1804.} > 
-eroft’s Alms-houfes, in the neighbourhood 
of Bow. Hertford had once five churches, 
which are now reduted to two; and when 
its caftle was a palace of refort, it was a 
place of far more confequence than at pre- 
fent. A thort diftance farther in the town 
we enquired for the priory, founded here 
for Benedictine nuns, in 1093, by Ralph 
de Limefie, asa cell fubordinate to the 
abbey of St. Albans, Not a fragment of 
its ruins could be feen. 
its name to the farm that has arifen on the 
fite.. Having turned upon the road to 
Hatfield, we found the cattle clofe upon 
our right; which appears to have been of 
confequence even earlier than the Norman 
Conqueit. At the clofe of John’s reion 
it was befieged by Louis, the Dauphin, 
who came over to afift the barons, and 
who did nct take it till he had fuffered con- 
fiderakle lofs. | In the time of Edward the 
Third, John, king of France, and David, 
king of Scotland, were kept prifoners Here 
together. It is memorable alfo as the 
place which Edward the Third granted to 
John of Gaunt, duke of Lancafter, as an 
habitation fuited to his quality, and where 
his fon, Henry IV. Kept his court at Ri- 
chard the fecond’s depofition. Henry VI. 
kept his Ealter here in 1429, and his 
queen, Margaret of Anjou, was jointured 
with it. The area of the caftle feems 
hever to have been extcnfive, and little of 
the very old building, except the wall of 
fortification, appears; the cafle as it is 
now inhabited feems hardly older than 
the time of Edward the Third, and has pro- 
bably loft much of its ancient grandeur 
by being adapted to convenience. The 
Mount on the weftern fide has crumbled 
materially away. It was fitted up as a 
manfion-houfe by the Harringtons or 
Coopers, and, till the clofe of latt 
year, was inhabited by Lord Hilfborough. 
The walls of the fortification are beauti- 
fully throwded with ivy. 
We now continued our route to Hat- 
field, and at the diftance of about five 
miles took the fields, through Lord Sa- 
Hifbury’s Park, to Hatfield-houfe. Bi- 
fhop’s Hatfield appears to have been fo 
called from its having anciently belonged 
to the See of Ely. In later times the 
Kings of England refided here, on a {pot 
where, in the time of James the Firft, Sir 
_ Robert Cecil, Lord Salifbury, built the 
prefent manfion, of red-brick and ftone. 
Tt was here that Edward the Sixth receiy- 
_ed the greater part of his education, and 
QueenElizabeth paft thelatter part of her fif- 
_ ter’scruel reign; and it is fingularthat both 
Edward and Elizabeth were taken hence on 
Montuiy Mac. No, 112. 
Excurfion to St. Albans. 
It has only left 
117 
their acceflion to the throne. Ata fub. 
fequent period it was one of the hofpita- 
ble prifons of Mary Queen of Scots, of 
whom two portraits, (one genuine, 1578), 
are yet remaining. Lord Salifbury has 
alfo a portrait of Charles the firft in the 
drefs in which he went to Spain. dk 
In the road from Hatfield to St. Albans 
we pafled Wood-fide, where, in 1455, the 
firft blood was {pilt in the fatal quarrel of 
the Rofes; the battle was fought on the 
22d of May; the Yorkifts were fuperior, 
and, without fuffering any confiderable 
lofs, flew five thoufand of their’ enemies. 
It need hardly be added, that this fight, 
in which Henry the Sixth was made pri- 
foner, was the firft.of thirteen battles. 
Having reached St. Albans, we reftéed 
for the evening, and in the morning vi- 
fited the abbey. At the eaft end ftands 
the old cloifter, one corner of which is 
how occupied by the free-{chool. Nigh 
the {mall fouth entrance, 1s the back part 
of the tomb of Humphrey the good Duke 
of Gloucefter 5 next to it that of Whet- 
amftead, the learned abbot of St. Albans, 
with rebuffes of wheat-ears; and adjoin-- 
ing, the tomb of Abbot Ramrege. The 
front of Duke Humphrey’s tomb is in a 
chapel behind the high altar, in the mid~ 
die of which are fhewn the marks of four 
pillars, which fupported St. Alban’s 
fhrine. On one fide, is the entrance to 
Duke Humphrey’s vault, into which we 
went, and examined the bones remaining 
in the coffin. He appears to have been 
wrapped in lead, and afterwards inclofed 
inarude cafe of wood. The. entrance 
was difcovered early in the lat century ; 
and at that time a great part of the body 
was entire. The admiffion of the aif, 
however, hada deftructive effe&t ; and the 
very pickle the body was then found in, 
is now dried to a kind of foft muddy con- 
fitence. From the hones we conjectured - 
him to have heen a well-made man, above, 
rather than below, the middle fize. Ina 
fort of Thefaurarium, on the north fide, 
we were fhown a piece of fimall black and 
white tefle!lated Roman pavement, found 
in the church, and another, of coarfe red. 
and white tile, from the parifh of St. 
Martin. The f{creen of the ‘high altar is 
very rich, and was probably erected early _ 
in the fifteenth century. | 
The lower part of the choir of the 
church, on the north fide, has four rich 
pointed arches, joined toward the eaft by 
five others, rude and femi-circular.: The 
pillars on the oppofite fide fupport none 
but pointed arenes, Againft the upper 
pillar om the north fide is an obliterated 
RK painting ; 
