But death 'ad done his wust 65---not all Zo Doctor Cox went out o' life, Two sons,---one dûter, Zumthin hereâter:- What thâ veel'd 67 now I sholl not tell-- My hort athin68 me 'gins to zwell! L'ENVOY. To all that sholl theeäze70 storry read Nor snip-snap wit, nor lidden73 smort, The mooäst 76 whun Brue war deep an clear, "War whing!79-The water's deep an clear, But death mid be a lurkin near !” tyme of the varyance betweene the houses of Lançaster and Yorke, for the Crowne of England, during the period of fiftie-foure yeares. KINGES.-Henrye 6, Slayne in the Tower. DUKES. -Of Gloucester at Burye. - Of Suffolk upon the sea. Of Sommersett at Sainte Albans. Of Yorke at Wakefield. Of Sommersett at Hexham. Of Sommersett at Tewkesburye. Of Exeter upon the Sea. Of Yorke in the Tower. Of Norfolk at Bosworth field. MARQUES. The Marques Montague at Barnet. Of Northumberland at Tawnton. Of Devonshire at Bridgewater. Of Devonshire at Tewkesburye. Of Lincolne at Stokefield. Lo: Clifford at Tawnton fields. Lo: Willoughbie at Stamford. Lo: Stolis at London. Lo: Daurie at Tawnton-field. 176 BARONS.-Lo: Latimer at Banbury. Lo: Audley at the Tower Hille. Lo: Ffitzwater at Dalys. Lo: Bonhill at St Albons. was in truth, as the historian Rapin observes, the flower of the English nobility that fell in those desperate conflicts between the candidates of the two Houses of York and Lancaster, for the crown of England; for during the short period of fifty-four years, there were slain three kings, twelve dukes, one marquis, seventeen earls, one viscount, and twenty-four barons, making in all fifty-eight individuals. WALTHAM CROSS, HERTFORDSHIRE. Lo: Cromwell at Barnett. Lo: Fferrys at Bosworth field. From the above document, it will be seen that it W. H. D. had been married, from motives of state policy, when only fifteen years of age;—but with whom, contrary to the common issue of matches so made, he lived in a most affectionate and happy manner until the time of her lamented decease, in 1290, whilst accompanying the King into Scotland. corpse was slowly brought from Herdby to Westminster, the King was, himself, the chief mourner. Walsingham says," "When the body arrived at Saint Alban's, all the convent being solemnly clad in their copes, went to meet it at the entrance to the Toun, which is at Saint Michael's church, whence they conveyed the body and placed it before the great altar in the Monastery, where is was during the whole night honoured with sacred offices performed with the utmost devotion. From that place the body was conveyed to London, where it was met by the King and all the nobility and clergy of the realm and buried in the church of Westminster, with the greatest reverence and honour, but the heart was in During almost six-and-thirty years, this Lady was the constant associate of her husband in all his perilous journeys and expeditions; and tradition has affirmed that she saved his life in the Holy Land, by sucking the poison from a wound which had been inflicted on his arm, by the envenomed dagger of an assassin. This illustrious instance of conjugal affection is not, however, recorded by any of the historians who lived nearest to her age. Walsingham is silent on the sub-terred in the choir of the Friars Preachers in London. ject, and Knighton's account implies the direct contrary; he states, that the Prince," when his wound was to be drest, ordered Edmund and John de Vescy to carry the Queen out of the room," which they did," she shrieking and making great lamentation;" and that the "mortified flesh was excised by a surgeon. This, however, detracts not from the merits of the Queen; and that her loss was most deeply lamented by Edward is demonstrated by the attention bestowed on her remains, and by the elegant CROSSES which he caused to be erected to her memory. After Eleanor's decease, on the 4th of the Kalends of December, 1290, (29th November,) her body was embalmed, and the coffin filled with spices; her bowels having been first taken out and inhumed in Lincoln cathedral; and her heart, being inclosed in a separate box, was subsequently deposited in the church of the Friars Predicants (Black Friars,) in London; which had been then recently built, principally from the donations of Edward and his Queen.† In every place and town where the corps rested, the King commanded a Cross of admirable workmanship to be erected to the Queen's memory, that prayers might be offered for her soul by all passengers, in which Cross he caused the Queen's image to be depicted."+ The final obsequies were solemnized in the Abbey church at Westminster, on the Sunday before the day of St. Thomas, the Apostle, by the Bishop of Lincoln; and the King gave twelve manors and hamlets to the Monks to defray the charges of yearly obits, and of gifts to the poor, in lasting commemoration of his beloved consort. Indulgences for the term of five years, and two hundred and fifteen days were subsequently granted to all those, who should pray devoutly for her soul.‡ The exact number of crosses which Edward erected for his deeply-lamented consort is uncertain, nor is there any known record from which the fact can be ascertained. No entry has been found on the rolls of In the solemn procession with which the embalmed the Tower, of the 19th, 20th, and 21st of Edward I. Holinshed says, "The Prince was in great danger, by reason of the envenomed knife wherewith he was wounded, so that it was long ere he could be perfectly whole." Anno 1271. "In the nineteenth yeare of king Edward, quéene Elianor king Edwards wife died upon saint Andrews euen at Hirdebie, or Herdelie (as some haue) neere to Lincolne, the King being as then on his waie towards the borders of Scotland: but hauing now lost the iewell which he most estéemed, he returned towards London to accompanie the corps vnto Westminster, where it was buried in S. Edwards chapell, at the feet of king Henry the third. She was a godlie and modest princesse, full of pitie, and one that shewed much fauour to the English nation, readie to releeue euerie mans greefe that susteined wrong, and to make them fréends that were at discord, so farre as in hir laie. In euerie towne and place, where the corps rested by the waie, the king caused a crosse of cunning workmanship to be erected in remembrance of hir, and in the same was a picture of hir ingrauen. Two of the like crosses were set up at London, VOL. I. one at Charing, and the other in Westcheape. Morouere, he gaue in almes euerie Wednesday wheresoeuer he went, pence a péece, to all such poore folkes as came to demand the same."— Holinshed's "Chronicles;" sub anno 1291. * Walsingham, "Hist. Ang." p. 54. edit. 1603. + In Rymer's" Fœdera,"(tom 1. pars iii. edit. ter. p.76.);under the head, "De orando pro Regina ;" is a copy of the circular letter addressed by King Edward to different prelates and abbots, in which he describes the object of these prayers to be," ut, siquid maculæ, non purgatæ in ipsâ, forsan oblivionis defectu, vel alio modo, remansit, per utilia orationum vestrarum præsidia, juxta divinæ misericordiæ plenitudinem, abstergatur." Fabian, who compiled his "Chronicles towards the latter part of the reign of Henry VII. speaking of the interment of Queen Eleanor, says,-"She hathe ii wexe tapers brennynge vpon her tombe, both daye and nyght; whyche so hath contynned syne the day of her buryinge to this present daye," N relating to them;* nor have we any Wardrobe Accounts from which the desired information may be obtained. Some writers have stated the number at thirteen, viz. Lincoln, Newark, Grantham, Leicester, Stamford, Geddington, Northampton, Stony-Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St. Alban's, Waltham, West-Cheap, (Cheapside,) and Charing, (Charing Cross,) but it is very questionable whether Woburn should be included in the list, as in that instance, the funeral procession must have deviated considerably from the direct road from Lincoln to have rested there. (To be continued.) THE MALVERN HILLS.-No. II. HEREFORDSHIRE BEACON-MALVERN PRIORY CHURCH. While Malvern, king of hills, fair Severn overlooks, Drayton's Polyolbion, 1613. THE deserved celebrity, historical interest, and picturesque beauty of the Malvern Hills, demand a fuller illustration than that previously contributed to this work. In a topographical, antiquarian, and geological point of view, they present many features of extreme interest; and considered medicinally, the springs near Great Malvern have also a claim on our attention. The earliest allusion to these hills appears in the "Visions of William, concerning Piers Plowman,” a poem, supposed to have been written about the year 1352, from which we have already given an extract. The name Malvern has probably been derived from * Vide" Britton's Architectural Antiquities," vol. i. p. 25, note; from information communicated by the late Samuel Lysons, Esq. In that work are beautiful engravings of the crosses at Geddington, Northampton, and Waltham, together with plans and details of those at the two former places. These crosses have also been engraved, on a large scale, for the "Vetusta Monumenta." the British words Moel (bald), and Wern (alders), or a bald mountain, with alders at the foot; moel also signifying a mountain. In "Jones's Brecknockshire," we find it stated "Moel-y-yarn, which is pure Welsh, signifying the high court or seat of judgment." The country in this district was formerly an immense forest. William of Malmsbury terms it a wilderness, extending from the river Teme on the north to Cors forest on the south; and from the Severn, easterly, to the summit of the Malvern Hills on the west. The manor and forests of Malvern and Cors, and the Castle of Hanley, were granted in the reign of Edward I. to Gilbert de Clare, the Red Knight, Earl of Gloucester, on his marriage with Joan d'Acres, the king's daughter. The forests having become the property of a subject, Malvern was called a chase, and Cors a lawn, by which name it now goes. Leland says, "the chase of Malverne is bigger than either Wire or Feckingham, and occupieth a great part of the Malverne Hills. Great Malverne and Little also is set in the Chase of Malverne. Malverne Chase (as I here say) is, in length, in some places, twenty miles; but Malverne Chase doeth not occupy all Malverne Hills." Shortly after, a violent dispute arose between the Earl of Gloucester and the Bishop of Hereford respecting the bounds of the chase, and a trench (still to be seen, and called the Duke of Gloucester's ditch) was made on the ridge of the hills, to settle the boundary. After passing through various hands, Malvern Chase came into the possession of Richard III., when Duke of Gloucester, on his marriage with a daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. In 1630, Charles I. granted the forest or chase to Sir Robert Heath and three others, but in consequence of some disputes it was disafforested in the following year. The manor is now the property of Lord Foley, Perhaps the most interesting feature in this remarkable chain is the "Herefordshire Beacon," in former The hills stretch from north to south, about nine ages, a hill-fortress of great strength and importance. miles, almost in a straight line. The three principal eminences are, the North hill, the Worcestershire Beacon, (before described,) and the Herefordshire Beacon, which stands about the middle of the range. We find considerable discrepancy in the accounts of their height. The Ordnance survey (probably the most accurate) states the Herefordshire Beacon to be 1444 feet above the level of the sea; the Worcestershire Beacon, according to Nash, is thirty-three feet higher than the preceding. The following passage is taken from King's "Monumenta Antiqua," p. 147. "There are a vast number of strong entrenchments in all parts of this island, situate chiefly on the tops of natural hills, and which can be attributed to none of the various people who have ever dwelt in the adjacent country, except to the ancient Britons, although, indeed, the subsequent conquerors, Romans, Saxons, and Danes, and even the Normans, have, on certain emergencies, made use of them on account of their great original strength; and although erroneous and hasty conjectures, and even the crude reports of the country, have often called them Roman, Danish, or Saxon, yet can they only be attributed to the ancient Britons. One of the most important and considerable of these fortified places is situated on a spot that could not fail to be an object of the utmost attention to the original inhabitants of these territories. This is the Herefordshire Beacon, commanding that which was the only pass through the Malvern ridge of hills, and which is indeed very nearly so to the present hour. The Worcestershire and Herefordshire Beacons appear much higher than in fact they really are." The origin of beacons may be traced to the highest antiquity;-but their English name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon, becnian, to shew, by sign, or beckon. Beacons were used among the Jews; for in the Prophecies of Isaiah (Chap. xxx. v. 17.) we read, "One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee; till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill." Similar allusions appear also in Jeremiah, and other inspired writers. According to the original Hebrew, the word beacon may be rendered, a tree bereft of its boughs, or a mast. The use of beacons is particularly alluded to in the Agamemnon of Eschylus. In Greece, they were called Oσpvxiou. Aristotle speaks of their use in the east; and that nocturnal fires were used for signals, and to convey information, amongst the Romans appears from Cicero, Pliny, and other writers. Lord Coke says, that before the reign of Edward III. beacons in this country were stacks of wood, set on high grounds, to be fired on the discovery of an enemy. The use of beacons was an important safeguard, and many of our readers will remember their recent adoption in this country, at the period of the expected French invasion. No signal is so readily remarked, or has been so universally used for this purpose, as a fire in the night. The ancient Beal-fires of Ireland (which custom we observe has just been revived in that distracted country) have been traced to a religious origin, viz. the worship of the sun. In the ancient language of Ireland, the month of May is yet called nic Beal tiennie, or the month of Beal's-fire. The Beltan festival, in the Highlands, has been ascribed to a similar origin. Druidical altars are to be traced on many of the hills in Ireland where Beal fires were lighted. That places of strength were used with this design is evident from the popular name of the Herefordshire Beacon; the hill called the "Worcestershire Beacon" has probably not been fortified; but both, no doubt, derive their name from their occasional use for this purpose. The hill occupied by the fortified camp, is in form something like an ellipsis. The camp is 2970 yards in circuit, 1100 yards long, and contains altogether 44 statute acres. "The area of the centre and highest part is an irregular parallelogram, measuring. 60 yards in its largest diameter and nearly 40 in the shortest." This has been surrounded by extensive ditches, ramparts, and outworks. The principal remains now consist of two circular entrenchments: that near the summit of the eminence is about 700 feet in extent; the other, lower down, is upwards of half a mile in circumference. These trenches vary from six to twelve feet in depth, and "in some places are more than thirty broad, and supposed to be capable of containing an army of 20,000 men.' The avenues or passes are still nearly perfect. There is a singular cave here. "Still lower, on the acclivity, are successive ranges of ramparts and ditches, very steep, deep, and high, encircling the sides of the mountain." From the great strength and extent of this camp, there can be little doubt that it was constructed as a place for permanent security, where a whole district might occasionally seek refuge with all their flocks and other property. A singular discovery was made "within a musket shot" from the camp, in the year 1650. One Thomas Tailer, a peasant, found a coronet of gold, set with diamonds, as he was digging a ditch round his cottage, near Burstner's Cross." It was sold to Mr. Hill, a goldsmith, in Gloucester, for £37. Hill sold it to a jeweller in Lombard Street, London, for £250, and the jeweller sold the stones, which were deeply inlaid, for £1500, as Mr. Clough, of Lombard Street, reported."+ It is supposed to have been the diadem of a British prince, who had perhaps fallen in a battle near here, as from the description it corresponded with the ancient coronets, worn by the princes or chiefs of Wales. An idea has long prevailed amongst * Chamber's "Malvern," p. 150, to which work, and "Nash's Worcestershire," we have been indebted for many particulars in this paper. + MS account in library of Jesus College, Oxford. Rowlands says, that the Princes of Wales wore on their bonnets or helmets a coronet of gold, being a broad head band, indented upwards, and set with precious stones. Vide" Mona. Antiqua Rest." |