Feb. 11. 1854.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



125 



Fane and Mary Baroness Despencer, having been 

 advanced to that earldom. As the seat of a 

 noble family for more than a century and a half, 

 it is hardly likely that no view should have been 

 taken of it ; I have searched, however, in vain for 

 it in Harris, Buck, and other published collections. 



It would be a matter of special interest to many 

 "besides myself, to obtain some information re- 

 specting it. 



John, seventh earl, the builder of the present 

 Palladian mansion, died in 1762, when the earldom 

 passed to a distant cousin, and the barony of De- 

 spencer was called out of abeyance in favour of 

 Sir Francis Dashwood, the son and representative 

 of Mary, sister and eldest co-heir of John, seventh 

 Earl of Westmoreland, and heir to his estates. 

 On his death s.p., Sir Thomas Stapleton, sole 

 heir to the Barony of Despencer (as lineal de- 

 scendant and heir of Catherine, the younger sister 

 -and co-heir of the said John, seventh earl), suc- 

 ceeded to the estate ; and from him it has lineally 

 descended to Mary, Viscountess Falmouth, and 

 "jure suo " Baroness Despencer, the present 

 representative of the family. At Mereworth 

 Castle itself, where the Viscount and Viscountess 

 Falmouth reside, there is no view of the old 

 "building ; but it is very possible that some drawing 

 or engraving of it may exist in some of the resi- 

 dences of the Earls of Westmoreland subsequent 

 to the seventh earl, or at the seat of the Dash- 

 "woods, or in the British Museum. 



I trouble you with this Query, in the hope that, 

 -among your numerous readers, some one may be 

 placed in a position to give us information on the 

 subject. In doing so they would greatly oblige 



Cantianus. 



" / could not love thee, dear, so much." — Where 

 are the following lines to be found ? what is the 

 context ? 



" I could not love thee, dear, so much, 

 Loved I not honour more." 



H. 



Leicester as Ranger of Snowden. — In the reign 

 of Queen Elizabeth, Leicester was made Ranger 

 of Snowden Forest, and using violent means to 

 extort unjust taxes from the people, under cover 

 of this appointment, he was opposed and resisted 

 by eight Welsh gentlemen, under the leadership 

 of Sir Richard Bulkeley, of Baron Hill, in Angle- 

 sey. Among these was a Madryn of Madryn, a 

 Hugh ap Richard of Cefnllanfuir, a Griffith of 

 Cefn Amlwch, &c. These patriotic gentlemen 

 met with imprisonment in the Tower of London 

 as their only recompense ; and there are extant 

 poems by Guttyn, Peris, and other bards, ad- 

 dressed to them on the subject. I should be 



obliged to any of your correspondents to give me 

 any farther information on this subject, or refer- 

 ence to documents which bear upon it. 



Elffin ap Gwyddno. 



Crabb of Telsford. — Any information respect- 

 ing the settlement of the family of Crabb, or 

 Crabbe, at Telsford, county of Somerset, together 

 with the names of the present representatives of 

 that family, would be most thankfully received 

 through the medium of your valuable pages, or in 

 any other way, by One of the Name. 



Tolling the Bell while the Congregation is leav- 

 ing Church. — Can you inform me why this is 

 done at Richmond Church ; and whether the cus- 

 tom is adopted in any other ? * J. H. M. 



O'Brien of Thosmond. — In the Calendar of 

 Inquisitions post mortem, there appears one taken 

 on the death of Alicia, wife of Nicholas Thos- 

 mound, in the second year of King Henry IV. 

 The estates were in Somersetshire. From the 

 appearance of this name, I suspect it is not an 

 English one ; but rather an old form of spelling 

 the name of the province of Tothmound or Tho- 

 •mond (South Munster), Ireland ; and that this 

 Nicholas was an O'Brien, who called himself from 

 his family's principality, for it was not uncommon 

 in England formerly to take names from estates. 

 Perhaps some of your correspondents having ac- 

 cess to the Inquisition would ascertain more on 

 the subject, and give it to the public. The name 

 of Nicholas O'Brien occurs in the Irish rolls of 

 Chancery about that very period. A. B. 



Order of St. David of Wales. — In the reign of 

 Queen Elizabeth there was an order of knight- 

 hood—the Order of St. David of Wales. When 

 was that Order created ? Who was the first 

 knight ? Who was the last knight? What pre- 

 late was the chaplain to the Order ? Why was it 

 dissolved? Why is it not revived again? We 

 have several Welsh peers, noblemen, knights ; four 

 bishops, men of science and learning, Welshmen. 

 I hope the good Queen Victoria will revive this 

 ancient order of knighthood, and the Prince of 

 Wales be created the first knight. The emblem 

 of Wales is a red dragon. 



Can any of your readers give an account of this 

 ancient order ? Some years ago there were several 

 letters in The Times, and other papers, respect- 

 ing it and the Welsh motto. Wales should have 

 its knight as well as Ireland, Scotland, and Eng- 

 land. W. 



Warple-way. — The manor of Richmond, in 

 Surrey, has been the property of the crown for 

 many hundred years, I may say from time imme- 



[* This custom, is observed in many of the London 

 churches Ed. ] 



