NOTTINGHAMSHIRE FACTS AND FICTIONS.

PART VIII.

*MORE LEGENDS, TRADITIONS, & ANECDOTES.

-Such tales as old men tell

When age has frosted and when toil has numbed them."

-Squire's Testament.

THERE

THE MAIDS OF COLLINGHAM AND THE DANES.

HERE is a tradition of some pious nuns having lived at Collingham in the seventh century, who, in order to make themselves repulsive to the pirate Danes, and so preserve their chastity, cut off their noses and lips. Several historians have adopted this quaint tradition, and it has been believed that the nunnery inhabited by these devotés was destroyed by the Danes, along with the Abbeys of Crowland, Ely, and Peterborough. Others maintain that the Collingham, where the chaste women lived, was a town in Scotland, and that their nunnery was a cell to the Abbey of Durham. It must, however, be added that in 1863 some workmen discovered the foundations of a very large building upon the very spot which had been indicated for generations as the site of the convent of the "bloody nuns of Collingham."

THE KING DEPRIVED OF HIS BEER AT NOTTINGHAM.

A tradition lingers in the good old town of Nottingham to the effect that upon King John's last visit to Nottingham he called at the house of the mayor, and at the residence of the priest of St. Mary's. Finding neither ale in the cellar of one, nor bread in the cupboard of the other, his Majesty ordered every publican in the town to contribute sixpennyworth of ale to the mayor yearly, and

*Continued from page 59 of the first series.

that every baker should give a halfpenny loaf weekly to the priest. This custom was continued in the time of Blackner, the Nottingham historian.

LEGEND OF ST. CATHERINE'S WELL, NEWARK.

There was an ancient legend in the possession of the Bettison family, and preserved by Mr. Dickinson in his History of Newark, respecting St. Catherine's Well. We give the substance of the story:-"Near unto the fortified place called our Lady the Queen's Sconce, and betwixt that and the river Davon, is a famous well, in the waters of which, by the help of the holy Saint Catherine, and the blessing of our Lady the Virgin, divers leprous persons have been purged of their maladies. The ancient ballad (see page 32 of this series) which hath remayned even to our time setteth forth with great trouth the intendment of these kings, to the manifestation of God's justice. Two knights, Sir Everard Bevercotes, and Guy Saucimer, by name, wooed a fair maid, the daughter of Allan de Caldwell, named Isabell. They were loving companions, and they both served their suite so stoutly, that the maid was hard pressed to make her choice, so even did they carry themselves in her eyes. Sir Everard finally prevailed, but lest, peradventure, Sir Guy should discover her preference, he never came to visit her until after eventide, and departed again before midnight. Howbeit, Sir Guy discovered the cheat which was passed upon him, and waylaid the knight, whom nothing fearing, he slew on St. Catherine's Eve, and he fell covered with blood on the spot, where sithence hath risen a fair stream of water; for no sooner had the body of Sir Everard touched the ground, but it gushed out in a pure fountain, and hath flowed plentifully until these times. Sir Guy, in melancholy mood, travelled to Nottingham; but the memory of his misdeeds followed him, and vexed him so sore, that he was fain to go into foreign parts, where he was punished by God's righteous judgment, with leprous sores, so that nothing gave him any ease. Meanwhile, the fair Isabell died with grief. Sir Guy, hearing thereof, could find no rest, day or night; wherefore, taking the habit of a pilgrim, he was returnin to England, sick at heart, and sore pressed with disease, when about eventide he laid himself down on a bed of dry leaves, in the forest of St. Avold. Here, as doubtless the saint had herself ordained, he fell into a sound sleep, when the holy Catherine appeared to him as in a dream, and told him, that in the place

where Sir Everard had whilem fallen by his hand, was the only water that would cleanse his grievous sores. Full of repentance, and emboldened by this manifestation of the saint's intercession, he straightway hied to England, and having received absolution from the holy church, he took the habit of a hermit, and journeyed to Newark, where he builded himself a cell hard by the place where he slew Sir Everard. But he had not tarried long, when the waters of the Davon overflowed, and he was necessitated to pass over to the other side of the way, about a furlong to the northeast, where was another spring of pure water. Here, with his own hands, he builded himself an abiding place, with a chapel, and graved the image of St. Catherine, and also the death of Sir Everard, over the altar. He also enclosed the spring with a wall, curiously carved, to imitate one belonging to some holy fathers, where he had quenched his thirst, nigh to the place where St. Catherine had vouchsafed to appear to him. Here he lived a sad and godly life, being much venerated by all hereabouts, and known by the name of St. Guthred, the reason whereof doth not appear. He died well stricken in age, being eighty-seven years and some months old on All Hallows' Day, in the seventeenth year of our late soverain, Henry of Bollingbrook." At the spot coinciding with the position indicated in the legend a well of clear water has been found, having carved stone walls around it.

THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE AND HIS HOSTESS.

Lord Chief Justice Markham was a native of Nottinghamshire, and died about 1490. An anecdote in relation to his conduct as a judge of assize will serve well to furnish a favourable view of his character in that capacity. A lady of a very wilful and perverse disposition, residing in a country town where the assize was held, having a suit at law to come on before the lords justices, invited Judge Markham to dinner; and though thrifty enough, even to parsimony, herself, treated him with a very sumptuous entertainment. Dinner being ended, and the judge having taken his seat, the cause was called on, when, after a patient hearing of some length, his lordship gave judgment against his hostess; on which she vented her displeasure against him in no measured terms, vowing that she would never invite a judge to dinner again. "Nay!" said the lady's more reasonable husband, in opposition to whose better judgment the suit had been prosecuted, "vow never to invite a just judge any more."

NAN SCOTT.

An old woman, known by the name of Nan Scott, took refuge in a small room, about eight feet square, over the porch of Holme Church, when the plague visited Holme in 1666. When compelled to leave her place of refuge in search of food, she was horrified to find the village deserted by all but herself and one other person, and returned to the church, where she spent the remainder of her life. She is said to have slept in a strong old box, which is still pointed out. Some of her clothes and articles of furniture remained there for many years. This room is still known as "Nan Scott's chamber."

A FALSE ALARM.

During the famous revolution of 1688 the patriotism and protestantism of the Nottingham people were put to the test by Lord Delamere who ordered his trumpeters to sound to arms, and caused it to be announced that the forces of King James were within four miles of the town. Everywhere active preparations were immediately made to meet the enemy. Those possessed of horses and arms accoutred themselves as quickly as possible under the circumstances, while the humbler classes of society seized firelocks, swords, and pitchforks, or the first instrument of defence they could lay hands on, and all hurried off to the Trent Bridge to defend that entrance into the town. Those who could not obtain arms hurried off with market stalls, with barrels and carts, to barricade the bridge and the north side of the Trent, and awaited the coming of the enemy with a determined spirit, but they were destined to return to their homes without having their martial powers put to the test.

A BISHOP REBUKED BY A NOTTINGHAM VICAR.

In 1724 a deserving rebuke was administered by Mr. Disney, the Vicar of St. Mary's Church, Nottingham, to the Bishop of Lincoln. Dr. Reynolds, then newly appointed Bishop of Lincoln, having retired to the vestry after a confirmation he had been holding in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham, sent the clerk to fetch some of the famed Nottingham ale, pipes, and tobacco; but as these were being borne up the nave of the church by the clerk, he encountered the Vicar (Mr. Disney), who, after asking him on whose account he was thus laden, indignantly ordered him to

retire, exclaiming that neither bishop nor archbishop should make a tippling house of St. Mary's Church so long as he was its vicar; so that we may presume the Bishop retired to a more fitting place for his refreshment.

A NOTTINGHAM RECTOR AND HIS TITHE PIG.

The last attempt to collect small tithes in St. Nicholas' Parish, Nottingham (there being no great tithes), is stated to have taken place about 1793. The rector said to one of the officers of the church: "If you will inform me of any person who keeps sows in the parish, I will make it worth your while." The person replied that he knew of but one, whom he named, and in a day or two he let him know that his sty would be honoured in a short time by a tithe-pig visitant. The owner of the pigs, however, determined to prevent the necessity of such a visit, and he accordingly took a young pig in his arms, and contrived to make it move the knocker of the rector's door, who being informed of the visit, welcomed the squeaking guest into the house; but he never inquired for a tithe pig any more.

THE PARSON AND HIS BOON COMPANIONS.

The trades of the fellmonger and the tanner were anciently located in Nottingham and the county, particularly at Worksop, between which two towns there formerly seemed to be a closer connection than has existed since Sheffield has grown into greatness. A number of family traditions link the two trades and the two towns (Nottingham and Worksop) together, one of which we may repeat-Grandpater, fond of fast living, dined with the vicar on Saturday evening. The party, the parson included-let it here be said—par parenthesis, the parson was a foxhunter, and fond of all kinds of gaiety and pleasure, played cards, and indulged in libations until three o'clock on the Sunday morning, when his reverence said he must leave them to take a little rest prior to going through the services of the day. In his absence the merry fellows played on until church time, when it was agreed that they should adjourn to the family pew, and hear what sort of a sermon their clerical friend would preach. Waxing warm, he denounced the besetting sins of the time, drinking, gambling, sabbath breaking, and other kindred infractions of the divine law. One