Part 1

Ruins and Old Trees.

RUINS AND OLD TREES ASSOCIATED WITH REMARKABLE EVENTS IN ENGLISH HISTORY

LONDON: HARVEY AND DARTON, GRACECHURCH STREET.

RUINS AND OLD TREES, ASSOCIATED WITH MEMORABLE EVENTS IN ENGLISH HISTORY.

BY MARY ROBERTS, AUTHOR OF "THE PROGRESS OF CREATION, CONSIDERED WITH REFERENCE TO THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE EARTH," "CONCHOLOGIST'S COMPANION," &c.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DESIGNS BY GILBERT, ENGRAVED BY FOLKARD.

LONDON: JOSEPH RICKERBY, PRINTER, SHERBOURN-LANE.

The Oak of Chatsworth,

PLANTED BY HER MAJESTY WHEN PRINCESS VICTORIA.

Wave on, ye old memorial trees, In the wintry wind and the summer breeze: Beacons ye are of days gone by, Of grief and crime, of the tear and sigh. Ah! may they never come again, In hut or hall, on hill or plain!

But a young tree is growing, Where clear streams are flowing; Its roots are deep in the mother earth, In the parent soil that gave it birth, And its noble boughs are waving high, Meeting the breeze or the summer wind's sigh; While quivering lights and shadows play On the flowery sod beneath; And flocks lie down in the heat of day, 'Mid the fragrant thyme and heath.

Old trees have fallen down, From the sites where they stood of yore, And now in tower or town Their names are heard no more. When they stood in their days of pride, The Saxon wore his crown, And oft through the forest wide The Norman wound his horn; But thou in thy beauty's sheen, Young tree, art rising high, Thy waving boughs are seen, Against the clear blue sky.

No dibbling foot of sportive fawn, In silent glen or glade, No squirrel bounding o'er the lawn Thy tender cradle made: But the poet's eye back glancing, Can sing of thy natal day, When the streamlets in light seem'd dancing, And the woods did their homage pay.

A maiden placed thee, forest tree, Where thou art standing now, No care depress'd her thoughts of glee, No crown was on her brow; But she stood, a lov'd and loving one, By her noble mother's side, And while that gentle deed was done, Hearts turn'd to her with pride.

The old memorial trees, That rise on rock or glen, Dark years of human sorrow Are chronicled on them; But Chatsworth's young oak springing, May spread her branches fair, When nought of sin or sadness Shall vex the earth or air.

The crowns which God hath given, Shall press not then as now; No sceptre shall be riven, No care shall cloud the brow. Victoria! shielded by His power, Be thine to triumph in that hour, Queen of the sea-girt isle! Not then, As now, the Queen of suffering men, But reigning still, beloved and glorious, O'er sin, and grief, and death victorious.

CONTENTS.

Melksham Court.

Ancient Forest--Huts of the Britons on its margin. Roman Settlements in the vale country--Destruction of the Danes--Gradual diminishing of the Forest--Pageant in the days of Richard II. in honour of his marriage with Anne of Luxemburg--Journey of the young Queen--Dangers attendant on the way--Arrival in London--Margaret of Silesia, a confidential friend and first-cousin of the Queen, accompanies her--Death of the Queen--Marriage of Margaret; afterwards that of her Daughter to Sir William Tyndale--Anecdote of Piastus, her immediate ancestor, and his elevation to the throne of Poland--A descendant of Margaret of Silesia concealed for three days and nights in the Yew-tree of Stinchcombe Wood--The Burning of his Mansion in the Valley--Reference to William Tyndale, the Apostle of the English Reformation, descended from Margaret--Beautiful Scenery around the remains of the old Forest, which now bears the name of Stinchcombe Wood--A dilapidated Court-House in the Valley, where the Tyndale family once resided--Its present condition and past greatness.--_Page 1._

Ruins of Bradgate Palace.

Scenery before and around the Ruin--Beautiful group of Chesnut-trees growing there in the days of Edward I.--Clear Stream of Water, beside which Lady Jane used to walk--Ruins of the little Mill mentioned by Leland--Vale of Newtown, Hill and Ruin--Sketch of Bradgate Palace--Lady Jane's Tower--Concluding Observations--Poetry.--_Page 21._

Oak of Chertsey. Glendour's Oak.

Battle between Henry IV. and Hotspur--Fall of Hotspur--Battle witnessed by Owen Glendour from the topmost branches of the Tree--Return to his Castle in the Vale of Glyndwrdwey--Mode of Warfare--Remarks respecting him--Dread entertained by the English of his possessing supernatural Powers--Anecdote of his early Life--Beautiful Scenery of Bethgellert--The bard Rhys-Cock--Stone on which he used to sit--Building of a Church by Henry IV. in commemoration of the Battle in which Hotspur fell--Present condition of the Church, and of Glendour's Oak.--_Page 31._

Yew Trees of Skelldale.

Historical notice of the Monks of St. Mary's at York, who took shelter beneath seven Yew-trees--Their sanctity and mode of life--Conjectures respecting the state of Britain, when the fraternal Yew-trees first arose from the earth--Hardships endured by the recluses--The charity of their Abbot to a stranger--Splendid Abbey of the Fountain.--_Page 43._

Oak of Howel Sele. The blasted Oak.

Contrast between the bleached and skeleton-looking Tree, and the lawns and thickets by which it is surrounded--History of Howel Sele--His Fight with his cousin Owen Glendour--His Death, and the inhuming of him within an hollow Oak--Search made for the Chieftain by his Vassals--Weary watchings of his Widow--Arrival of Madoc, after many years, at the Castle of the murdered Chieftain--Telling of Glendour's Death, and how he had charged him to make known where the body of Howel Sele was concealed--Working of the Vassals by torch-light, and the discovery of his Bones.--_Page 51._

Queen Mary's Tower.

Winfield Castle--Peverel's Tower--Apartment and Tower of Mary, Queen of Scots--Ruins, when best seen--Heavy Storm during the Night--Aspect of Nature in the Morning--Old Tree within sight of Apartments occupied by Queen Mary--Beautiful Ash growing before her window.--_Page 57._

Chesnut of Tortworth.

Celebrated as a large Tree in the days of King John--Chesnut-tree preferred among all others by Salvator Rosa--Notice of Penda, of his son, Wolfere, and Eva--Wolfere, Governor of Mercia--Benefactor of the City of Gloucester--Caer Glou, or the Bright City--Persecutions of the Christians by Penda--Piety of Eva, who became, on the death of her husband, Abbess of the Nunnery of St. Peter's--Baptism of Penda.--_Page 61._

Oak of Ellerslie. Wallace's Oak.

Observations on the aged Tree--Place of its Growth--Sports and sorrows of Childhood--Assembling of the Village Children, with young Wallace, under the shade of the Oak of Ellerslie--Claim of Edward to the fealty of Scotland on the Death of the young Queen--Advance of his Armies--Contemporary Events--Wallace, when grown to manhood, takes up arms against the English--Joined by his young Companions--Concealed with many of his Officers, in an hollow of the Oak of Ellerslie, beneath which they had played in Childhood--Escape to the old Oak of Torwood, which becomes his head-quarters--Scenery on the banks of the Carron--Conversation with Bruce--Captivity and Death of Wallace--Veneration in which his Memory is held by the young People of Ellerslie--Memorial Spots associated with his Name.--_Page 69._

The Nut-Tree of Rosamond's Grave.

Rebuke of St. Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, to the Sisters of Godstow Nunnery--Removal of Rosamond's Hearse from before the Altar--Her Burial in the Churchyard--Belief of the Nuns respecting her private Marriage with the King--Sketch of her Life--Interview with the Queen, and retirement from her bower at Woodstock to Godstow Nunnery--Her Death--Visit to her Tomb.

Castle near old Sarum, the Residence of the Earl of Salisbury surrounded with Downs--Place of Tournament--Funeral of the Earl, and the mysterious Disappearance of his Daughter, Ela--Riding forth of Knights in search--Conjecture respecting her Disappearance--Ela's three Uncles--Monastry of Bradenstoke--Adventures of an English Knight, William Talbot, in quest of the young Heiress--His Wanderings in Normandy for the space of two years--Discovery of the Lady Ela, when gathering Shells on the Sea-coast--Poetry--Her Return to England, and Marriage with William Longespé--Attachment of William Longespé to his Brother, King John, the Companion of his Wanderings, a Friend who never Deserted him--Wretched Condition of the Country--Founding by William Longespé of the beautiful Cathedral of Salisbury--Going abroad of the Earl, with his Royal Nephew, Richard--Disasters by Land and Sea--Narrow Escape from an Abbey in the Isle of Rhé--Proposals of Marriage to the Lady Ela by Reimund de Burgh, during the absence of her Husband--Her scornful Reply--Complaint to King Henry by the Earl on his Return--Apology--Illness and Death of the Earl--His Funeral--Lady Ela permitted to remain in free Widowhood--Her Seal and Exercise of the Office of Sheriff of Wiltshire--Founding of Lacock Nunnery, and the Priory of Hinton--Ela's Retirement from the stately Castle, in which her young Days had passed to the Society of the Nuns of Lacock--Visit to the plain Marble Stone that covers the Remains of Lady Ela--Closing Observations.--_Page 91._

Remains of Dunmow Priory.

Old Church of Dunmow, by whom erected--Tomb of Sir Walter Bohun, by whom injured--Tomb of the Lady Marian, the wife of Robinhood--Conjecture respecting the sparing of her Effigy during the Civil Wars--Early History of Lady Marian--Tournament--Burning of her Father's Castle--Escape to the Forest--Single Combat with Prince John--Restoration of Robinhood, the Earl of Huntingdon, to his estates and honours--Death of Robinhood--Retiring of his Widow to the Priory of Dunmow--Sending of Sir Robert de Medeive, with a poisoned Bracelet, by King John, to the lady--Her Death--Poetry.--_Page 119._

Gospel-Beech.

Divisions of Great Britain by the Romans--Names given by the Saxons--Minor Changes and final Partition by command of Alfred--Origin of marking the respective Boundaries--Gospel-Tree near an ancient Saxon Town--Going round of the Parishioners--Contrast between the aged Tree and the young Flowers that spring beside it--Concluding Observations.--_Page 129._

Clipstone Palace and the Parliament Oak.

Condition of the ruined Palace--Hiding-place for solitary birds--The owl, jackdaw, and crow--Once a place of great note--Its style of building--How guarded--By whom inhabited--Withdrawing of King John from Clipstone Palace to London--Its lonely appearance when thus deserted--Rumours respecting an Interdict--Miserable state of the Country--No Burials allowed in Churches, nor Marriages within the walls--Bells and Images taken down and laid upon the ground--A Wedding Party--Appearance of Clipstone Palace when King Edward I. succeeds to the Throne--Improved condition of the Country--Notice of the lesser Barons and Burgesses--Style of Building much improved--Wise Policy of Edward--Notice of a fine young Oak growing in Clipstone Park--Parties made beneath its shade in the days of John--Again in those of Edward--Grave Company sitting there--Why convened.--_Page 135._

Ruined Villages in the New Forest.

Desolating of the New Forest--Distress of the Inhabitants--War declared with France--Departure of the King for Normandy--Wretched condition of Maine--Burning of Nantes--Illness of William--Bequests to his two Sons--Their unnatural Conduct--His Death--Poetry--Neglect of his Remains--Interruption to his Funeral--Hunting Party, convened by William Rufus, in Malwood-Keep--Arrival of a Monk with ill tidings from Gloucester--Accidental Death of the King--His remains found by a Charcoal-burner, and carried to Winchester--Interment.--_Page 151._

Old Trees in Hyde Park.

Ancient condition of the Country--First emerging of one of the old Trees from its Acorn cradle--Conjectures as to the People who inhabited Britain at the time--Stages of vegetation in all Trees alike--Contrast between the small beginning, and the grandeur of a full-grown Tree--Notice of the Forest that covered the greatest part of Middlesex--Settlement of Llyn-Din, or the Town on the Lake, called Londinium by the Romans--Draining of the Marshes, and cutting down of the Forest, embanking of the River and surrounding the City with a Wall--Gradual progress of Civilization--Increase of the City--Falling to decay of the old Roman Road that passed through a portion of Hyde-Park--Contrast between the Past and Present.--_Page 173._

Hatfield Oak.

Poetry.--_Page 187._

Beech of the Frith Common.

No sad associations with the young Beech of the Frith Common--Its dignity and proportions--Majesty and luxuriance of Forest-trees--Aggregate effect produced by Woodland Scenery--The Tree which stands alone can best be understood--Poetry.--_Page 195._

Oak of Salcey.

The Roots of aged Trees--Sketch of the Oak of Salcey, at different hours of the day and night--Solemn Aspect of the old Oak when seen dimly in the clear nights of the summer solstice--Loneliness of its place of growth--Songs of early Birds--Silent at Noon-day--Sounds heard at Eventide--Conjectures respecting the old Tree.--_Page 207._

Old Trees in Welbeck Park.

Beauty of Woodland Scenery, superior to all others--Purity and freshness of the Breezes that sport over wild thyme and short herbage--The Duke's Walking-stick, and the Seven Sisters--Trees in Welbeck Park.--_Page 213._

The Queen's Oak.

Tradition respecting the Queen's Oak--Sketch of the surrounding Scenery--Inhabitants of Grafton Castle--Marriage of Elizabeth Woodville to John Gray--Abbey of St. Alban's--Battle fought beside its walls--John Gray wounded--Visit of Henry VI. to the dying Youth--Confiscation of his Estates--Return of Elizabeth to her Father's house--Hunting Visit of Edward IV. to Whitlebury Chase--Elizabeth intercedes for the restoration of her Husband's Estates--Frequent meeting of Elizabeth and Edward beneath the old Oak--Poetry--Marriage at Grafton--Scene in the old Palace of Reading--Dress of the Queen--Fêtes and Tournaments--Coronation of Elizabeth--Count James, of St. Pol, invited to attend--Meeting of Cicely of York and the Duchess of Bedford, beside the cradle of their Grandchild--Flight of Edward--Retirement of his Queen to Sanctuary--Birth of a Prince--Return of the King, with the Lord Grauthuse--Great Entertainments--Betrothing of the young Duke of York with Anne Mowbray, infant heiress of the Duchy of Norfolk, in St. Stephen's Chapel--Scene in the Sanctuary of Westminster--Desolate condition of Elizabeth--Her Conversation with Archbishop Rotherham--Sophistry of Richard III.--Visit from the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Queen--Her unwillingness to part with her Son--Fearful Tragedies succeed--Aged Woman in the Abbey of Bermondsey--Her venerable appearance, beautiful in its decrepitude--Tolling of the Convent Bell--A small Boat with the Queen Dowager's Coffin on board, seen on the River--The Queen's Daughters accompany it to St. George's Chapel--A few old Men, meanly dressed, light on the Funeral--Closing Observations.--_Page 217._

Melksham Court.

"I stood in the ruined hall where my ancestors once dwelt. I asked for the noble owners. Where are they?--and the echo replied, Where are they?"

In the midst of the lone forest which shadowed in ancient times a large portion of the country of the Dobuni,[1] and which extended over hill and dale, far as the distant mountains of the Silures,[2] and on either side the river that waters this part of Britain, stood a solitary yew. On the verge of the forest, and in places cleared of timber for the purpose, rose the conically-shaped huts of the natives; the dwelling of the chieftain was somewhat larger than the rest, and around it stood the wattled cabins of his dependents. Their arts were few and simple, and their habits those of men who were scarcely advanced beyond a savage state: corn was occasionally cultivated, but in general they lived by hunting, or fed upon the flocks which they pastured in the open country.

Years passed on, and while the aspect of nature remained the same, all else was changed. This part of Britain bore no longer the appellation of Dobuni; a term derived from the British word Duffen, because the inhabitants frequently resided in places which lay low, and were sunk under hills. It formed a considerable portion of Britannia Superior, and along the side of its beautifully wooded hills, and on its thickly peopled plains, palaces and forums, extensive military roads, aqueducts and schools were rapidly erected. The rattling of heavy-laden cars, and the loud sound of the woodman's axe, with the crash of stately trees, made way for these improvements. In the course of a few short years, the country of the Dobuni lost its wild and forest-like appearance, and far as the eye could reach, the wide-spread landscape presented objects of fertility and beauty. The ancient forest was also curtailed of its grandeur and extent; and the plain country, whose rank luxuriant vegetation concealed marshes, on which it was rarely safe to tread, except in seasons of great drought, was cleared, and thrown open to the sun, and being quickly drained, was covered with towns and villages; corn-fields and meadows succeeded to a growth of underwood, and sheep and oxen grazed where the wolf had been. Sounds too, which of all others awaken images of security and peace--the bleating of sheep along the hills, and the lowing of oxen in the valleys, were heard, instead of the piercing cries of those wild creatures, when ranging in quest of prey. Meanwhile the ample river, whose capricious windings could only be distinguished from the highest hills, was disclosed to view, by the clearing away of tangled bushes, and the cutting down of the huge trees that encroached upon, or shaded its bright waters. The small skin-boats of the natives, and the stately galleys of the Romans, glided along its surface, and commodities of various kinds were brought from one part of the country to the other.

But the day arrived when the galley was rarely seen upon the river. When the skin-boats of the natives ceased to spread abundance along its shores; when many large and fair dwellings were deserted; and when the rolling of chariots, filled with patrician families, whose villas had been erected in some of the most beautiful parts of the country, were no longer heard on the great military road that led from the city of Corinium. Instead of these, bands of armed men spread over the land, for the Roman legions were withdrawn, to save the capital from spoliation, and nothing remained for the unhappy Britons but servitude or death. The Saxons came, for such were the strangers called: their looks were bland, and their flowing vestments, adorned with borders of many colours, betokened some degree of civilization; but war was in their hearts, and soon, where cities had stood, and peaceful homesteads met the view, all was silence and desolation. No curling smoke was seen among the trees, the watch-dog's bark had ceased, there were no flocks for him to guard, and only blackened ruins told of what had been. Gradually, however, a better state of things arose; the Saxons contrasted their past condition, their rude huts on the far off shore, their precarious mode of life, with the elegances, and the perfection in the arts and sciences which they observed in the homes which they had won. They learned to adopt the habits and the manners of the Romanized Britons, and to repair the desolations which they had wrought. Kingdoms were established, and though war occasionally prevailed among the chieftains, there were many who appreciated the blessings, and the security of peace.

Next came the Danes, men of stern countenances and ruddy hair. War-chiefs, accustomed to a life of rapine--they knew no pity; and what the Saxon would have spared, when first he trod the shores of Britain, they ruthlessly overthrew. The forest and vale country around the solitary yew, was grievously infested with them. They took shelter in the hollows with which this part of England abounded, and it was difficult to dispossess them. Those hollows or little glens were so deep and narrow, that the rays of the sun frequently did not enliven them for months together; yet still some of the most accessible were brought into cultivation, and rewarded the industrious husbandman with plentiful crops of corn and grass. Others remained in their native wildness, and wild indeed they were. Shallow streams ran through them, and by means of these they could alone be visited: he who sought to explore their secret recesses must force his way beside the channel of the stream; now stepping from stone to stone amid the water's splash; now clinging to the branches of the trees which drooped on either side. But whether wild or cultivated, there the Danes settled themselves, till they were driven out in the days of Alfred.

Alfred established his throne in righteousness, and the country became respectable and happy. Still the tree grew on, and lifted up its head above the boughs of less stately trees, for the yew does not attain to its highest elevation, or rest in the grandeur of its maturity, till five hundred years have passed away, and when the period arrived, concerning which I shall have to speak, the tree was only in its prime.

The forest had encroached upon the precincts of the fields and meadows, during those disastrous times when the ground was trod by hostile steps, as if it sought to recover its ancient rights; but this might not be, and when peace was restored, the sound of the woodman's axe was heard again, and the usurping trees fell beneath its stroke. Then, also, many of those whose ample branches had long sheltered the margin of the cleared land, were cut down, to make room for wider clearings; and by degrees the noble yew, which had been in the depth of the dark forest, stood but a little distance from the verge of the common, up which the road led, and which being kept free from trees was reserved for the pasturing of sheep. It was covered with short grass and tufts of wild thyme, round which the bees came humming; and gay flowers, such as the bee-orchis, and the yellow cistus, the pink-eyed pimpernell, and yellow rocket, grew profusely beside the pathway. From the summit of the hill extended a noble panoramic view of hill and dale. Downward, and far as the eye could reach, a precipitous descent toward the vale country was covered with the trees of the old forest, which had gradually been curtailed of its extent; towns and villages varied the plain, through which the river flowed, and the strong castles of Dursley and Berkeley, of Beverstone and Brimpsfield, with their ample hunting-grounds, and the crowding dwellings of those who lived near, were seen at intervals.

Generations came and went, and successive monarchs filled the English throne, till the time of Harold, when on the battle-field of Hastings his noble patrimony passed into the hands of the proud Norman. Great changes then took place; strong castles were erected on the site of ancient Saxon fortresses, and while seed-time and harvest did their work, and gradually advanced and retreated, so gradually did the country emerge from out the darkness of past ages, and attain an eminence among the nations of the earth. But as night succeeds to day, and clouds obscure the cheerful light of the bright sun, so did war succeed to peace, and ruthless men made sorrowful the homes of England. When Stephen and the empress battled for pre-eminence, fell sounds broke up the quiet of the valleys, and fugitives often sought to hide themselves in the still close covert of the forest.