The Natural History of Wiltshire Part 25

PART II.-CHAPTER XVII.

OF FATALITIES OF FAMILIES AND PLACES.

[NEARLY the whole of this chapter, with some additions, is included under the head of "Local Fatality" in Aubrey's Miscellanies. 12mo.

1696.-J. B.]

"Omnium rerum est vicissitudo". Families, and also places, have their fatalities,

"Fors sua cuiq' loco est." OVID, PAST. lib. iv.

This verse putts me in mind of severall places in this countie that are or have been fortunate to their owners, or e contra.

The Gawens of Norrington, in the parish of Alvideston, continued in this place four hundred fifty and odd yeares. They had also an estate in Broad Chalke, which was, perhaps, of as great antiquity. On the south downe of the farme of Broad Chalke is a little barrow called Gawen's-barrow, which must bee before ecclesiastical lawes were established. [Aubrey quotes a few lines from the "Squire's Tale" in Chaucer, where Gawain, nephew to King Arthur, is alluded to.-J. B.]

The Scropes of Castle-Comb have been there ever since the time of King Richard the Second. The Lord Chancellor Scrope gave this mannour to his third son; they have continued there ever since, and enjoy the old land (about 800li per annum), and the estate is neither augmented nor diminished all this time, neither doth the family spred.

The Powers of Stanton St. Quintin had that farme in lease about three hundred yeares. It did belong to the abbey of Cyrencester.

The Lytes had Easton Piers in lease and in inheritance 249 yeares; sc.

from Henry 6th. About 1572 Mr. Th. Lyte, my mother's grandfather, purchased the inheritance of the greatest part of this place, a part whereof descended to me by my mother Debora, the daughter and heire of Mr. Isaac Lyte. I sold it in 1669 to Francis Hill, who sold it to Mr.

Sherwin, who hath left it to a daughter and heir. Thos. Lyte's father had 800li. per annum in leases: viz. all Easton, except Cromwell's farm (20li), and the farmes of Dedmerton and Sopworth.

The Longs are now the most flouris.h.i.+ng and numerous family in this county, and next to them the Ashes; but the latter are strangers, and came in but about 1642, or since.

Contrarywise there are severall places unlucky to the possessors.

Easton Piers hath had six owners since the reigne of Henry 7th, where I myself had a share to act my part; and one part of it called Lyte's Kitchin hath been sold four times over since 1630.

'Tis certain that there are some houses lucky and some that are unlucky; e.g. a handsome brick house on the south side of Clarkenwell churchyard hath been so unlucky for at least these forty yeares that it is seldom tenanted; n.o.body at last would adventure to take it. Also a handsome house in Holbourne that looked into the fields, the tenants of it did not prosper; about six, one after another.

PART II.-CHAPTER XVIII.

ACCIDENTS.

["ACCIDENTS" was a term used in astrology, in the general sense of remarkable events or occurrences. From a curious collection of Aubrey's memoranda I have selected a few of the most interesting and most apposite to Wilts.h.i.+re. Several of the anecdotes in this chapter will be found in Aubrey's Miscellanies, 12mo. 1696. J. B.]

IN the reigne of King James 1st, as boyes were at play in Amesbury- street, it thundred and lightened. One of the boyes wore a little dagger by his side, which was melted in the scabbard, and the scabbard not hurt. This dagger Edward Earle of Hertford kept amongst his rarities. I have forgott if the boy was killed. (From old Mr. Bowman and Mr. Gauntlett)

The long street, Marleborough, was burned down to the ground in five houres, and the greatnesse of the fire encreased the wind. This was in 165-. This account I had from Thomas Henshaw, Esq. who was an eye- witness as he was on his journey to London.

["Marlborough has often suffered by fire; particularly in the year 1690. Soon afterwards the town obtained an act of Parliament to prohibit the covering of houses with thatch." Beauties of Wilts.h.i.+re, vol. ii. p. 177. A pamphlet was published in 1653 (12mo.) with the following t.i.tle:- "Take heed in time; or, a briefe relation of many harmes that have of late been done by fire in Marlborough and other places. Written by L. P." - J. B.]

In the gallery at Wilton hangs, under the picture of the first William Earl of Pembroke, the picture of a little reddish picked-nose dog (none of the prettiest) that his lords.h.i.+p loved. The dog starved himself after his master's death.

Dr. Ralph Bathurst, Dean of Wells, and one of the chaplains to King Charles 1st, who is no superst.i.tious man, protested to me that the curing of the King's evill by the touch of the King doth puzzle his philosophie: for whether they were of the house of Yorke or Lancaster it did. 'Tis true indeed there are prayers read at the touching, but neither the King minds them nor the chaplains. Some confidently report that James Duke of Monmouth did it.

Imposture. - Richard Heydock, M.D., quondam fellow of New College in Oxford, was an ingenious and a learned person, but much against the hierarchie of the Church of England. He had a device to gaine proselytes, by preaching in his dreame; which was much noised abroad, and talked of as a miracle. But King James 1st being at Salisbury went to heare him. He observed that his harrangue was very methodicall, and that he did but counterfeit a sleep. He surprised the doctor by drawing his sword, and swearing, "G.o.d's waunes, I will cut off his head"; at which the doctor startled and pretended to awake; and so the cheat was detected.

One M{istress} Katharine Waldron, a gentlewoman of good family, waited on Sir Francis Seymor's lady, of Marleborough. Shee pretended to be bewitched by a certain woman, and had acquired such a strange habit that she would endure exquisite torments, as to have pinnes thrust into her flesh, nay under her nailes. These tricks of hers were about the time when King James wrote his Demonologie. His Majesty being in these parts, went to see her in one of her fitts. Shee lay on a bed, and the King saw her endure the torments aforesayd. The room, as it is easily to be believed, was full of company. His Majesty gave a sodain pluck to her coates, and tos't them over her head; which surprise made her immediately start, and detected the cheate.

[Speaking of the trial of Aim Bodenham, who was executed at Salisbury as a witch in 1653, Aubrey says:-] Mr. Anthony Ettrick, of the Middle Temple, a very judicious gentleman, was a curious observer of the whole triall, and was not satisfied. The crowd of spectators made such a noise that the judge [Chief Baron Wild] could not heare the prisoner, nor the prisoner the judge; but the words were handed from one to the other by Mr. R. Chandler, and sometimes not truly reported.

This memorable triall was printed about 165-. 4to. [See full particulars in Hatcher's History of Salisbury, p. 418. - J. B.]

In the time of King Charles II. the drumming at the house of Mr.

Monpesson, of Tydworth, made a great talke over England, of which Mr.

Joseph Glanvill, Rector of Bath, hath largely writt; to which I refer the reader. But as he was an ingenious person, so I suspect he was a little too credulous; for Sir Ralph Bankes and Mr. Anthony Ettrick lay there together one night out of curiosity, to be satisfied. They did heare sometimes knockings; and if they said "Devill, knock so many knocks"; so many knocks would be answered. But Mr. Ettrick sometimes whispered the words, and there was then no returne: but he should have spoke in Latin or French for the detection of this.

Another time Sir Christopher Wren lay there. He could see no strange things, but sometimes he should heare a drumming, as one may drum with one's hand upon wainscot; but he observed that this drumming was only when a certain maid-servant was in the next room: the part.i.tions of the rooms are by borden-bra.s.se, as wee call it. But all these remarked that the Devill kept no very unseasonable houres: it seldome knock't after 12 at night, or before 6 in the morning.

[In h.o.a.re's Modern Wilts.h.i.+re, (Hundred of Amesbury,) p. 92, is a narrative, quoted from Glanvil, of the nocturnal disturbances in the house of Mr. Mompesson at North Tidworth, Wilts, in the year 1661, which excited considerable interest at the time, and led to the publication of several pamphlets on the subject. The book by Mr.

Glanvil, referred to by Aubrey, is called "A blow at modern Sadducism; or Philosophical considerations touching the being of Witches and Witchcraft; with an account of the Demon of Tedworth."

Lond. 1666, 4to. There are other editions in folio and 8vo. in 1667 and 1668. Addison founded his comedy of "The Drummer, or the Haunted House," on this occurrence. - J. B.]

About 167- there was a cabal of witches detected at Malmsbury. They ere examined by Sir James Long of Draycot-Cerne, and by him committed to Salisbury Gaol. I think there were seven or eight old women hanged.

There were odd things sworne against them, as the strange manner of the dyeing of H. Denny's horse, and of flying in the aire on a staffe.

These examinations Sir James hath fairly written in a book which he promised to give to the Royall Societie.

At Salisbury a phantome appeared to Dr. Turbervill's sister severall times, and it discovered to her a writing or deed of settlement that was hid behind the wainscot

Phantomes. - Though I myselfe never saw any such things, yet I will not conclude that there is no truth at all in these reports. I believe that extraordinarily there have been such apparitions; but where one is true a hundred are figments. There is a lecherie in lyeing and imposeing on the credulous; and the imagination of fearfull people is to admiration: e.g. Not long after the cave at Bathford was discovered (where the opus tessellatum was found), one of Mr. Skreen's ploughboyes lyeing asleep near to the mouth of the cave, a gentleman in a boate on the river Avon, which runnes hard by, played on his flajolet. The boy apprehended the musique to be in the cave, and ran away in a lamentable fright, and his fearfull phancy made him believe he saw spirits in the cave. This Mr. Skreen told me, and that the neighbourhood are so confident of the truth of this, that there is no undeceiving of them.

PART II.-CHAPTER XIX.

SEATES.

[This chapter comprises only a few scattered notes; of which the following are specimens. -J. B.]

I TAKE Merton to be the best seated for healthy aire, &c., and sports, of any place in this county. The soile is gravelly and pebbly.

Ivy Church, adjoining to Clarendon Parke, a grove of elms, and prospect over the city of Salisbury and the adjacent parts. The right honorable Mary, Countess of Pembroke, much delighted in this place.

At Longford is a n.o.ble house that was built by Lord Georges, who married a Swedish lady. [See before, p. 102. Sir Thomas Gorges was the second husband of Helena dowager Marchioness of Northampton, daughter of Wolfgang Snachenburg, of Sweden: see h.o.a.re's Modern Wilts.h.i.+re, Hundred of Cawden, p. 31.-J. B.]