Miscellaneous Notes.

OLD SAYINGS.

There is an old saying at Honeybourne, near Broadway, as follows:

There is a saying that—

or,

Another saying is—

It is proverbial in Worcestershire that "you never hear the cuckoo before Tenbury fair or after Pershore fair." Tenbury fair is on April 20, and Pershore fair is on June 26, which two dates pretty correctly mark the duration of the cuckoo's visit.

A HAPPY VILLAGE.

The happy village of Norton, near Evesham, contains no inn, public-house, meeting-house, lawyer, doctor, or curate! (at least this was the case a few months ago, when the author of this work was there.)

A GREAT FLOOD.

G. E. R., a correspondent at Kidderminster, has found the following curious note on the fly-leaf of a rare tract, entitled "The Infancie of the Soule, by William Hill. Printed at the Signe of the Holy Lambe, 1605:"—"November ye 29, 1620. In the river Severn was the greatest flood that ever was sinse the flood of Noah; there was drowned at Homtone's Loade 68 persons as they whare going to Bewdley faire."

OLD FAMILY.

In the Domesday Book, mention is made of a family residing at Bromsgrove, of the name of Dipple, and at the present time there are living in that town three distinct families of the same name, so that in all probability this family never became extinct, and is therefore one of the oldest in the county.

BELLS AND BELL-FOUNDERS.

The majority of the Worcestershire bells were cast by Rudhall, of Gloucester, and his successor, Mears; Chapman and Mears, of London, towards the close of the last century, and T. Mears, of London, in the present, also have their names in some places, as at King's Norton; but a correspondent says he has one of Mears' lists, and finds only nine of his peals in Worcestershire, viz., Dudley, peal of ten, weight of tenor, 21 cwt.; Stourbridge, eight, tenor, 19 cwt.; King's Norton, eight, tenor, 17 cwt.; St. John's, Worcester, six, tenor, 16 cwt.; Fladbury, six, tenor, 13 cwt.; Longdon, six, tenor, 12 cwt.; Cookley, six, tenor, 12 cwt.; Abberley, six, tenor, 9 cwt.; and Stone, six, tenor, 6 cwt. On the Tredington bells the names of G. Purdye and Mr. Bagly appear (seventeenth century). The Clent bells are by Bagly, whose services were much called into requisition in Warwickshire, and it is said by enthusiastic ringers that the bells cast by the Baglys are not to be surpassed in the country: they are all light peals, with fine musical tones, and run down as true as a musical instrument can do. At Tanworth, Warwickshire, the tenor bell has this inscription: "Richard Saunders of Bromsgrove made we all, 1710." How long the trade of bell-founding existed at Bromsgrove does not appear, but the bells of St. Helen's (1706), St. John's (1710), and St. Nicholas (1715), were founded there by Mr. Saunders. The Worcester foundry, which had existed in Silver Street in the seventeenth century,[9] had probably closed at the above period when Bromsgrove was resorted to. On the third bell of Himbleton church is the inscription:

The Worcester foundry is also traceable on the bells of St. Michael's, Worcester, Bishampton, Himbleton, and Grafton Flyford, from 1660 to 1676; John Martin, of St. Martin's, being the founder.

The Bretforton peal is by Westcote, of Bristol, 1823; Lester and Peck, of London, founded some of the Halesowen bells a century ago. Joseph Smith, of Edgbaston, and R. Wells, of Aldbourne, others of them, at the beginning and end of the same century. The old peal of bells, prior to these, at Halesowen, it appears from the churchwardens' accounts, were completed in 1518, and the bell-founder came from Nottingham. Joseph Smith, of Edgbaston, also founded the Alvechurch and Northfield bells—the first in 1711, the latter in 1730. On the third bell at Alvechurch is the following euphonious couplet:

The Alvechurch bells are kept in excellent condition by Billy Bourne, a poor demented creature, who however is famous for his skill in clock cleaning and his adhesiveness to the church belfry, in which he sleeps regularly on a hard plank, with an old mat for a coverlid; he has hardly ever been known to miss ringing the matin bell at five and the curfew at eight, and constantly defends the sacred precincts from all resurrectionists by a rusty old sword and pistol.

The Northfield bells are distinguished by some original versification, thus: On the first—

Second—

Third—

Fourth—

"Joseph Smith, 1730."

Fifth—

Tenor—

The last-named couplet, which seeks to perpetuate a piece of parochial thrift in the casting of six bells out of five, is likewise to be found on a bell at Feckenham, with, of course, other names substituted.

TOBACCO.

The introduction of tobacco (now become so important an article of general demand) is a subject worthy of a few notes, especially as regards the traces of its cultivation and consumption in this district. It is true that Worcestershire cannot boast of being the first place in England where "the wicked weed" was grown. That was an honour claimed by our near neighbours of Winchcombe, in Gloucestershire, who are said to have profited greatly (in a pecuniary sense, I suppose) by its cultivation. Tobacco was, however, grown at Worcester, Feckenham, Eckington, Pershore, Upton Snodsbury, Pensham, Kempsey, and other places in this county. The first mention of its use at Worcester is in the chamberlain's accounts for the year 1643, about fifty-seven years after its introduction to this country. At that time it was evidently esteemed an especial luxury. The entry is as follows:

"Item: For one ounce of bacca which Mr. Maior sent for to spend upon Colonel Sandys, and for tobacco pipe, eighteen pence."

The sum of 1s. 6d. being then equal to at least 10s. of our present money, some idea may be formed of the scarcity and value of tobacco in its earlier days. The Droitwich corporation, it seems, were very liberal in the consumption of the weed, for at a feast in 1656 it is recorded that the sum of 9s. was spent "for tobacco of both sorts." This is the first and only instance of "both sorts" being mentioned. The price of the article had fluctuated in a most unaccountable manner, for while in 1643 it cost 1s. 6d. an ounce at Worcester (the same price which was given for it at Droitwich in 1632), in 1646 it was entered only at 2s. 8d. per pound by the constable of Droitwich, in his bill of charges for soldiers who at that time had taken up their abode in Dodderhill church, as a barrack. In 1659, "Mr. Maior Ashbie," of Worcester, charges 6s. 8d. for a pound of Spanish tobacco; but it is gratifying to observe that, in the midst of this heavy expenditure on matters of luxury, some compunction of conscience was evident from the fact that the corporation made their pipes perform double duty, frequent entries occurring of a charge of 6d. per gross for burning them! The price of the article was much reduced by the time of James II, when the "best Virginia" was but 2s. per pound, and "two gross of best glazed pipes and a box with them, 3s. 4d." Previous to that time tobacco had become almost a necessary among the upper classes, nor could the Parliamentary representatives of the city of Worcester be despatched up to town until the "collective wisdom" had smoked and drunk sack with them at the Globe, or some other hostelry.

As early as 1621 it was moved in the House of Commons by Sir William Stroud, that he "would have tobacco banished wholly out of the kingdom, and that it may not be brought in from any part nor used amongst us," and Sir Grey Palmes "that if tobacco be not banished it will overthrow one hundred thousand men in England; for now it is so common that he hath seen ploughmen take it as they are at plough." At a later period of the century, so inveterate had the practice become, that an order appears on the journals of the House, "That no member of the House do presume to smoke tobacco in the gallery, or at the table of the House, sitting at committees." Indeed we are told by M. Jorevin, who visited Worcester in the reign of Charles II, put up at the "Stag inn," and published his doings in the "Antiquarian Repertory," that the women smoked as well as the men. As early as the end of the sixteenth century, complaints were made of this "imitation of the manners of a savage people," as it was feared that by this practice Englishmen would degenerate into a barbarous state. So great an incentive was it thought to drunkenness, that it was strictly forbidden to be taken in any alehouse in the time of James I, and his Majesty exhausted much ponderous wit in attempting to cry down the weed; his celebrated performance, "A Counterblast to Tobacco," denominating it "the invention of Satan," and the custom of smoking as "loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless."

In 1659, Wm. George, of Eckington, was indicted at the Worcester County Sessions "for planting, setting, growing, making, and curing tobacco there," on 400 poles of land, and a fine of £400 inflicted—the informer being Wm. Harrison, of Pershore. Ralph Huntingdon, of Upton Snodsbury, John Redding, of Kempsey, Humphrey Tay and Rd. Beddard, of Eckington, and Edmund Baugh, of Pensham, were similarly fined. In the above-mentioned year it was ordered "that no person plant tobacco after January 1, 1660, according to Act of Parliament, 12th Charles II, within England, to sell, upon forfeiture of the same or value thereof, or 40s., for every rode or pole so planted, set, or sown, one moiety to the King and the other to the informer; not to extend to physick gardens in the university."

In 1662, letters were issued from the Lords of the Council which commanded that "all tobacco planted within the county of Worcester should be speedily destroyed by order of the sheriff and justices of the peace," to whom the said letters were directed; and for many years subsequent to that period (as appears from the Sessions rolls) the chief constables of this county sent warrants to the various constables for cutting and destroying the weed, and regular returns were made by them as to whether they had found any growing within their constablewicks. The tobacco plant, I am informed (Nicotiana rustica), still grows in a half naturalized state near Bewdley—in the vicinity, no doubt, of spots where it was formerly cultivated. This shows how easily tobacco might be produced in England, if there were no prohibitory taxation opposed to it. The following quaint stanzas are from a forgotten book of "Gospel Sonnets," by Ralph Erskine, a Presbyterian clergyman, whose object was to improve whatever subject he touched upon, and thus he tunes his pipe in a

"MEDITATION ON SMOKING.

HERMITAGES AND CAVES

abound in Worcestershire. One of the most interesting of them is that at Redstone, in a rock by the Severn, in the parish of Astley. It was said to be "a place of great resort for devotees of high quality in Papal times:" and the following remarks respecting it occur in a letter of Bishop Latimer, written from Hartlebury to Lord Cromwell, August 25th, 1538. The letter was printed in the Parker Society's edition of his "Remains," p. 401: "Hereby is an hermitage in a rock by Severn, able to lodge five hundred men, and as ready for thieves or traitors as true men. I would not have hermits masters of such dens, but rather that some faithful man had it." Habingdon says he had heard "that many who traffick'd on the river gave, as they passed by in their barges, somewhat of their commodities to charity at this hermitage; and to show how much great men have valued this place, there appear in the very front of the hermitage the arms of England, between those of Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, with his crosses croslet on the right hand, and those of Mortimer with an escutcheon ermine, quartered, as far as I can guess, with a cross on the left; but these monuments of honour are here so worn as they are instantly perishing." Nash states that the hermitage was anciently the inheritance of Sir T. Bromley, and, with two acres directly over the cell, was let to a poor tenant. It was afterwards sold and turned into an alehouse; and more recently it was converted into dwellings, but which were most unfit for human residences. Indeed, about thirty years ago a school was kept in a part of the rock! The entrance to the hermitage is through what is called the chapel; and an arched passage, with openings at the sides, seems to have led to the dormitories (now formed into dwellings), and to the right is the refectory. Over the doorway is an opening which is reached by some steps in the inside, and from which, according to tradition, one of the monks would address the people and pray for the safety of passengers crossing the ferry. Another tradition is, that a subterraneous passage once led from the hermitage to the priory, near the site of the present church.

Blackstone Rock, near the Severn at Bewdley, is also a most interesting relic. Here is an hermitage, cut in the rock, to which entrance is gained by a low doorway into the kitchen, which has for a chimney a circular hole cut perpendicularly through the rock; there are also a chapel, a pantry, with a chamber over, an inner room, closets with loft over, a study with shelves cut for books, and another opening in the rock, either for a belfry or chimney. Small and rudely cut openings in the rock served for windows. In the front of the cell is a seat carved in the rock, from which the hermit looked forth on the Severn (which then ran closer to the rock than it does now) and the beautiful meadows and wooded banks adjacent. There is a tradition that this was at one time a smuggler's cave; it has of late been used as a cider-making house, &c.

About a mile from Stanford church is Southstone Rock, said to be the largest mass of travertine hitherto discovered in this country, extending for half an acre. Its northern extremity terminates in a precipice, hanging over a most romantic dingle. Some cells were formerly hewn in the rock, and at the top was a chapel dedicated to St. John, on the feast of whose nativity there was a solemn offering, after which the assembly ascended, by stairs cut out of the rock, to the chapel, where they finished their devotions, and afterwards drank the waters of the well. This hermitage and land belonged to the abbey of Evesham. From the Jefferies Manuscript it appears that on St. John's Day a "pedling faire" was kept here, when the young people treated their acquaintance with roast meat, "ye smoke whereof yet remains upon ye rock," and that a wooden offering-post was fixed in the rock, having a cavity in it for money to pass into a hole underneath. The offertory dish in which these offerings were made (an exceedingly curious relic) was till lately in the possession of the Winnington family, but is now lost.

A hermit's cell may be seen in the parish of Hartlebury, cut in a rock in a secluded part of a meadow belonging to the glebe land; its roof is supported by two pillars, and two deeply splayed holes are cut in the wall.

A cave once existed on the top of Bredon Hill (as we are informed by Dr. Derham, who wrote about 1712); it was lined with stalactical stones on the top and sides; but this was believed to have been an ancient granary, as a quantity of wheat was found near there at the beginning of the present century, when a land-slip occurred. The cave was probably destroyed by one of these land-slips.

At Drakelow, near Cookley Wood, is a sandstone ridge, excavated and inhabited, that still bears the name of "Hollyaustin," corrupted, probably (as Mr. Lees suggests), from "holy Austin," or Augustine, a hermit that once resided there. There is a cave also in "The Devil's Spittlefull," on Blackstone Farm, in the Foreign of Kidderminster, and there was a hermit's cell at the old Sorb-tree in the forest of Wyre.

In the Red Cliff, near Suckley, Mr. Allies states, is a hole called "Black Jack's Cave," said to have been inhabited, about ninety years ago, by a convict named Farnham, who had returned from transportation before his time, and who used to climb up this cliff with all the agility of a cat, even when laden with the spoils of the neighbourhood.

The parish of Stone contains a rock in which is a cave called "The Devil's Den," and some horrifying tales are told of the fatal results which happened to persons who attempted to penetrate therein.

There is a hole in a rock, called "The Fairies' Cave," in the hamlet of Alfrick.

WORCESTERSHIRE DESCRIBED BY A ROUNDHEAD.

In the Essex papers published three or four years ago the following description is given of this county and city, and also of Hereford: "On the 30th, Wharton writes again—'Worcestershire is a pleasant, fruitful, and rich country, abounding in corn, woods, pasture, hills, and valleys, every hedge and highway beset with fruit, but especially with pears, whereof they make that pleasant drink called perry, which they sell for a penny a quart, though better than ever you tasted at London. The city is more large than any I have seen since I left London; it abounds in outward things, but for the want of the Word the people perish. It is pleasantly seated, exceeding populous, and doubtless very rich, on the east bank of that famous river the Severn, the walls in a form of a triangle, the gates seven. There is a very stately Cathedral called St. Mary's, in which there are many stately monuments; amongst the rest, in the middle of the quire, is the monument of King John, all of white marble, with his picture thereon to the life. Sir, our army did little think ever to have seen Worcester, but the Providence of God hath brought us thither, and had it not, the city is so vile, resembles Sodom, and is the very emblem of Gomorrah, and doubtless it would have been worse than either Algiers or Malta—a very den of thieves, and a receptacle and refuge for all the hell-hounds of the country.' From Worcester, Essex sent a detachment under the Earl of Stamford to surprise Hereford, in which Nehemiah Wharton served. He states that they got into Hereford by telling the Mayor that Essex was at hand with all his army. 'The city is well situated on the Wye, environed with a strong wall, better than I have seen before, with five gates, and a strong stone bridge of six arches, surpassing Worcester. In this place there is the stateliest market-place in the kingdom, built with columns after the manner of the Exchange; the Minster every way exceeding Worcester; the city not so large; the inhabitants totally ignorant of the ways of God, and much addicted to drunkenness and other vices, but principally unto swearing, so that the children that have scarce learnt to speak, do universally swear stoutly. Many here speak Welsh. Sabbath-day, the time of morning prayer, we went to the Minster, where the pipes played, and the puppets sang so sweetly, that some of our soldiers could not forbear dancing in the holy quire; whereat the Baalists were sore displeased.'"

PECULIAR WORDS.

Among the archaic or peculiar words used in Worcestershire (as also in some of the neighbouring counties), are the following: "Tabber," to strike repeated blows with the fist; "heft," weight; "colly," the black from a tea-kettle or from coal; "wowing," selling ale without a license; "leazing," gleaning (this is used in many counties); "cott," or "Molly Cott," a nickname given to a man who interferes unduly in domestic affairs; "lungeous," being awkward, heavy, and dangerous in play; "off his head," deranged; "squilt," a small wart or pimple on the skin; "moithered," a state of great bewilderment in the head; "glat," an opening in a hedge; "unked," or "unkid," to denote loneliness and awkwardness; "butty," a companion, also a sort of overseer among colliers; "fettle," to mix or interfere with, also means condition; "gain," and "kind," both words used to represent the condition of crops or anything else the appearance of which is promising; "dollop," a good share or quantity. A person was cutting cloth, and was recommended to rip it, as more expeditious. "That is not so good," he replied, "because the thread fazles." A lady told her servant the "string was broken;" the servant replied, "Yes, and I tried to mend it, but I couldn't odds it." The servant came from a village in Gloucestershire. "Odds it" means to alter it. The word is very common in Gloucestershire, and in some parts of this county. In the above list several words of Saxon origin are perceptible, showing that old languages linger among the poorer classes longer than with the better educated, whose vocabulary has been more enlarged by finer, though perhaps not more expressive words, which are constantly being imported from foreign sources. Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., says: "I have recollected a remarkable term which I heard formerly in Broadway. It is the word anant or enant, spoken when it was intended to express that one thing was opposite to another, by poor people. "He lives anant such a place," "anant that yat," &c. It is remarkable, because it is almost the Greek word [Greek: enantios] εναντιος. Are we to suppose it to have been introduced when the Saxon kings adopted Greek phraseology and terms in their grants to monasteries? Pershore, to which Broadway belonged, was a Saxon monastery, therefore it is not impossible but it may have been introduced by the monks in their visits to Broadway."

CURIOUS NAMES OF PLACES.

An unusually large number of places in Worcestershire in ancient times seemed to have been dedicated to the Dii Inferi, as also to the more sprightly beings which have hardly yet ceased to exist in our woods and groves, in shady glens, and by babbling streams. The Devil's Leap is a deep dingle, partly in Dodenham and partly in Hartley. There are the Devil's Den, Hell Hole, and Death's Dingle, in Stanford; this "den" is a black wood in a narrow dell, deeply enclosed in entangled woods; and Mrs. Sherwood says that the country people give it names which commemorate its former evil character—"The Devil's Den" being the mildest of the epithets bestowed on this sequestered scene. In the above-named Hell Hole grows the plant called Devil's-bit, which, tradition says, was given to heal man of any deadly wounds, but when Satan saw what numbers of the human race it deprived him of, he in spite bit the roots off, whereupon it miraculously grew without those usually necessary appendages, and this is the reason we find it growing apparently without roots. There is the Devil's Pig-trough, near Leigh; and the Devil's Bowling-green at Inkberrow, ironically so called, it is said by Mr. Allies, as, till lately, it was one of the roughest pieces of ground in that parish. The Devil's Spadeful is the name of a large mound of earth near Bewdley, traditionally said to have been so denominated in consequence of the great impersonation of evil having once intended to drown the Bewdleyites by damming up the Severn, but being misinformed by a drunken cobbler as to the distance he had to go, he dropped the spadeful of earth and decamped. This tradition, slightly modified, is common in various counties, and is one of a numerous class tending to mark the popular contempt for Satan's want of sagacity. Hell Holes abound in the county, and there is Hell Bank near Stourbridge, Hell Kitchen near Newbold-on-Stour, and Hell Patch in Upton Warren. Whether, however, these names had reference to the "shades below" or originated in the Celtic word hel (to assemble) is a question. In Shelsley Walsh is a place called Witchery Hole; and the souvenirs of fairy-land are exceedingly numerous in many parishes of the county, such as Hob's Hole, in Offenham; Hob Moor, in Chaddesley Corbett; Little Hob Hill, in Beoley; Little Dobbin's Hill, in the Berrow; Dobbin's Meadow, in Mathon; Puck Meadow, in Hallow; Puck Hill, in Himbleton; Puck Croft, in Powick; Puck Piece, in Abbot's Lench; Pixam, or Pixies' Ham, in Powick; Cob's Croft, in Dodderhill; in Northfield, several places called Hob, Cob, and Jack; Impey, in Alvechurch; The Whistlers, in Lulsley, and innumerable others.

While on the subject of curious names it may be mentioned that at Bellbroughton the word "Bell" is constantly heard ringing in your ears—such as Bell Hall, Bryan's Bell, Moorhall Bell, Bell End, the Bell inn, &c.; and at Hanley Castle the word "End" is as frequently repeated, in Gilbert's End, Church End, North End, Robert's End, Severn End, &c. There are also Hunt End, a straggling village near Crabb's Cross; Dagtail End, near to Astwood Bank; Neen End, near the Ridgway; Alcester Lane's End, between King's Norton and the Birmingham road; and Holt End, at the foot of Beoley Hill. It is probable that the addition of the word "End" to so many places means that the spot so designated is the extreme end of some enclosed plot of ground or farm, as Robert's End, &c. The Grimsend House in Alfrick is situate at the extreme end of the estate, and there is a place called Coppy (coppice) End or Ind in the neighbourhood. With respect to Bellbroughton, it was called by the prefix only in very early times, therefore that may account for the names "Bell End," &c., in that parish.

THE CHINA TRADE.

Mr. Thursfield, of Broseley, at the meeting of the Archæological Institute, at Shrewsbury, in 1855, read a paper in which he stated that about the year 1750, a manufacture was commenced at Caughley, near Broseley, for the production of porcelain, by two persons named Gallimore and John Turner, the latter originally a silversmith at Worcester. They carried on the works with considerable spirit towards the close of the last century, having introduced several French artisans. The distinctive mark of the Caughley porcelain is supposed to be the letter S., and some pieces bear the mark "Salopian." The manufacture continued till 1799, when the works were purchased by Messrs. Rose, and it was subsequently carried on at Coalport. During Turner's management, Worcester porcelain was sent to Caughley to be printed and coloured. The process of printing decorations upon porcelain, originally invented by Dr. Wall at the Worcester works, was transferred as it is believed to Caughley, by R. Holdship, who had been employed at Worcester in 1757.

LONGEVITY.

Chaddesley Corbett, Mamble and Bayton, Rock, Tenbury, Martley, Abberley, and two or three other places in this county, are famous for the longevity of their inhabitants. Perhaps a larger number of very old people can be enumerated in the neighbourhood of Martley and the Berrow hills than in any other given space in the kingdom. The late incumbent of Chaddesley, who was himself nearly 90 years of age, buried, in 1813, Sarah Yates, at the age of 101; and in 1841 he did the same service for Elizabeth Young, aged 103. At Feckenham, a Mrs. Eadee died, in 1802, at the age of 103. At Abberley, Mary Bagnall died, in 1836, aged 102; and the venerable rector of that parish, the Rev. F. Severne, is only the tenth incumbent since the beginning of Elizabeth's reign—a period of about three centuries! The grandfather of the present rector held the living 48 years, his father a similar term, and he himself bids fair to imitate the longevity of his ancestors. Two of his predecessors who, as he also does, held the incumbency of Kyre, held that living between them for 108 years! The Rev. G. Williams, of Martin Hussingtree, but recently deceased, held that living from the year 1790; and it is said that some ale brewed when he was first inducted was only drunk out (at the rate of a bottle per annum, at the audit) just prior to his decease—an instance of longevity quite as remarkable as any now being enumerated. The parish of Strensham has had only three rectors in a century and a half. Betty Palmer, who was born at Rock, died in 1782, aged 113; she had a sister and three brothers: Richard lived to be above 100, and their father and mother to 102 and 103. At Mawley, Jane Corkin was living, in 1710, at the ripe age of 126. A man died at Coreley, in 1849, aged 107 years 7 months. Mrs. Perkins died near Tenbury, in 1810, aged nearly 105. Mr. Mapp, of Shelsley, is, I believe, living in his 94th year; and the burials, in 1853, of old people between 80 and 100 years of age, at Rock and the vicinity, were remarkable. At Alvechurch is an inscription to Joseph Davies, who died in 1831, "who for nearly 70 years assiduously fulfilled the office of clerk of this parish with a distinct, pleasing, melodious voice, and inoffensive life, till within a few days of his death." A Mrs. Elizabeth Bourne died at White Ladies Aston, in 1812, aged 106. At Bredon, for the whole term between 1813 and 1846, the greatest number of deaths occurred between the ages of 70 and 75. The celebrated Countess Dowager of Coventry died at Holt in 1798, aged 96. At Henwick, near Worcester, a person died recently who remembered the coronation of George III, and others are still living there between 90 and 100 years of age. There is a saying:

Dr. Addison, in 1834, showed that there were then living in that parish, on the eastern side of the hill, nearly double the number of persons, at 80 years of age, than were in all England at the same rate of population; and at 90, three times the number, without taking into account still older persons. In January, 1835, at Great Malvern, there were 60 persons residing, who were 70 years and upwards. Miss Sarah Davis, of Rock, died on the 17th of June, 1856, at the age of 103. She possessed all her faculties till within a few hours of her death, and had only suffered a little lameness from rheumatism. Till very lately she could see to thread her needle, and had been employed for half a century on Hollins' farm, as a market and charwoman. She had been a spinster all her life, and had a strong aversion to the male sex.

The Worcester papers of July 12, 1856, recorded the death (on the 10th of the same month) of the Rev. James Hastings, rector of Martley, in his hundred and first year, and also that of Jane Doughty on the 8th, in her ninety-fifth year. The latter was a very remarkable instance, because the poor woman belonged to a class who enjoy but few of those comforts which would seem necessary for the prolongation of life to such a span. She had lived for many years in a humble tenement in Pye Corner, Bull Entry—a situation which no one would point out as apparently conducive to long life. Formerly, she was a fruit-seller in Fish Street, and many of the citizens probably recollect her as the little old woman who used to take her seat on the Old Bank steps, with her basket of fruit, &c., for sale. Up to the last she could hear and see well enough, and was only a little bent from age. She would eat heartily, but of plain diet, and her neighbours do not recollect her taking ale till the day before her death, when she wished to have some, and it being brought, she drank a good draught. A few hours only of indisposition brought her to her end—being one of the rare instances of really natural death (i.e. not dying from disease) which occur amongst us. Deceased was the grandmother of Sergeant Doughty, of the city police. She was born in the proverbially healthy district of Martley (where also, it will be observed, the other individual mentioned in this narrative formerly resided); and married Abraham Doughty, sergeant in the 29th, at All Saints in this city. She had four children, all of whom she survived, twenty-five grand-children, fifty great-grand-children, and four great-great-grand-children. Previous to her death, Sergeant Doughty could say what very few can—that he had a grandmother and grand-children living at the same time.

GLOUCESTER CITY GATES.

It is said in the history of Gloucester that shortly after the Restoration of Charles II, the King, bitterly remembering his father's defeat before that city, ordered the doors belonging to the gates to be pulled down, and presented them to the city of Worcester, which had long remained faithful to his cause. On the south gate of Gloucester, which was battered down during the siege by the King in 1643 (but was rebuilt in the same year), was inscribed in capital letters round the arch—"A city assaulted by man but saved by God: Ever remember the 5th of September, 1643." This was the day the siege was raised by Essex.

ANCIENT INNS.

The old Black Boy, at Feckenham, is now closed as an inn. It had been in the family of the Gardners about 139 years. The sign, which was of copper, stood the whole of that time, until taken down in 1854.

The present occupiers of "Mopson's Cross" inn, near Wyre Forest, boast that their ancestors have occupied that inn for more than two centuries, and that it is the oldest licensed house in the county. The Talbot inn, Sidbury, Worcester, and the Talbot in the Tything, are very ancient, and the County Sessions were formerly adjourned regularly to those old hostelries.

A FINE MEMORY.

In Yardley church is a memorial to one of the Este family, who, though blind, was said to have attained a perfect knowledge of the Scriptures, by heart, from beginning to end.

LONGDON MARSHES.

The Longdon marshes (formerly a waste of nearly 10,000 acres) are believed to have formed a backwater of the Severn estuary, subject to tidal influence, in those very ancient times when, according to Sir R. Murchison, the "Straits of Malvern" existed. Various sea birds still come there in the winter season, as though a traditionary remembrance had been wafted down among the feathered tribes of the time when this wild spot was more particularly their own sporting ground.

HEREDITARY CLERKS AND SEXTONS.

There are many instances in Worcestershire of the offices of sexton and clerk having been held as hereditary ones for very lengthened periods. At Feckenham, the late Mr. David Clarkson (literally, the clerk's son), who died in March, 1854, after having been a model clerk for many years, could boast of his ancestors having occupied the same office for two centuries. He served in his youth as drum-major in the artillery, and when he succeeded his father in the clerkship, became the tutor of choir after choir, and was the founder of that celebrity which has long attached to the Feckenham singers. He was also leader of the ringers. His death took place in his 79th year, and he was greatly respected.—The late clerk of Wolverley, Thomas Worrall (whose father had been thirty years clerk, and to whose memory some curious verses are inscribed on a stone in the churchyard), was himself clerk forty-eight years, schoolmaster for thirty-three, and registrar for a long period, besides being leader of the choir and ringers. He was never absent from his duties at church but twice!—The Field family have been connected with the clerkship and beadledom of Kingsnorton for upwards of two centuries. Two of them alone held it for one hundred and two years! The last of the race, I think, died in 1818. The Fields were an ancient family in that parish, for there is an indenture in existence between William Wyllington and John Field of Kingsnorton, dated the 30th year of Henry VIII.—The family of the Roses has provided the church of Bromsgrove with clerks and sextons time out of mind; and at Belbroughton the Osbornes have done the same thing. One of this family was clerk till a very recent period. It appears, also, that the Osbornes had been tailors from very remote time, and the late clerk had several brothers who followed that very useful avocation. From a letter of Mr. Tristram (then the patron of Belbroughton) to Bishop Lyttelton, the Osbornes were tailors in the reign of Henry VIII, but they can trace their descent much higher, having been lineally descended from William Fitz-Osborne, who about seven centuries ago unjustly deprived Ralf Fitz-Herbert of his right to the manor of Bellem, in the above parish.—At Oldswinford, on December 28th, 1855, died Charles Orford, aged seventy-three; he had been parish sexton from his youth, having succeeded his father in that capacity, and leaving a son to follow.—The office of clerk at St. Michael's, Worcester, has been in the family of Bond for nearly a century.—John Tustin, the present clerk and sexton of Broadway church, has held those offices fifty-two years, and his father and grandfather also held them.

THE REV. DR. LEE.

The mansion of Glasshampton, in the parish of Astley, was some years ago totally destroyed by fire. The Rev. D. J. J. Cookes, on coming into possession of the property, enlarged, repaired, and beautified the family seat. When the work was nearly completed, a dinner was given to the workmen in the mansion; but one tipsy fellow among them let fall the contents of his pipe upon some shavings, and the place was soon in a blaze. The entire edifice was destroyed, but among the furniture saved was an organ built by Green, the favourite artist of George III; it was afterwards sold to the parish of St. Nicholas, Worcester, and may be still heard in the church of that parish. Disastrous as was the Glasshampton fire, it nevertheless was an auspicious event for genius and literature, by bringing into notice that remarkable man, the Rev. Dr. Lee, late Professor of Arabic and then of Hebrew in the University of Cambridge. At the time of the fire he was employed as a carpenter in the mansion. The loss of his chest of tools and most of his books in the fire compelled him to solicit pecuniary help towards the purchase of another set. This circumstance led to such a development of his character and attainments, as resulted in his acquaintance with the late Archdeacon Corbett, and his matriculation and career at Cambridge.

THE MARTYR RIDLEY.

In Redmarley church is an inscription to one George Shipside, as follows:

Obit die De'bris An. D'ni 1609, Ac An. Ætatis svæ 84. Ecce quid eris."

This is believed to be the George Shipside whose wife was sister to the martyr, Bishop Ridley. The bishop had the free warren of Bury Court, in this parish, and a George Shipside was his sister's second husband; he was the bishop's park-keeper at Bushley, was incarcerated at Oxford, and attended the martyr to the stake. Ridley's affectionate farewell on that occasion to George Shipside and his wife will not be forgotten. Ridley was led to the stake in 1555, at which time the above George Shipside was just thirty years of age.

VERSIFIED WILL.

The following is a copy of the will of John Baxter, of Conderton, Overbury, as proved in the Consistory Court of Worcester, in 1724:

"July the 25 Anno 1723;— With God's good leave this is my last will Which to deceive is past man's skill I do bequeath unto his hill. My soul for to abide My body to be turned to dust nere to my wives yt my sonnes nurst To meete my soul againe I trust; when it is glorifide For this world's good as God did lend it If I heve not for to spend it; after this manner I commend it As hereafter is directed My goodes and cattle greate and small, to my son John I give them all And unto him my land doth fall. Hes my executor And though to my wife I little give. I mean with John that she to live And boath my sonns her to releive, and not to let her want I leand som pounds to my sonn Thomas Thirty of which by bond and promis He must pay back at the next lamas after my decease Nine thereof I bequeath unto his seede, three a piece I have decreed Which being paid his bonde is freede I meane the thirty pounds I give and bequeath tenn pounds to my sonn in law John Jones And three pounds a piece to his 3 youngest ones, Samuel, Jone, and Marey Jones I give and bequeath to my sisters three children John Moses and Ann one pound nobles a peece. A slender fee I give and bequeath to my sonn in lawe William Withorn And to his wife Elizabeth and to his sonne William and to his daughter Sarie five shillings a peece Last of all if my daughter Jones do out live her husband I desire she may have free abiding at Conderton or At Kinsham."

BLOODY POND.

In some of our old histories occasional mention is made of pools suddenly changing from water to blood, or putting on a sanguine aspect, which in those "muddy-evil" times was considered a prodigy portending wars and direful slaughter. A similar appearance was presented a short time ago in a pool at Snead's Green, Mathon, in this county, the surface of which was so closely covered with a film of crimson and vermilion as to present a most extraordinary appearance. The gentleman who first observed this sanguine aspect of the pond, not thinking much of portents or omens, thought that the rural wheelwright had been emptying some refuse red paint in the water, which had got dispersed over the pond. But on inquiry this was not the case, and botanical science was then called in to solve the mystery. In the mean time, more than a week having elapsed, the curious appearance was almost gone when the spot was visited by some members of the Malvern Club; but the clay on the margin of the pool displayed several patches of what looked very much like clotted blood, evidently the relics of what had been previously seen. On these being examined by Mr. E. Lees, who noticed the subject at a recent meeting of the Worcestershire Naturalists' Club, they were found to consist of innumerable minute globules containing a coloured fluid that oozed forth into a gelatinous mass, leaving the globules empty like small beads of glass; but so numerous and minute were they, that 6000 were contained within the superficial space of half a square inch. The bloody appearance was thus occasioned by the sudden fructification of an algoid plant, belonging probably to the genus Hæmatococcus, and allied to the singular production called Red Snow, though appearing in a different medium and under altered circumstances.

CROMWELL'S PROPERTY AND INCOME-TAX.

In 1656, Oliver Cromwell and his Parliament laid on a tax very much like the present property and income-tax, and its machinery of commissioners, assessors, &c., was also very similar. The commissioners for the county of Worcester were—"Sir Thomas Rous, Baronet, John Wilde, sergeant-at-law, Major-General James Berrey, Wil. Lygon, John Egiocke, Edw. Pit, Hen. Bromley of Holt, Rich. Grevis, Nicholas Lechmere, Gervase Buck, Wil. Geffreys, Joh. Corbet, Henry Bromley of Upton, Edw. Dingley, Charles Cornwallis, Nich. Acton, Rich. Foley, Walter Savage of Broadway, John Bridges, Richard Vernon, Thomas Foley, Thomas Milward, Talbot Badger, Thomas Tolley, John Latham, John Fownes, Theophilus Andrews, William Collins, Esquires; Thomas Young, Edmund Gyles, Edw. Moore, Nicholas Harris, Nicholas Blick, John Corbyn, John Baker, Gentn.; the Mayor of Evesham, Bayliff of Bewdley, and Bayliff of Kidderminster, for the time being; Edmund Gyles, one of the Masters of the Chancery, Walter Gyles, Thomas Symonds of Peershore, Gentlemen; John Nanfan, Edward Salwey, Esquires. For the city of Worcester—Major-General James Berry, Edmund Pit, John Nash, Edward Elvins, Henry Ford, Francis Frank, Aldermen; Gervase Buck, Thomas Hall, Esquires; Capt. Thomas Wells; Richard Henning, Anthony Careless, John Higgins, William Cheatle, Arthur Lloid, Thomas Harrison, John Philips, Thomas Baker the Elder, Foulk Estop, Richard Ince, Robert Gorl, Gentn.; Edmund Gyles, one of the Masters of the Chancery; Wil. Collins, Esq.; Tho. Hackett, Alderman." To this tax the county of Worcester was to contribute £1013. 6s. 8d. per month, and the city of Worcester £53. 6s. 8d. per month, the value of the money in each case being then about ten times as much as it is now, as farms which were then let for £100 a year are now let for nearly £1000. The ordinance by which this tax was imposed is the ordinance of the Parliament, chapter 12, of the year 1656.

GRAVEYARD PUNNING.

Specimens of punning are sometimes to be met with in our churches, and they will be found chiefly to belong to the seventeenth century, when all kinds of odd conceits and frippery in language abounded. In Eldersfield church, the widow of "William Helme, gentleman," thus laments his loss:

King's Norton church contains a monument to "Richard Greves, of Moseley, Knight," part of which is made of touchstone, and the inscription is in gold letters, concluding thus:

Affixed to the principal porch of Bromsgrove church is a dial, at the bottom of which are the words "We shall;" the constructors of the instrument having left its name to complete the sentence, thus: "We shall (dial) die all." An excruciating pun, forsooth.

In Ledbury church is an inscription to one Charles Godwin and his wife, ending—

"Godwyn the one; God-won the other."

KNIGHTS OF THE ROYAL OAK.

This order was intended by King Charles II as a reward to several of his followers, and the Knights of it were to wear a silver medal with a device of the King in the oak, pendant to a ribbon about their necks; but it was thought proper to lay it aside, lest it might create heats and animosities, and open those wounds afresh which at that time were thought prudent should be healed. There is, however, a manuscript in the handwriting of Peter Le Neve, Esq., Norroy King of Arms, the title of which is "A list of persons who were fit and qualified to be made Knights of the Royal Oak, with the value of their estates. Anno Domino 1660." This list contains the name of Baronets, Knights, and Esquires, with the value of their estates, and embraces every county of England and Wales. The list, so far as it relates to Worcestershire, is as follows:

Per ann.

Sir William Russell, Knight and Bart. £3,000

Sir Henry Littleton, Knight and Bart., of Frankley. 3,000

Samuel Sandys, Esq., of Umbersley 1,000

Sherrington Talbott, Esq. 1,000

Thomas Savage, of Elmley Castle, Esq. 800

—— Sheldon, of Broadway, Esq. 600

Mathew Morphew, Esq. 1,000

Major Thomas Weld, Esq. 600

Thomas Acton, Esq. 1,000

Sir Rowland Berkley, Knight 1,000

Henry Bromley, Esq. 1,000

Philip Brace, Esq. 600

Francis Sheldon, Esq. 600

Joseph Walsh, Esq. 1,000

Sir Joseph Woodford, Knight 2,000

Thomas Child, Esq. 2,000

WORCESTERSHIRE MAGISTRATES IN 1483.

The following are the names in the Commission of the Peace and of Oyer and Terminer for the county of Worcester, dated December 5th, 1st Richard III, as they occur on the patent rolls of that year:

J., Bishop of Worcester.

John, Duke of Norfolk.

John Sutton de Dudley, Knight.

Richard Ratcliff, Knight.

Humphry Starky, Knight.

Thomas Tremayle.

William Catesby, Esquire, of the Royal Body.

William Littleton.

Humphrey Stafford.

Roger Harwell.

Thomas Lygon.

William Lygon.

Robert Handy.

Robert Russell.

The Bishop here mentioned was John Alcock, who was Lord Chancellor in the reign of Henry VII; Humphrey Starky was Lord Chief Baron in the reign of Richard III; and Thomas Tremayle, a King's Serjeant, and afterwards a Judge.

It is worthy of observation, that at this period the Commission of Oyer and Terminer under which the criminal business of the Assizes is still transacted was not separated from the Commission of the Peace; and the very small number of Magistrates is accounted for by the fact of so much of what is now business at the Quarter Sessions, and before Magistrates, going to the Sheriff's Torn and the Courts Leet, of which Courts the Sheriff's Torn was the most important.

NONCONFORMITY.

From 1651 until 1834, a period of 183 years, the Baptist Church at Bromsgrove had but five pastors, namely Revds. J. Eccles, W. Peart, G. Yarnold, J. Butterworth, and J. Scroxton. Mr. Scroxton resigned the pastorate at the above date (1834), on account of his age, and died in 1854, at the advanced age of 90. The first mention in history of Baptists in this county was in 1645, and the first minister the celebrated clergyman of Bewdley—the Rev. Dr. John Tombes, a native of that borough. In early life this noted individual studied at Oxford, and having made good use of his time, he was, at the age of 21, chosen lecturer at Magdalen Hall. In 1643 he held a private meeting with the principal London clergy, to whom he avowed his belief in adult baptism, and in the same year he transmitted his belief to the Westminster assembly of divines, in a well-written argument in Latin; the assembly, however, did not send him a reply. He returned to his native place in 1645, and both preached and administered baptism by immersion, and formed in Bewdley a distinct church, which continues till the present time. He also preached with great success at Worcester and other places. His popularity procured for him a great many opponents, and among others Richard Baxter, who at that period (1648) resided at Kidderminster. Mr. Baxter courageously challenged Dr. Tombes to a public discussion. This took place at Bewdley, on New Year's Day, 1649, before a large number of individuals, some of whom came from distant parts of the country, including several from the Universities. Wood, the historian, noticing this controversy, says, "All scholars then and there present, who knew y^e way of disputing and managing arguments, did conclude that Tombes got y^e better of Baxter by far." He also held several other discussions, both in England and Wales.

The House of Lords, in their conference with the House of Commons, on the "Occasional Conformity Bill," speaking of him, says that he was "a very learned and famous man." Among others he baptized at Bewdley were the Rev. Richard Adams and John Eccles. Mr. Adams was a short time afterwards ejected from his living at Humberstone, Leicestershire, and, in 1651, was minister of Devonshire Square Chapel, London. Mr. Eccles commenced preaching at Bromsgrove in 1650, and soon afterwards formed the church there which still exists. The opposition and persecution he met with was very severe, but it appears that, notwithstanding, the members greatly increased, for in 1670 there were 97 at Bromsgrove who professed the Baptist belief; at the present time, although the population has more than doubled, there are but 103. Mr. Eccles was for a considerable time confined in a dungeon in Worcester gaol, but was restored to liberty through the influence of Mr. Swift, M.P., one of the county members, who was bound for him in £1000 bond. Dr. Tombes also suffered greatly, and on two occasions was robbed of all he had by the King's forces at Leominster and Bristol: at the latter place he narrowly escaped with his life. Mr. Eccles continued at Bromsgrove till 1697, when he retired to Salisbury, where he died (1711) at an advanced age, after being a minister upwards of 60 years. Dr. Tombes retired to Coventry, where he died in 1676, aged 73. The Baptist church at Worcester was founded in 1651; Pershore, 1658; and Upton-on-Severn, 1670. Several very noted individuals have been baptized at Bromsgrove—David Crossley, who became minister at Currier's Hall, London; Rev. R. Claridge, M.A., rector of Peopleton, afterwards a noted minister in the metropolis; Rev.—Miles, M.A., master of Kidderminster Grammar School; Solomon Young, who become tutor at Stepney College, &c. During the ministry of the Rev. G. Yarnold, at Bromsgrove, and principally by a few of the Baptists of that town, the first Birmingham Baptist Church was founded, 1737, in Cannon street, and is at the present time the most influential and, with two exceptions, the largest Baptist interest in the United Kingdom. Another chapter on Nonconformity will be found in this book.

COMMUNICANTS IN 1548.

The number of communicants at the holy sacrament in 1548 in thirty-five parishes in the diocese of Worcester is given in the certificate of Colleges and Chantries, No. 60, now remaining in the Carlton Ride Record Office. This certificate was made by "Sir John Pakynton, Knyght, Sir Robert Acton, Knyght, John Skewdamour, Esquyer, William Sheldon, Esquyer, George Willoughby, William Grove, Willyam Crouche, and John Bourne, Gentilmen," under a commission from King Edward VI, bearing date the 14th day of February, in the second year of his reign. This certificate contains a column headed "The names of the Townes and Parishes withe the nomber of hosslyng people in the same;" and each entry is in the following form: "1. The parishe of Saynt Ellyns within the said Citie, wherein bee of hoselyng people the nombre of six hunderd."

For the sake of brevity the names and numbers are here given. It is impossible to give the population of these places at the earlier date. The numbers of the communicants were carefully preserved by the ecclesiastical authorities, although the civil authorities paid no attention to the numbers of the population; but it is curious to mark, at a time when the numbers of the population must have been so much less than at present, how large a proportion the numbers of religious communicants in some instances bear to those of the present population.

Communicants in 1548. Pop. in 1851.

1. St. Ellyns 600 1368

2. St. Swythyns 400 906

3. St. Andrews 600 1678

4. All Saints 600 2205

5. St. Nicholas 600 2030

6. St. Peters 500 4588

7. St. Martins — 5050

8. Kemsey 420 1375

9. Claines 400 6819

10. Kingsnorton 910 7759

11. Bromesgrove 1000 10308

12. Severn Stoke 300 726

13. St. Andrews, Droitwich 200 983

14. St. Peters, Droitwich — 812

15. Hampton Lovet 80 172

16. Salwarpe 200 446

17. Alvechurch 400 1600

18. Holy Cross, Pershore — 2528

19. Kethermyster 700 23845

20. Olde Swyneford 700 20038

21. Chiddesley Corbett 500 1420

22. Tenbury 400 1786

23. Knyghton 160 523

24. Rocke, otherwise called Raka 260 1435

25. Rybbesford 940 3435

26. Rypple 300 1097

27. Byshampton 200 444

28. Blockley 400 2587

29. Icombe 80 131

30. Rydmerley 230 1192

31. Suckley 200 1193

32. Lygh 340 2342

33. Elderfyld 280 794

34. All Seynts, in Evesham 1300 1698

35. St. Laurence, in Evesham 500 1733

It has been suggested that the large numbers specified in this certificate were not the numbers of actual communicants, but merely the numbers of persons who were of an age to be so, or perhaps the total number of communicants during the year. This seems, however, not to have been the case, and that these were the numbers of the actual communicants is shown by the fact that in the certificates for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire the numbers are equally high; and on the 14th of May, 1637, the Bishop of Salisbury issued an injunction to the curate and churchwardens of Aldbourne containing (inter alia) as follows: "I doe further appoint that thrice in the yeare at the least there be publique notice given in the church for fower Comunions to be held vpon fower Sundaies together, and that there come not to the Comunion in one day above two hundred at the Most." The population of Aldbourne is 1622. It has been suggested by a Roman Catholic gentleman that, before the Reformation, if any one beyond the age of confirmation had not received the Holy Communion at Easter, he would not be entitled to Christian burial if he died within the year, unless some very special cause could be shown. This also would go to account for the number of communicants in the different places being very large.

ASSIZE NOTICES.

The costume of the Bench and the Bar is the first thing which attracts the attention of the stranger visiting our Courts of Justice, and on this we will remark, beginning with

The Wig.—"All the wisdom's in the wig" is a saying familiar to us all, and yet the wig was the latest addition to forensic costume. The first species of wig worn in the Courts is that now worn by the Judges at our Cathedrals, called the full-bottomed wig. This was introduced by Louis XIV in France, and copied by Charles II in England; and after that it was worn down to the time of George II as the full-dress wig of noblemen, generals, admirals, churchmen, lawyers, and private gentlemen. It is still worn as the full-dress wig of the Lord Chancellor, Judges of law and equity, the Speaker, Queen's Counsel, Serjeants-at-Law, Masters in Chancery, Recorders, and Judges of the Local Courts. In one of Hogarth's prints of Speaker Onslow and several members of the House of Commons, sitting in the House, all are represented with the full-bottomed wig; and in the prints of the same celebrated artist, Mr. Kettleby, who was the last barrister who merely as a barrister wore the full-bottomed wig, is so represented.

Mr. Meadows, of Gloucester, who is the oldest wigmaker in this part of England, states that those wigs which had the tails knotted were called "tie-wigs," and those short at the back were called "bob-wigs." Thus, a Judge's Nisi Prius wig was called a "friz-tie," it being frizzed all over; a Bishop's wig being a "friz-bob." And it is stated by Mr. Planché, in his admirable little work on British costume, that the tie-wig and the bob-wig were both introduced in the reign of George II, the latter being sometimes worn without powder. Mr. Planché also informs us that the bag-wig was introduced in the reign of Queen Anne.

The Friz-tie Wig.—This is worn by the Judges at Nisi Prius and by the Judges of the local Courts, but this wig was not originally forensic, as it appears in the portrait of Mr. Beaumont, a London attorney of the reign of George II.

The Two-curl Bob-wig.—This was a powdered wig with a peak in front, frizzed all over, except two rows of curls all round the bottom of the back of it. It was worn by Judges when opening the commission, and down to the time of Lord Denman, when they received the Magistrates and the Bar at dinner in the circuit towns; and down to the time of Baron Garrow, when the Judges dined with our Diocesan or Lord Lieutenant, they wore this wig, a black silk gown, and bands. This species of wig was worn by private gentlemen at the beginning of the reign of George III; and Mr. Walter Horton, an eminent shoe manufacturer, at Stafford, who died about 1776, is represented wearing this wig in his portrait, now in the possession of Dr. Knight, the physician and magistrate at that place, who married his granddaughter and co-heiress.

The Curl Tie-wig.—This is the Barrister's wig. It was worn by the late Lord Melville when at the House of Lords, although he was not a barrister. This noble Lord died in 1811.

The Scratch-wig.—This was a brown wig curled all over, worn by the Judges in the streets, with a hat now only worn by Bishops and dignified clergy. This wig was introduced by George IV when Prince of Wales, and was worn by the Judges when not in Court, down to the time of Lord Gifford. It was stated by Mr. Meadows that all these wigs were well known by their names before-mentioned when he was an apprentice.

The Moustache.—On the Bench and at the Bar the moustache was the immediate predecessor of the wig. In the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and Kings James and Charles I the Bench and the Bar wore moustaches, as may be seen in the council-room at Lincolns' Inn and elsewhere in the portraits of Lord Coke, Lord Hale, Lord Keeper Coventry, Lord Ellesmere, and many others. In the reign of King Charles II the moustache generally disappeared, and on went the wig; but there is in Berkeley Castle a fine portrait of King Charles II, by Sir Peter Lely, in which that monarch is represented in a large full-bottomed wig, like that of a Judge at our Cathedral, with the exception of the powder, and wearing a small but well-trimmed moustache. The moustache, however, which had been almost universally worn by all (ecclesiastics, lawyers, and laymen, Archbishop Laud included), did not reappear at the Bar till very recently, when it was worn in our Courts by Mr. Bernhard Smith, Mr. Chandos Pole, Mr. Woodhouse Owen, Mr. Compigne, and other members of the Oxford circuit.

The Band.—Dr. Burn, in his "Ecclesiastical Law," in treating of the costume of the clergy, says—"The band is not so ancient as any canon of the church. Archbishop Laud is pictured in a ruff, which was worn at that time both by clergymen and gentlemen of the law, as also long before, during the reigns of King James I and Queen Elizabeth. The band came in with the Puritans and other sectaries upon the downfall of Episcopacy, and in a few years more became the habit of men of all denominations and professions." It was worn by Oliver Cromwell; and in the portraits of some of the Judges (temp. Charles II) in the Courts at Guildhall, London, the band appears to be nothing more than the ends of a turn-down collar, of the kind worn by young boys now.

The Gold Collar.—This is worn by the two Lords Chief Justices and Lord Chief Baron, and is called the collar of Esses, from the letter S occurring in it. The origin of this is not known: it was worn by the personal friends of Henry IV, and is found represented on the monuments of noblemen, warriors, and even ladies.

The Scarlet Robe.—This is of great antiquity. Lord Chief Baron Cassy is represented wearing such a robe on his monument in Deerhurst church, near Tewkesbury; he died 1401.

The Black Silk Gown.—This is an undress gown of the Lord Chancellor, Judges, Queen's Counsel, and Serjeants-at-Law, none of them wearing his full dress gown in an assize town except the Judges. The Queen's Counsel's full dress gown is of figured black silk, tufted all over like a parish clerk's. The serjeant's full dress is a cloth robe, scarlet for state occasions, black in term time, and purple on the red letter days of the almanac if in term.

The Tippet.—This is a piece of cloth about two feet long, shaped something like a gun-case; it is worn by the Judges in the Crown Court, and by the Serjeants in term time, hung from the right shoulder by a strong metal hook. The tippet is mentioned as a portion of ecclesiastical costume in the 74th canon of 1603. In a very interesting article, which recently appeared in the "Quarterly Review," entitled "Rubric against Usage," some question is raised as to what the tippet was, but on this there ought to be no doubt, as it is still worn by the Judges and Serjeants-at-Law.

The Black Silk Scarf.—This is worn by the Judge in the Crown Court; it is the same as the scarf worn by the clergy, and is evidently derived from the stola, an ecclesiastical vestment.

The Black Silk Girdle.—This is worn by the Judge in the Crown Court; it was a part of the civil costume of the reign of King Henry VII, and is often seen represented in monumental brasses of that period.

The Hood.—Judges sometimes wear the ermine hood with their scarlet robes. The barrister has a black hood (useless from its small size) attached to the back of his gown.

The Judge's Court Hat.—An equilateral cocked hat. The gentleman's hat temp. George II.

The Black Coat and Waistcoat.—The bar did not uniformly wear these till after the general mourning for Queen Anne. Before this time the barristers wore coats and waistcoats of any colour under their gowns, as the undergraduates of Oxford do now. But at this general mourning the Judges thought that the bar in the uniform black dress looked so well that they suggested its continuance, and it has been continued ever since. Indeed, it seems to be pretty clear that a black waistcoat was not always a part of the costume of the bar, as even now, on full dress occasions, the Queen's Counsel wear waistcoats of gold or silver tissue, or of white silk embroidered with coloured flowers. On ecclesiastical and forensic costume in general the Rev. Dr. Burn (before cited) observes that "most of the peculiar habits, both in the Church and in Courts of Justice, and in the Universities, were in their day the common habit of the nation, and were retained by persons and in places of importance only as having an air of antiquity, and thereby in some sort conducing to attract veneration, and the same, on the other hand, in proportion do persuade to a suitable gravity of demeanour, for an irreverent behaviour in a venerable habit is extremely burlesque and ungraceful."

The Barrister's Bag.—At present the younger barristers have blue bags, the elder having red ones. Down to the reign of George IV no barrister carried a bag in Court unless it had been given to him by a King's Counsel, which arose in this way. Down to that period the King's Counsel had no salaries, but each was allowed every year a ream of foolscap paper, a ream of draft paper, six pieces of red tape, six bags, a penknife, a paper of sand, and a paper of pins. These bags being more than they wanted for their own use, some of them were given by them from time to time to their younger friends, who were getting into business, to entitle them, as the phrase was, "to carry a bag," the clerk, who was the bearer of the present, having a fee of a guinea for it. But at last the King's Counsel complaining that the paper was bad, the amount paid by the Government for the allowances was given to them instead, and so matters continued until Mr. (afterwards Lord) Denman was appointed King's Counsel, when fearing that this commuted allowance might be the means of vacating his seat in Parliament, he was appointed King's Counsel "without any fee, gain, or reward whatsoever," and so have been all the King's and Queen's Counsel ever since.

Opening the Pleadings.—At present the junior counsel for the plaintiff, in a Nisi Prius cause, shortly states the effect of the pleadings. This is called "opening the pleadings." This practice was introduced at the suggestion of Lord Mansfield, early in the reign of George III. The Nisi Prius business in London was then monopolised by Sir Fletcher Norton, Mr. Dunning, and a few other leaders, and to throw something into the hands of the juniors Lord Mansfield suggested the practice that in every case where a King's Counsel was alone for the plaintiff a junior should have a guinea fee to state or open the pleadings. This was acceded to; but as the clients thought this of no use to them, they had a second brief delivered to a junior with two guineas, and the junior then assisted the leader throughout the cause, as the practice is now; but even at present, if a plaintiff has only engaged Queen's Counsel or Serjeants, the youngest counsel present is paid a guinea to open the pleadings only, and do nothing more in the cause; and this is called a "kite."

Assize Balls.—The late Mr. Bellamy, who went the Oxford and other circuits for sixty-two years, and who died in 1845, remembered that in every county on this circuit there was an assize ball on the commission day of each assize. This ball was attended by the nobility and gentry of the county and the Judges and Bar. The Judges used to wear to the balls the black silk gown, band, and the two-curl bob-wig. They were attended by the High Sheriff, wearing a full court dress, bag-wig, and sword; and his chaplain, in his gown, cassock, and band. The Judges did not dance, but they usually played at whist. The assize ball was continued in Buckinghamshire within the memory of the Rev. Edward Owen, one of the present magistrates of that county.

The Courts.—In the recollection of Mr. Bellamy, in every assize town on the Oxford circuit the two Courts were held in the same room, without any division or partition, so that one Judge could see the other. This continued at Gloucester till the year 1816, and the alteration was occasioned by this circumstance: Baron (then Judge) Bayley was trying a man for murder, and his jury burst into a laugh at one of Mr. Dauncey's jokes in a horse cause in the other Court. The learned Judge thought it was time this was altered.

Assize Presents.—Formerly the Judges on their circuits had an immense number of presents—venison, fruit, wine, &c.—which half kept their house during the assizes; but in the year 1794, when so much was subscribed for the defence of the nation against the threatened invasion, the value of the different presents was subscribed, and the presents discontinued, and never again renewed. About thirty years ago a story was current in Worcester that the Mayor always sent the Judges a present of a loaf of sugar, and that the Judges in return invited the Mayor to dine with them; but that the Mayor being once uninvited, the sugar was discontinued ever after. Till the passing of the Municipal Reform Act the Corporation of Gloucester always sent each Judge in spring a salmon and a house lamb, and in summer a salmon and a whole sheep; and at present the Corporation of Oxford give to each Judge a pair of white kid gloves, edged with gold lace, and ornamented with gold tassels.

The High Sheriff's Costume.—Of late years, in Worcestershire, the High Sheriff has dressed as any other gentleman. In Berkshire and Oxfordshire the High Sheriff's costume is a court dress, and it was so till lately in Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire; but as the present court dress was first introduced in the early part of the reign of George III, the bag-wig in the reign of George II, and as swords were worn by all the gentlemen as part of their usual evening dress, within the memory of Mrs. Hannah Shenton, of Stafford, who is now living at the advanced age of ninety-seven, it is manifest that the High Sheriff only appeared in the full dress of a gentleman of his time. And as a further proof that the costume of the High Sheriff was the full dress of the private gentleman of the period, there is a portrait of Francis Goddard, Esq., High Sheriff of Wiltshire, in the reign of King William III, now in the possession of Major Goddard, of the Wilts Militia, in which the High Sheriff is wearing a full-bottomed wig.

Javelin Men.—These, no doubt, were the vassals and retainers of the High Sheriff, who attended to protect and guard the Judges, the weapon they carried being the partizan, which is still carried by the yeomen of the guard, which was introduced in the reign of Henry VIII. Mr. Aubrey, the Wiltshire antiquary of Charles II's reign, in a letter published by him in a work called "Miscellanies on several Curious Subjects," says, from information obtained from his grandfather (temp. Henry VIII)—"Lords had their armouries to furnish some hundreds of men. The halls of Justices of the Peace were dreadful to behold: the screens were garnished with corslets and helmets, gaping with open mouths with coats of mail, lances, pikes, halberts, brown-bills, batterdashers, bucklers, and the modern calivers and petronels (in King Charles I's time turned to muskets and pistols). Then an esquire, when he rode to town, was attended by eight or ten men in blue coats with badges;" and it would seem that from the reign of King Charles II the javelin men have continued to be much the same as at present, as in the printed articles of agreement entered into in that reign by sixty-four Wiltshire gentlemen, who were liable to serve the office of High Sheriff, it is stipulated (inter alia) "That no one of the said persons, when he is made sheriff of the said county, have above thirty livery-men, nor under twenty, for his attendance at the assize. * * * And that when any of the said subscribers shall be made sheriffs of the said county, the livery shall be a plain cloth coat or cloke, edged and lined through with sarge, a black hat, and suitable javelin." This curious document, which was signed by one of his ancestors, still remains in possession of Major Goddard.

The Trumpeters.—These were part of the state of every Nobleman, Bishop, and High Sheriff. Mr. Aubrey, in his letter before cited, says—"The Lords kept trumpeters, even to King James;" and as late as the reign of George II there were trumpeters in the establishment of the Archbishop of Canterbury. At ancient banquets, trumpeters were always in attendance. At the Peacock Feast given by Robert Braunche, Mayor of Lynn, to King Edward III, and represented on the tomb of that magistrate, in Lynn Church, the sonorous blast of the trumpets accompanies the introduction of the viands; and at the Lord Mayor's Dinner at Guildhall, on the 9th of November, every toast is announced with a flourish of trumpets, at the top of the hall, which is answered by another flourish from the bottom.

JOHN TALBOT, ESQ., OF SALWARPE.

John Aubrey, Esq., F.R.S., in his Natural History, written between the years 1656 and 1691, says (p. 70)—"Dame Olave, a daughter and co-heire of Sir Henry Sharington, of Lacock, being in love with John Talbot, a younger brother of the Earle of Shrewsbury, and her father not consenting that she should marry him, discoursing with him one night from the battlements of the Abbey church, said shee, 'I will leap downe to you.' Her sweetheart replied he would catch her then, but he did not believe she would have done it. She leapt down, and the wind, which was then high, came under her coates, and did something breake the fall. Mr. Talbot caught her in his armes, but she struck him dead. She cried out for help, and he was with great difficulty brought to life again. Her father told her that since she had made such a leap she should e'en marrie him. She was my honoured friend, Colonel Sharington Talbot's grandmother, and died at her house at Lacock, about 1651, being about a hundred yeares old." To this passage the veteran antiquary, John Britton, Esq., F.A.S., has added this note: "Olave, or Olivia Sherington married John Talbot, Esq., of Salwarpe, in the county of Worcester, fourth in descent from John, second Earl of Shrewsbury; she inherited the Lacock estate from her father, and it has ever since remained the property of that branch of the Talbot family, now represented by the scientific Henry Fox Talbot, Esq." Sir Henry Sherington was the son of Sir William Sherington, one of the ecclesiastical commissioners for Wiltshire on the dissolution of the Chantries; and to him Henry VIII granted the possessions of Lacock Abbey, and a good deal of other monastic property in Wiltshire. Mr. Aubrey was one of the original members of the Royal Society. He attended Charles II and his brother, afterwards James II, on their visit to the Druidical Temple, at Avebury, in 1663; and dined with Oliver Cromwell, the Protector, at Hampton Court, in 1657 or 8, as is stated in his work before cited, pp. 97 and 103.

KING'S NORTON LIBRARY.

An interesting relic of the seventeenth century exists in the old Theological Library in the School in King's Norton churchyard, founded by Thomas Hall, the ejected Puritan of 1662. Hall is well known to literary men as the author of "Funebriæ Floræ, or Downfal of May-day Games," the "Treatise against Long Hair," and other works. An interesting sketch is given of him by Calamy, in his account of the ejected ministers, affixed to his life of Baxter; and also by Wood, in his "Athenæ Oxonienses." The library consists of from six to eight hundred volumes, of all sizes, ranging from about 1580 to 1645 or 1650, and the books contain the name of the donor on the title-page. All the works are devotional, and many of them controversial. There are discoveries of and safeguards against the subtleties of Jesuitism, and against the then recently propounded notions of the Quakers, as well as treatises on doctrinal points, commentaries on the Scriptures, translations from Ovid, and sermons preached before Parliament. The entire collection shows strikingly how, even in the stirring times of civil war, a minister could devote himself to the duties of his sacred calling; and, judging from the evidence presented by his choice, how completely he could isolate himself from the seductions even of theological polemics, for the grand old truth held by all orthodox Christians. It is to be regretted that the library is so little known. It is said that a similar library was established at the little village of Sheldon, near Yardley.

OLD ENGLISH RATS.

The old English black rat (Mus rattus), which has been nearly superseded in this country by the brown Norway rat, still lingers at retired farmhouses in this county, as, for instance, at Grimsend, Alfrick, Clay Green, and Wick, near Worcester. The brown rat was unknown in England till 1730. It is said that the great numbers of these intruders in the Isle of France drove the Dutch from that settlement.

PAPER.

The earliest mention of the purchase of paper in England is believed to be in an original computus roll of the 43rd year of Edward III (nearly five centuries ago) relative to the receipts and disbursements of Halesowen Abbey; it is as follows: "Et in paper empt. pro literis et aliis necessariis domus, 12d."

ANCIENT SEAL OF WORCESTER.

After being lost for half a century, the seal of the Corporation of Worcester has been found at Rouen, in Normandy. The antiquity of this seal is not so curious, perhaps, as the locality where it has been found. The device is a church, surrounded by a wall, having battlements on it, and round the device is the inscription—"SIGILLUM COMMUNE CIUIVM WIGORNIE," with something like the date "952." The figures, however, are very indistinct, though it is supposed by a writer in the "Worcester Herald" that they may refer to the date of King Edgar's reign, who was a great friend to the city of Worcester, and might have fortified it about that era; but then the use of figures was not adopted in England, or in Europe generally, till some centuries after the date assigned.

DESTROYING AN IMAGE AT WORCESTER.

In Macaulay's "History of England," vol. iv, p. 461, it is stated, that when the Dutch army was marching from Torbay towards London, in 1688, Sir Edward Harley, of Brampton Brian, and his son Robert (afterwards, as Earl of Oxford, Queen Anne's minister, and a high churchman) declared for the Prince of Orange and a free parliament, raised a large body of horse, took possession of Worcester, and evinced their zeal against Popery by publicly breaking to pieces, in the High Street, a piece of sculpture which, to rigid precisians, seemed idolatrous.

EAST WINDOW OF ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.

"A Stranger," writing to one of the local newspapers a few months ago, drew the attention of antiquaries to some painted glass in the great east window of the above church which is not noticed by Dr. Nash or Mr. Green, the Worcester historians. There is (he says) a head with long flowing hair and a forked beard, and another head with the face close shaven and a coronet. The first of these, I should suggest, was painted in the reign of Richard II; on his tomb in Westminster Abbey there is his effigy with a forked beard; and on the tomb of Edward III, in the same place, his effigy has the long flowing hair. The head with the coronet is exactly like one in the great church in Cirencester, of which there is a coloured engraving in Mr. Lyson's Gloucestershire Antiquities: that is supposed to be the head of Edward IV's father, whose "feodary" (an official something between an English steward and an Irish middleman), built this part of the church. Dr. Nash mentions two circumstances connected with St. John's which coincide with these dates. He says that in 1371, only six years before the reign of Richard II, William de Lynne, Bishop of Worcester, suppressed the Chapel of Wyke and constituted St. John's a vicarage; and that in the first year of the reign of Edward IV, the Prior of Worcester granted to the Corporation the privilege of attending Divine service at the Cathedral with their officers, but if any officer should arrest, or do any act in the monastery sanctuary, or St. John's, he should "forfeit his mace and office without any hopes of restitution." This grant is witnessed by John Carpenter, then Bishop of Worcester; Sir Thomas Littleton, Serjeant-at-Law (the very celebrated Judge who was buried, in the Cathedral); and others. There is also a figure kneeling. This is a Saint, as he has the nimbus round his head, and from his young and beardless face it is probably St. John. There is also between this figure and the coroneted head a grotesque head with the mouth open and the tongue protruded. This I never before saw in a window, or inside a church, though it is very common in carving on the outside of churches. These grotesques are by some supposed to represent the deadly sins—the evil passions and the like. May not this device be founded on Isaiah ch. lvii, v. 4?

BISHOP THORNBOROUGH'S MONUMENT.

The Rev. O. Fox, incumbent of Knightwick-cum-Dodenham, late head master of the Worcester College School, has advanced the following ingenious theory to account for the remarkable epitaph on the above monument in the Lady Chapel of Worcester Cathedral, which has long puzzled our local and other antiquaries. The epitaph (he says) was prepared by the Bishop himself fourteen years before his decease in 1641, at the age of 94. He was addicted to alchemy, and published a book in 1621, entitled [Greek: Dithotheôrikos] Διθοθεωρικος, sive, Nihil aliquid, omnia, &c. In the course of some recent studies in the Pythagorean philosophy, my attention was accidently engaged by this inscription; and it at once struck me that it was thence that the explanation was to be derived. The epitaph is as follows: on one side,

on the other

The two latter letters are now effaced.

It is well known that the Pythagoreans found all the modes of space in the relations of numbers.

The monad, or unit, was not only the point whence all extension proceeds, but it further symbolised the First Principle, the origin of all. The decad represented the line, as being bounded by two points or monads. The triad stood for surface, as length and width. The tetrad for the perfect figure—the cube, length, depth, and width. The decad, or denarius, indicated comprehensively all being, material and immaterial, in the utmost perfection: hence the term decas, or denarius, was used summarily for the whole science of numbers, and in the title of Meursius's tract, "De Denario Pythagorico," which was published four years after the date of the inscription, and when the philosophy was attracting much attention among European scholars. To be as concise as possible, then, I presume that the old bishop intended that the tomb on which his effigy lies was his access to that perfection of existence which philosophers had designated by the decas, or denarius. During the present life he was hoping for it. "Dum Spiro Spero."—On the other side: "In Him, who is the source, the beginning, the middle, and the end of all existence and perfection (in Uno, 2^o. 3^o. 4^or 10. non Spirans Sperabo), though I breathe no more, yet shall I hope."

Such is probably the meaning of his pious conceit, and I offer it as a solution of what has long served for a riddle to the visitors of our Cathedral. Beyond this, your readers and myself may be equally indifferent to such cabalistical quaintness. But let us treat it with charity, as the devout consummation of an aged alchymist.

VINEYARDS.

Traces of ancient vineyards are abundant in this county. At Great Hampton is a place called "Vineyard Hill," where a vinery was established in the Conqueror's time. ("Et vinea novella ibi," Domesday.) In South Littleton is "Vineyard Orchard," "Vine Street" in Evesham, and "Vineyard Hill" near that town. At Pensax is a field called "The Vineyard," and there is a tradition that a Mr. King, about a century ago, endeavoured to establish there a vineyard of considerable extent, and created an artificial atmosphere by means of flues spread over the piece of land. The appearance of the field justifies the tradition. Is there any allusion to this wild scheme in the archives of the Dean and Chapter, to whom the land belonged? In the rector's garden at Fladbury is the supposed site of the "Vineyards," which in the time of Henry III were cultivated there—(Item percepit duas paries decimarum terrarum quondam ubi vineæ fuerunt apud Fladbury: Priory Ledger.) Vines still flourish and ripen well in that garden. To the south of Astley church, across the road, lies the "Church-bank," whereon, tradition says, the monks of Astley Priory were wont to cultivate the vine; and traces are still visible of terraces whereon probably the vines were planted. Documents exist relative to vineyards at Ripple, Leigh, Sedgberrow, and Elmley Castle; and at Droitwich is a place called "The Vines;" "Vine Hill" and the "Vineyards," at Doddenham; "The Vinne," "Vinne Orchard," "Big Vinne," "Little Vinne," and "Great Viney," at Abberley; "Vineyard," in Stoke Bliss; "The Vineyard," Powick (belonging to St. Martin's parish, and appropriated to the repairs of the church); "The Vineyard," Lower Mitton, &c. Some writers have supposed that the Romans planted vines in Britain. Tacitus intimates that the olive and the vine were deficient here; but it is clear from Bede and others that they were cultivated at a subsequent period, and perhaps were neglected only when the inhabitants found they could purchase better wines at a low price from France, or employ their lands to greater advantage by growing corn. (See also the chapter on Bishop Swinfield's Roll, p. 146.)

ECHOES.

Mr. Allies, in his "Antiquities and Folk-lore," mentions a remarkable echo at the Upper House, Alfrick, which is so distinct that it will allow about ten syllables to be uttered before it begins to repeat them. A pointer-dog in the neighbourhood used to resort to the spot, and bark till he was tired at his supposed antagonist. Nash records that in the parish of Bromsgrove were several echoes—one at the white gate, between Dyer's bridge and the turnpike; another in the Crown Close behind High Street; a third at the east and west corners of the church; a fourth at Woodcot; and a fifth on the east side of High Street, near the Presbyterian meeting-house, opposite New Barn. Whether any of these mocking nymphs have left their cells since the days of Nash, the writer is unable to say. There is a good echo in the Bath Road, about two miles from Worcester Cross, and another on Lansdowne Terrace. In the garden of Chaddesley Corbett vicarage an echo is produced by the tolling of the great bell of the church, which, after an interval of two or three seconds, returns distinctly upon the ear, as though it were the tolling of the bell of Stone church, which is two miles distant.

THE LAST FOOL.

The last country gentleman who kept a fool—that is, a professional jester—in his house, was said to have been Mr. Bartlett, of Castlemorton. Jack Havod, or Hafod, was the name of "the squire's fool," and his tricks and drolleries were remembered by the inhabitants of Castlemorton long after his death, and are related even in the present day. It is still a common saying there—"As big a fool as Jack Havod;" and it is also told of him that on one occasion he was assisting in storing peas in a barn, and there being insufficient room for the crop, Jack very coolly shovelled them out of a window into a pool of water underneath, saying, "We've got a vent for them now;" and to this day it is a proverb in the neighbourhood—"We've got a vent for them, as Jack Havod said."

NOTES ON ELMLEY LOVETT.

The only doctor of medicine known to have resided in this parish for the last 200 years was John Aaron, Esq., of the Moat House, Cutnal Green, who died in 1767, aged 83. He was descended from an ancient family of Little Drayton, near Shiffnal, Salop.—Dr. Wanley, of Elmley Lodge, who died in 1776, aged 69, was the only "D.D." that has held that rectory for the last two centuries.—Between the river Salwarpe and Bury-hill Estate, near Droitwich, is some meadow land belonging to the parish of Elmley Lovett. This land is more than two miles distant from the nearest boundary of the parish, and there runs some part of three other parishes between it, viz., Elmbridge, Hampton, and Salwarpe. The area of this land is about five acres, and is the property of Mr. Roberts, and rented by a gentleman at Droitwich, who pays the rates to Elmley Lovett.

COUNTY MAGISTRATES' WAGES.

By a statute as old as the time of Richard II, County Magistrates were allowed to make a charge of 4s. per day, and the Clerk of the Peace 2s., as wages for attending Quarter Sessions. That charge has been regularly made and allowed by the Sheriff up to the close of last year (1855), when the ancient statute was repealed by the passing of the Criminal Justice Act, 18th and 19th Victoria, chap. 126. In this county these wages were clubbed together as a dinner and wine fund for the magistrates, but the old practice is now discontinued, and the magistrates will henceforth be thrown upon their own resources. In the year 1810 a long and bitter controversy, at one time wearing a serious aspect, arose among the magistracy of this county, in consequence of Mr. Welch, the chairman, having been charged by Mr. Johnson, a fellow magistrate, with misappropriating a part of these "justice wages" that had been intrusted to him. The Bench acquitted Mr. Welch.

ROYAL VISIT TO KING'S NORTON.

There is a common tradition at King's Norton that Queen Elizabeth came thither, and was entertained at an ancient house adjoining the churchyard, probably the residence of the Manorial Bailiff; but the name of the Queen has perhaps been mistaken for that of Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, she, according to Dugdale's Diary (p. 52), having come to King's Norton from Walsall on July 10, 1643. The manor was part of the Queen's dower.

CROMWELL'S PARLIAMENT.

Names of the members for Worcestershire returned for Cromwell's second Parliament, July, 1654: Sir Robert Rouse, Knt. and Bart., Edward Pitt, Esq., Nicholas Lechmere, Esq., John Bridges, Esq., Talbot Badger, Esq., (Worcester City), William Collins, Esq. (ditto), Edward Elvines, Alderman (ditto). The names of the gentlemen returned to Parliament on September 17, 1656, are—Major-General James Berry, Colonel of Horse, and Major-General of the counties of Worcester, Hereford, and Salop, and also North Wales; Sir Thomas Rouse, Bart., Edward Pitt, of Kiere Park, Esq., Nicholas Lechmere, Esq. (Attorney of the Duchy of Lancaster), John Nanfan, Esq., Worcester City.—Edmund Giles, Esq., one of the Masters in Chancery, who married a relation of the Lord Protector; William Collins, Esq.

WORCESTERSHIRE ROYALISTS COMPOUNDING.

By an ordinance of the Parliament[10] made on the 31st of March, 1643, it was ordained that the estates of the two Archbishops and twelve of the Bishops, including the Bishops of Worcester, Hereford, Gloucester, and Coventry and Lichfield, and of all persons ecclesiastical and temporal as had raised arms or been in active war against the Parliament, or had voluntarily contributed any money, horse, plate, arms, munition, or other aid or assistance, towards the maintenance of any forces against the Parliament, should be sequestered.