ters and grants of the successive kings of England, from Richard I. to James II., to the town and borough of Doncaster; with the private grants, petitions, decrees, &c. These are extracted from the records of the corporation. Such is Dr. Miller's History of Doncaster and its Vicinity. If not the most profound and interesting among this class of books, it certainly contains much useful and amusing information; and we readily and cheerfully recommend it to the perusal and patronage of all lovers of topography. Though we perceive some errors of judgment and carelessness of typography; and though we could wish the volume to have been more copious in some places, and less prolix in others; we should be considered fastidiously severe, were we to enlarge our animadversions on these faults, after reading the very humble and modest sentiments, with which the author concludes his volume. He justly censures that illiberal spirit, which withholds document from the public; and miserly shuts up in private recesses, that information which, if properly developed, would probably materially improve the historical annals of our country. There is scarcely any species of selfishness, more truly reprehensible, or criminal in the court of literature, than this: and it becomes the duty of every author to reprobate and discountenance the conduct of such persons, The county historian has ample trouble and difficulties to encounter, even when furnished with every attainable document; but those difficulties become more and more augmented, as these are withheld. from his examination. "I have now finished a work," says the Doctor," which in collecting the materials has cost me much pains and labour. I see and lament that the account of many places is too short and defective. Compressed, ac cording to my proposals, within the compass of a single volume, of course only the most material circumstances of an extensive district could be inserted. As I knew that various manuscripts, the labour of ingenious men in former times, were yet preserved, relative to that part of the West Riding here described, I flattered myself in finding easy access to these sources of information, and that the owners of them, partaking of that liberal spirit for which the present age is justly celebrated, would even rejoice in cooperating with my well-meant efforts to amuse or inform the public. I am sorry to say, that these pleasing hopes have not been realized to the extent which was at first expected. On the other hand, I acknowledge, with the most lively gratitude, having met more enlarged minds; who have kindly inwith gentlemen of a different description, d terested themselves in my behalf, and libe rally given me every assistance in their power to bestow. "Candid reader! pardon the many defects which may be discovered in this work! It was written under the pressure of declining years and increasing infirmities, as the last tribute of gratitude and affection to many dear friends, "Under these circumstances it is hoped the critic will be disarmed of his severity; approbation, at least the indulgence of a goodand that my labours will obtain, if not the natured and generous public.” volumes, is very defective. Wanting an index, this, like many other ART. IV. The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester. By JOHN NICHOLS, F. S. A. Edinburgh and Perth. ́Vol. III. Part II. Containing West Goscote Hundred. folio. MR. NICHOLS has long been known to the topographer and antiquary by his voluminous history of Leicester; by the Gentleman's Magazine, which he has printed for many years; and by a number of other books that have been edited and published by him. Indeed his house has been more noted for this species of literature than any other printing-office in London. Few persons are more intimately acquainted with the arcana of English to pography and antiquity, and scarcely any one person has written so much on those subjects. Whatever may be the real merit of his writings, he is at least entitled to the thanks and gratitude of his con temporaries, and of posterity; and though there are defects in his style and mode of selecting and arranging his subjects, these are more to be attributed to the fashion of the times when he commenced his literary career, than to any want of genius and talents in the writer. The volume now under consideration being only a continuation of a very large work, we shall limit ourselves to a brief analysis of its contents, and reserve till a future period our opinions of the characteristic merits and demerits of the work. The present is, the author informs us, only a second part of the third volume,' and is almost wholly appropriated to the history and antiquities of West Goscote hundred. It must consequently be presumed, that this small portion of a county, either contains many interesting subjects, furnishes much curious historical matter, or that the author is very prolix on every subject that engiges his attention. To fill four or five large folio volumes with the topographical history of a single county may appear to many persons extravagantly diffuse; but it is proper to inform them that Mr. Nichols contrives to accumulate and combine such a mass of curious information, and adduces so much original document, that we can easily excuse the extent of the volumes for the sake of the information they contain. From the following analysis we hope the reader who is not immediately acquainted with Mr. Nichols's History of Leicester, will be enabled to judge of, and appreciate, its pecu Bar character. In recording the history of the town of Ashby de la Zouch, the author particularizes the names, and narrates many biographical traits, of the successive lords of the manor; among whom, William lord Hastings, and his descendants the earls of Huntingdon, are particularly noticed; and a print is given of the elegant screen before the monument, erected to William lord Hastings, in St. George's chapel at Windsor. A print is also given of the paintings in lord Hastings's chapel, and both are particularly described. Among the curious subjects belonging to Ashby-castle is the household book, which appears to have been written in the year 1609. Its contents, which are here printed, serve to illustrate the customs peculiar to great mansions at that period, and afford a curious contrast to a nobleman's establishment at the present time. It contains particular directions to the different servants, and specifies the respective occupations of each. These werethe stuarrde-gentleman usshor-gentleman of the horsse-clerke of the kitchen -cooke-ushor of hall-almoner-yoman of the pantrye-yoman of the buttryeporter-yoman of the wardopp-yoman of the grannarye-baker and brewer. The following instructions to the almoner will explain the nature of this book. "The almoner's-office.-Item, that he purloyne no meate from the almes, but that he put the same in the place appointed for the poore, which place or vessells he shall al waiss keep sweet and cleane; and that he give the said almes, with the consent and helpe of the usher of the hall and porter, to suche as are aged, poore, and in want, and not to stout rogues and idle persons, Item, that he shall every morning by seven of the clocke in sommer, and by eight in wynter, and make cleane the boardes, benches, and sweepe the hall and places neare adjoyning, fourmes thereof. Item, that hee shall keepe a booke or skoare of all the wood and coll that is brought into the wood-yard; and shall see the same delivered forth to the fewiller, kytchen boyes, or others, according to the directions which he shall receive from the head-officers." The castle, church, and monuments at Ashby, are particularly described, and almost every epitaph and inscription on the latter is printed. Biographical accounts are next given of all the public characters, that were either born here or resided long in the town. The most eminent of these ment of the times," according to the quaint is bishop Hall, that "mirror and ornaphraseology of Fuller. The village of Belton next comes under consideration: and the ancient and respectable family of Verin the county, that the author is induced don was of such considerable consequence to give a particular account of it. The church, monuments, and inscriptions, are fully described; and engravings given of them, also of several armorial bearings, &c. The nunnery of Gracedieu, situated in this parish, is here particularized, and its history amply narrated. Accounts of the Beaumont family, with here introduced; many curious particu several long elegies and other poems, are lars are recorded of Francis Beaumont, the poet, and F. Beaumont, the dramatic writer, of whom two portraits are given. Bradgate-manor, park, and mansion, are of the Grey family, lady Jane Grey being now described; and a long account is given a native of this place; our author introher, some of which are novel and interestduces many biographical particulars of ing. Pedigrees, plates of the church and castle, with various fragments of antiquity, are introduced to illustrate the nar rative. able village on the verge of the county, the birth-place of William Lilly, induces our historian to print a long account of his life, and a list of his works. The memoirs of this dreamer are strongly contrasted by those of Mr. Bakewell, the celebrated experimental agriculturalist and breeder. One teazed himself by his chimerical reveries, and propagated by his writings folly and nonsense; whilst the other judiciously endeavoured to benefit his country and himself by improving the breed of sheep, cattle, &c. Many interesting particulars are here related concerning Mr. Bakewell's farms and cattle; the most material of which are selected from the writings of Young, Marshall, Throsby, and Monk. The village of Castle Donington, with the park, come next under review; and the latter, the seat of the earl of Moira, is represented in four plates. Garendon-hall, the seat of Thomas March Phillips, Esq. furnishes matter for several pages of description, and is il lustrated by four plates. Long extracts from the register or chartulary of Gerondon-abbey are next printed, and a very detailed account is given of this ancient monastic establishment. A short memoir, with a well engraved portrait, of Dr. Richard Pulteney, are given in the course of the author's account of Hathern parish; though it appears that the doctor was a native of Loughborough, where he was born A. D. 1730. The remaining part of the volume comprises, among other places, historical accounts of the following:the villages of Kegecarth, Hermington, Woodthorpe, Osgathorne, Packington, Snibston, Ravenston, Rothley, Gaddely, Grimston, Keame, &c. also the towns Gi Loughborough and Swepston. This volume is replete with biographical and antiquarian anecdotes; and contains a vast quantity of prints, some of which are curious. ART. V.-The History of Devonshire. Chapter the Second; containing the Roman Briti Period. folio, pp. from 177 to 329. THE strangely irregular mode of pubfication adopted by Mr. Polwhele, in this History of Devonshire, must be highly injurious to his interest, and must subject him to many unpleasant occurrences. The present is only a scrap of a larger work; and being intimately connected with the preceding and the future portions, we must withhold our remarks till the whole is completed. ART. VI.—A Walk through Southampton. By Sir HENRY C. ENGLEFIELD, Bart. F. R. S. and F. A. S. Second Edition, considerably augmented; to which is added, some Accoun of the Roman Station, Clausentum. 8vo. pp. 147. IN the first volume of our Review, p. 502, we noticed the former edition of this work in terms of commendation, and as the present volume is materially improved and enlarged, our topographical readers may wish to know the nature of such addenda et corrigenda. This information is furnished by the author in his advertisement to the present edition, wherein he states that "The few changes which have taken place in the town are noticed; and I thought it better to mention them in the form of notes than to alter the original account. A more extensive description of the curious edifice in Porters'-lane is added, from the account of it presented to the Society of Antiquaries; and I have given some etchings of its principal parts. The account of remains of antiquity discovered at Bittern, in consequence of building the bridge and forming the road there, is reprinted from my paper inserted in the second volume of the Hampshire Reposi tory, with some additions. It is hoped that this second edition may meet the same favour which was experienced by the first.” The additions above referred to are con siderable, and tend to give interest to the volume, as they apply more particularly to the pursuits of the antiquary and histo rian. The plates, which demonstrate the taste of the author, exhibit some curious specimens of Roman sculpture and ancient architecture. We must again remark, that a well-engraved plan of the town is a necessary requisite in a local work like the present; for the reader who is not previously acquainted with the geography of the place, must be at a loss to understand some parts of the author's description. ART. VII-Collections towards the History and Antiquities of the County of Hereford. By JOHN DUNCUMB, A. M. Vol. 1. with Maps and Views. 4to. pp. 604. IN the preface to the present volume, the reverend author has unfolded the sources of his information, briefly noticed the characteristics of the county, and from these excited in our minds a lively curiosity, and much anxious expectation. For in a county that affords so much local interest, and where such powerful patronage is obtained, we are entitled to expect a topographical book approaching perfection. Mr. Duncumb observes in his preface, "The county of Hereford, although replete with a variety of materials to attract the researches of the antiquary and the historian, has hitherto so far escaped their notice, that no regular account of it has ever been submitted to the public. As the ground on which Caractacus and the brave Silures so nobly fought, pro aris et focis, against the Roman invaders, and as the frontier, during the long continued wars between England and Wales, it presents an important series of national occurrences; whilst as a province, distinguished from the earliest dates of civilized society, by the residence of ancient and honourable families, holding their possessions by various and peculiar tenures; as a district fertile in its produce, and abounding in scenery of the most beautiful description; it contains a fund of information, which, if properly collected and arranged, could not fail to be generally gratifying. "Such considerations, and the interest naturally excited by long connection with the County, and by extensive property acquired n marriage with the heiress of the family of Scudamore, of Home Lacy, have induced the duke of Norfolk to make several purchases, with a view towards a publication of this kind. With these materials, with very considerable aid from the stores of the British Museum, the Augmentation-office, and the Tower in London; the Bodleian Library in Oxford; the M. S. collections of Thomas Blount, Esq. of Orleton, and of James Walwyn, Esq. of Longworth; the usual printed authorities; and the obliging communications of the gentlemen and clergy of the county, and of Wilam Bray, Esq. George Nayler, Esq. and the Rev. James Dallaway, the following collections have been arranged in their present form. "The compiler is well aware that many imperfections will be discernable; some from the difficulties unavoidably incident to the undertaking, and more from his own inability to do justice to a work which embraces subjects of considerable variety, and involves persons and property of so high importance. The public, however, have now an opportunity of judging for themselves; and, with the utmost deference, these collections are subinitted to their accustomed candour." 401 the city. To furnish our readers with an ample account of it, and thereby display its merits and defects, we shall briefly analyze every chapter separately, and then make a few observations on each, as they arise out of the subject. The first chapter professes to comprise before, and after, the Roman invasion ; a general account of this part of Britain the character of the ancient inhabitants is delineated; vestiges, civil and military, are referred to; the operations of the Roof Caractacus are recorded; and a general review is taken of Roman remains, mans are detailed; the bravery and defeat roads, and stations, belonging to the county. Duncumb asserts, formed part of the to hostilities. But Mr. Duncumb observes, be little affected by any invasion of the that powerful people "gens valida.” And this is confirmed by the observation contained in the 12th book of the Annals, that after subduing the Iceni he marched his army against the Cangi, situate in Cheshire, Dd and encamped near the Irish Sea. "Quod appears an error in making Bravinium an Hiberniam insulam spectat." Branegium the same place. The site where the ever-memorable battle was fought, in which the noble Caractacus was made a captive to the Romans, Mr. Duncumb, with general Roy, thinks must have been CoxwallKnoll, near Downton, on the northern borders of Herefordshire; and seems to rest the proof on what the historian says, that the war did not originate in the county of the Ordovices, "Transfert bellum in Ordovices." True, but it terminated there on the total defeat of the British army, and the capture of their chief. Various opinions have been propagated on this point: but after all that has been said from Camden to Roy, we think the site fixed upon by the author of the Britannia the least liable to objection. The situation of Caer Caradoc, in Shropshire, agrees much better with the British mode of warfare, and the description of the position which was taken by the British chief. Vid. Annal. 1. xii. 31.; and the observation, that, previous to the battle, Caractacus moved by forced and private marches into the country of the Ordovices. Coxwall is situated in Siluria; is an insulated hill on a plain, only calculated for an advanced post; while Caer Caradoc rises on a tongue of land formed by the conflux of the rivers Colun and Teme, where the fords in flood-time would be inapassable, and having the mountainous tract which ranges from Montgomery by Bishop's Castle in the back ground, of which this hill forms one of the feet. Coxwall-hill might have been previously occupied by the British forces while the Romans were advancing towards Brandon. Mr. Duncumb next adverts to the Roman stations, of which two principal ones were in this county, Magna and Ariconium. The former has been variously placed by antiquarian geographers; but Mr. Duncumb adopts the opinion of Horsley, who fixes it at Cen or Ken-chester, near Hereford: the name is obviously derived from the British word cen, great or conspicuous, and castra a camp, i. e. the great or notable camp. We must, of course, look for Ariconium in some other place, and the distances mentioned in the Itinerary concur to point out some spot near the present town of Ross, between Glevi, Gloucester, and Gobaunjum, Abergavenny. In tracing the Watling-street Toad, which enters the northern part of the county after it leaves Wroxeter, there In the second chapter Mr. Dencari proceeds to take into consideration the b tory of the Silurian Britons, after the R-man legions were withdrawn from tisland. In the course of this, he details few particulars of Uther Pendragon. his son Arthur, of whose tomb some acount is given. The state of this part the island during the Saxon heptyc... next considered; and a list, with blogne phical sketches, of the successive king Mercia, to the conquest of that king by Egbert, are detailed. A general va is then taken of the principal occurre under the Saxon and Danish monarchs this leads to the consideration of the L customs, coins, judiciary proceedings, architecture, of the Saxons, and of changes introduced by the Norman o queror. The chapter closes with a lis the divisions, subdivisions, lands, 1 ships, and proprietors, of Herefordsh as recorded in Domesday book. Under the Saxon dynasty, founded Crida, there is little new in Mr. D cumb's account; and he appears to too implicit faith in the relations of English historians. Hume, it is r known, is not the most impartial wr and much credit can seldom be attache Polydore Virgil. As the palace of O was at Sutton, three miles from th sent city of Hereford, and this c formed part of his dominions, we exr ed a more detailed and particular aco of the Mercian king and his operatsa The Marches, of which this o formed a considerable part, Mr. Dues observes, were of indefinite extent; as being the disputed frontiers bete the English and the Welsh, ever va with the success of either party. T civilization was rather impeded thr moted by the first Saxon invaders is obvious to be denied: for as their or intention was principally plunder, : after regulations were highly tine: with a similar spirit. We were rather surprised at Mr. D cumb's observation on the work c Domesday, made at the command ca Norman conqueror," that it was er u dertaking which proves his extensive nius, and does honour to his meme That a survey, intended to lay with facility the heaviest burthens on a su gated country, and the levying them plat in the hands of foreigners, possessing |