34 KINGSBRIDGE 



which dates back to the thirty-fifth year of Edward I., 1306. 

 The earliest date on any of the public documents belonging 

 to the town is 1309; consequently the former is very 

 valuable from its antiquity. Tresillian House was called 

 after an Estate of that name in Cornwall, which belonged 

 to the late Major Bennett, of ihe Cornwall Militia, and 

 who was at one time stationed here. 



Previous to the year 1461, the weekly market at Kings- 

 bridge was held on Fridays. It was at that period changed 

 to Saturdays. A fair is held annually, and begins on 

 St. Margaret's Day (20th of July), or following Thursday. 



The late Portreeve kindly lent a copy (both in Latin 

 and English) of the original charter for holding Kingsbridge 

 Fair and Market. We here give the translation.* Whether 

 the various modes of spelling Kingsbridge exist in the 

 original document, we have no means of knowing. 



THE CHARTER GRANTED IN TELE REIGN OF HENRY VI., 



TO HOLD A MARKET AND FAIRS AT KINGSBRIDGE 



AND BUCKFASTLEIGH, DEVON. 



"The King to the Archbishops, Bishops, &c, greeting. 

 Know ye, that of special grace we have granted and given 

 license, and by these presents do grant and give license, 

 for us and our heirs, as much as in us is, to our beloved 

 in Christ, the Abbot and convent of the house and church 

 of the blessed Mary, of Buckfast, in the county of Devon, 

 and to their successors, that they and their successors, 



had made him much respected, and his kindness to the poor will make his 

 loss much felt by them, as well as by a large circle of friends." Mr. Elliot 

 was buried on the Tuesday following his death, at South Milton. Nearly 

 all the shops in Kingsbridge were wholly closed for several hours on that 

 day, as a mark of respect for this much-esteemed gentleman. 



* Being a curious specimen of abbreviated Latin, we give that also in the 

 appendix. 



