A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain III
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A TOUR THROUGH THE WHOLE ISLAND OF GREAT BRITAIN III
which she repaired and beautified, and dwelt sometimes at one, and sometimes at another, for the benefits of her tenants, and of the poor, who she always made desirous of her presence, being better’d constantly by her bounty, and her noble house-keeping. But those estates are all since that time gone into other families. This lady was of the family of Clifford; she had no less than four castles in this county, of which Pendragon Castle was the chief, which is a fine building to this day.
4. At Penrith also we saw several remarkable things, some of which I find mentioned by the right reverend continuator of Mr. Cambden, and which I was glad to see, so confirm’d my observation, viz. (1.) Two remarkable pillars fourteen or fifteen foot asunder, and twelve foot high the lowest of them, though they seem equal. The people told us, they were the monument of Sir Owen Caesar, the author above-nam’d calls him, Sir Ewen Gesarius, and perhaps he may be right; but we have no inscription upon them. This Sir Owen, they tell us, was a champion of mighty strength, and of gygantick stature, and so he was, to be sure, if, as they say, he was as tall as one of the columns, and could touch both pillars with his hand at the same time.
They relate nothing but good of him, and that he exerted his mighty strength to kill robbers, such as infested the borders much in those days, others related wild boars; but the former is most probable. (2.) On the north side of the vestry of this church is erected in the wall an ancient square stone, with a memorial, intimating, that in the year 1598 there was a dreadful plague in those parts, in which there dy’d:
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|
Persons. |
In Kendal, |
2500 |
In Penrith, |
2266 |
In Richmond, |
2200 |
In Carlisle, |
1196 |
|
8162 |
N.B. By this account it should seem that every one of those towns had separately more people than the city of Carlisle, and that Kendal, which is the only manufacturing town of them, was the most populous. We did not go into the grotto on the bank of the River Eden, of which mention is made by Mr. Cambden’s continuator; the people telling us, the passage is block’d up with earth, so I must be content with telling you, that it seems to have been a lurking place, or retreat of some robbers in old time; as to its being a place of strength, I do not see any possibility of that; but its strength seems to be chiefly in its being secret and concealed; it had certainly been worth seeing, if it had been passable, the entry is long and dark, but whether strait or crooked, I cannot say, the iron gates leading to it are gone, nor is there any sign of them, or what they were hung to.
But though I am backward to dip into antiquity, yet no English man, that has any honour for the glorious memory of the greatest and truest hero of all our kings of the English or Saxon race, can go to Carlisle, and not step aside to see the mon-
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ument of King Edward I. at Burgh upon the Sands, a little way out of the city Carlisle, where that victorious prince dy’d. Indeed I cannot wonder that two writers, both Scots, viz. Ridpath and Mr. Kay, should leave it, as it were, not worth their notice, that prince being the terror of Scotland, and the first compleat conqueror of their country, who brought away the sacred stone at Scone Abbey, on which their kings were crowned, also the regalia, and, in a word, made their whole country submit to his victorious arms.
Near this town, and, as the inhabitants affirm, just on the spot where the king’s tent stood in which he expired, for he died in the camp, is erected a pillar of stone near thirty foot high, besides the foundation. On the west side is the following inscription:
Memoriæ Æternae Edvardi I. Regis Angliæ longe Clarissimi, qui in Belli apparatu contra Scotos occupatus. Hic in Castris obiit. 7 Julii, A.D. 1307.
On the south side:
Nobilissimus Princeps Henricus Howard, Dux Norfolciæ, Comes Marshal Angliæ, Comes Arund. &c. . . . ..ab Edvardo I, Rege Angliæ oriundus P. 1685.
On the north side:
Johannes Aglionby, J. C. F. i.e. Juris-consultus fieri fecit. Beneath, Tho. Langstone fecit. 1685.
It is not to be ask’d why Mr. Cambden takes no notice of this because it was not erected till near an hundred years after his survey of the country, only the place was marked by the country people, or perhaps by the soldiers of his army, by a great heap of stones rolled together upon the place; but this
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monument was erected, as is said above, by a private gentleman, for the eternal memory of a prince, who, when he lived, was the darling of the world, both for virtue and true fame.
But I return to Carlisle: The city is strong, but small, the buildings old, but the streets fair; the great church is a venerable old pile, it seems to have been built at twice, or, as it were, rebuilt, the upper part being much more modern than the lower. King Henry VIII fortify’d this city against the Scots, and built an additional castle to it on the east side, which Mr. Cambden, though I think not justly, calls a cittadel; there is indeed another castle on the west, part of the town rounds the sea, as the wall rounds the whole, is very firm and strong. But Carlisle is strong by situation, being almost surrounded with rivers. On the east it has the River Poterell, on the north Eden, and on the south the Cande, or Canda, or Calda, which all fall into the arm of the sea, which they call the Solway, or Solway Firth.
Here is a bridge over the Eden, which soon lets you into Scotland; for the limits are not above eight miles off, or thereabout. The south part of Scotland on this side, coming at least fifty miles farther into England, than at Berwick. There is not a great deal of trade here either by sea or land, it being a meer frontier. On the other side the Eden we saw the Picts Wall, of which I have spoken already, and some remains of it are to be seen farther west, and of which I shall perhaps have occasion to speak again in my return. But being now at the utmost extent of England on this side, I conclude also my letter, and am,
SIR, &c.
INTRODUCTION TO SCOTLAND
Introduction To The Account And
Description of Scotland
Hithero all the descriptions of Scotland, which have been publish’d in our day, have been written by natives of that country, and that with such an air of the most scandalous partiality, that it has been far from pleasing the gentry or nobility of Scotland themselves, and much farther has it been from doing any honour to the nation or to the country.
One known author has taken pains to describe their commerce as an immense thing for magnitude, has set off their manufactures in such a figure, and as such extraordinary things, that the English are trifles to them, and their merchandizing, according to his account, must be inferior to very few, if any nation in Europe; nay, he is not asham’d to give us an account of the particulars of their exportations to China and the East Indies, to Turkey, and the Levant, where, I believe, never Scots ship yet sail’d, unless it was in the service of English merchants, or some other foreign nation.
A more modern, and I must acknowledge, more modest writer than this, knowing he could not, with a front that, perhaps, he had not yet arriv’d to, set forth his country to her advantage, by giving a real description of that part which would
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necessarily shew her deficiences, as well as her beauties; and retaining still that piece of northern vanity peculiar to the climate, to think mighty well of his own country, takes up with describing the seats of the nobility and gentry; a subject, which, it must be confess’d, give him a greater scope, and in which he has good materials to work on: But, even in this, it must be added he would have done better, if he would have given the noblemen and gentlemen of Scotland leave to have known their own houses again, when they saw his description of them.
I have so much honour for the noblemen and gentlemen of Scotland, that I am persuaded they will be as well pleas’d to see justice done them and their country, as to see themselves flatter’d, and the world impos’d upon about them. Their country is not so void of beauty, or their persons of merit, as to want it; and (I believe) they will not seek to be flatter’d, or be oblig’d by it,, when ’tis attempted.
But be that as it will, the world shall, for once, hear what account an Englishman shall give of Scotland, who has had occasion to see most of it, and to make critical enquiries into what he has not seen; and, if describing it, as it really is, and as in time it may be, with probable reasons for the variation, will give satisfaction to the Scots, they will be oblig’d; on the contrary I shall neither flatter them or deceive them. Scotland is here describ’d with brevity, but with justice; and the present state of things there, plac’d in as clear a light as the sheets, I am confin’d to, will admit; if this pleases, more particulars may be adventured on hereafter; if it should not, it would make me suspect the other authors I have mention’d, knew what would please their country-men better than I: But
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I must run the venture of that, rather than trespass upon my own truth and their modesty.
I hope it is no reflection upon Scotland to say they are where we were, I mean as to the improvement of their country and commerce; and they may be where we are.
Here are but a few things needful to bring Scotland to be (in many parts of it at least) as rich in soil, as fruitful, as populous, as full of trade, shipping, and wealth, as most, if not as the best counties of England. These few things, indeed, are such as are absolutely necessary, and, perhaps, as things stand, may be difficult: Such as
1.Time, public changes cannot be brought about in a day.
2.A change in the disposition of the common people, from a desire of travelling abroad, and wandering from home, to an industrious and diligent application to labour at home.
3.Stock and substance, to encourage that application: sloth is not a meer disease of the nation: The Scots are as diligent, as industrious, as apt for labour and business, and as capable of it, when they are abroad, as any people in the world; and why should they not be so at home? and, if they had encouragement, no doubt they would.
4.Some little alteration in their methods of husbandry, by which their lands would be improv’d, and the produce thereof turn better to account; of all which something may be said in our progress thro’ the country, as occasion presents.
In the meantime, as I shall not make a Paradise of Scotland, so I assure you I shall not make a wilderness of it. I shall
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endeavour to shew you what it really is, what it might be, and what, perhaps, it would much sooner have been, if some people’s engagements were made good to them, which were lustily promis’d a little before the late Union: Such as erecting manufactures there under English direction, embarking stocks from England to carry on trade, employing hands to cut down their northern woods, and make navigations to bring the fir-tim- ber,. and deals to England, of which Scotland is able to furnish an exceeding quantity; encouraging their fishery, and abundance of fine things more which were much talk’d of I say, but little done; and of which I could say more, but it is not the business of this. work, nor, perhaps, will the age care to hear it, at least, south by Tw –
I must, therefore, be contented to give an Account of Scotland in the present state of it, and as it really is; leaving its misfortunes, and want of being improv’d as it might be, and, perhaps, ought to have been, for those to consider of, in whose power it is to mend it.
LETTER XI
South-Eastern Scotland
Sir, — I am now just enter’d Scotland, and that by the ordinary way from Berwick. We tread upon Scots ground, after about three miles riding beyond Berwick; the little district between, they say, is neither in England or Scotland, and is call’d Berwickshire, as being formerly a dependant upon the town of Berwick; but we find no towns in it, only straggling farm-hous- es; and one sees the Tweed on one side, which fetches a reach north ward, the sea on the other, and the land between lies so high, that in stormy weather ’tis very bleak and unpleasant; however, the land is good, and compar’d to our next view, we ought to think very well of it.
The first town in Scotland is call’d Mordintown, where the minister, at that time, was a man of learning, particularly in matters of religious antiquity, and very well known for being author of a book, entitul’d, The Cyprianick Age, in defence of the Scots doctrines of the purity of the Christian ministers; a piece, that shews the author a man of a good share of learning, and a double stock of reading, especially in the most valuable part of church antiquity: His name is Lauder.
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Mordintown lying to the west, the great road does not lie thro’ it, but carries us to the brow of a very high hill, where we had a large view into Scotland: But we were welcom’d into it with such a Scots gale of wind, that, besides the steepness of the hill, it oblig’d us to quit our horses, for real apprehensions of being blown off, the wind blowing full north, and the road turning towards the north, it blew directly in our faces: And I can truly say, I never was sensible of so fierce a wind, so exceeding keen and cold, for it pierc’d our very eyes, that we could scarcely bear to hold them open.
When we came down the hill, the strength of the wind was not felt so much, and, consequently, not the cold. The first town we come to is as perfectly Scots, as if you were 100 miles north of Edinburgh; nor is there the least appearance of any thing English, either in customs, habits, usages of the people, or in their way of living, eating, dress, or behaviour; any more than if they had never heard of an English nation; nor was there an Englishman to be seen, or an English family to be found among them.
On the contrary, you have in England abundance of Scotsmen, Scots customs, words, habits, and usages, even more than comes them; nay, even the buildings in the towns, and in the villages, imitate the Scots almost all over Northumberland; witness their building the houses with the stairs (to the second floor) going up on the outside of the house, so that one family may live below, and another above, without going in at the same door; which is the Scots way of living, and which we see in Alnwick and Warkworth, and several other towns; witness also their setting their corn up in great numbers of small
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