Royal Weymouth Volume 2 – Devonshire and Dialect

‘Royal Weymouth’ is a four-volume book that we hold within our collection. Like ‘The Extra Illustrated Edition of Hutchins’, it has been put together by A.M. Broadley, but instead of grangerising one book, these volumes are based around several accounts of the Royal visits to Weymouth by King George III and his family.

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Much of the second volume of Royal Weymouth focuses on the Kings trip to Cornwall and Devon as part of his tour of 1789.

One of the first things that caught our eye when we looked through this volume was the guidebook to Cotehele in Cornwall featuring illustrations by the Artist Nicholas Condy. The beautiful drawings of the stately rooms are accompanied by short descriptions by the Rev F. V. J. Arundell.

King George and the Royal Party visited Cotehele on 25^th August 1789. They took the Saltash Ferry up the river Tamar and admired the ancient house before returning to the water hoping to see the picturesque Salmon-Weir, but unfortunately the tide was against them and they never reached it.

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Another interesting document from this volume is an original letter written by Samuel, 1^st Viscount Hood, from onboard the HMS Victory in Toulon Harbor in 1793.

Samuel Hood was a British Naval Officer who commanded fleets in the American and French Wars. He was a mentor to Horatio Nelson and also presided at the court-martial of some of the survivors of the Mutiny on the Bounty.

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Finally we would like to mention the poem contained within this volume. It is called ‘The Royal Visit to Exeter’. This poem is an account of King George III’s trip to Exeter in 1789 from the point of view of John Ploughshare, a farmer from Morton Hampstead. It was written by John Wolcot, who wrote under the pseudonym Peter Pindar. He was known for his satirical verse.

The narrator of the poem speaks in Devonshire dialect and describes the excitement of the people at the prospect of seeing the king, whilst portraying the King as someone who was disappointingly ordinary. It also describes the fawning local dignitaries desperate to be noticed by the king.

During the visit the king spent very little visiting the public buildings of the town and after his initial arrival, dust stained and in his travelling gear as opposed to his royal regalia, the gathered masses were forced to be content with a glimpse of his head over the Bishop`s wall.

Zum of the Exeter voke suppose,

They plainly zeed his royal nose,

And zum his royal eyes,

And Lord! Whatever peart the zee`d

In this, they one and all agreed,

`Twas glorious gert and wize

Although the poem depicts the folk as excited to see their monarch, John Ploughshare himself finds it all a bit foolish and the poem ends with him suggesting he may have been wiser to stay at home than join the crowds.

A second poem by Peter Pindar, `The Royal Court and Weymouth Amusements` appears in volume 3 of this book. Look out for our next blog on Royal Weymouth to see what other treasures can be found in that volume.

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This blog follows our monthly series on the 12 extra-illustrated volumes of “Hutchins’ History and Antiquities of Dorset.” You can read the rest of the series through the links below:

Part one: An introduction to the history and antiquities of Dorset.

Part two: The Pitt family, a piano player, and a plague of caterpillars.

Part three: Coastline, Castles and Catastrophe

Part four: A Phenomenon, Fake News and a Philanthropist

Part five: Antiquities, Adventurers, and an Actress

Part six: A Gaol, a Guide and a Man of Great Girth

Part seven: Physicians, fires and false allegations

Part eight: Graves, Grangerising and a Man who wore Green

Part nine: Desertion, Drinks and a Diarist

Part ten: Music, medical miracles, and mills

Part eleven: Courtiers, Criminals, and Cuttings

Part twelve: An Abbey, the Arts, and the Athelhampton Ape