have a notion that here was a monastery. This might be the hospital11 of St. Nicholas founded by one of the Bruse family in 1185 and granted afterward by Alan de Wilton to the canons of Helagh Park.

At the west end of the town Mr. Farmer has a house and pleasant walks from it on the hanging ground over the river. This is called the Frerie and here also they suppose there was a convent. And without doubt it was the house of the Black Friars founded by Peter de Brus the II. who died in 1271.

I went on from Yarum and left the Gisborough road to go to Stokesly through Hilton where there is a small old church with a Saxon door case and windows; and by Semer, where there is likewise a small old church with Saxon windows, that is, narrow arched windows without any carved work.

Stokesly12 is a small market town on Levenbee (sic) which runs in a beautifull glyn richly adorned with wood. The town consists of one well built street. They have a good Gothic church fitted up with carved seats, there is a singular old font, something in the shape of a bell inverted. They have a very great fair here for black cattle. Here a certain writer saies (but he is mistaken in the place) the famous battle of the Standard was fought, which Standard was never erected except when the kingdom was in great danger. In this bloody battle David King of Scotland was defeated by Tunstal, Archbishop of York, who was King Stephen's lieutenant. This battle was fought near North-Allerton. The Standard was a mast, on the top of which they placed a silver pix with a consecrated host, and the banners of St. Peter and St. John Beverley.

I went on to Gisborough through a very pleasant country, and near the Cleveland hills the foot of which is improved in fields and roads. All this road from Yarum is mostly a clay ground without stones; the roads in winter are excessive bad; and they have narrow paved cause-ways for one horse. We had left the Leven and came to another small river on which Gisborough, called by historians Gisburne, stands most beautifully situated, about four miles from the sea, encompassed with an amphitheatre of hills, beautified with woods. It is a poor town of one street, and the houses are mostly thatched; however they have a manufactory of sail-cloth. Robert de Brus who came over with the Conqueror and (sic) who gave him one and fifty manors in this Riding, by the advice and importunity of Pope Calixtus the II., and of Thurston Arch-bishop of York founded here, in 1129, a most noble monastery13 of canons of St. Austin, and

11 For an account of the Austin Hospital at Yarm, see Dugdale, Monasticon, vol. vi., part ii., p. 636, where is printed the charter of Peter de Brus.

12 The name of the river is the Leven. see Graves, History of Cleveland, p. 222.

For an account of Stokesley,

13 The Guisbrough Chartulary, ed. by Mr. William Brown, is given in Nos. 86 and 89 of this series. In the introduction to these respective volumes there may be found the history of the priory of Austin Canons.

was buried in it; and it became the burial place of most of the nobility of these parts. There is nothing of it remaining but part of the enclosure, and the grand east end of the church which seems to be a building of much later date than the foundation. The window is exceeding beautifull and lofty, and what is particular, over it is another broad Gothic window. There are two buttresses on each side in that to the south a false Gothic window is cut in relief. The historian Walter de Hemingford was of this monastery. It now belongs to the Chaloners I suppose descended from Sir Thomas Chaloner, tutor to Prince Henry, who discover'd the alum mines here, which are not now worked. It was granted to him14 in the time of Edward VI. A large house is built out of the materials of the monastery. There is a good Gothic parish church to the north of the abbey, the arches of which are supported with octagon pillars. On the shore at the bottom of the rocks, under Huntley Nab, they find many of the round stones which contain the Cornu Ammonis; and at the first clift (sic) they find coperas15 stones and pyrites.

As in these northern parts they draw with oxen and horses before them, two and two, so here, when the roads are bad, they draw with four oxen and two horses before them.

Upon all this coast from Sunderland they have a boat called a coble, it is flat bottomed, in order to land on the strands, has a flat keel arm'd with iron towards the head, where it mostly wears, and a rib, nailed along the bottom on each side from the head almost the whole length, to defend the bottcm; it is cut off at the stern, so as to be about 18 inches broad, and 'tis said they endure the sea better than a sharp bottom'd boat.

14 The site of the monastery of Guisbrough and lands adjacent were granted 31 Oct., 1550, by Sir Thomas Challoner, knight, and Dame Joan, his wife, and his heirs. He was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, 20 Oct., 1565. There is an excellent pedigree of Chaloner of Guisborough in Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, with additions, ed. J. W. Clay, vol. ii. (1907), p. 230. Mr. Brown points out a curious account of Guisbrough and the neighbourhood conceived in very inflated language in a letter written about 1640, printed in the Topographer and Genealogist, vol. 1., p. 403.

15 The discovery of the copperas of commerce is ascribed to William Scurfield of Sunderland, surgeon, who purchased a portion of the estate of Ford in the parish of Bishopwearmouth in 1750.

DIARY OF JOHN DAWSON OF BRUNTON.

INTRODUCTION.

John Dawson of Brunton, in the parish of St. John Lee, was the son of Robert Dawson, who had inherited a small estate in the township of Wall from his father and grandfather, whose surname appears in lists of tenants of Wall from 1538 downward. He was an only son, and his father dying in 1729, he was educated at Queen's College, Oxford, where he matriculated 17 March, 1745/6, aged 19, his name having been already entered at Gray's Inn, 30 Jan., 1743/4. In 1752 he married Barbara Hall, who died after giving birth to his only child, a second John Dawson, who was baptized at St. John Lee, 28 October, 1753. When the Northumberland Militia was first embodied in 1759 under an Act of Parliament passed 30 George II., John Dawson was appointed to be captain of a Tynedale company, his lieutenant being Francis Dawson of Newcastle, perhaps a kinsman, and his ensign Henry Fenwick of Hexham. The Diary printed is very much concerned with the doings of the Militia during the year 1761. In the month of August, 1766, he married secondly, ́in London, Anne Smith, described in the Gentlemen's Magazine of that year, as of Brampton, the niece of Doctor Thomas, Dean of Westminster; and he died in the month of April, 1769, and was buried at St. John Lee.

The Diarist's only son John, or Jack, as he is named in the Diary, in whose education the father was so much interested, was entered at Gray's Inn, 16 June, 1768, and married Frances, daughter of William Smith of Haughton Castle. In his life time he sold his property at Brunton, reserving a lease of the house, and dying s.p. 18 March, 1807, was laid beside his wife at St. John Lee, she having died on the 8 May, 1806.

The Diary now belongs to the Rev. Thomas Stephens, vicar of Horsley in Redesdale, who having already communicated large extracts to the Proceedings of the Newcastle Society of Antiquarians, ser. 3, vol. iii., p. 46, has generously permitted the Editor to include it in the present series.

DIARY.

1761. March 8. Sunday. BERWICK. On Saturday the first of March, 1760, the Northumberland Regiment of Militia1 came into Berwick. We have now been fifty-three weeks in Berwick gone yesterday. For the last week past we have had several accounts of mobs rising to prevent the execution of the Militia Laws. Not at church to day. I am heartily tired of a soldier's life. This afternoon I was introduced by our major to Captain Fordoyce. Captain Reed2 went home yesterday. Lord Jeffreys was a rascal, witness his conduct to Baxter, 'I know how to deal with saints as well as sinners.' The Life of Atterbury is not compleat, for Warburton says that Mr. Pope was sensible, that he (Atterbury) when in France, was engaged in the intrigues of the Pretender.

[1761.] [March] 9. BLOODY MONDAY. The mob arose at Hexham yesterday. Orders for trying Jack Gibson by a Court Martial. I am inclined to think he will be tied to the halberts. Discipline must

1 The following notices relating to the Northumberland Militia are from the Newcastle newspapers of 1759:

All persons qualified to serve as officers in the militia of the county of Northumberland, and willing to accept commissions therein, are desired to meet at Mr. Grey's, at the Swan Inn, in Alnwick, on Thursday, the fifth of April, 1759, etc., etc. Signed NORTHUMBERLAND.-Newcastle Courant, 31 March, 1759.

(Similar notice in respect of the militia of the town of Newcastle.)

At a meeting in Newcastle, called by the Lord Lieutenant, held on the 5 April, John Erasmus Blackett, Edward Mosely, and Robert Stephenson, esquires, offered to serve as officers in the militia for the town.-Newcastle Courant, 7 April, 1759.

Tuesday the Deputy-lieutenants met the Right Hon. the Earl of Northumberland, Lord Lieutenant for the County of Northumberland, at the Turk's Head, agreeable to his advertisement, on militia affairs, on which business the following gentlemen offered personally, or by letters, to serve their county as officers on this constitutional plan, viz. :

Field Officers: Sir Edward Blackett, bart.; Sir Matthew White, bart.;
George Delaval, esq.

Captains Abraham Dixon, esq.; Christopher Reed, esq.; John Erasmus
Blackett, esq.; John Hall, esq.; Gabriel Selby, esq.; William
Ward, esq.; John Dawson, esq.; William Ord, esq.; Alexander
Collingwood, esq.; Stephen Watson, esq.

This grand point being now happily compleated, we hope soon to see the militia of Northumberland on as noble a footing as any of the southern counties.-Newcastle Courant, 30 June, 1759.

2

Christopher Reed was son of Christopher Soulsby of Newcastle, merchant, and nephew and devisee of John Reed of Chipchase, whose name he assumed. He was appointed captain in 1759, the year the militia was embodied he died 6 Nov., 1770, aged 48. For a pedigree of Reed, see new History of Northumberland, vol. iv., p. 347.

be kept up; from what I have heard of his offence I think that whipping will be too severe. Let the punishment be proportioned to the offence. Man who was made in the image of God ought not to be stript for every trifling offence, but he has offended severall ways. 1st, he would not attend divine service; 2nd, he was found in a publick-house; 3rd, he was very fuddled; 4th, he abused the serjeant who took him prisoner; which several offences (if proved u(pon) him) I am affraid, will make his judges somewhat severe upon him. But punishments in the army are salutary, they are productive of much good order amongst the men.

It is said that the vacant commissions in the regiment will be filled up some time the next month. I know of no seniority nor any one officer whose merit exceeds that of another. To decide the affair to the satisfaction of the majority of the subalterns will be for them to ballot, or cast lots. Our case is not the same with that of the regulars; with them there is both seniority and merit; with us it is otherwise, we all took up arms at one and the same time, neither has any of us ever been in action, where then is seniority or merit?

This evening at roll-calling I saw one of our soldiers in his new regimental coat; the lace contributes much to set it off.

Mr. Pratt informed [us] of his engagements with and intention of marrying Miss Paterson, Sr John['s] sister.3

Surely the best scholars are the best citizens, for here I find that those whose minds are least cultivated are absolutely very indifferent company; I should say dangerous company-half an hour is badly spent amongst many of them. Surely it may be called, without impropriety, premeditated murder of time. Three of the greatest men in history were disgraced for bribery and corruption, viz.: Demosthenes, Seneca and Bacon. Bacon did not die in poverty, he had a genteel sufficiency to support any gentleman, but he was naturally profuse. He was the first that opposed Aristotle's philosophy. All Europe is indebted to him for opening the passage to true philosophy. [1761.] March 10. Tuesday. Awaked this morning about 4 o'clock and arose at 6. Without a good knowledge of the Scriptures a man never can make a tolerable figure in society; the best and wisest men have been in all ages and in all nations the strongest advocates for the sacred writings, but with the abandoned and ignorant we find the reverse. A man starving of hunger would be deem'd a madman to refuse victuals when offered to him, but how must we term that man who refuses to eat of the bread of life, to whom immortality is offered and yet rejected. What fools are men! This morning I attended the Beard's trials. Gibson can hardly young soldier.

court martial upon Gibson's and escape; Beard may, he being a There is a necessity to support the authority of the

3 William Pratt of Warenton in the parish of Bamburgh, a scion of a family of opulent Berwick merchants, was appointed ensign in 1759. The lady referred to was . daughter of John Patterson, and sister

of Sir John Patterson of Eccles, third baronet. See p. 266 post.