TAB. LXXII.
This station of the Romans is situate on the south side of the river Ivel, or Yeovil, the Velox of Ravennas. Pillbridge, a little lower, seems to retain the name: it is the Uzella of Ptolemy. I perceived immediately that this place had been originally encompassed with a wall and ditch, and traced out the manifest vestigia thereof quite round: it was an oblong square 300 paces in length, 200 in breadth, standing upon the oblique points of the compass, conform to the Foss way, which passes through the town exactly from north-east to south-west: the north-east side of the city lay against the river, where I saw foundations of the wall here and there, and took up several Roman bricks in searching for it in the gardens: the ditch on the north-west side is become a road, called Yard-lane, as going behind the yards and gardens: then it runs through the friery garden; for the religious had extended their bounds beyond the city, and turned the road on the outside: then it goes along the road on the back of Mr. Lockyer’s garden: it is now visible between the Yeovil road and the southern angle; then runs through another garden, being for the most part levelled by the gardener, who showed me the track of it, and had by times, in digging, taken up remainders of the wall, with many coins, bricks, tiles, and other antiquities. I bought some coins of him, among which the brass one of Antoninus Pius depicted in the plate; on the reverse, Britannia sitting on a rock with a military ensign. Sir Philip Sydenham has a great quantity of coins found here, and the minister of the parish gave many to the learned Mr. Coke of Norfolk. This gardener showed me many square paving bricks in the floor of his house, and told me he dug up a great brass coin, as big as half a crown, under the foundation of the wall, which doubtless would have discovered to us the area of its building. Crossing the Sherburn and Limington road, we find the ditch again, turning up to the river-side, on the eastern angle, conformable to the scheme; where it is again inclosed into gardens and pastures: the occupier of the gardens there informed me too, that he had frequently dug up the like antiquities, together with the foundations of the wall. The quickset-hedge that fences in the garden stands on the edge of the ditch, and observes its turn at that angle of the city: by the new mill it meets the river. In all the gardens hereabouts, by the Borough-green, they find foundations of old houses; and some run across the present streets, now visible above ground. This ditch, when perfect, admitted the water of the river quite round. Mr. Lockyer’s house is built upon subterraneous arches. They say here have been sixteen parish-churches, and foundations are to be found all the town over; and that the suburbs extended southward, especially on the Yeovil road, which formerly had a gate: it is not to be doubted but that there were gates at the passage of all the other streets. They say the bishop of Bath and Wells has a manuscript relating to the ancient state of this town. They have the same tradition as in many other places, that the old city was set on fire by matches tied to the tails of sparrows, let fly from a place called Stannard-cross hill. As soon as I came into the inn, (the Swan) I saw a great parcel of the little stones of a tesselated pavement, found but two days before, in a garden over the way near the river: a croud of people came immediately out of curiosity to see it, and tore it up: I saw some of the remainder in situ, about two foot deep, laid in strong mortar upon a hard gravelled floor: I made the owner melancholy with informing him what profit he might have got by preserving it, to show to strangers. The Foss-way retains its name, and makes the principal street: the pavement thereof, or the original ford across the river, may be seen on the west side of the bridge, made with great flag stones. Upon the bridge is an old chapel, called Little St. Mary’s: at the foot of the bridge within the town is another, called White-chapel; both converted into dwellings. Foundations of houses, chimney-pieces, and the like, have been dug up in the meads on the west side the town, and on both sides the river, with stone coffins and other funeral apparatus. The head of the mayor’s staff or mace is a piece of great antiquity in cast brass: there are four niches with four images, two kings, a queen, and an angel: it seems to have been the crosier of some religious house: round the bottom is wrote, in two lines, + JESU DE DRUERJE + NEME DUNETMJE. In the northern angle beyond the old ditch of the city, towards the river, have been some bastions and modern fortifications, of the time of king Charles I.
72
ISCHALIS
17. Aug. 1723.
Stukeley del.
I. Vder. Gucht Sculp.
Beyond the river is a village adjoining, called North-over, with a church; at Mrs. Hoddle’s, hard by, I saw a grey-hound bitch, from whose side a skewer of wood seven inches long had worked itself out from the stomach: we have some such rare cases in medicinal histories. They talk of a castle standing where now is the gaol, and that the tide came formerly up hither, though now it reaches not beyond Langport. West of this, some time since, they dug up some bones in a leaden case, as big as a band-box, laid in a hollowed stone; and near it, under a tree, was a vault of stone, where a body was found lying at full length. Langport is moted about, as they tell me, and probably was a Roman town. These were all the remarkables I met with at Ischalis, where I staid but half a day.