Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11 Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set.

Part 30

Chapter 303,531 wordsPublic domain

[Sidenote: An inland county.]

[Sidenote: Climate mild.]

[Sidenote: Value of the land.]

[A] BEDFORD. This is an ancient corporation, the earliest charter of which is dated in 1160. It is governed by a mayor, recorder, aldermen, two chamberlains, and thirteen common councilmen. Whoever may have been a mayor is always afterwards reputed as an alderman. The mayor and bailiffs are chosen annually out of the freemen. As early as the year 1295, it sent two members to parliament. The Duke of Bedford takes his title from this town, which first gave title of duke to the victorious prince John Plantagenet, Regent of France, during the minority of his nephew, Henry VI. as it did in the reign of Edward IV. first to John Nevil, Marquis of Montacute, and then to the king's third son, George Plantagenet; but he dying an infant, the title lay vacant till Henry VII. created his uncle, Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford, who also died without issue; and thus far the title was enjoyed by the first possessor only of each family. But King Edward VI. making John, Lord Russel, Earl of Bedford, the dignity has ever since been in that illustrious house, with an advancement of it to the title of Duke, by King William III. The history of the noble family of Russell is curious and interesting. They appear to have originated in Dorsetshire, and owe their greatness to an accident on that coast. In the reign of Henry VII., Philip, Archduke of Austria, being bound for Spain, the heiress of which kingdom he had married, was obliged by a storm to put on shore at Weymouth, where he was received by Sir Thomas Frenchard, of Wolverton, Knt., who, till he could inform the court of the event, sent for his neighbour Mr. John Russell, then lately returned from his travels, to entertain his illustrious guests. The Archduke was so pleased with his conversation, that he recommended him to the king of England, who soon advanced him to several honourable posts, and his son Henry VIII. created him Baron Russell of Cheneys, in the county of Bucks, which estate he afterwards acquired by marriage. He was made by Henry VIII. lord warden of the stannaries, and lord admiral of England and Ireland, knight of the garter, and lord privy seal. In the reign of Edward VI. he was lord high steward for the coronation, and had a grant of Woburn Abbey, and was in the 3rd of Edward VI. 1549, created earl of Bedford. He had the honour to conduct over to England, Philip of Spain, grandson to the prince who first brought him to court and advancement. He died 1554, and was succeeded by his son Francis, who died in 1585, and was buried at Cheneys, as were most of his descendants. His son Francis being killed a day or two before his father's death, by the Scotch in the marches, his son Edward succeeded his grandfather, and died 1627; he was succeeded by his cousin Francis, son of his uncle William, lord Russell, of Thornhaugh, lord deputy of Ireland, in the reign of Elizabeth. This Francis was the first projector of the draining of the great level of the fens, called after him, Bedford Level, and dying 1641, was succeeded by his eldest son William, who after having several times joined both parties during the civil war, at last adhered to the royal cause, and suffered a severe loss in the death of his only son by the very family whom he had supported; to compensate for which he was created by King William, Marquis of Tavistock, and Duke of Bedford, and dying in 1700, was succeeded by his grandson Wriothesley. He, in 1711, by his son and namesake, and he 1732, by his brother John, who, dying in 1771, was succeeded by his grandson Francis, the late duke, who died rather suddenly, of an illness occasioned by a rupture, on the 2nd of March, 1802, in the 37th year of his age. His brother, Lord John Russell, succeeded him in his title and estates. This nobleman, so suddenly and unexpectedly raised to ducal honours, was born on the sixth of July, 1766; and, on the 21st of March, 1786, before he had completed his twentieth year, he married at Brussels, Georgiana Elizabeth, the second daughter of Viscount Torrington. This lady died on the 11th of October, 1801; leaving issue, Francis, born May 10, 1788; George William, born May 8, 1790; and John, born August 19, 1792. Shortly after his accession to the title, his grace married a second time, Georgiana, the fifth daughter of the duke of Gordon, by whom he had several children. After the death of Mr. Pitt, when Mr. Fox and his friends succeeded to power, his grace was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; a post which, without distinguishing himself as a party man, he filled to the entire and general satisfaction of the public. When Henry II. granted a charter to the burgesses of the town of Bedford, he rendered it subject to the payment of £40. per annum, as a fee-farm rent to the crown. Their mercantile guild and ancient privileges were confirmed by the succeeding monarch, who also granted new privileges and immunities similar to those enjoyed by the burgesses of Oxford. Richard II. granted still more extended privileges, and among others a view of Frankpledge within the borough. In this monarch's charter the corporation are styled the mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses. In the reign of Edward I. the liberties of the town were seized by that monarch, the bailiffs having neglected to discharge the fee-farm rent. In the reign of Henry VI. the town being much decayed, many houses gone to ruin, and the trade of it brought low, and the usual issues discontinued, the inhabitants petitioned the king to shew them his grace: accordingly he granted that the yearly rent should be remitted in part for a time. In the reign of Henry VII. it was permanently reduced, through the interposition of Sir Reginald Bray, then Prime Minister, to £20. per annum, and afterwards to £16. 5s. 8d. which rent is now payable to their successors. The last renewal of the charter of incorporation was in the reign of King James II. in whose time the mayor and aldermen were removed from their respective offices, by royal mandate, for neglecting to elect two burgesses to serve in parliament. The members were in consequence chosen by his Majesty's ministers. The right of election was determined in 1690, to be in the burgesses, freemen, and inhabitant householders not receiving alms. The number of voters is nearly 500. Bedford is a place of great antiquity, and is supposed by some writers to have been the Lactidorum of Antoninus; but Camden objects to this, on the ground that the town is not situated on any Roman road, neither have any Roman coins been found there. Its situation is upon the Ouse, by which it is divided into two parts, in the direction of east and west. This circumstance enables it to carry on a considerable trade with Lynn. In the Saxons' time, Bedford was a place of considerable consequence: as appears from its having been chosen by Offa, the powerful King of the Mercians, for his burial place. His bones were interred in a small chapel, which being situated on the brink of the river Ouse, was afterwards undermined and swept away by the floods, during an inundation. Bedford, as has been already stated, was also famous for a victory gained in the year 572, by Cuthwlf, the Saxon king, over the Britons. The Danes once destroyed this town; but Edward the Elder repaired it, and united the town on the south side of the river, called Mikesgate, to Bedford, on the north side of it; since which they have both gone by this name. After the conquest, Pain de Beauchamp, the third Baron of Bedford, built a castle here, encompassed with a mighty rampart of earth, and a high wall, the whole so strong that King Stephen, who besieged and took it in his war with the Empress Maud, was glad to grant the garrison honourable terms. In the barons' wars it was again besieged, and for want of relief, taken by King John's forces under Fulco de Brent, to whom the King gave it for a reward; but for his subsequent behaviour he took it from him, and caused it to be demolished, though it was not quite level till the reign of Henry III. The celebrated John Bunyan, whom we shall notice hereafter, was ordained co-pastor of the congregation of St. Peter's, in 1671, and continued in that situation until he died in 1688. The chair in which he used to sit is still preserved as a relic in the vestry of the chapel. As early as the year 1745, the Moravians, or society of Unitas Fratrum, had an establishment at Bedford, where they built a neat chapel in 1750. Of late years, however, the number of these recluse and inoffensive sectaries has considerably declined; and the house adjoining to the chapel, which was formerly appropriated to the brethren and the sisters of the society, has been converted into a school. In the year 1556, Sir William Harper founded a free school in Bedford, for the instruction of children of the town in grammar and good manners. The school-house was rebuilt in 1767, when a statue of the founder was placed in the front, with a latin inscription beneath, to the following effect:--

"Behold, Traveller, the Bodily Resemblance Of Sir William Harper, Knight; Of this School, Thus spacious and Adorned, The Munificent Founder, The Picture of His Mind, Is Dedicated in the Table of Benefactions."

The warden and fellows of New College, Oxford, are visitors of this school, and have the appointment of the masters and ushers. The master's salary is £260. with coals and candles; that of the second master is £160., with the same allowance of fire and candle. The writing-master has a salary of £80. per annum. Sir William Harper, for the support of this excellent institution, conveyed to the corporation thirteen acres and one rood of land, lying in the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, which he had purchased for the sum of £180.; he also conveyed his late dwelling-house, &c., at Bedford. The revenues of these estates were also to be applied towards apportioning maidens of the town on their entrance into the marriage estate. In the year 1660, the corporation leased the whole of the lands in the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, for the term of 41 years, at the yearly rent of £99. In the year 1684, a reversionary lease was granted for the further term of 51 years, at the improved rent of £150. In consequence of granting these leases, a great number of houses were built, and the following streets covered the above-mentioned thirteen acres of meadow land:--Bedford-street, Bedford-row, Bedford-court, Princes-street, Theobald's-road, North-street, East-street, Lamb's Conduit-street, Queen-street, Eagle-street, Boswell-court, Queen-street, Harper-street, Richbell-court, Hand-court, Gray's Inn-passage, Three Cup-yard, &c. The annual rent of these buildings is now considerably increased, and it is expected that in a few years it will amount to upwards of £30,000. This extraordinary increase of revenue occasioned the trustees to apply to parliament for two several acts to regulate its disposal, and to extend the objects of the charity. By the priorism contained in these acts of parliament, the maintenance of the master and usher of the grammar-school, and the maintenance of a master, and two ushers to the English school, is provided. Three exhibitions of £40. per annum, are given to scholars from the free school, either at Oxford or Cambridge, during the space of six years. The sum of £800. per annum is appropriated for marriage portions, to be given by lot in sums of £20. each, to forty poor maidens of Bedford, of good fame and reputation, not under sixteen years of age, and not exceeding fifty. They are not to marry within two months after receiving the marriage portion, otherwise to forfeit it. The men to whom they are to be married must not be vagrants or persons of bad fame or reputation. A yearly sum of £3,000. per annum is also appropriated by the last act, for the maintenance of twenty-six boys in an hospital or school of industry, and £700. to be laid out in apprentice fees for fifteen poor boys and five girls, to be chosen by lot. The trustees have likewise been enabled to build alms-houses for a number of poor men and women. The weekly allowance to each is 3s., and 40s. annually for clothing. If a poor man and his wife live together, they are allowed to the amount of 5s. per week. One hundred pounds per annum is appropriated to be given in sums of £5. each, to twenty poor girls upon their going out to service. The residue of the income is to be laid out in buildings, and in endowing more alms-houses, or building cottages to be let at a low rent to the poor. Here are also a house of industry, and an infirmary, which are well supported. Lace-making employs a great number of the lower classes, both in the town and county of Bedford. The lace is chiefly made by women; and children at the early age of four years are set down to it. On certain days, the persons appointed by the dealers collect the lace of the different villages, and convey it to the London market. A strong stone bridge connects the northern and southern parts of the town. "This bridge," says Grose, "is one hundred and sixteen yards in length, four and a half broad, and has a parapet three feet and a half high; this, it is said, was erected in the reign of Queen Mary, out of the ruins of St. Dunstan's church, which stood on the south side of the bridge. It has seven arches, and near the centre were two gate-houses; that on the north, being used for a prison, and that on the south served as a store-house for the arms and ammunition of the troops quartered here. These gate-houses were taken down in the year 1765, and six lamps set up on posts at proper distances." The town-hall, or sessions-house, in which the assizes for the county are holden, is situated in an area before St. Paul's church. It was erected in the year 1753, and is a capacious and handsome structure.

_Markets_, Tuesday and Saturday.--_Fairs_, First Tuesday in Lent, April 21, July 5, Aug. 21, Oct. 11, and Dec. 19, for all kinds of cattle.--_Mail_ arrives 1.14 morning; departs 2.54 afternoon.--_Banker_, Thomas Barnard, draws on Kay and Co.--_Inns_, George, and Swan.

[Sidenote: Very ancient corporation.]

[Sidenote: Origin of the Bedford family.]

[Sidenote: Bedford Level.]

[Sidenote: First charter granted by Henry II.]

[Sidenote: King Offa buried here.]

[Sidenote: John Bunyan.]

[Sidenote: Noble charity, founded by Sir William Harper.]

[Sidenote: Its revenues.]

[Sidenote: Alms-houses.]

[Sidenote: Lace-making, the chief trade.]

[A] BEDLINGTON, though within the county of Northumberland, belongs to Chester ward, in the county of Durham. It lies between the rivers Wansbeck and Blythe. The monks of Durham, in their flight to Lindisfarne, before the arms of the Conqueror, with the incorruptible body of St. Cuthbert, rested all night here. The Rev. Francis Woodmas, the expositor of St. Chrysostom, was vicar here from 1696 to 1710. The Bedlington blast furnace, for smelting iron, was some years since taken down. At the Bebside and Bedlington Mills, about fifty men are employed. An unsuccessful attempt was a few years ago made to establish a manufactory of printed cottons at Stannington bridge, in this neighbourhood.

[Sidenote: Blast furnaces.]

Map| Names of Places. | County. | Number of Miles From | +--+-------------------+---------+-------------+---------------+ 41|Bedwin, Great[A] pa|Wilts |Marlborough 7|Ramsbary 5| 41|Bedwin, Little pa|Wilts | ... 8| ... 4| 39|Bedworth pa|Warwick |Nuneaton 4|Longford 2| 23|Beeby pa|Leicester|Leicester 6|Houghton 3| 35|Beech to|Warwick |Stafford 7|Eccleshall 6| 4|Beech Hill ti|Berks |Reading 7|Aldermaston 5| 41|Beechingstoke pa|Wilts |Devizes 5|Pewsey 5| 38|Beeding, Upper pa|Sussex |Steyning 1|Shoreham 5| 38|Beeding, Lower ti|Sussex | ... 2| ... 5| 4|Beedon pa|Berks |E. Ilsley 3|Newbury 7| 43|Beeford pa & to|E.R. York|Driffield 7|Bridlington 10| 10|Beeley chap|Derby |Bakewell 3|Chesterfield 10| 21|Beelsby pa|Lincoln |Caistor 5|Grimsby 7| 4|Beenham pa|Berks |Reading 8|Newbury 9| 11|Beer chap|Devon |Colyton 3|Honiton 10| 34|Beer |Somerset |Bridgewater 4|Stowey 5| 11|Beerhall |Devon |Bridport 8|Honiton 10| 11|Beeralston[B] to|Devon |Tavistock 6|Plymouth 7| +--+-------------------+---------+-------------+---------------+ |Dist.| Map| Names of Places. | Number of Miles From |Lond.|Population. +--+-------------------+-----------------------+-----+---------+ 41|Bedwin, Great[A] pa|Hungerford 6| 71| 2191| 41|Bedwin, Little pa| ... 5| 70| 587| 39|Bedworth pa|Coventry 5| 96| 3980| 23|Beeby pa|Melton 9| 104| 120| 35|Beech to|Newcastle 8| 141| | 4|Beech Hill ti|Kingsclere 7| 46| 249| 41|Beechingstoke pa|Lavington 6| 86| 187| 38|Beeding, Upper pa|Brighton 10| 51| 589| 38|Beeding, Lower ti| ... 10| 51| 533| 4|Beedon pa|Hungerford 12| 57| 306| 43|Beeford pa & to|Beverley 13| 196| 894| 10|Beeley chap|Matlock 6| 150| 441| 21|Beelsby pa|Louth 18| 164| 158| 4|Beenham pa|Pangbourn 6| 47| 360| 11|Beer chap|Sidmouth 7| 153| | 34|Beer |Watchet 14| 143| | 11|Beerhall |Crewkerne 14| 147| | 11|Beeralston[B] to|Saltash 4| 213| | +--+-------------------+-----------------------+-----+---------+

[A] BEDWIN was a market-town, and supposed by Stukeley to have been the Leucomagus of the Romans; it certainly was a chief city of the Saxons, who built a castle there. It was a borough by prescription, sending two members to parliament, and is governed by a portreeve, and exercises many of its original rights, although considerably reduced in population. The church, a cruciform building of flints, with a central tower, is ancient and curious in itself, and for the monuments which it contains. The obtusely pointed arches of the nave, ornamented with zig-zag and billetted mouldings, rest on capitals, richly adorned with flowers, grotesque heads, and other figures. In the south transept are two tombs, which commemorate Adam and Roger de Stocre, Lords, according to Leland, of "Stoke Haulle thereby." The chancel contains the noble altar monument of Sir John Seymour, of Wolphall, father of the Protector, Somerset, and other distinguished persons. Near this tomb are two brass plates, on one of which is the figure of a lady, with her hands folded, and the inscription--"Julia Seymour;" the other commemorates a son of Sir John Seymour. The manor of Bedwin, which once belonged to Gilbert, Earl of Clare, husband of Anna d'Acres, was purchased by the late Earl of Aylesbury. This place gave birth, in 1621, to Dr. Thomas Willis, a learned physician, who wrote several works on his art, was appointed physician in ordinary to Charles II., and died of pleurisy in 1675. On Castle-hill is an entrenchment, in area two acres, with some foundations, supposed to be those of a castle, founded by the Saxons. Chisbury Castle is an entrenchment more than fifteen acres in extent, supposed to have been begun by the Britons, and sometime occupied by the Romans. The neighbouring village of Little Bedwin has a church built of flints, in the Anglo-Norman style of architecture, with a nave, aisles, chancel, and tower.

_Market_, formerly Tuesday (disused).--_Fairs_, April 23, and July 26, for horses, cows, and sheep.

[Sidenote: Monument of Julia Seymour, sister to Lady Jane Grey.]