2°<> S. X. Sevt. 8. 'CO.J 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



197 



be traced between names of somewhat similar 

 sound, and perhaps of kindred source,) that the 

 arms borne by the Bennett fixniily of Wilt?, pater- 

 nally descended from the last owner of the Pyt 

 estate (from whom the Benett family, the present 



f)ossessors, maternally deduce), are strikingly simi- 

 ar to the arms quoted by Burke for Pitman of 

 Devon, and now borne by the representative of 

 that family at Dunchideock in that county.* This 

 is an interesting field of research, and tends to 

 throw considerable light on the origin and con- 

 nexion of many of our county fiimilies. 



Henry W. S. Taylor. 

 Southampton. 



Another instance of this is the " G-IUet alias 

 Candler" family; concerning which I asked a 

 question in 2"* S. ii. 150,, which has not yet re- 

 ceived an answer. E. G. R. 



Plan of Boulogne (2'^'^ S. x. 70.) — It is not 

 probable that there is anything of novelty or in- 

 terest now to be obtained from any source, re- 

 specting the armament gathered together at Bou- 

 logne for the asserted purpose of invading England 

 in 1804. I say asserted, for I believe it is the 

 present general impression (and 'there are abun- 

 dant grounds for considering it a just one) that 

 Napoleon himself never contemplated that use for 

 tliat force, and all the " details relatifs "k I'expedi- 

 tion" are already familiarly known (vide int. al. 

 Dr. Millingen's Sketches of Ancient and Modet-n 

 Boulogne, S^c, Boul. 1826). Nor can. much of 

 either value or interest attach to a plan of Bou- 

 logne of any date within the last 150 years, see 

 St. Marin's Plan, 1716-17, &c., amongst the maps 

 in the King's Library, British Museum, and the 

 ordinary guide books of the last thirty years. 



Jambs Knowlbs. 



Hatch (2"'^ S. x. 107.) — Hatch I suppose to 

 be another form of the old French word heche, a 

 gate. Johnson, in his Dictionary, says " perhaps 

 from hacher, to cut, as a hatch is part of a door 

 cut in two." Johnson's suggestion is reproduced 

 by your correspondent, as if it was his own ; but 

 whatever authority there may be for it, it appears 

 to me to be untenable. The French word hacher 

 does not mean to cut in two, but to hack or chop 

 in pieces. 



From what Jacob says in the passage quoted 

 from his Law Dictionary, it would appear that the 

 terra hatch was peculiarly applied to Common 

 Gates. But it must not be supposed that by a 

 common gate a turnpike gate is meant. In for- 

 mer ages turnpike gates were anything but com- 

 mon ; and at the time when places acquired the 

 name of hatch, probably no such things were in 

 existence. A Common Gate is a gate standing on 



• See Burke's Gen. Arm., under "Bennett" (Pyt 

 House, CO. Wilts, and Pitman (Dunchideock, co. Devon). 



the limits of a common, to keep the cattle of the 

 commoners from straying. 



The name Hatch as applied to places is not con- 

 fined to the Eastern Counties. For instance, in 

 Somersetshire we meet with Hatch- Beauchamp 

 and West Hatch, standing not far from the bor- 

 ders of Ashill Forest, an ancient common, now 

 enclosed. And I have no doubt that if your cor- 

 respondent were to make an excursion into Essex 

 he would find more traces of ancient commons than 

 he would of ancient mines. 



It is to be observed that what we learn from 

 Jacob agrees very nearly with the meaning given 

 by Morant, as quoted by Ma. Charnock ; and it 

 will probably be found that when a place is called 

 Hatch, it formerly stood on the borders of some 

 unenclosed land, a common, or a forest. P. S. C 



Heraldic (2"^ S. x. 89. 153.)— Mr. Gakstin re- 

 marks : "It is to be regretted the powers of Ulster 

 in restraining the use of unauthorised arms are 

 not put in force." Is there a law in Ireland, then, 

 which has power, if the King-of-Arms would use 

 it, to punish those who assume armorial bearings 

 without authority ? Formerly, in England, thei-e 

 was doubtless such a power ; for history records 

 instances where those who took up coat armour 

 without authority were deprived of it by the 

 Heralds, and disgraced or otherwise punished. 

 How is it the Heralds have not got similar power 

 now ? One day when I was in the Heralds' Col- 

 lege in London something gave rise to a few- 

 remarks on this subject. One of the Heralds 

 told me that the last instance where a person was 

 deprived of his coat armour, assumed without au- 

 thority, occurred about seventy or eighty years 

 ago. They painted out and obliterated the arms 

 on the panel of some wealthy citizen's carriage on 

 Ludgate Hill or Cheapside. I asked why the 

 same thing could not be done now ? I was told 

 that such an act would be construed Into one of 

 assault or trespass, and that an action for damages 

 might lie. This state of things, therefore, allows 

 those quacks, the seal engravers, to make fortunes 

 out of the ignorance and vanity of the public, 

 who profess to " find " everybody's arms. This 

 presupposes that everybody is born with arms as 

 surely as he is with legs. Whilst coat-armour and 

 the title of Esquire (for modesty's sake written 

 " Esq.") can be assumed Indiscriminately by any 

 snob, they cease to stamp the bearer with any re- 

 spectability. I am surprised that the Heralds, 

 who have so powerful a chief as the Duke of Nor- 

 folk, Hereditary Earl Marshal, at their head, do 

 not try to get their quondam powers better ac- 

 knowledged and better established. 



P. Hutchinson. 



Tyburn Gallows (2"^ S, ix.514.)— In fiirther 

 confirmation of your correspondent J. D., and in 

 confirmation of your correspondent J. H. W., I 



