The Environs of Bath. 



traced through it. It led to the Ford over the Avon just 

 below Bathford Church, which gave its name to Bathford, 

 anciently called "Forde." In a field called Horslands, at 

 Bathford, through which this Ford-road passed, were found, 

 in 1640, the hypocaust and floor of a Roman villa, described 

 by Aubrey in the " Monumenta Britannica.'' 



In the month of June, 1643, Clavertonwas the scene of a 

 battle between the Royalists and Parliamentary forces. 

 Waller occupied Claverton Down with his main body, and 

 sent a strong detachment, with two cannon, across the Avon 

 which he had spanned with a bridge at Warleigh, and built 

 a redoubt to defend the bridge and ford on the Claverton 

 side. His lieutenant, Major Dowet, placed his guns on 

 Monkton Farleigh Down, and sent forward a detachment to 

 occupy a wood on the road to Bradford, by which the Royal 

 army was advancing. After an hour's engagement, the 

 Royalists overcame air opposition, and chased the enemy to 

 Batheaston and Bath, and, turning the guns on Claverton, 

 attacked and took the redoubt and Claverton village — ^the 

 Parliamentarian army retiring into Bath. This was imme- 

 diately before the Battle of Lansdown, and opened the road 

 to Oxford to the Royal army. One of the cannon balls fired 

 from Warleigh, lodged in the chimney-piece of the gallery of 

 the Manor House, and is still preserved. The Parish 

 Register records that " under ye west wall of the Churchyard 

 were buried 3 soldiers killed of the ParUamentary party, and 

 one of the Royalists in an unhappy civil war at the river side 

 in the Ham Meadow." 



Passing over another hundred years, we find the Rev. 

 Richard Graves the Rector of Claverton. He was rather a 

 remarkable character, a scholar, poet, and satirist, of no mean 

 order, and it might be truly said of him that " he was a fellow 



