Retrospect of Domestic Literature—Topography. 627 
indulgence of Sir J. F. Leicester, we 
have had an opportunity of inspecting 
his ancestor’s MSS. which are now in 
his possession, at Tabley; and we found 
them to contain ample collections for the 
hundred of Bucklow, written by Sir 
Peter Leycester, in a very neat hand, 
but scarcely any thing relating to other 
parts of the county, except a large vo- 
luine of pedigrees, written also by Sir 
Peter himself, being chiefly copied trom 
the collections of Mr. John Booth, of 
Twenlow, with some additions made by 
Sir Francis Leycester, Sir Peter’s suc- 
cessor, 
‘“‘ The earliest printed work relating to 
the county palatine of Chester, is that 
generally known by the name of King’s 
Vale Royal, for which the editor, Damiel 
King, an engraver, seems to have enjoy- 
ed a much yreater portion of fame than 
was his due. The first part consists of a 
brief veographical account of Cheshire, 
the course of-its rivers, 4 summary ac- 
count of the several hundreds, brief 
descriptions of the city of Chester, the 
market towns, and a few of the principal 
villages; lists of the gentry in each hun- 
dred, and engraved coats of arms in al- 
phabetical order; and annals of the city 
of Chester, all by William Sinith, rouge- 
dragon purstivant at arms in the reign 
of Queen Elizabeth. The most valuable 
article in the second part is an Lutferary 
of (heshire, divided into the several 
hundreds, made in tiie year 1622, by 
Wiiham Webb, M.A. who was clerk in 
the mayor’s court at Chester, and had 
been under-sheriff to Sir Richard Lea 
in the year 1615, The second part con- 
tains also a short history of the Earls of 
Chester, their barons, the Bishops - of 
Mercia and Chester, the government of 
the county and city, and a more copious 
€pitome of the annals of the latter, com- 
piled trom the corporation bouks, by 
Wilham Aldersey, twice mayor of Ches-. 
ter, whodiedin 1617. A work entitieda 
History of Cheshire, in twa volurses 8vo, 
was publi-bedin 1778, being mere!y a copy 
of the Vale Royal, with extracts irom Sir 
Peter Leycester’s History of Bucklow 
Hundred ; an anonymous [History of Nant- 
wich, written by the Rev. Mr. Partridge, 
which had been published separately in 
4774; extractstrom a brief History of Ec- 
cleston, which had been published by the 
Rev. Thomas Crane in 1774; the Diary 
of Edward Burghall, some time rector of 
Acton, relating chiefly to public tran- 
sactions during the civil war; and ex. 
tracts from Pennaat’s Journey from Ches- 
ter to London, ang other modern publica. 
tions. The Life of St. Werburgh, written 
in verse by Henry Bradshaw, a monk of 
Chester, and printed by Pynson, of whieh 
only two or three copies are known to 
be extant, contains many historical pare 
ticulars relating to the city of Chester. 
“The manuscript collections for this 
county have been uncemmoily numerouss 
an account of most of these ts given ina 
Sketch of the Materials for a Mistory of 
Cheshire, in a Letter addressed to Tho- 
mas Falconer, esq. and printed, first ano- 
nymously in 1771, and a second edition 
afterwards with his name, by Foote 
Gower, M.D. who meditated a history 
of the county upon an extensive scale. 
The most important are the very volu- 
minous collections of the Randal Holmes, 
(of which naine there were four in suc- 
cessidn) now among the Harleian MSS, 
in the British Museum; containing an 
immense mass of copies of charters, 
deeds, &c. taken from public records 
and private muniment rooms; pedigrees + 
letters, aud various other matter collected 
by them, or copied from the collections 
of others; the collections of John Booth, 
esq. of Tremlow, Mr. Roger Wilbraham’s 
collections for the town and district of 
Nantwich; Mr. John Warburton’s col- 
lections, consisting of the descents of 
manors, and an accoant of the principal 
families; those of the Rev. Jolin Stones, 
rector of Coddington; and those of Mr. 
William Vernon, of Shakerley in Lane 
cashire, consisting of many folio volames, 
comprising extracts from deeds and other 
authentic instruments, descents of fami- 
les, and a variety of matter relating to 
several towns and parishes in Cheshire. 
The collections of Lawrence Bostock, 
Saimpsen Erdswick, Ralph Starkey, 
Randal Catherail, Roger Wilcoxen, the 
three Chaloners, and others, most of 
which are now amony the Harleian MSS. 
in the British Museum, are also described; 
and two very valuable epitomes made 
about a century avo from the several 
Voiuminous collections relating to this 
county; the one containing the descent 
of the privcipal landed property, come 
piled by Dr. Williamson, a physician, 
under the title of ‘ Veilare Cestriense ;” 
the other av epitome of the ecclesiastical 
history of each parish, with an accurate 
account of chartable donations and in- 
stitations, under the title of ‘ Notitia Cese 
(riensis,” compiled with great industry by 
Dr. Gastrell, bishop of Chester, by whose 
means the large collections of the Holmes, 
being offered to sale after the death of 
Randal 
