30
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. HI. JA*. w,
is possible that ' N. & Q.' may come to the
rescue and fix the point for ever. At a guess,
I should say that the old top hat and cut-
away coat (with "ducks" in summer) lasted
up to 1864 or 1865, when the present uniform
came in.
The transformation of the "'bus "is more difficult to determine. Again, one might hazard a "shot" that it began not much before 1887, or even later. Whether the aboli- tion of the door and the introduction of the staircase were simultaneous it would be hard to say. Certainly some omnibuses were spoken of, by way of distinction, as "stair- case " omnibuses as late as 1889 and 1890 ; and even then the knifeboard prevailed. The "garden seats," as a universal practice, are not much more than a decade old.
I have heard elderly people declare that they " cannot remember " such a thing as an omnibus with a door. PHILIP NORTH.
POLAR INHABITANTS. In the 'Maxims, Characters, and Reflections' of Fulke Gre- ville, published without the author's name in 1756 (p. 27), we are told that "the two polar regions of the globe are fabled to be inhabited, one by giants, the other by pigmies, and both are most uncomfortable climates." From what source did Greville derive this piece of folk-lore ? K. P. D. E.
_ SPANISH ARMS. Can your readers kindly give me the bearers of the following arms, blazoned on some fine Hispano - Mauresque majolica, dating circa 1500 ?
1. Sable, three Catherine wheels or, on a chief azure three fleurs-de-lis of the second.
2. Arg.. an eagle displayed azure.
3. Party per pale, dexter as in No. 2 ; sinister, Az., a bend or. H. 2.
TRIPLICATE WRITING. I want to hear of the best kind of manuscript book for writing in in triplicate all three copies to be on fairly stout, and not flimsy, paper, and the writing clear and permanent. Carbon sheets are, I suppose, essential. Can any one re- commend such a book 1
GEORGE F. T. SHERWOOD. 50, Beecrofb Road, Brockley, S.E.
HOLYROOD FONT This font was removed from Holy rood by Sir R. Lee in 1544. After defacing it with an inscription he presented it to St. Alban's Abbey. It appears to have been taken from the abbey during the Civil War. I shall be glad to know whether any description of the font exists, and if it was destroyed on being removed from the abbey
Q. W. V.
SIR WALTER L'ESPEC.
(10 th S. ii. 287, 513.)
IT is rather odd to see the great and munifi- cent Baron of Helrnslac in Yorkshire styled "Sir Walter." It is little wonder that families of his name desired to trace some relationship, but descendants they could not be, as his sisters Hawise, Albreda, and Odeline were his heirs. He himself was the heir, probably son, of " Willelm Spech," who held in 1086 (Dora. Bk. i. 214b and 215) Wardon and other manors in Bedfordshire in cajnte, for these descended to him.
In Devonshire in 1166 we find Richard " Espec " holding three knights' fees of Robert FitzRoy, and (Richard " Spec ") one of the Honor of William de Traci (' Liber Niger,' 120, 121). This Richard de " Espech," as husband of (Margaret?) the daughter and heiress of William de " Treiminettes " ("de tribus Minutis"), of " Branford," confirmed to the church of St. Nicholas at Exeter and the monks of Battle, there serving God, the advowson of St. Peter at Branforf, given them by Walter de Tribus Minutis and William his son, whose daughter "I married" ("duxi uxorem"). Robert "Espac"oneof the witnesses. This grant was further confirmed, first by Robert "de Espech," as son (and heir) of Richard "Espec," and witnessed by Master Alard, then Sheriff of Devon ; and afterwards by William " Espech," as son of Richard and brother (and heir) of Robert " Espac." This priory at Exeter was a cell of Battle Abbey (Coll. Top et Gen., i. 62, 382).
This is how the family of Speke became possessed of Brampford-Speke, so called after them to this day. I do not see how " L'Espec " could ever have meant "Spicer." Norman | surnames were derived from a great variety j of sources ; even opprobrious nicknames were handed down, and the names of animals and birds were used. Anyhow, the only example of a similar word given in Du Fresne's edition of Du Cange's ' Glossary ' is " Espec, nunc Pivert: 1'oiseau a plumage jaune et vert," identified as the green woodpecker.
If this was the origin of the surname it would make it more probable that all who bore it were descended from one so nick- named, from some personal peculiarity that suggested its being given him, perhaps per- severance in going through with anything he undertook, returning again and again if foiled.
"De tribus Minutis" is another peculiar surname, possibly originally given to one for
