H. S. Reverendus admodum in Christo Pater | Josephus Butler, LL.D., hujusce primo Dioeceseos, deinde Dunelmensis, Episcopus. Qualis quantusque Vir erat | sua libentissime agnovit ætas; et siquid Præsuli aut Scriptori ad famam valent | mens altissima, ingenii perspicacis, et subsacti vis, animusq pius, simplex, candidus, liberalis, mortui haud facile evanescet memoria. Obiit Bathoniæ | XVI Kal. Jul., A.D. MDCCLII, | annos natus LX. | Juxta jacet.*

There is another memorial, " erected by subscription, A.D. MDCCCXXXIV," in the south transept, with this inscription by Robert Southey :

Sacred to the memory of Joseph Butler, D.C.L., twelve years Bishop of this Diocese [1738-1750], and afterwards Bishop of Durham, whose mortal part is deposited in the choir of this Cathedral. Others had established | the historical and prophetical grounds of the Christian religion, | and | that sure testimony of its truth, which is found in its perfect adaptation | to the heart of man. It was reserved for him to develope its analogy to the constitution and course of nature; and, laying his strong foundations in the depth of that great argument, there to construct another and irrefragable proof; thus rendering philosophy subservient to faith; and finding in outward and visible things the type and evidence of those within the veil. | Born, A. D. 1692: Died, 1752.

"He who believes the Scripture to have proceeded from Him who is the author of nature, may well expect to find the same sort of difficulties in it as are found in the constitution of nature.". ORIGEN. Philocal., p. 23. G. A. W.

1635.-A STRANGE SUPERSTITION REGARDING EAGLES.-In a small volume which I possess, entitled The Life of that Incomparable Princess, Mary, our late Sovereign Lady, etc. (London, 1695), this passage occurs, p. 76:-"From Bristol we have a certain account that a keeper of Sir John Smith's Park shot an eagle flying some very few days before the Queen's death, being a bird of that extraordinary size, that her extended wings reached three yards wanting two inches; and what adds to the surprize and wonder of this relation, is, that the very same keeper shot another eagle of very large dimension in the Duke of Bolton's Park three days before King Charles the Second his death," I shall be glad to be informed of any similar cases.

ABHBA.

But

The Rev. Thomas Bartlett, in his Memoirs of the Life, Character, and Writings of Bishop Butler (London, 1829), with reference to this epitaph has noted:-"The date of his deccase [June 16] is here erroneously written July, instead of June. His academic degree is also inaccurately stated. It was D.C.L., and not LL.D. In the books of the registry at Bristol, containing a list of the bishops of the see, Bishop Butler is entered as D.D." Mr. Bartlett has himself made a mistake with reference to the date, which is correctly given. The Rev. William (afterwards Bishop) Fitzgerald, in a note prefixed to his Life of Butler (Dublin, 1849), informs his readers with regard to the degree:-"I have in the title-page written Butler's academic title LL.D., in conformity with his own invariable practice; but I suppose the correct designation is D.C.L." The insertion of D.D. in the books of the registry at Bristol is undoubtedly wrong.

1636.-"THE WISE WOMEN OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE."-A question has arisen in a small literary society round Bredon Hill as to who were the wise women of Gloucestershire spoken of in mediæval works. Can you kindly tell us? Were they spiritual descendants of the Druid priestesses who are said to have lived in community on Cleeve Cloud? A. MERCIER, Sec. Bric-a-Brac Society.

Kemerton Rectory.

1637.-FRY'S HOUSE OF MERCY, BRISTOL.-I shall be glad of any information regarding William Fry who erected this refuge for eight old women. I have learned from the Charity Commissioners' 8th Report (1822) that it was founded in 1779, and that the founder was probably the William Fry who benefitted Pile St. School while he was churchwarden of Redcliff parish. This, taken in connection with one of the conditions of entrance, that the old women were to be "of the communion of the Church of England," tends to show that William Fry was not a member of the Society of Friends. I should be glad to know when and where he died, and any particulars of his ancestors or descendants. E. A. FRY.

Yarty, King's Norton.

1638. THOMAS SCUDAMORE, OF WESTERLEIGH, 1640.-I should like very much to find some clue to Thomas Scudamore (now Skidmore here), who came from Westerleigh, in Gloucestershire, to Cambridge, N. E., circa 1640, with wife Ellen and children, including a son Thomas. E. N. SHEPPARD.

649, Jersey Avenue, Jersey City, U.S.A.

1639.-THE DRAGON OF GLOUCESTER.-My object in writing is, if possible, to ascertain why the Earls of Gloucester adopted the dragon, which was also the emblem of the standard of Gloucester. The vicar of Deerhurst, in his recent history of that parish, tells us of an old legend in which a dragon is largely concerned.* A gentleman recently showed me several tiles, which were dug up at Keynsham, and some of which bore the figure of the dragon, not the Red Dragon, but the colour may, I presume, have perished, the lines of the figure being hollow, as though some pigment which had once filled them had been lost. Now, William, Earl of Gloucester, founded Keynsham Abbey, A.D. 1166, and Robert, his son, died at Cardiff, "and was buried at Keynsham Priory, which the earl now newly repaired and endowed, making it an abbey of canons regular, to the memory of his son, at whose request he had founded it." Can anyone tell me if the Gloucester Dragon was derived from the Welsh Red Dragon, and how the earls came to adopt it, bearing in mind the descent of Earl Robert, illegitimately,

* See ante, p. 84.-ED.

from Rhys ap Tewdwr, and the fact that the Earls of Gloucester were also lords of Glamorgan, and largely conuected with Wales? HY. G. BUTTERWORTH. *

Bristol.

1640. THE EFFIGY OF ROBERT OF NORMANDY.-In answer to an inquiry, "What is supposed to be the date of the recumbent wooden effigy of Robert of Normandy in Gloucester Cathedral?" (Notes and Queries, 6th S. xii. 208), Mr. H. G. Griffinhoofe has written as follows, p. 95 of the next volume :

:

Robert died 1134, and was interr'd in the choir of St. Peter's Church at Gloucester, before the High Altar, where not long after, was erected to him a Tomb (in form of a Chest of Wainscot) This tomb (to the great credit of the substance of which it was made) stood firm until. the rebellious Soldiers tore it to pieces," &c. (Sandford's Genealogical History, 1707.) Sir Robert Atkyns (The Ancient and Present State of Gloucestershire, London, 1712) writes:-"His Monument of Wood stood firm until the great Rebellion in the Reign of King Charles the First, when the rude Soldiers tore it to pieces. But Sir Humphry Tracy, of Stanway, bought them, and laid them up till the Restoration of King Charles the Second, and then caused the Monument to be repaired and beautifyed at his own charges. The Effigies is carved with Cross Legs," &c. Whilst Rudder (A New History of Gloucestershire, 1779), after mentioning an early "grave stone" with "a cross' on it, says of the Irish-oak tomb, "This monument was made long since he was buried;" " and refers to "a noble representation" of it "which is published in Sandford's Genealogical History." My impression is that Rudder is correct. The tomb has been so broken, restored, and neglected, that from appearances one would not give it the age which Sandford claimed for it; but be inclined to set it down to the design, if not the handiwork, of those artificers who were employed to create the tomb of John of Eltham in Westminster Abbey.

1641.-ST. MARY'S-DE-CRYPT, GLOUCESTER ITS TRADES AND CRAFTS, 1653-90.-Recently, while looking through the parish registers of St. Mary-de-Crypt, Gloucester, I noticed the following trades and crafts mentioned as being then practised in the parish: -Shomaker, Haberdasher, Husbandman, Innholder, Glover, Mason, Carpenter, Ostler, Bodysmaker, Mercer, Taylor, Cobler, Sadler, Hallier, Cutler, Baker, Weaver, Ironmonger, Pinner, Pavour, Smith, Silk weaver, Garterweaver, Brewer, Tapster, Matmaker, Fish-hook-maker, Tanner, Sievemaker, Chandler, Wiredrawer, Blacksmith, Sparrow-Catcher, Gardener, Maltmaker, Joiner, Schoolmaster, Gunsmith, and Woolcomber. It would be

Mr. Butterworth, we regret to state, has lately died after a very brief illness, at a comparatively early age.-ED.

curious to know which of these employments continue to be practised in the parish, or the city. JOHN MACLEAN.

Glasbury House, Richmond Hill, Clifton.

1642.-CIDER-MAKING IN 1685.—In the Diary of the Times of Charles the Second, by the Hon. Henry Sidney, and edited by R. W. Blencowe (London, 1843), vol. ii., pp. 241-248, there is an interesting letter from Sir Robert Southwell, the builder of King's Weston, to the celebrated Evelyn, describing his extensive plantations of yews, hollies, and firs around his new dwelling. In conclusion he writes, p. 247:- "I know I have tired you, and yet, for a little variety, give me leave to acquaint you that here in my neighbourhood is one Rogers, a learned famous Quaker. He has erected a cider-mill, which I went, a while since, being four miles off, to visit. 'Tis seated on the Severne, and he buys up all the apples, pears, and crabs of the forest or elsewhere. He has the river his friend for exporting as well as importing. His mill goes with three horses; the apples are squeezed by two iron rollers, somewhat indented; he grinds 500 bushels in a day. He could make one thousand hogsheads in a season if he had vent for it, but had yet not exceeded 680 in one year. He has some rare skill in making it generally good, and in all kinds. He sends it to the West Indies, as well as to Ireland and the neighbourhood of Bristol, and is himself an export merchant. His general price is £4 per hogshead, and for some £5; and if any fail of being excellent in the kind, he is so tender of his credit, which is in order to his greater gain, that he converts all the inferior sort to vinegar or brandy, in which also he drives a vigorous trade. He squeezes all in engines, so as in some to equal the weight or pressure of forty tons. . . . I am ever, with great acknowledgement of your favours, Sir, your most affectionate and most humble servant, ROBERT SOUTHWELL.' The letter is dated "King's Weston, 8th January, 1684-5."

J. L.

1643.-HORSEFERRY BRIDGE IN 1838.-I recently came across the following information written on the fly leaf of an old copy of A New Geographical Dictionary, by T. W. Clarke (London, 1814): -"Horseffery Bridge, a Hamlet of Whitcomb, Gloucester-shire, situated about 5 miles from the City of Gloucester, and the same distance from Cheltenham, containing in the year 1838, 8 Dwelling Houses & the population about 40. By Wm. Smith's Computation." The Smiths were The Smiths were the village blacksmiths of Witcomb for many years, and some of them are buried in the parish churchyard. Their shop at Horseferry Bridge being on the high road from South Wales to London, Welsh drovers used to make it a great place at which to have their cattle shod. Not unfrequently these drovers were Welsh blacksmiths who, in their disguise, lingered about the blacksmith's forge to learn the trade of cattle-shoeing. HENRY C. WILKINS.

1644.-NOTES ON THE PARISH OF WICKWAR. *

(Continued from No. 1162.)

"Very few parishes of the same size as this one have so many bequests for the poor; and I believe that in no other parish have they been more fairly dispensed. From a searching examination of the manner in which these charities have been distributed for many years past, I am enabled to state that, with the exception of one or two instances, they appear to have been distributed with fairness and impartiality, greatly redounding to the credit of the different trustees and parish officers."

Cam's Charity.

Henry Cam, in the 17th year of James I., gave a messuage in the borough of Wick war, the rents thereof to be applied to apprenticing poor boys of the parish by the rector, churchwardens, and overseers. The said messuage is let at present to Mr. George Parker, glazier, for £10 per annum.

Woolford's Charity.

John Woolford left £4 a year, payable out of a freehold estate in the parish of Charfield, in the county of Gloucester, to be given to poor of the parish of Wick war yearly on the Monday before Christmas day for ever, by the rector, church wardens, and overseers. "The estate, charged as above, is a farm in the parish of Charfield, the proprietor or tenant of which has paid, and continues to pay regularly, £4 to the overseers, the whole of which is distributed to the poor generally without distinction between those who receive parish pay, and those who do not." (See the Report of the Charity Commissioners.) The present proprietor of the said estate is a Mr. Osborn; the present tenant Mr. William Cordy. The £4 is due the 21st December in every year. Rudder in his History says:"In 1655, John Wolford gave £4 a year to the use of the poor, charged on a ground called the Moors, in the parish of Charfield."

Spirt's Charity.

Mrs. Elizabeth Spirt gave £2 a year, payable out of a dwellinghouse in the town of Wickwar: one half to be given to the poor of the parish on the Feast-days of St. Matthew and St. Matthias in equal proportions; the other half to be given to the rector of the said parish for a sermon to be preached on each of the aforesaid days yearly for ever. The money, which is due at Christmas, to be received and paid by the rector and churchwardens. The annual sum of £2 is now paid by a Mr. Daniell, who is one of the trustees of a newly-erected dissenting chapel, which was some years ago built on the site of an old house formerly in the possession of a

This forms the concluding portion of "Notes on the Parish of Wickwar," from a MS. volume compiled by the late Mr. John Roberts, of Wickwar, M.R.C.S.L. and L.S.A., and entitled "Wickwar, in the County of Gloucester, 1844." The other portions have appeared in vol. iii., pp. 80-83, 152-156, 184-190.-ED.