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to the Duchess Dowager of Buckinghamshire; the present Duke of

Manchester retiring to his ancient family seat at Kimbolton in

Huntingdonshire; it being a much finer residence。  His grace is

lately married to a daughter of the Duke of Montagu by a branch of

the house of Marlborough。



Four market towns fill up the rest of this part of the country …

Dunmow; Braintree; Thaxted; and Coggeshall … all noted for the

manufacture of bays; as above; and for very little else; except I

shall make the ladies laugh at the famous old story of the Flitch

of Bacon at Dunmow; which is this:



One Robert Fitzwalter; a powerful baron in this county in the time

of Henry III。; on some merry occasion; which is not preserved in

the rest of the story; instituted a custom in the priory here: That

whatever married man did not repent of his being married; or

quarrel or differ and dispute with his wife within a year and a day

after his marriage; and would swear to the truth of it; kneeling

upon two hard pointed stones in the churchyard; which stones he

caused to be set up in the Priory churchyard for that purpose; the

prior and convent; and as many of the town as would; to be present;

such person should have a flitch of bacon。



I do not remember to have read that any one ever came to demand it;

nor do the people of the place pretend to say; of their own

knowledge; that they remember any that did so。  A long time ago

several did demand it; as they say; but they know not who; neither

is there any record of it; nor do they tell us; if it were now to

be demanded; who is obliged to deliver the flitch of bacon; the

priory being dissolved and gone。



The forest of Epping and Hainault spreads a great part of this

country still。  I shall speak again of the former in my return from

this circuit。  Formerly; it is thought; these two forests took up

all the west and south part of the county; but particularly we are

assured; that it reached to the River Chelmer; and into Dengy

Hundred; and from thence again west to Epping and Waltham; where it

continues to be a forest still。



Probably this forest of Epping has been a wild or forest ever since

this island was inhabited; and may show us; in some parts of it;

where enclosures and tillage has not broken in upon it; what the

face of this island was before the Romans' time; that is to say;

before their landing in Britain。



The constitution of this forest is best seen; I mean as to the

antiquity of it; by the merry grant of it from Edward the Confessor

before the Norman Conquest to Randolph Peperking; one of his

favourites; who was after called Peverell; and whose name remains

still in several villages in this county; as particularly that of

Hatfield Peverell; in the road from Chelmsford to Witham; which is

supposed to be originally a park; which they called a field in

those days; and Hartfield may be as much as to say a park for doer;

for the stags were in those days called harts; so that this was

neither more nor less than Randolph Peperking's Hartfield … that is

to say; Ralph Peverell's deer…park。



N。B。 … This Ralph Randolph; or Ralph Peverell (call him as you

please); had; it seems; a most beautiful lady to his wife; who was

daughter of Ingelrick; one of Edward the Confessor's noblemen。  He

had two sons by her … William Peverell; a famed soldier; and lord

or governor of Dover Castle; which he surrendered to William the

Conqueror; after the battle in Sussex; and Pain Peverell; his

youngest; who was lord of Cambridge。  When the eldest son delivered

up the castle; the lady; his mother; above named; who was the

celebrated beauty of the age; was it seems there; and the Conqueror

fell in love with her; and whether by force or by consent; took her

away; and she became his mistress; or what else you please to call

it。  By her he had a son; who was called William; after the

Conqueror's Christian name; but retained the name of Peverell; and

was afterwards created by the Conqueror lord of Nottingham。



This lady afterwards; as is supposed; by way of penance for her

yielding to the Conqueror; founded a nunnery at the village of

Hatfield Peverell; mentioned above; and there she lies buried in

the chapel of it; which is now the parish church; where her memory

is preserved by a tombstone under one of the windows。



Thus we have several towns; where any ancient parks have been

placed; called by the name of Hatfield on that very account。  As

Hatfield Broad Oak in this county; Bishop's Hatfield in

Hertfordshire; and several others。



But I return to King Edward's merry way; as I call it; of granting

this forest to this Ralph Peperking; which I find in the ancient

records; in the very words it was passed in; as follows。  Take my

explanations with it for the sake of those that are not used to the

ancient English:





The Grant in Old English。



IChe EDWARD Koning;

Have given of my Forrest the kepen of the Hundred of CHELMER and

DANCING。

To RANDOLPH PEPERKING;

And to his kindling。

With Heorte and Hind; Doe and Bocke;

Hare and Fox; Cat and Brock;

Wild Fowle with his Flock;

Patrich; Pheasant Hen; and Pheasant Cock;

With green and wild Stub and Stock;

To kepen and to yemen with all her might。

Both by Day; and eke by Night;

And Hounds for to hold;

Good and Swift and Bold:

Four Greyhound and six Raches;

For Hare and Fox; and Wild Cattes;

And therefore Iche made him my Book。

Witness the Bishop of WOLSTON。

And Booke ylrede many on;

And SWEYNE of ESSEX; our Brother;

And taken him many other

And our steward HOWLEIN;

That BY SOUGHT me for him。





The Explanation in Modern English





I Edward the king;

Have made ranger of my forest of Chelmsford hundred and Deering

hundred;

Ralph Peverell; for him and his heirs for ever;

With both the red and fallow deer。

Hare and fox; otter and badger;

Wild fowl of all sorts;

Partridges and pheasants;

Timber and underwood roots and tops;

With power to preserve the forest;

And watch it against deer…stealers and others:

With a right to keep hounds of all sorts;

Four greyhounds and six terriers;

Harriers and foxhounds; and other hounds。

And to this end I have registered this my grant in the crown rolls

or books;

To which the bishop has set his hand as a witness for any one to

read。

Also signed by the king's brother (or; as some think; the

Chancellor Sweyn; then Earl or Count of Essex)。

He might call such other witnesses to sign as he thought fit。

Also the king's high steward was a witness; at whose request this

grant was obtained of the king。





There are many gentlemen's seats on this side the country; and a

great assembly set up at New Hall; near this town; much resorted to

by the neighbouring gentry。  I shall next proceed to the county of

Suffolk; as my first design directed me to do。



From Harwich; therefore; having a mind to view the harbour; I sent

my horses round by Manningtree; where there is a timber bridge over

the Stour; called Cataway Bridge; and took a boat up the River

Orwell for Ipswich。  A traveller will hardly understand me;

especially a seaman; when I speak of the River Stour and the River

Orwell at Harwich; for they know them by no other names than those

of Manningtree water and Ipswich water; so while I am on salt

water; I must speak as those who use the sea may understand me; and

when I am up in the country among the inland towns again; I shall

call them out of their names no more。



It is twelve miles from Harwich up the water to Ipswich。  Before I

come to the town; I must say something of it; because speaking of

the river requires it。  In former times; that is to say; since the

writer of this remembers the place very well; and particularly just

before the late Dutch wars; Ipswich was a town of very good

business; particularly it was the greatest town in England for

large colliers or coal…ships employed between Newcastle and London。

Also they built the biggest ships and the best; for the said

fetching of coals of any that were employed in that trade。  They

built; also; there so prodigious strong; that it was an ordinary

thing for an Ipswich collier; if no disaster happened to him; to

reign (as seamen call it) forty or fifty years; and more。



In the town of Ipswich the masters of these ships generally dwelt;

and there were; as they then told me; above a hundred sail of them;

belonging to the town at one time; the least of which carried

fifteen score; as they compute it; that is; 300 chaldron of coals;

this was about the year 1668 (when I first knew the place)。  This

made the town be at that time so populous; for those masters; as

they had good ships at sea; so they had large families who lived

plentifully; and in very good houses in the town; and several

streets were chiefly inhabited by such。



The loss or decay of this trade accounts for the present pretended

decay of the town o

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