Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 8.djvu/334

 272 NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 a VIIL APRIL 2, 1021. The words in the Hereford inquisition which refer to the heir's age, and which are preceded in the document by a statement that William the heir was then Earl, and son and heir of the late Earl, are, with the Latin extended, as follows : " et est etatis 'xiiij. Annorum quinto die martii Anno nono predict* domini Regis." This clearly means that the heir was 14 years old at his father's death in July, 1469, as the ninth year of Edward IV. commenced, as already men- tioned, on Mar. 4 preceding that July. The London inquisition was taken in the Guildhall, by Richard Lee, Mayor of London in 1 469-70, and escheator for the City. The corrected age of the second Earl of Pembroke explains certain hitherto obscure points in connection with his history, which are too long to enter fully into here. It may, however, be mentioned that as his daughter, Lady Elizabeth Herbert, was 16 years old and more in 1492, as shown by the inquisition of her uncle, Lord Rivers, she must have been born in or about 1476, at which date her father, had he been only 9 years old in 1469, would have been but a boy, whereas he was about 21 years of age at the time of his daughter's birth. In the summer of 1475, Pembroke was in France with the King, serving in the Ex- peditionary Army, and was one of those who signed there the proposed terms for a treaty sent by Edward, on Aug. 13, 1475, to Louis XI., the French King. (Rymer's 'Foedera,' vol. xii. p. 15.) Pembroke was then in his 21st year. The Army returned to England in September, and the following month, Oct. 4, 1475, a licence was granted to William, Earl of Pembroke, to enter freely into all manors, lordships, castles, towns, &c., which should descend to him on the death of his father or any of his ancestors, saving to the king homage and fealty (Pat. Rolls). This licence was granted five months before Pembroke attained his majority. Prior to this grant, estates and offices held by the first Earl of Pembroke, had been granted temporarily to the second Earl's mother and others, during the heir's minority. Collins in his ' Peerage,' Banks, arid others, state that it was subsequent to William, Earl of Huntingdon (previously Earl of Pembroke), entering into a cove- nant with Richard III. to marry his daughter, Lady Katharine Plant agenet, that he married Lady Mary Wydville. This is manifestly, an error. CHARLES H. THOMPSON. I have the book referred to by your* correspondent, viz. : ' The Last of the Plantagenets ' by William Heseltine, of Turret House, Lambeth. Published by Smith, Elder & Co. in 1829. The dedication is to the " Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham, as a lineal descendant of Sir Thomas Moyle, the last protector of the Last of the Plantagenets, and possessor of the manor of Eastwell, to which he retired." L. F. C. E. TOLLEMACHE. 24 Selwyn Road, Eastbourne. Was there any usual custom in regard to- the naming of these natural children ? It would appear/ in some cases that the family surname had been adopted and in others a nickname or descriptive name. There are families still bearing royal nick- names (Beauclerk, Lackland, and so on),, some of which may possibly be able to claim descent from the original bearer. F. CROOKS. Eccleston Park, Preseot. REPRESENTATIVE COUNTY LIBRARIES : PUBLIC AND PRIVATE (12 S. viii. 8, 34, 54,. 76, 111, 155, 198). As a Plymouthian familiar with the rise and progress of the collection of Devon and Cornwall books,., pamphlets, music and pictures, started in connexion with the Corporation Library by my late valued friend Mr. W. H. H. Wright,. I have been interested in the discussion of this subject in your columns since Jan. 1. I should therefore like to ask DR. HAMBLEY ROWE to explain why he is able to charac- terize the collection at the Exeter Free Library as being " undoubtedly the finest collection of Devon books in the world." I am sorry I am not acquainted with the Devon Branch of the library, so I cannot judge whether it is in regard to numbers,, or rarity, or how, that it transcends all others. Of the value of the Devon and Cornwall Branch Library at Plymouth I can speak from a somewhat extensive acquaint- ance. As far back as 1896 when Mr. Wright issued the first catalogue, it con- sisted of over 5,000 items and there are certainly now nearly treble that number- Of course from its situation at the extremity of the county Plymouth was interested in Cornish books as well as those of Devon, though I could wish that the books attri- butable to each had been kept separate. On reference to the Manual recommended by a PUBLIC LIBRARIAN at ante, p. 35, I was surprised to find that Exeter was not named