Henry Machyn's Diary. 25 May 1551. The xxv day of May was be syd Rygatt [Map] and Croydon, Suttun [Map], and Darkyng [Map], a grett wondernus of herth.. and spesshall at Darkyng [Map], and in dyvers plasys .... pottes, panes, and dyssys donst, and mett felle doune ... abowt howse, and with mony odur thyngs.

Note. Earthquake. "The 25. daye of May, beyng Monday, betwene the howers of eleven and one of the clock at afternoone, was an earthquake of halfe a quarter of a howre long at Blechynglye, at Godstone, at Croydon, at Albery, and at divers other places in Southery and Myddlesexe." Stowe's Summarie.

Evelyn's Diary. 21 Aug 1655. I went to Ryegate [Map], to visit Mrs. Cary, at my Lady Peterborough's (age 33), in an ancient monastery well in repair, but the park much defaced; the house is nobly furnished. The chimney-piece in the great chamber, carved in wood, was of Henry VIII., and was taken from a house of his in Bletchingley. At Ryegate, was now the Archbishop of Armagh, the learned James Usher (age 74), whom I went to visit. He received me exceeding kindly. In discourse with him, he told me how great the loss of time was to study much the Eastern languages; that, excepting Hebrew, there was little fruit to be gathered of exceeding labor; that, besides some mathematical books, the Arabic itself had little considerable; that the best text was the Hebrew Bible; that the Septuagint was finished in seventy days, but full of errors, about which he was then writing; that St. Hierome's was to be valued next the Hebrew; also that the seventy translated the Pentateuch only, the rest was finished by others; that the Italians at present understood but little Greek, and Kircher was a mountebank; that Mr. Selden's best book was his "Titles of Honor"; that the church would be destroyed by sectaries, who would in all likelihood bring in Popery. In conclusion he recommended to me the study of philology, above all human studies; and so, with his blessing, I took my leave of this excellent person, and returned to Wotton, Surrey [Map].