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Offa's Dyke, near St. Briavel's, co. Gloucester. [VOL.CI.

was then mentioned, but the builder questioned the existence of any such instrument, saying that he had been 50 years in the service, and never heard of it. Neither did the worthy successor of that officer ever hear of it until the day when it was shown him in the library of the Royal Artillery, where your Correspondent may inspect it, through the Rev. Librarian, if he does not meet with another copy.

Nor is it improbable that the late Lord Melville and his immediate successor at the Admiralty, were equally unacquainted with the patent, when they abandoned the project of a grand Dock Yard at Northfleet, after having purchased a large track of land, and diverted their views and the public purse to the mouth of the Thames at Sheerness, contrary to the reasoning of the First Lord of the Admiralty in his published pamphlets.

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OFFA'S Dyke is known to have commenced at Tiddenham in Gloucestershire, near Chepstow; but its line from thence to Old Radnor is un

known, or undetermined. St. Briavel's in Gloucestershire is only a very few miles from Tiddenham, and I was greatly surprised, when on a visit there for change of air, I was asked

whether I had seen the remains of Offa's Dyke in that parish. Upon my reply in the negative, I was informed that it ran through a wood called the Fence near Bigsweir Bridge. I was most anxious to visit the spot. The gout having, however, placed me in Schedule A, by disfranchising my locomotive members, and the brushwood rendering it impracticable to ride to it, I was obliged to forego the pleasure. But Charles Ransford Court, esq. of St. Briavel's, assured me that

he had often crossed it, when shooting. The Dyke overhangs the Wye, and the Fence Wood forms one (the northern) horn of the crescent, in the centre of which stands the Castle of St. Briavel.

Hence arise two questions; (1) Did it cross the Wye to reach Monmouthshire or Herefordshire? or (2) did it take a circuitous route along the Gloucestershire side of the river?

Nicholson says, "When the Romans made their inroads into this island, about the commencement of the Christian æra, many of the Britons were said to have retreated into Wales, at which time the river Dee, in the neighbourhood of Chester, and the Severn divided the two countries. All to the east was England, and to the west Wales. This division continued about 600 years, when the ambitious Offa, coveting the fertile lands of his neighbours, easily raised a quarrel and an army. He then drove them west among the mountains, formed this vast Dyke, and ordained that neither English nor Welch should pass it."

I shall not attempt to decide which way it went, because such an attempt as exploration of the track, which would alone be satisfactory, is by me impracticable.

Nevertheless, without committing myself, for the reasons just given, it may be hypothetically and yet fairly stated, that it did not cross the river until it arrived at Monmouth, but followed the Gloucestershire bank of the Wye, as far as that town. In favour of this hypothesis it may be observed, that two-thirds of the Dyke from Mold in Flintshire to Old Radnor (nearly eighty miles by the scale on the map), have been clearly ascertained. From Mold to Llangollen it is a gentle curve, and from thence to Old Radnor nearly as straight as a Roman road. If we assume that the remaining third assimilated in form and direction the two others, it would proceed from Old Radnor to Clifford, thence to Llanthony, Crickhowell, Abergavenny, and Pontypool, and have entered the mouth of the Severn somewhere between Caerphilly and Newport; but, had it done so, it would have been twenty miles to the westward of either the Old or New Passages. Not to lose this connexion appears to have been Tiddenham, and of deviating from the the object of commencing the Dyke at preceding line. The direct line from lech, Grosmount, and Bradwardine, Radnor to Tiddenham is through Trein which direction it must have crossed the river twice. But as the remains of St. Briavel's show the line of continuation, it must have followed the river down to Monmouth, and perhaps have crossed the Wye at that * Cambrian Traveller's Guide, p. 910.

PART II.]

Roman Camps near Offa's Dyke.

place; for the deviation from the direct line between Tiddenham and Monmouth along the river, is very trifling, and from thence by Grosmont and Bradwardine to Old Radnor, according to the map, the line is straight.

Another circumstance is observable. Where the course of the Dyke is known, there are old Roman or British camps in contiguity, or in the vicinity, besides mounts or small forts upon the line itself. Offa seemingly imitated the valla of Hadrian or Severus; the mounts being substituted for towers, and the camps used for garrisons or reserves. A similar coincidence occurs in the line now under discussion. There is a camp in Caswell wood, not far from St. Briavel's, and the Devil's pulpit, (a rock visited by tourists, on account of the fine bird's-eye view of Tintern Abbey beneath it, on the Monmouthshire side of the river,) is within the entrenchment. There is a line or mound from this camp, which can be traced nearly to a tumulus on the west side of the road, and situated near the mansion occupied by Mr. Trotter. This line appears to have communicated with St. Briavel's. This information I received from a very intelligent gentleman engaged in the Ordnance survey; and I have visited the Devil's pulpit, passed Mr. Trotter's gate up a straight Roman-road-looking wide lane, and observed every indication of the accuracy of the account. The part of St. Briavel's under discussion is a lofty elevation, of a form, part of which the Greeks would have scooped out for a theatre. The straight side of the

is the river towards the west; the adjacent lower area resembles the pit; and the ascending semi-circular sides the boxes and galleries. In the centre of what we should call in a playhouse the upper gallery, is the castle. But the piece of Offa's Dyke lies in the Fence-wood, and has no communication with the castle; but runs across the extremity of the northern end of the semicircle. I have heard that there are still remains of a very ancient lane from Bigsweir, which pointed towards Monmouth.

From the castle and village an old road passes by a camp called Stowgreen, towards Clearwell, a hamlet of Newland. This parish is adjacent to Staunton and Bury-hill, where, from inclusion in Bletislan hundred, the

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Rocking-stone, and a Roman way, and other indicia not found at Monmouth, was to all appearance the Blestrum of Antoninus. About three miles further, on the same Gloucestershire side of the river, is a Roman encampment at Symond's Yat, and somewhat diverging to the east, the Roman camp on Ross Chase, and Ariconium. On the known line of the Dyke commencing in Herefordshire, at or near Lentwardine, are the two famous camps of Coxsall Hill, and Brampton Brian, one of Caractacus, the other of Ostorius; and so fortresses continue to skirt it along the whole of its course. It is not, however, impossible but that, instead of crossing the Wye at or about Monmouth, it actually accompanied the circuit of the Wye by Ross and Hereford to Bradwardine; for the visible course of the Dyke runs in a straight line, and ceases to be discoverable at Old Radnor, which, according to the scale, is only as one ten miles, in a straight line N. to S. the uniform direction of the Dyke, from Bradwardine. Nicholson says, KNIGHTON, also called TREFY-CLAWD, i. e. the town upon the Dyke; for Offa's Dyke enters this parish on the north from the county of Salop, and after running for two miles in almost a straight line to the south, it is plainly to be traced through the parishes of Norton, Whitton, Discoed, and Old Radnor, into the county of Hereford, i. e. to Lentwardine, which is situated at the end of the ninth mile on the road from Ludlow to Knighton. It is also to be observed, that the Dyke running in a straight line N. to S. bisects Wales longitudinally, though not in equal proportions. It may, therefore, be assumed that it continued to proceed in the same straight line N. and S. from Old Radnor to Tiddenham. That straight line has been before noted, as going by Bradwardine, Crickhowel, Abergavenny, Pontypool, and Newport, which direction does not bring it to Tiddenham, as, if the map be correct, according to the straight line from N. to S. it ought to do. As no further remains have been discoverable beyond Old Radnor, it might, therefore, (I do not say that it did,) have accompanied the river from Tiddenham to Bradwardine, and thus made boundaries of both the Wye and the Severn; for otherwise the Wye could have been a

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boundary only for a comparatively few miles, as will be plain from the positions of the places upon a map, both in straight line and round the river.

It might not be difficult for a sturdy pedestrian to start from Old Radnor in a N. and S. direction, by the places mentioned, and so try the straight line for remains, duly observing the bearings of aberrations (if any) from the straight line, and following such deviations to their extremity. If nothing be discovered, and there will be nothing in such a direction, as the Dyke passes through St. Briavel's,let him make a second attempt by going from Monmouth by Grosmont, and from thence to Bradwardine in a N. W. or N.N.W. direction. If both these fail, it is possible, though not certain, that the Dyke accompanied the river as far as Bradwardine.

I have made these hypotheses from the map, because there being no other remains known than those specified, the map was my only resource. Having only a wish, as an antiquary, to have the real line discovered, I heed not the tenability of any of the hypotheses. I only in my own defence say, that, if the line does not go in one or other of the above directions, the map is either inaccurate, or the line from Old Radnor to Tiddenham is anomalous to the straight N. and S. direction of the known parts. By the Dyke going from Tiddenham to St. Briavel's, and probably to Monmouth, Grosmont, and Bradwardine, there is an aberration to the East, but it is the shortest line of any, according to the map, and on that account may be the exploratory direction most likely to succeed.

I shall end this account with another puzzle connected with the banks of the Wye, viz. GOODRICH CASTLE. Nobody knows who was the founder that gave name to the fortress and village. In the Liber Niger Scaccar. (by Hearne), i. 160, is a charter of the abbot of Winchcombe, saying, that William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, owed two knights' fees to the abbot for Castle Godric. I treated it as a return wrongly entered, until I found in the Rot. Marescall,* 13 Ed. II.

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[VOL.CI.

m. 4, that the abbot of Winchcombe is certified as having two knights' fees, which I presumed to be those of Godrich, as above. I have abstracts made by myself of the two registers of Winchcombe Abbey (now or lately in the possession of Lord Sherborne), but neither in the extracts nor in the Monasticon (the old edition, i. 187), could I find any elucidation, because all their antiqua testimonia" of the endowment of the abbey, were destroyed by fire in the reign of Stephen. I then gave up the inquiry, as being much like that of the lost course of Offa's Dyke. But I was again revived, by finding that the same OFFA, who expelled the Britons from the track between the Severn and the Wye, of which Godrich was part, was founder of the nunnery at Winchcombe, which preceded the famous mitred abbey, and of course might have endowed that nunnery with part of the acquired British property. Now the Conqueror ejected a Godric, abbot of Winchcombe, from his monastery, and imprisoned him in Gloucester Castle. Whether this Godric founded the castle or not, let others decide; but it is certain that the Earls Marshall did succeed in the estate, and that the abbot of Winchcombe in the reign of Henry II. certifies that William Marshall Earl of Pembroke did not only hold of him the two fees of Godrich, but also LXV fees and a half of the honor of Striguil. If so, Offa might have given that immense estate to the monks, out of which the Conqueror might have ousted them, and transferred it to the Earls Marshall. It may be further observed that Godrich Castle had in more recent times a large extent of jurisdiction.

Yours, &c. T. D. FOSBROKE.

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PART II.]

The beautiful Daughters of J. Gunning, Esq.

fore, the annexed letter (which I consider a curiosity from its style and orthography,) written by a person who appears to have been the parish clerk of Hemingford Grey, in Huntingdonshire, in reply to some queries made on the subject by James Madden, esq. of Cole Hill house, Fulham, may be considered worth preserving. It is copied verbatim et literatim as follows:

"Sir,

I Take the Fredom in wrighting to you, from an Information of Mr. Warrinton, that you would be Glad to have the account of my Townswoman (sic) the Notefied, the Famis, Beautifull Miss Gunnings, Born at Hemingford Grey, tho they left the parish before I had knolege Enough to Remember them, and I was Born in 32.* But I will Give you the Best account I Cau, which I Belive is Better then any man in the Country besides myself, tho I have not the Birth Regester for so long a Date, and since Dr. Dickens is dead, I dont know where it is, but the Best account I Can Give you is, Elizth the Eldest+ Married to his Grace the Duke of Hamilton, after his Decease, to the Duke of Arguile; the seccond mary[ed] to the Viscount of Coventree; the third § I never knew Ritely to home [whom], but I beleeve to some privett Gentleman. Rember [remember] a many years ago, at least 30, seeing her picture in a print shop, I beleeve in St. Pouls Church yard, as follows:

I

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vel [marble] which lies in our Chancel, as follows:

"Sophia Gunning, the youngest of 4 Daughters, all Born at Hemingford, in Huntingdonshire, to John Gunning, esq., Died an Infant, 1737. Lissy Gunning, his 5 Daughter, Born in Ireld. Died Dec. 31, 1752. Aged 8 years, 10 m.

Suffer little Children and forbid them not, to Come unto me, for of such is the Kingdome of Heaven.-Math. 19, 14."

this, sir, is the Truest and Best Information I Can Give, or you Can Get; and if this is of any use to you, I should be much oblig'd to you to let me have a line or two from you, that I may be satisfid that it was not in vain.

And am, Sir, your most obedient and
Humble Servant,
WM. CRISWELL.
Hemingford Grey, Aug. 14th, -96.

The writer of the above epistle is wrong in calling Elizabeth the eldest daughter, since she was the second, and also wrong in styling the Earl of Coventry Viscount. With regard to the portrait referred to by him, I believe his memory deceived him, so far as the lines are concerned. The print in question is an oval, painted by Cotes, and engraved by Spooner. Beneath, is the name "Miss Gunning," and a little lower the following lines: "This youngest Grace, so like her Sisters Frame!

Her kindred Features tell from whence She came,

"Tis needless once to mention Gunning's

name."

If this be the same, it is a curious instance how poetry may be changed by oral recitation, and may serve to explain the perpetual variations in our old ballads. Of the two elder sisters there are numerous portraits, and in

+ ELIZABETH, the second (not the eldest) daughter, baptised at Hemingford Grey, 17 Dec. 1783; married 14 Feb. 1752, to James Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, who died 17 Jan. 1758; and 2dly, 3 March, 1759, to Colonel John Campbell, whose father became Duke of Argyle in 1761, and who afterwards succeeded to that title in 1776; she died before his Grace, 20 Dec. 1790. She was mother of three Dukes, the seventh and eighth Dukes of Hamilton, and the present Duke of Argyle; and as the heir presumptive to the latter is his brother, it may be hereafter said that she was mother of four Dukes.

MARY (called in the Peerages Maria), the eldest daughter, baptised at Hemingford Grey, 15 Aug. 1722; married 5 March, 1752, to George-William Earl of Coventry; ob. at Croome, co. Worcester, 30 Sept. 1760. She was mother of the late and grandmother of the present Earls of Coventry.

§ CATHARINE, the third daughter, baptised at Hemingford Grey, 12 June, 1735, married 6 May, 1769, at Somerset House Chapel, to Robert Travis, esq. She was upper housekeeper at that palace, and died there, 26 May, 1773. The name is often mis-spelt Trevor and Travers. The original Somerset Chapel Register is now in the possession of Sir Tho. Phillipps, Bart.

GENT. MAG. Suppl. VOL. CI. PART II.

B

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History of Printing.-Lignamine's Chronicon.

a scarce engraving by Houston, the heads of all three appear, with some verses in Latin and English beneath.

With regard to the fourth and fifth daughters, the following entries occur in the parish register of Hemingford Grey, for a copy of which, as well as for the other baptismal notices, inserted in the notes, I am indebted to the kindness of a gentleman resident in the parish:

1736. Nov. 24th, Sophia, ye daughter of Johu Gunning, esq. and his wife," baptised.

"1737. Jan. 11th, Sophia, an infant daughter of John Gunning, esq." buried.

“1753. Jan. 5th, Lissy, the daughter of John Gunning, esq. and his wife," buried.

No other notices of this family occur in the registers; and it is probable they removed not long after to Bath, and thence to London, where we find them in 1769.

Mr. URBAN,

F. M.

Dec. 16.

I DO not know whether the following discrepancy of dates in the history of Printing has been observed or accounted for. If so, perhaps there may be something in the notice of the Chronicle from which it is taken, which may atone for bringing it before you.

It is said (by Astle) that Fust and Gutenberg who were said to have used moveable wooden types, and perhaps did so print a few pages, separated their partnership in 1455. Now under the date 1459, Philip de Lignamine, himself a printer of 1474, writes in the present tense,-" Jacob, by name Gutenburger, by birth an Argentine, and a certain other named Justus (Fustus?) both skilfull of printing letters on skins with metal types, are known to make each of them 300 sheets (cartas') a day at Maguntia, a city of Germany. John also called Mentelin at Argentina, a city of the same province, and skilful in the same art, is known to print as many sheets a day." I am not quite certain if he here speaks of them as partners or not. The year in question 1459 is said to have seen the first book printed with cast metal types, namely, "Durandi Rituale," at Mentz. (Meerman, cited by Astle, p. 218.) and Schoeffer having used for the small letters of their Psalter of 1457, moveable metal types, but cut, not cast.

Fust

[VOL.CI.

The above notice is from the Original and Contemporary part of the Chronicon of John Philip de Lignamine, a Messenian, a knight of Sicily, and typographer of Rome, and familiar friend of Pope Sixtus the Fourth (printed at Rome, and dedicated to Sixtus.) He hints that he had increased the work of some other author, but does not say whose. With the exception of whole periods, lines, and words omitted, whereby it is almost unintelligible, Eccard (the editor of the " Corpus Historicum Medii Ævi") found it in all else the same with a Chronicle by a Ferrarese, seemingly Ricobaldi, as far down as the year 1312. Thenceforward it is continued down to 1473, the third of Pope Sixtus. In which year, after the spoiling of Spoletum, Indertum, and Castellum, it ends thus :-" Of this most worthy pontiff, in the third year of whose pontificate we know other famous things, we leave the feats to be commemorated by others who can do that better. Let him be the end of this series of times." Eccard has twice dated this Chronicle as down only to 1469. And yet 1471 follows in plain figures; and it comes down to 1473, and seems printed in the year 1474. Perhaps this may be considered as the first date of a work originally printed, and this Chronicle from 1312 to 1473 as one of the first specimens. Caxton's first print in England, the Game at Chess," is stated to have been finished in the Abbey of Westminster, the last of March 1474, and was followed by the "Book of Jason in 1475. And Caxton's Recueil des Histories de Troyes," printed at Bruges in 1468, continued at Ghent, and finished at Cologne in 1471, was a translation, not an original. Some block books executed before 1450, may rank as originals, but hardly as books in the modern sense of the word. C.W.C.

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