About Earth. Carew, speaking of a Mr. Bond, speaks of;--- "His ancient house of Earth, which came to his ancestors by a daughter and heir of that name. Seated by the River of Lynher, and near to that of Mr. Wivles' of Wivlesham's fair and seemly burgh, to which abuteth Mr. Buller's, Shillingham. Mr. Bond married with Fonteyne, his father with Fitz. Armes Argent on a chevron sable three bezants." C. S. Gilbert in his book, "A Survey of Cornwall", after quoting part of the above, says;--- "The Fitz was perhaps of Fitzford near Tavistock". If so, there is a very fine monument to two of that family and their ne'er-do-weel son, in Tavistock Church. Carew goes on to say;--- William Bond Esq. living at Earth in 1640, and apparently a grandson of the former, left issue James Bond Esq., who lived at Earth in the time of Charles II. It is likely that from this house issued several branches of the name, which have since flourished in different parts of the country, and it is not improbable that the Bonds which are now resident in the parish of St. Steven's, and the adjoining parish of Antony, may justly claim the same origin as did Bond of Holwood, in Quethiock. William Bond, Esq., (descended from the Bonds of Earth), was resident at Holwood in the reign of Charles II.? whence his descendants are supposed to have removed to Tresunger in Endellion. Harry Bond Esq., of Tresunger, left issue a son Richard, who died about the year 1736, when his three daughters became co-heiresses. Mary married Charles Vyvyan. Gertrude married John Lawrence of St. Columb. The other married John Hamley of Treblethick.

Another branch of this family was seated at Tree, in Calstock." From these descended four Thomas Bonds in a row, all Mayors of Looe, the last seven times.

(Wivlesham and Shillingham are still there, big farms, like Earth).

A description from Coker's "Survey of Dorset", of the place where William Bond lived in the Isle of Purbeck in 1732. "The only river of this land, not far from South Haven Point, which defends the south side of Poole Haven, not more than a brook, whose fountain you shall see arise in the land of John Bond, sonne of Denis Bond, of Lutton Esq., in the parish of Steeple in the heart of the Isle, whose ancestors came into this island in the reign of King Henry VI., out of Somerset. This brook runneth along by Blackingstone, the seat of William Bond, 3rd son of Denis Bond aforesaid, a younger brother of the family of Lutton.

Bond's Court, Walbrook, is first mentioned in 1673. Some of the houses are described by Bevan, Vol. 1. p. 220., as newly built. There was a gateway out of Walbrook into the court, named after the owner. (This was between Cannon St. and St. Stephen's Church, where many of the West Buckland, not the Hache Beauchamp Bonds, are buried. They were the merchant adventurer ones.) William Bond was Alderman of Walbrook Ward in 1649. In Kelly's Directory for 1792, there was still a merchant named William Bond at 4, Bond's Court, Walbrook.

Thomas Bond's (of Looe) book was; "A Topographical and Historical Sketches of the Borough of East and West Looe, with an account of the natural and artificial Curiosities and Pictorial Scenery of the Neighbourhood," London,1823, 8vo. pp308. Very rare.

Until 1789 Benjamin Bond Hopkins owned Baker's Coffee House in Exchange Alley, when he sold it.

In Anderson's Pedigree of Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, he says that Hugh Fitz Roger, second son of Roger de Courcil, (a follower of William the Conqueror, and who obtained from him extensive estates in Somerset, Dorset, and Wilts, as appears in Domesday). espousing the sister and heiress of Bond, Lord of Fisherton, their offspring assumed the surname and arms of that family, viz;- Sable, a fess or, and hence came the family of Bond, (or Bonde as he is called in Domesday Book.) This Bond appears to have been a Saxon and is mentioned in that record as holding Fisherton in Wilts, as well as other lordships in Dorset and Somerset, as early as the time of Edward the Confessor.

NOTE. This author evidently considers the "sable a fess or" the shield most ancient. It came back into the family by way of Denis Bond's uncle of Buckland. There seem to have been more beginnings than one to this family.

From the History of Newbury, 1839, I have taken this. "On a marble gravestone, lying eastwards of the former, (the east end of the south aisle), is this inscription, mentioned in Ashmole's Antiquities of Berkshire, but not there now;"

"Here lyeth the body of Elizabeth, Daughter of James Bond
of this Parish. She had issue, Hugh, son of Hugh Rolles, of
Great Torrington, in Devon. She dyed the 20th of April, 1659."

"Low, here she is deprived of life, Which was a virtuous and
a loving wife, Untill the Graves again restore Their Dead, and
Time shall be no more. She was brought a Bed, but Spous
above, And dyed to pay the living Pledge of Love."

Letter to Thomas Bonde Esq. at his lodgings in Durham House in the Strand, Near London (of Ogbourne in Wilts) probably Clerk of the Council to the Prince of Wales. Afterwards Charles I., who was at that time Lord of the Manor of Newbury which he had received from his mother, and which he afterwards granted to the Mayor & Corporation of Newbury. (I think the Thomas Bond in question must have been one of the Somerset and London Bonds, not our Thomas. F.C.B.)

Sir,--- We have thought good to let you understand, how that upon Sunday, being the 5th day of February last, a great part of our town bridge being about 30 foot in length and 20 foot in breadth fell down into the river, so that no carts can pass over yt, to the great hinderance of our Town. especially upon market days, it being a bridge in the middle of the town, as you know, whereby only and in no other way one part of the town can come to tother,and the country coming in at the north and west ends of town with carts can come no other way to the market unless they goe a myle about: And it was the great blessing of God that it fell not as people were going to or coming from Churche, which yf it had, it had cost many a man's life, and yet it fell shortly after dinner..

Ffor the repayringe of this bridge wee have used tyme out of minde of man to take trees as occasion hath bin out of the Wash now his highnes wast parcell of the Manor of Newbury, which was heretofore well stored, but now there is not, neither hath bin of late, scarce one tree serviceable for that use, so that wee shall be put to 40 or 50 o charge in repayringe of it, to our great hinderan'ce, wee having many poore people amongst us to relieve, in these harde tymes, when as clothing, the chief keye of trading in our town for the relief of the poore, is so much decayed.

Whereoff wee heartily intreate your considerac'on, and yf you shall think it fitt to acquaynt some of his hignes counsell with this accident that is befallen us, humbly entreatinge thryr honors to take considera'on of it, as they in theyr wisedomes shall think fitt. And so wee take our leaves, craving pardon for being so troublesome to you, and rest, your very loving friends, (here follow the names of the Mayor 14 others) Newbury, Marche 1 1623.

This extract is from Walter Money's book about Newbury. He does not say whether any help in trees or money came. The present stone bridge was built in 1769.

Charles I. was present at both Battles of Newbury, in 1643 & 1644. Not much damage was done to the town, but no doubt the fields were badly trampled. Many men were killed in the battles.

The weavers were formerly an important and influential class of the inhabitants. The clothiers were in their day esteemed among the wealthier tradesmen and merchants of the county, and some of them became possessed of large landed property in the county. The population had risen by 1821 to 5347.

From the Victoria County History. "At Newbury the trade lingered on well into the last century, wherein 1808 kerseys, cottons,calicoes, linen, and damask were manufactured."

In Abingdon, "The spinning and weaving of flax was a flourishing industry in the 18th century".

"In Katesgrove Lane" (in Reading) "sailcloth remarkable for strength and whiteness, owing to a peculiar process the yarn was exposed to in boiling before it was woven" was made.

"This sailcloth was extensively purchased by the Government for the use in the Navy, and by the East India Company."

It was also used for windmills. Rope and flax dressing would all be in the same line of work.

Mr. John Hore, mentioned in one of our wills, or one of his family, designed the Newbury to Reading Canal.

Vulture Hopkins' will. By the terms of the will, all beneficiaries had to take the name of Hopkins or forfeit the legacy.

The Rev. Benjamin Woodbridge, mentioned in James Bond's (I.) will, was rector of Newbury. He was an excellent clergyman. "Before he left there was scarcely a family in Newbury where there was not praying, reading, and singing the psalms". (From Palmer's Nonconformist Memorial). He was selected to be one of the twelve presbyterian ministers at the Savoy Conference between 12 of them and 12 bishops, after the Restoration. He would not conform, and was ejected from Newbury Rectory, but went on preaching! He died at Englefield in Berkshire in 1684. After this our family seems to have been dissenters.

In February, 1683/4, the whole population of Newbury had a narrow escape from an overwhelming disaster.

It was the habit at that time, in the church of St. Nicholas, to now and then exchange ministers with the clergyman from a neighbouring parish. This clergyman was a very good extempore speaker, and sometimes dispensed with his notes and spoke without them. On this particular Sunday, they were going to have the Communion service after the ordinary one, and not to make the people too late in getting home, this clergyman curtailed his sermon, not reading it right through. It also happened that the psalms were rather short ones that day, so that the congregation left the church rather before the usual time. Those who were staying for the Communion Service, went into the chancel for it. They had only been a few minutes at it, when, without the slightest warning, the whole roof of the nave crashed into the church! It covered the whole area of the floor, just reaching to the pulpit. If the people had been in the nave, not one could have escaped. As it was, no one was hurt. As our people were keen churchgoers,one even having been a churchwarden at one time, there can be little doubt that there, went we, if it had not been for what was thought to have been a miraculous escape.

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