WILLIAM, EARLE OF PEMBROKE,

(The first Earle of that Family,)

Was borne (I thinke I have heard my cos. Whitney say) in . . . . in Monmouthshire. Herbert, of Colbrooke, in Monmouthshire, is of that family. He was (as I take it) a younger brother, a mad fighting young fellow. 'Tis certaine he was a servant to the house of Worcester, and wore their blew coate and badge. My cos. Whitney's great aunt gave him a golden angell when he went to London. One time being at Bristowe, he was arrested, and killed one of the Sheriffes of the city. He made his escape through Back-street, through the then great gate, into the Marsh, and gott into France. Mem. Upon this action of killing the Sheriffe, the city ordered the gate to be walled up, and only a little posterne gate or dore, with a turnstile for a foot-passenger, which continued so till Bristowe was a garrison for the King, and the great gate was then opened in 1644, or 1645. When I was a boy there, living with my father's mother, who was maried to Alderman John Whitson* (who was my god-father), the story was as fresh as

* He was the greatest benefactor to the city that has been since the Reformation. He gave 500l. per ann, at least to the city to maintain blew-coate boyes and maydes.

He dyed about 1629.

but of yesterday. He was called black Will Herbert.

In France he betooke himself into the army, where he shewed so much courage, and readinesse of witt in conduct, that in a short time he became eminent, and was favoured by.... the King, who afterwards recommended him to Henry VIII. of England, who much valued him, and heaped favours and honours upon him. Upon the dissolution of the abbeys, he gave him the abbey of Wilton, and a country of lands and mannours thereabout belonging to it. He gave him also the abbey of Ramsbury, in Wilts, with much lands belonging to it; Cardiff-Castle, in Glamorganshire, with the ancient crowne-lands belonging to it. Almost all the country held of this castle. It was built by S Robert Fitzhamond the Norman, who lies buried at Tewkesbury abbey, with a memorial, and he built the abbey of Gloucester. It afterwards came to Jasper, Duke of Bedford, &c. so to the crowne. He maried... Par, sister of Q. Katharine Par, da. and co-heire of . . . . Par, I thinke, Marquisse of Northampton, by whom he had 2 sonnes, Henry, Earle of Pembroke, and . . . . . the ancestor of the Lord Powys. He was made conservator of King Henry the Eighth. He could neither write nor read, but had a stamp for his name. He was of good naturall parts; but very cholerique. He was strong sett,

but bony, reddish-favoured, of a sharp eie, sterne looke. In Queen Mary's time, upon the returne of the Catholique Religion, the nunnes came again to Wilton abbey, and this William, E. of P. came to the gate (which lookes towards the court by the street, but now is walled up) with his cappe in hand, and fell upon his keee to the lady abbesse* and the nunnes, crying peccavi. Upon Q. Mary's death, the Earle came to Wilton (like a tygre) and turned them out, crying, "Out ye whores, to worke, to worke, ye whores, goe spinne."

He being a stranger in our country, and an upstart, was much envyed, and in those dayes (of sword and buckler) noblemen, and also great knights, as the Longs, when they went to the assizes or se ssions at Salisbury, &c. had a great number of retainers following them, and there were (you have heard) in those dayes, feudes,-e. g. quarrells and animosities,-between great neighbours, particularly this new Earle was much envyed by the then Lord Sturton, of Sturton, who would, when he went or returned from Sarum (by Wilton was his rode) sound his trumpetts, and give reproachfull challenging words; 'twas a relique of knighthood errantry.

The last lady abbesse here was ... Gawen, of Norrington, belonging to Chalke, where that family has been 400 yeares; sold about 1665 to Judge Wadham Windham.

In Q. Eliz. time, some Bp. (I have forgot who) that had been his chaplain, was sent to him from the Queen and Council, to take interrogatories of him. So he takes out his pen and inke, examines and writes; when he had writt a good deale; sayd the Earle, "Now lett me see it;" "Why," q' the Bp. "your Lordship cannot read it ?" "That's all one, I'll see it," qd he, and takes it and tears it to pieces.

66 Zounds,

you rascall," qd he, "d'ee thinke I will have my throate cutt with a pen-knife?" It seemes they had a mind to have pick't a hole in his coate, and to have gott his estate. 'Tis reported that he caused himself to be lett bloud, and bled so much yt it was his death, and that he should say as he was expiring, "They would have Wiltonthey would have Wilton," and so gave up the ghost. This present E. of P. (1680) has at Wilton 52 mastives and 30 grey-hounds, some beares, and a lyon, and a matter of 60 fellowes more bestiall than they. Mem. this Wm. (the founder of this family) had a little cur-dog which loved him, and the E. loved the dog. When the Earle dyed the dog would not goe from his master's dead body, but pined away, and dyed under the hearse; the picture of which dog is under his picture, in the Gallery at Wilton, which putts me in mind of a parallell storie in Appian (Syrian Warr). He was buried in . . . . . of St. Paule's, London, where he had

*

a magnificent monument, which is described, with the epitaph, by Sir Wm. Dugdale, wch vide,

SIR WILLIAM PETTY, KT.

Was the son of .. Petty, of Rumsey, in Hampshire, by .... his wife. His father was borne on the Ash-Wednesday before Mr. Hobbes, sc. 1587. He was by profession a clothier, and also did dye his owne clothes. He dyed and was buryed at Rumsey, 1644, where S: W. intends to sett up a monument for him. He left little or no estate to S: William. He (Sir William) was borne at his father's house aforesaid, on Monday, the twenty-sixth of May, 1623, eleven houres, 42'. 56′′ afternoone. Christened

on Trinity Sunday.

Rumsey is a little haven towne, but hath most kinds of artificers in it. When he was a boy his greatest delight was to be looking on the artificers,-e. g. smyths, the watchmakers, carpenters, joyners, &c.-And at twelve yeares old could have worked at any of these trades. Here he went to schoole, and learned by 12 yeares a competent smattering of Latin, and was entred into the Greek before 15. He has told me, there happened to him the most remarkable accident of life (wch he did not tell me), and wch was the