Over the great gateway of Cawood are the following coats of arms:

1. Three wheat sheaves, without a border.

2. Three with a border nubile.

3.

4.

Three with a border ingraled, indented.
Cross keys and mitre.

5. English and French arms supported by two stags. 6. The arms of the third article.

7. The arms of Canterbury.

8.

As the first article.

9. Wheat sheaves ingraled as the third.

In the inner side of the gateway, towards the court yard, the arms are of much the same character.

Edward Lee, Wolsey's successor, converted Cawood Castle into a prison for the reception of captives taken at the battle of Solway Moss, November 24th, 1542. Lord Gray and three other Scotch noblemen of the family of Cassilis, were delivered up to the Archbishop, who detained them for a year and a half. During that time they had received no pecuniary assistance from their friends, and the Archbishop found himself "constrained to give them both coats and gowns and other things." Lee writes from Cawood, on the 20th August, 1554,* entreating to be relieved of his costly charges ere the winter comes on, when "they will lack many things."

In the troubles occasioned by the assuming of the title of Queen of England by Mary, Queen of Scots, Cawood Castle appears to have been involved. Mary landed in England on the 16th of May, 1568, and was received by her secret friends, among whom were William Hungate, of Saxton, and John Vavasour, of Hazlewood, who were "all unsounde in religion." The Earl of Sussex was president of the North, when the first vague rumour of Mary's dubious intentions began to circulate; and Cawood Castle, where the Earl resided, became the frequent scene of council meetings and deliberations. Mary was at once placed under restraint, at Carlisle and Bolton castle.

* See Lodge's Illustrations of British History.-Vol 1, p. 63.

After leaving Bolton castle, she, then under strict surveillance, was ordered to proceed to Pontefract castle, stopping on her journey for a few hours at Wetherby, on the 28th of January, 1569. On the 15th September following, her partizans raised the standard of rebellion and appeared in arms to overthrow Elizabeth's government. Cawood Castle was then the head quarters of the royal commissioners; and the possession of the immediate neighbourhood was an object much desired by both parties. It was the design of the rebels to take York, they arguing that if the city fell into their hands, success was a certainty, if not, their attempt was hopeless, and it would be better to die like soldiers before the walls of York than to be hanged like dogs. In pursuance of their design, they descended by Boroughbridge and Wetherby to Tadcaster and Sherburn, and on Tuesday, the 22nd of November, they mustered on Clifford Moor, to the number of 1600 horse and 4000 foot. Preparations were made to receive them, troops were levied, and Sir Thomas Gargrave was ordered to fortify the passage of the river at Ferrybridge. On the 20th of November, the rebels had been successful in capturing 150 men at Tadcaster, whom a Mister Tempest was leading to York; yet this success had not the power of giving them resolution to carry out their original design of attacking the city. They precipitately broke up their camp and retreated to the north, a movement which is assigned to the fact that feelings of insubordination and dissatisfaction were manifested in their camp. † The rebellion was soon suppressed, but the neighbourhood remained disaffected for a long time: for on the 29th of January, 1572, Archbishop Grindale writes from Cawood to Lord Burghley, desiring him to look after his own preservation against "obdurate papists and Italionate atheistes." The gentlemen of the county are said to have been not "well affected towards Godly religion, whilst among the common people many superstitious practices remain.'

+"Moreover, by report of a creditable man 'dwelling......in Sherbourne, who was stayed in the rebels' camp, he heard that the common persons had conceived a mistrust towards the Earls, that they would steal away from them beyond seas, or out of the land, and leave them in the briers."-Wright's Queen Elizabeth and her Times, vol. 1, p. 339.

CAWOOD CASTLE DURING THE

CIVIL WARS.

HE great and glorious civil war which the people of England waged against a sovereign who

threatened to deprive them at once of their civil and religious liberty, was carried on with all the vigour of fanaticism after the King had erected his standard at Nottingham, on the 23rd of August, 1642. Previous to that event Charles had made sundry attempts to conciliate his refractory people, but they, doubting the sincerity of their monarch, resolved at once to accept his appeal to arms, and abide by the issue of the struggle. In Yorkshire, however, the two factions were considered so nearly equal in strength, that the more influential leaders of both parties considered that an armed neutrality on their part would, at once avert the dire effects of active war from their homes, while it gave a passive support to their respective parties. They accordingly met at Rothwell and signed a treaty, in which they pledged themselves to give mutual co-operation in order to prevent military invasion of the country, or any preparation for war by its natives. But this amicable treaty did not produce the desired effect; the country became involved, and, before the awful strife had terminated, several of the most desperate actions had been fought upon Yorkshire battle fields.

On the 30th of November, 1642, the Earl of Newcastle, at the call of the Yorkshire royalists, advanced to York,

with an army of 6000 horse and infantry, and 10 pieces of ordnance. Cawood Castle was then seized by the Earl, and garrisoned by his famous regiment of "grey coats." Prior to the advance of the royalists, Captain Hotham had occupied Selby, then held by two companies of infantry. With his increased force Hotham marched upon Cawood, which he took after a slight resistance, "the Archbishop's house and furniture suffering more impairment through the rude handling of the soldiers, than it rendered profit with respect to the true value thereof." Having thus dispos sessed his enemies of their stronghold, Hotham joined Sir Thomas Fairfax at Tadcaster, which was held by him for the parliament, in order to arrest the progress of Newcastle.

On the 5th of December, a severe but doubtful action was fought; both sides claimed the victory, yet the Parliamentarians were compelled to retreat. At two o'clock on the morning of the 6th, Fairfax commenced his retreat for Selby, which place he desired to gain, in order to command the passage of the Ouse, and also to receive supplies of ammunition needed to replace that which had been spent in the attack on Tadcaster. One part of the army was left at Cawood Castle under the command of Captain Hotham, the remainder proceeding to Selby with Fairfax. There they remained inactive for three or four days, when Lord Fairfax determined to attempt the capture of Leeds. On the 9th of December Sir Thomas started on his expedition. On reaching Sherburn he discovered that town in the possession of the Royalist forces, whom he at once determined to attack. The town was speedily entered, a superior force of the enemy defeated, but the progress of of the victors was stopped. Lord Fairfax, writing to the committee from Selby, under date Dec. 10th, says of this exploit, "I sent my son, Sir Thomas Fairfax, with 5 companies of foot and two troops of horse to Leeds, intending he should continue there to secure that place, and the other clothing towns against the Earl of Newcastle's forces, if it were possible. But the enemy's forces were laid so strong in the way that he could not pass, so he only beat up a quarter of the enemies in a small village, took five prisoners, and retreated to Selby."

Cawood Castle remained in the hands of the Parliamentary soldiers, during the whole of the succeeding winter. About the middle of March, 1643, Sir Hugh Cholmondley delivered Scarborough Castle to the Queen, and Lord Fairfax, finding the Royalists completely master of the whole neighbourhood, was compelled to fall back upon Leeds. When Fairfax took Leeds, on the 23rd January, 1642-3, Henry Robinson, the vicar, a man whose sympathies were not entirely with the King, fled to Methley Hall to escape falling into the hands of the Roundheads. After a series

of misfortunes, in which the fugitive barely saved his life, he was taken and sent ultimately as a prisoner to Cawood Castle. During his confinement there the upper part of one of the towers fell upon him, and, although he was in the most imminent danger of being crushed to death, he fortunately escaped with no more serious injury than a broken arm. His wife, who shared his imprisonment, represented his calamities to the Parliament, and he was released. He afterwards became Rector of Swillington, where he died March 19th, 1663.

The rebels appear to have manifested an unworthy determination to persecute the loyal conforming clergy of the Church of England. Not only did they drive them from their parsonages, but "when they had filled all the common jayls and compters about town with the principal clergy and gentry of the kingdom, they afterwards seized the venerable old houses where so many excellent and pious bishops had for a long course of years lived in splendour and hospitality, and ordered them to be converted into dungeons, for the starving of these clergy and many of these gentry." Cawood Castle became somewhat notorious as a prison. Besides Robinson, Mr. Thornton, the rector of Birkin, and Mr. Tate, the vicar of Wressle, suffered great cruelty at the hands of their fanatical persecutors. The former, after being plundered of his goods, was barbarously tied to a horse's tail and so dragged a prisoner to Cawood: the latter, after being very "unchristianly used," had the mortification of seeing his parish church ruined for fear lest its proximity to the castle should enable an attacking party to use it to the disadvantage of the garrison.