John Hodgson's Life
Chapter 13

CHAPTER XIII. 1820. Correspondence respecting BngraTings continaed — A riyal History of Northnmber- land— Hie Greenwich Hospital and Tower Records— Conc^MMndenoe resumed— W. O. l^rereljfaa, Es^— Hcuy PMrie, Baq.

During the year at which we have arrived the correspondence with Mr. Edward Swinburne on the subject of drawings and engravings was still carried on, and continued to be of the same interesting nature; until, at length, in November the volume was published for which there had been all this thoughtful preparation; and Mr. Hodgson made his first appearance before the world, in a thick quarto, as a County Historian. Along with these letters I print a few on different subjects, and touch upon other matters connected with his personal history. From EDWARD SWINBURNE, Es«. " My dear Sir, Caphe&ton, 9 Jan. 1820, Sunday. '< Mr. Lewis has sent me proofs 'of the aquatints of the two drawings put into his hands.* Mr. Callcott, he says, thought they looked very well, and was to write to me shortly. I have not yet heard from him. This approbation of Mr. Callcott^s is too vague for me to know what he thinks of them as fac-similes, which they profess to be. As for myself, after the very strong manner in which Mr. C. had expressed himself about Mr. Lewis's powers of imitation, I am dis- appointed. There are many deviations in the copies, which appear to me the effect of haste and carelessness. I will send you the aquatints and the drawings next Thursday, either by Lee or the carrier, to Mr. * It may be interesting to compare the plates in the forth-coming volume, as they were eventually published, with the correspondence respecting them whilst they were in a progressive state in the hands of the engraver. The same remark may be made with regard to those in the subsequent volumes of the History, as far as we have any correspondence concerning them. It is not necessary to refer under these letters to the various pages in each portion of the book in which the engravings are respectively contained, as the tabular view given by Hodgson himself at the head of each volume^ which it is my intention to reprint, will sufficiently answer that purpose. GOBBESPOITDBNCE ON EKGBATIKGS, IfiTC. 291 Qrd^s, in Weatgate Street, that you may see them, together with a* note to direct jour attention to the principal faults. I do not know whether Mr. C. has ever seen the drawings either before or since tiie aquatints have been done, to collate them. Mr. L. wishes to know when the six plates must be done, and the so(Hier he has the others the better. The expense is ten guineas each plate. I cannot believe there is a want of power of closer imitation, but rather of some superin- tendence. I am just returned from a visit, and have not had time to think of some arrangement for improvement in tiie execution of any othei*s that may be sent to him. I shall write to Mr. OaJicott on Thursday. My state of progress is— ^ree others nearly finished; and one, the last, advanced ; so all will soon be ready to put out of hand. I will tell you what plan I may hit upon for obtaining better stuff. Yours sincerely, '< £d. SwiNBOBMfi.'* To EDWARD SWINBUBNB, Esq. ^* My dear Sm, High Heworth, 14 Jan. 1820. '' The meeting of our select vestry, on business relating to the poor, prevented my getting out to Newcastle yesterday before two o^clock in the afternoon, which will account for the proofs and drawings not being returned as you requested. " If you had sent the proofs without the drawings I dare say I should have been much gratified with them ; but on comparing them together the marks of carelessness in the copies are every where apparent. The lights especially are too strong, and the shadows too feeble. The detail of the herbage is very imperfectly made out, and the outline in general without force. In Prudhoe the branches in shadow above the figure are almost wholly omitted ; the shadow wants depth, and the figure is inaccurately copied. The character and attitude of the figures on the water-^e^e are mistaken; and there is a want of touching and sharpness about the mullions of the windows, the ouldines of the battle- ments, and crosslet loopholes of the castle. Bamborough wants mellow- ness. The ^ole sky has a harah and tmnalniral dapple, and the angles of the towers are too imperfectly defined ; while the masoniy of the wall below the round tower is too much made out ibr the light that falls upon it Z would not make th«se observations were I not very anxious that ihe taste and spirit of the drawings ^ouid not be lost in trains- ferring them to tiie copper* I hove no knowledge of the daffioaltiies there may be in managing the gum which is used in giving the tint, but surely a little more pains Tnth the needle wonld not fail, in Mr. Lewis's hand, to render the outline and the detail more accurately. But, as you have taken the onus of doing so much for me, I must beg of you to use any freedom of expostulation or advice "with the engraver which you may think likely to be advantageous in getting justice done to your designs. " My printing has of late gone on very slowly: at present, and till about the end of February, I do not expect the printer will be able to give me more than four pages of proof in the week ; which will put off the publication of the first volume to the latter end of May at the soonest. Difficulties and delays occur to me at every step, but I have begun and must go forward. •** As yet I have no tidings from Nesbit: very fortunately I have not wanted his exertions : but they say, that, besides his itching for politics, he has a spark in his throat which ofben requires to be cooled. What do you think of the woodcut of Kelloe church in the first volume of Surtees ? The leaves of the herbage are too large. " I wish the hard edge of shadow in the upper part of the sky of Bam- borough could be a little better softened down into the light. " With respect to the tint in the sky, which Mr. Lewis speaks of, I cannot pretend to judge upon its effect; but wish in every respect to be guided by your good opinion. ^* I am in Newcastle two or three times a week. If you should ever want anything done there which you may think me capable of managing, I beg that you wiU not fail to command my services. Believe me to be most faithfully your obedient servant, " John Hodgson," Fbom EDWARD SWINBURNE, Esq. « My dear Sir, 20 Jan. 1820. " I have written to Mr. Callcott about the aquatints, expressing my mind on their want of care and fidelity, so little corresponding with those powers of imitation he described, and to which, knowing Callcott's accuracy, I trusted without hesitation. I cannot yet have had an answer; though I expected to have heard from him agreeably to his promise. We shall see what he says; and perhaps he will suggest some means (if he does not differ with us as to their merits), either by remonstrance or superintendence, of getting the others more attended to, and some improvement also of the two that are done. I see therie is time enough, Mr. Lewis's method is evidently a rapid one : we must contrive to get a little more of the slow and sure. The great object is to get them, to be ornamental to your book, and assist the sale. There is the same feeling here as ta the general effect of the aquatints,, when not collated, as jou say yours would have been, without seeing the originals. I agree witk you iu all the omissions and inaccuracies you point out, and had observed them. I am not surprised at your difficulties growing upon you; that is a tax upou printing-^uthora which ifl never taken off. As to the carriage of the proofs, and such other incidental trifles as may occur, I should be much obliged to you if you would neither think about them yourself nor oblige me to do so. I grudge that joint trouble. If any material expense should be incurred I will not fail to come upon you for re-imbursement. Our roads are blocking up. Yours sincerely, " Ed. Swinburne." 24 Jan. ^^ I have heard from Mr. Callcott, who tells me he did not consider the plates aa completed, but looked upon them as successful proofs, to be submitted for my suggestions for further finish* He has no doubt of Lewises ultimate success." Feb, 2, 1820. — Mb. Hodgson to Mr. Swinburne. "I have not been well for the last week j and the news, of a rival publication, which Sir John has had the goodness to inform me of, has put me into & nervous flutter. I think it right to advertise in the Newcastle papers that my work is in progress ; but in drawing up an advertisement have not ventured to mention to whose kindness I am indebted for the drawings which will embellish it. Should I have occasion to repeat the advertisement, may I have the advantage of saying that the engravings are by Lewis, from drawings by E. Swinburne, Esq.? I mention this, with all deference, begging that if you have the slightest * objection to see your name in the advertisement you will say so. "It is very provoking that I can get no account from Nesbit; and Bewick has made such a set of Ghipchase Castle, that he is under the necessity of making a second attempt. He says that it is not possible to give distant and indefinite objects with any tolerable effect on wood- that his style is best suited to short distances, in which the objects are well defined. Such subjects he had in Warkworth Bridge and Copeland Castle, both of which he has executed very indifferently, with respect to keeping and drawing. <' There is a young man of the name of Nicholson who, I understand^ 294 UEMOIB OF THE BSV. JOmT HODGSON/ was a papil of Bewick, and cuts Terj deaiilj and akilfully; bat has not a good knowledge of drawing: under propcor directions he can, bowery execute his work in a very good style, and I am thinking of giving him a vignette for a trial. ^ It gave me great pleasure to Irear from 3roii that Mr. Calloott says the proofs which Lewis sent ware not finished proofs. : ^Mr« Losh^s speech is in. my msnd sensible, moderate, and full of discretion. There will never be any reform, either in the representatioQ of the country or in the use of its money, till the moderate of all parties join, and firmly and perseveringly demand it. We are now under George the Fourth. We dare not say, ^ Jam redit,' ftc." Feb. 14. — Mb. Hodgson to Mr. Swinbubke. ^ I have not advertised my book a second time.-^^I think the pretensions of the Alnwick bookseller not so forcible. I have therefore deferred making use of the kind indulgence you have given me of putting your name in an advertise- ment. I intend to ride to Swalwell, and, if Nesbit has not conunitted Wyllimoteswick to wood, to secure the drawing. I have given Nichol- son Bothal Castle. I am much pleased with all the drawings, and especially with the management of the sky and the foreground of By well Tower. There is a charming stillness and solitude about Dilston, which are in unison with the history of the place.'' Feb. 20, 1820. — • Mb. Hodgson to Mb. Swinburne. "Nicholson promised on Saturday to have Bothal Castle drawn upon the wood, and send it, with two or three queries, for your inspection. Should you wish to alter it he tells me that the drawing must be looked at in a mirror." But in the midst of all this preparation of engravings, &c., Sir John Swinburne wrote, on the 28th January, 1820, to inform * Mr. Hodgson that a bookseller at Alnwick, of the name of Davison, had sent him a prospectus of another, and what ap- peared to him to be a rival. History of Northumberland. This will explain the allusions in the preceding letters. On the 3rd of February following the Mr. Davison above mentioned an- nounced to Hodgson his wish to become a subscriber to his History, and five days afterwards he wrote again, in consequence of having in tlxe mean time received a letter from Sir John, con- A BITAL HISTORY OF NOBTHUMBBBLAND. 29fi taiBing somewhat amounting to an expostulation for his trespass upon Hodgson's ground. In his second letter he stated in justi-- fication that he had been by himself and others engaged for upwards of four years in collecting materials for his projected History — ^had been promised many materials and much support — had had the description of the Roman Wall put into form for twelve months — ^had caused many views to be taken and some engraved — ^and all this before he knew anything of Hodgson's publication. He proceeded to state that he had not made his intention of publishing known until he heard that the copies of Hodgson's intended History were all subscribed for, and offered him any information in his power respecting the town of Alnwick. He fiirther informed Hodgson that Sir John Swin- burne had written to blame him for attempting a History of Northumberland at this time, and added, in conclusion, that at any rate he should have nothing ready to come out for two years. In reply to this communication, Hodgson addressed to him the following letter, conceived and written with much kindness. Mb. HODGSON to M&. DAVISON. «SlB, '* I feel greatly obliged by the ingenuous statement of your progress in a History of Northumberland, with which you have favoured me. Sir John Swinburne has long taken great interest in forwarding my labours on the same subject; but you will be well aware that the letter which he lately addressed to you was without any previous com^ munication with me on the subject; and now I tell you that I had never heard of your intention to publish a History of the County till I received a note from Sir John about a week ago informing me of it. <' My die is now cast, and I must go on. My plates for one volume are all either en^hived, or in the hands of engravers in London. At the advice of persons well acquainted with the sale of Goimty Histories X have only printed 300 copies; but, should I be favoured with subscribers for nearly that number, I intend to print a larger impression of the Parochial History, and reprint the presoit volume to make the impressions correspond. ^'I cannot but feel sorry that we should, without each other's knowledge, have both begim to labour in a field which, though rich in history I ofifers I fear a very bare prospect of pecuniary advantage; but^ 2i96 MEMOIR OF THE BEY. JOHN HODGSON. as we have not met on the same ground with any hostile intentions, I trust we shall proceed peacefully together in our endeavours to improve it. . Your name is added to the list of my subscribers; and I will thank you to allow me to take a copy of your work as it comes out, and to be of use to you in collecting information respecting the more southern parts of the county. I am, Sir,— " J. H." On the 1 1th February following Mr. Davison wrote and offered Hodgson 300 copies of impressions from plates engraved for his History of Alnwick, at little more than the price of throwing off. This offer however was declined, as the plates were of the most humble kind, and in the coarsest style of engraving. I am not aware that any part of Mr. Davison's History was ever published. Many of the plates were sold afterwards by him in a separate state, without letter-press or description. In April 1824 impres- sions of not fewer than forty-three different engravings, chiefly of the quarto size, were advertised by him at Is, 6c?. each, or, in the case of those of a smaller size, at that price in pairs. The subjects engraved were castles, inhabited or in ruins, monasteries, mansion- houses, camps, &c. ; he announced at the same time a series of thirty- six engravings of views of churches on cards at 4d. or 6d. eadi, many' of which were finished, and others in the hands of the engraver. With the exception of a few churches in the county of Durham, most of these engravings had apparently been in- tended for his contemplated History. Feb. 26, 1820. — ^Mb. Hodgson to Mr. Swd^ubne. <^ After drawing Bothal Castle on wood, Nicholson feels so confident of making a true fac-simile of your drawing, as to think it unnecessary to trouble yoit with seeing it till it is in the state of a pretty perfect proof. Bewick's shop is at present quite tormenting. They have Ifed one essay on Chipchase Castle, and made it so totally imlike the drawing that they wish to have another trial; and I fear, by the specimen of it upon wood^ they will not succeed. The engraving of Chipchase, and the rude memory sketch from an old note-book of mine, were shewn to them to give them a notion of the form of the building, which you will see they are now attempting to give too much in detail. The wood itself has none of that fine polish. which it ought to have; and the drawing is so bedaubed with dirt and etching- wax that 1 am ashamed to let you see it.*' .  Mr. Hodgson to Mr. Swinburne. " The volume I am at present engaged in printing is intended to consist of about 400 pages, only 280 of which are printed off. After this week I am, however, promised eight pages in the week; more, I fear, than I can expect, so that the latter end of June wiU be upon me before I can pos-* sibly get delivered of the present volume. I certainly would not per- severe in* getting Chipchase done at Bewick's had they not already spent a great deal of time over a block which failed, and been at the trouble of drawing it a seqond time on wood. Nicholson has not finished Bothal. He is very busy with some things for Charnley*s ^tion of Fables, to which Bewick made blocks when he was a young man. As for Nesbit I have neither succeeded in getting a woodcut nor the drawing back again, though I have commissioned a gentleman near Swalwell to have either one or both," June 8, 1820. — Mr. Hodgson to Mr. Swinburne. "I take the liberty of troubling you with a proof of the first 'attempt to represent organic remains by wood-cutting.. It may stiU be improved, both in fidelity of representation and in effect, by giving the longitudinal fibres in every leaflet. Will you have the goodness to give me your opinion whether you think such subjects will be interesting or not ? The original, of which this is a representation, is from Fawdon colliery, which abounds with excellent impressions of a great variety of plants, mostly of the fern tribe. I have seen Nesbit. He says his health ia much better, and that he hopes to finish the vignette very soon. At present he is busy with a head of Bewick for an edition of -^sop's Fables, which Mr. Chamley has printed, and which is embellished with woodcuts made by Bewick many years since. The work has been waiting for this head nearly three months. I get quite out of patience with the slow progress of my book. About forty pages of the historical part, besides the indexes, which will occupy at least forty pages more, are still to print." June 14, 1820. — Mr. Swinburne to Mr. Hodgson. " The specimen you have sent me looks too much like a lady's pattern, whether from incorrectness in the design of the vegetable part, or from its being made so very black, I cannot say, without seeing the original. If intended merely as an ornamental tail-piece I should not think it would do ; if il- lustrative and explanatory of the description of those remains in your History, the imitation should be as close as possible, both in the forms of the plant and its appearance in the substance in vrhioli it is de- posited. In your woodcut it looks as if the vacuum where the plant was were fOled up with coal. I am glad to hear of Nesbit^s reviva). I hope the improvement of his health is an indication of his radioal dedine^-— E. Swusbubne." June 24y 1820.-^To Mr. SwiNBOiUfE. ^ When I sent j<mr drawings to Messrs. Lewis, through my brother, I wrote their titles upon the back of each of them ; and some time after, finding that ' Bigge^s Main Staith ' was put on one of them instead of ^ Fawdon Staith,' I requested my brother to mention the error to Messrs. Lewis, which I hope he has done. The proof which I sent you is a very faithful representation of a vegetable preserved in a carbonaceous state, and taken from about forty H9ix fathoms below the surface in Fawdon colliery. I never before saw so perfect a specimen as it is. The schist upon which it is im- bedded is of a lightish blue colour; and the vegetable remains of a bright and jetty black. As I shall have several similar subjects to get engraved, I thought they might as well be scattered here and there through my book. Those which I have selected are of kinds of which I have seen no description, and I suppose that such of my readers as are curious in natural history will be gratified with seeing them ; but I would never attempt to give engravings of them if I supposed they woidd not create an interest somewhat equal to the trouble and expense which will attend them." Faom thb bishop of DURHAM. " Bevd. Sib, Cavendish Square, 17 March, 1820. " I have at length been eiiabled to execute the two commissions in which you feel so warm an interest; and calling on Messrs. Forster and Wailes, agents for Greenwich Hospital, at Newcastle, they will acquaint you with the powers they have received from the Board to communicate such papers as you want. " Mr. Petrie, the successor to Mr. S. Lysons, has given me every assurance he will render you all the assistance which his predecessor in office had promised. << Wishing you success in this arduous undertaking, which I am per- suaded you will accomplish to your own satisfaction and that of your friends, I am, with much regard, your sincere fiiend, « S. DuNEUi;* . aBEBKWICH HOfiFITAL BBCQRBS. 299 The " papers " referred to by the Bishop in the aboye letter as belonging to Greenwich Hospital were abstracts of the long lost title-deeds of the Earl of Derwentwater, whose forfeited estates had been attached to that charitable institution by Act of Parliament in 1735. The following extract &oin a letter written by Hodgson to the author in 1822, detailing the history of the discovery of these records, is not without its interest. After having long been missing, they were found soon after the second Rebellion of 1745, when the word Derwentwater would not fail to carry suspicion along with it. I have ascertained that during his minority Lord Derwentwater had been a ward of his uncle Colonel Eadcl3rffe, who resided for a while at Capheaton, a cir- cumstance which may account for the finding of the boxes in that mansion-house. 1822. — To the Eev. James RAmE. '^ I have heard from Sir John Swinburne and others, that all the RadclylBfe title-deeds were, for many years after the attainder of the Earl of Derwentwater, concealed at Gap- heaton, and that Greenwich Hospital procured them by the information of a mason, who was employed to mend the roof of the house there. They had been k^t in a garret in boxes marked ' Debwentwatsb.' A writ was issued to search for arms, and put into the hands of Sir William Middleton to execute, who, finding these boxes with a rebel's name upon them, seized them and carried them off. This is the sub-> stance of all I know about the matter. Mr. Wailes and the late Mr. Forster, Receivers for Greenwich Hospital, have told me the same tale. —J. H." It may be necessary to add to these statements that the docu- ments were immediately removed to Greenwich Hospital, where they are now preserved, and that elaborate abstracts were made of their contents, a copy of which was lodged with the receivers of the estates in Northumberland. It was these abstracts which Hodg- son was anxious to consult, and we may now proceed to the result of the Bishop's application. The ** powers" spoken of by the Bishop in his letter will be best explained by what took place when Hodgson waited upon the Receivers with the Bishop's letter in his hand ; unless, indeed, they themselves, of their own accord, threw obstacles in his way. 300 MEliOIB OF THE BET. JOHN HODGSON. The abstracts were courteously placed before him, and he spent a long day in making such extracts as he was in need of; but upon taking his departure it was intimated to him that his minute- books must be left for inspection by the legal adviser of the Hos- pital. With this request he complied, but he saw them no more. The following extracts and letters tell the remainder of the tale: « Journal. — Feb. 9, 1822. "Called at Greenwich Hospital Office about my MS. book of extracts from their records. Mr. Wailes said Mr Forster had it." Ibid. — ^Feb. 13. " Called at Greenwich Hospital Office to get my extracts respecting Tynemouth ; but Mrs. Forster could not get them, as her son was from home, and had the key of the drawer where they were." To Messbs. wailes and BRANDLING, Beceiyebs of G&eenwich Hospital. ' "Gentlemeit, Whelpington, 22 Sep. 1S24. " As I expect to be in the neighbourhood of Newcastle for several days some time daring the next month, you woidd oblige me tDUch by saying whether or not you think there is any probability of my being allowed to make use of such extracts as I have already taken from the abstracts of the deeds of the Greenwich hospital Estates in your office. For if I could see a prospect of deriving any informaticHi from your books I would spend a day or two in going through them ; but, if you think it is unlikely that I should be allowed that indidgence, I would not trouble you any longer with applications on the subject. I have the honour, &c. ** John Hodgson." Fbom Messbs. WAILES akd BRANDLING. " Sib, Newcastle, 23 Sep. 1824. " We shall gladly be instrumental in furnishing you with any information relating to the Estates of Greenwich Hospital that we can with prudence consent to be published. At the same time it is right to inform you that we do not intend to take this responsibility upon our- selves, but to ask Mr. Williamson^s opinion upon any extracts you may wish to make from our books. With this understanding we shall willingly submit them to your inspection whenever it may suit your convenience to call at our office. We are, Sir, your most obedient servants, ** Thos. Wailes, " Rt. Wm. Bbandlihg." COBB£SPOND£NC£ ON ENGRAVINGS. 301 Mr. Williamson was Temporal Chancellor of the County Palatine of Durham, Recorder of INTewcastle, and at that time far advanced in years. It is perhaps hardly necessary to say that Hodgson declined to give either that gentleman ol* the Receivers any further trouble. As an indication however that the difficul- ties thrown in his way did not proceed from the Hospital itself, it must be mentioned that upon a change in the management of the Derwentwater Estate, soon afterwards, full access to the Abstracts in question was granted to Hodgson in the most gentle- manly way, by John Grey, Esq., of Dilston, the sole Receiver, to whom the author takes this opportunity of tendering his cordial thanks for a similar obligation. Fboh Edw. SWINBURNE, Esq. *^ Mr DEAB Sir, Penbrook, Hants, 26th June, 1820. ^* I have heard of a mode of proceeding for vignettes, the knowledge of which might I think have been useful to you in an earlier stage of your work, and may do for another volume, which I hope you will have encouragement enough to enter into. It has been adopted by P. C. Lewis's brother (who travelled with Mr. Dibdin), in a book of Travels which Mr. D. has now in the press. The etchings, executed as vignettes, are taken off on fine India paper; and, afber the letter-press is printed, they are pasted on the sheet with fine starch, and then simply passed through the printer^s press. I am told it answers very welL Would not this enable you. to get any vignettes, you might wish to introduce, etched for you in London, where they would be well done^ and with far less trouble than you have had to get them spoiled in the country ? The pasting and pressing, I suppose, you could get done there without difliculty. I will try to get a sight of them when I return to town in the course of a few days. I hope Mr. Lewis will soon be ready for you. As your own operations appeared to be delayed, I have ventured to stop his progress a little, in order to get some details for a view of Newcastle, which I had not with me ; for having thought it advisable to take a more simple point of view (very near Dunstan- Hill grounds,) instead of the one I shewed you, I expect to find those details on my return ; and when they are made out in the aquatint of it which was already much advanced, I presume he will have little else to do before printing them off. Yom's truly, ** Ed. Swinburne.'* ' 308 MEMOIB or THE RKT. lOHir :n r f^;;i '• C TKKTSLTAH, '^IfTMABSn, WdbMkStmft. Joe S9tk, 1890. <^ Tliiiildi^ that joa mmj ifeol hsre met willi a book oititled << Gfttalogi lifararam MSS. An^iam et HibeniiK" printed at Qzfod in 1697y ItakethelibertyofinrJniBng jog am extract from it of U»ti^ of aome p^ien rdatang to Nortlniinberiaiid, iduch were ccJIcctw^ bj Dodswoiih, and are now preserred in the Bodleian LLbnuy , with nianj othen relating to the North. In ABhmole's Libiaij, toL 834, is a paper which frofm the carrections, dx. in it (though I have not jet com- pared it with his autograph), appears to be the original draft of Flower's Grant of Arms to Newcastle <xi Tjne in 1575 ; a copj of which, inm the papers belonging to the ooxporation, is given bj Brand. In case joa wish fiir copies of an j papers in the Bodleian, thej ma j (1 behere) be obtained by writing to anj of the librarians. If, daring mj short staj in London, I can be of anj aerrioe to yon, it will give me great pleasme. Believe me, dear Sir, Teiy truly yours, " W. a Tbeveltak. ^ Will joa hare the goodness to -forward the accompanying note to Mr. Sorteea." The writer of the above letter is now Sir Walter Calveiley Tierdijan of Wallingtoii, Bart., a gentleman well-known £>r his literary and scientific pnisnits. Hodgson had, as we have seen, in the preceding year, leoeiTcd a kind invitation to Wallington from Sir John Tievelyan, Mr. Tievelyan's &tlier, and about that period his acquaintance with the fiiinilj seems to have had its commencement. This is the first letter fit>m bis new corre« spondent which he has preserved, and it is probably the first with which he was favoured. Mr. Trevelyan's subsequent communica- tions, and his contributions to Hodgson's materials for his History of Northumberland in its various departments, were extendve and of great importance. I find papers in his neat hand in most of Hodgson's volumes of collections. One book in particular consists entirely of transcripts by him firom various sources, such as the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, Miss Currer's Manuscripts at Eshton Hall, &c, &c., and the assistance which this volume must have rendered to Hodgson in his labours must have COBBBSPONPSNCS OK EKaBATINGS. 303 been great indeed. It is lettered *' MS. Materials. Treyeltana." As we proceed we shall find that Mr. Trevelyan's sisters were feqnally anxious to promote the History of Northumberland by lightening the labours of its author. Miss Emma Trevelyan, in particular, afterwards Mrs. Wyndham, a lady whose name has been already mentioned, and which will often recur in the sequel, was a frequent copyist in the British Museum on his account during the visits of the fiunily to London, and her pen and pencil were always at his service at home, when a helping hand was needed. Fbom EDWARD SWINBURNE, Es<^ " York Coffee House, St. James'a Street, July 1, 1820. " My dear Sir, ** I saw Mr. Lewis on Saturday. (By the way it is only Mr. F. 0. Lewis who has anything to do with your aquatints.) He was just sending off five proo& to your brother for you to see. There will be some unimportant improvements made in them before they are printed. The Bridge (Dilston), the Staith (the correction from Bigge*s Main to Fawdon is made), and Prudhoe are the best The effect of Bambro* is improved: the building has more substance; the sky, though more appropriate, is liny, and some details about the rocks want taste a little ; upon the whole it does tolerably. The shipping in the Fawdon Staith is somewhat clumsy ; but the rest he has been happy in, and has muck improved several parts. The By well is rather clumsy, mote so than the drawing; a beltter subject should have been furnished by such a spot. The distant view of Newcastle I do not expect to be very well satisfied with: too little was done on the spot, and the change of the point of view, which we thought advisable, has not helped us for details. A substitute was not to be had in time. The cut, of which you sent me a proof, being a faithM representation of the vegetable so curiously preserved in a carbonaceous state, which part I erroneously apprehended was only the engraver's mode of designating the vegetable it«elf, and being illustrative of what you intend to describe, will I hope have its share of intere^^ with its fellows, and assist tine work. In a week or ten days Lewis will be ready to print off the six plates. The Queen has been parading the streets two days together, the mob in harness. *^ I shall call the last yiewj^ewcaatle simply. It will be known to 304 MEMOIR OF THIB RET. JOHK HODOSOK. be from the -vrestward, and distant enough 1 It can scarcely be called from Donstan Hill, being barely from the fbot of it, a little to one side of the Carr ground. If you like any other designation write it quickly to Lewis. Yours trulyi ** Ed. Swihburnb." To W. 0. TREVELYAN, Es«. '' Mt dear Sm, Upper Heworth, near Ckteiheftd, 10 July, 1820. ^ Unayoidable circumstances have prevented me from answering your very kind and interesting letter so soon as I could have wished, but I now hasten to return you my best thanks, and to acknowledge my obligation for your communication respecting Dodsworth^s collections of Northumberland muniments. The ' Catalogi Librorum MSS. Angliss & Hibemiae* of 1697 is in the Library of the Lit. and Philos. Socof Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Mr. Surtees mentions Dodsworth's Collec- tions as being in the Bodleian Library. Some years since I attempted, through an application from Mr. Collinson, to obtain a copy of a record in the Bodleian Library; but did not succeed : and why my appli* cation was unsuccessful I cannot at present remember. I shall, how- ever, at your suggestion, through a friend in Oxford, apply to some of the librarians, and have the whole of the charters and papers respecting Northumberland transcribed; excepting such of them as I have already procured copies of; for I f^und Dodsworth's transcript from the Newmin- ster, Brinkbum, and other cartularies in the Britbh Museum ; and I have had the muniments of some of the families, whose names you favour me with, already through my hands. '' Should you have an opportunity before you leave London to look into the British Museum you will greatly oblige me by naming whether any of the papers respecting the afiray at the Reedswyre have sufficient interest to be copied. They are amongst the Gott. MSS. Cal. G. v., and I have already copied those on fols. 31 and 32; those from fol. 33 to fol. 60 appeared to be on the same subject; but I had not leisure to examine them. The transcripts of Dodsworth's papers are in a volume entitled ^Apparatus Grenealogicus Anglicus,* &c.; but I have no minute in which of the Catalogues it is to be found; though I appre- hend it is in the Cotton Catalogue, Yitel. E. xxv. Very proud of the permission to be ranked among the number of your correspondents, either on matters relative to the history of North- umberland, or in furtherance of the objects of our Antiquarian Society, believe me to be, dear Sir, very faithfully yours, * " John Hodgson."^ HEKBT PETBiE, ESQ. 305 From W. C. TREVELYAN, Esq. ** My DEAB Sib, Wallington, Ang. 16, 1820. " I was sorry that I had not had an opportunity before I left London of examining the papers you mentioned in the British Museum. Should you not be successful in your application to the Bodleian this time, if you will write to the Bevd. A. Nicol, one of the librarians, mentioning my name, he will I am sure give you all the assistance in his power. I hope we shall* have the pleasure of a visit from you this summer. We might perhaps be able to assist you a little in the Concho- logical department of the Natural History of the county. " You will greatly oblige me by sending me the address of the binder who made the volumes for Sir J. E. Swinbume^s muniments, as I wish to arrange some in the same manner. I remain, dear Sir, sincerely yours, " W. C. Trevelyan." To H. PETRIE, Esq. « Sib, Upper Heworth, near (Gateshead, 2 Oct 1820. '' Though personally a stranger to you, the Bishop of Durham, some time since, informed me that he had done me the honour of men- tioning my name to you in conjunction with my intention of publishing a History of the County of Northumberland, and with some arrange- ments which were made by my late lamented friend Mr. Lysons and myself respecting the manner in which I might be permitted to obtain information out of the Tower. At present it is only in my power to thank you for the favour you have done me in consenting to renew the arrangement with yourself; but I hope that ere long I shall have an opportunity of making a more suitable acknowledgment for your liberality and kindness. " One volume of my work is nearly printed off; but, before I can conclude it, I wish to have full copies of the following escheats, literally and closely written, with all the contractions exactly as they occur in the originals. Should you be unable to send them in a Post-office or Secretary of State's cover, you would oblige me by suffering them to be directed to Cuthbert Ellison, Esq., M.P., Hebbum Hall, Newcastle, in letters under one ounce, and so that only one letter be sent on the same day. " You will also oblige me by informing me whether calendars of any more than one volume of escheats have been hitherto published, and for how many reigns such documents exist in the Tower. Mr. Lysons X 306 MEMOIB OF THE REV. JOHN HODGSON. told me that he was engaged in printing a calendar or index of the escheats of Elizabeth^s reign, and that he would send me the sheets of it as far as it was printed ; but his death, I fear, put a stop to the progress of the work, as well as deprived him of performing his promise to me. ** Escheats wanted — I. Anno xii. Ed. I. Num. 16. Dominus Rex de * Consuetudinibus vocat. Frescheforce in Com. Northumbr. — ^11. Hen in. anno 41. Num. 25. Rad. super Teys. Norde Goseford. Strodir defen- sum. — ^in. Anno 7 Edw. lU. N. 38. I(ic. de Emeldon. Jesemuthe maner. Goseford South, &c.. to * super Tynam.* " You will oblige me by giving me an account of the charge of copy- ing the above-named records, and by suffering the copies to be forwarded to me as soon as possible. I am. Sir, very respectfully, your obe- dient humble servant, " John Hodgson." Mr. Petrie has been already mentioned in a letter from the Bishop of Durham, to whom Hodgson was indebted for his intro- duction to this most kind-hearted and obliging man. Upon the death of Mr. S. Lysons Mr. Petrie's profound knowledge in the various departments of our national history, and his intimate acquaintance with the writings of our early historians, gave him at once, through the recommendation of Earl Spencer, the vacant appointment of Keeper of the Records in theTower, where he had increased opportunities of prosecuting the studies in which he took a pleasure, and of affording every facility to those who were, like Hodgson, devoting their time to topographical pursuits. To gentlemen so engaged Mr. Petrie's courtesies were of the most extensive and disinterested nature; and the writer, for one, can never forget the patience with which he listened to the wants of his visitors, or the free and hearty way in which those wants were supplied. In his personal appearance he was robust, open-coun- tenanced, and manly, and in his general demeanour courteous and affable. I know not that I ever saw a more perfect specimen of an English gentleman. In the year 1821 Mr. Petrie addressed to the Commissioners on the Public Records of the kingdom a plan of his own drawing up for the publication of materials for the History of Britain. This scheme, which was of a comprehensive and elaborate nature, was approved of not only by the Government of the day, but by a vote HENRY PETRIE, ESQ. 307 of the House of Commons, and in May 1823 he was appointed te be the principal editor of the contemplated woxk^ the Revd. John Sharpe being soon afterwards assigned to him as a oo-adjutor by the same authority. No time was lost in prosecuting the imder- taking, but unhappily in 1832 Mr. Petirie fell into an infirm state of health, which caused a considerable interruption in his labours. Before the year 1835, however, the whgle of the text of the first volume of his contemplated series of historical authorities, under the title of " Monumenta Historica Britannica," had been pre- pared, and, as we are informed by Mr. Hardy, a considerable col- lection of materials for other volumes had been made, when, owing to some misunderstanding, the work was suspended by the Record Commissioners, and most unhappily Mr. Petrie's labours did not see the light in his lifetime. The publication of the volume was eventually consigned to Thomas Duffus Hardy, Esq., who had long been officially connected with Mr. Petrie, and who in putting a finishing hand to this most valuable volume has caught the spirit of his master, and now sitting officially in his chair in the Tower is equally kind and communicative to those who are engaged in general or local history. In his General Introduction to Mr. Petrie's volume Mr. Hardy makes all due acknowledg- ments to the merits of its compiler, and speaks in the naost' becoming terms of his qualifications for the undertaking which he unfortunately did not live to complete. " Had not the work been su^ended (says he), it is probable Mr. Petrie might have lived to have witnessed the completion of several successive volumes. After the publication of the first, the series would have gone on rapidly, as several works were nearly ready for printing, but the suspen- sion of the undertaking completely paralysed his effiDrts, His ill- health, brought on chiefly by anxiety and disappointment occa- sioned by the interruption, of his work, suspended its completion, and he died on. the 17th of March, 1842, at the advanced age of 74, having acquired the well-merited estimation and deep respect of those who knew his great historical les^ming and high moral integrity. The feeling of unfeigned admiration of his talents and character would dictate, and possibly excuse, a warmer panegyric, but it raight be thought unbecoming in this place to indulge in expressions of esteem and veneration. It is extremely x2 308 IfBMOIB OF THE BEY. JOHN HODGSOK. to be lamented that Mr. Petrie's valuable life had not been pro- tracted till he had at least completed his intended work down to the period of the Norman Conquest; for he had repeatedly ob- served, that, could he only extend his labours to this epoch, he should establish a base on which any person of common ability and assiduity, who would be content to pursue his plan, might erect a column of authentic history which might rival those raised in any other country, and exhibit the value of our national historians." Fbom H. PETRIE, Esq. ^ Sm, Record Office, Tower, Oct, 9^ 1820. '' I beg to acknowledge the receipt of yours of Oct. 2, and to repeat, directly, that I shall have great pleasure in facilitating your researches at this place. '* With respect to the escheats, the printed Kalendar comes down to the end of Edward III., the instruments themselves to the end of Richard III. From that time, downwards, they are at the Rolls in Chancery Lane. The Index mentioned by Mr. Lysons related, I pre- sume, to proceedings in Chancery during the reign of Elizabeth, as we have no escheats during that period. '< I have given directions for the copies you wish to have to be sent as you suggest imder cover to Mr. Ellison, as there is no direct or official intercourse between this office and those you mention. I remain, Sir, your obedient and faithful servant, " Henbt Petrie.'* ** Dec. 6th, 1820. (Post-mark.) To Edward Swinburne, Esq.— At length I have got Nesbit's wood-cut of Willymoteswick ; but it is cut so finely that impressions can only be got from it on India-paper. On the strong paper, on which the royals of my book are printed, it makes nothing but a black blot. When Mr. Bewick saw an im- pression of it, he said, * It was very well, but he had forgot to put a moon into it ;' meaning that it had the darkness of a night-scene. He charges me eight guineas for it; and after all I am forced to cancel the page on which it is printed, and get Nicholson to make another block. Nesbit's must be saved till I come to describe "Willymoteswick, when I will contrive to have it printed on India-paper. He has totally mistaken the figure, and made it much too light; and besides that, HENBY PETBIE, ESQ. 309 he appears to have no feeling for the subject; the rocks and broken banks of your drawing being most imperfectly rendered. The cutting is unquestionably fine, but it is a fineness which cannot be made use of. Many of the lines are so extremely tender that even on the India-paper they blur. '' I shall be in the binder's hands next week, and the week after that, publish without fail. — J. H." " Mr. Swinburne to Mr. Hodgson. Capheaton, 10th Dec. 1820.— If Nesbit has forgotten the moon in his cut, he has made up for it by the introduction of a ghost. If ever you use this vignette, you must get a half-tint on the figure. There is some nice execution, but a great deal too much work for any effect from it. He might produce a good deal with such handling with better management. Your crisis is approaching, I see. Yours, Edw. Swinburne. CHAPTER XIV. 1820—1821. Pablicatkm of the tint Yolame (Part III. Tol. I.) of his History of Northumberland-^ Contents — PrefiMM — ^Topographical Qneriea — Letter of eneoluagement from Mr. Sortees — Reply. At length, after much delaj and many annoyances arising from the press and from engravers, at the close of the year 1820, a volume of the History of Northumberland was placed before the public by its author as the first finit of his labour. It is described in the title-page as " Volume V. being the first volume of Part III, consisting of Antient Records and Historical Papers," and the table of its contents is as follows: '' Article I. A series of royal and private charters, relating to lands in Knaresdale, and at Haughton, in the parish of Simonbume ; copied from original muniments in the possession of Sir J. E. Swin- burne, of Capheaton, Bart. F.ILS., FA.S., &c. ''II. A list of the names of all the castles and towers in the county of Northimiberland, with the names of their proprietors ; made about the year 1460. From a MS. in the possession of Bobert Surtees, of Mainsforth, Esq., F.S.A '' III. Articles of Accusation preferred against Lord Dacre, warden of the East and Middle Marches between England and Scotland, by the inhabitants of NorthimiberlaDd. [Between 1515 and 1530.J Copied from the original in the possession of Sir J. E. Swinburne, Bart. ^IV. The Calendar of the ' Inquisitiones post Mbrtem' or 'Es- cheats,' during the reigns of Hen. III., Edw. I., Edw. IL, and Edw. m., so far as they relate to the county of Northumberland. " V. The ' Rotuli Hundredorum' (a<» 1275), so far as they relate to Northumberland. ** VI. The ' Placita de Quo Warranto' for Northiunberland. [1293.] " VII. The * Testa de Nevil ' so far as it relates to Northumber- land. [Edw. I.] HISTOBY OF NORTHUMBERLAND. 311 ** Yin. Rentals and Bates for Northumberland, with the proprietors* names in 1663. '< IX. ' Taxatio Ecclesiastica Anglis' [1291.] So far as it relates to Northumberland. " X. An Account of the Expenses of Sir Thomas Swinburne, Knt. during his sheriffalty for Northumberland, in the years 1628 and 1629; from his sheriffs book in the Mickleton Collection/* An explanation of the contractions used in the volume, occu- pying seven pages at the end of the Preface, is succeeded by a notice respecting its embellishments, and an acknowledgement of the handsome gift of 20L by George Anderson, Esq. towards their cost, and of the kind and able assistance of Edward Swin- burne, Esq. by whom many of them had been designed with that patient courtesy of which the reader has already had so many striking proofs before him. The volume is accompanied by six engravings in line or aquatint,* and, besides, there are numerous wood-cuts and fac-similes, many of them by the author himself, "solely," as he says, ** to give an antiquarian character to his book." Those cuts are chiefly initial letters.f It does not appear that Hodgson contributed any decorations of a similar kind to his subsequent volumes, but it is quite clear that somewhat more of practice would have rendered him emiijiently successful * The following is Mr. Lewis's Bill for his Aquatints : JtUy 2Sth 1820. Rev. J Hodgson to F. C. Lewis, Dr. Engraving Pmdhoe Castle io;.io«. „ Bambrough Castle 10 10 „ Dilston 10 10 „ By well Tower 10 10 „ Wall's End 10 10 „ Newcastle 10 10 SsetsofProofe 10 Writing Engraving 1 10 Printer's bill for 1800 proofs of 6 plates at 128. 10 16 75 sheets of Royal paper • • • 18 876 sheets of Medium • • • 8 5 Ji'V JL ••• ••■ ■•« ••• * • • 10 £S0 9 f It was intended to have placed in the margin a few of these specimens of Mr. Hodgson's skill and ingenuity, but unfortunately the blocks have been mislaid. They may probably be found in time for a page in the Appendix. 312 M£MOIB OF THE BET. JOnN HODQSON. in wood-engraving. It is inteiesting to witness the vaiiety of subjects to which, in the common phrase, he could turn his hand. The importance to any future History of Northumberland of the various documents contained in the volume before us, as materials of the most authentic nature, may not be doubted ; but it may be questioned whether its compiler manifested his judg- ment when he sent forth *to the world as the first specimen of his long-expected work a book, which, to the general reader, con- tained so few attractions. With the seeds of genuine North- umbrian history it was indeed pregnant in every page, but they were in a dormant state. That he himself was apprehensive of the unfavourable impression which the volume would make, is proved by more than one apologetic passage in the preparatory statements and explanations with which it was accompanied. That Preface, containing, as it does, not only the apologies alluded to, but also many indications of Hodgson's peculiar notions on the subject on which he was engaged, and many judi- cious remarks upon the general interest and utility of similar topographical publications, deserves a place in our pages. •« PREFACE TO VOLUME THE FIFTH. " In forming the plan of this work, I have thought it of importance to provide as much as possible against the introduction of forpiga languages into the General and Parochial Histories ; but to give full copies from the originals of some of the most important records of the county, and to arrange them so as to ensure to myself a method of digesting their contents under their proper heads, and to my reader an easy plan of referring to my authorities. On these accounts, this part of my work will be found to consist of Eecords and Historical Papers derived from public and private sources, and from books printed by Royal Authority, but not generally known ; and to conclude with Indexes ♦ referring to the name of every person and place as often as it occurs. ** That the contents of this volume, in their present form, are of a * The Indexes which accoAipanied Mr. Hodgson *s Tolumes (the last excepted), are perfect specimens of their kind, comprising not merely names of men and places with- out, it is believedi a single omission, but subjects also, and every other conmvable PREFACE OF FIRST VOLUME. 313 dry and unamusing kind, is readily admitted. But, while they fail to entertain, I expect they will be considered as free from the attribute of offending, or of creating litigation; and from the inferences I have to draw from them, and the positions I hope to place them in, I have no doubt of rescuing them from the character of dulness ; and under this conviction, I could not be tempted to forego my plan, unpromising as it appears, of publishing this volume the first, for the more flattering reception that one enlivened with anecdote and family and local history might have been expected to meet with. *' And with respect to the utility of collections of this kind, whilst it is admitted, that no immediate pecuniary advantage, an interest of a more tangible and gratifying nature than that of amusement, is to be derived from them, it is maintained that they contain the evi- dences of the improvements and the declensions of nations in the art of government ; how law, and liberty, and knowledge, and social order, and political strength flourish or decay together; and how the application of science and of inductive philosophy to all the natural wants and policies of man dissolve and dissipate the superstitions of ignorant ages. For what tables of logarithms are to mathematicians, and of affinities to chemists, Eecords digested into order are to the lawyer, the landholder, the historian, and the antiquary. ' I dare assure any wise and sober man,* says Dr. White Kennet, the learned Bishop of Peterborough, ' that historical antiquities, especially a search into the notices of our own nation, do deserve and will reward the pains of any English student ; will make him understand the state of former ages, the constitution of governments, the fundamental reasons of equity and law, the rise and succession of doctrines and opinions, the original of ancient and the composition of modem tongues, the tenures of property, the maxims of policy, the rights of religion, the characters of virtue and vice, and indeed the nature of mankind.^ " Out of 1*e numerous ancient and unpublished Charters with which I have been favoured, I have selected those in the First Article solely as specimens of the utility of such instruments, in illustrating the history and customs of places, and in forming pedigrees. " The three Becords given below * were indifferently selected from indication to lighten the lahour of the inquirer and guide him to the object of hiB search. The absence of these Indexes in the volume which terminated his labours will be hereafter accounted for. * The records here printed in a note (which I omit) are a writ and inquisition upon the death of Ralph super Teyse (or Surtees) in 41 Henry III. and two other inquisitions on the subject of Fretcluforce, 314 MEMOIR OF THE REV. JOHN HODGSON. t^e Calendar which commences at p. 41, and are introduced here as examples of the kind of evidence which the Escheats contain. Thej are printed from copies taken at length, and attested by Mr. Bajlej* The printed Calendar reaches no Airther than the time of Edward UI. The instruments themselves to the end of Richard III. to which time thej are preserved in the Tower, and from that time downwards thej are at the Rolls in Chancery Lane. '' The grand totals of the Rates and Rentals, with some reasonings on the comparative rate of assessment in different parts of the county, will be found under the article Revenues, in Part the First. The colunm entitled ^' Names of Proprietors in 1663,'' and the assessment to the trainbands included between pp. 320 and 348, cannot fail of affording- interesting matter for reflection, not only to wealthy families, but to every villager in the county. While they shew the stability of property in a few houses, they are indexes to numerous vicissitudes in human affairs. They call up in the mind traditions and histories of transactions in times of high political excitement, and connect themselves with a great variety of moral considerations. Many persons, too, are noticed here whose names could not have figured in a pedigree ; and many places, which have few other distinctions than one, that is common to them with places that are blazoned on the pages of history, namely, that they are the dwelling places of men, who had for their forefathers, the brave defenders of the English borders in Northumberland. '' Much pains have been bestowed in making the Indexes accurate and copious; and by a slight inspection it will be seen that many places disguised under barbarous spelling and erroneous reading, have been classed under the most modern names in which they occur in this volume. " In the General Introduction, I intend, Deo ced&nie^ to perform the gratifying duty of acknowledging the obligations which I owe to numerous individuals, for large and valuable contributions %f materials to the General and Parochial History; for furtherances and facilities in my researches ; and for much kindness and civility to myself. In the meantime, however, I feel myself called upon to state my obligations for assistance in this part of my work. And, in the first place, my acknowledgments are due to the Lord Bishop of Durham, for permis- sion to enrich my publication with materials out of the archives of the see of Durham, and from the Mickleton and Spearman Manuscripts; and to the Dean and Chapter of Durham, for the favour of being allowed to select out of their very ancient and valuable collection of Records and Charters, whatever relates to my subject. PREFACE OF FIRST VOLUME. 315 ''To Sir John Swinburne, of Gapheaton, Baronet, F.R. and A. S8., I am indebted for the use of seven large manuscript volumes of original charters, letters, and curious papers, highly illustrative of the local and general History of Northumberland; and to his brother Edward Swin- burne, Esq. for the privilege of embellishing my work with designs, the beautiful simplicity of which has been happily imitated in the aqua- tint engravings by Mr. Lewis ; but which, I lament, could not be so uniformly expressed in the wood-cuts which accompany this volume. ** I am obliged to R. W. Grey, Esq. for the loan of the manuscript which contains the first, second, seventh, and eighth columns of Article the Eighth : to C. W. Bigge, of Linden, Esq. for a copy of the present County Kate ; the Rental for building the County Courts in 1809 ; and for a transcript of the Kerr MS. of the Rates and Rentals in 1663 : and to John Adamson, Esq. M.R.A.S. of Lisbon, F.A.S.L. and E. and my fellow-secretary in the Newcastle A. S., for the use of a copy of the County Rate in 1690. '' To Robert Surtees, of Mainsforth, Esq. F.A.S. and author of the splendid and elaborate History of the County of Durham, my obliga- tions are numerous, and especially for a copy, in an old hand, of the list of Castles and Towers in Northumberland, printed in Article the Second. There is another old copy of the same document in the Har- leian Library, No. 309. *^ My acknowledgements were also due to the late Samuel Lysons, Esq. Keeper of his Majesty's Records in the Tower of London, for offers of assistance, of which I was prevented availing myself to any extent by his lamented death. To Henry Petrie, Esq. however, my warmest thanks are due for his ready and frank renewal of the liberal offers of forwarding my undertaking, which I had from his predecessor Mr. Lysons. I am also much indebted to Mr. Bayley, of the Record Office, for the voluntary tender of rendering me every assistance. " In this department of my work 1 am also under great obligations to Sir M. W. Ridley, of Blagdon, Bart. M.P. ; to T. H. Bigge, of Little Benton, Esq. ; to Ralph Spearman of Eachwick Hall, Esq. ; James Ellis, of Otterbume Castle, Esq. ; Thomas Davidson, Esq. ; A. Donkin, Esq. ; the Rev. A. Hedley, A.M.; and Messrs. John Murray and George Burnett, of Newcastle; and most particularly I am indebted to the Rev. James Raine, of Durham, for numerous facilities and valuable contri- butions to my work. " That 1 have not been guilty of literal errors, and larger blunders, is more than I expect ; but while I trust that the consideration of the 316 HEMOIB OF THE BEY. JOHN HODGSON. magnitude of mj undertaking and ihat it is not rising under the in- fluences of ease and uninterrupted leisure, but under the laborious avocations of a minister in a very extensive and populous parish, and of a father and a tutor in a numerous family, will in many minds stand as a sufficient apology for the imperfections of my work; yet I have no wish on these accounts, or on the ground that I give no pledges to the public respecting my work, to lighten my obligations as an author to fidelity and accuracy, or to hide myself from the just severity of criticism. '^ John Hodgsok. *< Upper Heworth, 11th Norember, 1820.*' Along with this volume Mr. Hodgson published the following statements with respect to the plan of the future Parts or portions of his work, and also the Queries which are subjoined ; soliciting information on almost every topic which could possibly come within the scope of his intended History. The Queries may be useftd to other topographers. His proposed arrangement of volumes was, as we shall see afterwards, not strictly adhered to. '< In presenting to the public this Fifth Volume of a History of the County of Northumberland, I beg leave to accompany it with the fol- lowing sketch of the plan upon which I propose to execute it. '* Part L vol. i. will contain the General and Border History of the County, with separate Articles on its Natural History, Agriculture, Geology, Mining, Revenues, <&c. " Part n. vols. ii. iii. and iv. will include the Parochial History, i.e., descriptions of towns, viUages, antiquities, and curiosities, pedigrees of families of rank, memoirs of remarkable persons, &c. << The first Tolume of this part, containing the History of the parishes in Castle Ward, will be the next in the order of publication. '' Part HI. vols. v. and vi. will consist of Ancient Becords and His* torical Papers, relative to Northumberland and the English and Scottish borders. " Only 300 copies are printed: 60 on royal paper at three guineas a volume, and 250 on demy at two guineas. Each volume will contain engravings on copper and wood. " A list of the wood-cuts and copper-plate engravings which belong to the Fifth Volume, will be found in it at page xiv. The following eight prints which accompany it are intended to be bound up in the HISTOBICAL QUERIES. 317 future volumes where the places which they represent are described. I. The Gateway to Prudhoe Castle. 11. Newcastle. HI. The Tyne> from Fawdon Staith. IV. Dilston. V. Bywell Tower. VI. Bam- borough Castle. These six are designed by Edward Swinburne, Esq., and engraved by F. C. Lewis. VII. Alnwick Castle. VIII. Wark- worth Castle: the last two reduced one half in size from Buck^s Views in 1728, and engraved by M. Lambert, of Newcastle. '^ Though I have collected a large mass of original and unpublished materials for this work, and intend to visit every part of the county that is worthy of notice, before I print an account of it, yet, aware that it often requires long residence on a spot to become intimately ac- quainted with its history, I take the liberty of soliciting answers to the following QUERIES. ** 1. Of a Parish, — Its ancient and modem name and etymology — how* many chapelries, townships, constableries, villages, and hamlets it con- tains, with the name of each — ^by what parishes it is bounded — does it contain or make a part of any ancient barony or manor, and what are the nature of the courts holden within them — ^the number of inclosed and uninclosed acres in each township — which of the townships main- tain their poor separately, and which conjointly, what is the annual rental of each township, the number of its weekly and casual poor, and the sum annually paid for their maintenance — ^has it a workhouse, and when was it built ? " 2. Church or Chapel, — To what Saint is it dedicated — by whom built and founded — ^what are its dimensions, its form, and style of architecture —has it any oratories, porches, or aisles — any shrines, remarkable monuments, or inscriptions — any family vaults, heraldic devices, any painted walls or windows — had it ever any peculiar immunities — if a chapel of ease, how connected with the mother church ? "3. In the Churchyard. — ^Any crosses, pillars, remarkable vaults, monuments, or inscriptions — have any remarkable antiquities, such as coins or coffins, been found in it, or any human skeleton of extraordinary size ? " 4. Endowment of a Living, — Can a copy of its terrier be procured —if not, what quantity of glebe land has it, and where is it situated— who has the great tythes — what do the vicarial tythes consist of, and who has them — has it any annual pension, and by whom paid, or has it been augmented by Queen Anne's Bounty, and to what extent ? 318 MEMOIR or THE BEY. JOHN HODGSON. " 5. IncumbetUir^Csoi any addition or correction be made to the list of them published by Mr. Allan, and usually annexed to Mr. Hutchin- son*8 View of Nortihumberland ? Can biographical sketches be given of such of them as were remarkable for their writings pr in their minis- terial capacity ? ^ 6. Parish Regiiters^^^WheD. do each of them commence, and do they contain any entries of persons of rank or learning, or eminent for their talents or public services, or remarkable for their stature or longevity ? When do the parish books commence, and do they contain any curious information respecting the mode of relieving the poor prior to the 42 of Eliz., or any curious records or agreements ? '' 7. Concerning Abbeys^ Priories, and other Religious Houses* — ^Are there any manuscripts, books, charters, or other writings belonging to them, and in whose possession ? Have any curious discoveries been made among their ruins ? '' 8. Concerning Chapels and Meeting-houses of Dissenters, — The proper designation of each of them«»when built, its size, and form— > names and a biographical account of the succession of its ministers — has it any endowment in trust, or otherwise ? ^' 9. Of Public Librariesy Endowed Schools, Hosptals, Annual Doles, or other Charities. — Bj whom were they founded or bequeathed — ^tlie annual amount of their revenues — and a description of each charity ? ^' 10. Antiquities, — ^Accounts of any remarkable camps, cairns, or barrows — any ancient altars, coins, arms, or utensils, that have not been noticed or imperfectly described in printed books ? ^'11. Trade and Manufactories, — The number and kinds of mills anciently and at present used in grinding com, forging iron, making paper, spinning, or in manufacturing or dressing cloth, making oil, &c. &C.— or any potteries, foundries, tanneries, or other kinds of manu- factories — ^how long have they existed — ^the number of persons em* ployed in each of them ? " 12. Agriculture, — Commons or town-fields, their names, kinds of herbage, and extent — if inclosed, whether by mutual consent, when, and to what purposes have they been turned — the quantity of ground an- ciently inclosed by walls, hedges, or marches, in meadow, in tilh^, and the kinds and rotations of crops ; in grass, and whether grazed principally by breeding or fattening stock; in wood, and whether natural or planted, the kinds of trees, and which of them are most pro- fitable — marie and clay beds, their extent, an^ how applied ? HISTORICAL QUERIES. 319 ^13. Otology^ Mineralogy ^ Mining, — Alluvium, what it consists of, its form, and depth, and from whence it is supposed to have been brought; does it contain any remains of organized bodies ? The cropping, incli- nation, line of bearing, thicknesses, and kinds of strata ; accounts of borings or sinkings through them ; drawings or specimens of the organic remains found in each of them ; notices to what purposes they are or may be put, whether they can be advantageously employed in building, will take the' marble polish, can be used as millstones, grindstones, or whetstones, or contain clay for china or earthenware, crucibles, glass- house pots, or fire-bricks.—-—^ what direction dykes and metallic veins traverse the county ; the kinds of metals and spars they contain ; where they are filled or surmoimted with such whin as is found between Glenwhelt and Kirkwhelpington, at Coaleyhill, Dunstanborough, Bam- borough, &c. ; how the strata lie, are elevated or depressed on each side of such dykes, with descriptions of the strata in which the metals are found, and which of them is most and which the least metalliferous;. also accounts of the mineral springs that occur near such dykes. Of nines, when they began to work, the quantity and kinds of metals they have produced; the kind of spars that coat their sides; their depth, extent of drifts, the size of the natural caves found in exploring them; modes of working them; the kinds of furnaces and the pro- cesses used in smelting and refining metals; notices of old mines, where unsuccessful attempts have been made to obtain metals, where bloomeries have been, and of the sites and kinds of ancient heaps of scoria ? '' 14. Respecting ColUeries. — Of the winning — when it commenced and when it was completed — what is the depth and nature of the alluvium above the rock; the kinds and thicknesses of the several strata sunk through — the power of the engines employed in sinking — and the sum expended in making the shaft. The names of the lessors of the mine, and the ejctent, name, and boundary of their royalty — ^the names of the lessees — the thickness of the several seams that have been worked —and the quantity of coal annually worked and vended since the commencement of the colliery. Remarkable fossil substances or im- pressions of organized bodies found in the mine, and the name, and depth from the surface of the stratum in which they were foimd — ^have any extraneous substances, such as pieces of wood or rounded stones been foimd amongst the coal. ^Accidents by fire or water— when they occurred, and the number of persons and horses lost in each accident; the means that have been resorted to, to give light when steel- 320 MEMOIR OF THE BET. JOHN HODGSON. mills were found inseeiire, and before the use of safety-lamps. Of dykes or Teins — their bearing — whether upcast or downcast — and to what height or depth, and what are their contents. ^Notices respect- ing any old workings, the names, qoalitiesy and thicknesses of the strata worked, and the period, extent, and mode of working ? ^' 15. Natural Hilary, — ^Bare or carious plants — ^their scientific or provincial names, where they grow, especially the esculent and medicinal species found near monasteries, castles, or ancient villages. — l^ells, whether found on land, in fresh water, or in the sea, their names, and drawings or specimens of them, their localities, and the habits of the animals that live in them. — ^Insects, the names, drawings, or specimens of each species, with such information as can be procured respecting it in its several states of an egg, a caterpillar, pupa, and perfect state. — ^Also anecdotes or notices on the natural history of the birds and quadrupeds that frequent the county, and the names and descriptions of the rarer sort of fishes that frequent its coasts. '^ John Hodgson.** ^ Upper Heworth, near Ckteahead, December 11th, 1820." Under his doubts with respect to the popularity of this his first volume, Mr. Hodgson must have been much comforted by the following letter from his fellow-labourer in the field of topo- graphy, Mr. Surtees of Mainsforth : <' Dear Sib, Mainsliartli, Dee. SUt, 1820. "^ I have just had time to cast a hasty glance at your volume. I like your brave plan of laying the foundation of Becords first; and then referring to them. But, whatever it may be to the general reader, these documents are as amusing to me, and give occasion to as much reflection on the ups and downs of families and estates, as any regular narrative. The list of 1663 is very interesting in this respect. I write however, chiefly under an anxious wish that something should be done towards perpetuating the Towers and Peds of Northumberland. I would wish to see every old Strength and Castle preserved, and really, if you can g^such an artist as Edward Swinburne, and have his beau- tifiil sketches executed so as to preserve their delightfiil truth and simplicity, you will be a greater benefactor to Northumberland than by throwing out a few expensive plates for the benefit of connoisseurs. The plan also of reducing Buck pleases me mightily. Widdrington looks like a gorgeous old dame in fiill dress. The very bull's heads are oa LETTER FROM HODGSON. 321 the great flight of steps, and one imagines knights and ladies pacing up * with solemn step and slow ' to feast in the great bay-window'd room on the left. Now, is there not spirit enough in Northumberland to raise a fund for illustrating your pages with the views above hinted at ? I should realljr hope it only wants setting a-going, and that Major Ander- son would not stand alone in such a list. At all events, permit me to book myself ten guineas towards your iiiture volumes. I am afraid I have not sufSicient acquaintance in Northumberland to set the stone a- rolling; but I really hope it may be done. " I think your Society condescends to give tradesmen's tokens of the old issue a place on their shelves. I take this opportunity of sending a few of these nick-nacks, and some other trash, which may sleep in their drawers till age makes them venerable. Eaine, you probably know, is in Londoii. His direction: E. Blore, 56, Welbeck Street, Cavendish Square. ** I send an old Northumbrian deed which you may perhaps wish to copy, — John de Vaux, Lord of Beaufront, to Adam Menvyle, of lands in Whittonstall. Be so good as return it at leisure. It was found among a parcel of Durham deeds not connected with it except by the occur- rence of the name of Menvyle. •* The mutilated lar was found at Piersebridge ; give it to the Society, or keep it to preside over your own household. Yours very sincerely, " R. SURTEES." Hodgson's reply to this characteristic letter was as follows: To ROBERT SURTEES, Esq. « My dear Sib, 8th Feb. 1821. " I have very severely to reproach myself for neglecting so long to answer your kind congratulations on the ddfiU of my book ; and es- pecially to beg your acceptance of my best thanks for your liberal con- tribution towards the embellishments of the future volumes, and for your scheme of having all the old Castles and fortified dwellings engraved. The truth is, when I received your favour I was confined to my bed ; and for nearly a fortnigSt after, and since that time I have been so harassed with duty and unfit to go through it, that till within these few days I have had no heart to write more than I was forced to dp by sheer necessity. '' My plan from the first was to give no engravings but on antiqua- T 322 MEMOIR OF THE BEY. JOHN HODGSON. rian subjects: but really the materials of that kind are so numerous in Northumberland that I could not give half of them ivithout being a loser by doing so. Not being able to attend the Anniversary of the Antiquarian Society (of Newcastle) myself, I sen^ my ^unanuensis with your present of coins, &c., and took the liberty qf accon^panying them with your letter; and I now find that a subscription is talked of; at the Spring Assizes it may probably be set a-going ; though. I am apprehensive that it will be starved between the Whig and Tory storms that rage at present. When I was in London, I got Sir John Swinburne to mention my plans of publishing a History of Northwpberland to the Duke of Northumberland, and at that time thought the measure veiy coldly received. His Grace offered to become a subscriber to it. Before that time I had never thought of publishing by subscription. When a copy of the work was at Christmas sent to Alnwick Castle directions were given to an agent at Newcastle to inquire at the printer's whose authority he had for sending it; though I had the Duke's letter requesting his name to be put down. But I will go on, and endeavour to write my work into notice: for I have no fear that the public will neglect me after my next volume appears. I have.no arts of flattery. It is a thing I both hate to offer and to have, offered to me. 1 cannot think that mere pique can be the c^use of the. coldness that is shown me, but interested motives; and that to arise from the idea that I may publish records &c. which may cause litigation and loss of property. (Notes of two early documents respecting Tudhoe are here given, and the copy is unfinished.)