which so much interests us on the other side of the river. Some detached parts, however, as in the neighbourhood of Roche Abbey, amply compensate for the deficiency of the rest.

The No. Eastern quarter, though comparatively a level country, is rich and picturesque; and abounding with villas, parks, and woods, possesses a richness which any other combination would in vain attempt to produce.

Of ruins, ancient edifices, and superb mansions, this Wapentake possesses many, that are both interesting and picturesque. Among these may be enumerated, Conisbrough Castle, Tickhill Castle, Roche Abbey, Sheffield Manor House; Rotherham Church, Rotherham Bridge, Tickhill Church, Doncaster Church; Wentworth House, Sandbeck, Sprotborough Hall, and Thribergh Hall.

Of the name of the Wapentake it is difficult to offer even a conjecture ; for there is not within its limits any place of the name of Strafforth, or Strafford, except an old ford near Mexbrough, which is to this day called Strafford Sands. That there must comewhere have been a place of eminence to give name to such a district, is evident of itself, whether this ford was ever likely to have been that place, a little consideration may help us to determine.

Within a certain district, in the origin of Wapentakes, we find that all men capable of bearing arms, were required, at stated times, to assemble at some well-known station, to meet their chief or his deputy. Here, as this wapentake is divided into two nearly equal parts, by the Don, a river over which there was then no bridge, and which in all its course was not fordable at more than two or three places, it became necessary to have two points of rendezvous for the soldiers of this division, one on each side of the river.

Tickhill, as a place of early note, was naturally pointed out as the most proper for those on the South-East of the Don, and perhaps no other on the North-West side could be found so well adapted as a rising ground near a broad shallow part of the river, where a ford might easily be made, (or which is much more probable,) where an old one, (the work of the Romans) yet remained; the situation too might add some weight to the determination of our ancestors in the choice of this spot; for, it had formerly been the scite of some military encampment, (a tradition yet pointing out the vestiges of a Roman station) and was not, in a direct line, more than nine miles distant from Tickhill, so that on any emergency the troops (except in the time of a very high flood) might be embodied in one army, in the course of a few hours. It therefore appears highly probable, that here was the annual rallying point, and that this ford, lying in a flat valley, betwixt the hills on which stood Mexbrough and Conisbrough Castles, might, from its situation, acquire the name of Strath-ford, which by an easy corruption would presently become Strafford or Strafforth. From the utility therefore of this pass, it is not at all improbable, that the Wapentake derived the leading part of its appellation.

That it was once considered a place of some consequence, or at least of some respectability, in this part of the country, is deducible from the circumstance of Thomas Wentworth, being created Earl of Strafford, because he was of Wentworth Wodehouse, in the Wapentake of Strafford, and Tickhill, in Yorkshire.

(To be continued.)

Picturesque Scenery, Antiquities, &c.

་་་་་་་་་་་་་་་་་་རྨ་

DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH OF ROCHE ABBEY.

་་་་་་་་་་་་་་་ར་ར་་་-་་་

OCHE ABBEY lies in that part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, known by the name of the Wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill ; six miles from Maltby, four from Tickhill, six from Bawtry, eight from Rotherham, eleven from Doncaster, and fourteen from Sheffield. The country in which it is situated is in the highest degree luxuriant and picturesque, and the ruin itself interesting to every admirer of monastic splendor. The writer of this article visited it from Maltby, in June, 1816. After passing over a number of lime-stone rocks, beautifully enamelled with the cistus helianthemum, the wild thyme in flower, and a variety of the low creeping plants, which render the Derbyshire hills so delightfully fragrant, the road lay through a quarry of free lime-stone, of a whiteness too brilliant for inspection under a summer's sun; whence entering an enclosure, shaded on the left by an aged wood, and bounded on the right by a beautiful water, skirted by another wood, all conspiring, to give an air of sombrous melancholy to the scene, the first view of the ruined gateway burst unexpectedly on the sight, and presented a picture rich in every accompaniment, and worthy the pencil of a Wilson or a Claude.

Imagine the remains of a tower, built of the whitest stone, and containing a large archway of early Norman architecture, overtopped by shrubs, and thrown into complete shade by the hanging wood on the left, its colour faintly bearing it out of undistinguished gloom, and relieving it from the inner screen, while a lively sun illumined the distance seen beyond it, and played brightly among the branches to the right;-to this add a winding foot-path-a rustic gate, with foreground rich in verdure, and some idea may be formed of the picture which here presented itself to view.)

Every side of the gateway is picturesque: Mr. DAYES, who visited it in the autumn of 1803, and saw it by the light of an evening sun, has produced a beautiful picture from the western front. Enraptured with his subject, he thus describes it :-"Every thing a traveller can wish, to render a place delightful, will be found concentrated in this most enchanting spot; ma"jestic woods, expansive water, romantic rocks, an agreeable ruin, and "withal, most commodious walks, for the convenience of viewing its various "beauties. The ruins of this Abbey are not extensive; but that is amply compensated by the superior quality of the surrounding scenery.

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"The day being particularly fine, every thing appeared to be alive "around this venerable remain: parties of pleasure were taking their repast upon the grass; others were wandering leisurely in the shade, to avoid the extreme heat; and occasionally fitted past a female figure or two, whose "white and extended drapery flowing after them in easy, undulating folds, made them appear to skim along like sylphs. "hearted mortals, who would think much of any

They must be coldtrouble that would

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"enable them to enjoy such an assemblage of rich and fascinating views as this place abound with. Advancing up one of the walks, my eye was caught by a most beautiful effect of light and shade; indeed, the great interest of the view, arose out of it entirely. It was one of those fortunate incidental combinations that the artist is so anxious to The walk in which I stood, was dark; its trees formed the preserve. "foreground, and hung pendulous over the scene, just clearing the objects, "in part, from the sky. Beyond, appeared a Gothic gate, highly illuminated by the setting sun, the recess of the gate being quite dark; a cart, and two or three figures, were seen just touched by the evening ray, sparkling "in the most lively and magical manner.

Two or three hundred yards south of the gateway, stands the remaining part of the ruins. Of these too Mr. Dayes took a drawing, an engraving of which, in the vignette style, the editor of that artist's works, has given in the title-page, and another of the gateway in the body of the tour. This part consists of fragments of inner walls, and affords a rich specimen of ecclesiastic architecture. The broken arches, the mouldering columns, and light ramifications of the groins, partly seen, partly hidden by the luxuriant ivy which winds about the walls, and creeps along the opening fissures of the stones; the venerable trees that grace the lawn, the lake, the cascade, and rustic temple to the West, with the impervious woods surrounding the whole, form a scene that is rarely equalled, never surpassed.

Much, I am told, has this fabric suffered, by the removal of the stones, for the purpose of erecting dwellings in the neighbourhood; but the Earl of Scarborough, to whom it belongs, has long since put an end to every delapidation but that of time; and has also enriched the Abbey grounds with every object that can add to their beauty, or afford accommodation to the visitors of taste who may wish to examine this enchanting spot.

The following is its origin :-In the year 1098, an Abbot of Molesmė, named Robert, with a select number of his monks, on account of the dissoluteness of manners in their monastery, withdrew themselves and settled at Cisteaux, in the diocese of Chalons, from whence they obtained the name of Cistercians. They assumed a white gown and cassock for their badge, when attending divine service, but wore a black gown over it when they went abroad. An Englishman, of the name of Harding, was their third abbot, arid to him, who added many new regulations, to those they had adopted from St. Benedict, they owe the complete establishment of their order.

In 1107, the Pope, (Urban II.) confirmed the establishment, and in 1128, a deputation of them arrived in England, and begun to establish themselves wherever they could find a convenient situation.

One of their first monasteries was at Waverley, in Surrey, and very soon after their establishment there, invited by Richard de Buisley, (a descendant of Roger de Buisley, to whom William the First granted the manor and honor of Tickhill), and Richard Fitz-Turgis, the proprietors of all the lands in the neighbourhood, a colony of them pitched upon this situtation for erecting another monastery; their two patrons having previously laid open their whole domains to their choice, and entered into an agreement with each other, that, on which side soever of the water that divided their estates, the monks should chuse their abode, they would be considered as joint founders of the abbey.

Here then they erected a magnificent dwelling, which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and here were their abbots, by the mistaken piety of the age, and the grant of Edmund de Lacy, Constable of Chester, William Earl of Warren, and other benefactors, enabled to enjoy all the benefits of ecclesiastic luxury, and the ostentatious parade of religious pomp. In the reign of Henry the Eighth, Roche Abbey shared the fate of all similar institutions, and was surrendered to the crown by Henry Cundell, the then Abbot, and seventeen monks, on the 23d of June, 1539. Its revenues are sta ted by Dugdale, to have been £224 2s. 6d. and by Speed £271 198. 6d. per

annum.

Perhaps Yorkshire, though abounding in conventual remains, cannot boast of a ruin superior to the vestiges of this Abbey, nor of one where the beauties of the architecture better assort with the surrounding scenery. Here every object that can please the eye, or interest the fancy, is displayed to the greatest advantage, and rock, river, lake and wood unite in forming a retreat adapted to contemplation and rural pleasures. "I departed," says Dayes; "from this charming spot with the heart-ache, that all the people I loved in "the world, had not been present to partake in the enjoyment of its beau"ties."

TOUR IN DERBYSHIRE.

་་་་་ ན་་་་་་ར་་་»

To the Editors of the Northern Star.

THE beauties of Derbyshire have been so frequently the theme of admi ration ;—its metals and minerals, its plants, fossils, antiquities, and medicinal springs, so repeatedly the objects of research and description, fur nishing subjects for the pen of the tourist and the man of science, the pencil of the artist, and the song of the poet, that I had long nourished an inclination, not only to view for myself those charms which have, time out of mind, been sung and said by others, but also, having opportunity for the purpose, to traverse over the greater part of this enchanting county, and leisurely to survey

"The fountain's fall, the rivers flow;
The woody valleys, warm and low;
The windy summit, wild and high,
Roughly rushing on the sky;
The pleasant seat, the ruin'd tower,
The naked rock, the shady bow'r :

The town and village, dome and farm,”

With all that can the fancy charm.

The feelings to which these varied objects have given rise in my mind; shall be faithfully described; and though I profess to pourtray only the most prominent features of the country, yet I trust that my "Pedestrian Excur sion in Derbyshire," will not be deemed altogether uninteresting; by a ma jority of your readers.

Having ordered my trunk forward to Buxton by the coach, put a few books and a clean shirt in my pocket, I set out from Sheffield on a fine spring morning at five o'clock. The different points of view in which the town was presented, as I slowly ascended the hill, were very interesting; and whilst I noticed the columns of smoke emerging from the chimneys, apparently in sufficient volume to hide the rays of the sun from the inhabitants, I could not but congratulate myself on breathing a purer atmosphere. By the time I reached Ringing-Low, (where the castellated appearance of the inn and toll-house would induce in a foreigner the supposition of its being an important barrier) I was prepared for breakfast, after which I continued my journey, entering immediately on

The East Moor,

Probably so called, from its forming the eastern boundary of Derbyshire. It is a rude and sterile tract of land, extending in a direction from North to South, for a very considerable distance ;-cold and forbidding in its appearance, and without a tree, a hedge, or bush, to break the monotony of the prospect. Yet it is not devoid of interest; nay, to me it possessed it in the highest degree. Composed of gently rounded hills, rising one behind another in many an interminable series, it produces a landscape soft in its gradations, and pleasing in its arrangement; while a tottering crag, or enormous stone, peering from the purple heath, and overtopped by a solitary mountain sheep, presents a foreground properly suited to such a scene.

To the East and South the prospect is indeed extensive. I knew not the names of the places which I saw, but I am informed that on a clear day, Sheffield, Rotherham, Chesterfield, Dronfield, and Holmsfield, are all in sight; while Wentworth House and Park, the tall spire of Laughton-le Morthen, and numerous villas and villages, conspired to form a scene which is but rarely surpassed; aud the calm solitude which reigned around me, gave a zest to the enjoyment of it, which it is not in the power of language to describe.

I know not how it is, (for I am not skilful in tracing effects to the causes which produce them) but wandering over these moors seemed to fill me with new energies, and raise me above myself.-Increased strength and elasticity pervaded my frame, my ideas flowed more freely, and, as the prospect expanded before me, I enjoyed sensations, to which in a more cultivated but confined district, I am altogether a stranger; and could have exclaimed, in the language of Beattie,

---

"Hail awful scenes that calm the troubled breast,

And woo the weary to profound repose;

Can Passion's wildest uproar lay to rest,

And whisper comfort to the man of woes:

Here Innocence may wander safe from foes,
And Contemplation soar on Seraph wing.

O Solitude, the man who thee forgoes,
When lucre lures him or ambition stings,

Shall never know the source whence real grandeur springs!"

This moor produces the bilberry, the clusterberry, the crowberry, and in