Chapter X: Part 10

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 #enantios#. 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:

"All about Malvern Hill
A man may live as long as he will."

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:

"All flesh is grasse worme's meat and clay, and here it hath
short time to live,
For proofe whereof both night and day all mortall wights
ensamples give.
Beneath this stone fast closde in clay doth sleepe the corpes
of George Shipside,
Wch. Christ shal rayse on ye last day and then with him be glorifide.
Whose sovle now lives assvredly in heaven with Christ ovr Saviovr
In perfect peace most ioyfvlly with Gods elect for evermore.

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:

"My ship, long on the seas of this world tost,
Of _helme_ bereav'd, lo here is sunk at last."

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:

"Wherefore his name hath broke detraction's fetters,
And well abides the _touch_ in _golden letters_."

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 ye way of disputing and managing arguments, did conclude that Tombes got ye 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 Pop.
in 1548. 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.