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parliament, and the scots' commissioners, that when 100,000 pounds were paid, by the former; and, the money arrived at Topcliffe, the later, with their army, should quit all their garrisons, on the south of Tyne, within 10 days.

On the 11th of May, 1646, king Charles I.; passed through this village, with the scots' army, on their march from Newark to Newcastle. The king dined here; and, took leave of sir Henry Slingsby, bart., one of his most faithful servants.*

The Church,

A vicarage, dedicated to saint Columbus, was granted, by William de Percy, in 1226, to the cathedral of York; the dean and chapter of York, are patrons. Here are several monuments; the most remarkable, are those of Thomas de Topclyff, and his lady, whose effigies, at full-length, on a grave-stone, inlaid with brass, are in the north aile. He died, 1365. THIS family was very ancient, and seemed to have been attached to the Percys:-They bore, for their arms, per pale, or, and sable, three crescents counterchanged.

A

JOHN TOPCLIFFE, was rector of saint Mary's, castlegate, York, 1802.

JOHN TOPCLIFFE, rector of All-saints, in York, 1466.

Vidc sir Henry Slingsby's memoirs.

STAGE IX..

Harrogate, to Brimham-rocks.

BOND-GATES,*

Two miles and a half from Ripley. Here is a

free-school; endowed, in the year 1760, by rear-admiral Robert Long: It hath since received the addition of a valuable library; consisting of 57 folios, 101 quartos, 344 octavos, 19 duodecimos, 20 miscellanies, 15 pamphlets, and 13 manuscripts; in all, 569: besides a pair of globes, two telescopes, and other instruments: They are kept in handsome cases; and placed in a neat room, eight yards long, and four broad; in which, are the pictures of the donor, and his lady, by Highmore.

LEAVING Bond-Gates school; and, proceeding towards Pateley-bridge, about two miles, you arrive at a farm-house, called

* Or Bound-Gates; this being one of the boundaries of Knaresbrough forest, as mentioned in The Perambulation-lately published.

Brimham-hall:

HERE, tradition says, was originally a roman tower, or fortress; which was, afterwards, converted into Brimham-grange, a dairy-house to Fountains-abbey; and, has lately furnished materials, for erecting the present farm-house, barn, and other offices, which are situated at the bottom of a small dale, close by a rivulet, which nearly washes the walls, on the western side. On the eastern side, are seen the remains of a large canal, or fish-pond; which, they say, was supplied with water, by means of leaden pipes, conducted from a reservoir, now a pond, on the summit of the hill above: The pond is separated, at present, from the high-road, by a stone fence; and, is of an irregular form.

THE house, and barn, are built of squared grit stones; several of these stones, have inscriptions on them; some in roman, others, in saxo-monastic characters: It appears, as if they owed their preservation entirely to the use to which they were applied, in carrying up the building; for some are inverted, and several are placed on the inside of a cow-house.

[blocks in formation]

PERHAPS, the first may apply either to the præfectus ascorum primæ; or, to the tribunus cohortis aeliæ daiorum primæ; both of which corps, belonged to the Legio VI. Victrix, distributed in these parts. These letters, are all cut in alto-relievo; and, on the same species of hard grit, as the romans appear to have generally selected, for their sculptures, in this part of the island.

A LITTLE before the dissolution of religious houses, the monks of Fountains-abbey had the following stores and plate, at this house;

TWENTY quarters of oats; and, 100 loads of hay. PLATE. One chalice, of silver; weight, 11 ounces-one goblet, with cover of silver, and gilt; weight, 11 ounces one silver salt; weight, eight ounces;seven silver spoons, 94 ounces,

PROCEEDING, from Brimham-hall, about a mile forward, brings you to a gate, leading to

BRIMHAM-ROCKS:

[Brimbem; i. e., High-wood.] ON quitting the road, you ascend up the hill, through a broken and craggy path; which presents a scene, so magnificent, awful, and rudely picturesque, as to astonish every beholder. Nothing, one would think, except some convulsions of nature, the most violent and singular, could have shaken from their firm beds, and hurled and entangled, such immense and innumerable

blocks of prodigious density, into such confused piles and irregular positions, overspreading so extensive a space.*

Two, in particular, seem to remain, as perpetual monuments; to show, that this wonderful disruption was occasioned by a most tremendous earthquake, or concussion of the earth. They consist of solid mass

es, appearing near 30 feet square; which have been rifted and disjointed, from top to bottom, leaving an biatus of about four feet wide; and, exibiting on the opposite faces, such an exact conformity of projections, depressions, and lineaments, in general, as to demonstrate that they were once united, and formed together one huge compact block.

SOME of those masses, which lie scattered horizontally, exceed 21 feet in length, by seven in breadth, and three in thickness; and, seem to have been de、 tached, and precipitated a considerable height, from the summit of those lofty ranges, which stand towering near them.

THEY all appear to be the common grit of this country; for the most part, ranged in layers of greater or lesser dimensions. The interstices between these strata of rock, more particularly of the detached and scattered masses, seem composed of a coarse sand or gravel, intermixed with roundish crystalline pebbles, in general small, and similar to what abound on the sea-shore. These sometimes are found adhering so

* About 40 acres.

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