[ 137 3 
“ add ftrength to this tradition } for many of the old 
“ houfes in England are found to contain a great 
deal of this kind of timber : feveral of the houfes 
« in Old Palace Yard, Weftminfter, and in that neigh- 
bourhood, which were taken down in order to 
“ build Parliament and Bridge-ftreets, appeared to 
“ have been built with chefnut j and the fame was 
“ obferved with regard to the Black Swan Inn, in 
“ Holborn, and many other old buildings lately 
“ pulled down in different parts of England.” And 
to this I had fubjoined the following account in a 
note. “ Chefnut timber being at prefent rarely to be 
“ found growing in the woods and forefts of Eng- 
“ land, many perfons are induced to think that the 
“ fweet chefnut was never an indigenous tree of this 
‘‘ illand : but a little confideration will plainly evince, 
“ that it always was, and is to this day, a native of 
“ England. It is generally allowed, that all the 
‘‘ ancient houfes in the city of London were built of 
“ this timber. Certainly it did not grow far off j 
“ and rnofl probably it came from fome forefts near 
“ the town j for Fitz Stephens, in his defeription of 
“ London, written in the reign of king Henry the 
“ Second, fpeaks of a large and very noble foreft, 
“ which grew on the North fide of it. Rudhall, 
‘‘ near Rofs, in Herefordfhire, an ancient feat of the 
family of Rudhall, is built with chefnut, which 
“ probably grew on that eftate 5 for although no tree 
of the kind is now to be found growing wild in 
“ that part of the country, yet there can be no 
“ doubt, but that formerly chefnuts trees were the 
“ natural growth of the neighbouring wood lands, 
fince we find that Roger earl of Hereford, founder 
VoL. LXI. T of 
