A history of Plymouth.

Front matter

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.

W. H. LUKE, PRINTER, BEDFORD STREET.

I

Introduction

BSTjSlN presenting this volume to the world, it is right, at ELBs the outset, to say a few words as to its origin and the reasons which have induced its preparation. In fact, as the volume itself professes to be a History of the Town of Plymouth, so, I conceive, this “Introduction” ought to he, in spite of tautology, a history of this History. This, very briefly, I proceed to lay before its readers, and as my work commences its records with the earliest periods of the annals of Plymouth, so this Introduction shall, as it ought, begin with the first attempt to collect materials for its preparation.

Some years before his death, the late Mr. Nettleton, the well known bookseller of Plymouth, commenced the collection of materials towards a history of that borough, without however, I believe, having any view to arranging them for publication. His collection mainly consisted of various notices of Plymouth from different histories of Devonshire, and other sources, copied out into a series of volumes ; extracts from town records ; copies of charters, etc. ; and a list of Mayors, arranged in years, under which he had, here and there, made entries of events that had occurred. At Mr. Nettleton’s death this collection passed, by purchase, into the hands of Mr. W. H. Luke, who some time afterwards placed it in my hands as the

f /

/ * % . <55,

Vlll

INTRODUCTION.

nucleus of a “ History of Plymouth I then arranged to prepare for him. On going through the volumes I found hut little heyond the mayoral annals and copies of documents that would he of value for the plan of my work, hut, fortunately, I had large collections of my own, which fell in remarkably well with them. I determined for the first portion of my work, to adopt, with modifications, Mr. Nettleton’s plan of mayoral annals and to add to it, from every source that might prove available, records of events, year by year, and to bring these down to the hour of publication. This I have done, and the annals, as I have prepared them, form a large and important part of my present volume. To this I have prefixed a brief historical notice of the locality so as to carry the history hack to pre-historic times, and so render that part of my work as complete as circumstances would allow.

The remainder of the volume I have devoted to a history and description of the town and of its various public buildings, its religious establishments, fortifications, manufactures, insti¬ tutions and attractions, and of places of interest in its neighbourhood.

Thus the work is entirely original, and I can safely say that no trouble, pains, or expense, have been spared to make it worthy of the great and growing town whose history it is intended to illustrate.

At the time of my first undertaking the preparation of this work, no “ History of Plymouth ” had ever been published, or was in preparation, or even thought of. The field was

INTRODUCTION.

IX therefore entirely clear, and my announcement was as follows: —

“ It has long been a matter of surprise that a town of such magnitude and importance as Plymouth no history has as yet been written ; and that, beyond the information contained in guide books, which have from time to time been issued, there is literally nothing known publicly, of its early history or of the different events which have occurred in connection with it. It is strange, and is indeed a serious reproach to the town, that while almost every other borough in the king¬ dom — nay, almost every parish and market town — has had its history chronicled and made as imperishable as goodly folio, quarto, or octavo volumes can make it, that of Plymouth should have remained so long unwritten, and, consequently, unknown, not only to its own inhabitants, but to the world at large. It has been the aim of the Editor of the present work, so far as in him lies, to remove this reproach from the town, and to produce a history, so far as available information will admit, which shall be worthy of itself, fit to find a place in the library of the topographer and the historian, and make its way into the hands of every inhabitant of the place.”

The first portion of the present volume was at once put to press and was proceeded with as rapidly as the nature of the work, and the other engagements of myself and of the publisher, would allow. When about one half of the entire work was actually printed off, another so called “History of Plymouth ” was, much to my surprise, announced as ready for publication,

and was at once issued. It has not, however, affected my work dr my labours in the slightest degree, and I am well

X

INTRODUCTION.

content — nay, only too ready — to let the two, be side by side for careful comparison, stand the test of public criticism. On the total disregard of literary etiquette by its compiler, who, while a work long announced, and actually passing as rapidly as circumstances would allow through the press, attempted to forestall it by one of his own, it is not worth my while to remark. If he can reconcile it to his own conscience, well and good — I am content. My own and only feeling is that, in a large town like Plymouth, there is “room enough for all,” and I heartily congratulate the town, that, instead of having no written History at all, it has now the advantage of having two, which, so far from interfering with each other, may well stand side by side on the library shelf.

It remains only for me now to say, that after a long but unavoidable delay, my “ History of Plymouth ” is at last presented to the public. It may have (and doubtless has) faults, and errors may here and there have crept in, but these, if pointed out to me, I shall hope to rectify in a future edition. I trust, however, it may be found to be, what it has been my wish to make it, a work worthy of Plymouth and of Ply¬ mouthians, and one which may be referred to with confidence by all into whose hands it may fall.

To those kind friends who have aided me with information — and I am proud to feel and to know that in the town I lived in for years and love so well, and with whose literary and scientific institutions I was so intimately connected, I have many friends — I beg to tender my warmest thanks.

INTRODUCTION. xi

One word for the publisher and proprietor before closing, is a matter of duty and of real pleasure to me. He has been unsparing in his attention to the work during its entire progress, and I have to thank him for extending its size very considerably beyond its first projected limits. When first talked about, a volume of five hundred pages was made the basis of calculation. I felt, however, that to confine it to that extent would be to curtail it very mischievously, and Mr. Luke, with a liberality not possessed by all publishers, at once consented to its extension, and to the adding of several more engravings. It now exceeds seven hundred pages, and the public will thus owe Mr. Luke a debt of gratitude, which, I have faith in them, they will amply repay him by an extended patronage of the work, whose production has been so costly

to him.

I s

The Hall, Winster, Derbyshire.

January 1st , 1873.

LLEWELLYNN JEWITT.

Chapter I

Pre-Historic period — Advantages of Situation — The Damnonii — The Silures — The Belgic-Gauls — The Iberian settlers — Phoenician traders — Tyrian and Gaditanian vessels cross to Devonshire for Tin — The Cassiterides — Merchants of Massilia trade for Tin — The Homans discover the trade — Dwellings of the Ancient Britons — Encounter between Corinaeus and Gogmagogon the Hoe at Plymouth — Drayton’s “ Polyolbion” — Ancient British remains at Mount Batten —

Cave at Stonehouse — Kent’s Cavern at Torquay.

CHAPTER II. The Roman o-British period — Roman roads — Ikneild-Stieet

Roman Coins — Bronze implements — Moulds for casting bronze blades — Spear heads — Roman pottery.

Pages 12 to IS.

Chapter III

Discoveiy of a Cemetery and other remains at Stamford Hill — Mr. Spence Bate’s account of the discovery — Bronze Mirrors — Bracelets — Armlets — Eibulse — Pottery — Glass vessels — Rings — Implements of Iron, etc.

Chapter IV

The Kormans, Anglo-Saxons, and Danes — Domesday Book - — Members of Parliament first returned — Vessels for the Royal Eleet — Disputes with the Prior of Plympton — Plymouth ravaged by Pirates — Edward the Black Prince at Plymouth — Siege of Calais — Impressment of Ships —

Transit of Pilgrims— Incursions by the Bretons— The Eirst Charter of Incorporation, etc., etc.

CONTENTS.

Ill!

CHAPTER Y.

CHAPTER YI.

CHAPTER YIL

CHAPTER YIII.

CHAPTER IX.

Situation —Character — Streets — Municipal Government — Population — Statistics — Markets, Fairs, and Shambles — Ancient regulations regarding Brewers, Butchers and others.

CHAPTER X.

Religious Houses — The White Friars — The Grey Friars —

Leper’s Hospital — The Black Friars — The Abbey — Chapel of St. Catherine — Chapel of St. Michael — Chapel of Our Lady of Grace — Palace Court — St. Andrew’s Church and its Monuments.

CHAPTER XI.

Charles Church and its Monuments — St. Andrew’s Chapel — Charles Chapel — St. Peter’s Church — Trinity Church —

Christ Church — St. John the Evangelist Church — St. James’s Church — Emanuel Church — St. Saviour’s Church — Citadel Church and its Monuments — Portland Chapel — Noncon¬ formity in Plymouth — Yarious Dissenting Bodies.

CHAPTER XII.

The Guildhall — Corporation Plate — Maces — Seals, etc.—

New Municipal Buildings — Corporate Ceremonies — Fishing Feast- — Exchange — Custom House — Post Office — Theatre — Assembly Rooms — Library — Mechanics’ Institution — Athe¬ naeum — Volunteers — Water Works — Hospital of Poor’s Portion — Alms Houses — Hospital of Orphans’ Aid — Cemetery — Hospitals and other Charitable Institutions, etc.

xiv

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIII.

Manufactures, etc. — Plymouth China and Earthenware — Bell Pounding — \Voollen Trade — Oil Mills — Salt — Sail Cloth — Soap Works— Sugar Refineries — Distilleries — Starch and Black Lead — Biscuits — Iron Foundries — Patent Candles — Newspapers — Hotels — Diligences — Coaches — Railways — Tramways — Gas, etc.

CHAPTER XIV.

The Castle — Town Walls — Gates — Conduits — Ducking Stool — The Citadel — The Fortifications and Defence of Ply¬ mouth — The Hoe — St. Nicholas or Drake’s Island — The Breakwater — The Breakwater Fort — The Eddystone Light¬ house — Mount Batten.

CHAPTER XV.

Mount Edgcumbe — The House and Grounds — The Gardens — The family of Edgcumbe — Cawsand — Maker — Saltram — The House and Grounds — Collection of Pictures —

Family of Parker, etc.

Addenda to Annals.

Pages 681 to 699.

Pages 700 to 701.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATES.

I. Ancient Chart of Plymouth Haven ^IL Ancient British Coins, from Mount Batten _III. Stone Moulds for Casting Bronze Weapons, from Hennock

- IV. Bronze Weapons, from Tallaton

- V. Bronze Weapons, from Winkleigh and Worth —VI. Plymouth Life Boat

—VII. Corporation Maces and Loving Cups —VIII. Map of Fortifications, &c., Luring the Siege of Plymouth -IX. New Municipal Buildings "X. New Guildhall — XI. Mount Edgcumbe— The House ~ XII. Mount Edgcumbe— The Gardens XIII. The Sound and Drake’s Island, from Mount Edgcumbe

WOOD ENGRAVINGS.

1 Ancient British Bronze Coins, from Mount Batten . 9

2 Ancient British Gold Coins, Ditto .... 9

3 Ancient British Silver Coins, Ditto - - - - 10

4 Bronze Spearhead, from South Brent - - - 15

5 Ancient House in Notte Street - - - .81

6 Ancient Gabled House in Notte Street - - - 81

7 The Spanish Armada ..... 121

8 Portrait of Sir Francis Drake - 123

9 Portrait of Sir John Hawkins .... 131

10 The Old Guildhall, Erected in 1605 - - - 140

11 Portrait of Sir Walter Baleigh - 153

12 The Albert Tubular Bridge .... 447

13 Clock Tower and Bell Turret, and Boyal Hotel * . 449

14 The White Friars ..... 492

15 The Grey Friars - - 495

17 St. Catherine’s Chapel on the Hoe - - - 498

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

XVI

18 Palace Court

19 Monument to Sir John Skelton

22 Sherwrll Chapel -

23 Ancient Seal of the Borough of Plymouth

24 Ditto Ditto

25 Ditto Ditto

26 Arms of the Borough

27 The Old Theatre at Frankfort Gate

28 Public Library— Old Front

29 Plymouth China— Shell Piece

Elephant

Teapot -

Drinking Mug

Plate

Marks -

Boyal Hotel, Assembly Booms, &c.

Duke of Cornwall Hotel -

The Castle and Barbican -

Old Town Gate

Hoe Gate -

m m m

Ducking Stool

m m m

Entrance Gateway of the Citadel -

The Hoe -

m m m

The Breakwater

m m m

Lump of Lead

Plan of Dovetailing

Ancient British Gold Coin

Ancient British Bronze Coin

58 Mount Edgcumbe

59 Laira Bridge

Page

577 590 594 627

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.

*

Chapter I. Pre -historic Period - Advantages Oe Situation

THE DAMNONII - THE SILURES - THE BELGIC-GAULS - THE

IBERIAN SETTLERS - PHOENICIAN TRADERS - TYRIAN AND

GADITANIAN VESSELS CROSS TO DEVONSHIRE EOR TIN -

THE CASSITERIDES - MERCHANTS OF MASSILIA TRADE FOR

TIN - THE ROMANS DISCOVER THE TRADE - DWELLINGS OF

THE ANCIENT BRITONS - ENCOUNTER BETWEEN CORINiEUS

AND GOGMAGOG ON THE HOE AT PLYMOUTH - DRAYTON’S

POLYOLBION - ANCIENT BRITISH REMAINS AT MOUNT BAT¬ TEN - CAVE AT STONEHOUSE - KENT’S CAVERN AT TORQUAY.

The early history of any town which possesses the slightest claim to antiquity, is, naturally, involved in mystery, and is so obscure as only to be arrived at by the most careful and pains-taking research. It is natural that it should he so, and that all attempts to fix a date to its foundation must in a great measure he presumptive. Plymouth certainly is no exception to this general rule, and it would be little more than speculation to attempt to fix even an approximate period to it first foundation. Dating hack to pre-historic times, the town no doubt owes its origin to its admirable situation as a harbour, and its

B

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.

desirable position at the confluence of two such import¬ ant rivers as the Plym and the Tamar, and to the commanding altitude of some of its native heights.

Possessing all the advantages of situation both land¬ ward and sea- ward, with fertile and well- watered land, abundant woods and grazing grounds — the delight of the hunter — with natural rock fortresses on its most pregnable side, and heights which commanded an un¬ interrupted view of the surrounding country for many miles, the site where stands the present and important town of Plymouth — the u Metropolis of the West” — Avas just the one to be chosen by the early inhabitants of this island Avhereon to found a colony; and this they evidently did at a very early period of this, their pre-historic existence. That this place was inhabited by the Ancient Britons is abundantly proved by remains of that people which have been exhumed, and that they held maritime connection with foreign states is also placed beyond reasonable doubt.

In this period, the district Avas inhabited by the Damnonii , a race which spread itself over this county and the adjacent one of Cornwall. The Silures , a race of Iberians whose first colony was probably brought over by the Phoenicians, occupied the Scilly Islands, and gradually extended themselves over Corn¬ wall and this part of Devonshire, but Avere ultimately supplanted by the Belgic- Gauls avIio drove them from their settlements and their mines, in this district, whence they migrated and took refuge among the mountains of South Wales.

THE SI LURES.

n

O

The Silures were of Iberian origin, and were probably brought over as miners by the Phoenicians, who had for a long time traded with the inhabitants of this district for tin. The Iberians themselves do not appear to have been distinguished in navigation, but their knowledge of this art must in some parts of Spain have been materially advanced by their contact with the Phoenicians, who had permanent settlements among, and were mixed with, the Iberian people. William Yon PInmboldt has shown that names of places compoimded of ura, which in the Basque or Enskarian signifies water, are of common occurrence in the Peninsula and Iberian part of Gaul, but not elsewhere : such names are Asturia, Iburia, Ilurbiba, etc. The country of the Astaires and that of the Silures were separated from each other by the waters of the Bay of Biscay and the British Ocean, and as the former seem to have derived their name from asta a rock, and ura water, so may the latter have owed theirs to ura water with a Basque prefix sal , ml, or soloa, (a meadow.) We are moreover, as has been remarked, by no means compelled to restrict the observation of Tacitus altogether to the Silures, or to the district to which in his days they were confined, the Silures perhaps being named, as a more distinguished tribe, gens nobilissima . The Scilly Isles themselves, so familiar to the Phoenician voyagers from Cades, may not improbably have possessed an Iberian population, which their still existing name of Scilly may indicate. The passage in Solinus in which the u insula Silura ” “ separated by a stormy channel from the coast of the Damnonii is probably correctly taken as applying

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.

to these islands; Dionysius Periegetes (A.D. 290) a better authority than Solinus, and who appears to preserve the views of the eminent Eratosthenes, expressly declares that the inhabitants of the Cassiterides or as he calls them the u Hesperides whence tin proceeds ” to be descendants of the Iberians. Priscianus in his Latin paraphrase of this passage follows Dionysius almost literally — u Hesperides , popu - his tenuit arcis for tis Iberia In Strabo’s description of the inhabitants of the Cassiterides he uses language almost identical with that in which he describes the manners of some of the people of the south of Spain, the dress of both being said to comprise a black mantle sagum or lama. The Bastelani of whom this is related, were a mixed race partly Iberian and partly Phoenician, and there is much reason to suppose that the same was the case with the inhabitants of the Cassiterides. The Phoenicians were remarkable for the facility with which they mingled with other races, and as the object of their voyages to Britain was the trade in metals and particularly tin, nothing seems more probable than that they should have induced a colony of Iberian mi¬ ners, probably of mixed Phoenician and Iberian stock, to settle in the south-west of the Island. The evi¬ dence on this subject, though on no one point decisive, is of the cumulative kind, and the legitimate conclusion seems to be the admission of an Iberian settlement in the south-west of Britain, to which in particular the principal tribe of Silures is to be traced.*

It was through the Phoenicians of course — Phoenicia being the greatest maritime state of the ancient world —

* Crania Britannica

TRADERS IN TIN.

that Britain was first known to Greece and Rome, and that part of Britain which was first made known was the coast of Cornwall and Devonshire from which the tin, procured by the Phoenicians was got. Tyrian ships had probably crossed to the shores of Britain, and there is no doubt that Gaditanian vessels from Tarshish traded here for tin as early probably as the time of Solomon, (about a thousand years before Christ, ) and doubtless before the time of the prophet Ezekiel, who, speaking of Tyre, says “ Tarshish was thy dealer, by the abundance of all riches ; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they furnished thy markets.”* Herodotus (450 B.C.) speaks of the Island Cassiterides (the Scilly Islands) as the place from whence tin was brought, and where ancient workings have been discovered. It is said by Strabo that the Phoenicians possessed the exclusive trade for tin with the people of the Cassite¬ rides, and they were so jealous of their trade that a Gaditanian vessel being tracked by a Roman ship for the purpose of discovering the country from whence tin was obtained, the master ran his vessel ashore, rather than allow them to discover his route. Later on the Carthaginians shared the trade, and they and the Phoenicians to some extent settled and mixed with the inhabitants of Cornwall and Devon. In the sixth century (B.C.,) the merchants of Massilia traded here for tin. It seems that the primeval tinners of Cornwall carried that metal to the Island (Mount’s Bay,) where they met the Phoenicians, etc., and bartered it with the foreign merchants. The Romans discovered the country of tin some few years before the invasion, and

* Ezekiel xxvii, 12.

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.

the metal obtained by them was no doubt taken to hi arbon, whilst that obtained by the Greeks was taken to Massilia. At the time of the subjugation of Britain by the Bomans, the people of the western district were nomadic, and subsisted by their cattle and by their trade in tin, and it would appear that not only were they compelled to cultivate the soil for their conquerors, but to work the lead and tin mines for their profit and advantage.

The dwellings of the Britons, resembling those of the Gauls, were circular huts constructed of boards, of wicker-work, and reeds, and covered with straw thatch. Their towns or colonies, were simply a number of these huts placed together and surrounded by felled trees or by a roughly piled wall and a ditch. Under the pressure of the Boman invasion these defensive precautions were strengthened and made more important. Bemains of these hut circles and towns are to be found on Dartmoor and other places in Devonshire, and doubtless one or two of such huts formed the first nucleus of what afterwards became a colony of the Britons, and has grown into the present large and important town of Plymouth.

It is traditionally said that on the Hoe at Plymouth, of which I shall have to speak in a later chapter, a deadly conflict took place between the Corinseus and Gogmagog, after the arrival of the Trojans. Of this supposed encounter old Michael Drayton, after graphic¬ ally describing the wanderings of TEneas and his son Ascanius after the destruction of Troy, and the death of

Brute, his causing the death of his parents, his leaving Italy and his subsequent discovery of the Isle of Albion, thus writes:* —

<< For Albion sailing then, th’ arrived quickly here,

O ! never in this world men half so joyful were ;

With shouts heard up to Heaven, when they beheld the land,

And in this very place where Totnes now doth stand,

First set their gods of Troy, kissing the blessed shore.

Then, forraging this lie, long promis’d them before,

Amongst the ragged Cleeues those monstrous Giants sought :

Who (of their dreadful kind) t’appall the Troians, brought Great Gogmagog, an Oake that by the roots could teare ;

So mightie were (that time) the men who liued there :

But, for the vse of Armes he did not vnderstand (Except some rock or tree, that comming next to hand Hee raz’d out of the earth to execute his rage)

Hee challenge makes for strength, and offereth there his gage.

Which, Corin taketh vp, to answer by and by,

Vpon this sonne of Earth his vtmost power to try.

All, doubtful to which part the victorie would goe,

Vpon that loftie place at Plimmoutli , call’d the Hoe,

Those mightie Wrastlers met ; with many an ireful looke Who threatned, as the one hold of the other tooke :

But, grappled, glowing fire shines in their sparkling eyes.

And, whilst at length of arme one from the other lyes,

Their lusty sinewes swell like cables, as they striue :

Their feet such trampling make, as though they forc’t to driue A thunder out of earth ; which stagger’d with the weight :

Thus, eithers vtmost force vrg’d to the greatest height.

Whilst one vpon his hip the other seekes to lift,

And th’adverse (by a turne) doth from his cunning shift.

Their short-fetclit troubled breath a hollow noise doth make,

Like bellowes of a Forge. Then Corin vp doth take The Giant twixt the grayns ; and voyding of his liould (Before his combrous feet he well recouer could)

Pitcht head-long from the hill : as when a manxloth throw An Axtree, that with sleight deliuered from the toe Rootes vp the yeelding earth : so that his voilent fall,

Strooke Neptune with such strength, as shouldred him withall ;

That where the monstrous waues like Mountaines late did stand,

They leap’t out of the place, and left the bared sand To gaze vpon wide lieauen : so great a blowe it gaue.

For which, the conquering Brute, on Corineus braue This home of land bestow’d, and markt it with his name ;

Of Corin, Cornwall call’d, to his immortal fame.”

Camden j* speaking of the same supposed encounter says : “I shall take liberty just to mention the fabulous

* Polyolbion Canto 1.

f Britannia, 1007.

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.

combat of Corineeus with the giant Gogmagog here, in a line or two of the Arcliitrenius concerning onr giants.”

“These savage monsters, train’d to war and blood,

Dash’d Corinaeus to the Stygian flood.

Aloft in air tall Gogmagog he bore,

And flung the Giant from his rocky shore,

While Ocean feasted on his wasted gore.

His corpse twelve cubits length the waves o’erspread,

And his soul flitted to the infernal dead.”

This tradition is interesting as carrying down to onr own day the remembrance of the conflicts, which took place between the natives of this Island and their invaders.

In the neighbourhood of Plymouth, Celtic remains are somewhat abundant. This is more especially the case on Dartmoor where hut circles, tumuli, and many other remains are to be seen. At Mount Batten, Plymouth, some highly interesting remains of this period have been found. These consist chiefly of ancient British coins of different types. The principal discovery of these coins was made in the year 1832, and other coins have since then, at various times been found on the spot. They have principally been brought to light in the process of quarrying, when they have slipped down with the surface soil.

These coins, which are among the most important antiquities yet found at Plymouth or in its neigbour-

AN G1ENT- BRITISH COINS.

hood, and which show incontestibly, its occupation by the Celtic race, are as follows, and other examples are shown on plate II.

Obv. — Eude horse to the right; above, a figure derived from the arms of Victory ; in front, a ring ornament ; below, a wheel ; below the horse’s head, a small cross ; the whole surrounded by a circle of pellets placed at some little distance apart.

Rev. — Convex ; a branch or wreath springing from an annulet, and having another small annulet near its point.

The type of this coin which is of gold, is considered by Mr. Evans to he peculiar to the West of England, and its date is supposed to be comparatively late — probably of the time of Tiberius. It is engraved, Evans pi. C fig. 4; Vim. Jour., vol. 1 pi. 1 fig. 7 ; Hawkins pi. 1 fig. 6 ; and Euding pi. A fig. 80.

Obv. — Convex ; and quite plain.

Rev. — Tail-less horse galloping to the right ; above, a reversed crescent and a horse-shoe-formed figure

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH.

terminated with, pellets derived from the arms of Victory, pellets, etc. ; over the horse’s head a kind of crescent and an annulet ; below, a pellet ; behind the horse, a semicircle, etc.

This remarkably line coin is in my own cabinet. It is of gold and has been engraved in the Archaeological Journal.

*

Ohv. — Extremely disjointed and almost imperceptible figure of horse, with pellets, etc.

Rev . — Eude portions of a laureated bust.

This coin is of silver, it is very similar in type to those given by Borlase, as having been found at Earn Bre in Cornwall in 1749.

The remainder of the coins which have been found at Mount Batten are principally, of the class which, differing from the usual British and Gaulish series, appears to be in some way peculiar to the Channel Islands. The examples engraved are selected from those in my own cabinet and that of Mr. Cuff.

In a naturally formed cave in Stonehouse first dis¬ covered in 1776, some remains of extinct animals were, at later period found, along with flint implements be-

TRACES OF BRITISH OCCUPATION.

longing to the Celtic period. This again, proves the occupation of the spot where the “Three Towns” now stand, by those early races. A somewhat similar cave, hut which had the advantage of a more careful and scientific examination, was discovered some years ago at Tor¬ quay. In this cave remains of extinct species of bears, hysenas, lions, and tigers were dug up from beneath a stalagmitic floor of considerable thickness, and along with them was found a human skeleton ; the stalagmitic floor having been broken up to form the slabs of the cist, in which it was placed. Intermingled with these bones were found flint knives, and arrow and spear-heads, bone implements and fragments of Celtic pottery. There were also ashes and masses of decomposed animal and vegetable matter, remains of fire and of feasts, and heaps of flint pebbles and flakes of flint in different stages of manufacture, which all clearly showed that the cave had formed the workshop, and probably the residence, of some of the primeval inhabitants, where they prepared the implements of the chase and of fishing. The mixture of the human remains with those of savage beasts must be accounted for by the stalagmitic floor having been broken up.