118 Review of Waylen’s History of Marlborough. 
Marlborough Bucket” preserved in the British Museum, and the 
Rudge Cup, engraved in Gough’s Camden, and represented below 
in the size of original. (Query, where is this preserved at present ?) 
i 
_ 
= 
= 
= 
= 
—t 
= 
The name of Marlborough, written in the most ancient charters 
Merlberg, or Mierleberg, is supposed to be derived from Merlin 
Ambrosius the Briton, a seer and writer, who flourished towards 
the close of the fifth century, and is said by Bale to have been 
buried here, haying in his life-time erected Stonehenge. ALI this 
is, of course, somewhat apocryphal. Not so the well authenticated 
fact that at the time of the conquest a castle existed here in which 
the Conqueror imprisoned several of the Saxon ecclesiastics (among 
others Aigelricus, Bishop of Southsax) who had exhibited impatience 
of his usurpation. It is remarkable that Domesday Book contains 
no survey of the town or manor, although one of the wealthiest 
landholders in the county bore the name of Alured de Merlebergh, 
and was therefore most probably its lord. The Conqueror is 
said to have established a mint here, several coins of his epoch 
existing with the name of the town impressed on them. That the 
castle continued in the hands of the Sovereign seems proved by 
Henry I. having held a court here during Easter in the year 1110. 
