relating to any families of worth, merit, or antiquity in the county (as far as they concern this History, and have come to my hands) shall be faithfully inserted, together with all the ancient arms and inscriptions, that are any where found in the churches, or other places; as also all publick gifts and benefactions that I can meet with, in order to preserve them, as far as can be, from devouring time, and to animate others by those examples, to a worthy emulation of such charitable works, amiable to God and man. For the same reason it is, that I shall be very exact in my descriptions of the Churches, Chapels, &c. that posterity may know, what signal tributes of honour and reverence our ancestors paid to those holy places, which they generously built, richly adorned, and prudently set apart for God's worship. And I shall be as careful as I can, truly to transcribe the original names of places and persons, and not in the least vary the orthography of the ancients, but always represent them as they are in the originals, whether they be right or wrong, false language or true, by which means it will often happen, that the same word will be spelt many different ways in one page, and perhaps false language may occur as often; and in such places where inscriptions or evidences are partly illegible, I shall give them as they are, without variation, imagining, that though they be imperfect, I ought not to omit them, they being designed to perpetuate the memories of our once-flourishing ancestors, to future ages. At first I determined to have translated all the Latin inscriptions, for the English reader, but was prevailed upon to omit it, because if it be an inscription for any remarkable person, it will be hinted in the History, and then the translation would be of no other use, but to swell the book, and enhance the price, both which are contrary to my design, which is to comprise it in as little room as can be, without injuring the subject. I have added, for the use of the curious, an exact copy of Domesday to every town, and placed it (together with all the references) by way of note, that it may not be any hindrance to the reader, having referred to the several authors and originals that I have made use of, in all cases, except where the originals are either in Mr. Le Neve's or my own collections, which at present I design to join to his, so that being together they may be consulted at all times, and therefore to quote them would be labour to no purpose; but in all cases where my friends have been so
