2°d S. No 105., Jan. 2. '58.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



following contemporary notice, which I extract 

 from The Political State for May," 1730, p. 562. ? 



" On the 3rd [May, 1730], died Arthur Moor, Esq.; 

 and on the 9th his corpse was carried down to be buried 

 at Leather/lead in Surrey, -where his country-seat and 

 estate is situated." 



M.A. 



Pitt and the Chatham Title. — I enclose a cutting 

 from one of Kussell Smith's Catalogues of Manu- 

 scripts, which furnishes a curious picture of the 

 consternation and surprise created by Pitt's ac- 

 ceptance of a title and pension for Lady Hester : 



" 616. A very long Letter full of Court and Political 

 Gossip, by G. Freeth, addressed to the Hon. W. Robinson 

 at Naples, containing some curious particulars respecting 

 Pitt, ' a report of this matter (Pitt's resignation and 

 barony to his wife) got about the day before, and most 

 unfortunately all the newspapers contradicted it, as a 

 scandalous report set on foot with a design to tarnish the 

 lustre of a certain great character ; this was the style of 

 the papers of Saturday, so that upon the coming out of 

 the Gazette about 10 o'clock, it was really diverting to 

 see the effect it had upon most people's countenances. 

 At Duke's Coffee-house, where I was, it occasioned a 

 dead silence, and I think every body went away without 

 giving their opinion, except Dr. Collier, who has always 

 called Mr. Pitt all the rogues he can set his mouth on — 

 our new Queen, she seems to me to behave with equal 

 propriety and civility — No ! the common people are 

 quite exasperated at her not being handsomer, and the 

 people at Court laugh at her curtesies,' 7s. Gd." 



It may serve as an illustration to Montagu's 

 letter to Conway of 12th Oct. 1761. T. D. E. 



MISTRESS ELEANOR GWTN AND HER FAMILY. 



As you kindly inserted my former communica- 

 tion showing the existence of a sister of Nell 

 Gwyn, a fact which has escaped even the pene- 

 tration of Peter Cunningham, may I beg of you 

 to jot down one or two "Notes" more in con- 

 nexion with this celebrated lady not recorded 

 in that writer's little brochure upon her life, — a 

 useful compilation, though considerably inter- 

 spersed with conjecture? Her mother's name was 

 Helena, and a native of the parish of St. Martin's- 

 in-the-Fields, in which church she lies interred. 

 The monument erected to her memory in the 

 south alley (aisle) was pulled down on the re- 

 building of the church, and bore this inscrip- 

 tion : — 



" Here Ij'es interred the body of Helena Gwynn, born 

 in this parish, who departed this life y® 20*'^ of July, 

 MDCLxxix, in the Ivi yeare of her age." 



I find also the arms of Madam Gwyn (Nell 

 Gwyn) were done at the public workhouse* in 

 the year 1687 ; and from the work-book under 

 that date, appear to have been per pale, arg. and 



* This was a place used, as I suppose, probably by a 

 company of herald painters. 



or, a lion rampant, azure. Might not the record 

 of these armorial 'bearings serve in some way as 

 ancillary in connecting her with some family of 

 the name ? 



Of her father I can glean nothing authentic, 

 although I have heard that his name was James 

 Gwyn, and that he had a house in some lane in 

 Hereford, the lease of which is 'still extant in the 

 ofBce of a solicitor in the same city. The house 

 in question either was recently or may be now 

 still standing. Can any of your Hereford corre- 

 spondents afford corroboration of this, or furnish 

 additional particulars? 



I have in my possession a fine original oil paint- 

 ing which has been handed down as the portrait of 

 this court beauty. Pearls appear to be her prin- 

 cipal ornament, and apparently she wears the 

 great Ruperta pearl necklace (vide Cunningham's 

 Story of Nell Gwyn) ; and, although varying 

 considerably from the published prints, presents 

 the appearance of a female of high personal attrac- 

 tions, and in the prime of life. Cl. Hopper. 



Minor ^atti, 



Irish Knighthood. — I transcribe the following 

 from an old newspaper cutting : — 



" The following is a copy of the Report of the twelve 

 Judges of England upon the question, referred to them 

 by the King in Council, relative to the power of the Lord 

 Lieutenant of Ireland to confer the honour of Knighthood, 

 since the Union of Great Britain and Ireland : 



" ' To the King's most Excellent Majesty. May it 

 please your Majesty, — In obedience to your Majesty's 

 commands in the foregoing order of j'our Majesty's 

 Council, we have met and conferred upon the question 

 therein referred to us by your Majesty ; and understancf^ 

 ing, from the manner in which the question is proposed 

 to us, that the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland possessed, be- 

 fore the Union of Great Britain and Ireland, the un- 

 doubted power of conferring the honour of Knighthood, 

 and having seen the forms of the patents appointing a 

 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland before and since the Union, 

 which were furnished to us for this purpose by Mr. Buller, 

 at our request ; and having also considered the statute 

 for the Union of the two Kingdoms, we are of opinion 

 that the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland does, since the Union 

 of Great Britain and Ireland, possess the power of con- 

 ferring the honour of Knighthood, as he did whilst Ire- 

 land was a separate Kingdom. 



" All which is humbly submitted to your Majesty's 

 Koyal wisdom. 



« ' Signed C. Abbot. J. A. Park. 



W. D. Best. R. Graham. 



G. S. Holroyd. J. Hullock. 



J. Bayley. J. Burrough. 



" ' We are not able to attend the meeting of our 

 brother Judges, but having considered the matter, we 

 humbly beg leave to express to your Majesty our con- 

 currence with their opinion. 



" * Signed R. Richards. 



W. Garrow. 

 J. Richardson.' " 



There is no date to the document as reprinted, 



