DEVONSHIRE CHARACTERS
AND STRANGE EVENTS
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
YORKSHIRE ODDITIES
TRAGEDY OF THE CÆSARS
CURIOUS MYTHS
LIVES OF THE SAINTS
ETC. ETC.
G. Clint, A.R.A., pinxt.
Thos. Lupton. sculpt.
MARIA FOOTE, AFTERWARDS COUNTESS OF HARRINGTON,
AS MARIA DARLINGTON IN THE FARCE
OF “A ROWLAND FOR AN OLIVER” (1824)
(Click here to see the original title page)
DEVONSHIRE
CHARACTERS
AND STRANGE EVENTS
BY S. BARING-GOULD, M.A.
WITH 55 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
REPRODUCED FROM OLD PRINTS, ETC.
LONDON: JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD
NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMVIII
PLYMOUTH: WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LIMITED, PRINTERS
PREFACE
In treating of Devonshire Characters, I have had to put aside the chiefWorthies and those Devonians famous in history, as George Duke ofAlbemarle, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Joshua Reynolds,the Coleridges, Sir Stafford Northcote, first Earl of Iddesleigh, andmany another; and to content myself with those who lie on a lowerplane. So also I have had to set aside several remarkable characters,whose lives I have given elsewhere, as the Herrings of Langstone (whomI have called Grym or Grymstone) and Madame Drake, George Spurle thePost-boy, etc. Also I have had to pretermit several great rascals,as Thomas Gray and Nicholas Horner. But even so, I find an embarrasde richesses, and have had to content myself with such as have hadcareers of some general interest. Moreover, it has not been possible tosay all that might have been said relative to these, so as to economizespace, and afford room for others.
So also, with regard to strange incidents, some limitation has beennecessary, and such have been selected as are less generally known.
I have to thank the kind help of many Devonshire friends for theloan of rare pamphlets, portraits, or for information not otherwiseacquirable—as the Earl of[Pg vi] Iddesleigh, Lady Rosamond Christie, Mrs.Chichester of Hall, Mrs. Ford of Pencarrow, Dr. Linnington Ash, Dr.Brushfield, Capt. Pentecost, Miss M. P. Willcocks, Mr. Andrew Iredale,Mr. W. H. K. Wright, Mr. A. B. Collier, Mr. Charles T. Harbeck, Mr.H. Tapley Soper, Miss Lega-Weekes, who has contributed the articleon Richard Weekes; Mrs. G. Radford, Mr. R. Pearse Chope, Mr. RennieManderson, Mr. M. Bawden, the Rev. J. B. Wollocombe, the Rev. W. H.Thornton, Mr. A. M. Broadley, Mr. Samuel Gillespie Prout, Mr. S. H.Sl