the two aisles are of the same length, and each eighteen feet in breadth; and the chancel as wide as the nave. The church is provided with a fine organ.

Besides this church, and that of the Holy Trinity, there was formerly a third, dedicated to St. Thomas, which was standing and in use since 1500, but has been so long demolished, that its site cannot now be ascertained. Between the two churches, are the fuins of a Benedictine nunnery, founded by Roger de Glanville, and the Countess Gundreda, his wife, in honour of the Blessed Virgin, and the Holy Cross; and endowed by numerous benefactors, whose gifts were confirmed by Henry II. At the dissolution, when it contained eleven sisters, and its revenues were valued at 621. Ös. 1 d. per annum, its possessions were granted to Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, in whose descendants they are still vested.

At Bungay, are also to be seen the ruins of a very strong Castle, built as it is conjectured by the Bigods, Earls of Norfolk. During the intestine commotions in the turbulent reign of Stephen, it was so strongly fortified by Hugh Bigod, and stood besides in so advantageous a situation, that he was accustomed to boast of it as impregnable, and is reported by Holinshed to have made use of this expression:

Were I in my Castle of Bungay,

Upon the water of Waveney,

I would not set a button by the King of Cockney,

On the accession of Henry II. however, this nobleman, who had invariably espoused Stephen's cause, was obliged to give a farge sum of money, with sufficient hostages, to save this castle from destruction. Joining afterwards in the rebellion of Henry's eldest son, against his father, he was deprived by the king of the castle of Bungay, as well as Framlingham; but they were restored, with his other estates and honours, to his son and heir, whose posterity enjoyed them for several successions. In the reign of Henry III. this castle was demolished; and in the 10th VOL. XIV.

2 B

year

year of Edward I. Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, obtained per mission to embattle his house erected on the site of the ancient castle. He endowed his second wife, Alice, with this manor; and having no issue, settled all his castles, towns, manors, and possessions on king Edward and his heirs. The castle, borough, and manor of Bungay, are supposed to have been given by that monarch to his fifth son, Thomas de Brotherton, and to have been carried, by the marriage of his daughter and co-heiress, into the family of the Uffords. The records belonging to the castle, as well as those of the convent, perished in the great conflagration already mentioned. The mutability of human affairs is strikingly evinced by the present state of this edifice: once the residence of the great and powerful, it is now become the habitation of the lowest class of people, a great number of hovels having been raised against its walls, and let out in lodgings to the poor.

In the Market-place, situated on a gently rising ground in the centre of this town, and considered the handsomest in the county, are two crosses, in one of which fowls, butter, &c. are exposed for sale; and in the other corn and grain. The top of the former is adorned with a figure of Astræa in lead, weighing eighteen hundred weight. The principal streets, which are broad, well paved, and lighted, branch out from the market-place to the great roads leading to Norwich, Yarmouth, Bury, Ipswich, Beccles, and Lowestoft; and being each terminated by a handsome edifice, produce, at first sight, a very favorable impression. The Theatre and Assembly-Room are neat structures, and well frequented; and the county bridge over the Waveney has recently been rebuilt. Here is also a Free Grammar School, which enjoys the right of sending two scholars to Emanuel College, Cambridge; and a Meeting-house for Dissenters.

Contiguous to the town is a common of great extent and fertility, which, being inclosed and rated, is of considerable benefit to the inhabitants. A pleasant walk of about a mile and a half to the lower end of it, conducts to the Bath-house, where there

was

was formerly a vineyard and a physic garden; and it has now an excellent cold bath. The town itself, standing on a sandy soil, has several springs, which yield a strong mineral water; and one in particular at the King's Head Inn is said to possess medicinal properties of great efficacy.

By means of the Waveney, which nearly surrounds the town and common in the form of a horse-shoe, a considerable trade is carried on in corn, malt, flour, coal, and lime; and several capital flour-mills, malting offices, and lime-kilns, have been lately erected. Here is also a manufactory of Suffolk hempen cloth, considerable quantities of which are sold in Norwich market.

Of the other places in this hundred, the most remarkable are: ́ BARSHAM, near Beccles, where, in 1671, was born LAURENCE ECHARD, a divine and writer of some eminence in the last cen tury. His father was minister of Barsham. After receiving his education at Christ College, Cambridge, he settled in Lincolnshire. In 1699 he published the first part of his Roman History, which, in 1702, was followed by a General Ecclesiastical History, a work which has gone through numerous editions, and probably procured his professional promotion to the offices of prebendary of Lincoln, and chaplain to the bishop of that diocese. His next work was a History of England, down to the Revolution, by which he gained considerable reputation; but the most useful of his performances, was the Gazetteer's, or, Newsman's Interpreter, which may be considered as the model of the Gazetteers of the present day. In 1712 he was appointed to the archdeaconry of Stow. Towards the end of his life he was presented by the king to the livings of Rendlesham, Sudborne, and Alford, in this county, to which he removed. He died in his carriage, proceeding to Scarborough for the benefit of the waters, in 1730.

FLIXTON, or St. Mary South Elmham, is one of the nine parishes in this hundred, to which the addition of South Elmham is given. Here was formerly a nunnery of the order of St. Augustine, founded by Margery, the widow of Bartholomew de Creek, and daughter of Jeffery Hautvile, about the time of king Henry III. 2 B 2 The

The foundress gave the manor of Flixton to this house, which was dissolved by the second bull of Pope Clement VII. in 1528, when its yearly revenue was estimated at 231, 4s. I‡d. and intended for Cardinal Wolsey: but the offer being declined by that prelate, it was granted to John Tasburgh, whose descendants long resided at Flixton Hall. This family becoming extinct, it descended to that of Wyburn, of whom it was purchased by William Adair, Esq.

Flixton Hall, now the residence of his son, Alexander Adair, Esq. is a noble structure, pleasantly situated near the Waveney, It was built about 1615, and was originally surrounded by a moat, filled up some years ago. The style of the architecture is what has been denominated Inigo Jones's Gothic. The principal front faces the north. The hall and staircase are grand, and the apartments spacious. To the south was an open colonnade, now closed up, and converted into separate rooms. The grounds in front have been embellished with extensive plantations, which, together with the fine woods of the park, and the view of the river, produce a charming effect.

At METTINGHAM, a village about a mile and a half from Bungay, are the ruins of a quadrangular castle, which, from the gate-house, and some parts of the walls still standing, must have been an edifice of considerable extent and strength. It was built by John de Norwich, who, in the 17th year of Edward III. obtained permission to convert his house here into a castle; in which he also founded a college or chantry, dedicated to God and the Blessed Virgin. The revenues of this house at the Dissolution were valued at 2021. 7s. 5d. The founder dying in the 36th of Edward III. left all his estates to his grandson, who, at his de1 cease, was possessed of this manor. His cousin and heir, Catharine de Brews, having assumed the veil, her estates devolved to the family of the Uffords. Within the shattered walls of this castle a modern farm-house has been erected.

At SHIPMEADOW, a village about a mile southward of Beccles, is the House of Industry for the twenty-seven parishes of the incorporated hundred of Wangford, built in 1765. The original debt

contracted