A mile thence was one of his sisters marry’d to a Parson Mr Browne that has a very neate and Convenient Little house and Gardens. A mile from thence is a very high hill from whence I Could see a great distance—Warwick and Coventry and a large tract of Land all round. Att the foote of this hill Lyes Camden Town wch I went through, its built all of stone as is the Church wth the Effigie of the Little Viscountess Camden that lived to a great age and was Mother to the Earle of Gainsborough; its Cut out in white Marble and stands in an arch in the wall, wth two Leav’d doores to it, to keep it from ye dust—there were severall little Monuments besides in the Church. From thence to Brailes and thence to Broughton 19 miles to my Brother Say, wch is 50 miles from London; I went by Alsbury 20 thence 30 to London.
A journey I went into the New fforest in Hampshire to Ffarnum 38 mile, there we go by Aberstone the Duke of Boltons house, stands on ye Side of a hill where are ffine Gardens and much ffruite. From Ffernum you see the Castle wch is ye Bishops of Winchesters house, its a large building; thence you go to Alton 7 mile, thence to Alsford 7 mile more, you go along on the hills in sight of the River all wch gives name to those places, its a good Chaulkey way. Thence to Winchester 7 mile—in one mile off the town is Woolsey yt was formerly ye Bishops house, a large Rambling building like a little town, this is on Maudline hill whereon a Considerable ffaire is kept neare Michelmas, ye Traffique mostly hopps which yt Country produceth good and Cheese—its noted for a vast many of Waines from Severall parts especially from the West Country.
Winchester is a large town was once ye metropolis, there is a wall Encompassing it with severall Gates; the streetes are pretty good, Large and long, ye buildings but Low and old, only some few in the Close wch are new built of the Doctors houses by ye Colledge and the Church. Ye Deans house is a good old house, timber buildings; there are some of the roomes Lofty and large, a dineing, drawing room and bed Chamber very good; a long Gallery runns through the house and opens into the Garden by a Descent of Severall Stone stepps. Ye Garden is but small—there are Green and gravel walkes higher and Lower, but its all in an old fashion’d form but neately kept and severall Curiosityes in potts of flowers and greens. The Bishops palace stands in a Low Ground or Watry Meadow, its a timber building but so unpleasant that the Bishop lives not at it but at Ffarly Castle about 20 mile off.
The Cathedrall at Winchester is one of ye biggest in England and is to be admired for its Largeness, not its neatness or Curiosity, there is an ascent of 20 steps up to the quire that is finely Carved in ye wood, and on the top all round stands in ffine painted Chests the bones of the Kings of England yt were buried there; for Winchester was the Regal Citty wch now it has lost, as also a peculiar art of dying ye best purples. In the Church there are no good Monuments worth notice, the body of the Church is very large, ye Steeple Lookes Noble, but ye Spire is not a neare so high as Salisbury. In the town is a new building begun by K. Charles the Second for a Palace when he Came to hunt and for aire and diversions in the Country. I saw ye Modell of it wch was very fine and so would it have been if ffinished; but there is only ye outside shell is set up, there were designed fine apartmts and two Chapples but its never like to be finish’d now.
There is a good river runns thro’ the town, at ye backside the Castle stood high, but there now remaines only ye ruined walls and banks on wch they make gardens and hopp yards, wch runnes a great Length on the side of ye brow of the hill that some part of ye town is built on—it Lookes pretty. Here is a good Colledge it is on ye same foundation yt New Colledge in Oxford are; both built and Endowed by Great Willm of Wickam an ancester of ye ffiennes and Lord Say and Seale. So all the founders Kindred by his own Statutes are first to be Chosen and have a Right to many priviledges—its only in default or want of any of his Kindred or of Such and Such Parishes wch he names that any other person ought or Can be Chosen a Child of this Colledg. They have such a Number above 100—they have their Diet and a gown every year, and so much mony Every quarter, and here they have their Learning and provision.
There are also fellowships—wch as they become vacant they who are fitt its bestowed on them—on wch a young Man May Maintain himself well and so improve his Learning. These fellowships at New Colledg are forfeited if they do not live there, or for ye most part; and also as soone as they are Marryed they are put out in number fellows and master and warden, but at winchester the fellowships are of greater value and do appertaine to a person during Life in Case he Comes and resides for ye most part there, even when they are marryed.
I thinke there are but 7 fellowships here. There is a warden of ye Colledge and a Schoolemaster and usher at Winchester. Ye Colledge is a good Pile of Building there is a very pretty Chapple in it and a very fine Library wch is in ye Cloysters yt are very good for walking.
There is a large hall they eate in and have their exact Commons to Every one, so have the fellows, their Lodgings are Convenient and all their offices, the Warden has built a new appartment for himself wch looks well about a mile or two beyond Winchester, we go by St Cross, a Large hospitall for old men and I thinke most is for ye decayed schollars.
The Masters place is worth 1000 pound a yeare—it used to be annexed to ye Warden of the Colledges place, by their ffoundation they are to give reliefe to any Travellers that call there so farre as a Loafe of bread as big as our two penny bread is and a Draught of beare and a piece of mony. I thinke its ye value of a Groate. Ffrom thence I came to Redbridge, thence to Buckland in the new forest in all 20 mile; ffrom Buckland wch was a Relation’s house—Sr Robt Smiths—its a mile to Limington a seaport town—it has some few small shipps belongs to it and some Little trade, but ye Greatest trade is by their Salterns. Ye Sea water they draw into Trenches and so into Severall ponds yt are secured in ye bottom to retain it, and it stands for ye Sun to Exhale ye Watry fresh part of it, and if it prove a drye sumer they make the best and most Salt, for ye raine spoyles ye ponds by weakning ye Salt. When they think its fit to boyle they draw off the water from ye ponds by pipes wch Conveys it into a house full of Large Square Iron and Copper panns; they are shallow but they are a yard or two if not more Square, these are fixed in Rowes one by another it may be twenty on a Side, in a house under which is the ffurnace yt burns fiercely to keepe these panns boyling apace, and as it Candy’s about ye Edges or bottom so they Shovell it up and fill it in great Baskets and so the thinner part runns through on Moulds they set to Catch it, wch they Call Salt Cakes. Ye rest in ye Baskets drye and is very good Salt and as fast as they Shovell out the boyling Salt out of ye panns they do replenish it wth more of their Salt water in their pipes. They told me when the Season was drye and so the Salt water in its prime they Could make 60 quarters of Salt in one of those panns wch they Constantly attend Night and day all the while the fire is in the ffurnace, because it would burn to waste and Spoyle ye panns wch by their Constant Use wants often to be repaired. They Leave off Satterday Night and let out ye fire and so begin and kindle their fire Monday Morning. Its a pretty Charge to light the fire. Their Season for makeing Salt is not above 4 or 5 Months in ye year and yt only in a dry Summer. These houses have above 20 some 30 others more of these panns in them, they are Made of Copper. They are very Carefull to keep their ponds well secured and Mended by good Clay and Gravell in the bottom and Sides and so by sluces they fill them out of the sea at high-tides and so Conveyed from pond to pond till fit to boyle. Ffrom Limmington to Lindhurst is 6 mile, where is a house of ye Kings wn he comes to hunt in the new fforest, and ye Lord Warden of the fforest is there when he Comes to hunt and Hawk, to Whome Comes all the Gentry of the Country to waite on him—he dines at Night from 7 to 12 of the Clock. He is served in plaite, those yt hunt with him all day Comes and Dines or Supps with him. He has power to dispose and order ye Concerns of ye forrest for ye timber for shipps and to have it Cherrish’d and secured from Spoyle, as also the deare and Game to be preserved, ye disposeing of the Lodges are in his power. There are 15 Lodges and these are disposed to Gentlemen that have underkeepers yt takes care of it, and wt is peculiar to ye New forrest and known no where Else are these Brouce Deare; at these severall Lodges ye Keepers gather Brome and at Certaine tymes in ye day by a Call gathers all the Dear in within the railes which belongs to Each Lodge, and so they Come up and feed upon this Brouce and are by that meanes very fatt and very tame, so as to Come quite to Eate out of ye hand. All the day besides they range about and if they meete anybody if it be their own keeper without ye pail of ye Lodge they will run from him as wild as Can be. These Lodges are about 4 miles asunder and its a great Priviledge and advantage to be a Cheefe Keeper of any of these Lodges; they have Venison as much as they please and Can easily shoote it when the troop Comes up wth in ye paile, for none are allowed to Shoot out in ye forrest, nor are allowed to go out wth Gun or dog or to keep any Except Gentlemen, and not they if they have been found Shooteing in ye fforest. I think its ffellony for any to kill ye Kings dear. there are severall Rangers of ye fforest, and 6 verderers yt are their justices or judges of all matters Relateing to ye fforest, these ought allwayes to reside in ye fforest and are to attend the King when he Comes into ye new fforest. Clothed in green, they have a buck and Doe Every year for their ffee, besides being Masters—the under keepers are at their beck so yt they Can get as Much venison as they want. There is also a Rider of ye fforest who is to see about yt all things are secure and well done and ye Timber kept and Deer, to see they are not spoyled or Destroyed: his Right is to all the Deer yt are hurt or Maimed as also he is to have ye Shoulder of ye first Stagg that is hunted and killed in the Season. There is a Bow man wch is to provide ye King wth Bow and arrow when he Comes into ye fforest—they have some priviledge also but ye shooteing by bow and arrow being Left off, yt office is not regarded.
Ffrom Lindhurst about a Mile is a parke called new parke enclosed out of ye fforrest with Pailes, it belongs to ye Kings house; there is a house in it wch was the Lodge—a large old Timber house. Ffrom Limington to ye Isle of Wight its about 4 Leagues; to Yarmouth you go by Hurst Castle, yt runnes on a point of land into ye sea just by the Needles within a League of Yarmouth, and those needles are severall Great Rocks on yt side of the Island, craggy, and severall stand out into the sea wch makes it very hazardous for shipps to pass there, Especially in a Storme or for Strangers—ye passage being narrow between the Needles and Hurst Castle, Can easily Command any ship that would pass there. Yarmouth is a little Sea-port and has a Little Castle that Can annoy Any Enemy that should pass by Hurst, so between them may well Secure yt part of ye Isle and all on ye back side of the jsland are those Needles yt are a Natural ffortification it being inaccessible.