conversions of faith according to
necessity, from the days of Charles II. until the accession of George I.
and the foundation of "the illustrious house of Hanover" (1714). One
Francis Carswell, who is buried in the church, was vicar for forty-two
years, approximately during this period, dying in 1709; but the legend
is earlier, and the name of the vicar who gave rise to it is not
certainly known. That of Simon Aleyn, who held the office from c. 1540
to 1588, is generally accepted, as, in the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward
VI., Mary and Elizabeth, he is said to have been successively Papist,
Protestant, Papist and Protestant. The name of Simon Simonds is also
given on the authority of the vicar of the parish in 1745; Simonds died
a canon of Windsor in 1551, but had been vicar of Bray. Tradition
ascribes the song to a soldier in Colonel Fuller's troop of dragoons in
the reign of George I.

BRAY, a seaport and watering-place of Co. Wicklow, Ireland, 12 m. S.S.E.
of Dublin on the Dublin & South-Eastern railway, situated on both sides
of the river Bray. Pop. of urban district (1901) 7424. For parliamentary
purposes it is divided between the eastern division of county Wicklow
and the southern of county Dublin. A harbour was constructed by the
urban district council (the harbour authority) which accommodates ships
of 400 tons. There is some industry in brewing, milling and fishing, but
the town, which is known as the "Irish Brighton," is almost wholly
dependent for its prosperity on visitors from Dublin and elsewhere. It
therefore possesses all the equipments of a modern seaside resort; there
is a fine sea-wall with esplanade upwards of a mile in length; the
bathing is good, and race meetings are held. The town is rapidly
increasing in size. The coast, especially towards the promontory of Bray
Head, offers beautiful sea-views, and some of the best inland scenery in
the county is readily accessible, such as the Glens of the Dargle and
the Downs, the demesne of Powerscourt, the Bray river, with its loughs,
and the pass of the Scalp. The demesne of Kilruddery, the seat of the
earls of Meath, is specially beautiful. About 1170 Bray was bestowed by
Richard de Clare or Strongbow, earl of Pembroke and Strigul, on Walter
de Reddesford, who took the title of baron of Bray, and built a castle.

BRAYLEY, EDWARD WEDLAKE (1773-1854), English antiquary and topographer,
was born at Lambeth, London, in 1773. He was apprenticed to