Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 10.djvu/426

 348 NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 S. X.MAY 6, 1922. " Louse " Pigott, and it is hinted that he was a gamester and the friend of William Davis, " Black Davis," a turf celebrity of the period and a person of dubious reputa- tion. In ' The Genuine Memoirs of )ennis O'Kelly ' (Stalker, 1788), it is stated too that Tie was one of the satellites of the owner of Eclipse. That he was well acquainted with all the racing men of his time is shown in his ' Jockey Club ' (1792), which is full of malevolent anecdotes about most of them. He has scarcely a good word to say for anyone. The book is ! reviewed in The Gentleman's Magazine (1792), Part I., pp. 361, 456, which calls it j " a mere vehicle and pretence for the most ' virulent abuse," and declares " that its great aim is to set the lower orders against their betters." By this time Charles Pigott, j like his elder brother Robert, was an j "ardent champion" of the principles of i the French Revolution. He died at his Elphin, the rooks Brain Owen ap Urien ; the pawns (a corruption of the French paons) they called Y Paenod bach (the little peacocks). These illiterate Welshmen, never dwelling out of their parish, understood all the intricate movements of the game, which they played with remarkable skill. In his own time, he says, he has met with many of them, and it is very curious how the know- ledge of so scientific and complex a game was acquired and kept up, particularly at this remote spot (W T hitechureh). R. B. Upton. WE must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries in order that answers may be sent to them direct. " WlLLOUGHBY AND HIS A VISA."- Has 1794, and in his obituary notice in The Gentleman's Magazine (1794), Part II., p. 672, his authorship of ' The Jockey Club ' in two parts and of ' The Female Jockey Club ' is acknowledged. In Lowndes's 'Bibliographer's Manual' (1871), p. 1212, it is also stated that these publications are " usually attributed to Charles Pigot " (sic). Beyond the brief account given of him by his niece Harriett and the few references j cited above I cannot remember having ! come across any contemporary mention of j his name. But he must have been a well- j known man in his day. Is anything else known of his career ? HORACE BLEACKLEY. THE GAME OF CHESS. While the recent tournament engages the attention of many, it may be permissible to record in the pages of ' N. & Q.' an unexpected allusion to that game in an out-of-the-way part of Wales some two centuries ago. George Owen, the antiquary quoted at a later date by Richard Fenton in his ' Itinerary of Pembrokeshire,' published more than a hundred years ago refers to a singular cir- cumstance in the parish of Whitechureh, in the northern part of that county. Owen states that in former times in that locality even the meanest folk and unlettered plough- men were adepts at chess and had recognized Welsh names for the chessboard and the different pieces. The game was styled Fristiol Tawlbwrdd ; the kings and queens had their usual name ; the bishop was termed personages with Westbury in Wiltshire ? There is an ancient " castle " upon the escarpment of the Downs, a copious spring in the vale below. The Lord of the Manor was a friend of Shakespeare, a patron of poets, a relation of Willoughby. Avise, as the Church register shows, was a Christian name in vogue at the time. The old hostelry changed its name about 1680, but I have not been enabled to discover whether it was ever " The George and Dragon," or what its old name was. H. C. BROOKS-. St. Michael's, Wigan. BLYTH. Can any reader throw any light on the Blyth pedigree ? There is a pedigree in the College of Arms of William Blyth of Norton, Co. Derby, temp. Henry V. Of his grandsons, John was Bishop of Salisbury 1493, and Geoffrey, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry 1503. Their brother Thomas had sons, of whom John was Archdeacon of Lichfield and Geoffrey was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. This pedigree is pretty complete and goes down to Benjamin Blyth of Norton, attorney-at-law, who sold the estate at Norton Lees. From that time they were all in Birmingham, in business. James Blyth of Birmingham, merchant, and of London, died March 24, 1858 ; married Anna Maria Smith, who died Oct. 23, 1862. He is supposed to descend from this pedigree, which has not been brought up to date in the Heralds' College. James Blyth had issue James, Charles, Jessica Mary, Char- lotte Harriett, Anne, Emily and Florence.