Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 4.djvu/17

 12 S. IV. JAX, 1918.]

NOTES AND QUERIES.

11

WOMEN AS JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1. We are told in fifes. Stopes's book ' British Freewomen ' that " the wise and renowned Lady Margaret, Countess of Richmond, was made Jiistice of the Peace in the reign of Henry VII., and that the Lady of Berke- ley under Queen Mary held the same office." Is there any authority for this statement ? It is said in Callis on ' Sewers,' p. 52, that Lady Margaret was " put in Commission " ; but this writer does not say she was put on the Commission of the Peace.

2. In Olive v. Ingram, 7 ' Modern Reports,' p. 267, the advocate for the women says that in ' The Mirror of Justices ' a woman is said to have been a Justice of the Peace. Can any one kindly give me the reference to the passage in ' The Mirror,' stating the edition ? ' The Mirror ' says in one place that women cannot be judges.

3. Is there any case of a woman being, in England, a Justice of the Peace ? J.P.

ANTHONY TODD, SECRETARY OF THE G.P.O. Can any of your readers throw light on the parentage and collateral rela- tives of Anthony Todd, Secretary of the General Post Office from 1762 to 1798 (with a short" break)? His only child, Eleanor, married James, 8th Earl of Lauderdale, and their daughter Lady Eleanor Maitland married Mr. Balfour of Whittingehame, and was the maternal grandmother of the present Foreign Secretary. There is a portrait of Anthony Todd (after a painting by Romney) amongst the collection of engravings at the British Museum, but I can find no reference to him anywhere except in Joyce's ' History of the G.P.O.' and in an obituary notice in The Gentleman's Magazine for 1798. My great-grandfather Thomas Todd, his cousin, served under Mm in the General Post Office, and I am anxious to establish his exact degree of relationship, and to gain further knowledge of his family. I shall be grateful to any one who can give me information.

CYRIL M. B. WAXTON. Haslemere, Lansdowne Road, Bournemouth.

ALLEN, WIGGTNTON, AND WHITEHEAD FAMILIES. One of the most curious state- ments I ever came across is contained in an old Bible (dated 1739) which belonged to my great-grandfather Wm. Whitehead : " Edward Allen was born 26 Feb., 1748/9; he bought this book in 1741 [icl."

The Bible also contains dates of the births of the following Aliens, all no doubt one family : George, Sept. 25, 1721 ; Elizabeth, Nov. 19, 1722 ; Susanah, Nov. 5, 1723 ;

Edward, Dec. 23, 1724; Jane, April 28, 1726 ; Matthew, Feb. 24, 1727/8 ; no doubt- all written in at one time.

The book has further inscribed in it the name of "Mary Wigginton, Hemington," and various Whitehead entries.

It occurs to me that the above particulars may be of tise to some one interested in families of the name of Allen, and I shall be glad to know if there was any connexion between these three families. The White- heads and Wiggintons lived in Northants, Aliens probably in Lincolnshire. Please reply to me direct. B, WHITEHEAD.

2 Brick Court, Temple, E.C.4.

PICTURE FRAMES. There seems to be very little literature on this important subject ; indeed, there is only one book known to me, namely, ' Le Cornici Italiane dalla meta del secolo XV allo scorcio del secolo XVI ,' by M. Guggenheim, published in Milan by Ulrico Hoepli in 1897 ; and of course the suggestive Appendix IV. in the Report of the Committee of the Trustees of the National Gallery, contributed by Mr. R. H. Benson.

Perhaps, however, some readers of 1 N. & Q.' may know of other works on the subject books, pamphlets, articles, or essays. I should also be pleased to have references to frames and framers by eminent artists, architects, and archaeologists ; and the names and dates of any famous framers, particularly those born, or who have worked, in the United Kingdom. Please reply direct,

JOHN LANE. The Bodley Head, Vigo Street, W.I.

THE CHURCH AND THE MEDICAL PRO- FESSION. At what period in the history of the nation did the Church receive power to give licences to the medical profession to practise the art of medicine and surgery ? One finds many seventeenth and eighteenth- century records, but how much earlier, and how much later, were they recognized ? What Acts of Parliament relate to this subject, and what are the chief authorities one should consult for information on the?e points < J. CLARE HUDSON.

Thorntin, Horncastle.

" MEBUS." A soldier, in sending home an account of his share -in one of the recent attacks on the Passchendaele ridge, made use of the word " mebus " to describe one of the concrete blockhouses erected there by the Germans, and often mentioned as " pillboxes " in war correspondents' accounts of the fighting. When asked as to the