1818.] Stafford--Suffolk--Surrey--Sussex--Warwick-Westm.--Wilts. STAFFORDSHIRE. A child at Burton-on-Trent was lately poisoned, and died, owing to eating the seeds of the plant called stramonium, or thorn apple. Married.] At Gondhurst, J. O. Crewe, esq. only son of the Rev. O. C. of Muxton, to Miss C. Lake, daughter of Captain L. R. N. C. B. and niece of Sir James L. bart. Died.] At Litchfield, Elizabeth, relict of the late Rev. S. Davenport, of Horsley, 61. At Newark, Mr. Wm. Collins, 78. He fought with General Wolfe at Quebec. At the Friary, Litchfield, Mrs. Bailey, relict of T. B. B. esq. of Hope Hall, near Manchester, 70. SUFFOLK. From the report made at the annual meeting of the Suffolk Society, holden at Stowmarket, it appears, that the number of children in the central schools amounted by the last return to 509. That there are now 127 schools, besides the central schools, connected with the society, and that 19 of these, containing 953 children, have been united since the last annual meeting; and that the total number receiving instruction in schools connected with the society, including those in the central schools, amounts to 7889, making an increase within the year of 534. The Ipswich Humane Society have voted a silver medal to Master Edward Acton, aged 13, for having preserved the life of Jonathan Archer, a boy eight years old, on the 20th July last; who must otherwise inevitably have been drowned. The inscription upon the medal is as follows:-"The reward of feelings possessed by a youth, more alive to the danger of others than of himself." The furze on Sutton Walks, near Woodbridge, lately caught fire, from some turf left burning, and about 100 acres were consumed. Nearly a tumbril load of rabbits, hares, and partridges were collected afterwards, scorched to death. Married.] At Woodbridge, the Rev. Mr. Strong, son of Dr. S. Archdeacon of Peterborough, to the only daughter of the late Rev. G. Skeeles, of Peterborough. Mr. S. Sparke, to Miss M. Jannings, second daughter of M. J. of Pakenham. At Ipswich, Mr. J. B. Batley, to Miss Maria Tayer, both of that place.-Mr. John May, of Ipswich, to Miss Bunnell, daughter of Mr. Z. B. of London. Died.] Mrs. Mayhew, wife of R. M. esq. of Orwell place, Ipswich, 62. At Southtown, Mr. Wm. Tyler, wine merchant. Mr. John Steward, merchant, of Ipswich, 67. At Bury, John Blomefield, gent. of Ashen, 47. He went to bed in apparent good health, but was found next morning a corpse! At Blaxhall, 84, Mr. Wm. Tebbenham, sen. many years a respectable farmer there. Suddenly at Norton, near Woolpit, P, 287 Chambers, esq. 81, one of the capital burgesses of the corporation of Bury. The Rev. M. Hayward, B.D. and for more than 36 years vicar of Lakenheath, 65. Mr. Stephen Jackson, 43 years proprietor and editor of the Ipswich Journal, 71. At Rougham, the Rev. Roger Kedington, 68. At Exning, Mr. Ashby, the celebrated writing engraver, 75. SURREY. Married.] At Camberwell, Mr. Sheppard, of Counter street, Borough, to Harriet, eldest daughter of T. Bond, esq. of Peckham. Died.] At Ashted Park, the lady of R. Howard, esq. 73. She was daughter of William Viscount Andover. At Kingston-upon-Thames, E. Taylor, the youngest daughter of Mr. T. surgeon, of that town, 18. SUSSEX. Mr. Wells, a considerable farmer near Shoreham, lately experienced a heavy loss, occasioned by ordering the stubble in his corn-fields to be burnt, for the purpose of manuring the land. The dry state of the stubble caused the flame to spread like wildfire, and to rage with unabated fury, until it had consumed his barns, implements of husbandry, and all the corn which the season had produced him, with some wheat of last year's growth, in barns; and it was not without some difficulty that his dwellinghouse was preserved. Mr. Well's loss is estimated at between three and four thou sand pounds. Of his farming implements the fire left him only one plough. Died.] At Brighton, 85, P. Metcalfe, esq. late of Hill street, Berkeley square, and formerly M. P. for Plympton and Horsham. In his 27th year, the Rev. J. M. Sclatter, rector of Terwich. WARWICKSHIRE. The extensive new steam mills, in Fazely street, Birmingham, were destroyed by fire on the 18th, by which calamity a great number of people will be deprived of employment through the winter. Birth.] At Ashted Row, near Birmingham, the lady of Captain Sleigh, of the 99th regiment, of a son and heir. Married.] Mr. G. Stowe, to Charlotte, daughter of Mr. Stowe, of the High street, in Warwick. Died.] In Coventry, Mrs. Eliz. Mundy, relict of the Rev. R. M. of Kenilworth. Mr. Abraham Thornton, sen. farmer, of Castle Broomwich, father of A. Thornton, tried and acquitted of the murder of Mary Ashford. WESTMORELAND. Died.] At Ferney Green, Windermere, Robert Allan, esq. banker, of Edinburgh, aged 72, and several years printer and publisher of the Caledonian Mercury. WILTSHIRE. Married.] Mr. John Young, son of R. 288 Worcestershire-Yorkshire-Wales-Scotland. 1794. At Dudley, Stourbridge, &c. the iron trade was never known so brisk as it is at this moment; the foreign orders are so great, that it is impossible to get through them with sufficient celerity; and the pipes and other apparatus connected with gas works give employment to a vast number of hands. The nail trade is also so brisk, that the masters at Dudley and Stourbridge have recently raised the wages of their workmen. Mr. Knight, of this county, has purchased the allotment (10,000 acres,) given in right of the crown on Exmoor Forest, for 50,000l. The property is near Simond's Bath, and the greater part is to be inclosed by a wall, in the centre of which a handsome residence is to be built. Married.] At Inkborough, J. H. Forbes, esq. of Mecklenburgh square, London, son of J. F. esq. of Waterton, to Joanna C. second daughter of the Rev. Wm. Heath, vicar of Inkborough. F. Finch, esq. of Dudley, to Eliza, second daughter of D. Rogers, esq. of Wassell Grove. Died.] At Worcester, T. Price, esq. an eminent solicitor, 65. Of a rapid decline, the wife of N. Hart land, jun. esq. banker, of Evesham, and only surviving daughter of R. S. Harford, esq. of the Ebbw Vale Iron Works, Monmouthshire. At the Blanquets, near Worcester, John Brown, esq. deservedly regretted. Aged 79, Mr. Wm. Allen, Worcester. [Oct 1. Birth.] At Trafford Park, the lady of T. Married] At Leeds, Mr. J. Thompson, of Ripon, to Miss E. Pickersgill, of Leeds. At Wakefield, W. Hawkes, esq. of Bishop Stortford, to the third daughter of the Rev. T. Johnstone, of Wakefield. At Over Silton, Mr. J. Marshall, to Miss C. Ruinford. Died] At Stockwith, Mrs. Hewitt, widow, 90. At Knaresbro', Mrs. Calvert, relict of Mr. R. C. 76. At York, Mrs. Alice Forster, 62. At Banner Cross, near Sheffield, Lieut. Gen. Murray. The Rev. T. Starkie, vicar of Blackburn for 38 years, 65. At Ferry, near Gainsboro', aged 104 years and 6 months, perfectly sensible and in good health to the last, Mrs. B. Dodgson. WALES. Births.] The lady of the Rev. G. Venables, rector of Machynlleth, of a daughter. The lady of W. T. Davies, esq. of Voilallt, Cardiganshire, of a son and heir. Married.] At Llangollen, Miss M. A. Matthews, to N. W. Heathcote, esq. third son of Sir J. H. of Longton Hall, Staffordshire. At Prees, Mr. D. Lanceley, to Miss Whitfield, of Darlaston. Mr. John Parry, post-master, of Holywell, to Mrs. Jones, relict of the late Mr. J. J. Died.] Mrs. Watkins, wife of Mr. J. C. Watkins, printer, Abergavenny. At Bangor, Mr. T. J. Marriot, of Jesus coll. youngest son of J. M. esq. Thorney Hall, Stowupland, Suffolk, 23. 59. At Brynmadin, Miss Loyd, of Tilston. At Wrexham, Mr. Wilkinson, surgeon, Julia, daughter of the Rev. T. Watkins, of Brecon. While walking with Mr. Wood (son of the Member) she fractured her arm in going over a stile, which occasioned her death. SCOTLAND. At the commencement of the herring fishery in Caithness, this season, twelve barrels were sent from Thurso to Leith, from whence they were exported to Hamburgh, where they sold for 144 guineas. A single herring sold at the extraordinary price of 28. 8d.! Married.] At Edinburgh, C. Kane, M. D. late of the Medical Staff of the Mediterranean army, to the daughter of the late Governor Campbell, of Fort George, and of Melford, in Argyleshire. Died.] At Argyle House, the Rt. Hon. Lady Caroline Gordon, second daughter of the Earl of Aberdeen. At Edinburgh, on the 8th inst, the Hon. W. Charteris, second son of the Earl of Wemyss and March. At Dundee, in his 100th year, J. Fraser, Printed by J. Gillet, Crown-court, Flect-street, London. Du whom hemy the Eighth confirmed the Adbowry of the Cheshire Minstrels. FROM AN ORIGINAL PAINTING, IN THE POSSESSION OF MR. GUNNERY, OF LIVERPOOL. ON THE PECULIAR custom of LICENS- lowing curious notice is found in Cow ING THE MINSTRELS OF CHESHIRE. DURING the sanguinary feuds on the Welsh borders, which succeeded the conquest, and which continued more than two centuries, Randle Blundeville, the celebrated Earl Palatine of Chester, and founder of the then impregnable Castle of Beeston, was besieged in the Castle of Rhuddlan by a numerous ariny of Cambro-Britons. He immediately dispatched a messenger to his constable, Roger Lacy, Baron of Halton, who in the exigency of the moment assembled at Chester-it being the time of the Fair -a great body of idle and dissolute persons, including all the Minstrels, Fiddlers, and Players then present; and a considerable number of women" and debauched persons;" with these he marched to the Earl's relief. The appearance of this motley multitude operated strongly on the fears of the Welsh, who fled in all directions; and Randle returned to his Capital in triumph. As a reward for the signal service thus rendered, the Earl gave to Roger Lacy "power over all the fiddlers and shoemakers in Cheshire." The constable, however, presented his steward, Dutton of Dutton, with the authority over the fiddlers, players, &c. reserving only to himself the right over the shoemakers. The terms of the subsequent confirmation of the Duttons are thus stated in the original deed: "Sciant præsentes et futuri, quod ego Johannes Constabularius Cestriæ, et hac præsenti Charta mea confirmavi, Hugoni de Dutton, et Hæredibus suis, Magistratum omnium LECCATORUM ET MERETRICUM totius Cestershiriæ, sicut liberius illum Magistratum teneo de Comite; Salvo jure meo mihi, Hæredibus meis, &c. &c." This right was exercised by the Duttons, and their representatives the Gerards and Fleetwoods, as long as they continued in possession of the Dutton Estate; and though not originally attached to the estate, but vested in the heirs of Dutton, it appears, nevertheless, to have been alienated with it. The fol per's MSS. and quoted by Mr. Ormerod in his history of Cheshire, from which it is now extracted: "In this Mayoralty, Matthew Ellis, of Overleigh, and Thomas Browne, of Netherleigh, within the precincts of the City of Sir Piers Dutton of Dutton; the two wedChester, having each married a daughter of dings were kept at the same time and with much festivity at Dutton Hall, from whence the gentlemen brought their brides, on Tuesday the 24th of June, which being the feast of St. John the Baptist, and the day upon which the Minstrelsy of the City and County are annually licensed at Chester, by the Lord of Dutton, the company beforementioned were met on their return from Dutton Hall, near Flowersbrook-bridge, by suivant and standard bearer of that family, the steward of Dutton, attended by the pureach properly habited, and having the insignia used at that Midsummer solemnity, preceded by all the licensed musicians with white scarves across their shoulders, ranked in pairs, and playing on their several instruments. This procession marched before the gentlemen and their guests, quite through the City, to their respective mansions, where plentiful entertainment was provided on the occasion." middle of the last century, held annually The Minstrels' courts were, to the at Chester on St. John the Baptist's day, by the heir, or Lord of Dutton, or his steward. A banner, emblazoned with the Dutton arms, was hung out of the window of the Inn where the Court was held, and a drummer proclaimed in the streets the important sitting, summoning all persons concerned to appear in the Court. At eleven o'clock a procession follows:was formed, and moved from the Inn as Licensed · A Band of Music, Two Trumpeters, his tabard emblazoned with the arms of The Lord or Heir of Dutton, * He succeeded his father Hugh Caviliog attended by the Gentry of the County and in 1181. City, on horseback. |