102 JOURNAL OF JOHN ASTON, 1639 



[June] 26. The 26, Wednesday, I came to Bradford, 

 a towne that makes great store of Turkey cushions and 

 carpetts ; heere I lay all night in pravate man's house, a 

 tanner, who sometimes gave entertainement to travellers. The 

 wett weather kept mee heere all this day and a good part 

 of the next. 



[June] 27. The 27, Thursday, I came to Hallifax, a 

 pretty well built towne of stone, and consists much of clothiers, 

 to encourage whose trade was graunted that priviledge of 

 heading, by the towne law, any malefactour taken (as they 

 say) hand-napping,^*^ back-bearing, or confessing the felony. 

 Theire heading block e is a little way out of towne westward : 

 it is raised upon a little forced ascent of some halfe a dozen 

 stepps and is made in forme of a narrow gallowes, having 

 two ribbs downe either side post, and a great waightie block 

 with riggallds ''^ for those ribbs to shoot in, in the bottome 

 of which blocke is fastned a keene edged hatchet ; then the 

 block is drawne up by a pulley and a cord to the crosse 

 on the topp and the . malefactor layes his head on the block 

 below ; then they let runne the stock with the hatchet in, 

 and dispatch him innnediately. 



Heere is one of the fairest innes in England called the 

 Crosse, because it stands right against the Crosse (T think), 

 now kept by a widdow woeman, one 



[June] 28. The 28, beeing Friday, 1 came to Mr Holywell's, 

 in Manchester. 



[June] 29. The 29, Saturday, I came to Aston. Laus Deo. 



There is a prettie church at Hallifax, wherein I found 

 this epitaph on their quondam parson, Dr Favor : 



Jo. Favor, LL.Doct. medici peritiss, et hujus ecdesice pastoris 



vigilantissimi epitaphium. 

 Corpora et mgrotant animce, /remit undique rixa, 

 Scilicet orha suo turba Favore jacet ; 

 En pastor medicusque obiit, jurisque peritus. 

 I sequere in ccelis qui modo salvus eris. 



^° The proper phrase is handhabend and backberand, i.e. carrying 

 in the hand or on the back. 



^^ Riggot = a narrow channel. Wright's English Dialect Dictionary, 



