Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/427

 9*S. IV. Deo. 2,>99.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 467 W. Niven, architect, Pettitt & Co., 1887. It gives history and plates of some forty churches. G. S. P. The Surname Morcom (9th S. iv. 148, 312, 406).—We are told at the last reference that this name cannot be derived from Mawr Cwm, because if it represents great hollow it would have taken the form of Cummor (Cwm Mawr). Not necessarily, I think. It is true that in Welsh "the place which a common adjective in the positive state occupies in a sentence, conventionally arranged, is usually after the noun which it modifies " (Rowland's ' Welsh Grammar,' p. 149); but "an adjective, joined to a noun to form a compound, generally takes the precedence. Mawrfn/d = Mawr bryd" (ib., p. 150). Again, "When two or more substantives, or substantives and adjec- tives, are joined together to form a compound, the adjective or the substantive that ex- presses the notion of an adjective takes the precedence" (ib., p. 17). Many place-names are so formed, e.g., Melynllyn, Gwynfryd, Penmaen. Hen Cwm is not a case in point, for this is written as two words, hen being one of the adjectives which in any case usually precede the noun. Cwm is a sub- stantive which, even when not in composition, sometimes comes after the adjective. There is a Cwm Glas on Snowdon, and a Glas Cwm near Ffestiniog. C. C. B. This name was borne by a family for many years resident in Chester. The father and two sons were in the railway offices. The elder son, Mr. Richard Morcom, married the sister of my predecessor as Town Clerk here (Mr. W. O. Ropor, F.S.A.), and was assistant traffic manager on the London and North- western Railway for this district for some years, and is now in charge at Wigan. The younger son holds a railway appointment in South America. Two sisters keep a school for girls at Chester. T. Cann Hughes, M.A. Lancaster. List of Knights (9th S. iii. 427, 493 ; iv. 279).—In 'Modern English Biography' Mr. Frederic Boase gives the names of every knight who has died since 1850. Ralph Thomas. Thames Tunnel (9th S. iv. 419).—The allusion is obviously to the tunnel projected between Gravesend and Tilbury by Ralph Dodd. The scheme is just mentioned in ' Old and New London' (vol. ii. chaps, xiv. xv.), but no names are given. The projector is called "a North-Country engineer. Dodd had been engaged on similar work in tho neighbourhood of Newcastle and Sunderland prior to his arrival at Gravesend. Hence the apparent slip ; for he appears to have been born in London in 1756. He appeared in Gravesend in 1798, and immediately started the idea of the tunnel in a pamphlet which received some attention and much criticism. The history of the venture is rather amusing. Dodd's estimate was 15,995/. By the sale of the chalk and flints excavated, this was to be reduced to 12,853/. 8s.; and an even smaller sum, 10,000/., was hinted at as the price of a smaller tunnel. The "estimates," of course, were grossly inadequate ; but the thing was taken up seriously enough. The grand juries of Kent and Essex were consulted, and at last a grand meeting was held at the " Crown and Anchor" (November, 1798). It was agreed to raise 30,000/. in 100/. shares. Dodd's idea was for a cylindrical tunnel; but this was opposed. In fact, Dodd did not inspire much confidence; for in February, 1799, a sub-committee re- ported that, " considering the importance of the undertaking," they had not "confined themselves to the opinion of an individual." A Mr. Wyatt was appointed, with the result that friction arose at the outset. An Act of Parliament was obtained ; and the Govern- ment agreed to pay the company an annual 1,000/., in return for which the free use of the tunnel was to be granted for troops, post office, ifcc. fa military use was one of the chief of those urged). The boat-ferry between Tilbury and Gravesend was also arranged for. The siteultimatel3T fixed on was at the west end of Gravesend, "near the house of Mr. Hazard, at the back of the chalk-pit, called the Old Main." The first operations were undertaken by Wyatt, assisted by Ludlam, a Northamptonshire miner. From the first things went badly. The shareholders were backward in their payments, and the tem- porary disappearance of Doda's name was an ominous sign. In May, 1800, one of the directors, Col. Twiss, wrote expressing much confidence in the scheme, but very little in the means employed. A shaft of forty-one feet was sunk, and the "horse-gin" used for raising the water was found unequal to tho task. A "steam-engine" was therefore sug- gested. At this stage Dodd reappeared, and the reference in the Morning Post doubt- less alluded to this part of the affair. Dodd affirmed that the " horse-gin " was sufficient, and offered to clear the shaft. He tried and was unsuccessful ; so the engine was brought in. Things dragged on, and in June, 1802, the committee deputed Messrs. Rennie and Jessop to examine the works. Their report revealed the real incompetence of the pro-