JACKSON, vicar of Bromyard, who died in November, 1681; having made various small bequests for charitable purposes in this town and neighbourhood. The population of Bromyard township, in 1801, was returned at 983; the number of houses at 242. The river Frome passes within a short distance to the east of this town; and several smaller streams flow on the north and west sides.

The roads from Bromyard to the south are extremely indifferent; but the country is exceedingly beautiful, being variegated with woody eminences, teeming orchards, rich meadows, and flourishing corn-fields. The villages are very inconsiderable, mostly consisting of a few scattered houses adjacent to a small Church, On the Roman Road at STRETTON GRANDISON, are traces of a square CAMP, where Mr. Baxter, apparently on insufficient authority, has placed the Circutio of Ravennas.

STOKE, or STOKE-EDITH, the principal seat of the Foleys, in this county, derives the latter part of its name from the dedication of the Church to St. Editlia, daughter of King Egbert. In the time of the Edwards Second and Third, it was the property of the Wallwayns; but previously to the reign of Henry the Eighth, it had passed from that family, and in the time of that Sovereign, it came into the possession of Sir John Lingein, by marriage with the heiress of the Milwaters. His descendants sold it to Paul Foley, Esq. about the time of Charles the Second; and it continued to be the chief seat of the younger house of the Foleys till the extinction of the elder branch, at Whitley, in Worcestershire, when the late Lord Foley removed thither; and this estate was left to his second son, the Hon. Edward Foley. The Mansion is a spacious brick building, with wings, erected soon after the estate. was purchased into this family, and standing in a very pleasant Park, on a kind of terrace. The Hall displays some fine painting, by Sir James Thornhill; and in the other apartments, which are fitted up with taste, is a good collection of family portraits. The Park and grounds are well-wooded, and display some very fine scenery, which has been considerably improved within the last twelve or fifteen years, under the direction of Mr. Repton. The shrubberies are extensive, and the Park is stocked with deer.

2

About

About a mile and a half from this Mansion, on the south-west, and occupying the summit of a commanding eminence, is ST. ETHELBERT'S CAMP, said, by popular tradition, to be the spot where Ethelbert pitched his tents when on his journey to the Court of King Offa.

On the west side of the same eminence is SUFTON COURT, which formed part of the Honour of Earl Ferrers, and is remarkable from having been the residence of the ancient family of the Herefords, from the seventh of Henry the Third, till about the year 1786, when its late possessor, Sir James Hereford, bequeathed it to his nephew, who has since assumed the name of Hereford by the King's license. This gentleman has erected a handsome Mansion of Bath stone, a few hundred yards from the site of the old house, and in a more elevated situation. The ancient residence is, however, yet standing, though somewhat ruinous; and, together with the old furniture, is preserved with care. Here also the grounds have undergone considerable alteration under the plastic hands of Mr. Repton. Blount's Manuscripts record, that the family of Hereford held this manor, by the service of presenting the King with a pair of gilt spurs whenever he should ride over Mordesford Bridge.

LONGWORTH, the seat of James Walwyn, Esq. whose predecessors have frequently had the honor of representing the city of Hereford in Parliament, and filling the office of High Sheriff for the county, is situated between one and two miles from Sufton, on the opposite side of the river Frome. This family derives its name from Gwallain Castle, in Pembrokeshire. Sir Peter Gwallain was engaged in the conquest of Brecknockshire, with the army of William Rufus, and for his services had certain lands assigned him at the Hay, in that county, and which are still denominated Wallwain's Rents. Thomas Wallwayn, who died in the fifth of Henry the Fifth, bequeathed Longworth to William, his younger son, whose descendants have ever since continued to reside here. The Mansion was rebuilt a few years ago, and fitted up with much elegance, The apartments are decorated with some good pictures; and the Library contains a select and valuable collection of books. The grounds display some fine timber, and the scenery is pleasant. MORDESFORD,

MORDESFORD, a small place near the junction of the Lugg with the river Wye, is celebrated in traditional history, as the scene of a furious combat between a winged Serpent, and a malefactor who had been sentenced to die, but was promised his pardon, on condition of destroying the wily monster. The abode of this animal is said to have been a neighbouring woody steep: his depredations were great and alarming; man and beast were alike subjected to his ravages; and no one could be found sufficiently hardy to attempt his destruction, till the love of liberty and life, invigorated a condemned criminal to engage in the perilous enterprize. The serpent, proceeds the tale, was wont to resort to a particular spot near the confluence of the above rivers, to slake his thirst, and here the assault was made, the man having previously concealed himself near the water-side. The contest was of some continuance, but was at last terminated by the destruction of the fell ravager; whose poisonous breath, however, proved fatal to the valorous champion, and bereaved him of life in the moment of victory. In memory of this event, a large green dragon, with expanded wings, and web-footed, is painted on the east end of Mordesford Church. A variation in the traditional account, represents the monster thus slain as amphibious, and as having been left upon the banks after a considerable flood.

Another marvellous occurrence connected with this quarter of Herefordshire, took place in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when MARCLEY HILL, according to Camden, whose judgment was in this instance imposed on, "rose as it were from sleep, and for three days, moved on its vast body with an horrible noise, driving every thing before it to an higher ground." Fuller asserts, that the whole field that moved was twenty acres, and that it travelled fourteen hours, and ascended eleven fathoms up hill, leaving a chasm 400 feet wide, and 520 long.t Sir Richard Baker, who delighted in recording the wonderful, has thus detailed the particulars of this event in his Chronicle of England.'

Gough's Translation, Vol. II. p. 443.

Worthies, Herefordshire.

"In

"In the thirteenth year of Queen Elizabeth, a prodigious earth quake happened in the east parts of Herefordshire, at a little town called KINNASTON. On the seventeenth of February, at six o'clock in the evening, the earth began to open, and a hill, with a rock under it, making at first a great bellowing noise, which was heard a great way off, lifted itself up, and began to travel, bearing along with it the trees that grew upon it, the sheep folds and flocks of sheep abiding there at the same time. In the place from whence it was first moved, it left a gaping distance, forty foot broad, and fourscore ells long: the whole field was about twenty acres. 'Passing along, it overthrew a Chapel standing in the way, removed a yew tree planted in the Church-yard, from the west to the east with the like force it thrust before it highways, sheepfolds, hedges, and trees; made tilled ground pasture, and again turned pasture into tillage. Having walked in this sort from Saturday evening till Monday noon, it then stood still."

In Taylor's Map of Herefordshire, the spot of ground whose motion gave rise to these various relations, is named WONDER; and, according to present appearances, was nothing more than a Land-slip, arising probably from causes similar to those which oc casioned the like phenomenon at Pitlands, in the Isle of Wight, in February, 1799.* The land that moved, seems to have been about two acres; but its motion was certainly agreeable to the common laws of gravitation. The yew tree is still existing; and the Chapel bell was dug up a few years ago.

MUCH-MARCLE, or GREAT MARCLE, was part of the ba rony of the Lacies at the period of the Domesday Survey; but afterwards coming to the Crown, was granted, by Edward the First, to Edmund Mortimer, whose descendants inherited it till the time of the last Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, who demised it to the Wallwayns; but it has since passed through various families. Near the Church, says Blount, stood MORTIMER'S CASTLE, the site visible; and another, perhaps, more ancient, called ELLINGHAM CASTLE, the site overgrown with wood, and called the Quarry

Wood,'

See under Pitlands, p. 400.