credit



Transcribed from the 1862 E. Lewis edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org





                                 HISTORY
                                    OF
                              BRIGHTHELMSTON
                                    OR
                Brighton as I View it and others Knew it,
                                  WITH A
                              CHRONOLOGICAL
                          TABLE OF LOCAL EVENTS.


                                * * * * *

                                * * * * *

                        BY JOHN ACKERSON ERREDGE,

             (_Author of_ "_The Students' Hand Book_," _&c._)

                                * * * * *

                                * * * * *

                                BRIGHTON:
        PRINTED BY E. LEWIS, "OBSERVER" OFFICE, 52A, NORTH STREET.

                                * * * * *

                                  1862.




PREFACE.


The publication of the History of Brighton had proceeded, with the most
gratifying success, through ten monthly numbers, when it was suddenly
interrupted by the lamented decease of the Author--Mr. J. A. Erredge.
Death came upon him, not stealthily, but in its most awful form.  It
surprised him literally at the desk.  Whilst talking cheerfully to the
publisher, the hand of Death was laid upon him, and he fell dead to the
ground;--the ink of these pages was still wet whilst the Author was
extended on the floor a corpse.  So terrible an occurrence for a brief
space delayed the publication of the work, but fortunately for the family
of the author, the MS. was nearly completed, and his sons were enabled,
from the materials left by their lamented father, to compile the few last
pages and send the two concluding numbers through the press.  The History
of Brighton is now completed, and whatever shortcomings may be detected
in the two concluding numbers, which had not the advantage of being
corrected by the Author, will no doubt be pardoned by a generous public.




CONTENTS.

                          CHAPTER                              _Page_.
         I.  THE ROMANS AT BRIGHTON                                  1
        II.  SITUATION, SOIL, GEOLOGY, AND CLIMATE OF                5
             BRIGHTON
       III.  THE ETYMOLOGY, AND EARLY HISTORY OF BRIGHTON           11
        IV.  AFTER THE CONQUEST, TO 1513                            15
         V.  ANCIENT AND MODERN GOVERNMENT OF THE TOWN              21
        VI.  THE BOOK OF ALL THE "AUNCIENT CUSTOMS."                26
       VII.  THE TENANTRY LANDS                                     45
      VIII.  THE BARTHOLOMEWS                                       50
        IX.  THE WORKHOUSE                                          62
         X.  THE ATTACK ON BRIGHTHELMSTON BY THE FRENCH,            61
             IN 1545
        XI.  FORTIFICATIONS OF THE TOWN                             63
       XII.  THE INCURSIONS OF THE SEA ON THE TOWN                  73
      XIII.  THE DOWER OF ANN CLEVES                                80
       XIV.  THE PARISH CHURCH, ST. NICHOLAS                        82
        XV.  DR. VICESIMUS KNOX AND THE SURREY MILITIA              92
       XVI.  THE OLD CHURCHYARD                                    102
      XVII.  MARTYRDOM OF DERYK CARVER                             118
     XVIII.  THE ESCAPE OF CHARLES II.                             124
       XIX.  PERSECUTIONS FOR CONSCIENCE' SAKE                     134
        XX.  THE BIRDS AND THEIR HAUNTS IN THE                     139
             NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BRIGHTON
       XXI.  THE WILD FLOWERS AND MOSSES ABOUT BRIGHTON            158
      XXII.  BRIGHTON CAMP AND THE TRAGEDIES OF GOLDSTONE          168
             BOTTOM
     XXIII.  THE STEINE AND ITS TRIBUTARIES                        182
      XXIV.  THE THEATRES                                          206
       XXV.  BRIGHTON FROM ITS SIMPLICITY TO ITS PRESENT           217
             RENOWN
      XXVI.  THE MARINE PAVILION AND ITS OCCUPANTS                 251
     XXVII.  ON AND ABOUT THE RACE-COURSE                          280
    XXVIII.  PAST AND PRESENT PASTIMES                             295
    ,,       THE HISTORICAL STREET OF THE TOWN                     329
      XXIX.  THE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, CHARITIES, AND               336
             ENDOWMENTS
       XXX.  CHURCHES AND CHAPELS                                  359
      XXXI.  HOVE AND CLIFTONVILLE                                 371

CHAPTER I.
THE ROMANS AT BRIGHTON.


Although there is no doubt that the vicinity of Brighton at a very remote
period was occupied as a Roman military station, it is not the intention
of the compiler of this work to date, merely on supposition, the origin
of the town, coeval as it might have been with the landing of Julius
Csar in Britain.  The "Magna Britannia," published in 1737,
mentions:--"As to the antiquity of this town, there is reason to believe
it to have stood a vast tract of time.  From the accounts our historians
give of it, for some of them speak of it ever since Julius Csar's
arrival in Britain, and affirm, that this was the place where he landed
his legions; (August 26th, 55 B.C., {1}) but since others assert his
landing to have been at Hastings, we shall not be very positive, yet may
justly insist upon it as most probable, because there is good anchorage
in the bay here; and besides, there appears on the west side of this town
to this day, for near a mile together, vast numbers of men's bones, and
some of them of prodigious size, which plainly proves that there has been
some warlike engagement near it."  As an illustration that what has been
transmitted to us orally, especially of remote periods, cannot be relied
on, there is told the following tale of "Csar's Stile":--Dr. Stukely, or
some other antiquarian, was travelling through England, when he heard
that on a certain hill there was a stile called Csar's Stile.  "Ay,"
said the doctor, "such a road, mentioned in Antoninus, passed near here;
and the traditional name confirms the possibility of a Roman camp on this
spot."  Whilst he was surveying the prospect, a peasant came up, whom the
doctor addressed thus--"They call this Csar's Stile, my friend, do they
not?"  "Ees, zur," said the man, "they calls it so arter poor old Bob
Csar, the carpenter; rest his soul; I holped him to make it, when I was
a boy."

The "Burrell MSS." state that:--"There are three Roman castra, or camps,
lying in a line over-thwart the Downs from Brighthelmstone to
Ditchelling, from south to north.  The first, a large one, called the
Castle, about a mile from Brighton, eastward, and a mile from the sea, on
the summit of a lofty hill commanding the sea-coast; the next, a smaller,
called Hollingbury Castle, nearly about the middle of the Downs, also
commanding from a lofty hill, by Stanmer, the whole western sea-coast of
Sussex; and a third, a large one, called Ditchelling Castle, containing
between twelve and fourteen acres, is the highest point of the Downs
thereabouts, and commands part of the sea-coast, and all the northern
edge of the Downs, and the wild underneath it."  A military Roman way was
discovered a few years ago, on St. John's Common, and in the enclosed
lands adjoining, in the parishes of Keymer and Clayton, fully confirming
the opinion of Camden and Stillingfleet that the _Portus Adurni_ of the
Romans was at Aldrington. {2}  On the west side also of Glynd Bridge,
near Lewes, a paved Roman causeway was discovered, lying three feet
beneath the turf, upon a bed of silt, or blue clay, twenty feet thick;
and near it was found a large brass coin of Antoninus Pius.

By whatever name Brighton was then known, there is no doubt it was a
place of some note in the time of the Romans, as it was peculiarly
favourable to all the purposes of the fisher and the hunter.  Romish
coins are still frequently found in its vicinity, and in the year 1750,
near the town, an urn was dug up, which contained a thousand _denarii_ of
different impresses from Antoninus Pius to the Emperor Philip; and since
that time there have been found in some of the burghs or barrows to the
east of the town, ashes and fragments of human bones, enclosed in urns of
Roman manufacture.  In preparing the ground for enclosing of the Old
Stein, in 1818, several Roman coins were turned up by the workmen, on one
of which, round the impression of the head, was the inscription, "IMP.
ALEXANDER PIUS, A. V. C," and on the reverse, "MARS ULTOR," with the
initials S. C. between the figure of Mars.  The date, however, was
illegible.  In forming the Race Course to the south of the Stand,--since
restored to its original state,--several urns of Roman fabrication were
dug up; and since then, to the east of the town, ashes and fragments of
human bones have been found enclosed in Roman urns.

Relicts of the ancient Britons, before the time of the Romans in Britain,
have at various times been found in the vicinity of Brighton.  The most
perfect were those discovered in a Barrow in Coney-burrow field, Hove, in
January, 1856.  In this field was a mound about 20 feet high, situated
north of the pathway from Brighton to Hove, about N.N.E. of the church of
St. John the Baptist.  Some 40 years since, this hillock was covered with
furze, and was a burrow for rabbits; but at a more recent date, when the
habitations of men became erected contiguous, and the human family
extended thither, the colony of rabbits dispersed, and their abode became
the rendezvous of rustic games.  Our highly respected local antiquarian,
Barclay Phillips, Esq., thus describes it, and the incidents connected
with it:--

    "Rising from a perfectly level plain, and being unconnected with any
    other hills, it always presented the appearance of an artificial
    mound, and therefore, when, some years ago, a road was cut through it
    to the Hove Station of the Brighton and Portsmouth Railway, I was
    anxious to learn whether any antiquities had been met with; but not
    any were then found.  Now, however, all doubt on the subject has been
    set at rest, and the hillock proved to be a Barrow, or monumental
    mound erected over the remains of an ancient British chieftain.
    Labourers have recently been employed removing the earth of this
    hill, and last week, on reaching the centre of the mound, about two
    yards west of the road leading to Hove Station, and about nine feet
    below the surface, dug out a rude coffin between six and seven feet
    long.  On exposure to the atmosphere the boards immediately crumbled
    away; but a few of the knots remained, and prove to be of oak.  The
    coffin contained small fragments of bone, some of which I have seen,
    and the following curious relics:--

    "1.  An Amber Cup, with a handle on one side.  It is hemispherical in
    shape, rather deep, with a lip turning outwards, and is ornamented
    merely with a band of fine lines running round the outside about half
    an inch from the top.  From the fact of the rim not being perfectly
    round, and the band before-mentioned not passing over the space
    within the handle, and its being marked off at each end with a line
    seemingly cut across, we may conjecture it to have been made and
    carved by hand.

    "2.  Head of a Battle Axe, about five inches long.  It is in perfect
    preservation, and made of some sort of iron-stone, the wooden handle,
    having of course, long since decayed.

    "3.  A small Whetstone, with a hole neatly drilled through one end,
    so that it might be suspended by a thong to the person, and carried
    about.

    "4.  A Bronze Spear Head, very much oxidised, and so brittle that it
    broke into halves as it was being taken out of the ground.  Two of
    the rivets and fragments of the spear handle still remain attached to
    the lower end of the blade.

    "The workmen described the coffin as resting on the natural soil,
    which is stiff yellow clay, while the mound itself bears every
    appearance of having been formed of surface earth and rubbish thrown
    up together.  I minutely examined the sections of the hill, and
    myself picked out several specimens of charred wood, and was informed
    that such fragments were very abundant.

    "The manner of sepulture and all the relics, excepting the spear
    head, indicate this mound as having been the burial-place of a
    British chieftain before the time of the Roman invasion;--the
    spear-head certainly more nearly, though not exactly, resembles those
    used afterwards.  The mound was of the simplest and most ancient
    form, and therefore I am inclined to think we may reckon it as at
    least 2000 years old, perhaps more!  It has now disappeared.  The
    last clod of that earth which so long covered the bones of a British
    chieftain was this afternoon carted away; and coffin, bones, and
    earth have been thrown pell-mell to form the mould of the future
    rosary of Palmyra square."

At a meeting of the Archological Society in London, about a month after
the opening of this barrow, the cup, &c., were exhibited; when Mr. Kemble
and other celebrated antiquaries gave their opinion thus:--"The cup is the
only known specimen of so large a size, and the battle axe is superior to
any similar object in the British Museum."  Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Franks,
who have the care of the antiquarian departments, both declared the
"find" in this barrow to have been the richest ever known.  These rare
specimens of local antiquity, through the kindness of Sir Francis
Goldsmid, of "The Wick," on whose land they were found, form a prominent
feature of the Brighton Museum, at the Royal Pavilion.




CHAPTER II.
SITUATION, SOIL, GEOLOGY, AND CLIMATE OF BRIGHTON.


Brighton is situated in 50.55{~PRIME~}. N. latitude, and about 3{~PRIME~}. W. longitude,
on the eastern side of a shallow bay of the south coast.  The centre of
the town is in a valley, which at the north diverges to Preston in two
courses prominently marked by the London road and the Lewes road,
Hollingbury Hill intervening.  The east and north-west portions of the
town are on acclivities, that to the east terminating abruptly at the
south in cliffs ranging from 60 to 80 feet in height; and that to the
north-west gradually sloping to the sea-shore.  The southern front is
bold, and commands an extensive view of the British Channel from Beachy
Head to Selsea Bill.

The soil to the east and north-west is principally a thick substratum of
chalk, covered with a thin layer of earth.  The subsoil of the centre is
marl and shingle; and to the westward there are large beds of clay of
very irregular character.  Dr. Mantell, in his valuable work, "The
Geology of the South-east of England," says:--"The town of Brighton is
situated on an immense accumulation of water-worn materials, which fills
up a valley, or hollow, in the chalk.  The diluvial deposit is bounded on
the north-west by the South Downs; on the east it extends to Rottingdean,
and is there terminated by the chalk; on the west it may be traced more
or less distinctly to Bignor; on the south it is washed by the sea, and
forms a line of cliffs from 70 to 80 feet high; these exhibit a vertical
section of the strata, and enable us to ascertain their nature and
position."

"The soil of the Downs," says Young in his Agricultural Survey of Sussex,
"is subject to considerable variation.  On the summit it is usually very
shallow, the substratum is chalk, and over that a layer of chalk rubble,
and partially rolled chalk flints, with a slight covering of vegetable
mould.  Along the more elevated ridges there is sometimes merely a
covering of flints, upon which the turf grows spontaneously.  Advancing
down the hills, the soil becomes deeper, and at the bottom is constantly
found to be of very sufficient depth for ploughing: here the loam is
excellent, generally ten or twelve inches thick, and the chalk rather
broken, and mixed with loam in the interstices."

Coombe rock,--a provincial term,--which greatly abounds in and about the
eastern part of the town, is geologically known as the Elephant bed; and,
according to the same authority, "is composed of broken chalk, with
angular fragments of flint, imbedded in a calcareous mass of a yellowish
colour, constituting a very hard and coarse conglomerate.  It is not
stratified, but is merely a confused heap of alluvial materials; where it
forms a junction with the shingle bed, a layer of broken shells generally
occurs: they are too fragile to extract whole: they appear to belong to
the genera modiola, mytilus, nerita, &c.  It varies considerably in its
appearance and composition, in different parts of its course.  In the
inferior portion of the mass, the chalk is reduced to very small pieces,
which gradually become larger in proportion to their height in the cliff:
at length fragments of flint appear; and these increase in size and
number as they approach the upper part of the bed, of which they
constitute the most considerable portion.  These flints are more or less
broken, and resemble those of our ploughed lands that have been long
exposed to the action of the atmosphere.  In some parts of the cliff,
irregular masses occur of an extraordinary hardness; these have been
produced by an infiltration of crystallised carbonate of lime.  Large
blocks of this variety may be seen on the shore, opposite to the New
Steine, where they have for years resisted the action of the waves.  This
bed also contains water-worn blocks of siliceous sandstone, and
ferruginous breccia.  Small nodular masses, composed of carbonate of iron
in lenticular crystals, interspersed with brown calcareous spar, have
occasionally been found at the depth of ten or twelve feet from the
summit of the cliff.  The organic remains discovered in this deposit are
the bones and teeth of the ox, deer, horse, and of the Asiatic elephant;
{6} these occur but seldom, and are generally more or less waterworn;
{7a} but, in some instances, they are quite entire, and cannot have been
subject to the action of the waves.  The wells in the less elevated parts
of the town pass through the calcareous bed, shingle, and sand, in
succession; upon reaching the chalk, springs of good water burst forth,
and these are said to be influenced by the tides." {7b}

The sinking of the Warren Farm Well, at the Industrial Schools, has
formed a very interesting subject to geologists, and on the 5th of
November, 1861, the Surveyor, Mr. George Maynard, made a report to the
Directors and Guardians, as to the state of the well, wherein he "wished
it to be understood that he was neither a professor of geology nor an
hydraulic engineer."  It stated that the work was commenced on the 22nd
March, 1858, and had been continued since without intermission:--"In
sinking the well (says Mr. Maynard), I have found that the different
strata perforated have been thicker than is generally set forth by
professors of, or writers upon geology, proving that the dip of the
strata is greater at this particular spot than is commonly found
elsewhere, especially the gault, which is now being perforated.  I have
ascertained that the shanklin, or lower green sand, forming the bottom
portion of the glaucomic strata, appear on the surface at Henfield, and
continue near the base of the Downs as far as Albourne, thus proving,
from the depth attained, that a considerable vale is formed in the strata
between Henfield and Beachy Head.  The well at the Industrial Schools
lies nearly in a direct line, and not far from the centre in distance,
between Henfield and the point at Beachy Head, at the base of which water
is continually flowing between the malm and gault strata.  Hence arises
the fact of the gault stratum being so much thicker than was
contemplated; but if the shanklin, or lower green sand is reached and
penetrated, there is little doubt an ample and continuous supply of water
will be obtained, which in all probability will run up to the level of
the land at Henfield (from whence the supply will originate), or above
the bottom pump in the well.  I have tested the quality of the stratum
now being penetrated, and feel persuaded that if water is obtained it
will be of a good quality.  I have already reported my interview with Sir
Roderick Murchison and other professors of geology, at the Institute of
Practical Geology, in Jermyn Street, London, at which meeting I was
encouraged to hope that water would be obtained at a depth not far
distant from that which the well has already been sunk; they, at the same
time, expressing their surprise that the shanklin sand had not been
reached before, and also kindly giving me valuable information how to
proceed when that stratum was penetrated.  The stratum in which the men
are at work at this present time is very soft, so much so that if boring
was determined on, it would be requisite to insert iron pipes, which, in
my opinion, would be more expensive than the present mode of digging and
steining.  The depth of the well now attained is 1,080 feet."

Few organic remains have been found near Brighton.  Dr. Mantell mentions
but a fragment of a bone resembling the femur, and a grinder of a large
size, decidedly the latter that of an Asiatic elephant, in the brick-loam
at Hove; the jaw of a whale in the shingle bed; the antlers and bones of
the red deer in a bed of loam, in sinking a well near the cavalry
barracks; the remains of a deer in the diluvium at Copperas Gap, by the
Rev. H. Hoper; and similar remains in digging a well near the Western
Road.

With respect to climate, medical men, who have made it their study, have
divided the town into three districts.  In 1845, Dr. Wigan, then in
medical practice in the town, published an elaborate treatise, "Brighton
and its Three Climates," and in 1859, Dr. Kebbell, Physician to the
Sussex County Hospital, produced his valuable book, "The Climate of
Brighton."  The former considers the north-west part of the town the most
salubrious, as it is exempt from the keen easterly winds, and is
generally free from the fogs and smoke of the central district.  It is
free, too, of the marine exhalations to which that district is subject.
The air of the east division is bracing, and likewise exempt from the
saline particles which impregnate the atmosphere of the lower part of the
town, a district which differs but little from any inland town in a low
situation, and possesses none of the quality called bracing.  Fogs, night
and morning, frequently hang about the middle district, which may be
termed the business quarter of the town.

Dr. Kebbell says:--

    "Brighton, in respect of temperature and the sensation of cold,
    offers great variety of climate according as the situations are more
    or less elevated, sheltered, or exposed.  The observations of myself
    and others go to prove, that the elevated portions of the Montpelier
    districts, in the neighbourhood of All Saints' Church, are decidedly
    the coldest, being exposed to the full effects of the strong currents
    of air from the Downs.  After this come the north-eastern districts,
    including the upper part of the Marine Parade, Kemp Town, and the
    portions of the town behind them on the north side of the Bristol
    Road, which are also very much exposed to the cold winds and draughts
    from the downs.  The central parts of the town, from the Old Steine
    to St. Peter's Church, are the most sheltered from the winds; both by
    the downs behind, which protect them from the north-east winds; and
    by the buildings in front which break the force of the south-west
    winds; but being on a level surface and enclosed between hills, it is
    damper than any other part of the town; and I have noticed that in
    the autumn and winter, the night mists return earlier in the
    afternoon, and are dispersed later in the morning, than is the case
    in the more elevated and exposed districts.  The low level or valley
    of the King's Road, though exposed to the full force of the
    south-west-winds, is still more sheltered from the cold north-east
    winds by the great mass of buildings and the hills behind, and is
    decidedly the warmest and mildest part of the town, offering a very
    marked contrast to the cold elevated part of the Montpelier district.
    Sir James Clark speaks of the West cliff as being 'somewhat damp,'
    {9} but I am at a loss to conceive how this can be so, taking into
    consideration its sloping surface, the general porous character of
    the soil, together with its direct exposure to the rays of the sun.
    In point of warmth, the first half or third of the Marine Parade
    ranks next to the valley of the King's Road.  Further east, towards
    Kemp Town, the air becomes colder and more bracing, and the draughts
    from the downs are more keenly felt.  The parts of the town between
    the Western Road, and the line of Upper North Street and Montpelier
    Terrace, occupy, in point of climate, an intermediate position
    between the valley of the King's Road, and the cold and exposed
    portion of the Montpelier district.

                                 * * * * * *

    I cannot conceive any place enjoying greater natural advantages than
    Brighton, and it is incumbent on those who think it unhealthy to
    state from what source the insalubrity can have its origin, always
    excepting those artificial and preventable causes of disease which it
    creates within itself.  For upwards of half the year the inhabitants
    breathe an atmosphere which has traversed the surface of several
    thousand miles of the great Atlantic Ocean.  This at all events must
    be entirely free from all sources of disease.  The staple of the land
    upon which the town stands, and for several miles round, is composed
    of chalk and sand, intermixed with flints, with the dip of the strata
    towards the sea, which, with the absence of any dense foliage in the
    surrounding district, has the effect of rendering the atmosphere of
    the place remarkably dry and bracing.  Neither is there any low-lying
    marsh land, where the fresh and sea water mix and infect the
    atmosphere, or exposure of mud at the mouths of rivers at low tide,
    or, in fact, any source of malaria whatever within any distance of
    the town, which can possibly to any appreciable or injurious extent
    affect its atmosphere.  The winds from the land side, therefore, are
    probably almost, if not entirely, as healthy as those from the sea.
    Brighton has also no tidal harbour, nor any exposure of mud at low
    tide containing decaying vegetable matter, which at many sea-side
    places, and some much frequented by the public, is not only very
    offensive, but very injurious to the health." {10}




CHAPTER III.
THE ETYMOLOGY AND EARLY HISTORY OF BRIGHTON.


The obscurity respecting the etymology of Brighton, or more properly
speaking Brighthelmston, is much to be regretted.  In the Domesday Book
it is written _Brighthelmstun_, evidently derived from _Brighthelm_, the
name of some person of eminence, to whom it belonged, and _tun_ the Saxon
of town or dwelling.  Bailey says that the name was given to the town by
_St. Brighthelm_, a Saxon.  Skinner says the town was so named from
_Brighthelm_, a canonised bishop of Fontenoy, who lived about the middle
of the 10th century.  Stillingfleet and other authorities state that a
Saxon bishop of that name resided here during the Heptarchy, and his name
was given to the town.  The last opinion is most to be relied on, as,
when Ella and his three sons--Cimen, Wiencing, and Cisa,--landed in Sussex,
at Shoreham, in 447, Bishop _Brighthelm_ accompanied them; and one of his
successors resided at Aldrington, the _Portus Adurni_, or port of the
river Adur, (where, near Fishersgate, till within the last forty years,
was the entrance to the harbour from the sea), {11} and held a
considerable portion of the land thereabout until 693, when he was killed
in battle; but where the battle was fought no mention is made.

Dr. Relhan says:--"The light sometimes obtained in these dark matters from
a similitude of sounds in the ancient and modern names of places, is not
to be had in assisting the present conjecture.  Its ancient one, as far
as I can learn, is no way discoverable: and its modern one may be owing
either to this town's belonging formerly to, or being countenanced in a
particular manner, by a Bishop Brighthelm, who during the former
government of the island, lived in this neighbourhood: or perhaps may be
deduced from the ships of this town having their helms better ornamented
than those of their neighbouring ones."

The earliest record of the modern name, Brighton, is to be found in the
Burrell MSS.:--

    "17.  Henry IV.  Thomas Seynt Clare holds the manor of Brighton with
    lands and messuages in the same."

The following is quoted from the same authority--

    "2.  Mary.  The queen on the 27th day of Nov. let to farm to William
    May, valet of the kitchen, the manor of Brightelston with all its
    appurtenances for 21 years, from the feast of St. Michl last past,
    for the annual rent of 6_l_ 13_s_ 4_d._"

Mr. James Charles Michell, who re-published Dr. Relhan's "Short History
of Brighthelmston, in 1761," mentions it to be met with in the terrier to
the tenantry land, dated 1660.

Domesday book states that two of the three manors of Brighthelmston had
been held by Edward the Confessor; but it has been aptly observed, that,
notwithstanding, they might not have belonged to that prince; for the
Normans, who denounced Harold the Second as an usurper, invariably
substituted the name of Edward, when jurors were empannelled, in order to
make an accurate return of the several manors within their respective
hundreds, putting down that of Harold, as the statutes of the republican
parliament of the 17th century are all references to Charles II.  It is
therefore fair to presume that the whole, or most of the town and parish
belonged to the ancestors of Earl Godwin many generations prior to the
Conquest, if not ever since the establishment of the Saxon power in this
part of the island.  They were styled _Thanes_, or noblemen of
considerable possessions.

The only _Thane_ whose name, qualities, and achievements have been made
known to us, was Ulnoth or Wolnoth, the father of Earl Godwin and lord of
the manor of Brighthelmston.  This nobleman was appointed by Ethelred II.
to direct the equipment of, and afterwards to command, the ships sent by
the county of Sussex in 1008, as its quota towards the national fleet
which the king was then collecting to oppose the Danes, who were come a
second time to levy contributions on England.  Godwin, his son and
successor to the manor, was banished by order of Edward, who took it with
other possessions.  He regained them by force, and retained them till
17th of April, 1053, when he was suddenly taken ill while dining at
Winchester, where the court of Edward was then held, and died four days
afterwards.

Earl Godwin was succeeded in two of the chief manors by his son Harold,
who, upon the death of Edward, in 1065, was chosen king: but, from some
secret arrangements between the king and William, duke of Normandy, the
latter made a claim which he asserted by force of arms.  He landed at
Pevensey.  Harold at the time was at Stanford Bridge, near York, where he
had defeated Toston, his unnatural brother, and Harold Harfager, the king
of Norway; and hearing of William's arrival, he immediately proceeded
southward, and with the addition of some levies hastily collected at
Brighthelmston and his other manors in Sussex, encamped within nine miles
of the invader.  On the 14th of October, 1066, he joined battle with the
Normans, and after performing all that valour and judgment could do
against a brave enemy, he closed his life in the field of battle, near
Hastings, having been pierced in the brain with an arrow.

Harold's possessions at Brighthelmston having fallen into the hands of
William the Conqueror, the town was conferred on his son-in-law, one of
his generals, William, Lord de Warren, in Normandy, who was created Earl
of Surrey.

In 1081, when the survey of Sussex was made by commissioners under order
from William the Conqueror, the manor of
Brighton--Brighthelmston-Michelham,--had attached to it four _hag_, or
tenements, in the town of Lewes, for which a sum of twelve pounds a-year
was paid.  These _hag_ were places of resort for protection in seasons
of danger from feuds between neighbouring heptarchs, or from the ravages
of the Danes, Lewes being the fortified borough under the lord of the
barony, then William de Warren.  The manor of Brighthelmston-Michelham
was held of the king by three Aloarii, or joint tenants of the same
manor, who owed no suit or service to any superior, but "might go where
they pleased," that is, in the feudal language of Domesday, were attached
to no lord in a _seignoral_, but to the king alone in a civil capacity.
This manor defended itself for six hides, and one yardland.  One of the
tenants had an _aula_, or manor-house on his part.  The shares of the two
others were used by _villeins_, or slaves.  The whole formed but one
manor, and contained five ploughlands of arable.  After the conquest,
this manor was held by one Widard, under William de Warren.  He had one
ploughland and a half in his demesne, or immediate possession; and
fourteen _villeins_, and twenty-one _bordars_, or _bordarii_, occupiers
of cottages, used the three other ploughlands and a half.  It also
contained seven acres of meadow, and wood enough to afford _pannage_, or
mast and acorns for twenty-one hogs belonging to the _villeins_ of the
manor, three of which the lord was, by the general custom of the county,
entitled to.  Lady Amhurst is the present lady of this manor.

The manor of Brighthelmston-Lewes was held after the Conquest, by
Radulphus, a Norman adventurer, under William de Warren, and defended
itself for five hides and a half of land.  Radulphus held in demesne half
a carucate, or ploughland, the whole arable land of the manor being three
carucates.  Eighteen _villeins_ and nine bordars used the rest of the
arable land, for the cultivation of which, and the lord's half carucate,
they had three ploughs, and one _servus_, or _villein en gross_, under
them.  The "gablum," or customary rent of this maritime manor, was four
thousand herrings or mackerel.  To this day, if demanded, the fishermen
of Brighton pay to this manor six mackerel for each boat, every time they
return from mackerel fishing.  The fish thus paid is called "Reve," or
more properly "Reves," which signifies rent or tithes, from the Saxon
verb, _resian_, to exact.  When the Reve Inn, Upper Edward Street, was
first opened, the sign represented the lord's reve on horseback,
Murrell,--who at that time held the New England farm, the site of the
present railway works and land contiguous,--receiving of a Brighton
fisherman six mackerel.  In 1081 the manor was worth 12 a year.  Mr.
Charles Scrase Dickens and Mr. Thomas Wisden are the present lords of
this manor.

The manor of Atlingworth was held after the Conquest, by William de
Watteville, under William de Warren.  He used one ploughland in demesne,
and thirteen _villeins_ and eleven _bordars_ used the other.  The church
stood in this manor, which was, at the grand survey, valued at 12 a
year.  In the reign of Stephen, Ralph de Cheney was in possession of this
manor, and he gave the Priory at Lewes the advowson of the church,
together with all his lands in the parish; and in process of time the
whole manor became the property of the Priory.  Mr. Somers Clarke is the
present lord, and Mrs. Penelope McWhinnie is the present lady of this
manor.  By a decree of the High Court of Chancery, made on the 21st day
of October, 1760, a partition of this manor of Brighthelmston was made
between Thomas Friend and Bodycombe Sparrow, the then proprietors of it,
and the present lords accordingly possess the soil of it in distinct
moieties.  In 1771, October 7th, Charles Scrase bought (Henry) Sparrow's
moiety.

    "Atlingworth, Adelingworth, Ablingworth, Athelingworth, or
    Addlingworth (Tower Records, No. 50,) manor lies in the parishes of
    Brighthelmston and Lewes; it is the paramount manor, and extends over
    the Hoddown (Lord Pelham's estate), formerly a Warren."--_Burrell
    MSS._

Besides the three principal manors, there are within the town and parish
two other small manors, viz., Peakes and Harecourt; as also parcels or
members of the manors of Old Shoreham, _alias_ Vetus Shoreham, _alias_
Rusper, and Portslade; but the boundaries of them are at the present day
very undefined.  Mr. Harry Colvill Bridger is the present lord of the
manor of Old Shoreham.




CHAPTER IV.
AFTER THE CONQUEST, TO 1513.


It is highly probable, from the surnames of some of the most ancient
families in the town of Brighthelmston, the phrases, and the
pronunciation of the old natives, and some peculiar customs of the
people, that the town had, at some distant period, received a colony of
Flemings.  This might have happened soon after the conquest, as a great
inundation of the sea took place in Flanders about that period; and such
of the unfortunate inhabitants of the deluged country as wanted new
habitations, could not have anywhere applied with a greater likelihood of
success than in England, as Matilda, queen of William the Conqueror, was
their countrywoman, being daughter of Baldwin, Earl of Flanders.

Being thus settled in Brighthelmston, the Flemings were led by habits and
situation, to direct their chief attention to the fishery of the Channel.
Besides obtaining a plentiful supply of fresh fish of the best kind and
quality for themselves and their inland neighbours, they, every season,
cured a great number of herrings, and exported them to various parts of
the continent, where the abstinence of Lent, the vigils, and other meagre
days, insured them a constant market.  There is no doubt, but, from time
to time, additions were made to this foreign colony, from Spain, France,
and Holland, as the names of some of the oldest families of the town
verify; namely, Mighell (Miguel), Gunn (Juan), Jasper (Gaspard), Jeffery
(Geoffrey), Gillam (Guillaume), &c.

The inhabitants were now classed into landsmen and seamen, or mariners,
and they profited respectively by the advantages of their situation.  The
former, whose dwellings were on the cliff and part of the gentle
acclivity behind it, drew health and competence from the fertile soil;
while the latter, who resided in two streets beneath the cliff, found a
bountiful source of subsistence and profit at the bottom of the sea.  In
process of time, the mariners and their families, principally descendants
from the new comers, the Flemings, had increased in numbers so far as to
compose more than two-thirds of the population of the town, and they had
a proportionate share of the offices and internal regulation of the
parish.

The Flemish, on their arrival, though received in all probability as
vassals, found their condition an improvement on the general
state-_villeinage_; and the indulgence shown to foreigners was eventually
extended to the natives; and the disfranchised landholders gradually
emerged from the most abject state of feudal dependence, to one less
precarious, that of tenants by copy of court roll.  Once registered on
the rolls of a manor, with the consent of the lord or his steward, their
title became indefeasible and descendible to their heirs, except in case
of neglect or violation of the definite and recorded duties of their
tenure.  Thus settled, the husbandmen of Brighthelmston had every
inducement to marriage, and they toiled with pleasure in their
patrimonial field.  The mariner also, freed from feudal caprice, braved
the dangers of the deep, not only for his subsistence, but as a future
provision for his family; and transmitted to his posterity, controlled by
manorial custom, his ship or boat, his cottage, his capstan and garden,
and other monuments of his paternal solicitude and industry.  The town
being, as now, a member of the port of Shoreham,--all boats of the town
register at Shoreham,--was obliged to furnish some seamen for the royal
navy; and no other tax or service was imposed upon the inhabitants, till
the levying of a poll-tax in the reign of Edward III.

In 1313 Brighthelmston had become so considerable as to need the public
accommodation of a market; and John, the eighth and last Earl de Warren,
obtained a charter of Edward III. for holding a market every Thursday.

The mariners about this time, in the Lower Town, or under Cliff,
increasing in number and property, extended their habitations to the
Upper Town, and began two streets westward of the Stein, named from their
situations, East Street and West Street, forming the inhabited limits of
the town in those directions.  After East Street and West street had been
continued some considerable way towards the north, the landsmen, who were
also becoming numerous, found it necessary to build intermediate streets,
parallel to those already constructed; and the proprietor of the north
_laines_, finding it more convenient to have their barns, and finally,
their own dwellings and the cottages for their workmen, at that extremity
of the town, formed North Street.

Most of the ground now occupied by Black Lion street and Ship street, and
the intermediate space, are, in all the Court Rolls, called the
Hempshares; and were, even after East street and West street were built,
plots or gardens for the production of hemp, for the use of the fishermen
of the town.  The name of the ropemaker who constructed all the cordage
for the supply of the fishery, was Anthony Smith, who, in 1670 suffered
great persecution from Captain Nicholas Tattersal, a personage who
assumed great power when basking in the smiles of royalty, consequent
upon his effecting the escape of Charles II. to France.  Smith was more
especially the object of his malignity, from having been the occupier of
the house, in West street, where the king sojourned preparatory to his
flight; he happening to recognise His Majesty, yet having too much
loyalty to betray him.  Jealousy actuated him; as he was desirous of
claiming all the honour in the royal escape.  He in consequence kept all
the merits, which were really due to Smith, in the background, and took
all the honour to himself, and the reward to.  In process of time, as the
population increased, and the sea made encroachments on the lower town,
two streets were erected on the site of the hemp-shares or gardens.  In
the most eastern street of these, with one front to the High street,--that
which passed along the verge of the Cliff,--stood an Inn, with a Black
Lion for its sign; and in the other there was an Inn, with a Ship for its
sign.  The two streets of the hemp-shares were soon distinguished by the
two signs, and are the present Black-Lion street and Ship street.  The
Black-Lion Inn on the east side of the street, was converted into a
private residence about the beginning of the present century.  The Ship,
the oldest tavern in the town, is now, and has been since 1650, known as
the Old Ship, to distinguish it from the New Ship, a more recent
erection.  Besides the hemp-shares, the ground to the west of the town,
which was afterwards brick-yards, and is now termed the Brunswick Square
and Terrace district, was devoted to the growing of flax for the use of
the fishermen.

The prosperity of the town received a check about the middle of the
fourteenth century, from the ambitious projects of Edward III. against
France, which exposed this and other fishing towns of the southern coast
to the occasional retaliation of that kingdom.  The inhabitants' boats
were taken, and their fishery frequently interrupted.  In 1377 the French
burnt and plundered most of the towns from Portsmouth to Hastings; but no
particular injury to the town is recorded of Brighton, at that period.
When, however, there was the least appearance of danger, the coast Watch
and Ward, called in the king's mandate _Vigili minut_, were called into
service.  Their duties were nocturnal, and seldom exacted, unless an
immediate descent was apprehended.  The watch consisted of men at arms,
and _hobilers_ or _hoblers_, who were a sort of light cavalry that were
bound to perform the service by the nature of their tenure.  They were
dressed in jackets called hobils, and were mounted on swift horses.  The
bold stand made against the French, in 1377, when they landed at
Rottingdean, was principally by the watch and ward-keepers of the coast,
which had been divided into districts, entrusted to the care of some
baron, or religious house, by certain commissioners, called Rectores
Commitatus.  In the annals of the Prior of Lewes, and the Abbot of
Battle, we find that those personages were several times placed at the
head of an armed power, to oppose actual or threatened invasion.  Certain
borough hundreds were also obliged, under pain of forfeiture or other
penalty, to keep the beacons in proper condition, and to fire them at the
approach of an enemy, in order to alarm and assemble the inhabitants in
the Weald.

From the constant alarm of the people and the ruin of war, Brighthelmston
generally experienced a considerable share of the public distress; as,
besides contributing some of its best mariners for manning the royal
fleet, the town was deprived of its trade and fishery.  In 1512, in
consequence of war being declared by Henry VIII. against Louis XII., all
the maritime industry of Brighthelmston suffered, and its buildings were
threatened with plunder and conflagration.  At this time, Sir Edward
Howard, the English Admiral, having made several successful attempts on
the coast of Brittany, and being joined by a squadron of ships commanded
by Sir Thomas Knivet, went in pursuit of the French fleet, under the
command of Admiral Primauget, Knight of Rhodes; the real intention being
to destroy the town of Brest.  The French fleet, consisting of
thirty-nine ships, was in the harbour of Brest.  Howard, having been
misled by the information and advice of a Spanish Knight, named Caroz, as
to the strength of Primauget's force, entered the bay under the fire of
two strong batteries, which commanded the entrance, with only a barge and
three galleys, and took possession himself, of the French Admiral's.  But
the French soon recovered from their panic, the two fleets met, and a
furious engagement ensued.  At length Primauget's ship was set on fire,
and determining not to perish alone, he bore down upon the English
Admiral's, and, grappling with her, both ships soon became involved in
the same inevitable destruction.  This dreadful scene suspended the
action between the other ships; but after some time, the French ship blew
up, and in its explosion destroyed the English ship.  While the conflict
was at its height, and the deck was streaming with the blood of his brave
companions, Sir Edward was thrust with a half-pike into the sea and
perished.

After this misfortune, the English fleet returned home; and Primauget's
being reinforced from Brest, and being animated with his recent success,
he sailed for the coast of Sussex, to wreak that vengeance on the
inhabitants which was due to Henry alone.  He accordingly, in the night
time, landed some men, who plundered it of everything valuable that they
could remove, set many houses on fire, and wantonly slew many of the
inhabitants.  The rest flying in terror and confusion different ways, the
country became alarmed as far as Lewes and the Weald. {20}  The French
re-embarked the next morning, with their booty, before the country people
could assemble in any force to annoy them.  Sir Thomas Howard, brother of
Sir Edward, whom he succeeded, soon after, with Sir John Wallop, made a
descent on the coast of Normandy, and desolated no less than twenty-one
towns and villages, inhabited by people who never did, and perhaps never
wished to do, any injury to their fellow men on this wide the Channel.
Such is the fortune, and such are the advantages and distinctions of the
royal game of war.

Holinshead mentions an attack upon the town by the French, about this
time; and there is the probability that he refers to the same invasion,
as he terms it a nocturnal visit from some French ships, but commanded by
Prior Jehan, the high admiral.  He says: "but when the people began to
gather, by firing the beacons, Prior Jehan sounded his trumpet to call
his men aboard, and by that time it was day.  The certain archers that
kept the watch followed Prior Jehan to the sea, and shot so fast that
they beat the galley men from the shore, and wounded many in the fleet:
to which Prior Jehan was constrained to wade, and was shot in the face
with an arrow, so that he lost one of his eyes, and was like to have died
of the hurt, and therefore he offered his image of wax before our Lady at
Bullogne, with the English arrow in the face, for a miracle."

According to the Burrell MSS., {21} in 1589, strict orders were given for
maintaining beacons in all accustomed places, with orders to the
watchmen, that if the number of invading ships did not exceed two, they
were not to fire the beacons, but to cause larums to be rung from church
to church as far as the skirts of the hill reached from the sea shore,
and no further; and to send a post to the nearest justices: but if the
ships exceeded two, they were to fire both their beacons, which were to
be duly answered by the corresponding ones, and thus rouse the "force of
the shire."  Five discreet householders in the neighbourhood, were
assigned to each beacon, one to keep watch constantly.  In 1590, the
beacon watches were ordered to be discharged till further orders.




CHAPTER V.
ANCIENT AND MODERN GOVERNMENT OF THE TOWN.


When king Alfred divided England into shires, the shires into hundreds,
and the hundreds into tithings, tithing men or headboroughs--heads of
boroughs--were the only guardians of the peace, and dispensers of justice
within their respective districts, the original limits being the
residences of ten _creorles_ or freemen, with their families and slaves.
Under the Saxon constitution, Brighton had two headboroughs; a proof that
its population, even then, was far from being inconsiderable.  These
headboroughs sat alternately or together, at the borough court, at which
the decenners, or free, or frankpledges (friborgs) as had no causes to be
tried there, attended as jurors or sworn assessors to the presiding
officer.  These free-pledges were the origin of the Society of Twelve,
which continued in Brighthelmston to the commencement of the present
century.

By the statute of Winchester, 13th Edward I., the borough of
Brighthelmston had a constable appointed for itself exclusively, an
indication of its respectability at that period.  According to Alfred's
division, the hundred to which Brighthelmston belonged, contained,
besides that borough, those of Ovingdean and Rottingdean, called in
Domesday, _Welesmere_.  The boroughs of Preston (Prestetune) and Patcham
(Patchame), which were originally hundreds of themselves, were, under
Edward I., united to the borough of Brighthelmston, and composed a new
hundred, called _Wellsbourne_, since corrupted into Whalesbone.  The
boroughs of Ovingdean and Rottingdean were then united to the small
hundred of Falmer, under the name of _Evensmere_.

Wellsbourne took its name from a stream which till within the last few
years ran, in the winter time, nearly the whole length of the hundred.
It rose near the upper end of Patcham street, and entered the sea at the
Pool,--Pool Valley,--in Brighthelmston.  Within the last thirty years it
burst out with so large a current as to inundate the Level to the north
of the town, and even the greatest part of the Stein.  In the spring of
1806 it laid the north of the town under water.  After the last
inundation, in the winter of 1827-8, a large sewer, called the Northern
Drain, was laid down from the northern boundary of the London Road, to
the sea, its outlet being in front of the Albion Hotel.  The source of
this stream or bourne, being the well at Patcham, it had its name from
that circumstance, and lent it to the said hundred.

The _leet_ or law day, the view of frankpledge for this hundred, was held
on Easter Tuesday, when all the officers of the hundred, except the
headborough of Patcham, were elected.  The Constable of Brighthelmston
was always chosen by and out of the Twelve of the town.  The headborough,
afterwards styled the constable of the borough of Deane or Patcham, was
nominated in rotation for that office, according to the particular lands
he held within the borough.  From and after 1618, by arrangement between
the two classes of inhabitants, the fishermen and the landsmen, "Twelve
out of the ancientest, gravest, and wysest inhabitants of the town, eight
fishermen and four landsmen, were selected for assistants to the
conestable in every public cause."  The constable was then termed the
High Constable, and his twelve assistants were called Headboroughs.  The
constable of Brighthelmston served at Quarter Sessions, musters, and
other public services for the whole hundred, the constable of the Deane
being only his assistant or deputy within the borough of the Deane or
Patcham.  There was also chosen at the leet or law day for this hundred,
which is in the deanery of Lewes, an ale-conner and a searcher or sealer
of leather.  Since the town became incorporated, in 1854, no headboroughs
have been chosen; but Mr James Martin, who was appointed at the last
annual Court Leet of the Earl of Abergavenny, by the steward of the Leet,
F. H. Gell, Esq., on Easter Tuesday, 1855, continues the High Constable
of the Hundred of Whalesbone: his duties however are very trifling,
merely consisting of taking charge of the Parish Jury List, and
presenting it to the Clerk of the Peace for the County.

The following is a list of the Constables who have served the Hundred as
far as the records of them are made in the Town Books, or other proofs
are given:--

1589.      Henry Gunn.
1597.      Thomas Jeffery.
1618.      Richard Stoneham.
1660.      John Brooker. {23}
1670.      Nicholas Tattersal (Captain).
1683.      Richard Harman.
1690.      Richard Masters.
1691.      Richard Harman, senr.
1692.      John Ellgate.
1694.      Thomas Stanbridge.
1695.      Richard Masters.
1696.      Henry May.
1697.      George Beach.
1698.      Henry Stanbridge.
1699.      John Woolger.
1700.      Thomas Gillam.
1701.      Israel Pain.
1702.      Jonas Hunn.
1703.      Joseph Buckall.
1704.      Thomas Ridge.
1705.      John Gold.
1706.      Jonathan Wegeram. {24}
1707.      William Gillam.
1708.      James Friend.
1709.      Nicholas Roberts.
1710.      Richard Masters.
1711.      Thomas Roberts, jun.
1712.      Thomas Bewman.
1713.      Richard Legate.
1714.      John Peircy.
1715.      Israel Pain, jun.
1716.      Dighton Elgate.
1717.      Richard Roggers.
1718.      Henry Stanbridge.
1719.      Thomas Swan.
1720.      Philip Mighell.
1721.      William Heaves.
1722.      Thomas Scutt.
1723.      John Masters.
1724.      Nicholas Sanders.
1725.      Samuel Dean chosen, but dying, Edward Heath served.
1726.      Thomas Simons.
1727.      John Tuppen.
1728.      William Bradford.
1729.      Henry Paine.
1730.      Thomas Wood, alias Dine.
1731.      William Friend.
1732.      Richard Lemmon.
1733.      Richard Harman.
1734.      Richard Masters.
1744.      Hugh Grover.
1745.      James Ridge.
1746.      James Brooker.
1747.      Thomas Sanders.
1748.      Richard Mighell.
1749.      Israel Paine.
1750.      William Grover.
1751.      Thomas Roberts.
1752.      Philip Mighell.
1753.      Thomas Kent.
1754.      David Vallance.
1755.      Thomas Gillam.
1756.      Hugh Saunders.
1757.      John Lashmar.
1758.      Thomas Measor.
1759.      William Buckoll.
1760.      Edward Smith.
1761.      Richard Tidy.
1762.      William Lucas.
1764.      John Tuppen.
1765.      Henry Beach.
1766.      Francis Carter.
1767.      William Chapman.
1768.      Stephen Poune.
1769.      Stephen Flemming.
1770.      Beach Roberts.
1771.      Harry Stiles.
1772.      William Bradford.
1773.      Robert Davis.
1774.      James Buckoll.
1775.      Richard Willett.
1791.      Robert Williams.
1792.      John Kirby.
1793.      Thomas Tilt.
1794.      William Wigney.
1795.      John Baulcomb.
1796.      James Vallance.
1797.      William Chapman.
1798.      Stephen Gourd.
1799.      Richard Lashmar.
1800.      Cornelius Paine.
1801.      Stephen Wood.
1802.      Philip Vallance.
1803.      Daniel Hack, who affirmed.
1804.      Thomas Newington.
1805.      Thomas Saunders.
1806.      Thomas Saunders.
1807.      William Newbold.
1808.      Adam Maiben.
1809.      John Mills.
1810.      John Hargraves.
1811.      Harry Colbron.
1812.      Edward Blaker.
1813.      Alexander Baldey.
1814.      Robert Ackerson.
1815.      William Williams.
1816.      George Richardson.
1817.      John Williams.
1818.      Richard Bodle.
1819.      Richard Humber.
1820.      John Myrtle.
1821.      George Wood.
1822.      George Wigney.
1823.      William Blaber.
1824.      William Boxall.
1825.      Samuel Akehurst.
1826.      Thomas West.
1827.      Edward Hill Creasy.
1828.      James Cordy.
1829.      Thomas Palmer.
1830.      J. G. Sarel.
1831.      D. M. Folkard.
1832.      Samuel Ridley.
1833.      John Poune.
1834.      William Hallett.
1835.      John Yeates.
1836.      John Ade.
1837.      T. H. Wright.
1838.      John Bradshaw.
1839.      Henry Smithers.
1840.      William Barnes.
1841.      Thomas Fuller.
1842.      Edward Humphreys.
1843.      Edmundus Burn.
1844.      George Chittenden.
1845.      Robert Williams.
1846.      William Catt.
1847.      William Towner.
1848.      William Lambert.
1849.      George Cheesman, jun.
1850.      Charles Smith, who appointed his brother George to serve.
1851.      M. D. Scott.
1852.      William Beedham.
1853.      H. P. Tamplin.
1854.      P. R. Wilkinson.
1855.      James Martin, who continues to be the High Constable of
           the Hundred. {25}

On the 5th of April, 1793, at a Vestry Meeting held at the Town Hall, it
was ordered: "That in future the Constable (High) be allowed twelve
guineas, to be paid in full, for all expenses during his office,
including four guineas for a dinner."

It was customary at the Court Leet, each Easter, to choose a
High-Constable Elect, but he was not always appointed at the next Court;
as, in 1814, Mr. Ackerson was chosen, although Mr. W. Williams was the
elect.




CHAPTER VI.
THE BOOK OF ALL THE "AUNCIENT CUSTOMS."


In consequence of the perpetual jealousies and strife between the
fishermen and landsmen, a commission was sent to Brighton, in 1580, to
settle every difference, assess the town rates, and arrange the public
concerns of the parish.  The Earl of Arundel, Lord Buckhurst (Lord of the
Manor), Sir Thomas Shirley, of Preston, and Henry Shelley, Esq., were the
commissioners.  The number of landsmen who at that time paid parochial
rates and taxes, was 102; while the number of fishermen amounted to 400.
The decision of the commissioners gave satisfaction to all parties till
1618, when a fresh arrangement was entered into.  The orders and
regulations of these two commissions were directed to be "written in two
several books of parchment," one of which was to be delivered to the Earl
of Arundel and Lord Buckhurst, the other was to "be kepte in a cheaste
locked with three locks, in some convenient place in Brighthelmston."
Provision was made also for the safe custody of the key of the chest, and
for the annual reading of the regulations by the Vicar, "openlye in the
presence of all the fishermen and others of the parishioners,
contributaries, in some convenient time and place."

The "Book of all the Auncient Customs," is dated 23rd July, in the 32nd
year of Queen Elizabeth, 1580; and is kept in its original shape in a
spacious box, at the office of Messrs. Attree, Clarke, and Howlett,
solicitors, Ship Street.  It is in black letter, on parchment, and is in
a state of good preservation, although the ink, from age, is very yellow.
An engrossed copy in corrected modern authority, is deposited with it,
and is as follows:--

    _In the Manors of Brighthelmston_, _as Parcel of the Barony of
    Lewes_, _the following Feudal Customs_, _partly of Saxon origin_,
    _but established for the most part by the Norman settlers in this
    country_, _have_, _by immemorial usage_, _governed the Courts
    there_:--

    1.  The lands of _copyholders_ in these manors are descendible, on
    death, to the youngest son, or to the youngest daughter if there be
    no son, and so on to the youngest relatives collaterally. {26}

    2.  The widow of a purchaser of a copyhold estate to which he has
    been admitted, or the widow of an heir by descent, though unadmitted,
    may, after three courts to be holden next after her husband's death,
    claim her _widow's bench_, and shall be admitted for her life, even
    though she marry again, she paying the lord a reasonable fine, not
    exceeding one year's value of the land.  But if the husband, even on
    his death-bed, make a surrender of his copyhold, the widow shall not
    have her _bench_, nor the widow of a purchaser unadmitted, nor the
    widow of a tenant in reversion.

    3.  All the tenants of these manors, except such as were discharged
    by deed, or held by knight's service, held their lands by _suite of
    court_, the _copyholder_ from three weeks to three weeks, and to be
    of the homage: the _freeholders_ were to appear only twice a-year,
    viz., at the courts holden at Easter and Michaelmas, where, if they
    knew of any wrong done to the lord, they were bound by their oath of
    fealty, to make it known to the court.  But they (the _freeholders_)
    were not to be of the homage, because they performed service at
    juries at the _barony court_, held from three weeks to three weeks at
    _Lewes_; from which service the copyholders were exempt.  The
    defaulters at each court were to be _essoyned_ (excused) or
    _assirred_ (fined) in proportion to their offence.

    4.  Surrenders made out of court, and presented at the next general
    court holden for the manor, are good.

    5.  The heir in possession of a customary tenement, being above the
    age of fourteen years, or he or she to whose use any surrender shall
    be made, being of the like age, not coming into court on or before
    the third half-yearly proclamation, shall forfeit his or her estate.

    6.  If a _copyholder_ leave an heir under the age of fourteen years,
    such heir is, during his or her minority, to be committed to the care
    of the next of kin who is able to answer for the profits of the land,
    and to whom the land cannot descend.  At the age of fourteen years
    the heir may choose a guardian.

    7.  _Relief_ and _Heriot_ were due to the lords of these manors on
    the death of every freeholder, not discharged by deed, who died
    seized of an estate of inheritance of soccage tenure.

    8.  On the death or surrender of a tenant for life, no _heriot_ is
    due, except for a stinted _cottage_; nor of a joint tenant: or if a
    tenant in fee surrender to one of his heirs, part of his customary
    tenement, and reserve another part to himself and heirs, no _heriot_
    is due, because he is still tenant of the _heriotable_ tenement.

    9.  No more than one _heriot_ is, by custom, claimable for any number
    of tenements in one manor, belonging to the deceased.

    10.  The _copyholder_ was to keep his customary tenement in repair,
    and for that purpose, may cut down on his copyhold the necessary
    timber, in case the lord, his steward, woodward, or reeve refuse to
    assign him any for that purpose.

    11.  If any tenant, free or customary, alien parcel of his tenement,
    and the rent be apportioned in court with the lord's or the steward's
    consent, it concludes with the lord and tenant.  Otherwise the lord
    may distrain any part of the tenement for the whole rent.

    12.  The heir of every tenant, being fourteen years of age, after the
    death of his ancestor dying seized of customary lands or tenements,
    as also a purchaser, upon surrender of such lands either in
    possession or reversion to his use, coming into the court at or
    before the third proclamation, and desiring to be admitted, shall
    have a reasonable fine assessed by the lord or his steward, not
    exceeding one year's value of the land; which fine the tenant is to
    pay on his admittance, or shortly after; otherwise he forfeits his
    estate.

    13.  If a tenant let to farm his _copyhold_ for more than one year
    and a day at a time, he is to come to the lord's court for license,
    which the lord is to grant, the tenant paying him _four-pence_, and
    no more, for every year so granted, with a reservation of the lord's
    customs, duties, and services.  Also the _copyholder_, having a barn
    on his copyhold, is to pay the lord _four-pence_, or less, but never
    more, for every wainload of corn or hay that grows on his said
    copyhold, and is carried out of the manor with license, or to any
    freehold within the manor.  But the tenant may carry corn or hay from
    one copyhold to another on the same manor, without license, where the
    two copyholds have equal estates.  But if one be a guardian, or a
    tenant for life, and another tenant in fee, and any manure be removed
    from the former estate to the latter, the party, so doing, shall be
    amerced.

    14.  If a _copyholder_ alien his lands by _deed_, pull down his
    building without license, or wilfully suffer it to fall, commit any
    wilful waste, let his tenement for more than one year and a day
    without license, obstinately refuse to pay his rent, or a reasonable
    fine upon admittance, or absent himself, without sufficient cause,
    from the lord's court after lawful summons, or, being there, will not
    be sworn of the homage, without satisfactory excuse, or carry all his
    corn from the copyhold, if he have a barn there, he is, for any of
    these offences, liable to forfeit his estate in the said copyhold.

    15.  _Strays_, found within any of these manors, and proclaimed
    according to the statute, after a year and a day are passed, become
    the property of the lord of that manor, by prescription.  Every lord
    is to maintain a common pound within his manor.  But, of latter time,
    all _strays_ within the _rape_ and _liberties_ of the barony of
    _Lewes_, have, by consent of the lords, been presented at the _law
    days_ or _leet_ holden for the hundred in which the _strays_ are
    found.

    16.  In each of these manors there was a _Reeve_, who was the lord's
    immediate officer.  His name and institution are both of Saxon
    origin.  The _Thane_ who generally presided in person at his own
    court, had at first no other officer belonging to it than the
    _Gerefa_ or _Reve_, who generally received a settlement on the manor,
    in consideration of his services; and thus, in most manors, did the
    office become predial, or attached to some particular lands.  In some
    manors however, it was not confined to one denomination only, but
    imposed on several of the tenants in rotation, by virtue of their
    tenure.  This officer's duty is to account to the lord or his
    steward, for all the ancient quit-rents both of freehold and
    copyhold, and all the heriots that fall due within the manor,
    together with the fines, leviable amercements, and all the other
    casual profits within the same.  But he is not bound to audit out of
    the manor, unless the lord will recompense him for his pains; nor
    even then, unless he chooses it.  Being an officer of great
    antiquity, he is not bound to collect any but _old rents_, which were
    payable before the eighteenth year of _Edward the First_.

    17.  The majority of the homagers sworn at the lord's court, for the
    better preservation of order, have, time beyond all memory of man,
    with the lord's consent, used to make bye-laws for the establishment
    of the common good, and for preventing of public annoyances: and such
    laws made with reasonable penalties and clauses for distress for such
    penalties, have been immemorially binding and concluding to all
    tenants of the manor, provided such laws or orders cross not the
    general laws and statutes of the kingdom.

Though many of the following Customs and Regulations are now become
obsolete, they are in general too interesting to be omitted in the
History of the town.

    Upon supplication {28} by the ancient fishermen of Brighthelmston,
    unto the Right Honourable the Lords of the Council, for remedy and
    redress of certain disorders in their town, touching the annual
    payment of certain money called a _quarter of a share_, heretofore of
    ancient time usually paid out of every boat in every fishing voyage,
    to the churchwardens there, towards the maintenance of their church,
    and other public charges about the necessary defence of their town;
    and for a contribution by the rest of the parishioners, not being
    fishermen, toward the bearing of the said charges to be had and
    levied: and after commission by the means of the Lord _Buckhurst_,
    for the purposes aforesaid, obtained from the Lords of her Majesty's
    Most Honourable Privy Council, unto the Right Honourable Earl of
    _Arundel_, the said Lord _Buckhurst_, Sir _Thomas Shirley_, Knight,
    and _Richard Shelley_, Esquire, or to any two of them directed,
    bearing date the 12th day of February, _in anno Domini_, 1579, it
    pleased the said Lord _Buckhurst_ and Sir _Thomas Shirley_, by
    authority thereof, to will and command certain of the said ancient
    fishermen to set down in writing their ancient customs and orders,
    concerning the true making, payment, and employing of the said
    _quarter share_, and the certainty thereof; which they, the said
    ancient fishermen, being assembled together, have done accordingly in
    manner and form here following.

    _The Ancient Custom used for_ TUCKNET FARE.--"_Imprimis_, there have
    used, time out of mind, between February and April yearly, certain
    small boats called _Tuckers_, to go to sea upon the coast for plaice,
    of the burden of three tons or thereabouts.  Every of these boats
    have used eight or nine men, or thereabouts, and two nets.  Every man
    hath used to take for his body in this voyage, a share.  The boat,
    the nets and necessaries thereto belonging, hath used to take four
    shares: and besides, one other share hath been used to be made,
    whereof half is due to the Vicar, a quarter to the master, and the
    other quarter to the Churchwardens, for the use of the town: so that
    every boat in this voyage, having eight men, taking a share a man,
    maketh thirteen shares, viz., for eight men eight shares; for the
    boat, the nets, and necessaries, four shares; and for the Vicar, the
    town, and the master, one share; and if there be more or less men,
    then the shares are more or less in number, according to the number
    of the men proportionably."

    _The Ancient Custom used in_ SHOTNET FARE.--"_Item_, there have
    yearly, time out of mind, from April to June, used to go to sea for
    mackarel, other boats called _shotters_, of diverse burdens between
    six tons and twenty-six tons.  Every boat of the burden of six tons,
    and not above ten tons, hath used to take two shares; and above ten
    tons, and under eighteen tons, two shares and a half; and from
    eighteen tons to the biggest, three shares.  Every man having above
    four nets going to sea in this voyage, hath used to take for his
    body, half a share, and not above; and every other man hath used to
    take for his body, a share, and not above: and the nets have
    accustomably contained in length between thirty and twenty-four
    fathoms, and in deepness two _ranns_, every _rann_ fifty _moxes_
    deep, whereof every four nets have used to take a share; so that
    every boat in this voyage, taking two shares and a half, having ten
    men, taking a share a man, and having four score nets, maketh
    thirty-three shares and a half, viz., for four score nets twenty
    shares; for ten men, ten shares; for the boat, two shares and a half;
    for the Vicar, the town, and the master, one share; and if there be
    more or less men, or the boat be lesser or bigger of burden, or have
    less or more number of nets, then the shares are more or leas in
    number, according to the proportion of the boat, men and nets."

    _The Ancient Custom used in_ SCARBOROUGH FARE.--"Item.  There have,
    since the memory of man, yearly, from June to September, other boats
    of divers burden between eighteen and forty tons, used a voyage to
    _Scarborough_ to fish for cod (being about forty years agon).  Every
    boat in this voyage, of the burden of eighteen tons, and not above
    twenty-eight tons, hath used to take four shares; and from
    twenty-eight to the biggest, five shares.  Every man in the biggest
    sort of these boats, bringing with him a line, a lead, four lines of
    hooks, and two norward nets, containing twenty-four yards in length,
    or thereabouts, hath used to take for his body, and the necessaries
    aforesaid, one share: and in the smallest sort, every man bringing
    with him two lines, two leads, and one _heak_, {30a} containing
    twenty-eight yards in length, and five ranns in deepness, hath used
    to take a share and a half; and having two lines, two leads, and two
    _heaks_, of the length and deepness aforesaid, two shares: so that
    every boat in this voyage taking four shares, having twelve men,
    taking two shares a man, maketh in number twenty-nine shares, viz.,
    for the boat, four shares; for twelve men, twenty-four shares; for
    the vicar, the town, and the master, one share: and the number of
    shares is varied more or less according to the number of men and
    nets, or the bigness of the boat, according to the proportion of this
    example."

    _The Ancient Custom used in_ YARMOUTH FARE.--"Item.  There have
    yearly, time out of mind, from September unto November, used to go to
    _Yarmouth_ to fish for herrings, other boats of divers burden,
    between fifteen tons and forty tons; every boat of the burden of
    fifteen tons and not above twenty-four tons, taking three shares; and
    every boat of twenty-four tons and not above thirty tons, taking
    three shares and a half; and from thirty to the biggest, taking four
    shares.  Every man in this voyage used to take for his body
    half-a-share: and these boats have used two sorts of nets, the one
    sort called _flews_, alias _heaks_, containing between thirty and
    twenty-four fathoms in length, and in deepness four ranns, every rann
    fifty _moxes_ {30b} deep, every three of these nets taking a share;
    the other sort, called norward nets, containing between fifteen and
    ten fathoms in length, and in deepness five ranns, every rann fifty
    moxes deep; every four of these nets taking a share: so that every
    boat in this voyage, taking three shares and a half, having twelve
    men, taking a share a man, and having thirty-six flews, alias heaks,
    and thirty-two norward nets, every four norward nets taking a share,
    maketh thirty shares in the whole number, and one half-share, viz.,
    for the boat, three shares and a half; for twelve men, six shares;
    for thirty-six flews, twelve shares; for thirty-two norward nets,
    eight shares; for the vicar, the town, and the master, one share; and
    if there be more or less number of men and nets, or if the boat be
    bigger or lesser, then the shares are more or less in number,
    according to that proportion."

    _The Ancient Custom used in_ COCK FARE.--"Item.  There have, time out
    of mind, between October and the midst of December, used to go to sea
    upon the coast for herrings, certain small boats called _cocks_ {30c}
    of burden, between two and six tons.  Every of these boats having a
    mast and a sail, hath used to take a share and a half; and the other,
    without mast or sail, have taken a share.  These boats have used two
    sorts of nets, the one called _cock heaks_, containing between thirty
    and twenty-four fathoms in length, and two ranns in deepness, and the
    other called _flews_, containing the length aforesaid, and three
    ranns in deepness.  These two sorts of nets have used to take for
    three nets a share, one with another; so that a boat in this voyage
    taking a share and a half, having six men, and twenty-four nets,
    maketh ten shares and a half, viz., for the boat, one share and a
    half; for six men, six shares; for twenty-four nets, eight shares;
    and for the Vicar, the town, and the master, one share; and so the
    shares do vary, more or less in number, according to the bigness of
    the boat, and the number of men and nets."

    _The Ancient Custom used in_ FLEW FARE.--"Item.  There have, time out
    of mind, between the beginning of November and the end of December,
    used to go to the sea for herrings, other boats, called _flewers_, of
    divers burden, between eight tons and twenty tons, the biggest boat
    taking three shares, the smallest two shares.  Every man having above
    three nets going to sea in this voyage, hath used to take for his
    body half a share, and every other man a share, and none above.
    These boats have used one sort of nets, called flews, containing
    between thirty and twenty-four fathoms in length, and three ranns in
    deepness, every rann fifty moxes deep, every three nets taking a
    share: so that every boat taking three shares, having eight men,
    taking half a share a man, and having thirty-nine nets, maketh
    twenty-one shares, viz., for the boat, three shares; for eight men,
    four shares; for thirty-nine nets, thirteen shares; and one share for
    the vicar, the town, and the master, or more or less shares according
    to the number of men and nets, and the bigness of the boat."

    _The Ancient Custom used in_ HARBOUR FARE.--"Item.  There have used,
    time out of mind, another sort of boats to go to sea in summer time,
    with harbour hooks for _conger_, every boat containing eight tons or
    thereabouts, and taking for every boat two shares; and every man
    having four lines of hooks, every line containing fifty fathoms,
    taketh a share; and twelve lines of hooks without a man taketh a
    share.  So that a boat having twelve men taking a share a man, and
    twelve lines of hooks without men, maketh in number fifteen shares,
    viz., for the boat, two shares; for twelve men, twelve shares; for
    twelve lines of hooks, one share; and one share for the vicar, the
    town, and the master, or more or less number of shares according to
    the number of men and hooks."

    _The Ancient Custom used in_ DRAWNET FARE.--"Item.  There have used,
    time out of mind, in the months of May and June, yearly, certain
    small _cocks_, of the burden of three tons, or thereabouts, to draw
    mackarel by the shore, whereof the boat and the net take one half,
    the other half is divided by shares unto the men, to every man a
    share; and one share is also thereof made for the vicar, the town,
    and the master: so that if there be ten men, then they make eleven
    shares, viz., ten men, ten shares; and one share for the vicar, the
    town, and the master; and if there be more men, then they make more
    shares."

    _The Ancient Custom for Payment and Employing the_ QUARTER
    SHARE.--"_Item_.  The master of every boat at _Brighthelmston_, at
    _St. Stephen's Day_, next after his return from any fishing voyage,
    wheresoever or whensoever it was begun, had, or continued, hath used
    to divide and pay out of the whole profits of the said boat, without
    diminution or deduction to any stranger going in the said boat, to be
    made, the said _quarter share_ unto the Churchwardens of
    _Brighthelmston_ for the time being, and half a share to the vicar
    there for the time being, and the other he hath for his own
    use."--"_Item_.  The master of every boat of _Brighthelmston_ had,
    time out of mind, used to take up and pay out of the whole profits of
    every voyage, whether the rest of his companions be of
    _Brighthelmston_, or strangers of other parishes, the said whole
    share for the vicar, the town, and himself, without any deduction
    thereof unto any other town or parish, or the parson, vicar, or
    proprietary thereof, to be made: and if the master, or any of his
    company, have been of _Brighthelmston_, and the boat belonging to any
    other place, then the said master also hath used to make in the said
    boat the aforesaid share, whereof he hath had a quarter to himself,
    and of the other three quarters for the town and vicar of
    _Brighthelmston_, he hath used to have proportionably, according to
    the number of men and nets which he used and had out of
    _Brighthelmston_ in the voyage."--"_Item_.  The said wardens used to
    employ the said quarter share, especially upon building of forts and
    walls towards the sea, for the defence of the said town, and for
    provision of shot and powder, and other furniture for that purpose;
    and entertainment of soldiers in time of wars, and other public
    service of the prince, and maintenance of the parish church.
    Whereupon, to the intent that the said annual payment, or quarter
    share, for the better defence and maintenance of the said town, may,
    in time to come, justly and truly, without fraud, be both made,
    yielded, and paid; and also preserved, kept, and employed, according
    to their ancient custom; as also for the avoiding of all such
    controversies as heretofore have commonly happened between the said
    fishermen, touching the just and equal division of their fish in
    every boat in every voyage, and the profits and charges thereof, the
    said Lord _Buckhurst_ and _Richard Shelley_, Esq. having the said
    fishermen before them at _Brighthelmston_, the 23rd day of July,
    _anno Domini_, 1580, have, by authority aforesaid, and with the
    consent of the said fishermen, devised and set down to writing,
    certain orders to be hereafter for ever used and kept by all the
    fishermen and inhabitants of the said town of _Brighthelmston_, in
    manner and form following:

    _Orders for_ LENGTH OF NETS.--"_Imprimis_.  None shall have any
    norward net under twenty yards long by the uppermost rann, nor any
    such net in a boat of thirty tons or upwards, under five ranns in
    deepness, every rann fifty moxes deep or thereabouts; nor in any
    other boat any norward net under four ranns deep, at any time after
    the first day of August, in the year of our Lord, one thousand five
    hundred four score and one, under pain to forfeit for every net under
    the said sizes, six shillings."--"_Item_.  Whoever shall have _flew_
    alias _heak_, under twenty-eight yards in length by the uppermost
    rann, and four ranns in deepness, every rann fifty moxes deep or
    thereabouts, at any time after the first day of August, in the year
    of our Lord one thousand five hundred four score and one, shall
    forfeit for every such _flew_ ten shillings."--"_Item_.  Whosoever
    shall have any _shortnet_ under twenty-eight yards in length, by the
    uppermost rann, and two ranns in deepness, every rann fifty moxes
    deep, or thereabouts, at any time after the first day of April next
    ensuing, shall forfeit for every such net three shillings and
    fourpence: and whosoever shall have any cocksheak under twenty-eight
    yards in length by the uppermost rann, and two ranns in deepness, at
    any time after the first day of October, in _anno Domini_, one
    thousand five hundred four score and one, shall forfeit for every
    such net three shillings and fourpenee.  _Provided_ always that none
    of the forfeitures before mentioned shall, at any time, extend to any
    norward net, flew, shortnet, or cocksheak spoiled in length at sea,
    and newly brought home from any voyage; so that the said net or nets
    so spoiled be made of the several lengths and deepness in the former
    orders mentioned, before they be occupied again in any
    voyage."--"_Item_.  The constable, the churchwardens, being sea-faring
    men, or any two of them, shall, four times a-year, if they shall
    think it needful, search, view, and measure the length and deepness
    of any man's nets in _Brighthelmston_, and he that shall let
    (_hinder_) them or any of them so to do, the party for every time so
    letting shall forfeit twenty shillings."

    _Orders for_ SHARES _for_ MEN.--"_Imprimis_.  No man having gone to
    sea in _Shotnet fare_, above six nets, or in _Yarmouth fare_, or
    _Flew fare_, above six norward nets, or four flews, alias heaks, and
    a half, shall take any more than half a share for his body, in any of
    the said voyages, upon pain to forfeit for every time so doing, ten
    shillings."--"_Item_.  Whoever shall give to any person having in
    _Shotnet fare_ above six nets, or in _Yarmouth fare_ or _Flew fare_,
    above six norward nets, or above four flews and a half, any more than
    half a share, shall forfeit for every time so doing, ten
    shillings."--"_Item_.  That no man shall take or give any more than a
    share for a man's body in _Shotnet fare_, _Yarmouth fare_, _Cock
    fare_, _or Flew fare_, upon pain to forfeit, either of them, for
    every time so doing, twenty shillings."--"_Item_.  That no man shall
    give to any stranger, not dwelling in _Brighthelmston_, any more than
    a share for his travel in any voyage, upon pain of forfeiting for any
    time so doing, twenty shillings."--"_Item_.  That none shall give to
    any stranger, any share, or part of share, in any other boat but only
    in the same boat where the said party is placed, upon pain of
    forfeiture of twenty shillings for every time so doing."--"_Item_.
    That no man shall hire any person at the first shipping, to go for
    wages in any voyage except _Scarborough_ voyage, upon pain to forfeit
    for every time so doing, ten shillings."--"_Item_.  That no man being
    entertained by any boat, or by any man, unto any voyage, shall place
    himself in any other boat, or with any other man, upon pain of
    forfeiting, as well by the party so entertained, as by him that shall
    entertain any such person, for every time so doing, twenty
    shillings."--"_Item_.  That no man going to _Scarborough_ in a bark
    going with ground hooks, having a line, a load, four lines of hooks,
    two norward nets, and one heak of five ranns deep, shall take for his
    body, and all the said necessaries, any more than two shares; and if
    any man bring any more nets than is before mentioned, and do fish
    with them in the said voyage, then he shall be allowed for the same
    nets after the rate of two norward nets, and a heak to a share; and
    whosoever shall give or take anything contrary to this order, shall
    forfeit for every time so doing, ten shillings."--"_Item_.  That no
    man going to _Scarborough_ in a boat with a drove sail, having two
    lines, two loads, and one heak of twenty-one yards in length, and
    five ranns in deepness, shall take any more than a share and a half
    for his body, and the necessaries aforesaid; and if he have two
    lines, two loads, and two heaks, then he shall take two shares, and
    not above; and if he bring more nets, then he shall be allowed after
    the rate of his nets according to the proportion of four nets to a
    share, and every heak to be allowed for two nets; and what person
    soever, shall give or take anything in this voyage contrary to this
    order, shall forfeit for every time so doing, twenty
    shillings."--"_Item_.  It shall be lawful for the owner and master of
    every boat or bark going to _Scarborough_, at the return of every
    such boat or bark from the said voyage, to take up, before sharing,
    so much of the fish as, being indifferently prized by the whole
    company, will pay all the charges that shall be then owing for the
    said voyage, so that they become chargeable to the creditors; which
    fish, being so prized and taken, the warden or wardens, and the Vicar
    or his deputy, paying the same price in ready money, shall have, if
    they or any of them require it."--"_Item_.  If there shall be any
    stranger master in any boat of _Brighthelmston_ in any voyage, then
    the owner shall take up and pay the half share for the Vicar of
    _Brighthelmston_, and the quarter share for the town, upon pain of
    every owner doing the contrary, to forfeit for every such default
    twenty _shillings_."--"_Item_.  No man shall take or give above a
    share and a quarter for any man's travel in _Tucknet fare_, upon
    forfeiture of ten shillings, to be paid by the giver, and also by the
    taker for every time so doing."--"_Item_.  No owner of any tucker or
    tucknet shall take any more than four shares for the boat, the nets,
    and the arms, viz., for the boat and the nets, three shares; and for
    the arms, one share, upon pain to forfeit, for every time so doing,
    twenty shillings."--"_Item_.  No man going to sea with harbours shall
    take for his body any more than one share, nor for twelve lines of
    hooks any more than one share; and so for more or less
    proportionably; and any man that shall take or give anything contrary
    to this order, shall forfeit for every time so doing, ten
    shillings."--"_Item_.  To the intent the said quarter share may
    hereafter be truly paid without fraud or guile, every owner and
    master of every boat, in every voyage, shall call the Vicar, or his
    deputy or deputies, to all and every their several accounts at the
    end of every their several voyages, (_Cock fare_, _Tuck fare_,
    _Harbour fare_, only excepted, for which three one only account by
    every master and owner at the end of every voyage, shall be made),
    and in his presence shall make a true and particular account of all
    their charges, profits, and shares, upon pain for every owner and
    master, for every time doing the contrary, to forfeit twenty
    shillings; a note whereof the said Vicar or his deputy shall give in
    writing unto the wardens yearly, at _St. Stephen's Day_, upon pain of
    twenty shillings to be forfeited by the said Vicar."

    "_Orders for_ HOOKS, _and going to_ SEA.--"_Imprimis_.  That every
    line of small hooks shall contain in length nine score yards and not
    above; and whosoever shall have any line of hooks above the said
    length, at any time after the first day of August, in _anno Domini_
    one thousand five hundred four score and one, shall forfeit for every
    such line, twenty shillings: and that no man shall bring to sea at
    any time any more than four lines of the aforesaid hooks: and every
    man shall pay the seventh fish to the boat, of three of his lines,
    except the master of the boat, and the young men who are called
    _tacheners_; the which master shall have all the fishing of his four
    lines, without paying any duty to the boat; and the said _tacheners_
    shall have for the keeping of the boat, the fishing of every their
    fourth line without paying any duty to the boat; and whosoever shall
    do anything contrary to this order, shall forfeit for every time so
    doing, twenty shillings.  And if any boat shall come to mishap
    through the default of the _tacheners_, that then the said
    _tacheners_ shall pay for the hurt of the same boat, to the value of
    the same hurt."--"_Item_.  Any man that shall lose any small hooks at
    sea, shall have for every line so lost two shillings, to be paid unto
    him by the company in equal portions."--"_Item_.  If there be four
    lines or more lost in any boat, then the whole of the fish, except
    the boat's part, shall be equally divided among the company; and any
    man that hath lost any of the same hooks, shall be allowed two
    shillings for every line so lost, to be paid by the whole company in
    equal portions."--"_Item_.  Every man that shall lose any heak,
    norward net, or shotnet, in any fishing voyage, shall be allowed by
    the company for every heak so lost, ten shillings; and for every
    norward net so lost, ten shillings, and for every shotnet so lost,
    four shillings, and not above."--"_Item_.  That no man, being an
    inhabitant of this town, shall drive with nets for herrings between
    _Shoreham Haven_ and _Beach_ (_Beachy Head_) on any Saturday night or
    Sunday, until evening prayer be done, upon pain to forfeit for every
    time so doing, twenty shillings."--"_Item_.  That no man shall drive
    with any tucknet at any time before sun-rising, or after sun-setting,
    upon pain to forfeit, for every time so doing, ten
    shillings."--"_Item_.  That no man shall go to sea with tucknet to
    fish for plaice before _Shrove Tuesday_ yearly, upon pain of
    forfeiture of ten shillings for every time so doing."--"_Item_.  If
    there shall at any time any boat of this town be cast away through
    the default of the master and the company, then the master and his
    company to be answerable to the owner for the same boat."

    "_Orders for the Payment of the_ QUARTER SHARE.--"_Imprimis_.  Every
    master of every boat in every voyage shall divide, receive, and take
    up the said quarter share accordingly, as it hath been used
    heretofore, and is before ordered, and not otherwise; and the same
    shall well and truly pay yearly, upon the feast of _St. Stephen_, to
    the Churchwardens for the time being, in the place where it has been
    accustomably paid in former times: and if any master in any boat, in
    any voyage, shall not divide and take up as aforesaid, or shall
    detain the said quarter share, and not pay the same unto the
    Churchwardens at the end of every voyage, at the place
    above-mentioned, before the feast of the _Epiphany_ yearly then next
    following, that then every such master, for every time so doing,
    shall forfeit the double value of the same quarter share that he so
    detained, or not divided, or not taketh up."--"_Item_.  If there be in
    any tucker or cock in the time of _Tucknet Fare_ or _Cock Fare_, any
    more than one master during the voyage, then the owner or first
    master of any such tucker or cock shall account for and pay the whole
    quarter share due for all that voyage, and therewithal shall deliver
    unto the said Churchwardens, a note in writing, of the names of all
    the other masters in that voyage, upon pain of forfeiting twenty
    shillings by the owner."

    "_Orders for the_ CHURCHWARDEN'S.--"_Imprimis_.  There shall be
    yearly, at the time accustomed, _two_ substantial fishermen and _one_
    such landman, chosen by the consent of the constable, the vicar or
    curate, and the chief of the town, for Churchwardens."--"_Item_.  The
    same Churchwardens, nor any of them, shall not employ nor disburse
    any of the money to be kept by the sea-faring and land wardens, to
    any other use than for the reparation of the church, and for
    necessary public charges for the town, without the consent of the
    constable, the vicar or curate, and six substantial men of the
    parish, first had in writing, of which six, _four_ shall be fishermen
    and _two_ landmen, upon pain of paying all sums of money laid out
    contrary to this order, at and upon the charges of the said
    wardens."--"_Item_.  The same Churchwardens shall yearly, at the time
    accustomed, yield up a true and perfect account, in writing, of all
    receipts, reprises, and charges for all that year, and the money then
    remaining shall then deliver up into the hands of the wardens, their
    successors, in presence of the constable, the vicar or curate, and
    the parishioners, upon pain of forfeiting by him or them that shall
    do the contrary, forty shillings, and shall be chargeable
    nevertheless with his account before the Commissioners."--"_Item_.
    Every forfeiture before or hereafter mentioned growing by reason of
    any matter pertaining to the sea or fishing, shall be paid unto the
    wardens being fishermen, and every other forfeiture unto the land
    wardens."--"_Item_.  If the Churchwardens shall neglect to demand any
    of the said forfeitures for the space of six days next after his or
    their knowledge thereof, then he or they for every time so
    neglecting, shall pay unto the poor man's box of _Brighthelmston_,
    three shillings and four pence, or else answer it before the
    Commissioners."--"_Item_.  Whosoever shall not, within five days next
    after demand in that case by the wardens, or any of them, for the
    time being, to be made, pay unto the said wardens, or one of them,
    all such of the said forfeitures as they then from time to time, at
    any time hereafter, shall have made, then his or their name or names
    not paying such forfeitures as aforesaid, shall be signified in
    writing under the hands of the constable, the vicar or curate, and
    the said wardens, unto the Commissioners, to be bound to appear
    before the lords of the Council."--"_Item_.  That so much of the said
    quarter share as shall amount to the double value of the contribution
    (of the landmen) shall be kept employed and accounted for
    indifferently by all the Churchwardens in such sort as is aforesaid,
    and the residue of the said quarter share shall be remaining in
    custody of the sea-wardens, who shall not employ or disburse any part
    or parcel thereof, but for the common profit of the town, and that
    only with the consent of the constable, being a fisherman, the vicar,
    and six other fishermen being of the _Twelve_, in writing first had
    and obtained, and thereof shall make a true and particular account in
    writing, in the presence of the said constable, churchwardens, and
    fishermen, at the time accustomed; and the money remaining shall then
    yield up unto the sea-wardens, their successors, upon pain to forfeit
    for every time doing the contrary, the double value of every sum,
    contrary to this order, employed, not accounted for, or not yielded
    up as aforesaid, and shall be chargeable also with the same before
    the commissioners."--"_Item_.  The rents, profits, and commodities of
    the mill and town house, and of all other lands, tenements, and
    hereditaments which now do belong and appertain, or hereafter shall
    belong and appertain to the said town of _Brighthelmston_, shall be
    yearly paid and answered unto the churchwardens; and that the same,
    and every part thereof, shall and may, from time to time, be
    disposed, demised, and let out to farm, for the term of seven years
    at the most, by the said constables and wardens, so as always the
    same be done to the best profit and commodity of the said town, upon
    pain that every one therein offending, shall forfeit five pounds, and
    besides to answer for his offence in that behalf before the said
    commissioners."--"_Item_.  The same churchwardens, shall have in
    readiness at all times hereafter, in some convenient place in
    _Brighthelmston_, to be laid up in store, and safely kept, four
    barrels of powder, and forty round shot, and ten chain shot for every
    great piece."--"_Item_.  There shall be selected by the said
    commissioners out of the ancientest, gravest, and wisest inhabitants,
    eight fishermen and four landsmen, for assistants to the constable in
    every public cause, whereof every one shall be ready, and give his
    attendance upon the constable as oft as need shall require: and
    whosoever shall presume to call together any assembly, to the intent
    to practice or put in use any manner, or device, or art touching the
    government of the said town, without the privity, consent, and
    command of the said constable and assistants shall forfeit for every
    time so doing, forty shillings.  And to the intent that the said
    _Twelve_ grave and wise men may have continuance, therefore, upon the
    death or removing of any one of them, it shall be lawful for the
    constable, and the residue of the said _Twelve_, or for the most part
    of them, to choose in supply such other of the said town, as by them,
    or the more part of them, shall be thought meet, provided that such
    choice shall be always ratified and allowed by the stewards of the
    lords of the said town, or by such one of them as shall happen to
    keep court in the said town, next after such choice made, or
    otherwise the same choice to be void: and if such choice shall by the
    said stewards, or by such one of them as shall fortune to be present
    as aforesaid, be disallowed, until a sufficient man, in the judgment
    of the said stewards, be chosen."--"_Item_.  If any man hath
    heretofore built, erected, or set up any wall, shed, or any such like
    thing whatsoever, to the annoyance of the market place, or of the
    block house there, and shall not, upon warning given him by the
    constable, or his deputy for the time being, pull down or remove away
    the same within ten days after such warning given, that then he shall
    forfeit five pounds, and be further punished by discretion of the
    commissioners."--"_Item_.  Forasmuch, as the town is overcharged with
    the multitude of poor people, which daily are thought to increase by
    means of receiving under-tenants, lodging of strangers, and the
    disorder of tippling-houses, and that the constable cannot, without
    further assistance, take upon him the whole oversight and charge of
    all the parts of the town in this behalf, it is thought meet that
    every one of the _Twelve_ shall have assigned upon him some street or
    circuit near his dwelling-house, where he shall, as deputy to the
    constable, have special charge for the keeping of good order; and
    especially to see that the order for the avoidance of under tenants,
    be duly observed; and that none lodge or keep tippling
    houses."--"_Item_.  All the acts, receipts, reprises, and charges and
    accounts of the town, shall, from time to time, as they are had,
    made, and done, be entered into a register book by the clerk for that
    purpose, by the constable, vicar, and churchwardens for the time
    being, to be chosen."--"_Item_.  The master and owner, or one of them,
    of every boat, in every voyage, at every sharing and account, without
    further delay, shall deliver up into the custody of the
    churchwardens, or one of them, or of one or more indifferently to be
    deputed or appointed by the said vicar, and churchwardens, the said
    half-share and quarter-share, without diminution or retention
    thereof, to be by the said wardens, or him or them so deputed, safely
    kept until _St. Stephen's Day_ yearly then next following, to the
    use, for the half-share, of the vicar, and for the quarter-share, to
    the use of the town, upon pain for every owner and master for not
    delivering up as is aforesaid, to forfeit for every time forty
    shillings, and to be further punished by the discretion of the
    commissioners."--"_And whereas_ there hath been a controversy of long
    time between the said fishermen, being the greater part of the
    parish, and the husbandmen and artificers there, as well for that of
    the reparations of the church, as all other public charges, which
    hath been great, as building of forts and walls, provision of shot
    and powder, and other necessaries for the defence of the town against
    foreign enemies, have been sustained and borne by the said quarter
    share of the said fishermen only (except a small annuity or yearly
    rent of two windmills, whereof one is now utterly decayed); as well
    for the utter extinguishment of all such controversy and division, as
    also for the better increase of amity and neighbourly friendship
    among the said parties, the said Lord _Buckhurst_ and Richard
    _Shelley_, Esquire, have likewise caused to be set down here in
    writing at the place, and in the day and year aforesaid, the names of
    all such husbandmen and artificers which are of ability within the
    said town, and the several sums of money which every of them, by
    their several consents, have granted yearly to be paid for, and in
    name of a contribution towards the charges aforesaid."--"Rate of the
    husbandmen and artificers yearly to be paid on St. Stephen's Day, to
    the churchwardens, towards the reparations of the church, and other
    public charges of the town. * * * * * * There are also in the said
    town of Brighthelmston, of fishing boats four score in number, and of
    able mariners four hundred in number, with ten thousand fishing nets,
    besides many other necessaries belonging to their mystery, all which
    being matters of great charge, require very great maintenance and
    reparation, and are like hereafter rather to decay than to increase,
    by reason the said fishermen are diversly charged and burdened with
    service of her majesty in sizes, sessions, and other courts and other
    services, and with musters and setting forth of soldiers, besides
    their service by sea, properly appertaining unto them, and especially
    by reason of the great scarcity and dearth of timber and wood now of
    late years, by means of iron furnaces placed near the Downs, risen
    from three shillings and four pence a ton, to thirteen shillings and
    four pence; from two shillings and sixpence a load of wood to seven
    shillings; and from six shillings and eight pence a load of coal to
    fourteen shillings; and of billet or tall wood, from two shillings
    and sixpence the hundred to eight shillings the hundred; and ship
    board from fifteen shillings the hundred to forty shillings the
    hundred."--"_Item_.  If any owner or lessor of any house within
    _Brighthelmston_, shall admit any tenant or tenants, under tenant or
    under tenants, into his said house, except the said tenant or tenants
    shall, by the opinion of the constable and the churchwardens in
    writing first to be set down, be thought of sufficient ability to
    maintain himself and his family without burdening the town, then the
    said owner or lessor shall forfeit for every month that any such
    tenant, not being estimated as aforesaid, shall inhabit or dwell in
    his said house, to the poor man's box, three shillings and four
    pence."--"_Item_.  If any questions, doubt, or ambiguity, shall
    hereafter happen to arise about any of the said orders, or the pains
    therein contained, then the same to be expounded and interpreted by
    the said commissioners, or any of them.

                                   "Signed

                                                            "T. BUCKHURST,
                                                         RICHARD SHELLEY."

The signatures of some of the principal inhabitants follow on the next
page; but it will be seen by the signs, or characters, affixed to those
who could not inscribe their names, that education had made but little
progress amongst them, John Slater, Bartholomew Bowredge, Stephen Pyper,
William Wollay, Christopher Ingelard, Deryk Carver, and J. Duconde, the
younger, being the only persons who could sign their names, and their
writing even, is of a most inferior description.  The figures in
parenthesis correspond with those annexed to the signs as here shown,
which are the "his marks" made by the persons signing.  The names are:--

    Richard Stoneham, constable (1), Thomas Worger (2), John Tuppen (3),
    Thomas King (4), John Ffrende (5), William Hunn (6), Thomas Brackpell
    (7), James Plumer (8), Henry Gunn (9), William Stallard (10), John
    Allen (11), Thomas Hardinge (12), Thomas Gunn (13), Patrick Hacket
    (14), Nicholas Payne (15), William Frende (16), Richard Turynought
    (17), Thomas Payne (18), William Dighton (19), Thomas Jackson (20),
    John Anstye (21), Thomas Harding (22), John Hardinge (23), Thomas
    Nicholl (24), William Duffell (25), William Payne (26), William
    Kellaway (27), Richard Coby (28), William Eastwarde (29), Roger Boyse
    (30), John Coby (31), Bartholomew Bowredge by me, Stephen Pyper,
    William Wollay, Christopher Ingelard, John Streate (32), Christopher
    Streate (33), _Mr._ Deryk Carver, Richard Millar (34), John Cooke
    (35), John Oston (36), John French (37), Roger Hewe (38), John Carver
    (39), Richard Adroll (40), Francis Morris (41), Edward Bradforde
    (42), Jo. Browne (43), Thomas Humphreys (44), John Coby (45), John
    Worger (46), John Eightaker (47), William Broppell (48), John
    Ffriende, jun. (49), John Bayllye (50), Richard Hardinge (51),
    Nicholas Good (52), William Body (53), William Heakins (54), Edmund
    Lock (55), John Boyse (56), John Shetter (57), John Surredge (58),
    John Eston (59), John Gillet (60), Thomas Hunn (61), William Tanner
    (62), John Crovill (63), John Swaine, Richard Marchaunte (65), John
    Duddinge (66), Richard Gunn (67), William a Deine (68), Richard a
    Deine (69), Jo. a Wood (70), Jo. Smythe (71), John Mellershe (72),
    John Reggatt (73), J. Duconde, younger.

            [Picture: The signs of the principal inhabitants]

It is conjectured by some antiquarians that the above marks are symbols
of the trade or occupation of those who assented to the foregoing recited
orders; their opinion being formed from the circumstance of Stoneham, the
constable, being a ship carpenter, and attaching a hatchet to his name;
and for the same reason the supposition is that Oston, from his sign was
a butcher, Good, a wheelwright, and Mellershe a millwright.  The rest
seem wholly unintelligible.

In the year 1580, Lord _Buckhurst_ and Mr. _Shelley_ made a new order
concerning the penalty falling on the owner or lessor of any house let
without the written consent of the constable and churchwardens, which was
henceforth to be levied from the under-tenant, as well as from the said
owner or lessee.

And in the year 1592, they made another order, which subjected absentees,
who owned houses or any other tenements within the parish, to contribute
to the public charges of the said parish, in proportion to their
possessions there, as if they were residents.  In case of contumacious
resistance or neglect of the said orders, the constable, or his deputy,
and the churchwardens, or any two of them, of which the constable or his
deputy being one, were authorised by the above-named commissioners, to
imprison such as offended in that particular until they shall be
contented to observe and keep the same.

It seems, however, that this commission terminated with the life of Lord
Buckhurst, who died in 1608; for we find the inhabitants of
_Brighthelmston_, in ten years after, revising and ratifying "the ancient
customs heretofore used among and between the fishermen and landsmen"
there, "and orders out of the said customs taken and made," without the
authority or interference of any superior; and as these customs must be
materially directive of the internal polity of the town even at this day,
the following copy of them, with a few comments on their immediate
relevancy to the present parochial constitution of Brighthelmston, will
not be unacceptable to many readers.

    "Upon {39} agreement made by and between the ancient fishermen and
    landmen of the town of Brighthelmston, in the county of Sussex, the
    second day of February, 1618, for remedy and redress of certain
    disorders in their said town, as also for the better increase of
    brotherly love and amity for ever hereafter between the said
    fishermen and landmen, and for the annual payment of certain money
    called a _quarter of a share_, heretofore of ancient time usually
    paid out of every boat in every fishing voyage, to the churchwardens
    there, towards the maintenance of the church and other public charges
    about the necessary defence of the town; and of a certain
    contribution by the rest of the inhabitants, being landmen, towards
    the bearing of the said charges, to be had and levied; and for the
    purposes aforesaid the said fishermen and landmen, having met and
    assembled together, here have set down in writing their ancient
    customs and orders concerning the true making, paying, and employing
    the said quarter share; and also of the paying and employing of the
    said landmen's contribution, or yearly rate for the uses aforesaid,
    and for the certainty and true payment thereof in manner and form
    hereafter following:--

    "_The Ancient Custom for Payment and Employing the_ QUARTER
    SHARE.--_Imprimis_.  It is concluded and agreed between the said
    fishermen and landmen, the day and year above mentioned, that they,
    the said fishermen, shall yearly make as they have done time out of
    mind, a quarter of a share out of every fishing boat in every fishing
    voyage; and the same so being made, shall yearly and every year pay,
    at the end of every voyage, unto the fishermen churchwardens for the
    time being, without diminution or deduction, the said quarter share,
    to be by them and the other churchwarden, kept and employed unto the
    only and proper use of the town in the common town box, until the new
    constable shall be chosen yearly."--"_Item_.  It is agreed between the
    said landmen and fishermen above said, that the said landmen shall
    yearly and every year pay and bring unto the said common town-box, in
    or upon the second day of February, commonly called _Candlemas Day_,
    yearly, half so much money {40} as the aforesaid quarter share shall
    amount unto; there to be by all the said churchwardens kept and
    employed unto the general and public use of the town."--"_Item_.  It
    is further concluded and agreed upon between the said fishermen and
    the said landmen, that all manner of town charges whatsoever (the
    king's composition or customary wheat only excepted) shall be taken
    out of the common town box, whether it be for the maintenance of the
    church, the communion bread and wine, the maintenance of the lecture,
    the clerk and sexton's wages, the lights in the fire cage, the paying
    the king's majesty's oats and coals, and the setting forth of
    soldiers or sailors, and all manner of other necessary and public
    town charge shall be taken out of the said common town box, by and
    with the consent of the constable and churchwardens for the time
    being, and six other, whereof _four_ to be of the sea, two of the
    land."--"_Item_.  It is further ordered by and between the said
    fishermen and landmen, that if it shall happen that the said quarter
    share and the land contribution will not at any time amount and
    countervail the whole charge that shall arise and grow by reason of
    any extraordinary charge happening, that then the constable and
    churchwardens, and six other of the said inhabitants shall tax, rate,
    and cess all the said inhabitants proportionably, every one according
    to their estate and ability."--"_Item_.  It is also agreed between the
    said fishermen and landmen that the churchwardens, every year, shall
    collect and gather and bring in unto the common town-box the said
    quarter share, and the warders for sea causes to collect and gather
    it; and the land-warden being with one of the sea-wardens shall also
    yearly, and every year, bring into the said common town-box the rate
    or taxation of the other inhabitants not being fishermen; which rate
    or taxation every year ought to amount to half so much as the said
    quarter of a share doth yearly; and also shall gather, receive, and
    take up all rents and other land profits belonging to the town, as
    the rent of the town-house, town mills, and Bartholomews, which,
    being so received, shall yearly bring into the said town box, there
    to be kept up to the general use of the town."

    "_Orders concerning the_ CONSTABLE.--"_Item_.  It is further agreed
    between the said fishermen and landmen, that the constable of the
    said town shall yearly have for and towards his labour and pains
    taken in that behalf, and for and towards his charges and expenses,
    the sum of twenty-five shillings, eight pence, of lawful money of
    _England_, to be paid unto him out of the said common town-box, and
    also that every constable, whether he be a landman or a fisherman,
    shall yearly have, and quietly enjoy, to his own use, without any
    let, molestation, or trouble, one horse lease."--"_Item_.  It is also
    ordered between the said fishermen and the said landmen, that the two
    headboroughs of the said town, shall have yearly for their pains and
    troubles in their office, the sum of five shillings, eight pence,
    a-piece, to be paid unto them out of the said common town-box; and
    also shall have and quietly enjoy to their own use, one cow lease,
    and twenty-five sheep leases, according to the ancient
    custom."--"_Item_.  It is also ordered, that there shall be selected
    and chosen out of the said ancientest, gravest, and wisest
    inhabitants, eight fishermen and four landmen, for assistants to the
    constable in every public cause, whereof every one shall be ready to
    give his attendance upon the constable as often as need shall
    require: and whosoever shall presume to call together any assembly to
    the intent to practice or put in use any manner of device or act
    touching the government of the said town, without the privilege,
    consent, and commandment of the said constable and assistants, shall
    forfeit for every time so doing, forty shillings: and to the intent
    that the choice of the said _twelve_ grave and wise men, may have a
    continuance, therefore, upon the death or removing of any one of the
    said _Twelve_, or of the most part of them, to choose in supply such
    other of the said town as by them, or the most part of them, shall be
    thought meet, provided always that such choice shall be always
    ratified and allowed by the stewards of the lords of the said town,
    at the law day when the constable is chosen, or by such one of them
    as shall happen to keep such court in the said town, or otherwise the
    said choice to be void: and if every such choice shall be by the said
    stewards, or by such one of them as shall fortune to be present as
    aforesaid, be disallowed, until a sufficient man or such sufficient
    men, shall be, in the judgment of the same steward, elected and
    chosen."--"_Item_.  For as much as the town is overcharged with the
    multitude of poor people, which daily are thought to increase by
    means of receiving under tenants, lodging and harbouring of
    strangers, and the great disorder of tippling-houses; and that the
    constable cannot without further assistance, take upon himself the
    whole oversight and charge of all the parts of the town; in this
    behalf, it is thought meet that every one of the said _Twelve_ shall
    have assigned unto him some place, street, or circuit of the said
    town, near about his dwelling house, where he shall, as deputy to the
    constable, have special charge for the keeping of good order; and
    especially to see that the order for the avoiding under tenants be
    duly observed and kept; and that none lodge or keep tippling without
    license."--_Item_.  "For as much as the said inhabitants of the said
    town of _Brighthelmston_, hath of long time, and yet still are to the
    making hereof, been over-charged and suppressed by the multitude of
    poor people, which daily are thought to increase by the means of many
    ale-house keepers and victuallers which do harbour and receive all
    comers and goers, to the great hurt and hinderance of the said
    inhabitants, and doth still sell and keep ale and beer without
    license, and against the said inhabitants' consent, it is now ordered
    by the said inhabitants, for the suppressing of the said number of
    ale-houses and victualling-houses, that from henceforth for ever
    hereafter none of the said inhabitants whatsoever shall at any time
    hereafter, draw, sell, or keep any victualling or ale-house within
    the said town without a letter or testimonial of the said
    inhabitants, in writing, first had and obtained, by and with the
    consent of the constable, vicar, or curate, and six other substantial
    men of the said inhabitants, whereof four to be of the seamen, and
    two of the landmen in their behalf, to be made unto the Justices of
    the King's Majesty's Peace, whereby they, and so many of them, and
    not more, may be lawfully licensed to use the said trade of
    victualling and ale-house keeping; and also that such a competent
    number may be by the said Justices of the King's Majesty's Peace
    (whereof one to be of the quorum), and by and with the consent of the
    said inhabitants, nominated and appointed: and that none other of the
    said inhabitants may use or occupy the said trade of victualling or
    ale-house keeping in the said town, but so many of them as shall be
    lawfully licensed as is aforesaid, upon pain and peril of every one
    so doing contrary to the true meaning of this present order, to
    forfeit for every barrel of beer so drawn, six shillings and eight
    pence."--"_Item_.  If any man hath heretofore builded, erected, or set
    up any house, wall, pale, shed, or any such like thing whatever; or
    if any hereafter shall erect, build, or set up any house, wall, shed,
    pale, or any such like thing whatsoever, to the annoyance of the
    market-place, or of the block-house there, and shall not, upon
    warning given him by the constable, or his deputy for the time being,
    pull down or remove away the same within ten days after such warning
    given, that then he shall forfeit the sum of five pounds."

    "_Orders for Payment of the_ QUARTER SHARE.--These being almost
    literally the same as those presented to, and ratified by, Lord
    _Buckhurst_ and Mr Shelley, in 1580, are purposely omitted; as are
    also, for the same reason, the Orders for the LENGTH OF NETS in this
    second book of Customs."

    "_Orders concerning the_ LANDMEN.--_Item_.  It is ordered, that the
    constable and churchwardens of _Brighthelmston_ for the time being,
    with two or three of the substantial landmen, shall yearly cess, tax,
    and rate towards the common charge of the town, as well all the
    landmen, husbandmen, and artificers, and all of the inhabitants
    having land there; and also all such persons as have lands,
    tenements, or other yearly profits by land, in the said town, and
    dwell in other places, according to the quantity of their lands,
    tenements, and profits, proportionably with the said inhabitants; the
    which cessment, rate, or taxation, shall be yearly made and set down
    in writing, under the hands of the said constable, churchwardens, and
    substantial landmen, before the feast day of _Epiphany_, and shall
    amount unto half as much as the quarter share shall come unto yearly:
    and further it is ordered, that such persons as dwell in other
    places, and have in their own occupation within the said town, lands,
    tenements, or other yearly profits, shall likewise yearly pay all
    such sums of money as they, and every of them, in manner and form
    aforesaid, shall be rated and taxed, upon pain of such forfeitures
    and punishments as are to be inflicted on the inhabitants of the said
    town, for not paying such sums of money as they, in like sort, shall
    be cessed, taxed, or rated."--"_Item_.  Whosoever, being a landman,
    husbandman, artificer, or inhabitant, or every other occupier of land
    or tenements of and in the said town, that shall not yearly, before
    the feast day of the _Purification of St. Mary_, pay unto the
    Churchwardens for the time being, all such sum or sums of money as he
    or they shall be cessed, rated or taxed, shall for every time so
    doing, forfeit the double value thereof."--"_Item_.  If any owner or
    lessee of any house in Brighthelmston, admit any tenant or tenants,
    under-tenant or under-tenants, into his said house, except the said
    tenant or tenants shall, by the opinion of the constable and the
    churchwardens in writing first to be set down, be thought of
    sufficient ability to maintain himself and his family without
    burdening the town, then the owner and lessee shall, for every month
    that any such tenant, not being estimated as aforesaid, shall inhabit
    or dwell in his house, to forfeit unto the use of the poor of the
    said town, ten shillings."--"_Item_.  That whereas it is before
    ordered, that the owner and lessee of any house in _Brighthelmston_,
    in case he admitted any under-tenant, without the consent of the
    constable and churchwardens, first had in writing, shall forfeit
    monthly during the abode or inhabiting of any such under-tenant not
    being approved as aforesaid, _monthly_, ten shillings.  Now forasmuch
    as the said penalties cannot conveniently be levied of such owners as
    are not resident or abiding within the town, and that the town is
    more burdened and charged with poor than heretofore it hath been, it
    is now further ordered, that the penalties for every default contrary
    to the said order, shall be extended in all points as well against
    the under-tenants, as against the said lessee or owner."

"The orders for the churchwardens in this town book, being in substance
the same with those before transcribed from the former, they need not
hero be repeated.

"The immemorial existence of the above customs in the town of
Brighthelmston, is incontestible even at this day: and though some of
them be now obsolete on account of the great changes which the town has
experienced during the present century, no part of its existing polity
can legally run counter to those ancient customs, except upon sanction of
an Act of Parliament, or where the right of exercising them has been
evidently given up.  The commissioners in 1580, only investigated and
affixed publicity and order to those customs: and their subsequent orders
to the inhabitants, were no more than what a bench of justices may issue
at the present day.  The independent style of the ancient fishermen and
landmen in the second book, seems to be that of men who were conscious of
a prescriptive right of legislation in certain matters within their own
parish: and the Saxon constitution, whose equitable and benign spirit
still feebly pervades what we now call the British Constitution, granted
the same right to every parish all over England.

"The custom of choosing three churchwardens annually is still exercised,
though the cause of it has ceased to exist for more than half a century
past.  But the customary existence of twelve assistants and advisers to
the constable has ceased, though the occasion for which they were first
instituted still remains, nay, increases commensurately with the
population of the town.  The ancient society of the twelve shall
therefore be revived.  That such a society did once exist, by custom,
cannot be denied: and the mere neglect of a custom for ever so many years
is no deseasance of the right to exercise it at any subsequent period.
But its revival shall not be for the creation or benefit of a party.
Political equality is the birth-right of every Briton; and no civil power
can be lawful which emanated not originally from the assent of society,
and is invariably exercised for the public good.  The Twelve therefore
shall be chosen by ballot at a public meeting of all the inhabitants, and
every future vacancy in that body filled by public election in the same
manner.  The gentleman who presides at present at the court leet of the
town, there is every reason to suppose, would cheerfully ratify so
respectable an election; and the police of so populous a parish would, in
future, be managed with signal vigilance, under the inspection of twelve
chosen guardians of the public peace and prosperity.

"It was the discontinuance of the ancient society of the Twelve, that
made it necessary to appoint commissioners by act of Parliament, in the
year 1772, for lighting and cleaning the streets, lanes, and other places
within the town of Brighthelmston; as also for removing and preventing
nuisances, holding and regulating a daily market there, and building and
repairing groynes, in order to render the coast more safe and commodious
for vessels to unload and land sea-coal, culm, and other coal, for the
use of the town: and in order to enable the said commissioners to
accomplish these public and serviceable ends, they are allowed by the
act, a duty of sixpence on every chaldron of coal or culm so landed.  As
it is not unlikely a question may hereafter arise concerning the
precincts of the commissioners' power, it may not here be unseasonable to
consider how far it extends.  As the letter of the act seems to confine
it to the limits of the town, the sagacity of litigation may discover
that the buildings erected since the year 1772, in the then common fields
and environs of Brighthelmston, could not have been in contemplation of
the framers of the act, inasmuch as those buildings were not then _in
esse_.  But as there never were any fixed boundaries to the town, as far
as continuous buildings and population reach within the parish, so far, I
conceive, shall the town, and consequently the power of the
commissioners, be admitted always to extend.  Otherwise, indeed, the act
would be abortive and absurd.  These commissioners were originally
sixty-four in number, and constituted of the most respectable inhabitants
in the town.  Many vacancies by death and removal, have since occurred,
and been very properly filled by election among the existing members.
Yet I am so fully assured of the evil tendency in general, as well as the
injustice of political monopoly of every kind, that I regret the right of
election on those occasions had not vested in the inhabitants at large.

"But as the authority of the commissioners exceeds not, except in a few
particulars, that of parochial surveyors, the Society of Twelve, if
called forth again into existence and exertion, would be of great benefit
to the town.  In summer, Brighthelmston too frequently becomes the chief
receptacle of the vice and dissipation which the sickening metropolis
disgorges into our watering places at this season.  Its population then
is upwards of ten thousand, and only one constable and two headboroughs
to preserve the order and safety of the town amidst such a medley.  Were
there twelve more of the most active and intelligent inhabitants of the
town, united with them in directing and strengthening its police, the
careful parent would then have less reason to fear the gambler for his
son, or the debauchee for his daughter.  The constable of Brighthelmston
had such a society to assist him when it was but an obscure fishing town:
the propriety of reviving the same, at this period of its popularity and
splendour, I leave every thinking inhabitant of the place to consider and
enforce."--_Dunvan_, 1795.




CHAPTER VII.
THE TENANTRY LANDS.


Upon the general survey made throughout England, by order of King Alfred,
the tenantry land of Brighthelmston, was, like the estates in general, in
other parishes of the kingdom, planned and plotted out; and from time to
time, down to the present date, the possessions of the different
land-owners, have, from various changes in the proprietorship, been
re-measured and set out; and such a procedure is termed taking the
terrier.  Dooms-day Book has it: _Statutum de admensuratione terrarum_.
Dooms-day Book is a book that was made by order of William the Conqueror,
in which all the estates of the kingdom are registered.  It consists of
two volumes, which are deposited at Westminster, in the chapter-house;
where they may be consulted on paying the fee of 6s. 8d. for a search,
and 4d per line for a transcript.  It was begun in 1081, and not
completed till 1087.  There is a copy of it in the library of the dean
and chapter of Exeter.  One leaf of it was discovered some years since at
Nettlecombe, in Somersetshire, a seat of Sir John Trevelyan, Bart, who
sent it to the dean and chapter.  There is a story extant in connexion
with finding this leaf.  In a room at Nettlecombe, which was used as a
depository for lumber, and furniture and goods not in general use, a
square of glass in the window always remained broken; and
notwithstanding, from time to time, the window was repaired, the next
morning, not only was the glass found to be demolished, but, invariably,
three drops of blood stained the sash.  It happened on one occasion when
the deeds of the estate had to be referred to by the solicitor of the
family, Mr. Leigh, that the remarkable incident of the window was
mentioned to him; as the family parchments and papers were actually
deposited in a strong chest in that very room.  Being a person of a
superstitious turn of mind, and of antiquarian research, he conceived the
idea that amongst the accumulation of musty deeds, there was one which
would give the solution to the strange mystery.  A general overhauling
therefore, of the contents of the old oak chest was made; but nothing of
any moment was discovered, save a dingy leaf of some book, which seemed
to have no connection whatever with the rest of the papers.  This proved
to be the long lost and frequently sought for leaf of the Exeter
Dooms-day Book.  The story continues, that the square of glass was that
day repaired; and the next morning not only was it found to be broken,
with the three drops of blood sprinkled on the sash, but upon the lid of
the old oak chest, having filled its mission, lay dead a pure white dove.
Ever after the restored window remained uninjured.  On the 3rd day of
March, 1738, was made:--"A General Terrier of the several Lands lyeing and
being in the Common Laines of Brighthelmston, in the County of Sussex,
shewing each person's quantity in Pauls, Eight of which make an Acre;
made and agreed unto by several owners and occupiers."

The several Laines are: West Laine, Little Laine, East Laine, Hilly
Laine, and North Laine.  There are besides, portions called White Hawk,
and Church Hill.  The Laines are set out in measured areas, termed
furlongs, {46} which furlongs are subdivided into irregular portions
called paul-pieces, "eight of which make an acre," the tenantry acres
varying considerably as to the number of rods they contain, ranging from
35 to 210 rods.  Some of these have other pauls running into them; and in
such instances, from the shape they thus assume, they are termed "hatchet
pieces;" while the extreme pauls of the furlongs in the Laines, are
called "headlands."

The Terrier at present used in defining property in the parish, is the
"Terrier to the tenantry land in the parish of Brighthelmston, as it was
measured and set out in the year MDCCXCII, by Thomas Budgen."  Copies of
the Terriers, in a book form, are in the hands of several of the
solicitors and surveyors in the town, and the proprietors of the tenantry
lands.  The most concise plan is a map of the whole parish, with
elaborate references.  For the convenience of cultivation, a Terrier was
taken, agreeable to a resolution passed by the principal landholders, at
a meeting which was held at the Old Ship, on the 26th day of March, 1776,
that by drawing lots the owners of several pauls in different parts of a
furlong, might have their lands together in one piece in each furlong.
The arrangement did not in the least alter the proprietorship of the
several pauls.

The following is the whole content of the Parish, as taken by Mr John
Marchant, surveyor, May 12th, 1832:--

                                     WEST LAINE.
                        PAULS.       A.        R.      P.       A.        R.      P.
North Butts                   76          7       3      12
Hedge Furlong                146         14       3      10
The Blacklands                96         11       2      23
Furlong, near West           300         29       1      12
Fields {47}
Cliff Butts                  101          6       0       0
Furlong, heading              80          6       1      18
ditto
Second Furlong from           52          3       3      19
Home
Home Furlong                 112          8       1       6
Wall Furlong                  68          2       1      20
Furlong heading the           52          3       1      18
Barns
Chalk-pit Furlong             52          3       3      32
Furlong next                  56          4       1      11
Chalk-pit
                                                                   102       0      21
                                     CHURCH HILL.
Church Hill                   62         47       2      32
West side of ditto           216         42       0      16
Lead's Furlong                72          7       0      13
                                                                    96       3      21
                                    LITTLE LAINE.
Upper Furlong                292         24       2      23
Cliff Furlong                278         13       1       4
                                                                    37       3      27
                                     EAST LAINE.
Cliff Furlong                444         26       0      20
Furlong next                 202         14       1      20
Newbroke Ground
Second Furlong               116         11       0      16
Third Furlong                163         15       2      10
Fourth Furlong                72          5       2      34
Fifth Furlong                102          7       0      31
Sixth Furlong                108          8       3      30
Baker's Bottom               253         21       0      13
Furlong
Coombe Furlong               240         17       2       9
                                                                   127       2      23
                                     WHITE HAWK.
South side of the                        22       1      31
White Hawk {48a}
West side do {48b}                       23       0      19
East side do {48c}                       24       0      25
North-east side do                       14       1      13
                                                                    84       0      11
                                     HILLY LAINE.
Islingword Furlong           200         26       1      34
Shepherd's Acre              112         11       0      18
Furlong
Fifth Furlong                298         25       1      14
Fourth Furlong               193         14       2       2
Third Furlong                366         29       3      21
Second Furlong               320         22       3      26
Gold's Butts                              1       0      12
Home Furlong                 247         26       1      12
Breach Furlong               266         20       1       2
                                                                   177       3      21
                                     NORTH LAINE.
Home Furlong                 247         16       3      25
Church Furlong                62          6       1      36
Second Furlong               216         14       1      15
Third Furlong                262         17       2      30
                           {48d}
Shepherd's Acre              262          0       3      20
Fourth Furlong               254         17       3      35
Fifth Furlong                220         20       2       1
Crooked Furlong               97          8       2      24
Rottingdean Hedge            100          8       2      23
Furlong
Home Butts                    32          3       1       6
North Butts                   52          6       3       0
The Crook                                 6       2      35
The North side of                        34       3      16
Round Hill
South part of ditto                      22       3      32
Scabb's Castle                           82       1      37
Tenantry Sheep Down                     400       0      36
Field in Level                           14       1      23
Black Rock Arable                        20       2       0
Black Rock Down                         112       2      16
The Town of                             118       2      28
Brighthelmston,
including the
Steine, North
Inclosures, Level,
&c.
                                                                   806       2      28
                               Contents of the whole Parish       1562       0      12

Within the Laines were portions of ground termed "yardlands," but where
situated has not been fully defined.  The chief record of them is
respecting the

               STOCK OF SHEEP.
68 Yardlands, at 16 sheep per yard       1088
The Reeve ,, ,,                            20
The Dooling Leases ,,                      16
The Shepherd to keep                     none
Widow Barnard                            none
                                         1124

In the "Nonarum Inquisitiones" is the following descriptive valuation of
Brighthelmston:--

    "This indenture testifies that an acquisition was taken before Henry
    Husse and fellows, collectors, and assessors of the ix_th_ of garbel
    fleeces and lambs, and of the xv_th_ granted to our lord the king, in
    the county of Sussex, assigned at Lewes, on a Sunday, in the middle
    of the xl_th_ year of the reign of King Edward the Third, from the
    nonal inquest, and the quindecimal concerning the true value of the
    ix_th_ of garbel, (corn) ix_th_ of fleeces, and ix_th_ of lambs, by
    commission of our lord the king, directed to the aforesaid Henry and
    his fellows, by the oath of John de Erlee, Hugh Russell, John Dac',
    and Ralph Grabb, parishioners of Brighthelmston--who say, that the
    extent of the church there is taxed at xxv pounds with the vicarage.
    And they say that the ix_th_ part of garbel is worth this year,
    there, ix pounds, viii shillings, and x pence from the community of
    the town.  Also the ix_th_ part of fleeces there is worth xxvi
    shillings and vi pence, and the ix_th_ part of lambs there, is worth
    vi shillings and viii pence.  Also they say, that the ix_th_ part of
    garbel and fleeces of the prior or Lewes there, is worth, vii
    shillings and viii pence.  Also the ix_th_ part of garbel and fleeces
    of the prior of Michelham, is worth xxx shillings and iv pence.  And
    so is the sum of the whole ix_th_ of garbel, fleeces, and lambs, this
    year, xiii pounds.  Also they say that the ix_th_ part aforesaid
    cannot answer nor attain to the taxation of the church aforesaid; for
    that xl acres of land are drowned by the sea for ever, which were
    worth per annum xl shillings.  And also clx acres of land in the
    common plain, which have been deficient there this year in corn sown,
    to the value of x pounds.  And because the wool cannot be sold as it
    was wont, the value of xiii shillings and iv pence is deficient.  And
    also the lambs there will be deficient in the pasture this year, by
    defect of value vi shillings and viii pence.  And the vicar has there
    the first-prints of one dove-house, value ii shillings.  And the same
    has there in offerings, small tithes of geese, sucking pigs, honey,
    milk, cheese, calves, and eggs, and other small tithes which are
    worth yearly lxx shillings.  Also they say, that there are here no
    merchants, but tenants of land who live by their own lands, and their
    great labours only.  In testimony of which thing, the aforesaid sworn
    men have affixed their seals to this indenture."




CHAPTER VIII.
THE BARTHOLOMEWS.


The chauntry, or free chapel, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, was erected
on a piece of land granted by the lord of the manor of Brighthelmston, to
the Priory of St. Pancras, at Southover, Lewes, under a quit rent of 3d
a-year.  It was built to the south-west of the knappe or knab, originally
called by the Saxon settlers, _cnp_, (the summit or crown of a hill)
from its elevated position.  It is now generally known by the name of
Brighton place.  Attached to the chauntry was a dwelling for the two or
three monks who officiated there.  The chauntry was destroyed by the fire
which devastated the town, on the landing of the French, under Primauget,
and it never after recovered its accustomed use and influence.  The
almshouses, which were afterwards built on the site, were sold to the
parish in 1733, for the sum of 17, and the dwelling of the monks, called
the Prior's Lodge, became the residence of the vicar of Brighthelmston,
after the Reformation.

"Magna Britannia" mentions, "that there was a church near the middle of
the town, and it was burnt down some years ago by the French."  This
probably refers to the chapel or chauntry of St. Bartholomew.  The
Prior's Lodge was pulled down by the Rev. Thomas Hudson, in 1790, the
year he was collated to the rectory of Blatchington and vicarage of
Brighthelmston.  From the style of the architecture, and the decayed
state of the timbers, there was ample room for supposing the building to
have been erected not later than the close of the thirteenth century.  In
1665 the Bartholomews is mentioned as a parcel of pasture.  The parish
workhouse, demolished in 1823, was erected on its site, and the rest of
the space continued nearly plain ground till, in 1774, the market place
was built, where the present Town Hall stands.  The original
market-place, that possessed by the town under the charter of Edward II.,
was on the cliff, where it had continued from the year 1313 till the
close of the seventeenth, or the beginning of the last century; when,
that part being sapped by the waves, the building was demolished.  The
vicarage house, which was substituted for the Prior's Lodge, by the Rev.
T. Hudson, was vacated by the present vicar, the Rev. Henry Michell
Wagner, in 1835, and pulled down in 1837.  The old vicarage garden was
about a quarter of an acre in extent.

The first stone of the present vicarage was laid on the 24th day of June,
1834, and in the following year the structure was completed, and accepted
by the Bishop of the Diocese, on the unanimous recommendation of six
commissioners, namely, three laymen and three clergymen, to the effect
that the exchange would be, in every respect, beneficial.  It stands in a
garden of exactly two measured acres; and was built by Messrs. George
Cheesman and Son.

In 1584, William Midwinter, a sailor, sold the site of the chauntry to
Thomas Friend and others, in trust for the said town, in consideration of
the sum of 44, which had been raised by subscription among the
inhabitants.  It had been granted to Lord Cromwell, on the dissolution of
the Priory of Lewes; and on his attainder and execution, to Anne of
Cleves.  It reverted to the Crown in 1557, after the death of that
Princess, and afterwards came into the possession of Roger Blackbourne, a
farmer of Yorkshire.  In 1577 he aliened it to Milo Taylor, servant to
Lord Buckhurst, and John Codwell, both of Southover, Lewes.  Taylor soon
after released his share to Codwell, who sold the whole to Midwinter.

In 1773, an Act of Parliament was obtained for erecting and holding a
daily market, Sundays excepted; and the waste land of the Bartholomews
being a central situation, and the common property of the town, it was
fixed on for the site of the said market.  The workmen, who were employed
in digging for the foundation of this building, happened to cut through a
little cemetery, which seems to have belonged to the chauntry of St.
Bartholomew, and were so strongly impressed with superstitious awe, by
the bones which they uncovered, that they refused to proceed with their
work.  The vicar, the Rev. Henry Michell, being informed of their
scruples, came to the spot, and instead of exerting his personal
influence, which was very great over all classes of his parishioners, or
vainly combating the prejudices of ignorance with reason, applauded their
veneration for the supposed remains of Christians, but assured them that
all who had ever been interred there were rank Papists.  Their first
prejudice being thus laid by a stronger, the men resumed their work, and
turned over the rest of the bones with the apathy of grave-diggers.

About fifty years since, in one of the old tumble-down houses which
occupied the site whereon now stand the Schools of Mr. Henry Catt, by the
"Knab Pump," resided Thomas Herbert, a short, stout, fat, and greasy old
fellow, possessing but one eye, who professed to make the best sausages
out of Germany.  He was a maker of small meat pies and sausages; and with
these he exhibited his "Publications for Sale."  He was the author of the
play, "Too much the Way of the World," and likewise of "A Brief Sketch of
Human Life;" which, with his other literary works, lay cheek by jowl with
his comestibles.  He had been a butcher; and the following specimen of
his literary talent, written in a bold hand, in his window, expressed the
cause of the change in his occupation; as he stated he was one

    "Who, for want of cash, the shambles spurn'd,
    And is for once a play-wright turn'd."




CHAPTER IX.
THE WORKHOUSE.


From the deepest research which the compiler of this work has been able
to make, he cannot find that any Workhouse existed in Brighton prior to
1727, in which year the following entries appear in the Town book:--

    February 26th, 1727,--That a mortgage be effected on the workhouse, to
    indemnify Thomas Simmons, in paying the moneys he made of the
    materialls of Blockhouse, to the constable and churchwardens; by them
    to be disbursed in payment of materialls and the workmen employed
    about building the workhouse.

    May 10th,--Order in Vestry for Churchwardens and Overseers,--with all
    speed to borrow 50, to pay for materials and workmanship about the
    Workhouse, in the building of it, to be repaid out of the poor rate,
    or taxes to be raised in the parish, on or before the 10th of May,
    1728.

    At a public vestry meeting, held at the Old Ship, October 18th, 1727,
    it is agreed that the Churchwardens and Overseers shall take up with
    all convenient speed, and borrow one hundred pounds, upon interest at
    5 per centum per annum, towards building the new workhouse.

Amongst the minutes of the public vestry, 13th November, 1727, there is
the entry of a contract being entered into, between the parish and Thomas
Fletcher and Thomas Tuppen, for digging and steining the well to the new
workhouse, complete, with fittings, for ten guineas.

The Workhouse at this period was evidently of very limited extent.  But
in 1733 a portion of the Almshouses in connexion with the chauntry of St.
Bartholomew was added to the building.  The spot is now occupied by the
east end of the Brighton Market.  A tenement for the poor previously
existed in East street; and in 1690, in consequence of the great increase
of the poor-rates, on account of the inroads of the sea, and the injury
experienced by the town from the civil and foreign wars of that and the
preceding century, by order of the Justices at the quarter Sessions, at
Lewes, the following parishes, that had no poor of their own, were called
upon to make the following contributions:--

                                  .      s.           d.
Patcham, the yearly sum of        17      16            7
Hangleton                          4      16            9
East Aldrington                    6       1           1
Blachington                        4       2            6
Ovingdean                          6       0          10
                                 38      17      10 {53}

Formerly the recipients of parish relief were compelled to wear an
insignia of their pauperism; as in a vestry minute appears the
following:--

    At a monthly meeting of the Churchwardens and Overseers, held 27th
    August, 1698, an accompt was given that Susan Stone, the widdow of
    Thomas, refused to ware the Town badge, (vizt.) the letters, (B: P:)
    upon which she was putt out of the weekly pay.

The present Workhouse, on Church Hill, was commenced in 1820, Mr. William
Mackie, Architect, Charlotte street, Blackfriars' road, London,
furnishing the design, which was selected from forty others by the
Directors and Guardians, who had advertised a premium for the best
design; as it was then considered it combined a proper degree of elegance
with economy, and was replete with more convenience than any other
institution for the same purpose in the kingdom.  Great alterations and
additions have been made to the original building, according to the fancy
or caprice of the boards of Guardians for the time being.  Mr. John
Cheesman was the builder.  The ceremony of laying the foundation stone
was not of the imposing character which is assumed on commencing similar
public buildings in modern times.  The stone was merely one that had been
dug up while getting out the ground for the foundation of the house; and
was of the rudest shape, about two feet in length, eighteen inches in
width, and ten inches in depth.  It was laid by the Vicar, the Rev. Dr.
Carr, afterwards Bishop of Chichester, and subsequently of Worcester.

Brighton, at that time, had a population of 24,000, and there were about
4,000 inhabited houses.  Fields surrounded the Workhouse grounds; that to
the south, the detached grave-yard of the Old Church, being used for
occasional festivities, and for the practice of the Royal Artillery.  The
first building erected near the House was a soap manufactory, by a Mr.
Heard.  The premises are now the residence and establishment of Dr.
Foreman.  On the failure of the soap works, which were to astonish the
good people of Brighton, Mr. Airey converted the building into school
premises, and for a few years had a good school there,--the Church hill
Grammar School.  The Rev. Dr. Butler succeeded him, and then, for a short
time, the Rev. Mr. Pugh carried on the establishment.

Mr. Thorncroft was the first person who took up his abode in the new
Workhouse, which had a tablet over the main entrance, thus inscribed:

                          Brighthelmston Poor-House,
                             Erected A.D., 1821.
                         Vicar, Rev. R. J. Carr, D.D.
       Churchwardens: Edward Blaker / Robert Ackerson / Richard Bodle.

At the old Workhouse, or rather Poor-house as it was called, the average
number of inmates was 150, and the only labour consisted in collecting
and crushing oyster-shells in a large iron mortar.  This work was done by
the able-bodied out-door poor, in the winter months, at a fixed price per
bushel.  The material thus produced was sold for manuring land, and for
constructing paths in parks, lawns, &c.  The Governor at that time, was
Mr. Hayward, he having succeeded Mr. Bailey, and the inmates were farmed
to Mr. Rice, at a contract price for their board, of about 4s a-week per
head.  Previous to Mr. Bailey, Mr. Sicklemore was the Governor, he having
succeeded Mr. William Pearce, who was appointed March 25th, 1779.  Mr.
Samuel Thorncroft, the present Assistant-Overseer, was Mr. Rice's
assistant, and helped Mr. Chassereau, the then Assistant-Overseer, in
preparing the present Workhouse for the reception of the poor, who were
very reluctant to leave the old house, to be transported out of the
world, as they termed the removal to the new house on Church hill, which
certainly then had as desolate an appearance as the "howling wilderness,"
the name now given to the Industrial Schools at the Warren Farm, by the
opponents of that juvenile establishment.  The Assistant-Overseer,
previous to Mr. Chassereau, was Mr. White, who succeeded Mr. Jonathan
Grenville.  At this period the principal officers in connexion with the
poor of the parish, were an Assistant-Overseer, at a salary of 200, and
a Vestry Clerk, at a salary of 100 a-year.  Mr. Thomas Attree, of the
present firm, Messrs. Attree, Clarke, and Howlett, solicitors, Ship
street, was the Clerk, and used to make out the poor-rates,
attend--usually by deputy--the meetings of the Directors and Guardians,
record the meetings of the Board, and the Committees, and prepare
reports.

The removal from the old to the new house took place on the 12th
September, 1822, when 27 persons changed their residence.  On the 20th of
the same month, nine others followed; and on the 24th, sixty-four more
were removed, making a total of ninety-five inmates.  Mr. Baldey was the
parish surgeon.  The new governor--Hayward,--remained only a few days on
the removal to the new house; as, without the least intimation to any
one, he abruptly took himself off.  His successor, Mr. Nuttall, remained
only four or five weeks, when he was summarily dismissed by the
Guardians, on the 5th of November, 1822.  Mr. S. Thorncroft was then
appointed Governor, a situation which he continued to fill with great
honour to himself and satisfaction to the town, till April, 1834,
although he did not leave the house till April, 1835.  Mr. John Harper
was Mr. Chassereau's successor.  Mr. Thorncroft was appointed
Assistant-Overseer--a position which he still so ably holds--in October,
1834.  Mr. Collington, at the close of 1834, succeeded Mr. Thorncroft as
Governor; and he held the office till the middle of the summer of 1836,
when Mr. Bartlett entered on the duties of Governor, he having been
previously the superintendent of pauper-labour, at a salary of 160
a-year.

At the old house Mrs. Idle was a species of matron; but when the inmates
went "up the hill," Mrs. Harriet Dennett held that appointment, and
continued it till 1827, when she was succeeded by Mrs. Alice Pickstock.
Mrs. Pickstock,--the mother of Mrs. S. Thorncroft,--died in 1843.  As a
memento of respect, her tomb, erected by subscription in the Cemetery
Ground of the Old Church, expresses the appreciation of her valuable
services.  On her death, Mrs. Bartlett, the wife of the Governor, was
appointed Matron.  Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett resigned in June, 1848, and were
succeeded by Mr. and Mrs. Cuzens.  About the middle of the year 1849,
Cuzens absented himself from his duties, and they were in consequence
both discharged in September.  Mr. and Mrs. Hodges were appointed to the
vacancies, and they held their respective offices till September of the
following year.  Mr. and Mrs. C. J. King succeeded them, and in October,
1854, on their resignation, Mr. and Mrs. Passmore entered upon their
duties.  On the 7th of June, 1859, Mr. Passmore absconded; the dismissal
of himself and wife ensued in consequence, and on the 15th of July, Mr.
and Mrs. Sattin were appointed to fill the vacancies.

The poor-rate collectors hitherto have been Mr. Edward Butler, Mr. Harry
(Captain) Blaber, Mr. W. H. Smithers, and Mr. Frank Butler.  The parish
assessors have been Mr. Saunders, Mr. Robert Ackerson, Mr. Richard Bodle,
Mr. Henry Styles Colbron, Mr. Richard Edwards, and Mr. George Maynard.

The original cost for building the Brighton Workhouse was 10,000, and
the land was purchased for 1,400, and paid by a rate expressly raised
for that service.  In the year 1853, the then Board of Directors
determined upon disposing of the present Workhouse and grounds, and the
erection of a Workhouse and Industrial Schools, and they purchased ground
on the Race Hill, as the site for the former, and the Warren Farm, beyond
the Race Hill, for the latter.  The Schools are completed, and will be
ready for occupation when a sufficient supply of water is obtained from
the notorious Warren Farm Well.

There have been occasions when the Guardians, in the plenitude of their
duties towards the poor, and also to the ratepayers, have made their
Board meetings the opportunity for feasting and guzzling.  The most
memorable time was in the summer of 1837, when they pampered their
appetites with john-dorees, salmon, lobsters, Norfolk squab pie, poultry,
and joints in profusion; red and white wines by the dozen, and spirits by
the gallon; cigars by the box, and snuff by the pound; with a handsome
snuff-box, too; and, the usual services of the House being too mean for
them, sets of dish-covers were ordered, and dishes, dinner and pie
plates, jugs, sauce tureens, cut decanters and stands, rummers, knives
and forks, waiters, and a teaboard.  Blacking too, was ordered, and one
Guardian, Mr. Paul Hewitt, actually sent his boots to the Workhouse to be
cleaned, and when done they were returned to his house again.  Another
Guardian, Mr. Storrer, also sent his dog to the Workhouse to be kept, as
it was inconvenient to have it at home.  The Guardians had also a summer
house, wherein they smoked their cigars and quaffed their grog.  This was
at the period when out-door paupers had to slave up the Church hill for
relief.  The removal of the Board-room to Church street, the Pavilion
property, has been a great convenience to the poor, and it has been the
means of preventing even a hint that the present Board feast at the
parish expense.

Immediately in connexion with the Workhouse, the two following extracts
from the parish books, will not be found out of place:--

           "_Coppy of the Order for the Removal of Stephen Agnus_."

    SUSSEX.

                                 HEN. PELHAM
                                 GEO. GOREING

    To the Churchwardens and Overseers of the POOR of ye Pish. of
    Brighthelmstone, in ye sd. County, & to the Churchwardens and
    Overseers of the POOR of the Pish. of Sittingbourne, in ye County of
    Kent, & to every of them.

    Forasmuch as Complaint hath been made to us, whose hands & Seales are
    hereto sett, being two of his Majtes. Justices of the Peace for the
    sd. County (one of which is of ye QUORUM) by the Churchwardens and
    Overseers of the poor of the sd. Pish. of Brighthelmstone that
    Stephen Agnus came Lately into ye said pish. not having nor renting
    Ten pound p. annum, nor otherwise gained a legal settlement there
    according to ye severall statutes in that case made and provided, but
    is likely to become chargeable to the said parish of Brighthelmstone.

    These are, therefore, in his Majts. name, to will and require you,
    the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of ye sd. pish, of
    Brighthelmstone or some of you, to convey the said Stephen Agnus from
    the said pish. of Brighthelmstone To the said Pish of Sittingbourn,
    in Kent, where, upon the examination of the said Stephen Agnus upon
    oath, it appears that the said Stephen Agnus was last legally settled
    as an householder.  And you, the Churchwardens and Overseers of the
    poor of the said pish of Sittingbourne, are hereby required and
    commanded him to receive and provid for, as an Inhabitant of yr sd
    pish. hereof, fail not at yr perril.  Given under our hands and seals
    this 27th day of January, in the 13th year of his Majst's reign, Anno
    Domi. 1701.

                  _Certificate acknowledging a Parishioner_.

    Wee, Andrew Godwin, John Tappenden, William Ffullager, and William
    Deane, Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poore of the Parish of
    Sittingbourne, in the County of Kent, doo hereby owne and acknowledge
    Stephen Agnus, of the same Parish, to be an inhabitant, legally
    settled there.  Witness our hands and seales this one and thirtieth
    day of January, Anno Dni. 1701.

    Attested by us

                          W. H. HAUSSETT, JO. HAWKES

                               ANDREW GODWIN, *

                              JOHN TAPPENDEN, *

                              WILL. FFULLAGER, *

                               WILLIAM DEANE. *

        _To the Churchwardens & Overseers of ye poore of ye parish of
       Brighthelmstone_, _in ye County of Sussex_, _or to any of them_.

    Wee, whose hands are hereunder written, Justices of ye Peace of the
    County of Kent, aforesd., doo allowe of the Certificate above
    written, dated ye 2nd day of February, Anno Dm. 1701.

                                                             THO. OSBORNE,
                                                            WALTR. HOOPER.

    BASTARDY BOND, _given by a Security_, _that the putative father shall
    indemnify the Parish against any expence that may be incurred in the
    birth of a Child_.

                                        _Stamp One Shilling and Sixpence_.

    KNOW ALL MEN by these presents, that I, Buckrell Bridger, of the
    Parish of Brighthelmstone, in the County of Sussex, mariner, am held
    and firmly bound unto Stephen Richwood, and Stephen Poune,
    Churchwardens, and Robert Davis and Edward Stiles, Overseers of the
    Poor of the Parish of Brighthelmstone, aforesaid, in trust for
    themselves and others, the parishioners of the said Parish, in Fifty
    Pounds of good and Lawfull money of Great Britain, to be paid to the
    said Churchwardens and Overseers, or their certain Attorney,
    Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, for which payment well and
    faithfully to be made, I bind my Heirs, Executors, and
    Administrators, and every of them, firmly by these presents, scaled
    with my Seal, dated this sixth day of May, in the Ninth year of the
    reign of our Sovereign Lord, George the Third, by the Grace of God,
    of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith,
    and so forth, and in the year of our Lord One thousand, Seven
    hundred, and Sixty-nine.

    THE CONDITION of this obligation is such, that, whereas Mary Hill, of
    the Parish of Brighthelmstone, aforesaid, single-woman, hath, in and
    by her voluntary examination, taken in writing and upon oath before
    John Fuller, Esquire, one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace in
    and for the said County, declared that she is with child, and that
    the said child is likely to be born a bastard, and to be chargeable
    to the said Parish of Brighthelmstone, and that Buckrell Bridger, the
    younger, of Brighthelmstone, aforesaid, mariner, is the father of the
    said child.  If, therefore, the above bounden Buckrell, the elder, or
    the above named Buckrell Bridger, the younger, or either of them,
    then, or either of their Heirs, Executors, or Administrators, do or
    shall, from time to time, or at all times hereafter, fully and
    clearly indemnify, and save harmless as well, the above named
    Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said Parish of
    Brighthelmstone, and their successors for the time being, and also
    all other the Parishioners and Inhabitants of the said Parish which
    now are, or hereafter shall be for the time being, from and against
    all kind and all manner of Costs, Taxes, Rates, Assessments, and
    charges whatsoever, for or by reason of the birth, education, and
    maintenance of the said child, and of and from all Actions, Suits,
    Troubles, and other charges and demands whatsoever, touching or
    concerning the same, then this obligation to be void, or otherwise to
    be and remain in full force.

                                                       BUCKRELL BRIDGER. *
                               The mark of BUCKRELL BRIDGER  the elder. *

    Sealed and delivered, being first stamped in the presence of us, the
    interlineations being first made.

                                                            GEO. ABINGTON,
                                                             THOS. SCRASE.

But a quarter of a century since it was customary to employ the out-door
paupers in scavenging, cleansing, and watering the streets, the poor
creatures being harnessed, by means of ropes, to the muck-trucks and
barrel-constructed water-carts, after the manner that convicts are put to
labour in the Government penal establishments and the navy dockyards.
The parish officers eventually got shamed out of the system of thus
employing those whose only crime was poverty; and for awhile they
substituted the health-destroying and heart-breaking plan of wheeling
shingle and sand from the beach to the Workhouse-ground in barrows, till
one unhappy creature sunk beneath his burthen and died of "disease of the
heart!"  The custom then was abandoned.  The course now pursued towards
the indigent is thoroughly to investigate their several cases, and
relieve them according to their necessities and deserts: and where
laziness and not misfortune is the cause of their penury, to give them an
"Able Bodied Ward" ticket of admission to the Workhouse, which not one
indolent person in fifty avails himself or herself of, but rather leaves
the Board of Guardians, dissatisfied, and eventually resolves upon an
attempt at industry, which results in a benefit to themselves and the
ratepayers.  The system has succeeded beyond all expectations; and many a
man who considered the "house" his birthright, because his father and his
grandfather from time immemorial wintered there, has taken to provident
and industrious habits, and learned the sweet uses of adversity.




CHAPTER X.
THE ATTACK ON BRIGHTHELMSTON BY THE FRENCH, IN 1545.


Henry the Eighth having ravaged Artois and Picardy, by the superiority of
his forces, and made himself master of Boulogne, the French king to
retaliate the wanton desolations, sent Admiral D'Annehault with a
considerable fleet to devastate the country on the southern coast of the
island.  The invasion is thus described by Holinshead:--

    "In 37 Hen. 8th, 1545, July the 18th, the admiral of France, Mons.
    Donebatte, hoisted up sails, and with his whole navy (which consisted
    of 200 ships and 26 gallies,) came forth into the seas, and arrived
    on the coast of Sussex, before Bright Hampstead, and set certain of
    his soldiers on land to burn and spoil the country: but the beacons
    were fired and the inhabitants thereabouts came down so thick, that
    the Frenchmen were driven to their ships with loss of diverse of
    their numbers, so that they did little hurt there.  Immediately
    hereupon they made to the Isle of Wight, when about two thousand of
    their men landed, and one of their chief captains, named Chevalier
    Daux, a Provenois, being slain with many others, the residue, with
    loss and shame, were driven back again to their gallies.  And having
    knowledge by certain fishermen whom they took, that the king was
    present on the coast, (Portsmouth) and a huge power ready to resist
    them, they disanctioned (disanchored) and drew along the coast of
    Sussex, of whom few returned to their ships; for divers gentlemen of
    the country, as Sir Nicholas Pelham and others, with such power as
    was raised upon the sudden, took them up by the way and quickly
    distressed them.  When they had searched every where by the coast,
    and saw men still ready to receive them with battle, they turned
    stern, and so got them home again without any act achieved worthy to
    be mentioned.  The number of the Frenchmen was great, so that diverse
    of them who were taken prisoners in the Isle of Wight and in Sussex,
    did report they were three score thousand."

A curious Picture Map of this attack is engraved in the 24th vol. of the
"Archologia" of 1832, from the original in the Cottonian Library.  A
copy of this map is in the possession of the compiler of this history.
It bears date, "1545, July, 37 Henry VIII."  The number of ships
attacking the town is twenty-two; and the largest, probably the
Admiral's, lying nearest the shore, has four masts; seven have three
masts, three two masts, and eleven are galleys with one mast and numerous
oars.  Eight of the latter are on shore, and the armed men from them have
disembarked on the beach, the place where they landed being
inscribed,--"here landed the galleys."  On the shore also, high and dry,
are six large boats of the inhabitants, and several smaller ones.  On the
beach, likewise, at Hove, are five small boats.  On the sea, towards the
west side, is inscribed,--"Shippes may ride all somer tem in a myle the
town in V fathome water;" and on the east,--"Thesse grete shippes rydeng
hard abode shore by shoting into the hille and wallies on the towne, so
sore oppresse the towne that the countrey dare not adventure to rescue
it."  The ships are pierced for guns, and the prows and sterns are raised
three or four stages.  Numerous pennons and streamers adorn each ship,
some bearing a _fleur-de-lys_, and others a cross.  On shore the houses
under the cliffe are on fire; from the upper town also flames are issuing
from almost every house.  There are five rows of houses running from
north to south; and at the extreme north a row of houses runs from east
to west.  A square space in the centre is marked,--"A felde in the middle
of the town."  A road to the east of the town, about the spot now
occupied by the Old Steine, and going in the north-east direction is
inscribed,--"the valey comyng from Lewes town to Brighthampston."  On this
road and on the hill adjacent bodies of armed men are marching towards
the town.  On the cliffe, eastward of this road, is an erection from
which is suspended a frame containing some burning substance, and is
inscribed,--"the towne fyre cage."  This is at about the spot where the
offices and auction room of Messrs. Parsons and Son now are.  From
thence, eastward, is inscribed,--"The East pte of brighthampston riseng
onelye on cleves high."  North of the town is the church, about which
persons, some armed, appear in the attitude of prayer.  Beyond the church
are two mills, marked,--the "wynde mylles;" and still farther a blazing
construction on a pole, marked,--"the bekon of the towne."  A road from
this spot is continued to the sea, about midway between the church and
Hove Church, marked,--"hoove Churche."  This road, along which armed men
are coming towards the town, is inscribed,--"the valey comyng from pouynge
(Poynings) betwixt brighthampston and the vilage, hove."  As this road
approaches the beach it is inscribed,--"Upon this west pt may lond CM
psones (100,000 persons) unletted by any pvision there."  At the back of
the town is inscribed,--"The towne of brighthampston," and immediately to
the east of the town is a body of armed men.  Hove,--two rows of
houses,--is marked, "hove village," and the road running westward from
thence, "the west parte of brithampston lowe all daungerous and wout
cleves (without cliffs.)"

The next attempt of the French was on Newhaven, where they landed to a
considerable number, and proceeded to pillage the town and environs; but
the gentry and yeomen of the coast having been collected on the
neighbouring hills to oppose the expected descent, attacked the invaders
so vigorously that many were slain in attempting to recover their
galleys.




CHAPTER XI.
FORTIFICATIONS OF THE TOWN.


In consequence of the frequent incursions of the French, and the
inhabitants being harassed by frequent alarm, the town resolved, in 1558,
to erect fortifications, to afford them some protection for the future.
A Court Baron of the manor of Brighthelmston-Lewes was therefore held on
the 29th of September in that year, of which the following entry appears
in the Court Rolls:

    I Eliz.  At a Court Baron, holden for this manor, 27th September,
    there was granted to the inhabitants of Brighton town by the lords,
    one parcel of land, containing in length 30 feet, in breadth 16 feet,
    to build thereon a store-house to keep armes, &c., now called the
    Block-house.  Also at the Court holden for Atlingworth manor, 3 Jac
    (1606) January 9th, the homage presented that the north part of the
    Block-house aforesaid is built on part of the demesnes of that manor.

The land granted was on the Cliff between Black-lion street and Ship
street, and about 215 yards westward of East street.  The Block-house was
circular, about fifty feet in diameter, and the walls were about eight
feet in thickness, and eighteen feet in height.  Several arched
apartments in its thick walls were depositories for the powder and other
ammunition for the defence of the town.  In front of it, towards the sea,
was a little battery called the Gun Garden, on which were mounted four
pieces of large iron ordnance.  Adjoining the Block-house, on the east,
stood the Town-house, with a dungeon under it for malefactors; and on the
summit of this building rose a turret, on which the town clock was fixed.
At the same time with the Block-house, were erected four gates of
freestone, (three of which were arched) leading from the Cliff to that
part of the town which lay under it, namely, the East Gate at the bottom
of East street; the Portal, which was called the Porter's Gate, and was
less than any of the others; it stood next the East Gate; the Middle
Gate, opposite the end of Middle street, commonly called the Gate of All
Nations; and the West Gate, which stood at the end of West street.  From
the East Gate, westward, there was, at the same time, a wall built about
fifteen feet high, and four hundred feet long, where the Cliff was most
easy of ascent: and from the termination of that wall, a parapet three
feet high, was continued on the verge of the Cliff to the West Gate, with
embrasures for cannon.  The Block-house was built at the expense of the
mariners of the town; but the gates and walls were erected partly if not
wholly by the government.

The south of the town was thus effectually secured.  For the security,
then, of the other three sides, on any emergency, trenches might be cut
at the end of the streets which led into the town, or the entrances might
be barred to the enemy by lumber carriages and household furniture, while
the inhabitants annoyed them from every quarter.  The "Magna Britannia,"
in addition, says, "The town contains seven streets, and as many lanes,
but the most spacious of them is devoured by the Ocean," alluding to
South street, under the cliff, which it is supposed formed the sea front
of the town.

The town book, under the date 1580, has the following inventory of the
"great ordnance, and other munition and furniture in Brighthelmston,"
viz., four iron pieces delivered out of the tower, on the bond of John
Slutter, together with powder and shot delivered with the same, two
pieces of great ordnance, and ten "qualivers with their flasks and touch
boxes," and a drum belonging to the town.

The town also at that time possessed one windmill, purchased of Queen
Elizabeth, and the site of another mill then in ruins; "the town-house,
situate to the east side of the block-house," granted by a copy of court
roll by the lords of the Manor of Brighthelmston, and the said
block-house, "of flint, lime, and sand, of late years erected, and built
in warlike manner, by the fishermen, with the profits of their quarter
share." {65}

There is no record as to the date when the fortifications in general were
destroyed; but it is generally supposed the gradual inroads of the sea
sapped them and caused them to fall.  Certainly they were not demolished
by any foreign invader, as after 1545 the town was never attacked.

In 1586, when the whole kingdom was alarmed with rumours of the Spanish
Armada, a fleet of about fifty sail were discovered off the town,
apparently waiting for a favourable opportunity to land.  The terrified
inhabitants, concluding it was the great Spanish force, fired the beacons
and sent off for Lord Buckhurst, who was lord of one of the manors of the
town.  His Lordship attended with as many armed men as he could muster on
so sudden an emergency, and took post on the brow of the cliff between
Brighthelmston and Rottingdean, in order to oppose the landing of the
supposed enemy at their place.  In the course of the ensuing night, his
force increased to the number of 1,600 men: and a considerable body of
Kentishmen were on their march to join him.  Next morning, the ships
appeared in the same place; but those on board showed no disposition to
land.  A few boats, belonging to the town, ventured out at last, a little
way, to reconnoitre the fleet, and soon discovered, to their great joy,
they were only Dutch merchantmen laden with Spanish wines, and detained
by contrary winds in the Channel.

Towards the end of July, 1588, the town was more justly alarmed at the
Spanish Armada; and the inhabitants neglected no means in their power to
defend themselves and their country from the threatened desolation by a
powerful and inveterate enemy.  They had then in the town, belonging to
Government, six pieces of great iron ordnance, and ten qualivers, a
species of small cannon.  With a determination of the most obstinate
resistance, the shores of Sussex in general were lined with the people,
when this tremendous armament passed in their view, pursued by the light
and expert navy of England.

In 1597, in consequence of the continued war with Spain, and Brighton
being exposed, by an order of Sessions, dated July 13th, and signed
Robert Sackville, Thomas Pelham, Nicholas Parker, Antho. Sherley, and
Ran. Nevill, by command of Lord Buckhurst, Lord Lieutenant of the County,
there were sent from Lewes to Brighthelmston, one saker and one minion,
with their carriages, shot, horse-harness, budges, barrels, ladles,
sponges, and all other necessary implements belonging to the same, with
six barrels of gunpowder; and such was the educational condition of the
people at that period, that Thomas Jeffery, the Constable of
Brighthelmston, to whom the artillery and stores were delivered, could
not write his name.  In 1642, the four pieces of iron ordnance, sent to
Brighthelmston in 1597, were returned to Lewes.  In the same year, also a
barrel of gunpowder was sent from the town house, Lewes, (where was the
powder store,) to Brighthelmston.

In the Court Rolls, according to the Burrell MSS., 1st April, 1645, there
are the following records:--

    Homage present Willm. Gallan, jun., for not paying to Rd. Cook,
    lord's reeve, for his lady nets fishing, according to ye ancient
    custom, 4d, give him time to pay it to the said R.C., at or before
    St. Jn. Baptist next, on payn of 5s.

    25 Aug., 1648.  We present Nichs. Payne for building his new house
    and shop under the cliffs, upon the bank of the cliff, to the hurt
    and annoyance of the whole towne, if we shd have any occasion to use
    the ordnance, or that there shd be any invasion by a foreign enemy.

    25 Aug., 1654.  We present Nics. Payne for encroaching on the lord's
    waste, and building of his walls 14 feet, or thereabout, more than he
    is admitted to, to ye cliffe side, before ye place where ye great
    guns path doth stand, to the great annoyance and hindrance of ye
    whole towne and country, and we fine him for it.

In the year 1658, John Pullat, a Quaker, for speaking to the priest and
people in the Steeple-house (the church), was put prisoner into the
Block-house, which, at that time, was the place of confinement for
malefactors.

In the course of the encroachments of the sea during severe storms in
1703 and 1705, the Blockhouse and Gun-garden, wall and gates, were
gradually sapped, and at last so completely destroyed, that in the course
of thirty years afterwards, scarcely any of their ruins were perceptible.
The following is the record of these storms in the Brighton town-book:--

    Memorand.--November 27th, 1703, there was a very great and remarkable
    tempest, {67} which begun after midnight, and continued in its
    violence till about 8 in the morning, being Saturday.  Many houses in
    town were damnified, two wind-mills in the east blown over, several
    of the church leads turned up, and several vessells belonging to the
    town were Shipwracked, to the great impoverishment of the place.

    Another storm, 11th of August, 1705, did equal damage.

The Burrell MSS. record, Jan., 1748-9, that by reason of extraordinary
high tides the sea broke in at Brighthelmston, washed away part of the
Block-house, and the farm lands called Salts, and did considerable damage
to the lands adjacent.

On digging out the shingle for the purpose of laying in the foundation of
the wall which forms the south boundary of the King's Road, the ruins of
the Block-house were discovered in so compact and firm a state that much
difficulty was experienced in excavating them and breaking them up.  Less
than ninety years since at low water, the well of the old town was
visible off the Old Ship Tavern, its steined form standing somewhat high
above the sand and shingle.

Lord Macaulay, in his history of England, speaking of the time of Charles
II., says:--"Brighton was then described as a place which had once been
thriving, which had possessed many small fishing barks, and which had,
when at the height of prosperity, contained about two thousand
inhabitants; but which was sinking fast into decay.  The sea was
gradually gaining on the buildings, which at length almost entirely
disappeared.  Ninety years ago the ruins of an old fort were to be seen
lying among the pebbles and sea-weed on the beach, and ancient men could
still point out the traces of foundations on a spot where a street of
more than a hundred huts had been swallowed up by the waves.  So desolate
was the place after this calamity that the vicarage was thought scarcely
worth having.  A few poor fishermen, however, still continued to dry
their nets on those cliffs, on which now a town, twice as large and
populous as the Bristol of the Stuarts, presents, mile after mile, its
gay and fantastic front to the sea."  The Rev. William Gilpin, prebendary
of Salisbury, and vicar of Boldre, near Lymington, in "Observations on
the Coasts of Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent, made in the Summer of 1774,"
states:--"The cliff on which Brighthelmston stands, is composed of a
mouldering clay; and the sea has gained upon it, at least fifty yards in
the memory of man.  A fort which stood on the edge of the cliff, gave way
in the year 1761, and was shattered into a ruin; but it is now taken
entirely down."  This, probably, refers to some portion of the old
fortifications of the town, which stood to the east of the Block-house.

About the year 1761, a battery, with an arched room under it for
ammunition, was erected at the bottom of East (great) Street, not far
from the site of the ancient East Gate.  A letter dated Brighthelmston,
August 12th, 1782, states:--"About seven o'clock yesterday morning, I was
awaked by the firing of guns, which made me rise sooner than I should
otherwise have done, and upon going to the beach, was informed that a
French privateer, of 16 or 18 guns, and about 130 men, had just taken a
collier close to the shore.  After having turned the collier's men in
their own boat on shore,--they only wanting the vessel,--the Frenchmen put
on board the collier from the privateer, ten stout fellows, and then
sailed away with their prize.  This being observed from the ramparts,
signal was given to a cutter, which happened luckily to be near, and it
directly made sail after the collier, and in about an hour and a half
retook her, and sent the Frenchmen on shore."  The ramparts alluded to
were those of the East Street battery, which was wholly unprotected by
any groyne, and was completely undermined by the sea on the 17th of
November, 1786, and fell to the ground.  There were at the time seventeen
barrels of gunpowder in the magazine below; but fortunately none of them
took fire amidst the crash of the ruins.  Dunvan {69} states that this
battery mounted 12 twenty-four pounders; but on the platform as
represented in a map of Brighton, 1779, eight guns only are placed.  The
eight guns were deposited on the Steine, and remained there for several
weeks.

The condition of these guns and the value of the battery will be better
gleaned from the following memorandum, made Thursday, September 23rd,
1779:--"Some French privateers are said to be hovering about the offing,
and we hear now and then a report of firing.  Provoking!--They will not
come within reach of the only four guns that may be fired with safety--I
mean, when properly loaded with powder and ball--a salute is nothing.  The
rest are all well known to be honey-combed.  The small craft, then, may
be cut off with impunity.  What a pity that a couple of light
six-pounders cannot be spared by the Board of Ordnance, to protect the
coast!  Those with men or horses, might be dragged along the Clift, and
prevent every sort of mischief to be dreaded from such despicable
picaroons;--instead whereof, two horse soldiers, in long scarlet cloaks,
ride along the coast, making their utility to be understood by no one."

The site of this battery is marked by the Old Battery House, opposite the
Rising Sun, to which is attached the following legend of

                             OLD STRIKE-A-LIGHT:--

    "A tremendous gale had ceased, but still the mountainous swellings of
    the sea burst violently on the shore, when the boat of Swan Jervoise
    came into the Brighton roadstead, having weathered the storm.  The
    night was pitchy dark; scarcely could the outline of the horizon be
    perceived, and not a light illumed the blank.  The surprise of
    Jervoise and his crew was therefore great when they beheld a stream
    of meteor-like splendour burst from every window of the 'Rising Sun'
    Inn, and as suddenly all was again involved in utter darkness.  This
    terrific appearance was repeated many times.  Swan Jervoise was one
    of those men who never conjecture, but proceeded at once to ascertain
    a cause.  He therefore, with two of his men, went ashore; but
    proceeded alone to the 'Rising Sun,' expecting to find the people up.
    After knocking and bawling loud enough to rouse all the dead in the
    Bartholomew's Chapel, without wakening the landlord, he was about to
    force the door, when the light again burst from the windows, and he
    distinctly heard a ticking as of a person striking a light with a
    flint and steel, each stroke producing this supernatural blaze of
    light.  In a moment afterwards the door was opened, and a being seven
    feet high, wrapped in a large black cloak, with a high conical white
    hat, issued forth.  He noticed not the poor drenched fisherman, but
    he strode on until he disappeared in the darkness.  Jervois's hair
    stood, stiff on his head; his limbs trembled with fear; and he
    shrieked aloud with terror.  The landlord heard his cry, and came
    down with his torch.  Seeing his neighbour in such a plight, he bade
    him come in, roused up a fire, made him take a seat in the capacious
    chimney, and--having comforted him with good words--placed a rushlight
    on the table, and then retired to procure a jug of ale.  Jervoise,
    scarcely recovered from his fright, was thus again left alone.  As he
    sat musing by the crackling fire, the dim rush throwing a fitful
    light around the room, he chanced to turn his head; when, from over
    the back of the settle, he beheld the deathlike features--pallid as a
    sear cloth--of the tall man in the conical hat.  His countenance was
    most ghastly, and he fixed his grey-glazed eyes full on Jervoise, and
    pointed to the hearth.  This was more than he could bear,--he uttered
    one loud scream, and fell senseless to the ground.  He was thus found
    by the landlord, who conveyed him to bed; and the next day Jervoise
    related the particulars to Father Anselm, of St. Bartholomew, and
    then expired.  But the blessed Virgin and Saint Nicholas oft-times
    bring good out of evil; for on examining the hearth to which 'Old
    Strike-a-Light' (as the apparition has since been called) pointed, a
    vast treasure was found, which is still safely deposited with the
    principal of this order in Normandy; nor has the 'Rising Sun' since
    been haunted by the unholy spirit of 'Old Strike-a-Light.'  The
    faithful may therefore know there is no truth in the story that 'Old
    Strike-a-Light' has lately been seen seated astride a barrel of beer
    in the cellar chinking a piece of money on a pewter dish.  The family
    vault of Jervoise, the oldest in the churchyard of Brighthelmston,
    Anno Domini MCXVII, may still be seen on the south side of the
    church--near Tattersall's."

Towards the latter end of the year 1793, two new batteries were commenced
for the defence of the town; one on the West Cliff, which mounted eight
36-pounders, and the other on the East Cliff, which mounted four of the
same weight.  The guns of these batteries were of French casting, ship
guns, taken from the French fleet captured by Lord Howe, in his memorable
victory of the 1st of June, 1794.  The latter of these batteries was at
the bottom of the Marine Parade, opposite the south-end of German Place;
but after being in position about ten years,--as the explosions of the
guns and the encroachments of the sea had made the walls dangerous,--it
was removed.  The west battery was opposite Artillery Place.  The Sea
Fencibles, volunteers, during the war with France used to practice at
this battery.  They were accustomed, also, to exercise with
boarding-pikes, in Belle-vue field, now Regency Square.  Colonel Moore's
volunteers went through their initiation drill, with faggot-sticks, on
the ground behind the battery house, Artillery Place.  Colonel Moore
resided on the Old Steine, in the mansion which was afterwards occupied
by Lady Ann Murray, and then by Mr Harrington, (Squire Harrington, as he
was usually spoken of,) now the residence of Captain Thellusson.  This
noble structure was erected by the Right Honourable W. G. Hamilton, Esq.,
formerly M.P. for Haslemere.  According to a manuscript diary in
possession of the compiler of this history: "On the 17th of August, 1805,
soon after 12 o'clock, a shot was discharged from this battery by the Sea
Fencibles, at a cask moored purposely in the offing, and it fell very
close to the object: a second shot was also fired, of 42 pounds weight,
merely to ascertain to what a distance the gun would throw it.  From the
time of the explosion until it struck the water, there was a lapse of 27
seconds; the ball consequently, ere it was received by the liquid
clement, must have traversed to a distance of three miles.  The weight of
the cartridge used was 14 pounds."  Also, June 13th, 1807: "The
Volunteers this morning, for the first time this year, were practised at
the Fort, in discharging the forty-two-pounders at a cask, moored, and
floating on the water, at about three quarters of a league distant from
the shore.  Twelve rounds were fired; and though some of the balls
immediately struck the object, they generally dropped so close to it,
that a moderate sized fishing-boat would scarcely have escaped being
injured by either of them.  Many elegant spectators were on the Cliff
during the exercise."  The west battery was removed in 1859.  A flagstaff
within a railed space, marks its last site; as, twice after its original
construction, it was removed with the sanction of Government, to admit of
widening the King's Road at that spot, to accommodate the increased
traffic.  The battery house and the other buildings in connexion with the
Battery, were disposed of by auction by Mr. P. R. Wilkinson, on Monday,
September 9th, 1861, and by the 28th of that month the space was entirely
cleared for the erection of an hotel, Government having disposed of the
ground to the Brighton Hotel Company.  The remnant of the battery
platform, marked by the flagstaff, belongs to the town, the Corporation
having purchased it of Government to prevent any other purchaser placing
buildings upon it.  Brighton thus, wholly depends upon such means of
defence as the emergency of the occasion may require to be brought into
operation, by means of the railway, the facility of transit offering the
full assurance that every _materiel_ would be at hand for the ready
service of our Volunteers, should an enemy have the temerity to invade
our shores and put to the proof every Englishman's motto, "_Pro aris et
focis_."




CHAPTER XII.
THE INCURSIONS OF THE SEA UPON THE TOWN.


Brighton has not had merely to defend itself against the aggressions of
foreign invaders, but the encroachment of the sea at various times has
checked its prosperity.  Between 1260 and 1340, upwards of 40 acres of
land had become submerged, {73a} and the sea made continual inroads upon
the lower town.  Previous to 1665 twenty-two copyhold tenements under the
Cliff, belonging to the manor of Brighthelmston-Lewes, alone were swept
away.  Amongst them were twelve shops, with four stake places and four
capstan-places attached to them, and three cottages and three parcels of
land adjoining them. {73b}  There still remained under the Cliff, 113
tenements (shops, capstan and stake places, and cottages) which were
destroyed by the memorable storms of 1703 and 1705.

The storm of 1703 commenced about midnight on the 27th of November, and
continued for eight hours with unabated fury.  Many houses were
demolished; and others were unroofed: the church leads were torn off; and
the two mills belonging to the town, were prostrated by the storm.  The
town presented the ruinous appearance of a place severely bombarded.  Nor
was that the only disaster looked for by the dismayed inhabitants, from
so dreadful a conflict of the elements.  The bulk of their property, and
their dearest relatives, were at the same time exposed to its utmost fury
on the ocean, and the most dismal apprehensions for their fate were in
many of them but too fully realised.  Deryck Paine, master of the ketch,
"Elizabeth," was lost with all his crew.  George Taylor, master of the
ketch, "Happy Entrance," was lost with all his crew, except Walter
Street, who supported himself on a mast for three days, between the Downs
and North Yarmouth, and was taken up at last.  Richard Webb, master of
the ketch, "Richard and Rose," was lost with all his crew, near St.
Helen's.  Edward Freind, master of the ketch, "Thomas and Frances," was
stranded near Portsmouth.  Edward Glover, master of the pink, "Richard
and Benjamin," was stranded near Chichester.  One man was lost; the
master and the rest of the crew saved themselves in the shrouds.  George
Beach, master of the pink, "Mary," was driven from the Downs to Hamburgh,
with the loss of anchors, cables, and sails.  Richard Kitchener, master
of the "Chomley" pink, was lost, with nine of her crew; five men and a
boy were saved by another vessel.  Many able seamen, belonging to the
town, were also lost in the Queen's (Anne's) ships of war, transports and
tenders.

The 11th of August, 1705, was marked by another dreadful storm, which
began at one in the morning, attained its greatest fury at three, and
raged until eight.  It completed the destruction of all the lower
buildings which had escaped the fury of all former inundations.  Every
habitation under the Cliff was utterly demolished, and its very site
concealed from the owner's knowledge beneath a mound of beach.  The roof
of the parish church again also suffered much, the lead being completely
stripped away.  A record of this event is preserved in the tower of the
church, beneath the bell storey; on the wall of which is nailed a tablet
of sheet-lead, measuring 4ft. 6in. by 2ft. 6in., that was taken from the
roof of the sacred edifice on the restoration of the church in 1853.  It
is inscribed in raised east characters, thus:--

                               RICHARD MASTERS.

                               RICHARD TVPPEN.

                                JOHN MASTERS.

                                CHVRCHWARDENS.

                                  1 7   0 5.

Above the names is a cherub at each corner of the tablet; and between the
7 and 0 are represented two nude children amidst scroll-work, which is
surmounted with an angel in the act of sounding a trumpet.

Dr. Mantell remarks that at Brighton the inroads of the sea have been
very extensive.  The whole of the ancient town was situated on the spot
which is now covered by the sands, and the present cliffs were then
behind the town, like those of Dover; and Mr. Lyell, in his "Principles
of Geology," says:--"The sea has merely resumed its position at the base
of the cliffs, the site of the old town having been a beach which had for
ages been abandoned by the ocean."  In the _Taxatio Ecclesiastica Angli
et Walli_, _auctoritate P. Nicholas_ (A.D. 1292), and _Nonarum
inquisitiones in coria scaccarii_ (A.D. 1340), mention is made that the
losses of land sustained by the action of the sea, between the years 1260
and 1340, a period of only eighty years, were in Brighthelmston, 40
acres; in Houve, 150 acres; Aldrington, 40 acres; and in Portslade, 60
acres.

The "Magna Britannia," of 1737, says:--"About 90 years ago, this Town was
a very considerable Place for Fishing, and in a flourishing Condition,
being then one of the principal Towns of the County, containing near five
hundred Families; but since the beginning of the Civil Wars it hath
decayed much for want of a Free Fishery, and by very great Losses by Sea,
their shipping being often taken from them by the Enemy: Nay, it is the
Opinion of the most judicious Inhabitants, that had not Divine Providence
in a great Measure protected them by their Town being built low, and
standing on a flat ground, the _French_ would several times have quite
demolished it, as they had attempted to do, but the low Situation of it
prevented their doing it any considerable Damage, the Cannon Balls
usually flying over the Town; But the greatest Damage to the Buildings
has been done by the breaking in of the Sea, which within these forty
years hath laid Waste about 130 Tenements; which Loss, by a modest
Computation, amounts to near 40,000_l._ and if some speedy Care be not
taken to stop the Encroachments of the Ocean, it is probable the Town
will in a few years be utterly depopulated; the Inhabitants being already
diminished one-third less than they were, and those that remain are many
of them Widows, Orphans, decrepid Persons, and all very poor; insomuch
that the Rates for their Relief are at the Rack-Rent of 8d. in the Pound,
for there are but few Charities given for their Support, _viz._ one by
Mr. Barnard Hilton {76} of 16_l._ _per Annum_, with some other small
Benefactions, which make it about 20_l._ a year."

In 1706 there had been considerable wrecks of wines on the Manor of
Brighthelmston-Lewes; and the then Lord High Admiral claimed them as his
right.  But Richard Onslow, Esq., and Colonel Tufton, as proprietors of
the manor, kept the wines; and on a full investigation of the business at
the assizes for the county, in 1708, their conduct, in that particular,
was justified, and their manorial right fully established.

On the 4th of March, 1818, as Mr. Izard was having excavations made for
the foundations of two houses on the West Cliff--now the King's
Road,--between Ship Street and Middle Street, the workmen discovered the
walls of one of the streets under the Cliff, which had been overwhelmed
by one of the terrible inundations of the sea.  They appeared buried more
than fifteen feet with beach.

In 1713, the sea having destroyed everything below the Cliff, encroached
with alarming rapidity on the Cliff itself, fragments of which daily
crumbled into the sapping tide.  It was therefore found absolutely
necessary, for the preservation of the rest of the town, to erect groynes
before it.  These groynes are contrived by means of strong wooden
barriers projecting from the Cliff towards the sea, as far as low-water
mark, which intercept and confine the beach or sea shingle, that chiefly
rolls from west to east in this part of the English Channel.  By these
contrivances, a large body of beach, rising gradually towards the Cliff,
is accumulated on the western side of every barrier, which resists and
breaks the impetuosity of the roughest sea.  But the reduced state into
which a coincidence of unfavourable circumstances had sunk
Brighthelmston, about the beginning of the last century, it was
impossible for the inhabitants to raise amongst themselves a sum nearly
adequate to so expensive an undertaking.  A brief was therefore granted
them, under which they collected about 1,700.  By means of this public
aid, and the internal contributions of the town itself, the Cliff was
pretty well secured from the west part, as far as the Old Steine.  The
groynes eastward of the Steine are comparatively of modern construction,
the most important of them being,--in its original state,--that constructed
on the suggestion and plan of Mr. Edward Thunder, at Black Rock, about
the year 1819, when the sea was rapidly encroaching at that spot and
threatening to make inroads upon the whole of the Marine Parade.  The
barrier was effectual, although on its projection and erection it was
called by the shortsighted of the time, "Teddy Thunder's Folly."
Thunder, who was one of the Town Commissioners at the time, was an
eccentric but shrewd man.  He was the inventor of the pedal for shifting
the keys of the piano-forte.

Groyne is quite a provincial term of very doubtful origin.  It is
generally supposed to be a corruption from _royne_.  An Act of Parliament
was passed in the House of Commons, in 1698, for opening of the ancient
_roynes_ and water courses in Sedgmore.  And it is probable that these
_roynes_ are the same as _groynes_ at Brighton, with this difference,
that the latter are artificially constructed for a certain purpose, and
the former might have been only a slow acervation of time and nature.
The following is an extract from a letter, dated Lewes, September 12th,
1785:--"The violence of the wind on Tuesday last, occasioned the highest
tide that has been known on this coast for a great number of years.  At
Brighthelmston, the fishermen were put to the greatest difficulty in
saving their boats; to effect which, many were under the necessity of
hauling them up into the town, and others of lashing them to the railing
on the bank.  Some few, however, that could not be secured, were dashed
to pieces; had the storm happened in the night-time, the whole must have
shared the same fate."

By the Town Act of Brighton, 1772, a duty of 6d a chaldron was levied on
all coal landed on the beach; and by the Act of 1810, a duty of 2s 6d a
chaldron--now a ton,--was levied on all coals brought into the town, for
the purpose of constructing and supporting the sea-defences of the town.
By the construction of these groynes, the sea from time to time was
driven back to allow of the building of the sea-wall that protects the
whole of the southern road in front of the town, from the bottom of
Cannon Place to the extreme east of the parish.  The first portion formed
was that between West Street and Middle Street, and was opened by George
IV. in the year 1821; prior to which time the houses there were only
approached at their south front by a temporary wooden platform on poles,
for foot-passengers only; and then only during fair weather; as so close
to the houses were the rage and flow of the sea during a storm, that the
planks which formed the pathway, had to be removed to prevent their being
either washed or blown away.  At such times a barrier was erected at each
end, at Bradley's Library, now Booty's, and the Ship-in-Distress Inn,
{78a} now Child's Fancy Repository, bearing the notice, "No
thoroughfare."  The only way for equestrians and vehicles was the present
South Street, where was the following quaint sign over the shop of an
eccentric shoemaker:--

    Here lives a man that don't refuse
    To make and mend your boots and shoes.
    His leather's good, his work is just,
    His profits small, and cannot trust:
    And when grim death doth him call,
    Farewell to his old cobbler's stall.

    To his blood royal highness P.G.,
    And new laid eggs every _day_. {78b}

The last two lines were in red letters, and the initials P.G., were
intended for Prince George.

The encroachments of the sea, till the complete groyne system was carried
out and the sea-wall completed, extended from Russell Street to the
extreme east end of the parish; and after every storm of any magnitude,
the road to the east of the Old Sterne,--now known as the Marine
Parade,--presented a different aspect, as the inroads of the sea
frequently carried away some hundreds of tons of the Cliff; and it was no
uncommon thing after a tempest, to find that so much of the roadway had
been carried off, from the Cliff becoming undermined by the wash of the
waves, as to leave only sufficient space for a single vehicle to pass.
On the 15th of December, 1806, during a terrific storm, the roadway
between the Royal Crescent and Rock Buildings was completely cut asunder,
making the owners of property there uneasy for the safety of their
premises.  This storm gave occasion to the following trial at the Sussex
Assizes, held at Lewes, August 4th, 1807:--

          THE KING _v._ GREGORY, PHILCOX, THUNDER, AND THREE OTHERS.
                              RIOT AT BRIGHTON.

    This was an indictment against the defendants, for riotously
    assembling and pulling down the railing on the road east of Brighton,
    leading from thence to Rottingdean, and obstructing the Surveyors of
    the road in the execution of their duty.  This case arose out of the
    falling of the cliff last autumn.  The Surveyor of the Road thought
    it necessary to carry in the railing, and trenched upon the ground of
    the three first named defendants: they considered he had done more
    than necessary, and resisted his altering the railing.  In
    consequence of this, on the 11th of February last, they employed men
    to cut down the polls and rails, which had been erected by the
    Surveyor of the Road.  The next day the Surveyor employed men to
    re-erect them, and the defendants another party to pull them down.  A
    riot ensued, the one set pulling down as fast as the other erected,
    until at last the Surveyor's party were the victors.

    Mr GURNEY, for the defendants, rested his defence on the ground that
    the Surveyor was not under the necessity of coming upon their
    freehold, but that he had acted wantonly and with a view to harass
    the defendants.  He proposed calling evidence to shew that the road
    at that part of it was perfectly safe.

    The Learned Judge held that the Surveyor of the road was clearly
    right.  He was to judge of the necessity if he acted wrong.  They
    ought to have brought an action of trespass, and not to have the law
    into their own hands.

    The jury found them all guilty.  The three principals were fined 20
    each, and the three workmen 5 each.  In the Civil Court an action
    was tried, arising out of the same transaction, in which the
    plaintiff had a verdict against the Surveyor.  Damages, seven
    guineas.




CHAPTER XIII.
THE DOWER OF ANN OF CLEVES.


At the Reformation, when the monastery of St. Pancras, at Southover, was
destroyed, by order of Henry VIII., on its being surrendered to that
monarch, by Prior Robert Crowham, November 16th, 1537, the manor of
Southover, Lewes, which included the priory, was granted to Thomas
Cromwell, Earl of Essex, who also held one moiety of the manor of
Brighthelmston-Lewes:--

    4.  Hen. VIII.  One moiety of this manor, with several other
    possessions in Sussex, was recovered by petition, by Thomas, Earl of
    Surrey, they having been devised by the Marquis of Berkeley, to Henry
    VII., and an act passed in the 7th of that king, whilst the
    petitioner was absent on the king's business in the north, and
    ignorant of it till the said parliament was ended.  The answer is
    "_Soit fait come il est desiree_."

The petition is contained in the Burrell MSS. 5637.  Folios 36 and 37.

On the attainder and execution of the Earl of Essex, Sir John Gage, of
Firle, was appointed chief steward of Southover and other manors
forfeited by that nobleman within the county of Sussex.  But on the 20th
of January, 1541, they were granted to Ann of Cleves, one of the injured
queens of Henry VIII.  The Burrell MSS. record:--

    32.  Hen. VIII.  The King granted this manor (Brighthelmston-Lewes)
    and advowson to Ann of Cleves; with a great many others in Sussex,
    including the manor of Falmer (originally Fald-mer), which, on her
    death, again reverted to the crown, and after various successions and
    alienations, was purchased of Sir John Shelley, of Michelgrove, by
    Thomas, Lord Pelham, on the 2nd day of May, in the year 1770.  It
    still continues in the possession of the Pelham family, being held by
    the Earl of Chichester, of Stanmer, the manor adjoining.

Miss Strickland, in her "Lives of the Queens of England," says:--"The
marriage was dissolved by mutual consent; and she being content to abide
in this realm, and to yield to its laws, and to discharge her conscience
of that pretended marriage, the king, of his especial favour, granted to
her certain manors and estates in divers counties, lately forfeited by
the attainder of the Earl of Essex,--Cromwell, whose spoils formed the
principal fund for the maintenance of this princess,--and Sir Nicholas
Carew, to be held without rendering an account from the Lady-day
foregoing the same grant, which was dated on the 20th of January, 1541."

These grants were made to Ann by Henry VIII., on her assent to the
invalidity of her marriage with that monarch, who refused to consort with
her.  On the 8th of August, 1540, Henry married Catherine Howard.  The
manor of Falmer was also part of Ann's dower, and in seclusion there she
resided some time; though on her divorce she took up her abode at Preston
House, in the village of Preston, where still, in one of the rooms, is a
large and well executed portrait of her, by some considered the work of
Holbein.  It was seeing this portrait which induced the king to desire an
union with hor.  She landed at Dover, December, 1538.  Henry met her
there, and such was his dislike to her, from her beauty not being equal
to Holbein's portrait, that he spoke of her as a "Flander's Mare," and
used other expressions respecting her of an equally contemptuous
character.

Ann died on the 17th of July, 1557, at the Palace of Chelsea, and was
buried on the 3rd of August, near the high altar, in Westminster Abbey,
near the old portraits of Henry III. and King Sebert.

The manor formerly belonged to the Shirley family, several monumental
tablets to the members of which remain within Preston church.  Mary, the
second sister of Sir Richard Shirley, Bart., was married to Thomas
Western, Esq., of Ravenhall, in Essex, who died April 1st, 1733, leaving
an only child, Thomas Western, who married Ann, the daughter of Robert
Callis, Esq., and died in May, 1766, leaving Charles Western as his heir.
Charles Western, Esq., married Frances Shirley, only daughter and heiress
of William Bolland, Esq.  His end was of the most melancholy character.
Whilst riding with his eldest son, Charles Callis, a child then about
four years of age, along the road by Goldstone Bottom, the horse
stumbled, and they were precipitated from their carriage, the father
being killed on the spot.  The life of the child was preserved by his
being thrown into a furze bush, by the roadside.  This occurrence took
place on the 24th July, 1771.  The widow, with her two children, Charles
and a younger brother, Shirley, about three years old, shortly after left
Preston, where none of the family ever after returned, and the estate
eventually was purchased by William Stanford, Esq., for 20,000.  His
grand-daughter, a minor, is his heiress; and so improved is the estate,
through the favourable circumstance of the railroad from Brighton to
London passing through it, that the portion alone used for the formation
of the line realized 30,000.

Charles Callis Western, who was born on the 9th of August, was created
Baron Western, on the 28th of January, 1833.  He died, unmarried, in
1841, when, his brother being dead, the title became extinct.




CHAPTER XIV.
THE PARISH CHURCH, ST. NICHOLAS.


This sacred edifice is situated upon a hill north west of the town, about
160 feet above low-water mark.  It is a structure of great antiquity, and
was originally dedicated to St. Nicholas, Bishop of Mira, in Lycia, who
lived about the commencement of the fourth century, and was the reputed
patron of fishermen, on account of the following naval miracle recorded
of him in the legends of that country: A certain Lycian vessel being in
great danger during a storm at sea, the affrighted crew invoked the aid
of this pious prelate, and lo! to their amazement and comfort, a
venerable personage appeared amongst them, and exclaimed, "Here I am, for
ye called me."  With his help, the ship was successfully managed until
the storm subsided; and then their miraculous assistant vanished.  The
mariners had no sooner reached the port, than they enquired for Bishop
Nicholas, and were directed to the cathedral, where they beheld in him
the identical person to whom they owed their safety.  His feast is held
on the 6th day of December, and used to be celebrated with devout
dependence by the mariners of Brighthelmston, before the Reformation.
But in the spirit of pious avarice or cunning, the Virgin Mary was, in
process of time, made joint tenant with St. Nicholas, in the patronage of
this church.  "The second dedicator," says Dunvan, "seems to have
shrewdly considered that Nicholas could not, either as a saint or a
gentleman, object to so fair and exalted a partner; and that in case any
of the seafaring inhabitants of the parish were at any time in danger,
either their Holy Patron, or more Holy Patroness, would most probably be
at leisure to step to their succour."

This church was given by Ralph de Cheney to the Priory of Lewes, in the
reign of Stephen.  But it appears from the terms of an award or
arbitration between Richard de Wich, Bishop of Chichester, and William de
Ruslous, Prior of St. Pancras, near Lewes, made in 1252, still extant in
the episcopal archives at Chichester, that the priory obtained no full
possession of this church before that period.  By this award, as soon as
the then Rector of Brighthelmston should die, or resign the living, the
Prior of St. Pancras was to appoint a Vicar there, who was to have all
the offerings of the altar, as far as they belonged to altarage, and the
small tithes, viz., those of mills, sea-fisheries, mortuaries, wool,
lambs, cheese, cows, calves, hogs, colts, geese, hens, eggs, flax, hemp,
and of every thing that grows in gardens, except wheat and barley.  He
was also to have the third of the tithe of hay, and a convenient mansion
assigned him.  To encourage a crusade, in consequence of the capture of
Acre by the Soldan of Babylon, Edward I. granted to Pope Nicholas IV. the
tenths of all the monasteries and churches in England, and in the
_Taxatio Ecclesiastica Angl et Walli auctoritate P. Nicholas_, 1291,
occur these entries:--

                                        s.      d.
'Eccl'ia de Brighthelmston       20       0       0
Vicar' ejusdem                    5       0       0  P'or Lewens.

The Vicar of Brighton was at one period saddled with a yearly pension of
seven shillings and sixpence to the Vicar of Hove; and in this state the
Vicarage continued, the impropriation of the great tithes vesting in the
Priory of Lewes, till the suppression of that monastery, in 1538.  The
impropriation and patronage of this parish were granted by Henry VIII. to
Lord Cromwell, his Vicar-General, who in that year, 1538, ordered a
public register of baptisms and burials to be kept at Brighthelmston, and
in every other parish of the kingdom.

On the death and attainder of Cromwell, the church was conferred by Henry
to his repudiated queen, Anne of Cleves, and on the death of that
princess, in 1557, it again reverted to the crown.  In the reign of
Elizabeth, the patronage and impropriation were severed, the former being
attached to the see of Chichester; and so it continues to the present
day.  There is a great tithe on Brighton, of small extent, now belonging
to Thomas Attree, Esq., Queen's Park, Brighton, as Lay-Rector, and it
formerly belonged to Thomas Read Kemp, Esq., as Lay-Rector.

The church is built of cut flints and grouting of lime and coarse
sea-sand, with stone coignes.  The old map picture of 1545, represents
the church as cruciform, and the tower circular: probably errors of the
artist, whose design was doubtless more to illustrate the prominent
features of the scene,--the attack upon and burning of the town,--than the
architectural details of the buildings.  The sacred edifice consists of a
body, chancel, and a somewhat low embattled tower, surmounted by a
sloping roof, in the centre of which is a cast-iron standard, in which is
a flagstaff that may be raised or lowered at pleasure.  An arrow vane is
on its top.  Formerly, within the last half-century, the vane was
represented by a gilt fish, doubtless intended as the representation of a
dolphin; but in 1796 a visitor, considering that the figure bore more
resemblance to a shark than any other fish, penned the following verses
upon it:--

    Say, why on Brighton's church we see
       A golden shark display'd,
    But that 'twas aptly meant to be
       An emblem of its trade?

    Nor could the thing so well be told
       In any other way:
    The town's a Shark that lives on gold,--
       The Company its prey.

A musical peal of eight bells was cast in 1777, by Mr. Rudhall,
ironmonger, of the firm Rudhall and Dudlow, North street, Brighton, now
Langworthy and Reed, at his foundry, at Bristol.  The tenor bell, which
is pitched in the key F, weighs 1,500 pounds.  The belfry had a peal
previous to that date, as in the vestry minutes of October 25th, 1736, is
the order:--

    To new cast the great bell belonging to the parish church of
    Brighthelmston, to agree with Joshua Kipling, bellfounder, to charge
    on the parish taxes.

In March, 1790, another order was made:--

    That the treble bell be repaired by Mr. Palmer.

Two additional bells were hung in 1818, making a peal of ten bells; but
when the clock, at St. Peter's church, was put up, the two new bells,
which did not accord with the original eight, were removed to the tower
of that church, for chiming the quarters.

Doomsday Book, 1086, mentions:--

    Ibide' ten' Wills. de Watevile Bristelmestune de Willo.  Uluuard
    tenuit de Rege E.  T'c et modo se defd' p. 5 hid' et dim'.  T'ra e 4
    car.  In d'nio e' 1 car', et 13 vill'i, et ii Bord' cu' una car'.
    Ibi ccl'a.

                                 TRANSLATION.

    In the same place William de Wateville holds Bristelmestune of
    William.  Ulward held it of King Edward.  Then and now it defends
    itself for five hides and a half.  The land is 4 carucates.  In
    demesne is 1 carucate and 13 villeins, and 2 bordars, with one
    plough.  There is a church.

The manor was that of Atlingworth, {85} and there is no doubt the church
referred to was the present parish-church of St. Nicholas, which, in its
original state, was of Norman construction.  It consists of a nave, with
side aisles, and a chancel, which is separated from the main body by a
richly painted and gilded Tudor screen, over which, at no remote period,
was a rood-loft.  To the south, also, of the chancel is a small chantry.
The five arches which separate on each side the nave from the aisles, and
are supported on diagonal pillars, are of the fifteenth century.  To
accommodate the great increase in the population of the town, from time
to time, galleries were constructed wherever it was possible to place
them.  In 1852, however, in consequence of the dilapidated state of the
sacred edifice, the restoration of the church was determined upon.  The
leader in the desirable movement was the Rev. H. M. Wagner, Vicar, who
having invited some of the residents and townspeople to meet at the Town
Hall, on the 20th of September, in that year, and having taken the chair,
stated the fact,--that many years ago, his Grace the late Duke of
Wellington was a pupil of his (the Vicar's) grandfather, the then Vicar
of the parish; and that the Duke was wont to worship in the Vicarage pew
of their parish church.  He proposed to them the restoration of the
church as an appropriate and enduring monument of their gratitude and
veneration for his memory.  The proposition was unanimously adopted, and
a committee was appointed to collect subscriptions, which in less than a
month amounted to 5,000, a sum nearly equal to the outlay.

In the chantry, also, a much admired monument or cenotaph was erected to
the memory of the Duke of Wellington.  This beautiful work of art,
sculptured in stone, by Mr. Philip, of Vauxhall, after the design of the
late Mr. Carpenter, will henceforth constitute one of the most striking
features of the restored church.  It is in the decorated period of Edward
II. and Edward III., commonly known as the Eleanor Cross.  The shape is
hexagonal; the height, from the base to summit, 18-ft. 6-in.; the
circumference, between 15 and 16 feet.  The pedestal commences with a
richly moulded base, rising from a tesselated pavement.  On the base of
the pedestal rests a plinth, covered with diaper-work, surmounted by
another moulding, on the broad chamfer of which is an inscription, in old
English characters, in brass, each line being presented by an angle of
the monument:--

                                 In Memoriam
                           Maximi Ducis Wellington,
                            Hc domus sacrosancta,
                       Qua ipse adolescens Deum colebat
                                 Redifcatur.

                               [_Translation_.]

                                 IN MEMORY OF
                        THE GREAT DUKE OF WELLINGTON,
                            THIS SACRED BUILDING,
                   IN WHICH IN HIS YOUTH HE WORSHIPPED GOD,
                                 IS RESTORED.

From the pedestal, and above the moulding with this inscription, rise two
stories, richly and elaborately decorated, with open tracery-work, and
crocketed pinnacles.  These are separated by a pierced parapet of chaste
design: and a similar one is on the third or upper, story, which is a
solid stone drum.  Each parapet is also ornamented by sunk and carved
panels.  The crowning ornament consists of a canopied niche, with a
pierced spire surmounted by a finial.  Enclosed within this niche, is an
alabaster figure of St. George, sheathing his sword over the dragon,
which lies slain at his feet, symbolical of the career of the great
chieftain to whose memory the work is raised.  The drum, with all above
it, rests on a shaft of dark marble, polished, which springs from the
pedestal, and around which winds a scroll bearing the names of four of
those achievements which mark different eras in the military career of
Wellington, viz.:--

                                   ASSAYE.
                                TORRES VEDRAS.
                                  VITTORIA.
                                  WATERLOO.

These "crowning deeds" have been well selected.  Assaye represents the
Duke's Indian campaign; Torres Vedras, his successful defence of
Portugal; Vittoria, the victory which delivered Spain; and Waterloo, the
battle which saved Europe.  It is impossible to convey in words an idea
of this beautiful monument, which reflects the highest credit on its
designer.

Immediately in front of this memorial, is a monumental brass in the
pavement, thus inscribed:--

    In Memory of R. C. Carpenter, who but a short time survived the
    completion of his design, the restoration of this Church, MDCCCLV.

The font of the church was much admired for the sculpture which adorned
it; but in 1743 its beauty was nearly effaced by the churchwardens,
Thomas Stranbido, William Buckell, and G. Warden, who had it cleaned,
partially re-cut, and their names carved in the base, a monument of their
vitiated taste, confirmed vanity, and profound ignorance.  It is of a
circular form, and is raised from the floor by one step.  It has excited
much observation amongst antiquaries, some of whom contend for its early
date, whilst others consider it only a copy; but where the original is
they are at a loss to say.  The sculpture upon it is in four sections.
The first represents the Lord's Supper, and consists of seven figures;
Our Saviour, crowned with glory, in the centre, is in the act of giving
the blessing, and on the table are distributed various drinking vessels,
with the bread.  The next compartment contains a kneeling figure; the
third, which is larger, has a boat on the sea, with the sail unfurled,
and two figures, one presenting a small barrel or vessel to a bishop, who
has his mitre and crozier, and the other giving bread to a female; both
figures in the water.  The fourth division consists of three arches, in
each of which is a figure, the centre appearing to be the principal.  The
whole is sculptured in _basso relievo_.  Over these compartments is a
line of zig-zag and lozenge work, curiously chamfered, and beneath them
is a row of exceedingly handsome ornamental work of leaves and flowers.

The following are extracts from a diary:--

    Sunday, August 29th, 1778.  Have been this morning to the sailor's
    land mark--to the only church in the town--and collected a number of
    _novelties_.  The Doctor was pleased to inform us, in a religiously
    political, or politically religious discourse, that when men
    _tremble_ they are generally _afraid_; when they are in danger they
    should strive to _extricate_ themselves; and that _hope_ is the
    expectant of many great and singular _good events_.

    Monday, September, 13th.--A new man and wife have just passed me.--The
    town's-people preserve some customs here that smack of great
    antiquity, and seem peculiar to the county of Sussex.  At a marriage
    there are strewers, who strew the way from church, not only with
    flowers, but with sugar-plums and wheat.  Why sugar-plums and wheat,
    I wonder?  Many ceremonies have been retained longer than the history
    of their origin or foundation.

This system of strewing the bride and bridegroom is still pursued, not
merely by the friends of the happy pair,--all couples just married are
pronounced to be happy,--but by a constant group of women with children in
their arms, who scatter their corn, &c., with blessings, in proportion to
the harvest of _coin_ they reap.

In the beginning of the 16th century, the Rev. Edward Lowe was vicar of
the parish.  His successor was the Rev. John Bolt, who died on the 2nd of
November, 1660.  He was succeeded by the Rev. -- Falkner, who was
incumbent till 1705.  The vestry book of the date, "November the 2nd,
Anno Domini, 1703," records that:--

    That day the Reverend Mr Joseph Grave, Rector off St. Anne's, Lewes,
    Sent the works off Mr. Charnock, in two Volumes of his for the use
    off the Vicar of Brighthelmstone and his surveyvors.  Each Volume
    having in gold letters (Brighthelmston) upon both sides off the
    cover.  The benefactor at London would no(t) otherwise be known than
    by the two letters off his name, H: Y:

The same book has also the following entries:--

    March 11th, 1707.  John Mockford appointed Clerk at Church; part of
    his duty is to wash the church linen, and scour the church plate.

    July 8th, 1713.  William Cousins appointed Sexton; Mary Bridger to be
    equal partner.

    March 31st, 1800.  That Thomas Waring be appointed beadle and cryer
    at a salary of Twenty pounds and Cloathes.  It is understood that his
    duty is to make the poor books, the Church Book, the surveyor's book,
    and the Town book.  He is also to attend the North and west galleries
    of the Church on Sundays.  He is to go round the town with the
    Officers to make the Militia list, and is likewise to officiate as
    Headborough in the Town; but not elsewhere, and to be sworn for that
    purpose.

The Rev. William Colbron succeeded to the vicarage in 1705, and held it
till his death, on the 20th of July, 1750.  The next vicar of
Brighthelmston, was the Rev. Henry Michell, who was born at Lewes, in
1714.  He finished his studies at the University of Cambridge, and having
obtained a fellowship in Clare-Hall college, he, at the age of 25 years,
was made rector of Maresfield; and, five years afterwards, the Bishop of
Chichester collated him to the Rectory of West Blatchington, and the
Vicarage of Brighton.  In 1747, he married the only daughter of the Rev.
Francis Reade, of Bedford, by whom he had sixteen children.  A marble
tablet in the church fully delineates his estimable character and
profound learning.

The "Magna Britannia" says:--"The church is a vicarage, but meanly
endowed.  The vicar claims the old episcopal custom of a penny per head,
(commonly called smoak money, or a garden penny) as also he requires, as
his due, a quarter of a share of all fishing vessels. {89}  The parsonage
tythes are about 100 per annum, but are in the hands of an improprietor,
who allows the Vicar no benefit from them, by which means his maintenance
is very small: and therefore the neighbouring gentlemen have augmented it
by a subscription of 50 per annum, on condition he shall instruct fifty
poor boys of the town in reading and writing.  The church stands about
forty rods from the town, at a little distance from the sea.  There was
formerly another church, near the middle of the town, which is said to
have been burnt by the French."

The Rev. Mr. Michell, died on the 31st of October, 1789, and was
succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Hudson, who commenced the chapel of ease, in
Prince's place, known as the Chapel Royal.

Mr. Hudson died in 1804, and was succeeded by the Rev. Robert James Carr,
afterwards Dr. Carr, of Chichester, and then Bishop of Worcester.  The
present Vicar, the Rev. Henry Michell Wagner, grandson of the Rev. Henry
Michell, {90} was his successor, August 1st, 1824; and during the time he
has held the appointment, the number of places of worship attached to the
Established Church, which have been erected, will testify his zeal in the
support of our Holy Religion.

In 1824, Nathaniel Kemp, Esq., presented the church with a beautiful
Communion Service of silver, consisting of a flagon, two cups, and two
plates, thus inscribed: "Given by Nath. Kemp, Esq., and Augusta Caroline,
his wife, to the Church of St. Nicholas, Brighthelmston.  Anno Domini,
1824."

Upon stripping the roof on the restoration of the church, in 1852, three
several pieces of inscribed cast lead were preserved, and they are now
fixed to the walls of the tower in the chamber below the bell story.  One
piece has been already described in page 74, the others are as follows:--

     [Picture: Coat of arms]               EDWARD LOWE, VICAR.

         THOMAS FRILAND.                       JOHN SCRAS.

         THOMAS ROBERTS.                      HENERY SMITH.

         RICHARD ROSSUM.                     RICHARD HERMAN.

          CHVKCHWARDENS.                      CHVRCHWARDENS.

             1 6 7 5                       A      O   DOM    N

           JOHN VANDYKE                           16 77.

             PLVMER.

Between the lines of names and the figures of the date, on the first
represented piece of lead, are raised characters, twenty-one in number,
intended to denote dolphins, the Arms of Brighton.

Previous to the restoration of the building, the Church, both inside and
out, had undergone many changes, to afford space; low, gloomy galleries,
scarcely permitting headway for the congregation when standing, whilst
the common house-shaped and dormant windows disfigured it in all
directions.  In a dark gallery at the west, in 1813, was placed an organ,
{91a} built by Lincoln.  It was opened on the 7th of March, that year, by
Mr. Nathaniel Cook.  A small organ loft occupies the space over the
vestry room, but it does not at present boast of an organ.  Formerly
there were several tablets on the belfry walls, recording peals which had
been rung in the tower.  Their places are now occupied by sundry
monuments that were formerly fixed in other parts of the edifice; and
some few of the ringing records have been removed to the club-room of the
Brighton Society of Change Ringers, at the Running Horse Inn, King
street, {91b} while the remainder fell into the hands of a marine-store
dealer.  The Running Horse Inn was formerly known as the Hen and Chicken;
and in 1792, and for several years afterwards, was kept by Mr. John
Pocock, who at that time was a sawyer by occupation.  In 1795, he
received the appointment of Clerk at the Chapel Royal, when that place of
public worship was first opened; and after retaining the situation for
thirteen years, he was appointed Clerk of the Parish, in which office he
continued for thirty-eight years, dying on the 13th of June, 1846, at the
ripe old age of four score and one years.  The oldest ringers' tablet
preserved is thus inscribed:--

    May 24th, 1779, was rung in this tower by the Society of Cumberland
    Youths, a true and complete peal of 11,088 changes, Bob Major,
    performed in six hours and fifty minutes, in order as follows, viz:

George Cross           Treble,    London.
Thomas Jones            2nd,      Horsham.
Thomas Lintott          3rd,      Horsham.
Joseph Willard          4th,      Chiddingly.
Edward Simmonds         5th,      Islington.
John Wheatly            6th,      Epsom.
James Wilson            7th,      Cuckfield.
B. Simmonds            Tenor,     Leatherhead.

    N.B.--The Bobs were called by G. Cross.

The most commemorative is:--

    On January 29th, 1820, being the accession of King George IV., was
    rung in this tower, by the Brighton Society of Change Ringers, a true
    and complete peal of 5,040 changes of Bob Major, in three hours and
    six minutes, by persons in order as follows, viz.:--

William Reynolds   Treble.      John Pocock       5th
James Parsons      2nd          James Potter      6th
Richard Bodle      3rd          William Wells     7th
Edward Honeyset    4th          Isaac Tester      Tenor.
                 Conducted by Isaac Tester.

The present sexton is Mr. John Shelley, who succeeded his father, Mr.
William Shelley, on his retirement from the office, at Easter, 1860.  The
predecessor of Shelley, sen., was Mantell, the successor of Richard
Jeffery, in July, 1806.




CHAPTER XV.
DR. VICESIMUS KNOX AND THE SURREY MILITIA.


During the time of the Brighton Camp, in the autumn of 1793, the Surrey
Militia were quartered in the town; and the Parish Church being then the
only place of worship in Brighton, in connexion with the Established form
of Religion, it was not an uncommon occurrence for some of the officers
and men of that regiment, to attend at the morning service on the Sunday.

In the beginning of August, Dr. Vicesimus Knox, Master of Tunbridge
School, and late Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford, having come to
Brighton with his family, in pursuit of health, by sea-bathing, and a
salutary change of air and scene, during the anniversary school vacation,
hired a house in North Street, at the corner of Bond Street, now the
property of Alderman Martin, where on Saturday the 10th, he received,
quite unexpectedly, a note from the Vicar, the Rev. Thomas Hudson, to
whom he was a perfect stranger, expressing his desire that the Doctor
would gratify his congregation, as he politely expressed himself, with a
sermon on the morrow.  The Doctor shewed some reluctance to assent to the
request, but some friends who were present, importuned him, and he wrote
a reply expressing a compliance, and on the following morning he ascended
to the pulpit, and took his text:--Philippians iv. 7.--"The peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus."  "The sermon," says the Doctor, {93} "was heard by a very
large and very respectable congregation, in which were many of the
military belonging to the Surrey regiment, quartered in Brighton.  The
utmost attention was paid to it.  The military appeared to be
particularly impressed, and highly satisfied.  Expressions of approbation
were heard, too emphatic for me to repeat.  Mr. Hudson, the Vicar, who
read prayers, came to my house, on purpose to thank me, in his own name,
and that of his congregation.  He mentioned the general satisfaction I
had given; the many inquiries that had been made after my name by
strangers; and expressed a hope, that I would preach once more, as he
knew it was the wish of his parishioners.  This, however, I declined at
that time, and certainly had no intention to preach again at Brighton,
though I had every reason to be pleased with my reception."

On the following evening, Monday, August 12th, the birthday of the Prince
of Wales, the Doctor was present at the Ball at the Castle Tavern, and
partook of the supper which was given in honour of the occasion.  Marked
civility was shewn him from persons who knew him only from the sermon
which had been so favourably received on the Sunday.  The Vicar
especially, paid him the greatest attention, and continued in his company
nearly the whole of the evening, and in the course of it, renewed his
request, that as his parishioners very much wished it, he would give him
another sermon on the following Sunday.  The Doctor's reply was:--"I come
here for recreation, after the fatigues of my daily avocations and my own
parish church, and I do not wish to be interrupted by exertions of this
kind, especially as I find my last sermon has excited so general an
attention, and probably raised expectation too high.  You mention the
praises I have received; but I will not preach for the sake of praise.
If you say it will serve you, if you wish to be absent, or if it is any
relief to you, I will endeavour to prepare a sermon in the midst of the
interruptions of this place, and will preach next Sunday, though I
sincerely wish to decline it."

The request was continued, and obtained a compliance.

The subject chosen was, "The prospect of perpetual and universal peace to
be established on the principles of Christian philanthropy," his text
being, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good-will towards
men."  "I was led to the choice of this subject," writes the Doctor,
"from observing the extreme bitterness expressed, even in gay and
good-humoured companies, against a great part of our fellow creatures;
from the almost daily accounts in the newspapers of slaughtered
thousands, and the eagerness with which war had been adopted by all the
nations concerned, when negociation might have effected every desirable
purpose, without expense, and without carnage. * * * * Had I even gone to
the camp and discoursed, as a chaplain, on the same topic, it could not
have been out of place.  But every one who came to the church knew that
he must hear peace, charity, good-will, forgiveness of enemies
recommended, in hearing the lessons from the gospel.  If my sermon was
deemed ill-placed in recommending universal peace and universal good will
in Brighton Church, what will men, who judge so, say of the gospel read
there? what of the national liturgy, established by law as firmly as the
national militia? * * * * I was heard in silence, and, if I can judge,
{95} with great attention.  I was not conscious that any part of the
congregation was offended, nor did I surmise it till after the following
incident.  On going out of the church, a lady, a perfect stranger,
accosted me and said, 'I thank you for your sermon.  I could have sat
hours to have heard such with pleasure.  But excuse me--I must tell you,
that from what I have observed in the pews, among a certain description
of persons, you have offended those, who, I fear, have as little relish
for the doctrine of forgiveness as they seem to have of peace.  Many,
like myself, are highly pleased with every part of your discourse; but
there are those who are angry indeed!'"

At the termination of the service, the Doctor and his family unmolested,
returned to their residence, where they had a few friends to dine with
them; and after dinner he attended the afternoon service, as,
understanding that some of the officers were offended at his discourse,
he was desirous of meeting them, to learn what had given them offence,
that, before misrepresentation could take place, a full and amicable
explanation might be given.  He did not, however, meet with a single
officer; and having heard the Curate, the Rev. J. Mossop, preach, he
returned home to tea with his family, and afterwards took a walk on the
Steine, still hoping to meet his offended hearers, that he might
acknowledge his fault, if he had been in the wrong, and remove their
mistake if they thought him so undeservedly; being desirous of a
reconciliation.  Many officers were there, but he did not recognise any
of those who were at the church.  From the inhabitants who observed him
he received the utmost civility.

On his return home he received a letter from a stranger, who expressed a
wish to distribute a number of copies of the sermon in a distant county,
concluding his epistle: "A dissemination of such enlightening and
convincing knowledge is only wanting to stop the effusion of human blood;
for when mankind are well awakened, they will not permit the dignified
human butchers, the insolent, unfeeling traffickers in blood, to lead
them to destruction.--Sunday, Aug. 18."

The Doctor, in his "Narrative," says:--"I beg leave to mention as I
proceed, that from the pulpit, where I must have had a pretty good view
of the whole church, I saw very few officers; and of those few I knew not
one even by name: I thought there were not twelve.  Of common soldiers
the number was also inconsiderable; I thought there were scarcely twenty,
and these were not of the camp, but of the Surrey militia quartered in
the town.  There were, indeed, more of the same regiment in the porch or
in the church-yard; but too remote from the pulpit to hear a syllable of
sedition, if there had been any to hear.  I mention the paucity of
officers and privates for the following reason; the public has been
taught by mistaken prints to believe that I was guilty of preaching peace
and good-will before the whole camp, that the aisle was crowded with
soldiers, and that all the officers of the camp attended.  I appeal to
the parishioners present, whether the number of military men, privates
and officers included, was greater than I have conjectured.  My sermon
was not exclusively calculated for a congregation of persons in any
particular profession.  There was not a word addressed by an apostrophe,
as I have heard it asserted, to the officers.  I had no reason to suppose
that any military men, but those of the Surrey militia quartered at
Brighton, would be at the church.  I thought, and I believe it was so,
that divine service was performed by the chaplains in the camp, and that
the soldiers of the camp would not be permitted to straggle to the town
or the church, on a Sunday, during divine service.  The public has been
much deceived in the exaggerated accounts of my preaching to the whole
army; but had the whole army been at the church, had it been allowed or
been possible, I am certain they would have heard nothing from me, but
what was authorized by the gospel, enforced by the law of man as well as
of God, tending to promote their happiness in all events, and animating
them to the discharge of every duty, on principles of humanity and
Christianity.  I expressly asserted, while I was deploring the calamities
of war, that the conductors of war were often men of singular humanity
and honour.  I expressly commended the beautiful gradation of ranks in
society.  I enforced good order; I deprecated anarchy as much as
despotism."

On the Monday, Dr. Knox visited the Downs, where the army was assembled
in review, and in the evening, as usual, he went on the Steine; but
though, at both places, as he was afterwards informed, the sermon was a
topic of conversation, no insult was offered, nor was any personal
application made to him.  Tuesday evening was the time when the offence
of Sunday was to be avenged.  A friend of the Doctor, having to return to
London the next day, proposed that they and some of the Doctor's family
should go to the Theatre.  The Doctor assented; and accordingly Mrs.
Knox, Master Knox (aged about 14), and Miss Knox (12), accompanied them,
the piece to be represented being the _Agreeable Surprise_.  They
occupied the right-hand side box, next to the stage box, where the Prince
of Wales usually sat: but he was not there that evening.  Soon after the
curtain drew up, a few officers entered the opposite stage-box.  But they
had not been there five minutes, before their whole attention seemed
fixed on the box where the Doctor and his party were seated.  Other
officers and several elderly ladies soon appeared in the same box; and
they looked at the Doctor in a pointed manner, and then seemed to
deliberate.  Their attention appeared to be engrossed by the
consultation, and they seldom turned to the players on the stage.  There
were several other officers interspersed in other boxes.  Messages were
sent to some of them, and they removed into the stage box.  A man, whose
looks were choleric, and who sat in the same box and on the same seat
with Doctor Knox, was sent for, and he left his hat behind him, probably
intending to return when he should be excluded.  They frequently went in
and out, and appeared extremely busy and anxious in concerting the plan
of operations.  This continued during the whole of the play.  The
children observed it, and told their father that they suspected some
insult.  Between the play and the entertainment, the following note,
directed to the Doctor, was handed from behind them, to Mrs. Knox, who
gave it to her husband.  The son had seen one of the officers writing;
and there is no doubt but he was composing this note, which was sent
without a name, and couched as follows:--

    "Your Discourse last Sunday was so offensive, that the gentlemen of
    this Theatre desire you will quit it immediately."

He read the order, and, giving it to Mrs. Knox, rose, and addressing
himself to the opposite boxes, which, however, were now nearly-empty,
_the military having accompanied their despatch_, requested to know who
had sent the impertinent paper without a name.  He turned back to a
phalanx of military men, who had now come round, and were drawn up behind
the Doctor at the door of his box, and in the Lobby.  The Doctor stept a
little forward, and said:--"Ladies and gentlemen, I have this moment
received an extraordinary paper, neither signed nor dated, containing a
requisition that I should quit the Theatre immediately, on account of the
sermon which I preached last Sunday morning in your parish church.  I beg
pardon for interrupting you; but under these circumstances, and
surrounded, as you see I am, I humbly entreat the permission of the
house, to ask aloud who sent me this note, and by what authority I am
bound to obey it, in this place of public entertainment, where my family
and myself have entitled ourselves to unmolested seats, by paying the
price demanded at the door.  We have interrupted nobody.  Will you
authorize the arbitrary expulsion of us all? for my family and friend
will certainly follow me.  I beg leave, besieged as you see me by a
considerable number of men behind me, who are at this moment expressing
their anger by opprobrious names, to enter into a short explanation with
them, to ask the particulars of my offence in _your presence_, and to
declare, that if anything advanced in my sermon gave personal offence, it
was unintentional, and that I am concerned at it.  If any one of these
gentlemen will prove to your satisfaction that he is justly offended, I
will immediately beg his pardon.  I beg _your_ pardon, who are totally
unconcerned in this attack, for this singular interruption, which I trust
I shall obtain from you, as men and Englishmen; when you have before your
eyes a defenceless individual, in a situation so singular, as will, I
hope, justify my present address to you."

During the Doctor's address the persons in uniform kept up an incessant
clamour, the most outrageous expressions being used, such as:--"A
democratical scoundrel that deserves to be hanged,"--"A democrat, a
democrat, a d--d democrat,"--"Out with the democrat,--no democrats," the
expressions being lavishly interlarded with scoundrel and rascal, and the
interjections Bah! Boo! Boh!  One of the party exclaimed, "No
speech,--that won't do,--he ought to be hanged,--out with him;" while
another suggested personal violence before the offender should be allowed
to depart.  A grim, gaunt figure vociferated, "Irons,--irons, here: he
ought to be put in irons directly."  All, however, was _vox et preterea
nil_, notwithstanding one, very much out of breath with hooting and
yelling, crying out "Go directly,--you must go;" whilst from behind
resounded the cry "Out with him,--a democrat, a democrat, a democrat,--no
democrat, a d--d democrat."  Eventually the Doctor and his party were
allowed to depart unmolested, though during the time he was separated
from his family in the lobby, a tall officer, when Mrs. Knox was turning
back to look for her daughter, violently pushed her by the shoulder, and
bade her "go along after her husband, and be d--d."  One, somewhat ashamed
of his companions' behaviour, however, assured her that no violence
should be used, and added,--"He should not have come amongst us.  Had he
stuck to peace we should all have admired him."  Another, nodding his
terrific plumes, exclaimed, "It is well his wife and children are with
him, or else, &c., &c."  The son happening to cry "Shame upon you!--near
twenty to one," one of the valiant party shook him violently, saying at
the same time, "Who are you, you dog?  You ought to be hanged as well as
your father,--if it is your father: and all such as hold his democratical
principles, you dog, you!"

The Doctor avers that though the world had been told that they were a
parcel of drunken boys who committed the outrage, the ringleaders were
veterans in age, if not in service; and he adds:--"Very few were my
hearers in the church, the major part being wholly influenced by the
false representations of gossips."

On Wednesday, the 21st of August, Dr. Knox and his family having occupied
Mr. Grantham's house, in North Street, a month, the period for which it
was engaged, left Brighton; and soon some of the newspapers teemed with
magnified accounts of a mutiny having broken out in the Brighton Camp
through the Doctor's democratical sermon.  The most virulent was the
_True Briton_.  He also received numerous insulting and threatening
letters; and one silly epistle, dated Wick Camp, near Brighton, enclosed
a painted bloody hand.  The _World_, of August 27th, 1793, declares the
treatment which the Doctor and his family received to be most
unjustifiable.

The following letters of the Rev. Mr. Mossop, Curate of Brighton, who
officiated in the Desk on the 18th of August, and was present during the
delivery of the whole of the alleged obnoxious sermon, completely
exonerates Dr. Knox from all blame in the transaction:--

    REV. SIR,--From my situation in the church at Brighthelmston the day
    you favoured us with a sermon, which gave such high offence to a
    certain description of gentlemen, I have, as may naturally be
    supposed, had my ears sufficiently stunned with enquiries relative to
    this sermon, both by many that were present, as well as the absent.
    From some of the former, I have experienced no small portion of
    ill-nature, because I could not conscientiously join in the cry with
    those who can judge the motives of their neighbour better than he can
    himself, and pronounce it at once seditions, libellous, traitorous,
    democratic.

    The answer I have given to the latter description of inquirers, was
    in substance, "That I doubted not but that Dr. Knox would submit his
    sermon, in proper time, to that public at large, which is better able
    to judge, and generally more candid, than interested individuals, who
    often misapprehend, but more frequently misrepresent, a subject, to
    apologise for illiberality and malevolence;" adding, "That that
    christian charity, which men of our order ought to entertain one
    towards another, would not allow me to suppose, that Dr. Knox's
    motive was to hint, in the most distant manner, at the subvertion of
    our present happy constitution and government, but merely to
    expatiate on the advantages of universal peace and good-will among
    mankind, and to reprobate the decision of disputes by the umpirage of
    the sword."

    May I, therefore, take the liberty to ask, whether you have it in
    intention to publish the sermon, or not? that I may have an
    opportunity of gratifying my inquirers with a more satisfactory
    answer.  As I am partly a stranger to you, I beg you will excuse this
    liberty; and remain,

                                  Rev. Sir,

                                             Your obedient humble servant,
                                                                J. MOSSOP.

    Brighthelmston, 12th Sept., 1793.
             To the Rev. Dr. Knox.

                                * * * * *

    REV. SIR,--I duly received yours of the 17th inst.; and as I look upon
    you to be misrepresented to the public, relative to the sermon you
    preached at Brighton, and consequently loaded with no small degree of
    unmerited opprobrium, I shall willingly contribute my mite to
    exonerate you.  You have, therefore, my permission to publish my
    letter to you of the 12th of September last, in your intended
    vindication; provided your publication contain no invectives against
    the present existing government, nor any sentiments which might be
    improper for one zealously attached to our most excellent
    constitution to countenance.

    I must conclude, by saying, that if every clergyman is to be exposed
    to insult, for doing what he conceives to be his duty, in exposing
    the reigning vices of the age, we shall soon find that the feeble
    rays of religion, which yet remain, to enlighten the christian world,
    will soon become totally eclipsed.

                               I am, Rev. Sir,

                                             Your obedient humble servant,
                                                                J. MOSSOP.

    Brighthelmston, 19th Nov. 1793.
             To the Rev. Dr. Knox.

As a refutation that the appellation "'Democrat," could with any degree
of truth be attached to Dr. Knox, the following extract from his
published remarks cannot fail to suffice:--

    I honour the King and the Prince; and I firmly believe that they
    would scorn to persecute or to oppress, at the instigation of the
    most opulent peer in the realm, the most defenceless individual, the
    most abject outcast, the most forlorn beggar in the British empire.
    I may be abused, reviled, forced out of theatres, but no man shall
    rob me of my loyalty.  The father of his people shall ever find me a
    dutiful son; and the Prince himself shall not excel me as a peaceable
    subject, and a friend to law and order.  Though he is certainly in
    all other qualities as much above me, as he is in birth, rank, and
    the glorious prospect of one day ruling over a great, enlightened,
    and a free people, he shall not excel me in a zeal for the interests
    of my country and of the human race.

Many persons endeavoured to induce Dr. Knox to take legal proceedings
against his cowardly assailants; but he contented himself by sparing his
pocket, publishing a narrative of the transaction,--now a rare work,
although it went through three editions,--and lampooning, in a pamphlet
called Prolegomena, those "Gentlemen of the Brighton Theatre," who, to be
revenged on him, magnanimously insulted and assaulted his wife and his
children.




CHAPTER XVI.
THE OLD CHURCHYARDS.


Many persons have a natural predilection for wandering amongst the tombs.
Whether in a town or village, their first impulse on arriving at a
strange place, is to visit its common burial place, to ruminate amongst
the tombs.  A vastness, a solemnity, and a hallowedness seem to prevade
the spot; and the mind in quietude has an indulgence there, a moralizing
never exceeded even within the precincts of a sacred edifice.

The Poet has said,

                The grave can teach
    In silence, louder than divines can preach.

A celebrated moralist thus expresses himself on Epitaphs:--

    When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy dies
    in me; when I read the epitaphs of the beautiful, every inordinate
    desire goes out; when I meet with the grief of parents upon a
    tombstone, my heart melts with compassion; when I see the tombs of
    parents themselves, I see the vanity of grieving for those whom they
    must quickly follow; when I see kings lying by those that deposed
    them--when I see rival wits placed side by side, or the holy men that
    divided the world with their contests and disputes, I reflect with
    sorrow and astonishment on the little competitions, factions, and
    debates of mankind; when I read the several dates of the tombs of
    some that died yesterday, and some six hundred years ago, I consider
    that Great Day, when we shall all of us be contemporaries, and make
    our appearance together.

In Brighton old churchyard there is vast material for thought, as great a
diversity "In Memoriam" existing as in any burial place in the kingdom;
the space being extensive and the monumental inscriptions numerous.  Time
has obliterated many epitaphs, and destroyed numerous tombstones, few
records of the departed being discernible of dates previous to the 18th
century.  Thirty years since there were several wooden erections to
record the memory of the dead; the memorial example of a catachresis,
which

    Words abused implies;
    As, over his head a wooden tombstone lies.

According to the minutes of a Vestry Meeting held March 16th, 1791, it
was: "Ordered that the Clerk of the Vestry do make enquiry whether the
minister of the parish has a right to demand a fee for breaking the
ground on the burial of a parishioner."  This order was made in
consequence of a dispute upon the point, between the inhabitants and the
Vicar, the Rev. Thomas Hudson.

The oldest tablet in Brighton churchyard is that at the north of the
church, placed--it being a flat stone,--to the memory of Alice, the wife of
Richard Masters, who died May, 25th, 1696.  It is contiguous to
headstones that bear the most quaint epitaphs in the whole ground.
Immediately near it is that of Mary Sanders, April, 1753, and bears this
injunction to her surviving family:--

    My loving children, all agree;
    Pray live in Love and Unity.

The tomb next to it is thus inscribed:--

    Here lyeth Anne ye wife of Richard Halsted, aged 23, and Elizabeth
    aged 22 years, both daughters of Henry and Mary Stanbridge, who dyed
    in May, 1728.

    They were two louing sisters,
       Who in this dust now ly, that
    Uery day Anne was buryd
       Elizabeth did dy.

Just at this spot, also, a stone points out the last resting place of the
celebrated Sake Deen Mahomed, the introducer of shampooing into England,
in 1784.  He died on the 24th of February, 1851, at the advanced age of
102 years.  By the pathway at the south-east of the chancel are deposited
the remains of Martha Gunn, the royal bather of Brighton, who died May
2nd, 1815, at the age of 88 years.  Her companion of the bath, Smoaker
Miles, is buried near the west boundary wall of the church-yard,
immediately opposite Upper North Street.  The spot is marked by a
tombstone, but the inscription has been wholly obliterated by time.  To
the east of the stone which marks Martha Gunn's grave, is the tomb of
Swan Downer, Esq., who endowed the school for girls, known as Swan
Downer's School, and immediately to the west is a large headstone thus
inscribed:--

                                PHOEBE HESSEL,
                 Who was born at Stepney, in the Year, 1713.

            She served for many years as a Private Soldier in the
             Fifth Regiment of Foot in different parts of Europe,
             and in the year 1745 fought under the command of the
                Duke of Cumberland, at the battle of Fontenoy,
                Where she received a Bayonet Wound in her Arm.

                Her long life, which commenced in the Reign of
               Queen ANNE, extended to that of King GEORGE IV.,
            By whose munificence she received comfort and support
                  in her latter days.  She died at Brighton,
                         where she had long resided,
                        December 12th, 1821, aged 108.

The remains of Corporal Staines, a marine who fought under Nelson, at
Copenhagen, lie at the foot of old Phoebe's grave.

The following punning epitaph on the headstone, which marks the spot
where rest the remains of a Mr. Law, to the south-west of the church, has
excited particular notice:--

    Stop, Reader! and reflect with awe,
    For sin and death have conquered law;
    Who, in full hope, resign'd his breath,
    That grace had conquered sin and death.

Mr. Law, who was an inhabitant, lost his life by accidentally walking
over the cliff, between the New Steine and the Royal Crescent.

To the east of the Chancel door a massive stone points out where are
deposited the mortal remains of a great Brighton celebrity, Captain
Tettersell.  It is thus inscribed:--

                                   P. M. S.

    Captain Nicholas Tettersel, through whose prudenee, ualour, and
    loyalty, Charles II., King of England, after he had escaped the sword
    of his merciless rebels, and his forces receiued a fatal ouerthrowe
    at Worcester, September 3rd, 1651, was faithfully preserued, and
    conueyed to France, departed this life the 26th of July, 1674.

    Within this marble monument doth lie
    Approved faith, honour, and loyalty;
    In this cold clay he has now ta'en up his station;
    Who once preserued the Church, the Crowne, and Nation;
    When Charles the Greate was nothing but a breath,
    This ualiant soule stept tweene him and Death:
    Usurpers' threats, nor tyrant rebels' frowne,
    Could not affright his duty to the crowne;
    Which glorious act of his, for church and state,
    Eight princes, in one day did gratulate--
    Professing all to him in debt to bee,
    As all the world are to his memory.
    Since Earth could not reward the worth him given,
    He now receives it from the King of Heaven.
    In the same chest one iewel more you have,
    The partner of his uirtues, bed, and grave.

The special incident referred to in Tettersell's life is recorded in
another part of this book.  One of the most remarkable tombs was that of
the Rev. John Bolt, the vicar of Brighton, who died on the 2nd of
November, 1669.  It stood at the north-east corner of the Chancel.  Not a
vestige of the tomb now remains.  The main structure of it was brick, and
the covering stone was a slab of perriwinkle or Sussex marble: and so
great a curiosity was it that it was in no way deemed a sacrilege by the
casual passer-by, to knock off a piece with a flint, or even a hammer,
for its novelty's sake.  Its final demolition took place in 1853, when
that and other sacred depositories of the dead--and the remains of the
dead too,--were ruthlessly removed to enlarge the church, upon its then
restoration.  The slab bore the following inscription:--

    Here lies interred the body of Mr. John Bolt, Master of Arts of
    Christ College, in Cambridge, aged seventy-eight years, who was a
    faithful and laborious preacher of the Gospel for the space of
    fifty-six years; whom God had blessed with _twenty-nine_ children by
    two wives.  He died in full assurance of a glorious resurrection, on
    the 2nd day of November, 1669, and was buried the 7th, likewise of
    the same month; in the pious memory of whom, his sorrowful son,
    _Daniel Bolt_, hath erected this monument.

    Stay, passenger, and lett thoughts awhile;
    Contemplate Death; Sin curse, which doth beguile
    Us of our best enjoyments, and impair
    Whatever unto most men pleasant are.
    'Tis not thy learning nor thy piety
    That can secure thee from Death's tyranny.
    Witness this learned, pious man of God,
    Who fell a victim to his conquering rod.
    Nothing but Virtue can outlive our date
    That gives a being beyond mortal fate.

                                               _Vivit post funera virtus_.

The most quaint epitaph was on a slab in the floor just within the
Chancel door.  It was nearly obliterated some years since; but shortly
after the present Vicar came to the living, he had it fresh cut.  It,
however, with many other relics, was destroyed during the restoration
before mentioned.  It was:--

    Oh! dear mother, you are gone before,
    And I, a wratch, wait at the door:
    Sin doth not only keep me thence,
    But makes me loath to go from hence.
    When Christ hath healed me of my sin,
    He'll make me fit and let me in.

Perhaps the most affecting record of the uncertainty of life, is that on
the tomb of Robert Augustus Bedford.  It is in what is termed the old
ground, not far from the poplar tree which marks the spot where once was
a well.  This well and a wall which went direct north to Church Street,
formed the west boundary of a garden that was consecrated as an
additional piece of ground for burial, in January, 1818, by the Bishop of
Exeter, and about that spot was appropriated for the burial of paupers,
and likewise for soldiers; as at that time the Hospital of the Infantry
Barracks occupied the site of the present Hanover Chapel burial ground.
The inscription--now mostly obliterated,--is as follows:--

    This youth, while viewing amidst a large concourse of persons
    assembled on the Pier Head of this town, on the 17th day of July,
    1826, some trials designed to show the practibility of conveying the
    means of escape to ship-wrecked persons by means of a chain attached
    to a ball; from which, on one of the experiments, it separated on the
    discharge of the cannon, and instantaneously deprived him of his
    life, in the 10th year of his age.

The experiment which was being made was that known as Captain Manby's
apparatus for rescuing persons from shipwreck.

On the 20th November, 1819, the funeral of a Sergeant of the 90th foot
took place.  He was shot on the 17th of the same month, at the barracks,
in Church street, by a private of the regiment, who, for the offence, was
executed at Horsham.

The well here just alluded to, north of the wall which forms the northern
boundary of Queen Square, was, on the restoration of the church, in 1853,
filled up with decayed coffins and the mortal remains of those whose
bodies were disinterred immediately to the north of the sacred edifice,
to afford space and improve the effect of the building.  Amongst those
whose narrow cell was less violated, was that of Sir Richard Phillips,
the natural philosopher, and author of "A Million of Facts."  His vault
and tomb were reconstructed just within the south entrance to the
cemetery ground, in front of Clifton Terrace, whither his remains were
removed, and where they now rest.  Not far from this tomb lie the remains
of Mrs. Pickstock, the headstone to whose grave is thus inscribed:--

                             In testimony of the
                             Faithful and zealous
                         Services of Alice Pickstock.
                            Matron of the Brighton
                              Workhouse, and to
                      perpetuate the recollection of her
                          many benevolent and pious
                     offices to the sick and poor of this
                                   Parish,

                    This stone is erected by the Directors
                   and Guardians and others, in the year of
                             Our Lord MDCCCXLIII.

                      "I bowed down heavily as one that
                 mourneth for his mother."--Psalm xxxv., 14 v.

To the extreme east of the old ground is the tomb of the real moderniser
of Brighton,--whose death took place nine and twenty years ago,--and is
thus inscribed:--

                               MR. AMON WILDS,
                     Died Sept. 12th 1833, aged 71 years

    A remarkable incident accompanies the period at which this gentleman
    came to settle in Brighton.  Through his abilities and taste, the
    order of the ancient architecture of buildings in Brighton may be
    dated to have changed from its antiquated simplicity and rusticity;
    and its improvements have since progressively increased.  He was a
    man of extensive genius, and talent, and in his reputation for
    uprightness of conduct could only meet its parallel.

Contiguous to this tomb, a stone marks the resting-place of a highly
respected inhabitant, for many years the landlord of the Old Ship Hotel:--

                              LEONARD SHUCKARD,
                      Died 17th January, 1837, aged 70.

Immediately west is the grave of a Brighton celebrity, whose memory is
thus recorded:--

                                 JOHN JORDAN,
             Many years a respectable hair-dresser of this town.
                          Died November 13th, 1810.

Originally the stone was further inscribed:

                     Say what you will, say what you can,
                        John Jordan was an honest man.

But there appearing a species of levity about these two lines unbefitting
a place of Christian sepulture, they were removed after the stone had
been up but a few days.

To the west of the main entrance from North Street, opposite Wykeham
Terrace, is the vault of Mr. Weiss, formerly a surgical instrument maker,
Charing-cross, London.  His remains are deposited in this vault, his body
prior to being screwed down in the coffin, having, by express desire in
his will, been pierced at the heart by an instrument which he made
expressly for the purpose.  His funeral took place with the weapon in
him, a special legacy being left to the surgeon, Mr. Benjamin Vallance,
who complied with the request, for performing the duty, Mr. Weiss having
a dread of being buried alive.

The handsomest monument in the churchyard is that at the north-east
entrance, to the memory of Anna Maria Crouch, formerly a performer at
Drury Lane Theatre.  She died Oct. 2nd, 1805.  It was erected by Mr.
Kelly.

A large stone cross or crucifix formerly stood immediately in front of
the church.  The stone steps to it and the lower fragment of the pillar
alone remain.  A legend in connexion with this cross has been preserved,
of which the following is a copy:--

                             ST. NICHOLAS GALLEY.

    "Long had raged the bloody feud between the Lords of Pevensey Castle
    and the Earls de Warrene, Lords of Lewes; when, early one bright May
    morning, the warder of Lewes Castle, from the northern turret blew
    loud his horn.  The lady of Earl de Warrene hastened to the turret's
    height, her infant first-born son kerchiefed on her arm.  From thence
    she viewed the dread conflict which was raging with all the fury of
    inveterate foes, on Mount Caburn's shelving sides.  Lord Pevensey, on
    his white steed, was seen leading his followers down the hill; Earl
    de Warrene was urging his men to withstand the charge.  In an instant
    both parties commingled; the strife was desperate, but of short
    duration.  Lord Pevensey, having the vantage ground, drove Earl de
    Warrene's troops pell-mell down the hill; but the Earl scorned to
    turn his back upon his foe, and for some time he singly maintained
    the conflict against a host; until Lord Pevensey came up, flushed
    with success, and raised his battle-axe to cleave the Earl in twain.
    It was at this moment that the noble lady of Earl de Warrene, seeing
    her lord in such imminent hazard, held up her infant son and vowed to
    Saint Nicholas (the protector of the faithful in dangers) that if her
    lord's life was spared his son should never wed till he had placed
    the belt worn by the Holy St. Nicholas, on the Blessed Virgin's tomb,
    at Byzantium.  The saint heard her vow; for the Earl dexterously
    avoided the blow, and Lord Pevensey, having lost his balance by the
    exertion, nearly fell from his horse.  In the next moment the Earl's
    sword appeared through his cuirass behind; Lord Pevensey fell dead;
    his terrified retainers fled in dismay; and Earl de Warrene returned
    in triumph to the Castle.  Full twenty summers had now passed over,
    and Manfred, Lord of Lewes, the Earl's eldest son, had not yet
    fulfilled his mother's vow, to visit the Blessed Virgin's tomb.  He
    was betrothed to Lord Bramber's daughter, the gentle Edona--beauteous
    as the jessamine's bloom--kind as the Zephyr--good and pure as the
    saints.  Full twenty times had the anniversary of Earl de Warrene's
    victory been celebrated most gallantly in the Castle's kingly hall.
    Again the guests had assembled there; the wassail bowl went merrily
    round; the bards sung in highest strains; Lord Manfred led his
    betrothed to join in the mazy dance; when--whilst all was merriment
    and joy,--suddenly a wintry dismal blast passed through the hall.  The
    lights were quickly extinguished, the din and clamour of war seemed
    to assail the castle walls on every side; and whilst the guests stood
    in darkness and in stupid wonder, in a moment vivid flashes of
    lightning shot across the richly tapestried walls, and displayed the
    fight renewed on Mount Caburn's side.  The hill and dale were seen
    distinctly, as if broad day were shining, and the combatants eagerly
    engaged.  But when Lord Pevensey again lifted his battle-axe to
    strike Earl de Warrene, all disappeared and total darkness ensued;
    the clamour ceased against the castle walls; lights were brought, but
    the guests, terrified, gloomily withdrew.  On the morrow, Earl de
    Warrene hither to Brighthelmston, to St. Bartholomew's Chapel came,
    and by the counsel of the holy fathers, built a ship, gaily trimmed,
    and named 'St. Nicholas' Galley,' to bear his son to the blessed
    Virgin's tomb.  It was fixed that when he should return from
    performing his noble mother's vow, then should he wed the fair Edona.
    The vessel gallantly dashed from Mecheem {109} harbour, and bounded
    over the yielding wave, making his way for brighter--not happier
    climes.  Lord Manfred safely arrived at Byzantium, and performed his
    sacred duty.  It was noon on the 17th of happy May--another year had
    rolled its wain--when a sail, bearing the well known pennant of St.
    Nicholas, was descried off Wordinges (Worthing) point by one of the
    Fathers of this Chantry.  Instantly a messenger was sent to carry the
    welcome tidings to Earl de Warrene, who, with all his retinue, a
    train of gallant bearing, his noble lady, the Lord of Bramber with
    the Lady Edona, and the holy Abbot of the priory, with all his
    brotherhood, had, in a few hours, assembled beneath the Earl's
    banner, on the hill where now stands St. Nicholas' Church.  The day
    was fair, the wind was favourable, and the 'St. Nicholas' glided
    swiftly on her way; the holy fathers sang with cheerful voices.  The
    Earl watched, with beaming eyes, for the signal agreed upon.  It was
    made; shouts rent the air; every face shone with joy, every heart
    beat with gratitude; when, in a moment, the progress of the vessel
    was checked; she reeled on her side, and sank before their eyes.  She
    had ran full on the hidden rock off Shore-ham {110a} harbour.  The
    Earl and every soul around him stood motionless; not a word broke the
    silence of that sad scene.  To move was useless.  One sad, last,
    long-drawn sigh burst from Edona, and she fell never more to rise.
    The Earl passed his hands over his eyes; dropped his head on his
    bosom; no smile ever rested on that face again.  One foreign sailor
    alone of the hapless crew survived to describe (feebly indeed) the
    ecstacy of Lord Manfred when he beheld his native shores and
    discerned his father's banner waving on St. Nicholas' hill.  Slowly
    as the cavalcade descended, each cast a look of despair on that sea
    which had swallowed all their hopes.  Earl de Warrene survived a few
    years only; but before he died he built the church to St. Nicholas on
    the hill, to be an everlasting remembrance to all who go upon the
    mighty deep not to neglect their vows.  Lady Edona lies under the
    cross at the entrance to the church, being the spot where she fell
    and died; but still, on the anniversary of that day, 'St. Nicholas'
    Galley' glides at midnight past the town of Brighthelmston, and is
    seen from the cliff by hundreds of the inhabitants, to sink. {110b}
    The Earl leaving no children, his family became extinct, and the
    estates passed to the heir, Lord Arundel, to whom they still belong."

A very quaint epitaph was (it is now obliterated by age) on the late
sexton of the period:--

                               Richard Jeffery.
                        Died 10th July, 1806, aged 64.

    When Barb'ra died, O Lord, prayed I,
    Let me die too, and near her lie--
    The Lord was good, and heard my pray'r,
    And here we lie a faithful pair.

Preceding it, on the same stone, was the following:--

                           Sacred to the memory of
                       BARBARA wife of RICHARD JEFFERY;
           Who having for upwards of 50 years diligently performed
                  the office of Sexton in this Parish, died
                        30th September, 1805, aged 63.

    Look, mingled lie, the aged and the young,
    The rich and poor,--an undistinguish'd throng;
    Death conquers all, and Time's subduing hand
    No tomb, no marble statue can withstand;
    Mark well thy latter end,--in Bab'ra see,
    What, reader, thou, and all mankind must be.
    The Grave for thousands though she toilsome made,
    Yet here at last her lifeless body's laid,
    In joyful hope, as Christian hope will be,
    To rise to life and immorality.

On the tombstone of a Captain Cook was formerly:--

    Many a hard tempestuous gale he's known,
    But on his native shore at last he's thrown;
    No rocks or quicksands has he now to fear;
    Safe from all storms he rides at anchor here.
    Go, and be wise then, 'ere it is too late,
    With firm resolve to meet the arm of fate.
    A few short years, Alas! how quick they pass;
    To this complexion must you come at last.
    Death conquers all, and drags them to the grave,
    The rich, the poor, the coward and the brave.
    Think then, ye youth in time, and dying say,
    Come when thou wilt, O Lord!  I ready am to-day.

From their exposed position, the inscriptions on many of the tombstones
have been erased by the hand of time; nor can one be found of the many
recorded in a Diary, kept in 1778 and 1779, of the character alluded
to.--"Monday, September 7th, 1778.  My landlord is persuading his eldest
son, and of course heir apparent, a young prince Crispin, to go to sea.
I desire the father to visit the churchyard, and upon various monuments
of youth he may observe the following inscription:--

    Parents and Friends, weep not for me,
    Tho' I was drownded in the sea!--

and then, after due deliberation, if he chose to renew his persuasions he
must use his pleasure.  The poor man seemed overwhelmed in thought, and
much struck.  Perhaps the lad may suffer no further solicitation on this
account, unless his father should turn out to be a staunch
predestinarian."

To the north of the church is a dwarf head-stone, thus inscribed:--

      Sacred to the memory of EDMUND BORMAN, who was accidently killed,
                      February 11th, 1796--aged 49 years.

His death was caused thus:--He was superintending the erection of a new
flag-staff, for the vane, mentioned in page 84, for Mr. Stephen Poune,
the Churchwarden; and having gone aloft, within the tower, to make
everything safe in lowering the remains of the old flag-staff, he
hastened down, to receive it below, when, just as he emerged from the
belfry door, the mass, which was being lowered, having descended much
quicker than he expected, came down upon him, crushing him fearfully, so
that he died within an hour of the accident.  Deceased was bowler to the
Prince of Wales and the Duke of York, leader of the ringers and conductor
of the choir at the Church, and, being a person of good education, a
generally useful man.

On the west portion of the ground, the record of the death of Miss
Coupland, who was killed by the fall of a wall, in Church Street, where
the Royal Stables now are, whilst walking to the Parish Church, to act as
bridesmaid at the wedding of a young friend, cannot fail to be read with
interest.  The shoes which she wore on the occasion are still preserved
by a member of her family named Hibben, who worked for her father, the
owner of the premises and smithy, which for so many years formed the
obstruction to the Royal Entrance at the bottom of Church Street.  The
epitaph runs:

     Sacred to the memory of MARY COUPLAND, died 9th November, 1800--aged
                                     19.

    Underneath this turf, in dust is laid,
    A blooming and a virtuous maid;
    In virtue's path she always trod,
    And trusted in Almighty God.
    For virtue, modesty, and truth,
    A perfect patron was for youth;
    She lived in love, and feared the Lord,
    We hope her soul has met reward;
    Lamented was, by great and small,
    Was crushed underneath a blown down wall--
    Going to church on the Lord's day;
    This maid's sweet life was snatched away.
    A tender mother left to mourn,
    Enough to wound a heart of stone;
    God grant his blessing to be given,
    For them to meet again in Heaven.
    Short was thy life, fair flower, how soon removed,
    Sudden thy summons to the realms above.
    Vain man, as well on sands may structors raise,
    As build on early youth or length of days;
    A thousand accidents frail life attend,
    And none can tell how soon this life may end.
    'Tis not for age that here she lie,
    Therefore, in time, prepare to die;
    Death does not always warning give,
    Therefore be careful how you live.

A headstone that stands about the centre of the ground to the east of the
church, and yet bears the name of Lucy Fermor, formerly had on it the
following acrostic, now wholly effaced by age:--

    L ook here, ye gay and giddy throng,
    U nmindfnl as ye go;
    C all'd you may be as soon as I,
    Y oung, strong, and healthy too.

    F or eighteen years I had not seen
    E 'er death did cut me down,
    R eturned to dust as now you see;
    M ore quick may be your doom.
    O h do not then forget, your souls
    R equired may be soon.

Perhaps no inscription throughout the whole of the hallowed grounds,
affords a theme for deeper meditation than that which here follows,
associated as it is with marriages, births, and deaths, through a period
of half a century: the plighting of solemn vows, vows how often broken;
the promise of suretiship to renounce all evil works, a promise how
seldom kept; we may rest in Him, as our hope is this our brother doth, a
hope how soon forgotten!  It is upon a head-stone, on the left, just
within the southern entrance to the Old Ground, and is as follows:--

                       Here lies all that is mortal of
                                 JOHN POCOCK,

      Who was, during 13 years, Clerk of the Chapel Royal, and 38 years
                            Clerk of this Parish.

    In the discharge of his duty how simple, upright, and affectionate he
                  was, will alone be known at the last day.

     He came to his grave on the 13th of June, 1846, like a shock of corn
                        cometh in his season, aged 81.

The following, which is on a stone by the footway, just south of the
tower, has a melancholy history attached to it:--

    Sacred to the Memory of John Rowles, who, in discharging his duties
    as a Peace Officer of this Town, was unfortunately killed by a Wound
    from a Bayonet, on the 5th Nov., 1817, Aged 40 years.

The circumstances were: On Tuesday, the 4th of November, 1817, a public
notice was issued, warning the inhabitants against illuminating their
houses, or celebrating the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, by means of
fireworks.  Notwithstanding this prohibition, a number of persons,
chiefly boys, assembled on the Old Steine, at twilight, in the evening of
Wednesday, the 5th, and let off squibs, serpents, crackers, &c.  The
civil power, in number 16,--headboroughs and patrol,--at the head of which
was Mr. John Williams, the High Constable, immediately interfered, and
took into custody the offenders against the edict.  This sort of warfare
lasted until nine o'clock, when a lighted tar-barrel made its appearance.
The authorities espied it, and, after a stout resistance by the populace,
it was captured and extinguished.  Much irritation was engendered in
consequence, and the mob, deprived of their fun, seemed inclined to
mischief, and, the principal object of their displeasure being the High
Constable, they attacked his house, the Baths, which stood on the site
now occupied by the Lion Mansion.  Mr. White, also, in Castle Square, who
had made himself very prominent in the affair, came in for his share of
the spleen of the rioters.  Stones were hurled with great violence, and
the windows of their houses were soon smashed in.  Greatly alarmed,
Williams sent a message to Mr. Serjeant Runnington, the resident
magistrate, and also to the guard-house at the Infantry barracks, Church
Street, demanding the aid of the military.  Several companies of the 21st
regiment of Fusileers, who had but that day arrived in Brighton, marched
with fixed bayonets to the Steine, the avenues to which they quickly
occupied.

The Riot Act was read by Serjeant Runnington, and the utmost dismay
prevailed.  About this time several squibs being let off near the
soldiery, an attempt was made to capture the offenders.  Dreadful to
relate, however, while charging, one of the military accidentally thrust
his bayonet into the body of Mr. Rowles, a headborough.  The steel
entered just above the hip, and, passing through, appeared three inches
on the other side,--the wound proved to be mortal,--and the ill fated man
lingered, in the utmost agony, until half-past seven on Thursday evening,
when he died, leaving a pregnant wife and three infant children to lament
his untimely end.  Two of the patrol, Slaughter and Burt, were also so
wounded with the stones, cast by the mob, that they were obliged to be
carried home, where they remained for some time in a very dangerous
state.  A woman, also, was wounded in the head with slugs, fired from a
pistol.  The disturbance lasted until a late hour of the night, and the
military did not repair to their barracks until two or three o'clock the
next morning.

On the following morning, the persons who had been apprehended for
creating the disturbance, were brought before the sitting magistrates,
Mr. Serjeant Runnington and Mr. Hopkins, at the Town Hall.

The civil power was blamed for calling in the military.  The coroner's
inquest on the body of Mr. Rowles, after having sat eight days, returned
a verdict of "Wilful Murder" against James Day, the principal, and John
Williams, High Constable, and James White, stationer, general collector
of rates, as accessories before the act.  They surrendered to their bail
at the Horsham Assizes, on the 25th March, and were found "Not Guilty,"
and the judge said, that, so far from any blame being attached to
Williams and White, he was fully persuaded that they had acted throughout
with the greatest prudence, coolness, and discretion. {115}

The base of the stone cross, to which is attached the legend of St.
Nicholas Galley, is a remnant of the superstition that prevailed prior to
the Reformation.  In primitive times, the south side of every churchyard
contained a column placed on a pedestal, having on its summit a cross;
and the nearer to this a corpse was interred, so much the sooner--it was
believed--would the soul be relieved from purgatory.  Hence the reason why
the south side of a churchyard most frequently contains the greatest
number of interments, individuals having a solemn dread of being buried
in the north, where there was no cross.  So far, indeed, did primitive
Christians carry their devotion for this figure, that they have been
accused of worshipping the cross itself.  Such was their blind zeal for
the sign of the cross, that they violated all bounds of prudence, and
Flecknoe quaintly observes:--"That had they their will, a bird should not
fly in the air with its wings _a-cross_, a ship with its _cross-yard_
sail upon the sea, nor profane tailor sit _cross-legged_ upon his
shop-board, or have _cross-bottoms_ to wind his thread upon."

With reference to the particular pillar in question, no records, beyond
the legend, exist which might contribute to the solution of its origin,
but the probability is that it was erected about the seventh century,
when the mania for columns and crosses prevailed.

The New Burial Ground, as it is termed, was added in 1824; and the
Cemetery Ground was opened in what was known as Butcher Russell's field,
in 1841, the first burial in it being that of Mary Wheeler, the wife of a
labourer, who was employed in laying out and levelling the ground.  She
died June 27th, 1841, and an obelisk marks her grave.

At the time when grave-yard robbers, termed Resurrectionists, were the
dread of surviving relatives, in 1820-21, these desecrators of the silent
tomb paid the Old Churchyard a visit, in the autumn of the former year,
and conveyed away at least one body, the chief of the sacrilegious
wretches being Williams, who, in 1831, was executed at Newgate, with
Bishop, for "Burking" an Italian boy.  The circumstance of the body being
stolen greatly alarmed the inhabitants, and for many years afterwards it
was the constant practice to have watchers, under a species of impromptu
tent, night after night, for months together, upon the death of a person,
to prevent the body from being conveyed away.  At one period the system
of watching had become such a nuisance that persons were afraid to
venture through the burial ground after dusk--the time when the watchers
went on duty--as the parties were not satisfied with being there to scare
off the expected marauders, but they took with them creature comforts in
the form of beer, spirits, and tobacco, and armed themselves with
pistols, guns, and swords, so that, when the alcoholic spirits began to
rise, there was a great lack of discretion, and frequent broils in
consequence ensued.  The churchwardens, therefore, interfered and
prevented their having any other arms than stout sticks.  This reckless
and indecent profanation of the sacred dormitory lamentably recalls to
one's mind the vitiated taste and customs of the early ages, when
churchyards were no sooner enclosed than they were appropriated as places
of public amusement.  According to Aubrey, "in every parish was a
church-house, to which belonged spits, crocks, and other utensils, for
dressing provisions.  Here the housekeepers met, the young people were
there, too, and had dancing, bowling, shooting at butts, &c., the
ancients gravely sitting by and looking on."  Fosbrook further informs
us, that "Whitsun ales were brewed by the churchwardens, and sold in the
church; and the profits--there being no rates for the relief of the
poor--were distributed amongst them."  It was, also, customary for barbers
to come and shave the parishioners in the churchyard on Sundays and high
festivals, before matins.  This liberty continued till 1422, when it was
restrained by a particular prohibition of Richard Flemyng, Bishop of
Lincoln.

For more than ten years the custom of watching prevailed; but legislation
at length suggested a means of supplying subjects for dissection, without
despoiling the graves; and, since then, in 1851, intra-mural burials
being prohibited, the Brighton Churchyards have been respected, and on
the 17th of November, 1859, the first tree was planted in the oldest
ground, near Wykeham Terrace, by Mr. Churchwarden Marchant, who had
suggested the plantation of the grounds.  Other of the authorities and
the inhabitants in general, followed his example, and very soon the
planting of some hundreds of trees and shrubs was effected; but as yet
the vegetation of them has progressed but slowly. {118a}

Brighton Vicarage, with West Blatchington, Rectory, is one united
benefice, in the sole gift of the Bishop of the Diocese.  The present
Vicar was appointed by the Crown; his predecessor, the late Dr. Carr, who
died Bishop of Worcester, having been made Bishop of Chichester.  The
Sovereign always takes the appointment to any Ecclesiastical preferment
that is vacated by one who is raised to the Episcopate.




CHAPTER XVII.
MARTYRDOM OF DERYK {118b} CARVER.


Deryk Carver, a brewer, the proprietor of what is now known as the
Black-Lion Street Brewery, the oldest building in the town, a Fleming by
birth, who had been resident in Brighton about eight or nine years, was
the first who suffered martyrdom in Sussex, under the persecution of
Mary.  About the end of October, 1554, Carver, who had adopted the
doctrines of the Reformation, and had been in the habit, as opportunity
offered, of collecting a few people of his own persuasion in his house,
for the purpose of religious worship, was, together with John Launder, of
Godstone, apprehended, as they were at prayer, by Edward Gage, of Firle,
a gentleman and county Magistrate, and sent up to the Queen's Council.
After examination, he and his friend were sent prisoners to Newgate, to
await the leisure of Bishop Bonner for his further examination into their
heretical practices.  The Bishop interrogated them on matters of faith,
on the 8th of June following, so that they must have lain in prison for
more than seven months, upon a mere suspicion.  They made certain
confessions, which they duly signed, and then the Bishop, who had no
legal right whatever to meddle with their creed, as they were not of his
diocese, objected against them certain articles, in the ordinary course
of ecclesiastical law, as it existed in those days.  Various means were
resorted to to induce Carver and Launder to recant, but these they
stedfastly resisted.  "I will never go from these answers," said the
latter, "so long as I live," and so said Carver.  Wherefore, on the 10th
of June, two days afterwards, they were cited to the Consistory Court of
St. Paul's.  The "confession" of Carver, as preserved in Fox's Acts and
Monuments, was in substance this: "I. That the bread and wine used in the
Holy Communion, or as it was then called, the 'Sacrament of the Altar,'
is simply bread and wine, and not the material body and blood of Christ.
II. That the mass is not a sacrifice; that it does not conduce to
salvation; and that it is not profitable to a Christian man, because it
is said in Latin, a tongue which he, with the majority of the people,
does not understand.  III. That although it is requisite to go to a good
priest for counsel in matters of religion, yet that priest's absolution
is not profitable for a man's salvation.  IV. That the faith and religion
now set forth in the Church of England is not agreeable to God's Word.
That Bishops Hooper, Cardmaker, Rogers, and others of their opinion were
good Christian men, and did preach the true doctrine of Christ, and that
they did shed their blood in the same doctrine, by the power of God.  V.
That since the Queen's coronation he hath had the bible and psalter in
English read in his house at Brighthampsted divers times, and likewise,
since his coming into Newgate, but the keeper thereof did take them away;
and also that about a twelvemonth now past he had the English procession
said in his house with other English prayers.  And further, that Thomas
Iveson, John Launder, and William Veisie, prisoners within Newgate, were
taken with this examinate in his house at Brighthampsted, as they were
hearing of the Gospel, then read in English."  The "confession" of John
Launder states, among other things, that he was a husbandman, twenty-five
years of age, and an inhabitant of Godstone, and that himself, with
Carver, Iveson, Veisie, and other persons, to the number of twelve, had
been apprehended by Mr. Gage, in Carver's house, as they were saying the
service in English, as set forth in the days of King Edward the Sixth.
It appears that Launder, having come down to Brighton to transact
business for his father, had heard of Carver's zeal for the Gospel, and
had been to his house for religious worship, at the time of Mr. Gage's
unfriendly visit.  The confession winds up with a statement of his
religious views, which, in the main, are identical with Carver's own, as
stated.  The Bishop's Articles, twelve in number, reiterated the charges
already adduced against the prisoners, who, being asked if they still
adhered to their opinions, replied affirmatively.  Carver added "your
doctrine is poison and sorcery.  If Christ were here you would put Him to
a worse death than He was put to before.  You say that you can make a
God: ye can make a pudding as well.  Your ceremonies in the Church be
beggary and poison."  The Bishop, seeing their constancy, pronounced
judgment upon them both, whereupon they were delivered to the Sheriffs,
who were then present, in order that they might be burnt in due course of
law.  "This Dirricke" records Fox, "was a man, whom the Lorde had blessed
as well with temporall ryches, as with his spirituall treasures, which
ryches yet were no clogge or let unto his true professing of Christ, the
Lord, by His grace, so working in him; of the which, there was such
havock, by the gready raveners of that time, that his poore wyfe and
children had little or none thereof.  During his imprisonment, although
he was well stricken in yeares (and, as it were, past the tyme of
learning), yet he so spent his tyme, that being, at hys first
apprehension, utterly ignoraunt of anye letter of the booke, hee coulde,
before his death, read perfectly any printed English.  Whose diligence
and zeale is worthy no small commendation, and therefore I thought it
good not to let passe over in silence, for the good encouragement and
example of others.  Moreover, at his comming into the town of Lewes to be
burned, the people called upon him, beseechying God to strengthen hym in
the faith of Jesus Christ.  He thanked them, and prayed unto God, that of
Hys mercy he would strengthen _them_ in the lyke faith.  And when hee
came to the signe of the Starre, the people drew near unto him, where the
Sheriffe sayd that he had found him a faithfull man in al his aunswers.
And as he came to the stake, he kneeled downe and made his prayers, and
the Sheriffe made hast.  Then hys booke was throwen into the barrel, and
when he had strypt him sclfe (as a joyfull member of God) he went into
the (pitch) barrel him selfc.  And as soone as ever he came in, he tooke
up the booke and threw it among the people, and then the Sheriffe
commaunded in the Kyng and Queen's name, on paine of death, to throw in
the booke againe.  And immediately, that faithfull member spake with a
joyfull voyce, saying:--'Deare brethren and sistern, wytness to you all
that I am come to seale with my blood Christes Gospell, for because I
know that it is true; it is not unknowen unto al you, but that it hath
bene truly preached here in Lewes, and in all places in England, and now
it is not.  And for because that I wyll not denye here God's Gospell, and
be obedient to man's lawes, I am condemned to dye.  Dere brethren and
sistern, as many of you as do beleve upon the Father, the Soune, and the
Holye Ghost, unto everlasting lyfe, see you doe the workes appertaining
to the same.  And as many of you as do beleve upon the Pope of Rome, or
any of hys lawes, which he sets forth in these daies, you do beleve to
your utter condemnation, and except the great mercy of God, you shall
burne in hell perpetually.'  Immediately the Sheriffe spake unto him, and
sayd: 'if thou docst not beleve on the Pope, thou art _damned_ body and
soule!'  And farther the Sheriffe sayd unto him, 'speake to thy God, that
He may deliver thee now, or els to strike me down to the example of this
people;' but this faithfull member said, 'the Lord forgive you your
sayings.'  And then spake hee againe to all the people there present,
with a loude voice, saying: 'deare brethren, and all you whom I have
offended in wordes or in dede, I aske you for the Lorde's sake to forgeve
me, and I hartly forgeve all you, which have offended me in thought,
word, or dede.'  And he sayd further in his prayer, 'Oh Lorde my God,
thou hast written: He that will not forsake wife, children, house, and
all that he hath, and take up Thy cross and follow Thee, is not worthy of
Thee.  But thou Lorde knowest that I have forsaken all to come unto Thee;
Lorde have mercy upon me, for unto Thee I commend my spirit, and my soule
doth rejoyce in thee.'  These were the last wordes of that faithfull
member of Christ before the fire was put to him.  And afterward that the
fire came to him he cried, 'Oh Lord have mercy upon me,' and sprong up in
the fire, calling upon the name of Jesus, and so ended."

The order of the Sheriff, that the people should throw Carver's bible
into the fire, does not appear to have been complied with, as the book is
still preserved, and is in the possession of Mr. Ade, Colonnade, North
Street.  It is what is termed, a "breeches" bible, from the circumstance
that in Genesis iii., 7, the words are: "They"--meaning Adam and
Eve--"sewed figge leaves together, and made themselves 'breeches,'" other
translations being "aprons."  It is in a state of good preservation, but
the title page is gone, hence its date cannot be correctly known; but on
comparing it with others of apparently the like edition,--an imperial
octavo,--it was published in 1550.  It received but little injury from the
action of the fire upon it; merely a slight discolouration on some of the
pages, from the smoke; but the following engrossed memorandum on a blank
half-page, between Malachi and the Apocrypha, proves that it is not in
the same binding now as it was when Carver had it:

                            By me, Edward Harffye.
                                  Anno Dom.
                                    1650.

    This Bible was Dirriek Carver's; belonging unto his family: of
    Brighthelmstone: who suffered martiredom ffor Conscience' sake in
    Queene Mary's Dayes, And bought by Sibbell Clarke, Widdow, of
    Brighthelmstone; And Given to mee, Edward Harffye of Brighthelmston,
    Clarke and Writinge Master: And I have now bound him, 1660 {122}
    1650.  And I doe will him to my Youngest Child.  And Soe the Youngest
    of my Stock.  To hand him nor ever ffrom one to an other; And now
    ffirst I give him to Mary Harffye, my daughter, 1664.  Wryten by my
    owne hand.  By me Edward: Harffye.

    This Carver was Burnt to death, in the Castell of Lewes, Sussex.

On the back of the same half-page, is written, in a good round-hand:
"Sarah Clark--1778."

On the inside of the cover, at the commencement, is written, "Wililam
Clarke, his book, Septem Ber the 20, 1744."  This name also, with the
same date, appears on the fly page between the Old and the New Testament.
Where, also, previous to the "Holie Gospel according to S. Matthevve,"
are the annexed entries:--

    William Clarke the son of iohn and mary his wife, was Born the 4 of
    September, near 4 in the morning in the year of our lord 17.11.

    the Son of william and Sarah his wife was Born ivne (June) the 13 at
    a C wor ter past 4 in the after noon on a Sather day, 1747.

    William Clark Dyed December the 5, 1747.

In the margin of the 11th chapter of Daniel, is written in good Old
English:--

                                edward Carffre

                              1653.  his Booke.

                              January the first.

The blood of the martyr is visible on Chapters 19 and 20 of Judges, and
also on Chapters 1 and 3 of Zephania, where the leaves have closed on
each other.  But the greatest quantity is on the Book of Ruth, which is
very much splashed with the vital fluid.  Altogether, the Bible is a very
precious relic, and its present possessor attaches to it great value, he
having refused large sums of money that have been offered him for it.

Stephen Gratwicke, a Brighton man of respectable family, and of liberal
education, was put to death in St. George's Fields, Southwark, about the
end of May, 1557.  At his trial, before the Bishops of Winchester and
Rochester, and a priest suborned to personate the Bishop of Chichester,
he expostulated with his judges for keeping men a year or two in prison,
"permittyng them not so much as a Testament to look upon, for their
soules comfort."  To this the Bishop of Winchester replied:--"No, syr, we
will use you as we will use the child, for if the child will hurt himself
with a knife we will keepe the knife from him.  So, because you will
_damme_ your soule with the _Word_, therefore you shall not have it!"




CHAPTER XVIII.
THE ESCAPE OF CHARLES II.


After the defeat at Worcester, on the 3rd of September, 1651, Charles
II., on his arrival at Kidderminster, by the advice of the Earl of Derby,
and under the guidance of Francis Yates, brother-in-law of Penderell,
retired to "Boscobel," a lone house on the borders of Staffordshire,
where lived one Richard Penderell, a farmer, and his four brothers.  By
the aid of the Penderells, Charles clothed himself in the garb of a
peasant, and carried a bill-hook with him into the woods, where daily he
pretended to be employed cutting faggots.  His only attendant at that
time was Colonel Careless, a Roman Catholic.  The suspicion of the
Parliamentary army was, however, aroused by two strangers staying at such
a lone place as Boscobel, and detachments of troops were, in consequence,
sent in search of them, and it was then that Charles and Colonel Careless
hid themselves in the branches of an oak tree.  By the assistance of a
Benedictine monk, named Hudleston, Lord Wilmot then joined the King, and
by his proposition, they, with Penderell, repaired, at night, to the
house of a Mr. Whitegrave, a Catholic gentleman residing some distance
from Boscobel.  The King, in relating his escape, used to say that the
rustling of Richard's calf-skin breeches was the best guide for him
during the dark night's walk.  Here they were pursued by the
parliamentarian army; and Colonel Lane, at whose house Lord Wilmot had
been concealed, being made acquainted with the critical position of
Charles, offered to conceal him in his house at Bentley.  From there he
retired to Bristol, at the house of Mr. Norton, a kinsman of Colonel
Lane, in the hope of being able to obtain a passage to the continent, as
"William," the servant to Miss Jane Lane (sister of Colonel Lane), but no
vessel would leave there for a month.  Charles, being thus frustrated in
his object, placed himself under the guardianship of Colonel Windham, of
Dorsetshire, in whose charge he continued nine days, and then went to
Heale, within three miles of Salisbury, where he remained until the
necessary arrangements had been made by Lord Wilmot, for his passage from
Brighthelmston to France.

Lord Wilmot, after receiving counsel from Dr. Hinchman, afterwards Bishop
of Salisbury, tried at Lawrence Hyde's Esq., living at Hinton Dambray, in
Hampshire, near the sea, what could be done for a passage.  Being
unsuccessful there, he repaired to Colonel George Gounter, at Rackton,
four miles from Chichester, who promised him every assistance in his
power.  On Wednesday, the 8th of October, the Colonel rode to Elmsworth
(Emsworth), a fishing station two miles from Rackton; but as the boats
were all away, the Colonel could do no good there.  Colonel Gounter then,
accompanied by Lord Wilmot, rode to Langstone, a place by the sea, and
attempted in vain to arrange for a passage.  Colonel Gounter and Lord
Wilmot then received the co-operation of Captain Thomas Gounter, who went
to Chichester, but was unsuccessful in his object.  The Colonel upon
this, conceived the next and best expedient, namely, of treating with a
French merchant, a Mr. Francis Mancell, at Ovingdean Grange, whither he
hastened, pretending to pay him a visit, and to become well acquainted
with him.  He was there courteously received, and entertained; and, after
a while, he broke the business to Mancell, saying, "I do not only come to
visit you; but to request one favour of you.  I have two special friends
who have been engaged in a duel, and there is mischief done, and I am
obliged to get them off if I can.  Can you fraught (freight) a bark?"
Mr. Mancell said he doubted not he could at Brighthelmston.  The Colonel
pressed him to go immediately, promising, if the business was effected he
would give him 50 for his pains; but it being Stock fair-day there, and
his partner out of the way, he could not possibly until the next day.  On
the 10th October, the merchant went to Brighthelmston to enquire, but the
seaman upon whom he could with the greatest certainty have depended, was
gone to Chichester, he having bargained for a cargo there; fortunately,
however, it touched at Shoreham, about four miles from Brighthelmston.
Mr. Mancell, therefore, sent immediately to Shoreham, for the man, and on
Saturday the 11th October, an agreement was made that he (the seaman),
should have 60 paid him, before he took the parties into the boat.  And
it was arranged that he was to be in readiness at an hour's warning.  In
the meantime, Mancell was to stay there, under pretence of freighting his
bark, so as to see all things in readiness against the arrival of the
Colonel and his two friends.  The Colonel then returned to the house of
Mr. Hyde, afterwards Chief Justice of the King's Bench, with whom Lord
Wilmot was staying, and broke the joyful intelligence to him, that all
was in readiness; and it was arranged that Colonel Phillips should go for
the King on the following day.  This was effected, and the King, on
horseback, escorted by Colonel Phillips, rode from Heale to Winchester,
where they were met by Lord Wilmot, Colonel Gounter, and Captain Gounter,
who accompanied them to Brawde Halfe-penny, a little above Hambledon,
where Charles expressed a wish that lodgings should be procured in the
neighbourhood, and he was consequently conducted to the house of Colonel
Phillips's sister, at the rear of Hambledon; where, after partaking of a
hearty supper, Charles retired to rest, being much fatigued by his long
ride of 40 miles that day.  At the break of day the following morning,
the party took their leave of Hambledon, and on coming to Arundel, rode
close by the castle, where they were met full butt by Captain Morley, the
Governor, but whom they happily escaped, and then passed on by Howton to
Bramber.  The remaining portion of the journey is found thus fully
detailed in a very curious and _recherche_ article which, about forty
years since came into the possession of the British Museum, and is
entitled "The last Act, in the miraculous storie of his Mties. escape;
being a true and perfect revelation of his conveyance, through many
dangers, to a safe harbour; out of the reach of his tyranical enemies; by
Colonel Gunter; of Racton in Sussex; who had the happiness to be
instrumental in the business, (as it was taken from his mouth by a person
of worth a little before his death.)"--"Being come to Bramber, we found
the streets full of soldiers, on both sides the houses; whoe unluckily
and unknowne to me were come thither the night before, to guard; but
luckily (or rather by a speciall Providence) were just then come from
their guard at Bramber bridge, unto the towne {126} for refreshment.  We
came upon them unawares, and were seen, before we suspected anything.  My
Lord Wilmot was ready to turne back, when I stept in and said: 'If we do,
wee are undone.'  'He saith well,' saith the King.  I went before, hee
followed, and soe passed through, without any hinderance.  It was then
betweene three and fower of the clock in the afternoone.  We went on; but
had not gone farre, but a new terror pursued us; the same soldiers riding
after us as fast as they could.  Whereupon the King gave me a hem!  I
slacked my pase, till they were come upp to me and by that tyme, the
soldiers were come, whoe rudely passed by us (beeing in a narrow lane)
soe that we could hardly keepe our saddles for them; but passed by
without any further hurt; being some 30 or 40 in number.  When we were
come to Beeding, a little village where I had provided a treatment for
the King (one Mr. Bagshall's house) I was earnest that his Matie. should
stay there a whyle, till he had viewed the coast: But my Lord Wilmot
would by noe meanes, for feare of those soldiers, but carried the King
out of the road, I knew not whither, soe we parted; they were they
thought safest, I to Brightemston; being agreed they should send to me,
when fixed any where, and ready.  Being come to the said Brightemston, I
found all clear there, and the Inne (the George) free from all strangers
att that tyme.  Having taken the best roome in the house and bespoken my
supper; as I was entertaining myselfe with a glass of wine; the King, not
finding accommodation elsewhere to his mind was come to the Inne; then
upp comes mine hoast (one Smith by name).  'More guests,' saith he; he
brought them into another room, I taking noe notice.  It was not long,
but drawing towards the King's roome, I heard the King's voice, saying
aloud to Lord Wilmot, 'Here, Mr. Barlow, I drinck to you.'  'I know that
name' said I to my hoast, there by me; 'I pray enquire, and whether he
were not a Major in the King's Army.'  Which done, he was found to bee
the man, whome I expected; and presently invited, as was likely, to the
fellowship of a glass of wine.  From that I proceeded and made a motion
to join companie, and because my chamber was largest that they might make
use of it.  Which was accepted, and soe we became one companie againe.
At supper the King was cheereful, not showing the least signe of fear or
apprehension of danger; neyther then nor att any tyme during the whole
course of this busines.  Which is no small wonder, considering that the
very thought of his ennemies soe great, and soe many; soe diligent, and
soe much interested in his ruine; was enough, as long as he was within
their reach, and as it were, in the very middest of them, to have daunted
the stoutest courage in the world.  As if God had opened his eyes, as he
did Elisha's servant, at his master's request, and he had seene a
heavenly hoast round about him to guard him: which to us was visible, who
therefore, though much encouraged by his undauntedness, and the assurance
of soe good and glorious a cause; yet were not without secret terrors
within ourselves, and thought every minute a day, a month, till they
should see his sacred person out of their reach.  Supper ended, the King
stood his back against the fyer, leaning over a chaire.  Up comes mine
host (upon some jealousie, I guess not any certain knowledge;) but up
comes him who called himself Gaius, runs to the King, catcheth his hand
and kissing it, said: 'It shall not be said but I have kissed the best
man's hand in England.'  He had waited at table at supper, where the
boateman also sate with us and were then present.  Whether he had feare,
or heard any thing that could give him any occasion of suspicion, I knowe
not.  In very decde, the King had a hard taske, soe to carry himself in
all things, that he might be in nothing like himselfe: Majesty being so
naturall upon him, that even when hee said nothing, did nothing, his very
lookes (if a man observed) were enough to betray him.  It was admirable
to see the King (as though he had not been concerned in these words,
which might have soumded in the ears of another man as the sentence of
death) turned about in silence, without any alteration of countenance or
taking notice of what had been said.  About a quarter of an hour after,
the King went to his chamber, where I followed him and craved his pardon
with earnest protestation that I was innocent, soe altogether ignorant of
the cause how this had hapened.  'Peace, peace, Colonel,' said the King,
'the fellow knowes mee, and I him.  He was one (whether or not, I know
not; soe the King thought att the tyme) that belonged to the back stairs
of my father; I hope he is an honest fellow.'  After this I began to
treat with the boatman (Tettersfield by name) asking him in what
readiness he was.  He answered, he could not of that night, because for
more security he had brought his vessel into a breake and the tyde had
forsaken it: so that it was on ground.  It is observable that all the
whyle this business had been in agitation to this very time, the wind had
been contrarie.  The king then opening the wenddowe, tooke notice that
the wind was turned, and told the master of the shipp.  Whereupon,
because of the wind, and a cleere night, I offered 10 more to the man to
gett off that night.  But that could not be.  However, we agreed that he
should take in his company that night.  But it was a great business that
we had in hand; and God would have us to knowe soe, both by the
difficulties that offered themselves, and by his helpe he afforded to
remove them.  When we thought we had agreed, the boatman starts back and
saith, 'noe, except I would ensure the barke.'  Argue it we did with him,
how unresoanable it was, beeing soe well paid, &c., but to no purpose,
soe that I yielded att last, and 200 was his valuation, which was agreed
upon.  But then, as though he had been resolved to frustrate all by
unreasonable demands, he required my bond.  At which, moved with much
indignation, I began to be as resolut as he; saying, among other things,
'there were more boates to bee had, besydes his; if he would not another
should,' and made as though I would go to another.  In this contest the
king happily interposed.  'He saith right,' saith his Matie., 'a
gentleman's word, especially before witnesses, is as good as his bond.'
At last the man's stomach came downe, and carrie them he would, whatever
became of it; and before he would be taken he would run his boate under
the water.  Soe it was agreed that about tooe in the morning they should
be aboard.  The boateman in the meanetyme went to provide for
necessaries, and I persuaded the king to take some rest.  He did, in his
cloaths, and my Lord Wilmot with him, till towards tooe in the morning.
Then I called them up, showing them how the tyme went by my watch.
Horses being ledd by the back way towards the beache, we came to the
boat, and found all readie.  Soe I took my leave, craving his Maties.
pardon if anthing had happened through error, not want of will or
loyalty.  How willingly I would have waited further, but for my family
(being many) which would want mee, and I hoped his Matie. would not, not
doubting but in a very little tyme he should be where he would.  My only
request to his Mtie. was that he would conceal his instruments, wherein
their preservation was so much concerned.  His Matie. promised noebody
should know.  I abided there keeping the horses in readiness in case
anything unexpected had happened.  At 8 o'clock I saw them on sayle, and
it was the afternoon before they were out of sight.  The wind (O
Providence) held very good till the next morning, to ten of the clock
brought them to a place of Normandie called Fackham, some three miles
from Havre de Grace, 15 Oct.  Wenseday.  They were no sooner landed but
the wind turned, and a violent storme did arise, in soe much that the
boateman was forced to cut his cable, lost his anchor to save his boate,
for which he required of me 8, and had it.  The boate was back againe at
Chichester, by Friday, to take his fraught.  I was not gone out of the
town of Brighthelmston twoe houres, but soldiers came thither to search
for a tall man 6 foot and 4 inches high."

By the foregoing it will be seen that Charles never visited, much less
slept at Ovingdean Grange, as has been stated by some historical writers,
playwrights, and writers of romance. {130}

The vessel in which Charles escaped, was the "Surprise," the property of
Captain Nicholas Tettersell, whose virtues are engraved upon his tomb in
the Old Church-yard,--_vide_ Chapter XVI.  The vessel was a brig which had
been detained a few years previously, in the Downs, by a royal squadron,
on her way from Newcastle, with a cargo of coals, but was released by a
personal order of Charles, then Prince of Wales, whose features were
consequently known to Tettersell, notwithstanding the king's attempt to
disguise himself.  The brig at the time of the engagement with
Tettersell, was half laden with coals, and the sailors were in a great
measure disengaged from duty.  In order, therefore, to collect them
without exciting suspicion, he announced that she had broken from her
moorings.  By this means, having got his crew on board, he signified to
them his engagement in a secret expedition, in which their service should
not go unrewarded.  Matters being thus prudently adjusted, Tettersell
went ashore by himself, in order to get a bottle of spirits, and to
inform his wife that he should be absent for a few days.  Curiosity
urging the good woman to dive into the mystery of so sudden and
unreasonable a departure, he was at last constrained by her importunity
to reveal to her the nature of the service he had undertaken; and she,
with a fortitude and fidelity which reflect a lustre on her memory,
earnestly exhorted him to an honourable performance of his engagement
with the illustrious fugitive.  It is recorded by Baker, in his
Chronicles, that in the course of the day, as the king, who still
retained his disguise, that of a Puritan, was sitting on the deck, one of
the sailors stood close to windward of him smoking his pipe, and on being
rebuked by the captain for making so free, retired, muttering, "truly a
cat may look at a king," but without being aware how personally apposite
the adage was.

After the Restoration, Tettersell, in 1671, in consideration of his loyal
services, was appointed by James, Duke of York, (then Lord High Admiral
of England,) Captain of the "Royal Escape," as a fifth-rate; and the year
ensuing, the king granted the reversion of that sinecure to his son.

The following is the patent for the reversion of the appointment:--

    CHARLES R.

    Whereas our dear brother, James, Duke of York, Lord High Admiral of
    England, hath by his orders, dated the 4th of September last past,
    directed you to cause Captain Nicholas Tetershall to be borne in pay,
    together with one servant, as captain of our vessel called the Royal
    Escape; and that he should be allowed pay as captain of a fifth-rate
    ship, and he and his servant paid with the yard at Deptford; and
    whereas the said Nicholas Tetershall hath humbly besought us to
    continue the said allowance unto his son, Nicholas Tetershall, after
    his decease, in consideration of his faithful and fortunate service
    performed unto us, we have thought fit to condescend unto that his
    request, and it is accordingly our will and pleasure that after the
    decease of the said Nicholas Tetershall, the father, he, the said
    Nicholas Tetershall, the son, be borne in pay, together with one
    servant, as captain of our said vessel, the Royal Escape, and that he
    be allowed pay as captain of a fifth-rate ship, and he and his
    servant paid with the yard at Deptford, in the same manner as his
    father now is.  Given at our Court at Whitehall, the 29th day of
    August, 1672, in the four-and-twentieth year of our reign.

                                                 By His Majesty's command,
                                                           HENRY COVENTRY.

    To the Principal Officers and Commissioners
          of our Navy now and the time being.

By the following minute in the record book of the House of Commons,
Wednesday, 19th of December, 1660, it will be seen that His Majesty was
not unmindful of the services in effecting his escape, that were rendered
by Mr. Lane and his family:--

    _Resolved_.--"That as a mark of respect to Mrs. Lane, and in testimony
    of her services, in being instrumental to the preservation and
    security of the person of his royal Majesty, there be conferred on
    the said Mrs. Lane the sum of 1,000, to buy her a jewel, and that
    the same be, and hereby stands charged on the arrears of the grand
    excise, and paid to her assigns, in course, after the other sums are
    satisfied which are charged on the grand excise, by former orders of
    this Parliament.  And the commissioners of excise, for the time
    being, are hereby impowered and required to satisfy and pay the same
    accordingly.  And this order, together with the acquitance of the
    said Mrs. Lane, or her assigns, testifying the receipt thereof, shall
    be to the commissioners of excise a sufficient warrant and
    discharge."

And letters patent, bearing date, 12th day of July, Anno 1677, were
granted by the king, to John Lane of Bentley, in the County of Stafford,
that henceforth he and his lawful descendants shall bear in augmentation
of their fraternal arms, _three lyons passant guardant_, _or in a Canton
Gu_.

The "Royal Escape" was Tettersell's coal-brig ornamented and enlarged;
and shortly after the Restoration, she was moored in the Thames, opposite
Whitehall, to receive the veneration of the fickle multitude.  "But, some
time after," as Dunvan says, "when the increasing guilt of Charles proved
to them a bitter restorative from political insanity, she dropped down to
Deptford, where she remained in a progressive state of decay, till, in
the year 1791, her mouldering remains were broken up for fuel in one of
the dockyards there."

The descendants of Tettersell long enjoyed an annual pension of 100.
Sir John Bridger, the grandfather of Sir Henry Shiffner, of Combe Place,
was the last of the family who received the pension.  A ring which was
given to Tettersell by Charles, is in the possession of the Shiffner
family.

The name of the Inn, in West street, was, after the return of Charles
from exile, changed from the "George" to the "King's Head," and as a
memorial of the royal visit, the portrait of his Majesty became the sign
of the house.  It remained some years fixed on the outside of the
premises; but about forty years since, when it was going rapidly to
decay, it was taken down by the then landlord, Mr. Eales, and, having
received a coat of varnish, was placed in an oak frame and hung up
indoors.  That, however, like every other memento of the flight of
Charles, has some years been a thing of the past, the bedstead with its
appurtenances whereon the royal personage slept, the chair whereon he
sat, the cooking apparatus of the occasion, and every article connected
with the event having long since been purchased at long prices to those
persons who set store upon historical relics.  On Royal Oak Day, the
anniversary of the 29th of May, 1660, commonly called Restoration Day, it
is customary for a large bough of oak to adorn the front of the "King's
Head."

The only relic in Brighton, in any way connected with the "Merrie
Monarch," is Nell Gwynne's looking-glass.  This glass is amongst the
curiosities in the Brighton Museum, at the Royal Pavilion, and is the
property of Sir Charles Dick, of Port Hall, Dyke Road, Brighton.  It
bears the likeness of Nell Gwynne and King Charles, which are modelled in
wax; and also the supporters or crest which Nell assumed, namely, the
lion and leopard.  The whole is curiously worked in various coloured
glass beads, and the figures with the dresses are made to project in very
high relief; indeed, they are merely attached to the ground-work.  In the
upper compartment is Charles in his state dress, and in the bottom one
that of Nell Gwynne in her court dress--the pattern of which is very
tasteful.  On the right is Charles in his hunting dress, and on the left
is Nell in her neglige dress.  The beads have retained their colours,
which are very appropriate to the subject, and must have been a work of
considerable time and patience; but whether done by Nell or not, there is
no record.  Mrs. Jameson says:--"Charles, in spite of every attempt to
detach him from her, loved her to the last, and his last thought was for
her--'Let not poor Nelly starve!'  Burnet, who records this dying speech,
is piously scandalized that the King should have thought of such a
'creature' in such a moment; but some will consider it with more mercy,
as one among the few traits which redeem the sensual and worthless
Charles from utter contempt."




CHAPTER XIX.
PERSECUTIONS FOR CONSCIENCE' SAKE.


During the persecutions for conscience' sake, several inhabitants of
Brighton underwent sundry pains and penalties.  In 1658, John Pullot,
{134} for speaking to the Priest and people in the Steeple-house, was put
prisoner into the Block-house;--Churches or houses having a steeple and a
bell, were termed Steeple-houses.  The next day Pullot was sent to the
County gaol till the Sessions, when he was sentenced to Bridewell for six
months' hard labour, and to be whipped.  In 1659, Nicholas Beard, for
going into the Steeple-house, was much abused, and hauled out by the hair
of his head.

The "Abstract" referred to recites:--"1658.--A meeting being held at the
house of William Gold, in Brighthelmston; the professors of that town,
coming from their worship, first broke the windows, which work one
zealous woman was observed to do very devoutly with her bible; then they
flung in much filth on those that were there met, and at length thrusting
in upon them, hauled out Joseph Fuce and some others, throwing him very
dangerously on the ground, and hauling him and others out of the town,
threatened that if he came thither again they would throw him into the
sea.  After this manner did the people there frequently abuse those who
were assembled together; of which abuses Margery Caustock had a large
share.  Her daughter also, of the same name, going from a meeting was
cruelly stoned and wounded in the face, to the endangering her eye; and
her blood was spilt to that degree that some of her wicked persecutors
boasted that they had killed one Quaker, as they had almost done another,
namely, Richard Pratt, by stoning him."

Pratt had previously, in 1656, delivered in a paper to the Bench of
Justices, at the Lewes Sessions, representing the cruel usage and stoning
of his friends at Brighthelmston, and desiring them to exert their
authority for protecting the innocent from such abuses; when he was by
them committed to the House of Correction, and ordered to be whipped
there, and kept to hard labour.  As the officers were dragging him away
to Bridewell, one William Hobbine, seeing him in danger from the pushing
of the people, laid hold of him to keep him from falling.  This being
interpreted an attempt to rescue the prisoner, Hobbine was fined three
pounds, and sent to prison for not paying it.

Thus the persecutions of the Quakers continued in all parts of the
kingdom, till General Monk having had complaint made to him of the rude
disturbances of Meetings by his soldiers, while at Westminster, he, with
complete success, issued the following order:

                                            St. James's, March 9, 1659-60.

    I do require all officers and soldiers, to forbear to disturb the
    peaceable meetings of the Quakers, they doing nothing prejudicial to
    the Parliament of England.

                                                              GEORGE MONK.

In consequence of Monk having declared for the Commonwealth, Charles II.,
who for some years had resided on the continent, after his escape from
Brighton, by his advice repaired to Breda.  But it being resolved in
England to recall him to the throne, he made, on the 14th day of April,
1660, his celebrated Declaration of Breda, whereby he granted a free and
general pardon to all offenders against himself and his royal father, and
"liberty of conscience, that no man shall be disquieted or called in
question for differences of opinion, in matter of religion."  His
Restoration was the result on the 18th of May following, and on the 29th
of the same month, his birthday, he made his public entry into London.

The Act of Uniformity, which was passed in 1662, and was called the St.
Bartholomew Act, because it was to take effect on the 24th of August, the
feast of that apostle, produced a kind of ecclesiastical revolution, and
shewed the invincible determination of the enthusiasts.  The date of the
Bi-centenary of this Act, is the 24th of August of the present year,
1862.  The Act was short, but very stringent, as the annexed extract XIV.
Caroli II., 1662.--

    Be it enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by the advice and
    with the consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and of the
    Commons in this present Parliament, that every Parson, Vicar, or
    other Minister, who now hath any Ecclesiastical Benefice or
    Preferment within the Realm of England, shall, in the Church, Chapel,
    or place of public worship, upon some Lord's Day, before the Feast of
    St. Bartholomew, which shall be in the year of our Lord God, 1662,
    publicly and solemnly read the morning and evening prayers, according
    to the said Book of Common Prayer, at the times appointed, and after
    such reading thereof, shall openly and publicly, before the
    congregation, declare his unfeigned assent and consent to the use of
    all things in the said book in these words and no others--I, A. B.,
    declare my unfeigned assent and consent to all and everything
    contained and prescribed in and by the Book of Common Prayer.  And
    that every such person who shall (without some lawful impediment)
    neglect or refuse to do the same, shall be deprived of all his
    spiritual promotion; and the Patron shall present or collate, as if
    he were dead.

In one day, and by a concerted resolution, 2,000 presbyterian ministers
resigned their livings, because they would not conform to the articles of
the Act.  They were even, some time after, prohibited from coming within
five miles of those places where they had exercised their ministry,
except on journeys, under pain of six months' imprisonment, and paying a
penalty of five pounds.  These rigorous proceedings were by no means
agreeable to the king, who was solicited by his brother James, to grant a
general toleration.  Charles, in consequence, proclaimed an indulgence to
those whose consciences would not permit them to conform to the
established worship; and as Parliament was then prorogued, he gave his
royal word, that at the approaching session, he would endeavour to
procure a confirmation of that indulgence.  On the 18th of February,
1663, therefore, on the assembling of Parliament, Charles endeavoured to
fulfil his promise; but the Parliament strongly suspected that he had
another and much deeper design in view, his avowed intention being to
gratify the Dissenters, but his secret resolution being to support the
Catholics, so they determined to defeat him.  He in consequence, from a
remonstrance which they drew up, issued a proclamation against all Popish
Priests and Jesuits.

In 1664, the Parliament, not content with the penalties contained in the
Act of Uniformity, passed the notorious Conventicle Act, whereby it was
enacted that if any one should repair to Conventicles,--the name they gave
to the meeting-houses of all Dissenters,--he should be fined 5 for the
first offence, or suffer three months' imprisonment; for the second
offence 10, or six months' imprisonment; but for the third offence,
after being convicted by a jury of his peers or fellows, he was to be
transported to some foreign plantation, or pay the penalty of 100.

In 1665, upon the assembling of the Parliament at Oxford, a Bill was
brought before that august body, that no dissenting teacher, who refused
to take the oath of non-resistance, should, except upon the road, come
within five miles of any corporation, or of any place where he had
discharged the offices of a minister, after the Act of Oblivion, as it
was called, under the penalty of 50.  The Commons rejected the Bill,
which imposed the oath of non-resistance on the whole nation. {137}  The
Conventicle Act was passed in 1670.  By it every member of a Conventicle,
or assembly of Non-Conformists, consisting of more than five persons,
exclusive of the family where it was held, was liable to a fine.

One of the most virulent officials in persecuting the Non-Conformists,
was Captain Tettersell, who effected the escape of the King.  On Sunday,
the 29th of May, 1670, while exercising his authority as High Constable
of Brighton, he, with the zeal of a bigot, and the malign industry of a
ministerial spy, discovered in the town a house in which a few Dissenters
had privately met: and the door having been barred against so unfriendly
an intruder, he surrounded the premises with his creatures, until a
warrant for breaking the door open arrived from Sir Thomas Nutt, of
Lewes.  When the warrant arrived, the door was opened upon the demand of
the Constable; but no minister could be found; nor were the company
engaged in any religious ceremony.  It was, however, asserted by some of
the Constable's assistants, that they had heard from within a voice in
the elevated tone of prayer or instruction, and for this imputed offence,
the whole party was summoned before the said Sir Thomas Nutt, and other
Justices at Lewes.  But there being no proof to justify conviction under
the Conventicle Act, the bench insidiously counselled the objects of
their persecution to confess the whole, and promised they would permit
them to set their own fines.  Finding them averse to self-accusation,
where they were conscious of no crime, these upright dispensers of
justice, even on the vague conjecture of the spies, fined to the full
penalty of the Statute, not only such as were found in the house, but
also a man who had been seen coming out some time before the said spies
approached it.  William Beard, the master of the house, having been fined
20, Captain Tettersell broke open his malthouse, and took thereout
sixty-five bushel sacks of malt, which he sold to one of his partisans
for twelve shillings a quarter. {138}  Sir Thomas Nutt was a most malign
retailer of penal law, and he prevailed on three other justices to
co-operate with him in order to sanction the rancour of persecution.
Other Constables besides Tettersell, also, were the too willing harpies
of oppression under the mask of law.

Fastened in the back cover of Deryk Carver's bible (the particulars of
which are in Chapter XVII.) is a permission signed by Lord Arlington, for
holding a Conventicle.  The mark where the royal seal had been affixed,
yet remains.  The following is a correct copy of the license:--

    (_The Regal Seal_.)

                                  CHARLES R.

    CHARLES, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and
    Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c.  To all Mayors, Bayliffs,
    Constables, and other Our Officers and Ministers, Civil and Military,
    whom it may concern, Greeting.  In pursuance of Our Declaration of
    the 15th of March, 1671-2.  We have allowed, and we do hereby allow
    of a Room or Rooms in the house of Elizabeth Hopdon, widd. of
    Gouldhurst in Kent, to be a place for the Use of such as do not
    conform to the Church of England, who are of the Perswasion commonly
    called presbyterian to meet and assemble in, in order to their
    publick Worship and Devotion.  And all and Singular Our Officers and
    Ministers, Ecclesiastical, Civil, and Military, whom it may concern,
    are to take due notice hereof: And they and every of them, are hereby
    strictly charged and required to hinder any tumult or disturbance,
    and to protect them in their Said Meetings and Assemblies.  Given at
    Our Court at Whitehall, the 9th day of December, in the 24th year of
    Our Reign, 1672.

                                                 By His Majesties Command,
                                                                ARLINGTON.

    Wi dd.  Hopdons house.

The Toleration Act, 1 Wm. and Mary, 1. c. 18, which exempted Dissenters
from the penalties of certain laws, was confirmed by statue 10 Anne, c.
2.




CHAPTER XX.
THE BIRDS AND THEIR HAUNTS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BRIGHTON.


The Sussex coast is a favourite locality for the greater portion of our
British Birds, more particularly the migratory species.  The high
headlands to the eastward seem to be a great attraction to them by day,
and, as a great many take nocturnal flight, the glare of light at night
sent high into the vault of the heavens from the gas lamps in the town of
Brighton, attracts a great number to this neighbourhood, and many rare
specimens have been obtained.  The migration of birds is a subject of
considerable interest in their natural history to the Ornithologist.  It
was formerly supposed that many birds, which now are known for a
certainty to migrate, retired to some secure retreat, and remained
dormant through the winter.  So general was this impression that in some
districts of England seven of the migratory birds obtained the names of
the seven sleepers.  The Cuckoo was one of these; and the Swallows were
supposed to lie up in a torpid state during the winter.  Most birds
migrate, and those which cross the seas are called "Birds of Passage."  A
great number of our birds remove as the cold weather sets in, from the
inland districts towards the sea shores, which afford them a better
supply of food.

In the Spring of the year--March and April--we have the greatest arrival of
our summer visitors, and it is astonishing with what order and
punctuality they arrive and depart.  They are the unerring messengers of
Spring; and, true to Nature's laws, arrive generally within a few days of
the time pointed out by the scientific observations of the Ornithologist.

The poets, from Chaucer downwards, have largely introduced birds into
their works.  Chaucer, in his "Assembly of Fowles," says--

    On every bough the birdis herd I syng.
    With voice of Angell in their harmonie.

Milton, in praising the nightingale, says--

                As the wakeful bird
    Sings darkling, and in shadiest covert hid,
    Tunes her nocturnal note.

Shakspear writes--

                   The poor wren,
    The most diminutive of buds, will fight;--
    Her young ones in her nest--against the owl.

Byron, in his "Bride of Abydos," says--

    There sings a bird unseen, but not remote,
          Invisible his airy wings,--
          But soft as harp, that Houri strings
    His long entrancing note.

Lord Erskine, in beautiful words, says--All our poets, from the greatest
to the least, from the first to the last, acknowledge by their writings
how much they owe to the productions of Nature, both animate and
inanimate.

The Golden Eagle--_Falco chrysaetos_--is mentioned by Yarrell, in his
"History of British Birds," as having been shot near Bexhill, but none of
our late writers on Ornithology have been able to authenticate the fact.
We have not been honoured with a visit from his imperial majesty the king
of birds.  Several specimens of the White-tailed Eagle--_Falco
albicilla_,--have been shot in the immediate neighbourhood, and the
parties have always fancied they have been lucky enough to obtain the
true Golden Eagle.  A gentleman from Brighton, being at Shoreham some
years ago, just after the landlord of the Dolphin Inn had shot what he
considered was the Golden Eagle, somewhat surprised the imagined lucky
shot by assuring him that it showed too much of its legs, and that it was
only an immature specimen of the Sea Eagle; and so it turned out.
Several others are likewise recorded as having been shot in this
neighbourhood.

The Osprey, or Fishing Hawk--_Falco halitus_,--has of late years been a
rare visitant in this vicinity, though several are authenticated as
having been shot here formerly.  They are occasional visitors along our
shores, but seldom go far inland for their prey, as they are true
fishermen, living entirely upon the fruits of their labour; and they are
very formidable, and powerfully winged birds, darting down from a great
height, like an arrow from a bow, upon their prey with unerring
certainty.  In North America they are welcomed in the Spring by the
fishermen, as the happy omen of the approach of herring, shad, &c., which
periodically arrive there on the coast, in prodigious shoals.

Eastward of Brighton, about fourteen miles, is Beachy Head, the home,
from time immemorial, of a pair of Peregrine Falcons--_Falco peregrinus_;
another pair is generally to be found in the high cliffs near Seaford.
This noble bird was the pride of our ancestors in their sporting
diversions, and was considered very valuable when possessed of the
particular qualities most in request.  Yarrell, in his "History of
British Birds," mentions that in the reign of James I. Sir Thomas Monson
is said to have given one thousand pounds for a cast (a couple) of these
hawks.  The high perpendicular cliffs at Beachy Head have always been a
favourite breeding place for the Peregrines, and where their young are
generally every year taken by a man whose companions let him over the
cliff by means of a derrick.  The derrick is simply a pole with a
sheave-wheel at one end of it, for the rope to pass over, and is run
about two feet over the edge of the cliff, and at the other end it has a
hole, through which an iron bar is passed and driven firmly into the
ground to keep it steady.  By this contrivance the man is lowered to the
required spot, and hauled up again in safety, and though the process has
been going on for many years, no instance is recorded of any accident
having occurred.  By this means also a great many of the eggs of the
Willock--_Uria troili_--and Razor bill--_Alca torda_,--are taken; these birds
breed here in great numbers every year.  The derrick is a familiar
machine to the smuggler, as it enables him to get his tubs very
expeditiously from the bottom to the top of the cliff, which is done by
several men on the beach taking hold of the end of the rope, and running
straight out with it, and then fastening on the tubs in clusters.
Sometimes they are brought up in this way four or five hundred feet.
These cliffs are likewise the resort and breeding places of a great many
Jackdaws--_Corvus monedula_.

Sixty years ago the Red Legged Crow, or Cornish Chough--_Pyrrhocorax
graculus_--was common here, though now the species is nearly or quite
extinct all along our southern shores.  A man, now between sixty and
seventy years of age, who has been in the constant habit of going nearly
all his life, to Beachy Head to catch prawns for a livelihood, says that
he remembers the Red-billed Daw perfectly well, and that the last he saw
there, was fifty-three or fifty-four years ago, and that he recollects to
this day the precise spot where he saw them.  There were seven in
company, and he describes their flight to be a succession of jerks, or in
the manner of a Dishwasher, which is very peculiar.  It was ninety years
ago that Gilbert White, of Selborne, recorded the fact of their abounding
at Beachy Head and all along the cliffs of the Sussex Coast.

A little to the westward of the highest part of the cliffs, upon a
projecting portion, called Beltout, stands Beachy Head lighthouse, a very
handsome and solid structure, built entirely of granite.  It is supposed
that it will last till the solid chalk cliff washes away from under it.
It stands about thirty yards from the edge of the perpendicular cliff,
which is here about one hundred and forty yards high, with the sea at
highwater washing its base.  It has a revolving light of three sides,
with ten argand lamps in each with highly polished reflectors, kept in
motion by machinery wound up like a clock, two or three times in a night.
It is managed by two light-keepers, whose duty is to keep the lamps
burning and revolving from sunset to sunrise, all the year round.  It has
no doubt been the means of saving numerous vessels from being lost upon
that once very dangerous part of the Sussex coast.

At the foot of the cliff, nearly under the Lighthouse, is a cave called
"Darby's Hole," said to have been cut out more than a hundred years ago,
by a clergyman of that name living at East Dean, a little village about a
mile-and-a-half off, for the philanthropic purpose of saving the lives of
shipwrecked sailors; and it is handed down as a fact that he had the
pleasure at one time of saving nearly a dozen poor men from a watery
grave.  Formerly, hardly a winter passed without three or four wrecks
occurring, which proved a great assistance to the poor villagers of East
Dean.  A laughable story is told of a wreck happening a great many years
ago, on a Sunday morning whilst most of the villagers were in church,
when a man wishing to inform some of his friends there of the
circumstance, quietly slipped in for that purpose, and it was soon
whispered from one to another that there was "a wreck," and they so kept
going out one after the other that the church got considerably thinned.
The clergyman seeing that he was likely to be left nearly alone, and
suspecting the cause, he in a loud audible voice said, "If there is a
wreck, say so, and let's all start fair."--The story goes that the news of
the wreck was rather a hoax than otherwise, as the fact of "a four-mast
vessel laden with wool and tallow ashore," proved to be nothing other
than the carcase of a South-down sheep washed up by the tide.

The lighthouse has a very pleasing effect when viewed by night from the
sea, and on a fine summer's evening, parties frequently make excursions
from Eastbourne and other places to visit it.  Being situate on the South
Downs the walk to it is most delightful, the turf being so very fine,
that it may be compared to a Turkey carpet, and in July and August the
air is highly fragrant with wild aromatic herbs, thyme, &c.  At the same
time of the year great quantities of those delicious birds,
Wheatears--_Sylvia oenanthe_,--arrive, and are scattered over the extensive
Downs in vast numbers, but not in flocks, as they are almost invariably
seen singly.  It is a great perquisite to the shepherds to catch them,
which they do by cutting out lines of traps in the turf in the form of a
T, and inverting the turf over a couple of horse-hair nooses.  Pennant
states, that in his time the numbers snared about Eastbourne amounted
annually to about one thousand eight hundred and forty dozen.  They are
called the English Ortolan, from their being so fat and plump and of such
a delicious flavour.  They are a great delicacy potted.  They are,
however, gradually lessening in numbers, year after year, so that it
hardly pays the shepherds now, for their time and trouble to get their
traps ready.

Along the whole range of the South Downs the Wheatear has its haunts,
especially about the vicinity of the Devil's Dyke, which is a place of
general rendezvous for sportsmen and pleasure-seekers.  It was formerly
known as the Poor Man's Wall, and even now, in its deep trenches,
exhibits the form and extent of a Roman encampment.

About five-and-forty years ago, in consequence of the large extent of
company that frequented the spot in summer-time, to view the vast expanse
of country which the site commands, Mr. Sharp, a confectioner, then
carrying on his business in North Street, on the spot now occupied by the
premises of Mr. Abrahams, outfitter, conceived the idea of establishing a
place for refreshment near the summit of the hill, and for that purpose
hired a piece of ground north of the high vallum which runs westward from
the top of the Dyke to the brow of the hill.  Thither he conveyed a
wooden house that had been used as a bacon shop by a man named Smith.  It
formerly stood upon wooden wheels opposite the shop of Mr. Hyam Lewis,
silversmith, in Ship Street Lane, now the upper end of Ship Street; but
it at present forms a dwelling place, under the hill, by the turnpike
road to Fulking, at the base of the Devil's Punch Bowl, close by the
village of Poynings.

The person who first superintended the Dyke establishment was Mr.
Russell, who was succeeded by Mr. Thomas Sturt.  His successor was Mr.
Thomas King, familiarly then and now known as "Tommy King," whose
refreshing beverages and exhilirating fiddling gave him a far and near
notoriety.  The premises were only occupied and opened during the Summer
season, from May to October; and although stabling and other
accommodation were constructed, in a few years the public requirements
induced the erection of the present building, the Dyke House, by Mr.
Hardwick, and it has successively passed from King to Mr. Edwards, of
Horsham, the tenant who obtained the spirit license; Mr. Ade, of
Huntingdon; Mr. William Cooper, of Brighton; Mr. Peter Barkshire, now of
Patcham; to its present occupier, Mr. William Thacker, who has been
landlord of the house, and tenant of the farm attached twenty-seven
years, during which period he has received the royal patronage of William
IV. and Her present Majesty and the late Prince Consort.  The house has
also been the resort of many illustrious foreign visitors, amongst whom
may be named Prince Metternich and Count Nesselrode.

The most notorious character who took up his abode here, was Azimullah
Khan, the great promoter of the Mutiny in India.  He was a resident in
Brighton during the Spring and Summer of 1846; but towards the latter end
of the Autumn of that year, by the alleged advice of his physician, he,
for three weeks, had apartments at the Dyke House; and during that time
he was constantly receiving and sending off Indian overland messengers
with enormous despatches, without doubt having reference to that shocking
revolt which will for ever remain an odious blot upon the history of our
East Indian dominions.  Azimullah was the Prime Minister of the arch
fiend, Nana Sahib; and though it might be saying too much in declaring
that the plan of the insurrection was decided upon at the Dyke House,
there is little doubt that the first copy of the proclamation was
prepared there.  Lieutenant Delafosse, one of the few survivors of the
Cawnpore massacre, on his return to England visited the Dyke, and there
assured Mr Thacker that he saw Azimullah on the river bank at Cawnpore,
in the company of Nana Sahib, waving his sword when the guns were
discharging their murderous balls into the boats which contained the
defenceless victims.

The steep sides of the Dyke have been the scenes of numerous accidents,
from persons having the temerity to run down them.  Some daring feats of
riding and driving have also been exhibited here.  The most memorable and
daring act was that of Tom Poole, who, for the wager of a champagne
dinner for twelve, drove a tandem down the most abrupt part.  It was most
cleverly accomplished, without the least accident; but that he might not
be disappointed in participating in the wagered repast,--in the event of
the loss of life or limb in the performance of the exploit,--he insisted
upon having the dinner before he undertook his task.  Many other
dare-devil tricks have been attempted here; and perhaps the most
remarkable is that related in what is familiarly known as the

                         LEGEND OF THE DEVIL'S DYKE.

    "Once upon a time, at the period of yore, in the days of mistletoe
    and harvest-homing, when our country merited the title of 'merrie
    England,' there was to be found on the edge of the South Downs,
    opposite the pleasant little village of Poynings, in Sussex, a humble
    hostel, or village Inn, yclept 'The Jolly Shepherd,' kept by one Dame
    Margery, who, in her younger days, had followed the camp, but had
    long since retired upon her reputation as a trooper's widow.  The
    accommodations of the 'Jolly Shepherd' would be held in slight repute
    in modern days, but in the time of which we are speaking they were
    reckoned all-sufficient, although consisting chiefly of a warm seat
    by a cheerful fire, fresh eggs and bacon, and good honest home-brewed
    ale; and accordingly some half-dozen rustic customers were seated
    round the widow's hearth, to escape the cutting blast of the Downs
    without, and commemorate the eve of Holy Saint John, within.
    Suddenly the song and the tale of the party were interrupted by a
    most mysterious knocking at the door, and a shrill, querulous voice
    demanding instant admittance.  The active old hostess hastened to
    obey, but made a kind of a jump, step, and hop backward, on beholding
    the unusual appearance of the new arrival, exclaiming, 'Lord preserve
    us! what is it?'  'A gentleman from below,' replied a little,
    decrepid, wizened old man,

    Whose coat was red, whose breeches were blue,
    With a little hole where a tail came through.

    He glided into the room and crept along by the wall, with the most
    infernal ceremony and politeness, to the inner recess of the chimney
    corner, without having once shown his back to his hostess or any of
    the good company there assembled, and quickly finding himself
    comfortably seated, the queer little old gentleman produced a
    blackened 'Dudeen' and a velvet tobacco pouch, but somehow or other
    the clouds of smoke he emitted were so pervaded with the smell of
    brimstone and bitumen, that the rest of the guests did nothing but
    sneeze and knock their heads together in a regular hob-and-nob
    fashion.  To stop this nuisance, the worthy hostess placed before her
    mysterious guest a frizzing hot dish of eggs and bacon, but upon
    tasting the same, he expressed his dissatisfaction, declaring it was
    as cold as charity, and demanding 'more pepper.'  He, upon receiving
    it, emptied the contents of the pepper-box over the dish, and having
    thus formed a regular _pate au diable_, he swallowed it down with
    considerable apparent relish.  With the ale it was pretty much the
    same; the hostess first mulled it, but her refractory guest declared
    it was as cold as ice; then she boiled it with a vast quantity of
    ginger, but with little better success, and it could only be brought
    to suit his fiery palate by being stirred up, when boiling, with a
    red hot poker.  These strange proceedings of the mysterious visitor
    mightily astonished the rest of the guests, their faces becoming much
    elongated; and after staring at each other in stupified bewilderment,
    they stealthily took to their homes, exclaiming, 'Did you ever see
    the Devil?'  The whole of the company had departed long ere the cause
    of their uneasiness left his chimney corner and glided to his
    sleeping apartment, which he managed to do in the same mysterious
    manner as he had entered the house, never once removing his back from
    the wall.  About three o'clock in the morning, our worthy hostess of
    'The Jolly Shepherd' was awakened from her balmy slumbers, by a
    strange thumping, bumping kind of noise just under her window,
    seeming to resemble the hubbub made by a shoal of whales or other
    such lumbering monsters, who had quitted the ocean deep, and taken to
    wallowing and gambolling along the Downs by way of pastime.  The
    trooper's widow possessed a bold heart, and, added thereto, she had a
    woman's curiosity, which induced her to creep out of bed, and
    cautiously to take a peep at what was going on.  She was amazed?  She
    did not behold half a dozen Leviathans having a game at leap-frog,
    nor the like number of griffins playing at snap-dragon.  No, no,
    nothing of that sort; but the queer little old gentleman aforesaid,
    mounted on a pair of lofty stilts, with a huge spade in his hand, was
    digging away at the edge of the ancient Roman encampment, like the
    very 'old-un,' shovelling out the chalk and flint stones by waggon
    loads, and his tail whisking about like a serpent in fits.  The bold
    hostess did not hail him to stop his digging.  Not she, good honest
    soul, as she was desirous of seeing a little clearer what he was
    about, before giving any alarm; so she quickly struck a light, and
    lest the candle should alarm her ancient guest, she caught up
    something to put before it, and this something fortunately happened
    to be a sieve.  Suddenly the old gentleman ceased working, looked up
    at the window, and when he saw the candle behind the seive,
    surmounted by the old woman's night cap, he exclaimed 'Oh!
    Beelzebub, the rising sun,' and folding his stilts across to form a
    spindle, he ducked his head forward and rolling himself into a ball
    like a hedgehog, he went bounding along the Downs with fearful
    rapidity.  The Right Rev. Rector of Poynings had been to a jolly
    christening, had made a wet night of it, and was endeavouring to
    navigate his road homewards, when he saw a sort of galvanized
    harlequin whirling and tumbling along straight towards him.  The Rev.
    Rector stopped short; when, just on passing, a sharp pointed sting
    was protruded from the rolling mass; and having slightly touched his
    Reverence's great toe, the whole ball exhaled, evaporated and
    vanished--_exit in fumo_.  The parish duties of Poynings were
    performed by the Curate for the next three months; the doctor said
    his Reverence was laid up with the gout, but the Rector himself
    maintained it was the Devil.  The question has ever since been, what
    could induce this queer old gentleman to set to work and dig away in
    such an outlandish fashion?  Some old gossips say that his evil
    intention was to let in the salt sea, and flood all this most
    beautiful valley of pleasant Sussex.  Be that as it may, one fact is
    worth noting, that the hostelry of 'The Jolly Shepherd,' from that
    period ceased its existence, and never, in the village of Poynings,
    since that night, when his Satanic Majesty was foiled, has a license
    been held by any person _again_ to 'sell spirits.'"

The largest attendance of visitors to the Dyke, is during the months of
August and September, when, frequently, as many as a hundred carriages
a-day arrive with parties, either to view the magnificent expanse of
scenery which the spot commands, or on pic-nic excursions, as the
establishment has accommodation for many sets of visitors at the same
time.  The predilection which the English have for displaying their wit
in snatches of their poetic genius, has, on the walls of the rooms, the
looking-glasses, and the panes of glass in the windows, extensive scope,
and signatures innumerable crowd every available spot.

    O! foul attempt to give a deathless lot
    To names ignoble, born to be forgot,
    In vain recorded.

The house being erected in so exposed and elevated a situation, one of
the highest of the South-Down range, damage by gales and storms is very
frequent.  From the loneliness of its position, too, burglars have made
various attempts to obtain spoil, but the reception they have always met
with has rendered their expeditions a trouble rather than a profit.  The
spot was especially chosen by the late Duke of St. Albans for his hawking
excursions, as it afforded an extensive range of sight to the numerous
company of nobility and gentry, who attended upon such occasions to
witness that old English pastime.  The Brighton Harriers, at least once a
week during the season, throw off here, and other packs make it their
place of meeting.

But to return to the more immediate subject of this Chapter, the
feathered tribe, from which there has been a slight digression, for the
record of facts that form an important link in the chain of local
history:

The Buzzard--_Falco buteo_,--is another of our indigenous birds, which has
nearly disappeared from this district, and what was many years ago called
the Common Buzzard is now very rare.  They were formerly frequently met
with among the furze near the edge of the cliffs, where they were
constantly at war with the Jackdaws.

The Black Redstart--_Sylvia tithys_,--is considered rare in this country;
but Brighton has been fortunate in affording several examples of this
handsome and graceful bird, which is a winter visitor.

The Common Redstart--_Sylvia phoenicurus_,--unlike his _confrere_, is a
summer visitor, generally arriving about the second week in April.  Their
migration seems to be gregarious, as they are to be met with in flocks of
ten or a dozen, close by the sea shore, a little to the westward of
Brighton, where they have apparently just arrived.  In a day or two, they
distribute themselves over the country, and are hardly ever seen again,
but singly, or at most in pairs.  This bird has several dark red feathers
on the rump, and the country people call it the Fire Tail.

The Grasshopper Warbler--_Sylvia locustella_,--is a very shy bird, and
consequently is very rarely seen.  It is a great ventriloquist, and its
note is exactly like the grasshopper, (hence its name), only very much
louder, and so very peculiar, that a person may be within a yard or two
of the bird, and yet be unable to define the exact spot.  It is not a
scarce bird, and several nests of it have been found at the Holm-bush,
and almost any fine evening in June it may be heard there.  Its haunts
are at the edges of large woods, in low scrubby bushes.

The Sedge Warbler--_Sylvia phragmitis_,--may be found in the Summer months
in the marshes that run up from Shoreham to Beeding.  It is one of our
night singing birds.

The Reed Wren or Reed Warbler--_Sylvia arundinacea_,--is found in precisely
the same locality as the last, and where, during the Summer months,
several of their extraordinary nests have been found.  They generally
prefer the ditches where the reeds grow the thickest.  In making their
nest, which is very deep, they bring three or four stout reeds together
with their materials, near the water, and it is so beautifully and
scientifically constructed, that in case of floods, the nest will rise up
the stems.  Any lover of Natural History, if he is not aware of the fact,
or seen their nests, would be delighted with the beautiful provision
which Nature here carries out.

The Nightingale--_Sylvia luscinia_,--is the most musical, most melancholy
of birds, the poet's bird,--_par excellence_.  On Poynings Common, through
May, they may be heard in the greatest perfection, where they tune their
melodious nocturnal love song through the livelong night.  They generally
arrive about the second week in April.

The Dartford Warbler--_Sylvia provincialis_,--is said by most writers on
British birds, to be extremely rare, but on the Downs, two or three miles
to the north-east of Newhaven, they have been seen among the furze.  They
have a propensity for keeping near the ground in the high furze, and a
great dislike to exhibit themselves.  They are local, and tolerably
abundant in their _habitat_.

There are five species of Wagtail that are visitors in the neighbourhood
of Brighton.  The White Wagtail--_Motacilla alba_,--so nearly resembles the
common Pied Wagtail--_Motacilla yarrellii_,--that to a common observer
there appears scarcely any difference.  The Gray Wagtail--_Motacilla
boarula_,--and the Grayheaded Wagtail--_Motacilla flava_,--are rare birds to
this country; but both have been shot in this locality.  The Yellow or
Rays Wagtail--_Motacilla campestris_,--is common in the Spring of the year,
and may be found by the edges of running streams.  To the eastward of
Brighton the whole family of the Wagtails are called Dishwashers.

Sky Larks--_Alauda arvensis_,--in October, come in large flights from the
east.  It is a favourite amusement with the Cockney sportsmen of
Brighton, on a nice sunshiny morning, to go just outside the town, with
what is called a lark glass, which is simply a piece of wood about a foot
long, planed like the ridge of a house, having small pieces of looking
glass let in the sides, and a wooden pin fitted in a socket or stump
which is firmly driven in the ground, and is set spinning backwards and
forwards by a string.  By this means the poor birds are decoyed down; and
they seem fascinated by the glitter of the glass, as they keep hovering
within a few feet of it, and are not easily driven away; consequently
they present easy marks for the shooter.  A dozen or more will hover over
the glass at one time, and a tolerable marksman will sometimes kill three
or four dozen of a morning.  The sport is generally over by half-past
nine or ten o'clock.  In the winter,--generally at the first fall of
snow,--immense flights of larks come coasting along, driven apparently
from the cold northern climes, towards the more genial west.  The numbers
that pass over Brighton are incredible, they sometimes extend to millions
a-day, as from early light to dusk there is a continued stream, at least
a quarter of a mile wide, passing along.  On the road to Rottingdean is
where the greatest flights may be observed.  They are apparently
continental visitors, coming across the German Ocean in a north-east
direction.  The flight seldom lasts more than two or three days.

The Ortolan Bunting--_Emberiza hortulana_,--has twice been obtained in and
near Brighton; but it is a very rare bird in this country.

The Hoopoe--_Upupa epops_,--the most beautiful of all our British birds, is
a frequent visitor in the Spring of the year to this part of the country.
In May, 1845, Mr Swaysland, Naturalist, Queen's Road, had to preserve and
mount six Hoopoes, which were killed within a few miles of Brighton.

The Great Norfolk Plover, or Stone Curlew--_OEdicnemus crepitans_,--is
becoming very scarce now, though formerly these birds were tolerably
abundant.  Their haunts were generally to be found among the large open
stony fallows of our downs.  They are like all the family of Charadriid,
very shy birds.

The Golden Plover--_Charadrius pluvialis_,--the Ringed
Dotterell--_Charadrius morinellus_,--the Grey Plover--_Vanellus
melanogaster_,--the Turnstone--_Strepsilas interpres_,--the
Sanderling--_Calidris arenaria_,--the Oystercatcher--_Hmatopus
ostralegus_,--are all, every year, to be met with in the little bays and
inlets, on the beach between Brighton and Shoreham Harbour; as are also
the Curlew--_Numenius arquata_,--the Whimbrel--_Numenius phopus_,--the
Red-hawk--_Totanus calidris_,--the Sandpiper--_Totanus hypoleucos_,--the
Greenhawk--_Totanus glottis_,--the Blackheaded Godwit--_Limosa melanura_.
The Ruff--_Machetes pugnax_,--is also found in the above locality, as well
as several other species of the Waders.  The Curlew Sandpiper--_Tringa
subarquata_,--and the Little Stint--_Tringa minuta_,--have both been killed
in the same place, though their visits are rare and far between.

The Gray Phalarope--_Phalaropus platyrhynchus_,--has occasionally been met
with, generally in flocks of from ten to fifteen, and upwards.  They are
nearly or quite the smallest web-footed birds that are known; their homes
are in the cold northern climes, and they are so unacquainted with man
and his terrible engines of destruction, that they are apparently tame.
Two gentlemen once fell in with a flock, in Shoreham Harbour, and killed
seventeen, being nearly or quite all there were.  They described them as
miniature ducks swimming swiftly about on the still water, and did not
attempt to escape; consequently they were all shot down.

In very severe winters, immense flocks of Wild Fowl fly near the shore,
from east to west, and a great many specimens of the Goose and Duck tribe
are obtained, some of them very rare to this county.  The Egyptian
Goose--_Anser gyptiacus_,--was shot a few miles from Brighton, two years
ago.  So rare is this beautiful bird considered, that there is still a
doubt amongst Ornithologists that the examples which have been met with,
have only strayed from gentlemen's parks, &c.  They have generally been
seen and shot in the severest winters, and are apparently a sort of
"frozen-out gardeners."

During the winter of 1860, owing to its severity, several specimens of
the Hooper--_Cygnus musicus_,--and Bewick's Swan--_Cygnus minor_,--were shot
in this neighbourhood.  A great many Swans were likewise observed flying
a little distance out at sea.

The Great Northern Diver--_Colymbus glacialis_--is occasionally met with,
as also the Black and Red Throated Diver--_Colymbus arcticus_,--and
_Colymbus septentrionalis_.

There are several species of Terns to be met with in this locality.  The
Gullbilled Tern--_Sterna angelica_,--and the Lesser Tern--_Sterna
minuta_,--are both rare, particularly the former, and have been shot near
Shoreham.  A few examples of the rare Little Gull--_Larus minutus_,--have
been shot near Brighton; likewise the Ivory Gull--_Larus eburneus_,--both
very rare.  Most of the common Gulls are abundant, being near their
breeding places.

Several specimens of The Forktailed Petrel--_Thalassidroma Leachii_,--and
of the Storm Petrel or Mother Carey's Chicken--_Thalassidroma
pelagica_,--have been obtained generally in the severest gales, about the
time of the Vernal and Autumnal equinoxes, when they have frequently been
found blown ashore, by stress of weather; and instances have occurred
here, when they have been picked up in areas of houses near the sea,
generally in a most exhausted state.

The House Sparrow,--_Fringilla domestica_,--is a well-known young
gentleman, that may be seen almost any day, at every man's door, whether
poor or rich, in town or in country.  He is the most familiar and
domesticated wild bird in England.  In town he puts on his black, dirty,
scavenger's dress, which completely disguises him,--his appearance being
so different from his _confreres_ in the country.  His destructiveness
among the newly sown seeds in the garden, and in the ripe standing wheat,
is proverbial;--but then, in the consumption of grubs and caterpillars, he
is eminently serviceable, which greatly compensates for the harm he may
do in the garden or in the field.

The Rook--_Corvus frugilegus_,--during the latter part of the Winter, the
whole of the Spring, and the former part of the Summer, takes up his
abode in the elm trees of the Pavilion Grounds, which form a breeding
colony in immediate connexion with the Rookery at Stanmer Park.  About
Christmas the Rooks arrive to reconnoitre, and in February they commence
building their nests, much to the entertainment of persons whose business
or pleasure takes them by way of the New Road.  For some few years
previous to the re-building of Union Street Chapel, in 1825, a pair of
Rooks annually took up their abode in a large elm tree which stood in the
small burial-ground of that place of worship.  The Jackdaw--_Corvus
monedula_,--and the Starling--_Sturnus vulgaris_,--in various parts of the
town are annual visitors, year after year occupying the same blank
chimneys or neglected gables.

All Naturalists attached to the scientific expeditions for the
exploration of the Arctic regions, speak of the myriads of water fowl met
with, in those immense reservoirs of snow and ice, the accumulation of
ages, where, in the midst of plenty, they rear their young, unmolested by
man.  There, amongst lagoons, and bays, and swamps, and lakes, and where
an impenetrable barrier is firmly fixed to the prying eye of man, they
find an asylum to propagate their different orders, and genus, and
species, surrounded by a profusion of food; and, at the end of the long
Summer day of weeks of unsetting sun, with instinctive knowledge they
gather together their separate families, in innumerable flocks, and
proceed southward, to replenish the warmer regions of the globe, and to
furnish man with some of the luxuries of life.

Brighton and its surrounding locality, including Lewes, have obtained
considerable repute amongst entomologists for producing a great many rare
insects, owing, no doubt, to there being several persevering and good
collectors in the district.

There are only sixty-four indigenous Butterflies in England,--certainly
very few when compared with the number of species found in Europe.  Of
those sixty-four, Brighton and its neighbourhood contribute forty-eight,
and of Moths,--of which there are upwards of two thousand found in
England,--nearly the same proportion.  It is a curious fact in Natural
History, that some families, which years ago were rare in England, have
now become common; and, others which were frequently met with, are very
rare; some species have disappeared altogether, while new ones,--owing to
the great addition and perseverance of collectors,--are every year
discovered and added to the lists.

The Holmbush,--about eight miles from Brighton, and the commencement of
the Weald of Sussex,--has hitherto been the great emporium for moths, and
a good many butterflies, particularly _the fritillaries_, whose resort is
in and near the large woods there.

A few years ago, the Wood White,--_Leucophasia sinapis_,--in June could be
found there in abundance.  Now the species is rarely seen, but, being a
denizen of the interior of the woods, and the woods all about there being
strictly _tabooed_, the collector has not the opportunity to get them he
formerly had.

The Green-veined White,--_Pieris napi_,--the pretty little Orange
Tip,--_Anthocharis cardamines_,--and the Brimstone Butterfly,--_Gonepteryx
rhamni_,--are common in that locality; but for the Clouded Yellows,--genus,
_Colias_,--Brighton must be closer approached in the clover fields, about
August.  They are of a rich golden colour, banded with black; and there
is a variety called _Helice_, which are considered a prize to any
entomologist.  _The_ great prize, the Queen of Spain,--_Argynnis
lathonia_,--_has_ been taken in a garden at Kemp Town; but like "Angels'
visits," they are very "few and far between."  The gorgeous Large
Copper,--_Polyommatus hippothoe_,--whose wings, edged with black, shine
like burnished gold, and cast into shade any colour which the device of
man can create,--was once plentiful in two counties of England,
Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire; but it is now considered by our best
entomologists extinct in this country.

The Purple Emperor,--_Apatura iris_,--may be seen in all his glory on a hot
Summer's day, the first week in August, in the above locality, soaring
round the high oaks, in all imaginable grandeur.  He is rightly termed
Emperor, as no other butterfly dares to invade his imperial aerial
realms.  His magnificent purple wings defy the highest skill of the
artist to imitate.  These simple, beautiful butterflies whisper in
reason's ear, truths, which, alas! humble the pride of man.  There is the
Painted Lady,--_Vanessa Cardui_,--but she will not do for the present
fashionable generation, as she does not wear crinoline, and her food is
of the most vulgar description,--the common thistle, from which she
derives her specific name.

The family of the Argus Butterflies,--the Hair Streaks,--genus
_Thecla_,--are of five distinct species, three of which are obtained near
Brighton.  Their haunts are likewise amongst the large oak trees, where
they play and gambol in the hot sunshine, the live-long day.  The last
family of the butterflies are the Skippers,--in science, _Hesperid_,--or,
to use the generic name for this family--_Hesperia_.  The first is the
Grizzle--_Syrichthus elveolus_, whose specific name means chequered, the
spots on the wings of the Imago, being somewhat like a chessboard, the
fore wings being black, interspersed with about fifteen or sixteen
squarish white spots.  The next is the Dingy Skipper--_Hesperia
paniscus_,--and then the Large Skipper--_Hesperia Sylvanus_,--from
"Sylvan,"--being found in the woods.  The Pearl Skipper--_Hesperia
Comma_,--takes its name from a mark on the fore wings, and is found in low
swampy situations, and in almost every locality for Butterflies.  Then,
there are the Small Skipper--_Hesperia Linia_,--and the Lulworth
Skipper--_Hesperia Acteon_.  The latter derives its English name from the
only place where it has been found, viz., near Lulworth Cove, on the
Dorsetshire Coast; and it receives its Latin name, Acteon, from his being
a great hunter.

This ends the list of the British Butterflies in the vicinity of
Brighton, with the exception of that which was taken by one of the most
honest and persevering collectors, in August, 1860, near Kemp Town.  No
one doubts of its being taken there, as several entomologists of the
highest respectability, saw it on the spot _alive_, immediately after it
was taken; but a very small clique of savans will not allow it to be put
on the list as a new British Butterfly, because they have a theoretic
fancy that it might be blown over from the coast of France, a distance of
nearly a hundred miles, across the English Channel.  The idea, however,
is absurd.  A little delicate butterfly, with all the appearance of
having just emerged from the chrysalis, to be blown that distance without
apparently ruffling a feather, is out of all character.  If it had been a
new bird that had been obtained on our shores, the ornithologists would
have been only too happy to have had the opportunity of adding it to
their list, as a new British species.

Mr. Edward Newman, of Bishopsgate Street, the great naturalist, and
prince of writers, and publisher of works on Natural History, has stood
sponsor to this new British Butterfly, and named it--The Brighton
Argos--_Lycaena Boetica_.

Bewick has expressed the wish that mankind could be prevailed upon to
read a few lessons from the great book of Nature, to see the wonders
which the Universe presents, and to reflect on the wisdom, the power, and
the goodness of the Great Creator that planned and formed the whole.

How necessary is it, then, that we should direct our attention to the
sowing of the seeds of knowledge in the minds of youth.  The great work
of forming the man cannot be begun too early; and agreeably with this
sentiment, how many writers are there who spend their lives in
contributing in various ways to turn the streams of instruction through
their proper channel into this most improvable soil,--taking children by
the hand, and directing their steps like guardian angels, in the outset
of life, to prevent their floundering on in ignorance to the end.  In
these undertakings the instructors of youth are often assisted by the
fertile genius of the artists, who supply their works with such
embellishments as serve to relieve the lengthened sameness of the way.
Among the many approved branches of instruction, the study of Natural
History holds a distinguished rank.  To enlarge upon the advantages which
are desirable from a knowledge of the Creation, is surely not necessary.
To become initiated into this knowledge is to become enamoured of its
charms; to attain the object in view requires but little previous study
or labour; the road which leads to it soon becomes strewed with flowers,
and ceases to fatigue; a flow is given to the imagination which banishes
early prejudices and expands the ideas, and an endless fund of the most
rational entertainment is spread out, that captivates the attention and
exalts the mind.  For the attainment of this science in any of its
various departments, the foundation may be laid, insensibly, in youth,
whereon a goodly superstructure of useful knowledge can easily be raised
at a more advanced period.  In whatever way, indeed, the varied objects
of this beautiful world are viewed, they are readily understood by the
contemplative mind, for they are found alike to be the visible works of
God.  The great book of Nature is amply spread out before mankind, and
could they but see how clearly the hand of Providence is in every page,
they would consider the faculty of reason as the distinguishing gift to
the human race, and use it as the guide of their lives.  They would find
their reward in a cheerful resignation of mind, in peace and happiness,
under the conscious persuasion that "a good naturalist cannot be a bad
man."




CHAPTER XXI.
THE WILD FLOWERS AND MOSSES ABOUT BRIGHTON.


To an unobservant eye the vicinity of Brighton possesses no wild
vegetable productions worthy of notice, and, apart from the cultivated
fields, all else appears a barren waste, save and except the short sweet
verdure whereon our favourite South-Down flocks luxuriate.  Upon peering,
however, into the hedgerows, and the waysides and the furrows, a volume
is opened to the student of Botany, and there is that whereon he may
sumptuously feast.  Fifty years since, the observation that "Brighton was
a place without trees," was a truism; but since then, irrespective of the
success in planting the Squares, Enclosures, Steines, and the ornamental
gardens of private residences in the town, where formerly, only hardy
tamarisk grew, belts and copses of thriving trees have reared their
towering heads, and the elm, fir, sycamore, horse-chesnut, larch, beech,
hazel, birch, hawthorn, and the holly and other evergreens, having, by
culture, become acclimatised, thrive so well as to induce the belief that
they are indigenous to the South East Coast.

Immediately along our sea-shore, to the westward, upon leaving the
grass-plot at Adelaide Crescent, a low trailing plant is met with, and is
more or less abundant at some distance beyond the reach of the tide, as
far as the lock of the Shoreham Harbour Canal, at Fishersgate.  It is
known as the Orach--_Atriplea postulcoides_,--and has succulent silvery
leaves, upon a woody stem.  The Yellow Horned Poppy--_Glacium luteum_,--is
equally abundant in the same localities, and a few years since was very
thriving on the sites of Adelaide Terrace, Mills's Terrace, and the
houses adjacent.  Its leaves are sea-green, and its flowers are of a pale
yellow, resulting in long seed pods.  It has a tap root, which, on being
broken, exudes an acrid juice.  A species of Samphire, or Jointed
Glasswort, grows in profusion about the pools in the vicinity of
Copperasgap.  It is gathered and pickled; but it is altogether of a
different character to the Samphire which is gathered on the cliffs of
the Isle of Wight, and at Dover.  Thrift Grass, about the wide expanse of
the beach in the vicinity of the Canal Basin, flourishes in extensive
patches, and its lilac flowers are a pleasing relief to the eye during
the bright rays of the meridian sun in Summer.  The most prolific plant
in this neighbourhood is the Stonecrop, known by the several names,
Ginger, Wall-pepper, and Gold-chain.  It is leafless, and grows as it
were, in links, from which issue golden flowers of dazzling brightness.
The vitality of this little plant is incredible, and, like the several
species of the _Cacti_, it absorbs and retains a vast amount of moisture.
It may be propagated from very small portions of the plant.  A dwarf kind
of the Bitter Sweet Nightshade--_Solanum dulcamara_,--abounds in the same
locality.  It differs from the Deadly Nightshade, the former having
purple flowers and yellow stamens; whereas the latter bears a large
cup-shaped flower.  The berries of both are poisonous.  A rough hairy
plant, the Viper's Bugloss--_Echium vulgare_,--also grows here.  It bears
large and handsome purple or blue flowers.  A very common plant along the
banks of the Canal, and likewise on the banks of the shelving cliffs,
between Hove and Kingston, is the Sea Starwort, or Michaelmas
Daisy--_Aster tripolium_.  It is of the same kind as that which formerly
was so common in flower gardens.  Another plant which grows abundantly
about here, is the Common Mallow--_Malva sylvestris_,--and bears purple
flowers, succeeded by seeds, well-known amongst children as "cheeses."
Formerly, the whole range of the dwarf cliff from Russell Street to Hove,
abounded with the Common Mallow, the leaves of which possess valuable
properties when boiled and applied as a poultice to whitlows.  There
also, as many an ass well knew, the Milk Thistle--_Carduus
marianus_,--which was formerly held sacred to the Virgin Mary, was very
prolific.  Specimens of it may be found now upon the banks south of the
turnpike road beyond Hove.  Some years since, some rare roots of this
superbly prickly plant protected the bank which forms the northern side
of the cricket ground belonging to Hove House School.  It may be known by
the white streaks on its leaves.  The unfinished embankment between the
Chain Pier and Kemp Town is a fine nursery for this thistle, emblematical
of the amazing quantity of the same species which occupied the rugged
slopes that formed some portions of the East Cliff, now the Marine
Parade, before the erection of the sea wall.

The other plants along the sea-side are the Wild Beetroot--_Beta
maritima_,--bearing greenish white flowers on a straggling stem, with a
large root; the Sea-side Campion, or Catchfly, a white trailing flower
with a globular calyx and dark stamens; the Starry-headed
Clover--_Trifolium stellatum_,--the Tree Mallow--_Lavater arborea_, and
three species of Plaintain--the Common Plaintain, with acorn shaped seeds
grouped up a rat-tailed stem, the kind given to birds; the Ribwort
Plantain, bearing similar seeds, borne in a cluster at the end of a
similar stem; and the Buck's-horn Plantain, so called from the irregular
shape of the leaves, resembling a stag's horn, with the seeds like the
other kinds.

In the fields in general, about Brighton, is the Scentless
Mayweed--_Matricaria inodorata_,--with a large radiating flower like a
daisy, having a yellow centre and white outside.  The simple, yet pretty
Daisy abounds about the general field herbage:

    Daisies, the flowers of lowly birth,
    Embroiderers of the carpet earth,
    That stud the velvet sod.

The most prolific source of the wild flowers near Brighton is the
plantation on the Dyke Road, upon the estate of Lady Ogle.  There

    The Violet in her greenwood bower,
       Where birchen boughs with hazels mingle,
    May boast herself the fairest flower,
       In glen, or copse, or forest dingle.

Both the Sweet Violet--_Viola odorata_,--and the Dog Violet--_Viola
canina_,--grow there, the latter in profusion.  The Wild Heartsease--_Viola
tricolor_,--is not to be found there; but it abounds in the hedge-rows
about Preston, where also the Sweet Violet may be found.  In this
plantation are the several kinds of Nightshade; the Bitter-sweet, as
before described; the Black Nightshade--_Solanum nigrum_,--a rare species
in this district; and the Deadly Nightshade--_Atropa belladonna_,--which
may be known by its large dark tobacco-leaf shaped leaves, cup-shaped
purple flowers, and cherry-like fruit, the produce of a root,

                       That takes the reason prisoner.

Considering the easy access to this plantation, and other copses where
this death-plant flourishes, and reflecting upon the natural proneness of
children to pilfer and consume all within their reach, when they are upon
their marauding expeditions, it is really surprising that there are not
numerous instances of poisoning by misadventure.  It can be but the
special Providence, which it is presumed watches over children, that
prevents the tasting of the forbidden fruit.

The Black Bryony--_Tamus communis_,--thrives here to perfection.  Its
flowers are of a greenish yellow, but its berries, like the Nightshade,
are poisonous.  The Geranium--_Geraniace_,--signifying Crane's Bill,--from
the seed vessel and pistil resembling a crane's head and bill,--may be
found here of three distinct species.  Each, being in its wild state, is
very diminutive; but they all are as perfect in their form and colours as
the most highly cultivated of the genus.  In the hedges by the London
Road, just beyond Preston, the Lewes Road, beyond the Cavalry Barracks,
and Preston Drove, the Dove's-foot Geranium,--_Geranium molle_,--vegetates.
Its flowers are pink or purple, and its leaves, which grow in clusters,
are flat, and velvety to the touch.

An English species of the Arum Lily is very common in this and other
plantations, and in the damp and shady hedge-rows to the north of
Brighton.  Its leaves are of a dark green, spotted with purple, and it
has, instead of a flower, a sort of leaf, containing a green spadix,
which is also purple.  The stem of this leaf has a ring of glands,
beneath which are anthers and ovaries, which, as the plant matures, are
succeeded by scarlet berries, that are commonly known as Lords and
Ladies.  The plant yields an acrid juice, which is very poisonous; and
about eighteen years since, a servant girl at the Synagogue, in
Devonshire place, unwittingly poisoned herself, in consequence of eating
some Lords and Ladies.  The juice, mixed with vinegar, was formerly taken
as an antidote against the plague, and even against other poisons.

The two species of Stitchwort, the Lesser--_Stellaria graminea_,--and the
Greater--_Stellaria holostea_, or satin flower,--grow on the bank by the
Dyke Road copse.  Both kinds are beautiful star-like wild flowers.  And,
a little further on, the Wild Marjoram--_Origanum vulgare_,--is very
plentiful amongst the furze that dots the green sward.  Buttercups and
cowslips grow plentifully in the Hove fields, and in the meadows which
abut the railway at Preston.

The three several species of Nettle are met with in various localities.
The largest is the Roman Nettle--_Urtica pilulifera_,--from the pill-like
shape of the flowers,--formidable in its appearance, and pungent to the
touch.  The next is the Common Nettle, with which most persons are
conversant; and the other species is the Burning Nettle--_Urtica
ureus_,--which grows about a foot high, and whose leaves are a very dark
green.  All these species have a venomous sting of a hair-like character,
which possesses at its root a poisonous bulb that discharges itself when
the sting is pressed gently.  When, however, the stings are grasped
firmly, the fine points become bent or broken, and are thus rendered
harmless.  They point upwards, so that if the hand be passed up the plant
briskly the sting is ineffectual.  The Dead Nettle--_Lamium album_,--has no
sting.  Its flowers are white, whereas the blossoms of the stinging
Nettles are green.

The hedge-rows of the Hove and Preston Droves are composed principally of
Brambles, Dog-wood, the Wild Rose, a species of willow, called Palm;
Black Horehound, Traveller's Joy, Alder, Ash, and Ivy.  By the pathway on
the upper road to Shoreham, and on the London, Ditchling, Lewes, and Dyke
roads, just upon the outskirts of Brighton, the Burdock--_Arctium
lappa_,--commonly called the Dock, thrives amidst burdens of dust.  The
flower is purple, and is thrown out from a ball, after the manner of the
bloom of the Corn Flower.  A thistle-like cone succeeds, and forms a
means for amusement to schoolboys, who gather them and stick them on
persons' clothes.

The Wall Pellitory--_Parietaria officinalis_,--which has reddish stalks and
flowers, and hairy leaves, yields a cooling extract.  It is found in
different localities, but does not require much nutriment for its dwarf
growth.  The Shepherd's Purse, so called from its heart-shaped seed pods,
resembling old-fashioned money purses, is found growing about most
hedged-in fields.  On many of the hillocks upon the meadow land Knot
Grass is very prevalent.  It may be found also amongst the vegetation
between the carriage road and pathway just beyond Preston.

On the Ditchling Road, and the Roman Encampment on Hollingbury Hill, Wild
Mignionette, Heath, Thyme, Gentian, Whitlow-grass, Carline and Plume
Thistle, and Hawkweed grow in profusion; and in the fields immediately
south of the pond there, Dandelion, Adam's Needles, Centaury,
Convolvulus, Yellow Snapdragon, Yarrow, Cockle, Perriwinkle, Poppy,
Milkwort, Dropwort, Cropwort, Fleabane, Yellowwort, Henbane, and
Groundsell form a pleasing diversity; while, in the copses contiguous,
the Rock Rose and the Sun Rose give their Summer refreshing odours.

In speaking of the Mosses in the vicinity of Brighton, the area will be
restricted to the range of the Downs in which the Town is placed, and the
coast line of the same distance.  Therefore, assuming the limit to be
bounded on the east by the Cliffs as far as Newhaven, and the Downs that
slope to the west side of the river Ouse, and gradually heighten until
passing Lewes, Offham and its chalk-pits are reached.  Following, then,
the base of the hills by the Devil's Dyke, and the Fulking Downs to
Beeding, and thence continuing the marginal line to Shoreham, a tract of
country will be embraced, that will be bounded on the south by the
sea-shore.  Thus, the sandstone plants, and those found in arenaceous
soil will be represented by the species from the banks on the beach, near
Aldrington Basin, and a few from the tertiary sandstone at Newhaven
Cliffs--chalk, clay, and argillaceous soils determining the remaining
species.

The list is as follows:--

Archidium phascoides.
Acaulon muticum.

  triquetrum.

  Flrkeanum.
Phascum rectum.

  curvicollum.

  cuspidatum.

  bryoides.

  var {~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}
Pleuridium subulatum.

  alternifolium.
Astomum crispum.
Gymnostomum microstomum.

  tortile.

  var {~GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA~} subcylindricum.
Weissia controversa.

  mucronata.
Seligeria calcarea.

  calcicola.
Dicranella varia.
Dicranum scoparium.

  palustre.
Ceratodon purpureus.
Pottia cavifolia.

  var {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~} gracilis.

  minutula.

  truncata.

  Heimii.
Anacalypta Starkeana.

  var  braehyodus.

  caespitosa.

  lanceolata.
Didymodon rubellus.

  luridus.
Trichostomum subulatum.

  mutabile.

  flavo-virens.

  tophaceum.

  flexicaule.
Tortula aloides.

  unguiculata.

  var {~GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA~} apiculata.

  fallax.

  vinealis.

  insulana.

  squarrosa.

  revaluta.

  Hornschuchiana.

  convoluta.

  muralis.

  subulata.

  laevipila.

  ruralis.

  rupestris.

  papillosa.
Encalypta streptocarpa.
Schistidium apocarpum.
Grimmia pulvinata.
Racomitrium canescens.
Orthotrichum saxatile.

  tenellum.

  affine.

  rupestre.

  Lyellii.

  diaphanum.

  leiocarpum.

  pulchellum.

  Ludwigii.
Ulota crispa.

  phyllantha.
Zygodon viridissimus.
Atrichum undulatum.
Polytrichum commune.

  piliferum.
Webera carnea.

  albicans.
Bryum pseudo-triquetrum.

  cernuum.

  inclinatum.

  intermedium.

  bimum.

  torquescens.

  capillare.

  var  flaccidum.

  Donianum.

  Billarderii.

  caespiticium.

  sanguineum.

  atropurpureum.

  argenteum.

  roseum.
Mnium affine.

  rostratum.

  hornum.

  undulatum.
Funaria hygrometrica.
Physcomitrium pyriforme.

  fasciculare.
Fissidens bryoides.

  adiantoides.

  taxifolius.
Leucodon sciuroides.
Cryphaea heteromalla.
Leptodon Smithii.
Neckera pumila.

  crispa.

  complanata.
Anomodon viticulosus.
Cylindrothecium Montagnei.
Homalothecium sericeum.
Thuidium tamariscinum.
Plagiothecium denticulatum.

  sylvaticum.
Rhyncostegium tenellum.
Rhyncostegium depressum.

  confertum.

  megapolitanum.
Thamnium alopecurum.
Eurynchium circinnatum.

  striatulum.

  striatum.

  praelongum.

  Swartzii.

  hians.

  pumilum.

  crassinervium.

  piliferum.
Isothecium myurum.
Brachythecium velutinum.

  rutabulum.

  campestre.

  glareosum.

  albicans.
Scleropodium illecebrum.
Camptothecium lutescens.
Amblystegium serpens.

  riparium.
Hypnum polymorphum.

  chrysophyllum.

  cupressiforme.

  resupinatum.

  molluscum.

  filicinum.

  cuspidatum.

  purum.
Hylocomium splendens.

  brevirostrum.

  squarrosum.

  loreum.

  triquetrum.

_Tortula Hornschuchiana_, _Orthotrichum rupestre_, and _Orthotrichum
Ludwigii_, _Bryum torquescens_, _Eurynchium circinnatum_, and _Eurynchium
striatulum_ have been found by Mr. Mitten only, about Woolsonbury Hill.

The plants growing on chalk, are: _Seligeria calcarea_, on inclined faces
of chalk pits, and occasionally on detached chalk.  _Seligeria
calcicola_, in similar situations on Woolsonbury.  This is nearly allied
to _Seligeria pusilla_, and has the capsule always ovate.  _Anacalypta
caespitoso_ in some seasons is in plenty on Woolsonbury.  Only two
localities are known in Sussex, and it is not found elsewhere in Britain.
_Bryum intermedium_ is frequent in chalk pits, and remarkable for having
the fruit on the same tuft in all stages of maturity.  _Encalypta
streptocarpa_, Woolsonbury, under beech trees.  _Neckera crispa_, on
Woolsonbury and Newtimber; in fruit on the first hill.  _Cylindrothecium
Montagnei_, Saddlescombe.  _Rhyncostegium depressum_, Newtimber woods.
_Hypnum polymorphum_, Patcham embankment.  _Hypnum chrysophyllum_, common
everywhere.  _Eurynchium circinnatum_, Clayton.

The clay summits of the hills, as at Woolsonbury, give _Phascum
alternifolium_ and _Weissia mucronata_, and _Physcomitrium fasciculare_
on Pyecombe downs.  _Racomitrium canescens_ is frequent in similar
localities, and fruited on Woolsonbury in December, 1858.  _Tortula
subulata_ and _Eurynchium hians_ are also frequent, the latter differing
from _Eurynchium Swartzii_, its near ally, in its wider, not acuminate,
leaves.

The stiff soils of the hills furnish _Phascum rectum_, _Phascum
curvicollum_, _Astomum crispum_, _Gymnostomum microstomum_, _Pottia
minutula_, _Anacalypta lanceolata_, _Didymodon luridus_, _Tortula
convoluta_, also _Phascum bryoides_ in disused roads.

A rivulet at Grin Gap, near Newhaven, with its miniature ravine, gives
_Webera albicans_, in fruit, _Trichostomum topnaceum_, and _Hypnum
riparium_.

On the cliffs, east of Brighton, are found _Acaulon triquetrum_, the only
British locality for this; also, _Gymnostomum tortile_, the _var
subcylindricum_ of which occurs on a hill near Greenway Station, _Phascum
curvicollum_, _Pottia cavifolia_, _Trichostomum mutabile_, and
_Trichostomum crispulum_.  _Anacalypta Starkeana_, _ brachyodus_, are
all frequent, and _Webera carnea_, at Black Rock.

The sides of Woolsonbury have numerous species, as follows;--_Phascum
bryoides var {~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}_, _Archidium phascoides_, _Fissidens adiantoides_,
_Dicranum palustre_, _Hypnum molluscum_, _Brachythecium glareosum_,
_Bryum bimum_, _Bryum pseudo-triquetrum_, _Bryum roseum_, and _Bryum
Billarderii_; this last plant is exceedingly rare.  It is the only known
British locality, and it is not known to have been gathered elsewhere
north of the Colosseum at Rome.

_Brachythecium campestre_ is common in fields among grass, differing from
_Brachythecium rutubulum_ by its gradually tapering, not suddenly
acuminate leaves.  _Bryum capillare  flaccidum_ is found in a field in
Newtimber valley.  On walls _Tortula vinealis_, _Tortula revoluta_,
_Tortula rupestris_, _Grimmia pulvinata_, _Orthotrichum saxatile_,
_Orthotrichum diaphanum_, and _Rhyncostegium tenellum_, are luxuriant;
but _Bryum sanguineum_ is rare.

In Poynings springs _Mnium affine_ and _Hypnum filicinum_ are frequent.
In the stubble fields at Aldrington are found _Acaulon Florkeanum_ and
_Acaulon muticum_, and in the near hedge-banks, _Anacalypta Starkeana_,
_Tortula insulana_, _Bryum Donianum_, _Scleropodium illecebrum_.  Once,
in November, 1858, the very rare fruit of _Eurynchium piliferum_ was
gathered.

Around Aldrington Basin are seen _Tortula ruralis_, _Tortula squarrosa_,
_Trichostomum flavo-virens_, _Pottia Heimii_, _Pottia cavifolia {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}
gracilis_, _Physcomitrium pyriforme_, _Bryum cernuum_, _Bryum
caespiticium_, _Bryum inclinatum_, _Bryum atropurpureum_, and
_Rhyncostegium megapolitanum_; also fertile _Brachythecium albicans_ and
_Camptothecium lutescens_.

In woods are _Bryum torquescens_, _Orthotrichum Lyellii_, _Orthotrichum
Ludwigii_, _Orthotrichum rupestre_, _Mnium hornum_, _Mnium rostratum_,
_Mnium undulatum_, _Anomodon viticulosus_, _Neckera pumila_, _Neckera
complanata_, _Isothecium myurum_, _Leucodon sciuroides_, _Cryphaea
heteromalla_, _Leptodon Smithii_, (fruiting at Poynings), _Plagiothecium
denticulatum_, _Plagiothecium sylvaticum_, _Eurynchium Swartzii_, and all
the species of _Hylocomium_: the last mentioned abundantly, with
capsules, at Clayton.  On detached ash trees at the feet of the hills,
_Orthotrichum tenellum_, _Orthotrichum pulchellum_, and _Tortula
papillosa_ are not unfrequent.  On beech stems about Woolsonbury,
_Zygodon viridissimus_ fruits freely, and a most diminutive state of
_Schistidium apocarpum_ is seen.

The Mosses already indicated are not the only species found on these
soils; for, on the Arundel Downs, precisely similar in formation to those
of our range, _Encalyta vulgaris_, _Antitrichia curtipendula_, _Thrudium
abietinum_ and some others may be met with.

In proof of the extreme beauty of the form of these objects and the
marvellous design of our Great Creator, a more positive instance of the
perfection of vegetable organization could not be adduced than _Acoulon
Florkeanum_.  Taking a single plant, radicles are found, corresponding to
roots in flowering plants, at the bottom of the stem.  Next rise the
overlapping leaves, disposed, for instance, as are those of the lettuce.
When these leaves are dissected off, the stem is exposed to view,
consisting of a pedicle with a capsule at the top, terminating in an
oblique apiculus or small point, and covered by a membrane, called a
calyptra, or hood.  And clustering around the base of the pedicle are the
sexual flowers.  The whole plant does not exceed the sixteenth of an inch
in height and width, the size of a small pin's head.

Thus, after enumerating most, if not all the Wild Flowers and Mosses
which attach themselves to the natural history of Brighton, we may say,

    Beautiful children of the glen and dell,--
       The dingle deep--the moorland stretching wide,
    And of the mossy fountain's sedgy side,
       Ye, o'er my heart have thrown a lovesome spell.
    And though the worldling, scorning way deride--
                                                       I love ye well.




CHAPTER XXII.
BRIGHTON CAMP AND THE TRAGEDIES OF GOLDSTONE BOTTOM.


The hills and the vales about Brighton, have more than a natural history
in connexion with the animal and vegetable kingdoms, to give them a
feature in the nation's chronicles.  Not the least important events have
been the Camps, lyrically handed to posterity by one of the most martial
and spirit-stirring pieces extant, the "Brighton Camp, or, the Girl I
left behind me," music that seems inherent to drums and fifes.

Although "Brighton Camp" is the familiar term used, it must be understood
that there have been several Camps held here.  The first was in 1793, and
was formed on Tuesday, August 13th.  The troops composing it the previous
morning at three o'clock, struck their tents on Ashdown Forest, from
which they marched at five, and reached Chailey Common at half-past
eleven.  There they pitched their tents for the night.  On the Tuesday
morning at four o'clock, they were again on the march, and at noon they
arrived on the hills over Brighton.  The baggage, part of the heavy
artillery, and the corps of artificers, marched by way of Lewes; but the
army in general, consisting of about 7,000 men, took their route over the
South Downs.  By two o'clock the Camp had formed in the presence of the
Prince of Wales, who met them as they came over the hill.  The left of
the encampment was close to the town, in Belle-Vue Field,--now Regency
square,--and stretched in a direct line along the coast.  The encampment,
which increased to 10,000 troops, was composed of regulars and militia,
and was continued, on account of some apprehensions of an invasion by the
New Republic of France, till the 28th of October.

As a matter of course, during the time of the encampment, there was a
Sham Fight.  Its plan was, an enemy attacking Brighton and the Camp.  The
enemy consisted of eight regiments of infantry, with their battalion
guns, under General Sir William Howe; while four battalions of infantry,
the light horse, and the mounted artillery, defended the country.
Brighton was denominated Dunkirk, and was of course taken by the British.
But one prisoner was captured, an officer of the East Middlesex, by his
own Major, after a stout resistance, for the offence of sitting on a
drum, during the inactivity that generally prevails for hours in the
field.  The officer was put under arrest, but the next day he was
liberated.

The Camp of 1794, was formed early in the summer, about a mile and a half
to the west of the town.  It consisted at first, of 7,000 men; but when
the harvest was got in, it was increased to nearly 15,000, as the militia
regiments were not called out till the crops were cleared, the men then
composing the militia corps being principally agricultural labourers.  On
the breaking up of this Camp many of the regiments remained in Barracks
at Brighton.  The Barracks then were in West Street, at the corner of
Little Russel Street, afterwards the Custom House; in North Street, on
property now known as the Unicorn Yard,--Windsor Street; and in Church
Street, the present Infantry Barracks.

Nothing of any particular importance took place during this Camp.  But
that of the following year will ever be memorable in the history of
Brighton, inasmuch as it is connected with the trial and execution of two
men and the flogging of several others for mutiny.  Not that the mutiny
took place here, but Brighton was the military head quarters of the
troops, hence the Court Martial was held in the town.

East Blatchington, near Newhaven, was the theatre of the disaffection,
arising from the shortness and bad quality of the bread and flour
supplied to the troops; in consequence of which, some men of the Oxford
Militia broke into the mill in the vicinity of the barracks, and also, in
a rebellious mood, emptied the contents of a vessel laden with corn, into
the river, at Newhaven.  The Court Martial was held at the Castle Tavern,
which occupied the site whereon now stand the buildings which form the
north-east corner of Castle Square.  The trial occupied eight days; and
ended in Edward Cooke,--termed Captain Cooke, from his taking the lead in
the mutiny,--and Henry Parish being found guilty and sentenced to be shot.
Six others were also convicted, but their sentence was only that they
should be flogged.  Much sympathy was shown by the inhabitants to the
poor fellows, who were each day marched under a strong escort, from the
guard house of the Battery, Artillery Place, to the Castle and back.
Many of the residents in Russell Street, every night and morning took
them provisions, which they were able to pass to them through the bars of
their airing ground; and on the morning of the execution of the sentence
upon them the wretched men were unable, from their emotion, to express
their thanks for the kindness the people showed them.

From the hour of four in the morning of the day appointed for them to
suffer, the whole lines of encampment were ordered to hold themselves in
readiness; at five, however, in the evening, the officers were given to
understand that the execution was countermanded for that day.  The cause
of this short respite was attributed to the absence of the Prince of
Wales's 10th Regiment of Light Dragoons, afterwards the 10th Hussars,
which did not march into Brighton till nine o'clock on the following
morning, and of course could not pitch their tents till late in the
evening.  When this regiment was seen on the march to their station, all
hopes of an expected reprieve seemed entirely to vanish.  The most
respectable people, however, of Brighton took this opportunity of one
day's delay, to repeat their petition in favour of the two men; but all
proved ineffectual, for early on the 13th June, 1795, the Oxford
Militia--the regiment to which the mutineers belonged,--began their march
from the Barracks at Blatchington to Brighton, to be made awful
spectators of their unhappy comrades' punishment, and to be their
executioners.  At four o'clock the whole were ordered to accompany them
from the ground to Goldstone Bottom, at which place they arrived about
five.  The six men--for there were thirteen mutineers,--that were sentenced
to be flogged, proceeded afterwards in a covered waggon, guarded by a
strong escort, which was composed of select men, picked from every
regiment of the line.  The two condemned to be shot followed in the rear
in an open cart, attended by the Rev. Mr. Dring, and guarded by a second
escort, under the command of Captain Leigh, of the 10th Regiment of Light
Dragoons, and one of the Captains belonging to the Lancashire Fencibles.
When they arrived, however, at the winding road which leads to Goldstone
Bottom,--or Vale,--which is surrounded by an eminence, both the escorts
were commanded to halt.  The six men sentenced to be flogged were then
taken from the covered waggon, and, having been marched through the
entire line, which was under arms to receive them, they were brought back
to a whipping-post, that was fixed in the centre of the different
regiments.  The drummers selected to flog them were men belonging to
their own corps.  To three of them were given three hundred lashes each.
This was the number they then received, as, from their long durance, and
consequent weakness, the surgeon pronounced that they could suffer no
more.  The fourth was then stripped, and, after being tied to the
flogging-post, was reprieved, as were also his two other comrades.

This part of the distressing ceremony being gone through, the two
unfortunate men condemned to be shot were taken from the cart and
marched, as the others had been, up the line, with this difference only,
of being conducted also through part of the outer line, which was
composed of the Prince's Regiment, and the Lancashire and Cinque Port
Fencibles.  They were then marched to the front of the Oxfordshire
Militia, where the coffins stood to receive their bodies, the Artillery
being planted on the right, with lighted matches, in the rear of the
Oxfordshire, to prevent any mutiny, if attempted, and the whole height
commanded by two thousand cavalry.

Cooke and Parish being conducted to the fatal spot, exchanged a few words
with the clergyman, and then kneeled, with the greatest composure and
firmness, on their coffins; the first time, however, they kneeled, it was
done the wrong way, but being placed in a proper situation they received
their death from a delinquent platoon of twelve of their own regiment, at
the distance only of six paces.  One of them was not quite dead when he
fell, and was therefore shot through the head with a pistol.  This,
however, was not the last awful ceremony the line had to experience; for,
to conclude the dreadful tragedy, every regiment on the ground was
ordered to file off past the bodies before they were suffered to be
enclosed in their coffins.  The whole scene was impressibly awful beyond
any spectacle of the kind ever exhibited.

No disturbance whatever resulted from the melancholy affair; everything
was conducted with the greatest solemnity and order: the awe and silence
that reigned on the occasion infused a terror, mingled with an equal
degree of pity, that was distressing beyond conception.  The Oxfordshire
Militia naturally experienced more afflicting sensations than any other
regiment on the ground.

Cooke and Parish were both young men, and behaved with uncommon firmness
and resignation; they marched through the lines with a steady step, and
regarded their coffins with an undaunted eye.

On the morning of his execution Cooke wrote to his brother a letter, the
original of which is in the possession of the author of this book.  It is
written in a free and bold style, very different to what might be
expected from a man under sentence and at the point of an ignominious
death.  The following is a correct copy, _verbatim et literatim_, of the
original:--

                                             Brighton, 13th of June, 1795.

    Dear Brother,--This comes with my kind Love to you, and I hope you be
    well.  I am brought very low and weak by long confinement and been in
    great trouble.  Dear Brother,--I am sentenced Death, and must Die on
    Saturday, the 13th of June; and I hope God Almighty will forgive me
    my Sins.  I never was no body's foe but my own, and that was in
    Drinking and breaking the Sabbath, and that is a great Sin.  I have
    prayed night and Day to the Almighty God to forgive me and take me to
    Heaven, and I hope my prayers be not in vain.  I am going to die for
    what the Redgment done; I am not afraid to meet Death, for I have
    done no harm to no person, and that is a great comfort to me: there
    is a just God in heaven that knows I am going to suffer innocently.
    Dear Brother,--I should be very glad to see you before I Depart this
    Life.  I hope God Almighty will be a Guardian over you and all my
    relations, and I hope we shall meet in heaven, where we shall be ever
    happy without End.  So no more from the hand of your ever loving and
    Dying Brother,

                                                             EDWARD COOKE.

A print extant of the execution of these misguided men, is in the
possession of Mr. Benjamin Kent, the landlord of the Good Intent Inn,
Russell Street.  It is thus inscribed:--

    "The Awful Scene or Ceremony of the Two Soldiers belonging to the
    Oxfordshire Militia, which were shot on June 13th, 1795, in a Vale,
    while in Camp at Brighton, by a party of the Oxfordshire Militia
    which were very Active in the late riots, the men appeared very
    composed and resigned, the party which shot them were much affected,
    Infantry, and Artillery, were drawn up in lines on the occasion."

The engraving, which is about 18 inches by 15 inches, represents the men
kneeling on their coffins, the figure signifying Cooke being in the
attitude of prayer, with clasped hands and a firm countenance; while
Parish, though with his hands clasped denoting his devotion, is dejected
in his general position and has downcast looks.  Three lines of four men
each are at "present," the front rank kneeling, while at each side of the
men to be executed is a man at "ready."  The Rev. Mr. Dring, who is in
his clerical robes, is departing from the scene towards the rising ground
to the right, at the foot of which is an infantry regiment at
"attention," with the 10th Regiment of Light Dragoons at then rear.  On
the crown of the hill are the civilians, male and female; in front of
whom, to the right, are soldiers formed in a circle, within which, at a
triangle, is a man undergoing the punishment of the lash, an officer,
evidently the surgeon, superintending the proceedings.  Immediately in
the rear are the tents of the encampment.

Thirteen regiments were present at the execution, which for nearly fifty
years was pointed out by the form of the coffins, the positions of the
men firing, and other incidents of the scene, being cut out in the turf
by the shepherd, whose innocent flocks browsed where so tragic an affair
occurred.  The plough has since obliterated all traces of the tragedy
from the spot.

A singular instance of the effect of nervous excitement is connected with
the execution.  The Rev. Mr. Dring, the Chaplain of the regiment, who
attended the culprits in their last moments, being a nervous man, and
having a great horror of the duty which he had to perform, made a special
request that after he had administered to them the last religious
consolation, he should have sufficient time to get beyond the sound of
the report of the fatal muskets before the order to fire was given.
Promise of compliance with his request was made; but either from his
tardy progress in leaving the spot, or a miscalculation of time, the word
of command was given, and the firing took place while he yet was within
hearing.  The effect upon him was that he fell to the ground, and never
after recovered the shock upon his nerves.

The bodies of the two mutineers were interred in Hove churchyard,
contiguous to the centre of the old north boundary wall, where their
remains continued undisturbed till the restoration of the Church, in
1834, when a saw-pit was dug at the actual spot, and a few of their bones
were exhumed.  The burying party was under Sergeant-Major Masters, who
afterwards was a publican at Witney.  The receipt for the burial fees on
the interment of the bodies is still retained by his family.  A few years
since, Mr. Samuel Thorncroft, the Assistant-Overseer of Brighton, being
at Witney, by chance called at Masters's house, when, the subject of the
execution of the two men being introduced, the receipt referred to was
shown him, and Masters stated that so infamously constructed were the
coffins in which the corpses were put that, notwithstanding they were
buried in their regimental attire, their blood oozed through the coffins
and ran down the backs of their comrades who conveyed them to their
grave.

The vicinity of Goldstone Bottom is memorable not only for these military
executions, but, also, for the hanging and gibbeting of two men, James
Rook and Edward Howell, on the 26th of April, 1793, just north of the Old
Shoreham road, beyond Hove Drove.  Their crime was robbing the mail, at
that time conveyed between Brighton and Shoreham by a lad, named John
Stephenson, on horseback.  The robbery took place on the night of the
30th of October, 1792.  What they took was of little value; and they used
no violence.  In a barn adjacent they broke open the letters and shared
their trifling contents.

Their apprehension was effected by an old woman, named Phoebe Hassell, who
happened, as was her frequent custom, to be taking some refreshment at
the Red Lion public house, at Old Shoreham, kept at that time by a man
named Penton, when Rook came in and ordered some beer.  In the course of
conversation with the persons present, the subject of the mail robbery
came up, and from some observations made by Rook, Phoebe, in her own mind,
was convinced that he was one of the party in the affair.  She in
consequence, went out and gave information of what had transpired to the
parish constable, Bartholomew Roberts, who was well acquainted with Rook,
then living with his mother in a small cottage close by, on the spot now
occupied by Adur Lodge.  On being taken into custody, Rook, whose age was
about 24, a simple, inoffensive fellow, who had been the dupe of his
companion in the crime, admitted the offence, and afforded such
intelligence as led to the apprehension of Howell, at Old Shoreham mill,
where, at the time, he was reading a pamplet to the miller.  Howell was
40 years old, and by trade a tailor.

Some of the stolen property was found upon them; and their identification
by the mail-boy being complete, they were committed from the Fountain
Inn, for trial at the Spring Assizes, at Horsham, when, being found
guilty, they were sentenced to be executed at the spot where the robbery
had been effected.  They were conveyed to Horsham on horseback, and for
their safe custody, not only were they handcuffed, and pinioned with
strong cords, but each had his legs roped together under the horse's
belly, and, besides the constable that accompanied them, there was a
military escort of four cavalry.

An immense concourse of spectators witnessed the execution of these
unfortunate men, whose bodies, according to the barbarous custom of the
times, were afterwards encased in an iron skeleton dress and gibbetted.
The disgusting sight of their decaying bodies remained some time a terror
to the timid, but a mark of recreation to the reckless and thoughtless,
who were accustomed to throw at them and practise many revolting tricks.

Many relics of the event remain in the possession of inhabitants of
Shoreham and Hove; Mr. Alderman Martin, in Brighton, has, at the present
time, a tobacco stopper which was made from the bone of a finger of Rook.

When, however, the elements had caused the clothes and the flesh to
decay, the aged mother of Rook, night after night, in all weathers,--and
the more tempestuous the weather the more frequent the visits,--made a
sacred pilgrimage to the lonely spot; and it was noticed that on her
return she always brought something away in her apron.  Upon being
watched, it was discovered that the bones of the hanging men were the
objects of her search, and as the wind and rain scattered them on the
ground she collected the relics, and conveyed them to her home, and when
the gibbets were stripped of their horrid burthen, in the dead silence of
the night she interred them, deposited in a chest, in the hallowed ground
of Old Shoreham Churchyard.

Besides being found guilty of robbing the mail, the Grand Jury, at the
same Assizes, returned a "True Bill" against James Rook, for horse
stealing; but he was not put upon his trial for that offence, in
consequence of being left for death upon the other charge.  The "Brief"
for the prosecution in the horse stealing case, now "held" by the author
of this book, runs thus:--

                          BRIEF for the Prosecutor.

    THE KING agst. JAMES ROOK

                                                     On the Prosecution of
                                                               JOHN BOYCE,
                                                       For Horse Stealing.

    INDICTMENT--STATES--That the Prisoner James Rook on the 31st of October
    1792 at the Parish of New Shoreham in the County of Sussex
    feloniously did steal take drive and carry away a Brown Gelding the
    property of John Boyce the elder of New Shoreham aforesaid.

                                    _Case_

    In the Afternoon of the 30th of October 1792 about 3 o'Clock John
    Taylor the Servant of the Prosecutor turned his Master's Brown Horse
    and another Horse into a field a short distance above the Street at
    Shoreham and fastened the Gate

    And the next Morning about 5 o'Clock he went to the Field in order to
    get the Horses up to Work when he found the Brown Horse missing.--On
    the Morning of the 1st of Novr. between 10 and 11 o'Clock the
    Prisoner was seen by Henry Strivens on the Prosecutor's Horse in
    company with one Edward Howell who came to water their horses at a
    Pond near a Barn at Perching belonging to Mr John Marchant about 3 or
    4 Miles from Shoreham Strivens says he had seen the Horse before and
    knew him but did not know at the time who he belonged to--On the
    Evening of the said 1st of Novr. John Stephenson the Boy who Carries
    the Mail from Steyning to Brighthelmston was stopped and robbed of
    the mail in Goldstone Bottom near Brighthelmston by the prisoner and
    Howell at which time the Prisoner was on Prosecutor's Horse which the
    Boy knew, having several times seen the Prosecutor's Man with the
    Horse and having seen the same horse in the Prosecutor's Field at New
    Shoreham both before and since the robbery.

                                  _Proofs_.

    JOHN TAYLOR.

    To prove that this witness (who is servant to the Prosecutor) about 3
    o'Clock in the Afternoon of the 31st of Octr. 1792 had the
    Prosecutor's Brown Horse with another up to the Field--That the next
    Morning about 5 o'Clock he went to get the Horses up to work when he
    found the Brown Horse missing . . . Call . . .

                               HENRY STRIVENS.

    To prove that between 10 and 11 o'Clock in the Morning of the 1st of
    Novr. 1792 as he was Threshing at a Barn at Perching about half a
    mile from the Hill and about 3 or 4 from Shoreham he saw two men the
    Prisoner and Howell come to a Pond to water their Horses within about
    forty yards of the Barn.  That the Prisoner was upon a large Brown
    Gelding with a Sprig Tail and a large Miller's Pad upon it.  That the
    next day he saw the Prisoner and Howell in custody on the Hill near
    Shoreham for robbing the mail and also saw the Horse on which the
    Prisoner Rode which he was informed belonged to the Prosecutor and
    was the one he had lost and which was the same the Prisoner was on
    when he and Howell came to Water their horses and to Prove that he
    has since seen the Horse at Prosecutor's at Shoreham . . .  Call

                               JOHN STEPHENSON.

    To prove that he was stopped and robbed of the Mail on the Evening of
    the first of Novr. 1792 by the Prisoner and another Man whom this
    Witness believes to be Howell at a place called Goldstone Bottom near
    Brighthelmston.  That the Prisoner was on the Prosecutor's Horse
    which he knew by having several times before seen the Prosecutor's
    Man with the Horse and having seen the horse several times in the
    Prosecutor's Field at New Shoreham both before and since the Robbery.

                                                    Call the Postboy . . .

The Brief, from the trial not having been proceeded with, is not endorsed
to any Counsel, but is marked "Brooker, Brighton," the original of the
firm, Messrs. Brooker and Penfold, now Messrs. Penfold and Son,
solicitors.

Phoebe Hassell, the person who was chiefly instrumental in bringing Rook
and Howell to justice, was a very celebrated character.  She was born at
Stepney, London, in March, 1713, of respectable parents, named Smith.  Of
her early life little is known; but the first incident of her remarkable
career, as related by herself to the compiler of this work, was her
falling in love with Samuel Golding, a private in the regiment known as
Kirke's Lambs.  Phoebe Smith then was but fifteen years of age, being, as
she used to remark, a fine lass for her years.  Golding's regiment being
ordered to the West Indies in 1728, such was Phoebe's attachment for him,
that, donning the garb of a man, she enlisted into the 5th regiment of
Foot, commanded by General Pearce, then under orders, also for the West
Indies, and embarked after him.  There she served for five years without
discovering herself to any one.  She was likewise at Monserrat, and would
have been in the action there, but her regiment did not reach the island
till after the battle was over.  Soon after her return to England her
regiment was ordered to join the forces under the Duke of Cumberland, on
the continent, and she was present at the battle of Fontenoy, May 1st,
1745, when she received a bayonet wound in her arm.  Golding's and her
regiment were afterwards at Gibraltar, where he got wounded, and was then
invalided home to Plymouth.  Phoebe then informed the Lady of General
Pearce of her sex and story, obtained her discharge, and was immediately
sent to England.  She went to the military hospital at Plymouth, with
letters of recommendation from her late Colonel, and there nursed
Golding; and when he came out of the hospital they were married, and
lived happily together for more than 20 years.  Golding had a pension
from Chelsea.

After but a short widowhood, she married William Hassell, of whom little
is known beyond what is recorded in the parish book of Brighton; extracts
from which will show that in 1792 they were in poverty, as at a meeting
of the Churchwardens and Overseers, held at the Castle Tavern, on the 5th
of December that year, it was:--"Ordered that Phoebe, the wife of William
Hassell, be paid three guineas to get their bed and netts, which they had
pledged to pay Dr. Henderson for medicine."

Hassell died about this period, and Phoebe then, by the assistance of a
few of the inhabitants, purchased a donkey, and travelled with fish and
other commodities to the villages westward; and it was on one of these
journeys that she obtained the capture of Rook and Howell for robbing the
mail.

The following minute appears in the Vestry book:--

    1797.--20th May, at a meeting of the Churchwardens and Overseers held
    at the Hen and Chickens, (now the Running Horse, King
    Street)--Ordered, that Phoebe Hassell's rent be paid from the present
    time, and that her weekly allowance be discontinued.

In the early part of the present century the infirmities of age began to
tell upon her, and, being no longer able to get about the country, she
was taken into Brighton Workhouse; from which, however, at her own
request, she was discharged in August, 1806, as a minute of the vestry
held on the 14th of that month states:--"That Phoebe Hassell be allowed a
pair of stockings and one change on leaving the poor-house."

After this period she obtained a subsistence by selling fruit,
bulls-eyes, pin-cushions, &c., at the bottom of the Marine Parade, near
Old Steine Street, where, in sunny weather, she used to sit in a chair
with her basket of wares beside her, and obtained a good amount of
custom.  Her costume would, at the present day, form a great attraction.
She wore a brown serge dress, a white apron,--always clean,--a black cloth
cloak with a hood, surmounted by a red spotted with white handkerchief.
Her head-dress was a black antique shaped bonnet over a mob cap.  Her
shoes were for service and not look, without any regard to "rights and
lefts;" and her hands and arms were usually encased in a pair of long
woollen mittens.  Her walking-stick, now in the possession of Mr. Edward
Blaker, of Portslade, was a serviceable piece of oak.

Hone, in The Year Book, date, Sept. 22, 1821, says, "I saw this woman
to-day in her bed, to which she is confined from having lost the use of
her limbs.  She has even now, old and withered as she is, a fine
character of countenance, and I should judge, from her present
appearance, must have had a fine though perhaps masculine style of head
when young.  I have seen many a woman, at the age of sixty or seventy
look older than she does under the load of 106 years of human life.  Her
checks are round, and seem firm, though ploughed with many a small
wrinkle.  Her eyes, though the sight is gone, are large and well formed.
As soon as it was announced that somebody had come to see her, she broke
the silence of her solitary thoughts and spoke.  She began in a
complaining tone, as if the remains of a strong and restless spirit were
impatient of the prison of a decaying and weak body.  'Other people die
and I cannot,' she said.  Upon exciting the recollection of her former
days, her energy seemed roused, and she spoke with emphasis.  Her voice
was strong for an old person, and I could easily believe her when, upon
being asked if her sex was not in danger of being discovered by her
voice, she replied that she always had a strong and manly voice.  She
appeared to take a pride in having kept her secret, declaring that she
told it to no man, woman, or child, during the time she was in the army;
'for you know, Sir, a drunken man and a child always tell the truth.  But
I told my secret to the ground.  I dug a hole that would hold a gallon,
and whispered it there.'  While I was with her the flies annoyed her
extremely: she drove them away with a fan, and said they seemed to smell
her out as one that was going to the grave.  She showed me a wound she
had received in her elbow by a bayonet.  She lamented the error of her
former ways, but excused it by saying, 'when you are at Rome, you must do
as Rome does.'  When she could not distinctly hear what was said, she
raised herself in the bed and thrust her head forward with impatient
energy.  She said, when the King, George IV,--saw her, he called her 'a
jolly old fellow.'  Though blind, she could discern a glimmering light,
and I was told would frequently state the time of day by the effect of
light."

Phoebe had nine children, but none of them attained any age except the
eldest son, who was a sailor, but she had neither seen nor heard of him
for many years prior to her decease.

On the 12th of August, 1814, at the festival which took place at the
Royal Cricket Ground, to commemorate the peace on Napoleon Buonaparte
retiring to Elba, Phoebe, as the "Oldest Inhabitant," sat on the left of
the Vicar, the Rev. Robert Carr, and was an interesting object, then 99
years of age, and many presents in silver and one pound notes found their
way to her from the opulent and enquiring part of the crowd.  On the
celebration of the Coronation of George IV., Phoebe, at the age of 107,
and totally blind, took part in the ceremonies, and was present on the
Level in a carriage with the Rev. B. Carr, (Vicar), and cheerfully joined
in the National Anthem.  This incident brought her into great notoriety;
and several ladies being struck with her appearance, and pleased with the
respectable character she bore, raised a subscription, each subscriber
being presented with Phoebe's likeness, beneath which was inscribed, "An
Industrious Woman living at Brighton, with very slender means of Support,
which she can only earn by selling the contents of her basket, for whose
assistance this Etching is sold."

For some few years previous to her decease, which took place on the 12th
of December, 1821, she was allowed half-a-guinea a-week by the King.  It
is related that His Majesty offered her a guinea a-week, but she refused
it, saying that half that sum was enough to maintain her.

Phoebe, in support of a good old Sussex custom, regularly, on St. Thomas's
Day, 21st of December, went out "Gooding," visiting well-to-do
parishioners, to gossip upon the past, over hot elderberry wine and plum
cake, and to receive doles, either in money or materials, to furnish home
comforts for the celebration of the festivities of Christmas.  One of her
places of call was the residence of Mr. Robert Ackerson, where the author
of this book has many a time and oft heard the old female warrior tell of
her deeds of arms.  She made a prediction that the wife of Mr. Ackerson
would live to a good old age; and so it came to pass, as, on Friday, the
2nd of February, 1855, she expired, being then in her 97th year. {181}
On the St. Thomas's Day previous to her decease, not one of her
pensioners, as she termed them, paid her a visit, they having all died
off, gone as she said, after Old Phoebe, and she felt assured that she
then should soon follow.

Mr. Hyam Lewis, father of Mr. Benjamin Lewis, silversmith and jeweller,
Ship Street, erected the tombstone in the Old Churchyard, which marks the
spot where the remains of Phoebe are deposited.




CHAPTER XXIII.
THE STEINE AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.


No part of Brighton has undergone so many changes during the last century
as the Steine, which was at first the drying-ground for fishermen's nets
and the "laying-up" place for such boats as were not in use at particular
fishing seasons of the year.  The term Steine is of Flemish origin, and
is derived from _Ein_, _Stein_, or _Steen_, a rock, as at the time when
the town received its Flemish colony, the southern extremity of the
valley in which Brighton lay was edged and protected from the sea by a
ledge of chalk rocks, and from these the name Steine, or rocky, was given
to the field or meadow, which was called the Steine Field.  The word is
generally, but erroneously written Steine, in conformity with the old
corrupt spelling of the Normans and Normanized English in this country.
"The final _e_," says Paul Dunvan, "which our ancestors borrowed from the
French language, was apposite to the genius and usage of the Saxon and
Teutonic: and in the modern English language, the use of it is admissible
in words of Saxon origin, only to denote the elongation of the preceding
vowel, or the liquidity of the letter _g_.  The obvious power, therefore,
of the dipthong _ei_ makes the attendance of this Norman lackey after the
Teutonic noun, Stein, or Steen, totally unnecessary."  The addition of
the final _e_ is a modern innovation, as on the Court Rolls of a Court
Baron, held for the Manor of Brighthelmston-Lewes, is the following
entry:--"March (27 Elizabeth) it is ordered, that no hog go unringed on
the Stein, where nets lie, under a penalty of eight-pence _toties
quoties_."

In 1779, according to a map of that date, the only building on the east
side of the Steine, was Thomas's Library; just to the north-west of
which, on the grass, was a slight erection much after the style of the
judge's stand at races.  This structure was the orchestra, in which the
town band, of three performers, discoursed their music under their
leader, Mr. Anthony Crook, whose instrument was the trombone.  The side
of the hill whereon St. James's Street, Edward Street, and the numerous
streets which swell the town to the east and north-east now stand, was,
"a delightful and rich tract of down, arable and pasture:" and in an old
print of Brighthelmston, in 1765, reapers are represented employed in
cutting and teams of oxen in carrying the crops on the ground now
occupied by the Marine Parade, Grand Parade, &c.  Thomas's Library was
the building now modernized and in the occupation of the Electric
Telegraph Company.  The Steine at that period was of much larger
dimensions than at present.  In Godwin's rental mention is made of "the
common pound of Brighthelston manor, together with a cottage and garden
adjoining the said pound, situate on the Steine on the west side of East
Street;" and in the same rental a bowling-green on the Steine is
occasionally mentioned.

In tempestuous weather and during the winter, the boats of the fishermen
were hauled up for safety on the Steine.  A Diarist, dating his
memorandum, Wednesday, September 8th, 1778, says, "An old well is half
open among the boats; a little child has just now waddled off the Steyne
towards it.  I ran to prevent mischief, and succeeded.--Have remonstrated
against this dangerous neglect in vain.  There are one dry and two wet
wells open thereabouts.  When a child of fortune or two shall have been
lost therein, the wells may be boarded over.--The Commissioners by the Act
have sufficient powers, and collect money enough to answer its purposes;
yet the Cliff-side is all along covered with rubbish, offensive to the
sight and smell.  Indeed, there is no occasion to search much for
nuisances, obstructions, and inconveniences, in this place.--_Mem._--Since
the above complaint, some loose boards have been laid across one of the
wet wells."

In the time of Elizabeth, and even at a more recent date, the inhabitants
were wholly supplied with water from the public wells, which were town
property, under the control of the Lords of the different Manors.  Thus,
at a Court Baron held for the Manor of Brighthelmston-Lewes, in October
(20 Elizabeth) a bye-law was made that nothing should be laid within four
feet of any well within the said Manor.  On the Court Rolls, also, of the
same Manor, appears the following:--"April (19 Jac.) it is ordered at the
Court-Leet, that a building which Richard Scrase, gentleman, has erected
over the common well in the upper end of North Street, shall not convey
to the said Scrase, or his heirs, any right in the said well, more than
as an inhabitant."  This well remained in use till within the last few
years, and was known as the Unicorn Yard well, and was situate in the
present space immediately in front of Blaber's eating-house, at the south
end of Windsor Street.  Another well was in West Street, in the water
channel before the premises now occupied by Mr. Feldwick, cabinet maker.
The curb of it was raised, on a brick-work platform, around which was the
main watercourse of the street.  About eighty years ago, in consequence
of the well becoming an impediment to the increased traffic in the
street, and being but little used, it was domed over, and for some years
a square stone at the edge of the pavement marked its site.  The other
town wells still in use by means of pumps, are on the Knab; in East
Street, by the Sussex Arms, formerly the Spread Eagle; in Market Street,
opposite Payne's Hotel; and in Pool Valley, adjoining the Duke of
Wellington Inn.  The well situate just without the poultry portion of the
Market, and likewise the one in Little East Street, from being put out of
use by the service of the Water Company, have been closed over, as has
also the great northern well which but a few years since supplied a large
tank that was erected on the area between St. Peter's Church Enclosure
and the Level, for the street watering service.  The remaining town wells
and their pumping gear, now out of use, are situate, one at the Grafton
Street Police Station, and the other under the roadway at the entrance to
the Pier Esplanade, at the bottom of the Steine.  The pump of the last
mentioned well, about forty years since, was worked by a donkey, which
traversed, "on the getting up stairs" principle, the interior of a wheel
that was fitted to the groyne.  On a brisk March day, however, when the
wind was blowing up more of the dust of that month than is proverbially
required to be equal in worth with a king's ransom, while the machinery
was working under the influence of the usual propelling power, Old Father
Neptune, as if envious of the poor animal's dominion over the aqueous
element, mounted a foaming billow and rushed into the wheel after the
donkey.  Neddy's good genius, who was in constant attendance upon
him,--just to sharpen his appetite for work when he felt disposed for a
rest,--luckily superseded the design of the mythological sovereign of the
deep, by whipping-out his quadruped friend, before the turbulent king
could lash around him.  This increased the rage of Neptune, who, on
retiring to his deep abode, bodily tore away the wheel and its fixings.

Previous to the supply from the town pumps, the water for the streets was
obtained from the sea.  The water carts then were of the most primitive
description, and consisted of barrels on wheels, similar to those now in
use for the conveyance of water upon farms.  But they had in addition,
fixed at the backs of them, an oblong perforated box each, for the
distribution of the water, which was supplied from the barrels by pulling
out plugs of wood that projected into the boxes.  The barrels were filled
by backing them some distance into the sea, when the water was lifted
into funnels fitted to the bung holes, by a species of scoop at the end
of a pole, the operator of this intelligent process the while, standing
on the shafts of the carts, or Bacchus like, and hare-legged, bestriding
the barrels.

The Steine then was entirely open, and was a country walk for visitors.
That is to say, in the Spring, Summer, and Autumn; as in Winter time,
from its then lying very hollow, the southern part was generally flooded,
and in severe weather the sheet of ice which was there formed was a
general rendezvous for sliding and skating.  When fashion made the Steine
a place of public resort, attention was paid by the town authorities, to
make it in some degree, attractive.  The ground was made level, and
verdure was encouraged to ornament it.  On it the old Duke of Cumberland,
of Fontenoy, delighted to turn out the stag and hunt the bounding deer,
as the place was entirely open to the full extent of the Downs; and the
inhabitants were gratified with repeated spectacles of the kind,
sometimes as often as twice or thrice in a season.

Sports of a less aristocratic character sometimes took place here, as the
following extract from the _Morning Herald_ will verify:--

    1805, September 11th.--A pony race on the Level, this morning afforded
    much diversion to a very numerous assemblage of spectators.  After
    this, donkey races took place: seven started for the first heat, and
    what is very singular, two, on this starting, ran a _dead heat_; a
    circumstance, probably, with quadrupeds of this sluggish tribe, never
    recorded in the annals of sporting.  The donkies having performed
    their task, the company removed to the Steyne, to the South, where
    _jumping in sacks_, and a jingling match kept hilarity alive for
    about two hours longer.

There were Jenkinses of the Press even at this period, who watched with
keen eye the doings of royalty, and of the nobility, as will be seen by
the following extracts:--

    _Morning Herald_, August 9, 1805.--This morning, the Prince of Wales
    and the Duke of Sussex honoured the Steyne Promenade with their
    presence, and for a short time before dinner, rode on horseback.  Mr.
    Mellish drove Lord Barrymore's curricle two or three times round the
    Steyne, this morning.  The quartern loaf here, now sells for one
    shilling and six pence.

    August 19th.--The Duke of Sussex rode out in an open barouche and
    amused himself in smoking a pipe.

The following are also extracts from a private diary kept in 1805:--

    August 4th.--The Cliff Parade, from the South end of the Steine to the
    unfinished Crescent, displayed much genteel company this afternoon.
    The Cyprian Corps have much increased in number within the last two
    or three days.  We have now _little French Milliners_ in every part
    of the town.

    August 27th.--Townshend and Sayers, two Bow Street officers, arrived
    here this morning, in quest of an individual who has been guilty of a
    burglary in the metropolis.  They had been here but a short time when
    the object they were in search of, in a laced livery, was descried by
    them in the act of crossing the Steine.  They took him into custody,
    and having ornamented his wrists with a pair of iron ruffles, they
    bore him off in triumph to London.

    September 19th.--About half-past one o'clock the Prince of Wales
    returned from a walk to the west of the Steine, to the Pavilion.  His
    Royal Highness, who was habited in a black coat and waistcoat, and
    nankeen pantaloons, appeared rather lame from the recent hurt he had
    received in his ankle.  He walked with a stick, of sufficient
    dimensions occasionally to bear his weight.

    September 26th.--The Duke of Clarence was to-day, for a short time, on
    the Steine.  Some of His Highness's sons are at this time here, and
    were under the military instructions of a sergeant of the South
    Gloucester Militia this morning on the Pavilion lawn.

The Steine was first partially enclosed with common hurdles; then it was
partly paved and railed in.  At last the present massive iron railings
were erected.  But not as they at present stand.  They surrounded a much
larger area, and the lamp-posts were the main standards, the rails being
fastened in them.  At that period the paving around the Steine, under the
then Town Surveyor, Mr. Thomas Harman, was considered a masterpiece of
the art of paving in brick.  Previous to this improvement, there was no
carriage road completely round the Steine, vehicles of every description,
from Castle Square to Prince's Street, having to pass down the west of
the Steine and Pool Valley, along at the back of the York Hotel, up the
east of the Steine, and by way of the back of (now) the Telegraph Office,
down St. James's Street, and then along by the eastern side of the north
Steine, as posts erected across from the Castle Tavern to the Steine
railings admitted only of foot-traffic, and the coaches for London and
Lewes went from Castle Square by way of North Street, New Road, Church
Street, &c.  The road across from Castle Square to St. James's Street was
effected on Easter Monday, March 31st, 1834, and appeared to be a work of
magic, as the long-desired improvement had met with opposition from
parties who feared the alteration would affect their interest in property
from which the traffic would be diverted.  The resolution was passed by
the Commissioners, and on the day above-mentioned, the "trick" was done,
although the opposition hastened to town to procure an injunction from
the Lord Chancellor; as it so happened, that it was the Easter vacation,
so his Lordship could not he approached till all the alterations had been
performed.  On the reinstating of the iron railings, the lamp-posts were
placed at the edge of the pavement, as hitherto, half of the light from
the lamps had been cast on the space within the railings, where it was
not required.  The posts still show the holes through which the iron
railings passed when they were in their original position.

The chief modern features on the Old Steine are the statue of George IV.,
the Fountain, and the Russian guns.  The first was put up on the 11th of
October, 1828.  The idea of its erection originated with a party of
tradesmen, who were accustomed to assemble nightly at the King's Arms,
George Street; but a subscription which remained open for more than eight
years and a half did not provide the sum, 3,000, agreed to be paid
Chantry for his artistic skill.  The Fountain, known as the Victoria
Fountain, was also erected by subscription, procured through the
indefatigable exertions of Mr. Cordy Burrows, to whom also the credit is
due for the planting of the Steines with flowers and trees.  The Fountain
was inaugurated on the 25th of May, 1846.  The design of the structure
was furnished by Mr. Henry Wilds, the model of the dolphins by Mr.
William Pepper, and the ironwork was cast at the Eagle Foundry.  The
rock-work upon which the dolphins rest is formed of huge sand-stones,
called in Wiltshire and Berkshire, "Grey Weathers," and breccia, or
pudding-stone, which for lengthened periods had lain in Goldstone Bottom,
on the Dyke Road, and fields adjacent, by many persons considered to be
the remains of Druidical temples or altars.  But such a notion must be
fallacious, as, at a very recent date, similar accumulations of
sand-stone have been dug up about the western part of Brighton, where the
soil exhibits many irregularities which geologists are unable to account
for.  An instance of this occurred in digging out the ground for the
foundation of the tower of All Saints' Church, Buckingham Place, the soil
to a considerable depth at one particular spot, being so loose and
treacherous that great ingenuity and care had to be observed--attended
with great expense,--by Messrs. Cheesman and Son, the builders, to make
the foundation secure.  A stone also, of the character termed Druidical
_cromlech_, was dug out while preparing for the foundation of the present
Brighton Workhouse, and was used for the corner stone of the building.
In excavating the ground likewise, in 1823, for laying in the gas-pipes
across the Steine, from Castle Square to the corner of the Marine Parade,
huge unshapen blocks of a like character were turned up.  The last
memento on the Steine, the Russian guns, are relics of the siege of
Sebastopol.

The old maps shew a piece of water on the Steine, between the Castle
Tavern and the Pavilion, formed by the spring which rose at Patcham and
used to flow by the Pool--Pool Valley.  In the year 1793, the Prince of
Wales and the Duke of Marlborough, whose house stood at the north end of
the Marine Pavilion, made an arched sewer along the Steine, to carry away
this water into the sea, and, in consideration of the expense and
improvement, the Lords of the Manor, with consent of the homage, gave his
Royal Highness and the Duke permission to rail in or enclose a certain
portion of the Steine, adjoining their houses respectively, but never to
build on or encumber it with any thing that might obstruct the prospect,
or in any other way be a nuisance to the Steine.  A barn which stood at
this spot, the property of Mr. Howell, as shewn in the view of the
Steine, 1765, was moved, at the request of the Prince of Wales, to the
top of Church Street, into the field whereon also stood the Infantry
Barracks Hospital, a wooden building that occupied the site of the
Hanover Chapel Burial Ground.  There were two main entrances to the
sewer.  One was about the centre of the road,--along which the water
channel ran,--opposite the Pavilion Parade; and the other was in the
roadway immediately to the east of the entrance to Castle Square from the
Steine.  Each was protected by a wooden railing in a triangular form.
The sewer discharged itself by means of a square wooden trunk at the back
of Williams's Baths, now the south front of the Lion Mansion.

In 1785-6, the first houses on the South Parade, the east side of the
Steine south of St. James's Street, began to be erected, and in a few
years the whole of them, as well as the extensive range of buildings
which forms the North Parade, were completed.

Mrs. Fitzherbert's mansion, now the residence of W. Furner, Esq., the
Judge of the County Court of this district, adjoining the present mansion
of Captain Thellusson, was built in 1804.  On the site now occupied by
the square block of buildings that form the north-east corner of Castle
Square, about forty years since, stood the Castle Tavern, which had been
one of the chief rendezvous of royalty, the nobility, and the gentry.  It
was originally a very small house, but being considered the best in the
town for a tavern, it was purchased by Mr. Shergold, who opened it under
the sign of the Castle, in 1755.  Such was its success, in consequence of
the increase of visitors to the town, that, in 1776, Messrs. Tilt and
Best joined him in partnership, and the premises were greatly extended.
In 1790, the other parties having given up the business, Mr. Tilt carried
on the undertaking, and he was succeeded by his widow.  In 1814, Messrs.
Gilburd and Harryett became the proprietors.  It attained the acme of its
celebrity when in the hands of Mr. Tilt, who attached to the
establishment an elegant suite of Assembly and Concert Rooms, built with
great taste and judgment by Mr. Crunden, of Park Street, London, in 1776.
The Ball Room was rectangular, 80 feet by 40 feet, with recesses at each
end and side, 16 feet by 4 feet, decorated with columns corresponding
with the pilasters which were continued round the room, dividing the
sides and ends into a variety of compartments, ornamented with paintings
from the Admirander and the Vatican, representing a portion of the story
of Cupid and Psyche, and the Aldrobrandini marriage; with air-nymphs and
divers other figures, in the ancient grotesque style.  The ceiling was
curved, and formed an arch of one fifth of the height of the room, which
was 35 feet.  Over the entablature, at each end of the room, was a large
painting; the one a representation of Aurora, and the other a figure of
Nox.  In 1814, a beautifully toned organ by Flight and Robson was erected
at the north end of the room.

In the season, from August to March, Assemblies were held every Monday.
These were under the management of Masters of the Ceremonies, the first
of whom were, in 1805, Mr. Yart at the Old Ship, and Mr. William Wade at
the Castle.  They were succeeded by Mr. J. S. Forth, in 1808.  He acted
in the same capacity at the Old Ship and the Castle Assemblies.
Lieut.-Col. Eld succeeded Mr. Forth, and at his decease, December 22nd,
1855, the office fell into disuse; in fact, for some years previous to
the decease of the Colonel his services were rarely required, the
progress of the age having rendered such an office null and void.  The
duties of the Masters of the Ceremonies consisted in watching minutely
the arrival of the nobility and gentry.  For this purpose he attended the
Libraries and Hotels regularly once or more a-day to copy the lists of
the latest visitors, at whose addresses he then called and left his card,
a hint that they should enter their names in his book, which lay at the
principal places of fashionable resort, and with each entry deposit a
guinea with the custodian of the M.C.'s book, who received a per centage
for his trouble and attention.  The payment of the fee ensured a mutual
recognition upon all occasions of meeting between the giver and the
receiver during that visit of the donor at Brighton, and, on the
occasions of balls and assemblies, he was expected to make all the
necessary arrangements, and for dances provide all unprovided ladies and
gentlemen with partners.  Masters of the Ceremonies originated at a
period when balls and routs terminated at ten o'clock in the evening,
when "We won't go home till morning," had not come into vogue, but the
sedan chair of "my lady" was in punctual attendance, and the fair burden
was wafted home to admit of repose before midnight, and to give the
sterner sex an opportunity for a carouse or a spree.

The following is an extract from a private diary:--"July 30th, 1805.  This
evening, at nine o'clock, the first assembly of the season, the Grand
Rose Ball, was held at the Castle Inn, under the patronage of the Prince
of Wales.  The Ball Room is large, lofty, and noble, and commands a full
view of the Steyne; looks, also, into the Pavilion Gardens, the beautiful
shrubberies of which are worthy of the Royal resident.  The ceiling forms
an arch, and is painted to represent the rising sun.  Every part of the
room is ornamented with various masterly paintings of classical
antiquity.  It was lighted up in a superior style, suited to the dignity
of the guests, with three cut-glass chandeliers, 100 lights, and forty
lustres and side-lights.  The Prince entered the room at half-past nine,
and at ten o'clock the Ball opened."

During the erection of the Royal Stables, in Church Street, in 1809, a
carpenter, who lived in Jew Street, named John Butcher, uncle to Mr.
Butcher, of the present firm, Messrs. Cheesman and Butcher, chinamen,
North Street, accidentally fell and injured himself.  Upon his recovery,
not being able to resume the heavy work of his trade, he constructed a
machine of a similar make to the sedan chair, and placed it upon four
wheels.  It was drawn by hand, in the same manner as Bath chairs, while
an assistant, when the person being conveyed was heavy, pushed behind.
Its introduction was quite a favourite feature amongst the nobility, and
a second fly, in consequence, was soon constructed.  These two vehicles
were extensively patronized by the Prince of Wales and his noble
companions; and from being employed by them on special occasions of a
midnight "lark," they received the name of "Fly-by-nights," and soon
entirely superseded sedan-chairs, except for invalids on their conveyance
to and from the Baths.  Butcher, from the great success which attended
his project, being desirous that his flys should have a more elegant
appearance than his ability in the ornamental could effect, sent one of
them, for the purpose of being repainted and varnished, to Mr. Blaker,
coach-maker, Regent Street, and he, having an eye to business, purloined
the design, and improved upon it by making two or three to be drawn by
horses.  The most remarkable vehicle of this description, for the
conveyance of one passenger only, was that made for Mr. George Battcock,
surgeon, who died on the 3rd of February last.  It was called Dr.
Battcock's "Pill Box."

When George IV. expressed a desire of converting the Castle Assembly Room
into a Chapel to be attached to the Royal Pavilion, the fee simple of it
was transferred to his Majesty, and as a tavern attached to a place of
divine worship would be a great incongruity, the transfer of the license
of the Castle was made to premises in Steine Place, the Royal York Hotel,
so designated in reference to the Royal Duke, Frederick, whose permission
for the name was applied for and obtained from his Royal Highness.  The
house was opened by Mr. Sheppard.

The Royal Albion Hotel, which has so conspicuous a position to the south
of the Steine, occupies the spot whereon formerly stood Russell House,
once the residence of Dr. Russell, and afterwards of the Duke of
Cumberland.  In 1805, it was the residence of Miss Johnson.  It stood
abruptly to the sea, the waves in stormy weather laving the brick
boundary wall to the south.  Immediately under its east wall was Haines's
Repository for toys, where, too, was also an apartment in which were
exhibited the wonders of the Camera Obscura.  The Junction Road now
occupies the site; it was a favourite lounge with visitors.  The latter
years of Russell House were of a remarkable character, some portion of it
being devoted by its owner, Mr. John Colbatch, to copper-plate printing;
while in the largest apartment the wonders of Khia Khan Khruse, the chief
of the Indian Jugglers, were exhibited, in the Autumn of 1822.  The
building eventually had a most neglected appearance, and was pulled down.
The purchase of the space then was contemplated by the town, in order to
keep open the southern extremity of the Steine to the sea.  Mr. Colbatch
required 6,000 for it, a sum which the Town Commissioners assented to
give; but after numerous delays the bargain was off, and soon the present
noble building rose to shut out the southern aspect from the Steine.

In 1792, during the Revolution which deluged France in its own blood,
there was a great influx of refugees from Dieppe to Brighton, to escape
the savage and unrelenting fury of their persecutors.  On the 29th of
August, that year, the Marchioness of Beaule landed at the bottom of the
Steine, having paid two hundred guineas at Dieppe, for her passage
across, and even then she was under the necessity of appearing in the
dress of a sailor, and as such she assisted the crew during the whole
voyage, not only to disguise herself, but in order to bring with her,
undiscovered, a favourite female, whom she conveyed on board in a trunk,
in which holes were bored to give her air.  His Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales, with Mrs. Fitzherbert and Miss Isabella Pigot, received them on
landing, and the Prince escorted them to the Earl of Clermont's, where
tea was provided for His Royal Highness and twenty of his friends.  On
the 20th of September, two packets landed several persons of distinction,
amongst whom were the Archbishop of Aix, and Count Bridges, one of the
household of the hapless Louis XVI.  Many priests were amongst the
refugees, for the relief of whom subscriptions to a considerable amount
were made, for the purpose of relieving their immediate necessities, and
to enable them to pursue their journey to London.  On Wednesday, October
20th, thirty-seven nuns, in the habit of their order, were landed near
Shoreham from the Prince of Wales packet, commanded by Captain Burton.
Their destination was Brussels, where a convent was being prepared for
them.  It had been intended that they should disembark at Brighton, but
the roughness of the sea prevented it.  Captain Burton's daughter was
married to Mr. William Wigney, a north countryman, who had then recently
settled in Brighton, in North Street, where he kept a linen-draper's
shop.  The house,--which he purchased of Lord Leslie, afterwards Lord
Rother, who married Henrietta Ann, daughter of the first Earl of
Chichester,--he paid for in French money, which he had received in
exchange for English coin from the refugees brought over by his
father-in-law.  It is related of him that he was not over scrupulous in
the way of business, of passing half-franc pieces for sixpences to the
unwary.  He was afterwards the head of the firm of Messrs. Wigney,
Rickman, and Co., bankers, Steine Lane.

No part of Brighton has had a more varied character than the Steine.
From being the general depository of the materials of the aborigines, for
fishing, it became the place of rendezvous for the nobility and gentry,
the beaux and belles delighting to promenade there, expend their small
talk, and listen to the strains of the military bands which daily played
upon some portion of it.  Even upon Sunday afternoons, so recently as
twenty-three years since, the sounds of music attracted immense crowds of
the inhabitants and visitors there.  Frequent innovations, however, upon
its space having taken place, and the southern walks along the whole
front of the town, having, by their extension and commodiousness, become
the fashionable resort, the Steine has quieted down to a thoroughfare
that connects the east with the west portion of the town, and there is a
contentment that it shall remain an important lung of the borough.

During the agitation for the Reform Bill, when self-esteemed politicians
tried their 'prentice voice upon stump oratory, the Steine was the famous
arena for their eloquence.  Where now, on gala days, the triple rampant
dolphins, which support on their entwined tails the basins of the
fountain, belave themselves, a waggon has formed the vehicle for the
conveyance of political sentiments under the guise of Toryism, Whigism,
Chartism, or any other ism that the whim, rage, or fashion of the day has
chanced to assume.

The most memorable event on the Steine was the dinner given there on the
3rd of September, 1830, to the children of the various charity schools in
the town, to commemorate the first visit of William IV. and Queen
Adelaide to Brighton.  Their Majesties arrived on the previous Monday,
great preparations having been made for their reception, triumphal arches
and other erections forming emblems of rejoicing throughout the space
from the extreme north of the town, on the London Road, to the entrance
of the Pavilion Grounds.  Probably, now, when there is so great a
facility for the transmission of large masses of people by means of the
railway, the numbers of persons who came into the town on the occasion,
would be considered of little moment; but then the quantity was estimated
as vast, vehicles of every description arriving in the town, heavily
laden with human beings, not only from all parts of the county, but even
the distance of two hundred miles was not considered too great to travel
in order to witness the imposing sight.  For more than a week prior to
the appointed day, numbers of persons had arrived in the town to ensure
being present; and lodgings of every description were seized with
avidity, at--to use a commercial term--long prices.  The stage coaches from
London,--many of which were specially placed on the road to meet the
demands,--were crowded to excess at extra fares; and the vans and spring
waggons--as they were termed--nightly bore heavy freights of provisions to
meet the anticipated rapid consumption.

Their Majesties arrived shortly after five o'clock, and were met by the
High Constable, the Clergy, and a Committee of the principal inhabitants,
the children of the various schools forming a line along the route
through which the royal carriages passed.  The waving of handkerchiefs by
the ladies from the balconies, the shouts and huzzas of the people, the
roaring of cannon, the ringing of bells, the music of various bands, the
tramp of horses, the rattling of carriages, the floating of hundreds of
flags and banners, formed altogether a spectacle that had never been
previously, nor has it been since, equalled in Brighton.  The crowning
feature of the day was a structure in the form of a triumphal arch, which
was of vast proportions, fifty feet in height, the opening of the arch
having a span of twenty-five feet, and the whole was clothed with
evergreens and flowers.  The top was covered with a profusion of flags
and streamers, from the Hyperion frigate, then stationed at Newhaven, in
the midst of which flaunted the Standard of England.  A body of sailors,
belonging to the Coast Blockade service, dressed in blue jackets and
white trousers, were arranged pyramidically on the top, and gave a
crowning character to the spectacle, as they gave three hearty cheers for
the "Sailor King."  They were seventy in number, supplied by Captain
Mingaye, of the Hyperion.  The structure was crowded with gaily dressed
ladies, and the galleries of the archway were filled with the girls of
Swan Downer's Charity School, and those of the National School, who at
that time wore green dresses and white mob caps.  In the evening the town
was one blaze of light from a general illumination.

The preparations for dining the children were completed by noon on
Friday.  Three rows of tables, with benches on each side, were ranged
round the whole area of the southern division of the Steine, which at
that time was one grass plot, to which the spectators were admitted by
tickets.  The centre of the lawn was left entirely open, no persons being
allowed upon that portion except the committee of management and the
bands of the Horse and Foot Guards.  At the southern extremity of this
open space was a capacious marquee, erected for the accommodation of
their Majesties.  The interior was laid out very tastefully, and
refreshments were prepared.  At its entrance waved the two large town
flags, supported by two of the Committee in blue sashes.  Across the
pavement between the two divisions of the Steine a space was boarded off,
as also, across the northern division, and thence to the private entrance
of the Pavilion at the north end of the Steine.  At this period posts and
rails skirted the outer edge of the pavement around the whole of the
Steine.

The spectators began to assemble on the pavement about one o'clock, at
which time the whole circumference outside the fence was belted with
carriages, some of which had taken up their position at an early hour in
the morning.  The parade of the children to the grounds was a most
pleasing sight, their general cleanliness and their appearance of health
and happiness, imparting a most gratifying charm to the scene.  By two
o'clock the whole of the children were seated, and the amphitheatre of
the Steine, gradually rising from the children at the tables to the
spectators that girted them, and then on to the carriages covered with
persons, and beyond that the thousands which crowded the windows,
balconies, and the very roofs of the houses that bound the Steine,
afforded a spectacle far more imposing than the most vivid imagination
can conceive.

Precisely at two o'clock, their Majesties, accompanied by the Princess
Augusta, the Landgravine of Hesse Homburgh, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince
George of Cambridge, Sir Augustus and Lady D'Este, and others, came
across from the Pavilion Grounds to the boarded-off avenue, where they
were met by the High Constable, who had received His Majesty's commands
to escort the royal party to the festive scene, where they received the
respects of the Magistrates, Clergy, and Gentry.  Having surveyed the
scene for some time, their Majesties and suite passed along the line
close to the children, frequently returning the salutations of the people
with the utmost affability and condescension.  Having returned to the
entrance, their Majesty's bowed to the vast assemblage and withdrew,
attended by their royal relatives.  At that moment the regimental bands
struck up the National Anthem, and shouts simultaneously burst from every
lip.  Even the children, whose eyes only, as yet, had been feasted, rose
and mingled their shrill voices with the harmony of throats.

It was calculated that more than 60,000 persons were present to view the
feeding of the youthful multitude, who, immediately on the Grace having
been said by the Rev. H. M. Wagner--Vicar,--were supplied with an unlimited
quantity of roast and boiled beef and plum pudding by the numerous
carvers who had volunteered their services, lady waitresses with the
utmost alacrity attending most assiduously upon the youthful guests.  It
was an occasion that formed an epoch in the life of every person present.
On the occasion of the first visit of Queen Victoria to Brighton, October
4th, 1837, a similar banquet was given to the children upon the Steine.

The most celebrated public buildings of the Steine were the libraries,
which were the principal resort of the visitors.  The first library here
was instituted by Mr. Woodgate, at the southern extremity, on the
premises at present occupied by Mr. Shaw, confectioner, and others,
contiguous to the York Hotel, where also was the Post Office.  Mr.
Woodgate was succeeded by Miss Widget, who resigned it to Mr. Bowen;
after whom came Mr. Crawford, and, lastly, Mr. F. G. Fisher.

The other library was that of Mr. Thomas, after whom was Mr. Dudlow, who
was succeeded by Mr. James Gregory, whose successor, Mr. Donaldson,
resigned the establishment to Mr. Thomas Lucombe.  Mr. Donaldson pulled
down the original low building in 1806, and erected the present
structure, which has however, since the carriage road has been formed in
front of it, been much modernized to suit the various businesses to which
the premises have been devoted.

"A Diarist," writing August 23rd, 1779, says, "There is a sort of rivalry
between the two Librarians on the Steyne, as to their subscription books;
which shall most justly deserve the title of the book of Numbers.--There
is a constant struggle between them, which shall be most courteous; and
the effects are those usually consequent upon an opposition.  Sir
Christopher Caustic, this morning was turning over the leaves, at
Bowen's, which contains the names of the subscribers.  Mr. Bowen bowed _a
la Novarre_ or _Gallini_, and with offered pen and ink, craved the honour
of--an additional name: this being his first season, and having been
purposely misinformed by some would be witty wag; 'Sir,' said Mr. Bowen,
displaying, all the time, two irregular rows of remarkably white teeth,
'yours will stand immediately after that of the Honourable Charles James
Fox, Esq., and before that of Mrs. Franco, the rich Jew's lady.  Esquire
W--d's was to have been on the medium line, but, poor gentleman, he is
unfortunately _detained_ near London, on _emergent_ business.'  To what a
degree was the dealer in stationery let down, when he was afterwards
regularly rectified; when by explanatory notes, and critical
commentations, he came to be fully informed that the individual Mr. Fox
in question was not the celebrated senator of that name, but an Irish
_Jontleman_, who condescends in winter to keep a chop house at the corner
of the playhouse passage, in Bow Street, Covent Garden; and every
autumnal season, has frequent opportunities of storming and swearing at
the ladies who may have the good fortune to belong to the Brighthelmstone
company of Comedians, he being sole manager thereof.  And such
management!--_Scarrons Rancour_, who filled all the characters in a play
by himself, was a fool to him.  That Mrs. Franco was, to be sure, the
temporary wife of young Mr. Franco, last season, but seems at leisure
this to be the temporary wife of even Mr. Bowen, if he pleases; and that
poor Billy, who was the _Beau_, is confined, _custodia marcellis_, _Banco
Regis_, on suspicion of debt, where he blacks shoes, cleans knives, and
turns spits, for the privilege of dipping sops in the dripping-pans of
poor prisoners."

"Mr. Thomas, the other librarian, must be noticed in turn.  He hath been
years enough practising small talk with the ladies and gentlemen upon the
Steyne, and hath arrived at a surprising degree of precision in
pronouncing French-English.  He is now reading the newspaper to some of
his subscribers, with an audible voice, and repeatedly calls a detached
body of troops a _corpse_; a _tour_ he improves into a _tower_; and
delivers his words in a _promiscas_ manner.  It is near seven in the
evening, and the widow Fussic has just waddled into his shop, with a
parasol in her right, and a spying-glass in her left hand.  Thomas offers
her a _General Advertiser_.  'Lord bless me!' says she, 'Mr. Thomas, how
damp this paper is tho' it it has come so far, and must have been printed
so long since!  What reason can you give for it?'--Mr. Thomas observes,
considers and explains, in a most explicit manner, the cause and the
effect, to the inquisitive lady, naturally speaking, as a body may say;
proving to a demonstration, according to Candide, that there can be no
effect without a cause; and that of course, damp papers, closely
compressed, will continue damp a considerable time.  In the interim, Miss
Fanny Fussic stares and whispers to her brother Bobby, while he is
subscribing to a raffle, that Mr. Thomas must be a most prodigious man,
monstrously intelligent, and withal, that he is amazingly communicative:
'He knows but every-thing,' says she, 'and tells but every-thing he
knows.'"

Another Library was also established on the Steine, on the premises which
had been known as Raggett's Subscription House, at the opposite corner of
St. James's Street.  "In this house," writes Mr. H. R. Attree, in his
Topography of Brighton, "the dice are often rattled to some tune, and
bank-notes transferred from one hand to another, with as little ceremony
as bills of the play, or quack doctor's draughts to their patients."
This library was established by Mr. Donaldson, jun., who disposed of it
to Mr. Osborne, from whom it passed to Mr. Nathaniel Turner.

Originally, beneath the balconies in front of the two first-mentioned
libraries, were seats, with and without reclining backs, upon which, in
genial weather, subscribers were accustomed to lounge and peruse the
newspaper or the last new novel of the day.  Cigars then were unknown,
and short pipes had not come into vogue, so that these retreats were not
disfigured with the notice "No smoking allowed," as the "weed" was not
indulged in, except behind a long "churchwarden" at the tavern, where
gossips nightly met to chat over the scandals of the day.  Besides these
retreats beneath the balconies, there were open high-backed seats, called
Settles, much after the structure of rustic chairs in parks and pleasure
grounds, upon various parts of the promenade around the Steine.  At the
bottom of the Steine, also, facing the sea, was the Alcove, a
summer-house kind of building, capable of seating something like
half-a-dozen persons.  Bew, {200} in his diary, date, Thursday, August
26th, 1779, says, "This morning I edged away towards the Alcove, at the
east end of the bottom of the Steyne, wherein were seated _two_ Elders,
and perhaps, a _chaste Susanna_; at any rate, she was not naked.  On my
approach they departed hastily, and I joined the deserted lady--in
discourse, by observing that the town was thin, and that I heard trade in
general was very bad.  'Very bad, indeed, Sir,' said she; 'I suppose you
are a fellow sufferer.  You belong to the players, Sir, don't you?'  'My
dear,' replied I, 'why should you think so?'  'Because you are seldom
without a book in your hand.'  'Do few read besides players, then?'--'Yes,
Sir, I beg pardon; I had another reason; but you'll excuse me.'  'Indeed
I will not my dear.'--'Why then, Sir, as you advanced towards us, one of
those _elderly_ gentlemen--by their discourse I believe they are
parsons,--said to the other, 'Come, Sir, let us be gone, or we shall be
taken off; _Mr. Diarist_ is coming this way.'  'Now, Sir, if that is your
name, tho' I have never seen it yet in the play bills, was it wonderful
that I should imagine you to be one of the gentlemen players.'--I assured
her, nevertheless, that I was not entitled to that honour; and here you
may imagine our conference ended."

Another retreat for a lounge or promenade was the Colonnade under the
balcony of the library on the Marine Parade, established in 1798, by
Messrs. Donaldson and Wilkes, and afterwards carried on by Mr. Pollard,
and then by Messrs. Tuppen and Walker.  This library, and the original
two on the Steine, were not merely the resort of visitors for the purpose
of literary pursuits, as their name legitimately implies, but after eight
o'clock in the evening, during the Summer season, that portion of the
business in connexion with books ceased, and holland blinds being drawn
down to cover over the whole of the books and book-shelves, a saloon was
formed that nightly attracted hundreds of _tonish_ idlers to the vocal
and instrumental music that was discoursed, and to join in the raffles,
similar to those that were going on at Raggett's subscription room.

Bew, in his Diary, date, Saturday, September 4th, 1799, writes,--"Every
article of convenience, every trinket of luxury, is transferred by this
uncertain, quick mode of conveyance.  Not a shop without its
rattle-trap,--rattle, rattle, rattle, morning and evening.  Here may be
seen,--walk in and see,--an abridgment of the wisdom of this world;--the
pomps and vanities are at large, varying like yonder evanescent clouds.
Observe the fond parent initiating her forward offspring in the use of
the dice-box, and herself setting the example; yet may she wonder, at
some future day, and think her throw in life's raffle extremely severe,
that a propensity to that and similar habits should continue and
increase."  Fisher, in August, 1805, established a new Auction Mart in
St. James's Street, that was open morning and night.  The following
extracts from a private diary will in some degree explain the rage which
was on at those periods for this and similar virulent pastimes:--

    August 2nd, 1792.--But little company stirred out to-day, on account
    of the intense heat of the weather.  Sporting men of fashion,
    dashers, and blacklegs certainly assembled on the Steine, to make
    their bets for to-morrow's Lewes Races, where much excellent sport is
    expected.  The other part of the day was spent mostly in Raggett's
    Subscription House, at Billiards, Dice, &c.  _On dit._--Lady Lade is
    returning from Brighton in much dudgeon,--because, forsooth, Lady
    Jersey, she says, made _wulgar_ mouths at her yesterday on the
    race-ground!

    July 23rd, 1805.--A very select and elegant assemblage of nobility
    last night paraded the Steine until a late hour.  Donaldson's
    library, also, was very fashionably filled; and Wilks's Pic-nic
    Auction exhibited a blaze of rank and beauty.

    August 23rd.--Wilks's bargains were in fashionable request last night,
    and the knock-down blows of Fisher were directed with his usual
    ability and effect.  Fisher's New Auction Lounge was again well
    filled with rank and beauty this morning.  A monster of the finny
    tribe has been exhibited in a marquee, pitched purposely for the
    occasion, on the Steine to-day.  It is called a Star _Fish_, and is
    so worthy the attention of the curious that it has divided the
    attention of the public with _Fisher_.

    August 27th.--Wilks's Auction Lounge, last night, was immensely
    crowded until a late hour: nor has the magnetical hammer of Fisher,
    at his new room, been less attractive this morning.

    September 21st, 1807.--Donaldson's and Pollard's libraries have had
    crowded assemblages, and the game of Loo has had more than its usual
    number of votaries.  This evening Mr Cartwright will perform at
    Fisher's Lounge, on the musical glasses, under the patronage of Mrs
    Orby Hunter.

    October 8th.--Pam still possesses his original attraction, and the
    Belles are nightly _looed_ in his presence.--Rather a _bad_ pun that,
    eh?

    May 9th, 1810.--Donaldson's and Walker's spacious and airy Steine and
    Marine Lounges have not been so interestingly decorated with rank and
    beauty as they have to-day appeared for many preceding months, though
    the amusements of one card loo, &c., are not yet there introduced.
    The diversion of raffling has not been permitted at either for some
    years past, nor will it again be allowed, so long as the Little-go
    Bill remains unrepealed; we may therefore conclude that the rattle of
    the dice will never be heard at either again.

Trinket Auctions were established when an Act of Parliament, called Mr.
Vansittart's Little-go Bill, was passed, that did away with raffling at
all places of public resort, as the profits to the librarians at the
watering places generally, arose from these diversions, rather than from
the high literary character of the books upon their shelves, or the
erudite position of the persons whose names were in their subscription
books because fashion ruled it so.  The novelty of Trinket Auctions soon
wore off, and then another pastime, under the name of Loo, was
introduced.  The game was very diverting in its progress, and afforded an
occasion for many agreeable sallies of wit, according to the talent of
the conductor of it and the disposition to replications of those about
him.  The Loo Sweepstakes, as they were termed, were limited to eight
subscribers, and the individual stake, one shilling.  The full number
being obtained, a certain quantity of cards, amongst which was a Knave of
Clubs, or Pam, were shuffled, cut, and separately dealt and turned: the
numbers were called in rotation during the process, and that against
which Pam appeared was pronounced the winner.

In September, 1810, an attempt was made to constitute the game of Loo an
illegal act.  For that purpose informations were lodged against Messrs.
Donaldson and Walker, the proprietors of the Steine and Marine Libraries,
and the case was heard at Lewes, before a full Bench of Magistrates.  Mr.
Courthorpe was counsel for the prosecution, and Mr. Adolphus appeared for
the defendants.  The only case that was argued was that of an information
against Mr. Walker, founded on the 12th of Geo. II., c. 28, and which was
dwelt on with much force,--such indeed as a confidence of success only
could inspire--by Mr. Courthorpe.  To prove that defendant had offended
within the meaning of the Act, and consequently was liable to the penalty
therein expressed, i.e., two hundred pounds, Mrs. White, the wife of one
of the informers, was called and examined.  This witness hesitated
considerably in her evidence, particularly when interrogated by Mr.
Adolphus, as to her motive in becoming a subscriber to the Loo amusement
at Walker's and whether or not she had so acted with the solo aim and
purpose of lodging an information against Mr. Walker, which she at last
admitted.  The substance of her evidence was "That she attended at
Walker's library on the 30th of August; that she stood next to Mr. Walker
on that occasion; that she heard him say, 'Ladies and gentlemen, three
shillings are only wanting to complete the sweepstake for this elegant
Lady's Morocco work box;' that she gave him a shilling for a chance, when
he asked her in what name she would have it, and she said Mrs. Goodlove;
that a lady at length shuffled and cut the cards; that Mr. Walker dealt
them; that the first dealt was called Mr. Bangup; that she won Pam, and
got the prize; that Mr. Walker told her she had won it, and that she was
to receive seven shillings in goods, or subscribe an extra sixpence, and
have two chances for another box of much superior value; that she took
the prize she had won, and lost two shillings in other ventures, &c."
When questioned by the Earl of Chichester, one of the magistrates, as to
the real value of the prize that had been nominated at 7s., her husband
whispered to her what to say; which being overheard by the Noble Earl,
Mr. White was compelled instantly to quit the room, and to wait without,
that he might be at hand in case he should be wanted.  Mr. Adolphus (the
witness being dismissed) addressed the Bench in a most able speech,
concluding by producing an Act of Parliament passed in 1806, by which he
clearly evinced that the present informations could not be sustained, as
the said Act dispossessed magistrates of all jurisdiction and control in
matters of that sort then before them.  Mr. Courthorpe laboured hard,
notwithstanding, to gain his point; but as his oratory had not the power
to supersede an Act of Parliament, his labour was in vain.  As
authorities in support of the Act he produced, Mr. Adolphus was upheld by
the opinion of the Attorney-General, and a decision in the Court of
King's Bench.  The Magistrates, from what had been brought forward by Mr.
Adolphus, saw their incompetency in so strong a light, that they
dismissed the business, even without hearing the reply which Mr. Adolphus
was about to make to his learned friend.  There were three other
informations, all of which of course were withdrawn.  The librarians
returned home in high spirits, and the Loo parties, subsequently, and
exulting in the success of the day, were more numerous than usual.

Pam, the good genius of Loo, continued to hold sway at the libraries till
1817, when the magistrates took an antipathy towards him, owing to the
unbounded patronage which he received from the ladies in general.  They
considered him an unwelcome resident; so, by their mandate, supported by
an obsolete Act of Henry VIII., he was excommunicated from all the
libraries, as, at this time he had taken up his abode at Mr. T. H.
Wright's Library, then just established at the south-west corner of
Pavilion Street.  Gradually, however, he resumed his position at the
establishments of Lucombe and Tuppen; but notwithstanding the presiding
influence of those two patterers and wits, assisted by Mr. Stacy, the
present librarian at the Royal Albion Rooms, and Mr. Wheeler, the box
book-keeper at the Brighton Theatre, the destruction of the fashionable
promenade, by curtailing the Steine of its fair proportions, so distorted
the throng and habit of fashion, that Pam fell into desuetude and the
libraries, unsupported by him, became failures.

Five and twenty years since, Brighton abounded with libraries, Wright's,
in the Colonnade, North Street, removed from the Pavilion Parade, and
Eber's, in Castle Square, a branch of the London establishment, being
amongst the principal of those that then existed.  Furnishing food for
the mind, however, was a less profitable speculation than supplying
materials for the understandings, as Mr. Tozer on the former premises,
and Messrs. Dutton and Thorowgood on the latter, by the sale of boots and
shoes, have matured businesses that may vie with any of the same trade in
the kingdom.  It is somewhat remarkable, too, that a portion of the
premises in Prince's Place, occupied by Mr. Lulham, boot and shoemaker,
and the house in the occupation of Messrs. Sharman and Co., North Street,
as a boot and shoe mart, were the library of Mr. Taylor.  These facts
certainly confirm the adage,--at any rate when besieged by the multitude
with a civil view,--that "there is nothing like leather."

From time to time libraries of more or less pretensions have been
started, either by private parties or by societies of membership; but
most of them have become things of the past, which in their short lived
career possessed nothing to warrant a recital of their history.

The oldest established now in existence is Mr. Folthorp's North Street
Library, originally Choat's, and then Loader's.  It is admirably
situated, and has a supply of books, periodicals, and newspapers equalled
by no other circulating library in the county.  The only proprietary
literary establishments, with the exception of those attached to the
several places of public worship and their schools, are the Brighton
Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Albion Rooms, to which a Chess
Club is attached; the Railway Library and Scientific Institution, for the
use of persons employed on the railway; and the Young Men's Christian
Association, in Middle Street.  Some of the booksellers have a lending
library connected with their businesses.  The principal of these are
Dollman's, Western Road, and Burrett's, Waterloo Street, Hove; Styles's,
North Street, Sugg's St. James's Street, and Grant's Library and Reading
Room, Castle Square.  The literary character of which the Steine formerly
boasted is now entirely gone, and it is content to be considered the
emporium of the followers of Galen and sculapius, who as much there
abound as the students of Coke and Blackstone throng Ship Street, and
give that locality of quips, quirks, and the law's delays the appellation
of Chancery Lane.




CHAPTER XXIX.
THE THEATRES.


Besides the Assembly Rooms at the Castle Tavern and the Old Ship Hotel,
and the Libraries, the Theatre has been, and still is, a place of
fashionable resort in Brighton.  The remnant of the first Theatre ever
erected in the town has recently been restored to public notice in
consequence of the premises undergoing alterations in the process of
converting them into ale and porter stores, by Messrs. Charlton and Co.
They are situated in North Street, and are approached by a doorway
between the shops of Messrs. Cunditt, jewellers, and Mr. Pritchard,
confectioner.  To the old inhabitants they are better known as Wallis's
wine and spirit vaults; and at a recent date they were occupied by Mr.
Cordy, the son-in-law and successor of Mr. Wallis.  In 1789 they were
used as the printing office of Messrs. William and Arthur Lee, who in a
few years removed their establishment to Lewes, and then Mr. Wallis took
possession of them.

In this building David Garrick displayed his inimitable histrionic
talent.  The main structure and its original front have long since passed
away: but the stage yet remains entire, with its several traps and
appointments.  An excellent portrait of Garrick till lately graced the
wall, but the modern destroyer of many a work of art, whitewash, has
entirely obliterated every feature of it.

Annexed is a copy of the "Bill of the Play," in the possession of Mr.
Cunditt, referring to this Theatre:--

                    Theatre, North-Street, Brighthelmston,
              On WEDNESDAY, October 5, 1785, will be presented,
                             A COMEDY, called THE
                             SUSPICIOUS HUSBAND.

    _Ranger_,                by Mr. GRAHAM, Jun.
    _Frankly_,               by Mr. WEWITZER.
    _Bellamy_,               by Mr. WILLIAMS.
    _Jack Meggott_,          by Mr. FROST.
    _Tester_,                by Mr. FOLLETT,
                             Jun.
    _Buckle_,                by Mr. PHILLIPS.
    _Simon_,                 by Mr. DANIELL.
    And Mr.                  by Mr. LESTRANGE.
    _Strickland_,
    Mrs. _Strickland_,       by Mrs. WALCOT.
    _Jacintha_,              by Mrs. BOLTON.
    _Lucetta_,               by Mrs. EDGAR.
    _Millener_,              by Miss STEVENSON.
    And _Clarinda_,          by Mrs. ELLIOTT.

     (From the Theatre Royal, Dublin, Being her First Appearance on this
                                   Stage.)

          Dancing, between the Acts, by _Master_ and _Miss_ Michel.

                   To which will be added a FARCE, called,

                               WHO'S THE DUPE?

_Old Doiley_,     by Mr. FOLLET.
_Sandford_,       by Mr. FROST.
_Granger_,        by Mr. WILLIAMS.
And _Gradus_,     by Mr. GRAHAM, Jun.
_Miss Doiley_,    by Mrs. BOLTON.
_Charlotte_,      by Miss EDGAR.

     TICKETS and PLACES for the BOXES to be taken of Mr. _Baily_, at the
                                  _Theatre_.

        _Doors to be opened at_ SIX, _and to begin exactly at_ SEVEN.

    The Tragedy of RICHARD III, and the New Pantomime of ROBINSON CRUSOE,
    or, HARLEQUIN FRIDAY, (as performed for _Eighty Nights_, at the
    Theatre Royal, Drury Lane) is obliged to be postponed till _Friday_
    Evening, on account of the machinery not being quite ready.

The following are extracts from the Diary of Mr. Bew:--

    1778.--Tuesday, September 1.--_The Settle_.--STEINE.--Mr. Griffith, of
    Drury Lane playhouse, with much civility, conducts me to the Theatre,
    in North Street, in which _company_ he is _concerned_, am fearful the
    manager is most _concerned_, at--the badness of the season, for there
    seems a _plentiful lack_ of company.  But, not to play too much upon
    words, it is a pretty building, something larger than that at
    Richmond, and seems well adapted to its intended uses.

    Friday, 4.--_At the Theatre_.--In the evening went to Griffith's
    benefit, the _West Indian_, by desire of Lady Mills; much, but
    pleasingly disappointed, because the company performed a great deal
    better than from information I had been taught to expect; the ladies
    also were, what all stage-ladies not always are,--extremely decent.

Previous to 1774 there was no other temple dedicated to Thalia and
Melpomene, than a barn.  The first theatre was built by the late Mr.
Samuel Paine, and let in 1774, to Mr. Roger Johnstone, formerly the
property-man at Covent Garden Theatre, who, having continued it for three
years only, it was then leased to the late Mr. Fox, of Covent Garden
Theatre also, in 1777, for the term of fifteen years, at the annual rent
of sixty guineas.

It was understood, however, between the lessor and the lessee, that the
former, in addition, was to have the _net receipts_ of the house on one
night, to be called his benefit night, clear of all expenses, in every
succeeding year; and that _his family_ should be free of the theatre, or
possess the right of witnessing the performances there, at all times,
without being liable to any charge as the consequence of their visits.

The latter stipulation was correctly introduced into the covenants of the
lease, but not so the former, _net profits_ being there stipulated
instead of _net receipts_; the issue of which was, that Mr. Paine was
called on to defray the expenses of his first benefit night, contrary to
what had previously been understood, and orally agreed upon, between him
and Mr. Fox.

This circumstance had nearly given rise to an unpleasant litigation
between the parties; in which Mr. Paine, in all probability, would have
been the sufferer, for the want of a document to establish the propriety
of his claim; but such a mortification and injury he preserved himself
from, by having recourse to the following expedient:--

The right of gratuitous admission to the theatre, to himself and family,
as above specified, was undisputed; and as no place in the house was
stipulated as the only part they should be permitted to enter in their
visits, he determined to avail himself of his privilege to the full
extent of its bearing.  He, therefore, collected his family together, and
with them entered the theatre for a succession of nights, resolutely
occupying the best seats in the boxes, to the exclusion of other and more
profitable applicants.

The manager, thus opposed, and law and equity pronounced by the public as
both in favour of Mr. Paine, consented to ratify his first agreement, and
the system of warfare adopted to harass and punish him, ceased.  Before
the expiration of the fifteen years' lease the house was found inadequate
to the accommodation of the increased population of the town, and a new
one was erected in Duke Street.  The license for the theatre was yearly
obtained from the magistrates at the Quarter Sessions at Lewes; and Mr.
Fox, on finishing the house in Duke Street, applied for the removal of
the license to that place.  His application was granted, no opposition
being offered to the measure by Mr. Paine.

The latter, however, discovered the error of his non-resistance before
the next application for the license became requisite, when his
opposition to it was a matter of course; but which proved ineffectual
from the delay, and the license was granted to the same house, on which,
without opposition, it had been bestowed the year before.  The family of
Paine were, therefore, pecuniary sufferers of several hundred pounds per
annum by this event, and for which the only compensation ever received
fell short of one hundred and twenty pounds, or guineas.

On the death of Mr. Fox, the Duke Street Theatre was purchased by H.
Cobb, Esq., of Clement's Inn, who built the present house in the New
Road, 1807, and removed the license thereto, having first satisfied the
ground-landlord in respect to the measure.

The building had a plain front of wood, drawn out to imitate blocks of
stone, unpierced with windows, and was approached by a semi-circular
carriage and foot-way from the street, as it was set back from the main
road to nearly the present frontage of Mr. Patching's house, on the site
of which the Theatre then stood.  The projecting entrance to the Boxes,
in the centre of the front, was by a Grecian portico supported by four
Tuscan pillars, from which branched brackets supporting two round shaped
oil lamps.  The buildings abutting east and west had also similar lamps.
The Pit and Gallery entrances were on the east side, approached by an
external passage, that had a door, over which was painted "Pit and Gal."
The stage door was a little to the west of the principal entrance, where
the word "Boxes" was conspicuously painted.  Five posts divided the
footway on each side of the portico.  A print of the Theatre was
published in London, April 1st, 1804, by T. Woodfall, Villiers' Street,
Strand, and several figures therein exhibit the peculiar fashion of the
day in dress.  The license to this Theatre Royal was granted by a special
Act of Parliament, which passed in the year 1788.

An anecdote connected with this Theatre, and noted in "Brighton Past and
Present," by Mrs. Merrifield, is worthy of quotation:--"It was during the
time that Fox was manager that the celebrated Mrs. Jordan trod these
boards as an actress.  A friend of mine, who sometimes visited the green
room, one day found her in great distress, threatened by a Sheriff's
Officer, on account of the debt of an extravagant brother.  Mrs. Jordan
solicited my friend to become surety for her.  'When I went into the
room,' said my friend, 'I thought her one of the plainest little women I
had ever seen, but I had not been in her company half-an-hour before I
thought her charming.'  It is almost unnecessary to say that he complied
with her request, and relieved this fascinating actress from her
embarassment; nor had he cause to repent of his goodnature, for Mrs.
Jordan paid the debt as soon as she was able, and thus released him from
his engagement."

Annexed is a copy of a bill of the performance at this theatre:

                              For the Benefit of
                              Mr. PALMER, JUN.,
              The last night but Two of performing this Season.

                                * * * * *

                              Theatre, Brighton,

    On WEDNESDAY, October 15th, 1794, will be presented, the popular play
                                      of

                                   THE JEW.

_Sheva_ (for that night only,)      by Mr. BANNISTER, jun.
             From the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
_Sir Stephen Bertram_               by Mr. DORMER.
_Charles Ratcliffe_                 by Mr. PALMER, jun.
_Jabel_                             by Mr. SIMPSON.
_Frederick_                         by Mr. PALMER.
 From the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane,--positively the last time
             of his performing here this Season.
_Eliza_                             by Mrs. SIMPSON.

                              (End of the Play.)

                        A COMIC MEDLEY, by Mr. EDWIN.

                          After which, the Farce of

                             THE VILLAGE LAWYER.

_Sheepface_ (for that night         by Mr. PARSONS.
only,)
             From the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
_Snarl_                             by Mr. SIMPSON.
_Scout_                             by Mr. BANNISTER, jun.

        The whole to conclude with the favourite Entertainment of
                                THE LYAR.

_Young Wilding_    by Mr. PALMER.
_Papillion_        by Mr. PALMER, jun.
_Miss Grantham_    by Mrs. PALMER, jun.
        Being her first appearance.

*** The Nobility, Gentry, and Public are respectfully informed that, on
account of the great call for places, part of the PIT will (for that
night) be laid into the Boxes.

Tickets to be had, and places for the Boxes taken, of Mr. PALMER, jun.,
No. 11, Russell Street, and at the Theatre, from Ten till Three o'clock.

The returns for the house on the occasion were:--

                         .      s.      d.
Six Box Tickets           1       4       0
Fifteen Pit ditto         1      10       0
Two Gallery ditto                 2       0
Taken at doors            7       8       0
Total                   10       4       0

The "Brighton New Guide," 1800, published by Fisher, Old Steine, says:
"The scenes are painted by Mr. Carver, of Covent-Garden Theatre, and they
do honour to the abilities of that ingenious artist; and if the abilities
of the actors are not sufficiently powerful to excite the enthusiasm of
applause, they are not so contemptible as to create disgust.  Candour
must acknowledge, that the theatrical business at Brighthelmston is
conducted with great regularity, and that if perfection is not reached,
mediocrity is surpassed."

In 1672, a tax on plays was proposed; but the court party objected to it.
They said the players were the King's servants, and administered to his
pleasures.  Sir John Coventry pleasantly asked, "Whether the King's
pleasures lay among the male or the female actors?"  Charles, who,
besides his other mistresses, entertained two actresses, Mrs. Davis and
Nell Gwynne, was hurt by this sarcasm, and took an unworthy revenge.
Some of his guards attacked Coventry, and slit his nose.  The Commons
expressed their indignation, by passing what is called the Coventry Act,
by which maiming and deforming were made capital crimes, and those
persons who had assaulted Coventry were rendered incapable of receiving
the King's pardon.

In July, 1805, when the Prince of Wales bestowed his patronage upon the
Duke Street Theatre, and first attached to it the gracious adjective,
"Royal," great improvements were effected in the house, those in his
Royal Highness's box particularly so: blue panels, with sparkling gold
stars, on a dark ground, and ornamented with festoons of roses, superbly
distinguished it; a crimson curtain of velvet depending from the ceiling
also heightened the effect, and gave an indescribable appearance of
grandeur to the whole.  The box was also carpeted throughout, and
handsome painted chairs with cushions in lieu of fixed seats, made part
of its furniture.

On the 13th of August, 1805, a piece was produced in honour of the
birthday of the Prince of Wales, and was called _The Twelfth of August_.
The plot of the piece was: "Sofa Hazleby," the daughter of an opulent
farmer, a resident of Brighton, who has numerous suitors, has promised to
become the bride of him who can give the best solution to a question
which she will submit to their consideration on the Green, on the Twelfth
of August; and the reason she assigns for choosing that day for a
decision so momentous to her, is because it gave birth to England's
Heir,--a Prince whose suavity of manners, benevolence of heart, and mental
endowments have rendered him the pride of his country and the admiration
of Europe.  "That auspicious morn," she continues, "could but appear to
me as most grateful and best adapted to my purpose, in which every honest
countenance I might gaze at should be brightened with exulting
smiles."--The preceding part of the drama being over, in which her
eccentric suitors afforded much mirth to the audience, the final scene
presents a supposed view of the South Downs, and the entrance of
Brighton, the latter brilliantly illuminated, the initials P. W., the
feathers, and a blazing star, being appropriately conspicuous.

In 1799, Mr. Alexander Archer was manager of the Duke Street Theatre.
Upon stripping the paper from the walls of 34, Bond Street, on the 20th
of May, in the present year, to effect some alterations, a relic in the
character of a "play bill," was brought to light.  It is thus worded:
"Engagement of Mr. Quick.  Doors open at half-past six.  Begin precisely
at 7 o'clock.  Mr. Quick's fifth night.  Theatre Brighthelmston.  On
Tuesday, July 13th, 1802, will be performed the admired comedy of _She
Stoops to Conquer_; the part of 'Tony Lumpkin,' by Mr. Quick.  After
which will be added _St. Patrick's-Day_, _or the Scheming Lieutenant_.
Lee, Printer, Brighton."  The house had just been vacated by the
descendants of Johnson, who for many years was the bill-sticker of the
town.  The first stone of the present Theatre was laid on the 24th of
September, 1806, by Mr. Brunton, senr.; and the building was opened on
Saturday, the 6th of June, 1807, with the tragedy of _Hamlet_, when Mr.
and Mrs. Charles Kemble represented the Prince and Ophelia.

The _Brighton Ambulator_--a publication almost extinct,--thus speaks of the
present theatre as it was when opened by the first lessee, Mr. Trotter:--

                                 THE THEATRE.

    This place of public amusement is situated in the New Road, leading
    into North Street.  It is a very handsome structure, having a
    colonnade, which runs along its whole front, supported by neat stone
    pillars.  The entrance into the Boxes is in the centre; and that to
    the Pit is on the right, and the Gallery on the left of the building.

    The interior has two tier of boxes.  The Prince Regent's box is on
    the left of the stage, divided from the other boxes by an iron
    lattice work, gilded, which gives it a pleasing and private
    appearance.  The pit and gallery are well constructed for the
    audience, particularly the latter, which has a prominent view of the
    stage.

    The house is illuminated by nine cut-glass chandeliers, and a range
    of patent lamps at the foot of the stage.  The stage is exceedingly
    convenient, and has a length proportioned to the structure.  The
    whole is fitted up with a tasteful elegance, and we must acknowledge,
    that it reflects honour on the discriminate judgment of Mr. Trotter,
    the manager.

This account of the theatre describes it as it was more than half a
century since; as of late years it has been, externally and internally,
greatly modernized: although the chief lighting attraction in its
transition from oil and wax to gas, a noble and well supplied chandelier,
which was lowered and raised at pleasure over the centre of the pit, has
long since been removed, the light from it detracting from the scenic
effect, and the great heat which it disseminated militating against the
comfort of the audience, especially the "gods."

The present Owner of the property is George Cobb, Esq., an Alderman of
the Borough of Brighton, who, a few years since, purchased of the
executors of the late Sir Thomas Clarges the moiety which that baronet
held.

Sir Thomas, in his latter days, was what is modernly termed, a little
"cracky" in the cranium.  Just about the period of the murder of the
Italian boy, by Bishop and Williams, when pitch plasters were in vogue,
and were as much terrors in the public mind as garottings now are, Sir
Thomas had a pony which he imagined was unwell, and beyond the aid of
veterinary skill.  He therefore, with the manual service of his groom,
undertook to cure it himself, and thus proceeded:--He procured a sheet of
canvass, which he spread with a composition of pitch, tar, and tallow,
and in this cere-cloth he encased the body of the animal, and twice
daily, in the midst of Summer, took it, with merely a horse-cloth over
it, on the Race-hill and submitted it to severe exercise, the groom
walking it briskly, and himself riding beside it on horseback for two
hours at a stretch.  His intention was to pursue this course till all the
virtue in the composition would become absorbed by the afflicted system
of the animal, when its cure would be effected and the canvass would of
its own accord drop off.  The severity, however, of the process, was too
much for the poor creature; for having borne the punishment somewhat more
than a week, one morning, when Sir Thomas and his man went to the stable
in Rock Mews, where a box had been specially fitted up, the
straight-jacketed small edition of a horse was a stiffened corpse.

Immediately previous to her retirement from the stage, Mrs. Siddons
filled an engagement here for three nights, namely, Tuesday, August 8th,
1809, as "Mrs. Beverley" in _The Gamester_, {214} Tuesday, 15th, as "Lady
Macbeth," and on Thursday, 18th, as "Isabella," in the tragedy of that
name.  The receipts of the house for the 15th, amounted to 172 16s, a
sum by far exceeding that which the Theatre could boast of having held on
any night previous.  On August 29th, she also appeared as "Margaret of
Anjou," in the tragedy of _Earl of Warwick_, for the benefit of Mr.
Murray, on which occasion the receipts amounted to 150 5s; and on
September 12th, as "Lady Macbeth," for the benefit of Mr. Cresswell.  On
the last occasion Mr. Charles Kemble, for the first time on any stage,
made his appearance as "Macbeth."  Every actor of celebrity has trodden
the boards of the Brighton Theatre, which has been the nursery for
supplying many first-rate performers to the patent houses of the
Metropolis.  At a Masquerade which took place here, October 8th, 1812, a
great disturbance arose in consequence of Theodore Hook and his friends
appearing unmasked.

The several lessees have been Mr. Trotter, Mr. Grove, Mr. Brunton,
sen.,--father of the late Dowager Countess of Craven, who at the time of
her marriage was acting on the stage of this Theatre, in her father's
company,--Messrs. Jonas and Penley, Mr. (Romeo) Coates, Mr. John Brunton,
jun., Mr. (Jerry) Russell,--when the house was open only on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays,--Messrs. Bew and Vining, Mr. Charles Hill,
Messrs. Walton and Holmes,--a commonwealth,--Messrs. Saville and Harroway,
Mr. Hooper, Mr. Poole, Captain Belcour, Mr. H. Farren, and the present
respected lessee, Mr. H. Nye Chart.  Formerly, the season extended from
July to October; now the house usually continues open from the latter end
of July until the beginning of March.

Upon the completion of the present Theatre in the New Road, a permanent
building for a Circus was erected on the Grand Parade, between Carlton
Street and the weigh-bridge, which, for obtaining the weight of the loads
in the waggons and carts that traversed the turnpike road to Lewes, stood
at the spot that forms the bottom of Sussex Street.  It was completed by
Messrs. Kendall and Co., and opened in August, 1808.  The building had a
frontage of neat design, in width one hundred feet, which was also its
depth, that extended into Circus Street.  A wing to the north of the
Circus was appropriated for a billiard lounge, confectionary, &c.; and
the corresponding wing to the south for a coffee-house and hotel.  The
representation of a prancing horse surmounted the centre of the
structure.

The only incident worthy of record which took place in this building
during the few years that it was devoted to equestrian exhibitions, was
an accident which befel the daughter of the lessee, Mr. Saunders, on the
evening of Monday, August 28th, 1809, on the occasion of a bespeak of the
Duke of Marlborough, when, while riding round the ring, which was
thirty-six feet in diameter, Miss Saunders lost her equilibrium and fell.
She was borne away insensible, amidst the intense anxiety of a most
fashionable audience.  The announcement, however, of the Acting Manager,
Mr. Clark, that she had received but a slight injury, gave a salutary
relief to all present.  At her benefit, which took place on the previous
Thursday, under the patronage of Lord and Lady Somerset, the house was
crowded in every part.

In 1812 the Circus closed from want of support, and for a few years the
premises were occupied as a Bazaar, a speculation which was quite a
failure, although every inducement in the way of loos, lotteries, and
lucky-bags, was introduced, with occasional displays of fireworks and the
ascents of fire-balloons from the parade ground opposite, now the extreme
north Enclosure.  At that period, and for some years afterwards, the land
northward from the Pavilion boundary wall to the Level was enclosed with
posts and rails in areas like the present, and formed a public promenade,
and the parade ground of the military.  How it became enclosed with iron
railings and planted with trees and flowers, to the exclusion of the
inhabitants, has never been satisfactorily explained.  Occasionally
attempts have been made to investigate the business; but inasmuch as
money is required for such a purpose, and the majority of the ratepayers
are contented with the excellent manner the Enclosures are conducted,
they allow the Trustees who have possessed themselves of the right, to
continue in undisturbed possession.

From time to time since the demolition of the Grand Parade Circus,
various troupes of equestrians have visited Brighton.  Saunders's was the
first, his exhibition, which took place on the present site of St.
George's Place, being termed a Mountebank performance, and consisting,
besides feats of horsemanship, of such tricks as are witnessed in shows
at fairs and races.  On Thursday evening, June 21st, 1821, from six to
eight thousand persons assembled to witness the equestrian exploits, &c.,
of this company.  In the midst of the amusements one of the scaffoldings,
on which were nearly a hundred persons,--men, women, and children,--gave
way, and the whole fell to the ground, a depth of about four or five
feet.  Many persons received severe bruises, and Mr. Siller, of His
Majesty's private band, had his leg broken in two places.  The chief prop
of the scaffolding was some slight paling, the yielding of which to the
great pressure above occasioned the accident, which, under the
circumstances, might have produced far more serious results, as many
persons were immediately under it at the moment.  Cook and
Bridges--familiarly known to the juveniles of the time as "Cook and
Breeches,"--afterwards came and took up their position on the Level; and
then followed Ryan, Cooke, Batty, Tournaire, &c., in more or less
permanent buildings; followed by the flying visits of troupes in mammoth
tents.  The last erection for the exhibition of horsemanship, and that
still in existence, is the affair in Sussex Street, the hitherto success
of which is evidence that the intelligent portion of the community have
not failed to appreciate the talent which has been produced.




CHAPTER XXV.
BRIGHTON FROM ITS SIMPLICITY TO ITS PRESENT RENOWN.


The primitive state of Brighthelmston, both as respects the condition and
habits of the inhabitants and the position and style of the habitations,
must to a considerable extent be left to conjecture, as there is no doubt
the great changes which have taken place in and about the town to give it
the importance which it at present possesses as England's "Queen of
Watering Places," have all been effected within the last 150 years.

An engraving in "The Antiquities of England and Wales," published in
1775, {218} showing the ruins of the Blockhouse at that period, gives a
representation of the houses on the Cliff at the spot whereon now stand
the Old Ship Hotel and the premises adjacent.  The south end of
Black-lion Street is very conspicuous, the corner houses consisting only
of dwellings one story in height, of a cottage or hovel-like appearance,
very singular in architectural design when compared with the present
noble block of buildings of Messrs. Hedges and Butler, the wine
merchants, on the east side.

The author of a "Tour through Great Britain," date, 1724, says:--"Bright
Helmston, commonly called Bredhemston, is a poor fishing town, old built,
and on the very edge of the sea.  The fishermen have large barks, in
which they go away to Yarmouth, on the coast of Norfolk, to the fishing
fair there, and hire themselves for the season to catch herrings for the
merchants; and they tell us that these make a very good business of it.
The sea is very unkind to this town, and has, by its continued
encroachments, so gained upon it that in a little time more they might
reasonably expect it would eat up the whole town, above one hundred
houses having been devoured by the water in a few years past; and they
are now obliged to get a brief granted them to beg money all over
England, to raise banks against the water; the expense of which, the
brief expressly says, will be eight thousand pounds; which, if one were
to look on the town, would seem to be more than all the houses in it are
worth."

The Rev. William Clarke, Rector of Buxted, and grandfather of the
celebrated traveller, thus writes to his friend:--

                                            Brighthelmston, July 22, 1736.

    Dear Bowyer,

    We are now sunning ourselves upon the beach at Brighthelmston, and
    observing what a tempting figure this Island made formerly in the
    eyes of those gentlemen who were pleased to civilize and subdue it.
    Such a tract of sea; such regions of corn; and such an extent of fine
    carpet, that gives your eye the command of it all.  But then the
    mischief is, that we have little conversation besides the _clamor
    nauticus_, which is here a sort of treble to the plashing of the
    waves against the cliffs.  My morning business is bathing in the sea,
    and then buying fish; the evening is riding out for air, viewing the
    remains of old Saxon camps, and counting the ships in the road, and
    the boats that are trawling.  Sometimes we give the imagination leave
    to expatiate a little;--fancy that you are coming down, and that we
    intend next week to dine one day in Dieppe, in Normandy; the price is
    already fixed, and the wine and lodgings there tolerably good.  But
    though we build these castles in the air, I assure you that we live
    here _almost underground_.  I fancy the architects here usually take
    the altitude of the inhabitants, and lose not an inch between the
    head and the ceiling, and then dropping a step or two below the
    surface, the second story is finished something under 12 feet.  I
    suppose this was a necessary precaution against storms, that a man
    should not be blown out of his bed into New England, Barbary, or God
    knows where.  But as the lodgings are _low_ they are cheap; we have
    _two parlours_, _two bed chambers_, _pantry_, _&c._, for 5s per week;
    and if you will really come down you need not fear a bed of the
    proper dimensions.  And then the coast is safe; the cannons are all
    covered with rust and grass; the ships moored, and no enemy
    apprehended.  Come and see.

          Nec tela temeres
    Gallica, nec Pictum tremeres nec littore toto
    Prospiceres dubiis ventura Saxona ventis.

    My wife does not forget her good wishes and compliments upon this
    occasion.  How you would surprise all your friends in Fleet Street,
    to tell them you were just come from France, with a vivacity that
    everybody would believe to be just imported from thence!

In this year, 1736, the poor rates were eight pence in the pound on the
rack rent, "which was then," says Dunvan, "an intolerable burthen."
About this time visitors of distinction began annually, in Summer, as
soon as the deep roads of Sussex became passable with any degree of
convenience, to frequent the town; but lodging-houses had not then been
put in requisition, the only accommodation being a few indifferent inns;
and the principal diversions were hunting, occasional horse-racing, and
water excursions.

About the year 1750 the medical use of sea-water in scrofulous and other
glandular complaints, under the unwearied and successful attention of Dr.
Richard Russell, who removed hither from his seat at Malling, near Lewes,
established his fame and also that of the town all over the kingdom.  He
may in truth be considered the founder of Brighton's greatness; and it is
much to be regretted that the inhabitants while appreciating the laudable
services and good qualities of modern Royal and Noble patrons, and
perpetuating individual virtues by works of art in marble and on canvass,
have hitherto omitted to mark their gratitude to the memory of the
learned Doctor, there being amongst the treasures of the town no memento
whatever of him.  His portrait, it is true, graces the Telemachus room of
the Old Ship Hotel, but it might as well be stowed away in the ex-clock
tower of the Pavilion, so rarely have the public an opportunity of seeing
it.  This hint perhaps may induce the possessor of the portrait to make a
present of it to the Corporation, who have recently received several
additions by gift to their choice collection of paintings.

The erection of lodging-houses soon became a profitable speculation in
Brighton, and that late obscure fishing village began to increase in
population and celebrity.  The wonderful success of the industry and
discernment of Dr. Russell appeared by several cases of cures which he
cited in his work, "A Dissertation on the use of Sea-water;" and the most
eminent members of the faculty in England bore willing testimony to the
great acuteness and utility of his professional investigations.  The
benefits which the diseased have ever since received from sea-water are,
therefore, in a great measure, to be imputed to the medical labours and
sagacity of this good man, in grateful commemoration of whom the
proprietors of a new street,--the first that was erected, composed
principally of lodging-houses for the accommodation of invalid
visitors,--named it after him, Russell Street, many of the original houses
of which that still remain, though now occupied by a different class of
persons than those for whom they were designed, show the improvement that
had then taken place in house property.  The Rev. Dr. Mannington, of
Jevington, in the following epigram, simply, yet elegantly estimates the
philanthropical abilities of Dr. Russell:--

    Clara per omne vum Russelli fama manebit,
    Dum retinet vires unda marina suas.

Thus translated:--

    Admiring ages Russell's fame shall know,
    Till ocean's healing waters cease to flow.

Dr. Russell's son, William--afterwards Mr. Sergeant Kempe, on assuming the
name of his maternal grandfather,--however, who appeared to have been one
of the wits of the town at that period, by the following lines, knew the
limit of his father's skill:--

    Brighthelmston was confess'd by all
       T' abound with females fair;
    But more so since fam'd Russell has
       Prefer'd the waters there.

    Then fly that dang'rous town, ye swains,
       For fear ye shall endure
    A pain from some bright sparkling eye,
       Which Russell's skill can't cure.

Dr. Russell died in 1759, aged 72 years, and was interred in the family
vault at South Malling, on the 25th of December.  He was the son of Mr.
Nathaniel Russell, a surgeon and apothecary of Lewes, and clandestinely
married the only daughter of Mr. William Kempe, of South Malling.  After
his marriage he studied at the University of Leyden, and received
instruction under the learned Boerhaave.  His death took place in London.
Dr. A. Relhan was his worthy successor, inasmuch as he fully developed
the causes of the salubrity of Brighton, the invaluable efficacy of
sea-bathing, and the medical virtues of the chalybeate spring, at the
Wick, now the property of Sir Francis Goldsmid.  In his "Treatise on the
Salubrity of the Town and Neighbourhood," the Doctor writes:--

    The town, (June, 1761,) at present consists of six principal streets,
    many lanes, and some spaces surrounded with houses, called by the
    inhabitants squares. {221}  The great plenty of flint stones on the
    shore and in the neighbouring cornfields, enabled them to build the
    walls of their houses with that material, when in their most
    impoverished state.  At present they ornament the windows and doors
    with the admirable brick which they burn for their own use.  The town
    improves daily, as the inhabitants, encouraged by the late great
    resort of company, seem disposed to expend the whole of what they
    acquire, in erecting new buildings, or improving the old ones.  Here
    are two public rooms, the one convenient, the other not only so, but
    elegant, (the Old Ship), not excelled perhaps by any in England, that
    of York excepted.

    The _endemial_ or popular disorders of temperate people being the
    product of air and diet, the best proof of the healthfulness of the
    air of any place is deduced from the customary longevity of the
    inhabitants, and the rate of the Bills of Mortality.  By the poor's
    rate of this parish, there are 400 families in Brighton, each of
    these may be supposed to contain five souls (the common calculation
    in England is six in a family), and consequently the number of
    inhabitants, exclusive of those supported in the work-house, who, at
    a medium, amounted to 35, may be estimated at 2,000.

    In seven years, beginning with 1753, and 1752, the baptisms were 388,
    and the burials 227; so that the baptisms were annually to the
    deaths, nearly as five to three.

    But as the dissenters are nearly a tenth of the whole, I may be
    allowed to add to the number of baptisms 35 for the seven years,
    which is five annually, and nearly a-tenth, and makes the whole of
    the baptisms 423 to 227 burials.  By this the baptisms are annually
    to the deaths as 60 to 32, which is nearly two births to one death.
    In London there is annually a death in every 32 persons, which is
    nearly two to one in favour of Brighton.

    With regard to the sea water at this place, it appears by experiments
    that in Summer (weather tolerably dry) there are in every pint of it
    at least five drachms and fifteen grains of defecated salt; about
    five of bittern, or a decomposed earth, attracting humidity from the
    air; and six grains of white calcarious earth.  This proportion of
    clean contents, being nearly a twenty-third of the whole, is as
    great, or perhaps greater, than is to be found in the sea water of
    any other port in England, and must be owing to its peculiar distance
    from the rivers, it being further from such, I apprehend, than any
    other sea port in England.

Dr. Coe, writing in 1766, says:--"Brighton is a small ill-built town,
situated on the sea-coast, at present greatly resorted to in the Summer
season by persons labouring under various diseases, for the benefit of
sea bathing, and drinking sea water; and by the gay and polite on account
of the company which frequent it at this season.  Until within a few
years it was no better than a mere fishing town, inhabited by fishermen
and sailors; but through the recommendation of Dr. Russell, and his
writings in favour of sea water, it has become one of the principal
places in the kingdom.  It contains six principal streets, five of which
are parallel with each other, and are terminated by the sea, namely, East
Street, Black-lion Street, Ship Street, Middle Street, and West Street;
and North Street runs along the other ends of the five, from the Assembly
Rooms, kept by Mr. Shergold, almost to the Church."

The Rev. William Gilpin, {222} in his "Observations on the Coasts of
Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent," made in the summer of 1774, observes:--"Soon
after, we reached Brighthelmstone, a disagreeable place.  There is
scarcely an object either in it or near it of nature or of art, that
strikes the eye with any degree of beauty," and then in a somewhat
contradictory manner, adds:--"One of the most picturesque sights we met
with at Brighthelmstone, was the sailing of a fleet of mackarel-boats to
take their evening station for fishing, which they commonly continue
through the night.  The sun was just setting when all appeared to be
alive.  Every boat began to weigh anchor and unmoor.  It was amusing to
see them under so many different forms.  Some in a still calm with
flagging sails, were obliged to assist their motion with oars; others
were just getting into the breeze, which rippled the water around them,
and began gently to swell their sails; while the fleet, the water, and
the whole horizon, glowed with one rich harmonious tint from the setting
sun."

Mrs. P. Hill, in her "Apology," {223}--now a very rare work,--in 1787, five
years after the Prince of Wales first honoured the town with his
presence, complains of the "doors opening direct into the sittings
rooms," and of the "inconvenience of not being able to be 'out' to any
visitor."

Bew writes, Sunday, August 30th, 1778:--"This town is built on spots, in
patches, and for want of regularity does not appear to advantage: every
man, as to building, seems to have done what appeared right in his own
eyes.  Here is no magistracy: if there is an affray, the parties must go
as far as Lewes, which is much the prettier town, to have it settled.
Upon recollection, this town may be quieter for having no trading
justices resident on the spot.  Am since informed, a gentleman in the
commission of the peace attends here occasionally from Lewes.--There can
be no antiquities; for Brighthelmston was only a small obscure village,
occupied by fishermen, till silken Folly and bloated Disease, under the
auspices of a Dr. Russell, deemed it necessary to crowd the shore, and
fill the inhabitants with contempt for their visitors."  In his "Diary,"
also, Tuesday, September 7th, 1779, he writes:--"Am viewing my worthy
friend, Mr. Bull's house, or rather box, upon the Clift, between Ship
Street and Black-lion Street.--He beckons me in, and shews it throughout.
It is one pretty room to the height of three stories, with a semicircular
window comprising most of the front, and on each floor overlooking the
sea all ways, which makes the situation most delightful.  The ground
whereon it stands is copyhold--indeed the ground in and about Brighton is
mostly so--measuring nearly eighteen feet square.  The fine is both
certain and small.  About fifty years ago, this piece of land was sold
for four pounds; thirty years since, a purchaser gave eleven; and about
this time two years, the Alderman bought it for one hundred pounds to
build upon."  The premises here referred to are 35, King's road, those in
the occupation of Mr. Ridley, boot and shoe maker.  In the same Diary,
date Monday, September 7th, 1778, he remarks: "Mr Alderman Bull, of
London, is building a house on the Clift; a semicircular window is in
each story.  Am told he meets with many obstacles in the execution of his
design.--Surely it is to the interest of these people (meaning the
inhabitants) to have such men become resident among them; but he is
denied a convenient entrance to his building.  A cellar window to the
adjoining house projects before his street door."

That Brighton at the present day possesses fine architectural features
cannot be denied.  The magnificent Squares and Crescents which flank its
sea-frontage, and even form part of the frontage, possess strong claims
on our admiration, especially when we glance at the general state and
style of architecture of our time, and reflect upon the rapid rise and
development of the town--looking to what it was and considering what it
is.

During the close of the last, and the beginning of this century,
architecture had reached its lowest ebb in England.  Our true indigenous
Gothic had almost passed into a tradition: the Classic models, from their
extreme ill-adaptation to our climate, had undergone such deterioration,
that the application of the term even to the best of later works was an
absurdity.  The influence of Sir Christopher Wren had been of the most
baneful character; not that he was himself deficient in genius, but that
his style, which hardly attains to grandeur even in the Metropolitan
Cathedral, was of a character which inevitably degenerated in feeble
hands.  Thus it happened that we were left almost without a national
style, or, at least with one utterly devoid of intrinsic merit of any
kind.  The churches and other public buildings were erected upon no
principles; and in accordance only with the taste, or want of taste, in
the architect, who no longer represented an Art, but devoted himself to a
Profession.

Of course, when all the higher and more important offices of architecture
were thus indifferently served, it was not to be expected that
street-architecture would fare very happily.  Our streets, in fact,
gradually lost all their picturesqueness and variety of the olden times,
and gained neither dignity nor beauty.  Complacent builders shrugged
their shoulders in pity at ancestors who had covered houses with roofs
like over-sized wigs; or had recourse to hanging stories one projecting
over the other until the light of heaven only stole into the streets
through a narrow aperture above the road.  But though these things were
quaint and barbarous, there was a something about them which had in it
the sense of beauty,--something which makes one even now prefer the High
Street of Eastgrinstead to the latest built, the most elegant and
supernaturally genteel of our modern terraces.

This, however, has only just begun to be felt, and when Brighton rose
like a dream upon the remains of a fishing village, none of these things
were thought of.  People had certainly discernment enough to see that the
rude village style would not do.  A visitor of Dr. Russell's time
describes Brighton houses as consisting of one or more stories, and with
the door-ways so low that you must stoop to enter, and then probably
stumble down a step or two into the sitting room.  A person has only to
go into the Twittens, the narrow lanes between Middle Street and Black
Lion Street, to witness even now such illustrations.  The Railway booking
office, in Castle Square, is a specimen of the architecture of Brighton
after this period; and under George IV. it was beginning its marvellous
development.

This sort of thing it soon became necessary to alter, and year after year
saw the gradual improvement in the streets of the town.  But though this
resulted in fine streets, and in lofty and commodious houses, the element
of beauty was always wanting, simply because there was nothing like a
principle in the minds of builders.  They had some vague notions of the
Palladian oracles, of a bastard Italian, a debased Renaissance,
applicable to dwelling-houses; but the results of the application were
and have been, up to the present time, deplorable.

Brighton is not alone in this matter,--indeed, it rises superior to very
many of its compeers; but when its position and infinite diversity of
sight are reflected upon, there cannot fail to be regrets upon the
Brighton it might have been.  Supposing, for example, that an earlier
recognition of the claims of Gothic and an English style had taken place.
Suppose that the public buildings, instead of being of the packing case
order in beauty--hollow cubes with a sham frontage of stuccoed
pilasters--had presented the variety in structure and beauty in detail
which is found in a minor degree in St. Peter's Church.  Suppose further
that the streets, instead of having, as at present, flat, level surfaces,
without a line of beauty in themselves, without a curve or an angle to
reflect the sunshine or hold the shadow, which is so exquisite, had
retained even the quaintness of early times, what a town Brighton would
have been!  No continental town could, from its very situation and the
formation of the ground upon which it stands, have exceeded it in
picturesque loveliness.  And short of this, even had the purer Italian
models been followed, had builders attempted such erections as those of
Palmeira Square, or those of the Pavilion Buildings,--and they are the
best specimens of that class of street architecture which we possess,--the
result would have been a grandeur and a beauty which would have left the
visitor no ground for a moment's doubt that Brighton is indeed the "Queen
of Watering Places."

The improvement in the style of the buildings was the natural result of
the great accession of visitors for the benefit of the sea-bathing.  Bew
remarks, Sunday, September 13th, 1778:--"Took the liberty of surveying all
the bathing-machines.  Fine ladies going,--fine ladies coming away.
Observe them at the instant of bathing,--how humiliating!  They appear
more deplorable than so many corpses in shrouds, and put me in mind of
the old dialogue between Death and the Lady.  Methinks the guide is
saying, in the character of Death,--

    Fair lady, lay your costly robes aside,
    Nor longer think to glory in your pride."

An idea may be formed of the rage for bathing at this period from an
entry of the same diarist, Thursday, September 9th, 1779:--"Each man runs
to a machine-ladder as it is dragging out of the sea, and scuffles who
shall first set foot thereon: some send their footmen and contend by
proxy; others go in in boots, or on horseback to meet the machines:--so
that a tolerably modest man, on a busy morning, has generally an hour and
a half, perhaps two hours, for contemplation on the sands, to the
detriment of his shoes, as well as the diminution of his patience."  And
on Saturday, the 11th of the same month, he writes:--"Have matched the
bathers and bathees this trip however, having corrected them all
handsomely--without quarrelling--have given them the slip; but take the
particulars:--About 6 a.m., I drew along the sands, the machine of which I
had become seized by prescriptive right, by legal possession, having
deposited part of my wearing apparel therein, tho' I had requested the
assistance of the _marine centaur_, the man on horseback, in vain.  As
the tide was flowing, I soon plunged into the sea, stretched a long way
out into the offing, and continued rolling and laughing among my brother
porpoises, to think what a loss the company on shore would sustain for
want of one machine out of seven, it being a very fine busy morning.  The
bathers holloa'd and bawled in vain; for I could not, indeed would not
hear them.  After swimming backwards and forwards along the shore, about
four miles in the whole, the tide setting strong to the eastward all the
time, I returned about nine; and Smoaker, growling like a bear with a
sore head, swore bitterly."

William (Smoaker) Miles was a great celebrity, being the principal
bathing man.  One day, when the Prince of Wales was bathing, he ventured
out further than Old Smoaker considered prudent.  In vain Smoaker called
"Mr. Prince, Mr. Prince, come back," his holloas only causing His Royal
Highness to dash out further.  As the only means to exact obedience, in
rushed the old man, swam up to the Prince, and, seizing him by the ear,
lugged him, _nolens volens_, to the shore.  When his young aquatic
student remonstrated upon receiving such treatment, Old Smoaker rolled
out a round oath or two, adding, "I ar'n't agoen' to let the king hang me
for letten' the Prince of Wales drown hisself; not I, to please nobody, I
can tell'e."  The incident pleased the Prince, who ever afterwards
patronised him.  To testify, also, His Royal Highness's respect for the
straightforward, honest, but blunt fellow, he established the Smoaker
Stakes, which were run for at the Brighton Races, Friday, July 25th,
1806, with the following result:

    The Smoaker Stakes of 20gs. each, one mile; 8 yr. olds to carry 7st.
    4 yr. olds 8st. 3lb.  5 yr. olds 8st. 9lb.  6 yr. olds 9st. 11lb.,
    and aged 9st. 1lb.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's b. h. Albion, 6 yrs.        1
old
Mr. Fermer's b. c. Hippomenes, 4 yrs. old                            2
Lord Egremont's b. m. Slipper, 5 yrs. old                            3
Mr Howorth's ch. c Patagonian, by Pegasus, 3 yrs. old                4

    At starting the odds were 3 to 2 in favour of the field.  Albion was
    the favourite; 2 to 1 against Hippomenes and Slipper; and 3 to 1
    against Patagonian.  A good heat between the two horses first in.
    Won by about a neck.

Old Smoaker was a bit of a wit in his way.  On one occasion, while he was
standing near the Ship in Distress Inn, now the Sea House Hotel, two
dandies of the day addressed him, stating that they had come down to
Brighton for the benefit of their health, and had been recommended to
drink asses' milk, could he inform them how it was to be obtained.
Miles, more plain than polite, replied that he did not then exactly know,
but he should advise them, for the sake of saving themselves trouble, to
suck each other.

William Miles was succeeded, as Royal Bather, by his brother John, who,
when too old to follow his occupation, was pensioned off by Royalty, as
long as he lived.  A song of the time, then very popular, ran thus:--

    There's plenty of dippers and jokers,
       And salt-water rigs for your fun;
    The king of them all is "Old Smoaker,"
       The queen of 'em, "Old Martha Gunn."

    The ladies walk out in the morn,
       To taste of the salt-water breeze;
    They ask if the water is warm,
       Says Martha, "Yes, Ma'am, if you please."

    Then away to the machines they run,
       'Tis surprising how soon they get stript;
    I oft wish myself Martha Gunn,
       Just to see the young ladies get dipt.

Martha Gunn had a world-wide fame, and was the cotemporary of Mrs. Cobby,
the original bather.  Old Smoaker's daughter was known as Martha's
handmaiden, she being the chief dipper with the "Lady of the Bath."

The following extracts from the _Morning Herald_ will give an idea of the
importance of Martha and her occupation:--

    July 15th, 1805.--The venerable Priestess of the Bath, Martha Gunn,
    was busily employed this morning.

    August 4th, 1806.--The bathing machines were in active use this
    morning, and Neptune's _pickling tub_ exhibited many beauties in
    brine.

    August 16th.--Many of our lovely belles took _ducks_ for their
    breakfast this morning, purchased of their cateress, Martha Gunn, who
    boasts that from the fair profits she gains by the sale of her
    _ducks_, she is often enabled to purchase a goose for dinner.

    August 28th.--The Beach this morning was thronged with ladies, all
    anxious to make interest for a dip.  The machines, of course, were in
    very great request, though none could be run into the ocean in
    consequence of the heavy swell, but remained stationary at the
    water's edge, from which Martha Gunn and her robust female assistants
    took their fair charges, closely enveloped in their partly coloured
    dresses, and gently held them to the breakers, which not quite so
    gently passed over them.  The greatest novelty, however, that this
    part of the coast exhibited this morning, was in a gentleman's
    undressing himself on the Beach, for the purpose of a ducking, in
    front of the town, attended by his lady, who _sans diffidence_,
    supplied him with napkins, and even assisted him in wiping the humid
    effects of his exercise from his brawny limbs, as he returned from
    the water to dress.

In the following season the practice of bathing from the beach became so
general that on Thursday, August 19th, a Vestry Meeting was held at the
Old Ship, for the purpose of adopting measures to prevent the indecent
practice of indiscriminate bathing in front of the town.  Earl Bathurst
and Mr. Wilberforce were present, and subscribed five guineas each to
defray any expenses of prosecutions that might be deemed requisite to rid
the town of the evil.  The resolutions passed, that proceedings should be
taken against offenders, for awhile had the desired effect; but in 1808
the nuisance was revived, resulting in a prosecution at the Horsham
Assizes, on Monday, March 21st, 1809.  The case was:--

    THE KING _v._ JOHN CRUNDEN.--The defendant was indicted for indecently
    exposing himself on the beach at Brighton, on the 26th of June, and
    2nd of July last.

    Mr. Gurney having opened the indictment, Mr. Serjeant Shepperd stated
    the circumstances of the case.  He observed, that it had long been
    the practice of various persons to undress and bathe so near to the
    houses, and within view of the inhabitants of the town of Brighton,
    that at length many respectable persons had associated themselves
    into a Committee, to prevent such an indecent nuisance.  They had
    accordingly met and pointed out the limits within which persons not
    using machines might bathe in the sea, and in general most persons
    acquiesced in their resolution.  In order, however, that no person
    might complain of any hardship, they resolved that all persons who
    were invalids, and to whom it might be inconvenient to walk to the
    distance prescribed, should have tickets given them on application to
    the Committee, which would entitle them at any time to the use of a
    bathing machine gratis.  And still further, to preserve public
    decency they had built a hut on the beach, wherein any person might
    undress himself under cover.  Notwithstanding these different
    accommodations, the defendant, who was a tailor, at Brighton, refused
    to conform to these reasonable regulations, but obstinately persisted
    in the indecent practice of bathing within a few yards of the houses.
    He had been frequently remonstrated with, but his uniform answer was,
    the _sea was free_, and he would bathe when and where he pleased.
    Nor was he merely content in doing this in his own person, but he had
    induced many others to follow his example, and he constantly came at
    the head of his companions, by whom he was denominated the Captain,
    and in defiance of all decency and remonstrance, daily exposed
    himself naked on the Beach.  The Learned Serjeant here called
    witnesses to prove the facts he had stated.

    Mr. Marryatt addressed the jury for the defence, in which he stated
    it had been the custom at all times for persons to bathe where the
    defendant now bathed, and they ought not to be disturbed because Mr.
    Ellis, the witness, had thought proper to run up houses within view.

    The Chief Baron thought this a serious question, and stated his
    opinion that it was an offence against decency and morality.  If a
    town grew up, the inhabitants must not be annoyed with indecent
    spectacles; and therefore it became the duty of the bather to retire
    to remoter situations.--The Jury found the defendant _Guilty_.

For awhile this example had a very salutary effect; but, more or less,
until the present season, the nuisance has continued.  Now the New Bye
Laws prohibit bathing from the beach in front of the town, except before
the hour of six in the morning or after nine in the evening; and all
persons bathing from the machines are compelled to wear gowns, drawers,
or some such suitable covering.  Less than thirty years since the bathing
from the Ladies' Bathing Machines, between West Street and Middle Street,
was not of the most pleasant character, as it was customary for coal
brigs in fine weather, to discharge their cargoes at that spot, and
frequently, so was the surface of the water covered with fine coal dust,
that many a child who dreaded bathing, was compelled to be dipped an
extra time or two by the bathing women, to rinse off the black particles.

Some years have elapsed since the universal practice prevailed of
discharging cargoes of coal, stone, timber, &c., in front of the town,
greater facilities than formerly existed being offered now, at Shoreham,
for unloading at the wharfs, without the risk of the vessels--as was very
frequently the case,--being stranded.  Great quantities of coal is also
transmitted to Brighton by rail from Deptford Creek, so that that useful
household commodity is much reduced in price to what it formerly was.  In
the week prior to Christmas, 1812, such was the scarcity of coal in the
town, from adverse winds prevailing and preventing the arrival of
shipping from the north, that persons in even comfortable circumstances,
whose cellars were exhausted, purchased only to the extent of a bushel at
a time, and so indifferent were the coal merchants to part with their
coal even at 5 a chaldron--about equal to the present ton,--that at the
coal-yard of Messrs. Edmund Savage and Bonham, which was situate opposite
Ship Street Lane, in North Street, immediately above the shop of Messrs.
Palmer and Green, ironmongers, the purchaser of half-a-bushel of coal was
compelled likewise to buy at the same time sixpenny worth of uncleft
wood.

The following will show the cost of coal per chaldron at that period to
the coal merchants in the town:--

     Newcastle on Tyne, the Sixteenth day of November in the year of our
                Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirteen.

    It is this day mutually agreed between Mr. William Spence, owner of
    the good ship or vessel, called the "Eliza," Wm. Hunter, master, of
    the burthen of 96 tons, or thereabouts, now on her passage to
    Sunderland; and Messrs. Savage and Bonham, of Brighton, merchants,
    freighters of the said ship, for one voyage, at and from Sunderland
    to Brighton Beach.  That the said ship being tight, staunch, and
    strong, and every way fitted for the voyage, the said master, with
    said ship, shall, with the first opportunity, after arriving at
    Sunderland, take on board a full and competent cargo of Nesham Main
    Coals.  And being so loaden, the said master, with said ship, shall
    therewith proceed to Brighton Beach, or so near thereunto as he may
    safely get, and deliver the same to the order of the said freighters,
    on being paid freight, at the rate of Thirty-eight Shillings per
    chaldron, Winchester measure; the freighters paying King's duty, Town
    dues at Brighton, Ramsgate and Dover Harbour dues, and the owner
    lights, metage, delivery, and pilotage, during said voyage.
    (Restraints of princes and rulers, the dangers of the seas, of
    whatever nature, fire, and enemies, always excepted.)  Freight to be
    paid on delivery by what cash wanted for ship's use, and for the
    remainder a good Bill on London, at two months' date.  Two days
    allowed said freighters (if the ship is not sooner despatched), for
    unloading the said ship at Brighton.  Demurrage, Three Guineas per
    day, for every day's detention, over and above the days allowed as
    aforesaid.  Witness our hands the day and year above written.

    Witness, MATT. FAIRLESS.

                                                           WILLIAM SPENCE.

The incidental expenses attendant upon freighting a vessel brought the
actual cost to 3 16s. 3d. per chaldron, as thus:--

                                 .      s.      d.
Freight per chaldron                1      18       0
Nesham Main Coals at                       17       0
King's Duty per chaldron                   10       0
Town Duty do                                3       0
Spoutage at Newcastle do                            6
Cartage from Beach do                       4       0
Metage and Trimming do                      1       0
Ramsgate and Dover Lights do                2       6
Beer to men do                                      3
                                   3      16       3

Added to this, Mr. Savage, upon this occasion, to obtain the cargo with
the least possible delay, made a journey to Newcastle, the expenses of
which amounted to 20.

In 1805, persons interested in shipping, the coal merchants especially,
entertained the idea of a basin or harbour for the safety and
accommodation of vessels trading hither.  The project did not meet with
approval amongst the inhabitants generally, as they were desirous of
retaining the town as a place of fashionable resort, rather than make it
a trading port; and in April, the following year, His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales having caused it to be signified through Mr. Thomas
Saunders, High Constable, that he had not bestowed his sanction or
patronage in favour of the project, and that he did not intend to possess
any such intention, the idea was abandoned.  Some of those, however,
interested in the scheme, bore their disappointment with but an ill
grace, and for some years after the payment of the coal duties was the
source of much disaffection.  The principal of those who combatted
against the payment was Mr. William Izard, whose reasons of objection
were embodied in a handbill which he issued, as follows:--

     _To the Vistors and Inhabitants of the Town of Brighthelmston_, _and
                to all such other persons as it may concern_.

    Whereas sundry reports and misrepresentations have been propagated,
    and widely circulated concerning myself, in consequence of my having
    lately refused to pay the Coal Duty of three shillings per chaldron
    on all coals landed (_from my own vessels_) at this place, for the
    use and consumption of the inhabitants, as heretofore levied by the
    Commissioners acting under the Town Act, for the express purpose of
    "Building and repairing Groyns, Sea Walls, and other works, for the
    protection of the town of Brighthelmston against the encroachment of
    the sea, pursuant to the powers and by virtue of and by the authority
    of an Act of Parliament made and passed in the 50th year of his
    present Majesty," for the before-named purposes;

    In vindication of my own conduct, and in strict justice to myself and
    family, and that the public may not form an opinion which may in any
    wise operate to my prejudice, I do hereby beg leave to state my
    several objections for so refusing to pay the said Coal Duties, so
    unwarrantably demanded, viz.:--

    FIRST.--Because it clearly appears to me, from the best account that I
    have been able to obtain from Mr. T. Attree, the Commissioners' Clerk
    and Treasurer, that since the passing of the aforesaid Act of
    Parliament and the levying of the said Coal Duties, that the
    Commissioners have actually been in the receipt of near Eight
    Thousand Pounds from that source only!

    And that it also appears that the said Commissioners have not
    expended _Three Thousand Pounds_ of such monies so received, for the
    protection of the town, agreeable to the express provisions and in
    strict conformity to such enactments as are set forth in the said Act
    of Parliament; so that it seems that there is now a balance of
    between four and five thousand pounds in favour of that particular
    and specific account, and which balance of Surplus Duties now remains
    unapplied towards those sacred purposes for which it was raised, by
    and under the authority of the aforesaid Act of Parliament.

    And notwithstanding the immense balance in favour of the Groyns just
    before stated, and irreconcilable and incongruous as it may appear,
    these very same Commissioners are now actually paying the interest on
    the sum of 1140 money borrowed on the credit of the said Coal
    Duties, and that, in direct opposition to the very terms of the
    aforesaid Act of Parliament, which strictly restrains Commissioners
    from applying any money arising from that branch of their finance to
    any other use or purpose whatever, whilst there shall be any money
    due or be owing upon the credit of that account.

    And yet under all these circumstances the Commissioners are still
    endeavouring to increase their balance of Coal Duties, although it is
    not wanted for the purpose for which it is levied; and were the
    Commissioners to convert such balance to any other use, it would in
    them constitute a great abuse of power, and a high breach of their
    trust!

    As I do not chuse to participate in either of these crimes, I am
    unwilling to increase the guilt of such a portion of the
    Commissioners as may chuse to indulge in such gross misconduct, by
    continuing to do that to my own wrong, which would ultimately
    increase theirs.

    It is upon these grounds and upon them only, that I have been induced
    to refuse the payment of Groyn Dues; and I must also beg it to be
    unequivocally understood, that when the before-named balance of
    between Four and Five Thousand Pounds shall have been legally and
    fairly expended and properly accounted for, and if circumstances
    should hereafter make it necessary, I shall most willingly and
    cheerfully submit to the payment of the Coal Duty as heretofore.

    Brighton, August 24th, 1814.

                                                                WM. IZARD.

    Since the publication of the above address, Mr. Wm. Gates, principal
    Coast Officer of the Customs at this place, and the Commissioners'
    Collector of Groyn Dues, assisted by Mr. T. Attree, their Clerk and
    Treasurer, accompanied by the Brighton Magistrates, and also by Mr.
    Robert Ackerson, the present High Constable, and a great possy of
    "Headboroughs" and other persons have thought proper to make a
    seizure in my Coal Yard of Eight Chaldron of Coals, to satisfy
    themselves for the payment of such Dues as they pretend to claim as
    due from myself: to effect which, the violent measure of breaking
    open my Coal Yard gate, by forcing the lock, was resorted to, on
    Thursday last; but as the merits of this transaction are put into a
    fair train of legal investigation, I have to request that the candid
    public will be pleased to suspend judgment till the issue shall be so
    determined.

                                                                WM. IZARD,
                                             Ship Owner and Coal Merchant.

    Brighton, August 29, 1814.

The power of the authorities prevailed, and the Dues continued to be
exacted.

The female attendants of the machines are, as respects dress especially,
of the primitive order of their race, except that they do not in the
afternoon appear in their best prim attire, as of yore they were wont to
do, to "tout" in Castle Square, on the arrival of the coaches.  Their
last grand show day in their aquatic costume was on the occasion of their
visit to the Exhibition, in Hyde Park, 1851, when, to defray their
expenses, subscriptions were raised amongst the inhabitants.  At the
Exhibition they were the observed of all observers; and had but the
original idea been carried out of their travelling from the London Bridge
Terminus to the building, in their machines, the arrangements of the day
would have been complete, and the unsightliness and primitive
construction of the vehicles would have excited the sympathy of some
inventor and induced him to bring out something that would have had a
creditable appearance.

Almost coeval with sea-bathing in establishing the reputation of
Brighton, were the baths, first established by Dr. Awsiter, on the spot
now occupied by Brill's Ladies' Swimming Bath, and for so many years
known as Wood's Original Hot and Cold Sea-water Baths.  The first stone
of these baths, which were after a plan of Mr. Golden, architect, was
laid in the year 1759.  Mr. George Lynn erected the present building.

Dr. Awsiter, in a pamphlet, called "Thoughts on Brighthelmston,"
published in 1768, says, "The utility of these baths is obvious: they may
be used either for hot or cold bathing.  There are some individuals to
whom cold bathing would be serviceable, could they be able to bear the
fatigue of being dipt in the sea, and (what is more material), to be
exposed to the cold air.  If the weather happens to be stormy, and the
sea so rough, as not to admit of bathing in it, recourse may be had to
the baths: by this means bathing would become more universal, be
unattended with terror, and no cure protracted.  Moreover, invalids would
have the advantage of this bathing remedy all the year round; whereas, on
account of the variableness of our climate, it is denied them at present,
except in the Summer months, and then only in calm weather."

The Artillery Baths, the next established, obtained their original fame
from the proprietor, Mr. Smith, having discovered a method of curing the
gout, by means of an air pump, from whence many persons of rank and
consequence received great benefit.  They are known now as Hobden's
Artillery Baths.

Williams's Hot and Cold Baths, which occupied the site of the present
Lion Mansion, at one period received extensive patronage, and the
_Morning Herald_ of August 17, 1807, says, "Williams's Baths are in very
fashionable request.  Numberless _elegantes_ were in hot water there this
morning."  On Mr. Williams's decease they were carried on by Mr.
Bannister, who was succeeded by his son-in-law, Mr. William Knight.  The
halcyon days, however, of these baths had fled, and the premises, after
remaining in a very dilapidated state for some time, were cleared off for
the erection of the present noble mansion.

The personage who acquired the greatest fame for his baths, and obtained
the highest and most extensive patronage, was Sake Deen Mahomed, who,
although not born in Brighton, yet, this highly favoured town was the
theatre where his name became patent for the alleviation of suffering
mankind, and hence he is entitled to special notice.

He was a native of India, and was born at Patna, the capital of Bahar,
about 290 miles N.W. of Calcutta, in the year 1749.  Having been educated
for the surgical profession, he entered the East India Company's service
in that capacity, which he afterwards relinquished, and for fifteen years
acted exclusively in a military character.  In the year 1780 he was
appointed by Major, afterwards General Popham, to a company, but in 1784,
he left the service and came to England, where be continued to reside the
remainder of his valuable life.  In his early days having devoted much
time and attention to Oriental bathing, both medicinally and as a luxury,
on his arrival in England, he was induced to think seriously of
introducing the Indian Vapour Bath, and the art of Shampooing, and
sedulously employed himself in preliminary experiments, to prove the
correctness of the hypothesis he had formed, that what was a luxurious
restorative in India, might prove in England a wonderful remedy for many
diseases.

Justified by proof, he repaired to Brighton, where he promulgated his
discovery, but at first with little success, as the public were
ill-prepared to receive a system which should supercede Warm Sea-water
Bathing.  Fortunately, however, he effected several gratuitous
cures,--cures which quickly gained circulation amongst those who had
prejudged and condemned his bath; and adduced the most positive and
convincing proof of the great superiority of Shampooing over every other
description of treatment, in particular cases.  All prejudices were
quickly removed, and his wide-spread fame soon gained him the appointment
of Shampooing Surgeon to their Majesties George IV. and William IV.
Presents, conveying the expressions of the deepest feelings of gratitude
and thankfulness, crowded upon him.  The Muses poured forth their
eulogiums; the several organs of the press--national and local--their
panegyrics.

He exemplified the curative and invigorating influence of his Art in his
person and his longevity.  He died the 24th of February, 1851, at the
advanced age of 102 years, and was buried in the church-yard of St.
Nicholas, Brighton, where an unassuming tomb records his age and death.
He was father of Mr. Frederick Mahomed, of the Gymnasium, Palace Place.

Mahomed's Bath establishment opposite the Star and Garter Hotel, King's
Road, is now the property of Mr. Charles Brill, who is likewise the
proprietor of the Ladies' Swimming Bath, before mentioned, and the
extensive baths and the Gentlemen's Swimming Bath, originally Lamprell's,
at the bottom of East Street.  Buggins's Baths in Western Street, are a
great acquisition to the western part of the town; where also, in the
Western Road, Hove, is the Turkish Bath of Dr. Toulmin, who is well
supported in his popular treatment.  Other baths have from time to time
been started, mostly, however, with a very ephemeral existence.

Great as was the success of Mahomed's process, he was in no
inconsiderable degree indebted for the many cures he effected to the
perseverance of Mr. Henry Harrap, to whose memory the author of this book
has a grateful respect, for enabling him to retain and ably use a leg,
the amputation of which had been recommended by the faculty.  Little is
known of his early career, more than that he was born at Helston, in
Cornwall, October 21st, 1794.  He left home at an early age, and during
the short peace previous to the battle of Waterloo, he was a private in
the 51st Foot, the Duke of York's Own.  In 1817, he was with his regiment
stationed at the Infantry Barracks, Brighton, being then an officer's
servant.  His brother Richard was also in the same regiment, as
Sergeant-Bugler, and, during his location here, he married, at Preston, a
young woman, the widow of Corporal Fudge, late of the Gloucester Militia.
But shortly after his marriage he deserted.  His wife however, provided
two substitutes, and paid 40 for his discharge; she also bought Henry
off, and the two brothers, till the year 1828, followed the trade of boot
and shoe making, in Ivory Place.  The maiden name of his wife was Short,
a native of the village of Hangleton, and she was married to Fudge before
she was 14 years of age, in consequence of her mother, who was a widow,
being about to be married to another corporal in the same regiment, the
man refusing to wed her with an incumbrance.  Richard died in 1828, and
in the following year Henry was married to his brother's widow, at St.
George's in the Borough, London.  By neither brother had she any family;
but by her first husband she had four daughters.  She died in July, 1843.
In 1838, Mr. Harrap discontinued the business of shoemaking, and
converted the shop-front of his premises on the Grand Parade, at the
corner of Sussex Street, to one of a more private character, devoting the
whole of his attention to professional rubbing.

At the zenith of the career of Sake Deen Mahomed, Mr. Harrap obtained the
custom of that professor, and for a long time continued to make and
repair shoes for the family.  This circumstance caused him frequently to
visit Mr. Mahomed's establishment, where he principally obtained that
information which enabled him to commence the practice of rubbing,
omitting the shampooing process, his inventive genius enabling him to
substitute as many contrivances as the numerous cases of affliction
entrusted to his skill and care required.  Many of his inventions, which
had been of benefit to sufferers, formed a species of Museum in a room at
Mahomed's establishment.  From Mrs. Williams, too, a neighbour, in Ivory
Place, who was celebrated for her healing unguents, Mr. Harrap gained
much of his surgical knowledge.

Mr. Harrap was totally uneducated, and, at the commencement of his
professional career, entirely unacquainted with medical science and
nomenclature; yet, progressively, by natural instinct as it were, and
studied practice, he acquired a knowledge of anatomy which astonished
those who were conversant with that science; and gentlemen of high
position in the medical profession--including the late Sir Matthew
Tierney, Sir Astley Cooper, Sir Benjamin Brodie, &c.,--acknowledged his
worth by awarding him that credit which they considered due to an
energetic and gifted man.  His perseverance enabled him to amass a large
fortune; and after having been a great sufferer for more than two years,
from a cancer of the bowels, he was removed by death from the scene of a
most useful life, on Saturday, the 12th of October of last year, leaving
a wife, the widow of the late Sidney Walsingham Bennett, Esq., solicitor,
to lament her irreparable bereavement, and a large circle of grateful
patients and sincere friends the remembrance of an honourable, and
honoured man.

For some time previous to his decease he had been unable to attend
actively to his professional duties; yet, he was present daily, at his
house of business on the Grand parade, watching, and instructing his
step-son, now his successor, Mr. Sidney Bennett, who qualified as a
surgeon on the 29th of May, 1861, and there is little doubt his
perseverance in the course pursued by the deceased will add a lustre to
his father-in-law's name, and confirm a credit due to the memory of a man
who was never ambitious of praise, but perseveringly sought a remedy to
alleviate the sufferings of the afflicted.  Deceased was buried at the
Parochial Cemetery, Lewes Road.

Nature has been peculiarly bountiful in her goodness towards Brighton;
as, independent of the salubrity of the position of the town and the
superlative excellence of its sea-water, the Chalybeate spring at the
Wick is possessed of great curative properties, the opinion of Drs.
Russell and Relhan, being confirmed by Dr. Henderson, who thus writes:--

    This water, when first taken from the spring in a glass, in
    appearance greatly resembles a solution of emetic tartar in common
    water.  The taste is not unpleasant, something like that upon a knife
    after it has been used in cutting lemons.  It does not seem to
    contain the smallest portion of sulphur; it neither changes vegetable
    blues, red, nor does it effervesce with alkaline salts, calcareous
    earths, magnesia, nor fossil alkali; neither does it change vegetable
    blues, green, nor does it effervesce with acids; yet it curdles soap,
    and renders a solution of it in various spirits milky.

    It seems to contain a considerable portion of calcareous earth, mixed
    with vitriolic acid in the form of its selenites, and also a
    considerable portion of iron, as will appear from the following
    experiment: Sixty-four ounces of this water by measure being
    evaporated to dryness, there was a residuum of a brownish colour,
    full of spicul, weighing eight grains, four ounces of which, with an
    equal quantity of charcoal, was made into a paste with oil, and
    calcined.  On trying the calcined matter with the magnet, two pieces
    nearly in the metallic form adhered to it; and when put upon paper,
    at the distance of half an inch, moved in every direction with the
    magnet.  These two pieces weighed one-eighth of a grain.

    The gross residuum neither effervesces with alkali nor acids, and is
    sufficiently soluble in water.

    This water becomes instantly transparent, like distilled water, on
    the addition of any of the mineral acids, especially the vitriolic.

    A solution of galls in common water, added to an equal portion of
    this water, becomes black like ink, in a few minutes.

    The Chalybeate has been found serviceable in several cases of general
    debility, crapulas, indigestion, atony of the stomach, and fluor
    albus; and in all those diseases where chalybeate and tonic remedies
    are required, it promises, under due regulation, to be useful.

Dr. Henderson was a physician of eminence in the town; and a minute of
Vestry, at the Unicorn Inn, February 10th, 1794, shews the esteem in
which he was held by the inhabitants.  It runs thus:--"Dr. Henderson
presented with a pint silver cup, for his care and attention to the
parish."

A character of the time, who also practised the healing art, is not so
favourably mentioned in the Vestry Book, February 4th, 1805, the entry of
him being:--"Resolved that Michael Cobby be allowed eight shillings per
week, on his quitting the Poor-house; and his drugs and effects delivered
up to him."  It must not, from this, however, be supposed medicine and
surgery were so at a discount that parish relief was requisite to
maintain

                The wise physician skilled our wounds to heal.

Dr. Cobby, as he was familiarly known, had talent, but he was more a
disciple of Bacchus, than of Galen, and the natural reply to him, as he
tendered his services in his tattered clothes, which his poverty bespake,
and as a foul specimen of the unwashed, would be "Physician,
heal--cleanse--thyself."  Not that Brighton at that period had waned in the
least from the character it had obtained for healthfulness, as a
memorandum, made August, 1806, states:--"Such is the healthy condition of
the town, that the doctors and apothecaries complain dolefully of their
declining businesses, and undertakers are literally starved out, the
latter declaring, 'All trades must live,' but the residents are
determined not to serve them."  In 1580, there was but one medical man in
Brighton, Dr. Mathews, who lived in Middle street.  His terms for
attending in confinements were: At Portslade and Rottingdean, 5s; at
Blatchington, 3s 6d; and anywhere in the town of Brighthelmston, 2s 6d.

In the early part of 1886, a sad scourge, the small pox, pervaded the
town, and on the 25th of January, that year, when the population amounted
to 3620, the following return of its virulence was made:--

                        _Those who had the      _Nos. who had not_.
                        small pox_.
West Street                                351                     322
Middle Street and                          231                     272
Lanes
North St. and ditto                        234                     295
Ship and Blk-Lyon do                       318                     336
Knab, Cliff, Brighton                      260                     291
pl. and Little East
St.
East St. and Nth Row,                      308                     291
Steyne and Pool Lane
Poor in the House                           31                      50
Number supposed.                             0                      30
After taking numbers
                                          1733                    1887

A general inoculation in consequence, was ordered at a Vestry Meeting;
and the 1887 who escaped the disease were inoculated by Messrs. Lowdell,
Gilbert, Pankhurst, and Tilston, the charges being: The poor, servants,
and day-labourers, at 2s. 6d. each; and other persons at 7s. 6d. each.
The return of the deaths is not made in the Vestry minute book.

One of the crowning features of Brighton, as a health-providing town, is
the German Spa, Queen's Park, an establishment for manufacturing the
Artificial Mineral Waters, which, by the faculty, are pronounced to be so
perfect an imitation of the original springs in Germany, that the most
celebrated chemists can detect no difference between them.  They are the
production of Dr. Struve, of Dresden, who some years ago turned his
attention to the analysis and imitation of the original, and patients who
have drank both can discover no difference in their flavour or effect.
The artificial waters supplied are:--

WARM WATERS         CARLSBAD     The Sprudel           165 Fahrenheit
                                 Neubrunnen            138
                                 Mulhbrunnen           138
                                 Theressebrunnen       122
                      EMMS       The Krnchen          117
                                 Kesselbrunnen         84
COLD WATERS      MARIENBAD       Kreutzbrunnen
                 AUSCHOWITZ      Ferdinandsbrunnen
                 EGER            Frazenbrunnen
                 PYRMONT
                 SPA
                 SEIDSCHUTZ
                 PULLNA

Mr. G. S. Carey, in a "Poetical Tagg, or Brighthelmstone Guide," {241}
July 28th, 1777, gives the following on the rise and progress of the town
even at that date:--

    This town, or village of renown,
    Like London Bridge, half broken down,
    Few years ago was worse than Wapping,
    Not fit for human soul to stop in;
    But now, like to a worn-out shoe,
    By patching well, the place will do.
    You'd wonder much, I'm sure, to see,
    How it's becramm'd with quality;
    Here Lords and Ladies oft carouse
    Together in a tiny house;
    Like Joan and Darby in their cot,
    With stool and table, spit and pot;
    And what his valet would despise,
    His lordship praises to the skies;
    But such the _ton_ is, such the case,
    You'll see the first of rank or place,
    With star and riband, all profuse,
    Duck at his door-way like a goose:
    The humble beam was plac'd so low,
    Perhaps to teach some clown to bow.
    The air is pure as pure can be,
    And such an aspect of the sea!
    As you, perhaps, ne'er saw before,
    From off the side of any shore:
    On one hand Ceres spreads her plain,
    And on the other, o'er the main,
    Many a bark majestic laves
    Upon the salt and buoyant waves;
    The hills all mantl'd o'er with green,
    A friendly shelter to the Steyne,
    Whene'er the rugged Boreas blows,
    Bemingled with unwelcome snows:
    Such is the place and situation,
    Such is the reigning seat of fashion.

    Brighthelmstone,
          July 28th, 1777.

Four years previous to the date of this "Tag," namely, in 1773, an Act of
Parliament was passed, giving power to sixty-four Commissioners, elected
by the inhabitants, to light and cleanse the streets, lanes, and other
places within the town of Brighton, and for the general regulation and
improvement of the town.  In 1809, meetings of the inhabitants took place
at the Old Ship, for and in opposition to obtaining a new Act of
Parliament; and on the 21st of February, 1810, a very large majority of
the Vestry, at a meeting held at the Old Ship, resolved that the Bill as
framed by the Town Committee, which had been appointed by the
inhabitants, should be forthwith presented to Parliament, to be passed
into a law.  The Act passed that year, augmenting the number of
Commissioners to one hundred, and raising the duty on coal from sixpence
to three shillings per chaldron.  On the 22nd of June, 1825, (6 Geo. IV.)
this Act was repealed and another passed, extending the number of
Commissioners to one hundred and twelve, and giving them increased
powers, in consequence of the extensive enlargement and requirements of
the town.

Under the provisions of this Act some of the greatest improvements in the
town were effected.  The most prominent of these was the Sea Wall, which
forms the southern front of Brighton from Cannon Place to the west end of
Kemp Town.  As early as 1799 the requirement of a wall at the foot of the
East Cliff, now the Marine Parade, to prevent the encroachments of the
sea, occupied the attention of the possessors of property in that
vicinity, as amongst the Conditions of Sale of the land for the purpose
of erecting the Royal Crescent,--sold by auction by Mr. Christie, at the
Old Ship Inn, Monday, September 16th, 1799,--was the following:--

    If it shall be judged necessary to build a Sea-Wall under the Cliff,
    for Use or Ornament, the Purchasers and Plot Holders of each Ground
    Plot to contribute their Proportion for Building the same.

The building of the Crescent commenced forthwith; but, in consequence of
one of the most prominent of the speculators absconding, the whole of the
houses were not completed until the end of December, 1807, at which
period the area in front of the Crescent measured four acres.  No wall
was then considered necessary at the foot of the Cliff, but a dwarf wall
was built on the south side of the carriage road, in lieu of posts and
rails, which guarded in a most irregular manner the other portion of the
road-way from the Steine to Black-Rock.  On widening the road as now
existing in consequence of the construction of the present massive
sea-wall, not only was the dwarf wall removed but the crown of the rise
of the road, which there ranged with the present paving of the Crescent,
was taken off, and the incline made on the turfed area, which was
considerably contracted by setting back the iron railings in a line with
the front of the other property immediately east and west.

A statue of the Prince of Wales, by Rossi, seven feet high, on an
ornamented pedestal, eleven feet high, was, in 1802, placed in front of
the Royal Crescent.  His Royal Highness was represented as dressed in his
regimental uniform, with his arm extended towards the sea.  The statue,
which was made of plaster, cost upwards of 300.  In November, 1807, some
person broke off the fingers of the extended left hand.  Eventually the
other arm with a portion of his mantle was knocked away, and in that
condition the mutilated figure was allowed to remain several years, till
becoming more and more unsightly from parties continually adding to its
disfigurement, it was removed.

Two incidents of a most melancholy character, in connexion with the Royal
Crescent, claim a record.  The first was the death of a workman, named
Leggatt.  He was engaged in forming the words "Royal Crescent" on the
tablet which surmounts the centre house, and had finished the S, when, on
stepping back to observe its agreement with the other letters, he
over-balanced himself, and, falling upon the iron railings below, he was
unfortunately killed.  The other event was the death of a soldier, named
Charles Millegan, of the Second Battalion of the Coldstream Guards, which
occurred on Christmas night, 1835, he having accidentally fallen down the
Cliff from the Crescent wall.  A stone to his memory, erected by the
privates of his battalion, in the north burial ground of St. Nicholas
Church, has the following inscription as a tribute of respect by his
comrades:--

    Oft may the tear his green sod steep,
    And sacred be the Soldier's sleep
          Till time shall cease to run.
    And ne'er beside his lonely grave
    May Briton's pass and fail to crave
    A blessing on the fallen brave,
          For such was MILLEGAN.

The first section of the town Sea-Wall, that between Ship street and
Mahomed's--now Brill's Baths,--was constructed in 1825.  Then followed the
execution of the difficult enterprise, the union of the east and west
sea-drives and promenade, by the formation of the Junction Road round
Brill's Swimming Bath, and thence across the outlet of the Pool Valley,
and southing the Albion Hotel.  To effect this great undertaking, the sea
had to be repelled, hence recourse was had to the erection of a series of
large groynes, and the facing of the wall, which is of concrete--a due
admixture of grey lime and shingle,--with piles and planking; and this
proceeding resulted in the sea being forced against the cliffs beyond the
Chain Pier, storm after storm making such inroads that in some places the
Marine Parade was not of sufficient width for a vehicle to pass.  The
proprietors of houses along the Marine Parade, in consequence, became
alarmed for their property.  The Commissioners therefore, took immediate
steps to prevent the incursions of the ocean, and numerous groynes, which
were erected between the Chain Pier and the Black-Rock groyne, having in
some measure answered the purpose of keeping back the raging water, a
plan was attempted to be carried out of forming a battering or leaning
wall of flint as a facing to the cliff, which was widened and filled in
as the wall progressed.  The scheme, however, proved a fallacy; as the
amazing mass of unsettled earth with which it was backed up, having
become saturated with heavy rains, forced out the foot of the wall, the
whole of which slid out into the sea, or on the beach.

A concrete wall of amazing substance, was then substituted with the
greatest success, at a cost of 100,000, under contracts, by Mr. William
Lambert, an extensive builder of the town.  In many parts, the wall--which
is in some places sixty feet high,--is twenty-three feet thick at its
base, and batters--inclines--on an average, four inches to the foot on the
face.  More recently, other portions of the sea-front of the town have
been extended in width, by the same process, to admit of the increased
road traffic, so that Brighton may now boast of an uninterrupted
sea-drive and promenade of more than three miles' extent.

The other public structures erected by the Commissioners are the Market
and the Town Hall.  The former is a lofty and commodious building,
standing principally on the site of the Old Workhouse and Town Hall.  It
is T shaped, with the transverse head towards the east, opposite the Town
Hall, a building which occupies the space whereon, till the erection of
the new structure, the Market formerly stood.  The corner stone of the
Town Hall was laid in April, 1830, by Thomas Read Kemp, Esq., the
contractor for the building being Mr. Doubleday, whose tender was 12,491
1s. 7d.  The cost, however, of the building, from the various hewings,
hackings, and cuttings, which it has undergone, has exceeded, at a
moderate calculation, 60,000.  It is after the plan of Mr. Thomas
Cooper, but it is minus a most important wing.  This defect arose from
the Commissioners omitting to purchase land for the south portion, the
owner of the property refusing to sell after the building had pretty far
advanced.  The consequence is that the approaches to the upper rooms of
the southern portion are wanting, and hence much inconvenience is
experienced.

The Town Hall is used for town meetings, public assemblies, the Council
meetings, and the general purposes of the Borough.  In it are offices for
the Town Clerk--C. Sharood, Esq.,--and his staff, for the Collectors of the
Municipal and Parish Rates, and for the Borough Surveyor--Mr. Philip
Lockwood,--and his staff.  The Magistrates' Court, which occupies the
southern basement, is likewise used for the Borough Quarter Sessions, the
Recorder being John Locke, Esq., Q.C., and M.P. for Southwark.  The
police-force originally established on the 15th of April, 1830, under
Chief-Officer Pilbeam,--the Police Station then being in Steine Lane,--has
at present Mr. George White for the Chief-Constable, he having succeeded
Mr. Chase on the 21st of December, 1853, his predecessor,--who succeeded
Mr. Pilbeam,--Mr. Henry Solomon, having been murdered by John Lawrence, on
the 13th of March, 1844.  The Superintendents are Mr. Owen Crowhurst and
Mr. Isaiah Barnden; and the Inspector of Flys, &c., is Mr. James Terry.
The force consists of 80 men,--inspectors, sergeants, and privates,--who
occupy the south-west portion of the basement, immediately contiguous to
the Magistrates' Court, the dungeons for the uncommitted and, perhaps,
innocent, being in the most remote portion of the underground vaults at
the north-east of the building.

Prior to the establishment of the Police-force the care of the town was
entrusted to a few Watchmen of the antique school, by night, and a Beadle
in cocked-hat and general suit of his order, by day, assisted by the Town
Crier of similar mien and garb.  The Watchmen had succeeded the Patrol, a
species of self-guardianship which the inhabitants imposed upon
themselves in rotation, under the supervision of the High Constable and
his Headboroughs.  During the Winter months it was also customary for a
bell-man to perambulate nightly most of the old streets of the town, and
hourly proclaim the time and weather.  The stocks in the Market place,
and the parish pound at the back of the Old Church were then in vogue.

A portion of the principal room on the basement, to form the County
Court, is temporarily taken off by means of a partition, in two sections
which swing back on hinges to the side walls.  The Court is held every
alternate Friday, William Furner, Esq., being the Judge.  The only
residents of the building are Friend Paine--the Hall-Keeper,--and his wife.
Paine, at one time, was in himself the fire brigade of Brighton.  Eight
men, whose peculiarity of costume for the office consisted in wearing
white hats, had previously been engaged to work the engines in the event
of any fires; but none occurring, the white-hatted force was dispensed
with, and eventually such an arrangement was made by the Town Council
with the Brighton, Hove, and Preston Constant Service Water Company, that
the fire-hose being fitted to plugs and standards in connexion with the
water-mains, the service of the fire-engines was dispensed with, the
position of the reservoir of the Company, on the Race Hill, giving a
pressure sufficiently strong to force the water over the highest edifices
in the town.  In 1825, a Sussex County and General Fire and Life
Assurance Company was projected, with Mr. Barnard Gregory as Managing
Director.  The office of this Company was on the premises in North Street
now well known as Folthorp's Royal Library, where, in front of the house,
a fire-engine, fire-escape, and other appropriate apparatus, were
prominently displayed.  Firemen, bedight in the antique fittings of their
order in London, with silver-plated badge on their arms, bearing the
Brighton Arms,--two dolphins,--surmounted with SVX, and encircled with
"BRIGHTHELMSTON IN SIGILVM," and "SUSSEX COUNTY AND GENERAL FIRE AND LIFE
ASSURANCE COMPANY," perpetually showed themselves about the premises
which had been previously used as the Mess House of the officers of
regiments from time to time stationed at the Infantry Barracks, Church
Street.  The career of the Company was very brief, and the exploits of
the firemen were confined to one fire only, namely, that at Major
Russell's mansion, Portland Place, September 12th, 1825, known in
Brighton,--where the great rage for building had then just set in,--as the
year of the panic.  Kemp Town at that period, and for some few years
afterwards, was a town of carcasses, many of the houses being not only
floorless and windowless, but roofless.

In this district, but in the parish of Rottingdean,--to avoid the Brighton
coal dues,--the Brighton Old Gas Light and Coke Company erected their
works in 1818-19, much to the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants, who
petitioned Parliament on the 6th of May, 1818, against the introduction
of gas into the town.  Some considerable time elapsed before it was much
used for in-door lighting, persons, in general, having a fear of
explosions.  For illuminating it was first used on the 12th of August,
1819, when, to oblige the Company, Mr. Stone, shoemaker to His Royal
Highness the Prince Regent, gave them permission to fit up, at their own
expense, over his shop in East Street, at the corner of Steine Lane, a
design--the Prince of Wales' Feathers,--in gas, the effect of which excited
the wonder and admiration of the whole town, and completely reconciled
the inhabitants to the use of gas.

As early as 1806 the Incorporation of the town was mooted, and on the 2nd
of July, that year, a meeting of the inhabitants, at which the Vicar, the
Rev. R. Carr, presided, took place at the Old Ship, respecting a
communication which had been made from the Prince of Wales to Sir Henry
Rycroft, on the subject.  The meeting was numerously and respectably
attended, and the subject was ably and dispassionately discussed.  After
a debate of several hours, the Incorporation by Charter was unanimously
negatived, and an address of thanks was voted to His Royal Highness for
his condescension, and the kind interest which he took in the welfare of
the inhabitants of the town.  During the meeting it was announced that
the Prince had no particular desire that the Incorporation by Charter
should be adopted, unless the inhabitants should conceive that such a
measure would promote their interests; and that any other mode which they
might better approve of, for the impartial administration of justice in
the place, should be honoured with his Royal sanction.

The subject of Incorporation then remained dormant till about the year
1852, when, the inhabitants thinking that Brighton was of sufficient
importance to be placed on an equality with other towns of like
population and influence, agitated for a Charter.  The opposition of the
old governing body was very great, and the "tug of war" continued, each
party contending and hoping most zealously.  At length the contenders for
the Incorporation prevailed, and the Charter under the Municipal Act, and
bearing date, April 1st, 1854, was granted.  In 1860, in order to remedy
many known defects, the Local Government Act of 1858, was adopted, after
a severe contest.  The Corporation consists of the Mayor, the Recorder,
12 Aldermen, and 36 Councillors, six for each Ward, the Wards being the
Park Ward, Pavilion Ward, Pier Ward, St. Peter's Ward, St. Nicholas'
Ward, and West Ward.  The Magistracy consists of the Mayor, the last
ex-Mayor, the Recorder, the Stipendiary Magistrate,--at present A. Bigge,
Esq.,--and other Magistrates whose appointments are sanctioned by the
Secretary of State for the Home Department.  The present Magistrates are,
His Worship the Mayor, J. Allfree, Esq., J. C. Burrows, Esq., W. Catt,
Esq., J. Fawcett, Esq., W. Furner, Esq., W. M. Hollis, Esq., M. D. Scott,
Esq., B. Stent, Esq., W. F. Smithe, Esq., T. Warner, Esq., and W. Alger,
Esq., who also acts in that capacity by virtue of being the last
ex-Mayor.  Ewen Evershed, Esq., is the Clerk of the Peace.  The Mayors
hitherto, have been:--

  1854.--Lieut.-Col. Fawcett.

  1855.--W. Hallett, Esq.

  1856.--I. G. Bass, Esq.

  1857.--J. C. Barrows, Esq.

  1858.--J. C. Burrows, Esq.

  1859.--W. Alger, Esq.

  1860.--W. Alger, Esq.

  1861.--H. Smithers, Esq.

The great increase of the population during the course of the last
hundred years, is the surest criterion, whereby to judge of the rapid
progress of the town:--

In 1761 the population of Brighton was        2,000
1786                                          3,600
1794                                          5,669
1801 {249}                                    7,339
1811                                         12,012
1821                                         24,429
1831                                         40,634
1841                                         46,661
1851                                         65,573
1861                                         77,693

Brighton had, comparatively speaking, stood aloof from politics till the
passing of the Reform Bill, in 1832, the inhabitants, not being
free-holders, having had no voice in framing the House of Commons.  Under
the fostering wing of George IV. Brighton could not be otherwise than
Tory; but the Royal Patron of the town being dead and his successor
William IV. possessing different political views to his deceased brother,
and others besides the aborigines having taken up their abode in
Brighton, diversities of political opinions arose, and hence, on the
first election of Members for the Borough there was opposition.

The following have been the polling results of the elections to the
present date:--

        December 11th and 12th, 1832.
Isaac Newton Wigney, Esq.                  873
George Faithfull, Esq.                     722
Captain G. R. Pechell, R.N.                613
William Crawford, Esq.                     391
Sir Adolphus James Dalrymple, Bart.         32
         January 8th and 9th, 1835:--
Captain Pechell                            961
I. N. Wigney, Esq.                         523
Sir A. Dalrymple                           483
G. Faithfull, Esq.                         467
              July, 25th, 1837:--
Captain Pechell                           1083
Sir A. Dalrymple                           819
I. N. Wigney, Esq.                         801
G. Faithfull, Esq.                         183
               July 1st, 1841:--
Captain Pechell                           1443
I. N. Wigney, Esq.                        1235
Sir A. Dalrymple                           872
Mr C. Brooker                               19
   May 6th, 1842, on the Bankruptcy of Mr.
                   Wigney:--
Lord Alfred Hervey                        1277
Summers Harford, Esq.                      640
Mr. C. Brooker                              16
              July 30th, 1847:--
Captain Pechell                           1571
Lord A. Hervey                            1230
W.  Coningham, Esq.                        886
               July 8th, 1852:--
Sir G. Pechell                            1924
Lord A. Hervey                            1431
J. S. Trelawney                           1173
J. Ffooks                                  119
Upon Lord A. Hervey's appointment as a Lord
of the Treasury, under the Derby
Administration, his re-election took place on
the 4th of January, 1853, without opposition.
              March 20th, 1857:--
Sir G. Pechell                            2278
W. Coningham, Esq.                        1900
Lord A. Hervey                            1080
              April 30th, 1859:--
Sir G. Pechell                            2322
W. Coningham, Esq.                        2106
Sir A. MacNab                             1327
 July 16th, 1860, inconsequence of the death
            of Sir George Pechell
J. White, Esq.                            1588
H. Moor, Esq.                             1242
F. D. Goldsmid, Esq.                       571

CHAPTER XXVI.
THE MARINE PAVILION AND ITS OCCUPANTS.


The ascendency of Brighton over every other marine resort in the kingdom
may be regarded as having been established by the attachment to the town
of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, George IV., who in 1782--when
he was about twenty years of age,--honoured it for the first time with his
presence on the occasion of his visit to his uncle, the Duke of
Cumberland, who then occupied Grove House.  The auspicious event was
celebrated by the inhabitants with a general illumination, every pane of
glass in the town displaying a candle stuck in a lump of clay, the
primitive style of candlestick for illuminations before coloured glass
well oil-lamps, called Coronation Lamps, came into vogue, previous to the
adoption of gas.

The following year the Prince repeated the visit, occupying the house
adjoining Grove House, belonging to Thomas Kemp, Esq., of whom it was
subsequently purchased by his Royal Highness.  This house formed the
nucleus of the Marine Pavilion, the erection of which commenced in 1784,
and the building was completed in 1787.  At this period a barn stood out
abruptly in East Street, at the corner of North Street, but as it
incommoded the public drive it was taken down, and a handsome house,--the
original of the present north-east corner of North Street,--was erected at
the rear of its site, by Mr. Hall, surgeon.  The other dwellings,
northward to Carlisle House, were then built.  The east or sea front of
the Pavilion, which extended about 200 feet, consisted of a circular
building in the centre supported by stone Doric pillars, and crowned with
a dome, and on each side there was a range of bow-fronted apartments one
story high above the basement, with balconies and verandahs.  The
entrance front was towards East Street.  It consisted of a plain main
building to which, in 1802, were added two projecting wings, that formed
a square fore-court, in the centre of which was a handsome sun-dial,
supported by the figure of a negro that was much admired for its beauty
of design and accuracy of sculpture.

Immediately north of the Pavilion was Marlborough House, the property and
residence of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough.  It was a massive
square building of brick, two stories high, and a part of the east front
formed a noble bow having three windows on each floor.  There were six
windows also on each floor in this front besides those in the bow.  A
range of nine windows on each floor faced the north.  The northern
boundary wall of Marlborough House was in a direct line with the present
southern wall of the Pavilion Stables, and the cluster of elms on the
gentle mound just north of the present Pavilion marks the site of the
Duke's residence, which was a temple of benevolence and charity, the poor
and needy, daily participating in his bounty.  The following extracts
from the _Morning Herald_ will show that his Grace's good deeds to the
poor extended over a series of years:--

    BRIGHTON, August 10th, 1796.--The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough,
    with their household, leave here on the 17th inst.  Six weeks is
    generally the time for their Graces' residence here, but this summer
    they have overstopped their stay.  The Duke of Marlborough's
    liberality affords a good and generous lesson to the other nobility
    who occasionally reside here; for the victuals and milk (the latter a
    scarce article in this town), that is left amongst the household, is
    distributed every morning, in parcels, to the poor of the place; a
    good day's provision for several fishermen's wife and children.

    August 18th, 1806.--The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and Lady A.
    Spencer seemed greatly to enjoy, from the windows of Marlborough
    House, the parade of the South Gloucester Militia on the Level.--A
    crowd of the indigent inhabitants of this place, from the kitchen of
    Marlborough House, returned with smiling faces, and aprons, &c., well
    filled with provisions, to their families, at an early hour this
    morning.

The entrance of Marlborough House was to the west, where the road formed
the public way from East Street to Marlborough Row, which consisted of
nine houses, whereof North House--that now contiguous to the northern
entrance of the Pavilion Grounds--was No. 9.  It was a boulder-fronted
house, having adjoining it to the north, Coupland's blacksmith's shop,
with three horse-shoes on a board adorning its front.  These premises
projected from the front line of the south side of Church Street; and,
connected with them, were the dwelling-houses of Mr. Coupland and Mr.
Beattie, and Beattie's donkey stables, the whole group of buildings, for
many years after the Pavilion and Grounds became royal property,
disgracing the approach to the Sovereign's residence and destroying the
uniformity of the street.  Eventually, the town purchased the property,
and it was then wholly cleared away.  The other houses of Marlborough Row
were cant-bow fronted and were approached by four steps each.  They were
principally lodging-houses; but in 1800, No. 2,--opposite Marlborough
House,--was in the occupation of Mr. John Wymark, baker, and in September,
that year, on the occasion of a fire breaking out upon his premises, on a
Saturday night, the Prince of Wales received the unfortunate family, and
exerted himself in protecting their goods, which were taken for safety
into the Pavilion.

The grounds attached to the Royal Pavilion and Marlborough House were,
originally, of very limited proportions, those to the east front
consisting only of a narrow lawn west of a direct line northward from the
east front of the houses that form the north-east corner of Castle
Square, on the Steine.  But in consideration of the Prince and the Duke
constructing in 1793, the sewer to carry off the stream which flooded the
Steine in winter, the Lords of the Manor,--Brighthelmston-Lewes--with
consent of the homage, gave them permission to enclose a certain portion
of the Steine,--the Marlborough Steine, as it was termed,--adjoining their
houses respectively; but never to build or encumber it with anything that
might obstruct the prospect, or be any way a nuisance to the Steine.  The
ground then taken in was parted from the Steine by park palings, and
posts and rails were put along the outer side to form a foot-way for the
public.

In 1800, His Royal Highness purchased the principal portion of the
Pavilion property to the south, of Mr. Weltjie, but no important
improvements were undertaken until the following year, when, His Royal
Highness having purchased the Elm Grove Gardens, the permission of the
inhabitants was given him to enclose the old London Road, which ran
direct northward from the top of East Street, on his making the New Road
at his own expense.  By this alteration, the Grove, and the shrubberies
and pleasure-grounds of the Duke of Marlborough, which he likewise
purchased, became united with the Pavilion Grounds.

The Promenade Grove or Public Gardens, which were under the particular
patronage of the Prince of Wales, occupied the space of the present
Pavilion Grounds, directly south of the Royal Stables, as also the site
of the stables, and were approached by way of Prince's Place, an arched
gateway occupying the space whereon stand the premises now occupied as
the First Sussex Volunteer Rifle Orderly Room.  Prince's Place was
intended chiefly for the accommodation of the London tradesmen who came
to Brighton with their wares for the season.  An enclosed shrubbery of
small dimensions occupied the centre of the open space, and the carriage
drive was about it.

The gardens were surrounded with large overspreading elms, hence the name
of the Grove, and in the hottest day of Summer a luxuriantly refreshing
shade was afforded the fashionable promenaders who supported by
subscription the establishment, which was open every day during the
season.  On Wednesdays a public breakfast was provided, when a band of
music attended, and played at proper intervals select pieces of music.
The breakfasts, when the weather was fine, were well attended, and
boasted of all the elegance and the fashion in Brighton.  Parties also,
at other times went there to breakfast, drink tea, take
refreshments--which were provided in abundance,--read the papers, &c.  It
possessed a well-appointed saloon, fitted up in an elegant style:
adjoining which was an octagon-shaped orchestra.  On particular nights
the Gardens were brilliantly illuminated, and displays of fireworks were
given; at which times the admissions were half-a-crown, and the
entertainments were conducted with the greatest order and decorum.  Upon
stripping the walls of the house formerly inhabited by Mr. Johnson,
recently purchased by Mr. Bradley, in Bond Street, a bill, having
reference to these Gardens, and printed as follows, was brought to
light:--

                  Under the patronage of His Royal Highness
                             THE PRINCE OF WALES.
                               PROMENADE GROVE.

          The Nobility, Gentry, and Public are respectfully informed
                              that there will be
                    ON THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 8TH, 1802,
                               A GRAND CONCERT,
                                      of
                        VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC.
                                After which a
                      MAGNIFICENT DISPLAY OF FIRE-WORKS.
                          Designs and Fire-works by
                                 MR. MORTRAM.

               By Permission of Colonel Jones, the Band of the
                   18th Dragoons will perform on the Lawn.

             Admission at Half-past Seven; Concert at Eight, and
                         Fire-works at Nine O'clock.

                                 _Managers_,--
                         MESSRS. VERNEY AND JOHNSON.

The Promenade Grove, as a place of public entertainment, closed with a
Grand Gala, which terminated with the spectacle of the eruption of Mount
Vesuvius, on the 19th of September, 1802.

In 1805, the Royal Stables were commenced, after the plan and under the
direction of Mr. Porden.  They may be reckoned as the first great
architectural work in Brighton.  The centre of the building which
supports the dome is circular, and contains a spacious reservoir of water
for the stables which surround it.  In this circular area the doors of
various stables, comprising sixty-two stalls, open.  Somewhat elevated, a
gallery leads, by way of two staircases, to the several apartments of the
servants required about the stables.  The circumference of this spacious
building is 250 feet, and the dome which surmounts it is nearly of the
magnitude of that of St. Paul's Cathedral, London.  On the west side is
the magnificent Riding School, 200 feet long and 50 broad; and eastward
of the dome was a spacious Tennis Court.  The Parochial Offices occupy
much of this latter space, which had previously, by order of William IV.,
been added to the stables, a blank screen front to the east giving the
buildings an appearance of uniformity.  There are two grand entrances to
the stables, the one from Church Street, through a lofty archway which
enters into a spacious square court, containing the coach-houses,
carriage-horse stables, and general offices.  A similar archway leads to
the circular dome, opposite to which is a corresponding entrance from the
Pavilion lawn.  On the east and west sides of the circle are similar
archways leading to the Riding School and the Tennis Ground.

The neglected state of these premises is a disgrace as well to the nation
as to the town; for while Englishmen pride themselves on the vaunted
greatness of their country, such is the reduced condition of her military
resources that she is compelled to beg house-room of the civil
authorities for the accommodation of her soldiers, in a town where two
ranges of barracks are inadequate to the requirements of a single
regiment.  The Town Council are bound in justice to the ratepayers to
appropriate the premises to purposes for which little or no provision is
made.  The Courts of Justice in Brighton are libels on the name; the
police accommodation is meagre in the extreme, persons only suspected of
a crime being placed in underground dungeons similar to which criminals
convicted of the darkest crimes would not by any British Government be
permitted to be consigned; and while other towns with less pretensions to
greatness than Brighton have their Public Baths and Wash-houses, these
premises, which may be easily converted on a small outlay to meet all the
requirements alluded to, are permitted to be illegally let and grossly
misapplied, to the detriment of the property and the inconvenience of the
inhabitants.

The most memorable event, in connexion with the Royal Stables, was the
celebration of the Jubilee of the Fiftieth Year of the Reign of George
III., by Mr. Philip Mighell feasting 2,000 of the poorest inhabitants of
the town, by permission of the Prince of Wales, in the Royal Riding Room,
on Wednesday, October the 25th 1809.  The following is a copy of the
letter to Mr. Mighell, conveying the sanction of His Royal Highness:--

                                      Pavilion, Brighton, Oct. 20th, 1809.

    Sir,--I am commanded by the Prince of Wales, to acquaint you that His
    Royal Highness will have great satisfaction in affording the
    accommodation of his Riding House upon the happy occasion to which
    your letter refers, and which His Royal Highness sees in a most
    laudable view.

                                                   Sir, your Obedt Servt.,
                                                   BENJ. BLOOMFIELD. {257}

    P. Mighell, Esq.

The eventful day was ushered in by the ringing of bells, the British Flag
majestically waving on the venerable tower of St. Nicholas' Church, to
which place of Divine Worship the Freemasons of the Royal Clarence Lodge,
and their visiting brethren from the neighbouring Lodges, proceeded in
procession, about eleven o'clock, the Band of the South Gloucester
Militia taking the lead, and announcing their approach by their harmony.
An appropriate sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Tilt; at the
conclusion of which--there being then no organ in the church,--the
Musicians of the Prince of Wales's Band performed the Coronation Anthem.
At one o'clock a royal salute was fired from the Battery, and it was
repeated by a gun-brig, then lying off the town.  About half-past one
o'clock the doors of the Royal Riding House, in Church Street, were
thrown open for the admission of the benevolent Mr. Mighell's party, in
number about two thousand three hundred, exclusive of a hundred stewards,
who assisted upon the occasion.  The greatest order and decorum prevailed
throughout the feast; everybody was happy, and not an unpleasant incident
occurred to mar the harmony of the proceedings.  Mr. Phillips, of the New
Inn Hotel, who was afterwards known as Jubilee Phillips, had the
management of the dinner, the potatoes for which were a gift, and were
dug from Mr. Mighell's garden,--whereon now stands Queen Square,--by his
nephew, Mr. Richard Mighell, at present of Albany Villas, Cliftonville.
In the farm-yard of Mr. Scrase, about three hundred yards from the Riding
House, fifteen hundred poor persons were also dined, at the expense of a
party of gentlemen, who opened a subscription for the same benevolent
purpose, and similar order and harmony prevailed.  On retiring,--which
they did about five o'clock,--the grateful recipients gave expression to
their loyalty, and invoked blessings on Mr. Mighell and their other
liberal friends.  The Freemasons dined in their Lodge Room, at the Old
Ship--then kept by Mr. John Hicks,--where, also, in the evening, was a Ball
and Supper.

In 1803, the Prince purchased property in Castle Square, adjoining the
old stables, and year by year, till 1806, constant additions and
improvements were made to His Royal Highness's property.  Castle Square,
just at its junction with North Street, was, in July 1811, the scene of
the last punishment by the pillory in Brighton.  The culprit was a man
named Fuller, a native of Lewes; at the petty Sessions of which
town--Brighton then having no bench of magistrates,--he was convicted of
passing at Brighton a two-penny for a two-pound note.  The structure of
the pillory was upon a platform raised about ten feet from the ground.
It consisted of a frame connected with an upright pillar, around which it
revolved, and was made with holes and folding boards, through which the
head and hands of the criminal were put, and from twelve to one o'clock
he continued to take the circuit of an area of about eighteen feet
diameter, under the superintendence of Mr. Harry Colbron, the High
Constable, who, with his Headboroughs, escorted their prisoner to the
place of punishment from the King and Queen Inn, to which house he had
been brought from Lewes by the authorities of the House of Correction.  A
great concourse of the inhabitants assembled to witness the punishment,
which was conducted by Catling, the beadle.  The stage and pillory were
constructed by Messrs. Colbron and Saunders.

In 1814, the Prince purchased Marlborough House; and the same year the
houses and shops on the north side of Castle Square, and the whole of the
old stables and coach-houses between the south side of the Pavilion, and
terminating in a line with the bottom of North Street, were pulled down,
and a noble range of domestic offices was erected on the site.
Immediately north of the stables were the residence and grounds of Mr.
Louis Weltjie, Clerk of the Prince's Kitchen.  A portion of his
brick-fronted house still remains, just within the southern entrance of
the Pavilion Grounds.  Weltjie and his wife were Germans, who had saved
money while in the service of several of the nobility, and they invested
it in the purchase of the property which they afterwards disposed of to
the Prince, who reposed such confidence in Weltjie, that in December,
1788, upon His Royal Highness being--as was his perpetual condition,--in
pecuniary embarrassment, and it had been determined by himself and his
royal brothers, the Duke of York and the Duke of Clarence,--who were also
in difficulties,--to speculate upon the prince's accession to power in
consequence of the afflicting malady of their royal father, George III.,
Weltjie was selected as one of a party to effect a negociation in
England, Ireland, and Scotland, of some post-obit bonds.  Weltjie,
however, fearing the consequences, withdrew from the project by
introducing two persons of property and extensive money connexions, one
of whom on the 16th of that month, perfected a bargain secured by the
three royal brothers, for 30,000, payable when a _certain event_ should
take place.  The bonds went into "The Market," and the witless purchasers
who had obtained them at a premium, being afraid to acknowledge that they
held any such obligations,--inasmuch as by anticipating the death of the
sovereign they subjected the parties to all the penalties of petty
treason,--their redemption was never claimed.  Annexed is a copy of the
bond referred to:--

    KNOW ALL men by these presents that We, George Prince of Wales,
    Frederick Duke of York, and William Henry Duke of Clarence, all
    living in the City of Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, are
    jointly and severally, justly and truly indebted to John Cator, of
    Beckenham, in the County of Kent, Esquire, and his executors,
    administrators, and assigns, in the penal sum of Sixty Thousand
    Pounds of good and lawful money of Great Britain, well and truly paid
    to us at or before the sealing of these presents.  Sealed with our
    seals this 16th day of December, in the 29th year of the reign of our
    Sovereign Lord George III., by the Grace of God, King, Defender of
    the Faith, Anno Domini 1788.

    The condition of the above obligation is such, that if the above
    bounden George Prince of Wales, Frederick Duke of York, and William
    Henry Duke of Clarence, or any or either of them, or any other of
    their heirs, executors, or administrators, shall well and truly pay
    or cause to be paid unto the above-named John Cator, his executors,
    administrators, and assigns, the full sum of Thirty Thousand Pounds
    of lawful money of Great Britain, within the space or time of six
    calendar months next after any one or either of us, the said George
    Prince of Wales, Frederick Duke of York, and William Henry Duke of
    Clarence, shall come to and ascend the throne of England, together
    with lawful interest on the same, to be computed from the day that
    such event shall happen, up and home to the time of paying-off this
    obligation, then and in such case, the same shall be null and void;
    otherwise to be and remain in full force and virtue.

                                                 GEORGE PRINCE OF WALES, *
                                                              FREDERICK, *
                                                          WILLIAM HENRY, *

    Witnesses,
       ANDREW ROBENSON,
       CHARLES BICKNELL.

In May, 1813. at a Court Baron of the Manor,--Brighthelmston-Lewes,--leave
was given to the Prince Regent {260} to extend the fence which surrounded
the Marlborough domains to the Royal Mews, and in 1815 His Royal Highness
erected the lower section of the east and north boulder-fronted wall,
placing on it the dwarf palisading that now crowns it, as raised to its
present height; and in 1817 Marlborough Row became the Prince's property,
and its site was added to the Royal Domain, which was then made to occupy
an area of about seven acres.

Prior to 1817, the royal visitors to the Prince of Wales had been his
Royal Consort, the Princess of Wales, in August, 1795, his daughter, the
Princess Charlotte, July 27th, 1807, his brothers, the Dukes of Sussex,
York, Clarence, Kent, Cumberland, and Cambridge, and their Royal Mother,
Queen Charlotte, who paid her only visit to Brighton, accompanied by the
Princesses Elizabeth and Mary, on the 24th of October, 1814, and they
continued their stay till the 29th of that month, during which period Her
Majesty graciously ordered the distribution of 50 to the poor, and
became, with a liberal donation, the Patroness of the Dollar Society for
the relief of the indigent.  The Princesses were also donors to the
Society.  The foreign potentates who had been visitors were the Emperor
of Russia and the King of Prussia.  Various princes of the crowned heads
of Europe had also paid their respects to the Prince, whose companions
were the elite, if not the most dissolute of the nobility of the day.  So
notorious, in fact, were the doings at the Pavilion, that Lord Chancellor
Thurlow, himself not the purest in conduct nor the most refined in
manners, refrained from calling upon the Prince.  One day, while walking
on the Steine, his Lordship was met by His Royal Highness, in company
with Lord Barrymore, Sir John Lade, {261a} and other like companions.
"Thurlow," said the Prince, "how is it that you have not called on me?
You must name a day when you will dine with me."  Lord Thurlow, casting a
look round upon the Prince's friends, said, "I cannot do so until your
Royal Highness keeps better company."  Lord Thurlow died of the gout at
Brighton, on the 12th of September, 1806, his dying words being, "I'm
shot if I don't believe I'm dying."

Amongst the most notorious of the Prince's companions were the brothers
Barrymore, the eldest,--who had been ordained to the church,--being known
amongst them, for his irreligious propensities, as Hellgate; the second,
for his immorality, Newgate; and the third, for his lameness,
Cripplegate.  The latter was the survivor of the infamous trio, his
infirmities not permitting him to indulge in the vices which prematurely
terminated the career of his brothers.  They had a sister, who surpassed
them in evil qualifications, and she bore, for her coarse volubility, the
nickname of Billingsgate.  Another of the _clique_ was Colonel Hanger,
familiarly known as George Hanger, the Knight of the Black Diamond, the
wit and satirist of the party.  His Life, {261b} written by himself,
abounds with sarcasms and truisms, but though designed to "point a
moral," it does not "adorn a tale," that teems with sensualities.  Upon
one occasion Sheridan and Hanger were dining in the room of the old
building where the Prince usually dined, termed by them, in consequence
of its contracted dimensions and generally excessively heated condition,
the Royal Oven.  In the course of the meal Sheridan said, "How do you
feel yourself, Hanger?"  "Hot, hot;--hot as h--l," replied Hanger.  "It is
quite right," was Sheridan's severe rejoinder, "we should be prepared in
this world for that which we know will be our lot in another."  Reckless
roistering and inconsiderate practical joking were the delight of the
Pavilion party, the hours of the night being principally the time when
they immoderately enjoyed themselves.  Upon one occasion, on a dark
evening, they procured a coffin, and having put into it something
resembling a corpse, dressed in a shroud, they stood it on end, without a
lid, in front of the door of a tradesman's house, at which they knocked,
and then hid away.  On the servant "answering the door," as it is termed,
the light of the candle in her hand displayed the spectre-like figure,
which so frightened the poor girl that she shrieked and fainted.  The
inmates of the house, taking the alarm, ran to the door, and were equally
terror-stricken.  Cries of help quickly brought to their assistance many
neighbours; but the concoctors of the joke had taken the precaution to
fix to the handles of the coffin a strong rope, by means of which they,
with little trouble, drew away the cause of the alarm; and there being
thus nothing left to be frightened at, the inmates of the house became,
for some time, laughing stocks for their credulity.

The numerous tricks practised upon the townsfolk did not in the least
offend them, as in the event of any damage being done, that could be
recompensed in a pecuniary way, the greatest liberality was always shown;
in fact, the inhabitants had found that Royalty was the staple article
upon which they existed, and they so assimilated their ideas with their
position, that their chief fears were that they might by some
inadvertence or mischance give the Prince offence, hence His Royal
Highness was their chief study.  The feeling, however, was graciously
reciprocated by the Royal visitor, as exhibited upon the occasion of the
anniversary of the birthday of His Royal Highness, August 12th, 1806--and
it was generally so on like events--when a deputation of the inhabitants
presented to the Prince the following address, to which every householder
of note had previously subscribed his name:--

                  To his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,

    We, the Ministers, High Constable, Churchwardens, Overseers, and
    principal Inhabitants of the Town of Brighthelmston, with the most
    grateful recollection of the many gracious instances of your Royal
    Highness's patronage conferred upon us, to which alone are to be
    attributed that prosperity and those advantages unfelt by, and
    unknown to, any other Provincial Town, most humbly approach your
    Royal Highness, to express the dutiful and thankful sentiments which
    this recollection inspires, and more particularly calls forth on the
    anniversary of this day.  While we entreat your Royal Highness to
    accept these our humble acknowledgments and congratulations, we
    devoutly implore the Supreme Disposer of all events long to preserve
    a life so invaluable to us, to whom your immediate protection is so
    liberally dispensed, and so dear and important in its general
    consequences to the nation at large.

His Royal Highness replied:--

    Gentlemen,

    Accept my best thanks for this Address.  Be assured that I feel a
    lively interest in the prosperity of this place, and shall ever
    promote its welfare as far as lies in my power.

                                                         GEORGE, _Prince_.

It has hitherto, in general, passed current, that the predilection of the
Prince of Wales for Brighton arose from the combination of the extent of
the marine view which the town commanded, the salubrity of the place, and
the great superiority of its sea-bathing; in confirmation of which last
attraction prints are extant representing, of life size, Martha Gunn, the
bather, bearing in her arms a naked "four-year old" baby, purporting to
represent the youthful form of His Royal Highness, about to undergo the
process of dipping; whereas it is well known that he had attained the age
of a score of years before he first visited Brighton.  The portrait of
Martha no doubt is correct, but the infant in her arms is but an adjunct
to distinguish her from the fish women, whose costume at that period was
similar to the female bather.  The Royal Bathing Machine, which for some
years was so conspicuous on the beach at the bottom of the Steine, was
that used by the Prince when he bathed under the guidance of Smoaker
Miles, at the bottom of Russell street.  It finished its days at the
Steine, whither it was removed for the transit of His Royal Highness
along the sand, at low-water, to the boat that conveyed him to and from
the Royal yacht, which, during the temporary abode of the Prince in
Brighton, was usually stationed, with a convoy of two ships of war, off
Brighton, at the moorings, which were laid down and marked by buoys about
six miles from the shore.  The Royal machine was retained at the Steine,
amongst the ladies' bathing machines, as it was much in request by the
gentler sex, who were always anxious to occupy the machine from whence
the Prince had taken a "header," or travelled to his yacht.

Much, in the way of anecdote, has been transmitted to us orally,
respecting Martha Gunn, especially in reference to the Prince and the
Pavilion; but, besides being a bather little of her life is known.  In a
rare work, "A Donkey Tour to Brighton," {264} occurs the
following:--"'What, my old friend, Martha,' said I, 'still queen of the
ocean, still industrious, and busy as ever; and how do you find
yourself?'--'Well and hearty, thank God, Sir,' replied she, 'but rather
hobbling.  I don't bathe, because I a'nt so strong as I used to be, so I
superintend on the beach, for I'm up before any of 'em; you may always
find me and my pitcher, at one exact spot, every morning by six
o'clock.'--'You wear vastly well, my old friend, pray what age may you
be?'--'Only eighty-eight, Sir; in fact, eighty-nine come next Christmas
pudding; aye, and though I've lost my teeth, I can mumble it with as good
relish and hearty appetite as anybody.'--'I'm glad to hear it; Brighton
would not look like itself without you, Martha,' said I.--'Oh, I don't
know, it's like to do without me, some day,' answered she, 'but while
I've health and life, I must be bustling amongst my old friends and
benefactors; I think I ought to be proud, for I've as many bows from man,
woman, and child, as the Prince hisself; aye, I do believe, the very dogs
in the town know me.'--'And your son, how is he?' said I.--'Brave and
charming, he lives in East Street; if your honour wants any prime pickled
salmon, or oysters, there you have 'em.'--I promised her I'd be a
customer; she made me a low curtsey, and I left her hobbling to the side
of the London coach, to deliver cards from the repository of her poor
withered, sea-freckled bosom; for, like a woman of fashion, her bosom was
her pocket."

The Prince of Wales had an unbounded propensity for gallantry, and his
companions of broken fortunes about him ingratiated themselves in his
favour by pandering to his evil propensities.  The Pavilion of Brighton,
therefore, being secluded, was chosen as his favourite resort, whereto
were brought the mistresses of his passions; and such a notoriety did the
building attain that it was commonly spoken of as "the residence having
at one end a harem, and at the other a chapel."  An incident of one of
his early visits to Brighton will exhibit his irresistance of temptation.
His Royal Highness, while walking on the beach, was struck with the
beauty of a nymph who was reclining by one of the groynes.  Her name was
Charlotte Fortescue, an illiterate female, who counteracted her defective
educational qualifications by artifice and intrigue, and by her art she
threw such an air of simplicity and innocence over her actions as to hide
the real nature of her character from the Prince, whose exalted position
she soon discovered.  Again and again he met her; and believed that he
had gained her confidence.  Tears suffused her cheeks as she spoke of a
marriage to which she was about to be forced, that would take her from
her native country.  The Prince eventually proposed an elopement, and in
order to give a romantic air to the affair, it was arranged that the
dress of a footman was to be procured for his frail fugitive, and that
His Royal Highness that evening should have his phton in waiting a few
miles on the London Road, to bear away his prize.  However, while the
Prince was dressing for dinner, Colonel Hanger, who had just commenced
his life of profligacy, was announced.  At dinner the Prince excused
himself upon having to leave them early, as he had most important
business to transact that night in the metropolis.  Hanger spoke of
having left there that morning in search of a girl for whom he had
provided private apartments in London, and remarked, "The hussy takes it
into her head every now and then to absent herself for a few days; and I
have now been given to understand that she is carrying on some intrigue
with a fellow at this place.  Let me but catch him, and I will souse him
over head and ears in the sea."  A little explanation sufficed to
convince them both that the runaway was none other than the female with
whom the Prince was so smitten, and it was arranged, in order to outwit
her, that Hanger should put on one of the coats in which she had been
occasioned to see her Royal lover, and take his seat on the coach-box,
instead of the Prince.  That night Hanger bore off his mistress to
London, much to her chagrin that the romantic elopement should have such
an unexpected termination, as the manner in which His Royal Highness
travelled, one horse before the others, the first ridden by a postilion,
and himself managing the other two, prevented a recognition till the
female footman descended from the "dicky," in London.  The imposition
terminated their intimacy.

To detail the numerous acts of gallantry of the Prince and his associates
would in nowise add to the improvement and enlightenment of the present
age; nor is it necessary to give a biographical sketch or even a list of
all his companions.  His connexion, however, with Mrs. Fitzherbert {266}
demands some mention to be made of that excellent lady who received the
most cordial kindness and formal honours from the first families of
distinction in the land.  The Royal Marriage Act, which passed soon after
the commencement of the reign of George III., in consequence of the
marriage of the Duke of Cumberland with Mrs. Horton, and the Duke of
Gloucester with the Countess of Waldegrave, declared that the descendants
of George II., except the offspring of such of the Princes, as were
married to, or might marry foreign Princesses, were incapable of marrying
till the age of five-and-twenty years, without His Majesty's consent
previously obtained; or after the age of five-and-twenty, in the event of
His Majesty's refusal, without the consent of both Houses of Parliament.
The marriage, then, between the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Fitzherbert,
which Horne Tooke declared did take place, inasmuch as he was acquainted
with the English clergyman who performed the solemn ceremony on the 21st
of December, 1785, was null and void.  Mr. Fox, in the House of Commons,
denied that there had been marriage; but his denial was an act of
expediency, as, according to the Act of William III., the admitted
marriage of the Prince of Wales would have prevented his taking upon
himself the Regency of the country, as the people, from his having
married a Papist, would have been absolved from their allegiance.
Amongst the real friends of the Prince his connexion with Mrs.
Fitzherbert was an event of much gratification; for irregular as might
have been its nature, it preserved him from the vulgar propensities to
which he had been previously prone.  Dowers and legacies of two previous
marriages qualified her to command all the elegancies of fashionable
life, and to perform many noble acts of charity.  A separation only took
place in 1795, when the Prince was about to marry (for the payment of his
debts), the unfortunate Caroline of Brunswick.  In such high esteem was
she held by the Royal Family that upon William the IV. ascending the
throne, he, with his Royal Consort, Queen Adelaide, paid her numerous
visits of courtesy.  The remains of Mrs. Fitzherbert, upon her decease,
27th March, 1837, were deposited in a vault beneath the Roman Catholic
Church, St. George's Road, where a handsome marble monument, by Carew,
has been erected to her memory.  Her age was eighty-one.

Some romantic notion gave forth the rumour that a subterranean
communication existed between the Royal Pavilion and Mrs Fitzherbert's
house, on the Steine.  A greater fallacy never gained credence.  All that
she possessed, connected in any way with the estate, were the stables in
the New Road, immediately north of the row of trees which bounds the
Pavilion Grounds on the east.  These stables--erected in 1806--are now used
as the chief dept of the Borough Fire Brigade, under Inspector
Quartermain.  They were immediately contiguous to the Burial Ground of
the Society of Friends,--now the Corporation premises for depositing the
Town Surveyor's materials,--and for a window in the stables that
overlooked the ground Mrs. Fitzherbert paid one penny per month, as will
appear by the following minute of the Committee of Friends:--

                                       Brighton, 13th of 11th month, 1806.

        Committee for the management and disposal of Lands at Brighton
           belonging to the quarterly meeting of Friends of Sussex.

    This committee having taken into consideration the request of Maria
    Fitzherbert for permission to continue the window in the north side
    of her stables which looks into the premises belonging to Friends,

    This committee, unwilling to pursue a conduct which may assume the
    appearance of acting otherwise than neighbourly (notwithstanding
    injury may arise to the said premises by complying with such
    request), consents to the window not being stopped up for the
    present, upon condition of Maria Fitzherbert's agreeing to pay one
    penny per month for such permission, and also undertaking to brick-up
    the same, at any time within one week after notice for that purpose
    from any of the trustees or committee for the said premises, and in
    default thereof that any of the Friends be authorized to brick-up the
    said window at the expense of the said Maria Fitzherbert, and that
    such agreement be prepared, signed and delivered to the said
    committee within two weeks from the date hereof, otherwise the
    foregoing proposals to be void.

    William Tuppen is requested to take a copy of the above minute to
    Maria Fitzherbert, and obtain her sentiments thereon, and report the
    same to this committee.

    Signed in and on behalf of the committee,

                                                            JNO. GLAISYER.

A subterranean passage is in existence from the Pavilion to the Stables,
and was the medium by which, in disguise, the Prince and his friends went
to and returned--comparatively in private--from their nocturnal rambles.
Its immediate connexion with the royal suite of rooms was by means of a
trap in the floor of one of the apartments, beneath which was an
intricate staircase that gave him a means of ready exit; as, besides
using it on occasions of fun and frolic, his constant fear of attempts
upon his life from political motives,--as on the occasion of his being
shot at with an air-gun, on his return from opening Parliament in
1817,--or in consequence of his numerous amorous peccadillos, rendered a
means of escape desirable, and he was enabled also, in case of emergency,
to attain with great facility the various galleries that ramified the
roofs of the building.

The New Road--previously the garden of Mr Furner, the Prince's
gardener,--was formed in 1805, by privates of the Royal Artillery; and on
Monday, August 12th,--the anniversary of the birth-day of the Prince of
Wales,--His Royal Highness gave the men employed on the work a guinea
each.  In 1807, there was a west entrance to the Pavilion Grounds,
directly opposite the Theatre.  On the 14th of August, that year, it
happened that the Prince, purposing going out that way in the evening,
found the gate shut and locked.  His Royal Highness called out to his
attendants to break the gate open,--an order which they attempted to obey,
but found themselves unequal to the task.  The Prince smiling, desired
them to stand aside, as he had no doubt but his strength was sufficient
to force the place, though their's had failed.  In an instant he wrenched
the gate from its hinges, and with his party passed on to the Theatre.

The trees in the New Road were not planted till 1812.  The double row of
elms immediately west formed the east range of Elm Grove, and in 1817
became the first resort of the rooks, which had been driven away from
Preston Rookery by Mr. Stanford.  These birds do not winter in Brighton,
but come from Stanmer Park--whither they migrate,--annually towards the end
of February.

The great additions to the Royal Pavilion, or rather its reconstruction,
so as to remain and adopt some portions of the original building,
commenced in 1817, Nash being the architect.  It is of no fixed style of
architecture, but is a composite of the Moorish and Chinese.  An Indian
style was offered by Repton, who on the publication of it, upon its being
rejected by the Prince, adopted the term "Pavilion," both in the plates
and in the letter-press.  The style selected is admired by some persons,
but much ridiculed by critics.  Sidney Smith said "the building looked as
if the dome of St. Paul's, London, had come down to Brighton and pupped;"
whilst William Cobbett observed that "a good idea of the building might
be formed by placing the pointed half of a large turnip upon the middle
of a board, with four smaller ones at the corners."  The Pagoda towers,
which form the north and south wings, are much admired for the beauty of
their proportions, and for their inversion from the roof in a
spheroidical elevation.  They are covered with thin plates of iron,
coated with mihl or mastic of great durability.  The domes, and the
minarets, which consist of open cupolas on tall pillars, have a similar
covering of mastic.

In adapting the north pagoda to a concert room, every attention was paid
by the architect to combine the harmony of the music in the perfect
equilibrium of tone produced by each instrument.  The Prince of Wales,
who was a fine judge and promoter of music, made many suggestions to
counteract the too great elevation of the ceiling, which somewhat
destroyed the combination and vibration of sound, and under his
accomplished taste the acme of scientific proportions of combination and
sound was attained.  The first time that this music room was used was
about the middle of January, 1818, the performers being the Prince
Regent's private band.  The organ, by Mr Lincoln, was not erected till
the end of that year.  The organ previously used in the Pavilion was
taken there on the 18th of November, 1805.  The instrument now used in
the room formerly stood in the Royal Chapel, and was the gift of her
present Majesty to the town.

It is unnecessary to give a detailed description of the whole of the
apartments of the Pavilion, or the furniture therein; it will suffice to
say that with the exception of the Chinese Gallery, and the suite of
rooms which forms the east front, there was not, while it remained Royal
property, a room that would content any commoner of substance.  The
throne room, with its tawdry adjuncts, was vile in taste and of meagre
proportions; wholly devoid of the grandeur and nobleness which should
attach itself to Royalty.  A casual observer of the present day would be
led to suppose that the apartment was the lodge-room of some benefit
society, or the smoking crib of George IV., the raised canopied dais
being appointed for the chairman at Lodge Meetings, or for His Gracious
Majesty when he presided over his Royal Pavilion midnight orgies.  The
whole of the King's Apartments, as they were designated, were of a like
character; but they afforded him a contentment, inasmuch, as, from his
bedroom,--by the secret stairs to which the bloated Marchioness of
Conyngham descended from her chamber,--to the capacious marble bath where
his Majesty laved, there was a seclusion to which in his later years he
became habituated.  The upper rooms of the Pavilion, are, for a Palace,
low pitched, of very contracted dimensions, and from two windows alone,
those in the large dome, is a sufficient view of the sea obtained to
permit of the building being termed a Marine Pavilion.  The furniture
throughout the building was costly in the extreme, but incongruous.
Huish, in his "Memoirs of George IV.," says:--"Nothing could exceed the
indignation of the people, when the Civil List came before Parliament in
May, 1816, and 50,000 were found to have been expended in furniture at
Brighton, immediately after 534,000 had been voted for covering the
excess of the Civil List, occasioned entirely by the reckless
extravagance of the Prince Regent, whose morning levees were not attended
by men of science and of genius, who could have instilled into his mind
wholesome notions of practical economy; but the tailor, the upholsterer,
the jeweller, and the shoemaker were the regular attendants of his
morning recreations."  On one of these occasions his servant entered his
apartment at the Pavilion with the information, "_She_ is come, your
Royal Highness."  "She!" exclaimed the Prince, "who is _she_?"  "_She_ is
come," repeated the servant.  "I ask," replied the Prince in an angry
tone, "who is _she_?--where does _she_ come from?"  "It is _Shea_ the
tailor, from London, your Royal Highness."  The Prince smiled, and the
_Shea_ was admitted immediately into the royal presence.

Irrespective of the great alterations and improvements at the Royal
Pavilion marking an epoch for Brighton, in 1817, that year is also
memorable in the town for the 5th of November riot, which then took
place, referred to in page 114, and thus satirised by Thomas
Herbert:--{271}

                             THE CARD, OR POSTER.

    'Twas t'other day a printed card,
    A sort of petty war declared
       Against some little boys!
    Three silly men, to say no worse,
    Must needs pursue a foolish course
       To rob them of their joys!
    This, being canvassed round and round,
    At first produc'd a whispering sound
       Which soon grew into noise.

                                 THE MORNING.

                   The morning lowers
    And heavily in clouds brings on the day
    Big with the fate of three deluded men.

       A council, now, these three conven'd,
       To see what mischief could be schem'd,
          Their victims to annoy;
       This caus'd a dinner to be had,
       Our heroes being very sad,
          To renovate their rage;
       And at the dinner they got drunk--
       Which soon produc'd a mighty funk,
          They wanted to engage.

                              THE DINNER {272a}

    The dinner's over and the table clear,
    Each has a bumper of his favorite cheer,
    Now up erect the company arise,
    The Regent's health! the soaking hero {272b} cries;--
    The Regent's health! repeats the sable Knight, {272c}
    We must him cheer or else it wont be right!
    Most certainly repli'd the chief, half soaken,
    With three times three 'twill be a loyal token;
    For three times three, my boys, prepare your lips,
    And you, dear sable, please to give the hips.
    The glass pass'd round, with sentiment sublime,
    Some choosing punch and some prefering wine;
    Until at length, they growing pretty mellow,
    'Tis said, their chief these words aloud did bellow:--
    Stand by me, boys!  I'll teach 'em such a story!
    If you'll stand firm I'll lead you on to glory.
    When having drank as long as they were able,
    While some sat up and some lie under table,
    I must go home exclaim'd the soaking chief--
    Remember boys, you come to my relief!
    And so must I--repli'd the sable hero,
    And off they trudge like Beelzebub and Nero.

                              AT SOAKER'S DOOR.

    _Soaker to Black_.--My dear friend Black I'm much afraid
       There'll be a row--the soaking hero said.
    _Black_.--I think so too, indeed, upon my word,
       So I'll go home and sharpen up my sword.
    _Soaker_.--That's right my boy, then shortly after tea
       Come here again, I shall you want to see,
       And as I fear this job will end in strife--
       I'll just step in and reconcile my wife.
    _Black_.--That's spoken well, and so my friend will I,
       Then for the present you--I'll bid good by.
    _Soaker_.--Good by my friend, good by--good by--good by.

                                 AT BLACK'S.

    _Mrs. Black_.--My husband, dear, what makes you look so white?
       My heart forebodes 'twill be a shocking night.
    _Black_.--Should it be so, pray don't you be alarm'd--
       You know, my dear, I always go well arm'd.
    _Mrs. Black_.--Alas, my dear, you look as almost dead--
       A dreadful stone may smite you on the head.
    _Black_.--Suppress these fears, with tears flush in his eyes,
       Suppress these fears, the trembling _hero_ cries;
       Should in the riot your dear husband fall,
       The will he made conveys to you his all.
       So one sweet kiss! and then, I go away,
       'Tis duty calls, I must my love, obey.
       Then for his sword the fear-struck hero cri'd--
       The cause demands it, so, my dear, don't chide;
       His sword is brought, and buckl'd round his waist,
       With great precision, like a man of taste--
       Away he swaggers, and his hands he rubs,
       Looking, quite bold, like a new jack of clubs.

                                 AT SOAKER'S.

    _Mrs. Soaker_.--Oh, if, my dear, you must to night go out,
       I pray, my love, mind what you are about.
    _Soaker_.--My honor calls, indeed, my dearest wife!
       My love, my joy, my only hope, my life!
       And should the rebels your dear husband kill,
       In yonder drawer you'll find his honest will.
       I must away, my dear, 'tis growing late,
       So kiss me love, and give me up to fate.

                   AT SOAKER'S DOOR.--BLACK AND SOAKER MEET.

    _Soaker_.--At yonder corner when a man you place,
       Bid him stand firm, and not our cause disgrace;
       At that place, too, another must be fixed;
       Likewise a third, the interval betwixt:
       And the rear guard--as well as our van
       Must all stand firm, ay, even to a man.

                                 THE STEINE.

    The signal made--the blazing foe appears--
    Had you been there, you must have smelt their fears.
    The scene was grand, illumining around,
    You might have pick'd a sixpence from the ground;
    The lookers on appearing at first glimpse,
    Just like the Old One, and so many imps;
    With heart-felt joy, and truly loyal shout,
    'Tis now the boys the tar tub roll about;
    Oh, 'twas a pity such a noble sight,
    Should be the signal for a bloody fight.
    The soaking hero runs amidst the crowd,
    And in a rage vociferates aloud--
    Patrole! d'ye hear! you're deaf upon my soul!
    These villains take and lodge in the black hole!
    The battle rages and the missile flies,
    To fetch the troops the soaking hero hies;
    He skulks away to the sage monster's {273} house
    As much alarm'd, as e'er was eat-caught mouse.

                             AT MONSTER'S HOUSE.

    And when arriv'd at this great legal source,
    He pli'd the knocker with uncommon force--
    The door is open'd, in our hero goes,
    And to the bear disgorges all his woes.
    Assist us, sir, or else, this very night,
    I and poor Sable shall be murder'd quite!
    At this request the learned bear turns out,
    And looks like one they, sometimes, lead about.
    I'll pretty soon, he roars, the rabble clear,
    I'll read the riot act, I've got it here!
    Go get the troops, and then we need not fear!
    How many troops? the soaking hero cri'd,
    All that you can, the learned bear repli'd.

                                THE BARRACKS.

    Now to the Barracks flies the soaking chief,
    And calls for troops; assuming, bold and brief;
    I want some troops, to sergeant he did say
    At your peril dare to keep away!
    The sergeant-major to the guard-house hies,
    Turn out the piquet, there, he loudly cries,
    The word is pass'd, the soldiers prompt obey,
    And to the Steine that instant march away.

                                 THE STEINE.

    The troops arriv'd close to the learned bear,
    He reads the proclamation in their rear,
    And off he sculks half dead with dread and fear!
    The soaking chief, like one bereav'd of wits,
    And almost going into fainting fits,
    Charge on, exclaimed, no mercy I'll afford!
    Why don't you charge?  You heard me give the word.
    Charge! charge! charge! charge! the sable knight replies,
    Charge! charge! again the soaking hero cries.
    The charge is made, alas, poor luckless Rowles,
    Thy life is gone, through these ambitious fools;
    The battle's ended, and they look around,
    When some are lying stretch'd upon the ground;
    Some too with cuts and bruises there are found,
    Just at the end of this disgusting scene,
    A man of peace was walking on the Steine,
    The soaking hero cri'd What brought you here?
    Go home! go home! roar'd out the learned bear,
    To these insults the man of peace replies,
    With indignation beaming in his eyes,
    Nothing I said, nor nothing have I done;
    So when I please I, therefore, shall go home.
    You won't go home, roar'd out the learned boar,
    So mind to-morrow, from me you shall hear.
    You look disdainful in my very face!
    I'll bind you o'er to keep the public peace;
    In this, believe me, though it seems absurd,
    The learned monster strictly kept his word;
    The peaceful man, however hard his fare,
    Was bound, they say, next sessions to appear!
    A frantic mother running on the Steine,
    A poor man ask'd, have you my Billy seen?
    The man repl'd, I havn't, on my soul;
    You'd better ask, I think, at the Black Hole.
    The wretched woman now borne down with grief,
    Flies to that place in hopes to find relief,
    Raps at the door, Who's there? with voice quite grim,
    The night watch cried, we cannot take more in.
    'Tis full of young and old, besides a quaker prim.
    _Woman_.--Oh, pray sir, pray, relieve a mother's fear,
       And tell me if you have my Billy here?
    _Watch_.--Ay, that he is, I'm sure beyond a doubt,
       And so to-morrow you may bail him out.
    _Woman_.--She walks away, but still she sheds a tear--
       And calls for imprecations on the bear.

                                * * * * *

    Next day the learned bear flies to his station,
    To be the judge of his own depredation;
    'Tis now the foaming monster roars aloud,
    With face as black as a November cloud.
    Bring in your charge, but mind I say,
    At your perils let him get away.
    Now with a double guard there enters in
    A child, but just escaped from leading string.
    The monster with a dreadful stare, at large,
    Against the pris'ner ask'd what was the charge;
    The sable hero, with assurance ample,
    'Tis dreadful, sir, exclaim'd, beyond example!
    As I stood on the Steine with sword in hand,
    I saw him brandish a huge fire brand.
    Oh, fy, saith pris'ner, what a wicked fib.
    'Twas but the paper of a discharg'd squib.
    Pris'ner, your age? exclaim'd the learned bear,
    While down his little face would steal a tear.
    The truth, come tell me, or I'll commit you straight;
    I am, saith pris'ner, somewhat turn'd of eight.
    The monster roared, with truly savage grin,
    Discharge the brat, and bring another in.

                                  THE DEATH.

    Alas, alas! poor lifeless Rowles,
       It grieves me to relate--
    Thy fam'ly lost its dearest friend
       By thy untimely fate.

    May Providence then guide the law,
       Thy slaughter be avenged;
    And may the halter catch the right,
       For equity's just end.

    Oh, may thy widow find support,
       Thy family to rear:
    And may she live to bring them up,
       The living God to fear.

The visits of George IV. to Brighton were discontinued in 1824, in
consequence of a deep resentment which His Majesty felt at some personal
affront that was given by some of the inhabitants, to his then favourite
mistress, the Marchioness of Conyngham, who was the Lady Steward of the
Royal Household, and arrogated to herself the privilege of arranging the
_entree_ to the King, and of possessing control over the commonest
domestics of the establishment.  Her effrontery, however, was too
intolerant for some of the townsfolk to brook; and, their virtuous
indignation being aroused, they indulged in remarks upon her, and were so
indifferent in courtesy towards her, that His Majesty considered the
affront as almost given to himself.  In fact, the extraordinary
ascendency which the Marchioness had obtained over the royal mind, was
then so apparent in all the King's actions that he was a Sovereign
governed by one subject, and that subject more influential and powerful
in her authority than the first minister of the State.  Upon the
retirement of the King from Brighton, the Princess Augusta was a frequent
visitor to the town, her residence, by permission of her Royal Brother,
being one of the private houses, to the west, just within the then
southern entrance to the Pavilion Grounds.

The Royal Pavilion was a favourite autumn and winter residence of William
IV. and Queen Adelaide, who made their first visit to Brighton on Monday,
August 30th, 1830.  Their Majesties effected many important alterations
upon the Royal Property, causing the erection of the ivy-clad range of
buildings known as the Dormitories, extending along the south margin of
the western lawn, from Prince's Place to Carlisle House.  A southern
entrance to the Grounds was erected in 1831.  It stood across the top of
East Street, in a line with the north side of North Street; but upon the
Royal Pavilion estate becoming the property of the Town of Brighton, in
1850, the building was taken down; as, besides the structure being in
nowise handsome, it was a screen that completely hid the Pavilion, and
hemmed in the property now known as the Pavilion Buildings.  The elegant
northern entrance--a noble and faultless building, exhibiting every
characteristic of boldness and stateliness,--was erected in 1832.

During the occupation of the Royal abode by William and Adelaide,--when it
received the name of The Palace,--it was a continued scene of regal
festivities, juvenile parties being very frequent.  The present Duke,
then Prince George of Cambridge, was a great favourite with Their
Majesties, who specially humoured his fancies and frolics.  Royalty,
however, is very tenacious of its dignity; whereof the following is a
proof: Upon occasions when the youthful aristocracy were invited to the
Palace, it was invariably usual for the arrangements of the evening to be
under the immediate superintendence of the celebrated _maitresse de
danse_, Madame Michau, who, not unfrequently, was assisted in her duties
by her son, now well-known as Mons. James Michau, and the arrangement
graciously received the Royal sanction.  With the Prince and his youthful
associates the son of the dancing mistress was considered fair game for
their sporting humour; they therefore resorted to practical joking upon
him, well-knowing that difference in position forbad his making a retort.
But it happened upon one occasion that either the Prince exceeded his
usual indignities, or that young Michau was not in a philosophic placid
temper, as he offered a remonstrance, which excited a blow from His Royal
Highness, resulting in a bout of fisticuffs, from which the Prince came
off second best.  The indignity, thus justly administered, was forthwith
resented, the Royal communication, through Mr. Gee, Her Majesty's page,
being that Madame Michau's services would not again be required.  A
retributive incident shortly after occurred that entirely put an end to
the Palace youthful gatherings.  Prince George, for a diversion, had
purchased a mechanical mouse, and, having wound it up, he placed it upon
the floor, when it chanced to travel in the direction of the Queen.  Her
Majesty had not observed the toy until it closely approached her, when,
feeling a sudden alarm, she rose hurriedly, uttering an ejaculation of
fear, a procedure so undignifying to her exalted position that she
immediately retired, and no other juvenile party at the Palace ever after
took place.

Queen Victoria paid her first visit to Brighton, October 4th, 1837, and
had a most enthusiastic reception.  Her Majesty's second visit took place
the following Autumn.  In February, 1842, the Queen and Her Royal
Consort, Prince Albert, made the stay of a month in Brighton; and on the
7th of September, the following year, Her Majesty and the Prince Consort
landed from the Royal Yacht, at the Chain Pier, on their return from a
visit to Louis Philippe, at Chateau d'Eu.  The circumstance of their
landing is commemorated by Mr. R. H. Nibbs, in a most exquisite painting
which is placed amongst the local works of art that adorn the Borough
Council Chamber, at the Town Hall.  The Queen and Prince Albert embarked
on the 12th for Ostend.  In September, 1844, the last royal visit was
made to the Pavilion, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and Prince
Alfred being sent down for the benefit of their health.  Their stay
extended to a fortnight.  Hopes were entertained that Her Majesty would
again visit Brighton; but time passed on, and at length it was announced
that the Queen had purchased an estate in the Isle of Wight, where she
would have a marine residence, in the strictest sense of the word, easy
of access, and so admirably situated that she could, with the greatest
facility, indulge in her favourite pastime--a water excursion.

Gradually the Pavilion became despoiled of its costly furniture and
fittings, many of the latter being ruthlessly torn down and destroyed.
Eventually it was announced that the building was to be razed to the
ground, the materials sold, and the land disposed of for building
purposes.  In November, 1848, it became known that the Royal
Commissioners of the Woods and Forests intended to introduce a Bill the
next Sessions of Parliament, for the sale of the property, to obtain
funds for further improvements at Buckingham Palace.  The Town
Commissioners put in their claim for a restoration by the Crown of the
road which formerly went through the Pavilion Grounds, from south to
north from East Street.  It was also pointed out that some portions of
the ground that had been sold to the Prince Regent, had restrictions
against building, which restrictions could not be removed without the
consent of the Lords of the Manor.

The Bill for the disposal, however, passed, and on the 27th of July,
1849, a Vestry meeting of the rated inhabitants, determined upon
purchasing the property for 53,000, the sum required for it by the
Commissioners of the Woods and Forests.  Another Bill had yet to be
obtained to give the Town Commissioners power to purchase the estate.
Such an opposition to the purchase in the meantime sprung up amongst some
of the ratepayers, and at a Vestry meeting called to approve of the Bill,
that, after two days' polling, the amendment, in effect "that the
purchase be stopped," was only lost by a minority of 36, the numbers
being: for the purchase, 1343; against it, 1307.  The Bill was read in
the House of Commons a second time, without opposition, on the 14th of
February, 1850; and was read a third time in the House of Lords on the
2nd of May, 1850.  The money for the purchase, and 7,000 for the
expenses of obtaining the Bill, and to restore the building, amounting in
the whole to 60,000, was borrowed of the Bank of England, and on the
13th of June, 1850, the Commissioners of the Woods and Forests were paid
the sum required.  The building is not yet wholly appropriated, but,
immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the late Mr. Christopher
Wren Vick was employed to effect the work of restoration, and he
succeeded in obtaining the original blocks from which the former
paper-hangings of the grand suite of rooms were printed, and also in
engaging Mr. Lambelet,--who has since died in poverty--the artist who
executed the original decorations.  On the 21st of January, 1851, the
Pavilion was reopened with a grand ball of the inhabitants; since which
time numerous balls, concerts, and meetings of scientific, benevolent,
and other societies have taken place there, and it has now an excellent
gallery for paintings, and several rooms have been set apart for the
Brighton Museum, an institution that is well deserving of support.
Paintings, by purchase and gifts, adorn many of the walls of the
building, and in the Vestibule and Chinese Gallery are some excellent
specimens of sculpture, principally by our local sculptor, Mr. Pepper.
The most prominent is a full length statue by Noble, of the late Captain
Pechell, son of the late member for Brighton, Sir G. R. B. Pechell, Bart.
The gallant young officer fell during the Russian War, in the Crimea.

Besides the Pavilion and Grounds, the estate has many private houses,
including the magnificent range called Pavilion Buildings.  The debt
consequent upon the purchase is being gradually reduced, and the
opponents to the purchase not feeling the burthen which they dreaded,
have the gratification of knowing, that, as a lung to their magnificent
town, they have that which no other town in the kingdom possesses,--an
extensive park of its own in its very centre.




CHAPTER XXVII.
ON AND ABOUT THE RACE-COURSE.


Royalty had scarcely taken up its abode in Brighton, when, according to
the Racing Calendar, in 1783, racing commenced its career on the eastern
down, better known as White Hawk Down, Brighton.  The sports were
principally amongst the officers of the Militia Regiments which were then
quartered in the town, and they received the patronage of the Prince of
Wales.  Beyond the authority of the "Oldest Inhabitant," transmitted
orally, there is no account of the extent, formation, or the tenure of
the course.  It is understood to have been about two miles in length, and
to have occupied, as at present, the horse shoe shaped ridge of the hill,
and was defined, on sufferance, by the clearing away of the furze.

The Race Ground proper consists of 105 acres and 30 perches, over which
the right of pasturage has become vested in the Marquis of Bristol, by
purchase from Mr. Thomas Read Kemp, who bought it for 780, subject to
public rights, as the erection thereon, by the inhabitants, of booths and
stalls for the accommodation and recreation of the public during the
races.  The Course is two miles in length, and what is known as the New
Course is one mile long.  The counterpart of an alleged lease was in the
possession of Mr. Thomas Attree, Queen's Park, bearing date June 24th,
1796, purporting to be a demise of the Race Stand to various
inhabitants,--all of whom are now deceased,--for 99 years, at the annual
rent of one guinea.  The counterpart came into the possession of Mr.
Attree in 1822, many years prior to which no rent had been paid or
demanded, and no lease could ever be discovered.  On the 2nd July, 1846,
a committee of the Town Commissioners were informed by Mr. Attree that he
claimed the Stand for himself and others who had subscribed 400 for its
erection, in eighteen shares, whereof he held nine, and that the sum
still remained a charge upon the building; but he offered to sell the
Stand for 400 to the Race Committee.  The Committee considering that no
valid lease was in existence,--inasmuch as in deeds, dated 1822, and to
which Mr Attree was a party; whereby the Race Stand was specially
granted, no allusion whatever was made to a lease or other
incumbrance,--declined the offer.  They furthermore considered that the
debt alleged to be due and charged thereon ought long since to have been
liquidated from the proceeds of the letting, and that the inhabitants
beneficially interested therein were exonerated from such debt, charge,
or encumbrance.

In 1849 a new Race Committee was formed, and their first step was to
purchase the Stand, giving for it, to the surviving shareholders, Mr. T.
Attree, Mr. H. Blackman, and Mr. Tamplin, the sum of 360, the London,
Brighton, and South-Coast Railway Company liberally presenting to the
Committee 100 towards the amount, independent of their annual
subscription to the Race Fund of 200.  The following six gentlemen also
came forward as Trustees: Mr. Alderman Burrows, Mr. Alderman Martin, Mr.
Robert Williams, Mr. H. F. Stocken, Mr. Lewis Slight, and Mr. Lewis
Slight, jun., and the shabby wooden building, erected in 1798, gave place
to the present commodious and handsome structure, the design of Mr. Allan
Stickney, the Town Surveyor, at a cost of 5,000, the whole of which has
been discharged by the Race Committee, who have likewise increased the
public money from 350 given in 1848, to nearly 2,000 annually.

The old Race Stand, built in 1803, succeeded the first building, which
was erected in 1788, and destroyed by fire on the 23rd of August, 1796.
The fire arose in consequence of the carelessness of the family who had
been permitted to occupy the building.  Notwithstanding the unfortunate
occurrence took place about mid-day, it was distinctly seen at a distance
of upwards of thirty miles.  Many people from various parts of the
county, some on horseback, and some on foot, entered the town during the
succeeding night and day, to make enquiries respecting it, as
apprehensions prevailed that the enemy had made a descent on that part of
the coast, and was evincing his love for the natives by setting fire to
their dwellings.

A singular incident occurred during the fire: An officer of the Prince's
regiment, attracted to the spot by the volumes of flame and smoke, was
reviewing the terrific encroachments of the devouring element, when a
cat, dreadfully singed and terrified, sprung through the blaze, and
alighted on his shoulders.  The officer, somewhat surprised, at first
endeavoured to shake her off; but poor puss, firmly fixing her claws in
his jacket, was not so easily got rid of.  Perceiving, then, her
reluctance to leave him, he at length humanely determined, that as she
had, in the moment of danger and fear, flown to him for protection, she
should accompany him to the Barracks, where she was well taken care of by
her new master and his comrades.

A curious circumstance took place on the morning of the Races, August
4th, 1805.  The farmer who rented the race ground having explained to the
Jockey Club that he had not received the usual compliment of the fourth
of a pipe of wine for the previous season, threatened to plough up the
course if he was not paid what he conceived to be his due.  Accordingly,
he set his plough to work, but a press-gang appearing in sight, his
ploughman fled, and resigned the course to the gentlemen of the turf, the
farmer the while declaring that he would not be jockeyed out of his wine,
as he would have a sort of a race for it in Westminster Hall.  The cause,
however, never came off.

The support given to the Brighton Races by the Prince of Wales and those
immediately about him, made the meeting amongst the nobility quite a
national feature, as the _elite_ of the turf were always in attendance,
and a gaiety prevailed that no other place could boast of.  The course
was thronged with equestrians and the fashionable equipages of the day,
barouches and four, driven by lords and baronets.  Conspicuous amongst
them was His Royal Highness on his German Waggon--as his barouche was
called,--driving his six bays, with Townsend, of Bow Street, as his
companion, as well to protect the Prince from insult as from robbery.
But it was a position which gave His Royal Highness an opportunity to
practise upon his guardian a somewhat unpleasant joke.  Turning suddenly
towards Townsend, just at the termination of a race, he exclaimed, "By
Jove, Townsend, I've been robbed; I had with me some damson tarts, but
they are now gone."  "Gone?" said Townsend, rising, "impossible!"  "Yes,"
rejoined the Prince, "and you are the purloiner," at the same time taking
from the seat whereon the officer had been sitting, the crushed crust of
the asserted missing tarts, and adding, "This is a sad blot upon your
reputation as a vigilant officer."  "Rather, say your Royal Highness, a
sad stain upon my escutcheon," added Townsend, raising the gilt buttoned
tails of his blue coat and exhibiting the fruit-stained seat of his
nankeen inexpressibles.

The Brighton Races are now held on the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
following the Goodwood meeting.  Thursday is devoted to the racing of the
Brighton Race Club, established in 1850.  Formerly they were either on
Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, as shown by the calendar of the Brighton
Races, July 28th, 30th, and 31st, 1804, now in the possession of Mr.
Alderman Martin; or, as in 1810, on Friday, Saturday, and Monday, August
3rd, 4th, and 6th, when two races a day took place, distinguished in
their time of running by "Before Dinner," and "After Dinner."  The
arrangement of the days was to admit of a fair, termed "White Hawk Fair,"
being held on the east down on the intervening Sunday.  It has now been
abolished about forty years.  The _Morning Herald_, Sunday, August 2nd,
1807, makes the following mention of this fair:--

    White Hawk Fair, as it is termed, has attracted much company to the
    Race Down to-day, though but few individuals of fashionable note were
    to be seen in the throng.

Connected with this Down is the

                        LEGEND OF THE WHITE HAWK LADY.

Less than half a century since, the remnant of a moss-covered unhewn
stone marked the spot in Ovingdean churchyard, where, as gossips then
said, were deposited the remains of Margaret Ladrone, probably a name
conferred on her from the pilfering propensities of the gipsies, a tribe
to which she belonged, though she was familiarly spoken of as "Mag Lade,"
a sybil or fortune-teller of her day, whose visits to Ovingdean were
annual in the month of August, on the occasion of White Hawk Fair, a
holiday gathering on White Hawk Down, at which the rustics were wont to
learn their fate of the wise woman, as she was termed by the unmarried
who would know the future through the vista of happiness; but the old
crone or witch, by those whose stern thought attributed all the mishaps
that befel either themselves or their substance to the influence of an
evil one, with whom she was proclaimed to be in league.  At other periods
of the year she practised her vocation in various places throughout the
county, so that she had a regular circuit, through the course of which
the burning fervour of youth hailed her advent with earnest
anticipations, equalled only by the dread entertained by mature age, that
blight and murrain were her attendants.  It happened on one occasion, the
date whereof is immaterial, that Editha Elmore, the only daughter of the
rich squire of Woodingdean, while intent on the palmistry of Mag,--whose
hand she had crossed with a broad silver piece,--by chance cast her eyes
upon the form of a dark young man of goodly mien, the very type of him
whom the gipsey prophetess essayed to be her future husband.  In the next
country-dance he was her partner, and also the envy of one who, from
their childhood, had been her companion, and was looked upon by the
parents of each as her intended bridegroom.  The festivities of the day
closed; the dark stranger bade her adieu; the villagers returned to their
homes; and ere the shades of night had gathered over the Downs, not a
vestige was left of the scene which had been one of general festivity.
Ralph Mascall, the son of the farmer at the Grange, Ovingdean, as had
been his custom from a child, accompanied the fair Editha to Woodingdean,
where he received the accustomed welcome of her parents; and, before
midnight, he was on his way homewards somewhat disturbed in mind that he
had a rival.  His visits, however, to Squire Elmore's were not the less
frequent; nor did the affection shown towards him by Editha in the least
appear to wane.  And so another year passed on, and the annual festival
again arrived.  There again was Mag, whom Editha sought once more, to
learn her destiny.  The Fates had not altered their decree; and there, as
twelve months since he stood, was the dark comely stranger.  The very
type of previous years were the proceedings of the day; the same homely
village simplicity, the jocund song, the rustic dance, the same potations
of home-brewed and cider; the same greetings, the same partings.
Somewhat later than was considered within the bounds of prudence, the
handmaid of Editha, accompanied by Giles, her lover, approached the
wicket that opened on the lawn before Squire Elmore's mansion, where she
was met by the dark stranger of the Fair, who, tendering her a golden
coin,--by way of hush money,--bade her convey to her young mistress a note
of delicate proportions.  Promise of secrecy was exacted; the parting
kiss was exchanged between the blushing Abigail and Giles; and the latter
accepting the companionship of the stranger, the two bent their steps to
Rottingdean, where the honest rustic returned to his home.  Where the
stranger rested for the night has never transpired.  Early the following
morning Mag was at the mansion, the domestics of which, anxious to learn
how they were ruled by the stars, parted freely with their silver pieces.
The Abigail of the previous night's adventure was particularly anxious to
learn her destiny; and the truth which was essayed of her Giles, his age,
his complexion, his temper, and his prospects, gave full assurance of the
marvellousness of Mag's divining skill, to which the fair Editha, with
whom she also had an interview, gave implicit credence.  Four-and-twenty
hours, however, wrought a great change at the mansion, and likewise in
the hamlet of Ovingdean.  A more than usual oppression and sultriness
pervaded the atmosphere throughout the day, and towards nightfall the war
of elements commenced, the sharp flashes of lightning increasing in
vividness, the artillery of the heavens roaring in awful solemnity, and
the massive clouds discharging their drenching cataracts.  Such a night
had never been previously known in the neighbourhood; and every person
anxiously waited the coming dawn to learn the havoc of the dreadful
storm.  The inmates of the mansion were early stirring, and, much sooner
than usual, Mr. and Mrs. Elmore were at breakfast.  But they had not been
long seated when they were informed that Miss Editha could nowhere be
found, and that by the appearance of her bed-chamber she had not retired
to rest during the night.  The note which had been delivered by the
stranger, and was then lying on the dressing table, appointing a midnight
interview upon the Downs, was all that could be found to account for her
absence.  The most diligent search of the premises and the plantation
contiguous was immediately made, and a dispatch without delay was sent
off to Ovingdean, in the hopes that tidings might be heard of her there;
but all was fruitless.  Previous, however, to the news reaching that
village, upon passing by the church, the sexton discovered, in the
south-west corner of the burial ground, the charred remains of a female,
which, upon examination of the dress about them, were declared to be
those of old Margaret Ladrone.  At the place were they were found, there
in the course of the day, were they interred, without any funeral rites,
and the stone, before referred to, was placed over them to mark the spot.
The dark stranger was never afterwards seen.

The story continues, that, every stormy night after, the figure of a lady
in white paced the White Hawk Down, and that always on the morning after
the figure was seen, a foot-print, cloven like that of an ox, was found
at the same particular spot.  The _Morning Herald_, of July 17th, 1807,
has the following:--"Brighton.--A few days ago were dug up upon the slope
of the Downs to the north-east of this place, the bones of a woman,
which, from their position, clearly evinced that they had been deposited
there many years before, without ceremony.  A singular rumour is now
afloat of a young person having been ravished and murdered there, by a
person of unsuspected character."  It may be proper to add that since the
finding of these bones the White Hawk Lady has not walked abroad.  The
Elmore and the Mascall families, after the mysterious disappearance of
Editha, removed to Brighton; but it is a very singular fact that the name
of Lade is now very common at Ovingdean, it being even that of the Sexton
of the parish, who is a descendant of Sir John Lade, spoken of in the
last Chapter.  As, however, the church register dates back only as far as
the year 1700, the genealogy of the family, even if it did come through
Old Mag, cannot be more remotely traced.

The death of the Earl of Egremont, who was a great patron of the Brighton
sports long after Royalty had abandoned contending on the course, was a
severe blow to Brighton Races; added to which, the Duke of Richmond, a
warm supporter of the turf, withdrew his influence in favour of Goodwood.
Year by year the Races waned, with the prospect of an early dissolution,
which, on the withdrawal of the Queen's Plate, in 1849, seemed
inevitable.  Persons, it is true, continued, as of yore, to journey in
from the country to witness them, but there was a continual falling off
in the attendance of the aristocracy, and a rage for gambling of a most
pernicious character, in thimble-rig, roulette, Brunswick lottery,
prick-in-the-garter, &c., having set in, the townspeople with-held the
subscriptions which they had been accustomed to grant pretty freely to
the races, as they found that instead of having an equivalent for their
money in sport, they were only paying a premium for the encouragement and
dissemination of vice.  Eventually, legislation put a stop to the
nefarious proceedings of the gamblers; and, in the very nick of time, the
great modern civilizer, the railway, was inducted from London, to give an
impetus to the prosperity of the town, which had perceptibly declined
when the Queen gave a preference over Brighton to the Isle of Wight, for
a marine retreat.  The Railway was the turning medium for the
resuscitation of the Brighton Races, and the new Race Committee promptly
and successfully availed themselves of it, as it opened the prospect of a
new class of supporters, in the inhabitants of the metropolis, who were
by it within two hours' distance of the course.

At various periods since 1783, when troops were first stationed at
Brighton,--in consequence of the Pavilion becoming a Royal
residence,--reviews and sham fights of the military have taken place on
the Downs contiguous to the Race Course, the spot being admirably adapted
for army tactics.  The troops upon such occasions have been generally of
the line and the militia regiments quartered at the several Infantry
Barracks in the town, and at the Cavalry Barracks on the Lewes Road,
other regiments at Ringmer, Lewes, and East Blatchington marching in to
take part in the evolutions.  The Cavalry Barracks were completed in
1795.  In 1801 a range of stables was erected, for the reception of 400
horses, immediately in front of the main buildings, and abutting on the
east boundary wall contiguous to the Lewes Road; but in 1818 these
stables were removed, and the spacious grounds were thrown open to public
view.  The fives-court, between the wings, in the centre of the back
court-yard, was erected in 1810, by the officers of the Prince of Wales's
Regiment, the 10th Royal Hussars.

The modern grand military features of the Race Hill have been the sham
fights of the Volunteers, and known as the Battle of Ovingdean, Easter
Monday, April 1st, 1861, under Lord Ranelagh; and the Battle of White
Hawk Down, Easter Monday, April 21st, 1862, under Lord Clyde; both great
successes, and affording proofs of the valuable services and admirable
efficiency of this noble auxiliary of England's military power.  The
force present on the first occasion numbered between 7,000 and 8,000 men,
thus brigaded:--

    ARTILLERY BRIGADE.--Colonel Estridge, commanding.  1st Battalion
    Brighton Artillery, 4th Cinque Ports, 2nd Hants, and 2nd Sussex.

    FIRST BRIGADE RIFLE VOLUNTEERS.--Lieutenant Colonel Faunce,
    commanding; Captain Deedes, Brigade Major.  1st Battalion--Colonel
    M'Leod, 1st Middlesex Engineers; 32nd Middlesex (Guards).  2nd
    Battalion--Major Atherley, 2nd South Middlesex.  3rd Battalion--Capt.
    Ives, 11th Middlesex, (St. George's), 36th Middlesex (Paddington).

    SECOND BRIGADE.--Lord Radstock, commanding; Captain Chitty, Brigade
    Major.  1st Battalion--9th West Middlesex, 2nd Middlesex (A.B.)  2nd
    Battalion--Colonel Money, 6th Tower Hamlets; 4th Tower Hamlets; 7th
    Middlesex (Islington). 3rd Battalion--Colonel Colville, 39th Middlesex
    (Finsbury); Kent Rifles, (Captain Jackson), 4th, 13th, 17th, 21st,
    and 34th.

    THIRD BRIGADE.--Colonel Moorsom, commanding; Major Panton, Brigade
    Major.  1st Battalion--3rd Sussex (Administrative Battalion).  2nd
    Battalion--1st Cinque Ports.  3rd Battalion--2nd Sussex (Administrative
    Battalion).

    FOURTH BRIGADE.--Colonel Vallancey, commanding; Major Deedes, Brigade
    Major.  1st Battalion--Colonel Couran, 1st Hants (Administrative
    Battalion), Winchester; 3rd Hants (Administrative Battalion); 6th
    Hants.  2nd Battalion--Major Roupell, 19th Surrey (Lambeth); 10th
    Surrey (Bermondsey).  3rd Battalion--Sir H. Fletcher, 2nd Surrey
    (Administrative Battalion); 20th Surrey (Norwood).

    RESERVE.--3rd City of London; Brighton Cadets; 11th Tower Hamlets.

The troops were formed in battalions on the Level, from whence they
marched by way of Marine Parade, and by the County Hospital to the summit
of the hill on the right of the Race Course, along which, past the Grand
Stand, they marched in review, before Major General Sir James Scarlett
and his staff.

Upon the crown of this hill, during the wars with Napoleon, stood a
signal-house and telegraph semaphore communicating along the coast with
similar stations at Seaford and Shoreham, and forming a link in the
important chain of signals which was in use between Portsmouth and Dover.
There is very little doubt, that about that locality at a much earlier
date than sporting records hand down to us, racing of some description
took place, the Town Book having the following entry:--

    Memorandum, that on ye 7th of November, 1713, Henry May, Esq., paid
    us a half-penny acknowledgmt for carrying the Corpes of his father Sr
    Richard May, deceased, through the Laine, commonly called the Hilly
    Laine, from the place were formerly stood a Race post, to the town of
    Brighthelmston, it being noe high or Common Road, we Say red the Same
    for sufferance, Per us

                                                          RICHARD MASTERS,
                                                             SIMON WISDEN.
                                                                JOHN GOLD.

The payment was doubtless exacted under the erroneous notion that the
unobstructed conveyance of a corpse gave the public a right to the way or
road along which the body was borne; and it is the generally received
opinion that the right of road by the footpath or bridle-way from
Blatchington, by way of Watts's Laundry to the road on Church Hill, was
obtained by a corpse having been conveyed from Blatchington for burial in
the church-yard of St. Nicholas, Brighton.

The several corps engaged in the Review having passed up the Course took
up heir first position on the ridge of heights overlooking Brighton, and
afterwards formed an extended line on the crest of one of the hills
running inland and parallel with the race-hill.  This long line of about
a mile in length was supported by four guns on the extreme left.  At the
time of commencing operations the furze on the side of the hill was,
either by design or accident, set on fire.  Huge volumes of smoke rose
from the burning gorse, and as the line opened and kept up a heavy firing
for some time, the imaginative spectators on the distant eminence might
suppose that some quiet hamlet had been set on fire, either by the enemy
or by the brave defenders of their hearths and homes.  After some very
heavy file-firing from right of companies, and two or three
well-delivered volleys, the line fell back, protected in its retreat by
the guns in position.  The enemy was supposed to have followed them, but,
like the Spanish fleet, they could not be seen, because they were not in
sight.  Lord Ranelagh's force was too small to admit of division into two
forces; but even had it been larger, it is doubtful whether a Volunteer
enemy would submit to be beaten according to orders, with so much
cheerfulness, and with so much steadiness, as is the case with the
regulars on the field-days of Aldershot and elsewhere.  The retreating
force next deployed towards the sea, the action became more general, and
several battalions were moved up in support of the line.  There were more
rattles of musketry, and more volleys, and then, wearied out with the
persistence of the enemy, two brigades, forming the right, charged down
on the enemy's left and drove them over hill and dale.  The unseen and
flying enemy, however, got some imaginary reinforcements, and returned to
the attack and retrieved their laurels.  The gallant brigadiers led back
their unwilling, but not disheartened men on the left wing; then the
centre fell back, and the right, unable to stand alone, followed the
example.  Lord Ranelagh's eye instantly saw the cloud of dust which told
of the approach of horsemen.  Quick as lightning there went forth the
command--"Form square to receive cavalry," and the order was promptly
obeyed; and had there been any cavalry, they would no doubt have been
very warmly and heartily received, in obedience to orders.  The division
took up a fresh position--again advanced--the Battle of Ovingdean was
fought and won, and the well-known strains of the "National Anthem" told
of the loyalty, as many courageous deeds had told of the valour, of the
Volunteers.

At the second Easter Volunteer Field Day there were 19,000 of the
following corps present:--

    CAVALRY.--18th Hussars, Lieut.-Col. Knox.  1st Hants Light Horse,
    Capt. Bower.

    ARTILLERY.--FIELD BATTERIES.--Lieut.-Col. Ormsby, R.A., commanding
    Staff: Capt. Tupper, R.A., Capt. Pitt, R.A., Capt. Ward, R.A., Capt.
    Blackwell, R.A.  1st and 2nd Batteries--Major Dalbiac, 1st Sussex.
    3rd Battery--Capt. Darby, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sussex.  4th Battery--Major
    Harcourt, 4th Cinque Ports.

    GARRISON BRIGADE.--Lieut.-Col. Estridge, commanding; Capt. Woodhead,
    3rd Middlesex Militia, Aide-de-Camp; Capt. Wolf, R.A., Major of
    Brigade.  1st Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Sturdee, 1st Hants.  2nd
    Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Lord Truro, 3rd Middlesex.  3rd Battalion--Major
    Creed.  3rd Essex, 1 A Cinque Ports, 1st Middlesex, 2nd Middlesex,
    1st Tower Hamlets.

    INFANTRY.--FIRST DIVISION.--Major-General Crauford, commanding, Staff:
    Capt. Smith, Grenadier Guards; Lieut. Hon. J. C. Eliot, Grenadier
    Guards.

    FIRST BRIGADE.--Lieut.-Col. the Duke of Wellington, K.G., commanding;
    Capt. Goff, 50th Foot, Major of Brigade.  1st Battalion--Lieut.-Col.
    Macleod, 1st Middlesex (Engineer), 1st Tower Hamlets (Engineer), and
    two companies 16th Middlesex.  2nd Battalion--Lieut.-Col. the Hon. C.
    Hugh Lindsay, 11th, 18th, and 36th Middlesex.  3rd
    Battalion--Lieut.-Col. G. Warde, 1st City of London.  4th
    Battalion--Major Whitehead, 1st Middlesex.

    SECOND BRIGADE.--Lieut.-Col. the Marquis of Donegall, G.C.H.,
    commanding; Major Mackenzie, Antrim Militia, Aide-de-Camp;
    Brevet-Major Shaw, R.A., Major of Brigade.  1st Battalion--Lieut.-Col.
    Jeakes, 4th and 37th Middlesex.  2nd Battalion--Major Vernon, 28th
    Middlesex, and 4th Bucks.  3rd Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Lord Enfield,
    29th Middlesex.  4th Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Lord Bury, 21st, 30th,
    38th, 42nd, 43rd, and 44th Middlesex.

    THIRD BRIGADE.--Lieut.-Col. Viscount Ranelagh, commanding; Capt.
    Templar, Dorset R.V.C., Aide-de-Camp; Brevet-Major Deedes, 60th Foot,
    Major of Brigade.  1st Battalion--Major Atherly, South Middlesex.  2nd
    Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Somerset, 40th Middlesex.  3rd Battalion--Sir
    John Shelley, 46th Middlesex, 2nd City of London, and 4th City of
    London.  4th Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Bigge, 20th Middlesex.

    FOURTH BRIGADE.--Brigadier-General Haines, C.B., commanding; Lieut.
    Arbuthnot, 10th Hussars, Aide-de-Camp; Capt. Wovell, 41st Foot, Major
    of Brigade.  1st Battalion--Major Beresford, 2nd, 7th, and 12th
    Surrey.  2nd Battalion--Capt. Trueman, Acting Major.  10th, 19th,
    21st, and 23rd Surrey.  3rd Battalion--Major Farnell, 1st
    Administrative Battalion of Kent.  4th Battalion--Major Sir H.
    Fletcher, 5th, 13th, and 14th Surrey, and 2nd Administrative
    Battalion of Surrey.

    FIFTH BRIGADE.--Major-General Taylor, commanding; Capt. Pemberton,
    Scots Fusilier Guards, Aide-de-Camp; Major the Hon. W. J. Colville,
    Rifle Brigade, Major of Brigade.  1st Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Capper,
    5th and 9th Essex.  2nd Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Buxton, 1st
    Administrative Battalion of Tower Hamlets.  3rd Battalion--Lieut.-Col.
    Money, 4th and 6th Tower Hamlets.  4th Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Walker,
    2nd, 8th, 9th, and 12th Tower Hamlets.

    SECOND DIVISION.--Major-General Hon. A. Dalzell, commanding; Staff:
    Colonel Taylor, C.B., Colonel Walker, C.B., and Capt. Carleton, 21st
    Foot.

    FIRST BRIGADE.--Lieut.-Col. Lord Radstock, commanding; Lieut. Peake,
    Aide-de-Camp; Major Gooch, unattached.  Major of Brigade.  1st
    Battalion--Lieut.-Col, Wilkinson, 2nd Administrative Battalion,
    Middlesex.  2nd Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Bathurst, 19th Middlesex.  3rd
    Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Colvill, 39th Middlesex and 26th Kent.  4th
    Battalion--Capt. Fenton, 9th Middlesex.

    SECOND BRIGADE.--Brigadier-General Brown, commanding; Lieut. Savery,
    78th Foot, Aide-de-Camp; Capt. Morgan, 55th Foot, Major of Brigade.
    1st Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Grimston, 1st, 2nd, and 16th Hants.  2nd
    Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Conran, 3rd Administrative Battalion, Hants.
    3rd Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Dunsmore, 1st Administrative Battalion,
    Isle of Wight.  4th Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Vallancy, 2nd
    Administrative Battalion, Hants.

    THIRD BRIGADE.--Lieut.-Col. Moorsom, commanding; Lieut. Moorsom, Royal
    Artillery, Aide-de-Camp; Capt. Penton, 3rd Middlesex Militia, Major
    of Brigade.  1st Battalion--Acting-Major Meek, 3rd Sussex
    Administrative Battalion.  2nd Battalion--Sir Percy Burrell, Bart.,
    M.P., 1st Sussex Administrative Battalion.  3rd Battalion--Lieut.-Col.
    Gage, 1st Cinque Ports Administrative Battalion and 17th Kent.  4th
    Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Barttelot, 2nd Sussex Administrative Battalion.

    FOURTH BRIGADE.--Brigadier-General Garvock, commanding; Hon. Capt.
    Chetwynd, Aide-de-Camp; Capt. Jones, 20th Foot, Major of Brigade.
    1st Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Lord Elcho, 15th Middlesex.  2nd
    Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Brewster, 23rd Middlesex.  3rd Battalion--Major
    Richards, 3rd City of London and 32nd Middlesex.  4th
    Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Lord Grosvenor, 22nd Middlesex, 1st Battalion.
    5th Battalion--Lieut.-Col. Lord Gerald Fitzgerald.  22nd Middlesex,
    2nd Battalion.

Upon the arrival of the various corps, they were marched to their several
places of rendezvous, on the Level, St. Peter's Church and North Steine
Enclosures, the Pavilion Grounds, and the Steine, where they partook of
refreshments.  At 11 o'clock the "assembly" was sounded, and very soon
after the whole of the corps were on their march to the Race Hill, by way
of the Marine Parade and Elm Grove, the Divisions meeting again in White
Hawk Valley, whence they paraded down the Course and passed in Review
opposite the Grand Stand, before Lord Clyde, the Earl of Chichester--Lord
Lieutenant of the County,--and Lord Cardigan, passing out at the south end
of the Course, and then descending to their original position in the
Valley.  The field evolutions took place principally on White Hawk Down,
and were eminently successful, and the whole of the arrangements of the
day, civil and military, were a practical demonstration of the facility
with which troops might be moved towards a threatened point on the
particular railway which would be most likely to be required for such a
duty in an actual case of emergency.  On the morning of the Review, 6,922
Volunteers were despatched from London Bridge in two hours and 41
minutes, and 5,170 from the Victoria Station in two hours and 20 minutes,
without difficulty.  They were conveyed in 16 trains, each composed of an
engine and tender and 22 vehicles, and each carrying on an average 20
officers and 735 men; and they reached Brighton in an average of 2 hours
and 28 minutes from the time of starting.  The Brighton Company borrowed
on this occasion 72 carriages from three neighbouring companies, and 79
carriages also brought Volunteers over their railway, from other lines;
but they had to provide for their ordinary passenger-traffic on that day,
as well as for the Easter Monday traffic to the Crystal Palace, which was
very considerable, and to convey upwards of 2,000 Volunteers along the
south coast from the several stations on their own line.  Indeed, the
total number of passengers who travelled upon the London, Brighton, and
South-Coast Railway on that day was 132,202, including Volunteers and the
holders of season and return tickets.

As a proof that the Queen takes a deep interest in the Volunteer
movement, Her Majesty, several times during the day, telegraphed to be
informed of every special incident in connexion with the military
evolutions.  Happily no accident happened to mar the general proceedings;
but, to meet any casualty that might have arisen, Brigade Surgeon Burrows
of the First Sussex Volunteer Artillery, issued a notice that every
convenience for temporary hospital purposes was provided in a tent to the
west of the Race Stand, in a tent at the south of the battle-field, and
at the Industrial Schools.

The Industrial Schools are built upon what is known as the Warren Farm,
which occupies an area of ten acres of arable land immediately north-east
of the Race Course, and was purchased for 2,000.  The project of
erecting these Schools for the purpose of training poor children to
habits of industry and relieving them of the ban of pauperism, was first
entertained by the Board of Guardians, in 1853, but no steps were taken
to carry it out till it received the sanction of the Vestry in 1856; and
even then, from time to time, numerous impediments arose, in the
selection of plans and in borrowing the requisite money of Government, so
that the first stone of the building was not laid till the 26th of March,
1859, the plans selected being those of Mr. George Maynard, the Parish
Surveyor.  Mr. John Fabian, of Brighton, was the builder, at a contract
price of 8,223, the sum of 5,269 having previously been expended in
forming roads, and necessary incidental work.  On the 1st of December,
1859, Mr. Fabian, as stipulated, completed his task, and delivered over
the building to the Board of Guardians.  Subsequently, Mr. Fabian erected
the farm buildings at the cost of 1,514 16s, and Messrs. Patching and
Son erected the boundary wall for 560.

An establishment to consist of more than 300 persons would of necessity
require a good supply of one of the chief elements of existence, water;
it therefore became a question with the Guardians, how that supply was to
be obtained, whether by sinking a well, and thus have their own source of
the element, or by having pipes laid on from the Brighton Water Works.
The Guardians decided upon, the former course, as, having it in
contemplation to erect a new Workhouse on a seven acre piece of land,
which they had purchased for that purpose, between the Reservoir and the
Race Hill, their own well would supply both establishments,--hence was
projected the Warren Farm Well, the fame of which has spread to all parts
of the civilized world.

This celebrated well was commenced on the 25th of March, 1858; but at the
depth of 418 feet 3 inches, where a heading was driven laterally, a
contract which had been entered into with Mr. North was abandoned, and
the Board, after a consultation, determined to proceed with the work
themselves, and commenced by driving another heading opposite the former,
at a depth of 421 feet 9 inches, and from this a second perpendicular
shaft, four feet in diameter, was dug, the superintendence of the labour
being entrusted to Mr. Isaac Huggett, who persevered unremittingly with
the work, and eventually, after surmounting innumerable difficulties,
found on Sunday, the 16th March, 1862, at a depth of 1,285 feet, so
abundant a supply of excellent water, that in a few days there were more
than 200,000 gallons of that pure beverage in the well.

To celebrate the success of the undertaking, Mr. Henry Catt, a Guardian,
entertained the whole of the members of the Board, with the Vicar, and
their Officers, and likewise Mr. Huggett and his men, at a dinner at the
Town Hall, 120 guests sitting down to the repast under the presidency of
the delighted liberal donor, Mr. Churchwarden Marchant and Mr. Alderman
Brigden occupying the vice-chairs.  As a memento, also, of the happy
event, Mr. Catt had silver medals struck by Mr. Norris, jeweller, West
Street, one of which was given to each man who had worked in the Well.
The medals bore the inscription: "By the blessing of God, on hard work,
patience, and perseverance," and "Warren Farm Well, Brighton.  Water
found, March 16th, 1862."  The medal presented to Mr. Huggett was of
gold.

Immediately consequent upon finding water for the establishment, was the
completion of the furnishing of the building and obtaining the requisite
staff of officers; and on Thursday, August 14th, 1862, the Institution
being ready for occupation, the juvenile portion of the inmates of the
Workhouse, 77 boys and 65 girls, were removed thither under the care of
the Industrial Schools' Committee, many other of the Guardians and their
friends taking part in the procession, which was headed by the Industrial
School band.  Mr. and Mrs. Sattin, the Governor and Matron of the
Workhouse, also accompanied them to deliver over their youthful charge to
Mr. and Mrs. Hales, the Superintendents of the Schools.  The occupation
of the Industrial Schools is at present the last public feature of the
Race Hill and adjacent Downs.




CHAPTER XXVIII.
PAST AND PRESENT PASTIMES.


Fickleness in the habits of civilized nations is in no manner more
clearly exemplified than in the pastimes of the people; for although many
sports are characterised as national, and are of great antiquity,
modernization has greatly destroyed their originality, and refinement has
detracted from the natural enjoyment of them.  Even in the rural
districts of England, Harvest Home possesses but little of the rustic
homeliness and jollity of yore, and the happy season of Christmas lacks
the "Squires of Old," and the festivities and the freely dispensed
bounties of the Baronial Halls.  In towns, especially those which come
under the denomination fashionable, there is a constant revolution in the
"rounds of amusements."  Brighton has been particularly prominent in this
respect, a vast variety having run its course during the past century.

Without doubt the Toy Fair, now in a wretched state of decadence, was the
earliest people's festival.  It was formerly held on the Cliff, between
Ship Street and Black-Lion Street; but the town increasing and the Fair
assuming a corresponding magnitude, Belle Vue field, whereon now stands
Regency Square, was its location.  From thence it was translated to the
Level, where, on the 4th of September, 1807, a Sheep Fair was first held,
notification of the same having been in the _Brighton Herald_, and in the
_Weekly Journal_, published at Lewes, as follows:--

    The rapid strides which agriculture has made within the last ten
    years, in this country, and the extreme utility which has been the
    result of its present scientific mode of practice, has commanded the
    attention and admiration not only of all England, but of all
    civilised Europe.  To those who are interested in the purchase of any
    particular breed of stock, it must be of extreme importance that
    their stock be _genuine_ and uncontaminated.

    To fix, therefore, a spot where a pure unmixed breed shall always be
    produced, and where the purchaser (who perhaps comes from a distance)
    shall be sure of unadulterated stock, appears to be a great
    desideratum.  In no instance is it more so than in that useful and
    highly productive animal, the South Down Sheep.  Those who possess
    this breed, true and genuine, have had much reason to lament that at
    fairs, where a great variety of sheep are brought to market, many are
    sold for South Down Sheep which have no pretensions to be so called;
    and which afterwards not answering the purpose of the buyers, bring
    unmerited disgrace on such as are really genuine.  We, therefore, the
    undersigned breeders of true South Down Sheep, have come to a
    resolution to establish a Fair, to be holden on Brighton Level, the
    4th of September, 1807.  And we pledge ourselves to bring to it
    genuine South Down Tups, Stock Ewes, Ewe Lambs, and Wether Lambs; and
    moreover we will not, knowingly, either ourselves introduce, or
    suffer to be introduced to this Fair any but what shall be of the
    _genuine_ and _true_ South Down breed:

  Alexander, W.

  Blaker, N.

  Beard, T.

  Ball, J.

  Boys, J.

  Bine, --

  Botting, J.

  Beard, N.

  Blaker, G.

  Chatfield, J.

  Croskey, S.

  Dyer, R. L.

  Elmes, W.

  Fuller, H.

  Falconer, W.

  Gorring, W.

  Geer, T.

  Hardwick, J.

  Hodson, W.

  Hodson, T.

  Hamshar, J.

  Hamshar, R.

  Hall, N.

  Hart, R.

  Hodson, A. W.

  Hurley, R.

  Ingram, J.

  Lidbetter, T.

  Murrell, W.

  Marchant, J.

  Newnham, --

  Noakes, W.

  Pilfold, J.

  Poole, T.

  Page, W.

  Stanford, W.

  Scrase, W.

  Scrase, T.

  Vallance, J.

  Verrall, R.

  Wood, J.

About 20,000 prime South Down sheep of all denominations found a ready
sale, buyers being plentiful.  That year, on the same day, the general
Fair was held on the Marlborough Steine, the southernmost of the present
North Steine Enclosures, where gingerbread stalls, whirligigs, and
roundabouts were in abundance.  The next year the Sheep Fair was equally
well attended; but notwithstanding the most strenuous exertions of its
promoters, it had but an existence of four years.  A Cattle Market was
established on a piece of the Parish Ground on the Church Hill, adjoining
the West Hill Estate, in 1831.  Like the Sheep Fair, however, it had but
a few years' duration, there being no meadows near for the accommodation
of stock.  The Corn Market, by sample, is held every Thursday, at the
King and Queen Inn, in a spacious and commodious room.  From the Level,
where Gully and Cribb, on the 11th of August, 1807, in the presence of
the Prince of Wales and his Royal Brothers, had a sparring match, the
town authorities eventually ejected the Spring and Autumn pleasure Fair,
which has since sought refuge upon any available spot contiguous.  A few
years more and it will be amongst the things of the past.

The Level has at various periods been the arena for the festivals in
celebration of important national events, as on the 19th July, 1821, upon
the occasion of the coronation of George IV., when two bullocks were
roasted whole, and distributed hot, and four, previously dressed, were
served out, the expenses being defrayed by a public subscription.  The
roasting of the two bullocks commenced on the preceding night, when
partial fires were kindled to heat the carcasses through the thickest
part.  But about five o'clock in the morning the real roasting commenced.
The grates were then piled high with blazing fuel, and a savoury vapour
spread through the atmosphere.  About six, one of the spits, a stout
scaffold pole, gave way under its ponderous weight, but at the expense
only of an additional spar, and a score or so of blistered fingers.

The work of carving commenced shortly after two o'clock, when Mr. Thomas
Palmer, the King's cutler, in a waggon converted into a suitable platform
for such a display, decorated with devices and waving streamers, and
containing several hogsheads of ale, presented to Mr. John Vallance, the
Chairman of the Managing Committee, a carving knife and fork, and a
corkscrew, all of extensive dimensions, with the request that the
coronation beef might be carved with the former, and the bungs extracted
from the casks by the latter, and that they might be furthermore
preserved by the local authorities, for use on similar occasions.  The
work of carving occupied about an hour, during which time many thousands
of persons partook of the hot and the cold.

At this period there lived in a hut of very rude construction, consisting
of but one room, on the southern incline of Round Hill, Corporal Staines,
an old marine who served under Nelson at the siege of Copenhagen.  He was
very crippled, and obtained his living by exhibiting his miniature
fortifications, constructed by himself of chalk, the soldiers and cannons
which surmounted the battlements being likewise formed of chalk; as was
also a very rude model of the gallant ship, the Victory, bearing, under a
black canopy, a coffin containing the body of the Hero of Trafalgar.
Upon great national anniversaries and festivities it was his custom to
fire Royal salutes from four pistol barrels which he had formed as a
battery, and every day he was accustomed to fire the sun-set gun.  While
the feast was being made off the roasted oxen, the old corporal fired a
Royal salute, for which he was rewarded with a good substantial dinner
and a compliment of money, besides presents which were made him by the
holiday folk.  Corporal Staines first took up his abode at Brighton in a
cavern hewn in the Church Hill chalk-pit, the site--filled up,--of the east
end of Upper North Street.  Agreeing with his residence in the chalk-pit
is the following entry in the Vestry book:--

    October 2nd, 1809.--That Corporal Staines be allowed a blanket and a
    great coat during the winter.

Staines removed from the chalk pit to a hut constructed by himself,
immediately east of the Manor Pound, then at the back of the Parish
Church, on the spot now occupied by the entrance of the northern Burial
Ground, contiguous to which were the Parish Stocks, that were afterwards
removed to the Market Place, in the Bartholomews.  Upon the re-building
of the Market, the Stocks were placed against its southern wall at the
back of the Thatched House Inn, where, after remaining a few years as a
relic of a barbarous age, they went to decay.  In 1824, the Pound was
removed to the north-west corner of the Workhouse grounds, on the Dyke
Road.  In course of time, however, it became obsolete for the impounding
of cattle, and in 1853 it was purchased by the parish of the Lord of the
Manor, for 100.  For some years after his removal from Church Hill, the
old marine took up his abode in the east bank of the pond at the junction
of the old Shoreham and Ditchling Roads, on Rose Hill; but when the
ground adjacent was enclosed by Mr. Colbatch, he translated himself to
just without its eastern boundary wall, on the incline of the hill which
commands an uninterrupted view of the Level and the Steine in general.
He ended his days in Brighton Workhouse.

The earliest town record of the Proclamation of a Sovereign is a minute
of Vestry, date, March 19th, 1701, which runs thus:--

    Israel Paine, Constable, being accompanyed with the chief Inhabitants
    of the town (after open proclamation made by the Cryer) did in the
    mercat place about Eleven of the clock in the forenoon, solemnly
    proclaim our Gratious Sovereign Lady QUEEN ANNE, Queen off England,
    Scotland, France, and Ireland; upon which there followed great
    shoutings and acclamations of all the people.  Saying, GOD SAVE QUEEN
    ANNE.

The coronation of Her present Majesty was celebrated on the Level, June
28th, 1838, in a similar manner to that of George IV.  The last occasion
of public rejoicing there was to commemorate the Peace with Russia in
1855.  The great Peace Festival, consequent upon the overthrow of the
sovereignty of Napoleon Bonaparte, on his retiring to Elba, took place on
the 12th of August, 1814, on the Prince Regent's Cricket Ground, which
occupied the extreme north of the Level, immediately in front of the
Peircy Alms Houses, Lewes Road.  The animated scene which the Cricket
Ground presented on the memorable occasion was, in the highest degree,
interesting.  Seventy-five double rows of tables were formed, each in an
oblong square, open at the bottom only, and each adapted for the
accommodation of one hundred and twenty-two persons.  These were
furnished in a plentiful manner, with true old English fare of roast beef
and plum puddings, garnished with a suitable number of hogsheads of ale
and brown stout, at convenient distances, giving an air of hospitable
importance to the whole.  At each table a president was appointed, with
six assistants, under the denomination of stewards; the former wearing
white sashes, with the inscription, "Brighton Festival," and the latter
purple and white favours, bearing the number of the table at which they
were to officiate, affixed at the left breast.  Flags of blue silk,
lettered in gold, "Peace," "Wellington," "Blucher," &c., waved at the
head of the various tables, where were seated upwards of 7,000 persons.

At two o'clock a bugle sounded from No. 1 table, at which presided the
Rev. J. Carr (Vicar), who rose and pronounced the following benediction:--

    O Thou who art the great God of Nations, Thou hast filled our hearts
    with joy by the restoration of Peace and the prospect of Plenty: we
    meet under the canopy of Heaven as members of Thy family.  May this
    Festival be crowned with Thy blessing, and may our lives express the
    gratitude which Thy goodness inspires, for the sake of Jesus Christ
    our Lord.  Amen.

This was repeated by Mr. Robert Ackerson (High Constable) at the lower
table, and by the Presidents of the other tables severally, and then the
busy scene of feasting commenced in the presence of some thousands of
spectators, who, in carriages, waggons, carts, and caravans, took up
their positions just without the boundary rails.

The sound of the second bugle having announced the dinner at an end, the
Vicar rose and thus returned thanks:--

    Merciful Father, our grateful hearts acknowledge Thy goodness; may
    Charity ever assist the poor, and the poor confess their infinite
    obligations unto Thee, as the Bountiful Giver of all their blessings,
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The following toasts and airs then succeeded, the Band of the 3rd Buffs
being in attendance and adding to the pleasures of the fete:--

  Our Good Old King.--"God Save the King."

  The Prince Regent.--"Rule Britannia."

  The Queen and Royal Family.--"The Brunswick March."

  The Duke of Wellington.--"See the Conquering Hero comes."

  The Allied Sovereigns.--"The March to Paris."

  Louis XVIII.--"Henri Quatre."

  May Peace produce Plenty and Plenty Gratitude.--"Speed the Plough."

  Prosperity and Unanimity to the Town of Brighton.--"Tight little
  Island."

The after part of the day was devoted to dancing, blind-man's-buff,
jingling matches, foot-racing, stool-ball, kiss-in-the-ring, jumping in
sacks, &c.; and the happy throng concluded the day by joining hands and
forming long chains of human beings, and thus in high glee they "threaded
the tailor's needle" to Castle Square, where, after singing "God Save the
King," they, in the most orderly manner, dispersed, and made for their
several homes.

Cricket was a favourite pastime with the Prince of Wales, who was
frequently engaged in the manly game with the noblemen and gentlemen of
his suite, on the Royal Ground, which had been granted for his use by Mr.
Thomas Reed Kemp, the Lord of the Manor.  His Royal Highness, however,
upon coming to the throne, retired from cricket, and hence the Ground was
given up.  Mr. Kemp then made the grant of a portion of it to the Town
for the recreation of the inhabitants, and the road to the north of the
Level was formed.

In 1822, an enterprising townsman, Mr. James Ireland, became the
purchaser of ten acres of the land immediately north of the road, and in
the following year, Ireland's Gardens and Cricket Ground were opened to
the public.  The original entrance was at the south-west comer, where was
a neat lodge that conducted to the cricket ground, and an excellent
bowling green, with raised banks, and a billiard room with colonnade and
rustic seats in front.  At the lower or east end was the tavern
department, the Hanover Arms Inn, where, also, was an excellent fives'
court.  The Gardens were approached either by crossing the Cricket
Ground, or by a separate road that skirted the property.

Mr. Ireland was the successor of Mr. Daniel Constable, who, with his
brother William as shopman, commenced May 29th, 1802, the drapery
business, now the well-known establishment of Messrs. Hannington and Son,
at No. 3, North Street.  Mr. Ireland became the purchaser of the business
in 1806, and it passed from him to the late Mr. Hannington, the successor
also, at No. 4, of Mr. William Diplock, who, in the summer of 1819, when
Brighton churchyard was despoiled of its dead, announced himself as sole
agent for the sale of patent metallic coffins, of the security of which
he assured the public, every person would be satisfied.  Previous to the
formation of the Hanover Grounds, Mr. Ireland carried on the business of
woollen draper and undertaker at No. 10, North Street.

A noble and conspicuous building, comprising reading, refreshment, and
dressing rooms on the basement, and an elegant promenade room, eighty
feet by thirty feet, over them, formed the junction of the Cricket Ground
with the Gardens, just within the entrance of which was the ladies'
bowling green, surrounded by a beautiful lawn and tea arbours.  There
were likewise, adjacent, an aviary and a grotto.  A Gothic tower and
gateway approached by a bridge that spanned a piece of water at the north
end of the main central avenue, was the entrance to a Maze, in the centre
of which was a Merlin swing.  From the want of that support from the
public which was due to Mr. Ireland, for the spirit he evinced in so
zealously catering for their entertainment, the thousands which he
expended were entirely lost to him, and he retired from that which ought
to have been a benefit to the town and himself, a ruined man.

During the time that he held possession, a public declaration was made by
the town crier that a man would fly from the top of the assembly room to
the extreme north of the Grounds.  All Brighton was tickled by the
announcement, and hours previous to the time stated for the intended
flight, throngs of people were wending their way northward, and taking up
their position, where they imagined they could obtain the best view of
the sight.  The Round Hill was covered with one mass of human beings,
whose eyes were concentrated upon a slight scaffold that was erected on
the roof of the building.  From the top of this structure a stout cable
was stretched to the foot of the bridge at the maze, affording sufficient
evidence that no hoax was intended.  Expectation, therefore, was on
tip-toe; and after patience had undergone a long endurance, a
slightly-built man, in light fleshings, with Zephyr-like wings, was seen
to ascend the scaffold, causing an universal clapping of hands, and the
firing of the guns at Staines's mimic fort.  About a couple of minutes
sufficed for the performer to make the necessary adjustments for his
flight, and then, amidst loud huzzas, he, waving a flag in each hand,
gracefully glided down, head foremost, beneath the cable, along which
revolved an arrangement of wheels, to which he was attached
longitudinally.  Those who had a gratis view of the exploit smiled, and
contented themselves with the satisfaction that the sight had cost them
nothing; but those who went into the Gardens and paid, to see whatever
could be seen, felt sorely vexed, and some were so excited as to attempt
a castigation of the exhibitor.  His friends, however, quickly liberated
him from his machinery, and he took a flight through the maze that
enabled him to elude his pursuers.

The "Flying Man" was Mr. William Constable, who, on the disposal by his
brother of his business to Mr. Ireland, accompanied Daniel to America,
where they devoted themselves to scientific pursuits.  His flying freak,
on his return, was as well for a scientific purpose as to benefit Mr.
Ireland, and the principle has been since applied in saving human life in
cases of fire and shipwreck.  In 1841 he introduced the art of
photography, then called Daguerreotype, into Brighton, his "blue room"
being a very attractive feature on the Marine Parade, near Atlingworth
Street.  He died on Sunday, December 22nd, 1861.

Other speculators from time to time, with but little better success than
Mr. Ireland, tried their luck upon the estate.  Year by year showed the
gradual decay which neglect engenders; the buildings became dilapidated
and unsafe for occupation, the flowerbeds were transformed into a
wilderness of weeds; and at length, after having been made even the
asylum for wild beasts, and the arena for the dissoluteness of pleasure
fairs, the Gardens, that might have continued one of the chief prides of
Brighton, and the Cricket Ground--the fame of which is perpetuated by
Mason's celebrated print of the renowned players of Sussex and Kent, and
their supporters,--the envy, as it was, of other cricketing counties, were
sacrificed to the spirit of building, from the want of foresight in the
inhabitants, who now universally admit that both should have been
preserved to the town, as they were an establishment for the people's
amusement and recreation, with which nothing of the kind in the county
could compete.  The present, the Royal Brunswick Cricket Ground, kept by
the veteran Box, is capacious and well-formed; but it lacks the
picturesqueness, and the spectators have not the shelter from wind and
rain, and the shade from the trees which gave so vast a superiority to
the Hanover Ground.  Previous to the formation of Ireland's Gardens, some
tea-gardens were in existence on the Marine Parade, about the locality
now occupied by Eaton Place.  They were merely a summer retreat for a cup
of tea during an afternoon stroll, and a place of call in winter for a
glass of hot elderberry wine.

In the "good old times" the people's entertainments differed much from
the sports of the present race, as the following copy of a handbill will
show:--

                                   COCKING.
                        To be fought at the Cock Pit,
                                 WHITE LION,
                           NORTH STREET, BRIGHTON,
                                      ON
                                  THURSDAY,
                            THE 18TH APRIL, 1811,

                      A Main of Cocks for TWENTY GUINEAS
                    a Battle, and FIFTY GUINEAS the Main;
                     between the Gentlemen of the Isle of
                      Wight and the Gentlemen of Sussex.

               Feeders: Pollard, Isle of Wight; Holden, Sussex.

                   N.B.--A pair of Cocks to be on the Pit at
                               Eleven o'clock.

                              [RUDDUCK, Printer, Brighton Place, Brighton.

On Easter Monday, April 23rd, 1810, the holiday folks, in all their
Sunday finery, assembled in great numbers, as was their custom, at the
Bear public house, Lewes road, on the ground contiguous to which they
were entertained with the polished diversions of cock fighting and the
baiting of a badger.  On the following day, Easter Tuesday, according to
annual custom, a bull-bait came off at Hove; when, during the
proceedings, the bull unexpectedly broke from the stake, and in an
instant charged upon and routed the compact phalanx of gazers, happily
without inflicting material injury on any one.  The incident caused a
postponement of the bait till June 11th.  The hand-bill announced:

                             A BULL BAIT AT HOVE,
                                      ON
                                   MONDAY,
                               JUNE 11TH, 1810.

                  A DINNER will be provided, and on Table at
                                 Two o'clock.

The dinner took place at the Ship Inn, Hove, in the field belonging to
which,--that whereon the Coast Guard Station is erected, at the bottom of
Hove Street,--the baiting took place.

The vicinity of Brighton is admirably adapted for Hunting, a sport which
received considerable impetus from the Prince of Wales having an
excellent pack of harriers kennelled at the Prince's Dairy, a suburban
retreat on the London Road, which His Royal Highness purchased of Mr.
William Stanford, in October, 1805.  In October, 1821, some of the dogs
exhibited symptoms of hydrophobia; the whole pack was in consequence
destroyed by poison, and the carcasses were conveyed away in a waggon and
buried in a pit, purposely dug to receive them, in the south part of
Streeter's garden, just within the gateway, to the right of the church
path, opposite North Street Brewery.  The Duke of Richmond at that period
hunted his fox hounds in the neighbourhood of Brighton.  The present
packs are supported by subscription, and consist of the Southdown Fox
Hounds, and the Brighton and the Brookside Harriers.

About forty years since "hobby horse" exercise was a very favourite
diversion with the gentry.  These "hobbies" were the original
velocipedes, now worked by a crank action; but they then consisted only
of a fore and a hind wheel, with a slight saddle rail between, upon which
the rider sat, holding on by a handle that guided the front wheel, and
then, by striking out his feet with a walking action, the machine became
propelled, its speed being regulated by the ability of the horseman.
Much practice and great judgment were required to make a proficient
rider.  Many extraordinary feats of pedestrianism were performed with
these machines; but the most arduous were the competing with the stage
coaches to and from London.  The earliest account we have of stage
coaches at Brighton is in 1798, when the Princess of Wales pair-horse or
post-coach was put on the road to London by way of Steyning and Horsham,
the same route by which the eight-horse fly-waggons had previously
travelled.  Pack-horses were the only mode of performing the journey
prior to the fly-waggons, and the lanes and bye-ways then being very
narrow, recesses in the hedge-rows were made in certain places to permit
of the laden animals standing aside that they might be passed, as their
packs, which extended considerably on each side of the animals, would
otherwise, frequently come in unpleasant contact with the fair sex, who
on pillions occupied similar positions to merchandize when on horseback.
In 1801, two pair-horse coaches ran between London and Brighton on
alternate days, one up, the other down, and they were driven by Messrs.
Crossweller and Hine.  The progress of these coaches was amusing.  The
one from London left the Blossoms Inn, Lawrence Lane, at 7 a.m.; the
passengers breaking their fast at the Cock, Sutton, at 9.  The next
stoppage for the purpose of refreshment was at the Tangier--Banstead
Downs,--a rural little spot, famous for its elderberry wine, which used to
be brought from the cottage "roking hot," and, on a cold wintry morning,
few refused to partake of it.  George the Fourth invariably stopped here
and took a glass from the hand of Miss Jeal, as he sat in his carriage.
The important business of luncheon took place at Reigate, where
sufficient time was allowed the passengers to view the Barons' Cave,
where it is said the Barons assembled the night previous to their meeting
King John at Runnymeade.  The grand halt, for dinner, was made at
Staplefield Common, celebrated for its famous black cherry trees, under
the branches of which, when the fruit was ripe, the coaches were allowed
to draw up and the passengers to partake of its tempting produce.  The
hostess of the hostelry here was famed for her rabbit puddings, which,
hot, were always waiting the arrival of the coach, and to which the
travellers never failed to do such ample justice that ordinarily they
found it quite impossible to leave at the hour appointed; so grogs, pipes
and ale were ordered in, and, to use the language of the fraternity, "not
a wheel wagged" for two hours.  Handcross was the next resting place,
celebrated for its "neat" liquors, the landlord of the inn standing
bottle-in-hand at the door.  He and several other Bonifaces, at Friar's
Oak, &c., had the reputation of being on pretty good terms with the
smugglers who carried on their operations with such audacity along the
Sussex Coast.  After walking up Clayton Hill a cup of tea was sometimes
found to be necessary at Patcham; after which Brighton was safely reached
at 7 p.m.  It must be understood that it was the custom for the
passengers to walk up all the hills, and even sometimes, in heavy
weather, give a push behind to assist the jaded horses.

About 1809, a great revolution took place in coach travelling.  Some
gentlemen,--at the head of whom was the late Mr. William Bradford, or, as
he was then styled, "Miller" Bradford,--12 in number, formed a capital by
shares of 100 each, and established two four-horse coaches.  The cattle
were cast-horses of the Inniskilling Dragoons, then stationed at
Brighton.  In 1815, another vehicle of the same class, the "Bellerophon,"
a huge concern, built with two compartments, one carrying six, the other
four inside, and with several out, was driven by Mr. Hine.  This coach
received its name from the ship in which Bonaparte, after his defeat at
Waterloo, was conveyed to exile at St. Helena.  The "Bellerophon" was
soon found to be too heavy for the improving speed, and was abandoned for
lighter vehicles, until travelling attained its perfection on the
Brighton road, the time taken in the transit having diminished from
twelve hours to five, and on one occasion the "Quicksilver," with a
"King's speech" of William IV., made the journey down in three hours and
forty minutes!  From the year 1822, at different periods of the year, not
less than sixty coaches were on the road,--thirty each way.

On a moderate calculation, Hine must have brought into the town more than
one hundred thousand persons, and that without an accident: a
circumstance which, in its day, was as beneficial to Brighton as is now
the proverbially high character for safety, convenience, and civility of
the London and Brighton Railway.  Amongst the celebrities of the day whom
Hine was accustomed to bring down, were Mathews, in his "prime and
bang-up," who used invariably to borrow the huge box-coat of seven capes;
Munden; Lieutenant or Jack Bannister; Quick, another famous actor;
"Squire" Thornton, of Clapham; Rev. Rowland Hill; and many noblemen of
the Court of George IV.  Most of these men are, of course, like Hine
himself, "dead and past away."  Some few passengers, however, who have
travelled by the "Union" and "Alert," and who have "booked" in East
Street by Miss Hine,--the honest old coachman's daughter and sister of Mr.
H. G. Hine, the artist whose works adorn much of the illustrated
literature of the present day,--still survive; others must have had the
name made familiar to them by hearing their fathers and grandfathers
talking of the famous coaches and coachmen of Brighton.

In the height of Brighton coaching times, Castle Square upon the
departure and arrival of the coaches,--but more especially at noon, when
from the "Blue," the "Red," "Snow's," and the "Age" offices, the "crack"
whips, the _elite_ of passengers, and the best "blood" on the road,
started at the striking of the Pavilion clock,--was thronged with company
to witness a most animating and animated scene.  Of coaching nothing now
remains at Brighton but the parcels' booking office of the Railway
Company, originally the "Red" and subsequently the "Blue" coach office.

By a singular inadvertence the word "Company" was omitted in the original
Act of the Brighton Railway, so that the Directors of it were of the
London and Brighton Railway, and not Railway Company.  The amalgamation
of the Eastern and Western branches, under more recent Acts, has
constituted the whole scheme in connexion with the mainline, the London,
Brighton, and South-Coast Railway Company.

As early as 1825 the construction of a railway between Brighton and
London was contemplated; but it was not till 1835 that the subject was
entertained with earnestness.  Five schemes were then propounded, known
by the names of the different engineers who projected them, namely:
Stephenson's, Rennie's, Gibbs's, and Cundy's; and the South-Eastern.  The
first scheme was most favourably received; and in September of that year,
at a public meeting of the inhabitants of Brighton, a resolution was
passed requesting the Borough Members to support its adoption in
Parliament.  Upon reconsideration, the inhabitants were impressed with
the idea that they had been too precipitate; as the Terminus of
Stephenson's line, being immediately to the west of Brighton, would only
favour that special district, instead of being beneficial to the town in
general; they therefore reversed their decision in favour of Bennie's, or
the Direct Line.  The public mind being thus fickle, the other
competitors anticipating that there was yet a chance for them, pressed
forward their suit, resulting in a severe contest, which gave promise of
a great expenditure of money, with no line at all; as, protracted by the
accumulation of oppositions, the Session of Parliament for 1837, was
about to terminate without its sanction to either project.  The
interposition of Government determined the business; a military engineer,
Captain Alderton, was deputed to investigate and report upon the merits
of the several lines, and his conclusion was, "That the Direct Line is
the best line between London and Brighton."  That line, then, was
accordingly adopted, and on the 8th July, 1837, the Bill for its
construction received the Royal assent, with this clause attached, "That
the total capital of 1,800,000 be raised by the subscribers to the
several lines in the following proportions:--The Direct
line--Bennie's,--550,000; Stephenson's, 550,000; Cundy's, 100,000;
South-Eastern, 330,000; and Gibbs's, 70,000."  The various contracts
for the formation of the line were soon entered into, and on the 4th of
February, 1839, Mr. Alfred Morris laid the first permanent rail of the
line, at Hassock's Gate, Mr. Samuel Thornton being the contractor, and
Mr. T. H. Statham the resident engineer.

On the 11th of May, 1840, the first six miles of the western branch, to
Shoreham, was opened; on the 25th of March, 1841, the main-line from
London to Hayward's Heath, within fifteen miles of Brighton, was opened;
and on Tuesday, September 21st, 1841, the whole of the line of railway
from Brighton to London, was opened with some little ceremony and great
rejoicing, the first trip--from Brighton to London--being performed in two
hours and a quarter; leaving Brighton at 6.45 and arriving at London
Bridge Terminus about 9.  From time to time other additions, as branches
from the main trunk, have been added, affording facilities for travelling
to most parts of the kingdom south of the metropolis.

The handsome building of Italian style, which constitutes the Brighton
Terminus, is the design of Mr. Mocatta; and the original sheds attached
to the Terminus were designed by Mr. Rastrick, whose remains, under a
massive granite monument, are deposited in the Extra-Mural Cemetery,
Lewes Road.  The Railway is considered a passenger and pleasure line,
and, during the Summer season, excursion trains make important items in
the traffic returns, as the line is in the direct route from London to
Paris, _via_ Newhaven and Dieppe, and at the various stations throughout
the line villa residences are the retreats of the families of the London
merchants who diurnally travel to and from their places of business.

Hobby Horse racing round the Level formed an attraction to the
fashionable company that, daily, on horseback and in good old-fashioned
and aristocratic hammerclothed coach-box and powder-bewigged coachmen and
footmened family carriages, thronged Morris's Royal Repository: for that
great toy-mart and favourite lounge really had regal patronage,
especially from William and Adelaide, who were frequently extensive
purchasers.  His Majesty, upon one occasion, when Duke of Clarence, was
struck, while there, with the entrance of three ladies in the garb of
Quakers; and as the two eldest were looking over some articles of
peculiar attraction, His Royal Highness addressed himself to the
youngest, who was about fourteen, and said, "So, I see that thou art not
above the vanities of this gay world."  The fair young Friend said
nothing; but the matron, under whose care she was, gave a look more
expressive than words.  The Duke felt it; and immediately purchasing a
handsome work-basket, respectfully asked the eldest lady's permission to
present it to her daughter.  The answer was mild, but laconic.  "She will
receive it, and thank thee, friend."  The basket was accordingly taken,
with the same courtesy as given; and thus the matter ended.

During the prosperity of the Repository, which had a fame for the bows
and arrows which it supplied, archery was much in vogue, the Archery Club
having their rendezvous in the Queen's Park, which is situate on the
south-west acclivity of the Race Hill, and is approached by an entrance
that abruptly terminates Park Street, contiguous to the German Spa.  This
Park, which is between sixty and seventy acres in extent, was formed in
1825, by Mr. Thomas Attree, whose Italian villa, designed by the late Sir
Charles Barry, crowns its northern summit

Various as have been the attractions offered for the entertainment of
visitors, the meed of their success and duration has preponderated in
favour of those projected in the vicinity of the sea, which is the main
feature of attraction to Brighton, that commands an uninterrupted marine
drive and promenade along its whole three miles' frontage.  The promenade
was of small dimensions at its commencement, and originated with the
owners of property between Cannon Place and Preston Street, Mr. Pocock,
coal merchant, at its east extreme, and Mr. Robison, of Regency House, at
the west end,--the promoters of the undertaking,--superintending its
construction.  Its position was in about the middle of the present
carriage-way, which from time to time has been widened to accommodate the
increased traffic.  The original seats upon the Esplanade--for so from its
commencement has the walk been called,--bore the names of the houses in
front of which they were erected; but the Commissioners of the Town, in
the plenitude of their wisdom, perceiving the improvement which would be
effected by extending the walk, took the control of it into their own
hands; and earth from the excavations made for the erection of the
Places, Squares, and Streets adjacent, being abundant, in a very short
space of time the promenade was continued to the extreme point of the
parish, much to the discomfiture of the owners of boats and bathing
machines, who were accustomed, for safety, to haul up their property upon
the Wharf that stood, protected by a strongly-built brick wall to the
south, immediately off the bottom of Regency Square, whereon, when it was
known as Belle-Vue Field, stood a large capstan, that was used by means
of a small tunnel under the road--through which a hawser passed,--to haul
up vessels upon the Deals, ship-ways that were fixed there for repairing
moderately sized craft.

Not unfrequent sights at this spot were severed capacious boats of slight
build, which had been captured from smugglers, who had had the temerity
to try a cargo there; as forty years since, and even more recently,
contraband ventures were of very common occurrence.  The last successful
"run" in broad daylight took place about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, July
19th, 1821, at the bottom of Ship Street, while the Custom House Officers
were attracted to the Level to witness the Coronation sports.  The
working party had assembled in the Old Ship Yard, and at a signal given,
by way of the Gap 300 kegs of Hollands were slung and off before the few
persons present, who remained in the town, could comprehend the scene.
Most of the cargo was, as usual, conveyed inland, where the readiest
means were offered for its concealment and disposal.  Captured smugglers
were, at that period, put on board the Hound revenue cutter, Captain
Butler commander, which was stationed off Brighton, and a smuggler chase
by her was frequently a very exciting scene from the shore.  Men who
embarked in the hazardous enterprise were frequently missing; but whether
their lives were sacrificed or they had been captured and shipped off in
the Royal Navy, upon foreign service, a considerable lapse of time and a
combination of circumstances only determined.  One of the most desperate
of a noted gang in the neighbourhood of Brighton was David Scales, who,
on the night of November 7th, 1796, while going, with many more, over the
hill to Patcham, heavily laden, was overtaken by excise officers and
soldiers.  The smugglers fled in all directions; a riding officer, as
such persons were called, gave chase to Scales, who was likewise on
horseback, and called upon him to surrender his booty, which he refused
to do.  The officer knew that Scales was too good a man for him, they
having tried it before; so he shot Daniel through the head.

A monument to his memory was erected in Patcham churchyard, with the
following inscription, now obliterated by time:--

                             Sacred to the Memory
                                      of
                                DANIEL SCALES,

               Who was unfortunately shot, on Tuesday evening,
                                Nov. 7, 1796.

    Alas! swift flew the fatal lead,
    Which pierced through the young man's head
    He instant fell, resigned his breath,
    And closed his languid eyes in death.

    All you who to this stone draw near,
    Oh! pray let fall the pitying tear:
    From this sad instance may we all
    Prepare to meet Jehovah's call. {313}

On the 24th of April, 1806, an encounter took place off Brighton, between
the revenue cutter, Leopard, and a smuggler, when Aldridge, the commander
of the contraband vessel, was killed in the action, and one of his crew,
named Morris, was so desperately wounded in the chest that he died a few
days afterwards.

As a more immediate than a sidelong marine walk, the Chain Pier was
projected, agreeable to the annexed prospectus:--

    The utility of a Pier at Brighton, carried a sufficient distance
    beyond high-water mark, so as to enable Steam Packets and boats to
    lay alongside, and embark or land their passengers, is universally
    admitted; and the proposition has excited greater interest since the
    resolution has been formed of establishing a Steam Packet Company to
    France, because it is reasonably anticipated that the two concerns,
    although not intended to be incorporated, must be essentially
    beneficial to each other.

    In a national point of view it is certainly most desirable, that the
    intercourse between the two countries should be facilitated and
    extended; and there can be no measure adopted which could more
    effectually promote this end and increase the prosperity of this
    great and flourishing town, than the proposed Pier.

    When so many advantages are evidently comprehended, both to the
    individuals who may be concerned in the undertaking, and the public
    generally, it becomes a subject of deeper solicitude, that there
    should be no fallacy in the principle, no imperfection in the
    constitution, which would endanger its future security, and frustrate
    the important object.

    First, with regard to the durability of the materials, it should be
    observed, that it is intended to construct the Pier, wholly of iron,
    with the exception of the platform.  The oxedale of cast Iron is so
    incorruptible that its effects can scarcely be brought within the
    scope of calculation; and wrought iron, with common attention to
    cleaning and painting, may be considered as almost imperishable.  But
    even if the time should arrive (which must be exceedingly remote) to
    render it necessary to renew it, every bar can be taken out and the
    whole replaced in detail, without any interruption to the passage of
    the Pier, so that the capital invested in the concern is not
    chargeable with more than common interest.  The planking of the
    gangway will require to be renewed perhaps once in ten or fifteen
    years, and this expense is accounted for under the head of charges.

    With regard to its strength, when there are so many conspicuous
    examples of the powers of piles to resist the sea in the most exposed
    situations, any theoretical illustration would be superfluous.  But
    before notice is taken of the works which have preceded and given
    rise to the proposed plan, a few instances may be stated, such as the
    Sheers, the Whittaker, the Gun Fleet, and other beacons on the North
    Coast; and coming nearer to the point itself, the iron beacon on the
    Black Rock, near Leith, which is about two miles S.E. from the
    Trinity Pier, has stood alone for years; North Yarmouth jetty, and
    the Pier at Ostend, on the opposite coast, remain firm, opposed to
    the sea from the S.E. and N.W. and require no repair but what arises
    from the decay of the timber; and at Cronstadt, in the Gulph of
    Finland, there are batteries erected on piles like so many islands,
    which have remained there from the time of Peter the Great.

    It may now be noticed, without entering into so wide a field, that
    the Trinity Pier, which (although on the same principle) is in all
    respects a more slender and inferior structure to the proposed Pier
    for Brighton, was erected during the stormy season of the equinox;
    and even in its unfinished state, while it was of course less capable
    of resisting the shock of the sea, it suffered no injury; and since
    its completion, the following reports will show that its strength and
    security are beyond all question, and what is of as much importance,
    its utility has surpassed the most sanguine expectations.

    Copy of a Report from the Directors of the Trinity Pier Company,
    dated Leith, Sept. 20, 1821:--

    "These are to certify, that the Trinity Pier was loaded with 118 Pigs
    of iron ballast, or upwards of 20 Tons, the same that were sent out
    by Mr. Crichton for proving the said Pier, and that the above ballast
    was loaded between the piers regularly placed.  And we also certify
    that there was no interruption to the passengers to and from the
    Steam Boats that were laying alongside at the time it was so loaded.
    And we further certify, that under all the circumstances of the case,
    that the said Pier has undergone a more severe trial or proof than
    was specified in the agreement with Captain Brown; and that the said
    Pier is in all respects perfect, and in good order.

    "Given under our hands at Leith, this 20th day of Sept. 1821.

                                                (Signed) "ALEXANDER SCOTT,
                                                      ALEXANDER STEVENSON,
                                           Directors of the Trinity Pier."

    Copy of the second Report from the Directors of the Trinity Pier
    Company, dated Leith, the 16th November, 1821:--

                                                    "Leith, Nov. 16, 1821.

                         "CAPTAIN SAMUEL BROWN, R.N.

    "Sir--In compliance with your wish to hear how the new Pier of
    Suspension, at Trinity, has stood the late violent easterly gales, to
    which it is very much exposed, we feel very great pleasure in
    informing you that it has not received the most trifling damage; and
    that since the pier-head has been lengthened to 70 feet, the Steam
    Boats are able to lay on the lee-side of it with perfect security in
    the strongest gales we have had, the violence of the sea being
    exhausted in passing through the different ranges of the piles.

    "So little is the vibration of the chains and platform, that we have
    never known the least alarm to be expressed by passengers going along
    it; and great numbers frequent it even in this inclement season,
    merely for the purpose of taking a walk along it.

    "We are, Sir,
    Your obedient Servants.

                                                (Signed) "ALEXANDER SCOTT,
                                                      ALEXANDER STEVENSON,
                                        Directors of Trinity Pier Company.
                                              GEORGE CRICHTON, Treasurer."

    As there will be plans upon an extended scale, laid before a general
    meeting, or a committee of management, it is unnecessary to advert to
    them at present: it may, however, be satisfactory to state, the
    extent, from high-water-mark to the end of the Pier, 1,000 feet, and
    the width ten feet: each of the inverted arches will be 251 feet
    span, and the outer Pier-head will form an area of about 4,500 feet,
    and an elevation of 10 feet above the highest spring-tides.  The
    expense of erecting a Pier and constructing a floating Break-water,
    which will be essential, as a protection from ships or vessels
    running foul of it, and at the same time afford additional facility
    and convenience for ships putting to sea from the beach, will be
    27,000. {315}  It is proposed that a Company should be constituted
    and incorporated, under the denomination of the Brighton Pier
    Company, and that the sum of 27,000, forming the joint stock of the
    Company, be raised by subscriptions of 100 each.--The affairs of the
    Company to be conducted and managed by a Committee, consisting of a
    Treasurer and 10 Members, who are to be chosen by a majority of votes
    of the Proprietors, at a General Meeting; and that five of the said
    Committee are also to be chosen by a majority of votes to act as
    Directors or Managers of the Company; and that the Committee of
    Management and the Directors collectively, shall have the power of
    appointing a Pier Master, and other persons, whose services or
    avocations may be required for the general benefit and advantage of
    the Company.  All other rules relative to the reciprocity of interest
    and the financial branches of the Company, are to be fully set forth
    and explained in a separate instrument, to be drawn up in a proper
    legal form by a Solicitor.

    The situation in all respects most suitable both for the convenience
    of the public and the interest of the Brighton Pier Company, is
    opposite the East Parade of the Old Steyne, and as T. R. Kemp, Esq.,
    and C. S. Dickens, Esq., have, in the most liberal and handsome
    manner, which must lay, not only the proprietors of the Pier, but the
    whole community, under lasting obligations, granted a sufficient
    space of ground for forming the Pier, and relinquished all their
    manorial rights, it will not be necessary to apply for an Act of
    Parliament for authority to levy and collect a toll, or pontage in
    the Pier, because the beach is free for landing and embarking in
    boats as heretofore, and it becomes perfectly voluntary or optional
    to enter upon and pay for the accommodation of the Pier.

    It is intended that the platform shall be horizontal with the East
    Parade, and extend in the same direction out to sea--as there can be
    no doubt that the Pier would become a place of fashionable resort,
    great emoluments would be derived from this source alone,--independent
    of this, would be the specific revenue secured by a lease to be paid
    by the Proprietors of the Steam-Packets, and as it is one of the
    objects of the Pier to permit the shipment of carriages and horses,
    under certain regulations consistent with the convenience of
    visitors, a considerable sum will be raised by this means.

    It is not intended that Merchant's ships should load or discharge
    their cargoes at the Pier, and no fish to be landed unless under
    particular circumstances to be judged by the Pier-Master;--but as
    great advantages must be derived to the Town, and Proprietors of the
    Pier, from the traffic in fruit, eggs, &c. &c. with France,
    small-craft and boats are to be permitted to come alongside, by
    paying certain dues for the vessels, and a certain rate upon their
    goods, the amount of which will be fixed by the Committee of
    Management; pleasure-boats, and boats hired for pleasure, are to pay
    certain dues for laying alongside the Pier, and a further rate for
    the company landing from or embarking on board them, and the shore
    boats belonging to the Town of Brighton and others, which are in the
    constant practice of using the beach, whether owned in the town or
    not, are to be permitted to land passengers, who are to pay the usual
    rate for landing on the Pier; but the boats before-mentioned are to
    be exempted from paying any dues for _coming_ alongside, and the crew
    are to be allowed to land without any charge being made: but such
    boats are not to continue at the Pier longer than is necessary to
    land or take on board passengers or pleasure parties, and are to be
    subject to the orders of the Pier-Master, in regard to the length of
    time to be allowed for this purpose, and this permission alluded to
    is not to be considered as an abandonment of the right of the Pier
    Company to charge boats of the above description the usual Pier dues,
    but as a favor and preference given to the fishermen and boatmen
    belonging to the Town of Brighton and its dependencies.

    There is no circumstance connected with this establishment of a Pier
    at Brighton, which will be viewed with more satisfaction, either by
    the Proprietors or the Public, than the ready means it will afford of
    dispatching boats to the assistance of vessels in distress--however
    well disposed the fishermen or pilots may be to venture to sea in a
    heavy gale to their relief, their utmost skill and hardihood are
    unavailable to launch their boats through the serf at low water; and
    even at the height of the tide it is frequently impracticable; it is
    therefore intended either to construct a slip or inclined plane in
    the centre of the outward Pier, to contain a boat of the largest
    class, and provide anchors and cables for her, and appoint her in all
    respects ready to launch off in the heaviest gale at a moment's
    notice,--or to erect Davits on each side of the Pier to support boats,
    which will always be ready to lower down.--There are no description of
    vessels better calculated for this service than what are termed the
    Brighton hog-boats,--when they are fairly clear of the beach and
    breakers, (which the boat would be the moment it was launched,) they
    work off the coast in the most surprising manner.

    As it will at all events be necessary to have a boat's crew of at
    least four active able bodied men, belonging to the Pier, those men,
    in order to be available for the duty alluded to, must be Pilots for
    Shoreham or Newhaven, and when the large boat is to be sent to sea
    there can be no difficulty in engaging three or four men to complete
    the compliment.  That in the course of time many ships and vessels
    may receive assistance, and be saved from shipwreck by this means, is
    the most reasonable of all hypotheses--and as the vessel and other
    smaller boats would be part of the property of the Company, and
    maintained by it, they would be entitled to salvage or to a
    remuneration in proportion to the extent of services rendered, as
    usual in such cases.

    But the sources from whence the revenue of the Pier is to be derived,
    which will yield a large interest to the Proprietors agreeable to the
    sum which they may have respectively invested, will be so
    satisfactorily shewn in the following statement, that it is not
    necessary to reckon on any profits arising from such contingencies,
    however plausible and flattering the prospect may be.

                              REVENUE:
                                                    s.        d.
Pier dues from 4 Stream-boats, each          400         0         0
100 yearly
,, 25,000 passengers to and from            2500         0         0
France, per Steam-vessels, in the
course of the year, at 2s.
,, Luggage, packages, &c. &c.                500         0         0
,, French vessels to pay 1s per ton,         200         0         0
and the crew to be exempted from
dues, viz.--200 vessels averaging 20
tons each, 1s
,, Goods, packages, &c., from French         300         0         0
vessels
,, 100 carriages to and from France,         100         0         0
20s
,, 200 horses ditto ditto, 10s               100         0         0
,, Pleasure Yachts, crews exempted,           50         0         0
supposed
,, Company embarking and landing, 2s         100         0         0
,, Parties of pleasure in the                 50         0         0
Brighton shore boats
,, Ship boats landing and embarking           50         0         0
passengers 5s for the use of the
Pier, which will exempt the crew
,, Produce of the Pier as a                 3650         0         0
promenade, at 10 per day
                                           8000         0         0
                              CHARGES:
                      s      d.
Pier              200      0         0
Master,
yearly
Boat's            150      0         0
crew, 4
men,
yearly
Two               104      0         0
Toll-
keepers
Wear and           40      0         0
tear of
ropes, &c.
Painting           40      0         0
Pier twice
a year
Wear and           30      0         0
tear of
gangway of
Pier
Lighting           20      0         0
of Pier
Night              38      0         0
watchman
Secretary,        300      0         0
office,
&c.
                 922      0         0
                                            922         0         0
Net produce yearly, or 25 per Cent.        7078         0         0
on amount of capital

    The merits of the plan are here brought to a very narrow compass, and
    it is confidently believed that there will appear no disposition to
    overrate the advantages, or to excite any undue bias in the public
    mind that might ultimately lead to disappointment.

    Subscriptions will be received at Messrs. HALL, WEST, and BORRER;
    Messrs. WIGNEY, STANFORD and Co., Brighton; and Messrs. WILLIS,
    PERCIVAL and Co., London.

It is much doubted whether the expectations of either the projectors or
the shareholders have ever been realized, except as regards outlay and
charges.  The structure was commenced in October, 1822, and completed in
twelve months.  On the 25th of November, it was opened by the skilful
projector, Sir Samuel Brown, R.N.  The Pier, which projects 1,150 feet,
is approached by an Esplanade 1,250 feet in length.  The foundation
consists of four clumps of iron shod and nail-mailed piles strongly bound
by cross and wale pieces of great substance.  The clumps are 250 feet
apart, and are crowned with cast-iron towers, over which pass the main
suspension chains that emerge from the cliff, into which they are canned
fifty-four feet, and are there fastened to a mass of iron, three tons in
weight, firmly embedded in masonry.  The south ends of the chains pass
down a casing of wood to the rock, into which and the massive piles of
the extreme platform they are bolted and keyed.

Just one year after the completion of the Pier, namely, on the 23rd
November, 1824, the structure underwent a severe trial, but it nobly
stood a storm which devastated the southern coast of England, some
portion of the wooden platform and the ornamental iron-work alone
receiving slight damage.  Two dolphins, however, to the west of the Pier
in an angular position, consisting of small clusters of piles, over the
crown of which to the Pier-head large chains were stretched to fend-off
any vessels that might be driven in by a south-west gale, were completely
washed away.  The havock to property along the sea-front of the town was
tremendous.

On the 15th of October, 1833, the structure received some injury from
lightning, and on the 22nd of November following a dreadful gale of wind,
after causing the platform to writhe like the action of a serpent,
heaved-up the chains, twisting the pendant rods into fantastical shapes,
discharging the wooden roadway into the raging surf, and wrenching one of
the towers from its perpendicular.  The inhabitants, looking upon the
injury done as a calamity to the town, immediately set a subscription on
foot, and in a very short time, 1,200 was raised to effect the
restoration of the edifice, which was further secured by a chain cable
beneath the platforms, attached to each clump of piles, to check all
future oscillation and heaving.

For many years the arrival and departure of steam packets, employed in
the passenger intercourse between Brighton and Dieppe, formed a great
attraction for visitors to the Pier.  The first steamer employed in the
station was the Swift, of eighty-horse power.  A packet service by
sailing vessels, previously existed, during the times of peace, dating as
far back as 1792, when the Prince of Wales, a schooner, Captain Burton;
the Princess Royal, a schooner, Captain Chapman; and the Speedwell, a
cutter, Captain Lind, were the vessels employed.  These were succeeded by
the Nancy, Captain Blaber, which was run down in mid-channel; Ann and
Elizabeth, Captain Daniels; Nautilus, Captain Wingfield, who is still
alive and vends pork in Brighton Market; Elizabeth, Captain Lind; Lord
Wellington, Captain Cheesman, who was afterwards, for years, in the
General Steam Navigation Company's service, on the same route; Prince
Regent, Captain Bulbeck; Neptune, Captain Wallis; and the Thomas, Captain
Clear.  This vessel was instrumental in saving the life of Mr. Charles
Green, the celebrated aeronaut, on the occasion of his ascent from the
Gas Works, at Black Rock, October 1st, 1821, with his Coronation balloon.
The Thomas had left some of her passengers and the Captain at Eastbourne,
and was just off Beachy Head, in charge of the Mate, Francis Cheesman,
who bore down upon the balloon, then unmanageable upon the water, and
driving the vessel's bowsprit into the silk of the aerial machine soon
liberated the gas, and rescued Mr. Green from his frail wicker-work car.

At various periods the Chain Pier has been the medium and focus of
special entertainments in the separate and combined attractions of fire
and water.  The structure on the evening of its inauguration was
illuminated on both sides throughout its whole extent, in coloured lamps
forming "God Save the Queen, and the House of Brunswick."  More recently
exhibitions of fireworks have taken place upon it.  The most memorable
event by way of pastime was the Brighton and Hove Regatta, which took
place on Thursday and Saturday, July 21st and 23rd, 1853, when public
money to the extent of 364, was competed for, prizes of 120, 105, and
52 10s, by yachts, and other prizes varying from 20 downwards, to the
number of fourteen by sailing and rowing boats.  The weather for several
days previous to the Regatta--which had been arranged to extend through
three days,--was most unfavourable, a strong wind from the south-west
preventing the arrival of yachts which had just contended in the Yarmouth
Regatta.  Several however, of heavy tonnage were in the matches, the
first of which was gained by the Alarm, 248 tons, J. Welds, Esq., in a
contest with the Sveridge, 280 tons, T. Bartlett, Esq., which was
declared by yachting men unparalleled in the superior nautical tactics
which were displayed.  The Hotel-Keepers' Prize of 50 guineas, with 50
guineas added, was won by the Arrow, 102 tons, T. Chamberlayne, Esq.,
four competed.  The Ship-Owners' Prize of 50 guineas was gained by the
Phantom, 25 tons, S. Lane, Esq., beating the Thought, 25 tons, G. Coope,
Esq.  The First Class Pleasure Boat match, 20, was won by the Skylark,
Mr. A. T. Mills; and in the Second Class Pleasure Boat contest for 10
guineas, the Royal Frederick, Mr. B. Kent, successfully contended against
three others.  In the four-oared Galley contest for 15, the Arrow, Mr.
J. Nottidge succeeded against six others.  Friday, the intervening day of
the matches, was an entire blank; a dense fog with a drizzling rain
prevailing from sun-rise to sun-set.  On the evening of Saturday, there
was a grand display of fireworks on the Chain Pier.

The Regatta was of simple origin.  A few of the principal tradesmen who
were accustomed to meet of an evening in conviviality at the New Ship
Hotel, chanced in the early part of March, 1853, to have in their company
Captain Moore, connected with several yachting clubs.  He spoke of the
admirable position of Brighton for yachting matches, and the attraction
they would be to the inhabitants and visitors.  A communication was
forthwith made to the Commodores of the various Royal Yacht Clubs, and
the idea being favourably entertained by them, a committee was formed,
with Mr. H. P. Tamplin, the High Constable, as their Chairman, and the
author of this book as their Honorary Secretary.  Subscriptions came in
bountifully, the whole of the town being most favourable to the project.
The Railway Directors presented 50 guineas; the Hotel Keepers gave a
prize of 37 guineas; the inhabitants of Cliftonville 50 guineas; the
Ship-Owners 50 guineas; and Chain Pier Company 18 guineas.  The Theatre
was placed at the service of the Committee, and the proceeds of an
amateur performance under the management of Mr. D. H. Greenin, aided the
funds, as did also a fete at the Swiss Gardens, Shoreham, and a concert
at the Royal Pavilion.  So anxious and energetic, in fact, was the public
in general for the Regatta to be a great success, that at its
termination, the sum of 148 remained in the hands of the Treasurer,
arising principally from the weather preventing the whole of the
programme being gone through.

As an Englishman's conclusion to a popular enterprise, a dinner took
place at the Old Ship Hotel; and then, at the New Ship, where the
Committee held their meetings, the Committee--of which Mr. Charles Sprake,
the landlord, was a member,--gave an invitation dinner to the Honorary
Secretary, who was presented, at the hands of the High Constable, with a
most gratifying testimonial, thus inscribed,--surmounted with the Brighton
Arms,--upon a silver-mounted portemonnie:--"Brighton and Hove Regatta,
1853.  Presented to Mr. J. A. Erredge, with a Complimentary Sum, by the
Committee, for his Valuable Services, as their Honorary Secretary."  As a
feature of and to commemorate the Regatta, Mr. John Smith, King's Road,
who fitted-out several of the Committee in nautical attire, had an
appropriate gilt button struck, of neat design.

Amongst the matches not contended for in the Regatta, was that for the
Cliftonville Prize, which remained in abeyance till the Autumn of 1856,
when fresh subscriptions and the interest of the money in hand,
accumulating the Fund to 304, a second Regatta was arranged, which came
off on the 26th of August, when Prizes to the amount of 207 were
awarded.  A grand display of fireworks and the discharge of incidental
expenses cleared off the balance.

A great attraction to the Chain Pier, after the packets ceased running to
and from Dieppe, was a band of music that entertained the company who
promenaded the Pier-head.  The Military Concerts at the Pavilion,
however, are at present the musical feature for visitors, who every
Wednesday and Saturday afternoon throng the suite of Assembly Rooms; and,
when the season and weather are favourable, the eastern lawn, where also,
for nine years past the Brighton and Sussex Horticultural and
Floricultural Society have held their Summer and Autumn Shows, which
annually increase in attraction and importance.  The Museum and Picture
Galleries that occupy upper portions of the Pavilion, likewise afford
visitors many an hour's agreeable ramble amongst the works of art and
other rarities which are daily accumulating.  An annual exhibition in
connexion with the Brighton and Sussex School of Art, with an Art Union
attached, takes place in the Galleries; and there is also an apartment
appropriated to the School of Art.  In the height of the season, grand
concerts by _artistes_ of celebrity take place in the Music Room, which,
being easier of approach than the Town Hall, has superseded the large
room there, where on the occasion of Jenny Lind--the Swedish
Nightingale,--singing on the 23rd of August, 1847, the receipts were
1,200.

A species of diversion, termed a soire, has of recent years been very
popular, the intellectual being by it agreeably blended with the
recreative; science and the fine arts gracefully admitting a sistership
with Terpsichore, the active votaries of which goddess in their sundry
modern gyrations of polka and schottische, contrasting strangely with
"Lady Montgomery's Reel," led off in the same Pavilion, August 13th,
1805, by the Honourable Miss Seymour and a son of the Duke of Clarence,
"with suitable ease, spirit, and vivacity," and in a country-dance to the
tune "Murphy Delaney," the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Clarence
"taking an active part in the wholesome exercise."  There was as great a
diversity then in dance music as at the present time, passing events
suggesting new ideas to composers and musicians.  Upon one occasion, Mr.
Kramer, the leader of the Prince's private band, being in the Telemachus
Room of the Old Ship Hotel, arranging the music for a ball which was to
take place in the evening at the Royal Pavilion, had his attention
attracted by the voice of a noted character from Lewes, Jemmy Gosney, who
with a peculiar nasal twang was announcing in Ship Street that he had for
sale "Book almanack, new almanack, Moore's Almanack."  To the surprise of
the vendor of _Vox Stellarum_, he heard his words repeated at a window
opposite, where, on his clarionet, Kramer so imitated the old man's
voice, that, in the evening, he availed himself of the incident to
introduce it as a novelty, in the course of a dance, much to the delight
of His Royal Highness and the company in general.

During the sojourn of William and Adelaide in Brighton, in 1834, Sir
Andrew Barnard, at the request of his Majesty, enquired of Mr.
Gutteridge, the organist of the Royal Chapel, if there was anything to be
obtained in the way of singing amongst the townsfolk.  Mr. Gutteridge
recommended the members of the Brighton Madrigal Society, with whom, for
eight guineas the evening, an engagement was effected, but at so short a
notice that the singers were perplexed to procure the appropriate dress
for the occasion, namely, black coats and white vests.  At the suggestion
of a friend, however, a second-hand clothes' shop in the Lanes was
visited, and there they found all that was required; but one of the
party, who was desirous of the loan of a coat for the night,--for which
loan a half-crown was asked,--not having the cash about him for the
deposit that was required to ensure its safe return, was necessitated to
go out and obtain a well-known hair-dresser in Ship Street as his bond.
The performance of the Madrigals took place in the Royal Music Room, in
the presence of their Majesties and party, amongst whom was Lady Kennedy
Erskine, the King's daughter, an excellent judge of music, who highly
complimented them on the efficient manner in which they had acquitted
themselves.  After the singing, they withdrew and partook of supper, at
which they were attended by two footmen in the Royal livery, to one of
whom the leader of the party--who had a black ribbon pinned in his
waistcoat pocket to simulate that he wore a watch, and who was
unaccustomed to a servant in waiting,--said, "Hulloa, old fellow, don't
bother yourself about us, sit down and have some with us."  The servant
smiled, but declined, and only forgot his position as attendant by
taking, when urgently pressed, a glass of wine all round with the guests.

In 1834, when Madame Sala, the mother of Mr. F. A. Sala, the novelist,
was in the zenith of her profession as a songstress, and also as a
teacher of singing, a placard on a board was placed at Eber's Library,
now Dutton and Thorowgood's shoe warehouse, Castle Square, announcing a
concert at the Town Hall, for her benefit; when some person,--it was
supposed envious of her fame,--two evenings previous to that announced for
her concert, disfigured the placard by cutting out some of the letters of
her name, making it to read thus:--MAD SAL, which, coming to her
knowledge, caused Madame to abandon the concert from fear of further
insult.  Her patrons recompensed her, but could not erase from her
recollection the unmerited malignity.

Only a few years since, Brighton was greatly infested with street music
from organs, hurdy-gurdies, and pianettes; a crusade, however, of the
peace authorities drove them from the town, to which they have not since
been allowed to return.  Itinerant bands of wind instrument players yet
remain, greatly to the annoyance of the inhabitants, of whom the
performers most importunately ask remuneration for the woful discord they
discourse.  An accredited Town Band of no mean talent is in existence,
supported by voluntary contributions and subscriptions; but it struggled
for some years before it could attain a position, intruders upon their
presumed rights frequently drafting off, by offers of superior
engagements, their best performers.  German bands were at one time very
prevalent, but they remained only the novelty of a few seasons;
pilferings by their leaders, petty quarrels and jealousies amongst
themselves, and the non-appreciation by the public of what by some
persons might be termed their talent, causing most of them to leave the
town, if not the kingdom.  The most respectable of them formed the
nucleus of the Town Band, whose most general place of performance is on
the lower western Esplanade, contiguous to the principal pleasure-boat
station, where parties for a sail or row, or fishing excursion meet with
everything they desire for a nautical pastime.

Persons who are desirous of witnessing deep-sea fishing can also be
gratified by making arrangements with owners of the regular fishing
boats; and as the various kinds of fish, the habits, manners, customs,
and costumes of the fishers, and the mode of fishing off this coast have
not undergone any change by time, the graphic description of the Brighton
Fishery by the Welsh Zoologist, Thomas Pennant, who died in 1798, is here
most apposite:--

    "The fish-market, both wholesale and retail, is kept on the beach, a
    little beyond the baths; the boats used in the fisheries are from ten
    to fifteen tons, made remarkably strong to secure them against the
    storms in their winter adventure.  The mackarel boats are navigated
    by three or four men and a boy; there are about forty-five for the
    mackarel fishery, and twenty-five for the trawling; they set sail
    generally in the evening, go eight or ten leagues to sea, and return
    the next day.  The fishing is always carried on in the night.  The
    crew are provided with tea, coffee, water, and a small quantity of
    spirits, for at sea they are remarkably temperate; their indulgence
    is only on shore.  They only take with them bread, beef, and greens,
    which, and sometimes fish, they often eat with their tea and coffee.
    They are a hardy race, and very healthy; yet, during the Summer
    season, they have very small interval from labour.  They get a good
    meal, and a very short repose by lying themselves on a bed during the
    few hours in the day on which they come on shore.  They bring their
    fish in baskets to the beach, fling them in vast heaps, and instantly
    a ring of people is formed round, an auction {325a} is begun, and the
    heap immediately disposed of; the price is uncertain, according to
    the success of the night.  Mackarel in the year 1793, were sold from
    1 to 7 a hundred; they have been sold as high as 15 a hundred.
    {325b}  Mackarel and soles are the great staples of the place, nine
    or ten thousand have been taken at one shooting of the net.  Mackarel
    swim deep in calms, and rise to the surface in gales, when the
    largest fish and the greatest quantity are taken. {325c}

    "The nets consist of a number of parts, each of which is from
    thirty-six to fifty yards long and deep, and are kept buoyant by
    corks.  These united form a chain of nets a mile and a half long.
    Before they are used in the Spring, they are taken from the
    storehouses and spread upon the Steine; a privilege, time immemorial,
    granted to the fishermen.  The boats are drawn on shore at the latter
    end of the Winter, and placed in ranges on the lower part of the
    Steyne, and other places near to the sea.  The interval from labour
    is very small, for numbers of the boats are in the early Spring hired
    out to dredge for oysters, to supply the beds in the Medway and other
    places.

    "The greater part of the fish is sent to London, packed in baskets,
    usually weighing about three quarters of a hundred in each; they are
    put into small light carts, which go post, carry from fifteen to
    thirty baskets each, and reach our capital in eight or ten hours.

    "The mackarel are supposed to come from the Bay of Biscay.  In the
    early Spring they are taken off Dieppe; they next appear off Mount's
    Bay, where they are caught in seines, and sent by land to London in
    small baskets; the shooting of nets has not been found to answer off
    the Cornish shore.  They arrive in the channel off Brighthelmston in
    the middle of April, and continue to the middle of July, after which
    they will not mesh, but are caught with hooks, and are at that season
    nearly unfit for eating.  In June they are observed to approach
    nearer the shore; they continue in the channel till the cold season
    commences, when they go progressively north or east.  The fry is seen
    of very small size in October and November.

    "The herring fishery begins in October; those fish appear in great
    quantities along shore, and reach Hastings in November.  The fishery
    is very considerable, and adventurers from every country engage in
    it.  A boat has ten last of ten thousand each.  The fish which are
    not sent to London fresh, are salted or cured as red herrings.  The
    nets resemble those used in the mackarel fishery, only the meshes are
    smaller: they are about twenty feet deep, and are left to sink of
    themselves.  The congenerous pilchards are sometimes taken here in
    the mackarel nets, but in very small quantities.

    "Soles, the other staple fish, are taken in trawls in great numbers.
    The fishery begins in April, and continues all the Summer: in April,
    1794, the weight of two tons was caught in one night.  I saw in the
    same month a heap of soles on the market beach none of which were
    less than nineteen inches long.  The other congenerous fishes were
    turbots, generally very indifferent; brills or pearl; smear dabs;
    plaice, and flounders.

    "Various kinds of rays are taken here; such as the skate, the fuller,
    the thornback, the sand-ray, which has sharp slender spines on the
    edges, opposite to the eyes; minute spines along the edges of the
    fins, and upon the fins like the fuller; the back and tail
    shagreened, marked with round black spots; the teeth sharp and
    slender.  A ray, not uncommon on the Flintshire coasts, is twenty-one
    inches long, of which the tail is eleven; the nose is pointed, and
    semi-transparent; two spines above each eye, and three placed in a
    row on the back; three rows on the tail, of which the middle runs far
    up the back edges of the body from the nose to the anal fin, rough,
    with rows of minute spines; back quite smooth, of a fine pale brown,
    regularly marked with circular black spots; teeth quite flat and
    smooth.

    "Of the shark genus, the angel-fish is not uncommon.  The smooth
    sharks, or topes, are very numerous; they grow to the length of four
    feet.  I saw opened several of this species, and can vouch for the
    truth of the young entering the mouth of the parent in time of
    danger, and taking refuge in the stomach.  I have seen from twelve to
    twenty taken out of a single tope, each eleven or twelve inches long.
    This species is split, salted, and eaten.

    "I here met with the corbeagle of Mr. Jago.  The length was three
    feet nine inches, the thickest circumference two feet one inch.  It
    is a rare species, allied to the Beaumaris shark.  The greater and
    lesser spotted dog-fish are very numerous.

    "The common angler is frequently caught here, and sometimes of an
    enormous size; from the vast width of the mouth it is called here the
    kettle-man.  The launce, and two species or weevers, are very common;
    the greater grows to the length of sixteen inches, is two inches
    deep, the weight of two pounds, and is a firm well-tasted fish.  The
    fishermen have a great dread of the spines, and cut them off as soon
    as taken.

    "The cod fish tribe are rather scarce, except the whitings, which are
    sometimes caught in mackarel nets, but chiefly with hooks.  They are
    taken in April; but the best season is in October.  I saw here the
    common cod, the whiting-pout, the coal-fish, and the five-bearded
    cod.

    "The doree is frequently taken here: I saw one of fifteen pounds
    weight, and the length of three quarters of a yard.  I saw here the
    lunated gilthead, and ancient wrasse, the basse, and red or striped
    surmullet: the last small.  The red and the grey gurnards were
    common.

    "Salmons are unknown here, which I am told is the case on all chalky
    coasts.  The gar or needle-fish are often seen here, and of great
    lengths.  I shall digress improperly in saying that the razor bills
    and guillemots, inhabitants of Beachy Head, are frequently caught in
    the mackarel nets, unwarily diving in the pursuit of the fish.
    Prawns are in their season taken in vast abundance near the shores,
    which wanting rocks to give shelter to the lobsters and crabs, those
    delicacies are brought from the more distant parts of the coast."

A very general pastime with the low caste of the seafarers, when the
weather is too boisterous for their fishing and boating operations, is
sea-roaming, watching the margin of the turbulent waves upon the beach,
to pick up the trifles which the surge may chance to throw up.  Some
years since,--before steam vessels were in use,--when weather-bound ships
were unable to get out of the bay, of which Brighton forms the northern
boundary, wrecks of richly laden crafts frequently afforded rare prizes
for the roamers, who now, more than from the spoils, _via jetsam et
flotsam_, pick up from strangers whom they may chance to meet on their
stroll, many a silver coin, fictitious tales of their losses, bad
voyages, and their starving large families, rarely failing to exact a
coin of the realm, hence they are known amongst the better class of the
nautical fraternity by the name of cadgers.  On the faith, too, that
"early birds pick up the worms," not to be despised a living is obtained
by frequenting at day-break the vicinity of houses where parties have
been held the previous night, in search of jewellery, trinkets, or money
that by any casualty may have been dropped.  For many years this mode of
life has been a monopoly by a man named Simmonds, who, also, throughout
the livelong day pursues with a keen eye and a raking stick the business
of gutter hunter.




CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE HISTORICAL STREET OF THE TOWN.


For historical lore, few continuous ranges of buildings in the kingdom
are connected with so many national and local incidents as West Street,
Brighton, which was formerly approached from the west, at the south end,
by a hill, that ranged with Kent Street, which originally terminated due
south to the West Cliff.  The hill was of an altitude that, upon its
removal, to make the roadway level between Russell Street and West
Street, the front doors of the houses were one story above the pathway,
compelling the construction of flights of steps in the fore-courts,
commencing from east to west half the distance up, where a landing was
formed, from whence another flight set off northward to the door-ways.
The Cliff there at that time, was known as The Bank, a provincial term
still used for it by most of the aborigines.  The incline of the Gap went
from the east corner of the street, direct south to the sea, which washed
it in stormy weather, when, for safety, the bathing-machines and the
boats stationed thereabouts, were hauled into the street as high up as
Duke Street.

Upon the first house in the street, that at the south corner of Kent
Street, for many years, just beneath the parapet which surmounted the
front wall, was a Latin inscription in raised Roman capitals, which at
various periods, as some of the letters became obliterated by their great
exposure to the weather, and from their restoration not being effected
with promptitude, underwent several changes, as, EXCITAT ACTA ROBUR,
strength awakens action, i.e., the consciousness of power arouses men to
acts; EXCITAS ACTIS ROBUR, thou awakest strength by deeds; EXCITAT ACTIS
ROBUR, he arouses to strength by acts; EXCITAS ACTA, ROBUR, thou wakest
or excitest to deeds or actions, O strength.  Its last appearance,
EXCITUS ACTA ROPAT,--which defied all efforts of translation,--being the
cause of much ridicule, the letters were entirely removed.  Immediately
opposite this house, suspended from the Cliff, was the town fire-cage,
constructed of iron hoops, wherein, at night, a fire of
strombolum--collected along the sea shore,--and common coal, was generally
kindled, as a guide to the fishermen on their return to shore.  On New
Year's Day, 1810, a horrid act of brutal violence was committed in
connexion with this land-mark: Two men, named Rolfe and Barton, who were
engaged to attend to the fire, having some words in the course of the
evening, Rolfe determined to arrange the beacon by himself, and therefore
procured a new iron frame and suspended it accordingly.  This, however,
he had no sooner done than Barton attempted to cut the fastenings and let
it over the Cliff, and as Rolfe endeavoured to prevent his carrying his
ill-natured design into effect, Barton thrust a knife into his abdomen,
and literally let out some of his bowels.  Barton escaped, but a reward
of 20 being offered through the Town Crier, he was captured, but only
suffered a short imprisonment, as Rolfe, after having endured great pain,
eventually recovered.

The events connected with the King's Head have been detailed in Chapter
XVIII.  The low, stone-coloured, brick building immediately opposite this
hostelry, was the favourite residence of Mrs. Thrale, the wife of the
wealthy owner of the London Brewery, now known as "Barclay and Perkins's
Brewery."  Amongst the general visitors to Mrs. Thrale were Dr. Samuel
Johnson and Madame D'Arblay--Fanny Burney--the authoress of Evelena, who in
one of her letters--Madame d'Arblay's Diary--describes the residence as
being at the court end of the town, and exactly opposite the inn where
Charles II. lay hid previous to leaving the kingdom.  "So I fail not,"
she adds, "to look at it with loyal satisfaction, and His black-wigged
Majesty has from the time of its restoration been its sign."  Mrs.
Thrale, who upon her second marriage was Madame Piozzi, the mother of
Mrs. Mostyn, who died recently at Sillwood House, has her name thus
recorded in the parish book--

    February 16th, 1791.--On application of Mrs Thrale, it is ordered that
    a poor boy proposed by her be received into the Poor House, during
    the pleasure of the officers, on being paid by the said Mrs Thrale 4s
    weekly for his board.

It happened upon one occasion that while Dr. Johnson was visiting the
Thrales, he accompanied them to the Baths,--those on the site where
Brill's Ladies' Swimming Bath now stands,--at which public lounge he met
the Vicar, the Rev. Henry Michell, with whom, drawing their chairs close
to the fire in the ante-room, he soon got into conversation.  For some
time their manner was calm and their language subdued; but at length some
strong difference arising in their arguments, the Vicar seized the poker,
and the Doctor the tongs, with which, upon the grate they suited "their
action to the word" with the utmost energy.  The general company present,
who were enjoying a country dance, suddenly ceased their evolutions,
which could not be resumed till the Master of the Ceremonies, Wade, with
his proverbial politeness, pacified the heated debaters.

The water from a wooden pump at Thrale's house, was supposed to be
endowed with peculiar medicinal properties, from the circumstance that
after his too potent night indulgences in wine, Dr. Johnson was
accustomed early the following morning--before the family were about,--to
slip down stairs in his dressing gown, and doffing his wig, require of
the female domestic to pump freely on his over-heated bald head.  Mr.
Hargraves, apothecary, who afterwards occupied the premises, being aware
of the Doctor's infallible restorative after his potations, strongly, in
the way of business, prescribed the marvellous liquid to customers who
had been too devout at the shrine of Bacchus.

Foote, the comedian, one day, dining at the house, with Johnson and
others, finding nothing to his liking, for some time sat in expectation
of something better.  A neck of mutton being the last thing, he refused
it, as he had the others.  As the servant was taking it away, however,
understanding that there was nothing more, Foote called out to him,
"Holloa!  John, bring that back again, for I find it's neck or nothing."

Prior to 1794, a low public house, called the Half-Moon, stood out
prominently and fronted down the street immediately below Bunker's Hill.
It was the general resort of gipsies and beggars, who so continued to
throng the house during the Summer months, that on their taking their
leave at the termination of the previous Autumn, the owner, Mr. Patching,
demolished the old premises and constructed the present building, known
as the Brighton Sauce Warehouse, to afford the wandering customers better
accommodation upon their return.  The Winter of 1793-4 was very severe;
to facilitate, then, the progress of the building during the frost, the
boulders of which the front is principally composed, were heated at the
malt-kiln of the West Street Brewery, the men employed in the work being
principally the soldiers of the militia regiments quartered in the West
Street Barracks.  The new building proved to be a great mistake; as the
migratory tribes, on their return in the Summer, thinking that extra
charges would be made upon them to assist in defraying the expenses of
the new erection, betook themselves to other quarters, and hence, from
lack of custom, the license was transferred to a smaller house, the
present Half-Moon, at the corner of Boyce's Street, just below which, in
Ashby Court, lived an old matchman, a well-known character of the town.

Although "Lucifers" have almost rendered null and void the flint, steel,
and tinder-box, yet in villages the brimstone-tipped bunches of flat
matches are even now extant, and age picks up a scant existence in
vending them from door to door, to dames who pride themselves upon their
antiquated notions and doing what their good mothers did before them;
their almost sacred observance being always to have hot embers on their
social hearth, from which by means of a common match, a light may always
be obtained.

In Brighton, the most celebrated of the match-vending craft, was John
Standing, familiary known as "Old Rosemary Lane," from the following song
which he incessantly uttered while pursuing his daily avocation:--

    There was an old 'oman
    In Rosemary Lane,
    She cuts 'em and dips 'em
    And I do the same.

    Come, buy my fine matches
    Come, buy 'em of me,
    They are the best matches
    'Most ever you see.

    For lighting your candle
    Or kindling your fire
    They are the best matches
    As you can desire.

Standing was a native of Hurstperpoint, where for some years he followed
the occupation of a bricklayer, and was considered a good workman; but
having had the misfortune to fall from a scaffold when about 30 years
old, he was disabled from his usual employment, as he by the accident
received a severe injury to the spine, which ever after prevented him
from assuming an erect posture; and one of his eyes was knocked out, his
thumb was broken and reversed, and he was otherwise much mutilated.

At first his business circuit with matches was through the villages under
the hill, where he was very well known; but other venders, of the gipsey
tribe, combining to drive him off their ground by underselling him, he
moved on to Brighton, where his injured bodily condition and the novelty
of his ditty obtained him a good trade, and in a very short time many
regular customers.  In fact, to the outward world his prospects appeared
so thriving, that many persons asserted he was, miser-like, accumulating
a fortune; for although he never asked alms, his lame, blind, and aged
condition excited sympathy amongst strangers, who rather gave to him than
purchased of him.

John was married; but his wife, who was also aged, was not without her
share of misfortunes.  She was the manufacturer of the establishment, and
being exposed to hard work and the rigour of a severe winter, the cold so
affected her limbs that it was found necessary to amputate one of her
legs, and, also remove nearly all the toes from the other foot, from
their becoming frostbitten; added to which, she by an accident lost an
eye.  In January, 1833, Standen was taken suddenly ill in East Street,
during one of his morning perambulations, and in a few days, on the 9th
of February, he terminated his life, after having for nearly 40 years
traversed the town, singing his unvaried song, day by day, through all
weathers.  His wife survived him but three days, the shock, occasioned by
his death, being too severe for her shattered constitution to withstand.
They were borne together to their grave in the Old Churchyard, by some
kind neighbours, their coffins having been provided by the parish.

The house, the Albany Tavern, at the top of Duke Street, commanding the
view of the sea, down West Street, was for many seasons during the abode
of George IV. in Brighton, the residence in lodgings, of Johnny Townsend,
the noted Bow Street Runner, who was in constant attendance for a long
series of years, upon the Royal Personage when he was Prince of Wales and
King.  West Street at that period was a place of fashionable resort,
especially for equestrians, Royal blood daily frequenting it, and often
paying a visit to Townsend, with whom they frequently essayed to
luncheon, the viands for the occasion being sent up from the Royal
Pavilion.  Townsend was a shrewd but illiterate man, a staunch politician
of the Tory school, kind-hearted, generous, and charitable, an agreeable
companion with his equals, a man who commanded the respect of his
superiors and his inferiors; but he was a sore terror of refractory boys
and girls.

In the house immediately above Duke Street, and directly opposite
Cranbourne Street, lived, on his retirement from business, Mr. Beach
Roberts, a Brighton celebrity, who, at the commencement of the present
century was a tinman, carrying on a respectable and lucrative business
upon the premises now occupied by Mr. B. Lewis, silversmith, Ship Street.
In his latter days he was termed the "Walking Newspaper," inasmuch as he
was acquainted with all--and sometimes more than all, of the news of the
day.  On the 13th March, 1810, some person, by way of a hoax, inserted in
the London papers, the following:--"Died, yesterday, Beach Roberts,
Esq.,--a gentleman who had enjoyed a wider sphere of connexion in the
County of Sussex than most men, who had been elected to the office of
High Constable of this Parish seven different times; for the last twelve
years been foreman of the Grand Jury at the Quarter Sessions at Lewes;
and who has left one hundred thousand pounds; ten thousand of which are
to be applied to charitable purposes within the limits of the town; one
thousand towards the support of the Magdalen Hospital, and the remainder
to be equally divided between his son and daughter."  The hoax became the
current topic of the day, and subjected Mr. Roberts to several
congratulatory addresses from his friends; as he was at the time about
forty-five years of age, in the enjoyment of good health, and of a
promising constitution.  It may be added that he never served the office
of High Constable, and that he had no children.

In the house next above that wherein Mr. Roberts lived, for some little
time resided--carrying on the business of a butcher,--James Ings, who on
the 23rd of February, 1820, was, on the information of a confederate,
apprehended with eight others, in a hay-loft, in Cato Street, Paddington,
for being concerned in a plot to destroy the Ministers of the King, while
at a cabinet dinner that evening in Grosvenor Square, London, at the
residence of the Earl of Harrowby, the President of the Council.  The
plot is known as the Cato Street Conspiracy, wherein Ings took so
conspicuous a part that it was arranged that on their leader, Arthur
Thistlewood, presenting a parcel at the door of Lord Harrowby's house, he
should head the rest of the conspirators, rush in where the company were
assembled, and massacre the whole of them indiscriminately.  Just
previous to their apprehension Ings prepared himself for the desperate
enterprise, by putting a black belt round his waist and another over his
shoulders; he also put on two bags like haversacks, and placed a pair of
pistols in his belt.  Then looking at himself with an air of exultation
he exclaimed, uttering an oath, "I'm not complete now; I have forgot my
steel;" whereupon he seized a large knife, about twelve inches long, and,
brandishing it about, swore he would bring away two heads in his bags,
and one of Lord Castlereagh's hands, which he would preserve in brine, as
it might be thought a good deal of hereafter.  The whole of the
conspirators were found guilty of High Treason, and on the morning of the
first of May, Thistlewood, Ings, and three others were hanged and
decapitated at Newgate; the rest of the traitors were transported.

The executioner of these misguided men was James Botting, a native of
Brighton, and son of Jemmy Botting, the possessor of some small property
at the back of West Field Lodge, immediately to the west of the bottom of
Cannon Place, and known as Botting's Rookery, from its being the resort
of tramps of the lowest order.  Botting also, on the 30th of November,
1824, at Newgate, carried out the last penalty of the law upon Henry
Fauntleroy, the banker, who formerly had his residence at the west end of
Codrington Place, Western Road, and was found guilty of uttering a forged
deed with intent to defraud Frances Young of 5,000 Stock, and a power of
attorney to defraud the firm of Marsh, Stacey, Fauntleroy, and Graham,
Bankers, Berner's Street, London, of which house he was the acting
partner.

For several years previous to his decease, which took place at Brighton,
October 1st, 1837, Botting, in consequence of paralysis retired from his
situation as public hangman, the latter days of his existence being eked
out by a pension of five shillings a week, granted by the Court of
Aldermen of the City of London, for whom, in the course of his duties, he
had deprived 175 "parties"--as he termed them--of their lives; as during
his career executions at Newgate were very common, the offences for which
life was forfeited being so numerous that in one week thirteen persons,
namely, eight on Wednesday, November 23rd, and five on the Tuesday
following, November 29th, 1821, suffered, none of the crimes for which
they were executed--thanks to the enlightenment of our legislators,--now
exacting as a penalty the life of a fellow creature.  Botting, in his
latter days, was a well known character about Brighton, the streets of
which he was accustomed to traverse by means of a chair, which he
alternately used as a species of crutch, and as a seat, but he always
appeared isolated from the world, as no grade of society seemed ambitious
of the acquaintance of Jack Ketch.

The most commodious and commanding family mansions of the Old Town are in
West Street, wherein have resided, during the past forty years, several
of the magistrates and the clergy, and many members of the medical
profession of Brighton.  At the present time several of the houses are
occupied by opulent families: and the lanes and courts which formerly on
its west side detracted from the general respectability of the street,
having been demolished, the property thereabouts has become considerably
enhanced in value, and is much sought after.




CHAPTER XXIX.
THE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, CHARITIES, AND ENDOWMENTS.


It is the pride of the inhabitants that no town in the kingdom possesses
so many Public Institutions for the general well-being of the community,
as Brighton.

Foremost amongst these, though a National Institution and but co-equal
with similar other branches to complete its general working throughout
the kingdom, is the Post Office, which, in all probability, originally
formed a part of the General Postal systems as established in 1657 and
1660.  We have no authority as to the primitive mode of conveyance of
letters, but doubtless it was on horseback, and afterwards by mail cart,
as "A Description of Brighthelmston" {337} mentions:--"During Summer the
post sets out from Brighthelmston for London every morning (excepting
Saturday) at nine o'clock; and arrives there every evening (excepting
Monday) about seven.  In the Winter season the post goes out at eleven
o'clock at night on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; and
returns from London about eight on Thursday and Saturday mornings."  The
Post Office was then at Widgett's, afterwards Crawford's, and then
Fisher's Library, Old Steine, the present premises of Mr. Shaw,
confectioner, from whence, upon the throwing of the Promenade Grove into
the Royal Domain, in 1803, it was removed to premises constructed in the
Grove gateway at the top of Prince's Place, when Mr. J. Redifer was
appointed the Post Master.  During the time that Crawford was Post
Master, his son, one of the present Members of Parliament for the city of
London, was the only letter-carrier in Brighton.  Mail coaches between
London and Brighton were not put on the road till 1807.  On the 22nd
September, 1822, the Post Office was removed to 67, East Street, where it
continued till June, 1827, when the premises, 149, North Street, were
appropriated for the business.  From thence, on the 23rd of September,
1831, it was removed to the house immediately south of the Unitarian
Chapel, New Road, Mr Ferguson being the Post Master.

The uniform charge for letters of one penny per half ounce,--introduced in
1840, by Mr. Rowland Hill,--and afterwards the abolition of the newspaper
duty, when the postage of the public journals, and subsequently and now
all printed works passing at the rate of one penny for four ounces,
rendering the premises in the New Road inadequate to the increase of
business, the Post Office, on the 26th of March, 1849, was removed to the
present site, opposite Trinity Chapel, in Ship Street.  The premises
there were very narrow and contracted, till August, 1858, when the
present commodious structure was erected.  Mr. Charles Whiting, the
present Post Master, entered upon his duties in October, 1850.  Previous
to the postage reduction, letters in the out districts of Brighton were
collected every evening by bellmen, who, for one penny, conveyed letters
to the General Office.  Branch offices superseded the bellmen, or
collectors; and now, pillar-boxes, placed with great discretion in all
parts of the town, have rendered the branch offices in some localities
wholly unnecessary.  The first pillar letter-box in the kingdom was
erected at the corner of Fleet Street and Farringdon Street, London, in
March, 1855.  The Post Office Savings Bank opened at Brighton on the 10th
of March, 1862.

The first Bank in Brighton--the Old Bank,--immediately opposite the
premises subsequently and now the Union Bank, was established in 1787,
under the firm, Messrs. Shergold, Michell, Rice, and Mills.  It withstood
the panic of 1825; but a few years after, transferred its declining
business.  The New Bank was the next established, the firm being Messrs.
Wigney, Rickman, Stanford, and Vallance.  Wigney, who was also a brewer,
happening one day to meet the builder of the sea wall of the Junction
Road, Mr Bennett, upon whom Dame Fortune rather frowned than smiled,
said, "Why, Bennett, surety, if I remember right, you also, were once a
brewer?"  "Yes," said Bennett, "but I made a sad mistake, Wigney; I
turned at the same time a builder instead of, as you did, a banker; thus
I have always continued a needy man, from not having other people's money
to speculate with."  The rejoinder was very significant, as the sequel
proved.  The Bank was at first in Steine Lane, with a second public
entrance by the side way to the Pavilion Shades; from whence, in 1819, it
was transferred to the apartments, now the coffee room of the Pavilion
Hotel, Mr. Edmund Savage, who had obtained the license in 1816, having
arranged with the bankers that they should rebuild the house in the
Castle Square front, so that they might have the Bank on the ground-floor
of the new building, and give up the rooms in Steine Lane, in exchange.
The room where the banking business had been transacted, Mr. Savage then
appropriated to a smoking-room, and converted the clerks' room into a
Gin-shop.  But as Mrs. Fitzherbert was then living immediately opposite,
in Steine Lane, he was fearful of offending her by placing any writing on
the house; the thought, however, struck him, that, inasmuch as the height
of Mrs Fitzherbert's house, to the south of him, prevented the _sun_ from
_shining_ upon his house, he would adopt the word "Shades," and place it
over the door, where had before been written "Bank," that being the only
word used to publish the place.  An immense trade was soon carried on in
that little room, where three young men found full employment in serving
at the counter, and two as porters were engaged besides.  The extensive
trade thus obtained soon induced other publicans to adopt the word
"Shades" to their bars; and at the present time there is scarcely a
public-house in the kingdom but uses the term.  The only place previously
where the word "Shades" was adopted was at a Vault near Old London
Bridge, where nothing was sold but wine measured from the wood.

When known as Wigney's Bank, from the other partners having withdrawn
from the firm, the banking business was carried on at the premises which
occupied the western entrance of the Avenue in East Street.  Mr. Isaac
Newton Wigney, M.P., who was then sole proprietor, to the dismay and ruin
of many of the inhabitants, stopped payment on the 4th of March, 1842.
The chief clerk of the New Bank, as it was originally constituted, was
Mr. Thomas West, who, on the 1st of August, 1805, with Messrs. Browne,
Hall, and Lashmar, founded the Union Bank, their neighbour, Mr. Daniel
Constable, being the first person to open an account with them; Messrs.
Hall, Lloyd, Bevan, and West constitute the present firm.  Mr. Lashmar
left the Union Bank, and, in conjunction with Mr. Mugridge, opened the
Sussex Bank, in St. James's Street, which closed its doors on the
pressure of the panic of 1825.

The panic was also the death-blow to the County Bank, at the south-east
corner of Castle Square, which a few years previous had been opened by
Messrs. Tamplin, Creasy, and Gregory, the latter,--who was the manager of
the concern,--being the noted Barnard Gregory, who alternately was a
banker's clerk--at Masterman's, London, and Wigney's, Brighton,--wine
merchant, chemist and druggist, editor of the _Brighton Gazette_, chapel
building speculator, theatrical performer, manager of the Sussex and
Brighthelmston Fire Insurance Company, and finally, as a public man,
proprietor and editor of an infamous London newspaper, the _Satirist_,
for a frightful calumny published in which, on the ex-Duke of Brunswick,
he was incarcerated one year in Newgate.  Later in a life which has but
recently terminated, he speculated on a second wife, an elderly maiden
lady, the daughter of Mr. Thompson, a wealthy public-house broker, of the
Priory, Hampstead.  The circumstance of his marriage with this poor lady
is an illustration of the character of the man.  He was passing the
evening with some friends, when the facility of getting a wife became the
topic of conversation, Gregory spoke with his usual confidence: he could
get a wife whenever he pleased--at a day's notice.  Being rallied on his
vanity, he offered to lay a wager that he would be married, and to a
woman of reputation, before the next night.  The wager was accepted--the
stakes deposited.  Gregory was the winner.  Before the next day was over
he had proposed, was accepted, had a wife, and, in compliance with the
conditions of the wager, had brought her to Brighton from London, where
the marriage was solemnised, before the close of the twenty-four hours.

The London and County Bank, Pavilion Buildings, a branch of the London
and County Joint-Stock Banking Company, Lombard Street, London, first
opened in Brighton, at the south-east corner of Prince's Place, in 1838.
It removed to the present premises in 1853.  Mr. John Geddes Cockburn is
the Manager.

The Brighton Savings' Bank was established in Duke Street, at the top of
Middle Street, in 1817, with Mr. George Sawyer as Actuary.  His
successor, Richard Buckoll, became a defaulter, and absconded.  Mr.
William Hatton is the present Actuary, and the business is carried on in
the New Road, upon premises erected by Mr. John Fabian, to the plan of
Mr. Baxter, architect, on the site of the Royal Pavilion ice-well.  Upon
its removal from Duke Street, the Bank occupied a portion of the property
on the east side of Prince's Place.

No other Banks are now in existence in Brighton.  The Unity Joint-Stock
Mutual Banking Association, about four years since, had a branch of their
establishment at the north-east corner of North Street, but its business
was so limited that it soon closed its doors.  The National Savings' Bank
Association (limited), 1, Pavilion Buildings, had for a time a puny
existence, and then, on becoming amalgamated with a like institution, was
lost to public notice.  The Bank of Deposit,--branches of which were in
all parts of the kingdom; and the Parent Office in Pall Mall, London,--on
premises next to the London and County Bank, held a position in public
confidence for some years; but in 1861, in consequence of Peter Morrison,
the Manager, becoming a defaulter and a bankrupt, and eventually
absconding, many hundreds of depositors were irretrievably ruined.  The
District Savings' Bank, contiguous to the Odd Fellows' Hall, Queen's
Road, after enjoying an unenviable notoriety, and involving many small
capitalists in pecuniary difficulties, in 1861 abruptly closed.  Bill
discounters and usurious money-lenders abound in the town, their business
being principally amongst those whose bills and promissory notes are not
recognised by the regular bankers, who abstain from transactions that
afford a probability of proceedings in the County Court; hence exorbitant
bonuses and interest--which no fair trading can meet--are exacted, and the
non-fulfilment of payment becomes the precursor of ruin.

The Fourth Estate of the Kingdom, the Press, is, for independence of
principles, well represented in Brighton.  The oldest locally established
of this important institution is the _Brighton Herald_, first published
in September, 1806, the proprietors being Mr. Matthew Phillips and Mr. H.
R. Attree. at 9, Middle Street, under the editorship of Mr. Robert
Sicklemore.  Its price was seven pence, and such was the size of the
sheet--upon each of which there was a stamp of three pence half-penny,
besides a duty of three shillings and six pence upon every
advertisement,--that it did not contain more than a quarter the matter now
sold for two pence.  From Middle Street the publishing office was removed
to 13, North Street, from whence, after between two and three years, it
was removed to premises on the site now occupied by 114, in the same
street, immediately opposite the North Street Brewery.  Since March 25th,
1810, the _Brighton Herald_ has been printed and published in Prince's
Place, by Mr. William Fleet, who, about twenty years since was joined by
his son, Mr. Charles Fleet.

The first number of the _Brighton Gazette_ was printed and published on
premises beneath Donaldson's Library, Old Steine, on the 22nd of
February, 1821, by Mr. Edward Hill Creasy.  In November of the same year
the business was removed to the premises, 168, North Street, where it has
ever since continued to be published.  On January 22nd, 1824, Mr. John
Baker became part proprietor, and on the 26th of February, 1835, it was
first printed in Church Street, at the office adjoining the National
Schools.  The last publication of the _Brighton Gazette_ with the name of
Mr. Creasy attached thereto, was on the 18th of July, 1844, only a few
months prior to his decease.  On the 28th of December, 1848, the paper
first bore the name of the present publisher, Mr. Charles Curtis, and in
the Autumn of 1852, the printing office was removed to the Pavilion
Dormitories.  In professed opposition to the _Brighton Gazette_, the
_Brighton Chronicle_ was published on Wednesday, the 6th of June, 1821,
at 3, Prince's place, by Mr. Cummins; its career, however, was very
short.

The _Brighton Guardian_ made its first appearance under the management
and editorship of Mr. Levi Emanuel Cohen, on the 31st of January, 1827.
It was enlarged on the 30th of November, 1830, and, on the 1st of
January, 1851, it appeared as an eight page--small size--publication.  In
its present size it was first published on the 3rd of October, 1853.
From the day of its first issue to the present time, the printing and
publication have taken place on the same premises, 34, North Street.  For
some years prior to the decease of Mr. Cohen, which took place on the
17th of November, 1860, the _Brighton Guardian_ was his sole property.
His brother, Mr. Nathan Cohen, is the present proprietor.  Strong party
feeling, some few years since, started the _Brighton Patriot_, in
opposition to the _Guardian_; but its existence was very ephemeral.

The _Brighton Examiner_, which since its first issue, January 18th, 1853,
has continued the property of Mr. J. F. Eyles, was originally published
at 33, Western Road; from whence it was removed to its present printing
and publishing office, in North Street, opposite the Queen's Road.

Consequent upon the abolition of the newspaper duty, the _Brighton
Observer_--the original of the local cheap press,--made its appearance at
54, West Street, on the 28th of November, 1856.  It was first enlarged on
the 27th of November, 1857.  On the 28th of December, 1858, the printing
and publication of the _Brighton Observer_, the property of Mr. Ebenezer
Lewis, took place at 16, King Street, where, on the 30th of September,
1859, it was again enlarged; and on the 25th of July, 1862, the office
was removed to the premises where it is at present printed and published,
53a, North Street, the building which was originally the first Theatre in
Brighton, and, then, in 1790, the printing-office of Messrs. William and
Arthur Lee.

The only other local newspaper now in existence is the _Brighton Times_,
printed and published by Mr. William Pearce, Bartholomews; established
the 28th of April, 1860.  From time to time, since the repeal of the
stamp duty, speculators have started the _Sussex Mercury_, _Brighton
Chronicle_, &c., but only as errors consequent upon the lack of
experience, and upon the parade of great professions.

The Alms-Houses, those termed the Percy Alms-Houses, six in number,
immediately north of Hanover Crescent, and bearing along their faade
"These Alms-Houses were erected and endowed at the request of the late
Philadelphia and Dorothy Percy, 1796," were built by Mrs. Mary Marriott,
for the reception of a similar number of poor widows, of the Church of
England, who have received no parochial relief, agreeably to the
testamentary instructions of Mrs. Philadelphia and Mrs. Dorothy
Percy,--daughters of the Duke of Northumberland,--who endowed them with the
sum of 48 per annum, which amount was doubled upon the demise of Mrs.
Mary Marriott.  Two gowns and a bonnet are also allowed to each widow
every year, and a Duffield cloak once in three years.  By a bequest of
Mr. James Charles Michell, in 1833, the sum of 1 16s. is added to the
endowment; and there is also 300 invested by Mr. Skinner, for repairs of
vaults, and the surplus in coals.  Attached to the Percy Alms-Houses are
other similar dwellings, the two to the north and three nearest the south
having been erected by Mr. John Fabian, for Miss Wagner, the sister of
our much respected Vicar, conjointly with whom was built that which bears
on its face the following inscription: "1861.  In pious remembrance of
the late Marquis of Bristol.  M. A. W.--H. M. W." pleasingly expressive of
the purport of its erection.

In unison with this grateful memento, the annexed address of condolence
was presented to the present Marquis:--

          The Rev. the Vicar of Brighton, to the Marquis of Bristol,

                                     Brighton Vicarage, February 24, 1859.

    My dear Lord,

    Enclosed is an address of condolence on the part of the Brighton
    Clergy.  I make myself responsible for the signature of Mr. Henry
    Elliott, now on the Continent, because I know his deep feeling of
    affectionate gratitude to your venerated Father, from whom he, like
    myself, received countless benefits.

    I have the honour to remain, my dear Lord,

                    Your Lordship's ever faithful servant,

                                                             H. M. WAGNER.

                          TO THE MARQUIS OF BRISTOL,
         ADDRESS OF CONDOLENCE ON THE PART OF THE CLERGY OF BRIGHTON.

    Through a long period of time we have been connected with your Father
    by so many holy and endearing associations, that we hope you will
    allow us the privilege of a fellowship with you even in the deep
    affliction which it has pleased God now to send upon you.  We know
    that sympathy belongs indeed to One, and we earnestly pray that He,
    who only can, will make all grace and comfort abound to your own
    heart, and to the hearts of all your family, under your present
    bereavement.

    But while we thus feel how little worth is all human consolation in
    our hours of deepest sorrow, we nevertheless trust that it may not be
    unacceptable to you at this time to receive, as certainly it is most
    pleasant to us to render, the united tribute of our respectful
    gratitude to the memory of your venerated father.  Associated as he
    was with us for so many years as a parishioner, friend, and a
    benefactor, there are few who can appreciate, as we can, the extent
    and the self-forgetfulness and the humility of his singular
    benevolence.

    It would be very difficult for us to give adequate expression to our
    sense of the devotedness with which he used his high station, his
    property, and his influence for the promotion of those holiest
    interests of religion and charity, of which we are in some measure
    the guardians and representatives in this Parish.  There are very few
    of us who have not personally experienced, in some good word or work,
    the great kindliness of your father's character.  To the poor, his
    whole life copied Him who "went about doing good."  Very many are
    there of the humblest and most indigent, who would be the first to
    testify that they ever found in the Marquis of Bristol a brother's
    love.  While the monuments of his munificence which stand forth
    amongst us, the record to many generations of his pious care for the
    souls, and bodies of his fellow men, are, we believe, well nigh
    unparalleled in any parish, the Sussex County Hospital, with its
    commodious Chapel, the Church of St. Mark, our Parish Church in its
    restored beauty, and our two Cemeteries, with many other noble or
    sacred Institutions scarcely less than these,--all associated with his
    name,--bear witness, not only to his vast beneficence, but to the
    wisdom also with which he selected the channels in which that
    beneficence should flow.  And over all he threw such a suavity of
    manner and beautiful simplicity, that it was only when the action had
    passed that we woke up to the discovery of its greatness, which the
    grace of his presence had forbidden us to see.

    Accept, then, at our hands the assurance of the sorrowing affection,
    not of ourselves alone, but of a whole parish, which feels itself,
    like you, bereaved; and permit us to add the prayer, that your
    father's God may pour upon you, and upon your children, and upon your
    children's children, the rich inheritance of that father's spirit of
    universal love.

    H. M. Wagner, Vicar of Brighton.
    Thomas Cooke, Perpetual Curate of St. Peter's.
    C. E. Douglass, Curate of Brighton.
    John Ellerton, Curate of Brighton.
    W. Mitchell, Curate of Brighton.
    James Vaughan, Perpetual Curate of Christ Church.
    Thomas Trocke, Perpetual Curate of the Chapel Royal.
    C. D. Maitland, Perpetual Curate of St. James's.
    H. V. Elliott, Perpetual Curate of St. Mary's.
    Edward B. Elliott, Perpetual Curate of St. Mark's.
    Spencer R. Drummond, Perpetual Curate of St. John the Evangelist.
    Joseph Hurlock, Chaplain of the Sussex County Hospital.
    A. D. Wagner, Perpetual Curate of St. Paul's Church.
    J. H. North, Perpetual Curate of St. George's.
    Randolph Payne, Assistant Curate of St. Paul's Church.
    Charles Beanlands, Assistant Curate of St. Paul's Church.
    Thomas Scott, Assistant Curate of All Souls' Church.
    J. Chalmers, Perpetual Curate of St. Stephen's.
    H. H. Wyatt, Perpetual Curate of Trinity Chapel.
    Frederic A. Stapley, Assistant Curate of St. John the Evangelist.
    Alexander Poole, St. Mark's Church.
    Henry G. Cutler, Assistant Curate of Christ Church.
    Thomas Coombe, Perpetual Curate of All Saints'.
    W. Fleming, Assistant Curate of All Souls'.
    John Allen, Chaplain Brighton Workhouse.
    R. S. Smith, Perpetual Curate of All Souls' Church.

What may be very appropriately termed the Wagner Alms-Houses--which are
without endowment,--are for the benefit of unmarried
women,--spinsters,--above the age of fifty, and who possess, or are ensured
the yearly income of 15 at the least.

Howell's Alms-Houses, which are not yet endowed, are situated in an open
space of ground approached by iron gates on the west side of George
Street.  They are eight in number, and in the centre of the block of
buildings, surmounted by a dial, is the following inscription:--

                            HOWELL'S ALMS HOUSES,

                               _Erected_ 1859.

      Supported by voluntary Contributions, for the reception of reduced
    Inhabitants of Brighton and Hove, under the regulation of a Committee
                                of Management.

The inmates of these houses are elected by the donors and subscribers,
and all persons not under 60 years of age, who have resided in Brighton
or Hove at least ten years previous to the time of election, and have not
received parochial relief during such period, are eligible.

These were built by Charles Howell, Esq., Dial House, Hove, upon ground
valued at 1,000.  It was the original intention of this philanthropic
gentleman to have bequeathed the ground and the money for the erection of
the houses, by will; but with the very laudable desire of seeing his
benevolent intention realized during his life time, Mr. Howell preferred
perfecting his work himself, and he has vested the property in the
following Trustees:--Henry Michell Wagner, Vicar of Brighton; Charles
Wellington Howell, Robert Upperton, jun., John Pankhurst, and Piercy
George Pankhurst.  He has also conveyed to the above named trustees two
houses in George Street, the rents of which, about 26 a-year, are
charged, first with the repairs of the Alms-Houses, and then for the
general purposes of the Charity.

The original plan provides for five more houses; for the erection of
which and the endowment of the whole thirteen the co-operation of the
public is solicited.  May the anxious wish of Mr. Howell that the whole
of the buildings be completed and permanently endowed, before it pleases
the Almighty to remove him from this sphere of his benevolent acts, he
speedily realised.

For mutual benevolence no institution has a firmer basis than the
Manchester Unity, I.O.O.F., whose Hall for the Brighton district, forms a
prominent feature of the Queen's Road, where the first stone of the
building was laid on the 27th of June, 1853, by Mr. Tamplin, the then
High Constable of Brighton.  Mr. John Fabian was the builder of the
edifice, upon a piece of ground which was purchased for 500 of the Rev.
James Edwards.  The building proceeded without interruption until the
27th of August, when a Bill in Chancery, to restrain the erection, was
filed by Mr. Alderman Patching, who possessed property and resided
immediately opposite the Hall.  The building was thus delayed; but, on
the 4th of November, an appearance was put in on behalf of the Building
Committee, when the case, Patching _v._ Dubbins, came on for hearing
before Vice Chancellor Sir Page Wood.  The plaintiff's plea was, that in
the covenant under which he bought the ground upon which his premises
stood, it was stipulated that no building, except monuments or
headstones, should be erected on the plot of land opposite, which was an
unburied-in portion of the Hanover Burial Ground.  Defendant's counsel
argued the fact that plaintiff had permitted the erection of the
Dispensary on a portion of the same ground, and had allowed two months to
expire since the building was commenced before he filed his injunction;
and further, that the building was not opposite, but a foot or two to the
north of being opposite.  The case was argued at length, and the Vice
Chancellor gave a verdict for defendant, with costs.

The building then proceeded; was formally opened on the 26th of June,
1854; and its opening was shortly after celebrated with a public banquet,
at which the Mayor of Brighton, Lieut.-Colonel Fawcett, presided.  The
total cost of the ground, building, fittings, furniture, &c., was 3,000.
Four Lodges of the Order hold their meetings weekly in the Hall, and
endeavours are being made to establish Schools upon the premises for the
education, at a reasonable cost, of the children and orphans of members.
Five other Lodges meet in various parts of Brighton and Hove.  The first
Lodge, 118, one of the oldest belonging to the Unity, was established in
Brighton, in 1822.  The Widows and Orphans' Fund, in connexion with the
District, has been in existence twenty-one years, having been established
in 1841, and its members, with very few exceptions, include the whole of
the members in the Brighton District.  It has an accumulated capital of
over 6,000, chiefly invested in debentures on the rates of the town.

Lodges of the Brighton, London, and Nottingham Unities of Odd Fellows,
are held in various parts of the Borough, as are also Lodges and Courts
of the several Orders of Druids and Foresters.

The Free and Accepted Masons hold the Royal Clarence Lodge, No. 394; the
Royal Brunswick Lodge, 1,034; the Lennox Chapter Lodge, No. 338; and the
Royal Sussex Chapter Lodge, No. 1,034, at the Old Ship Hotel, where also
the Lodge of Instruction is held.

The Brighthelmston Dispensary, now known as the Brighton and Hove
Dispensary, from a branch being established in the latter parish, was
founded under the patronage of the Prince of Wales, November 27th, 1809.
The Institution was opened on January 1st, 1810, on premises in Nile
Street, contiguous to the Old Vicarage, or, as it was then called, the
Parsonage House.  In July 1811, it was removed to North Street, at the
corner of Salmon Court, opposite Ship Street, where in November, 1812,
was added the Sussex General Infirmary.  Early in 1819, the joint
establishments were removed into Middle Street, the premises now occupied
by the Young Men's Christian Association, the purchase of which property
was completed the following year.  The present noble building of the
Institution,--which is entirely supported by voluntary contributions,--was
built by Messrs. Cheesman,--Mr. Herbert Williams, architect,--and was
completed and occupied in 1849, a committee of gentlemen, amongst whom
Mr. Gavin E. Pocock, surgeon, was most zealous, having with untiring
energy raised the means of entirely freeing the edifice from any debt.

At a meeting of the Governors and Subscribers of the Dispensary, at the
Old Ship Tavern, on the 10th of February, 1813, it having been announced
that the Right Honourable the Earl of Egremont, the Vice-President, had
offered to contribute 1,000 towards the erection of a County Hospital,
the building of that Institution for the reception of sixty patients was
determined upon, and contributions from other noblemen and gentlemen to
the extent of another 1,000 were at once made.  It was not, however,
till the 11th of December, 1824, that the erection of the building was
fully determined upon; and then the subscription of the noble Earl
amounted to 2,000--afterwards increased to 3,000,--and that of Thomas
Read Kemp, Esq., 1,000 and the ground whereon the building stands.  The
foundation stone of the main building was laid on the 16th of March,
1826, by the Earl of Egremont, Sir Charles Barry being the architect.
The Adelaide wing, to the east, Mr. Herbert Williams, architect, and the
Victoria wing to the west, Mr. William Hallett, architect, have since
been added.  The Institution is supported by legacies, benefactions,
dividends of stocks, and general voluntary contributions.

The Sussex and Brighton Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye was formed at a
public meeting of the inhabitants of Brighton and the vicinity, held at
the Bedford Hotel, August 27th, 1832, Dr. Jenks being the physician, and
Mr. (now Dr.) Pickford and Mr. Seabrook, the surgeons.  On the 12th of
January, 1837, a resolution was passed by the Governors of the
Institution that severe cases and those for operation should have
admission into the house, then in Boyce's Street.

The first stone of the present building, in the Queen's Road, was laid on
the 29th of June, 1846, by the Right Reverend Father in God, Ashurst
Turner, Lord Bishop of Chichester, from a design after the temple of
Theseus, from plans and specifications prepared by Mr. Thomas Cooper,
architect, the builders being Messrs. Wisden and Anscombe.  The cost of
the site was 480, and of the structure 1,273 7s., and the business of
the Institution was transferred from Boyce's Street to the new building
on the 10th of November, 1846.  At the annual meeting of the Governors,
on the 14th of January, 1847, resolutions were passed:--

    That the Silver Trowel, with which was laid, 29th June, 1846, by the
    Lord Bishop of the Diocese, the first stone of the building, erected
    for the purposes of the Charity, be presented to

                   JAMES H. PICKFORD.  Esq., M.D., M.R.I.A.

    In acknowledgment of his successful efforts as the original promoter
    of the Charity, of his unceasing exertions for the general interests
    of the Institution, and in testimony of his talent and ability as a
    Medical Officer.

    That the foregoing resolution be engraved on the trowel.

Dr. Pickford was, on the resignation of Dr. Jenks, appointed physician,
April 4th, 1853, and Mr. George Lowdell was then elected surgeon.  Upon
the resignation of Dr. Pickford and Mr. Seabrook, January 27th, 1859, the
former was elected a Vice-President, and the latter was appointed
Consulting-Surgeon to the Institution, which is supported by voluntary
contributions.

The Blind Asylum at Brighton had its origin in 1839, when Mr. Moon the
eminent teacher and printer for the Blind, becoming deprived of his
sight, devoted his attention to the learning of embossed reading; and
such was his progress that he soon, with the benevolent assistance of a
lady, advanced sufficiently to assist others in learning also, first at
their own homes, and then in a small class at his residence.  At length,
the number becoming large, it was considered advisable to establish a
daily public school for the Blind in Brighton; and the use of a portion
of St. James's Sunday School-room was obtained for that purpose.  This
School, in which were also a few Deaf and Dumb children, was opened on
the 22nd of October, 1839.  In the following Summer, a Committee of
Ladies made an effort to raise the means for opening an Asylum to receive
as many of the Blind and Deaf and Dumb of the number thus brought
together, as were desirous of partaking of the benefits which such an
Institution might afford.  In the Summer of 1841, it was deemed expedient
to separate the Blind from the Deaf and Dumb, which latter were retained
in the Institution, but the Blind pupils were re-formed into a daily
school.

In 1842, the scholars were assembled for instruction in a classroom of
the Central National School; and eventually the Rev. H. M. Wagner--the
Vicar,--raised sufficient funds to build premises contiguous, in Jubilee
Street, for the reception of twelve pupils, who were admitted to the
Asylum, as it was then termed, early in January, 1846.  Year by year the
number of pupils increased, till at length, the accommodation on the
premises being wholly inadequate to the demand, the Rev. H. V. Elliott,
in the Summer of 1860, kindly gave the present site near the County
Hospital, for the erection of the New Asylum, to the building fund of
which the Rev. G. Oldham generously contributed the munificent donation
of 2,000, while the proceeds of a Bazaar amounted to 1,000 more.  The
opening ceremony took place on Tuesday, 22nd October, 1861.

Mr. G. Somers Clarke is the architect of the structure, which is Italian
Gothic, of Venetian character, and is built entirely of brickwork with
stone dressings.  The front is very fine.  It has an elevation of four
stories, and by a somewhat liberal use of stonework an almost palatial
aspect has been imparted.  The entrance is double, and in a finely
sculptured medallion over the door is an Angel of Mercy teaching the
Blind.  The apex of the doorway arch is continued into a bracket whereon
is placed a stone group of Charity Relieving the Blind.  In the adjacent
carving are introduced the emblems of Faith, Hope, and Charity--the two
latter being personified in the anchor and the pelican feeding its young
from its own body.  The different stories are shown by graceful mouldings
on which rest the stonework of the windows.  Those belonging to the two
middle stories are very massive, the elegant proportioning of the columns
dividing the four lights being especially noticeable.  The harmony of the
whole work is extremely good.

Mr. Moon, who, for his invention of a plan for teaching the blind to
read, has obtained a justly deserved world-wide fame, continues his
indefatigable exertions to ameliorate the condition of his
fellow-sufferers.  Not only has he been enabled to emboss the whole of
the Bible in the English language, but portions of it also in fifty more;
and he is daily receiving testimony from various parts of the world of
the high appreciation of his system, and of the rich consolations of many
of the blind who are thus enabled to read the Word of God for themselves.

The Brighton Institution for the Deaf and Dumb,--established in
1840,--first located at 12, Egremont Place, in 1842, and from thence, in
1848, it was removed to the present building, in the Eastern Road,
Messrs. Cheesman and Son being the architects and builders.  The new wing
was added in 1854, Messrs. Wisden and Anscombe being the builders.

Like the Blind Asylum, this Institution is supported by voluntary
contributions.  It has received several small benefactions, amongst them
300 as a tribute of respect to the memory of the late Mr. George
Gainsford, by his son and daughter, "in dutiful remembrance of their
father."  To perpetuate also, the memory of Miss Mohun, who was deeply
attached to the Institution, and unwearily devoted her useful life and
benevolent exertions in its behalf, the "Hester Mohun Fund" has been
commenced expressly to aid in educating or apprenticing a few poor deaf
and dumb children.

The Asylum for Poor Female Orphans, instituted in 1822, and established
in the Western Road, near the corner of Crown Street, for some years
occupied the garden whereon now stands the north side of Glo'ster Street.
It was removed to its present situation in the Eastern Road,--where so
many monuments to Benevolence are reared,--in 1853.  The first stone of
the building was laid on the 16th of June.  The design of the Asylum is
to save innocent and unprotected Female Orphans from the too frequent
misery attendant on idleness and poverty, to instruct them in such
branches of household employment and needlework as may qualify them to
become useful servants, while care is taken that their instruction and
employment shall be such as it is hoped may render them honest and
industrious members of Society.

The Provident and Self-Supporting Dispensary was established at 32,
Middle Street, in 1837.  Its object is to promote a feeling of laudable
independence among the working classes, that they may help themselves,
and so be prevented from seeking charitable assistance from others; to
encourage habits of provident frugality; and to enable those to obtain
immediate relief who are not able to pay for it in the usual way, but are
not in circumstances so indigent as to justify an application to the
gratuitous Dispensary.

The Brighton and Hove Lying-in-Institution and Dispensary established in
High Street, in 1831, has appropriate premises at 76, West Street, and by
the means of subscriptions and donations affords the requisite assistance
and comfort to poor women at a time when the evils of poverty are most
keenly felt.

The Dollar Society, instituted in November, 1813, is so called from every
annual subscription to that amount entitling the subscriber to recommend
one person yearly to become a partaker of the fund, such recipient not to
be a person deriving assistance from parochial resources.  The Society
extends its kindness to the chamber of sickness and the abode of
unforeseen calamity, and particularly to deserving persons bending
beneath the pressure of years.

The Maternal Society, formed 28th July, 1813, provides childbed linen and
other suitable articles of clothing, with nourishment for poor lying-in
married women, and such attentions and comforts as their condition may
require.

The Brighton Auxiliary Town Missionary and Scripture Readers' Society
meet weekly at 25, Middle Street, with the view to extend the knowledge
of the Gospel amongst the poor of the town, without regard to
denominational distinctions.

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge is a district Committee for
the Deanery of Lewes, and was established in 1815, under the sanction of
the Bishop of the Diocese, to promote the diffusion of the Scriptures and
Religious Tracts amongst the lower orders of society.  The parent
Society, in London, was formed by members of the Church of England, in
1669.

The Provident and District Society, established in 1824, under most
admirable arrangements, gives direct charitable assistance; encourages
the poor to make deposits, which are returned to them in winter in useful
articles, with the amount increased by a premium; and prevents mendicity
by having an office, 108, Church street, where beggars may be referred
and have their cases examined into.  The Society has the town divided
into districts, for the purpose of visiting and inquiring into cases of
distress.  The Benevolent Loan Fund, at the same office, grants pecuniary
assistance to those who, by misfortune, require temporary aid;
re-payments being arranged by easy instalments, and not subjecting the
borrowers to the usury of trading money-lenders.

The Brighton and Sussex Mutual Provident Society, Prince Albert Street,
commenced its operations in January, 1847.  Its rules and tables provide
weekly allowances and medical aid in sickness; sums at death; endowments;
and immediate and deferred annuities; it is the only local institution of
the kind.

Bowen, in his "Complete System of Geography," {353} says, "There are two
considerable charity schools here, one for 50 boys, who are taught
arithmetic and navigation, and 20 girls, who are put out to
apprenticeship or services."  These were termed Free Schools, and that
for boys was founded within the precincts of the Bartholomews, in 1725,
by the Rev. Anthony Springett, who, in addition to an annual subscription
of 8s., in the year 1740 gave the further sum of 25 per annum, for the
education of twenty poor boys belonging to the parish.  In 1735, Mr.
George Beach left the interest of 59 1s. 6d., and in 1781, the Right
Honourable the Countess of Gower gave the interest of 234 12s. to the
same charity.  The money, however, having been laid out in the short
annuities, the funds were not available to the intentions of the founder,
the school-house, therefore, and a small parcel of land adjoining, were
sold for 400, and in February, 1818, another school, established upon
its foundation, in the Lanes immediately north of Black Lion Street, was
opened, under the denomination "National School for Boys," the premises
being sufficiently commodious to contain 300 youths, for education in
reading, writing, and arithmetic, and in the principles of the
Established Church.

Another Free School was founded by Mr. William Grimmett, for twenty boys,
the children of parishioners, to be clothed, and instructed in reading,
writing, arithmetic, merchants' accounts, navigation, and the principles
of the Established Church of England.  Mr. Grimmett had been instructed
in the Free School founded by Mr. Springett; and having afterwards been
bred to the sea, he realized by his industry above 10,000, nearly 2,000
of which--now accumulated to 2,330 11s. 6d., producing an income of 69
18s. 4d.,--he bequeathed for the endowment of his School.  Some
informality in his Will gave his heirs-at-law an opportunity of
contesting the legality of the bequest; but his widow generously
maintained against them a suit in Chancery, and the validity of the Will
was confirmed.  But from the nature of the bequest, and the disagreement
that afterwards arose amongst the appointed Trustees, the school was not
established before 1769.  It is now managed according to the directions
of the devisor, by sixteen Trustees, namely, the Vicar and three
Churchwardens of the Parish, and twelve other inhabitants of the town,
chosen at a Vestry meeting, among whom every vacancy by death,
resignation, or removal from the town, is in like manner to be always
supplied by public election of the majority of the parishioners, convened
at a Vestry meeting the 1st day of May annually; and every vacancy in the
School is supplied by the election of the Trustees, or the greater part
of them, by ballot, at a public Vestry, of which notice shall be given on
a Sunday at the Parish Church, ten days at least before such meeting; no
boy to be received into the school under the age of eight, nor permitted
to remain there after the age of fifteen years.  Forty boys are now
educated on this foundation, at the National School, in which it is
merged.

The most remarkable man in connexion with the Free School, as founded by
Mr. Springett, was Mr. John Grover, under whose care for instruction the
inhabitants obtained signal benefit.  He was born of poor parents in
Brighton, about the year 1648, and passed his infancy and early youth in
the lowest drudgeries of a country life, and it was while tending a flock
on the hills adjoining the town that his youthful mind was often employed
in exploring the power and relations of numbers; and when he was of
sufficient strength for the more laborious employments of agriculture,
the moments of his leisure were still dedicated to study.  On his spade
and shovel, with a lump of chalk, he worked his problems, and calculated
the motions of the tides and stars.  The early acquirements of this
self-taught philosopher soon attracted public wonder and investigation;
indeed, his intellectual powers and industry could not pass without some
notice and patronage; and there is no doubt he was chiefly assisted by
the Scrase family, upon whose farm he was employed, and the Rev. Mr.
Falkner, the Vicar.  Books, paper, and time, were the only things his
indefatigable genius seemed to require; and with such aid he soon became
one of the best penmen and mathematicians of his time.  Not long after he
had thus established his fame for useful and abstruse science, he was
appointed master of the school, and his unambitious breast aspired to no
higher distinction, as he was enabled to apply the enthusiasm of his
genius to the cultivation of his favourite studies.  This mode of
instruction, being that suggested by reason, not the initiative pedantry
of schools, facilitated the attainment of the several branches he taught.
Navigation being the most necessary and profitable science to the
inhabitants of Brighthelmston, he taught it with singular conciseness and
precision.  Mr. Grimmett was amongst the last of his pupils, as he died,
universally respected, soon after the commencement of the present
century.

In 1788, in an apartment of the old Town Hall, a School of Industry for
Girls was established, under the patronage of Mrs. Nathaniel Kemp and
other ladies.  It consisted of 150 girls, 70 of whom were clothed in
green, educated, and carefully initiated in the sentiments and practice
of religion and industry.  This School is that known as the National
School, the central or head building of which Institution, erected in
1829 by Messrs. Stroud and Mew, and subsequently enlarged by Messrs.
Cheesman, is in Church Street.  The Gothic style of architecture is
preserved throughout.  There is a shield with a scroll over the arched
doorway of the principal entrance containing the Arms of the Town and the
inscription "National Schools."  Entering by the grand door of the
vestibule, three tiers of balconies present themselves, having staircases
leading to them and conducting to the several suites of rooms.  The hall,
50ft. high, is terminated by a groined roof.  The Boys' School is
approached by an elegant flight of stone steps, the room is 75ft long,
35ft wide, and 20ft high, well lighted from the west, and has also an
entrance in Regent Street.  The Girls' School-room, which is of similar
dimensions to the Boys', and immediately above it, is approached by two
additional flights of stone stairs.  It has a branch in Warwick Street,
built by Mr. Ackerson.  The Infant Schools, in connection with the
National Schools, are in Upper Gardner Street, Kent's Court, and Warwick
Street.

Swan Downer's School was founded in 1819, under the will of Mr. Swan
Downer, who in 1811 left the sum of 10,106 15s. 3d., for paying the
expenses of providing a proper School-house for the instruction of 20
poor girls of the parish in needle-work, reading, and writing, and
completely clothing them twice in every year, each of such girls to have
two suits of clothes at or on their election or entrance.  On the
foundation of the said school he also provided that out of the interest
and produce of the trust funds--303 4s--a salary of 40 per annum should
be paid to a competent schoolmistress, and the surplus applied to the
education and clothing of fifty girls, which has, since 1859, been
carried on in a large room temporarily rented by the Trustees in Windsor
Street.  The first school was in Gardner Street, taken by the then
Trustees at an annual rent of 30, and at a loss of something like 400
in appropriating the premises.  A site for the erection of a New
School-house has been approved by the Trustees.  It is situated in North
Street, adjoining Messrs. Smithers and Son's Brewery, and has a frontage
to the street of 33ft., and a depth of more than 60ft.  The situation
thus selected combines two essentials, proximity to the Parish Church,
with which the founder connected the charity, and a central position, so
important to a day-school for the children of the poor.  The Union
Schools, in Middle Street, were founded by Mr. Edward Goff, of Scotland
Yard, London; that for girls by a donation of 400, in 1807, and that for
boys by a legacy of 200 the following year.  These schools, which are
supported by voluntary contributions, were re-erected in 1837.  The other
National Charity Schools, independent of Sunday Schools, are: British
Schools (Boys' and Girls'), North Lane; Ragged School, Dorset Street;
Ragged Schools, Spa Street and Essex Street; St. John's Schools, Carlton
Hill; St. Nicholas' Church Memorial School, Frederick Street; St.
Stephen's School; Bethel Arch, on the Beach, for Fishermen's children;
Wesleyan Schools, Nelson Row; St. Mark's Church of England Schools, Rock
Street; St. Paul's, West Street.

There are several public educational establishments in the town; the
principal of which is the College.  It was established January, 1847, at
the top of Portland Place, on the premises now occupied by J. Jardine,
Esq., LL.D., and known as Portland House Boarding School.  The foundation
stone of the present building, in Eastern Road, was laid on the 27th of
June, 1848, by the Right Rev. Ashurst Turner Gilbert, D.D., Lord Bishop
of Chichester, assisted by the architect, Mr. G. G. Scott, of London, and
the builders, Messrs. Wisden and Anscombe.  A bottle was deposited under
the stone containing various papers connected with the College, and a
copy of the _Times_ of that day.  An elegant trowel, having a richly
carved ivory handle, and enclosed in a handsome mahogany case, was
presented to and used by the Lord Bishop on the occasion.  At first the
principal front, which afforded accommodation for 300 pupils, only was
erected, since which has been built the Chapel and other additions.  The
College is divided into two departments--the senior and the junior.  The
pupils in the senior department wear an academical dress.  Students are
admitted into the two departments after nine and fifteen years of age
respectively.  The education is of the very highest order, and will bear
a favourable comparison with that of any other Institution in England.
Patron, the Bishop of Chichester: Principal, the Rev. John Griffith.

A short distance to the east is St. Mary's Hall, an institution for
educating the daughters of poor clergymen, established in 1836.  To the
benevolence of the late Marquis of Bristol the building of this
institution is principally attributable.  His benefactions were not few
nor small; they were, from first to last, every one of them, the
unsolicited spontaneous effusion of his noble heart.

His Lordship's first gift was 500,--to purchase a site for the building,
which was originally designed to look east and west, with only frontage
for the present lodge and the carriage-drive to the Hall.  On the land so
bought St. Mary's Hall stands.  But before the excavations for the first
design were finished, it was judged best to turn the building, so as to
look north and south, and to purchase the additional frontage to the
south.  The piece of land at the back was given by Mr. Enos Durant.
These together cost 1,100, in addition to the munificent gift of 500
from the Marquis, which was given before a sod was turned.  In September,
1849, his Lordship gave to St. Mary's Hall its drilling room, which
before had been a painting room, as a free gift; and, moreover, sold to
St. Mary's Hall, for 500 (about half its cost), No. 6, Hervey Terrace,
which had been connected with the drilling room.  In 1842-3, he gave a
donation of 200, to mitigate the loss which fell on the Institution, in
consequence of a secret and outstanding mortgage on the play-garden and
kitchen-garden, which had been purchased for 500.  The Trustees were
obliged to pay 700 more to reclaim the land, after it had been walled-in
and stocked.  The last gift of his Lordship was a cottage and half an
acre of land at the north-west extremity of the premises, together with
his share of right in the road leading to it.  This gift was fully worth
400, and was intended as an encouragement for the establishment of an
Infant St. Mary's Hall, which has not yet been carried out.  President,
Lord Bishop of Chichester; Secretary and Treasurer, Rev. H. Venn Elliott.




CHAPTER XXX.
THE CHURCHES AND CHAPELS.


Immediately in connexion with St. Mary's Hall, is St. Mark's Church, Kemp
Town.  This is another instance of the benevolence of the late Marquis of
Bristol.  In 1838-9, he conveyed to the Trustees of St. Mary's Hall the
land on which the Church now stands.  After the conveyance thereof, and
when the land was no longer his own, such was his zeal to hasten the
erection of St. Mark's, that, at the expense of some 2,000, he actually
built the carcase of the Church, roofed it in, and glazed its windows.
If the Church Commissioners would have sanctioned it, he originally
designed entirely to build and complete the Church himself.  Baffled in
that desire, and feeling at his age the uncertainty of life, he made over
the property to the Trustees of St. Mary's Hall, in the confidence that
the interests of that Institution would induce them, sooner or later, to
complete his purpose.  After eight years of ineffectual effort and
negociation, St. Mark's Church was at last finished, and consecrated on
St. Matthew's Day, September 21st, 1849; and for some years his Lordship
was a worshipper in that house of prayer.  The cost of its completion and
of the endowment, in addition to his Lordship's free gift of the site and
the carcase, was not far short of 5,000.  For this expense one of the
Trustees became personally responsible, on account of the immense value
of the Church, and its gratuitous accommodation to St. Mary's Hall.  The
subscriptions and collections entrusted to him amounted to 4,832 5s.
8d., of which sum Lord Bristol contributed a benefaction of 500.

In grateful remembrance of his Lordship, a splendid Memorial Window and
Monumental Tablet were erected to his memory, in the Church, in 1860.
The expense of the Window was defrayed by subscriptions, chiefly by the
members of the congregation, and that of the Tablet by the Rev. E. B.
Elliott and Lawrence Peel, Esq.

The Memorial Window is an elaborate work of art in the Gothic style, the
subjects of the paintings being well selected from sacred history.  The
centre compartment has two divisions.  In the upper division is the
ascending Saviour, with His arms stretched out in the act of blessing His
Disciples.  The lower division represents the figure of St. Mark, writing
the concluding verses of his Gospel.  In the north compartment, the
subject is the Lord descending, after the Paschal Supper with His
Disciples, from Jerusalem towards Gethsamane; the Disciples are sorrowing
at the thoughts of His speedy departure from them, and He is comforting
them with the hope of His going to prepare for their re-union in Heaven.
The south compartment contains a group of Disciples looking towards the
ascending Saviour, in the upper central window, whilst two angels address
them--as recorded in Acts I., ch. ii.

The Monumental Tablet is of Caen stone, bearing the following inscription
in Latin:--

                                   FENESTRA
                     ORIENTALIS TRIPARTITA HUJUS ECCLESL
                   A QUIBUSDAM AMICIS HIC SACRA COLENTIBUS
                       ALIISQUE OPPIDI HUJUSCE CIVIBUS,
                            GRATO ANIMO POSITA EST

                                 In Memoriam

               FREDERICI GULIELMI, PRIMI MARCHIONIS DE BRISTOL.

                                * * * * *

                 NOBTLITATE INSIGNIS, MUNIFICENTIA INSIGNIOR,
             DIVITIIS NON SIBIMET, SED ALIIS, UTI DELECTATUS EST.
                               ECCLESIAM HANC,
                PROPRIIS SUIS SUMPTIBUS QUOAD MUROS EXTRUCTAM,
            CULTUI DIVINO DEDTCANDAM IN ALIORUM MANUS TRANSTULIT.
                    AUL SANCT MARL, PROXIME ADJACENTI,
                      AGRUM PRETIOSUM PRO SITU DONAVIT.
                   HOSPITALI BRIGHTONENSI SACELLUM ADDIDIT.
            COEMETERIUM PAROCHIALE TRANS COLLEM LARGE AMPLIFICAVIT.
                 USQUE AD EXTREMAM SENECTUTEM VITA PROTENSA,
                    FACULTATIBUS MENTIS VIX LANGUIDIORIBUS
          CORDIS BENEVOLENTIA, UTI PRIUS, MINIME IMMINUTA FRUEBATUR.
                       TANDEM, MORBO LETHALI CORREPTUS,
                          RELIGIONIS CONSOLATIONIBUS
         SACRAQUE COMMUNIONE, NANU FILII IPSIUS MINISTRATA, REFECTUS,
        PLACIDE, FAMILIA SUA CIRCUMSTANTE, IN FIDE CHRISTI OBDORMIVIT.
                           QUOD ILLIUS MORTALE ERAT
         IN CRYPTA FAMILIARI SUBTER ECCLESIAM ICKWORTHIENSEM SEPULTUM
                                    JACET.
              IBI, UT SPERAMUS, BEATAM RESURRECTIONEM EXPECTAT,
                           QUANDO QUI OLIM ASCENDIT
               RURSUS, SECUNDUM PROMISSUM, GLORIOSE DESCENDET;
                   SUOS SIBI UNDIQUE ET MORTUOS COACTURUS.
                           JESUS HOMINUM SALVATOR.

The base of the Tablet bears the Escutcheon of the House of Bristol.  On
a brass plate, that extends under the whole window, is the following
Latin inscription:--

                                 In Memoriam
                      HONORARISSIMAM FREDERICI GULIELMI,
                         PRIMI MARCHIONIS DE BRISTOL.
                          FUNDATORIS HUJUS ECCLESI.
                   NATI, A.D. 1769; MORTII, XV. MAR. 1859.

The present Marquis of Bristol bore the expense of the enclosure of the
Chancel and the painting of the walls in a style accordant with the new
ornamental window, thus completing the work.

The Chapel in Prince's Place, subsequently named by special Act of
Parliament the Chapel Royal, was projected originally for the
accommodation of the increasing number of visitors, and especially to
lull an outcry prevailing at the time in consequence of the
non-attendance of the heir apparent at any place of worship during his
periodical residence in Brighton.  The corner stone was laid with masonic
honours by H.R.H. George, Prince of Wales, K.G., G.M., &c., on the 25th
November, 1793.  Divine service was performed in the building, which was
unconsecrated until the year 1803, by various clergymen connected with
the Court, and only during the season.  Among them may be named
Archbishop Moore, Bishop Horsley, and Bishop Horne, the latter of whom
preached his celebrated published sermon there, on the text, "The sea is
His, and He made it."  The Prince regularly attended, and the chapel was
thronged with the nobility and gentry.  A story is told that H.R.H
finally took umbrage at some very personal remarks spoken at him from the
pulpit by the Rev. W. Brooke, who had taken for his text the words, "Thou
art the man."  Mr. B. was then Curate of Brighton, and had been suddenly
requested to take the duty in consequence of the indisposition of the
appointed clergyman.  The Prince never again entered the chapel, and
curiously enough Mr. Brooke soon after quitted the established church and
officiated for some years in a building, erected by certain of his
followers, in Church Street.  The last occupant of the Royal Closet was
H.R.H. the late amiable Princess Augusta, who died in London in 1840.
This chapel was the last place of public worship in which H.R.H. was
enabled to appear.  In 1803, during the incumbency of the Rev. T. Hudson,
it was thought desirable by him, as Vicar of Brighton, to secure the
building as a Chapel of Ease to the Parish Church, St. Nicholas.  He held
the freehold, and obtained an Act, 43rd Geo. III., cap. 91, constituting
the Church a perpetual curacy, and reserving to himself and his
successors in the Vicarage the right of nomination.  The incumbent is
subject solely to the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Chichester, "as if
the curacy of the said chapel were a presentative Vicarage."  It may be
mentioned that under the special Act, the perpetual Curate is required to
solemnize baptisms and churchings (marriages are exempted), and empowered
to demand double the fees usually received at the Parish Church for the
like duties.  After Mr. Hudson's removal from Brighton, the lay property
of the chapel passed, by purchase, to his successor (Rev. Dr. R. J. Carr)
and others.  The present proprietors are R. Sedly Tilstone, Esq., of
Alverstoke and Moulse-coombe, R. C. Cox, Esq., of Taunton, and Rev.
Thomas Trocke, M.A., the present Incumbent.  The building externally is
very plain, having none other decoration than a fine cast of the Royal
Arms in patent stone, on the pediment over the central window in front.
The interior, however, is somewhat elegant.  The Royal Closet still
remains, and the Pulpit, Desk, and Altar arrangements are very handsome.
Over the latter, there is a valuable Painting of "The Crucifixion," by
Van Een, a pupil of Vandyke.  The organ has two sets of manuels.  There
are sittings for about 800 persons, of which 150 are thrown open to the
public.

St. Peter's Church was commenced in 1824, the first stone being laid the
8th of May.  It is a beautiful Gothic structure of Portland stone,
embellished with various decorations, and from its combined elegance and
situation forms one of the most striking features of the town.  The
interior is divided into three aisles, the principal of which runs
through the body of the Church, leading from the chief entrance to the
altar, over which there is a magnificent stained glass window
representing the Evangelists and the Apostles, which was presented by the
Vicar, the Rev. H. M. Wagner.  The Church was designed by the late Sir
Charles Barry, built by Mr. Ranger, and consecrated 27th January, 1828.
Incumbent, Rev. Thomas Cooke, M.A.

The following are the names of the trees planted in St. Peter's
Church-yard, with their symbolical description:--

_Cedar of Lebanon_--being the tree selected by Solomon for building the
Temple of Jerusalem; _Weeping Willow_--a native of Babylon, and the tree
on which the unhappy Israelites hung their harps when they bemoaned the
loss of Jerusalem; _Sycamore_--the tree on which Zaccheus climbed to see
Christ pass on His way to Jerusalem; _Thorn_--to remind us of the Crown of
Thorns; _Aspen_--it being the tree of which the Cross is said to have been
formed; _Lime_--the principal papyraceous tree of the ancients, and on the
bark of which the Scriptures were probably first written; _Ash_--esteemed
a sacred tree in ancient times, and one to which the Serpent is said to
have a strong antipathy; _Plane_--the favourite tree of the Greeks, and
under whose shade the Athenian philosophers retired to study; _Birch_--the
tree from which the Lictors made their fasces; _Elm_--the funeral tree of
the Romans, and the coffin timber of Britons; _Cypress_--the funeral tree
of all Eastern nations; _Yew_--the funeral Yew so famed in war, and a tree
consecrated and dedicated to the grave; _Arbor Vit_--although the tree of
life, it shows that immortality is not the lot of anything terrestrial;
_Holly_--as being used in the decorations of churches at sacred festivals;
_Box_--the plant formerly used in the feast of the Purification of the
Blessed Virgin; _Poplar_--a plant held sacred by the Romans, and the tree
used to mark the boundaries of their lands; _Maple_--the tree of which the
bowl of hospitality was formed in days of yore; _Pine_--"And the tall
pines for future navies,"--_Dant utile lignum Navigus Pinus_, (the useful
pine for ships,) "To thee I consecrate the pine:"--in Pagan days it was
consecrated to Diana; _Bay_--the "Laurus Nobilis" of the ancient warriors,
the crown of our Poet Laureates, a supposed protection from lightning,
and a purifier of pestilential air; _Laurel_--as an honourable badge for
those who bravely defend their country and their laws; _Oak_--once the
refuge of a British Monarch, and ever the best bulwark of our Church and
State.

Of all the places of worship in the town not one has a more interesting
history attached to it than the Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel--commonly
known as North Street Chapel,--facing the New Road.

Before entering into the particulars of this Chapel the following
anecdote may not be deemed uninteresting, as it is somewhat connected
with the subsequent motives of Lady Huntingdon{364} building a religious
edifice in the town:--In the year 1755, the illness of the youngest son of
the Countess induced her ladyship to come to Brighton for the benefit of
sea-bathing.  About this time the following singular circumstance
occurred, which Lady Huntingdon related to the Rev. A. M. Toplady, and
which is extracted from the manuscript in the Posthumous Works of that
gentleman, published by the executors in 1780:--"A gentlewoman who lived a
little way out of Brighthelmston dreamt that a tall lady dressed in a
particular manner would come to that town, and be an instrument of doing
much good.  It was about three years after this dream that Lady
Huntingdon came to Brighton.  A few days after her Ladyship's arrival,
the above gentlewoman met her in the street, and, making a full stop,
exclaimed 'Oh! Madam, you are come.'  Lady H., surprised at the
singularity of such an address from an entire stranger, thought the woman
was bereft of her senses.  'What do you know of me?' asked the Countess.
'Madam' replied the gentlewoman, 'I saw you in a dream three years ago,
dressed just as you are now,' and proceeded in the relation of her dream
to the Countess.  This person was, in consequence of her acquaintance
with Lady H., converted in a few weeks, and died in the triumph of faith
about a year after."

About three months after her Ladyship's arrival she visited a poor
soldier's wife who had just been delivered of twins, and administered to
her temporal and spiritual wants.  It happened that next to that room was
an oven belonging to a baker's shop, thither the people flocked for
bread.  Overhearing the pious conversation, some of the poor women sought
and obtained admission, and from time to time they met there and
conversed on religious topics.  The news of the religious labours of a
person of rank was soon scattered through the town, and the people began
to be anxious of doing more good than was yet accomplished.  The Countess
sent for her Chaplain, the Rev. George Whitefield.  He came, and preached
his first sermon in a field at the back of the White Lion Inn, North
Street.  A little society was formed in consequence, and after a time
there was a growing anxiety for a place wherein they might hold their
meetings.  The Countess would have been glad to have provided a house of
meeting, but at that time her funds were exhausted, she having already
given some hundred thousand pounds to the cause of God.  She, however,
devised a plan for raising the necessary means; she sent for her
jeweller, opened her casket of jewels, and disposed of them, the
following account of which cannot fail to interest:--

                                                 s.      d.
Two 13  drops                             400       0       0
Twenty-eight 13  3 drops                   90       0       0
Thirty-seven pearls, at 4 15s each        175      15       0
Seed pearls                                 10       0       0
Gold Box                                    23       0       0
                                          698      15       0

Her Ladyship at that time lived in a house which formed a part of North
street,--the business of the town then being transacted in the Lanes,--and
built a little Chapel with these funds at the back of her private house,
on the site of the present chapel, which was opened in the Autumn of
1761, the Rev. Matthew Madden preaching the opening sermon.  It had only
been opened six years when it was found to be too small for its
congregation, and, in February, 1767, it was enlarged and re-opened by
the Rev. M. Madden and the Rev. G. Whitefield.  In 1774 it was taken down
and rebuilt, this time at the expense of Miss Norton, a friend of the
Countess, who lived in an adjoining house.  In 1775 it was re-opened, for
the third time, by the Rev. W. Romaine, the then Rector of St. Ann's,
Blackfriars.  In 1810, a further enlargement was found to be necessary,
and it was then made capable of accommodating 1,000 persons. {365}  In
1821 another considerable enlargement took place, making it capable of
holding 1,500 persons.  It was again enlarged in 1842,--when the
chapel-house was thrown into the body of the place,--to its present
condition.

Among the celebrated Ministers who have preached there, besides those
already mentioned, may be named, Revs. A. M. Toplady, Berridge, Jones,
Fletcher, Henry Venn, Dr. Rawes,--the founder of the London Missionary
Society,--and the late lamented Pastor, the Rev. Joseph Sortain.  The Rev.
J. B. Figgis is the present Pastor.

Union Street Chapel was erected, after the repeal of the Non-Conformist
Act, in 1698, and for upwards of one hundred years continued in the hands
of the Presbyterians.  It now belongs to a congregation of Dissenters of
the Independent denomination.  In 1810 it was considerably enlarged,
under the Pastorate of the Rev. Dr. Styles.  In 1823, the Rev. J. N.
Goulty, at the earnest request of the congregation, accepted the
Pastorate.  At that time there was a debt of 1,000 on the Chapel, only
about half of which had been provided for before he took the office.  The
attendance so increased, especially at evening services, that it was
found desirable, in the Summer of 1825, to have it taken down and
entirely re-built.  The expenses of this alteration were immediately
subscribed by the congregation, except about 500, which was lent upon
debentures, to be taken up in five years, which were ultimately
satisfactorily settled.  It is now capable of seating nearly 1,000
persons.  In January, 1862, after 38 years' indefatigable labour, the
Rev. J. N. Goulty resigned the Pastorate, and was succeeded by the Rev.
R. Vaughan Pryce, M.A., LL.B.

Trinity Chapel is situated in Ship Street, and was built in 1817, by
Messrs. Wilds, at the sole expense of Thomas Read Kemp, Esq., M.P., who
officiated personally until 1825, when it was purchased by the Rev.
Robert Anderson.  It has undergone several alterations, and is at present
used as a Chapel of Ease to the Church of England.  The interior is
extremely handsome.  In the centre of the ceiling rises a small dome,
partly covered with glass, which adds to the light, and gives a free
ventilation of air.  The Rev. Henry Herbert Wyatt, M.A., is the present
Incumbent.

Wesleyan Chapel, Dorset Gardens, was erected in 1808, and is capable of
accommodating 700 persons.  There is no settled Pastor to the
congregation, but it is supplied with ministers appointed by the
Conference.  In connexion with this Chapel are the Windsor Street and
Upper Bedford Street (Zion) Wesleyan Chapels.

St. James's Chapel, on the north side of St. James's Street, was built in
1810.  The Duke of Marlborough, on being apprized that the scheme for the
erection of this Chapel was on foot, and that the expences attending it
would be covered by voluntary contributions, with that liberality which
so distinguished him during his residence in Grove House, instantly
subscribed 100, and expressed a hope, on doing so, that--to use his own
words--"the playhouse method of receiving shillings for admission, as at
the Chapel Royal, would not be adopted when the building was completed."
His Lordship's hopes were fully realized, and the Chapel, being built by
shares, was called a Free Chapel.  Some few years after its erection, in
consequence of the congregation dissenting from the Established Church,
it was taken by the late Nathaniel Kemp, Esq., of Ovingdean, who
purchased all the shares, became sole-proprietor, and had it duly
consecrated.  The property has now passed into the hands of his widow and
children.  The Rev. C. D. Maitland, the present Incumbent, was nominated
in February, 1828.  In 1836 the school-room was built adjoining the
Chapel, wherein about 250 children of both sexes have been religiously
instructed every Sunday since that time, and 130 girls have been daily
receiving an useful education.

St. Margaret's Chapel is situated in St. Margaret's Place, on the west
side of Cannon Place.  It was built, in 1825, as a Chapel of Ease.  This
Chapel is "proprietary," though consecrated under special Act of
Parliament.  The Rev. Edmund Clay, B.A., who was appointed in February,
1856, pays a rental of 375 per annum, and all expenses of repairs and
others incidental to the due performance of Divine Worship: averaging
over 200 per annum.  In connexion with this Chapel are the Industrial
Girls' School, built by the Rev. E. Clay, in 1856, at a cost of 1,600;
the Youths' Evening School, in Cannon Street, and an Infant Nursery, in
Regency Square.

St. George's Chapel, built, in 1825, under a special Act of Parliament,
in St. George's Road, and directly opposite the Hospital, at the sole
expense of Thomas Read Kemp, Esq., is capable of holding about 1,200
people.  The Rev. J. S. M. Anderson, Chaplain to the Queen and Queen
Dowager, officiated for a number of years, and was very popular.  He was
succeeded by the present Incumbent, the Rev. J. H. North, M.A.

St. Mary's Chapel, St. James's Street, was erected in 1827.  This Chapel
is built after a model of the Temple of Nemesis, at Athens.  Incumbent
and Patron, Rev. H. V. Elliott, M.A.

St. John's (the Evangelist) Chapel, Carlton Hill, was built in 1840, by
Messrs. Cheesman, upon a site most unfortunately selected, and without
any architectural advice.  There are four Schools in connexion with this
Chapel, under the clerical management of the Perpetual Curate, upon the
principles of self-support, which are calculated to exercise a powerful
influence for good in this, the very poorest portion of the town, the
building being made over for ever to the National Society for the
Education of the Poor in the principles of the Established Church, and
placed under trust of the Archdeacon of Lewes.  Rev. A. A. Morgan, M.A.,
is the present Incumbent.

Christ Church, Montpelier Road, was consecrated on 26th April, 1838, and
built by Mr. G. Cheesman.  There was no public laying of the foundation
stone.  It is capable of holding about 1,200 people, 700 of the sittings
being free.  The Rev. James Vaughan, M.A., has been Incumbent from the
opening.  Adjoining this Church, in Bedford Place, are Educational
Schools for middle classes, erected, in 1843, by Messrs. Wisden and
Anscombe.  Besides these there is an Infant School, connected with the
Church, in Clarence Gardens.

St. Paul's Church, West Street, is a large and handsome building, built,
in 1848, by Messrs. Cheesman, from a design by Mr. Carpenter, architect.
It is built of cut flints with stone coignes, and is intended to be
finished with a lofty spire.  It is in the decorated English style.  The
Church is entered by a covered way or cloister.  The interior is highly
decorated in the medival style.  The roof of the nave is of timber, and
that of the chancel is painted blue with gold stars; several of the
windows are of stained glass.  It contains a nave, north and south
aisles, and chancel, and has a fine toned organ; a peal of bells, the
largest in the town, have been hung in the unfinished tower.  It was
consecrated on St. Luke's Day, 1849.  The Rev. A. D. Wagner is the
Incumbent.

Hanover Chapel, situated at the top of Church Street, in the rear of the
Odd Fellows' Hall, was opened for public worship on the 30th of August,
1825, and belongs to the Presbyterian denomination.  It was erected at
the sole expense (4,000) of the Rev. M. Edwards, of Petworth, who, with
the assistance of some of the most popular preachers of the day, also
supplied its pulpit.  It is calculated to seat 1,200 persons.

Salem Chapel, Bond Street, was erected in 1787; was enlarged in 1825, and
rebuilt in 1861.  It is now a very handsome building, belonging to the
Particular Baptists.  The Rev. George Isaacs is Minister.

All Saints' Church, Clifton Road, is a fine specimen of early English
architecture.  It was built in 1852 by Messrs. Cheesman.  It has a nave,
side aisles, and chancel, and contains a fine toned organ.  Its spire
remains as yet unfinished.  The Rev. Thomas Coombe, B.A., is Incumbent
and Surrogate.

All Souls' Church, in Eastern Road, was erected by subscription in 1833,
by Messrs. Mew, for the accommodation of the poor and working classes;
the seats are nearly all free.  The benefice is a Perpetual Curacy.  The
Rev. Richard Snowden Smith, M.A., is Incumbent.

St. Andrew's Chapel, Waterloo Street, in the parish of Hove, is a neat
building, and contains several handsome marble tablets.  It was completed
in 1828, and will contain 600 people.  The Rev. W. H. Rooper is the
present Patron and Incumbent, assisted by the Right Rev. Bishop Trower.

Providence Chapel, Church Street, is of the Calvanistic persuasion, and
was built in 1805.  Minister, Rev. Thomas Bayfield.  The other
Calvanistic Chapel in Brighton (Jireh Chapel) is in Robert Street,
Glo'ster Lane, of which the Rev. Thomas Dray is the Minister.

Ebenezer Chapel, Richmond Street, was the second Place of Worship erected
in Brighton for the Particular Baptists.  It was opened in 1825.  Rev.
Israel Atkinson, Minister.

The other Baptist Chapels in the town are Queen's Square--Rev. Joseph
Wilkins; Tabernacle Chapel, West Street--Rev. John Grace; Bethsaida Hall
Chapel, Windsor Street--Rev. Thomas Stringer.

St. James's Church, Cambridge Road, is a noble edifice, of Kentish rag
and Bath stone, in the early decorative English style.  It has a lofty
nave, chancel, two aisles, and chapels, and for external beauty is one of
the most imposing churches in Brighton.  It was erected in 1858, at the
sole expense of the Rev. Thomas O'Brien, D.D., who is now Patron and
Incumbent.

Christ Church, New Road, originally known as the Unitarian Chapel, was
built from a design of Mr. Wilds.  It has a light and elegant fluted
Doric portico, and is built after the style of the Temple of Theseus.
Since the appointment of the Rev. Robert Ainslie great improvements have
been made in the interior arrangements, and the comfort of the
congregation thereby much enhanced.

There are three Roman Catholic Chapels in Brighton: St. John the
Baptist's, Bristol Road; St. Mary Magdalene, 51, Upper North Street; and
West Cliff Catholic Chapel, Sillwood Lodge.  The first chapel of this
denomination was in High Street.  In 1833, the number of Roman Catholic
visitors increased so rapidly that it was deemed expedient to build a
larger one, and in 1837, St. John the Baptist's was opened, and the one
in High Street abandoned.  The old Chapel is now used as a printing
office, by Mrs. Sickelmore.  The interior of the Chapel in Bristol Road
is very airy, and commodious, but its external appearance is heavy, the
Corinthian pilasters being disproportionately large.  The officiating
Priests there at the present time are the Very Rev. Canon Reardon, the
Very Rev. Canon Rymer, and the Rev. William Stone.  St. Mary-Magdalene's
was erected in 1861-2, by Messrs. Cheesman, from a design by Mr. Rodley,
and opened in February, 1862.  It is in the Gothic style.  The Rev. G. A.
Oldham is the priest.  Of West Cliff Chapel, the Rev. E. J. Clery is the
priest.

The following is a list of the places of worship in Brighton, with the
officiating clergymen, in addition to those already enumerated:--London
Road Chapel, Ann Street, Rev. E. Hamilton; Queen's Square Independent
Chapel, Rev. E. Paxton Hood; Circus Street Chapel, various; Pavilion
Chapel (Independent), Rev. J. A. Wallinger; Bible Christians, Cavendish
Street, Rev. Paul Foskett; Friends' Meeting House, Ship Street, various;
Jews' Synagogue, 38, Devonshire Place, Reader, M. S. Nuremberg; Primitive
Methodist, Sussex Street, various; Catholic Apostolic Church, Grand
Parade, various; St. Michl and All Angel's, Victoria Road, Rev. C.
Beanlands, M.A.; Temporary Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Bread Street,--a
branch of St. Paul's Church, West Street, which supplies the Ministers;
Huntingtonian Chapel, Union Street, Mr. Christopher Sharp; Swedenborgian
Church, Odd Fellows' Hall, Queen's Road, various; St. Ann's Church,
Burlington Street, is now in course of erection by Messrs. Cheesman, from
a design by Mr. Terry, Architect.




CHAPTER XXXI.
HOVE AND CLIFTONVILLE.


Adjoining Brighton on the west, is the parish of Hove, which still
retains nearly its ancient name, being written in the Doomsday Book
_Hov_.  It covers a large area of ground, and, for the most part, is laid
out in fine open streets, and houses of noble elevation.  Palmeira Square
and Adelaide Crescent, projected by the late Baron Goldsmid, and now
completed, is the most magnificent range of buildings in the parish.  In
1801, the population of Hove was only 101, in 1811 it increased to 312,
and in 1831 to 1,360, in 1851 to 4,104, in 1861 to 9,818.  This great
increase in population during the last ten years is to be attributed to
the building of Cliftonville, forming quite a new town in the centre of
the parish.  The houses generally are semi-detached villas and private
residences, many of which display much architectural beauty.  The parish
church (St. Peter) is a flint and stone building in the Norman style, and
was restored in 1834 from the ruins of one which was formerly considered
a structure of great beauty and grandeur, the tower of which fell down in
1801.  After the falling of the tower, a wooden pigeon-house steeple was
erected, and the centre aisle sufficiently accommodated the congregation
up to the time of its restoration.  The accommodation afforded by Hove
parish church, owing to the rapid rise of Cliftonville, was soon found to
be inadequate to the requirements of the community,--as in certain seasons
of the year the influx of visitors is so great that the population is
considered not less than 12,000; and in 1852, another church was erected
at the west end of the Western Road, and dedicated to St. John the
Baptist, and even now the church accommodation is insufficient.  In 1855
a Town Hall was built by the Commissioners.  This was necessitated in
consequence of Brighton having obtained a Charter of Incorporation, and
consequently criminal cases arising in Hove and villages in its
neighbourhood could no longer be adjudicated on by the Brighton Bench.
The County Magistrates are C. Carpenter, Esq., John Borrer, Esq., W.
Furner, Esq., R. Henty, Esq., Colonel Paine, M. D. Scott, Esq., F. S.
Hurlock, Esq., J. H. Pickford, Esq., W. F. Smithe, Esq., Sir G. A.
Westphal, and P. Salomons, Esq.  The police force is very effective,
there being one constable to every 500 inhabitants.  The fire brigade is
made up from the police force, and is organised under the direction of
Superintendent Breach.  Building operations still continue in Hove to a
large extent, a new road (Cambridge Road) being just completed, and a new
street having recently been laid out to the west of the Sussex Hotel, in
Cliftonville.  The houses there are being built by Mr. Jabez Reynolds, of
Brighton, on a large scale, and bids fair to form one of the finest
streets in the parish.




CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF LOCAL EVENTS.


693.--Bishop Brighthelm slain above Brighthelmston.

913.--First constable of Brighton appointed by Edward I. (the Elder), by
the statute of Winchester.

1008.--Ulnoth, the Lord of the Manor of Brightholmston, ordered by
Ethelred II. to equip and command the fleet sent by the county of Sussex
to oppose the Danes.

1014.--September 28th, a great sea-flood on this eve, that of St. Michl,
which spread over the land.

1040.--Earl Godwin dispossessed of Brighton by Edward the Confessor.

1053.--April 17th, Earl Godwin, son of Ulnoth, died suddenly while dining
with the King, Edward the Confessor, at Winchester, where the Court then
resided.  His death was no doubt from apoplexy; but the monkish writers
attributed it to a stroke of divine vengeance for the murder of Alfred
the son of Ethelred, in the monastery of Ely.

1066.--October 14th, the battle of Hastings fought.

1080.--Convent of mendicant friars, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, founded
by William de Warren and his wife, Gundred.

1081.--The survey of Sussex taken, by order of William the Conqueror.  The
_gablum_ or rent of the manor of Brighthelmston-Lewes was worth 12
a-year.

1313.--Charter for holding a market every Thursday obtained for the town
by the Earl of Warren, of Edward III.

1377.--Brighton pillaged by the French.

1513.--The town pillaged and burnt by a French fleet, under Admiral
Primauget.

1535.--Ecclesiastical valuation of the town made, by order of Henry VIII.,
a thus:

                     "DEANERY OF LEWES; PRIORY OF LEWES.
                               BRIGHTHELMYSTON.

    "Farm of the Rectory there, with all first fruits and advantages, and
    various things, let to Mr. Richard Nicolle, for a term of years, and
    the rent thence by the year 16,"

                            "PRIORY OF MICHELHAM,
                                   WHENCE,
                               BRIGHTHELMYSTON.

    "Farm of certain land and tenements there in the occupation of John
    Smyth, otherwise Waterman, returning thence by the year, 100s."

1538.--The Parish Church register of baptisms and burials commenced.

1545.--July 18th, the town attacked, pillaged, and burnt by the French,
under Admiral D'Annehault.

1555.--Deryk Carver, a brewer, of Brighton, burnt at the stake, at Lewes,
for his resistance of Popery.

1558.--The Block-house and fortifications of the town erected.

-- In July, about the end, the Spanish Armada passed off Brighton, pursued
by the English navy.

1584.--The Bartholomews purchased by the town, of William Midwinter, a
mariner.

1597.--Warlike materials, for the defence of the town against the
Spaniards, were sent from Lewes to Brighton.

1651.--October 14th, Charles II. escaped from Brighton to the continent.

1670.--Captain Tettersel appointed High Constable of the Hundred.

1703.--November 27th, a great storm, which did much damage to the town and
the vessels belonging to it.

1705.--August 11th, a terrific storm.

1713.--Mr. Henry May paid to the parish one halfpenny for permission to
convey the corpse of his father through Hilly Lane, from the Race Hill to
the town, there being no high road.

1727.--The Town Well, on the Knab, finished.

1749.--January, the Block-house partially destroyed by an extraordinary
high tide.

1750.--Dr. Richard Russell took up his residence in Brighton.

1754.--Russell Street (so named from Dr. Russell, the founder of the fame
of Brighton) built.

1761.--Battery erected at the bottom of East Street.

-- Lady Huntingdon's Chapel first erected.

1768.--The first baths in Brighton constructed, on the site of Brill's
Ladies' Swimming Bath.

1771.--A small brass figure dug up in the Vicarage garden, supposed to be
a votive offering of some person who had escaped the horrors of a
shipwreck.

1772.--First Local Act obtained.

1774.--Lady Huntingdon's Chapel re-built.

-- The Theatre built in North Street.

1777.--The peal of bells placed in the tower of St. Nicholas' Church.

1782.--The Prince of Wales first visited Brighton.  The master gunner on
the occasion lost both of his arms while firing the Royal salute from the
battery at the bottom of East Street.

1784.--Royal Pavilion commenced.

1786.--November 17th, battery at the bottom of East Street washed down by
a storm.

-- Theatre in Duke Street opened.

1787.--Salem Chapel built.

1788.--First Race Stand erected.

-- On December the 22nd, in consequence of the severity of the frost, on
the receding of the tide, the water within the sand bar was frozen over.

1790.--January 13th, Mr. William Attree, at a public Vestry meeting at the
Old Ship, was appointed Vestry Clerk, at 10 guineas per annum.

1792.--September 20th, by order of the Duke of York, an ox was roasted
whole.

-- Streeter's mill (the mill on the Dyke Road, above Preston Drove), was
removed by 86 oxen, from Bellevue field, now Regency square.

1792.--October 22nd, thirty-seven nuns, in the habit of their Order,
landed at Shoreham, and afterwards proceeded to Brussels.

1793.--Brighton Camp is formed in the fields to the west of Brighton.

-- April 26th, Rooke and Howell executed for robbing the mail.

-- The east and west batteries erected.

-- November 25th, the corner stone of the Chapel Royal laid, by his Royal
Highness the Prince Regent.

1794.--February 10th, Dr. Henderson at a Vestry meeting, held at the
Unicorn Inn, was presented with a pint silver cup, for his care and
attention to the Parish.

-- April 16th, Howell's stables, in the Bartholomews, burnt down, and nine
troop horses consumed.

-- Cannons planted on the east and west batteries.

-- General inoculation, 2,113 persons, including 250 from the
neighbourhood, were inoculated for small pox.

-- An encampment of 7,000 men at the west part of the town.  It was broken
up in November.

1795.--Great flood and 18 weeks' frost.

-- June 12th (Saturday), Edward Cooke and Henry Parrish, shot at Goldstone
Bottom, for mutiny.

-- Cavalry Barracks on the Lewes Road completed.

1796.--By order of Vestry all vagrants and beggars were to be apprehended
by the Crier, who was to receive a shilling a-head for their capture.

-- The Percy Alms Houses, Lewes Road, built.

1798.--The Royal Crescent commenced by Otto, who built three houses at
each end and then bolted, leaving his creditors in the lurch.

1799.--November 20th, several of the Brighton fishermen taken out of their
boats whilst fishing off Seaford, by two French lugger privateers, and
carried to France.

-- There lived at 3, Artillery Place, Mr. Nathan Smith, inventor,
patentee, and operator of an Air-pump for extracting the gout, &c.

1800.--The Pavilion property purchased by the Prince of Wales.

-- The high-road from East Street to Marlborough Place closed.

-- The New Road opened from North Street to Church Street.

-- March 31st, Thomas Waring appointed parish beadle and town crier.

1802.--The two wings added to the Royal Pavilion.

-- October 26th, Capt. William Codlin executed at Newgate, for sinking his
ship, the "Adventure," off Brighton, in August.

1803.--April 15th, the Churchwardens and Overseers accept Dr. Bankhead's
offer to attend the poor gratuitously.

-- August 23rd, Race Stand destroyed by fire.

-- The trees in the New Road planted.

-- A sewer constructed from Pavilion Parade to the back of Williams's
Baths, at the expense of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Marlborough.

-- Chapel Royal consecrated, and an Act of Parliament procured, securing
it as a Chapel of Ease to the Parish Church.

1805.--April 18th, the Vestry Clerk's salary increased to 30 per annum.

-- July 29th, a boy killed on the Race Hill, by being thrown out of a
swing whereby his back was broken.

1805.--September 23rd, grand review near Rottingdean of the Inniskilling
(Queen's) Dragoons, Artillery, and South Gloucester, Dorset, Monmouth,
Brecon, and South Hants Militia, under General Paget.

-- October, the organ at the Pavilion erected.

-- October, the Prince of Wales purchased the Dairy at Preston, of Mr. W.
Stanford.

-- November 6th, at 40 minutes after 3 o'clock this afternoon, an express
arrived at the Royal Pavilion to announce to the Prince of Wales the
glorious defeat of the enemy's fleet at Trafalgar, and the death of the
brave and Victorious Nelson.

-- December 26th, the Royal Stables, Church Street, completed.

1806.--March 12th, A heavy snow-storm, in which Neville, a well-known
inhabitant of Brighton was lost in a drift about the spot where the Adur
Inn now stands, at Aldrington.

-- March 13th, the subject of a Charter of Incorporation mooted at a
Public Vestry Meeting.

-- July 25th, the Earl of Barrymore and Mr. Howarth fought a duel at
Black-rock Bottom in consequence of a dispute at cards the previous night
at the Castle Tavern.

-- August 12th, mock invasion of the town.

-- Sept. 1st, Williams's Baths opened.

-- Sept. 12th, Lord Thurlow died at his residence, West Cliff.

-- Sept. 25th, Mr. Brunton, sen., laid the Foundation Stone of Theatre, in
the New Road.

-- _Brighton Herald_ first published.

1807.--Zion Chapel, Bedford Street, erected.

-- May 28th, the great county election contest terminated:--

Wyndham           4,333
Fuller            2,530
Sergison          2,473

-- Theatre in New road opened.

-- Sept. 3rd, the Sheep and Lamb Fair on the Level was well attended.

-- October 1st, Masked ball at Old Ship.

-- October 22nd, three brigs, two colliers, and a vessel laden with corn,
were wrecked in front of the town.

1808.--Wesleyan Chapel erected in Dorset Gardens.

-- April 27th, Mr. Jonathan Grenville appointed poor-rate collector at a
compensation of 3d. in the  on all monies collected; the appointment to
be discretionary in the "Breast" of the parish officers.

-- Mr. Forth succeeds Mr. Wade as Master of the Ceremonies.

1809.--August 9th, neither a house nor lodgings to be got for love or
money.

--March 21st, a meeting held at the Old Ship Tavern to inspect and
consider a plan for the consideration of a harbour at Brighton.

-- Brighton Dispensary founded.

-- July 7th, Mr. Tilt, proprietor of the Castle Tavern and Subscription
Rooms, died.

1810.--St. James's Chapel built.  The Duke of Marlborough contributed
100.

-- Lady Huntingdon's Chapel enlarged.

-- The Town Act of 1773 repealed, and a now Act passed.

1810.--April 12th, the first catch of the season of mackerel, 116 in
number, fetched 2s 4d each, for Billingsgate Market.

-- May 21st, the first mail coaches put on the road between Brighton and
London.

-- May 2nd, first meeting of the Town Commissioners, under the new Act of
Parliament, at the Old Ship.

-- May 31st, Holy Thursday, Brighton Fair held on the Cliff, between
Middle Street and Black-lion Street.

-- June 28th, the London Road, by way of Hickstead, opened from Pyecombe.

-- The Royal Crescent built.

-- July 11th, a court martial, held at the Castle Tavern, on Corporal
Robert Curtis, of the Oxford Militia, found him guilty of endeavouring to
excite disaffection amongst his regiment, and he was condemned to receive
_One Thousand Lashes_.  He bore 200 lashes on the 30th; the remainder
were remitted.

-- July 25th, the Royal Circus, Grand Parade, opened by Mr. Brunton.

-- August 13th, Monday, Sham Fight on the Race Hill; present:--The Prince
of Wales, and the Dukes of York, Kent, Cumberland, Clarence, Sussex, and
Cambridge; and 30,000 spectators.

-- The Racket Court at the Cavalry Barracks erected by the Officers of the
10th Royal Hussars.

-- August 16th, benefit concert of Mr. Wright, proprietor of the Musical
Saloon, Prince's Street, at the Old Ship.

-- August 23rd, the first of the Brighton fishing boats, equipped as
gun-boats, 40 in number, made a successful experiment with her 18-pound
carronade.

-- October 20th, performance at Theatre in aid of the funds of the
Brighton Dispensary.

-- October 27th, Coates, better known as Romeo Coates, performed the part
of _Romeo_ at the Brighton Theatre.

1811.--January, in consequence of the flooded state of the London Road,
the coaches into Brighton were compelled to come by way of Preston Drove
and over the Church Hill.

-- Brighton Corn Market is held at the Old Ship Tavern.

1812.--February 5th, robbery of between 3,000 and 4,000 of the Brighton
Union Bank notes--Messrs. Brown, Hall, Lashmar, and West,--from Messrs.
Crossweller and Co's., Blue coach, between London and Brighton.

-- February 20th, the marriage of Isaac Bass to Sarah Glayzier, took place
at the Friends' Meeting House.

-- September 9th, upwards of 5,000 sheep and lambs were penned at Brighton
Fair, on the North Level.  The farmers, graziers, and butchers dined at
the Old Ship Tavern.

-- September 10th, an Infirmary added to the Brighton Dispensary.

-- The Magistrates of Brighton held their first Petty Sessions, Mr.
Serjeant Runnington, Chairman.

1813.--March 7th, organ at St. Nicholas' church opened.

-- April 12th, five boats detained by the Custom-house officers for having
appurtenances for rowing more than four oars, contrary to the Act for the
prevention of smuggling.

-- April 15th, the salary of Mr Battcock, parish surgeon, raised from 80
to 100 per annum.

1813.--April 17th, Mr. Hope, afterwards Hope & Durtnall, and now Mr.
Durtnall, commenced business as Common Carrier.

-- May 25th, the tolls of Old Shoreham Bridge, were let by Auction by Mr
Attree, for 1,240 for the year.

-- July 5th, Brighton Auxiliary Bible Society instituted.

-- September 6th, the "Regent" Coach first ran from the Red Coach office,
10, Castle square.  It upset at Merstham, on Sunday 12th, coming from
London.

-- October 1st, the High Constable appointed Receiver of Assize Returns of
Bread.

-- October 24th, Queen Charlotte paid her first visit to Brighton.

1815.--May 2nd, Martha Gunn died.

1817.--Mr T. R. Kemp's Chapel,--now Trinity,--built.

1818.--Two extra bells, making ten, placed in the tower of St. Nicholas'
Church.

1819.--January 25th, Shoreham new harbour opened.

1820.--Carriage road opened from West Street to Middle Street,

1821.--April 22nd, evening service commenced at the Old Church.

-- December 12th, Phoebe Hessell died, aged 108.

-- Lady Huntingdon's Chapel still further enlarged.

1822.--January 1st, the Pavilion Chapel, late the Assembly Room of the
Castle Tavern, and now St. Stephen's Church, Montpelier road,
consecrated.

-- April 15th, private Thomas Blamay, 2nd Foot, shot himself in the
barrack yard, Church Street.

-- The Western Esplanade commenced.

-- June, in consequence of the reduced price of malt, Mr. Chandler, North
Street Brewery, reduced the price of his table ale from 14d. to 1s.

-- July 11th, the Prince and Princess of Denmark arrived at the Steyne
Hotel, from Dover.

-- Present Workhouse built.

-- August, the Shoreham Road commenced from Hove Street to Kingston.

-- September 18th, the Chain Pier commenced.

-- At the monthly meeting of the Town Commissioners, Mr Frederic Cooper,
conjunctively with Mr Thomas Attree, was appointed the Clerk of the
Commissioners.

-- October, forty-two coaches were running daily between London and
Brighton.

-- November 1st, the bell at the Chapel Royal, to announce the time of
divine service, erected.

-- The magistrates removed their sittings from the Old Ship to the New
Inn, now the Clarence Hotel.

1823.-- April 9th, Messrs. Briggs and Knowles thrown over the Cliff and
killed.

-- May, the Castle Tavern, Castle Square, pulled down.

-- Brunswick Terrace and Square commenced.

-- The Royal Gardens (Ireland's,) formed.

-- Russell House, Old Steine, pulled down.

-- May, streets of Brighton first watered.

-- October 5th, Dr. Styles preached his farewell sermon at the Union
Street Chapel.

-- The National School for boys opened in the Lanes.

1823.--Brighton Savings' Bank opened in Middle Street.

-- June 3rd, Mr. T. Furner appointed Town Surveyor.

-- September 8th, Old Steine enclosed.

-- September 22nd, Post Office opened in East Street.

-- November, Chain Pier opened.

-- Infant Schools first established in Brighton.

1824.--Saturday, May 8th, first stone of St. Peter's Church laid by Dr.
Carr, Vicar.

-- Queen's Park and German Spa, Brighton, formed by Mr. Armstrong.

-- May 1st, Ireland's Gardens, Lewes Road, opened.

-- May 11th, Brighton Royal Catch and Glee Club (from the Golden Cross
Inn,) meet at Old Ship for the first time.

-- May 3rd, Old Steine first lighted with gas.

-- First steam packet to Dieppe, the _Swift_, 80 horse power, put on.

-- June 1st, Rev. J. N. Goulty appointed to Union Street Chapel.

-- Brighton first lighted with gas.

-- August 1st, Rev. H. M. Wagner entered on his duties as Vicar.

-- November 24th, violent storm, which did great damage to Chain Pier.

-- December 11th, first meeting (at Old Ship,) for establishing the County
Hospital.

-- December 26th, St. Margaret's Chapel opened.

1825.--February 7th, at a meeting at the Old Ship a resolution was passed
to construct an iron railway between Brighton and Shoreham.

-- Ebenezer Chapel opened.

-- June 22nd, Brighton Improvement Act passed.

-- September 27th, Mr. Amon Wilds elected Town Surveyor.

-- December 18th, Trinity Chapel opened by the Rev. R. Anderson.

-- St. Margaret's Chapel built.

-- German Spa, Queen's Park, established.

-- St. George's Chapel built.

-- Hanover Chapel built.  Opened August 30th.

-- Salem Chapel, Bond Street, enlarged.

1826.--Road in front of York Hotel formed.

-- Foundation stone of County Hospital laid, March 16th.

-- Western Esplanade, opposite Regency square, formed.

-- The name, King's Road, applied to the Cliff roadway from East Street to
the extreme west of the town.

-- April 21st, Trinity Chapel consecrated.

1827.--January 18th, St. Mary's Chapel consecrated.

-- April 5th, Mr. N. Cooke, organist of the Parish Church, died.

1828.-- January 25th, St. Peter's Church consecrated.

-- June 12th, County Hospital opened.

-- October 11th, the statue of George IV., by Chantry, erected on the Old
Steyne.

-- October 29th, Musical festival at St. Peter's Church.

1829,--June 27th, Bethel Chapel (site of the present St. Paul's) West
Street, opened.

-- August 16th, Mr. W. Crossweller, coach proprietor, died.

-- November 20th, St. Peter's clock erected.

1830.--The Battery on the King's road rebuilt further to the south.

-- April, corner stone of Town Hall laid.

-- April 12th, Mr. Somers Clarke appointed Vestry Clerk.

-- April 15th, Brighton Police Force established, under Chief-Officer
Pilbeam.

-- August 30th, William IV. and his Queen (Adelaide) first visit Brighton.

-- National Schools opened.

-- First stone of the Town Hall laid by T. R. Kemp, Esq.

1831.-- Easter Monday, Road across the Steine opened.

-- July 16th, Celia Holloway murdered.

-- September 23rd, Post Office opened in the New Road.

-- October 20th, first stone of New Shoreham Bridge laid.

-- December 5th, Body of Hannah Hobbs found.

-- December 10th, Holloway executed at Horsham.

1832.-- Cattle Market opened on Church Hill.

-- August 6th, Sand Cause decision.

-- December 11th, First Brighton Election, Wigney and Faithfull returned.

1833.--May 12th, Fire at Wisden's, Western Road.

-- September 30th, the Antheum, Hove, fell.

-- October 15th, the Chain Pier partially destroyed during a terrific
gale.

-- Carriage road opened across the Steyne from Castle Square to St.
James's Street.

-- Rev. T. Trocke appointed to Chapel Royal.

1836.--November 29th, Great storm, which destroyed much of the platform of
the Chain Pier.

-- St. Mary's Hall, Eastern road, erected.

1837.--(5,598) Jews' Synagogue in Devonshire Place erected.

-- October 1st, James Botting, the Old Bailey Executioner, died at
Brighton, his native place.

-- October 4th, Her Majesty's first visit to Brighton.

-- December 25th, Great Snow storm.

1838.--January 15th, the Northern sewer commenced.

-- March 19th, London and Brighton Railway commenced.

-- April 26th, Christ Church consecrated.

-- May 28th, Swiss Gardens opened.

1839.--February 4th, first permanent rail on the London and Brighton
Railway laid at Hassock's Gate, by Mr. Alfred Morris.

1840.--February 18th, Upfold, stage coachman killed.

-- May 11th, Railway to Shoreham opened.

-- June 9th, Rev. J. Allen appointed chaplain of the Workhouse.

-- July 14th, Court of Requests opened.

-- August 1st, Crim. Con. trial, Heaviside _v._ Lardner, at Lewes, damages
8,000.

-- Court Martial at Cavalry Barracks, on Capt. R. A. Reynolds, 11th
Hussars, who was cashiered.

1841.--June 30th, Pechell and Wigney elected.

1841.--July 5th, line opened to Hayward's Heath.

-- September 21st, Railway opened from Brighton to London.

1842.--May 5th, Lord Alfred Hervey first elected for Brighton.

1844.--February 1st, experiment of Bude Light on the Old Steine.

-- March 13th, Mr. Solomon, Chief-Officer of Police murdered.

-- Lawrence executed for the murder of Mr. Solomon.

1845.--The Level planted with trees.

-- May 17th, first stone of the Viaduct over the London Road laid.

-- November 24th, Railway opened to Worthing.

1846.--May 25th, Fountain on the Steine opened.

-- King's Road widened from West street to the Battery.

-- June 8th, Railway opened to Chichester.

-- June 8th, Railway opened to Lewes.

-- June 27th, Railway opened to Hastings.

-- July 12th, last Lewes coach ran.

-- August 23rd, Jenny Lind, sung at Brighton.

-- November 10th, Eye Infirmary opened.

1847.--March 5th, Mr. Maynard appointed Parish Assessor.

-- General fast, on account of the famine.

-- April 16th, first County Court held.

-- June 14th, Line opened to Portsmouth.

-- July 31st, Pechell and Harvey re-elected.

-- December 6th, Railway opened to Newhaven.

1848.--June 27th, the first stone of Brighton College laid by Dr. Gilbert,
Lord Bishop of Chichester.

-- July 1st, the clock is removed from the clock tower of the Pavilion.

-- The new Post Office in Ship Sheet erected.

-- October 18th, St. Paul's opened by license.

-- October 23rd, Mechanics' Institution inaugurated.

1849.--February 7th, Mr Griffith murdered.

-- July 28th, Race Stand purchased.

-- August 10th, Mr. Hatton appointed Actuary of the Savings' Bank.

-- September 21st, St. Mark's Church consecrated.

-- November 3rd, Mr. F. Slight appointed Secretary to the London,
Brighton, and South-Coast Railway Company.

-- Royal Pavilion property purchased by the town for 53,000.

-- Post Office opened in Ship Street.

1850.--June 19th, the Town took possession of the Pavilion.

-- June 23rd, Sunday labour discontinued at the Post Office.

-- June 28th, Pavilion Grounds first opened to the public.

-- July 17th, great storm, Pool Valley, &c., flooded.

-- November 27th, first interment in the Extra Mural Cemetery.

-- November 19th, violent storm.  Two houses blown down near the Wick.

-- December 30th, first Pavilion rate made.

1851.--January 21st, opening Ball at the Pavilion.

-- May 15th, south portion of the Pavilion property sold for 1722.

-- Electric Telegraph opened to Brighton.

-- August 11th, first fete of the Mechanics' Institution at the Swiss
Gardens, Shoreham.

-- August 14th, consecration of the Brighton Extra Mural Cemetery, by the
Bishop of Chichester.

-- The Mantellian Academy of Science opened.

1852.--September 4th, fire at P. Salomons, Esq., Brunswick Terrace.

-- September 29th, fire at Bickford's King's Road.

-- November 8th, Mr. Furse's shop, North Street, robbed of 400 worth of
jewellery, &c.

1853.--February 3rd, burglar shot at Shoreham.

-- March 6th, Caroline Sherwood murdered her child, at Hove.

-- March 17th, explosion at the Railway Terminus, three men killed.

-- April 1st, Messrs. Black and Foakes appointed Assessors.

-- May 16th, First stone of Female Orphan Asylum laid.

-- August 14th, Rev. F. W. Robertson died.

-- December 21st, Mr. George White appointed Chief-Officer of Police.

1854.--April 3rd, Charter of Incorporation obtained.

-- April 8th, Parish Church restored and re-opened.

-- June 7th, Major Fawcett elected first Mayor of Brighton.

-- August 28th, Mr. and Mrs. Passmore appointed Governor and Matron of the
Workhouse.

-- November 1st, Preston toll-gate removed.

1855.-- July 9th, East Grinstead line opened.

-- July 10th, Gregory's house, North Street, fell.

-- July 19th, Mr. Lewis Slight, jun., elected Borough Accountant.

-- July 22nd, Mr. Hannington died, in his 71st year.

1856.--March 28th, Brighton Protestant Association formed.

-- June 4th, Peace Demonstration at Brighton.

-- July 29th, fire at Stubbs's, Trafalgar Street.

-- September, fire at Funnell's, chemist, Upper North Street.

-- December 2nd, Tractarian defeat at the Town Hall.

1857.--April 7th, Dodson and Pevensey returned for East Sussex.

-- June 25th, Brown, the Sussex cricketer, died.

-- October 7th, Day of Humiliation for the Massacres in India.

-- October 8th, Wreck of the "Pilgrim."

-- November 3rd, Music Hall, Edward street, destroyed by fire, second
time.

-- November 18th, Anti-Tractarian Demonstration and Riots at Lewes.

-- Mr. Isaac Tester died, aged 54.

-- December 22nd, consecration of the Parochial Burial Ground.

1860.--Sir G. B. Pechell, M.P. for Brighton, died.

-- Great storm, wreck of the "Transit" and "Atlantique" off Brighton.

-- Mr. James White returned as a Member for Brighton.

1861.--Easter Monday, Volunteer Review on the Downs, under Lord Ranelagh.

-- August 25th, frightful railway collision in Clayton Tunnel, twenty-one
persons killed.

1862.--Easter Monday, Volunteer Review on the Race Hill, under Lord Clyde.

1862.--John O'Dea, a private of the 18th Hussars, shot in the Barrack
yard, Church Street, by Private John Flood, of the same regiment.  Flood
was tried at the County Assizes and condemned to be hanged, bus the
capital sentence was ultimately commuted to penal servitude for life.

-- Water found in the Warren Farm Well.

-- Temporary Church of St. Mary Magdalene erected and opened in Broad
street.

-- October, Police Station built on the Level.

-- November 5th, the author of this work died suddenly in his 52nd year.

-- November 27th, first Brighton and Sussex Fat-Stock Show hold.

-- December 12th, Mr. Lewis Slight, jun., Borough Accountant, committed
suicide by hanging.




FOOTNOTES


{1}  Temple Sydney's History of England, published 1772, at Shakespear's
Head, No. 17, Paternoster Row, London.

{2}  4. Jac--Sir Edward Bellinghani held freely to himself and his heirs
lands and tenements in Aldrington, as of the Manor of
Atlingworth.--_Rowe's M.S._, p. 156.--6.  Hen. 6.  De quarta parte feod.
milit. in Athelyngworth in Hundr. de Fyshergate dicunt quod sit in manu
Prioris de Lewes et est dec.--_Ing. capt. ap. Lewes_, 6 _Hen._ 6.

{6}  In April, 1822, a large molar tooth of the Asiatic elephant was
discovered in Lower Rock gardens, in a well fifty feet deep; and four
very fine and perfect ones were dug up by the workmen employed on the
foundation of the walls for the esplanade, at the Chain Pier, in 1831.

{7a}  I have (says Mantell) specimens of the teeth, found in a well fifty
yards inland, at the depth of forty-six feet, in the _Coombe Rock_, and
immediately above the bed of shingle.

{7b}  "Some wells at Tetney (a village on the coast of Lincolnshire) that
are sunk in the chalk, are also affected by the tide; the wells
overflowing with a greater flux at the time of high water, and
particularly at spring tides; showing that the water in the chalk
communicates with the sea."--_Geolog. Trans_. vol. iii. p. 394.

{9}  Clark on Climate, p. 219.

{10}  The "Climate of Brighton," by William Kebbell, M.D., Physician to
the Sussex County Hospital.

{11}  The harbour's new mouth was opened on the 25th of January, 1819.

{20}  The Weald of Sussex is an extensive vale that occupies the centre
of the south-eastern part of the county, and, running parallel with the
Downs, forms their northern boundary.  It was anciently an immense forest
(called by the earlier colonists, _Coid Andred_, by the Romans _Silva
Anderida_, and by the Saxons _Andreadswald_), which, even in the time of
Bede, was a mere retreat for deer and swine: the greater part is now in
an excellent state of cultivation.  It consists of various beds of clay,
sand, and limestone, and is comparatively of low elevation; its breadth
is from five to ten miles, and its length from thirty to forty miles; it
is estimated to contain 425,000 acres.  The surface is intersected by
numerous valleys, which generally occur at the outcrop or basseting edges
of the harder strata, and form channels for the numerous streams that are
tributary to the rivers in their vicinity.  The whole tract rises with a
gradual sweep from the foot of the Downs, and unites with the higher
lands of the Forest Ridge.

{21}  The Burrell Manuscripts were compiled by Sir William Burrell, a
great antiquarian, who for many years spared neither attention nor
expense in collecting and arranging the materials for preparing the
antiquities of Sussex; and the county looked for their completion with
the utmost solicitude.  The death of the worthy Baronet, unfortunately,
rendered it incomplete, and the ten folio volumes of his rare and scarce
manuscripts were deposited in the British Museum.  A tablet, by Flaxman,
to the memory of Sir William, adorns the wall of Cuckfield church.

{23}  To commemorate his appointment he had small copper tokens cast,
with "John Brooker, 1660," on them, and "Brighthelmston, J. B.," on the
obverse.  A specimen, of this coin, in the possession of the compiler of
this book, is in an excellent state of preservation.

{24}  In the Town Book the same name appears written Wigram and Wiggram.

{25}  _Anno_ 13 and 14 _Caroli_ II., cap. 12, sec. "XV.  And whereas the
Laws and Statutes for the apprehending of Rogues and Vagabonds have not
been duly executed, sometimes for want of Officers, by reason of Lords of
Manors do not keep Court-Leets every year for the making of them: Be it
therefore enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That in case any Constable,
Headborough, or Tythingmen shall dye or go out of the Parish, any two
Justices of the Peace may make and swear a new Constable, Headborough, or
Tythingman, until the said Lord shall hold a Court, or until next Quarter
Sessions, who shall approve of the said Officers so made and sworn as
aforesaid, or appoint others, as they shall think fit: And if any Officer
shall continue above a year in his or their Office, that then in such
case the Justices of Peace in their Quarter Sessions may discharge such
Officers, and may put another fit person in his or their place, until the
Lord of the said Manor shall hold a Court as aforesaid."

{26}  Veteres Rotuli Curi.

{28}  The first Town Book, or _Costumal of Brighthelmston_.  In
transcribing this book, the spelling is modernized.

{30a}  _Heak_ is still used in _Yorkshire_ for a certain net used in the
river _Ouse_.

{30b}  _Moxes_ we may suppose to be a corruption from the Dutch word
_maeschen_, mashes, and _fare_ from _fahre_, in the same language.
Indeed, most of the other technical words in the Town Books are derived
from the Teutonic, and were apparently introduced by the Flemish
emigrants who are supposed to have settled at Brighthelmston.

{30c}  Cock, from the Teutonic _cogge_, a small boat.

{39}  Second Town Book, or Costumal of _Brighthelmston_.

{40}  This was a larger contribution than the landmen had been used to
make.

{46}  Furlong, or Fortylong, from the French _quarante_, forty, a measure
of forty perches.

{47}  Part of this furlong was lost by the sea.

{48a}  Set off in February 1765: 22a. 1r. 27p.

{48b}  Set off in February 1773: 24a. 3r. 16p.

{48c}  Set off in February 1773: 24a. 3r. 26p.

{48d}  In the book 262 is written to cover both "Third Furlong" and
"Shepherd's Acre".  It's unclear whether this means they add up to 262,
or that they are both 262.--DP.

{53}  _Anno_ 18, _Elizabeth_, cap. 3. sec. 3.--And be it also enacted,
That if the said Justices of Peace do perceive, that the Inhabitants of
any Parish are not able to levy among themselves sufficient Sums of Money
for the Purposes aforesaid; that then the said Two Justices shall and may
tax, rate, and assess, as aforesaid, any other of other Parishes, or out
of any Parish within the Hundred where the said Parish is, to pay such
Sum and Sums of Money to the Churchwardens and Overseers of the said poor
Parish for the said purposes, as the said Justices shall think fit,
according to the Intention of this Law.

{65}  See quarter share in "Ancient Customs," page 34.

{67}  This was the storm which destroyed the Eddyston lighthouse.

{69}  Paul Dunvan, the author of "Lee's History of Lewes and
Brighthelmstone," published in 1795, was for some time an usher in the
Lewes Grammar School.

{73a}  See foot-note, page 47.

{73b}  Godwin's Rental of Brighthelmston Manor, made in 1665, _penes
Carolum Gilbert de Lewes Armis_.

{76}  Henry Hilton, who was commonly called Baron Hilton, is evidently
meant.  He died in the year 1648; and in the Town Book is the following
memorandum, in reference to the charity:--"Octr. 18th, 1704.  Direction
how to writ to Baron John Hylton, living at Hylton Castle, by way off
Durham, to be left at the post office in Sunderland by Sea."

{78a}  Over the front door of this house was a well painted
representation of a Ship in Distress, beneath which was the following
couplet:--

    "By danger we're encompass'd round;
    Pray, lend a hand, our ship's aground."

It may here be added that formerly, throughout the town, the public
houses had illustrated signs and poetic effusions.  Thus the "Bell," in
Russell Street, now the "Nelson," had for its sign, an inverted bell, and
the annexed inscription:--

    "Good liquor here is to be found;
    The Bell for luck's turn'd upside down."

{78b}  Day, in the Brighton vernacular, is pronounced dee; hence the
rhyme is preserved.

{85}  "This manor belonged to the Priory of Lewes, and at the
dissolution, 29 Hen. VIII., was granted to Sir Thomas Lord Cromwell, as
also the rectory, with the advowson of the vicarage."--Burrell MSS.

{89}  _Vide_, Quarter-Share, page 34.

{90}  Mr. Wagner, the father of the present Vicar, and son-in-law to the
Rev. Henry Michell, (Vicar), died at his house in Pall-Mall, London, on
Sunday the 17th of February, 1811.

{91a}  This organ is now stowed away as lumber, in one of the rooms of
the Royal Pavilion.

{91b}  Although, to many persons, the thus associating of a public-house
with the parish church may be considered somewhat out of character, the
annexed copy of manuscripts in the possession of the writer of this book,
will not only convince them that there is in some measure an affinity,
but it will in a degree stagger modern advocates of temperance, not so
much that men of the dates recorded indulged in their potations, but that
the Vestry Meetings of the time permitted the expenditure out of the
Church-rates.  Copy:--

                                    "White Hart, Russell Street, Brighton.

                          1824.  The Honourable Churchwardens of Brighton.

                                                         To Phinehas Jupp.

                                       s.      d.
March 25th.--61 Pots of Beer        1      10       6
         1 Pint do.                0       0       3
June 25th.--74 Pots of Beer         1      17       0
Sept. 29th.--89 Pots of Beer        2       4       6
Decr. 25th.--82 Pots of Beer        2       1       0
                                  7      13       3

                                                           Jany. 21, 1825.

    Received of the Churchwardens, the sum of seven pounds 13s 3d, as per
    bill, for Beer for workmen at the Parish Church.

    7 13s 3d.  Phinehas Jupp."

Whether the recipients were permitted to indulge in their libations. _ad
libitum_, is not on record.

{93}  A Narrative of Transactions relative to a Sermon preached in the
Parish Church of Brighton, August 18th, 1793, by Vicesimus Knox, D.D.
London: Printed for C. Dilly, in the Poultry, 1794.

{95}  In a note, the Doctor says:--"I have since been informed, that in
some pews, where a few of the military and their acquaintance were
seated, impatience was shewn by such whisperings as this: 'Will the
fellow never have done?'  A titter was also affected to conceal the
choleric affections; and fans played with motions as rapid as the tail of
an angry cat.  But I was unconscious of these symptoms of stifled rage."

{109}  Ancient name of Newhaven.

{110a}  The rock is still there, and is well known to mariners.

{110b}  A tradition is still held by the old inhabitants that a galley is
seen here in the offing before a storm.

{115}  A criminal information was moved in the Court of King's Bench,
against the publisher of the _Brighton Herald_, Mr. William Fleet, for
having, pending the investigation before the Coroner, published certain
matters which, it was alleged, tended to create a prejudice against
Messrs. Williams and White.  Lord Ellenborough observed, that the Court
felt itself bound in point of law to grant the rule, but thought it would
be advisable for the parties to stay where they were, and not carry the
proceedings farther.  His lordship expressed a wish that peace and
harmony might be restored to a town in which so much division appeared to
exist.  All parties concerned in the indiscreet affair were severely
lampooned in a poem called the "Battle of the Tar Tub," very few copies
of which are extant.

{118a}  The first spot ever set apart as a sacred burial-place,--namely,
the field of Ephron, bought by the patriarch Abraham,--was planted round
about with trees:--"The field and the cave that was therein, and all the
trees that were in the field, and in the borders round about, were made
sure unto Abraham for a possession."--_Genesis_ xxiii., 17.

{118b}  By reference to the signatures of the principal inhabitants to
the "Auncient Customs," Page 37, it will be seen that this is the
orthography of the name, as written by the son of the martyr.  And it is
fair to presume that at the time of his signature, 1580, he was a person
of no mean importance, and had a vanity that his name should be correctly
spelt, as he is the only person who inscribed to the document, that
prefixed _Mr._ to his signature.  Fox writes it Derrick.  The breweries
established next after Carver's, were the Ship Street Brewery, by
Wichelo, known in modern times as Wigney's Brewery, now no longer in
existence; and West Street Brewery, by Mighell, now the extensive
establishment of Messrs. Vallance & Catt.

{122}  This is erased by a mark of the pen being passed through it, in
the original.

{126}  Probably Steyning is here meant.

{130}  Colonel Phillips went for Charles on Sunday, 12th October; they
started on the 13th, and remained at Hambledon the night of the 13th.  On
the night of the 14th they slept at the George Inn (King's Head)
Brighton, from whence they departed at 2 a.m. on the 15th, arriving at
Fechamp at 10 p.m. of that day.

{134}  An abstract of the Sufferings of the People called Quakers, for
the Testimony of a Good Conscience.  London: The Bible, George Yard,
Lombard Street, 1733.

{137}  The Corporation and Test Act which prohibited a Non-Conformist
taking any Civil or Military office, was repealed May 8th, 1828.

{138}  Crosby's History of the English Baptists.

{181}  We have to record this week the death of, we believe, the oldest
inhabitant of Brighton, Mrs. Ackerson, who had reached her 97th year.
She was the widow of the late Mr. Robert Ackerson, who filled the offices
of High Constable, Overseer, Churchwarden, and Parish Assessor of
Brighton.  When Royalty smiled on this little fishing village, the not
least important of the Brighton fair was the wife of Bob Ackerson, whose
merits were prominently blazoned by one who loved the comforts of the
world,--no less a personage than Johnny Townshend, the celebrated
Bow-street runner, who lived, during the residence of the Prince in
Brighton, with the old Brightonian, at the corner of Duke Street, West
Street, where Royalty itself was wont to take a luncheon.  Cribbage was
ever a favourite game with her, and till within a few months of her death
her knowledge and play were as acute as ever.  She read much: the Bible,
the Book of Common Prayer, and the Sermons of the Rev. J. S. M. Anderson
being her universal favourites.  It is worthy of record that she was a
twin, the other infant, a boy, surviving but a few hours.  She was
childless; yet many an orphan will long revere her memory.  Nearly up to
the close of her long life Mrs. Ackerson was in possession of her
faculties; her hearing was not greatly impaired; her eye-sight was what
would be considered, for persons many years her junior, good; and her
recollection was astonishing.  She delighted to hold converse with
persons who taxed her memory, and would relate the reminiscences of her
youthful days with much glee.  She loved to talk of her old associations
in the early years of George IV.; and would do so with all the freshness
of a person in the prime of life.  She was a remarkably fine woman, and
her carriage was almost as erect just before she died as it had ever
been.  Perhaps so noble and firm a pattern of old age has scarcely been
witnessed.  During the last few years of her life she had resided with
her nephew, Mr. J. A. Erredge, on the London Road, to whose family she
was much attached.  We understand that she retained her recollection and
composure to the last, and died most tranquilly.--_Brighton Herald_, Feb.
10th, 1855.

Her baptism is thus recorded in the parish register of Pyecombe, Sussex,
the village in which she was horn:--December 26, 1758: Baptised Richard
and Jane, children of Robert Marchant and Sarah his Wife.

{200}  Mr. Bew, who afterwards lived in East Street, was dentist to
George IV., and, in conjunction with Mr. Frederick Vining, lessee of the
Theatre Royal Brighton.

{214}  A copy of the bill of the performance on this occasion is in the
possession of Alderman Martin.

{218}  By Francis Grose, Esq., F. A. S. London: Printed for S. Hooper,
No. 25, Ludgate Hill, 1775.--(Imp. 4to.)

{221}  Castle Square and Little Castle Square.

{222}  Vicar of Boldre near Lymington.  The book published by his
trustees for the benefit of his school at Boldre, and printed by T.
Cadell and W. Davies, Strand, London, 1804.  Imp, 8 vo. 136 pp.

{223}  Mrs. Hill's "Apology," for having been induced, by particular
desire, and the most specious allurements that could tempt female
weakness, to appear in the character of Scrub, Beau Strategem, for one
night only, at Brighthelmston, last year, 1786, when the Theatre was
applied for by the Honourable George Hanger, and engaged for that
purpose; with an address to Mrs. Fitzherbert.  Also, some of Mrs. Hill's
letters to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Mrs. Fitzherbert, and
others.  The denouement with events and remarks that may not be deemed
uninteresting to this nation at large.  By Mrs. Hill.

{241}  A Rural Ramble to Brighthelmstone, &c.  Printed for R. Thomas,
Brighthelmstone.

{249}  The year when the first Census was taken.

{257}  Master of the Household to His Royal Highness.  His appointment to
that office arose from the singular circumstance of the Prince enquiring
of Colonel Slade if he knew of any gentleman who played the violoncello?
The Colonel replied, that he knew only of Captain Bloomfield of the
Artillery.  "Bring him here to dinner," said His Highness, "and tell him
to bring his violoncello, and we'll play something."  The Captain
attended, and pleased the Prince, who desired him to call upon him the
next day.  He attended at the Pavilion accordingly and soon gained such
favour as to obtain the confidence of the Prince.  He was first made Sir
Benjamin, and afterwards Lord Bloomfield.

{260}  Appointed to the Regency, February 5th, 1811.

{261a}  Lade was in receipt of an annual pension of 100, as driving
tutor to His Royal Highness.  His wife, Lady Lade, who was born in
Luckner's Lane, St. Giles's, London, was one of the most abandoned women
of the Court.  She was for some time the mistress of the notorious
malefactor John Rann, known as "Sixteen Stringed Jack," who expiated his
crime upon the scaffold, at Tyburn.  The Duke of York then took her under
his protection, and he transferred her by marriage, to Sir John Lade.
Such was the style of language of this infamous woman, that when the
Prince of Wales wanted an object of comparison in the vulgar practice of
swearing, he was universally accustomed to say, "He swears like Letitia
Lade."  Some of the descendants of Sir John are still living, and reside
at Ovingdean.

{261b}  The Life, Adventures, and Opinions of Col. George Hanger, written
by himself.  Two volumes, 8vo.  London: Printed for J. Debrett,
Piccadilly, 1801.

{264}  The Observant Pedestrian Mounted, or a Donkey Tour to Brighton, a
Comic Sentimental Novel, in three volumes.  London: W. Simpkin and R.
Marshall, 1816.

{266}  Born Mary Anne Smythe (daughter of Walter Smythe, Esq., of
Bambridge, in the county of Hants), she was first married to Edward Weld,
Esq., of Lulworth Castle, Dorsetshire; secondly to Thomas Fitzherbert,
Esq., of Swinnerton, Staffordshire.  She was a second time a widow,
living on a handsome jointure, and greatly admired in society on account
of her beauty and accomplishments.

{271}  War at Brighton, or the Battle of The Tar Tub, a short November
Tale.  By Thomas Herbert.  London: John Rowe, Cornhill.

{272a}  The dinner took place at the Dolphin, now the Queen's Hotel.

{272b}  Williams, of the Royal Baths, High Constable.

{272c}  White, Castle Square.

{273}  Serjeant Runnington, chairman of the Brighton Bench of
Magistrates.

{313}  Contiguous was a headstone, whereon was the epitaph:--

    She in affliction bore a son,
    The milk forsook her breast,
    Her legs they mortified and run,
    But hope she's now at rest.

{315}  If the ships should discontinue to run on the beach, and go into
Shoreham Harbour or Newhaven, the Breakwater may be dispensed with, which
will save 3,000.

{325a}  The sale is by "Dutch Auction,"--doubtless introduced by the
Flemings,--the salesman offering his several lots at whatever price he
chooses, reducing it till a buyer says "have 'em," when the name of the
purchaser, and the price, are entered in the salesman's book, and the
fish are immediately transferred, but the payment is made after the
business of selling is over.  No sales are allowed to take place before
six o'clock in the morning, when the market is opened by the ringing of a
bell.

{325b}  In "Yarrell's History of British Fishes," mention is made that in
May, 1807, the first Brighton boat-load of mackarel sold at Billingsgate
for forty guineas per hundred--7s. each, reckoning six score to the
hundred; the highest price ever known in that market.

{325c}  The Lord of the Manor of Brighthelmston, by his reeve, is
entitled to the claim of the six finest mackarel from each boat, on its
landing.  A few years since some of the fishermen disputed this right,
but the Magistrates, on the appeal of the reeve, Mr James Henry Mills,
acknowledged and enforced the right.

{337}  London: Printed for Fielding and Walker, Paternoster Row; E,
Widgett, Brighthelmston; and W. Lee, Printer, Lewes, 1779.

{353}  Two volumes, folio, London, 1747.

{364}  Lady Selina Shirley, born 1717, married to Theophilus Earl of
Huntingdon, 3rd June, 1738, and died in 1799, aged 82.

{365}  An interesting circumstance was recorded in the census of 1851; it
was said there, concerning North Street Chapel, that it was a building
capable of holding a thousand people, but there were present on the
morning of the census eleven hundred.