ,

croaking of the , 19.

Rave nsworth,Lord , 3 1 2.

Rayne , Dr., 1 22.

Raw,Thomas , Wha rn ley Burn ,

1 21,293.

Rawes , Mr.Thomas , 246.Raw lin ,

Thos., 222.Read , Rev.Dr., 166.

Rebe l l ion in 1 7 15 , 8

Re be ls , exe cut ion of, 177.

Redman ,S ir Ma tthew , 202.

Re ed , Mr.John ,29 1.

Re l ly , 95.Renno ld son , John ,

1 27.

Ren ton ,Dr.John , 282.

Re s idence , ke ep ing, 9.Rev iew of Reviews , 1 3.

R ia l,137.

R i chardson , Cap t.Thomas , 1 53.

nJohn

, 39M iss , 306.Mr.Jona than , 246.

Mr.Jose ph,222.

Lawren ce , 145.

Samue l , 39.R idde ll of Tuns ta l l , 160.

R id ley of Hea ton and B lagdon ,

32, 62, 29 1.

R idley , John , E sq., 1 38.

Mr.Musgrave , 188.

Mr.Thomas , 45.N., 1 38.

Pe te r, 1 50.

R ippon , Mr.Ge orge , 7.R ive rs , North-coun try

, 80, 82.

Roads , early , 58.Robertson ,

Rev.A., 324.

INDEX. 397

Rob in the Devi l , 17.Rob in Proud ’

s Gi l l, 96.

Rob inson , A l i ce , 190.

Jeann ie,232.

Mr.Fran c is,188.

Mr.Mark, 349.

Mr.Ra lph, 95.

Mr.T.W.

Robson , Ald.H e rbe r t ,

U

147.Mr.Jose ph

, 356.

Mr.Ph i l ip, 349.

Roddam ,Mr.John , 1 21.

Robe rt , 188.

Roge rs , Capt.Robe rt , 1 53.

Roge rson ,Mr.J.E., 92.

Rogue money , 162.

Ro l le ston ,Dr., 107.

Roman Ca tho l i cs , 1 29 , 302.

Roman ce , a De rwentwa te r, 17.

Rooks , 308.Rope r, Ra lph d e , 1 26.

ROSS,R i cha rd , 1 55.

Rothbury , 10 1.

Ro thwe l l , Isabe l , 19 1.

Roughead , Will , 60.Routh, Cuthbe rt , 306.

Dr., 84.Rout ledge , Dr. 246.

Thomas , 39.Row landson ,

Co l., 349.

Rowe l l , John ,192.

Row ley , Mr., 257.

Roxby , Robert , 80.Roya l O ak Day,

239.

Roya l t ie s and way le ave s , 269.Rudman and Ha l l , 1 22.

Ruke ,Wil l iam

, 70.

Rumney, Mr., 2 19.

Rura l de l ights , 26 1.Rushworth , Me ssrs., 7 , 269 , 293.

Russe l l , family of, 94 , 95 , 29 1.

Ryan , Rev.John , 325 , 385.

Ryton ,27 , 63.94 , 1 27, 270

Ryton ,o ld te nants in , 39.

Sa criston , 3 15.

Sadbe rge , 5 1 , 142.

Sad le r , Jame s , 38.Sa i lors , credu l ity of, 188.

Sa i lors ’

wage s , 53.Sa int , Mr.Thomas , 1 20.

Sa lke ld , Mr.G eo., 348.

Sa lvin ,fami ly of, 1 29 , 302.

Sande rson ,Christophe r, 223.John , 1 52.

Pa tri ck , 1 30.

Sandh i l l , fa ir on , 190.

Sandp ipe r , 26 1.Sarsfie ld , Mr.Thomas , 306, 349.

Sa t ley , 292, 294 , 302.Saunde rs , M r., 4.

Saxon ”

(Mr. J. B. Radc l iffe),6

Sc9a rth , M r., Raby, 377.

Schools and schoo lmas te rs , 44,340

Sc ia t i ca,cure for , 252.

Scott , Alde rman , 308.

Marmaduke , 185.

Mr., The Sycamore s , 293 ,304.

S ir Wa lte r, 62.Scrope , Archb ishop , 207.Sea ton De lava l , 14 1 , 1 50.

G.W.T., 344.

Sedgefie ld , 70, 193 , 2 16 , 266, 330.

Se lby, Will iam , 150, 1

Se ldom-se en,142.

Se rmons , evange l ica l , 309.Se rmon-writ ing

, 329.

Seymour, Mr.John , 246.

Shadforth , Mr.,1 18.

Shafto,fami ly of, 362.

Widow , 1 53.

Shake spea re Ga l le ry, 6.Sharp , Archb ishop , 9.

Archdea con , 9.

and Wa lke r, 1 5.

S ir Cuthbe rt, 1 57, 3 18.Shave , a Newcast le , 379.Shaw , Cha r le s , 193.

E l i zabe th,1 28.

John , Durham ,146.

Mr.R.W.,244.

She epwa sh , 1 39.

She l l , Mr.Wi l l iam , 246.

Sheppe rdson , Thomas , 1 50.Sherburn , 365.

House , 358.She ridan ,

R.B. 4.Shie lds , Mr. John , 45.

Mr.Wi l l iam, 45.

n South , 48, 50 , 70; 7 1 1 73)87 , 1 28 233.3 13.340.373No r th

, 73 , 14 1.

Sh in c l iffe , 374.Sh ips , o ld , 48.Shippe rd son , Co l., 264.

Sh ipwre cks , e a rly, 49.Short course s , 263.

Short s ight , cure for , 252.Shortt , Rev.J.R., 330.Shot ley B ridge , 140, 1 73 , 284,

299 , 3 14.325 , 384F ie ld

,10.

Grove , 30 1.Shrove Tue sday, 190, 266

398 INDEX.

S idd le , Mr.George , 293.S ign -boards , 3 14.S i lve r p la te , 15 1.

S i lve rtop,Squ ire ,1 10, 282.

S imonburn,1 37.

Ske lle tt , R i cha rd , 296.Skippe rs , O ld , 15 3.

S lack,M r., Newcastle , 1 21.

S la ley , 3 15.S lande r, 1 27.

S lang, 167.

S la te r,Jane t , 192.

Smart , Pe te r, 19 1.

Smil ing in church , 1 26.

Smith,Fa the r, 246.George , 19 1.

M iss Payne , 325.Mr.H enry , 370.Mr.J.R., 330.Mr.Thompson , 349.

Mr.Will iam , 66.

Will iam, 38.

Smithson,M rs. 184.

Sockburn ,1 27 , 1 58.

Sopw i th , Thomas , 223.South Durham Hun t , 94.Sou th Moor, 5 5.Spa sms

,cure for , 254.

Spence , R., 1 2 1.

Spence r, Mr. Thomas , Ryton ,

Mr.Thos., Dar l ington ,384N icho las , Hag H i l l, 38.

Sp inn ing whe e ls , 45 , 1 5 1.

Sp iri ts , mode of addre ss ing, 14.

Spon ta neous combus tion , 2 1.

Spre e , a long, 34 1.Spring

,260.

Spurnha re , John , 70.

S t.Alban ’

s , Duche ss of, 289.

Stamme ring, 347.Stamfordham ,

1 37.

Stand-a lone , 142.

S tanhope , 83 , 150 , 2 18.

Stanhope and Tyne Line , 64.S tan ley Wood , 96.

w re ck of the , 48.Stead , M r.

,1 3.

Ste ep lecha s ing, 330.S tegga ll , R ev.A.R., 292.

Rev.F., 292.

Ste l la ,270.

Stephenson ,George , 334.JOhn y 39

St.John , F.M., 368.S tobcross , 1 1 1.

Stobile e , 1 5 1 .

Stocke rley Gi l l , 95.

Stock , parish , 164.

S tock , va lue of, 1 5 1 , 295Stocks , vi l lage , 70, 194.

Stockton , 1 27.

S toddart , Rev.W., 342.

Stoke r, Regina ld , 152.

Rev.Henry , 365.Stoma ch wa te r, 152.

Stoo l Of repen tance , 130.

Storms , 49 , 88.Story , Wil l iam ,

192.

S tra chan ,M r., 3 17.

S tran ton , 1 28, 2 16.

S treams , po l lut ion of,69.

Strike s , 33.Sud d e s , Thoma s , 39.Suga r-h i l l , 14 1.

Sunday,de se cra t ion of, 57, 1 27,

265.

Sunde rland , 52, 56, 180, 273 , 322.Sunde rland Bridge , 95.Supe rs t i t ion , 18

,188, 252.

Surfa ce damage , 27.

Surte e s and Law son,27 1.

An thony, 359.

Dr., Ebche s ter, 359.John , 360.

Johnson and Co., 1 22.

Major, 360.Mr.Aubone , 29 1.

Robe rt , 142, 183 ,Robt.Smith

, 9 1 , 93.

Soc ie ty , 69 , 85 , 16 1 , 184.

Swe eps, 3 14.

Swe e thea r t,fe tching a , 25 1.

Sw inburne , S ir John ,Bart., 278.

Sw inhoe , Mr.Jame s , 187.Mr.Thomas , 1 19.

Swordmake rs , 299.

Ta i ls, 333.

Ta i l-up -on-end , 14 1.

Ta it,Mr.John

,246.

Ta lmadge,Mr., 370.

Tanfie ld , o ld tenan ts in , 39.Taylor

,Al i ce

,1 5 2.

Lion e l , 1 5 1.

Mr.H.E., 343.

Tom, 2.

Taylor-Smi th , Mr. Edward, 92,

370°

M r. G e o. G. T.,302.

Mr.Tom,290.

Tea-cake s , 162.

Tea, pri ce of, 1 18.

Tearle , Mr.Osmond,1 1.

Teasda le , John ,224.

Tee sda le , 377.

400 INDEX.

Watson , M iss , 47.Pe te r

, 320.

R i chard , 265 , 296, 357.lVilliam

, 357.

Watts , Rev.A., 357.

Waugh , Thoma s , 145.

Wayle ave s , 269.Wear Ang l ing Associa t ion , 83.

old Sh ips , 48.We arda le , 1 28

,14 1 , 218.

Wea rmouth , 69.

Weathe rhead , Luke , 186.

Wedde l l , Mr.Ge orge , 250.We l ler, Henry , 146.

We s ley, John , 2 1.

We stcott , Dr., 33 , 326.We st ley, M r.

, 5.

We stoe , 70 , 73.

Wha rn ley Burn , 293.

Wharton Fé te s , 348.M r.J.L., 347 , 366.Mr.W.L., 264 , 348.

Whea t , pri ce of, 286.

Robe rt , 1 27.

Whea tley , George , 1 18.

M i cha e l, 38.

Whee le r, Re v.S ir Ge orge , 8.Wh i ckham , 27 ,

270, 3 10, 342

Wh i ckham , O ld te nants in , 38.

Wh itburn , 1 28.

Wh i te -cake -row , 142.

Wh ite , Capta in ,174.

Cap ta in Anthony, 153.Co lone l , 344.Mr.John ,

1 20.

Rev.W.S. 294.

Thoma s , 38.

Wh ite lock , An thony , 192.

Wh itt ingham ,family of, 1 1 5 , 306.

Wibbe rs ley, M rs. 3 1 1. Y arno ld,Wi l l iam , 287.

Widdrington ,1 33 , 1 35. Y o rkshireA rchaeologica lSocie ty,S ir Thomas , 137. 09

Wide -Open , 1 4 1. Yu le -t ide , 230.Wi lbe rforce , B ishop , 1 33.

Wi lkie , Mrs.Sarah , 343.Wilkins

,Mr.Thomas , 1 19.

Wi lkinson , Ge orge , 5 2, 190.

Re v.Jame s , 1 35.

Wi l l iams , Mr.Edwa rd , 35 2.Wi l l iamson , C., 1 75.

Tommy, 181.

Wi l lin , Joseph , 39.Wil l ington ,

urn, 96.

Wil l-making,1489.

Wi lson , John , 38

Mr.John , M.P., 339.Wind le stone , 95.Win laton , 49 , 159.

Winsh ip , E ., 264.Winsh ip , John ,

179.Winston , 1 28.

Wisp , hanging ou t the , 190.

Witchcra ft , 18, 23.

Wit ton Gi lbe rt , 260, 357.

Wizards , 128.

Wo lsey, Cardina l , 2 10.Wo ls ingham ,

14 1 , 194, 218, 34 1.

Wo lvis ton , 70.

Women in mine s , 220.Wood , Andrew , 1 18.

Jane t , 192.

Re v.J.G., I .

Wood lands Ha l l ,“

96.

Work ing men , 42.

Wre cke rs , 5 1.Wre cks a t Sh ie lds , 50.Wright , Hugh , 95.Wrightson , Rev.Ma th ia s , 385.

and Wa te rs , 270.Wylam , 334 °

Wylie , Mr.J.C.Wynya rd , 16o.

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