276 Mr. L. Hindraarsh on the 



the endowment of the vicarage extracted from the records at Dur- 

 ham, and referring to a period certainly as early as the reign of King 

 John, about which time, viz. 1220 or thereabouts, the church of 

 Chillingham was built, the vicar of Chillingham was, by an agree- 

 ment with Robert De Muscharap, to be allowed as much timber as 

 he wanted for repairs, of the best oak, out of the Great Wood 

 (Magno Bosco) of Chillingham, the remains of which were extant in 

 the time of my grandfather. The more ancient part of the castle also 

 appears to have been built in the next reign, that of Henry III., since 

 which it has been held without interruption by the family of Grey. 

 At what period or by what process the park became inclosed, it is 

 impossible to say ; but as it was closely bounded by the domains of 

 the Percies on the one side and by the Hibburnes on the other (the 

 latter of whom had been seated there since the time of King John) ; 

 and as the chief branch of the Greys always made Chillingham their 

 principal residence until it passed into tiie hands of Lord Ossulston, 

 by his marriage with the daughter and heiress of Ford Lord Grey, it 

 is reasonable to suppose, that in order to secure their cattle, wild and 

 tame, they had recourse to an inclosure, probably at an early pe- 

 riod. 



" It is said that there are some other places in which a similar 

 breed ie found, — Lynn Park, in Cheshire ; Hamilton (as I before 

 mentioned) ; and Chartley Park (Lord Ferrers) . 



" The first I have not seen, but they are described as of a different 

 colour, and different in every respect. Those at Hamilton, or rather 

 Chatelherault, I have seen, and they in no degree resemble those at 

 Chillingham. They have no beauty, no marks of high breeding, no 

 wild habits, being kept, when I saw them, in a sort of paddock ; and 

 I could hear no history or tradition about them which entitled them 

 to be called wild cattle. Those at Chartley park, on the contrary, 

 closely resemble ours in every particular, in their colour, — with some 

 small difference in the colour of their ears, — their size, general ap- 

 pearance, and, as well as I could collect, in their habits. This was 

 a very ancient park, belonging formerly to Devereux Earl of Essex, 

 who built the bridge over the Trent, to communicate with his chace 

 at Cannock and Beaudesert, then belonging to him ; and the belief 

 is, that these cattle had been there from time immemorial. 



" With respect to their habits, it is probable that you will learn 

 more from Cole, who has been park-keeper at Chillingham for many 

 years, than from any information that I can give. I can mention, 

 however, some particulars. They have, in the first place, pre-emi- 

 nently all the characteristics of wild animals, with some peculiarities 



