CELEBRATED PRISONERS.

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his daughter and heiress married a very rich Baron, Robert de Vipont, in the reign of king Henry II. who for some time was, in the reign of king John, governor of Nottingham castle.

The quantity of burgess land in the Conqueror's time was six carucates of plow land, 720 acres, and fourteen carucates for pasturage meadow, &c. 1680 acres, making 2400 in the whole, but as in A. D. 1833, the entire liberties of the borough contained no more than 1600 acres, therefore, since the Conqueror's time, 800 acres of burgess property must have been lost. The rent which

had been paid to the crown, in the time of Edward, £18, was raised by William to £40; £30 for the land, &c. and £10 for the mint, so that some idea may be formed of the use that was made of Doomsday Book by William I.

The king granted to William de Peveril 10 forests, which were equal to 50 statute acres, for a garden; generally admitted to have been east of the park, extending along Park-row, Standard hill, and so down to the Leen, by Broad-marsh and Carrington street, a part of which afterward became the property of the Grey Friars, who had a convent there.

We have no mention of any other prison in Nottingham till the time of king John, than the dungeon which was under the first steps that led up to the paved court, on the east or grand front of the present castle, which was exceedingly strong, and was descended by means of steps. There were many of these places into which prisoners were thrust, and there confined without light or fire, and but little air. One of these dungeons was called by the common people, James Scott's Hole, which, according to tradition, was connected with a subterraneous cavern, that led across the park to Lenton Priory, which would be a mile in length, but no one has ever pretended to find out the terminus there. If such a passage as that spoken of had ever been attempted, it would have been so much lower than the bed of the Leen, that it must have been continually full of water, which is a proof that no such passage ever did exist, except in imagination. It is asserted by the celebrated Cambden, who descended one of these dark receptacles of human misery, by the help of a lighted taper, that he saw traced upon the rocky walls, the passion of Christ, and other figures, which were attributed to David, king of Scotland, who was for some time kept a prisoner here; having received a severe sabre wound in his head at the battle of Nevelle's Cross, Durham, October A. D. 1346, fell into the hands of the English, from whom he was ransomed after 11 years captivity, for 100,000 marks. We are informed by a Scottish historian, Sir D. Dalrymple, that William of Lambyrton, bishop of St. Andrew's, and Robert Wishart, were

both of them taken prisoners in the wars of the gallant Bruce, with Edward I.. Wishart was taken in armour, nobly defending the castle of Coupar, and both of these Scottish patriots were confined in one of the dungeons of Nottingham castle, 40 years before the unfortunate king's carceration, 1306. Lambyrton had a daily allowance of sixpence for himself, threepence for a serving man, three half pennies for his foot boy, and three half pennies for his chaplain. Twenty nine years afterward, in a skirmish by William de Pressun with a few companies of Scottish cavalry, the earl of Moray was taken prisoner, and sent by Edward III, to Nottingham castle, his order of commitment is dated Perth, 13th August, 1335; he was removed to Windsor 29th of December, in the same year, from thence to Winchester, 25th of May following, to the Tower in London, 28th September, 1336, and recovered his liberty, being exchanged for the earl of Shrewsbury, 1341, after a captivity of 6 years.

Beside the state prisons there was a cavern, which has obtained great notoriety, misnamed Mortimer's Hole. This subterraneous passage was cut through the south end of the rock on which the castle was built centuries before Mortimer and queen Isabella were born, but at what period is not now known.

The entrance was under a turret in the inner court, south of the castle, and secured by a strong gate. About 16 yards lower down was a second gate, (now walled up with stone) this part of the cavern led to a new one cut out of the rock since the building of the present castle, (without the wall of the paved yard.) From thes econd gate down, 14 yards, was another gate; 15 yards from this, was a fourth gate; and from this, 45 yards lower down on the left hand was another, which, with 7 or 8 steps, led into some works of the old tower; about 8 yards lower was a fifth gate; and 9 yards lower still was a sixth and lowest gate, which opened into the rock yard, near the river Leen, about 9 yards lower than the sixth gate; from hence it will be seen the entire length of it was 107 yards.

This passage is 7 ft. high, and 6 ft. wide, and to prevent persons from falling down this steep descent, had broad steps cut in the rock, that are now nearly worn out in the middle, but may be plainly seen at the sides. There are various openings in the rock southward, resembling port holes for guns, and holes formed opposite to them, evidently for the purpose of containing cannon balls and ammunition, that both might be near when they were playing their guns, by which all the meadows might be commanded without the least exposure on the part of the garrison.

Those persons are mistaken who suppose it was excavated by

the order of Mortimer, earl of March, as a private way for him to come, when paying his amorous visits to queen Isabella. What need could there be for him to come privately to the queen, when the posts and employments in which he was engaged, during the minority of the young king, rendered access to the queen not only easy at all times, but on many occasions absolutely necessary ?

The opinion of those who imagine that Mortimer had this road made in which to hide, or through which to escape, in case of danger, is not better supported than the other hypothesis. It is unfurnished with any rooms, or even place to sit down in, being one continuous stair from top to bottom. Then as to its being a place through which to escape, why did he not avail himself of it, when the young king besieged him in the castle? The great care taken by the queen not only to have the gates of the castle locked, but the keys brought to her every night, and actually slept with them under her pillow, while no measures were taken to secure the gates of this subterraneous passage, through which the king did really march his forces, and make himself master of the castle in the dead of the night, shows very clearly, that so far from having designed it, neither to Mortimer or the queen was this passage even known, otherwise it would have been one of the first places to have been secured, without which all the rest might as well have been left open.

The following is from an old manuscript English chronicle, supposed to have been written in the reign of Henry VI.:

"And in hast ther came unto kyng Edward, Sir William Montague, that he was in his castell, and pryvelyche told him, that he ne none of his companions shulde not take the Mortimer without counsaile, and helpe of William Eland, constabill of the same castell. Now certis, quod kyng Edward, I leve you full well, and, therefor, I counsaill you that ye goo unto the saide constabill, and commaude him in my name that he be your frende and your helper for to take the Mortimer, all things left uppon peyne of lyfe and lymmbe. Sir, quod Montague, my lorde graunte mercye. Tho went forth the saide Montague, and come to the constabill of the castell, and told him the kyng's wille, and he answered, the kyng's wille shulde be done in all that he myght, and he wolde not spare for no manner of deth, and so he swhore, and made his othe. Tho saide Sir William Montague to the constabill in herynge of all them that were helpying to the quarrel. Now certis, dere ffrendes us behoveth for to worche and done by your queyntyse to take the Mortimer, sith ye be the keeper of the castell, and have the kayes in your warde. Sir, quod the constabill, woll ye understonde that yates of the castell beth loken with lokys, and queen Isabell

the