A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain: Divided into circuits or journeys. Giving a particular and entertaining account of whatever is curious, and worth observation; ... By a gentleman. ... [pt.3]

LETTER II. CONTAINING A Description of Part of Nottingham|shire, of Derbyshire, and Part of Yorkshire.

SIR,

_HAVING finished the Account of my several Circuits, which complete the Southern Part of Britain; I am now to begin this Circuit from the River Trent, and to confine my Observa|tions to the Country, which is called by some North by Trent.

The River Trent is deemed by antient Writers as the fourth capital River in England, the other three being the Thames, the Severn, and the Humber.

Tho' the Trent is not the largest, yet it may be said to run the longest Course, and rises nearer to the West Side of the Island than any of the others; it is also the largest, and of the longest Course of any River in England, which does not empty its Waters immediately into the Sea; for the Trent runs into the Humber, and so loses its Name before it reaches the Ocean.

It rises in the Highlands of Staffordshire called the Moorlands, receiving from the Edge of Cheshire, and towards Lancashire, a great many (some say 30, and that thence it had its Name, for Trent in French is 30) little Rivulets into it, very near its Head; so that it soon becomes one large River, and comes down from the Hills with a violent Current into the flat Country; where, being increased by several other little Rivers, it carries a deeper Chanel, and a stiller Current; and having given its Name to Trentham, a small Market-town in the same County, it goes on to Stone, a considerable Town on the great Road to West Chester.

One Branch of the Trent rises within a Quarter of a Mile of the Dane, from a Moor adjoining to a little Ridge of Hills, called Molecop Hill, near Congleton, within 22 Miles of the Irish Sea. As the Dane runs into the Weaver, and both into that Arm of the Sea, which the Mersee makes from Frodsham to Liverpool and Hyle-lake; and as the Trent runs into the Humber, which opens into the great Ger|man Ocean; these Rivers may be said to cut the Island across in the middle.

It is true, the Northern Part is much larger than the Southern, now Scotland is united; otherwise the Country South by Trent, including Wales, is by far the largest, as well as the richest and most populous, occasioned chiefly by the Commerce of the City of London. As for the Towns of Bristol, Exeter, Lynn, Norwich, Yarmouth, &c. which are large and very populous, and carry on a prodigious Trade, as well in Merchandize as Manufacture, we shall find them pretty near equalled by the Towns of Liverpool, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, and Manchester, and the Cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The Trent runs a Course of near 200 Miles, thro' the four Counties of Stafford, Derby, Not|tingham, and Lincoln. It receives, besides lesser

Waters, the larger Rivers of the Sowe from the West Side of the County, and from the Town of Stafford; the Tame from Birmingham and Tamworth, the Soar from Leicester, and the Dove and Derwent, two furiously rapid Streams, from the Peak of Der|by; the Idle, a gentle navigable Stream, from Rhet|ford and Nottinghamshire, with part of the Witham, called the Foss-dike, from Lincoln, also navigable; and the greatest of them all, the Dun, from Doncaster, Rotheram, and Sheffield, after a long and rapid Course thro' the Moors, called Stanecross, on the Edge of Derby, and the West Riding of Yorkshire.

The Trent is navigable by Ships of good Burden as high as Gainsborough, which is near 40 Miles from the Humber by the River. The Barges with|out the Help of Locks or Stops go as high as Not|tingham; and farther by the Help of Art, to Burton upon this River in Staffordshire. The Stream is full, the Chanel deep and safe, and the Tide flows up to Gainsborough and Newark. The Navigation, by these Advantages, is a great Support to the Trade of those Counties which border upon it, especially the Cheese Trade from Cheshire and Warwickshire, which have otherwise no Navigation but from these Parts about West Chester to London; whereas by this River it is brought by Water to Hull, and from thence to all the South and North Coasts on the East Side of Britain.

The only Towns of Note standing upon the North Shore of Trent, are Nottingham and Burton, of which I shall speak in their Order.

The Counties North of Trent are Yorkshire, which may not improperly be called three Counties, as it is divided into three Ridings, each equal to some large Counties; Lancashire, which is very large; Derby|shire, and Nottinghamshire, which are more Southerly. I shall begin with these two, and take them to|gether.

Beginning at the Mouth of Trent, the first Town of Note that I met with is Nottingham, the Capital of that Shire, and the most considerable in all that Part of England. The County is small, but, like the Peak, full of Wonders. (1.) 'Tis remarkable for its Situation, being bounded intirely by four Counties, and those towards the four Cardinal Points, a Circumstance peculiar to this County only. (2) For its Soil, which on the South Part is the richest and most fruitful, and in the North Part the most wild and waste, even almost to Barrenness, of any Part of England within many Miles of it. (3.) For the fine Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen, especially those of the Dukes of Norfolk, Kingston, Rutland, New|castle, Lord Middleton, and several others.

Nottingham is one of the most pleasant and beau|tiful Towns in England, from its Situation, were its Buildings not to be named.

It is situated on the steep Ascent of a Hill or Rock, overlooking a fine Range of Meadows of great Extent; a little Rivulet running on the North Side of them, almost close to the Town: and the noble River Trent, parallel with both, on the South Side of the Meadows. Over the Trent is a stately Stone Bridge of 19 Arches, where the River is very large and deep, having received the Addition of the Dove, the Derwent, the Irwash, and the Soar, three of them very great Rivers of themselves, which fall into it, after its passing by Burton in Stafford|shire mentioned before.

The Rock whereon the Town stands is of a sandy kind, and so soft, that it is hewed into Vaults and Cellars, and yet so firm, as to support the Roofs of these Cellars, two or three under one another. The Stairs which lead to these Vaults are cut out of the Rock, two or three Stories deep, to 80 Steps some|times: And these Cellars are well stock'd with ex|cellent Ale, of which the Inhabitants are very liberal

among their Acquaintance, as some in our Company experienc'd.

The Hill or Rock was called of old the Dolorous Hill, or Golgotha, because of a great Slaughter of the antient Britons there by King Humber, a pira|tical Northern Monarch; who, being afterwards drowned between Hull and Barton, gave Name, as 'tis said, to that Arm of the Sea which is now called the Humber, and receives the Trent, and almost all the great Rivers of Yorkshire, into it; tho' others derive the Name from the dreadful Noise of its Waves.

They tell us, that these Caves and Cellars served the People for a Retreat from their Enemies, and that from thence the Town first took its Name, which was Snottengaham, signifying hollow Vaults in a Rock, Speluncarum Domus; and, as Mr. Cam|den observes, the British Word was Tui ogo bauc, which signifies the same as the Latin, a House of Dens, or secret Caves to hide in.

Besides the delightful Situation of Nottingham to|wards the River, it is equally pleasant to the Land Side, towards the Forest on the North of the Town; where is a fine Plain for a Horse-course, where Races used to be run once a Year.

At the West End of the Town is a very steep Hill, and at the South Side of it a Cliff, which falls in a Precipice down to the River. On this Hill stood a Castle of so great Antiquity, that the Time of its first Erection could never be traced. The first Account we read of it, is, that there was a Tower here which the Danes obstinately defended against King Alfred, and his Brother Aethelred.

Upon the same Situation William the Conqueror, or, as others, with greater Probability, maintain, Wil|liam Peverell, his natural Son, built another Castle; which was afterwards repaired, or rather rebuilt, by Edward IV. who added fine Apartments to it,

which Richard III. his Brother, still farther inlarg'd; whereby it became in time very considerable, and so strong, that nothing could reduce it but Famine. 'Tis certain it has not undergone the ordinary Fate of other fortified Places, to be often taken and re|taken; for it was never storm'd. Once indeed it was taken by Surprize in the Barons Wars by Robert Earl Ferrers, who also plundered the Town, or City, as it was then called.

The People here tell us of one of the Davids, King of Scotland, being kept Prisoner in it; and that Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, was hid in a Vault under Ground, which they call Mortimer's-hole, whence he was taken, and hang'd for Treason.

This Report has some Foundation in History, but is so obscured by vulgar Tradition, that it led Mr. Camden first into some Mistakes in his Narration, and afterwards into a Disbelief of it. Mortimer, with the Queen, the Bishop of Lincoln, and others, being possessed of the Castle, could have no Reason to hide himself under Ground: but it was by this pri|vate Passage, which goes by Steps thro' the Rock up to the Keep, that Sir William Montacute, with others, 5 Edw. III. found means, in the Dead of the Night, to seize him; and, sending him up to the Tower, he was there beheaded.

The Castle was granted by K. James I. to Francis Earl of Rutland; and K. Charles I. made it remark|able, by erecting there his Royal Standard, 1642; but he soon quitted it, and the Parliament kept Possession of it till the End of the War, when it was ordered to be demolished. Some Parts of it however were stand|ing at the Restoration, when George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, whose Mother was the sole Heir of the foresaid Earl of Rutland, sold it to William Cavendish, Marquis of Newcastle. He, in 1674, cleared the Foundations of the old Tower, a small Part excepted, and founded the noble Structure which is now stand|ing;

and devolved to the House of Pelham. The present Duke of Newcastle beautified it, and wain|scoted the Rooms with Cedar, and had laid out a Plan for the finest Gardens in all that Part of Eng|land, being to contain no less than 60 Acres; but the Design is changed, and the intended Gardens are made a Park.

The Castle, built on a high perpendicular Rock, as I have hinted, seems to have been modell'd after some of the Draughts of Inigo Jones. There are many good Pictures in it; and it commands a vast Prospect. The South Side of the Rock is altogether inaccessible, and vast subterraneous Grottoes are cut underneath; and a winding Stair-case quite to the Bottom ends in Mortimer's-hole, above-mention'd.

This Castle at present is much neglected, being stripp'd of its best Furniture and Hangings, and the Floors of some of the noblest Apartments suffer'd to fall in.

St. Mary's Church is a fine lightsome Gothick Building, with a good Ring of 8 Bells; but the great Tower makes a mean Appearance. The Butchers Shambles is an old Edifice built for a Granary.

They shew'd us the Gardens of Count Tallard, who, in his Confinement here, after having been taken Prisoner by the renowned Duke of Marlborough, at the glorious Battle of Blenheim, amused himself with making a small, but beautiful Parterre, after the French Taste, which happens not to be the reign|ing one with us at present. 'Tis said likewise, that this gallant Gentleman left behind him here some living Memorandums of his great Affection and Esteem for the English Ladies.

A handsome Town-house upon Piazzas has been erected within these few Years, for the transacting of the Business of the Corporation. Not many Years ago, the Hall where the Assizes were held

gave such a Crack, that the People were exceed|ingly frighted, and all ran out of it, leaving Mr. Justice Powis upon the Bench, calling out after them, Is there nobody will take care of the Judge? for he was so aged and infirm that he could hardly walk. But, finding himself neglected, he made shift to descend from the Bench, and hobble out at the Door, where he denounc'd Vengeance against the Town, which, with a very seasonable Piece of Ju|stice, he fin'd, for neglecting to keep the Hall in Repair.

The Town has been at great Expence in making the Trent navigable here for Vessels or Barges of Bur|den, by which all their heavy and bulky Goods are brought from the Humber, and even from Hull; such as Iron, Block-tin, Salt, Hops, Grocery, Dy|ers Wares, Wine, Oil, Tar, Hemp, Flax, &c. and the same Vessels bring down Lead, Coal, Wood, and Corn; as also Cheese in great Quantities from Warwickshire and Staffordshire, as I have already mentioned.

When I said the Bridge over Trent had nineteen Arches, I might have said also it was a Mile long; for the Trent, the last Time I was there, being swelled over its ordinary Bounds, reached quite up to the Town: yet a high Causeway, with Arches at proper Distances, carried us dry over the whole Breadth of the Meadows, which, I think, is at least a Mile, and may justly be called a Bridge, as that at Swarston, and also that of Poul Spooder in Wales, are called.

The chief Manufacture carried on here is Frame|work-knitting of Stockens, the same as at Leicester, and some Glass, and earthen Ware. The latter is much increased by the Consumption of Tea-pots, Cups, &c. since the Increase of Tea-drinking, as the Glass-houses, I think, are of late rather decreas'd. A Proof, one would think, that the Luxury of the

Males is less predominant than that of the Females; or, rather as some would say, that the Men are brought over by the Ladies to join with them in the Love of the Tea-table: and indeed the latter seems pretty much the Case; whether it be owing to Gal|lantry and Complaisance, or to Effeminacy and In|dolence, let those concerned in the Observation an|swer.

As they brew very good Liquor here, so they make the best Malt (and more of it) of any Town in this Part of England, and send it by Land-car|riage to Derby, thro' all the Peak, as far as Man|chester, and to other Towns in Lancashire, Cheshire, and even into Yorkshire itself; for which Purpose all the Low Lands of this County, and especially on the Banks of the Trent, are made to yield prodigious Crops of Barley.

The Government of Nottingham is in a Mayor, Recorder, six Aldermen, two Coroners, two She|riffs, two Chamberlains, and 24 Common-council, whereof six are called Juniors. Here they hold a Court of Pleas. They have two Sergeants at Mace, and another Officer, which they call a Bill-bearer, and two more called Pindars, one for the Fields, and the other for the Meadows. The first is also the Town Woodward, and attends the Forest Courts; for this Town is within the Jurisdiction of the Forest.

I might enter into a long Description of all the modern Buildings erected lately at Nottingham, but that would be too great a Task; only I must take Notice of the House of Mr. Plumtre, which is justly to be admired for its elegant Front; and observe in general, that as the Castle has oftener been the Resi|dence of Kings and Queens, than any other Place so far distant from London; so the Town has more Gentlemens Houses, than any other of its Big|ness in Great Britain. One may easily guess Not|tingham

to have been an antient Town of the Britons. As soon as they had proper Tools, they fell to work upon the Rocks, which every-where offer themselves so commodiously to make Houses in; one Instance of which, tho' perhaps not old enough to be form'd on theirs, is a Ledge of perpendicular Rock in the Duke of Newcastle's Park, hewn into a Church, Houses, Chambers, Dove-houses, &c. The Church is like those in the Rocks of Bethlehem, in the Holy Land. The Altar is natural Rock, and there has been Painting on the Wall, a Steeple, where, perhaps, was a Bell, and regular Pillars. The River here wind|ing about, makes a Fortification to it; for it comes to both Ends of the Cliff, leaving a Plain before the middle. The Way to it was by Gates cut out of the Rock, and with an oblique Entrance for more Safety.

Between this and the Castle is an Hermitage of like Workmanship.

Clifton, in this Neighbourhood, is a good Seat, with pretty Gardens, and a noble Prospect; and in the Church are many old Brasses of the Clifton Fa|mily.

Three Miles from Nottingham is Wallaton-hall, the Seat of my Lord Middleton, and the noblest Building in this County, except Belvoir, which only exceeds it in Spaciousness, but not in Beauty.

The Park, inclosed within a Brick Wall, is much finer than the great Park adjoming to the Castle of Nottingham, being much better planted with Tim|ber; whereas that at Nottingham was all cut down, and sequestred in the late Wars.

There is a pretty Summer-house panelled and ceiled with Looking-glass, which produces a pleasant Effect. Underneath is a Water-house, with grotesque Work of Shells, &c. The Hall at the first Entrance into the House, is so high, that a Man on Horse-back might exercise a Pike in it.

The Forest of Shirwood is an Addition to Not|tingham for the Pleasure it affords of Hunting. There are also some fine Parks and noble Houses in it, as Welbeck, the late Duke of Newcastle's, now Lord Oxford's; and Thoresby, the present noble Seat of the Pierrepoints, Dukes of Kingston, which lies at the farthest Edge of the Forest. But this Forest is now given up, in a manner, to Waste: even the Woods, which formerly made it famous for Thieves, are destroyed, so that Robin Hood would now hardly find Shelter for a Week; nor is there any Store of Deer now left, at least not worth mentioning.

From this Forest, I went purposely out of my in|tended Way, to take a View of the Collegiate Church of Southwell.

Southwell is a Market-town in Nottinghamshire, its Church is both Parochial and Collegiate; which, I think, is the Case of no other in England, except Rippon in Yorkshire. To it belong sixteen Preben|daries or Canons, six Vicars Choral, an Organist, six Singing Men, six Choristers, besides six Boys who attend as Probationers, a Register to the Cha|pter, a Treasurer, an Auditor, a Virger, &c.

This Church is generally supposed to be founded by Paulinus, the first Archbishop of York, about the Year 630. It was surrendered to the King, 32d Henry VIII. and was actually in the King's Possession, until by Act of Parliament, 35 Henry VIII. it was refounded, and restored to its antient Privilege, and incorporated by the Name of The Chapter of the Col|legiate Church of the blessed Mary, the Virgin of Southwell.

Queen Elizabeth confirmed its Privileges; as did afterwards, on a Tryal at Law, King James I.

The Chapter have a peculiar Jurisdiction, and there are 28 Parishes subject to it, to most of which they have the Right of Presentation; besides some others in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. This Juris|diction is exercised by a Commissary, or Vicar

General, chosen by the Chapter out of their Body, who holds Visitations, &c. twice a Year. And be|sides these, there are two Synods yearly, to which all the Clergy of the County of Nottingham pay their Attendance; and a certain Number of the Preben|daries, and others of the considerable Clergy, are ap|pointed Commissioners by a Commission granted by the Archbishop of York to preside at the Synods.

The Civil Government of the Jurisdiction of South|well is distinct from the County at large. It is called the Soke of Southwell cum Scrooby, which is another Town in this County. There are about twenty Towns subject to this Jurisdiction.

The Custos Rotulorum, and the Justices of the Peace, are nominated by the Archbishop of York, and constituted by a Commission under the Great Seal of England, who hold their Session both at Southwell and Scrooby, and perform all other Justi|ciary Acts distinct from the County.

The Church is a strong plain Gothick Building; it has no painted Figures in the Glass Work, nor Images, nor so much as a Niche capable of placing an Image in. And from hence it has been con|jectured, that it was probably built before Image-worship was practised among Christians.

On Monday the fifth of November 1711, about Ten a Clock at Night, the Top of the Ball on one of the South Spires of this Church was fired by Lightning; which, backed by a furious Wind, that drove it almost directly on the Body of the Church, in a few Hours burnt down the Spire and Roof, melted the Bells, and spared nothing which was com|bustible, except the other Spire, till it came to the Choir, where, after it had consumed the Organs, it was by singular Providence stopt and extinguish'd. The Damage was computed at near Four thousand Pounds.

The Church is built in Form of a Cross; a great Tower in the Middle, in which are eight Bells, and

two Spires at the West End. There is a handsome Chapter-house on the North Side of the Choir.

The Length of the Church from East to West is 306 Feet, the Length of the cross Isle from North to South is 121 Feet; the Breadth of the Church is 59 Feet.

There are no very remarkable Monuments in this Church, except one of Archbishop Sands, which is within the Communion Rails, and is a fair Tomb of Alabaster, with his Effigies lying on it at full Length, with a fine Inscription upon it in Latin, greatly to his Honour; but which being very long, I have not Room to insert.

Here was formerly a Palace belonging to the Arch|bishop of York, which stood on the South Side of the Church, the Ruins of which still remain; by which it appears to have been a large and stately Building. It was demolished in the Time of the late Civil Wars. The Church escaped the Fury of those Times, by the good Offices of one Edward Cludd, Esquire, one of the Parliament Side, who lived at Norwood, in the Parish of Southwell, in a House belonging to the Archbishop. Here were no less than three Parks belonging to the Archbishop, which, though disparked, still retain the Name; one of which is Norwood Park, in which is a good House, which, has been very much inlarged and beautified by Mr. Burton, a Descendant of the above Edward Cludd, Esq who lives in it some Part of the Year.

There is a Free-school adjoining to the Church, under the Care of the Chapter, where the Choir|isters are taught gratis, and other Boys belonging to the Town. The Master is chosen by the Cha|pter, and is to be approved by the Archbishop of York.

There are also two Fellowships and two Scholar|ships in St. John's College in Cambridge, founded by Dr. Keton, Canon of Salisbury, in the 22d Year of

King Henry VIII. to be chosen by the Master and Fellows of the said College out of such as have been Choiristers of the Church of Southwell.

From Southwell I turned to the Left to Newsted, to visit the antient Seat of the very antient Family of the Byrons, who even in the Conqueror's Time were wealthy. It was a small Priory founded by King Henry II. and given by King Henry VIII to Sir John Byron; one of which Name having signalized himself very remarkably for his Loyalty to King Charles I. was created a Baron, which Honour still continues in the Family. Near this Place is the Head of the little River Lin.

We came next to Ainsley, which Town gave Name to a Family that were possessed of it from the Conquest to the Time of King Henry VI. from whence are descended the Earls of Anglesey: but for want of Heirs Male, it came then by Marriage into the Family of the Chaworths, who have a good Seat here, well wooded, and watered with beauti|ful Fish-ponds.

We then turned again on the Right to Mansfield, which lies in the Forest, a large well-built Market-town, noted now for its Trade in Malt, and for have|ing been formerly the Place, to which the Kings of England used to retire for the Pleasure of Hunting in the Forest of Shirwood; insomuch that a Manor was held in this County by Henry Fauconberg for Shoeing the King's Horse, whenever he came to Mansfield.

From hence we kept still to the Right North-east, and came to Taxford in the Clays, an ordinary, dirty Market-town on the great Road to York, and of no other Note, than being situated in a miry, clayey Country, and call'd by King James I. Taxford in the T—d.

We kept the Road North to East Retford, so called as it lies on the East Side of the River Idle. It

is an antient Bailiwick-town, and noted for an Ex|emption of all Tolls and foreign Services. It holds Pleas without Limitation of Sums, and enjoys many other valuable Privileges and Immunities. It has a Steward who is generally a Person of Quality.

West Retford is so call'd from its Situation in regard to the other, tho' they seem to be but one Town, the Idle only dividing them. This is famous for a fine Hospital, founded by Dr. Dorrel in 1666, and since incorporated. It has a Master, 10 Brethren, a Steward, and a Nurse; and they have a Garden and Orchard divided into 10 Shares.

Chaworth is a Village just by, noted for a fine Rectory of 200l. a Year.

Higher up stands Blith, which is a kind of Mar|ket-town, where are a very large good Church, and some old Ruins of a Castle and a Priory.

We then fell down Southward, and visited the noble Seats of the Duke of Kingston at Thoresby, of the Lord Oxford at Welbeck, and of the late Marquis of Halifax, but now of Sir George Savil, at Rufford, or Rugford Abbey, all very magnificent Structures though antient, especially that at Welbeck, which is beautified with large Additions, fine Apartments, and good Gardens; but particularly the Park, which is well stocked with large Timber of the finest Kind, and with great Numbers of Deer. For the late Duke of Newcastle's Delight (whose Property it was, before it came by Marriage into the Harley Family) being chiefly on Horseback, and in the Chace, it is not to be wondered, if he rather made his Parks fine than his Gardens, and his Stables than his Mansion-house: yet the House is noble, large, and magnificent.

Hard by Welbeck, near the Head of the River Ryton, is Wirksop Manor, the sometime stately Seat of the noble Family of Talbot, descended by a long Line of Ancestors from another Family illustrious,

though not innobled, of Lovetofts; one of whom being Lord of this Place under the Normans, built a Priory here: and John, the second Earl of Shrews|bury, being slain at the Battle of Northampton, 38 Henry VI. was buried in it; which afterwards, at the Dissolution of Monasteries, was settled on Francis, his Great Grandson. This House (though in its an|tient Figure) is outdone by none of the best and greatest in the County. It now belongs to the Duke of Norfolk.

Here is a good Market-town also, of the Name of Wirksop, where are the Ruins of a Monastery to be seen in the Meadows on the East Side of it, and the West End of the Church, which is still standing, and has Two beautiful and fair Towers. This Place is noted for Liquorice and Malt.

From hence leaving Nottinghamshire, the West Part of which abounds with Lead and Coal, we came to Balsover in Derbyshire, which stands on a rising Ground, and has a Castle, and is the Property of the Duke of Newcastle, but is no Market-town.

From hence we intended to pass directly to Derby; but being informed, that the Moors, by reason of the Rocks and Bogs which render the Roads difficult and hazardous, were too dangerous to travel over, we left them on the West of us; and passing thro' Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, and Alfreton a small Market-town within the Skirts of Derbyshire, we arriv'd at Derby the County-town. But tho' we avoided the Moors, yet we had some Reason to com|plain of the Roads, which we took from the North of Nottinghamshire, where we were informed, that if we had come directly from Nottingham to this Town, and kept the Mid-way between the Trent on the Left, and the Mountains on the Right, we should have found the 12 Miles, which lie between them, as agreeable with respect to the Situation of the Coun|try,

the Soil, and the well planting of it, as any of the same Length in England.

The Town of Derby is situate on the West Bank of the Derwent, over which it has a very fine Stone Bridge, well-built, but antient, and a Chapel upon the Bridge, now converted into a Dwelling-house. It is a fine, beautiful, and pleasant Town, and has more Families of Gentlemen in it, than is usual in Towns so remote; perhaps the more, because the Peak, which takes up the larger Part of the County, is so inhospitable, rugged, and wild a Place, that the Gentry chuse to reside at Derby, rather than upon their Estates, as they do elsewhere.

Here is a Curiosity of a very extraordinary Na|ture, and the only one of the Kind in England: I mean those Mills on the Derwent, which work the three capital Italian Engines for making Organzine or Thrown Silk, which, before these Mills were erected, was purchased by the English Merchants with ready Money in Italy; by which Invention one Hand will twist as much Silk, as before could be done by Fifty, and that in a much truer and better Manner. This Engine contains 26,586 Wheels, and 97,746 Movements, which work 73,726 Yards of Silk-thread, every time the Water-wheel goes round, which is three times in one Minute, and 318,504,960 Yards in one Day and Night. One Water-wheel gives Motion to all the rest of the Wheels and Movements, of which any one may be stopt separately. One Fire-engine, likewise, conveys warm Air to every individual Part of the Machine, and the whole Work is govern'd by one Regulator. The House which contains this Engine is of a vast Bulk, and Five or Six Stories high.

A Patent passed 5 George I. to secure to Sir Thomas Lombe the sole Property of this Invention for 14 Years; but the requisite Buildings and Engines, and the instructing of proper Persons to work them, took

up so much Time, and when all was completed, the King of Sardinia prohibiting the Importation of the Raw Silk made by the said Engines, into his Domi|nions, all which render'd the Undertaking expen|sive and difficult, and the Term of 14 Years being near elapsed, without any great Benefit accruing from the useful Invention, Sir Thomas apply'd for a Con|sideration from the Publick; and the Parliament ac|cordingly, to preserve so useful an Undertaking for the Benefit of the Kingdom in general, allotted 14000l. to be paid to Sir Thomas, on Condition that he should allow a perfect Model to be taken of his new-invented Engines, in order to secure and perpetuate the Art of making the same. The Preamble to this Act sets forth, That Sir Thomas Lombe did with the utmost Difficulty and Hazard, and at a very great Expence, discover the Art of making and working the Three Capital Engines made use of by the Ita|lians to make their Organzine Silk, and did intro|duce those Arts and Inventions into this King|dom.

This wonderful Piece of Machinery was under the Direction of Sir Thomas Lombe, or, as some say, of his Brother, erected by one Soracole, a Man ex|pert in making Mill-work, especially for raising Wa|ter to supply Towns for Family Use.

Derby, as I have said, is a Town of Gentry, ra|ther than Trade; yet it is populous, well-built, has Five Parishes, a large Market-place, a beautiful Town-house of Free-stone, and very handsome Streets. But the Entrance into it every Way is so choaked up with Dirt and Mire, that it is no small Matter of Reproach to the Inhabitants.

In the Church of All Saints is the Burial-place of the noble Cavendish Family; and an Hospital close by the Church, built by one of that Family, for Eight poor Men, and Four Women.

This Church is remarkable for the Architecture of its beautiful Gothick Tower, 178 Feet high; and for the Elegance of its Ornaments, as well as Height, is not to be equalled in this, or in any of the adjacent Counties.

According to an Inscription in this Church, the Steeple was erected about Queen Mary's Reign, at the Charge of the Maidens and Batchelors of the Town; on which Account, whenever a Maiden, a Native of the Town, was married, the Bells used to be rung by Batchelors. How long the Custom lasted, I have not read; but I do not find it is now continued. This Union of the Maidens and Batchelors to build a Steeple, reminds me of a Bell cast by a like Contri|bution, upon which was this Device,

Materiem Juvenes, Formam tribuere Puellae.

The Government of this Town is in a Mayor, High Steward, 9 Aldermen, a Recorder, 14 Brothers, 14 Capital Burgesses, and a Town Clerk. What Trade there is in the Town is chiefly in good Malt and good Ale.

Beyond Derby, along the Ricning Way, is Burton upon Trent, where is a Bridge of 37 Arches. Here was an old Abbey, out of whose Ruins they have within these few Years built a new Church.

A Mile below Derby, upon the Derwent, stood the old Roman Derventio, now Little Chester. Remains of the old Walls, Vaults, Wells, Roman Coins, Aqueducts, Human Bones, Brass Rings, and other Marks of Antiquity, have been from time to time discovered and dug up. The River being too rapid for a Ford, a Bridge was antiently there, the Foun|dations of which with a Staff they can still feel.

A little further North, is Horreston Castle, whose Ruins on a hoary Rock, are scarce discernible.

It is observable, that as the Trent bounds the County of Derby South, so the Dove and the Erwash make the Bounds East and West, and the Derwent runs thro' the Centre, all of them beginning and ending their Course in the same County; for they rise in the Peak, and end in the Trent. The Der|went is remarkable for its Brownness, the Dove for its blue Transparency, from whence it probably took its Name. It is endued with such a peculiar Fecun|dity, supposed to arise from a Bed of Lime, thro' which it passes, that it has often been compared to the River Nile.

It is not less swift in its Operations than effectual; for by hasty Rains, which fall from the Hills, it some|times strays over the Meadows, and having impreg|nated them, in 12 Hours time retires into its Bed again.

It was in one of these temporary Inundations I saw it, when having gone from Derby to Dowbridge, as it is called, I passed it with Difficulty to see Two Market-towns, Ashbourn, and Utoxeter, the Utocetum of the Antients.

The first lies on the East Side of the River in a very rich Soil to the North-west of Derby, and the other, commonly called Utcester, is situate due West of Derby, on the other Side of the River in Staf|fordshire, upon a delicious rising Ground of an easy Ascent, and very fruitful, overlooking a Track of fine, rich Meadow-grounds. The Town is very ordinarily built, but has a good and commodious Market-place, and an excellent Market for all sorts of living Kine, besides Butter, Cheese, and Corn, and also all kinds of Provisions.

In our Way to the High Peak we passed an antient Seat, large, but not very gay, of Sir Nathanael Cur|son. From hence we kept the Derwent on our Right-hand, which having overflowed its Banks, by the Accession of Floods pouring down from the Peak

Hills, render'd it so frightful, that we contented our|selves with hearing at a Distance its shocking Roar; and so came to Quarn, or Quarnden, a little ragged, but noted Village, where is a famous Chalybeat Spring, to which abundance of People resort in the Season to drink the Water; as likewise a Cold Bath. There are also several other Mineral Waters in this Part of the Country, a hot Bath at Matlock, and an|other at Buxton, of which in their Places. Besides these, there are hot Springs in several Places which run waste into the Ditches and Brooks, and are taken no notice of, being remote among the Moun|tains, and out of the Way of common Resort.

We found the Wells at Quarn pretty full of Com|pany, the Waters good, and very physical, but wretched Lodging and Entertainment.

From Quarnden we advanced due North, and mounting the Hills gradually for Four or Five Miles, we soon had a most dismal View of the black Mountains of the Peak; however, as they were at a Distance, and a good Town lay on our Left, called Wirksworth, we turned thither for Refreshment. Here we found verify'd what I had often heard be|fore, that however dreary the Hills might appear, the Vales were every-where fruitful and delightful to the Eye, also well-inhabited, and having in them good Market-towns, abounding with all necessary Provisions; and as for the Ale, the further we went Northward, the better it seemed to be.

Wirksworth is a large well-frequented Market-town; tho' there is no very great Trade carry'd on in it, but what relates to the Lead-works.

The Peakrills, as they are called, are a rude boorish kind of People; but bold, daring, and even despe|rate in their Search into the Bowels of the Earth: for which Reason they are often imployed by our Engineers in the Wars to carry on the Sap, when they lay Siege to strong fortified Places.

The Barmoot Court, kept at Wirksworth, to judge Controversies among the Miners, and adjust subter|ranean Quarrels and Disputes, is very remarkable. It consists of a Master and 24 Jurors, who, when any Person has found a Vein of Ore in another's Land, (except it be in Orchards or Gardens) assign two Meres of Ground in a Pipe (as they term it) and a Flat, the former being 29 Yards long, and the lat|ter 14 Yards Square, appointing to the Finder one Mere, and the other to the Owner of the Land, half at each End of the Finder's; and moreover, certain Fees and Perquisites for the Passage of Carts, the Use of Timber, and the like. This Court not only prescribes Rules to the Miners, and limits their Pro|ceedings in the Works under-ground, but is Judge of all their little Quarrels above.

The Produce of the Mines in this Hundred is very considerable: the King claims the 13th Peny Duty, for which they compound at the Rate of 1000l. a Year; nay, I have been informed, that the Tythe of Wirksworth alone has been worth to the Incumbent yearly that Sum.

Not far from hence lies Hartington, which gives Title of Marquis to the eldest Son of the Duke of Devonshire.

Near Wirksworth, and upon the very Edge of Derwent, is a Village called Matlock, where, as I said, are several warm Springs. One of these is se|cured by a Stone Wall on every Side, by which the Water is brought to rise to a due Height; and if it is too high, there is a Sluice to let it out as low as you please. It has a House built over it, and room within the Building to walk round the Bath, and so by Steps go down gradually into it. The Water is but just Milk-warm, so that it is no less pleasant to go into, than sanative.

This Bath would be much more frequented than it is, if a sad, stony, mountainous Road, which leads

to it, and no good Accommodation when you are there, did not hinder; for from the Bath you are to cross over the Meadows, and then ascend a Derby|shire Hill, before you meet with a House of Refresh|ment.

For some Miles before you come to Matlock, you pass over barren Moors in perpetual Danger of slip|ping into Coal-pits and Lead-mines, or ride for Miles together on the Edge of a steep Hill on solid slippery Rock, or loose Stones, with a Valley underneath, the Bottom of which you can hardly discover with your Eye. Instead of Trees and Hedges, they fence|in their poor Meadow for Arable, with Walls made of loose Stones, pick'd from under their Feet. The extended Sides of the Mountains are generally pow|der'd over, as it were, with Rocks, Streams of Water dribbling down every where, and sometimes bolder Cataracts diversify the romantick Scene.

At the Smelting-mills, they melt down the Lead Ore, and run it into a Mold, whence it becomes Pigs, as they call them. The Bellows are kept in continual Motion by running Water. We were complimented to be let down 200 Yards deep into the Mines, if we pleas'd. Over-against this warm Bath, and on the East-side of the Derwent, we came to a monstrous Parcel of gigantick Rocks, seemingly pil'd on one another, called the Torr. A few Inhabitants in little Cottages trusted themselves at Bottom, under so ruinous a Shelter. I took the Pains on Hands and Knees to clamber near the Top, and enter'd an Hermit's Cell hewn in the Rock, with a most dreary Prospect before it. On one End is a Crucifix and a little Nich, where I suppose the An|chorite plac'd his Saint. Over-against it, about half a Mile off, is such another Cliff, but by the Care of a Gentleman who lives underneath, Mr. Ashe, is hewn out of the Rock an easy Ascent by Steps, and there are abundance of Alcoves, Grotts, Summer-houses,

Cellars, Pinacles, Dials, Balustrades, Urns, &c. all of the same Materials. And by the Help of Earth carry'd up to the Top, there are fine Grass Walks, with Greens planted along them upon this hanging Terrace; whence you have a fine View over many a craggy Mountain.

A little on the other Side of Wirksworth begins a long Plain, called Brassington Moor, which reaches from Brassington to Buxton, full 12 Miles: from Wirksworth it is not quite so much. The Peak People, who are mighty fond of raising the Admi|ration of Strangers, told us here of another high Mountain, where a Giant was buried, which they called the Giant's Tomb.

We rode up the Hill, which seem'd to be round, with a Precipice almost on every Side of it. While we were in quest of the Tomb of the Dead, we found the Rock afforded an Habitation for a poor Woman and her Children. We entered into their Mansion, divided by a Curtain into its several Offices, and a Funnel work'd thro' the Top to carry the Smoke out, where the celebrated Tombstone was. Her Husband, she said, was a Miner, who, if he had good Luck, could earn his Five Pence, and she could also earn her Three Pence a Day, were it not for the Care of so many Children; but, she blessed God, they lived very comfortably. An Instance of that happy Contentment oftener met with in Habitations like this, than in gilded Palaces!

We went next, by the Direction of the good Wo|man, to a Valley on the Side of a rising Hill, where were several Grooves (for so they call the Mouth of the Shaft, or Pit, by which they go down into a Lead Mine). As we were standing still to look at one of them, admiring how small they were, and scarce be|lieving a poor Man, who told us they went down those narrow Holes to a great Depth in the Earth, we were surprised with seeing a Hand, and then an

Arm, and quickly after a Head, thrust up out of the very Groove we were looking at.

Immediately we rode closer up to the Place, where we saw the poor Wretch working and heav|ing himself up gradually, as we thought, with Diffi|culty; but when he shewed us that it was by setting his Feet and Elbows upon Pieces of Wood fixt cross the Angles of the Groove like a Ladder, we found the Difficulty was not much, and that if the Groove had been larger, he could not go up and down with so much Ease or Safety.

Those who would have a more perfect Idea of those Grooves, need only see the square Wells in the Church of St. Paul, by which the Workmen go down from the Top of the Church into the very Vaults under it, to place the Leaden Pipes, which carry the Rain Water from the Flat of the Roof to the Common-sewer. They have small Iron Bars placed cross the Angles for the Men to set their Feet on, in the manner here represented.

[figure]

When this subterranean Creature was come quite out, with all his Furniture about him, he afforded us new matter of Wonder, which satisfy'd our Cu|riosity without venturing down ourselves. For the Man was a most uncouth Spectacle; he was cloathed all in Leather, had a Cap of the same without Brims, some Tools in a little Basket, which he drew up with him, not one of the Names of which we could understand, but by the Help of an Interpreter. Nor indeed could we understand any of the Man's Dis|course, so as to make out a whole Sentence, and yet he was pretty free of his Tongue too. He was lean as a Skeleton, pale as a dead Corps, his Hair and Beard a deep black; what little Flesh he had, was lank, and, as we thought, something of the Colour of the Lead itself. Besides his Basket of Tools, he brought up with him about three Quarters of a hun|dred

Weight of Ore, which was no small Load, con|sidering the Manner of his coming up; and it was this which occasioned that Heaving and Struggling at his first Appearance; and it seems he was at work 60 Fathoms deep, but that there were five Men of his Party, two of whom were 11 Fathoms, and the other three 15 Fathoms deeper. The Man seemed to regret, that he was not at work with these three; for they had a Way out at the Side of the Hill, without coming up so high as he was obliged to do. We then looked on the Ore, and got the poor Man's Leave to bring every one a small Piece of it away with us, for which we gave him two Pieces of better Metal.

From hence entering upon Brassington Moor, men|tioned above, we had eight Miles smooth Green Riding to Buxton Bath, which they call One of the Seven Wonders of the Peak, comprised in that noted Verse of Mr. Hobbs,

Aedes, Mons, Barathrum, binus Fons, Antraque bina.

House, Mountain, Depth, two Fountains, and two Caves.

This Place has some Advantages beyond what the City of Bath can pretend to. Here is an open and healthy Country, a Variety of fine Views to enter|tain the Curious, and a beautiful Down for the Ladies to take the Air in, much more agreeable than the close City of Bath, which is very deficient in this Parti|cular.

And as to the Medicinal Nature of the Waters at Buxton, hear what Dr. Leigh says of their Virtues, and the Manner of their Operation, in his Natural History of Lancashire, and of the Peak. His Words are as follow:

"The Waters are Sulphurous and Saline, yet not fetid, but very palatable, because the Sulphur is not united with any Vitriolic Particles, or but very few Saline; it tinges not Silver, nor is it Purga|tive, because its Saline Parts are dispensed in such small Proportions.

"If drank, they create a good Appetite, open Obstructions, and no doubt, if mixed with the Chalybeat Waters that are there also, may answer all the Intentions of the Bath Water in Somerset|shire, and that of St. Vincent's too at Bristol, so noted for curing the Diabetes, of which I have seen several Instances in these Parts; and likewise for curing of Bloody Urines, of which I saw a most noted Instance at Liverpool.

"This Bath is of a temperate Heat, and, with|out question, by a reverberating Halitus might be brought to any Degree of Heat; but, I think, in its own natural Heat, it may in general be said to be more agreeable to the Constitution; and where the hot Baths cannot be safely used, this may. This last Summer I saw remarkable Instances of its Effects in scorbutick Rheumatisms in Persons, that could not go before without the Help of Crutches, who came from thence to Manchester on Foot without them, distant from Buxton full 16 Northern Miles."

The Village where the principal Springs are, is called Buxton, tho' there are several of them; for they rise unregarded in the Banks of the Inclosures, and on the Sides of the Hill, so that their Number is hardly known.

The Duke of Devonshire, Lord of the Village, has built a large and convenient House for the Re|ception of Strangers. The Bath-room is arched over|head, and the Whole made handsome, convenient, and delightful. This Collection of tepid Waters, exceeding clear, will receive 20 People at a time to walk and

swim in. The Temper of the Water is equal to new Milk, or Blood-warm, procuring a moderate Perspiration. Its Effect is remarkable for giving that gentle Relaxation of the Solids; which takes off the Weariness and Fatigue of a Journey, and refreshes instantly. 'Tis physically useful in many Cases, and may be indulg'd in more, than the Hot-baths of Somersetshire, which frequently do Harm thro' impru|dent Use. Such a one as this naturally is, was aimed at by the sumptuous Bagnio's of the Roman Em|perors.

Sir Thomas Delves, who received a Cure here, gave the Pump, and a pretty Stone Alcove over the Drink|ing-spring in the Yard. The Water may be raised at pleasure to any Height. We found in one of the Rooms these Verses written upon the Wall by a Physician who formerly frequented the Place:

Corpore debilior Grani se proluit undis: Quaerit aquas Aponi, quem febris atra necat: Ut penitus renem purget; cur Psaulia tanti, Vel, quae Lucinae gaudia, Calderiae? Sola mihi Buxtona placet, Buxtona Britannis Undae Grani, Aponus, Psaulia, Calderiae.

Which may be thus translated:

In Gran's fam'd Baths the weakly Patient laves; Whom dismal Fevers seize, in Apon's Waves. At Psaulia shall a Purge so dear be bought? In teeming Throes Calderiae far be sought? When here at Buxton (Britain's Choice) appear, * 1.1 Gran, Apon, Psaulia, and Calderiae, near.

As to the Antiquity of these Baths, tho' there is not a King Bladud to testify for them, as for those at Bath in Somersetshire, yet the learned Author

above-mentioned observes,

"That it is certain they were eminent in the Time of the Romans. Lu|can and others acquaint us, that they were extra|ordinary hot, &c. and the High-road, called the Roman Bath-gate, as Mr. Camden says, farther confirms it. But it is especially evident from a Roman Wall cemented with red Roman Plaister, close by St. Anne's Well, where we may see the Ruins of the antient Bath, its Dimensions, and Length."

The Queen of Scots took her Leave of this Place with a Distich of Julius Caesar, somewhat altered, which is still shewn, written with a Diamond on a Pane of Glass, as the last Classical Authority of Anti|quity:

Buxtona, quae calidae celebrabere nomine lymphae, Forte mihi posthac non adeunda, vale.

Buxton, whose Fame thy Baths shall ever tell, Whom I perhaps shall see no more, farewell.

About half a Mile off is that stupendous Cavern, called Poole's-hole, at the Foot of a great Mountain, and deemed the Second Wonder of the Peak. The Entrance is so low and narrow, that you must stoop to get in; but immediately it dilates into a wide and lofty Concavity, which reaches above a Quarter of a Mile end-wise, and farther, as they say. Some old Women with lighted Candles are Guides in this dark Way. Water drops every-where from the Roof, and incrusts all the Stones with long Crystals and Fluors, whence a thousand imaginary Figures are shewn you by the Name of Lions, Fonts, Lanterns, Organs, Flitch of Bacon, &c. At length you come to the Queen of Scots Pillar, as the Boun|dary of most Peoples Curiosity. It was so named by that unhappy Princess, when she visited this

Place: Nor needed she any other Monument; for, by this Incident, she may be said to have erected one to her Memory, which will probably last as long as the Works of Nature; tho' every one almost that comes hither, carries away a Piece of it, in Memory of the Princess, or the Place. It is a clear bright Stone like Alabaster, or rather like that kind of Spar, which is found about Lead; and considering the Country where it grows, is probably something of that Sort.

A Stream of Water runs along the Middle, among the falling Rocks, with a hideous Noise, re-echo'd from all Sides of the horrid Concave. On the Left-hand is a Sort of Chamber, where they say Poole, a famous Robber, lived, and whose Kit|chen, as well as Bed-chamber, they shew you, after you have crept 10 Yards on all Fours.

The most surprising Thing you meet with in it, is the extraordinary Height of the Arch, which how|ever is far from what a late Author has magnified it to, a Quarter of a Mile perpendicular. Dr. Leigh spends some Time in admiring the spangled Roof. Cotton and Hobbes are exceedingly witty upon it. Dr. Leigh calls it Fret-work, Organ, and Choir-work. The Whole of the Matter is this: The Rock being every-where moist and dropping, some of the Drops are fallen, which you see below; some are falling, and others are pendent in the Roof. Now, as you have Guides before you and behind, carrying every one a Candle, the Light of the Candles, reflected by the globular Drops of Water, dazle your Eyes like the Dew in a Sun-shine Morning; whereas, were any Part of the Arch of this Vault to be seen by a clear Light, all this Beauty would disappear.

Let any Person therefore, who goes into Poole's Hole, and has a Mind to make the Experiment, take a long Pole in his Hand, with a Cloth tied to the End of it, and wipe the Drops of Water away, he

will at once extinguish all those Glories. Then let him wait till other Drops emerge, and he will find the Stars and Spangles glittering as before.

As to the several Stones, called Cotton's Stone, Haycock's Stone, Poole's Chair, Flitch of Bacon, and the like, they do not enough resemble what they are said to represent, as to be the Foundation of even a Poetick Metamorphosis.

The petrifying Water indeed might have exercised Ovid's Fancy: for you see Drops pendent like Icicles, or rising up like Pyramids, and hardening into Stone, just the Reverse of what the Poet de|scribes of Stones being soften'd into Men.

The Third Wonder of the Peak is Mam Tor, or, as the Word in the Mountain Jargon, or rather in the British, signifies, the Mother Rock, (for Mam is the British Word for Mother) upon a Suggestion, that the soft crumbling Earth, which falls from its Summit, produces several other Mountains below. The Whole of the Wonder is this: On the South Side of this Hill is a Precipice, very steep from the Top to the Bottom; and the Substance being of a crumb|ling loose Earth mingled with small Stones, is con|tinually falling down in small Quantities, as the heavy Rains loosen and wash it off, or as Frosts and Thaws operate upon it. Now, the great Hill, which is thick, as well as high, parts with this loose Stuff, without being sensibly diminished; so the Bottom, into which it falls, being narrow, is more easily per|ceived to swell. Here then is the pretended Won|der, That the little Heap below should grow up into a Hill, without any Decrease of the great Hill, as it should seem, notwithstanding so much has fallen from it. But the Fact is certainly otherwise, tho' not perceivable.

This Hill lies on the North Side of the Road from Buxton to Castleton, at which Place you come to the Fourth much famed Wonder, styled The Devil's

Arse in the Peak. The short Account of it is this: On the steep Side of a Mountain is a large Open|ing, almost in the Form of an old Gothick Arch, from its Centre, only that the Entrance is horizontal. It is upwards of 30 Feet perpendicular, and twice as much broad at the Bottom at least.

It continues thus wide but a little Way, yet far enough to have several small Cottages built on either Side of it within the Entrance, like a little Town in a Vault. In the Middle, as it were, of the Street, is a running Stream of Water: in poetical De|scriptions it is called a River, tho' not the River Styx.

As you go on, the Roof descends gradually, and is now so far from having Houses, that a Man can|not stand upright in it till stooping for a little Way, and passing over another Rill of Water, likewise called a River, you find more Room over your Head. But going a little farther, you come to a third Water, which crosses your Way; and the Rock stooping, as it were, down almost to the Surface of the Water, puts an End to the Traveller's Search.

But when we read in Scripture, that the Caves of Adullam and Macpelah were able to receive David and his Troop of 400 Men, and what Travellers relate of a Cave in the Apennine Mountains, near Florence, large enough to contain an Army; and when we know, that there are many others in the Alpes, and the Hills of Dauphiné and Savoy, and other Parts of the World; this surely can be thought no Wonder, unless we credit Gervaise of Tilbury, who tells us of a Shepherd, that ventured into the third River in this Den, and being either carried over it, or down the Stream, he knew not whether, saw a beautiful heavenly Country beyond it, with a spa|cious Plain, watered with many clear Rivers, pleasant Brooks, and several Lakes of standing Water.

Castleton takes its Name from the Castle that lies near it, which is a very antient Building, and so situated as to be only one Way accessible, being erected on an high steep Rock; and the Way, that goes to it, is so full of Twinings and Turnings, that it is Two Miles from the Bottom to the Top.

Not far off is a little Village called Burgh, fre|quented by the Romans, on account of the Baths, as appears evidently by a Causway leading from hence thither.

The Fifth Wonder is called Tideswell, or Weeden|well, a Spring which, according to some Writers, ebbs and flows, as the Sea does. The Basin, or Receiver for the Water, is about Three Foot Square; the Water seems to have some other Receiver with|in the Rock, which, when it fills by the Force of the original Stream, the Air being contracted, or pent in, forces the Water out with a bubbling Noise, and so fills the Receiver without; but when the Force is spent within, then it stops till the Place is filled again; and, in the mean time, the Water with|out runs off, till the Quantity within swells again, and then the same Cause produces the same Effect. So that this Oceanet, as Mr. Cotton calls it, which has been the Subject of several Philosophick Inqui|ries, is owing wholly to the Figure of the Place, and is only a mere Accident in Nature; and if any Per|son were to dig into the narrow Cavities, and give vent to the Air, which is pent up within, they would soon see Tideswell turned into an ordinary Stream.

This Spring lies near the little Market-town of Tiddeswall, wherein are a very good Church, and a Free-school.

So much for the Five fictitious Wonders: I come now to the Two real Wonders, Elden Hole, and the Duke of Devonshire's fine House at Chatsworth; the one natural, the other artificial.

In the Middle of a plain open Field, gently de|scending to the South, is this frightful Chasm in the Earth, or rather in the Rock, called Elden Hole. The Mouth of it is about 20 Feet over one Way, and 50 or 60 the other, descending down perpendi|cular to the Earth; how deep, could never yet be discovered, notwithstanding several Attempts have been made to find its Bottom. Mr. Cotton says, he let down 800 Fathom of Line, which is 1600 Yards, near a Mile perpendicular.

The Author has poetically enough described the Noise the huge massy Stones make, which the Coun|try People often throw down here. The Hissing of Spears and Arrows is seldom omitted in Poetry to describe the Terror they bring: he has here improved a similar Noise into a Mark of Fear.

When one's turn'd off, it, as it parts the Air, A kind of Sighing makes; as if it were Capable of the trembling Passion Fear; 'Till the first Hit strikes the astonish'd Ear, Like Thunder under Ground: thence it invades With louder Thunder those Tartarean Shades, Which groan forth Horror, at each pond'rous Stroke Th' unnat'ral Issue gives the Parent Rock: Whilst, as it strikes, the Sound by Turns we note, When nearer, flat; sharper, when more remote: When, after falling long, it seems to hiss, Like the old Serpent in the dark Abyss.

They tell a dismal Story here of a Traveller, who inquiring his Way to Castleton, or to Buxton, in a dark Night, two Villains offered to guide him; but, intending to rob him, led him to the Edge of this Gulph, and either thrust him in, or made him be|lieve there was a little Gull of Water, and bad him take a large Step, which he did into this Abyss, and into that of Eternity at the same time. One of the

Villains, being hanged at Derby some Years after for some other Roguery, confessed this diabolical Action at the Gallows.

It raises an Horror in the Imagination, when one does but look into this frightful Hole; and so I shall leave it with the Words of the forementioned Author, who, supposing it one of the Entrances to the Infernal World, says,

For he, who, standing on the Brink of Hell, Can carry it so unconcern'd and well, As to betray no Fear, is certainly A better Christian, or a worse, than I.

I come now to the magnificent Seat of the Earls and Dukes of Devonshire, called Chatsworth-house.

This glorious Fabrick may be said to have had two or three different Founders, who have all improved upon one another, in the Completion of this great Design.

The House was begun on a much narrower Plan than it now takes up, by Sir William Cavendish of Cavendish in Suffolk, who by Marriage with the Countess Dowager of Shrewsbury, became intitled to a noble Fortune in this Country.

Sir William died, after having done little more than build one End of the Fabrick, and lay out the Plan of the Whole. But his Lady finished it in the mag|nificent manner which it appeared in, when it was was first ranked among the Wonders of the Peak. And if it deserved to be so ranked then, how much more does it now, with the additional Improvements made by the first Duke of Devonshire!

One Thing is observable, That the very Disad|vantages of Situation contribute to the Beauty of the Place, and, by the most exquisite Management, are made subservient to the Builder's Design. On the East Side, not far distant, rises a prodigious high

Mountain, which is so thick planted with beautiful Trees, that you only see a rising Wood gradually ascending, as if the Trees crouded one above the other to admire the stately Pile before them.

Upon the Top of this Mountain they dig Mill|stones; and here begins a vast extended Moor, which for 15 or 16 Miles together due North, has neither Hedge, House, or Tree, but a waste and houling Wilderness, over which, when Strangers travel, 'tis impossible to find their Way without Guides.

Nothing can be more surprising of its Kind, to a Traveller, who comes from the North, when, after a tedious Progress thro' such a dismal Desart, on a sudden the Guide brings him to this Precipice, where he looks down from a comfortless, barren, and, as he thought, endless Moor, into the most delightful Valley, and sees a beautiful Palace, adorn'd with fine Gardens. If Contraries illustrate each other, here they are seen in the strongest Opposition. It is really surprising to think what a Genius it must be, that should lay out so great a Design in such a Place, where the Mountains intercept the Clouds, and threaten, were Earthquakes frequent here, to bury whole Towns, and, what seems equal to a Town, this House, in their Ruins.

On the Plain, which extends from the Top of this Mountain, is a large Body of Water, which takes up near 30 Acres, and, from the Ascents round it, receives, as into a Cistern, all the Water that falls; which, thro' Pipes, supplies the Cascades, Waterworks, Ponds, and Canals, in the Gardens.

Before the West Front of the House, which is the most beautiful, and where the first Foundress built a very august Portal, runs the River Derwent, which, tho' not many Miles here from its Source, yet is a ra|pid River, when, by hasty Rains, or the melting of Snows, the Hills pour down their Waters into its Chanel; for the Current, by reason of its many

contracted Passages among the Rocks, (Pieces of which, of an incredible Bulk, come sometimes roll|ing down its Stream) on the least Motion of its Waters, above their ordinary Height, roars like the Breaches on the Shores of the Sea.

Over this River is a stately Stone Bridge, with an antient Tower upon it, and in an Island in the River an antient Fabrick all of Stone, and built like a Castle; which are the Works of the said Foundress, and shew the Greatness of the original Design; but are all, except the Bridge, eclipsed, as it were, by the modern Glories of the late Edifice.

The Front to the Garden is a regular Piece of Architecture. The Frize under the Cornice has the Motto of the Family upon it in gilt Letters, so large as to take up the whole Front, tho' the Words are these two, CAVENDO TVTVS; which is no less applicable to the Situation of the House, than the Name of the Family.

The Sashes of the second Story, we were told, are 17 Feet high, of polished Looking-glass, two Feet wide; and the Wood-work double-gilt.

Under this Front lie the Gardens exquisitely fine; and, to make a clear Vista or Prospect beyond into the flat Country, towards Hardwick, another Seat of the same Owner, the Duke (to whom those Things which others thought impossible, were practicable) removed a great Mountain that stood in the Way, and which interrupted the Prospect.

In the usual Approach to this noble Fabrick, it presents itself thus: First, the River, which in calm Weather glides gently by; then a venerable Walk of Trees, where the famous Hobbes used often to con|template; a noble Piece of Iron-work Gates and Balusters, expose the Front of the House and Court, terminated at the Corners next the Road with two large Stone Pedestals of Attick Work, curiously adorned with Trophies of War, and Utensils of all

the Sciences, in Basso Relievo. This Part of the Building is Ionick, the Whole being a Square of a single Order, but every Side of a different Model: a Court in the Middle with a Piazza of Dorick Columns of one Stone each, overlaid with prodigious Architraves. The Stone is of an excellent Sort, veined like Marble, hewn out of the neighbouring Quarries, and tumbled down the adjacent Hill. In the Ante-room to the Hall are flat Stones of 14 Feet square, laid upon the Heads of Four Pillars, and so throughout. In the Hall-stairs the Landing-steps are of the same Di|mensions; the Doors, Chimneys, Window-cases, Stairs, &c. all of Marble; the Ceilings and Walls of all the Apartments charged with rare Painting of Varrio, and other famous Hands; the Bath-room, all of Marble curiously wrought.

The Chapel is a most ravishing Place; the Altar|end and Floor, Marble; the Seats and Gallery, Cedar; the rest of the Wall and Ceiling, painted.

The Gardens abound with Green-houses, Sum|mer-houses, Walks, Wildernesses, Orangeries, with all the proper Furniture of Statues, Urns, Greens, &c. with Canals, Basons, and Water-works of va|rious Forms and Contrivance; as Sea-horses, Drakes, Dolphins, and other Fountains, that throw up the Water. An artificial Willow-tree of Copper spouts dropping Water from every Leaf. A wonderful Cascade, where from a neat House of Stone, like a Temple, out of the Mouths of Beasts, Pipes, Urns, &c. a whole River descends, the Slope of a Hill a Quarter of a Mile in Length, over Steps, with a terrible Noise, and broken Appearance, till it is lost under-ground. Beyond the Garden, upon the Hills, is a Park, and that over-look'd by a very high and rocky Mountain. Here are some Statues, and other Antiquities.

I should never have done, were I to say all that might be said of this august Palace. But two histo|rical

Circumstances in its Honour must not be for|gotten, viz. That Mary, Queen of Scots, whom we had occasion to mention as a Visitant of the Peak, was for 17 Years in Custody in this House, under the Care of the celebrated Foundress of it. In Memory of this Royal Captive, the new Lodgings, that are built instead of the old, are still called the Queen's of Scots Apartment. Happy for her, could she have been allow'd to have paid the same fine Compliment to the Owner of it, which the Count de Tallard did, and is our other historical Circumstance, when he had been entertained for a few Days by the late Duke of Devonshire: When I return, said he, into my own Country, and reckon up the Days of my Captivity, I shall leave out those I spent at Chatsworth.

I will close all I have to say of this famous Pa|lace, as I may call it, with the following brief Ex|tract from the Letter of an ingenious Gentleman to his Friend:

"This Place, says he, exceeds all the high Ideas and Descriptions that were ever given me of it. The House yields to nothing in Europe; it is prodigiously great in every Part. I never saw such a Number of fine Rooms; but the Situation sur|passes all. Nature has laid herself out, in amazing Variety of Greatness and Prospects; a fine River below, with fine Banks, some naked and rocky, others declining and woody, many smooth, and proper for Walking; large Groves and Fishponds, and Canals between the River and the House, which rises proudly upon several Terraces, and has behind it a great Lawn, intermixed with Plant|ations, and great Walks, all rising one above an|other, at first gently, afterwards over vast Preci|pices, to the Top of a high Mountain, which was all covered upon the Brows with high Trees, two or three Miles on either Side; then breaks into a thousand Vales, and green Hills; then, re|suming

its former Height and Bulk, proceeds again a mighty Mountain, covered with Rocks and Heath; its Sides in many Places adorned with Wood; the Whole yielding a most extensive Prospect of many Miles. Every body has heard of the great Cascade."

There are likewise other Curiosities in the Peak which I need but just mention; as the Tottering Stones at Byrch Over, standing upon a hard Rock, one of them said to be four Yards high, 12 round, and yet rests upon a Point so equally poised, that it may be moved with a Finger; the Roman Cause|way, called Bath-gate; the several Minerals found in the Hills, and in the Lead Mines, as Black Lead, Stibium, or Antimony, and Crystal.

Bakewell is the best Town in the North-west Side of the Peak: it lies on the Banks of the Wye, and has a good Market; the Parish is exempt from Epi|scopal Jurisdiction. Near this the Duke of Rutland has a very noble Palace, called Haddon, now intirely uninhabited. It was antiently the Seat of the Vernons, some of whom were Members of Parliament for this County as early as Edward III. Sir George Vernon, in Queen Elizabeth's Time, was styled King of the Peak, and his Daughter being married to Thomas, the Son of the first Earl of Rutland, it came into the Family of the Manners.

The extended Angle of this County, which runs a great way North-west by Chappel in the Frith, (which was formerly a Market-town) and which they call High Peak, is perhaps the most desolate, wild, and abandoned Country in Great Britain. The Mountains of the Peak, of which I have been speaking, seem to be but the Beginning of Wonders to this Part of the Country; the Tops of whose Hills seem to be as much above the Clouds, as the Clouds are above the ordinary Hills.

Nor is this all; the Countenance of these Moun|tains is such, that they have no Bounds to them but the Sea; they run on in a continued Ridge from one to another, even to the Highlands in Scotland; so that they may be said to divide Britain, as the Apennine Mountains divide Italy. Thus joining to Blackstone Edge, they divide Yorkshire from Lanca|shire, and going on North, divide the Bishoprick of Durham from Westmorland, and so on. All the Rivers in the North of England take their Rise from them; those on the East Side run into the German Ocean, those on the West Side into the Irish: for instance, the Dove and the Derwent rise both at the South End of them, and come away South to the Trent; but all the Rivers afterwards run, as above, East or West; and first, the Mersee rises on the West Side, and the Dun on the East; the first runs to Warrington; and into the Sea at Liverpoole; the other to Doncaster, and into the Sea at Humber. I shall confirm this Observation as I go on; for to give an Account of Rivers is the best Guide to the Geography of a Country. But to return to my Progress:

We went next to Chesterfield, a handsome popu|lous Town, situate between Rivulets, on the South Side of a Hill, North-east from Chatsworth, well built and well inhabited, notwithstanding it stands in the Extremity of this rocky Country; for being on the North Side of the County next to Yorkshire, it leads into the Hundred of Scarsdale, which is a rich fertile Part of the Country, tho' surrounded with barren Moors and Mountains, for such the Name Scarsdale signifies. It is a Mayor-town of great Antiquity, and was made a free Borough by King John. It is now a Place of considerable Merchandice and Dealings in Lead, Grocery, Mercery, Melting of Barley, Tanning, Stockens, Blankets, Bedding, &c. in which they have great Intercourse to and

with Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicester|shire, and London; also to and with the Towns and Places of Bakewell, Tiddeswell, Wirksworth, Ash|bourne, the Peak, and West of Derbyshire; with Chester, Manchester, Liverpoole, &c. It has a fair Church. The Spire of its Steeple, being Timber covered with Lead, is warped all awry. It has also a Free-school, and a new large Market-place, which is well supply'd with Lead, and with the Commodities above-mention'd.

Dornfield is a small Market-town, noted only for its high Situation, just on the Edge of the Peak.

We are now entered into the County of York, which is of larger Extent than any two Counties in England joined together, being in Compass 360 Miles. Its Figure is a large Square, and is adequate to the Dukedom of Wirtemburgh in Germany, and contains more Ground than all the Seven United Provinces. I was at first puzzled which way to direct my Course in this large County; but at last resolved to strike thro' the Middle of the County, and along the North-east Part of the West Riding, up as far as Rippon, which is about the Centre of the County.

This great County is divided into Three Ridings, North, East, and West Riding. This last, which I chuse first to speak of, is much the largest and most populous, and has in it the greatest Number of Towns, as well as the most considerable, and like|wise the best Manufactures, and consequently the greatest Share of Riches.

Sheffield, situated on a rising Ground, is the first Town we came to from Derbyshire. It is famous for Whittle-making, Cutlery Wares and Iron-work, there being a great many good Iron Mines about it, and likewise some of Alum. The Town is very antient, and has been always considerable, tho' no Corporation; and that it was noted, in Chaucer's

Time, for the same Trade, appears by those Lines of his:

— A Miller — With a rizzled Beard, and a hooked Nose, And a Sheffield Whittle in his Hose.

The Town is very populous and large, and the Houses built with Stone, but look dark and black, by the continued Smoke of the Forges, which are always at Work; and the Streets are narrow. Here were set up the first Mills for turning Grind-stones in England.

The Church is very large and spacious, in the Form of a Cross, and has a fine high Spire.

Sheffield is reputed to excel Birmingham in Cutlery Wares and Files, and Birmingham is allow'd to out-do Sheffield in Locks, Hinges, Nails, and polish'd Steel.

The Cutlers here are incorporated by the Style of The Cutlers of Hallamshire, and have many Privi|leges. They are said to be 600 in Number, and are called Master-cutlers; each of whom gives a parti|cular Stamp to his Wares. The Corporation chuse a Master and other Officers yearly; and it is judged, that no less than 40000 are imploy'd in the Iron|trade in Sheffield, and the adjacent Tract of Land called Hallamshire.

From hence it will be judged, that the said Parish-church, the only one in this populous Town, was not able to contain one half of the People of Sheffield; which induced one Mr. Robert Downes, Goldsmith of this Town, to contribute a large Sum, and to procure other Sums by Contributions, for erecting a Chapel of Ease; and accordingly he got Leave, Anno 1719, from William Archbishop of York, to proceed in so good a Work, and built a handsome and stately Structure on a Piece of Ground called Shaw-close, purchased by the said Mr. Downes, who also settled to the Value of 30l. a Year for ever, on

a Preacher, to be elected and nominated by him, his Heirs and Assigns.

But tho' the Building was thus finished, and Mr. Downes had actually nominated to it, his Nephew Joseph Downes, yet the Nomination being contested by the Patrons of the Vicarage of Sheffield, and the Vicar also, it remained unconsecrated till the Year 1739; when the Parties differing, coming to an Agreement, an Act of Parliament passed, confirm|ing the same; and it is now consecrated by the Name of The Chapel of St. Paul in the Town of Sheffield.

Formerly here was a very fine Castle, with a no|ble Mansion-house, the Seat of the Dukes of Nor|folk; but it is now all demolished and decayed, tho' the Manor remains still in the Family.

In the great Church, in this Town, are several very antient Monuments of the Family of Talbots, Earls of Shrewsbury, who once had great Possessions in this and the next County.

In particular, George, the first Earl of Shrewsbury, who died 1531. George the second, Grandson to the first, under whose Care the Queen of Scots was here in Custody for 16 Years, who died 1590, and Gilbert his Son, who founded the stately Hospital in this Town, all lie buried here.

The Gift of this Hospital is perpetuated in the following Inscription:

The Hospital of the Right Honourable GILBERT Earl of Shrewsbury, erected and settled by the Right Honourable HENRY Earl of Norwich, Earl Marshal of ENGLAND, great Grandson of the said Earl, in pursuance of his last Will and Testament, Anno 1673.

Here is a fine Engine for raising Water to supply the Town. Here is also a very large and strong

Bridge over the Dun, as there is another at Rother|ham, a Market-town Six Miles lower. Of late several Acts of Parliament have passed to make this River further navigable to different Places, which will greatly increase the Trade of those Parts.

It is in the Park here, that the great Oak-tree grew formerly, of which Mr. Evelyn gives a long Account in his Book of Forest-trees. And what became of the Chesnut-tree near Aderclift, mention'd by Camden's Continuator, the Body of which could hardly be fathomed by three Men, I could hear no Account of.

The Remains of the Roman Fortification between Sheffield and Rotherham are still to be seen, and probably will continue to the End of Time.

Here is also the famous Trench, by some called Devil's Bank, other Danes Bank; which is said to run Five Miles in Length, and in some Places is called Kemp Bank, in others Temple's Bank.

Rotherham is the next Market-town North-east of Sheffield. It is noted for its fine Stone Bridge over the Dun, which is here increased by the River Rother, from whence the Town, no doubt, took its Name.

The Church is built in the Form of a Cathedral, and is a fair Stone Building, with a handsome Spire Steeple.

From Rotherham we turned North-west to Went|worth, on purpose to see the old Seat of the Went|worths, who have flourished here ever since the Conquest, and been possessed of the Estate of Wood|house from the Time of Henry III. Among the several noble Persons of this Family, who have resided here, was the great Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Straf|ford, beheaded in the Time of King Charles I. whose Body lies buried in this Church. His Honours were extinct in his Son; but his Seat is still in the Possession of Sir Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Malton, his Great Grandson, who has made such Improvements to it,

that it is inferior to few in Great Britain. It is situated on the Side of a Hill, defended from the North and West, but opens to the South and East, towards which Quarters it commands a very exten|sive Prospect over a rich and beautiful Country, which belongs to the Family.

The Gardens are large, and adorn'd with Obe|lisks, Statues, &c. having a Green-house and Bath|ing-room. On one Side there is an uninterrupted View into the Park and Neighbourhood. Here are two Beauties rarely to be met with any-where else, a Grove of old Fir-trees, and a Mount of above 100 Feet high perpendicularly measured. The Cir|cumference of the Parks is about eight Miles, and is beautified with Fish-ponds, Woods of Timber of an uncommon Size, and with Plantations innumer|able. The Turf is of a fine Verdure, and the Soil fruitful.

The House, with the Additions lately made, and now carrying on, will extend 200 Yards in Front, and is built in Imitation of Wanstead in Essex, the Seat of Earl Tilney. And an Improvement has been added to the Park and Fish-ponds, one whereof, consisting of 14 Acres of Ground, receives a small Brook, which being conducted through a winding Cut, for 600 Yards, falling down six Steps, is brought by a Canal of 300 Yards into the Lake, and so affords a pretty Prospect of Water for near a Mile together.

From hence we went to see Stamborough, a fine Seat now belonging to the Earl of Strafford; the late Earl built the House here, which has an exceed|ing noble Front, and adorn'd it with large Planta|tions, fine Water-works, and Gardens; to which if we add the Vista's, Walks, and Woods, which are large and numerous, it may vie with most Seats in Great Britain for Elegancy.

We afterwards steer'd our Course back again to Rotherham, and leaving that Town, came to Sand|beck, a fine Seat of the Earl of Scarborough; which, considering the beautiful Lawn before the House, and the Extent of the adjoining Woods, remarkable for the Improvements of Art, as well as for the Bigness and flourishing State of the Trees, may vie with most Seats, in respect to Situation.

From hence we pursued a By-track, in order to see a famous Yew-tree, which stands in a Field called Cuckolds Haven, and is a very surprising Pro|duction of Nature, and which I shall attempt to describe: It has a strait smooth Stem, about 10 Feet high, from which the Branches extend in Circles above each other, like the Divisions of a Pine|apple, and of that Shape, and of equal Exactness. The Figure of the Tree is much more beautiful than could have been made by Art of Man. The Branches from Top to Bottom are so thick, that a Bird can scarce creep through them in any Part; and every Shoot and Fibre put out the same Length each Year, and are of so bright and pleasant a Green in all Seasons, that at some Distance the Cloathing of the Tree appears like Velvet. There is a Hedge planted round it for a Fence, and many People have thought it worth their while to ride 20 Miles to view it.

Upon Sight of this Curiosity, and Thousands of other Trees of the same Species in its Neighbour|hood, I could not but lament, that Avarice should so far prevail, especially with Gentlemen, as to consent to grant what I call a dead Warrant for the selling of many noble stately ones, in the Height of their Glory, which for some Hundred of Years had been an Ornament to the Places where they grew, when perhaps one of the largest of them, which in a Garden or Park would be esteemed above any Price,

is sold for no more than 20 or 30 Shillings, to make Naves for Wheels.

Afterwards we struck into a By-road, which brought us to the Ruins of Roch or Rock Abby, hid by a steep woody Cliff, towards the South, and by large Rocks every other Way, except Eastward. One Side of the Nef of this Building, from North to South, under the middle Tower, and some odd Pillars and Arches, are all that is now left, great Part having been carried away, from time to time, to repair adjacent Churches, or build Gentlemens Seats, tho' now Care is taken, by the present Earl of Scarborough, to preserve what remains. These Ruins, among which large Trees are now grown up, and the contiguous Borders, make a Picture inex|pressibly charming, especially when viewed with the Lights and Shadows they receive from a Western Sun; and its recluse Situation, still from every Noise, except the Murmur of a limpid Rivulet, together with the Fragments of sepulchral Monuments, and the gloomy Shades of those venerable Greens, Ivy, and Yew, which creep up, and luxuriantly branch out and mix with the beautiful Whiteness of the Rocks, give such a Solemnity to this Scene, as de|mands a serious Reverence from the Beholder, and inspires a contemplative Melancholy, oftentimes pleasing as well as proper to indulge.

The Stone, of which this Abbey is built, was dug out of the famous Quarry near adjoining, and so well known to Masons by the Name of Roch Abbey|stone, which for Whiteness and Beauty is not to be equalled.

Another thing worthy of Notice in this Neigh|bourhood, is the Tower and Spire of the Church Laughton, which for a Delicacy and Justness of Proportion, is not excelled by any other Gothi•…•… Piece of the kind. How it happened, that so

elegant and ornamental a Structure, superior by far to all others round it, was bestow'd upon a Village-church, is matter of some Wonder.

The Building stands upon a very high Hill, which appears at Distance like that at Harrow in the County of Middlesex. The Height of the Steeple to the Weather-cock is 195 Feet, and by its Situa|tion the most conspicuous every way, of any perhaps in the whole Kingdom, being seen from many Places 40, 50, and 60 Miles. It has a peculiar Beauty, when view'd in the diagonal Line, the Pinacles at the Corners of the Tower being join'd by Arches to the Spire, as are others above them, which break its Out-lines, and give, at the same time, a beauti|ful Diminution; but Time will not permit it to stand much longer without considerable Repairs.

The Duke of Leeds, whose Seat at Kiveton is at about three Miles Distance, has cut a Vista through the Woods of his Park, to take this Steeple into his View.

About two Miles from Laughton we saw the said Seat of Kiveton: It is an elegant House, and the Apart|ments and Offices are disposed with great Conve|niency. The Situation is in a wholsome Air, and commands fine Prospects. Here are pleasant Gar|dens, and a beautiful Park.

We omitted visiting many other Places in these Parts, which, had Time allowed, would have answer'd the Trouble of riding uneven Roads, which are tiresome hereabouts, and hastened to reach Tickhill, which is a small Market-town, and very antient.

Here is an old Castle, which is large, but sur|rounded with a single Wall only, and an huge Mount, with a round Tower on the Top of it. it was antiently of such Dignity, that all the Manors round about it, belonging to it, were styled The Honour of Tickhill. The Church in this Town is very large, and a handsome Building.

We now return'd once more to Rotherham, and pursued our Course higher up on the River Dun, to Coningsborough Castle, called in British Caer Conan, situate on a Rock, where Matthew of Westminster says, That Aurelius Ambrosius, a British Prince, van|quish'd Hengist, the Saxon General, and took him Prisoner, where, in Revenge of his barbarous Murder of the British Nobility in cold Blood, near Stone|henge in Wiltshire, he cut off his Head.

Before the Gate is an Agger, said to be the Bury|ing-place of Hengist. It is not only famous for its Antiquity, but its Situation too, upon a pleasant Ascent, having six large Market-towns, 120 Villages, many large Woods of Oak, some containing 100 Acres, and others beautifully cut through into Walks, six Iron Furnaces, many Mines of Coal and Iron, Quarries of Stone for Building, nine large Stone Bridges, 40 Water-mills, six Seats of Noblemen, 60 of Gentlemen, 15 Parks, and two navigable Rivers. Upon the Dun also, a little Way from Co|ningsborough, is a Place called Temple-brough, a Ro|man Fortification, of which the North-east Corner is wash'd away by the River. The Area is about 200 Paces long, besides the Agger; and on the Out|side of it is a large Trench, 37 Paces deep; on the other Side of it is another Trench, cover'd with large Trees.

Travelling North-east from hence, we came to Bantry, which stands just at the Entrance from Nottinghamshire, into the West-riding, a Town blessed with two great Conveniencies, which con|tribute to its Support, and make it a very well-frequented Place.

• 1. That it stands upon the great Post-road from London to Scotland; which makes it full of very good Inns and Houses of Entertainment.
• 2. That the little, but pleasant River Idle runs by it, which, contrary to the Import of its Name, is

• a full and quick, tho' not rapid and unsafe Stream, with a deep Chanel, which carries Lighters and flat-bottom'd Vessels into the Trent, that comes within seven Miles of it, to a Place called Stockwith, from thence to Burton, and from thence, if the Weather be fair, to Hull; if not, 'tis sufficient to go to Stockwith, where Vessels of 200 Tons Bur|den may come up laden to the Town.

By this Navigation Bantry becomes the Centre of all the Exportation of this Part of the Country, especially for heavy Goods, which are brought down hither from all the adjacent Countries, such as Lead, Mill-stones and Grind-stones from Derbyshire, wrought Iron and edged Tools of all Sorts, from the Forges at Sheffield, and from the adjacent Country called Hallamshire.

From hence to Doncaster is a pleasant Road, that never wants Repair, which is something extraordi|nary in any Part of this lower Side of the Country.

Doncaster (so called from the River on which it stands, and the Castle which is now ruined) is a noble, large, spacious Town, and exceeding popu|lous, govern'd by a Mayor, and carrying on a great Manufacture, principally for Stockens, Gloves, and knit Waistcoats; and as it stands upon the great Northern Post-road, is full of good Inns. There is a remarkable old Column called a Cross, at the End of the Town, with a Norman Inscription upon it.

Here we saw the first Remains of the great Roman Highway, which, tho' we could not perceive before, were eminent and remarkable just at the Entrance into the Town, and soon after appeared in many Places. Here are also two strong Stone Bridges over the Dun, besides a long Causeway beyond them, the Waters of the River being dangerous to Passengers, when they swell over its Banks, as is sometimes the Case.

This Town, Mr. Camden says,

"was burnt in|tirely to the Ground, Anno 759; and was hardly recovered in his Time."

But it now looks more decayed by Time than Accident, and the Houses, which seem ready to fall, might rise again to more Advantage after another Conflagration.

It has but one Church, which is large, and its Tower of admirable Work. There is a remarkable Epitaph on one Robert Byrk, a famous Man of Don|caster, who gave a Place, called Rossington Wood, to the Poor.

Howe, Howe, who's here? I, Robin, of Doncastere, And Margaret my Fere. That I spent, that I had; That I gave, that I have; That I left, that I lost. A. D. 1597.Quoth Robertus Byrks, who in this World did reignThreescore Years and seven, but liv'd not ane.

Here lies also, under a plain Grave-stone in the Church, the Body of one Thomas Ellis, memorable for having been five times Mayor of the Town, for founding an Hospital there, called St. Thomas's the Apostle, and endowing it plentifully.

We ought not to forget, that the celebrated Sailor, Sir Martin Frobisher, was born in this Town. He was the first Englishman, who, in the Reign of Q. Elizabeth, discover'd the North Passage to China and Cathai, and found some Streights, which he called after his own Name, and a Foreland after the Queen's. At his first Voyage, one of the Company brought back some black Stones, out of which the Refiners, it is said, extracted Gold; which encou|raged him to load his Ship with them afterwards: but they were then found to be fit for nothing, but to mend the Highways. He signalized himself against

the Spanish Armada; and received his Death Wound by a Shot at Brest in Britany: the Surgeon, having extracted the Bullet, left the Wadding behind; by which means the Wound mortified, and he died as soon as he had brought back the Fleet to Plymouth.

We set forward directly West, and came to Barnesley, a little Market-town, well-built of Stone, where a Manufacture, and Iron and Steel Work, flourishes. It has a smoaky Aspect, and is called Black-Barnesley; but whether on that Account, or from the Moors, which look all black, like Bag|shot Heath, I know not.

After we had passed these Moors, we came thro' a most rich, pleasant and populous Country to Wake|field.

Wakefield is a large Town, situate upon the River Calder, (which was made navigable in the Year 1698) since which Time the Town has increased considerably in Riches, and Number of Inhabitants. There is a handsome Stone Bridge over the River, upon which stands a Chapel, erected by King Ed|ward IV. in Memory of his Father Richard, Duke of York, who was slain near this Place, as I shall mention by-and-by. The Chapel is 10 Yards long, and six broad; and tho' very much defaced by Time, it appears to have been wrought in a very curious manner. A little above the Bridge is a Wash or Dam, over which the Water rolling, forms an admir|able Cascade of a great Length.

This Town consists of three great Streets, which meet in a Centre near the Church, where there might be formed a very spacious Market-place, but by reason of the great Number of Inhabitants it is so crouded with Buildings, that there is only a small Area round the Market-cross, which is a very ele|gant Building, being an open Colonnade of the Dorick Order, supporting a Dome, to which you ascend by an open circular Pair of Stairs, in the Centre of the

Building. This brings you to a Room, which receives Light from a Turret on the Top, and may be called the Town-hall; for here they transact all their pub|lick Business.

The Church is a very large and lofty Gothick Building, the Body of which was repaired in the Year 1724, but the Spire (which is one of the highest in the County) remains in the same State it was.

In this Town was born John Green, the famous Pinder, who fought Robin Hood so manfully.

From the Bridge you have an agreeable View to the South-east, where, by the Side of the River, rises a Hill, covered with Wood, at about a Mile Distance. This joins to an open Moor or Common called Heath-moor, upon which are several Gentle|mens Seats, very pleasantly situated.

South between Wakefield and a Village called San|d••…••…, they shewed us a small square Piece of Ground, which was fenced off by itself; and on which, be|fore the late Civil War, stood a large Stone Cross, just upon the Spot where the Duke of York, fight|ing desperately, and refusing to yield, tho' surrounded with Enemies, was killed. But tho' Religion has suffered the Cross to fall, the Chapel I mentioned on the Bridge at Wakefield, the other Monument of this Battle, is still preserved by being made use of for Civil Affairs. Some say there are more People here, than in the City of York, and yet it is no Cor|poration Town.

Here is a Market every Friday for Woollen Cloths, after the manner of that at Leeds, tho' not so great; yet as all the Clothing Trade is prodigiously increased, and still increasing in this County, so this M••••ket flourishes with the rest.

I cannot here pass by my former Observation, that all the great Rivers take their Beginning in the Mountains of Blackstone Edge and High Peak, which, as I have said, part the Counties of Lancaster and

York, and that these Rivers all take their Course due East. The Dun is the first; the next is the Calder, now becoming a very large River at Wakefield; and the Aire is the next, which rises at the Foot of the Mountain Penigent, on the Edge of Lancashire, of which 'tis said proverbially:

Pendle-Hill and Penigent Are the highest Hills between Scotland and Trent.

As the Calder runs by Halifax, Huthersfield, and thro' Wakefield; so the Aire runs by Skipton, Brad|ford, and thro' Leeds, and then both join at Castle|ford Bridge, near Pontefract, three Miles from Brad|ford, and in an united Stream form that Navigation from this trading Part of Yorkshire to Hull, which is of so much Advantage to the whole County.

I went to see the antient Town of Pontefract, with the Castle, where so much Blood has been spilt, in different Ages; for here Henry, the great Earl of Lancaster, who was Lord of the Castle, and whose Ancestors had beautified, inlarged, and forti|fied it, was beheaded by his Nephew, King Ed|ward II. with three or four more of the English Barons. Here Richard II. was murder'd, and, if History may be credited, in a most cruel manner; and here Antony Earl of Rivers, and Sir Richard Gray, the first Uncle, and the other Brother-in-law to King Edward V. were beheaded by King Ri|chard III. In the late Civil Wars, a small Party of brave Fellows took this Castle by Surprize, for the King, and desperately defended it to the last Ex|tremity; but being at length obliged to yield, five of them attempted to break thro' the Besiegers Camp, three of whom perished in the Attempt.

The Town is large and well built, but much smaller than it has been. The Castle lies in its Ruins, though not demolished. It is a Corporation by Pre|scription, and the Mayor and 12 Aldermen are al|ways

Justices of the Peace. 'Tis said, that antiently none could be arrested at the Market-cross, call'd Oswald's Cross, and a free Way leading to the Cross, with about two Yards around it was kept unpav'd in Memory of that Privilege. But in the Year 1735, the old Cross was pulled down, and a handsome Dome, supported by a Colonnade of Dorick Pillars, (the Charge whereof was defrayed by a Legacy left by one Dupere, an Inhabitant of the Town) was erected for that Purpose.

The Ruins of the Castle shew it to have been a noble Pile. A round Tower, yet standing, is intire, in or near which, the Tradition is, King Richard II. was slain. Adjoining to this Tower are Winding|stairs, which descend into several Vaults, and sub|terraneous Passages.

The Parish Church, which stands near the Castle, and was prodigiously large, received so much Damage in the late Civil Wars, that no more than the Shell is now left standing. It is a handsome Gothick Building, in the Form of a Cross, with a Tower in the middle, which is in good Proportion, and was formerly crown'd with a magnificent Lantern, en|riched with carved Work; but it received such Da|mage from a Cannon Shot, during the Siege of the Castle, that it was soon after blown down; and upon the Surrender of the Castle, the Parliament did (by Resolution of the House, of the 27th of March, 1649) grant One thousand Pounds, to be raised by Sale of the Materials of the said Castle, to the Town of Pontefract, towards the repairing of their Place of publick Worship, and re-edifying an Habitation for a Minister. Part of this Grant might be ap|plied in erecting a plain Octagon Building upon the Tower, which finishes the Whole, in a manner not disagreeable, tho' far inferior to the former. In the North west Corner of this Tower, are two circular Flights of Stairs, winding about the same Centre,

with separate Entrances below, and distinct Landings above. The Inhabitants of the Town still continue to bury in this Church-yard, but Divine Service is perform'd in a Chapel adjoining to the Market-place, which is very spacious.

At the Bottom of the Market-place stands the Town-hall.

Near the Road is a noble Seat, which belonged to the late Lord Bingley. 'Tis a new-built, beautiful House, with curious Gardens, tho' not very large.

At Pontefract the great Roman Highway, which I mentioned at Doncaster, (and is visible from thence hither in several Places, tho' not in the open Road) is plain to be discern'd; and from Castleford Bridge, which crosses over the united Rivers of Aire and Cal|der, it goes on to Aberforth, and so thro' Tadcaster to York.

In some Places, where this Causeway is broken up, the Courses appear to be of different Materials, the Bottom of Clay, upon that is Chalk, then Gravel, and upon the Gravel is Stone, and then Gravel upon that, and so other kinds of Earth, where the first was not to be had.

In several Places between this Bridge and Aber|forth, the Causeway being disused for the common Road, it appears as intire as at its first making, tho' a Work undoubtedly of 15 or 1600 Years old. I take notice of it here, because I have not seen any thing like it in any other Place of England.

Castleford is a Village that stands near the Con|fluence of the two Rivers above, and was formerly a Place of great Consideration, insomuch that some Authors call it a City. There have been dug up here divers Pieces of Roman Coin.

Aberforth is a small Market-town, a few Miles North-east of Pontefract, and is noted for Pin-making only.

From Ferry-bridge, within a Mile of Pontefract, extends a large Stone Causeway, about a Mile in Length, to a Village called Brotherton, where Mar|garet, Wife of King Edward I. was forced to take up as she was hunting, and was delivered of a Son, called from the Village Thomas of Brotherton. This Son was afterwards made Earl of Norfolk, and Marshal of England. Not far from the Church is a Piece of Ground of 20 Acres, surrounded with a Trench and a Wall, where, as Tradition informs us, stood the House in which the Queen was delivered, and the Tenants are obliged by Tenure to keep it surrounded with a Wall of Stone.

Brotherton is now noted for burning Lime-stone, which is brought from Tadcaster in great Quantities, and carrying and dispersing it into the Southern Parts, which turns to very good Account, and im|ploys a great many Hands.

A little to the South of this Village, the great Road divides in two Parts: one goes on to the Right to York, and the other thro' Aberforth and Wetherby, over Braham-moor, to Scotland.

At Braham-moor a Battle was fought between the Royalists and General Fairfax, where he was worsted and wounded, but made so Soldier-like a Retreat, that it gained him as great a Reputation as a Victory would have done.

But we followed neither of these two Roads, leaving the Towns that way for the Entertainment of another Journey; so we pass'd directly West along the Banks of the Aire to Leeds, which is a large, wealthy and populous Town, standing on the North Side of the River Aire, with large Suburbs on the South Side, and both joined by a stately, strong Stone Bridge, so large, and so wide, that formerly the Cloth-market was kept upon it; and therefore the Refreshment given the Clothiers by the Inn-keepers (being a Pot of Ale, a Noggin of Pottage,

and a Trencher of broil'd or roast Beef, for Two-pence) is called the Brigg-shot to this Day.

The Increase of the Manufactures, and of the Trade, soon made the Market too great to be con|fined to the Brigg, so that it is now kept in the High Street, beginning from the Bridge, and run|ing up North almost to the Market-house, where the ordinary Market for Provisions begins; which also is the greatest of its kind in all the North of England. You may judge of the Plenty of it, when 500 Loads of Apples have been numbered by the Mayor's Officers in a Day.

But the Cloth Market is chiefly to be admired as a Prodigy of its Kind, and perhaps not to be equalled in the World. The Market for Serges at Exeter is indeed a wonderful Thing, and the Money returned very great; but it is there but once a Week, where|as here it is every Tuesday and Saturday.

Early in the Morning, Tressels are placed in two Rows in the Street, sometimes two Rows on a Side, cross which Boards are laid, which make a kind of temporary Counter on either Side, from one End of the Street to the other.

The Clothiers come early in the Morning with their Cloth; and as few bring more than one Piece, the Market-days being so frequent, they goin to the Inns and Publick-houses with it, and there set it down.

At about Six o'Clock in the Summer, and about Seven in the Winter, the Clothiers being all come by that Time, the Market Bell at the old Chapel by the Bridge rings; upon which it would surprise a Stranger to see in how few Minutes, without Hurry, Noise, or the least Disorder, the whole Market is filled, and all the Boards upon the Tressels covered with Cloth, as close to one another as the Pieces can lie longways, each Proprietor standing behind his own Piece, who form a Mercantile Regiment,

as it were, drawn up in a double Line, in as great Order as a Military one.

As soon as the Bell has done Ringing, the Factors and Buyers of all Sorts enter the Market, and walk up and down between the Rows, as their Occasions direct. Some of them have their foreign Letters of Orders, with Patterns sealed on them, in their Hands; the Colours of which they match, by holding them to the Cloths they think they agree to. When they have pitched upon their Cloth, they lean over to the Clothier, and by a Whisper, in the fewest Words imaginable, the Price is stated; one asks, the other bids; and they agree or disagree in a Moment.

The Reason of this prudent Silence is owing to the Clothiers standing so near to one another; for 'tis not reasonable, that one Trader should know an|other's Traffick.

If a Merchant has bidden a Clothier a Price, and he will not take it, he may go after him to his House, and tell him he has considered of it, and is willing to let him have it; but they are not to make any new Agreement for it, so as to remove the Mar|ket from the Street to the Merchant's House.

The Buyers generally walk up and down twice on each Side of the Rows, and in little more than an Hour all the Business is done. In less than half an Hour you will perceive the Cloth begin to move off, the Clothier taking it up upon his Shoulder to carry it to the Merchant's House. At about half an Hour after Eight the Market Bell rings again, upon which the Buyers immediately disappear, the Cloth is all sold; or if any remains, it is carried back into the Inn. By Nine o'Clock the Boards and Tressels are removed, and the Street left at Liberty for the Market-people of other Professions, the Li|nen-drapers, Shoe-makers, Hard-ware Men, and the like.

Thus, you see 10 or 20,000l. worth of Cloth, and sometimes much more, bought and sold in little more than an Hour, the Laws of the Market being the most strictly observed, that I ever saw in any Market in England.

If it be asked, How all these Goods at this Place, at Wakefield, and at Halifax, are vended and dis|posed of? I would observe,

First, That there is a Home-consumption; to supply which, several considerable Traders in Leeds go with Droves of Pack-horses, loaden with those Goods, to all the Fairs and Market-towns almost over the whole Island, not to sell by Retail, but to the Shops by Wholesale; giving large Credit. 'Tis ordinary for one of these Men to carry a thousand Pounds worth of Cloth with him at a Time, and having sold that, to send his Horses back for as much more, and this very often in a Summer; for they travel chiefly at that Season, because of the Badness of the Roads.

There are others, who have Commissions from London to buy, or who give Commissions to Factors and Warehouse-keepers in London to sell for them, who not only supply all the Shop-keepers and Whole|sale Men in London, but sell also very great Quan|tities to the Merchants, as well for Exportation to the English Colonies in America, which take off great Quantities of the coarse Goods, especially New England, New York, Virginia, &c. as also to the Russia Merchants, who send exceeding great Quan|tities to Petersburg, Riga, Dantzick, Narva, and to Sweden and Pomerania; tho' of late the Manu|factures of this kind set up in Prussia, and other Northern Parts of Germany, interfere a little with them.

The third Sorts are such as receive Commissions from abroad, to buy Cloth for the Merchants chiefly in Hamburg, and in Holland, &c. These are not only

many in Number, but some of them very consider|able in their Dealings, and correspond with the far|thest Provinces in Germany.

On account of this Trade it was, that the Rivers Aire and Calder were made navigable, under the Direction of Alderman Pickering, the celebrated Au|thor of the Marrow of Mathematicks, and performed at the Expence of several private Merchants, without calling in the Assistance of the Nobility and Gentry. By this means a Communication was opened from Leeds and Wakefield to York and Hull, so that all the Woollen Manufactures now exported, are carried by Water to Hull, and there shipped for Holland, Bre|men, Hamburgh, and the Baltick. And, encouraged by the Success of this Act, in the Session of Parliament Anno 1740. an Act passed for continuing the Navi|gation of the River Calder from Wakefield to Ealand, and Halifax, which will be a farther Benefit to the Trade of those Parts; and at the same time several other Acts passed for mending of Highways around all these Parts, to Halifax, Ealand, Doncaster, York, &c. which will no less promote the Commerce and Trade of this noble County.

There is another Trade in this Part of the Coun|try, become very considerable since the opening the above Navigation, which is the Carriage of Coals down from Wakefield and Leeds, at both which Places they have inexhaustible Stores. These are carried quite down into the Ouse, and then either go up that River to York, or down to the Humber, where the Trent and Ouse meet together, and which in a few Miles falls into the Sea. In this Passage abun|dance of large Towns are supplied with Coal, with this Advantage too, that whereas the Newcastle Coals pay four Shillings per Chaldron Duty to the Publick, these, being only River-borne Coal, are exempted, and pay nothing: So that the City of York, which strenuously opposed the first Navigation of these

Rivers, in this Particular, as well as in many others, daily experiences the Benefit of it.

I need not add, that by the same Navigation all heavy Goods, imported to Hull, are brought up these Rivers, as well as Goods brought from London, and other Parts of the Kingdom, such as Butter, Cheese, Lead, Iron, Salt, Sugars, Tobacco, Fruit, Spice, Hops, Oil, Wine, Brandy, Spirits, and the like.

The Antiquity of Leeds is very great, being men|tioned by Venerable Bede; but it was not incorpo|rated till 2 Car. I. when Sir John Savile (afterwards Lord Savile) was made the first honorary Alderman, in Memory of whom the Arms of the Town are adorned with his Supporters, and those very suitable, being the two Athenian Birds, sacred to that Goddess who was deem'd the Patroness of Spinning and Weav|ing, as well as Arts in general.

At the West End of the Town formerly stood a Castle, wherein King Richard II. was imprisoned before he was carried to Pontefract. And on the Scite thereof now stands the antient Manor-house, with the Park, &c. lately belonging to Mr. Richard Sy••es. Here are two magnificent Halls, both built about the Year 1714; one for White Cloths, sup|ported by Pillars and Arches, which form a Qua|drangle like the Royal Exchange, with a handsome Cupola, and Bell on the Top, to give Notice when the Market for these Sort of Goods begins. The other is the Guild or Moot Hall, the Front of which is built likewise on Arches, with rustick Coins and Tabling; where, in a Nich, is placed a fine Statue of Queen Anne, done by Mr. Carpenter, at the Expence of Alderman Milner.

Here are three Churches. St. Peter's, the Parish Church, is built in the Form of a Cross, with a Tower rising from the Middle, with eight Bells in it. In the Ceiling is the Giving of the Law, finely

painted in Fresco by Parmentier, who voluntarily gave this Specimen of his Art, in Gratitude for the Encouragement he had met with here. St. John's was built in 1634, at the sole Expence of Mr. Har|rison, who likewise built the Alms-houses adjoining, a Free-school, a Market-cross, and the Street called New-street, the Rents of which he appropriated to pious Uses.

I must not omit the New Chapel, as it is called, erected by the Presbyterians in 1691; which is said to have been the first, as it certainly is the stateliest they have in the North of England.

From Leeds we advanced Northward, and came to Harwood, a pretty little Town on the River Wherfe, over which is a very costly Bridge, and there for|merly was a strong Castle. The Church here is re|markable for several things; particularly for the In|terrment of Sir William Gascoigne, who had the Courage to commit Prince Henry, afterwards K. Henry V. to the King's Bench, for affronting him while he was in the Seat of Justice, letting him know, that though the Son might bear the Image of the King's Person, the Judge bore that of his Authority.

We passed the Wherfe over a fine Stone Bridge of 11 Arches. The River runs in a Bed of Stone (which makes it look as clear as Rock Water).

The Plenty of Stone in the North is, no doubt, the Reason why there are so many noble Bridges in that Part of England, insomuch that I don't remem|ber to have seen one of Timber from the Trent to the Tweed.

We travelled along the Wherfe into the Dale, that takes its Name from the River, which reaches from York about 20 Miles, enlivened almost all the Way with Gentlemens Seats at a little Distance from each other; and left Ottley on the South-side of the River, a small Market-town, no otherwise of Note than

for its Situation, which is under a large craggy Cliff. If Yorkshire owed us any Pleasure for the Fatigues of a former Day, it was abundantly made up to us here; for I cannot but think this one of the most delightful Parts of England, and I have met with Travellers who have compared it to the Plain of Palermo itself. Nor ought you to be sur|prised to hear some Parts of the North compared with Italy. The Testimony of Bishop Tonstal is well known, who in his Progress to York with King Henry VIII. in the Year 1548, declared, that the Country North of Doncaster, and South of Hasle|wood, was the richest he had found in his Travels thro' Europe. It would be endless to mention all the Seats we passed; but the Motto, at least, of Mr. Ibbotson's at Denton will naturally engage the Speculation of every Traveller:

QVOD NEC IOVIS IRA, NEC IGNIS, NEC POTERIT FERRVM.

The House, it seems, belonged once to Lord Fairfax, General of the Parliament Forces, and was about to be demolished by Prince Rupert; but was happily saved by the Sight of a Picture of one of the General's worthy Ancestors. It was afterwards burnt down by Accident, and rebuilt by the present Possessor; and now, after the Rage of War, and Devastation of Fire, in a Poetical Rant, defies them both.

Knaresborough, known among Foreigners by the Name of the Yorkshire Spaw, stands near Ripley, a Market-town, upon the River Nyd. In the Town, and the Lands adjacent, are no less than four differ|ent Mineral Waters. One of the Springs is a pe|trifying Water, which in a little Cave drops from the Roof of the Cavity, and, as they say, turns Wood into Stone.

The other two Springs are indeed the most valu|able Rarities of the kind in England.

The first is the Sweet Spaw, or a Vitriolick Wa|ter. It was discovered by one Mr. Slingsby, Anno 1630; and all Physicians acknowlege it to be a very sovereign Medicine in several particular Distempers. See Dr. Leigh's Natural History of Lancashire.

The other is the Stinking Spaw, or, according to the Learned, the Sulphur Well. This Water is clear as Crystal, but so fetid and nauseous to the Smell, that many are obliged to hold their Noses when they drink it; yet it is a valuable Medicine in Scor|butick, Hypochondriack, and especially in Hydropick Distempers.

The People formerly, for many Years, only drank these Waters, but they now make use of them as a Cold Bath; and in this manner they must necessa|rily be very good for Rheumatick Pains, Paralytick Numbnesses, and many other Distempers.

These Baths were heretofore well frequented, in|somuch that I have been told 200l. per Annum Rent has been given for a Cold Bath. But now Scar|borough has the Vogue.

At Rippon are two good Stone Bridges, one of which has, I think, thirteen Arches, or more, over the Eure, and is a very stately one. There is another over the same River at Burrowbrigg, four Miles lower than Rippon, which has indeed but four or five Arches, but then these Arches are near 40 Feet wide, and one of the middlemost much more, and are high in proportion; the Ends of the Bridge are likewise continued by high Causeways, built of Stone, to keep the Water in its Course, which however sometimes overflows them.

From these Bridges, as well as that above-men|tioned at Harwood, it may be observed, that how|ever low these Waters are in the Summer, they are high and furious enough in the Winter; and yet the

River Aire, tho' its Source is in the same Ridge of Mountains as the other, is gentle and mild in its Stream, whereas the others are raging and furious. The only Reasons I can give for it, are, that this River runs in a thousand Windings and Turnings more than any other in these Parts, insomuch that, as Camden expresses it, near its Head in Craven it seems doubtful whether it should run forward to the Sea, or return to its Spring; and from Skipton to Gargrave it is observed to be passed over eight times within the Compass of three Miles. The next Rea|son is, that after it has descended from the Moun|tains it has a deeper Chanel.

Rippon, the Isurium of the Romans, is a very neat, pleasant, well-built Town; and an antient Corpo|ration: it has not only an agreeable Situation on a rising Ground between two Rivers, but the Build|ings are good likewise, particularly the Market-place, which is accounted the finest and most beautiful Square of its kind in England.

In the middle of it stands a curious Obelisk, built by Mr. Aislaby, whose Seat at Studley is about a Mile distant. The Town is govern'd by a Mayor and Aldermen.

Here is a large Collegiate Church, and tho' but a Deanry in the Diocese of York, yet it is a very handsome, antient, and venerable Pile, and shews itself a great way in the Country. Mr. Camden says, Rippon owes its Greatness to Religion. And that here was a famous Monastery built by Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, in the first Ages of Christia|nity in this Island, is certain; but this pious Gift of the Bishop was lost some Years after; for the Danes over-running Yorkshire, rifled and burnt it to the Ground, together with the whole Town of Rippon. It afterwards flourished again as a Monastery: but that, with the rest, being given up in the Reign of King Henry VIII. the Church only was preserved.

While it was a Monastery, here was a famous Sanctuary, a Thing much abused in foreign Coun|tries. This Privilege was, it seems, granted to the Church of Rippon by King Athelstan, and whoever broke the Rights of Sanctuary, which he extended a Mile around the Church, were to forfeit Life and Estate; so that, in short, not the Church only, but the whole Town, and a Circle of two Miles diameter, was a Refuge for all that fled to it, where they lived safe, and out of the Reach of all Law.

Annexed to this Monastery was an Hospital, the Purposes of which are very remarkable, and would be worthy Imitation in our Days of Protestant Cha|rity. The House was called the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene, where, according to the Foundation, were to be maintained two Chaplains, to perform Divine Service; and if any begging Clergyman, or other needy Person should happen to travel or stray out of his Way, and call at the said Hospital, he should be relieved there for one Night only, with Food and a Bed, and so be gone in the Morning; and every poor Person that came craving an Alms on St. Mary Magdalene's Day yearly, should have one Loaf, Value an Half-peny, (when Corn was at the Price of five Shillings per Quarter) and one Herring.

'Tis also recorded, that one Branch of this Ho|spital was given to a Society of religious Sisters to maintain a Chaplain to perform Divine Service; and to keep all the Lepers born and bred in Hipschire; but the Sisters being in time removed, a Brother|hood was established in their stead, which continued for a while; and after that a Mastership. At length all, except the Church, was demolished together, and the House with the Monastery suppressed.

The Church is an antient Gothick Building, firm, strong, and plain; no Imagery or Statues to be seen about it; there are three Towers, on which for|merly were Spires.

The whole Revenues were seized by King Hen|ry VIII. so that little or nothing remained for an offi|ciating Clergyman. But King James I. having the Case represented to him by his Queen, was pleased to found and endow in this Church one Dean, and seven Prebendaries, besides Petit-canons, Singing-men, and Choiristers, of his own Royal Bounty and Benevolence, under the Jurisdiction of the Arch|bishop of York.

But I must not leave Rippon without mentioning St. Wilfrid's Needle, a Place famous in antient Times, being a narrow Hole in a close vaulted Room under Ground, in which Womens Chastity was tried; and, if chaste, they passed thro', but if otherwise, the Whim was, they could not. Some Saxon Coins were found here in the Year 1695.

In the Church-yard of this Minster lies a plain Monument, or Gravestone, over the Remains of a generous Soul, who gave Two thousand Pounds to pious Uses, and yet has no other Epitaph than the following:

Hic jacet Zacharias Jepson, cujus Aetas fuit 49.
per paucos annos tantum vixit.

We spent a considerable Part of a Day in the ce|lebrated Park, or rather Garden, belonging to Mr. Aislabie, which is visited by all the Curious, and ad|mired as a Wonder, not only with regard to the va|rious Beauties, which Nature has so lavishly bestowed; but those of Art and Cultivation, wherewith it is so liberally adorned: the latter exhibit a noble Speci|men of that exquisite fine Taste for Architecture and Gardening, in which the present worthy Owner is allowed to excel. The Temples and Loggio's, built in many delightful Recesses, may vie with the best Models of the Antients; and the wide extended Plantations are judiciously varied, as the Objects of the Landschape become new. In one Part, the Hills

gradually ascend, with Tufts of Shade interspers'd over the Verdure; in another, they precipitately rise, with Rocks projecting from their rough Sides, and tall Woods covering their Brows. Above these, a beautiful Gothick (but unconsecrated) Tower lifts up its Head; and below, the Skirts of the Cliffs are watered by a River which wanders in one Place with a silent Current, and in another falls down in Cas|cades: An easy Eminence commands a Prospect of the Town and Minster of Rippon, with a large Ex|tent of Country beyond; and the stately Ruins of Fountain-Abbey are seen from another, besides Gen|tlemens Seats in the Centre of many Views. The fine Turf of the Park is constantly cleared of Weeds, and equal Care is taken to preserve the best Trees from Decay: Through the whole Scene of Variety, the Improvements are adapted to follow the luxuriant Fancy of Nature, and humour her different Propen|sities. You see her deck'd out and inrich'd, where Necessity or Propriety bespeak such Indulgence; but in the Simplicity of her own Dress, where Orna|ment would disfigure her beautiful Attire.

The House is an old Building, but a noble Plan is laid down for a new one, and in a better Situation of the Park. There are Stables built, which are very grand.

The late Bishop of Namur, (Abbot Strickland) when he resided in England in the Year 1734, took a Journey from London to Studley, with Inten|tion to transplant some of the Beauties of this Place, as near as might be, in the Disposition of his Planta|tions, adjoining to a magnificent Palace he was then about to build at his episcopal Residence.

A Mile from Rippon, or less, is a stately beautiful Seat, called Newbie, built some Years since by Sir Edward Blacket. The Park is extended to the Bank of the River Eure, and is sometimes in part laid under Water by the River, which, coming down

from the Western Mountains thro' a marly, loamy Soil, fructifies the Earth, they say, as the River Nile does the Egyptian Fields about Grand Cairo.

As Sir Edward spared no Cost in the Building, and Sir Christopher Wren laid out the Design, as well as chose the Situation, I shall only say, tbat nothing can be added to the one or the other. The Build|ing is of Brick, the Avenues to it are very fine, and the Gardens not only well laid out, but well planted, and as well kept. But for want of fine Gravel, the Walks cannot shew themselves, as they would do, were they in the Southern Part of England. The House has a fine Prospect over the Country, almost to York, with the River in View most of the Way; and it has a very noble Appearance to the great North Road, which lies at Burrow-bridge, within two Miles of it.

As you begin to come into the North-riding, (for the Eure parts the West-riding from it) you find your|self in a Place noted in the North of England for the best and largest Oxen, and the finest galloping Horses, bred either for the light Saddle, for the Race, or the Chace, for Running or Hunting. Sir Edward was a Grazier, and took such Delight in Breeding and Feeding large Black Cattle, that he had two or three times an Ox out of his Park led about the Country for a Sight, and shewed as far as Newcastle, and even to Scotland, for the biggest Bul|lock in England, and 'twas very seldom, if ever, he was over-match'd.

From the Town of Rippon the North Road, and the Roman Way also, which comes from Castleford-bridge, parting at Aberforth, leads away from the Town of Bedal, in the North-riding, and in a strait Line called Leeming-Lane, leaving Richmond about two Miles on the West, goes on to Piers-bridge, on the River Tees, which are the utmost Limits of this vast County of York.

But as I proposed at my entering into this West-riding to go no further than Rippon, which stands on the Northern Boundary of it, I must stop here, and likewise make it the Boundary, as well of this Journey as of this Letter, since I find it impracti|cable to take a Survey of this large, populous, and wealthy Division on one Journey, without wander|ing to and fro, up and down, backward and forward, on purpose, which would be exceedingly fatiguing and uneasy; and as I was resolved to make as perfect Observations as I possibly could, of every thing that I could find remarkable in my way, and espe|cially of the Manufactures of the Country, which I account as well worthy a Traveller's Notice, as the Curiosities and Wonders of Nature, and the most refin'd Operations of the Liberal Arts and Sciences, I have therefore concluded upon another Journey into these Parts, and to enter by the Way of Lan|cashire; and to coast it along the West and North-west Sides of the Country, up to the River Tees, and the Southern Side of the Bishoprick of Durham; and from thence strike down South into the Centre of the County, and so take a Trip East into the Heart of the North-riding, to see the Towns that lie that Way; and then return West into York, and passing thence South-east, take in such Towns as stand on the East-side of the West-riding, till I ar|rive at the Fall of the Trent into the Humber; and crossing that River, view the Towns in the East-riding; and lastly, follow the Sea-coast all the Way up into Durham, which will complete my Tour through the whole County.

I am, Sir, Yours, &c.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Places abroad noted for the Virtue of their Waters.