John le Vicount, the son of Odoard, held the barony of Embleton, with other estates appendant, by the service of three knights' fees, of which his ancestors had been enfeoffed by king Henry I. He died 29 Henry III. and left Ramet, the wife of Everard Tyes, his daughter and heir, who, surviving him, married again to Hereward de Marisco. They afterwards sold it to Simon de Montford, earl of Leicester; but he soon forfeited it, by rebelling against that king, who conferred it upon his younger son Edmund, whom he had created earl of Lancaster. In his family it continued till his grandson, Henry, dying without male issue, his whole estate was divided between his two daughters, Maud and Blanche. The latter married John of Gaunt, earl of Richmond, and afterwards duke of Lancaster, and had this barony and other estates for her dowry. Henry of Bolingbroke (afterwards Henry IV.) was her son and heir, by which means Embleton became a royal feoff. This manor now belongs to the Right Hon. the earl of Tankerville: but Henry Taylor, Esq. of Christon Bank, has some property here; and the heirs of the late Mr. Woodhouse are proprietors of several houses.

DUNSTANBROUGH CASTLE.-The ruins of this strong and noble building stand on an eminence above the sea, two miles east-south-east from Embleton, and six miles north-east from Alnwick. Nothing now remains but the out-works on the west and south sides, which, with stupendous basalt cliffs to the sea, enclose a plain nearly square, consisting of about nine acres, and which is said in one year to have produced 240 Winchester bushels of corn, besides several loads of hay. The keep and interior works (says Hutchinson), if there ever were any, are totally gone, the plough-share having passed within the walls. The whinstone rocks to the north are perpendicular, of a columniary form, about 30 feet in height, black and horrible; the shore rugged, covered with broken rocks woven over with sea-weed. From the edge of the seacliffs, on the north-west point, the western wall runs along the brink of an elevated rock; a square tower arises near the centre of this wall, of a considerable height, and of excellent masonry, placed on a projecting point of the cliff, so as to afford the armed men within the means of flanking the wall with their missile weapons; on each corner there was an exploratory turret. This seems to be the most modern part of the castle, built of the best materials, and by the ablest workmen. Where the land rises to the summit of the rock on the south-west point, the wall turns, and makes a long straight front to the south: the ground before it is level, and appears to have been assisted by art, to form a more commodious parade for the garrison. In this front there is a gate-way, built in a very remarkable style, being the great entrance to the castle: it is formed by a circular arch, with a portico and interior gate; and is defended by two heavy semicircular towers, uniting with the superstructure of the gate-way these towers, after rising about 20 feet, and containing two tiers of apartments, support turrets of a square form, now so very rugged and ruinous as not to allow a conjecture what was their original height. This wall extends to the cliffs on the sea-banks, is guarded by two square bastions and a small sally-port, and is terminated by a square tower with a gate-way. On the brink of the cliff to the sea, on this quarter, appear the remains of a very strong wall; indeed it is probable the whole area was originally so enclosed. The heavy seas which break upon the rocks of the

north-west point have torn them much; and it appears as if the area had been originally of greater extent than at present, many separate columns of rock standing near the cliffs, which, some ages ago, may have been joined to the main land. At the south point of the area is the well. Near to the eastern tower are the remains of a chapel. Immediately below this tower is a gully or passage, of perpendicular sides, formed in the rocks, about 60 yards in length, and 40 feet deep, where the sea makes a dreadful inset, breaking into foam with a tremendous noise: the spray occasioned thereby is driven within the castle walls. This place is called by the country people the Rumble Churn. The gulph, viewed from the walls of the tower, has a very grand and awful appearance: you look immediately down upon the abyss, where, as the tide rushes up, the waters are lifted many feet above the common level, rising towards the walls of the tower, as if they would surmount the cliffs and deluge the plain. The breaking of the waves in foam over the extreme point of the rocks, the heavy spray, the noise of the disturbed waters, and the groan which echo returns through the desolated towers, are noble, though tremendous.*

Though this castle was probably a British strength, and afterwards a Roman castellum, yet it is not mentioned until the beginning of the 14th century, when it was founded, or rather rebuilt, by Thomas earl of Lancaster, general of the confederate army which opposed Edward III. He was also owner of Pomfret Castle, where, after being taken by the king's troops at Burrowbridge, he was imprisoned, and soon after decollated as a traitor; though afterwards he was canonized, and the place of his martyrdom took the name of St. Thomas's Hill. He was possessed of immense estates, and was the grandson of king Henry III. and the most powerful and opulent subject in Europe, holding at once the earldoms of Lancaster, Lincoln, Salisbury, Leicester, and Derby. The king sat personally on his trial, a remarkable circumstance. He was executed March 25, 1322, and buried on the south side of the high altar in the priory church there. Such veneration was paid to his tomb as the enthusiasts wasted on that of Becket.

In the succeeding reign, Henry, the brother of the martyr, obtained from parliament a reversion of the attainder, and restitution of the family honours and estates. He held great offices in government, was one of the guardians of king Edward III. by whom he was created Duke of Lancaster, and, on that investiture, had license to have his chancery within the duchy, and issue process there. We do not hear of this fortress being made memorable by any singular conflict, till the unfortunate conclusion of the affairs of king Henry VI. and the total destruction of the Rose of Lancaster. Queen Margaret, perceiving that the French succours were too inconsiderable to induce the Northumbrians to rise in her favour, made another voyage, and having borrowed a sum of money, and gained a reinforcement of 2000 men, in October, 1462, she landed near Bambrough. Her return with those aids did not yet induce the people of Northumberland to take up arms. Through the treachery of Sir Ralph Grey, the castle of Alnwick was surrendered to her. Margaret, hearing that king Edward was advancing with a numerous army, found it necessary again to seek re

* Mr. James Service, of Chatton, in 1820, published a poem entitled, "The Wandering Knight of Dunstanbrough Castle.”

fuge in Scotland: to this end she embarked; but a violent storm arising, she was in imminent peril, and at length gained the port of Berwick.* Breze, her general, with about 500 of his troops, were shipwrecked on Holy Island, where they were all slain or taken prisoners, except Breze himself, who escaped to the queen in a fishing-boat. Edward, on his arrival in Northumberland, finding no enemy in the field, laid siege to the castles of Alnwick, Bambrough, and Dunstanbrough; the latter of which, after holding out a considerable time, was at length taken by storm, and the garrison made prisoners: after which they dismantled this fortress, and as much as possible destroyed the fortifications; since which time it has lain in ruins. It appears, by the escheats of queen Elizabeth, to be in the possession of the crown in that reign. King James I. granted it to the Greys of Wark; and it is now in the possession of the earl of Tankerville.

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DUNSTAN. This small village, which lies south from the castle, is celebrated as the birth-place of Duns Scotus, the famous opposer of Aquinas. Some writers say he was a native of Dunse in Scotland, but in one of his MS. works are these words :---Explicit lectura Doctoris Subtiles in Universitate Oxoniensi super quartum librum sententiarum, silicet, Domini Johannes Duns, nati in quadam villula parochiæ de Emylton, vocata Dunstan, in Comitatu Northumbriæ, pertinente domici Scholarum de Merton Hall in Oxonia, et quondam socii dictæ domus." This place belongs to Merton college to this day. It is mostly occupied by the servants of Shafto Craster, Esq. who maintains a day-school here for the education of their children.

CRASTER SEA HOUSES is a small village, on an inlet of the sea, about six miles north-east from Alnwick, inhabited chiefly by fishermen. Craster Hall, which is * King Henry, the duke of Excestre, and the duke of Somersete, and other lordes that filed, had kepte Alnewicke, Banborow, Dunstanburgh, Warkworth, and mannid and intailid them. Syr Peers de Brasilo, the great warriour of Normandy, cam to help queen Margaret with French men, and XX. M. Scottes, and to remove king Edwardes men from Alnewik sige, and the residew of other castelles ther. By this meane both Edwardes men were aferde of the Scottes, as recoiling from the siege; and the Scottes aferd of Edwardes men, lest they had recoyled to bring them to a trap. And Henrys men issuyng owte of to much boldnes, gave Edwardes men oportunitie to enter into the castel.-Lel. Col. vol. i. p. 409.

+ The celebrated John Duns flourished about the close of the 13th and commencement of the 14th centuries. In his youth he was admitted into the priory of Franciscans, or Grey Friars, at Newcastle, and sent by them to complete his education at Merton College, Oxford, where he became a fellow, and distinguished himself by his proficiency in scholastic theology, civil and canon law, logic, metaphysics, mathematics, and astronomy. About the year 1301, he occupied the chair of theology in this university, and his fame drew a great number of scholars to attend upon his lectures. In 1304, he was appointed professor and regent in the university of Paris, where, from his singular subtilty in disputation, he was denominated "the most subtile 'doctor." Differing from Thomas Aquinas, "the angelical doctor," he formed a distinct sect, and hence proceeded the two denominations of Thomists and Scotists. He was a most zealous advocate for the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary. In 1808, he was deputed by the fraternity of Minors to teach theology at Cologne, where he was received with great pomp and sanguine expectations; but his sudden death disappointed the views and hopes of his admirers. A complete collection of his works, with the life of the author, was published by Lucas Waddingus, at Lyons, in 1639, in 12 volumes folio,