and 1754; and succeeded his cousin Dr. Richard Robinson, Primate of Ireland, as an Irish peer, &c. in October, 1794, in consequence of the collateral remainder inserted in the Primate's patent. He is succeeded in his titles, and part of his large estates in Kent, Yorkshire, and Cambridgeshire, by his nephew Morris Robinson, late M.P. for Boroughbridge, and now third Lord Rokeby. His sister, Mrs. Montagu, died 25th of August last, aged eighty. But for an account of his family see Archdale's Irish Peerage, vol. VII. and Hasted's Kent, 2nd edit. vol. VII. p. 57, 58.

From another Correspondent we have the following character of this Nobleman ::

"Lord Rokeby was a man of very vigorous understanding; who thought upon all occasions for himself, and acted with unexampled consistency up to his own principles, which gave him the appearance, and perhaps the reality, of some eccentricities, of which the relation has been so exaggerated, as to amount to a tissue of the most gross and ridiculous falsehoods. His solitude, though not interrupted by the intercourse of formal visiting, was constantly enlivened by a succession of casual society; and his house, at which nothing was sacrificed to cold and insipid ceremony and ostentation, constantly afforded all the liberal pleasures of ancient hospitality. His address was happy, his manners were easy and attractive; his sentiments were enlarged, candid, and full of philanthropy; and his conversation was original, energetic, and often highly eloquent. He never failed to set the subjects he discussed in a new light; and if he did not always convince, he always interested and entertained. Though single himself, he never lost the most lively anxiety for the welfare of every member of his family. And though the idea of his wealth, added to the hatred of ostentation, with which he lived, impressed many with an opinion of his fondness for money, yet the numberless poor neighbours, as well as others, whom it now appears that he assisted with loans, through pure benevolence, and on very slight securities, prove how much that part of his character was mistaken. He had early conceived an indignation of the corruptions of power and rank; and of the little mean passions and distinctions, which too often disgrace them. This gave a colour to all his political opinions, in which no man ever displayed more constancy. Independence was his peculiar characteristic; and no motives of personal interest, ambition, or disappointment, ever intruded them

selves in the formation of his opinions. Simplicity and nature were his idols; and he let the grass everywhere supersede the plough, and his fences and divisions fall, through his extensive domains, that his immense and increasing herds of cattle might have a wider range, till in his latter years he saw the complete success of his system, and beauty, pleasure, and success, united in an unexpected degree. By these means, and an uniform and unostentatious life, he died possessed of a large property in addition to his hereditary estates; although he had omitted to make even the lowest interest of a considerable portion of his money, and although he never raised a rent: and the riches he has thus honourably accumulated, he has distributed equally honourably, and with an equally sacred regard to all the professions of his life. He was author of several political pamphlets at various periods of his life; and was much looked up to by the party in his county whose cause he espoused."

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1

TOPOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

I. Account of Milton Abbas School.

Bristol, Jan. 24, 1786.

MR. URBAN, IN the biographical anecdotes of the Rev. Mr. Hutchins, author of the History of Dorset, (in Bibl. Topogr. Britann. No. XXXIV.) a short account is given of the foundation of Milton Abbas School in that county. The author of the anecdotes has very properly observed, that the account inserted in Mr. Hutchins's History is so very inaccurate, that one can hardly suppose it to have been the work of Mr. Hutchins. A hint is given, that the manuscript was interpolated after it went out of Mr. Hutchins's hands. Whether that was, or was not the case, let those who are accquainted with the business speak out. It is not my present intention to examine the errors of Mr. Hutchins, or his transcribers,' but to present to the public, by means, of your Magazine, a fuller relation of the foundation and endowment of the school than has hitherto appeared.

The school of Milton Abbas was founded by William Middleton, Abbot of Milton, in the twelfth year of Henry VIII. About the same time he purchased of Thomas Kirton the manor, farm, and free chapel of Little Mayne, in the county of Dorset, with which he endowed the school. The founder of the school was also a great benefactor to his convent, and his rebus may be seen in the south aisle of Milton church, in which parish he was probably born. By a deed, dated 10th of Feb. 12th Henry VIII. under the common seal of the Abbey of Milton, the said abbot, with the consent of his convent, granted the said manor of Little Mayne to Kirton, which he had before purchased of him, upon trust that Kirton should convey the same unto Giles Strangways, Knt. Thomas Arundell, Knt. Matthew Arundell, his son and heir apparent, Thomas Trenchard, Knt. John Horsey, Knt. Geo. De La Lynde, Esq. John Rogers, Esq. Thomas Hussey, Robt. Martin, Thomas Moreton, Robert Coker, Robt. Strode, Henry Ashley, John Frampton, Thomas Trenchard, John Williams, and Walter Grey, Esqrs. and

others, to the intent to maintain a free grammar-school in the town of Milton, and to employ the profits of the said manor to the maintenance of the said school, and of a schoolmaster, for the term of ninety-seven years: but if within that time, licence might be obtained to alienate the said manor in mortmain, that then the above-mentioned feoffees should grant the same manor to the use of the said school; but, if such licence could not be obtained, that then the feoffees, after the expiration of the said term, should sell the said manor, and employ the money arising therefrom in the maintenance of the school, as long as might be. In pursuance of which, Kirton conveyed the same manor, farm, and free chapel, to the before-mentioned feoffees, for the purposes above-mentioned.

The chief design of the foundation was, without doubt, for the education of the novices of the abbey. The purchase-money for the farm, with which the school was endowed, was paid out of the abbey stock, and, as far as we can learn, the monks were interested in it as much as the abbot. It is well known that the sons of gentlemen were often instructed in the monasteries; and perhaps, before the foundation of this school, there was no one belonging to, or near the monastery of Milton, to which the neighbouring gentlemen could send their children. On which account this school might be considered as not only beneficial to the abbey, but also to the whole adjoining country.

In a late suit between the lord of the manor of Milton and the feoffees of the school, it was insisted on by the plaintiff, that the school was not intended for grammar learning, but for teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, to the poor inhabitants of Milton. It will require no great strength of reasoning to refute so idle an hypothesis. The probable intention of the foundation, I have mentioned above; and shall only observe, that the service of the church, the registers of abbeys, and most acts of law, were at that time written in Latin. Even in common letters, the Latin language was generally used. Would an abbot then found a school for teaching English only? Of what service could that be either to the abbey or the state? Besides, it was not for the interest of the religious to diffuse learning amongst the laity they knew too well that the pillars of superstition must be shaken, when the people were as intelligent as themselves. Add to this, that the servile tenants in most of the manors belonging to the monasteries were not permitted to put their children to school without consent of their lords; the reason of which prohibition was, lest the son,