AN

HISTORY

OF

BIRMINGHAM. 

[Illustration: the-text-caption]

THE SECOND EDITION, WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS. 

By W. HUTTON. 

PREFACE. 

A preface rather induces a man to speak of himself, which is deemed theworst subject upon which he _can_ speak. In history we become acquaintedwith things, but in a preface with the author; and, for a man to treatof himself, may be the most _difficult_ talk of the two: for in history, facts are produced ready to the hand of the historian, which give birthto thought, and it is easy to cloath that thought in words. But in apreface, an author is obliged to forge from the brain, where he issometimes known to forge without fire. In one, he only reduces asubstance into form; but in the other, he must create that substance. 

As I am not an author by profession, it is no wonder if I amunacquainted with the modes of authorship; but I apprehend, the usualmethod of conducting the pen, is to polish up a founding title-page, dignified with scraps of Latin, and then, to hammer up a work to fit it, as nearly as genius, or want of genius, will allow. 

We next _turn over a new leaf_, and open upon a pompous dedication, which answers many laudable purposes: if a coat of arms, correctlyengraven, should step first into view, we consider it a singularadvantage gained over a reader, like the first blow in a combat. Thededication itself becomes a pair of stilts, which advance an authorsomething higher. 

As a horse-shoe, nailed upon the threshold of a cottage, prevents theinfluence of the witch; so a first-rate name, at the head of adedication, is a total bar against the critic; but this great name, likea great officer, sometimes unfortunately stands at the head ofwretched troops. 

When an author is too _heavy_ to swim of himself, it serves as a pair ofbladders, to prevent his sinking. 

It is farther productive of a _solid_ advantage, that of a present fromthe patron, more valuable than that from the bookseller, which preventshis sinking under the pressure of famine. 

But, being wholly unknown to the great names of literary consequence, Ishall not attempt a dedication, therefore must lose the benefit of thestilt, the bladder, and the horse-shoe. 

Were I to enter upon a dedication, I should certainly address myself, "_To the Inhabitants of Birmingham_. " For to them I not only owe much, but all; and I think, among that congregated mass, there is not oneperson to whom I wish ill. I have the pleasure of calling many of thoseinhabitants _Friends_, and some of them share my warm affections equallywith myself. Birmingham, like a compassionate nurse, not only draws ourpersons, but our esteem, from the place of our nativity, and fixes itupon herself: I might add, _I was hungry, and she fed me_; _thirsty, andshe gave me drink_; _a stranger, and she took me in_. I approached herwith reluctance, because I did not know her; I shall leave her withreluctance, because I do. 

Whether it is perfectly confident in an author, to solicit theindulgence of the public, though it may stand first in his wishes, admits a doubt; for, if his productions will not bear the light, it maybe said, why does he publish? but, if they will, there is no need to aska favor; the world receives one from him. Will not a piece everlastinglybe tried by its merit? Shall we esteem it the higher, because it waswritten at the age of thirteen? because it was the effort of a week?delivered extempore? hatched while the author stood upon one leg? orcobbled, while he cobbled a shoe? or will it be a recommendation, thatit issues forth in gilt binding? The judicious world will not bedeceived by the tinselled purse, but will examine whether the _contents_are sterling. 

Will it augment the value of this history, or cover its blunders, tosay, that I have never seen _Oxford?_ That the thick fogs of penury, prevented the sun of science from beaming upon the mind? That necessityobliged me to lay down the battledore, before I was master of theletters? And that, instead of handling systems of knowledge, my hands, at the early period of seven, became callous with labour?

But, though a whole group of pretences will have no effect with theimpartial eye, yet one reason pleads strongly in my favor--no such thingever appeared as _An History of Birmingham_. It is remarkable, that oneof the most singular places in the universe is without an historian:that she never manufactured an history of herself, who has manufacturedalmost every thing else; that so many ages should elapse, and not oneamong her numerous sons of industry, snatch the manners of the day fromoblivion, group them in design, with the touches of his pen, and exhibitthe picture to posterity. If such a production had ever seen the light, mine most certainly would never have been written; a temporary bridgetherefore may satisfy the impatient traveller, till a more skilfularchitect shall accommodate him with a complete production of elegance, of use, and of duration. --Although works of genius ought to come out ofthe mint doubly refined, yet history admits of a much greater latitudeto the author. The best upon the subject, though defective, may meetwith regard. 

It has long been a complaint, that local history is much wanted. Thiswill appear obvious, if we examine the places we know, with thehistories that treat of them. Many an author has become a cripple, byhistorically travelling through _all England_, who might have made atolerable figure, had he staid at home. The subject is too copious forone performance, or even the life of one man. The design of history isknowledge: but, if simply to tell a tale, be all the duty of anhistorian, he has no irksome task before him; for there is nothing moreeasy than to relate a fact; but, perhaps, nothing more difficult than torelate it well. 

The situation of an author is rather precarious--if the smiles of theworld chance to meet his labours, he is apt to forget himself; ifotherwise, he is soon forgot. The efforts of the critic may be necessaryto clip the wings of a presuming author, lest his rising vanity becomesinsupportable: but I pity the man, who writes a book which none willperuse a second time; critical exertions are not necessary to pull himdown, he will fall of himself. The sin of writing carries its ownpunishment, the tumultuous passions of anxiety and expectation, likethe jarring elements in October, disturb his repose, and, like them, arefollowed by stirility: his cold productions, injured by no hand but thatof time, are found sleeping on the shelf unmolested. It is easy todescribe his fears before publication, but who can tell his feelingsafter judgment is passed upon his works? His only consolation isaccusing the critic of injustice, and thinking the world in the wrong. But if repentence should not follow the culprit, hardened in scribbling, it follows, his bookseller, oppressed with _dead works_. However, if allthe evils in Pandora's box are emptied on a blasted author, this onecomfort remains behind--The keeper of a circulating library, or thesteward of a reading society can tell him, "His book is more _durable_than the others. "

Having, many years ago, entertained an idea of this undertaking, I madesome trifling preparations; but, in 1775, a circumstance of a privatenature occurring, which engaged my attention for several years, Irelinquished the design, destroyed the materials, and meant to give upthe thought for ever. But the intention revived in 1780, and thework followed. 

I may be accused of quitting the regular trammels of history, andsporting in the fields of remark: but, although our habitation justlystands first in our esteem, in return for rest, content, and protection;does it follow that we should never stray from it? If I happen to veer amoment from the polar point of Birmingham, I shall certainly vibrateagain to the center. Every author has a manner peculiar to himself, norcan he well forsake it. I should be exceedingly hurt to omit anecessary part of intelligence, but more, to offend a reader. 

If GRANDEUR should censure me for sometimes recording the men of meanlife, let me ask, _Which is preferable_, he who thunders at the anvil, or in the senate? The man who earnestly wishes the significant letters, ESQ. Spliced to the end of his name, will despise the question; but thephilosopher will answer, "They are equal. "

Lucrative views have no part in this production: I cannot solicit a kindpeople to grant what they have already granted; but if another findsthat pleasure in reading, which I have done in writing, I am paid. 

As no history is extant, to inform me of this famous nursery of thearts, perfection in mine must not be expected. Though I haveendeavoured to pursue the road to truth; yet, having no light to guide, or hand to direct me, it is no wonder if I mistake it: but we do not_condemn_, so much as _pity_ the man for losing his way, who firsttravels an unbeaten road. 

Birmingham, for want of the recording hand, may be said to live but onegeneration; the transactions of the last age, die in this; memory is thesole historian, which being defective, I embalm the present generation, for the inspection of the future. 

It is unnecessary to attempt a general character, for if the attentivereader is himself of Birmingham, he is equally apprized of thatcharacter; and, if a stranger, he will find a variety of touchesscattered through the piece, which, taken in a collective view, form apicture of that generous people, who _merit his_ esteem, and_possess mine_. 

THE

CONTENTS. 

_Some Account of the Derivation of the Name ofBirmingham_, ..................................... Page 1_Situation_, ..................................... 3_Soil_, .......................................... 6_Water_, ......................................... 7_Baths_, ......................................... 8_Air_, ........................................... *8_Longevity_, ..................................... 9_Ancient State of Birmingham_, ................... 13_Battle of Camp-hill_, ........................... *41_Modern State of Birmingham_, .................... 40_Streets, and their Names_, ...................... 53_Trade_, ......................................... 57 _Button_, ...................................... 75 _Buckle_, ...................................... 76 _Guns_, ........................................ 78 _Leather_, ..................................... 79 _Steel_, ....................................... 80 _Nails_, ....................................... *83 _Bellows_, ..................................... *85 _Thread_, ...................................... *89 _Printing, by John Baskerville_, ............... *90 _Brass foundry_, ............................... *94 _Hackney Coaches_, ............................. 81_Bank_, .......................................... 83_Government_, .................................... Ibid _Constables_, .................................. 92 _Bailiffs_, .................................... 94_Court of Requests_, ............................. *99_Lamp Act_, ...................................... 99_Religion and Politics_, ......................... 105_Places of Worship_, ............................. 111 _St. John's Chapel, Deritend_, ................. 112 _St. Bartholomew's_, ........................... 113 _St. Mary's_, .................................. 115 _St. Paul's_, .................................. Ibid _Old Meeting_, ................................. 116 _New Meeting_, ................................. 117 _Carr's-lane Meeting_, ......................... 118 _Baptist Meeting_, ............................. Ibid _Quaker's Meeting_, ............................ 120 _Methodist Meeting_, ........................... 121 _Romish Chapel_, ............................... *125 _Jewish Synagogue_, ............................ *128_Theatres_, ...................................... 123_Amusements_, .................................... 127_Hotel_, ......................................... *132_Wakes_, ......................................... 132_Clubs_, ......................................... 135_Ikenield street_, ............................... 140_Lords of the Manor_, ............................ 153 _Uluuine_, 1050, ............................... 156 _Richard_, 1066, ............................... Ibid _William_, 1130, ............................... 161 _Peter de Birmingham_, 1154, ................... 161 _William de Birmingham_, 1216, ................. 163 _William de Birmingham_, 1246, ................. 164 _William de Birmingham_, 1265, ................. 165 _William de Birmingham_, 1306, ................. 166 _Sir Fouk de Birmingham_, 1340, ................ 168 _Sir John de Birmingham_, 1376, ................ 169 _Lord Clinton_, ................................ Ibid _Edmund, Lord Ferrers_, ........................ 170 _William de Birmingham_, 1430, ................. Ibid _Sir William Birmingham_, 1479, ................ 171 _Edward Birmingham_, 1500, ..................... 172 _John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland_, 1537, ... 177 _Thomas Marrow_, 1555, ......................... 180 _Thomas Archer_, 1746, ......................... 181 _Andrew, Lord Archer_, ......................... 181 _Sarah, Lady Archer_, 1781, .................... Ibid_Manor house_, ................................... 182_Pudding-brook_, ................................. 186_Priory_, ........................................ 187_John à Dean's Hole_, ............................ 195_Lench's Trust_, ................................. 196_Fentbam's Trust_, ............................... 200_Crowley's Trust_, ............................... 201_Scott's Trust_, ................................. 202_Free School_, ................................... 203_Charity School_, ................................ 209_Dissenting Charity School_, ..................... 214_Workhouse_, ..................................... 215_Old Cross_, ..................................... 227_Welch Cross_, ................................... 229_St. Martin's_, .................................. 232_St. Philip's_, .................................. 246_Births and Burials_, ............................ 253_General Hospital_, .............................. 256_Public Roads_, .................................. 259_Canal_, ......................................... 266_Deritend Bridge_, ............................... 269_Soho_, .......................................... 271_Danes Camp, Danes Bank, or Bury Fields_, ........ 272_Gentlemen's Seats_, ............................. 273 _The Moats_, ................................... 276 _Black Greves_, ................................ Ibid _Ulverley, or Culverley_, ...................... 277 _Hogg's Moat_, ................................. 278 _Yardley_, ..................................... 281 _Kent's Moat_, ................................. 282 _Sheldon_, ..................................... 283 _King's hurst_, ................................ Ibid _Coleshill_, ................................... 287 _Duddeston_, ................................... 289 _Saltley_, ..................................... 292 _Ward-end_ ..................................... 293 _Castle Bromwich_, ............................. 295 _Park hall_, ................................... 299 _Berwood_, ..................................... 300 _Erdington_, ................................... 301 _Pipe_, ........................................ 303 _Aston_, ....................................... 306 _Witton_, ...................................... 309 _Blakeley_, .................................... 312 _Weoley_, ...................................... 313_Sutton Coldfield_, .............................. 320_Petition for a Corporation_, .................... 324_Brass Works_, ................................... 329_Prison_, ........................................ 332_Clodshale's Chantry_, ........................... 336_Occurrences_, ................................... 340 _Earthquake_, .................................. Ibid _Pitmore and Hammond_, ......................... 343 _Riots_, ....................................... 345 _The Conjurers_, ............................... 350_Military Association_, .......................... 353_Bilston Canal Act_, ............................. 357_Workhouse Bill_, ................................ 361_The Camp_, ...................................... 370_Mortimer's Bank_, ............................... 372

DIRECTIONS

TO THE

BINDERS, FOR PLACING THE

COPPER-PLATES. 

Prospect of Birmingham, to face the Title. Plan, ........................................ 43Alm's-houses, ................................ *58St. John's Chapel, Deritend, ................. 111St. Bartholomew's, ........................... 113St. Mary's, .................................. 115St. Paul's, .................................. 116Old and New Meetings, ........................ 117New Theatre, ................................. 123Hotel, ....................................... 130Free School, ................................. 203Charity School, .............................. 209Workhouse, ................................... 215Old and Welch Cross, ......................... 229St. Martin's Church, ......................... 232St. Philip's, ................................ 246General Hospital, ............................ 256Canal, ....................................... 265Navigation Office, ........................... 267Brass Works, ................................. 329

AN

HISTORY &c. 

 * * * * *

_Some account of the derivation of the name of Birmingham_. 

The word Birmingham, is too remote for certain explanation. During thelast four centuries it has been variously written _Brumwycheham, Bermyngeham, Bromwycham, Burmyngham, Bermyngham, Byrmyngham_, and_Birmingham_; nay, even so late as the seventeenth century it waswritten _Bromicham_. Dugdale supposes the name to have been given by theplanter, or owner, in the time of the Saxons; but, I suppose it mucholder than any Saxon, date: besides, it is not so common for a man togive a name to, as to take one from, a place. A man seldom gives hisname except he is the founder, as Petersburg from Peter the Great. 

Towns, as well as every thing in nature, have exceedingly minutebeginnings, and generally take a name from situation, or localcircumstances. Would the Lord of a manor think it an honour to give hisname to two or three miserable huts? But, if in a succession of agesthese huts swell into opulence, they confer upon the lord an honour, aresidence, and a name. The terminations of _sted_, _ham_, and _hurst_, are evidently Saxon, and mean the same thing, a home. 

The word, in later ages reduced to a certainty, hath undergone variousmutations; but the original seems to have been _Bromwych_; _Brom_perhaps, from broom a shrub, for the growth of which the soil isextremely favourable; _Wych_, a descent, this exactly corresponds withthe declivity from the High Street to Digbeth. Two other places also inthe neigbourhood bear the same name, which serves to strengthenthe opinion. 

This infant colony, for many centuries after the first buddings ofexistence, perhaps, had no other appellation than that of Bromwych. Itscenter, for many reasons that might be urged, was the Old Cross, and itsincrease, in those early ages of time must have been very small. 

A series of prosperity attending it, its lord might assume its name, reside in it, and the particle _ham_ would naturally follow. This veryprobably happened under the Saxon Heptarchy, and the name was no otherthan _Bromwycham_. 

SITUATION. 

It lies near the centre of the kingdom, in the north-west extremity ofthe county of Warwick, in a kind of peninsula, the northern part ofwhich is bounded by Handsworth, in the county of Stafford, and thesouthern by King's-norton, in the county of Worcester; it is also in thediocese of Lichfield and Coventry, and in the deanery of Arden. 

Let us perambulate the parish from the bottom of Digbeth, thirty yardsnorth of the bridge. We will proceed south-west up the bed of the river, with Deritend, in the parish of Aston, on our left. Before we come tothe Floodgates, near Vaughton's Hole, we pass by the Longmores, a smallpart of King's-norton. Crossing the river Rea, we enter the vestiges ofa small rivulet, yet visible, though the stream hath been turned, perhaps, a thousand years, to supply the moat. We now bear rather west, nearly in a straight line for three miles, to Shirland brook, withEdgbaston on the left. At the top of the first meadow from the riverRea, we meet the little stream above-mentioned, in the pursuit of which, we cross the Bromsgrove road a little east of the first mile stone. Leaving Banner's marlpit to the left, we proceed up a narrow lanecrossing the old Bromsgrove road, and up to the turnpike at the fiveways in the road to Hales Owen. Leaving this road also to the left weproceed down the lane towards Ladywood, cross the Icknield street, astone's cast east of the observatory, to the north extremity of RottonPark. We now meet with Shirland Brook, which leads us east, and acrossthe Dudley road, at the seven mile stone, having Smethwick in the countyof Stafford, on the left, down to Pigmill. We now leave Handsworth onthe left, following the stream through Hockley great pool; cross theWolverhampton road, and the Ikenield-street at the same time down toAston furnace, with that parish on the left. At the bottom ofWalmer-lane we leave the water, move over the fields, nearly in a lineto the post by the Peacock upon Gosty-green. We now cross the Lichfieldroad, down Duke-street, then the Coleshill road at the A B house. Fromthence down the meadows, to Cooper's mill; up the river to the foot ofDeritend bridge; and then turn sharp to the right, keeping the course ofa drain in the form of a sickle, through John a Dean's hole, intoDigbeth, from whence we set out. In marching along Duke-street, we leaveabout seventy houses to the left, and up the river Rea, about fourhundred more in Deritend, reputed part of Birmingham, though not inthe parish. 

This little journey, nearly of an oval form, is about seven miles. Thelongest diameter from Shirland brook to Deritend bridge is about three, and the widest, from the bottom of Walmer Lane to the rivulet, near themile-stone, upon the Bromsgrove road, more than two. 

The superficial contents of the parish may be upwards of four miles, about three thousand acres. 

Birmingham is by much the smallest parish in the neighbourhood, those ofAston and Sutton are each about five times as large, Yardley four, andKing's-Norton eight. 

When Alfred, that great master of legislation, parished out his kingdom, or rather, put the finishing hand to that important work; where he metwith a town, he allotted a smaller quantity of land, because theinhabitants chiefly depended upon commerce; but where there was only avillage, he allotted a larger, because they depended upon agriculture. 

This observation goes far in proving the antiquity of the place, for itis nine hundred years since this division took effect. 

The buildings occupy the south east part of the parish; perhaps, withtheir appendages, about six hundred acres. 

This south east part, being insufficient for the extraordinary increaseof the inhabitants, she has of late extended her buildings along theBromsgrove road, near the boundaries of Edgbaston; and actually on theother side planted three of her streets in the parish of Aston. Couldthe sagacious Alfred have seen into futurity, he would have augmentedher borders. 

As no part of the town lies flat, the showers promote both cleanlinessand health, by removing obstructions. 

The approach is on every side by ascent, except that from Hales-Owen, north west, which gives a free access of air, even to the most secretrecesses of habitation. 

Thus eminently situated, the sun can exercise his full powers ofexhalation. 

The foundation upon which this mistress of the arts is erected, is onesolid mass of dry reddish sand. 

The vapours that rise from the earth are the great promoters of disease;but here, instead of the moisture ascending to the prejudice of theinhabitant, the contrary is evident; for the water descends through thepores of the sand, so that even our very cellars are habitable. 

This accounts for the almost total extinction of the ague amongus:--During a residence of thirty years, I have never seen one personafflicted with it, though, by the opportunities of office, I havefrequently visited the repositories of the sick. 

Thus peculiarly favoured, this happy spot, enjoys four of the greatestbenefits that can attend human existence--water, air, the fun, and asituation free from damps. 

All the _past_ writers upon Birmingham have viewed her as low andwatery, and with reason; because Digbeth, then the chief street, bearsthat description. But all the future writers will view her on aneminence, and with as much reason; because, for one low street, we havenow fifty elevated. 

Birmingham, like the empire to which she belongs, has been, for manycenturies, travelling _up hill_; and, like that, rising in consequence. 

SOIL. 

The soil is rather light, sandy, and weak; and though metals, of varioussorts, are found in great plenty, _above_ the surface, we know ofnothing below, except sand and gravel, stone and water. All the richesof the place, like those of an empiric, in laced cloaths, appear on the_outside_. 

The northern part of the parish, for about four hundred acres, to thedisgrace of the age, is yet a shameful waste. 

A small part of the land near the town, is parcelled out into littlegardens, at ten or twenty shillings each, amounting to about sixteenpounds per acre. 

These are not intended so much for profit, as health and amusement. 

Others are let in detached pieces for private use, at about four poundsper acre. So that this small parish cannot boast of more than six oreight farms, and these of the smaller size, at about two pounds peracre. Manure from the sty brings about 16s. Per waggon load, that fromthe stable about 12, and that from the fire and the street, five. 

WATER. 

I think there is not any natural river runs through the parish, butthere are three that mark the boundaries of it, for about half itscircumference, described above; none of these supply family use. Afterpenetrating into a body of sand, interspersed with a small strata ofsoft Rock, and sometimes of gravel; at the depth of about twenty yards, we come to plenty of water, rather hard. There are in the lower parts ofthe town, two excellent springs of soft water, suitable for mostpurposes; one at the top of Digbeth, the other, Lady-Well. Or rather, one spring, or bed of water, with many out-lets, continuing its coursealong the bottom of the hill, parallel with Small-brook-street, Edgbaston street, St. Martin's-lane, and Park-street; sufficientlycopious to supply the whole city of London. Water is of the firstconsequence, it often influences disease, always the habit of body: thatof Birmingham is in general productive of salutary effects. 

That dreadful disorder, the stone, is seldom found among us. I canrecollect but very few, in my time, under this severe complaint, whichis perhaps owing to that valuable element. I mentioned this remark to aneminent surgeon, who assured me, that, in his long course of practice, he had never been concerned in one operation in that unhappy disorder. 

BATHS. 

At Lady-Well, are the most complete baths in the whole Island. There areseven in number; erected at the expence of 2000_l_. Accommodation isever ready for hot or cold bathing; for immersion or amusement; withconveniency for sweating. That, appropriated for swimming, is eighteenYards by thirty-six, situated in the centre of a garden, in which aretwenty four private undressing-houses, the whole surrounded by a wall 10feet high. Pleasure and health are the guardians of the place. Thegloomy horrors of a bath, sometimes deter us from its use, particularly, if aided by complaint; but the appearance of these is rather inviting. We read of painted sepulchres, whose _outsides_ are richly ornamented, but _within_ are full of corruption and death. The reverse is before us. No elegance appears without, but within are the Springs of life! Theexpence was great, the utility greater. 

I do not know any author, who has reckoned man among the amphibious raceof animals, neither do I know any animal who better deserves it. Man islord of the little ball on which he treads, one half of which, at least, is water. If we do not allow him to be amphibious, we deprive him ofhalf his sovereignty. He justly bears that name, who can _live_ in thewater. Many of the disorders incident to the human frame are prevented, and others cured, both by fresh and salt bathing; so that we mayproperly remark, "_He lives in the water_, who can find life, nay, even_health_ in that friendly element. "

The greatest treasure on earth is health; but, a treasure, of allothers, the least valued by the owner. Other property is best rated whenin possession, but this, can only be rated when lost. We sometimesobserve a man, who, having lost this inestimable jewel, seeks it with anardour equal to its worth; but when every research by land, is eluded, he fortunately finds it in the water. Like the fish, he pines away uponshore, but like that, recovers again in the deep. 

Perhaps Venus is represented as rising from the ocean, which is no otherthen a bath of the larger size, to denote, that bathing is the refinerof health, consequently, of beauty; and Neptune being figured inadvanced life, indicates, that it is a preservative to old age. 

The cure of disease among the Romans, by bathing, is supported by manyauthorities; among others, by the number of baths frequently discovered, in which, pleasure, in that warm climate, bore a part. But this practiceseemed to decline with Roman freedom, and never after held the eminenceit deserved. Can we suppose, the physician stept between disease and thebath, to hinder their junction; or, that he lawfully holds, byprescription, the tenure of sickness, in _fee_?

The knowledge of this singular _art of healing_, is at present only ininfancy. How far it may prevent, or conquer disease; to what measure itmay be applied, in particular cases, and the degrees of use, indifferent constitutions, are enquiries that will be better understood bya future generation. 

AIR. 

As we have passed through the water, let us now investigate her sisterfluid, the air. They are both necessary to life, and the purity of bothto the prolongation of it; this small difference lies between them, aman may live a day without water, but not an hour without air: If a manwants better water, it may be removed from a distant place for hisbenefit; but if he wants air, he must remove himself. --The natural airof Birmingham, perhaps, cannot be excelled in this climate, the moderateelevation and dry soil evinces this truth; but it receives an alloy fromthe congregated body of fifty thousand people; also from the smoke of anextraordinary number of fires used in business; and perhaps, more fromthe various effluvia arising from particular trades. It is not uncommonto see a man with green hair or a yellow wig, from his constantemployment in brass; if he reads, the green vestiges of his occupationremain on every leaf, never to be expunged. The inside of his body, nodoubt, receives the same tincture, but is kept clean by being oftenwashed with ale. Some of the fair sex, likewise are subject to the sameinconvenience, but find relief in the same remedy. 

LONGEVITY. 

Man is a time-piece. He measures out a certain space, then stops forever. We see him move upon the earth, hear him click, and perceive inhis face the uses of intelligence. His external appearance will informus whether he is old-fashioned, in which case, he is less valuable uponevery gambling calculation. His face also will generally inform uswhether all is right within. This curious machine is filled with acomplication of movements, very unfit to be regulated by the rough handof ignorance, which sometimes leaves a mark not to be obliterated evenby the hand of an artist. If the works are directed by violence, destruction is not far off. If we load it with the oil of luxury, itwill give an additional vigor, but in the end, clog and impede themotion. But if the machine is under the influence of prudence, she willguide it with an even, and a delicate hand, and perhaps the piece maymove on 'till it is fairly worn out by a long course of fourscore years. 

There are a set of people who expect to find that health in medicine, which possibly might be found in regimen, in air, exercise, orserenity of mind. 

There is another class amongst us, and that rather numerous, whoseemployment is laborious, and whose conduct is irregular. Their time isdivided between hard working, and hard drinking, and both by a fire. Itis no uncommon thing to see one of these, at forty, wear the aspect ofsixty, and finish a life of violence at fifty, which the hand ofprudence would have directed to eighty. 

The strength of a kingdom consists in the multitude of its inhabitants;success in trade depends upon the manufacturer; the support anddirection of a family, upon the head of it. When this useful part ofmankind, therefore, are cut off in the active part of life, thecommunity sustains a loss, whether we take the matter in a national, acommercial, or a private view. 

We have a third class, who shun the rock upon which these last fall, butwreck upon another; they run upon scylla though they have missedcharybdis; they escape the liquid destruction, but split upon the solid. These are proficients in good eating; adepts in culling of delicacies, and the modes of dressing them. Matters of the whole art of cookery;each carries a kitchen in his head. Thus an excellent constitution maybe stabbed by the spit. Nature never designed us to live well, andcontinue well; the stomach is too weak a vessel to be richly and deeplyladen. Perhaps more injury is done by eating than by drinking; one is asecret, the other an open enemy: the secret is always supposed the mostdangerous. Drinking attacks by assault, but eating by sap: luxury isseldom visited by old age. The best antidote yet discovered against thiskind of slow poison is exercise; but the advantages of elevation, air, and water, on one hand, and disadvantages of crowd, smoke, and effluviaon the other, are trifles compared to intemperance. 

We have a fourth class, and with these I shall shut up the clock. Ifthis valuable machine comes finished from the hand of nature; if therough blasts of fortune only attack the outward case, without affectingthe internal works, and if reason conduces the piece, it may move on, with a calm, steady, and uninterrupted pace to a great extent of years, 'till time only annihilates the motion. 

I personally know amongst us a Mrs. Dallaway, aged near 90; GeorgeDavis, 85; John Baddally, Esq; and his two brothers, all between 80 andand 90; Mrs. Allen, 92; Mrs. Silk, 84; John Burbury, 84; Thomas Rutter, 88; Elizabeth Bentley, 88; John Harrison and his wife, one 86, the other88; Mrs. Floyd, 87; Elizabeth Simms, 88; Sarah Aston, 98; Isaac Spooner, Esq; 89; Joseph Scott, Esq; 94; all at this day, January 9, 1780, Ibelieve enjoy health and capacity. This is not designed as a completelist of the aged, but of such only as immediately occur to memory. Ialso knew a John England who died at the age of 89; Hugh Vincent, 94;John Pitt, 100; George Bridgens, 103; Mrs. More, 104. An old fellowassured me he had kept the market 77 years: he kept it for several yearsafter to my knowledge. At 90 he was attacked by an acute disorder, but, fortunately for himself, being too poor to purchase medical assistance, he was left to the care of nature, who opened that door to health whichthe physician would have locked for ever. At 106 I heard him swear withall the fervency of a recruit: at 107 he died. It is easy to giveinstances of people who have breathed the smoak of Birmingham forthreescore years, and yet have scarcely left the precincts of of youth. Such are the happy effects of constitution, temper, and conduct!

_Ancient State of Birmingham_. 

We have now to pass through the very remote ages of time, without staffto support us, without light to conduct us, or hand to guide us. The wayis long, dark, and slippery. The credit of an historian is built upontruth; he cannot assert, without giving his facts; he cannot surmise, without giving his reasons; he must relate things as they are, not as hewould have them. The fabric founded in error will moulder of itself, butthat founded in reality will stand the age and the critic. 

Except half a dozen pages in Dugdale, I know of no author who hathprofessedly treated of Birmingham. None of the histories which I haveseen bestow upon it more than a few lines, in which we are sure to betreated with the noise of hammers and anvils; as if the historianthought us a race of dealers in thunder, lightning, and wind; orinfernals, puffing in blast and smoak. 

Suffer me to transcribe a passage from Leland, one of our mostcelebrated writers, employed by Henry the VIIIth to form an itinerary ofBritain, whose works have stood the test of 250 years. We shall observehow much he erred for want of information, and how natural for hissuccessors to copy him. 

"I came through a pretty street as ever I entered, into Birmingham town. This street, as I remember, is called Dirtey (Deritend). In it dwellssmithes and cutlers, and there is a brook that divides this street fromBirmingham, an hamlet, or member, belonging to the parish therebye. 

"There is at the end of Dirtey a propper chappel and mansion-house oftimber, (the moat) hard on the ripe, as the brook runneth down; and as Iwent through the ford, by the bridge, the water came down on the righthand, and a few miles below goeth into Tame. This brook, above Dirtey, breaketh in two arms, that a little beneath the bridge close again. Thisbrook riseth, as some say, four or five miles above Birmingham, towardsBlack-hills. 

"The beauty of Birmingham, a good market-town in the extreme parts ofWarwickshire, is one street going up alonge, almost from the left ripeof the brook, up a meane hill, by the length of a quarter of a mile, Isaw but one parish-church in the town. 

"There be many smithes in the town that use to make knives and allmanner of cutting tools, and many loriners that make bittes, and agreat many naylers; so that a great part of the town is maintained bysmithes, who have their iron and sea-coal out of Staffordshire. "

Here we find some intelligence, and more mistake, cloathed in the dressof antique diction, which plainly evinces the necessity ofmodern history. 

It is matter of surprise that none of those religious drones, the monks, who hived in the priory for fifteen or twenty generations, ever thoughtof indulging posterity with an history of Birmingham. They could notwant opportunity, for they lived a life of indolence; nor materials, forthey were nearer the infancy of time, and were possessed of historicalfads now totally lost. Besides, nearly all the little learning in thekingdom was possessed by this class of people; and the place, in theirday, must have enjoyed an eminent degree of prosperity. 

Though the town has a modern appearance, there is reason to believe itof great antiquity; my Birmingham reader, therefore, must suffer me tocarry him back into the remote ages of the Ancient Britons to visit hisfable ancestors. 

We have no histories of those times but what are left by the Romans, andthese we ought to read with caution, because they were parties in thedispute. If two antagonists write each his own history, the discerningreader will sometimes draw the line of justice between them; but wherethere is only one, partiality is expected. The Romans were obliged tomake the Britons war-like, or there would have been no merit inconquering them: they must also sound forth their ignorance, or therewould have been none in improving them. If the Britons were thatwretched people they are represented by the Romans, they could not beworth conquering: no man subdues a people to improve them, but to profitby them. Though the Romans at that time were in their meridian ofsplendor, they pursued Britain a whole century before they reduced it;which indicates that they considered it as a valuable prize. Though theBritons were not masters of science, like the Romans; though the finearts did not flourish here, as in Rome, because never planted; yet bymany testimonies it is evident they were masters of plain life; thatmany of the simple arts were practiced in that day, as well as in this;that assemblages of people composed cities, the same as now, but in aninferior degree; and that the country was populous is plain from theimmense army Boadicia brought into the field, except the Romansincreased that army that their merit might be greater in defeating it. Nay, I believe we may with propriety carry them beyond plain life, andcharge them with a degree of elegance: the Romans themselves allow theBritons were complete masters of the chariot; that when the scythe wasfixed at each end of the axle-tree, they drove with great dexterity intothe midst of the enemy, broke their ranks, and mowed them down. Thechariot, therefore, could not be made altogether for war, but, when thescythes were removed, it still remained an emblem of pride, becameuseful in peace, was a badge of high-life, and continues so with theirdescendants to this day. 

We know the instruments of war used by the Britons were a sword, spear, shield and scythe. If they were not the manufacturers, how came they bythese instruments? We cannot allow either they or the chariots wereimported, because that will give them a much greater consequence: theymust also have been well acquainted with the tools used in husbandry, for they were masters of the field in a double sense. Bad also as theirhouses were, a chest of carpentry tools would be necessary to completethem. We cannot doubt, therefore, from these evidences, and others whichmight be adduced, that the Britons understood the manufactory of iron. Perhaps history cannot produce an instance of any place in an improvingcountry, like England, where the coarse manufactory of iron has beencarried on, that ever that laborious art went to decay, except thematerials failed; and as we know of no place where such materials havefailed, there is the utmost reason to believe our fore-fathers, theBritons, were supplied with those necessary implements by the blackartists of the Birmingham forge. Iron-stone and coal are the materialsfor this production, both which are found in the neighbourhood in greatplenty. I asked a gentleman of knowledge, if there was a probability ofthe delphs failing? He answered, "Not in five thousand years. "

The two following circumstances strongly evince this ancient Britishmanufactory:--

Upon the borders of the parish stands Aston-furnace, appropriated formelting ironstone, and reducing it into pigs: this has the appearance ofgreat antiquity. From the melted ore, in this subterranean region ofinfernal aspect, is produced a calx, or cinder, of which there is anenormous mountain. From an attentive survey, the observer would supposeso prodigious a heap could not accumulate in one hundred generations;however, it shows no perceptible addition in the age of man. 

There is also a common of vast extent, called Wednesbury-old-field, inwhich are the vestiges of many hundreds of coal-pits, long in disuse, which the curious antiquarian would deem as long in sinking, as themountain of cinders in rising. 

The minute sprig of Birmingham, no doubt first took root in this blacksoil, which, in a succession of ages, hath grown to its presentopulence. At what time this prosperous plant was set, is very uncertain;perhaps as long before the days of Caesar as it is since. Thus the minesof Wednesbury empty their riches into the lap of Birmingham, and thusshe draws nurture from the bowels of the earth. 

The chief, if not the only manufactory of Birmingham, from its firstexistence to the restoration of Charles the Second, was in iron: of thiswas produced instruments of war and of husbandry, furniture for thekitchen, and tools for the whole system of carpentry. 

The places where our athletic ancestors performed these curiousproductions of art, were in the shops fronting the street: some smallremains of this very ancient custom are yet visible, chiefly in Digbeth, where about a dozen shops still exhibit the original music of anviland hammer. 

As there is the highest probability that Birmingham produced hermanufactures long before the landing of Caesar, it would give pleasureto the curious enquirer, could he be informed of her size in those veryearly ages; but this information is for ever hid from the historian, andthe reader. Perhaps there never was a period in which she saw a decline, but that her progress has been certain, though slow, during the longspace of two or three thousand years before Charles the Second. 

The very roads that proceed from Birmingham, are also additionalindications of her great antiquity and commercial influence. 

Where any of these roads lead up an eminence, they were worn by the longpractice of ages into deep holloways, some of them twelve or fourteenyards below the surface of the banks, with which they were once even, and so narrow as to admit only one passenger. 

Though modern industry, assisted by various turnpike acts, has widenedthe upper part and filled up the lower, yet they were all visible in thedays of our fathers, and are traceable even in ours. Some of these, nodoubt, were formed by the spade, to soften the fatigue of climbing thehill, but many were owing to the pure efforts of time, the horse, andthe showers. As inland trade was small, prior to the fifteenth century, the use of the wagon, that great destroyer of the road, was but littleknown. The horse was the chief conveyor of burthen among the Britons, and for centuries after: if we, therefore, consider the great length oftime it would take for the rains to form these deep ravages, we mustplace the origin of Birmingham, at a very early date. 

One of these subterranean passages, in part filled up, will convey itsname to posterity in that of a street, called Holloway-head, 'tilllately the way to Bromsgrove and to Bewdley, but not now the chief roadto either. Dale-end, once a deep road, has the same derivation. Anotherat Summer-hill, in the Dudley road, altered in 1753. A remarkable one isalso between the Salutation and the Turnpike, in the Wolverhampton road. A fifth at the top of Walmer-lane, changed into its present form in1764. Another between Gosta-green and Aston-brook, reduced in 1752. 

All the way from Dale-end to Duddeston, of which Coleshill-street nowmakes a part, was sunk five or six feet, though nearly upon a flat, 'till filled up in 1756 by act of Parliament: but the most singular isthat between Deritend and Camp-hill, in the way to Stratford, which is, even now, many yards below the banks; yet the seniors of the last agetook a pleasure in telling us, they could remember when it would haveburied a wagon load of hay beneath its present surface. 

Thus the traveller of old, who came to purchase the produce ofBirmingham, or to sell his own, seemed to approach her by sap. 

British traces are, no doubt, discoverable in the old Dudley-road, downEasy-hill, under the canal; at the eight mile-stone, and at Smethwick:also in many of the private roads near Birmingham, which were neverthought to merit a repair, particularly at Good-knaves-end, towardsHarborne; the Green-lane, leading to the Garrison; and that beyondLong-bridge, in the road to Yardley; all of them deep holloways, whichcarry evident tokens of antiquity. Let the curious calculator determinewhat an amazing length of time would elapse in wearing the deep roadsalong Saltleyfield, Shaw-hill, Allum-rock, and the remainder of the wayto Stichford, only a pitiful hamlet of a dozen houses. 

The ancient centre of Birmingham seems to have been the Old Cross, fromthe number of streets pointing towards it. Wherever the narrow end of astreet enters a great thorough-fare, it indicates antiquity, this is thecase with Philip-street, Bell-street, Spiceal-street, Park-street, andMoor-street, which not only incline to the centre above-mentioned, butall terminate with their narrow ends into the grand passage. Thesestreets are narrow at the entrance, and widen as you proceed: the narrowends were formed with the main street at first, and were not, at thattime, intended for streets themselves. As the town increased, otherblunders of the same kind were committed, witness the gateway late atthe east end of New-street, the two ends of Worcester-street, Smallbrook-street, Cannon-street, New-meeting-streer, and Bull street;it is easy to see which end of a street was formed first; perhaps thesouth end of Moor street is two thousand years older than the north; thesame errors are also committing in our day, as in Hill and Vale streets, the two Hinkleys and Catharine-street. One generation, for want offoresight, forms a narrow entrance, and another widens it by Act ofParliament. 

Every word in the English language carries an idea: when a word, therefore, strikes the ear, the mind immediately forms a picture, whichrepresents it as faithfully as the looking-glass the face. --Thus, whenthe word Birmingham occurs, a superb picture instantly expands in themind, which is best explained by the other words grand, populous, extensive, active, commercial and humane. This painting is an exactcounter-part of the word at this day; but it does not correspond withits appearance, in the days of the ancient Britons--We must, therefore, for a moment, detach the idea from the word. 

Let us suppose, then, this centre surrounded with less than one hundredstragling huts, without order, which we will dignify with the name ofhouses; built of timber, the interfaces wattled with sticks, andplaistered with mud, covered with thatch, boards or sods; none of themhigher than the ground story. The meaner sort only one room, whichserved for three uses, shop, kitchen, and lodging room; the door fortwo, it admitted the people and the light. The better sort two rooms, and some three, for work, for the kitchen, and for rest; all three in aline, and sometimes fronting the street. 

If the curious reader chooses to see a picture of Birmingham, in thetime of the Britons, he will find one in the turnpike road, betweenHales-owen and Stourbridge, called the Lie Waste, alias Mud City. Thehouses stand in every direction, composed of one large and ill-formedbrick, scoped into a tenement, burnt by the sun, and often destroyed bythe frost: the males naked; the females accomplished breeders. Thechildren, at the age of three months, take a singular hue from the sunand the soil, which continues for life. The rags which cover them leaveno room for the observer to guess at the sex. Only one person upon thepremisses presumes to carry a belly, and he a landlord. We might as welllook for the moon in a coal-pit, as for stays or white linen in the Cityof Mud. The principal tool in business is the hammer, and the beast ofburden, the ass. 

The extent of our little colony of artists, perhaps reached nearly ashigh as the east end of New-street, occupied the upper part ofSpiceal-street, and penetrated down the hill to the top of Digbeth, chiefly on the east. 

Success, which ever waits on Industry, produced a gradual, but very slowincrease: perhaps a thousand years elapsed without adding half thatnumber of houses. 

Thus our favourite plantation having taken such firm root, that she wasable to stand the wintry blasts of fortune, we shall digress for amoment, while she wields her sparkling heat, according to the fashion ofthe day, in executing the orders of the sturdy Briton; then of thepolite and heroic Roman; afterwards of our mild ancestors, the Saxons. Whether she raised her hammer for the plundering Dane is uncertain, hisreign being short; and, lastly, for the resolute and surly Norman. 

It does not appear that Birmingham, from its first formation, to thepresent day, was ever the habitation of a gentleman, the lords of themanor excepted. But if there are no originals among us, we can producemany striking likenesses--The smoke of Birmingham has been verypropitious to their growth, but not to their maturity. 

Gentlemen, as well as buttons, have been stamped here; but, like them, when finished, are moved off. 

They both originate from a very uncouth state, _without form orcomeliness_; and pass through various stages, uncertain of success. Someof them, at length, receive the last polish, and arrive at perfection;while others, ruined by a flaw, are deemed _wasters_. 

I have known the man of opulence direct his gilt chariot _out_ ofBirmingham, who first approached her an helpless orphan in rags. I haveknown the chief magistrate of fifty thousand people, fall from hisphaeton, and humbly ask bread at a parish vestry. 

Frequently the wheel of capricious fortune describes a circle, in therotation of which, a family experiences alternately, the heighth ofprosperity and the depth of distress; but more frequently, like apendulum, it describes only the arc of a circle, and that always atthe bottom. 

Many fine estates have been struck out of the anvil, valuablepossessions raised by the tongs, and superb houses, in a two-fold sense, erected by the trowel. 

The paternal ancestor of the late Sir Charles Holte was a native of thisplace, and purchaser, in the beginning of Edward the Third, of theseveral manors, which have been the honour and the support of his houseto the present time. 

Walter Clodshale was another native of Birmingham, who, in 1332, purchased the manor of Saltley, now enjoyed by his maternal descendant, Charles Bowyer Adderley, Esq. 

Charles Colmore, Esq; holds a considerable estate in the parish; hispredecessor is said to have occupied, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, that house, now No. 1, in the High-street, as a mercer, and generalreceiver of the taxes. 

A numerous branch of this ancient family flourishes in Birmingham atthis day. 

The head of it, in the reign of James the First, erected New-hall, andhimself into a gentleman. On this desirable eminence, about half a milefrom the buildings, they resided till time, fashion, and success, removed them, like their predecessors, the sons of fortune, to agreater distance. 

The place was then possessed by a tenant, as a farm; but Birmingham, aspeedy traveller, marched over the premises, and covered them withtwelve hundred houses, on building leases; the farmer was converted intoa steward: his brown hempen frock, which guarded the _outside_ of hiswaistcoat, became white holland, edged with ruffles, and took itsstation _within_: the pitchfork was metamorphosed into a pen, and hisancient practice of breeding up sheep, was changed into that of_dressing their skins_. 

Robert Philips, Esq; acquired a valuable property in the seventeenthcentury; now possessed by his descendant, William TheodoreInge, Esquire. 

A gentleman of the name of Foxall, assured me, that the head of hisfamily resided upon the spot, now No. 101, in Digbeth, about fourhundred years ago, in the capacity of a tanner. 

Richard Smallbroke, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, in the reign ofGeorge II. Was a native of Birmingham, as his ancestors were for manyages, with reputation: he is said to have been born at number 2 in theHigh-street, had great property in the town, now enjoyed by hisdescendants, though they have left the place. The families also ofWeaman, Jennings, Whalley, etc. Have acquired vast property, and quittedthe meridian of Birmingham; and some others are at this day ripe forremoval. Let me close this bright scene of prosperity, and open another, which can only be viewed with a melancholy eye. We cannot behold thedistresses of man without compassion; but that distress which followsaffluence, comes with double effect. 

We have amongst us a family of the name of Middlemore, of greatantiquity, deducible from the conquest; who held the chief possessions, and the chief offices in the county, and who matched into the firstfamilies in the kingdom, but fell with the interest of Charles theFirst; and are now in that low ebb of fortune, that I have frequently, with a gloomy pleasure, relieved them at the common charity-board of thetown. Such is the tottering point of human greatness. 

Another of the name of Bracebridge, who for more than six hundred years, figured in the first ranks of life. 

A third of the name of Mountfort, who shone with meridian splendor, through a long train of ages. As genealogy was ever a favouriteamusement, I have often conversed with these solitary remains oftarnished lustre, but find in all of them, the pride of their familyburied with its greatness:--they pay no more attention to the arms oftheir ancestors, than to a scrap of paper, with which they would lighttheir pipe. Upon consulting one of the name of Elwall, said to bedescended from the Britons, I found him so amazingly defective, that hecould not stretch his pedigree even so high as his grandfather. 

A fifth family amongst us, of the name of Arden, stood upon the pinnacleof fame in the days of Alfred the Great, where perhaps they had stoodfor ages before: they continued the elevation about seven hundred yearsafter; but having treasonable charges brought against them, in the daysof Queen Elizabeth, about two hundred years ago, they were thrown fromthis exalted eminence, and dashed to pieces in the fall. In variousconsultations with a member of this honourable house, I found thegreatness of his family not only lost, but the memory of it also. Iassured him, that his family stood higher in the scale of honour, thanany private one within my knowledge: that his paternal ancestors, forabout seven generations, were successively Earls of Warwick, before theNorman conquest: that, though he could not boast a descent from thefamous Guy, he was related to him: that, though Turchell, Earl ofWarwick at the conquest, his direct ancestor, lost the Earldom in favourof Roger Newburgh, a favourite of William's; yet, as the Earl did notappear in arms, against the Conqueror, at the battle of Hastings, noroppose the new interest, he was allowed to keep forty-six of his manors:that he retired upon his own vast estate, which he held in dependence, where the family resided with great opulence, in one house, for manycenturies, 'till their reduction above-mentioned. He received theinformation with some degree of amazement, and replied with a seriousface, --"Perhaps there may have been something great in my predecessors, for my grandfather kept several cows in Birmingham and sold milk. "

The families of those ancient heroes, of Saxon and Norman race, are, chiefly by the mutations of time, and of state, either become extinct, or as above, reduced to the lowest verge of fortune. Those fewtherefore, whose descent is traceable, may be carried higher than thatof the present nobility; for I know none of these last, who claimpeerage beyond Edward the first, about 1295. Hence it follows, that forantiquity, alliance, and blood, the advantage is evidently in favour ofthe lowest class. 

Could one of those illustrious shades return to the earth and inspecthuman actions, he might behold one of his descendants, dancing at thelathe; another tippling with his dark brethren of the apron; a thirdhumbly soliciting from other families such favours as were formerlygranted by his own; a fourth imitating modern grandeur, by contractingdebts he never designs to pay; and a fifth snuff of departed light, poaching, like a thief in the night, upon the very manors, possessed byhis ancestors. 

Whence is it that title, pedigree, and alliance, in superior life, areesteemed of the highest value; while in the inferior, who have a priorclaim, are totally neglected? The grand design of every creature uponearth, is to supply the wants of nature. No amusements of body or mindcan be adopted, till hunger is served. When the appetite calls, thewhole attention of the animal, with all its powers, is bound to answer. Hence arise those dreadful contests in the brute creation, from the lionin the woods, to the dog, who seizes the bone. Hence the ship, when herprovisions are spent, and she becalmed, casts a savage eye, upon humansacrifices; and hence, the attention of the lower ranks of men, are toofar engrossed for mental pursuit. They see, like Esau, the honours oftheir family devoured with a ravenous appetite. A man with an emptycupboard would make but a wretched philosopher. But if fortune shouldsmile upon one of the lower race, raise him a step above his originalstanding, and give him a prospect of independence, he immediately beginsto eye the arms upon carriages, examines old records for his name, andinquires where the Herald's office is kept. Thus, when the urgency ofnature is set at liberty, the bird can whistle upon the branch, the fishplay upon the surface, the goat skip upon the mountain, and even manhimself, can bask in the sunshine of science. I digress no farther. 

The situation of St. Martin's church is another reason for fixing theoriginal centre of Birmingham at the Old Cross. Christianity made anearly and a swift progress in this kingdom; persecution, as might beexpected, followed her footsteps, increased her votaries, and, as wasever the case, in all new religions, her proselytes were very devout. 

The religious fervor of the christians displayed itself in buildingchurches. Most of those in England are of Saxon original, and wereerected between the fourth and the tenth century; that of St. Martin'sis ancient beyond the reach of historical knowledge, and probably rosein the early reigns of the Saxon kings. 

It was the custom of those times, to place the church, if there was butone, out of the precincts of the town; this is visible at the presentday in those places which have received no increase. 

Perhaps it will not be an unreasonable supposition to fix the erectionof St. Martin's, in the eighth century; and if the inquisitive readerchooses to traverse the town a second time, he may find its boundariessomething like the following. We cannot allow its extension northwardbeyond the east end of New-street; that it included the narrow parts ofPhilip street, Bell street, Spiceal street, Moor street, and Parkstreet. That the houses at this period were more compact thanheretofore; that Digbeth and Deritend, lying in the road to Stratford, Warwick, and Coventry, all places of antiquity, were now formed. Thusthe church stood in the environs of the town, unincumbered withbuildings. Possibly this famous nursery of arts might, by this time, produce six hundred houses. A town must increase before its appendagesare formed; those appendages also must increase before there is anecessity for an additional chapel, and after that increase, theinhabitants may wait long before that necessity is removed. Deritend isan appendage to Birmingham; the inhabitants of this hamlet having longlaboured under the inconveniency of being remote from the parish churchof Aston, and too numerous for admission into that of Birmingham, procured a grant in 1381 to erect a chapel of their own. If we, therefore, allow three hundred years for the infancy of Deritend, threehundred more for her maturity, and four hundred since the erection ofher chapel, which is a very reasonable allowance. It will bring us tothe time I mentioned. 

It does not appear that Deritend was attended with any considerableaugmentation, from the Norman conquest to the year 1767, when aturnpike-road was opened to Alcester, and when Henry Bradford publiclyoffered a freehold to the man who should first build upon his estate;since which time Deritend has made a rapid progress: and this duskyoffspring of Birmingham is now travelling apace along her newformed road. 

I must again recline upon Dugdale. --In 1309, William de Birmingham, Lordof the Manor, took a distress of the inhabitants of Bromsgrove andKing's-norton, for refusing to pay the customary tolls of the market. The inhabitants, therefore, brought their action and recovered damage, because it was said, their lands being the ancient demesne of the crown, they had a right to sell their produce in any market in the King'sdominions. 

It appeared in the course of the trial, that the ancestors of William deBirmingham had a MARKET HERE before the Norman conquest! I shall haveoccasion, in future, to resume this remarkable expression. I have alsomet with an old author, who observes, that Birmingham was governed bytwo Constables in the time of the Saxons; small places have seldom morethan one. These evidences prove much in favour of the government, population, and antiquity of the place. 

In Domesday-book it is rated at four hides of land. A hide was as muchas a team could conveniently plough in a year; perhaps at that timeabout fifty acres: I think there is not now, more than two hundredploughed in the parish. 

It was also said to contain woods of half a mile in length, and fourfurlongs in breadth. What difference subsisted between half a mile andfour furlongs, in ancient time, is uncertain; we know of none now. Themile was reduced to its present standard in the reign of QueenElizabeth: neither are there the least traces of those woods, for atthis day it is difficult to find a stick that deserves the name of atree, in the whole manor. --Timber is no part of the manufactory ofBirmingham. 

Let us survey the town a third time, as we may reasonably suppose itstood in the most remarkable period of English history, that of theconquest. 

We cannot yet go farther North of the centre than before, that is, alongthe High-street, 'till we meet the East end of New street. We shallpenetrate rather farther into Moor-street, none into Park-street, takein Digbeth, Deritend, Edgbaston-street, as being the road to Dudley, Bromsgrove, and the whole West of England; Spiceal-street, the Shambles, a larger part of Bell street, and Philip-street. 

The ancient increase of the town was towards the South, because of thegreat road, the conveniency of water, the church, and the manor-house, all which lay in that quarter: but the modern extension was chieflytowards the North, owing to the scions of her trades being transplantedall over the country, in that direction, as far as Wednesbury, Walsall, and Wolverhampton. But particularly her vicinity to the coal delphs, which were ever considered as the soul of her prosperity. Perhaps bythis time the number of houses might have been augmented to sevenhundred: but whatever was her number, either in this or any otherperiod, we cannot doubt her being populous in every æra of herexistence. 

The following small extract from the register, will show a gradualincrease, even before the restoration:

 Year. Christenings. Weddings. Burials 1555, 37, 15, 27. 1558, 48, 10, 47. 1603, 65, 14, 40. 1625, 76, 18, 47. 1660, 76, from April to Dec. Inclusive. 

In 1251, William de Birmingham, Lord of the Manor, procured anadditional charter from Henry the Third, reviving some decayedprivileges and granting others; among the last was that of theWhitsuntide fair, to begin on the eve of Holy Thursday, and to continuefour days. At the alteration of the style, in 1752, it was prudentlychanged to the Thursday in Whitsun week; that less time might be lost tothe injury of work and the workman. He also procured another fair, tobegin on the eve of St. Michael, and continue for three days. Both whichfairs are at this day in great repute. 

By the interest of Audomore de Valance, earl of Pembroke, a licence wasobtained from the crown, in 1319 to charge an additional toll upon everyarticle sold in the market for three years, towards paving the town. Every quarter of corn to pay one farthing, and other things inproportion. 

We have no reason to believe that either the town or the market weresmall at that time, however, at the expiration of the term, the tollwas found inadequate to the expence, and the work lay dormant foreighteen years, till 1337, when a second licence was obtained, equal tothe first, which completed the intention. 

Those streets, thus dignified with a pavement, or rather their sides, toaccommodate the foot passenger, probably were High-street, theBull-ring, Corn-cheaping, Digbeth, St. Martin's-lane, Moat-lane, Edgbaston-street, Spiceal-street, and part of Moor-street. 

It was the practice, in those early days, to leave the center of astreet unpaved, for the easier passage of carriages and horses; theconsequence was, in flat streets the road became extremely dirty, almostimpassable, and in a descent, the soil was quickly worn away, and left acauseway on each side. Many instances of this ancient practice arewithin memory. 

The streets, no doubt, in which the fairs were held, mark the boundariesof the town in the thirteenth century. Though smaller wares were soldupon the spot used for the market, the rougher articles, such as cattle, were exposed to sale in what were then the _out-streets_. The fair forhorses was held in Edgbaston-street, and that for beasts in theHigh-street, tending towards the Welch Cross. 

Inconvenient as these streets seem for the purpose, our dark ancestors, of peaceable memory, found no detriment, during the infant state ofpopulation, in keeping them there. But we, their crowded sons, for wantof accommodation, have wisely removed both; the horse-fair, in 1777, toBrick-kiln-lane, now the extreme part of the town; and that for beasts, in 1769, into the open part of Dale-end. 

Whatever veneration we may entertain for ancient custom, there issometimes a necessity to break it. Were we now to solicit the crown fora fair, those streets would be the last we should fix on. 

If we survey Birmingham in the twelfth century, we shall find hercrowded with timber, within and without; her streets dirty and narrow;but considering the distant period, much trodden, yet, compared with herpresent rising state, but little. 

The inhabitant became an early encroacher upon nor narrow streets, andsometimes the lord was the greatest. Her houses were mean and low, butfew reaching higher than one story, perhaps none more than two;composed of wood and plaister--she was a stranger to brick. Her publicbuildings consisted solely of one, _the church_. 

If we behold her in the fourteenth century, we shall observe her privatebuildings multiplied more than improved; her narrow streets, bytrespass, become narrower, for she was ever chargeable with neglect; herpublic buildings increased to four, two in the town, and two at adistance, the Priory, of stone, founded by contribution, at the head ofwhich stood her lord; the Guild, of timber, now the Free School; andDeritend Chapel, of the same materials, resembling a barn, withsomething like an awkward dove-coat, at the west end, by way of steeple. All these will be noticed in due course. 

If we take a view of the inhabitants, we shall find them industrious, plain, and honest; the more of the former, generally, the less ofdishonesty, if their superiors lived in an homelier stile in thatperiod, it is no wonder _they_ did. Perhaps our ancestors acquired moremoney than their neighbours, and not much of that; but what they had wasextremely valuable: diligence will accumulate. In curious operations, known only to a few, we may suppose the artist was amply paid. 

Nash, in his History of Worcestershire, gives us a curious list ofanecdotes, from the church-wardens ledger, of Hales-Owen. I shalltranscribe two, nearly three hundred years old. "_Paid for bread andale, to make my Lord Abbot drink, in Rogation week, 2d. _" What should wenow think of an ecclesiastical nobleman, accepting a two-penny treatfrom a country church-warden?

This displays an instance of moderation in a class of people famous forluxury. It shows also the amazing reduction of money: the same sum whichserved my Lord Abbot four days, would now be devoured in fourminutes. --"1498, _paid for repeyling the organs, to the organmaker atBromicham_, 10_s_. " Birmingham then, we find, discovered the powers ofgenius in the finer arts, as well as in iron. By '_the_ organmaker, ' wemould suppose there was but one. 

It appears that the art of acquiring riches was as well understood byour fathers, as by us; while an artist could receive as much money fortuning an organ, as would purchase an acre of land, or treat near half agross of Lord Abbots. 

BATTLE OF CAMP-HILL. 

1643. 

Clarendon reproaches with virulence, our spirited ancestors, fordisloyalty to Charles the First. --The day after the King leftBirmingham, on his march from Shrewsbury, in 1642, they seized hiscarriages, containing the royal plate and furniture, which theyconveyed, for security, to Warwick Castle. They apprehended allmessengers and suspected persons; frequently attacked, and reduced smallparties of the royalists, whom they sent prisoners to Coventry. --Hencethe proverbial expression of a refractory person, _Send him toCoventry_. 

In 1643, the King ordered Prince Rupert, with a detachment of twothousand men, to open a communication between Oxford and York. In hismarch to Birmingham, he found a company of foot, kept for theparliament, lately reinforced by a troop of horse from the garrison atLichfield: but, supposing they would not resist a power of ten to one, sent his quarter masters to demand lodging, and offer protection. 

But the sturdy sons of freedom, having cast up slight works at each endof the town, and barricaded the lesser avenues, rejected the offer andthe officers. The military uniting in one small and compact body, assisted by the inhabitants, were determined the King's forces mould notenter. Their little fire opened on the Prince: but bravery itself, though possessed of an excellent spot of ground for defence, was obligedto give way to numbers. The Prince quickly put them to silence; yet, under the success of his own arms, he was not able to enter the town, for the inhabitants had choaked up, with carriages, the deep and narrowroad, then between Deritend and Camp-hill, which obliged the Prince toalter his route to the left, and proceed towards Long-bridge. 

The spirit of resistance was not yet broken; they sustained a secondattack, but to no purpose, except that of laughter. A running fightcontinued through the town; victory declared loudly for the Prince; theretreat became general: part of the vanquished took the way to Oldbury. 

William Fielding, Earl of Denbigh, a volunteer under the Prince, beingin close pursuit of an officer in the service of the parliament, andboth upon the full gallop, up Shirland-lane, in the manor of Smethwick, the officer instantly turning, discharged a pistol at the Earl, andmortally wounded him with a random shot. 

The parliament troops were animated in the engagement by a clergyman, who acted as governor, but being taken in the defeat, and refusingquarter, was killed in the Red Lion-inn. 

The Prince, provoked at the resistance, in revenge, set fire to thetown. His wrath is said to have kindled in Bull-street, and consumedseveral houses near the spot, now No. 12. 

He obliged the inhabitants to quench the flames with a heavy fine, toprevent farther military execution. Part of the fine is said to havebeen shoes and stockings for his people. 

The parliament forces had formed their camp in that well chosen angle, which divides the Stratford and Warwick roads, upon Camp-hill. 

The victorious Prince left no garrison, because their insignificantworks were untenable; but left an humbled people, and marched to thereduction of Lichfield. 

In 1665, London was not only visited with the plague, but many otherparts of England, among which, Birmingham felt this dreadful mark of thedivine judgment. 

The infection is said to have been caught by a box of clothes, broughtby the carrier, and lodged at the White-hart. Depopulation ensued. Thechurch-yard was insufficient for the reception of the dead, who wereconveyed to Ladywood-green, one acre of waste land, then denominated thePelt Ground. 

The charter for the market has evidently been repeated by divers kings, both Saxon and Norman, but when first granted is uncertain, perhaps atan early Saxon date; and the day seems never to have been changedfrom Thursday. 

The lords were tenacious of their privileges; or, one would think, therewas no need to renew their charter. Prescription, necessity, andincreasing numbers, would establish the right. 

Perhaps, in a Saxon period, there was room sufficient in ourcircumscribed market-place, for the people and their weekly supplies;but now, their supplies would fill it, exclusive of the people. 

Thus by a steady and a persevering hand, she kept a constant and uniformstroke at the anvil, through a vast succession of ages: rising superiorto the frowns of fortune: establishing a variety of productions fromiron: ever improving her inventive powers, and perhaps, changing anumber of her people, equal to her whole inhabitants, every sixteenyears, till she arrived at another important period, the end of thecivil wars of Charles the first. 

MODERN STATE

OF

BIRMINGHAM. 

It is the practice of the historian, to divide ancient history frommodern, at the fall of the Roman Empire. For, during a course of aboutseven hundred years, while the Roman name beamed in meridian splendour, the lustre of her arms and political conduct influenced, more or less, every country in Europe. But at the fall of that mighty empire, whichhappened in the fifth century, every one of the conquered provinces wasleft to stand upon its own basis. From this period, therefore, thehistory of nations takes a material turn. The English historian divideshis ancient account from the modern, at the extinction of the house ofPlantagenet, in 1485, the fall of Richard the Third. For, by theintroduction of letters, an amazing degree of light was thrown uponscience, and also, by a new system of politics, adopted by Henry theSeventh, the British constitution, occasioned by one little act ofparliament, that of allowing liberty to sell land, took a verydifferent, and an important course. 

But the ancient and modern state of Birmingham, must divide at therestoration of Charles the Second. For though she had before, held aconsiderable degree of eminence; yet at this period, the curious artsbegan to take root, and were cultivated by the hand of genius. Buildingleases, also, began to take effect, extension followed, and numbers ofpeople crowded upon each other, as into a Paradise. 

As a kind tree, perfectly adapted for growth, and planted in a suitablesoil, draws nourishment from the circumjacent ground, to a great extent, and robs the neighbouring plants of their support, that nothing canthrive within its influence; so Birmingham, half whose inhabitants abovethe age of ten, perhaps, are not natives, draws her annual supply ofhands, and is constantly fed by the towns that surround her, where hertrades are not practised. Preventing every increase to those neighbourswho kindly contribute to her wants. This is the case with Bromsgrove, Dudley, Stourbridge, Sutton, Lichfield, Tamworth, Coleshill, and Solihull. 

We have taken a view of Birmingham in several periods of existence, during the long course of perhaps three thousand years. Standingsometimes upon presumptive ground. If the prospect has been a littleclouded, it only caused us to be more attentive, that we might not bedeceived. But, though we have attended her through so immense a space, we have only seen her in infancy. Comparatively small in her size, homely in her person, and coarse in her dress. Her ornaments, wholly ofiron, from her own forge. 

But now, her growths will be amazing; her expansion rapid, perhaps notto be paralleled in history. We shall see her rise in all the beauty ofyouth, of grace, of elegance, and attract the notice of the commercialworld. She will also add to her iron ornaments, the lustre of everymetal, that the whole earth can produce, with all their illustrious raceof compounds, heightened by fancy, and garnished with jewels. She willdraw from the fossil, and the vegetable kingdoms; press the ocean forshell, skin and coral. She will also tax the animal, for horn, bone, andivory, and she will decorate the whole with the touches of her pencil. 

I have met with some remarks, published in 1743, wherein the authorobserves, "That Birmingham, at the restoration, probably consisted onlyof three streets. " But it is more probable it consisted of fifteen, though not all finished, and about nine hundred houses. 

I am sensible, when an author strings a parcel of streets together, hefurnishes but a dry entertainment for his reader, especially to astranger. But, as necessity demands intelligence from the historian, Imust beg leave to mention the streets and their supposed numberof houses. 

 Digbeth, nearly the same as now, except the twenty-tree houses between the two Mill-lanes, which are of a modern date, about 110 Moat-lane (Court-lane) 12 Corn-market and Shambles 40 Spiceal-street 50 Dudley-street 50 Bell-street 50 Philip-street 30 St. Martin's-lane 15 Edgbaston-street 70 Lee's-lane 10 Park-street, extending from Digbeth nearly to the East end of Freeman-street 80 More-street, to the bottom of Castle-street, 70 Bull-street, not so high as the Minories, 50 High-street, 100 Deritend; 120 Odd houses scattered round the verge of the town 50 ---- 907 The number of inhabitants, 5, 472. 

The same author farther observes, "That from the Restoration to the year1700, the streets of Birmingham were increased to thirty one. " But I canmake their number only twenty-eight, and many of these far fromcomplete. Also, that the whole number of houses were 2, 504, and theinhabitants 15, 032. The additional streets therefore seem to have beenCastle-street, Carr's-lane, Dale-end, Stafford-street, Bull lane, Pinfold-street, Colmore-street, the Froggery, Old Meeting-street, Worcester-street, Peck-lane, New-street, (a small part, ) LowerMill-lane. 

From the year 1700 to 1731, there is said to have been a fartheraddition of twenty-five streets, I know of only twenty-three: and alsoof 1, 215 houses, and 8, 250 inhabitants. Their names we offer asunder;--Freeman-street, New Meeting-street, Moor-street, (the Northpart), Wood-street, the Butts, Lichfield-street; Thomas's-street, John's-street, London-'prentice street, Lower priory, The Square, Upper-priory, Minories, Steel-house-lane, Cherry-street, Cannon-street, Needless-alley, Temple-street, King's street, Queen-street, OldHinkleys, Smallbrook-street, and the East part of Hill-street. 

I first saw Birmingham July 14, 1741, and will therefore perambulate itsboundaries at that time with my traveller, beginning at the top ofSnow-hill, keeping the town on our left, and the fields that then were, on our right. 

Through Bull-lane we proceed to Temple-street; down Peck lane, to thetop of Pinfold-street; Dudley-street, the Old Hinkleys to the top ofSmallbrook street, back through Edgbaston-street, Digbeth, to the upperend of Deritend. We shall return through Park-street, Mass-house-lane, the North of Dale end, Stafford-street, Steel-house-lane, to the top ofSnow-hill, from whence we set out. 

If we compare this account with that of 1731, we shall not find anygreat addition of streets; but those that were formed before, were muchbetter filled up. The new streets erected during these ten years wereTemple-row, except about six houses. The North of Park-street, and ofDale-end; also, Slaney-street, and a small part of the East side ofSnow hill. 

From 1741, to the present year 1780, Birmingham seems to have acquiredthe amazing augmentation of seventy one streets, 4172 houses, and25, 032 inhabitants. 

Thus her internal property is covered with new-erected buildings, tierwithin tier. Thus she opens annually, a new aspect to the traveller; andthus she penetrates along the roads that surround her, as if to unitewith the neighbouring towns, for their improvement in commerce, in arts, and in civilization. 

I have often led my curious enquirer round Birmingham, but, like thethread round the swelling clue, never twice in the same tract. We shalltherefore, for the last time, examine her present boundaries. Our formerjourney commenced at the top of Snow-hill, we now set off fromthe bottom. 

The present buildings extend about forty yards beyond the Salutation, onthe Wolverhampton road. We now turn up Lionel-street, leaving St. Paul's, and about three new erected houses, on the right[1]; pass closeto New-Hall, leaving it on the left, to the top of Great Charles-street, along Easy-hill: we now leave the Wharf to the right, downSuffolk-street, in which are seventy houses, leaving two infant streetsalso to the right, in which are about twelve houses each: up toHolloway-head, thence to Windmill-hill, Bow-street, Brick-kiln-lane, down to Lady-well, along Pudding-brook, to the Moat, Lloyd'sSlitting-mill, Digbeth, over Deritend bridge, thence to the right, forCheapside; cross the top of Bradford-street, return by the Bridge toFloodgate-street, Park-street, Bartholomew's-chapel, Grosvenor-street, Nova scotia-street, Woodcock-lane, Aston-street, Lancaster-street, Walmer-lane, Price's-street, Bath-street, to the bottom of Snow-hill. 

[Footnote 1: The above was written in May 1780, and the three houses arenow, March 14, 1781, multiplied into fifty-five. ]

The circle I have described is about five miles, in which is much groundto be filled up. There are also beyond this crooked line, five clumps ofhouses belonging to Birmingham, which may be deemed hamlets. 

At the Sand-pits upon the Dudley-road, about three furlongs from thebuildings, are fourteen houses. 

Four furlongs from the Navigation-office, upon the road to Hales-owen, are twenty-nine. 

One furlong from Exeter row, towards the hand, are thirty-four. 

Upon Camp-hill, 130 yards from the junction of the Warwick and Coventryroads, which is the extremity of the present buildings, are thirty-one. 

And two furlongs from the town, in Walmer-lane, are seventeen more. 

I shall comprize, in one view, the state of Birmingham in eightdifferent periods of time. And though some are imaginary, perhaps theyare not far from real. 

 Streets. Houses. Souls. In the time of the ancient Britons, 80 400 A. D. 750, 8 600 3000 1066, 9 700 3500 1650, 15 900 5472 1700, 28 2504 15032 1731, 51 3717 23286 1741, 54 4114 24660 1780, 125 8382 50295

In 1778, Birmingham, exclusive of the appendages, contained 8042 houses, 48252 inhabitants. 

At the same time, Manchester consisted of 3402, houses, and 22440people. 

In 1779, Nottingham contained 3191 houses, and 17711 souls. 

It is easy to see, without the spirit of prophecy, that Birmingham hathnot yet arrived at her zenith, neither is she likely to reach it forages to come. Her increase will depend upon her manufactures; hermanufactures will depend upon the national commerce; national commerce, will depend upon a superiority at sea; and this superiority may beextended to a long futurity. 

The interior parts of the town, are like those of other places, parcelled out into small free-holds, perhaps, originally purchased ofthe Lords of the Manor; but, since its amazing increase, which beganabout the restoration, large tracts of land have been huxtered out uponbuilding leases. 

Some of the first that were granted, seem to have been about Worcesterand Colmore streets, at the trifling annual price of one farthing peryard, or under. 

The market ran so much against the lesor, that the lessee had liberty tobuild in what manner he pleased; and, at the expiration of the term, could remove the buildings unless the other chose to purchase them. Butthe market, at this day, is so altered, that the lessee gives four-penceper yard; is tied to the mode of building, and obliged to leave thepremisses in repair. 

The itch for building is predominant: we dip our fingers into mortaralmost as soon as into business. It is not wonderful that a personshould be hurt by the _falling_ of a house; but, with us, a mansometimes breaks his back by _raising_ one. 

This private injury, however, is attended with a public benefit of thefirst magnitude; for every "_House to be Let_, " holds forth a kind ofinvitation to the stranger to settle in it, who, being of the laboriousclass, promotes the manufactures. 

If we cannot produce many houses of the highest orders in architecture, we make out the defect in numbers. Perhaps _more_ are erected here, in agiven time, than in any place in the whole island, London excepted. 

It is remarkable, that in a town like Birmingham, where so many housesare built, the art of building is so little understood. The stile ofarchitecture in the inferior sort, is rather showy than lasting. 

The proprietor generally contracts for a house of certain dimensions, ata stipulated price: this induces the artist to use some ingredients ofthe cheaper kind, and sometimes to try whether he can cement thematerials with sand, instead of lime. 

But a house is not the only thing spoilt by the builder; he frequentlyspoils himself: out of many successions of house-makers, I cannotrecollect one who made a fortune. 

Many of these edifices have been brought forth, answered the purposesfor which they were created, and been buried in the dust, during myshort acquaintance with Birmingham. One would think, if a man cansurvive a house, he has no great reason to complain of the shortnessof life. 

From the external genteel appearance of a house, the stranger would betempted to think the inhabitant possessed at least a thousand pounds;but, if he looks within, he sees only the ensigns of beggary. 

We have people who enjoy four or five hundred pounds a year in houses, none of which, perhaps, exceed six pounds per annum. It may excite asmile, to say, I have known two houses erected, one occupied by a man, his wife, and three children; the other pair had four; and twelveguineas covered every expence. 

Pardon, my dear reader, the omission of a pompous encomium on theirbeauty, or duration. 

I am inclined to think two thirds of the houses in Birmingham stand uponnew foundations, and all the places of worship, except Deritend Chapel. 

About the year 1730, Thomas Sherlock, late Bishop of London, purchasedthe private estate of the ladies of the manor, chiefly land, about fourhundred per annum. 

In 1758, the steward told me it had increased to twice the originalvalue. The pious old Bishop was frequently solicited to grant buildingleases, but answered, "His land was valuable, and if built upon, hissuccessor, at the expiration of the term, would have the rubbish tocarry off:" he therefore not only refused, but prohibited his successorfrom granting such leases. 

But Sir Thomas Gooch, who succeeded him, seeing the great improvement ofthe neighbouring estates, and wisely judging fifty pounds per acrepreferable to five, procured an act in about 1766, to set aside theprohibiting clause in the Bishop's will. 

Since which, a considerable town may be said to have been erected uponhis property, now about 1600_l_. Per annum. 

An acquaintance assured me, that in 1756 he could have purchased thehouse he then occupied for 400_l_. But refused. In 1770, the same housewas sold for 600_l_. And in 1772, I purchased it for eight hundred andthirty-five guineas, without any alteration, but what time had made forthe worse: and for this enormous price I had only an old house, which Iwas obliged to take down. Such is the rapid improvement in value, oflanded property, in a commercial country. 

Suffer me to add, though foreign to my subject, that these premises werethe property of an ancient family of the name of Smith, now in decay;where many centuries ago one of the first inns in Birmingham, and wellknown by the name of the Garland House, perhaps from the sign; butwithin memory, Potter's Coffee-house. 

Under one part was a room about forty-five feet long, and fifteen wide, used for the town prison. 

In sinking a cellar we found a large quantity of tobacco-pipes of aangular construction, with some very antique earthen ware, but no coin;also loads of broken bottles, which refutes the complaint of our pulpitsagainst modern degeneracy, and indicates, the vociferous arts of gettingdrunk and breaking glass, were well understood by our ancestors. 

In penetrating a bed of sand, upon which had stood a work-shop, abouttwo feet below the surface we came to a tumolus six feet long, threewide, and five deep, built very neat, with tiles laid flat, but nocement. The contents were mouldered wood, and pieces of human bone. 

I know of no house in Birmingham, the inns excepted, whose annual rentexceeds eighty pounds. By the lamp books, the united rents appear to beabout seventy thousand, which if we take at twenty years purchase, willcompose a freehold of 1, 400, 000_l_. Value. 

If we allow the contents of the manor to be three thousand acres, anddeduct six hundred for the town, five hundred more for roads, water, andwaste land; and rate the remaining nineteen hundred, at the average rentof 2_l_. 10s. Per acre; we shall raise an additional freehold of4, 750_l_. Per ann. 

If we value this landed property at thirty years purchase, it willproduce 142, 500_l_. And, united with the value of the buildings, thefee-simple of this happy region of genius, will amount to 1, 542, 500_l_. 

OF THE STREETS, AND

THEIR NAMES. 

We accuse our short-sighted ancestors, and with reason, for leaving usalmost without a church-yard and a market-place; for forming some of ourstreets nearly without width, and without light. One would think theyintended a street without a passage, when they erected Moor-street; andthat their successors should light their candles at noon. 

Something, however, may be pleaded in excuse, by observing the concourseof people was small, therefore a little room would suffice; and thebuildings were low, so that light would be less obstructed: besides, wecannot guess at the future but by the present. As the increase of thetown was slow, the modern augmentation could not then be discoveredthrough the dark medium of time; but the prospect into futurity is atthis day rather brighter, for we plainly see, and perhaps with morereason, succeeding generations will blame us for neglect. We occupy thepower to reform, without the will; why else do we suffer enormities togrow, which will have taken deep root in another age? If utility andbeauty can _be joined together_ in the street, why are they ever _putasunder_? It is easy for Birmingham to be as rapid in her improvement, as in her growth. 

The town consists of about 125 streets, some of which acquired theirnames from a variety of causes, but some from no cause, and others, havenot yet acquired a name. 

Those of Bull street, Cannon street, London Prentice street, and Bellstreet, from the signs of their respective names. 

Some receive theirs from the proprietors of the land, as Smallbrookstreet, Freeman street, Colmore street, Slaney street, Weaman street, Bradford street, and Colmore row. 

Digbeth, or Ducks Bath, from the Pools for accommodating that animal, was originally Well street, from the many springs in its neighbourhood. 

Others derive a name from caprice, as Jamaica row, John, Thomas, andPhilip streets. 

Some, from a desire of imitating the metropolis, as, Fleet-street, Snow-hill, Ludgate-hill, Cheapside, and Friday-street. 

Some again, from local causes, as High-street, from its elevation, St. Martin's-lane, Church-street, Cherry-street, originally an orchard, Chapel-street, Bartholomew-row, Mass-house-lane, Old and NewMeeting-streets, Steelhouse-lane, Temple-row and Temple-street, alsoPinfold-street, from a pinfold at No. 85, removed in 1752. 

Moor-street, anciently Mole-street, from the eminence on one side, orthe declivity on the other. 

Park-street seems to have acquired its name by being appropriated to theprivate use of the lord of the manor, and, except at the narrow end nextDigbeth, contained only the corner house to the south, enteringShut-lane, No. 82, lately taken down, which was called The Lodge. 

Spiceal-street, anciently Mercer-street, from the number of mercersshops; and as the professors of that trade dealt in grocery, it waspromiscuously called Spicer-street. The present name is only acorruption of the last. 

The spot, now the Old Hinkleys, was a close, till about 1720, in whichhorses were shown at the fair, then held in Edgbaston-street. It wassince a brick-yard, and contained only one hut, in which thebrick-maker slept. 

The tincture of the smoky shops, with all their _black furniture_, forweilding gun-barrels, which afterwards appeared on the back ofSmall-brooke-street, might occasion the original name _Inkleys_; ink iswell known; leys, is of British derivation, and means grazing ground; sothat the etymology perhaps is _Black pasture_. 

The Butts; a mark to shoot at, when the bow was the fashionableinstrument of war, which the artist of Birmingham knew well how to make, and to use. 

Gosta Green (Goose-stead-Green) a name of great antiquity, now indecline; once a track of commons, circumscribed by the Stafford road, now Stafford-street, the roads to Lichfield and Coleshill, now Aston andColeshill-streets, and extending to Duke-street, the boundary ofthe manor. 

Perhaps, many ages after, it was converted into a farm, and was, withinmemory, possessed by a person of the name of Tanter, whence, Tanter-street. 

Sometimes a street fluctuates between two names, as that of Catharineand Wittal, which at length terminated in favour of the former. 

Thus the names of great George and great Charles stood candidates forone of the finest streets in Birmingham, which after a contest of two orthree years, was carried in favour of the latter. 

Others receive a name from the places to which they direct, asWorcester-street, Edgbaston-street, Dudley-street, Lichfield-street, Aston-street, Stafford-street, Coleshill-street, and Alcester-street. 

A John Cooper, the same person who stands in the list of donors in St. Martin's church, and who, I apprehend, lived about two hundred and fiftyyears ago, at the Talbot, now No. 20, in the High-street, left aboutfour acres of land, between Steelhouse-lane, St. Paul's chapel, andWalmer-lane, to make love-days for the people of Birmingham; hence, _Love-day-croft_. 

Various sounds from the trowel upon the premises, in 1758, produced thename of _Love-day-street_ (corrupted into Lovely-street. )

This croft is part of an estate under the care of Lench's Trust; and, atthe time of the bequest, was probably worth no more than ten shillingsper annum. 

At the top of Walmer-lane, which is the north east corner of this croft, stood about half a dozen old alms-houses, perhaps erected in thebeginning of the seventeenth century, then at a considerable distancefrom the town. These were taken down in 1764, and the presentalms-houses, which are thirty-six, erected near the spot, at the expenceof the trust, to accommodate the same number of poor widows, who haveeach a small annual stipend, for the supply of coals. 

This John Cooper, for some services rendered to the lord of the manor, obtained three privileges, That of regulating the goodness and price ofbeer, consequently he stands in the front of the whole liquid race ofhigh tasters; that he should, whenever he pleased, beat a bull in theBull-ring, whence arises the name; and, that he should be allowedinterment in the south porch of St. Martin's church. His memory ought tobe transmitted with honor, to posterity, for promoting the harmony ofhis neighbourhood, but he ought to have been buried in a dunghill, forpunishing an innocent animal. --His wife seems to have survived him, whoalso became a benefactress, is recorded in the same list, and theirmonument, in antique sculpture, is yet visible in the porch. 

[Illustration]

TRADE. 

Perhaps there is not by nature so much difference in the capacities ofmen, as by education. The efforts of nature will produce a ten-fold cropin the field, but those of art, fifty. 

Perhaps too, the seeds of every virtue, vice, inclination, and habit, are sown in the breast of every human being, though not in an equaldegree. Some of these lie dormant for ever, no hand inviting theircultivation. Some are called into existence by their own internalstrength, and others by the external powers that surround them. Some ofthese seeds flourish more, some less, according to the aptness of thesoil, and the modes of assistance. We are not to suppose infancy theonly time in which these scions spring, no part of life is exempt. Iknew a man who lived to the age of forty, totally regardless of music. Afidler happening to have apartments near his abode, attracted his ear, by frequent exhibitions, which produced a growing inclination for thatfavourite science, and he became a proficient himself. Thus in advancedperiods a man may fall in love with a science, a woman, or a bottle. Thus avarice is said to shoot up in ancient soil, and thus, I myselfbud forth in history at fifty-six. 

The cameleon is said to receive a tincture from the colour of the objectthat is nearest him; but the human mind in reality receives a bias fromits connections. Link a man to the pulpit, and he cannot proceed to anygreat lengths in profligate life. Enter him into the army, and he willendeavour to swear himself into consequence. Make the man of humanity anoverseer of the poor, and he will quickly find the tender feelings ofcommiseration hardened. Make him a physician, and he will be the onlyperson upon the premises, the heir excepted, unconcerned at the prospectof death. Make him a surgeon, and he will amputate a leg with the sameindifference with which a cutler saws a piece of bone for a knifehandle. You commit a rascal to prison because he merits transportation, but by the time he comes out he merits a halter. By uniting also withindustry, we become industrious. It is easy to give instances of peoplewhose distinguishing characteristic was idleness, but when they breathedthe air of Birmingham, diligence became the predominant feature. Theview of profit, like the view of corn to the hungry horse, excitesto action. 

Thus the various seeds scattered by nature into the soul at its firstformation, either lie neglected, are urged into increase by their ownpowers, or are drawn towards maturity by the concurring circumstancesthat attend them. 

The late Mr. Grenville observed, in the House of Commons, "That commercetended to corrupt the morals of a people. " If we examine the expression, we shall find it true in a certain degree, beyond which, it tends toimprove them. 

Perhaps every tradesman can furnish out numberless instances of smalldeceit. His conduct is marked with a littleness, which though allowed bygeneral consent, is not strictly just. A person with whom I have longbeen connected in business, asked, if I had dealt with his relation, whom he had brought up, and who had lately entered into commercial life. I answered in the affirmative. He replied, "He is a very honest fellow. "I told him I saw all the finesse of a tradesman about him. "Oh, rejoinedmy friend, a man has a right to say all he can in favour of his owngoods. " Nor is the seller alone culpable. The buyer takes an equal sharein the deception. Though neither of them speak their sentiments, theywell understand each other. Whilst the treaty is agitating, the profitof the tradesman vanishes, yet the buyer pronounces against the article;but when finished, the seller whispers his friend, "It is well sold, "and the buyer smiles if a bargain. 

Thus is the commercial track a line of minute deceits. 

But, on the other hand, it does not seem possible for a man in trade topass this line, without wrecking his reputation; which, if once broken, can never be made whole. The character of a tradesman is valuable, it ishis all; therefore, whatever seeds of the vicious kind shoot forth inthe mind, are carefully watched and nipped in the bud, that they maynever blossom into action. 

Thus having slated the accounts between morality and trade, I shallleave the reader to draw the ballance. I shall not pronounce after sogreat a master, and upon so delicate a subject, but shall only ask, "Whether the people in trade are more corrupt than those out?"

If the curious reader will lend an attentive ear to a pair of farmers inthe market, bartering for a cow, he will find as much dissimulation asat St. James's, or at any other saint's, but couched in homelier phrase. The man of well-bred deceit is '_infinitely_ your friend--It would givehim _immense_ pleasure to serve you!' while the man in the frock 'Willbe ---- if he tells you a word of a lye!' Deception is an innateprinciple of the human heart, not peculiar to one man, or oneprofession. 

Having occasion for a horse, in 1759, I mentioned it to an acquaintance, and informed him of the uses: he assured me, he had one that wouldexactly suit; which he showed in the stable, and held the candle prettyhigh, _for fear of affecting the straw_. I told him it was needless toexamine him, for I should rely upon his word, being conscious he was toomuch my friend to deceive me; therefore bargained, and caused him to besent home. But by the light of the sun, which next morning illumined theheavens, I perceived the horse was _greased_ on all fours. I therefore, in gentle terms, upbraided my friend with duplicity, when he repliedwith some warmth, "I would cheat my own brother in a horse. " Had thishonourable friend stood a chance of selling me a horse once a week, hisown interest would have prevented him from deceiving me. 

A man enters into business with a view of acquiring a fortune--Alaudable motive! That property which rises from honest industry, is anhonour to its owner; the repose of his age; the reward of a life ofattention: but, great as the advantage seems, yet, being of a privatenature, it is one of the least in the mercantile walk. For theintercourse occasioned by traffic, gives a man a view of the world, andof himself; removes the narrow limits that confine his judgment; expandsthe mind; opens his understanding; removes his prejudices; and polisheshis manners. Civility and humanity are ever the companions of trade;the man of business is the man of liberal sentiment; a barbarous andcommercial people, is a contradiction; if he is not the philosopher ofnature, he is the friend of his country, and well understands herinterest. Even the men of inferior life among us, whose occupations, onewould think, tend to produce minds as callous as the mettle they work;lay a stronger claim to civilization, than in any other place with whichI am acquainted. I am sorry to mutilate the compliment, when I mentionthe lower race of the other sex: no lady ought to be publicly insulted, let her appear in what dress she pleases. Both sexes, however, agree inexhibiting a mistaken pity, in cases of punishment, particularly bypreventing that for misconduct in the military profession. 

It is singular, that a predilection for Birmingham, is entertained byevery denomination of visitants, from Edward Duke of York, who saw us in1765, down to the presuming quack, who, griped with necessity, boldlydischarges his filth from the stage. A paviour, of the name of Obrien, assured me in 1750, that he only meant to sleep one night in Birmingham, in his way from London to Dublin. But instead of pursuing his journeynext morning, as intended, he had continued in the place thirty-fiveyears: and though fortune had never elevated him above the pebbles ofthe street, yet he had never repented his stay. 

It has already been remarked that I first saw Birmingham in 1741, accidentally cast into those regions of civility; equally unknown toevery inhabitant, nor having the least idea of becoming one myself. Though the reflections of an untaught youth of seventeen cannot bestriking, yet, as they were purely natural, permit me to describe them. 

I had been before acquainted with two or three principal towns. Theenvirons of all I had seen were composed of wretched dwellings, repletewith dirt and poverty; but the buildings in the exterior of Birminghamrose in a style of elegance. Thatch, so plentiful in other towns, wasnot to be met with in this. I was surprised at the place, but more so atthe people: They were a species I had never seen: They possessed avivacity I had never beheld: I had been among dreamers, but now I sawmen awake: Their very step along the street showed alacrity: Every manseemed to know and prosecute his own affairs: The town was large, andfull of inhabitants, and those inhabitants full of industry. I had seenfaces elsewhere tinctured with an idle gloom void of meaning, but here, with a pleasing alertness: Their appearance was strongly marked with themodes of civil life: I mixed a variety of company, chiefly of the lowerranks, and rather as a silent spectator: I was treated with an easyfreedom by all, and with marks of favour by some: Hospitality seemed toclaim this happy people for her own, though I knew not at that time fromwhat cause. 

I did not meet with this treatment in 1770, twenty nine years after, atBosworth, where I accompanied a gentleman, with no other intent, than toview the field celebrated for the fall of Richard the third. Theinhabitants enjoyed the cruel satisfaction of setting their dogs at usin the street, merely because we were strangers. Human figures, nottheir own, are seldom seen in those inhospitable regions: Surroundedwith impassable roads, no intercourse with man to humanise the mind, nocommerce to smooth their rugged manners, they continue the boorsof nature. 

Thus it appears, that characters are influenced by profession. That thegreat advantage of private fortune, and the greater to society, ofsoftening and forming the mind, are the result of trade. But these arenot the only benefits that flow from this desirable spring. It opens thehand of charity to the assistance of distress; witness the Hospital andthe two Charity Schools, supported by annual donation: It adds to thenational security, by supplying the taxes for internal use, and, forthe prosecution of war. It adds to that security, by furnishing theinhabitants with riches, which they are ever anxious to preserve, evenat the risk of their lives; for the preservation of private wealth, tends to the preservation of the state. 

It augments the value of landed property, by multiplying the number ofpurchasers: It produces money to improve that land into a higher stateof cultivation, which ultimately redounds to the general benefit, byaffording plenty. 

It unites bodies of men in social compact, for their mutual interest: Itadds to the credit and pleasure of individuals, by enabling them topurchase entertainment and improvement, both of the corporeal andintellectual kind. 

It finds employment for the hand that would otherwise be found inmischief: And it elevates the character of a nation in the scale ofgovernment. 

Birmingham, by her commercial consequence, has, of late, justly assumedthe liberty of nominating one of the representatives for the county;and, to her honor, the elective body never regretted her choice. 

In that memorable contest of 1774, we were almost to a man of one mind:if an _odd dozen_ among us, of a different _mould_, did not assimulatewith the rest, they were treated, as men of free judgment should ever betreated, _with civility_, and the line of harmony was not broken. 

If this little treatise happens to travel into some of our corporateplaces, where the fire of contention, blown by the breath of party, iskept alive during seven years, let them cast a second glance over theabove remark. 

Some of the first words after the creation, _increase and multiply_, areapplicable to Birmingham; but as her own people are insufficient for themanufactures, she demands assistance for two or three miles round her. In our early morning walks, on every road proceeding from the town, wemeet the sons of diligence returning to business, and bringing _in_ thesame dusky smuts, which the evening before they took out. And thoughthey appear of a darkish complexion, we may consider it is the propertyof every metal to sully the user; money itself has the same effect, andyet he deems it no disgrace who is daubed by fingering it; the disgracelies with him who has none to finger. 

The profits arising from labour, to the lower orders of men, seem tosurpass those of other mercantile places. This is not only visible inthe manufactures peculiar to Birmingham, but in the more commonoccupations of the barber, taylor, shoe-maker, etc. Who bask in the raysof plenty. 

It is entertaining to the curious observer, to contemplate the variationof things. We know of nothing, either in the natural or moral world, that continues in the same state: From a number of instances that mightbe adduced, permit me to name one--that of money. This, considered inthe abstract, is of little or no value; but, by the common consent ofmankind, is erected into a general arbitrator, to fix a value upon allothers: a medium through which every thing passes: a balance by whichthey must be weighed: a touchstone to which they must be applied to findtheir worth: though we can neither eat nor drink it, we can neither eatnor drink without it. --He that has none best knows its use. 

It has long been a complaint, that the same quantity of that medium, money, will not produce so much of the necessaries of life, particularlyfood, as heretofore; or, in other words, that provisions have beengradually rising for many ages, and that the milling, which formerlysupported the laborious family a whole week, will not now support itone day. 

In times of remarkable scarcity, such as those in 1728, 41, 56, 66, and74, the press abounded with publications on the subject; but none, whichI have seen, reached the question, though short. 

It is of no consequence, whether a bushel of corn sells for six _pence_, or six _shillings_, but, what _time_ a man must labour before hecan earn one?

If, by the moderate labour of thirty-six hours, in the reign of Henrythe Third, he could acquire a groat, which would purchase a bushel ofwheat; and if, in the reign of George the Third, he works the samenumber of hours for eight shillings, which will make the same purchase, the balance is exactly even. If, by our commercial concerns with theeastern and the western worlds, the kingdom abounds with bullion, moneymust be cheaper; therefore a larger quantity is required to perform thesame use. If money would go as far now as in the days of Henry theThird, a journeyman in Birmingham might amass a ministerial fortune. 

Whether provisions abound more or less? And whether the poor fare betteror worse, in this period than in the other? are also questions dependantupon trade, and therefore worth investigating. 

If the necessaries of life abound more in this reign, than in that ofHenry the Third, we cannot pronounce them dearer. 

Perhaps it will not be absurd to suppose, that the same quantity ofland, directed by the superior hand of cultivation, in the eighteenthcentury, will yield twice the produce, as by the ignorant management ofthe thirteenth. We may suppose also, by the vast number of newinclosures which have annually taken place since the revolution, thattwice the quantity of land is brought into cultivation: It follows, thatfour times the quantity of provisions is raised from the earth, than wasraised under Henry the Third; which will leave a large surplus in hand, after we have deducted for additional luxury, a greater number ofconsumers, and also for exportation. 

This extraordinary stock is also a security against famine, which ourforefathers severely felt. 

It will be granted, that in both periods the worst of the meat was usedby the poor. By the improvements in agriculture, the art of feedingcattle is well understood, and much in practice; as the land improves, so will the beast that feeds upon it: if the productions, therefore, ofthe slaughter house, in this age, surpass those of Henry the Third, thenthe fare of the poor is at least as much superior now, as the worst offat meat is superior to the worst of lean. 

The poor inhabitants in that day, found it difficult to procure bread;but in this, they sometimes add cream and butter. 

Thus it appears, that through the variation of things a balance ispreserved: That provisions have not advanced in price, but are moreplentiful: And that the lower class of men have found in trade, thatintricate, but beneficial clue, which guides them into the confinesof luxury. 

Provisions and the manufactures, like a pair of scales, will notpreponderate together; but as weight is applied to the one, the otherwill advance. 

As labour is irksome to the body, a man will perform no more of it thannecessity obliges him; it follows, that in those times when plentypreponderates, the manufactures tend to decay: For if a man can supporthis family with three days labour, he will not work six. 

As the generality of men will perform no more work than produces amaintenance, reduce that maintenance to half the price, and they willperform but half the work: Hence half the commerce of a nation isdestroyed at one blow, and what is lost by one kingdom will be recoveredby another, in rivalship. 

A commercial people, therefore, will endeavour to keep provisions at asuperior rate, yet within reach of the poor. 

It follows also, that luxury is no way detrimental to trade; for wefrequently observe ability and industry exerted to support it. 

The practice of the Birmingham manufacturer, for, perhaps, a hundredgenerations, was to keep within the warmth of his own forge. 

The foreign customer, therefore, applied to him for the execution oforders, and regularly made his appearance twice a year; and though thismode of business is not totally extinguished, yet a very different oneis adopted. 

The merchant stands at the head of the manufacturer, purchases hisproduce, and travels the whole island to promote the sale: A practicethat would have astonished our fore fathers. The commercial spirit ofthe age, hath also penetrated beyond the confines of Britain, andexplored the whole continent of Europe; nor does it stop there, for theWest-Indies, and the American world, are intimately acquainted with theBirmingham merchant; and nothing but the exclusive command of theEast-India Company, over the Asiatic trade, prevents our riders fromtreading upon the heels of each other, in the streets of Calcutta. 

To this modern conduct of Birmingham, in sending her sons to the foreignmarket, I ascribe the chief cause of her rapid increase. 

By the poor's books it appears, there are not three thousand houses inBirmingham, that pay the parochial rates; whilst there are more thenfive thousand that do not, chiefly through inability. Hence we see whatan amazing number of the laborious class of mankind is among us. Thisvaluable part of the creation, is the prop of the remainder. They arethe rise and support of our commerce. From this fountain we draw ourluxuries and our pleasures. They spread our tables, and oil the wheelsof our carriages. They are also the riches and the defence ofthe country. 

How necessary then, is it to direct with prudence, the rough passions ofthis important race, and make them subservient to the great end of civilsociety. The deficiency of conduct in this useful part of our speciesought to be supplied by the superior. 

Let not the religious reader be surprised if I say, their follies, andeven their vices, under certain restrictions, are beneficial. Corruptionin the community, as well as in the natural body, accelerates vitalexistence. 

Let us survey one of the men, who begin life at the lowest ebb; withoutproperty, or any other advantage but that of his own prudence. 

He comes, by length of time and very minute degrees, from being directedhimself, to have the direction of others. He quits the precincts ofservitude, and enters the dominions of command: He laboured for others, but now others labour for him. Should the whole race, therefore, possessthe same prudence, they would all become masters. Where then could befound the servant? Who is to perform the manual part? Who to execute theorders of the merchant? A world consisting only of masters, is like amonster consisting only of a head. We know that the head is no more thanthe leading power, the members are equally necessary. And, as one memberis placed in a more elevated state than another, so are the ranks ofmen, that no void may be left. The hands and the feet, were designed toexecute the drudgery of life; the head for direction, and all aresuitable in their sphere. 

If we turn the other side of the picture, we shall see a man born inaffluence, take the reins of direction; but like Phæton, not being ableto guide them, blunders on from mischief to mischief, till he involveshimself in destruction, comes prone to the earth, and many are injuredby his fall. From directing the bridle, he submits to the bit; seeks forbread in the shops, the line designed him by nature; where his handsbecome callous with the file, and where, for the first time in his life, he becomes useful to an injured society. 

Thus, from imprudence, folly, and vice, is produced poverty;--povertyproduces labour; from labour, arise the manufactures; and from these, the riches of a country, with all their train of benefits. 

It would be difficult to enumerate the great variety of trades practisedin Birmingham, neither would it give pleasure to the reader. Some ofthem, spring up with the expedition of a blade of grass, and, like that, wither in a summer. If some are lasting, like the sun, others seem tochange with the moon. Invention is ever at work. Idleness; themanufactory of scandal, with the numerous occupations connected with thecotton; the linen, the silk, and the woollen trades, are littleknown among us. 

Birmingham begun with the productions of the anvil, and probably willend with them. The sons of the hammer, were once her chief inhabitants;but that great croud of artists is now lost in a greater: Genius seemsto increase with multitude. 

Part of the riches, extension, and improvement of Birmingham, are owingto the late John Taylor, Esq; who possessed the singular powers ofperceiving things as they really were. The spring, and consequence ofaction, were open to his view; whom we may justly deem the Shakespearor the Newton of his day. He rose from minute beginnings, toshine in the commercial hemisphere, as they in the poetical andphilosophical--Imitation is part of the human character. An example ofsuch eminence in himself, promoted exertion in others; which, whenprudence guided the helm, led on to fortune: But the bold adventurer whocrouded sail, without ballast and without rudder, has been known tooverset the vessel, and sink insolvent. 

To this uncommon genius we owe the gilt-button, the japanned and giltsnuff-boxes, with the numerous race of enamels--From the same fountainalso issued the paper snuff-box, at which one servant earned threepounds ten shillings per week, by painting them at a farthing each. 

In his shop were weekly manufactured buttons to the amount of 800_l_exclusive of other valuable productions. 

One of the present nobility, of distinguished taste, examining theworks, with the master, purchased some of the articles, amongst others, a toy of eighty guineas value, and, while paying for them, observed witha smile, "he plainly saw he could not reside in Birmingham for less thantwo hundred pounds a day. "

The toy trades first made their appearance in Birmingham, in thebeginning of Charles the second, in an amazing variety, attended withall their beauties and their graces. The first in pre-eminence is

The BUTTON. 

This beautiful ornament appears with infinite variation; and though theoriginal date is rather uncertain, yet we well remember the long coatsof our grandfathers covered with half a gross of high-tops, and thecloaks of our grandmothers, ornamented with a horn button nearly thesize of a crown piece, a watch, or a John apple, curiously wrought, ashaving passed through the Birmingham press. 

Though the common round button keeps on with the steady pace of the day, yet we sometimes see the oval, the square, the pea, and the pyramid, flash into existence. In some branches of traffic the wearer callsloudly for new fashions; but in this, the fashions tread upon eachother, and crowd upon the wearer. The consumption of this article isastonishing. There seem to be hidden treasures couched within this magiccircle, known only to a few, who extract prodigious fortunes out ofthis useful toy, whilst a far greater number, submit to a statute ofbankruptcy. 

Trade, like a restive horse, can rarely be managed; for, where one iscarried to the end of a successful journey, many are thrown off by theway. The next that calls our attention is

The BUCKLE. 

Perhaps the shoe, in one form or other, is nearly as ancient as thefoot. It originally appeared under the name of, sandal; this was noother than a sole without an upper-leather. That fashion hath since beeninverted, and we now, sometimes, see an upper-leather nearly without asole. But, whatever was the cut of the shoe, it always demanded afastening. Under the house of Plantagenet, it shot horizontally from thefoot, like a Dutch scait, to an enormous length, so that the extremitywas fattened to the knee, sometimes, with a silver chain, a silk lace, or even a pack-thread string, rather than avoid _genteel taste_. 

This thriving beak, drew the attention of the legislature, who weredetermined to prune the exorbitant shoot. For in 1465 we find an orderof council, prohibiting the growth of the shoe toe, to more than twoinches, under the penalty of a dreadful curse from the priest, and, which was worse, the payment of twenty shillings to the king. 

This fashion, like every other, gave way to time, and in its stead, therose began to bud upon the foot. Which under the house of Tudor, openedin great perfection. No shoe was fashionable, without being fattenedwith a full-blown rose. Under the house of Stuart, the rose withered, which gave rise to the shoe-string. 

The beaus of that age, ornamented their lower tier with double laces ofsilk, tagged with silver, and the extremities beautified with a smallfringe of the same metal. The inferior class, wore laces of plain silk, linen, or even a thong of leather; which last is yet to be met with inthe humble plains of rural life. But I am inclined to think, the artistsof Birmingham had no great hand in fitting out the beau of thelast century. 

The revolution was remarkable, for the introduction of William, ofliberty, and the minute buckle; not differing much in size and shapefrom the horse bean. 

This offspring of fancy, like the clouds, is ever changing. The fashionof to-day, is thrown into the casting pot to-morrow. 

The buckle seems to have undergone every figure, size and shape ofgeometrical invention: It has passed through every form in the wholezodiac of Euclid. The large square buckle is the _ton_ of the presentday. The ladies also, have adopted the reigning taste: It is difficultto discover their beautiful little feet, covered with an enormous shieldof buckle; and we wonder to see the active motion under the massiveload. Thus the British fair support the manufactures of Birmingham, andthus they kill by weight of metal. 

GUNS. 

Though the sword and the gun are equal companions in war, it does notappear they are of equal original. I have already observed, that thesword was the manufacture of Birmingham, in the time of the Britons. 

But tradition tells us, King William was once lamenting "That guns werenot manufactured in his dominions, but that he was obliged to procurethem from Holland at a great expence, and greater difficulty. "

One of the Members for Warwickshire being present, told the King, "Hethought his constituents could answer his Majesty's wishes. "--The Kingwas pleased with the remark, and the Member posted to Birmingham. Uponapplication to a person in Digbeth, whose name I forget, the pattern wasexecuted with precision, which, when presented to the royal board, gaveentire satisfaction. Orders were immediately issued for large numbers, which have been so frequently repeated that they never lost their road;and the ingenious artists have been so amply rewarded, that they haverolled in their carriages to this day. --Thus the same instrument whichis death to one man, is genteel life to another. 

LEATHER. 

It may seem singular to a modern eye, to view this place in the light ofone vast tan-yard. --Though there is no appearance of that necessaryarticle among us, yet Birmingham was once a famous market for leather. Digbeth not only abounded with tanners, but large numbers of hidesarrived weekly for sale, where the whole country found a supply. Whenthe weather would allow, they were ranged in columns in the High-street, and at other times deposited in the Leather-hall, at the East end ofNew-street, appropriated for their reception. 

This market was of great antiquity, perhaps not less than seven hundredyears, and continued till the beginning of the present century. We havetwo officers, annually chosen, by the name of _leather-sealers_, from apower given them by ancient charter, to mark the vendible hides; but nowthe leather-sealers have no duty, but that of taking an elegant dinner. Shops are erected upon tan-fats; the Leather-hall is gone todestruction, and we are reduced to one solitary tanner. 

STEEL. 

The progress of the arts, is equal to the progress of time; they began, and will end together. Though some of both are lost, yet they bothaccumulate. 

The manufacture of iron, in Birmingham, is ancient beyond research; thatof steel is of modern date. 

Pride is inseparable from the human character, the man without it, isthe man without breath: we trace it in various forms, through everydegree of people; but like those objects about us, it is bestdiscovered in our own sphere; those above, and those below us, ratherescape our notice; envy attacks an equal. 

Pride induced the Pope to look with contempt on the European Princes, and now induces them to return the compliment; it taught insolence tothe Spaniard, selfishness to the Dutch; it teaches the rival nations ofFrance and England to contend for power. 

Pride preserves a man from mean actions, it throws him upon meaner; itwhets the sword for destruction; it urges the laudable acts of humanity;it is the universal hinge on which we move; it glides the gentle streamof usefulness, it overflows the mounds of reason, and swells into adestructive flood; like the sun, in his milder rays, it animates anddraws us towards perfection; but, like him, in his fiercer beams, itscorches and destroys. 

Money is not the necessary attendant of pride, for it abounds no wheremore than in the lowest ranks. It adds a sprucer air to a sunday dress;casts a look of disdain from a bundle of rags; it boasts the _honor_ ofa family, while poverty unites a sole and upper-leather with a bandageof shop-thread. There are people who even _pride_ themselves inhumility. 

This dangerous _good_, this necessary _evil_, supports the femalecharacter; without it, the brightest part of the creation woulddegenerate. 

It will be asked, "What portion may be allowed?" Prudence will answer, "As much as you please, but _not_ to disgust. "

It is equally found in the senate-house, or the button-shop; the sceneof action is the scene of pride; and I, unable to adorn this work witherudition, take a pride in cloathing a worn-out subject afresh, and thatpride will increase, should the world smi ---- "But why, says my friend, do you forsake the title of your chapter, and lead us a dance throughthe mazes of pride? Can there be any connexion between that sovereignpassion, and forging a bar of steel?" Yes, he who makes steel prideshimself in carrying the art one step higher than he who makes iron. 

This art appeared among us in the seventeenth century; was introduced bythe family of Kettle. The name of Steelhouse-lane will convey toposterity the situation of the works, the commercial spirit ofBirmingham, will convey the produce to the Antipodes. 

From this warm, but dismal climate, issues the button, which shines onthe breast, and the bayonet, intended to pierce it; the lancet, whichbleeds the man, and the rowel, the horse; the lock, which preserves thebeloved bottle, and the screw, to uncork it; the needle, equallyobedient to the thimble and the pole. 

NAILS. 

In most occupations, the profit of the master and the journeyman bear aproportion: if the former is able to figure in genteel life, the latteris able to figure in silk stockings. If the matter can afford to allowupon his goods ten per cent. Discount for money, the servant can affordto squander half his wages. In a worn-down trade, where the tides ofprofit are reduced to a low ebb, and where imprudence sets her foot uponthe premises, the matter and the man starve together. Only _half_ thisis our present case. 

The art of nail-making is one of the most ancient among us; we maysafely charge its antiquity with four figures. 

We cannot consider it a trade _in_, so much as _of_ Birmingham; for wehave but few nail-makers left in the town: our nailers are chieflymasters, and rather opulent. The manufacturers are so scattered roundthe country, that we cannot travel far, in any direction, out of thesound of the nail-hammer. But Birmingham, like a powerful magnet, drawsthe produce of the anvil to herself. 

When I first approached her, from Walsall, in 1741, I was surprized atthe prodigious number of blacksmiths shops upon the road; and could notconceive how a country, though populous, could support so many people ofthe same occupation. In some of these shops I observed one, or morefemales, stript of their upper garment, and not overcharged with theirlower, wielding the hammer with all the grace of the sex. The beautiesof their face were rather eclipsed by the smut of the anvil; or, inpoetical phrase, the tincture of the forge had taken possession of thoselips, which might have been taken by the kiss. 

Struck with the novelty, I inquired, "Whether the ladies in this countryshod horses?" but was answered, with a smile, "They are nailers. "

A fire without heat, a nailer of a fair complexion, or one who despisesthe tankard, are equally rare among them. His whole system of faith maybe comprised in one article--That the slender two-penny mug, used in apublic house, _is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked_. 

While the master reaps the harvest of plenty, the workman submits to thescanty gleanings of penury, a thin habit, an early old age, and afigure bending towards the earth. Plenty comes not near his dwelling, except of rags, and of children. But few recruits arise from hisnail-shop, except for the army. His hammer is worn into deep hollows, fitting the fingers of a dark and plump hand, hard as the timber itwears. His face, like the moon, is often seen through a cloud. 

BELLOWS. 

Man first catches the profession; the profession afterwards moulds theman. 

In whatever profession we engage, we assume its character, become a partof it, vindicate its honor, its eminence, its antiquity; or feel a woundthrough its sides. 

Though there may be no more pride in a minister of state, who opens abudget, than in a tinker who carries one, yet they equally contend forthe honor of their trade. 

Every man, from the attorney's clerk to the butcher's apprentice, feelshis own honor, with that of his profession, wounded by travelling onfoot. To be caught on his feet, is nearly the same as to be caught in acrime. The man who has gathered up his limbs, and hung them on a horse, looks _down_ with dignity on him who has not; while the man on footoffers his humble bow, afraid to look up--If providence favours us withfeet, is it a disgrace to use them?--I could instance a person whocondescended to quit London, that center of trick, lace, and equipage;and in 1761, open a draper's shop in Birmingham: but his feet, or his_pride_, were so much hurt by walking, that he could scarcely travel tendoors from his own without a post-chaise--the result was, he became suchan adept in riding, that in a few months, he rode triumphant into theGazette. Being quickly scoured bright by the ill-judged laws ofbankruptcy, he rode, for the last time, _out_ of Birmingham, where hehad so often rode _in_: but his injured creditors were obliged to _walk_after the slender dividend of eighteen pence in the pound. The man who_can_ use his feet, is envied by him who _cannot_; and he, in turn, envies him who _will_ not. Our health and our feet, in a double sense, go together. The human body has been justly compared to a musicalinstrument; I add, this instrument was never perfectly in tune, withouta due portion of exercise. 

The man of military character, puts on, with his scarlet, that martialair, which tells us, "he has formed a resolution to kill:" and wenaturally ask, "Which sex?"

Some "_pert and affected author_" with anxiety on his brow, will be aptto step forward, and say, "Will you celebrate the man of the sword, whotransfers the blush of his face to his back, and neglect the man of thequill, who, like the pelican, portions out his vitals to feed others?Which is preferable, he who lights up the mental powers, or he who putsthem out? the man who stores the head with knowledge, or he who storesit with a bullet?"

The antiquarian supports his dignity with a solemn aspect; he treats asin and a smile as synonimous; one half of which has been discarded fromhis childhood. If a smile in the house of religion, or of mourning, beabsurd, is there any reason to expel it from those places where it isnot? A tale will generally allow of two ingredients, _information_ and_amusement_: but the historian and the antiquarian have, from timeimmemorial, used but _one_. Every smile, except that of contempt, isbeneficial to the constitution; they tend to promote long life, andpleasure while that life lasts. Much may be said in favour of tears ofjoy, but more on joy without tears. I wonder the lively fancy of Hogarthnever sketched the _dull_ historian, in the figure of an ass, ploddingto market under his panniers, laden with the fruits of antiquity, andold time driving up the _rear_, with his scythe converted into anhedge-stake. 

The bellows-maker proclaims the _honor_ of his art, by observing, healone produces that instrument which commands the winds; his softbreeze, like that of the south, counter-acts the chill blasts of winter:by his efforts, like those of the sun, the world receives light: hecreates when he pleases, and gives _breath_ when he creates. In hiscaverns the winds deep at pleasure; and by his _orders_ they set Europein flames. 

He pretends, that a gentle puff in the eyes of a _reviewer_, from a pairof his bellows, would tend to clear the sight, and enable him todistinguish between a smile and a serious face: that his circular board, like a ferula, applied by the handle to an inferior part, would inducehim to peruse the _whole treatise_, and not partially pronounce fromthe preface. 

He farther pretends, that the _antiquity_ of his occupation will appearfrom the plenty of elm, once in the neighbourhood, but long cut up forhis use: that the leather-market in Birmingham, for many ages, furnishedhim with sides; and though the manufacture of iron is allowed to beextremely ancient, yet the smith could not procure his heat without ablast, nor could that blast be raised without the bellows. 

Two inferences arise from these remarks, that the antiquarian will frownon this little history; and that bellows-making is one of the oldesttrades in Birmingham. 

THREAD. 

We, who reside in the interior parts of the kingdom, may observe thefirst traces of a river issue from its fountain; the current soextremely small, that if a bottle of liquor, distilled through theurinary vessels, was discharged into its course, it would manifestlyaugment the water, and quicken the stream: the reviving bottle, havingadded spirits to the man, seems to add spirits to the river. --If wepursue this river, winding through one hundred and thirty miles, weshall observe it collect strength as it runs, expand its borders, swellinto consequence, employ multitudes of people, carry wealth in itsbosom, and exactly resemble _thread-making_ in Birmingham. 

If we represent to our idea, a man able to employ three or four people, himself in an apron, one of the number; but being _unable_ to write hisname, shows his attachment to the christian religion, by signing the_cross_ to receipts; whose method of book-keeping, like that of thepublican, is _a door and a lump of chalk;_ producing a book which nonecan peruse but himself: who, having manufactured 40lb. Weight of thread, of divers colours, and rammed it into a pair of leather bags, somethinglarger than a pair of boots, which we might deem the arms of his trade_empaled_; flung them on a horse, and placed himself on the top, by wayof a _crest_; visits an adjacent market, to starve with his goods at astall, or retail them to the mercer, nor return without the money--weshall see a thread-maker of 1652. 

If we pursue this occupation, winding through the mazes of one hundredand thirty _years_, we shall see it enlarge its boundaries, multiply itspeople, increase its consequence and wealth, till 1782, when we beholdthe matter in possession of correct accounts, the apron thrown aside, the stall kicked over, the bags tossed into the garret, and the merceroverlooked in the grand prospect of exportation. We farther behold himtake the lead in provincial concerns, step into his own carriage, andhold the king's commission as a magistrate. 

PRINTING, By JOHN BASKERVILLE. 

The pen of an historian rejoices in the actions of the great; the fameof the deserving, like an oak tree, is of sluggish growth; and, like theman himself, they are not matured in a day. The present generationbecomes debtor to him who excels, but the future will discharge thatdebt with more than simple interest. The still voice of fame may warblein his ears towards the close of life, but her trumpet seldom sounds infull clarion, till those ears are stopped with the finger of death. 

This son of genius was born at Wolverley, in the county of Worcester, in1706; heir to a paternal estate of 60_l_. Per annum, which, fifty yearsafter, while in his own possession, had increased to 90_l_. He wastrained to no occupation; but, in 1726, became a writing-matter inBirmingham. --In 1737, he taught school in the Bull-ring, and is said tohave written an excellent hand. 

As painting suited his talents, he entered into the lucrative branch ofjapanning, and resided at No. 22, in Moor-street. 

He took, in 1745, a building lease of eight acres, two furlongs northwest of the town, to which he gave the name of _Easy-hill_, converted itinto a little Eden, and built a house in the center: but the town, as ifconscious of his merit, followed his retreat, and surrounded it withbuildings. --Here he continued the business of a japanner for life: hiscarriage, each pannel of which was a distinct picture, might beconsidered _the pattern-card of his trade_, and was drawn by a beautifulpair of cream-coloured horses. 

His inclination for letters induced him, in 1750, to turn his thoughtstowards the press. He spent many years in the uncertain pursuit; sunk600_l_. Before he could produce one letter to please himself, and somethousands before the shallow stream of profit began to flow. 

His first attempt, in 1756, was a quarto edition of Virgil, price oneguinea, now worth several. --He afterwards printed Paradise Lost, theBible, Common Prayer, Roman and English Classics, etc. In various sizes, with more satisfaction to the literary world than emolument to himself. 

In 1765, he applied to his friend, Dr. Franklin, then at Paris, and nowAmbassador from America, to sound the literati, respecting the purchaseof his types; but received for answer, "That the French, reduced by thewar of 1756, were so far from pursuing schemes of taste, that they wereunable to repair their public buildings, but suffered the scaffolding torot before them. "

In private life he was a humorist; idle in the extreme; but hisinvention was of the true Birmingham model, active. He could welldesign, but procured others to execute; wherever he found merit hecaressed it: he was remarkably polite to the stranger; fond of show: afigure rather of the smaller size, and delighted to adorn that figurewith gold lace. --Although constructed with the light timbers of afrigate, his movement was solemn as a ship of the line. 

During the twenty-five years I knew him, though in the decline of life, he retained the singular traces of a handsome man. If he exhibited apeevish temper, we may consider good-nature and intense thinking arenot always found together. 

Taste accompanied him through the different walks of agriculture, architecture, and the finer arts. Whatever passed through his fingers, bore the lively marks of John Baskerville. 

His aversion to christianity would not suffer him to lie amongchristians; he therefore erected a mausoleum in his own grounds for hisremains, and died without issue, in 1775, at the age of 69. --Manyefforts were used after his death, to dispose of the types; but, to thelading discredit of the British nation, no purchaser could be found inthe whole commonwealth of letters. The universities coldly rejected theoffer. The London booksellers understood no science like that of profit. The valuable property, therefore, lay a dead weight, till purchased by aliterary society at Paris, in 1779, for 3700_l_. 

It is an old remark, that no country abounds with genius so much as thisisland; and it is a remark nearly as old, that genius is no where solittle rewarded; how else came Dryden, Goldsmith, and Chatterton to wantbread? Is merit, like a flower of the field, too common to attractnotice? or is the use of money beneath the care of exalted talents?

Invention seldom pays the inventor. If you ask, what fortune Baskervilleought to have been rewarded with? "The _most_ which can be comprised infive figures. " If you farther ask, what he possessed? "The _least_;" butnone of it squeezed from the press. What will the shade of this greatman think, if capable of thinking, that he has spent a fortune ofopulence, and a life of genius, in carrying to perfection the greatestof all human inventions; and his productions, slighted by his country, were hawked over Europe, in quest of a bidder?

We must _revere_, if we do not _imitate_, the taste and economy of theFrench nation, who, brought by the British arms, in 1762, to the vergeof ruin, rising above distress, were able, in 17 years, to purchaseBaskerville's elegant types, refused by his own country, and expend anhundred thousand pounds in printing the works of Voltaire!

BRASS FOUNDRY. 

The curious art before us is perhaps less ancient than profitable, andless healthful than either. I shall not enquire whose grandfather wasthe first brass-founder here, but shall leave their grandsons to settlethat important point with my successor who shall next write the Historyof Birmingham. Whoever was the first, I believe he figured in the reignof King William; but, though he sold his productions at an excessiveprice, he did not, like the moderns, possess the art of acquiring afortune: but now the master knows the way to affluence, and the servantto liquor. 

To enumerate the great variety of occupations amongst us, would be asuseless, and as unentertaining to the reader, perhaps to the writer, asto count the pebbles in the street. 

Having therefore visited a few, by way of specimen, I shall desist fromfarther pursuit, and wheel off in a

HACKNEY COACH. 

Wherever the view of profit opens, the eyes of a Birmingham man are opento see it. 

In 1775, a person was determined to try if a Hackney Coach would takewith the inhabitants. He had not mounted the box many times before heinadvertently dropped the expression, "Thirty shillings a day!" The wordwas attended with all the powers of magic, for instantly a second rolledinto the circus. 

And these elevated sons of the lash are now augmented to fifteen, whomwe may justly denominate a club of tippling deities, who preside overweddings, christenings, and pleasurable excursions. 

It would give satisfaction to the curious calculator, could any mode befound of discovering the returns of trade, made by the unitedinhabitants. But the question is complicated. It only admits of surmise. From comparing many instances in various ranks of life among us, I havebeen led to suppose, that the weekly returns exceed the annual rent ofthe buildings. And as these rents are nearly ascertained, perhaps, wemay conclude, that those returns are about 80, 000. If we deduct for fourweeks holidays, the annual returns will be--3, 840, 000_l_. 

Now we have entered the visionary regions of fancy, let us pursue thethought a stage farther; and consider Birmingham as one great family, possessed of a capital of Eight Millions. Her annual returns in trade asabove, from which we will deduct for the purchase of

 Raw materials - - - - - - - 1, 920, 000 House rent, repairs and taxes - - - 100, 000 Losses in trade - - - - - - 50, 000 Maintenance, clothing, and pleasurable expences, for 50, 000 people, at 10_s_. Per week - - - - - - - 1, 300, 000 --------- 3, 370, 000 --------- Annual addition to the capital - - - 470, 000

Should a future antagonist arise, and attack me in numbers, I promisebeforehand to relinquish the field; for I profess only, to stand uponideal ground. 

BANK. 

Perhaps a public bank is as necessary to the health of the commercialbody, as exercise to the natural. The circulation of the blood andspirits are promoted by one, so are cash and bills by the other; and astagnation is equally detrimental to both. Few places are without: YetBirmingham, famous in the annals of traffic, could boast no such claim. To remedy this defect therefore, about every tenth trader was a banker, or, a retailer of cash. At the head of whom were marshalled the wholetrain of drapers and grocers, till the year 1765, when a regular bankwas established by Messrs. Taylor and Lloyd, two opulent tradesmen, whose credit being equal to that of the bank of England, quicklycollected the shining rays of sterling property into its focus. 

GOVERNMENT. 

Have you, my dear reader, seen a sword hilt, of curious, and ofBirmingham manufactory, covered with spangles of various sizes, everyone of which carries a separate lustre, but, when united, has a dazzlingeffect? Or, have you seen a ring, from the same origin, set withdiamonds of many dimensions, the least of which, sparkles with amazingbeauty, but, when beheld in cluster, surprize the beholder? Or, haveyou, in a frosty evening, seen the heavens bespangled with refulgentsplendor, each stud shining with intrinsic excellence, but, viewed inthe aggregate, reflect honour upon the maker, and enliven thehemisphere? Such is the British government. Such is that excellentsystem of polity, which shines, the envy of the stranger, and theprotector of the native. 

Every city, town and village in the English hemisphere, hath a separatejurisdiction of its own, and may justly be deemed _a stud in thegrand lustre_. 

Though the British Constitution is as far from perfection, as the gloryof the ring and the hilt is from that of the sun which causes it, or thestars from the day; yet perhaps it stands higher in the scale ofexcellence, than that of its neighbours. We may, with propriety, allowthat body to shine with splendor, which hath been polishing forseventeen hundred years. Much honour is due to the patriotic meritwhich advanced it to its present eminence. 

Though Birmingham is but one sparkle of the brilliant clustre, yet sheis a sparkle of the first _water_, and of the first _magnitude_. 

The more perfect any system of government, the happier the people. Awise government will punish for the commission of crimes, but a wiserwill endeavour to prevent them. Man is an active animal: If he is notemployed in some useful pursuit, he will employ himself in mischief. Example is also prevalent: If one man falls into error, he often drawsanother. Though heaven, for wise purposes, suffers a people to fulfilthe measure of their iniquities, a prudent state will nip them inthe bud. 

It is easy to point out some places, only one third the magnitude ofBirmingham, whose frequent breaches of the law, and quarrels amongthemselves, find employment for half a dozen magistrates, and four timesthat number of constables; whilst the business of this, was for manyyears conducted by a single Justice, the late John Wyrley, Esq. If thereader should think I am mistaken and object, that parish affairs cannotbe conducted without a second? Let me reply, He conducted thatsecond also. 

As human nature is nearly the same, whether in or out of Birmingham; andas enormities seem more prevalent out than in, we may reasonably ascribethe cause to the extraordinary industry of the inhabitants, not allowingtime to brood over, and bring forth mischief, equal to places ofinferior diligence. 

We have at present two acting magistrates to hold the beam of justice, the Rev. Benjamin Spencer, and Joseph Carles, Esq; who both reside ata distance. 

Many of our corporate towns received their charters from that amiable, but unfortunate prince, Henry the Second. These were the first dawningsof British liberty, after fixing the Norman yoke. They were afterwardsratified and improved by the subsequent Kings of England; granting notonly the manors, but many exclusive privileges. But at this day, thoseplaces which were so remarkably favoured with the smiles of royalty, arenot quite so free as those that were not. The prosperity of this happyplace proves the assertion, of which every man is free the momenthe enters. 

We often behold a pompous corporation, which sounds well in history, over something like a dirty village--This is a head without a body. Thevery reverse is our case--We are a body without a head. For thoughBirmingham has undergone an amazing alteration in extension, riches andpopulation, yet the government is nearly the same as the Saxons left it. This part of my important history therefore must suffer an eclipse: Thisillustrious chapter, that rose in dazling brightness, must be veiled inthe thick clouds of obscurity: I shall figure with my corporation in adespicable light. I am not able to bring upon the stage, a mayor and agroup of aldermen, dressed in antique scarlet, bordered with fur, drawing a train of attendants; the meanest of which, even the pinder, isbadged with silver: Nor treat my guest with a band of music, in scarletcloaks with broad laces. I can grace the hand of my Birmingham fidlerwith only a rusty instrument, and his back with barely a whole coat;neither have I a mace for the inaugeration of the chief magistrate. Thereader, therefore, must either quit the place, or be satisfied with suchentertainment as the company affords. 

The officers, who are annually chosen, to direct in this prosperous featof fortune, are

 An High Bailiff. Two High Tasters. Low Bailiff. Two Low Tasters. Two Constables. Two Asseirers. And Headborough. Two Leather Sealers. 

All which, the constables excepted, are no more than servants to thelord of the manor; and whose duty extends no farther, than to thepreservation of the manorial rights. 

The high bailiff is to inspect the market, and see that justice takesplace between buyer and seller; to rectify the weights and dry measuresused in the manor. 

The low bailiff summons a jury, who choose all the other officers, andgenerally with prudence. But the most important part of his office is, to treat his friends at the expence of about Seventy Pounds. 

The headborough is only an assistant to the constables, chiefly in timeof absence. 

High tasters examine the goodness of beer, and its measure. 

Low tasters inspect the meat exposed to sale, and cause that to bedestroyed which is unfit for use. 

Asseirers ratify the chief rent and amercements, between the lord andthe inhabitant. And the

Leather sealers, stamped a public seal upon the hides, when Birminghamwas a market for leather. 

These manorial servants, instituted by ancient charter, chiefly possessa name, without an office. Thus order seems assisted by industry, andthus a numerous body of inhabitants are governed without a governor. 

Exclusive of the choice of officers, the jury impannelled by the lowbailiff, have the presentation of all encroachments upon the lord'swaste, which has long been neglected. 

The duties of office are little known, except that of taking a generousdinner, which is punctually observed. It is too early to begin businesstill the table is well stored with bottles, and too late afterwards. 

During the existence of the house of Birmingham, the court-leet was heldat the Moat, in what we should now think a large and shabby room, conducted under the eye of the low bailiff, at the expence of the lord. 

The jury, twice a year, were witnesses, that the famous dish of roastbeef, ancient as the family who gave it, demanded the head of the table. The court was afterwards held at the Leather-hall, and the expence, which was trifling, borne by the bailiff. Time, prosperity, andemulation, are able to effect considerable changes. The jury, in thebeginning of the present century, were impannelled in the Old Cross, then newly erected, from whence they adjourned to the house of thebailiff, and were feasted at the growing charge of _two orthree pounds_. 

This practice continued till about the year 1735, when the company, grown too bulky for a private house, assembled at a tavern, and thebailiff enjoyed the singular privilege of consuming ten pounds uponhis guests. 

It is easier to advance in expences than to retreat. In 1760, they hadincreased to forty pounds, and in the next edition of this work, we mayexpect to see the word _hundred_. 

The lord was anciently founder of the feast, and treated his bailiff;but now that custom is inverted, and the bailiff treats his lord. 

The proclamation of our two fairs, is performed by the high bailiff, inthe name of the Lord of the Manor; this was done a century ago, withoutthe least expence. The strength of his liquor, a silver tankard, and thepride of shewing it, perhaps induced him, in process of time, to treathis attendants. 

His ale, without a miracle, was, in a few years, converted into wine, and that of various sorts; to which was added, a small collation; andnow his friends are complimented with a card, to meet him at the Hotel, where he incurs an expence of twenty pounds. 

While the spirit of the people refines by intercourse, industry, and thesingular jurisdiction among us, this insignificant pimple, on our headof government, swells into a wen. 

Habits approved are soon acquired: a third entertainment has, of lateyears, sprung up, termed _the constables feast_, with this difference, _it is charged to the public_. We may consider it a wart on thepolitical body, which merits the caustic. 

Deritend, being a hamlet of Birmingham, sends her inhabitants to thecourt-leet, where they perform suit and service, and where her constableis chosen by the same jury. 

I shall here exhibit a defective list of our principal officers duringthe last century. If it should be objected, that a petty constable istoo insignificant, being the lowest officer of the crown, for admissioninto history; I answer, by whatever appellation an officer is accepted, he cannot be insignificant who stands at the head of 50, 000 people. Perhaps, therefore, the office of constable may be sought for infuture, and the officer himself assume a superior consequence. 

The dates are the years in which they were chosen, fixed by charter, within thirty days after Michaelmas. 

CONSTABLES. 

1680 John Simco John Cottrill1681 John Wallaxall William Guest1682 George Abel Samuel White1683 Thomas Russell Abraham Spooner1684 Roger Macham William Wheely1685 Thomas Cox John Green1686 Henry Porter Samuel Carless1687 Samuel Banner John Jesson1690 Joseph Robinson John Birch1691 John Rogers Richard Leather1692 Thomas Robins Corbet Bushell1693 Joseph Rann William Sarjeant1694 Rowland Hall John Bryerly1695 Richard Scott George Wells1696 Joseph Haddock Robert Mansell1697 James Greir John Foster1698 John Baker Henry Camden1699 William Kettle Thomas Gisborn1700 John Wilson Joseph Allen1701 Nicholas Bakewell Richard Banner1702 William Collins Robert Groves1703 Henry Parrot Benjamin Carless1704 William Brierly John Hunt1705 Jonathan Seeley Thomas Holloway1706 Robert Moore John Savage1707 Isaac Spooner Samuel Hervey1708 Richard Weston Thomas Cope1709 Samuel Walford Thomas Green1710 John Foxall William Norton1711 Stephen Newton John Taylor1712 William Russel John Cotterell1713 John Shaw Thomas Hallford1714 Randall Bradburn Joseph May1715 Stephen Newton Samuel Russell1716 Stephen Newton Joseph Carless1717 Abraham Foxall William Spilsbury1718 John Gisborn Henry Carver1719 Samuel Hays Joseph Smith1720 John Barnsley John Humphrys1721 William Bennett Thomas Wilson1722 John Harrison Simon Harris

A LIST

OF THE

HIGH BAILIFFS, LOW BAILIFFS, AND CONSTABLES, Of the TOWN of BIRMINGHAM, from 1732, to 1782. 

 HIGH BAILIFFS. LOW BAILIFFS. CONSTABLES. 

1732 Thomas Wilson John Webster Joseph Bradnock John Wilson1733 John Webster Joseph Kettle Thomas Nickin James Baker1734 John Wickins Thomas Lakin [2]Joseph Scott, esq; James Taylor1735 Joseph Marston John Russell John Webster Thomas Ashfield1736 Joseph Bradnock Robert Moore Thomas Wickins Joseph Fullelove1737 James Baker Isaac Ingram John Kettle Richard Porter1738 Joseph Smith William Mason William Hunt Henry Hun1739 Thomas Wickens William Harvey Edward Burton John England1740 Simon Harris Thomas Russel Joseph Richards T. Honeyborn1741 Daniel Gill George Abney Thomas Turner John Bedford17421743 Josiah Jefferys William Kettle John Russel Thomas1744 George Davies J. Humphrys, Jr. William Mason William Ward1745 Edward Burton Robert Moore Joseph Wollaston John Turner17461747 Thomas Ashwell J. Taylor, esq; Joseph Walker Josiah Hunt1748 Thomas Wickens John Roe Robert Moore John Horton1749 Joseph Fullelove Richard Brett Henry Hunt Joseph Ruston1750 Thomas Lakin Joseph Smith John Gill Luke Bell1751 Thomas Turner Benj. Mansell John Walters W. Walsingham1752 James Baker John Taylor Price Thomas Joseph Thomas1753 E. Jordan, esq; Samuel Harvey Samuel Birch Samuel Richards1754 Thomas Cottrell Joseph Richards John Bellears John Camden1755 Joseph Walker John Wells[3] Stephen Colmore John Powell1756 John Bellears J. Kettle, esq; Ambrose Foxall John Gray1757 William Patteson Joseph Webster J. Darbyshire Richard Brett1758 James Horton T. Lawrence Thomas Richards Sam. Pemberton1759 John Walker Thomas Abney G. Spilsbury Edward Weston1760 John Turner Abel Humphrys Richard Dingley Web Marriott1761 John Baskerville Stephen Bedford Michael Lakin Nehemiah Bague1762 Joseph Thomas James Jackson George Birch John Green1763 John Gold John Lee William Parks John Daws1764 Richard Hicks J. Ryland S. Bradburn, esq; Geo. Anderton1765 Thomas Vallant Sam. Richards Ed. H. Noble Elias Wallin1766 John Lane Henry Venour John Lane Joseph Adams1767 John Horn Jo. Wilkinson Richard Rabone Thomas Care1768 Gregory Hicks W. Russell, esq; Thomas Bingham John Moody1769 James Male Samuel Ray Thomas Gisborne William Mansell1770 Joshua Glover Thomas Russell T. Lutwyche Thomas Barker1771 John Harris J. Hornblower Thomas Cooper Walter Salt1772 William Holden Jos. Tyndall R. Anderton T. Hunt1773 Thomas Westley John Richards Ob. Bellamy John Smart1774 John Ward John Francis W. Hodgkins Thomas Wight1775 Thomas Hurd John Taylor, esq; John Startin T. Everton1776 E. W. Patteson Josiah Rogers Thomas Corden Joseph Wright1777 Ed. Thomason S. Pemberton Joseph Jukes Joseph Sheldon1778 Joseph Green William Hunt Thomas Wright John Allen[4]1779 T. Faulconbridge W. Humphrys John Guest Jonathan Wigley1780 Daniel Winwood William Scott William Thomas John Bird1781 William Hicks W. Taylor, esq; John Dallaway Richard Porter1782 Thomas Carless G. Humphrys John Holmes Thomas Barrs

[Footnote 2: Joseph Scott, Esq; not choosing the official part, procureda substitute to perform it, in the person of the late ConstableJames Baker. ]

[Footnote 3: in office, Benjamin Mansell was chosen in his stead. ]

[Footnote 4: was charged with a fine of 25_l_. By the lady of the manor, and John Miles chosen in his stead. ]

 * * * * *

Three of the Inhabitants have, since I knew the place, served the Officeof SHERIFF for the County, viz. 

 John Taylor, Esquire, in - - - - 1756. Edward Jordan, Esquire, in - - - 1757. And Isaac Spooner, Esquire, in - 1763. 

COURT OF REQUESTS. 

Law is the very basis of civil society, without it man would quicklyreturn to his original rudeness; the result would be, robbery andblood:--and even laws themselves are of little moment, without a dueexecution of them--there is a necessity to annex punishment. 

But there is no necessity to punish the living, who are innocent, byhanging the dead bodies of criminals in the air. This indecent andinhuman custom, which originated from the days of barbarism, reflects anindelible disgrace upon a civilized age. The intention, no doubt, waslaudable; to prevent the commission of crimes, but does it answer thatintention?

In 1759, two brothers, of the name of Darby, were hung in chains nearHales-Owen, since which time there has been only one murder committed inthe whole neighbourhood, and that under the very gibbet upon whichthey hung[5]. 

[Footnote 5: Joseph Skidmore, a carrier of Stourbridge, having AnnMansfield, a young woman of Birmingham, under his care, ravished andmurdered her in the evening of December 10, 1774. ]

Justice, however, points out a way wherein the dead body, by conveyingchirurgical knowledge, may be serviceable to the living. 

Laws generally tend, either directly, or remotely, to the protection ofproperty. 

All wise legislators have endeavoured to proportion the punishment tothe crime, but never to exceed it: a well conducted state holds forth ascale of punishments for transgressions of every dimension, beginningwith the simple reprimand, and proceeding downwards even todeath itself. 

It will be granted, that the line of equity ought to be drawn withcritical exactness. 

If by fair trade, persuasion, or finesse, I get the property of anotherinto my hands, even to the trifling value of a shilling, my effectsought to be responsible for that sum. 

If I possess no effects, he certainly retains a right of punishing tothat amount: for if we do not lay this line in the boundaries of strictjustice, it will not lie upon any other ground. And if I am allowedfraud in one shilling, I am allowed it in a greater sum. How farpunishment may be softened by concurring circumstances, isanother question. 

It therefore follows of course, that if my creditor has a right torecover his unfortunate property, those laws are the nearest toperfection, that will enable him to recover it with the most expedition, and the least expence and trouble to us both. 

If the charge of recovery is likely to exceed the debt, he will be aptto desist, I to laugh at him, and to try my skill at a secondenterprize. 

Trade and credit cannot be well separated; they are as closely connectedas the wax and the paper. The laws of credit, therefore, ought to restupon a permanent foundation: neither is law necessary to restraincredit; for if, in a commercial state, it becomes detrimental by itsover growth, it finds itself a remedy. 

Much has been said, and perhaps more than has been thought, concerningthe court before us. The loser is expected to complain, and his friendsto give him a partial hearing; and though he breathes _vengeance_against his antagonist, it ends in a _breath_. 

The looker-on can easily spy an error in the actor. If a fault iscommitted, we are glad it was done by another; besides, it is no newthing for the _outs_ to complain of the _ins_. It will plead strongly inexcuse, to say, the intention was right, if the judgment was wrong. Ifperfection is required, she does not reside upon earth. 

But if these pleadings are not found a balance against prejudice, and aman suffers his wrath to kindle against a valuable institution, becauseperfection does not preside over it, let him peruse an old author, whoasks, "What shall we think of the folly of that man, who throws away theapple, because it contains a core? despises the nut, for the shell? orcasts the diamond into the sea, because it has a flaw?"

Decision is usually established upon oath, both in criminal courts, andin those at Westminster, through which the oath is seen to pass withfree currency. 

A judge is sometimes fond of sheltering himself behind an oath; it maybe had at an easy rate. Each of the contending parties wishes to win hiscause by an oath: but though oaths would be willingly taken, they oughtto be sparingly given. --They may be considered what they generally arenot, _of the last importance_. 

We may observe, that two opponents are ready to swear directly contraryto each other; that if a man asserts a thing, he can do no less thanswear it; and that, after all, an oath proves nothing. 

The commissioners, therefore, wish rather to establish _fact_ upon_proof_; but, if this is wanting, then upon circumstantial evidence; andif this support fails, they chuse to finish a quarrel by a moderate, though a random judgment. 

Much honor is due to that judicial luminary, William Murray, Earl ofMansfield, who presides over the King's-Bench, for introducing equityinto the courts of law, where she had long been a stranger. 

The Court of Requests may justly be charged with weakness, and whatcourt may not? It is inseparable from man. 

A person cannot chuse his capacity, but he may chuse to be a rogue; oneis an act of nature, the other of the will. The greater the temptationto go astray, the greater must be the resolution to conquer it. 

One of the suitors presented a commissioner with a couple of chickens, as a powerful argument to strengthen a feeble case; but the commissionerreturned his present, and the plaintiff lost his cause; and no wonder, he sent a chicken to plead it. 

The defendant, by disobeying the orders of the court, falls under thepower of the plaintiff, who can cause execution to issue against hisgoods, and reimburse himself; or, against his body, and confine himforty days, unless paid his demand. 

There is no cause that can be brought before the Court of Requests, butmay be brought before a higher court, and at a higher expence. 

A cause passes through this court for seventeen-pence; and cannot well, by chicanery or neglect, amount to more than two shillings andnine-pence: So that ruin is not one of its imperfections. 

Though law is said to produce quarrels among friends, yet the contendingparties often go out of that court better friends than when theycame in. 

It has been objected, that the publicans give credit to the lower class, in expectation of relief from the court. But the debtor is equallyapprized of the remedy, and often drinks deeper, in expectation of amild sentence from the commissioners; besides, is not all credit foundedon the laws of recovery?

It has also been urged, that while punishment pursues the debtor, forneglect of orders, his family falls upon the community. 

But the community would not wish to put a bar between a man and hisproperty--The precedent would be dangerous: Justice is no respector ofpersons. A culprit will soon procure a family, if they are able to pleadhis excuse: It would follow, that single men only would be obliged to behonest. She does not save the criminal, because he is an handsome man. If she did, beauty would increase in value; but honesty, seldom be itscompanion. 

But can accusation lie against a fair tribunal of rectitude? The mandoes not exist that can quarrel with equity, and treat her as theoffspring of fraud---The most amiable character in the creation, and theimmediate representative of supreme excellence. She will be revered, even by the sons of plunder!

Many of the causes that pass this court, are of a disputable nature, andif not terminated there, would take a different turn. 

From distant views of relief here, even sickness herself finds credit inthe day of distress. 

The use of the court is also favourable to trade, for, to oblige a manto pay his debts, is to oblige him to labour, which improves themanufactures. 

Birmingham, in no period of her existence, has increased with suchrapidity, in people, buildings and commerce, as since the erection ofthat court; so that depopulation is not one of its inconveniencies. 

From a consideration of the prodigious intercourse subsisting in so vasta body of people, and the credit consequent thereon, it was wiselyjudged necessary to establish an easy, and expeditious method of endingdispute, and securing property. 

The inhabitants of Birmingham, therefore, in 1752, procured an act forthe recovery of debts under Forty Shillings; constituting seventy-twocommissioners, three to be a quorum. They sit for the dispatch ofbusiness in the chamber over the Old Cross every Friday morning, andthere usually appear before them between eighty and one hundred causes:Their determinations are final. Two clerks also, constituted by the act, attend the court to give judicial assistance; are always of the law, chosen alternately by the lord of the manor, and the commissioners, andto continue for life. Once in every two years, ten of the commissionersare ballotted out, and ten others of the inhabitants chosen intheir stead. 

LAMP ACT. 

Order, is preserved by industry. In 1769 an act was obtained, and in1773 an amendment of the act, for lighting and cleaning the streets ofBirmingham, and for removing obstructions that were prejudicial to thehealth or convenience of the inhabitants. 

These acts were committed to the care of about seventy-six irresolutecommissioners, with farther powers of preventing encroachments uponpublic ground; for it was justly observed, that robbery was a work ofdarkness, therefore to introduce light would, in some measure, protectproperty. That in a town like Birmingham, full of commerce andinhabitants, where necessity leads to continual action, no part of thetwenty four hours ought to be dark. That, to avoid darkness, issometimes to avoid insult; and that by the light of 700 lamps, manyunfortunate accidents would be prevented. 

It was also observed, that in a course of time, the buildings in some ofthe ancient streets had encroached upon the path, four or five feet oneach side; which caused an irregular line, and made those streets eightor ten feet narrower, that are now used by 50, 000 people, than theywere, when used only by a tenth part of that number; and, that theirconfined width rendered the passage dangerous to children, women, andfeeble age, particularly on the market day and Saturday evening. 

That if former encroachments could not be recovered, future ought to beprevented. 

And farther, that necessity pleads for a wider street now, thanheretofore, not only because the inhabitants, being more numerous, require more room, but the buildings being more elevated, obstruct thelight, the sun, and the air, which obstructions tend to sickness andinconveniency. 

Narrow streets with modern buildings are generally dirty, for want ofthese natural helps; as Digbeth, St. Martin's-lane, Swan-alley, Carr's-lane, &c. The narrower the street, the less it can be influencedby the sun and the wind, consequently, the more the dirt will abound;and by experimental observations upon stagnate water in the street, itis found extremely prejudicial to health. And also, the larger thenumber of people, the more necessity to watch over their interest with aguardian eye. 

It may farther be remarked, that an act of parliament ought todistribute justice with an impartial hand, in which case, content andobedience may reasonably be expected. But the acts before us carry amanifest partiality, one man claims a right to an encroachment into thestreet, of three or four feet, whilst another is restricted totwelve inches. 

This inactive body of seventy-six, who wisely argue against theannihilation of one evil, because another will remain; had also powersto borrow a thousand pounds, to purchase and remove some obstructivebuildings; and to defray the expence by a rate on the inhabitants, which, after deducting about one hundred and twenty pounds per ann. Fordeficiencies, amounted in

 1774, to 912_l_. 1775, -- 902_l_. 1776, -- 947_l_. 1777, -- 965_l_. 1778, -- 1, 012_l_. 1779, -- 1, 022_l_. 1780, -- 1, 021_l_. 

Though the town was averse to the measure, as an innovation, theyquickly saw its utility, and seemed to wish a more vigorous exertion ofthe commissioners; but numbers sometimes procrastinate design. If it isdifficult to find five men of one mind, it is more difficult to find asuperior number. That business which would run currently through thehands of five, stagnates at fifteen, the number required. 

It is curious to observe a body of commissioners, every one of whomconducts his own private affairs with propriety and success, attack aquestion by the hour, which is as plain as the simplest proposition inthe mathematicks, when not being able to reduce it, and theirammunition spent, leave the matter undetermined, and retreat in silence. 

In works of manual operation a large number may be necessary, but inworks of direction a small one facilitates dispatch. 

Birmingham, a capacious field, by long neglect is over-grown withencroaching weeds. The gentle commissioners, appointed to reduce them, behold it an arduous work, are divided in opinion, and some withdraw thehand from the plough; certainly, _the harvest is great, and thelabourers are few_. The manorial powers, which alone could preserveorder, have slept for ages. Regularity has been long extinct. The desireof trespass is so prevalent, that I have been tempted to question; if itwere not for the powers of the lamp act, feeble as they are, whether themany-headed-public, ever watchful of prey, would not in another century, devour whole streets, and totally prevent the passenger. Thus a supinejurisdiction abounds with _street-robbers_. 

There are cases where the line of the street should inviolably bepreserved, as in a common range of houses; therefore all projectionsabove a given dimension infringe this rule. 

There are other cases where taste would direct this line to be broken, as in buildings of singular size and construction, which should beviewed in recess. Those of a public nature generally come under thisdescription, as the free-school, and the hotel, which ought to havefallen two or three yards back. What pity, that so noble an edifice asthe theatre in New-street, should lose any of its beauty, by theprominence of its situation!

As Birmingham abounds with new streets, that were once private property, it is a question often discussed, In what point of time the landappropriated for such streets, ceases to be private? But as thisquestion was never determined, and as it naturally rises before me, andis of importance, suffer me to examine it. 

When building leases are granted, if the road be narrow, as was latelythe case at the West end of New-street, the proprietor engages to give acertain portion of land to widen it. From that moment, therefore, itfalls to the lot of the public, and is under the controul of thecommissioners, as guardians of public property. I allow, if withinmemory, the grantor and the lessees should agree to cancel the leases, which is just as likely to happen as the powers of attraction to cease, and the moon to descend from the heavens; in this case, the land revertsagain to its original proprietor. 

Though the streets of Birmingham have for many ages been exposed to thehand of the encroacher, yet, by a little care, and less expence, theymight in about one century be reduced to a considerable degree of useand beauty. In what light then shall we be viewed by the future eye, ifwe neglect the interest of posterity?

RELIGION AND POLITICS. 

Although these two threads, like the warp and the woof, are verydistinct things; yet, like them, they are usually woven together. Eachpossesses a strength of its own, but when united, have often becomeextremely powerful, as in the case of Henry the Third and the clergy. This union, at times, subsisted from a very early date. 

Power is the idol of man; we not only wish to acquire it, but also toincrease and preserve it. If the magistrate has been too weak to executehis designs, he has backed his schemes with the aid of the church; thisoccurred with King Stephen and the Bishops. 

Likewise, if a churchman finds his power ascendant in the human mind, hestill wishes an addition to that power, by uniting another. Thus theBishop of Rome, being master of the spiritual chair, stept also intothe temporal. 

Sometimes the ecclesiastical and civil governors appear in malignaspect, or in modern phrase, like a quarrel between the squire and therector, which is seldom detrimental to the people. This was the casewith Henry the Eighth and the church. 

The curses of a priest hath sometimes brought a people into obedience tothe King, when he was not able to bring them himself. One could notrefrain from smiling, to hear a Bishop curse the people for obeyingtheir Sovereign, and in a few months after, curse them again if they didnot; which happened in the reign of King John. But, happy for the world, that these retail dealers in the wrath of heaven are become extinct, andthe market is over. 

Birmingham, in those remote periods of time, does not seem to haveattended so much to religious and political dispute, as to the coursemusic of her hammer. Peace seems to have been her characteristic--Shepaid obedience to that Prince had the good fortune to possess thethrone, and regularly paid divine honours in St. Martin's, becausethere was no other church. Thus, through the long ages of Saxon, Danish, and Norman government, we hear of no noise but that of the anvil, tillthe reign of Henry the Third, when her Lord joined the Barons againstthe Crown, and drew after him some of his mechanics, to exercise thevery arms they had been taught to make; and where, at the battle ofEvesham, he staked his life and his fortune, and lost both. 

Things quickly returning into their former channel, she stood a silentspectator during that dreadful contest between the two roses, pursuingthe tenor of still life till the civil wars of Charles I. When she tookpart with the Parliament, some of whose troops were stationed here, particularly at the Garrison and Camp-hill; the names of bothoriginating in that circumstance. 

Prince Rupert, as hinted before, approaching Birmingham in 1643 with asuperior power, forced the lines, and as a punishment set fire to thetown. His vengeance burned fiercely in Bull-street, and the affrightedinhabitants quenched the flames with a heavy fine. 

In 1660, she joined the wish of the kingdom, in the restoration of theStuart family. About this time, many of the curious manufactures beganto blossom in this prosperous garden of the arts. 

In 1688, when the nation chose to expel a race of Kings, though repletewith good nature, because they had forgot the limits of justice; ourpeaceable sons of art, wisely considering, that oppression and commerce, like oil and water, could never unite, smiled with the rest of thekingdom at the landing of the Prince of Orange, and exerted their littleassistance towards effecting the Revolution, notwithstanding the lessonsof _divine right_ had been taught near ninety years. 

In the reign of Queen Anne, when that flaming luminary, Dr. Sacheverel, set half the kingdom in blaze, the inhabitants of this region ofindustry caught the spark of the day, and grew warm for the church--Theyhad always been inured to _fire_, but now we behold them between _two_. 

As the doctor rode in triumph through the streets of Birmingham, thisflimsy idol of party snuffed up the incense of the populace, but themore sensible with held their homage; and when he preached at SuttonColdfield, where he had family connections, the people of Birminghamcrowded in multitudes round his pulpit. But it does not appear that hetaught his hearers to _build up Zion_, but perhaps to pull her down;for they immediately went and gutted a meeting-house. 

It is easy to point out a time when it was dangerous to have been of theestablished church, and I have here pointed out one, when it wasdangerous to profess any other. 

We are apt to think the zeal of our fathers died with them, for I havefrequently beheld with pleasure, the churchman, the presbyterian, andthe quaker uniting their efforts, like brethren, to carry on a work ofutility. The bigot of the last age casts a malicious sneer upon thereligion of another, but the man of this passes a joke upon his own. 

A sameness in religious sentiment is no more to be expected, than asameness of face. If the human judgment varies in almost every subjectof plain knowledge, how can it be fixed in this, composed of mystery?

As the true religion is ever that which a man professes himself, it isnecessary to enquire, What means, he that is right may use, to converthim that is wrong?

As the whole generations of faggot and torture, are extinct in this ageof light, there seems only to remain fair arguments founded in reason, and these can only be brought as evidences upon the trial: The culprithimself, _by indefeasible right divine_, will preside as the judge. Upona close enquiry it will be found, that his sentiments are as much hisprivate property, as the coat that covers him, or the life which thatcoat incloses. 

Is there not as much reason to punish my neighbour for differing inopinion from me, as to punish me, because I differ from him? Or, isthere any to punish either?

If a man's sentiments and practice in religious matters, appear evenabsurd, provided society is not injured, what right hath the magistrateto interfere?

The task is as easy to make the stream run upwards, as to form a nationof one mind. We may pronounce with confidence, an age of bigotry is noage of philosophy. 

The gentle hand of Brunswick, had swayed the British sceptre near half acentury, ere all the sons of science in this meridian, were compleatlyreconciled to this favourite line. 

But unanimity, with benign aspect, seems now the predominant star of thezenith: A friendly intercourse succeeds suspicion. The difference ofsentiment, that once created jealousy, now excites a smile; and thenarrow views of our forefathers are prudently expanded. 

[Illustration: _St. John's Chapel, Deritend_. ]

PLACES OF WORSHIP. 

In a town like Birmingham, unfettered with charteral laws; which givesaccess to the stranger of every denomination, for he here finds afreedom by birthright; and where the principles of toleration are wellunderstood, it is no wonder we find various modes of worship. The wonderconsists in finding such _agreement_, in such variety. 

We have fourteen places for religious exercise, six of the establishedchurch, three dissenting meeting houses, a quakers, baptist, methodist, roman catholic, and jewish. Two of these only are churches, of whichelsewhere. 

SAINT JOHN'S CHAPEL, DERITEND. 

This, tho' joining to the parish of Birmingham, is a chapel of easebelonging to Aston, two miles distant. Founded in the fifth of Richardthe Second, 1382. 

This chapel does not, like others in Birmingham, seem to have beenerected first, and the houses brought round it: It appears, by itsextreme circumscribed latitude, to have been founded upon the scite ofother buildings, which were purchased, or rather given, by Sir John deBirmingham, Lord of Deritend, and situated upon the boundaries of themanor, perhaps to accommodate in some measure the people of Digbeth;because the church in Birmingham must, for many-ages, have been toosmall for the inhabitants. 

Time seems to have worn out that building of 1382; in the windows ofwhich were the arms of Lord Dudley, and Dudley empaling Barckley, bothknights of the garter, descended from the Somery's, Barons ofDudley-castle: Also a whole figure of Walter Arden, Esq; of ancientfamily, often mentioned, Lord of Bordesley. 

The present building was erected in 1735, and the steeple in 1762. In1777 eight of the most musical bells, together with a clock, entered thesteeple. The present chaplain, the Rev. Thomas Cox--Income 80_l_. 

[Illustration: _St. Bartholomew's Chapel_. ]

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW'S. 

Built in 1749, on the east side of the town, will accommodate about 800hearers; is neat and elegant. The land was the gift of John Jennens, Esq; of Copsal, in the county of Leicester, possessor of a considerableestate in and near Birmingham. 

By the solicitation of Mrs. Weaman, Mrs. Jennens gave 1000_l_. And theremainder was raised by contribution to accomplish the building. 

Wherever a chapel is erected, the houses immediately, as if touched bythe wand of magic, spring into existence. Here is a spacious area forinterment, amply furnished by death. The infant steeple, if it will bearthe name, is very small but beautiful. 

The chancel hath this singular difference from others--that it verestowards the North. Whether the projector committed an error, I leave tothe critics. 

It was the general practice of the Pagan church to fix their altar, uponwhich they sacrificed, in the East, towards the rising sun, the objectof worship. 

The Christian church, in the time of the Romans, immediately succeededthe Pagan, and scrupulously adopted the same method; which has beenstrictly adhered to. 

By what obligation the Christian is bound to follow the Pagan, orwherein a church would be injured by being directed to any of thethirty-two points in the compass, is doubtful. Certain it is, if thechancel of Bartholomew's had tended due East, the eye would have beenexceedingly hurt, and the builder would have raised an object ofridicule for ages. The ground will admit of no situation but that inwhich the church now stands. But the inconsiderate architect of Deritendchapel, anxious to catch the Eastern point, lost the line of the street:we may therefore justly pronounce, _be sacrificed to the East_. Otherenormities also, of little moment, have issued from the same fountain. 

The altar piece was the gift of Basil Earl of Denbigh; and the communionplate, consisting of 182 ounces, that of Mary Carless. Income100_l_. --Rev. William Jabbitt, chaplain. 

[Illustration: St. Mary's Chapel. ]

SAINT MARY's. 

Though the houses for divine worship were multiplied in Birmingham, yetthe inhabitants increased in a greater proportion; so that in 1772 anact was obtained for two additional chapels. 

St. Mary's, therefore, was erected in 1774, in the octagon form, notovercharged with light nor strength; in an airy situation and taste, butshews too little steeple, and too much roof. If a light balustrade wasraised over the parapet, with an urn in the centre of the roof, the eyeof the observer would be relieved. 

The clock was seldom seen to go right, but the wonder ceases if thereare NO WORKS within. 

The land was the gift of Mary Weaman, in whom is the presentation, whoinducted the Rev. John Riland. Annual income about 200_l_. 

SAINT PAUL'S. 

The act was procured for this chapel at the same time as for that of St. Mary's; but it was not erected till 1779, upon a spot of ground givenby Charles Colmore, Esq; upon the declivity of a hill, not altogethersuitable for the elegant building it sustains, which is of stone--plainbeauty unites with strength. 

This roof, like that of St. Mary's, appears also too full. The steepleintended for this useful edifice, will do honour to the modern stile ofarchitecture, whenever money can be procured to erect it; which atpresent is only delineated upon paper. 

Chaplain, the Rev. William Toy Young. --Income nearly as St. Mary's. 

OLD MEETING. 

After the extinction of the Stuart race, who bore an invincible hatredto presbyterianism, the dissenters from the establishment procured alicence for a meeting at the bottom of Digbeth, which yet bears the nameof Meeting-house-yard. Here the rigid sons of worship paid a weeklyattendance. The place is now a work-shop: The sound of the pulpit ischanged into that of the bellows: Instead of an impression upon theheart, it is now stamped upon the button. The visitants used toappear in a variety of colours, but now always in black. 

[Illustration: _St. Paul's Chapel_. ]

[Illustration: New Meeting. ]

[Illustration: Old Meeting. ]

Another was erected in the reign of King William, now denominated TheOld Meeting, and from whence the street in which it stands derives aname. This is large, and much attended. 

Pastor, the Rev. Radcliff Scoldfield. 

NEW MEETING. 

Erected in the year 1730, at which time that in Digbeth went intodisuse. This is in a stile of elegance, and has few equals. The Rev. Samuel Blyth, and the Rev. William Hawkes preside over it. 

In December 1780, Mr. Hawkes declining the pastoral care, thecongregation judiciously turned their thoughts towards the celebratedDoctor Priestley, F. R. S. One of the first philosophers of the age; whosemerit seems obvious to every eye but his own. 

CARR's LANE MEETING. 

A scion of the Old Meeting, transplanted in 1748--The building costabout 700_l_. This society hath been favoured with two donations; onethe interest of 800_l_. By the will of John England, in 1771: The otherScott's Trust, mentioned in another part. 

This residence of divine light is totally eclipsed, by being surroundedwith about forty families of paupers, crouded almost within the compassof a giant's span, which amply furnish the congregation with noise, smoak, dirt and dispute. If the place itself is the road to heaven, thestranger would imagine, that the road to the place led to somethingworse: The words, _Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way_, are hereliterally verified. --Pastor, the Rev. John Punfield. 

BAPTIST MEETING. 

Founded in Cannon-street, 1738. This hill of Zion is also hid from thepublic eye, but situated in a purer air. --The minister was the lateRev. James Turner. 

Some trifling differences arising in the congregation, to which thehuman mind is everlastingly prone, caused discontent: Individuals beganto sting each other, which in 1745, produced a swarm. 

The destitute wanderers therefore, erected for themselves a small cellin Freeman-street, where they hived in expectation of harmony. Over thislittle society of separatists presided a journeyman woolcomber: Whatelevation he bore in the comb-shop, during six days of the week, historyis silent; but having the good fortune to procure a black coat and awhite wig, he figured on the seventh with parsonic elegance. 

Whether _he_ fed his people best, or _they_ him, is uncertain; butwhether they starved one another, is not. Disgust, which ever waits upondisappointment, appeared among them. 

Though the preacher was certainly warmed in the shop, _with a live coalfrom the altar_; yet unfortunately, Sunday was the only day in which his_fire_ was extinguished; _then_ the priest and the people hit the tasteof the day, and slumbered together; a priviledge never granted by a_reader_ to an _author_. Thus the boasted _liberty of the press_submits to that of the pulpit. 

This exalted shepherd dwelt upon the words of Paul, _He that preachesthe gospel, ought to subsist by the gospel;_ and _they_ did not forget aportion in John, _Feed my sheep_. The word, he well knew, promised bothwine and _oil_, but he was obliged to be satisfied with the latter. 

Although the teacher might possess some _shining qualities_ at thecombe-pot, he did not possess that of protecting his flock, who in 1752, silently retreated to their original fold in Cannon-street; and theplace was soon after converted into a dwelling, No. 16, when for thefirst time it produced _profit_. 

The growing numbers of this prosperous society induced them, in 1780, toenlarge the place of worship, at the expence of about 800_l_. In whichis observable some beauty, but more conveniency. 

QUAKER's MEETING

In Bull-street. A large convenient place, and notwithstanding theplainness of the profession rather elegant. The congregation is veryflourishing, rich, and peaceable. Chandler tells us, to the everlastinghonour of the Quakers, that they are the only christian sect who havenever exercised the cruel weapon of persecution. 

METHODIST's MEETING. 

We learn from ecclesiastical history, that the people in high life arealways _followers_ in religion. Though they are the best leaders inpolitical and social concerns, yet all religions seem to originate fromthe lowest class. Every religion is first obstructed by violence, passesthrough the insults of an age, then rests in peace, and often takes upthe rod against another. 

The first preachers of the christian faith, the short-sighted apostles, were men of the meanest occupations, and their church, a wretched roomin a miserable tenement. The superb buildings of St. Peter's in Rome, and St. Paul's in London, used by their followers, were not within thereach of their penetration. They were also totally ignorant of tripplecrowns, red hats, mitres, crosiers, robes, and rochets, well known totheir successors. 

The religion of a private room, soon became the religion of a country:the church acquired affluence, for all churches hate poverty; and thishumble church, disturbed for ages, became the church of Rome, thedisturber of Europe. 

John Wickliff, in 1377, began to renew her disturbance: this abletheologist planted our present national church, which underwent severepersecutions, from its mother church at Rome; but, rising superior tothe rod, and advancing to maturity, she became the mother of a numerousoffspring, which she afterwards persecuted herself; and this offspring, like _their_ mother, were much inclined to persecution. 

Puritanism, her first born, groaned under the pressure of her hand. TheBaptists, founded by a taylor, followed, and were buffeted byboth. --Independency appeared, ponderous as an elephant, and trampledupon all three. 

John Fox, a composition of the oddest matter, and of the meanestoriginal, formed a numerous band of disciples, who suffered the insultsof an age, but have carried the arts of prudence to the highest pitch. 

The Muglitonians, the Prophets, the Superlapsarians, &c. Like untimelybirths, just saw the light and disappeared. 

The Moravians, under the influence of Zinzendorf, rose about 1740, butare not in a flourishing state; their circumscribed rules, like thoseof the cloister, being too much shackled to thrive in a land of freedom. 

James Sandiman introduced a religion, about 1750, but, though eclipsedhimself by poverty, he taught his preachers to shine; for he allowedthem to grace the pulpit with ruffles, lace, and a cueque. Birminghamcannot produce one professor of the two last churches. 

The christian religion has branched into more sectaries in the last twohundred years, than in the fifteen hundred before--the reason isobvious. During the tedious reign of the Romish priest, before theintroduction of letters, knowledge was small, and he wished to confinethat knowledge to himself: he substituted mystery for science, and ledthe people blindfold. But the printing-press, though dark in itself, andsurrounded with yet _darker_ materials, diffused a ray of light throughthe world, which enabled every man to read, think, and judge forhimself; hence diversity of opinion, and the absurdity of reducing anation to one faith, vainly attempted by Henry VIII. 

In those distant ages, the priest had great influence, with littleknowledge; but in these, great knowledge, with little influence. He wasthen revered according to his authority; but now, according to hismerit: he shone in a borrowed, but now in a real lustre: then he wasless deserving; but now less esteemed. The humble christian, in thestrictest sense, worked out his salvation with fear and trembling, andwith tools furnished by the priest: he built upon his opinions, but nowhe lays a foundation for his own. 

Though we acknowledge the scriptures our guide, we take the liberty toguide them; we torture them to our own sentiments. Though we allow their_equal_ weight, we suffer one portion to weigh down another. If weattend to twenty disputants, not one of them will quote a text whichmilitates against his sentiments. 

The artillery of vengeance was pointed at Methodism for thirty years;but, fixed as a rock, it could never be beaten down, and its professorsnow enjoy their sentiments in quiet. 

After the institution of this sect by George Whitfield, in 1738, theywere first covered by the heavens, equally exposed to the rain and therabble, and afterwards they occupied, for many years, a place inSteelhouse-lane, where the wags of the age observed, "they were eat outby the bugs. "--They therefore procured a cast off theatre inMoor-street, where they continued to exhibit till 1782; when, quittingthe stage, they erected a superb meeting-house, in Cherry-street, at theexpence of 1200_l_. This was opened, July 7, by John Wesley, the chiefpriest, whose extensive knowledge, and unblemished manners, give us atolerable picture of apostolic purity; who _believes_, as if he were tobe saved by faith; and who _labours_, as if he were to be savedby works. 

Thus our composite order of religion, an assemblage of the Episcopalian, the Presbyterian, the Independent, and the Baptist; fled from thebuffetings of the vulgar, and now take peaceable shelter from the dewsof heaven. 

ROMISH CHAPEL. 

I have already remarked, there is nothing which continues in the samestate: the code of manners, habits of thinking, and of expression, modesof living, articles of learning; the ways of acquiring wealth, orknowledge; our dress, diet, recreations, &c. Change in every age. 

But why is there a change in religion? eternal truth, once fixed, iseverlastingly the same. Religion is purity, which, one would think, admits of no change; if it changes, we should doubt whether it isreligion. But a little attention to facts will inform us, _there isnothing more changable:_ nor need we wonder, because, man himself beingchangable, every thing committed to his care will change with him. Wemay plead his excuse, by observing, his sight is defective: he may bedeceived by viewing an object in one light, or attitude, to-day, andanother, to-morrow. This propensity to change might lead us to suspectthe authenticity of our own sentiments. 

The apostles certainly formed the church of Rome; but she, havingundergone the variations of seventeen hundred years, St. Peter himself, should he return to the earth, could not discover one linament in heraspect; but would be apt to reject her as a changling. 

The church of England has not only undergone a change since thereformation, but wishes a greater. 

We should suppose the puritan of 1583, and the dissenter of 1783, werethe same: but although substance and shadow exactly resemble each other, no two things differ more. 

When pride sends a man in quest of a religion, if he does not discoversomething new, he might as well stay at home: nothing near the presentstandard can take. Two requisites are necessary to found a religion, capacity, and singularity: no fool ever succeeded. If his talents arenot above mediocrity, he will not be able to draw the crowd; and if hisdoctrines are not singular, the crowd will not be drawn--noveltypleases. 

Having collected, and brightened up a set of doctrines, wide of everyother church, he fixes at a distance from all. But time, and unavoidableintercourse with the world, promote a nearer approximation; and, mixingwith men, we act like men. Thus the Quaker under George III. Shews butlittle of the Quaker under George Fox. 

In two congregations of the same profession, as in two twins of the samefamily, though there is a striking likeness, the curious observer willtrace a considerable difference. 

In a religion, as well as a man, _there is a time to be born, and a timeto die_. They both vary in aspect, according to the length of theirexistence, carry the marks of decline, and sink into obscurity. 

We are well informed how much the Romish religion has declined in thiscountry: three hundred years ago Birmingham did not produce one personof another persuasion; but now, out of 50, 000 people, we have not 300of this. 

The Roman Catholics formerly enjoyed a place for religious worship nearSt. Bartholomew's-chapel, still called Masshouse-lane; but the rudehands of irreligion destroyed it. There is now none nearer thanEdgbaston, two miles distant; yet the congregation is chiefly suppliedfrom Birmingham. 

If the Roman Catholics are not so powerful as in the sixteenth century, they seem as quiet, and as little addicted to knowledge; perhaps theyhave not yet learned to see through any eyes but those of thepriest. --There appears, however, as much devotion in their publicworship, as among any denomination of christians. 

JEWISH SYNAGOGUE. 

We have also among us a remnant of Israel. A people who, when masters oftheir own country, were scarcely ever known to travel, and who are nowseldom employed in any thing else. But, though they are ever moving, they are ever at home: who once lived the favourites of heaven, and fedupon the cream of the earth; but now are little regarded by either:whose society is entirely confined to themselves, except in thecommercial line. 

[ILLUSTRATION: Birmingham Theatre, Hotel and Tavern. ]

In the Synagogue, situated in the Froggery, they still preserve thefaint resemblence of the ancient worship. Their whole apparatus being nomore than the drooping ensigns of poverty. The place is rather small, but tolerably filled; where there appears less decorum than in thechristian churches. The proverbial expression "as rich as a jew, " is notaltogether verified in Birmingham, but perhaps, time is transfering itto the Quakers. 

It is rather singular, that the honesty of a jew, is seldom pleaded butby the jew himself. 

THEATRES. 

The practice of the Theatre is of great antiquity. We find it in greatrepute among the Greeks; we also find, the more a nation is civilized, the more they have supported the stage. It seems designed for twopurposes, improvement and entertainment. 

There are certain exuberances that naturally grow in religion, government, and private life which may with propriety be attacked by thepoet and the comedian, but which can scarcely be reduced by any otherpower. While the stage therefore keeps this great end in view, itanswers a valuable purpose to the community. The poet should use his pento reform, not to indulge a corrupt age, as was the case in the days ofCharles the Second, when indecency was brought on to raise the laugh. 

Perhaps there is no period of time in which the stage was less polluted, owing to the inimitable Garrick, than the present: notwithstanding thereis yet room for improvement. 

Tragedy is to melt the heart, by exhibiting the unfortunate; satiaterevenge, by punishing the unjust tyrant: To discard vice, and to keepundue passions within bounds. 

Comedy holds up folly in a ridiculous light: Whatever conduct orcharacter is found in the regions of absurdity, furnishes propermaterials for the stage; and out of these, the pen of a master will drawmany useful lessons. 

The pulpit and the stage have nearly the same use, but not in the sameline--That of improving the man. 

The English stage opened about the conquest, and was wholly confined toreligion; in whose service it continued, with very little intermission, to the extinction of the Plantagenets. The play-houses were thechurches, the principal actors the priests, and the performances takenfrom scripture; such as the Fall of Man, the Story of Joseph, Sampson, Histories of the Saints, the Sufferings of Christ, Resurrection, Day ofJudgment, &c. 

Theatrical exhibition in Birmingham, is rather of a modern date. As faras memory can penetrate, the stroller occupied, occasionally, a shed ofboards in the fields, now Temple-street: Here he acted the part ofDistress, in a double capacity. The situation was afterwards changed, but not the eminence, and the Hinkleys dignified the performers booth!

In about 1730, the amusements of the stage rose in a superior stile ofelegance, and entered something like a stable in Castle-street. Here thecomedian strutted in painted rags, ornamented with tinsel: The audienceraised a noisy laugh, half real and half forced, at three-pence a head. 

In about 1740, a theatre was erected in Moor-street, which rather gave aspring to the amusement; in the day time the comedian beat up forvolunteers for the night, delivered his bills of fare, and roared out anencomium on the excellence of the entertainment, which had not alwaysthe desired effect. 

In 1751, a company arrived, which anounced themselves, "His Majesty'sservants, from the theatres-royal in London; and hoped the public wouldexcuse the ceremony of the drum, as beneath the dignity of a Londoncompany. " The novelty had a surprising effect; the performers hadmerit; the house was continually crouded; the general conversationturned upon theatrical exhibition, and the town was converted into onevast theatre. 

In 1752 it was found necessary to erect a larger theatre, that in KingStreet, and we multiplied into two London companies. 

The pulpits took the alarm, and in turn, roared after their customers:But the pious teachers forgot it was only the fervour of a day, whichwould cool of itself; that the fiercer the fire burns, the sooner itwill burn out. 

This declaration of war, fortunately happening at the latter end ofsummer, the campaign was over, and the company retreated into winterquarters, without hostilities. 

It was afterwards found, that two theatres were more than the town choseto support; therefore that in Moor-street was set for a methodistmeeting, where, it was said, though it changed its audience, it kept itsprimeval use, continuing the theatre of farce. 

In 1774, the theatre in King-street was enlarged, beautified, and mademore convenient; so that it hath very few equals. 

About the same time that in New-street was erected upon a suitable spot, an extensive plan, and richly ornamented with paintings andscenery. --Expence seems the least object in consideration. 

An additional and superb portico, was erected in 1780, which perhaps maycause it to be pronounced, "One of the first theatres in Europe. "

Two busts, in relief, of excellent workmanship, are elevated over theattic windows; one is the father, and the other the refiner of theBritish, stage--Shakespear and Garrick. 

Also two figures eight feet high, are said to be under the chissel, oneof Thalia, and the other of Melpomene, the comic and the tragic muses;the value one hundred and sixty guineas. Places are reserved for theirreception, to augment the beauty of the front, and shew the taste ofthe age. 

AMUSEMENTS. 

Man seems formed for variety, whether we view him in a rational or ananimal light. A sameness of temper, habit, diet, pursuit, or pleasure, is no part of his character. The different ages of his life, alsoproduce different sentiments; that which gives us the highest relish inone period, is totally flat in another. The rattle that pleases atthree, would be cast into the fire at threescore: The same hand thatempties the purse at twenty, would fill it at fifty: In age, he bendshis knee to the same religion, which he laughed at in youth: The prayerbook, that holds the attention of seventy, holds the lottery pictures ofseven: And the amorous tale that awakes the ideas of twenty five, lullsold age to sleep. 

Not only life is productive of change, but also every day in it. If aman would take a minute survey of his thoughts and employments, for onlytwenty-four hours, he would be astonished at their infinite variety. 

Though industry be the ruling passion of this ingenious race, yetrelaxation must follow, as one period to another. Society is thereforejustly esteemed an everlasting fund of amusement, which is found at thetavern, in the winter evening: Intoxication is seldom met with, exceptin the inferior ranks, where it is visible in both sexes. 

A regular concert is established, where the music is allowed to excel. This harmonious science, like other productions of taste, though it benot the general study of the inhabitants, hath made an amazing progressduring the last thirty years. 

In 1777, a coffee-house was opened at the East end of New-street, thefirst in this department; which, drawing into its vortex thetransactions of Europe, finds employment for the politician. 

Assemblies are held weekly, which give room for beauty to figure atcards, in conversation, and in the dance. 

The pleasures of the field claim their votaries, but, in a populouscountry, like that of Birmingham, plenty of game is not to be expected;for want of wild fowl, therefore, the shooter has been sometimes knownto attack the tame. 

However, the farmer need not be under any great concern for hisproperty; the sportsman seldom does any thing with his arms--but--_carrythem_. We are more famous for _making_, than _using_ the gun. 

A pack of hounds have sometimes been kept by subscription, termed, TheBirmingham Hunt; but, as the sound of the dogs and the anvil neverharmonised together, they have been long in disuse: the jocund tribe, therefore, having no scent of their own, fall into that of theneighbouring gentry, many of whom support a pack. 

The man of reflection finds amusement in domestic resources; and, in hisown mind, if unoppressed. Here the treasures collected from men, books, and observation, _are laid up for many years_, from which he drawspleasure, without diminishing the flock. The universal riches of natureand of art; the part, the present, and a glympse of the future, lie opento his eye. 

Two obstructions only bound his ideas, _time_ and _space_. He steps fromplanet to planet, and if he cannot enter immensity, he can verge uponits borders. 

I pity the man, who through poverty, cannot find warmth by his ownfire-side; but I pity him more, who, through poverty of thought, cannotfind happiness. 

For the entertainment of summer, exclusive of the two theatres, thereare five greens, where the gentlemen are amused with bowls, and theladies with tea. 

There are also great variety of public gardens, suited to every class ofpeople, or which Duddeston, the ancient seat of the Holte family, claimsthe pre-eminence. 

The fishing-rod, that instrument which _destroys in peace_, must find aplace: other animals are followed with fire and tumult, but the fishesare entrapped with deceit. Of all the sportsmen, we charge the angleralone with _killing in cold blood_. 

Just as a pursuit abounds with pleasure, so will it abound withvotaries. The pleasure of angling depends on the success of the line:this art is but little practised here, and less known. Our rivers aresmall, and thinly stored; our pools are guarded as private property: theBirmingham spirit is rather too active for the sleepy amusementof fishing. 

Patience seems the highest accomplishment of an angler. We behold him, fixed as a statue, on the bank; his head inclining towards the river, his attention upon the water, his eye upon the float; he often draws, and draws only his hook! But although he gets no bite, it may fairly besaid _he is bit:_ of the two, the fish display the most cunning. --He, surprized that he has _caught nothing_, and I, that he has kept his rodand his patience. 

Party excursion is held in considerable esteem, in which are includedEnville, the seat of Lord Stamford; Hagley, that of the late LordLyttelton; and the Leasowes, the property of the late Wm. Shenstone, Esq. We will omit the journey to London, a tour which some of us havemade all our lives _without seeing it_. 

Cards and the visit are linked together, nor is the billiard tabletotally forsaken. One man amuses himself in amassing a fortune, andanother in dissolving one. 

About thirty-six of the inhabitants keep carriages for their own privateuse; and near fifty have country houses. The relaxations of the humblerclass, are fives, quoits, skittles, and ale. 

Health and amusement are found in the prodigious number of privategardens scattered round Birmingham, from which we often behold thefather returning with a cabbage, and the daughter with a nosegay. 

HOTEL. 

The spot where our great-grandmothers smiled in the lively dance, whenthey possessed the flower of beauty in the spring of life, is lost inforgetfulness. The floor that trembled under that foot which was coveredwith a leather shoe tied with a silken string, and which supported astocking of dark blue worsted, not of the finest texture, is now buriedin oblivion. 

[Illustration: Hotel. ]

In 1750 we had two assembly rooms; one at No. 11. In the Square, theother No. 85. In Bull-street. This last was not much in use afterwards. That in the Square continued in repute till in the course of thatevening which happened in October 1765, when Edward Duke of York had thehonour of leading up the dance, and the ladies of Birmingham enjoyedthat of the Duke's hand, He remarked, "That a town of such magnitude asBirmingham, and adorned with so much beauty, deserved a superioraccomodation:--That the room itself was mean, but the entrancestill meaner. "

Truth is ever the same, whether it comes from a prince or a peasant; butits effects are not. Whether some secret charm attended the Duke'sexpression, that blasted the room, is uncertain, but it never after heldits former eminence. 

In 1772 a building was erected by subscription, upon the Tontineprinciple, at the head of Temple row, and was dignified with the Frenchname of Hotel: From a handsome, entrance the ladies are now led througha spacious saloon, at the extremity of which the eye is struck with agrand flight of steps, opening into an assembly-room, which would notdisgrace even the royal presence of the Duke's brother. 

The pile itself is large, plain, and elegant, but standing in the sameline with the other buildings, which before were really genteel, eclipses them by its superiority: Whereas, if the Hotel had fallen a fewfeet back, it would, by breaking the line, have preserved the beauty ofthe row, without losing its own. 

WAKES. 

This ancient custom was left us by the Saxons. Time, that makesalteration only in other customs, has totally inverted this. 

When a church was erected, it was immediately called after a saint, putunder his protection, and the day belonging to that saint kept in thechurch as an high festival. In the evening preceding the day, theinhabitants, with lights, approached the church, and kept a continualdevotion during the whole night; hence the name _wake_: After whichthey entered into festivity. 

But now the devotional part is forgot, the church is deserted, and thefestivity turned into riot, drunkenness, and mischief. 

Without searching into the mouldy records of time, for evidence tosupport our assertion, we may safely pronounce the wake the lowest ofall low amusements, and compleatly suited to the lowest of tempers. 

Wakes have been deemed a public concern, and legislature, more thanonce, been obliged to interpose for the sake of that order which privateconduct could never boast. 

In the reign of Henry the Sixth, every consideration, whether of apublic or a private nature, gave way to the wake: The harvest inparticular was neglected. An order therefore issued, confining the wakesto the first Sunday in October, consequently the whole nation run madat once. 

Wakes in Birmingham are not ancient: Why St. Martin's, then the onlychurch, was neglected, is uncertain. 

Although we have no wakes for the town, there are three kept in itsborders, called Deritend, Chapel, and Bell wakes. The two first are inthe spring of existence, the last in the falling leaf of autumn. 

Deritend wake probably took its rise at the erection of her chapel, in1382. 

Chapel wake, in 1750, from St. Bartholomew's chapel, is held in themeridian of Coleshill-street; was hatched and fostered by the publicans, for the benefit of the spiggot. 

Amongst other important amusements, was that of bull-baiting, till theyear 1773, when the commissioners of lamps, in the amendment of theiract, wisely broke the chain, and procured a reprieve for theunfortunate animal. 

Another was the horse-race, 'till a few years ago a person being killed, rather slackened the entertainment. What singular genius introduced thehorse-race into a crowded street, I am yet to learn. 

In the evening the passenger cannot proceed without danger; in themorning, he may discover which houses are public, without otherintelligence than the copious streams that have issued from the wall. The blind may also distinguish the same thing, by the strong scentof the tap. 

Bell wake is the junior by one year, originating from the same cause, in1751, in consequence of ten bells being hung up in St Philip'ssteeple. --'Till within these few years, we were at this wake struck witha singular exhibition, that of a number of boys running a race throughthe streets naked. Some of the inhabitants, seeing so fair a mark forchastisement, applied the rod with success, put a period to the sport, and obliged the young runners to run under cover. 

CLUBS. 

It may be expected, from the title of this chapter, that I shallintroduce a set of ruffians armed with missive weapons; or, having nameda trump, a set of gamblers shuffling and dealing out the cards: Butwhatever veneration I may entertain for these two fag ends of ourspecies, I shall certainly introduce a class of people, which, though ofthe lower orders, are preferable to both. 

Social compact is a distinguishing mark of civilization: The wholeBritish empire may be justly considered as one grand alliance, unitedfor public and private interest, and this vast body of people aresubdivided into an infinity of smaller fraternities, forindividual benefit. 

Perhaps there are hundreds of these societies in Birmingham under thename of clubs; some of them boast the antiquity of a century, and byprudent direction have acquired a capital, at accumulating interest. Thousands of the inhabitants are thus connected, nay, to be otherwise israther unfashionable, and some are people of sentiment and property. 

A variety of purposes are intended by these laudable institutions, butthe principal one is that of supporting the sick. 

Each society is governed by a code of laws of its own making, which haveat least the honour of _resembling_ those of legislature, for wordswithout sense are found in both, and we sometimes stumble uponcontradiction. 

The poor's-rates, enormous as they appear, are softened by thesebrotherly aids. They tend also to keep the mind at rest, for a man willenjoy the day of health, with double relish, when he considers he has atreasure laid up for that of sickness. 

If a _member_ only of a poor family be sick, the _head_ still remains toprocure necessaries; but if that head be disordered, the whole source ofsupply is dried up, which evinces the utility of such institutions. 

The general custom is to meet at the public every fortnight, spend atrifle, and each contribute six-pence, or any stated sum, to the commonstock. The landlord is always treasurer, or father, and is assisted bytwo stewards, annually or monthly chosen. 

As honour and low life are not always found together, we sometimes see aman who is rather _idle_, wish the society may suppose him _sick_, thathe may rob them with more security. Or, if a member hangs long upon thebox, his brethren seek a pretence to expel him. On the other hand, wefrequently observe a man silently retreat from the club, if anotherfalls upon the box, and fondly suppose himself no longer a member; or ifthe box be loaded with sickness, the whole club has been known todissolve, that they may rid themselves of the burthen; but the Court ofRequests finds an easy remedy for these evils, and at atrifling expence. 

The charity of the club, is also extended beyond the grave, andterminates with a present to the widow. 

The philosophers tell us, "There is no good without its kindred evil. "This amiable body of men, therefore, marshalled to expel disease, hathone small alloy, and perhaps but one. As liquor and labour areinseparable, the imprudent member is apt to forget to quit the clubroom when he has spent his necessary two-pence, but continues there tothe injury of his family. 

Another of these institutions is the _rent club_, where, from the weeklysums deposited by the members, a sop is regularly served up twice ayear, to prevent the growlings of a landlord. 

In the _breeches club_ every member ballots for a pair, value a guinea, _promised_ of more value by the maker. This club dissolves when all themembers are served. 

The intentions of the _book club_ are well known, to catch theproductions of the press as they rise. 

The _watch club_ has generally a watchmaker for its president, iscomposed of young men, and is always temporary. 

If a taylor be short of employment, he has only to consult a landlordover a bottle, who, by their joint powers, can give birth to a _cloathsclub_; where every member is supplied with a suit to his taste, of astipulated price. These are chiefly composed of batchelors, who wish toshine in the eye of the fair. 

Thus a bricklayer stands at the head of the _building club_, where everymember perhaps subscribes two guineas per month, and each house, valueabout one hundred pounds, is balloted for, as soon as erected. As ahouse is a weighty concern, every member is obliged to produce twobondsmen for the performance of covenants. 

I will venture to pronounce another the _capital club_, for when thecontributions amount to 50_l_. The members ballot for this capital, tobring into business: Here also securities are necessary. It is easy toconceive the two last clubs are extremely beneficial to building andto commerce. 

The last I shall enumerate is the _clock club_: When the weekly depositsof the members amount to about 4_l_. They call lots who shall be firstserved with a clock of that value, and continue the same method till thewhole club is supplied; after which, the clockmaker and landlord castabout for another set, who are chiefly composed of young house-keepers. Hence the beginner ornaments his premises with furniture, the artistfinds employment and profit, and the publican empties his barrel. 

Thus we have taken a transient survey of this rising colony of arts, uniting observation with fact: We have seen her dark manufactures, indarker times: We have attended her through her commercial, religious, political, and pleasurable walks: Have viewed her in many points oflight, but never in decline; 'till we have now set her in the fairsunshine of the present day. 

Perhaps I shall not be charged with prolixity, that unpardonable sinagainst the reader, when it is considered, that three thousand years aredeposited in the compass of one hundred and forty little pages. 

Some other circumstances deserve attention, which could not beintroduced without breaking the thread of history: But as that thread isnow drawn to an end, I must, before I resume it, step back into therecesses of time, and slumber through the long ages of seventeen hundredyears; if the active reader, therefore, has no inclination for a nod ofthat length, or, in simple phrase, no relish for antiquity, I advise himto pass over the five ensuing chapters. 

IKENIELD STREET. 

About five furlongs North of the Navigation Bridge, in Great Charlesstreet, which is the boundary of the present buildings, runs theIkenield-street; one of those famous pretorian roads which mark theRomans with conquest, and the Britons with slavery. 

By that time a century had elapsed, from the first landing of Caesar inBritain the victorious Romans had carried their arms through thesouthern part of the isle. They therefore endeavoured to secure theconquered provinces by opening four roads, which should each rise in theshore, communicate with, and cross each other, form different angles, extend over the island several ways, and terminate in the opposite sea. 

These are the Watling-street, which rises near Dover, and runningNorth-west through London, Atherstone, and Shropshire, in theneighbourhood of Chester, ends in the Irish sea. 

The Foss begins in Devonshlre, extends South-east throughLeicestershire, continuing its course through Lincolnshire, to the vergeof the German ocean. 

These two roads, crossing each other at right angles, form a figureresembling the letter X, whose centre is the High Cross, which dividesthe counties of Warwick and Leicester. 

The Ermine-street extends along the southern part of the island; nearthe British channel; and the Ikenield-street, which I cannot so soonquit, rises near Southampton, extends nearly North, through Winchester, Wallingford, and over the Isis, at New-bridge; thence to Burford, crossing the Foss at Stow in the Woulds, over Bitford-bridge, in theCounty of Warwick, to Alcester; by Studley, Ipsley, Beely, Wetherick-hill, Stutley-street; crosses the road from Birmingham toBromsgrove, at Selley oak, leaving Harborne a mile to the left, also theHales Owen road a mile West of Birmingham: Thence by the Observatory inLady-wood-lane, where it enters the parish of Birmingham, crossing theDudley road at the Sand-pits; along Worstone-lane; through the littlepool, and Hockley-brook, where it quits the parish: Thence overHandsworth-heath, entering a little lane on the right ofBristle-lands-end, and over the river Tame, at Offord-mill, (Oldford-mill) directly to Sutton Coldfield. It passes the Ridgeway afew yards East of King's-standing, a little artificial mount, on whichCharles the First is said to have stood when he harangued the troops hebrought out of Shropshire, at the opening of the civil wars, in 1642. From thence the road proceeds through Sutton park, and the remainder ofthe Coldfield; over Radley-moor; from thence to Wall, a Roman station, where it meets the Watling-street: Leaving Lichfield a mile to the left, it leads through Street-hay; over Fradley-heath; thence through Alderwashays, crossing the river Trent, at Wichnor-bridge, to Branson-turnpike:over Burton-moor, leaving the town half a mile to the right: thence toMonk's-bridge, upon the river Dove; along Egington-heath, Little-over, the Rue-dyches, Stepping-lane, Nun-green, and Darley-slade, to the riverDerwent, one mile above Derby; upon the eastern banks of which standsLittle Chester, built by the Romans. 

If the traveller is tired with this tedious journey, and dulldescription, which admits of no variety, we will stop for a moment, andrefresh in this Roman city. 

In drawing the flewks of his oar along the bed of the river, as he boatsover it, he may feel the foundations of a Roman bridge, nearly levelwith its bottom. Joining the water are the vestiges of a castle, now anorchard. Roman coins are frequently discovered--In 1765, I was presentedwith one of Vespasian's, found the year before in scowering a ditch; butI am sorry to observe, it has suffered more during the fifteen years inmy possession, than during the fifteen hundred it lay in the earth. 

The inhabitants being in want of materials to form a turnpike road, attempted to pull up this renowned military way, for the sake of thosematerials, but found them too strongly cemented to admit of an easyseparation, and therefore desisted when they had taken up a few loads. 

I saw the section of this road cut up from the bottom: the Romans seemto have formed it with infinite labour and expence. They took out thesoil for about twenty yards wide, and one deep, perhaps, till they cameto a firm bottom; and filled up the whole with stones of all sizes, brought from Duffield, four miles up the river; cemented withcoarse mortar. 

The road here is only discoverable by its barren track, along thecultivated meadows. It then proceeds over Morley-moor, throughScarsdale, by Chesterfield, Balsover, through Yorkshire, Northumberland, and terminates upon the banks of the Tine, near Tinmouth. 

There are many roads in England formed by the Romans: they were of twokinds, the military, which crossed the island; and the smaller, whichextended from one town to another. The four I have mentioned come underthe first class: they rather avoided, than led through a town, that theymight not be injured by traffic. 

Two of these four, the Watling-street, and the Ikenield-street, arethought, by their names, to be British, and with some reason; neither ofthe words are derived from the Latin: but whatever were their origin, they are certainly of Roman construction. 

These great roads were begun as soon as the island was subdued, toemploy the military, and awe the natives, and were divided into stages, at the end of each was a fort, or station, to accommodate the guard, forthe reception of stores, the conveniency of marching parties, and toprevent the soldiers from mixing with the Britons. 

The stations upon the Ikenield-street, in our neighbourhood, are LittleChester (Derventione) a square fort, nearly half an acre; joining theroad to the south, and the Derwent to the west. 

The next is Burton upon Trent (Ad Trivonam) thirteen miles south. Here Ifind no remains of a station. 

Then Wall (Etocetum) near Lichfield, which I have examined with greatlabour, or rather with great pleasure: Here the two famous consularroads cross each other. We should expect a fort in the angle, commandingboth, which is not the case. The Watling-street is lost for about half amile, leading over a morass, only the line is faintly preserved, by ablind path over the inclosures: the Ikenield-street crosses it in thismorass, not the least traces of which remain. But, by a strictattention, I could point out their junction to a few yards. 

Six furlongs west of this junction, and one hundred yards north of theWatling-street, in a close, now about three acres, are the remains ofthe Roman fortress. This building, of strength and terror, is reduced toone piece of thick wall, visibly of Roman workmanship, from whence theplace derives its modern name. 

Can you, says I to a senior peasant, for I love to appeal to old age, tell the origin of that building?

"No; but we suppose it has been a church. The ruins were much larger inmy memory; but they were lately destroyed, to bring the land into thatimproved state of cultivation in which you see it. "--And so you reduceda fortress in four years, which the Britons never could in four hundred. For a trifling profit, you eraze the work of the ancients, and preventthe wonder of the moderns. --Are you apprised of any old walls underthe surface?

"Yes; the close is full of them: I have broke three ploughs in one day;no tool will stand against them. It has been more expensive to bring theland into its present condition, than the freehold is worth. " Why, youseem more willing to destroy than your tools; and more able than time. The works which were the admiration of ages, you bury under ground. Whatthe traveller comes many miles to see, you assiduously hide. 

What could be the meaning that the Romans erected their station on thedeclivity of this hill, when the summit, two hundred yards distant, ismuch more eligible; are there no foundations upon it? "None. "

The commandry is preferable: the Watling-street runs by it, and it isnearer the Ikenield-street. Pray, are you acquainted with another Romanroad which crosses it? "No. "

Do you know any close about the village, where a narrow bed of gravel, which runs a considerable length, has impeded the plough?

"Yes; there is a place, half a mile distant, where, when a child, Idrove the plough; we penetrated a land of gravel, and my companion'sgrandfather told us, it had been an old road. "--That is the place Iwant, lead me to it. Being already master of both ends of the road, likea broken line, with the center worn out, the gravel bed enabled me torecover it. 

The next station upon the Ikenield-street is Birmingham (Bremenium) Ihave examined this country with care; but find no vestiges of a station:nor shall we wonder; dissolation is the preserver of antiquity, nothingof which reigns here; the most likely place is Wor-ston (Wall-stone)which a younger brother of Birmingham might afterwards convert into thefashionable moat of the times, and erect a castle. The next station isAlcester (Alauna) all which are nearly at equal distances. 

In forming these grand roads, a strait direction seems to have beentheir leading maxim. Though curiosity has lead me to travel many hundredmiles upon their roads, with the eye of an enquirer, I cannot recollectone instance, where they ever broke the line to avoid a hill, a swamp, arock, or a river. 

They were well acquainted with the propriety of an old English adage, _Once well done is twice done_; an idea new cloathed by LordChesterfield, _If a a thing be worth doing at all, it is worthdoing well_. 

For their roads were so durably constructed, that, had they beenappropriated only to the use intended, they might have withstood theefforts of time, and bid fair for eternity. --Why is this useful art solost among the moderns?

When time and intercourse had so far united the Romans and the Britons, that they approached nearly to one people, the Romans formed, or rather_improved_, many of the smaller roads; placed stones of intelligenceupon them; hence, London Stone, Stony Stratford (the stone at theStreet-ford) Atherstone, stone (hither, near, or first stone fromWitherly-bridge, a Roman camp) and fixed their stations in the places towhich these roads tended. 

The great roads, as observed before, were chiefly appropriated formilitary purposes, and instituted in the beginning of their government;but the smaller were of later date, and designed for common use. Asthese came more in practice, there was less occasion for the military;which, not leading to their towns, were, in process of time, nearlylaid aside. 

Antonine, and his numerous train of commentators, have not bestowed thatattention on the roads they deserve: a curious acquaintance with theroads of a country, brings us acquainted with the manners of the people:in one, like a mirror, is exactly represented the other. Their state, like a master key, unlocks many apartments. 

The authors I have seen are _all in the wrong_; and as my researches areconfined, it is a mortification, I am not able to set them right. Theyhave confounded the two classes together, which were very distinct inchronology, the manner of making, and their use. If an author treats ofone old road, he supposes himself bound to treat of all in the kingdom, a task no man can execute: by undertaking much, we do nothing well; thejourney of an antiquarian mould never be rapid. If fortune offers asmall discovery, let him think, and compare. Neither will they ever beset right, but continue to build a mouldering fabric, with untemperedmortar, till a number of intelligent residents, by local enquiries canproduce solid materials for a lasting monument. 

The Romans properly termed their ways streets, a name retained by manyof them to this day; one of the smaller roads, issuing from London, penetrates through Stratford upon Avon (Street-ford) Monks-path-street, and Shirley-street, to Birmingham, which proves it of great antiquity, and the Ikenield-street running by it, proves it of greater. We may fromhence safely conclude, Birmingham was a place of note in the time ofCaesar, because she merited legislative regard in forming their roads;which will send us far back among the Britons, to find her firstexistence. 

Though we are certain the Ikenield-street passes about a mile in lengththrough this parish, as described above; yet, as there are no Romantraces to be seen, I must take the curious traveller to that vast waste, called Sutton-Coldfield, about four miles distant, where he will, in thesame road, find the footsteps of those great mailers of the world, marked in lasting characters. 

He will plainly see its straight line pass over the Ridgeway, throughSutton Park, leaving the West hedge about 200 yards to the left; throughthe remainder of the Coldfield, till lost in cultivation. 

This track is more than three miles in length, and is no where elsevisible in these parts. I must apprize him that its highest beauty isonly discovered by an horizontal sun in the winter months. 

I first saw it in 1762, relieved by the transverse rays, in a clearevening in November; I had a perfect view upon the Ridgeway, nearKing's-standing of this delightful scene: Had I been attacked by thechill blasts of winter, upon this bleak mountain, the sensation wouldhave been lost in the transport. The eye, at one view, takes in morethan two miles. Struck with astonishment, I thought it the grandestsight I had ever beheld; and was amazed, so noble a monument ofantiquity should be so little regarded. 

The poets have long contended for the line of beauty--they may find ithere. I was fixed as by enchantment till the sun dropt, my prospect withit, and I left the place with regret. 

If the industrious traveller chooses to wade up to the middle in gorse, as I did, he may find a roughish journey along this famousmilitary way. 

Perhaps this is the only road in which money is of no use to thetraveller; for upon this barren wild he can neither spend it, norgive it away. 

He will perceive the Coldfield to be one vast bed of gravel, coveredwith a moderate depth of soil of eight or ten inches: During thisjourney of three miles, he will observe all the way, on each side, anumber of pits, perhaps more than a thousand, out of which the Romansprocured the gravel to form the road; none of them many yards from it. This great number of pits, tends to prove two points--That the countrywas full of timber, which they not choosing to fall, procured the gravelin the interstices; for the road is composed of nothing else--And, thata great number of people were employed in its formation: They wouldalso, with the trees properly disposed, which the Romans must inevitablycut to procure a passage, form a barrier to the road. 

This noble production was designed by a master, is every where straight, and executed with labour and judgement. 

Here he perceives the date of his own conquest, and of his civilization. Thus the Romans humbled a ferocious people. 

If he chooses to measure it he will find it exactly sixty feet wide, divided into three lands, resembling those in a ploughed field. Thecentre land thirty-six feet, and raised from one to three, according tothe nature of the ground. The side lands, twelve each, and rising seldommore than one foot. 

This centre land no doubt was appropriated for the march of the troops, and the small one, on each side, for the out-guards, who preserved theirranks, for fear of a surprize from the vigilant and angry Britons. 

The Romans held these roads in great esteem, and were severe in theirlaws for their preservation. 

This famous road is visible all the way, but in some parts greatly hurt, and in others, compleat as in the first day the Romans made it. Perhapsthe inquisitive traveller may find here, the only monument in the wholeisland left us by the Romans, that _time_ hath not injured. 

The philosophical traveller may make some curious observations in theline of agriculture, yet in its infancy. 

The only growth upon this wild, is gorse and ling: The vegetation uponthe road and the adjacent lands, seem equal: The pits are all coveredwith a tolerable turf. 

As this road has been made about 1720 years, and, as at the time ofmaking, both that and the pits must have been surfaces of neat gravel;he will be led to examine, what degree of soil they have acquired inthat long course of years, and by what means?

He well knows, that the surface of the earth is very far from being afixed body: That there is a continual motion in every part, stoneexcepted: That the operations of the sun, the air, the frost, the dews, the winds, and the rain, produce a constant agitation, which changes theparticles and the pores, tends to promote vegetation, and to increasethe soil to a certain depth. 

This progress is too minute for the human eye, but the effects arevisible. The powers above mentioned operate nearly as yeast in a lump ofdough, that enlivens the whole. Nature seems to wish that the foot wouldleave the path, that she may cover it with grass. He will find thisvegetative power so strong, that it even attends the small detachedparts of the soil where-ever they go, provided they are within reach ofair and moisture: He will not only observe it in the small pots, appropriated for garden use, but on the tops of houses, remote from anyroad, where the wind has carried any small dust. He will also observe itin cracks of the rocks; but in an amazing degree in the thick walls ofruined castles, where, by a long course of time, the decayed materialsare converted into a kind of soil, and so well covered with grass, thatif one of our old castle builders could return to his possessions, hemight mow his house as well as his field, and procure a tolerable cropfrom both. 

In those pits, upon an eminence, the soil will be found deep enough forany mode of husbandry. In those of the vallies, which take in the smalldrain of the adjacent parts, it is much deeper. That upon the road, which rather gives than receives any addition from drain, the averagedepth is about four inches. 

The soil is not only increased by the causes above, but also by theconstant decays of the growth upon it. The present vegetable generationfalling to decay, adds to the soil, and also, assists the nextgeneration, which in a short time follows the same course. 

The author of the History of Sutton says, "The poor inhabitants aresupplied with fuel from a magazine of peat, near the Roman road, composed of thousands of fir trees cut down by the Romans, to enablethem to pass over a morass. The bodies of the trees are sometimes dug upfound, with the marks of the axe upon them. "

Are we then to suppose, by this curious historical anecdote, that theinhabitants of Sutton have run away with this celebrated piece ofantiquity? That the cart, instead of rolling _over_ the military way, has rolled _under_ it, and that they have boiled the pot with theRoman road?

Upon inquiry, they seemed more inclined to credit the fact, than able toprove it; but I can find no such morass, neither is the road any wherebroken up. Perhaps it would be as difficult to find the trees, as theaxe that cut them: Besides, the fir is not a native of Britain, but ofRussia; and I believe our forefathers, the Britons, were not completemasters of the art of transplanting. The park of Sutton was probably abed of oaks, the natural weed of the country, long before Moses figuredin history. 

Whilst the political traveller is contemplating this extraordinaryproduction of antiquity, of art, and of labour, his thoughts willnaturally recur to the authors of it. 

He will find them proficients in science, in ambition, in taste: Theyadded dominion to conquest, 'till their original territory became toonarrow a basis to support the vast fabric acquired by the success oftheir arms: The monstrous bulk fell to destruction by its ownweight. --Man was not made for universality; if he grasps at little, hemay retain it; if at much, he may lose all. 

The confusion, natural on such occasions, produced anarchy: At thatmoment, the military stept into the government, and the peoplebecame slaves. 

Upon the ruins of this brave race, the Bishop of Rome founded anecclesiastical jurisdiction. His power increasing with his votaries, hefound means to link all christendom to the triple crown, and acquired anunaccountable ascendency over the human mind: The princes of Europe wereharnessed, like so many coach horses. The pontiff directed the bridle. He sometimes used the whip, and sometimes the curse. The thunder of histhrone rattled through the world with astonishing effect, 'till thatmost useful discovery, the art of printing, in the fifteenth century, dissolved the charm, and set the oppressed cattle at liberty; who beganto kick their driver. Henry the Eighth of England, was the first unrulyanimal in the papal team, and the sagacious Cranmer assisted in breakingthe shackles. 

We have, in our day, seen an order of priesthood in the church of Rome, annihilated by the consent of the European princes, which the Popebeheld in silence. 

"There is an ultimate point of exaltation, and reduction, beyond whichhuman affairs cannot proceed. " Rome, seems to have experienced both, forshe is at this day one of the most contemptible states in the scaleof empire. 

This will of course lead the traveller's thoughts towards Britain, wherehe will find her sons by nature inclined to a love of arms, of liberty, and of commerce. These are the strong outlines of national character, the interior parts of which are finished with the softer touches ofhumanity, of science, and of luxury. He will also find, that there is anatural boundary to every country, beyond which it is dangerous to adddominion. That the boundary of Britain is the sea: That her externalstrength is her navy, which protects her frontiers, and her commerce:That her internal is unanimity: That when her strength is united withinherself, she is invincible, and the balance of Europe will be fixed inher hand, which she ought never to let go. 

But if she accumulates territory, though she may profit at first, sheweakens her power by dividing it; for the more she fends abroad, theless will remain at home; and, instead of giving law to the tyrant, shemay be obliged to receive law from him. 

That, by a multiplicity of additions, her little isles will be lost inthe great map of dominion. 

That, if she attempts to draw that vast and growing empire, America, shemay herself be drawn to destruction; for, by every law of attraction, the greater draws the less--The mouse was never meant to direct the ox. That the military and the ecclesiastical powers are necessary in theirplaces, that is, subordinate to the civil. 

But my companion will remember that Birmingham is our historical mark, therefore we must retreat to that happy abode of the smiling arts. If hehas no taste for antiquity, I have detained him too long upon thishungry, though delightful spot. If he has, he will leave the enchantedground with reluctance; will often turn his head to repeat the view, 'till the prospect is totally lost. 

LORDS OF THE MANOR. 

By the united voice of our historians, it appears, that as the Saxonsconquered province after province, which was effected in about onehundred and thirty years, the unfortunate Britons retreated into Wales:But we are not to suppose that all the inhabitants ran away, and left adesolate region to the victor; this would have been of little more valueto the conqueror, than the possession of Sutton Coldfield or BromsgroveLickey. The mechanic and the peasant were left, which are by far thegreatest number; they are also the riches of a country; stamp a valueupon property, and it becomes current. As they have nothing to lose, sothey have nothing to fear; for let who will be master, they must bedrudges: Their safety consists in their servitude; the victor is everconscious of their utility, therefore their protection is certain. 

But the danger lies with the man of substance, and the greater thatsubstance, the greater his anxiety to preserve it, and the more dangerto himself if conquered: These were the people who retreated into Wales. Neither must we consider the wealth of that day to consist of bags ofcash, bills of exchange, India bonds, bank stock, etc. No such thingexisted. Property lay in the land, and the herds that fed upon it. Andhere I must congratulate our Welch neighbours, who are most certainlydescended from gentlemen; and I make no doubt but the Cambrian readerwill readily unite in the same sentiment. 

The Saxons, as conquerors, were too proud to follow the modes of theconquered, therefore they introduced government, laws, language, customs and habits of their own. Hence we date the division of thekingdom into manors. 

Human nature is nearly the same in all ages. Where value is marked uponproperty or power, it will find its votaries: Whoever was the mostdeserving, or rather could make the most interest, procured landsufficient for an Elderman, now Earl; the next class, a Manor; and theinferior, who had borne the heat and burthen of the day--nothing. 

I must now introduce an expression which I promised not to forget. --Inthe course of a trial between William de Birmingham, and the inhabitantsof Bromsgrove and King's-norton, in 1309, concerning the right oftollage; it appeared, That the ANCESTORS of the said William had amarket here before the Norman conquest. This proves, that the family ofBirmingham were of Saxon race, and Lords of the Manor prior tothat period. 

Mercia was not only the largest, but also the last of the sevenconquered kingdoms--It was bounded on the North by the Humber, on theWest by the Severn, on the South by the Thames, and on the East by theGerman ocean. Birmingham lies nearly in the centre. Cridda, a Saxon, came over with a body of troops, and reduced it in 582; therefore, asno after revolution happened that could cause Birmingham to change itsowner, and as land was not in a very saleable state at that time, thereis the greatest reason to suppose the founder of the house of BirminghamCame over with Cridda, as an officer in his army, and procured thislittle flourishing dominion as a reward for his service. 

The succeeding generations of this illustrious family are too remote forhistorical penetration, 'till the reign of Edward the Confessor, thelast of the Saxon Kings, when we find, in 1050, ULUUINE, (since ALWYNE, now ALLEN, )

master of this improving spot. 

RICHARD, 1066, seems to have succeeded him, and to have lived in that unfortunateperiod for property, the conquest. 

The time was now arrived when this ancient family, with the rest of theEnglish gentry, who had lived under the benign climate of Saxongovernment, and in the affluence of fortune, must quit the happyregions of hospitality, and enter the gloomy precincts of penury--Fromgivers, they were to become beggars. 

The whole conduct of William seems to have carried the strongest marksof conquest. Many of the English lost their lives, some their liberty, and nearly all their estates. The whole land in the kingdom wasinsufficient to satisfy the hungry Normans. 

Perhaps William took the wisest method to secure the conquered countrythat could be devised by human wisdom; he parcelled out the kingdomamong his greater Barons; the whole county of Chester is said to havefallen to the share of Hugh Lupus: and these were subdivided into 62, 000Knight's-sees, which were held under the great Barons by militaryservice. Thus the Sovereign by only signifying his pleasure to theBarons, could instantly raise an army for any purpose. We cannot producea stronger indication of arbitrary government: But, it is happy for theworld, that perfection is not found even in human wisdom; for this welllaid scheme destroyed itself. Instead of making the crown absolute, aswas intended, it threw the balance into the hands of the Barons, whobecame so many petty Sovereigns, and a scourge to the King in afterages, 'till Henry the Seventh sapped their power, and raised the thirdestate, the Commons, which quickly eclipsed the other two. 

The English gentry suffered great distress: Their complaints rung loudin the royal ear, some of them therefore, who had been peaceable andnever opposed the Normans, were suffered to enjoy their estates independance upon the great Barons. 

This was the case with Richard, Lord of Birmingham, who held this manorby knight's-service of William Fitz-Ausculf, Lord of Dudley castle, andperhaps all the land between the two places. 

Thus Birmingham, now rising towards the meridian of opulence, was adependant upon Dudley castle, now in ruins; and thus an honourablefamily, who had enjoyed a valuable freehold, perhaps near 500 years, were obliged to pay rent, homage, suit and service, attend the Lord'scourt at Dudley every three weeks, be called into the field at pleasure, and after all, possess a precarious tenure in villainage. 

The blood of the ancient English was not only tainted with the breath ofthat destructive age, but their lands also. The powerful blast destroyedtheir ancient freehold tenures, reducing them into wretched copyholds:and to the disgrace of succeeding ages, many of them retain this mark ofNorman slavery to the present day. How defective are those laws, whichgive one man power over another in neutral cases? That tend to promotequarrels, prevent cultivation, and which cannot draw the line betweenproperty and property?

Though a spirit of bravery is certainly a part of the British character, yet there are two or three periods in English history, when this nobleflame was totally extinguished. Every degree of resolution seems to havebeen cut off at the battle of Hastings. The English acted contrary totheir usual manner:--Danger had often made them desperate, but now itmade them humble. This conquest is one of the most extraordinary heldforth in history; the flower of nobility was wholly nipped off; thespirit of the English depressed, and having no head to direct, or handto cultivate the courage of the people and lead it into action, itdwindled at the root, was trampled under the foot of tyranny, and, according to _Smollet_, several generations elapsed before any one ofthe old English stock blossomed into peerage. 

It is curious to contemplate the revolution of things--Though theconquering Romans flood first in the annals of same at the beginning ofthe Christian era, yet they were a whole century in carrying theirillustrious arms over the island, occupied only by a despicable race ofBritons. Though the Saxons were invited, by one false step in politics, to assist the Britons in expelling an enemy, which gave them anopportunity of becoming enemies themselves; yet it was 130 years beforethey could complete their conquest. And though the industrious Danepoured incessant numbers of people into Britain, yet it cost them 200years, and 150, 000 men before they reduced it. But William, at one blow, finished the dreadful work, shackled her sons to his throne, andgoverned them with a sceptre of iron. Normandy, a petty dukedom, verylittle larger than Yorkshire, conquered a mighty nation in one day. England seems to have been taken by storm, and her liberties put to thesword: Nor did the miseries of this ill-fated kingdom end here, for thecontinental dominions, which William annexed to the crown, proved awhirlpool for 400 years, which drew the blood and treasure of the nationinto its vortex, 'till those dominions were fortunately lost in thereign of Mary the First. 

Thus the Romans spent one century in acquiring a kingdom, which theygoverned for four. The Saxons spent 130 years, and ruled for 459. TheDanes spent 200 and reigned for 25--But the Norman spent one day only, for a reign of 700 years: They continue to reign still. 

It is easy to point out some families of Norman race, who yet enjoy theestates won by their ancestors at the battle of Hastings. 

WILLIAM, 1130, Like his unfortunate father, was in a state of vassalage. The male lineof the Fitz-Ausculfs soon became extinct, and Gervase Paganell marryingthe heiress, became Baron of Dudley-castle. 

PETER DE BIRMINGHAM, 1154. 

It is common in every class of life, for the inferior to imitate thesuperior: If the real lady claims a head-dress sixteen inches high, thatof the imaginary lady will immediately begin to thrive. The family, orsurname, entered with William the First, and was soon the reigning tasteof the day: A person was thought of no consequence without a surname, and even the depressed English, crept into the fashion, in imitation oftheir masters. I have already mentioned the Earl of Warwick, father of anumerous race now in Birmingham; whose name before the conquest wassimply Turchill, but after, Turchill de Arden, (Matter of the Woods)from his own estate. 

Thus the family of whom I speak, chose to dignify themselves with thename of _de Birmingham_. 

Peter wisely consulted his own interest, kept fair with Paganall hisLord, and obtained from him, in 1166, nine Knight's-fees, which he heldby military service. 

A Knight's-fee, though uncommon now, was a word well understood 600years ago. It did not mean, as some have imagined, fifteen pounds perannum, nor any determinate sum; but as much land as would support agentleman. This Peter was fewer to Paganall, (waited at his table)though a man of great property. 

The splendor in which the great Barons of that age lived, was littleinferior to royalty. 

The party distinctions also of Saxon and Norman, in the twelfth century, began to die away, as the people became united by interest or marriage, like that of Whig and Tory, in the eighteenth. And perhaps there is notat present a native that does not carry in his veins the blood of thefour nations that were grafted upon the Britons. 

Peter himself lived in affluence at his castle, then near Birmingham, now the Moat, of which in the next section. He also obtained from Henrythe Second, as well as from Paganall the Lord paramount, severalvaluable privileges for his favourite inheritance of Birmingham. He borefor his arms, _azure, a bend lozenge_, of five points, _or_; the coat ofhis ancestors. 

WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, 1216. 

At the reduction of Ireland, in the reign of Henry the Second, a branchof this family, and perhaps uncle to William, was very instrumentalunder Richard Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, in accomplishing that greatend; for which he was rewarded with a large estate, and the title ofEarl of Lowth, both which continue in his family. Perhaps they are theonly remains of this honorable house. 

WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, 1246. 

By this time, the male line of the Paganalls was worn out, and Roger deSomeri marrying the heiress, became Baron of Dudley, with all itsdependencies; but Someri and Birmingham did not keep peace, as theirfathers had done. William, being very rich, forgot to ride to Dudleyevery three weeks, to perform suit and service at Someri's court. 

Whereupon a contest commenced to enforce the performance. But, in 1262, it was agreed between the contending parties--That William should attendthe Lord's court only twice a year, Easter and Michaelmas, and at suchother times, as the Lord chose to command by special summons. ThisWilliam, having married the daughter of Thomas de Astley, a man of greateminence, and both joining with the Barons under Simon Mountfort, Earlof Leicester, against Henry the Third, William fell, in 1265, at thebattle of Evesham; and as the loser is ever the rebel, the Barons wereprescribed, and their estates confiscated. 

The manor of Birmingham, therefore, valued at forty pounds per annum, was seized by the King, and given to his favorite, Roger de Clifford. 

WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, 1265. 

By a law called the statute of Kenilworth, every man who had forfeitedhis estate to the crown, by having taken up arms, had liberty to redeemhis lands, by a certain fine: William therefore paid that fine, andrecovered the inheritance of his family. He also, in 1283 strengthenedhis title by a charter from Edward the First, and likewise to the othermanors he possessed, such as Stockton, in the County of Worcester;Shetford, in Oxfordshire; Maidencoat, in Berkshire; Hoggeston, in thecounty of Bucks; and Christleton, in Cheshire. 

In 1285, Edward brought his writ of quo warranto, whereby every holderof land was obliged to show by what title he held it. The consequencewould have been dreadful to a Prince of less prudence than Edward. Someshowed great unwillingness; for a dormant title will not always bearexamination--But William producing divers charters, clearly proved hisright to every manorial privilege, such as market, toll, tem, sack, sok, insangenthief, weyfs, gallows, court-leet, and pillory, with a right tofix the standard for bread and beer; all which were allowed. 

William, Lord of Birmingham, being a military tenant, was obliged toattend the King into Gascoigne, 1297, where he lost his liberty at thesiege of Bellgard, and was carried prisoner in triumph to Paris. 

WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, 1306. 

This is the man who tried the right of tollage with the people ofBromsgrove and King's norton. 

WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, LORD BIRMINGHAM. 

1316. 

Was knighted in 1325; well affected to Edward the Second, for whoseservice he raised four hundred foot. Time seems to have put a period tothe family of Someri, Lords of Dudley, as well as to those of theirpredecessors, the Paganalls, and the Fitz-Ausculfs. 

In 1327, the first of Edward the Third, Sir William was summoned toParliament, by the title of William Lord Birmingham, but not after. 

It was not the fashion of that day to fill the House of Peers by patent. The greater Barons held a local title from their Baronies; the possessorof one of these, claimed a seat among the Lords. 

I think, they are now all extinct, except Arundel, the property of theNorfolk family, and whoever is proprietor of Arundel castle, is Earlthereof by ancient prescription. 

The lesser Barons were called up to the House by writ, which did notconfer an hereditary title. Of this class was the Lord of Birmingham. 

Hugh Spencer, the favourite of the weak Edward the Second, had procuredthe custody of Dudley-castle, with all its appendages, for his friendWilliam, Lord Birmingham. 

Thus the family who had travelled from Birmingham to Dudley every threeweeks, to perform humble suit at the Lord's court, held that very courtby royal appointment, to receive the fealty of others. 

By the patent which constituted William keeper of Dudley-castle, he wasobliged to account for the annual profits arising from that vast estateinto the King's exchequer. When, therefore, in 1334, he delivered in hisaccounts, the Barons refused to admit them, because the money wasdefective. But he had interest enough with the crown to cause a mandamusto be issued, commanding the Barons to admit them. 

SIR FOUK DE BIRMINGHAM, 1340. 

This man advanced to Sir Baldwin Freville, Lord of Tamworth, forty eightmarks, upon mortgage of five mills. The ancient coat of the _bendlozenge_, was now changed for the _partie per pale, indented, or, and gules_. 

In 1352, and 1362 he was returned a member for the county of Warwick;also, in three or four succeeding Parliaments. 

SIR JOHN DE BIRMINGHAM, 1376. 

Served the office of Sheriff for the county of Warwick, in 1379, and wassuccessively returned to serve in Parliament for the counties ofWarwick, Bedford, and Buckingham. He married the daughter of William dela Planch, by whom he had no issue. She afterwards married the LordClinton, retained the manor of Birmingham as her dower, and lived to theyear 1424. 

It does not appear in this illustrious family, that the regular line ofdescent, from father to son, was ever broken, from the time of theSaxons, 'till 1390. This Sir John left a brother, Sir Thomas deBirmingham, heir at law, who enjoyed the bulk of his brother's fortune;but was not to possess the manor of Birmingham 'till the widow's death, which not happening 'till after his own, he never enjoyed it. 

The Lord Clinton and his Lady seem to have occupied the Manor-house; andSir Thomas, unwilling to quit the place of his affections and of hisnativity, erected a castle for himself at Worstone, near the Sand-pits, joining the Ikenield-street; street; where, though the building istotally gone, the vestiges of its liquid security are yet complete. ThisSir Thomas enjoyed several public offices, and figured in the style ofhis ancestors. He left a daughter, who married Thomas de la Roche, andfrom this marriage sprang two daughters; the eldest of which marriedEdmund, Lord Ferrers of Chartley, who, at the decease of Sir John'swidow, inherited the manor, and occupied the Manor house. There yetstands a building on the North-east side of the Moat, erected by thisLord Ferrers, with his arms in the timbers of the ceiling, and thecrest, a horse-shoe. 

I take this house to be the oldest in Birmingham, though it hath notthat appearance; having stood about 350 years. 

By an entail of the manor upon the male line, the Lady Ferrers seems tohave quitted her title in favor of a second cousin, a descendant ofWilliam de Birmingham, brother to Sir Fouk. 

WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, 1430. 

In the 19th of Henry the Sixth, 1441, is said to have held his manor ofBirmingham, of Sir John Sutton, Lord of Dudley, by military service;but instead of paying homage, fealty, escuage, &c. As his ancestors haddone, which was very troublesome to the tenant, and brought only emptyhonour to the Lord: and, as sometimes the Lord's necessities taught himto think that money was more _Solid_ than suit and service; an agreementwas entered into, for money instead of homage, between the Lord and thetenant--Such agreements now became common. Thus land became a kind ofbastard freehold:--The tenant held a certainty, while he conformed tothe agreement; or, in other words, the custom of the manor--And the Lordstill possessed a material control. He died in 1479, leaving a son, SIR WILLIAM BIRMINGHAM, 1479, Aged thirty at the decease of his father. He married Isabella, heiressof William Hilton, by whom he had a son, William, who died before hisfather, June 7, 1500, leaving a son, EDWARD BIRMINGHAM, 1500, Born in 1497, and succeeded his grandfather at the age of three. Duringhis minority, Henry the Seventh, 1502, granted the wardship to Edward, Lord Dudley. 

The family estate then consisted of the manors of Birmingham, OverWarton, Nether Warton, Mock Tew, Little Tew, and Shutford in the countyof Oxford, Hoggeston in Bucks, and Billesley in the county of Worcester. Edward afterwards married Elizabeth, widow of William Ludford, ofAnnesley, by whom he had one daughter, who married a person of the nameof Atkinson. 

But after the peaceable possession of a valuable estate, for thirtyseven years; the time was now arrived, when the mounds of justice mustbe broken down by the weight of power, a whole deluge of destructionenter, and overwhelm an ancient and illustrious family, in the person ofan innocent man. The world would view the diabolical transaction withamazement, none daring to lend assistance to the unfortunate; notconsidering, that property should ever be under the protection of law;and, what was Edward's case to-day, might be that of any other manto-morrow. But the oppressor kept fair with the crown, and the crownheld a rod of iron over the people. --Suffer me to tell the mournful talefrom Dugdale's Antiquities of Warwickshire. 

1537, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, a man of great wealth, unboundedambition, and one of the basest characters of the age, was possessor ofDudley-castle, and the fine estate belonging to it:--He wished to addBirmingham to his vast domain. Edward Birmingham therefore was privatelyfounded, respecting the disposal of his manor; but as money was notwanted, and as the place had been the honor and the residence of hisfamily for many centuries, it was out of the reach of purchase. 

Northumberland was so charmed with its beauty, he was determined topossess it; and perhaps the manner in which he accomplished his design, cannot be paralleled in the annals of infamy. 

He procured two or three rascals of his own temper, and rather of meanappearance, to avoid suspicion, to take up their quarters for a night ortwo in Birmingham, and gain secret intelligence when Edward Birminghamshould ride out, and what road: This done, one of the rascals was tokeep before the others, but all took care that Edward should easilyovertake them. Upon his arrival at the first class, the villains joinedhim, entered into chat, and all moved soberly together 'till theyreached the first man; when, on a sudden, the strangers with Edward drewtheir pistols and robbed their brother villain, who no doubt lost aconsiderable sum after a decent resistance. Edward was easily known, apprehended, and committed as one of the robbers; the others were notto be found. 

Edward immediately saw himself on the verge of destruction. He couldonly _alledge_, but not _prove_ his innocence: All the proof the casecould admit of, was against him. 

Northumberland (then only Lord L'Isle) hitherto had succeeded to hiswish; nor was Edward long in suspence--Private hints were given him, that the only way to save his life, was to make Northumberland hisfriend; and this probably might be done, by resigning to him his manorof Birmingham; with which the unfortunate Edward reluctantly complied. 

Northumberland thinking a common conveyance insufficient, caused Edwardto yield his estate into the hands of the King, and had interest enoughin that age of injustice to procure a ratification from a weakParliament, by which means he endeavoured to throw the odium off his owncharacter, and fix it upon theirs, and also, procure to himself asafer title. 

An extract from that base act is as follows:--

"Whereas Edward Byrmingham, late of Byrmingham in the countie ofWarwick, Esquire, otherwise callid Edward Byrmingham, Esquire, ys andstandyth lawfully indettid to our soverene Lord the Kinge, in diversegrete summes of money; and also standyth at the mercy of his Highness, for that the same Edward ys at this present convected of felony: Ourseide soverene Lord the Kinge ys contentid and pleasid, that for and inrecompence and satisfaction to his Grace of the seyde summes of money, to accept and take of the seyde Edward the mannour and lordship ofByrmingham, otherwise callid Byrmincham, with the appurtinances, lyingand being in the countie of Warwick, and all and singuler other landsand tenements, reversions, rents, services, and hereditaments of thesame Edward Byrmingham, set, lying and beying in the countie of Warwickaforesaid. Be yt therefore ordeyned and enacted, by the authoritie ofthis present Parliament, that our seyde soverene Lord the Kinge shallhave, hold, and enjoy, to him and his heires and assignes for ever, theseyde mannour and lordship of Byrmingham, &c. "

In the act there is a reservation of 40_l_. Per annum, during the livesonly of the said Edward and his wife. 

It appears also, by an expression in the act, that Edward was brought totrial, and found guilty. Thus innocence is depressed for want ofsupport; property is wrested for want of the protection of the law; anda vile minister, in a corrupt age, can carry an infamous point through acourt of justice, the two Houses of Parliament, and complete his horriddesign by the sanction of a tyrant. 

The place where tradition tells us this diabolical transaction happened, is the middle of Sandy-lane, in the Sutton road; the upper part of whichbegins at the North east corner of Aston park wall; at the bottom, youbear to the left, for Sawford-bridge, or to the right, forNachell's-green; about two miles from the Moat, the place ofEdward's abode. 

Except that branch which proceeded from this original stem, about 600years ago, of which the Earl of Lowth is head, I know of no maledescendant from this honourable stock; who, if we allow the founder tohave come over with Cridda, the Saxon, in 582, must have commanded thislittle Sovereignty 955 years. 

I met with a person sometime ago of the name of Birmingham, and waspleased with the hope of finding a member of that ancient and honorablehouse; but he proved so amasingly ignorant, he could not tell whether hewas from the clouds, the sea, or the dunghill: instead of traceing theexistence of his ancestors, even so high as his father, he was scarcelyconscious of his own. 

As this house did not much abound with daughters, I cannot at presentrecollect any families among us, except that of Bracebridge, who aredescended from this illustrious origin, by a female line; and Sir JohnTalbot Dillon, who is descended from the ancient Earls of Lowth, as heis from the De Veres, the more ancient Earls of Oxford. 

Here, then, I unwillingly extinguish that long range of lights, whichfor many ages illuminated the house of Birmingham. 

But I cannot extinguish the rascallity of the line of Northumberland. This unworthy race, proved a scourge to the world, at least during threegenerations. Each, in his turn, presided in the British cabinet; andeach seems to have possessed the villainy of his predecessor, unitedwith his own. The first, only _served_ a throne; but the second and thethird intended to _fill_ one. A small degree of ambition warms the mindin pursuit of fame, through the paths of honor; while too large aportion tends to unfavorable directions, kindles to a flame, consumesthe finer sensations of rectitude, and leaves a stench behind. 

Edmund, the father of this John, was the voracious leech, with Empson, who sucked the vitals of the people, to feed the avarice of Henrythe Seventh. 

It is singular that Henry, the most sagacious prince since the conquest, loaded him with honours for filling the royal coffers with wealth, whichthe penurious monarch durst never enjoy: but his successor, Henry theEighth, enjoyed the pleasure of consuming that wealth, and _executed_the father for collecting it! How much are our best laid schemesdefective? How little does expectation and event coincide? It is nodisgrace to a man that he died on the scaffold; the question is--Whatbrought him there? Some of the most inoffensive, and others the mostexalted characters of the age in which they lived, have been cut off bythe axe, as Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, for being the last maleheir of the Anjouvin Kings; John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, Sir ThomasMoore, Sir Walter Raleigh, Algernon Sidney, William Lord Russell, &c. Whose blood ornamented the scaffold on which they fell. 

The son of this man, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, favorite of QueenElizabeth, is held up by our historians as a master-piece ofdissimulation, pride, and cruelty. He married three wives, all which heis charged with sending to the grave by untimely deaths; one of them, toopen a passage to the Queen's bed, to which he aspired. It issurprising, that he should deceive the penetrating eye of Elizabeth: butI am much inclined to think she _knew him_ better than the world; andthey knew him rather to well. He ruined many of the English gentry, particularly the ancient family of Arden, of Park-hall, in thisneighbourhood: he afterwards ruined his own family by disinheriting ason, more worthy than himself. --If he did not fall by the executioner, it is no proof that he did not deserve it. --We now behold

JOHN, DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND, 1537, Lord of the manor of Birmingham; a man, who of all others the leastdeserved that honor; or rather, deserved the axe for being so. 

Some have asserted, "That property acquired by dishonesty cannotprosper. " But I shall leave the philosopher and the enthusiast to settlethat important point, while I go on to observe, That that the lordshipof Birmingham did not prosper with the Duke. Though he had, in somedegree, the powers of government in his hands, he had also the clamoursof the people in his ears. What were his inward feelings, is uncertainat this distance--Fear seems to have prevented him from acknowledgingBirmingham for his property. Though he exercised every act of ownership, yet he suffered the fee-simple to rest in the crown, 'till nine yearshad elapsed, and those clamours subsided, before he ventured to acceptthe grant, in 1546. 

As the execution of this grant was one of the last acts of Henry's life, we should be apt to suspect the Duke carried it in his pocket ready forsigning, but deferred the matter as long as he could with safety, thatdistance of time might annihilate reflection; and that the King's death, which happened a few weeks after, might draw the attention of the worldtoo much, by the importance of the event, to regard the Duke's conduct. 

The next six years, which carries us through the reign of Edward theSixth, is replete with the intrigues of this illustrious knave. Hesought connections with the principal families: He sought honours forhis own: He procured a match between his son, the Lord Guildford Dudley, and the Lady Jane Gray, daughter of the Duke of Suffolk, and adescendant from Henry the Seventh, with intent of fixing the crown inhis family, but failing in the attempt, he brought ruin upon the Suffolkfamily, and himself to the block, in the first of Queen Mary, 1553. 

Though a man be guilty of many atrocious acts that deserve death, yet inthe hour of distress humanity demands the tear of compassion; but thecase was otherwise at the execution of John, Duke of Northumberland, fora woman near the scaffold held forth a bloody handkerchief andexclaimed, "Behold the blood of the Duke of Somerset, shed by yourmeans, and which cries for vengeance against you. "

Thus Northumberland kept a short and rough possession of glory; thus hefell unlamented; and thus the manor of Birmingham reverted to the crowna second time, the Duke himself having first taught it the way. 

Birmingham continued two years in the crown, 'till the third of QueenMary, when she granted it to

THOMAS MARROW, 1555, Whose family, for many descents, resided at Berkeswell, in this county. 

In the possession of the High Bailiff is a bushel measure, cast inbrass, of some value; round which in relief is, SAMUEL MARROW, LORD OFTHE MANOR OF BIRMINGHAM, 1664. 

The Lordship continued in this family about 191 years, 'till the maleline failing, it became the joint property of four coheirs--Ann, marriedto Sir Arthur Kaye; Mary, the wife of John Knightley, Esq; Ursulla, thewife of Sir Robert Wilmot; and Arabella, unmarried; who, in about 1730, disposed of the private estate in the manor, amounting to about 400_l_. Per annum, to Thomas Sherlock, Bishop of London, as before observed, andthe manor itself to

THOMAS ARCHER, ESQ. 

for 1, 700_l_. In 1746, Of an ancient family, who have resided at Umberslade in this county morethan 600 years--from him it descended to

ANDREW, LORD ARCHER, And is now enjoyed by his relict, SARAH, LADY ARCHER, 1781, Possessing no more in the parish than the royalty; as it does not appearthat the subsequent Lords, after the extinction of the house ofBirmingham, were resident upon the manor, I omit particulars. 

Let me remark, this place yet gives title to the present Lord ViscountDudley and Ward, as descended, by the female line, from the greatNorman Barons, the Fitz-Ausculfs, the Paganalls, the Somerys, theSuttons, and the Dudleys, successively Lords paramount, whose originalpower is reduced to a name. 

MANOR HOUSE. 

(The Moat. )

The natural temper of the human mind, like that of the brute, is givento plunder: This temper is very apt to break forth into action. In allsocieties of men, therefore, restraints have been discovered, under thename of laws, attended with punishment, to deter people from infringingeach others property. Every thing that a man can possess, falls underthe denomination of property; whether it be life, liberty, wealth orcharacter. 

The less perfect these laws are, the less a people are removed from therude state of nature, and the more necessity there is for a man to beconstantly in a state of defence, that he may be able to repel any forcethat shall rise up against him. 

It is easy to discover, by the laws of a country, how far the people areadvanced in civilization. If the laws are defective, or the magistratetoo weak to execute them, it is dangerous for a man to possess property. 

But when a nation is pretty far advanced in social existence; when thelaws agree with reason, and are executed with firmness, a man need nottrouble himself concerning the protection of his property--his countrywill protect it for him. 

The laws of England have, for many ages, been gradually refining; andare capable of that protection which violence never was. 

But if we penetrate back into the recesses of time, we shall find thelaws inadequate, the manners savage, force occupy the place of justice, and property unprotected. In those barbarous ages, therefore, men soughtsecurity by intrenching themselves from a world they could not trust. This was done by opening a large ditch round their habitation, whichthey filled with water, and which was only approachable by adraw-bridge. This, in some degree, supplied the defect of the law, andthe want of power in the magistrate. It also, during the iron reign ofpriesthood, furnished that table in lent, which it guarded all the year. 

The Britons had a very slender knowledge of fortification. The campsthey left us, are chiefly upon eminences, girt by a shallow ditch, bordered with stone, earth, or timber, but never with water. The moat, therefore, was introduced by the Romans; their camps are often inmarshes; some wholly, and some in part surrounded by water. 

These liquid barriers were begun in England early in the christian æra, they were in the zenith of their glory at the barons wars, in the reignof king John, and continued to be the mode of fortification till theintroduction of guns, in the reign of Edward the fourth, which shooktheir foundation; and the civil wars of Charles the first totallyannihilated their use, after an existence of twelve hundred years. 

Perhaps few parishes, that have been the ancient habitation of agentleman, are void of some traces of these fluid bulwarks. That ofBirmingham has three; one of these, of a square form, at Warstone, erected by a younger brother of the house of Birmingham, hath alreadybeen mentioned; it is fed by a small rivulet from Rotton Park, whichcrosses the Dudley Road, near the Sand pits. 

Another is the Parsonage house, belonging to St. Martin's, formerlysituated in the road to Bromsgrove, now Smallbrook street, of a circularfigure, and supplied by a neighbouring spring. If we allow this waterycircle to be a proof of the great antiquity of the house, it is a muchgreater with regard to the antiquity of the church. 

The third is what we simply denominate the Moat, and was the residenceof the ancient lords of Birmingham, situated about sixty yards south ofthe church, and twenty west of Digbeth; this is also circular, andsupplied by a small stream that crosses the road to Bromsgrove, near thefirst mile stone; it originally ran into the river Rea, near Vaughton'shole, dividing the parishes of Birmingham and Edgbaston all the way, butat the formation of the Moat, was diverted from its course, into whichit never returned. 

No certain evidence remains to inform us when this liquid work wasaccomplished: perhaps in the Saxon heptarchy, when there were few or nobuildings south of the church. Digbeth seems to have been one of thefirst streets added to this important school of arts; the upper part ofthat street must of course have been formed first: but, that the Moatwas completed prior to the erection of any buildings between that andDigbeth, is evident, because those buildings stand upon the very soilthrown out in forming the Moat. 

The first certain account that we meet with of this guardian circle, isin the reign of Henry the Second, 1154, when Peter de Birmingham, thenlord of the see, had a cattle here, and lived in splendor. All thesucceeding Lords resided upon the same island, till their cruelexpulsion by John Duke of Northumberland in 1537. 

The old castle followed its lords, and is buried in the ruins of time. Upon the spot, about forty years ago, rose a house in the modern style, occupied by a manufacturer (John Francis;) in one of the out-buildingsis shewn, the apartment where the ancient lords kept their court leet;another out-building which stands to the east, I have already observed, was the work of Edmund Lord Ferrers. 

The ditch being filled with water, has nearly the same appearance now asperhaps a thousand years ago, but not altogether the same use. It thenserved to protect its master, but now, to turn a thread-mill. 

PUDDING BROOK. 

Near the place where the small rivulet discharges itself into the Moat, another of the same size is carried over it, called Pudding Brook, andproceeds from the town as this advances towards it, producing acuriosity seldom met with; one river running South, and the other North, for half a mile, yet only a path-road of three feet asunder; whichsurprised Brindley the famous engineer. 

THE PRIORY. 

The site of this ancient edifice is now the Square; some small remainsof the old foundations are yet visible in the cellars, chiefly on theSouth-east. The out-buildings and pleasure-grounds perhaps occupied thewhole North east side of Bull-street, then uninhabited, and only thehighway to Wolverhampton; bounded on the North-west by Steelhouse-lane;on the North-east by Newton and John's-street; and on the South-east byDale-end, which also was no other than the highway to Lichfield--Thewhole, about fourteen acres. 

The building upon this delightful eminence, which at that time commandedthe small but beautiful prospect of Bristland-fields, Rowley-hills, Oldbury, Smethewick, Handsworth, Sutton-Coldfield, Erdington, Saltley, the Garrison, and Camp-hill, and which then stood at a distance from thetown, though now near its centre; was founded by the house ofBirmingham, in the early reigns of the Norman Kings, and called theHospital of Saint Thomas, --The priest being bound to pray for the soulsof the founders every day, to the end of the world. 

In 1285, Thomas de Madenhache, Lord of the manor of Aston, gave tenacres of land in his manor. William de Birmingham ten, which I take tobe the land where the Priory stood; and Ranulph de Rakeby three acres, in Saltley: About the same time, sundry others gave houses and land insmaller quantities: William de Birmingham gave afterwards twenty-twoacres more. The same active spirit seems to have operated in ourancestors, 500 years ago, that does in their descendants at this day: Ifa new scheme strikes the fancy, it is pursued with vigor. 

The religious fervor of that day ran high: It was unfashionable to leavethe world, and not remember the Priory. Donations crowded in so fast, that the prohibiting act was forgot; so that in 1311, the brotherhoodwere prosecuted by the crown, for appropriating lands contrary to theact of mortmain; But these interested priests, like their sagaciousbrethren, knew as well how to preserve as to gain property; for upontheir humble petition to the throne, Edward the Second put a stop to thejudicial proceedings, and granted a special pardon. 

In 1351, Fouk de Birmingham, and Richard Spencer, jointly gave to thepriory one hundred acres of land, part lying in Aston, and part inBirmingham, to maintain another priest, who should celebrate divineservice daily at the altar of the Virgin Mary, in the church of thehospital, for the souls of William la Mercer, and his wife. The churchis supposed to have stood upon the spot now No. 27, in Bull-street. 

In the premises belonging to the Red Bull, No. 83, nearly opposite, havebeen discovered human bones, which has caused some to suppose it theplace of interment for the religious, belonging to the priory, which Irather doubt. 

At the dissolution of the abbies, in 1536, the King's visitors valuedthe annual income at the trifling sum of 8_l_. 8s. 9d. 

The patronage continued chiefly in the head of the Birmingham family. Dugdale gives us a list of some of the Priors, who held dominion in thislittle common wealth, from 1326, 'till the total annihilation, being210 years. 

 Robert Marmion, Robert Cappe, Thomas Edmunds, John Frothward, Robert Browne, John Port, William Priestwood, Henry Drayton, John Cheyne, Henry Bradley, Thomas Salpin, Sir Edward Toste, AND Henry Hody. 

Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, a man of much honour, more capacity, andyet more spirit, was the instrument with which Henry the Eighthdestroyed the abbies; but Henry, like a true politician of the house ofTudor, wisely threw the blame upon the instrument, held it forth to thepublic in an odious light, and then sacrificed it to appease anangry people. 

This destructive measure against the religious houses, originated fromroyal letchery, and was replete with consequence. 

It opened the fountains of learning, at that day confined to themonastry, and the streams diffused themselves through various ranks ofmen. The revival of letters and of science made a rapid progress: Itsoon appeared, that the stagnate knowledge of the priest, was abundantlymixed with error; but now, running through the laity, who had no privateinterest to serve, it became more pure. 

It removed great numbers of men, who lay as a dead weight upon thecommunity, and they became useful members of society: When younger sonscould no longer find an asylum within the gloomy walls of a convent, they sought a livelihood in trade. Commerce, therefore, was taught tocrowd her sails, cross the western ocean, fill the country with riches, and change an idle spirit into that of industry. 

By the destruction of religious houses, architecture sustained atemporary wound: They were by far the most magnificent and expensivebuildings in the kingdoms, far surpassing those of the nobility; some ofthese structures are yet habitable, though the major part are gone todecay. But modern architecture hath since out-done the former splendorof the abbey, in use and elegance and sometimes with the profits arisingfrom the abbey lands. 

It also shut the door of charity against the impostor, the helpless, andthe idle, who had found here their chief supply; and gave rise to one ofthe best laws ever invented by human wisdom that of each parishsupporting its own poor. 

By the annihilation of abbots, the church lost its weight in Parliament, and the vote was thrown into the hands of the temporal Lords. 

It prevented, in some degree, the extinction of families; for, insteadof younger branches becoming the votaries of a monastic life, theybecame the votaries of hymen: Hence the kingdom was enriched bypopulation. It eased the people of a set of masters, who had for agesruled them with a rod of iron. 

The hands of superstition were also weakened, for the important sciencesof astrology, miracle, and divination, supported by the cell, have beenlosing ground ever since. 

It likewise recovered vast tracts of land out of dead hands, and gave anadditional vigor to agriculture, unknown to former ages. The monk, whohad only a temporary tenancy, could not give a permanant one; therefore, the lands were neglected, and the produce was small: But these landsfalling into the hands of the gentry, acquired an hereditary title. Itwas their interest; to grant leases, for a superior rent; and it was thetenant's interest to give that rent, for the sake of security: Hence theproduce of land is become one of the most advantageous branches ofBritish commerce. 

Henry, by this seisure, had more property to give away, than any King ofEngland since William the Conqueror, and he generously gave away thatwhich was never his own. It is curious to survey the foundation of someof the principal religions that have taken the lead among men. 

Moses founded a religion upon morals and ceremonies, one half of whichcontinues with his people to this day. 

Christ founded one upon _love_ and _purity_; words of the simplestimport, yet we sometimes mistake their meaning. 

The Bishop of Rome erected his, upon deceit and oppression; hence thetreasures of knowledge were locked up, an inundation of riches and powerflowed into the church, with destructive tendency. 

And Henry the Eighth, built his reformation upon revenge and plunder: Hedeprived the _head_ of the Romish see, of an unjust power, forpronouncing a just decision; and robbed the _members_, for being annexedto that head. Henry wished the world to believe, what he believedhimself, that he acted from a religious principle; but his motive seemsto have been _savage love_. 

Had equity directed when Henry divided this vast property, he would haverestored it to the descendants of those persons, whose mistaken zeal hadinjured their families; but his disposal of it was ludicrous--sometimeshe made a free gift, at others he exchanged a better estate for a aworse, and then gave that worse to another. 

I have met with a little anecdote which says, "That Henry being upon atour in Devonshire, two men waited on him to beg certain lands in thatcounty; while they attended in the anti-room for the royal presence, astranger approached, and asked them a trifling question; they answered, they wished to be alone--at that moment the King entered: They fell athis feet: The stranger seeing them kneel, kneelt with them. They askedthe favor intended; the King readily granted it: They bowed: Thestranger bowed also. By this time, the stranger perceiving there was avaluable prize in the question, claimed his thirds; they denied hishaving anything to do with the matter: He answered, he had done as muchas they, for they only asked and bowed, and he did the same. The disputegrew warm, and both parties agreed to appeal to the King, who answered, He took them for joint beggars, therefore had made them a joint present. They were then obliged to divide the land with the stranger, whose shareamounted to 240_l_. Per annum. "

The land formerly used for the priory of Birmingham, is now the propertyof many persons. Upon that spot, whereon stood one solitary house, nowstand about four hundred. Upon that ground, where about thirty personslived upon the industry of others, about three thousand live upon theirown: The place, which lay as a heavy burden upon the community, nowtends to enrich it, by adding its mite to the national commerce, and thenational treasury. 

In 1775, I took down an old house of wood and plaister, which had stood208 years, having been erected in 1567, thirty-one years after thedissolution of abbies. The foundation of this old house seemed to havebeen built chiefly with stones from the priory; perhaps more than twentywagon loads: These appeared in a variety of forms and sizes, highlyfinished in the gothic taste, parts of porticos, arches, windows, ceilings, etc. Some fluted, some cyphered, and otherwise ornamented, yetcomplete as in the first day they were left by the chizel. The greatest, part of them were destroyed by the workmen: Some others I used again inthe fireplace of an under kitchen. Perhaps they are the only perfectfragments that remain of that venerable edifice, which once stood themonument of ancient piety, the ornament of the town, and the envy of thepriest out of place. 

JOHN A DEAN'S HOLE. 

At the bottom of Digbeth, about thirty yards North of the bridge, on theleft, is a water-course that takes in a small drain from Digbeth, butmore from the adjacent meadows, and which divides the parishes of Astonand Birmingham, called John a Dean's Hole; from a person of that namewho is said to have lost his life there, and which, I think, is the onlyname of antiquity among us. 

The particle _de_, between the christian and surname, is of Frenchextraction, and came over with William the First: It continued tolerablypure for about three centuries, when it in some degree assumed anEnglish garb, in the particle _of_: The _a_, therefore is only acorruption of the latter. Hence the time of this unhappy man'smisfortune may be fixed about the reign of Edward the Third. 

LENCH'S TRUST. 

In the reign of Henry the Eighth, William Lench, a native of this place, bequeathed his estate for the purpose of erecting alms houses, which arethose at the bottom of Steelhouse-lane, for the benefit of poor widows, but chiefly for repairing the streets of Birmingham. Afterwards othersgranted smaller donations for the same use, but all were included underthe name of Lench; and I believe did not unitedly amount, at that time, to fifteen pounds per annum. 

Over this scattered inheritance was erected a trust, consisting ofgentlemen in the neighborhood of Birmingham. 

All human affairs tend to confusion: The hand of care is ever necessaryto keep order. The gentlemen, therefore at the head of this charity, having too many modes of pleasure of their own, to pay attention to thislittle jurisdiction, disorder crept in apace; some of the lands werelost for want of inspection; the rents ran in arrear, and were neverrecovered; the streets were neglected, and the people complained. 

Misconduct, particularly of a public nature, silently grows for years, and sometimes for ages, 'till it becomes too bulky for support, falls inpieces by its own weight, and out of its very destruction rises aremedy. An order, therefore, from the Court of Chancery was obtained, for vesting the property in other hands, consisting of twenty persons, all of Birmingham, who have directed this valuable estate, now 227_l_. 5s. Per annum, to useful purposes. The man who can guide his own privateconcerns with success, stands the fairest chance of guiding those ofthe public. 

If the former trust went widely astray, perhaps their successors havenot exactly kept the line, by advancing the leases to a rack rent: It isworth considering, whether the tenant of an expiring lease, hath not inequity, a kind of reversionary right, which ought to favour him with therefusal of another term, at one third under the value, in houses, andone fourth in land; this would give stability to the title, secure therents, and cause the lessee more chearfully to improve the premises, which in time would enhance their value, both with regard to propertyand esteem. 

But where business is well conducted, complaint should cease; forperfection is not to be expected on this side the grave. 

Exclusive of a pittance to the poor widows above, the trust have a powerof distributing money to the necessitous at Christmas and Easter, whichis punctually performed. 

I think there is an excellent clause in the devisor's will, ordering hisbailiff to pay half a crown to any two persons, who, having quarreledand entered into law, shall stop judicial proceedings, and make peace byagreement--He might have added, "And half a crown to the lawyer thatwill suffer them. " I know the sum has been demanded, but am sorry I do_not_ know that it was ever paid. 

If money be reduced to one fourth its value, since the days of Lench, itfollows, that four times the sum ought to be paid in ours; and perhapsten shillings cannot be better laid out, than in the purchase of thatpeace, which tends to harmonise the community, and weed a brotherhoodnot the most amicable among us. 

The members choose annually, out of their own body a steward, by thename of bailiff Lench: The present fraternity, who direct this usefulcharity, are

 Thomas Colmore, _bailiff_. George Davis, Win. Walsingham, _dead_, Michael Lakin, Benjamin May, Michael Lakin, _jun_. James Bedford, Samuel Ray, John Ryland, James Jackson, Stephen Bedford, _dead_, Joseph Tyndall, Joseph Smith, Robert Mason, Joseph Webster, _dead_, Abel Humphreys, Thomas Lawrence, Samuel Pemberton, Joseph Webster, _jun_. John Richards. 

FENTHAM'S TRUST. 

In 1712, George Fentham, of Birmingham, devised his estate by will, consisting of about one hundred acres, in Erdington and Handsworth, ofthe value then, of 20_l_. Per annum, vesting the same in a trust, ofwhich no person could be chosen who resided more than one hundred yardsfrom the Old Cross. We should be inclined to think the devisorentertained a singular predilection for the Old Cross, then in the prideof youth. But if we unfold this whimsical clause, we shall find itcontains a shrewd intention. The choice was limited within one hundredyards, because the town itself, in his day, did not in some directionsextend farther. Fentham had spent a life in Birmingham, knew well herinhabitants, and like some others, had found honour as well as richesamong them: He knew also, he could with safety deposit his property intheir hands, and was determined it should never go out, --The scheme willanswer his purpose. 

The uses of this estate, now about 100_l_. Per annum, are for teachingchildren to read, and for clothing ten poor widows of Birmingham: Thosechildren belonging to the charity school, in green, are upon thisfoundation. 

 The present trust are Francis Coales, and Edmund Wace Pattison. 

CROWLEY'S TRUST. 

Ann Crowley bequeathed, by her last will, in 1733, six houses inSteelhouse-lane, amounting to eighteen pounds per annum, for the purposeof supporting a school, consisting of ten children. From an attachmentto her own sex, she constituted over this infant colony of letters afemale teacher: Perhaps we should have seen a female trust, had theybeen equally capable of defending the property. The income of the estateincreasing, the children are now augmented to twelve. 

By a subsequent clause in the devisor's will, twenty shillings a year, forever, issues out of two houses in the Lower Priory, to be disposed ofat discretion of the trust. 

The governors of this female charity are

 Thomas Colmore, _bailiff_, Joseph Cartwright, Thomas Lee, John Francis, Samuel Colmore, William Russell, _esq_. Josiah Rogers, Joseph Hornblower, John Rogers. 

SCOTT'S TRUST. 

Joseph Scott, Esq; yet living, assigned, July 7, 1779, certain messuagesand lands in and near Walmer-lane, in Birmingham, of the present rent of40_l_. 18s. Part of the said premises to be appropriated for theinterment of protestant dissenters; part of the profits to be applied tothe use of a religious society in Carr's lane, at the discretion of thetrust; and the remainder, for the institution of a school to teach themother tongue. 

[Illustration: _Free School_. ]

That part of the demise, designed for the reception of the dead, isabout three acres, upon, which stands one messuage, now the GoldenFleece, joining Summer-lane on the west, and Walmer-lane on the east;the other, which hath Aston-street on the south, and Walmer-lane on thewest, contains about four acres, upon which now stand ninety-one houses. A building lease, in 1778, was granted of these last premises, for 120years, at 30_l_. Per annum; at the expiration of which, the rentswill probably amount to twenty times the present income. The trust, towhose direction this charity is committed, are

 Abel Humphrys, _bailiff_, John Allen, John Parteridge, William Aitkins, Joseph Rogers, Thomas Cock, John Berry, William Hutton, Thomas Cheek Lea, Durant Hidson, Samuel Tutin. 

FREE SCHOOL. 

It is entertaining to contemplate the generations of fashion, which notonly influences our dress and manner of living, but most of the commonactions of life, and even the modes of thinking. Some of these fashions, not meeting with the taste of the day, are of short duration, andretreat out of life as soon as they are well brought in; others take alonger space; but whatever fashions predominate, though ever so absurd, they carry an imaginary beauty, which pleases the fancy, 'till theybecome ridiculous with age, are succeeded by others, when their verymemory becomes disgusting. 

Custom gives a sanction to fashion, and reconciles us even to itsinconveniency. The fashion of this year is laughed at the next. 

There are fashions of every date, from five hundred years, even to oneday; of the first, was that of erecting religious houses; of the last, was that of destroying them. 

Our ancestors, the Saxons, after their conversion to christianity, displayed their zeal in building churches: though the kingdom in a fewcenturies was amply supplied, yet that zeal was no way abated; ittherefore exerted itself in the abbey. --When a man of fortune had nearlydone with time, he began to peep into eternity through the windows of anabbey; or, if a villian had committed a piece of butchery, or hadcheated the world for sixty years, there was no doubt but he couldburrow his way to glory through the foundations of an abbey. 

In 1383, the sixth of Richard the Second, before the religious fervorsubsided that had erected Deritend-chapel, Thomas de Sheldon, JohnColeshill, John Goldsmith, and William att Slowe, all of Birmingham, obtained a patent from the crown to erect a building upon the spot wherethe Free School now stands in New-street, to be called _The Gild of theHoly Cross_; to endow it with lands in Birmingham and Edgbaston, of theannual value of twenty marks, for the maintenance of two priests, whowere to perform divine service to the honor of God, our blessed Lady hisMother, the Holy Cross, St. Thomas, and St. Catharine. 

The fashion seemed to take with the inhabitants, many of whom wished tojoin the four happy men, who had obtained the patent for so pious awork; so that, in 1393, a second patent was procured by the bailiff andinhabitants of Birmingham, for confirming the gild, and making theaddition of a brotherhood in honor of the Holy Cross, consisting of bothsexes, with power to constitute a master and wardens, and also to erecta chantry of priests to celebrate divine service in the chapel of thegild, for the souls of the founders, and all the fraternity; for whosesupport there were given, by divers persons, eighteen messuages, threetofts, (pieces of ground) six acres of land, and forty shillings rent, lying in Birmingham and Edgbaston aforesaid. 

But, in the 27th of Henry the Eighth, 1536, when it was the fashion ofthat day, to multiply destruction against the religious, and theirhabitations, the annual income of the gild was valued, by the King'srandom visitors, at the sum of 31_l_. 2s. 10d. Out of which, threepriests who sung mass, had 5_l_. 6s. 8d. Each; an organist, 3_l_. 13s. 4d. The common midwife, 4s. The bell-man, 6s. 8d. With other salaries ofinferior note. 

These lands continued in the crown 'till 1552, the fifth of Edward theSixth, when, at the humble suit of the inhabitants, they wereassigned to

 William Symmons, _gent_. Richard Smallbrook, _bailiff of the town_, John Shilton, William Colmore, Henry Foxall, William Bogee, Thomas Cooper, Richard Swifte, Thomas Marshall, John Veysy, John King, John Wylles, William Paynton, William Aschrig, Robert Rastall, Thomas Snowden, John Eyliat, William Colmore, _jun_. AND William Mychell, all inhabitants of Birmingham, and their successors, to be chosen upondeath or removal, by the appellation of the Bailiff and Governors of theFree Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth, for the instruction ofchildren in grammar; to be held of the crown in common soccage, payingfor ever twenty shillings per annum. Over this seminary of learning wereto preside a master and usher, whose united income seems to have beenonly twenty pounds per annum. Both are of the clergy. The hall of thegild was used for a school-room. In the glass of the windows waspainted the figure of Edmund Lord Ferrers; who, marrying, about 350years ago, the heiress of the house of Birmingham, resided upon themanor, and seems to have been a benefactor to the gild, with his arms, empaling Belknap; and also, those of Stafford, of Grafton, ofBirmingham, and Bryon. 

The gild stood at that time at a distance from the town, surrounded withinclosures; the highway to Hales Owen, now New-street, running by thenorth. No house could be nearer than those in the High-street. 

The first erection, wood and plaister, which had stood about 320 years, was taken down in 1707, to make way for the present flat building. In1756, a set of urns were placed upon the parapet, which give relief tothat stiff air, so hurtful to the view: at the same time, the front was_intended_ to have been decorated, by erecting half a dozen dreadfulpillars, like so many over-grown giants marshalled in battalia, to guardthe entrance, which the boys wish to shun; and, being sufficientlytarnished with Birmingham smoak, may become dangerous to pregnancy. Hadthe wings of this building fallen two or three yards back, and the lineof the street been preserved by a light palisade, it would have risen inthe scale of beauty, and removed the gloomy aspect of the area. 

The tower is in a good taste, except being rather too narrow in thebase, and is ornamented with a sleepy figure of the donor, Edward theSixth, dressed in a royal mantle, with the ensigns of the Garter;holding a bible and sceptre. 

The lands that support this foundation, and were in the reign of Henrythe Eighth, valued at thirty-one pounds per annum, are now, by theadvance of landed property, the reduction of money, and the increase ofcommerce, about 600_l_. 

The present governors of this royal donation are

 John Whateley, _bailiff_, _Rev_. Charles Newling, Abraham Spooner, _esq_; Thomas Russell, John Ash, _M. D. _ Richard Rabone, Francis Goodall, Francis Parrott, _esq_; William Russell, _esq_; John Cope, _dead_, Thomas Hurd, Thomas Westley, Wm. John Banner, Thomas Salt, William Holden, Thomas Carless, John Ward, Edward Palmer, _esq_; Francis Coales, AND Robert Coales. 

[Illustration: _Charity School_. ]

Over this nursery of science presides a chief master, with an annualsalary of one hundred and twenty pounds; a second master sixty; twoushers; a master in the art of writing, and another in that of drawing, at forty pounds each: a librarian, ten: seven exhibitioners at theUniversity of Oxford, twenty-five pounds each. Also, eight inferiorschools in various parts of the town, are constituted and fed by thisgrand reservoir, at fifteen pounds each, which begin the first rudimentsof learning. 

CHIEF MASTERS. 

 John Brooksby, 1685. ---- Tonkinson. John Husted. Edward Mainwaring, 1730. John Wilkinson, 1746 Thomas Green, 1759. William Brailsford, 1766. Rev. Thomas Price, 1776. 

CHARITY SCHOOL:

COMMONLY, The BLUE SCHOOL. 

There seems to be three clases of people, who demand the care ofsociety; infancy, old age, and casual infirmity. When a man cannotassist himself, it is necessary he should be assisted. The first ofthese only is before us. The direction of youth seems one of thegreatest concerns in moral life, and one that is the least understood:to form the generation to come, is of the last importance. If aningenious master hath flogged the a b c into an innocent child, hethinks himself worthy of praise. A lad is too much terrified to marchthat path, which is marked out by the rod. If the way to learningabounds with punishment, he will quickly detest it; if we make his dutya task, we lay a stumbling-block before him that he cannot surmount. 

We rarely know a tutor succeed in training up youth, who is a friend toharsh treatment. 

Whence is it, that we so seldom find affection subsisting between masterand scholar? From the moment they unite, to the end of their lives, disgust, like a cloud, rises in the mind, which reason herself cannever dispel. 

The boy may pass the precincts of childhood, and tread the stage of lifeupon an equality with every man in it, except his old school-master; thedread of him seldom wears off; the name of Busby founded with horror forhalf a century after he had laid down the rod. I have often beendelighted when I have seen a school of boys break up; the joy thatdiffuses itself over every face and action, shews infant nature in hergayest form--the only care remaining is, to forget on one side of thewalls what was taught on the other. 

One would think, if _coming out_ gives so much satisfaction, there mustbe something very detestable _within_. 

If the master thinks he has performed his task when he has taught theboy a few words, he as much mistakes his duty, as he does the road tolearning: this is only the first stage of his journey. He has the man toform for society with ten thousand sentiments. 

It is curious to enter one of these prisons of science, and observe thechildren not under the least government: the master without authority, the children without order; the master scolding, the children riotous. We never _harden_ the wax to receive the impression. They act in anatural sphere, but he in opposition: he seems the only person in theschool who merits correction; he, unfit to teach, is making them unfitto be taught. 

A man does not consider whether his talents are adapted for teaching, somuch, as whether he can _profit_ by teaching: thus, when a man hathtaught for twenty years, he may be only fit to go to school. 

To that vast group of instructors, therefore, whether in, or out ofpetticoats, who teach, without having been taught; who mistake the tailfor the feat of learning, instead of the head; who can neither directthe passions of others nor their own; it may be said, "Quit the trade, if bread can be procured out of it. It is useless to pursue a work oferror: the ingenious architect must take up your rotten foundation, before he can lay one that is solid. "

But, to the discerning few, who can penetrate the secret windings of theheart; who know that nature may be directed, but can never be inverted;that instruction should ever coincide with the temper of the instructed, or we sail against the wind; that it is necessary the pupil shouldrelish both the teacher and the lesson; which, if accepted like a bitterdraught, may easily be sweetened to his taste: to these valuable few, who, like the prudent florist, possessed of a choice root, which hecultivates with care, adding improvement to every generation; it may besaid, "Banish tyranny out of the little dominions over which you areabsolute sovereigns; introduce in its stead two of the highest ornamentsof humanity, love and reason. " Through the medium of the first, themaster and the lesson may be viewed without horror; when the teacher andthe learner are upon friendly terms, the scholar will rather invite thanrepel the assistance of the master. By the second, reason, the teacherwill support his full authority. Every period of life in which a man iscapable of attending to instruction, he is capable of attending toreason: this will answer every end of punishment, and something more. 

Thus, an irksome task will be changed into a friendly intercourse. 

This School, by a date in the front, was erected in 1724, in St. Philip's church-yard; is a plain, airy, and useful building, ornamentedover the door with the figures of a boy and a girl in the uniform of theschool, and executed with a degree of elegance, that a Roman statuarywould not have blushed to own. 

This artificial family consists of about ninety scholars, of both sexes;over which preside a governor and governess, both single. Behind theapartments, is a large area appropriated for the amusement of the infantrace, necessary as their food. Great decorum is preserved in this littlesociety; who are supported by annual contribution, and by a collectionmade after sermon twice a year. 

At twelve, or fourteen, the children are removed into the commercialworld, and often acquire an affluence that enables them to support thatfoundation, which formerly supported them. 

It is worthy of remark, that those institutions which are immediatelyupheld by the temporary hand of the giver, flourish in continual spring, and become real benefits to society; while those which enjoy a perpetualincome, are often tinctured with supineness, and dwindle intoobscurity. --The first, usually answer the purpose of the living; thelast, seldom that of the dead. 

DISSENTING CHARITY-SCHOOL. 

About twenty years ago, the Dissenters established a school, upon nearlythe same plan as the former, consisting of about eighteen boys and eightgirls; with this improvement, that the boys are innured to moderatelabour, and the girls to house-work. 

The annual subscriptions seem to be willingly paid, thankfully received, and judiciously expended. 

[Illustration: _Work House_. ]

WORKHOUSE. 

During the long reign of the Plantagenets in England, there do not seemmany laws in the code then existing for the regulation of the poor:distress was obliged to wander for a temporary and uncertainrelief:--idleness usually mixed with it. 

The nobility then kept plain and hospitable houses, where wantfrequently procured a supply; but, as these were thinly scattered, theywere inadequate to the purpose. 

As the abbey was much more frequent, and as a great part of the richesof the kingdom passed through the hands of the monk, and charity beingconsonant to the profession of that order, the weight of the poorchiefly lay upon the religious houses; this was the general mark for theindigent, the idle, and the impostor, who carried meanness in theiraspect, and the words _Christ Jesus_ in their mouth. Hence arise theepithets of stroller, vagrant, and sturdy beggar, with which modern lawis intimately acquainted. 

It was too frequently observed, that there was but a slender barrierbetween begging and stealing, that necessity seldom marks the limits ofhonesty, and that a country abounding with beggars, abounds also withplunderers. A remnant of this urgent race, so justly complained of, which disgrace society, and lay the country under contribution, arestill suffered, by the supineness of the magistrate. 

When the religious houses, and all their property, in 1536, fell asacrifice to the vindictive wrath of Henry the Eighth, the poor losttheir dependence, and as want knows no law, robbery became frequent;justice called loudly for punishment, and the hungry for bread; whichgave rise, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to that most excellentinstitution, of erecting every parish into a distinct fraternity, andobliging them to support their own members; therefore, it is difficultto assign a reason, why the blind should go abroad to _see_ freshcountries, or the man _without feet to travel_. 

Though the poor were nursed by parochial law, yet workhouses did notbecome general 'till 1730: that of Birmingham was erected in 1733, atthe expence of 1173_l_. 3s. 5d. And which, the stranger would rathersuppose, was the residence of a gentleman, than that of four hundredpaupers. The left wing, called the infirmary, was added in 1766, at thecharge of 400_l_. And the right, a place for labour, in 1779, at theexpence of 700_l_. More. 

Let us a second time, consider the 50, 000 people who occupy this _grandtoy shop of Europe_[6] as one great family, where, though the propertyof individuals is ascertained and secured, yet a close and beneficialcompact subsists. We behold the members of this vast family marked withevery style of character. Forlorn infancy, accidental calamity, casualsickness, old age, and even inadvertent distress, all find support fromthat charitable fund erected by industry. No part of the family isneglected: he that cannot find bread for himself, finds a ready supply;he that can, ought to do so. By cultivating the young suckers ofinfancy, we prudently establish the ensuing generation, which will, inthe commercial walk, abundantly repay the expence: temporary afflictionof every kind also merits pity; even those distresses which arise fromfolly ought not to be neglected: the parish hath done well to many aman, who would not do well to himself; if imprudence cannot be banishedout of the world, companion ought not: he that cannot direct himself, must be under the direction of another. --If the parish supported nonebut the prudent, she would have but few to support. The last stage ofhuman life demands, as well as the first, the help of the family. Thecare of infancy arises from an expectation of a return; that of old agefrom benefits already received. Though a man may have passed throughlife without growing rich, he may, by his labour, have contributed tomake others so; though he could not pursue the road to affluencehimself, he may have been the means of directing others to find it. 

[Footnote 6: Burke. ]

The number of persons depending upon this weekly charity in Birminghamwere, April 14, 1781, about 5240. 

Whether the mode of distributing the bounty of the community, isagreeable to the intentions of legislature, or the ideas of humanity, isa doubt. For in some parishes the unfortunate paupers have theadditional misery of being sold to a mercenary wretch to starve upontwelve pence a head. It is matter of surprise that the magistrate shouldwink at this cruelty; but it is matter of pleasure, that no accusationcomes within the verge of my historical remarks, for the wretched ofBirmingham are not made more so by ill treatment, but meet with akindness acceptable to distress. One would think _that_ situation couldnot be despicable, which is often _wished for_, and often _sought_, thatof becoming one of the poor of Birmingham. 

We cannot be conversant in parochial business, without observing alittleness predominant in most parishes, by using every finesse torelieve themselves of paupers, and throwing them upon others. Thus theoppressed, like the child between two fathers, is supported by neither. 

There is also an enormity, which, though agreeable to law, can never bejustified by the rules of equity--That a man should spend the principalpart of his life in a parish, add wealth to it by his labour, formconnexions in it, bring up a family which shall all belong to it, buthaving never gained a settlement himself, shall, in old age be removedby an order, to perish among strangers. In 1768, a small property fellinto my hands, situated in a neighbouring village; I found the tenanthad entered upon the premises at the age of twenty-two; that he hadresided upon them, with poverty and a fair character, during the longspace of forty six years--I told him he was welcome to spend the residueof his life upon the spot gratis. He continued there ten years after, when finding an inability to procure support from labour, and meetingwith no assistance from the parish in which he had been resident for anage, he resigned the place with tears, in 1778, after an occupation offifty six years, and was obliged to recoil upon his own parish, abouttwelve miles distant; to be farmed with the rest of the poor; andwhere, he afterwards assured me, "They were murdering him by inches. " --But no complaint of this ungrateful kind lies against that people whosecharacter I draw. 

Perhaps it may be a wise measure, in a place like Birmingham, where themanufactures flourish in continual sunshine, not to be over strict withregard to removals. Though it may be burdensome to support the poor ofanother parish, yet perhaps it is the least of two evils: to remove oldage which hath spent a life among us, is ungenerous; to remove temporarysickness, is injurious to trade; and to remove infancy is impolitic, being upon the verge of accommodating the town with a life of labour. Itmay be more prudent to remove a rascal than a pauper. Forty pounds hathbeen spent in removing a family, which would not otherwise have costforty shillings, and whose future industry might have added many timesthat sum to the common capital. The highest pitch of charity, is that ofdirecting inability to support itself. Idleness suits no part of apeople, neither does it find a place here; every individual ought tocontribute to the general benefit, by his head or his hands: if he isarrived at the western verge of life, when the powers of usefulnessdecline, let him repose upon his fortune; if no such thing exists, lethim rest upon his friends, and if this prop fail, let the public nursehim, with a tenderness becoming humanity. 

We may observe, that the manufactures, the laborious part of mankind, the poor's rates, and the number of paupers, will everlastingly go handin hand; they will increase and decrease together; we cannot annihilateone, but the others will follow, and odd as the expression may sound, webecome rich by payment and poverty. If we discharge the poor, who shallact the laborious part? Stop the going out of one shilling, and it willprevent the coming in of two. 

At the introduction of the poor's laws, under Elizabeth, two pencehalfpenny in the pound rent was collected every fortnight, for futuresupport: time has made an alteration in the system, which is nowsix-pence in the pound, and collected as often as found necessary. Thepresent levy amounts to above 10, 000_l_. Per ann. But is not whollycollected. 

As the overseers are generally people of property, payment in advance isnot scrupulously observed. 

It was customary, at the beginning of this admirable system ofjurisprudence, to constitute two overseers in each parish; but themagnitude of Birmingham pleaded for four, which continued 'till the year1720, when a fifth was established: in 1729 they were augmented to halfa dozen; the wishes of some, who are frighted at office, rise to theword _dozen_, a number very familiar in the Birmingham art of reckoning:but let it be remembered, that a vestry filled with overseers is notcalculated for the meridian of business; that the larger the body, theslower the motion; and that the time and the necessities of the poordemand dispatch. 

From the annual disbursements in assisting the poor, which I shall hereexhibit from undoubted evidence, the curious will draw some usefullessons respecting the increase of manufactures, of population, andof property. 

No memoirs are found prior to 1676. 

 Year. Disbursed. Year. Disbursed. 

 l. S. D. L. S. D. 

 1676 328 17 7 1684 451 0 5-1/2 1677 347 9 10-1/2 1685 324 2 8 1678 398 8 0-1/2 1686 338 12 11 1679 omitted 1687 343 15 6 1680 342 11 2-1/2 1688 308 17 9-1/2 1681 363 15 7 1689 395 14 11 1682 337 2 8-1/2 1690 396 15 2-1/2 1683 410 12 1 1691 354 1 5-1/2 1691 360 0 4-1/2 1720 950 14 0 1693 376 12 3-1/2 1721 1024 6 6-1/2 1694 423 12 1-1/2 1722 939 18 0-1/2 1695 454 2 1-1/2 1739 678 8 5 1696 385 8 11-1/2 1740 938 0 6 1697 446 11 5 1742 888 1 1-1/2 1698 505 0 2-1/2 1743 799 6 1 1699 592 11 2 1744 851 12 5-1/2 1700 661 7 4-1/2 1745 746 2 7 1701 487 13 0 1746 1003 14 9-1/2 1702 413 14 0-1/2 1747 1071 7 3 1703 476 13 10 1748 1175 8 7-1/2 1704 555 11 11-1/2 1749 1132 11 7-1/2 1705 510 0 10 1750 1167 16 6 1706 519 3 6 1751 1352 0 8-1/2 1707 609 0 4-1/2 1752 1355 6 4 1708 649 15 9 1756 3255 18 3-1/4 1709 744 17 0-1/2 1757 3402 7 2-1/2 1710 960 8 8-1/2 1758 3306 12 5 1711 1055 2 10 1759 2708 9 5-3/4 1712 734 0 11 1760 3221 18 7 1713 674 7 6 1761 2935 4 1-1/2 1714 722 15 6-1/2 1762 3078 18 2-1/2 1715 718 2 1 1763 3330 13 11-1/2 1716 788 3 2-1/2 1764 3963 11 0-1/2 1717 764 0 6-1/2 1765 3884 18 9 1718 751 2 4 1766 4716 2 10-1/2 1719 1094 10 7 1767 4940 2 2 1768 4798 2 5 1775 6509 10 10 1769 5082 0 9 1776 5203 4 9-1/2 1770 5125 13 2-1/4 1777 6012 5 5 1771 6132 5 10 1778 6866 10 8-1/2 1772 6139 6 5-1/2 1779 8081 19 7-1/2 1773 5584 18 8-1/2 1780 9910 4 11-3/4 1774 6115 17 11

We cannot pass through this spacious edifice without being pleased withits internal oeconomy; order influences the whole, nor can thecleanliness be exceeded: but I am extremely concerned, that I cannotpass through without complaint. 

There are evils in common life which admit of no remedy; but there arevery few which may not be lessened by prudence. 

The modes of nursing infancy in this little dominion of poverty, aretruly defective. It is to be feared the method intended to train upinhabitants for the earth, annually furnishes the regions of the grave. 

Why is so little attention paid to the generation who are to tread thestage after us? as if we suffered them to be cut off that we might keeppossession for ever. The unfortunate orphan that none will own, nonewill regard: distress, in whatever form it appears, excites compassion, but particularly in the helpless. Whoever puts an infant into the armsof decrepit old age, passes upon it a sentence of death, and happy isthat infant who finds a reprieve. The tender sprig is not likely toprosper under the influence of the tree which attracts its nurture;applies that nurture to itself, where the calls occasioned by decay arethe most powerful--An old woman and a sprightly nurse, are characters asopposite as the antipodes. 

If we could but exercise a proper care during the first two years, thechild would afterwards nurse itself; there is not a more active animalin the creation, no part of its time, while awake, is unemployed: whythen do we invert nature, and confine an animal to still life, in whatis called a school, who is designed for action?

We cannot with indifference behold infants crouded into a room by thehundred, commanded perhaps by some disbanded soldier, termed aschool-master, who having changed the sword for the rod, continues muchinclined to draw blood with his arms; where every individual not only rebreathes his own air, but that of another: the whole assembly iscomposed of the feeble, the afflicted, the maimed, and the orphan; theresult of whose confinement, is a fallow aspect, and a sickly frame: butthe paltry grains of knowledge gleaned up by the child in this barrenfield of learning, will never profit him two-pence in future; whereas, if we could introduce a robust habit, he would one day be a treasure tothe community, and a greater to himself. Till he is initiated intolabour, a good foundation for health may be laid in air and exercise. 

Whenever I see half a dozen of these forlorn innocents quartered upon afarm house, a group of them taking the air under the conduct of asenior, or marshalled in rank and file to attend public worship, Iconsider the overseer who directed it, as possessed of tender feelings:their orderly attire, and simplicity of manners, convey a degree ofpleasure to the mind; and I behold in them, the future support of thatcommercial interest; upon which they now lie as a burden. 

If I have dwelt long upon the little part of our species, let it pleadmy excuse to say, I cannot view a human being, however diminutive instature, or depressed in fortune, without considering, _I viewan equal_. 

OLD CROSS, So called, because prior to the Welch Cross; before the erection of thislast, it was simply called, The Cross. 

The use of the market cross is very ancient, though not equal to themarket, for this began with civilization. 

Christianity first appeared in Britain under the Romans; but in thesixth century, under the Saxon government, it had made such an amazingprogress, that every man seemed to be not only _almost a Christian_, butit was unfashionable not to have been a zealous one. The cross of Christwas frequently mentioned in conversation, and afterwards became an oath. It was hacknied about the streets, sometimes in the pocket, or about theneck; sometimes it was fixed upon the church, which we see at this day, and always hoisted to the top of the steeple. The rudiments of learningbegan with the cross; hence it stands to this moment as a frontispieceto the battledore, which likewise bears its name. 

This important article of religion was thought to answer two valuablepurposes, that of collecting the people; and containing a charm againstghosts, evil spirits, etc. With the idea of which, that age wasmuch infested. 

To accomplish these singular ends, it was blended into the commonactions of life, and at that period it entered the market-place. A fewcircular steps from the centre of which issued an elevated pillar, terminating in a cross, was the general fashion throughout the kingdom;and perhaps our Vulcanian ancestors knew no other for twelve hundredyears, this being renewed about once every century, 'till the year 1702, when the present cross was erected, at the expence of 80_l_. 9s. 1d. This was the first upon that spot, ever honoured with a roof: the underpart was found a useful shelter for the market-people. The room over itwas designed for the court leet, and other public business, which duringthe residence of the lords upon the manor, had been transacted in one oftheir detached apartments, yet in being: but after the removal of thelords, in 1537, the business was done in the Leather-hall, whichoccupied the whole east end of New-street, a covered gateway of twelvefeet excepted, and afterwards in the Old Cross. 

[Illustration: _Welch Cross_. ]

[Illustration: _Old Cross_. ]

WELCH CROSS. 

If a reader, fond of antiquity, should object, that I have comprized the_Ancient state of Birmingham_ in too small a compass, and that I oughtto have extended it beyond the 39th page; I answer, when a man has notmuch to say, he ought to be hissed out of authorship, if he picks thepocket of his friend, by saying much; neither does antiquity end withthat page, for in some of the chapters, I have led him through the mazesof time, to present him with a modern prospect. 

In erecting a new building, we generally use the few materials of theold, as far as they will extend. Birmingham may be considered as onevast and modern edifice, of which the ancient materials make but a verysmall part: the extensive _new_, seems to surround the minute _old_, asif to protect it. 

Upon the spot where the Welch Cross now stands, probably stood afinger-post, to direct the stranger that could read, for there were notmany, the roads to Wolverhampton and Lichfield. 

Though the ancient post, and the modern cross, might succeed each other, yet this difference was between them, one stood at a distance from thetown, the other stands near its centre. 

By some antique writings it appears, that 200 years ago this spot borethe name of the Welch End, perhaps from the number of Welch in itsneighbourhood; or rather, from its being the great road to thatprincipality, and was at that time the extremity of the town, odd housesexcepted. This is corroborated by a circumstance I have twice mentionedalready, that when Birmingham unfortunately fell under the frowns ofPrince Rupert, 137 years ago, and he determined to reduce it to ashesfor succouring an enemy, it is reasonable to suppose he began at theexterior, which was then in Bull-street, about twelve houses abovethe cross. 

If we were ignorant of the date of this cross, the style of the buildingitself would inform us, that it rose in the beginning of the presentcentury, and was designed, as population encreased, for a Saturdaymarket; yet, although it is used in some degree for that purpose, thepeople never heartily adopted the measure. 

In a town like Birmingham, a commodious market-place, for we havenothing that bears the name, would be extremely useful. Efforts havebeen used to make one, of a large area, now a bowling-green, inCorbet's-alley; but I am persuaded the market-people would suffer thegrass to grow in it, as peaceably as in their own fields. We are noteasily drawn from ancient custom, except by interest. 

For want of a convenient place where the sellers may be collected intoone point, they are scattered into various parts of the town. Corn issold by sample, in the Bull-ring; the eatable productions of the garden, in the same place: butchers stalls occupy Spiceal-street; one wouldthink a narrow street was preferred, that no customer should be sufferedto pass by. Flowers, shrubs, etc. At the ends of Philip-street andMoor-street: beds of earthen-ware lie in the middle of the foot ways;and a double range of insignificant stalls, in the front of theshambles, choak up the passage: the beast market is kept in Dale-end:that for pigs, sheep and horses in New-street: cheese issues from one ofour principal inns: fruit, fowls and butter are sold at the Old Cross:nay, it is difficult to mention a place where they are not. We mayobserve, if a man hath an article to sell which another wants to buy, they will quickly find each other out. 

Though the market-inconveniencies are great, a man seldom brings acommodity for the support of life, or of luxury, and returns without acustomer. Yet even this crowded state of the market, dangerous to thefeeble, hath its advantages: much business is transacted in a littletime; the first customer is obliged to use dispatch, before he isjustled out by a second: to _stand all the day idle in the marketplace_, is not known among us. 

The upper room of this cross is appropriated for a military guard-house. We find, December 16, 1723, an order made at a public meeting, that "Aguard house should be erected in a convenient part of the town, becauseneither of the crosses were eligible. " But this old order, like some ofthe new, was never carried into execution. As no complaint lies againstthe cross, in our time, we may suppose it suitable for the purpose; andI know none but its prisoners that pronounce against it. 

SAINT MARTIN's. 

It has been remarked, that the antiquity of this church is too remotefor historical light. 

The curious records of those dark ages, not being multiplied, andpreserved by the art of printing, have fallen a prey to time, and therevolution of things. 

[Illustration]

There is reason for fixing the foundation in the eighth century, perhapsrather sooner, and it then was at a small distance from the buildings. The town stood upon the hill, whose centre was the Old Cross;consequently, the ring of houses that now surrounds the church, from thebottom of Edgbaston-street, part of Spiceal-street, the Bull-ring, Corn-cheaping, and St. Martin's-lane, could not exist. 

I am inclined to think that the precincts of St. Martin's have undergonea mutilation, and that the place which has obtained the modern name ofBull-ring, and which is used as a market for corn and herbs, was once anappropriation of the church, though not used for internment; because thechurch is evidently calculated for a town of some size, to which thepresent church-yard no way agrees, being so extremely small that theancient dead must have been continually disturbed, to make way for themodern, that little spot being their only receptacle for 900 years. 

A son not only succeeds his father in the possession of his property andhabitation, but also in the grave, where he can scarcely enter withoutexpelling half a dozen of his ancestors. 

The antiquity of St. Martin's will appear by surveying the adjacentground. From the eminence upon which the High-street stands, proceeds asteep, and regular descent into Moor-street, Digbeth, downSpiceal-street, Lee's-lane, and Worcester-street. This descent is brokenonly by the church-yard; which, through a long course of internment, forages, is augmented into a considerable hill, chiefly composed of therefuse of life. We may, therefore, safely remark, in this place, _thedead are raised up_. Nor shall we be surprised at the rapid growth ofthe hill, when we consider this little point of land was alone thathungry grave which devoured the whole inhabitants, during the long agesof existence, till the year 1715, when St. Philip's was opened. Thecurious observer will easily discover, the fabric has lost that symmetrywhich should ever attend architecture, by the growth of the soil aboutit, causing a low appearance in the building, so that instead of thechurch burying the dead, the dead would, in time, have buriedthe church. 

It is reasonable to allow, the original approach into this place was bya flight of steps, not by descent, as is the present case; and that thechurch-yard was surrounded by a low wall. As the ground swelled by theaccumulation of the dead, wall after wall was added to support thegrowing soil; thus the fence and the hill sprang up together; but thiswas demonstrated, August 27, 1781, when, in removing two or three oldhouses, to widen St. Martin's Lane, they took down the church-yard wall, which was fifteen feet high without, and three within. This proved to beonly an outward case, that covered another wall twelve feet high; in thefront of which was a stone, elevated eight feet, and inscribed, "RobertDallaway, Francis Burton. " Church-wardens, anno dom. (supposed) "1310. "As there is certain evidence, that the church is, much older then theabove date, we should suspect there had been another fence many agesprior to this. But it was put beyond a doubt, when the workmen came to athird wall, four feet high, covered with antique coping, probablyerected with the fabric itself, which would lead us far back into theSaxon times. 

The removal of the buildings to accommodate the street, the constructionof the wall, beautified with pallisades, is _half_ an elegant plan, wellexecuted. If we can persuade ourselves to perform the other half, byremoving the remainder of the buildings, and continuing the line to thesteps, at the bottom of Spiceal-street, the work will stand in the frontof modern improvement. 

In the south-east part of the wall, covered by the engine-house, uponanother stone, nearly obliterated, is, John Enser, Richard Higginson, Church-wardens, 1709. 

Other church-yards are ornamented with the front of the buildings, butthat of St. Martin submits to the rear. 

The present church is of stone; the first upon the premises; and perhapsthe oldest building in these parts. 

As the country does not produce stone of a lasting texture, and as therough blasts of 900 years, had made inroads upon the fabric, it wasthought necessary, in 1690, to case both church and steeple with brick, except the spire, which is an elegant one. The bricks and theworkmanship are excellent. 

Though the fabric is not void of beauty, yet being closely surroundedwith houses, which destroy the medium of view, that beauty istotally hid. 

The steeple has, within memory, been three times injured by lightning. Forty feet of the spire, in a decayed state, was taken down and rebuiltin 1781, with stone from Attleborough, near Nuneaton; and strengthenedby a spindle of iron, running up its centre 105 feet long, secured tothe side walls every ten feet, by braces--the expence, 165_l_. 16s. 

Inclosed is a ring of twelve musical bells, and though I am not masterof the bob major and tripple-grandfire, yet am well informed, theringers are masters of the bell-rope: but to excel in Birmingham isnot new. 

The seats in the church would disgrace a meaner parish than that ofBirmingham; one should be tempted to think, they are the first evererected upon the spot, without taste or order: the timber is become hardwith age, and to the honour of the inhabitants, bright with use. Eachsitting is a private freehold, and is farther disgraced, like the coffinof a pauper, with the paltry initials of the owner's name. These divineabodes are secured with the coarse padlocks of a field gate. 

By an attentive survey of the seats, we plainly discover the increasingpopulation of Birmingham. When the church was erected, there wasdoubtless sufficient room for the inhabitants, and it was probably theonly place for public worship during 800 years: as the town increased, gallery after gallery was erected, 'till no conveniency was found formore. Invention was afterwards exerted to augment the number ofsittings; every recess capable only of admitting the body of an infant, was converted into a seat, which indicates, the continual increase ofpeople, and, that a spirit of devotion was prevalent among them. 

The floor of the church is greatly injured by internment, as is also thelight, by the near approach of the buildings, notwithstanding, in 1733, the middle roof of the chancel was taken off, and the side walls raisedabout nine feet, to admit a double range of windows. 

Dugdale, who wrote in 1640, gives us twenty-two drawings of the arms, inthe windows, of those gentry who had connection with Birmingham. 

 1. Astley. 10. Freville. 2. Sumeri. 11. Ancient Birmingham. 3. Ancient Birmingham. 12. Knell. 4. Ancient Birmingham, 13. Fitz-Warrer. The 2nd house. 14. Montalt. 5. Seagreve. 15. Modern Birmingham. 6. Modern Birmingham. 16. Hampden. 7. Ancient and modern 17. Burdet. Birmingham, 18. Montalt. Quartered. 19. Modern Birmingham. 8. Peshale quartering 20. Beauchamp. Bottetort. 21. Ferrers. 9. Birmingham quartering 22. Latimere. Wyrley. 

These twenty-two coats are now reduced to three, which are, Number two, in the east window of the chancel, which is _or, two lionspassant azure_, the arms of the family of Someri, Lords ofDudley-castle, and superior Lords of Birmingham; which having beenextinct about 450 years, the coat of arms must have been there at leastduring that period. 

Number three, in the south window of the chancel, _azure, a bend lozengeof five points, or_, the ancient arms of the family of Birmingham, whichperhaps is upwards of 400 years old, as that coat was not used after thedays of Edward the First, except in quarterings. 

And number ten, in the north window, _or, a cross, indented gules_;also, _five fleurs de lis_, the ancient arms of Freville, Lords ofTamworth, whose ancestor, Marmion, received a grant of that castle fromWilliam the Conqueror, and whose descendant, Lord Viscount Townshend, isthe present proprietor. Perhaps this coat hath been there 400 years, forthe male line of the Freville family, was extinct in the reign of Henrythe Fourth. 

Under the south window of the chancel, by the door, are two monumentsa-breast, of white marble, much injured by the hand of rude time, andmore by that of the ruder boys. The left figure, which is very ancient, I take to be William de Birmingham, who was made prisoner by the French, at the siege of Bellegard, in the 25th of Edward the First, 1297. Hewears a short mantle, which was the dress of that time, a sword, expressive of the military order, and he also bears a shield with thebend lozenge, which seems never to have been borne after the above date. 

The right hand figure, next the wall, is visibly marked with a mucholder date, perhaps about the conquest. The effigy does not appear in amilitary character, neither did the Lords of that period. The value ofthese ancient relicts have long claimed the care of the wardens, topreserve them from the injurious hand of the boys, and the foot of thewindow cleaner, by securing them with a pallisade. Even Westminsterabbey, famous for departed glory, cannot produce a monument of equalantiquity. 

At the foot of these, is another of the same materials, belonging to oneof the Marrows, Lords of Birmingham. 

Under the north east window, is a monument of white marble, belonging toone of the Lords of the house of Birmingham: but this is of modern datecompared with the others, perhaps not more than 300 years; he bearingthe _parte per pale, indented or, and gules_. 

In the church is an excellent organ, and in the steeple a set of chimes, where the ingenious artist treats us with a fresh tune every day ofthe week. 

Upon one of the CENTRE PILLARS. 

Here lieth the bodies of William Colmore, Gent. Who died in 1607, andAnn his wife, in 1591: also the body of Henry Willoughby, Esq; father toFrances, wife of William Colmore, now living; he died 1609. 

NORTH GALLERY. 

John Crowley, in 1709, gave twenty shillings per annum, payable out ofthe lowermost house in the Priory, to be distributed in bread, in thechurch on St. John's day, to house-keepers in Birmingham, who receiveno pay. 

Joseph Hopkins died in 1683, who gave 200_l_. With which an estate waspurchased in Sutton Coldfield; the rents to be laid out in coats, gowns, and other relief for the poor of Birmingham: he also gave 200_l_. Forthe poor of Wednesbury: 200_l_. To distresed quakers: 5_l_. 10s. To thepoor of Birmingham, and the same sum to those of Wednesbury, athis death. 

SAME GALLERY. 

Whereas the church of St. Martin's, in Birmingham, had only 52 ounces ofplate, in 1708, for the use of the communion table; it was, by avoluntary subscription of the inhabitants, increased to 275--Twoflaggons, two cups, two covers and pattens, with cases: the whole, 80_l_. 16s. 6d. 

Richard Banner ordered one hundred pounds to be laid out in lands withinten miles of Birmingham; which sum, lying at interest, and other smalldonations being added, amounted to 170_l_. With which an estate atErdington, value 81. 10s. Per annum, was purchased for the poor ofBirmingham. 

Richard Kilcup gave a house and garden at Spark-brook, for the churchand poor. 

John Cooper gave a croft for making of love-days (merriments) amongBirmingham men. 

William Rixam gave a house in Spiceal-street, No. 26, for the use of thepoor, in 1568. 

John Ward, in 1591, gave a house and lands in Marston Culey. 

William Colmore gave ten shillings per ann. Payable out of the house, No. 1, High-street. 

John Shelton gave ten shillings per annum, issuing out of a houseoccupied by Martin Day. 

Several of the above donations are included in Lench's trust. 

John Peak gave a chest bound with iron for the use of the church;seemingly about 200 years old, and of 200 lb. Weight. 

Edward Smith gave 20_l_. Per ann. To the poor, in 1612, and also erectedthe pulpit. 

John Billingsley, in 1629, gave 26 shillings yearly, chargeable upon ahouse in Dale-end, to be given in bread, by six-pence every Sunday. 

One croft to find bell-ropes. 

Richard Dukesayle, in 1630, gave the utensils belonging to the communiontable. 

Barnaby Smith, 1633, gave 20_l_. To be lent to ten poor tradesmen, atthe discretion of the church-wardens for two or three years. 

Catharine Roberts, wife of Barnaby Smith, in 1642, gave 20_l_. Theinterest of which was to be given to the poor, the first Friday in Lent. 

John Jennens, 1651, gave 2_l_. 10s. For the use of the poor, born andliving in Birmingham; and also 20s. On St. Thomas's day. 

John Milward gave 26_l_ per annum, lying in Bordesley: one third to theschool-master of Birmingham, (Free-school); one third to the Principalof Brazen nose College, Oxford, for the maintenance of one scholar fromBirmingham or Haverfordwest, and the remainder to the poor. 

Joseph Pemberton gave 40s. Per annum, payable out of an estate atTamworth, and 20s. Out of an estate in Harbourne. 

Richard Smallbrook gave to the poor of Birmingham 10s. Per annum, arising out of a salt vat in Droitwich. 

Robert Whittall gave the pall, or beere cloth. 

Widow Cooper, of the Talbot, No. 20, in High-street, gave one towel andone sheet, to wrap the poor in the grave. 

Mrs. Jennens gave 10_l_. Per annum to support a lecture, the second andthird Thursday in every month. 

The following offspring of charity seems to have expired at its birth, but rose from the dead a few months ago, after an internment offifty-four years. 

The numerous family of Piddock flourished in great opulence for manyages, and though they were not lords of a manor, they were as rich asthose who were: they yet boast, that their ancestors could walk sevenmiles upon their own land. It sometimes may be prudent, however, tobelieve only _half_ what a man says; besides, a person with tolerablevigour of limb, might contrive to walk seven miles upon his own land, ifhe has but one acre--a lawyer is not the only man who can double. 

Perhaps they were possessed of the northern part of this parish, fromBirmingham-heath to Shirland-brook, exclusive of many estates in themanors of Smethwick and Oldbury. 

Their decline continued many years, till one of them, in 1771, extinguished their greatness by a single dash of his pen, in selling thelast foot of land. --I know some of them now in distress. 

William Piddock, in 1728, devised his farm at Winson-green, about nineacres, to his wife Sarah, during life, and at her death, to his nephewsand executors William and John Riddall, their heirs and assigns forever, in trust, for educating and putting out poor boys of Birmingham;or other discretional charities in the same parish. 

But William and John wisely considered, that they could not put themoney into any pocket sooner than their own; that as the estate was inthe family it was needless to disturb it; that as the will was not knownto the world, there was no necessity to publish it; and, as it gave thema discretional power of disposal, they might as well consider themselves_the poor_, for they were both in the parish. 

There is nothing easier than to coin excuses for a fault;--there isnothing harder than to make them pass. 

What must be his state of mind, who is in continual apprehensions of adisgraceful discovery? No profits can compensate his feelings. 

Had the deviser been less charitable, William and John had been lessguilty: the gift of one man becomes a temptation to another. These nineacres, from which the donor was to spring upwards, lay like a mountainon the breasts of William and John, tending to press them downwards. Although poverty makes many a rogue, yet had William and John been morepoor, they would have been more innocent. The children themselves wouldhave been the least gainers by the bequest, for, without this legacy, they could just as well have procured trades; the profit would havecentered in the inhabitants, by softening their levies. --Thus a donationruns through many a private channel, unseen by the giver. 

Matters continued in this torpid state till 1782, when a quarrel betweenthe brothers and a tenant, broke the enchantment, and shewed the actorsin real view. 

The officers, in behalf of the town, filed a bill in Chancery, andrecovered the dormant property, which was committed in trust to

 John Dymock Griffith, John Harwood, Thomas Archer, > Overseers, 1781. William Hunt, Joseph Robinson, James Rollason, John Holmes, > Constables, 1782. Thomas Barrs, Joseph Sheldon, Charles Primer, > Church-wardens, William Dickenson, Edmund Tompkins, Claud Johnson, Nathaniel Lawrence, Edward Homer, > Overseers, 1782. Thomas Cock, Samuel Stretch, Joseph Townsend, John Startin. 

The presentation of St. Martin's was vested in the family of Birmingham, until the year 1537, since which it has passed through the Dudleys, theCrown, the Marrows, the Smiths, and now rests in the family of Tennant. 

RECTORS. 

 1300 Thomas de Hinckleigh. 1304 Stephen de Segrave. 1304 John de Ayleston. 1336 Robert de Shuteford. 1349 William de Seggeley. 1354 Thomas de Dumbleton. 1369 Hugh de Wolvesey. 1396 Thomas Darnall. 1412 William Thomas. 1414 Richard Slowther. 1428 John Waryn. 1432 William Hyde. 1433 John Armstrong. 1433 John Wardale. 1436 Henry Symon. 1444 Humphrey Jurdan. 1504 Richard Button. 1536 Richard Myddlemore. 1544 William Wrixam. 1578 Lucus Smith. 

 _Thus far Dugdale_. 

 ---- ------ Smith 1641 Samuel Wills. 1654 ------ Slater. 1660 John Riland. 1672 Henry Grove. ---- William Daggett. ---- Thomas Tyrer. 1732 Richard Dovey. 1771 ------ Chase. 1772 John Parsons. 1779 William Hinton, D. D. 1781 Charles Curtis. 

During Cromwell's government, ---- Slater, a broken apothecary of thisplace, having been unsuccessful in curing the body, resolved to attemptcuring the soul. He therefore, to repair his misfortunes, assumed theclerical character, and cast an eye on the rectory of St. Martin's; buthe had many powerful opponents: among others were Jennens, aniron-master, possessor of Aston-furnace; Smallbroke, another wealthyinhabitant, and Sir Thomas Holt. 

However, he with difficulty, triumphed over his enemies, stept into thepulpit, and held the rectory till the restoration. 

Being determined, in his first sermon, to lash his enemies with the whipof those times, he told his people, "The Lord had carried him throughmany troubles; for he had passed, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, through the _fiery furnace_. And as the Lord had enabled the children ofIsrael to pass over the Red Sea, so he had assisted him in passing overthe _Small-brooks_, and to overcome the strong _Holts_ of sinand satan. "

At the restoration, suspecting the approach of the proper officers toexpel him from the Parsonage-house, he crept into a hiding-place underthe stairs; but, being discovered, was drawn out by force, and theplace ever after, bore the name of _Slater's Hole_. 

John Riland succeeded him, who is celebrated for piety, learning, and asteady adherence to the interest of Charles the First; in whose cause heseems to have lost every thing he possessed, but his life. He wasremarkable for compromising quarrels among his neighbours, often at anexpence to himself; also for constantly carrying a charity box, torelieve the distress of others; and, though robbed of all himself, neverthought he was poor, except when his box was empty. --He died in1672, aged 53. 

A succeeding rector, William Daggett, is said to have understood the artof boxing, better than that of preaching: his clerk often felt theweightier argument of his hand. Meeting a quaker, whose profession, thenin infancy, did not stand high in esteem, he offered some insults, whichthe other resenting, told him, "If he was not protected by his cloth, hewould make him repent the indignity. " Dagget immediately stripped, "There, now I have thrown off my protection. "

They fought--but the spiritual bruiser proved too hard for the injuredquaker. 

Among the rectors we sometimes behold a magistrate; at others, those whofor misconduct ought to have been taken before one. 

The rectory, in the King's books, was valued, in 1291, at 5_l_. Perannum; and, in 1536, at 19_l_. 3s. 6d. 

_A terrier of the rectory, written by the rector, about 1680_. 

A house wherein the present rector, Mr. Dagget, resides. [Parsonage-house. ]

Two other houses in Birmingham, [now three, at No. 15, Spiceal-street. ]

Three pieces of glebe land, nineteen acres, between the school land andSheepcoat-lane. 

Three pieces, called the Five-way-closes twenty-one acres, bounded bythe lands of Samuel Smallbroke, Esq; and Josiah Porter. 

One close, two acres, bounded by Lady-wood-lane. 

Parsons-meadow, two acres, bounded by the lands of Thomas Smith, SirRichard Gough, and Sir Arthur Kaye. 

Horse pool-croft, half an acre, bounded by Bell's-barn-lane, [Brickiln-lane] the lands of Robert Phillips and SamuelSmallbrook, Esqrs. 

Tythe of all kinds of grain: but instead of hay, wool and lamb, a due of12d. In the pound rent, called herbage, in all the parish, exceptforeign, wherein the custom is 4d. Per acre for meadow land; 3d. Peracre for leas; 3d. For each lamb; 1d. 1/2 for a cow and calf: and exceptpart of the estate of William Colmore, Esq; with the Hall-ring, Tanter-butts, Bell's-barns, [No. 1, Exeter-row] and Rings; for theherbage of which is paid annually 13s. 4d. And also, except part of theestate of Samuel Smallbrook, Esq; for which he pays 8s. Per annum; and, except the estate of Thomas Weaman, called Whittall's-farm, [Catharine-street] for which he pays 2s. 8d. 

All the above estates pay the customary modus, whether in or out oftillage. 

SURPLICE FEES. 

 Rector. Clerk, s. D. S. D. For burying in the church, 1 0 1 0 Ditto church-yard, 0 6 0 6 Churching a woman, 0 4 0 4 Marrying by licence, 5 0 2 6 Ditto without, 2 6 1 0 Tythe pig, if seven or upwards, 0 4 0 0 Easter dues, man and wife, 0 4 0 0 ---- each person above sixteen, 0 4 0 0 Clerk's salary 20s. Paid by the wardens; also 2d. From each house keeper at Easter. 

From the above terrier, I am inclined to value the income at about90_l_. Per annum. 

The benefice, in 1771, was about 350_l_. Per annum: the late Rector, John Parsons, procured an act, in 1773, to enable the incumbent to grantbuilding leases; the grant of a single lease, in 1777, brought theannual addition of about 170_l_. The income is now about 700_l_. And isexpected, at the expiration of the leases, to exceed 2000_l_. 

The repairs of the chancel belong to the rector, and the remainder ofthe building to the parish. 

SAINT PHILLIP's. 

We have touched upon various objects in our peregrinations throughBirmingham, which meet with approbation, though viewed through themedium of smoke; some of these, being covered with the rust of time, command our veneration; but the prospect before us is wholly modern. 

We have mounted, by imperceptable gradations, from beauty to beauty, 'till we are now arrived at the summit. 

If an historian had written in the last century, he would have recordedbut two places of worship; I am now recording the fourteenth: but mysuccessor, if not prevented by our own imprudence, in driving away thespirit of commerce, may record the four-and-twentieth. The artist, whocarries the manufactures among foreigners, or the overseer, who wantonlyloads the people with burdens, draws the wrath of the place upon hisown head. 

This curious piece of architecture, the steeple of which is erectedafter the model of St. Paul's, in London, but without its weight, doeshonour to the age that raised it, and to the place that contains it. Perhaps the eye of the critic cannot point out a fault, which the handof the artist can mend: perhaps too, the attentive eye cannot surveythis pile of building, without communicating to the mind a small degreeof pleasure. If the materials are not proof against time, it is rathera misfortune to be lamented, than an error to be complained of, thecountry producing no better. 

Yet, amidst all the excellencies we boast, I am sorry to charge thischief ornament with an evil which admits no cure, that of not rangingwith its own coemetery, or the adjacent buildings: out of seven streets, with which it is connected, it lines with none. --Like Deritend chapel, of which I have already complained, from a strong attachment to a pointof religion, or of the compass, it appears twisted out of its place. Wemay be delighted with a human figure, complete in stature, exactlymoulded with symmetry, and set off with the graces of dress; but weshould be disgusted, if his right side seemed to attempt to out-walkhis left. 

This defect, in religious architecture, arises from a strict adherenceto the custom of the ancients, who fixed their altars towards the east. It is amasing, that even weakness itself, by long practice, becomescanonical; it gains credit by its age and its company. Hence, Sternholdand Hopkins, by being long bound up with scripture, acquired a kind ofscripture authority. 

The ground, originally, was part of a farm, and bore the name of theHorse-close; afterwards _Barley-close_. --Thus a benign spot of earth, gave additional spirits to a man when living, and kindly covered him inits bosom when dead. 

This well chosen spot, is the summit of the highest eminence inBirmingham, with a descent every way; and, when the church was erected, there were not any buildings nearer than those in Bull-street. 

The land was the gift of Robert Phillips, Esq; whence the name, ancestorto William Theodore Inge, Esquire. 

In all degrees of people, from the bishop to the beadle, there seems apropensity in the mind to arrive at the honours of Sainthood: by joiningour names in partnership with a faint, we share with him a red letter inthe almanack. 

Out of six churches in Birmingham, three bear the names of the donors. St. Bartholomew's would, probably, have taken that of its founder, JohnJennens, Esq; but that name happened to be anticipated by Sir John deBirmingham, who conferred it upon Deritend chapel. St. Mary's couldreadily perpetuate the name of its benefactress, because we had no placeof worship that bore it. But as neither the popish, nor the protestantkalendar produced a St. Charles, the founder of St. Paul's wasunfortunately excluded. 

The gifts, which the benefactor himself believes are charitable, andexpects the world to believe the same, if scrutinized, will be found tooriginate from various causes--counterfeits are apt to be offered incurrency for sterling. 

Perhaps _ostentation_ has brought forth more acts of beneficence thancharity herself; but, like an unkind parent, she disowns her offspring, and charges them upon charity. 

Ostentation is the root of charity; why else are we told, in capitals, by a large stone in the front of a building--"This hospital was erectedby William Bilby, in the sixty-third year of his age, 1709. " Or, "ThatJohn Moore, yeoman, of Worley Wigorn, built this school, in 1730. "--Nay, pride even tempts us to strut in a second-hand robe of charity, left byanother; or why do we read--"These alms-houses were erected by Lench'strust, in 1764. W. WALSINGHAM, BAILIFF. "

Another utters the word _charity_, and we rejoice in the echo. If wemiss the substance, we grasp at the shadow. 

Sometimes we assign our property for religious uses, late in the eveningof life, when _enjoyment_ is over, and almost _possession_. Thus webequeath to piety, what we can keep no longer. We convey our name toposterity at the expence of our successor, and scaffold our way towardsheaven up the walls of a steeple. 

Will charity chalk up one additional score in our favour, because wegrant a small portion of our land to found a church, which enables us toaugment the remainder treble its value, by granting building leases? aman seldom makes a bargain for heaven, and forgets himself. Charity andself-interest, like the apple and the rind, are closely connected, and, like them, we cannot separate one without trespassing on the other. 

In contributions of the lesser kind, the giver examines the quantumgiven by those of his own station; _pride_ will not suffer him to appearless than his neighbour. 

Sometimes he surrenders merely through importunity, which indicates asmuch _charity_, as the garrison does _merit_, which surrenders whenclosely besieged. Neither do we fear _our left hand knowing what ourright hand doth_, our only fear is, left the world should _not_know it. 

This superb edifice was begun by act of Parliament, in 1711, under acommission consisting of twenty of the neighbouring gentry, appointed bythe bishop of the diocese, under his episcopal seal. Their commissionwas to end twelve months after the erection of the church. 

Though Birmingham ever was, and perhaps ever will be considered as oneparish, yet a portion of land, about one hundred acres, nearlytriangular, and about three fourths built up, was taken out of thecentre of St. Martin's, like a shred of cloth out of a great coat, tomake a less, and constituted a separate parish, by the appellation ofSt Philip's. 

We shall describe this new boundary by an imaginary journey, for a realone perhaps was never taken since the land was first laid out, nor everwill to the end of time. 

We include the warehouse, then of John Jenens, Esq; now No. 26, inHigh-street, penetrate through the buildings, till we come within twentyyards, of Moor-street, turn sharp to the left, cross the lower part ofCastle-street, Carr's-lane, and New Meeting-street; pass close by thefront of the Meeting-house, through Bank-alley, into Hen's-walk, havingkept Moor-street about twenty yards to the right, all the way; we nowenter that street, at the bottom of Hen's-walk, pass through the eastpart of Dale-end, through Stafford-street, Steelhouse-lane (then calledWhittal-lane) Bull-lane (then New-hall-lane) and Mount-pleasant. 

Our journey now leads us on the west of Pinfold-street, keeping it abouttwenty yards on our left; up Peck-lane, till we come near the top, whenwe turn to the right, keeping the buildings, with the Free-school in Newstreet, on our left, into Swan-alley. We now turn up the Alley intoNew-street, then to the right, which leads us to the Party-wall, betweenNo. 25 and 26, in High-street, late Jennens's, where we began. 

In the new parish I have described, and during the journey, kept on theleft, there seems to have been, at passing the act, twelve closes, allwhich are filled with buildings, except the land between New-street andMount-pleasant, which only waits a word from the owner, to speak thehouses into being. 

The church was consecrated in 1715, and finished in 1719, the work ofeight years; at which time the commissioners resigned their powers intothe hands of the diocesan, in whom is the presentation, after havingpaid, it is said, the trifling sum of 5012_l_. --but perhaps such a workcould not be completed for 20, 000_l_. 

Three reasons may be assigned, why so small a sum was expended; many ofthe materials were given; more of the carriage, and some heavy debtswere contracted. 

The urns upon the parapet of the church, which are highly ornamental, were fixed at the same time with those of the school, in about 1756. 

When I first saw St. Philip's, in the year 1741, at a proper distance, uncrowded with houses, for there were none to the north, New-hallexcepted, untarnished with smoke, and illuminated by a western sun, Iwas delighted with its appearance, and thought it then, what I do now, and what others will in future, _the pride of the place_. 

If we assemble the beauties of the edifice, which cover a rood ofground; the spacious area of the church-yard, occupying four acres;ornamented with walks in great perfection; shaded with trees in doubleand treble ranks; and surrounded with buildings in elegant taste:perhaps its equal cannot be found in the British dominions. 

The steeple, 'till the year 1751, contained a peal of six bells, whichwere then augmented to ten; at which time St. Martin's, the motherchurch, having only eight, could not bear to be out-numbered by ajunior, though of superior elegance, therefore ordered twelve into herown steeple: but as room was insufficient for the admission of bells bythe dozen, means were found to hoist them tier over tier. Though theround dozen is a complete number in the counting-house, it is notaltogether so in the belfry: the octave is the most perfect concord inmusic, but diminishes by rising to an octave and a half; neither canthat dozen well be crowded into the peal. 

But perhaps the artist had another grand scheme in view, that ofaccommodating the town with the additional harmony of the chimes; foronly a few tunes can be played on the octave, whilst the dozen willcompass nearly all. 

Whether we are entertained even by this _exalted_ style of music, admitsa doubt; for instead of the curious ear being charmed with distinctnotes, we only hear a bustle of confused sounds, which baffle theattention too much to keep pace with the tune. 

These two steeples, are our _public_ band of music: they are the only_standing_ Waits of the place. Two thousand people may be accommodatedin the church, but, at times, it has contained near three thousand. 

In the vestry is a theological library, bequeathed by the first rector, William Higgs, for the use of the clergy in Birmingham and itsneighbourhood; who left 200_l_. For future purchase. 

Under the centre isle runs a vault, the whole length of the church, forthe reception of those who chuse to pay an additional guinea. 

The organ excels; the paintings, mouldings and gildings are superb:whether the stranger takes an external or an internal survey, the eye isstruck with delight, and he pronounces the whole the work of a matter. Its conveniency also, can only be equalled by its elegance. 

In the FRONT GALLERY. 

Upon application of Sir Richard Gough, to Sir Robert Walpole, then inpower, George the First gave 600_l_. In 1725, towards finishingthis church. 

Three remarks naturally arise from this declaration; That the prodigioussums expended upon this pious undertaking, were beyond the ability ofthe inhabitants; that the debts contracted, were many years indischarging; and that one of the best of Kings, the head of theBrunswick line, bestowed a liberal benefaction upon a people notcompleatly reconciled to his house. 

Whether monumental decoration adds beauty to a place already beautiful, is a question. There are three very small and very elegant monuments inthis church. Upon one of the south pillars, is that of the above WilliamHiggs, who died in 1733. Upon another is that of William Vyse, thesecond rector, who died in 1770, at the age of 61. And, upon a northpillar, that of Girton Peak, Esq; an humane magistrate, who died in1770, aged 48. 

Internment in the church is wisely prohibited; an indecency incompatiblewith a civilized people. The foreigner will be apt to hold forth thebarbarity of the English nation, by observing, "They introducecorruption in their very churches, and pay divine adoration upon thegraves of their ancestors. "

Places of worship were designed for the living, the dead give up theirtitle with their life: besides, even small degrees of putrefaction, confined in a room where the air cannot circulate, may becomeprejudicial to health: it also ruins the pavement, as is done at St. Martin's. Our first inhabitants, therefore, lie contented in the churchyard, by their unfortunate equals; having private sepulchresappropriated for family use--Perhaps at the last day, no inquiry will bemade whether they lay on the in, or the outside of the walls. 

It is difficult to traverse the elegant walks that surround this gulf ofdeath, without contemplating, that time is drawing us towards the samefocus, and that we shall shortly fall into the centre: that thisirregular circle contains what was once generous and beautiful, opulentand humane. The arts took their rise in this fruitful soil: this is thegrave of invention and of industry; here those who figured upon thestage are fallen, to make way for others, who must follow: thoughmultitudes unite with the dead, the numbers of the living increase; theinhabitants change, while the genius improves. We cannot pass on withoutreading upon the stones, the short existence of our departed friends, perusing the end of a life with which we were well acquainted. Theactive motion that veered with the rude blasts of seventy years, slopsin this point for ever. 

The present rector, who is the third, is the Rev. Charles Newling, andthe benefice something like the following:

 A prebendal stall in the cathedral l. S. D. Church of Lichfield, 6 0 0 Eight acres and a half of glebe land, at Long bridge, near Birmingham, 32 0 0 Emoluments arising from the seats of the church, 140 0 0 Surplice fees, 50 0 0 Easter offerings, 10 0 0 An estate at Sawley, in the county of Derby, under lease for three lives, renewable by fine, at the annual rent of 66 13 4 ------------ 304 13 4 Out of which is paid to the rector of St. Martin's, in consideration fees and offerings once appropriated to that church, 15 0 0 ----------- 289 13 4

BIRTHS AND BURIALS. 

There are many inducements for an author to take up the pen, but theleading motives, however disguised, seem to be pride and poverty;hence, two of the most despicable things among men, furnish the worldwith knowledge. 

One would think, however, there can be no great inducement for a man towrite what he is conscious will never be read. Under this class may becomprehended alphabetical collections, chronological tables, books offigures, occasional devotions, etc. Here also I range the lists ofofficers in Birmingham, the annual sums expended upon the poor, and thepresent chapter of numbers. These are intended for occasionalinspection, rather than for regular perusal: we may consider them asdeserts served up for a taste only, not a dinner; yet even this rule maybe broken by a resolute reader, for the late Joseph Scott, Esq; founderof the trust before-mentioned, assured me, in 1751, that he had perusedBailey's Dictionary as methodically as he had done Tom Jones; and, though a dissenter, he continued to read the Common Prayer Book from endto end, about twice a year; which is more than, perhaps, the greatestlover of that excellent composition can boast. 

I shall, to avoid prolixity in a barren chapter of the two extremes oflife, select about every tenth year from the register. Those years atthe time of the plague, make no addition to the burials, because theunhappy victims were conveyed to Lady-wood for internment. 

These lists inform us, that the number of streets, houses, inhabitants, births, burials, poor's rates, and commercial productions, increase withequal rapidity. It appears also from the register, that there were morechristenings lately at St. Martin's, in one day, than the whole townproduced in a year, in the 16th century--The same may be found in thatof St. Phillip's. 

The deaths in Deritend are omitted, being involved with those of Aston. 

 Year. Births. Burials. Year. Births. Burials. 

 1555 37 27 1667 146 140 1560 -- 37 1668 113 102 1571 48 26 1681 251 139 1580 37 25 1690 127 150 1590 52 47 1700 172 171 1600 62 32 1719 334 270 1610 70 45 1720 423 355 1623 81 66 1730 449 415 1628 100 96 1740 520 573 1653 -- 47 1750 860 1020 1660 -- 75 1760 984 1143 1665 -- 109 1770 1329 899 1666 144 121 1780 1636 1340

GENERAL HOSPITAL. 

Though charity is one of the most amiable qualities of humanity, yet, like Cupid, she ought to be represented blind; or, like Justice, hood-winked. None of the virtues have been so much misapplied; giving tothe _hungry_, is sometimes only another word for giving to the _idle_. We know of but two ways in which this excellence can exert itself;improving the _mind_, and nourishing the _body_. To help him who _willnot _help himself; or, indiscriminately to relieve those that want, istotally to mistake the end; for want is often met with: but to supplythose who _cannot_ supply themselves, becomes real charity. Some worthyChristians have taken it into their heads to relieve _all_, for fear ofomitting the right. What should we think of the constable who seizesevery person he meets with, for fear of missing the thief? Between thesimple words, therefore, of WILL NOT and CANNOT, runs the fine barrierbetween real and mistaken charity. 

This virtue, so strongly inculcated by the christian system, hath, during the last seventeen centuries, appeared in a variety of forms, andsome of them have been detrimental to the interest they were meant toserve: _Such was the cloister_. Man is not born altogether to servehimself, but the community; if he cannot exist without the assistance ofothers, it follows, that others ought to be assisted by him: but ifcondemned to obscurity in the cell, he is then fed by the aid of thepublic, while that public derives none from him. 

[Illustration: _General Hospital_. ]

Estates have sometimes been devised in trust for particular uses, meantas charities by the giver, but have, in a few years, been diverted outof their original channel to other purposes. 

The trust themselves, like so many contending princes, ardently druggiefor sovereignty; hence, _legacy_ and _discord_ are intimate companions. 

The plantation of many of our English schools sprang up from the will ofthe dead; but it is observable, that sterility quickly takes place; theestablishment of the master being properly secured, supineness enters, and the young scions of learning are retarded in their growth. 

It therefore admits a doubt, whether charitable donation is beneficialto the world; nay, the estate itself becomes blasted when bequeathed topublic use, for, being the freehold of none, none will improve it:besides, the more dead land, the less scope for industry. 

At the reformation, under Queen Elizabeth, charity seemed to take adifferent appearance: employment was found for the idle; he that wasable, was obliged to labour, and the parish was obliged to assist himwho could not. Hence the kingdom became replete with workhouses: theseare the laudable repositories of distress. 

It has already been observed, that three classes of people merit thecare of society: forlorn infancy, which is too weak for its own support;old age, which has served the community, without serving itself; andaccidental calamity: the two first, fall under the eye of the parish, the last, under the modern institution of the General Hospital. 

The shell of this plain, but noble edifice, was erected in 1766, upon asituation very unsuitable for its elegant front, in a narrow dirty lane, with an aspect directing up the hill, which should ever be avoided. 

The amiable desire of doing good in the inhabitants, seemed to haveexceeded their ability; and, to the grief of many, it lay dormant fortwelve years. In 1778, the matter was revived with vigor; subscriptionsfilled apace, and by the next year the hospital was finished, at theexpence of 7137_l_. 10s. Though the benefactions might not amount tothis enormous sum, yet they were noble, and truly characteristic of agenerous people. The annual subscriptions, as they stood at Michaelmas, 1779, were 901_l_. 19s. And, at Midsummer, 1780, 932_l_. 8s. Duringthese nine months, 529 patients were admitted, of which, 303 were cured, 93 relieved, 112 remained on the books, only 5 died, and but _one_ wasdischarged as incurable; an incontestible proof of the _skill_ of thefaculty, which is at least equalled by their _humanity_, in giving theirattendance gratis. 

The rules by which this excellent charity is conducted, are worthy ofits authors: success hath fully answered expectation, and the buildingwill probably stand for ages, to tell posterity a favourable tale of thepresent generation. 

PUBLIC ROADS. 

Man is evidently formed for society; the intercourse of one withanother, like two blocks of marble in friction, reduces the roughprominences of behaviour, and gives a polish to the manners. 

Whatever tends to promote social connection, improve commerce, or stampan additional value upon property, is worthy of attention. 

Perhaps, there is not a circumstance that points more favourably towardsthese great designs, than commodious roads. 

According as a country is improved in her roads, so will she stand inthe scale of civilization. It is a characteristic by which we maypronounce with safety. The manners and the roads of the English, havebeen refining together for about 1700 years. If any period of time isdistinguished with a more rapid improvement in one, it is also inthe other. 

Our Saxons ancestors, of dusky memory, seldom stepped from under thesmoke of Birmingham. We have a common observation among us, that even solate as William the Third, the roads were in so dangerous a state, thata man usually made his will, and took a formal fare-well of his friends, before he durst venture upon a journey to London; which, perhaps, wasthought then, of as much consequence as a voyage to America now. 

A dangerous road is unfavourable both to commerce and to friendship; aman is unwilling to venture his neck to sell his productions, or evenvisit his friend: if a dreadful road lies between them, it will be aptto annihilate friendship. 

Landed property in particular, improves with the road. If a farmercannot bring his produce to market, he cannot give much for his land, neither can that land well be improved, or the market properly supplied. Upon a well formed road, therefore, might, with propriety, be placed thefigures of commerce, of friendship, and of agriculture, aspresiding over it. 

There are but very few observations necessary in forming a road, andthose few are very simple; to expel whatever is hurtful, and invitewhatever is beneficial. 

The breaking up of a long frost, by loosening the foundations, isinjurious, and very heavy carriages ought to be prevented, 'till theweather unites the disjointed particles, which will soon happen. 

But the grand enemy is water; and as this will inevitably fall, everymeans should be used to discharge it: drains ought to be frequent, thatthe water may not lie upon the road. 

The great benefits are _the sun_ and the _wind:_ the surveyor should useevery method for the admission of these friendly aids, that they maydispel the moisture which cannot run off. 

For this purpose, all public roads ought to be sixty feet wide; alltrees and hedges within thirty feet of the centre, be under thecontroul of the commissioners, with full liberty of drawing off thewater in what manner they judge necessary. 

The Romans were the most accomplished masters we know of in this usefulart; yet even they seem to have forgot the under drain, for it isevident at this day, where their road runs along the declivity of ahill, the water dams up, flows over, and injures the road. 

Care should be taken, in properly forming a road at first, otherwise youmay botch it for a whole century, and at the end of that long period, itwill be only a botch itself. 

A wide road will put the innocent traveller out of fear of thewaggoners; not the most civilized of the human race. 

From Birmingham, as from a grand centre, issues twelve roads, that pointto as many towns; some of these, within memory, have scarcely beenpassable; all are mended, but though much is done, more is wanted. In anupland country, like that about Birmingham, where there is no river ofsize, and where the heads only of the streams show themselves: thestranger would be surprised to hear, that through most of these twelveroads he cannot travel in a flood with safety. For want of causewaysand bridges, the water is suffered to flow over the road, higher thanthe stirrup: every stream, though only the size of a tobacco-pipe, oughtto be carried through an under drain, never to run over the road. 

At Saltley, in the way to Coleshill, which is ten miles, for want of acauseway, with an arch or two, every flood annoys the passenger and theroad: at Coleshill-hall, 'till the year 1779, he had to pass adangerous river. 

One mile from Birmingham, upon the Lichfield road, sixteen miles, to thedisgrace of the community, is yet a river without a bridge. In 1777, thecountry was inclined to solicit Parliament for a turnpike-act, but thematter fell to the ground through private views: one would think, thatthe penny can never be ill laid out, which carries a man ten miles withpleasure and safety. The hand of nature hath been more beneficent, bothto this, and to the Stafford road, which is twenty-eight miles, thanthat of art. 

The road to Walfall, ten miles, is rather _below indifferent_. 

That to Wolverhampton, thirteen miles, is much improved since thecoal-teams left it. 

The road to Dudley, ten miles, is despicable beyond description. Theunwilling traveller is obliged to go two miles about, through a badroad, to avoid a worse. 

That to Hales-Owen, eight miles, like the life of man, is checkered withgood and evil; chiefly the latter. 

To Bromsgrove, thirteen miles, made extremely commodious for the firstfour, under the patronage of John Kettle, Esq; in 1772, at the expenceof near 5000_l_. But afterwards is so confined, that two horses cannotpass without danger; the sun and the winds are excluded, the rivers lieopen to the stranger, and he travels through dirt 'till Midsummer. 

To Alcester, about twenty, formed in 1767, upon a tolerable plan, but israther too narrow, through a desolate country, which at present scarcelydefrays the expence; but that country seems to improve with the road. 

Those to Stratford and Warwick, about twenty miles each, are much usedand much neglected. 

That to Coventry, about the same distance, can only be equalled by theDudley road. The genius of the age has forgot, in some of these roads toaccommodate the foot passenger with a causeway. 

The surveyor will be inclined to ask, How can a capital be raised todefray this enormous expence? Suffer me to reply with an expression inthe life of Oliver Cromwell, "He that lays out money when necessary, andonly then, will accomplish matters beyond the reach of imagination. "

Government long practised the impolitic mode of transporting vastnumbers of her people to America, under the character of felons; these, who are generally in the prime of life, might be made extremely usefulto that country which they formerly robbed, and against which, they areat this moment carrying arms. It would be easy to reduce this ferociousrace under a kind of martial discipline; to badge them with a mark onlyremoveable by the governors, for hope should ever be left forrepentance, and to employ them in the rougher arts of life, according tothe nature of the crime, and the ability of body; such as working thecoal mines in Northumberland, the lead mines in Derbyshire, the tinmines in Cornwall, cultivating waste lands, banking after inundations, forming canals, cleansing the beds of rivers, assisting in harvest, andin FORMING and MENDING the ROADS: _these hewers of wood and drawers ofwater_ would be a corps of reserve against any emergency. From thismagazine of villiany, the British navy might be equipped with, considerable advantage. 

CANAL. 

An act was obtained, in 1767, to open a cut between Birmingham and thecoal delphs about Wednesbury. 

The necessary article of coal, before this act, was brought by land, atabout thirteen shillings per ton, but now at seven. 

It was common to see a train of carriages for miles, to the greatdestruction of the road, and the annoyance of travellers. 

This dust is extended in the whole to about twenty-two miles in length, 'till it unites with what we may justly term the grand artery, orStaffordshire Canal; which, eroding the island, communicates with Hull, Bristol and Liverpool. The expence was about 70, 000_l_. Divided intoshares 140_l_. Each, of which no man can purchase more than ten, andwhich now sell for about 370_l_. 

The proprietors took a perpetual lease of six acres of land, of SirThomas Gooch, at 47_l_. Per annum, which is converted into a wharf, uponthe front of which is erected an handsome office for the dispatchof business. 

[ILLUSTRATION: A Plan of the Navigable Canal from Birmingham toAutherley]

[ILLUSTRATION: Navigation Office]

This watery passage, exclusive of loading the proprietors with wealth, tends greatly to the improvement of some branches of trade, byintroducing heavy materials at a small expence, such as pig iron for thefounderies, lime-stone, articles for the manufacture of brass and steel, also stone, brick, slate, timber, &c. 

It is happy for the world, that public interest is grafted upon private, and that both flourish together. 

This grand work, like other productions of Birmingham birth, was ratherhasty; the managers, not being able to find patience to worm round thehill at Smethwick, or cut through, have wisely travelled over it by thehelp of twelve locks, with six they mount the summit, and with six moredescend to the former level; forgetting the great waste of water, andthe small supply from the rivulets, and also, the amazing loss of oftime in climbing this curious ladder, consisting of twelve liquid steps. It is worthy of remark, that the level of the earth, is nearly the sameat Birmingham as at the pits: what benefit then would accrue tocommerce, could the boats travel a dead flat of fourteen miles withoutinterruption? The use of the canal would increase, great variety ofgoods be brought which are now excluded, and these delivered with moreexpedition, with less expence, and the waste of water never felt; but, by the introduction of twelve unnecessary locks, the company mayexperience five plagues more than fell on Egypt. 

The boats are nearly alike, constructed to fit the locks, carry abouttwenty-five tons, and are each drawn by something like the skeleton of ahorse, covered with skin: whether he subsists upon the scent of thewater, is a doubt; but whether his life is a scene of affliction, isnot; for the unfeeling driver has no employment but to whip him from oneend of the canal to the other. While the teams practised the turnpikeroad, the lash was divided among five unfortunate animals, but now thewhole wrath of the driver falls upon one. 

We can scarcely view a boat travelling this liquid road, without raisingopposite sensations--pleased to think of its great benefit to thecommunity, and grieved to behold wanton punishment. 

I see a large field of cruelty expanding before me, which I could easilyprevail with myself to enter; in which we behold the child plucking awing and a leg off a fly, to try how the poor insect can perform withhalf his limbs; or running a pin through the posteriors of a locust, toobserve it spinning through the air, like a comet, drawing a tail ofthread. If we allow, man has a right to destroy noxious animals, wecannot allow he has a right to protract their pain by a lingering death. By fine gradations the modes of cruelty improve with years, in pinchingthe tail of a cat for the music of her voice, kicking a dog because wehave trod upon his foot, or hanging him for _fun_, 'till we arrive atthe priests in the church of Rome, who burnt people for opinion; or tothe painter, who begged the life of a criminal, that he might torturehim to death with the severest pangs, to catch the agonizing feature, and transfer it into his favourite piece, of a dying Saviour. But didthat Saviour teach such doctrine? Humanity would wish rather to havelost the piece, than have heard of the cruelty. What, if the injuredghost of the criminal is at this moment torturing that of the painter?--

But as this capacious field is beyond the line I profess, and, as I haveno direct accusation against the people of my regard, I shall not enter. 

DERITEND BRIDGE. 

Cooper's-mill, situated upon the verge of the parishes of Afton andBirmingham, 400 yards below this bridge, was probably first erected inthe the peaceable ages of Saxon influence, and continued a part of themanorial estate 'till the disposal of it in 1730. 

Before the water was pounded up to supply the mill, it must have been soshallow, as to admit a passage between Digbeth and Deritend, over a fewstepping stones; and a gate seems to have been placed upon the verge ofthe river, to prevent encroachments of the cattle. 

This accounts for the original name, which Dugdale tells us was_Derry-yate-end:_ derry, low; yate, gate; end, extremity of the parish;with which it perfectly agrees. 

The mill afterwards causing the water to be dammed up, gave rise to asuccession of paltry bridges, chiefly of timber, to preserve acommunication between the two streets. 

But in later ages, the passage was dignified with those of stone. In1750, a wretched one was taken down, and the present bridge erected byHenry Bradford and John Collins, overseers of the highway, consisting offive arches; but the homely style, the deep ascent, and thecircumscribed width prevents encomium. 

ADJACENT REMARKS. 

SOHO. 

If we travel two miles from the centre of Birmingham, upon theWolverhampton road, which may be called, the road to taste, and is dailytravelled by the nobility and gentry, we shall arrive at the epitomeof the arts. 

Though this little spot lies in the county of Stafford, we must acceptit as part of Birmingham; neither is it many yards distant fromthe parish. 

The proprietor, invited by a genius, a fortune of 30, 000_l_. And alittle stream, which promised to facilitate business, has erected themost elegant works in these parts, said to accommodate seven hundredpersons. Upon that hungry ground, where, in 1758 stood one paltrycottage, we now behold, a city in miniature. 

From this nursery of ingenuity, originated the Soho button, the singlewheel clock, the improvement of the steam engine, the platina button, the method of taking exact copies of painting, writing, &c. Also, theproductions of fancy, in great variety; with which some of the Europeanprinces are well acquainted. 

To the genius of the place is owing the assay-office, for markingstandard wrought plate, which, prior to the year 1773, was conveyed toLondon to receive the sanction of that office; but by an act thenobtained, the business is done here by an assay master, superintended byfour wardens: these are annually chosen out of thirty-six guardians, whose chief duty consists in dining together, at least once a year; forit appears from the chapter upon government, that feasting makes aprincipal part of a Birmingham office; and, however unwilling a man mayseem to _enter in_ we generally find him pleased when he _is in_. 

DANES CAMP:

DANES BANK, OR BURY FIELDS. 

About five miles south of Birmingham, and five furlongs off SolihullLodge, is a place called _The Danes Camp_. But although neither historynor tradition speak of this particular event, it probably was raised inthe ninth century. 

The situation is well chosen, upon an eminence, about nine acres, nearlytriangular, is yet in tolerable perfection; the ditch is about twentyfeet wide; the base of the bank about the same; admits but of oneentrance, and is capable of being secured by water. From the bottom ofthe ditch, to the top of the mound, was, when made, about twenty feet;and is a production of great labour. 

GENTLEMEN'S SEATS. 

This neighbourhood may justly be deemed the seat of the arts, but notthe seat of the gentry. 

None of the nobility are near us, except William Legge, Earl ofDartmouth, at Sandwell, four miles from Birmingham. The principal housesin our environs, are those of Sir Charles Holte, late member for thecounty, at Aston; Sir Henry Gough, member for Bamber, at Edgbaston;George Birch, Esq; at Handsworth; John Gough, Esq; at Perry; and JohnTaylor, Esq; at Bordesley and at Moseley; all joining to the manor ofBirmingham. Exclusive of these, are many elegant retreats of our firstinhabitants, acquired by commercial success. 

Full fed with vanity is an author, when two readers strive to catch uphis work, for the pleasure of perusing it:--but, perchance, if tworeaders dip into this chapter, they may strive to lay it down. 

I have hitherto written to the _world_, but now to a small part, _theantiquarians_; nay, a small part of the sensible part; for a fool and anantiquary is a contradiction: they are, to a man, people of letters andpenetration. If their judgment is sometimes erroneous, we may consider, man was never designed for perfection; there is also less light to guidethem in this, than in other researches. If the traveller slips uponcommon ground, how will he fare if he treads upon ice?--Besides, in darkquestions, as in intricate journies, there are many erroneous ways forone right. 

If, like the mathematician, he can establish one point, it ascertainsanother. We may deem his pursuit one of the most arduous, and attendedwith the least profit: his emoluments consist in the returns of pleasureto his own mind. 

The historian only collects the matter of the day, and hands it toposterity; but the antiquarian brings his treasures from remote ages, and presents them to this: he examines forgotten repositories, callsthings back into existence, which are past; counter-acts the efforts oftime, and of death; possesses something like a re-creative power;collects the dust of departed matter, moulds it into its prestine state, exhibits the figure to view, and stamps it with a kind of immortality. 

Every thing has its day, whether it be a nation, a city, a castle, aman, or an insect; the difference is, one is a winter's day, the othermay be extended to the length of a summer's--an _end_ waits upon all. But we cannot contemplate the end of grandeur, without gloomy ideas. 

Birmingham is surrounded with the melancholy remains of extinguishedgreatness; the decayed habitations of decayed gentry, fill the mind withsorrowful reflections. Here the feet of those marked the ground, whoseactions marked the page of history. Their arms glistened in the field;their eloquence moved the senate. Born to command, their influence wasextensive; but who now rest in peace among the paupers, fed with thecrumbs of their table. The very land which, for ages, was witness to thehospitality of its master, is itself doomed to stirility. The spotwhich drew the adjacent country, is neglected by all; is often in awretched state of cultivation, sets for a trifle; the glory is departed;it demands a tear from the traveller, and the winds teem, to sighover it. 

THE MOATS. 

In the parish of King's-norton, four miles south west of Birmingham, is_The Moats_, upon which long resided the ancient family of Field. Thenumerous buildings, which almost formed a village, are totally erased, and barley grows where the beer was drank. 

BLACK GREVES. 

Eight miles south west of Birmingham, in the same parish, near WithodChapel, is _Black Greves_ (Black Groves) another seat of the Fields;which, though a family of opulence, were so far from being lords of themanor, that they were in vassalage to them. 

The whole of that extensive parish is in the crown, which holds thedetestable badge of ancient slavery over every tenant, of demandingunder the name of harriot, the best moveable he dies possessed of--Thusdeath and the bailiff make their inroads together; they rob the familyin a double capacity, each taking the best moveable. 

As the human body descends into the regions of sickness, much soonerthan it can return into health; so a family can decline into poverty byhastier steps, than rise into affluence. One generation of extravaganceputs a period to many of greatness. 

A branch of the Fields, in 1777, finished their ancient grandeur, bysigning away the last estate of his family. --Thus he blotted out thename of his ancestors by writing his own. 

ULVERLEY, OR CULVERLEY. 

Four miles from Birmingham, upon the Warwick road, entering the parishof Solihull, in Castle-lane, is Ulverle, in doom's-day Ulverlei. Trifling as this place now seems, it must have been the manor-house ofSolihull, under the Saxon heptarchy; but went to decay so long ago asthe conquest. 

The manor was the property of the Earls of Mercia, but whether theirresidence is uncertain. --The traces of a moat yet remain, which aretriangular, and encircle a wretched farm-house of no note: one of theangles of this moat is filled up, and become part of Castle-lane; whichproves that Ulverley went into disuse when Hogg's-moat was erected: italso proves that the lane terminated here, which is about two hundredyards from the turnpike road. The great width of the lane, from the roadto Ulverley, and the singular narrowness from thence to Hogg's-moat, isanother proof of its prior antiquity. 

If we pursue our journey half a mile Farther along this lane, which bythe way is scarcely passable, it will bring us to

HOGG'S-MOAT. 

At Oltenend (Old Town) originally Odingsell's-moat, now Hobb's-moat, theancient manor-house of Solihull, after it had changed its lords at theconquest. The property, as before observed, of Edwin Earl of Mercia, inthe reign of Edward the the Confessor. 

William the First granted the manor to a favourite lady, named Cristina, probably a handsome lass, of the same complexion as his mother; thus weerr when we say William gave all the land in the kingdom to hisfollowers--some little was given to those _he_ followed. 

This lady, like many of her successors, having tired the arms ofroyalty, was conveyed into those of an humble favourite; Ralph deLimesie married her, who became lord of the place, but despisingUlverley, erected this castle. 

The line of Limesie continued proprietors four descents; when, in thereign of King John, it became the property of Hugh de Odingsells, bymarrying a co-heiress. 

The last of the Odingsells, in 1294, left four daughters, one of whom, with the lordship, fell into the hands of John de Clinton; but it isprobable the castle was not inhabited after the above date, thereforewould quickly fall to decay. 

The moat is upon a much larger plan than Ulverley, takes in a compass offive acres, had two trenches; the outer is nearly obliterated, but theinner is marked with the strongest lines we meet with. This trench isabout twenty feet deep, and about thirty yards from the crown of onebank to the other. 

When Dugdale saw it, about a hundred and fifty years ago, the center, which is about two acres, where the castle stood, was covered with oldoaks; round this center are now some thousands, the oldest of which isnot more than a century; so that the timber is changed since the days ofDugdale, but not the appearance of the land. 

The center is bare of timber, and exhibits the marks of the plough. Thelate Benjamin Palmer, Esq; a few years ago, planted it with trees, whichare in that dwindling state, that they are not likely to grow so tall astheir master[7]. 

[Footnote 7: He measured about six feet five inches, but was singularlyshort in the lower parts: his step was not larger than a child's of tenyears old. His carriage, by its extraordinary height, looked at adistance like a moving steeple; he sat as high in a common chair, as aman of the middle-size stands: he was as immoderately heavy as he wastall, and as remarkable for good-nature as either. As a man, he shone byhis bulk; as a magistrate, in a dull but honest light--his decisionswere _intended_ to be just. He seemingly dozed as he walked; but if hisown eyes were half shut, those of every other person were open tosee him. ]

It lies in a pleasant situation, upon a descent, so that the trench inone part is dry, and in another three or four yards deep in water. 

A place of such desolation, one would think, was a place ofsilence--just the reverse. When I saw it, Feb. 23, 1783, the trees weretall, the winds high, and the roar tremendous. 

Exclusive of Ulverley and Hogg's-moat, there are many old foundations inSolihull, once the residence of gentry now extinct; as Solihull-hall, the Moat-house, and Kynton, the property of the Botolers; Bury-hall, that of the Warings; who both came over with William: Henwood, belongingto the Hugfords; Hillfield-hall, the ancient seat of the Greswolds, asMalvern was their modern. 

YARDLEY. 

At Yardley church, four miles east of Birmingham, is _The Moat_, now apasture; the trench still retains its water, as a remembrance of itsformer use. 

This was anciently the property of the Allestrees, lords of Witton; butabout thirty years ago, the building and the family expired together. 

KENT'S-MOAT. 

One mile farther east is Kent's-moat, in which no noise is heard but thesinging of birds, as if for joy that their enemy is fled, and they haveregained their former habitation. 

This is situate on an eminence, like that of Park-hall, is capacious, has but one trench, supplied by its own springs; and, like that, ascomplete as earth and water can make it. 

This was part of Coleshill, and vested in the crown before the conquest, but soon after granted with that to Clinton, who gave it with a daughterto Verdon; and he, with another, to Anselm de Scheldon, who kept it tillthe reign of Edward the Third: it afterwards passed through severalfamilies, till the reign of Henry the Seventh, when it came into that ofDe Gray, Earl of Kent, whence the name; though, perhaps, the works wereerected by Scheldon. 

It is now, with Coleshill, the property of Lord Digby; but the buildinghas been so long gone, that tradition herself has lost it. 

SHELDON. 

One mile east is Sheldon-hall, which anciently bore the name ofEast-hall, in contradistinction from Kent's-moat, which was West-hall. This, in 1379, was the property of Sir Hugh le Despenser, afterwards ofthe family of Devereux, ancestor of the present Viscount Hereford, whoresided here till about 1710. In 1751, it was purchased by John Taylor, Esq; and is now possessed by his tenant. 

The moat, like others on an eminence, has but one trench, fed by theland springs; is filled up in the front of the hall, as there is notmuch need of water protection. The house, which gives an idea of formergentility, seems the first erected on the spot; is irregular, agreeableto the taste of the times, and must have been built many centuries. Allthe ancient furniture fled with its owners, except an hatchment in thehall, with sixteen coats of arms, specifying the families into whichthey married. 

KING'S-HURST. 

Two furlongs east of Sheldon-hall, and one mile south of CastleBromwich, is _Kings-hurst_; which, though now a dwelling in tenancy, was once the capital of a large track of land, consisting of its ownmanor, Coleshill, and Sheldon; the demesne of the crown, under the Saxonkings, from whom we trace the name. 

The Conqueror, or his son William, granted it; but whether for money, service, caprice, or favour, is uncertain; for he who wears a crown actsas whimsically as he who does not. 

Mountfort came over with William, as a knight, and an officer of rank;but, perhaps, did not immediately receive the grant, for the king wouldact again much like other people, _give away their property, before hewould give away his own_. 

If this unfortunate family were not the first grantees, they were lords, and probably residents of King's-hurst, long before their possession ofColeshill, in 1332, and by a younger branch, long after the unhappyattainder of Sir Simon, in 1497. 

Sir William Mountfort, in 1390, augmented the buildings, erected achapel, and inclosed the manor. His grandson, Sir Edmund, in 1447, paledin some of the land, and dignified it with the fashionable nameof _park_. 

This prevailing humour of imparking was unknown to the Saxons, it creptin with the Norman: some of the first we meet with are those ofNottingham, Wedgnock, and Woodstock--Nottingham, by William Peveral, illegitimate son of the Conqueror; Wedgnock, by Newburg, the firstNorman Earl of Warwick; and Woodstock, by Henry the First. So that theDuke of Marlborough perhaps may congratulate himself with possessing theoldest park in use. 

The modern park is worth attention; some are delightful in the extreme:they are the beauties of creation, terrestrial paradises; they are justwhat they ought to be, nature cautiously assisted by invisible art. Weenvy the little being who presides over one--but why mould we envy him?the pleasure consists in _seeing_, and one man may _see_ as well asanother: nay, the stranger holds a privilege beyond him; for theproprietor, by often seeing, sees away the beauties, while he who looksbut seldom, sees with full effect. Besides, one is liable to be frettedby the mischievous hand of injury, which the stranger seldom sees; helooks for excellence, the owner for defect, and they both find. 

These proud inclosures, guarded by the growth within, first appearedunder the dimension of one or two hundred acres; but fashion, emulation, and the park, grew up together, till the last swelled into one ortwo thousand. 

If religions rise from the lowest ranks, the fashions generally descendfrom the higher, who are at once blamed, and imitated by theirinferiors. 

The highest orders of men lead up a fashion, the next class tread upontheir heels, the third quickly follow, then the fourth, fifth, &c. Immediately figure after them. But as a man who had an inclination for apark, could not always spare a thousand acres, he must submit to less, for a park must be had: thus Bond, of Ward-end, set up with thirty; somewith one half, till the very word became a burlesque upon the idea. Thedesign was a display of lawns, hills, water, clumps, &c. As if orderedby the voice of nature; and furnished with herds of deer. But some ofour modern parks contain none of these beauties, nor scarcely landenough to support a rabbit. 

I am possessed of one of these jokes of a park, something less than anacre:--he that has none, might think it a _good_ joke, and wish it hisown; he that has more would despise it: that it never was larger, appears from its being surrounded by Sutton Coldfield; and that it hasretained the name for ages, appears from the old timber upon it. 

The manor of King's-hurst was disposed of by the Mountforts, about twohundred years ago, to the Digbys, where it remains. 

COLESHILL. 

One mile farther east is _Coleshill-hall_, vested in the crown before, and after the conquest; purchased, perhaps, of William Rufus, byGeoffrey de Clinton, ancestor to the present Duke of Newcastle. In 1352, an heiress of the house of Clinton, gave it, with herself, to Sir Johnde Mountfort, of the same family with Simon, the great Earl ofLeicester, who fell, in 1265, at Evesham, in that remarkable contestwith Henry the Third. 

With them it continued till 1497, when Sir Simon Mountfort, charged, butperhaps unjustly, with assisting Perkin Warbeck with 30_l_. Was broughtto trial at Guildhall, condemned as a traitor, executed at Tyburn, hislarge fortune confiscated, and his family ruined. Some of hisdescendants I well know in Birmingham; and _they_ are well known topoverty, and the vice. 

In the reign of Henry the Seventh, it was almost dangerous, particularlyfor a rich man, even to _think_ against a crafty and avariciousmonarch. --What is singular, the man who accused Sir Simon at the bar, succeeded him in his estate. 

Simon Digby procured a grant of the place, in whose line it stillcontinues. The hall is inhabited, but has been left about thirty yearsby the family; was probably erected by the Mountforts, is extensive, andits antique aspect without, gives a venerable pleasure to the beholder, like the half admitted light diffused within. Every spot of the park isdelightful, except that in which the hall stands: our ancestors built inthe vallies, for the sake of water; their successors on the hills, forthe sake of air. 

From this uncouth swamp sprung the philosopher, the statesman, andtradition says, the gunpowder-plot. 

DUDDESTON. 

Four furlongs north-east of Birmingham, is _Duddeston_ (Dud's-town) fromDud, the Saxon proprietor, Lord of Dudley, who probably had a seat here;once a considerable village, but long reduced to the manor-house, tillBirmingham, swelling beyond its bounds, in 1764, verged upon thislordship; and we now, in 1783, behold about eighty houses, under thenames of Duke-street, Prospect-row, and Woodcock-lane. 

It afterwards descended to the Paganalls, the Sumeris, then to theBottetourts, and was, in 1323, enjoyed by Joan Bottetourt, lady ofWeoley castle, a daughter of the house of Sumeri. 

Sir Thomas de Erdington held it of this lady, by a chief-rent, which wasa pair of gilt spurs, or six-pence, at the option of the tenant. 

Erdington sold it, in 1327, to Thomas de Maidenhache, by whose daughter, Sibell, it came in marriage to Adam de Grymforwe; whose posterity, in1363, conveyed it for 26_l_. 13s. 4d. Now worth 20, 000_l_. To John atteHolt; and his successors made it their residence, till the erection ofAston-hall, in the reign of James I. 

It is now converted into beautiful gardens, as a public resort ofpleasure, and dignified with the London name of Vauxhall. The demolishedfish-ponds, and the old foundations, which repel the spade, declare itsformer grandeur. 

In 1782 it quitted, by one of the most unaccountable alignments thatever resulted from human weakness, the ancient name of Holte, familiarduring four hundred and nineteen years, for that of Legge. 

Could the ghost of Sir Lister re-visit his departed property, one mightask, What reception might you meet with, Sir Lister, in 1770, among yourvenerable ancestors in the shades, for barring, unprovoked, an infantheiress of 7000_l_. A year, and giving it, unsolicited, to a stranger?Perhaps you experience repeated buffetings; a sturdy figure, with ironaspect, would be apt to accost you--"I with nervous arm, and many abended back, drew 40_l_. From the Birmingham forge, with which, in 1330, I purchased the park and manor of Nechels, now worth four hundred timesthat sum. I planted that family which you have plucked up by the roots:in the sweat of my brow, I laid a foundation for greatness; many of mysuccessors built on that foundation--but you, by starving your brother, Sir Charles, into compliance, wantonly cut off the entail, and gave awaythe estate, after passing through seventeen descents, merely to shew youhad a power to give it. We concluded here, that a son of his daughter, the last hope of the family, would change his own name to preserve ours, and not the estate change its possessor. "--"I, " another would be apt tosay, "with frugal hand, and lucrative employments under the crown, added, in 1363, the manor of Duddeston; and, in 1367, that of Alton. Butfor what purpose did I add them? To display the folly of asuccessor. "--A dejected spectre would seem to step forward, whose facecarried the wrinkles of eighty-four, and the shadow of tear; "I, in1611, brought the title of baronet among us, first tarnished by you;which, if your own imbecility could not procure issue to support, youought to have supported it by purchase. I also, in 1620, erected themansion at Afton, then, and even now, the most superb in thatneighbourhood, fit to grace the leading title of nobility; but youforbad my successors to enter. I joined, in 1647, to our vast fortune, the manor of Erdington. --Thus the fabric we have been rearing for ages, you overthrew in one fatal moment. "--The last angry spectre would appearin the bloom of life. "I left you an estate which you did not deserve:you had no more right to leave it from your successor, than I to leaveit from you: one man may ruin the family of another, but he seldom ruinshis own. We blame him who wrongs his neighbour, but what does he deservewho wrongs himself?--You have done both, for by cutting off thesuccession, your name will be lost. The ungenerous attorney, instead ofmaking your absurd will, ought to have apprized you of our sentiments, which exactly coincide with those of the world, or how could the taleaffect a stranger? Why did not some generous friend guide your crazyvessel, and save a sinking family? Degenerate son, he who destroys thepeace of another, should forfeit his own--we leave you to remorse, mayshe quickly _find, and weep over you_. "

SALTLEY. 

A mile east of Duddeston is _Saltley-hall_, which, with an extensivetrack of ground, was, in the Saxon times, the freehold of a person whomwe should now call Allen; the same who was Lord of Birmingham. But atthe conquest, when justice was laid asleep, and property possessed byhim who could seize it, this manor, with many others, fell into thehands of William Fitz-Ausculf, Baron of Dudley-castle, who granted it inknight's-service to Henry de Rokeby. 

A daughter of Rokeby carried it by marriage to Sir John Goband, whosedescendants, in 1332, sold it to Walter de Clodshale; an heiress ofClodshale, in 1426, brought it into the ancient family of Arden, and adaughter of this house, to that of Adderley, where it now rests. 

The castle, I have reason to think, was erected by Rokeby, in which allthe lords resided till the extinction of the Clodshales. --It has beengone to ruin about three hundred years, and the solitary platform seemsto mourn its loss. 

WARD-END. 

Three miles from Birmingham, in the same direction, is _Wart-end_, anciently _Little Bromwich_; a name derived from the plenty of broom, and is retained to this day by part of the precincts, _Broomford_(Bromford). 

This manor was claimed by that favourite of the conqueror, Fitz-Ausculf, and granted by him to a second-hand favourite, who took its name. 

The old castle has been gone about a century; the works are nearlycomplete, cover about nine acres, the most capacious in thisneighbourhood, those of Weoley-castle excepted. The central area is nowan orchard, and the water, which guarded the castle, guards the fruit. This is surrounded with three mounds, and three trenches, one of themfifty yards over, which, having lost its master, guards the fish. 

The place afterwards passed through several families, till the reign ofHenry the Seventh. One of them bearing the name of _Ward_, changed thename to _Ward-end_. 

In 1512, it was the property of John Bond, who, fond of his littlehamlet, inclosed a park of thirty acres, stocked it with deer; and, in1517, erected a chapel for the conveniency of his tenants, being twomiles from the parish church of Afton. The skeleton of this chapel, inthe form of a cross, the fashion of the times, is yet standing on theoutward mound: its floor is the only religious one I have seen laid withhorse-dung; the pulpit is converted into a manger--it formerly furnishedhusks for the man, but now corn for the horse. Like the first christianchurch, it has experienced a double use, a church and a stable; but withthis difference, _that_ in Bethlehem, was a stable advanced into achurch; this, on the contrary, is reduced into a stable. 

The manor, by a female, passed through the Kinardsleys, and is nowpossessed by the Brand-woods; but the hall, erected in 1710, and itsenvirons, are the property of Abraham Spooner, Esq. 

CASTLE BROMWICH. 

Simply _Bromwich_, because the soil is productive of broom. 

My subject often leads me back to the conquest, an enterprize, wildwithout parallel: we are astonished at the undertaking, because Williamwas certainly a man of sense, and a politician. Harold, his competitor, was a prince much superior in power, a consummate general, and belovedby his people. The odds were so much against the invader, that out ofone hundred such imprudent attempts, ninety-nine would miscarry: all theexcuse in his favour is, _it succeeded_. Many causes concurred in thissuccess, such as his own ambition, aided by his valour; the desperatefortune of his followers, very few of whom were men of property, for tothe appearance of gentlemen, they added the realities of want; asituation to which any change is thought preferable; but, above all, _chance_. A man may dispute for religion, he may contend for liberty, hemay run for his life, but he will _fight_ for property. 

By the contest between William and Harold, the unhappy English lost allthey had to lose; and though this all centered in the Normans, they didnot acquire sufficient to content them. 

History does not inform us who was then the proprietor of CastleBromwich, but that it belonged to the Mercian Earls scarcely admits adoubt; as Edwin owned some adjoining manors, he probably owned this. Fitz-Ausculf was his fortunate successor, who procured many lordships inthe neighhood of Birmingham; Castle Bromwich was one. He granted it toan inferior Norman, in military tenure; who, agreeable to the fashion ofthose times, took the surname of Bromwich. 

Henry de Castel was a subsequent proprietor. Dugdale supposes thevillage took its name from a castle, once on the premises; and that thecastle-hill yet remains: but this hill is too small, even to admit ashelter for a Lilliputian, and is evidently an artificial trifle, designed for a monument. It might hold, for its ancient furniture, aturret, termed a castle--perhaps it held nothing in Dugdale's time: themodern is a gladiator, in the attitude of fighting, supported by apedestal, containing the Bridgeman arms. 

_Castle_, probably, was added by the family of that name, lords of theplace, to distinguish it from _woody_ and _little_ Bromwich. They borefor their arms, three castles and a chevron. 

Lord Ferrers of Chartley, who was proprietor of Birmingham in the reignof Henry the Sixth, enjoyed it by marriage; and his grand daughterbrought it, by the same channel, into the family of Devereux, Lords ofSheldon. Edward, about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth's reign, erected the present building, which is capacious, is in a stile betweenancient and modern, and has a pleasing appearance. 

The Bridgeman family acceded to possession about eighty years ago, bypurchase, and made it their residence till about 1768. We shouldnaturally enquire, Why Sir Harry quitted a place so delightfullysituated? Perhaps it is not excelled in this country, in the junction ofthree great roads, a a desirable neighbourhood, the river Tame at itsback, and within five miles of the plentiful market of Bimingham--but, alas, _it has no park_. 

The gentry seem to have resided in our vicinity, when there was thegreatest inducement to leave it, _impassable roads_: they seem also tohave quitted the country, now there is the greatest inducement to residethere; roads, which improve their estates, and may be travelled withpleasure. It may be objected, that "the buildings become ancient. " Butthere is no more disgrace in an old house, than in an old man; they mayboth be dressed in character, and look well. A gentleman, by residing inthe family seat, pays a compliment to his ancestors. 

PARK-HALL. 

Six miles north-east of Birmingham, and one from Castle Bromwich chapel, is a spacious moat, with one trench, which, for many centuries guarded_Park-hall_. This is another of those desolate islands, from which everycreature is fled, and every sound, except that of the winds; nay, eventhe very clouds seem to lament the desolation with tears. 

This was possessed by none but the Ardens, being part of their vastestate long before the conquest, and five hundred years after. Adelightful situation on the banks of the Tame; to which we are ledthrough a dirty road. 

We may consider this island, the treasury into which forty-six lordshipspaid their tribute. The riches of the country were drawn to this center, and commands were issued from it. The growth of these manors suppliedthat spot, which now grows for another. The lordships are in forty-sixhands; the country is in silence; the island ploughed up, and the familydistressed--At the remembrance of their name, the smile quits the faceof history; she records their sad tale with a sigh; while their armsare yet displayed in some of the old halls in the neighbourhood. 

BERWOOD. 

Crossing the river, one mile farther east, is _Berwood-hall_, where theforsaken moat, at this day, guards--nothing. This, with the manor towhich it belongs, was also the property of the Ardens; one of which inthe reign of Henry the Second, granted it to the canons of Leicester;who added a chapel, which went to decay four hundred years ago. Afterthe grant, the Ardens seem to have become tenants to the canons for theland, once their own: we frequently observe a man pay rent for what he_sells_, but seldom for what he _gives_. 

At the dissolution of abbies, in 1537, Thomas Arden, the head of thefamily, purchased it of Henry the Eighth, for 272_l_. 10s. Uniting itagain to his estate, after a separation of three hundred and fiftyyears, in whose posterity it continued till their fall. 

Thus, the father first purchased what the son gave away, and hisoffspring re-purchased again. The father lays a tax on his successor;or, climbs to heaven at the expence of the son. In one age it ismeritorious to _give_ to the church, in another, to _take_ from her. 

ERDINGTON. 

Three miles north-east of Birmingham, is _Erdington-hall_, which boastsa long antiquity. The manor was the property of the old Earls of Mercia:Edwin possessed it at the conquest, but lost it in favour of WilliamFitz-Ausculf, who no doubt granted it in knight's service to his friendand relation, of Norman race, who erected the hall; the moat, took hisresidence in, and his name Erdington, from the place. His descendantsseem to have resided here with great opulence near 400 years. 

Dugdale mentions a circumstance of Sir Thomas de Erdington, littlenoticed by our historians. He was a faithful adherent to King John, whoconferred on him many valuable favours: harrassed by the Pope on oneside, and his angry Barons on the other, he privately sent Sir Thomas toMurmeli, the powerful King of Africa, Morocco, and Spain; with offersto forsake the christian faith, turn mahometan, deliver up his kingdom, and hold it of him in tribute, for his assistance against his enemies. But it does not appear the ambassador succeeded: the Moorish Monarch didnot chuse to unite his prosperous fortune with that of a random prince;he might also consider, the man who could destroy his nephew and hissovereign, could not be an honour to any profession. 

The manor left the Erdington family in 1472, and, during a course of 175years, acknowledged for its owners, George Plantagenet, Duke ofClarence, Sir William Harcourt, Robert Wright, Sir Reginald Bray, Francis Englefield, Humphry Dimock, Walter Earl, Sir Walter Devereux, and was, in 1647, purchased by Sir Thomas Holte, in whose family itcontinued till 1782, when Henage Legge, Esq; became seised of the manor. 

As none of the Lords seem to have resided upon the premises since thedeparture of the Erdingtons, it must be expected they have graduallytended to decay. 

We may with some reason conclude, that as Erdington was the freehold ofthe Earls of Mercia, it was not the residence of its owners, thereforecould not derive its name from them. That as the word _Arden_ signifiesa wood, the etymology of that populous village is, _a town in the wood_. That one of the first proprietors, after the conquest, struck with thesecurity offered by the river, erected the present fortifications, whichcover three parts of the hall, and the river itself the fourth. Hence itfollows, that the neighbouring work, which we now call Bromford-forge, was a mill prior to the conquest; because the stream is evidently turnedout of its bed to feed it. That the present hall is the second on thepremises, and was erected by the Erdingtons, with some later additions. 

PIPE. 

One mile north-east of Erdington, is _Pipe-hall_; which, with its manor, like the neighbouring land, became at the conquest the property ofFitz-Ausculf; and afterwards of his defendants, Paganall, Sumeri, Bottetort, and St. Leger. 

It was common at that fatal period, for one of these great barons, orrather great robbers, to procure a large quantity of land for himself;some of them two or three hundred thousand acres--too much for one manto grasp. He therefore kept what he pleased for his private use, andgranted the other in knight's-service, reserving annually a rent. Theserents were generally small, so as never to hurt the tenant: however, thelord could order him to arms whenever he pleased. 

A few of the grants were procured by the disinherited English, butchiefly by the officers of William's army, being more respected, andmore proper to be trusted: they were often relations, or favourites ofthe great barons. The lord could not conveniently sell, without theconsent of the crown, but he could set at what price he pleased. Timemade this chief-rent permanent, and gave the tenant stability of title. 

The manor of Pipe, with some others, was granted to William Mansell, whoresided in the hall, and executed some of the chief offices ofthe county. 

The last of the name, in the reign of Henry the Third, left a daughter, who married Henry de Harcourt; and his daughter married John de Pipe, who seems to have taken its name. 

Henry, his descendant, had many children, all of whom, with his lady, died of the plague, except a daughter, Margery. He afterwards married, in 1363, Matilda, the daughter of George de Castell, of Castle Bromwich;but soon after the happy wedding, he perceived his bride was pregnant, which proved, on enquiry, the effect of an intrigue with her father'smenial servant; a striking instance of female treachery, which can onlybe equalled by--male. 

The shock proving too great for his constitution, brought on a decline, and himself to the grave, before the birth of the child. 

John was the fruit of this unlawful amour, whose guardian, to preventhis inheriting the estate, made him a canon of Ouston, inLeicestershire; and afterwards persuaded the unhappy Margery to grantthe manor to the abbot of Stonely. 

Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, afterwards purchased it for133_l_. 6s. 8d. It came to the crown by attainder, in the reign of Henrythe Seventh; then to Sir William Staunford, one of his judges, JohnButtler; Edward Holte, in 1568; Francis Dimock, whose daughter marriedWalter Earl; then to Walter Devereux, by marrying Earl's daughter;afterwards to Sir Thomas Holte, by purchase; and is now in the familyof Bagot. 

Though the hall is antique, its front is covered in the modern barbarousstile, by a clump of venerable trees; which would become any situationbut that in which they stand. It is now inhabited by a gentleman ofBirmingham, who has experienced the smiles of commerce. 

ASTON. 

Two miles north of Birmingham, is Aston (East-town) being east ofWestbury (Wednesbury) it lies on a steep descent towards the river Tame. 

This place, like that of Erdington, belonged to the Earls of Mercia inthe Saxon times; and, at the conquest, was the property of theunfortunate Edwin. Fitz-Ausculf became his successor in this, and inother lands: the survey calls it eight hides, valued at 5_l_. Per annum;a mill, 3s. And a wood, three miles long, and half a mile broad. Themill, I make no doubt, stood where a mill now stands, nearSawford-bridge; but neither the hides, nor the wood, could be confinedwithin the boundary of Afton; the manor is too little for either. Thelordship extends about a square mile, and that part which is now thepark, I have reason to think, was then a common, and for ages after. 

A Saxon, of the name of Godmund, held it under the Mercian Earls, andfound means, at the conquest, to hold it under the Norman. 

One hundred yards north of the church, in a perfect swamp, stood thehall; probably erected by Godmund, or his family: the situation shewsthe extreme of bad taste--one would think, he endeavoured to lay hishouse under the water. The trenches are obliterated by the floods, so asto render the place unobserved by the stranger: it is difficult to chusea worse, except he had put his house under the earth. I believe therenever was more than one house erected on the spot, and that was onetoo much. 

Whether this Saxon family of Godmund became extinct, or had lost theirright, is uncertain; but Sumeri, Fitz-Ausculf's successor, about 1203, granted the manor to Sir Thomas de Erdington, Ambassador to King John, mentioned before, who had married his sister; paying annually a pair ofspurs, or six-pence, as a nominal rent, but meant, in reality, as aportion for the lady. 

The family of Erdington, about 1275, sold it to Thomas de Maidenhache, who did not seem to live upon friendly terms with his neighbour, Williamde Birmingham; for, in 1290, he brought an action against him forfishing in his water, called Moysich (Dead-branch) leading into Tame, towards Scarford-bridge (Shareford, dividing the shares, or parts of theparish, Aston manor from Erdington, now Sawford-bridge) which implies adegree of unkindness; because William could not amuse himself in his ownmanor of Birmingham, for he might as well have angled in one of hisstreets, as in the river Rea. The two lords had, probably, four yearsbefore been on friendly terms, when they jointly lent their assistanceto the hospital of St. Thomas, in Birmingham. 

Maidenhache left four daughters; Sibel, married Adam de Grymsorwe, whotook with her the manor of Aston; a daughter of this house, in 1367, sold it to John atte Holte, of Birmingham, in whose family it continued415 years, till 1782, when Henage Legge, Esq; acceded to possession. 

This wretched bog was the habitation of all the lords, from Godmund tothe Holtes, the Erdington's excepted; for Maud Grymsorwe executing theconveyance at Aston, indicates that she resided there; and Thomas Holte, being possessed of Duddeston, proves that he did not: therefore Iconclude, that the building, as it ought, went to decay soon after; sothat desolation has claimed the place for her own near four hundredyears. This is corroberated by some old timber trees, long since uponthe spot where the building stood. 

The extensive parish of Aston takes in the two extremes of Birmingham, which supplies her with more christenings, weddings, and burials, thanwere, a few years ago, supplied by the whole parish of Birmingham. 

WITTON. 

Three miles north of Birmingham, and one from Aston, is _Witton_, (Wicton) from the bend of the river, according to Dugdale: the propertyof a person at the conquest whose name was Staunchel. Fitz-Ausculfseized it, and Staunchel, more fortunate than the chief of his countrymen, became his tenant; valued in the conqueror's survey at 20s. Per ann. 

It was afterwards vested in the crown: in 1240, Henry the third grantedit to Andrew de Wicton, who took his name from the place, for inDooms-day it is Witone; therefore the name being prior, provesthe remark. 

Andrew, anxious after the boundary of his new purchase, brought anaction against his neighbour, William de Pyrie (Perry) for infringinghis property. Great disputes arise from small beginnings; perhaps alawyer blew the flame. 

The king issued his precept to the Sheriff of Staffordshire, in whichPerry lies, to bring with him twelve lawful and discreet knights; andthe same to the Sheriff of Warwickshire, of which Witton is part, toascertain the bounds between them. 

Which was the aggressor, is hard to determine, but I should rathersuppose Squire Perry, because _man_ is ever apt to trespass; he residedon the premises, and the crown is but a sleepy landlord; not so likelyto rob, as be robbed. 

There is a road, where foot seldom treads, mounded on each side, leadingover the Coldfield, from Perry-bridge towards the Newlands, undoubtedlythe work of this venerable band of discreet knights. 

The stranger, of course, would deem the property between the contendingparties, of great value, which, twenty-four of the principal charactersof the age, the flower of two counties, marshalled by two chiefofficers, were to determine. But what will he think of the quarrelsomespirit of the times, when, I tell him, it was only a few acres, whichis, even at this day, waste land, and scarcely worth owning by either. 

In 1290, Witton was the property of William Dixley; in 1340, that ofRichard de Pyrie, descendant of him, who, a hundred years before, heldthe contest. In 1426, Thomas East, of Hay-hall, in Yardley, was owner;who sold it to John Bond, of Ward-end, of whose descendants WilliamBooth purchased it, in 1620: an heiress of Booth brought it by marriageto Allestree, of Yardley, who enjoyed it in our days; it was sold toJohn Wyrley, and is now possessed by George Birch, Esq; of Handsworth. 

The house, left by its owners, is in that low, or rather boggysituation, suitable to the fashion of those times. I can discover notraces of a moat, though there is every conveniency for one: We aredoubly hurt by seeing a house in a miserable hole, when joining anelegible spot. 

BLAKELEY. 

Five miles north-west of Birmingham, is _Blakely-hall_, the manor houseof Oldbury. If we see a venerable edifice without a moat, we cannot fromthence conclude, it was never the residence of a gentleman, but whereverwe find one, we may conclude it was. 

Anciently, this manor, with those of Smethwick and Harborn, belonged tothe family of Cornwallis, whose habitation was Blakeley-hall: thepresent building seems about 300 years old. 

The extinction of the male line, threw the property into the hands oftwo coheirs; one of whom married into the family of Grimshaw, the otherinto that of Wright, who jointly held it. The family of Grimshawfailing, Wright became then, and is now, possessed of the whole. 

I am unacquainted with the principal characters who acted the farce oflife on this island, but it has long been in the tenancy of a poorfarmer, who, the proprietor allured me, was _best_ able to stock theplace with children. In 1769, the Birmingham canal passing over thepremises, robbed the trench of its water. Whether it endangers thesafety is a doubt, for _poverty_ is the best security against violence. 

WEOLEY

Four miles west of Birmingham, in the parish of Northfield, are thesmall, but extensive ruins of _Weoley-castle_, whose appendages commanda track of seventeen acres, situate in a park of eighteen hundred. 

These moats usually extend from half an acre to two acres, are generallysquare, and the trenches from eight yards over to twenty. 

This is large, the walls massy; they form the allies of a garden, andthe rooms, the beds; the whole display the remains of excellentworkmanship. One may nearly guess at a man's consequence, even after alapse of 500 years, by the ruins of his house. 

The steward told me, "they pulled down the walls as they wanted thestone. " Unfeeling projectors: there is not so much to pull down. Doesnot time bring destruction fast enough without assistance? The headwhich cannot contemplate, offers its hand to destroy. The insensibletaste, unable itself to relish the dry fruits of antiquity, throws themaway to prevent another. May the fingers _smart_ which injure thevenerable walls of Dudley, or of Kenilworth. Noble remains of ancientgrandeur! copious indexes, that point to former usage! We survey themwith awful pleasure. The mouldering walls, as if ashamed of their humblestate, hide themselves under the ivies; the generous ivies, as ifconscious of the precious relics, cover them from the injuries of time. 

When land frequently undergoes a conveyance, necessity, we suppose, isthe lot of the owner, but the lawyer fattens: _To have and to hold_ arewords of singular import; they charm beyond music; are the quintessenceof language; the leading figure in rhetoric. But how would he fare ifland was never conveyed? He must starve upon quarrels. 

Instances may be given of land which knows no title, except those ofconquest and descent: Weoley Castle comes nearly under thisdescription. _To sign, seal, and deliver_, were wholly unknown to ourancestors. Could a Saxon freeholder rise from the dead, and visit theland, once his own, now held by as many writings as would half spreadover it, he might exclaim, "Evil increases with time, and parchment withboth. You deprive the poor of their breeches; I covered the ground withsheep, you with their skins; I thought, as you were at variance withFrance, Spain, Holland, and America, those numerous deeds were a heap ofdrum heads, and the internal writing, the _articles of war_. In oneinstance, however, there is a similarity between us; we unjustly tookthis land from the Britons, you as unjustly took it from us; and a timemay come, when another will take it from you. Thus, the Spaniardsfounded the Peruvian empire in butchery, now tottering towards a fall;you, following their example, seized the northern coast of America; youneither bought it nor begged it, you took it from the natives; and thusyour children, the Americans, with equal violence, have taken it fromyou: No law binds like that of arms. The question has been, whether theyshall pay taxes? which, after a dispute of eight years, was lost inanother, _to whom_ they shall pay taxes? The result, in a future daywill be, domestic struggles for sovereignty will stain the groundwith blood. "

When the proud Norman cut his way to the throne, his imperious followersseized the lands, kicked out the rightful possessors, and treated themwith a dignity rather beneath that practiced to a dog. --This is the mostsummary title yet discovered. 

Northfield was the fee-simple of Alwold (Allwood) but, at the conquest, Fitz-Ausculf seized it, with a multitude of other manors: it does notappear that he granted it in knight's-service to the injured Allwood, but kept it for his private use, Paganall married his heiress, andSumeri married Paganall's, who, in the beginning of the 13th century, erected the castle. In 1322, the line of Sumeri expired. 

Bottetourt, one of the needy squires, who, like Sancho Panza, attendedWilliam his master, in his mad, but _fortunate_ enterprize, procuredlands which enabled him to _live_ in England, which was preferable tostarving in Normandy. His descendant became, in right of his wife, coheir of the house of Sumeri, vested in Weoley-castle. He had, in1307, sprung into peerage, and was one of our powerful barons, till1385, when the male line dropt. The vast estate of Bottetourt, was thendivided among females; Thomas Barkley, married the eldest, and thisancient barony was, in 1761, revived in his descendant, NorborneBarkley, the present Lord Bottetourt; Sir Hugh Burnel married another, and Sir John St. Leger a third. 

Weoley-castle was, for many years, the undivided estate of the threefamilies; but Edward Sutton, Lord Dudley, having married a daughter ofBarkley, became possessed of that castle, which was erected by Sumeri, their common ancestor, about nine generations before. 

In 1551, he sold it to William Jervoise, of London, mercer, whosedescendant, Jervoise Clark Jervoise, Esq; now enjoys it. 

Fond of ranging, I have travelled a circuit round Birmingham, withoutbeing many miles from it. I wish to penetrate farther from the center, but my subject forbids. _Having therefore finished my discourse, Ishall_, like my friends, the pulpitarians, many of whom, and of severaldenominations, are characters I revere, _apply what has been said_. 

We learn, that the land I have gone over, with the land I have not, changed its owners at the conquest: this shuts the door of inquiry intopedigree, the old families chiefly became extinct, and few of thepresent can be traced higher. --Destruction then overspread the kingdom. 

The seniors of every age exclaim against the growing corruption of thetimes: my father, and perhaps every father, dwelt on the propriety ofhis conduct in younger life, and placed it in counter-view with that ofthe following generation. However, while I knew him, it was much likeother people's--But I could tell him, that he gave us the bright side ofhis character; that he was, probably, a piece of human nature, as wellas his son; that nature varies but little, and that the age of Williamthe Conqueror was the most rascally in the British annals. One age maybe marked for the golden, another for the iron, but this for plunder. 

We farther learn, there is not one instance in this neighbourhood, wherean estate has continued till now in the male line, very few in thefemale. I am acquainted with only one family near Birmingham, whoseancestor entered with William, and who yet enjoy the land granted atthat period: the male line has been once broken--perhaps this land wasnever conveyed. They shone with splendour near six hundred years. In thesixteenth century, their estate was about 1400_l_. A year; great forthat time, but is now, exclusive of a few _pepper-corns_ and _redroses_, long since withered, reduced to one little farm, tilled forbread by the owner. This setting glympse of a shining family, is asindifferent about the matter, and almost as ignorant, as the teamhe drives. 

Lastly, we learn that none of the lords, as formerly, reside on theabove premises: that in four instances out of twenty-one, the buildingsare now as left by the lords, Sheldon, Coleshill, Pipe, and Blakeley:two have undergone some alteration, as Duddeston and Erdington: fiveothers are re-erected, as Black Greves, Ulverley, King's-hurst, CastleBromwich, and Witton; which, with all the above, are held in tenancy: ineight others all the buildings are swept away, and their moats leftnaked, as Hogg's-moat, Yardley, Kent's-moat, Saltley, Ward-end, Park-hall, Berwood, and Weoley; and in two instances the moatsthemselves are vanished, that of King's-norton is filled up to make wayfor the plough, and that of Aston demolished by the floods. Thus thescenes of hospitality and grandeur, become the scenes of antiquity, andthen disappear. 

SUTTON COLDFIELD. 

Though the topographical historian, who resides upon the premises, ismost likely to be correct; yet if _he_, with all his care, is apt to bemistaken, what can be expected from him who trots his horse over thescenes of antiquity?

I have visited, for twenty years, some singular places in thisneighbourhood, yet, without being master of their history; thus a manmay spend an age in conning his lesson, and never learn it. 

When the farmer observes me on his territories, he eyes me _ascance_;suspecting a design to purchase his farm, or take it out of hishands. --I endeavour to remove his apprehensions, by approaching him; andintroduce a conversation tending to my pursuit, which he understands aswell as if, like the sons of Jacob, I addressed him in Hebrew; yet, notwithstanding his total ignorance of the matter, he has sometimesdropt an accidental word, which has thrown more light on the subject, than all my researches for a twelvemonth. If an honest farmer, infuture, should see upon his premises a plumpish figure, five feet six, with one third of his hair on, a cane in his left hand, a glove uponeach, and a Pomeranian dog at his heels, let him fear no evil; his farmwill not be additionally tythed, his sheep worried, nor his hedgesbroken--it is only a solitary animal, in quest of a Roman phantom. 

Upon the north west extremity of Sutton Coldfield, joining the Chesterroad, is _The Bowen Pool_; at the tail of which, one hundred yards westof the road, on a small eminence, or swell of the earth, are the remainsof a fortification, called _Loaches Banks_; but of what use or originalis uncertain, no author having mentioned it. 

Four hundred yards farther west, in the same flat, is a hill of somemagnitude, deemed, by the curious, a tumolus--it is a common thing foran historian to be lost, but not quite so common to acknowledge it. Inattempting to visit this tumolus, I soon found myself in the center of amorass; and here, my dear reader might have seen the historian set fastin a double sense. I was obliged, for that evening, February 16, 1783, to retreat, as the sun had just done before me. I made my approachesfrom another quarter, April 13, when the hill appeared the work ofnature, upon too broad a base for a tumolus; covering about three acres, perfectly round, rising gradually to the center, which is about sixteenfeet above the level, surrounded by a ditch, perhaps made for someprivate purpose by the owner. 

The Roman tumoli were of two sorts, the small for the reception of ageneral, or great man, as that at Cloudsley-bush, near the High Cross, the tomb of Claudius; and the large, as at Seckington, near Tamworth, for the reception of the dead, after a battle: they are both of the sameshape, rather high than broad. That before us comes under thedescription of neither; nor could the dead well be conveyed overthe morass. 

The ground-plot, in the center of the fort, at Loaches Banks, is abouttwo acres, surrounded by three mounds, which are large, and threetrenches, which are small; the whole forming a square of four acres. Each corner directs to a cardinal point, but perhaps not with design;for the situation of the ground would invite the operator to chuse thepresent form. The north-west joins to, and is secured by the pool. 

As the works are much in the Roman taste, I might, at first view, deemit the residence of an opulent lord of the manor; but, the adjacentlands carrying no marks of cultivation, destroys the argument; it isalso too large for the fashion; besides, all these manorial foundationshave been in use since the conquest, therefore tradition assists thehistorian; but here, tradition being lost, proves the place of greaterantiquity. 

One might judge it of Danish extraction, but here again, tradition willgenerally lend her assistance; neither are the trenches large enough forthat people: of themselves they are no security, whether full or empty;for an active young fellow might easily skip from one bank to another. Nor can we view it as the work of some whimsical lord, to excite thewonder of the moderns; it could never pay for the trouble. We must, therefore, travel back among the ancient Britons, for a solution, andhere we shall travel over solid ground. 

It is, probably, the remains of a British camp, for near these premisesare Drude-heath (Druid's-heath) and Drude-fields, which we mayreasonably suppose was the residence of a British priest: the militarywould naturally shelter themselves under the wing of the church, and thepriest with the protection of the military. The narrowness of thetrenches is another proof of its being British; they exactly correspondwith the stile of that people. The name of the pool, _Bowen_, is ofBritish derivation, which is a farther proof that the work originatedfrom the Britons. They did not place their security so much in thetrenches, as in the mounds, which they barracaded with timber. This campis secured on three sides by a morass, and is only approachable on thefourth, that from the Coldfield. The first mound on this weak side, istwenty-four yards over, twice the size of any other; which, allowing anample security, is a farther evidence of its being British, andtradition being silent is another. 

PETITION FOR A CORPORATION. 

Every man upon earth seems fond of two things, riches and power: thisfondness necessarily springs from the heart, otherwise order wouldcease. Without the desire of riches, a man would not preserve what hehas, nor provide for the future. "My thoughts, " says a worthy christian, "are not of this world; I desire but one guinea to carry me through it. "Supply him with that guinea, and he wishes another, lest the firstshould be defective. 

If it is necessary a man mould possess property, it is just as necessaryhe should possess a power to protect it, or the world would quicklybully him out of it: this power is founded on the laws of his country, to which he adds, by way of supplement, bye-laws, founded upon his ownprudence. Those who possess riches, well know they are furnished withwings, and can scarcely be kept from flying. 

The man who has power to secure his wealth, seldom stops there; he, inturn, is apt to triumph over him who has less. Riches and power areoften seen to go hand in hand. 

Industry produces property; which, when a little matured, looks out forcommand; thus the inhabitants of Birmingham, who have generallysomething upon the anvil besides iron, near seventy years ago havingderived wealth from diligence, wished to derive power from charter;therefore, petitioned the crown that Birmingham might be erected into acorporation. Tickled with the title of alderman, dazzled with thesplendour of a silver mace, a furred gown, and a magisterial chair, theycould not see the interest of the place: had they succeeded, thatamazing growth would have been crippled, which has since astonished theworld, and those trades have been fettered which have proved thegreatest benefit. 

When a man loudly pleads for public good, we shrewdly suspect a privateemolument lurking beneath. There is nothing more detrimental to goodneighbourhood, than men in power, where power is unnecessary: free asthe air we breathe, we subsist by our freedom; no command is exercisedamong us, but that of the laws, to which every discreet citizen paysattention--the magistrate who distributes justice, tinctured with mercy, merits the thanks of society. A train of attendants, a white wand, and afew fiddles, are only the fringe, lace, and trappings ofcharteral office. 

Birmingham, exclusive of her market, ranks among the very lowest orderof townships; every petty village claims the honour of being aconstable-wick--we are no more. Our immunities are only the triflingprivileges anciently granted to the lords; and two thirds of these arelost. But, notwithstanding this seemingly forlorn state, perhaps thereis not a place in the British dominions, where so many people aregoverned by so few officers; nor a place better governed: pride, therefore, must have dictated the humble petition before us. 

I have seen a copy of this petition, signed by eighty-four of theinhabitants; and though without a date, seems to have been addressed toKing George the First, about 1716: it alledges, "That Birmingham is, oflate years, become very populous, from its great increase of trade; ismuch superior to any town in the county, and but little inferior to anyinland town in the kingdom: that it is governed only by a constable, andenjoys no more privileges than a village: that there is no justice ofpeace in the town; nor any in the neighbourhood, who dares act withvigour: that the country abounds with rioters, who, knowing the place tobe void of magistrates, assemble in it, pull down the meeting-houses, defy the king, openly avow the pretender, threaten the inhabitants, andoblige them to keep watch in their own houses: that the trade decays, and will stagnate, if not relieved. To remedy these evils, they beseechhis majesty to incorporate the town, and grant such privileges as willenable them to support their trade, the king's interest, and destroy thevillainous attempts of the jacobites. In consideration of the requestedcharter, they make the usual offering of _lives_ and _fortunes_". 

A petition and the petitioner, like Janus with his two faces, looksdifferent ways; it is often treated as if it said one thing, and meantanother; or as if it said any thing but truth. Its use, in some places, is to _lie on the table_. Our humble petition, by some means, met withthe fate it deserved. 

We may remark, a town without a charter, is a town without a shackle. Ifthere was then a necessity to erect a corporation, because the town waslarge, there is none now, though larger: the place was not bettergoverned a thousand years ago, when only a tenth of its presentmagnitude; it may also be governed as well a thousand years hence, if itshould swell to ten times its size. 

The _pride_ of our ancestors was hurt by a petty constable; the_interest_ of us, their successors, would be hurt by a mayor: a moresimple government cannot be instituted, or one more efficacious: that ofsome places is designed for parade, ours for use; and both answers theirend. A town governed by a multitude of governors, is the most likely tobe ill-governed. 

[Illustration: The New Brass Works]

BRASS WORKS. 

The manufacture of brass was introduced by the family of Turner, about1740, who erected those works at the south end of Coleshill-street;then, near two hundred yards beyond the buildings, but now the buildingsextend about five hundred beyond them. 

Under the black clouds which arose from this corpulent tunnel, some ofthe trades collected their daily supply of brass; but the major part wasdrawn from the Macclesfield, Cheadle, and Bristol companies. 

'Causes are known by their effects;' the fine feelings of the heart areeasily read in the features of the face: the still operations of themind, are discovered by the rougher operations of the hand. 

Every creature is fond of power, from that noble head of the creation, man, who devours man, down to that insignificant mite, who devours hischeese: every man strives to be free himself, and to shackle another. 

Where there is power of any kind, whether in the hands of a prince, apeople, a body of men, or a private person, there is a propensity toabuse it: abuse of power will everlastingly seek itself a remedy, andfrequently find it; nay, even this remedy may in time degenerate toabuse, and call loudly for another. 

Brass is an object of some magnitude, in the trades of Birmingham; theconsumption is said to be a thousand tons per annum. The manufacture ofthis useful article had long been in few, and opulent hands; who, instead of making the humble bow, for favours received, acted withdespotic sovereignty, established their own laws, chose their customers, directed the price, and governed the market. 

In 1780, the article rose, either through caprice, or necessity, perhapsthe _former_, from 72_l_. A ton to 84_l_. The result was, an advanceupon the goods manufactured, followed by a number of counter-orders, and a stagnation of business. 

In 1781, a person, from affection to the user, or resentment to themaker, perhaps, the _latter_, harangued the public in the weekly papers;censured the arbitrary measures of the brazen sovereigns, shewed theirdangerous influence over the trades of the town, and the easy manner inwhich works of our own might be constructed--good often arises out ofevil; this fiery match, dipt in brimstone, quickly kindled anotherfurnace in Birmingham. Public meetings were advertised, a committeeappointed, and subscriptions opened to fill two hundred shares, of100_l_. Each, deemed a sufficient capital: each proprietor of a share, to purchase one ton of brass, annually. Works were immediately erectedupon the banks of the canal, for the advantage of water carriage, andthe whole was conducted with the true spirit of Birmingham freedom. 

If a man can worm himself _into_ a lucrative branch, he will use everymethod to keep another _out_. All his powers may prove ineffectual; forif that other smells the sweet profits of the first, _he_ will endeavourto worm himself _in_: both may suffer by the contest, and the publicbe gainers. 

The old companies, which we may justly consider the directors of a southsea bubble in miniature, sunk the price from 84_l_. To 56_l_. Twoinferences arise from this measure; that their profits were once veryhigh, or are now very low; and, like some former monarchs, in the abuseof power, they repented one day too late. 

Schemes are generally proclaimed, _for public good!_ but as often meant, _for private interest_. --This, however, varied from that rule, andseemed less calculated to benefit those immediately, than those remotelyconcerned: they chose to sustain a smaller injury from making brass, than a greater from the makers. 

PRISON. 

If the subject is little, but little can be said upon it; I shall shineas dimly in this chapter on confinement, as in that on government. Thetraveller who sets out lame, will probably limp through the journey. 

Many of my friends have assured me, "That I must have experienced muchtrouble in writing the history of Birmingham. " But I assure them inreturn, that I range those hours among the happiest of my life; and partof that happiness may consist in delineating the bright side of humannature. Pictures of deformity, whether of body or of mind, disgust--themore they approach towards beauty, the more they charm. 

All the chapters which compose this work, were formed with pleasure, except the latter part of that upon _births and burials_; there, beingforced to apply to the parish books, I _figured_ with some obstruction. Poor _Allsop_, full of good-nature and affliction, fearful lest I shouldsap the church, could not receive me with kindness. When a man'sresources lie within himself, he draws at pleasure; but when necessitythrows him upon the parish, he draws in small sums, and with difficulty. 

I either _have_, or _shall_ remark, for I know not in what nich I shallexhibit this posthumous chapter, drawn like one of our sluggish bills, _three months after date_, "That Birmingham does not abound in villainy, equal to some other places: that the hand employed in business, has lesstime, and less temptation, to be employed in mischief; and that onemagistrate alone, corrected the enormities of this numerous people, many years before I knew them, and twenty-five after. " I add, that theancient lords of Birmingham, among their manorial privileges, had thegrant of a gallows, for capital punishment; but as there are no traceseven of the name, in the whole manor, I am persuaded no such thing wasever erected, and perhaps the _anvil_ prevented it. 

Many of the rogues among us are not of our own growth, but are drawnhither, as in London, to shelter in a crowd, and the easier in thatcrowd to pursue their game. Some of them fortunately catch, fromexample, the arts of industry, and become useful: others continue tocheat for one or two years, till frightened by the grim aspect ofjustice, they decamp. 

Our vile and obscure prison, termed _The Dungeon_, is a farther proofhow little that prison has been an object of notice, consequentlyof use. 

Anciently the lord of a manor exercised a sovereign power in his littledominion; held a tribunal on his premises, to which was annexed aprison, furnished with implements for punishment; these were claimed bythe lords of Birmingham. This crippled species of jurisprudence, whichsometimes made a man judge in his own cause, from which there was noappeal, prevailed in the highlands of Scotland, so late as the rebellionin 1745, when the peasantry, by act of parliament, were restoredto freedom. 

Early perhaps in the sixteenth century, when the house of Birmingham, who had been chief gaolers, were fallen, a building was erected, whichcovered the east end of New-street, called the Leather-hall: the upperpart consisted of a room about fifty feet long, where the publicbusiness of the manor was transacted. The under part was divided intoseveral: one of these small rooms was used for a prison: but about theyear 1728, _while men slept an enemy came_, a private agent to the lordof the manor, and erazed the Leather-hall and the Dungeon, erected threehouses on the spot, and received their rents till 1776, when the townpurchased them for 500_l_. To open the way. A narrow passage on thesouth will be remembered for half a century to come, by the name of the_dungeon-entry_. 

A dry cellar, opposite the demolished hall, was then appropriated for aprison, till the town of all bad places chose the worst, the bottom ofPeck-lane; dark, narrow, and unwholesome within; crowded with dwellings, filth and distress without, the circulation of air is prevented. 

As a growing taste for public buildings has for some time appeared amongus, we might, in the construction of a prison, unite elegance and use;and the west angle of that land between New-street and Mount-pleasant, might be suitable for the purpose; an airy spot in the junction of sixstreets. The proprietor of the land, from his known attachment toBirmingham, would, I doubt not, be much inclined to grant afavour. --Thus, I have expended ten _score_ words, to tell the world whatanother would have told them in _ten_--"That our prison is wretched, andwe want a better. "

CLODSHALES CHANTRY. 

It is an ancient remark, "The world is a farce. " Every generation, andperhaps every individual, acts a part in disguise; but when the curtainfalls, the hand of the historian pulls off the mask, and displays thecharacter in its native light. Every generation differs from the other, _yet all are right_. Time, fashion, and sentiment change together. Welaugh at the oddity of our fore-fathers--our successors will laughat us. 

The prosperous anvil of Walter de Clodshale, a native of this place, hadenabled him to acquire several estates in Birmingham, to purchase thelordship of Saltley, commence gentleman, and reside in the manor-house, now gone to decay, though its traces remain, and are termed by commonpeople, _the Giant's Castle_. This man, having well provided for the_present_, thought it prudent, at the close of life, to provide for the_future_: he therefore procured a licence, in 1331, from William deBirmingham, lord of the see, and another from the crown, to found achantry at the altar in St. Martin's church, for one priest, to pray forhis soul, and that of his wife. 

He gave, that he might be safely wafted into the arms of felicity, bythe breath of a priest, four houses, twenty acres of land, andeighteen-pence rent, issuing out of his estates in Birmingham. 

The same righteous motive induced his son Richard, in 1348, to grantfive houses, ten acres of land, and ten shillings rent, from theBirmingham estates, to maintain a second priest, who was to secure thesouls of himself and his wife. The declaration of Christ, in that piousage, seems to have been inverted; for instead of its being difficult fora rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, it was difficult for him tomiss it. We are not told what became of him who had nothing to give! Ifthe profits of the estate tended the right way, perhaps there was nogreat concern which way either _Walter_ or _Richard_ tended. 

The chantorial music continued two hundred and four years, till 1535, when Henry the Eighth closed the book, turned out the priests, who wereSir Thomas Allen and Sir John Green, and seized the property, valued at5_l_. 1s. Per annum. Permit me again to moralize upon this fashionablepractice of ruining the family, for the health of the soul: except somelawful creditor puts in a claim, which justice ought to allow, a son hasthe same right to an estate, after the death of his father, as thatfather had before him. 

Had Walter and Richard taken _equal_ care of their souls, and theirestate, the first might have been as safe as in the hands of a priest, and the last, at this day, have been the property of that ancient, andonce noble race of Arden, long since in distress; who, in 1426, marriedthe heiress of their house. --Thus, a family, benefited by the hammer, was injured by the church. 

Had the hands of these two priests ministered to their wants, in theconstruction of tents and fishing-nets, like those of theirpredecessors, St. Paul and St. Peter, though their pride would have beeneclipsed, their usefulness would have shone, and the world have beengainers by their labour. Two other lessons may be learnt from thislittle ecclesiastical history--

The astonishing advance of landed property in Birmingham: nine houses, and thirty acres of land, two hundred and fifty years ago, were valuedat the trifling rent of 4_l_. 9s. 6d. Per annum; one of the acres, orone of the houses, would at this day bring more. We may reasonablysuppose they were under-rated; yet, even then, the difference isamasing. An acre, within a mile of Birmingham, now sells for about onehundred pounds, and lets from three pounds to five, some as highas seven. 

And, the nation so overswarmed with ecclesiastics, that the spiritualhonours were quickly devoured, and the race left hungry; they thereforefastened upon the temporal--hence we boast of two knighted priests. 

OCCURRENCES. 

EARTHQUAKE, &c. 

It is a doctrine singular and barbarous, but it is nevertheless true, that _destruction is necessary_. Every species of animals would multiplybeyond their bounds in the creation, were not means devised to thintheir race. 

I perused an author in 1738, who asserts, "The world might maintainsixty times the number of its present inhabitants. " Two able disputants, like those in religion, might maintain sixty arguments on the subject, and like them, leave the matter where they found it. But if restraintwas removed, the present number would be multiplied into sixty, in muchless than one century. 

Those animals appropriated for use, are suffered, or rather invited, tomultiply without limitation. But _luxury_ cuts off the beast, the pig, the sheep, and the fowl, and ill treatment the horse: vermin of everykind, from the lion to the louse, are hunted to death; a perpetualcontest seems to exist between them and us; they for their preservation, and we for their extinction. The kitten and the puppy are cast _into_the water, to end their lives; _out_ of which the fishes are drawn toend theirs--animals are every were devoured by animals. 

Their grand governor, man himself, is under controul; some by religious, others by interested motives. Even the fond parent, seldom wishes toincrease the number of those objects, which of all others hevalues most!

In civilized nations the superior class are restrained by the laws ofhonour, the inferior by those of bastardy; but, notwithstanding theserestraints, the human race would increase beyond measure, were they nottaken off by casualties. It is in our species alone, that we oftenbehold the infant flame extinguished by the wretched nurse. 

Three dreadful calamities attending existence, are inundations, fires, and earthquakes; devestation follows their footsteps, But _one_calamity, more destructive than them all, rises from manhimself, _war_. 

Birmingham, from its elevation, is nearly exempt from the flood; ourinundations, instead of sweeping away life and fortune, sweep away thefilth from the kennel. 

It is amasing, in a place crowded with people, that so _much_ business, and so _little_ mischief is done by fire: we abound more with partywalls, than with timber buildings. Utensils are ever ready to extinguishthe flames, and a generous spirit to use them. I am not certain that aconflagration of 50_l_. Damage, has happened within memory. 

I have only one earthquake to record, felt Nov. 15, 1772, at four in themorning; it extended about eight miles in length, from Hall-green toErdington, and four in breadth, of which Birmingham was part. Theshaking of the earth continued about five seconds, with unequalvibration, sufficient to awake a gentle sleeper, throw down a knifecarelessly reared up, or rattle the brass drops of a chest of drawers. Aflock of sheep, in a field near Yardley, frightened at the trembling, ran away. --No damage was sustained. 

PITMORE AND HAMMOND. 

Thomas Pitmore, a native of Cheshire, after consuming a fortune of700_l_. Was corporal in the second regiment of foot; and John Hammond, an American by birth, was drummer in the thirty-sixth; both ofrecruiting parties in Birmingham. 

Having procured a brace of pistols, they committed several robberies inthe dark, on the highways. 

At eight in the evening of November 22, 1780, about five hundred yardsshort of the four mile-stone, in the Coleshill road, they met threebutchers of Birmingham, who closely followed each other in their returnfrom Rugby fair. One of the robbers attempted the bridle of the firstman, but his horse, being young, started out of the road, and ran away. The drummer then attacked the second, Wilfred Barwick, with "Stop yourhorse, " and that moment, through the agitation of a timorous mind, discharged a pistol, and lodged a brace of slugs in the bowels of theunfortunate Barwick, who exclaimed, "I am a dead man!" and fell. 

The corporal instantly disappeared, and was afterwards, by the light ofthe show upon the ground, seen retreating to Birmingham. The drummer ranforwards about forty yards, and over a stile into Ward-end field. Afourth butcher of their company, and a lad, by this time came up, who, having heard the report of a pistol, seen the flash, and the drummerenter the field, leaped over the hedge in pursuit of the murderer. Afrey ensued, in which the drummer was seized, who desired them not totake his life, but leave him to the laws of his country. 

Within half an hour, the deceased and the captive appeared together inthe same room, at the Horse-shoe. What must then be the feelings of amind, susceptible of impression by nature, but weakly calloused over byart? This is one instance, among many, which shews us, a life ofinnocence, is alone a life of happiness. 

The drummer impeached his companion, who was perhaps the most guilty ofthe two, and they were both that night lodged in the dungeon. 

Upon the trial, March 31, 1781, the matter was too plain to becontroverted. The criminals were executed, and hung in chains atWashwood-heath, April 2; the corporal at the age of 25, and thedrummer 22. 

RIOTS. 

Three principal causes of riot are, the low state of wages, thedifference in political sentiment, and the rise of provisions: thesecauses, like inundations, produce dreadful effects, and like them, return at uncertain periods. 

The journeyman in Birmingham is under no temptation to demand anadditional price for his labour, which is already higher than theusual mark. 

There is no nation fonder of their king than the English; which is aproof that monarchy suits the genius of the people: there is no nationmore jealous of his power, which proves that liberty is a favouritemaxim. Though the laws have complimented him with _much_, yet he wellknows, a prerogative upon the stretch, is a prerogative in adangerous state. 

The more a people value their prince, the more willing are they tocontend in his favour. 

The people of England revered the memory of their beloved Saxon kings, and doubly lamented their fall, with that of their liberties. 

They taxed themselves into beggary, to raise the amasing sum of100, 000_l_. To release Richard the First, unjustly taken captiveby Leopold. 

They protected Henry the Fifth from death, at Agincourt, and receivedthat death themselves. 

They covered the extreme weakness of Henry the Sixth, who _never said agood thing, or did a bad one_, with the mantle of royalty; when acharacter like his, without a crown, would have been hunted throughlife: they gave him the title of _good king Henry_, which would wellhave suited, had the word _king_ been omitted; they sought him a placein the kalendar of saints, and made _him_ perform the miracles of anangel when dead, who could never perform the works of a man, when living. 

The people shewed their attachment to Henry the Eighth, by submitting tothe faggot and the block, at his command; and with their last breath, praying for their butcher. 

Affection for Charles the First, induced four of his friends to offertheir own heads, to save his. --The wrath, and the tears of the people, succeeded his melancholy exit. 

When James the Second eloped from the throne, and was casually picked upat Feversham, by his injured subjects, _they remembered he wastheir king_. 

The church and Queen Anne, like a joyous co-partnership, were toastedtogether. The barrel was willingly emptied to honour the queen, and thetoaster lamented he could honour her no more. 

The nation displayed their love to Charles the Second, by latticing theforests. His climbing the oak at Boscobel, has been the destruction ofmore timber than would have filled the harbour of Portsmouth; the treewhich flourished in the field, was brought to die in the street. Birmingham, for ninety years, honoured him with her vengeance againstthe woods; and she is, at this day, surrounded with mutilated oaks, which stand as martyrs to royalty. 

It is singular, that the oak, which assisted the devotion of theBritons, composed habitations for the people, and furniture for thosehabitations; that, while standing, was an ornament to the country thatbore it; and afterwards guarded the land which nursed it, should be thecause of continual riots, in the reign of George the First. We could notreadily accede to a line of strangers, in preference to our ancient raceof kings, though loudly charged with oppression. 

Clubs and tumults supported the spirit of contention till 1745, when, asour last act of animosity, we crowned an ass with turnips, in derisionof one of the worthiest families that ever eat them. 

Power, in the hand of ignorance, is an edge-tool of the most dangerouskind. The scarcity of provisions, in 1766, excited the murmurs of thepoor. They began to breathe vengeance against the farmer, miller, andbaker, for doing what they do themselves, procure the greatest price fortheir property. 

On the market day, a common labourer, like Massenello of Naples, formedthe resolution to lead a mob. 

He therefore erected his standard, which was a mop inverted, assembledthe crowd, and roared out the old note, "Redress of Grievances. " Thecolliers, with all their dark retinue, were to bring destruction fromWednesbury. Amazement seised the town! the people of fortune trembled:John Wyrley, an able magistrate, for the first time frightened inoffice, with quivering lips, and a pale aspect, swore in about eightyconstables, to oppose the rising storm, armed each of them with a staffof authority, warm from the turning-lathe, and applied to the War-officefor a military force. 

The lime-powdered monarch began to fabricate his own laws, direct theprice of every article, which was punctually obeyed. 

Port, or power, soon overcome a weak head; the more copious the draught, the more quick intoxication: he entered many of the shops, and was everywhere treated with the utmost reverence; took whatever goods he pleased, and distributed them among his followers; till one of the inhabitants, provoked beyond measure at his insolence, gave him a hearty kick on theposteriors, when the hero and his consequence, like that of Wat Tyler, fell together. --Thus ended a reign of seven hours; the sovereign wascommitted to prison, as sovereigns ought, in the abuse of power, andharmony was restored without blood. 

THE CONJURERS. 

No _head_ is a vacuum. Some, like a paltry cottage, are illaccommodated, dark, and circumscribed; others are capacious asWestminster-Hall. Though none are immense, yet they are capable ofimmense furniture. The more room is taken up by knowledge, the lessremains for credulity. The more a man is acquainted with things, themore willing to _give up the ghost_. Every town and village, within myknowledge, has been pestered with spirits; which appear in horrid formsto the imagination in the winter night--but the spirits which hauntBirmingham, are those of industry and luxury. 

If we examine the whole parish, we cannot produce one _old_ witch; butwe have plenty of young, who exercise a powerful influence over us. Should the ladies accuse the harsh epithet, they will please toconsider, I allow them, what of all things they most wish for, _power_, therefore the balance is in my favor. 

If we pass through the planitary worlds, we shall be able to muster uptwo conjurers, who endeavoured to _shine with the stars_. The first, John Walton, who was so busy in calling the nativity of others, heforgot his own. 

Conscious of an application to himself, for the discovery of stolengoods, he employed his people to steal them. And though, for many yearsconfined to his bed by infirmity, he could conjure away the property ofothers, and, for a reward, reconjure it again. 

The prevalence of this evil, induced the legislature, in 1725, to makethe _reception_ of stolen goods capital. The first sacrifice to this lawwas the noted Jonathan Wild. 

The officers of justice, in 1732, pulled Walton out of his bed, in anobscure cottage, one furlong from the town, now Brickhill-Lane, carriedhim to prison, and from thence to the gallows--they had better havecarried him to the workhouse, and his followers to the anvil. 

To him succeeded Francis Kimberley, the only reasoning animal, whoresided at No. 60, in Dale-End, from his early youth to extremeage. --An hermit in a crowd! The windows of his house were strangers tolight! The shutters forgot to open; the chimney to smoak. His cellar, though amply furnished, never knew moisture. 

He spent threescore years in filling six rooms with such trumpery as isjust too good to be thrown away, and too bad to be kept. His life was asinoffensive as long. Instead of _stealing_ the goods which other peopleuse, he _purchased_ what he could not use himself. He was not anxiouswhat kind of property entered his house; if there was _bulk_ he wassatisfied. 

His dark house, and his dark figure corresponded with each other. Theapartments, choaked up with lumber, scarcely admitted his body, thoughof the skeleton order. Perhaps leanness is an appendage to the science, for I never knew a corpulent conjurer. 

His diet, regular, plain, and slender, shewed at how little expence lifemay be sustained. 

His library consisted of several thousand volumes, not one of which, Ibelieve, he ever read: having written, in characters unknown to all buthimself, his name, price, and date, in the title-page, he laid them byfor ever. The highest pitch of his erudition was the annual almanack. 

He never wished to approach a woman, or be approached by one. Should therest of men, for half a century, pay no more attention to the fair, someangelic hand might stick up a note, like the artic circle over one ofour continents, _this world to be let_. 

If he did not cultivate the human species, the spiders, more numerousthan his books, enjoyed an uninterrupted reign of quiet. The silence ofthe place was not broken: the broom, the book, the dust, or the web, wasnot disturbed. Mercury and his shirt, changed their revolutionstogether; and Saturn changed _his_, with his coat. 

He died, in 1756, as conjurers usually die, unlamented. 

MILITARY ASSOCIATION. 

The use of arms is necessary to every man who has something to lose, orsomething to gain. No property will protect itself. The English haveliberty and property to lose, but nothing to win. As every man is bornfree, the West-Indian slaves have liberty to gain, but nothing to lose. If a rascally African prince attempts to sell his people, he ought to befirst sold himself; and the buyer, who acts so daringly opposite to theChristian precept, is yet more blameable. He ought to have the firstwhip, often mended, worn out upon his own back. 

It may seem unnecessary to tell the world, what they already know;recent transactions come under this description; but they are not knownto the stranger, nor to posterity. 

Upon a change of the Northean ministry, in 1782, the new premier, in acircular letter, advised the nation to arm, as the dangers of invasionthreatened us with dreadful aspect. Intelligence from a quarter soauthentic, locked up the door of private judgment, or we might haveconsidered, that even without alliance, and with four principal powersupon our hands, we were rather gaining ground; that the Americans wereso far from attacking us, that they wished us to run ourselves out ofbreath to attack them; that Spain had slumbered over a seven years war;that the Dutch, provoked at their governors, for the loss of theircommerce, were more inclinable to invade themselves than us; and that asFrance bore the weight of the contest, we found employment for her arms, without invasion; but, perhaps, the letter was only an artifice of thenew state doctor, to represent his patient in a most deplorable state, as a complement to his own merit in recovering her. 

Whatever was the cause, nothing could be more agreeable than this letterto the active spirit of Birmingham. Public meetings were held. Therockets of war were squibbed off in the news-papers. The ploddingtradesman and the lively hero assembled together in arms, and many atrophy was won in thought. 

Each man purchased a genteel blue uniform, decorated with epaulets ofgold, which, together with his accoutrements, cost about 17_l_. Thegentleman, the apprentice, &c. To the number of seventy, united in abody, termed by themselves, _The Birmingham Association_; by the wag, _the brazen walls of the town_. Each was to be officer and private byballet, which gives an idea of equality, and was called to exerciseonce a week. 

The high price of provisions, and the 17th of October, brought adangerous mob into Birmingham. They wanted bread: so did we. But littleconference passed between them and the inhabitants. They were quiet; wewere pleased; and, after an hour or two's stay, they retreated in peace. 

In the evening, after the enemy were fled, our champions beat to arms, breathing vengeance against the hungry crew; and, had they returned, some people verily thought our valiant heroes would have _discharged_at them. 

However laudable a system, if built upon a false basis, it will notstand. Equality and command, in the same person, are incompatiable;therefore, cannot exist together. Subordination is necessary in everyclass of life, but particularly in the military. Nothing but severediscipline can regulate the boisterous spirit of an army. 

A man may be bound to another, but if he commands the bandage, he willquickly set himself free. This was the case with the militaryassociation. As their uniform resembled that of a commander, so didtheir temper. There were none to submit. The result was, the farceended, and the curtain dropt in December, by a quarrel with each other;and, like _John_ and _Lilborn_, almost with themselves. 

BILSTON CANAL ACT. 

Envy, like a dark shadow, follows closely the footsteps of prosperity;success in any undertaking, out of the circle of genius, produces arival. --This I have instanced in our hackney coaches. 

Profits, like a round-bellied bottle, may seem bulky, which, like that, will not bear dividing: Thus Orator Jones, in 1774, opened a debatingsociety at the Red Lion; he quickly filled a large room with customers, and his pockets with money, but he had not prudence to keep either. Hissuccess opened a rival society at the King's-head, which, in a fewweeks, annihilated both. 

The growing profits of our canal company, already mentioned, hadincreased the shares from 140_l_. In 1768, to 400 guineas, in 1782. These emoluments being thought enormous, a rival company sprung up, which, in 1783, petitioned Parliament to partake of those emoluments, byopening a parallel cut from some of the neighbouring coal-pits; toproceed along the lower level, and terminate in Digbeth. 

A stranger might ask, "How the water in our upland country, which hadnever supplied one canal, could supply two? Whether the second canal wasnot likely to rob the first? Whether one able canal is not preferable totwo lame ones? If a man sells me an article cheaper than I can purchaseit elsewhere, whether it is of consequence to me what are his profits?And whether two companies in rivalship would destroy that harmony whichhas long subsisted in Birmingham. "

The new company urged, "The necessity of another canal, lest the oldshould not perform the business of the town; that twenty per cent. Areunreasonable returns; that they could afford coals under the presentprice; that the south country teams would procure a readier supply fromDigbeth, than from the present wharf, and not passing through thestreets, would be prevented from injuring the pavement; and that thegoods from the Trent would come to their wharf by a run of eighteenmiles nearer than to the other. "

The old company alledged, "That they ventured their property in anuncertain pursuit, which, had it not succeeded, would have ruined manyindividuals; therefore the present gains were only a recompense forformer hazard: that this property was expended upon the faith ofParliament, who were obliged in honour to protect it, otherwise no manwould risk his fortune upon a public undertaking; for should they allowa second canal, why not a third; which would become a wanton destructionof right, without benefit; that although the profit of the originalsubscribers might seem large, those subscribers are but few; many havebought at a subsequent price, which barely pays common interest, andthis is all their support; therefore a reduction would be barbarous onone side, and sensibly felt on the other: and, as the present canalamply supplies the town and country, it would be ridiculous to cut awaygood land to make another, which would ruin both. "

I shall not examine the reasons of either, but leave the disinterestedreader to weigh both in his own balance. 

When two opponents have said all that is true, they generally saysomething more; rancour holds the place of argument. 

Both parties beat up for volunteers in the town, to strengthen theirforces; from words of acrimony, they came to those of virulence; thenthe powerful batteries of hand-bills, and news-papers were opened: everytown within fifty miles, interested, on either side, was moved topetition, and both prepared for a grand attack, confident of victory. 

Perhaps a contest among friends, in matters of property, will removethat peace of mind, which twenty per cent. Will not replace. 

Each party possessed that activity of spirit, for which Birmingham isfamous, and seemed to divide between them the legislative strength ofthe nation: every corner of the two houses was ransacked for a vote; thethrone was the only power unsolicited. Perhaps at the reading, when bothparties had marshalled their forces, there was the fullest House ofCommons ever remembered on a private bill. 

The new company promised much, for besides the cut from Wednesbury toDigbeth, they would open another to join the two canals of Stafford andCoventry, in which a large track of country was interested. 

As the old company were the first adventurers, the house gave them theoption to perform this Herculean labour, which they accepted. 

As parliament have not yet given their determination, and as the printerthis moment raps at my door, "Sir, the press waits, more copy if youplease, " I cannot stay to tell the world the result of the bill; butperhaps, the new proprietors, by losing, will save 50, 000_l_. And theold, by winning, become sufferers. 

WORKHOUSE BILL. 

I have often mentioned an active spirit, as the characteristic of theinhabitants of Birmingham. This spirit never forsakes them. It displaysitself in industry, commerce, invention, humanity, and internalgovernment. A singular vivacity attends every pursuit till compleated, or discarded for a second. 

The bubble of the day, like that at the end of a tobacco-pipe, dances inair, exhibits divers beauties, pleases the eye, bursts in a moment, andis followed up by another. 

There is no place in the British dominions easier to be governed thanBirmingham; and yet we are fond of forging acts of parliament togovern her. 

There is seldom a point of time in which an act is not in agitation; wefabricate them with such expedition, that we could employ a parliamentof our own to pass them. But, to the honor of our ladies, not one ofthese acts is directed against them. Neither is there an instance uponrecord, that the torch of Hymen was ever extinguished by the breath ofMarriot in Doctors-Commons. 

In the present spring of 1783, we have four acts upon the anvil: everyman, of the least consequence, becomes a legislator, and wishes to lendhis assistance in framing an act; so that instead of one lord, asformerly, we now, like the Philistines, have three thousand. 

An act of parliament, abstractedly considered, is a dead matter: itcannot operate of itself: like a plaister, it must be applied to theevil, or that evil will remain. We vainly expect a law to perform theintended work; if it does not, we procure another to make it. Thus thecanal, by one act in 1767, hobbled on, like a man with one leg; but asecond, in 1770, furnished a pair. The lamp act, procured in 1769, wasworn to rags, and mended with another in 1773; and this second has beenlong out of repair, and waits for a third. 

We carry the same spirit into our bye-laws, and with the same success. Schemes have been devised, to oblige every man to pay levies; but it wasfound difficult to extract money from him who had none. 

In 1754, we brought the manufacture of pack-thread into the workhouse, to reduce the levies; the levies increased. A spirited overseerafterwards, for the same reason, as if poverty was not a sufficientstigma, badged the poor; the levies still increased. 

The advance of bread in 1756, induced the officers to step out of thecommon track, perhaps, out of their knowledge; and, at the expence ofhalf a levy, fit up an apparatus for grinding corn in the house: thus, by sacrificing half _one levy, many would be saved_. However, in thepursuit, many happened to be lost. In 1761, the apparatus was sold at afarther loss; and the overseers sheltered themselves under the charge ofidleness against the paupers. 

In 1766, the spinning of mop-yarn was introduced, which might, withattention, have turned to account; but unfortunately, the yarn proved ofless value than the wool. 

Others, with equal wisdom, were to ease the levies, by feeding a droveof pigs, which, agreeable to their own nature--ran backwards. --Renting apiece of ground, by way of garden, which supplied the house with apennyworth of vegetables, for two-pence, adding a few cows, and apasture; but as the end of all was _loss_, the levies increased. 

In 1780, two collectors were appointed, at fifty guineas each, whichwould save the town _many a hundred_; still the levies increased. 

A petition is this sessions presented, for an Act to overturn the wholepauper system (for our heads are as fond of new fashions, in parochialgovernment, as in the hats which cover them) to erect a superbworkhouse, at the expence of 10, 000_l_. With powers to borrow 15, 000_l_. Which grand design is to reduce the levies _one third_. --The levies willincrease. 

The reasons _openly_ alledged are, "The Out-pensioners, which cost7000_l_. A year, are the chief foundation of our public grievances: thatthe poor ought to be employed _in_ the house, lest their morals becomeinjured by the shops; which prevents them from being taken into familyservice; and, the crowded state of the workhouse. "--But whether thepride of an overseer, in perpetuating his name, is not the pendulumwhich set the machine in motion? Or, whether a man, as well as a spider, may not create a _place_, and, like that--_fill it with himself_?

The bill directs, That the inhabitants mall chuse a number of guardiansby ballot, who shall erect a workhouse, on Birmingham-heath--a spot asairy as the scheme; conduct a manufacture, and the poor; dispose of thepresent workhouse; seize and confine idle or disorderly persons, andkeep them to labour, till they have reimbursed the parish all expences. 

But it may be asked, Whether spending 15, 000_l_. Is likely to reduce thelevies?

Whether we shall be laughed at, for throwing by a building, the lastwing of which cost a thousand pounds, after using it only three years?

Our commerce is carried on by reciprocal obligation. Every overseer hashis friends, whom he cannot refuse to serve; nay, whom he may even wishto serve, if that service costs him nothing: hence, that over-grownmonster so justly complains of, _The Weekly Tickets_; it follows, whether _sixty_ guardians are not likely to have more friends to serve, than six overseers?

Whether the trades of the town, by a considerable manufactureestablished at the workhouse, will not be deprived of their mostuseful hands?

Whether it is not a maxim of the wisest men who have filled the office, "to endeavour to keep the poor _out_ of the house, for if they areadmitted, they become more chargeable; nor will they leave it withoutclothing?"

A workhouse is a kind of prison, and a dreadful one to those of tenderfeelings--Whether the health of an individual, the ideas of rectitude, or the natural right of our species, would not be infringed by a cruelimprisonment. 

If a man has followed an occupation forty years, and necessity sends himto the parish, whether is it preferable to teach him a new trade, orsuffer him to earn what he can at his old? If we decide for the latter, whether he had better walk four hundred yards to business, or fourmiles? His own infirmity will determine this question. 

If a young widow be left with two children, shall she pay a girlsix-pence a week to tend them, while she earns five shillings at themops, and is allowed two by the parish, or shall all three reside in thehouse, at the weekly expence of six, and she be employed in nursingthem? If we again declare for the latter, it follows, that the parishwill not only have four shillings a week, but the community may gainhalf a crown by her labour. 

Whether the morals of the children are more likely to be injured by theshops, than the morals of half the children in town; many of whom labourto procure levies for the workhouse?

Whether the morals of a child will be more corrupted in a small shop, consisting of a few persons, or in a large one at the workhouse, consisting of hundreds?

Whether the grand shop at Birmingham-heath, or at any heath, will traingirls for service, preferable to others?

Shall we, because the house has been crowded a few weeks, throw away15000_l_. Followed by a train of evils? A few months ago, I saw in it alarge number of vacant beds. Besides, at a small expence, and withoutimpeding the circulation of air, conveniency may be made for onehundred more. 

Did a manufacture ever prosper under a multitude of inspectors, not oneof which is to taste the least benefit?

As public business, which admits no profit, such as vestry assemblies, commissions of lamps, turnpike meetings, &c. Are thinly attended, evenin town; what reason is there to expect a board two miles inthe country?

The workhouse may be deemed _The Nursery of Birmingham_, in which shedeposits her infants, for future service: the unfortunate and the idle, till they can be set upon their own basis; and the decrepid, during thefew remaining sands in their glass. If we therefore carry the workhouseto a distance, whether we shall not interrupt that necessary intercoursewhich ought to subsist between a mother and her offspring? As suddensickness, indications of child-birth, &c. Require immediate assistance, a life in extreme danger may chance to be lost by the length ofthe road. 

If we keep the disorderly till they have reimbursed the parish, whetherwe do not acquire an inheritance for life?

We censure the officer who pursues a phantom at the expence of others;we praise him who _teaches the poor to live_. 

All the evils complained of, may be removed by _attention in the man_;the remedy is not in an act. He therefore accuses his own want ofapplication, in soliciting government to _do_ what he might dohimself--Expences are saved by private acts of oeconomy, not by publicActs of Parliament. 

It has long been said, _think_ and _act_; but as our internallegislators chuse to reverse the maxim by fitting up an expensive shop;then seeking a trade to bring in, perhaps they may place over the grandentrance, _act_ and _think_. 

One remark should never be lost sight of, _The more we tax theinhabitants, the sooner they leave us, and carry off the trades_. 

THE CAMP. 

I have already remarked, _a spirit of bravery is part of the Britishcharacter_. The perpetual contests for power, among the Britons, themany roads formed by the Romans, to convey their military force, theprodigious number of camps, moats, and broken castles, left us by theSaxons, Danes, and Normans, our common ancestors, indicate _a martialtemper_. The names of those heroic sovereigns, Edward the Third, andHenry the Fifth, who brought their people to the fields of conquest, descend to posterity with the highest applause, though they broughttheir kingdom to the brink of ruin; while those quiet princes, Henry theSeventh, and James the First, who cultivated the arts of peace, are butlittle esteemed, though under their sceptre, England experienced thegreatest improvement. --The man who dare face an enemy, is the mostlikely to gain a friend. A nation versed in arms, stands the fairestchance to protect its property, and secure its peace: war itself may behurtful, the knowledge of it useful. 

In Mitchly-park, three miles west of Birmingham, in the parish ofEdgbaston, is _The Camp_; which might be ascribed to the Romans, lyingwithin two or three stones cast of their Ikenield-street, where itdivides the counties of Warwick and Worcester, but is too extensive forthat people, being about thirty acres: I know none of their camps morethan four, some much less; it must, therefore, have been the work ofthose pilfering vermin the Danes, better acquainted with other peoplesproperty than their own; who first swarmed on the shores, then over-ranthe interior parts of the kingdom, and, in two hundred years, devouredthe whole. 

No part of this fortification is wholly obliterated, though, in manyplaces, it is nearly levelled by modern cultivation, that dreadful enemyto the antiquary. Pieces of armour are frequently ploughed up, particularly parts of the sword and the battle-axe, instruments muchused by those destructive sons of the raven. 

The platform is quadrangular, every side nearly four hundred yards; thecenter is about six acres, surrounded by three ditches, each about eightyards over, at unequal distances; though upon a descent, it is amplyfurnished with water. An undertaking of such immense labour, could nothave been designed for temporary use. 

The propriety of the spot, and the rage of the day for fortification, seem to have induced the Middlemores, lords of the place for manycenturies, and celebrated for riches, but in the beginning of this work, for poverty, to erect a park, and a lodge; nothing of either exist, butthe names. 

MORTIMER's BANK. 

The traveller who undertakes an extensive journey, cannot chuse hisroad, or his weather: sometimes the prospect brightens, with a serenesky, a smooth path, and a smiling sun; all within and without himis chearful. 

Anon he is assailed by the tempests, stumbles over the ridges, isbemired in the hollows, the sun hides his face, and his own issorrowful--this is the lot of the historian; he has no choice ofsubject, merry or mournful, he must submit to the changes which offer;delighted with the prosperous tale, depressed with the gloomy. 

I am told, this work has often drawn a smile from the reader; it hasoften drawn a sigh from me. A celebrated painter fell in love with thepicture he drew; I have wept at mine--Such is the chapter of the Lords, and the Workhouse. We are not always proof against a melancholy or atender sentiment. 

Having pursued our several stages, with various fortune, through fiftychapters, at the close of this last tragic scene, emotion and thejourney cease together. 

Upon King's-wood, five miles from Birmingham, and two hundred yards eastof the Alcester-road, runs a bank for near a mile in length, unlessobliterated by the new inclosure; for I saw it complete in 1775. Thiswas raised by the famous Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, about 1324, toinclose a wood, from whence the place derives its name. 

Then that feeble monarch, Edward the Second, governed the kingdom; theamorous Isabella, his wife, governed the king, and the gallant Mortimergoverned the queen. 

The parishes of King's-norton, Solihull, Yardley, uniting in this wood, and enjoying a right of commons, the inhabitants conceived themselvesinjured by the inclosure, assembled in a body, threw down the fence, andmurdered the Earl's bailiff. 

Mortimer, in revenge, procured a special writ from the Court of CommonPleas, and caused the matter to be tried at Bromsgrove, where theaffrighted inhabitants, over-awed with power, durst not appear in theirown vindication. The Earl, therefore, recovered a verdict, and theenormous sum of 300_l_. Damage. A sum nearly equal, at that time, to thefee-simple of the three parishes. 

The confusion of the times, and the poverty of the people, protractedpayment, till the unhappy Mortimer, overpowered by his enemies, wasseized as a criminal in Nottingham-castle; and, without being heard, executed at Tyburn, in 1328. 

The distressed inhabitants of our three parishes humbly petitioned thecrown, for a reduction of the fine; when Edward the Third was pleased toremit about 260_l_. 

We can assign no reason for this imprudent step of inclosing the wood, unless the Earl intended to procure a grant of the manor, then in thecrown, for his family. But what he could not accomplish by family, wasaccomplished by fortune; for George the Third, King of Great Britain, islord of the manor of King's-norton, and a descendant from the houseof Mortimer. 

F I N I S.