THE CORPORATION SEALS.-As to these see ante, Vol. III, p. 114. THE OLD MARKET HOUSE, MARLBOROUGH.-As to this see ante Vol. III, p. 106. THE MILITARY MUSTERS. There is in the Public Record Office a manuscript volume, (privately printed by Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart.), "The certyfycatt of the vewe of abull men as well Archars as Byllmen taken the X daye of Aprill, in the XXXth yere of the reign of our Sovereign Lorde King Henry the VIIIth, by the Grace of God Kinge of Englande and of France, defendour of the fayth, Lorde of Ireland, and in the earth most suppreme hed of the Churche of Englande, by Sir Henry Longe, Knight, John Hamlyn, Esquyer, and Wylliam Stump, Esquyer; Commissioners; assyned by vertue of of the Kyngs Commysshyon to them and to others dyrected, whiche abull men theyr names hereafter follow, that ys to saye: The Hundred of Northe Damerham, Chyppenham, Callne, Malmesbury, and Wharwell Down." "The towne and boroughe of Marlboroughe" mustered 62 Archers, including the names of 'Richard Brannyng' (evidently Banning), and Randall Meryman, and 32 Billmen. The Mayor, Richard Dickenson, providing a harness (suit of armour), a bow and a horse; other inhabitants providing 14 harnesses, bows, swords, sallets (helmets), splints (gauntlets), daggers, and sheafs of arrows. There were annual musters at Marlborough, in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and James I; commencing in the year 1584, and ending 1618. The entries of these musters are contained in one of the Corporation Books at Marlborough, and are interesting as showing the construction of the militia, or trained bands of that period, thus in the muster of all the able men within the borough on Nov. 3rd, 1587, evidently a levy en masse, to repel the Spanish Armada, there were 57 pikemen, 104 calivers (the caliver being a short matchlock fired without a rest), 12 archers, 71 billmen; no billmen appearing after 1588, and no archers after 1595; and in another large muster of 1601, the force was 61 pikemen, 63 musketeers (the musket being a long matchlook fired with a rest), 109 calivers, 24 pioneers. The following are specimens of the entries of these musters: The archers at this time probably acted as skirmishers, as the riflemen and light companies do now; the billmen, being the infantry of the line. vij die Maij. BURGUS DE MARLEBROUGHE. The names of all the trayned Souldiers w.thin the said burroughe, and of all the p'sons by whom they are furnished at the Musters, taken at Marlebrough the day and year aforesaide. Pyks furnished.-Thomas Rymell furnished by-Richard Digges, Esq. 9 Richard Midwinter fur. by-Johann Diston, Widow. Thomas Mott, fur. by-Willm. Ffrancklyn. Maurice Shakerley, fur. by-Robt. Harrison. Musquetts-Richard Grinfield, fur. by-Robert Crapon & Tho. Cullerne. 9 Willm. Dismer, fur. by-Willm. Ffry & John Purlyn. Calyvers-Wm. Davis, fur. by—Richard Grinfeild, sen. 9 John Hillier, fur. by-Stephen Lawrence. Thomas Haines, fur. by-John Goddard, gent. Willm. Gunter, fur. by-Wm. Blissett & Edith Nicholas. John Hill, fur. by-Willm. Bigges. Thomas Treibrett, fur. by-Willm. Parratt. Willm. Woodley, fur. by—Maurice Hiccox. Thomas Winter, fur. by—Tho. Dawes & Wm. Hill. Willm. Whitebread, fur. by-Robt. Clemts & his sonne. In connexion with this subject, I may mention that in the splendid collection of Manuscripts of Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., at Middle Hill, there is a list of The Wiltshire Contributions for resisting the Spanish MAY. In this month each of the following is a subscriber of £25. Richard Modie Thomas Wallys 25 25 25 And in this month each of the following is a subscriber of £25. William Corderay Michael Erneley Thomas Hutchins Thomas Stevens Henry Longe Jane Mountpesson, Vidua John Flower Jeffery Whiteson Thomas Dowse Frances Greene Stephen Duckett Nicholas St. John Bartholomew Horsey Thomas Toppe Thomas Bennett Thomasine Grove, Vidua Anthony Distont William Kember Thomas Joye William Button William Recor Richard Barnard John Thynne I believe those marked + were inhabitants of Marlborough. In the year 1794 "the Marlborough troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, was raised by the late Marquis of Ailesbury, and has continued to be a very efficient corps ever since; and they did great service to the country by putting down the agricultural riots in Wiltshire, in the year 1830. This troop was at the beginning of the present century nicknamed "the Potatoe Choppers," which arose in this way. In one of the rides of Savernake forest, potatoes were put on the tops of sticks, which the cavalry rode at, and at a full gallop cut the potatoes off the sticks. James Nicholas of Durley used to put the potatoes on the sticks; and he also placed rings on other sticks, for the cavalry in like manner to take off on the points of their swords; and I was assured by an eye witness that the cavalry were very successful in these feats. THE CIVIL WARS. King Charles I. passed the night of the 10th April, 1644, at Marlborough, at Lord Seymour's, and was five nights on a visit to his Lordship at Marlborough, from the 12th to the 17th of November in the same year, when he went to the Bear at Hungerford1. We also find from a letter that in 1642, 300 of the parliament troopers quartered themselves in Marlborough and behaved exceedingly ill at the houses at which they were, and that the next 1 Iter Carolinum, printed in the Rev. J. Gutch's Collect. Cur. vol. 20, p. 432 and 438. day 100 cavaliers came, and behaved so differently that the servants stated that they would rather have 100 cavaliers than 10 roundheads. From another letter it appears that on Friday 25th Nov., 1642, Lord Digby summoned the town to surrender, sending a message by "Master Vincent Goddard" which led to some skirmishing, and on Monday Dec. 5th, Lord Wilmot, with 7000 men, and 6 or 7 great guns, took the town by assault, carried off from 100 to 120 prisoners, and injured the town to the amount of £50,000. Many cannon shot were found, some of 221b, some of 181b, some 15lb, "and some we saw" (adds the letter) "of 2lb shot, as it seemed from some drake." In 1643 there seems to have been a sort of Cavalier foray near Marlborough, when some Cavaliers took a load of cloth, 12 horses, and 8 oxen; and afterwards 12 Cavaliers took 8 oxen more from two men, driving them to London; which being heard of by the Marlborough townsmen, they with one musket, some forks and halberds, pursued the Cavaliers to Ogbourne, and recovered the cloth and 8 of the oxen, and restored them to their owners." THE FIRES. On the 28th April 1652, there was a great fire at Marlborough; it commenced at the house of Mr. Freeman, a tanner, at the south side of St. Peter's Church, and burnt both sides of the street up to the Market-house and St. Mary's Church, injuring the former to the extent of £1000, and the latter £1600. Four Dutchmen who assisted at the fire were burnt to death, as were a tailor's wife and a postboy. A complete list of the sufferers, with their trades, and the amount of their losses, is still extant in the possession of our local secretary, Mr. T. B. Merriman, including the names of John and Nathaniel Bailey, grocers, £1650; Robert Bryant, chandler, £1106; Thomas Bayley, silkman, £2399; William Gough, goldsmith, £1134; John Laurence, the White Hart, £1100; there were many other large sums, and the lowest are "old James the cobbler," £1; 1 The word drake often occurs at the time of the Civil Wars, to denote a small cannon. From draco, a dragon, (Johnson's Dict.) 2 This statement and the letters which precede it, are in Mr. Merriman's Collections. |