The History and Antiquities of Nations and Societies have been objects of inquiry to curious persons in all ages, either to separate falshood from truth, and tradition from evidence, to establish what had probability for its basis, or to explode what rested only on the vanity of the inventors and propagators. The first traces of every history were rude and imperfect; better methods of preserving facts succeeded. The unchiseled stone, or rudest hieroglyphic, accompanied the songs of the bards, to perpetuate the atchievements of a whole nation, or a few individuals; till the use of letters, and the complicated transactions, claims, and interests of men, taught them to multiply memorials, and to draw them up with more skill and accuracy.

In the year 1740, as I was viewing, with a friend, the church at Burton Dasset in Warwickshire, we happened to observe a painted board placed over the entrance into the chancel, but so covered with dust, that neither we, nor the sexton who attended us, knew what to make of it. But as it seemed to represent something uncommon, we desired we might inspect it somewhat more nearly: And when the sexton had taken it down, and washed it, we perceived it was the picture of a coat of arms, with a Beacon for the crest, (as represented in plate I.) and upon further enquiry we found that, by tradition, there had been formerly a Beacon upon the North-west side of the hill where the church stands, erected by one of the Belknap family, who was then lord of that manor. The board that contains this picture, is nineteen inches and a half in height, and fourteen in breadth. The draught here given of it is reduced to the size of one fourth of the original.

First, the hall was prepared with a long table on each side, and forms set by them; on the edges of which tables, and under those forms, were layed carpets, and cushions for her majesty to kneel, when she would wash them (the poor). There was also another table laid across the upper end of the hall, somewhat above the foot pace, for the chappelan to stand at. A little beneath the midst whereof, and beneath the foot pace, a stool and cushion of estate was pitched, for her majesty to kneel at during service time. This done, the holy water, basons, alms, and other things, being brought into the hall; and the chappelan and poor folks having taken their said places, the yeoman of the laundry, armed with a fair towel, and taking a silver bason filled with warm water and sweet flowers, washed their feet, all, one after another wiped the same with his towel, and so, making a cross a little above the toes, kissed them.

The dean of Exeter [a] shewed the Society a large parchment roll, containing a list of new years gifts presented to queen Elizabeth at Greenwich, on the 1st January, A. R. 27, 1584–5, signed by the queen, and countersigned by John Astley, Esq; master and treasurer of the jewels; by which it appears, that the greatest part, if not all the peers and peeresses of the realm, all the bishops, the chief officers of state, and several of the queen's houshold servants, even down to her apothecaries, mastercook, serjeant of the pastry, &c. gave new years gifts to her majesty.

The church-wardens accompts of a particular parish may in themselves be justly thought a matter of no great consequence, and not worthy of much regard. But these seem to deserve some consideration, as they relate to a very remarkable period in our history, and prove, by facts, the great alterations that were made in religious affairs under the successive reigns of Q. Mary and Q. Elizabeth, together with the time and manner of putting them in execution; and may therefore serve both to confirm and illustrate several things related by our ecclesiastical historians.

Dr. Stukeley has accurately distinguished two kinds of shrines, both equally made for receiving the reliques of saints: but with this difference, that one sort was portable, and used in processions; and the other fixed, as being built of stone, marble, and other heavy materials. The former of these were called Feretra, under which word Du Fresne says: “Feretra reliquias sanctorum continentia cum processionibus circumlata non semel legere “est.” And although this sort could only with propriety bear that name, yet was it also given to the immoveable fixed shrines; as to our protomartyr's at St. Alban's, Thomas Becket's at Canterbury, Birinus's at Dorchester, Cuthbert's at Durham, and Edward the Confessor's at Westminster.

In my journey into the North the last summer, [1736,] I passed some days at Lincoln, on purpose to view the remains of antiquity which that city affords; and indeed none in England can boast of more, or better deserves the labour of a judicious pen.

The registers of the bishops of Lincoln, in the bishop's office at Lincoln, begin earlier than those which are remaining either at Canterbury or York, or perhaps any other in England, viz. from bishop Wells, who was consecrated anno 1209, to bishop William Barlow anno 1608. The series is in good preservation. The institutions of Wells, Greethead, Lexington, and Sutton, are wrote on long narrow rolls; the Mss. of appropriations, confirmation of abbots, priors, &c. being endorsed on the same, excepting Sutton's, which are wrote in a vellum book; as all the succeeding bishops institutions and Mss. are down to the Reformation; after which period they are most carelessly written on paper. One of the most curious and useful records in that repository is a thin quarto, which contains all the endowments of all the vicarages in the diocese, written about 1210.

In a letter to me from Mr. Symson, master of the works of the cathedral at Lincoln, dated 28 September last, I was informed, that, in digging a grave at the west end of that church, they opened the foot of an ancient sepulchre.—The corpse was sewed up in a strong tanned leather hide, the seam running up the middle of the breast.—I should suppose it to be some great lay lord, before the custom, prevailed of laying them within the church itself.

As Rapin has made mention of an old inscription on the shrine of K. Edward the Confessor, in Westminster abby, when first erected; it is to be observed, that that which now is there differeth from it, having, as it is said, been wrote, and put in lieu of the former in the reign of K. Richard II. or later.

On November 14, 1750, I went to survey the old church at Westminster, called The Sanctuary, which they were then pulling down, to make a new market-house. The building itself is as extraordinary in its kind, as that we have no clear account concerning it in the history of Westminster abbey, to which it manifestly belongs.

Yesterday, I made a most agreeable journey, though it may be called a pilgrimage, to visit the venerable remains of Lesnes Abby, at Earith in Kent, founded by Richard de Lucie, lord chancellor, and chief justice to Henry II. He was a near relation to your Lordship's neighbour, Lady Roisia of Roiston. It was impossible that I should not think of giving your Lordship the subsequent account of my observations there, for an amusement during your retirement from business and cares of state.

Although this island must have been peopled from the adjacent continent, yet I think it must have been first inhabited by the posterity of some of the other sons of Japhet, (although by which of them no one can at present presume to determine) and not by any of the descendants of Gomer, by what name soever called; and there seems to be good authority to support this opinion.

Dr. Stukeley, in his seventh Iter, speaking of a hill a little above Ambrosbury, says, “The Icening-street runs between “this hill and the Bourn river coming from Newbury, as I sup- “pose, through Chute forest, vulgarly called Chute Cause-way, “where, at Lurgishall, it makes a fine terras-walk in the garden “of Sir Philip Meadows; then passes the Bourn river about Tud-“worth, and, so by this place, to the eastern gate of Old Sarum, “the Roman Sorbiodunum.”

I Beg the gentlemen of the Society, and Dr. Stukeley in particular, would observe the Diverticulum Mr. Taylor has shown in his map, or accurate survey of Hampshire, of the Ikeneld street, running from the north-east corner of Sir Philip Meadows' park, which Mr. Taylor calls Chute park to a little house to the S. W. called Scots-Poor. This Diverticulum is called Chute-causeway. Then note what the Dr. says of Chute-causeway, (Itin. Curios. pag. 175.) and they will perceive this is the Ikeneld-street continued from Winchester; consequently, that it does not come from Newbury, as the Doctor supposes: He also says, this is Chute-forest, though vulgarly called Chute-causeway. In this I affirmed he was mistaken, imagining this to be Chute-forest, that Mr. Camden said a causeway ran into, westward from Silchester; but, that that was called the Portway, which Mr. Taylor's map confirms.

The great Roman road called the Erming-street, which stretches itself from London into the North of England, having gone through Huntingdonshire, crossed the river Nen, and passed Caster (the Durobrivae of Antoninus), from thence pushes directly to Stamford, about five miles distant from Caster.

I have traced the Roman roads from Manchester with the utmost care, and find that the Condate of the Romans was Kinderton in Cheshire. The road is visible almost all the way; as is likewise the camp at Kinderton, where the Dane and Weaver join. There is a Roman way from thence to Chester, another to Chesterton, near Newcastle Under-line, and another by Nantwich and Whitchurch to Wroxeter.

Having (as I think) discovered the true situation of Coccium, a Roman station, concerning which writers have been considerably divided; I take the liberty to trouble your Lordship with this letter, which I request may be read before the Society of Antiquaries, that, from the remarks of that learned body, I may be better enabled to pursue my enquiries on this subject

In a letter I wrote some years ago to my worthy and learned friend Mr. Roger Gale, I acquainted him, that in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifteen, a Roman pavement was discovered in Wansted Park; that it was immediately destroyed by digging holes through it, for planting an avenue of trees, the owner of it having no great taste for things of that nature. But, from the account I got from Mr. Holt, the then surveyor of the works, I found that there was the figure of a man on horse-back plainly to be seen in the centre, with several borders of wreathed work and ornaments, as are usual in these kinds of pavements. From the situation of this pavement, as I remember the ground thirty years ago (though the face of it now is totally changed), viz. upon an easy declivity fronting the south, close by a beautiful well of bright water, and at a small distance from the foundation of a building, which, by the nature and size of the bricks, I was certain, was Roman; I was induced to believe, that this might have been the pavement of a banqueting house belonging to some Roman villa, by reason of the beauty of the situation, its vicinity to the capital, and the Icening-street, which I had the pleasure of shewing you, where it crosses the forest, passes through my eslate, and pushes for the passage cross the river Roden, now called Ilford, though two stone bridges have in more modern times been built there.