Celia Fiennes

“ All ye avenues to ye house are fine walkes of rows of trees, ye garden lyes in a great descent below ye house of many steps and terresses and walkes one below another, a green walke with all sorts of Dwarfe trees, fruit trees with standing apricot and flower trees, abundance of garden roome and filled with all sorts of things improved for pleasure and use. The house is new built with stone, most of ye offices are partly under ground—Kitchin, Pantry, buttlery and good Cellers and round a Court is all ye other offices and out houses ”

“ Another Journey to Broughton in Oxfordshire, my brother’s, and now my nephew’s house, the Lord Say and Seale. I went by Hartfordshire and Bedford from London to Wane 20 mile, thence to Hitching 14 miles, most in Lanes and deep Land, and in the winter bad Roads, but very good Land—good Corn—the wheate Look’d well but Grass and Summer Corn wanted rain, being a drye Spring. Thence to Bedford town 12 mile more, these miles are Longer than those about London and much in Lanes and woods. ”

“ There are a great deale of Gentry wch Lives in ye town, tho’ there are no good houses but wch are old and rambling ones. They are in that they Call the green, a space by ye Churches wch are pretty near together. They are pretty Large but nothing Curious in them—stone buildings—no monuments worth notice. They keep them very Clean and neate and have a moveable scaffold to Clean the roofe and windows and walls. Its a very dear place, so much Company Living in the town makes provision scarce and dear: however its a good Excuse to raise the Reckoning on strangers. ”

“ The town of Nottingham is the neatest town I have seen, built of stone and delicate, Large and long Streetes much like London, and ye houses Lofty and well built. The Market place is very broad, out of wch runns a very Large Streete much like Holborn but the buildings ffine, and there is a Pyaza all 56along one side of one of the Streetes, wth Stone pillars for walking that runns the Length of the Streetes wch is a mile long. All the Streetes are of a good size all about ye town and well pitch’d, there are severall good houses in the town. ”

“ You Generally sit up to the Neck in water, this Cross bath is much the Coolest and is used mostly in ye heate of summer; there are Gallery’s round ye top that ye Company that does not Bathe that day walkes in and lookes over into ye bath on their acquaintance and company—there are such a number of Guides to each bath of women to waite on ye ladyes, and of men to waite on the Gentlemen, and they keepe their due distance. ”

“ The Streetes are but Little but its a vast hill to ascend into the town where the Minster stands, by that Means its very perspicious and Eminently in view a great Many Miles off. The tower, that Great Thoms nest, is 250 steps up, 8 persons may very well Stand up in the hollow of the bell together, its as much as a man Can Reach to the top of the bell with his hand when he is in the Inside; its rarely Ever rung but only by Ringing the Clapper to Each Side wch we did and that sounds all over the town. The houses are but small and not lofty nor ye Streetes of any breadth. ”

“ There market day is Fryday which supplys with all things Like a faire almost; the markets for meate, fowle, ffish, garden things and the Dairy produce takes up 3 whole streetes besides the Large Market house set on stone pillars, wch runs a great Length on wch they Lay their packs of serges. Just by it is another walke wth in pillars wch is for the yarne, the whole town and Country is Employ’d for at Least 20 mile round in spinning, weaveing, dressing and scouring, fulling and Drying of the serges. It turns the most money in a weeke of any thing in England. ”

“ There is a very good Hall at the entrance leads you to a large parlour and drawing room on ye right hand that opens to the gardens—a very good little parlour on the left with servants room, and another parlour for smoakeing, all well wanscoated and painted and the offices convenient—the Chambers are good and lofty and sizeable—good ffurniture in the best 2 Chambers, in an angle the staires leads up halfe way into ye middle of the house and so divides in four parts and runnes to each angle. ”

“ The Buildings of ye town are pretty high, most of timber work, the streetes are narrow and something Darkish because the roomes on ye upper storys are more jutting out, soe Contracts ye streete and the Light. The Suburbs are better buildings and more spacious streetes. There are at one place as you Enter the town 2 almshouses, 6 men and 6 women a piece at Each. There is alsoe at another part of ye town a Noble almshouse more Like a Gentlemans house, yt is all of stone work, a handsome Court wth gates and Pallisadoes before four grass plotts divided by paved walks and a walk round ye same. ”

“ All people buy their own provision at ye market wch is just by ye wells and furnish’d wth great plenty of all sorts. Flesh, fowle and fish and in great plenty is brought from Rhye and Deale &c, this being ye road to London, so all the season the water is drank they stop here wch makes it very Cheape, as also the Country people Come wth all their backyard and barne door affords to supply them with, and their gardens and orchards, wch makes ye markets well stored and provision Cheape, wch the Gentry takes as a diversion while drinking the waters to go and buy their dinners ”

“ The people here are very ill Guides and know but Little from home, only to some market town they frequent, but will be very solicitous to know where you goe and how farre and from whence you Came and where is ye abode. Then I Came in sight of ye hill in Cornwall Called ye Mount, its on a Rock in the sea wch at ye flowing tyde is an jsland, but at Low water one Can goe over ye sands almost just to it, its but a Little market town wch is about 2 mile from Panzants, and you may walke or Ride to it all on ye sands when ye tyde’s out. ”

“ The town Looks 116Like a thriveing place by the substantiall houses and well pitched streetes wch are broad Enough for two Coaches to go a breast, besides a pitch’d walke on Either side by ye houses secured by stumps of wood, and is Convenient for 3 to walke together. Their buildings are of timber of Loame and Lathes and much tileing: the fashion of the Country runs much in Long Roofes and great Cantilivers and peakes. Out of these great streetes runs many Little streetes, but not very narrow—mostly old buildings Except a few houses builded by some Quakers, yt are brick and of the London mode. ”

“ The River Can wch gives name to the town is pretty Large but full of Rocks and stones that makes shelves and falls in the water, its stor’d wth plenty of good ffish and there are great ffalls of water partly naturall and added to by putting more stones in manner of Wyers, at wch they Catch Salmon when they Leape with speares. The Roaring of ye water at these places sometymes does foretell wet weather; they do observe when the water roares most in the fall on the Northside it will be ffaire, if on the Southside of the town it will be wet. Some of them are falls as high as a house. ”

“ One runs along behind wch is all for stalls for ye Country butchers that bring their meate for ye supply of ye town, wch pay such a Rent for them to ye town. On ye other side are houses of ye town butchers, ye Inhabitants: by it is a Large market for fish, wch are all at a Little distance from ye heart of ye Citty, so is not annoy’d wth them. There is a very Large market place and hall and Cross for fruite and little things Every day, and also a place under pillars for ye Corn market. ”

“ You see neither hedge nor tree but only Low drye stone walls round some ground Else its only hills and Dales as thick as you Can Imagine, but tho’ the Surface of ye Earth Looks barren yet those hills are impregnated wth Rich marble stone metals, Iron and Copper and Coale mines in their bowells, from whence we may see the wisdom and benignitye of oer greate Creator to make up the Defficiency of a place by an Equivolent, and also the diversity of the Creation wch Encreaseth its Beauty. ”

“ They are well made and strong and will trip along as Light on the stony road without injury to themselves, where as my horses went so heavy that they wore their shoes immediately thinn and off, but here I met with a very good smith that shooed ye horses as well as they do in London, and that is not Common in the Country, but here I found it soe, and at a place in Westmoreland by ye ffells a smith made good shoes and set them on very well. ”

“ The Cathedrall at Winchester is one of ye biggest in England and is to be admired for its Largeness, not its neatness or Curiosity, there is an ascent of 20 steps up to the quire that is finely Carved in ye wood, and on the top all round stands in ffine painted Chests the bones of the Kings of England yt were buried there; for Winchester was the Regal Citty wch now it has lost, as also a peculiar art of dying ye best purples. In the Church there are no good Monuments worth notice, the body of the Church is very large, ye Steeple Lookes Noble, but ye Spire is not a neare so high as Salisbury. ”

“ You pay not for yr bed roome and truely the other is so unreasonable a price and ye Lodgings so bad, 2 beds in a Roome some 3 beds and 4 in one roome, so that if you have not Company Enough of your own to fill a Room they will be ready to put others into the same Chamber, and sometymes they are so Crowded that three must Lye in a bed. Few people stay above two or three nights its so Inconvenient. We staid two nights by reason one of our Company was ill, but it was sore against our Wills for there is no peace nor quiet with one Company and another going into the bath or Coming out ”

“ The Gardens are large and are Capable of being made very ffine—they now remaine in the old ffashion. There is gravell walks and grass and Close walks, there is one walke all ye Length of the Garden Called the Crooked walke, of grass well Cutt and rowled, it is indented in and out in Corners, and so is the wall wch makes you thinke you are at ye End off the walke Severall tymes before you are, by means of ye Codling hedge that is on the other side. This Leads you to a summer house that also opens to a large gravell walke that runns the breadth of ye Garden to the house ward. ”

“ Winchester is a large town was once ye metropolis, there is a wall Encompassing it with severall Gates; the streetes are pretty good, Large and long, ye buildings but Low and old, only some few in the Close wch are new built of the Doctors houses by ye Colledge and the Church. Ye Deans house is a good old house, timber buildings; there are some of the roomes Lofty and large, a dineing, drawing room and bed Chamber very good; a long Gallery runns through the house and opens into the Garden by a Descent of Severall Stone stepps. ”

“ In a tarresse walke in my Relations garden I could very plainly see Chester and ye River Dee with all its Washes over the Marsh ground wch look’d very finely: here are sands wch makes it very difficult for strangers to passe wth out a guide. From hence my Relation Carry’d me to Holly Well and pass’d thro’ Flint town wch is the shire town 5 mile from harding; its a very Ragged place many villages in England are better, ye houses all thatched and stone walls, but so decay’d that in many places Ready are to tumble down. ”

“ This Country being almost full of stone the streetes and roades too have a naturall sort of paveing or Pitching tho’ uneven. All their Carriages are here on ye Backs of horses, wth sort of hookes Like yoakes stands upon Each side of a good height, wch are the Receptacles of their goods Either wood, ffurse or Lime or Coale or Corn or hay or straw or what Else they Convey from place to place, and I Cannot see how two such horses Can pass Each other or Indeed in some places how any horse Can pass by Each other, and yet these are the roads yt are all here abouts. ”

“ From lime the wayes are also difficult by reason of the very steep hill up and down, and that so successively as little or no plaine even ground, and full of large smooth pebbles that make the strange horses slip and uneasye to go—the horses of the Country are accustomed to it and travell well in the rodes—in ye opener wayes they use a sort of waine or carriage made narrower than our Southern Waggon, but longer and so load them high—from Lime to Burport is 12 miles and so to Dorchester ”

“ There is also a Rider of ye fforest who is to see about yt all things are secure and well done and ye Timber kept and Deer, to see they are not spoyled or Destroyed: his Right is to all the Deer yt are hurt or Maimed as also he is to have ye Shoulder of ye first Stagg that is hunted and killed in the Season. There is a Bow man wch is to provide ye King wth Bow and arrow when he Comes into ye fforest—they have some priviledge also but ye shooteing by bow and arrow being Left off, yt office is not regarded. ”

“ There is a very pleasant bowling-green, a Little walke out of the town wth a Large gravel walke round it wth two Rows of trees on Each side Makeing it very shady: there is a fine entertaineing house yt makes up the ffourth side, before wch is a paved walke and Epyasses of bricke. There is a pretty Garden, by ye side a shady walk, its a sort of spring garden where the Gentlemen and Ladyes walke in the Evening—there is a green house in the garden, its a pleasant walke to the town by ye walls. ”

“ The Key is a very ffine place and Lookes itself Like an Exchange being very broad and soe full of merchants walking to and againe, and it runs off a great Length wth a great many steps down to ye water for the Conveniency of Landing or boateing their goods, and is full of Cellars or ware houses. Ye harbour is full of shipps but none that is above 2 or 300 tun Can Come up quite to the Key: its a town of greate trade. There is one Large Church built of stone wth a very high tower finely Carv’d full of spires and severall devises in the Carving—all stone. ”

“ The roofe of the Church is very lofty and exactly neate in all things though not so large as some other Cathedralls—the top of the Qoire is exactly painted and it lookes as fresh as if but new done though of 300 yeares standing—there is a very good organ and a deske for the reader raised so high even with the organ for ye advantage of the voice to be heard, yet ye Church is so lofty yt ye Eccos drowns ye Intelligableness of the voice. ”

“ I took Moss myself from thence which is all Crisp’d and perfect Stone; all the Grass Straws or any thing that the water falls upon it does Convert to hardness like Stone. Ye Whole rock is Continually dropping with water besides ye Showering from the top wch ever runns and this is Called the dropping well. There is an arbour and ye Company used to Come and Eat a Supper there in any Evening to have the pleaseing prospect and the murmuring Shower to Divert their Eare; in a good Space of tyme it will harden Ribon Like Stone or any thing Else. ”

“ Its a very Rich trading town, ye houses of Brick and stone built high and Even that a streete quite through Lookes very handsome—the streetes well pitched. There are abundance of persons you see very well dress’d and of good fashion, ye streetes are faire and Long, its London in miniature as much as ever I saw anything. ”

“ Here is a great deal of good grass and Summer Corn and pastures, its Rich Land in the bottoms as one may Call them Considering the vast hills above them on all sides, yet they Contain a number of Lesser hills one below another, so that tho’ at one Looke you think it but a little Land Every body has; Yet it being so full of hills its many acres wch if at Length in a plain would Extend a vast way. ”

“ The Streetes are very clean and neate, well pitch’d and broad as one shall see any where, there is a very spacious market place, a good Cross and town Hall on the top. The Cathedrall is a magnificent building standing in the midst on advanced ground, all stone, ye walls very neately wrought, the front is in 3 great arches full of Small stone pillars smoothly turn’d and halfe paces as it were in ye 2 side arches, the head is wth no high tower but 5 Little ones, 3 of wch in the 132middle are higher and bigger than the other ”