other supersticious usages; for, avoiding of weeds growing in corn with such other."

Amongst the numerous gifts, and offerings, which were, at different times, presented to the abbey, and to the shrine of St. Edmund, the following, in addition to those we have before mentioned, appear deserving of notice.-King Richard III. bestowed 15 marks per ann. to find two wax tapers, which he afterwards doubled, and gave 10 oxgangs of land in Aylsham, that four tapers might be kept continually burning at the altar of the saint. King John gave a sapphire, of virtue (saphyrum virtuosum) and a large ruby, set in gold, to the shrine, reserving the use of them for his own life. He also gave six marks annually towards the repairs of the shrine. Sampson de Botington, the tenth abbot, who governed from the year 1180 to 1213, gave to the church a golden cross, and the aqueduct of our Saviour's Hospital, adorned the shrine with gold and gems, and built four halls of curious stone work. In the time of this abbot, Robert de Gravele, the sacrist, purchased the vineyard for the solace of invalids, and of his friends, and enclosed it with a stone wall.

The popish procession of the white bull, which evidently had its origin in the times of Pagan superstition, proved a fruitful source of wealth to the establishment. "The sacrist of the monastery, as often as he let lands near the town, then and still called Haberdon, annexed this condition, that the

tenant should provide a white bull, whenever a matron of rank, or any other, should come, out of devotion, or in consequence of a vow, to make the oblations of the white bull, as they were denominated, at the shrine of St. Edmund. On this occasion, the animal, adorned with ribbons and garlands, was brought to the south gate of the monastery, and led along Church-gate, Guildhall, and Abbey-gate streets, to the great west gate, the lady all the while keeping close to him, and the monks and people forming a numerous cavalcade. Here the procession ended; the animal was conducted back to his pasture, while the lady repaired to St. Edmund's shrine to make her oblations, as a certain consequence of which, she was soon to become a mother. As foreign ladies, desirous of issue, might have found it inconvenient to repair hither in person, to assist at these ceremonies, they were certain to prove equally efficacious if performed by proxy. In a deed, a copy of which is given by Haukins,* "John Swaffham, sacrist of the monastery of St. Edmund's Bury, certifies all christian people, that on the 2d of June, 1474, three religious persons, whom he names, of the city of Ghent, came and offered, as had been accustomed of old time, at the shrine of the blessed King, Virgin, and Martyr, St. Edmund, in the presence of several reputable

* A schoolmaster at Hadleigh, who, in his Corolla varia, printed at Cambridge in 1684, has given a humorous account of the ceremonies of the procession, in Latin verse.

people, and of the said Martyr, one white bull, för the accomplishment of the longing of a certain noble lady (in relevamen desiderii cujusdam nobilis dominæ.)"

Amongst the many noble persons, buried in the abbey church, appear to have been the following:Alan Ferguant, earl of Richmond; Thomas de Brotherton, earl of Norfolk;* Thomas Beaufort, son of

* On the 7th of February, 1772, some labourers, who were employed in breaking up a part of the ruins of this church, discovered a leaden coffin, which had been enclosed in one of oak, some remains of which were apparent. The coffin contained an enbalmed body, well formed, about six feet in length, and as fresh, and entire, as at the time of interment. The body was surrounded by a kind of pickle, and the face was covered with a cere-cloth, which came off whole. The features and lineaments of the face were perfect; the fluids of the eyes were undissolved, and their colour was distinguishable; the hair of the head, which was brown, with a slight mixture of grey, was quite fresh; and the nails, upon the fingers and toes, adhered as firmly as in a living subject. For the sake of the lead, which they sold for about fifteen shillings, the labourers removed the body from its receptacle, and threw it among the rubbish. A surgeon in the town, however, hearing of the wonderful preservation in which a corpse had been found, caused it to be taken up, for the purpose of experimeut. In making an incision on the breast, and on other parts, the flesh was found to cut as firmly as that of a body recently dead: there was even an appearance of blood. On opening the skull, the brain, slightly wasted, appeared inclosed in its proper membrane. At this time the corpse was not in the least offensive, but on being exposed to the air it soon became putrid. From the place where the body was found, and from the expense and care, which had evidently been employed for its preservation, not a doubt can be entertained that it was the remains of Thomas Beaufort, son of John of Gaunt,

John of Gaunt, by the Lady Catherine Swinford, Duke of Exeter, in King Henry V.'s reign; Mary Queen of France, widow of Louis XII. and sister of Henry VIII.; John Boor, abbot of this monastery, who died in the 9th year of Edward IV.; Robert the martyr, a child crucified by the Jews; Sir William Elmham, Sir Wm. Spencer, Sir Wm. Tresil, knights; and John Lydgate, the famous poet, who was a monk here about the year 1440.-The monuments of most of these persons perished with the abbey. On the tomb of Lydgate is said to have been the following epitaph :

Mortuus sæclo, superis superstes,
Hic jacet Lydgat tumulatus Urna,
Qui fuit quondam celebris Britannæ
Fama Poesis.

Duke of Lancaster, by his third Duchess, Lady Catherine Swinford, grandson of King Edward III. half-brother to Henry IV. by whom he was created Duke of Exeter, Knight of the Garter, Admiral and Governor of Calais, and Lord High Chancellor of England. At the battle of Agincourt, he led the rear-guard of the English army; afterwards bravely defended Harfleur against the French; was guardian to Henry VI. and, dying at East Greenwich, on the 1st of January, 1427, was, in compliance with his will, interred in the abbey church of Bury St. Edmund's, at the entrance of St. Mary's Chapel, close to the wall, on the north side of the choir.-The mangled remains of this distinguished personage were, at length, interred in a strong oaken coffin, and buried, seven feet deep, at the foot of the large north-east pillar, which formerly assisted to support the belfry.

Dead in the world yet living in the sky,
Intombed in this Urn doth Lydgate lye,
In former times famed for his poetry
All over England.

In the month of February, A. D. 1560, Queen Elizabeth, by letters patent under the great seal, granted to John Eyre, esq. in consideration of the sum of 4127. 19s. 4d. paid by him, all the site, circuit, and precinct of the monastery, with other lands, and premises in the neighbourhood belonging thereunto. Having subsequently passed through the hands of various purchasers, they were, in the year 1720, conveyed, for the sum of £2,800, to Major Richardson Pack. That gentleman soon afterwards assigned the premises to Sir Jermyn Davers, in whose family they continued, till it became extinct, some years ago, by the death of Sir Charles Davers, bart. and they are now the property of the Earl of Bristol.

Besides the church of St. Edmund, the abbey comprehended, within its precincts, the three churches of St. Margaret, St. Mary, and St. James. The site of the first of these is occupied by the present Shire-hall; the others are the churches of the two parishes, into which the town is divided.