Monday after Rogation-6th Henry 7th. The Earl of Oxenford made Free-burgess of this Town, and one of the Brethren of the Guild.

The Prior of Ely is made Free-burgess, and of the Fraternity of the Guild.

Monday in Whitsun Week-6th Henry 8th.

All the utensils belonging to Corpus Christi Guild shall be enterred in a Book, to be kept safe by John Butler, for the use of the Guild, viz.:

The Friday in the 2nd week in Lent-32nd Henry 8th. All the Burgesses shall bring the Sacrament of Corpus Christi from Lawrence Church towards the Fish Market to the Corn Hill, and so to the Tower Church, and so from thence on Corpus Christi day to Margaret's Green, and then round about the Towne to the Tower Churche againe, and then shall hear a mass and on the next day shall bring the same from thence through the Brook Street into the Fish Market and Corn Hill, and so to Lawrence Church, and here to end.

And that every of the Portmen shall have two Torches, and every of the 24 one Torch, and all the Torches shall wait on the Sacrament upon all the said three days, under forfeiture of 12d. for every default, and each Portman Torches shall upon the same penalty wait upon the Sacrament upon the Sunday.

19th of Decembir-25th Elizabeth.

The School master shall have 40 Shillings for his pains and charges in presenting cirtain Pageants in joy of the Queen's Coronation upon the last 17th day of Novembir.

And it is agreed, that John Kinge, who lately made shew of a certain Pageant in form of a Shippe with certain convenient speeches thereon, at the last Guild holden within the Towne, at his owne charges, shall be allowed towards his said charges in that behalf, on and besides such money as he hath received already of the Alderman of the Guild; 5 marks to be paid out of the Tresury.

TOPOGRAPHICAL AND OTHER PARTICULARS.

IPSWICH, the chief town of the County of Suffolk, is situated upon the eastern banks of the Orwell and the Gipping. Its streets are long and straggling, and some of them exceedingly tortuous. The place is extremely ancient, as there are memorials extant, shewing that an enormous fine was levied on the inhabitants in the time of the Danes, and previously to the year 1000, we read the ramparts erected for defence, were twice demolished.

Ipswich, at present, contains twelve churches, and even in very early times, there are accounts of nine existing. During the middle ages, when the catholic religion, was the established faith of the land, the number was as high as twenty-four. None of the existing churches are of large proportions, or possess much architectural beauty-several may indeed be denominated, mean unimportant structures.

In the year 1199, King John, granted a charter to the town. The first Great Court under the emancipated condition of the burgesses, was held the Thursday next after the 24th of June in the second year of the reign of that King-1200, when the first Bailiffs were elected. At a court held in a following sessions, it was considered right that a committee should be chosen from each parish for the purpose of deciding upon Portmen, and twelve officers with that title were elected accordingly. This is the first establishment of the municipal condition of Ipswich, but the incorporation of the town was rendered more complete in a charter granted by Henry VI, which styled the corporation and inhabitants, the "burgesses of Ipswich."

To the ramparts anciently existing, the fosse of which is to be traced in the town through St. Margaret's Ditches, belonged four strong gates, denominated East, West, North, and South,

from their respective situations. These buildings divided, and gave names of wards to four quarters of the town. No traces now remain of these gates.

The 12 churches now in existence are St. Mary at the Tower; St. Lawrence; St. Matthew; St. Mary at the Elms; St. Mary at the Key; St. Mary Stoke; St. Nicholas; St. Stephen; St. Peter; St. Clement; St. Margaret; and St. Helen. To these must be added a chapel erected through the munificent disposition of the Rev. Mr. Nottidge, in St. Clement's parish, to which church it is a chapel of ease. The parish of St. Matthew's formerly contained four other edifices devoted to religious worship, namely, St. Mary's; All Saints; St. Mildred's; and St. George's. The scites of several of these edifices are not now known.

At the entrance of the town from the London Road, formerly stood a strong massive gateway, called West-Gate, which contained the town gaol. This gate, outwards from the town, presented an embattled appearance. Two strong cornered towers projected from the building itself, bearing warders turrets, and peirced with crossed loop holes for observation or attack. The gateway itself was of exceedingly solid masonry, bearing a pointed roof above, upon which was seated a wooden belfry.

St.

The church of St. Nicholas stands in the lower part of the town, not far from the Gipping. It is supposed to have been erected upon the scite of the ancient church of St. Michael. Nicholas church was an impropriation to St. Peter's Priory, which on the dissolution, was granted to two individuals named Breton and Webb. It is a perpetual curacy only, and not of great value. The exterior walls of the building shew several pieces of antiquity carved in stone, supposed to have belonged to the ancient priory. Within the church also some curious specimens of painting have been discovered behind a tomb. They represent—it is supposed—the Archangel St. Michael, to which Wolsey's father contributed by will, the sum of forty shillings. During the progress of some repairs made in 1827, five urns or jars of a large size were found embedded in the wall of this

church, but although evidently cinerial vessels, they did not appear to have at any time contained the dust or ashes of human bodies.

From the floor of this building, the parliamentary visitors took up three sepulchral brasses, and destroyed six religious pictures on the walls. Westward of the church, on the bank of the Gipping stood a convent of Franciscan Friars. A small portion of this edifice long survived the general decay of the establishment.

St. Mary at the Key, was impropriated to the Priory of St. Peter and Paul. The present building is very plain and simple, both internally and externally. The tower however is curiously built in flints, and is an object worthy of observation. The church spoliator, Dowsing, paid a visit to the edifice, and broke down nine superstitious pictures and destroyed many inscriptions.

A little beyond St. Mary Key Church, stood, until within the present year, an ancient timber building, which, from its doors and windows being defended with wooden shutters, would almost appear to have been built previously to the introduction of glass into household buildings. The house of which we speak was a huge lumbering edifice, formed almost entirely of wood, and stood for many years unoccupied. It was during the present year razed to the ground floor, and the materials of which it was composed sold piecemeal to the public.

There

St. Lawrence Church stands in St. Lawrence lane. are no particular features about the building, connecting it either with architectural beauty or antiquity. Old Weever tells us that the Church was commenced by John Bottold in 1431. He is buried within it. Here also reposes Edmund Daundy, an individual who gave much of his substance in charity, and was a relation of Cardinal Wolsey. He died in 1515. Behind the western gallery of this church, is a painting executed upon the wall, of Christ disputing with the doctors. It was painted by Sir R. K. Porter, when a young man, during his sojurn in the garrison of this town. picture of Charles Ist., lying in state, formerly ornamented the

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