Natural history -- England -- Wiltshire; Wiltshire (England) -- History
Mr. Anthony Hinton, one of the officers of the Earle of Pembroke, did
inoculate, not long before the late civill warres (ten yeares or more),
a bud of Glastonbury Thorne, on a thorne at his farm-house at Wilton,
which blossomes at Christmas as the other did. My mother has had
branches of them for a flower-pott severall Christmasses, which I have
seen. Elias Ashmole, Esq., in his notes upon “Theatrum Chymicum”, saies
that in the churchyard at Glastonbury grew a wallnutt tree that did
putt out young leaves at Christmas, as doth the king’s oake in the New
Forest. In Parham Parke, in Suffolk (Mr. Boutele’s), is a pretty
ancient thorne that blossomes like that at Glastonbury; the people
flock thither to see it on Christmas-day. But in the rode that leades
from Worcester to Droitwiche is a blackthorne hedge at Clayn, halfe a
mile long or more, that blossomes about Christmas-day for a week or
more together. The ground is called Longland. Dr. Ezerel Tong sayd that
about Runnly-marsh, in Kent, [Romney-marsh?] are thornes naturally like
that at Glastonbury. The souldiers did cutt downe that neer
Glastonbury: the stump remaines.
In the parish of Calne, at a pleasant seat of the Blakes, called
Pinhill, was a grove of pines, which gives the name to the seate.
About 1656 there were remaining about four or five: they made fine
shew on the hill.
In the old hedges which are the boundes between the lands of Priory St.
Marie, juxta Kington St. Michael, and the west field, which belonged to
the Lord Abbot of Glastonbury, are yet remaining a great number of
berberry-trees, which I suppose the nunnes made use of for confections,
and they taught the young ladies that were educated there such arts. In
those days there were not schooles for young ladies as now, but they
were educated at religious houses.
CHAPTER X.
BEASTES.
[THIS Chapter, with the three which follow it, on “Fishes”, “Birds”,
and “Reptils and Insects”, constitute a principal branch of the work.
On these topics Aubrey was assisted by his friend Sir James Long, of
Draycot, Bart., whose letters to him are inserted in the original
manuscript. Besides the passages here given, the chapter on “Beastes”
comprises some extracts from Dame Juliana Berners’ famous “Treatyse on
Hawkynge, Hunting, and Fisshynge” (1481); together with a minute
account of a sculptured representation of hunting the wild boar, over a
Norman doorway at Little Langford Church. This bas-relief is engraved
in Hoare’s Modern Wiltshire.—J. B.]
I WILL first begin with beastes of venerie, whereof there hath been
great plenty in this countie, and as good as any in England. Mr. J.
Speed, who wrote the description of Wiltshire, anno Domini [1611],
reckons nine forests, one chace, and twenty-nine parkes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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