Part 20

At the churches of Leigh and Rouse Lench, above the doors, exteriorly, is in each case a niche containing a figure--one of the Saviour, and the other supposed to be of St. Peter. These examples of figures are of rare occurrence in consequence of the destruction of all such representations and images at the Reformation, and subsequently by the Puritans. Above the western window of St. John's church, Bromsgrove, are three figures of the full size of life, said to represent St. Peter, St. Paul, and the Blessed Virgin. They are in a good state of preservation, although they have no doubt been there 450 years, and very likely escaped mutilation at the Reformation from the great height they are from the ground; for the window is one of the highest, if not _the_ highest, of all the western church windows in the county. On the south wall of Eastham church are two rudely carved bas-relievos, representing apparently the two signs of the zodiac, Leo and Sagittarius, and on the wall of the chancel arch, facing the nave, are two similar carvings--the one of the lamb and cross; and the other, two lions' bodies united in one head. It is said the church belonged to the Knights Templars, and hence these devices. The lamb and cross was one of the ensigns of that body, but how do the other devices apply? Are there any other similar relics in the county?

THE FIRST WORCESTER PRINTER.

John Oswen, of Worcester, who flourished about the middle of the sixteenth century, was appointed by Edward VI, the printer of all books for the service of the churches in Wales and the Marches, and he first printed the New Testament here. Mr. Eaton, of this city, has one of Oswen's books in his possession; it is entitled "The Godly sayings of the old auncient faithful fathers upon the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. Imprinted the xi day of Oct. 1550, at Worcester, by Jhon Oswen. They be also to sell at Shrewsbury." Are there any other specimens of his printing existing in this city? Oswen printed twenty-one books here.

KING CHARLES'S STAFF.

At the British Archæological Association's meeting in the Isle of Wight, August, 1865, it was stated, in a paper contributed by Mr. H. S. Cuming, that the gold-headed staff which Charles I leaned on during his trial, and the head of which breaking off suddenly, made a great impression on the King, as a bad omen, was in the possession of a lady residing at Worcester. In the "Gentlemen's Magazine" for January, 1846, the cane was said to be in the possession of Mr. Cooke, of Newclose, Isle of Wight. Which account is correct, or has the relic (like many others) miraculously multiplied? The writer would be glad to be informed if it is in Worcester, and where it may be seen.

GIANTS.

In the churchyard of Ripple is a gravestone bearing the following distich:

"As you passe by, behold my length, But never glory in your strength."

The individual buried here was Robert Reeve, who died in 1626, aged fifty-six. Tradition says that he was a giant (7ft. 4in. high), the length of his body being indicated by the distance between the head and foot stones of his grave; and it is said that he met with his death through over-exertion in mowing an acre of land one day in Uckingshall meadow. But there is a similar inscription in Welland churchyard, from which it would seem probable that it was a general one, intended as well for individuals under the standard height as for men of larger growth. Can any parish clerk inform me of similar inscriptions elsewhere? In Burford church, near Tenbury, is a monument to Edward Cornwall, with his picture in a shroud, painted on board. Tradition tells wonderful stories of his size and strength, and he is there represented as 7ft. 3in. long.

SAFFRON.

Dr. Nash, in his "Worcestershire," says that great quantities of wild saffron (_Crocus sativus_) grow in the parish of Kyre Wyard, south of Tenbury. If so, the naturalized plant must point out that saffron was formerly extensively cultivated at Kyre Wyard. Can any inhabitant of that vicinity say if the crocus, from which saffron was made, _now_ grows to any extent in the parish, and if there is any tradition about the cultivation of saffron. Shakspeare alludes to "villanous saffron," which in his time so coloured silks, bread, and everything, that people became sick of it, and so it got out of fashion, and there was less demand for the drug. The Easter simnels, however, used to be made yellow with it to a late period, and perhaps some may be yet manufactured. In Cornwall there is still a taste for saffron cakes, as I observed this very year (1855) at Helstone, where I unexpectedly bought one. The crocus that produces saffron must not be confounded with the purple-flowered meadow saffron (_Colchicum autumnale_), which is a very different plant. This last bears the name of "Naked Ladies," from the flowers springing from the ground without any investiture of leaves.--L.

Miscellaneous Notes.

OLD SAYINGS.

There is an old saying at Honeybourne, near Broadway, as follows:

"There was a church at Honeyborn When Evesham was but bush and thorn."

There is a saying that--

"When elmen leaves are as large as a _farden_, It's time to plant kidney beans in the garden."

or,

"When elm leaves are as big as a shilling, Plant kidney beans, if to plant 'em you're willing; When elm leaves are big as a penny, You _must_ plant kidney beans if you mean to have any."

Another saying is--

"On Candlemas day Every good goose should lay."

It is proverbial in Worcestershire that "you never hear the cuckoo before Tenbury fair or after Pershore fair." Tenbury fair is on April 20, and Pershore fair is on June 26, which two dates pretty correctly mark the duration of the cuckoo's visit.

A HAPPY VILLAGE.

The happy village of Norton, near Evesham, contains no inn, public-house, meeting-house, lawyer, doctor, or curate! (at least this was the case a few months ago, when the author of this work was there.)

A GREAT FLOOD.

G. E. R., a correspondent at Kidderminster, has found the following curious note on the fly-leaf of a rare tract, entitled "The Infancie of the Soule, by William Hill. Printed at the Signe of the Holy Lambe, 1605:"--"November ye 29, 1620. In the river Severn was the greatest flood that ever was sinse the flood of Noah; there was drowned at Homtone's Loade 68 persons as they whare going to Bewdley faire."

OLD FAMILY.

In the Domesday Book, mention is made of a family residing at Bromsgrove, of the name of Dipple, and at the present time there are living in that town three distinct families of the same name, so that in all probability this family never became extinct, and is therefore one of the oldest in the county.

BELLS AND BELL-FOUNDERS.

The majority of the Worcestershire bells were cast by Rudhall, of Gloucester, and his successor, Mears; Chapman and Mears, of London, towards the close of the last century, and T. Mears, of London, in the present, also have their names in some places, as at King's Norton; but a correspondent says he has one of Mears' lists, and finds only nine of his peals in Worcestershire, viz., Dudley, peal of ten, weight of tenor, 21 cwt.; Stourbridge, eight, tenor, 19 cwt.; King's Norton, eight, tenor, 17 cwt.; St. John's, Worcester, six, tenor, 16 cwt.; Fladbury, six, tenor, 13 cwt.; Longdon, six, tenor, 12 cwt.; Cookley, six, tenor, 12 cwt.; Abberley, six, tenor, 9 cwt.; and Stone, six, tenor, 6 cwt. On the Tredington bells the names of G. Purdye and Mr. Bagly appear (seventeenth century). The Clent bells are by Bagly, whose services were much called into requisition in Warwickshire, and it is said by enthusiastic ringers that the bells cast by the Baglys are not to be surpassed in the country: they are all light peals, with fine musical tones, and run down as true as a musical instrument can do. At Tanworth, Warwickshire, the tenor bell has this inscription: "Richard Saunders of Bromsgrove made we all, 1710." How long the trade of bell-founding existed at Bromsgrove does not appear, but the bells of St. Helen's (1706), St. John's (1710), and St. Nicholas (1715), were founded there by Mr. Saunders. The Worcester foundry, which had existed in Silver Street in the seventeenth century,[9] had probably closed at the above period when Bromsgrove was resorted to. On the third bell of Himbleton church is the inscription:

[9] There is a place in that street still called Bellfounders' Yard.

"John Martin, of Worcester, he made wee, Be it known to all that do wee see. 1675."

The Worcester foundry is also traceable on the bells of St. Michael's, Worcester, Bishampton, Himbleton, and Grafton Flyford, from 1660 to 1676; John Martin, of St. Martin's, being the founder.

The Bretforton peal is by Westcote, of Bristol, 1823; Lester and Peck, of London, founded some of the Halesowen bells a century ago. Joseph Smith, of Edgbaston, and R. Wells, of Aldbourne, others of them, at the beginning and end of the same century. The old peal of bells, prior to these, at Halesowen, it appears from the churchwardens' accounts, were completed in 1518, and the bell-founder came from Nottingham. Joseph Smith, of Edgbaston, also founded the Alvechurch and Northfield bells--the first in 1711, the latter in 1730. On the third bell at Alvechurch is the following euphonious couplet:

"If you would know when we was run, It was March the twenty-second, 1711."

The Alvechurch bells are kept in excellent condition by Billy Bourne, a poor demented creature, who however is famous for his skill in clock cleaning and his adhesiveness to the church belfry, in which he sleeps regularly on a hard plank, with an old mat for a coverlid; he has hardly ever been known to miss ringing the matin bell at five and the curfew at eight, and constantly defends the sacred precincts from all resurrectionists by a rusty old sword and pistol.

The Northfield bells are distinguished by some original versification, thus: On the first--

"We now are six, tho' once but five,"

Second--

"And against our casting some did strive;"

Third--

"But when a day for meeting they did fix,"

Fourth--

"There appeared but nine against twenty-six.

"Joseph Smith, 1730."

Fifth--

"Samuel Palmer and Thomas Silk, Churchwardens, 1730."

Tenor--

"Thomas Kettle and William Jervis did contrive To make us six that was but five."

The last-named couplet, which seeks to perpetuate a piece of parochial thrift in the casting of six bells out of five, is likewise to be found on a bell at Feckenham, with, of course, other names substituted.

TOBACCO.

"Sublime in hookahs, glorious in a pipe, When tipp'd with amber, mellow, rich, and ripe."

The introduction of tobacco (now become so important an article of general demand) is a subject worthy of a few notes, especially as regards the traces of its cultivation and consumption in this district. It is true that Worcestershire cannot boast of being the first place in England where "the wicked weed" was grown. That was an honour claimed by our near neighbours of Winchcombe, in Gloucestershire, who are said to have profited greatly (in a pecuniary sense, I suppose) by its cultivation. Tobacco was, however, grown at Worcester, Feckenham, Eckington, Pershore, Upton Snodsbury, Pensham, Kempsey, and other places in this county. The first mention of its use at Worcester is in the chamberlain's accounts for the year 1643, about fifty-seven years after its introduction to this country. At that time it was evidently esteemed an especial luxury. The entry is as follows:

"Item: For one ounce of bacca which Mr. Maior sent for to spend upon Colonel Sandys, and for tobacco pipe, eighteen pence."

The sum of 1s. 6d. being then equal to at least 10s. of our present money, some idea may be formed of the scarcity and value of tobacco in its earlier days. The Droitwich corporation, it seems, were very liberal in the consumption of the weed, for at a feast in 1656 it is recorded that the sum of 9s. was spent "for tobacco of both sorts." This is the first and only instance of "both sorts" being mentioned. The price of the article had fluctuated in a most unaccountable manner, for while in 1643 it cost 1s. 6d. an ounce at Worcester (the same price which was given for it at Droitwich in 1632), in 1646 it was entered only at 2s. 8d. per pound by the constable of Droitwich, in his bill of charges for soldiers who at that time had taken up their abode in Dodderhill church, as a barrack. In 1659, "Mr. Maior Ashbie," of Worcester, charges 6s. 8d. for a pound of Spanish tobacco; but it is gratifying to observe that, in the midst of this heavy expenditure on matters of luxury, some compunction of conscience was evident from the fact that the corporation made their pipes perform double duty, frequent entries occurring of a charge of 6d. per gross for _burning_ them! The price of the article was much reduced by the time of James II, when the "best Virginia" was but 2s. per pound, and "two gross of best glazed pipes and a box with them, 3s. 4d." Previous to that time tobacco had become almost a necessary among the upper classes, nor could the Parliamentary representatives of the city of Worcester be despatched up to town until the "collective wisdom" had smoked and drunk sack with them at the Globe, or some other hostelry.

As early as 1621 it was moved in the House of Commons by Sir William Stroud, that he "would have tobacco banished wholly out of the kingdom, and that it may not be brought in from any part nor used amongst us," and Sir Grey Palmes "that if tobacco be not banished it will overthrow one hundred thousand men in England; for now it is so common that he hath seen ploughmen take it as they are at plough." At a later period of the century, so inveterate had the practice become, that an order appears on the journals of the House, "That no member of the House do presume to smoke tobacco in the gallery, or at the table of the House, sitting at committees." Indeed we are told by M. Jorevin, who visited Worcester in the reign of Charles II, put up at the "Stag inn," and published his doings in the "Antiquarian Repertory," that the women smoked as well as the men. As early as the end of the sixteenth century, complaints were made of this "imitation of the manners of a savage people," as it was feared that by this practice Englishmen would degenerate into a barbarous state. So great an incentive was it thought to drunkenness, that it was strictly forbidden to be taken in any alehouse in the time of James I, and his Majesty exhausted much ponderous wit in attempting to cry down the weed; his celebrated performance, "A Counterblast to Tobacco," denominating it "the invention of Satan," and the custom of smoking as "loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless."

In 1659, Wm. George, of Eckington, was indicted at the Worcester County Sessions "for planting, setting, growing, making, and curing tobacco there," on 400 poles of land, and a fine of £400 inflicted--the informer being Wm. Harrison, of Pershore. Ralph Huntingdon, of Upton Snodsbury, John Redding, of Kempsey, Humphrey Tay and Rd. Beddard, of Eckington, and Edmund Baugh, of Pensham, were similarly fined. In the above-mentioned year it was ordered "that no person plant tobacco after January 1, 1660, according to Act of Parliament, 12th Charles II, within England, to sell, upon forfeiture of the same or value thereof, or 40s., for every rode or pole so planted, set, or sown, one moiety to the King and the other to the informer; not to extend to physick gardens in the university."

In 1662, letters were issued from the Lords of the Council which commanded that "all tobacco planted within the county of Worcester should be speedily destroyed by order of the sheriff and justices of the peace," to whom the said letters were directed; and for many years subsequent to that period (as appears from the Sessions rolls) the chief constables of this county sent warrants to the various constables for cutting and destroying the weed, and regular returns were made by them as to whether they had found any growing within their constablewicks. The tobacco plant, I am informed (_Nicotiana rustica_), still grows in a half naturalized state near Bewdley--in the vicinity, no doubt, of spots where it was formerly cultivated. This shows how easily tobacco might be produced in England, if there were no prohibitory taxation opposed to it. The following quaint stanzas are from a forgotten book of "Gospel Sonnets," by Ralph Erskine, a Presbyterian clergyman, whose object was to _improve_ whatever subject he touched upon, and thus he tunes his pipe in a

"MEDITATION ON SMOKING.

The pipe, so lily-like and weak, Does thus the mortal state bespeak: Thou art even such, Gone with a touch! Thus think, and smoke Tobacco.

And when the smoke ascends on high, Then thou behold'st the vani-ty Of worldly stuff-- Gone with a puff! Thus think, and smoke Tobacco.

In vain th' unlighted pipe you blow, Your pains in outward means are so, Till heavenly fire Your heart inspire;-- Thus think, and smoke Tobacco.

And when the pipe grows foul within Think on thy soul defiled with sin; For then the fire It does require;-- Thus think, and smoke Tobacco.

And see'st the ashes cast away, Then to thyself thou mayest say-- That to the dust Return thou must!-- Thus think, and smoke Tobacco."

HERMITAGES AND CAVES

abound in Worcestershire. One of the most interesting of them is that at Redstone, in a rock by the Severn, in the parish of Astley. It was said to be "a place of great resort for devotees of high quality in Papal times:" and the following remarks respecting it occur in a letter of Bishop Latimer, written from Hartlebury to Lord Cromwell, August 25th, 1538. The letter was printed in the Parker Society's edition of his "Remains," p. 401: "Hereby is an hermitage in a rock by Severn, able to lodge five hundred men, and as ready for thieves or traitors as true men. I would not have hermits masters of such dens, but rather that some faithful man had it." Habingdon says he had heard "that many who traffick'd on the river gave, as they passed by in their barges, somewhat of their commodities to charity at this hermitage; and to show how much great men have valued this place, there appear in the very front of the hermitage the arms of England, between those of Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, with his crosses croslet on the right hand, and those of Mortimer with an escutcheon ermine, quartered, as far as I can guess, with a cross on the left; but these monuments of honour are here so worn as they are instantly perishing." Nash states that the hermitage was anciently the inheritance of Sir T. Bromley, and, with two acres directly over the cell, was let to a poor tenant. It was afterwards sold and turned into an alehouse; and more recently it was converted into dwellings, but which were most unfit for human residences. Indeed, about thirty years ago a school was kept in a part of the rock! The entrance to the hermitage is through what is called the chapel; and an arched passage, with openings at the sides, seems to have led to the dormitories (now formed into dwellings), and to the right is the refectory. Over the doorway is an opening which is reached by some steps in the inside, and from which, according to tradition, one of the monks would address the people and pray for the safety of passengers crossing the ferry. Another tradition is, that a subterraneous passage once led from the hermitage to the priory, near the site of the present church.

Blackstone Rock, near the Severn at Bewdley, is also a most interesting relic. Here is an hermitage, cut in the rock, to which entrance is gained by a low doorway into the kitchen, which has for a chimney a circular hole cut perpendicularly through the rock; there are also a chapel, a pantry, with a chamber over, an inner room, closets with loft over, a study with shelves cut for books, and another opening in the rock, either for a belfry or chimney. Small and rudely cut openings in the rock served for windows. In the front of the cell is a seat carved in the rock, from which the hermit looked forth on the Severn (which then ran closer to the rock than it does now) and the beautiful meadows and wooded banks adjacent. There is a tradition that this was at one time a smuggler's cave; it has of late been used as a cider-making house, &c.

About a mile from Stanford church is Southstone Rock, said to be the largest mass of travertine hitherto discovered in this country, extending for half an acre. Its northern extremity terminates in a precipice, hanging over a most romantic dingle. Some cells were formerly hewn in the rock, and at the top was a chapel dedicated to St. John, on the feast of whose nativity there was a solemn offering, after which the assembly ascended, by stairs cut out of the rock, to the chapel, where they finished their devotions, and afterwards drank the waters of the well. This hermitage and land belonged to the abbey of Evesham. From the Jefferies Manuscript it appears that on St. John's Day a "pedling faire" was kept here, when the young people treated their acquaintance with roast meat, "ye smoke whereof yet remains upon ye rock," and that a wooden offering-post was fixed in the rock, having a cavity in it for money to pass into a hole underneath. The offertory dish in which these offerings were made (an exceedingly curious relic) was till lately in the possession of the Winnington family, but is now lost.

A hermit's cell may be seen in the parish of Hartlebury, cut in a rock in a secluded part of a meadow belonging to the glebe land; its roof is supported by two pillars, and two deeply splayed holes are cut in the wall.

A cave once existed on the top of Bredon Hill (as we are informed by Dr. Derham, who wrote about 1712); it was lined with stalactical stones on the top and sides; but this was believed to have been an ancient granary, as a quantity of wheat was found near there at the beginning of the present century, when a land-slip occurred. The cave was probably destroyed by one of these land-slips.

At Drakelow, near Cookley Wood, is a sandstone ridge, excavated and inhabited, that still bears the name of "Hollyaustin," corrupted, probably (as Mr. Lees suggests), from "holy Austin," or Augustine, a hermit that once resided there. There is a cave also in "The Devil's Spittlefull," on Blackstone Farm, in the Foreign of Kidderminster, and there was a hermit's cell at the old Sorb-tree in the forest of Wyre.

In the Red Cliff, near Suckley, Mr. Allies states, is a hole called "Black Jack's Cave," said to have been inhabited, about ninety years ago, by a convict named Farnham, who had returned from transportation before his time, and who used to climb up this cliff with all the agility of a cat, even when laden with the spoils of the neighbourhood.

The parish of Stone contains a rock in which is a cave called "The Devil's Den," and some horrifying tales are told of the fatal results which happened to persons who attempted to penetrate therein.

There is a hole in a rock, called "The Fairies' Cave," in the hamlet of Alfrick.

WORCESTERSHIRE DESCRIBED BY A ROUNDHEAD.