Chapter VII: Part 7

At Doddington Park, Lincolnshire, a brank is preserved, and is of a decidedly foreign appearance. It will be noticed that it bears some resemblance to the peculiar long-snouted visor of the bascinets, occasionally worn in the reign of Richard II. No historical particulars are known respecting this grotesque brank.

In the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, a curious brank may be seen. It is not recorded in the catalogue of the collection by whom it was presented, or where it was previously used; it is described as "a gag or brank, formerly used with the ducking-stool, as a punishment for scolds." It will be noticed that a chain is attached to the front of this brank, so that the poor unfortunate woman, in addition to being gagged, had the mortification of being led by the nose through the town. The gag is marked _a_, and _b_ is the aperture for the nose.

A curious engine of torture may be seen in the Ludlow Museum, and we give an illustration of it. It belongs to a class of engines far more formidable than branks. A description of this head-piece appears in the _Archæological Journal_ for September, 1856, from the pen of Mr. W. J. Bernard Smith. "The powerful screwing apparatus," says Mr. Smith, "seems calculated to force the iron mask with torturing effect upon the brow of the victim; there are no eye-holes, but concavities in their places, as though to allow for the starting of the eye-balls under violent pressure. There is a strong bar with a square hole, evidently intended to fasten the criminal against a wall, or perhaps to the pillory; and I have heard it said that these instruments were used to keep the head steady during the infliction of branding." A curious instrument of punishment, belonging to the same class as that at Ludlow, is described at some length, with an illustration, in "Worcester in Olden Times," by John Noake (London, 1849). The picture and description have been frequently reproduced.

Several Shropshire branks remain at the present time. The one at Shrewsbury does not appear to be of any great antiquity. Its form is simple and its character harmless. This bridle was at one time in constant use in Shrewsbury, and there are those yet living whose memories are sufficiently good to carry them back to the days when the effects of the application of the brank in question were to be seen, rather than, as now, imagined. The year cannot be ascertained when this brank was first worn, but it is known to have been last used in 1846.[45]

At Oswestry are two branks, one belonging to the Corporation, and the other is in the store-room of the Workhouse. The Rector of Whitchurch has in his possession a brank, which was formerly used by the town and union authorities. At Market Drayton are two branks: one is the property of the Lord of the Manor, and the other formerly belonged to the Dodcot Union. The Market Drayton brank, and also the one at Whitchurch, have on each a revolving wheel at the end of the gag or tongue-plate. In bygone times, the brank was frequently used for correcting unmanageable paupers.

At Edinburgh, in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, is a brank said to be from a town in East Fifeshire, having a rowel-shaped gag. In the year 1560, it was decided by the Town Council of Edinburgh, that all persons found guilty of blasphemy should be punished by the iron brank. In North Britain, it appears to have been used for punishing persons guilty of immorality. On the 7th October, the Kirk-Session of Canongate sentenced David Persoun, convicted of this offence, to be "brankit for four hours," while his associate in guilt, Isobel Mountray, was "banisit the gait," that is, expelled from the parish. Only a week previously, the same Kirk-Session had issued a proclamation that all women found guilty of this lawlessness "be brankit six houris at the croce."

We close this chapter by directing attention to the Bishop's brank, kept at St. Andrews, respecting which a singular story is told. A woman in a humble walk of life, named Isabel Lindsay, stood up in the parish church of St. Andrews, during the time of divine service, when Archbishop Sharp was preaching, and declared that when he was a college student he was guilty of an illicit amour with her. She was arrested for this statement, and brought before the Kirk-Sessions, and by its members sentenced "to appear for a succession of Sundays on the repentance stool, wearing the brank."

FOOTNOTES:

[43] Dobson's "Preston in the Olden Time," 1857.

[44] "The Reliquary," October, 1860.

[45] Morris's "Obsolete Punishments of Shropshire."

Riding the Stang.

The ancient custom of riding the stang still lingers in some remote parts of the country. Holding delinquents up to ridicule was a favourite mode of punishment practised by our forefathers, and riding the stang was the means generally employed for punishing husbands who beat their wives, or allowed themselves to be henpecked, or were profligate in their conduct. There are various designations for the custom. In Yorkshire, riding the stang is the name used; in Scotland the same term is applied; in the South of England skimmington-riding is the title generally employed, and on the Continent it is known by other appellations.

The mode of carrying out the ceremony is as follows: A man having beaten his wife, the young men of the village assume the attitude of public censors, and arrangements are made for riding the stang three nights in succession. A trumpeter blows his horn loud and long as day gives way to night, and the villagers are brought together. A pole or a ladder is procured, and the most witty man in the village is placed thereon, mounted shoulder-high, and carried in great state through the streets. In one hand he has a large key or stick, and in the other a dripping-pan, and leads the music of the crowd. Men, women, and children join in the fun, and beat kettles, pans, pots, or anything else that will make a noise; tin whistles, horns, and trumpets are blown, the noise produced being better imagined than described. As soon as all is ready, a start is made, and about every fifty yards the procession stops, and the mounted man proclaims at the top of his voice a rhyme suited to the nature of the offence, somewhat as follows:

"Ran, tan, tan; ran, tan, tan,
To the sound of this pan;
This is to give notice that Tom Trotter
Has beaten his good woman!
For what, and for why?
Because she ate when she was hungry,
And drank when she was dry.
Ran, tan, ran, tan, tan;
Hurrah--hurrah! for this good wo-man!
He beat her, he beat her, he beat her indeed,
For spending a penny when she had need.
He beat her black, he beat her blue;
When Old Nick gets him, he'll give him his due;
Ran, tan, tan; ran, tan, tan;
We'll send him there in this old frying-pan;
Hurrah--hurrah! for his good wo-man!"

We have an example noted at Sutton, near Hull, in August, 1877. It was given with great spirit by a youth, mounted after the customary manner on a ladder, to the evident enjoyment of a large gathering of the inhabitants, who were enraged at the brutal treatment of a woman by her husband:

"Here we come with a ran, dan, dang:
It's not for you, nor for me, we ride this stang;
But for ----, whose wife he did bang.
He banged her, he banged her, he banged her indeed:
He banged her, poor creature, before she stood need.
He took up neither tipstaff nor stower,
But with his fist he knocked her backwards ower;
He kicked her, he punched her, till he made her cry,
And to finish all, he gave her a black eye.
Now, all you good people that live in this row,
We would have you take warning, for this is our law:
If any of you, your wives you do bang,
We're sure, we're sure, to ride you the stang."

"Last night," says the _Sunderland Daily Post_ of March 1st, 1887, "some excitement was caused in Northallerton by the celebration of the old custom of 'riding the stang,' which is to expose some one guilty of gross immoral practices, and of a breach of sacred matrimonial rights. Some hundreds of people followed the conveyance, in which two effigies were erected and exhibited through the principal streets. At intervals, a person in the conveyance shouted out in rhyme their object, and said they fully intended to make a complete celebration of the custom, which is to 'ride the stang' three nights in succession, and on the last night to burn the effigies on the green near the church."

The stang was ridden at the ancient town of Hedon, 18th, 19th, and 20th February, 1889.

The house of the culprit is visited several times each night, and the proceedings kept up three nights in succession, and a circuit of the church is also made, as it is believed that those taking part in the ceremony will not be amenable to the law, if they do not omit this part of the custom. If the offence is a very serious one, the offender is burnt in effigy before his own door. In the olden days, the offender himself was often compelled to ride the stang.

Several of the old poets refer to this ancient usage. Allan Ramsay, in one of his poems, published in 1721, says:

"They frae a barn a kaber raught
And mounted wi' a bang,
Betwisht twa's shoulders, and sat straught,
Upon't and _rade the stang
On her_ that day."

Mr. Geo. Roberts, of Lyme Regis, forwarded to Sir Walter Scott some interesting notes on skimmington-riding. He informed Sir Walter that in the South of England: "About dusk two individuals, one armed with a skimmer and the other with a ladle, came out of some obscure street attended by a crowd, whose laughter, huzzas, etc., emulate the well-known _charivari_ of the French. The two performers are sometimes in a cart, at other times on a donkey; one personating the wife, the other the husband. They beat each other furiously with the culinary weapons above described, and, warmed by the applause and presence of so many spectators (for all turn out to see a skimmington), their dialogue attains a freedom, except using surnames, only comparable with their gestures. On arriving at the house of the parties represented in the moving drama, animation is at its height: the crowd usually stay at the spot some minutes, and then traverse the town. The performers are remunerated by the spectators: the parties who parade the streets with the performers sweep with brooms the doors of those who are likely to require a similar visitation."

Dr. King, in his "Miscellany," thus refers to the subject:

"When the young people ride the skimmington,
There is a general trembling in the town;
Not only he for whom the party rides
Suffers, but they sweep other doors besides;
And by the hieroglyphic does appear
That the good woman is the master there."

According to Douce, _skimmington_ is derived from _skimming-ladle_, used in the ceremony.

In Butler's "Hudibras," considerable attention is paid to the custom. A few of the lines are as follow:

"And now the cause of all their fear,
By slow degrees approached so near,
Of horns, and pans, and dogs, and boys,
And kettle-drums whose sullen dub,
Sounds like the hooping of a tub;
· · ·
And followed with a world of tall lads,
That merry ditties troll'd and ballads.
· · ·
Next pans and kettles of all keys,
From trebles down to double base:
· · ·
And at fit periods the whole rout
Set up their throat with clamorous shout."

A notice of an old Welsh ceremony appeared in the _Liverpool Mercury_ on March 15th, 1887, and it will not be without interest to reproduce it. "That ancient Welsh custom," says the writer, "now nearly obsolete, known as riding the ceffyl pren--_Anglicé_, 'wooden-horse'--and intended to operate as a wholesome warning to faithless wives and husbands, was revived on Saturday night in an Anglesey village some three miles from Llangefni. The individual who had drawn upon himself the odium of his neighbours had parted from his wife, and was alleged to be persistent in his attentions to another female. On Saturday night a large party surrounded the house, and compelled him to get astride a ladder, carrying him shoulder-high through the village, stopping at certain points to allow the womankind to wreak their vengeance upon him. This amusement was kept up for some time until the opportune arrival of a sergeant of police from Llangefni, who rescued the unlucky wight."

Index.

Aberdeen, jougs at, 180

Abusing a mistress, 179

Admiralty of the Humber, Court of the, 3-5

Adultery, 232-241

Alban, burnt to death, 98

Aldbury stocks, 200

Alfreton, 143

Alive, gibbeted, 58, 76-77

Altrincham, 284

American punishments, 206-207, 274-275

Anglo-Saxon punishments, 41, 186

Applegirth, jougs at, 183

Aram, Eugene, 53-55

Argyle, Earl of, 132

Ascham, R., 177

Ashby-de-la-Zouch, finger pillory at, 171-172

Ashton-under-Lyne, 174

Athens, books burnt at, 159

Attempted murder, last execution for, 38

Attwood, Wm., 169

Balmerino, Lord, 115

Banishing women, 250

Bank note not to be imitated, 33

Bank Restriction Barometer, 35

Barnsley, whipping at, 216-217

Barrock, gibbet at, 58

Battle Abbey, abbot of, 1

Bawtry, saddler of, 12

Baynard's Castle, 95

Beaudesart, finger-pillory at, 173

Becket, murder of, 227

Beggars' Litany, 118

Beheading, 4, 108-117

Bellman at Newgate, 12

Benefit of Clergy, 139

Beverley stocks, 193

Bewick's gibbets, 78

Bible burnt, 160

Bierton, gibbet at, 55

Black Isle, penance at, 241

Blasphemer in the pillory, 156

Boiling to death, 106-107

Bolas, Robert and William, 46-48

Boleyn, Anne, 109, 111

Boleyn, George, 111

Bowl, St. Giles's, 11

Bradford ducking-stool, 259

Bramhall stocks, 199

Branding, 138-142

Brandreth, Turner, and Ludlam, execution of, 81-85

Brank, or scold's bridle, 276-298

Bridlington jougs, 181, 184;
pillory, 152

Brigg, inhabitants of, petitioning against a gibbet, 73

Broadwater ducking-stool, 255

Broughton, Spence, gibbeted, 67

Bullingham Court, 225

Burnham, 218

Burning books, 159-175

Burning to death, 98-105

Bury St. Edmunds, curious epitaph at, 31;
execution at, for robbery, 31

Cambridge, ducking-stool, 247;
trials at, 89

Candles, flogging with, 209

Canterbury, More's head buried at, 111;
pillory, 150

Cart tail, whipping at, 210, 219, 221, 222

Carted out of the town, 182

Cato Street conspirators, 85

Charles I. beheaded, 108

Cheapside pillory, 147, 148

Chelmsford, gibbeting at, 101

Cheshire branks, 279

Chester cucking-stool, 244;
thewe, 245

Chesterfield brank, 290;
ducking-stool, 262

Chevin, near Belper, gibbets on, 72;
set on fire, 72

Children, whipping, at executions, 224

China, Cang in, 157-158

Chippenham, gibbet at, 60

Clever Tom Clinch, 13

Clipping coin, hanged for, 2

Clova, jougs at, 184-185

Cobham, Eleanor, penance of, 228-230

Coffins conveyed with criminals to the gallows, 37

Coleshill whipping-post, 222-223

Colleen Bawn, 17-18

Collingbourne, 161

Collingham, gallows at, 1-2

Congleton brank, 279

Constable, gibbeted at Hull, 43

Cook, James, last man gibbeted, 75

Cornhill pillory, 146

Cornwall, 244

Cost of an Execution, 23-24

Coventry ducking-stool, 252

Cromwell, Thomas, 111

Cruikshank on executions, 31-34

Crusaders punished by drowning, 95

Cucking-Stool, 244

Dame's school finger pillory, 174-175

Danes, mutilation under the, 135

Daventry ducking-stool, 251

Defoe, Daniel, 166-168

Deplorable conduct of hangman, 29

Derby, trial for high treason at, 80-85;
curious story, 58;
ducking-stool, 262;
gibbet, 57-58

Derbyshire, gibbets in, 42;
women, 289

Devil's punch bowl, 61

Devonshire, 215

Diary of a lady of quality, 224-226

Dinners after executions, 25

Ditton, penance at, 238

Doddington Park, brank at, 293

Doncaster whipping-post, 115

Dowe, Robert, 12

Driffield, pillory at, 152

Driven in own carriage to execution, 16

Drowning, 95-97

Drummed out of a town, 181

Drunkard's cloak, 201-208

Drunkards put in stocks, 191-198

Ducking-Stool, 243-275

Duddingston, jougs at, 185

Dudley, Lord, 109

Dumfries, hangman's dues, 25-29;
jougs at, 179

Dundee, 240

Durham, penance at, 232

Duval, Claude, 13

East Ardsley ducking-stool, 259

East Clevedon, penance at, 238

Edinburgh branks, 297;
penance at, 240

Essex, Earl of, 113

Executed for leaving open a gate, 2-3

Exeter, executions at, 2-3

Farewell address, strange, 22-23

Feasting at funerals, 24

Fenwick, jougs at, 183

Ferrers, Earl, 17

Finger-Pillory, 171-175

First Book of Discipline, 239

First instance of hanging, drawing and quartering, 80

First private execution, 38

Fisher, John, 111

Floyde, Edward, 148

Forest laws, 135

Galashiels, jougs at, 183

Galston, 182

Gardner, Ralph, 202

Gaveston, Piers, 223

Germany, drunkard's cloak in, 205

Gibbeted alive, 58, 76-77

Gibbet and gallows in Ogilby's book, 39

Gibbet, cost of, 56

Gipsies, 138

Glasgow brank, 276

Gloucester, Duke of, 228

Godly butchery, 79

Gretton stocks, 195

Grey, Lady Jane, 109

Grinrod's ghost, 51-53

Haddon Hall, curious relic at, 208

Halifax gibbet, 118-127

Hanging, 1-38

Hanging, drawing, and quartering, 79-86

Hanging in chains, 39-78

Hangman's dues, 25-29

Hardwick, forest of, 118-127

Harris, Ph[oe]be, 104

Harvest workmen and stocks, 200

Hayes, Catherine, 101

Hedon, riding stang at, 303;
thewe at, 245

Helsby Tor, gibbet on, 64

Henry II., penance of, 226

Henry IV. of Germany, 228

Henry VIII., hanging reign, 3

Hereford, executions at, 30

Hertfordshire, gibbets in, 42, 50

Hind Head, gibbet at, 61-63

Holinshed's Chronicle, 118-119

Holland, drunkard's cloak in, 205

Horne, W. A., 16

Hornsea pennels, 55

Howard, Katherine, 109, 111

Hoyle's drawing of Halifax gibbet, 124

Hull ducking-stool, 256;
gibbet, 43;
Mayor, 4;
penance, 232;
pillory, 151;
Prayer Book burnt, 163

Humber, Admiral of, 4

Insufficiency of pillory, action for, 157

Ipswich ducking-stool, 262-264, 265

Jarrow, gibbet at, 73-75

Jedburgh, 240

Jeffreys, Judge, 217

Jews hanged, 2

Johnson, Dr. S., 243

Jougs, the, 176-185

Keach, Benjamin, 164-166

Killed in the pillory, 156

Kilmarnock, Earl of, 115

Kilmaurs, jougs at, 183

King of the Peak, 5

King's Lynn, boiling to death, 106-107;
burning to death, 99;
ducking-stool, 266

Kingston-upon-Thames ducking-stool, 270

Kirkby ducking-stool, 261

Kirkham brank, 285

Kirton-in-Lindsey whipping-post, 223-224

Knaresborough Forest, Aram gibbeted at, 55

Labienus, 160

Lancaster Castle, 140

Last person burnt, 104

Last public execution, 38

Laud, Archbishop, 114

Leeds ducking-stool, 257

Legend of the hare, 8

Leicester brank, 292;
cucking-stool, 244;
ducking-stool, 271;
gibbet, 75

Leighton, Dr., 162

Leominster ducking-stool, 271

Lesmahagow, jougs at, 182

Lichfield brank, 287

Lilburne, 163

Lincoln, burning to death at, 100

Lingard, Anthony, gibbeted, 68-71

Littlecote Hall, finger-pillory at, 172

Liverpool ducking-stool, 268

Lochcarron, penance at, 242

London, jougs at, 177

Lovat, Lord, 116-117

Ludlow brank, 295

Lynch law, 5

Macclesfield brank, 276, 282, 284

Mails, gibbeted for robbing, 60, 64, 70, 72

Manchester brank, 285;
ducking-stool, 268;
pillory, 152

Maritime laws, 3-5

Marlowe, Christopher, 161

Market Drayton brank, 297;
stocks, 194

Mary Queen of Scots, execution of, 109

Melton Ross, gallows at, 8-11

Merrington, gibbet at, 44

Merton, jougs at, 183

Methven, Paul, 240

Midgley, Dr. S., 124

Miles's gibbet, 64-67

Milton's books burnt, 162

Misson on the ducking-stool, 246

Monasteries and the poor, 209

Monmouth, Duke of, 115

More, Sir Thomas, 111

Morley brank, 277;
ducking-stool, 259

Morpeth brank, 286

Morton, Earl of, 128-131

Murphy, last person burnt, 105

Mutilation, 134-137

Nayler, Jas., 138-139

Neglecting to attend church, 183

Nevison, 278

Newbury stocks, 197

Newcastle-on-Tyne, brank at, 202;
cruel magistrates, 204;
drunkard's cloak at, 201-205;
pillory, 150

Newcastle-under-Lyme brank, 287-288

Norfolk, Duke of, 112

North Aston, penance at, 234

North Briton, the, 169

North Cave, penance of Vicar, 232

Northallerton, riding stang at, 302

Northampton, branding, 141;
hanging, 37;
woman burnt to death, 101

Northumberland, Duke of, 112

Norwich ducking-stool, 264

Not raising his bonnet, 178

Nottingham brank, 292;
ducking-stool, 265;
funeral sermons, 34;
hanging, 16;
whipping, 219

Numa Pompilius, 159

Oates, Titus, 149

Ockam in the pillory, 145

Old Greyfriars, Edinburgh, 239

Ordeal of touch, 7

Oswestry brank, 296

Oxford brank, 294

Paisley, books burnt, 170;
execution, 25;
penance at, 241;

Parish registers at Halifax, 125

Paulmy, pillory at, 145-146

Peine forte et dure, 87-94

Pendleton Moor, gibbet at, 51-53

Pentrich, plot planned at, 80

Pepys, S., 148

Pillory, the, 143-158

Pirate gibbeted at Hornsea, 55

Plymouth ducking-stools, 266-268

Popish plot, 149

Prayer Book burnt, 163

Prayers at St. Sepulchre's Church, 13

Pressing to death, 87-94

Preston brank, 286;
pillory, 152

Prynne, W., 163

Public executions, 38

Public penance, 227-238

Punishing Authors and Burning Books, 159-170

Pythagoras, 159

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 113

Ratcliff Highway, 247

Refusing to plead, 87-94

Repentance stool, 239-242

Riddle, a grim, 58

Riding the stang, 299-306

Ridware Beaudesart brank, 287

Rioting at executions, 14-16

Rizzio, murder of, 131

Rochester, Bishop of, 106-111

Rochford, Viscountess, 111

Rome, books burnt at, 159

Romilly, Sir Samuel, advocates humane reforms, 86

Roose boiled to death, 106

Ross, Sir William, 9

Rothesay, 179

Roxby, penance at, 233

Rugby ducking-stool, 254

Rushmere Heath, burning to death on, 103

Rye, gibbeting at, 48;
pillory 154

Sabbath-breaking, 190

Sack-cloth, 239

Saddler of Bawtry, 12

Salisbury, Countess of, 112

Sancton, penance at, 237

Sandwich, drowning at, 96;
ducking-stool, 248

Scarborough ducking-stool, 262-263

Scotch pedlars whipped, 216

Scotland, drowning, 96;
gibbeting, 43;
stocks in, 190

Scottish Maiden, 128-133

Scrooby, gibbet at, 59

Second statute of labourers, 187

Selby ducking-stool, 258

Servants, whipping, 224-226

Seymour, Lord, 112

Shakespeare and the stocks, 188-189

Shelley on an execution, 84

Shooting at a gibbeted man, 59

Shore, Jane, penance of, 230-232

Shrewsbury brank, 296

Shropshire Assizes, 136;
gibbet, 46

Shrouds of condemned criminals, 34

Silken rope, 17-18

Sixteen-string Jack, 14

Skimmington-riding, 303

Skipton ducking-stool, 260;
stocks, 198

Slaves branded, 138

Slight offences, executions for, 30

Somerset, Duke of, 112

Southam ducking-stool, 251

Splicing the rope, 25

St. Andrews, boy punished, 178;
brank, 298

St. Paul's Churchyard, books burnt in, 160

St. Giles's bowl, 11

Stafford, Viscount, 114

Staffordshire branks, 287

Stanfield, Philip, 43

Stanningley stocks, 196

Stockport brank, 282;
stocks, 200

Stocks, the, 186-200

Stokesley, penance at, 235-237

Stow, penance at, 241

Strafford, Earl of, 114

Strangeways, Major, 92-93

Stubbs, 161

Suffolk, Duke of, 112

Surrey, Earl of, 112

Sutton, riding stang at, 301

Swimming a witch, 50

Taylor on Halifax law, 122;
on whipping-posts, 211

Thewe, 245

Thurlow, Lord, on the pillory, 155

Tolbooth, Edinburgh, 129

Tower of London, 110

Tring, gibbet at, 50-51

Tudor manners, 177

Tumbrel, 268

Tutor's Assistant, drawing by Cruikshank, 226

Tyburn, 11

Tyrwhitt, Robert, 9

Uckington Heath, gibbet on, 46

Upton Common, gibbet, 63

Vagrancy, 210

Vernon, Sir George, 5

Wakefield ducking-stool, 258;
jougs, 184;
penance, 234;
whipping, 220

Wallingford pillory, 244

Walsall brank, 287, 288

Waltham Abbey whipping-post, pillory and stocks, 211-214

Walton-on-Thames, brank at, 278

Wardlow, gibbet at, 71

Warrington brank, 285;
museum, 67

Warton, 165

Warwick, tumbrel at, 270

Wedding clothes, executed in, 17

Welsh customs, 305

West Calder, 239

Whip-cord, torturing with, 89

Whipping Act, 210

Whipping and Whipping-Posts, 209-226

Whiston stocks, 192

Whitchurch brank, 297

Whitfield, notorious highwayman, 58

Wigtown, hangman at, 18;
last execution at, 21;
jougs, 179

William the Conqueror introduces beheading, 108

Williams, bookseller, 169-170

Wilson, Alexander, 170

Winchester, coiners punished at, 135

Wirksworth, penance at, 233

Witchcraft, 50;
burning to death for, 99

Wolsey, Cardinal, in the stocks, 193

Women drowned, 95;
whipped, 218

Wootton Bassett, tumbrel at, 268-269

Worcester, 115, 217-218, 296

Worsborough ducking-stool, 259

Yarmouth, pirate gibbeted at, 67

"Mr. Andrews' books are always interesting."--_Church Bells._

"No student of Mr. Andrews' books can be a dull after-dinner
speaker, for his writings are full of curious out-of-the-way
information and good stories."--_Birmingham Daily Gazette._

* * * * *

England in the Days of Old.

BY WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S.,

_Demy 8vo., 7s. 6d. Numerous Illustrations._

This volume is one of unusual interest and value to the lover of olden days and ways, and can hardly fail to interest and instruct the reader. It recalls many forgotten episodes, scenes, characters, manners, customs, etc., in the social and domestic life of England.

CONTENTS:--When Wigs were Worn--Powdering the Hair--Men Wearing Muffs--Concerning Corporation Customs--Bribes for the Palate--Rebel Heads on City Gates--Burial at Cross Roads--Detaining the Dead for Debt--A Nobleman's Household in Tudor Times--Bread and Baking in Bygone Days--Arise, Mistress, Arise!--The Turnspit--A Gossip about the Goose--Bells as Time-Tellers--The Age of Snuffing--State Lotteries--Bear-Baiting--Morris Dancers--The Folk-Lore of Midsummer Eve--Harvest Home--Curious Charities--An Old-Time Chronicler.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS:--The House of Commons in the time of Sir Robert Walpole--Egyptian Wig--The Earl of Albemarle--Campaign Wig--Periwig with Tail--Ramillie-Wig--Pig-tail Wig--Bag-Wig--Archbishop Tilotson--Heart-Breakers--A Barber's Shop in the time of Queen Elizabeth--With and Without a Wig--Stealing a Wig--Man with Muff, 1693--Burying the Mace at Nottingham--The Lord Mayor of York escorting Princess Margaret--The Mayor of Wycombe going to the Guildhall--Woman wearing a Scold's Bridle--The Brank--Andrew Marvell--Old London Bridge, shewing heads of rebels on the gate--Axe, Block, and Executioner's Mask--Margaret Roper taking leave of her father, Sir Thomas More--Rebel Heads, from a print published in 1746--Temple Bar in Dr. Johnson's time--Micklegate Bar, York--Clock, Hampton Court Palace--Drawing a Lottery in the Guildhall, 1751--Advertising the Last State Lottery--Partaking of the Pungent Pinch--Morris Dance, from a painted window at Betley--Morris Dance, temp. James I.--A Whitsun Morris Dance--Bear Garden, or Hope Theatre, 1647--The Globe Theatre, temp. Elizabeth--Plan of Bankside early in the Seventeenth Century--John Stow's Monument.

A carefully prepared Index enables the reader to refer to the varied and interesting contents of the book.

"A very attractive and informing book."--_Birmingham Daily Gazette._

"Mr. Andrews has the true art of narration, and contrives to give us
the results of his learning with considerable freshness of style,
whilst his subjects are always interesting and
picturesque."--_Manchester Courier._

"The book is of unusual interest."--_Eastern Morning News._

"Of the many clever books which Mr. Andrews has written none does
him greater credit than 'England in the Days of Old,' and none will
be read with greater profit."--_Northern Gazette._

"Valuable and interesting."--_The Times._

"Readable as well as instructive."--_The Globe._

"A valuable addition to any library."--_Derbyshire Times._

* * * * *

The Bygone Series.

In this series the following volumes are included, and issued at 7s. 6d. each. Demy 8vo., cloth gilt.

These books have been favourably reviewed in the leading critical journals of England and America.

Carefully written articles by recognised authorities are included on history, castles, abbeys, biography, romantic episodes, legendary lore, traditional stories, curious customs, folk-lore, etc., etc.

The works are illustrated by eminent artists, and by the reproduction of quaint pictures of the olden time.

BYGONE BERKSHIRE, edited by Rev. P. H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A.

BYGONE CHESHIRE, edited by William Andrews.

BYGONE DEVONSHIRE, by the Rev. Hilderic Friend.

BYGONE DURHAM, edited by William Andrews.

BYGONE GLOUCESTERSHIRE, edited by William Andrews.

BYGONE HERTFORDSHIRE, edited by William Andrews.

BYGONE LEICESTERSHIRE, edited by William Andrews.

BYGONE LINCOLNSHIRE (2 vols), edited by William Andrews.

BYGONE MIDDLESEX, edited by William Andrews.

BYGONE NORFOLK, edited by William Andrews.

BYGONE NORTHUMBERLAND, edited by William Andrews.

BYGONE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, by William Stevenson.

BYGONE SCOTLAND, by David Maxwell, C.E.

BYGONE SOMERSETSHIRE, edited by Cuming Walters.

BYGONE SOUTHWARK, by Mrs. E. Boger.

BYGONE SUFFOLK, edited by Cuming Walters.

BYGONE SURREY, edited by George Clinch and S. W. Kershaw, F.S.A.

BYGONE SUSSEX, by W. E. A. Axon.

BYGONE WARWICKSHIRE, edited by William Andrews.

BYGONE YORKSHIRE, edited by William Andrews.

* * * * *

Literary Byways.

BY WILLIAM ANDREWS.

_Demy 8vo., cloth gilt, 7s. 6d._

CONTENTS:--Authors at Work--The Earnings of Authors--"Declined with Thanks"--Epigrams on Authors--Poetical Graces--Poetry on Panes--English Folk Rhymes--The Poetry of Toast Lists and Menu Cards--Toasts and Toasting--Curious American Old Time Gleanings--The Earliest American Poetess: Anne Bradstreet--A Playful Poet: Miss Catherine Fanshawe--A Popular Song Writer: Mrs. John Hunter--A Poet of the Poor: Mary Pyper--The Poet of the Fisher-Folk: Mrs. Susan K. Phillips--A Poet and Novelist of the People: Thomas Miller--The Cottage Countess--The Compiler of "Old Moore's Almanack": Henry Andrews--James Nayler, the Mad Quaker, who claimed to be the Messiah--A Biographical Romance: Swan's Strange Story--Short Letters--Index.

"An interesting volume."--_Church Bells._

"Turn where you will, there is information and entertainment in this
book."--_Birmingham Daily Gazette._

"The volume is most enjoyable."--_Perthshire Advertiser._

"The volume consists of entertaining chapters written in a chatty
style."--_Daily Advertiser._

"A readable volume about authors and books.... Like Mr. Andrews's
other works, the book shows wide out-of-the-way reading."--_Glasgow
Herald._

"Dull after-dinner speakers should be compelled to peruse this
volume, and ornament their orations and per-orations with its
gems."--_Sunday Times._

"An entertaining volume.... No matter where the book is opened, the
reader will find some amusing and instructive matter."--_Dundee
Advertiser._

"Readable and entertaining."--_Notes and Queries._

"Mr. Andrews delights in the production of the pleasant, gossipy
order of books. He is well qualified, indeed, to do so, for he is
painstaking in the collection of interesting literary facts,
methodical in setting them forth, and he loves books with genuine
ardour."--_Aberdeen Free Press._

"We heartily commend this volume to the attention of readers who are
in any way interested in literature."--_Scots Pictorial._

* * * * *

The Church Treasury of History, Custom, Folk-Lore, etc.

EDITED BY WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S.

_Demy 8vo., 7s. 6d. Numerous Illustrations._

CONTENTS:--Stave-Kirks--Curious Churches of Cornwall--Holy Wells--Hermits and Hermit Cells--Church Wakes--Fortified Church Towers--The Knight Templars: their Churches and their Privileges--English Mediæval Pilgrimages--Pilgrims' Signs--Human Skin on Church Doors--Animals of the Church in Wood, Stone, and Bronze--Queries in Stones--Pictures in Churches--Flowers and the Rites of the Church--Ghost Layers and Ghost Laying--Church Walks--Westminster Wax-Works--Index. Numerous Illustrations.

"It is a work that will prove interesting to the clergy and
churchmen generally, and to all others who have an antiquarian turn
of mind, or like to be regaled occasionally by reading old-world
customs and anecdotes."--_Church Family Newspaper._

"Mr. Andrews has given us some excellent volumes of Church lore, but
none quite so good as this. The subjects are well chosen. They are
treated brightly and with considerable detail, and they are well
illustrated.... Mr. Andrews is himself responsible for some of the
most interesting papers, but all his helpers have caught his own
spirit, and the result is a volume full of information well and
pleasantly put."--_London Quarterly Review._

"Those who seek information regarding curious and quaint relics or
customs will find much to interest them in this book. The
illustrations are good."--_Publishers' Circular._

"An excellent and entertaining book."--_Newcastle Daily Leader._

"The book will be welcome to every lover of archæological
lore."--_Liverpool Daily Post._

"The volume is of a most informing and suggestive character,
abounding in facts not easy of access to the ordinary reader, and
enhanced with illustrations of a high order of merit, and extremely
numerous."--_Birmingham Daily Gazette._

"The contents of the volume are very good."--_Leeds Mercury._

"The volume is sure to meet with a cordial reception."--_Manchester
Courier._

"A fascinating book."--_Stockport Advertiser._

"Mr. Andrews has brought together much curious matter."--_Manchester
Guardian._

"The book is a very readable one, and will receive a hearty
welcome."--_Herts. Advertiser._

"Mr. William Andrews has been able to give us a very acceptable and
useful addition to the books which deal with the curiosities of
Church lore, and for this deserves our hearty thanks. The manner in
which the book is printed and illustrated also commands our
admiration."--_Norfolk Chronicle._

* * * * *

A Book About Bells.

BY THE REV. GEO. S. TYACK, B.A.,

Author of the "Historic Dress of the Clergy," etc.

_Crown, cloth extra, 6s._

CONTENTS:--Invention of Bells--Bell Founding and Bell Founders--Dates and Names of Bells--The Decoration of Bells--Some Noteworthy Bells--The Loss of Old Bells--Towers and Campaniles--Bell-Ringing and Bell-Ringers--The Church-Going Bell--Bells at Christian Festivals and Fasts--The Epochs of Man's Life Marked by the Bells--The Blessings and the Cursings of the Bells--Bells as Time-Markers--Secular Uses of Church and other Bells--Small Bells, Secular and Sacred--Carillons--Belfry Rhymes and Legends--Index of Subjects, Index of Places.

THIRTEEN FULL-PAGE PLATES.

"A most useful and interesting book.... All who are interested in
bells will, we feel confident, read it with pleasure and
profit."--_Church Family Newspaper._

"A pleasing, graceful, and scholarly book.... A handsome volume
which will be prized by the antiquary, and can be perused with
delight and advantage by the general reader."--_Notes and Queries._

"'A Book About Bells' can be heartily commended."--_Pall Mall
Gazette._

"An excellent and entertaining book, which we commend to the
attention not only of those who are specially interested in the
subject of bells, but to all lovers of quaint archæological
lore."--_Glasgow Herald._

"The book is well printed and artistic in form."--_Manchester
Courier._

"'A Book About Bells' is destined to be the work of reference on the
subject, and it ought to find a home on the shelves of every
library."--_Northern Gazette._

"The task Mr. Tyack has set himself, he has carried out admirably,
and throughout care and patient research are apparent."--_Lynn
News._

"We heartily recommend our readers to procure this volume."--_The
Churchwoman._

"An entertaining work."--_Yorkshire Post._

"'A Book About Bells' will interest almost everyone. Antiquaries
will find in it an immense store of information: but the general
reader will equally feel that it is a book well worth reading from
beginning to end."--_The News_, Edited by the Rev. Charles Bullock,
B.D.

"An excellent work."--_Stockton Herald._

"It is a well-written work, and it is sure to be popular."--_Hull
Christian Voice._

"Covers the whole field of bell-lore."--_Scotsman._

"Most interesting and finely illustrated."--_Birmingham Daily
Gazette._

* * * * *

Historic Dress of the Clergy.

BY THE REV. GEO. S. TYACK, B.A.,

Author of "The Cross in Ritual, Architecture, and Art."

_Crown, cloth extra, 3s. 6d._

The work contains thirty-three illustrations from ancient monuments, rare manuscripts, and other sources.

"A very painstaking and very valuable volume on a subject which is
just now attracting much attention. Mr. Tyack has collected a large
amount of information from sources not available to the unlearned,
and has put together his materials in an attractive way. The book
deserves and is sure to meet with a wide circulation."--_Daily
Chronicle._

"This book is written with great care, and with an evident knowledge
of history. It is well worth the study of all who wish to be better
informed upon a subject which the author states in his preface gives
evident signs of a lively and growing interest."--_Manchester
Courier._

"Those who are interested in the Dress of the Clergy will find full
information gathered together here, and set forth in a lucid and
scholarly way."--_Glasgow Herald._

"We are glad to welcome yet another volume from the author of 'The
Cross in Ritual, Architecture, and Art.' His subject, chosen widely
and carried out comprehensively, makes this a valuable book of
reference for all classes. It is only the antiquary and the
ecclesiologist who can devote time and talents to research of this
kind, and Mr. Tyack has done a real and lasting service to the
Church of England by collecting so much useful and reliable
information upon the dress of the clergy in all ages, and offering
it to the public in such a popular form. We do not hesitate to
recommend this volume as the most reliable and the most
comprehensive illustrated guide to the history and origin of the
canonical vestments and other dress worn by the clergy, whether
ecclesiastical, academical, or general, while the excellent work in
typography and binding make it a beautiful gift-book."--_Church
Bells._

"A very lucid history of ecclesiastical vestments from Levitical
times to the present day."--_Pall Mall Gazette._

"The book can be recommended to the undoubtedly large class of
persons who are seeking information on this and kindred
subjects."--_The Times._

"The work may be read either as pastime or for instruction, and is
worthy of a place in the permanent section of any library. The
numerous illustrations, extensive contents table and index, and
beautiful workmanship, both in typography and binding, are all
features of attraction and utility."--_Dundee Advertiser._

* * * * *

The Miracle Play in England,

An Account of the Early Religious Drama.

BY SIDNEY W. CLARKE, BARRISTER-AT-LAW.

_Crown 8vo., 3s. 6d. Illustrated._

In bygone times the Miracle Play formed an important feature in the religious life of England. To those taking an interest in the history of the Church of England, this volume will prove useful. The author has given long and careful study to this subject, and produced a reliable and readable book, which can hardly fail to interest and instruct the reader. It is a volume for general reading, and for a permanent place in the reference library.

CONTENTS:--The Origin of Drama--The Beginnings of English Drama--The York Plays--The Wakefield Plays--The Chester Plays--The Coventry Plays--Other English Miracle Plays--The Production of a Miracle Play--The Scenery, Properties, and Dresses--Appendix--The Order of the York Plays--Extract from City Register of York, 1426--The Order of the Wakefield Plays--The Order of the Chester Plays--The Order of the Grey Friars' Plays at Coventry--A Miracle Play in a Puppet Show--Index.

"Mr. Clarke has chosen a most interesting subject, one that is
attractive alike to the student, the historian, and the general
reader.... A most interesting volume, and a number of quaint
illustrations add to its value."--_Birmingham Daily Gazette._

"The book should be useful to many."--_Manchester Guardian._

"An admirable work."--_Eastern Morning News._

"Mr. Sidney Clarke's concise monograph in 'The Miracle Play in
England' is another of the long and interesting series of
antiquarian volumes for popular reading issued by the same
publishing house. The author briefly sketches the rise and growth of
the 'Miracle' or 'Mystery' play in Europe and in England; and gives
an account of the series or cycle of these curious religious
dramas--the forerunners of the modern secular play--performed at
York, Wakefield, Chester, Coventry, and other towns in the middle
ages. But his chief efforts are devoted to giving a sketch of the
manner of production, and the scenery, properties, and dresses of
the old miracle play, as drawn from the minute account books of the
craft and trade guilds and other authentic records of the period.
Mr. Clarke has gone to the best sources for his information, and the
volume, illustrated by quaint cuts, is an excellent compendium of
information on a curious byeway of literature and art."--_The
Scotsman._

* * * * *

Legal Lore: Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.

EDITED BY WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S.

_Demy 8vo., Cloth extra, 7s. 6d._

CONTENTS:--Bible Law--Sanctuaries--Trials in Superstitious Ages--On Symbols--Law Under the Feudal System--The Manor and Manor Law--Ancient Tenures--Laws of the Forest--Trial by Jury in Old Times--Barbarous Punishments--Trials of Animals--Devices of the Sixteenth Century Debtors--Laws Relating to the Gipsies--Commonwealth Law and Lawyers--Cock-Fighting in Scotland--Cockieleerie Law--Fatal Links--Post-Mortem Trials--Island Laws--The Little Inns of Court--Obiter.

"There are some very amusing and curious facts concerning law and
lawyers. We have read with much interest the articles on
Sanctuaries, Trials in Superstitious Ages, Ancient Tenures, Trials
by Jury in Old Times, Barbarous Punishments, and Trials of Animals,
and can heartily recommend the volume to those who wish for a few
hours' profitable diversion in the study of what may be called the
light literature of the law."--_Daily Mail._

"Most amusing and instructive reading."--_The Scotsman._

"The contents of the volume are extremely entertaining, and convey
not a little information on ancient ideas and habits of life. While
members of the legal profession will turn to the work for incidents
with which to illustrate an argument or point a joke, laymen will
enjoy its vivid descriptions of old-fashioned proceedings and often
semi-barbaric ideas to obligation and rectitude."--_Dundee
Advertiser._

"The subjects chosen are extremely interesting, and contain a
quantity of out-of-the-way and not easily accessible information....
Very tastefully printed and bound."--_Birmingham Daily Gazette._

"The book is handsomely got up; the style throughout is popular and
clear, and the variety of its contents, and the individuality of the
writers gave an added charm to the work."--_Daily Free Press._

"The book is interesting both to the general reader and the
student."--_Cheshire Notes and Queries._

"Those who care only to be amused will find plenty of entertainment
in this volume, while those who regard it as a work of reference
will rejoice at the variety of material, and appreciate the careful
indexing."--_Dundee Courier._

"Very interesting subjects, lucidly and charmingly written. The
versatility of the work assures for it a wide
popularity."--_Northern Gazette._

"A happy and useful addition to current literature."--_Norfolk
Chronicle._

"The book is a very fascinating one, and it is specially interesting
to students of history as showing the vast changes which, by gradual
course of development have been brought about both in the principles
and practice of the law."--_The Evening Gazette._

* * * * *

Transcriber's note:

Corrections to the Index have been made without note.

Significant changes to the text are listed below.

p. 21, 'Frazer' changed to _Fraser_.

p. 35, 'detroyed' changed to _destroyed_, 'Fictitious Capital and
False Credit destroyed.'

p. 37, '12th' changed to _15th_, 'Monday, the 15th of March.'

p. 85, 'On same night ...' changed to _On the same night ..._

p. 125, 'empanneled' changed to _empanelled_ (twice).

p. 155, 'Mr. Llewellynn Jewitt' changed to _Mr. Llewellyn Jewitt_.

p. 160, 'Dioletian' changed to _Diocletian_.

p. 271, 'Scolding-car' changed to _Scolding Cart_, 'Scolding
Cart is another name ...'

p. 294, 'described as a "a gag or brank ..."' changed to
_described as "a gag or brank ..."_