BUILTH. 1688. purposes, which sum is, by a legal decision, applied to the establishment of the free-school. Market, Monday.-Fairs, third Monday in February; Monday before May 12th; June 27th; October 6th; December 6th. for cattle.-Inn, the Lion. * BUNGAY is seated on the Waveney, which is here navigable for barges. The town is neatly built and of comparatively modern construction, nearly the whole of this place having been consumed by fire in 1688. Great fire in In the market-place, which is considered to be the best in the county, are two crosses, under one of which fowls and butter are exposed for sale, and under the other corn and grain. The castle, once the residence and strong-hold of the Bigods, Earls of Norfolk, and by one of them conceived impregnable, has become the habitation of helpless poverty; many miserable hovels having been reared against its walls for the accommodation of the lowest classes. It is, however, beautifully situated, the views around it broken by ravines, and varied by clumps of trees. In the reigns Free gram of the first two Edwards, it appears to have been invested in the crown, but was subsequently granted to the Mortimers. It reverted again to the crown in the reign of Edward IV. The principal streets leading to Norwich, Yarmouth, Bury, and Ipswich, are broad and well paved. Here are a neat theatre and handsome assembly-rooms. The town consists of two parishes. One of its churches is a stately building. There was formerly a third church dedicated to St. Thomas, which has long disappeared. Here is also a good free grammar-school, which enjoys the right of sending two mar school, scholars to Emanuel college, Cambridge. The springs of this place are supposed to possess medicinal qualities of great efficacy. Contiguous to the town is a common inclosed and rated, which is very serviceable to the inhabitants. The Waveney, which surrounds the town and common in the form of a horse-shoe, being navigable to this place from Yarmouth, a considerable trade is carried on in corn, malt, flour, coal, and lime; and malting, lime-burning, and the manufacture of hempen cloth, constitute the principal employment of the inhabitants. Between the two churches are the remains of a Benedictine nunnery. &c. Principal manufactures. Artificial mount. Market, Thursday.-Fairs, May 14th, for horses and lean cattle; and September 25th, for hogs and petty chapmen.-Bankers, Gurney and Co., draw on Barclay and Co.-Inns, King's Head, and Tons. + BURES MOUNT. A parish in the Colchester division of the| hundred of Lexden. The appellation mount, which distinguishes it from the other parish, arises from an artificial mount about 80 feet high, covering nearly an acre and a half of ground, but concerning whose origin historians and traditions are silent. William de Bigod formerly held BURES 36 Bures, St. Mary*. pa Suffolk 31 Burford ....m. t. & pa | Oxford 33 Burford pa & to Salop lands in this parish of the King (temp. Henry III.) by the service of keeping of the chandlery or place where the royal candles were kept. Roger de Leybourne also held lands here by the tenure of scalding the king's hogs. * BURES, ST. MARY. A parish partly in the hundred of Hinckford, and also in that of Babergh. The church of this parish stands in the lastmentioned county. Edmond, King of the East Angles, is stated to have been crowned here. Soon after MOUNT. Ecclesiastical synod held here in 685. Bloody battle. Trade in saddlery. + BURFORD. This town is of considerable antiquity, and was called by the Saxons Beorford, of which its present name is a variation. In 685 an ecclesiastical synod was held here by Kings Ethelred and Berthwold, at which Adhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, was ordered to write against the error of the British church, respecting the time of the celebration of Easter. About the year 752 a battle was fought at Battle Edge, west of this town towards Upton, between Ethelbald, King of Mercia, and Cuthred, or Cuthbert, a tributary king of the West Saxons. The exactions of the former being so insupportable, that nothing but an appeal to arms could put an end to them. He therefore entered the field, and, in a bloody battle, defeated Ethelbald, at which time he seized his standard, on which was depicted a golden dragon; in memory of which signal victory the custom of parading the figures of a dragon and a giant yearly, on Midsummer's-eve, attended with considerable pomp and jollity, through the streets of Burford, continued until within these few years. the conquest Burford was bestowed on Robert, Earl of Gloucester, natural son of Henry I. This town is situated on the small river Windrush, and rather indifferently built; it is a place proverbial for its dulness, which is easily to be accounted for. The trade, which was formerly considerable, in articles of saddlery, &c., having of late years materially declined, and the public road, which formerly passed through it, being diverted from its original position; these causes have reduced the town from a state of affluence to comparative poverty. A charter was granted by Henry II., conferring on the inhabitants all customs enjoyed by the free burgesses of Oxford; of many of these they were deprived by Lord Chief Justice Tanfield, in the reign of Elizabeth. They are entitled to elect one alderman, a steward, two bailiffs, and twelve burgesses at Easter; but through some gross neglect or other cause, even this privilege is now nullified. These officers have not been regularly appointed; and do not possess judicial authority; and the town being within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, they hold their petty sessions at Burford. A court-leet and court baron are also held. The parish church is a fine spacious structure, The church dedicated to St. John the Baptist, forming an interesting admixture of the a fine spaNorman and florid Gothic, having a tower surmounted by a beautiful spire.co At the west end is a fine Norman arch; and the south porch, which is of the period of Henry V. or VI. is a most exquisite display of taste and richness. The Free-school was founded by Simon Wisdom, an alderman of this town, in 1571, who has bequeathed property for that purpose to the amount of £84. per ann. John Wilmot, the celebrated Earl of Rochester, received the early rudiments of his education at this school. Near the town was a priory, formerly a cell to the abbey of Kynesham, in Somersetshire. After the dissolution the site was occupied by a mansion called the priory; and here resided the exemplary speaker of the long parliament-Speaker of Mr. Lenthall. This worthy man was deserving of all the commendation that liament. the long parsubsequent writers have passed upon him. When Charles I., accompanied cious struc BURFORD. with a train of soldiers, burst into the parliament house, and demanded to know whether certain obnoxious members were in the house, that they might be delivered up to him, he rose from his chair, and calmly replied, "May it please your majesty, I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the house is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here, and humbly beg your majesty's pardon, that I cannot give you any other answer than this, to what your majesty is pleased to demand of me." The eminent cosmographer, Dr. Peter Heylin, was born here in 1600. Roman station. Market, Saturday.-Fairs, last Saturday in April, for cattle, sheep, and cheese; July 5, for horses, sheep, and cows; September 25th, for cheese and toys. Inn, the Bull. * BURGH-ON-THE-SANDS is about three quarters of a mile in length, and was formerly supported by various branches of manufactures. Close to the village on the northern side, on the site of what is now called the old castle, stood the Roman station Axelodunum, the sixteenth on the line of Severus's wall, and the spot where Adrian's vallum terminated; the lines of the ramparts are still visible, and include an area of 136 yards square; in and near which vicinity, earns, altars, and inscribed stones have been often discovered. A castle was also erected in this place soon after the Norman conquest, and seized by William, King of Scotland, in 1174. The custody was given in 1253 to Stephen Longespee, and some of the ruins were visible in Leland's time; but no traces remain in the present day. Like most parishes on the border frontier, this has been the scene of many a sanguinary contention between the Scots and the English; particularly in the years 1216 and 1520. The church exhibits a specimen of that massive and castellated order which is particularly characteristic of many of the border churches, being erected as much for the means of defence as of devotion, and not unfrequently protected the goods and cattle of the inhabitants from these savage and plundering maChurch door rauders. The tower of the church is still strongly fortified, the walls being between six and seven feet thick, the vaulted chamber on the groundfloor is only ten feet by eight; the entrance to which from the church, is secured by a ponderous iron door, six feet eight inches in height; on the north side of the chamber is a very narrow opening or arrow slit, six feet three inches deep in the wall; and two similar openings for annoying the besiegers on the opposite side. A strong upper chamber has an opening into the nave; the tower seems to have been erected in the reign of Edward I. The barony of Burgh is now the property of the Earl of Lonsdale, on whom it confers the title of baron, which together with other manors in this vicinity, were anciently held by the service of "cornage," or in other words, to a "cornage." horn, whenever the invasion of the Scots was perceived. Lands were also well for tified. Service of given to various settlers in this parish upon condition of their blowing a BURGH-ONhorn, and being bound to go at the king's bidding with his army into THE-Sands. Scotland, in which expedition they were to be stationed in the vanguard in going, and the rear in returning. Burgh-on-the-Sands is rendered memorable ward I. Battle of by the death of Edward I. on the 7th of July, 1307, whilst on a most exter-Death of Edminating and ambitious expedition against the liberties and nationality of Scotland. Finding, however, that his dissolution was fast approaching, he commanded his son to bear his coffin at the head of the army, and follow up the conquest; but that prince being intent upon other favorite objects, neglected the advice and returned to London; by which means the Scots obtained time to recruit their shattered fortunes, and finally to defeat the new king in a fresh enterprize at the ever memorable field at Bannockburn. The death of this monarch is commemorated by an obelisk in 1685, erected by Henry Duke of Norfolk, which fell down on the 4th of March, 1795, and was rebuilt by the Earl of Lonsdale in 1805. It stands about a mile north of the village on a large tract of land called the Marsh, belonging to several proprietors, who pay each to the baron a yearly fee of two-pence for every stint. It has been greatly encroached upon by the sea of late years, and has made embankments absolutely necessary. burn. Royal Free * BURIAN. St. Burian, or Burien, is in the western division of the hundred of Penwith. 66 'King Ethelstan," observes Tanner, "is said to have built and endowed a collegiate church almost at the Land's End, and to have granted the benefit of sanctuary and other privileges to the same, in honour of St. Buriena, or Beriana, a holy woman from Ireland, who had an oratory, and was buried here. At the conquest here were secular canons, as there were a dean and three prebendaries at the time of making the Lincoln taxation, 20th Edward I.: and also down to 26th Henry VIII., though this deanery was seized into the king's hands, temp. Edw. III., by reason that Mr. John de Manute, then incumbent, was a Frenchman; and as alien, was given, 24th Henry VI., to King's College in Cambridge, and afterwards by King Edw. IV. (an. reg. 7th) to Windsor College; yet neither of those societies long enjoyed, or had any benefit from it; for it was all along, and still continues, an independant deanery, in the gift of the crown, or of the Duke of Cornwall, of exempt jurisdiction as a Royal Free Chapel." Leland, Camden, and Borlase, concur in ascribing the name of the place to St. Burian the Irish saint; but Hals opposes this account, and observes, that no such saint is to be found in the Roman legend, or calendar; nor yet in Capgrave's Catalogue. When Athelstan had subdued all Devon and Cornwall, he visited the Scilly Isles; and to the vows which he offered to the Deity, to fulfil on the successful accomplishment of this expedition, it appears the religious establishment of this place owes its origin : for Athelstan on his return from the Islands, here founded and endowed a collegiate church about the year 930, to which he gave lands and tithes to a considerable value for ever. It is now in the patronage of the crown. The deanery includes the parishes of Burian, Sennan, and St. Levan. At the Norman conquest there were secular canons here; and in the 20th of Edward I., a dean and three prebends. The deanery Demolition house is said to have been partly demolished by Shrubsall, the governor of Pendennis castle. Some of the fragments still remain about half a mile east of the church, which is a large and apparently modern building. At least here are no specimens of that style of architecture which prevailed of the deanery house. BURIAN. The church a conspicu ous object. Curious inscriptions. 2 Ottley .2 Langham 2 Cottesmore ..3 about Athelstan's reign, as may be affirmed on comparing with Malmsbury Abbey church, in Wiltshire. The church is built on the highest spot of ground in this part of the county, and its tower forms a conspicuous object from the Land's End, Scilly Islands, and the north and south channels. It is 467 feet above the level of the sea. The church consists wholly of granite, and is divided into three aisles, which are again divided from the east end by a handsome rood-loft, reaching entirely across the church. This is made of oak, and is ornamented with a profusion of gilding and rude carvings, representing huntsmen, hounds, fox, deer, birds, &c. in some respect resembling the cornice of the Chevy Chase Room, at St. Michael's Mount. Many of the seats are also formed of oak, and sculptured with a variety of devices; among which the initials I. H. S. frequently appear. There are also spread eagles, human figures, and coats of arms, all in relievo, and charged on shields; but many of these curious relics have been sacrificed to the lofty pews, which have been either erected in their places, or have hidden them from sight. The south porch is ornamented with embrasures and pinnacles; and over the western door are the letters I. H. S. cut in stone on a shield. Near the south entrance is a small cross, elevated on four steps. It consists of one piece of granite, with a circular head, perforated by four holes; on one side is represented the crucified Saviour. Without the church-yard is another cross of similar character. In the church is an old coffin-shaped monument, having an inscription round the border; and on the middle of the stone is represented a cross fleury standing on four steps. The inscription is in very rude characters, and now partly obliterated: but Hals says, it is Norman French and Mr. Gough gives the following reading to it. "Clarice la femme Cheffrei de Bolleit git ici, deu de lalme eit merce: que pur le alme punt (Prierunt) di ior de pardun averunt; " which is thus translated by another writer: "Clarice, the wife of Geffrie de Bolleit, lies here: God of her soul have mercy. They who shall pray for ber soul shall have ten days of pardon." Bolleit is the name of a village a little to the south of this church, to which the inscription probably_refers. Here is also another ancient monument to Arthur Lenelis, of Trewoof, who died in 1671; and the inscription states, that the family flourished here 600 years since William's conquest." It has been justly remarked, that the country round St. Burian, though divested of the busy mercantile town, and the fashionable mansion, is replete with objects of curiosity, and will furnish ample British anti-gratification to the lover of British antiquities, and to him who can feel quities. delight in contemplating the primeval face of nature, unadorned by art, and uncontaminated by false taste. The greater portion of this district is wild, open, and unsheltered; though a few labouring farmers cultivate some small parts of it; whilst other parts are ransacked by miners, who employ themselves in searching for ore. The habitations of these people are either scattered over the heath-clad downs, and exposed to every passing storm, or congregated round the village church; and most of the enclosures are made with stones, either erected on one end, or piled into rude walls; these, as well as the turf-banks, are all provincially denominated hedges. ; |