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NOTES AND QUERIES. no s. x. NOV. 28, im

I have since noted that Thackeray, in ' Stubbs's Calendar,' writes that the "very sorry hero in 1796 " was voted the boldest chap in all the bold North Bungays," later referred to as "the North BungayFencibles," and remarked upon as a " regiment not very brave itself being only militia." Who were " the North Bungay Fencibles," thus in such various directions satirized ?

ALFRED F. BOBBINS.

BELL CUSTOMS AT SIBSON, LEICESTER- SHIRE. Can any one give a satisfactory explanation of the bell customs in this and neighbouring villages ?

1. The Curfew rings at 8 o'clock from 5 November to 10 March, except on Satur- days, when it rings at 7. Why these dates, and the change of time ?

2. A bell rings on Sundays at 7, and 8 A.M., independently of times of servi -\ If the 8 o'clock bell is the old Mass bell, why was it not discontinued when the service was dropped ? And what is the bell at 7 o'clock ? LAWRENCE PHILLIPS.

Sibson Rectory, Atherstone.

' LIGHTS IN LYRICS.' Is the anonymous author known of " Lights in Lyrics ; or, A Glance at the Channel Lights as piloting marks on a run from Scilly to the Nore : accompanied by a parting precept on Com- pass Deviation, addressed to all younger mariners, London, 1859 " ? The work con- sists of 104 eight-line verses, with 14 six- line verses on ' Compass Deviation,' and the author truly says in his prefatory remarks that "it is not usual to find the pilot's tactics dressed in verse." W. B. H.

YEW TREES BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT. It is frequently stated that under Richard III. (1483) an Act was passed ordering a general planting of yew trees for the purposes of archery. Can any reader give the authority for this assertion ? Such an Act does not appear in ' Statutes of the Realm,' although there is a law, dated 1483, dealing with the importation of bow staves. Again, in his (1897), Dr. J. Lowe says that during the reign of Elizabeth the yew was ordered to be planted in churchyards. I cannot find this statute in any book of reference. Is it possible that, instead of an Act of Parlia- ment, an ecclesiastical decree is meant ?
 * Yew Trees of Great Britain and Ireland '

TAXUS.

THE KENT, EAST INDIAMAN. The above ship was lost by fire on 1 March, 1825, having then on board a large part of the 31st Regiment, commanded by Lieut. -Col

Fesmon, and about twenty private passen- gers. Most of these were saved by Capt. William Cook of the Cambria, and landed him at Falmouth three days later. Can any reader supply me with a list of the officers and passengers ? A Falmouth paper might help. H. R. LEIGHTON.

East Boldon, Durham.

WlLBRAHAM AND TABRAHAM AS PROPER

NAMES. How are these severally accounted

for ? WlLBRAHAM PLACE.

COCKBURNSPATH. I should be pleased to learn the reason why the name of this small town of 1,500 inhabitants in Berwick- shire, which according to Lowland Scotch pronunciation ought to be called " Co' burn's Path," is rendered locally as " Coppersmith."

N. W. HILL.

New York.

THE TYBURN.

(10 S. x. 341.)

COL. PRIDEAUX'S suggestion that the name Tyburn originally denoted the manor lying between two brooks is ingenious and inte- resting, but before it can be accepted one or two points will have to be cleared up. In the first place, one would desire the opinion of some eminent Old English scholar, such as Prof. Skeat, as to its philological probability. I cannot find any other word in which phonetic changes similar to those suggested by COL. PRIDEAUX have taken place. The names commencing with ' 'tweo" or " twi " have generally persisted in that form, like Twyford and Twineham ; and I do not know of any example of the word Tyburn being spelt with a w, except the passage in Maitland quoted by COL. PRI- DEAUX.

Another question which suggests itself is whether, assuming the etymology to be " Tvvyburn," the name would not rather denote a " twofold " or " two-forked " stream than the land between two com- paratively distant streams.

Another difficulty in accepting COL. PRIDEAUX'S suggestion is the following : If the name Tyburn originally denoted a manor (including the whole of the land between the so-called Westbourne and Tyburn brooks), which was subsequently cut up into separate manors, it is remarkable that the reduced manor of Tyburn, which in its latest and least extent is synonymous with " Mary bone," should lie wholly, ^ or