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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Father Thames</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Walter Higgins</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 7, 2022 [eBook #67124]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Fiona Holmes and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FATHER THAMES ***</div> - -<div class="transnote"> -<h2>Transcriber’s Notes.</h2> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" width="719" height="1000" /> -</div> - -<p class="space-above4"></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_001.jpg" alt="" width="439" height="650" /> -<p class="caption center"> Map of the <span class="smcap">River Thames</span> from its Source to Windsor</p> -</div> - -<p class="space-above4"></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_002.jpg" alt="" width="443" height="650" /> -<p class="caption center"> Map of the <span class="smcap">River Thames</span> to Windsor</p> -Click<a href="images/i_001-large.jpg"> here</a> for full map of both pages.</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<h1 class="nobreak" id="FATHER_THAMES">FATHER THAMES</h1> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_frontis"><img src="images/i_frontis.jpg" alt="" width="407" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Offices of The Port of London Authority</p> -<p class="caption right p90"><em>Frontispiece</em></p> -</div> - -<p class="space-above4"></p> - -<div class="title-page"> -<p class="p120"> FATHER THAMES</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_i_005"><img src="images/i_005.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="216" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="p90"> BY</p> - -<p class="space-above2"></p> - -<p class="p90"> WALTER HIGGINS</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<p class="space-above4"></p> - -<p class="p80"> WELLS GARDNER, DARTON & CO., LTD.</p> - -<p class="p80"> 3 & 4 PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.C. -</p> -</div> - -<p class="space-above4"></p> -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_006"><img src="images/i_006.jpg" alt="" width="56" height="50" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="p80">PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN</p> - -<p class="space-above4"></p> - -<p class="center">FATHER THAMES</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - <span class="smcap">Book I.—London River.</span><br /> - <span class="smcap">Book II.—The Great City which the River made.</span><br /> - <span class="smcap">Book III.—The Upper River.</span> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>This book is also issued in separate parts, as above.</em> -</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_v"></a>[v]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> -<p class="center">BOOK <abbr title="1">I</abbr></p> -<p class="center">LONDON RIVER</p> -<table class="toc" summary="Contents"> -<tr> -<td class="chn"><small><small>CHAPTER</small></small></td> -<th></th> -<th class="pag"><small><small>PAGE</small></small></th> -</tr><tr> -<td class="tdr"> </td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Introduction: The River and its Valley </span></td> -<td class="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="1">I</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">London River</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="2">II</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Estuary and its Towns</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="3">III</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> The Medway and its Towns</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="4">IV</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Gravesend and Tilbury</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="5">V</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Marshes</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="6">VI</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Woolwich</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="7">VII</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Greenwich</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="8">VIII</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Port and the Docks</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="ccn" colspan="2">BOOK <abbr title="2">II</abbr><br /> -THE GREAT CITY WHICH THE RIVER MADE</td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="1">I</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">How the River Founded the City</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="2">II</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">How the City Grew (Roman Days)</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="3">III</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> How the City Grew (Saxon Days)</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="4">IV</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">How the City Grew (Norman Days)</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="5">V</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The River’s First Bridge</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="6">VI</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">How the City Grew (In the Middle Ages)</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="7">VII</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Tower of London </span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="8">VIII</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">How Fire Destroyed What the River Had Made</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td> -</tr><tr> -<td><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vi"></a>[vi]</span></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="9">IX</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Riverside and Its Palaces</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="10">X</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Royal Westminster—the Abbey</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_209">209</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="11">XI</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Royal Westminster—the Houses of Parliament </span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="12">XII</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Riverside of to-day</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_227">227</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="ccn" colspan="2">BOOK <abbr title="3">III</abbr><br /> -THE UPPER RIVER</td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="1">I</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Stripling Thames</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="2">II</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Oxford</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="3">III</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> Abingdon, Wallingford, and the Goring Gap</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="4">IV</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Reading</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_271">271</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="5">V</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Holiday Thames—henley to Maidenhead</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_279">279</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="6">VI</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> Windsor</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_285">285</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="7">VII</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Eton College </span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_298">298</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="8">VIII</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Hampton Court</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="9">IX</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Kingston</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_317">317</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="10">X</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Richmond</span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_326">326</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="chn"><abbr title="11">XI</abbr>.</td> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Richmond to Westminster </span></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_332">332</a></td> -</tr><tr> -<td class="tdr"> </td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Index </span></td> -<td class="right"><a href="#Page_349">349</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vii"></a>[vii]</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> -<p class="center">BOOK <abbr title="1">I</abbr></p> -<p class="center">LONDON RIVER</p> -<table class="toi" summary="Illustrations"> -<tr> -<td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Chart of the Thames from the Source to Windsor</span></td> -<td class="tdr"> <em>Front end papers</em></td> -</tr><tr> -<td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Port of London Offices</span></td> -<td class="pag"><a href="#image_frontis"><em>Frontispiece</em></a></td> -</tr><tr> -<th></th> -<td class="tdr"><small><small>PAGE</small></small></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">How the Thames Was Made</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Birth of the River</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_8">8</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Mouth of the Thames</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Nore Lightship</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Sheerness</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Training Ships Off Greenhithe</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">London’s Giant Gateway</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Pool</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> A Thames-side Wharf</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Rochester Castle</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_48">48</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Rochester Cathedral</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Gravesend</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">A River-side Cement Works</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Tilbury Fort</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Bugsby’s Reach</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> Woolwich</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Greenwich Park</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Greenwich Hospital</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Royal Observatory</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> Dockland</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Dockhead, Bermondsey</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Wapping and Limehouse</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">A Giant Liner</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="ccn" colspan="2">BOOK <abbr title="2">II</abbr><br /> -THE GREAT CITY WHICH THE RIVER MADE</td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Thames at Lambeth, from the Air</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> The London County Hall </span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Roman London (Plan)</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Bastion of Roman Wall, Cripplegate Churchyard</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Conqueror’s March on London (Plan)</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Old London Bridge</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> An Arch of Old London Bridge </span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td> -</tr><tr> -<td><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_viii"></a>[viii]</span></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Chapel of St. Thomas Becket on the Bridge</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">London Bridge in Modern Times</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Baynard’s Castle Before the Great Fire</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_160">160</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Ground Plan of the Tower</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_168">168</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Traitor’s Gate</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> The Monument </span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Old St. Paul’s (a.d. 1500)</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Fleet River at Blackfriars (a.d. 1760)</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Old Temple Bar, Fleet Street</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> The Strand from the Thames (Sixteenth Century)</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Water-gate of York House</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> The Banqueting Hall, Whitehall </span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The River at Thorney Island (Plan)</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Henry Vii.’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Westminster Abbey </span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Houses of Parliament</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> St. Paul’s from the South End of Southwark Bridge</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="ccn" colspan="2">BOOK <abbr title="3">III</abbr><br /> -THE UPPER RIVER</td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Castle Keep, Oxford</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Thames Head</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_238">238</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Lechlade from the First Lock</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Kelmscott Manor</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> Magdalen Tower, Oxford</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_252">252</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Abingdon</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_264">264</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Gatehouse, Reading Abbey </span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_273">273</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Sonning</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_280">280</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Henley</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_281">281</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Diagram of the Thames Valley Terraces</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Windsor Castle</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_286">286</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> Eton College</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_299">299</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Hampton Court, Garden Front</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_306">306</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Kingston</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Teddington Weir</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_324">324</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Richmond Hill from Petersham Meadows</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_327">327</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">From the Terrace, Richmond</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_330">330</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Kew Gardens</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_334">334</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> Putney to Mortlake (Championship Course)</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_338">338</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> Fulham Palace</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_340">340</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap"> Ranelagh</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_341">341</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Power-Station, Chelsea </span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_345">345</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">The Lollards’ Tower, Lambeth Palace</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_346">346</a></td> -</tr><tr> - <td class="cht"><span class="smcap">Chart of the Thames from Windsor to the Nore</span></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Back_end_papers"><em>Back end-papers</em></a></td> -</tr> -</table> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap1 x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="p120"> FATHER THAMES</p> -</div> - - -<p class="center">INTRODUCTION</p> - -<p class="center"><em>The River and its Valley</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">England</span> is not a country of great rivers. No -mighty Nile winds lazily across desert and -fertile plains in its three and a half thousand -miles course to the sea; no rushing Brahmaputra -plunges headlong down its slopes, falling two -or three miles as it crosses half a continent from -icy mountain-tops to tropical sea-board. In -comparison with such as these England’s biggest -rivers are but the tiniest, trickling streams. -Yet, for all that, our little waterways have -always meant much to the land. Tyne, Severn, -Humber, Trent, Thames, Mersey, Ouse—all -these, with many smaller but no less well-known -streams, have played their part in the -making of England’s history; all these have had -much to do with the building up of her commercial -prosperity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span></p> - -<p>One only of these rivers we shall consider in -this book, and that is old “Father Thames”: -as it was and as it is, and what it has meant to -England during two thousand years. In our -consideration we shall divide the River roughly -into three quite natural divisions—first, the -section up to the lowest bridge; second, the part -just above, the part which gave the River its -chief port and city; third, the upper river.</p> - -<p>However, before we consider these three parts -in detail, there is one question which we might -well ponder for a little while, a question which -probably has never occurred to more than a -few of us; and that is this: Why was there -ever a River Thames at all? To answer it we -must go back—far, far back into the dim past. -As you know, this world of ours is millions of -years old, and like most ancient things it has -seen changes—tremendous changes. Its surface -has altered from time to time in amazing -fashion. Whole mountain ranges have disappeared -from sight, and valleys have been -raised to make fresh highlands. The bed of -the ocean has suddenly or slowly been thrust<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span> -up, yielding entirely new continents, while vast -areas of land have sunk deep enough to allow -the water to flow in and create new seas. All -this we know by the study of the rocks and the -fossil remains buried in them—that is, by the -science of geology.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_014"><img src="images/i_014.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="582" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">How the Thames was made.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Now, among many other strange things, -geology teaches us that our own islands were at -one time joined on to the mainland of Europe. -In those days there was no English Channel, no -North Sea, and no Irish Sea. Instead, there -was a great piece of land stretching from Denmark -and Norway right across to spots miles -out beyond the western limits of Ireland and -the northern limits of Scotland. This land, -which you will best understand by looking carefully -at the map, p. 4, was crossed by several -rivers, the largest of them one which flowed -almost due north right across what is now the -North Sea. This river, as you will see from -the map, was chiefly produced by glaciers of -the Alps, and, in its early stages, took practically -the same course as the River Rhine of -these days. As it flowed out across the Dogger<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span> -district (where now is the famous Dogger Bank -of our North Sea fishermen) it was joined by a -number of tributary rivers, which flowed down -eastwards from what we might call the “back-bone -of England”—the range of mountains and -hills which passes down through the centre of -our islands. One of these tributaries was a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span> -river which in its early stages flowed along what -is now our own Thames Valley.</p> - -<p>In those days everything was on a much -grander scale, and this river, though only a -small tributary of the great main continental -river, was a far wider and deeper stream than -the Thames which we know. Here and there -along the present-day river valley we can -still see in the contours of the land and in the -various rocks evidences of the time when this -bigger stream was flowing. (Of this we shall -read more in Book <abbr title="3">III</abbr>.) Thus things were -when there came the great surface change -which enabled the water to flow across wide -tracts of land and so form the British Islands, -standing out separately from the mainland of -Europe.</p> - -<p>All that, of course, happened long, long ago—many -thousands of years before the earliest -days mentioned in our history books—at a time -about which we know nothing at all save what -we can read in that wonderful book of Nature -whose pages are the rocks and stones of the -earth’s surface.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span></p> - -<p>By the study of these rocks and the fossil -remains in them we can learn just a few things -about the life of those days—the strange kinds -of trees which covered the earth from sea to -sea, the weird monsters which roamed in the -forests and over the hills. Of <em>man</em> we can learn -very little. We can get some rough idea of -when he first appeared in Britain, and we can -tell by the remains preserved in caves, etc., -in some small degree what sort of life he lived. -But that is all: the picture of England in those -days is a very dim one.</p> - -<p>How and when the prehistoric man of these -islands grew to some sort of civilization we -cannot say. When first he learned to till the -soil and grow his crops, to weave rough clothes -for himself, to domesticate certain animals to -carry his goods, to make roads along which -these animals might travel, to barter his goods -with strangers—all these are mysteries which -we shall probably never solve.</p> - -<p>Just this much we can say: prehistoric man -probably came to a simple form of civilization -a good deal earlier than is commonly supposed.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span> -As a rule our history books start with the year -of Cæsar’s coming (55 <small>B.C.</small>), and treat everything -before that date as belonging to absolute -savagery. But there are many evidences which -go to show that the Britons of that time were -to some considerable extent a civilized people, -who traded pretty extensively with Gaul (France, -that is), and who knew how to make roads and -embankments and, perhaps, even bridges.</p> - -<p>As early man grew to be civilized, as he -learned to drain the flooded lands by the side -of the stream and turn them from desolate fens -and marshes to smiling productive fields, and -as he learned slowly how to get from the hillsides -and the plain the full value of his labour, -so he realized more and more the possibilities -of the great river valley.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Thames flows in what may be regarded -as an excellent example of a river-basin. A -large area, no less than six thousand square -miles, is enclosed on practically all sides by -ranges of hills, generally chalk hills, which -slope down gently into its central plain; and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span> -across this area, from Gloucestershire to the -North Sea, for more than two hundred miles -the River winds slowly seawards, joined here -and there by tributaries, which add their share -to the stream as they come down from the -encompassing heights.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_018"><img src="images/i_018.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="308" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Birth of the River.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>On the extreme west of the basin lie the Cotswold -Hills of Gloucestershire. Here the Thames -is born. The rain which falls on the hill-tops -makes its way steadily into the soil, and is -retained there. Down and down it sinks -through the porous limestone and chalk, till -eventually it reaches a layer of impenetrable -material—clay, slate, or stone—through which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span> -it can no longer pursue its downward course. -Its only way now is along the upper surface of -the stratum of impermeable material. Thus it -comes in time to the places on the hillsides -where the stratum touches the open air (see -diagram on p. 8), and there it gushes forth in -the form of springs, which in turn become tiny -streams, some falling westwards down the steep -Severn valley, others running eastwards down -the gentler declivity.</p> - -<p>At their northern end the Cotswolds sweep -round to join Edge Hill; and then the hill-wall -crosses the uplands of that rolling country which -we call the Central Tableland, and so comes to -the long stretch of the East Anglian Heights, -passing almost continuously eastward through -Hertfordshire and North Essex to Suffolk. On -the south side the ring of hills sweeps round by -way of the Marlborough Downs, and so comes -to the long scarp of the “North” Downs, which -make their way eastwards to the Kentish coast.</p> - -<p>Within the limits of this ring of hills the -valley lies, not perfectly flat like an alluvial -plain, but gently, very gently, undulating,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span> -seldom rising more than two or three hundred -feet above sea-level, save where that great -ridge of chalk—the Chiltern-Marlborough range—straddles -right across the basin at Goring.</p> - -<p>Standing on one of the little eminences of the -valley we can survey the scene before us: we -can watch the River for many miles winding its -way seawards, and note in all directions the -same fertile, flourishing countryside, with its -meadows where the soft-eyed cattle browse on -the rich grass; its warm, brown plough-lands; its -rich, golden fields of wheat, oats, and barley; -its pretty orchards and farms close at hand; its -nestling, tidy villages; its little pointed church -steeples dotted everywhere. We can see in -the distance, maybe, one or two compact little -towns, for towns always spring up on wide, -well-farmed plains, since the farmers must have -proper markets to which to send their supplies -of eggs, butter, cheese, and milk, and proper -mills where their grain may be ground into flour.</p> - -<p>It is a pleasant, satisfying prospect—one -which suggests industrious, thrifty farmers -reaping the rich reward of their unsparing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span> -labours; and it is an interesting prospect, too, -for this same prosperous countryside, very little -altered during half-a-dozen centuries, has done -much to establish and maintain the position of -the Thames as <em>the</em> great river of England.</p> - -<p>The usefulness of a river to its country depends -on several things. In the first place, it must be -able to carry goods—to act as a convenient -highway along which the traffic can descend -through the valley towards the busy places near -the mouth. That is to say, it must be navigable -to barges and small boats throughout a considerable -portion of its length. In the second -place, there must be the goods to carry. That is -to say, the river must pass through a countryside -which can produce in great quantity things -which are needed. In the third place, the chief -port of the river must lie in such a position that -it is within comparatively easy distance of good -foreign markets.</p> - -<p>Now let us see how these three conditions -apply to the River Thames.</p> - -<p>Firstly, with regard to the goods themselves. -If we take our map of England, and lay a pencil<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span> -across it from Bristol to the Wash, we shall be -marking off what has been through the greater -part of English history the boundary of the -wealthy portion of Britain, for only in modern -times, since the development of the iron and -coal fields, and the discovery that the damp -climate of the north was exactly suited to the -manufacture of textiles, has the great industrial -North of England come into being. England -in the Middle Ages, and on till a century or more -ago, was an agricultural country; its wealth lay -very largely in what it grew and what it reared; -and the south provided the most suitable -countryside for this sort of production. The -consequence was that the Thames flowed right -down through the centre of wealthy England. -All round it were the chalk-ranges on which -throve the great herds of long-fleeced sheep -that provided the wonderful wool for which -England was famous, and which was in many -respects the main source of her prosperity. -In between the hills were the cornfields and the -orchards. And dotted all down the course at -convenient points were thriving towns, each of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span> -which could, as it were, drain off the produce -of the area behind it, and so act as a collecting -and forwarding station for the traffic of the -main stream.</p> - -<p>The River, too, was quite capable of dealing -with the great output, for it was navigable for -barges and small boats as far as Lechlade, a -matter of 150 miles from the mouth, and its -tributaries were in most cases capable of bearing -traffic for quite a few miles into the right and -left interior. Moreover, its current at ordinary -times was neither too swift nor too sluggish.</p> - -<p>So that, with the wealth produced by the -land and the means of transport provided by -the River, the only things needed to make the -Thames one of Europe’s foremost rivers were -the markets.</p> - -<p>Here again the Thames was fortunate in its -situation, for its mouth stood in an advantageous -position facing the most important -harbours of Normandy, Flanders, Holland, and -Germany, all within comparatively easy distance, -and all of them ready to take our incomparable -wool and our excellent corn in exchange<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span> -for the things they could bring us. Moreover, -the tides served in such a way that the double -tides of the Channel and the North Sea made -London the most easily reached port of all for -ships coming from the south.</p> - -<p>Thus, then, favoured as it was by its natural -situation and by its character, the Thames became -by far the most important highway in our -land, and this it remained for several centuries—until -the coming of the railways, in fact.</p> - -<p>Now the River above London counts for very -little in our system of communications. Like -all other English waterways, canals and rivers -alike, it has given place to the iron road, notwithstanding -the fact that goods can be carried -by water at a mere fraction of the cost of rail-transport. -But our merchants do not seem to -realize this; and so in this matter we find ourselves -a long way behind our neighbours on the -Continent.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LONDON_RIVER">LONDON RIVER</h2> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_ONE">CHAPTER ONE</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>London River</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">From</span> its mouth inwards to London Bridge the -Thames is not the Thames, for like many -another important commercial stream it takes -its name from the Port to which the seamen -make their way, and it becomes to most of those -who use it—London River.</p> - -<p>Now where does London River begin at the -seaward side? At the Nore. The seaward -limit of the Port of London Authority is somewhat -to the east of the Nore Light, and consists -of an imaginary line stretching from a point -at the mouth of Havingore Creek (nearly four -miles north-east of Shoeburyness on the Essex -coast) to Warden Point on the Kent coast, eight -miles or so from Sheerness; and this we may -regard quite properly as the beginning of the -River. The opening here is about ten miles<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span> -wide, but narrows between Shoeburyness and -Sheerness, where for more practical purposes -the River commences, to about six miles.</p> - -<p>Right here at the mouth the River receives -its last and most important tributary—the -Medway.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_026"><img src="images/i_026.jpg" alt="Thames River mouth" width="650" height="325" /></a> -</div> - -<p>For some miles up the estuary and the -lower reaches the character of the River is such -that it is difficult to imagine anything less -interesting, less impressive, less suggestive of -what the river approach to the greatest city in -the world should be; for there is nothing but -flat land on all sides, so flat that were not the -great sea-wall in position the whole countryside<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span> -would soon revert to its original condition of -marsh and fenland. Were we unfamiliar with -the nature of the landscape, a glance at the map -would convince us at once, for in continuous -stretch from Sheerness and the Medway we find -on the Kentish bank—Grain Marsh (the Isle -of Grain), St. Mary’s Marshes, Halslow Marshes, -Cooling Marshes, Cliffe Marshes, and so on.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span> -Nor is the Essex bank any better once we have -left behind the slightly higher ground on which -stand Southend, Westcliff, and Leigh, for the -low, flat Canvey Island is succeeded by the -Mucking and East Tilbury Marshes.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_027"><img src="images/i_027.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="569" /></a> -<p class="caption center">The Nore Lightship. <em>Where London River -joins the Sea.</em></p> -</div> - - -<p>The river-wall, extending right away from -the mouth to London on the Essex side, is a -wonderful piece of engineering—man’s continuously -successful effort against the persistence -of Nature—a feature strongly reminiscent -of the Lowlands on the other side of the narrow -seas. Who first made this mighty dyke? No -one knows. Probably in many places it is not -younger than Roman times, and there are -certain things about it which tend to show an -even earlier origin.</p> - -<p>Indeed, so long ago was it made that the -mouth and lower parts of the River must have -presented to the various invaders through the -centuries very much the same appearance as -they present to anyone entering the Thames -to-day. The Danes in their long ships, prowling -round the Essex and Thanet coasts in search -of a way into the fair land, probably saw just<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span> -these same dreary flats on each hand, save that -when they sailed unhindered up the River they -caught in places the glint of waters beyond -the less carefully attended embankment. The -foreign merchants of the Middle Ages—the men -of Genoa and Florence, of Flanders and the -Hanseatic Towns—making their way upstream -with an easterly wind and a flowing tide; the -Elizabethan venturers coming back with their -precious cargoes from long and perilous voyages; -the Dutch sweeping defiantly into the estuary -in the degenerate days of Charles <abbr title="2">II</abbr>.—all these -must have beheld a spectacle almost identical -with that which greets our twentieth-century -travellers returning from the East.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_030"><img src="images/i_030.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="572" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Sheerness on Sea</p> -</div> - -<p>Perhaps, at first sight, one of the most striking -things in all this stretch of the River is the -absence of ancient fortifications. True, we have -those at Sheerness, but they were made for the -guarding of the dockyard and of the approach to -the important military centre at Chatham, which -lies a few miles up the River Medway. Surely -this great opening into England, the gateway -to London, this key to the entire situation,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span> -should have had frowning castles on each shore -to call a halt to any venturesome, invading -force. Thus we think at once with our twentieth-century -conception of warfare—forgetting -that the cannon of early days could never have -served to throw a projectile more than a mere -fraction of the distance across the stream.</p> - -<p>Not till we pass up the Lower Hope and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span> -Gravesend Reaches and come to Tilbury and -Gravesend, facing each other on the two banks, -do we reach anything like a gateway. Then -we find Tilbury Fort on the Essex shore, holding -the way upstream. Here, at the ferry between -the two towns, the River narrows to less than -a mile in width; consequently the artillery of -ancient days might have been used with something -like effectiveness.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_032"><img src="images/i_032.jpg" alt="" width="493" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><em>Training Ships off Greenhithe.</em></p> -<p class="caption center">“Arethusa” for Homeless Boys</p> -<p class="caption center">“Worcester” Nautical Training College</p> -</div> - -<p>From Gravesend westwards the country still -lies very low on each bank, but the monotony is -not quite so continuous, for here and there, first -at one side and then at the other, there rise from -the widespread flats little eminences, and on -these small towns generally flourish. At Northfleet -and Greenhithe, for instance, where the -chalk crops out, and the River flows up against -cliffs from 100 to 150 feet high, there is by -contrast quite a romantic air about the place, -and the same may be said of the little town of -Purfleet, which lies four miles up the straight -stretch of Long Reach, its wooded chalk bluffs -with their white quarries very prominent in the -vast plain. But, for the most part, it is marshes, -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]<br /><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span>marshes all the way, particularly on the Essex -shore—marshes where are concocted those -poisonously unpleasant mixtures known as -“London specials,” the thick fogs which do so -much to make the River, and the Port as well, -a particularly unpleasant place at certain times -in winter. When a “London special” is about—that -variety which East Enders refer to as the -“pea-soup” variety—the thick, yellow, smoke-laden -mist obscures everything, effectively putting -an end to all business for the time being.</p> - -<p>Passing Erith on the Kent coast, and Dagenham -and Barking on the Essex, we come to the -point where London really begins on its eastward -side. From now onwards on each bank -there is one long, winding line of commercial -buildings, backed in each case by a vast and -densely-populated area. On the southern shore -come Plumstead and Woolwich, to be succeeded -in continuity by Greenwich, Deptford, Rotherhithe, -and Bermondsey; while on the northern -side come in unbroken succession North Woolwich, -Canning Town, and Silvertown (backed -by those tremendous new districts—East and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span> -West Ham, Blackwall and Poplar, Millwall, -Limehouse, Shadwell, and Wapping). In all the -eleven miles or so from Barking Creek to London -Bridge there is nothing to see but shipping and -the things appertaining thereto—great cargo-boats -moving majestically up or down the -stream, little tugs fussing and snorting their way -across the waters, wind-jammers of all sorts -and sizes dropping down lazily on the tide, -small coastal steamers, ugly colliers, dredgers, -businesslike Customs motor-boats and River -Police launches, vast numbers of barges, some -moving beautifully under their own canvas, -some being towed along in bunches, others -making their way painfully along, propelled -slowly by their long sweeps; there is nothing to -hear but the noises of shipping—the shrill cry -of the syren, the harsh rattling of the donkey-engines, -the strident shouts of the seamen and -the lightermen. Everything is marine, for this -is the Port of London.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_035"><img src="images/i_035.jpg" alt="" width="469" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center">London’s Giant Gateway</p> -</div> - -<p>Here where the River winds in and out are -the Docks, those tremendous basins which have -done so much to alter the character of London -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]<br /><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span>River during the last hundred years, that have -shifted the Port of London from the vicinity -of London Bridge and the Upper Pool, and -placed it several miles downstream, that have -rendered the bascules of that magnificent -structure, the Tower Bridge, comparatively -useless things, which now require to be raised -only a very few times in the course of a day.</p> - -<p>In its course from the mouth inwards to the -Port the River is steadily narrowing. At -Yantlet Creek the stream is about four-and-a-half -miles across; but in the next ten miles it narrows -to a width of slightly under 1,300 yards at -Coalhouse Point at the upper end of the Lower -Hope Reach. At Gravesend the width is 800 -yards, at Blackwall under 400, while at London -Bridge the width at high tide is a little less than -300 yards.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_037"><img src="images/i_037.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="576" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Pool.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Just above and just below the Tower Bridge -is what is known as the Pool of London. Standing -on the bridge, taking in the wonderful -picture up and down stream—the wide, filthy -London River, with its craft of all descriptions, -its banks lined with dirty, dull-looking wharves<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span> -and warehouses, we find it hard to think of this -as the River which we shall see later slipping -past Clevedon Woods and Bablock-hythe or -under Folly Bridge at Oxford. Up there all -is bright and clean and sunny: here even on -the blithest summer day there is usually an -overhanging pall of smoke which serves to dim<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span> -the brightest sunshine and add to the dreariness -of the scene.</p> - -<p>Yet, despite its lack of beauty, despite all the -drawbacks of its ugliness and its squalor, this -is one of the most romantic places in all England: -a place to linger in and let the imagination have -free rein. What visions these ships call up—visions -of the wonderful East with its blaze of -colour and its burning sun, visions of Southern -seas with palm-clad coral islands, visions of the -frozen North with its bleak icefields and its -snowy forest lands, visions of crowded cities and -visions of the vast, lonely places of the earth. -For these ordinary-looking ships have come -from afar, bearing in their cavernous holds the -wealth of many lands, to be swallowed up by the -ravenous maw of the greatest port in the world.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_039"><img src="images/i_039.jpg" alt="" width="393" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Work and Wealth on a Thames-side Wharf.</p> -</div> - -<p>Every minute is precious here. Engines are -rattling as the cranes lift up boxes and bales -from the interiors of the ships and deposit them -in the lighters that cluster round their sides. Inshore -the cranes are hoisting the goods from -the vessels to the warehouses as fast as they can. -Men are shouting and gesticulating; syrens are -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]<br /><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span>wailing out their doleful cry or screaming their -warning note. Everything is hurry and bustle, -for there are other cargoes waiting to take the -place of those now being discharged, and other -ships ready to take the berths of those unloading; -and there are tides to be thought of, unless -precious hours are to be wasted.</p> - -<p>It is a fascinating place, is the Pool, and one -which never loses its interest for either young -or old.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_TWO">CHAPTER TWO</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>The Estuary and its Towns</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Sheppey</span>, on the coast of which is the Warden -Point that forms one end of the Port of London -boundary line, is an island, separated from the -mainland of Kent by the Swale. People frequently -speak of it as the “Isle of Sheppey,” -but this title is not strictly correct, for the name -Sheppey really includes the word “island.” -William Camden, that old writer on geographical -subjects, informs us that “this Isle of Sheepe, -whereof it feedeth mightie great flocks, was -called by our ancestours Shepey—that is, the -Isle of Sheepe.”</p> - -<p>Though it is only eleven miles long and five -miles broad, this little island presents within -its compass quite a variety of scenery, especially -when the general flatness of the whole -area round about is borne in mind; for, in addition -to its riverside marshes, it has a distinctly -hilly ridge, geologically related to the North<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span> -Downs, surmounted by a little village rejoicing -in the high-sounding name of Minster-in-Sheppey, -wherein at one time was the ancient Saxon -“minster” or “priory” of St. Saxburga. -But the oft-repeated words concerning “prophets” -and “honour” apply to this little out-of-the-way -corner, for the men of Kent are wont -to say that when the world was made Sheppey -was never finished.</p> - -<p>Naturally, from its situation, right at the -entrance to the Thames, Sheppey always played -some considerable part in the warfare of the -lower river. What happened in these parts in -very early days we do not know. We can only -conjecture that Celts, coming across from the -mainland of Europe in their frail vessels, found -this way into Britain, and without hindrance -sailed up the River to found the tiny settlement -of Llyndin hill: we can only surmise that later -some of the Saxons worked their way guardedly -up the wide opening while the main body of -their comrades found other ways into this fair -land. Not till the ninth century do we begin -to get any definite record of invasion. Then<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span> -in 832 we find the Vikings, with their long-boats, -hovering about the mouth of the River, landing -in Sheppey and raiding that little island with its -monastery on the hill. They returned in 839; -and in 857 they came with a great fleet of their -long-boats—350 of them—in order that they -might advance up the River and make an -attack on the city. In 893 they came yet -again, landing either at Milton Creek on the -Swale, or at Milton nearly opposite Tilbury (it -is uncertain which); but the men of London -drove them off. So it went on for many years, -invasion after invasion, till the days of Canute, -when the River played a very great part in -the warfare, now favouring, now hampering the -Danish leaders.</p> - -<p>From the time of the Norman Conquest onwards -there was, of course, nothing in the way -of foreign invasions; and the Thames, ceasing -to be a gateway by means of which the stranger -might enter England, became a barrier impeding -the progress of the various factions opposing -each other in the national struggles—the War -of the Barons, the Wars of the Roses, and the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span> -great Civil War. In these, however, the Thames -below London played no very great part. Not -till the days of Charles <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>., when the Dutch -helped to write such a sorry chapter in our -history, did the Thames again loom large in our -military annals.</p> - -<p>Sheerness is, of course, the most famous place -on the island, for it has long been a considerable -dockyard and port. The spot on which it was -built was reclaimed from the marshes in the -time of the Stuarts, and was chosen in the days -of Charles <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>. as the situation for a new dockyard. -If we turn up the “Diary” of old -Samuel Pepys, the Secretary of the Admiralty -of those days, we shall find under the date of -August 18, 1665: “Walked up and down, laying -out the ground to be taken in for a yard to lay -provisions for cleaning and repairing of ships, -and a most proper place it is for the purpose;” -while on February 27, two years later, His -Majesty was at Sheerness to lay those fortifications -which were destined within less than six -months to be destroyed by the Dutch.</p> - -<p>The other important town in Sheppey is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span> -Queenborough, a well-known packet-station. -Originally this was Kingborough, but it was -rechristened by Edward <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. in honour of his -Queen, Philippa, at the time when William -Wykeham (of whose skill as a builder we shall -read in the chapter on Windsor in Book <abbr title="3">III</abbr>.) -erected a castle on the spot where the railway-station -now stands. Eastchurch, towards the -other end of the island, developed a splendid -flying-ground during the War.</p> - -<p>On the other side of the Medway, forming a -peninsula between that river and the Thames, -lies the Isle of Grain—a place which is not an -island and which has nothing whatever to do -with grain. It consists of a marshy promontory -with a packet-station, Port Victoria, and a -seaplane base, Fort Grain, and very little else -beside. At its western extremity is the dirty -little Yantlet Creek, close to which stands the -well-known “London Stone,” an obelisk set up -to mark the point where, prior to the Port of -London Act, ended the power of the Lord -Mayor of London in his capacity as Conservator -of the Thames.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span></p> - -<p>Westwards from Yantlet Creek are great flats -out of which rise the batteries of Shornemead -and Cliffe, considerable forts designed to serve -with that of Coalhouse Point, opposite on the -Essex shore, as a defence of the River. They -were built in no very remote times, but were -practically never anything else than useless -against modern artillery, and were destined, so -later military engineers said, to do more damage -to each other than to any invading foes.</p> - -<p>On the Essex coast, opposite Sheerness, are -two famous places, Southend and Shoeburyness—the -one a famous resort for trippers, the other -an important school of artillery.</p> - -<p>Not so very long ago Southend was unheard -of. Defoe, who covered the ground hereabouts -pretty thoroughly, makes no mention of it even -as a hamlet; yet to-day it is a flourishing and -constantly growing town—not so much a watering-place -nowadays as a rather distant suburb -of London. For here and in the adjacent -district of Westcliff, now by the builders and -the trams joined on, and even in Leigh still -farther west, live many of London’s more suc<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span>cessful -workers, making the daily journey to -and from town. Nor is this surprising, for -Southend is an enterprising borough—one that -makes the most of its natural advantages, and -endeavours to cater equally well for the residents -and the casual visitors. Of course, the town -will always be associated with day-trippers from -London, folk who come down with their families -to get a “whiff of the briny,” and a taste of -the succulent cockles for which Southend is -noted, and to enjoy a ride in one of the numerous -boats, or on the tram that runs along the mile -and a half length of Southend’s vaunted possession, -the longest pier in England. And while -we laugh sometimes at these trippers with their -ribald enjoyment of strange scenes, we must -admit that they choose a most healthy and -enjoyable place.</p> - -<p>At Shoeburyness, approached by way of the -tramcars, things are far more serious. Cockney -joviality seldom gets so far from the pier as this. -Off the land here is a very extensive bank of -shallows, and here the artillerymen carry out -their practice, the advantage being that in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span> -such a spot the costly projectiles fired can be -recovered and put in order for future use.</p> - -<p>Canvey Island, which lies tucked away in a -little corner to the west of Leigh, is yet another -example of man’s triumph over nature, for it -has veritably been stolen from the waters. It -was reclaimed as long ago as 1622, by one Joas -Cropperburgh, who for his labours received -about two thousand of its six thousand acres. -And Dutch most assuredly Canvey is—with -quaint Dutch cottages, one of them a six-sided -affair, dated 1621, and set up by the very Dutchmen -who came over to construct the dams, and -with Dutch dykes dividing the fields instead of -hedges. Robert Buchanan, in his novel “Andromeda,” -wrote of it in these terms: “Flat -as a map, so intermingled with creeks and runlets -that it is difficult to say where water ends -and land begins, Canvey Island lies, a shapeless -octopus, right under the high ground of Benfleet -and Hadleigh, and stretches out muddy and -slimy feelers to touch and dabble in the deep -water of the flowing Thames. Away across the -marshes rise the ancient ruins of Hadleigh<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span> -Castle, further eastwards the high spire and -square tower of Leigh Church.”</p> - -<p>At the village of Benfleet, which he mentions, -the Danes landed when in 874 they made one -of their characteristic raids on the Thames -Estuary; and here they hoarded up the goods -filched from the Essex villages till such time as -there should come a wind favourable for the -journey home.</p> - -<p>Like various other places on the Estuary and -the lower reaches of the River, Canvey Island -has on occasions been proposed as a place for -deep-sea wharves, so that unloading might be -carried out without the journey up river, but -so far nothing definite has come of these suggestions.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_THREE">CHAPTER THREE</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>The Medway and its Towns</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">From</span> its position right at the entrance to the -River the Medway tributary has always offered -a considerable contribution to the defence of -London. Going off as it does laterally from the -main stream, the Medway estuary has acted -the part of a remarkably fine flank retreat. -Our forces, driven back at any time to the refuge -of the River, could always split up—part proceeding -up the main stream towards London, -and part taking refuge in the protected network -of waterways behind Sheppey and the Isle of -Grain. So that the indiscreet enemy, chasing -the main portion of the fleet up the estuary of -the River, would always be in danger of being -caught between two fires. Which fact probably -accounts for the tremendous importance with -which the Medway has always been regarded in -naval and military circles.</p> - -<p>Passing between the Isle of Grain and Shep<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span>pey, -and leaving on our left hand the Swale, in -which, so tradition says, St. Augustine baptized -King Ethelbert at Whitsun, 596, and on the -other bank Port Victoria, the packet-station, -we find nothing very striking till we catch sight -of Upnor Castle, on the western bank of the -river, facing the Chatham Dockyard Extension. -This queer old, grey-walled fortress with its -cylindrical towers, built in the reign of Queen -Elizabeth, is not a very impressive place. It -does not flaunt its strength from any impregnable -cliff, or even fling defiance from the top -of a little hill. Instead, it lies quite low on the -river bank. Yet it has had one spell of real life -as a fortress, a few days of activity in that -inglorious time with which the tributary will -ever be associated—the days of “the Dutch in -the Medway,” when de Ruyter and van Ghent -came with some sixty vessels to the Nore and -in about two hours laid level with the ground -the magnificent and recently-erected fortifications -of Sheerness. This and the happenings -of the next few weeks formed, as old John -Evelyn says in his “Diary,” “a dreadfull spec<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span>tacle -as ever Englishman saw, and a dishonour -never to be wiped off!”</p> - -<p>In the pages of Charles Macfarlane’s story, -“The Dutch in the Medway,” is to be found a -most interesting account of these calamitous -days, from which we cull the following extracts: -“On the following morning—the memorable -morning of the 12th of June—a very fresh wind -from the north-east blew over Sheerness and the -Dutch fleet, and a strong spring-tide set the -same way as the wind, raising and pouring the -waters upward from the broad estuary in a -mighty current. And now de Ruyter roused -himself from his inactivity, and gave orders to -his second in command, Admiral van Ghent, to -ascend the river towards Chatham with fire-ships, -and fighting ships of various rates. -Previously to the appearance of de Ruyter on -our coasts, his Grace of Albemarle had sunk a -few vessels about Muscle Bank, at the narrowest -part of the river, had constructed a boom, and -drawn a big iron chain across the river from -bank to bank, and within the boom and chain -he had stationed three king’s ships; and having<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span> -done these notable things, he had written to -Court that all was safe on the Medway, and that -the Dutch would never be able to break through -his formidable defences. But now van Ghent -gave his Grace the lie direct; for, favoured by -the heady current and strong wind, the prows -of his ships broke through the boom and iron -chain as though they had been cobwebs, and -fell with an overwhelming force upon the ill-manned -and ill-managed ships which had been -brought down the river to eke out this wretched -line of defence. The three ships, the <em>Unity</em>, -the <em>Matthias</em>, and the <em>Charles <abbr title="the fifth">V</abbr>.</em>, which had -been taken from the Dutch in the course of the -preceding year—the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Annus Mirabilis</i> of Dryden’s -flattering poem—were presently recaptured and -burned under the eyes of the Duke of Albemarle, -and of many thousands of Englishmen -who were gathered near the banks of the -Medway.</p> - -<p>“On the following morning (Thursday, the -13th of June) at about ten o’clock, as the tide -was rising, and the wind blowing right up the -river, van Ghent, who had been lying at anchor<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> -near the scene of his yesterday’s easy triumph, -unfurled his top-sails, called his men to their -guns, and began to steer through the shallows -for Chatham.</p> - -<p>“The mid-channel of the Medway is so deep, -the bed so soft, and the reaches of the river -are so short, that it is the safest harbour in the -kingdom. Our great ships were riding as in a -wet dock, and being moored to chains fixed to -the bottom of the river, they swung up and -down with the tide. But all these ships, as well -as many others of lower rates, were almost -entirely deserted by their crews, or rather by -those few men who had been put in them early -in the spring, rather as watchmen than as -sailors; some were unrigged, some had never been -finished, and scarcely one of them had either -guns or ammunition on board, although hurried -orders had been sent down to equip some of -them and to remove others still higher up the -river out of the reach of danger.</p> - -<p>“It was about the hour of noon when van -Ghent let go his anchor just above Upnor Castle. -But his fire-ships did not come to anchor. No!<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span> -Still favoured by wind and tide, they proceeded -onward, and presently fell among our -great but defenceless ships. The two first of -these fire-ships burned without any effect, but -the rest that went upward grappled the <em>Great -James</em>, the <em>Royal Oak</em>, and the <em>Loyal London</em>, -and these three proud ships which, under other -names, and even under the names they now -bore, had so often been plumed with victory, lay -a helpless prey to the enemy, and were presently -in a blaze.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span></p> - -<p>“Having burned to the water’s edge the -<em>London</em>, the <em>James</em>, and the <em>Royal Oak</em>, and some -few other vessels of less note, van Ghent -thought it best to take his departure. Yet, -great as was the mischief he had done, it was -so easy to have done a vast deal more, that -the English officers at Chatham could scarcely -believe their own eyes when they saw him -prepare to drop down the river with the next -receding tide, and without making any further -effort ... the trumpeters on their quarter -decks playing ‘Loth to depart’ and other tunes -very insulting and offensive to English pride.”</p> - -<p>What shall we say of Chatham, Rochester, -and the associated districts of Stroud and New -Brompton? It is difficult, indeed, to find a -great deal that is praiseworthy. They may -perhaps still be summed up in Mr. Pickwick’s -words: “The principal productions of these -towns appear to be soldiers, sailors, Jews, chalk, -shrimps, officers, and dockyard men.”</p> - -<p>Formerly the view from the heights of -Chatham Hill must have been a splendid one, -with the broad Medway and its vast marshlands -stretching away for miles across to the -wooded uplands of Hoo. Now it appears almost -as if a large chunk of the crowded London -streets had been lifted bodily and dropped -down to blot out the beauties of the scene, -for there is little other to be seen than squalid -buildings huddled together in mean streets, -with just here and there a great chimney-stack -to break the monotony of the countless roofs.</p> - -<p>The dockyard at Chatham is much the same -as any other dockyard, and calls for no special -description. From its slips have been launched -many brave battleships, right down from the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span> -days of Elizabeth to our own times. Here at -all seasons may be seen cruisers, battleships, -destroyers, naval craft of all sorts, dry docked for -refitting. All day long the air resounds to the -noise of the automatic riveter, and the various -sounds peculiar to a shipbuilding area.</p> - -<p>For many years the dockyard was associated -with the name of Pett, a name famous in naval -matters, and it was on one member of the -family, Peter Pett, commissioner at Chatham, -that most of the blame for the unhappy De -Ruyter catastrophe most unjustly fell. Somebody -had to be the scapegoat for all the higher -failures, and poor Pett went to the Tower. -But not all people agreed with the choice, as we -may see from these satirical lines which were -very popular at the time:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">“All our miscarriages on <em>Pett</em> must fall;</div> - <div class="verse">His name alone seems fit to answer all.</div> - <div class="verse">Whose Counsel first did this mad War beget?</div> - <div class="verse">Who would not follow when the Dutch were bet?</div> - <div class="verse">Who to supply with Powder did forget</div> - <div class="verse">Languard, Sheerness, Gravesend and Upnor? <em>Pett</em>.</div> - <div class="verse"><em>Pett</em>, the Sea Architect, in making Ships</div> - <div class="verse">Was the first cause of all these Naval slips;</div> - <div class="verse">Had he not built, none of these faults had bin:</div> - <div class="verse">If no Creation, there had been no Sin.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_058"><img src="images/i_058.jpg" alt="" width="488" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Rochester Castle.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span></p> - -<p>The river here is a very busy place, and is -under certain circumstances quite picturesque. -There is a weird blending of ancient and modern, -of the dimly-comprehended past and the blatant, -commercial present, along Limehouse Reach, -with its tremendous coal-hoists, and its smoking -stacks, and its brown-sailed barges and snorting -tugs—with the great masses of Rochester Castle -and Cathedral looming out behind it all.</p> - -<p>Limehouse Reach is, indeed, an appropriate -name, for all along this part, especially in the -suburbs of Stroud and Frindsbury, the lime -and cement-making industries are carried on -extensively. Throughout a great deal of its -length the Medway Valley is scarred by great -quarries cut into the chalk hills; for it is chalk -and the river mud, mixed roughly in the proportion -of three to one and then burned in a -kiln, which give the very valuable Portland -cement, an invention now about a century old.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_060"><img src="images/i_060.jpg" alt="" width="446" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Rochester Cathedral</p> -</div> - -<p>Rochester itself is a quaint old place, standing -on the ancient Roman road from Dover to -London, and guarding the important crossing -of the Medway. It can show numbers of -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]<br /><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span>Roman remains in addition to its fine old -Norman castle, and its Cathedral with a tale -of eight centuries. The town stands to-day -much as it stood when Dickens first described -it in his volumes. The Corn Exchange is still -there—“oddly garnished with a queer old clock -that projects over the pavement out of a grave, -red-brick building, as if Time carried on business -there, and hung out his sign;” and so are Mr. -Pickwick’s “Bull Hotel,” and the West Gate -(Jasper’s Gateway), and Eastbury House (Nuns’ -House) of “Edwin Drood”; also the famous -house of the <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span>“Seven Poor Travellers.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_FOUR">CHAPTER FOUR</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Gravesend and Tilbury</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> dreary fenland district which stretches -from the Isle of Grain inland to Gravesend is -that so admirably used by Dickens for local -colour in his novel, “Great Expectations.” -Some of his descriptions of the scenery in this -place of “mudbank, mist, swamps, and work” -cannot be bettered.</p> - -<p>Here is Cooling Marsh with its quaint, fourteenth-century -relic, Cooling Castle Gatehouse, -built at the time of the Peasants’ Revolt, when -the rich folk of the land found it expedient to -do little or nothing to aggravate the peasantry. -The builder, Sir John de Cobham, realizing the -danger, saw fit to attach to one of the towers -of his stronghold a plate, to declare to all -and sundry that there was in his mind no -thought other than that of protection from -some anticipated foreign incursions. This<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span> -plate is still in position on the ruin, and -reads:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">“Knowyth that beth and schul be</div> - <div class="verse">That I am mad in help of the cuntre</div> - <div class="verse">In knowyng of whyche thyng</div> - <div class="verse">Thys is chartre and wytnessynge.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>According to Dr. J. Holland Rose, the -authority on Napoleonic subjects, it was at a -spot somewhere along this little stretch that -Napoleon at the beginning of the last century -proposed to land one of his invading columns. -Other columns would land at various points -on the Essex and Kent coasts, and all would then -converge on London, the main objective. In -fact, the Thames Estuary was such a vulnerable -point that it occupied a considerable position -in the scheme of defence drawn up for Pitt by -the Frenchman Dumouriez.</p> - -<p>Gravesend itself from the River is not by any -means an ill-favoured place, despite its rather -commercial aspect. Backed by the sloping -chalk hills, and with a goodly number of trees -breaking up the mass of its buildings, it presents -a tolerably picturesque appearance. Particularly -is it a welcome sight to those returning to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -England after a long voyage, for it is frequently -the first English town seen at all closely.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_064"><img src="images/i_064.jpg" alt="" width="636" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Gravesend</p> -</div> - -<p>At Gravesend the ships, both those going up -and those going down, take aboard their pilots. -The Royal Terrace Pier, which is the most -prominent thing on Gravesend river front, is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span> -the headquarters of the two or three hundred -navigators whose business it is to pilot ships to -and from the Port of London, or out to sea as -far as Dungeness on the south channel, or -Orfordness, off Harwich, on the north channel. -These men work under the direction of a -“ruler,” who is an official of Trinity House, the -corporation which was founded at Deptford -in the reign of Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>., and which now -regulates lighthouses, buoys, etc.</p> - -<p>Gravesend is famous for two delicacies, its -shrimps and its whitebait, and the town possesses -quite a considerable shrimp-fishing fleet.</p> - -<p>As in the Medway Valley, the cement works -form a conspicuous feature in the district round -about. In fact, all this stretch, where the chalk -hills crop out towards the River’s edge, has been -famous through long years for the quarrying of -chalk and the making of lime, and afterwards -cement. As long ago as Defoe’s time we have -that author writing: “Thus the barren soil of -Kent, for such the chalky grounds are esteemed, -make the Essex lands rich and fruitful, and the -mixture of earth forms a composition which out<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span> -of two barren extremes makes one prolific -medium; the strong clay of Essex and Suffolk -is made fruitful by the soft meliorating melting -chalk of Kent which fattens and enriches it.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_066"><img src="images/i_066.jpg" alt="" width="604" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center">A River-side Cement Works</p> -</div> - -<p>On the Essex coast opposite Gravesend are<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span> -the Tilbury Docks and the Tilbury Fort—eloquent -reminders of the present and the past. -At the Fort the ancient and the new lie in close -proximity, the businesslike but obsolete batteries -of modern times keeping company with -the quaint old blockhouse, which at one time -formed such an important point in the scheme -of Thames defence.</p> - -<p>This old Tilbury Fort, with its seventeenth-century -gateway, has been so frequently painted -that many folk who have never seen it are quite -familiar with its outline. At the beginning of -the fifteenth century the folk of Tilbury, -realizing how vulnerable their settlement was, -set to work to fortify it, and later Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>. -built a blockhouse here, probably on the site of -an ancient Roman encampment. This, when -the Spanish Armada threatened, was altered -and strengthened by Gianibelli, the clever -Italian engineer. Hither Elizabeth came, and, -so tradition says, made a soul-stirring speech to -her soldiers:</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_068"><img src="images/i_068.jpg" alt="" width="567" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Gatehouse, Tilbury Fort.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>“My loving people, we have been persuaded -by some that are careful of our safety, to take<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span> -heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes -for fear of treachery. But I assure you, -I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> -loving people. Let tyrants fear. I have -always so behaved myself that, under God, I -have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard -in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects. -And therefore I am come among you at this -time, not as for any recreation or sport, but -being resolved, in the midst of the heat and -the battle, to live or die amongst you all; to -lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and -for my people, my honour and my blood, even -in the dust. I know I have but the body of a -weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart -of a king, and of a king of England, too; and -think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any -prince of Europe, should dare to invade the -borders of my realm. To which, rather than -any dishonour should grow by me, I myself will -take up arms; I myself will be your general, -judge, and rewarder of every one of your -virtues in the field.”</p> - -<p>She had need to feed them on words, for by -reason of her own meanness and procrastination -the poor wretches had empty stomachs, or -would have had if the citizens of London had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -not loyally come to the assistance of their -soldiers. In any case Elizabeth’s exertion was -quite unnecessary, for the winds and the waves -had conspired to do for England what the -Queen’s niggardliness might easily have prevented -our brave fellows from doing.</p> - -<p>An earlier and no less interesting drama was -enacted at Tilbury and Gravesend in the reign -of Richard <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>. Close in the train of that -national calamity, the Black Death, came in -not unnatural consequence the outbreak known -as the Peasants’ Revolt. Just a short way east -of Tilbury, at a little village called Fobbing, -broke out Jack Straw’s rising; and almost simultaneously -came the outburst of Wat Tyler, when -the Kentish insurgents marched on Canterbury, -plundered the Palace, and dragged John Ball -from his prison; then moved rapidly across Kent, -wrecking and burning. At Tilbury and Gravesend -these two insurgent armies met, and thence -issued their summons to the King to meet them. -He, brave lad of fifteen, entered his barge with -sundry counsellors, and made his way downstream. -How he met the disreputable rabble,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span> -and how the peasants were enraged because he -was not permitted to land and come among -them, is a well-known story, as is the furious -onslaught on London which resulted from the -refusal.</p> - -<p>Thus far up the River came the Dutch in those -terrible days of which we read in our last chapter. -They sailed upstream on the day of their -arrival, firing guns so that the sound was heard -in the streets of London, but they came to a -halt slightly below the point where the barricade, -running down into the water from the Essex -shore, largely closed up the waterway, and -where the little Fort frowned down on the intruders. -No attempt was made to stay them; -indeed, none could have been made, for while -the little blockhouse was well provided with -guns, it was practically without powder; and -the invaders could have proceeded right into the -Pool of London without hindrance had they but -known it. However, they were content for the -time being with merely frightening the countryside -with their terrible noise. As Evelyn says -in his “Diary” (June 10): “The alarm was so<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span> -great that it put both country and city into a -panic, fear and consternation, such as I hope -I shall never see more; everybody was flying, -none knew why or whither.” Having done this, -the Dutch passed downstream to Sheerness, -where their companions were engaged in destroying -the fortifications. How long they -stayed in these parts may be judged by this -other extract from Evelyn, dated seven weeks -after (July 29): “I went to Gravesend, the -Dutch fleet still at anchor before the river, -where I saw five of His Majesty’s men-of-war -encounter above twenty of the Dutch, in the -bottom of the Hope, chasing them with many -broadsides given and returned towards the -buoy of the Nore, where the body of their fleet -lay, which lasted till about midnight.... -Having seen this bold action, and their braving -us so far up the river, I went home the next day, -not without indignation at our negligence, and -the Nation’s reproach.”</p> - -<p>In 1904 it was proposed in the House of -Commons that there should be made at Gravesend -a great barrage or dam, right across the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span> -River Thames, with a view to keeping a good -head of water in the stream above Gravesend, -much as the half-tide lock (about which we shall -read in Book <abbr title="3">III</abbr>.) does at Richmond. This, the -proposers said, would do away with the cost of -so much dredging, and would make the building -of riverside quays a much simpler and more -satisfactory matter, for by it the whole length -of river between Gravesend and London would -be to all intents converted into one gigantic -dock-basin. It was proposed that the barrage -should have in it four huge locks to cope with -the large amount of shipping, also a road across -the top and a railway tunnel underneath. But -many weighty objections were urged, and -numerous difficulties were pointed out, so that -the scheme fell through; and so far the only -semblance of a barrage known to Gravesend has -been that which was thrown right across the -lower River for defensive purposes during the -Great War.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_FIVE">CHAPTER FIVE</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>The Marshes</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> stretch between Gravesend and the beginnings -of the Metropolis can scarcely be regarded -as an interesting portion of the River. True, -there are one or two places which stand out -from the commonplace level, but for the most -part there is nothing much to attract; and -certainly from the point of view of the navigator -of big ships there is much in this stretch to -repel, for here are to be found the numerous -shoals which tend to make the passage of the -River so difficult.</p> - -<p>Indeed, the problem of the constant filling of -the bed of the River has always been a difficult -one with the authorities. The River brings -down a tremendous quantity of material (it is -estimated that 1,000 tons of carbonate of lime -pass beneath Kingston Bridge each day), and -the tides bring in immense amounts of sand and -gravel. Now, what becomes of all this insoluble<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span> -material? It passes on, carried by the stream -or the tidal waters, till it reaches the parts of the -River where the downflowing stream and the -incoming sea-water are in conflict, and so -neutralize each other that there is no great -flow of water. Then, no longer impelled, the -material sinks to the bottom and forms great -banks of sand, etc., which would in time grow -to such an extent that navigation would be -impeded, were not dredgers constantly engaged -in the work of clearing the passage. It was -largely this obstacle to efficient navigation that -led to the creation of the great deep-sea docks at -Tilbury.</p> - -<p>Northfleet, formerly a small village straggling -up the side of a chalk hill, is now to all intents -a suburb of Gravesend, so largely has each -grown in recent years. Here, officially at any -rate, are situated (about a mile to the west of -Gravesend proper) those notorious Rosherville -Gardens which in the middle of last century -made Gravesend famous, and provided Londoners -with a plausible reason for a trip down -the River. The gardens were laid out in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span> -1830 to 1835 by one Jeremiah Rosher, several -disused chalk-pits being used for the purpose; -and here the jovial Cockney visitors regaled -themselves within quaint little arbours with -tea and the famous Gravesend shrimps, and -later danced to the light of Chinese lanterns till -it was time to return citywards from the day’s -high jinks.</p> - -<p>The Dockyard at Northfleet, constructed towards -the end of the eighteenth century, was at -one time a place of considerable importance, for -here were built and launched numbers of fine -vessels, both on behalf of the Royal Navy and -of the East India Company. Now it has -dwindled to comparative insignificance. Indeed, -from a shipping point of view, the only interest -lies in the numerous and familiar tan-sailed -barges of the Associated Portland Cement -Manufacturers; for Northfleet is one of the main -centres of the cement industry so far as the -Thames-side is concerned—an industry which is -in evidence right along this stretch till the -chalk hills end at Greenhithe, the town from -which Sir John Franklin set out in 1845 on<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> -his illfated expedition to the North-West -Passage.</p> - -<p>At Grays (or Grays Thurrock, as it is more -properly called), on the Essex bank, are numbers -of those curious subterranean chalk caves -which are a feature of most of the chalk uplands -on both sides of the River, and which have -caused so much discussion among the archæologists. -These consist of vertical shafts, 3 or -4 feet in diameter, dug down through anything -from 50 to 100 feet of sand into the chalk below, -where they widen out into caves 20 or more feet -long. As many as seventy-two of them have -been counted within a space of 4 acres in the -Hangman’s Wood at Grays. What they were -for no one can tell. All sorts of things have -been conjectured, from the fabulous gold-mines -of Cunobeline to the smugglers’ refuges of comparatively -modern times. One thing is certain: -they are of tremendous age. Probably they -were used by their makers mainly as secret storehouses -for grain. They are commonly called -Dene-holes or Dane-holes, and are said to have -served as hiding-places in that hazardous period<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span> -when the Danes made life in the valley anything -but pleasant. But this, while it may have been -true, in no way solves the mystery of their -origin.</p> - -<p>Purfleet, especially from a distance, is by no -means unattractive, for quite close to the -station a wooded knoll, quaintly named Botany, -rises from the general flatness, and its greenery, -contrasting strongly with the white of the chalk-pits, -lifts the town out of that dreariness, merging into -the positively ugly, which is the keynote of this -part of the River beside the Long and Fiddler’s -Reaches. The Government powder-magazine sets the -fashion in beauty along a stretch which includes -lime-kilns, rubbish heaps of all sorts, and various -small and dingy works. Here at Purfleet (and also at -Thames Haven, lower down the River) have in recent -years been set down great installations for the -storage of petrol and other liquid fuels—a -riverside innovation of great and increasing -importance.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_079"><img src="images/i_079.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="507" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Bugsby’s Reach</p> -</div> - -<p>To the west of Purfleet lies a vast stretch of -flats, known as Dagenham Marshes, in many -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span> -places considerably lower than the level of -the River at high tide, but protected from its -advances by the great river-wall. Apparently -the wall at this spot must have been particularly -weak, for right through the Middle Ages -and onwards we find it recorded that great -stretches of the meadows were laid under water -owing to the irruption of the tidal waters into -the wall. There were serious inundations in -1376, 1380, and 1381, when the landowners<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span> -combined to effect repairs. Again in 1594 and -1595 there was a serious failure of the dyke, -with the result that the whole adjacent flats were -covered twice a day. Now, this in itself would -not have been so extremely serious; but the -constant passing in and out of the water caused -a deep hole to be washed out just inside the -wall, and made the material bank up and form -a bar on the opposite side of the stream. For -a quarter of a century nothing was done, -but eventually the Dutchman Vermuyden was -called in, and he repaired the wall successfully. -But in the days of Anne came an even more -serious irruption, when the famous Dagenham -breach was formed. One night in the year -1707, owing to the carelessness of the official in -charge, the waters broke the dyke once more, -and swamped an area of a thousand acres or -more, doing a vast deal of mischief. Once -again the danger to navigation occurred, as the -gravel, etc., swept out at each tide, formed a -shoal half-way across the River, and fully a -mile in length. So dangerous, indeed, was it -that Parliament stepped in to find the £40,000<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span> -needed for the repairs—a sum which the owners -of the land could not have found. The waters -were partially drained off, and the bank repaired; -but a very big lake remained behind the -wall, and remains to this day, as most anglers -are aware.</p> - -<p>Towards the end of last century a scheme was -set on foot for the construction of an immense -dock here, because, it was urged, the excavations -already done by the water would render the -cost of construction smaller. Parliament agreed -to the proposal, and it appeared as if this lonely -part of Essex might become a great commercial -centre; but the construction of the Tilbury Docks -effectively put an end to the scheme. Now there -is a Dagenham Dock, but it is merely a fair-sized -wharf, engaged for the most part in the -coal trade.</p> - -<p>Barking stands on the River Roding, a tributary -which comes down by way of Ongar from -the Hatfield Forest district near Epping, and -which, before it joins the main River, widens out -to form Barking Creek, which was, before the -rise of Grimsby, the great fishing harbour.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span></p> - -<p>Barking is a place of great antiquity, and of -great historic interest, though one would scarcely -gather as much from a casual glance at its very -ordinary streets with their commonplace shops -and rows of drab houses—just as one would -scarcely gather any idea of the charm of the -Roding at Ongar and above from a glimpse of the -slimy Creek. The town, in fact, goes even so far -as to challenge the rival claims of Westminster -and the City to contain the site of the earliest -settlements of prehistoric man along the River -valley. And certainly the earthworks discovered -on the north side of the town—fortifications -more than forty acres in extent and quite -probably of Ancient British origin—even if they -do not justify the actual claim, at least support -the town in its contention that it is a place of -great age.</p> - -<p>Little or nothing is known, however, till we -come to the time of the foundation of its Abbey -in the year 670. In that year, perhaps by -reason of its solitude out there in the marshes, -the place appealed to St. Erkenwald, the -Bishop of London, as a good place for a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> -monastic institution, and the great Benedictine -Abbey of the Blessed Virgin, the first -English convent for women, arose from the -low-lying fenlands, and started its life under -the direction of the founder’s sister, St. Ethelburgha.</p> - -<p>It was destroyed by the Danes when they -ventured up river in the year 870, but was -rebuilt by King Edgar, after lying practically -desolate for a century. By the time of the -Conquest it had become a place of very great -importance in the land, and to it came William -after the treaty with the citizens of London, and -to it he returned when his coronation was over, -and there established his Court till such time as -the White Tower should be finished by the monk -Gundulf and his builders.</p> - -<p>Certainly it is a strange commentary on the -irony of Time that this present-day desolation -of drab streets should once have been the centre -of fashion, to which came all the nobles in the -south of England, bringing their ladies fair, -decked out in gay apparel to appear before the -King.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span></p> - -<p>In 1376 the Abbey met with its first great -misfortune. In that year Nature conspired to -the undoing of man’s great handiwork on the -River, and the tide made a great breach at -Dagenham, thereby causing the flooding of -many acres of the Abbey lands, and driving the -nuns from their home to higher ground at Billericay. -So much was the prosperity of the -Abbey affected by this disaster that the -Convent of the Holy Trinity, in London, -granted the Abbess the sum of twenty -pounds annually (a large sum in those -days) to help with the reclaiming of the -land.</p> - -<p>Now of all the fine buildings of the Abbey -practically nothing is left. At the time of the -Dissolution of the Monasteries it passed into -the King’s hands, and was afterwards sold to -Lord Clinton. It has since gone through many -ownerships, but no one has seen fit to preserve -it. So that now practically all we can find -is a sadly disfigured gateway at the entrance to -the churchyard. This was at one time referred -to as the “Chapel of the Holy Rood Loft atte<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span> -Gate,” but the name was afterwards changed -to the more conveniently spoken “Fire-bell -Gate.” Of the actual Abbey buildings nothing -remains.</p> - -<p>The London church of All Hallows, Barking, -standing at the eastern end of Tower Street, -quite close to Mark Lane Station, bears witness -to the privileges and great power of the nunnery -in ancient days, for the church was probably -founded by the Abbey, and certainly the -patronage of the living was in the hands of -the Abbess from the end of the fourteenth -century to the time of the suppression of the -monasteries.</p> - -<p>Just to the west of the Creek mouth is the -outfall of the northern drainage system of -London. Vast quantities of sewage are brought -daily, by means of a gigantic concrete outfall -sewer, which passes across the flats from Old -Ford and West Ham to Barking; and there they -are deposited in huge reservoirs covering ten -acres of ground. The sewage passes through -four great compartments which together hold -thirty-nine million gallons; and, having been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span> -rendered more or less innocuous, is discharged -into the Thames at high tide. This -arrangement was one of the chief objections -urged against the great barrage at -Gravesend.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_SIX">CHAPTER SIX</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Woolwich</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">For</span> many years there was a local saying to -the effect that “more wealth passes through -Woolwich than through any other town in the -world,” and, though at first sight this may seem -a gross exaggeration, yet when we remember -that Woolwich is in two parts, one on each side -of the River, we can see at once the justice of -that claim, for it simply meant that all the vast -traffic to and from the Pool of London went -along the Thames as it flowed between the two -divisions of the town.</p> - -<p>To-day as we look at the drab, uninteresting -place which occupies the sloping ground extending -up Shooter’s Hill and the riverside -extent from Charlton to Plumstead, we find it -difficult to believe that this was ever a place of -such great charm that London folk found in it -a favourite summer-time resort. Yet we have -only to turn up the “Diary” of good old Pepys<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span> -to read (May 28, 1667): “My wife away down -with Jane and Mr. Hewer to Woolwich, in order -to a little ayre, and to lie there to-night, and so -to gather may-dew to-morrow morning, which -Mrs. Yarner hath taught her is the only thing -in the world to wash her face with; and I am -contented with it.”</p> - -<p>Of course, in those days Woolwich was in the -country, surrounded by fields and woods, in the -latter of which lurked footpads ever ready to -relieve the unwary traveller of his purse. Thus -we have Pepys writing in 1662: “To Deptford -and Woolwich Yard. At night, I walked by -brave moonlight with three or four armed men -to guard me, to Rotherhithe, it being a joy to -my heart to think of the condition that I was -now in, that people should of themselves provide -this for me, unspoke to. I hear this walk is -dangerous to walk by night, and much robbery -committed there”; and again in 1664: “By -water to Woolwich, and walked back from Woolwich -to Greenwich all alone; saw a man that had -a cudgel, and though he told me he laboured in -the King’s yard, yet, God forgive me! I did<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span> -doubt he might knock me on the head behind -with his club.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_089"><img src="images/i_089.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="624" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Woolwich</p> -</div> - -<p>Even a hundred years ago Woolwich was a -comparatively small place, consisting largely of -the one main street, the High Street, with -smaller ways running down to the riverside. -Shooter’s Hill was then merely wild<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span> -heathland, ill-reputed as the haunt of highwaymen.</p> - -<p>Yet, for all that, Woolwich has been an important -place through long years, for here have -existed for centuries various Government factories -and storehouses—at first the dockyards, -and afterwards the Arsenal.</p> - -<p>Just when the dockyards were founded it is -difficult to say, but it is generally agreed that it -was either at the end of the reign of Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>. -or at the beginning of that of Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>. -Certain it is that from the latter’s reign down -to the early days of Victoria the dockyard -flourished. From its slips were launched many -of the most famous of the early old “wooden -walls of England”—the <em>Great Harry</em> (afterwards -called the <em>Henry Grace de Dieu</em>), the -<em>Prince Royal</em>, the <em>Sovereign Royal</em>, and also -many of those made famous by the glorious -victories of Drake and Cavendish, and in the -wonderful voyages of Hawkins and Frobisher. -The <em>Sovereign Royal</em>, which was launched in the -time of Charles <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>., was a fine ship of over 1,600 -tons burden, and carried no less than a hundred<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span> -guns. “This royal ship,” says old Stow, “was -curiously carved, and gilt with gold, so that when -she was in the engagement against the Dutch -they gave her the name of the ‘Golden -Devil,’ her guns, being whole cannon, -making such havoc and slaughter among -them.”</p> - -<p>With the passing away of the “wooden walls” -and the advent of those huge masses of steel -and iron which have in modern times taken the -place of the picturesque old “three-deckers,” -Woolwich began to decay as a Royal dockyard; -for it soon became an unprofitable thing to build -at Thames-side, and the shipbuilding industry -migrated to towns nearer to the coalfields and -the iron-smelting districts.</p> - -<p>Yet Woolwich continued, and has continued -right down to this very day, its activities as a -gun-foundry and explosives factory. Just when -this part of the Royal works was founded we do -not know. There is a story extant (and for -years the story was accepted as gospel) to the -effect that the making of the Arsenal was due -entirely to a disastrous explosion at Moorfields<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> -in the year 1716. Apparently much of the -Government work in those days was put out to -contract, and a certain factory in the Moorfields -area took a considerable share in the work. On -one occasion a very large crowd had assembled -to witness the casting of some new and more up-to-date -guns from the metal of those captured by -the Duke of Marlborough. Just as everything -was ready, a clever young Swiss engineer, -named Schalch, noticed that the material in the -moulds was wet, and he warned the authorities -of the danger. No notice was taken, the -molten metal was poured into the castings, and -there was a tremendous explosion. According -to the story, the authorities were so impressed -by the part which Schalch had played in the -matter that they appointed him to take charge -of a new Government foundry, and gave him the -choice of a site on which to build his new place, -and he chose the Woolwich Warren, slightly to -the east of the Royal Dockyards. This is a -most interesting story, and one with an excellent -moral, no doubt—such a story, in -fact, as would have delighted the heart of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span> -old Samuel Smiles; but, unfortunately for -its veracity, there have been discovered at -Woolwich various records which prove the -existence of the Arsenal before Schalch was -born.</p> - -<p>In normal times the Arsenal provides employment -for more than eight thousand hands, -but, of course, in war-time this number is -increased tremendously. During the South -African War, for instance, more than twenty -thousand were kept on at full time, and the -numbers during the Great War, when women -were called in to assist and relieve the boys and -men, were even greater.</p> - -<p>Of course, we cannot see everything at Woolwich -Arsenal. There are certain buildings in -the immense area where strangers are never -permitted to go. In these various experiments -are being carried out, various new inventions -tested, and for this work secrecy is essential. -It would never do for a rival foreign Power -to get even small details of a new gun, or explosive, -or other warlike device. But still there -is much that can be seen (after permission to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -visit has been obtained from the War Office)—remarkable -machines which turn out with -amazing rapidity the various parts of cartridges -and shells; giant rolling machines and steam-hammers -that fashion the huge blocks of steel, -and tremendous machines that convert them -into huge guns; machines by which gun-carriages -and ammunition-waggons are turned out by -the dozen.</p> - -<p>Half a century ago there was a great stir at -Woolwich when the Arsenal turned out for the -arming of the good ship <em>Hercules</em> a new gun -known as the “Woolwich Infant.” This -weapon, which required a fifty-pound charge of -powder, could throw a projectile weighing over -two hundredweights just about six miles, and -could cause a shell to pierce armour more than -a foot thick at a distance of a mile. Naturally, -folk in those days thought them terrible weapons. -But the “infants” were soon superseded, for -a few years later Woolwich turned out what -were known as “eighty-one-ton guns”—deadly -weapons which could fire a shell weighing twelve -hundred pounds. Folk lifted their hands in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span> -surprise at the attainments of those days; but -it is difficult to imagine their amazement if -they could have seen our present-day guns -firing shells thirty miles, or the great “Big -Bertha,” by means of which the Germans fired -shots from a distance of seventy miles into -Paris.</p> - -<p>The tremendous guns of to-day are built up, -not cast in moulds all in one piece, as were those -in the early years of the Woolwich foundry. -There is an inner tube and an outer, the latter -of which is shrunk on to the former. The -larger tube is heated, and of course the metal -expands. While it is in that condition the -other is placed inside, and the whole thing is -lowered by tremendous cranes into a big bath -of oil. The metal contracts again as it cools, -and in that way the outer tube is fixed so tightly -against the inner that they become practically -one single tube, but with greatly added -strength. The tube is then carried to a giant -lathe, where it receives the rifling on its inner -surface.</p> - -<p>When we turn away from Woolwich it is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span> -perhaps with something like a sigh to think -that men will spend all this money, and devote -all this time and labour and material, merely -in order that they may be able to blow each -other to pieces.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_SEVEN">CHAPTER SEVEN</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Greenwich</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> history of towns no less than the history of -men can tell strange tales of failure and success. -Some have had their era of intoxicating splendour, -have been beloved of kings and commoners -alike, have counted for much in the -great struggles with which our tale is punctuated, -and then, their little day over, have -shrunk to the merest vestige of their former -glory. Others, unknown and insignificant -villages throughout most of the story, have -sprung up, mushroom-like, almost in a night, -and entered suddenly and confidently into the -affairs of the nation.</p> - -<p>In the former class must, perhaps, be counted -Greenwich. True, it has not had the disastrous -fall, the unspeakable humiliation, of some English -towns—Rye and Winchelsea on the south -coast, for instance—yet over Greenwich now<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span> -might well be written that word “Ichabod”—“The -glory is departed.” For Greenwich to-day, -apart from its two places of outstanding -interest, the Hospital and the Park with its -Observatory, is largely an affair of mean streets, -a collection of tiny, uninteresting shops and drab -houses. Yet Greenwich was for long a place of -great fame, to which came kings and courtiers, -for here was that ancient and glorious Palace of -Placentia, a strong favourite with numbers of -our monarchs.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_098"><img src="images/i_098.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="327" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Greenwich Park.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Really it began its life as a Royal demesne in -the year 1443, when the manor was granted to -Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and permission<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span> -given for the fortification of the building and -enclosing of a park of two hundred acres. The -Duke interpreted his permission liberally, and -erected a new palace, to which he gave the -name of Placentia, the House of Pleasance. He -formed the park, and at the summit of the little -hill, one hundred and fifty feet or more above the -River, constructed a tower on the identical spot -where the Observatory now stands. On Humphrey’s -death the Crown once more took charge -of the property. Edward <abbr title="the fourth">IV</abbr>. spent great sums -in beautifying it, so that it was held in the -highest esteem by the monarchs that followed. -Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>. provided it with a splendid brickwork -river front to increase its comeliness.</p> - -<p>Here, in 1491, was born Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>., and -here he married Katherine of Aragon. Here, -too, his daughters, Mary (1515) and Elizabeth -(1533), first saw the light. Edward <abbr title="the sixth">VI</abbr>., his -pious young son, breathed his last within the -walls.</p> - -<p>In those days the River banks did not present -quite the same commercial aspect as in our own -times; the atmosphere was not quite so befouled<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span> -by the smoke of innumerable chimneys, the -water was not quite so muddy; and in consequence -the journey by water from the City to -that country place, Greenwich, was a little more -pleasant. Indeed, it is said that the view up river -from Greenwich Park rivalled that from -Richmond Hill in beauty. In those days all -who could went by water, for the River was the -great highway. Then was its surface gay with -brightly painted and decorated barges, threading -their way downstream among the picturesque -vessels of that time.</p> - -<p>From Placentia the sovereign could watch -the ever-changing but never-ending pageant of -the River, see the many great ships bringing -in the wealth from all known lands, and watch -the few journeying forth in search of lands as -yet unknown. Thus on one occasion the occupants -viewed the departure of three shiploads -of brave mariners setting forth to search for a -new passage to India by way of the Arctic -regions—a scene which old Hakluyt describes -for us: “The greater shippes are towed downe -with boates and oares, and the mariners being<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span> -all apparelled in watchet or skie-coloured cloth -rowed amaine and made with diligence. And -being come neare to Greenwiche (where the -Court then lay) presently upon the newes -thereof the courtiers came running out and the -common people flockt together, standing very -thicke upon the shoare; the privie counsel they -lookt out at the windowes of the court and the -rest ran up to the toppes of the towers; and -shoot off their pieces after the manner of warre -and of the sea, insomuch that the toppes of -the hilles sounded therewith, the valleys and -the waters gave an echo and the mariners -they shouted in such sort that the skie -rang againe with the noyse thereof. Then it -is up with their sails, and good-bye to the -Thames.”</p> - -<p>Nor in talking of Greenwich must we forget -the famous Ministerial fish dinners which were -for so many years a great event in the life of the -town. This custom arose, it is said, from the -coming of the Government Commissioners to -examine Dagenham Breach, when they so -enjoyed the succulent fare set before them that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span> -they insisted on an annual repetition, which -function was afterwards transferred to the -“Ship” at Greenwich.</p> - -<p>At the toe of the great horseshoe bend which -gives us Millwall and the Isle of Dogs stands -that famous group of buildings known as -Greenwich Hospital, but more correctly styled -the Greenwich Naval College.</p> - -<p>This is built on the site of the old Palace. -When, following the Revolution, Charles <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>. -came to the throne, he found the old place -almost past repair, so he decided to pull it -down and erect a more sumptuous one in its -place. Plans were accordingly drawn up by -the architect, Inigo Jones, and the building -commenced; but only a very small portion—the -eastern half of the north-western quarter—was -completed during his reign.</p> - -<p>It was left to William and Mary, those eager -builders, to carry on the work, which they did -with the assistance of Sir Christopher Wren, to -whose powers of architectural design London -owes so much. Very little was done during the -life of Queen Mary, but as the idea was hers,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -William went on with the work quite gladly, as -a sort of memorial to his wife.</p> - -<p>Of course, a very large sum of money was -needed for the erection of such a place. The -King himself provided very liberally—a good -deed in which he was followed by courtiers and -private citizens. But quite a large amount was -found in several very interesting ways. Since -the buildings were designed to provide a kind of -hospital or asylum for aged and disabled seamen -who were no longer able to provide for themselves, -it was decided to utilize naval funds to -some extent. So money was obtained from -unclaimed shares in naval prize-money, from -the fines which captured smugglers had to pay, -and from a levy of sixpence a month which -was deducted from the wages of all seamen. -Building went on apace, and (to quote Lord -Macaulay) “soon an edifice, surpassing that -asylum which the magnificent Lewis had provided -for his soldiers, rose on the margin of the -Thames. Whoever reads the inscription which -runs round the frieze of the hall will observe that -William claims no part in the merit of the design,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span> -and that the praise is ascribed to Mary alone. -Had the King’s life been prolonged till the work -was completed, a statue of her who was the real -founder of the institution would have had a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span> -conspicuous place in that court which presents -two lofty domes and two graceful colonnades -to the multitudes who are perpetually passing -up and down the imperial River. But that part -of the plan was never carried into effect; and -few of those who now gaze on the noblest of -European hospitals are aware that it is a -memorial of the virtues of the good Queen -Mary, and the great victory of La Hogue.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_104"><img src="images/i_104.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Greenwich Hospital.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>In 1705 the preparations were complete, and -the first pensioners were installed in their new -home. The place was very successful at the -start, and it grew till at the beginning of the -nineteenth century there were nearly three -thousand men residing within the Hospital -walls, and many more boarded out in the town.</p> - -<p>Then through half a century the prosperity -of the place began to decline. The old pensioners -died off, and the new ones, as they came -along, for the most part preferred to accept out-pensions -and live where they liked. So that -in 1869 it was decided to abandon the place as -an asylum for seamen and convert it into a -Royal Naval College, in which to give training<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span> -to the officers of the various branches of the -naval services, and also a Naval Museum and a -Sailors’ Hospital.</p> - -<p>Perhaps one of the most interesting places in -the College is the Painted Hall, a part of Wren’s -edifice, known as King William’s Quarter. The -ceilings of this double-decked dining-hall—the -upper part for officers and the lower for seamen—and -the walls of the upper part are decorated -most beautifully with paintings which it took -Sir James Thornhill nineteen years to complete. -Around the walls hang pictures which tell of -England’s naval glory—pictures of all sizes -depicting our most famous sea-fights and portraying -the gallant sailors who won them. -Naturally Lord Nelson is much in evidence here, -and we can see in cases in the upper hall the very -clothes he wore when he received that fatal -wound in the cockpit of the <em>Victory</em>—the scene -of which is depicted on a large canvas on the -walls; also in cases his pigtail, his sword, medals, -and various other relics.</p> - -<p>The Museum is a fascinating place, for it contains -what is practically a history of our Navy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span> -set out, not in words in a dry book, but in models -of ships; and we can study the progress right -from the Vikings’ long-boats, with their rows -of oars and their shields hanging all round the -sides, down to the massive super-dreadnoughts -of to-day. Most interesting of all, perhaps, are -the great sailing ships—the old “wooden walls -of England”—which did so much to establish -and maintain our position as a maritime nation—the -great three-deckers which stood so high -out of the water, and which with their tall masts -and gigantic sails looked so formidable and yet -so graceful. There in a case is the <em>Great Harry</em>—named -after Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>.—a double-decker of -fifteen hundred tons burden, with three masts, -and carrying seventy-two guns. She was a -fine vessel, launched at Woolwich Dockyard in -1515, and was the first vessel to fire her guns -from portholes instead of from the deck. In -another case is the first steam vessel ever used -in the Navy (1830), and a quaint little craft it is.</p> - -<p>This is indeed a splendid collection, and we -feel as if we could spend hours studying these -fascinating little models.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_108"><img src="images/i_108.jpg" alt="" width="614" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Royal Observatory.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>On the site of Duke Humphrey’s tower in -Greenwich Park is the world-famous Observatory. -If you take up your atlas, and look at -the map of the British Isles or the map of -Europe, you will see that the meridian of longi<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span>tude -(or the line running north and south) -marked 0° passes through the spot where -Greenwich is shown. This means that all places -in Europe to the right or the left—east or west, -that is—are located and marked by their distance -from Greenwich; and, if for no other -reason, this town is because of this fact a very -important place in the world.</p> - -<p>The Observatory was founded in the reign -of Charles <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>. This monarch had occasion -to consult Flamsteed, the astronomer, concerning -the simplifying of navigation, and Flamsteed -pointed out to him the need for a correct -mapping-out of the heavens. As a result the -Observatory was built in 1695 in order that -Flamsteed might proceed with the work he had -suggested.</p> - -<p>The Duke’s tower was pulled down, and the -new place erected; but it was left to Flamsteed -to find his own instruments and pay his own -assistants, all out of a salary of one hundred -pounds per annum. Consequently, he became -so poor that when he died in 1719 his instruments -were seized to pay his debts. His<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span> -successor, Dr. Halley, another famous astronomer, -refitted the Observatory, and some of his -instruments can be seen there now, though no -longer in use, of course.</p> - -<p>Few people are allowed inside the Observatory -to see all the wonderful telescopes and other -instruments there; but there are several things -to be seen from the outside, notably the time-ball -which is placed on the north-east turret, -and which descends every day exactly at one -o’clock; also the electric clock with its twenty-four-hours -dial.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_EIGHT">CHAPTER EIGHT</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>The Port and the Docks</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Any</span> person standing on London Bridge a couple -of centuries ago would have observed a scene -vastly different from that of to-day. Now we -see the blackened line of wharves and warehouses -on the two banks, and up against them -steamers discharging or receiving their cargoes, -while out in the stream a few vessels of medium -size and one or two clusters of barges lie off, -awaiting their turn inshore; otherwise the wide -expanse of the stream is bare, save for the -occasional craft passing up and down in the -centre of the stream. But in days gone by, as -we can tell by glancing at the pictures of the -period, the River was simply crowded with -ships of all kinds, anchored closely together -in the Pool, while barges innumerable plied -between them and the shore.</p> - -<p>In very early days only Billingsgate and -Queenhithe possessed accommodation for ships<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span> -to discharge and receive their cargoes actually -alongside the quay; for the most part ships -berthed out in the stream, and effected the -exchange of goods by means of barges.</p> - -<p>Then, as trade increased by leaps and bounds, -a number of “legal quays” were instituted -between London Bridge and the Tower, and -thither came the major part of the merchandise. -Gradually little docks or open harbours were -cut into the land in order to relieve the congestion -of the quays. Billingsgate was the first -of these, and for many years the most important. -Now the dock has for the most part been filled -in, and over it has been erected the famous fish-market, -which still carries on one of the main -trades of the little ancient dock. Others were -St. Katherine’s Dock, a tiny basin formed for -the landing of the goods of the monastery which -stood hard by the Tower; St. Saviour’s Dock in -Bermondsey on the Surrey side; and Execution -Dock close to Wapping Old Stairs.</p> - -<p>However, with the tremendous growth of trade -following the Great Fire of London, concerning -which we shall read in Book <abbr title="2">II</abbr>., and with the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span> -growth in the size of vessels and the consequent -increase in the difficulties of navigation, the -facilities for loading and unloading proved -totally inadequate, and the merchants were led -to protest, on the grounds that the overcrowding -led to great confusion and many abuses, and for -a great number of years they entreated Parliament -to take some action.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_113"><img src="images/i_113.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="403" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Dockland.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The coming of the great docks ended the -trouble, and also tremendously changed the -Port of London. When the West India Docks -were opened in 1802, ships concerned with the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span> -transport of certain articles of commerce were -no longer allowed to lie in the Pool for the purpose -of discharge: they were compelled to go -to the particular dock-quays set aside for their -use, and to land there the merchandise they -carried. Thus practically at a stroke of the pen -the riverside wharves lost their entire traffic in -such things as sugar, rum, brandy, spices, and -other goods from the West Indies. Similarly, -when the East India Docks were opened all -the commerce of the East India Company was -landed there. Thus, gradually, as the various -larger docks were made from time to time, the -main business of the Port shifted eastwards to -Millwall, Blackwall, etc. Nor did it stop there. -With the coming of ships larger even than those -already catered for, it became necessary to do -something to avoid the passage of the shallow, -winding reaches above Gravesend, and, in consequence, -tremendous docks were opened at -Tilbury. So that now vessels of the very -deepest draught enter and leave the docks independent -of the tidal conditions, and do not -come within many miles of London Bridge.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span></p> - -<p>This does not mean that the riverside wharves -and warehouses were rendered useless by the -shifting of the Port. So great had been the -congestion that even with the relief of the new -docks there was still—and there always has -been—plenty for them to do. To-day there are -miles of private wharves in use: from Blackfriars -down to Shadwell the River is lined with -them on both sides all the way; and they share -with the great docks and dock warehouses the -vast trade of the Port of London.</p> - -<p>Let us take a short trip down through dockland, -and see what this romantic place has to -show us. We must go by water. That is -essential if we are to see anything at all, for -so shut in is the River by tall warehouses, etc., -that we might wander for hours and hours in -the streets quite close to the shore, and yet never -catch a glimpse of the water.</p> - -<p>Leaving Tower Bridge, we find immediately -on our left the St. Katherine’s Docks. These -get their name from the venerable foundation -which formerly stood on the spot. This religious -house was created and endowed by Maud<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span> -of Boulogne, Queen of Stephen, and lasted -through seven centuries down to about a -hundred years ago. It survived even the Dissolution -of the Monasteries, which swept away -all other London foundations, being regarded as -more or less under the protection of the Queen. -Yet this wonderful old foundation, with its -ancient church, its picturesque cloisters and -schools, its quaint churchyard and gardens—one -of the finest mediæval relics which London possessed—was -completely destroyed to make way -for a dock which could have been constructed -just as well at another spot. London knows no -worse example of needless, stupid, brutal vandalism! -St. Katherine’s Dock is concerned -largely with the import of valuable articles: -to it come such things as China tea, bark, india-rubber, -gutta-percha, marble, feathers, etc.</p> - -<p>London generally is the English port for <em>tea</em>: -hither is brought practically the whole of the -country’s consumption. During the War efforts -were made to spread the trade more evenly over -the different large ports; but the experiment was -far from a success. All the vast and intricate<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span> -organization for blending, marketing, distributing, -etc., is concentrated quite close to St. -Katherine’s Dock, and in consequence the -trade cannot be managed so effectively elsewhere. -The value of the tea entering the Port -of London during 1913, the year before the War, -and therefore the last reliable year for statistics, -was nearly £13,500,000.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_117"><img src="images/i_117.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="605" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Low water, Dockhead Bermondsey</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span></p> - -<p>A little below St. Katherine’s, on the Surrey -shore, is one of the curiosities of dockland—a -dock which nobody wants. This is St. Saviour’s -Dock, Bermondsey—a little basin for the reception -of smaller vessels. It is disowned by all—by -the Port of London Authority, by the -Borough Council, and by the individual firms -who have wharves and warehouses in the -vicinity. You see, there is at one part of the -dock a <em>free</em> landing-place, to which goods may -be brought without payment of any landing-dues; -and no one wants to own a dock without -full rights. Shackleton’s <em>Quest</em> berthed here -while fitting out for its long voyage south.</p> - -<p>From St. Katherine’s onward for several miles -the district on the north bank is known as -Wapping. This was for many years the most -marine of all London’s riverside districts. Adjoining -the Pool, it became, and remained -through several centuries, the sojourning-place -of “those who go down to the sea in ships.” -Here, at famous Wapping Old Stairs or one of -the other landing-steps which ran down to -the water’s edge at the various quay-ends, Jack -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]<br /><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span>said good-bye to his sweetheart as he jumped -into one of the numerous watermen’s boats, and -was rowed to his ship lying out in the stream; -here, too, there waited for Jack, as he came home -with plenty of money, all those crimps and -vampires whose purpose it was to make him -drunk and rob him of all his worldly goods. -Harbouring, as it did, numbers of criminals of -the worst type, Wapping for many years had -a very bad name. Now all that has changed. -The shifting of the Port deprived the sharks of -their victims, for the seamen no longer congregated -in this one area: they came ashore at -various points down the River. Moreover, the -making of the St. Katherine and later the -London Docks cut out two big slices from the -territory, with a consequent destruction of mean -streets.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_119"><img src="images/i_119.jpg" alt="" width="422" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Limehouse Hole.</span></p> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Entrance to Wapping Old Stairs.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Close to Wapping Old Stairs was the famous -Execution Dock. This was the spot where -pirates, smugglers, and sailors convicted of -capital crimes at sea, were hanged, and left on -the foreshore for three tides as a warning to all -other watermen. Now, with the improvements<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span> -at Old Gravel Lane, all traces have vanished, -and the wrong-doers no longer make that last -wretched journey from Newgate to Wapping, -no longer stop half-way to consume that bowl -of pottage for which provision was made in -the will of one of London’s aldermen.</p> - -<p>The goods which enter London Dock are of -great variety—articles of food forming a considerable -proportion.</p> - -<p>Limehouse follows on the northern shore, and -is perhaps, even more than Wapping, the -marine district of these days. Here, in a place -known as the Causeway, is the celebrated -Chinese quarter. Regent’s Canal Dock, which -includes the well-known Limehouse Basin, a -considerable expanse of water, is the place where -the Regent’s Canal begins its course away to -the midlands. The chief goods handled at -Limehouse Basin were formerly timber and coal, -but since the War this has become the centre -for the German trade. Here are frequently to -be seen most interesting specimens of the -northern “wind-jammers.”</p> - -<p>Leaving Limehouse, the River sweeps away<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span> -southwards towards Greenwich, and then turns -sharply north again to Blackwall. By so doing -it forms a large loop in which lies the peninsula -known as the Isle of Dogs—a place which has -been reclaimed from its original marshy condition, -and covered from end to end with docks, -factories, and warehouses, save at the southernmost -extremity, where the London County -Council have made a fine riverside garden. In -the Isle are to be found the great West India -Docks and the Millwall Docks. The former -receive most of the furniture woods—mahogany, -walnut, teak, satin-wood, etc.—and also rum, -sugar, grain, and frozen meat; while the latter -receive largely timber and grain.</p> - -<p>On the Surrey side of the River, practically -opposite the West India and Millwall Docks, -are the Surrey Commercial Docks, occupying the -greater portion of a large tongue of land in -Rotherhithe. To these docks come immense -quantities of timber, grain, cattle, and hides—the -latter to be utilized in the great tanning -factories for which Bermondsey is famous.</p> - -<p>Blackwall, the last riverside district within<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> -the London boundary, is famous for its tunnel, -which passes beneath the bed of the River to -Greenwich. This is but one of a number of -tunnels which have been made beneath the -stream in recent years. There is another for -vehicles and passengers passing across from -Rotherhithe to Limehouse, while further upstream -are those utilized by the various tube-railways -in their passage from north to south.</p> - -<p>Blackwall has a number of docks, large and -small. Among the latter are several little dry-docks -which exist for the overhauling and repairing -of vessels. There was a time when shipbuilding -and ship-repairing were considerable -industries on the Thames-side, when even -battleships were built there, and thousands of -hands employed at the work; but the trade has -migrated to other dockyard towns, and all that -survive now are the one or two repairing docks -at Blackwall and Millwall.</p> - -<p>The Royal Albert and the Victoria Docks -come within the confines of those great new -districts, West Ham and East Ham, which -have during the last thirty or forty years<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span> -sprung up, mushroom-like, from the dreary flats -of East London. Here are such well-known -commercial districts as Silvertown and Canning -Town. The former will doubtless be remembered -through many years for the tremendous -explosion which occurred there during the War—an -explosion which resulted in serious loss of -life and very great damage to property. It is -also famous for several great factories, notably -Messrs. Knight’s soap-works, Messrs. Henley’s -cable and general electrical works, and Messrs. -Lyle’s (and Tate’s) sugar refineries. These -places, which employ thousands of hands, are -of national importance.</p> - -<p>Canning Town has to some extent lost its -prestige, for it was in time past the shipbuilding -area. Here were situated the great Thames -Ironworks, carrying on a more or less futile -endeavour to compete with the Clyde and other -shipbuilding districts.</p> - -<p>This district is, to a large extent, the coal-importing -area. Coal is the largest individual -import of the Port of London, as much as eight -million tons entering in the course of a year.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span> -The chief articles of commerce with which the -Royal Albert and Victoria Docks are concerned -are: Tobacco, frozen meat, and Japanese productions.</p> - -<p>Vast, indeed, have been the revenues drawn -from the various docks. You see, goods are not -entered or dispatched except on payment of -various dues and tolls, and these amount up -tremendously. So that the Dock Companies -get so much money from the thirty miles of -dockside quays and riverside wharves that they -scarcely know what to do with it, for the amount -they can pay away in dividends to their shareholders -is strictly limited by Act of Parliament. -In one year, for instance, so large a profit was -made by the owners of the East and West India -Docks that they used up an enormous sum of -money in roofing their warehouses with sheet -copper.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In concluding our rapid tour through dockland, -it is impossible to omit a reference to the -Customs Officers—those cheery young men who -work in such an atmosphere of unsuspected<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span> -romance. To spend a morning on the River with -one of them, as he goes his round of inspection -of the various vessels berthed out in the stream, -is a revelation. To visit first this ship and then -the other; to see the amazing variety of the -cargoes, the number of different nationalities -represented, both in ships and men; to come into -close touch with that strange and little-understood -section of the community, the lightermen, -whose work is the loading of the barges that -cluster so thickly round the great hulls—is to -move in a world of dreams. But to go back to -the Customs Offices and see the huge piles of -documents relating to each single ship that -enters the port, and to be informed that on an -average two hundred ocean-going ships enter -each week, is to experience a rude awakening -from dreams, and a sharp return to the very -real matters of commercial life.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_127"><img src="images/i_127.jpg" alt="" width="402" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Home From the Indies. A Giant Liner warping into the George <abbr title="the fifth">V</abbr><sup>th<sub>.</sub></sup> Dock.</p> -</div> - -<p>Nor must we forget the River Police, who -patrol the River from Dartford Creek up as far -as Teddington. As we see them in their -launches, passing up and down the stream, we -may regard their work as easy; but it is anything -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]<br /><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span>but that—especially at night-time. Then -it is that the river-thieves get to work at their -nefarious task of plundering the valuable cargoes -of improperly attended lighters. The River -Police must be ever on the alert, moving about -constantly and silently, lurking in the shadows -ready to dash out on the unscrupulous and dangerous -marauders. The headquarters of the -River Police are at Wapping, but there are -other stations at Erith, Blackwall, Waterloo, -and Barnes.</p> - -<p>In 1903 the question of establishing one -supreme authority to deal with all the difficulties -of dockland and take control of practically -the whole of the Port of London was discussed -in Parliament, and a Bill was introduced, -but owing to great opposition was not proceeded -with. However, the question recurred -from time to time, and in 1908 the Port of -London Act was at length passed.</p> - -<p>This established the Port of London Authority, -for the purpose of administering, preserving, -and improving the Port of London. The -limits of the Authority’s power extend from</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span></p> - -<p>Teddington down both sides of the River to a -line just east of the Nore lightship. At its inception -the Authority took over all the duties, -rights, and privileges of the Thames Conservancy -in the whole of this area.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="BOOK_II">BOOK <abbr title="2">II</abbr></h2> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_130"><img src="images/i_130.jpg" alt="Lambeth Palace and Westminster Bridge" width="637" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><em>Reproduced from photographs by permission of Airco Aerials, Ltd.</em></p> -</div> - -<p class="space-above4"></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_131"><img src="images/i_131.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="600" /></a> -<p class="caption center">THE GREAT CITY WHICH THE RIVER MADE</p> -<p class="caption center"><em>Reproduced from photographs by permission of Airco Aerials, Ltd.</em></p> -</div> - -<p class="space-above4"></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_132"><img src="images/i_132.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The London County Hall.</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_GREAT_CITY">THE GREAT CITY -WHICH THE RIVER MADE</h2> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER ONE</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>How the River founded the City</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">England</span> at the time when London first came -into being was a very different place from the -well-cultivated country which we know so well. -Where now stretch hundreds of square miles of -orderly green meadows and ploughed fields, -divided from each other by trim hedges, or -pretty little copses, or well-kept roads, there was -then a vast dense forest, wherein roamed wolves -and other wild animals, and into which man -scarcely dared to penetrate. This stretched -from sea to sea, covering hill and valley alike. -Just here and there could be found the tiny -settlements of the native Britons, and in some -few cases these settlements were joined by rough -woodland tracks.</p> - -<p>The only real breaks in this widespread<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span> -covering of green occurred where the rivers -flowed seawards along the valleys. These -rivers for the most part ran their courses in -practically the same directions as at present, -but in appearance they were very different -from the rivers we know to-day. No man-made -embankments kept them in place in those -days; instead they wandered through great -stretches of marsh and fenland, and spread out -into wide, shallow pools here and there in their -courses, so that to cross them was a matter of -the greatest difficulty.</p> - -<p>Such was the Thames when the first “Londoners” -formed their tiny settlement. From -the mouth of the River inland for many miles -stretched widespread, impassable marshes; but -at one spot—where now stands St. Paul’s -Cathedral—there was a firm gravel bank and a -little hill (or rather two little hills with a stream -between), which stood out from the encompassing -wastes. In front of this small eminence -stretched a great lagoon formed by the over-flowing -of the River at high tide. This covered -the ground on which have since been built</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span></p> - -<p>Southwark and Lambeth, and stretched southwards -as far as the heights of Sydenham. West -of the little hill, running down a deep ravine, -where now is the street called Farringdon Street, -was a tributary river, afterwards known as the -Fleet; and beyond that yet another great -marshland stretched away over Westminster, -Belgravia, Chelsea, and Fulham. To the north -was the pathless forest.</p> - -<p>This then appealed to the intelligence of a -few Ancient Britons as an ideal spot for a settlement, -and so sprang into existence <em>Llyndin</em>, the -lake-fortress.</p> - -<p>But that, of course, did not make <span class="smcap">London</span>, -did not raise London to the position of pre-eminence -which it gradually attained, and which -it has held almost without contest through so -many centuries.</p> - -<p>Between the time of the formation of this -little collection of huts with its slight protecting -stockade and the coming of the Romans much -happened. The Ancient Britons learned to -make roads—primitive ones, of course—and in -all probability they learned to make embank<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span>ments -to the River. Their greatest trade -naturally was with Gaul—France, that is—and -also, equally naturally, practically all such -trade had to come through the one most suitable -way, the spot which has always, through all the -ages, been the gateway into England—Dover. -In the days when sea-going craft had not -reached a high stage of perfection it was necessary -to choose the shortest passage across the -channel, and, though no doubt other ports were -used, undoubtedly the bulk of the merchandise -came across the narrow Straits. This meant, -without a doubt, an important road going north-westwards -towards the centre of England.</p> - -<p>Now right across the country, from west to -east, stretched the great natural barrier, the -River, effectively cutting off all intercourse -between the south of England and the Midlands -and north; and at some place or other this road -(afterwards known as Watling Street) had to -cross the barrier. It was inevitable that the spot -where this crossing was effected should be, both -from a military and a commercial point of -view, a place of the very greatest importance.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span> -In the earliest days the road skirted the south -side of the marshes facing Llyndin, and passed on -to the ford (or ferry) at Westminster, and thence -on to Tyburn. But Llyndin was growing in -strength, and the need of a lower crossing was -probably soon felt by the inhabitants of the -little hill. Now lower crossings of the River -were by no means simple. As we said just now, -right from the mouth westwards till we reach -the spot where London now stands there was -simply a great collection of marshes and fens. -Here and there, on both banks, tiny patches of -firmer soil jutted out from the impassable -wastes—the spots where Purfleet and Grays -now stand on the north side, the sites of Gravesend, -Greenhithe, Erith, Woolwich, and Greenwich, -on the south side; but in each of these -cases the little gravel bed or chalky bank was -faced on the opposite shore by the dreary flats -(an ordinary natural happening caused by the -washing away of the banks, to be seen in any -little stream that winds in and out), so that -never was there any possibility of linking up -north and south.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span></p> - -<p>Only when the little hill at the junction of the -River Thames with the River Lea, somewhere -about sixty miles from the open sea, was -reached could any such crossing be made. We -said that in the earliest days of London there -was, facing the hill, a great flat which at high -tide became a wide lagoon, stretching southwards -to Sydenham. Now this was quite -shallow; moreover, a long tongue of fairly firm -gravel ran right out northwards from the firmer -ground till it came to a point nearly opposite the -Llyndin Hill. This firm bed enabled the Britons -to lay down, across the marsh, some sort of a -road or causeway joining up with the main Kent -road, and so gave them another lower and -practicable crossing of the River, which, of -course, meant a shorter road to the Midlands -and the north.</p> - -<p>This crossing—in all probability a ferry—laid -the foundation-stone of the prosperity of London -town, and the building of the first bridge -cemented that foundation.</p> - -<p>Why? Simply because such a bridge, in -addition to being a passage <em>across</em> the River,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span> -became a barrier to any passage up and down -the stream. Bridge-building was not at a very -advanced stage, and, of necessity, the arches -were small and narrow. This effectively -stopped traffic passing up from the seaward side. -On the other hand, the small arches meant a -very great current, and this, with any considerable -tide, rendered the “shooting” of the -bridge by smaller boats an extremely dangerous -affair: thus traffic from the landward side came -to a standstill at the bridge.</p> - -<p>This meant that ships, bringing goods up the -River from the sea, must stop at the bridge and -discharge their cargoes: also that goods, coming -from inland to go to foreign parts, must of -necessity be transhipped at London. It was -inevitable, therefore, that once the bridge was -in position a commercial centre must arise on -the spot, and almost certain that in time a great -port would grow into being. So that we may -say quite truly that <em>the Thames founded London</em>.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER TWO</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>How the City grew</em> (<em>Roman Days</em>)</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Who</span> built the first bridge? We cannot say for -certain; but it is fairly safe for us to assume that -the Romans shortly after their arrival in Llyndin -set to work to make a strong wooden military -bridge to link up the town with the important -road from Dover. Thousands of Roman coins -have been recovered from the bed of the Thames -at this spot, and we may quite well suppose that -the Roman people dropped these through the -cracks as they crossed the roughly constructed -bridge.</p> - -<p>This bridge established London once and for -all. Previously there had been the two ferries—that -of Thorney (Westminster) and that of -Llyndin Hill, each with its own growing settlement. -Either of these rivals might have -developed into the foremost city of the valley. -But the building of the bridge definitely settled -the question and caused the diversion of Wat<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span>ling -Street to a course across the bridge, through -the settlement, out by way of what was afterwards -Newgate, and on to Tyburn, where the -old way was rejoined.</p> - -<p>Having built the bridge, they set to work to -make of London a city, as they understood it. -In all probability it was quite a flourishing place -when they found it. But the Romans had their -own thoughts about building, their own ideas of -what a city should be. First, they built a -citadel. The original British stockade stood on -the western hummock of the twin hill, so the -Romans chose the eastern height for their -defences. This citadel, or fortress, was a large -and powerful one, with massive walls which -extended from where Cannon Street Station -now is to where Mincing Lane runs. Inside it -the Roman soldiers lived in safety.</p> - -<p>Gradually, however, the fortress ceased to be -necessary, and a fine town spread out beyond -its walls, stretching as far eastwards and westwards -as Nature permitted; that is, to the -marshes on the east and to the Fleet ravine on -the west. In this space were laid out fine<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span> -streets and splendid villas and public buildings. -Along the banks of the River were built quays -and river walls; and trade increased by leaps and -bounds.</p> - -<p>Nor was this all. The Romans, as you have -probably read, made magnificent roads across -England, and London was practically the hub -of the series, which radiated in all directions. -The old British road through Kent became the -Prætorian Way (afterwards the diverted Watling -Street), and passed through the city to the -north and west. Another, afterwards called -Ermyn Street, led off to Norfolk and Suffolk. -Yet another important road passed out into -Essex, the garden of England in those days.</p> - -<p>“How do we know all these things?” you -ask. Partly by what Roman writers tell us, and -partly by all the different things which have been -brought to light during recent excavations. -When men have been digging the foundations -of various modern buildings in different quarters -of London, they have discovered the remains of -some of these splendid buildings—all of them -more or less ruined (for a reason which we shall<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span> -see later), but a few in good condition. Fine -mosaic pavements have been laid bare in one or -two places—Leadenhall Street for one; and all -sorts of articles—funeral urns, keys, statues, -ornaments, domestic utensils, lamps, etc.—have -been brought to light, many of which you can -still see if you take the trouble to visit the -Guildhall Museum and the London Museum. -In a court off the Strand may still be seen an -excellent specimen of a Roman bath.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_143"><img src="images/i_143.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="397" /></a> -<p class="caption center">ROMAN LONDON</p> -</div> - -<p>But perhaps the most interesting of all the -Roman remains are the two or three fragments -of the great wall, which was not built till somewhere -between the years 350 and 365 <small>A.D.</small> At<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span> -this time the Romans had been in occupation -for several hundred years, and the city had -spread quite a distance beyond the old citadel -walls. The new wall was a splendid one, -twenty feet high and about twelve feet thick, -stretching for just about three miles. It ran -along the river front from the Fleet River to the -corner where the Tower stands, inland to -Bishopsgate and Aldersgate, then across to -Newgate, where it turned south again, and came -to the River not far from Blackfriars.</p> - -<p>Several fine sections of the ancient structure -can still be seen in position. There is a large -piece under the General Post Office yard, another -fine piece in some wine cellars close to -Fenchurch Street Station, a fair piece on Tower -Hill, and smaller remnants in Old Bailey and -St. Giles’ Churchyard, Cripplegate.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_145"><img src="images/i_145.jpg" alt="" width="558" height="600" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Bastion of Roman Wall, Cripplegate Churchyard.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>What do these fragments teach us? That -things were not all they should be in London. -Instead of being built with the usual care of -Roman masonry, with properly quarried and -squared stones, this wall was made up of a -medley of materials. Mixed in with the proper<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span> -blocks were odd pieces of buildings, statues, -columns from the temples, and memorials from -the burying grounds. Probably the folk of -London, feeling that the power of Rome was -waning, were stricken with panic, and so set -to work hurriedly and with such materials<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span> -as were to hand to put together this great -defence.</p> - -<p>Nor were they unwise in their preparations, -for danger soon began to threaten. From time -to time there swooped down on the eastern -coasts strange ships filled with fierce warriors—tall, -fair-haired men, who took what they could -lay their hands on, and killed and burned unsparingly. -So long as the Roman soldiers were -there to protect the land and its people, nothing -more happened than these small raids. The -strangers kept to the coasts and seldom attempted -to penetrate up the river which led to -London.</p> - -<p>But these coast raids only heralded the great -storm which was approaching, for the daring -sea-robbers had set covetous eyes on the fair -fields of Britain.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER THREE</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>How the City grew</em> (<em>Saxon Days</em>)</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the year 410 the Romans were compelled to -leave Britain. Troubles had become so great in -Rome itself that it was necessary to abandon all -the outlying colonies to their fate. From that -moment began a century and a half of pitiful -history for our country. There was now no -properly drilled army to ward off attacks; and -the raids of the “sea-robbers” increased in -number and intensity. Saxons, Angles, and -Jutes, they came in vast numbers, gradually -working their way inland from the coast.</p> - -<p>And what happened to Londinium, as the -Romans called our city? We do not know, for -there is a great gap in our history; probably it -perished of starvation. We know that little by -little the strangers increased their grip—the -Jutes in Kent and Hampshire (and later in -Surrey), the Saxons in Kent, Essex, and Sussex;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span> -and that as they did so London was gradually -surrounded.</p> - -<p>Now London was a comparatively large place, -with a considerable population, even after the -Romans had gone; and the slow tightening of -the Saxon grip must have meant starvation, for -everything London wanted for its use came from -a distance, owing to the impossibility of growing -anything in the surrounding marshy districts. -And in the absence of any reliable account we -can only assume that in consequence the inhabitants -little by little deserted the city, and made -their way westwards; that the quays were -deserted, the ships rotted at their moorings, the -finely constructed streets were befouled with -grass and briars, the splendid villas fell to pieces, -the great wall in places crumbled to ruins. So -that when eventually the Saxons did reach -London, after years of struggle and fierce engagements, -their victory was a hollow one. -And there is much to support this assumption, -for we find that in their chronicles the Saxons -make practically no mention of the first city of -the land, which they most assuredly would have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span> -done had it been anything other than derelict. -Nor did they stay at London when they arrived. -Probably such a place of desolation was of no -use to them; they were not interested in ruined -cities; they wanted open ground with growing -crops. So they passed on, and London probably -stood silent and dead for years, the empty -skeleton of a city, while Time and Nature completed -the ruin which savage assaulters might -otherwise have carried out. Thus we may conjecture -ended the first of London’s three lives.</p> - -<p>When, after a time, things settled down in -Britain, a new London began to rise on the site -of the old city. Gradually the folk, mainly the -East Saxons, settled on the outskirts of the -deserted city, and, little by little, they made -their way within the old walls; numbers of the -old fugitives crept back to join them; merchants -came and patched up the broken, grass-grown -quays; houses were built; and life began anew. -Steadily the progress continued. At first the -houses were rough wattle-and-mud affairs, set -down in any fashion on the old sites, but gradually -proper rows of small, timbered houses rose<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span> -on all sides, with numbers of little churches -dotted here and there.</p> - -<p>Then at the end of the eighth century the old -trouble, invasion, began again. This time it -was the Vikings (or Danes), the adventurous -spirits of the fiords of Norway and the coasts of -Denmark, men who risked the terrors of the -hungry North Sea that they might plunder the -monasteries and farms of the north and east of -England. They, too, found our country a fair -place, after their own cold, forbidding coasts; -and the raids increased in frequency.</p> - -<p>In the year 832 they were at the mouth of the -Thames, landing in Sheppey; and in 839 came -their first attempt to sail up the Thames. They -were beaten off this time, but they had learned -of a proper entry to which they might return -later. In 851 came their great attempt. With -three hundred and fifty of their long ships they -came, sailed right up the River to London Bridge, -stormed and plundered the city. But their -triumph was short-lived, for their army was well -beaten at Ockley in Surrey, as it made its way -southward down the Stane Street.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span></p> - -<p>It seemed as if England and London might be -tranquil once more; but the Vikings came in -still greater numbers, and began to winter in -our land instead of returning as had been their -custom. The record of the next twenty years -is one of constant harrying, with great armies -marching throughout the countryside—plundering, -killing, burning, with apparently no object.</p> - -<p>When Alfred came to the throne, London was -practically a Danish city; but he soon set to -work and drove them out. And, though England -suffered long and often from these foes, -from that time onwards, the fortress being -rebuilt, London never again fell to the invaders. -When, eventually, Canute did enter London in -1017, after a considerable but entirely unsuccessful -siege, it was at the invitation of the citizens, -who accepted him as their King.</p> - -<p>Under this wise King followed an era of prosperity -for the growing city. Danish merchants -settled within its walls; the wharves were busy -once again; foreign traders sailed up the River -to Billingsgate, their boats laden with wine, -cloth, and spices from the East; and so rapidly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span> -London became once more a great commercial -centre. Indeed, such was its size and importance -that it paid one-fifth of the whole tax -which Canute levied on the kingdom.</p> - -<p>From this time onward London progressed -steadily; and so, too, did that other city, Westminster, -which had sprung into being at -another crossing, a few miles higher up the -Thames—one more city made by the River, as -we shall see later on.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER FOUR</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>How the City grew</em> (<em>Norman Days</em>)</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> year 1066 was yet another fateful year for -the people of England and the citizens of London. -When William of Normandy defeated Harold -at Senlac, near Hastings, many of the English -fled to London, prepared to join the citizens in a -stout defence of their great city; but no such -defence was necessary.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_153"><img src="images/i_153.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="395" /></a> -<p class="caption center">THE CONQUEROR’S MARCH ON LONDON</p> -</div> - -<p>William skirted the dense forest of Andredeswealde, -and, striking the main road at Canter<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span>bury, -progressed to Southwark, which he -destroyed. Now, good soldier and wise man -that he was, William saw that a definite attack -on London would be a difficult matter, and -would profit him nothing. So he set to work -to do what others had done before him—to cut -off the city from its supplies. Marching westwards, -he made his way to the crossing at -Wallingford, and there reached the north bank -of the River. Striking north-east again, he came -soon to Watling Street once more, and thus cut -off all the northern trade. London was in this -way cut off from practically the bulk of its -supplies; and the citizens were glad to make -terms before worse things happened.</p> - -<p>Probably the surrender occurred sooner than -it might otherwise have done, by reason of the -exceedingly mixed nature of the population. -London counted among its citizens, as we can -tell by reference to the documents of the time, -merchants from many different parts of France—Caen -and Rouen in particular—and from -Flanders and Germany.</p> - -<p>William kept loyally to the promises which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span> -he had made in the treaty, maintaining the -rights of the city, and seeing that the thirty or -forty thousand citizens had the proper protection -he guaranteed. True, he built the great -threatening Tower of London, about which we -shall read in another chapter, but it is very -probable that even in that the citizens saw only -a strengthening of the old bastions built in -former days for the guarding of the city.</p> - -<p>Practically all our knowledge of London life -in Norman days comes to us from the writings -of one FitzStephen, a faithful clerk in the -service of Thomas Becket. FitzStephen, who -was present at the Archbishop’s murder, wrote -a life of his master, and prefaced it with a short -account of the city. From his description we -learn much of interest. We gather that, -besides the great Cathedral, there were thirteen -large churches and one hundred and twenty-six -smaller parish churches; that the walls protected -the city on all sides save the river front, -where they had been pulled down to make room -for wharves and stores. Says FitzStephen: -“Those engaged in the several kinds of business,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span> -sellers of various things, contractors for various -works, are to be found every morning in their -different districts and shops. Besides there -is in London, on the river bank, among the -wines in ships, and in cellars sold by the vintners, -a public food shop; there meats may be -found every day, according to the season, fried -and boiled, great and small fish, coarsest meats -for the poor, more dainty for the rich.” He -also has much to tell us about the sports, which -included archery, leaping, wrestling, and football. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span>“In Easter holidays they fight battles -on the water. A shield is hung upon a pole in -mid-stream, a boat is made ready, and in the -forepart thereof standeth a youth, who chargeth -the shield with a lance. If so be that he -breaketh the lance against the shield, he hath -performed a worthy deed; but if he doth not -break his lance, down he falleth into the water.... -To this city, from every nation under -heaven, do merchants delight to bring their -goods by sea.... The only pests of London -are the immoderate quaffing of fools and the -frequency of fires.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER FIVE</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>The River’s First Bridge</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">From</span> our point of view, engaged as we are in -the study of London’s River and its influence -on the city, perhaps the most interesting thing -that happened in Norman days was the building -of the first stone London Bridge.</p> - -<p>Other bridges there had been from remote -times, and these had taken their part in the -moulding of the history of London, but they -had suffered seriously from flood, fire, and -warfare. In the year 1090, for instance, a -tremendous storm had burst on the city, and -while the wind blew down six hundred houses -and several churches, the flood had entirely -demolished the bridge. The citizens had built -another in its place; but that, too, had narrowly -escaped destruction when there occurred one of -those dreadful fires which FitzStephen laments. -The years 1135-6 again had brought calamity, -for yet another fire had practically consumed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span> -the entire structure. It had been remade, -however, and had lasted till 1163, when it had -been found to be in such a very bad condition -that an entirely new bridge was a necessity.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_158"><img src="images/i_158.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="384" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Old London Bridge.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The new bridge was the conception of one -Peter, the priest of a small church, St. Mary -Colechurch, in the Poultry. This clergyman -was a member of a religious body whose special -interest was the building of bridges, in those -times regarded as an act of piety. Skilled in -this particular craft, he dreamed of a bridge for -London such as his brother craftsmen were -building in the great cities of France; and he set<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span> -to work to amass the necessary funds. King, -courtiers, common folk, all responded to his -call, and at last, in 1176, he was able to commence. -Unfortunately, he died before the -completion of his project, for it took thirty-three -years to build; and another brother, -Isenbert, carried on after him.</p> - -<p>A strange bridge it was, too, when finished; -but good enough to last six and a half centuries. -It was in reality a street built across the River, -926 feet in length, 40 feet wide, and some 60 feet -above the level of high water. Nineteen pointed -arches, varying in width from 10 to 32 feet, -upheld its weight over massive piers which -measured from 23 to 36 feet in thickness. So -massive were these piers that probably only -about a third of the whole length of the Bridge -was waterway. This, of course, meant that the -practice of “shooting” the arches in a boat -was a perilous adventure, for with such narrow -openings the current was tremendous. So -dangerous was it that it was usual for timid folk -to disembark just above the Bridge, walk round -the end, and re-embark below, rather than -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]<br /><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span>take the risk of being dashed against the stone-work. -Which wisdom was embodied in a -proverb of the time—“London Bridge was made -for wise men to go over and fools to go under.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_160"><img src="images/i_160.jpg" alt="" width="465" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">An Arch of Old London Bridge: Queen Eleanor being Stoned in 1263.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Strangely enough, old London Bridge forestalled -the Tower Bridge by having in its centre -a drawbridge, which could be raised to allow -vessels to sail through, much as the bascules of -the modern bridge can be lifted to allow the -passage of the great ships of to-day. There -were on each side of the roadway ordinary -houses, the upper stories of which were used -for dwellings, while the ground floors acted as -shops. In the middle of the Bridge, over the -tenth and largest pier, stood a small chapel -dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury, the -youngest of England’s saints.</p> - -<p>But, even when a stone bridge was erected, -troubles were by no means over. Four years -after the completion, in July, 1212, came another -disastrous fire, and practically all the -houses, which, unlike the Bridge itself, were -built of timber, were destroyed. In the year -1282 it was the turn of the River to play havoc.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span> -As we said just now, only about a third of the -length was waterway. This condition of things -(avoided in all modern bridges) meant a tremendous -pressure of the current, both at ebb<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span> -and flow, and an enormous pressure at flood -time. When, in the year mentioned, there came -great ice-floods, five arches were carried away, -and “London Bridge was broken down, my -fair lady.” From that time onwards there was -a considerable series of accidents right down -to the time of the Great Fire of London, concerning -which we shall read in a later chapter.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_162"><img src="images/i_162.jpg" alt="" width="567" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Chapel of St. Thomas Becket.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Old London Bridge, during its life, saw many -strange happenings. In 1263, for instance, a -great crowd gathered, wherever the citizens -could find a coign of vantage, for the Queen, -Eleanor of Provence and wife of Henry <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>., -was passing that way on her journey from the -Tower to Windsor. But this was no triumphal -passage, for the Queen was strongly opposed to -the Barons, who were still working for a final -settlement of Magna Charta. Enraged at her -action, the people of London waited till her -barge approached the Bridge, and then they -hurled heavy stones down upon it and assailed -the Queen with rough words; so that she was -compelled with her attendants to return to the -Tower, rather than face the enraged mob.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span></p> - -<p>The year 1390 saw yet another queer event. -Probably most of you understand what is -meant by a tournament. Well, at this time, -there was much rivalry between the English -and Scottish knights, and a tilt was proposed -between two champions, Lord Wells of England -and Earl Lindsay of Scotland. The Englishman, -granted choice of ground, chose by some -strange whim London Bridge for the scene of -action rather than some well-known tournament -ground. On the appointed day the -Bridge was thronged with folk who had come -to witness this unusual contest in the narrow -street. Great was the excitement as the knights -charged towards each other. Three times did -they meet in the shock of battle, and at the -third the Englishman fell vanquished from his -charger, to be attended immediately by the -gallant Scottish knight.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_165"><img src="images/i_165.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="617" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">London Bridge in Modern Times.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The Bridge, as the only approach to the city -from the south, was the scene of many wonderful -pageants and processions, as our victorious -Kings came back from their wars with -France, or returned to England with their brides<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span> -from overseas. Such a magnificent spectacle -was the crossing in state of Henry <abbr title="the fifth">V</abbr>. after the -great victory of Agincourt in the year 1415. -The battle, as most of you know, took place -in October of that year, and at the end of -November the King passed over the Bridge at -the head of his most distinguished prisoners<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span> -and his victorious soldiers, amid the tumultuous -rejoicing of London’s jubilant citizens.</p> - -<p>Yet another strange scene was enacted when -Wat Tyler, at the head of his tens of thousands, -passed over howling and threatening, -after being temporarily held back by the gates -which stood at the south end of the Bridge.</p> - -<p>So the old Bridge lasted on, living through -momentous days, till, in the year 1832, it was -removed to give place to the new London Bridge -which had been erected sixty yards to the westwards.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER SIX</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>How the City grew</em> (<em>in the Middle Ages</em>)</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">London</span> in that period which we speak of as -the Middle Ages was indeed a remarkable city. -Dotted about all over it, north and south, west -and east, were great monasteries and nunneries -and churches, for in those days the Church was -a tremendous power in the land; while huddled -together within its confines were shops, houses, -stores, palaces, all set down in a bewildering -confusion. Of palaces there was indeed a profusion; -in fact, London might well have been -called a City of Palaces. But they were not -arranged in long lines along the banks of canals, -as were those of Venice, nor round fine stately -squares, as in Florence, Genoa, and other -famous cities of the Continent. London’s -palaces nestled in the city’s narrow, muddy -lanes, between the warehouses of the merchants -and the hovels of the poor. They paid<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span> -little or no attention to external beauty, but -within they were splendid structures.</p> - -<p>Now, what did this mean? That the -common people of London constantly came -into contact with the great ones of the land. -The apprentice, sent on an errand by his master, -might at any moment be held up as Warwick -the King-maker, let us say, emerged from his -gateway, followed by a train of several hundred -retainers all decked out in his livery; or the -Queen and her ladies might pass in gay procession -to view a tournament in the fields just -north of the Chepe. In that way the citizens -learned right from their earliest day that -London was not the only place in England, -that there were other folk in the land, and great -ones too, who were not London merchants and -craftsmen.</p> - -<p>This constant reminder that they were -simply part and parcel of the great realm of -England did this for the people of London: it -made them keen on politics, always ready to -take sides in any national strife. On the other -hand, it gave them great pride. The citizens<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span> -soon discovered that, though they were not the -only folk in the land, they counted for much, for -whatever side or cause they supported always -won in the end. This, of course, more firmly -cemented the position of London as the foremost -spot in the kingdom.</p> - -<p>Very beautiful indeed were some of the -palaces, or inns, as they were quite commonly -called. They were in no sense of the word -fortresses; their gates opened straight on to the -narrow, muddy lanes without either ditch or -portcullis. Inside there was usually a wide -courtyard, surrounded by the various buildings. -Unfortunately the Great Fire and other calamities -have not spared us much whereby we can -recall such palaces to mind. Staple Inn, whose -magnificent timbered front is still one of -London’s most precious relics, is of a later date, -but possesses many of the medieval characters. -Crosby Hall, in Bishopsgate Street, was a fine -specimen. This was erected in the fifteenth -century by a grocer and Lord Mayor, Sir John -Crosby, a man of great wealth; and for some -time it was the residence of Richard <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. For<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span> -many years it remained to show us the exceeding -beauty of a medieval dwelling; but, alas, -that too has gone the way of all the others! -A portion of it, the great Hall, has been re-erected -in Chelsea.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_170"><img src="images/i_170.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="316" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Baynard’s Castle before the Great Fire.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Otherwise most of these palaces remain only -as a name. Baynard’s Castle, one of the most -famous of all, which stood close to the western -end of the river-wall, lasted for 600 years from -the Norman Conquest to the time of the Great -Fire, but it is only remembered in the name of -a wharf and a ward of the city. Coldharbour -Palace, which stood in Thames Street with -picturesque gables overhanging the River,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span> -passed from a great place in history down to -oblivion.</p> - -<p>So with all the rest of these elaborate, historic -palaces, about which we can read in the pages -of Stow, that delightful chronicler of London -and her ways; they either perished in the -flames or were pulled down to make way for -hideous commercial buildings.</p> - -<p>London in the Middle Ages passed through -a period of great prosperity; but, at the same -time, it suffered terribly through pestilence, -famine, rebellions, and so on. The year 1349 -saw a dreadful calamity in the shape of the -“Black Death”—a kind of plague which came -over from Asia. The narrow, dirty lanes, with -their stinking, open ditches, the unsatisfactory -water-supply, all caused the dread disease to -spread rapidly; and a very large part of London’s -citizens perished.</p> - -<p>Moreover, famine followed in the path of the -pestilence which stalked through the land. So -great was the toll of human life throughout -England that there were but few left to work -on the land; and London, which depended for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span> -practically all its supplies on what was sent -from afar, suffered severely. Still, despite all -these troubles, the Middle Ages must be -regarded as part of the “good old times,” when -England was “merry England” indeed. True, -the citizens had to work hard, and during long -hours, but they found plenty of time for -pleasure. Those of you who have read anything -of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” will -know something of the brightness of life in those -times, of the holidays, the pageants and processions, -the tournaments, the fairs, the general -merrymaking.</p> - -<p>All of which, of course, was due to good trade. -The city which the River had made was growing -in strength. London now made practically -everything it needed, and within its walls were -representatives of practically every calling. As -Sir Walter Besant says in his fine book, -“London”: “There were mills to grind the -corn, breweries for making the beer; the linen -was spun within the walls, and the cloth made -and dressed; the brass pots, tin pots, iron -utensils, and wooden platters and basins, were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span> -all made in the city; the armour, with its -various pieces, was hammered out and fashioned -in the streets; all kinds of clothes, from the -leathern jerkin of the poorest to the embroidered -robes of a princess, were made here....</p> - -<p>“There was no noisier city in the whole -world; the roar and the racket of it could be -heard afar off, even at the risings of the Surrey -hills or the slope of Highgate. From every -lane rang out, without ceasing, the tuneful note -of the hammer and the anvil; the carpenters, -not without noise, drove in their nails, and the -coopers hooped their casks; the blacksmith’s -fire roared; the harsh grating of the founders -set the teeth on edge of those who passed that -way; along the river bank, from the Tower to -Paul’s Stairs, those who loaded and those who -unloaded, those who carried the bales to the -warehouses, those who hoisted them up; the -ships which came to port and the ships which -sailed away, did all with fierce talking, shouting, -quarrelling, and racket.”</p> - -<p>As we picture the prosperity of those medieval -days there comes into our minds that winding<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span> -silver stream which made such prosperity -possible, and we seem to see the River Thames -crowded with ships from foreign parts, many -of them bringing wine from France, Spain, and -other lands, for wine was one of the principal -imports of the Middle Ages, and filling up the -great holds of their empty vessels with England’s -superior wool; others from Italy, laden with fine -weapons and jewels, with spices, drugs, and -silks, and all wanting our wool. A few of those -ships in the Pool were laden with <em>coal</em>, for in the -Middle Ages this new fuel—sea-coal, as it was -called to distinguish it from the ordinary wood -charcoal—made its appearance in London. -Nor did London take to it at first. In the reign -of Edward <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. the citizens sent a petition, praying -the King to forbid the use of this “nuisance -which corrupteth the air with its stink and -smoke, to the great detriment of the health of -the people.”</p> - -<p>But the advantages of the sea-coal rapidly -outweighed the disadvantages with the citizens, -and the various proclamations issued by sovereigns -came to nought. Before long several<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span> -officials were appointed to act as inspectors of -the new article of commerce as it came into the -wharves. The famous Dick Whittington and -various other prominent citizens of London -made large fortunes from their coal-boats.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER SEVEN</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>The Tower of London</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">London</span> has many treasures to show us, if we -take the trouble to look for them, but it has no -relic of the past so perfect as its Tower—a place -which every Briton, especially every Londoner, -ought to see and try to understand.</p> - -<p>If only the Tower’s silent old stones could -suddenly gain the power of speech, what strange -tales they would have to tell of the things which -have occurred during their centuries of history—tales -of things glorious and tales of things -unspeakably tragic. Though the latter would -easily outweigh the former in number, I am -afraid; for this grim stronghold is a monument -to evil rather than to good.</p> - -<p>The Tower has often been spoken of as the -<em>key</em> to London, and there is truth in the saying, -for its position is certainly an excellent one. -When William of Normandy descended on -England with his great company of knights<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span> -and their retainers, he professed to have every -consideration for the people of London, and -certainly he treated the citizens quite fairly -according to the terms of the treaty. But, at -the same time, he apparently did not feel -any too sure of them, and so he called in the -monk, Gundulf, to erect a fortress, which to -all appearances was merely a strengthening of -the fortifications already there, but which in -reality was intended to serve as a constant -reminder of the power and authority of the -conquering king.</p> - -<p>The spot chosen was the angle at the eastern -corner, just where the wall turns sharply inland -from the River, and no position round London -could have been better chosen. In the first place -it guarded London from the river approach, -ready to hold off any enemy venturesome -enough to sail up the Thames to attack the city. -But also, and this undoubtedly was what was -in the mind of the Conqueror, it frowned down -on the city.</p> - -<p>A formidable Norman Keep was erected, -with walls 15 feet thick, so strongly built that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span> -they stand to-day practically as they stood -900 years ago, save that stone-faced windows -were put in a couple of centuries ago to take -the place of the narrow slits or loopholes which -served for light and ventilation in a fortress of -this sort.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_178"><img src="images/i_178.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="443" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Ground Plan of the Tower.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>To understand the Tower of London properly -(and we really want some idea of it before any -visit, otherwise it is merely a confusion of -towers and open spaces without any meaning) -we must realize that it consists of three separate<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span> -lines of defences, all erected at different times. -The innermost, the Keep or White Tower, we -have touched upon. Beyond that, and separated -from it by an open space known as the -Inner Ward, is the first wall, with its twelve -towers, among them the Beauchamp Tower, -the Bell Tower, the Bloody Tower, and the -Wakefield Tower. Then, beyond that again, -and separated by another open space known as -the Outer Ward, is yet another wall; and still -beyond is the Moat, outside everything. So -that any attacking army, having successfully -negotiated the Moat, would find itself with the -outer wall to scale and break, and within that -another inner wall, 46 feet high. The garrison, -driven back from these two, could even then -retire to the innermost keep, with its walls -15 feet thick, and there hold out for a great -length of time against the fiercest attacks. So -that, you will readily see, the Tower was a -fortress of tremendous strength in days before -the use of heavy artillery.</p> - -<p>The outer defences were added to William’s -White Tower from time to time by various<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span> -monarchs. The first or inner wall, 8 feet thick, -begun in the Conqueror’s days, was added to -and strengthened by Stephen, Henry <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>., and -John. The outer wall and the Moat were -completed by Henry <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>.; and the Tower thus -took its present shape.</p> - -<p>Most of our Sovereigns, from the Conqueror’s -time right down to the Restoration, used the -Tower of London. Kings and Queens who -were powerful used it as a prison for their -enemies; those who were weak and feared the -people used it as a fortress for themselves. -This latter use of the Tower was particularly -instanced in the reign of Stephen—an illuminating -chapter in the story of London.</p> - -<p>Stephen, following the death of Henry <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>., -was elected King by the Great Council, and duly -crowned in London; but the barons soon saw -that he was unfitted for the task of ruling, and -they took sides with the Empress Matilda, -hoping thereby to get nearer the independence -they desired. Stephen for a time held his own -with the aid of a number of trusty barons, but -in 1139 he offended the Church by his rough<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span> -treatment of the Bishops of Lincoln and Salisbury, -and his supporters fell away. Consequently -he was compelled in the following year -to seek safety in the Tower, close to his loyal -followers, the citizens of London.</p> - -<p>Now the constable of the Tower in those days -was one Geoffrey de Mandeville, about as -unscrupulous and cruel a rascal as could be -imagined. Stephen, to ensure his support, -made him Earl of Essex, and for a time all went -well. But when, following Stephen’s defeat -and capture in 1141, the Empress Matilda -moved to London to be crowned, Geoffrey de -Mandeville had not the slightest compunction -in taking sides with her, for which he was -rewarded by the gift of castles, revenues, and -the office of Sheriff of Essex. But Matilda -offended the citizens of London to such an -extent that they drove her from the city and -attacked Mandeville in the Tower. Whereupon -Mandeville, without any hesitation, transferred -his allegiance to Maud of Boulogne, -Stephen’s wife, who was rallying his scattered -forces—which allegiance was purchased by<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span> -making Mandeville the Sheriff of Hertfordshire, -Middlesex, and London, as well. Nothing, -however, could serve to make this treacherous -man act straightly, and when later Stephen -found him planning yet another revolt in favour -of Matilda, he attacked him suddenly, took -him prisoner, and removed him from all public -affairs.</p> - -<p>This chapter in English history is far from -showing the English nobles in a good light, but -it is exceedingly interesting as revealing the -extent to which London was beginning to -count in the kingdom.</p> - -<p>To-day we enter from the city side by what -is known as the Middle Tower—a renovated -and modernized gateway, with a big, stone-carved -Royal Arms above its arch. The name -“Middle” strikes us as curious, seeing that it is -the first protection on the landward side, until -we remember or learn that originally there was -another Tower, the Lion Tower, nearer the city -(approximately where the refreshment room -now stands) and separated from the Middle -Tower by a drawbridge. But the Lion Tower<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span> -disappeared many many years ago, and only -two of the three outer defences remain, the -Middle Tower and the Byward Tower, the -latter reached by a permanent bridge over the -Moat.</p> - -<p>Once through the Byward Gateway and we -are between the inner and outer defences. -Leaving on our left the Bell Tower, a strong, -irregular, octagonal tower, which gets its name -from the turret whence curfew bell rings each -night, we walk along parallel to the River, -past the frowning gateway of the Bloody -Tower on our left, with its low arch which -originally gave the only entrance to the Inner -Ward, and on our right, and exactly opposite, -the Traitor’s Gate, the riverside passage through -the outer walls. Skirting the Wakefield Tower, -we pass through a comparatively modern -opening, and so come upon the amazing Norman -Keep of William the Conqueror.</p> - -<p>This Keep is not quite square, though it -appears to be, and no one of its four sides -corresponds to any other. Its greatest measurements -are from north to south 116 feet, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span> -from east to west 96 feet. Inside, three cross -walls, from 6 to 8 feet thick, divide each floor -into three separate apartments of unequal -sizes. It is a building complete in itself, with -everything required for a fortress, a Royal -dwelling, and a prison. Probably, as you walk -about the cold, gloomy chambers, you will say -to yourselves that you can understand the -fortress and the prison parts, but that you -could never imagine it as a dwelling. But you -must remember that with coverings on the -floor and with the bare walls hung with beautiful -tapestries, as was the custom in early days, -and with furniture in position, the apartments -must have presented a much more comfortable -appearance.</p> - -<p>The first story, or main floor, was the place -where abode the garrison—the men-at-arms and -their officers; and above on the other two floors -were the State apartments—St. John’s Chapel -and the Banqueting Hall on the second story, -and the great Council Chamber of the Sovereign -on the third floor. Beneath were great dungeons, -terrible places without light or ventila<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span>tion, -having in those days no entrance from the -level ground, but reached only by that central -staircase which rose from them to the roof.</p> - -<p>In these days the Keep is largely used as an -armoury; and we can gain a fine idea of the -different kinds of armour worn in different -periods, and of the weapons used and of the -cruel implements of torture. It also contains -several good models of the Tower at different -times, and a short study of these will do much -to get rid of the confusion which most folk -feel as they hurry from tower to tower without -any general idea of the place.</p> - -<p>Leaving the ancient Keep, we cross the only -wide open space of the fortress, a paved quadrangle -which keeps its antique and now inappropriate -name of Tower Green, where in -bygone days some of the Tower’s most famous -prisoners have paraded in solitude on the grass. -Here, marked by a tablet, is the site of the -scaffold where died Lady Jane Grey, Anne -Boleyn, Katherine Howard, and other famous -prisoners of State. It is a quiet, moody spot, -where the black ravens of the Tower, as they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span> -stand sentinel beneath the sycamore trees, -at times seem the only things in keeping with -the sadness of the place.</p> - -<p>To our right is the little Church of St. Peter -ad Vinculam, which will be shown to us by -one of the quaintly garbed “Beef-eaters” (if -one can be spared from other duties), the -famous Yeomen of the Guard who still wear -the uniform designed in Henry the Eighth’s -days. Concerning this little sanctuary Lord -Macaulay wrote: “There is no sadder spot on -earth.... Death is there associated with -whatever is darkest in human nature and in -human destiny, with the savage triumph of -implacable enemies, with the inconstancy, the -ingratitude, the cowardice of friends, with all -the miseries of fallen greatness and of blighted -fame. Thither have been carried through successive -ages, by the rude hands of gaolers, -without one mourner following, the bleeding -relics of men who had been the captains of -armies, the leaders of parties, the oracles of -senates, and the ornaments of courts.”</p> - -<p>Close together in a small space before the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span> -Altar, raised slightly above the level of the -floor, lie the mortal remains of two Queens, -Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, Margaret -of Salisbury, last of the proud Plantagenets, -Lord and Lady Rochford, the Dukes of Somerset, -Northumberland, Monmouth, Suffolk, and -Norfolk, the Earl of Essex, Lady Jane Grey, -Lord Guilford Dudley, and Sir Thomas Overbury.</p> - -<p>As we pass on and come to the Beauchamp -Tower, and later to the Bloody Tower, we see -the tiny prisons where these unfortunates, and -many others, languished in confinement, waiting -their tragic end, whiling away the weary hours -by carving quaint inscriptions on the stone -walls; and, in the latter, we are shown the -tiny apartment where perished the little Princes -at the instigation of their uncle, Richard <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>.</p> - -<p>From our point of view there remains just -one more thing to consider, and that is the -Tower’s connection with the River. Probably -few of us, as we try to think back through the -centuries, realize how important the Thames -was even as a highway. We know from our<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span> -reading that London’s streets were narrow, -crooked, and of very little use for a big amount -of traffic; yet we do not see in our mind’s eye -the great waterway which everybody, rich and -poor, used in those days, alike for business and -pleasure. And, of course, the Tower contributed -very largely to this water traffic, for the -King, his nobles, and all who had business at -Westminster, travelled constantly to and fro<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span> -in the great painted barges which made the -River a gayer and brighter place than it is in -our days. For the purpose of such travellers -there was provided the Queen’s Steps at the -Tower Wharf, in order to avoid the use of the -sinister Traitor’s Gate—that low, frowning -archway, which gave entrance from the River, -and through which very many famous persons, -innocent and guilty alike, passed to their doom, -brought thither by water at the behest of the -Sovereign.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_188"><img src="images/i_188.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="539" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Traitor’s Gate.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>According to John Stow, who wrote in -Elizabeth’s reign, the Tower was then “a -citadel to defend or command the city; a royal -palace for assemblies or treaties; a prison of -state for the most dangerous offenders; the -only place of coinage for all England at this -time; the armoury for warlike provision; the -treasury of the ornaments and jewels of the -Crown; and general conserver of most records -of the King’s courts of justice at Westminster.” -All that is changed now. The Tower has long -since ceased to be a Royal residence. As a -defence of the city it would not last more than<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span> -a few minutes against modern artillery. Save -for the period of the great war, when it held -the bodies of numerous spies and traitors and -saw the execution of several, it has for many -years given up its claim to be a prison. The -records which filled the little Chapel of St. -John have now been moved to the Record -Office, and the making of money goes on at the -Mint just across the road. The Crown Jewels -still find a home here, in the Wakefield Tower, -the prison where Henry <abbr title="the sixth">VI</abbr>. came to his violent -end. Yet, despite all these changes, the fortress -is still the Tower of London—perhaps the city’s -most fascinating relic.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER EIGHT</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>How Fire destroyed what the River had made</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Leaving</span> the Tower by the Byward Gate, and -passing along Great Tower Street and Eastcheap, -we come to the spot</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">“Where London’s column pointing to the skies,</div> - <div class="verse">Like a tall bully, lifts its head and lies.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This is, of course, the Monument, which for -many years indicated to all and sundry that -the Great Fire of 1666 was the work of the -Roman Catholics. Till the year 1831 the -inscription, added in 1681 at the time of the -Titus Oates affair, perpetuated the lie in stone, -but in that year it was removed by the City -Council. Now the gilt urn with its flames, -which we can see well if we ascend the 345 -steps to the iron cage at the top, merely commemorates -the Fire itself, without any reference -to its cause, as in the original structure. From -the top of the Monument we can get perhaps -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]<br /><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span>the very finest of all views of London and its -River.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_192"><img src="images/i_192.jpg" alt="" width="465" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Monument.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>But there is one thing which should preface -our account of the Great Fire, and that is an -account of the Great Plague which visited and -afflicted London in the previous year. Of -course, the Fire was in one sense a terrible -disaster for London, yet the destruction which -it wrought was in reality a great blessing to the -plague-ridden city.</p> - -<p>The Plague, by no means the first to visit -London, came over from the Continent, where -for years it had been decimating the large cities. -It broke out with terrible power in the summer -of the year 1665—a dry, scorching summer which -made the flushing of the open street drains an -impossible thing, and gave every help to the -dread pestilence. If we want to read a thrilling -description of London at this time we have -only to turn to the “Journal of the Plague -Year,” by Defoe, the author of “Robinson -Crusoe.” This was not actually a journal, for -Defoe was only four years old in 1665, but it -was a faithful account based on first-hand<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span> -information. In its simply written pages (to -quote from Sir Walter Besant) “we see the -horror of the empty streets; we hear the cries -and lamentations of those who are seized and -those who are bereaved. The cart comes slowly -along the streets with the man ringing a bell -and crying, ‘Bring out your dead! Bring out -your dead!’ We think of the great holes into -which the dead were thrown in heaps and -covered with a little earth; we think of the -grass growing in the streets; the churches -deserted; the roads black with fugitives hurrying -from the abode of Death; we hear the -frantic mirth of revellers snatching to-night a -doubtful rapture, for to-morrow they die. The -City is filled with despair.” As we can well -imagine, the King and his courtiers fled from -Whitehall and the Tower away into the country; -the Law Courts were shifted up river to Oxford. -Naturally all business stopped, and trade was -at a standstill. Ships in hundreds lay idle in -the Pool, waiting for the cargoes which came -not, because the wharves and warehouses were -deserted; laden ships that sailed up the Thames<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span> -speedily turned about and made for the Continental -ports. So it went on, the visitation -increasing in fury, till in September there were -nearly 900 fell each day. Then it abated -slightly, but continued through the winter, on -into the following summer, and in the end -more than 97,000 people perished out of a -population of 460,000.</p> - -<p>Then, on September 2, came that other -catastrophe, the Great Fire. Starting in a -baker’s shop in Pudding Lane, near the Monument, -it was driven westwards by a strong east -wind.</p> - -<p>The London of Stuart days gave the Fire -every possible help. Not much survives to-day -to show us what things were like, but the quaint, -timber-fronted houses of Staple Inn (Holborn) -and No. 17, Fleet Street, and the pictures -painted at the time, give us a fair idea of the -inflammable nature of the buildings; and when -we remember that these wooden houses, old, -dry, and coated with pitch, were in some streets -so close to those opposite that it was possible -to shake hands from the overhanging upper<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span> -stories, we are not surprised at the rapidity with -which the Fire spread.</p> - -<p>The diaries of two gentlemen—Samuel -Pepys and John Evelyn, the former one of the -King’s Ministers, the latter a wealthy and -learned gentleman of the Court—bring home to -us plainly the terror of the seven days’ visitation. -To begin with, very few took any special -notice of the outbreak: fires were too common -to cause great consternation. Even Pepys -himself tells us that he returned to bed; but -when the morning came and it was still burning, -he was disturbed. Says he: “By and by -Jane tells me that she hears that above 800 -houses have been burned down to-night by the -fire we saw, and that it is now burning down -all Fish Street, by London Bridge. So I made -myself ready presently, and walked to the -Tower; and there got up upon one of the high -places; and there I did see the houses at that -end of the bridge all on fire, and an infinite great -fire on this and the other side of the end of the -bridge.”</p> - -<p>London Bridge, as you will remember from a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span> -former chapter, was very narrow, and the houses -projected out over the River, held in place by -enormous timber struts; and these, with the -wooden frames of the three-storied houses, gave -the fire a good hold. Moreover the burning -buildings, falling on the Bridge, blocked the -way to any who would have fought the flames. -After about a third of the buildings had been -destroyed the fire was stopped by the pulling -down of houses and the open space; but not -before it had done great damage to the stone -structure itself. The heat was so intense that -arches and piers which had remained firm for -centuries now began to show signs of falling to -pieces, and it was found necessary to spend -£1,500, an enormous sum in those days, on -repairs before any rebuilding could be attempted.</p> - -<p>Day after day the Fire continued. Says -Evelyn: “It burned both in breadth and length, -the churches, public halls, Exchange, hospitals, -monuments, and ornaments, leaping after a -prodigious manner from house to house and -street to street, at great distances one from the -other....</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span></p> - -<p>“Here we saw the Thames covered with -goods floating, all the barges and boats laden -with what some had time and courage to save, -as, on the other, the carts, etc., carrying out to -the fields, which for many miles were strewed -with movables of all sorts, and tents erected to -shelter both people and what goods they could -get away....</p> - -<p>“(Sept. 7) At my return I was infinitely -concerned to find that goodly Church (cathedral), -St. Paul’s, now a sad ruin. It was astonishing -to see what immense stones the heat had in a -manner calcined, so that all the ornaments, -columns, friezes, capitals, and projectures of -massie Portland stone flew off, even to the very -roof, where a sheet of lead covering a great -space (no less than six acres by measure) was -totally melted; the ruins of the vaulted roof -falling broke into St. Faith’s, which being filled -with the magazines of books belonging to the -Stationers, and carried thither for safety, they -were all consumed, burning for a week following.... Thus -lay in ashes that most venerable -Church, one of the most ancient pieces of -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]<br /><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span>early piety in the Christian world, besides near -100 more. The exquisitely wrought Mercers’ -Chapel, the sumptuous Exchange, the august -fabric of Christchurch, all the rest of the Companies’ -Halls, splendid buildings, arches, entries, -all in dust....</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_199"><img src="images/i_199.jpg" alt="" width="475" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Old St. Paul’s</span> (<small>A.D.</small> 1500).</p> -</div> - -<p>“The people who now walked about the -ruins appeared like men in some dismal desert -or rather in some great city laid waste by a cruel -enemy....The by-lanes and narrower streets -were quite filled up with rubbish, nor could one -have possibly known where he was, but by the -ruins of some Church or Hall, that had some -remarkable tower or pinnacle remaining....”</p> - -<p>Just as the Plague was by no means the first -plague which had visited the city, so there had -been other serious outbreaks of fire, but those -two visitations were by far the worst in the -history of London. We can gather some idea -of the scene of desolation which resulted when -we read that the ruins covered an area of 436 -acres—387 acres, or five-sixths of the entire city -within the walls and 73 acres without; that the -Fire wiped out four city gates, one cathedral,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span> -eighty-nine parish churches, the Royal Exchange, -Sion College, and all sorts of hospitals, -schools, etc.</p> - -<p>Yet gradually, not within three or four years, -as is commonly stated in history books, but -slowly, as the ruined citizens found money for -the purpose, there rose from the débris another -London—a London with broader, cleaner -streets, with larger and better-built houses of -stone and brick; with fine public buildings and -a new Cathedral—a London more like the city -which we know. So <em>modern</em> London began its -life.</p> - -<p>The River did not make a new London as it -had made the old city. Shops, markets, quays, -public buildings, did not spring up naturally in -places where the trade of the time demanded -them, as they had done in the old days, otherwise -much would have changed. Instead, the -new city very largely rebuilt itself on the -foundations of the old, quite regardless of -comfort or utility.</p> - -<p>Its supremacy as a Port was never in doubt. -With the tremendous break in London’s com<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span>merce, -caused first by the Plague and then by -the devastation of the Fire, it would have -seemed possible for the shipping to decrease -permanently; but it never did. So firmly was -London Port established in the past that it lived -on strongly into modern times, despite many -excellent reasons why it should lose its great -place.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_NINE">CHAPTER NINE</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>The Riverside and its Palaces</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">To-day</span>, when we stand upon Waterloo Bridge -and let our gaze rest upon the Embankment, as -it sweeps round in the large arc of a circle from -Blackfriars past Charing Cross to Westminster, -it is hard indeed to picture the time when these -massive buildings—hotels, public buildings, -suites of offices, etc.—were not there, when the -green grass grew right down to the water’s edge -on the left <em>strand</em> or bank of the River, when a -walk from the one city to the other was a walk -through country lanes and fields. It is hard -indeed to brush away all the ugly, grey reminders -of the present, and see a little of the -past in its beauty—for beautiful the River undoubtedly -was in Plantagenet, Tudor, and -Stuart times.</p> - -<p>We have spoken of the growth of the city, and -what the River meant to it; of the wharves and -warehouses which extended from the Tower to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span> -the Fleet River. That was the commercial -London of those days. Westwards from the -Fleet, along the side of the Thames, spread the -more picturesque signs of London’s prosperity—the -dwellings of some of the wealthy and -influential.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_204"><img src="images/i_204.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="582" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Fleet River at Blackfriars (<span class="allsmcap">a.d.</span> 1760).</span></p> -</div> - -<p>From the western end of the city—Ludgate -and Newgate—spread out westwards the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span> -suburbs, part of the city, though not actually -within its walls, until an outer limit was reached -at Temple Bar, situated at the western extremity -of one of London’s most famous -thoroughfares, Fleet Street, named after the -little river which flowed down where Farringdon -and New Bridge Streets are, and which -emptied itself, and still empties itself, in the -shape of a main drain, into the Thames beneath -Blackfriars Bridge.</p> - -<p>Between Fleet Street and the River stood the -Convent of the White Friars, and that most -famous of places the Temple.</p> - -<p>In the Middle Ages the Church was far more -intimately concerned with the everyday life of -the people than it is to-day, for the simple -reason that the clergy attended to the care of -the sick and aged, to the teaching of the young, -and other charitable works. Now it must be -understood that there were in this country two -classes of clergy—the monks, who were known -as “regular clergy” (who lived by a regulus or -rule), and the ordinary clergy, much as we have -them to-day, in charge of our cathedrals, parish<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span> -churches, etc., these last being known as -“secular clergy.” For the upkeep of the -Church folk paid what were known as “tithes.” -To begin with, this “tithe,” or tax, was handed -over to the bishop, who divided it out into four -parts—one for the building itself, one for the -poor, one for the priest, and one for himself. -Gradually, however, the “regulars” obtained -control of affairs, receiving the tithes, and, -instead of giving the full quarters to the “seculars,” -they simply paid them what they thought -fit, and appropriated the remainder for themselves. -This led to two things: the monasteries -became enormously wealthy, and the seculars -became exceedingly poor and dissatisfied; so -that there was constant strife between the two -branches. Many nobles, ignorant of the true -condition of affairs, and wishing the excellent -charitable work of the Church to be continued, -made great gifts to the Church. Unfortunately -these very great gifts were sometimes apt to do -the very opposite to what their donors intended. -Instead of the monks devoting themselves more -and more earnestly to the care of the needy,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span> -they began to think more of their own comfort -and position. They erected for themselves -extensive and comfortable dwellings, with their -own breweries, mills, and farms, and they lived -on the fat of the land. They indulged themselves -until their luxury became a byword with -the common people. Then arose two great -teachers, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic, -who were led to protest against the abuses. -They founded new Orders of religious men—called -the Friars—who went from place to place -with no money and only such clothes as covered -them. These men believed in and taught the -blessedness of poverty.</p> - -<p>Many of them came over from the Continent -and settled in various parts of the city. If you -pick up a map of London, even one of to-day, -you will see such names as Blackfriars, Whitefriars, -Crutched Friars, Austin Friars—showing -where they made their homes. Some, the -Black Friars, took up a position and eventually -built for themselves a fine monastery and church -just outside the city walls at the mouth of the -Fleet River. Others, the White Friars or Car<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span>melite -Monks, made themselves secure just to -the west of the Fleet.</p> - -<p>Whitefriars was one of London’s sanctuaries; -within its precincts wrong-doers were safe from -the arm of the Law. Now, in certain periods of -our history, such things as sanctuaries were -good; they frequently prevented innocent -men and women suffering at the hands of -tyrants and unscrupulous enemies. So that -the right of sanctuary was always most jealously -guarded. But, as time went on, this led to -abuses, and when the monasteries were closed -by Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>., the Lord Mayor of London -asked the King to abolish the sanctuary rights -of Blackfriars; but he would not do so. The -consequence was that Blackfriars and Whitefriars, -particularly the latter, became sinks of -iniquity. In the latter, which was nicknamed -Alsatia, congregated criminals of all sorts—thieves, -coiners, forgers, debtors, cut-throats, -burglars—as we can read in Scott’s novel, -“The Fortunes of Nigel.” For years it -held its evil associations, but it became so -bad that in 1697 there was passed a Bill<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span> -abolishing for ever the sanctuary rights of -Whitefriars.</p> - -<p>West of Whitefriars is the Temple, which, -with its quiet old courtyards, its beautiful -church, and its restful gardens stretching down -to the Embankment, is one of London’s most -fascinating places.</p> - -<p>It gets its name from its founders, the Knights -Templars—a great Order of men who lived in the -time of the Crusades, and whose white mantles -with a red cross have been famous ever since. -These knights, who took vows to remain unmarried -and poor, set themselves the great task -of guarding the pilgrims’ roads to the Holy -Land.</p> - -<p>In 1184 the Red Cross Knights settled on the -banks of the River Thames, and made their -home there in what was called the New Temple. -For 130 years they abode there, gradually increasing -in wealth and power, till in the end -their very strength defeated them. Princes -and nobles who had given them great gifts of -money for their worthy work saw that money -used, not for charitable purposes, but to keep<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span> -up the pomp and luxury of the place, and soon -various folk in high places coveted the Templars’ -wealth and power, and determined to -defeat them.</p> - -<p>So well did these folk work that in 1313 the -Order was broken up, and the property came -into the King’s hands. A few years later the -Temple was leased by the Crown to those men -who were studying the Law in London, and in -their hands it has been ever since, becoming -their own property in the reign of King James <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>.</p> - -<p>Originally the Temple was divided into three -parts—the Inner Temple, the Outer Temple, -and the Middle Temple. The Outer Temple, -which stood west of Temple Bar, and therefore -outside the city, was pulled down years ago, -and now only the two remain.</p> - -<p>Here in their chambers congregate the -barristers who conduct the cases in the Law -Courts just across the road; and here are still to -be found the students, all of whom must spend -a certain time in the Temple (or in one of the -other Inns of Court—Gray’s Inn or Lincoln’s Inn) -before being allowed to practise as a barrister.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_211"><img src="images/i_211.jpg" alt="" width="595" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Old Temple Bar, Fleet Street (now at Theobald’s Park).</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The Temple Church, which belongs to both -Inns of Court, is one of the few pieces of Norman -architecture which survive to us in London. -It is round in shape, now a rare thing. On the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span> -floor, and in many other places, may be seen -the Templars’ emblem—the red cross on a white -ground with the Paschal Lamb in the centre. -Figures of departed knights keep watch over -this strange church, their legs crossed to signify -(so it is said) that they had fought in one or -other of the Crusades.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_212"><img src="images/i_212.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="408" /></a> -<p class="caption center">The Strand from the ...</p> -<p class="caption center">Castle Hill. Ealing. York House. Durham House. Bedford House.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_213"><img src="images/i_213.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="418" /></a> -<p class="caption center"> ... Thames in the <abbr title="16th">XVI</abbr><sup>cent</sup></p> -<p class="caption center">Temple Church. Somerset House. Arundel House. Essex House.<br /> - Whitefriars Stairs.</p> -Click <a href="images/i_213-large.jpg"> here</a> for picture of both pages -</div> - -<p>The Temple Gardens, which still run down to -the Embankment, were one time famous for -their roses, and, according to Shakespeare, were -the scene of that famous argument which led to -the bitter struggle known as the War of the -Roses. You probably remember the famous -passage, ending with the lines—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">“And here I prophesy—this brawl to-day,</div> - <div class="verse">Grown to this faction in the Temple Garden,</div> - <div class="verse">Shall send between the red rose and the white</div> - <div class="verse">A thousand souls to death and deadly night.”</div> - <div class="verse indent2"><em>First Part of King Henry <abbr title="the sixth">VI</abbr>.</em>, Act <abbr title="2">II</abbr>. Sc. 4.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Westwards from the Temple as far as Westminster -stretched a practically unbroken line -of palaces, each standing in beautiful grounds -which sloped down in terraces to the water’s -edge. There was Somerset House, which for -long was a Royal residence. Lord Protector -Somerset began the building of it in 1549, -pulling down a large part of St. Paul’s cloisters -and also the churches of St. John’s, Clerkenwell,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span> -and St. Mary’s le Strand to provide the materials -for his builders; but long before its completion -Somerset was executed for treason, and the -property went to the Crown.</p> - -<p>Here Elizabeth lived occasionally while her -sister Mary was reigning. The old palace was -pulled down in 1756, and the present fine -building erected on the site. This modern -structure, with its fine river front, so well -combines strength and elegance that it seems -a pity it does not stand clear of other buildings.</p> - -<p>The rest of the palaces, westwards, survive -for the most part only as names. Where now -rises the great mass of the Savoy Hotel once -stood the ancient Palace of the Savoy, rising, -like some of the city houses, straight out of -the River, with a splendid water-gate in the -centre. It was the oldest of the Strand -palaces, being built by Peter of Savoy as early -as 1245. After various ownerships, it passed -into the hands of John of Gaunt, and was his -when it was plundered and almost entirely -burnt down by the followers of Wat Tyler in -1381. From that time onwards it had a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span> -chequered existence, being in turn prison and -hospital, till at last in 1805 it was swept away -when the approach to Waterloo Bridge was -made. There is still in the street leading down -to the Embankment the tiny Chapel Royal of -the Savoy, but it has been too often restored -to have much more interest than a name.</p> - -<p>Where now comes the Cecil Hotel stood -originally the famous palace or inn of the Cecils, -the Earls of Salisbury. York House, the town -palace of the Archbishops of York, stood where -now is Charing Cross Station. This at one -time belonged to the famous Steenie, Duke of -Buckingham and favourite of James <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. -Buckingham pulled down the old house in order -that another and more glorious might rise in -its place; but this was never done. Only the -water-gate was built, and this lovely relic still -stands in the Embankment Gardens, and from -its position, some distance behind the river-wall, -shows us how skilful engineers have saved quite -a wide strip of the foreshore.</p> - -<p>In all probability each of these Strand palaces -had its water-gate, from which the nobles and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span> -their ladies set out in their gay barges when -about to attend the Court at Westminster or -go shopping in London.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_216"><img src="images/i_216.jpg" alt="" width="632" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Water-Gate of York House.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Just beyond York House came Hungerford -House, which has given its name to the railway -bridge crossing from the station; and then came<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span> -Northumberland House, which was the last of the -great historic riverside palaces to be demolished, -being pulled down in comparatively modern -times to make way for Northumberland Avenue. -Other famous palaces are remembered in the -names of Durham Street and Scotland Yard.</p> - -<p>When in 1529 Wolsey fell from his high -estate, Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>., his unscrupulous master, -at once took possession of his palace at Whitehall, -and made it the principal Royal residence. -To give it suitable surroundings he formed -(for his own sport and pleasure) the park which -we now call St. James’s Park. When later he -dissolved the monasteries he seized a small -hospital, known as St. James-in-the-Fields, -standing on the far side of the estate, and -converted it into a hunting lodge. This afterwards -became the famous Palace of St. James’s.</p> - -<p>Of Whitehall Palace all that now remains is -the Banqueting Hall (now used to house the -exhibits of the United Service Institution), -built in the reign of James <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. by the famous -architect Inigo Jones; the rest perished by fire -soon after the revolution of 1688. For some<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span> -time afterwards St. James’s Palace was the -only Royal residence in London, but the -Sovereigns soon provided themselves with the -famous Kensington and Buckingham Palaces.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_218"><img src="images/i_218.jpg" alt="" width="548" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Banqueting Hall, Whitehall Palace.</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_TEN">CHAPTER TEN</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Royal Westminster—The Abbey</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> story of Westminster is nearly as old as -that of London itself.</p> - -<p>In our first chapter we spoke of the position -of London being fixed to a large extent by the -Kent road passing from Dover to the Midlands. -That road, heading from Rochester, originally -passed over—and still passes over—the Darent -at Dartford, the Cray at Crayford, the Ravensbourne -at Deptford; and then made its way, -not to the crossing at Billingsgate, but to a -still older ford or ferry which existed in very -early days at the spot where Westminster now -stands. If you look at the map of London, -you will see that the Edgware Road, passing -in a south-easterly direction from St. Albans, -comes down, with but a slight curve, as if to -meet this north-westerly Kent road. That -they did so meet there is but little doubt, and -this meeting gave us the Royal City of Westminster.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_220"><img src="images/i_220.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="425" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The River at Thorney Island.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>In pre-Roman days Lambeth and Westminster, -Belgravia and Chelsea, were simply -reedy marshes. Out of them rose a number of -gravelly islands of various sizes, and one of -these, larger and more solid than the rest—Thorney -or Bramble Island—became in due -course the site of the city which for centuries -was second only to London itself; for though -the building of the Bridge and the rapid growth -of the Port meant the diversion of the Kentish -Watling Street to a new route through London,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span> -the Thorney Island settlement grew just as -steadily as that of the bluff lower down the -stream, till eventually it held England’s most -celebrated Abbey and Royal Palace, and its -Houses of Parliament.</p> - -<p>As so often happened in early days, the -settlement developed round a religious house. -Probably it originated in a British fortress. -Certainly it comprised a considerable Roman -station and market. But all that lies in the -misty past. The legend remains that in the -year 604 Sebert, King of the East Saxons, -there founded a minster of the west (St. Peter’s) -to rival the minster of the east (St. Paul’s) -which was being erected within the City of -London; and indeed we are still shown in the -Abbey the tomb of this traditional founder.</p> - -<p>When we come to the reign of Edward the -Confessor we begin to get to actual definite -things. Edward, as we know from our history -books, was a very religious man, almost as -much a monk as a King; and he took special -delight in rebuilding ruined churches. While -he was in exile in Normandy he made a vow<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span> -to St. Peter that he would go on pilgrimage to -Rome if ever he came into his kingdom. When, -in the passage of time, he became King, and -proposed to carry out his vows, his counsellors -would not hear of such a journey; and, in the -end, the Pope of Rome released him from his -vow on condition that he agreed to build an -Abbey to the glory of St. Peter.</p> - -<p>This Edward did. His own particular friend, -Edwin, presided over the small monastery of -Thorney, so Edward determined to make this -the site of his new Abbey. Pulling down the -old place, he devoted a tenth part of his income -to the raising of the new “Collegiate Church -of St. Peter of Westminster.” Commenced in -the year 1049, it became the King’s life-work, -and was consecrated only eight days before his -death.</p> - -<p>In order that he might see the builders at -work on his favourite project, he built himself -a palace between the Abbey and the River, -and for fifteen years he watched the rising into -being of such an Abbey as England had never -known. He endowed it lavishly with estates,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span> -and gave it the right of sanctuary, whereby all -men should be safe within its walls.</p> - -<p>Of course, the fine structure we see as we -stand in the open space known as Broad -Sanctuary is not the Confessor’s building. Of -that, all that now remains is the Chapel of the -Pyx, the great schoolroom of Westminster -School, which was the old monks’ dormitory, -and portions of the walls of the south cloister. -The rest has been added from time to time by -the various Sovereigns. Henry <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>., in 1245, -pulled down large portions of the old structure, -and erected a beautiful chapel to contain the -remains of the Abbey’s founder, and this chapel -we can visit to-day. In it lies the sainted -Confessor, borne thither on the shoulders of the -Plantagenet nobles whose humbler tombs surround -the shrine; also his Queen, Eleanor; -Edward <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>., and that Queen who saved the -lives of the burghers of Calais; also the luckless -Richard <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_224"><img src="images/i_224.jpg" alt="" width="439" height="600" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>.’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Other Sovereigns also took a share; but it -was left to Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>. to give us the body of -the Abbey mainly in the shape we know. At<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span> -enormous expense he erected the famous Perpendicular -chapel, called by his name—one of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span> -the most beautiful and magnificent chapels in -the whole world.</p> - -<p>When we stand in the subdued light in this -exquisite building, and examine the beautifully -fretted stone-work of its amazing roof—a “dream -in stone,” its “walls wrought into universal -ornament,” the richly carved, dark-oak stalls -of the Knights of the Bath with the banners -of their Order drooping overhead—we find it -hard to recall that this miserly man was one -of the least popular of England’s Kings.</p> - -<p>In this spot lie, in addition to the remains -of Henry himself, those of most of our later -Kings and Queens. Here side by side the -sisters Mary and Elizabeth “are at one; the -daughter of Catherine of Aragon and the -daughter of Anne Boleyn repose in peace at -last.” Here, too, rests that tragic figure of -history, Mary Queen of Scots; and James <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>., -Charles <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>., William <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>., Queen Anne, and -George <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>.</p> - -<p>For numbers of us one of the most interesting -parts of the Abbey will always be “Poets’ -Corner,” in the south transept. Here rest all<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span> -that remains of many of our mightiest wielders -of the pen, from Chaucer, the father of English -poetry, down to Tennyson and Browning. -Many of the names on the monuments which -cluster so closely together are forgotten now, -just as their works are never read; but the -tablets to the memory of Shakespeare, Ben -Jonson, Dryden, Dickens, Tennyson, and -Browning, will always serve to remind us of -the mighty dead. The north transept is devoted -largely to the monuments to our great statesmen -and our great warriors.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_226"><img src="images/i_226.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="425" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Westminster Abbey.</span></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span></p> - -<p>In the Choir we come upon the Coronation -Chairs. The Confessor in building his church -had in mind that the Abbey should be the place -of coronation of England’s Sovereigns; and -down through the centuries this custom has -been observed. Indeed, certain parts of the -regalia worn by the King or Queen on Coronation -Day are actually the identical articles -presented to the Abbey by Edward himself. -The old and battered chair is that of Edward <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>., -the “hammer of the Scots,” who lies buried -with his fellow Plantagenets in the Confessor’s -Chapel. Just under the seat of the chair is -the famous “stone of destiny,” brought from -Scone by Edward, to mark the completeness of -the defeat. Its removal to Westminster sorely -troubled our northern neighbours, for they -believed that the Supreme Power travelled -with that stone. Since those days every -English Sovereign has been crowned in this -chair. Its companion was made for Mary, wife -of William <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>.</p> - -<p>In the Nave lies one of the most frequently -visited of all the tombs—the last resting-place<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span> -of the Unknown Warrior, who, brought over -from France and buried with all the grandeur -and solemnity of a Royal funeral, typifies for -us the thousands of brave lads who made the -great sacrifice—who died that we might live.</p> - -<p>What most of us forget is that the place -which we call Westminster Abbey was only the -Chapel belonging to the Abbey, the place where -the monks worshipped. In addition there was -a whole collection of buildings where the monks -ate, slept, studied, worked, etc. Of these most -have been swept away. If we pass out through -the door of the South Aisle we can see the -ancient cloisters where the monks washed -themselves, took their exercise and such little -recreation as they were allowed, and where -they buried their brothers. There was also the -Abbot’s House, which afterwards became the -Deanery, and there was the Chapter House, -a building which fortunately has been preserved -to us almost in its original condition. This -was the place where the business of the Abbey -was conducted, where the monks came together -each day after Matins in order that the tasks<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span> -of the day might be allotted and God’s blessing -asked, where afterwards offenders were tried -and penances imposed. Till the end of the -reign of Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>. the House of Commons -met in this chamber when the monks were not -using it; and afterwards it was set aside as an -office for the keeping of records. When in 1540 -came the dissolution of the Abbey, the Chapter -House became Royal property, and that is why -we now see a policeman in charge of it instead -of one of the Abbey vergers.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_ELEVEN">CHAPTER ELEVEN</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Royal Westminster—The Houses of Parliament</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">When</span> in the eleventh century Edward the -Confessor built the palace from which to survey -the erection of his beloved Abbey, he little -dreamed that upon the very spot would meet -the Parliament of an Empire greater even than -Rome; nor did he realize that through several -centuries Westminster Palace would be the -favourite home of the Kings and Queens of -England.</p> - -<p>William Rufus added to the Confessor’s -edifice, and also partially built the walls of the -Great Hall, which is the sole thing that remains -of the ancient fabric. Other Kings enlarged -the palace from time to time. Stephen erected -the Chapel of St. Stephen, in which met the -Commons from the time of Edward <abbr title="the sixth">VI</abbr>. till -the year 1834, when a terrible fire wiped out -practically the whole of the ancient Palace of -Westminster.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_231"><img src="images/i_231.jpg" alt="" width="406" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Houses of Parliament.</span></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span></p> - -<p>To-day, when we stand on Westminster -Bridge or Lambeth Bridge, and survey the huge -building which provides London with one of -its greatest landmarks, we are looking at a new -Palace: from the River not a stone of the old -structure is visible. A magnificent Palace it is -too! Its towers, one at each end, rise high -into the air, one of them 320 feet high, the -other 20 feet more; and its buildings cover a -matter of 8 acres. From Westminster Bridge -we see the whole of the river front, 900 feet -long, with the famous “terrace” in front, -where in summer the Members of Parliament -stroll and take tea with their friends.</p> - -<p>Westminster Hall, which fortunately survived -the disastrous fire of 1834, is on the side farthest -from the River: it runs parallel with the House -of Commons, and projects from the main -building just opposite the end of the Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>. -Chapel in the Abbey.</p> - -<p>If we enter the Parliament buildings we shall -very possibly do so by the famous hall known -as St. Stephen’s Hall—built on the site of the -ancient House of Commons. Westminster Hall<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span> -then lies to our left, as we enter, down a flight -of steps.</p> - -<p>Let us descend for a few moments, for the -Hall is perhaps the finest of its kind in all our -land. Its vast emptiness silences the words -which rise to our lips: we feel instinctively -that this is a place of wonderful memories. -Our eyes travel along the mighty, carved-oak -roof which spans the great width of the building, -and we can scarcely believe that this roof was -built so long ago as the time of Richard <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>., or -even earlier, and that it is still the actual -timbers we see in places.</p> - -<p>What stories could these ancient stones -beneath our feet tell us, had they but the -power! What tales of joy and what tales of -terrible tragedy! Here were held many of the -festivities which followed the coronation ceremonies -in the Abbey. Henry <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. here showed -to the citizens his bride, Eleanor of Provence, -when “there were assembled such a multitude -of the nobility of both sexes, such numbers of -the religious, and such a variety of stage-players, -that the City of London could scarcely<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span> -contain them.... Whatever the world pours -forth of pleasure and glory was there specially -displayed.” And yet a few years later saw -that same Henry taking part in a vastly -different spectacle—when, in the presence of a -gathering equally distinguished, he was compelled -to watch the Archbishop of Canterbury -as he threw to the stone floor of the Hall a -lighted torch, with these words: “Thus be -extinguished and stink and smoke in hell all -those who dare to violate the charters of the -Kingdom.”</p> - -<p>A plate let into the floor tells us that on that -spot stood Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, strong -Minister of a weak King, when he was tried for -his life; while upon the stairs which we have -descended is another tablet to mark the spot -whence that weak King himself, Charles <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>., -heard his death sentence. Here, too, were tried -William Wallace, Thomas More, and Warren -Hastings, while just outside in Old Palace -Yard the half-demented Guido Fawkes and the -proud, scholarly Sir Walter Raleigh met their -deaths.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>[225]</span></p> - -<p>Returning to St. Stephen’s Hall, which is -lined with the statues of the great statesmen -who were famous in the older chamber, and -passing up another flight of steps, we find ourselves -in the octagonal Central Hall, or, as it -is more usually called, the Lobby. Here we -are practically in the middle of the great pile -of buildings. To our right, as we enter, stretches -the House of Lords and all the apartments -that pertain to it—the Audience Chamber, -the Royal Robing Room, the Peers’ Robing -Room, the House of Lords Library—ending -in the stately square tower, known as the -Victoria Tower. To our left lies the House -of Commons and all its committee, dining, -smoking, reading-rooms, etc., ending in the -famous “Big Ben” tower. “Big Ben” is, -of course, known to everybody. Countless -thousands have heard his 13½ tons of metal -boom out the hour of the day, and have set -their watches right by the 14-foot minute-hands -of the four clock-faces, which each measure -23 feet across.</p> - -<p>The House of Lords itself is a fine building,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>[226]</span> -90 feet long and 45 feet wide, its walls and -ceiling beautifully decorated with paintings -representing famous scenes from our history. -At one end is the King’s gorgeous throne, and -beside it, slightly lower, those of the Queen and -the Prince of Wales. Just in front is the -famous “Woolsack,” an ugly red seat, stuffed -with wool, as a reminder of the days when -wool was the chief source of the nation’s wealth. -On this, when the House is in session, sits the -Lord Chancellor of England, who presides over -the assembly.</p> - -<p>The House of Commons is not quite so -ornate: here the benches are upholstered in a -quiet green. At the far end is the Speaker’s -Chair. The Speaker, as you probably know, -is the chairman of the House of Commons, the -member who has been chosen by his fellows to -control the debates and keep order in the -House. In front of the Speaker’s Chair is a -table, at which sit three men in wigs and gowns, -the Clerks of the House. On the table lies the -Mace—the heavy staff which is the emblem of -authority.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>[227]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_TWELVE">CHAPTER TWELVE</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>The Riverside of To-day</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> Riverside of to-day is noticeable for many -things, but for nothing more so than the very -great difference between the two banks. On -the one hand we have a magnificent Embankment -sweeping round through almost the entire -length of the River’s passage through London, -with large and important buildings surmounting -the thoroughfare; while on the other hand we -have nothing but a huddled collection of commercial -buildings, right on the water’s edge—unimposing, -dingy, and dismal, save in the one -spot where the new County Hall breaks the -ugly monotony and gives promise of better -things in future for the Surrey shore.</p> - -<p>The Embankment on the Middlesex side may -perhaps be said to be one of the outcomes of the -Great Fire, for, though its construction was -not undertaken till 1870, it was one of the main -improvements suggested by Sir Christopher<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>[228]</span> -Wren in his scheme for the rebuilding of -London. The Victoria Embankment, which -sweeps round from Blackfriars to Westminster, -is a mile and a quarter long. Its river face -consists of a great granite wall, 8 feet in thickness, -with tunnels inside it for the carrying of -sewers, water-mains, gas-pipes, etc., all of which -can be reached without interfering with that -splendid wide road beneath which the Underground -Railway runs. There is a continuation -of the Embankment on the south side from -Westminster to Vauxhall, known as the Albert -Embankment, while on the north it runs, with -some interruptions, as far as Chelsea.</p> - -<p>One of the most interesting sights of the -Embankment is Cleopatra’s Needle—a tall stone -obelisk, which stands by the water’s edge. -This stone, one of the oldest monuments in the -world, stood originally in the ancient city of -On, in Egypt, and formed part of an enormous -temple to the sun-god. Later it was shifted -with a similar stone to Alexandria, there to -take a place in the Cæsarium—the temple -erected in honour of the Roman Emperors.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>[229]</span> -Centuries passed: the Cæsarium fell into ruins, -and Cleopatra’s obelisk lay forgotten in the -sand. Eventually it was offered to this country -by the Khedive of Egypt, but the task of -transporting it was so difficult that nothing -was done till 1877-8, when Sir Erasmus Wilson -undertook the enormous cost of the removal. -It has nothing to do with Cleopatra.</p> - -<p>Of the bridges over the River we have already -dealt with the most famous—the remarkable -old London Bridge which stood for so many -centuries and only came to an end in 1832. -Westminster Bridge, built in 1750, was the first -rival to the ancient structure, and though it -was but a poor affair it made the City Council -very dissatisfied with their possession. Nor -was this surprising, for the old bridge had got -into a very bad state, so that in 1756 the City -Fathers decided to demolish all the buildings -on the bridge, and to make a parapet and -proper footwalks.</p> - -<p>Up to the time of King George <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>. there was -at Westminster merely a jetty or landing-stage -used in connection with the ferry that was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>[230]</span> -used in place of the ancient ford; but during -this King’s reign Westminster, and, shortly -afterwards, Blackfriars Bridge, came into being. -Battersea and Vauxhall, Waterloo (built two -years after the battle), Southwark, Chelsea, and -Lambeth followed in fairly rapid succession. -Of these, Westminster, Blackfriars, Battersea, -Vauxhall, and Southwark have already been -rebuilt.</p> - -<p>Old Vauxhall Bridge was the first cast-iron -bridge ever built; Wandsworth was the first -lattice bridge; Waterloo Bridge the first ever -made with a perfectly level roadway. Hungerford -Bridge, which stretched where now that -atrociously ugly iron structure, the Charing -Cross Railway bridge, defiles the River, was -originally designed by Brunel, the eminent -engineer, to span the gorge over the Avon at -Clifton, but it was eventually placed in position -across the Thames. When the atrocity was -built the suspension bridge was taken back to -Clifton, where it now hangs like a spider’s web -over the mighty gap in the hills.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_241"><img src="images/i_241.jpg" alt="" width="399" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">St. Paul’s from the South End of Southwark Bridge.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Until the close of the nineteenth century -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>[231]<br /><a id="Page_232"></a>[232]</span>London Bridge enjoyed the distinction of being -the lowest bridge on the River’s course; but in -1894 the wonderful Tower Bridge was opened. -This mighty structure, which was commenced -in 1886, cost no less than £830,000. In its -construction 235,000 cubic feet of granite and -other stone, 20,000 tons of cement, 10,000 yards -of concrete, 31,000,000 bricks, and 14,000 tons -of steel were used. In its centre are two -bascules, each weighing 1,200 tons, which swing -upwards to allow big ships to pass into the -Pool. Although these enormous bascules, the -largest in the world, weigh so much, they work -by hydraulic force as smoothly and easily as -a door opens and shuts.</p> - -<p>Of the buildings on the south side of the -River practically none are worthy of notice -save the Shot Tower—where lead-shot is made -by dropping the molten metal from the top of -the shaft—the new County Hall, and St. Thomas’s -Hospital at Westminster. The County Hall -is a splendid structure, one of the finest of its -kind in the whole world. It possesses miles of -corridors, hundreds of rooms, and what is more,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>[233]</span> -a magnificent water frontage. The architect is -Mr. Ralph Knott. St. Thomas’s Hospital, which -stands close to it, is one of a number of -excellent hospitals in various parts of London. -When in 1539 the monasteries were closed, -London was left without anything in the way -of hospitals, or alms-houses, or schools; for the -care of the sick, the infirm, and the young had -always been the work of the monks and the -nuns. In consequence, London suffered terribly. -Matters became so extremely serious that the -City Fathers approached the King with a view -to the return of some of these institutions. -Their petition was granted, and King Henry -gave back St. Bartholomew’s, Christ’s Hospital, -and the Bethlehem Hospital. Later King -Edward <abbr title="the sixth">VI</abbr>. allowed the people to purchase -St. Thomas’s Hospital—the hospital of the old -Abbey of Bermondsey. When in 1871 the -South-Eastern Railway Company purchased -the ground on which the old structure stood, -a new and more convenient building was erected -on the Albert Embankment opposite the Houses -of Parliament.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>[234]</span></p> - -<p>As we stand once more on Westminster -Bridge and see the two great places, one on each -side, where our lawmakers sit—those of the -Nation and those of the great City—our glance -falls on the dirty water of old Father Thames -slipping by; and we think to ourselves that -great statesmen may spring to fame and then -die and leave England the poorer, governments -good and bad may rise and fall, changes of all -sorts may happen within these two stately -buildings, the very stones may crumble to dust, -but still the River flows on—silent, irresistible.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235"></a>[235]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="BOOK_III">BOOK <abbr title="3">III</abbr></h2> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="center">THE UPPER RIVER</p> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>[236]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_246"><img src="images/i_246.jpg" alt="" width="423" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Castle Keep, Oxford.</span></p> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237"></a>[237]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_UPPER_RIVER">THE UPPER RIVER</h2> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER ONE</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Stripling Thames</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Just</span> where the Thames starts has always been -a matter of argument, for several places have -laid claim to the honour of holding the source -of this great national possession.</p> - -<p>About three miles south-west of Cirencester, -and quite close to that ancient and famous -highway the Ackman Street (or Bath fosseway), -there is a meadow known as Trewsbury Mead, -lying in a low part of the western Cotswolds, -just where Wiltshire and Gloucestershire meet; -and in this is situated what is commonly known -as “Thames Head”—a spring which in winter -bubbles forth from a hollow, but which in -summer is so completely dried by the action -of the Thames Head Pump, which drains the -water from this and all other springs in the -neighbourhood, that the cradle of the infant<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238"></a>[238]</span> -Thames is usually bone-dry for a couple of -miles or more of its course. This spot is usually -recognized as the beginning of the River.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_248"><img src="images/i_248.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="455" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Thames Head.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>If, however, we consider that the source of a -river is the point at greatest distance from the -mouth we shall have to look elsewhere; for the -famous “Seven Streams” at the foot of Leckhampton -Hill, from which comes the brook -later known as the River Churn, can claim the -distinction of being a few more miles from the -North Sea; and this distinction has frequently<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239"></a>[239]</span> -been recognized as sufficient to grant the claim -to be the true commencement.</p> - -<p>But the Churn has always been the Churn -(indeed, the Romans named the neighbouring -settlement from the stream—Churn-chester or -Cirencester); and no one has ever thought of -calling it the Thames. Whereas the stream -beginning in Trewsbury Mead has from time -immemorial been known as the Thames (Isis -is only an alternative name, not greatly used in -early days); and so the verdict of history seems -to be on its side, whatever geography may have -to say.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless it matters little which can -most successfully support its claim. What -does matter is that Churn, and Isis, and Leach, -and Ray, and Windrush, and the various other -feeders, give of their waters in sufficient quantity -to ensure a considerable river later on. From -the point of view of their usefulness both the -main stream and the tributaries are negligible -till we come to Lechlade, for only there does -navigation and consequently trade begin. But -if the stream is not very useful, it is exceedingly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240"></a>[240]</span> -pretty, with quaint rustic bridges spanning -its narrow channel, and fine old-world mills and -mansions and cottages and numbers of ancient -churches on its banks.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_250"><img src="images/i_250.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="458" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Lechlade from the First Lock.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The first place of any size is the little town of -Cricklade, which can even boast of two churches. -Here the little brooks of infant Thames (or Isis) -and Churn join forces, and yield quite a flowing -stream. At Lechlade the rivulet is joined by -the Colne, and its real life as a river commences. -From now on to London there is a towing-path<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241"></a>[241]</span> -beside the river practically the whole of the way, -for navigation by barges thus early becomes -possible.</p> - -<p>From Lechlade onwards to Old Windsor, a -matter of about a hundred miles, the upper -Thames has on its right bank the county of -Berkshire, with its beautiful Vale of the White -Horse, remembered, of course, by all readers -of “Tom Brown’s Schooldays.” On the left -bank is Oxfordshire as far as Henley, and -Buckinghamshire afterwards.</p> - -<p>In and out the “stripling Thames” winds -its way, clear as crystal as it slips past green -meadows and little copses. There is very -little to note as we pass between Lechlade and -Oxford, a matter of forty miles or so. Owing -to the clay bed, not a town of any sort finds a -place on or near the banks. Such villages as -there are stand few and far between.</p> - -<p>Just past Lechlade there is Kelmscott, where -William Morris dwelt for some time in the -Manor House; and the village will always be -famous for that. There in the old-world place -he wrote the fine poems and tales which later<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242"></a>[242]</span> -he printed in some of the most beautiful books -ever made, and there he thought out his -beautiful designs for wall-papers, carpets, -curtains, etc. He was a wonderful man, was -William Morris, a day-dreamer who was not -content with his dreams until they had taken -actual shape.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_252"><img src="images/i_252.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="480" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Kelmscott Manor.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>On we go past New Bridge, which is one of -the oldest, if not the very oldest, of the many -bridges which cross the River. Close at hand -the Windrush joins forces, and the River swells<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243"></a>[243]</span> -and grows wider as it sweeps off to the north. -Away on the hill on the Berkshire side is a little -village known as Cumnor, which is not of any -importance in itself, but which is interesting -because there once stood the famous Cumnor -Hall, where the beautiful Amy Robsart met -with her untimely death, as possibly some of -you have read in Sir Walter Scott’s novel -“Kenilworth.” Receiving the Evenlode, the -River bends south again, and a little later we -pass Godstow Lock, not far from which are the -ruins of Godstow Nunnery, where Fair Rosamund -lived and was afterwards buried. Between -Godstow and Oxford is a huge, flat piece -of meadowland, known as Port Meadow: this -during the War formed one of our most important -flying-grounds.</p> - -<p>Henceforward the upper Thames is interrupted -at fairly frequent intervals by those -man-made contrivances known as <em>locks</em>—ingenious -affairs which in recent years have -taken the place of or rather supplemented the -old-fashioned weirs. For any river which -boasts of serious water traffic the chief difficulty,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244"></a>[244]</span> -especially in summer-time, has always been -that of holding back sufficient water to enable -the boats to keep afloat. Naturally with a -sloping bed the water runs rapidly seawards, -and if the supply is not plentiful the river soon -tends to become shallow or even dry. In very -early days man noticed this, and, copying the -beaver, he erected dams or weirs to hold back -the water, and keep it at a reasonable depth. -And down through the centuries until comparatively -recent years these dams or weirs -sufficed. As man progressed he fashioned his -weirs with a number of “paddles” which -lifted up and down to allow a boat to pass -through. When the craft was moving downstream -just one or two paddles were raised, and -the boat shot through the narrow opening on -the crest of the rapids thus formed; but when -the boat was making its way upstream more -paddles were raised so that the rush of water -was not so great, and the boat was with difficulty -hauled through the opening in face of the -strong current. This very picturesque but -primitive method lasted until comparatively<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245"></a>[245]</span> -recent years. Now the old paddle-locks have -gone the way of all ancient and delightful -things, and in their places we have the -thoroughly effective “pound-locks”—affairs -with double gates and a pool or dock in between—which -in reality convert the river into a long -series of water-terraces or steps, dropping lower -and lower the nearer we approach the mouth.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246"></a>[246]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER TWO</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Oxford</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">One</span> hundred and twelve miles above London -Bridge there is the second most celebrated city -on the banks of the Thames—Oxford, the -“city of spires,” as it has been called. By no -means a big place, it is famous as the home of -our oldest University.</p> - -<p>Seen from a distance, Oxford is a place of -great beauty, especially when the meadows -round about are flooded. Then it seems to -rise from the water like some English Venice. -Nor does the beauty grow less as we approach -closer, or when we view the city from some other -point. Always we see the delicate spires of -the Cathedral and the churches, the beautiful -towers of the various colleges, the great dome -of the Radcliffe Camera, all of them nestling -among glorious gardens and fine old trees.</p> - -<p>The question at once comes into our minds, -Why is it that there is a famous city here?<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247"></a>[247]</span> -Why should such a place as this, right out in -the country, away from what might be called -the main arteries of the life of England, be one -of the most important seats of learning?</p> - -<p>To understand this we must go back a long -way, and we must ask ourselves the question, -Why was there ever anything—even a village—here -at all? If we think a little we shall see -that in the early days, when there were not very -many good roads, and when there were still -fewer bridges, the most important spots along a -river were the places where people could cross: -that is to say, the fords. To these spots came -the merchants with their waggons and their -trains of pack-horses, the generals with their -armies, the drovers with their cattle, the pilgrims -with their staves. All and sundry, journeying -from place to place, made for the fords, while -the long stretches of river bank between these -places were never visited and seldom heard of.</p> - -<p>Now, what made a ford? Shallow water, -you say. Yes, that is true. But shallow water -was not enough. It was necessary besides that -the bed of the stream should be firm and hard,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248"></a>[248]</span> -so that those who wished might find a safe -crossing. And places where such a bottom could -be found were few and far between along the -course of the Thames. Practically everywhere -it was soft clay in which the feet of the men -and the animals and the wheels of the waggons -sank deep if they tried to get from bank to -bank.</p> - -<p>But, just at the point where the Thames -bends southwards, just before the Cherwell -flows into it, there is a stretch of gravel which -in years gone by made an excellent ford and -provided a suitable spot on which some sort of -a settlement might grow.</p> - -<p>How old that settlement is no one knows. Legend -tells us that a Mercian saint by the name of Frideswide, -together with a dozen companions, founded a nunnery -here somewhere about the year 700. Certainly the village -is mentioned under the name of Oxenford (that is, the -ford of the oxen) in the Saxon Chronicle, a book of ancient -history written about a thousand years ago; and we know -that Edward the Elder took possession of it, and, -building<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249"></a>[249]</span> a castle -and walls, made a royal residence. So that it is a place -of great antiquity.</p> - -<p>Another question that comes into our minds is -this, When did Oxford become the great home -of learning which it has so long been? Here -again the truth is difficult to ascertain. Legend -tells us that King Alfred founded the schools, -but that is rather more than doubtful. We do -know that during the twelfth century there was -a great growth in learning. Right throughout -Europe great schools sprang into existence, one -of the most important being that in Paris. -Thither went numbers of Englishmen to learn, -and they, returning to their own land, founded -schools in different parts, usually in connection -with the monasteries and the cathedrals. Such -a school was one which grew into being at -St. Frideswide’s monastery at Oxford. Also -King Henry <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. (Beauclerc—the fine scholar—as -he was called) built a palace at Oxford, and -there he gathered together many learned men, -and from that time people gradually began to -flock to Oxford for education. They tramped -weary miles through the forest, across the hills<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250"></a>[250]</span> -and dales, and so came to the little town, only -to find it crowded out with countless others as -poor as themselves; but they were not disheartened. -There being no proper places for -teaching, they gathered with their masters, -also equally poor, wherever they could find a -quiet spot, in a porch, or a loft, or a stable; and -so the torch was handed on. Gradually lecture-rooms, -or schools as they were called, and -lodging-houses or halls, were built, and life -became more bearable. Then in 1229 came an -accident which yet further established Oxford -in its position. This accident took the form of -a riot in the streets of Paris, during the course -of which several scholars of Paris University -were killed by the city archers. Serious trouble -between the University folk and the Provost -of Paris came of this; and, in the end, there was -a very great migration of students from Paris -to Oxford; and, a few years after, England -could boast of Oxford as a famous centre of -learning.</p> - -<p>But it was not till the reign of Henry <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. that -a real college, as we understand it, came into<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251"></a>[251]</span> -being. Then, in the year 1264, one Walter -de Merton gathered together in one house a -number of students, and there they lived and -were taught; and thus Merton, the oldest of the -colleges, began. Others soon followed—Balliol, -watched over by the royal Dervorguilla; University -College, founded by William of Durham, -who was one to come over after the Paris town -and gown quarrel; New College; and so on, -college after college, until now, as we wander -about the streets of this charming old city, it -seems almost as if every other building is a -college. And magnificent buildings they are -too, with their glorious towers and gateways, -their beautiful stained-glass windows, their -panelled walls. To wander round the city of -Oxford is to step back seemingly into a forgotten -age, so worn and ancient-looking are -these piles of masonry. Modern clothes seem -utterly out of place in such an antique spot.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_262"><img src="images/i_262.jpg" alt="" width="412" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Magdalen Tower</span> <em>from the</em> <span class="smcap">Bridge</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p>Different folk, of course, will regard different -colleges as holding pride of place; but, I am sure, -all will agree that one of the finest is Magdalen -College, a beautiful building standing amid -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252"></a>[252]<br /><a id="Page_253"></a>[253]</span>cool, green meadows. Very fine indeed is the -great tower, built in 1492, from the top of which -every May morning the College choir sings a -glad hymn of praise; and very fine too are the -cloisters below, and the lovely leafy walks in -whose shade many famous men have walked -in their youthful days.</p> - -<p>If we grant to Magdalen its claim to be the -most beautiful of the colleges, we must undoubtedly -recognize Christ Church as the most -magnificent. We shall see something of the -splendour of Cardinal Wolsey’s ideas with -regard to building when we talk about his -palace at Hampton Court, and we need feel no -surprise at the grandeur of Christ Church. -Unfortunately, Wolsey’s ideas were never -carried out: his fall from favour put an end -to the work when but three sides of the Great -Quadrangle had been completed; and then for -just on a century the fabric stood in its unfinished -state—a monument to o’erleaping -ambition. Nevertheless it was completed, and -though it is not all that Wolsey intended it -to be, it is still one of the glories of the city.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254"></a>[254]</span> -Built round about the old Cathedral, it stands -upon the site of the ancient St. Frideswide’s -priory.</p> - -<p>The famous “Tom Tower” which stands in -the centre of the front of the building was not a -part of the original idea: it was added in 1682 -by Dr. Fell, according to the design of Sir -Christopher Wren, the architect of St. Paul’s -Cathedral. “Tom Tower” is so called because -of its great bell, brought from Osney Abbey. -“Great Tom,” which weighs no less than -six tons, peals forth each night at nine o’clock -a hundred and one strokes, and by the time of -the last stroke all the College gates are supposed -to be shut and all the undergraduates safely -within the College buildings.</p> - -<p>The most wonderful possession of Christ -Church is its glorious “Early English” hall, -in which the members of the College dine daily: -115 feet long, 40 feet broad, and 50 feet high, -it is unrivalled in all England, with perhaps the -exception of Westminster Hall. Here at the -tables have sat many of England’s most famous -men—courtiers, writers, politicians, soldiers,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255"></a>[255]</span> -artists—and the portraits of a number of them, -painted by famous painters, look down from the -ancient walls.</p> - -<p>But these are only two of the colleges. At -every turn some other architectural beauty, -some dream in stone, discloses itself, for the -colleges are dotted about all over the centre -of the town, and at every other corner there is -some spot of great interest. To describe them -all briefly would more than fill the pages of this -book.</p> - -<p>Nor are colleges the only delightful buildings -in this city of beautiful places. There is the -famous Sheldonian Theatre, built from Wren’s -plans: this follows the model of an ancient -Roman theatre, and will seat four thousand -people. There is the celebrated Bodleian -Library, founded as early as 1602, and containing -a rich collection of rare Eastern and -Greek and Latin books and manuscripts. The -Bodleian, like the British Museum, has the -right to call for a copy of every book published -in the United Kingdom.</p> - -<p>But Oxford has known a life other than that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256"></a>[256]</span> -of a university town: it has been in its time a -military centre of some importance. As we -sweep round northwards in the train from -London, just before we enter the city, the great -square tower of the Castle stands out, one of -the most prominent objects in the town. And -it is really one of the most interesting too, -though few find time to visit it. So absorbed -are most folk in the churches and chapels, the -libraries and college halls, with their exquisite -carvings and ornamentations and their lovely -gardens, that they forget this frowning relic -of the Conqueror’s day—the most lasting -monument of the city. Built in 1071 by -Robert d’Oilly, boon companion of the Conqueror, -it has stood the test of time through -all these centuries. Like Windsor, that other -Norman stronghold, it has seen little enough -of actual fighting: in Oxford the pen has nearly -always been mightier than the sword.</p> - -<p>One brief episode of war it had when Stephen -shut up his cousin, the Empress Maud, within -its walls in the autumn of 1142. Then Oxford -tasted siege if not assault, and the castle was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257"></a>[257]</span> -locked up for three months. However, the -River and the weather contrived to save Maud, -for, just as provisions were giving out and -surrender was only a matter of days, there came -a severe frost and the waters were thickly -covered. Then it was that the Empress with -but two or three white-clad attendants escaped -across the ice and made her way to Wallingford, -while her opponents closely guarded the roads -and bridges.</p> - -<p>Nor in our consideration of the glories of this -beloved old city must we forget the River—for -no one in the place forgets it. Perhaps -we should not speak of <em>the</em> River, for Oxford -is the fortunate possessor of two, standing as -it does in the fork created by the flowing -together of the Thames and the Cherwell. -The Thames, as we have already seen, flows -thither from the west, while the Cherwell makes -its way southwards from Edgehill; and, though -we are accustomed to think of the Thames as -the main stream, the geologists, whose business -it is to make a close study of the earth’s surface, -tell us that the Cherwell is in reality the more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258"></a>[258]</span> -important of the two; that down its valley in -the far-away past flowed a great river which -with the Kennet was the ancestor of the present-day -River; that the tributary Thames has grown -so much that it has been able to capture and -take over as its own the valley of the Cherwell -from Oxford onwards to Reading. But that, -of course, is a story of the very dim past, long -before the days of history.</p> - -<p>The Cherwell is a very pretty little stream, -shaded by overhanging willows and other trees, -so that it is usually the haunt of pleasure, the -place where the undergraduate takes his own -or somebody else’s sister for an afternoon’s -excursion, or where he makes his craft fast in -the shade in order that he may enjoy an afternoon’s -quiet reading. A walk through the -meadows on its banks is, indeed, something -very pleasant, with the stream on one side of -us and that most beautiful of colleges, Magdalen, -on the other. Here as we proceed down the -famous avenue of pollard willows, winding -between two branches of the stream, we can -hear almost continuously the singing of in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259"></a>[259]</span>numerable -birds, for the Oxford gardens and -meadows form a veritable sanctuary in which -live feathered friends of every sort.</p> - -<p>But the Thames (or Isis as it is invariably -called in Oxford) is the place of more serious -matters. To the rowing man “the River” -means only one thing, and really only a very -short space of that: he is accustomed to speak -of “the River” and “the Cher,” and with him -the latter does not count at all. Everybody in -the valley, certainly every boy and girl, knows -about the Oxford and Cambridge Boatrace, -which is held annually on the Thames at Putney, -when two selected crews from the rival universities -race each other over a distance. -Probably quite a few of us have witnessed the -exciting event. Well, “Boatrace Day” is -merely the final act of a long drama, nearly all -the scenes of which take place, not at Putney, -but on the river at the University town. For -the Varsity “eight” are only chosen from the -various college crews after long months of -arduous preparation. Each of the colleges has -its own rowing club, and the college crews race<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260"></a>[260]</span> -against each other in the summer term. A fine -sight it is, too, to see the long thin “eights” -passing at a great pace in front of the beautifully -decorated “Barges,” which are to the college -rowing clubs what pavilions are to the cricket -clubs.</p> - -<p>These “barges,” which stretch along the -river front for some considerable distance, resemble -nothing so much as the magnificent -houseboats which we see lower down the river -at Henley, Maidenhead, Molesey, etc. They -are fitted up inside with bathrooms and dressing-rooms, -and comfortable lounges and reading-rooms, -while their flat tops are utilised by the -rowing men for sitting at ease and chatting -to their friends. Each college has its own -“barge,” and it is a point of honour to make it -and keep it a credit to the college. The long -string of “barges” form a very beautiful -picture, particularly when the river is quiet, -and the finely decorated vessels with their -background of green trees are reflected in the -smooth waters.</p> - -<p>May is the great time for the River at Oxford,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261"></a>[261]</span> -for then are held the races of the senior “crews” -or “eights.” Then for a week the place, both -shore and stream, is gay with pretty dresses -and merry laughter, for mothers and sisters, -cousins and friends, flock to Oxford in their -hundreds to see the fun. But to the rowing -man it is a time of hard work—with more in -prospect if he is lucky; for, just as the “eights” -of this week have been selected from the crews -of the February “torpids” or junior races, so -from those doing well during “eights week” -may be chosen the University crew—the “blues.”</p> - -<p>Many have been the voices which have sung -the praises of the “city of spires,” for many -have loved her. None more so perhaps than -Matthew Arnold, whose poem “The Scholar -Gypsy”—the tale of a University lad who was -by poverty forced to leave his studies and join -himself to a company of vagabond gipsies, -from whom he gained a knowledge beyond that -of the scholars—is so well known. Says Arnold -of the city: “And yet as she lies, spreading her -gardens to the moonlight, and whispering from -her towers the last enchantments of the Middle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262"></a>[262]</span> -Ages, who will deny that Oxford, by her ineffable -charm, keeps ever calling us nearer to -the true goal of all of us, to the ideal, to perfection—to -beauty, in a word?”</p> - -<p>There are many interesting places within -walking distance of Oxford, but perhaps few -more delightful to the eye than old Iffley Church. -This ancient building with its fine old Norman -tower is a landmark of the countryside and well -deserves the attention given to it.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263"></a>[263]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER THREE</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Abingdon, Wallingford, and the Goring Gap</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Between</span> Oxford and Reading lies a land of -shadows—a district dotted with towns which -have shrunk to a mere vestige of their former -greatness. To mention three names only—Abingdon, -Dorchester, and Wallingford—is to -conjure up a picture of departed glory.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_274"><img src="images/i_274.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="422" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Abingdon.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>At Abingdon, centuries ago, was one of those -great abbeys which stretched in a chain eastwards, -and helped to ensure the prosperity -of the valley; and the town sprang up and -prospered, as was so often the case, under the -shadow of the great ecclesiastical foundation. -Unfortunately the monks and the citizens -were constantly at loggerheads. The wealthy -dwellers in the abbey, where the Conqueror’s -own son, Henry Beauclerc, had been educated, -and where the greatest in the land were wont to -come, did not approve of tradesmen and other<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264"></a>[264]</span> -common folk congregating so near the sacred -edifice. Thus in 1327 the proud mitred Abbot -refused to allow the citizens to hold a market -in the town, and a riot ensued, in which the folk -of Abingdon were backed up by the Mayor of -Oxford and a considerable crowd of the University -students. A great part of the Abbey -was burned down, many of its records were -destroyed, and the monks were driven out. -But the tradesmen’s triumph was short-lived, -for the Abbot returned with powerful support,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265"></a>[265]</span> -and certain of the ringleaders were hanged for -their share in the disturbance.</p> - -<p>However, the town grew despite the frowns -of the Church, and it soon became a considerable -centre for the cloth trade. Not only did it -make cloth itself, but much of the traffic which -there was between London and the western -cloth-towns—Gloucester, Stroud, Cirencester, -etc.—passed through Abingdon, particularly -when its bridge had been built by John Huchyns -and Geoffrey Barbur in 1416.</p> - -<p>When, in 1538, the abbey was suppressed, -the townsfolk rejoiced at the downfall of the -rich and arrogant monks, and sought pleasure -and revenge in the destruction of the former -home of their enemies. So that in these days -there is not a great deal remaining of the ancient -fabric.</p> - -<p>A few miles below Abingdon is Dorchester -(not to be confused with the Dorset town of -the same name), not exactly on the River, -but about a mile up the tributary river, the -Thame, which here comes wandering through -the meadows to join the main stream. Like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266"></a>[266]</span> -Abingdon, Dorchester has had its day, but its -abbey church remains, built on the site of -the ancient and extremely important Saxon -cathedral; and, one must confess, it seems -strangely out of place in such a sleepy little -village.</p> - -<p>Wallingford, even more than these, has lost -its ancient prestige, for it was through several -centuries a great stronghold and a royal residence. -We have only to look at the map of the Thames -Valley, and note how the various roads converge -on this particularly useful ford, to see immediately -Wallingford’s importance from a military -and a commercial point of view. A powerful -castle to guard such a valuable key to the -midlands, or the south-west, was inevitable.</p> - -<p>William the Conqueror, passing that way -in order that he might discover a suitable -crossing, and so get round to the north of -London (p. 143), was shown the ford by one -Wygod, the ruling thane of the district; and -naturally William realized at once the possibilities -of the place. A powerful castle soon -arose in place of the old earthworks, and this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267"></a>[267]</span> -castle lasted on till the Civil War, figuring -frequently in the many struggles that occurred -during the next three or four hundred years.</p> - -<p>It played an important part in that prolonged -and bitter struggle between Stephen and the -Empress Maud, and suffered a very long siege. -Again, in 1646, at the time of the Civil War, it -was beset for sixty-five days by the Parliamentary -armies; and, after a gallant stand by -the Royalist garrison, was practically destroyed -by Fairfax, who saw fit to blow it up. So that -now very little stands: just a few crumbling -walls and one window incorporated in the -fabric of a private residence.</p> - -<p>Between Wallingford and Reading lies what -is, from the geographical point of view, one of -the most interesting places in the whole length -of the Thames Valley—Goring Gap.</p> - -<p>You will see from a contour map that the -Thames Basin, generally speaking, is a hill-encircled -valley with gently undulating ground, -except in the one place where the Marlborough-Chiltern -range of chalk hills sweep right across -the valley.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268"></a>[268]</span></p> - -<p>By the time the River reaches Goring Gap it -has fallen from a height of about six hundred -feet above sea-level to a height of about one -hundred feet above sea-level; and there rises -from the river on each side a steep slope four -or five hundred feet high—Streatley Hill on -the Berkshire side and Goring Heath on the -Oxfordshire side.</p> - -<p>The question arises, Why should these two -ranges of hills, the Marlborough Downs and the -Chiltern Hills, meet just at this point? Is it -simply an accident of geography that their -two ends stand exactly face to face on opposite -sides of the Thames?</p> - -<p>Now the geologists tell us that it is no -coincidence. They have studied the strata—that -is, the different layers of the materials -forming the hills—and they find that the strata -of the range on the Berkshire side compare -exactly with the strata of the other; so that at -some remote period the two must have been -joined to form one unbroken range. How -then did the gap come? Was it due to a -cracking of the hill—a double crack with the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269"></a>[269]</span> -earth slipping down in between, as has sometimes -happened in the past? Here again the -geologists tells us, No. Moreover they tell us -that undoubtedly the River has <em>cut its way</em> -right through the chalk hills.</p> - -<p>“But how can that be possible?” someone -says. “Here we have the Thames down in a -low-lying plain on the north-west side of the -hills, and down in the valley on the south-east -side. How could a river flowing across a plain -get up to the heights to commence the wearing -away at the tops?” Here again the geologists -must come to our aid. They tell us that back -in that dim past, so interesting to picture yet -so difficult to grasp, when the ancient, mighty -River flowed (see Book <abbr title="1">I</abbr>., Intro.), the chalk-lands -extended from the Chilterns westwards, -that there was no valley where now Oxford, -Abingdon, and Lechlade lie, but that the River -flowed across the top of a tableland of chalk -from its sources in the higher grounds of the -west to the brink at or near the eastern slope -of the Chilterns; and that from this lofty position -the River was able to wear its way down, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270"></a>[270]</span> -so make a <b>V</b>-shaped cutting in the end of the -tableland. Afterwards there came an alteration -in the surface. Some tremendous internal -movement caused the land gradually to fold up, -as it were; so that the tableland sagged down in -the middle, leaving the Marlborough-Chiltern -hills on the one side and the Cotswold-Edgehill -range on the other, with the Oxford valley in -between. But by this time the <b>V</b>-shaped gap -had been cut sufficiently low to allow the River -to flow through the hills, and to go on cutting -its way still lower and lower.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271"></a>[271]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER FOUR</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Reading</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Reading</span> is without doubt the most disappointing -town in the whole of the Thames Valley. -It has had such a full share of history, far more -than other equally famous towns; has been -favoured by the reigning monarch of the land -through many centuries; has taken sides in -internal strife and felt the tide of war surging -round its gates; it has counted for so much in -the life of England that one feels almost a sense -of loss in finding it just a commonplace manufacturing -town, with not a semblance of any -of its former glory.</p> - -<p>Like many other towns in England, it sprang -up round a religious house—one of the string -of important abbeys which stretched from -Abingdon to Westminster. But before that it -had been recognized as an important position.</p> - -<p>We have seen that Oxford, Wallingford, and -other places came into existence by reason of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272"></a>[272]</span> -their important fords across the River. Reading -arose into being because the long and narrow -peninsula formed by the junction of the Kennet -with the Thames was such a splendid spot for -defensive purposes that right from early days -there had been some sort of a stronghold there.</p> - -<p>Here in this very safe place, then, the Conqueror’s -son established his great foundation, -the Cluniac Abbey of Reading, for the support -of two hundred monks and for the refreshment -of travellers. It was granted ample revenues, -and given many valuable privileges, among -them that of coining money. Its Abbot was a -mitred Abbot, and had the right to sit with the -lords spiritual in Parliament. From its very -foundation it prospered, rising rapidly into a -position of eminence; and, like the other abbeys, -it did much towards the growth of the agricultural -prosperity of the valley, encouraging -the countryfolk to drain and cultivate their -lands properly.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_283"><img src="images/i_283.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="531" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Gatehouse Reading Abbey</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Though we first hear of it as a fortified place, -and though at different times in history it felt -the shock of war, Reading was never an important<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273"></a>[273]</span> -military centre, for the simple reason -that it did not guard a main road across or -beside the River. Consequently the interruptions -in its steady progress were few and far -between, and the place was left to develop its -civilian and religious strength. This it did so -well that during the four hundred years of the -life of the Abbey it always counted for much -with the Sovereigns, who went there to be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274"></a>[274]</span> -entertained, and even in time of pestilence -brought thither their parliaments, whose bodies -were in the end buried there. By the thirteenth -century the Abbey had risen to such a position -that only Westminster could vie with it in -wealth and magnificence.</p> - -<p>And now what remains of it all? Almost -nothing. There is what is called the old Abbey -gateway, but it is merely a reconstruction with -some of the ancient materials. In the Forbury -Gardens lie all that is left, just one or two ivy-grown -fragments of massive masonry, outlining -perhaps the Chapter House, in which the -parliaments were held, and the great Abbey -Church, dedicated to St. Thomas Becket, -where were the royal tombs and where in 1339 -John of Gaunt was married. For the rest, the -ruins have served all and sundry as a quarry -for ready-prepared building stone during several -centuries. Much of it was used to make St. Mary’s -Church and the Hospital of the Poor Knights -of Windsor; while still more was commandeered -by General Conway for the construction of the -bridge between Henley and Wargrave.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275"></a>[275]</span></p> - -<p>How did the Abbey come to such a state of -dilapidation? Largely as a result of the Civil -War. The Abbey was dissolved in 1539, and -the Abbot actually hung, drawn, and quartered, -because of his defiance. The royal tombs, -where were buried Henry <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>., the Empress Maud, -and others, were destroyed and the bones -scattered; and from that time onwards things -went from bad to worse. Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>. converted -parts of it into a palace for himself and used it -for a time, but in Elizabethan days it had got -into such a very bad state that the Queen, who -stayed there half-a-dozen times, gave permission -for the rotting timbers and many cartloads -of stone to be removed. But it remained -a dwelling till the eventual destruction during the -Rebellion.</p> - -<p>During the war which proved so disastrous -for the great Abbey, Reading was decidedly -Royalist, but the fortunes of war brought -several changes for it. It withstood for some -time during 1643 a severe siege by the Earl of -Essex, and, just as relief was at hand, it surrendered. -Then Royalists and Parliamentarians<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276"></a>[276]</span> -in turn held the town; and naturally with these -changes and the fighting involved the place -suffered greatly, especially the outstanding -building, the Abbey. St. Giles’ Church, which -escaped destruction, still bears the marks of the -bombardment.</p> - -<p>But the town refused to die with the Abbey. -The Abbey had done much to establish and -vitalize the town. In its encouragement of the -agriculture of the districts it had created the -necessity for a central market-town, and Reading -had grown and flourished accordingly. Thus, -when the Abbey came to an end, the town was -so firmly established that it was enabled to live -on and prosper exceedingly.</p> - -<p>Now Reading passes its days independent, -almost unconscious, of the past, with its glory -and its tragedy. Nor does the River any more -enter into its calculations. To Reading has -come the railway; and the railway has made -the modern town what it is—an increasingly -important manufacturing town and railway -junction, and a ready centre for the rich agricultural -land round about it; a hive of industry,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277"></a>[277]</span> -with foundries, workshops, big commercial -buildings, and a University College; with -churches, chapels, picture-palaces, and fast-moving -electric-tramcars, clanging their way -along streets thronged with busy, hurrying -people—in short, a typical, clean, modern -industrial town, with nothing very attractive -about it, but on the other hand nothing to repel -or disgust.</p> - -<p>Reading’s most famous industries are biscuit-making -and seed-growing. Messrs. Huntley and -Palmer’s biscuits, in the making of which four -or five thousand people are employed, are known -the world over; and so are Messrs. Sutton’s -seeds, grown in, and advertised by, many acres -of beautiful gardens.</p> - -<p>The Kennet, on which the town really stands, -is a river which has lost its ancient power, -for the geologists tell us that along its valley the -real mighty river once ran, receiving the considerable -Cherwell-Thames tributary at this -point. Now, whereas the tributary has grown -in importance if not in size, the main stream has -shrunk to such an enormous extent that the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278"></a>[278]</span> -tributary has become the river, and the river -the tributary. Of course, passing through -Reading the little river loses its beauty, but the -Kennet which comes down from the western -end of the Marlborough Downs and flows -through the Berkshire meadows is a delightful -little stream.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279"></a>[279]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER FIVE</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Holiday Thames—Henley to Maidenhead</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> western half of that portion of the River -which has for its bank the county of Buckinghamshire -might well be spoken of as “holiday -Thames,” for it is on this lovely stretch that a -great part of the more important river pleasure-making -is done. Certainly we get boating at -Richmond, Kingston, Molesey, etc., nearer the -metropolis, but it is of the Saturday or Sunday -afternoon sort, where Londoners, weary from -the week’s labours, find rest and solace in a -few brief hours of leisurely punting or rowing. -But, between Maidenhead and Henley, at places -like Sonning, Pangbourne, and Cookham, folk -live on or by the River, either in houseboats -or waterside cottages, and the River is not just -a diversion, but is for the time being the all-important -thing.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_290"><img src="images/i_290.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="520" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Sonning.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Nor is this difficult to understand, for the River -here is extraordinarily beautiful—a place to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_280"></a>[280]</span> -linger in and dream away the hours. Henley, -which commences the stretch, lies just within -the borders of Oxfordshire, and here is celebrated -what is, next to the Boatrace at Putney, -the most famous of all Thames festivals—for -Henley Regatta draws rowing men (and women) -from all parts, and crews come from both the -Old World and the New to compete in the open -races. The River then is almost covered with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_281"></a>[281]</span> -craft of all sorts moored closely together, with -just a narrow water-lane down the centre for -the passage of the competing boats; and the -bright dresses and gay parasols of the ladies, -with the background of green trees, all reflected -in the water, make a brilliant and pleasing -spectacle.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_291"><img src="images/i_291.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="476" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Henley.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>A few miles below Henley is Great Marlow, -a clean and compact little riverside town, -whose chief interest lies, perhaps, in the fact<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_282"></a>[282]</span> -that here the poet Shelley lived for a time, -writing some of his wonderful poems. Shelley -spent much of his time on the River, and -learned to love it very much, so that in after -years we find him writing from Italy: “My -thoughts for ever cling to Windsor Forest and -the copses of Marlow.”</p> - -<p>The seven miles between Marlow and Maidenhead -contain the most glorious scenery in the -whole valley, for the River here for a considerable -distance flows between gently rising hills whose -slopes are richly wooded, the trees in many -places coming right down to the water’s edge. -Alike in spring, when the fresh young green is -spreading over the hillsides, and in autumn, -when the woods are afire with every tint of -gold and brown, the Cliveden Woods and the -Quarry Woods of Marlow, with their mirrored -reflections in the placid waters below, are -indescribably beautiful. Above the woods, high -on the Buckingham bank, stands Cliveden -House, magnificently situated. In the old -mansion which formerly stood on the spot -was first performed Thomson’s masque <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_283"></a>[283]</span>“Alfred.” -This is very interesting, for the masque contained -“Rule, Britannia,” composed by Dr. -Arne; so here the tune was sung in public for -the first time.</p> - -<p>At various spots along the stretch we can see -quite clearly the terraces which indicate the -alteration in the position of the river-bed. -High up towards the tops, sometimes actually -at the tops of the hillsides, are the shallow, -widespread gravel beds which show where in -the dim past the original great Thames flowed -(see Book <abbr title="1">I</abbr>., Intro.). Then lower down come -other terraces, with more gravel beds, to show -a second position of the River, when, after -centuries, it had cut its way lower and diminished -in volume. Thus:</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_293"><img src="images/i_293.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="174" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Diagram of the Thames Valley Terraces.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Well-marked terraces can be found on the -Berkshire side of the River between Maidenhead -and Cookham, also at Remenham not far<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_284"></a>[284]</span> -from Henley. They are visible on both sides -of the River at Reading. Above Reading -similar terraces, with their beds of river -gravel, may be seen at Culham and Cholsey, -between Radley and Abingdon, and also at -Oxford.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285"></a>[285]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER SIX</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Windsor</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Windsor Castle</span>, seen from the River at Clewer -as we make our way downstream, provides us -with one of the most magnificent views in the -whole valley. Standing there, high on its -solitary chalk hill, with the glowing red roofs -of the town beneath and the rich green of the -numerous trees clustering all round its base, -the whole bathed in summer sunshine, it is a -superb illustration of what a castle should be—ever-present, -magnificent, defiant.</p> - -<p>Yet, despite its wonderful situation, the finest -without doubt in all the south of England, -Windsor has had little or no history, has rarely -beaten off marauding foes, and seldom taken -any part in great national struggles. Built for a -fortress, it has been through the centuries nothing -more than a palace.</p> - -<p>Erected by the builder of the Tower, William -of Normandy, and probably for the same<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_286"></a>[286]</span> -purpose, it has passed in many ways through a -parallel existence, has been just what the Tower -has been—an intended stronghold, a prison, -and a royal residence. Yet, whereas the Tower<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_287"></a>[287]</span> -has been intimately bound up with the life of -England through many centuries, Windsor has, -with just one or two brief exceptions, been a -thing apart, something living its life in the quiet -backwaters of history.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_296"><img src="images/i_296.jpg" alt="" width="565" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Windsor Castle.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The Windsor district was always a favourite -one with the rulers of the land even before the -existence of the Castle. Tradition speaks of a -hunting lodge, deep in the glades of the Old -Windsor Forest, close by the river, as belonging -to the redoubtable King Arthur, and declares -that here he and his Knights of the Round Table -stayed when they hunted in the greenwood or -sallied forth on those quests of adventure with -which we are all familiar. What is more certain, -owing to the bringing to light of actual remains, -is that Old Windsor was a Roman station. -Certainly it was a favourite haunt of the Saxon -kings, who in all probability had a palace of -some sort there, close to the Roman road which -passed by way of Staines to the camp at Silchester; -and its value must have been thoroughly -recognized. Edward the Confessor in particular -was especially fond of the place, and when he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_288"></a>[288]</span> -founded and suitably endowed his wonderful -Abbey at Westminster he included “Windsor -and Staines and all that thereto belongs” -among his valuable grants to the foundation -over which his friend Edwin presided.</p> - -<p>In those days the Castle Hill was not even -named. True, its possibilities as a strategic -point were recognized, by Harold if by no other, -for we read in the ancient records that Harold -held on that spot four-and-a-half hides of land -for defensive purposes.</p> - -<p>But it remained for William the Conqueror, -that splendid soldier and mighty hunter, to -recognize the double possibilities of Windsor. -Naturally, following his victory, he made himself -familiar with Harold’s possessions, and, -coming shortly to Windsor, saw therein the -means of gratifying two of his main interests. -He inspected the ancient Saxon royal dwelling -and saw at once its suitability as a retiring -place for the King, surrounded by the great -forest and quite close to that most convenient -of highways, the River. And at the same time, -warrior as he was, he understood the value of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_289"></a>[289]</span> -the little chalk hill which stood out from the -encompassing clay.</p> - -<p>Certainly it belonged to the Abbey as a -“perpetual inheritance,” but to such as William -that was not likely to matter much. All -England was his: he could offer what he liked. -So he chose for exchange two fat manors in -Essex—Wokendune and Feringes—fine, prosperous -agricultural places, totally different -from the unproductive wastelands of Windsor -Hill; and the Abbot, wise man that he was, -jumped at the exchange. Thus the Church -was satisfied, no violence was done, and William -secured both the Forest and the magnificent -little hill commanding then, as it does now, -many miles of the Thames Valley.</p> - -<p>Why did he want it? For two reasons. -In the first place, he wanted an impregnable -fortress within striking distance of London. -True, under his orders Gundulf had built the -Tower, frowning down on the city of London; -but a fortress which is almost a part of the -city, even though it be built with the one idea -of striking awe into the citizens, is really too<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_290"></a>[290]</span> -close at hand to be secure. A fortress slightly -aloof, and therefore not quite so liable to -sudden surprise, yet within a threatening -distance, had vastly greater possibilities.</p> - -<p>William’s other great passion was “the -chase.” Listen to what the ancient chronicler -said about him: “He made many deer-parks; -and he established laws therewith; so that whosoever -slew a hart or a hind should be deprived -of his eyesight. He loved the tall deer as if he -were their father. Hares he decreed should -go free. His rich men bemoaned it; and the -poor men shuddered at it. But he was so -stern, that he recked not the hatred of them all; -for they must follow withal the King’s will if they -would live, or have land, or possessions, or even -his peace.” For this the surrounding forests -rendered the position of Windsor a delightful one.</p> - -<p>Thus came into existence the Norman Keep -of Windsor Hill, and beneath it shortly after -the little settlement of New Windsor. When -Domesday Book was prepared the little place -had reached the number of one hundred houses, -and thenceforward its progress was steady.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_291"></a>[291]</span> -By the time of Edward <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. it had developed to -such an extent that it was granted a charter—which -document may still be seen in the Bodleian -Library at Oxford.</p> - -<p>With the Kings that came after the Conqueror -Windsor soon became a favourite -residence. Henry <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>., marrying a Saxon Princess, -Edith, niece of the Confessor, lived there and built -a fine dwelling-place with a Chapel dedicated to -the Confessor and a wall surrounding everything.</p> - -<p>During the reign of John, Windsor was -besieged on more than one occasion, and it was -from its fastness that the most wretched King -who ever ruled—or misruled—England crept -out to meet the Barons near Runnymede, just -over the Surrey border.</p> - -<p>Henry <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>., finding the old fabric seriously -damaged by the sieges, determined to rebuild -on a grander scale, and he restored the walls, -raised the first Round Tower, the Lower and -Middle Wards, and a Chapel; but, save one or -two fragments, all these have perished.</p> - -<p>However, it is to Edward of Windsor—the -third King of that name—that we must look as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_292"></a>[292]</span> -the real founder of the Windsor of to-day. He -rebuilt the Chapel and practically all the structures -of Henry <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>., and added the Upper Ward.</p> - -<p>In connection with this last a very interesting -story is told. Edward had on the spot two very -distinguished prisoners—King David of Scotland -and King John of France—rather more like -unwilling guests than prisoners, since they had -plenty of liberty and shared in the amusements -of the Court. One day the two were strolling -with Edward in the Lower Ward, taking stock -of the new erections, when King John made -some such remark as this: “Your Grace’s -castle would be better on the higher ground -up yonder. You yourself would be able to see -more, and the castle would be visible a greater -way off.” In which opinion he was backed by -the King of Scotland. Edward’s reply must -have surprised the pair of them, for he said: -“It shall be as you say. I will enlarge the -Castle by adding another ward, and your -ransoms shall pay the bill.” But Edward’s -threat was never carried out. King David’s -ransom was paid in 1337, but it only amounted<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_293"></a>[293]</span> -to 100,000 marks; while that of King John, -a matter of a million and a half of our money, -was never paid, and John returned to England -to die in the year 1363 in the Palace of the -Savoy.</p> - -<p>In the building of Windsor, Edward had for -his architect, or superintendent, a very famous -man, William Wykeham, the founder and builder -of Winchester School and New College, Oxford. -Wykeham’s salary was fixed at one shilling a -day while at Windsor, and two shillings while -travelling on business connected with the -Castle. Wykeham’s chief work was the erection -of the Great Quadrangle, a task which took him -ten years to complete. While there at work, -he had a stone engraved with the Latin words, -<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Hoc fecit Wykeham</i>, which translated means -“Wykeham made this.” Edward was enraged -when he saw this inscription, for he wanted no -man to share with him the glory of rebuilding -Windsor; and he called his servant to account -for his unwise action. Wykeham’s reply was -very ingenious, for he declared that he had -meant the motto to read: “This made Wyke<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_294"></a>[294]</span>ham” -(for the words can be translated thus). -The ready answer appeased the King’s wrath.</p> - -<p>The method by which the building was done -was that of forced labour—a mild form of -slavery. Edward, instead of engaging workmen -in the ordinary way, demanded from each -county in England so many masons, so many -carpenters, so many tilers, after the fashion of -the feudal method of obtaining an army. There -were 360 of them, and they did not all come -willingly, for certain of them were thrown into -prison in London for running away. Slowly -the work proceeded, but in 1361 the plague -carried off many of the craftsmen, and new -demands were made on Yorkshire, Shropshire, -and Devon, to provide sixty more stone-workers -each. When at length the structure was completed -in 1369, it included most of the best parts -of Windsor Castle—the Great Quadrangle, the -Round Tower, St. George’s Hall and Chapel, -and the outer walls with their gates and turrets.</p> - -<p>The Chapel was repaired later on, under the -direction of another distinguished Englishman, -Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English poetry,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_295"></a>[295]</span> -who for over a year was “master of the King’s -works” at Windsor. In 1473 the Chapel had -become so dilapidated that it was necessary to -pull it down, and Edward <abbr title="the fourth">IV</abbr>. erected in its place -an exceedingly beautiful St. George’s Chapel, as -an act of atonement for all the shed blood through -which he had wallowed his way to the throne.</p> - -<p>Queen Elizabeth was very fond indeed of -Windsor, and frequently came thither in her -great barge. She built a banqueting hall and a -gallery, and formed the fine terrace which bears -her name. This terrace, on the north side, above -the steep, tree-planted scarp which falls away -to the river valley, is an ideal place. Behind -rise the State Apartments: in front stretches a -magnificent panorama across Eton and the plain. -On this terrace the two Charleses loved to stroll; -and George <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. was accustomed to walk every -day with his family, just an ordinary country -gentleman rubbing shoulders with his neighbours.</p> - -<p>It is a wonderful place, is Windsor Castle—very -impressive and in places very beautiful; -but there is so much to write about that one -scarcely knows where to begin. Going up<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_296"></a>[296]</span> -Castle Hill, we turn sharp to the left, and, passing -through the Gateway of Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>., we are -in the Lower Ward, with St. George’s Chapel -facing us in all its beauty.</p> - -<p>This fine perpendicular Chapel is, indeed, -worthy of the illustrious order, the Knights -of the Garter, for whom it is a place both -of worship and of ceremonial.</p> - -<p>The Order of the Knights of the Garter was -founded by Edward <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. in the year 1349, and -there were great doings at Windsor on the -appointed day—St. George’s Day. Splendid -pageants, grand tournaments, and magnificent -feasts, with knights in bright armour and their -ladies in the gayest of colours, were by no means -uncommon in those days; but on this occasion -the spectacle was without parallel for brilliance, -for Edward had summoned to the great tournament -all the bravest and most famous knights -in Christendom, and all had come save those -of Spain, forbidden by their suspicious King. -From their number twenty-six were chosen to -found the Order, with the King at their head.</p> - -<p>St. George’s Chapel has some very beautiful<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_297"></a>[297]</span> -stained-glass windows, some fine tracery in its -roof, and a number of very interesting monuments. -The carved stalls in the choir, with the -banners of the knights drooping overhead, -remind us certainly of the Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>. Chapel -at Westminster. Within the Chapel walls have -been enacted some wonderful scenes—scenes -pleasing, and scenes memorable for their sorrow. -Here have been brought, at the close of their busy -lives, many of England’s sovereigns, and here -some of them—Henry <abbr title="the sixth">VI</abbr>. and Edward <abbr title="the fourth">IV</abbr>. among -them—rest from their labours. Queen Victoria, -who loved Windsor, lies with her husband in the -Royal Tomb at Frogmore, not far away.</p> - -<p>The Round Tower, which stands practically -in the centre of the clustered buildings and -surmounts everything, is always one of the most -interesting places. From its battlements may -be seen on a clear day no less than twelve -counties. We can trace the River for miles -and miles as it comes winding down the valley -from Clewer and Boveney, to pass away into the -distance where we can just faintly discern the -dome of St. Paul’s.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_298"></a>[298]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER SEVEN</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Eton College</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Standing</span> on the north terrace, or on the -hundred steps which ascend from Thames -Street, with behind us the fabric which William -Wykeham did so much to fashion, we gaze out -to yet another place which Wykeham made -possible—the famous College of Eton.</p> - -<p>True, he had nothing whatever to do with -the building of Eton itself, but he founded Winchester -School, which is commonly spoken of as -England’s oldest public school; and this served -the boy-king, Henry <abbr title="the sixth">VI</abbr>., as a model for his new -foundation, so that Eton is in many respects, -both as regards buildings and management, a -copy of the older place.</p> - -<p>The first charter is dated 1441. Henry -was then only nineteen years old, yet he says -that “from the very foundation of his riper -age” he dreamed of “a solemn school at Eton<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_299"></a>[299]</span> -where a great number of children should be -freely taught the rules of grammar.” The -school was to be called “The Kynges College -of oure Ladye of Eton, beside Wyndesore.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_309"><img src="images/i_309.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="459" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap"> Eton College</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Henry, in order that he might be certain he -and his assistants were following the excellent -Winchester model, paid a number of visits to -that school, and made a close study of its ways. -There he was brought much into contact with -William Waynflete, who had become master of -Winchester in 1429 and done much to keep the -school at its high level; and the result was that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_300"></a>[300]</span> -in 1442 Henry persuaded him to become the -first master of Eton, whither he came, bringing -with him from the older foundation half-a-dozen -favourite scholars to be a model for all newcomers. -Eton began with “twenty-five poor -scholars” to be educated at the King’s cost, -but this number was soon increased to seventy.</p> - -<p>Henry did not live to see his splendid scheme -in being. In fact, the beautiful chapel which he -had designed was never completed at all; moreover, -the fabric itself, which he had desired to -be made of “the hard stone of Kent,” was very -largely built of brick. Nor did the College as a -whole rise into being in one great effort. Like -most historic buildings, it grew little by little -into its present self, with just a bit added here -and a bit renovated there, so that the whole -thing is a medley of styles.</p> - -<p>In these days Eton, like most of the big -public schools, is far from being what its founder -intended it to be—a school for the instruction -of deserving poor boys. Instead it has become -a very exclusive college for the education of -the sons of the rich.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_301"></a>[301]</span></p> - -<p>There are usually just over eleven hundred -boys in residence, seventy of whom are known -as “collegers,” while the other thousand odd are -called “oppidans.” For the old statute which -decided on the number of “collegers” as seventy -is still obeyed, and Henry’s wish is kept in the -letter, if not in the spirit. The “collegers” live -in the actual College buildings, have their meals -in the College Hall; and they wear cloth gowns -to distinguish them from the rest of the scholars. -These other thousand odd boys, the sons of -gentlemen and other folk who can afford to pay -the great sum of money necessary, live in the -various masters’ houses, which are built close -at hand.</p> - -<p>The “collegers,” who win their positions as -the result of a stiff examination, are practically -the holders of very valuable scholarships, for -they pay only small sums towards their expenses. -And, generally speaking, they have a better -time of it, even though they may be looked -down on and called “tugs” by some of the more -snobbish “oppidans”; for the College buildings -are better than most of the houses. Moreover,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_302"></a>[302]</span> -the “collegers” have two large playing fields -of their own, so that they can avoid the crush -in the school fields.</p> - -<p>Just when the “oppidans” began to take -their place is by no means certain; but it could -not have been very long after the foundation, -for there is actually in existence the letter of an -“oppidan” written in the year 1467, forty years -after the opening. It is a very interesting letter, -written to the boy’s elder brother, and enclosing -for his inspection a specimen of the writer’s -Latin verses (the making of Latin verse has -always been a speciality at Eton). The letter -also suggests the forwarding of “12 lbs. of figgs -and 8 lbs. of raisins,” so, you see, boys were -boys even in those far-off days.</p> - -<p>Many of Eton’s most picturesque customs -have either died out or been suppressed by the -authorities. One of the more famous of these -was “Montem,” given up in 1847. On a certain -day, once every three years, the scholars marched -in procession to Salt Hill—that is, to “the -mountain” (<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ad montem</i> means “to the mountain”); -and there certain of their number<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_303"></a>[303]</span> -made a collection of money from all and sundry, -giving little pieces of salt in exchange. Usually -royalty from Windsor met them there, and -contributed generously to the fund. “Montem” -was a gay festival, for fancy-dress was the -order of the day, and there was plenty of noise -and colour as the merry procession made its -way up the hill to the music of several bands, -followed by a crowd of visitors. In 1846 the -authorities decided to put an end to the celebration, -because with the coming of the railway -to Windsor an unwelcome crowd of excursionists -presented itself each year, and the picturesque -gathering degenerated into a vulgar rabble. -One old custom which still survives is “Threepenny -Day.” On the 27th day of February -each year, the anniversary of the death of a -Provost named Lupton, builder of the picturesque -gateway, each of the “collegers” receives -a bright new threepenny-bit, provision -for which is made in a sum of money left by -Lupton and another Provost.</p> - -<p>Eton, like that other and older seat of learning -to which many Etonians make the journey<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_304"></a>[304]</span> -up the valley, gains much from its nearness to -the River, for swimming and rowing are two -favourite pastimes with the boys of this school. -The latter pastime reaches its zenith on the -“fourth of June”—the great day which Eton -keeps in honour of George <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>.’s birthday. -Then the College is besieged by hundreds of -relatives and friends, and there is a fine water-carnival -on the River.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_305"></a>[305]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER EIGHT</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Hampton Court</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Nearly</span> twenty miles below Windsor we come -upon the ancient palace of Hampton, better -known in these days as Hampton Court, beautifully -situated among tall trees not far from the -river bank. It is a wonderful old place—one -of the nation’s priceless possessions—and once -inside we are loth to leave it, for there is something -attractive about its quaint old courtyards -and its restful, bird-haunted gardens.</p> - -<p>Certainly it is the largest royal palace in -England, and in some respects it is the finest. -Yet, strangely enough, it was not built for a -King, nor has any sovereign lived in it since the -days of George <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>. Wolsey, the proud Cardinal -of Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>.’s days, erected it for his own -private mansion, and it is still the Cardinal’s -fabric which we look upon as we pass through the -older portions of the great pile of buildings.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_316"><img src="images/i_316.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="559" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Hampton Court, Garden Front.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Wolsey was, as you probably know, the son<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_306"></a>[306]</span> -of a comparatively poor man, yet he was -possessed of great gifts, and when he left -Oxford he soon rose to a position of eminence. -The Kings, first of all Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>., then “bluff -King Hal,” showered honours and gifts on -him. The Pope created him a Cardinal, and -Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>. gave him the powerful position -of Lord Chancellor of England. Wolsey, as -befitted his high station, lived a life of great<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_307"></a>[307]</span> -splendour, the pomp and show of his household -rivalling even that of the King. Naturally such -a man would have the best, even of palaces.</p> - -<p>As we pass through the wonderful old courts -of the Cardinal’s dwelling we can imagine the -vast amount of money which it must have cost -to build, for it was magnificent in those days -quite beyond parallel; and we cannot wonder -that King Henry thought that such a building -ought to be nothing less than a royal residence.</p> - -<p>Little differences soon arose. Wolsey, indeed, -had not lived long at Hampton Court when -there came an open breach between the King -and himself. The trouble increased, and he -fell from his high place very rapidly. When -in 1526 he presented Hampton Court Palace -to the King something other than generosity -must have prompted the gift.</p> - -<p>Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>. at once proceeded to make the -palace more magnificent still. He pulled down -the Cardinal’s banqueting hall and erected a -more sumptuous one in its place; and this we -can see to-day. Built in the style known to -architects as Tudor, it is one of the finest halls<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_308"></a>[308]</span> -in the whole of our land. Many huge beams of -oak, beautifully fitted, carved, and ornamented, -support a magnificent panelled and decorated -roof, while glorious stained-glass windows -(copies of the original ones fitted under -Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>.’s directions) fill the place with -subdued light. The Great Gatehouse also belongs -to Henry’s additions, and, with its octagonal -towers and great pointed arch, has a -very royal and imposing appearance.</p> - -<p>Though no sovereign has dwelt in the palace -for a century or more, it was for nearly two -hundred years a favourite residence of our -Kings and Queens, and many famous events have -taken place within its walls. Queen Mary and -Queen Elizabeth were both very partial to the -palace and its delightful gardens, and they -spent much time there. Indeed, it is said that -the latter was dining at Hampton when the -glorious news of Drake’s defeat of the Spanish -Armada was carried to her. James <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. resided -at the palace after his succession to the throne, -and there, in addition to selling quite openly -any number of knighthoods and peerages in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_309"></a>[309]</span> -order that he might add to his scanty means, -he held the famous conference which decided -that a uniform and authorized translation of -the Bible should be made. In the great hall -countless plays and masques were performed, -and probably the mighty Shakespeare himself -visited the place. King Charles <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. spent many -days at the Court, some of them as a prisoner of -the Parliamentary soldiers; and here too Cromwell -made a home until shortly before the time of his -death. After the Restoration Charles <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>. and his -Court settled at the palace, and in the surrounding -parks indulged their fondness for the chase.</p> - -<p>Immediately Mary and her husband, William -of Orange, came to the throne they commenced -the alterations which have largely given us the -palace of to-day. The old State apartments -were pulled down and, under the direction of -Sir Christopher Wren, larger and more magnificent -ones were erected, something on the lines -of the famous French royal palace at Versailles. -At the same time William ordered the grounds -to be laid out in the style of the famous Dutch -gardens. The next three sovereigns, Anne, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_310"></a>[310]</span> -the first and second Georges, all lived at the -Court; but from that time onwards it ceased to -be a royal residence. George <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. would not go -near the place. The story is told that on one -occasion at Hampton Court his grandfather -boxed his ears soundly, and he vowed never -again to live on the scene of such an indignity. -At any rate, he divided up its thousand rooms -into private suites of apartments, which were -given as residences to persons of high social -position whose incomes were not large enough -to keep them. And to this day a very considerable -portion of the palace is shut off from -public view for the same purpose.</p> - -<p>However, the parts which we can visit are -extremely interesting. Entering at the main -gate by Molesey Bridge, we cross the outer -Green Court and come to the Moat. In Wolsey’s -time this was crossed by a drawbridge of the -sort in use when palaces were fortresses as well -as dwelling-places. We now pass into the buildings -over a fine old battlemented Tudor bridge.</p> - -<p>This was built by Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>. in honour of -Anne Boleyn; but for centuries it lay buried and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_311"></a>[311]</span> -forgotten. Then one day, just before the War, -workmen came upon it quite accidentally as they -were cleaning out the old Moat.</p> - -<p>Once through the gateway we come straight -into the first of the old-world courtyards—the -Base Court—and we feel almost as if we had -stepped back several hundred years into a bygone -age. The deep red brickwork of the -battlements and the walls, the quaint chimneys, -doorways, windows, and turrets, all belong to -the distant past; they make on us an impression -which not even the splendour of Wren’s additions -can remove. Passing through another -gateway—Anne Boleyn’s—we come into the -Clock Court, so called because of the curious old -timepiece above the archway. This clock was -specially constructed for Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>., and for -centuries it has gone on telling the minute of the -hour, the hour of the day, the day of the month, -and the month of the year.</p> - -<p>The Great Hall, which we may approach by a -stairway leading up from Anne Boleyn’s Gateway -is, as we have already said, a magnificent -apartment. The glory of its elaborate roof can<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_312"></a>[312]</span> -never be forgotten. Hanging on its walls are -some very famous tapestries which have been at -Hampton Court since the days of Henry <abbr title="the eighth">VIII</abbr>. -Among these are “tenne pieces of new arras of -the Historie of Abraham,” made in Brussels—some -of the richest and most beautiful examples -of the art of weaving ever produced. From the -Great Hall we pass into what is known as the -Watching Chamber or the Great Guard Room—the -apartment in which the guards assembled -when the monarch was at dinner, and through -which passed all who desired audience of their -sovereign. On its walls are wonderful old -Flemish tapestries which once belonged to -Wolsey himself. From the Watching Chamber -we pass to another chamber through which the -dishes were taken to the tables which stood on -the dais at the end of the Hall.</p> - -<p>Returning once more to the ground floor we -go through a hall and find ourselves in Fountain -Court. Here we enter another world entirely. -Behind us are the quaint, old-fashioned courtyards, -and the beautiful, restful Tudor buildings. -The sudden change to Wren’s architecture has<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_313"></a>[313]</span> -an effect almost startling. Yet when once we -have forgotten the older buildings and become -used to the very different style we see that -Wren’s work has a beauty of its own. The -newer buildings are very extensive, and the -State apartments are filled with pictures and -furniture of great interest. Entrance is obtained -by what is called the King’s Great Staircase. -The first room, entered by a fine doorway, is the -Guard Room, a fine, lofty chamber with the -upper part of its wall decorated with thousands -of old weapons—guns, bayonets, pistols, swords, -etc. From thence we pass to the round of the -magnificent royal apartments—King’s rooms, -Queen’s rooms, and so on, some thirty or more -of them—all filled with priceless treasures—beautiful -and rare paintings, delightful carvings -from the master hand of Grinling Gibbons, so -delicate and natural that it is difficult to believe -they are made of wood, furniture of great -historical interest and beauty. Here are the -famous pictures—the “Triumph of Julius -Cæsar,” nine large canvases showing the Roman -emperor returning in triumph from one of his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_314"></a>[314]</span> -many wars. These were painted by Mantegna, -the celebrated Italian artist, and originally -formed part of the great collection brought -together at Hampton Court by Charles <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. They -are a priceless possession. Here, too, are the -famous “Hampton Court Beauties” and -“Windsor Beauties,” the first painted by Sir -Godfrey Kneller, the second by Sir Peter Lely, -each portraying a number of famous beauties -of the Court. Walking leisurely round these -apartments we can obtain an excellent idea of the -elaborate style of furnishing which was fashionable -two or three centuries ago.</p> - -<p>Yet, despite all these most valuable relics of -the past, which many people come half across -the world to view, for some folk the supreme -attraction of Hampton Court will always be the -gardens. Very beautiful they are too—the -result of centuries of loving care by those, Kings -and commoners, who had time and inclination -to think of garden making. Perhaps to William -of Orange must be given greatest credit in the -matter, for it was he who ordered the setting-out -of the long, shady avenues and alleys, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_315"></a>[315]</span> -the velvety lawns and orderly paths. But we -must not forget our debt of gratitude to Henry -for the wonderful little sunken garden on the -south side of the palace, perhaps one of the -finest little old English gardens still in existence; -and to Charles <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. for the Canal, over a -mile long, with its shady walk, and its birds and -fishes, and its air of dreamy contentment.</p> - -<p>Tens of thousands visit these grounds in the -summer months, and the old grape-vine is -always one of the chief attractions. Planted as -long ago as 1768, it still flourishes and bears an -abundant crop each year, sometimes as many as -2,500 bunches, all of fine quality. Its main -stem is now over four feet in circumference, and -its longest branch about one hundred and twenty -feet in length. On the east front, stretching in one -unbroken line across the Home Park for three-quarters -of a mile towards Kingston, is the Long -Water, an ornamental lake made by Charles <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>. -North of the buildings is another garden, known -as the Wilderness, and here we may find the celebrated -Maze, constructed in the time of William -and Mary. This consists of a great number of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_316"></a>[316]</span> -winding and zig-zag paths, hedged on each side -with yew and other shrubs; and the puzzle is to -find the way into the little open space in the -centre. On almost any day in the summer can -be heard the merry laughter of visitors who have -lost their way in the labyrinth of paths.</p> - -<p>Still farther north lies Bushey Park, with its -famous Chestnut Avenue, stretching over a mile -in the direction of Teddington. Here are more -than a thousand acres of the finest English -parkland; and this, together with the large -riverside stretch known as the Home Park, -formed the royal demesne in which the monarchs -and their followers hunted the deer.</p> - -<p>As was said at the beginning of the chapter, -only with reluctance do we leave Hampton -Court, partly because of its very great beauty, -partly because of its enthralling historical associations. -As we turn our backs on the great -Chancellor’s memorial, we think perhaps a trifle -sadly of all that the place must have meant to -Wolsey, and there come to mind those resounding -words which Shakespeare put into his mouth—<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_317"></a>[317]</span>“Farewell, -a long farewell, to all my greatness.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER NINE</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Kingston</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Already</span> we have seen that in many cases, if -not in most, the River has founded the towns -on its banks. These have sprung up originally -to guard either an important crossing or the -junction of a tributary with the main stream -or a “gate” where the River has found a way -through the hills; and then, outliving the period -of their military usefulness, they have developed -later into centres of some commercial importance. -Thus it has been with Kingston-upon-Thames, -a place of ancient fame, for, according to -the geology of the district, there must have been -at this spot one of the lowest fords of the River.</p> - -<p>That there was on Kingston Hill a Roman -station guarding that ford there can be very -little doubt; and there are evidences that a -considerable Roman town was situated here, -for the Roman remains brought to light have -been fairly abundant.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_318"></a>[318]</span></p> - -<p>Workmen digging or ploughing on the hillside -up towards Coombe Warren have, at -various times in the past, discovered the foundations -of Roman villas, with gold, silver, and -bronze coins of the fourth century, and numerous -household goods, and in one place a cemetery -full of funeral urns.</p> - -<p>But it was not till Saxon times that Kingston -came to the heyday of its existence. Then it -was a place of the greatest possible importance, -for here England was united into one country -under one King. Prior to the union England -was divided off into a number of states, which -found amusement in fighting each other when -they were not fighting the ancient Britons in -their western fastnesses. These states were -Northumbria, in the north; Mercia in the Midlands; -Wessex in the south-west; and, in addition, -the smaller areas of East Anglia, Essex, and -Kent. When any one chieftain or king was -sufficiently strong to defeat the others, and -make them do his will, he became for the time -being the “bretwalda,” or overlord; but it was -a very precarious honour. The kings in turn<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_319"></a>[319]</span> -won the distinction, but the greater ones -emerged from the struggle, and in the end -Egbert, king of Wessex, by subduing the -Mercians, became so powerful that all the other -kings submitted to him. Thus Egbert became -the first king or overlord of all the English -(827), and picked on Kingston as the place for -his great council or witenagemot.</p> - -<p>Then followed the terrible years of the Danish -invasions, and England was once more split up -into sections; but the trouble passed, and -Edward the Elder, elected and crowned king -of Wessex at Kingston, eventually became the -real King of England, the first to be addressed -in those terms by the Pope of Rome.</p> - -<p>Thence onward Kingston was the recognized -place of coronation for the English Kings, till -Edward the Confessor allotted that distinction -to his new Abbey at Westminster. In addition, -it was one of the royal residences and the home -of the Bishops of Winchester, whose palace was -situated where now a narrow street, called -Bishop’s Hall, runs down from Thames Street -to the River. So that Kingston’s position as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_320"></a>[320]</span> -one of the chief towns of Wessex was acknowledged.</p> - -<p>The stone on which the Saxon Kings were -crowned stands now quite close to the market-place, -jealously guarded by proper railings, as -such a treasure should be. Originally it was -housed in a little chapel, called the Chapel of -St. Mary, close to the Parish Church, and with -it were preserved effigies of the sovereigns -crowned; but unfortunately in the year 1730 -the chapel collapsed, killing the foolish sexton -who had been digging too close to the foundations. -Then for years the stone was left out -in the market-place, unhonoured and almost -unrecognized, till in the year 1850 it was -rescued and mounted in its present position. -According to the inscription round the base, the -English Kings crowned at Kingston included -Edward the Elder (902), Athelstan (924), -Edmund <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. (940), Edred (946), Edwy the Fair -(955), Edward the Martyr (975), and Ethelred <abbr title="the second">II</abbr>. -(979).</p> - -<p>That most wretched of monarchs, King John, -gave the town its first charter, and for a time<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_321"></a>[321]</span> -at least resided here. In the High Street there -is now shown a quaint old building to which the -title of “King John’s Dairy” has been given, -and this possibly marks the situation of the -King’s dwelling-place.</p> - -<p>There was a castle here from quite early days, -for we read that in 1263, when Henry <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. was -fighting against his barons, Kingston Castle -fell into the hands of de Montfort’s colleagues, -who captured and held the young Prince -Edward; and that Henry returned in the following -year and won the castle back again. At the -spot where Eden Street joins the London Road -were found the remains of walls of great thickness, -and these, which are still to be seen in the -cellars of houses there, are commonly supposed -to be the foundations of a castle held by the -Earls of Warwick at the time of the Wars of the -Roses, and possibly of an even earlier structure.</p> - -<p>Right down through history Kingston, probably -by reason of its important river crossing, -has had its peaceful life disturbed at intervals -by the various national struggles. Armies have -descended on it suddenly, stayed the night,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_322"></a>[322]</span> -taken their fill, and gone on their way; a few -have come and stayed. Monarchs have broken -their journeys at this convenient spot, or have -dined here in state to show their favour. For -Kingston, as the King’s “tun” or town should, -has always been a distinctly Royalist town, -has invariably declared for the sovereign—right -or wrong.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_332"><img src="images/i_332.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="382" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Kingston.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Thus in 1554, when young Sir Thomas Wyatt -raised his army of ten thousand to attack -London, and found the Bridge too strong to -force, he made his way westwards to the -convenient crossing at Kingston; but the in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_323"></a>[323]</span>habitants -broke down their bridge to delay -his progress, and so enabled Mary to get together -a force; for which act of devotion the citizens -were rewarded with a free charter by Queen -Mary.</p> - -<p>Similarly, in the Civil War the town stood -firmly by Charles, despite the fact that the town -was occupied by cavaliers and roundheads in -turn. Thus in October, 1642, the Earl of -Essex settled down with several thousand men; -while in November Sir Richard Onslow came -to defend the crossing. But the inhabitants -showed themselves extremely “malignant”; -though when, just after, the King came to the -town with his army he was greeted with every -sign of joyous welcome.</p> - -<p>Also at Kingston occurred one of the numerous -risings which happened during the year 1648. -All over the land the Royalists gathered men -and raised the King’s standard, hoping that -Parliament would not be able to cope with so -many simultaneous insurrections. In July the -Earl of Holland, High Steward of Kingston, -the Duke of Buckingham, and his brother<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_324"></a>[324]</span> -Lord Francis Villiers, got together a force of -several hundred horsemen, but they were heavily -defeated by a force of Parliamentarians, and -Lord Villiers was killed.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_334"><img src="images/i_334.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="621" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Teddington Weir</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Nowadays, despite the fact that the town has -held its own through a thousand years, neither -losing in fame a great deal nor gaining, Kingston<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_325"></a>[325]</span> -does not give one any impression of age. True, -it has some ancient dwellings here and there, -but for the most part they are hidden away -behind unsightly commercial frontages.</p> - -<p>Between Kingston and Richmond the River -sweeps round in an inverted <b>S</b>-bend, passing -on the way Teddington and Twickenham, -formerly two very pretty riverside villages. -The former possess the lowest pound-lock on the -River (with the exception of that of the half-tide -lock at Richmond), and also a considerable weir. -It is the point at which the tide reaches its limit, -and thereby gets its name Teddington, or Tide-ending-town.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_326"></a>[326]</span></p> - -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER TEN</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Richmond</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Richmond</span> is an old place with a new name, for -though its history goes back to Saxon times, it -did not get its present name till the reign of -Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>., when “Harry of Richmond” rechristened -it in allusion to the title which he -received from the Yorkshire town. Prior to -that it had always been called Sheen, and the -name still survives in an outlying part of the -town.</p> - -<p>Sheen Manor House had been right from -Saxon days a hunting lodge and an occasional -dwelling for the Sovereigns, but Edward <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. -built a substantial palace, and, absolutely -deserted by all his friends, died in it in the year -1377. He was succeeded by his young grandson, -the Black Prince’s child Richard, who spent -most of his childhood with his mother Joan -at Kingston Castle, just a mile or two higher -upstream. Richard’s wife, Queen Anne of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_327"></a>[327]</span> -Bohemia, died in Sheen Palace in the year -1394, and Richard was so upset that he had the -palace pulled down, and never visited Sheen -again.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_337"><img src="images/i_337.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="534" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Richmond Hill from Petersham Meadows</span></p> -</div> - -<p>This, however, by no means ended the life -of Sheen as a royal residence, for Henry <abbr title="the fifth">V</abbr>. -built a new house, and when, in 1498, this was -burned down, Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>. built a new palace -on a much grander scale, and at the same time -gave it the name which it still bears. With the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_328"></a>[328]</span> -Tudor kings and queens Richmond was a very -great favourite. “Bluff King Hal” loved to -hunt in its woodland, and here, in 1603, “good -Queen Bess” died, after forty-five years of a -troublous but prosperous and progressive reign. -Charles <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. spent much of his time here, and he it -was who added Richmond Park to the royal -domain in the year 1637.</p> - -<p>After the Civil War the palace was set aside -for the use of the widowed Queen Henrietta -Maria, but by that time it had got into a very -dilapidated condition; and little or nothing was -done to improve it. So that before long this -once stately palace fell to pieces and was -removed piecemeal. Now all that remains of -it is a gateway by Richmond Green.</p> - -<p>Richmond to-day is merely a suburb of -London, one of the pleasure grounds of the -city’s countless workers, who come hither on -Saturdays and Sundays either to find exercise -and enjoyment on the River, or to breathe the -pure air of the park. This New Park, so called -to distinguish it from the Old Deer Park, which -lies at the other end of the town, is a very fine<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_329"></a>[329]</span> -place indeed. Surrounded by a wall about -eleven miles long, it covers 2,250 acres of splendid -park and woodland, with glorious views in all -directions. In it are to be found numerous deer -which spend their young days here, and later -are transferred to Windsor Park. The Old -Deer Park, of which about a hundred acres are -open to the public for football, golf, tennis, and -other pastimes, lies by the riverside between -the town and Kew Gardens.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_340"><img src="images/i_340.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="543" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">From the Terrace Richmond</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The view of the River Thames from the -Terrace on Richmond Hill is world-famous. -Countless artists have painted it, and many -writers have described it; and probably it has -deserved all the good things said about it, for -even now, spoiled as it is by odd factory chimneys -and unsightly buildings dotted about, it still -remains one of the most delightful vistas of the -silvery, winding River. Those of you who have -read Scott’s “Heart of Midlothian” will probably -remember the passage (chapter xxxvi.) -which describes it: “The equipage stopped on -a commanding eminence, where the beauty of -English landscape was displayed in its utmost<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_330"></a>[330]</span> -luxuriance. Here the Duke alighted and -desired Jeanie to follow him. They paused for -a moment on the brow of a hill, to gaze on the -unrivalled landscape which it presented. A -huge sea of verdure, with crossing and intersecting -promontories of massive and tufted -groves, was tenanted by numberless flocks and -herds, which seemed to wander unrestrained -and unbounded through the rich pastures. -The Thames, here turreted with villas and there<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_331"></a>[331]</span> -garlanded with forests, moved on slowly and -placidly, like the mighty monarch of the scene, -to whom all its other beauties were but accessories, -and bore on its bosom a hundred barks -and skiffs, whose white sails and gaily fluttering -pennons gave life to the whole. The Duke was, -of course, familiar with this scene; but to a -man of taste it must be always new.”</p> - -<p>Nor have the poets been behindhand with -their appreciation, as the following extract -from James Thomson’s “Seasons” shows:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="indent2">“Heavens! what a goodly prospect spreads around,</div> - <div class="verse">Of hills, and dales, and woods, and lawns, and spires,</div> - <div class="verse">And glittering towers, and gilded streams, till all</div> - <div class="verse">The stretching landscape into smoke decays.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_332"></a>[332]</span></p> -<p class="center p120">CHAPTER ELEVEN</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"><em>Richmond to Westminster</em></p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Just</span> below Richmond, on the borders of the -Middlesex village of Isleworth, there is a foot-passenger -toll-bridge, with what is known as a -half-tide lock. The arches of this bridge are -open to river traffic during the first half of the -ebb-tide and the second half of the flow, but the -River is dammed for the remainder of the day -in order that sufficient water may be kept in -the stretch immediately above. This, for the -present, is the last obstruction on the journey -seawards.</p> - -<p>Isleworth, with its riverside church, its ancient -inn, “The London Apprentice,” and its great -flour-mill, is a typical riverside village which -has lived on out of the past. Between it and -Brentford lies the magnificent seat of the Dukes -of Northumberland—Sion House—a fine dwelling -situated in a delightful expanse of parkland -facing Kew Gardens on the Surrey shore.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_333"></a>[333]</span></p> - -<p>Of Kew Gardens, which stretch beside the -River from the Old Deer Park almost to Kew -Bridge, it is difficult for one who loves nature to -speak in moderate terms, for it is one of the -most delightful places in the whole of our land. -At every season of the year, almost every day, -there is some fresh enchantment, some glory of -tree or flower unfolding itself, so that one can -go there year after year, week in and week -out, without exhausting its treasure-house of -wonders, even though there is only a matter -of 350 acres to explore.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_344"><img src="images/i_344.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Kew Palace and Kew Gardens.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The Royal Botanical Gardens, as their proper -name is, were first laid out by George <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. in -the year 1760, and were presented to the nation -by Queen Victoria in the year 1840. Since -then the authorities have planned and worked -assiduously and wisely to bring together a -botanical collection of such scope and admirable -arrangement that it is practically without -rival in the world. Here may be seen, flourishing -in various huge glasshouses, the most -beautiful of tropical and semi-tropical plants—palms, -ferns, cacti, orchids, giant lilies, etc.; -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_334"></a>[334]<br /><a id="Page_335"></a>[335]</span>while in the magnificently laid out grounds are -to be found flowers, trees, and shrubs of all kinds -growing in a delightful profusion. There is not -a dull spot anywhere; while the rhododendron -dell, the azalea garden, the rock garden, and -the rose walks are indescribably beautiful. Nor -is beauty the only consideration, for the carefully -planned gardens, with their splendid -museum, are of untold value to the gardener -and the botanist.</p> - -<p>Nor must we forget that Kew had its palace. -Frederick, Prince of Wales, father of George <abbr title="the third">III</abbr>. -and great patron of Surrey cricket, resided at -Kew House, as did his son after him. The son -pulled down the mansion in 1803 and erected -another in its place; and, not to be outdone, -George <abbr title="the fourth">IV</abbr>. in turn demolished this. The -smaller dwelling-house—dignified now by the -title of palace—a homely red-brick building, -known in Queen Anne’s time as the “Dutch -House,” was built in the reign of James <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. In it -died Queen Charlotte.</p> - -<p>If we speak with unstinting praise of Kew, -what shall we say of Brentford, opposite it on<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_336"></a>[336]</span> -the Middlesex side of the stream? Surely no -county in England has a more untidy and -squalid little county town. Its long main street -is narrow to the point of danger, so that it has -been necessary to construct at great cost a new -arterial road which will avoid Brentford altogether; -while many of its byways can be -dignified by no better word than slums. Yet -Brentford in the past was a place of some note -in Middlesex, and had its share of history. -Indeed, in recent times it has laid claim to -be the “ford” where Julius Cæsar crossed on -his way to Verulam, a claim which for years -was held undisputedly by Cowey Stakes, near -Walton.</p> - -<p>Now the Great Western Railway Company’s -extensive docks, where numerous barges discharge -and receive their cargoes, and the -incidental sidings and warehouses, the gas-works, -the various factories and commercial buildings, -make riverside Brentford a thing of positive -ugliness.</p> - -<p>On the bank above the ferry, close to the spot -where the little Brent River joins the main<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_337"></a>[337]</span> -stream, the inhabitants, proud of their share in -the nation’s struggles, have erected a granite -pillar with the following brief recital of the -town’s claims to notoriety:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>54 <span class="allsmcap">b.c.</span>—At this ancient fortified ford the -British tribesmen, under Cassivelaunus, bravely -opposed Julius Cæsar on his march to Verulamium.</p> - -<p><span class="allsmcap">a.d.</span> 780-1.—Near by Offa, King of Mercia, -with his Queen, the bishops, and principal -officers, held a Council of the Church.</p> - -<p><span class="allsmcap">a.d.</span> 1016.—Here Edmund Ironside, King of -England, drove Cnut and his defeated Danes -across the Thames.</p> - -<p><span class="allsmcap">a.d.</span> 1640.—Close by was fought the Battle of -Brentford between the forces of King Charles <abbr title="the first">I</abbr>. -and the Parliament.</p> -</div> - -<p>From Kew Bridge onwards the River loses -steadily in charm if it gains somewhat in importance. -The beauty which has clung to it practically -all the way from the Cotswolds now -almost entirely disappears, giving place to a -generally depressing aspect, relieved here and -there with just faint suggestions of the receding -charm.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_338"></a>[338]</span></p> - -<p>A short distance downstream is Mortlake, -once a pretty little riverside village, now almost -a suburb of London, and quite uninteresting -save that it marks the finish of the University -Boatrace. This, as all folk in the Thames -Valley (and many out of it) are aware, is rowed -each year upstream from Putney to Mortlake, -usually on the flood-tide.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_348"><img src="images/i_348.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="464" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Putney</span> to <span class="smcap">Mortlake</span> Championship Course</p> -</div> - -<p>Barnes, on the Surrey shore, is a very ancient -place. The Manor of Barn Elmes was presented -by Athelstan (925-940) to the canons of St.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_339"></a>[339]</span> -Paul’s, and by them it has been held ever since. -The name possibly came from the great barn -or spicarium, which the canons had on the spot. -The place is now the home of the Ranelagh Club—a -famous club for outdoor pursuits, notably -polo, golf, and tennis.</p> - -<p>Fulham Palace, on the Middlesex bank, not -far from Putney Bridge, is the “country residence” -of the Bishops of London. For nine -centuries the Bishops have held the manor of -Fulham, and during most of the time have had -their domicile in the village. In these days, -when Fulham is one of the utterly dreary -districts of London, with acres and acres of -dull, commonplace streets, it is hard indeed to -think of it as a fresh riverside village with fine -old mansions and a wide expanse of market-gardens -and a moat-surrounded palace hidden -among the tall trees.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_350"><img src="images/i_350.jpg" alt="" width="538" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center">Fulham Palace The Quadrangle</p> -<p class="caption center">Fitz James Gateway.</p> -</div> - -<p>The River now begins to run through London -proper, and from its banks rise wharves, warehouses, -factories, and numerous other indications -of its manifold commercial activities. Thus it -continues on past Wandsworth, where the tiny<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_340"></a>[340]</span> -river Wandle joins forces and where there is -talk of erecting another half-tide lock, past -Fulham, Chelsea, Battersea, Pimlico, Vauxhall, -and Lambeth, on to Westminster.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_341"></a>[341]</span></p> -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_351"><img src="images/i_351.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="496" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">Ranelagh.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>At Chelsea and Vauxhall were situated those -famous pleasure-gardens—the Ranelagh and -Cremorne Gardens at the former, and the Spring -Gardens at the latter—which during the seventeenth -and eighteenth centuries provided London -with so much in the way of entertainment. -Vauxhall Gardens were opened to the public -some time after the Restoration, and at once -became popular, so that folk of all sorts, rich -and poor alike, came to pass a pleasant evening.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_342"></a>[342]</span> -An account written in 1751 speaks of the -gardens as “laid out in so grand a taste that -they are frequented in the three summer months -by most of the nobility and gentry then in or -near London.” The following passage from -Smollett’s “Humphrey Clinker” aptly describes -the dazzling scene: “A spacious garden, part -laid out in delightful walks, bounded with high -hedges and trees, and paved with gravel; part -exhibiting a wonderful assemblage of the most -picturesque and striking objects, pavilions, -lodges, graves, grottos, lawns, temples, and cascades; -porticoes, colonnades, rotundas; adorned -with pillars, statues, and paintings; the whole -illuminated with an infinite number of lamps, -disposed in different figures of suns, stars, and -constellations; the place crowded with the gayest -company, ranging through those blissful shades, -and supping in different lodges on cold collations, -enlivened with mirth, freedom, and good humour, -and animated by an excellent band of music.”</p> - -<p>In the early days most of the folk came by -water, and the river was gay with boatloads -of revellers Barges and boats waited each<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_343"></a>[343]</span> -evening at Westminster and Whitehall Stairs -in readiness for passengers; and similarly at -various places along the city front craft plied -for hire to convey the citizens, their wives and -daughters, and even their apprentices.</p> - -<p>Ranelagh was not quite so ancient, and it -encouraged a slightly better class of visitor: -otherwise it was the counterpart of Vauxhall, -as was Cremorne. It was famous, among other -things, for its regatta. In 1775 this was a -tremendous water-carnival. The River from -London Bridge westwards was covered with -boats of all sorts, and stands were erected on the -banks for the convenience of spectators.</p> - -<p>Ranelagh was demolished in 1805, but Vauxhall -persisted right on till 1859, when it too came -under the auctioneer’s hammer. Where Cremorne -once stood is now the huge power-station -so prominent in this stretch of the river; and the -famous coffee-house kept by “Don Saltero” in -the early eighteenth century was in Cheyne Walk.</p> - -<p>Chelsea in its day has achieved fame in quite -a variety of ways. Apart from its pleasure -gardens it has come to be well-known for its<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_344"></a>[344]</span> -beautiful old physic-garden; its hospital for -aged soldiers, part of the gardens of which were -included in Ranelagh; its bun-house; its pottery; -and last, but by no means least, for its association -with literary celebrities. Here have lived, -and worked, and, in some cases, died, writers -of such different types as Sir Thomas More, -whose headless body was buried in the church, -John Locke, Addison, Swift, Smollett, Carlyle—the -“sage of Chelsea”—Leigh Hunt, Rossetti, -Swinburne, and Kingsley. Artists, too, have -congregated in these quiet streets, and the -names of Turner and Whistler will never be -forgotten.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_355"><img src="images/i_355.jpg" alt="" width="478" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Power-Station, Chelsea.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>At Lambeth may still be seen the famous -palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury, -a beautiful building of red-brick and stone, -standing in an old-world garden. Some parts -of it are very old: one, the Lollards’ Tower, is -an exceedingly fine relic of medieval building. -Close at hand stands the huge pile of buildings -which house the pottery works of Messrs. -Doulton. For some reason or other Lambeth -has long been associated with this industry.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_345"></a>[345]</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_346"></a>[346]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_356"><img src="images/i_356.jpg" alt="" width="538" height="650" /></a> -<p class="caption center"><span class="smcap">The Lollards’ Tower, Lambeth Palace.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>As early as 1670 one Edward Warner sold -potters’ clay here, and exported it in huge -quantities to Holland and other countries, and -various potters, some Dutch, settled in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_347"></a>[347]</span> -district. All this stretch of the River seems to -have been famous for its china-works in the past, -for there were celebrated potteries at Fulham, -Chelsea, and Battersea as well. Of these -Battersea has passed away, and its productions -are eagerly sought after by collectors, but -Fulham and Lambeth remain, while Chelsea, -after a long interval, is reviving this ancient -craft.</p> - -<p>Thus we have traversed in fancy the whole -of this wonderful River—so fascinating to both -young and old, to both studious and pleasure-seeking. -The more we learn of it the more we -are enthralled by its story, by the immense -share it has had in the shaping of England’s -destinies.</p> - -<p>We started with a consideration of what those -wonderful people the geologists could tell us of -the River in dim, prehistoric days; and we feel -inclined to turn once more to them in conclusion. -For they tell us now that the Thames is growing -less; that, just as in times past it captured the -waters of other streams and reduced them to -trickling nothings, so in turn it is succumbing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_348"></a>[348]</span> -day by day to the depredations of the River -Ouse, which is slowly cutting off its head. -Some day, perhaps, the Thames will be just a -tiny rivulet, and the Port of London will be no -more; but I think the tides will ebb and flow -under London Bridge many times before it -comes to pass.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_349"></a>[349]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2> -</div> - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="indx"> Abingdon, <a href="#Page_263">263-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Alfred, King, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> All Hallows, Barking, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Ancient Britons, <a href="#Page_120">120-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Arnold, Matthew, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Arthur, King, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Barking, <a href="#Page_71">71-6</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Abbey, <a href="#Page_72">72-5</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Sewage Works, <a href="#Page_75">75-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Barnes, <a href="#Page_338">338-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Battersea, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Baynards Castle, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Becket, Thomas, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Benfleet, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Besant, Sir Walter, <a href="#Page_162">162-3</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Big Ben, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Billingsgate, <a href="#Page_101">101-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Black Death, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Blackfriars, <a href="#Page_195">195-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Blackwall, <a href="#Page_112">112-3</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> Tunnel, <a href="#Page_113">113</a> </li> - -<li class="indx"> Boatrace, Universities, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_338">338</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Boleyn, Anne, <a href="#Page_175">175-7</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310-11</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Brentford, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Bridges, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Buckingham Palace, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Bushey Park, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Canning Town, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Canute, <a href="#Page_141">141-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Canvey Island, <a href="#Page_38">38-9</a> </li> - -<li class="indx"> Cement, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Chatham, <a href="#Page_46">46-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Chaucer, Geoffrey, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Chelsea, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343-4</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Cherwell, <a href="#Page_257">257-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Chilterns, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268-70</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Cholsey, <a href="#Page_284">284</a> </li> - -<li class="indx"> Churn, River, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Cleopatra’s Needle, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Cliveden Woods, <a href="#Page_282">282-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Coal, <a href="#Page_114">114-5</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Coldharbour Palace, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Colne, River, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Cookham, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Cooling Castle, <a href="#Page_52">52-3</a> </li> - -<li class="indx"> County Hall, <a href="#Page_232">232-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Cremorne Gardens, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Cricklade, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Crosby Hall, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Culham, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Cumnor, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Customs Officers, <a href="#Page_115">115-6</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Dagenham Breach, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Dagenham Dock, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Marshes, <a href="#Page_68">68-71</a> </li> - -<li class="indx"> Danes, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140-1</a> </li> - -<li class="indx"> Defoe, Daniel, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Dene-holes at Grays, <a href="#Page_67">67-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> De Ruyter, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Dickens, Charles, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Dockland, <a href="#Page_24">24-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Docks: Blackwall, <a href="#Page_112">112-3</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> East India, <a href="#Page_104">104</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> Execution, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> London, <a href="#Page_110">110-1</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> Millwall, <a href="#Page_112">112</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> Regent’s Canal, <a href="#Page_111">111</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> Royal Albert, <a href="#Page_113">113-4</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> St. Katherine’s, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> St. Saviour’s, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> Surrey Commercial, <a href="#Page_112">112</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> Victoria, <a href="#Page_113">113</a> </li> -<li class="isub1"> West India, <a href="#Page_112">112</a> </li> - -<li class="indx"> “Don Saltero,” <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Dorchester, <a href="#Page_265">265-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Duke of Buckingham, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Dumouriez, <a href="#Page_53">53</a> </li> - -<li class="indx"> Durham Palace, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Dutch in the Medway, <a href="#Page_42">42-5</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Eastchurch, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> East Ham, <a href="#Page_113">113-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> East India Docks, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Edward the Confessor, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Eleanor of Provence, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Embankment, The, <a href="#Page_227">227-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Estuary, The, <a href="#Page_16">16-19</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31-39</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> defence of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Eton College, <a href="#Page_298">298-304</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Evelyn, John, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61-2</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186-90</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Evenlode, River, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Execution Dock, <a href="#Page_110">110-1</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Fire of London, the Great, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx">FitzStephen, <a href="#Page_145">145-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Flamsteed, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Fleet River, <a href="#Page_193">193-5</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Street, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Fobbing, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Fort Grain, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Franklin, Sir John, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Frindsbury, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Fulham, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Godstow, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Goring Gap, <a href="#Page_267">267-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Gravesend, <a href="#Page_52">52-6</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> proposed dam, <a href="#Page_62">62-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Grays, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Great Marlow, <a href="#Page_281">281-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Greenhithe, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Greenwich, <a href="#Page_87">87-100</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Hospital, <a href="#Page_92">92-7</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Ministerial dinners at, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Observatory, <a href="#Page_98">98-100</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Royal births at, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Grey, Lady Jane, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Hakluyt, <a href="#Page_90">90-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Halley, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Hampton Court, <a href="#Page_305">305-16</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Harold, King, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Henley, <a href="#Page_280">280-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Holiday Thames, <a href="#Page_279">279-284</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Houses of Parliament, <a href="#Page_220">220-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Howard, Katherine, <a href="#Page_175">175-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> “Humphrey Clinker,” <a href="#Page_342">342</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Humphrey, Duke, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Hungerford House, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Iffley, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Isis, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Isle of Dogs, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Grain, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Isleworth, <a href="#Page_332">332</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Jack Straw, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> John Ball, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Jones, Inigo, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Kelmscott, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kennet, River, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Kew Gardens, <a href="#Page_333">333-5</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Palace, <a href="#Page_335">335</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Kingston, <a href="#Page_317">317-25</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Knights of the Garter, <a href="#Page_296">296-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Knights Templar, <a href="#Page_199">199-202</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Lambeth, <a href="#Page_344">344-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Lechlade, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Legal quays, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Limehouse, <a href="#Page_111">111-2</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Basin, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Reach, Medway, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Llyndin Hill, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> London, a city of palaces, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> and the Danes, <a href="#Page_140">140-2</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Fire of, <a href="#Page_181">181-192</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> fires in, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> fogs, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> foundation of, <a href="#Page_123">123-9</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Friars in, <a href="#Page_195">195-8</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Hospitals, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> in Norman days, <a href="#Page_143">143-6</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> in Middle Ages, <a href="#Page_157">157-65</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> in Roman days, <a href="#Page_130">130-6</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> in Saxon days, <a href="#Page_137">137-40</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Plague in, <a href="#Page_183">183-4</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> reasons for position of, <a href="#Page_126">126-9</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> remains of Roman Wall, <a href="#Page_133">133-6</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Tower of, <a href="#Page_166">166-80</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> London Bridge, <a href="#Page_147">147-156</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> a great procession on, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> a tournament on, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> its dangers, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> its relation to the City, <a href="#Page_128">128-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> L.C.C. County Hall, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> London Dock, <a href="#Page_110">110-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> London Stone, Yantlet Creek, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Lower Reaches, <a href="#Page_19">19-23</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Macfarlane, Charles, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Maidenhead, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Marshes on banks, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64-76</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Mandeville, Geoffrey de, <a href="#Page_171">171-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Matilda, Empress, <a href="#Page_170">170-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Maud of Boulogne, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Medway, River, <a href="#Page_40">40-51</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Merton, Walter de, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Millwall Dock, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Minster-in-Sheppey, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Monument, The, <a href="#Page_181">181-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Morris, William, <a href="#Page_241">241-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Mortlake, <a href="#Page_338">338</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> New Bridge, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Nore Lightship, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Northfleet, <a href="#Page_65">65-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Northumberland House, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Old Windsor, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Oxford, <a href="#Page_246">246-262</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Bodleian Library, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Castle, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Colleges, <a href="#Page_251">251-5</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> founding of the University, <a href="#Page_249">249-51</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> its origin, <a href="#Page_247">247-8</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Tom Tower, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Pangbourne, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Peasants’ Revolt, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Pepys, Samuel, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Peter of Colechurch, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Pett, Peter, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Pilots, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Placentia, Palace of, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Plague, the Great, <a href="#Page_183">183-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Pool, The, <a href="#Page_26">26-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Port Meadow, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Port of London, <a href="#Page_23">23-6</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101-19</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Authority, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118-19</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Port Victoria, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Princes in Tower, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Purfleet, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Putney, <a href="#Page_338">338-9</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Queenborough, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Queenhithe, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Radley, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Ranelagh Gardens, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Reading, <a href="#Page_271">271-8</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Abbey, <a href="#Page_272">272-6</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> and the Civil War, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> modern, <a href="#Page_277">277-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Regent’s Canal Dock, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Richmond, <a href="#Page_326">326-31</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> River police, <a href="#Page_116">116-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Rochester, <a href="#Page_49">49-51</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Roding, River, <a href="#Page_71">71-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Roman remains in London, <a href="#Page_132">132-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Rosherville Gardens, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Rotherhithe, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Royal Albert Dock, <a href="#Page_113">113-4</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Victoria Dock, <a href="#Page_113">113-4</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Savoy Palace, <a href="#Page_204">204-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Saxon Kings crowned at Kingston, <a href="#Page_319">319-20</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> “Scholar Gypsy,” <a href="#Page_261">261-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Scotland Yard, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Shadwell, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Sheen, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Sheerness, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Sheppey, <a href="#Page_31">31-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Shoeburyness, <a href="#Page_37">37-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Shooter’s Hill, <a href="#Page_77">77-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Silvertown, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Sion House, <a href="#Page_332">332</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Somerset House, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Sonning, <a href="#Page_279">279-80</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Southend, <a href="#Page_36">36-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> St. James’s Park, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> St. Katherine’s Dock, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> St. Paul’s Cathedral, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> St. Saviour’s Dock, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> St. Thomas’s Hospital, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Staple Inn, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Stephen, King, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Stow, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Strand, The, <a href="#Page_193">193</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Streatley, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> “Stripling Thames,” <a href="#Page_237">237-45</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Stroud, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Surrey Commercial Dock, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Swale, The, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Tea, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Teddington, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Temple Bar, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Church, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Gardens, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Temple, The, <a href="#Page_199">199-203</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Thame, River, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Thames Haven, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Thames Head, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Thames River, early tributaries of, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> geology of, <a href="#Page_267">267-70</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> locks on, <a href="#Page_243">243-5</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> material brought down by, <a href="#Page_64">64-5</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> origin of, <a href="#Page_2">2-5</a></li> -<li class="isub1">reasons for importance, <a href="#Page_11">11-14</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> terraces of bed, <a href="#Page_283">283-4</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> the basin of, <a href="#Page_7">7-10</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> the sources, <a href="#Page_237">237-9</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> tunnels under, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Thorney Island, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Tilbury, <a href="#Page_57">57-63</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Docks, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Fort, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Elizabeth at, <a href="#Page_57">57-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Tower Bridge, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Tower of London, <a href="#Page_166">166-80</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Trewsbury Mead, <a href="#Page_237">237-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Twickenham, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Upnor Castle, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Vale of the White Horse, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Vauxhall Gardens, <a href="#Page_341">341-3</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Wallingford, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Wandle, River, <a href="#Page_340">340</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Wandsworth, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Wapping, <a href="#Page_108">108-10</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Old Stairs, <a href="#Page_108">108-10</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Watling Street, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Wat Tyler, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Waynflete, William, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> West Ham, <a href="#Page_113">113-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> West India Dock, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Westminster, <a href="#Page_209">209-226</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> the founding of, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Westminster Abbey, <a href="#Page_212">212-9</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Chapter House, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Confessor’s Chapel, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> founding of, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Henry <abbr title="the seventh">VII</abbr>. Chapel, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Poets’ Corner, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Remains of Old Abbey, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Tomb of Unknown Warrior, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Westminster Hall, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Palace, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Whitefriars, <a href="#Page_197">197-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Whitehall Palace, <a href="#Page_207">207-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Whittington, Dick, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Widths of the Thames, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> William and Mary, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> William the Conqueror, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Windrush, River, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Windsor, <a href="#Page_285">285-304</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> growth of Castle, <a href="#Page_288">288-95</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> origin of, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Round Tower, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> St. George’s Chapel, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Wolsey, Cardinal, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Woolwich, <a href="#Page_77">77-86</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Arsenal, <a href="#Page_81">81-6</a></li> -<li class="isub1"> Dockyard, <a href="#Page_80">80-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Wren, Sir Christopher, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> Wykeham, William, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"> Yantlet Creek, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx"> York House, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> -</ul> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="center">PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN FOR -WELLS GARDNER, DARTON AND CO., LTD., LONDON, E.C.</p> - -<hr class="chap1 x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_HISTORIC_THAMES">THE HISTORIC THAMES</h3> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a id="image_363"><img src="images/i_363.jpg" alt="" width="254" height="85" /></a> -</div> - -<p>OXFORD</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By Mrs. HAMILTON FYFE. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">L. Russell Conway</span>. -3s. 6d. net.</p> -</div> - - -<p>OXFORD</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>A Portfolio of Twelve Pictures of Oxford from Drawings by -L. RUSSELL CONWAY. 21s. net.</p> -</div> - - -<p>HAMPTON COURT</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By Mrs. ADY (Julia Cartwright). 3s. 6d. net.</p> -</div> - - -<p>GREENWICH ROYAL HOSPITAL <span class="allsmcap">and the</span> -ROYAL UNITED SERVICE MUSEUM</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By EDWARD FRASER, Author of “Bellerophon.” 3s. 6d. net.</p> -</div> - - -<p>WESTMINSTER ABBEY AND ST. PAUL’S -CATHEDRAL</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By the Rev. JOCELYN PERKINS and Mr. J. S. BUMPUS. -With Illustrations from Original Drawings by <span class="smcap">J. Russell Conway</span> -and Photographs. 3s. 6d. net.</p> -</div> - - -<p>THE LONDON MUSEUM</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By F. J. HARVEY DARTON. 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