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An ACCOUNT of DEVONSHIRE.

F we enquire after the ancient name of Devonshire, it was efteemed by the Romans a part of Cornwal, and called Danmonium, and afterwards Deanan, by the Cornish Britons, and Duff nent by the Welch Britons; because moft of the towns and villages within this county are fituated in low bottoms or deep vallies.

After its conqueft by the Weft-Saxons, this county was united to their kingdom; and Exeter, its chief town, was dignified, for fome time, with the court of their Kings. But afterwards, in the Danish invafion, Devonshire fuffered much by their cruelties and barbarities, as it laid commodious for their landing of which there ftill remain fome fmall monuments, a rude kind of fortification, called by the inhabitants, Danes-caftle, upon feveral high hills.

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The air of this county is remarkably healthful and mild in the vallies, but very fharp and piercing on the hills. The foil is various, the western parts are moftly coarfe, moorish, and barren, and generally of fo ftiff a clay, that the water cannot foak through it. But the inhabitants are fo induftrious, and fkilful in husbandry, that by labour and art, they fupply the defects of nature, and render the worst part of their foil fruitful with fhell-fand, if near the fea; or with the turf of the ground kimmed off, and burnt to afhes for manure. By which means, tho' they cannot prevent the rot of their fheep in wet seasons, they breed the finest oxen, which are brought up in great numbers, and fatted by the Somerset farmers for the London markets. The northern parts are a dry and healthy foil, confifting of fine downs for the grazing of fheep, and tolerable good corn-land. The eastern parts, which in fome places abound with rich marl, and are in others enriched with a fer

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tile fandy foil; and the middle parts, which confift of a strong deep red foil, intermixed with loam, produce great crops of corn, and the best peafs in the island. But none of them can equal the fouthern part, which is, for its fertility, justly esteemed to be the garden of Devonshire..

Its chief product are corn, cattle, wool, fea-fifh and fowl; tin, cyder, and fome filver and loadftones. No part of the nation can excel the noble rough cyder, made in the south-hams. A liquor in general fo much preferable to beer, both as to profit, and the health of the feamen, that it is very furprizing, we make no better use of it in fea-voyages, than is commonly done. A cafe fo well confidered by an eminent phyfician at Plymouth, that fhall I fay no more of it at prefent, but refer you to his letter on page 215, Vol. III. of this Magazine.

Formerly it abounded with tinmines, and exceeded Cornwal; for, in King John's reign, the coinage of Devonshire was farmed at 100 per Annum, when Cornwal paid but 66 7. 18 s. 4 d. and though there is but little tin dug in this county now, Plympton, Taviflock, Ashburton, and Chagford ftill enjoy the privilege of coinage and ftannary courts. And as to its filver mines, it is true they are not, at prefent regarded; but if we look back to the year 1293, we shall find no less than 370 lb. of fine filver extracted here, which in the following year increased to 521 lb. and in the next year after, to 700 lb.

Here are alfo good quarries of ftone for building and flating houses, of which laft fort, great quantities are exported. And the loadstones found in this county, they generally run east and weft, contrary to the received opinion, that the load ftone gives a northerly direction because

its

its natural position in the mine is fuppofed to be N. and S.

The manufactures of this county are kerfies, ferges, druggets, perpetuana's, long ells, fhalloons, narrow cloaths, bone-lace, &c.

It is two-hundred miles in circumference, about fixty-nine miles in length, and fixty-fix broad; bounded on the N. by the Severn fea, or Briftol channel; on the E. by Somerfet/bire, on the S. by the British channel, and on the west by Cornwal; containing 2385 fquare miles, and 1,920,000 acres; watered with a great number of rivers, of which the Tamar, Tave, Lad, Ock, Tame, Touridge, Ex, and Dart are the chief; divided into 33 hundreds, 12 boroughs that send each two members to Parliament, 40 market-towns, 394 parishes, 117 vicarages, 1733 villages, near 57000 houfes, and 340,000 inhabitants, who pay to the land-tax a third in proportion of 513 parts paid by all the Counties in England. It lies all within the diocefe of Exeter, and fends two Members or Knights of the fhire to Parliament, who at prefent are, Sir William Courtenay, of Powderham caf. tle, near Exeter, Bart. and Sir William Warwick Bamfyelde, of Poltimore, near the fame city; and gives title of Duke and Earl to the noble family of Cavendish.

Nor muft it be forgot that formerly Bradwick, Crediton, Exmouth, Fremington, Lydeford, Modbury, Tinmouth, South moulton, and Chipping-Toriton, had the fame honour to fend Reprefentatives to Parliament; and Bamp. ton, Biddiford, Chadlington, Denbery, Hartland, Newton-abbas, Ilfordcomb, Kenniford, Milverton, Pepilford, Seal, Trofkebere, and Tichampton were privileged to do the fame, as appears by their charters, which are ftill in force; but excufed themfelves by pleading poverty, or the like, in thofe days when the members were maintained during the feffions of the Parliament

by their constituents, and not ruined by corrupting their electors.

At prefent Exeter city only, and the boroughs of Totness, Plymouth, Okehampton, Barnstaple, Plympton, Ha niton, Tavistock, Afbburton, Dartmouth, Beeralfion, and Tiverton enjoy that ancient privilege: of which and the following market-towns, Topham, Sidmouth, Axminster, Culliton, Autre, Brad winch, Columpton, Bampton, Peverell, South moulton, Crediton, Chudleigh, Newton-Prufhel, Kirg jbridge, Dodbrook, Modbury, Comb-Martin, Ilfordcomb, Chimleigh, Hartland, Biddiford, Torrington, Houlfworthy, Hatherley, Bow, Moreton, and Chagford, I propofe first to treat; and then to note every other particular worth our obfervation in this county which is faid to be the largest and most populous county in England, except Yorkshire; and fo full of great towns, and thofe towns fo full of people, and those people fo univerfally employed in trade, that it cannot be equalled in England.

Exster, a city and an epifcopal fee, takes its name from the river Ex that washes it, and which is called by Ptolomy, Ifca; by Antoninus in his Itin.

ca Danmoniorum, and in the time of the Saxons and Danes, Monkton, or the Monks-town, with which fort of religious, this city, at that time, fwarmed very much; as will more diftinctly appear in our extract from Bifhod Tanner's Notitia, in the close of this county. It is well fituated on a rifing ground, about ten miles in circumference, including the fuburbs. You enter this city by fix gates, and it contains four principal streets, which meet in the center, and divide it into four quarters, which are again divided into feveral streets and lanes. It is adorned with a magnificent cathedral of Gothic architecture, and though it was four-hundred years in building, is looks as if it had been wholly built by one perfon: it is vaulted throughout, meatures three-hundred ninety feet in

Length,