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PETWORTH:

A SKETCH OF ITS

with notices of oljects of archceological interest in its vicinity,

BY

THE REV. F. H. ARNOLD, M. A

INCUMBENT OF APPLEDRA1M.

Ille terrarum mihi prseter omnes Angulus ridet.— Hor*

Esjperance.

PETWORTH:

PBINTED AND PUBLISHED BY A. J. BRYANT. 1864.

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' OXi PETWORTH:

FEINTED AND PUBLISHED BY A. J. BBTANT.

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TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE

GEOEGE BARON LECONFIELD,

LORD OF THE HONOR AND MANOR OF

PETWORTH,

THIS WORK IS BY HIS LORDSHIP'S PERMISSION MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.

€mimh.

Puritan Proceedings 63

CheynelTs Symbolum 64

Extracts from the Register 65

Certificates for the King's Touch 66

Eectors of Petworth 67

History of the Town ...... 72

Changes at the Reformation 73

Rotherbridge 75

Journey to Petworth of Charles King of Spain 76

Petworth vindicated from an aspersion ...... 77

Tradesmen's Tokens 78

Petworth Marble 79

IronWorks t. 81

Hospitals, Charities, and Schools 82

Old Houses 87

Inn Signs , 89

Sports of the last Century ,.. 90

Town Hall 93

Petworth Prison 94

Howard's Report , 95

New Gaol 97

Modern Improvements 98

Conclusion * » 100

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The substance of the following pages was given, as a Lecture, at the Town Hall, Petworth, March 18th, 1864; on that occasion the Honorable Percy Wyndham, M. P. presided, and a request was made by the Eev. C. Holland, Eector, and the audience that it might be printed. With the desire thus ex- pressed I then complied.

Having acted for several years as amanuensis to the Dean of Chichester (Dr. Hook) I have had access to many Archaeological Collections, Archives, and Eolls, and naturally feeling an interest in every thing relating to Petworth, my native place, while so engaged I made notes of numerous interesting circumstances connected with it. The lecture was based upon these notes, the other materials being supplied by Dallaway's Sussex, Horsfield's Sussex,

VI

Dugdale's Baronage, and more particularly the very valuable volumes published by the Sussex Archseolo- gical Society. Some additions have been made and the authorities cited. I would take this opportunity of thanking my friends at Petworth for accurate information, either furnished me directly, or by means of my father, — himself the chief contributor, as to transactions in Petworth during the last century.

The Close, Chichester, April, 1864

PETWORTH.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction — Domesday Book — Eobert de Belesme — Queen Adeliza.

The iron time. — Scott,

While Petworth is characterized by the beauty of its scenery, the magnificence of its Park/ the number of its charitable institutions, and, more recently, by the treasures of art collected in Petworth House, the history of the place itself posesses, at least, as much interest as usually attaches to other towns, with which it may be fitly compared.

There is, too, another circumstance, which may commend its antiquities to every lover of English History, — the fact, that it has been connected, for many centuries, in an undisturbed line of succession, such as few places can lay claim to, with one of the most potent and distinguished families which the

* "We were charmed with the magnificence of the Park."

Walpole.

8 PETWOBTH.

baronage of England can treat of. He therefore who follows, in thought, the career of its earlier possessors, will find himself on almost ewerf battle field at home or abroad, with which the grandest historical associations of our country are inseparably united, as well as involved in the consideration of some of the most important political events which have affected the constitution of this realm.

When in later and less stirring times the mem- bers of this family made Petworth their more perma- nent residence, the beneficial effects thereby entailed upon the town will abundantly appear.

At what period Petworth received its distinctive appellation it is impossible now to determine, as is usual with the names of places, it occurs under vari- ous spellings. Its Saxon designation was Peteorde. In the Great Poll of the Pipe* it is written Pedewurda. In the Close Rollsf it occurs as Peitewurth. In the Itinerary of Edward I. it is mentioned as Putworth. In mediaeval times it is usually called Petteworth, and in a letter given in the Plumpton Correspon- dence,:}: temp* Henry VII., the Rector of Spofforth, then staying at Petworth House styles it Pettewoorth; but in another letter, dated four days after, the Earl of Northumberland spells it Petworth, as at the present time.

* I. Bio. i. also in the same Boll "Honor de Pedewrda."

t Bot. Claus. 6° Johann. (1204)

J ed. Stapleton. (Camd. Soc.) p. 200.

DOMESDAY. 9

In investigating the antiquities of a place there is of course, a desire to carry our researches as far back as possible; but the stern demand of history will not suffer us to overstep the boundary of inexorable fact. Petworth cannot boast of any re- mains of the Roman occupation of our island such as have been discovered at Bignor, Pulborough and other places* near the Stane Street, parts of which are still existing. It lies far to the left of this great road which, in Roman times, extended from Chi- chester to London.

The vast forest of Anderida covered this portion of Sussex during the Anglo Saxon period, and the Danes in their piratical invasions have left no certain vestiges of having penetrated hither.

We know that the men of Sussex heartily rallied round the standard of the brave but unfortunate Harold to repel the Norman invader. It has been supposed that some of those who dwelt at Petworth in the succeeding century may have been able to make a like boast with Hubert in Ivanhoe, "My grandsire drew a good long bow at the battle of Hastings." The names of certain holders of land in this vicinity mentioned in Domesday, render this by no means improbable.

With Domesday Book much of our local History begins, the photographic copies of it made by or

* Sussex, Arch. Coll. xi. 127,

10 PETWOKTH.

der of Her Majesty's Government have now render- ed its contents easily accessible. This survey tells us that Peteorde was an allodial or free manor held, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, by a Saxon lady named Eddeva or Edith. Robert* then held it of Earl Roger. It was rated at nine hides or about 1080 acres, of this land two hides, with two villains and one bordar, were held by two foreigners. At Peteorde there were then a church, one mill of 20s. and 29 acres of meadow, it had a wood capable of affording pannage, or provision for fattening 80 hogs, and it was required to supply 1620 eelsf which we may suppose were obtained from the Pother. Chi- chester was then as now the chief market for this district, and Petworth possessed at Chichester two hagaej or plots of ground with shops standing on them worth 16d. each. The value of the manor was £18. §

Almost all the land in England changed hands at the Conquest || and Petworth formed no exception.

* Kobert de Montgomeri usually called Kobert de Belesme from his large estates in Normandy.

t A favorite article of consumption at that time. Speaking of rent in eels, Sir H. Ellis in his Introduction to Domesday, observes that this was either paid numerically (as here), or by stiches or sticks, twenty-five to the stick, "stile ex XXV anguillis" At Leofminstre in Herefordshire 90 sticks of eels were paid to the King.

J "In Cicestre ii hagse de XYI den." Sudsexe p. 16.

§ It afterwards declined to 10s. a proof that it felt the effects of the Norman invasion ; but at the time of the survey it had re- turned to its former worth.

|| It is well known that William formed his expedition for the

NORMAN CRUELTIES. 11

The Norman baron who received it was one of the most distinguished men of his day, — Roger de Mont- gomeri was related to the Conqueror himself, he had served him in Normandy and he commanded the van of the Norman army at Hastings. His reward was great, he received from the King 157 manors or lordships 77 of which were in Sussex, and he was dignified by the titles of Earl of Chichester and Arundel to which was subsequently added that of Earl of Shrewsbury.

His eldest son Robert held the manor of Petworth under him. We know nothing of those who dwelt here at that time, but on the principle that the people of a place are affected by its ruler, our curiosity is excited to learn the character of him who then possessed it. This is fully described by a Norman contemporary historian, Ordericus Vitalis. Among the bad Norman Barons, whose fearful atrocities are recorded by the Neustrian Chroniclers, Robert de Belesme is shockingly preeminent. "He was a man of subtle genius55 says Ordericus, but "deceitful and wily, in person he was stout and of great strength, a fluent speaker and skilful mechanist but desperately

Conquest of England on the plan of a joint stock speculation, the barons who accompanied him were in case of success to receive a reward in land or fee proportional to their services. Each re- garded the estates which he received as property which he had carved out for himself, as appears from the practical answer of William de Warenne in the reign of Edward I. who when question- ed as to his right to the land which he held, — unsheathed a rusty gword, the weapon which his ancestor had wielded.

12 PETWOETH.

cruel, his avarice and lust were insatiable.5'* He thought little of depriving men of their sight or mutilating them by depriving them of their hands and feet.f It was his ordinary practice to torment not only those whom he considered his enemies ; but if he had the opportunity, those also whom he had treated as his friends. His wife, a lady of high lineage, could not endure him, he imprisoned her, but she contrived to escape and avoided him ever afterward. A god-child, the son of one of his friends, was entrusted to his care, this friend offended him, he wreaked his vengeance on the poor helpless child, whose eyes he tore out, with his own blood stained nails, J It was his custom to impale his prisoners up- on sharp stakes and then witness with delight their throes and death struggles. § Henry of Huntingdon speaks of him as "a monster of iniquity — a very Pluto, Megaera, Cerberus, or anything you can con- ceive still more horrible." He was commander in chief to the Red King,|| himself, cruel and merciless; but he revolted against Henry I, in favor of Robert with whom he sided at Tenchebrai, where he fled from the battle. One of his later deeds was that of attacking the town of Tournai, at which place he

* Ord. Vit. lib VIII. c. 5. t Ibid. c. 24.

J William of Malmesbury De Gestis Begum, lib. V. also Henry of Huntington. Letter to Walter. Ang. Sac.

§ Ibid. In 1008, more than 300 prisoners perished in his dungeons of hunger and cold. Ord. Vit. lib X. c, 7*

|| "Princeps Militia* Regis Willielmi Rufi."

DE BELESME'S FALL. 13

burned the Church with 45 persons who had sought refuge in it. But retribution at last overtook him. He held out as long as possible at Arundel and Shrewsbury, but was taken and Henry finding him, after repeated trials, perfectly unmanageable, finally condemned him to perpetual imprisonment, and he passed the remainder of his days in a dungeon. Thus Petworth was freed from him, and we can well believe the statement of a local historian, who says "All the Earls and every person holding under him, or in any way concerned with him in his numerous lordships, greatly rejoiced at his downfall, as they were certain they could not fall into worse hands."

The manor of Petworth was forfeited to the Crown by this baron's rebellion.

It next passed into queenly hands, King Henry I. bequeathed it to his second queen Adeliza or Alice la Belle, daughter of Godfrey surnamed Bar- batus or the Bearded. She married again, her next husband was William de Albini,* who received the Earldom of Arundel; but the Honor and Manor of Petworth was conveyed by gift from the Queen to

* This William requires a passing notice. He was called William with the strong hand, and was reputed the handsomest man of his time in England, if not in all Europe. History informs us that he was admired by the Qneens of both France and Eng- land, that the former lady fell in love with him, and invited him to a tournament in which he exeelled all his competitors; but that William remained constant to the English Queen, to whom he had pledged his troth, and on his return to England espoused her.

14 PETWORTH.

her brother Joceline de Louvaine (1140)* to be held of the Earls of Arundel by knight's service as being Castellan of Arundel Castle^f which in case of siege he was bound to defend for forty days.

We have no evidence that Joceline resembled most of the CastellansJ of his time and as the brother of the gentle and amiable Adeliza we may charitably hope the contrary ; but while considering the history of Petworth in connection with royalty and as be- longing to the descendants of Charlemagne,§ we are painfully reminded by a contemporary writer, that this was a period of almost unprecedented suffering, "the whole aspect of the country presented a scene of calamity and sorrow, misery and oppression."|| Foreign mercenaries desolated large districts, and

* This Charter confirmed by Henry I. when only Duke of Normandy (1152) is still in the possession of the Duke of North- umberland. "Henricus Dux Norman, et Aquit. Comes Andegav &c. confirms" J ocelino fratri regine Adelicie honorem de Pette- worth &c.

f Here Queen Adeliza received the Empress Maud on her landing and hospitably entertained her. G-esta Stephani.

% Fiction would not venture beyond such facts as these — "they filled them (the castles) with devils and evil men, then they took those whom they suspected to have goods, by night and by day, seizing both men and women and they put them in prison for their gold and silver and tortured them with pain3 unspeakable. They hung some up by their feet and smoked them with foul smoke, some by their thumbs or by the head and they hung burn- ing things to their feet. They put a knotted string about their heads and twisted it till it went into the brain. They put them into dungeons, wherein were adders and snakes and toads and thus wore them out." Sax. Chron. ad ann. 1137.

§ Adeliza and Joceline were descended lineally from the ancient Dukes of Brabant and Lower Lorraine and from the Kings of France sprung from the Emperor Charlemagne.

|| GestaSteph.

HOUSE OF PEECI. 15

when the miserable inhabitants had no more to give, then plundered they and burnt all the towns, so that well mightest thou walk a whole day's journey nor ever shouldest thou find a man seated in a town or its lands tilled, — wretched men starved with hunger, some lived on alms who had been rich before, — never was there more misery.*

CHAPTER II.

Lords of Petworth — Hotspur — Earls of Northumberland- Later Owners of the Honor and Manor.

Audire magnos jam videor duces. — Hor.

Speaking of the noble family of Perci, in his Worthies of England, Fuller observes that "for birth and valour it is equal to any subjects in Christen- dome." Joceline de Louvaine took the name of Perci, on his marriage with Agnes daughter of William de Perci, third in descent from the power- ful Baron of that name, who came to this country with the Conqueror. The Chroniclers agree in stating that this lady would consent to marry Joceline only upon condition that he should adopt it. Prom him were descended the lords of Petworth of this name, conspicuous in mediaeval history. These nobles of the Perci family were Barons of Petworth until 1377. t

* Sax. Chron.

t In 1377, Henry de Perci, Lord of Petworth, was created Earl of Northumberland. He was the father of Hotspur and as Mr. Blaauw (Baron's War) remarks, "by females the direct ances- tor of the late Earl of Egremont."

16 PETWORTH.

To Joceline* succeeded his son Henry de Perci who married Isabel, only daughter of Adam de Brus/f* Lord of Skelton; and received from his father-in-law the manor which formed her dower to be held by a singular but very easy tenure — "the lord being bound, every Christmas day, to lead the lady of Skelton castle from her chamber to mass and back, and after dining with her to depart." His brother Richard was one of the chief of the great barons who secured Magna Carta, and as one of the twenty five champions of English liberty appointed to enforce its observance, will be regarded as having

* "With the view of clearly distinguishing between the first house of Perci and the second, the reader is asked to excuse an ac- count of the former in the shape of a note. The house of Perci derived its descent from Mainfred, a Danish chieftain who made irruptions into Normandy before the sera of E olio's expedition thither, two centuries previous to the Conquest. (Dugdale.) Mainfred' s descendant William de Perci, who bore the name of "alsgernon," the same as "aux moustaches" or the whiskered, from the largeness of these facial appendages in which he delighted, came to England with Duke William and was much beloved by the Conqueror. He obtained 16| knight's fees of the Honor of Arundel (about 10,200 acres) and other large grants of land. With the ardent but mistaken piety of his time he took the cross at the call of Peter the Hermit, and marched beneath the banner which "Swept the shores of Judah's sea,

And waved in gales of G-alilee," but like many of his contemporaries in arms, he returned not to England, but ended his days near Jerusalem, in the first Crusade. His heart was interred at Whitby Abbey, His son Alan was father of William de Perci, one of the Barons who fought so successfully against the Scots at the Battle of the Standard, in defence of his country, and whose heiress Agnes, inherited the Perci estates and married Joceline de Louvaine.

f In a window, in the Perci chancel of Petworth Church, is the legend in Grothic characters "Perci and Brus" on a label of coloured glass, the shield above it has been taken away.

BATTLE OF LEWES. 17

earned a name most worthy of mention,*

The next lord William de Perci had twenty one knight's fees appertaining to the Honor of Petworth, as appears from the Scutage 8. Henry III. He died in 1245, and was buried in the abbey of Sallay in Yorkshire.

Henry de Perci, his son who succeeded him was conspicuous in the turbulent politics of his time, he gave to the king £900 for livery of his lands and the liberty of marrying whom he pleased, — Eleanor daughter of John Earl de Warenne was the object of his choice. His large possessions not only in the North, but here in Sussex gave him great influence in the baron's war ; and at the battle of Lewes he fought valiantly on the king's side, but shared in the rout of the royalists and was taken prisoner.f ob. 1272.

Henry the fifth Lord greatly distinguished him- self at the battle of Dunbar, and was in consequence made Governor of the South of Scotland. In 1300 he attached his seal to the celebrated letter to Pope Boniface VIII. declaring the independence of the crown of England of any earthly tribunal. This seal is represented on the title page. J He was present at

* Wendover ad. aim. 1215. For this he was excommunicated by Innocent III. Kymer's Foedera I, pt. I. 139.

t "quorum unus erat Dominus Henricus de Perci, unus de melioribus in regno." Chr. Dover, quoted in Baron's War 175. Mat. Paris ad ann. 1264.

J The lion rampant of the Percies was conspicuous in almost

18 PETWORTH.

the disastrous battle of Bannockburn and died 1315.

Henry, his son was a yet more renowned warrior; knighted by the King at York (1322), he subse- quently favoured Queen Isabel, and after the acces- sion of Edward III. was much in France as an ambassador. He aided in defeating the Scots at Halidon Hill, and the next day was made Governor of Berwick. He was present at the great naval vic- tory of Sluys and at the siege of Dunbar, and crowned his successes at the hard fought field of Neville's Cross, near Durham, where he commanded the first division of the English army, which utterly defeated the Scots and took prisoner their king, who had invaded England, during the absence of Edward III., then before Calais. In the true spirit of a me- diaeval historiographer the Author of the Chronicle of Lanercost compares this Lord of Petworth, thus defending his country, to the Jewish hero of the Apocrypha,* — another Judas Maccabeus. He was buried f in the Priory of Alnwick, 1352.

Henry de Perci the seventh lord engaged in the expedition which ended in the memorable battle of Creci; was entrusted with the custody of David

every encounter of the time.

"Jaune o un bleu lyon rampant Fu sa baniere bien vuable." Siege of Caerlaverock, 1300.

* Dominus Henricus de Percy ut alter Judas Machabeus filius Matathise, bonus prceliator. "Chron. Lanercost" ad ann. 1346.

t The very beautiful monument to his wife Idonea, in Beverley Church is commonly called the Percy shrine.

WYCLIFS TRIAL. 19

Bruce ; and was one of the witnesses to the treaties of peace, made at Bretagne and Paris. He died on Ascension Day, 1368.

The fate of several members of this illustrious house was, henceforth, singularly unfortunate. Henry the eighth lord of Petworth was created Earl of Northumberland by Bichard II. From this date a series of catastrophes ensue. This Henry de Perci married Margaret daughter of Balph Lord Neville of Baby and became the father of Hotspur, on whose history I must ask leave for a digression. A circumstance of great historical interest in the life of Lord Perci, however, first calls for our attention. It occurred a few months before he was created Earl.

In February, 1377, Wyclif the great reformer, who had been cited to defend his doctrines, at St. Paul's, proceeded thither, with four friars ; attended by John of Gaunt and the Lord Perci, Earl Marshal of England : the political opponent of Courtney, Bishop of London, who was most active against Wyclif. An immense concourse crowded St. Paul's to witness the proceedings. From the known ani- mosity of those on either side, the tumultuous scene which followed might have been anticipated. — The Earl Marshal was attended by a numerous retinue, and forced his way through the press into the cathe- dral, at which the Bishop, seeing "the stir that the the lord marshal kept" said, that "if he had known what maistries he would have kept in the church he

20 PETWOKTH.

would have stopped him out from coming there/' the Duke disdaining this not a little replied, "that he would keep such a maistry there, though he said nay." This was an ominous commencement. — When Wyclif came before the tribunal, the lord Perci told him "to sit down for he had many things to answer for and needed a soft seat." Courtney took this as an insult and declared that Wyclif should not sit there. —The Duke backed the Earl Marshal and a violent altercation ensued, which at length rose to such a height that John of Gaunt spoke of plucking Court- ney "out of the church by the hair of his head." The Londoners at this time greatly disliked the Duke; in some of his measures they thought that he had a design upon their liberties, and now they were indignant at such conduct towards their bishop ; rather than he should be touched, they said, they would lose their lives. The assembly broke up in confusion and thus suddenly Wyclif 's trial came to an end.

But the next day's proceedings were yet more violent and give us a forcible illustration of the man- ners of that age. A bill posted in the city, on which Lord Perci's name appeared, excited the anger of the Londoners yet further, both against him and against the Duke; they assaulted his Palace, the Savoy, murdered a clerk there, whom they mistook for the Earl Marshal, and reversed the Duke's arms as those of a traitor, — they went to the house of Lord

PKECIPITATE FLIGHT. 21

Perci and broke into it, with the intention of killing him, they made diligent search for him with bills and javelins, thrusting into all corners and tearing beds and hangings asunder ; — but the Earl Marshal was not there, fortunately for him. He was with the duke.

"Old John of Gaunt, time honoured Lancaster," had gone to Ipres inn. One John de Ipres had in- vited him to dinner. Lord Perci and he were begin- ing to make themselves comfortable, when in rushed a breathless messenger — the Londoners were upon them. Up jumped the Duke "being then at his oysters/5* and tumbling over a form broke "both his shins, for haste." Lord Perci, being perhaps more active, got off with a whole skin. They both ran for their lives, reached the river, took boat and did not stay till they arrived at Kingston. Lord Perci soon after resigned the Office of Earl Marshal.

Hotspur was this baron's eldest son. He will con- tinue to be regarded as the impersonation of intem- perate audacity, unrestrained passion and reckless courage, so long as our great national dramatist, Shakspere,f shall find readers, and when it is re- membered that the sword, £ which he wielded at

* So says Foxe. Walsingham's statement is "relicto prandio, fugerunt."

t Allusion was made, in the lecture, to the circumstance of the year being Shakspere's tercentenary.

X "Here draw I

A sword whose temper I intend to stain. With the best blood that I can meet withal,

22 PETWOETH.

Shrewsbury, is still preserved in Petworth House ; and that when he fell fighting on that fatal field, he was heir to the Honor and Manor of Petworth, it will be permitted us, here, to dwell a little upon the career of this hero.

The greater part of his life was spent in the ser- vice of his country, and until a few days before his revolt, he was so engaged. When he took up arms against Henry IV., he had been unjustly treated by that king, who mainly owed his crown to him and to his father,* — one who was himself an usurper and whose usurpation entailed upon England all the bloodshed of the Wars of the Eoses. We become too, more interested in the biography of Hotspur, when we reflect that his venture was indeed a great one; for had he succeeded, as was nearly the case, he would have changed the whole constitution of this realm ; and whatever credence may be given to the celebrated tripartite* division of England between himself, Glendower and Mortimer, which is now usually considered a fiction ; from the knowledge which we have of his character we may be certain that, had he conquered, he would have secured, if

In the adventure of this perilous day. Now JSsperance I Percy, and set on : Sound all the lofty instruments of war ; And by that music let us all embrace : For (heav'n to earth) some of us never shall A second time do such a courtesie."

Henry IY. Part I. Act 5. Scene 5,

* Hall, Henry IV. third yerc.

SWORD USED BY HOTSPUR

At the Battle of Shrewsbury,

LENT BY LORD LECONFIELD,

For the purpose of being engraved for this work,

Prom a Photograph by F. G. Morgan, Petworth

HOTSPUR. 23

not the lion's share, at least, what he considered his fair portion of the spoil.

Holinshed the old Chronicler tells us that "Henry- Percy was surnamedj/rom his of ten pricking , Harry Hotspur ; as one who seldom rested if there were service to be done abroad." The testimony of opponents is always valuable. — This appellation was given him by the Scots. "Bloody with spurring, fiery red with speed," he is always spoken of by writers of his time, as full of zeal and activity. Shakspere* thus plays upon his name, with the addi- tion that he early earned it. "Saith he young Harry- Percy's spur was cold, — of Hotspur, Coldspur." In the reign of Eichard II., he was entrusted with high commands, not only from his influential connections ; but from his own intrinsic ability. He was often employed against the Scots, and when Calais was threatened with a siege by the King of France, from his known military skill he was sent to its defence ; but as the siege was deferred, he became very im- patient, made several incursions into Picardy, to fill

* By a comparison of Shakspere with the Chronicler Hall, it will at once be seen, that the poet chiefly borrows from him. Altho' recent investigations have shewn that Shakspere is incorrect with respect to some facts relating to Hotspur, yet his sketch of him, is, as a whole, an accurate one. Perhaps the most valuable of the Chronicles which can be consulted on the subject is that of Hardyng, who became a retainer of Hotspur at the age of twelve and was with him at Homildon and Shrewsbury. In addition we have five original letters written by Hotspur himself, published by Sir H. Nicolas in the Acts of the Privy Council.

24 PETWORTH.

up his time, and gained much booty,* and at length returned to England, vexed with the delay. As Lord "Warden of the Marches and Governor of Berwick, he was fully occupied and served again in France with success.

After the accession of Henry IV., he was again Governor of Berwick, Warden of the Marches, Chief Justice of N. "Wales and Cheshire, and Constable of the Castles of Chester, Flint, Conway, and Caer- narvon. The ruins of some of these fortresses we still behold. With Owen Glendower, his subsequent ally, he then waged war.

At the battle of Homildon (1402) Hotspur defeat- ed the army of the Scots, consisting of 40,000 men and captured many prisoners of rank and fortune. "Mordake the Earl of Fife, and eldest son To beaten Douglas, and the Earls of Athol, Of Murray, Angus, and Menteith," who had "brent the lande by South ."t

Shakspere describes Hotspur after this battle, as "breathless and faint and leaning on his sword*" disgusted at the effeminacy of a court-messenger — himself a blunt, rough soldier, and he assigns as a reason for his revolt, his being defrauded by the king, of the ransom of these prisoners; this was doubtless one cause of the rupture between them;

* "He had a gret jornay upon the Picardis, and Tbrout fro hem a gret pray." Capgrave, 243. t Hardyng, 359.

HOTSPUR'S LETTERS. 25

*but Hotspur's own letters written just before the battle of Shrewsbury supply the proximate reason. These letters are written in Norman French, the usual language of correspondence of the period and are quite in keeping with the character assigned to this illustrious scion of the house of Perci.

Their general tenor is complaint. Large sums of money were due to him,t from the king and council, for the pay of troops. He seems to consider the king as treating him unfairly and as being biassed against him by certain members of the council, — and in the last letter, written only a few days before the battle, he threatens to resign his command unless some of the arrears were paid. It is clear that Henry ill requited the services of the Earl and his son in raising him to the throne, and followed the plausible counsel of others who had done less for him ; but had gained his ear. The anger of Hotspur, in con- sequence, at length culminated and hurried him on to combat with his sovereign, even to the death. Every reader of our great poet has vivid impressions

* So says Hardyng, who had good opportunity of knowing, "at the batail of Shrwesbury, I wase with hym armed of XXV yere of age, as I had bene afore at Homildon, Cokelawe, and at divers rodes and feeldes." Chron. 351.

t Acts of Privy Council Yols. i. 151 — 158. ii. 57. In the last and most characteristic letter, Hotspur though good with the sword distrusts his skill with the pen, he excuses himself as writ- ing in "a royde et feble manere," and concludes by stating that his soldiers were in such distress that without providing a remedy he neither could nor dared go to the Marches, and therefore requests the Council to take such measures as they might think proper.

26 PETWORTH.

of the scenes connected with, the battle of Shrews- bury, (July 21st, 1403,) of Falstaff on the march with his troop of ragged substitutes, through whom he put money into his own pocket and of whom he said himself "No eye hath seen such scarecrows." With this Prince Henry's observation corresponded, "1 did never see such pitiful rascals ;"* but the fat man was not easily abashed,

"Tut, Tut, Good enough to toss, Food for powder, Food for powder, They'll fill a pit, as well as better, Tush man, — Mortal men, mortal men." What can be more amusing than his soliloquy, when after leading his raw recruits where he knows "they will get well peppered," he feigns death him- self, and then seeing Hotspur fall near him, fears lest he too should be shamming — although the end of such a patriot is deserving of all honor, we cannot help smiling at the train of thought which Shak- speare represents as passing through the mind of this most inimitable character.

"Zounds I am afraid of this gunpowder Percy, though he be dead — How if he should counterfeit too and rise ? I am afraid he would prove the better

* In striking contrast with these are the picked men of Hotspur's army.

"With Percy was the Erie of Worcester With nyne thousonde of gentyls all that wer. Of knyghtes, squyers, and chosen yomanry, And archers fyne, mthouten Hascaldry"

MS8. Lansd.

SHREWSBURY FIELD. 27

counterfeit ; therefore I'll make him sure ; yea, and I'll swear I killed him. Why may not he rise as well as I ? Nothing confutes me but eyes ; and no body sees me. Therefore, sirrah with a new wound in your thigh, come you along with me."

Despite the claim of Falstaff and Prince Henry to having killed Hotspur, the manner of his death is uncertain. Speed the Chronicler says, that "he was killed by an unknown hand." Capgrave an exceed- ingly quaint writer puts it thus, "Herri Percy, after the properte of his name, percid or pressed in so fer, that he was ded, and no man wist of whom." Hotspur's death decided the contest.* When the cry was raised by the royalists "Henry Percy is dead" "the Scots fled, the Welshmen ran," and the whole of his army broke up in confusion.f The Earl of Worcester J and Sir Eobert Vernon, who fell into the hands of the king, were beheaded on the follow- ing Monday. Hotspur was slain in the 41st year of his age.§

* Both Hall & Grafton describe the engagement and give, at length, the challenge previously sent by the confederates to the king.

t The commencement had been in Hotspur's favour, the volleys of his archers caused dreadful carnage among the king's troops. "They fell" says Walsingham "as the leaves fall on the ground after a frosty night, at the approach of winter. There was no room for the arrows to reach the ground, every one struck a mortal man." The battle continued for three hours with indifferent success. Hall.

X "Unkyll onto the same Herry." Capgrave.

§ Hotspur's wife, Shakspere's "Grentle Kate," the Lady Eliza- beth Mortimer, daughter of Edmund Earl of March, afterwards married Thomas Lord Camois, and is represented with him on a very beautiful brass in Trotton Church, Sussex. It was no doubt Petworth which brought her into this neighbourhood.

28 PETWOKTH.

How formidable he had been in life, may be inferred from the fact that even after his burial, his remains were not suffered to rest in peace. His dis- interment is a curious instance of the barbarity of the period. "Forasmoche as som peple seyde that Sr Herry Percy was alyve he was taken up ayen out of his grave and bounden upright between to mille stones, that all men might se that he was ded." (Chron. Lond.)

The fate of his father, the Earl of Northumber- land, a veritable king maker, who must however be censured for his betrayal of Richard II., was no less tragical. After Hotspur's death, he rebelled again, was beheaded, his head then white with years was sent to London, and his dismembered limbs were affixed to the walls of four towns far distant from each other.

The second Earl of Northumberland, Hotspur's son, was restored to his honors by Henry V., and ap- pointed constable of England. He became a faithful adherent of the Lancastrian party, and was slain in that cause at the first battle of St. Alban's, 1455. He is supposed to be the Earl Percy, sung of in the long popular ballad of Chevy Chase, which has however in its fine passages,* historical difficulties,

* What its effect was on one of our greatest heroes, himself a model of chivalry, we learn from his own words, "I never heard the old song of Percy and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet." Sir Philip Sidney. Defence of Poesie.

CHEVY CHASE. 29

insuperable. The Earl is represented as slain by a Scottish knight.

"Sir Hugh Mountgomery was he call'd, Who with a spere most bright, Well mounted on a gallant steed, Kan fiercely through the fight ;

And past the English archers all,

Without all dread or feare ; And through Earl Percye's body then

He thrust his hatefull spere ;

With such a vehement force and might

He did his body gore, The staff ran through the other side

A large cloth yard, and more."

But the Earl Percy thus slain, lived afterwards, to fall at St. Albans. It is difficult to kill a man twice, and there is no other Earl of this line, to whom the circumstances of the ballad will apply.*

Henry, third Earl, was born at Leconfield, 1421, was knighted by Henry VI., and continued faithful to the cause of the Red Eose. He was Captain General for Queen Margaret in the North, and com- manded the Lancastrians at the battle of Towton,

* Fuller is at great pains to prove this, "not in praise of the exploits of this line," he says "for what need a good head of hair wear a periwig ; but that it should not be beholden to an untruth to commend its martial achievements.' ' His son Thomas Percy, born at Leconfield, first Lord Egremont, was created Baron 1449, and was slain at Northampton, 1460. (Dugdale.)