HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE. 335 



called the Byrth ;* round a great part of the summit of which has 

 been made a foss and rampart, of an irregular form, corresponding 

 with the figure of the hill, which may be nearly a mile in circum- 

 ference. At the distance of a mile or more from and to the north- 

 west of the Byrth, is another hill, which is part of Maer-heath, and 

 is called the Camp-hill. Between these are two more hills : the 

 one very near to the Byrth, which is named the Little Byrth ; and 

 the other, which is larger, is called Coplow. Dr. Plot is of opi- 

 nion, that a battle was fought here, about the year of our Lord 

 705, between Osrid king of Northumberland and Kenred king of 

 Mercia. He also conjectures Coplow-hill to be the tumulus of 

 Osrid, and the Byrth to be a fortification or ' strong hold that 

 Kenred had raised against him/ His conjectures seem to be 

 grounded chiefly on a quotation from Henry Huntingdon, viz. 

 'Osrid vero rex belli infortunio juxta Mere pugnans interfectus 

 est/ In taking a view of the ground on Maer-heath, however, 

 there appears to be nothing artificial, except the two small hills 

 on the Camp-hill, and the foss and rampart round the Byrth. 



" A few years ago, George Toilet, Esq, a gentleman of learning 

 and an antiquary, the Rev. T. Barlow, and Mr. Poole, of Finney 

 Green, and other gentlemen, went to view Maer-heath, for the 

 purpose of ascertaining whether there were any barrows. They 

 dug into those places that had most resemblance to barrows, 

 but found nothing like sepulchral remains. Coplow-hill is evidently 

 the work of Nature ; and as a public road has been made over 

 part of the heath since the time of Dr. Plot, and sections made 

 through some parts of the hills, in which regular strata appear, 

 it is probable that Osrid was slain near some other place called 

 Mere."f This battle, it has been conjectured, might have been 

 fought near Mere or Mere-town, in the parish of Forton, near 

 that fine lake, which ornaments the seat of Sir John Fenton Boughey, 

 Bart, which is called Aqualate Mere, as there is very strong evi- 

 dence of a battle having formerly been fought there ; and which is 

 noticed in a former page (272), under the article ' FORTON/ 



Maer-heath was formerly a waste or common of several hundred 

 acres, but it has lately been inclosed, allotted to the different pro- 

 prietors of the estates in its vicinity, and a considerable part of it 

 planted with young trees. Part of the land was drained before it 

 was planted, at the expense of from 6. 14s. to T. 12*. per acre, 



* la some maps it is termed Burgh, Brujf, or BrougJ*. 



t Gent- Mag. Vol. 83, Sup. p. 603. 



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