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liam De la Pole*, Bart. &c. in Devonshire," 4to.

pularity and importance, which it is less expedient to specify; and to the Volumes of Sylvanus Urban has been from a very distant period a very highly acceptable contributor.

"This now very scarce Volume (of which only 250 copies were printed) contains the whole of the Collections towards the History of Devonshire, so often quoted by Risdon and Prince, which that eminent and sedulous Antiquary, Sir W. Pole, Knt. began so early as 1604, but was prevented by death from perfecting the extensive work he meditated. It would have been no easy matter at the period when he lived, to have found a second person who possessed an equal degree of industry and exactitude, had he even enjoyed the same ease and affluence.”

+ Of Shute, Devon, and Colleton and Colcombe castle, the residence of Sir William De la Pole, who rebuilt it. He was lineally descended from "that eminent and sedulous Antiquary, Sir William, whose MSS. are so often quoted by our modern Authors, and are justly esteemed as some of the most perfect pieces in their kind. Valuable as they are, they are now irretrievably lost to his posterity; for the humility of his successors was such, that they were never denied to any of the curious who had an inclination to peruse them; the greater part of which have been so well approved by these gentlemen, that they never thought fit to return them." So say the Compilers of our Baronetage; but the truth is, as Mr. Prince observes, "many of them were lost in the civil war, and the very titles and arguments of them perished likewise." His son John, who inherited his father's taste, was created a Baronet in his life-time, and died 1635, 4 Charles I.; and his eldest son dying 1648, he was succeeded, 1658, by his second sou, Sir Courtenay, who dying in 1695, was succeeded by his son Sir John, and he, 1707, by his son Sir William, and he, 1741, by his son Sir John, and he, 1760, by the late Baronet, who was the Sixth Baronet of the family; and, in 1791, published the above-mentioned Collections, “with a hope," as the Editor observes, that, by throwing open these minutes to the world, future Writers may be assisted in perfecting any design towards an enlarged history of our County." Introduction, p. iv. After the testimonies in favour of Sir William Pole, the Editor makes no further apology for throwing these Collectanea open to his friends in general, and the Gentlemen of the County of Devon in particular, who, he hopes, will receive them with a degree of candour equal to that with which they are communicated."- "Of the family of this respectable Baronet," says Mr. Polwhele, II. 316, "we shall be gratified with various memoirs in the course of this history. Referring my Readers, therefore, to the Baronetage, and Prince's 'Worthies of Devon,' I shall observe only, in this place, that Sir Wil liam Pole, the Author of the Collections towards a Description of Devonshire,' was the fifteenth in descent, both from William Pulle

"Manduessedum Romanorum: being the History and Antiquities of the Parish of Manceter [including the Hamlets of Hartshill, Oldbury, and Atherstone], and also of the adjacent Parish of Ansley, in the County of Warwick. By the late Benjamin Bartlett*, Esq. F. A. S. Enlarged and corrected under the Inspection of several Gentlemen resident upon the spot," 4to.

Pulle de Pulle, the head of the Cheshire branch, and from Mauritius de Pola, or De la Pole, Knight, of Devonshire; and that he was the lineal ancestor, in the seventh degree, of the present Baronet, who, by sign Manual, 1789, resumed the antient name of De la Pole."

* Mr. Benjamin Bartlett had been an eminent Apothecary at Bradford, in Yorkshire, where he succeeded his father, who had for his apprentice the afterwards celebrated Dr. Fothergill. The Doctor introduced his son to London; but Mr. Bartlett, on his health declining, resigned his bu siness to a partner, Mr. French, of Red Lion Street. He was elected F. A. S. 1764; and his knowledge of the antient coinage of this kingdom was equal to the valuable collections he had formed in its several departments, from the Saxon to the present time, besides a variety of curious Seals, Celts, and other antique articles; which, by the fatality so common to the collectors of the present time, came under Mr. Gerrard's hammer. In a Letter dated Nov. 14, 1779, in answer to an inquiry respecting Abp. Sharp's" Observations on the Coinage of England," (the MS. of which had been purchased in 1764 by Mr. Gough at the sale of Mr. Thoresby's Museum, and which afterwards formed the XXXVth Number of the "Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica") Mr. Bartlett says, "It certainly was the first attempt of the kind, and was of great use to the late Mr. Thoresby, and indeed to the immediate succeeding writers on that subject, Mr. Leake and Mr. Folkes; the latter of whom has given us all that is valuable in it, and has avoided some mistakes which the Archbishop had made. Indeed I wonder there are so few, in a work where he had so dark a road to travel in.-Several of Simon's Medals are in Dr. Hunter's Museum, and bad impressions, or rather casts, of two of the Seals in mine.—I am much obliged to you for your good wishes; but I always remove my Coins into a place of safety when I go into the country. I am, with the tenders of best respects, yours, B. BARTLETT." All that he ever published was a Memoir "On the Epis copal Coins of Durham, and the Monastic Coins of Reading, minted during the Reigns of Edward I. II. and III. appropriated to their respective Owners." Archæologia, vol. V. p. 335. He died, of a confirmed dropsy, at Hertford, March 2, 1787, in VOL. IX. his

H

"The History of Derby*; from the remote Ages of Antiquity, to the Year MDCCXCI. Describ

his 73d year; and was buried in the Quakers' burying-ground at Hartshill in Warwickshire. Mr. Bartlett had lost his wife Jan. 1, 1785; and his only son, Benjamin Newton Bartlett, who survived him but seven months, came to a melancholy end, Oct. 20, 1787. After the death of Mr. Bartlett, the MS. of this little History became the property of Dr. Charles Combe; who, in compliance with the original intention of Mr. Bartlett, presented the copy to Mr. Nichols; and it was published as the First Number of a new Series of Topographical Antiquities.-The substance of it, with additions by John Newdigate-Ludford, Esq. of Ansley Hall, Warwickshire, has since been incorporated in the Fourth Volume of the "History of Leicestershire;" and an Edition in Folio, of only Eighty copies, has been printed separately.

* In a Dedication to Francis Ashby, Esq. at that time Mayor of Derby, Mr. Hutton characteristically says, "It is not from personal acquaintance that I address you, for I never had the pleasure of seeing you ;-nor from a lucrative return; I neither wish or want any :-but because you are the Chief Magistrate of an antient Borough which gave birth to those affections which it now possesses. When I departed from the place, I did not depart from my esteem. Whenever I gain a sight of those turrets over which you preside, it diffuses a sensation through the mind, like the discovery of an old acquaintance, in whose success I have been long and warmly interested. If asked why, in this Address, I do not comprehend the whole Corporate Body? I answer, I cannot take the Head, without including the Members."

In the Preface he observes, "I took up the pen at that period in which most Writers lay it down: I may be said to have set off upon my historical pursuits from the vale of years, at a time when every declining year, like every minute of a declining sun, tells five." Afterwards, speaking of the Rev. Janes Pilkington's "Present State of Derbyshire," he adds, "I embrace this public mode of conveying my gratitude for the information he has given, and the trouble he has saved me. Had not he examined dusty charters and mouldy records, I must. A part of my knowledge is grafted upon his assiduity. Had his productions seen the light a little

sooner, mine would for ever have been hid. But when I first heard of his, this work was too far advanced for the pride of an Author to give up to destruction. Unknown in Derby, I stand clear of prejudice. When I silently wander from the extremity of St. Mary's Bridge to that of St. Peter's parish, without meeting one face that I know, I consider myself a stranger at home; but, though forgotten, I cannot forget. I beheld with concern the buildings altered with time; and reflect, with a sigh, that every house has changed its inhabitants; and that I have to mourn a whole generation, who are swept into the grave,"

The

ing its Situation, Air, Soil, Water, Streets, Buildings, and Government. With the illustrious Families that have inherited its Honours. Also the Ecclesiastical History, the Trade, Amusements, Remarkable Occurrences, the Eminent Men, with the adjacent Seats of the Gentry. Illustrated with Plates. By William Hutton*, F. A. S. S." 8vo.

The copy-right of the "History of Derby" he presented to me soon after the following previous intimation:

"SIR, Birmingham, Oct. 3, 1789. "I am much inclined to write a History of Derby, as I am a native, and resided many years in the place. I am possessed of various materials, and can have more. The work might be comprised in one volume octavo. Would it suit you, Sir, to become the proprietor, or be concerned in such a work? As I am totally out of the business, it would not suit me to be the publisher. You will know the exact measure of my abilities, or rather the tools with which I work, by dipping into the History of Birmingham, the Court of Requests, &c. &c. Mr. Rollason bought all my productions, and upon his own terms, for as I did not write for bread, I was not solicitous about the price; the same intercourse would have continued had not death prevented it. I am your humble servant, W. HUTTON."

*This respectable Veteran, who has literally been the artificer of his own ample fortune, was born Sept 30, 1723, in Full-street, Derby. He was sent, before he was five years old, to a poor dayschool in that town; and when he had attained his seventh year, was placed in the silk-mills, where he passed a miserable period of seven years. Having lost his mother, and been cruelly treated by his master, he formed the resolution of seeking his fortune. Passing, not without some distress, through Burton, Lichfield, Walsall, Birmingham, Coventry, Nun-Eaton, and Hinckley, in search of work, but in vain, he returned to Derby, and to his accustomed labours. He had now acquired an inclination for reading; and, having met with three volumes of the Gentleman's Magazine, contrived, in an awkward manner, to bind them himself-a profession to which he afterwards applied himself withsome success. He opened a shop at Southwell, at the rent of 20s. a year, with about twenty-shillings-worth of books; and commenced business at Birmingham, in 1750, in halfashop, for which he paid a shilling a week. He soon after purchased the refuse of a Dissenting Minister's Library; and from that period his af fairs began to wear a pleasant and promising aspect. At the end of the year, he had saved 20 pounds; and, being persuaded to take a house of 81. a year, he soon carried on business on a larger scale; and secured many valuable and intimate friendships. In 1756, be married Sarah Cock, the niece of a neighbour (Mr. Grace);

A Second Edition of " A Charge delivered to the

by whom he had several children; and two of them, a son and a daughter, are still living, the comforts of his declining years.

Mr. Hutton soon after opened a paper-warehouse, the first ever seen in Birmingham; and, from a sinall beginning, following the business 40 years, and having realized a considerable fortune, he resigned the house, in 1793, to his son; and shortly after sustained a loss, which, at the distance of eight years, he thus feelingly lamented:

To the Memory of the dear Girl, once named SARAH COCK, who died Jan. 23, 1796.

Sally, when thou first came over,

Not a smile upon me came;

I assum'd the faithful lover,

Two hearts united in one flame.

During forty years possessing,
Whenever thou approach'd my sight,
My heart, as conscious of the blessing,
Felt a ray of pure delight.

Pity was to love united

When came seventeen years of pain;
Thy drooping head my hand invited,
Which my dear could not sustain.
When ill-natur'd Time bereft me
Of thyself, the source of joy,
Two dear treasures thou bequeath'd me,
Dear as sight is to my eye.

O, I mourn the day I lost thee,

As the year winds round its way,
Many a sigh and tear thou cost me,
Sorrow never sleeps a day.

Gentle Spirit! can I find thee,

When the lamp of life shall cease;
To my anxious bosom bind thee

Where thou long possess'd a place."

Mr. Hutton took up the pen late in life; and his first publication was, "An History of Birmingham, to the End of the Year 1780," Svo, published in 1782; and again, with considerable Additions, in 1783; a Third Edition, much augmented, and with new Engravings of the Public Buildings, 1795; and a Fourth, with many embellishments, is now in contemplation. In 1786 he published, "A Journey from Birmingham to London," 12mo; and in the following year," Courts of Requests: their Nature, Utility, and Powers described; with a Variety of Cases determined in that of Birmingham," Svo; in which he is a strenuous advocate for the Courts. In 1788 Mr. Hutton published "The Battle of Bosworth

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