270
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io*s.m. APRIL 8,1005.
manor of the canons of Sb. Paul's, and
became property of the Greys of Wilton in
or about 1294 ; that Holborn was also a pre-
bendal manor of St. Paul's, and that Holborn
(or Old bourne) Manor House stood in Shoe
Lane (owner and date of erection not given).
But in most cases I have been unable to
confirm these statements. Blott, in his
1 Chronicle of Blemundsbury,' says that Roger
de Bellus-Mont or Bellomonte, alias Blemonte,
Blemund, was one of the Conqueror's favour-
ites, and was first Earl of Leicester, but was
better known as Earl of Mellent. He entered
into possession of the Royal Manor of Hol-
born, which afterwards bore the family name
of Blemundsbury, and of which he was first
lord. I shall be obliged if some one will
kindly tell me how I can prove these state-
ments without wading through countless
ancient volumes. O. S. P.
[Much information about the early history of Holborn will be found at 8 th S. ix. 185, 289, 369, 437 ; x. 15; xii. 310 : 9 th S. i. 48 ; 10 th S. ii. 308, 392, 457,493; iii. 56, 234.]
LANGLEY MEYNELL : SIR ROBERT FRANCIS. In an account given in Collins's ' Peerage ' (edited by Sir Egerton Brydges, vol. ii., pub. 1812) of the Newcastle family, it is said that Sir Thomas Clinton, who is believed to have lost his life in an expedition under John of Gaunt against the Spaniards about 1386,
"left by his wife Joan, daughter and coheir of Sir Hugh Meynell, of Langley Meynell, in Derbyshire, only a daughter, his heir, named Anne, marriec to Sir Robert Francis, of Formark, in com. Derb., whence is descended the present Sir Francis Burdett, Bart."
Can any of your readers inform me where this Langley Meynell is to be found in Derbyshire? Is it the place now callec Langley Mill 1
I should be glad also to have any par ticulars respecting the family of Sir Rouer Francis, of Formark, or his descendants.
JOSEPH RODGERS.
12, St. Hilda's, Whitby.
ROWSE OR Rons OF CRANSFORD, WES' SUFFOLK. I shall be glad to know if thi branch of the family of Rous is still repre sented in the direct male line. I have fu! particulars of the other branches, but th pedigrees of this branch given in the prints books abruptly terminate about thesixteent or seventeenth century. E. S. R.
HOUSE OF ANJOU. Can any one kindl tell me where to find a trustworthy an concise genealogical table of the House o Anjou? R. c. W.
THOMAS COOPER.
(10 th S. iii. 229.)
IN the first number of The Northern Tribune ^ewcastle-upon-Tyne, January, 1854), edited y Mr. Joseph Cowen, jun., afterwards pro- >rietor of The Newcastle Daily Chronicle and I. P. for the city, is a review of 'Alderman lalph ; or, the History of the Borough and Corporation of the Borough of Willowacre,' >y Adam Hornbook (London, Routledge & }o., 1853). It was an open secret at the time hat the author was Thomas Cooper, who was a contributor to the magazine, with leorge Jacob Holyoake, Goodwyn Barmby, 'axton Hood, Spencer T. Hall, "January Searle," W. J. Linton the engraver (from vhose private press at Braritwood the magazine was issued), and other kindred spirits. But I do not think that the author- ship was publicly avowed till, in 1872, Cooper published his autobiography. On pp. 334-6 )f that book he describes the completion of Alderman Ralph' early in the morning of
- he day of the Duke of Wellington's funeral.
3e had tried his hand at a novel before, which Chapman & Hall rejected ; then ' I threw aside the rejected manuscript and com- menced an entirely new story, which I finished on the morning of the Great Duke's funeral, and entitled 'Alderman Ralph.' I took this manuscript to Mr. Edward Chapman and asked him whether be would look it over and tell me whether he would publish it. He consented to receive it for c-o-n- 3-i-d-e-r-a-t-i-o-n. It was rejected, of course. I quite
expected that My novel was put into the hands
of Messrs. Routledge, and they received it and published it in 1853."
Cooper was paid 100. for this novel, and the same sum for another, ' The Family Feud ' ; with these two his excursions into novel-writing ended. RICHARD WELFORD.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The novel 'Alderman Ralph' was written by Thomas Cooper, the Chartist, at the suggestion of Mr. Edward Chapman, of the firm of Chapman & Hall, and was published in 1853 by Routledge. See Cooper's ' Auto- biography,' p. 334. The full title of the book is an elaborate one, and the work is described as " By Adam Hornbook, Student by his own Fireside and among his Neighbours when he can secure the Arm-Chair in the Corner." The book is not mentioned in the ' D.N.B.' list of Cooper's works. JOHN OXBERRY.
Gateshead-on-Tyne.
The book named and another, ' The Family Feud,' by the author of 'Alderman Ralph,' 1855, have been commonly attributed to
