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Brief Lives, Vol. 1

Chapter 130: Note.
By John Aubrey
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BiographiesHistory - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)

About This Book

A collection of concise biographical sketches compiled from the author's manuscript notes, offering anecdotal portraits of a wide range of literary, scientific, political, and social figures across several generations. Entries blend remembered quotations, learned citation, personal recollection, and occasional gossip, producing uneven but vivid character sketches. Material is presented alphabetically and supplemented by antiquarian notes, a short theatrical piece, and facsimiles of manuscript drawings and plans. An introduction outlines editorial principles and reproduces the manuscript spellings and citations where appropriate, preserving the informality and immediacy of the original notes.

William Canynges (1399-1474).

[575]The antiquities of the city of Bristowe doe very well deserve some antiquarie's paines (and the like for Gloucester). Here were a great many religious houses. The collegiate church (priorie of Augustines) is very good building, especially the gate-house. The best built churches of any city in England, before these new ones at London since the conflagration. Severall monuments and inscriptions.

Ratliff church (which was intended[576] for a chapel) is an admirable piece of architecture of about Henry VII's time. It was built by alderman ... Canning, who had fifteen shippes of his owne (or 16). He gott his estate chiefly by carrying of pilgrims to St. Jago of Compostella. He had a fair house in Ratliff Street that lookes towards the water side, ancient Gothique building, a large house that, 1656, was converted to a glasse-house. See the annotations on Norton's Ordinall in Theatrum Chemicum, where 'tis sayd that Thomas Norton of Bristow got the secret of the philosopher's stone from alderman Canning's widow.

This alderman Canning did also build and well endow the religious house at Westbury or Henbury (vide Speede's mappe and chronicle); 'tis about two or three miles from Bristowe in the rode to Aust-passage.

In his old age he retired to this house and entred into that order. He built his owne monument at his church at Ratcliff where is an inscription, which gett[BR]; ☞ but he was not interred there but at Westbury.

Note.

[BR] See J. Britton's Historical and Architectural essay relating to Redcliffe Church, Bristol, with plans, views, account of its monuments, &c. 1813.