An article in the last issue of " The Peterite " on " School Buildings of the Past " mentioned that " the earliest extant plan of York (1611) shows the Horsefair building sited on the west side of what is now Clarence Street." The reference has evoked from Mr. S. M. Toyne the gift of a copy of the map in question. The School will be the richer for the possession of this early plan of York, recording as it does the situation of the buildings which St. Peter's occupied from 1557 to 1644 the earliest premises, in fact, of which the location is known with certainty. We are indebted to Mr. Toyne for his rare gift, and would record here our appreciation and thanks. We should like, too, in the interests of accuracy, to correct an error. As Mr. Toyne pointed out An his letter to the Editor, the map—John Speed's " The West Ridinge of Yorkshyre with the most famous and fayre citie of York described "—was published in 1610, and not, as we stated, in 1611. Further inquiry, moreover, has revealed that the assertion in our article (based, unfortunately without verification, on a statement in a recently published history of York) is inaccurate in another particular, since it is not quite the earliest extant plan. The earliest known map of the City is that published by Remy Hogenberg, in 1574, in his " Theatres des cites du monde," a copy of which is in the possession of the York Museum. On its reverse there is a lengthy description of Eboracum in Latin. Hogenberg's plan is thus earlier than Speed's (which we reproduce above) by 36 years. Indeed, there is little doubt that Speed copied shamelessly from his predecessor. Some variations in the references and a few additions and omissions make a superficial difference (Speed, for example, is generous in the matter of windmills, and gives us eleven to Hogenberg's six), but a careful comparison shows that the two plans are essentially the same. Peterites, however, will be grateful to Speed in that, in his attempt to create an illusion of originality, he modified his prototype by the addition of " The Free Shole." This addition, of supreme importance to us, can be seen on the northern edge of the plan and places the Horsefair premises some 120 paces beyond the junction of Lord Mayor's Walk and Gillygate. Speed was a prolific cartographer, and his publication " Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain embraces most of the counties and chief cities of the country. His map of York was reproduced by R. Hermannida, of Amsterdam, in a " Britannia Magna, sive Insularum Britannicarum geographico —historica descriptio," published in 1611 (the year after the original publication), and it is clear that here we have the error in dating which we reproduced in our article. Speed's map, indeed, remained the standard plan of York for some years to come. Christopher Saxton uses it as an inset to a map of the North Riding published in 1:642, and it forms the basis of a curious French " Plan de Yorke," made in 1650 by an unknown author, whose initials are S.A.R., which is to be found in the British Museum. This plan, part of a series of English and foreign towns depicted in water colours, is unique in that it concerns itself mainly with fortifications and churches. None the less, it is sufficiently aware of the interests of Peterite posterity to give its own version of Speed's " Free Shole." Unfortunately for accuracy, " la franche ecole had left the Horsefair six years previously. ;
J.T.C. The company has carried out a very full programme this term, for the most part with a very satisfactory standard of efficiency. Two field days have been held. The first took place on Thursday, 17th May, when the company again conducted its operations in the Overton area. Half the company represented a body of parachutists, "dropped " a mile or so to the north of Overton, whilst the remainder started from the bottleneck at the north end of the Ings, to occupy the important positions of the area, and to round up the enemy. The defenders reached Overton first, and held their ground for a time. At length the enemy launched a successful attack, and, on the whole, carried the day. 19
