Donnington Castle, which had been almost battered down by the Parliamentary artillery, but bravely defended by the governor, Sir John Boys, was, on instructions. from the King, surrendered to Colonel Dalbier on the 30th March 1646; the garrison, being allowed by the articles of surrender to march out of the Castle with drums beating, colours flying, and all the honours of

war.

In June 1646, another unsuccessful attack was made on the Royalist garrison at Faringdon, by a party under the command of Sir Robert Pye, who led the assault on his own house. It was during this attack that Faringdon Church spire was beaten down by the artillery of the assailants. The damage done to the town during these operations, chiefly by the houses being fired, appears to have been enormous, considering that the amount specified, £56,976 4s., in the petition in the Commons' Journal, is probably represented by three times that sum according to the present value of money.

On 20th June, Faringdon, included in the "Oxford Articles", surrendered to Sir Thomas Fairfax, and on 27th July the same officer received the surrender of Wallingford Castle from Colonel Blagge, when the Parliament became masters of the whole country; and this virtually brought to a close what is known as "The First Civil War".

None of the Berkshire families appear to have distinguished themselves particularly on either side during the war. The county generally was favourable to the Parliament, particularly the towns, where a strong Presbyterian element prevailed. At the same time, that a large number of the principal inhabitants sided with their King and their religion against anarchy and fanaticism, is evident by the list of those who compounded for their estates, which had been sequestrated by the Parliamentary commissioners.

On the Royalist roll we find the names of Bacon of Blewbury; Baily of Newbury; Barksdale of Newbury; Blagrave (Walter) of Tilehurst; Blagrave (Col.), Watchfield; Browne of Shefford; Craven of HampsteadMarshal; Choke of Avington; Cox of Newbury; Davis, Bere Court; Dancastle of Wellhouse, and other places;

Dolman (Sir Thomas), Shaw; Eyston of Hendred and Catmere; Englefield of Englefield and Whiteknights; Fettiplace of Childrey; Forster of Aldermaston; Garrard of Lambourn and Shinfield; Harrison of Hurst ; Henn of Folly-John Park; Hildesley of Beenham ; Havergill of Windsor; Hyde of Kingston Lisle; Kennington, Shinfield, and Pangbourne; Herbert of Bray; Lovelace of Hurley; Milton of Reading (brother to the great poet, John Milton); Moore of Fawley; Mason of Hidden; Neville of Billingbere; Perkins of Ufton Court; Peacock of Cumnor; Pigott of Marcham; Pratt of Coleshill, Pococke of Chieveley; Sawyer of White Waltham; Strode of Shefford; Stafford of Bradfield; Stonhouse of Radley; Wray of Wytham; Winchcombe of Bucklebury; Yate of Lyford.

This list must not, however, be supposed to contain the names of all those who suffered for loyalty, as many are not recorded therein who only escaped composition by ruinous means. It will be observed that certain families in this, as in other counties, were divided in their allegiance to King and Parliament.

On the side of the Parliament we find the following:Blagrave of Southcote; Dolman (Humfrey), Shaw; Dunch of Pusey and Wittenham; Fettiplace of Fernham; Hoby of Bisham; Holland, M.P. for Windsor; Knight of Greenham; Knollys of Reading; Lenthall of Besilsleigh; Marten of Longworth; Packer, Donnington Castle and Shellingford; Pile of Compton-Beauchamp; Powle of Shottesbroke; Purefoy of Wadley, Pye of Faringdon; Rudyerd of West Woodhay; Southby of Carswell; Vachell of Coley; Wightwick of Marlston.

Of the suffering clergy during the usurpation were :Joseph Barnes, rector of East Ilsley; Thomas Bunbury, vicar of St. Mary's, Reading; Guy Carleton, vicar of Bucklebury; William Cousins, vicar of Shinfield; Anthony Farington, B.D., vicar of Bray; Godfrey Goodman, D.D., rector of West Ilsley; Joseph Hill, rector of Hinton; Dr. Hyde, rector of Brightwell; Thomas Lawrence, rector of Chilton; Joseph Nixon, rector of Great Shefford; Richard Nixon, vicar of Chieveley; Shaler, vicar of Little Coxwell; George Wilde, LL.D., vicar of St. Giles's, Reading; Thomas

Worral, rector of Wasing and vicar of Brimpton; Wright, vicar of Buckland; the rectors of Bradfield and Enborne, and the vicar of Hampstead-Norris.

The above-mentioned were all dispossessed, while others, though harassed and threatened, were not wholly deprived of their livings.

Two regicides were natives of this county-the profligate Henry Marten, who ended his days at Chepstow Castle, and Daniel Blagrave, who died at Aix-la-Chapelle after the Revolution.

THE "BLACK BOOK" OF SOUTHAMPTON,

BY THE REV. R. H. CLUTTERBUCK, M.A., F.S.A.

(Read 4th August 1893.)

THE Corporation of Southampton has a very large and important collection of muniments. There are no less than five hundred and four manuscript books, fifty-eight charters and letters patent, besides an immense number of separate writings. These have been examined and reported on by Mr. John Cordy Jeaffreson for the Historical Manuscripts Commission, his report forming Part III of the Appendix of the Eleventh Report.

The two books of which I propose to speak are known as the Oak Book and the Black Book.

The "Oak Book" contains sixty vellum leaves "clog covered", or bound in stout boards of oak, one of which is longer than the other, and has a hole in the lower part to put the hand through when using the volume. Two merchants' marks are cut on the cover.

This book was described in the Winchester volume of the Journal of your Society, with a drawing of the cover, by the late Frederick Fairholt, Esq., F.S.A.

The book is written by different hands, but may safely be described as dating from the earlier part of the fourteenth century. It contains a version of the Ordinances of the Gild Merchants which has already been printed by your Society.

It has an imperfect list of towns having charters of incorporation, giving the dates of the charters. Amongst these towns London is specified as having a charter of William (the Conqueror), confirmed by King Henry, but not dated. There is little room for doubt that this charter is that of Henry I, which grants the Londoners freedom of toll and passage throughout England and the ports of the sea. And there is a strong probability that the

1894

10

charters mentioned are set down to enable the ruling body of Southampton to know what towns were possessed of that privilege.

66

The Oak Book" also contains the assize of bread, not in the tabulated form in which Andover, Hull, and some other towns possess it, but extended, and occupying twenty-two pages.

It will be remembered that in the time of the Plantagenets the price of the loaf remained stationary, while the weight varied;-the reverse of our own system, under which the statutory weight remains fixed, while the price varies. These long and elaborate tables shown in £. s. and d. the weight of Cocket, Symnell, and French loaves as regulated by the shifting price of corn.

The "Oak Book" has also copies of charters and legal decisions, and a most interesting copy of letters patent, 29 Edward III, empowering the burgesses to levy an import duty of a penny in the pound for completing the enclosure of the town. A list of customs chargeable is given on page xx.

The Black Book derives its name from the colour of its flexible leather cover. It may be described as the chief book of important memoranda possessed by the town. To have deeds, agreements, and conveyances engrossed in this book was for a century and a half prized as the greatest available security. Its contents may therefore be described as matters which, either for the town itself or to individual townsfolk, it was important to have authentic record of. The volume contains 144 leaves of unusually thick paper, of which the last 32 are all blank, and there are many blanks besides. The folios are numbered on one side only, and after xc Arabic numerals are used. Entries were made in the book wherever a convenient space presented itself, without any reference to chronological arrangement.

An indication of the value in which this book was held occurs on folio xliij :

"And this act to be enroll.. in the blakke booke, and so to be executid for ever.

"To which act and ordinaunce the sayd mayr and aldermen, Sheryve and discreets the xij Juratts, with divers othir burgesses, haue sett ther signemanuells the day and yer aboue wretyn.