[B] BALDOCK is situated between two hills, at the intersection of the great north road, and the Roman Ikeneld street. It was formerly the property of the Knights Templars, to whom Gilbert, Earl of Pembroke, gave the site; it was then called Baudoc: but some antiquarians, with little reason, derive its name from Balbec, a city in Syria, from which this order of knights was expelled by the Saracens. It principally consists of one long ancient street. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a spacious structure, and was built by the Knights Templars, and again partly rebuilt in the early part of the fifteenth century. All the early portion of this structure is of pure Roman architecture, and the latter of the florid gothic. The steeple, which is octagonal, was rebuilt a few years ago. In the church is a richly carved oaken screen, part of the ancient rood-loft, Sharks' teeth found in cutting through a hill. and a very curious font. In cutting through Baldock-hill, to form a new road, a number of fossils, consisting of cornua ammonis, sharks' teeth, &c., were discovered. There is a curious custom in this manor. When the Steward holds his Court Leet, the bell tolls, to summons the copyhold tenants together, to do their suit and service at dinner, to which every baker sends a loaf of bread, and every victualler a flagon of ale or beer. The object of this custom is intended for the Court Leet to examine the measures, as well as to judge of the quality of the articles of food.

Market, Thursday.—Fairs, March 7; last Thursday in May; August 5; October 2; December 11, for cheese, cattle, and household goods.—Mail arrives 12.31 morning, departs 2.16 morning.—Bankers, Williamson and Co., draw on Hoare and Co.—Inn, White Hart.

MapNames of PlacesCounty Number of Miles FromDist.
Lond.		Popul
ation.
27BalepaNorfolkHolt5Cley6Walsingham 6 117 275
37BalhamvilSurreyClapham1Tooting2Epsom95...
43BalketoN.R. YorkThirsk4Helmsley10Easingwold922272
46Balke-HolmetoE.R. YorkHowden2South Cave10Weighton12182107
10BallidontoDerbyAshborne6Wirksworth6Winster6142108
14Ballingdonpa chapEssexSudbury1Halstead8Bury1754283
17BallinghampaHerefordHereford7Ross6Ledbury12126147
45BalnetoW.R. YorkSnaith4Pontefract10Thorne8173343
39BalsallchapWarwickWarwick10Coventry10Solihul51001038
31BalscotthamOxfordBanbury5Chip Norton14Deddington974213
6BalshampaCambridgeLinton4Cambridge8Newmarket9521074
35BalterleytoStaffordNewcastle7Congleton9Nantwich12153...
34BaltonsboroughpaSomersetGlastonbury4Somerton4Cas. Caray8121675
29Bambroughto & paNorthumbBelford5Holy Island6Alnwick153243949
29Bambrough[A]toNorthumb...5...6...1561324
10BamfordhamDerbyS. Middleton6Sheffield11Castleton4165238
22BamfordtoLancasterRochdale3Manchester7Bury61891207
11Bampton[B]m.t. & paDevonExeter23Tiverton7Morebath21621961
31Bampton[C]m.t. & paOxfordOxford16Witney5Farringdon7712514

[A] BAMBROUGH CASTLE is situated on the romantic coast of Northumberland, near an obscure town of the same name; it stands upon a triangular rock, high, rugged, and abrupt on the land side. But we leave its description, which would be too lengthy, and turn rather to the account of the benevolent institution founded in 1720, by Lord Crewe, Bishop of Seat of the Bishop of Durham. Durham, of which it is the seat. The keep of the castle is fitted up for suffering seamen, and property which may have been rescued from the fury of the ocean. Regulations were also adopted to prevent accidents on the coast, and to alleviate misfortunes when they had occurred. A nine-pounder placed at the bottom of the great tower, gives signals to ships in distress; and in case of a wreck announces it to the Custom-house officers, who hasten to prevent its being plundered. In addition to this, during a storm, horsemen patrol the coast, and rewards are paid for the earliest intelligence of vessels in distress. A flag is always hoisted when Noble charity. any ship is seen in distress on the Fern Islands or Staples; or a rocket thrown up at night, which gives notice to the fishermen of Holy Island, who put off to the spot when no boat from the main can get over the breakers. There has also been life-boats added to the establishment. Within the walls of the castle are supported two free-schools, an infirmary, thirty beds for shipwrecked sailors, and a granary, whence poor persons are supplied with provision at the first price. There is also a library, the books of which are circulated gratuitously for twenty miles round. This philanthropic endowment has not been suffered to decay with the romance of olden time, but the charitable intentions of the testator are fulfilled so as to exhibit a lasting record of his active benevolence.

[B] BAMPTON. A market town, situated near the little river Batherme, which flows into the Exe at about one mile distance. Mr. Polwhele considers that this was a Roman station, and here, probably, the Romans had artificial hot-baths. A chalybeate spring in this neighbourhood is much celebrated for its medicinal qualities. John de Bampton, a Carmelite, John de Bampton. who was the first who publicly read Aristotle in Cambridge, was born here: he died in 1391. The manufactures of the place are serges and pottery.

Market, Saturday.—Fairs, Whit Tuesday, and last Thursday in October, for cattle.

[C] BAMPTON. Here are some slight remains of an ancient castle, supposed to have been erected in the reign of King John. The celebrated poet, John Philips, the son of Dr. Stephen Philips, archdeacon John Philips the poet. of Salop, was born in this town, on the 30th of December, 1676, and after the preliminary process of juvenile education, was sent to Winchester, where he was distinguished by the superiority of his exercises, and at school endeared himself to all his companions and superiors: it is related of him, that he seldom mingled in the play of other boys, but retired to his chamber, and indulged in the study of the poets and of the ancient and modern classics, particularly Milton. In 1694, he was removed to Christchurch, Oxford, where he finished all his University acquirements; but Milton—the immortal Milton—continued to be his uninterrupted day dream: and he might have exclaimed in the language of that poet, I will study the magnificence of thy etherial phantasy,

"From morn till noon, from noon to dewey eve,
When Urania visits my nightly
Slumbers, or when morn purples the east."

It is said that there was not an allusion in "Paradise Lost," drawn from any hint either in "Homer," or "Virgil," to which he could not immediately refer. While at Oxford he was honoured with the friendship of Mr. Edmund Smith, author of the Tragedy of "Phaedra and Hippolitus;" and also with Philips's poetical works. that of the most polite and favoured of the gentlemen in the University. His first poem was published in 1703, entitled, "The Splendid Shilling," which has the merit of an original design. His next poem, entitled "Blenheim," which he wrote as a rival to Addison's poem on the same subject, was published in 1705, and procured him the patronage of Mr. Henry Saint John, afterwards Lord Bolingbroke. Independent of poetry, Philips was an excellent botanist; in 1706 he produced his third poem on "Cyder," founded on the model of Virgil's Georgics, a book not only of entertainment but of science; and soon afterwards, a latin Ode, "to Henry Saint John, Esq.," said to have been the poet's masterpiece. "It is gay and elegant," says Dr. Johnson, "and exhibits several artful accommodations of classic expressions to new purposes." At the time of his illness, Philips was meditating a poem to be called "The Last Day;" death put an end to so solemn and majestic a finale of genius. He died at Hereford, of a lingering consumption, February 15, 1708, in the thirty-third year of his age, and was buried in the cathedral of that city. Sir Simon Harcourt, afterwards Lord Chancellor, erected a monument to his memory in Westminster Abbey, the epitaph upon which was written by Character and death. Doctor Atterbury. Philips was a gentleman of a modest and amiable disposition, "and always praised without contradiction," (says Dr. Johnson) "as a man, modest, blameless, and pious, who bore a narrow fortune without discontent—and tedious and painful maladies without impatience; beloved by those who knew him, but not ambitious to be known."

Market, Wednesday.—Fairs, March 26, and August 26, for cattle and toys.