The history, topography, and antiquities of Highgate, in the County of Middlesex; with notes on the surrounding neighbourhood ... With a map and illustrations

Front matter

THE HISTORY, TOPOGRAPHY, AND ANTIQUITIES OF HIGHGATE. a " What is said upon a subject is gathered from a hundred people." Dr. Ioiinson. THE HISTORY, TOPOGRAPHY, AND ANTIQUITIES OF H IGHGATE, IN THE COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX ; m\t\ loies ON THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBOURHOOD OF HORNSEY, CROUCH END, MUSWELL HILL, ETC BY JOHN H. LLOYIX HONORARY SECRETARY OF *^ THE HIGHGATE LITERARY A.XD SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIL Set it & 8 grhij? »«)> Illustrations. HIGHGATE: PRINTED BV SUBSCRIPTION ON BEHALF OF THE LIBRARY FUND, IN CELEBRATION OF THE JUBILEE OF THE INSTITUTION. 1888. AND TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE BARONESS BURDETT-COUTTS, AN HONOURED RESIDENT OF HIGHGATE, WHOSE LARGE-HEARTED LIBERALITY HAS INAUGURATED WORKS WHICH, FROM THEIR MAGNITUDE, MAY BE CONSIDERED ALMOST NATIONAL, YET WHOSE UNOSTENTATIOUS CHARITY HAS NOT OVERLOOKED THE PERSONAL WANTS OF THE SUFFERING POOR, THIS BOOK IS, BY PERMISSION, $J*sprtfttIIg Del&isaUi-}, BY HER LADYSHIP'S OBLIGED AND OBEDIENT NEIGHBOUR, JOHN H. LLOYD.

Preface

PHE labour involved in compiling a volume like the present, to -*■* one unaccustomed to literary work, is so considerable that my readers might reasonably enquire, Why was it undertaken ? Having served the office of Honorary Secretary of the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution for some twelve years, and during that time — aiming to make it a centre of local interest — collected and collated a very considerable number of prints and portraits relating to Highgate and its neighbourhood (now hung upon the walls of the reading-room of the Institution), I became the depositary of much local information, tradition, and gossip, which has given me an immense interest in the old village. This accumulated information I -Thave been kindly and repeatedly urged to put into some permanent form. Having but little leisure, the matter has stood over until such a time as convenience and inclination might happily meet.

When the "Jubilee fever" in connection with Her Majesty's happy reign set in, it brought to mind the fact that the Institution was founded in January 1839 ; therefore in January 1888 it would enter upon its jubilee year ; and it occurred to me that such a time might be fitly celebrated on behalf of an Institution, which had given so marked an

PREFACE.

. VIII impetus to the social and literary life of Highgate ; and that the best way to acknowledge its past usefulness would be to try to make it more efficient and helpful for the future, and as the beneficent result of the Elementary Education Act was creating a new class of readers, and giving a considerable stimulus to literature and to literary pursuits, it would be a most desirable object largely to increase the library, and for that purpose, as a jubilee memorial, to try and raise the sum of Five Hundred Pounds! This sum would purchase some Four Thousand additional books, which, added to the present number, would form an important library of Ten Thousand Volumes ! I make this suggestion in the belief that the more valuable the library, the more assured is the permanence of The Literary and Scientific Institution.

With this impression, and believing that if the enterprise were fairly started it would meet a hearty response, it appeared to me that the time had now arrived when with a definite purpose the proposed " History of Highgate" might be written, the intention being to devote the entire surplus proceeds — after providing for cost of printing, etc. — to the Library Fund ; and thus, if my plans were brought to a happy consummation, securing a not inconsiderable portion of the suggested sum. This purpose was strengthened by a knowledge of the fact that the population of the parish of Hornsey — of which Highgate may be considered the capital — had during the last six years increased by Fifteen Thousand inhabitants! and this without taking into account the adjoining and interlacing districts of St. Pancras and Islington ; and, further, from the lands now being laid out for building purposes, and the plans deposited almost daily at the offices of the Local Board, it was likely that a vast increase would be maintained for many years

PREFACE.

. IX to come, and that this army of peaceful invaders would naturally be interested in the history of the locality of their homes, and thus there would be a fair chance of the proposed book commanding a sufficient sale to fulfil the end in view. But I candidly confess, I should not have had the courage to commence such a work had not its foundation been already laid. In 1 84 1 the Committee of the Institution offered a gold medal for the best essay on the " History and Antiquities of Highgate," appointing Harry Chester, Esq., President of the Institution and Clerk to the Privy Council; Rev. J. B. Dyne, D.D., Principal of the Grammar School, and J. Gough Nichols, Esq., the antiquary, as adjudicators. The minutes do not record the number of competitors, but simply state that William Sidney Gibson, F.S.A., F.G.S., of Lincoln's Inn, was the writer of the successful essay, and was awarded the medal ; and that it was read by the author in the theatre of the Institution, on 17th December, 1841.

This essay was published as a pamphlet of sixty-seven pages in a paper cover in 1842. That there was at least one other competitor is certain, as an essay by Frederick Prickett was also published in 1842, in the shape of an Svo volume of 174 pages. Prickett does not allude to the competition, nor, for obvious reasons, was he likely to do so, and although he failed in his original purpose, in the end he was entirely successful. Gibson's essay is that of an able and scholarly man knowing his authorities well, and how to use them to the best advantage, but utterly wanting in local knowledge and in local sympathy. Prickett's work was a "labour of love," and a real labour it was. He had had no literary experience, and possessed but little faculty for ERE FA CE. X arrangement ; and having to explore historical and antiquarian fields hitherto unknown to him, with all his painstaking endeavour, he missed some of the richest ; but he had this immense advantage, he knew Highgate well, being not only a native, but a member of a well-to-do family that had resided there for certainly four generations ! and being a resident, he was in touch with his neighbours, who, sympathizing with him in his disappointment, encouraged him to publish his essay by subscription, and this, although long since out of print (as indeed both essays are), still remains " The History of Highgate."

Besides this essay, I have had the good fortune to have access to some MS. notes, compiled by Prickett at a later date, of which I have made full use. Under these circumstances, it is a matter of simple justice that in re-writing the annals of Highgate, the names of these industrious compilers, now both deceased, should be prominently noticed. They have preserved and handed down information which has largely helped to invest Highgate with a kind of "old world interest." To me, the old village seems to be like a grave and honoured old patriarch, sitting in solemn grandeur on the hill top, surrounded by a crowd of impertinent staring young suburbs, which came into existence the day before yesterday. Had this volume been submitted to the public under the usual trade competition, I freely admit it would be dear as a book, and, I fear, dearer still as a literary effort ; but my aim, as frankly set forth, will, I hope, disarm criticism, and find a sufficient excuse for many manifest shortcomings ; in fact, I would respectfully suggest that subscribers should consider they have simply made a donation of one guinea to the "Jubilee Library Fund," and received a book in exchange.

PREFACE.

. XI Compilations like the present must necessarily consist of a judicious combination of "paste and patience," for it is obvious that local history cannot be produced on the convenient plan of the collection of autographs belonging to an ancient gentlewoman, who vouched for their authenticity, on the ground that "she wrote them all herself;" but its success must depend upon the amount of diligent research made by the compiler into the records of the past, and this very modest merit I venture to claim. I gratefully make my acknowledgments for freely rendered informa tion and assistance To Mr. J. T. Taylor, Assistant Secretary of the British Museum ; and to the Librarians of St. Paul's Cathedral and the Guildhall Libraries. To Miss Bloxam, Mr. W. P. Bodkin, J. P., Mr. John B. Dyne, Mr. Charles Turner, and Mr. John Martin, representing old resident families.

To Mr. Gilbert Robins, Churchwarden of Hornsey; Mr. R. C. C. White and Mr. De Courcy Meade of the Hornsey Local Board, and to Mr. E. B. Bennett of the South Hornsey Board. To Mr. George Potter and to Mr. Ambrose Heal for the fullest use of their interesting and important local collections. To Professor Tomlinson, F.R.S., for the Sonnet which so happily closes the last chapter. To Mr. John Sime and Mr. James Drummond, for their very practical and valuable co-operation ; and lastly and lastly To My Daughters, for their cheerfully rendered assistance as amanuenses.

PREFACE.

. XII Old Camden in his Britannia quaintly sums up the status of a compiler thus : — " Through dangerous fords, o'er ways unbeaten too, The searchers after Truth are bound to go ; This poor employ can few Professors get, A boyish task, below the men of wit. But 'tis a work of hardship when begun, A load uneasie to be undergone." Having so happy a motive, I have not been conscious of the " load uneasie," but it is almost too much to venture to hope that my subscribers may altogether escape from the sense of its infliction. J. H. LLOYD. Merton Lane, Highgate, January 16H1, 1888. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Samuel Taylor Coleridge, from a portrait by Dawe, R.A. (1S12), in possession of the Lord Chief fustice of England. Etched by Lowenstam Frontispiece. A Map of Highgate, showing the position of the old houses, the Hunting Lodge, Tumulus, etc., etc.

To face page 256 Coin of Budicca (Boadicea) ?...-. 8 The Tumulus in the Parliament Fields, looking from Hampstead; St. Michael's and St. Anne's Churches in the distance. Drawn by Sulman 25 Deed of Frank Pledge, Manor of Haringey, bearing the names of Sir Thomas Rowe and Sir John Wollaston. From the Potter collection (process) 65 Crest on Gable of Southwood Court — The flying spur 84 Hornsey Church, the second building. From the Potter collection 86 Two views of Highgate Chapel, Chatelaine 1750 (process) 116,117 The Chapel of St. Michael, Highgate, showing the old School-House. From the Potter collection * .... 124 The Arms and Signature of Sir Roger Cholmeley 135 Seal of The Archway Company (process) 166 Signature of Wu. Rathband, founder of the old Presbyterian Church. From the Potter collection 1S5 "A Prty Wall" — an old stone at Bisham House 205 A Group of Old Houses, viz., The Mansion House — Lauderdale House — Andrew Marvell's House — Dr. Coysch's House — Cromwell House, back of — Dorchester House — Fitzroy House — The Gate House.

Drawn by Sulman 207 A.D. 1614 — a date on garden wall of Cromwell House 219 Arundel House, from the prospectus of Dr. Duncan's Academy. The Potter collection (process) 225 22c Hillside, garden front of an old house in Jackson's Lane. Drawn by Sulman . . . V LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. r-AGE The Priory, Hornsey, the scene oi the Jubilee celebrations. From a photograph by Herbert Lloyd 292 Old Farm House at Hornsey. From the Heal collection (process) . . . . . 294 The Old V Mile Stone in front of Miss Bloxam's house 302 The Grove, Highgate, showing the Church of St. Michael, and No. 3, the house in which Coleridge died. Drawn by Sulman 303 The Coleridge Vault under the Crawley Chapel From a photo 320 A Group of Highgate Houses, viz., Caen Wood Towers — Merton Lodge — West Hill Place Winchester Hall — Parkfield — Southampton Lodge — Sacheverell's. Drawn by Sulman . 356 The signature of the First Lord Mansfield . . - . . . . . . . . 366 The Highgate Horns (Gate House) 373 The Highgate Assembly Ticket (Old White Lion).

From the Potter collection (process) 380 The Ponds on the top of the hill. From the Potter collection 412 Jack Foster's Cottage and Water-Cart with which he supplied water at -id. per pail. From a photograph by the late Mr. Oakeshott 413 The Entrance Gate of Southwood Court. Drawn by Sulman 449 The Old Forge, High Street. Drawn by Sulman CONTENTS.

. LIST OF FOSSILS FOUND IN THE ARCHWAY CUTTING 508 INDEX • : ./ . . Si I THE HISTORY OF HIGHGATE.

Chapter I. Ancient Records

Geological formation — Etymology — The Roman road through the forest of Middlesex — The Watling Street — The River Fleet — The Abbot of St. Albans protects the roads — The Saxon Chronicle — The Danish scares — The Shire and its Gemote — The Hundred — The Tithing — Parliament Hill and the Barrow — The Norman settlement — Lands belonging to Abbot of St. Albans transferred by the Conqueror to the Bishops of London — Odo a representative Norman prelate — The Hunting Lodge and mighty hunters — The Bishop's leases — Traditions of the old lodge — Wallace — Bruce — Bolingbroke — The Associated Barons — Richard II. — Henry VI. — Queen Margaret — Edward V. —Henry VII. — The manor of Hornsey — The customs of the manor— The Domesday Survey — Records of adjoining lands — Reasons for paucity of record — Court rolls of manor — The great forest of Middlesex — The original charter, its confirmation by Henry III. — Extracts from the charters of Edward I., Edward III., Richard II. — Yew and chestnut trees — Penalty for killing the king's deer — The farm of Middlesex granted to the citizens with permission to hunt in the woodlands by Henry I., confirmed by Stephen and successive kings — The forest disafforested by Henry III. — Proclamation of Henry VIII. — The city hunt — Bishop Aylmer — Notes of so-called subsidiary tnanors — Manors of the " Prebends of Brownswood " " Ducket's or Dovet's " — " Farnie or Fernefields :' — " Topsfield " — " Haliwic " — " St. John of Jerusalem " — The Bishop's lands at Hornsey sold by the Commonwealth — Part of the old forest lands of Middlesex restored to public use by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

HERE is reason to believe that long after other portions of Great Britain were inhabited by man, the great valley or basin of which Highgate is one of the highest northerly ridges still continued in the condition of an estuary ; the waters of the river Lea, before the embankment of the Thames by the Romans, covering the marshy lands of Tottenham, and extending probably to almost the eastern confines of the present parish of Hornsey, formed a continuous lake from Tottenham to Hertford,1 to which 1 Robinson's History of Tottenham. THE HIS LORY OF HIGH GAEL. 2 vast expanse of waters the eminences of Hampstead and Highgate, crowned by the great forest of Middlesex, would present a picturesque background of considerable altitude. The geologist has found that the strata of the hill upon which Highgate is situated, and the fossils therein discovered, exhibit un equivocal traces of marine deposit, and partake of the character exhibited elsewhere in the formations to which these strata belong.

The clay which forms the basis of the superior strata, and the superimposed layer of sand, — which is nearly identical with that of the sea shore, — are doubtless the deposit of that pre-existent ocean which once submerged our island, and had probably not retired from it before the separation of Great Britain from the continent of Europe.1 The excavations on the eastern side of Highgate Hill for the foundations of the archway, as well as the railroad tunnels under Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath, have thrown considerable light upon the geological structure of the district, and afford good reasons for the belief that Highgate and the neighbouring eminences are throughout of a similar structure, the basis being a vast mound of ferruginous clay of a dark bluish-grey colour, changing near the surface, or where united with the superior strata, to a yellowish-brown ; and the identity of the substratum with that which extends throughout a great part of East Kent, Surrey, Middlesex, and Hampshire is abundantly established.

Upon this mound of clay, more particularly at Highgate and Hamp stead, rests a stratum of sand not by any means of uniform thickness, but lying in seams of unequal depth, in many places mingled with rolled pebbles or with clay, in others almost superseded by them. On the sides of the hills the soil is either wholly composed of clay, or a mixture of sand and pebbles under a very few feet of mould ; Park says, " About Highgate the arenaceous formation unmixed with clay or pebbles is of inconsiderable extent." - This latter statement can now be authorita tively corrected, as, upon the whole of the roads of Highgate being lately excavated for drainage works, it was found that the upper portion of the village stood upon a stratum of fine sand of a yellowish tinge — known to geologists as the Bagshot sand— from six to thirty feet in depth ! 3 This sand contains exceedingly few fossils, but in the lower clay formation many specimens are found, a list of some of which, discovered by the late well-known Highgate geologist, Mr. Wetherell, will be found in the Appendix.

During the archway excavations, amongst other fossil remains were found vegetable productions, pieces of wood pierced by the teredines or 1 Parkinson's Organic Remains of a Former World. 2 Park's History of Hampstead. 3 Some thirty-six feet have been actually excavated ! ANCIENE RECORDS. 3 ship worms, sharks' teeth, palates and scales of fish, shells, especially some fine nautili of the large species which is so abundant in the blue clay near Hordwell, Hants,1 and a peculiar resinous substance, which emits an odour when heated, and melts into a limpid fluid, which has been named Highgate resin or Copaline. At the Museum of Practical Geology there is a large model, on a scale of six inches to a mile, showing the formation of the " London Basin," covering an area of one hundred and sixty-five square miles, from Hamp stead on the north to Penge on the south, from Turnham Green on the west to Barking on the east.

It shows the strata to the " Gault," which at the time the model was made had only been touched by two borings, the one at Kentish Town, the other at Crossness ; since then some lower beds have been reached, but it is safe to say that the " Gault" underlies the whole of London, with the " Lower Greensand " underneath it, and at a depth of over a thousand feet the " Devonian " formation. Above the Gault is the " Upper Greensand," but none of these strata appear on the surface. Next above them is the "Chalk," which does not crop out nearer London than Chislehurst. This formation is five hundred feet thick ; above it are the sandy beds named after Thanet, Woolwich, and Blackheath, where they are observed. Above them is the great bed of " London clay," some four hundred and fifty feet thick, capped here and there, as on the summits of Highgate, HamjDstead, and the upper part of Richmond Park, by the " Bagshot sand."

On the surface, especially in the northern suburbs, are alluvial deposits of various periods, but all post-pleiocene, consisting of glacial and old river drifts." On the sides of the northern heights may be discovered traces of the glacial epoch — in the heavy clay mounds and the beautifully rounded slopes fashioned by the continuous action of the waters. The vast icebergs of this period, as the divinely-appointed time arrived for their disappearance, seem to have moved long distances, carrying with them vast masses of matter, being the soil on which their foundations rested, or absorbed by them during the ages ot their formation ; and when their movements were arrested by the inequalities of the earth or the subsidence of the waters, they deposited these enormous burdens, and so formed the upper clay and brick earth we are so familiar with round Highgate.3 Muswell Hill is supposed to be a deposit of the glacial period ; the railway cutting at the entrance of Nether Street, Finchley, is a glacial moraine, the rocks and fossils found there, being identical with those of Lincolnshire.4 Imagination can only faintly conceive what the breaking up of the 1 Fine specimen in the Highgate Institution. 2 Whitaker, Geology of London. 3 Fire and building bricks are the produce of the washed boulder clay. 4 Geological Survey. glacial period meant ; it seems to have been accompanied by an un usual amount of diluvial action, and possibly the separation of some portion of the land hitherto a part of the European continent.

"The ice was here, the ice was there, The ice was all around ; It cracked, and growled, and roared, and howled Like noises in a swound ! " Coleridge. The grinding of the glaciers, the rush of the great drift floods, the local displacement of the sea level, rolling the ocean over the land, the storm and horrible tempest, seemingly utter destruction and ruin, but in His hands Who guideth all things, the preparation for the sustenance of the coming nations. It is not the sun which has made our land fit for the ploughshare and the harrow, it is the water and the ice ; these mighty forces crushed up rocks which would have defied the effects of "mere weather," grinding them down till they fell through the silent waters in soft fertile mud. We owe our arable land to the agency of the frost and the flood ; which ground as in a mill the upper portions of the surface rocks, rounded them off so beautifully as to be a constant source of delight, and then covered them with their own deposit, thus preparing the earth in due time for "creation's heir," or, as Hugh Miller beautifully puts it, " Man, the appreciative guest of i:he Divine feast." * There is no reasonable doubt that at the time of the Roman in vasion the whole country north of their Trinobantium, or London, was covered by a vast forest ; these woods were the natural fastnesses of the earlier inhabitants, and it has been suggested by Camden''' that the etymology of London may be traced to the British word " Lhwn," or Grove, as designating " Lhwntown," or the City of the Grove.

In this light it is not a little interesting to note that the corporation of London have recently been aiding in the preservation of a remnant of the original woods3 from which the metropolis itself may^ have taken its name ; but a distinguished modern authority * prefers finding its derivation from the words Llyn-din or don, a lake fort ; and remembering that the name of the Thames is derived from the Saxon " Tarn Ise," a collection of waters, and that London is described 1 For traces of Palæolithic Man in North-West Middlesex, see work of that title by J. A. Brown, F.G.S. 2 Camden, Britannia. s Gravel Pit Wood, Highgate. * Loftie, History of London. ANCIENT RECORDS. 5 by Ptolemy as being situated on " Tamesa Æestuarium," there is great force in this suggestion.1 The hamlet of Highgate is situated principally in the parish of Hornsey (otherwise Harringay, also spelt Harringee, Harrenghee, Harnesey, and Harnsey), partly in Islington (otherwise Eyseldon, from Ishel = lower, also spelt Iseldon, Isendone, Izendune, Isenden, Isleton, and Yseldon), and partly in St. Pancras, and is bounded on the north by Hornsey, on the south by St. Pancras, on the east by Islington, on the west by Hampstead.

The hill on which it stands is four hundred and twenty-six feet above the sea level ; the highest point of Hampstead being four hundred and forty-one feet — fifteen feet higher. The etymology of Haringey or Hornsey, the mother parish, — some ten-twelfths of the hamlet lying within it, — is from a Saxon root," " Haringe," a meadow of hares ; if to which is added the word " haia," enclosure, " Haringhaia," we get the full meaning, viz., the enclosure of the field of hares. The identification of the meaning of the Saxon " haia " with our modern word hedge is established,3 and that parts enclosed from a forest surrounded by a hedge were so called. The termination "hay" is preserved in many ancient localities. In Exeter there is both the northern and the southern "hay," etc. From the same root we get the name of Highgate, the Haia-gat or gate — the hamlet at the entrance of the enclosure, — doubtless a sufficient indication for the few cottages lying under the shelter of the hill, the inhabitants of which found employment in the woods or the fields of the great land-owner.

Nearly all our old towns, and many of our villages, have thus sprung up — the feudal retainers of the nobie, gathering as closely as possible around the " Castle " for protection and assistance.4 Hatfield, within a few miles of Highgate, is a case in point, the narrow streets of mean houses on the side of a hill crowned by the stately mansion of the Cecils dominatingthe entire town. The transition from Haia-gat to Highgate is so easy that it only needs the rapid repetition of the word some half-dozen times — and Highgate is the outcome. It is of interest to note that the word "haia" seems to have been derived from the hawthorn fence, which was largely used for protective purposes by the early Saxon settlers. Many of the older enclosures for the purpose of the chase made with this hedge were called " haighs" or 1 Linn, Celto-c, a deep pool.

Don, Celtic, Saxon, a hill fort, Den, ,, „ a wooded valley. 2 Lysons. 3 Isaac Taylor. 4 In this case the lodge of the Bishop. " heys." In Lancashire the fruit of the hawthorn is still called " haigh," whilst in the south it is called haw. " Ham " is a very common termination of the names of villages, especially in the eastern and south-eastern parts of England, and was derived from the early settlements being " hemmed in " chiefly by hedges, so that from this old shrub has probably been derived the dearest of all English words, "home," i.e., ham, an enclosure. Other village names end in "sett," as "Heathers/7," from the Anglo-Saxon sœtan, to plant, the ancient swine pastures being enclosed by thorn fences, nothing else being capable of arresting the migratory impulses of the " porkers ; " and to this day we call a hawthorn hedge a "quicks" fence, showing the vitality of these old words, and how much genuine history is silently locked up in their almost forgotten meaning.

There is Rothwell Haigh near Leeds, Haye Park at Knares borough, Horsehay near Coalbrookdale. The Hague was originally a hunting-seat of the Counts of Holland. In Dutch " haag " is an enclosure ; in old High German " hag " is a town ; in German " hagen," to hedge; in French " haie," a hedge. The word park, which is of kindred meaning, seems to have been adopted by the Saxons from the Celtic " parwg," an enclosed field.1 Another possible derivation of Highgate has been found2 from the supposed Saxon word " heah," high, and "gat," way, the " Highway," being in contrast to the " Holloway." The obvious objection to this etymology is, that the " way " as a public road did not exist in Saxon or even in Norman times, it being extremely unlikely that a high road would be allowed to run through the centre of the Bishop's hunting-ground !

And as a matter of fact the north road was not cut throegh the wood until Queen Elizabeth's time, whilst the name Highgate is used in a paviage grant of 37 Edward III., Anno 1364, referring to the highway between " Highgat and Smithefelde " — so that the balance of probability is largely in favour of the previous suggestion. An old writer3 observes, with very obvious sagacity, that although the position of the hills and vales is the same, yet so many of them were covered with woods that the whole island was described as " horrida sylvis." This latter statement is confirmed by Cæsar's letters, which state that " the Romans had great difficulty in making their way through the woods and guarding themselves against the sallies of the Britons from the dense cover of the forest." This enforced the necessity of making their great military roads sufficiently broad to guard against such danger.

The ground adjoining those clearances which would be kept free from buildings would doubtless, from the protection afforded by the constant 1 Taylor's Words and Places. 2 Nicholson's Scraps of History. 3 Leyland. ANCIENE RECORDS. 7 passage of troops, soon be devoted to agricultural purposes. The width of this tract of land on either side of the road when cut through the forest was probably determined by the distance of the flight of an arrow ; the line of building for obvious reasons being fixed beyond that area.1 In these clearings we may possibly trace the origin of the " strays " or commons by the sides of the road, which in later days became of so much importance, affording as they did grazing ground for cattle travelling to the metropolis or the other great centres of population, and which have only lately disappeared under the provisions of" the various Enclosure Acts.