4th S. X. AUGUST 24, '72.] An Acrostick. NOTES AND QUERIES. "Free from all cares here I sit and I read, It is in old writing, and I should think must have been written shortly after the publication of the work. L. J. NORMAN. RELIC OF THE PENAL LAWS.-The following cutting from the Leeds Mercury of August 3 is worth a corner in "N. & Q.": records were produced from the family muniments of K. P. D. E. THE BALLOT.-Now that we have obtained the inestimable privilege of voting by ballot, it may be interesting to recall what James Harrington has to say about the expenses of that glorious institution, worked as he would have had it work. In the first edition of his Oceana, published in 1656, and dedicated to His Highness Oliver, he describes (at p. 69) how the people of his ideal Commonwealth came together to vote in a wide plain, wherein were pavilions builded, and before each pavilion three urnes for the ballot: "horseurnes for horsemen to vote without dismount Imprimis, Urns, Balls, and Balloting Item, provision of like kind for a thou- Item, Urns and Balls of Metall, with Bal- Item, for erecting of Fifty Pavilions Item, Wages for the rest of the Surveyors, Sum Totall . 1. 20,000 0 3,000 0 2,000 0 60,000 0 4,000 0 250,000 0 339,000 0" "An interesting application to the Land Tax Commissioners for the Wapentake of Claro, sitting at Knaresbro', was made on Monday by Mr. S. E. Maskell (of the firm of Constable and Maskell, solicitors, Otley) on behalf of Mr. William Middelton, of Stockeld Park and of Myddelton Lodge, for relief from a double assessment of landing, and "foot-urnes" for footmen; and how the tax upon the manors and estates of Myddelton and surveyors "returned to the Lord Archon with this Stockeld. The following facts appeared from Mr. Mas- Accompt of the charge" of that august cerekell's statement :-The first imposition of land tax in its monial: present form was imposed in the year 1692, when a tax of 4s. in the pound upon the annual value of lands was directed by Act of Parliament to be imposed. And it was enacted that the estates of Papists' refusing to take the oaths of supremacy should be doubly assessed, and in every subsequent year down to 1794 similar taxes were imposed by annual statutes, estates held by Roman Catholics being always doubly taxed. In 1715 was passed a statute whereby, in order probably that the estates of Roman Catholics might not escape the taxes specially imposed upon them, Roman Catholics were compelled, on pain of forfeiture, to register their names and estates with the clerks of the peace of their county, and in 1717 they were further compelled to enrol all deeds and wills passing lands held by them in one of the superior courts at Westminster. These enactments remained in force till 1791. In 1794 the annual land tax statute for that year professed to relieve Roman Catholics from the double tax, but contained no adequate provision for the purpose, and Roman Catholics continued to be subject without redress to the double or 'Papist' tax until the year 1831. In that year an Act was passed whereby the Land Tax Commissioners were empowered, upon proof that estates were still charged with double tax, and that they had been continuously held by Catholics, and duly registered under the Act of 1715, to discharge the estates from the double assessment. In pursuance of the Act of 1831, Mr. Middelton complained that his estates were still paying double tax, and in support of the complaint it was shown by documentary evidence, much of which was of great historical and antiquarian interest and value, that the Middelton family was among the most ancient in the kingdom, their descent being traced in an unbroken line to Hipolitus Brayme, in the reign of Henry II., and that the Myddelton and Stockeld estates had been held by them since the time of Sir Adam de Middelton, who flourished in the reign of King Edward I., and whose monument in Ilkley Church is well known. It was also proved that the Middeltons had always remained staunch adherents to the Roman Catholic religion, and several James Harrington adds, in effect, that some people of Oceana thought this total rather large. But he does not, I think, say that he himself thinks so. Let us hope that the simple and modest requirements of that great statute which received Her Majesty's assent on July 18, 1872, may be "screened from observation" (vide s. 16), at a ARTHUR J. MUNBY. rate not much higher than the above. Mittons and Bayleys, who were former Lords of Mitton and Bayley respectively. I should be glad of further information of these three families than is to be found in the above-named works, and also to learn whether a descent can be proved of Sotheron from Mitton? It has been supposed the two are identical, which is very probable, owing to their tenure of the same manor. I should point out the strong resemblance between the ancient arms of Sotherne, Mitton, and Bayley, the eagle being the principal charge on each:-1. Sotherne, "Gules on a bend argent, three eaglets displayed sable." This is described by Sir William Segar, Garter, A.D. 1628, in the grant of Sotherne crest ("an eagle displayed, &c."), as "Coat Arms," which the family "doe beare from theire generous ancestors." (Vide Howard's Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, Monthly Series, vol. i. p. 217.) 2. Mitton, " per pale az. et purp. an eagle displayed with two heads, arg." 3. Bayley, "vert, an eagle displayed, arg." It is also believed that the Sotherons of Mitton were the progenitors of the various branches of the names seated in the adjoining counties of Shropshire and Lancashire. There can be but little doubt that if this be not actually the case, that there must have been a very strong family connection from the fact that one Thomas Sothern of Newport in Shropshire, who was living there at an early period, confirmed all his lands and messuages in Chipping in Lancashire, and Bolland in Yorkshire, to Thomas Mawdesley, Rector of Chipping, as a provision for the chantry priest of Chipping. Mitton, Bolland, and Chipping are adjacent, and only divided by the Ribble. I am aware of the alliance of Isabel, the daughter of Sir John Sotheron, Knight, Lord of Mitton, with Walter Hawkesworth of Hawkesworth, co. York, Esq., given in Thoresby's pedigree of the Hawkesworths; of the Sherburne of Stonyhurst descent from Bayley, and consequently from Mitton, in Baines's Lancashire, and Whittaker's Whalley; and of Aleisa Mitton's will in Raine's Testamenta Eboracensia. As to this last, Mr. Raine states that but very little is known "of the ancient house of Myton of Myton," and that the will of Aleisa Myton (dated April 16, 1440), "makes no addition to our scanty stock of information." He believes she was a daughter of "John Aske of Ousethorpe, Esq., the Seneschal of the Bishop of Durham for Howdenshire, who died in 1397," from her will being "made at Aughton, the then residence of the family of Aske," and likewise from several Askes being mentioned in it. b. According to Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum, Byland and Rievaulx Abbeys, in Yorkshire, were both greatly indebted to the generosity of early benefactors, who were members of the house of de Surdeval, vel Sutton of Ampleforth, co. York. What is known further of this family, which apparently from their gifts of land must have been of considerable local importance? BYLAND.-"In Ampleford one carucate of land given by William, the son of Huiete, with other lands there given by William de Surdeval, Roger the son of William de Surdeval, and Ralph de Surdeval." RIEVAULX. "Alan de Surdevalle confirmed the grant of Robert his brother, of common pasture for three hundred sheep in the territory of Bothlum. William, son of William, Peter Rabbas, aud Julian de Sutton heirs of Robert de Surdevale, their uncle, confirmed the grants of the said Robert of lands in Nagolton, alias Nalton. He also gave common pasture of three carucates here, as described by the boundaries, for three hundred sheep; and also common of pasture in Bothlum, with free egress and regress, from their sheepfold of Schirpnum to the said pasture as far as their land continued."" In the calendar of the Rievaulx chartulary mentioned amongst the Cottonian manuscripts are : "87. Carta Roberti de Surdeval. "125. Carta Petri de Surdevall et Willielmi fratris ejus de Theokemarais." Will any one who has seen these kindly favour me with an accurate description of the symbols or "characteristics" which are considered "pagan"? Judging from portions of the structure which I have seen, Adel Church, if I remember rightly, was of the style of architecture known as the Romanesque, or debased Roman of the Norman period. SINE LUMINE. OLD ALTAR-PIECE AT SANTA CROCE, FLORENCE. Can any obliging correspondent say whether the panel-pictures, by Ugolino da Siena, which constituted the altar-piece in Santa Croce, and were formerly in the Ottley collection, have been engraved or described in detail? Kelly Street, Kentish Town. WM. UNDERHILL. [Some notices of Ugolino's altar-piece at Santa Croce will be found in Vasari, Lives of the Painters, &c., edit. 1850, i. 138, 139; Waagen, Treasures of Art, edit. 1854, ii. 461; iii. 374; and Supplement, p. 285.] BIBLE PLATES.-I have lately met with a volume of Bible plates in the style of Callot. The volume itself is small 4to, without any title or text, and appears to be large paper, as the engraved portion measures about three by two and a quarter inches. The only indication of an engraver's name is "P. De Vel. fc." I cannot find it in Bryan, and shall be glad of any information on the subject. A. H. BATES. Edgbaston. CANOE.-About the year 1843, a canoe of great size was found in Deeping Fen, Lincolnshire. Can any one oblige me with particulars of this ancient war vessel, its size, &c.? A paragraph in the Stamford Mercury gave all necessary information on the matter, but this I cannot lay my hands on just now. EGAR. CORRECT DATE WANTED..—William, third Earl of Ulster, is stated to have died in 1333, leaving an only daughter-the Lady Elizabeth de Burghborn in 1332. This great heiress was brought up in the family of King Edward III., and early betrothed to her distant cousin Lionel, the king's fourth son, who, being born in 1338, was six years her junior. Mrs. Green, in her Lives of the Princesses, states that the wedding took place in 1359; but as the young couple had a daughter born in 1355, that date can hardly be accepted, although several quotations and references are given in its support. Others state that the wedding took place in 1352, but the groom was then only fourteen; and, even by this reckoning, the putative father would be but seventeen at his daughter's birth. What are the correct dates? A. H. HENRY DURCY [DARCY?], LORD MAYOR OF LONDON, 1338.-I find in the valuable collection of a friend the engraved arms of this individual, which consist in the lower part of the shield of an eagle displayed. In the chief are the letters "I. O. M. I. S.," which a MS. note by some unknown scribe explains: "Jovi Optimo Maximo Immortali Sacra." The heraldical lines to distinguish the colours are not given. From whence are the above letters derived? Are there other examples of capital or initial letters in the shields of private personages? Such things are common enough in the arms of towns, cities, and episcopal sees. I have numerous examples. N. "DON FRANCISCO SUTORIOSO," a poem, London, printed for H. Hills, 1710, 8vo, pp. 24. Who is the person satirized? SENNOKE. JOHN FELTON, the murderer of the Duke of Buckingham, was probably of the same family as the Feltons of Playford, in Suffolk. But is there any authority for the statement (Smythe's Worthies of England, p. 32) that he had an hereditary morbid predisposition, being the grandson of that Felton who, in 1570, had affixed to the palace | gates of the Bishop of London the Pope's bull of excommunication against Elizabeth? S. H. A. H. lish and Scottish officers, who were glad to learn GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS was joined by many Eng the art of war in so excellent a school. After their numbers had been somewhat reduced he combined them (writes Harte) into one brigade. "There is reason to think" (adds the same writer) "that this brigade was one of the finest bodies of troops that ever appeared in the military world." (Harte's Gustavus Adolphus, ii. 153.) But I do not find that Harte gives any list of the English volunteers, and I should be glad to be informed where their names are to be found. J. G. N. HERALDIC. Is there any printed or MS. authority giving the arms of the sheriffs of London, from the earliest times? Also, is there any record of those who bore coat armour at the battle of Agincourt, with a list of arms? TOPOGRAPHER. [For the arms of the sheriffs of London see Harleian MS., No. 1349, fol. 55, &c. Those to 11 James I. in the College of Arms, Philipot MS. 22, Pb. See also Fuller's Worthies, art. "London."- Harl. MS. 782, pp. 49, 72, contains a list of the knights made at the battle of Agincourt, with the names of the dukes, earls, barons, knights, esquires, &c., who accompanied Henry V. Consult also Nicolas's History of the Battle of Agincourt, edit. 1832, pp. 332-389.] HOROSCOPE.-Can any one inform me where the following story is published?-A gentleman in Edinburgh had his horoscope cast. His future was foretold briefly thus-That at a certain hour on a certain day (as far as I remember), within one year from that time, that he would die at the feet of a certain statue in Rome. As the time drew nigh he resolved to go there, and subsequently on the appointed day and hour sat down calmly prepared to undergo the fate foretold to him; but the hour passed, and he went away, having for the future less faith in horoscopes. E. S. JOHN LELAND.-Can any of your readers give me the date of John Leland's (the father of English antiquaries) birth? WM. WRIGHT. 31, Pepler Road, Old Kent Road. [Messrs. Cooper (Athenæ Cantabrigienses, i. 110) state, that "John Leland was born in London in the month of September. The year is unknown, but it was probably 1506."] LOCKS CONTAINING BELLS.-In The Times of August 9, in a report of the proceedings of the British Archæological Association at Wolverhampton, it is stated that a paper was read in the Town Hall by Mr. J. C. Tildesley, "On the earlier Industries of Staffordshire," in which, among other matters, the author showed that "lockmaking was a recognised industry in Wolverhampton.... at the commencement of the sixteenth century. . . . . Miniature locks for cabinets; locks containing bells (like the one mentioned i the Odyssey, 21), and locks for bridles for scolding women, were among the curiosities of the craft at that time." Now the only passage in the twentyfirst book of the Odyssey about a lock occurs in lines 46-50, viz.: — Αὐτίκ ̓ ἄρ ̓ ἅγ ̓ ἱμάντα θοῶς ἀπέλυσε κορώνης, Ἐν δὲ κληῒδ ̓ ἧκε, θυρέων δ' ἀνέκοπτεν ὀχλας, *Αντα τιτυσκομένη τὰ δ ̓ ἀνέβραχεν, ήΰτε ταῦρος Βοσκόμενος λειμῶνι τόσ' ἔβραχε καλὰ θύρετρα Πληγέντα κληΐδι, πετάσθησαν δέ οἱ ὦκα. "Then quickly she unloosed the handle's latchet, And with straightforward aim thrust in the key, And struck the door-bolts back; whereat the door With loud noise creaked again, like a bull bellowing At pasture in a meadow; yea, so loud, When smitten by the key, the good door creaked And opened quickly to her." I should be glad to learn whether any different reading of the above Greek lines is known, such as to convey an idea of bells being contained in the lock. Sparham Rectory, Norwich. T. S. NORGATE. MARDOL, MYTHE, BIRDLIP, CRUCK BARROW.Wanted, the etymology of the following words:Mardol, a part of Shrewsbury; the Mythe, a hill near Tewkesbury, overhanging the Severn; Birdlip, a hill of the Cotswold range, six miles from Cheltenham; Cruckbarrow, a place in Worcestershire. H. S. SKIPTON. PORTER AND STEEL.-Have the lives of these Nonconformist divines been published? Thomas Porter, who died at Shrewsbury in 1667, had been minister of Hanmer and of Whitchurch. Richard Steel succeeded him at Hanmer, and resigned in 1662. Are any descendants of either of the above now living? H. [There is an extended account of the Rev. Richard Steel, M.A., in Wilson's History of Dissenting Churches, ii. 448-457. The Rev. George Hamond preached his Funeral Sermon, which contains a list of his works.] REPAIRS OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.-In what office were the estimates, accounts, and books of repairs executed on account of government buildings deposited from 1660 to 1760, and have they been transferred to the Public Record Office? The object of my inquiry is to ascertain the nature of the repairs and alterations of the Government House at Portsmouth (previously a portion of the old Domus Dei or hospital of St. M. Nicholas) from about 1720 to 1760. SANDERS: SANDARS. How is it persons are spelling Sanders or Saunders with an a-San dars-instead of an e, and at the same time taking the arms and crest of the Sanders of Charlwood and Ewell, one of the oldest Saxon families in the county of Surrey? C. S. B. SHELDON, VERNON, AND LEE FAMILIES.-Can any reader of "N. & Q." tell me anything of the antecedents of William Sheldon, who was born in Wilts about 1763, and who married Anne, daughter of William Vernon, about 1790-4, after which they went to America? Also, of the antecedents of William Vernon, the father of Anne, who is said to have come from Derbyshire, but at the time of his daughter's marriage lived in the parish of Marylebone. Who was William Vernon, who had a military warehouse in Charing Cross from 1793 to 1827, and whose sons carried on the business till 1839 ? I want to find out the antecedents of Lee Seymour, daughter of John and Sarah Seymour of Stratton, Cornwall. William Sheldon returned to London and died in 1822. He had half-brothers of the name of Lee. One of these was Richard Lee, who There were a Richard and Edward Lee of the is said to have held a government appointment. Levant Company, living in Old Broad Street, and St. Helen's Place, City, in 1821; and there was 1835. Any information on the above will be a Richard Lee, who died at Beech Hill, Hants, thankfully received by 136, Gower Street, N.W. H. BRIDGE. JOSEPH THURSTON, ETC.-Can any one give me information of the authors of the following works? Poems on several Occasions, in which are included The Toilette, and The Fall." By Joseph Thurston, Gent. Printed in London by Motte and Bathurst, at the Middle Temple Gate, Fleet Street, 1737. [Died on Dec. 23, 1732, Joseph Thurston, Esq., of the Inner Temple, author of the poem called The Toilette.Historical Register, xviii. Chron. Diary, p. 5.] The Revelations of a Dead-alive. Simpkin and Marshall, 1824. S. W. T. "TRUE NOBILITY."-In an old engraved sheet, entitled "A Type of Trew Nobility, or ye Armes of a Xptian Emblazoned," I find the following lines at the foot. By whom were they composed? My copy is verbatim et literatim :— 66 Though our Earthe's Gentry vaunt hert self so good, *Why is the p introduced here? Is it a blunder of the engraver? + Should not "her" be their or them? but if so, why is "self" in the singular? [The following names successively appear in the pedigree as given in Lewys Dwnn's Heraldic Visitations of Wales, ed. 1846, i. 213, and in Robert Vaughan's British Antiquities Revived, ed. 1662, p. 43:-Einion Evell._Run. Kyhelyn. Ievaf. Madog Koch. Madog Kyffin. David. David Vaughan. Gruffyd (Griffith). Hugh Vaughan.] JOHN LORD WAKE.-Can any one furnish particulars as to the wife of John, Lord Wake, who died 28 Edward I. Thomas their son married Blanche of Lancaster; Mary, the daughter, married Edward Earl of Kent. The lady is described as "Joane," and she obtained permission to hold a market at Deeping, Lincolnshire, after the baron's death of what family was she? Replies. HEADS ON LONDON BRIDGE. (4th S. x. 67.) A. H. For nearly three centuries the eyes of the passengers in this locality were constantly offended by the sight of human heads upon poles, black, and rotting in the sun. They were originally placed over the gate at the City, or north end of the bridge; but in 1577 the site was altered to the drawbridge at the Southwark entrance to the bridge, thence called "Traitors' Gate." It is not commonly known that the heads of many of the regicides were exposed here; but the fact is proved from the Voyages de Mons. de Monconys (Lyons, 1695, ii. 14), where, speaking of London Bridge, he says: "At the other extremity of the Bridge, above the towers of a Castle, are many of the heads of the murderers of King Charles." This old gate and drawbridge was burnt in the fire which consumed about sixty houses on the bridge in 1726. The author of the Chronicles of London Bridge (who quotes the passage in Monconys just alluded to) says: "I imagine that, upon the removal of the old gate, this custom of erecting the heads of traitors there was discontinued, as I find no subsequent notice of it; and the last heads which probably were placed upon its tower are said to have been those of the regicides in 1661," A later instance, however, occurs in the case of one William Stayley, who was executed for high treason in 1678, and his head placed upon London Bridge. In the days of Charles II. Temple Bar became the modern "Traitors' Gate." The first actual tenant of the new locality was Sir Thomas Armstrong, who was executed at Tyburn, Jan. 20, 1684, for participation in Monmouth's rebellion. His head was set up on Westminster Hall, and upon Temple Bar was spiked one of his quarters. In 1696 the head of Sir William Perkins, another "plotter," was placed on Temple Bar; and the Pretender's rash proceedings of 1715 added a head or two to the collection. "Counsellor Layer's head" (who suffered in 1723) was long known as an "old inhabitant" of the Bar, until one stormy night it was blown down into the street below. The heads of the Jacobites, who suffered in 1745 were placed here. On Aug. 16, 1746, Horace Walpole writes: 66 "I have been this morning at the Tower, and passed under the new heads at Temple Bar, where people make trade of letting spyglasses at a halfpenny a look.” Mr. Green's picture in the Royal Academy has been painted in mistake, as the heads of the Jacobites were not exhibited upon London Bridge, but upon Temple Bar. Referring to the catalogue of the Academy (No. 1081) I have discovered the source of Mr. Green's blunder. He gives the following extract from Hentzner's Journey:· "London Bridge is covered on each side with houses, so disposed as to have the appearance of a continued street. Upon this is built a tower, on whose top the heads of such as have been executed for high treason are placed upon iron spikes."-Paul Hentzner's Journey into England, 1757 [sic]." Not knowing that Paul Hentzner travelled in England at the end of the sixteenth century, he copied the date of Walpole's publication of the Journey, and concluded that the mention of heads on the bridge in 1757 was sufficient to warrant their being in the same locality in 1745. By this mistake Mr. Green has rendered his picture historically worthless. EDWARD F. RIMBAULT. There is a tract in the British Museum (515, 1. 2, No. 21) describing the execution of William Stayley, who was found guilty of high treason Nov. 21, 1678, and sentenced to be drawn on a burnt and his head set on London Bridge, and his sledge, executed, and quartered; his bowels to be sentence was carried out, and his quarters left at On the 26th the quarters on the City Gates. Newgate; but he having behaved very penitent, and his friends having prayed the king to grant them his remains, the prayer was granted. No sooner did they obtain them, than they set about having mass said, and other Romish ceremonies performed, finishing with a pompous funeral from his father's house to the church of St. Paul, Covent Garden. Of course, the king was displeased at this exhibition, and ordered the coroner of Westminster to take up the quarters from the churchyard; and the coffin being broken open, the sheriffs were directed to carry out the original sentence. Any further notes relating to the London Bridge "Traitors' Gate," in the reign of Charles II., |