counter with, to overcome which I have done every thing that lay in my power. Yet however much pains I have taken in this treatife to fuit myself to the capacity of the Vulgar, the Antiquarians will not find themselves wholly difappointed, fince they will meet with many particulars here entirely new, feveral of which have been inferted purpofely to attract their attention, and I cannot help thinking some of them will please. Through the whole hiftory I have been very careful to retain the old method of fpelling every name and place I met with in our records; and perhaps in tranflating I have fometimes injured the fenfe by too fcrupulously adhering to the original, which is not always the most elegant language, fince we frequently meet with deficiences there, even in point of grammar: But I did not think myself authorised to take any great liberties with the venerable remains of our ancestors, however unpolished and rude their stile might in fome places be, and how widely foever the spelling in one line might differ from that in a fucceeding one. It is very poffible also I may have fometimes erred in not adapting fuch words and terms as are ufed by our modern Lawyers; but in that I hope to have their pardon, if they find the fense preserved, which I prefume it every where is, unless fome little deviations be made from the original in tranflating the charter of King Henry VI. where many of the lawterms and phrafes are very puzzling and intricate. In the first book I have chiefly followed the authority of Bede's Eccclefiaftical Hiftory, which was wrote foon after the time when our Abbey was first built; the greatest part of my quotations in that book are from this venerable author; nay, I have almoft copied him verbatim in many places where no quotation-marks appear, especially in the life of Lady Hilda. However, that has not hindered me from confulting Ingulphus, William of Malmefbury, Simeon of Durham, John of Brompton, Camden, Verstegan, Leland, Dugdale, Burton, Heylin, Rapin, Speed, and several more of our Antiquarians, to whom proper regard has been had in many places of that book. The greatest part of the fecond book is extracted from the original records of our Abbey, where the numbers in the margin refer to the folio in the Abbot's book from whence each charter is taken; and those charters, where no numbers appear, are taken from infpeximus copies of the several originals to which they belong; the whole being at this prefent time, as well as the Abbot's bock, &c. in the poffeffion of Mr. Cholmley; fo that while thefe remain, no room can be left to doubt of the authenticity of what is to be found in the following fheets, efpecially that part thereof which is diftinguifhed by quotation-marks, it being tranflated almoft verbatim from the original Latin. As for the third book, it is alfo taken from original charters, memoirs, and records, of undoubted authority, lodged in different hands, fome of them with Mr. Cholmley and other gentlemen in the neighbourhood; fome belonging to the church, and fome procured from the Augmentation-Office, &c. in London. While the prefent ftate of Whitby has been wrote from my own obfervation and knowledge of the place, which is of fo many years standing, ftanding, that it may be looked upon as the compleateft part of the work; though here there was room for great additions and enlargements, and much more might have been faid, but fome may poffibly think I have already been too prolix. pro It will be neceffary here to inform the reader, that in the following hif tory I have every where rendered villa by the English word town, though in many places I am fenfible it fignifies no more than a village, and even fometimes a bamlet; but these are diftinétions that could not always be perly made, nor do I look upon it as a thing any way material; yet I must own the word village might have been ufed with much more propriety if (with fome writers) we only allow that place to be a town where a market is weekly held. As for nepos I have always tranflated it nephew, which I am pofitive is what it really fignifies in every one of our records. Fadum is almost every where rendered by the English word freehold. Whenever there was reason to doubt of the fenfe of any word or fentence, I have fet down the original Latin, that the reader may be enabled to judge for himself, and if he think proper to put another conftruction thereon, he may have an opportunity for fo doing. With regard to the measures of land that occur in this hiftory, we must obferve, that a toft fignifies the place where a house has formerly stood, and even sometimes where it still continues to ftand. A croft is a little clofe or garth adjoining to a toft. An oxgang is a variable quantity of land, feldom lefs than ten or more than twenty acres, but generally containing about twelve acres. Eight or ten oxgangs make a carucate of land; and ten carucates are deemed to be a Knight's fee, a quantity that made all fuch as formerly poffeffed it to be efteemed Knights, and they were accordingly taxed as fuch whenever the King stood in need of any fupplies. Frequent mention is alfo made in this hiftory of Canons and Monks; to diftinguish which we must here obferve, that a Monk was a religious perfon belonging to fome Abbey, whereas a Canon was fuch a one as only lived in a Priory. Many other obfervations might be added here with regard to particular words and things; but the intelligent reader will either be able to discover their fignification from his own knowledge, or else from confulting a good dictionary; and therefore I fhall not take up his time in explaining more of them at prefent. In thofe ages when our Monaftery flourished, an image or fhrine of St. Ninian stood in St. Mary's church, to which many devout chriftians came in pilgrimage, and offered up confiderable fums to have the benefit of that Saint's prayers; so that we find in the summer season of the year 1394, the Monks of Whitby received no less than four pounds fourteen fhillings from St. Ninian's box, and in the winter feafon following two pounds four fhillings and four pence; which in those days, when money was fcarce, were very confiderable fums. This. Ninian was a Briton born, who lived before the time of the Saxons coming into England, and had his education at Bangor. He afterwards went to Rome, where (fays Bede) he was perfectly inftructed in the the mysteries of the chriftian religion; and, on returning to his native country, converted the Picts (who lived near the borders between England and Scotland) to the faith of Chrift. He built a church among them ad Candidam Cafam, or Kirkcudbright, after a different form from what the Britons had been accuftomed to build churches, where being established Bishop, he spent all the remaining part of his life, and finally at his death was interred there, being afterwards canonized, on account of his holiness, and the many extraordinary miracles which were generally believed to have been wrought by him. His feftival is obferved annually by the church of Rome on the 16th day of September. There was also another Saint, called Lothwick, in confiderable repute at Whitby, of whom I know no other particulars than that the care of their horfes was committed to him, and that for this charge he had eight pence paid him yearly by the Convent of Whitby. As for the rife of furnames in and about Whitby, much more might be added to what is contained in the following fheets. The Monks, in the year 1390, had a huntfrnan named Roger, whom they always called Roger Hunter; and from him, as it appears to me, the family of the Hunters derive their original. There lived also soon after this, at Whitby, a tanner whofe name was William, to whom the Monks fold the fkins of all thofe animals they ufed; and, to enable him to tan them properly, they fold him yearly a confiderable quantity of bark, from whence he is every where in our records denominated William le Barker; and he, I apprehend, was the first ancestor of the Barkers. It would be tedious here to mention all the furnames that have originated about Whitby; but I cannot forbear adding, that the families of the Harwoods, the Dales, and the Langdales, are derived from the several places that bear those names; the Moors, from living on the edge of the moor; the Coates, from living at the fheep-cotes the Monks had; the Forefters or Forfters, from the place they held under the Abbot and Convent; as alfo the Palfraymans, the Horfemans, the Waynemans, the Baileys, the Candelers, the Monkmans, the Saddlers, the Brewers, the Coupers, the Bakers, the Smiths, the Mafons, and the Slaters, all of which names originated at Whitby about four hundred years ago, being fo denominated from their several employments, though it is poffible fome of thofe very names might have the like original alfo in other parts of England. Several of the names given by the Monks to thofe employed under them feem, however, to have failed, and never became hereditary; as John Parfonman, John Cowbird, John Swinebird, Robert Fisshoufe, John Barkerman, and others. As for the Allat fons, we find them feated in Fyling-Dales, anno 1390; but I am of opinion they then poffeffed no freehold there, the whole parish at that time belonging to the Monastery of Whitby. Our rolls fay, that the Monks, in the year 1394, fold a pig to John Alanfon for one fhilling; alfo, that they bought of John Elotfon eight barrels of pitch for twenty feven fhillings, and paid him for a rope or cord (pro corda empta) four fhillings and fixpence, likewife, that in the year 1396, they paid John Allotfon fix fhillings and eight pence for bringing them forty cart load of peats; two fhillings and three pence halfpenny for cutting wood eleven days in Fyling-Dales; two fhillings and two pence halfpenny more for cutting wood there ten days and a half; and ten pence for carriage of wood. How far these articles fhew John Allatfon to have been a gentleman, I leave the candid reader to judge; but muft obferve, that this is the earliest mention I any where find made of that family in our records. As to one of this Allatfon's fore-elders being concerned more than two hundred years before in killing a Hermit in Eskedale chapel, as mentioned in the legend which we have inferted in page 125 of this hiftory, I cannot help thinking it abfolutely false: If fuch an event had really happened, there must at one time or other have been an account thereof put in our records, from whence that legend ought to have been extracted: But no fuch memoir is now to be met with; and it is very strange that neither Dugdale, who examined our records anno 1640, nor Camden, who perused them about the year 1595, nor even Leland, who was commiffioned and sent on purpose to search them while our Abbey was standing and in all its glory, fhould have had the good fortune to meet with this memoir, if such a memoir ever really existed. Our Abbey keeps continually mouldering away, and has within these fifty years laft paft gone greatly to decay; but never did it receive fo rude a fhock as from a ftorm of wind which happened in the night of December 2, 1763, when the whole western wing was overfet, and tumbled down to the very foundation, though fupported by at least twenty ftrong gothic pillars and arches, nothing being left ftanding therein but the north wall of the cloifters, and a part of the weft end-wall. Enough of the Abbey yet remains to make it an excellent fea-mark; but it will not continue fo for many ages, the whole being in fo ruinous a condition that in another hundred years it must be entirely reduced to a heap of rubbish. When I first began to write the following fheets, it was my defign to add thereto a map of Whitby-Strand; but I have fo far exceeded the limits then propofed, that I find this cannot poffibly be done, and therefore must beg leave to refer the reader for what information he wants with regard to the face of the country, or fuch places thereof as are mentioned in this history, to Jeffrey's or fome other good map of Yorkshire, which will be of confiderable fervice to him, though he must not in any of them expect to find all these bounders and antient villages mentioned in our records. I must not conclude this preface without expreffing the obligations. I am under to the very ingenious and learned Dr. Pery, who, in the moft friendly and polite manner, has communicated to me feveral particulars contained in the following hiftory, which otherwife in all probability would never have come to my knowledge. Page 5, line 36, for and who alone it was miraculously preferved him, read and who alone it was had fo miraculously preserved him P. 34, 1. 21, for Oftfer read Oftfor. P. 40, 1. 15, for Lincolnshire read Lancashire. P. 51, in the 4th line of the note, put out ever. P. 69, 1. 40, for Overbury read Overby. P. 80, 1. 28, for William fon of Waloon, read William fon of a Waloon. P. 97, 1. 35, for thirty read fifty. P. 107, 1. 30, for Bibroc read Bilroc. P. 161, 1. 13, for John the Lord, read John Lord. P. 164, 1. 45, for warrant, read warranted. P. 165, 1. 1, for thereto, read hereto. P. 262, 1. 35, for II oystirs, read IIM oystirs. DIRECTIONS for placing the CUTS. The plan of Whitby to be placed fronting the title page. The fouth-eaft profpect of the Abbey to be placed at the beginning of Book II. fronting The other two cuts to be placed at the beginning of Book III. but fronting towards |