The Natural History of Wiltshire Part 6

It is at the foot of St. Anne's-hill, or else Martinsoll-hill, {that} three springs have their source and origen; viz. the south Avon, which runnes to Sarum, and disembogues at Christes Church in Hants; the river Kynet, which runnes to Morlebrugh, Hungerford, and disembogues into the Thames about Reading; and on the foote of the north side arises another that runnes to Calne, which disembogues into the north Avon about t.i.therton, and runnes to Bristowe into the Severne. [See also Chap. III. Rivers.-J. B.]

In the parish of....... is a spring dedicated to St. Winifred, formerly of great account for its soveraigne vertues. What they were I cannot learne; neither can I thinke the spring to be of less vertue now than in the time of Harry the Eight; in which age I am informed it was of great esteeme: and I am apt to conjecture that the reason why the spring grew out of fame was because S*. Winifred grew out of favour.

At the Devizes, on the north side of the castle, there is a rivulet of water which doth petrifie leafes, sticks, plants, and other things that grow by it; which doth seem to prove that stones grow not by apposition only, as the Aristotelians a.s.sert, but by susception also; for if the stick did not suscept some vertue by which it is trans.m.u.ted we may admire what doth become of the matter of the stick

At Knahill [Knoyle] is a minerall water, which Dr. Toop and Dr.

Chamberlayn have tryed. It is neer Mr. Willoughby's house: it workes very kindly, and without any gripeing; it hath been used ever since about 1672.

Dr. Guydot sayes the white sediment in the water of North Wilts.h.i.+re is powder of freestone; and he also tells me that there is a medicinall well in the street at Box, near Bathe, which hath been used ever since about 1670.

Mr. Nich. Mercator told me that water may be found by a divining rod made of willowe; whiche he hath read somewhere; he thinks in Vitruvius. Quaere Sir John Hoskins de hoc.

In Poulshott parish the spring was first taken notice of about thirty yeares since by S. Pierse, M.D. of Bathe, and some few made use of it Some of the Devises, who dranke thereof, told me that it does good for the spleen, &c., and that a hectick and emaciated person, by drinking this water, did in the s.p.a.ce of three weekes encrease in flesh, and gott a quick appet.i.te.

Memorandum. In this village are severall springs, which tast brackish; which I had not the leisure to try, but onely by praecipitation, and they yield a great quant.i.ty of the white flower-like sediment.

Bitteston.- At the George Inne, the beere that is brewed of the well there is diuretique. I knew some that were troubled with the stone and gravell goe often thither for that reason. The woman of the house was very much troubled with fitts of the mother; and having lived here but a quarter of a yeare, found herself much mended; as also her mother, troubled with the same disease. I observed in the bottome of the well deep blew marle.

[The hysterical paroxysms to which females are peculiarly subject were in Aubrey's time commonly termed "the mother", or "fits of the mother". Dr. Edward Jorden published a "Discourse on the Suffocation of the Mother", (4to.) in 1603.- J. B.]

Alderton. - Mr. Gore's well is a hard water, which, when one washes one's hands will make them dry, as if it were allume water. I tryed it by praecipitation, and the sediment was the colour of barme, white and yellow, and fell in a kind of flakes, as snow sometimes will fall, whereas all the other sediments were like fine flower or powder.

In Minety Common in Bradon forest, neer the rode which leadeth to Ashton Caynes, is a boggy place called the Gogges, where is a spring, or springs, rising up out of fuller's earth. This puddle in hot and dry weather is candid like a h.o.a.r frost; which to the tast seemes nitrous. I have seen this salt incrustation, even 14th September, four foot round the edges. With half a pound of this earth I made a lixivium. Near half a pint did yield upon evaporation a quarter of an ounce wanting two graines. Of the remainder of the lixivium, which was more than a pint, I evaporated almost all to crystallize in a cellar.

The liquor turned very red, and the crystalls being putt on a red hott iron flew away immediately, like saltpetre, leaving behind a very little quant.i.ty of something that look'd like burnt allum. Now it is certain that salts doe many times mixe; and Mr. Robert Boyle tells me hee believes it is sea-salt mix't with {nitre}, and there is a way to separate them. After a shower this spring will smoake. The mudd or earth cleanses and scowres incomparably. A pike of eighteen foot long will not reach to the bottome.

My Lady c.o.c.ks of Dumbleton told me that ladies did send ten miles and more for water from a spring on Malverne hill in Worcesters.h.i.+re to wash their faces and make 'em faire. I believe it was such a nitrous spring as this.

The fuller's earth which they use at Wilton is brought from Woburne in Bedfords.h.i.+re; and sold for ten groates a bush.e.l.l.

The Baths may have its tinging vertue from the antimonie in Mendip.

Quaere Mr. Kenrick, that when he changed a sixpence holding it in his hand it turned yellow, and a woman refused it for bad silver. I thinke he had been making crocus of antimonie. The chymists doe call antimony Proteus, from its various colouring.

Mr. T. Hanson, of Magd. Coll. Oxon, acquaints me in a letter of May 18, 1691, that he observes that almost all the well-waters about the north part of Wilts.h.i.+re were very brackish. At High-worth, Mr.

Alhnon, apothecary, told him he had often seen a quant.i.ty of milke coagulated with it: and yet the common people brew with it, which gives their beer an ungratefull tast. At Cricklad their water is so very salt that the whole town are obliged to have recourse to a river hard by for their necessary uses. At Wootton Ba.s.set, at some small distance from the town, they have a medicinall spring, which a neighbouring divine told him Dr. Willis had given his judgment of, viz. that it was the same with that of Astrop. They have also a petrifying spring. At the Devizes, about a quarter of a mile from the towne, a petrifying spring shewn me by Dr. Merriweather, a physitian there. At Bagshot, near Hungerford, is a chalybiate, dranke by some gentlemen with good successe.

Mdm. In my journey to Oxford, comeing through Bagley-wood, on St.

Mark's day, 1695,1 discovered two chalybiate springs there, in the highway; which On May the 10th I tryed with powder of galles, and they give as black a tincture as ever I saw such waters: one may write with it as legibly as with black lead.

At the gate at Wotton Common, near c.u.mnor in Berks.h.i.+re, is a spring which I have great reason to believe is such another: and also at the foot of Shotover-hill, near the upping-stock, I am confident by the clay, is such another spring. Deo gratias.

Quaeres for the Tryall of Minerall Waters; by the Honourable Sir William Petty, Kt.:-

1. How much heavier 'tis than brandy ?

2. How much common water will extinguish its tast ?

3. What quant.i.ty of salt upon its evaporation ?

4. How much sugar, allum, vitriol, nitre, will dissolve in a pint of it ?

5. Whether any animalcule will breed in it, and in how long time ?

6. Whether fish, viz. trout, eeles, &c. will live in it, and how long?

7. Whether 'twill hinder or promote the curdling of milk, and fermentation ?

8. Whether soape will mingle with it ?

9. Whether 'twill extract the dissolvable parts of herbes, rootes, seedes, &c. more or less than other waters; (i. e.) whether it be a more powerful menstruum ?

10. How galles will change its colour ?

11. How 'twill change the colour of syrup of violets ?

12. How it differs from other waters in receiving colours, cochineel, saffron, violets &c.?

13. How it boyles dry pease?

14. How it colours fresh beefe, or other flesh in boyling ?

15. How it washes hands, beards, linnen, SEC. ?

16. How it extracts mault in brewing ?

17. How it quenches thirst, with meat or otherwise ?

8. Whether it purges; in what quant.i.ty, time, and with what symptomes?

19. Whether it promotes urine, sweat, or sleep ?

20. In what time it pa.s.seth, and how afterwards ?

21. Whether it sharpens or flattens the appet.i.te to meate ?

22. Whether it vomits, causes coughs, &c. ?

23. Whether it swell the belly, legges; and how, in what time, and quant.i.ty &c. ?

24. How it affects sucking children, and (if tryed) foetus in the wombe ?

25. Whether it damps or excites venerie ?

26. How blood lett whilest the waters are dranke lookes, and how it changes ?

27. In what degrees it purges, in different degrees of evaporation, and brewed ?

28. Whether it breakes away by eructation and downwards ?

29. Whether it kills the asparagus in the urine?

30. What quant.i.ty may be taken of it in prime ?

31. Whether a sprig of mint or willow growes equally as out of other waters?

32. In what time they putrify and stink ?

CHAPTER III.

RIVERS.

[THE following extracts include the whole of this chapter, with the exception of a few extraneous pa.s.sages.-J. B.]

I SHALL begin with the river of Wyley-bourn, which gives name to Wilton, the s.h.i.+re town. The mappe-makers write it Wyley fulvous, and joiner a British and a Saxon word together: but that is a received error. I doe believe that the ancient and true name was Twy, as the river Twy in Herefords.h.i.+re, which signifies vagary: and so this river Wye, which is fed with the Deverill springs, in its mandrels winding, watering the meadows, gives the name to the village called Wyley, as also Wilton (Wyley-ton); where, meeting with the upper Avon and the river Adder, it runnes to Downtown and Fording bridge, visiting the New Forest, and disembogues into the sea at Christ Church in Hamps.h.i.+re. On Monday morning, the 20th of September, [1669] was begun a well intended designe for cutting the river [Avon] below Salisbury to make it navigable to carry boats of burthen to and from Christ Church.

This work was princ.i.p.ally encouraged by the Right Reverend Father in G.o.d, Seth, Lord Bishop of Salisbury, his Lords.h.i.+p digging the first spit of earth, and driving the first wheeled barrow. Col. John Wyndham was also a generous benefactor and encourager of this undertaking. He gave to this designe an hundred pounds. He tells me that the Bishop of Salisbury gave, he thinks, an hundred and fifty pounds: he is sure a hundred was the least. The engineer was one Mr. Far trey, but it seems not his craft's-master; for through want of skill all this charge and paines came to nothing: but An Done 16. . .it was more auspiciously undertaken and perfected; and now boats pa.s.se between Salisbury and Christ Church, and carry wood and corne from the New Forest, the cartage whereof was very dearer; but as yet they want a haven at Christ Church, which will require time and charge.