a paper on the history of the Castle (of which a plan, and the survey made in 1592, were given in our June magazine); and Mr. Harrod, Secretary of the Norfolk Archæological Society, gave an explanation of the excavations. Papers were read by the Hon. R. Neville, on "Roman Sepulture;" and by Professor Marsden, on a manuscript volume, which he discovered some time ago in the Castle library at Colchester. The book was without name or title, but upon examination it proved to be a diary of the youthful days of Sir Simonds D'Ewes, in his own handwriting, about 1618-1621. Mr. R. Almack read an account of the arms and quarterings on an ancient oak bedstead at Hedingham Castle, showing it to have belonged to the 15th Earl of Oxford, and his wife Elizabeth, heiress of the Trussells. He also explained the arms on the tomb of this Earl and his wife in the church of Hedingham, showing how the different quarterings were brought in, and giving a reference to the Chichele pedigree, as to the numerous descendants of this Earl and Countess who claim from her as founder's kin at All Souls' College, Oxford. He next made reference to the arms of three crowns granted for life to the Earl of Oxford, who was Duke of Ireland, and as now to be seen on the porch of Lavenham Church. Mr. Almack also produced a thick old book-a singular manuscript by William Tillotson, in 1594, which had been entrusted to him by the Society of Antiquaries, and which Peter Muilman, esq. presented to the Society in 1771; and the contents of which relate, in several instances, to Hedingham and the neighbourhood. Mr. Buckler then read an interesting paper on the Church of Maplestead, and the only three other circular churches existing in the kingdom. The company adjourned about five o'clock, and proceeded to inspect, first the excavations about the castle, and subsequently the church of Castle Hedingham, and dined at the Bell Inn.

SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.

Aug. 3. Mr. W. H. D. Longstaffe, of Gateshead, read the first portion of an historical memoir of "the New Castle upon Tyne :" of which the following are the leading points. During the Roman period a cohort was stationed at the bridge of Ælius, being the second body of men per lineam valli. In the Saxon times the king's wick, Ad Murum, was somewhere close to the Roman Wall, and twelve miles from the sea. There was also, in the time of the Conqueror, on the north side of the Tyne, a place called Munecaceastre, "that is (says Simeon of Durham) Monachorum

Civitas-now named Novum Castellum." In 1080 Robert Curthose, having undertaken a fruitless enterprise against Malcolm of Scotland, returned, and built "Novum Castellum super flumen Tyne " (Simeon), a municiuncula (Hoveden), that it might be a resistance against the Scots (Major). In 1086, the clito Edgar Etheling, the brother of St. Margaret (of Scotland), crossed the sea to Apulia with 200 milites. His sister Christina entered the monastery of Ramsey, and took upon her the habit of a nun. Fordun found it written, that Agatha, the mother of St. Margaret, and Christina her sister, were consecrated the spouses of Christ at Novum Castrum super Tyne. In 1090, according to several chronicles, when William Rufus was in Northumberland he repaired such castles as the Scots had impaired, and built (or finished) the New Castle upon Tyne. In 1095 Rufus took money of the nobles attached to Mowbray's rebellion in quadam firmitate quæ vocatur Novum Castellum; and Mowbray himself was taken in attempting to escape from Bamburgh hither. One of William's charters is dated at the siege of Newcastle. In Stephen's reign, King David of Scotland is said by Wynton to have dwelt commonly in the New Castell. The borough of Newcastle, and the castle itself, are in the early rolls invariably styled Novum Castellum, not Castrum. In Bishop Poictou's charter to Gateshead, some time afterwards, Castrum is struck out, and Castellum inserted. In translating the records, Mr. Longstaffe renders Novum Castellum without the article "the," and leaves the application to town or castle open. In modern parlance the article would point to the castle, and might deceive. In 1166, as appears by the Pipe Rolls, the sum of 100s. was expended on a gaol at New Castle. In 1172 commences a series of items for the work of the tower of New Castle, amounting in 1177, after a lapse of six years, to 8927. 188. 9d. In 1175 the work appears to have been sufficiently advanced to be useful, for in 1176 occurs the first payment for custody of New Castle. After the tower was completed there was paid, in 1178, 801. 178. 1d. for the work of New Castle, and of the gate of the same castle. In subsequent years occur frequent payments in respect of New Castle, and the emendation of the houses of the king therein. In 1205 and 1206 we have in the Pipe Rolls "the Castle of New Borough ;" but in both cases the innovation is erased. In 1212-13, the see of Durham being vacant, King John mulcted its revenues in the sum of 1327. 188. 11d. for work of New Castle, and of the tower and of the fosses; and in

the same year the king gave his escheat rents in the town (57. 10s. 6d.) to be divided amongst those "who lost their rents by the reason of the fosse, and of the new work made below the Castle towards the water."

In 1240 we come, for the first time, to the payment of a fee (50s.) to "a chaplain serving the chapel of New Castle," the English name then first occurring. In 1292, Dec. 26, John Baliol did homage to Edward I. for the crown of Scotland, in the hall of the palace within the castle of Newcastle. In 1317 or 18 the body of Gilbert de Midelton was ordered to be quartered, and one quarter sent to New Castle; and in 1323, one quarter of the body of Andrew de Hartcla, the traitor Earl of Carlisle, was ordered to be fixed upon the tower of the Castle. Early in 1334 the sheriff Roger Mauduit represented to the king's council that the Castle was in sore decay, and all the country, as it were, at war. In June 1334 (8 Edw. III.), an important survey, in Norman French, of which the Newcastle Society has lately obtained a transcript from the Tower of London, was made before John de Denton and a jury, and it describes the various features of the Castle, with their defects then requiring repair. In 1357, the "great pit" and the "heron pit" (which were not subterranean, but encased in the unwindowed masonry of the towers in which they were respectively situated,) were repaired by the sheriff. The prisoners in those "pits were let down through trap-doors; and in the year just named the loft floor of the "great pit" had suddenly fallen in, and "nearly killed those who were imprisoned beneath." Some of the prisoners escaped during the night, while the repairs were in progress, by breaking through sedem latrine. The bolts and locks of the trap-doors were made of" Spanish iron," a common article of commerce in that day. It was at this time that new gallows were erected within the Castle; and William de Whitburn made 3 pair of manicles and 3 great bolts" for the Castle stocks. In 1528 the heads and quarters of seventeen Border thieves were "caused to be sett up upon the dungeon of the Castell of Newcastell, and in sundry other eminent and open places most apparent to the view and sight of the people." Mention is made, in 1556, of the "assyse in the hye Castell." In 1587 "Gilbert Heron, gent. prisoner in the high Castle," was buried at St. Nicholas. In 1589 Queen Elizabeth, reciting the inconveniences arising from disreputable persons evading punishment by escaping into "an old and ruinous Castle," situate within the town, but without its liberties, and that the said old Castle GENT, MAG, VOL. XL.

and the inclosed circuit, precinct, and ambit thereof, were of no further use than for a prison or common gaol for the county of Northumberland, and for the common hall called the "Moat Hall," or "Hall of Sessions," of that county, gives licence of entry into the inclosure of the Castle, and the houses and mansions within its ambit, circuit, and precincts, except only her gaol there, popularly called the " Dungeon," to seize and punish malefactors, and commit them to the gaol of the town. From 1605 to 1616 the Castle was farmed by the Newcastle Company of Taylors at 17. rent. In 1618, James I. leased the Castle for fifty years, with its site and herbage, at the annual rent of 40s. to one of his countrymen, Alexander Stephenson, a page of his bedchamber. At this period, as appears by the Milbanke M.S., there were but two houses in the Castle inclosure outside the gate; and inside were the gaoler's and the deputy herald's under Norroy King at Arms; but Stevenson, who had begged the Castle of the king," being one of his Close Stool," licensed various erections-" Jordan, a Scotsman, and sword kipper," and "Thomas Reed, a Scotch pedlar," becoming, with others, inhabitants of the garth. Surrounding the inclosure was "a great stone wall." In the 18th year of James I. the dunghill within the wall had increased to a length of 98 yards, a breadth of 32 yards, and a depth of 10 yards! This enemy within the camp, more formidable than some enemies without, threw down the wall on the west side of the Castle, although two yards thick! The damage was computed at 1207. The inquisition disclosing these facts, likewise represents "the great square tower" to be "full of chinks and crannies "-" one-third of it almost taken away "-"all the lead and covering which it had of old, imbezzled and carried off, insomuch as the prisoners of the county of Northumberland were most miserably lodged, by reason of the showers of rain falling upon them." The Castle was fortified against the Scots in 1643-44; and the monster dunghill was removed by the mayor, Sir John Marley, to rampart the town walls. The year 1777 found the lease of the Castle garth in the hands of Lord Ravensworth, who sold it to John Chrichloe Turner in 1779 and he, in 1782, offered to let the Castle for conversion into a windmill-suggesting at the same time that as there was "a good spring of water" within the building, it was "a very eligible situation for a brewery!" The Half Moon Battery was pulled down in 1787, and was found to be of an octagonal figure," and apparently, "as regarded its masonry, essentially Roman." 2 Q

tion, under a charter granted by the legislature to a company calling themselves the "Association for the Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations;" but the stock is distributed into so many hands, that it gains much of the character of a national undertaking. The building is entirely constructed of iron and glass; its general idea is a Greek Cross, surmounted by a dome at the intersection. Each diameter of the cross is 365 feet long, and each arm of the cross is on the ground plan 149 feet broad, divided into a central nave and aisles. The central portion is carried up to the height of 67 feet: the central dome is 100 feet in diameter, and on the outside, with the lantern, 149 feet high. The exterior angles of the building are ingeniously filled up with a triangular lean-to, 24 feet high, which gives the ground plan an octagonal shape. At each angle is an octagonal tower 8 feet in diameter, and 75 feet high. The building contains, on the ground floor, 111,000 square feet of space, and in its galleries 62,000 square feet more, making a total area of 173.000 square feet, for the purposes of exhibition.

On the 15th of July a destructive earthquake took place at Cumana, in Venezuela. A great part of the city is in ruins, and about 800 persons were estimated to have perished, among whom was Colonel Paez and a company of artillery. The

disaster is said to have put a stop to the civil war.

The blockade of Buenos Ayres ceased on June 20, by Urquiza's squadron going over to the legal government. Urquiza's resources are said to be quite exhausted, and there appears a prospect of a return of peace to this unfortunate locality.

From India we hear that the King of Ava has made submission and begged for peace. This result has been brought about by the blockade of the river Irawaddy, which had nearly caused a famine in Burmah. The British Government is to be confirmed in the possession of Pegu, and the army has been ordered to be placed on a peace establishment.

Sir Charles Grey has been recalled from the government of Jamaica. He is succeeded by Henry Barkly, esq. whose administration of British Guiana under circumstances of similar difficulty has been signally successful.

The accounts from the Cape of Good Hope continue peaceful. The new constitution was legally promulgated on the 1st of July, and appears to give satisfaction to the colonists.

The gold diggings of Australia continue as productive as ever. All prices, especially at Port Philip, have risen enormously, and great distress has been experienced by newly-arrived emigrants.

July 27. A large circus or amphitheatre upwards of 270 feet in circumference, which had been erected in the gardens of the Rosemary-Branch, in Islington fields, was destroyed by fire. Its erection had cost between 30007. and 4000/.

On the same day the streets of London presented an extraordinary appearance, in consequence of the total withdrawal of the public Cabriolets, which are now 3000 in number. It occasioned very great inconvenience at the railway stations. The

object of the proprietors was to make better terms in the Public Carriages Bill then pending in Parliament. The strike continued for four days, when, on the evening of the 30th of July, the Committee of the Trade came to a resolution to resume their work. The government conceded the principal point of their demands, namely, a back-fare for distances beyond four miles in a radius from Charing cross. The fare for two persons is reduced to 6d. a mile, with an additional 6d. for the whole hiring for every person above

two, and two children are to be considered as one adult person. The proprietor of every hackney carriage or metropolitan stage-carriage who shall withdraw his carriage from hire for two consecutive days in one week, without just cause, will be liable to a penalty of 20s. for each day, and the licence to be suspended, or recalled, at the discretion of the Commissioners of Police. In case a proprietor intends to withdraw his cab from hire, he must previously give ten days' notice.

Aug. 1. Judgment was given in the case of the Earl of Guildford, Master of the Hospital of St. Cross, near Winchester. The Master of the Rolls described the Consuetudinarium of 1696, on which the charity had since been administered on, as one of the most nefarious deeds the court had ever seen,-a most wicked and shameful perversion of benevolent intentions; and said that his judgment should this time be clear and unmistakeable. An injunction must be granted to restrain the granting of any leases or

fines of the property of the charity, and an inquiry would be directed as to the leases now existing, and as to the present state of the institution and the appropriation of its funds. The court could not go further back in calling for accounts than the filing of the information. From that time, however, the master would be called upon to account for all the rents received by him, and for the expenses of keeping the buildings in repair, &c. The master would not be called upon to pay costs, but he would not, of course, receive any. The costs of the Bishop of Winchester would come out of the funds.

On the same day the Master of the Rolls also gave judgment in the case of the Ewelme Hospital, which was to determine whether the right of presentation to the mastership rested in the Crown or in the University of Oxford, or in the Earl of Macclesfield, who, in 1821, purchased the manor of the Crown. James I. had granted by letters patent the right of presentation to the University of Oxford. This right had not been disturbed, and the judgment of the court must be that in the University it still continued, and that a scheme for the better managemnt of the Charity should be referred to the Master.

Aug. 3. A hall erected in Thurland Street, Nottingham, was formally opened by the Mayor and Corporation as a General Exchange. A public dinner afterwards took place, at which the members for the town, Mr. Walter and Mr. Cheetham, were present.

Aug. 11. Queen Victoria reviewed a great war-flect at Spithead, in the presence of a floating crowd which fairly represented the English nation,-its most spirited gentry in their yachts; its flourishing traders in the commercial steamers; its sturdy sailors in their own ships; and the two Houses of Parliament in vessels specially assigned to them. In the last experimental squadron of 1845 there was but one screw steamer. Of the twenty-five ships assembled on this occasion three were great ships-of-the-line of the old construction, nine were propelled by paddles, thirteen by screw. There were no less than 1076 guns, the smallest 32-pounders, but as large as the largest used in the great seafights by which our ancestors won the sovereignty of the seas. The largest throw 84-pound shells, which would be 104pounders if solid shot were used; and the frightful destructiveness of these missiles may be imagined, exploding on concussion according to Captain Moorsom's recent invention. There were employed the power of 9680 horses, (nominally, but in reality nearly double that amount,) 40,207 tons of shipping, and ships' companies that

The

should altogether have amounted to 10,423 hands, although the actual numbers probably fell short of that by 1000. weight of force embodied in such a fleet is perhaps only paralleled by the range to which its operations can now extend, and by the increase to the rapidity and certainty of its movements. Over this machine, gigantic in its dimensions and power, the commanding mind is enabled to carry its control to every part, by a perfection of discipline and training, animated with a hearty and obedient intelligence. There is not the slightest reason to suppose that the race of Englishmen endowed with naval genius, which has been ever found when wanting, from the day of Blake to that of Nelson, is extinct; but never yet did any Nelson wield in his hand so suggestive a machinery.

The Military Camp at Chobham was broken up on Saturday the 20th August, the total number of 16,000 men, in two divisions, having been exercised there during the summer. The General Commanding in Chief has conveyed to Lieut.Gen. Lord Seaton and the officers and men the Queen's approbation of their military training on all the occasions when Her Majesty passed the troops in review, and his own satisfaction at the perfect state of discipline which they have exhibited.

Aug. 14. A fearful fire occurred at Dover, on the premises of Messrs. Walker and Co. oil-merchants and seed-crushers, situate under the cliffs. The heat of the flames detached large masses of chalk, and it was feared that many persons had been crushed by their fall: but the alarm fortunately proved groundless.

Aug. 15. A very serious accident occurred in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, where the works were proceeding for the great arches intended to span the North transept. They are of 120 feet span, and the men were at work at the height of 102 feet from the floor. The trusses had been erected for seven arches, and two arches were already in their place. The latter remained firm, but the fifth, sixth, and seventh trusses suddenly gave way, carrying with them about twenty men, of whom ten were killed on the spot, and two others have since died in Guy's Hospital. One man escaped without any serious injury. Two coroner's inquests have returned verdicts of Accidental Death. None of the engineers or workmen who have been examined have been able to assign a cause for the accident, all the materials and workmanship being pronounced of the best description. Sir Charles Fox stated that he had previously raised arches of greater span (265 feet) on a permanent bridge of the Great Northern Railway.