But though we have so little information respecting that early period, as we proceed onwards we come to the light of written record, and there find much that is deeply interesting.

Bradford is mentioned in Domesday book, a book of Survey begun in 1080, and which took six years in completion; this book is in the Chapter house, Westminster.

At the time of the conquest, one Gamel held the manor of Bradford. This Gamel seems to have been a person of considerable importance, as he possessed a great number of manors in this part of the country, ex. gr. Elland, Ovenden, Gomersal, Thornhill, and Kirkheaton. The whole of the cultivated lands in the manor of Bradford at that time was 15 carucates, or 1500 acres, on which 8 ploughs were employed. Ceruca, means a plough, and a carucate, though it varied in some parts, was usually about 100 acres, or as much as could be ploughed in a year.

The value of the manor was £4, a considerable sum in those times. The pound in Domesday was a pound weight troy, of silver; and its intrinsic value when in money was £3-but its extrinsic value was 100 times more, or at least than £1 of the present day. The annual value in King Edward's time, of the manor, was equal to £400 of

our money.

We find no mention of a church here at that time; but this by no means proves that there was none, as the jurors were not required to return the churches. There was probably a chapel with right of sepulture, but these were not returned in Domesday. The mother church was Dewsbury, the old Saxon parish of the district, and it is scarcely likely that there would be no church for the use of the inhabitants so far distant.

The family of whom we read most about this time, was the Lacies, Earls of Pontefract. Ilbert de Lacy, one of the Norman adventurers, at the subjugation of the kingdom had bestowed upon him by the Conquerer, in the West-Riding of Yorkshire, 150 manors.

Ilbert was the person who formed the seigniory or honor of Pontefract, a court still existing. He was created Baron of Pontefract, 1070. He built the castle of Pontefract for his residence; and it is said that it took 12 years in building.

Robert de Lacy, his son, succeeded him, and when he died, he was succeeded by his son Albert; who, dying was succeeded by his brother Henry. This Henry left a son Robert, who succeeded him, and who died with

out issue, Feb. 1193, and was buried at Kirkstall Abbey. He divided his immense estate to his uterine sister Aubrey, daughter. of Lisours, who married for her first husband, Richard Fitz Eustace, Constable of Chester, and Lord of Halton, and carried with her the family possessions of the Lacies, and Lisours. She had a son called John, who died at Tyre in 1190, on the third crusade in which he had with his son Roger, accompanied Richard I. He married Alice de Vere, sister (widow) of William de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, and left by her several children.

Roger, his son, succeeded him, and took the name of Lacy.

A descendant of this son was Edmund de Lacy, 1246. In his time, Bradford was charged for tallage to the King, five marks and the two Bondi there four shillings. The burgh of Leeds was charged three marks and a half. Bradford must therefore have increased by this time in population.

This Edmund de Lacy, obtained several important grants, and among others, in 1251, a charter for a market at Bradford, and a grant of the warren in the manor. This market was to be held on a Thursday (the same as now) unless it would be to the injury of the neighbouring markets. We find also that in 1294, the Earl of Lincoln obtained a charter for holding markets and fairs at various towns belonging to him, and that Bradford was amongst the number. The market was to be on Thursday, and the fair, one in every year, on the eve and on the day of the blessed Peter ad Vincula, and for three days following. This charter was dated June 6, 1294 (22 Edward I). This fair was afterwards discontinued. The market was holden on Sunday, though Thursday was the chartered day

We find from history that the Earl of Lincoln exercised his right, and erected a gallows near Bradford. This right was traced from the time of the Saxons, when the greater part of the Thanes, either by express grant, or from prescription, possessed this power of executing thieves, found within their respective manors. In the laws of King Edward the Confessor, express mention is made of this right. Many places in the kingdom had right of gallows. The gallows was placed at a little distance from Bradford, as in the case of Halifax, Otley, Knaresborough, Kirkby Malzeard, &c., where the place is to this day called Gallow close, or Gallows hill, &c. The site of the Gallows near Bradford is supposed by Mr. James to

have been near Bowling. From a mention of Gallow-closes in Bradford, mentioned in the Early Court Roll of the manor, Mr. James thinks that Birks-hall stood upon the demesne, called the Gallow close, and he says that it is a field near the Bowling Foundry, still retaining the name of Gallow close.

The privilege of executing felons was lost by desuetude, and not by law or statute, or itinerating judges being appointed to take circuits, and dispense justice periodically through the kingdom.

The present "Manor Court" can be traced to a Free Court, from ancient times, or a Sheriff's Turn, made by the Earl's own steward, and the debts of the King levied by the Earl's own bailiff. This is no doubt "the Court Leet," under another name. The word "Leet" derived from a Saxon word which means a little court, and a Court Leet is out of the Sheriffs turn. The Court Leet was held twice a year; many of the duties performed by magistrates, then devolved upon the Leet jury. The following may be taken as a specimen of the offences which was brought before the court, and the fines adjudged. Heavy fines were imposed upon unruly tempers, gaming, allowing persons to play at cards at night, &c. For an assault where no blood was drawn the fine was generally 3s. 4d.; where blood was drawn, 10s.

It is worthy of notice that there have been three Courts and Court houses in Bradford.

1. There was a court held "at the Castle," the site of which was probably the present Bermondsey hotel, School street, Cheapside.

2. The second court was held in a room now over Mr. Chatterton's shop, in Ivegate. Here the Abbot of Kirkstall sat in the reign of King Henry VIII.

The third court was held in a room occupied by the late Mr. John Hill, maltster, on the south side of Westgate. The door-way to it, is still to be seen, over which are the letters H. M. I. M., and the date, A.D. 1678. The room is up stairs, reached by a flight of steps. The royal arms marking the position of the judges' seat, still remain. The court was removed here when the Marsden's became possessed of the manor.

In addition to these, justice has been administered in the Old Piece Hall, in Kirkgate, and now in the Court House, in the Hall Ings.

Before the Piece Hall was built, in 1773, the manufacturers from the out-townships (so limited was the business) exhibited their

pieces in a large room of the White Lion Inn, and they had each closets which they locked up from market to market. A gentleman, upon whom sound reliance may be placed, says, that it was estimated that only about 3000 pieces per week were sold in Bradford; whilst now more than one firm would do that.

The Soke Corn Mill, now known as the Queen's Soke Mill," is first mentioned in a registration of all the lands and other territorial possessions of the Earl of Lincoln, taken at Pontefract, March 3, 1311. The profits amounting from it were equal to one quarter of the rents arising from Bradford and places around from which rent was drawn by the lord. The word "SOKE" is derived from the Saxon soca, which means the territory in which the chief lord exercised his liberty of keeping courts within his own territory or jurisdiction " (Bailey). The word "soc" is an old law term, and means a power or liberty of jurisdiction.

It is believed that there were corn mills in Bowling and Horton at the time of this inquisition.

It is supposed that there was formerly a castle at Bradford, i.e., between Doomsday, A.D. 1080, and this Inquisition, A.D. 1311, but it may have been destroyed in the reign of King Stephen, or Henry II., when a dispute took place between those monarchs that all castles of a certain period should be razed to the ground. Mr. James thinks that the "Aula" mentioned in the Inquisition must have been built out of the ruins of the Castle, and that this ball stood in a field to the north-west of the parish church. The Hill Garth would probably be its site, and this was to the north-west of the parish church. The land to the south was called the Hall Ings.

From the Inquisition above referred to we find that the market was held on the Sunday, although the charter stated that it was to be held on the Thursday.

The market place was probably the churchyard, a practice not uncommon, as we find that a statute was passed in 13th of Edward I. forbidding the holding of fairs and markets in such places. The toll of this Sunday market was £3 a year, a considerable sum in those days. The rule for measuring the relative value of money, is to multiply the former sum by 15.

The size of Bradford would then be small, consisting of little more than a few houses from the Church to the top of Kirkgate, with a few scattered on the side of Ivegate and

Westgate. It must be remembered in the time of King Henry III. it paid more tollage to the King than Leeds, and 200 years afterwards was equal to Leeds. For upwards of 130 years afterwards (A.D. 1443) Halifax contained only 13 houses.

It would appear from an "Extent of the Manor of Bradford," taken in 1342, that "Bolleshagh," the modern Boldshay, was among the first places in Bradford that were cultivated.

In feudal times, the lords of manors often granted out lands to be holden by the performance of most ridiculous services. One of these singular tenures existed in the manor of Bradford within the last 60 years. The origin of it is attributed to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Gough, in his Britannia, gives the following notice of the tenure:"Bradford belonged to John of Gaunt, who granted to John Northrop, of Manningham, and his heirs, three messuages and six bovates of land, to come to Bradford on the blowing of a horn in winter, and to wait upon him and his heirs on their way from Blackburnshire, with a lance and hunting dog, for thirty days; to have for yeoman's board, one penny for himself and a half-penny for his dog. A descendant of this Northrop afterwards granted land to Rushworth, of Horton, to hold the lance while Northrop's man blew the horn The name of Hornman or Hornblowing Land, was imposed upon the lands in question, and the custom is still kept up. A man comes into the market place with a horn, halbert, and a dog, and is there met by the owner of the lands in Horton. After the proclamation made, the former calls aloud, Heirs of Rushworth, come hold me my hound while I blow three blasts with my horn, to pay the rent due to our sovereign lord the King.' He then delivers the string to the man from Horton, and winds his horn thrice. The original horn, resembling that of Tutbury, in Staffordshire, is still preserved, though stripped of its original ornaments. " This horn which is now in existence, is probably coevol with the origin of the Bradford arms, which, there is every reason to believe, took their rise from the above-mentioned

singular tenure. The Bradford arms are, gules, a chevron, or, between three bugle horns, strung sable; crest, a boar's head,

erased.

Leland, in his Itinerary in the time of King Henry VIII., gives the following curious account of the town:-" Bradeforde a praty quick market toune, Dimidio aut eo amplius, minus Wackefelde. It hath one

paroche churche, and a chapel of Saint Sitha. It standeth much by clothing. and is distant VI. miles from Halifax, and four miles from Christeal Abbay."

Leland, when speaking of Leeds, says, "That is as large as Bradeforde, but not so quick."

In the year 1577 (18th year of the reign of Elizabeth), we find the following names, those of the greatest men in the parish:"Thomas Taylor, of Bradford; John Webster; Thomas Brown; Nicholas Tonge, Manningham; Thomas Swaine, Horton; John Field, &c.

The history of Bradford during the Civil Wars is exceedingly interesting. Probably Bradford took a greater part in those commotions than any town of its size in the kingdom. The inhabitants were in the interest of the Parliament, and against the King, i.e., Charles I. Clarendon, in his "History of the Civil War," (Vol. II, Part I.), says, "Leeds, Halifax, and Bradford, three very populous and rich towns, were wholly at their disposition.

When the rupture between the King and Parliament broke out, the King sent troops to be quartered here. These troops were soon recalled to join the Royal army. The inhabitants then began to put their town into a state of defence, when a party of soldiers stationed at Leeds were ordered to attack and take the place. The Royal party pitched their tents in Undercliffe. One of their guns, however, bursting, they became so intimidated that they fled to Leeds.

In a few days after, Sir William Saville with a large force attacked the town. This has been called the "First Siege of Bradford." It has been said that the Royalists directed their shot at the steeple of the Parish Church, and that in order to render it secure, the inhabitants hung it round with woolpacks. A severe fight took place, which lasted eight hours. Fairfax, in his Memoirs, says, "The first action was at Bradford." In the end the Royalists entered the town and pillaged it. It has been said that so many persons were buried in or near the present Vicar Lane, that it obtained the unenviable designation of "DEAD LANE," SO called even now.

Many traces of these unhappy conflicts have been found in Bradford and the neighbourhood. As, for instance, in the neighbourhood of Whisket Hill and Adwalton, and also in Ivegate, Bradford. In March, 1827, on pulling down the premises adjoining the Unicorn Inn, Ivegate, an 81b. shot, sup

posed to have been fired from the cannon of the Earl of Newcastle, in this siege, was found; and about 10 years ago, whilst digging up the road in the Canal Bank, an 181b. shot was found.

Feeling assured that you will be interested to know something of the rise and progress of the staple trade of Bradford and its immediate neighbourhood, I shall proceed at once to give a brief historical sketch of it, so far as I have been able to collect materials upon the subject.

We have already seen that there is strong reason to believe the getting and working of iron in this neighbourhood was practised by the Romans. We are not able to trace back so far the trade in wool, whether the woollen or the worsted trade, nevertheless, we can, from a very early period of English history, trace the working of wool in this immediate locality.

The manufacture of woollen cloths. was practised soon after the Conquest. In the time of King Henry II. and Richard I. the kingdom greatly flourished in this art; but by the troublesome wars in the time of King John and Henry III., and also Edward I. and II. it was greatly diminished.

In the Hundred Rolls of 1284, King Edward I., there is mention of a man named Evans, a weaver of Gomersal, being confined in the prison of Bradford. Yea, as early as 1287, Edward I. 15th year, we find the notice of Frizinghall, near Bradford, which place probably took its name from the coarse cloths called freize or frize being manufactured there in early times..

It is curious to observe the origin of such words as WORSTED, HANK, &c. For instance. some Flemish manufacturers of wool settled at "Worsted," in Norfolk, a small village near North Walsham from which came our name WORSTED STUFFS. In 1336, two Brabant weavers, named "Willielmus de Brabant, and Hankeinus de Brabant, Textores," settled in York. Hence the word HANK. Also a man named Thomas Blanket, a weaver in Bristol, has given the name to that article.

In 1328, the measure and size of cloth, gray and colour, were regulated by law: 66 Whereby it is directed the length and breadth of the two sorts of cloth, that the King's Aulneger shall measure them; and they shall be forfeited to the King, if they be short of the following lengths, viz.: the cloths of gray (not coloured) were to be 28 yards in length, and six-quarters broad; secondly, the coloured cloths were to be 26

long, and six-and-a-half-quarters wide." This is the first time the Aulneger is mentioned in the statute book, and he was so called from an aulne or ell. The office of Aulneger was very ancient. Peronlt le Tayleur, who held the office in the time of King Edward I., having forfeited it, the King, by writ of privy seal, commanded the treasurer to let Pierres De Edmonton have it.-Madox.

After the Civil Wars, the woOLLEN manufactures here died away, and the manufacture of WORSTED GOODS began to flourish. For the sale of these last the Old Piece Hall was erected, in 1773; it was 144 feet long, by 36 feet broad.

In those days spinning was done by hand, as by the spinning wheel. In course of time this mode was found quite unequal to the demands of the manufacturer. This led the way to the introduction of the spinning machine; the first of which was used by Mr. James Garnett, the grandfather of the present Mr. Garnett, and was set up in the Paper Hall, Barker-end. The machine was called technically, a mules and throstle.

It is curious to observe, that there were two remarkable attempts made at different times, and at a long interval between them, by the inhabitants of Bradford, to check the trade of the town; I mean the manufacture of worsted goods here spoken of,

For instance, in the Court Rolls of 1678, we meet with the following singular order, made by the Leet Jury:-"That the inhabitants of Bradford shall not let any houses to persons to be clothiers, upon pain of 39s. 11d. every month; nor set to work any fit to be servants except datal men.

We find also, that in 1793, a person named Buckley formed the design of erecting a mill here, to be wrought by a steam engine. The site was to be in the present Manchester Road, nearly opposite the Primitive Methodist Chapel.

The inhabitants of the neighbourhood soon took the alarm, and signed a notice, threatening Mr. Buckley with an action if he should carry out his intention. The project of Mr. Buckley was abandoned. The following is a copy of the notice, with the names attached:

"To Mr. John Buckley, Cotton Manufaeturer, in Bradford, in the West Riding of the County of York.

"Take notice, that if either you or any person in connexion with you shall presume to erect or build any steam engine, for the manufacture of cotton or wool, in a certain field in Horton, near Bradford aforesaid,

39

Jonas Bower,
John Rand,

William Whitaker,

John Hardy,
Henry William Oates,
Mary Laidman,
Betty Swaine,
Francis Town,
J. Lupton,

John Aked."

Spite of this threat, Messrs. Ramsbotham, Swaine, and Murgatroyd erected a mill in the Holme. It is related, that during the building of it, a number of persons assembled to prevent the conveyance of the stones to it; which, however, was rendered of no avail by one of the partners fighting the way there with his own fists. In so discouraging an attempt did the present state of the wor ted manufacture take its rise. Who could have predicted such a result? The following facts speak for themselves. The first mill in Bradford, 1798, had an engine of 15-horse power; in 1819, the horse power was about 495; in 1830, 1047; in 1840, 2000.

Whilst we have seen a remarkable increase in the number of horses' power employed, we see a similar increase in the hands employed

In 1831, horse power..
hands

In 1841, horse power

hands

1388

6022

2058

-10410

"An increase (says Mr. Baker) unequalled, perhaps, in the history of any manufacturing population in this or any other part of the world."

The population of Bradford has increased in a wonderful ratio. I here only include the Township of Bradford. Or the Borough. In 1801

6393

13264

16012

26369

43527

66718

103786

I wish it were in my power to give you any definite information relative to the septennial festival called Bishop Blaize, but it is not. The earliest celebration I cannot discover. The last was in 1825. Blasius was Bishop of Sebaste, in Armenia. He was reported to have been a man of great miracles and power, and put to death in the same

city by Agricolaus, the president, under Diocletian the Emperor, in the year 289.

PECULIAR LOCALITIES.-In these "Notes on Bradford in the Olden Time," I cannot omit to mention some of those peculiar localities in our old town, to which, from various causes, special interest is attached. Suppose we take the OLD MARKET-PLACE, i. e., the locality situate at the junction of Westgate, Kirkgate, and Ivegate, we find that originally an ancient cross stood there. I think this was removed to the Marketplace in the New Street, about 45 years ago, and that the base and lower part of the cross still remain at the bottom of the Talbot yard. There was a prison under the cross in Westgate, since a few years ago, in digging for a drain or sewer, steps were found leading down to such a place. Near this, and opening into Ivegate, there was a dungeon for prisoners, the entrance to which is still to be seen. The dungeon now forms cellars, two stories from the level of the street, under the shops occupied by Messrs. Black burn and Hunter. The dungeon is said to have been divided into two compartments, one for male, and the other for female prisoners; these compartments were little more than three yards square. The upper part of the houses rested upon pillars, and overhung the street, whilst underneath was the standing for dealers in butter, &c. It was in one of these dungeons that Mr. John Nelson, a Wesleyan minister, was once confined for preaching the truth at Adwalton, in the house of John Booth. This occured on Friday, May 4, 1774. The following day he was taken before certain commissioners at Halifax who were appointed with authority to impress as soldiers all who were brought before them, whose lives were disorderly, or who had no apparent means of obtaining an honest livelihood. One of these commissioners for the West Riding was the Rev. Mr. Cobley, Vicar of Birstal, who eagerly embraced the opportunity thus presented to rid himself and the parish of his preaching parishioner.

It is a curious and instructive fact, that the man who offered bail for Nelson to the amount of £10 and himself as prisoner, that Nelson might be liberated for the night, was one James Eastwood, an innkeeper in Ivegate, Sergeant Gibson, the constable who seized Nelson at Adwalton, after having repeatedly declared that if his arms rotted from his shoulders, he himself would "press Nelson," realized but too soon the consequences of his daring: paralysis succeeded inflammation, and the use of his arms never