Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 10.djvu/33

 10 s. x. JULY ii, iocs.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

21

LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 11, 1908.

CONTENTS.-NO. 237.

NOTES : Edward Sharpham and Robert Hayman, 21 Inscriptions at Florence, 24 The Strand Hotel, 26 'Old Mother Hubbard ' : its Author Rushlights " The Upper Thames," 27.

QUERIES : Sir George Somers, 1554-1610 Windle Family Authors of Quotations Wanted Anonymous Works- Mason of Stapleton, Gloucestershire, 28 Col. Mompesson Dickens on " Half -Baptized " Coxe of Clent and Swyn- ford, co. Worcester Early Law Terms Basset, Engle- field, Basevil, and Anvers " Whiff," a Boat" Thurcet," 29 Mrs. Bremar's Ladies' School, Blackheath Hill "The Protector's Head," Inn Sign Milton and Christ's College, Cambridge "Meschianza" "Cock-foster" Peter Quivel, Bishop of Exeter Vigo Bay, 1702-19 Stuffed Chine, 30.

REPLIES : Nonconformist Burial -Grounds and Grave- stones, 31 Surrey Gardens, 32 " Sabariticke " Wilkes's 4 Essay on Woman ' Plaxtol Hair becoming suddenly White through Fear, 33 VVhite Cock v. the Devil, 34 Cornish and Other Apparitions Hippocrates Legend Books by the Ton "Abracadabra," 35 Creole Folk-lore : Stepping across a Child " Jirgah "Cambridge Early Lists: Sir Richard Cope Scottish University Arms 41 Vizt." Queen Anne's Fifty Churches, 36 " Entente Cordiale" Askwith or Asquith Secret Passages, 37 "The Crooked Billet" "What you but see when you haven't a gun" Hon. Mrs. Gordon's Suicide Holbein Subjects Ben Jonson's Name: its Spelling William Winstanley's Birthplace Nursery Rime, 38.

NOTES ON BOOKS :' English Local Government' Reviews and Magazines.

Notices to Correspondents.

EDWARD SHARPHAM AND ROBERT HAYMAN.

PART I.

THE ' Dictionary of National Biography ' contains a short account of the life of Edward Sharpham of the Middle Temple, based on the Middle Temple records and particulars obtained from his plays ' The Fleire,' " by Edward Sharpham," 1607, and ' Cupids Whirligig * (dedication signed " E. S.") of the same year. But the ' Dic- tionary ' gives neither the date of Sharp- ham's birth nor that of his death, being content to say " fl. 1607 " ; and it does not identify " Colehaiiger," his Devonshire home.

Having been fortunate enough to find 'Sharpham' s will at Somerset House (wrongly Indexed under the name "Sharpman"), and having been thus enabled to make further researches, I am in a position to add a good deal to the general knowledge of Sharpham' s life.

Among the Admissions to the Middle Temple we have, under date " 1594, 9 Oct.," that of " Mr. Edward, third son of Richard Sharpham, late of Colehanger, Devon, gent., deceased." Edward Sharpham's will led

me to find that Colehanger was a manor in the parish of East Allington, near Kings- bridge a fact, indeed, already stated in Lysons's * Magna Britannia : Devonshire,' Part II. p. 6, and in Hutchinson's ' Notable Middle Templars' (1902), p. 222. By the help of the Rector of East Allington, the Rev. J. J. Mallock, I then obtained various entries from the parish register relating to his family, in particular that of Edward Sharpham's baptism. These are as follows :

1576. The xxvj th of July was baptized Edward

of M r Richard Marye his wyffe.

Sharpham the sonne

Richard Sharpham &

1579. The x of May was baptized Susanna Sharp- ham the daughter of M r Richard Sharpham and Mary his wyfe.

1581. The xxix th day of August M r Richard Sharpham was buryed.

From the * Visitations of Devon ' (Vivian), 1895, p. 484, I learnt that " Mary, dau. of and widow of Sharpham," was

married on 2 Oct., 1582, at Cornworthy, to Alexander Hexte of Staverton, third son of John Hexte of Kingston. Alexander Hexte had previously married Mary, daughter

of Ellacott of Exeter, the marriage

licence being dated 27 June, 1580, Exeter. Mr. Hext, as will be seen, after his marriage to Mary Sharpham, apparently came to reside at East Allington. Accordingly the following East Allington entries become of interest :

1583/4. The xix th of January was baptized George Hext the sonne of M p Alexander Hext and Mary his wyfe.

1585/6. The vij th of March was baptized John Hext and Peter the sonnes of M r Alexander Hext and M rs Mary his wyfe.

1586. The xx th of June John Hext the sonne of M r Alexander and Mary his wyfe was buryed.

1586. The vi th of July Peter Hext the sonne of Alexander Hext and M Mary his wyt'e was buryed.

1588. The xiiii of July M r Alexander Hext was buryed.

As has been stated, Edward Sharpham was admitted to the Middle Temple on 9 Oct., 1594. We have no record of his being called to the Bar. We hear that he was fined 20s. for absence at Christmas, 1595, and again 20s. on 21 May, 1596, " for absence and being out of commons in Lent and during Mr. Johnsons Reading " ; and after this no more till 1607.

It has occurred to me, however, that we may with some probability attribute to Edward Sharpham the authorship of the interesting tract of the "coney-catching" class called ' The Discoverie of the Knights of the Post,' by " E. S.," which appeared in 1597. The tract shows a minute acauaint-