138 NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 S. X. FEB. 18, 1922.
as he judged, she was about sixty-three years of age."
On p. 474 in the same volume of 'N. & Q.' a correspondent suggested that the "Mrs. Masters" who died at Brook, in Kent, Sept. 27, 1759, was Elizabeth, widow of Streynsham Master (sic) of Brook, in the parish of Wingham, Kent, who died on June 22, 1724, aged 43. This Elizabeth Master was the only daughter of Richard Oxenden, fifth son of Sir Henry Oxenden, Bt., of Dean, or Dene, in Wingham. Edward Bensly.
Evelyn Queries (12 S. x. 91).—I note; that Wheatley's edition, i. 36, says Andoyne not Audoyne.
Audoyne might well be for St. Ouen (Audoënus), the Benedictine Abbey of St. Ouen at Rouen, of which Guillaume de Montaigne was abbot from 1639-42 (see 'Gallia Christiana,' xi., col. 155, ed. of 1759). D. R. Webster.
ARAB (OR EASTERN) HORSES (12 S. x. 91). j
ARAB'S inquiry raises an interesting and j
difficult problem. Not only Professor j
Ridgeway, but many other writers in stan-
dard works on the thoroughbred horse make
the same statement, viz., that Charles II. ,
sent Sir John Fenwick to the Levant to pur- !
chase Barbs and Turks for the royal stud.
It is obvious that, so far as Charles II. is
concerned, he could, as King, not have dis-
patched the Sir John Fenwick who died two
years before the Restoration on this mission.
Mr. Robert Black, in his ' Horse Racing in
England,' states that Sir John Fenwick had
been stud-master both to Charles I. and
Charles II., but I venture to doubt the
accuracy of this assertion. If according to
tradition Charles II. did, in fact, dispatch
Sir John Fenwick to the Levant to purchase
horses and mares, it must have been the Sir
John Fenwick who was born c. 1645, and
beheaded for conspiracy in 1697. Now,
although there is an extensive account of
this worthy in the ' D.N.B.,' no mention
occurs of his having held office as " master of
the horse " or " stud-master." Macaulay,
however, in alluding to the state of England
in 1685, writes :
The importance of improving our studs by an
infusion of new blood was strongly felt ; and with
this view a considerable number of barbs had
lately been brought into the country. Two men,
whose authority on such subjects was held in
great esteem, the Duke of Newcastle and Sir John
Fenwick, pronounced that the meanest hack ever
imported from Tangier would produce a finer
progeny than could be expected from the best sire
of our native breed.
I doubt there being any record extant of
the number or sex of the Ajrabs and Barbs im-
ported in the reign of the " Merry Monarch."
WlLLOUGHBY MAYCOCK.
OXFORDSHIRE MASONS (12 S. x. 89). Sir
R. Bigland's ' History of Gloucestershire,'
under Barrington Parva, gives this inscrip-
tion on a gravestone :
In Memory of Joseph Beauchamp
and Ursuly his wife
They were buried February 28th 1726
He aged 71 years and she 73 years.
Taynton (Oxon) is near to Little Barring -
ton, and Edward Strong, jun., married one
Mary Beauchamp. Can anyone say if this
Mary Beauchamp was a daughter or sister
of the above-mentioned Joseph Beauchamp ,
and whether Edward and Ephraim Beacham
(or Beauchamp) belonged to the same
family ? I have been trying to trace the
origin of one Jacob Beacham who carried on
a builder's business at West Molesey, Surrey,
during the earlier part of the nineteenth cen-
tury, but without success, and if any reader
can furnish me with some particulars I
should much appreciate them.
T. C. TOMBS.
60, Harrow View, Harrow.
Two NAVAL PICTURES BY SERRES (12 S.
x. 93). As to the first picture, may I suggest
that the harbour in question is not Plymouth,
but Port Royal, Jamaica, which has a long
spit of land protecting the anchorage.
Sir George Rodney defeated the French
fleet on April 12, 1782, off Dominica and
captured the Ville de Paris (104), Glorieux
(74), Cesar (burnt), Hectar (74) and Ardent
(64). After refitting he retired with his
fleet to Jamaica, where he was on July 10,
when he was superseded. On July 25 Rear-
Admiral Graves sailed from Jamaica for
England with a squadron convoying the
French prizes and 100 sail of merchantmen.
He encountered a hurricane, and the
Ramillies, Centaur, Ville de Paris, Glorieux
and Hectar foundered.
The second picture probably represents
one of the preliminary actions. The For-
midable (98) was Rodney's flagship and the
Namur (90) was also in the battle.
The previous Jan. 16, 1780, off Cape
St. Vincent, Rodney attacked a Spanish
squadron of eleven ships of the line, and of
nine engaged only two escaped and Gibraltar
- was relieved. On April 17, 1780, off