262 THE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET. [Book XI. 



Mr. Henshaw, one of the earliest members of the Royal 

 Society, in a letter to Sir Robert Paston (afterwards Earl of 

 Yarmouth), dated October 13, 1670, gives him the following- 

 account of the mode in which the queen and her ladies amused 

 themselves during this visit : " Last week there was a Faire 

 neare Audley End, the Queen, the Dutchess of Richmond, and 

 the Dutchess of Buckingham, had a frolick to disguise them- 

 selves like countiy-lasses, in red petticoates, wastcoats, Sc*^, 

 and so goe see the Faire. Sir Bernard Gascoign, on a cart- 

 jade, rode before the Queen, another stranger before the 

 Dutchesse of Buckingham, and Mr. Roper before Richmond. 

 They all so overdone it in their disguise, which look'd so much 

 more like the Antiques than Country volk, that as soon as 

 they came to the Faire the people began to goe after them ; 

 but the Queen going to a booth to buy a pair of yellow stock- 

 ings for her sweet hart, and Sir Bernard asking for a pair of 

 gloves, stitcht with blue, for his sweet hart, they were soon, by 

 their gebrish, found to be strangers, which drew a bigger flock 

 about them. One amongst them had seen the Queen at 

 dinner, knew her, and was proud of her knowledge ; this soon 

 brought all the Faire into a crowd to stare at the Queen. But 

 thus discovered, they, as soon as they could, got to their horses ; 

 but as many of the Faire as had horses got up with their wives, 

 children, sweet harts, or neighbours behind them, to get as 

 much gape as they could till they brought them to the Court 

 gate. Thus, by ill conduct, was a merry frolick turned into a 

 pennance." 



In September, 1671, the queen, attended by several ladies 

 of quality and court officials, was again at Audley End. 

 Several other royal visits took place during the reign of 

 Charles II., which we need not stop to particularize. There 

 is no reason to suppose that James II. was ever at Audley 

 End subsequently to his accession to the throne. William III. 

 was there in 1689, when he received a similar tribute from 

 the corporation of Walden to that which had been given to 

 Charles II. 



Lord Suffolk, and his successor, the fourth earl, seem to 

 have resided at Chesterford Park, after the sale of Audley End, 



