writers have ignored the existence of the Bristol Postman, and while some have asserted the Bristol Journal was the one first issued in 1713, others have assigned the latter to 1714, 1715, and 1735."

The following is a cutting from a catalogue (No. 127) issued in 1889 by Mr. Charles S. Jefferies, of Redcliff-street, Bristol:"54. Bristol: the Gazette, and Public Advertiser, published weekly, from 1798 to 1870, (wants vols for 1807 to 1826, 1839, and 1860), 43 vols, atlas folio, bound in half roan, 5l. From some of the early vols pieces have been cut out."

EDITOR.

1863. THE MAYOR OF BRISTOL AND THE RIOTS OF 1831.-The following communication, addressed to the editor of the Bristol Times and Mirror, and taken from the paper of November 6, 1889, deserves to be repeated in a more permanent form :

THE RIOTS OF '31.

SIR, "ONE WHO REMEMBERS 1831" writes to you on this subject, and observes," All this took place through the cowardice of the Mayor in failing to do his duty." Indeed! I, too, remember the "Riots of "31"; I saw a large portion of Queen-square, and the Bishop's Palace, adjoining the Cathedral, a mass of smoking ruins. I also remember that the Mayor of Bristol, Mr. Charles Pinney, was put upon his trial, charged with not having properly performed the duties of his office. The trial came off in the Court of Queen's [King's] Bench; it lasted seven days, and this was the verdict of the jury:

"We unanimously find Charles Pinney, late Mayor of Bristol, Not Guilty of the misdemeanors imputed to his charge. We are unanimously of opinion, circumstanced as he was, menaced and opposed by an infuriated and reckless mob-unsupported by any sufficient force, civil or military-deserted in those quarters where he might reasonably have expected assistance that the late Mayor of Bristol acted, according to the best of his judgment, with zeal and PERSONAL COURAGE."

These are the historical facts of the case; and now let "ONE WHO REMEMBERS 1831," and who, with such heartless flippancy, casts a dishonourable slur on the memory of a dead man, confess his ignorance and apologise for displaying it.-JUSTICE, Clifton, Nov. 5.

BRISTOLIENSIS.

1864.-RESTORATION OF THORNBURY CHURCH TOWER.-For several years the tower of Thornbury Church was in a dilapidated and unsafe condition, but, thanks to the efforts of the vicar (the Rev. H. B. Hodgson), assisted by the parishioners, the structure, which is one hundred and thirty feet high to the top of the pinnacles, has been thoroughly restored. On Thursday, November 7, 1889, special services were held to celebrate the completion of the work. In April of the preceding year the first step was taken

which led to the bringing about of this desirable result, as at a public meeting of the inhabitants a committee was formed, with the vicar as chairman and Mr. H. H. Lloyd as secretary, to deal with the question of the renovation of the church generally and the tower in particular. Messrs. Waller and Son, architects, of Gloucester, were consulted, and without delay they reported that the tower was in a bad state-indeed, that the pinnacles and parapet, which are of beautiful sixteenth-century open work, were in a ruinous state, and required immediate and substantial restoration. They also recommended that the roof of the tower should be renewed and the bell-fittings repaired. On receipt of this statement efforts were at once made to collect the necessary funds, and as about £1,000 was wanted, it speaks well for the energy of the committee that nearly the whole of that sum was speedily obtained. Mr. Maclaine, of Kyneton, opened the fund with a very generous donation of £200, and the parishioners, aided by others, followed his example in an encouraging manner, £45 coming from the Diocesan Association, and £150 from the Warneford Ecclesiastical Charity. The matter progressed so favourably that in April, 1889, operations were commenced. No contractor was employed, the work being carried out under the general supervision of a building committee, with Mr. W. Wiggall as clerk of works, and Messrs. Waller and Son as architects. It was found necessary to rebuild the pinnacles and battlements, but wherever it was possible the old stone was used, and the original plan was always followed, so that now the tower presents precisely the same appearance it did when first erected, four centuries ago. And very handsome it looked, when the choir, headed by the vicar and clergy, and a few of the congregation, emerged from the church, and slowly passed up the circular steps till the leads were reached. There a short service was held, several hymns being sung and a few appropriate prayers offered by the vicar. The ceremony of dedication was completed in the ringing chamber, and at its close a peal on the bells was executed by members of the Diocesan Ringers' Association.

A choral service was held in the afternoon, at which upwards of seventy clergymen were present. The bishop of the diocese preached from the text, "The whole family in heaven and earth." Before doing so, his lordship said he need not say much as to why they were gathered together. A short time ago a similar undertaking was found to devolve on the guardians of the mother church of the diocese. He was pleased to find that the subscriptions towards the necessary and important undertaking just completed had been worthy of the place; and another important feature was that by the mercy of Almighty God no accident had occurred during the perilous work. In the evening there was another special service in the church, when the Rev. A. Blomfield, rector of Beverston, and rural dean, was the preacher.

1865.-LOCAL CASES OF LONGEVITY, 1880-1889.-(See No. 1817.) In addition to the cases noted ante, p. 458, the following one should appear:-John Stiff, of Lower Cam, who died 10th November, 1885, in his 92nd year, having been born at Dursley 27th August, 1794. His father, also John Stiff, had died 30th December, 1860, in his 92nd year. For particulars of this family see vol. ii., pp. 614-622. W. P. W. PHillimore.

Two more cases of longevity it may be well to note :

(1) On Wednesday Mrs. Elizabeth Turner, whose hundredth birthday was celebrated on the 9th of February last year by special gifts presented her by the Rev. W. F. Steele, vicar, and the church wardens, was buried in the churchyard of St. Andrew's, Montpelier. Deceased, who died at her residence, Lower Yorkroad, Montpelier, on the 10th inst., was born on February 9th, 1784, and had been sextoness of St. Andrew's from 1845 to 1870, when she retired.-Bristol Times and Mirror, January 19, 1885.

(2) Died January 16, at Bank House, Cirencester, Charlotte, widow of George Kingdom, late of Houlbowlowe, co. Cork, aged

100 years.

A remarkable instance of longevity in a family is reported. Yesterday, at the Stroud cemetery, took place the funeral of Mrs. Kingdom, mother of a local bank manager, and daughter of the Rev. R. Ferryman, rector of Iping, Sussex. She was born November 4th, 1784, and died January 16th, 1885, her age thus being 100 years 2 months and 12 days. She never had a day's illness, and, strange to say. she was enabled to get about to the day of her death. She was a great patroness of popular entertainments, and was efficient in painting and music. Of a family of seven she is the fifth to die, their respective ages being 100, 96, 86, 73, and 88; making a total of 444 years, and an average of 883 years. The two still alive are about 80 years of age. At the time of her death she was four days older than Sir Moses Montefiore.-Ib., January 21, 1885. EDITOR.

1866.-BRISTOL HIGH CROSS.-The Bristol High Cross, erected 1851, which was removed from the east corner of College Green to make room for the Jubilee statue of her Majesty, has just been completed. The new statues have been executed by Mr. Harry Hems, of Exeter. In the lower tier of standing figures, are Kings John, Henry III., Edward III., and Edward IV.; and in the upper tier of sitting figures are Kings Henry VI., James I., Charles I., and Queen Elizabeth. The Cross now occupies the centre of College Green, standing on the same site as the old one, the foundations of which were discovered in excavating. The original Cross-1373-which, in the first place, stood in the centre of the city, where the four streets meet, and was afterwards

removed to College Green, was pulled down in 1763, and deposited in a corner of the Cathedral, because considered an obstruction to the promenade. It is, however, still to be seen at Stourhead, having been given, in 1766, to Sir Richard Colt Hoare, by Dean Barton.-JOHN E. PRITCHARD.-The Antiquary (April, 1889), vol. xix., p. 175.

1867.-AN INCIDENT OF LIFE IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.-Mons. Jusserand, in his English Wayfaring Life (translated from the French by Miss Lucy Toulmin Smith), London, 1889, refers fo the sanction given by the statute of Winchester, 13 Edw. I., c. 4, for raising the "hue and cry" after a certain class of suspected persons, and gives in a note to p. 170 an incident of life in Gloucestershire at that period, which may fittingly find a place in Gloucestershire Notes and Queries. It is as follows:

This power of running down the first comer was, like numberless laws of the time, at once a guarantee for the public safety and a dangerous arm in the hands of felons. Robbers used it, and it happened sometimes that they by this means imprisoned their own victim. Alisot, wife of Henry of Upatherle, sets forth to the king that her husband was made prisoner by the Scotch at the battle of Stirling, remained their captive more than a year, then returned after having paid forty pounds ransom. In his absence, Thomas of Upatherle and Robert of Prestbury seized on the fields which he possessed at Upatherle, divided them, pulled down the houses, and acted as the owners, taking to their own houses all the property they could. The prisoner's return surprised them; as soon as they knew that he had re-appeared on his lands, "the said Thomas, by false agreement between him and the said Robert, raised hue and cry on the said Henry, and put upon him that he had robbed him [Thomas] of his chattels to the value of £100." They were believed; "the said Henry was taken and imprisoned in Gloucester castle for a long time," waiting for the coming of the justices, exactly as the statute said. Henry recovered his liberty in the end, and obtained a writ against his enemies; but they brought force and came to meet their victim, "and beat the said Henry in the town of Gloucester, that is, they bruised his two arms, both his thighs, and both his legs, and his head on both sides, and quite wrecked and vilely treated his body, so that he barely escaped death." The king's reply is not satisfactory: "If the husband be alive, the plaint is his; if he be dead, the wife's plaint is nothing" (Rolls of Parliament, vol. ii., p. 35, A.D. 1330).

D. J.

1868. THE HEALTHINESS OF CLIFTON.-This still maintains its remarkable character. The week before last we called attention to the fact that the medical officer's return for Clifton showed only three deaths, giving a rate of 5 per 1,000 per annum, that there

was no death from zymotic diseases, and that the three deaths which occurred were of persons over 60 years of age. Dr. Davies's return for the week ending Dec. 7 is of an equally satisfactory character, the deaths numbering only four, equal to a rate of 6.7 per 1,000 per annum. There were only two deaths between the ages of 1 and 60, and one death from zymotic disease-whooping cough. Such a record as only seven deaths in two weeks, in an estimated population of 30,776, and but one death from zymotic disease, speaks volumes for the salubrity and sanitary condition of our western suburb.-Bristol Times and Mirror, December 14th, 1889.

1869.-RODBOROUGH CHURCH: MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS.In 1880 accurate copies were taken of the twenty-five inscriptions* (not including the one on pulpit already given) in the church of St. Mary Magdalen, Rodborough, near Stroud :

1.

This monument is erected in memory of Thomas Baylis, of Newmills, in the Parish of Stroud, Clothier, who departed this life the 31st of March, 1754, aged 67. Also of Jane, his first wife, daughter of | Sidham [Sidenham] Pain, of this Parish, who was buried the 16th of June, 1721, aged 38. | Also of Elizabeth, his last wife, daughter of Daniel Window, of Brimscombe, Clothier, who departed this life the 30th of Novem", | 1742, aged 46. And also of five of his children who were all interred in this place. Jehovah depauperat et ditat, deprimit, etiam extollit.

2.

John Bennett, Clothier, of Light Pill, died Sept. 24, 1704, aged 72 years. Christian, his wife, died Oct. the 13, 1724, aged 70 years. Joan, their daughter, died May 8, 1757, aged 59 years.

3.

In memory of Nathaniel Bond, late of Saintloe, in the Parish of [Minchin] Hampton, Clerk, who departed | this life the 6th day of Feb., 1758, in the 64th year of his age. Mary, his wife, who departed this life the 1767, in the 59th year of her age. | Man days are as a shadow that passeth away. daughter, late wife of J. Mill, Surgeon, of Feb. 24, 1775, aged 42.

4.

Also in memory of 6th day of November, is like to vanity; his Also of Mary, their Hampton, who died

Hannah, the

Underneath lyes the bodys of these as follows: daughter of Daniel Chance, Clo', died the 27th of September, 1711, aged 26; | Elizabeth, his wife, died the 8th of May, 1712, aged 69; Damaris, his daughter, died the 11th of October, 1712, aged 28; Nathaniel, his son, died the 16th of October, 1714, aged 27. | The above named Daniel Chance, of this Parish, Clothier, died the 3rd of February, 1715, aged 76. |

An index has been given in vol. i., p. 50.