IO2 



THE HAMPSHIRE ANTIQUARY & NATURALIST. 



54' so"N. ; long. i 24' o" W. ; height above sea, 84 feet. 

 Observers Sergt. T. Chambers, R.E., and Mr. J. T. Cook. 



* Black bulb in vacuo. 



THE HAMPSHIRE INDEPENDENT, August 9, 1890. 



WEATHER IN JULY. 



This month can hardly be said to have been genial 

 summer weather. It has been marked by small 

 sunshine and considerable rain. The i7th was visited 

 in many parts byasevere thunderstorm and very heavy 

 rainfall in some over four inches in the 24 hours. 

 Here we had i'25in., and the total fall in the month 

 has been 3-16 inches considerably over the average, 

 which for the previous ten years is 2-41 inches. Rain 

 fell on 15 days in one instance there were four days 

 without rain, but in no other more than two. Since 

 January i the quantity has been 17-14, and the aver- 

 age of the same time is i6'oo inches. Only three 

 days are entered as " Fine sunshine." The barome- 

 ter has been under the average, on twelve days only 

 30 inches and above. The highest was 30.26, and 

 the lowest 29-51 inches. July is the hottest month 

 on the average, but it has not proved itself so this 

 year. The highest was 76, in June it was 77, and 

 the maximum was on thirteen days under 70. At 

 night it was also cold for the season, and the lowest 

 was only once 60*, and was on thirteen nights under 

 50, the lowest in the month was 40, and 41 and 

 42 on two other nights. 



Fordingbridge. T. WESTLAKE. 



A VISIT TO NEWPORT IN 1719. 



The following paper is copied from a curious MS. 

 in the British Museum, which tells its own story. I 

 have not been in Newport for many years and have 

 no means of knowing how far the description answers 

 to the present state of things, nor which of the in- 

 scriptions still remain. But I send it to you, as the 

 good people of Newport will probably be interested 

 in it, and perhaps some one may kindly tell me how 

 it compares with the present. 



I purpose from time to time to send other notes 

 from the same volume. The next place dealt with is 

 Carisbrooke. W. BENHAM, F.S.A. 



32, Finsbury-square, July 4, 1890. 



Tuesday, i7th March, 1719, morning I set out from 

 Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight, in a Hoy, and 

 sailed up Cowes River to Newport, where I made the 

 following observations, viz., Newport is a pretty large 

 market and borough town of ye Isle of Wight, in Lat. 

 Medina, or Novus Burgus de Medina ; it is situated at 

 the upper part of Cowes River, which is so narrow 

 and shallow that it will not admit any ships of great 

 burden to come quite up to it. It had its first grants 

 from Richard de Rivers Earl of Devon, and Baldwin 

 his son, and Sister Isabella de Fortibus, Lords of the 

 Isle, descendants ot Fitz Osbern. The last charter 

 was granted to them by K. James I by the name of 

 Mayor, Aldermen, and 24 chief burgesses, who elect 

 members to Parliament. Famous for the Treaty of 

 the Parliamentary Commissioners with King Charles I, 

 held anno 1648. They have a market every Wednes- 

 day and Saturday, and one fair on Whitson Monday 

 for three dayes. The church is like, at first view, 3 

 ridged houses joyned, embattled on ye top ; on ye 

 upper part are five windows between 6 leaden spouts, 

 and underneath 4 larger windows, with a large 

 porch, which is the grand entrance in the middle of 

 the south side ; the tower is pretty lofty and em- 

 battled with four pinnacles. 



Within the Church is one of the most curious 

 carved pulpits that I ever saw, the work of one 

 Thomas Sayer (who now lies buried in Salisbury) 

 anno 1630, in which year the seats were likewise 

 erected. It was a donation of one March, whose 

 crest is against the back of the pulpit. As for the 

 carving round the sounding board of it is this 

 circumscription in neat wrought and gilded letters, Cry 

 aloud and spare not ; lift tip thy voice like a Trumpet. 

 The pulpit is divided into two rows of bas-relief 

 carved images, on the uppermost row are curiously 

 described ye four Cardinal Virtues, and the three 

 Graces with their types ; and on the lower rank 

 the seven liberal sciences, viz. : Grammatica, 

 Dialectica, Rhetorica, Musica, Arithmetica, Gcometria, 

 Astronomia ; %vith the several symbols and character- 

 isticks of each science. Tis a true Church Militant, 

 for there is a cannon placed to defend the church now 

 it is in danger. Nothing more remarkable in it but a 

 neat light grey marble font. Underneath the step 



