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diff --git a/43246-0.txt b/43246-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..019a18d --- /dev/null +++ b/43246-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9928 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43246 *** + +Transcriber's Note: + + Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have + been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. + + Italic text is denoted by _underscores_, bold text by =equal + signs=, and spaced text by ~tildes~. + + Four advertisements originally at the front of this book were moved to + join the rest of the advertisements at the back. + + + + + THE MOTOR ROUTES + OF ENGLAND + + WESTERN SECTION + + + + + ALREADY PUBLISHED + IN THE SAME SERIES + + MOTOR ROUTES + OF ENGLAND + + _SOUTHERN SECTION_ + (South of the Thames) + + With 24 Illustrations in Colour + + 'The touring motorist ... will find Mr. Home exactly the + sort of companion who will add sensibly to the pleasures of + the day's run. All along the main roads he gossips brightly + of history, architecture, and archæology, and manages to + convey a large amount of information without being + unpleasantly didactic.' + + _Pall Mall Gazette._ + + + THE MOTOR ROUTES + OF FRANCE + + _TO THE CHÂTEAUX COUNTRY, + BIARRITZ, THE PYRENEES, + THE RIVIERA, AND THE + RHONE VALLEY_ + + Containing 16 full-page Illustrations in Colour, 16 in Black + and White, and 63 Maps and Plans + + 'A guide-book of a modern and very superior kind; eminently + practical, admirably concise, sufficiently detailed and + comprehensive, and, in addition, beautifully illustrated + and bound.'--_Standard._ + + 'The traveller who has this work for a companion may feel + assured that he will miss little of interest or importance + along the way.'--_Westminster Gazette._ + + A. AND C. BLACK, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON + + + AGENTS + + AMERICA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + 64 & 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK + + AUSTRALASIA OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS + 205 FLINDERS LANE, MELBOURNE + + CANADA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD. + ST. MARTIN'S HOUSE, 70 BOND STREET, TORONTO + + INDIA MACMILLAN & COMPANY, LTD. + MACMILLAN BUILDING, BOMBAY + 309 BOW BAZAAR STREET, CALCUTTA + + GERMANY, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, } + RUSSIA, SCANDINAVIA, AND } BROCKHAUS AND PEHRSSON + GERMAN SWITZERLAND } 16 QUERSTRASSE, LEIPZIG + + + + + [Illustration: DISTANT VIEW OF BETTWS-Y-COED.] + + + + + THE + MOTOR ROUTES + OF ENGLAND + + BY + GORDON HOME + + (_ASSISTED BY CHARLES H. ASHDOWN_) + + WESTERN SECTION + WITH + 16 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR, AND + 16 TOWN PLANS AND 26 ROUTE MAPS + + ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK + SOHO SQUARE, LONDON · MCMXI + + + + +PREFACE + + +There have been many inquiries for this new volume of the 'Motor +Routes of England,' which I should have been glad to publish a year +ago had the necessary time been at my disposal. Finding that there was +little chance of getting the book out even this year, I obtained the +help of Mr. Charles H. Ashdown, who has written a considerable portion +of the letterpress under my supervision. We motored over a great part +of the routes together last year, and part of North Wales, which I had +no time to visit, Mr. Ashdown motored through in my car without me. +Although he knew the country intimately, I thought it better, from the +motorist's point of view, that he should go through the district +afresh. I hope, therefore, that, having taken great pains to give the +latest available information, this book will prove of use to all who +take their cars into Wales and those parts of England which are +included. + +As in the previous volumes of this series, I am greatly indebted to +the Secretary of the Touring Department of the Royal Automobile Club +for his exceedingly kind assistance in working out the routes. They +are planned on the accumulated experience of a great many members of +the club, who have placed their knowledge at the disposal of their +fellow-members. + +My experience of the Daimler 38 h.-p. car in which we toured through +the greater part of Wales and the adjoining English counties was, as +before, entirely satisfactory. We never had to give a thought to the +running of the car in the hundreds of miles of mountainous roads we +traversed. + +Although the route maps accompanying the text are generally sufficient +for all the ordinary needs of the touring motorist, I do not think it +desirable to travel without the sheets of Bartholomew's +half-an-inch-to-the-mile reduced survey maps. The coloured contours +are of such service in showing the chief features of the surrounding +country that I always feel happier with them. The sheets required for +this book are numbered 8, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, +29, 30. + +I have been asked by those who have used the previous volumes of this +series to give a list of hotels, and in that printed at the end of +this book I give the names of those hotels I can recommend. I shall be +exceedingly grateful to any reader who discovers any inaccuracies in +this book if he will be kind enough to let me hear of them. + + GORDON HOME. + + 43, GLOUCESTER STREET, + WARWICK SQUARE, + LONDON, S.W. + _May 1, 1911._ + + + + +CONTENTS + + + TRUNK ROUTE + + SECTION PAGE + + I. LONDON TO DUNSTABLE, 32 MILES 1 + II. DUNSTABLE TO ATHERSTONE, 72½ MILES 18 + III. ATHERSTONE TO SHREWSBURY, 59 MILES 29 + + + LOOP No. 1 + + (a) SHREWSBURY TO CHESTER, 39½ MILES 38 + (b) CHESTER TO MOLD AND RHYL, 35½ MILES 52 + (c) RHYL TO SHREWSBURY, 86½ MILES 61 + + + TRUNK ROUTE + + IV. SHREWSBURY TO LLANDUDNO, 81½ MILES 75 + V. LLANDUDNO TO BANGOR, 18¾ MILES 89 + + + LOOP No. 2 + + BANGOR TO BETTWS-Y-COED, 20¼ MILES 98 + + + TRUNK ROUTE + + VI. Bangor to Dolgelley, 65¾ Miles 103 + + + LOOP No. 3 + + DOLGELLEY TO CEMMAES VIA TAL-Y-LLYN, 40 MILES 119 + + + LOOP No. 4 + + CEMMAES TO ABERYSTWYTH AND LLANGURIG, 49¾ MILES 127 + + + TRUNK ROUTE + + VII. DOLGELLEY TO LLANGURIG, 48¼ MILES 134 + + + LOOP No. 5 + + (a) TALGARTH TO ST. DAVID'S, 117¼ MILES 142 + (b) ST. DAVID'S TO HEREFORD, 132¼ MILES 162 + + + TRUNK ROUTE + + VIII. LLANGURIG TO ABERGAVENNY, 68 MILES 180 + IX. ABERGAVENNY TO GLOUCESTER, 84¼ MILES 189 + + + LOOP No. 6 + + (a) HEREFORD TO SHREWSBURY, 54¾ MILES 219 + (b) SHREWSBURY TO HEREFORD, 81¼ MILES 232 + + + LOOP No. 7 + + GLOUCESTER TO BATH, MALMESBURY, EVESHAM, + TEWKESBURY, AND GLOUCESTER, 153 MILES 243 + + + TRUNK ROUTE + + X. GLOUCESTER TO OXFORD, 50 MILES 269 + + + LOOP No. 8 + + OXFORD TO STRATFORD-ON-AVON, COVENTRY, BANBURY, + AND OXFORD, 110 MILES 280 + + + TRUNK ROUTE + + XI. OXFORD TO LONDON, 67½ MILES 305 + + + TABLE OF THE SOVEREIGNS OF ENGLAND, THE CHIEF + EVENTS OF THEIR REIGNS, AND THE ARCHITECTURAL + PERIODS 320 + + A LIST OF MOTOR-CAR SIGNS 323 + + A LIST OF HOTELS 326 + + INDEX 327 + + +NOTE.--Anyone wishing to plan a tour including the West of England and +Wales will find that this book joins with the Southern Section volume +at Bath and Windsor, and the large maps at the end of the books will +show other points between those places where the motorist can run from +one book into the other with only the slightest gap. + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + 1. Distant View of Bettws-y-Coed. _Frontispiece_ + + FACING PAGE + + 2. Lichfield Cathedral 32 + + 3. Shrewsbury House, Chester 65 + + 4. Swallow Falls, near Bettws-y-Coed 72 + + 5. Conway from Benarth 89 + + 6. Conway Valley 96 + + 7. Distant View of Penmaenmawr 113 + + 8. Snowdon from Traeth Mawr 120 + + 9. Hereford Cathedral from the Banks of the Wye 176 + + 10. The Wye, Symond's Yat, near Monmouth, Herefordshire 185 + + 11. Coming Night, near Beddgelert 201 + + 12. Tintern Abbey 208 + + 13. Church Porch at Northleach 281 + + 14. Stratford-on-Avon 288 + + 15. Ford's Hospital, Coventry 297 + + 16. Magdalen Tower and Bridge, Oxford 304 + + _Map showing the whole of the routes at the end of volume._ + + + + +LIST OF PLANS + + + PAGE + + 1. St. Albans 7 + + 2. Dunstable 16 + + 3. Shrewsbury 77 + + 4. Chester 44 + + 5. Conway 91 + + 6. Carnarvon 106 + + 7. Hereford 177 + + 8. Worcester 237 + + 9. Gloucester 212 + + 10. Tewkesbury 265 + + 11. Cheltenham 271 + + 12. Oxford 307 + + 13. Warwick 291 + + 14. Leamington 294 + + 15. Coventry 299 + + 16. Bath 251 + + + Chester Cathedral 46 + + Valle Crucis Abbey 72 + + Carnarvon Castle 107 + + St. David's Cathedral 159 + + Gloucester Cathedral 215 + + + + +THE + +MOTOR ROUTES OF ENGLAND + +WESTERN SECTION + +SECTION I + +(TRUNK ROUTE) + +THE HOLYHEAD ROAD + +LONDON TO DUNSTABLE, 32 MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + + =London-Marble Arch= to Elstree 11½ + =Elstree= to St. Albans 8 + =St. Albans= to Dunstable 12½ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +From the =Marble Arch= to =Elstree= the surface is very good, in spite +of trams for part of the way. + +=Elstree= to =St. Albans=.--A hilly but good road. + +=St. Albans.=--Speed limit, 10 miles per hour; dangerous cross-roads +in centre of town. + +=St. Albans= to =Dunstable=.--Excellent surface, almost level. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Edgware.=--An old-fashioned village. + +=Elstree.=--A charmingly situated village, overlooking Aldenham Park. + +The road through Highgate, Finchley, and Barnet passes the following +places on the way to St. Albans: + + =Chipping Barnet.=--A growing town, much modernized; church, + Perpendicular style, but recently almost entirely rebuilt. + + =Monken Hadley.=--A pretty village; interesting church with cradle + beacon affixed to tower; obelisk of Battle of Barnet. + + =South Mimms.=--Small village; Perpendicular church, with traces of + Early English; the Frowyke Chapel, with effigy. + + =Salisbury Hall.=--A sixteenth-century moated grange. + +=St. Albans.=--Cathedral, Early Norman (1077) to Decorated, of +exceptional interest; great gateway of the monastery; Roman walls of +_Verulamium_ and British causeway; medieval clock-tower; sites of the +two battles; St. Michael's Church, Saxon, with monument of Bacon; old +timbered houses. + +=Redbourne.=--Small village; church, Norman and Early English; fine +chancel screen. + +=Dunstable.=--Ancient town, with earthworks; Priory Church, Transition +Norman, impressive west front. + + +THE STARTING-POINT + +The best and most direct route from London to the finest scenery in +Wales, as well as to many of the most picturesque towns and districts +in the western half of the central or midland portion of England, is +the Holyhead Road. The older route books invariably give the General +Post Office as the best starting-point, and this has been indicated +on the route map on this page, and that road beyond Barnet is +described, but as the Edgware Road is so much preferable in many ways, +the distances by that way are given at the head of this section. From +the Marble Arch the road goes as straight as an arrow, passing through +Maida Vale, Brondesbury, and Cricklewood. The Welsh Harp Reservoir is +crossed, and the villages of Edgware and Elstree passed through, and +the road from Barnet is joined at St. Albans. + +[Map: (TRUNK) No. 1. LONDON TO DUNSTABLE.] + +By the older route shown in the map the first open country is not +reached until Barnet is passed. Barnet itself is now a suburban town +without any interest. + + +MONKEN HADLEY + +Upon leaving Barnet, a slight detour to the right, occupying a few +minutes, leads to Monken Hadley Church, of varied styles of +architecture. It stands upon high ground near the road, and is +picturesquely surrounded by trees and pleasantly situated old houses +on a village green. The iron cradle beacon affixed to the tower is an +object of great rarity. It was used in past times to signal the +approach of disturbers of the peace. A tall obelisk near the church +was erected early in the eighteenth century to mark the site of the +battlefield of Barnet, 1471, immortalized in Bulwer Lytton's 'Last of +the Barons,' and memorable for the death of the great King-maker. A +road with a few easy turns in it leads back to the main route. It +passes ~Wrotham Park~, the seat of the Rev. the Earl of Strafford, whose +family name is Byng. Within one of the rooms the oak cabin of the +flag-ship once occupied by Admiral Byng has been erected, conveyed +thither when the vessel was broken up. Since 1757, when the Admiral +was shot upon his own quarter-deck, _pour encourager les autres_, no +Byng has entered the navy, the family having transferred its +allegiance to the army as a mild protest. + + +SOUTH MIMMS + +The church contains traces of Early English architecture, but the main +features are Perpendicular. In the Frowyke Chapel, separated from the +church by a Perpendicular parclose screen, is a well-preserved effigy +of the Transition period and an interesting brass let in the floor. +The door to the vanished rood-loft is in good condition, and a +low-side window may be found in the chancel. Thomas de Frowyke, died +1448, is buried under the tower; the inscription states that six sons +and twelve daughters furnished the matrimonial quiver. The +ecclesiologist with time upon his hands will find an interesting +church at North Mimms, about two miles across country (see map), +standing in the grounds of an Elizabethan mansion. From South Mimms a +long and easy ascent leads to the summit of Ridge Hill, where the +massive tower of St. Alban's fane comes into view in the midst of a +beautiful landscape. An equally long and easy descent leads to a turn, +where a cottage stands upon the left, at some white gates. This is the +entrance to ~Salisbury Hall~, a picturesque moated grange of exceptional +interest, with quaint gables, twisted chimneys, and beautiful +surroundings. Originally built in the time of Henry VIII. by Sir John +Cutts, Treasurer of England, it subsequently was occupied by the +well-known Sir Jeremy Snow. Nell Gwynn was often here, recouping from +Court revels, and tradition asserts that Prince Charles sought refuge +within its walls after the Battle of Worcester. Visitors are generally +permitted to walk up to the farmyard to see the front of the house. At +~London Colney~ a piece of water is crossed. ~Tyttenhanger~ lies to the +right, at a distance of about two miles; it was the country house of +the Abbots of St. Albans, and has been adapted to modern requirements. +The road from here to St. Albans is easy, but care should be exercised +at the cross-roads in the centre of the town, where a policeman +generally regulates traffic. + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 1--ST. ALBANS.] + +ST. ALBANS + +A walk through the cloisters opposite the Great Red Lion Hotel affords +a striking view of a considerable part of the vast Abbey Church, the +most ancient of the great churches in England. It stands upon higher +ground than any other cathedral in the British Isles, and is the +longest next to Winchester. It possesses, moreover, the longest Gothic +nave in the world. The Norman tower, dating from 1077, is composed of +Roman bricks from the neighbouring _Verulamium_, and flints, bricks, +and stone from the same site may be detected in the walls. The walk +leads round to the southern part of the church, through the ancient +sumpter-yard, with its fine old cedar, and thence to the west front, +the site of the demolished monastery showing in irregular heaps upon +the left. + +_The nave is open to the public free of charge. Sixpence is charged +for entrance to the eastern portions (threepence each for a party of +ten). Open from_-- + + _November 1 to February 28_ _10 a.m. to 4 p.m._ + _March 1 to April 30_ } _10 a.m. to 5 p.m._ + _September 16 to October 31_ } + _May 1 to September 15_ _10 a.m. to 6 p.m._ + + +_Building Dates._ + +_Roman Period._--St. Alban was executed upon this spot, presumably in +the amphitheatre, in 303, and a church was erected to his memory by +the Christians of Verulam in 313, which was still standing in Bede's +time. + +793. Offa the Great, King of Mercia, founded the monastery, and either +repaired and enlarged the Romano-British church or built a new one. + +1077. Shortly after the Conquest, Paul de Caen, a relative of +Lanfranc, was appointed the first Norman abbot, and proceeded to +demolish the church, subsequently erecting a great Norman building in +its place, the remains of which--viz., the tower, transepts, parts of +the nave and the presbytery--still remain. + +On entering by the west front, which has been rebuilt by Lord +Grimthorpe, the first part of the nave is Early English, dating from +_c._ 1214, and one of the best examples in England. Farther on Norman +bays, dating from 1077, are upon the north, while opposite them are +Decorated Gothic bays, built _c._ 1323 to replace the Norman work +which had fallen. The screen has been despoiled; it was erected in +1350. Passing through the door, the abbot's entrance from the +cloisters is seen upon the right, and the south transept is reached, +having a curious feature, the slype of Transition Norman work at the +south end. The tower dates from 1077, and is the largest and heaviest +of the Norman towers now remaining in England. Eight of the baluster +columns round the triforia are from the former Saxon church, and date +from 793. The choir-stalls are new, and above them is a remarkable +ceiling, the panels dating from 1368 to 1450. The north transept is +the reputed site of St. Alban's martyrdom. In the presbytery is the +high-altar screen, only rivalled by that at Winchester, and dating +from 1484. It is the work of Abbot Wallingford, was despoiled at the +Reformation, and recently restored by the late Lord Aldenham. South of +it lies the chantry tomb of Abbot Wheathampstead, and north that of +Abbot Ramryge. Leaving by the north door, the presbytery aisle is +reached, partly Norman and partly Early English. The old doors from +the west front preserved here date from the time of Henry VI. +Proceeding eastwards, the entrance to the Saint's Chapel is on the +right. Here is the far-famed shrine of St. Alban, or rather the +pedestal of the shrine, since the shrine itself was portable, and +rested upon the top of the structure. It dates from 1306, was +demolished in 1539, and built up in the three lancets at the east end +of the chapel. When the arches were opened some time since, the +fragments were recovered and put together. The tomb of Humphrey, Duke +of Gloucester (died, or murdered, 1447; see Shakespeare, _Henry VI._, +Part II.), stands on the south of the chapel; the coffin may be seen +by raising the trap-door. On the north side is the Watching Gallery, +where a monk sat to guard the shrine and its treasures. It dates from +_c._ 1400. There is only one other in England. + +Leaving by the north door again, the shrine of St. Amphibalus, dating +from 1350, is seen. It was likewise demolished at the Reformation. The +Lady Chapel and its ante-chapel were erected between 1260 and 1320, +and exhibit Early English and Decorated architecture. They have been +restored under Lord Grimthorpe. Forty nobles who fell in the first +Battle of St. Albans are interred here. At the Reformation the chapels +were converted into school premises for St. Albans Grammar School, and +used as such for 300 years. The stone carving is particularly +beautiful. Passing out by the south door, an altar slab is seen, with +its five crosses; a grille, dating from _c._ 1270, which is the only +trellis screen in England; and upon the south the openings to former +external chapels. In the Wheathampstead Chapel may be seen the brass +of Abbot de la Mare (1349 to 1396), reputed to be the finest +ecclesiastical brass in existence. + +The ~Great Gateway of the Monastery~, opposite to the west front of the +Abbey Church, dates from 1361, and now forms part of St. Albans +Grammar School, one of the oldest, if not _the_ oldest, scholastic +foundations in the kingdom. It was probably founded in the reign of +King Edred, about 948, and among the eminent personages attending it +have been Alexander Nequam, foster-brother of Richard I.; Matthew +Paris, who left the school in 1217 and entered the monastery; Sir John +Mandeville, the famous writer of his supposed travels, who lies buried +in the abbey; and Nicholas Breakspere, born in 1090, who subsequently +became Pope of Rome, the only Englishman who has attained to that +dignity. In 1195 the school was the largest in England. In 1381 the +gates were forced by the rioters in Wat Tyler's rebellion and the +precincts of the monastery invaded; and in 1480 the third +printing-press in England was set up in the building. Among +post-Reformation scholars one of the most distinguished was Francis +Bacon. + +At the bottom of the lane leading from the monastery gateway is the +well-known Fighting Cocks Inn, reputed to be the oldest inhabited +house in Britain, and a few steps from it the River Ver. Crossing the +stream, the British causeway is reached, one of the most ancient +earthworks in Great Britain, and the Roman walls lie just beyond. The +visitor here stands upon soil which recalls memories of the earliest +period in the chronology of English history. + +~Verulamium.~--At the time of Cæsar's invasion, 54 B.C., Cassivelaunus +was ruling over a great tract of country, with his capital at +_Verulamium_, the home of a long line of ancestors. The Roman general +captured the city and exacted tribute. In A.D. 42 the town submitted +to the Romans under Aulus Plautius, but was sacked and burnt by +Boadicea and her followers in A.D. 61. Rebuilt and fortified with +walls and towers, it was the first Roman city built in Britain. Its +area is 203 acres. In A.D. 58 Nero made it a _municipium_, or free +city, York being the only other town so honoured. It was essentially a +trading and residential city, and became the capital of Southern +Britain. In 303 St. Alban was led out of the gates and martyred upon +Holmhurst, where the Abbey Church was subsequently erected. By 436 the +Roman occupation had ceased, and swarms of Picts and Scots, Irish +pirates, and Northmen overran the district. Many battles were fought, +and in 516 _Verulamium_ was sacked and burnt. It served as a quarry +for many hundreds of years, yielding building materials for the +monastery and town. The only Roman theatre as yet discovered in +Britain came to light about fifty years since, and the foundations of +the largest building as yet unearthed in our islands were revealed a +few years ago. The thorough excavation of the whole site is being +mooted at the present time. + +~St. Michael's Church~ is of Saxon architecture, dating from 948. It +contains an Elizabethan pulpit with hour-glass stand, and the tomb and +statue of Francis Bacon, Viscount St. Albans. + +The ~Two Battles of St. Albans~ were fought in 1455 and 1461, the first +chiefly in St. Peter's Street and its byways, and the second upon +Bernard's Heath, lying to the north of St. Peter's Church, in whose +churchyard many thousands of the slain were interred. + +The ~Clock Tower~ in the High Street dates from 1410, and contains a +medieval bell of beautiful workmanship, _c._ 1403, the curfew bell. + +Other objects of interest in St. Albans are Sopwell Ruins, St. +Stephen's Church, and Gorhambury, two miles distant, the house of the +Bacons. + + * * * * * + +Shortly after leaving St. Albans by the Redbourn road, the River Ver +is crossed at Bow Bridge, and here the Watling Street from London, +which has passed through the centre of Verulam, joins the road, and +from this point until Chester is reached the way lies almost entirely +upon this great Roman artery. It is intact from London to St. +Stephen's Church, St. Albans, and, with a few gaps, from near Bow +Bridge to Chester. + +At ~Redbourn~ a few quaint old houses still linger in the long, narrow +street. To reach the church, which is Norman and Early English, a turn +to the left is taken at the entrance to the village. It contains a +very fine chancel screen. + +Flamstead lies half a mile off the main road, at the summit of a steep +hill. The church has recently been restored--a restoration in the true +sense of the word. + +A long, steady rise through beautiful country eventually leads to + + +DUNSTABLE + +The modern town is successor to the ancient station of _Durocobrivæ_ +and a great Roman market, the _Forum Dianæ_. + +[Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 2--DUNSTABLE.] + +The district is remarkably rich in British and Roman remains: Maiden +Bower, a circular British earthwork, and Totternhoe, a combined +British and Roman fort, lie at short distances from the town (see +Map). The Watling Street is crossed here in the centre of the town by +the Icknield Way, and a piece of the Roman road was exposed near this +spot, which was 9 inches thick and intensely hard, of cemented flints +and sandstone. + +Turning to the right, along Church Street (part of the Icknield Way), +the priory church, with its beautiful west front, is seen upon the +right. + +~Dunstable Priory Church.~--Founded 1131, the church is but a fragment +of that which formerly stood here. Tower, transepts, chancel, and Lady +Chapel have disappeared, and even the nave, which remains, has been +curtailed. The body of Queen Eleanor rested here in 1290 upon its +progress to London; and in 1533 Archbishop Cranmer held his court in +the church, and formally divorced Queen Catherine of Aragon from the +King. The priory was dissolved in 1534. The greater part of the +building is Transition Norman, the chevron and billet ornamentation +being of excellent workmanship. The north aisle is Perpendicular. In +the chancel are ten balusters of Flemish design and execution. +Undoubtedly the great feature of the building is the exquisite west +front, which, though suffering in parts from recent restoration, still +delights the ecclesiologist. It contains four orders of architecture, +which effectually harmonize with one another. + +Mr. Worthington G. Smith, the eminent local antiquary, has written a +most admirable handbook to the town, which will supplement these brief +particulars. + + + + +SECTION II + +(TRUNK ROUTE) + +DUNSTABLE TO ATHERSTONE, 72½ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Dunstable= to Hockliffe 4½ + =Hockliffe= to Fenny Stratford 7¼ + =Fenny Stratford= to Stony Stratford 7 + =Stony Stratford= to Towcester 8 + =Towcester= to Daventry 12¼ + =Daventry= to Kilsby 5½ + =Kilsby= to Lutterworth 9¾ + =Lutterworth= to Cross-in-Hand 2½ + =Cross-in-Hand= to High Cross 3¾ + =High Cross= to Atherstone 12 + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=Dunstable to Daventry.=--Undulating in places, but with good surface +to Daventry. + +=Daventry to Lutterworth.=--Poor road to Kilsby; 4 miles from Kilsby +an ascent of 1 in 14, followed by a descent of 1 in 12; then a +gradually improving road to Lutterworth. + +=Kilsby to Atherstone.=--Undulating road, with good surface. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Fenny Stratford.=--A small town with a Georgian church. + +=Stony Stratford.=--A small town with no great interest. + +=Towcester.=--Easton Neston House and Park. + +=Daventry.=--Small town; historic inn. + +=Lutterworth.=--Quiet country town; associations with Wycliffe, +especially in the Perpendicular church, where the great Protestant's +pulpit is still to be seen. + +=Cross-in-Hand.=--Roman centre for roads. + + =Nuneaton.=--Two miles off the main road to the south-west; the + George Eliot country. + + =Hartshill.=--Two miles off route; remains of Norman castle. + +=Mancetter.=--Church, Roman camp, and manor-house. + +=Atherstone.=--A small manufacturing town on the Watling Street, +without any interesting features. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 2. DUNSTABLE TO ATHERSTONE.] + +Shortly after leaving Dunstable a long, easy descent of the northern +slope of the Dunstable Downs occurs, these hills being part of the +Chilterns. A fine view over a large part of Bucks and Beds is seen in +front, and an interesting sweep of the Downs behind. A number of +sleepy little villages occur, each presenting rural features of its +own in harmony with the surroundings. At Hockliffe a side-road leads +to the beautiful Woburn Park and Abbey. At ~Fenny Stratford~, a small +town chiefly consisting of one street, the Roman station of +_Magiovintum_ was situated, and coins and other remains are +frequently found; the only modern association appears to be connected +with Browne Willis, the antiquary, who is buried here. The church is +early Georgian, dating from 1724. Seven miles farther on, ~Stony +Stratford~, a small uninteresting town, is reached, known chiefly in +history through having had an Eleanor Cross, which disappeared in +Puritan days, and also from the capture of Edward V. by his uncle, the +Duke of Gloucester. ~Bradwell Abbey~, founded in 1155, now a farmhouse, +lies about three miles away to the right. + +From Stony Stratford to Towcester the route runs as straight as an +arrow, and one can imagine the metalled track of the road the legions +tramped lying but a few feet beneath the surface. ~Towcester~ is the +ancient _Lactodorum_, and the later Tove Castra, or Camp on the River +Tove, which flows through the town. Few, if any, Roman remains are now +visible, and Easton Neston House with its picturesque park is the only +feature of interest in the neighbourhood. + +The road to Weedon is somewhat undulating, and rises in places to 500 +feet above sea-level, an altitude which has not been reached since +leaving Dunstable. At Weedon it is necessary to make a detour to the +left, as the Watling Street for some considerable distance has been +allowed to fall into disrepair; in fact, it is merely in some cases a +trackway through grassy fields, with farmers' gates across the +vanished road. The restoration of this part of the Roman way has been +proposed at times, but never carried out, the considerable cost and +the paucity of towns and villages probably accounting for it. This gap +in continuity is to be deplored for sentimental reasons, but not for +practical utility, as the track is at times more than undulating. + + +DAVENTRY + +~Daventry~ is a small town possessing but few attractions beyond its +historic hotel, the Wheat Sheaf, built in 1610, and known in the +annals of Warwickshire as the resting-place of Charles I. (after the +taking of Leicester) for six consecutive days in 1645, the Royal +troops, both horse and foot, in considerable numbers occupying the +surrounding fields. The regal bedchamber may be seen and even +occupied, while the courtyard, famous in duelling days, is visible +from its window. In one encounter in 1696 a young ensign, named +Gardner, gasped out his life after a duel to the death with his +lieutenant. Near Daventry lies Althorp Park, the seat of Earl Spencer. +In this medieval house, not greatly altered since, James I. and +William III. were entertained. + +On leaving Daventry the road turns sharply to the right to ~Kilsby~, +with a poor surface most of the way. It passes through a well-wooded +country, and a short distance beyond Kilsby joins the Watling Street +at an acute angle. Upon looking backwards, the line of the ancient +highway may be distinctly traced through the fields. From this point +until Atherstone is reached, a distance of nearly twenty-three miles, +Leicestershire lies upon the right-hand side of the road and +Warwickshire upon the left. + +~Dunsmore Heath~ is then crossed, and shortly afterwards two lines of +railway are passed, the source of the Warwickshire Avon being near the +first at Dove Bridge. At Churchover is the birthplace of Cave, of +_Gentleman's Magazine_ fame. The main road from Rugby to Lutterworth +branches off to the right. Near this point, on the brow of the hill, +just north-west of Cave's Inn and on both sides of the Watling Street, +is the site of the great Roman station _Tripontium_. The remains have +almost disappeared, but pieces of pottery are plentiful, and coins are +now and then unearthed. + + +RUGBY + +lies a few miles to the west of the main route, and is famous for its +great school, founded in 1567, being one of the four great public +schools in England. The buildings are chiefly in the Tudor style, and +date from 1808, with many subsequent additions. Besides the school, +there are practically no objects of interest in the town. The road to +Lutterworth is slightly undulating, with a good surface. + + +LUTTERWORTH + +is a quiet little country town of about 2,000 inhabitants, lying in a +pastoral district fissured occasionally with wooded valleys. It is a +typical foxhunting centre. The main street descends a hill somewhat +abruptly, and crosses a small bridge over the River Swift, from which +point the ashes of Wycliffe were scattered. The church is endeared to +the champions of Protestantism by its associations with Wycliffe, and +by the tangible relics which are preserved in it of his residence here +from 1375 to 1384. The architecture of the church is chiefly of the +fourteenth century. The nave is early Perpendicular, but a Decorated +window occupies the end of the south aisle, where there was formerly a +Lady Chapel. The chancel also is Perpendicular, with an Early English +window and door. It is thus somewhat difficult to point out work which +belongs to that period when Wycliffe ministered in the building. The +greater part of the nave, however, may be thus assigned, and also the +fresco over the north doorway, showing a queen between two kings. Over +the chancel arch is another fresco. The nave roof is Perpendicular, +but the pulpit, from which the reformer preached, is the great object +of interest, dating as it does from a period anterior to Wycliffe's +incumbency, and is thus over 500 years old. A fragment of a cope or +chasuble is interesting as an undoubted relic, but the chair, table, +and wooden candlesticks must be regarded with suspicion--the chair +more than the others. The 'Morning Star of the Reformation' was buried +in the chancel, where his remains rested for thirty years; they were +then dug up, burnt, and cast into the river. + +The road from Lutterworth, rejoining the Watling Street, emerges at +the ~Cross-in-Hand~, where care must be taken in the selection of the +right road. From Cross-in-Hand to High Cross there is nothing of +particular moment, but at the latter place, where five roads meet, was +one of the most important junctions of Roman highways for the Watling +Street. It is crossed here by the Foss Way coming from Gloucester, and +leading through Leicester to Lincoln. The great station of _Venonæ_ or +_Benones_ was situated here, but has entirely disappeared. Taking the +road marked 'To Holyhead,' the road leads over Smockington Hill, and a +few miles farther on a turning on the left to Nuneaton (two miles off +the main road) is reached. + +~Nuneaton~ lies in the centre of the 'George Eliot' country, and is the +Milverton of the novelist, while Chilvers Coton near it figures in +'Scenes of Clerical Life,' and 'Oldinport' may be traced in +'Newdegate,' the family name of the residents at Arbury Hall, a +delightfully situated country-seat a few miles to the south-west of +the town. Beyond this Nuneaton possesses no special features, except a +church built in the Decorated period, and another--St. Mary's--a +modern replica of the Abbey Church which formerly occupied the site. + +The spire of ~Hinckley Church~ is now seen upon the right, six miles to +the north of which lies the ~Battlefield of Bosworth~. The North +Warwickshire Coalfield has now been reached, and in the high ground +upon the left there is an interesting geological district. The stone +quarries worked there were formerly supposed to produce Millstone +Grit of the Carboniferous formation, but which has recently been +proved to be pre-Cambrian, and necessarily the most ancient of rocks. +~Hartshill~ is in this district; it is the birthplace of Michael +Drayton, and contains a few ruins of a Norman castle dating from 1125. +To the right of the Watling Street lies Fenny Drayton, where George +Fox, the founder of the sect of Quakers, was born. Before entering +Atherstone the small village of ~Witherley~ is passed upon the right, +and the River Anker here divides the site of the great Roman station +of _Manduessedum_ into two parts. The name has been anglicized into +~Mancetter~. The oblong earthwork yet remains, about 630 feet long and +440 feet broad. The church stands on the ruins of the western side of +the camp. Many coins have been found here, and great masses of Roman +masonry lie beneath the soil. The summer camps lie upon the adjacent +hills. The first turning on the left, after passing the bridge, leads +in a few minutes to Mancetter Manor House, originally built in 1135, +and presenting a quaint Edwardian appearance at the present day. In +1432 the Glovers occupied it, one of whom suffered martyrdom in the +Marian persecution. + + +ATHERSTONE, + +a singularly uninteresting looking town, whose staple manufacture is +felt hats, has a long, straggling street, a portion of the Watling +Street, and during sewage operations about fifty years ago the remains +of the original Roman road came to light, at some depth below the +present surface; some of the paving-stones, grooved by chariot wheels, +were in places cemented together. Henry of Richmond slept at the Three +Tuns Inn, now demolished, the night before Bosworth Battle, and heard +Mass in the church, which is not of great archæological interest. + + + + +SECTION III + +(TRUNK ROUTE) + +ATHERSTONE TO SHREWSBURY, 59 MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + + =Atherstone= to Fazeley 7 + =Fazeley= to Tamworth 1½ + =Tamworth= to Lichfield 7 + =Lichfield= to Muckley Corner 2¾ + =Muckley Corner= to Four Crosses Inn 8¾ + =Four Crosses Inn= to Gailey Station 2¾ + =Gailey Station= to Shifnal 11¾ + =Shifnal= to Oakengates 4¾ + =Oakengates= to Shrewsbury 12¾ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=Atherstone to Lichfield.=--Undulating road with fine surface. + +=Lichfield to Shifnal.=--Almost level; surface fairly good, but the +direct road (Watling Street) is rough and has some steep hills near +Oakengates. The =Shifnal Loop= is, therefore, recommended. (See Route +Map 3.) + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Tamworth.=--An ancient town; historic castle; Perpendicular church. + +=Lichfield.=--Cathedral; statue of, and associations with, Samuel +Johnson. + +=Shifnal.=--Pretty town, with quaint timbered houses; church Norman, +Early English, and Decorated. + +=Wroxeter.=--The Roman _Uriconium_; Roman remains. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 3. ATHERSTONE TO SHREWSBURY.] + + +At ~Atherstone~ the railway is passed by a bridge, superseding a former +level-crossing. Immediately to the left a road leads to the site of +the almost demolished ~Merevale Abbey~, the chapel of which is still +used as a parish church, and contains recumbent effigies of the +Ferrers family. The road to Fazeley is undulating and uninteresting. +To the south of the town lies ~Drayton Manor~, the seat of the great Sir +Robert Peel. Here one is forcibly reminded by ocular evidence that +this is a mining district. A turning to the right leads to + + +TAMWORTH, + +one of the most ancient towns in Warwickshire and Staffordshire, for +it stands in both counties. It was a royal residence in the time of +the Heptarchy, and from that remote period to the present time the +castle has been of more or less importance--in fact, it is one of the +most ancient buildings in Central England. The mound upon which it +stands is of British origin; Queen Ethelfleda (died 918) erected the +castle which, with many alterations and additions, meets the view at +the present day. It has recently been acquired by the Corporation, and +is open to visitors. The ancient causeway leading to the entrance +presents the finest example of Saxon 'herring-bone' masonry to be +found in the kingdom. The circular keep is of picturesque red +sandstone, which does much to mitigate the effect of the Perpendicular +windows. The venerable building was the home of the Marmions, the +Frevilles, and the Ferrers, and in 'Marmion' we find: + + 'They hailed him lord of Fontenaye, + Of Lutterward and Scrivelbaye, + Of Tamworth Tower and Town.' + +The last of the Marmions died in 1291. The bases of the dungeon walls +are four yards thick, and a visit to the castle interior gives the +impression of massive solidity. + +Tamworth Church, founded in the eighth century, was destroyed by the +Danes in 874, and rebuilt by King Edgar. In 1345 it was burnt, but +rebuilt. The crypt and two Norman transept arches remain of the early +building. The late Perpendicular tower contains a curious double +staircase, and is a prominent feature for many miles round. + + +LICHFIELD + +The road to Lichfield lies by the side of the River Tame for some +distance, but it passes through a colliery district; some finely +wooded knolls, however, occur on either side of the road. About three +miles before reaching the city the barracks are seen upon the right, +with an extensive common for training purposes; at the same time the +three Cathedral spires, 'The Ladies of the Vale,' form an attractive +feature in the landscape. The road leads directly to the ~Cathedral~, +which is one of those exquisitely pretty ecclesiastical edifices which +one wishes to put under a glass case for preservation from the +elements. It has been the seat of a bishopric since the seventh +century, and is connected with St. Chad. A Norman church succeeded the +Saxon edifice, but has entirely disappeared. The earliest part of +the present building, the west choir, dates from _c._ 1200; the south +and north transepts followed, and the nave and west front date from +about 1275. The eastern parts were finished in 1325. The central spire +was destroyed during the Civil War, and rebuilt by Sir Christopher +Wren. + +_The Cathedral is open to the public from 9.30 to 5 on weekdays._ + + [Illustration: LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL. + It is one of the smaller cathedrals, but its workmanship is of + an exquisite richness.] + +Upon entering the west front, which is one of the most beautiful in +England in the Decorated style, the Early English nave with dog-tooth +mouldings, the clustered pillars, and the fine vaulting, impress one +by their beauty and gracefulness. In the north transept one finds five +lancet windows, with Perpendicular examples on either side. In the +south transept the vaulted roof, with its huge bosses, and the large +Perpendicular window are special features, and here the rich stained +glass and the warm appearance of the red sandstone produce an effect +upon which the eye delights to dwell. The choir, with its side aisles, +richly vaulted roof, and huge windows springing from the triforium, at +once attract the visitor's attention. The early Decorated blank +arcading of the aisles is interesting, as is also the peep afforded +into a building upon the south side. In the south aisle of the +retro-choir a celebrated monument, the 'Sleeping Children,' touches a +chord that vibrates in the nature of all who possess the tenderness of +human sympathy. The Lady Chapel has rich Decorated arcading upon its +walls, from above which spring nine windows with trefoil tracery. In +seven of these is the stained glass that once adorned the great +Cistercian nunnery of Herckenrode, in the Bishopric of Liège. It dates +from 1530, and was brought to England after the suppression of the +nunnery in 1802. Although one of the smallest of English cathedrals, +Lichfield is singularly impressive by reason of beautiful details and +graceful proportions. Although actually situated in a valley, its site +is the highest in England, with the exception of St. Albans. + +In the Market Square stands the statue of Samuel Johnson, opposite +the house in which the great lexicographer first saw the light. + + * * * * * + +In order to rejoin the Watling Street, the road marked 'To Cannock' +should be taken, and about one and a half miles from the city a +turning to the right leads to that place. Continue, however, in the +same straight line for another one and a half miles, and the Watling +Street will be struck, leading off to the right at Muckley Corner. The +Roman station of _Eteocetum_ lies about one mile to the south-east at +Wall, where the Rycknield Street starts for the North. This is missed +by the detour to Tamworth and Lichfield. + +Near Brownhills Common a large piece of water--Cannock Chase +reservoir--lies to the right, and farther on another reservoir is +passed. Two miles beyond Gailey railway-bridge is the site of the +Roman station of _Pennocrucium_, near a roadside inn, and immediately +afterwards the Shropshire Union Canal crosses the road by an aqueduct. +Boscobel House and Park lie about a mile towards the south, with the +famous oak in which Charles hid himself after Worcester. A straight +run of seven miles passes by Weston Park, renowned for its beauty, and +brings one to a turning on the left, the main road to Shifnal. It is +advisable to pass through Shifnal and regain the Watling Street +farther on, and thus avoid the extremely bad road between Redhill and +Oakengates. + +~Shifnal~ is an interesting little town, possessing many quaint old +timbered houses, with overhanging upper stories, often enriched by +carving. A turning to the right in the middle of the town leads to the +~Church~. It possesses many curious remains of Norman architecture, +among which are the chancel arch and a portion of the south transept. +The main structure is Early English and Decorated, the tower arches +being of the former period. The tomb and effigy of the Prior of +Wombridge, 1526, and some Elizabethan monuments are in the chancel. +Over the south porch is a parvise, which projects in a novel manner +into the church, and is supported there upon two pillars. + +From Shifnal to Oakengates, the reputed site of _Uxaconium_, is mainly +downhill, and through a colliery district, with all the usual +concomitants pertaining to it. After a run of about six miles, during +which the Wrekin, 1,335 feet high, lies to the left, a turning at an +inn is reached leading to + + +WROXETER + +This is the ancient _Uriconium_, destroyed by fire in the fifth +century, and the imposing Roman remains form one of the chief +attractions for visitors in the immediate vicinity of Shrewsbury. To +the archæologist it is of supreme interest, as an immense variety of +Roman remains have come to light, including many parts of the massive +walls, the basilica and public baths. There are also exposed to view +well-preserved examples of the hypocausts of villas. Should a detour +be made to the site of this important Roman town, the largest +encountered since leaving _Verulamium_, a good road will be found +leading back to the main route, and thence to Shrewsbury. Continuing +on the main road, one crosses the Severn, and keeps it for some time +upon the right hand. Entering Shrewsbury, the centre of the town is +approached by a steep hill, 1 in 10, where caution must be exercised +on account of the traffic. + +(_For town plan of Shrewsbury, see p. 77._) + + + + +LOOP No. 1 + +=FIRST PORTION=: SHREWSBURY, WHITCHURCH, CHESTER--=SECOND PORTION=: +CHESTER, MOLD, ST. ASAPH, RHYL--=THIRD PORTION=: RHYL, DENBIGH, +RUTHIN, CORWEN, LLANGOLLEN, RUABON, WREXHAM, ELLESMERE, SHREWSBURY + + +SHREWSBURY TO CHESTER, 39½ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Shrewsbury= to Wem Church 10¾ + =Wem Church= to Whitchurch 8¾ + =Whitchurch= to Broxton 10 + =Broxton= to Chester 10 + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +On leaving =Shrewsbury=, descent of 1 in 10 in the town; dangerous. + +Road to =Chester= usually in good condition; surface splendid; no +steep gradients. + +Between =Shrewsbury= and =Wem=, undulating. + +From =Whitchurch=, general fall from about 400 feet to sea-level at +=Chester=. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Battlefield of Shrewsbury, 1403.=--About 3 miles from Shrewsbury; +Battlefield Church, Perpendicular. + +=Wem.=--Obelisk to Rowland Hill. + +=Whitchurch.=--Busy country town; church dating from 1711. + +=Rowton Moor.=--Three miles from Chester; battlefield, 1645. + +=Chester.=--One of the most picturesque walled towns in England; +Cathedral; town walls; the 'Rows' and other old houses. + + + [Map: Loop 1. SHREWSBURY TO CHESTER.] + +Leaving Shrewsbury by the Battlefield Road, and passing through the +unprepossessing parts of the old town, the church standing upon the +site of the battle becomes a conspicuous object when the higher ground +is reached, about a mile from the town. This remarkable memorial of +the terrible slaughter which took place in 1403 is necessarily of the +Perpendicular period, and at the present time is a simple parish +church, to which flocks a congregation eminently agricultural. +Restorations have taken place at various periods, but sufficient +remains of the original to make it of great interest. The site is that +upon which the fiercest part of the battle occurred, and where, after +the fight, the dead were crowded by hundreds into vast pits; for the +slaughter upon that fatal day was tremendous, numbering probably 8,000 +men. The army of Glendower, the Mortimers, and the Percies lost 5,000 +men by the most moderate estimate, and that of the victor, Henry of +Bolingbroke, was but little less, chiefly owing to the deadly accuracy +of the Cheshire bowmen of Percy's army, who at first almost +succeeded in winning the fray. But the King's army was double the +number of his opponents, and that always told in a civil war. For +three hours before sunset the struggle waged round the site of the +church, and when at last Percy's army broke and fled, they made for +Wem to the north, or the higher, wooded ground to the east. The road +to Whitchurch passes through Wem, from which Hawkstone Park may be +seen towards the west upon high ground, and the obelisk to Rowland +Hill. The scenery upon the route is eminently characteristic of +English pastoral life, with farmsteads and cottages nestling in +charming seclusion amid a wealth of foliage, or upon the summits of +the small undulations which diversify the Shropshire plain. At +intervals stretches of heath alternate with the cultivation, while +along the whole route the Welsh mountains form a broken sky-line to +the west. + +~Whitchurch~ is a busy country town with a market, and forms a centre +for the trade of the district. The remains of the castle which once +existed here were visible down to 1760, but now no traces can be seen. + +~The Church.~--The old church of Whitchurch fell in 1711, and the +edifice built upon the site is in heavy Romanesque architecture. There +are monuments in it to the Earls of Shrewsbury, one in armour being +representative of John, the first Earl, who was killed at Bordeaux in +1453, and whose remains were brought from France to be interred here. + +Soon after leaving Whitchurch, Overton Scar forms a conspicuous +feature in the landscape, lying to the left near the vale of the Dee. + +~Cholmondeley Castle~, three miles to the west of Malpas Station, is the +seat of the Marquis of Cholmondeley, and is situated in the Peckforton +Hills. The younger son of David le Clare settled here in Norman times. +The present castle is a modern building erected in the Norman style, +while the old hall, of Elizabethan foundation, was, unfortunately, +placed in the hands of Vanbrugh for restoration, and became so +completely altered in appearance that one would hardly guess its +origin. The district lying around these hills was the scene of many +encounters between the Royalists and Parliamentarians. Near Broxton +Station stands ~Carden Hall~, one of the most beautiful examples of +timbered mansions in the country. It was built in the time of +Elizabeth, but the Cardens were here in the reign of Henry VIII. The +Hall was garrisoned by the Royalists, but after being captured by the +other side was plundered, like most of the mansions in this county. +About a mile farther on ~Aldersey Hall~ stands to the left, about ten +furlongs from the road. It is asserted that it has been occupied by +the family of that name since the Norman Conquest. + +In ~Handley Church~ a good brass may be seen of the Venables family, and +~Calveley Hall~, once a manor-house and now converted into a farmhouse, +has a good oak staircase and some excellent wainscotting in the rooms. + +~Rowton Moor~ is reached next, where the Royalists suffered a defeat in +1645. The road passes through the battlefield. + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 4--CHESTER.] + +CHESTER + +From Shrewsbury the road into Chester leads into Foregate Street, and +presently, after passing through a street of uninteresting suburban +character, the city proper is entered by the east gate in the walls, +the archway of which passes over the road. Upon the left is the +Grosvenor, a comfortable and well-managed hotel, conveniently situated +as a centre for seeing the many features of interest in Chester. The +journey from London along the Watling Street has been upon the track +of the Roman legions, and here at Chester--the ancient Deva--is found +the ultimate object of their journey, for this was the headquarters of +the famous Twentieth Legion, which occupied the town shortly before +the Boadicean Rebellion in A.D. 61, and remained there until the +evacuation of Britain in the early part of the fifth century. The old +town is suggestive of Rome's imperial power, for the ichnography of +the city to-day resembles in a remarkable fashion the great military +castra of the conquerors of the world. + + [Map: PLAN OF CHESTER CATHEDRAL. + _Based on that published by the late Dean Howson._] + +One of the first objects of interest is the ~Cathedral~, situated about +two minutes from the hotel by passing up Werburgh Street. It is one of +the red cathedrals, and owing to the sandstone of which it is composed +being of a friable nature, the veneering of the edifice with new stone +unfortunately deprives it of that aspect of age so characteristic of +the majority of the great churches of England. The earliest building +standing on the site is said to have been put up in the second +century, but of that no traces exist. The present structure dates from +the twelfth century, and has architecture as recent as the sixteenth. +Upon entering by the west door some Norman work is apparent at the end +of the nave, but its general style is Perpendicular; there is no +triforium, and the fenestration springs directly above the arches, +where an unornamental balustrading breaks the junction. The huge +Perpendicular window at the west end is not of any particular merit. +The large south transept was until recently used as a parish church, +and is remarkably spacious; it is late Decorated, and possesses +beautiful tracery in the window of the west aisle. Passing into the +choir, which is early Decorated, and has been completely restored, one +finds some exquisite work in the canopies of the stalls, which are +undoubtedly the finest in the kingdom. Especially interesting are the +quaint misereres; the Bishop's throne and pulpit are, however, modern. +A characteristic feature of architecture occurs in the triforium, +where four arches are superposed upon each of the bays below them. In +the north aisle wall are preserved some magnificent mosaics, +presented to the cathedral in 1886. The screen across the choir is +Perpendicular, and of singular beauty, but it prevents the eye from +perceiving the full length of the church, making it appear shorter +than is actually the case. The north transept is small, with Norman +work below and Perpendicular above. It will readily be seen that there +are two periods in the Norman work. The large tomb on the floor of +this transept is the resting-place of Bishop Pearson, who died in +1696. He is well known for his work on the Creed. The cloisters are +entered through a Norman doorway at the east end of the north wall of +the nave; the style throughout is Perpendicular, and the work on three +sides of the square is picturesque; the south side, which had +perished, has been rebuilt. An early Norman passage lies along the +west side of the cloister. The chapter-house, which may be entered +from this spot, is exceptionally worthy of a visit. It is of Early +English architecture and a beautiful example of the style; the +vestibule is, perhaps, more chaste than the chapter-house, and the +manner in which the mouldings of the pillars run up unbroken into the +vaulting is a striking feature. + +Upon leaving the cathedral by the same door at the west front and +turning to the right, the imposing Town Hall is seen in Northgate +Street, and opposite to it is the abbey gateway, a fine example of +Norman and Early English work, deserving more than a passing glance. +Continuing up Northgate Street, the ~Town Walls~ are reached, and can be +climbed by steps; the masonry here is probably of Roman origin. A few +paces to the right lead to the Phoenix Tower (_entrance 1d._), from +the summit of which Charles I. witnessed the defeat of his troops on +Rowton Moor, September 27, 1645, and not September 24, as stated on +the tablet. Retracing one's steps, the Shropshire Union Canal lies +below, occupying a portion of the ancient moat. The raised platform +upon the right which is now encountered affords a very fine view of +the surrounding country, and beyond is the Half-moon Tower, called +'Pemberton's Parlour.' From here the battlements lead to +Bonwaldesthorne's Tower, now used as a museum, and upon the level +sward below the visitor may perceive a number of Roman remains, +including a hypocaust, or warming apparatus, altars, and other +remains. The projecting isolated defence at this point is known as the +Water Tower. Continuing the walk, the well-known racecourse, called +the 'Roodee,' or 'Isle of the Cross,' is seen upon the right, +enclosed by a loop in the river, and presently the group of buildings, +consisting of the assize courts, gaol, and barracks, appear upon the +left, the whole being classified under the name of 'the Castle.' The +picturesque old bridge is next encountered, and here it is advisable +to leave the walls, as the remainder of the route is devoid of +interest. + +Passing up Bridge Street, the third turning upon the right is Pepper +Street, and after traversing this strangely named thoroughfare, the +~Church of St. John the Baptist~ is soon reached, one of the most +interesting buildings in the city. It was originally intended to be +the cathedral for the former diocese, which embraced practically the +whole of Mercia, but the dignity was conferred upon Coventry. The +ruins consist of very picturesque Norman work, with Norman and Early +English flanking arches. By applying to the sexton, who is usually in +the church, the Norman crypt may be visited. The nave of the church +has Norman cylindrical pillars, dating from about 1090; the triforium +arches are Early English of about a century later. A very fine lancet +window is at the west end. The central tower fell in 1574, and crushed +the east end of the church, which has never been rebuilt. The base of +the tower shows rich Norman arches, with clustered columns supporting +them. Traces of frescoes may be seen here. There are many displaced +monuments now resting at the west end; one, a knight, dates from _c._ +1240, and a lady from _c._ 1400. + +Retracing one's steps through Pepper Street, and passing up Bridge +Street, ~St. Peter's Church~ is reached. It was built on the site of the +Roman Prætorium, and in A.D. 907 the Church of SS. Peter and Paul was +removed here by Ethelfleda from the site of St. Werburgh's. The +edifice is mentioned in Domesday as the Church of St. Peter. The +rectors' names are preserved from 1195. The church is square in plan, +and consists only of four aisles; the architecture is Perpendicular, +and rude Georgian galleries disfigure two of the aisles. The far-famed +~Rows~ of Chester may be visited from this point; they are found in +Eastgate Street and Bridge Street in particular, but Watergate Row +should on no account be missed, because two houses of the south side +are striking specimens of seventeenth-century architecture. One bears +the inscription 'God's Providence is mine inheritance,' which is +supposed to allude to the preservation of the family occupying it from +the plague. On the same side, No. 11, is a remarkable medieval crypt, +now occupied by Quellyn Roberts and Co., wine merchants, who readily +allow visitors to descend into the vaulted chamber. + +This list of interesting sights of Chester is by no means exhaustive; +an exploration of the streets in almost any direction will afford +glimpses of old-time quaintnesses nestling in unsuspected byways, and +the eye can dwell with pleasure upon many architectural details and +rich colour schemes. + + + + +LOOP No. 1--SECOND PORTION + +CHESTER TO MOLD AND RHYL, 35½ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Chester= to Broughton 5 + =Broughton= to Mold 7 + =Mold= to Caerwys 9½ + =Caerwys= to St. Asaph 8 + =St. Asaph= to Rhuddlan 3¼ + =Rhuddlan= to Rhyl 2¾ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=Chester to Mold.=--Tramcar-lines to Saltney, flat; then splendid +surface. + +=Broughton.=--Ascent 1 in 21; then level to Mold. + +=Mold.=--Fairly long hills to Caerwys; then level to Rhyl, except a +descent near Trefnant. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Mold.=--Small county town; church of florid Henry VII. architecture; +Bailey Hill, site of a British fortress; scene of the 'Alleluia +Victory.' + +=Cilcain.=--Church with magnificent oak roof. + +=Caerwys.=--Pretty scenery; the residence of Llewelyn. + +=Bodfari.=--Roman station. + +=St. Asaph.=--Small town, with cathedral, smallest in England and +Wales. + +=Rhuddlan.=--Edwardian castle, ruins. + +=Morfa Rhuddlan.=--Scene of a great battle between Offa of Mercia and +Caradoc. + +=Rhyl.=--Watering-place; splendid sands. + + + [Map: CHESTER TO MOLD AND RHYL. LOOP 1 (SECOND PORTION). + NOTE.--Denbigh is omitted on the way from Mold to Rhyl.] + +On leaving Chester the Grosvenor Bridge is crossed, and as far as +Saltney the road is occupied by tram-lines, while on looking backwards +a fine view of the city walls is obtained. After Saltney an excellent +road through the marshes enables one to see the wide estuary of the +river; but at Broughton, where the left-hand road should be taken, a +stiff rise of two miles leads to a plateau with an average elevation +of nearly 500 feet above sea-level, upon which the road remains for +the next twelve miles. The country here is well wooded, and Halkin +Mountain presents a fine appearance in front. The outskirts of a small +colliery district, with its centre at Buckley, are passed near +Padeswood, and presently Mold, the county town of Flint, is reached. + + +MOLD + +The town, which is rather sleepy and depressing, contains a church at +the summit of a steep hill to the right, thoroughly rebuilt in the +florid Tudor period early in the sixteenth century. The nave has some +ornate four-centred arches, and in the chancel some reputed +eighth-century work has been incorporated. + +Behind the church is the commencement of the ascent to Bailey Hill, an +eminence partly natural and partly artificial. It was once a British +fortress, and was subsequently occupied by a medieval castle, now +entirely vanished, and pleasure-grounds occupy the site. In the +immediate neighbourhood of Mold there are many objects of considerable +interest to the antiquary and geologist, such as the site of the +'Alleluia Victory,' won by an army of Christian converts under +Germanus, and who, by shouting 'Alleluia!' struck the Picts and Scots, +to whom they were opposed, with panic. In 1833 a gold breastplate of +Celtic workmanship was unearthed near the town, and is now a treasured +object in the British Museum. The ascent of Moel Fammau, 1,823 feet, +the highest peak in the Clwydian range, from which a magnificent +panorama is obtained, is easily accomplished from this town. + +Mold was once a flourishing place, with mines and smelting-works in +its vicinity, but they have now become unprofitable, with the +inevitable result of lowering the vitality of the town. The road +leading to St. Asaph passes a few coalpits near Mold, but presently +winds about in a valley between the Clwydian Range and the Halkin +Mountain. The village of ~Cilcain~ lies to the left of the route, at a +distance of two miles, on the lower slopes of Moel Fammau, and is +noted for the magnificent carved oak roof of its church, brought from +Basingwerke Abbey, near Holywell. Nature is now in her pleasantest +mood, and as the road winds with many a sharp turn down the long slope +towards ~Caerwys~, the mountains on both sides become softened and +rounded, and clothed in many parts with trees to their summits. Upon +the hills to the left lie a succession of interesting British camps, +the strongest and most extensive being Moel Arthur, 1,494 feet, +reached just before Nannerch appears by a road which branches off +close to a stone circle. ~Caerwys~ is believed to have been a Roman +station. It was at one time celebrated for its meetings of the bards, +or Eisteddfodau, and also as being the residence of the last native +Welsh Prince, Llewelyn ap Gruffydd. The whole of this district is rich +in memories of the past, and abounds in interest. After passing +Bodfari, where the railway crosses the road, a bridge over the River +Clwyd is reached, and directly afterwards the turn to the right should +be taken. (That to the left leads to Denbigh.) + +At this point one says good-bye to the track of the Roman legions, +~Bodfari~ (_Vara_) being the last of the stations to be passed. The +Roman road went straight ahead towards the west, and finished at +_Segontium_, which will be seen when passing through Carnarvon. Thus, +nearly all the way, from St. Albans through Shrewsbury to Chester, the +Watling Street has been followed. + + +ST. ASAPH + +This small village-city of 2,000 inhabitants is of consequence only on +account of its cathedral, conspicuously placed upon high ground, and a +prominent feature for many miles. To reach the time when this ancient +see did not exist, one must travel back before the sixth century. The +first building, of wood, was destroyed by fire in 1282, and the +edifice which succeeded it was nearly razed to the ground during the +wars under Owen Glendower. The present church practically dates from +1482; the choir, however, was not completed until 1770. It was +restored by Sir Gilbert Scott. St. Asaph is the smallest British +cathedral, being 182 feet long and 68 feet across the nave. The +interior presents the aspect of a spacious parish church, and +possesses only a few objects of interest. The east window is +Decorated, and the tracery of the side-windows based upon traces of +Early English work. The effigy of an Abbot in Episcopal robes, and +probably dating from the fifteenth century, lies in the south +transept. The road out of St. Asaph descends a steep hill, requiring +caution, and a run of about three miles along a level road, with a +sharp turning to the right over a bridge, leads to + + +RHUDDLAN CASTLE + +The entrance to the Vale of Clwyd is one of the chief strategic points +in Wales, and the elevated knob upon which the castle stands has, from +the most remote antiquity, been a place of strength. The early Welsh +fortress had additions early in the tenth century; it was taken by the +nephew of the Earl of Chester in 1098, and enlarged about sixty years +afterwards. The Welsh, however, captured it from the English in 1167, +and Llewelyn subsequently held it; but Edward I. gained possession, +and built the whole castle anew in 1277 upon an adjacent site. The +enormous walls, impressively grand in their massive proportions, are +his work. The castle appears to have remained in an efficient +condition to the time of the Civil War, when it was held by the +Royalists; but General Mytton captured it in 1646, and not long +afterwards it was dismantled. As one stands on the site, one +endeavours to visualize some of the many scenes of desperate warfare +which have happened upon and around this bold sandstone bluff, and the +cattle standing knee-deep in the translucent waters of the Clwyd, and +lazily brushing aside the clouds of flies, seem strangely out of +harmony with the memory of the wild hordes that have dashed against +these frowning walls. Within its easily traced fosse, and enclosing a +large area, there was formerly a priory of Dominicans, which has now +disappeared, but relics of it are preserved in Rhuddlan Church. From +the grassy strath within the walls the level plain reaching to Rhyl is +spread out very distinctly, and if the eye is allowed to wander to +Morfa Rhuddlan, which lies like a great alluvial marsh within the +triangle of Rhyl, Abergele, and Rhuddlan, the most desolate stretch in +Cambria, the site of that great battle in 795 is seen, when Offa, the +great king of Mercia, defeated the hordes of Caradoc, the king of +North Wales, with terrific slaughter. There probably exists no more +pathetic wail--the death-sob of a great nation--than that of 'Morfa +Rhuddlan,' which, next to the 'Men of Harlech,' is the most sung of +Welsh airs. + +The road to Rhyl is gained by passing through the village and taking +the first road to the left. This takes one directly to the esplanade +opposite the pier, where the Belvoir, a comfortable hotel, stands in a +convenient position. + + +RHYL + +Rhyl is essentially a watering-place, a watering-place pure and +simple, and it does not pretend to be anything else. Its bathing +facilities are magnificent, its sands are excellent for a gallop, and +the _beau idéal_ of parents with families, who fear that their +offspring may meet disaster unless a smooth sweep of sand is +available. It is healthy, bracing, peaceful, an excellent +'brain-emptier'--and that means much to the jaded man. He may be +exasperated by the pier entrance, which can only be termed doubly +debased Scottish architecture, but architecture by the sea is seldom +free from glaring faults. As a jumping-off ground for the Vale of the +Clwyd, and for the sea-gate of Wales at Abergele, it is convenient +both by road and rail. + + + + +LOOP No. 1--THIRD PORTION + +RHYL TO CORWEN, LLANGOLLEN, WREXHAM, AND SHREWSBURY, 86½ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Rhyl= to Denbigh 15 + =Denbigh= to Ruthin 7¾ + =Ruthin= to Corwen 12½ + =Corwen= to Llangollen 10 + =Llangollen= to Wrexham 12¼ + =Wrexham= to Ellesmere 16½ + =Ellesmere= to Shrewsbury 12½ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=Rhyl to Trefnant.=--A good road. + +=Trefnant.=--Ascent 1 in 14, then good to Denbigh. + +=Denbigh to Ruthin.=--Undulating; steep ascent in Ruthin, 1 in 11, +then good road until 2 miles from Corwen, when there is a descent of 1 +in 13. + +=Corwen to Llangollen.=--Slightly hilly; first-class surface. + +=Llangollen to Wrexham.=--Llangollen to Trevor excellent; Trevor to +Ruabon bumpy, then fairly good to Wrexham. + +=Wrexham to Ellesmere.=--Steep hill 1 mile from Wrexham, then +exceptionally good to Ellesmere; afterwards undulating to Shrewsbury. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Bodelwyddan Church.=--Two miles from Rhuddlan, _off the road_; +excellent example of modern architecture. + +=Cefn Caves.=--Three miles from St. Asaph, or 2½ miles from Trefnant, +off the road. + +=Denbigh.=--The castle; ruins of the garrison church. + +=Llanrhaiadr.=--Church, with fifteenth century 'Jesse' window. + +=Ruthin.=--Castle, with beautiful surroundings; church, Perpendicular, +with splendid roof. + +=Corwen.=--Church, with eighth-century cross in churchyard. + +=Llangollen.=--Valle Crucis Abbey; Eliseg Pillar; Dinas Bran castle; +Plas Newydd, the Bridge. + +=Ruabon.=--Church; Wynnstay Park and Monument. + +=Wrexham.=--Church, one of the Seven Wonders of Wales, Perpendicular +architecture. + +=Ellesmere.=--Church, with hatchet-work screen; old timbered houses; +picturesque lakes. + + + [Map: LOOP 1 (THIRD PORTION). DENBIGH TO SHREWSBURY. + For the route from Rhyl to Denbigh see previous map.] + +For the first part of this section of the route the road is retraced +through Rhuddlan, and here, if the traveller be interested in a grand +example of modern ecclesiastical architecture, Bodelwyddan Church may +be visited. It lies two miles from Rhuddlan, to the right of the road; +was erected by Lady Willoughby de Broke; cost £60,000; and is called +the 'Marble Church,' from the whiteness of the local limestone of +which it is built. The spire and exterior are extremely pleasing, +while the richness of the interior, with its marbles, wood-carving, +stained glass, and excess of structural adornments, make it well +worth a visit. A good road leads back to the trunk route. + + +THE CEFN CAVES, + +reached by a side-road about two and a half miles from Trefnant. These +lie in the grounds of Cefn Hall, and are _open on Tuesday and Friday +afternoons_. They are deep cavities in the limestone rock, at one time +inhabited by primeval man, whose bones and many interesting relics of +his existence have been found by careful excavation of the floors. A +very fine view of the Vale of the Clwyd, which has been rather +overpraised, is obtained at this spot. + + [Illustration: SHREWSBURY HOUSE, CHESTER. + One of the many picturesque frontages for which the town is famous.] + + + [Map: DENBIGH TO SHREWSBURY.] + +DENBIGH + +In Denbigh a long, broad street leads up to the centre of the town, +and here the chief attraction, the castle, may be visited. Passing up +through a Norman gateway, which once formed part of the boundary of +the ancient town, and was called Burgess's Tower, the ruins of the +long-abandoned parish church, or garrison church of St. Hilary, are +seen on the spacious castle green. The old parish church of the town +is at ~Whitchurch~, on the road to Ruthin. The stately ruins of the +great Norman fortress, which kept watch and ward over this portion of +the Vale of the Clwyd for so many centuries, crowns the summit of this +conical hill, and is perched nearly 500 feet above sea-level. Long +before the Norman invasion this vantage-point had been seized upon for +a stronghold, but the great epoch for Denbigh happened when Edward I. +sat down in Rhuddlan and gathered into his conquering hands the fair +lands of Wales, consolidating his power by building a castle in each. +Denbigh and Ruthin, ruled by the Laceys and the Greys respectively, +formed the nuclei of two counties. Here Henry Percy, in the wars with +Glendower, tried to stem the tide of insurrection; and later, in +the Wars of the Roses, it was a centre of that desolation and +destruction which overwhelmed the valley under Jasper Tudor and the +Earl of Pembroke, and reduced it to a land of smouldering embers. But +one of the most stirring episodes in the history of the castle was the +grand defence made by Colonel William Salusbury, the stout old +Royalist, who, in the summer of 1646, valiantly held the walls against +the Parliamentarians. From April until November it was assaulted in +vain, for Salusbury had sworn that he would not surrender it except at +the bidding of his King. This was eventually obtained, and the +garrison marched out with, if possible, more than the honours of war. +Soon afterwards the castle was completely dismantled, and now chiefly +serves as a place of assembly for the townspeople, a recreation-ground, +and a coign of vantage, under favourable circumstances, for a splendid +view over the Vale. + +The road to Ruthin leads out of the busy market-place, and a mile +beyond the town one reaches the fine old church of ~Whitchurch~, now +only used for burial services. It belongs to the Perpendicular period, +and in it parts of the rood-screen may be seen, converted into a +reredos, and a screen at the west end of the north aisle. An +interesting brass to Richard Myddelton, who died 1575, is preserved +here; he was the Governor of Denbigh Castle, and is represented with +his wife and a small family of sixteen. The Myddeltons, like the +Salusburys, have left indelible traces upon this part of Wales, and of +the sons represented on the brass, one became a Lord Mayor of London, +and another, the sixth, is perhaps the best known to Englishmen, as he +was the celebrated Sir Hugh Myddelton who brought the New River to the +metropolis. The ancestral home of this family, Chirk Castle, will be +visited _en route_. + +After another one and a half miles, ~Llanrhaiadr Church~ is seen, whose +interior is interesting on account of the 'Jesse' window, of fine +fifteenth-century glass, purchased with the offerings of pilgrims to +the holy well in the wooded glen above the church. It is in a +remarkably good state of preservation, with the colours rich and +brilliant. Outside the east window are the graves of five soldiers who +fell in the famous siege of Denbigh; under one lies Captain Wynne, of +the great house of Gwydir, near Llanrwst. He died from wounds in the +castle, and by mutual arrangement the cortège was permitted to pass +through the lines of the beleaguers, the Parliamentarians firing the +last salute over the grave of the hero. + +Between Llanrhaiadr and Ruthin the highest points of the Clwydian +Range come prominently into view, the huge ruin on Moel Fammau, to +which reference has been made in connection with Mold, being plainly +visible. + + +RUTHIN (_RED CASTLE_) + +The road leads into the central square of the town, from the south +side of which issues Castle Street. The modern Ruthin Castle is +occupied by Colonel W. Cornwallis West, Lord-Lieutenant of +Denbighshire, and the ruins stand in the Park. (_Permission to enter +may be obtained at the lodge._) The remains consist of a dungeon, a +'Beheading Tower,' an armoury, and some curious passages. A +whipping-post is also preserved. The ruins, deep red in hue, and +mantled by the rich green of the clinging foliage, with a setting +beyond of the upper part of the Vale of the Clwyd, form a picture rich +in colour. Reginald de Grey owned the castle shortly after its +erection in 1280, and it remained in the possession of his family +until about 1480. Owen Glendower attempted its capture in 1400, but +the Parliamentarians were more successful, for it fell in 1646, after +a siege of three months, from which time it has been a ruin. Sir +Thomas Myddelton of Chirk became owner, and the present possessor has +inherited it from him in the female line. The castle was partially +rebuilt in 1826, and brought to its present condition in 1852. + +The Church of St. Peter is an imposing edifice, chiefly Perpendicular, +and contains a finely decorated roof of Henry VII.'s period, +beautifully carved in black oak and divided into 500 small panels. The +old building adjacent and the church are the remains of a Priory of +White Friars, and form a very picturesque addition; near them are the +former buildings of the Grammar School, founded in 1574. The +foundation is now accommodated in better surroundings. + +The natural environs of Ruthin are of great beauty, and this part of +the Clwyd Valley is a favourite place of residence. Upon Moel Feulli +are the remains of a fortified British camp, enlarged by the Romans, +and from it and Moel Fammau magnificent views may be obtained. + +Leaving Ruthin, the upper part of the Vale of the Clwyd is traversed, +and the watershed between the latter river and the Dee crossed at a +height of 600 feet. After passing through the narrow Vale of +Nantclwyd, with its towering limestone rocks, the small church of +~Derwen~, lying off the road to the right of Derwen Station, is seen. It +contains a handsome fifteenth-century screen and rood-loft, with a +time-honoured thirteenth-century cross in the churchyard. + + +CORWEN + +is a centre for the railway system of Wales, but possesses no special +attractions, unless the mark of Owen Glendower's dagger upon the +lintel of the south door of the church, inflicted, so it is said, when +in a pet, be deemed one, though probably the tradition had its origin +in the dagger carved on the shaft of an eighth-century cross in the +same churchyard. The summit of the rock behind the town, whereon +stands a cairn, was the point whence Glendower reviewed his troops +previous to the Battle of Shrewsbury. The short climb is rewarded by a +pleasing view. + + +LLANGOLLEN + +is reached by a part of the Telford-Holyhead road, which is generally +in magnificent condition. Pretty views of the Dee, the Berwyn +Mountains on the right, the Llantysilio Mountains on the left, and the +Eglwyseg rocks in front, are obtained, and the most beautiful part of +the hill country of Wales, as contrasted with the mountain scenery, is +presented to the eye. The loveliest views are those lying round the +town, rivalling in beauty, and perhaps surpassing, any found elsewhere +in Britain. ~The Bridge~ is one of the "Wonders of Wales," dating from +1345, and ~Plas Newydd~, lying about half a mile from the bridge, the +residence of the famed ladies of Llangollen, should on no account be +missed. The romance of their lives is too lengthy for inclusion here, +but may be readily learnt on the spot. The house is an aggregation of +carved oak within and without. No one should visit Llangollen without +ascending ~Castell Dinas Brân~, which towers to a height of 1,000 feet +above the village. The origin of the quaint ruins upon the summit is +lost in antiquity, but is attributed to one of the early Princes of +Powis. The tide of war has raged scores of times round the hoary +fragments upon the crest, which look like the eyrie of a robber baron +or the fantastic imaginings of a Doré. When the castle emerges into +the light of history we find that Griffith, the son of Madoc, occupied +it in the thirteenth century, and that about a hundred years +afterwards it fell into ruin. + + + [Map: VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY: GROUND PLAN.] + +VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY + +(_admission 6d._) lies two miles by road from Llangollen. Founded by +the above-named Griffith in A.D. 1200, it is necessarily in the Early +English style, and dog-tooth ornamentation may be discovered in the +west end. The beautiful ruin appeals to artist and antiquary alike, +and is considered the most picturesque in Wales. A little way off to +the north is ~Eliseg's Pillar~, a most astonishing early monument put up +by Concenn ap Cadell ap Brochmail to the memory of his great-grandfather, +Eliseg, who lived as far back as the beginning of the seventh century. +It is no longer possible to read the Latin inscription giving these +facts, and the remarkable monument itself has suffered much +mutilation. Llangollen is a town in which a week can be spent with +profit and pleasure, so numerous are the places of interest in the +immediate neighbourhood. The fine escarpment of the limestone rocks, +the Eglwyseg, lying above the village, are conspicuous on the left for +some distance on leaving for Ruabon through the Vale of Llangollen, +where the famed Wynnstay Park is situated, the residence of Sir H. +Watkin Williams-Wynn, Bart. The house is not on view, but admission to +the park is freely given by application at the lodge gates, close to +the town. The associations of the park are, however, the chief +point in connection with it, for the Wynns go back into remote +antiquity, and the history of North Wales and the members of this +family are inseparable. The pillar standing above the swiftly rushing +Dee is a cenotaph perpetuating the names of those who fell in the +Irish rebellion of '98, when a Wynn took his company of yeomanry over +the water to help in the suppression. + + [Illustration: THE SWALLOW FALLS, BETTWS-Y-COED. + The finest waterfall in Wales.] + + +WREXHAM + +From Ruabon to Wrexham tram-lines run by the side of the road, but +they do not cause much inconvenience, and the road is good. The chief +object for visiting the town is to view the church, which is one of +the finest, if not _the_ finest, in the Principality, and enumerated +among the "Seven Wonders of Wales." It was erected in 1472 to replace +a former structure destroyed by fire. It is a splendid example of +Perpendicular architecture, the tower of six stages and 135 feet in +height being probably unsurpassed, and the rich peal of ten bells it +contains are celebrated far and wide--they were made in 1726. The +church contains monuments to the Myddelton and other families, and in +the churchyard the Elihu Yale tomb is of exceptional interest to +Americans. + + +ELLESMERE + +At Wrexham one turns towards the south to Shrewsbury, and Ellesmere is +the first town calling for comment. There are many old carved timber +houses to be seen, a beautiful contrast to the modern box-of-bricks +erections which now so frequently serve for dwellings. No trace of the +castle now remains; its site is occupied by a bowling-green, whence a +view into nine counties is obtained. The church is chiefly of +Perpendicular architecture, and is worth visiting. The chancel screen +is of hatchet-work, and over the door may be seen the groove in which +the rood formerly stood. The Oteley Chapel has a quaint figure, +_temp._ Edward IV., on the north-west pier, and also an altar-tomb +with recumbent figures. The mere from which the town gained its name +lies close at hand; four other meres are in the vicinity, and these, +with other pleasant concomitants, help to make very pretty and +charming scenery for some distance on the road to Shrewsbury. Shortly +after leaving the town the Ellesmere Canal--one of Telford's great +works--is crossed. + + + + +SECTION IV (TRUNK ROUTE) + +SHREWSBURY TO LLANDUDNO, 81½ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Shrewsbury= to Oswestry 17 + =Oswestry= to Chirk 5¾ + =Chirk= to Llangollen 6¾ + =Llangollen= to Corwen 10 + =Corwen= to Cerrig-y-Druidon 9¾ + =Cerrig-y-Druidon= to Pentre Voelas 5½ + =Pentre Voelas= to Bettws-y-Coed 6¾ + =Bettws-y-Coed= to Llanrwst 4½ + =Llanrwst= to Tal-y-Cafn 6¾ + =Tal-y-Cafn= to Glan Conway 3¾ + =Glan Conway= to Llandudno 5 + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=The Holyhead Road=.--Splendid surface; perfect condition generally. + +Dangerous hill in =Shrewsbury=. + +A fairly stiff ascent at =Chirk=, 1 in 18. + +Road ascends from =Corwen to Cerrig-y-Druidon=. + +Last 9 miles into =Bettws-y-Coed= downhill. + +=Bettws-y-Coed to Tal-y-Cafn.=--Level, then a hill, up and down, 1 in +12. + +=Near Llandudno Junction.=--Steep ascent, 1 in 10. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Shrewsbury.=--Castle; free library and museum; market-house; +churches; public gardens; town walls. + +=Montford Bridge.=--Pretty road. + +=Oswestry.=--Castle mound; church, with a fine tower. + +=Chirk.=--Castle of great interest; viaduct; aqueduct. + +=Llangollen.=--Valle Crucis Abbey; Eliseg's Pillar; bridge. The really +fine scenery lies beyond Llangollen. + +=Corwen.=--Church, with eighth-century cross in churchyard. + +=Conway Falls.=--Pandy Mill and Falls, Swallow Falls, all about 2 +miles short of Bettws-y-Coed, upon the left, where the Conway Falls +Inn will be seen. + +=Bettws-y-Coed.=--Waterloo Bridge (Dolwyddelan Castle). + +=Llanrwst.=--Bridge; Gwydir Castle and Chapel. + +=Conway.=--Castle; bridge; walls of the town; church. + +=Llandudno.=--Watering-place; Great Orme's Head; St. Tudno's Church. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 4. SHREWSBURY TO CORWEN.] + +~Shrewsbury.~--To pass through Shropshire without seeing Shrewsbury +would be tantamount to journeying through Italy without visiting Rome. +Its physical features are strikingly picturesque, and it has almost as +many antiquities as Chester. Fortunately, too, the objects of interest +are grouped together. + +[Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 3--SHREWSBURY.] + +The town lies in a loop of the Severn, with the castle protecting the +opening. It is of red sandstone, and dates in part from the time of +Edward I. The grounds are open, but the building is private. The free +library and museum, opposite the castle, occupy the old buildings of +Shrewsbury School, founded in the reign of Edward VI. The museum +contains many 'finds' from _Uriconium_. The school now occupies +magnificent buildings south of the town. Passing up Castle Street, the +old Council House gateway is upon the left, and soon after a turn to +the left at the post office brings one to ~St. Mary's Church~, a noble +building, of which the base of the tower and the nave are Norman, the +transept Early English, and the aisles Perpendicular, and other +portions late Perpendicular. The tower, with its spire 222 feet high, +is the third loftiest in the kingdom. The general appearance of the +interior is very beautiful, and the Jesse window of fourteenth-century +glass should be especially noticed; it was originally in the Grey +Friars' monastery. The glass as a whole excels that of any other +English parish church; the St. Bernard window, for example, on the +north side of the altar, attributed to Albert Dürer, came from a +church at Cologne. ~St. Alkmund's Church~ can be seen from St. Mary's, +and passing that, and also St. Julian's Church, the old Wyle Cop may +be reached. Among the ancient timbered houses there is one in which +Henry VII. stayed prior to Bosworth in 1485. Passing over the English +Bridge, the ~Abbey Church~ is reached, with its imposing west front and +great Perpendicular window, and the tower, the base of which is +Norman, rising from the west end of the nave. Internally the latter +possesses three massive Norman bays, and two of the Early English +period, a fine arch in the latter style dividing it from the tower. +The chancel and clerestory have been rebuilt recently in good taste. +There are some interesting monumental effigies; one in the south +aisle is supposed to represent the founder, Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury, +died 1094. In this church, then the Chapel of the Monastery of the +Holy Cross, Richard II. held the 'great Parliament' in 1377. + +Returning to the town, the road by Beeches Lane will lead by way of +the old walls to Murivance Tower, the only one remaining of the twenty +which once guarded the town. A short distance farther on, the +'Quarry,' with its beautiful avenues of lime-trees by the river, is +reached, one of the spots of which Shrewsbury is justly proud. + +Having safely negotiated the dangerous hill in Shrewsbury, the road +to Oswestry is easily found, and, as nothing of supreme importance is +encountered before that town appears, the beauties of the Holyhead +Road may be appreciated. + + +OSWESTRY + +The Church possesses a remarkably fine tower, which presents a +venerable appearance by reason of the growth of vegetation upon it. A +portion was pulled down during the Civil War, and rebuilt some time +after the Restoration. The interior should be visited, although there +are no special features upon which to dilate. About a mile to the +north of the town lies Old Oswestry, a very fine and well-preserved +earthwork, consisting of three concentric circles of defences. A +portion of Wat's Dyke lies adjacent. This was the first ditch made by +Offa, King of Mercia, in the eighth century to prevent Welsh +incursions; the second, called Offa's Dyke, was dug a few miles nearer +the Welsh border, and generally parallel to the first. + +A stiff rise in the road announces that ~Chirk~ is at hand, and the +celebrated castle is the first point of interest. + + +CHIRK CASTLE, + +anciently, Castel-y-Waen, is the only example of the thirty great +fortalices in Shropshire erected to control the Welsh border which +remains in complete repair and is occupied at the present time. It is +indelibly associated with the Myddeltons, an ancient Denbigh family +who have been identified with every popular movement in that part of +the country for centuries past. The present owner is Mr. Richard +Myddelton. + + (_The Castle is open Mondays and Tuesdays 2 to 5 p.m., 1s. + each person; other days special orders, Estate Office, + Chirk, 5s. for three persons._) + +The builder of the existing fortress was Roger Mortimer, Lord of +Chirk, who in 1310 commenced work upon the site of Castell Crogen, +which dated from 1011. In 1595 it came into the possession of Sir +Thomas Myddelton, subsequently Lord Mayor of London. Sir Hugh +Myddelton, of New River fame, was his brother. The Royalists seized +the castle in the absence of the second Sir Thomas Myddelton, a +Parliamentarian, who had the pleasant experience of battering his own +property in the endeavour to retake it. Becoming disgusted with +Parliamentarian excesses, he became Royalist again, and was besieged. +So much damage was done by the artillery of Cromwell that £30,000 were +spent subsequently on repairs. + +It is a quadrangular structure, with embattled walls, four towers of +great strength at the angles, and another defending the gateway. A +court of considerable area occupies the centre. Some very interesting +pictures form part of the treasures of the house, and among them is +the exquisite cabinet given to Sir Thomas by Charles II. The exterior +aspect is extremely pleasing, with ivy-covered walls and red-grey +stonework forming a background to the old-world gardens. Traces of +Offa's Dyke occur near the farmhouse at the foot of the castle. The +beautiful Ceriog Valley is an attractive feature of this +neighbourhood. + +The road to Llangollen from Chirk commands a fine view of the vale, +and a sight of one of the most striking features of the Dee Valley, +the great aqueduct conveying the canal across it at a height of 120 +feet above the river. An iron trough in the stonework contains the +water. There are nineteen arches, and the length is over 1,000 feet. +It is one of Telford's masterpieces. + + (_For a description of the route from Llangollen to Corwen, + see pp. 69-71._) + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 4. CORWEN TO LLANDUDNO.] + +Leaving Corwen, the river is passed by a bridge, and a glimpse +afforded up the Vale of Edeyrnion to the left, at the end of which +lies Bala Lake and the source of the Dee. There are many glimpses of +charming scenery and nestling homesteads to be seen between Corwen and +Cerrig-y-Druidon, although the latter lies upon a somewhat bare +tableland perched nearly 1,000 feet above sea-level. The British camp +of Pen-y-Gaer lies to the right of it. Pentre Voelas is situated at +the beginning of the long descent into Bettws, and this part of the +road commands as beautiful scenery as one could wish to see. A little +more than four miles beyond Pentre Voelas is a turning on the left to +Penmachno, and a few yards farther on the Conway Falls are seen at the +bottom of a deep ravine. The celebrated Fairy Glen may be reached by +means of a broad green path, which leaves the main road at the same +place as that leading to the Conway Falls. The wicket-gate, beyond +which the glen is reached, is nearly three-quarters of a mile down +this track. The beauty of the glen is so conspicuously appealing that +it has won for itself an almost world-wide renown. The road from this +point descends rapidly, crosses the Waterloo Bridge, and enters +Bettws-y-Coed. + + +BETTWS Y COED. + +The charm of this delightful locality is felt by everyone who comes +within its influence. From the village itself not a mountain is +visible, but all around are beautiful glades and the profuse richness +of vegetation flourishing in subtle, harmonious accord with rocks and +dashing waters. The Miner's Bridge lies about a mile along the Capel +Curig Road, with the Swallow Falls a mile farther. To Capel Garmon a +footpath ascends, and also a zigzag road. It affords a magnificent +panoramic view of the chief heights of the Snowdonian Range, with the +exception of Snowdon itself, which is hidden by the grand mass of +Moel Siabod. An interesting cromlech lies near Capel Garmon. + +Resuming the journey, the road to Llanrwst passes over the Waterloo +Bridge and turns sharply to the left. Llyn-y-Parc is seen across the +Conway, lying at the base of spurs projecting from the mountains +beyond, and Gwydir Castle appears at the farther end of it. + + +LLANRWST + +This ancient market town contains a church dating from the fifteenth +century, when it replaced a much older one. It contains several +interesting monuments and an elaborate screen. The beautiful Gwydir +Chapel was designed by Inigo Jones; it dates from 1633, and contains +five brasses of members of the Wynne family. The large stone coffin of +Llewellyn the Great, son-in-law of King John, is preserved here, +having been removed from Conway Abbey. The effigy in armour represents +Howel Coetmore, who led a hundred Denbighshire men at Poitiers. + +~Gwydir Castle~ was built in 1555, and partly rebuilt in 1816. In the +absence of the family (Lord Carrington is the owner) it is possible +that the interesting interior may be seen. The park contains much +natural beauty, one conspicuous feature being the lofty Falcon Rock +behind the house. Llanrwst Bridge, built by Inigo Jones in 1636, is +said to tremble if sudden pressure be placed on one of the parapets. + +Two miles out of Llanrwst the village of ~Trefriew~ is seen across the +river, a summer resort and inland watering-place. Presently the site +of Maenan Abbey, which disappeared at the Reformation, is passed, +before reaching Maenan House. The mountains lying between the Conway +Valley and Nant Ffrancon now present a fine spectacle. Shortly after +Tal-y-Cafn a dangerous hill is encountered, and from its summit the +Roman station of _Canovium_, situated near Caerhun on the +Carnarvonshire side, may be discerned. As the fishing at this part of +the estuary is noted, some coracles may perhaps be seen. The road +between Glan Conway and Llandudno reveals grand views of Conway +Castle and Mountain, and all the varied scenery which makes the +estuary so famous. + + +LLANDUDNO + +The 'Biarritz of Britain' is not an inappropriate name for this +favoured town, which possesses every advantage of splendid climate, +beautiful scenery, and perfect bathing. + +Great Orme's Head is generally the object of the first excursion. In +the early morning it looks very imposing, with the exquisite effect of +moving mist lying upon the placid waters of the bay at its base, and +the summit of the great limestone mass reddened by the hues of the +rising sun. It may be seen from the carriage-road which circles it, +and affords splendid views of mountain and sea, probably unsurpassed +in the kingdom; but the best way is to ascend to the summit by a +well-marked road north of the town leading from Church Street, and to +visit St. Tudno's Church, with its quaint entrance, 4½ feet in height, +of rugged stones, and its general aspect of antiquity. The church is +seen from Telegraph Point, which dominates the peninsula. A cromlech +lies to the left of the road leading to it, and the remains of a stone +circle are above the church. There is plenty of rough scrambling to be +obtained. + +The carriage-drive is best entered near the pier (_motors one shilling +toll; pedestrians one penny_). The way rises and falls like the +Corniche Road; red rocks alternate with white or grey limestone; at +times the track is at a giddy height, and presently near the surface +of the water. The view up the Menai Straits, with the coasts of +Anglesey and Carnarvon nearing each other at the bridges, is very +fine, but when the farthest point of the headland is reached, that +which leads back to the town is no less beautiful, affording as it +does one of the finest prospects of the noble outline of the +Carnarvonshire Mountains. + +The visitor should not fail to visit the Little Orme, where the sheer +cliffs and grassy summit often offer a seclusion much appreciated +after the boisterous exuberances of an August crowd. There are many +coigns of vantage around Llandudno from which the appreciative +traveller can gaze over mountain, sea, and strath, and also a number +of interesting edifices that may be visited if sufficient time is +allowed. + +Unlike Aberystwyth, there is a considerable choice of hotels at +Llandudno. The Queen's is recommended for its fine position on the +front and for its general excellence. + + [Illustration: CONWAY FROM BENARTH. + On the left is the famous Edwardian castle and leading to it is + Telford's tubular bridge. Great Orme's Head appears in the distance.] + + + + +SECTION V + +(TRUNK ROUTE) + +LLANDUDNO TO BANGOR, 18¾ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Llandudno= to Conway 3¾ + =Conway= to Penmaenmawr 4½ + =Penmaenmawr= to Llanfairfechan 2¾ + =Llanfairfechan= to Bangor 7¾ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +At =Penmaenmawr= a gradient of 1 in 14. + +Before reaching =Llanfairfechan= 1 in 12. Surface good. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Conway.=--The suspension bridge by Telford; castle; church; the +medieval town walls and bastions; Plas Mawr, a sixteenth-century +house. + +=Penmaenmawr.=--Fine cliff scenery; large British fort above quarries. + +=Llanfairfechan.=--A typical Welsh watering-place. + +=Aber.=--Falls. + +=Bangor.=--Model village of Llandegai; Penrhyn Castle; cathedral; +University buildings. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 5. LLANDUDNO TO BANGOR.] + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 5--CONWAY.] + +The road into Conway leads over the suspension bridge built by +Telford, the harmony of the towers with the adjacent castle being a +subject of general congratulation. The entrance to ~the Castle~ +(_admission 3d._) is close to the end of the bridge. The structure +possesses the characteristics of Edwardian castles, with more +ornamentation than usual, and was undoubtedly, when perfect, one of +the most magnificent fortresses in the kingdom. It commands, as usual, +one of the roads through the passes leading from Wales--that from the +Snowdon district and Anglesey. The chief points of interest are the +Queen's Tower, with its oratory, the Great Hall, the King's Tower, and +the Broken Tower. It is a matter for surprise that so much remains of +interest in the castle to the present day, which, like nearly all the +castles in Wales, was dismantled by the Parliamentarians. The soft +grey colour of the stone, and the warm, rich greens and browns of the +foliage which creeps over them, is exceptionally pleasing; the +delightful views of the surrounding country, and the wonderful +position occupied by the massive walls, all conduce to render Conway +Castle a conspicuous landmark in the recollection of the traveller. + +In passing down Castle Street, a late Perpendicular carved stone on +the front of a house on the south side is of interest, and so also is +a quaint building, now a temperance hall, dating from the year 1400. + +One of the entrances ~to the Church~ lies in this street. The building +is of the Decorated period, and is of great interest, as it contains a +Perpendicular rood-loft, richly carved, with priests' entrance in +perfect preservation, and a fine screen; a lace humeral and corporal +400 years old, preserved behind glass in the vestry; and a curious +post-Reformation arched tomb on the south side of the chancel. + +~The Walls~ of Conway are unique, and form the best example in Europe of +thirteenth-century scientific fortification. The Saracenic influence +engendered by the Crusades is strongly exemplified in their +construction; they are one mile in circuit, about 12 feet thick, with +four gates and many semicircular towers. The feature of piercing the +merlons of the battlements for the discharge of arrows is exemplified +here, as in the castle. This undulating, encircling wall, clothed with +creepers in parts, and presenting picturesque features at every turn, +is a dream of medievalism not often encountered. Upon the quay stands +the reputed smallest house in Great Britain, squeezed into a corner of +the fortifications; one can stand in the road and shake hands with a +person in the upper story. + +~Plas Mawr~, or Queen Elizabeth's Palace (_admission 6d._), dates from +1585, and has its chief frontage in Crown Lane. It is a perfectly +preserved example of the architecture of that period, and abounds in +archæological objects of interest. The 365 windows and 52 doors are +not merely a coincidence. + + * * * * * + +Leaving Conway, the ~Sychnant Pass~ may be traversed if desired; it is a +steep road leading over the mountains to Penmaenmawr, revealing fine +views over the whole district. + +The main road leads round the coast via Penmaenbach Point, near Conway +Mountain (upon which are traces of an ancient fort). At ~Penmaenmawr~ +one finds a cluster of modern villas, of every size and design, +nestling at the foot of an enormous mass of stone towering up to a +height of 1,550 feet--the well-known Penmaenmawr Mountain. Upon the +summit, which affords a magnificent view for many miles round, are the +ruins of one of the strongest of the early British forts, said to +have accommodated 20,000 men. It is a matter for infinite regret that +this important link with primitive Wales should be doomed to disappear +through the steady advance of the huge quarries now eating into the +hill. These quarries, and the steep tramway-lines up to them, also +very seriously detract from the beauty of the spot. After leaving the +village, the great round hump upon the summit of the mountain can be +plainly seen from the road. + +At ~Llanfairfechan~, a small seaside resort, one reaches a typical Welsh +resort--bathing-machines and sands combined with incipient +mountain-climbing. + +~The Falls at Aber~ are two miles from the road, and can only be reached +by footpath. The effect of the falls varies greatly with the season; +but the climb up the valley towards Foel Fras is very fine. The road +now passes inland somewhat, and the views of the Straits, of +Beaumaris, and of Puffin Island, hitherto enjoyed, become obscured by +trees. Near Bangor one of the entrances to the park surrounding +Penrhyn Castle is seen upon the right, and here is the Model Village +of Llandegai, interesting to those engaged in the social problems of +the day. Workmen on the Penrhyn estate are housed in pretty cottages +grouped in twos or threes, and placed in gardens. Avenues of trees +shade the village roads, in the middle of which is Llandegai Church +(_the key generally hangs up in the porch_). A tomb with two recumbent +effigies of interest lies within: it came from Llanfaes Priory, but +whom it represents is not known; the armour of the knight and the +costume of the lady point to _c._ 1470. The church is charmingly clean +and well kept. In the village no public-house is allowed, a state of +things which has been productive of the very best results. + +The road runs some distance by the park, and at times affords a view +of ~Penrhyn Castle~, the entrance to which is seen upon taking a sharp +turn to the right, when Penrhyn Port is perceived; the bridge leads up +to the gateway. (_Open Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, 10 to 5; 2s. +for one person; 1s. extra for each additional one. Half the proceeds +goes to local hospitals._) The castle is an impressive modern +reproduction of a Norman fortress; the keep reminds one of Rochester, +and is really fine. The interior is worth a visit, if only to see how +Lord Penrhyn has adapted modern luxury to the rough Norman +architecture. + + +BANGOR + +Upon leaving the castle, University College is passed upon the right, +and a drive through the street leads to an open triangular space, +where the cathedral comes into sight. Although the cathedral site has +a rich history, having been occupied by the first church about 525, +yet the present edifice is singularly uninteresting and unimpressive. +This is undoubtedly due to the fact that the Saxon church was +destroyed in 1071, the Norman successor in 1211, and the Early English +building in 1407, when it was reduced to ruins, and remained so for +nearly a century. Consequently, the main part of the present edifice +only dates from Henry VII.'s reign, and the tower from 1532. There is +nothing of interest in the cathedral and but little outside. The +clock, however, upon the occasion of the writer's recent visit, was +worth noting, as the hands, the striking parts, and Greenwich time, +were all at variance. Thus, when the hands pointed to 9.54, Greenwich +time was 9.49, and the clock struck 10. + + [Illustration: CONWAY VALLEY. + A peep of the River Conway between Bettws-y-Coed and Conway.] + +From the road leading downwards by the cathedral there is a view of +the new University buildings, placed upon a commanding site +overlooking the town. Lower Bangor lies in an amphitheatre of +hills, upon which Upper Bangor is being built, the latter embracing +the fashionable part of the town, and also the goal of pleasure-seekers, +who patronize the sands and the pier. + + + + +LOOP No. 2 + +BANGOR TO BETTWS-Y-COED, 20¼ MILES + +(The scenery of these twenty miles is so remarkably impressive that +this short run is strongly recommended. The return journey can be made +via Conway (as described in Section V.), a distance of thirty miles, +or a return by the same road need not be shirked, for the scenery +unfolds fresh glories when travelling in the opposite direction.) + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Bangor= to Bethesda 5¼ + =Bethesda= to Llyn Ogwen 4½ + =Llyn Ogwen= to Capel Curig 5 + =Capel Curig= to Bettws-y-Coed 5½ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +A steady rise from =Bethesda to Llyn Ogwen=, then level for 2 miles. + +A long descent to =Bettws-y-Coed=, steep at times. Surface good. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Penrhyn Castle.=--Modern Norman structure (open to public). + +=Llandegai Model Village.=--Church, with interesting tomb. + +=Bethesda Slate Quarries.= + +=Nant Ffrancon.=--Scenery wild and grand. + +=Llyn Idwal and the Devil's Kitchen.=--Stern rock and lake scenery. + +=Llyn Ogwen.=--A wild lake among the mountains. + +=Capel Curig.=--The Cyfyng Falls; grand view of Snowdon. + +=Bettws-y-Coed= (see p. 84).--A charming village in a steep leafy +valley. + + + [Map: LOOP 2. BANGOR TO BETTWS-Y-COED.] + +Those who wish to see Wales in all its aspects should on no account +miss the twenty-mile run from Bangor to Bettws. It has been termed the +most impressive pass in North Wales, and poetically referred to as +'Beauty sleeping in the lap of Horror.' To fully grasp the feeling of +the place a walk through it on a mild winter's day is desirable, and +on January 1 of last year one of the writers experienced that +sensation, when flying scud and wild lashing torrents of occasional +rain from whirling masses of black clouds upon the sombre peaks added +a realistic force to the wildness of the scene. + +The road leading to Penrhyn Castle and Llandegai is that which should +be taken. At Bethesda a typical slate-quarrying town is reached, with +great 'tips' of refuse encircling it; the continual roar and rattle of +engines, dragging tramloads of slate, high above the roadway, is +punctuated with the occasional boom of the blastings. The quarries may +be visited if desired, when a memorable sight will be witnessed. + +There is nothing in this centre of Welsh Nonconformity of antiquarian +interest, and soon a steady ascent leads from it into the Nant +Ffrancon Pass, presumably the Valley of Beavers. Upon the right lies a +range of mountains, each over 3,000 feet in height, and well known to +climbers--Elidyr Fawr, Y Garn, and Glyder Fawr, with Glyder Fach +straight in front, and the giant mass of Moel Siabod behind it. On the +left, Carnedd Llewelyn, 3,484 feet, and Carnedd Dafydd, 3,426 feet, +send down great shoulders into the pass, where the winding road, ever +ascending, climbs above the grassy valley lying between the encircling +giants. At Benglog Bridge, where the foaming Afon Ogwen leaps down the +boulders in a torrent, one is nearly 1,000 feet above sea-level. Here +the lonely Llyn Ogwen comes into view, but before passing it the short +clamber over rocks to Llyn Idwal should on no account be omitted. The +path begins behind the little inn, and winds by the side of the stream +draining from the lake which abruptly comes into view. This lonely +tarn, with its waters reflecting the black scarp of Glyder Fawr, +seldom or never lit up by the sun's rays, and often lashed into foam +by the fierce eddies sweeping down from the mountains, is the very +embodiment of awe-inspiring impressiveness. Even if the day be +beautiful there is a wild loneliness, which is accentuated by the +legend of Prince Idwal being brutally murdered here by Dunawt at the +instigation of his father, to whom the youth had been entrusted by his +parents. + +The terrific black chasm seen in the rocks overshadowing the pool is +named ~Twll Du~, or ~the Black Cleft~, but popularly 'The Devil's +Kitchen.' It is 450 feet high and 100 feet deep, narrowing in places +to 6 feet wide. A foaming cataract of troubled waters pours down, +forming in its fall the hollows at the base termed 'The Devil's Pots.' +Many fatal accidents to climbers have occurred here in ascending to +Llyn Bochlwyd, lying nearly 700 feet higher, on Glyder Fach, last year +(1910) being by no means immune. + +South of Lake Ogwen, ~Tryfaen~, the three-headed mountain, is remarkably +impressive. Soon after the lake is passed a descent commences to Capel +Curig, where a magnificent view of the eastern slopes of Snowdon is +obtained between Moel Siabod and Glyder Fawr. The combined waters of +the Llugwy and Nant-y-Gwryd accompany the road as it leads downwards +to Bettws-y-Coed, with the Swallow Falls and Miners' Bridge, as +previously noticed (see p. 84). + + + + +SECTION VI + +(TRUNK ROUTE) + +BANGOR TO DOLGELLEY, 65¾ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Bangor= to Carnarvon 9 + =Carnarvon= to Llanberis 7½ + =Llanberis= to Pen-y-Gwryd 6½ + =Pen-y-Gwryd= to Beddgelert 7¾ + =Beddgelert= to Penrhyn Deudraeth 7½ + =Penrhyn Deudraeth= to Harlech 6½ + =Harlech= to Barmouth 11 + =Barmouth= to Dolgelley 10 + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=Bangor to Carnarvon.=--Nearly level and splendid surface. + +=Carnarvon to Llanberis.=--Steep hills for 4 miles, then easy +gradients and good surface. + +Steady rise through =Pass of Llanberis=. + +Remainder of the route splendid surface, with occasional moderate +hills. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Carnarvon.=--The Roman town of _Segontium_; magnificent +thirteenth-century castle; town walls; St. Mary's Church. + +Splendid views of the =Snowdon precipices=. + +=Llanberis.=--A popular resort consisting of old and new villages; +Dolbadarn Castle; waterfall; slate quarries; mountain railway. + +=Pass of Llanberis.=--Cromlech, so called; impressive scenery. + +=Beddgelert.=--A picturesque village; Gelert's grave; church; +prettiest part of route. + +=Aberglaslyn.=--Pass and bridge; delightful scenery. + +=Penrhyn.=--Ffestiniog Toy Railway; Deudraeth Castle, of modern +construction. + +=Harlech.=--County town (small) of Merioneth; castle in commanding +position. + +=Llanbedr.=--A village; Llyn Cwm Bychan, a wild lake; Roman steps. + +=Llanddwywe.=--Church; Cors-y-Gedol cromlechs. + +=Llanaber.=--Church, Early English architecture; interesting stone +relic. + +=Barmouth.=--Modern watering-place; bridge; panorama walk; magnificent +views of the estuary of the Mawddach. + +=Bontddu.=--Water-fall. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 6. BANGOR TO DOLGELLEY.] + + [Map: No. 6. BANGOR TO DOLGELLEY.] + +The road from Bangor leads past the ~Menai Suspension Bridge~ over the +Straits, once a wonder of the world, but now overshadowed by the Forth +Bridge and others. It was opened in 1826. The total length of the +roadway is 1,000 feet, which is suspended over the water at a height +of 100 feet above the highest spring-tide. The view from the bridge is +most picturesque, but it is hardly worth while to take a car over. +(_Motor-car 2s. toll; foot passengers 1d. each._) The bridge has a +very distinct swing in a high wind. Farther on one sees the ~Britannia +Tubular Bridge~, opened in 1850, and carrying the railway across in two +hollow tubes of enormous strength. No one can accuse this engineering +feat of being beautiful, but it has thoroughly proved its efficiency. +The Anglesey Column forms a prominent landmark at the farther end of +the bridge; it was erected as a memorial of the Marquis of Anglesey +who distinguished himself at Waterloo. The well-known Plas Newydd, the +residence of the present peer, lies adjacent, and there also is the +village of ~Llanfair~, sometimes Llanfair Pwll Gwyngyll, and a full name +of fifty-four letters if one is still more respectful. At Port +Dinorwic vessels load up with slates from Bethesda. The view of the +Anglesey coast is fine at first, but the shores gradually deteriorate +as one reaches Carnarvon, eventually spreading out in mud flats. + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 6--CARNARVON.] + +CARNARVON + +As the great Roman town and fortress of _Segontium_, the reputed +birthplace of Constantine the Great, the site of a famous feudal +fortress, and the birthplace of the first Prince of Wales, Carnarvon +undoubtedly occupies a unique position in British history, and, as it +still possesses tangible evidences of most of its past record, the +traveller is unwise who passes by without a stay of at least a few +hours' duration, though a few days would be more appropriate. + + [Map: GROUND PLAN OF CARNARVON CASTLE. + + A. Eagle Tower. + B. Queen's Tower. + C. Chamberlain's Tower. + D. Black Tower. + E. Granary Tower. + F. Well Tower. + G. Banqueting Hall.] + +Behind the Royal Hotel, which is passed on entering the town, is a +small rocky knob, easily climbed, called Twt Hill, a coign of vantage +for viewing the Carnarvon mountains, the Straits, Anglesey, and +Carnarvon itself. On a clear day the mountains of Wicklow can be seen, +and as a practical exponent of the ichnography of the town the hill is +of great use. The approach to the castle by a narrow road suddenly +reveals a view of ~Carnarvon Castle~, the vast dimensions of which may +probably be best gleaned by walking down to the slate wharf on the +River Seoint, laving the walls. Here the great height of the walls, +the quality of the excellent stonework, and the general effect of +impregnability, are realized. Returning to the main entrance, the +great arch known as the ~Queen's Doorway~ is passed high up in the +wall; it is the traditional spot whence the infant Edward was shown to +the Welsh chieftains by his father. The drawbridge at one time crossed +the street at this point; an inn now occupies the sight of the +barbican. Within the castle (_admission 4d._) the visitor is at once +struck with the idea that a medieval fortress in its entirety is +presented to the view; there are no crumbling ruins or ivy-clad masses +of fallen masonry, as in the majority of structures of this nature. +This is accounted for by the fact that it belongs to the Crown, and +every stone as it becomes weathered is carefully replaced. The castle +is, in fact, a most interesting study for the archæologist, as +illustrating medieval methods of defence. The Eagle Tower, the reputed +apartment where Edward II. was born, the Queen's Gateway, and other +interesting parts, are pointed out by the keeper. It should be +remembered that the castle is the finest in Europe except one; that it +was built by Edward I. in 1283, heightened by Edward II., garrisoned +by the Royalists in the Civil War under Lord Byron, and after an able +defence surrendered to the Parliamentarians, who ordered its +demolition in 1660, which was fortunately not carried out. ~The Town +Walls~ of Carnarvon are interesting objects to the visitor, as is also +St. Mary's Church, built into the walls, a tower forming the vestry +and the walls two sides of the church. + +Of _Segontium_, the great Roman station, but little remains. A portion +of the wall, in bad condition, lies in a narrow lane at the top of the +hill, gained by ascending Pool Street and Tithebarn Street and passing +round to the right, at the back of the Rectory, before reaching +Llanbeblig Church. There are other and better sections to be seen by +making inquiries. In one instance, in the front-garden of a house, it +is some 20 feet in height, formed of beautifully squared stones, and +can be seen from the roadway; by the courtesy of the occupiers it is +quite possible for a nearer view to be obtained. This wall undoubtedly +extended to the river. + + * * * * * + +The road to ~Llanberis~ leads from Castle Square up Pool Street for a +short distance, when Llanberis Road is entered. The route is to a +certain extent spoilt at first by intrusive chimneys and other +industrial manifestations. Llyn Padarn has also been ruined by +quarries, and probably was never celebrated for scenery. The peak of +Snowdon is seen intermittently upon the right, but the chief mountain +features are Elidyr Fawr (the other side of which has been seen from +Nant Ffrancon) and Carnedd Dafydd, 3,426 feet. + +~Llanberis~ is a favourite tourists' resort for fishing and +mountain-climbing, and a headquarters for excursions to neighbouring +points. + +~Dolbadarn Castle~ is of remote antiquity, and probably existed in the +sixth century, its position making it a fortress of importance. It has +probably seen as much wild work as any castle in Wales, especially +during the Glendower period, being the master-key to the Snowdon +region. + +~Old Llanberis~, beyond Llyn Peris, is more picturesque than the new, +and contains a church, which is chiefly interesting on account of the +graves in the churchyard of those who have lost their lives on +Snowdon. The entrance to the famous ~Pass of Llanberis~, between Glyder +Fawr and Snowdon, is very impressive, and the narrowness of the valley +gives it a distinct character compared with Nant Ffrancon. It is +probably the finest mountain defile traversed by a carriage-road in +the Principality. A huge mass of rock, which in falling has produced a +natural cromlech, is to be seen on the left. The summit of Glyder Fawr +appears before the end of the pass is reached, but that of Snowdon is +still hidden. The highest point of the pass is 1,179 feet above +sea-level. The views obtained upon reaching Pen-y-Gwryd are a relief +after the wildness of the route traversed. Moel Siabod to the left +front, with the sugar-loaf height of Cynicht, are prominent features, +while the view down the Gwynant Valley is one of the sweetest +prospects in Wales. At the hotel occurs an abrupt turning to the +right, and a sharp descent leads to Llyn Gwynant, a picturesque lake, +from which a grand view of the rugged slopes of Snowdon is obtained. +Llyn-y-Ddinas, farther on, is scarcely less pleasing. Soon afterwards + + +BEDDGELERT + +is entered, the most romantically situated village in Wales, standing +at the junction of three valleys, leading respectively to Carnarvon, +Portmadoc, and Capel Curig, and surrounded by a grand array of +mountain peaks. It derives its name from the story of Llewellyn's +hound, and means 'the grave of Gelert.' The rude monument said to +have been erected by the Prince in his repentance for the hasty act +may be reached in a few hundred yards from the village. Moel Habog, +2,566 feet, is an easy climb from here. The road to Penrhyn Deudraeth +leads through the romantic Pass of Aberglaslyn, and emerges upon the +far-famed bridge, where the rich colouring of the rocks, full of +exquisite contrasts with the foliage, delights the eye at every +glance. There are many parts of Switzerland that afford similar +visions of beauty and grandeur, but what Pont Aberglaslyn loses in +size it gains in the beauty of its colour. The junction of two roads +occurs here--one to Tremadoc, the other to Penrhyn. The latter drops +to an extensive and dreary plain, Traeth Mawr, across which the road +winds with many a sharp turn. The views of the distant mountains are +very effective, while straight in front the Castle of Harlech becomes +a prominent feature, with the waters of Cardigan Bay to right and +left. + + [Illustration: DISTANT VIEW OF PENMAENMAWR. + Between Conway and Bangor.] + +~Penrhyn Deudraeth~ is a mining village of no interest, except as the +starting-point of the Ffestiniog narrow-gauge railway. Here the river +draining the Vale of Ffestiniog enters a large sheet of water called +Traeth Bach, and, crossing it by a bridge, the Morfa Harlech, an +uninteresting flat, is entered, with the modern Castle of Deudraeth to +the right. Here the road runs between the Morfa and the high country +to the left, until it reaches the little town of + + +HARLECH + +Unless the visitor should happen to be a golfer and a frequenter of +the famous St. David's Club Links, there is practically nothing of +interest in the neighbourhood except the castle, famous in history and +song, which occupies a precipitous elevation in the front of the town. +The entry is opposite the Castle Hotel. (_Admission 4d._) A fortress +of some sort existed as early as the third century, when Bronwen, or +White-Bosomed, the daughter of Bran the Blessed, lived here. About 550 +a more substantial pile was raised, but this in turn was replaced by +the present castle, built by Edward I. in 1280, who, however, +incorporated much of the older building in his new fortress. In 1404 +it was seized by Glendower, but retaken by the King's troops in 1408. +Margaret of Anjou took refuge in it after Northampton in 1460. Edward +IV., after a long siege, captured it in 1468, and the 'March of the +Men of Harlech' dates from that period. During the Civil War the +castle was alternately in possession of both parties. It is now Crown +property. The magnificent view from the battlements should be seen. +Across the bay, seven miles, is the sister castle of Criccieth, while +the long promontory of Carnarvon, termed Lleyn, forms a bold feature +on the north-western horizon. The two highest elevations on the +promontory are The Rivals, and Bardsey Island is the detached +fragment. To the right there is a line of mountain peaks to Moel Hebod +and the Snowdon heights. Two and a half miles to the south of Harlech +the Island of Mochras lies off the shore, joined at low tide by an +isthmus. It is chiefly visited for its beautiful shells. Near it is +the commencement of the Sarn Badrig, a curious ledge of rocks, bare at +low tide, which runs far out into the waters of the bay. A similar +formation, though of less extent, lies off Aberystwyth. To the +antiquary the country to the east of Harlech is of the greatest +interest; it teems with relics, chiefly prehistoric, such as +cromlechs, stone circles, and dolmens. The far-famed Roman Steps, the +Lake of Cwm Bychan, with its abnormally savage surroundings, the Drws +Ardudwy, all lie in this interesting hinterland, mostly far away from +the main road. Near Llanbedr, however, between the road and the river, +and just short of the village, are two long stones, and another +bearing an Ogham inscription. ~Llanddwywe Church~ is not of any +particular interest, but two cromlechs stand nearly opposite the +King's Head Inn, about eighty yards from the road. The large cromlech +known as Arthur's Quoit is at some distance, near Cors-y-Gedol, the +old seat of the Vaughans, or Vychans, of Cors-y-Gedol. The church at +~Llanaber~ is of Early English architecture, and should be visited. An +inscribed stone of much interest and with various decipherings stands +near the north-west door; it was found below low-water mark on the +beach near the church. + + +BARMOUTH + +This rather overbuilt watering-place is situated in a romantic +position at the mouth of the Mawddach, and is remarkable for its +genial winter climate, the town being protected by the high hills +surrounding it. Apart from the visitors who crowd into the town during +the summer season, there are a great number who utilize it as a centre +for mountaineering, antiquarian, geological, and fishing excursions. +The houses are built up the face of the cliff, so that the +chimney-pots of one house are opposite the front-door of the house +behind, and it is possible to diagnose a neighbour's dinner by the +odours thus conveyed. The church is new, but some interesting +geological contortions occur near it. The view from the railway bridge +is one of the most remarkable in Wales. (_The toll is 2d., and one of +the best times for seeing the estuary and its mountainous setting is +at sunset._) High tide helps the scene enormously. A rich and sombre +purple, partly clothing the mountains, melts into exquisite gradations +of green and velvety browns. Cader Idris, upon the right, fills all +that side of the picture; the Arrans furnish the centre distance; +while the outliers of Llawr Lech and Y Garn occupy the left. A +well-known projection on the flanks of Cader is the Giant's Nose. + +The Panorama Walk is a favourite stroll from Barmouth; it is commenced +at a terrace bearing the curious name of Porkington, and +direction-boards indicate the route. The path truly deserves the name +it has been given, although the labelling of scenery in this way is +exceedingly distasteful. + + +THE ESTUARY OF THE MAWDDACH + +The road to Dolgelley lies upon the northern shore of this famous +estuary, and for beauty and impressiveness cannot easily be +overpraised. The many windings in the road accentuate its charm, +glimpses, sometimes of entrancing beauty, being frequently presented +to the traveller. Besides the scenery there are no special objects to +be indicated upon the road; just beyond Brintirion, however, a stream +descends which has passed through the gold-field of St. David's, lying +upon the slopes of the mountain above. The ruins of ~Cymmer Abbey~, near +Llanelltyd, remind one forcibly of Valle Crucis Abbey, so charming and +reposeful are the surroundings. It was founded _c._ 1200 by the +Cistercians, and dissolved at the Reformation. The adjoining farmhouse +contains parts of the refectory and abbot's lodging. The eastern +portion of the church is in the best preservation, and upon the south +are a few Early English arches and pillars. The road here turns +sharply to the right to Dolgelley, and, entering this quaintly-situated +little town, the Golden Lion Hotel is found in the market-place near the +church. + + + + +LOOP No. 3 + +DOLGELLEY TO CEMMAES VIA TAL-Y-LLYN, 40 MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Dolgelley= to Penmaenpool 2½ + =Penmaenpool= to Arthog 4½ + =Arthog= to Llwyngwril 5 + =Llwyngwril= to Llanegryn 4 + =Llanegryn= to Abergynolwyn 6 + =Abergynolwyn= to Tal-y-llyn 3 + =Tal-y-llyn= to Corris 4 + =Corris= to Machynlleth 5 + =Machynlleth= to Cemmaes 6 + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +Surface to =Llwyngwril= excellent. + +Near =Arthog= gradient of 1 in 10. + +Near =Friog= gradient of 1 in 14. + +Ascent of 1 in 9 near =Abergynolwyn=, and descent of 1 in 6 into the +village. + +After =Tal-y-llyn= ascent of 1 in 7, and descent to =Corris= 1 in 16. + +Surface generally good to =Machynlleth=. + +Then excellent road, but hilly, to =Cemmaes=. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Arthog.=--Waterfalls. + +=Llwyngwril.=--A village; remains of Castell-y-Gaer. + +=Llanegryn.=--Church with magnificent rood-loft; Bird Rock in +distance. + +=Tal-y-llyn.=--A lake near Cader Idris. + +=Corris.=--Toy railway; slate district. + +=Machynlleth.=--Market town; remains of old Senate-house. + + + [Map: LOOP 3. DOLGELLEY TO CEMMAES VIA TAL-Y-LLYN.] + +The road from Dolgelley passes, with many windings, from the town to +the estuary at Penmaenpool, to which place excursion steamers run +during the summer from Barmouth. Although the scenery upon the south +bank of the Mawddach is not so fine as that upon the north, yet the +mountains of Ardudwy, as the hinterland of Barmouth was anciently +called, present an imposing aspect, and sometimes compose a pretty +picture when seen through the umbrageous foliage which lines the road +on both sides. If the tide be high, the view is accentuated by the +reflections in the broad expanse of water, and singularly beautiful +glimpses are at times displayed. The undulating road, flanked at times +by the universal whitewashed cottages, reaches ~Arthog~, a small village +situated at the base of a finely wooded, diversified ground, about a +mile from which are the Arthog Lakes, and at a short distance from the +hotel a waterfall, of considerable beauty after a heavy fall of +rain, but much attenuated in dry weather. At Friog the slate quarries +are apparent on the left of the road, and a steady rise begins, +leading to an excellent retrospective view of Barmouth, Harlech +Castle, and the Lleyn Peninsula to Bardsey. + + [Illustration: SNOWDON FROM TRAETH MAWR.] + + +LLWYNGWRIL + +is a small village, with the Dyffryn River passing through it under a +bridge. Castell-y-Gaer lies upon its banks at a short distance up the +stream, consisting of small masses of broken ivy-clad masonry, of an +unknown fortress so far as history is concerned. Upon the bridge +before mentioned on Sunday evenings after church or chapel the youths +and maidens of the village congregate to sing the sweet Welsh refrains +handed down through long generations, and harmonized with a beauty of +feeling which only a music-loving nation can express. Among the men +singularly rich basses prevail; north of Barmouth, strange to say, +tenors predominate. The route turns abruptly inland beyond +Llangelynin, and the village of + + +LLANEGRYN, + +lying off the main road, but approached by a lane, appears on the +left. It contains a church well worth visiting, inasmuch as the superb +rood-screen is among the finest in the British Isles. It is of early +Perpendicular work, and the loft above is quite perfect except for the +actual rood and the figures of saints. A good roof and an interesting +Norman font should also be noticed. + + +THE BIRD ROCK + +may be seen from this point, an isolated crag of peculiar shape +standing up black and dour against the mountains beyond. The weird +beauty of the landscape can hardly be overpraised. The road leading +straight onwards passes almost underneath the rock, but the main route +to the right descends to the bridge over the river, draining the +Dysynni Valley, and Tal-y-llyn. Here are some sharp turns, but +presently the very narrow road is reached, leading directly to the +lake. Passing another vehicle is not an easy matter. The scenery +increases in beauty as one progresses, the little railway to the right +having scarcely the smallest deteriorating effect upon the valley. The +ruins of Castell-y-Bere, formerly one of the largest in Wales, and +once visited by Edward I., lie in the adjacent valley to the left, to +which the narrow road leads, coming into Abergynolwyn on the left. + + +TAL-Y-LLYN + +Tal-y-llyn is a quarter of a mile in width, and a little over a mile +in length. It lies under Cader Idris, although the summit is not +visible from it; two great craters, however, carved in its rocky +flanks, form a fitting background on the left. In front lies a valley, +by ascending which the ~Cross Foxes Inn~ is reached, and subsequently +Dolgelley. Extravagant praise has been lavished upon the lake by many +travellers, but one misses some essentials to claims of exceptional +beauty. No quality of mystery appeals to the imagination; the lake +does not lie in an appalling neighbourhood of black riven rocks or in +a glen of surpassing beauty. All is open, and the whole is seen at one +vision. Anglers, however, find Tal-y-llyn an ideal spot. At the +farther end of the lake the road, after a branch track to the right by +a cottage has been passed, turns to the right up a steep ascent, from +whose summit a retrospective view of the lake is perhaps the best +obtainable. The road to Corris through Nant Gwgan is pretty, with +occasional waterfalls and stone slides from the shoulders of mountains +towering hundreds of feet above the pass. The rich browns and greens +and subtler shades of grey form charming contrasts of colour. +Unfortunately, the lower end of the pass is disfigured by many slate +quarries. Upper Corris is strongly reminiscent of Bethesda. A monument +is erected here on the left side of the road to Alfred W. Hughes, +F.R.C.S., who died in 1900 of fever during the war in South Africa. A +quarry railway, with a miniature station and a gauge of 2 feet 3 +inches, runs by the side of the road. At Corris, which is a +slate-mining town pure and simple, the road trends to the right, and +the view becomes less circumscribed as the vale of Afon Dulas widens +out. When the Dovey Valley is reached a wide expanse of alluvial land +comes into view, through which the river meanders westwards towards +its estuary. + + +MACHYNLLETH + +Machynlleth is a spacious and well-built market town and borough with +two main streets, wide and pleasant, with well-kept shops, thus +forming a marked contrast in that respect to the majority of Welsh +towns. It forms one of the centres of the woollen industry of the +county, and indulges somewhat in the tanning business as well. The +clock-tower is a prominent object; the church has no features of +interest worth recording; the Market-house dates only from 1783, and +of antiquarian curiosities there are but few. An old black-and-white +cottage at the end of Maengwyn Street, which branches off to the left +at the chief main street, has 'OWEN PUGH O VXOR 1628' for 'Owen Pugh +and wife.' The 'O,' however, is baffling as a conjunction. Opposite +are portions of the old Senate-house, the reputed building in which +Owen Glendower succeeded in persuading the nobles and commons to +acknowledge him Prince of Wales in 1402. Upon the hills surrounding +Machynlleth remains occur which appear to indicate that the town was a +Roman station, and coins have occasionally been found to confirm +this. A good road up the Valley of the Dovey leads to Cemmaes, where +the trunk route is again reached. + +(_For a description of the road from Cemmaes to Dolgelley, see Section +VII._) + + + + +LOOP No. 4 + + +CEMMAES TO ABERYSTWYTH AND LLANGURIG, 49¾ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Cemmaes= to Machynlleth 5½ + =Machynlleth= to Talybont 10¾ + =Talybont= to Aberystwyth 9¼ + =Aberystwyth= to Goginan 7½ + =Goginan= to Ponterwyd 4¼ + =Ponterwyd= to Dyffryn Castell Hotel 2 + =Dyffryn Castell Hotel= to Llangurig 10½ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=Cemmaes to Aberystwyth.=--Good surface all the way, but hilly; worst +gradients before and after Talybont, 1 in 13 and 1 in 11. + +First 12 miles after =Aberystwyth= splendid surface, then becomes a +little rough and bumpy to =Llangurig=. + +There are some steep hills in the neighbourhood of the =Devil's +Bridge=. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Glandovey= (or =Glan Dyfi=).--Entrance for the beautiful Lyfnant +Valley; view over the estuary. + +=Aberystwyth.=--A considerable town, with ruins of an Edwardian castle +and the University buildings. + +=The Devil's Bridge.=--Grand scenery; the Parson's Bridge; the Punch +Bowl. + + + [Map: Loop 4. CEMMAES TO ABERYSTWYTH AND LLANGURIG.] + +The road down the Valley of the Dovey presents a pretty panorama, but +possesses no particular feature to arrest attention--it is merely a +pleasant drive. + + +GLANDOVEY + +This small place stands at the entrance to the Lyfnant Valley, one of +the most distractingly beautiful little glens in the whole of Wales, +with waterfalls, torrents, and utter wildness of vegetation, and +stern, bleak splendour at the farther end, where Pistyll-y-Llyn +showers its two foaming torrents headlong into the black caldron +beneath. The first cataract met, the Glaspwll Cascade, is a fine one, +but it cannot vie with the more remote example. There is a prettily +situated small castle on the left of the road. The estuary of the +Dovey now appears, and if the tide be at the flood, presents a very +fine prospect. Aberdovey generally has a brig or two lying off the +quay. An extensive salt marsh now comes into view, between which and +the high land the road runs. ~Borth~ lies on the coast of this plain; +its hydro, links, and beautiful sands attract visitors during the +summer. At Tre-Taliesin we are reminded of the grave of Taliesin, the +'King of the Bards' during the sixth century; the pilgrimage to his +grave, which lies about a mile to the left of the road, is a favourite +one from Aberystwyth. Two miles farther on the remains of a British +camp or fort crown the summit of Moel-y-Gaer, close to the road upon +the right; they are remarkably well preserved, and in the +neighbourhood are some Druidical circles. In this district the open +country around is quite park-like in many places; at times, however, +it reminds one of parts of Devonshire. About two miles from +Aberystwyth there is a beautiful vista of Cardigan Bay and the coast +laved by its waters, with the town lying below at the termination of a +long and rather trying hill. + + +ABERYSTWYTH + +Aberystwyth not only boasts of a high antiquity, but also of having +been the commercial centre for the Mid-Welsh counties. The trade has +now dwindled, but as a watering-place it easily holds its own as one +of the most frequented in Wales. The chief points of interest are: + +~The Castle~, the ruins of which occupy a position of prominence in the +centre of the town, was built by Gilbert de Strongbow in the reign of +Henry I. It was destroyed by Owen Gwynedd, and rebuilt by Edward I.; +in the Civil War it was dismantled by the Parliamentarians. The +grounds are now laid out in pleasant walks, affording fine views of +the coast. + +~The University Buildings~ adjoin the castle, and may be termed one of +the finest examples of recent architecture in the Principality. The +general effect of the modern buildings in the town is depressing, +probably owing to the use of the dark Silurian stone, covered with the +universal slate roof. + +The town is happy in having an immediate neighbourhood of great +interest to the antiquary and to the ordinary tourist, inasmuch as +many pleasant excursions may be indulged in, such, for example, as the +visits to Strata Florida Abbey, the Monk's Cave, Lyfnant Valley, and +the Devil's Bridge. + +The route to Llangurig commences in Aberystwyth, in Northgate Street, +and runs through Llanbadarn. At Pont Erwydd a road leads south to the +Devil's Bridge, fifteen miles, a feature which should not on any +account be missed. + +An alternative route, eleven and three-quarter miles to the bridge, is +a part of the direct road to Rhayader. + +(_a_) ~First Route, the Pont Erwydd.~--Road level for first six miles, +then rise to 1,027 feet; hilly. + +~Llanbadarn.~--Church much restored. + +~Bangor~ to ~Goginan~.--Lead-mines have destroyed scenery. A wild country +around Pont Erwydd, where the route turns to the right. + +(_b_) ~Alternative Route.~--The direct road to Devil's Bridge commences +in Bridge Street, crosses the harbour, and passes under the railway. + +About five miles out Cader Idris appears, twenty miles away to the +left. The view afterwards into the Rheidol Valley is very fine. The +highest point of the road, 989 feet above sea-level, commands a fine +view of the two peaks of Plynlimmon. Castell-fan-Crach is a +prehistoric earthwork. + +~The Devil's Bridge~ is situated in what is probably the finest and most +picturesque glen in the British Isles; the approach to it by either of +the roads described gives only a slight idea of its merits. The monks +of Strata Florida Abbey are supposed to have built the arch in the +time of Rufus; the second bridge dates from 1814. The Devil's Punch +Bowl, the Robbers' Cave, and the Falls of the Rheidol, should be seen. + +The road to Llangurig from Pont Erwydd leads through a bare valley +containing a large number of abandoned lead-mines--the dead hopes of +thousands of sanguine speculators. The highest point of the road, +1,368 feet, is only two and a half miles from the summit of Plynlimmon +(2,469 feet high), about two miles from the source of the Wye, and +four miles from that of the Severn. The mountain is dull and +uninteresting, being more of a flat spreading lump than a peak, and +has extensive tracts of bog-land and marsh. Descending towards +Llangurig, the Wye is crossed near an inn, and accompanies the road +down the valley, which is cultivated to a certain extent in its lower +portion. At Llangurig the main route is reached between Llanidloes and +Rhayader. + +(_For a description of the 30½ miles between Llangurig and Cemmaes, +see Section VII._) + + + + +SECTION VII + +(TRUNK ROUTE) + +DOLGELLEY TO LLANGURIG, 48¼ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Dolgelley= to Cross Foxes 3½ + =Cross Foxes= to Dinas Mawddwy 7 + =Dinas Mawddwy= to Cemmaes 7¼ + =Cemmaes= to Llanbrynmair 5¾ + =Llanbrynmair= to Carno 6 + =Carno= to Caersws 5¼ + =Caersws= to Llandinam 2½ + =Llandinam= to Llanidloes 6 + =Llanidloes= to Llangurig 5 + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +Steady rise to =Cross Foxes=, then very steep ascent to top of =Cold +Door Pass= (1 in 8), 988 feet high. + +Easy descent to =Dinas Mawddwy=. + +=Dinas Mawddwy to Carno.=--Undulating, but a rise just before Carno, 1 +in 12. + +=Carno to Caersws.=--Steady descent, occasionally sharp. + +After =Caersws= undulating, with a few stiff hills to =Llangurig=. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Dolgelley.=--Small town possessing little interest in itself. +Surroundings include Torrent Walk, Precipice Walk, Cader Idris, and +innumerable spots to which excursions on foot may be taken. + +=Cross Foxes.=--Splendid view from near this inn. + +=Dinas Mawddwy.=--A little town, prettily situated; grand view of Aran +Mawddwy, 2,970 feet. + +=Talerddig.=--A natural rock arch. + +=Caersws.=--Small village on site of Roman station, with visible +earthworks. + +=Llanidloes.=--A typical Welsh market town; the church; Van Mines. + +=Llangurig.=--The highest village in Wales. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 7. DOLGELLEY TO LLANGURIG.] + +DOLGELLEY, + +the capital town of Merionethshire, is situated in a wide and fertile +valley of singular beauty at the foot of Cader Idris. The streets are +exceptionally short and irregular. The parish church of St. Mary has +no particular merits; in it is preserved a fourteenth-century effigy +of one of the Vaughans, or Vychans, of Nannau. From Dolgelley various +excursions may be made to such places of rare beauty as the ~Precipice +Walk~, cut high up on the face of Moel Cynwch, with views over the +Gaullwyd Valley. ~The Torrent Walk~ is beautified by the rich greens and +browns lavished by Nature on the rocks by the foaming torrent of the +Clywedog. Three fine waterfalls are also to be found in the +neighbourhood, one the well-known Pistyll-y-Cain, while the ascent of +Cader from this town is a very desirable one. + +The road from Dolgelley to Dinas Mawddwy is an interesting one, both +by reason of the stiff climbs and also the fine views that accompany +it. The surface is generally inclined to be rough, and upon the +occasion of the writer's recent visit the portion leading down into +Dolgelley was appallingly bad. No doubt this state of things does not +exist now. At the ~Cross Foxes Inn~ the road turns sharply to the left +and mounts to ~Cold Door Pass~, situated upon a bleak moor, with a +splendid view of Cader Idris standing in grand isolation and beauty. +Many mountains suffer by the proximity of other heights, but Cader is +an exception. From the pass the road gradually descends through a +valley, increasing in beauty of verdure and foliage, to Dinas Mawddwy. + + +DINAS MAWDDWY + +This sequestered little town lies in a deep hollow formed by the +junction of two valleys, which discharge the streams they respectively +contain into the Dovey, occupying the main valley. The town consists +of one long street, with the grounds and house of Plas at the +termination. The church is chiefly known for its enormous yews, one in +particular being of really vast dimensions. Dinas Mawddwy is a centre +for anglers, sportsmen, and artists, and, during the season, for +excursionists. From the road a waterfall is a prominent feature. + +The road from Dinas Mawddwy follows the course of the Dovey, and lies +in a valley of singular beauty; although the mountains on either side +seldom approach 1,500 feet, yet they possess a beauty of form which +seems characteristic of the district, and are, as a rule, well wooded. + + +CEMMAES + +is a fairly large village lying off the main road, and nestling for +shelter under an outlying crag of the mountains to the west. Shortly +after, at Cemmaes Road, the route turns sharply to the left (by going +straight on one approaches Machynlleth), and looking backwards a fine +array of familiar peaks are seen up the broad valley just traversed. +The road to Caersws is at first very winding, with occasional sharp +dips; pleasant glimpses are obtained into well-wooded glens, where +tributaries of the river flow over their troubled course to join the +Afon Garno, or Carno, and before reaching Carno an extraordinary +stratification of the rocks is revealed, chiefly in the railway +cutting. A natural arch of anticlinal stratification occurs at +Talerddig, with every appearance of being built of masonry. At Carno +the valley becomes open and pastoral. + + +CAERSWS + +stands at the confluence of the River Carno and the Severn, and was a +place of considerable importance in the Roman period. Their influence +is still seen in the straight piece of road just traversed, and in +other sections still to be passed. In the centre of the village the +winter camp is seen, a rampart about 150 yards square, with the road +cutting across the centre. The vallum and accompanying fosse are at +some points well preserved. Several summer camps occupy the +surrounding heights, and many traces of the great Roman road going +east and west are to be discovered. At Moat Lane Junction, which lies +at a short distance to the left of the route, is a rectangular earthen +fort, with a moat adjacent surrounding a high mound, now covered with +firs. At ~Llandinam~ a statue to a certain David Davies stands +prominently by the roadside. The Severn Valley here is wide and open, +with many plantations of firs; the railway runs close beside the river +for miles. In the distance upon the right may be seen the rounded +summits of Plynlimmon, often dark and sombre against the sky. + + +LLANIDLOES + +This is a typical Welsh market town, extremely uninteresting and +remarkably dull, with the depressing style of architecture so +characteristic of the majority of houses in the Principality. +Externally dreary, too, are the places of worship, and one longs for a +board of architects and artists who will supervise new building plans +and save the land from further ugliness, so conspicuous where Nature +is so full of artistry. The town is devoted to the Welsh flannel +industry, and is well known to climbers as the jumping-off point for +the ascent of Plynlimmon, about ten miles to the west as the crow +flies. In the deeply furrowed shoulders of this mountain are the +birthplaces of two famous rivers, the Wye and the Severn. About two +miles north of the town are the Van Lead Mines, once so important; and +upon Van Hill, close to them, occurs a large hill-fort, of which so +many are scattered about this district. + +The Market-house is of wood, and decidedly quaint; the church +possesses a ceiling of carved oak, reputed to have been transported +from the suppressed Abbey of Cwm Hir, in Radnorshire; it stands near +the bridge, and is dedicated to St. Idloes. From this point a rather +pretty view is obtained of the Severn uniting with a tributary, the +Clywedog. + +The five miles between Llanidloes and Llangurig present occasionally +landscapes reminding one forcibly of English pastorals, if the +mountains can possibly be kept out of sight. The village of ~Llangurig~ +possesses a small church of no very great interest; perhaps the chief +fact connected with the place is that the village is the highest in +Wales, for it stands at an elevation of nearly 1,000 feet above the +level of the sea. + +(_For the road between Llangurig and Talgarth, see pp. 180-185._) + + + + +=LOOP= No. 5 + +=FIRST PORTION=: TALGARTH TO ST. DAVID'S--=SECOND PORTION=: ST. DAVID'S TO +HEREFORD + +TALGARTH TO CARDIGAN AND ST. DAVID'S, 117¼ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Talgarth (Bronllys)= to Brecon 8¼ + =Brecon= to Llandovery 20¾ + =Llandovery= to Llanwrda 4¼ + =Llanwrda= to Pumpsaint 8 + =Pumpsaint= to Lampeter 8¼ + =Lampeter= to Newcastle 23 + =Newcastle= to Cardigan 10½ + =Cardigan= to Newport 12 + =Newport= to Fishguard 6¾ + =Fishguard= to St. David's 15½ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +To =Brecon= good road, and thence to =Llandovery= splendid. + +=Llandovery to Lampeter.=--Very good; to =Cardigan=, steep hills at +times. + +=Cardigan to Fishguard.=--A succession of steep hills, mostly 1 in 11 +or 12; at =Fishguard= descent and ascent of 1 in 7, dangerous turns; +dangerous hairpin turn on the hill into =Nevern=. + +=Fishguard to St. David's.=--Undulating, but good. + + +=PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE= + +=Brecon.=--Very pleasant town; the Priory Church, a massive structure, +chiefly Early English and Decorated; fragments of town walls. + +=Llandovery.=--A small and not unpicturesque town; ruins of the +castle. + +=Llanwrda.=--A pretty village in fine mountain scenery. + +=Lampeter.=--A small town famous as a fishing centre. The college is +the chief building. + +=Newcastle Emlyn.=--Small town with beautiful ruins of the castle. + +=Cardigan.=--A considerable town; the bridge over the Teifi; the +remains of the castle; church not interesting. Within three miles +are--(1) St. Dogmael's Priory ruins; (2) the beautifully-situated +Kilgerran Castle. + +=Nevern.=--Castle ruins; a very interesting church with early +inscribed crosses. + +=Newport.=--A small fishing town; the castle. + +=Fishguard.=--Goodwick Sands; the harbour; the Pen Caer Peninsula; +fine coast scenery. + +=St. David's.=--A small scattered place, scarcely more than a village; +beautiful cathedral; picturesque ruins of the palace. Grand +coast-line, deeply indented. + + + [Map: LOOP 5 (FIRST PORTION). TALGARTH TO LLANDILO.] + + [Map: LOOP 5. TALGARTH TO ST. DAVID'S AND HAVERFORDWEST.] + +The road from Talgarth to Brecon presents no special features except +those of picturesque hill and dale, with various streams crossing the +road at intervals. + + +BRECON + +Brecon, the county town of Brecknockshire, lies upon the River Usk, +and was formerly defended by walls and gates. Of the castle, +destroyed as usual during the Civil War, only a few fragments near +the Castle Hotel have survived, and one restored section facing the +river. + +~St. Mary's Church~ has suffered so much from bad restoration that +practically nothing of archæological interest remains in it. + +~The Priory Church.~--This building is only excelled in Wales by the +Cathedrals of St. David's and Llandaff. It is a massive cruciform +structure, with a central tower, high roof and gables, and an +external aspect almost devoid of ornamentation. The eastern portions +are of Early English work, and the nave was gradually transformed +during the fourteenth century into a Decorated building, with great +octagonal piers, broad arches, and a lofty clerestory. The carved +Norman font should be noticed, and also a number of effigies, one +dating from 1359. An interesting feature are the chapels on either +side of the presbytery, called respectively the Chapel of the Normans +and the Chapel of the Men of Battle, the priory being a cell of Battle +Abbey. The guilds of the town had chapels in the nave, those of the +tailors, weavers, tuckers, and courvisors, or shoemakers, being at the +west end. The domestic buildings still remain, and are attached to the +southern side of the west end of the nave; the building has been +restored by Sir Gilbert Scott. The town is a pleasant one by reason of +the many public walks in and about it, and fine views may be obtained +of the well-known Beacons, some of them approaching 3,000 feet in +height. + + * * * * * + +The district round Brecon abounds in prehistoric camps and various +remains of the British, Roman, and Saxon occupations. On the road to +Llandovery, for instance, near Llanspyddyd, there is a Roman fort, +and another of unknown origin adjoining, with a Roman road passing +round them. Senny Bridge merely consists of a long street of +uninteresting houses. At ~Trecastle~ there is an important mound, at one +time crowned with a fortalice. From the centre of this village there +is a steep ascent. The River Usk accompanies the road, and appears +under various surroundings--now as a placid stream winding through +meadowlands, and again as a foaming torrent in a deep, tree-shaded +glen. This road through the outliers of the Beacons abounds in +picturesque views of a well-wooded country, backed by the great +swarthy slopes of the hills, called the Black Mountains, although the +dark brown sandstone of which they are composed is the same colour as +the brown heath upon them. + + +LLANDOVERY + +Llandovery consists chiefly of two streets, which converge at the +market-place, and a welcome change is the red wash with which many of +the houses are covered, as a relief from the ubiquitous whitewash of +the rest of Wales. + +~The Castle.~--This has nearly disappeared, and only two dismantled +circular towers, with a curtain wall between, remain. They may be +found standing on a grassy knoll near the Castle Hotel. The River Bran +is fairly wide at this point, and passes under a fine bridge. + +Upon leaving Llandovery a level crossing has to be negotiated; the +road crosses the River Towy, and then turns sharply to the left. + +~Llanwrda~ is a pretty village situated amid lovely pastoral scenery, +and with a fine prospect over the valley. The road here turns at right +angles towards the north, and between this point and the Hafod Bridge +Inn, nearly four miles, the scenery is distinctly and strikingly +beautiful. The small stream, the Dulais, accompanies the route, +passing and repassing under the road. Near Pumpsaint lies a gold-mine, +the Ogofan, and here the River Cothi, beloved of piscators, comes down +from the mountains on its way to the Towy. Between Pumpsaint and +Lampeter high ground is crossed, and a portion of the Sarn Helen Roman +road appears near an inn beyond Pont-ar-Twch. Near Lampeter a village +occurs bearing the ominous name of Rain. + + +LAMPETER + +is one of the best-known fishing centres in Wales, the River Teifi +affording exceedingly good sport. It is a well-built town, situated +in a fertile valley. The bridge over the stream is said to have been +erected in the time of King Stephen, from which the town claims the +name of Lampeter Pont Stephen. The chief building is St. David's +College, theological, designed for those who cannot afford Oxford or +Cambridge. To gain the road for Newcastle Emlyn and Cardigan the river +at Lampeter must be recrossed, and the turning taken to the right at +'Gwar Gate' Inn. The route gives a striking view over the valley of +the Teifi, whose extraordinary meanderings and loopings appear as a +huge serpent of silver lying in the broad landscape. The road for a +considerable distance is of Roman construction--the Sarn Helen, but +even those conquerors of the world could not conquer Nature in Wales +and make their roads straight. + +~Llanbyther~ is a small and prettily-situated village, with one of the +numerous 'Pen-y-Gaer' camps lying close to the road. The New Quay Road +Station of Llanfihangel-ar-Arth turns off to the right soon after the +Aber-Iar Inn; it is of a second-class character, but saves a +considerable distance and some hills on the way to Llandyssil. + +~Llandyssil~ is a romantically-situated village upon the banks of the +Teifi, which here assume a rocky character. Its church is dedicated to +St. Tyssul, who lived in the early part of the sixth century. From +Llandyssil the road south of the river should be taken to Newcastle +Emlyn; it has many awkward turns. + + +NEWCASTLE EMLYN + +is a well-situated town with a long street running at right angles to +the coach-road. + +~The Castle~ is a beautifully-placed ruin, with grand views over the +surrounding country. The position of the fortress for natural defence +is most remarkable, for the Teifi here forms a reversed S, and in one +of the loops so made the ruins are situated, the moat thus naturally +formed being one of the most remarkable in existence. The most ancient +building upon the site is reputed to have had a Roman origin; the +second was erected by Sir Rhys ap Thomas (who built Dynevor Castle) in +the time of Henry VII., who frequently resided here, and from it the +town was termed 'New-castle.' The Royalists held it throughout the +Civil War, but after that period it appears to have lapsed into ruin. +Two octagonal towers supporting an arch give entrance to the ruins. + +Three miles out from Newcastle Emlyn is ~Cenarth~, a most picturesque +and pleasantly-situated little village upon the border between +Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. There is a fine salmon-leap close +to the hamlet which is worth seeing. The road thence to Cardigan +traverses a plain, becoming more and more open as the town is +approached, presenting a broad sweep of smiling woods and pasture. + + +CARDIGAN + +The chief centre of interest in Cardigan is undoubtedly the bridge +over the Teifi. It probably dates from the Early English Period, and +has been widened. From this point there is a good view up and down the +river, with the castle and church as prominent features. + +~The Castle.~--The small portion hidden away in the ivy at the present +time affords no clue to the former size and importance of this +stronghold. It was founded in the time of Henry II. by the Prince of +South Wales, and after a chequered career was dismantled at the +Commonwealth. The keep is now occupied by private houses. + +~The Church~ (_key obtained at one of the cottages in the road_).--The +tower is a fine one, but so far as the whole interior is concerned it +must be confessed that all ecclesiological features of interest have +been obliterated by paint, plaster, and incongruous additions. The +chancel arch, of the Perpendicular period, has a fearful and wonderful +'skew,' which may or may not have been acquired by age. + +The town contains a number of old houses, nooks, and byways, but they +are only moderately interesting to the artist, who finds his best +subjects by the bridge and along the river, where sailing-boats and +small steamers reveal the picturesque qualities generally to be found +in small ports. One feature of the town soon attracts attention--namely, +the strong reluctance of the majority of chimneys in Cardigan to keep +to the perpendicular. + +~St. Dogmael's Priory~, less than two miles from Cardigan, lies upon the +left of the estuary. The remains are of the Early English period, and +are still considerable. Martin de Tours, who came over with the +Conqueror (not St. Martin), was the founder. + +~Kilgerran Castle~, three miles south of the town, and easily reached by +road, stands upon a vast bare rock uplifted above the foaming, eddying +stream rushing round its base, through a narrow channel in the rocks. +Many eulogistic statements have been made concerning this +beauty-spot, but none have overpraised it. The ruins consist of two +towers, with part of a gateway and curtain wall, together with +fragments of massive bastions. It was erected about 1223, when +Marshall, Earl of Chepstow, subdued the Welsh in these districts. + + * * * * * + +~On leaving for Newport~, the long rise of the road affords, in about +two miles, a remarkably fine view towards the left. With Mynydd +Prescelly for a background, the composition of the foreground and +middle distance by a beautiful vale is singularly impressive, and this +view, with panoramic changes, accompanies the road to Nevern. + +The hills seen in the front have massive rocky crags penetrating their +otherwise smooth outline. + +~Nevern.~--A very dangerous turn in the road ushers the traveller into +this beautiful little village, embowered in the midst of rich meadows, +orchards, and gardens in a situation which is eminently picturesque +and pleasing. The River Nevern flows through the village, and an +amphitheatre of well-wooded hills encloses it. + +~The Castle~ consists of some slight remains of a Norman building, +apparently of a square plan, with bastions at the angles. + +~The Church~ is one of the largest in the county, and of very great +interest. It is of Early English architecture, with a Perpendicular +recess forming a chapel upon the south side. In the window-sill of the +south window of this chapel is inserted a long granite stone, with an +Ogham inscription upon it, together with a slab bearing an excellent +example of an early interlaced cross. The church stands in a quite +ideal sloping churchyard, containing a stone cross about 13 feet in +height, with Celtic ornamentation and two inscriptions, not yet +satisfactorily deciphered, as far as the writer is aware. Near the +south porch is a menhir with an inscription. + +~The Pentre Evan~ cromlech, one of the finest known, lies about three +miles from Nevern by road, but less than two as the crow flies. A car +may be taken by a third-class road for the greater part of the +distance, but a local guide is necessary. + + +NEWPORT + +Newport is a small fishing town, and also a seaport, upon the estuary +of the Nevern. It is a quiet watering-place, the sea-bathing being +very good, while the surrounding country is of enticing interest. + +~The Castle~ was built in 1215, and used by the lords of Cemmaes for +their courts. It was destroyed by Llewelyn, but restored recently by a +descendant of the first baron, but in such strong contrast to the +original Norman architecture that it is very disappointing externally. + +~The Church~ has been built near the castle, and partakes somewhat of +its character, being stern and massive in its proportions. The +interior contains nothing of particular interest. + +A small cromlech lies within a few hundred yards of the centre of the +town, to which any inhabitant will direct one. Occasional glimpses of +the estuary, with its sands gleaming in the sun, are obtained from the +main streets of the town. + +The road between Newport and Fishguard reveals a wide view of the +Prescelly Mountains, the highest in Pembrokeshire, and a favourite +climb for visitors. A most attractive view of Goodwick Harbour, now +generally known as Fishguard, is obtained from the road, or, better +still, from one of the steep meadows on either hand. The great +importance of this harbour in connection with the Atlantic mail and +passenger service has suddenly brought a remote district into +prominence. It is now a familiar sight for the natives to see a huge +liner in this natural harbour take on passengers and cargo, while a +few years ago the waters of the deep inlet had never been churned by +propellers. + +The descent into Fishguard of 1 in 7 must be taken with extreme +caution; at the foot of the curving descent a bridge crosses the Afon +Gwaen, and from this the road climbs with equal suddenness and at an +equally trying angle. It is a hill calculated to test to the last +fraction of its horsepower the capacity a car possesses in +hill-climbing. At the top of the ascent the whole bay is spread out in +panoramic fashion, and one can see the new breakwater, still +incomplete, protecting the anchorage. + +The road from Fishguard to St. David's passes first across the isthmus +of the Pen Caer Peninsula, whose northern part terminates in Strumble +Head. This district is the happy hunting-ground for the archæologist, +as it literally teems with prehistoric remains--castles, camps, stone +circles, cromlechs, and menhirs, are encountered almost at every step. +Two miles out of Fishguard the turning to the right should be taken at +a puzzling junction of roads. At Mathry some cromlechs occur near the +road, and two miles farther on a wayside cross may be seen. The hills +in this neighbourhood generally have the formation noticed previously +at Cardigan--namely the projection of high tors from their summits, +breaking through otherwise smooth elevations. Nearing St. David's Head +it is obvious that the face of the landscape is gradually changing: +the hedgerows become less in height, and are often mere mounds of turf +or stone; the few trees met with are dwarfed and attenuated, and +invariably lean away from the south-west. As St. David's comes nearer +these characteristics become accentuated, and a barren, wind-swept +moorland appears, almost unrelieved by a single tree. + + +[Map: PLAN OF ST. DAVID'S CATHEDRAL.] + +ST. DAVID'S + +The modern town of St. David's has a sad and desolate air, arising +from the number of abandoned houses to be seen on every hand. + +~The Cathedral~ (_nave open free on weekdays, 9 to 1 and 2 to 6; a +charge of 6d. is made for admission to the eastern chapels_) is in a +remarkable situation at the farther end of the town, and practically +bursts upon the view when the edge of the deep hollow it occupies is +reached. In such an exposed corner of Britain it is not surprising +that everything should take what shelter it can find, but to walk +through a rather dreary and wind-swept Welsh village, and to +_discover_ a magnificent cathedral cowering almost out of sight at +one's very feet, is not an everyday occurrence even with the touring +motorist. A score of abbeys planted in sequestered valleys will come +to the mind of anyone who has explored this island, but a +well-preserved cathedral built in a deep and narrow hollow in a rocky +promontory almost takes away what little breath the blustering wind +has left to the exploring stranger. To the left is the old tower +gateway, a weather-worn remnant of the embattled fortifications which +once encircled the monastery. Down below, and approached by a long and +steep flight of stone steps, stands the church, with the square tower +of rather unsatisfactory outline dominating the nave, transept, and +eastern portions of the buildings. Beyond appears one of the most +beautiful ruins that ever gladdened the eye--the remains of one of the +finest episcopal palaces to be seen in the British Isles. Near the +church are also grouped ruins of the conventual buildings, and the +whole forms a scene that indelibly impresses itself upon the memory. +Descending the thirty-nine steps, one reaches the south porch of the +nave. Whatever preconceived ideas one may hold of the beauty of this +part of the church, the sight of the original far surpasses them. The +beautiful Norman pillars and graceful arches, ornamented with the most +elaborate chevron and zigzag mouldings of the Transitional period; the +clerestory springing directly from the dwarfed triforium with which it +is incorporated; and the whole surmounted by a finely-wrought timber +roof, make a picture of the rarest perfection. The colouring is full +of subtle richness, the stonework being of a soft dove-grey combined +with a bluish tinge. The building dates from 1180, the previous church +having been burnt down by pirates. The tower fell in 1220, and was +rebuilt at different periods. The choir and transepts are Early +English, but were added to in the Decorated period. The eastern +chapels are Decorated, as is also the beautiful rood-screen. The +ceiling in the nave dates from _c._ 1500. Many objects of interest are +contained in the building; the shrines of St. David and St. Caradoc, +the tomb of Edmund Tudor, father of Henry VII., the monument of Bishop +Gower, the chapel of St. Thomas à Becket, and the fan tracery of the +roof in Bishop Vaughan's Chapel, are all worthy of careful inspection. +Outside the north wall of the nave gigantic and ill-proportioned +buttresses are seen, built in 1248 to strengthen the nave, which had +suffered from an earthquake; on the opposite side are the remains of +the cloisters of St. Mary's College, begun in 1362. + +The exploration of the ruins of the Bishop's Palace should on no +account be omitted, as the lower chambers, the row of clerestory +arches, the beautiful doorways, and the general composition of the +whole ruin, are worthy of the closest attention. + +Upon the return to the main street the ancient cross is seen, no less +than 28 feet in height; the steps were restored by Bishop Thirlwall in +1873. + +The coast scenery at St. David's is remarkably wild, and the subjects +for the painter in oils or water-colours, or for the less ambitious +who carry a sketch-book and a good soft pencil, are full of particular +attractiveness. To those who are without the desire or capacity to +carry away any permanent impressions of the scenery it will be enough +to lie in a sheltered spot and watch the white waves burst into +columns of spray on the northern end of Ramsey Island. + + + + +LOOP No. 5--SECOND PORTION + +ST. DAVIDS TO HEREFORD, 132¼ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =St. David's= to Haverfordwest 15¾ + =Haverfordwest= to Narberth 10¼ + =Narberth= to Red Roses 7 + =Red Roses= to Carmarthen 14¾ + =Carmarthen= to Pontacothi 6¼ + =Pontacothi= to Llandilo 8¾ + =Llandilo= to Llangadock 6¾ + =Llangadock= to Llandovery 5½ + =Llandovery= to Trecastle 9 + =Trecastle= to Devynock 3¼ + =Devynock= to Brecon 8¾ + =Brecon= to Talgarth (Bronllys) 8¼ + =Bronllys= to Three Cocks Inn 2½ + =Three Cocks Inn= to Hay 4¾ + =Hay= to Clifford 2½ + =Clifford= to Hereford 18¼ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=St. David's to Haverfordwest.=--This road has a fine surface, but +hills are frequent and all dangerous. They range from 1 in 8 to 1 in +12. + +=Haverfordwest to Carmarthen.=--This also has a good surface, but the +hills are numerous. Near Narberth is a hill 1 in 9. + +=Carmarthen to Brecon.=--Splendid surface and easy gradients. + +=Brecon to Hereford.=--An excellent road without dangerous hills. + +=Hay.=--A toll of 9d. must be paid for crossing the river. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Solva.=--A village in pretty scenery. + +=Pointz Castle.=--An earthwork. + +=Roche Castle.=--Very conspicuous. + +=Haverfordwest.=--A pleasant town; the castle, now a gaol; St. Mary's +Church, with ancient wooden carving; the Priory Ruins. + +=Narberth.=--A little town with ruins of its castle. + +=St. Clears.=--A small port. + +=Carmarthen.=--A busy county town; the castle, now the gaol; the +Guildhall; the church; Picton Monument; interesting market. + +=Llandilo.=--Small town on high ground; Dynevor Castle; Careg Cennen +Castle. + +=Llandilo to Talgarth.=--See Loop 6, Part I. + +=Hay.=--A little town on English border; the castle, an interesting +structure (not open). + +=Clifford Castle=, birthplace of Fair Rosamond. + +=Whitney.=--Beautiful scenery on the Wye; old timbered houses. + +=Hereford.=--The cathedral, Norman to Perpendicular; the Shire Hall; +the castle green; interesting old houses. + + + [Map: LOOP 5 (EASTERN END). TALGARTH TO HEREFORD.] + +The distance from St. David's to Haverfordwest is sixteen miles, or, +as the natives naïvely express it, 'sixteen miles and seventeen +hills.' For the switchback contour, however, one is compensated by +the wide views generally obtained when the tops of the hills are +reached, before plunging downwards into the next sudden hollow. The +same characteristics of wild moorland and storm-swept down prevail as +noticed upon the road to St. David's, and it is very interesting to +note how gradually the vegetation develops as the route progresses. +About two miles out the little village of ~Solva~ is passed, lying upon +a romantic inlet in this iron-bound coast, and recalling, to some +extent, the fishing village of Staithes, in Yorkshire. The view over +St. Bride's Bay, with Skomer Island as the farthest point, is +exceedingly fine on a crisp, sunny morning, and shortly after leaving +Solva, Pointz Castle, an earthwork, appears upon the right hand, at a +short distance from the road. The sharp descent to ~Newgate~ brings one +almost within reach of the salt spray at high tide, and the road runs +for a few hundred yards by the sands of that name, giving a glimpse of +some fine coast scenery. There is an example here of a 'rolling +beach,' an accumulation of pebbles being washed over and over upon the +flat land beyond. The road now climbs to the uplands, upon which +stands ~Roche Castle~, a conspicuous landmark for many miles. It was +built in the reign of Henry III., but has later windows inserted. +Garrisoned for the King during the time of the Civil War, it was +captured by the Parliamentarians, but subsequently retaken. Lord St. +Davids, the present owner, has adapted it for modern habitation. Its +position upon a rocky scar, in the midst of a treeless plain, is +peculiarly imposing. + +As the road approaches Haverfordwest trees of respectable proportions +begin to appear, no longer leaning towards the north-east. + + +HAVERFORDWEST + +The town of Haverfordwest occupies an important position among those +of South Wales, and is the centre of commerce for a large district. +The streets are narrow and steep, with sharp turnings, probably caused +by the confinement of the ancient fortifications which once protected +the town. Of these practically nothing remains but the shell of a +strong castle, now converted into the county gaol, standing upon a +rocky eminence overlooking the town. Although very impressive when +viewed from a distance or from the River Cleddau in the town, it +hardly repays minute inspection. Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, +is said to have built it about 1120, and it became, with that of +Pembroke, one of the most important fortresses in 'Little England,' as +the southern part of Pembroke was termed. It was demolished by order +of Oliver Cromwell. + +~St. Mary's Church~ is of great interest, the exterior showing some +fantastic gargoyles, and the nave some fine clustered columns of Early +English work, with a Perpendicular clerestory above. The ceilings +should be noticed, and also the early lancets at the west end. It is a +beautiful church, full of light, with no gloomy corners. There is an +ancient wooden carving of St. Michael the Archangel and the Dragon, +dating from the fifteenth century. + +~The Priory Ruins~ are situated a short distance from the southern part +of the town, and are quite picturesque. They are the remains of a +priory of Austin Canons erected in the twelfth century. The very +liberal grants of Robert de Hwlffordd, lord of this town, were +confirmed by Edward III. The remains of the minster are of Early +English work. + +The road from Haverfordwest takes a sharp turn to the right upon +leaving the town, and passes over the railway-lines. An isolated +church stands upon a hill to the right, and soon afterwards the woods +surrounding ~Picton Castle~, two miles away, come into view. It is one +of the most ancient residences in the kingdom, having been built by a +De Picton in the reign of Rufus. From that time it has been inhabited +by an unbroken line of proprietors, never deserted, never vacant. The +alterations have not very much affected the baronial style of the +building, and until quite recently it presented the appearance of a +medieval fortress. + +At Canaston Bridge the road crosses the eastern Cleddau, which +discharges into Milford Haven, and here, upon the left, at about a +mile, lies the picturesque ruin of ~Llawhaden Castle~, once a residence +of the Bishops of St. David's. The gateway, flanked by two +demi-bastions, forms a very effective picture. + +Approaching Narberth, the right-hand road should be taken at Robeston +Wathen. Fir-trees near this point begin to make their appearance, +having been conspicuously absent from St. David's to this point. + + +NARBERTH + +There is a very steep hill in this town, leading to the ruins of a +Norman castle crowning the summit. They are picturesquely covered with +ivy, but the remains now apparent are small when compared with those +visible in the eighteenth century. The roads in the neighbourhood of +Narberth are rather misleading, as so many by-roads enter. Care should +be taken to decipher the sign-boards in many cases before proceeding. +Between Narberth and St. Clears, for instance, there are three roads +at Tavernspite near an inn, and the centre one should be taken. + +~St. Clears~ is a long and straggling village at the head of an estuary +of the Taff, and vessels of small tonnage can reach it at high tide. +It formerly possessed a castle and a priory, but both have +disappeared. The town itself is uninteresting. Between St. Clears and +Carmarthen the small hamlet of Banc-y-Felin is particularly pleasing, +with a tributary of the Taff flowing through it. + + +CARMARTHEN + +Carmarthen, the capital of the shire, stands upon the site of the +Roman _Maridunum_, and is the point of convergence of two roads, Via +Maritima and Via Montana. Some parts of the town stand at a +considerable elevation, and present an imposing picture from a +distance. It is an excellent example of an old Welsh town, retaining a +great deal of its primeval quaintness. Upon market-days, when it +swarms with people from the surrounding districts, one seldom hears a +word of English spoken, and the busy scenes witnessed in the bustling +market are mainly transacted in the mother-tongue. Upon entering the +town the Picton Monument is seen, raised in honour of the Peninsula +hero, who fell at Waterloo. + +~The Church of St. Peter~ is a large building chiefly in the +Perpendicular style, with a lofty square tower. The interior has been +very carefully plastered so as to hide everything of interest. A Roman +altar, however, may be seen below the tower. + +Sir Richard Steele, who died in 1729, the friend of Addison, and the +well-known man of letters, lies buried in this church. In his old age +he came to reside at Llangunnor, near Carmarthen. + +~The Castle~, which at one time made Carmarthen a place of strength, was +demolished by the Parliamentarians, and the small portion remaining +has been converted into the county gaol. On leaving Carmarthen the +route towards Llandilo lies upon the Roman road, the Via Montana. It +includes some of the finest scenery in South Wales. There are two +roads running in the valley, with the railway separating them; the +north one is the more picturesque. + +At a loop in the road about ten miles out, Middleton Hall, lying due +south, and erected by Sir William Paxton, may be recognized by the +tall tower which forms such a conspicuous landmark. It is known as +~Paxton's Tower~, but was raised by him in memory of Nelson. Almost +directly afterwards, ~Dryslwyn Castle~ comes in sight, a most +picturesque ruin, consisting of one tower and many fragments of walls. +It was besieged in the time of Edward I., when Lord Stafford and other +leaders lost their lives, in undermining the fortress, by the sudden +collapse of the walls beneath which they were operating. + +On Grongar Hill, a few hundred yards away to the right, the poet Dyer +composed his poem 'Grongar Hill.' The view from the summit is +charming. On the farther side of the valley can be seen Golden Grove, +the residence of Viscount Emlyn. ~Dynevor Park and Castle~ come into +view upon the right front on reaching the neighbourhood of Llandilo. +The ruins stand upon a lofty mound a short distance from the road, in +the most attractive portion of the park. The first castle was built in +877, and almost rebuilt in the time of William the Conqueror. For +some centuries it was the residence of the Princes of South Wales. +Henry VII. granted it to Sir Rhys ap Thomas, a descendant of the +Princes, and ancestor of the present owner, Lord Dynevor. It was +occupied until 1760. The remains consist of a round keep and a square +tower, commanding a magnificent prospect. (_The ruins are open for +inspection to the bona-fide visitor upon application._) + + +LLANDILO + +Llandilo is a small town perched upon two or three steep hills to the +north of the River Towy, crossed here by a stone bridge of one span. +The streets are narrow, with the public buildings grouped together in +the centre of the town. The church was thoroughly rebuilt in 1848, and +everything of interest then disappeared. If a stay can be arranged at +Llandilo, one of the most remarkable edifices in the kingdom, ~Careg +Cennen~, should be seen. It is a castle almost without a history, +standing upon a rocky height with inaccessible precipices on three +sides, the foremost one over 300 feet in height. Two square towers +guard the sloping ground upon the fourth side, and the main portion of +the castle occupies the summits of the precipices. The situation is +superb and the scenery delightful. The spirit of romance is free from +any of the handicaps usually suffered by the historian, for in this +castle among the clouds, in connection with which history is silent +(except a reputed origin in the thirteenth century at the hands of +Rhys of Wales), the wings of imagination may soar to any height. This +is a site awaiting the novelist in search of a romantic setting for a +story of the Middle Ages. It stands about five miles to the south-east +of Llandilo, overlooking the Vale of the Towy. + +Between Llandilo and Llanwrda a large Roman camp can be seen lying +upon Carn Goch, and at the inn where the road turns to Llangadock a +large tributary joins the Towy. In a few miles Llanwrda is reached, +and the loop for St. David's is thus completed. For the road between +Llanwrda and Talgarth, see pp. 143-148. + +The route from Talgarth to Hay is winding, and care should be taken to +avoid the numerous roads leading away from the main road, which lies +on the south side of the River Wye, and for a considerable distance is +parallel to the railway. + +~Glasbury~, beyond the Three Cocks, is a small village much frequented +by the fishing fraternity; a fine prospect of the Black Mountains is +obtained, and the views generally are among the best to be found in +the district. + +The entry into Hay is very pretty, with shady hedgerows and many of +the attributes of English scenery. + + +HAY + +This little town lies upon the borders of England and Wales, at the +junction of the shires of Radnor, Hereford, and Brecon. The word 'Hay' +is allied to 'hedge,' meaning a boundary. It was at one time the main +entry into Wales from England, and naturally, from its position, it +has seen stirring times in the past. + +~The Castle~ dominates the town, and is easily reached from the main +street; the entrance is at the back. The architecture now appears to +be a mixture of all kinds, including Tudor, for numerous additions +have been made. A residence constructed out of the old materials +occupies part of the site. Sir Philip Walwyn is supposed to have built +the first castle in 1090, and at the end of the twelfth century +extensive additions were made. Henry III. almost rebuilt it, and in +1233 Llewelyn ap Jorweth stormed it. Thirty years later it was taken +twice, and in the time of Glendower it was burnt. Many other minor +happenings have occurred to lend variety to its existence. James I. +made large additions to the building. The fortifying walls once +enclosing the town have nearly disappeared. The road upon the town +side traverses the former moat. A view across the river gives a +glimpse of a Roman camp near the stream, while to the north-west +stands Clyro, reached by a main road, and enclosed by beautiful woods. +A mound of earth and a moat are now the sole remains of the proud and +lordly Clyro Castle mentioned by Leland. + +The ruins of Cusop Castle and Mouse Castle lie at a short distance +from the town, and a favourite excursion is that to the far-famed +~Llanthony~ ~Abbey~, lying amid romantic wilds some ten miles to the +south. + +The route to Whitney crosses the river at Hay, passes through Clyro, +and in two miles affords a view of ~Clifford Castle~, standing upon a +bold eminence by the side of the river; it was the birthplace of Jane +de Clifford, the Fair Rosamond of Henry II., and the former residence +of the Lords de Clifford. The scenery in the environment of these +beautiful ruins is most charming. The route from Hay may be taken in +this direction if desired. (_A toll of 9d. has to be paid to cross the +river._) + + +WHITNEY + +The village of Whitney is surrounded by a rich belt of pasture-land +interspersed with clumps of trees, and exceedingly beautiful scenery +is to be found upon the river-banks. There is no ancient church, for +it was washed away in a flood in the early part of the eighteenth +century. The beautiful views seen at Whitney unfold themselves more +and more as one reaches Letton, Merbach Hill upon the right, rising +high out of the ground like a hog's back, giving a characteristic +touch to the scenery. At Letton a particularly beautiful group of +black-and-white timbered cottages stand by the side of the road, and +remind one that English soil has been reached, and that the +never-ending monotony of the Welsh whitewashed cottages has at last +been left behind. At ~Staunton~, on the Wye, a little Early English +church is perched above the village. On the right there formerly stood +a castle, and near it is Moccas Park, the residence of Royalty in +Saxon times. The present owners are descended from Richard, the second +son of King John. After passing Byford a portion of ~Offa's Dyke~ occurs +upon the left, crossing over Mansell Hill. Some quaintly-cut yew-trees +may be seen near the Kite's Nest Inn, and just before entering +Hereford, at White Cross, an interesting cross is noticeable. It was +put up in 1347 by Bishop Charlton to commemorate the disappearance of +the Black Plague, and was restored by Archdeacon Lord Saye and Sele. + + [Illustration: HEREFORD CATHEDRAL FROM THE BANKS OF THE WYE. + It belongs mainly to the Early English period, and is built of a + reddish stone.] + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 7--HEREFORD.] + +HEREFORD + +is a pleasantly-situated town, but if it were not for the possession +of a cathedral the place would not offer any particular attractions +for visitors beyond the charming river scenery common to the Wye +Valley. + +Hereford became a separate see in 673, and Putta was the first +Bishop. The first church was rebuilt in a better fashion when the +remains of the murdered Ethelbert were brought to Hereford, but this +pre-Norman structure was burnt by the Welsh in 1055. In 1079 Robert of +Lorraine, the first Norman Bishop, began the cathedral of which much +exists at the present day, using dark red sandstone. The choir up to +the clerestory, the arcades of the nave, and the south transept, are +Norman work of this early date. + +The beautiful Lady Chapel, and the clerestory of the choir are Early +English. The north and both the eastern transepts, part of tower, and +the chapter-house, are Decorated. The chantries, sacristy, and a few +other parts, are Perpendicular. The western tower fell in 1786, and +brought down with it the west front and the first bay of the nave. +This disaster accounts for the modern west front. Upon entering the +nave the Norman bays are singularly impressive, especially the carved +capitals. The choir is entered through a metal chancel screen; the +stalls are richly carved, and 'the chair of King Stephen' is preserved +in it. Scattered about in the great building there are probably more +monumental tombs and effigies than in any other cathedral, and this is +especially true with regard to ecclesiastics. Two notable monuments +are those of Bishop Aquablanca (1245-1268), and the shrine of St. +Thomas of Cantilupe in the north transept. A famous archæological +treasure, the _Mappa Mundi_, a map of the world, drawn on one large +sheet of parchment in the thirteenth century by Richard de +Haldingham, is preserved in this building, and may be seen upon +application. The Bishop's Palace is close to the Wye, on the south +side of the cathedral. + +~The Shire Hall~, a Grecian Doric building, standing in St. Peter's +Square, was erected in the early part of the last century. + +~The Castle Green~ is the site of the vanished Castle of Hereford; it is +one of the prettiest parts of the town. Hereford contains some +interesting houses, and three of them, now used as a bank, may be seen +in the High Town. It was at one time the Butchers' Guildhall, and the +carving upon the outside, as well as the inside, is extremely ornate. + + + + +SECTION VIII (TRUNK ROUTE) + +LLANGURIG TO ABERGAVENNY, 68 MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Llangurig= to Rhayader 9¼ + =Rhayader= to Newbridge-on-Wye 8 + =Newbridge-on-Wye= to Builth 5½ + =Builth= to Hay 19 + =Hay= to Bronllys 7¼ + =Bronllys= to Talgarth 1 + =Talgarth= to Castle Inn 3½ + =Castle Inn= to Crickhowell 8¼ + =Crickhowell= to Abergavenny 6¼ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +The road is splendidly engineered, and as a rule has an excellent +surface. There are no really stiff gradients. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Rhayader.=--A small and uninteresting town; Birmingham reservoirs. + +=Builth.=--Another small town, possessing no interest besides the site +of the castle and the wells. + +=Talgarth= (1 mile distant).--Remains of Bronllys Castle; Llangorse +Pool. + +=Crickhowell.=--The church; the castle ruins. + +=Abergavenny.=--A market town; castle, now a recreation-ground; +church, with fine carved oak; earliest wooden effigy; the Blorenge. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 8. LLANGURIG TO ABERGAVENNY.] + +The road to Rhayader traverses part of the Upper Wye Valley, and gives +frequent glimpses of troubled, foam-flecked water, alternating with +long reaches where the river slides smoothly along its rocky bed. The +setting is one of pastoral scenery, bounded by the rounded uplands, +which help to form the catchment basin for the great lakes which now +supply Birmingham with water. This gigantic undertaking, to be +extended altogether over fifty years, will eventually be the means of +constructing a chain of lakes in the vale of the Elan, effectually +providing for the future needs of the great manufacturing metropolis +so far as water is concerned. + + +RHAYADER + +The chief attraction at Rhayader is the scenery, as nothing of +particular importance meets the eye in the town. It is a good +sketching-ground for artists, many excellent subjects being +discoverable in the surrounding country. To the angler it is a +paradise. Although it possesses two churches, they are not worthy of +the time required for inspecting them. The ~Wye~ here is an impetuous +mountain stream, plunging amid the rocks strewn along its course; to +this point the salmon reach the upper waters at the spawning season. +Between Rhayader and Builth there are several very sharp turnings in +the road, requiring considerable care if risks are to be avoided. The +~Wye~ is close to the road at many parts of its course, and forms the +boundary between the counties of Brecon and Radnor. Farther on the +stream begins to lose its torrential character, and, traversing this +well-wooded valley, assumes more of the calm and placid character with +which one generally associates it. It receives the superfluous water +from the great lakes of the Birmingham Corporation Reservoirs by the +Afon Elan soon after passing Rhayader. To the west of Newbridge-on-Wye, +Lysdinam Hall, the ancestral home of the Venables, is seen upon an +eminence. + + +BUILTH WELLS + +This ancient town, the _Bullæum_ of the Romans, is the centre of trade +for the neighbouring districts, and derives much importance from its +wells--saline, sulphurous, and chalybeate. The population is less +than 2,000, but probably a regiment might be raised locally all +bearing the surname of Price or Powell. + +~The Castle~, or rather the site of it, is near the town, close to the +Wye Bridge. It possesses a double fosse, a rampart of earth, and a +keep, which, judging from the foundation, must have been of great +size. It was besieged and captured by Llewelyn in 1260. + +The scene of Llewelyn's death in 1282 lies near the Radnor road at +Cefn-y-Bedd, a few miles from the town. The Prince was refused a +refuge in Builth (hence 'The Traitors of Builth'), and, reversing his +horse's shoes, fled in the deep snow for safety, but was overtaken and +slain. + +The church of Builth is a modern erection, and the town is +uninteresting. + +The road from Builth to Talgarth passes through Erwood, at some five +miles' distance, and Garth Hill, crowned by an earthwork, lies to the +left; it is also the place where the English troops in quest of +Llewelyn forded the river in 1282. Two miles away to the left are the +celebrated Falls of Craig-pwl-du, a fall of 40 feet into a weird +ravine. The neighbourhood is full of interest to the antiquary and the +geologist. About three miles beyond Erwood the castle and woods of +Llangoed are passed, and Boughrood Castle appears on the left. ~Lyswen~ +is reputed to have been an early residence of the Welsh Princes. The +general character of the road between Builth and Talgarth may be +stated as not wildly grand, but an exquisite combination of river +scenery with eminently beautiful surroundings, where the ruggedness of +the rocks is softened by a covering of verdure, and foliage in subtle +gradations of beauty appears on every hand. It is probably one of the +most splendid roads for scenery of this character in the Principality. + + [Illustration: THE WYE, SYMOND'S YAT, NEAR MONMOUTH, HEREFORDSHIRE. + At this point the view embraces some of the finest river scenery in + Britain.] + + +TALGARTH + +This quiet little town, nestling under the shadow of the Black +Mountain, is chiefly noted for the proximity of ~Bronllys Castle~, one +mile distant, of Early English and reputed Norman architecture. It is +a round tower, 70 feet high, standing upon a mound, and its history +appears to have been lost. The Black Forest now lies upon the left +hand, and upon the right, at a few miles' distance, is Llangorse Lake, +a large but shallow sheet of water 500 feet above sea-level, and much +referred to as a probable source for the future supply of water to +London. The scheme is considered a feasible one, and the water would +flow to the metropolis by gravitation. According to tradition, the +lake covers the site of a large city which perished in some terrible +catastrophe--a similar type of legend to that of Semmerwater in +Wensleydale. As the road nears Crickhowell the great Sugar Loaf (1,955 +feet) becomes prominent, with a number of small villages, farmsteads, +and cottages dotting the slopes of the lower hills. The River Usk now +appears descending a valley from Brecon, together with the main road +from that place. + + +CRICKHOWELL + +~The Church~ is a building of some dignity, with nave, chancel, aisles, +and spire standing near the bridge. + +~The Castle~ remains consist of a square tower in fair preservation, +flanked by a round one, together with tumbled mounds of masonry and +earth. Several beautifully-situated seats are near the village. From +Crickhowell to Abergavenny two roads run, one on either side of the +valley, that upon the right being slightly longer, but it is more +picturesque. The Sugar Loaf Mountain lies to the left across the +valley, while an opening in the hills to the right reveals a glimpse +into the Black Country of the South Wales Coalfield. Near Llangrwyne +there is a most romantic stretch of country, with many beautiful +features. + + +ABERGAVENNY + +This flourishing market town claims a high antiquity in history as +being the direct descendant of the Roman _Gobannium_. Its quaint +narrow streets contain some houses of interest, while the splendid +country lying around tempts the tourist to stay. + +~The Castle~, standing upon an eminence overlooking the Usk, was an +important Norman stronghold. William de Braose, in the twelfth +century, invited many Welsh chieftains to a Christmas feast in the +castle, and then foully murdered them; in retaliation their relatives +burnt the castle. It, however, rose again, and came after a time into +the Warwick family, passing eventually to the Nevilles, represented +now by the Marquis of Abergavenny, who lives at Neville Court, up the +river. As a ruin, now laid out as something between a tea-garden and a +recreation-ground, the castle is exceedingly disappointing. The steeps +of the Blorenge are well seen from the terrace. + +~The Church~ is near the post office and market hall. The Herbert and +Lewes Chapels are the chief points of interest in it, but attention +should be drawn to the ancient carved-oak seats in the choir, and also +to the font. A colossal recumbent figure of what must at one time have +been a 'Jesse tree' is preserved here; it is 10 feet long, and the +stump of the tree remains, springing from the side of Jesse. When +complete it must have formed a splendid screen, standing behind the +high-altar. The wooden effigy of George de Cantelupe in the Herbert +Chapel (1273) is the finest example of early wood-carving extant in +these islands. + +Near the church stands Priory Mansion, with a good garden, and +splendid oak panelling in the interior. + +Abergavenny is an ideal place for the budding mountain-climber, who +can have excellent practice upon the Blorenge, the great Skyrrid, and +the Sugar Loaf. + + + + +SECTION IX + +(TRUNK ROUTE) + +ABERGAVENNY TO GLOUCESTER VIA NEWPORT AND MONMOUTH, 84¼ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Abergavenny= to Raglan Castle 9 + =Raglan Castle= to Usk 5¼ + =Usk= to Caerleon 7¾ + =Caerleon= to Newport 3¼ + =Newport= to Caerwent 11 + =Caerwent= to Chepstow 5 + =Chepstow= to Tintern 5¼ + =Tintern= to Monmouth 11 + =Monmouth= to Whitchurch 4½ + =Whitchurch= to Ross 6 + =Ross= to Lea 4½ + =Lea= to Dursley Cross 3 + =Dursley Cross= to Gloucester 8¾ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +Abergavenny to Newport.=--No steep hills, fine surface. + +Newport to Ross.=--A splendid road; at Chepstow a hill 1 in 12. + +At =Whitchurch= a dangerous hill, 1 in 10, with poor surface. + +After passing =Goodrich= the Wye is crossed by Kerne Bridge, where a +toll is charged for motor-cars. + +=Ross to Gloucester.=--Very good; no stiff gradients. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Raglan.=--Village and church; beautiful ruins of the castle; +picturesque scenery. + +=Usk.=--A village, with ruins of castle and a Norman church. + +=Caerleon.=--A village, with museum of Roman antiquities; the +amphitheatre. + +=Newport.=--A busy port; ruins of the castle; interesting church of +St. Woollos; the docks. + +=Caerwent.=--Small village with Roman remains; Caldicott Castle is a +little to south of route. + +=Chepstow.=--A market town; the castle, a fine example of a Norman +fortress; the church, chiefly of Norman architecture. + +=Tintern Abbey.=--One of the most beautiful ruins in England. + +=Tintern Parva.=--Hamlet, with small Early English church. + +=Monmouth.=--A pleasant county town; the county buildings; Monnow +Bridge or Western Gate; church, modern except tower. + +=Symond's Yat.=--Beautiful scenery on the Wye. + +=Goodrich Castle.=--On the Wye; beautiful ruins of one of the earliest +castles built in England. + +=Ross.=--Picturesque little town; Wilton Castle and bridge; the market +hall; the 'Man of Ross'; the church, good Early English work, with +interesting monuments; the castle remains. + +=Dursley Cross.=--The Long Hope; very fine views. + +=Gloucester.=--Old-fashioned county town; a grand cathedral, with tomb +of Edward II.; the Guildhall; the museum; Llanthony Abbey; the +churches of St. Catherine, St. Mary de Lode, St. Mary de Crypt, and +others; many old timbered houses; the New Inn. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 9. ABERGAVENNY TO GLOUCESTER.] + + [Map: ABERGAVENNY TO GLOUCESTER.] + +Soon after leaving Abergavenny the classic portico of Coldbrook House, +in its large park, is passed upon the left. Looking backwards over the +route, the picturesque situation of Abergavenny is seen, with the +Sugar Loaf, nearly 2,000 feet in height, towering up beyond. Upon the +right Blorenge Hill stands out boldly, a great rounded mass clothed +with plantations to the summit. It is a prominent feature in the +landscape for some time. + +Between Abergavenny and Llanvihangel-on-Usk the road follows the +railway-line and the river, and at the latter place a pretty stretch +of Usk scenery is met, while the fine church of Llangattock-juxta-Usk, +where there are some awkward turnings in the road, is well worth a +visit. Just beyond Llanvihangel the road to Raglan branches off to the +left, and a glance backwards shows the great mass of the Brecknock +Beacons silhouetted against the western sky. Clytha Castle, a building +dating from 1790, stands near this parting of the ways. Although so +near the border-line between England and Wales, the stereotyped +whitewashed cottages of Wales are still to be seen. + + +RAGLAN + +The road to the castle turns to the left in the middle of the village, +and stops abruptly at a meadow in which are the entrance-gates. +(_Admission to the castle 6d. at any reasonable time on weekdays; on +Sundays from 2.30 to 5._) + +A description of Raglan Castle that will give an approximate idea of +the exquisite beauty of this ruin has yet to be written; many have +attempted it, but all have fallen short of the charming reality. It is +a poem in stone; a crystallized ideal of all that was beautiful in +medieval architecture; the embodiment of centuries of progressive +emulation in castle-building, now mellowed by the hand of time, and +with its corners and rough edges covered by clinging masses of +creepers. It is eminently the most beautiful ruin to be met with in +this western tour. The chief characteristic is undoubtedly the +detached keep, which was built after the main structure; the element +of romance and mystery haunts one while looking down upon the dark +waters of the moat encircling this keep, and one feels a +disinclination to leave the place, although other castles await one. +No part of the building is of a date anterior to Henry V., and it was +chiefly erected by Sir William ap Thomas and his son, William, Earl of +Pembroke, who was beheaded in 1469. + +Subsequent architecture, however, may be traced down to the time of +Charles I. It came into the possession of the Beaufort family (the +present owner is the Duke of that name) by the marriage of an +ancestor. The Earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII., was a prisoner +here for a time, and Charles I. sought refuge within these walls after +Naseby, in 1645. It was besieged by Fairfax in 1646, and dismantled by +Act of Parliament. + +Raglan Church is not worthy of much attention if time is short. The +tower was rebuilt, it is said, after having been demolished for +strategic purposes by Cromwell's orders. + + +USK + +Usk was formerly a Roman station, and in the immediate vicinity there +are several encampments, both Roman and British, where excellent +views are obtainable over the surrounding country, reaching to the +mountains near Abergavenny and to the wooded summits about Monmouth. + +~The Castle~, now dismantled and covered with ivy, stands upon a +prominent hill to the north; the Parliamentarians were responsible for +its destruction. + +~The Church~ is of Norman origin, with a tower rebuilt in recent years. + + +CAERLEON + + 'For Arthur on the Whitsuntide before + Held court at old Caerleon upon Usk.' + _Idylls of the King._ + +The name of Caerleon brings vivid recollections to the mind of the +Round Table and King Arthur, but its history commenced before the +sixth century, when the great Pendragon flourished. The name Caerleon +means 'The Camp of the Legion,' the Roman _Isca Silurum_, the capital +city of the province of _Britannia Secunda_. After the Roman +occupation it became a seat of learning. Remains of villas, Roman +walls, and other traces of the conquerors of the world, abound, and +the local museum is rich in treasures--chiefly of that period, but by +no means confined to it. The building is upon the farther side of the +churchyard. (_There is no fixed charge, but a box for contributions. +Key at the schoolhouse opposite._) The church is Early English, with +traces of Norman work in it. To the right of the schoolhouse a lane +leads for about a hundred yards to a field on the left, opposite a +racecourse, where the amphitheatre, 220 feet by 190 feet, may be seen. +Excavations have revealed the stone seats surrounding this concave +site, known locally as 'King Arthur's Round Table.' In the main street +of the sleepy little town some old timbered houses are found, and of +the once famous castle nothing now remains except a small tower, which +once protected the bridge over the river, behind the Hanbury Arms Inn. +The few houses upon the other bank of the Usk are known as 'Ultra +Pontem,' a most remarkable instance of persistence and survival. It is +difficult when walking through the streets of Caerleon to realize that +London, York, and this little place were once the three chief cities +of Britain. + + +NEWPORT + +Newport is an example of rapid growth from a small market town into a +flourishing port, with extensive docks, wharves, and jetties. It, +however, may claim a high antiquity, for it formed a post during the +Roman period. + +~The Castle.~--This was at one time an extensive building, and the river +face of it is still of impressive proportions. For many years the ruin +was occupied by a brewery, but the town has lately gained possession +of the sadly-diminished fortress. A deep moat, filled at high tide, +defended the walls of the bailey on the north, west, and south sides, +but all this has vanished, leaving only the eastern side, with three +imposing towers, washed by the muddy waters of the Usk. The Norman +Fitzharon, who conquered Glamorgan, built a castle at Newport towards +the close of the eleventh century; but the existing structure is three +centuries later, and was, to some extent, remodelled in the fifteenth +century. The town was protected by a wall as late as Leland's time, +and he speaks of three gates. One of these was close to the inn, +called the West Gate to this day. Conspicuous in the High Street is +the house of the _murringer_, a person whose duties were in connection +with the guarding of the wall. + +~The Church of St. Woollos~ has been restored, but preserves many of its +Norman features, and contains interesting memorials, some of them of +considerable antiquity. A remarkable feature is the separation of the +tower from the church by a small building, the Chapel of St. Mary, +believed by some ecclesiologists to be the primitive church founded +_c._ 550, and, if so, the most ancient building still used for +Christian worship in the United Kingdom. The two structures are +divided by a good Norman arch, the columns of which appear to be of +Roman origin, and were possibly brought from Caerleon. + +During the Chartist riots the Mayor of Newport, backed by some +soldiers, defended himself from a mob headed by Jack Frost. Bullet +marks may be seen upon a wooden pillar in the West Gate Hotel, where +the Mayor concentrated his defence, many of the rioters being killed +and wounded. + + * * * * * + +The road from Newport to Caerwent gives wide views over the alluvial +flats between it and the Estuary of the Severn, protected from +inundations by extensive embankments, while to the north the great +woods lying upon high land are a pleasing contrast. At first the road +is nearly flat, but it becomes undulating near Caerwent. This road is +part of the _Via Julia_, which commenced near the mouth of the Severn, +passed through Caerwent and Caerleon, and terminated at Neath in +Glamorganshire. + +~Cencoed Castle~ lies upon the right hand; the remains are not very +extensive, consisting chiefly of a gateway flanked with turrets. A +mansion was at one time incorporated with the main portion of the +castle, but was subsequently abandoned, and now the whole of the +buildings form a farmhouse. + +~Penhow Castle~ lies by the side of the road, near the village of the +same name. A short time after the Norman Conquest this fortress was in +the possession of the Seymours. It seems to have been at one period +fairly extensive, but only an old square tower with battlements +remains, and this also has been converted into a farmhouse. + + +CAERWENT + +is a small village with no pretensions of importance, although the +descendant of a strong Roman town. The walls stand from 10 to 12 feet +thick, are well preserved, and are similar in many respects to those +at Carnarvon. A good facing of stone is backed up by a solid mass of +concrete, and then a supporting bank of earth is raised behind them. +The church occupies a prominent position, but does not possess any +noteworthy feature. ~Caldicott~ ~Castle~, lying to the south of the +route, has extensive remains of the foundation of the twelfth century, +and at the same time some indications of Saxon work belonging to the +previous fortalice built upon the site. Passing Crick, Mathern is +perceived upon the right. The Bishops of Llandaff had a palace here in +medieval times, and portions of it are still in existence, +incorporated with the modern farm-buildings. + + +CHEPSTOW + +is a market town and river port occupying a slope on the western bank +of the Wye, and surrounded by beautiful and sometimes imposing +scenery. + + [Illustration: COMING NIGHT, NEAR BEDDGELERT. + Beddgelert is one of the most romantically situated villages in North + Wales.] + +~The Castle~ is the dominating feature in the town, and is one of the +finest examples of a Norman fortress that has been preserved. It +stands upon a rocky eminence, and occupies nearly three acres. Founded +by Fitz-Osborn, Earl of Hereford, in the eleventh century, it was +almost rebuilt in the thirteenth. It was garrisoned by the King during +the Civil War, but surrendered in 1645 to the Parliamentarians. The +castle was divided into four great courts, and a number of round +towers defended the exterior walls, while a deep ditch upon the +land side, now used as a public resort, completed the defences. + +~The Church of St. Mary~ is built near the river, and is coeval with the +castle. A priory stood here in the time of King Stephen, and the nave +of the present church is the nave of the priory chapel. The larger +part of the building is Norman, while the western doorway is an +exceptionally fine example of the period. The tombs of Somerset, +second Earl of Worcester, and Elizabeth, his Countess, are worthy of +special notice. + +The road to Tintern gives at first a view of the remains of an ancient +bridge opposite Chepstow Castle, which, when in use, rose and fell +with the tide. Piercefield Park lies upon the right hand, with an +early camp amongst the trees. At St. Arvans the road bears to the +right, and a number of S turns are met. Near here is the well-known +'Lovers' Leap.' Moss Cottage stands by the road farther on, with the +Windcliff, famous for its glorious view of the Wye, above it. Upon the +opposite bank of the river, and beyond the railway, is a lengthy +section of Offa's Dyke, and probably a glimpse may be obtained from +the road of the Devil's Pulpit. + + +TINTERN ABBEY + +Tintern Abbey occupies a beautiful site upon one of the loveliest +rivers in England, and the ruins have been claimed by many as the most +picturesque in existence; but many other roofless abbey churches, +placed in the same exquisite surroundings, would appear to equal +advantage, and one is inclined to attribute Tintern's fame to its +scenery rather than to its architecture. The abbey owes much to Roger +Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, and a descendant of the De Clares, who, +according to the records, provided for extensive building in the +middle of the thirteenth century; but much of the architecture, +especially that in the south wall of the chapter-house, speaks of an +earlier date. The cloisters are late Perpendicular (1469), and were +undoubtedly of great magnificence. The abbey was dissolved in 1537, +and since then the buildings have gradually fallen into decay. The +structural parts which may be recognized are: the church, with north +and south transepts; cloisters, on the north side of the nave; +sacristy and monks' library, adjoining the north wall of the north +transept; chapter-house and monks' parlour, monks' dayroom, parlour, +refectory and almoner's room, all to the north; together with the +kitchen, buttery, lavatory, and other small rooms. + +The road from Tintern accompanies the Wye in conjunction with the +railway-line, and beautiful hanging woods, broken up with grey cliffs, +form lovely backgrounds to every view. + +~Tintern Parva~ is a small hamlet with a church erected in the Early +English period, but not of great interest. At Bigsweir Bridge the +river is crossed and the turning to the left taken. Offa's Dyke now +lies upon the right hand. + +~Redbrook~ is a village placed in a small combe of great beauty. The +church, with its Perpendicular tower, is worth seeing. The monuments +to John Joce and his wife, _temp._ Edward III., are preserved there, +together with two priests and a brass showing a 'free miner.' + + +MONMOUTH + +The situation of Monmouth is an ideal one, as it is surrounded by +hills, through which the Wye, the Monnow, and the Trothy flow. It was +at one time fortified by a surrounding wall pierced by four gates; but +the Monnow, or Western Gate, dating from 1270, is regarded by some +writers as a toll-gate rather than one of those belonging to the wall. +This gate stands upon the Monnow Bridge, and is a strikingly +picturesque feature of the town. Of the Roman origin of Monmouth (the +_Blestium_ of Antoninus) there are at present no traces, but it was a +fortified station as early as the Saxon period. + +~The Church of St. Mary~ was rebuilt from the designs of Street in 1881, +with the exception of the tower and the tall and very slender spire. +Near it, in Priory Street, is a building called 'Geoffrey's Study,' +possessing a Perpendicular window corbelled out on brackets. It cannot +possibly have been used by Geoffrey of Monmouth, after whom it is +named, as he died in 1154. The building, or, more correctly, the old +portion of it, is a remnant of the domestic buildings of the +Benedictine Priory. + +~St. Thomas's Church~, in Overmonnow, contains some Norman architecture. +Near the door of the church stands an elaborate cross. + +~The Shire Hall~, built in 1724, has a solemn façade bearing in the +centre a niche filled with a metal statue of Henry V., the hero of +Agincourt. One cannot be long in Monmouth without being reminded of +Harry of that ilk, for the square in front of the Shire Hall, formerly +the bull-ring, is now called Agincourt Square. Many quaint old houses +and inns still exist in the town, the Robin Hood in Monnow Street and +the Queen's Head in Wyebridge Street being good examples of the +picturesque hostelry, so attractive after journeying for many miles in +Wales, where every town is uniformly dreary in its architecture. +Monmouth Castle stood on a raised site close to the church. It was a +ruin at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and where the keep +stood there is a house of that period. There are still, however, some +sections of walls, and one window of the great hall survives. + + * * * * * + +On leaving Monmouth by the Ross Road, the little parish church of +~Dixton~ is soon encountered, and farther on the beautiful level height +called King Arthur's Plain is seen across the river. At times it +presents the appearance of towers belonging to a castle. + + (It is advisable not to take cars down the road marked 'To + Symond's Yat and the Hotel,' between Kerne Bridge and + Whitchurch, as it is very narrow and rough. The road from + Whitchurch is better.) + +~Symond's Yat~ is a rock which towers up to 800 feet above the surface +of the river. The ascent is quite easy, and from the upper part a +magnificent view is to be obtained. The scenery at this part of the +Wye is of quite exceptional beauty. Between the road and Symond's Yat +two hills--the Great and Little Dowards--occur. Upon the top of the +latter is a fine British camp, reputed to have once been occupied by +Caractacus. + +~Whitchurch~ is a pretty little village possessing an Early English +church dedicated to St. Dubricius, Archbishop of Caerleon in the sixth +century. The remains of a stone cross have been restored. After +leaving Whitchurch, the roads become somewhat confusing, and care +should be taken at the turns. At the foot of the bridge carrying the +main road over the river stands Flanesford Priory, which was erected +in 1347. From Kerne Bridge a magnificent prospect of the Wye is +obtained. + +~Goodrich Castle~ was an early residence of the Earls of Shrewsbury (the +Talbots) and there is little doubt that the ruins now seen upon these +rocky heights are all that is left of one of the first castles built +in England, dating well back into the Saxon period. The keep was built +in the time of Stephen, and it will be noticed that no windows look +away from the castle. In the Civil War it was taken by the +Parliamentarians, with the inevitable result. It is a noble and +imposing ruin, and a journey up the Wye Valley should not omit a visit +to Goodrich Castle. + +~Goodrich Court~ lies half a mile north of the castle. It was built in +the early part of the last century by Sir Samuel Meyrick, the +well-known authority upon, and collector of, ancient arms and armour, +and also the author of valuable works upon the same subject. The fine +collection was sold some time since, and the house purchased in 1870 +by Mr. George Moffatt. + +~Goodrich Church~ stands in the little village of that name near the +Court, and should be visited, as the stained-glass windows are good. +The ancestors of Dean Swift resided in the parish, and one of them was +the Vicar and a notable Royalist. + +The main road to Ross now leaves the Wye, but in order to see Wilton +Castle, that passing near the river should be taken. + +~Wilton Castle~ was built soon after the Norman Conquest. It stands near +the river upon ground which is not elevated, and was erected to +protect the Welsh marches. It has been held by various families--the +Longchamps, the De Greys, and that of Chandos. It suffered from the +Parliamentary army in 1645. The remains consist of the outer walls +only. A footpath will be found running between the walls and the +river. + +Wilton Bridge is a well-known landmark near Ross. It was built in the +reign of Elizabeth, and consists of six arches. One of them--that near +Wilton--is more recent than the others, having been rebuilt since its +destruction by the Roundheads during the Civil War. + + +ROSS, + +a picturesque little town with the steepest of streets, is perched +upon uneven rocky ground high above the left bank of the Wye, and is +surrounded by hills on three sides. It was a town at the time of +Domesday. + +~The Market Hall~ stands prominently in the centre of the town, and its +quaintness adds much to the attractiveness of the place. It was built +in the time of Charles II., and the upper part is now used for the +County Court and Petty Sessions. On the exterior of the south wall one +notices a curious carving of the letters F and C, with a heart, +reputed to be 'faithful to Charles in heart.' The 'Man of Ross,' who +was famed for his good deeds, and is alluded to by Pope, lived +opposite the Market Hall. The lower part of the house is now a +stationer's shop. The good man's name was John Kyrle, and his +portrait, by Sir Godfrey Kneller, can be seen in the upper room of the +Market Hall, together with his will and an autograph letter, dated +1695. + + [Illustration: TINTERN ABBEY. + Showing the beautiful reach of the Wye which flows between steep + wooded scarps.] + +~The Church~ stands on higher ground than the rest of the town, on the +south-west side. It is chiefly Early English, and has a nave with +aisles, chancel, and three chapels. One of the chapels on the south +side has a parvise over it. Probably the feature which the average +visitor finds most interesting is the presence of two elm-trees +growing out of the wall inside the church. Both saplings are now dead, +but some creepers running over them afford sufficient foliage to +simulate vitality. + +There is an Easter sepulchre in the chancel, and a tablet opposite the +organ contains sage reflections upon man's life and destiny. Of the +monuments remaining in the church, one, dated 1637, of a knight and +lady, is probably one of the most perfect memorials of contemporary +costume to be found in any church. The 'Man of Ross,' who follows the +visitor wherever he goes in this town, lies interred under a flat +slab, and against the wall is preserved a splendid marble monument to +his memory, erected in 1766 by a relative. A door leading to the +vanished rood-loft is on the north side of the chancel arch. The loft +apparently contained a piscina similar to Eastbourne Old Church. + +~Of Ross Castle~ but little remains at the present time to give an idea +of its former importance and extent. A tower, which may be entered, +stands near the church, and in the High Street another portion is +seen. From the first-mentioned there is a beautiful view, including +Symond's Yat, the Great and Little Dowards, with a fine range of hills +upon the horizon, and a splendid loop of the Wye lying at one's feet, +with Wilton Castle and the bridge in the foreground. Ross is in many +ways a capital centre for exploring the Wye Valley. + + * * * * * + +The road between Ross and Gloucester for about half the distance lies +in a picturesque piece of country on the northern confines of the +Forest of Dean, chiefly covered with coppices, grown for the sale of +the bark, the manufacture of charcoal, and the distillation of +wood-spirit. It is one of the wildest portions of Gloucestershire. + +~Weston-under-Penyard~ is a small village near the ruins of ~Penyard +Castle~ and the conspicuous hill of that name. The church was restored +in 1870, and is not of great interest. Near this village is the site +of the ancient _Ariconium_. The rise to Lea affords a view of +considerable interest backwards, extending as far as Graig Serrerthin +in Monmouthshire. + +~Lea Church~ stands beside the road, and possesses a remarkable font of +Indian workmanship inlaid with mosaic. The base represents an +elephant, from which springs a twisted, snake-like column supporting +the basin. Nearly two miles to the south of the road lies the village +of Mitcheldean. The Early English spire of the church is occasionally +seen through the trees, as it stands upon high ground. + +A number of sharp turns now occur, and the rise to Dursley Cross is a +steady one. The road is good, and a splendid view may be obtained from +the summit, which is 500 feet above sea-level. A long descent +eventually leads to Huntley, lying upon the lowlands which surround +Gloucester. After crossing the Severn, the ruins of ~Llanthony Abbey~ +can be seen to the south. The whole of this comparatively level +country is of the most beautiful description, covered with English +homesteads nestling among orchards, which are quite exquisite in +spring-time. + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 9--GLOUCESTER.] + +GLOUCESTER + +~Gloucester~, the _Glevum_ of the Romans and the _Glow Ceaster_ of the +Saxons, lies in the centre of a broad valley, and possesses a history +of no mean order. The Saxon kings made the place their residence, and +in 681 founded a nunnery, which subsequently became a monastery and +the nucleus of the present cathedral. Parliaments have been summoned +in this city, and its connection with the Empress Matilda in the time +of Stephen is well known. In the Civil War, Gloucester was on the side +of the Parliament, and resisted a Royalist army in 1643--a regrettable +fact, to which must be attributed the demolition of the city walls at +the Restoration. + +~The Cathedral~ has dignified surroundings, and velvety turf runs up to +the weather-stained masonry. The most prominent architecture to arrest +the eye is the Perpendicular, of which, from the exterior, the +cathedral appears mainly to consist, although Norman, Early English, +and Decorated are all represented. The Perpendicular south porch is +richly decorated, and possesses a parvise. Upon entering, the enormous +Norman columns of the nave, standing closely together and towering +upwards, at once fix the attention. The semicircular arches upon them +appear small when compared with other cathedrals, while the triforium +and clerestory are dwarfed and rendered comparatively unimportant. The +zigzag and chevron work in the bays is of excellent character. The +choir is pure Perpendicular and probably unsurpassed, and the glass in +the large window is old and a grand example of medieval work. The bold +and original idea of ornamenting comparatively plain Norman work with +the delicate beauty of the Perpendicular has been carried out to the +fullest perfection. The vaulting of the roof should be especially +noted. The monument on the north of the choir, of Osric, King of +Mercia, 729, was probably made about 1520. Next to it is the splendid +monument of the unhappy Edward II., whose wasted career was terminated +at Berkeley Castle, where he was murdered in 1377. Above the +altar-tomb is a beautifully sculptured effigy of the King in +alabaster, resting under a gorgeously elaborate canopy. It is +interesting to remember that this tomb--one of the finest of the royal +monuments in England--was put up to a vain and worthless King by his +son and successor, whose reign helped to make the country prosperous, +while the man whose memory is perpetuated in richly carved alabaster +allowed his father (Edward I.), a great and courageous King, to rest +under the five plain slabs of marble to be seen in Westminster Abbey. +The recumbent effigy of Abbot Parker, last Abbot of Gloucester, should +be noticed. The chantry, however, is a cenotaph. + +~The North and South Transepts~ are Norman, enriched with Perpendicular +work. From these points the flying arches, added to relieve the strain +on the piers supporting the central tower arches, are features of +grace and beauty. The north and south choir aisles each possess a +side-chapel, in one of which Robert, Duke of Normandy, lies. He died +in 1134 in Cardiff Castle, after an imprisonment of twenty-six years. +~The Lady Chapel~ is of magnificent Perpendicular work. There are +chapels also leading from the choir triforium, superimposed upon those +below. ~The Crypt~ is Early Norman work. ~The Cloisters~ are the finest +in England, the roof being vaulted with fan-tracery, said to be the +earliest example. In the north walk of the cloisters is the lavatory, +with a long trough at which the monks washed, still in a perfect +state, while in the wall opposite is a place for the towels. In the +south walk are twenty recesses where the monks studied or wrote. The +whole of the windows in these cloisters are filled with stained glass. +~The Chapter-house~ is of plain Norman work, with the exception of one +small portion. By its side is the abbot's cloister, over which is the +chapter library, containing some manuscripts of great value. + + [Map: PLAN OF GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL. + + _Monuments._ + + 1. Dr. Jenner. + 2. Alderman Jones. + 3. Abbot Seabroke. + 4. Brydges. + 5. Sarah Morley (by Flaxman). + 6. Alderman Machen. + 7. Bower. + 8. Alderman Blackleech. + 9. Abbot Foliot. + 10. Osric. + 11. Edward II. + 12. Bishop Parker. + 13. Courtehouse. + 14. Bishop Godfrey. + 15. Thomas Fitzwilliams. + + _Parts of Building._ + + A. West door. + B. South porch. + C. Monks' door to Cloisters. + D. Abbot's door to Cloisters. + E. Reliquary. + F. Chapel. + G. Doorway to Crypt. + H. Chapel of St. Andrew. + I. Sedilia. + K. Chapel of Duke of Normandy. + L. Abbot Hanley's Chantry. + M. Abbot Farley's Chantry. + N. Chapel. + O. Lavatory. + P. Passage to Cloisters. + Q. Slype and Sacristy.] + +The cathedral has a number of interesting ruins on the northern side. +These include the remains of a Dominican monastery, founded in the +ninth century and rebuilt in 1115, of which some arches and pillars +remain. There are other buildings partially adapted for modern +purposes. + +Gloucester also possesses some churches of considerable interest, such +as ~St. Mary de Lode~, said to be the oldest in the city, with the +Norman chancel and tower of the original building. In the churchyard +stands a monument to Bishop Hooper, burnt alive on the spot in 1555. +~St. Mary de Crypt~ is of Early English workmanship, and derives its +name from two large crypts beneath it. It stands in Southgate Street, +and has a beautiful and lofty tower. ~St. Michael the Cross~ was rebuilt +in 1815, but incorporates original Decorated work. It is said to have +a connection with the ancient Abbey of St. Peter. The curfew bell is +still rung from the tower every evening. ~St. Nicholas~, in Westgate +Street, also contains Norman and Early English work. + +One of the greatest charms of Gloucester lies in the multiplicity of +houses to be found which range in date from the fourteenth to the +seventeenth century, and a ramble through the streets will disclose +many besides those seen with a hurried glance. The New Inn, for +example, despite its unpromising name, possesses a courtyard with +surrounding gallery eminently medieval in every respect, and the +feeling is not lessened by a descent into the adjoining vaults. It was +built in 1450 by John Twining, a monk, for the accommodation of +pilgrims to the shrine of Edward II. It may be of interest to note +that the wood employed is chestnut. A fine old timbered house stands +in Northgate Street, but has been refronted. A passage, however, +affords a view at the side. There are many other examples of old +domestic architecture to be found at the junctions of the four +principal streets in the centre of the town, where, it may be +mentioned, the Town Hall stands upon the site of the ancient Courts of +Justice. + + * * * * * + +In selecting a motoring centre in this part of England, the writer has +found Gloucester to be a very suitable one in every way. The Bell and +County Hotel has a large garage, and combines in a very exceptional +manner the charm of the old-fashioned English hostelry with the needs +of the present day. Apart from the long routes described in these +pages, there are many short runs from Gloucester to pretty villages in +the Cotswolds and to historic spots, such as Berkeley Castle, +Llanthony Abbey, Deerhurst Priory, and a dozen other places, which a +local handbook will point out. Nearly all the important places in the +neighbourhood are described in this book. + + + + +LOOP No. 6 + +=FIRST PORTION=: HEREFORD TO SHREWSBURY--=SECOND PORTION=: SHREWSBURY +TO WORCESTER, LEDBURY, AND HEREFORD + +HEREFORD TO SHREWSBURY, 54¾ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Hereford= to Moreton-on-Lug 4 + =Moreton-on-Lug= to Bodenham Moor 3¾ + =Bodenham Moor= to Leominster 7 + =Leominster= to Wooferton 7¼ + =Wooferton= to Ludlow 4 + =Ludlow= to Craven Arms 7¾ + =Craven Arms= to Church Stretton 7¾ + =Church Stretton= to Dorrington 6½ + =Dorrington= to Shrewsbury 6¾ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +To =Shrewsbury= a first-class road; a hill of 1 in 12 at =Ludlow= and +1 in 15 at =Bodenham Hill=. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Sutton Walls.=--Remains of Offa's castle. + +=Bodenham.=--A village with a large and handsome church. + +=Hampton Court.=--A house dating from the time of Henry IV. + +=Leominster.=--A very picturesque town; the Town Hall; the church, +with the nave of a former Priory; the Butter Cross. + +=Ludlow.=--An old and very interesting town; the church, one of the +finest in England; the Guildhall; an excellent museum; Richard's +Castle near the town. + +=Stokesay Castle.=--One of the most perfect fortified houses of the +thirteenth century in the kingdom; strikingly picturesque. + +=Craven Arms.=--The camp of Caer Caradoc; the Long Mynd district; +extremely picturesque hills of exceptional interest to geologists. + +=Church Stretton.=--A pretty village in charming surroundings of +wooded hills and valleys; Norman and Transitional cruciform church. + + + [Map: LOOP 6 (FIRST PORTION). HEREFORD TO CHURCH STRETTON. + _Continued on p. 230._] + +(_For description and plan of_ ~Hereford~, _see pp. 176-179_.) + +The road to Leominster passes due north out of Hereford by, or rather +through, the racecourse, and directly afterwards ~Holmer Church~ is seen +upon the left side of the road. It belongs to Early English times, and +has a detached tower. + +~Moreton-on-Lug~ has a church which has recently been restored, but it +contains some altar-tombs of the Dauncer family. From this point +onwards Robin Hood's Butts and the Sugar Loaf Hills become prominent +objects in the landscape on the left, their rugged summits of +sandstone resisting the action of the weather better than the soft +marls through which they protrude. + +~Sutton Walls~ lie to the right upon a wooded hill, and are of great +historical interest. Offa, king of Mercia, had a palace there, and to +it Ethelbert, king of the East Angles, was invited, the ostensible +object being his marriage to the daughter of the Mercian king. The +young prince was foully murdered by the connivance of Quendrida, +Offa's queen, and East Anglia annexed to Mercia in A.D. 782. In +expiation of this deed Offa founded the great monastery at St. Albans. +There is a large encampment upon the hill, with four entrances, +apparently of Roman origin, and containing an area of about thirty +acres. + +Entering a low-lying district, upon which stands Wellington Marsh, +~Marden Church~ is seen upon the right, the place of Ethelbert's first +interment, the original building having been erected by Offa. +~Wellington Church~, lying to the left of the road, is chiefly of modern +construction. Two miles farther on a bifurcation occurs, and the road +to the right may be taken if one wishes to avoid the rather steep way +leading over Dinmore Hill. ~Bodenham~ is the next village on the route. +It possesses a large church of the Early English and Decorated +Periods, containing an alabaster tomb of Sir Walter Devereux, 1401. In +the village will be seen the remains of a large cross and a well. A +sharp turn to the left at England's Gate leads back in a few miles to +the junction with the main road near ~Hope-under-Dinmore~, crossing the +River Lug just before the junction. Hope Church, standing on the +hill-side, contains many tablets to the Coningsby family. About two +miles to the right of Ford lies Risbury Camp, of an oval form, with +deep ditches surrounding it, and containing an area of about eight +acres. ~Hampton Court~ was built by Sir Roland Lenthall in the time of +Henry IV., and much enlarged by ransoms subsequently obtained from +prisoners at the Battle of Agincourt. It was once the home of the Earl +of Coningsby. Mr. J. H. Arkwright, a descendant of Richard Arkwright, +is now the owner. The Court has been partially rebuilt. + + +LEOMINSTER + +This town presents an exceedingly picturesque aspect, a number of +medieval or Renaissance buildings having survived. It was a place of +importance in the days of the Heptarchy, and a monastery was +instituted by Merewald, king of the West Mercians, in the seventh +century, which, however, disappeared subsequently in the Danish +invasions. A residence of the Saxon kings, together with a stronghold, +was also raised here, only to be destroyed in a Welsh raid in 1088. In +1125 Henry I. established a Benedictine cell under the rule of Reading +Priory, and the buildings now form part of the workhouse! + +~The Church~ includes examples of almost every style of architecture. +The nave is Norman, and originally formed part of the Priory Church +standing upon this site. The monuments are very numerous, and some of +the finest window tracery in any ecclesiastical building in the +British Isles exists here. A fire in the eastern parts of the church +in 1699 led to a restoration in a very debased style. The Butter Cross +is an object of interest, and in the Bargates are Georgian almshouses +dating back to 1736. They have an effigy with an inscription +containing an admonition against the exercise of charity without +discrimination. The road to Ludlow lies upon the eastern side of the +railway, and a sharp turn to the right occurs in the town. ~Ivington +Camp~ is a British earthwork, but was considerably strengthened by Owen +Glendower when he retreated from Leominster and was vigorously pursued +by Prince Henry. One mile to the right lies Eaton Hall, now a +farmhouse. It was erected in the time of Henry V., and was once +occupied by the old family of Hakluyt.[1] + +~Eye~ lies to the left of the road, and has a church with some fine +alabaster monuments in it--one figure with the collar of SS. +Berrington Hall and Park, the seat of Lord Rodney, are close by. The +country passed through for some miles past is a cider district, and +numerous orchards can be seen on every side. Near Woofferton is a fine +open stretch of country, in which the highlands upon the left, wooded +to their summits, form a welcome break. ~Richard's Castle~, of the motte +and bailey type, lies under the hills. It was erected in the reign of +Edward the Confessor, and stands upon a mound 60 feet in height, with +some peculiar earthworks adjoining. It is a matter for remark that +this stronghold was erected and occupied by a Norman, Richard, the son +of Scrop, _before_ the Conquest, and thus is one of a little group of +castles of peculiar interest. An old church at the town of Richard's +Castle has a detached belfry. + + +LUDLOW + +This is an ancient British town lying in an amphitheatre of high +ground, but no reliable history relating to the place is extant until +after the Conquest, when Roger de Montgomery founded the ~Castle~, which +for a considerable time was the residence of Royalty, more +particularly of Edward IV. and his children. Ludlow was also the seat +of the Grand Council entrusted with the jurisdiction of the Marches. +The keep of the castle was erected between 1086 and 1096. In the Civil +War the castle surrendered to the Parliamentary forces in 1646, at the +same time as Bridgnorth. The appearance of the dismantled fortress on +an eminence above the River Teme is imposing and impressive, as the +Norman towers and bastions, together with a considerable portion of +the curtain walls, are still standing. + +~The Church~ stands upon elevated ground near the castle, and is of +Decorated Gothic, dating from the time of Edward III., although +originally built in the twelfth century. It is dedicated to St. +Lawrence, and is a cruciform building with a lofty tower, and one of +the finest churches in England. There is also a guildhall, a +town-hall, and the museum, chiefly confined to natural history, has a +grand collection of Silurian fossils. A very fine timbered house, the +Lane Asylum, dates from 1672. + +From the district round Bromfield a fine view is obtained of Clee +Hill lying to the right, with Titterstone Camp, 1,749 feet above the +sea, on it. Farther to the north is Brown Clee Hill, 1,792 feet high, +with Corne Dale to the left. Near Onibury the route is well wooded, +and the valley becomes contracted as the road leads through a break in +Wenlock Edge. Upon the right Norton Camp, a horseshoe-shaped +entrenchment, occupies the summit of a knoll. + + +STOKESAY CASTLE + +is reached just before coming to Craven Arms Station. It is, without +exaggeration, one of the most picturesque and also one of the earliest +fortified houses in the kingdom. From almost any point of view it +thrills the artist, the architect, the archæologist, and the ordinary +visitor who has any capacity to read sermons in stones. The very name +'Stokesay' tells the story of Norman owner superseding Saxon, the Says +or Sayes being descendants of Picot de Sai, who came over with the +Conqueror, a similar instance being found in Stoke d'Abernon in +Surrey, where the Saxon 'Stoke' is again tacked on to the name of the +new Norman owner. The gatehouse of the castle, although a highly +picturesque timber-framed building of Elizabethan times, with a +carving of Adam and Eve and the Serpent over the door, is not the +most interesting feature, for the rest of the building belongs to the +thirteenth century, and is quite one of the best examples of a +fortified house of the Early English period. The moat is now dry, but +otherwise one can see in Stokesay the type of house close to the Welsh +Marches which was occupied by a lesser feudal lord in the days when +Wales was still the home of unconquered tribesmen, who might at any +time make a sudden descent into English territory. Facing the gateway +is the hall, 51 feet by 31 feet (internal measurements), lighted with +four tall lancet windows looking on to the moat on the west side. The +open timber roof is blackened with smoke, for there was no fireplace, +and the smoke from the central brazier escaped through an outlet in +the roof. The builder of this hall is given by the late Mr. Augustus +Hare as John de Verdun, who died in 1279, while the curious and +picturesque polygonal tower at the south corner was no doubt built by +Verdun's successor, that Lawrence de Ludlow who received permission +from Edward I. to fortify his house of Stokesay. It would be a +pleasant task to describe every room and every architectural detail of +this fascinating castle, but space unfortunately does not permit. + +~The Church~ at Stokesay was rebuilt after the Civil War. Beautiful +views of the Long Mynd, of Wenlock Edge, and the ridge lying between +them, now open up. The church at the little village of ~Wistanstow~ has +been restored, and during the alterations a carved oak roof of the +Perpendicular period came to light. + + +CHURCH STRETTON + +is a village in an exceedingly pleasant situation, with the Long Mynd +ridge of hills to the west, and with Hope Bowdler, Caer Caradoc, and +the Lawley nearly opposite. The name Stretton, like Streatham, +indicates the presence of a Roman road--one of those leading +southwards from the great Roman city of _Uriconium_. + +The interesting cruciform church has a Norman nave with Transitional +central tower and transepts. Several Perpendicular windows have been +inserted. Mr. Hare mentions a stone in the churchyard, near the +sundial, bearing this inscription to Ann Cook, who died in 1814: + + 'On a Thursday she was born, + On a Thursday made a bride, + On a Thursday broke her leg, + And on a Thursday died.' + +'Hesba Stretton,' the novelist, took her pen-name from this village, +where she lived for many years. + +Near Church Stretton the site of Brockhurst Castle is passed over. +Bodbury Ring, to the left beyond Church Stretton, is said to have been +occupied by Ostorius Scapula previous to his great battle with +Caractacus. The site of the engagement is on the right, and a mile +farther on the road leads under Caer Caradoc Hill, 1,506 feet high, +with a perfect camp, vallum, and ditches upon the summit, wherein +Caradoc entrenched himself previous to the fight. The district under +the Long Mynd is extremely picturesque, with deep gullies and cross +valleys running into the great ridge, whose elevation in places +reaches to 1,600 feet. It is a paradise for geologists, deposits +emerging from underneath the Silurian which are of more than ordinary +interest. The Caradoc Range is an old volcanic outburst. The line of +the Roman road traversing the valley already mentioned may be noted +running parallel with the railway. + +(_For description and plan of ~Shrewsbury~, see pp. 76-79._) + +FOOTNOTE: + +[Footnote 1: A Welsh family, of whom Richard Hakluyt (1552?-1616), the +famous geographer, is the best known.] + + + + +LOOP No. 6--SECOND PORTION + +SHREWSBURY TO HEREFORD, 81¼ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Shrewsbury= to Buildwas 11¾ + =Buildwas= to Ironbridge 2 + =Ironbridge= to Bridgnorth 7¾ + =Bridgnorth= to Birdsgreen 7 + =Birdsgreen= to Kidderminster 7¼ + =Kidderminster= to Worcester 14½ + =Worcester= to Malvern 8¼ + =Malvern= to Ledbury 8 + =Ledbury= to Hereford 14¾ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=Shrewsbury to Worcester.=--A few hills only to Bridgnorth; thence to +Kidderminster some steep hills, but otherwise an excellent road. One +of the hills is 1 in 12 after Shatterford; after that good. + +=Worcester to Hereford.=--To Malvern splendid; between Malvern and +Ledbury ascent 1 in 9, descent 1 in 11 in crossing the Malvern Hills, +then very good road to Hereford, with only trifling hills. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Buildwas Abbey.=--A beautiful ruin. + +=Bridgnorth.=--A picturesque town, with a church and the remains of a +castle; the bridge. + +=Kidderminster.=--A town famed for its manufacture of carpets; church, +Perpendicular. + +=Stourport.=--An uninteresting town. + +=Ombersley.=--A picturesque village; The Court, the residence of Lord +Sandys. + +=Worcester.=--A busy city; the cathedral and tomb of King John; the +Edgar Tower; the Guildhall; the famous porcelain works. + +=Great Malvern.=--A finely-situated watering-place; the abbey gateway; +a Norman church, originally a priory church. + +=Ledbury.=--Picturesque market town, with old market hall and several +quaint houses; church, Norman, Early English, and Perpendicular; tower +detached. + +=Hereford.=--(See p. 176.) + + + [Map: LOOP 6. (NORTHERN PART INCLUDING SHREWSBURY). + _Continued on p. 239._] + +The route from Shrewsbury follows that to _Uriconium_ for nearly a +mile, when a bifurcation occurs, and the road to the right is chosen, +passing through Sutton and Cound. The church at the latter place is +chiefly of Early English architecture; it contains a carved early +Norman font of great interest. The Wrekin, with Heaven's Gate Camp +upon it, is a prominent feature in the distance, while the Severn +indulges in sinuous windings by the side of the road. ~Buildwas Abbey~ +is quite close to the road; it presents a beautiful aspect, and is +one of the finest ruins in the county. The abbey was founded by Roger +de Clinton, Bishop of Chester, in 1135, for Cistercians. Parts of it +still remain roofed. Coalbrookdale is historically interesting as the +cradle of the iron trade. It sprang into prominence when the Sussex +ironfields had to be abandoned, owing to the shrinkage of the forests +there. In 1700 members of the Darby family experimented upon iron ore +smelted with coal and coke, and since then it has been a centre of the +iron industry. + +~Ironbridge~ contains nothing of any particular interest. It is a town +of foundries, forges, and furnaces, while hideous tiers of dirty +cottages cluster on the steep hill-side. In the town is the iron +bridge from which the place gains its name; it is a bridge of a single +span, stretching 120 feet, and is the first on record. Its presence is +due to the energy of Abraham Darby, of the Coalbrookdale Works, in +1779. From Ironbridge the road trends away from the Severn, passing +through a well-wooded country, and eventually reaches + + +BRIDGNORTH + +This picturesque town is reputed to have been founded by a daughter of +Alfred the Great, and was fortified with walls and a castle by Robert +de Belesme, Earl of Shrewsbury. Henry I. besieged it in 1102, and in +the time of Henry II. it was dismantled. The walls suffered the same +fate at the hands of the Parliamentary forces after a long siege in +1646. The upper town is built upon a steep rocky plateau, which rises +abruptly from the river, crowned by the remains of the old castle, +which deviate remarkably from the vertical. A bridge of fine design +joins the upper to the lower town. + +~At Quatford~ a fortress was built by Ethelfleda, and subsequently a +college by the wife of Roger de Montgomery, from a romantic +remembrance of having first met her husband upon that spot. Slight +indications of a keep still remain upon a rock overlooking the Severn. +The church has the chancel arch and font of the Norman period, and the +remainder is Decorated work of the fourteenth century. + +The Forest of Morfe at one time covered the whole of this district. +Dudmaston Castle is passed immediately before Quatt is reached, and +then an undulating run eventually leads to + + +KIDDERMINSTER + +The name of the town means the 'minster on the brow of the hill.' From +the time of William the Conqueror down to _c._ 1135 it was a manor in +possession of the Crown. + +~The Church.~--This is dedicated to St. Mary, and is chiefly of the +Perpendicular period. It contains a number of ancient monuments, and +has recently undergone a restoration. The town is celebrated for its +manufacture of carpets; a peculiar property of the River Stour is +reputed to add to the brilliancy of the colouring. Dyeing, +worsted-spinning, together with iron manufactures, are carried on in +the town. + +On leaving Kidderminster the road lies almost due south to ~Stourport~, +a rather uninteresting town, possessing, however, an iron bridge over +the Severn. The church is of modern construction. + +~Ombersley~ is a village of uncommonly neat appearance, with many +timbered houses effectively rendered in black and white. The Court was +erected in the time of Queen Anne, and is the country residence of +Lord Sandys. The church in the village is new. + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 8--WORCESTER.] + +WORCESTER + +is sheltered by the Malvern Hills on the south-west, and by other +picturesque eminences. A Roman road originally traversed the city, and +as early as the year 680 Worcester was surrounded by lofty walls and +fortifications, which, by existing records, appear to have compared +favourably with other towns. + +~The Cathedral.~--(_Open on weekdays 9.30 to 6, but closed at 5.30 +between October and March 31 [or dusk]. 6d. each charged for entering +the Choir, Lady Chapel, and other special portions._) When Mercia +became an independent kingdom a church was raised, and subsequently +another built by Oswald in the tenth century a little north-east of +the present building. Wulfstan found Oswald's church in ruins, the +handiwork of Hardicanute's soldiers. He began a new cathedral in 1084, +but two fires subsequently ruined it. Re-erected, it was reconsecrated +in 1218. The cathedral suffered but little at the Reformation, but +very much during the Civil War. It is not a grand building so far as +massiveness is concerned, but possesses a variety of styles which +harmonize in a remarkable degree, and a sense of unity pervades the +whole building. The tower is a beautiful specimen of Perpendicular +work, and has recently been thoroughly renovated. The chief objects of +interest in the interior are the stalls, with their miserere seats, +dating from 1397, formerly in Worcester Priory; the cloisters, +chapterhouse, and remarkable Norman crypt, with King John's tomb in +the choir. There are picturesque remains of the old Guesten Hall, the +refectory and dormitory. + +~The Edgar Tower~ stands near the entrance to the cathedral cloisters. +It was originally the entrance to Worcester Castle, but the monks +converted it into a monastery gateway. + +~The Guildhall~ dates from 1721, and is an impressive building, +containing some objects of interest from the battlefield of Worcester. + +~The Commandery.~--This is a hospital founded in 1085; the great +refectory and Guesten Hall, with beautiful roofs and stained glass, +should be seen. + +There are a number of old timbered houses remaining in the city, +especially in Friar Street, near the city gaol, and in Lich Street. In +the Corn Market is King Charles's House, built 1577, in which Charles +II. took refuge in 1651 after the Battle of Worcester. It has the +inscription, 'Fear God; honour the King,' over the doorway. In the +Trinity, not far off, is an interesting Elizabethan house with an open +gallery. The Royal Porcelain Works, founded in 1751, are in Severn +Street, near the cathedral. (_Open 9.30 to 12.30, 2.15 to 5. Admission +6d._) + + + [Map: LOOP 6 (PART OF SECOND PORTION). SHREWSBURY TO HEREFORD. + _Continued from p. 230._ + _Continued on p: 241._] + +GREAT MALVERN + +Malvern is a watering-place, situated in a beautiful district on the +eastern slope of the hills of the same name, and is much frequented by +reason of its fine air, its healthy surroundings, and its mineral +springs. A Benedictine priory was founded here shortly after the +Conquest, and one of the buildings, the ~Abbey Gateway~, dating from +1083, still remains. + +~The Church~ is of Norman work, with Perpendicular additions, dating +from the time of Henry VII.; it originally formed the Priory Church, +and was purchased by the inhabitants at the Dissolution, and made +parochial. The recumbent effigies in it are of considerable interest. + +Between Malvern and Ledbury lie the Malvern Hills; in crossing them +one has to negotiate a hill of 1 in 11. One is reminded of Touraine in +the quantities of mistletoe growing on the trees as the quaint old +town of Ledbury is neared. + + + [Map: LOOP 6 (LAST PORTION). LEDBURY TO HEREFORD. + _Continued from p. 239._] + +LEDBURY + +The main street is full of charm in its possession of several old +houses and a market-house standing on chestnut pillars. The upper +portion has been much restored, but the wooden supports are those of +the building believed to have been put up by John Abell in Elizabethan +times. + +The most notable feature of the church is the detached Early English +tower, now crowned with a modern spire. Of the original Norman church +the western doorway remains in the Perpendicular nave. Besides the +tombs of the Biddulphs the stained glass in the north chapel should be +examined. These windows are of the Decorated period, and the chapel is +dedicated to the local St. Catherine, who lived at the beginning of +the fourteenth century. During the Civil War there was a hot fight in +Ledbury in the year 1645 between Prince Rupert and a body of +Roundheads. Marks of bullets can be seen on the church doors and +elsewhere in the town. + +(_For_ ~Hereford~, _see p. 176_.) + + + + +LOOP No. 7 + +GLOUCESTER TO BATH, MALMESBURY, EVESHAM, TEWKESBURY, AND GLOUCESTER, +153 MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Gloucester= to Stroud 12¼ + =Stroud= to Nailsworth 4¼ + =Nailsworth= to Old Sodbury 13¼ + =Old Sodbury= to Bath 11 + =Bath= to Chippenham 13 + =Chippenham= to Malmesbury 10 + =Malmesbury= to Minety 7¼ + =Minety= to Cricklade 4¾ + =Cricklade= to Highworth 7½ + =Highworth= to Lechlade 4½ + =Lechlade= to Burford 8¾ + =Burford= to Shipton-under-Wychwood 4¼ + =Shipton= to Chipping Norton 6¾ + =Chipping Norton= to Moreton-in-the-Marsh 8 + =Moreton= to Broadway 8½ + =Broadway= to Evesham 5¾ + =Evesham= to Tewkesbury 13¼ + =Tewkesbury= to Gloucester 10 + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=Gloucester to Nailsworth.=--The road is fairly level, with a good +surface. + +=Nailsworth to Bath.=--The road climbs for the first 2 miles (1 in +15), and then is undulating along a ridge of downs until about 3 miles +from Bath, where the long descent is 1 in 15. + +=Bath to Highworth.=--An excellent road, with a steep hill soon after +Cricklade (1 in 12), and an abrupt descent after Highworth (1 in 12). + +The road becomes hilly near =Chipping Norton=, with a very stiff +descent at Fish Hill (1 in 11), after which the road is excellent all +the way to =Tewkesbury= and =Gloucester=. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Painswick.=--Exceptionally picturesque little Cotswold town. Fine +church and churchyard, with clipped yews; Painswick Court, a fine old +Tudor house near the church. + +=Stroud.=--A small town with cloth manufactures. Town Hall of +fifteenth century; church modern, except tower. + +=Nailsworth.=--A cloth manufacturing place scattered in the valley +south of Stroud. + +=Bath.=--The famous Georgian watering-place. A large stone town. Roman +baths in splendid preservation; the Abbey Church, Perpendicular; +Pulteney Bridge lined with shops; good eighteenth-century houses. + +=Bradford-on-Avon.=--An old village with a famous Saxon church. (On a +short loop from Bath. See Map.) + +=Box.=--A small village near long tunnel on G.W.R. Church of various +periods. + +=Corsham= (_just off the road to the right_).--An old village with +interesting Norman church. Corsham Court, partially Elizabethan house, +the seat of Lord Methuen. + +=Chippenham.=--Old town on Avon with manufactures. Church spoiled by +restoration; Maud Heath's Causeway. + +=Malmesbury.=--Picturesque old town on the Avon. Abbey Church +Trans-Norman; tower of old parish church; Elizabethan houses; fine +market cross; old almshouses. + +=Cricklade.=--A pleasant little town on the uppermost windings of the +Thames. St. Sampson's Church, with fine Perpendicular tower; St. +Mary's, Norman; early crosses in both churchyards. + +=Lechlade.=--Another little town on the Thames. Old bridge; +Perpendicular church. + +=Shipton-under-Wychwood.=--Village with a fine church, close to +Wychwood Forest. + +=Chipping Norton.=--Highest town in Oxfordshire; picturesque street. + +=Moreton-in-the-Marsh.=--A pleasant little market town. + +=Bourton-on-the-Hill.=--A very picturesque Cotswold village. + +=Broadway.=--A beautifully-situated and strikingly attractive Cotswold +village. Many old houses, including manor-house of Abbots of Pershore +Abbey. Old church 1 mile from village, interesting. + +=Evesham.=--A small town on Avon; picturesque. Booth Hall, Bell Tower, +and various remains of the extensive abbey. Churches of (1) St. +Lawrence, not very interesting; (2) All Saints, Early English and +later. Battle fought in 1265. + +=Tewkesbury.=--Very picturesque old town on Avon and Severn. Abbey +Church, splendid Norman; many old timber-framed houses. Battle of +Tewkesbury, 1471. + +=Deerhurst Priory= (_off road to west_).--Pre-Norman buildings lately +well restored. + + + [Map: LOOP 7. GLOUCESTER TO BATH.] + + [Map: LOOP 7. GLOUCESTER TO BATH AND EVESHAM.] + +The extensive loop described briefly in this chapter takes one to many +interesting towns in Gloucestershire and the neighbouring counties, +and as there is much to see, it is advisable to break the journey at +Bath, and possibly again at Broadway or Evesham, in order not to be +obliged to hurry through beautiful scenery and romantic towns. + +Although the level road from Gloucester to Stroud by Hardwicke is to +be recommended to those who would avoid a long, stiff climb, the way +through the Cotswolds is so much more interesting and so vastly more +picturesque that it should by all means be taken if the hill is of no +consequence. + +The easiest ascent of the face of the Cotswolds is by the road through +the village of Brookthorpe, descending into the Painswick valley near +the secluded and quite typical Cotswold hamlet of Pitchcombe. + +A still more beautiful road goes through Sneedham's Green, near Upton +St. Leonards, and winds up a long steady ascent among beeches. This +road is well engineered, and the views from it, first over the Vale +of Severn and then into the Painswick and Sheepscombe valleys, are +full of exquisite charm at all times of the year. + + +PAINSWICK + +is one of those little stone towns with that peculiarly foreign +flavour so frequently experienced in the Cotswolds. Perched on a steep +hill-side and dominated by the tall tower and spire of its stately +church, the place is the centre of the life of a lovely valley. Every +other house in the town is a picture by itself, and when grouped with +others and backed by the emeralds and blues of the opposite side of +the valley, the stranger can hardly be prevented from exclaiming aloud +as each corner brings some new composition before him. + +In the centre of the town stands the fine church, with a unique +churchyard, wherein a wonderful array of richly carved altar-tombs of +delicate classic design are scattered in picturesque irregularity +under the sombre shade of rows of closely trimmed yews. The stems of +these trees are kept clear of twigs and branches, and the masses of +green are shaped into great round-topped cylindrical forms. Just below +the church, beyond a group of magnificent elms, stands Painswick +Court, a stone, many-gabled house of such reposeful dignity that one +seems to find in it as nearly as possible the ideal English +manor-house of modest proportions. The title 'Court' came to the +house, not in connection with the manor, but through a visit paid to +it by Charles I. in 1643. The King slept in the house, and issued a +proclamation 'given at our Court at Paynewicke.' + +Whether one decides to go through Painswick or Pitchcombe, or even if +one keeps below the hills, all the roads meet at + + +STROUD + +This is a hilly town abounding in very steep streets, and possessing, +as all Cotswold towns do, a number of good old stone houses of the +sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. It is, nevertheless, +a place without much appeal to the passing motorist, for the church +has been rebuilt in recent times, with the exception of the tower, +which is Early English. The Town Hall, formerly the market-house, was +built in the fifteenth century by John Throckmorton of Lypiatt. + +Stroud still maintains its woollen industry, and thousands of people +are employed in the mills in the town and in the valley to the east. + +Leaving Stroud for Bath, one ascends the valley towards ~Nailsworth~, a +busy locality, where the weaving of broadcloth is the chief industry. +There are also flock factories and workshops where beech--'the weed of +the oolite'--is used in making beds, gunstocks, and umbrella-sticks. + +A little beyond Nailsworth the road comes out on the ridge of +wind-swept hills, and continues a slightly undulating course +southwards to Bath, a distance of over twenty miles, without a village +and scarcely a hamlet on the whole journey. There are wide views in +both directions, and some grand panoramas across the Severn. + +After dropping down from the level of the downs, one turns to the +right and enters the ancient city of + + +BATH + +This wealthy, picturesque, and still popular watering-place, is +described at some length in another volume of this series--the +Southern Section of England--and it must therefore be dealt with in +the briefest fashion here. The thermal springs attracted the Romans to +the spot, and of their city _Aquæ Solis_ there are probably very +considerable remains beneath the present city. ~The Baths~ themselves +have been excavated, and several feet below the street-level one can +now see the Roman tanks filled, as they were some sixteen centuries +ago, with the steaming waters which still bring many ailing folk to +the town. Besides the baths there is the ~Abbey Church~, a magnificent +example of late Perpendicular work, crowded with memorials to +distinguished visitors and residents of Bath, whose virtues and +achievements are not overlooked on the marble tablets. + +[Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 16--BATH.] + +~Pulteney Bridge~, like the Ponte Vecchio, is lined with shops, but the +famous bridge at Florence quite eclipses this structure of a much +later and less artistic age. In walking through the streets of Bath +one cannot fail to be struck by several of the Georgian façades, whose +dignity and classic perfection reflect the formal manners of the +latter part of the eighteenth century, when Beau Nash drew admiring +and envious eyes upon his elaborately-attired person as he passed +along the stone-built streets of the great centre of smart society +when George was King. + + * * * * * + +From Bath to Chippenham the road goes through Batheaston, and keeping +to the north side of the railway for a couple of miles, passes under +it to reach the village of ~Box~, which has given its name to one of the +longest tunnels on the Great Western Railway. It is one and +three-quarter miles in length, and cost more than half a million +pounds to build. Box village has a church belonging to the three great +periods of Gothic, with a Perpendicular tower. + +Going to the left in the village, the road to Chippenham rises from +the valley of the By Brook, crosses the ridge of oolite and fuller's +earth pierced by the famous tunnel, and drops down to + + +CORSHAM + +The little town lies chiefly to the right, towards the railway and +Corsham Court, Lord Methuen's stately Elizabethan house. It is quite +desirable to run through the place, returning to the Chippenham road +by the road that skirts the park, north of the church. There are some +old houses in the street, and among them one dating back as far as the +fifteenth century. Corsham Court contains a magnificent collection of +paintings, mostly brought here by Sir Paul Methuen, who was at one +time Ambassador to Madrid, and died in 1757. + +The beautiful cruciform church was shorn of its central tower during +the restoration by Street, who built a new tower and spire in a rather +unusual position south of the south transept. The Norman nave and a +north door of the same period are the earliest portions of the +building, and the Methuen Chapel, built in 1879, is the most recent. + +From Corsham the road falls continuously to + + +CHIPPENHAM, + +an old manufacturing town on the Avon. As its name suggests, it has +been a market town from a very remote age. It was a place of +importance in Saxon times, and one or two events are recorded as +happening there before the year 878, when the Danes took the place and +made it their headquarters, while, with fire and sword, they spread +ruin and desolation over the neighbourhood. After Alfred reappeared +from his hiding-place in marsh-bordered Athelney to the south-west, +and gained his famous victory over the marauding Danes at Ethandune, +he regained possession of Chippenham, and gave it to his daughter +Ælfrith for life. For objects to connect the Chippenham of to-day with +these thrilling times of half-civilized Britain one looks in vain, for +the church, the most hopeful link, reveals no Saxon work, and what is +Norman has been so cruelly handled that its interest has vanished. +The richly-carved Norman chancel arch, dating from about half a +century after the Conquest, has been recut and removed to the north +side of the chancel. + +The modern church of St. Paul was built in 1853 by Sir Gilbert Scott. +A new Town Hall belongs to this period, but the old one is still +standing. + + +MAUD HEATH'S CAUSEWAY + +A very remarkable feature of Chippenham is a paved track some four and +a half miles in length, and still bearing curious inscriptions, +leading northeastwards from the town to the ridge of Bremhill Wick. +This path owes its existence to a bequest made by a certain Maud +Heath, who lived as long ago as the fifteenth century, and the cost of +the maintenance of the path at the present day is defrayed by the +property she bequeathed for the purpose. Tradition says that Maud +Heath was a market-woman of Langley Burrell, a village on the +causeway; and if this is correct one imagines that the good dame left +her money to save those that came after her the toil and discomfort of +trudging with a heavy basket in the deep mire of the heavy clay of the +valley. On the ridge where the path terminates stands a column +bearing a statue of the woman, put up in 1838 by the Lord Lansdowne of +that time--Bowood, the ancestral home of the Lansdownes, from which +Rembrandt's 'Mill' has lately been sold and removed to America, being +only two miles distant. + +An undulating road goes almost due north to Malmesbury, passing +through the hamlet of ~Corston~, which has a small church with a curious +Perpendicular bell-turret at the west end. + + +MALMESBURY + +This interesting and historic town is comparatively unknown to the +ordinary tourist. Its situation on a spur of raised ground, with two +branches of the Avon almost surrounding it with a natural moat, made +the place of importance in early days, when such things were eagerly +sought after. One is not surprised, therefore, to find that the site +was a stronghold of the British, known as _Caer Bladon_, and in Saxon +times was a frontier town of Wessex. According to Murray, the present +name is derived from Maidulph or Maldulph, an Irish missionary who, +about the beginning of the seventh century, established a hermitage +under the protecting proximity of the castle, and there began +educational work among the semi-barbarous Saxons. One of his scholars +was the learned Ealdhelm, who became the first abbot of the monastery +of Malmesbury, founded in 680. Of the great religious house which +eventually grew up at Malmesbury only the church remains, now, alas! +sadly diminished and curtailed. Both the central and the western +towers collapsed somewhere about the sixteenth century, crushing the +adjoining parts of the nave and chancel in their fall. The existing +church is therefore only a portion of the nave of the magnificent +abbey church which dominated the little town in pre-Reformation times. +The arcades are Transitional Norman with massive cylindrical pillars, +but above the arches rises a Decorated clerestory, supporting a richly +vaulted roof of the same period. If it had not been for Master Humpe, +whom Leland describes as 'an exceeding riche Clothiar,' there would +quite possibly have been nothing left at all of the abbey church after +the suppression of the monasteries; but this worthy man bought the +buildings from the Crown and presented the church to the parish. The +old parish church was utilized as a town hall, but nothing remains of +that structure except the tower, with a spire. + +The beautiful Elizabethan house to the north-east of the abbey church +is built on a portion of the monastic buildings in which Master Humpe +had set up his looms. The famous historian, William of Malmesbury, who +lived in the twelfth century, was librarian and precentor of the +abbey. Before leaving the town the lovely Perpendicular market cross +should be seen, and also the almshouses near St. John's Bridge. + + * * * * * + +Leaving Malmesbury by the Cirencester road, one soon goes to the right +for Cricklade, skirting Charlton Park, with its dignified Jacobean +house built by Sir Thomas Knyvet, with a west front designed, it is +said, by Inigo Jones. It is the seat of the Earls of Suffolk and +Berkshire. The present holder of the title was extra A.D.C. to Lord +Curzon of Kedleston, and married, in 1904, a sister of the late Lady +Curzon. The interior of the house has been modernized, but it contains +a remarkably fine collection of old masters. + + +CRICKLADE + +This prettily-situated little town is on the Thames, about ten miles +from Thames Head, close to the Foss Way, St. Sampson's Church, with +its pinnacled tower, rising picturesquely over the roofs half hidden +among trees. It is a cruciform building, and the interior of the +tower, which is enriched with armorial shields, contains a clock +possessing no face on the exterior! In the churchyard there is a fine +cross with niches in the head, and another is to be found in the +churchyard of the little St. Mary's. Cricklade is one of those really +ancient places whose beginnings are far off in British times, the +origin of the name being the two British words _cerrig_ (stone) and +_lád_ (ford). + +From Cricklade one goes south-west as straight as an arrow for about +four miles on the Roman Ermine Way leading from Cirencester +(_Corinium_) to Speen (_Spinæ_), near Newbury. Then one goes to the +left to ~Highworth~, where the route turns due north and meets the +Thames again at + + +LECHLADE + +The Lech and the Coln meet the Thames at the town, and the united +streams suddenly assume an air of dignity, having reached a width of +some 20 yards and a depth sufficient for vessels of 80 tons. Across +the 'stripling Thames' there stands the first stone bridge, whose core +is the medieval structure built somewhere about the beginning of the +thirteenth century, or possibly earlier, in the days when +bridge-building was regarded as a pious enterprise. In its prosperous +days Lechlade sent great quantities of cheese down the river to +London. The church is mainly Perpendicular, dating, according to +Bigland, from about 1470. + +Continuing northwards, the road climbs among the eastern slopes of the +Cotswolds, and reaches picturesque old ~Burford~ (see p. 276). The next +place to the north is + + +SHIPTON-UNDER-WYCHWOOD, + +an interesting and attractive old village on the east side of Wychwood +Forest. The spacious church is chiefly an Early English building, with +alterations in Perpendicular times, and no indications at all of +Decorated work. The spire, like that of Witney, is Early English, +while the font and stone pulpit are Perpendicular. Adding immensely to +the picturesqueness of the church, there is on the east side a group +of timeworn buildings of ecclesiastical origin dating back to the time +when Shipton was a prebend of Salisbury Cathedral. One should also +notice the sixteenth-century work of the Crown Inn, standing near the +centre of the village. + +Going on towards Chipping Norton, one comes after two miles to some +tumuli, called Lyneham Barrows, and not far beyond these there is a +standing stone about 6 feet high. + + +CHIPPING NORTON, + +another of the towns with the distinctive term revealing an old-time +importance as a market, is the highest town in Oxfordshire, being +nearly 700 feet above the sea. The place consists chiefly of one long +and picturesque street, and what there is to tell of its history is +almost exclusively in relation to its cloth manufactures, its +breweries, or its glove factories. The conspicuous church is mainly +Decorated and Perpendicular, with the tower above the obviously Early +English work, rebuilt in 1825. + +There is a story of Bishop Juxon having been the cause of a complaint +to Cromwell because once, when the prelate was hunting, the hare, +closely followed by the hounds, ran through the churchyard. The +Protector's reply, however, took the form of a question: 'Do you think +the Bishop prevailed on the hare to run through the churchyard?' + +Nothing whatever is left of the castle formerly standing to the east +of the church, but the almshouses, built in 1640, still survive. + +Chipping Norton is left by the road to Evesham, and a run of eight +miles brings one into the long, wide street of ~Moreton-in-the-Marsh~, a +little market town without any exceptional features needing special +reference here. The next place, however, is ~Bourton-on-the-Hill~, a +lovely village, with its old cottages perched either above or below +the steeply ascending road. Of the gardens gaily decked with flowers +one could write many pages; but not far off is ~Broadway~, one of those +delightful villages of the always lovely Cotswolds, full of pleasing +stone architecture, in spite of the evil tendencies which have marred, +if not destroyed, the beauty of so many pleasant old-world haunts. At +the picturesque Lygon Arms, at the lower end of the village, Charles +I. is said to have stayed on more than one occasion, and near it is a +house called the 'Abbot's Grange,' where Mr. Millet, the artist, has +his studio. This was the manor-house of the Abbots of Pershore, a +Benedictine abbey possessing much property at Broadway. There is a +large hall open to the roof, a solar, and a small chapel chiefly +dating from Decorated times. The old church of Broadway, dedicated to +St. Eadburgh, is three-quarters of a mile away, in the Snowshill +Valley. It contains a plain Norman font, a painted wooden pulpit of +the fourteenth century, and some good brasses. From the tower, built +in 1797, above the village one can see a wide panoramic view over the +beautiful rounded hills, broken up by belts of beech and larch. + +If there is no need to economize time, it would certainly be unwise to +pass so near the picturesque old town of ~Chipping Camden~ without +having a peep at its fine market hall, its church, and beautiful array +of stone-built houses. After this the hills are left behind, and +Evesham, on the river which flows past Shakespeare's birthplace, is +reached. + + +EVESHAM + +This picturesque little town owed its importance to the great +Benedictine abbey, which up to the Dissolution had, according to +Grose, such a great assemblage of religious buildings that its equal +was not to be found out of Oxford and Cambridge. Of these, however, +there remain to-day only the beautiful Perpendicular bell-tower, the +almonry, the mutilated Norman gatehouse, and the archway leading to +the chapter-house, now the entrance to allotments. Many houses in the +town are built of stones from the destroyed abbey. The Booth Hall, in +the market-place, is a charming old building, and in the High Street +and in Bridge Street there are many fine old houses. + +The two churches of Evesham stand in one churchyard, and both were +founded by the monks of the abbey as secular chapels for the town. The +Church of St. Lawrence was practically rebuilt a century ago, but All +Saints, which existed in 1223, has an Early English north aisle and +chancel, and examples of the succeeding periods in the other parts of +the building. The Battle of Evesham was fought on August 4, 1265, +rather less than a mile from the town, on high ground to the north, +marked by an obelisk. Simon de Montfort, who held Henry III. prisoner, +was crushingly defeated by Prince Edward, and both he and his son +Henry were killed, their bodies being buried in Evesham Abbey Church +before the high-altar. + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 10--TEWKESBURY.] + +TEWKESBURY + +is the last place passed through on this extensive loop, and going in +this direction one finds the best wine reserved to the last, for this +exceptionally picturesque old town, with its solemn abbey church, +surrounded by tall ancient trees, and the sweet green meadows, where +Severn and Avon are only separated by a belt of level greensward, is +one of those places that have a way of fixing themselves in the +memory, even if one has never read Miss Mulock's 'John Halifax, +Gentleman.' If one has done so, and remembers the descriptions of +'Norton Bury,' the old town will never be forgotten. One can hardly +think of Tewkesbury without the dominating presence of its great +Norman abbey church, but even without it the long street contains so +many delightful sixteenth-century houses, each possessing individual +charms, that the town would still make an irresistible appeal to all +for whom the architecture of the vanished centuries has some message. + +The founder of the present abbey was Robert FitzHamon, who was related +to William the Conqueror, and received the Honour of Gloucester from +Rufus. Having decided to rebuild the modest Saxon abbey, FitzHamon +soon removed all traces of the early buildings when, in 1102, the work +was begun. Five years later the founder died of a wound received +during a siege of the impregnable castle of Falaise in Normandy, and +was buried in the chapter-house. The consecration took place in 1123, +and in 1178 a fire occurred, which was fortunately restricted to the +conventual buildings. + +Gilbert de Clare, one of the barons who had signed Magna Charta, was +buried in the abbey, and after him, for two and a half centuries, +every one of his successors was laid to rest in the same building. + +When Tewkesbury Abbey was suppressed, the nave, which had always been +secular, continued to be a possession of the town, and the other +portions of the great fabric were bought from the Crown for the sum of +£453. + +It is often stated that the great Norman tower is the most perfect in +this country, but the people of St. Albans would no doubt question +this claim. The tall wooden spire, covered with lead, fell during +service on Easter Sunday in 1559, and was never replaced. Inside the +church one sees little that is not pure Norman, and for solemnity and +vast, imposing dignity it would be difficult to find any building able +to overshadow Tewkesbury. It may be compared with Durham, Selby, and +Christchurch. The west end has a wonderfully fine recessed window of +immense proportions. In 1661 the window was blown in during a gale, +and was replaced in 1686. Surely those who were attached to the +Commonwealth must have thought there was something significant in this +parallel to the rending of the veil of the Temple, for the seventeenth +century was a superstitious age. + +The Battle of Tewkesbury, one of the decisive encounters of the Wars +of the Roses, was fought, in 1471, on the south side of the town (its +position is shown in the accompanying plan). Edward IV. crushingly +defeated the Lancastrians under Edward, the youthful Prince of Wales, +whose army fought with Tewkesbury in their rear. The defeated army +took refuge in the town, and the slaughter continued in the abbey +church in hideous fashion, until the abbot, bearing in his hands the +consecrated elements, brought the fighting to a close. Prince Edward, +who had been struck in the mouth by the gauntleted hand of the King, +was killed in a house in Church Street. + +With the rooks cawing high overhead in the tree-tops, and a sweet +solemnity pervading the whole abbey precincts, it is almost impossible +to picture the ghastly scene of civil war which, four and a half +centuries ago, soaked the meadows in human blood and turned the noble +church into a shambles. For a month no services were held in the +building while every blood-stain was removed. + +On the way back to Gloucester one could make a very profitable detour +of a few miles to Deerhurst Priory, a highly interesting pre-Norman +building, until recently used as part of a farm, but lately restored +in a most efficient manner. + + + + +SECTION X + +(TRUNK ROUTE) + +GLOUCESTER TO OXFORD, 50 MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Gloucester= to Cheltenham 8¾ + =Cheltenham= to Andoversford 6 + =Andoversford= to Northleach 7 + =Northleach= to Burford 9 + =Burford= to Witney 7½ + =Witney= to Eynsham 5¾ + =Eynsham= to Oxford 6 + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=Gloucester to Cheltenham.=--Level; excellent surface. + +There are no hills of any importance all the way to Oxford, but the +surface is rather rough between =Andoversford= and =Burford=. The road +falls nearly all the way from =Northleach to Oxford=. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Cheltenham.=--A watering-place dating from the eighteenth century. +Spa; promenades; St. Mary's Church, Decorated. + +=Northleach.=--Picturesque Cotswold village-town. Perpendicular +church, with famous brasses of wool-merchants and remarkably fine +porch. + +=Burford.=--A very interesting and picturesque old town; several old +houses; market hall; church, large and irregular, Norman, Early +English, and Perpendicular; Priory ruins. + +=Asthall Barrow.=--A prominent prehistoric mound. + +=Witney.=--A pleasant and unusually charming old town, famous for +blankets. Church very picturesque, chiefly Early English; old market +house. + +=Eynsham.=--A quaint old village with old market house, church, and +picturesque houses. Red Lion Inn with quaint sign. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 10. GLOUCESTER TO OXFORD.] + +At ~Wotton St. Mary~, Churchdown Hill is a prominent feature on the +right. Some picturesque old cottages stand beside the road, while the +general aspect of the country is pastoral, broken up by large +orchards, a delightful feature of the county. The road rises slightly +as Cheltenham is approached. + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 11--CHELTENHAM.] + +CHELTENHAM + +Cheltenham stands close to the steep, north-west face of the Cotswold +Hills, and until the springs were discovered in 1716 it was but a +struggling hamlet. It is now an aggregation of imposing squares, +crescents, promenades, and villas, interspersed with beautiful parks. +As may be expected, there are few antiquities to be found in a town +of such mushroom growth, the only exception being the ~Parish Church +of St. Mary~, standing just off the High Street. The prevailing style +of the building is early Decorated, and it contains a piscina believed +to be one of the largest and most perfect in England. To those +interested in modern architecture the ~Church of St. Stephen~ may be +mentioned, but ~All Saints'~, the parish church of Pittville, is the +best modern expression of architectural ideals in Cheltenham, although +the ~Roman Catholic Church of St. Gregory~ is a formidable rival. The +public buildings are on a level with the importance of the town. The +merits and uses of the chalybeate and other waters are easily +discovered locally, and no one who remembers the oft-repeated epitaph +of the individual who with three daughters 'died from drinking the +Cheltenham waters' should be prejudiced against their good properties, +which for certain ailments are not to be despised. Cheltenham is a +famous educational centre for girls, and Gloucestershire, as a whole, +has been in the van in educational matters from quite early times. + +Cheltenham is the 'Coltham' in 'John Halifax, Gentleman,' where John +and Phineas saw Mrs. Siddons act. + + * * * * * + +The road to Oxford from Cheltenham crosses the beautiful Cotswolds, +climbing up to 800 feet at the Puesdown Inn. From this point there are +wide expanses visible in nearly every direction; but such views do +not give one the real charm of the Cotswolds. To become intimate with +the exquisite valleys and secluded upland villages, one must be in a +mood to potter and loiter, and be content to desert the car at +intervals in order to plunge into some beautiful beech-wood, falling +steeply down a declivity, and revealing glimpses between the tall +smooth trunks of the Vale of Severn, or some sleepy hollow wherein a +silver-grey village nestles. The beautiful architecture of the +Cotswolds, in conjunction with its lovely scenery, is a joy to all who +know these oolite hills. Cottages, farms, mills, and manor-houses, all +with steep roofs of grey stone like the walls, stately gables, +mullioned windows, and picturesque chimneys, are all one can desire. + +Even if there is no time to wander from the direct road, one cannot +avoid seeing an exceedingly pleasing little Cotswold town. This is + + +NORTHLEACH, + +a place of some importance when the woollen industry of these hills +was flourishing. There is a subtle charm in the greyness of the old +houses, relieved by the dark green of yew and the lighter tones of +deciduous trees and grass banks here and there. The quaint little +shops add other touches of colour, and wherever one turns there are +pictures of simple Cotswold life, not much altered by the rapid +changes of recent years. The old fellow standing meditatively by the +churchyard gate may talk of the great changes since his youth, when +the cloth industry had not ebbed away from the hills, but to outward +appearances Northleach is, one suspects, little altered since the days +of our great-grandparents, if, indeed, anything has materially changed +the town since the beautiful Perpendicular church was put up. The date +of its building was about the year 1489, when Cotswold wool was one of +the chief industries of England. One may admire the embattled spire +and the graceful delicacy of the whole building, but it is by its +porch that one remembers Northleach Church. It is illustrated here; +but, good as the drawing is, it does not do justice to the wonderful +beauty of that noble piece of Perpendicular craftsmanship surmounted +by its parvise. + +On the floor of the nave are a series of brasses to the memory of some +of the most successful of the wool-merchants of the town. They belong +to the fifteenth century, and are exceptionally fine examples of +brasses of the period, giving the details of costume with the greatest +faithfulness. It is pleasant to find that the wealthy men of the +Cotswold wool industry seem to have devoted their surplus riches to +such public works as schools, almshouses, and churches. + +At Northleach the Roman Foss Way is crossed coming from Cirencester in +a north-easterly direction. + +A few miles beyond Northleach, ~Sherborne Park~, the residence of Lord +Sherborne, is passed on the left. It is a dignified house, situated in +open country, many portions of which are well wooded. + +From this point all the way to Witney the road falls steadily, with +the shallow, but always pleasing, valley of the Windrush just below on +the left. This pretty stream coming out of the heart of the Cotswolds +is one of the chief feeders of the Thames, which it meets a dozen +miles above Oxford. Actually on the road there are no villages except +Little Minster between Northleach and Witney, but just below the +highway, on the banks of the little river, there are several. The +first three--Windrush and Great and Little Barrington--are in +Gloucestershire, and the rest are in Oxfordshire. It is tempting to +describe all these places, but one must be content with pointing out +the particular charm of + + +BURFORD, + +one of the most delightful of the old-world towns of the county. There +is a town hall, probably of the fifteenth century, and adjoining it +are some of the best of the old houses in the town. Close to the +stream stands the splendid cruciform church, with its tower and west +door dating back to the Norman period. In Early English times nearly +the whole building appears to have been changed into the Gothic style, +and another transformation took place in the fifteenth century, when +the Perpendicular phase had set in. Owing to the Sylvester aisle and +several chapels, the church is of curious shape, and this helps to +give that indescribable atmosphere of pre-Reformation days entirely +vanished from so many old churches in this country. + +Both the school and the almshouses are old foundations, and the +Priory, now a partial ruin, although preserving no ecclesiastical +remains, is a picturesque Elizabethan building to some extent rebuilt +in 1808. + +A mile or two beyond Burford one passes Asthall Barrow on the +right-hand side of the road, and only a few yards away across a field. +It is a prehistoric mound of earth, now kept in position by a circular +retaining wall of stone, thus preventing degradation. The trees +surmounting it form a prominent landmark. About three miles farther on +is the fine old manor-house of ~Minster Lovell~, about a mile to the +left, on the Windrush. + + +WITNEY + +Soon after turning to the right the road enters the main street of +picturesque old Witney at right angles. Extending away some distance +to the right is the pleasant elongated belt of green, giving much +charm and distinction to the place, and at the end of the grassy +perspective, rising in stately dignity from old trees, appears the +tower and spire of the cruciform church. This is one of those +peculiarly fascinating buildings one finds it hard to leave. It is +mainly an Early English church, but there are features of other +periods, and among them a Decorated window on the north side, which is +the finest in the whole county. The spire is an Early English +masterpiece. In the middle of the little town stands the quaint Butter +Cross, dated 1683. On the west side of the green is the Grammar School +(1663), with an avenue of elms. + +The blanket industry is still in existence, for in spite of modern +competition the little place holds its own on account of some +particular benefit the wool derives from the water of the +neighbourhood. + + +EYNSHAM + +is the last village passed on the way to Oxford. It is a sleepy and +picturesque little place with a small market hall, the shaft of a +fifteenth-century cross, and an inn-sign of the drollest order. This +sign hangs outside the Red Lion, and the King of Beasts is painted on +one side, but the draughtsman had difficulty in accommodating the +tail, and he solved it by the original plan of painting the caudal +appendage on the opposite face of the sign! + +Just below Eynsham the road crosses the Thames at Swinford Bridge, +where the beautiful hanging woods of Wytham Hill are on the left, and +a couple of miles farther on the spires and towers of Oxford are in +sight. + + [Illustration: THE CHURCH PORCH AT NORTHLEACH. + A rare example of the stateliness of Perpendicular architecture in + a village church.] + + + + +LOOP No. 8 + +OXFORD TO STRATFORD-ON-AVON, COVENTRY, BANBURY, AND OXFORD, 110 MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Oxford= to Woodstock 8 + =Woodstock= to Enstone 6¾ + =Enstone= to Long Compton 8 + =Long Compton= to Shipstone-on-Stour 5¾ + =Shipstone-on-Stour= to Stratford-on-Avon 10½ + =Stratford-on-Avon= to Leamington 10½ + =Leamington= to Warwick 2¼ + =Warwick= to Kenilworth 4¾ + =Kenilworth= to Coventry 5¾ + =Coventry= to Princethorpe 7 + =Princethorpe= to Southam 6 + =Southam= to Fenny Compton 5½ + =Fenny Compton= to Banbury 8¼ + =Banbury= to Deddington 6 + =Deddington= to Sturdy's Castle Inn 7¾ + =Sturdy's Castle Inn= to Kidlington 2 + =Kidlington= to Oxford, Carfax 5¼ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +=Oxford to Stratford.=--Splendid surface; steep drop down to Long +Compton. + +=Stratford to Coventry.=--Surface on the whole excellent; not so good +near Stratford. + +=Coventry to Banbury.=--An excellent road, but a few rather steep +hills are encountered. + +=Banbury to Oxford.=--Excellent. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Woodstock.=--A little town, with a church containing several styles +of architecture; Blenheim, the residence of the Dukes of Marlborough; +the Column of Victory. + +=Long Compton.=--The Rollright Stones, a prehistoric circle of +importance. + +=Stratford-on-Avon.=--Shakespeare's birthplace; the memorial; the +church and its interesting monuments; New Place, the residence of the +poet; the Grammar School; Guild Chapel; and Anne Hathaway's Cottage, 1 +mile west. + +=Warwick.=--A picturesque town, famous for its castle; St. Mary's +Church and the Beauchamp Chapel and monuments; Lord Leycester's +Hospital; the West Gate and various old houses. + +=Leamington.=--A beautiful spa; the Jephson Gardens. + +=Guy's Cliffe.=--An exquisitely-situated country house. + +=Kenilworth.=--A little town, containing half-timbered houses; the +ruins of the famous castle; the church, chiefly Decorated; the remains +of the Priory. + +=Coventry.=--A fairly large town; St. Michael's, an exceedingly fine +parish church; Holy Trinity Church; St. Mary's Hall, a fourteenth-century +guild-hall; St. John's Church; the Bablake Hospital; Peeping Tom; +Ford's Hospital. + +=Long Itchington.=--Interesting fourteenth-century church. + +=Southam.=--A town without much interest. + +=Banbury.=--A little Oxfordshire town, famed for its cross and its +cakes; but the cross is modern, and so is the church. + + + [Map: LOOP 8. OXFORD TO COVENTRY.] + +There are two main roads running to Woodstock from Oxford, lying +parallel to each other; the western one should be selected. It passes +through a well-wooded country, part of the valleys of the Thames and +Evenlode rivers. Upon reaching Woodstock, ~Blenheim Palace~ claims +attention, with the entrance to the park lying upon the left. The +house was built at the public expense in 1715 as a national +recognition of the services of the Duke of Marlborough. It was +designed by Vanbrugh, and is of a heavy Renaissance character. The +interior decorations and the treasures preserved in it are of an +exceedingly interesting nature. (_It is open to the public every day, +except Saturdays and Sundays, between 11 and 1, and the gardens from +11 to 2. Tickets 1s. each._) The park contains the site of the old +Manor-house of Woodstock, which is supposed to have stood upon the +foundations of a Roman villa; it was a royal residence of the Saxon +kings. Here Alfred the Great translated Boethius, and King Ethelred +published his code of laws. Woodstock was the scene of the courtship +of Henry II. and Rosamund Clifford, whose birthplace was Clifford +Castle (see p. 175). Queen Elizabeth was a prisoner for a time in the +old manor-house, and it endured a siege from the Parliamentarians, +finally disappearing in 1723. + + +WOODSTOCK + +This little town sprang into existence solely in consequence of the +proximity of the royal seat. ~The Church of St. Mary Magdalene~ is of +Norman date, but much restoration has taken place. The south aisle is +Early English, and contains part of a Norman doorway. The chancel and +north aisle are Decorated, while the west porch and west tower are +Perpendicular. There are many monuments of interest in the church. + +Soon after leaving Woodstock the Column of Victory is prominent on the +left, where the ancient course of the Akeman Street, coming from +Cirencester, is crossed, and shortly afterwards Grim's Dyke occurs, +one of the many Grim's Dykes that are found in England. + +Near ~Enstone~ is a cromlech, called the 'Hoarstone,' and soon +afterwards a turning to the left leads to + + +CHIPPING NORTON + +This is a quiet little town, devoted to the manufacture of woollen +goods, and especially horse-cloths. The 'Chipping' is derived from +the same root as 'Chepe,' a market. In the church the chief objects of +interest are some fourteenth-century brasses, which, however, suffered +very much in a restoration some forty years since, when they were +wrenched from their matrices and thrown into the parvise. Of the +castle which once stood here nothing remains. + +Between Chipping Norton and Long Compton, at Great Rollright, are the +well-known ~Rollright Stones~, consisting of a prehistoric circle of +standing stones and a cromlech. They are sixty in number, and lie +about 500 yards to the left of the main road. After passing the stiff +descent into Long Compton, a good surface is found to Shipstone-on-Stour, +although the road is second class; but beyond that town a first-class +road lies up the valley of the Stour to Stratford-on-Avon. At +Alderminster tram-lines commence, which reach to Stratford, and a +short distance beyond, Atherstone-on-Stour is passed, where formerly +stood a monastery of mendicant friars. The scenery, meanwhile, has +been gradually assuming the characteristics which distinguish the +beautiful county of Warwick--luxurious hedgerows, gently-flowing +streams, red loam in the fields contrasting with the varying shades +of green. The half-timbered houses and cottages introduce another +pleasant feature into the landscape. + + +STRATFORD-ON-AVON + +This far-famed country town on the banks of the Avon presents a +general appearance of prosperity, the well-built houses, wide streets, +and prevailing aspect of cleanliness giving this impression. +Everything in the town, however, lapses into insignificance in face of +the paramount interest attaching to the town as the birthplace of +Shakespeare. Whether the 'Bard of Avon' was nothing more than an +Elizabethan play-actor or the author of the plays now so widely +attributed to the great scholar and statesman, Francis Bacon, is a +question which now cools the spirit of devotion of many a pilgrim; but +however keen a Baconian may be the visitor to Stratford, he cannot +fail to appreciate the charm of the carefully-restored Elizabethan +houses associated with Shakespeare. + +~Shakespeare's Birthplace~ is in Henley Street, a half-timbered, +unpretentious house of two rooms and a kitchen on the ground-floor, +with the room overhead in which he was born. The adjoining cottage has +been converted into a museum, in which documents and relics bearing +in a direct or remote manner with the poet--and some, it must be +confessed, are very remote--are preserved. The birthplace was in +possession of the members of the family for two centuries after the +death of Shakespeare in 1616; in 1847 it was purchased by subscription +for £3,000 and carefully restored. (_Admission 1s.--6d. for the +birthroom and 6d. for the museum._) + +~The Town Hall~ is in the High Street; on the front is a statue of +Shakespeare, presented by Garrick. + +~New Place~ stood close by, but of the house occupied by the poet during +the last nineteen years of his life there is nothing left but the +site. In it lived Dr. Hall, who married Shakespeare's daughter +Susannah. The house was pulled down in 1702 by Sir John Clopton, and +the new building on its site, together with the famous mulberry-tree, +were destroyed by the Rev. Francis Gastrell in 1759, 'because he was +pestered by visitors'! In 1861 the site of New Place and its gardens +were purchased by public subscription. A Shakespeare Library and +Museum have been established there, _open daily except Saturday and +Sunday; admission 6d. On Saturday the Gardens are free_. + + [Illustration: STRATFORD-ON-AVON. + Holy Trinity Church contains the tomb of Shakespeare.] + +At the opposite corner, Chapel Lane, stands the ~Grammar School~, +founded in 1553, where the poet is reputed to have been educated. It +is a delightful old timber-framed house standing near the Guild +Chapel, a Perpendicular building which is conspicuous in the High +Street. + +~The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre~ occupies a pleasant position on the +banks of the Avon. The old theatre was demolished in 1872, and the +present building erected at a cost of £30,000. + +~The Parish Church~, of Early English and Perpendicular architecture, is +a fine cruciform building standing on the site of an early Saxon +monastery. In Edward III.'s reign John de Stratford rebuilt the south +aisle and erected a chantry for priests. In 1351 Ralph de Stratford +built a chapel for the latter, now known as the College. The beautiful +choir dates from the time of Dean Balshall (1465). Shakespeare's +monument is on the left side of the chancel; the door there formerly +led to the charnel-house, and the grave is near the monument under a +flat stone, upon which is the oft-quoted verse said to have been +written by Shakespeare. Between this spot and the north wall is buried +his widow, who died in 1623, while those of relatives lie near, such +as Susannah, the eldest daughter, and her husband, Dr. Hall, and +Thomas Nashe, who married Shakespeare's only granddaughter. +(_Admission to the church 6d._) + +~Anne Hathaway's Cottage~ is at Shottery, a mile west of Stratford, +divided since the poet's time into three tenements. The room where +Anne was born is shown. + +~Charlecote Park~ lies about four miles north-east of Stratford. It is +famous for its hall, erected in 1547 by Sir Thomas Lucy upon the +capital E plan, and was visited by Queen Elizabeth. Here also is the +reputed site of Shakespeare's deer-shooting escapades. + +The main road to Warwick lies through a beautifully-wooded country, +rich in pleasant views of hill and dale. Clopton Tower is on the left +shortly after leaving. + +The tower of Barford Church can be seen two miles off to the right of +the main road; it was rebuilt in the last century, except the tower, +which retains the marks of Cromwellian cannon-balls. + +~Sherbourne~ is near at hand. The church is modern, and of fine design. + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 13--WARWICK.] + +WARWICK + +It has been asserted that the history of Warwick is the history of +England, and certain it is that the ancient town has been involved in +the majority of the great events which have helped to make the +national record. In those stirring events ~Warwick Castle~ has played no +mean part, and is still the glory of the town and county. It is +undoubtedly the most magnificent of the ancient feudal mansions still +used as a residence, and its grand position upon a crag overlooking +the Avon has accentuated its imposing grandeur in no mean degree. Its +chief features are Cæsar's Tower and Guy's Tower, of the fourteenth +century, and the Gateway Tower in the centre. The residential +apartments and the Great Hall suffered in the fire of 1871, but have +been rebuilt. Both the castle and the contents teem with interest. +(_Open to visitors as a rule; no fixed fee. Tickets obtained at small +cottage opposite Castle Lodge, Castle Hill._) + +~St. Mary's Church~ is one of the most interesting ecclesiastical +buildings in the country. A Saxon church stood upon the site, and a +later building was made collegiate by Earl Roger de Newburgh. It was +granted to the town as a parish church at the Dissolution. The central +object of interest is the famous Beauchamp Chapel, 1443 to 1464, one +of the best examples extant of Perpendicular architecture bordering +upon the Tudor, and showing occasionally traces of incipient +Renaissance. Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, Regent of France, and +guardian of Edward VI., lies buried here, and his effigy in bronze, +the finest in existence of that nature, lies in the centre of the +chapel. Against the north wall is the magnificent monument of the +famous Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester--splendid in life and +sumptuous in death. Two small ante-chapels are seen--one is probably a +chantry. In the chancel lie Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and his +second Countess, both of whom died in 1370; their effigies of white +marble, with many 'weepers' round the pedestal, are of great interest. + +~Lord Leycester's Hospital.~--There are but few places in England where +such a picturesque and impressive grouping of old timbered houses may +be seen; antique gables and eaves, richly-carved beams and mysterious +recesses; overhanging stories and twisted chimneys, with an old +gateway and a church tower thrown in--it forms a gem of which any city +might be proud. The Hospital was originally a hall of the Guilds; in +1571 the Earl founded it for the reception of twelve poor men, who +still wear the bear and ragged staff as a cognizance. Many +half-timbered houses and quaint old-world nooks remain in Warwick to +delight the eye of the artist and the antiquary, especially near the +castle. + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 14--LEAMINGTON.] + +LEAMINGTON + +A little over a mile separates Warwick from the Royal Leamington Spa, +a beautiful garden city, which has sprung into existence by reason of +the discovery of the efficacy possessed by the mineral waters in 1784. +Until that period it was a small village called Leamington Priors. The +chief springs are saline and sulphuretted saline. + +The ~Jephson Gardens~ are beautifully placed on the north bank of the +River Leam, and form one of the chief centres of attraction, and the +Royal Pump Room Gardens face the river on the other side of the +bridge. As might be expected from such a modern town, there are no +objects of antiquity to describe. Returning to Warwick, the road to +Guy's Cliff is taken, running due north, and the entrance-lodge occurs +in about a mile. A fine view of the house is obtained from this point +on looking up the avenue of majestic firs; it was built in 1822, +succeeding a small country mansion, and is in the possession of Lord +Algernon Percy. Situated upon a cliff with a wide part of the river +beneath, it forms a singularly beautiful picture. (_It is only shown +to visitors when the family is absent._) + +~The Chapel~ adjoins the mansion on the east, and contains a figure of +Guy, Earl of Warwick, dating from the fourteenth century. Guy's Lane +is near the chapel. + +~The Mill~ was built in 1821, and occupies the site of one dating as far +back as Saxon times. + +Guy of Warwick is a mythical personage, and the romance mentioning his +deeds dates from the thirteenth century. In the fifteenth century, +when the age of chivalry and romance was at its zenith, Guy was +treated in the same manner as King Arthur, and all kinds of doughty +deeds were attributed to him by the romancers. + +~Blacklow Hill~ stands half a mile farther on to the left of the road. +It is surmounted by a cross, erected in 1821 to commemorate the +execution in 1312 of Piers Gaveston. At Gloucester, the tomb of Edward +II., who, like his favourite, came to a tragic end, has been +mentioned. + + +KENILWORTH + +~The Castle~ is the centre of attraction, although there are some good +examples of half-timbered cottages to be seen in the long street of +the little town. The fortress was in ancient times one of the +strongest in England, as it afforded accommodation for a large +garrison, and by reason of the lake and broad moats filled with +water--now disappeared--it was almost impregnable. Numerous roads +converged towards it as the centre of England, and for many years it +was a royal residence. ~The Keep~ was built about 1170, and is a +splendid example of military architecture of the late Norman period. +It is square, with a projecting rectangle, and turrets at the corners. +The walls at the base are 14 feet thick. ~The Garden~, celebrated in +Scott's novel, lay upon the north side of the keep. South of the keep +occur Leicester's Buildings, with fourteenth-century kitchens and +other offices between. By the side of the Great Hall was the Strong +Tower, called Mervyn's Tower by Scott. Mortimer's Tower is isolated to +the south-east; the cutting through the great dam which restrained the +waters of the lake occurred here. The tilt-yard lay upon the top of +the dam. Beyond the Great Lake was the ~Chase~, and the circuit of +the castle, manor, parks and other lands, was about twenty miles. Many +historical names are associated with Kenilworth--the Clintons, Simon +de Montfort, John of Gaunt, and Robert Dudley, who entertained Queen +Elizabeth for seventeen days, and spent a fortune in doing so. The +castle was dismantled and the lake drained in the time of the +Commonwealth. + + [Illustration: FORD'S HOSPITAL, COVENTRY. + A late fifteenth century almshouse enriched with much elaborate + carving.] + +~The Church~ lies east of the castle. The tower and nave are of +Decorated work, but a Norman doorway has been inserted in the west +side of the tower, taken, probably, from the Priory. + +~The Priory~ stood close to the church; it was founded about 1122 by +Geoffrey de Clinton, and richly endowed. The remains of a gatehouse +may be seen, and also some exposed foundations of the walls of the +church. + + * * * * * + +On leaving Kenilworth for Coventry a stretch of moorland extends upon +the right hand, on which are two mounds with the usual fosses around +the summits, denoting British hill-forts. Beyond this the road begins +to assume that characteristic which has made the way from Kenilworth +to Coventry renowned as 'one of the two finest roads in +England'--needless to say, the other road is from Coventry to +Kenilworth--a magnificent avenue with broad strips of greensward lying +on either side, and glimpses of splendid Warwickshire scenery between +the boles, justify the foregoing descriptions. + +Two miles from Kenilworth is Gibbet Hill, the erection upon which has +now gone, but was used last in 1765 for the execution of two +murderers. Crossing Stivichall Common, with its triple array of +oak-trees on either side the road, the Coventry Grammar School +buildings are passed upon the left, and the 'City of the Three Spires' +is entered. + + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 15--COVENTRY.] + +COVENTRY + +The city derives its name from Conventre, or Convent Town, in +recognition of the Benedictine monastery erected by Leofric and Godiva +in 1043. The well-known legend connected with these famous personages +need only be referred to here. ~Gosford Green~, outside the town, was +the scene of the historical encounter between the Dukes of Hereford +and Norfolk in the reign of Richard II., which had such momentous +results. Many Parliaments have been held in the town, and it was +famous for the great number of religious communities which during the +medieval period were lodged in the town. The ancient fortifications +were dismantled in the time of Charles II. as a punishment for the +Commonwealth tendencies of the citizens. + +~St. Michael's Church~, a 'masterpiece of art,' and one of the finest +parish churches in England, stands in the centre of the city. It is in +the Perpendicular style, and has been recently restored. The spire is +303 feet high, and was begun in 1372; flying buttresses of great +elegance support the tower. The oldest part of the church is the +south porch, with a parvise over it. The chapels belonging to the +various guilds in the town still retain their old names. There are +many effigies, but none of great antiquity. + +~Holy Trinity Church~ is adjacent to St. Michael's. The date of +foundation is unknown; the style is late Early English, and the work +by the north porch dates from _c._ 1259. The porch has a domus, or +priest's chamber, over it. There are several chapels in the church +devoted to the city guilds. The foundations and remains noticed on the +north side of the church are those of the west front of the cathedral, +built about 1260 upon a preceding Norman foundation. It was the Priory +Church of the monastery founded by Leofric, and was demolished at the +Reformation. + +~St. Mary's Hall~, near St. Michael's, was begun in 1394, and belonged +to three guilds. It is of very great interest, and should on no +account be passed by. The great hall, crypt, tapestry, ancient glass +windows, and knaves' post, are all objects worthy of attention, while +the building generally is a vivid reminder of medieval life and +feeling. + +~Bablake Hospital~, founded in 1560, is close to St. John's Church, and +presents some picturesque examples of half-timber construction with +quaint gables. + +~Peeping Tom~ is a prominent feature of the King's Head Hotel in +Smithford Street, and ~Ford's Hospital~, down Greyfriar's Lane, +possesses an extremely fine façade and a charming timbered court rich +in carved oak and diamond-paned windows. + + * * * * * + +The road to Southam and Banbury leaves Coventry as the London Road, +and about two miles to the south ~Whitley Abbey~ is reached, formerly +the seat of Lord Hood, son of the famous Admiral. In Whitley Abbey +Charles I. resided while conducting operations against Coventry in +1622. On Whitley Common are traces of earthworks thrown up by the +Royalists. Baginton, lying about two miles to the right, contains the +remains of an ancient castle. Shortly after Whitley the road divides, +the one going to Southam being that upon the right. A turning shortly +afterwards at the cross-roads leads to the well-known ~Stoneleigh +Abbey~, lying five miles to the west, the site of a former castle and +of a subsequent foundation for Cistercian monks, which was +dispossessed at the Reformation. Some remains of the castle exist, +but the present building is an imposing range of buildings in the +classic style, and forms, with the grounds, one of the most splendid +country homes in the kingdom. It is the seat of Lord Leigh. + +~Long Itchington~ has some fine half-timbered houses, and is a +picturesque village. ~The Church~ was rebuilt in the fourteenth century +by the Priors of Maxstoke. In the eighteenth century the spire was +damaged by lightning; hence its present truncated appearance. The +aisle is part of the original church, and is Early English except the +doorway, which dates from the Norman period. There are some very +interesting details to be found in the interior, notably the chancel +screen, which is an extremely rare example of early fourteenth-century +woodwork. St. Wolstan, the last of the Saxon Bishops, was a native of +this place. Long Itchington was honoured by two visits from Queen +Elizabeth during her progresses to Kenilworth. Two miles farther on is +~Southam~, of no particular interest, although the church may perhaps +repay a casual inspection. The road lies through a pleasant district, +essentially Midland in its general aspects, but near the road turning +off to Fenny Compton higher ground is reached. ~Cropredy~, where the +battle was fought in 1644, is one and a half miles to the east by the +turning close to Mollington. + + +BANBURY + +Banbury is chiefly known by reason of its cross and its cakes. The +former has been destroyed, but a replica exists upon the site. It is a +small borough of about 4,000 inhabitants, and was formerly a notable +place for the manufacture of plush, but now produces agricultural +implements and portable engines. A castle was built here in 1125, but +it was entirely destroyed in the ~Civil War~. The moat, however, may +still be traced. In 1469 the common men of Yorkshire, to the number of +about 16,000, marched to Banbury under the leadership of 'Robin of +Redesdale,' and captured the Earl of Pembroke, after inflicting a +defeat upon him on the borders of Oxford. A college and hospital +formerly existed in the town. The church is of comparatively modern +construction, having been thoroughly rebuilt about a century ago. + +Leaving Banbury, the little village of ~Adderbury~ possesses a church +the chancel of which was built by William of Wykeham. Passing the +Astons, North, Mid, and Steeple, we come to the junction of roads +leading respectively to Woodstock and Oxford, and at this point a +Roman road--the Akeman Street--crosses the route, running between +Cirencester and Bicester. In the course of a few miles the outlying +portions of Oxford appear in view. + + [Illustration: MAGDALEN TOWER AND BRIDGE, OXFORD.] + + + + +SECTION XII + +(TRUNK ROUTE) + +OXFORD TO LONDON, 67½ MILES + + +DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE + + Miles. + =Oxford= to Dorchester 9¼ + =Dorchester= to Nettlebed 9½ + =Nettlebed= to Henley 4½ + =Henley= to Maidenhead 9¼ + =Maidenhead= to Windsor 6½ + =Windsor= to Staines 6¼ + =Staines= to Hampton 7 + =Hampton= to Hampton Court 1 + =Hampton Court= to Kingston 1¾ + =Kingston= to the G.P.O., London 12½ + + +NOTES FOR DRIVERS + +Between =Oxford and Maidenhead= the road is somewhat hilly, but the +surface is generally good; there is a steep hill (1 in 13) =after +leaving Henley=. + +From =Maidenhead to London= the road is level, with an excellent +surface, except =between Maidenhead and Windsor=, where the road is +sometimes flooded. + + +PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE + +=Sandford-on-Thames.=--Small village; church not interesting; remains +of preceptory of Knights Templars. + +=Nuneham Courtney.=--Eighteenth-century village, very unusual; +Manor-house of Harcourts. + +=Dorchester.=--Old village, with many picturesque cottages; Abbey +Church of considerable interest. + +=Henley.=--Picturesque little town; the church, Early English and +Tudor; splendid river views; the Town Hall. + +=Maidenhead.=--Large modern town; fine boating centre. + +=Eton.=--The college and War Memorial Hall. + +=Windsor.=--The castle, dating from the Norman period, with many +subsequent additions; Town Hall, finished by Wren; a few old houses. + +=Hampton.=--Hampton Court, magnificent palace of Henry VIII. + +=Kingston.=--The church and Coronation Stone; almshouses and Lovekyn +Chapel. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 11. OXFORD TO WINDSOR.] + + [Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 12--OXFORD.] + +OXFORD + +The entrance to the 'city of palaces' is through suburbs of a +commonplace, uninteresting, or even ugly character, the builders +having apparently gained no inspiration from the magnificent examples +of architecture which they are gradually hemming in. That such +squalid, or, at the best, perky and meretricious streets of houses +should have been allowed to encompass the architectural splendours of +the great University is a public scandal, and it is to be hoped that +before many years have passed some steps will be taken to wipe out the +worst of these new abominations. To adequately describe Oxford within +the limits of this work is impossible, and it will be sufficient to +indicate the salient features which should not be passed over. The +city lies upon a low ridge between the Thames and the Cherwell, and is +surrounded by a fine range of hills. The imposing array of towers and +spires, the many colleges with their historic quadrangles, the avenues +and groves and secluded college gardens, the marvellous profusion of +carved stonework, all combine to render the nucleus of this ancient +seat of learning one of the most beautiful in the British Empire. ~The +Bodleian Library~ is the hub round which the colleges cluster, and +after it has been seen the church of ~St. Mary the Virgin~ should be +visited, from its long connection with the seat of learning. Near it +are the New Schools, the Botanic Garden, and the Clarendon Press, +while the Taylor building contains many interesting pictures. Of the +colleges, All Souls, Balliol, Brasenose, Christ Church, Magdalen, +Merton, and New College, are among the most interesting. + +~The Cathedral~ belonging to Christ Church dates from 1160, and is a +noble example of Norman architecture. ~The nave~ is pure Norman, ~the +chancel~ Transitional, ~the chapter-house~ Early English. ~The shrine of +St. Frideswide~, ~the Bishop's throne~, and the grand modern reredos, are +particularly notable. + + * * * * * + +The first village passed after leaving Oxford is ~Sandford-on-Thames~, +but the flatness of the country and the presence of a paper-mill with +a tall chimney deprive the place of any particular charm beyond what +is found in the quietest reaches of the Upper Thames. Sandford Church +is not interesting, but there are remains of a preceptory of Knights +Templars at the farm by the brook a little to the north-west. + +The road continues parallel with the river, and soon passes through +the curiously uniform village of ~Nuneham Courtney~. The two lines of +picturesque cottages facing one another across the road were built by +the first Earl Harcourt, who, disliking the proximity of the village +to the manor-house, razed the cottages to the ground after +constructing the new ones, which have now been sufficiently toned down +by the weather to give a pleasing effect. This same building Earl +demolished the old church and erected another near the house, now +abandoned for a new one lately put up near the village. He also +rebuilt the house (_not shown to visitors_) in the severely classic +style in vogue at the close of the eighteenth century. The grounds and +gardens were laid out in part by the popular 'Capability' Brown, and +these may be seen on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the summer. _It is +advisable, however, if one particularly wishes to see them, to write +in advance to Mr. H. Gale, Nuneham Courtney._ + +About a mile beyond the village, at the cross-roads, there formerly +stood a little hostelry called the Golden Ball. It acquired a bad +reputation through the murder of a guest by his servant. The landlord, +having been found with a knife in his hand in the dead man's bedroom, +was condemned to death and hanged, but later on the servant confessed +that he had committed the murder which the landlord had intended. + + +DORCHESTER + +is a dreamy old village, beautifully placed upon the River Thames. It +contains many quaint timbered houses, some with thatched roofs, and +nearly all with some attractive features which make it hard to tear +oneself away from the place. The chief object of interest, apart from +the cottage architecture, is the huge church, so strangely out of +place in such a hamlet. Dorchester, however, has a history stretching +right back to the British period. During the Roman occupation the +camp here was supposed to be called _Dourcastrum_, altered into +Dorchester in the Saxon period, but this Roman name is uncertain. When +Dorchester was the seat of the Saxon bishopric of Wessex, the see +included about twenty English counties, but Remigius, the first Norman +Bishop, transferred it to Lincoln in 1085. The Saxon church, built in +1036, was occupied as a monastic church in 1140, when a monastery of +the Augustinians was founded. In 1200, and also in 1350, extensive +additions were made. In the church the Jesse window on the north side +is unique, for the figures are carved in stone. The east window is a +remarkable example of Decorated work; there is a massive buttress in +the centre, and the whole of the spaces are occupied by reticulated +tracery. The recumbent effigies, dating from 1200 to 1410, are very +interesting, while a brass of the Henry V. period lies in the floor. +The furnishing of the interior savours so much of the Roman church +that one might easily imagine oneself on the other side of the +Channel. One notices a bell conspicuous on the altar steps, and +'sacred' pictures, with candles and half-withered floral offerings in +front of them, are placed on the pillars and elsewhere! Is the Bishop +of Oxford aware of these strange reversions to the practices +condemned by the Protestant Church of England for the last four +centuries? The leaden font is of Norman workmanship, and is a +comparatively rare object. In the churchyard stands a cross with a +restored head. + +The ascent of the Chilterns is very gradual, becoming steeper, +however, in places, and delightful views are obtained over the +surrounding country. The quaint little village of Nettlebed stands +upon the summit (1,650 feet above sea-level), and thence the descent +to Henley commences. Near Nettlebed many cultivated downs are to be +seen, their rounded summits crowned as a rule with plantations--a +contrast in this respect with the bare South Downs. These rounded +knolls are all that denudation has left of the tertiary sand deposits +on the chalk. In many parts beeches flourish, and occasionally brick +and timber cottages of quaint aspect are passed. + + +HENLEY-ON-THAMES + +is a charming old town, apart altogether from the prominent position +it holds in the boating world, owing to the magnificent reach of the +Thames which occurs here. There are many picturesque old houses in +the wide, sunny street, and, as at Dorchester, the artist and +architect will find much to attract their attention. ~The Church~, +standing out boldly near the bridge, possesses an Early English +chancel, and the oldest part of the nave is of the same date. Nearly +everything else, including the flint tower, is Tudor. A monument to +Lady Elizabeth Periam, a sister of Lord Bacon and the mistress of +Greenlands (died 1621), is under the tower. There are two hagioscopes +and a priest's entrance to the vanished rood-loft. The bridge, with +open stone parapets, was built in 1786, after the old one had been +carried away by a flood. It is, therefore, much older than the +regatta, which was first held in 1839. + +The road between Henley-on-Thames and Maidenhead crosses the ground +lying in a loop of the Thames, gradually rising from Henley and +falling towards Maidenhead. The numerous turnings should be taken with +care. About two miles before reaching Maidenhead the Bath road is +joined. + + +MAIDENHEAD + +is more a centre for river excursions and boating-parties than a place +of any attractiveness in itself. It might easily be mistaken for one +of the better suburbs of London, and contains practically nothing of +interest. The great railway-bridge, with spans of 128 feet, was +designed by Brunel. + + +ETON + +On the left of the High Street, leading to the bridge facing Windsor, +are the picturesque Tudor buildings and the huge chapel of Eton +College. The great courtyard, surrounded by beautifully mellowed +ranges of red-brick buildings on three sides and the chapel on the +south, is delightfully picturesque; and the chapel itself, with its +enormous buttresses and lovely Perpendicular details, is a noble work +within and without. A statue of Henry VI., the founder, stands in the +centre of the large courtyard. The famous playing-fields, where it is +generally understood that those qualities which won the Battle of +Waterloo were developed, extend down to the Thames. + + +WINDSOR + +As one crosses the bridge, the long, imposing line of the castle walls +and towers frowns above the red roofs of the little town, generally +described as the Royal Borough of Windsor. A steep street winds up to +the castle gateway, and as one approaches nearer, the work of +Wyatville on the huge pile becomes painfully apparent. In vain does +one look for the slightest indication that the whole of the great +fortress, including the conspicuous Round Tower, was not built +yesterday. This is the tragedy of Windsor, and after the first general +glance one learns to expect nothing that tells its age by its masonry +or its weathering. Everything, except the timber and brick Horseshoe +Cloisters, is encased in harsh grey stone of a drearily uniform grey. + + + [Map: (TRUNK) No. 11. WINDSOR TO LONDON. + +The way into London from Kingston-on-Thames is over Putney Heath and +across Putney Bridge, where it is only necessary to follow the motor +omnibuses to reach Hyde Park Corner or any other central point.] + +It was probably William the Conqueror who built the first fortress on +the wonderfully defensive site raised above the Thames, but Henry +III., the builder of Westminster Abbey and much of the Tower of +London, who planned the castle on its present vast scale. Edward III., +having instituted the Order of the Garter, gave up the lower ward to +that distinguished body of knights, and it was he who employed William +of Wykeham as his architect or surveyor. The third, and practically +the last, great builder was George IV., who gave up the historic +buildings, then in bad repair, to the tender mercies of Sir Jeffry +Wyatville, with the results already deplored. + +(_The State apartments may be seen during the absence of the Court, +but about a week elapses after the Royal departure before the public +are admitted._) + +The magnificent Chapel of St. George--one of the three finest +Perpendicular chapels in the kingdom--was mainly built by Edward IV., +and finished by Henry VII. and VIII. In the choir are the stalls of +the Knights of the Garter, twenty-six in number, with their banners +above. Edward IV., Henry VI., Henry VIII., and Jane Seymour and +Charles I., were all buried in the chapel. + +~Windsor Park~ is famous for the Long Walk--three straight miles of +elms, planted by Charles II.; for the beautiful artificial lake, known +as Virginia Water; and for the mausoleum in the grounds of Frogmore +House, where Queen Victoria and the good Prince Consort lie buried. +(_On one day only--December 14--every year is this open to the +public._) + +The road keeps near the river, and passes close to historic Magna +Charta Island, where the unwilling John Lackland signed the great +charter of English liberty in 1215. + + +STAINES + +possesses an important bridge, the descendant of a wooden one which +stood there in 1262. The stone bridge, put up in 1792, gave way, and +its successor, built in 1803, was a bold engineering feat in the form +of a single iron span of 180 feet; but this, too, had to be replaced, +and in 1829 the present stone bridge was planned. It was opened in +1832 by William IV. and Queen Adelaide. + +After passing the picturesque Hampton Court Green, one reaches +Wolsey's magnificent red-brick palace-- + + +HAMPTON COURT + +The site had been in the possession of the Knights of St. John of +Jerusalem, and it was from the Prior that Cardinal Wolsey obtained a +lease in 1514. He demolished the manor-house, then standing, and in +its place planned the stately palace, with its several courtyards +entered by great gateways of red brick and stone. Here the princely +ecclesiastic entertained in a manner so sumptuous that the Court of +Henry VIII. was outshone by its brilliance. In 1526, the King having +commented on this fact, Wolsey promptly handed over his palace to his +royal master, who did not hesitate to accept a gift so pleasing. After +Wolsey's death, Henry spent much time at Hampton Court, and rebuilt a +large part of the palace. + +To chronicle a bare summary of historic events which took place in the +castle is not possible here, but in the early period of its existence +Edward VI. was born there, and within these old red walls Jane Seymour +died, Catherine Howard was disgraced, and Catherine Parr was married. +Here, too, Charles I. spent his honeymoon, and afterwards was confined +as a prisoner for three months. + + +KINGSTON-ON-THAMES + +on the other side of the river, is a busy little town of some +picturesqueness, possessing at one end of its narrowing market-place +the famous ~Coronation~ ~Stone~ from which the place derives its name. +The Perpendicular church, which is large and contains a monument by +Chantrey, used to have a quaint custom of cracking nuts during the +services on the Sunday preceding Michaelmas Eve. So great was the +noise of crunching nuts that it was almost impossible to hear the +voice of the clergyman. + + * * * * * + +After ascending Kingston Hill the road crosses Putney Heath, and +enters the Metropolis through the now uninteresting suburb of Putney. +After crossing Putney Bridge, the motor omnibuses are the best guide +to follow. + + + + +A SHORT TABLE, SHOWING THE KINGS AND QUEENS OF ENGLAND SINCE ALFRED +THE GREAT, THE CHIEF EVENTS OF THEIR REIGNS, AND THE STYLE OF +ARCHITECTURE PREVAILING IN EACH PERIOD + + + ARCHITECTURAL + PERIOD. SOVEREIGNS. IMPORTANT EVENTS. + + { _Saxon Kings from_ + { _Alfred the Great._ + { Alfred, 871 Danish invasions + { Edward the Elder, 901 + { Athelstane, 925 + { Edmund, 941 + { Edred, 946 + { Edwy, 955 + { Edgar, 959 + { Edward the Martyr, 975 + Saxon or { Ethelred the Unready, 978 + Pre-Norman { Edmund Ironside, 1016 + { + { _Danish Kings._ + { Cnut, 1017 + { Harold Harefoot, 1036 + { Hardicanute, 1040 + { + { _Saxon Kings._ + { Edward the Confessor, 1042 + { Harold II. 1066 Norman Conquest + + { William I., 1066 Domesday compilation + Norman and { William II., 1087 First Crusade, 1096 + Transitional, { Henry I., 1100 + 1066-1190 { Stephen, 1135 Civil war with Matilda + { throughout reign + { Henry II., 1154 Murder of Becket, 1170 + + { Richard I., 1189 Third Crusade, 1189 + { John, 1199 The Interdict, 1208 + { Magna Charta, 1215 + Early { Invasion of Louis the + English, { Dauphin, 1215 + 1190-1280 { Henry III., 1216 Battle of Lewes, 1264 + { First Parliament, 1265 + + Decorated, { Edward I., 1272 War with Scotland + 1280-1360 { Edward II., 1307 + { Edward III., 1327 The Black Death, 1349 + + { Richard II., 1377 Wat Tyler's Rebellion + { Henry IV., 1399 + { Henry V., 1413 Battle of Agincourt + Perpendicular,{ Henry VI., 1422 Wars of the Roses + 1360-1500 { Edward IV., 1461 Wars of the Roses + { Printing introduced + { Edward V., 1483 Murdered in the Tower + { Richard III., 1483 Killed at Bosworth + + { Henry VII., 1485 Discovery of America, 1492 + { Henry VIII., 1509 Field of the Cloth of + { Gold, 1520 + { Cardinal Wolsey, 1471-1530 + { Dissolution of the + { Monasteries, 1536 + Tudor, { Edward VI., 1547 Copy of the Bible ordered + 1500-1600 { to be placed in every + { church + { Mary, 1553 Persecution of Protestants + { Elizabeth, 1558 Execution of Mary Queen + { of Scots, 1587 + { Spanish Armada, 1588 + + { James I., 1603 Gunpowder Plot, 1605 + { Charles I., 1625 Civil War began, 1642 + { The Commonwealth, 1649 + Jacobean { Charles II., 1660 The Great Plague, 1665 + { James II., 1685 Monmouth's Rebellion, 1685 + { Revolution and landing of + { William of Orange, 1688 + + { William and Mary, 1689 + Queen Anne { Anne, 1702 Union of England and + { Scotland + + { George I., 1714 South Sea Bubble, 1720 + { George II., 1727 Rebellion of 1745 + { Taking of Canada, 1759 + { George III., 1760 American War of + Georgian { Independence, 1775 + { French Revolution, 1789 + { George IV., 1820 + { William IV., 1830 The first railway opened + { Reform Act, 1832 + + { Victoria, 1837 The Chartists, 1848 + Victorian { Great Exhibition, 1851 + { Crimean War, 1854 + { Indian Mutiny, 1857 + + Edward VII., 1901 + George V., 1910 + + + + +MOTOR-CAR SIGNS + + + A London + AA Southampton (C.C.) + AB Worcestershire + AC Warwickshire + AD Gloucestershire + AE Bristol + AF Cornwall + AH Norfolk + AI Meath + AJ Yorkshire (N.R.) + AK Bradford (Yorks) + AL Nottinghamshire + AM Wiltshire + AN West Ham + AO Cumberland + AP Sussex, East + AR Hertfordshire + AS Nairn + AT Kingston-on-Hull + AU Nottingham + AW Salop + AX Monmouthshire + AY Leicestershire + + B Lancashire + BA Salford + BB Newcastle-on-Tyne + BC Leicester + BD Northamptonshire + BE Lindsey, Lincs + BF Dorsetshire + BH Buckinghamshire + BI Monaghan + BJ Suffolk, East + BK Portsmouth + BL Berkshire + BM Bedfordshire + BN Bolton + BO Cardiff + BP Sussex, West + BR Sunderland + BS Orkney + BT Yorkshire (E.R.) + BU Oldham + BW Oxfordshire + BX Carmarthenshire + BY Croydon + + C Yorkshire (W.R.) + CA Denbighshire + CB Blackburn + CC Carnarvonshire + CD Brighton + CE Cambridgeshire + CF Suffolk, West + CH Derby + CI Queen's County + CJ Herefordshire + CK Preston + CL Norwich + CM Birkenhead + CN Gateshead + CO Plymouth + CP Halifax + CR Southampton + CT Kesteven, Lincs + CU South Shields + CW Burney + CX Huddersfield + CY Swansea + + D Kent + DA Wolverhampton + DB Stockport + DC Middlesbrough + DE Pembrokeshire + DF Northampton + DH Walsall + DI Roscommon + DJ St. Helens + DK Rochdale + DL Isle of Wight + DM Flintshire + DN York + DO Holland, Lincs + DP Reading + DR Devonport + DS Peebles + DU Coventry + DW Newport (Mon.) + DX Ipswich + DY Hastings + + E Staffordshire + EA West Bromwich + EB Isle of Ely + EC Westmorland + ED Warrington + EE Grimsby + EF West Hartlepool + EH Hanley + EI Sligo + EJ Cardiganshire + EK Wigan + EL Bournemouth + EM Bootle + EN Bury + EO Barrow-in-Furness + EP Montgomeryshire + ES Perth + ET Rotherham + EU Breconshire + EW Huntingdonshire + EX Great Yarmouth + EY Anglesea + + F Essex + FA Burton-on-Trent + FB Bath + FC Oxford + FD Dudley + FE Lincoln + FF Merionethshire + FH Gloucester + FI Tipperary (N.R.) + FJ Exeter + FK Worcester + FL Peterborough + FM Chester + FN Canterbury + FO Radnorshire + FP Rutlandshire + + G Glasgow + + H Middlesex + HI Tipperary + HS Renfrew + + IA Antrim + IB Armagh + IC Carlow + ID Cavan + IE Clare + IF Cork (County) + IH Donegal + IJ Down + IK Dublin + IL Fermanagh + IM Galway + IN Kerry + IO Kildare + IP Kilkenny + IR King's County + IT Leitrim + IU Limerick + IW Londonderry + IX Longford + IY Louth + IZ Mayo + + J Durham + JI Tyrone + JS Ross and Cromarty + + K Liverpool + KI Waterford + KS Roxburgh + + L Glamorganshire + LB London + LC London + LI West Meath + LN London + LS Selkirk + + M Cheshire + MI Wexford + MS Stirling + + N Manchester + NI Wicklow + NS Sutherland + + O Birmingham + OI Belfast + OS Wigtown + + P Surrey + PI Cork + PS Shetland + + R Derbyshire + RI Dublin + RS Aberdeen + + S Edinburgh + SA Aberdeen (County) + SB Argyll + SD Ayr + SE Banff + SH Berwick + SJ Bute + SK Caithness + SL Clackmannan + SM Dumfries + SN Dumbarton + SO Elgin + SP Fife + SR Forfar + SS Haddington + ST Inverness + SU Kincardine + SV Kinross + SW Kirkcudbright + SX Linlithgow + SY Midlothian + + T Devonshire + TI Limerick + TS Dundee + + U Leeds + UI Londonderry + US Govan + + V Lanark + VS Greenock + + W Sheffield + WI Waterford + WS Leith + + X Northumberland + XS Paisley + + Y Somersetshire + YS Partick + + + + +HOTELS ON THE ROUTE + +The following hotels are recommended, having been lately visited by +the authors: + + + DAVENTRY: The Wheatsheaf Hotel. + CHESTER: The Grosvenor Hotel. + RHYL: The Belvoir Hotel. + LLANDUDNO: The Queen's Hotel. + DOLGELLEY: The Golden Lion Hotel. + ST. DAVID'S: The City Hotel. + GLOUCESTER: The Bell and County Hotel. + LEAMINGTON SPA: The Regent Hotel. + + + + +INDEX + + + Aber, falls at, 94 + + Aberdovey, 128 + + Abergavenny, 187 + + Abergavenny, Marquis of, 187 + + Abergele, 60 + + Aberglaslyn, Pass of, 113 + + Abergynolwyn, 123 + + Aberystwyth, 130, 131 + + Adderbury, 303 + + Adelaide, Queen of William IV., 317 + + Ælfrith, daughter of Alfred, 254 + + Afon Dulas, 124 + + Afon Gwaen, 156 + + Agincourt, Battle of, 222 + + Akeman Street, 283, 304 + + Aldenham, Lord, 9 + + Alderminster, 286 + + Aldersey Hall, 43 + + Alfred the Great, 234, 254, 282 + + 'Alleluia Victory,' 55 + + Althorp Park, 22 + + Anglesey, 88 + + Anglesey Column, 105 + + Anglesey, Marquis of, 105 + + Anker, River, 27 + + Ap Cadell ap Brochmail, Concenn, 71 + + Aquablanca, Bishop, 178 + + Aragon, Catherine of, 16 + + Arbury Hall, 26 + + Ardudwy, Mountains of, 120 + + Arkwright, Richard, 222 + + Arthog, 120 + + Arthur, King, 195 + + Arthur's Quoit, 116 + + Asthall Barrow, 277 + + Aston, North, Mid, and Steeple, 303 + + Athelney, 254 + + Atherstone, 28, 30 + + Avon, Warwickshire, 23 + + + Bacon, Sir Francis, Lord Verulam, 12, 13, 287, 313 + + Bala Lake, 83 + + Balshall, Dean, 289 + + Banbury, 303 + + Bangor, 96 + + Bardsey Island, 115 + + Barford, 290 + + Barmouth, 116, 120, 121 + + Barnet, 3, 4 + + Barrington, Great and Little, 276 + + Basingwerke Abbey, 56 + + Bath, 250-252 + + Batheaston, 242 + + Battle Abbey, a cell of, 146 + + Beaufort family, the, 194 + + Beaumaris, 94 + + Beavers, Valley of, 100 + + Beddgelert, 113 + + Bede, the Venerable, 8 + + Belesme, Robert de, 235 + + Benglog Bridge, 101 + + Berkeley Castle, 213 + + Berrington Hall, 225 + + Berwyn Mountains, 70 + + Bethesda, 99, 105 + + Bettws-y-Coed, 83, 84 + + Bigsweir Bridge, 203 + + Bird Rock, the, 122 + + Birmingham reservoirs, 181, 183 + + Black Forest, the, 185 + + Black Mountains, the, 147, 173, 185 + + Black Plague, 176 + + Blacklow Hill, 295 + + Blenheim Palace, 282 + + Blorenge Hill, 188, 191 + + Boadicea, 13, 44 + + Bodbury Ring, 230 + + Bodelwyddan Church, 62 + + Bodenham, 221 + + Bodfari, 57 + + Bordeaux, 42 + + Borth, 128 + + Boscobel House, 35 + + Bosworth, Battle of, 26, 28, 78 + + Boughrood Castle, 185 + + Bourton-on-the-Hill, 262 + + Bowood, 256 + + Box, 253 + + Bradwell Abbey, 20 + + Bran, River, 148 + + Bran the Blessed, 114 + + Braose, William de, 187 + + Breakspere, Nicholas, 12 + + Brecknock Beacons, 146, 147, 191 + + Brecon or Brecknock, 143-146 + + Bremhill Wick, 255 + + Bridgnorth, 226, 234-235 + + Brintirion, 118 + + Britannia Tubular Bridge, 105 + + British remains, 69, 83, 94, 129, 146 + + Broadway, 262 + + Brockhurst Castle, 230 + + Bromfield, 226 + + Bronllys Castle, 185 + + Bronwen, 114 + + Brookthorpe, 246 + + Broughton, 53 + + Brown, 'Capability,' 310 + + Brown Clee Hill, 226 + + Brownhills Common, 35 + + Brunel, 314 + + Buckley, 53 + + Buildwas Abbey, 233-234 + + Builth Wells, 183, 184 + + Burford, 260, 276-277 + + By Brook, the, 253 + + Byford, 176 + + Byng, Admiral, 4 + + Byron, Lord, 108 + + + Cader Idris, 117, 123, 132, 135, 137 + + Caen, Paul de, 8 + + Caer Caradoc Hill, 230 + + Caerleon, 206 + + Caerwent, 198, 199 + + Caerwys, 56 + + Cæsar, Julius, 12 + + Caldicott Castle, 200 + + Calveley Hall, 43 + + Cannock Chase reservoir, 35 + + Cantelupe, George de, 188 + + Cantilupe, Sir Thomas, 178 + + Capel Curig, 102 + + Capel Garmon, 84, 85 + + Caractacus, 230 + + Caradoc, King of North Wales, 60 + + Caradoc Range, 231 + + Carden Hall, 42 + + Cardiff Castle, 214 + + Cardigan, 151 + + Cardigan Bay, 130 + + Careg Cennen, 171 + + Carmarthen, 168, 169 + + Carnarvon, 57, 105-109 + + Carnarvon Castle, 107 + + Carnarvonshire Mountains, 88 + + Carnedd Dafydd, 100, 110 + + Carnedd Llewelyn, 100 + + Carno, River, 138, 139 + + Castell Crogen, 81 + + Castell Dinas Brân, 70 + + Castell-fan-Crach, 132 + + Castell-y-Bere, 123 + + Castell-y-Gaer, 121 + + Cave, 23 + + Cefn Caves, the, 63 + + Cefn Hall, 63 + + Cefn-y-Bedd, 184 + + Cemmaes, 138, 155 + + Cenarth, 151 + + Cencoed Castle, 199 + + Ceriog Valley, 82 + + Cerrig-y-Druidon, 83 + + Chandos family, 207 + + Chantrey, 319 + + Charlecote Park, 290 + + Charles I., 22, 194, 248, 262, 316, 318 + + Charles II., 35, 299, 317 + + Charlton, Bishop, 176 + + Charlton Park, 258 + + Chartist riots, 198 + + Cheltenham, 270-272 + + Chepstow, 200, 201 + + Chepstow, Marshall, Earl of, 153 + + Cheshire bowmen, 41 + + Chester, 14, 45-51 + + Chester, Bishop of, 234 + + Chiltern Hills, 19, 312 + + Chippenham, 254-255 + + Chipping Norton, 261, 283 + + Chirk Castle, 66, 81 + + Cholmondeley Castle, 42 + + Churchdown Hill, 270 + + Churchover, 23 + + Church Stretton, 229 + + Cirencester, 259 + + Civil War, 42, 43, 48, 59, 65, 80, 81, 90, 108, 130, 144, 150, + 165, 194, 200, 206, 208, 212, 226, 229, 235, 242, 283, 290, + 299, 303 + + Clare, David le, 42 + + Clare, Gilbert de, 165, 266 + + Cleddau, River, 165 + + Clifford Castle, 175 + + Clifford, Jane de, 175 + + Clinton, Geoffrey de, 297 + + Clinton, Roger de, 234 + + Clintons, the, 297 + + Clopton, Sir John, 288 + + Clopton Tower, 290 + + Clwyd, Vale of, 57, 58, 59, 60, 63, 64, 68, 69 + + Clwydian Hills, 56, 67 + + Clyro, 175 + + Clyro Castle, 174 + + Clytha Castle, 191 + + Clywedog, the, 135 + + Coalbrookdale, 234 + + Coetmore, Howel, 86 + + Coldbrook House, 191 + + Cold Door Pass, 137 + + Coningsby family, 222 + + Conway, 85, 90-93 + + Conway Abbey, 86 + + Conway Castle, 90, 92 + + Conway Falls, 83 + + Conway Valley, 86 + + Corne Dale, 227 + + Cornwallis West, Colonel W., 67 + + Corris, 124 + + Cors-y-Gedol, 116 + + Corsham, 253-254 + + Corston, 258 + + Corwen, 69 + + Cothi, River, 148 + + Cotswolds, the, 246, 247, 262, 272-273 + + Cound, 233 + + Coventry, 49, 298-301 + + Cranmer, Archbishop, 16 + + Criccieth, Castle of, 115 + + Crick, 200 + + Crickhowell, 186 + + Cricklade, 258-259 + + Cromwell, Oliver, 261 + + Cropredy, 302 + + Cross Foxes Inn, 123, 137 + + Cross-in-Hand, 25 + + Curzon of Kedleston, Lord, 258 + + Cusop Castle, 174 + + Cutts, Sir John, 6 + + Cwm Bychan, Lake of, 115 + + Cwm Hir, Abbey of, 140 + + Cymmer Abbey, 118 + + + Darby, Abraham, 234 + + Darby Family, the, 234 + + Dauncer Family, 220 + + Daventry, 22 + + Dean, Forest of, 210 + + Dee, River, 69, 70, 73, 83 + + Dee Valley, 82 + + Deerhurst Priory, 268 + + Denbigh, 63, 67 + + Denbigh Castle, 66 + + Derwen, 69 + + Deudraeth, Castle of, 114 + + Devil's Bridge, 131, 132 + + Devil's Kitchen, the, 101 + + Devil's Pots, the, 102 + + Devil's Punch Bowl, 132 + + Dinas Mawddwy, 136, 137 + + Dinmore Hill, 221 + + Dixton, 205 + + Dolbadarn Castle, 110 + + Dolgelley, 118, 120, 135 + + Dorchester, 310-311 + + Dovey, the, 124, 126, 128, 138 + + Dowards, the Great and Little, 206, 210 + + Drayton, Fenny, 27 + + Drayton Manor, 30 + + Drayton, Michael, 27 + + Druidical Circles, 130, 286 + + Drws Ardudwy, 115 + + Dryslwyn Castle, 170 + + Dudley, Robert, 297 + + Dudmaston Castle, 235 + + Dulais, River, 148 + + Dunsmore Heath, 23 + + Dunstable, 15-17 + + Dunstable Downs, 19 + + Dürer, Albrecht, 78 + + Dursley Cross, 211 + + Dyffryn River, 121 + + Dynevor Castle, 150 + + Dynevor, Lord, 171 + + Dynevor Park, 170 + + Dysynni Valley, 123 + + + Ealdhelm, 257 + + Easton Neston House, 20 + + Eaton Hall, 224 + + Edeyrnion, Vale of, 83 + + Edgar, King, 31 + + Edgware, 3 + + Edred, King, 11 + + Edward I., 58, 64, 76, 108, 114, 123, 130, 170, 214, 228 + + Edward II., 108, 213, 214, 217 + + Edward III., 167, 316 + + Edward IV., 114, 226, 268, 316, 326 + + Edward V., 20 + + Edward VI., 318 + + Eglwyseg, the, 72 + + Eglwyseg Rocks, 70 + + Eisteddfodau, the, 56 + + Elan, Vale of the, 181 + + Eleanor of Castile, 16 + + Eleanor Cross at Stony Stratford, 20 + + Elidyr Fawr, 100, 110 + + Eliot, George, 26 + + Eliseg's Pillar, 71 + + Elizabeth, Queen, 282, 290, 297-302 + + Ellesmere, 74 + + Elstree, 3 + + Emlyn, Viscount, 170 + + Enstone, 283 + + Ermine Way, 259 + + Erwood, 184 + + Ethandune, Battle of, 254 + + Ethelbert, 177, 221 + + Ethelfleda, Queen, 30, 50, 235 + + Ethelred, King, 282 + + Eton, 314 + + Evesham, 262-264 + + Evesham, Battle of, 264 + + Eye, 225 + + Eynsham, 278 + + + Fairy Glen, the, 83 + + Falaise, 266 + + Fenny Compton, 302 + + Fenny Stratford, 19 + + Ferrers Family, 30, 31 + + Ffestiniog Railway, 113 + + Ffestiniog, Vale of, 113 + + Fishguard, 155, 156 + + Fitz-Hamon, Robert, 266 + + Fitzharon of Glamorgan, 197 + + Fitz-Osborn, Earl of Hereford, 200 + + Flamstead, 15 + + Flanesford Priory, 206 + + Foel Fras, 94 + + Ford, 222 + + Foss Way, 26, 258, 275 + + Fox, George, 27 + + Frevilles, the, 31 + + Friog, 121 + + Frost, Jack, 198 + + Frowyke, Thomas de, 5 + + + Garter, Order of the, 316 + + Garth Hill, 184 + + Gastrell, Rev. Francis, 288 + + Gaullwyd Valley, 135 + + Gaunt, John of, 297 + + Gaveston, Piers, 295 + + Geoffrey of Monmouth, 204 + + George IV., 316 + + Germanus, 55 + + Giant's Nose, 117 + + Gibbet Hill, 298 + + Glandovey, 128 + + Glasbury, 172 + + Glaspwll Cascade, 128 + + Glendower, Owen, 39, 57, 64, 68, 69, 70, 114, 125, 174, 224 + + Gloucester, 211-218, 246 + + Gloucester Cathedral, 212-216 + + Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of, 10 + + Glyder Fach, 100, 102 + + Glyder Fawr, 100, 101, 102, 111 + + Godiva, Lady, 298 + + Goodrich Castle, 206 + + Goodrich Court, 207 + + Goodwick Harbour, 155 + + Gorhambury, 14 + + Gower, Bishop, 160 + + Graig Serrerthin, 210 + + Great Orme's Head, 87 + + Greenlands, Henley, 313 + + Grey, Reginald de, 68 + + Greys, the De, 207 + + Griffith, the son of Madoc, 71 + + Grim's Dyke, 283 + + Grimthorpe, Lord, 9, 11 + + Grongar Hill, 170 + + Guy's Cliff, 294, 295 + + Gwydir Castle, 85, 86 + + Gwynedd, Owen, 130 + + Gwynn, Nell, 6 + + + Hafod Bridge Inn, 148 + + Hakluyt, family of, 225 + + Haldingham, Richard de, 179 + + Halkin Mountain, 53, 56 + + Hall, Dr., 288 + + Hampton Court, Herefordshire, 222 + + Hampton Court, Middlesex, 317 + + Handley Church, 43 + + Harcourt family, 309 + + Hardicanute, 238 + + Hardwicke, 246 + + Hare, Mr. Augustus, 228, 229 + + Harlech, 113, 114, 121 + + Hartshill, 27 + + Hathaway, Anne, cottage of, 290 + + Haverfordwest, 163, 165, 166 + + Hawkstone Park, 41 + + Hay, 173 + + Heaven's Gate Camp, 233 + + Henley-on-Thames, 312-313 + + Henry of Bolingbroke. See Henry IV. + + Henry I., 224 + + Henry II., 175, 235, 282 + + Henry III., 165, 173, 264, 316 + + Henry IV., 39 + + Henry V., 204, 224 + + Henry VI., 10, 314, 316 + + Henry VII., 78, 171, 194, 316 + + Henry VIII., 5, 316, 318 + + Herckenrode, nunnery of, 34 + + Hereford, 176-179 + + Hereford, Dukes of, 298 + + Hill, Rowland, 41 + + Hinckley, 26 + + Holmer Church, 220 + + Hood, Lord, 301 + + Hooper, Bishop, 216 + + Hope Bowdler, 229 + + Hope Church, 222 + + Hope-under-Dinmore, 222 + + Howard, Catherine, 318 + + Humpe, Master, 257 + + Huntley, 211 + + Hwlffordd, Robert de, 166 + + + Icknield Way, 15 + + Idwal, Prince, 101 + + Ironbridge, 234 + + Itchington, Lord, 302 + + Ivington Camp, 224 + + + James I., 23, 174 + + 'Jesse Tree,' 188 + + 'John Halifax, Gentleman,' 272 + + John, King, 176, 317 + + Johnson, Samuel, 35 + + Jones, Inigo, 85, 86, 258 + + Juxon, Bishop, 261 + + + Kenilworth, 296-297 + + Kerne Bridge, 206 + + Kidderminster, 235-236 + + Kilgerran Castle, 152 + + Kilsby, 23 + + Kingston-on-Thames, 318 + + Kite's Nest Inn, 176 + + Kneller, Sir Godfrey, 208 + + Knyvet, Sir Thomas, 258 + + Kyrle, John, 208-209 + + + Laceys, the, 64 + + Lampeter, 148 + + Langley Burrell, 255 + + Lansdowne, Lord, 256 + + Lawley, the, 229 + + Lea, 210 + + Leamington, 293-294 + + Lechlade, 259 + + Ledbury, 241-242 + + Leicester, 22, 26 + + Leicester, Earls of, 292, 297 + + Leigh, Lord, 302 + + Leland, 174, 197, 257 + + Lenthall, Sir Roland, 222 + + Leofric, 298 + + Leominster, 222-224 + + Letton, 175 + + Leycester's Hospital, Warwick, 293 + + Lichfield, 32, 33 + + Little Minster, 276 + + Little Orme, the, 88 + + Llanbadarn, 131 + + Llanbeblig Church, 109 + + Llanbedr, 115 + + Llanberis, 110 + + Llanberis, Old, 111 + + Llanberis, Pass of, 111 + + Llanbyther, 149 + + Llanddwywe Church, 116 + + Llandegai, 99 + + Llandegai, Model Village of, 94 + + Llandilo, 171 + + Llandinam, 139 + + Llandovery, 148 + + Llandudno, 87, 88 + + Llandyssil, 149 + + Llanegryn, 122 + + Llanelltyd, 118 + + Llanfairfechan, 94 + + Llanfair Pwll Gwyngyll, etc., 105 + + Llanfihangel-ar-Arth, 149 + + Llangattock-juxta-Usk, 191 + + Llangelynin, 122 + + Llangoed, 185 + + Llangollen, 70-72 + + Llangollen Bridge, 70 + + Llangollen, Ladies of, 70 + + Llangollen, the Vale of, 72 + + Llangorse Lake, 185 + + Llangunnor, 169 + + Llangurig, 131, 141 + + Llanidloes, 140 + + Llanrhaiadr Church, 66 + + Llanrwst, 85, 86 + + Llanthony Abbey, 175, 211 + + Llanvihangel-on-Usk, 191 + + Llanwrda, 148, 172 + + Llawhaden Castle, 167 + + Llawr Lech, 117 + + Llewelyn, 58, 85, 155, 184 + + Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, 56 + + Lleyn Peninsula, 121 + + Llwyngwril, 121 + + Llyn Bochlwyd, 102 + + Llyn Ogwen, 101 + + Llyn Padarn, 109 + + Llyn Peris, 111 + + London Colney, 6 + + Longchamps, the, 207 + + Long Compton, 286 + + Long Mynd, 229, 231 + + Lorraine, Robert, 177 + + Lovers' Leap, 201, 203 + + Lucy, Sir Thomas, 290 + + Ludlow, 225-226 + + Ludlow, Lawrence de, 228 + + Lug, River, 222 + + Lutterworth, 24, 25 + + Lyfnant Valley, 128 + + Lyneham Barrows, 261 + + Lysdinam Hall, 183 + + Lyswen, 185 + + + Machynlleth, 125 + + Maenan Abbey, 86 + + Maenan House, 86 + + Magna Charta, 266 + + Magna Charta Island, 317 + + Maiden Bower, 15 + + Maidenhead, 313-314 + + Maldulph, 256 + + Malmesbury, 256-258 + + Malvern, Great, 240, 241 + + Malvern Hills, 236 + + Mancetter, 27 + + Mancetter Manor House, 27 + + Mandeville, Sir John, 11 + + Mansell Hill, 176 + + _Mappa Mundi_, 178 + + Marden Church, 221 + + Margaret of Anjou, 114 + + Marlborough, Duke of, 282 + + Marmions, the, 31 + + Martin de Tours, 152 + + Mathern, 200 + + Matilda, the Empress, 212 + + Maud Heath's Causeway, 255 + + Mawddach, the, 116, 117, 120 + + Maxstoke, Priors of, 302 + + Menai Straits, the, 88, 107 + + Menai Suspension Bridge, 104 + + Merbach Hill, 175 + + Merevale Abbey, 30 + + Merewald, King of the West Mercians, 222 + + Methuen, Lord, 253 + + Methuen, Sir Paul, 253 + + Meyrick, Sir Samuel, 207 + + Mimms, North, 5 + + Mimms, South, 5 + + Miner's Bridge, the, 84 + + Minster Lovell, 277 + + Mistletoe, 241 + + Mitcheldean, 211 + + Moccas Park, 176 + + Mochras, Island of, 115 + + Moel Arthur, 56 + + Moel Fammau, 55, 56, 67, 69 + + Moel Feulli, 69 + + Moel Habog, 113 + + Moel Hebod, 115 + + Moel Siabod, 85, 100, 102 + + Moel-y-Gaer, 129 + + Mold, 53-56 + + Mollington, 303 + + Monken Hadley, 4 + + Monmouth, 203-205 + + Monnow, River, 203 + + Montfort, Simon de, 264, 297 + + Montgomery, Roger de, 226, 235 + + Moreton-in-the-Marsh, 262 + + Moreton-on-Lug, 220 + + Morfa Harlech, 114 + + Morfa Rhuddlan, 59 + + Morfe, Forest of, 235 + + Mortimer, Roger, 81 + + Mortimers, the, 39 + + Mouse Castle, 174 + + Muckley Corner, 35 + + Mulock's, Miss, 'John Halifax, Gentleman,' 265 + + Myddelton, Richard, 66 + + Myddelton, Sir Hugh, 66, 73, 81 + + Myddelton, Sir Thomas, 68, 81, 82 + + Mynydd Prescelly, 153 + + Mytton, General, 59 + + + Nailsworth, 250 + + Nant Ffrancon, 86, 100, 110, 111 + + Nant Gwgan, 124 + + Nantclwyd, Vale of, 69 + + Narberth, 167, 168 + + Naseby, Battle of, 194 + + Nash, Beau, 252 + + Nelson, Lord, 170 + + Nequam, Alexander, 11 + + Nero, 13 + + Nevern, 153 + + New River, the, 66, 81 + + Newbridge-on-Wye, 183 + + Newburgh, Earl Roger de, 292 + + Newcastle Emlyn, 150 + + Newgate, 164 + + Newport, Mon., 196-199 + + Norfolk, Dukes of, 298 + + Norfolk, Roger Bigod, Earl of, 202 + + Northleach, 274 + + Nuneaton, 26 + + Nuneham Courtney, 309 + + + Oakengates, 36 + + Offa's Dyke, 80, 82, 176, 201 + + Offa, King of Mercia, 8, 59, 80, 221 + + Ogham Stones, 116 + + Ogofan, the, 148 + + Ombersley, 236 + + Onibury, 227 + + Osric, King of Mercia, 213 + + Oswald, 238 + + Oswestry, 80 + + Overton Scar, 42 + + Oxford, 306-308 + + + Painswick, 246-248 + + Panorama Walk, 117 + + Paris, Matthew, 11 + + Parker, Abbot, 214 + + Parr, Catherine, 318 + + Paxton, Sir William, 170 + + Pearson, Bishop, 47 + + Peel, Sir Robert, 30 + + Pembroke, William, Earl of, 65, 194, 303 + + Pen Caer Peninsula, 156 + + Pendragon, 195 + + Penhow Castle, 199 + + Penmachno, 83 + + Penmaenpool, 120 + + Penrhyn Castle, 94, 95, 99 + + Pentre Evan Cromlech, 154 + + Pentre Voelas, 83 + + Pen-y-Gaer, 83 + + Penyard Castle, 210 + + Percies, the, 39 + + Percy, Henry, 64 + + Percy, Lord Algernon, 295 + + Periam, Lady Elizabeth, 313 + + Pershore, Abbots of, 262 + + Picton Castle, 167 + + Picton monument, 169 + + Piercefield Park, 201 + + Pistyll-y-Cain, 136 + + Pistyll-y-Llyn, 128 + + Pitchcombe, 246, 248 + + Plas Mawr, Conway, 92 + + Plas Newydd, 70 + + Plautius, Aulus, 12 + + Plynlimmon, 132, 139, 140 + + Pointz Castle, 164 + + Poitiers, Battle of, 86 + + Pont Erwydd, 131, 132 + + Port Dinorwic, 105 + + Powis, Princes of, 71 + + Precipice Walk, the, 135 + + Prehistoric remains, 116, 156, 286 + + Prescelly Mountains, 155 + + Puesdown Inn, 272 + + Puffin Island, 94 + + Putney Heath, 319 + + Putta, Bishop, 177 + + + Quatt, 235 + + Quendrida, Offa's Queen, 221 + + + Raglan Castle, 192-194 + + Rain, 148 + + Ramryge, Abbot, 10 + + Reading Priory, 224 + + Redbourne, 14 + + Redbrook, 203 + + Redesdale, Robin of, 303 + + Redhill, 36 + + Ramsey Island, 161 + + Rembrandt's (?) 'Mill,' 256 + + Remigius, Bishop, 311 + + Rheidol, Falls of the, 132 + + Rheidol Valley, 132 + + Rhuddlan, 62, 64 + + Rhuddlan Church, 59 + + Rhyl, 60 + + Rhys of Wales, 172 + + Richard II., 79 + + Richard's Castle, 225 + + Richard of Scrop, 225 + + Ridge Hill, 5 + + Risbury Camp, 222 + + Rivals, the, 115 + + Robbers' Cave, 132 + + Robert, Duke of Normandy, 214 + + Robeston Wathen, 167 + + Robin Hood's Butts, 220 + + Roche Castle, 164 + + Rodney, Lord, 225 + + Rollright Stones, 286 + + Roman roads, 198, 211, 229, 231, 237, 251, 258, 259, 282, 283, 304 + + Roman sites, 15, 19, 23, 35, 36, 37, 44, 56, 57, 69, 77, 86, 105, + 109, 125, 139, 146, 147, 150, 168, 169, 172, 174, 183, 187, + 195, 199, 204, 230, 259, 275, 311 + + Roman steps, 115 + + Rosamond, Fair, 175, 282 + + Ross, 208-210 + + Rowton Moor, 43 + + Rugby, 24 + + Rupert, Prince, 242 + + Ruthin, 67-69 + + + Sai, Picot de, 227 + + St. Albans, 5, 6-14, 221, 267 + + St. Amphibalus, 10 + + St. Arvans, 201 + + St. Asaph, 57-58 + + St. Bride's Bay, 164 + + St. Caradoc, 160 + + St. Chad, 32 + + St. Clears, 168 + + St. David's, 157-161 + + St. David's, Bishops of, 167 + + St. David's Head, 157 + + St. David's, Lord, 165 + + St. Dogmael's Priory, 152 + + St. Idloes, 140 + + St. Thomas à Becket, Chapel of, 160 + + St. Tudno's Church, 87 + + St. Tyssul, 150 + + St. Werburgh, 51 + + St. Wolstan, 302 + + Salisbury Cathedral, 259 + + Salisbury Hall, 5 + + Saltney, 53 + + Salusbury, Colonel William, 65 + + Sandford-on-Thames, 308 + + Sandys, Lord, 236 + + Sarn Badrig, 115 + + Sarn Helen Roman road, 148, 149 + + Saxon Architecture, 31 + + Scott, Sir Gilbert, 58, 146 + + Scott, Sir Walter, 296 + + Senny Bridge, 147 + + Seoint, River, 107 + + Severn, River, 37, 76, 132, 139, 141, 236, 247, 250 + + Seymour, Jane, 316 + + Shakespeare, Susannah, 288 + + Shakespeare, William, 287-290 + + Sherborne Park, 275 + + Sherbourne, 290 + + Shifnal, 36 + + Shipstone-on-Stour, 286 + + Shipton-under-Wychwood, 260 + + Shottery, 290 + + Shrewsbury, 37, 39, 76-80 + + Shrewsbury, Battle of, 39, 41 + + Shrewsbury, Earls of, 42, 206 + + Shrewsbury, Roger, Earl of, 79 + + Shropshire Union, 35 + + Silurian fossils, 226, 231 + + Skomer Island, 165 + + Skyrrid, Great, 188 + + Slate quarries, 99 + + Smith, Worthington G., 17 + + Smockington, 26 + + Snow, Sir Jeremy, 6 + + Snowdon, 84, 102, 109, 111, 115 + + Snowshill Valley, 262 + + Solva, 164 + + Sopwell, 14 + + Southam, 302 + + Speen, 259 + + Spencer, Earl, 22 + + Stafford, Lord, 170 + + Staines, 317 + + Staunton, 176 + + Stephen, King, 149, 178, 201 + + Stivichall Common, 298 + + Stoke d'Abernon, 227 + + Stokesay Castle, 227-228 + + Stoneleigh Abbey, 301 + + Stony Stratford, 20 + + Stour, River, 236 + + Stourport, 236 + + Strafford, Earl of, 4 + + Strata Florida Abbey, 132 + + Stratford, John de, 289 + + Stratford-on-Avon, 287-290 + + Stratford, Ralph de, 289 + + Stretton, Hesba, 230 + + Strongbow, Gilbert de, 130 + + Stroud, 248-250 + + Strumble Head, 156 + + Sugar Loaf, the, 186, 188, 191 + + Sugar Loaf Hills, 220 + + Sutton Walls, 221 + + Swift, Dean, 207 + + Swift, River, 24 + + Swinford Bridge, 279 + + Sychnant Pass, 93 + + Symond's Yat, 205, 206, 210 + + + Taff, River, 168 + + Teifi, River, 148, 149, 150, 161 + + Talgarth, 185 + + Taliesin, 129 + + Tal-y-Cafn, 86 + + Tal-y-llyn, 123, 124 + + Tamworth, 31 + + Telford, 74, 82 + + Teme, River, 226 + + Tewkesbury, 264-268 + + Tewkesbury Abbey, 267 + + Tewkesbury, Battle of, 267 + + Thirlwall, Bishop, 161 + + Thomas, Sir William ap, 19 + + Three Cocks, the, 172 + + Throckmorton, John, 250 + + Tintern Abbey, 202 + + Titterstone Camp, 227 + + Torrent Walk, the, 135 + + Totternhoe, 15 + + Towcester, 20 + + Towy, River, 148, 171, 172 + + Traeth Mawr, 113 + + Trecastle, 147 + + Trefnant, 63 + + Trefriew, 86 + + Tre-Taliesin, 129 + + Trothy, River, 203 + + Tryfaen, 102 + + Tudor, Edmund, 160 + + Tudor, Jasper, 65 + + Twining, John, 217 + + Twll Du, 101 + + Tyler, Wat, 12 + + Tyttenhanger, 6 + + + Usk, River, 143, 147, 186, 194, 197 + + + Valle Crucis Abbey, 71, 118 + + Vanbrugh, Sir John, 42, 282 + + Van Lead Mines, 140 + + Vaughan, Bishop, 160 + + Vaughans, the, 116 + + Vaughans of Nannau, 135 + + Venables family, 43, 183 + + Ver, River, 12, 14 + + Verdun, John de, 228 + + Verulamium, 7, 12, 13 + + Victoria, Queen, 317 + + Virginia Water, 317 + + + Wallingford, Abbot, 9 + + Warwick, 290-293 + + Warwick, Earls of, 187, 292, 295 + + Warwick, Guy of, 295 + + Warwick, the King-maker, 4 + + Waterloo, Battle of, 105, 169 + + Watling Street, 14, 15, 20, 23, 25, 28, 35, 36, 44 + + Wat's Dyke, 80 + + Weedon, 20 + + Wellington Church, 221 + + Welsh Architecture, 140 + + Wem, 41 + + Weston Park, 35 + + Weston-under-Penyard, 210 + + Wheathampstead, Abbot, 9 + + Whitchurch, 41, 63, 66, 206 + + White Cross, 176 + + Whitley Abbey, 301 + + Whitney, 175 + + Wicklow, Mountains of, 107 + + William the Conqueror, 171, 236, 266, 315 + + William Rufus, 167 + + William III., 23 + + William IV., 317 + + Williams-Wynn, Bart., Sir H. Watkin, 72 + + Willoughby de Broke, Lady, 62 + + Wilton Bridge, 207 + + Wilton Castle, 207, 210 + + Windrush, River, 275, 276 + + Windsor, 314-315 + + Wistanstow, 229 + + Witherley, 27 + + Witney, 275, 277-278 + + Woburn Park and Abbey, 19 + + Wolsey, Cardinal, 318 + + Wombridge, Prior of, 36 + + Woodstock, 283 + + Woofferton, 225 + + Worcester, 236-240 + + Worcester, Battle of, 6, 35, 240 + + Worcester Priory, 238 + + Wotton St. Mary, 270 + + Wrekin, the, 36, 233 + + Wren, Sir Christopher, 33 + + Wrexham, 73 + + Wrotham Park, 4 + + Wroxeter, 37 + + Wulfstan, 238 + + Wyatville, Sir J., 315 + + Wychwood Forest, 259 + + Wycliffe, 24, 25 + + Wye, River, 132, 133, 140, 172, 176, 181, 183, 203, 205, 206, 210 + + Wykeham, William of, 303, 316 + + Wynne, Captain, 67 + + Wynne family, the, 85 + + Wynnstay Park, 72 + + Wytham Hill, 279 + + + Y Garn, 100 + + +BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD. + + + + + [Map: MAP ACCOMPANYING "THE MOTOR ROUTES OF ENGLAND" (WESTERN SECTION) + BY GORDON HOME + + _NOTE_ + THE MAIN OR TRUNK ROUTE IS MARKED "_TRUNK_". + LOOPS FROM THE TRUNK ROUTE ARE MARKED "_LOOP 1_" AND SO ON. + ALTERNATIVE ROUTES ARE INDICATED WITH DOTTED LINES + + W. I. A. K. Johnston Limited. Lithographers, Edinburgh & London + PUBLISHED BY A. & C. BLACK, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON] + + + + + DINNEFORD'S + MAGNESIA + +Approved by the Medical Profession for over SEVENTY Years as the BEST +REMEDY FOR + + ACIDITY of the STOMACH, + HEARTBURN, + HEADACHE, + GOUT and + INDIGESTION + +SAFEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE APERIENT FOR REGULAR USE + + + + + GAUTIER'S + _TWENTY YEARS OLD_ + LIQUEUR BRANDY. + +This Celebrated Liqueur Brandy (guaranteed 20 years old) is now put up +in Patent Flasks, with pure Aluminium Cup Attachment, especially +suitable for Railway, Motor, and Steamship Travelling, Hunting, +Shooting, Fishing, Cycling, and in all cases where a small quantity of +an undoubtedly Fine Spirit in the pocket is a desirability. + +GUARANTEED PURE GRAPE. + +_Obtainable at most Railway and Hotel Bars._ + +GAUTIER FRÈRES, COGNAC. + +ESTABLISHED 1755. + + _Wholesale Agents only_: BROWN, GORE & CO., + TOWER HOUSE, 40, TRINITY SQUARE, E.C. + + + + + SALSBURY + _'Anti-Dazlo'_ + MOTOR LAMP. + +THE PATENT DUBLITO INTENSIFIER _GIVES OVER 50% MORE LIGHT_ AND +ELIMINATES =DANGEROUS DAZZLING=. + + The New Gas Generator is the + MOST SIMPLE. + It has only One Loose Part. + +_Show Rooms_: =124 LONG ACRE, LONDON, W.C.= + +_Special Repair Department for all Makes: 1, 2 & 3, Mercer Street +(adjoining Show Rooms)._ + + + + + ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN + _HOWEVER CAREFUL OR EXPERIENCED A DRIVER MAY BE_ + AND THESE DO NOT ALWAYS HAPPEN WHERE A DOCTOR IS AVAILABLE + A VALUABLE COMPANION TO HAVE IN A CAR IS + BLACK'S MEDICAL DICTIONARY + (_Fourth Edition, Completing 21,000_) + +which contains clearly written articles dealing with Sprains, Cuts, +Bruises, Fractures, Hæmorrhage, etc., and Illustrated Articles on +Bandaging, Slings, etc. + + _Large Crown 8vo., 870 pages, 388 illustrations._ + PRICE =7s. 6d.= NET + (_or by post, 7s. 11d._) + +'The descriptions are marvellously clear and detailed as well as +discriminating as to the importance of the subject described. The +Dictionary is altogether admirable, and will prove itself useful alike +to the junior student, the nurse, the ship captain, or such as cannot +command expert attention in time of sickness or accident.'--_Glasgow +Herald._ + +_CAN BE HAD OF ANY BOOKSELLER._ + +PUBLISHED BY A. & C. BLACK, 4, 5 & 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. + + + + +Awarded Silver Medal, Automobile Club Show, Richmond, 1899. + + CARLESS' STANDARD PETROL, + THE BEST MOTOR SPIRIT MANUFACTURED. + MOVRIL for all Pleasure Cars. + CARBUS for Taxicabs, Commercial Vehicles, Etc. + +_Either in Round or Square Cans._ _First English Manufacturers._ + +LUBRICATING OILS AND GREASES. + + CARLESS, CAPEL & LEONARD, + HACKNEY WICK, LONDON, N.E. + +Telegrams: 'Carless, Hackney Wick.' +Telephone: East 1310. + + + + +_Applications for Advertisements in subsequent issues of the 'Motor +Routes' Series should be addressed to the Sole Agents_-- + +G. Street & Co., Ltd., + + 8, SERLE STREET, + LINCOLN'S INN, LONDON, W.C. + _or_ 30, CORNHILL, E.C. + + + + +BLACK'S GUIDE BOOKS + + +=Bath and Bristol.= 6d. net. + +=Belfast and the North of Ireland.= 1s. net. + +=Bournemouth.= 6d. net. + +=Brighton and Environs.= 6d. net. + +=Buckinghamshire.= 1s. net. + +=Buxton and the Peak Country.= 1s. net. + +=Canterbury and East Kent.= 1s. net. + +=Channel Islands.= 1s. net. + + Cloth, with extra Maps, 2s. 6d. net. + +=Cornwall and Scilly Islands.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Derbyshire.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Devonshire.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Dorsetshire.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Dublin and the East of Ireland.= 1s. net. + +=Edinburgh.= 6d. net. + +=English Lakes.= 3s. 6d. net. + +=English Lakes.= Cheap Edition, 1s. net. + +=Exeter and East Devon.= 1s. net. + +=Galway and West of Ireland.= 1s. net. + +=Glasgow and the Clyde.= 6d. net. + +=Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and Alderney.= 6d. net. + +=Hampshire.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Harrogate.= 1s. net. + +=Ilfracombe, Lynton, Bideford, etc.= 6d. net. + +=Ireland.= 5s. net. + +=Ireland.= Cheap Edition. 1s. net. + +=Isle of Man.= 1s. net. + +=Isle of Wight.= 1s. net. + +=Jersey.= 6d. net. + +=Kent.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Kent, East (Canterbury, Margate, Ramsgate, etc.).= 1s. net. + +=Kent, West (Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, etc.).= 1s. net. + +=Killarney and the South of Ireland.= 1s. net. + +=Leamington, Stratford, etc.= 1s. net. + +=Liverpool and District.= 1s. net. + +=London and Environs.= 1s. net. + +=Around London, Complete.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Around London, North.= 6d. net. + +=Around London, West.= 6d. net. + +=Around London, South.= 6d. net. + +=Manchester and Salford.= 1s. net. + +=Margate and the East of Kent.= 1s. net. + +=Matlock, Dovedale and Central Derbyshire.= 1s. net. + +=Moffat.= 1s. net. + +=Plymouth and South Devon.= 1s. net. + +=Scotland.= 7s. 6d. net. + +=Scotland.= Cheap Edition. 1s. net. + +=Scotland, East Central.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Scotland, North.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Scotland, West and South-West.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Scotland, South-East.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Sherwood Forest.= 6d. net. + +=Somerset.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Surrey.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Sussex.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Torquay and the South Hams.= 6d. net. + +=Trossachs and Loch Lomond.= 1s. net. + +=Tunbridge Wells and West Kent.= 1s. net. + +=Wales, North.= 3s. 6d. net. + +=Wales, South.= 3s. 6d. net. + +=Wales.= Cheap Edition, 1s. net. + +=What to see in England.= Illustrated. 2s. 6d. net. + +=Wye, The.= 1s. net. + + +Black's Foreign Guide Books + +=Belgium=: Its Churches, Chimes, and Battlefields. 2s. 6d. net. + +=Brittany with Touraine.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Cairo of To-day.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Constantinople.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Holland.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Jerusalem.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Normandy:= Its Castles and Churches. 2s. 6d. net. + +=Paris.= 1s. net. + +=Riviera,= or the Mediterranean from Marseilles to Leghorn. 2s. 6d. +net. + +=Rome.= 2s. 6d. net. + +=South France, East Half.= PART I. The Riviera. 2s. 6d. net. + +=South France, West Half (the Pyrenees).= 2s. 6d. net. + +=Spain and Portugal (O'Shea).= 10s. 6d. net. + +=Switzerland= (with Cycling Supplement). 3s. 6d. net. + +_These Guide Books may be obtained through any bookseller at home or +abroad._ + + +The Pilgrimage Series + +_Large Crown 8vo., cloth, price_ =3s. 6d.= _net each. Containing 32 or +more Illustrations._ + +=The Blackmore Country.= By F. J. SNELL. + +=The Burns Country.= By C. S. DOUGALL. + +=The Dickens Country.= By F. G. KITTON. + +=The Hardy Country.= By C. G. HARPER. + +=The Ingoldsby Country.= By C. G. HARPER. + +=The Scott Country.= By the Rev. W. S. CROCKETT. + +=The Thackeray Country.= By LEWIS MELVILLE. + +PUBLISHED BY ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK . SOHO SQUARE . LONDON, W. + + + + +Daimler + + +Since the introduction of the New Daimler Engine the Company have been +honoured with orders for more than =_4,200_= Cars, among the Purchasers +being:-- + + H.M. THE KING + H.M. THE QUEEN + H.M. QUEEN ALEXANDRA + H.I.M. THE CZAR + H.I.M. THE DOWAGER EMPRESS OF RUSSIA + H.M. THE KING OF SPAIN + H.R.H. THE DUKE OF SPARTA + H.R.H. THE CROWN PRINCESS OF SWEDEN + H.R.H. PRINCESS HENRY OF BATTENBERG + H.R.H. THE GRAND DUCHESS VLADIMIR + H.R.H. THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT + H.R.H. PRINCE ARTHUR OF CONNAUGHT + THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN + +THE DAIMLER COMPANY LTD. + +COVENTRY + + + + + A 'JONES' SPEEDOMETER + on your Car GUARANTEES + an =ACCURATE READING= of your =SPEED= and =MILEAGE=. + +(_Vide_ the Royal Auto. Club's Award in their only Official Speed +Trials.) + +For =Accuracy=, =Reliability=, and =Durability=. + +=_Prices from 4 Guineas upwards._= + +WRITE FOR BROCHURE TO SOLE IMPORTERS: + + MARKT & CO. (LONDON) LTD., + 6, CITY ROAD, LONDON, E.C. + + + + + LLANGOLLEN. + THE HAND HOTEL + On the Banks of the Dee. + +One of the most convenient in this 'Lovely Vale,' and second to none +for comfort, catering, and situation. + +=60 BEDROOMS.= + +=LARGE PRIVATE SITTING-ROOMS.= + +ELECTRIC LIGHT THROUGHOUT. GOLF. + +=_EXTENSIVE MOTOR GARAGE FOR 40 CARS._= + +FAVOURITE STOPPING-PLACE BETWEEN LONDON AND HOLYHEAD. + +=_Posting in all its Branches._= + +Address--JAMES S. SHAW, Resident Proprietor, + +HAND HOTEL, LLANGOLLEN. + +_National Telephone No. 7._ + + + + + Clerical, Medical & General + Life Assurance Society. + _Established 1824._ + + +DEATH DUTIES. + +For the cheapest and most effective method of providing for these, see +the Society's + +Death Duties Leaflet. + + +CHIEF OFFICE: + +15, ST. JAMES'S SQUARE, LONDON, S.W. + +TELEPHONE: 3337 GERRARD. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Motor Routes of England, by Gordon Home + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43246 *** |