Rebuilt by Act of Parliament. families were entirely reduced to ashes: and the damage was estimated at above £120,000. Subscriptions for the relief of the wretched inhabitants were immediately set on foot at Coventry, Birmingham, Worcester, and other places; and further relief was speedily obtained, by means of briefs,* from all parts of the kingdom. The town was afterwards rebuilt, by Act of Parliament, in a more commodious and handsome form, partly of freestone, from the rock, on which it stands. This calamity, therefore, as in many other similar instances, however dreadful at the time, has greatly contributed, in the result, to the regularity, the beauty, and the conveniency of the town; and thus to the health, the accommodation, and the comfort, of all its succeeding inhabitants. One of these briefs, which bears date Dec. 9, 1694, still remains, in the pos session of WILLIAM STAUNTON, Esq. of Longbridge. Martial Tournaments at Warwick forbidden. CHAP. II. Kemarkable Occurrences. INTENDED Martial Tournaments at Warwick, in the Reign of Henry 111. forbidden-a Round Tuble held here in the Reign of Edward 1. -Decapitation of Gaveston on Blacklow Hill-Celebration of the Order of St. Michael at St. Mary's-Death of the Marquis of Northampton at the Priory-Visit of Queen Elizabeth-of James I.-of William III.-The Castle beseiged during the Civil Wars-Battle near Southam the Castle relieved-Battle of Edge Hill. To the short abstract, given in the preceding chapter, of the early history of Warwick, we subjoin the following notice of some remarkable events, connected with it. In the reign of HENRY III. a numerous meeting of the Barons and others was intended to be held at Warwick, for the purpose of exercising themselves in martial tournaments, and other feats of arms. But this meeting, from an apprehension of danger to the public peace, was prohibited, by letters patent addressed to the Priors of Kenilworth, and to those of St. Sepulchre's in Warwick. A similar meeting was again proposed, and again prohibited, in the 57th year of the same reign. In the reign of EDWARD I. who was one of the most accomplished knights of his time, the spirit of chivalry revived, and those assemblies, called Round Tables, were not unfrequently convened.* One of these,|| HENRY V. 381. Hist. Reg. p. 203. Round Tables-Gaveston beheaded at Blacklow-Hill. according to Rous, was held with great splendour at Warwick, in the year 1281; when crowds of natives and foreigners flocked together, from all parts, to be present on the great occasion. That either this or another similar meeting was held here seems also probable, from the curious Compoti Roll of the Collegiate Church, made in the 5th EDWARD IV. in which 20 shillings is accounted for "de firma cujusdam pastur' voc' le Rownde Table." It must be admitted, however, that a piece of ground might be called by the name of Round Table, without absolutely proving that an assembly of the kind in question was ever convened in that place. In the year 1312, PIERS DE GAVESTON, the vain and haughty favourite of Edw. II. fell a victim to the envy and hatred, he had so vehemently and even justly excited. Closely besieged by the Barons, in the Castle of Scarborough, whither he had fled for refuge, he was obliged to capitulate, and surrendered himself into the hands of the Earl of Pembroke, on the faith of certain conditions which were afterwards, totally disregarded. From Scarborough, the unfortunate GAVESTON was conveyed to Deddington Castle, near Banbury; where, being purposely left in the custody of a feeble and faithless guard, he soon found himself assailed by GUY DE BEAUCHAMP, Earl of Warwick, one of his most furious and implacable enemies. That nobleman, indeed, besides other causes of complaint in common with the rest of the Barons, had received a particular and personal affront, from the insolent favourite, who usually designated him, from his This ancient document is now in the possession of WILLIAM HAMPER, Esq. of Birmingham. It is beautifully written on parchment,12 yards long and 12 inches wide. Order of St. Michael celebrated at St. Mary's. swarthy complexion, by the name of the "black dog of Arden." On the 17th of June, the Castle of Deddington was suddenly attacked: little or no resistance was attempted; the miserable captive was seized and carried to Warwick Castle; whither the Earls of Lancaster, Hereford, and Arundel, the heads of the party leagued against him, instantly repaired. After some consultations, it was agreed to put their prisoner to death, as a public enemy, without the slightest regard to the faith of express agreement, or to the forms established by law. Accordingly on the first of July, the wretched GAVESTON was conducted to Blacklow Hill, about a mile from Warwick; and there, in the presence of his cruel and relentless foes, who beheld the horrid spectacle with savage delight, his head was severed from his body.* Cut in the rock, near the summit of the hill, are still to be seen his name, and the year of his death: but the inscription is evidently of much later date than the event it records. IN the year 1566, the Order of St. Michael, instituted in France, was, by special favour of CHARLES XI. conferred on two English noblemen, who had been selected for this high honour, by QUEEN ELIZABETH herself; and of these, as might have been expected, one was her great favourite, ROBERT DUDLEY, Earl of Leicester. In the following year, this nobleman, resolved to gratify his piety or vanity by the celebration of that Order in the Collegiate Church of Warwick. On this occasion, the Bailiff and Burgesses were invited to attend the Earl: who, from the Priory, where at that time he lodged, THOMAS'S Dugdale's Warw. p. 273. • DUGDALE'S Bar. vol. ii. p. 44. HUME vol. II. p. 336. Death of W. Parr-Visit of Queen Elizabeth. went in grand procession, accompanied by a numerous train of noblemen, and a vast concourse of people, to the Church; and here, with solemn pomp and stately shew, the intended ceremony was performed. A circumstantial account of this ceremony, of which some further notice will be taken hereafter, is preserved in a curious manuscript, called The Black Book, written by an eye witness, which is still in the possession of the Corporation. SHORTLY after the conclusion of this splendid ceremony, at which he had assisted, died suddenly, at the Priory, WILLIAM PARR, Marquis of Northampton, the brother of CATHERINE PARR, the last of the numerous Queens of HENRY VIII. He was buried in the chancel of Warwick Church; and the account of his funeral forms the second article in The Black Book. A third and a more interesting article is an account of the visit of QUEEN ELIZABETH" in her highnesse's person," to the town, which took place on Monday, Aug. 12, 1572. Her Majesty had dined that day, at the house of EDWARD FISHER, at Long Itchington; whence, on account of the bad state of the direct road, through Teachbroke and Myton, she was obliged to travel round by Chesterton and Oakley; and, at a place, called Fourd Myl Hill, she was met, in due form, by the Bailiff and principal Burgesses, attended by EDWARD AGLIONBY, the Recorder, MR. GRIFFYN, Master of Leicester Hospital, and others. About three o'clock, her Majesty arrived at the spot, attended by Lady Warwick in the same coach; and, in other carriages, by all her great officers of state, See the Account of the Priory. |