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1831.]

Account of Bitterley Church, Salop.

Mr. URBAN, Shrewsbury, Oct. 1. IT is now about forty years since I commenced a correspondence with you, during which time I have taken a pretty copious survey of the county of Salop, particularly the Churches, Monumental Inscriptions, and Arms of the several families connected therewith likewise Biographical Notices of eminent Natives, making in the whole ten handsome quarto volumes. I have enclosed a view of Bitterley Church and Cross, which I trust you will think worthy a place in your

museum.

Bitterley is four miles north-east of Ludlow, a Rectory in the Deanry of Ludlow, the Hundred of Overs, and Diocese of Hereford. The population in 1821 was 1064, more than half of whom were the families of colliers and miners.

The Church of Bitterley, dedicated to St. Mary, is a handsome structure; it consists of a body, without side aisles; the chancel is divided from the body by a screen of oak, carved in open quatrefoils; at the top are foliage and grotesque ornaments. There is a gallery at the west end; the ceiling is coved without ornament. Opposite the south door is an ancient stone font. The pulpit is of oak finely carved. The length of the body of the church 59 feet, breadth 22 feet, length of the chancel 334 feet, breadth 22 feet. The tower is 144 feet, by 13 feet 11 inches; it contains three bells. On the first bell is Hie sono que melis campana vocor gabrietis. Round the second bell SANCTE · JACOBE · OKA · PRO· NOBIS.

In the Church-yard is an elegant stone cross, raised on steps, which support an hexagonal shaft; on the top are tabernacled niches ; that on the north side contains the Virgin and infant Christ; the west side the Crucifixion; the east and south sides are nearly obliterated.

Adjoining the Church-yard is Bitterley-court, the residence of the Rev. John Walcott, Rector of Bitterley. It is beautifully situated on a gentle rise of ground, at the foot of the Clee Hill, surrounded by pleasure grounds. The Clee Hill is a bold and grand object; upon the top are the remains of an encampment, said to be Roman. extreme point, called Titterstone, appears of volcanic formation. Many GENT. MAG. October, 1831.

Its

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parts of this hill afford very extensive prospects, varied and beautiful. The interior of this immense mountain produces coal and ironstone in abundance.

The following monumental memorials were taken at the time I visited the Church, July 10, 1827.

Against the east wall of the chancel, under an arch, supported by columns with Corinthian capitals, is a figure of an Esquire in armour, kneeling at a desk, with a book before him: over the entablature the arms, and on the table below the figure the following inscription, in Roman capitals :

"Here is interred the body of Tymothye Lvcie of Middleton, Esq. who godly chainged this life the xxi of Janvary, 1616. He was the fovrth sonne to William Lvcie of Charlecott, Esquire. He married Susanna, davghter to Henry Fanshawe, Esqvire, by whom he had issue three sonnes and foure daughters; he after married Joahn daughter to Thomas Berghill of Thingell, Esqvire, and shee in memorye and love of him her hvsband, erected this monument.

Me tenet hæc moles defunctvm, lector, at avdi,

Hospes sim licet hic, svm'i tamen incola cœli Sospes ab hinc abeo, ventvri ivdicis olim Jvdicivm expectans, fœlix in quod mihi gratvm

Regia cœlestis parat indvlgentia patris.

ARMS. Gules, crusilly Or, three lucies haurient Argent.

Against the south wall of the chancel, a monument, the entablature supported by two figures, one on each side the table, which bears the following inscription:

Memoriæ Sacrum. Here lyeth, expecting a blessed resurrection, the bodyes of THOMAS POWys of Snitton, Gent. and of ELIZABETH his wife; hee deceased ye 19th of Nov. 1659, then aged 81. Shee was the daughter of Richd. Smythe of Credenhill, in the county of Hereford, Esq. and departed this life ye first day of July, 1645, they having issue 5 sonnes, Thomas, Christopher, Peter, Robert and James, and fower daughters, Winifrid, Anne, Mary, and Eli

zabeth.

ARMS. Or, a lion's gamb erased, between two cross-crosslets fitchée, Gules, Powys; impaling Smythe.

On a marble tablet, against the north wall of the chancel :

"In memory of Mrs. ELIZABETH WALCOTT, wife of John Walcott, Esq. second and youngest son of John Walcott, formerly of Walcott, in this county, Esq.

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Bitterley, co. Salop.-Drayton, co. Oxford.

She was the widow of Charles Colby, Esq. Commissioner of his Majesty's Navy at Gibralter, and a Captain in that service. She departed this life at her house in Upper Berkeley-street, London, on the 26th day of November, 1803, aged 71 years, and is deposited in a vault under the west door of the parish church of Paddington, in the county of Middlesex."

ARMS. Argent, a chevron between three chess rooks Ermine, Walcot; impaling, Azure, a chevron Or, between three crescents Argent, Colby.

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On stones in the chancel floor:

"Here lyeth ye body of S LITTLETON Powys, Knt. who departed this life the 13th March, 1731, ætat. 83. Also, of Dame AGNES his wife, who departed this life the 28th of Nov. 1720, ætat. 66."

ARMS. Powys, impaling Smythe, as before.

"MARIA POWys, 1668, ætat. 36. "ROBERTUS POWYs, Arm. ob. Apr. 1724." A marble tablet, supporting two vases, with drapery, in bas-relief, bears the following inscription:

"Sacred to the memory of the Rev. THOMAS ROCKE, A. M. Rector of Ludlow, and formerly of this Church, who died respected and lamented, 16th Oct. 1603, an. tat. 86. Also, of MARTHA his wife, of eminent piety and virtue, who died June 21, 1772, aged 50. And of FRANCIS their son, possessed of many amiable qualities, who died Dec. 6, 1783, an. ætat. 26. This inscription is dedicated by their sons, Thomas and Richard Rocke."

On a slab in the chancel floor:

"Here lieth the body of BENJAMIN MARSTON, late of Bitterley, Rector, died Nov. 30th, 1736, aged 69.'

ARMS. Sable, a fesse dauncettée Ermine, between three fleurs-de-lis Argent.

On a slab in the floor of the nave : "The Rev. Mr. WILLIAM SHEPPARD, of this parish, aud Vicar of Stanton Lacy, died 10th May, 1776, aged 47. MAGDALENE, his wife, daughter of George Pardoe, of Cleeton, Gent. died July 1, 1765, aged 32 years."

ARMS. Azure, on a chevron Or three etoiles Gules, between as many fleurs-de-lis of the Second.

On a slab, in the floor of the porch: "WILLIAM, son of WILLIAM SMITH, Rector of Bitterley, dyed ye 7th day of Aug. 1692."

[Oct.

On a monument against the south wall :

"Near this place are deposited the remains of GEORGE PARDOE, Esq. of Cleeton, who died 4th April, 1768, aged 74. As also of MARY his wife; she died 1st July, 1772, aged 76. Likewise are interred in this church five of their children: MILBOROUGH PARDOE, died Feb. 19, 1741, aged EDWARD PARDOE, died April 14, 1763, aged 34. MAGDALENE SHEPPARD, died July 1, 1765, aged 32. MARY PARDOE, died Sept. 27, 1765, aged 37. SARAH PARDOE, died Jan. 18, 1767, aged 26."

24.

ARMS. A cross counter-componée Or and Gules; in the first quarter a water bouget, in the second an eagle displayed, in the third a swan, in the fourth an escallop shell, all Sable; on a chief Azure, a lion passant guardant Or. Yours, &c. D. PARKES.

Mr. URBAN,

DRAYTON is a small village of about thirty houses, at the distance of one mile and a half from Banbury in Oxfordshire. The manor formerly belonged to the Grevilles; and is now divided between the Earl of Guilford and the heirs of the Copes of Hanwell.

The Church consists of a low square tower, nave, two side aisles, and a chancel.

In the north aisle, near the west end, under a plain pointed arch in the wall, and even with the pavements, is a dark stone slab of great thickness, on the upper part of which are raised lines lengthways, with vine leaves raised alternately on the sides of the lines. Tradition states this stone to be in memorial of the founder of the Church.

In the chancel, near to the communion rails, raised about three feet from the ground, is an alabaster slab, on which is the figure of a man in armour, and on his right hand that of his wife; both their heads rest on cushions, and their hands are in the position of prayer. She is dressed in a long robe, with large open sleeves, her hair curled on each side to a considerable height, and somewhat in shape of a crescent; round her neck is a chain with a small medallion pendant thereto. The inscription is in Latin, and in old English characters, in lines above the heads of the two persons represented, and has been thus translated:

"Here lieth Lodowic Grevil, heretofore Lord of the Manor of Drayton, and Marga

1831.]

Monuments at Drayton, co. Oxford.

ret his wife, daughter and heir of Giles de Arderne, which Lodowic died the xviii day of the month of August, in the year of our Lord 1438, on whose soul the Lord have mercy. Amen."

In the north aisle, on an alabaster slab, the effigies of a man in armour (cut into the stone); his head, on which is a peaked helmet, rests on a cushion with tassells, the hands closed in prayer, his sword fastened by a belt round the waist: and on either side of the head a shield, the one, Ermine, a fess; the other, Ermine, a fess, impaling a chevron beween three crosses potent 1, 2, 3; and round the border of the stone, inscription in Latin and old English characters, which has been thus translated:

"Here lieth John Grevil, son and heir of Lodowic Grevil, of Drayton, which John died the xviii day of the month of August, MCCCCXLI. on whose soul the Lord be favorable. Amen."

In Atkins's Gloucestershire, p. 336, under the head of Sesincot, a village of Gloucestershire, it is stated,

"Sir John Grevil died seized of this manor, and of the Hundred of Kiftgate, 20 Edw. IV. Ludowick Grevil was seized of this manor, and resided in this place (Sesincot) in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He was guilty of an horrible murder, and God's revenge upon it ought to be published to posterity. He invited Web

to his house, who had been formerly his servant and was grown rich he procured two of his servants to murder Web in his bed, and then forged a will, whereby he gained his whole estate. One of the servants in his drink, not long after, said he could hang his master: the other servant acquainted his master with what he had said the master thereupon advises the servant to murder his fellow assassinate. This second murder was soon discovered, and Ludowick Grevil was arraigned and executed. He stood mute to save his estate to his family but his family never flourished afterwards, and soon fell to decay. Sir Edward Grevil was Lord of Sesiucot in the year 1608, Sir William Juxon was afterwards seized of it, and Francis Lord Guildford was possessed of it, and presented to the living in 1706."

:

On a slab in the chancel :

ARMS. In a round shield, a lion rampant. Crest, A hand and dagger.

"Hic jacet Richardus Cogkilane, Hibernus, hujus loci minister, qui denatus est 17 die Julii, A.D. 1668."

On a grey stone slab in the chancel: "Johannes Dover, qui stipendium peccati

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hic deposuit cadaver, minimè dubitans quin, phoenicis instar, gloriosiùs è suis resurget cineribus; vixit, peccavit, pœnituit; obijt tertio die Novris, Ao Dni M.DCCXXV."

And on a black stone in the wall above :

"Lo here yor late unworthy Rect lies,
Who tho' he's dead loud as he can stil cries,
Repent. W'n stones crie out, 'tis time to mend
And wisely ponder on yo' latt" end,
And may this stone from crieing nevTM cease,
Mind, mind, w' makes for yo' eternal peace.'

On a black slab :

"To the memory of THOMAS LODGE, late Minister of Drayton, where he was a bvrning and a shining light for the space of xxxii yeares. He dyed the xxiv day of Feb. M.DCLI. ætat. Ixx.

"Vnder this stone doth sleeping lye
The body of a sovl on high,

He who tavght others how to tread
The paths of life, himself's not dead,
His earthly part in the earth doth rest,
His spirit 's lodg'd among the blest,
A revniting there shall be
Of both vnto eternity."

On a slab in the chancel :

"Oct. 3, 1638 BRIGID' filia GUALTERI WALLWIN, Uxor THO. LODGE, Pastoris hujus ecclesiæ."

Within the communion rails, on stone slabs :

"Hæc subter marmora reponuntur cineres Reverendi admodum ADAM MORTON, viri non sine solemni honoris præfatione nominandi, hujusce per 5-quennium ecclesiæ Rectoris pacifici, per totum necnon vitæ institutum moris innocui, quippe qui absq. adulatione humillimus, theologus peritus, antiquiorum rituumq. adsertor æquus, Fidei antiquissimæ patronus strenuus, amicus omnibus, nemini exosus, Junij calend. 3o salutis anno 1688, ætatisq. suæ 63, morte subitanea minimè improviso, placidus decessit."

"Here lieth interred the body of Mrs. ELIZABETH MORTON, eldest daughter of Dr. Williamson, sometime Rector of Tichmarsh, in the county of Northampton, and relict of Mr. Adam Morton, sometime Rector of Hinton by Brackly, in the sayd county, and mother of Mr. Adam Morton, Rector of this Church. She departed this life the 12th day of December, 1679, in the 86th yeare of her age.

"To her to live was Christ,
And to die was gaine."

"Sacred to the memorie of Mrs. Rose CLARKE, one of the daughters of Dr. Williamson, sometime Rector of Tichmarsh, in the County of Northampton. And relict of Mr. John Clarke, B.D. and late Rector

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The original Country of the Celts.

of Fisherton, in the countie of Lyncolne, and mother of Mr. Robert Clarke, the late Rector and the pious and painful Minister of this Church; she departed this life the thirde day of March MDCLXXIX, in the LXXII yeare of her age."

"To the memorie also of SUSANNA CLARKE, one of the twyns and daughter of the saide John and Rose Clarke. Shee departed this life October xx111. MDCLXX. in the XVIII yeare of her age.

"To the memorie also of SARAH CLARKE, the other of the twyus, and daughter of the sayde John and Rose Clarke; shee departed this life October xxiv. MDCLXX. in the XVIII yeare also of her age.

"All which three, both mother and daughters, lye here interred under this monument, expecting a blessed and joyful resurrection.'

"GRACE, the wife of Jo. CLEAVER, Gent. late of this parish, dyed Dec. 5th, 1706, aged 59."

Monumental stone, north aisle :

"M. S. MARTHA, ye daughter of JOHN CLEAVER, and MARTHA his wife, born July 9th, 1684, deceased Xber 5th, 1701."

On a stone slab, north aisle : ARMS. Within a border entoyre, a chevron between three stars.

"Sacred to the memory of Mrs. MARY CLEAVER, the wife of Mr. John Cleaver, of this parish, and relict of Mr. Wm. Harcourt, of London, Merchant; she was here interr'd the 18th day of Febry in the year of our Lord 1667.

"Here lyeth the body of MARTHA CLEAVER, the wife of John Cleaver, who departed this life the 22d of Jany, 1717, aged 58."

Stone slab, north aisle :

ARMS. 3 wheatsheafs, 1, 2, 3, between seven crosses potent, 2, 3, 1; impaling, Fretty, two bars.

"Sacred to the memory of the pious, virtuous, and charitable virgin MARY, the only daughter of Mr. William Harcourt of London, Merchant, who was interred in this place the 28th day of Dec. Anno Dom'i. M.VI C.L IX. M. Č. 1701."

"Here lyeth the body of JOHN CLEAVER, who departed this life the 30th of July, 1720, aged 74."

On a grave stone in the churchyard:

"In memory of MARY the wife of John Elmore, who died the 15th day of Jan. 1749, aged about 46."

Stone slabs, north aisle :

"Here lyeth the body of Mr. RICHARD GOODWIN, who was buried the 26th day of November, 1695."

"Here lyes THOMAS GOSTELLOW, of Drayton, Gent. who died the 2d day of Dec. 1702, ætat. suæ. 70."

[Oct.

Of this last gentleman, a report prevails in the neighbourhood, that being of atheistical principles, he had made an agreement with a poor woman of the parish, who had imbibed the same errors, that if it were possible, whichever of them should first die, if they found after their decease there was a God, should make some sign to signify it. The story goes, that after he was dead and laid out, he moved his right hand upon his heart, nor could the efforts of any other person but the said woman replace it in its former situation, who did it with ease. By his own desire he was buried at the depth of nine feet. Yours, &c. OXON.

Mr. URBAN, Paris, June 5. IN a letter in your number for last December, p. 502, Mr. BROWNING, from his own resources, and from the fifth volume of my "6 Histoire de Hainaut, par Jacques de Guyse,"* in which I have attempted to make known the ancient civilization of the Celts, has communicated a dissertation on that ancient people. Mr. BARNES, in his answers (part i. pp. 117, 309), has made many learned observations on the same subject; † which deserve to be examined with attention.

The "Histoire générale d'Espagne," of which Mr. Barnes has made much use, is the work of M. Depping, and contains excellent materials on the subject which occupies our attention. It seems certain that the name of Celts has been given to a very great number of tribes. The most ancient author who has employed the term, after Scilax, is Herodotus, who (book ii. chapter 33), says that the Celts dwell beyond the Columns of Hercules, and adjoin the Cynetæ, who are the last nation on the west. He repeats the same statement in book iv. chapter 149, and thus evidently fixes the Celts in Spain. Strabo (lib. 12) also places them in Iberia, near the Bætis (the Guadalquivir), the Anas (the Guadiana), the Tagus, &c. Ephorus (cited by Strabo, lib. iv.) asserts that they occupy the greatest part of Iberia as far as Gades.

The present letter is extracted from the Preface to the twelfth volume of that extensive work.-EDIT.

There is another letter by Mr. Browning on this subject, in our Supplement, p. 592.-EDIT,

1831.]

The Civilization of the Celts.

Those who dwelt between the Anas and the Tagus, were in the southern part of Lusitania. Near Setubal is a place called Celto-Briga, mentioned in the Itinerary of Antoninus; this word Briga, which signifies in Celtic a bridge, or even a town, proves that there were Celts in this part. The Celtiberians were Celts in origin, of which their name is a sufficient proof. Plutarch, in his Life of Marius, relates that there are some authors who commence the Celtic territory at the ocean, and extend it as far as the Palus Mæotis, now the Sea of Azoph. The name ceased by degrees, and every nation took one which was peculiar to itself. It was preserved, however, among the Gauls; since, in the time of Cæsar, the Gauls were divided into Belgæ, Aquitani, and Celta, speaking three different languages. That of the Aquitani appears to have been the Basque, a language on which M. Depping (livre ii. tome i. p. 177), pronounces a warm eulogium, founded upon some curious details. This language shares with the German the advantage of not having been derived from the Latin, as are the Italian, the French, and Spanish. But is not the German derived from the Sanscrit ? has not the Basque some connection with the Phoenician? On this point it may be difficult to form a decision; perhaps we may arrive at it by the study of the ancient languages, which seems to engage a great many learned men. The very name of Aquitania, compared with those of Turdetania and Lusitania, appears to mark a common origin.

With regard to the antiquity of civilization, it is universally agreed that the philosophy of the Romans is derived from that of the Greeks. Now Clemens of Alexandria, who had first studied at Athens, and who died in the year 217 of our æra, after having spent the greater part of his life in Egypt, was acquainted with the most ancient authors. He proves by their testimony (Stromata, lib. i. p. 305), that the nations which the Greeks were pleased to treat as barbarians, particularly the Gauls, professed philosophy before the Greeks knew it; in fact, continues this Father, the most ancient philosophers known to have flourished in Greece are Mnesiphilus, Solon, Themistocles, Xenophanes, Thales, and Pythagoras, who lived

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less than 700 years before our æra. Now it was long before, that the Druids, who were the philosophers of the Gauls, taught that nation, as did the Seers or Prophets of the Egyptians in Egypt, the Chaldeans in Assyria, the Semanes in Bactria, the Magi in Persia, and the Gymnosophists in India.

Clemens of Alexandria goes still further. He relates (p. 304), from Alexander the historian, in his treatise of Pythagorean symbols, that Pythagoras himself had been instructed by the Gauls. It was from them that he borrowed the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, which afterwards led him to that of the metempsychosis. Thus the Greeks are indebted to the Gauls for one of the most noble principles of their philosophy, and the most elevated sentiment which they had on the nature of man.

Clemens of Alexandria is not the only one who has placed the philosophy of the Druids at an earlier period to that of the Greeks. Diogenes Laertius (in his introduction) assures us that many of the ancient Greek authors maintained the same opinion; and if we observe that Titus Livius tells us of conquests made by Bellovesus and Sigovesus 600 years before the Christian æra, in Germany and in Italy; if we reflect upon the Gaulish medals which I have discovered, and preserve in my cabinet, and which are evidently anterior to Roman medals, we cannot longer doubt of the antiquity of civilization among the Gauls.

Mr. Barnes, who has read in the work of M. Depping (tome i. p. 109), the details which prove the antiquity of Spanish coins, will easily recognise the analogy of mine, and that the characters with which they are inscribed are of the same kind; whilst the use of money implies a very advanced state of civilization and commerce with strangers. The Iberian and Celtic antiquities are evidently allied to those of Egypt and Phoenicia.

LE MARQUIS DE FORTIA.

Mr. URBAN, Chelsea, Oct. 3. AMONG the numerous memorials of the various conflicts between our British and Saxon progenitors, which

*See "Antiquités de Vaucluse." Paris, 1808, p. 285.

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