[Illustration: WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL. ]

WANDERINGS IN WESSEX

AN EXPLORATION OF THE SOUTHERN REALMFROM ITCHEN TO OTTER

BY EDRIC HOLMES

Author of "Seaward Sussex, " etc. 

With 12 full-page drawings by

M. M. VIGERS

and over one hundred illustrations in the text by the author. 

Map and Plans

 Dear hills do lift their heads aloft From whence sweet springes doe flow Whose moistvr good both firtil make The valleis covchte belowe Dear goodly orchards planted are In frvite which doo abovnde Thine ey wolde make thy hart rejoice To see so pleasant grovnde

 (_Anon. 16th Century_)

NOTE

The obvious limitations imposed by the size of this volume upon itscontents, and the brief character of the reference to localities thatrequire separate treatment to do them justice, would call for anapology if it were not made clear that the object of the book is butto introduce the would-be traveller in one of the fairest quarters ofEngland to some of its glories, both of natural beauty and of thosedue to the skill and labour of man. 

The grateful thanks of the author are due to those of his predecessorson the high roads and in the by-ways of Wessex who, in time past, have chronicled their researches into the history and lore of thecountry-side. In one way only can he claim an equality with them--ina deep and undying affection for this beautiful and gracious provinceof the Motherland. 

CONTENTS

CHAP. 

 INTRODUCTION

 I WINCHESTER AND CENTRAL HAMPSHIRE

 II SOUTHAMPTON WATER AND THE NEW FOREST

 III POOLE, WIMBORNE AND THE ISLE OF PURBECK

 IV DORCHESTER AND ITS SURROUNDINGS

 V WEYMOUTH AND PORTLAND

 VI WEST DORSET

 VII EAST DEVON

VIII THE SOMERSET, DEVON AND DORSET BORDERLAND

 IX SALISBURY AND THE RIVERS

 X STONEHENGE AND THE PLAIN

 XI THE BERKSHIRE BORDER AND NORTH HAMPSHIRE

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FULL PAGE DRAWINGS

Winchester Cathedral _Frontispiece_St. CrossBargate, SouthamptonCorfe CastleCerne Abbey GatehouseWeymouth HarbourThe Charmouth RoadOttery ChurchSherborneSalisbury CathedralStonehengeMarlborough

PEN AND INK SKETCHES IN THE TEXT

The Dorset Coast--Mupe BayFont, Winchester CathedralPlan, Winchester CathedralSteps from North Transept, WinchesterGateway, Winchester CloseWinchester CollegeStatue of AlfredCity Cross, WinchesterWest Gate, WinchesterThe Church, St. CrossRomsey AbbeyThe Arcades, SouthamptonNetley RuinsOn the HambleGate House, TitchfieldThe Knightwood Oak in WinterLymington ChurchNorman Turret, ChristchurchSand and Pines. BournemouthPooleWimborne MinsterJulian's Bridge, WimborneCranborne ManorSt. Martin's, WarehamThe Frome at WarehamPlan of Corfe CastleCorfe VillageSt. Aldhelm'sOld SwanageTilly WhimThe Ballard CliffsArish MelLulworth Cove from above Stair HoleDurdle DoorPuddletownDorchesterNapper's MiteMaiden CastleWyke RegisOld WeymouthPortlandOn the way to Church OpeBow and Arrow CastlePorteshamSt. Catherine's ChapelBeaminsterEggardon HillBridportPuncknollChideockCharmouthLyme from the Charmouth FootpathLyme BayAxmouth from the RailwaySeaton HoleBeerThe Way to the Sea, BeerBranscombe ChurchSidmouthAxminsterFord AbbeyTower, IlminsterYeovil ChurchMontacuteBatcombeSherborne CastleBruton BowMarnhullBlandfordMilton AbbeyGold Hill, ShaftesburyWardour CastleWilton House, Holbein FrontBemerton ChurchOld SarumSalisbury Market PlaceHigh Street GatePlan of Salisbury CathedralGate, South Choir AisleThe Poultry Cross, SalisburyLongford CastleDownton CrossLudgershall ChurchGatehouse, Amesbury AbbeyAmesbury ChurchPlan of Stonehenge (restored)Stonehenge DetailEnfordBoyton ManorLongleatFrome ChurchWestbury White HorsePorch House, PotterneSt. John's, DevizesBishop's CanningsSilbury HillDevil's DenGarden Front, Marlborough CollegeCloth Hall, NewburyWolvertonThe Inkpen CountryWhitchurchHoly Ghost Chapel, BasingstokeBasingCorhamptonMap of Wessex

ARCHITECTURAL TERMS

_The following brief notes will assist the traveller who is not anexpert in arriving at the approximate date of ecclesiasticalbuildings. _

SAXON 600-1066. Simple and heavy structure. Very small wall openings. Narrow bands of stone in exterior walls. 

NORMAN 1066-1150. Round arches. Heavy round or square pillars. Cushioncapitals. Elaborate recessed doorways. Zig-zag ornament. 

TRANSITION 1150-1200. Round arched windows combined with pointedstructural arch. Round pillars sometimes with slender columnsattached. Foliage ornament on capitals. 

EARLY ENGLISH 1200-1280 (including Geometrical) Pointed arches. Pillars with detached shafts. Moulded or carved capitals. Narrow andhigh pointed windows. Later period--Geometrical trefoil and circulartracery in windows. 

DECORATED 1280-1380. High and graceful arches. Deep moulding topillars. Convex moulding to capitals with natural foliage. "Ballflowers" ornament. Elaborate and flamboyant window tracery. 

PERPENDICULAR 1380-1550. Arches lower and flattened. Clusteredpillars. Windows and doors square-headed with perpendicular lines. Grotesque ornament. (The last fifty years of the sixteenth centurywere characterized by a debased Gothic style with Italian details inthe churches and a beauty and magnificence in domestic architecturewhich has never since been surpassed. )

JACOBEAN and GEORGIAN 1600-1800 are adaptations of the classicalstyle. The "Gothic Revival" dates from 1835. 

INTRODUCTION

The kingdom of Wessex; the realm of the great Alfred; that state ofthe Heptarchy which more than any other gave the impress of itscharacter to the England to be, is to-day the most interesting, andperhaps the most beautiful, of the pre-conquest divisions of thecountry. 

As a geographical term Wessex is capable of several interpretationsand some misunderstandings. Early Wessex was a comparatively smallportion of Alfred's political state, but by the end of the ninthcentury, through the genius of the West Saxon chiefs, crowned byAlfred's statesmanship, the kingdom included the greater portion ofsouthern England and such alien districts as Essex, Kent, and thedistinct territory of the South Saxons. 

The boundaries of Wessex in Alfred's younger days and before thisexpansion took place followed approximately those of the moderncounties of Hants, Berks, Wilts and Dorset, with overlappings intoSomerset and East Devon. 

The true nucleus of this principality, which might, without great callupon the imagination, be called the nucleus of the future Britain, isthat wide and fertile valley that extends from the shores of theSolent to Winchester and was colonized by two kindred races. Thoseinvaders known to us as the Jutes took possession of Vectis--the Isleof Wight--and of the coast of the adjacent mainland. The second band, of West Saxons, penetrated into the heart of modern Hampshire andpresently claimed the allegiance of their forerunners. 

That seems to have been given, to a large extent in an amicable andfriendly spirit, to the mutual advantage of the allied races. 

It would appear that these settlers--Jutes and Saxons--were eithermore civilized than their contemporaries, or had a better idea ofhuman rights than had their cousins who invaded the country betweenRegnum and Anderida to such purpose "that not one Briton remained. " Orit may be that the majority of the inhabitants of south centralBritain, left derelict by their Roman guardians, showed littleopposition. It is difficult for a brave and warlike race to massacrein cold blood a people who make no resistance and are therefore notadversaries but simply chattels to be used or ignored as policy, orneed, dictates. In 520 at Badbury Hill, however, a good fight seems tohave been made by a party of Britons led, according to legend, by thegreat Arthur in person. The victory was with the defenders and had theeffect of holding up Cerdic's conquest for a short time. Again somesort of resistance would seem to have been made before thosemysterious sanctuaries around Avebury and Stonehenge fell to theSaxon. It is possible that the old holy places of a half-forgottenfaith were again resorted to during the distracting years whichfollowed the withdrawal of the Roman peace that, during its laterperiod, had been combined with Christianity. Whatever the cause, it iscertain that something prevented an immediate Saxon advance across theremote country which eventually became Wiltshire and Dorset. But theend came with the fall of the great strongholds around Durnovaria(Dorchester) which took place soon after the Saxon victory at Deorhamin 577, twenty-five years after Old Sarum had capitulated, thuscutting off from their brothers of the west and north those of theBritish who still remained in possession of the coast country betweenthe inland waters and savage heathlands of East Dorset and the stillwilder country of Exmoor, Dartmoor and Cornwall. 

So, by the end of the sixth century, the Kingdom of Wessex was mademore or less an entity, and the dark-haired, dark-eyed race who onceheld the country were in the position of a conquered and vassalpeople; for the times and the manners of those times well used bytheir conquerors, especially in the country of the Dorsaetas, where atthe worst they were treated as useful slaves, and at the best themasters were but rustic imitators of their forerunners, the Romans. Tothe most careless observer a good proportion of the country people ofDorset are unusually swarthy and "Welsh" in appearance, though of thehandsomer of the two or three distinct races that go to make up thatmixed nation, which has among its divergent types some of the mostprimitive, both in a physical and mental sense, in Europe. 

In the ninth century the Kingdom of Wessex had assumed a compactshape, its boundaries well defined and capable of being well defended. The valley of the Thames between Staines and Cricklade became thenorthern frontier; westwards Malmesbury, Chippenham and Bath fellwithin its sphere, and Bristol was a border city. To the east ofStaines the overlordship of Wessex extended across the river andreached within twenty miles of the Ouse at Bedford. These districtswere the remnants of the united state of the first King of theEnglish--Egbert, whose realm embraced not only the midland andsemi-pagan Mercia, but who claimed the fealty of East Anglia andNorthumbria and for a few years made the Firth of Forth the northcoast of England. To the south-west the country that Alfred was calledupon to govern reached to the valley of the Plym, and so "West Wales"or Cornwall became the last retreat of those Britons who refused tobow to the Saxon. 

It will be seen how difficult a matter it is to define the districtthis book has to describe, so the southern boundary of the true Wessexmust be taken as the coast line from the Meon river on the east sideof Southampton Water to the mouth of Otter in Devon. On the north, thegreat wall of chalk that cuts off the south country from the Vale ofIsis and the Midlands and that has its bastions facing north fromInkpen Beacon to Hackpen Hill in the Marlborough Downs. East and westof these summits an arbitrary line drawn southwards to the coastencloses with more or less exactitude the older Wessex. 

Outside the limits here set down but still within Alfred's Kingdom isa land wonderful in its wealth of history, gracious in its Englishcomeliness, the fair valleys and gentle swelling hills of South-westDevon, wildly beautiful Dartmoor and the coloured splendour of Exmoor, the patrician walls of Bath, and the high romance of ancient Bristol. Under the Mendip is that gem of medieval art at Wells, one of theloveliest buildings in Europe, and the unmatched road into the heartof the hills that runs between the most stupendous cliffs in SouthBritain. Not far away is Avalon, or Glastonbury if you will, themysteries of which are still being mysteriously unfathomed. From thechalk uplands of our northern boundary we may look to the distant valein whose heart is the dream city of domes and spires--Oxford, andtrace the trench of England's greatest river until it is lost in themany miles of woodland that surge up to the walls of Windsor. East andsouth is that beautiful and still lonely country that lies between theoldest Wessex and the sister, and ultimate vassal, kingdom of Sussex;the country of the Meonwaras, a region of heather hills and quiet pinecombes that stretch down to the Solent Sea and the maritime heart ofEngland--Portsmouth. 

Across the narrow bar of silver sea is an epitome of Wessex inminiature, Vectis, where everything of nature described in thesefollowing chapters may be found, a Lilliputian realm that contains notonly Wessex but morsels of East Anglia and fragments of Mercia andNorthumbria, combined with the lovely villages and pleasant towns thatonly Wight can show. 

All this storied beauty is without the scope of this book but withinthe greater Wessex that came to the King who is the reallyrepresentative hero of his countrymen. The genius of the West Saxonbecame for a time, and to a certain extent through force ofcircumstance, a jealous and rather narrow insularity, without wideviews and generous ideals, but to this people may be ascribed some ofthe higher traits that go to redeem our race. That their originalrough virtues were polished and refined by their beautiful environmentin the land that became their heritage few can doubt. That theirgradual absorption and amalgamation with the other races who foughtthem for the possession of this "dear, dear land" has resulted in theevolution of a people with a great and wonderful destiny is manifestto the world, and is a factor in the future of mankind at which we canbut dimly guess. 

[Illustration: THE DORSET COAST--MUPE BAY. ]

The scenery of Inner Wessex is as varied as the materials that go tomake it up, from the bare rolling chalk downs of Salisbury Plain tothe abrupt and imposing hills around the Vale of Blackmore. To mostwho travel in search of the picturesque and the beautiful, the Dorsetcoast and the country immediately in the rear, will make the greatestappeal. The line of undulating cliffs, often towering in bold, impressive shapes, that commences almost as soon as Dorset is enteredand continues without a dull mile to the eastern extremity ofWeymouth, is to some minds the finest stretch of England's shoreoutside Cornwall, a county that depends entirely on its coast line forits claim to beauty. To some eyes, indeed, the exquisite and variedcolouring of the Dorset cliffs is more satisfying than that of thedour and dark rocks of Tintagel and the Land's End. And if Wessexcannot boast the sustained grandeur of the stern face that Englandturns to the Atlantic waves, the romantic arch of Durdle Door, themajestic hill-cliff that rises above the green cleft of Arish Mel, andthe sombre precipices of St. Aldhelm's, with the smiling loveliness ofthe Wessex lanes and hamlets behind them, will be sufficientrecompense. 

Hampshire has been given the character of having the least interestingshore of all the southern counties. This is a matter of individualtaste. The surf that beats on the sands from Bournemouth toSouthampton Water washes the very edge of the "Great Wood. " Again, thelong pebble wall of the Chesil Bank and the barrier "fleets" of middleWessex are a real sanctuary of the wild. This is almost the longeststretch in England without bathing machine or bungalow. Remote andlittle visited also is the exquisite sea country that begins at thestrange little settlement of Bridport Quay and ends in Devonshire. Tothe writer's mind there is nothing more lovely in seaward England thanthe scenery around Golden Cap, that glorious hill that rises nearlittle old "Chiddick, " and no sea town to equal Lyme, standing at thegate of Devon and incomparably more interesting and unspoilt than anyDevon coast town. 

But the traveller in search of something besides the picturesque willnot be contented until he has explored the wonderful region thatenshrines the most unique of human works in Britain, belonging toremotely different ages and widely dissimilar in aspect andpurpose--Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. No one can claim to knowWessex until some hours of quiet have been spent within the walls ofthe ancient capital, and no one can know England until the spirit ofthe English countryside, the secluded and primary village of thebyways with its mothering church, rich with the best of the past, hasbeen studied, known and loved. This is the essential England for whichthe yeoman of England, whose memorials will be seen in almost everyWessex hamlet, have given their lives. 

[Illustration: ST. CROSS. ]

CHAPTER I

WINCHESTER AND CENTRAL HAMPSHIRE

The foundations of the ancient capital of England were probably laidwhen the waves of Celtic conquest that had submerged the Neolithic menstilled to tranquillity. The earliest records left to us are manygenerations later and they are obscure and doubtful, but according toVigilantius, an early historian whose lost writings have been quotedby those who followed him, a great Christian church was re-erectedhere in A. D. 164 by Lucius, King of the Belgae, on the site of abuilding destroyed during a temporary revival of paganism. The Romanmasters of Lucius called his capital, rebuilt under their tuition, "Venta Belgarum. " The British name--Caer Gwent--belonged to theoriginal settlement. The size and boundaries of both are uncertain. Remains of the Celtic age are practically non-existent beneathWinchester, though the surrounding hills are plentifully strewn withthem, and if Roman antiquities occasionally turn up when thefoundations of new buildings are being prepared, any plan of the Romantown is pure conjecture. The true historic interest of Winchester, andhistorically it is without doubt the most interesting city in England, dates from the time of those West Saxon chiefs who gave it theimportant standing which was eventually to make it the metropolis ofthe English. 

The early history of Winteceaster is the history of Wessex, and whenCerdic decided to make it the capital of his new kingdom, about 520, it was probably the only commercial centre in the state, withSouthampton as its natural port and allied town. As the peacefuldevelopment of Wessex went on, so the population and trade of thecapital grew until in a little over a hundred years, when Birinus camefrom over seas bearing the cross of the faith that was soon to spreadwith great rapidity over the whole of southern England, he found herea flourishing though pagan town. After the conversion of King Cynegilsthe first Wessex bishopric was founded at Dorchester near the banks ofthe Thames, but by 674 this was removed to the capital where there hadbeen built a small church dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, probably onthe site now occupied by the cathedral and originally by the church ofLucius and its predecessor. 

The great structure we see to-day is remarkable in many ways. It isthe longest Gothic building in the world, and is only exceeded by St. Peter's in Rome. In spite of the disappointment the strangerinvariably experiences at his first sight of the squat tower andstraight line of wall, its majestic interior, and the indefinablefeeling that this is still a temple and not a mere museum, will soongive rise to a sense of reverent appreciation that makes one lingerlong after the usual round of "sights" has been accomplished. The warmemorial, dignified and austere, that was placed outside the westfront in the autumn of 1921, is a most effective foil to thesingularly unimposing pile of stone and glass behind it. But, howeverit may lack the elegance of the usual west "screen, " this end ofWinchester Cathedral has the great merit of being architecturallytrue. 

[Illustration: FONT, WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL. ]

Of the first Saxon building nothing remains. In this Egbert wascrowned King of the English in 827. It was strongly fortified by St. Swithun, who was bishop for ten years from 852. At his urgent requesthe was buried in the churchyard instead of within the cathedral walls. Another generation wishing to honour the saint commenced the removalof the relics. On the day set aside for this--St. Swithun's day--aviolent storm of rain came on and continued for forty days, thusgiving rise to the old and well known superstition of the forty daysof rain following St. Swithun's should that day be wet. 

Under Bishop Swithun's direction the clergy and servants of thecathedral successfully resisted an attack by the Danes when theremainder of the city was destroyed. Soon after this, in the midst ofthe Danish terror, Alfred became king and here he founded twoadditional religious houses, St. Mary's Abbey, the Benedictine"Nunnaminster;" and Newminster on the north side of the cathedral. Ofthis latter St. Grimald was abbot. Nearly a hundred years later, inEdgar's reign, the cathedral itself became a monastery, with BishopAthelwold as first abbot. He rebuilt the cathedral, dedicating it toSt. Swithun; it had been originally dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul. Within this fabric Canute and his wife were buried; that earlierConqueror of the English having made Winchester his imperial capital. A few years later, on Easter Day, the coronation of St. Edward tookplace with great pomp. Soon after the advent of William I, who madeWinchester a joint metropolis with London and was crowned in both, thebuilding of the great Norman church by Bishop Walkelyn was begun; theconsecration taking place on St. Swithun's day 1093. Of this structurethe crypt and transepts remain practically untouched. The nave, thoughNorman at its heart, has been altered in a most interesting way toPerpendicular without scrapping the earlier work. Walkelyn's towerfell in and ruined the choir in 1107, legend says as a protest againstthe body of Rufus being placed beneath it. The present low towerimmediately took its place. Bishop de Lucy was responsible forrebuilding the Early English choir about 1200. The famous BishopWykeham completed the work of his predecessor, Edyngton, in rebuildingthe west front, and he it was who beautified the nave. The great eastwindow dates from about 1510; the lady chapel being rather earlier indate. 

[Illustration: PLAN, WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL. ]

The extreme length of the cathedral is 556 feet; the breadth of thetransepts being 217 feet, and as the nave is entered the majesticproportions of the great church will be at once appreciated. Particular notice should be taken of the black font brought fromTournai; it has the story of St. Nicholas carved upon it. Thesituation of this and the tombs and other details will be quicklyidentified by reference to the plan. On the south side is the chantryof Bishop Wykeham, now fitted up as a chapel. Farther east is amodern effigy, much admired, of Bishop Harold Browne, who died in1891. A very beautiful iron grille that once protected the shrine ofSt. Swithun now covers a door on the north side of the nave. Certainof the piers in the nave were repaired in 1826-7 and the "restorer, "one Garbett, inserted _iron_ engaged columns on the face of thatone nearest to Bishop Edyngton's chantry, it is said for the sakeof economy and strength! Some of the stained glass in the nave, according to Mr. Le Coutier, dates from the time of Bishop Edyngton, and that representing Richard II is a work contemporary with BishopWykeham. This part of the building has been the scene of manyprogresses--magnificent and sad--from the coronation processions ofthe early kings and the slow march of their funerals to that of thewedding of Mary I, when the queen blazed with jewels "to such anextent that the eye was blinded as it looked upon her. " But the mostunforgettable of all was on that dreadful day when the troops ofWaller marched up the nave, some mounted and all in war array, todespoil the tombs of bishop and knight of their emblems of piety andhonour and to destroy anything beautiful that could be reached withpike or sword. 

On the right of the choir steps is Bishop Edyngton's chantry and onthe left the grave of the last Prior, Kingsmill, who afterwards becamefirst Dean. In the centre of the choir stands the reputed tomb ofWilliam Rufus. This part of the building forms a mortuary chapel forseveral of the early English Kings, including Canute. Their remains, with those of several bishops, rest in the oak chests that lie on thetop of the choir screen. They were deposited here by Bishop Fox in1534. This prelate was responsible for the beautiful east window; aperfect specimen of old stained glass. The fine pulpit dates from1520. In the choir, the scene of Edward Confessor's coronation in1043, Mary I and Philip of Spain were married. The fine carvings ofthe stalls date from 1296 and their canopies from 1390. They are amongthe earliest specimens of their kind in Europe. 

[Illustration: STEPS FROM NORTH TRANSEPT, WINCHESTER. ]

The magnificent reredos was erected by Cardinal Beaufort; it is, ofcourse, restored. "The wretches who worked their evil will with thisbeautiful relic of piety had actually chiselled the ornament down to aplane surface and filled the concavities with plaster. " It bore at onetime the golden diadem of Canute; behind it stood the splendid silvershrine of St. Swithun, decorated with "the cross of emeralds, thecross called Hierusalem" and who shall say what other gifts of pietyand devotion, all to become the spoils of that arch-iconoclast--ThomasCromwell. 

Bishop Fox's chantry was built during his lifetime. It is on the southside of the reredos, Gardiner's being on the north. Behind the reredosare the chantries of Bishop Waynflete and of the great CardinalBeaufort. The latter claims attention for its graceful beauty and thepeculiarities of character shown in the face of the effigy within. Heis termed by Dean Kitchin, who draws attention to the "money-loving"nose, the "Rothschild of his day. " Beaufort was the representative ofEngland among the judges that condemned St. Joan of Arc to the flamesand, at the time of writing, a memorial to the Maid is in course ofpreparation, to be set up near the Cardinal's tomb; an appropriate actof contrition and reparation. Beyond the space at the back of thereredos is the Early English Lady Chapel with an interesting series ofwall paintings depicting the story of our Lady. Here is the chair usedby Mary I at her wedding. Although it is unusual to praise anythingmodern, the beautiful stained glass in this part of the cathedral, forming a complete design, must be admired by the most confirmed"antiquary. "

It is in the transepts that the earlier architecture can be seen atits best. This is nearly all pure Norman work, as is that of thecrypt. It has been suggested that the latter antedates the Conquest sofar as the base of the walls is concerned. Here is an ancient wellwhich may have served the defenders during the Danish siege. 

On the wall of the north transept is a large painted figure of StChristopher. The chapel of the Holy Sepulchre (about 1350) standsbetween the transept and the choir. In the south transept Izaak Waltonrests beneath a black marble slab in Prior Silkstede's chantry. 

The epitaph, written by Bishop Ken, may be quoted:

 ALAS! HEE'S GONE BEFORE GONE, TO RETURNE NOE MORE; OUR PANTING HEARTS ASPIRE AFTER THEIR AGED SIRE, WHOSE WELL-SPENT LIFE DID LAST FULL NINETY YEARS AND PAST. BUT NOW HE HATH BEGUN THAT WHICH WILL NERE BE DONE: CROWN'D WITH ETERNAL BLISSE, WE WISH OUR SOULS WITH HIS. 

Near by is an old oak seat used by the monks between the services, anda modern effigy of Bishop Wilberforce which strikes a Victorian notein its general effect. The cathedral treasury was once the repositoryof Domesday Book, also known as The Book of Winton. 

Just before the Great War commenced, the costly operation ofunderpinning the cathedral was brought to a successful conclusion. Much alarm had been felt after the architect's report was made public. There is little doubt that a more or less general collapse of thestructure would have occurred had this very necessary operation beenlong deferred. Large sums were spent in the closing years of thenineteenth century in the repair of the roof and walls. A tabletrecording the particulars is placed at the west end of the nave. 

On leaving the cathedral some time may be spent in exploring theinteresting precincts and in endeavouring to reconstruct the medievalaspect of this part of the city. The narrow "Slype, " or public rightof way between the south transept and the site of the ancientchapter-house, was probably made to replace a passage through theinterior, an intolerable nuisance at all times, but especially duringservice hours. The old circuit wall of the monastery is stillstanding, and the entrance to the deanery should be seen; this datesfrom about 1220. The cloisters were destroyed for some unknown reasonin 1570. The ruins of Wolvesley Castle erected by Bishop de Bloisabout 1150 are close to the cathedral on the south-east. It was theresidence of the Bishops, and part of the buildings formed an angle ofthe city defences. The name Wolves _ey_ or _island_ is said to be asurvival from early Saxon days when the tributary Welsh here made anoffering of wolves' heads to their masters. 

[Illustration: GATEWAY, WINCHESTER CLOSE. ]

There are some very scanty and doubtful remains of the New Minster onthe north of the cathedral. This was pulled down at the dissolution ofthe monasteries. Nunnaminster was also swept away during this woefultime. 

The College of St. Elizabeth stood near St. Mary's. Founded by BishopJohn de Pontissara in 1301 it was dedicated to St. Elizabeth ofHungary. After the Dissolution it was sold to the Warden of St. Mary'sfor three hundred and sixty pounds, subject to the condition that thechurch should become a grammar school for seventy-five students, orthat it should be pulled down. This fate befell the building, whichhad three altars and a total length of 120 feet as was shown in thedry summer of 1842 when the outline of the walls was distinct in thegrass of the meadows on the south-east of Winchester College. 

[Illustration: WINCHESTER COLLEGE. ]

Winton is now as famous for St. Mary's College as for the cathedralitself, and though not the earliest foundation of all the greatschools, it can claim to having taught Eton the rules of goodpedagogy. Henry VI came here to ask advice and obtain experience forhis new college on the banks of the Thames. The school was founded byWykeham in 1387 for "seventy poor scholars, clerks, to live collegewise and study grammar, " and its roll contains a goodly proportion ofEngland's great men. Here students were taught rather more than isstated above, and "Manners Makyth Man" became the watchword of thefoundation. 

It was appropriate that the first of the great schools should beestablished in the city of the warrior-student Alfred, the first ofthat semi-barbarian race of monarchs to turn to the higher things ofthe mind, and without losing the leadership of the nation and the loveof his people in so doing. On the contrary, he gained his niche in theworld's history as much for this virtue as for the heroic side of hischaracter. The King's palace stood not far from the river bank andprobably the college buildings cover part of the site. Like most Saxondomestic structures, it was of wood, and no visible traces remain, though the recent interesting discoveries at Old Windsor lead one towonder what may lie hidden beneath the turf here. 

[Illustration: STATUE OF ALFRED. ]

The Hero-King was buried, first in the cathedral, and then in theNewminster. After the destruction of this building by fire, hisremains were removed to Hyde Abbey on the north of the city. This metthe fate of most other monasteries at the Dissolution, and the site ofthe final interment and, according to some accounts, the actualsarcophagus itself, were desecrated by eighteenth-century vandals inorder to build a lock-up!

The bronze figure of Alfred, standing with sword held aloft as across, on its colossal block of granite at the bottom of High Street, is an inspired work by Hamo Thornycroft. It was erected in 1901 tocommemorate the millenary of the king's death and is the mostsuccessful statue in the kingdom, imposing in its noble simplicity. 

High Street is still quaint and old fashioned, though it has fewreally ancient houses. "God-Begot House" is Tudor and the old "PentHouse" over its stumpy Tuscan pillars is very picturesque. Taking thetown as a whole it can hold its own in interest with the only otherEnglish medieval city worthy of comparison--Chester. The visitor musthave a fund of intelligent imagination and a blind eye forincongruities and then his peregrinations will be a rememberedpleasure. The beautiful gardens belonging to the houses around theclose and the black and white front of Cheyney Court will berecollected when more imposing scenes have faded. 

The "George Hotel, " though it but modestly claims to be "oldestablished, " is said by some authorities to stand on the site of anhostelry called the "Moon" that was very ancient in the days ofRichard II. The new title was given about the time of Agincourt whenthe battle cry--"St. George "--had made the saint popular. 

The City Cross is graceful and elegant fifteenth-century work, muchrestored of course, and in a quaint angle of some old houses thatrather detract from its effectiveness. The exact site of the inhumanexecution of Mrs. Alicia Lisle in September, 1685, is unknown, but itwas probably in the wider part of the High Street. This gentle oldlady, nearly eighty years of age, had given shelter to two men in allinnocence of their connexion with Sedgemoor, but the infamous Jeffreysordered her to be burnt; a sentence commuted by James II to beheading. 

The City walls were almost intact down to 1760. Now we have but thefine West Gate and the King's Gate, over which is St. Swithun'schurch. The churches of Winchester are little more than half theirformer number. St. Maurice has a Norman doorway and St. Michael aSaxon sundial. St. John Baptist and St. Peter, Cheesehill, are of themost general interest. The former has a screen and pulpit over fourhundred years old; transitional arches; and an Easter sepulchre. Thelatter is a square church mostly in Perpendicular style but with somelater additions more curious than beautiful. Visitors to St. Lawrence's should read the inscription to Martha Grace (1680). St. Bartholomew's, close to the site of Hyde Abbey, shows some Normanwork. In 1652 the Corporation petitioned Parliament to reduce theseveral city parishes into two, deeming a couple of ministers, one foreach church, sufficient for the spiritual requirements of the city. Inconnexion with this a tract was issued describing the ghastlycondition of the churches, one, St. Mary Kalendar being a garbage denfor butcher's offal, another, St. Swithun's, Kingsgate, was let by thecorporation as a tenement and had a pigsty within it!

[Illustration: CITY CROSS, WINCHESTER. ]

The ancient castle and residence of the Kings of England is nowrepresented only by the Great Hall, dating from the early part of thethirteenth century. It is used for county business and is a goodspecimen of the domestic architecture of the time. The great interestof the hall is the reputed Round Table of King Arthur, placed at itswest end. Experts have decided that it cannot be older than 1200. Thepainted names upon it are those of Arthur's Knights. These wereexecuted in the reign of Henry VIII and replaced earlier inscriptions. The Hospital of St. John Baptist is in Basket Lane. Established byJohn Deverniche, one of the city fathers, in 1275 for the succour ofaged wayfarers, it was suppressed at the Reformation, but reverted toits original purpose in 1829, and is thus one of the oldest livingfoundations of its kind in the kingdom. 

Charles II desired to revive the royal glories of Winton andcommissioned the erection of a palace which was unfinished when hedied. After being used as a barracks, the fine building waspractically destroyed in 1894 by a disastrous fire. This element wasalmost as great an enemy of old Winchester as the reformersthemselves. On one occasion the town was fired by a defender, Savaricde Mauleon, on the approach of a French army under Louis the Dauphin. When the other, and junior, capital was receiving its cleansing byfire in 1666, Winchester was being more than decimated by the plague, which was as direful here as anywhere else. 

The city is 1, 025 years old as a corporate town. Its staple businessin medieval times was the sale of wool or its manufacture into cloth. Standing midway between two great tracts of sheep country, it was thenatural mart for this important trade and therefore prospered andbecame rich. St. Giles' Fair, once famous and of great importance tocattle and sheep farmers, finally expired about the middle of the lastcentury. In its prime it was of such a nature that the jurisdiction ofthe Mayor and the City Courts was in abeyance for sixteen days fromthe twelfth of September. It was held on St. Giles' Hill just withoutthe town. The fair was under the patronage of the Bishop, whoappointed a "Justice of the Court of Pavilion" during the period ofthe fair. 

[Illustration: WEST GATE, WINCHESTER. ]

The chief excursion that every one takes, and that every one shouldtake, from Winchester is to St. Cross. The beautiful old Norman churchand its equally beautiful surrounding buildings almost rivalWinchester Close itself in their interest and charm. A short walksouthwards through the suburb of Sharkford leads direct in a littleover a mile to this goal of the archaeologist. A slightly longer butpleasanter route goes by the banks of the Itchen. 

St. Cross is the oldest charity, still living its ancient life, thatremains to us. Its charter is dated 1151, but it was founded nearlytwenty years earlier by Bishop Henry de Blois. The document set forththat thirteen "poor men, so reduced in strength as to be unable toraise themselves without the assistance of another" should be lodged, clothed and entertained, and that one hundred other poor men of goodconduct should dine here daily. The munificent charity of the founderwas soon abused and the funds had the common habit of disappearinginto the capacious pockets of absentee masters. William of Wykeham andhis immediate successor, Beaufort, caused reforms in theadministration and added to the foundation, the latter instituting analmshouse of "Noble Poverty, " which was partly carried out by BishopWaynflete in 1486. The brethren of this newer foundation wear a redgown; those of the old, a black gown bearing a silver cross. Evenwithin living memory scandals connected with the administration wereperpetuated; an Earl of Guildford taking over £1, 000 annually during aperiod of fifty years for the nominal mastership. This peer was anephew of Bishop Brownlow North. It was in 1855 that the Hospital wasput on its present footing and the charity of the hundred dinersfinally became the maintenance of fifty poor people of good characterin the vicinity. 

To the average tourist the chief interest seems to be the dole ofbread and beer which must be given to whoever claims it until the twoloaves and two gallons of liquor are exhausted. The well-clothedstranger who has the temerity to ask for it must not be surprised atthe homoeopathic quantity which is handed to him. I am informed thatthe genuine wayfarer receives a more substantial dole. 

The beautiful church of the Holy Cross measures 125 feet in length, and 115 feet across at the transepts. The choir is a fine example ofTransitional Norman with a square east end. The ancient high altar isof Purbeck marble. The Early English nave and the Decorated west frontshow the centuries through which the church grew. It is said that itwas originally thatched, the lead roof being placed by Bishop Edyngtonin 1340. A fine screen which now divides the chancel from the northaisle came from St. Faith's church, as did the old Norman font. Thefine old woodwork and ancient tiles (some having upon them the words"Have Mynde. ") are noteworthy. The chancel contains the magnificentbrass of John de Campeden who was Wykeham's Master of the Hospital andwho was responsible for raising the church and domestic buildings froma ruinous state to one of comeliness and good order. The mid-Victorianrestorations, though fairly successful, included a detestable colourscheme which goes far to spoil the general effect of the interior andshould be removed, as was done after much agitation, some years ago inSt. Paul's Cathedral. It is a great pity that any attempt should bemade to imitate this seemingly lost art. Far better to leave the wallsof our churches to the colouring that time gives than to wash or paintthem with the tints that seem to be inevitably either gaudy or dismal. 

The buildings inhabited by the brothers form two quadrangles. Theouter court has the "Hundred Men's Hall" on the east side, the gatewaytower and the porter's lodge being on the south. From this runs anambulatory and overhead gallery to the church. The hall porch bearsthe arms of Cardinal Beaufort over the centre and inside are variousrelics of his time, such as candlesticks, pewter dishes, black leatherjacks, etc. , and in the centre of the hall is the old hearth. Theactual dwellings of the brethren are in the inner court on the westand part of the north side. The buildings erected by Beaufort havedisappeared; they were on the south of the church. 

No description can give any adequate idea of the beautiful grouping ofthese old grey walls, which must have been the inspiration of one whowas artist as well as architect. In June and through the summer monthsthe beautiful garden and its fish pond belonging to the master's houseis a sight not easily forgotten. 

[Illustration: THE CHURCH, ST. CROSS. ]

Winchester does not make a particularly good picture from any of itssurrounding hills. Its crown--the cathedral--lacks that inspiringvision of soaring, pointing spire that causes the wayfarer leavingSalisbury to turn so many times for a last glimpse of its splendouragainst the setting sun. Its square and sturdy tower lacks the graceof those western lanterns whose pinnacles are reflected in the watersof Severn and Wye. But the town, with the long leaden roof of thecathedral among its guardian elms, makes a pleasant and very Englishpicture as we ascend the long road to St. Catherine's Hill, whichrises directly east of St. Cross. This hill may be the true origin ofWinchester as a settlement. It is an ideal spot for a stronghold, either for those whom the Romans displaced or for the Conquerorsthemselves. Its great entrenchments look down directly upon the riverflowing in its several meandering channels beneath. On the other sideof the hill from the river valley the Roman highway comes in a greatcurve from its straight run off Deacon Hill to distant Porchester, though by far the greater portion of that course has been lost. Thebold clump of trees on the summit, so characteristic of the chalkhills, is visible for miles and takes the place of towers and spiresto the returning Wykehamist, eager for his first glimpse of Winton. Paths may be taken to the southward across Twyford Down thateventually lead into the Southampton highways, by which a return canbe made to the city. 

Among the more interesting near-by villages, that will repay thetraveller for the walk thither, are the "Worthy's":--Headbourne, King's, Abbot's and Martyr's. To reach the church at Headbourne Worthyfrom the road one crosses a running stream by a footbridge. The littlebuilding is Saxon in part and won the enthusiastic regard of BishopWilberforce. It is exceedingly quaint and, although restored, unspoiltin appearance. Over the porch was once a hermit's cell. The clippedand much maltreated stone Rood at the west door is Saxon work and themost interesting item in the church. 

A little further away is King's Worthy, with an uninteresting andrebuilt Perpendicular church in a pretty spot on the banks of theItchen. At the far end of the village the Roman road to Basingstokeleaves the way taken by the pilgrims from Winchester to Canterbury atWorthy Park, and the straggling houses on its sides soon become thehamlet of Abbot's Worthy, a name reminiscent of the time when thecountryside was parcelled out among the great religious houses. Thisvillage was once in the possession of Hyde Abbey and afterwards becamethe property of that Lord Capel who defended Colchester for the Kingduring the Civil War. Martyr's Worthy, a mile farther, has a Normanarch to the doorway of its church, but is otherwise unremarkable. "Martyr, " by the way, is a misspelt abbreviation for "Mortimer. "Itchen Abbas, the goal of this short journey, is not five miles fromthe centre of Winchester and is a great resort of fishermen. HereCharles Kingsley came to stay at the "Plough" and, I am told, wrote agood part of _Water Babies_ between spells upon the trout streamnear-by. Possibly these charming chapters were planned while theauthor watched the placid waters before him. 

The main road winds on to pleasant Alresford, where Mary RussellMitford was born. The principal attraction of the town is a largelake, made by Bishop de Lucy in the twelfth century as an aid to thenavigation of the Itchen. Not so far as this, and in the samedirection, is Titchborne, quiet and remote among its trees with an oldchurch that boasts a Saxon chancel and with memories of theTitchbornes, whose separate aisle and secret altar for the celebrationof mass indicate their devotion to the old faith. But our return routepasses Abbas church and crosses the river to Easton, a rambling andpleasant river-village full of mellow half-timbered houses and with achurch that boasts a Norman apse and fine chancel arch. There is aunique monument in this church to the widow of William Barton, Bishopin turn of St. Asaph, St. David's, Bath and Wells, and Chichester, whose five daughters _married five bishops_! The walk across themeadows to Winnal and the city is one of the best near Winchester, butis hardly pleasant after wet weather. The hilly road, about threemiles long, direct from Martyr's Worthy, affords pretty glimpses ofthe Itchen valley and the low Worthy Downs beyond. Just before thelast descent toward Winnal there is a fairly good view of Winchesteritself. 

The straight, dusty and rather wearisome Roman road to Southamptonruns up to a spur of Compton Down, a once lonely hill but nowunsightly with the red-brick and plate glass of suburban Winchester. Near the conspicuous roadside cross--a memorial to fallenheroes--there is a distant view of the city, veiled in blue smoke, tothe rear. Compton church, in the combe beyond, has made good its placein history by recording its ancient past in the porch of the buildingerected in 1905. The old church is actually one of the aisles of thenew, and here may be seen an ancient wall painting and two piscina. Alittle over a mile to the south-east is picturesque Twyford on thewooded banks of the Itchen. Here Pope went to school for a time, andin the chapel of Bambridge House close by Mrs. Fitzherbert was marriedto the future George IV. 

Twyford Church was believed by Dean Kitchen to be built on the site ofa Stone circle. Two large "Sarsens" or megaliths lie by the side ofthe building, and a magnificent yew stands in the churchyard. ShawfordDowns, that rise above the river and village, are scored with"lynchets" or ancient cultivation terraces and there is no doubt thatthe neighbourhood has been the home of successive races from a mostremote age. 

The high-road continues over hill and down dale to Otterbourne, withits memories of a celebrated Victorian writer, Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. The Rood in the rebuilt church was erected to her memory nearlytwenty years ago. The tall granite cross in the pretty churchyardcommemorates the incumbency of Keble, the author of the _ChristianYear_, who was also vicar of Hursley, three miles away to thenorth-west, where a beautiful church was erected through his effortson the site of an eighteenth-century building, and, it is said, paidfor by royalties on his famous book. At Hursley Park Richard Cromwellresided during the Protectorate of his father. He is buried with hiswife and children in Hursley church. 

[Illustration: ROMSEY ABBEY. ]

A road runs westwards from near the summit of Otterbourne Hill throughthe beautiful woods of Hiltingbury and Knapp Hill to the valley of theTest at Romsey. There are a couple of inns and a few scattered houses, but no village on the lonely seven miles until the parallel valley isreached. 

Romsey Abbey dates from the reign of Edward the Elder, and hisdaughter, St. Alfreda, was first Abbess. Another child of aking--Mary, daughter of Stephen--became Abbess in 1160, and her uncle, Henry de Blois of Winchester, built the greater part of the presentchurch about 1125, the western portion of the nave following between1175 and 1220. The building is 263 feet long and 131 feet broad acrossthe transepts. The interior is an interesting study in Normanarchitecture and the change to Early English is nowhere seen to betteradvantage. Portions of the foundations of the Saxon church were laidbare during repairs to the floor in 1900. A section is shown beneath atrap door near the pulpit. 

A peculiar arrangement of the eastern ends of the choir aisles isnoteworthy. They are square as seen from the exterior, but prove to beapsidal on entering. At the end of the south choir aisle, forming areredos to the side altar, an ancient Saxon Rood will be seen; theFigure is sculptured in an archaic Byzantine style. The Jacobean altarin the north choir aisle was once in the chancel and had above itthose old-fashioned wooden panels of the Lord's Prayer and TenCommandments that may still be met with occasionally. When these wereremoved an ancient painted reredos was found behind them. It is nowplaced in the north choir aisle. The subject is the Resurrection andthe painting is dated at about 1380. In a glass case is the RomseyPsalter which, after many vicissitudes, has become once more theproperty of the Abbey. 

In 1625, for some unknown reason, the two upper stages of the towerwere pulled down and the present wooden belfry erected. Outside the"nuns door" is a very fine eleventh-century Rood that owes itspreservation to the fact that for many years it was covered by atradesman's shed!

Nothing remains of the conventual buildings but a few scanty patchesof masonry. The history of the Abbey was not a very edifying one and, although every effort was made to save the house at the Dissolution, chiefly by the exhibition of the imposing royal charters of foundationand re-endowment, the many scandals recorded gave the despoilers anadditional, and possibly welcome, excuse for their work. 

A great amount of careful and reverent restoration was carried outsome years ago by the late Mr. Berthon, a former vicar; but he willprobably be remembered by posterity as the inventor of the portableboat that bears his name and which is still made, or was tillrecently, in the town. Romsey (usually called _Rumsey_) is not a goodplace in which to stay and, apart from the Abbey, is quiteuninteresting. In the centre of the town is a statue of LordPalmerston, who lived at Broadlands, a beautifully situated mansion ashort distance away to the south. 

A pleasant journey by road or rail can be taken up the valley of theTest between the low chalk hills of Western Hampshire to Stockbridge(or even farther north to Whitchurch or Andover, but these districtsmust be left until later). At Mottisfont, four miles from Romsey, wasonce a priory of Augustinians. Remnants of the buildings areincorporated with the present mansion. In the church perhaps the mostinteresting item, by reason of the alien touch in this remote cornerof Hampshire, is an heraldic stone of the Meinertzhazen family broughthere from St. Michael's, Bremen, at the end of the nineteenth century. The square font of Purbeck marble is of the same date as the Normanarch in the chancel. Just to the south of the village a branch line ofrailway follows a remote western valley to its head and then drops tothe Avon valley and Salisbury. To the east is another lonely stretchof country through which the ridge of Pitt Down runs to the actualsuburbs of Winchester. At the western end of this ridge, and aboutthree miles up the Test from Mottisfont, are the villages ofHorsebridge and King's Somborne on the southern confines of what wasonce John of Gaunt's deer park. The present bridge is higher up thestream, but the railway-station is on the actual site of the ancientroad between Winchester and Old Sarum and the "horse bridge" was thenlower down stream and almost immediately due west of the station. Somborne gets its prefix from the fact that an old mansion usuallycalled "King John's Palace" formerly stood here, it may be that itbelonged to John of Gaunt. Certain mounds and small sections of wallare pointed out as the remains of this house; they will be found tothe south-west of the church; a much restored, but still interesting, thirteenth-century building. The font, of Purbeck marble, is veryfine; of interest also are the late Jacobean chancel rails and certaincrosses and monograms on the north doorway. 

A road runs for six miles north-westwards up into the chalk hills bythe side of the Wallop brook to the euphoniously named villages ofNether, Middle, and Over Wallop. The first and last have interestingchurches, but the excursion, if taken, should be as an introduction toperhaps the most remote and unspoilt region of the chalk country. Although the Wallop valley is fairly well populated, the older peopleare as unsophisticated as any in southern England. The scenery isquietly pleasant, the hills away to the southwest exceeding, here andthere, the 500 feet contour line. One of them, near the head of thevalley, is named "Isle of Wight Hill. " It is only upon the clearest ofdays that the distant Island is seen over the shoulder of theneighbouring Horseshoe Hill and across the long glittering expanse ofSouthampton Water. 

Proceeding up the fertile valley of the Test, Stockbridge is reachedin another three miles. This sleepy old country town and one-timeparliamentary borough occasionally wakes up when sheep fairs and otherrural gatherings take place in its spacious High Street, but on otherdays it is the very ideal of a somnolent agricultural centre; it is, therefore, a pleasant headquarters from which to explore thenorth-western part of the county. The long line of picturesque roofsand broken house-fronts, in all the mellow tints that age alone cangive, makes as goodly a picture as any in Hampshire. On the right-handside, going down the street, is the Grosvenor Inn with its projectingporch. Next door is the old Market House and across the way stands theturreted Town Hall. 

Alone in a quiet graveyard at the upper end of the town is the chancelof old St. Peter's church, now used as the chapel of the buryingground. Most of the removable items were taken to the new churcherected in High Street in 1863, including certain fine windows and theNorman font of Purbeck marble. In a neglected corner of the oldchurchyard is the tombstone of John Bucket, one-time landlord of the"King's Head" in Stockbridge. It bears the following oft-quotedepitaph:

 And is, alas! poor Bucket gone? Farewell, convivial honest John. Oft at the well, by fatal stroke Buckets like pitchers must be broke. In this same motley shifting scene, How various have thy fortunes been. Now lifting high, now sinking low, To-day the brim would overflow. Thy bounty then would all supply To fill, and drink, and leave thee dry, To-morrow sunk as in a well, Content unseen with Truth to dwell. But high or low, or wet or dry, No rotten stave could malice spy. Then rise, immortal Bucket, rise And claim thy station in the skies; 'Twixt Amphora and Pisces shine: Still guarding Stockbridge with thy sign. 

The main street crosses the Test by two old stone bridges and fromthese, glancing up and down the street, one has a charming view of thesurrounding hills which fill the vista at each end. The road out ofthe town to the east runs over the shoulder of Stockbridge Down onwhich is a fine prehistoric entrenchment called Woolbury Ring. Thenceto Winchester is a long undulating stretch of rough and flinty trackwith but few cottages and no villages on the way until tiny Wyke, close to the city, is reached. One welcome roadside inn, the "Rack andManger, " stands at the cross roads about half way, and occasionalancient milestones tell us we are on the way to "Winton. "

Our itinerary through west-central Hampshire has not included thatlittle known fragment of the county that lies to the west of Romseyand is a district of commons and woods, part of the great forest-landthat we shall hurriedly explore in the next chapter. The chiefinterest here, apart from the natural attractions of the secludedcountryside, is a simple grave in the churchyard of East Wellow, asmall by-way hamlet about four miles from Romsey. Here is the lastresting place of Florence Nightingale who lies beside her father andmother. The supreme honour of burial at Westminster, offered by theDean and Chapter, was refused by her relatives in compliance with herown wish. So East Wellow should be a pilgrim's shrine to the rank andfile of that weaponless army whose badge is the Red Cross. 

[Illustration: BARGATE, SOUTHAMPTON. ]

CHAPTER II

SOUTHAMPTON WATER AND THE NEW FOREST

Bitterne is now a suburb of Southampton on the opposite side of theItchen, but it may claim to be the original town from which the Saxonsettlement arose. It is the site of the Roman Clausentium, animportant station between Porchester and Winchester, and when theSaxons came up the water and landed upon the peninsula between the tworivers they probably found a populous town on the older site. Thisconjecture would account for the name given to the new colony--_Southhametune_--ultimately borne by the county-town and the origin of the shirename. It is as the natural outlet for the trade of Winchester and Wessex, standing at the head of one of the finest waterways in Europe, thatSouthampton became the present thriving and important town. 

To-day its commercial prestige, if not on a par with Liverpool, Hullor Cardiff, is sufficiently great for the town to rank as a countyborough. The magnificent docks are capable of taking the largestliners, and as the port of embarkation for South Africa itsconsequence will increase still more as that great country develops. On the banks of the Itchen many important industries have beenestablished during the last quarter of a century and, as a result ofthis and the inevitable disorder of a great port, Southampton'senvirons have suffered. But more than any other town in England of thesame size, have the powers that give yea or nay to such questionsconserved the relics of the past with which Southampton is so richlyendowed. The most famous of these is the Bargate (originally "Barred"Gate), once the principal, or Winchester, entrance to the town. Itdates from about 1350, though its base is probably far older. Theupper portion, forming the Guildhall, bears on the south or town sidea quaint statue of George III in a toga, that replaced one of QueenAnne in stiff corsets and voluminous gown. The various armorialbearings displayed are those of noble families who have been connectedwith the town in the past. Within the upper chamber are two ancientpaintings said to represent the legendary Sir Bevis, whose sword ispreserved at Arundel, and his squire Ascupart. Sections of the townwall may be found in several places, but the most considerable portionis on the north side of the Westgate, where, until the middle of thelast century, when Westernshore Road was made, high tides washed thefoot of the wall. The arcading of this portion is much admired, anddeservedly so. So far as the writer is aware, no other town in Englandhas medieval defences of quite this character remaining. Thepicturesque Bridewell Gate is at the end of Winkle Street and not faraway is all that remains of "God's House" or the Hospital of St. Julian, "improved" out of its ancient beauty. The chapel was given tothe Huguenot refugees by Queen Elizabeth; a portion of the originalchancel still exists and within the Anglican service continues to besaid in French. The house known as "King John's House, " close to thewalls near St. Michael's Square, dates from the twelfth century and istherefore one of the oldest in England. Another old building in PorterLane called "Canute's House" is declared by archaeologists to be ofthe twelfth century, but Hamptonians, with some degree of probability, claim that the lower walls are certainly Saxon, so that thetraditional name may be right after all. In that part of the townnearest to the docks are several stone cellars of great age upon whichlater dwellings have been erected, in some cases two buildings haveappeared on the same sturdy base. A particularly fine crypt is inSimnel Street, with a window at its east end. At the corner of BugleStreet is the "Woolhouse, " said to belong to the fourteenth century;very noticeable are the heavy buttresses that support this fine oldhouse on its west side. Another old dwelling in St. Michael's Squaremay have been built in the fifteenth century. Tradition has it thatthis was for a time the residence of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. 

[Illustration: THE ARCADES, SOUTHAMPTON. ]

The reference to Canute's House brings to mind the tradition, stoutlyupheld by Hamptonians, that it was at "Canute's Point" at the mouth ofthe Itchen, and not at Bosham or Lymington, that the king gave hisservile courtiers the historic rebuke chronicled by Camden. By him, quoting Huntingdon, we are told that "causing his chair to be placedon the shore as the tide was coming in, the king said to the latter, 'Thou art my subject, and the ground I sit on is mine, nor can anyresist me with impunity. I command, thee, therefore, not to come up onmy ground nor wet the soles of the feet of thy master. ' But the sea, immediately coming up, wetted his feet, and he, springing back, said, 'Let all the inhabitants of the earth know how weak and frivolous isthe power of princes; none deserves the name of king, but He whosewill heaven, earth, and sea obey by an eternal decree. ' Nor would heever afterwards wear his crown, but placed it on the head of thecrucifix. " There is little doubt that Southampton was one of theprincipal royal residences during the reign of the great Northman, andnearly a hundred years before, in Athelstan's days, it was ofsufficient importance to warrant the setting up of two mints. 

The only medieval church remaining to Southampton is St. Michael's, which has a lofty eighteenth-century spire on a low Norman tower. Hereis another of those black sculptured Tournai fonts one of which hasbeen noticed in Winchester. The interior must have presented a curiousappearance in the early years of Queen Victoria. During herpredecessor's reign the incumbent placed the pulpit and reading-deskat the west end and reversed all the seats so that the congregationsat with their backs to the altar. The purpose of this is beyondconjecture. St. Mary's, designed by Street, was erected on the site ofthe old town church in 1879 as a memorial to Bishop Wilberforce. AllSaints' in High Street is a classic building standing on the groundoccupied by a very ancient church. Isaac Watts was deacon of Above BarChapel, noteworthy for the fact that the immortal hymn "Oh God, ourhelp in ages past" was first sung within its walls from manuscriptcopies supplied to the congregation by the young poet. Among otherfamous men who were natives of Southampton may be mentioned Dibdin andMillais. 

As might be expected from its geographical position and the manycenturies it has been a gate to central England, Southampton has had achequered and eventful history. Before the days of those supposedlyimpregnable forts in Spithead which bar to all inimical visitors apassage up the Water, the town was not immune from attack from the seaand in 1338 an allied French, Genoese and Spanish fleet sailed up theestuary and attacked the town to such good purpose that the burgesseswere forced to fly and from a safe distance saw their homes burned tothe ground. Another assault was made by the French in 1432, butprofiting by bitter experience, the citizens had by now constructedsuch defences and armed them so well that this attack was anignominious failure. 

The port was the scene of several great expeditions overseas before itgave its quota to that greatest of all crusades in 1914. It saw thestart of Richard Lion-Heart's transports, filled with the chivalry ofEngland, on their way to challenge the power of Islam. The townrecords show that 800 hogs were supplied by the citizens for feedingthe army _en route_. Perhaps the most famous of the sailings was thatof the twenty-one ships that carried the English army to the victoryof Creçy. Again seventy years later there was another great sallyingforth to the field of Agincourt, nearly frustrated by the machinationsof Richard, Earl of Cambridge. This scion of the Plantagenets and hisfellow conspirators were beheaded and afterwards buried, as recordedon a tablet there, in the chapel of God's House. From Southampton the_Mayflower_ and _Speedwell_ sailed in 1620: the latter being discardedat Plymouth. 

The modern aspect of Southampton's streets is that of the bustle andactivity of a midland town, and the narrow pavements of Below andAbove Bar have that metropolitan air which a crowd of well-dressedpeople intent on business or pleasure gives to the better classprovincial city. It would seem that the inevitable accompaniment ofsuch prosperity is the meanness of poorly-built and squalidly-keptsuburbs. When the superb situation of Southampton is considered onecan but hope that some day, in the new England that we are told is onthe way, a great transformation will take place on the shores ofItchen and Test. 

The excursion that every visitor should take is down the Water toCowes. Few steamer trips in the south are as pleasant and interesting. In consequence of the double tides with which Southampton is favoured, the chance of having a long stretch of ill looking and worse smellingmud flats in the foreground of the view is almost negligible. Unless avery thorough knowledge of the shore is desired, the view from thedeck will give the stranger an adequate idea of the surroundingcountry. The passing show of shipping, of all sorts, sizes andnationalities, is not the least interesting item of the passage. Thewriter's most vivid recollection of Southampton Water in the earlysummer of 1918 is not of the beautiful shores shimmering in the Junesun, but of an extraordinary line of "dazzle ships" in the centre ofthe waterway, moored bow to stern in a long perspective, or it wouldbe more correct to say, want of perspective, the brain and the eyebeing so much at variance that the ends of the line could scarcely bebelieved to consist of ships at all. 

[Illustration: NETLEY RUINS. ]

The ruins of Netley Abbey can best be seen by taking the pleasantshore road from Woolston and Weston Grove. The distance is a littleover two miles from the Itchen ferry. The so-called Netley Castle wasonce the gate-house of the Abbey, converted into a fort when HenryVIII devised the elaborate scheme of coast defence that has dotted thesouthern seaboard with a more scattered (and more picturesque) seriesof Martello towers. 

The ruins of the Cistercian Church which once graced this shore andraised above the trees its lighthouse tower, a seamark by day and abeacon by night, are among the loveliest in Wessex. Though perhapsthese relics of a former splendour, when they consist of more than afew bits of broken masonry, should rather be said to be heartrendingin their reminder of what we have lost. 

Not so beautiful is the great pile, a mile to the south, built duringthe Crimean war for the invalid warriors and named after their Queen. A short distance away is another great building, or series ofstructures, erected during the Great War, to further our claim to theempire of the air. 

[Illustration: ON THE HAMBLE. ]

The Hamble river is the only considerable stream before the barrierspit of Calshot Castle is reached. This comes down from historicBishop's Waltham with its considerable remains of the "palace" of theearlier Bishop of Winchester. After passing Botley, an ancient markettown, the river widens into an estuary haven altogether out ofproportion to the stream behind it, and at Bursledon, where it iscrossed by the Portsmouth highway, it becomes really beautiful: thecurving banks are in places embowered in trees that descend to thewater's edge. When the tide is full the scene would hold its own withmany more favoured by the guide books. The fields around are devotedto the culture of the strawberry for the London market, and the cropsare said to be finer than those of the better-known Kentish districts. 

Two finds from the stream bed are in Botley market hall, a portion ofa Danish war vessel and an almost entire prehistoric canoe. 

[Illustration: GATE HOUSE, TITCHFIELD. ]

A name better known to the majority of our readers will be that of theMeon, a further reference to which district will be found in theconcluding chapter. The waters of this longer stream rise on a westernoutlier of Butser Hill and, draining a remote and beautiful districtserved by the Meon Valley Railway, reach Titchfield Haven over threemiles below the Hamble. Titchfield, two miles as the crow flies fromthe sea (for we are now on the open waters of the Solent), is apleasant old town with an interesting church and the gatehouse remnantof a once famous abbey of Premonstratensians. Part of the tower andnave of the church are Saxon, and the remainder is in a whole range ofstyles. A chapel on the south was once the property of the abbey andis called the Abbot's Chapel, this has a fine tomb of the first andsecond Earls and first Countess of Southampton. Perhaps of moreinterest to some visitors will be the flag hung near the opening tothe chancel. This was the first to fly over Pretoria after the Britishoccupation. 

The western shore of Southampton Water may be accepted as the easternboundary of the New Forest, as the straight north and south valley ofthe Salisbury Avon is its western barrier. From the sea atChrist-church Bay to the Blackwater valley west of Romsey is abouttwenty miles and all this great district partakes more or less of thecharacter of the country seen from the Bournemouth express after itleaves Lyndhurst Road. To attempt to describe in detail this uniquecorner of England would be beyond the possibilities of this book orits author, and only the barest outline will be attempted. 

One authority claims 95, 000 acres as the extent of the Forest. Thepresent writer would increase this estimate considerably. Abouttwo-thirds of the more central portion are crown lands, and as will beseen by the most superficial view (from the afore-mentioned expresstrain for instance) much of the central woodland is interspersed withfarms and arable land and a large extent of open heath, as are thoseoutlying fringes in the Avon valley and elsewhere. It is unaccountablethat the word "forest" should have so altered in meaning during thecourse of centuries that its earlier significance has almost becomelost. The word is associated in every one's mind with the density oftropical foliage or the dark grandeur of northern fir woods. Forest asa topographical suffix denotes a wild uncultivated tract of hilly orcommon land, more often than not quite bare of trees. The greatexpanse of Radnor Forest is well known to the writer and not even athorn bush comes to the mind in picturing its miles of fern-cladbillowy uplands. 

The "New" Forest was first so called by the Conqueror. He broughtwithin its bounds certain tracts that had been preserved by hispredecessors, but that he "burnt and razed whole villages, andconverted a smiling countryside into a wild place devoted to theking's pleasure" is extremely improbable, unless we may credit Williamwith an altruistic care for the sport of his great-grandchildren atthe expense of whatever little popularity he may have had in his owntime. Undoubtedly the folk of this part of Hampshire felt aggrieved atlosing their rights over a great stretch of wild common where the moredemocratic Saxon kings had taken their pleasure without interferingwith the privileges of the churl. That certain small settlements wereat some time abandoned is attested by names such as Bochampton, Tachbury, Church Walk, etc. , and it is said that Rufus establishedcertain dispossessed peasantry in far-off portions of his kingdom. TheConqueror's immediate successors made cruel and arbitrary laws, inconnexion with the preservation of the deer, that were much mitigatedby the Forest Charter of 1217 which provided that death should nolonger be the penalty for killing the King's deer, but merely a fine, or imprisonment in default. 

The wild life of the Forest is much the same as that of the remoterparts of rural England, apart from the ponies and the deer. Of thelatter only a few still roam the glades. An Act was passed in 1851 fortheir removal, when the number was reduced from nearly 4, 000 to about250 of two kinds--fallow deer and red deer. Latterly roe deer haveappeared, adventurers from Milton Abbey park. The New Forest pony wasa distinct breed and the writer has been told that it was thedescendant of a small native horse, but its characteristics have beenlost through scientific crossing with alien breeds. A legend used tobe current in the Forest that the ponies were descended from thoselanded from the wrecked ships of the Spanish Armada, but there is alimit to what we may believe of this wonderful fleet. Most villagesalong the south coast having rather more than the usual proportion ofdark-haired folk have been claimed as asylums for the castaway sailorsand soldiers of Spain by enthusiastic amateur anthropologists. 

Before breaking-in, the Forest pony is a wild and often vicious littlebeast--more so, perhaps, than its cousins of Wales and Dartmoor--and a"drive, " when the little horses are corralled, is an exciting andinteresting affair, human wits being pitted against equine, not alwaysto the advantage of the former. 

Small companies of rough-coated donkeys may occasionally be seen, inan apparently wild state, roaming about the more open parts of theForest. Some years ago the breeding of mules for export was arecognized local concern, but this seems to have fallen intodesuetude. 

Badgers and otters are common, as is the ubiquitous squirrel. Thebadger, however, is seldom seen by the chance visitor by reason of itsnocturnal habits, but it is said to be more numerous than in anysimilar wild tract in the south. The smaller wild mammals, carnivorousand herbivorous, and a truly representative family of birds, includingone or two rare visitors, have here a perfect sanctuary. The forest isobviously a happy hunting ground for the lepidopterist and botanist. The latter will find many of the rarer British orchids in the central"dingles" and on the more remote western borders. During the Great Wara large number of trees were felled and the usually silent woodsre-echoed with the noises of a Canadian lumber camp. About this timegreat flocks of migratory jays from central Europe were noticed in theeastern parts of the Forest. For the pedestrian who toils over theForest roads in the height of summer there is one form of wild life inevidence that claims his whole attention, and that is the virulent andaudacious forest fly. Only the strongest "shag" and gloved hands cankeep this horrible creature at bay. 

The observant stranger will notice a large proportion of small, darkfolk among the inhabitants of the Forest. It is a fascinating matterfor conjecture that these may be remnants of the Iberians that onceheld south Britain or even, perhaps, of a still older people leftstranded by the successive races that have swept westwards by way ofthe uplands to the north. 

The western shore of Southampton Water has little of interest todetain the visitor. The small town of Hythe, almost opposite NetleyAbbey, has nothing ancient about it, though it is a picturesque andpleasant little place. Fawley, nearly opposite the opening of theHamble, has a fine late Norman church with much Early Englishaddition. Calshot Castle is another of those forts of Henry VIIIalready mentioned, and once round the corner of this spit we are inthe Solent at Stanswood Bay. A few miles farther and the beautifulestuary of the Beaulieu river runs into the recesses of the Forest. Small steamers sometimes bring holiday-makers from Southampton to theport of Beaulieu, called Bucklershard, where, over a hundred yearsago, there was an attempt to make a new seaport. It is difficult tobelieve that this quiet creek was, during the second half of theeighteenth century, the birthplace of many "wooden walls of oldEngland. " Here among other famous ships was launched the _Agamemnon_, commanded by Nelson at the siege of Celvi, where he lost his righteye. An unfortunate disagreement between the shipbuilders and theAdmiralty, in which the former were so ill advised as to seek the helpof the law, led to the abandonment of the yards. At St. Leonards, nearer the mouth of the estuary, is the ruin of a chapel belonging tothe Cistercians of Beaulieu and also portions of their great barn, said to be the largest in England (209 feet by 70 feet). The greatAbbey church, nearly four miles off, was entirely swept away duringthe Demolition. It was here that the wife of the King Maker tookrefuge after the death of her husband at the battle of Barnet. A fewdays before, on the actual day of the fight, arrived Margaret of Anjouwith reinforcements for Henry VI. Some years later, after his repulseat Exeter, Perkin Warbeck sought sanctuary, the right of which hadbeen granted to the monastery by Pope Innocent IV. The monks'refectory is now the parish church and a very fine and interesting oneit makes. Considerable portions of the domestic buildings remain. Palace House, the residence of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, was once thegatehouse of the abbey. 

A return must now be made to Southampton, and the Christchurch roadtaken through Totton to Lyndhurst. The station for the latter town isover two miles away on the Southampton road, where the railway makes awide detour to Beaulieu Road and Brockenhurst. The absurd title givento Lyndhurst by local guide-books, "Capital of the New Forest, " isuncalled for. Certainly it is nearly the centre of the district and iswithin convenient distance of some of the most beautiful woodlands, but nothing could be a greater contrast to the surroundings than thisnew-looking brick excrescence. It has one fine old Jacobeanbuilding--the "King's House, " where the Forest Courts are held. TheVerderers, of whom there are six, are elected by open ballot. Theymust be landowners residing in or near the Forest and may sit injudgment upon any offence against Forest laws. These Verderers Courtshave been held since Norman days and the old French terms "pannage, ""turbary" and so on, are still used. Further, the old name for thecourt, "Swain Mote, " indicates a Saxon origin for this seat ofgreenwood justice. 

[Illustration: THE KNIGHTWOOD OAK IN WINTER. ]

The spire of Lyndhurst church can be seen for miles wherever highground and a break in the woods render this possible. It surmounts amid-Victorian erection of variegated bricks in about the worstpossible taste for its situation. The one redeeming feature is a wallpainting of the Ten Virgins by Lord Leighton. 

A little over two miles away, and on the road to the Rufus Stone, isMinstead church, which will make a different appeal to theunderstanding stranger. This is (or was lately) a charming survivalfrom the days of our grandfathers with a three-decker, old room-likepews, and double galleries. Malwood Lodge, close by, is a seat of theHarcourt family, and not far away, about a mile and a half fromMinstead church, is the spot where William Rufus was killed by thatmysterious arrow which by accident or design, relieved England of atyrannical and wicked king. The "Rufus Stone, " as the iron memorial iscalled, with its terse and non-committal inscription was placed hereby a former Lord de la Warr. The body was conveyed to Winchester inthe cart of a charcoal-burner named Purkiss, and descendants of thisman, still following his occupation, were living within bow-shot ofthe memorial one hundred years ago. The family "enjoyed for centuriesthe right to the taking of all such wood as they could gather _by hookor by crook_, dead branches, and what could be broken, but not cut bythe axe. " It is said that the train of accidents that befell theConqueror's family in the Forest was considered by Hampshire folk tobe a just retribution for his iniquity in "making" it. His grandsonHenry, his second son Richard, and lastly his third son Rufus, all meta violent death within its glades. 

A short distance westwards we reach the "Compton Arms Hotel" andStoney Cross, from which an alternate route through beautifulBoldrewood can be taken back to Lyndhurst or a long and lonely butgood road followed all the way to Ringwood, nine miles away on theAvon. The traveller who would explore the recesses of the forestremote from the beaten track should make his way north and west fromStoney Cross through the sandy heaths of Eyeworth Walk and themysterious depths of Sloden with its dark yews of great and unknownage. Not far from Stoney Cross on the way to Fritham, are a number ofprehistoric graves clustered closely together, and an interestingrelic of the Roman occupation exists at Sloden where there are moundsof burnt earth, charcoal, and broken pottery. The locality has longbeen known as "Crock Hill" and is evidently the site of an earthenwarefactory. The road going south and west by Broomy Walk leads toFordingbridge on the Avon. Here is a beautiful and interesting oldchurch, a typically pleasant Hampshire town, and a quiet butdelightful stretch of the river. 

The straight high road, that runs south from Lyndhurst through thethick woodlands of Irons Hill Walk and the giant oaks of Whitley Wood, reaches Brockenhurst in four miles. This small town, to the writer'smind, is pleasanter and less sophisticated than Lyndhurst, thoughboarding-houses are as much in evidence and the railway station isclose to the main street. The church stands on a low hill among thetrees of the actual forest. Here was recently to be seen, and possiblyis still, a quaintly ugly survival in the squire's pew, placed as asort of royal box at the entrance to the chancel. The building is ofvarious dates and contains a Norman font of Purbeck marble. Theenormous yew of great age will at once be noticed in the churchyard. 

The main road continues over Whitley Ridge to Lymington nearly fivemiles from Brockenhurst, passing, about half-way on the left, Boldre, with an old Norman church among the thickly-set trees on the hill aboveLymington River. The village and inn are at the bottom of the valleynear a bridge that carries the Beaulieu road up to the great bareexpanse of Beaulieu Heath. 

After passing the branch railway, and about half a mile short ofLymington, is a fine circular prehistoric entrenchment called BucklandRings. The road now drops to the one-time parliamentary borough andancient port of Lymington, now only known to the majority as the pointof departure by the "short sea route" to the Isle of Wight, and thosewho make the passage when the tide is out do not usually regret theshortness of their stay on this particular bit of coast. But theirself-congratulation is wasted, Lymington itself is a very pleasant andclean town, even if its shore is a dreary stretch of salt marsh, greyand depressing on the sunniest day. There are some fine old houses inthe picturesque High Street, though none of them remember the day in1154 when Henry II landed on the way to his coronation. The muchrestored church will be best appreciated for the picture it makes fromthe other end of High Street. 

Though a fashionable resort in those days when any seaside town was apossible future Brighton, Lymington is never likely to become crowdedwith visitors again, but artists find many good studies on the riverand in the town and even on the "soppy" flats themselves, and there aresalt baths at high tide for those unconventional holiday-makers whofavour the place. 

To resume the main route through the forest from Lyndhurst the westernroad must be taken. It presently turns sharply towards the south andpenetrates the fastnesses of the woods lining the Highland Water. Herewe find the celebrated Knightwood Oak and the grand beeches of MarkAsh, nearly two miles away in the depths to the right, but worth thetrouble of finding. In less than six miles from Lyndhurst the travellerreaches the cross-roads at Wilverley Post on the top of Markway Hill, and in another long mile Holmsley station on the Brokenhurst-Ringwoodrailway. Then follows an undulating and lonely stretch of four and ahalf miles of mingled wood and common and occasional cultivated land tothe scattered hamlet of Hinton Admiral, that boasts a station on theSouth Western main line to Bournemouth. There is now but anuninteresting three miles to the outskirts of Christchurch. 

[Illustration: LYMINGTON CHURCH. ]

The one-time Saxon port of Twyneham and present borough of Christchurch(the change of name, like several others in the country, was due to theover-whelming power of the ecclesiastical as opposed to on the secular)has a similarity to Southampton in its situation on a peninsula betweentwo rivers before they form a joint estuary to the sea. But, alas, although the waterways of the Avon and Stour are considerable, Christchurch Harbour long ago silted up and the long tongue of landthat runs eastward across the mouth effectually bars ingress toanything in the nature of a trading vessel. 

The town, though pleasant enough in itself, has but one realattraction for the visitor and, judging by the crowds ofholiday-makers brought in every day by motor, tram and train from thehuge pleasure town on the west, the study of ecclesiasticalarchitecture must be gaining favour with the British public. Or is itthat the uncompromising modernity of Bournemouth, without even therecollection of a Hanoverian princess to give it antiquity, drives itsvisitors in such swarms to the one-time Priory, and now longest parishchurch in England. 

The old Saxon minster, after passing through many vicissitudes(including a particularly humiliating one at the hands of WilliamRufus, whose creature, Flambard, made slaves of its clergy and ran thechurch as a miracle show!), became in the middle of the twelfthcentury an Augustinian priory and the choir of the new building wasfinished just before 1300. At the crossing of nave and transepts theusual low and heavy Norman tower had been built with the usualresult--it collapsed and brought some of the choir down with it. Thiswas again rebuilt during the fifteenth century, which period also sawthe rise of the western tower that graces every distant view of thetown. The transepts have beneath them Norman crypts, though thestructure immediately above is of varying date, with a good deal oforiginal work remaining, including an apsidal chapel. The Lady Chapelwas built in the fifteenth century; over it is a room known as "St. Michael's Loft. " This served for years as Christchurch grammar school. 

[Illustration: NORMAN TURRET, CHRISTCHURCH. ]

Every one will admire the beautiful rood screen, well and carefullyrestored in the middle of the last century, and the unusual reredoswhich represents the Tree of Jesse and the Adoration of the Wise Men. On the left of the altar is the Salisbury chantry and in front a stoneslab to Baldwin de Redvers (1216). There are several fine tombs inother parts of the church including that of the last Prior, who has achapel to himself at the end of the south choir aisle. The finemonument to Shelley at the west end of the church is as much admiredfor its beauty as it is criticized for its "unfitness for a positionin a Christian church" (Murray). The female figure supportingShelley's body represents his wife. Mr. Cox in his _Little Guide toHampshire_ draws attention to the fact that the conception is "anobvious parody of a Pieta, or the Virgin supporting the Dead Christ"and therefore in the worst possible taste. The poet had no personalconnexion with Christchurch. His son lived for some years at BoscombeManor. 

The custodian shows, when requested, a visitors' book where, on one andthe same page are the signatures of William II and Louis Raemaekers!

Comparatively few old buildings remain in the vicinity of the greatchurch and the visitor will not need to make an exhaustive explorationof its environs, but before leaving Christchurch the fine collectionof local birds brought together and mounted by a resident of the townshould not be missed. 

Embryo watering places, the conception of the "real estate" fraternitywhom Bournemouth has set by the ears, line the low shore ofChristchurch Bay between Hengistbury Head and Hurst Castle. Firstcomes Highcliffe, this has perhaps the most developed "front, " thenBarton, nearly two miles from New Milton station, and lastlyMilford-on-Sea, the most interesting of them all, but suffering inpopularity by reason of the long road, over four miles, that connectsit with the nearest stations, Lymington or New Milton; possibly itsregular habitués look upon this as a blessing in disguise. Milford iswell placed for charming views of the Island: it has good firm sandsand a golf links. An interesting church stands back from the sea onthe Everton road. The thirteenth-century tower will at once strike theobserver as out of the ordinary; the Norman aisles of the church werecarried westwards at the time the tower was built and made to openinto it through low arches. The early tracery of the windows should benoticed. The addition of transepts and the enlargement of the chancelabout 1250 made the church an exceptionally large structure for theoriginally small village. 

Southbourne, one and a half miles south-west of Christchurch, willsoon become a mere outer suburb of Bournemouth. It almost touchesBoscombe, that eastern extension of the great town that has sprunginto being within the last fifty years. Southbourne is said to bebracing; it is certainly a great contrast to the bustle and glitter ofits great neighbour. There is a kind of snobbishness that strikes todecry any large or popular resort, seemingly because it _is_ large andpopular, but surely there must be some virtue in these huge wateringplaces that attract so many year after year, and if Southbournepleases only Tom, and Bournemouth Dick and Harry _and_ their friends, well, good health to them! That their favourite town does not startoff a new chapter may offend the latter, but they will perhaps admitthat although it is on the west side of the Avon the town among thepines forms, with its sandy chines and the trees that gave it itsfirst claim to popular favour, an extension and outlier of the greatseries of heath and woodland that has just been traversed and that itmakes a fitting geographical termination to south-western Hants. 

Though the pines themselves have not been planted much longer than ahundred years, they now appear as the only relics of a lonely andrather bare tract of uncultivable desert. Local historians claim thatthe beginnings of Bournemouth were made in 1810, but it would appearthat only two or three houses existed by the lonely wastes of sand inthe first few years of the Victorian era. One of these was an adjunctto a decoy pond for wild fowl. The parish itself was not formed until1894, and although fashionable streets and fine churches and asuper-excellent "Winter-garden" had been erected when the writer firstsaw the town, not much more than twenty years ago, the front wasextremely "raw" and the only shelter during a shower was a large tenton the sands that, on one never-to-be-forgotten occasion, collapsedduring a squall upon the crowd of lightly-clad holiday-makersbeneath. But this is a very dim and distant past for Bournemouth, the"Sandbourne" of the Wessex novels. The town is now as well conductedas any on the English coast. It is large enough and has a sufficientpermanent population to justify its inclusion in the ranks of thecounty boroughs. It is becoming almost as popular as Ventnor withthose who suffer from weak lungs, though it can be very cold here inJanuary. 

[Illustration: SAND AND PINES, BOURNEMOUTH. ]

Bournemouth will be found a convenient centre, or rather startingpoint, for the exploration of the beautiful Wessex coast. From thepier large and comfortable steamers make the passage to Swanage, Weymouth, Lyme and further afield. Another advantage which these largetowns have for the ordinary tourist is that he may generally countupon getting some sort of roof to cover him when in the smaller coastresorts lodgings are not merely at a premium but simply unobtainableat any price. 

[Illustration: CORFE CASTLE. ]

CHAPTER III

POOLE, WIMBORNE AND THE ISLE OF PURBECK

The South of England generally is wanting in that particular sceniccharm that consists of broad stretches of inland water backed by highcountry. The first sight of Poole harbour with the long range of thePurbeck Hills in the distance will come as a delightful revelation tothose who are new to this district. The harbour is almost land-lockedand the sea is not in visual evidence away from the extremely narrowentrance between Bournemouth and Studland. A fine excursion for goodpedestrians can be made by following the sandy shore until the ferryacross the opening is reached and then continuing to Studland and overBallard Down to Swanage. 

Poole town is a busy place of small extent but containing for its sizea large population. The enormous development of industry in thesurrounding districts during the Great War must have brought thenumber of folks in and around Poole to nearly 100, 000, thus making itthe most populous corner of Dorset. This figure may not be maintained, but a good proportion of the work concerned with the waste ofarmaments has been transformed into the commerce of peace. One causefor the modern prosperity of this old town is its position as regardsthe converging railways from the west and north as well as from Londonand Weymouth. 

[Illustration: POOLE. ]

Poole, like a good many other places with as much or as little cause, has been claimed as a Roman station. There seems to be no directevidence for this. The first actual records of the town are dated1248, when William de Longespée gave it its first charter. This Normanheld the manor of Canford, and Poole church was originally a chapel ofease for that parish. The present building only dates from 1820 andfor the period is a presentable enough copy of the Perpendicularstyle. Poole was a republican town in the Civil War and sent itslevies to help to reduce Corfe Castle. The revenge of the other sidecame when, at the Restoration, all the town defences were destroyed, though the king was not too unforgetful to refuse the hospitality ofthe citizens during the Great Plague. 

The only remarkable relics in Poole are the Wool House or "TownCellar" and an old postern dating from about 1460. The Town Hall, withits double flight of winding steps and quaint high porch was built in1761. Within, as a commemoration of the visit recorded above, is apresentment of the monarch who must have had "a way with him, " sincehis subjects' memories apparently became as short as his own. 

But Poole's most stirring times were in the days when Harry Page, licensed buccaneer and pirate, made individual war on Spain to suchgood purpose that the natives of Poole were astounded one morning tosee upwards of one hundred foreign vessels dotted about the waters ofthe harbour, prizes taken by the redoubtable "Arripay, " as hiscaptives termed him. Nothing flying the Spanish flag in the Channelseemed to escape him, until matters at last became so humiliating thatthe might of both countries was brought to bear on Poole, and the townunderwent a severe chastisement, in which Page's brother was killed. This spirit of warlike enterprise descended to the great grandchildrenof these Elizabethans, for in Poole church is a monument to oneJoliffe, captain of the hoy _Sea Adventurer_, who, in the days ofDutch William, drove ashore and captured a French privateer. In thefollowing year another bold seaman, William Thompson, with but one manand a cabin-boy to help him, took a Cherbourg privateer and its crewof sixteen. Both these heroes received a gold chain and medal from theKing. Another generation, and the town was fighting its own mastersover the question of "free imports. " In spite of the usually acceptedfact that smuggling can only prosper in secret, Poole became a sort ofheadquarters for all that considerable trade that found in the nooksand crannies of the Dorset coast safe warehouses and a naturalcellarage. So bold did the fraternity become that in 1747, when alarge cargo of tea had been seized by the crown authorities and placedfor safe keeping in the Customs House, the free traders overpoweredall resistance and triumphantly retrieved their booty, or shall wesay, their property? and took it surrounded by a well-armed escort tovarious receivers in the remoter parts of the wild country north-westof Wimborne. The leaders of this attack were afterwards found to bemembers of a famous Sussex band and the incident led to tragedy. Aninformer named Chater, of Fordingbridge, and an excise officer--WilliamCalley--were on their way to lay an information, when they were seizedby a number of smugglers and cruelly done to death. For this six mensuffered the full penalty and three others were hanged for the workdone at Poole. 

The waters of Poole Harbour are salt as the sea outside though fed bythe rivers Frome and Puddle, and so of course its best aspect is whenthe tide is full. The erratic ebb and flow is more pronounced herethan at Southampton and there are longer periods of high than lowwater. Brownsea Island, that occupies the centre of this inland sea, with its wooded banks of dark greenery makes an effective foil to thesparkling waters and long mauve line of the Purbeck Hills. There isalways deep water at the eastern extremity of the island, to whichboats can be taken. Here are Branksea (or Brownsea) Castle, anenlarged and improved edition of one of Henry's coast forts, and a fewcottages. Other small islands, populated by waterfowl, lie betweenBrownsea and the Purbeck shore, where on a small peninsula is thepretty little hamlet of Arne, remote, forgotten and very seldomvisited by tourist or stranger, but commanding the most exquisiteviews of the harbour and surrounding country. It is possible that inthe near future the amenities of Poole Harbour may disappear or atleast change their quiet aspect of to-day, for at the time of writinga scheme is afoot to deepen the channels and render the harbourcapable of taking the largest ships within its sheltered anchorage. 

Six miles north of Poole, in the valley of the Stour where that riveris joined by the Allen or Wim, stands Wimborne Minster surrounded bythe pleasant old town that bears the full name of its only title torenown. This is another claimant for a Roman send-off to its history, and with better grounds than Poole, though here again authoritiesdiffer, some maintaining that Badbury Rings, the scene of the greatdefeat of the West Saxons by the British, was the originalVindogladia. A Roman pavement has been discovered within the areacovered by the Minster Church; whether this is a remnant of aconsiderable station or only of a solitary villa is unknown. 

[Illustration: WIMBORNE MINSTER. ]

The beautiful Minster, one of the "sights" of Bournemouth, and, although farther afield, almost as popular as Christchurch, wasfounded at an early date in the history of Wessex, but the actual yearis unknown. It must have been very early in the eighth century thatthe two sisters of King Ine, Cuthberga and Cwenburh, joined in forminga sisterhood here. Both were buried in the original building andeventually became enrolled in that long list of Saxon Saints whosenames have such a quaintly archaic sound and whose lives must havebeen a matter of high romance, considering the experiences throughwhich they lived. St. Boniface asked for the help of the Wimbornesisterhood to carry on his missionary labours among the benightedtribes of Germany, and several establishments in the marshes andwoodlands along the shore of the Baltic Sea were the daughter housesof this mid-Wessex abbey. The Saxon church was probably destroyedduring the Danish terror, but rebuilding commenced again before theConquest and the church became a college of secular canons. 

As will be seen by a first glance at the central tower, Normanworkmanship is in evidence in the exterior. The pinnacles andbattlements that give the upper part such a curious and incongruousappearance were added in 1608. Previous to this it had a spire thatwas erected in the late thirteenth century, but in 1600, while aservice was being conducted, "a sudden mist ariseing, all the spiresteeple, being of very great height was strangely cast down; thestones battered all the lead and brake much timber of the roofe of thechurch, yet without anie hurt to the people. " The other tower at thewestern end was a 1450 addition, about which time several alterationswere made, including a new clerestory. The soft and beautiful tints inthe old stone are not the least charming feature of the exterior. Before entering the church the "Jack, " a figure in eighteenth-centurydress that strikes the hours on a bell, should be noticed. The medleyof architecture will be seen directly one enters by the north porch. The arches of the nave are of three distinct types; those at the westend being Decorated, the three in the middle late Transitional, andthat nearest the tower an earlier example of this style. The choir isa mixture of late Norman and Early English. The altar is placedunusually high and this adds much to the dignity of the church. Theeast window is of great interest to archaeologists. Conjectured tohave been constructed about 1210-20 when the apsidal east end waspulled down, it forms one of the earliest instances of "plate"tracery. Some old Italian glass has been inserted in it. On the southside of the chancel will be seen the fine tomb of John Beaufort, Dukeof Somerset, grandfather of Henry VII and grandson of John of Gaunt. Above the tomb is suspended an old helmet weighing over 14 lbs. Thiswas found during some restorations, buried in the nave. It is supposedto have belonged to the Duke. Beyond this are the canopied sedilia andpiscina. On the north side is a slab of Purbeck marble which may havereplaced the original memorial of King Ethelred, who was buried in theolder church. The tomb on this side of the chancel is that ofGertrude, Marchioness of Exeter, and wife of the Marquis beheaded byHenry VIII. The oak benches that extend across the front of thesanctuary were placed here when the church was in Presbyteriankeeping. They are usually covered with white wrappings, which, to thecasual visitor, have the appearance of decorators' dust-cloths, butare really "houseling linen. " The relics that once made the Minsterfamous and a place of pilgrimage for the credulous were many andvarious. Reputed fragments of our Lord's manger, robe and cross; someof the hairs of His beard, and a thorn from His crown; a bottlecontaining the blood of St. Thomas à Becket, and St. Agatha'sthighbone. 

The fine old chest with its six different locks, one for each trustee, in the St. George's or north choir aisle, will be remarked. This isthe receptacle for the deeds of Collett's Charity at Corfe Castle. Beside another very ancient chest (possibly used for "relics"), is aneffigy of an unknown knight, conjectured to be a Fitz Piers, also amonument to Sir Edmund Uvedale. In the south, or Trinity, aisle is theEtricke tomb; here lies a recorder of Poole, the same who committed toprison, after his capture on one of the wild heaths near Ringwood, that one-time hope of protestant England, the unfortunate Duke ofMonmouth. This Anthony Etricke was buried half in and half out of thechurch in pursuance of a curious whim that he should lie neither inthe open nor under the church roof. He caused the date of his death tobe carved upon the side of the sarcophagus but, as may be seen, thedate had to be advanced twelve years when he did demise. There is afinely vaulted crypt under the altar and over the fourteenth centuryvestry is an interesting library where the books were once chained tothe shelves. It was instituted in the seventeenth century for the useof the laity of Wimborne as well as for the minster clergy and maythus claim to be one of the very earliest libraries in existence. Itcontains, among other curiosities, a copy of Raleigh's _History of theWorld_ with a hole burnt through its leaves, through the carelessnessof Matthew Prior, who was a resident of Wimborne. On the wall of thewestern tower is a brass to this worthy. 

The town has the usual pleasant and comfortable air of an Englishagricultural centre, with few really old buildings, however, and a sadamount of mean and jerry-built streets in the newer part near thestation that does not give the stranger a favourable first impressionif he comes by rail. There are some picturesque alleys and "backs"around the Minster and the walks in the rural environs of Wimborne andup the valley of the Stour are most charming. On the north-west of thetown is St. Margaret's Hospital, with a restored chapel that stillretains some ancient portions. This was originally a leper's hospitaland the foundation dates from about 1210. 

[Illustration: JULIAN'S BRIDGE, WIMBORNE. ]

A long mile east of Wimborne station is Canford Magna, the motherparish of a large district. The small church still retains a goodlyportion of the original Norman structure. The fine modern stainedglass is worthy of notice, but the recent additions are in poor tasteand too florid a style. Near by is Canford Manor, an imposing pilebelonging to Lord Wimborne and once the home of the Earls ofSalisbury. The greater part of the present house was designed by SirCharles Barry, the architect of the Houses of Parliament. Theremainder dates from the early part of the nineteenth century, except"John O'Gaunt's Kitchen"--the only portion left of the ancientmanor-house. Canford village is of the model variety, each housebearing the "seal" of the lord of the manor. 

From quite near Wimborne station delightful walks may be taken acrossthe park, which, under certain reasonable restrictions, is open to thepublic. To the south stretches the wide expanse of Canford Heath, which once upon a time extended to the sea at Canford Cliffs, now afashionable part of Bournemouth. Eastwards, crossed by the Ringwoodroad, is another series of heaths, sparsely inhabited and known by thevarious names of Hampreston, Parley Common, St. Leonard's Common andHolt Heath. There are few parts of Southern England where is so muchidle land, apart from the New Forest, as in eastern Dorset. Thesemoors are beautiful for rambling and camping, but heartbreaking to anyone with the mind of a Cobbett!

The direct Salisbury road climbs for ten miles gradually upwards, andpassing Hinton Parva church on the right, and, about a mile farther, the site of a British village close to the road on the left, takes alonely and rather dull course until it reaches the small hamlet ofKnowlton, where there are the remains of a church built inside a roundearthwork which has its walls _outside_ the ditch, thus indicating, inall probability, a use religious rather than military and an unbrokentradition into Christian times. The way continues in a north-easterlydirection until it winds past the conspicuous tumulus, said to be atemple or place of justice, on the summit of Castle Hill, just shortof the one-time important, but now much decayed market town ofCranborne. The church here is an imposing and beautiful Early Englisherection, with some remains of an earlier Norman building. A priory ofBenedictines was founded at Cranborne in Saxon times by Aylward, butnothing of this still earlier building can now be traced. The fineembattled tower dates from that era of fine towers--the Perpendicular. The west window is a memorial to the celebrated Dean of St. Paul's--Stillingfleet, a member of a family who once lived in one ofthe old cottages here. The ancient pulpit will be noticed; this bearsthe initials of an abbot of Tewkesbury, who died in 1421. Some wallpaintings were discovered under a coat of distemper about twenty yearsago, and there is a fine monument with recumbent figures to Sir EdwardHooper. 

[Illustration: CRANBORNE MANOR. ]

The little "Crane bourne" that comes down from the lonely chalkuplands between Cranborne Chase and Pentridge Hill gives its name tothe town, which in turn gives a title to the Cecils. The manor is saidto have as long a history as that of the church, but the presentbuilding dates mainly from about 1520. The Jacobean west wing wasbuilt by the first Cecil to take possession. The early Stuart kingswere frequent visitors, and Charles I stayed in the house just beforethe fight at Newbury in 1644. At Rushay Farm, near the lonely hamletof Pentridge, William Barnes, the Dorset poet, was born, and aforefather of Robert Browning was once footman and butler to the Banksfamily who lived at Woodyates. A tablet in Pentridge churchcommemorates his death in 1746, but, needless to say, it has only beenerected since his great descendant became famous. A memorial to thepoet has also been placed in the church inscribed with a line from_Pippa Passes_: "All service ranks the same with God. "

Cranborne Chase, a lonely district of wooded hills that we shallapproach again in our travels, is partly in Dorset and partly inWilts. It is a remnant of the great deer forest that, originally inthe possession of various feudal lords, became Crown property in thereign of the fourth Edward and remained in royal hands until the timeof James I. During that long period, and for many years afterwards, itwas a region where the scanty population, innocent as well aslawbreaker, lived in constant fear of the barbarous laws governing thechase. Mutilation, the dungeon or heavy fine, according to the rank ofthe offender, was the punishment for taking the deer. Ferocity oftenbreeds ferocity, and the inhabitants of the forest were for long adour and difficult race. The locality seemed destined to raisegentlemen of the road, and in the seventeenth century and during thenext, the dim recesses of the woods were utilized for storing the vastquantities of goods landed free of duty at Poole and elsewhere. Wiltshire people say that the original "Moonrakers" were Wiltshirefolk of Cranborne Chase, and the story goes that a party of horsemencrossing a stream saw some yokels drawing their rakes through thewater which reflected the harvest moon. On being questioned theyconfessed that they were trying to rake "that cheese out of theriver:" with a shout of laughter at the simplicity of the rustics thetravellers proceeded on their way. The humour of the joke lies in thefact that the "moonrakers" were smugglers retrieving kegs of rum andbrandy and that the horsemen were excise officials. But the folk-loreorigin of "Moonraker" is said by the Rev. J. E. Field to belong to avery early period, probably before the day of the Saxon and to becontemporaneous with the "Cuckoo Penners" of Somerset, who captured ayoung cuckoo and built a high hedge round it; there they fed it untilits wings had grown, when it quietly flew away, much to the astonishedchagrin of the yokels. This is a widespread legend and belongs toother parts of England besides Somerset. 

The road from Wimborne to Blandford, four miles from the former town, passes on the right an imposing hill crowned with fir trees. This isthe famous Badbury Rings. Here the conquering West Saxon met his mostserious set-back and almost his only real defeat. The camp isundoubtedly prehistoric and was not a permanent settlement, but rathera military post of great strength for use in time of war. The rampartsconsist of three rings of "wall" with a ditch to each, the outer beinga mile round. The hill is noteworthy for its extensive views, reachingin clear weather to the Isle of Wight. The Purbeck Hills appear faraway over the beautiful park of Kingston Lacy, the seat of the Bankes, an old county family. The house contains a fine collection of picturesnot usually shown to the public. 

The road it is proposed to follow leaves this demesne to the left andin two miles reaches Sturminster Marshall on the banks of the Stour. The old church with its pinnacled tower was restored so carefully thatits ancient character has to a large extent been retained. The churchwas originally Norman, but several additions of varying dates havebeen made to it. As the church is entered, two fifteenth-centurycoffin lids will be noticed in the porch. Within is a brass to aformer vicar (1581) and a slab to Lady Arundel of Nevice. The memorialto King Alfred was presented to the church a few years ago by R. C. Jackson, the antiquary, to commemorate the supposed connexion of thisStour Minster with the great king. 

Passing Bailey Gate, which is the station for Sturminster, the Pooleroad is reached in a few minutes; turning left and following this fora mile, the pedestrian may take a rough track uphill to the right thatleads to Lytchett Matravers, an out-of-the-way village with aPerpendicular church and an unpretending inn. Two miles to thesouth-east on the Poole-Wareham road is Lytchett Minster, remarkablefor the extraordinary sign of its inn, the "St. Peter's Finger. " Thishas been explained by Sir Bertram Windle as a corruption of St. Peterad Vincula. The inn unconsciously perpetuates the name of an oldsystem of land tenure, Lammas-day (in the Roman calendar St. Peter adVincula) being one of the days on which service was done as acondition of holding the land. The pictured sign itself, however, isvery literal in its rendering of the name. One of the finest viewsobtainable of Poole and its surroundings is from Lytchett Beacon, andin the opposite direction, the tower in Charborough Park is aconspicuous landmark. 

The direct road from Lytchett Matravers goes by Sleeping Green (we areapproaching the land of queer names) and reaches Wareham in five milesafter passing over the lonely Holton Heath, an outlier of the GreatHeath of Dorset, that wide stretch of moorland that Mr. Hardy has madeworld-famous under the general appellation of "Egdon Heath. "

Wareham, pleasant and ancient, is, after the capital, the mostinteresting inland town in Dorset. Its position between the riversFrome and Puddle, that unite just before reaching Poole Harbour, wasof value as a strategical point and from very early times, possiblyprehistoric, the town was strongly fortified by its famous "walls" orearth embankments that enclose to-day a much greater area than thetown itself. 

Roman antiquities have been found of such a character as to prove itsimportance at that period. It was one of the towns where Athelstan'scoins were made. It was accounted a first-class port by Canute andproved a place of contention between Alfred and the Danes. At one timeeight churches stood within the walls and a castle erected by theConqueror overawed the inhabitants until the tussle between John andthe Barons led to its destruction. The churches that remain are threein number, and two are of much interest. St. Martin's, on a high bankat the northern entrance to the town, is a restored Saxon building, the traditional resting place, until his body was removed toTewkesbury, of Beohtric, King of Wessex, in 800. The characteristicwork of this period may be seen in the chancel arch and windows and inthe "long and short" work at the north-east angle of the church. 

Our Lady St. Mary's is the large and handsome church on the banks ofthe Frome, here crossed by an old stone bridge that carries the Corferoad across the river. The first church on this site is supposed tohave occupied the space now covered by St. Edward's Chapel. HereEdward the Martyr was brought after his murder at Corfe Castle, thebody being afterwards transferred to Shaftesbury with great pomp andsplendour. The temporary coffin of the king may be seen near the font. It is of massive stone with a place carved out for the head. The naveand chancel have been much altered and partially rebuilt. Over St. Edward's chapel, which dates from the thirteenth century, and issupposed to be built on the site of the Saxon chapel, are the remainsof another chapel with a window looking into the church. The mostinteresting part of the building is the Chapel of St. Thomas à Becketon the south side of the east end. This forms a receptacle for variouscuriosities, including several brasses, a stone cresset, a Roman lampand a stone bearing a Scandinavian inscription, besides the piscinaand sedilia that belong to the structure itself. The chapel wouldappear to have been made in the buttressed wall of the church. On thenorth side of the chancel is an effigy of Sir Henry d'Estoke and onthe south a figure of Sir William of that ilk. The embossed alms dishand old earthenware plate for the communion should be noticed. Anhistorian of Dorset--John Hutchings, once rector here--has a monumentto his memory. The figures in relief upon the leaden font representthe Apostles. Antiquaries are also interested in some ancient stonesbuilt into the old Norman doorway near the pulpit. The ancientsculpture of the Crucifixion was once outside over the north porch. The inscription is said to be: "Catug consecravit Deo, " but it isalmost impossible to make anything of it at a cursory examination. 

[Illustration: ST. MARTIN'S, WAREHAM. ]

Holy Trinity Church was for a long time in a state of ruin, but it hasnow been repaired and is used as a mission room. All the other oldchurches of Wareham have been swept away by fire or decay and with oneor two exceptions their very sites are lost. 

Wareham is built on the usual regular plan of a Roman town, though itis not certain that the thoroughfares follow the actual lines of theoriginal Roman streets. Evidences of this period are too vague anduncertain to make any pronouncement. The streets to-day have themellow cleanly look of the country town unspoilt by any taint ofmodern industrialism, but of actual antiquity there is none. This isdue to the great fire that raged in 1762 and to all intents andpurposes wiped the town out. During the Great War the narrow pavementswere thronged with khaki. A great military encampment extendedwestwards along the north side of the Dorchester road for aconsiderable distance, and, judging from present appearances, part ofthis wooden suburb of Wareham appears of a permanent character. 

The road over the old and picturesque Frome bridge passes at once intothe so-called Isle of Purbeck and gradually rises toward the hillsthat cut across the "island. " The views ahead, which include thestriking conical peak called "Creech Barrow, " are of increasingbeauty, and when we approach the break between the long range ofKnowle Hill and Branscombe Hill, the strikingly fine picture of CorfeCastle filling the gap makes an unforgettable scene. Just beforereaching the hillock upon which the castle stands, and three and ahalf miles from Wareham, a road turns left, crossing the railway, andwinds by the northern face of Nine Barrows Down to Studland. 

[Illustration: THE FROME AT WAREHAM. ]

The original name for Corfe was Corvesgate, or the cutting in thehills. This is its usual alias in the Wessex novels. The position wasso obviously suited for a sentry post that it was probably entrenchedin prehistoric times. Two small streams, the Byle brook and theSteeple brook, run northwards on each side of the mount, uniting justbelow it to form the Corve River. At first sight the mound appears tobe artificial, so velvety smooth and regular are its green sides incontrast with the pile of ruin on its crown. 

King Edgar is credited with the first fortified building; this wasused as a hunting lodge by his second wife Elfrida, who perpetratedthe cruel murder of her stepson Edward while he was drinking a cup ofwine at her door. The horse he was riding, no doubt spurredinvoluntarily by the dying king, galloped away, dragging the bodyalong the ground, until it stopped from exhaustion. The dead monarchwas, as already related, buried at Wareham, but the real ruler ofEngland, Archbishop Dunstan, had it exhumed and reburied with muchsolemn pomp at Shaftesbury Abbey. 

During the Conqueror's reign, that great era of castle building, thekeep was first erected; by the reign of Stephen it was so strong thathe failed to take it from Baldwin de Redvers, who held it for Matilda. John kept the crown jewels here, good evidence of its solidity, also afew Frenchmen of high rank, of whom twenty-two were starved to death, or so tradition says. The Princess Eleanor, captive for forty years, was imprisoned here for a great part of that time by the same "GoodKing John" who, as a punishment for prophesying the king's downfall, had bold Peter, the hermit of Pontefract, incarcerated in the deepestdungeon and subsequently hanged. 

During the de Montfort rebellion the castle was held against the king. Edward was kept here for a time by Isabella before his murder atBerkley. The castle then passed through several hands until the timeof Elizabeth, when it was sold to Sir Christopher Hatton. During thislong period, the fabric was added to and improved until little of theNorman structure remained. All the new buildings seem to have beenconstructed with but one purpose, that of making an impregnablefortress. The widow of Sir Christopher sold the castle toAttorney-General Sir John Banks, ancestor of the Bankes of KingstonLacy, in whose occupation, or rather in that of his wife, it was tohave its invincibility put to the test. Sir John was with the king'sforces at York in 1643 when the army of the Parliament gathered uponthe Knowle and East hills. During six weeks repeated attacks were madeby the forces of Sir Walter Earle, but without success, and eventuallythe siege was raised. In 1646 treachery succeeded where honest warfarefailed. Colonel Pitman, an officer of the royal garrison, admitted anumber of Roundheads, who obtained possession of the King's andQueen's towers. The remainder of the building became untenable by thepoorly armed defenders, who had parted with their ordnance long beforeas a matter of policy. 

[Illustration: PLAN OF CORFE CASTLE. ]

Months were spent by the victorious Parliamentary forces in mining thefoundations and in the systematic destruction of the magnificentdefences. As we see it to-day, the actual masonry is practically inthe condition left by the explosions, so massive is the material andso indestructible the mortar. 

The sketch which accompanies these brief notes will make the plan ofthe castle clear, but no description can give any adequate notion ofthe strange havoc wrought by the gunpowder. It speaks well for thegood workmanship of the builders when one remembers that these leaningtowers, that appear to be in immediate danger of collapse, have beenin the same condition for nearly three centuries. The western towerhas been carried down the hill nine feet from its original position, but is still erect and unshattered. Part of the curtain wall wascompletely reversed by the force of the explosive and now shows itsinner face. Whoever superintended the work of demolition must havebeen one of the chagrined and disappointed attackers who was humanenough to vent his feelings, at much expense and great risk of lifeand limb, on the stubborn old walls. 

[Illustration: CORFE VILLAGE. ]

Corfe, small town or large village, is picturesque and pleasant enoughin itself without the added interest of the castle and the beauty ofthe surrounding country. The church is dedicated to the martyredEdward. It was rebuilt in 1860, excepting the fourteenth centurytower, with its quaint gargoyles, and the Norman south porch. From thetower, shot made from the organ pipes of the church was hurled at thecastle during the siege. The clock was constructed while Elizabeth wasqueen and curfew is still rung daily from October to March at 8 p. M. Within the church may be seen the old altar frontal used prior to theReformation, and the fifteenth-century font. Of much interest are thequotations from the churchwardens' accounts that are preserved in thechurch room. 

The old market cross is gone. On its stump there was erected in 1897 anew Latin cross to commemorate the jubilee of Queen Victoria. "Dackhams, " the Elizabethan manor standing back from the Swanage road, and now called Morton House, is a fine specimen of Tudor building. Thearchitecture of Corfe, as in most of the inland villages of the"island, " is most pleasing; a distinctive note being the pillaredporch with a room above. 

Corfe Castle retained a mayor and eight "barons" until 1883. The lastto hold office (a Bankes) was also Lord High Admiral of Purbeck, apicturesque title over three hundred years old. It will come as asurprise to most readers to hear that Corfe was admitted to rank as aCinque Port. The town returned the usual two members in pre-reformdays. 

A pleasant route out of Corfe is to take a path between cottages onthe left of the lane leading to West Orchard, and, crossing severalmeadows, to pass over the breezy Corfe common to the Kingston road. This gives the traveller a series of beautiful views and an especiallyfine retrospect of Corfe Castle. In a short two miles Kingston, climbing up its steep hill, is reached. The church, a landmark formany miles, was built by Lord Eldon in 1880. It was designed by Streetin Early English. With its severe and lofty tower the exterior has acoldly conventional aspect not altogether pleasing. Inside, the largeamount of Purbeck marble employed gives a touch of colour which, to acertain extent, relieves the austerity. Not far away is the olderchurch built in Perpendicular style by Lord Chancellor Eldon. The seatof the Eldon family is at Encombe, a lovely cup-shaped hollow openingto the sea about a mile and a half away, and not far from the lonelyChapman's (or perhaps Shipman's) Pool, a deep and sheltered cove onthe west of St. Aldhelm's Head. A path can be taken that crosses thefields until the open common, which extends to the edge of the greatheadland, is reached. On the summit, 450 feet above the waves, is alittle Norman chapel dedicated to the first Bishop of Sherborne, whosename the headland bears and _not_ that of St. Alban, as erroneouslygiven in so many school geographies and in some tourist maps. Thischantry served a double purpose, prayers being said by the priestwithin and a beacon lit upon the roof without, for the succour andguidance of sailors. A cross now takes the place of the ancient beaconbucket. It is said that the chapel was instituted by a sorrowingfather who saw his daughter and her husband drowned in the terriblerace off the headland in or about the year 1140. It was restored bythe same Earl of Eldon who built the Kingston church, and is lookedafter by the neighbouring coast-guard. The interior is lit by onesolitary window in the thick wall and in the centre is a singlemassive column. Some authorities have questioned its original use as aplace of prayer, but tradition, and a good deal of direct evidence, point to the ecclesiastical nature of the building. 

[Illustration: ST. ALDHELM'S. ]

The tale of wreck and disaster off this wild coast reached such adreadful total that in 1881 after much agitation a light was erectedon Anvil Point and declared open by Joseph Chamberlain, then Presidentof the Board of Trade. Between the two heads, which are about fourmiles apart, is the famous "Dancing Ledge, " a sloping beach of solidrock upon which the surf plays at high tide with a curious effect, possibly suggesting the quaint name. This section of cliff, like thewhole of the Dorset coast, is of great interest to the geologist andthe veriest amateur must feel some curiosity on the subject when it isapparent to him that the beautiful scenery of this shore is causedmainly by its being the meeting place of so many differing strata. TheKimmeridge clay will be noticed at once by its sombre colour, almostquite black when wet, and in times of scarcity actually used as fuel. This clay rings Chapman's Pool and extends westwards to KimmeridgeBay. St. Aldhelm's Head is built up of differing kinds of limestone, the fine bastions of the top being composed of the famous Portlandstone itself, the finest of all the limestones from a commercial pointof view. 

To walk from St. Aldhelm's along the cliff to Anvil Point and so intoSwanage is possible but fatiguing, and perhaps not worth the labourinvolved. Winspit Quarry and Seacombe Cliff would be passed on theway; between the two are some old guns marking the spot where the EastIndiaman _Halsewell_ went down in a fearful storm in January, 1786. This tragedy was immortalized by Charles Dickens in "The Long Voyage. "Out of 250 souls only eighty-two were saved by men employed at WinspitQuarry. Some of the passengers are buried in the level plot betweenthe two cliffs. 

Worth Matravers, a mile and a half from the Head and four fromSwanage, is a village at the end of a by-way that leaves the Kingstonroad near Gallows Gore(!) cottages, a mile west of Langton Matravers. The name of both these villages connects them with an old Normanfamily once of much importance in south-east Dorset. It is said thatone of them was the tool of Queen Isabella and the actual murderer ofEdward. 

Worth is famous for its fine early Norman church, also restored by theEarl of Eldon. The tower, of three stories, the nave, south door andchancel arch, all belong to this period. The chancel itself is EarlyEnglish. The carved grotesques under the eaves of the roof are worthyof notice. Not the least remarkable thing about Worth is the tombstoneof Benjamin Jesty, who is claimed thereon to be the first person toinoculate for smallpox (1774). Langton Matravers need not keep thestranger; its church was rebuilt nearly fifty years ago and thevillage is unpicturesque. 

We now approach Swanage, a delightful little town, well known and muchappreciated by those of the minority who prefer a restful and modestresort to the glitter and crowds of Bournemouth. That it will neverattain the dimensions of its great neighbour to the north is fairlycertain. Swanage is in a comparatively inaccessible position. Barelyeight miles from Bournemouth as the crow flies, it is twenty-fourmiles by rail and about the same by road. So that during the fiveyears of war, when the steamer service was suspended, Swanage had noday trippers and the quietness of the town was accentuated, and thecamp on the southern slopes of Ballard Down did not interfere to anygreat extent with this somnolence. But now the steamers pant across toSwanage pier again and unload the curious crowd who make straight forthe Great Globe and Tilly Whim and pause to "rest and admire" as theybreast the steep slopes of Durlston. 

[Illustration: OLD SWANAGE. ]

The tutelary genius of Swanage is of stone and the two high priests ofthe idol were Mowlein and Burt. Some undeserved fun has been poked atthe shade of the junior partner, who conceived the enormous open-airkindergarten that has been formed out of the wild cliff at Durlston. For the writer's part, while venturing to deplore certainincongruities such as the startling inscription that faces the visitoras he turns to survey the Tilly Whim cavern from the platform of rockoutside, a feeling of respect for the wholehearted enthusiasm andindustry of the remarkable man who was responsible for these marvelsis predominant. Every guide to Swanage enumerates in exhaustive detailthe objects which make the town a sort of "marine store" of stony oddsand ends. The best of these cast-offs is the entrance to the TownHall, once in Cheapside as the Wren frontage to Mercer's Hall. The"gothic" tower at Peveril Point at one time graced the southernapproach to London Bridge as a Wellington memorial. The clock at theTown Hall is said to be from a "scrapped" city church and the giltvane on the turret of Purbeck House on the other side of the way isfrom Billingsgate. Not the least surprising of these relics are thelamp-and-corner-posts bearing the names of familiar London parishes. 

When Swanage was Danish Swanic (it was called Swanwick in the earlynineteenth century) it witnessed the defeat of its colonizers in a seafight with Alfred. The irresponsible partners commemorated this byerecting a stone column surmounted by four _cannon balls_. A queer wayof perpetuating a pre-conquest naval victory, but possibly theprojectiles were less in the way here than at Millbank. Not far away, attached to the wall of the Moslem Institute, is a coloured geologicalmap of the district, another effort at the higher education of "theman on the beach. " It is certainly a good idea, and may lead many to afurther study of a fascinating science, for nowhere may the practicalstudy of scenery be made to greater advantage than near Swanage. 

Perhaps the most graceful curve of coast line in Dorset is SwanageBay, and to see it at its best one should stroll across the risingground of Peveril Point. To the right are the dark cliffs of Purbeckmarble that encircle Durlston Bay; to the left across the half-moonstretch of water is the white chalk of Ballard Point guarded by "OldHarry's daughter, " the column of detached chalk in front. At one timethis was one of a family, but "Old Harry" and his "wife" have sunkbeneath the waves and the sole remaining member of the family maydisappear during the next great storm. Beyond, indistinct and remoteduring fine weather but startlingly near when the glass is falling, are the cliffs of Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight, and the guardian"Needles. "

The picturesque High Street should be followed past the Town Hall withits alien Carolean front, and the long wall of Purbeck House that issaid to be made up from the "sweepings" of the Albert Memorial atKensington. Down a lane at the side of the civic building is the old"Lock Up, " with an inscription as quaint as it is direct, for it tellsus that it was erected "for the prevention of Wickedness and Vice bythe Friends of Religion and Good Order. " Farther up High Street is acottage, creeper-clad and picturesque, where Wesley stayed whilepreaching to the quarrymen. The best part of this stroll is towardsthe end, where a space opens out on the right to St. Mary's Church andthe mill pond which is surrounded by as extraordinary a jumble ofqueer old roofs and gables as may be seen in Dorset. The church hasbeen rebuilt and much altered and enlarged, but the tower is as old asit looks and has seen several churches come and go beneath it. Thereis no door lower than the second story and it must have been reachedby a ladder. It was undoubtedly built for, and used as, a fortress incase of need. 

Although there is little of beauty in the quarries that honeycomb thehills to the west of Swanage, the industry that is carried on is ofmuch interest as a surviving guild or medieval trades union. One ofthe laws of the "company, " unbroken from immemorial time, is that nowork may be given to any but a freeman or his son who, after sevenyears' apprenticeship, becomes a senior worker upon presenting to thewarden a fee of 6_s_. 8_d_. , a loaf of bread and a bottle of beer. Theguild meet every Shrove Tuesday at Corfe to transact the formalbusiness of the year. Each quarryman and his partner, or partners, hold the little independent working allotted to them apart from theremainder of the quarry. This obviously prevents blasting and eachblock of stone is cut out by manual labour. 

[Illustration: TILLY WHIM. ]

Purbeck marble is famous all over southern England, and many historicbuildings, from the Temple church in London to Salisbury and ExeterCathedrals, are enriched by the beautifully polished columns of thisdark-coloured limestone. The caves at Durlston, with their intriguingname, are simply abandoned quarries, although all sorts of fancifullegends have grown up about them. To any one familiar with the plan ofthe working of a quarry, the sloping tunnel that gives access to thecave will prove the origin to be artificial. Nevertheless, Tilly Whimis romantic enough to please the most fastidious of the steamercontingent and the scene from the platform of rock in front of the oldworkings is as wild and natural as could well be imagined. As for theopen-air schoolroom above on Durlston Head a description is hardlynecessary. That the pedagogic master mason was not without the savinggrace of a sense of humour is proved by the once plain block of stoneprovided for those who would perpetuate their own greatness, nowliterally covered with names and initials. The staring red and white"castle" that crowns the cliff is a restaurant built to accommodatethe day visitor, but if the evidence of discarded pastry bags andginger-beer bottles that at times litter and disfigure the cliff andcaves is to be regarded, the castle is not as well patronized as itshould be. This unseemliness is kept under by what appears to be adaily clean up, though the writer has never met the public benefactorwho makes all tidy in the early morning hours before the steamers havedischarged their crowds. Possibly this is the same individual whokeeps the tangle of blackberry and tamarisk pruned down so that whileresting with "Sir Walter Scott" or "Shakespeare" we may duly admirethe view across Swanage Bay. 

No one should omit the glorious walk northwards across the fineexpanse of Ballard Down to Studland. The coast road round the bay istaken to a path bearing to the right in the pleasant suburb of NewSwanage. At the time of writing this leads through the before-mentioned, partly derelict, military camp and, after passing on the right the oldTudor farmhouse called Whitecliff, emerges on the open Down. Therearward views gain in beauty with every step, and when the summit isreached at the fence gate and the stone seat that seems to havestrayed from Durlston, a magnificent and unforgettable view isobtained of Poole Harbour and the great heathland that stretches awayto the New Forest. Every intricacy of the harbour can be seen as on amap, and its almost landlocked character is strikingly apparent as theeye follows the bright yellow arc of sand to the cliffs of Bournemouth. That town has most of its more glaring modernities decently hidden, and the pier and a few spires and chimneys seem to blend into theall-pervading golden brown of the Hampshire coast. In the nearforeground Studland looks very alluring in its bowery foliage, butbefore descending the hillside the long and almost level Down shouldbe followed to the right past the shooting range, provided the absenceof a warning red flag gives permission. By a slight detour to theright as the ground slopes toward that extension of Ballard Downcalled Handfast Point, fearsome peeps may be had of the waves raginground Old Harry's daughter and the submerged ruins of her parents. Care must be taken here in misty weather, the cliffs are sheer, andunexpected gaps occur where nothing could save the unwary explorer inthe event of an unlucky slip. Little is gained by following the clifftop all the way to the extreme edge of the Point, and a return may bemade from hereabouts or a short cut made to the path leading toStudland. 

[Illustration: THE BALLARD CLIFFS. ]

Studland was until quite lately one of the most unspoilt of Englishvillages. An unfortunate outbreak of red brick has slightly detractedfrom its former quiet beauty, but it is still a charming little placeand claims as heretofore to be the "prettiest village in England, " aclaim as impossible of acceptance as some other of the challenges madeby seaside towns. But it is unfair to class Studland with the usualrun of such resorts; perhaps its best claims upon us are negativeones. It has no railway station, no pier, no bandstand, no parade, infact the old village turns its back upon the sea in an unmistakablemanner. 

The foundations and lower parts of the walls of the church areprobably Saxon. The building as we see it is primitive Norman withoutlater additions or any very apparent attempts at restoration, though agood deal of legitimate repairing has been carried out during the lastfew years. The solemn and venerable churchyard yews lend an added airof great age to the building. Close to the church door is thetombstone of one Sergeant Lawrence, whose epitaph is a stirring recordof military service combined with a dash of real romance, thoughprobably the sergeant's whole life did not have as much of the essenceof dreadful war as one twelve months in the career of a present-daycity clerk. 

A long mile west, on the northern slopes of Studland Heath, is thefamous Agglestone "that the Devil while sulking in the Isle of Wightthrew at the builders of Corfe Castle" or, according to anotheraccount, from Portland. Probably the confusion arose through theoriginal reporter using the term "the Island. " Natives would know thatthe definite article could only refer to their own locality! The stoneis an effect of denudation and is similar to other isolated sandstonerocks scattered about the south of England, e. G. , the "Toad" Rock atTunbridge Wells and "Great upon Little" near West Heathly in Sussex. Ashort distance away is a smaller mass called the "Puckstone. " Thederivation of the larger rock is probably Haligstane--Holy Stone. Sodifficult is it to contemplate the ages through which gradualweathering would bring these stones to their present shape thatscientists, as recently as the middle of the last century, were atvariance as to their natural or artificial origin. 

A by-road, a little over five miles long, runs under the face of NineBarrows Down and Brenscombe Hill to Corfe. It is a picturesque routeand has some good views, but a much finer way, and but little longer, is along the top of the Downs themselves culminating at Challow Hillin a sudden sight of Corfe, backed by the imposing Knowle Hill. Thiswalk is even surpassed by that along the hills westwards from Corfe. In this direction a similar by-road also runs under the long line ofthe Purbeck Hills, here so called, but on the south side of the rangethrough Church Knowle which has an old cruciform church pulled aboutby "restorers" as far back as the early eighteenth century and severaltimes since. The village is pleasant in itself and beautifullysituated. A short distance farther is an ancient manor house datingfrom the fourteenth century. Its name--Barneston--is said toperpetuate a Saxon landholder, Berne, so that the foundations of thehouse are far older than this period. Over three miles from Corfe isthe small church hamlet of Steeple; here a road bears upward to theright, and if the hill top has not been followed all the way fromCorfe it should certainly be gained at this point. Not far away andnearer Church Knowle is Creech Barrow, a cone-shaped hill commanding amost extensive and beautiful view, especially north-westwards over theheathy flats of the Frome valley to the distant Dorset-Somersetborderlands. The narrow Purbeck range now makes obliquely for thecoast, where it ends more than six miles from Corfe in the magnificentbluff of Flowers' Barrow, or Ring's Hill, above Worbarrow Bay. This iswithout doubt the finest portion of the Dorset coast, not only for thestriking outline of the cliffs and hills themselves but for thebeautiful colouring of the strata and the contrasting emerald of thedells that break down to the purple-blue of the water. Neither drawingnor photograph can give any idea of this exquisite blend of the sternand the beautiful. 

[Illustration: ARISH MEL. ]

Eastwards, Gad Cliff guards the remote little village of Tyneham fromthe sea; certain portions of this precipice seem in imminent danger offalling into the water, so much do they overhang the beach. AtKimmeridge Bay the cliff takes the sombre hue seen near Chapman's Pooland the beach and water are discoloured by the broken shale that hasfallen from the low cliff. It is thought that a sort of jet jewellerywas made here in Roman times; quantities of perforated discs have beenfound about the bay--termed "coal money" by the fishermen. The greasynature of this curious form of clay is remarkable. Naphtha has beenobtained from it and various commercial enterprises have been startedat Kimmeridge in connexion with the local product but all seem to havefailed miserably because of the unendurable smell that emanates whencombustion takes place. 

The "Tout" forms the eastern extremity of Worbarrow Bay; this boldlyplaced and precipitous little hill forms a sort of miniature Gibraltarand is one of the outstanding features of this bewilderingly intricateshore. On the farther or western side of the bay is the exquisiteArish Mel Gap, [1] that, taking all points into consideration, particularly that of colouring, is probably the finest scene of itskind on the English coast. Picturesquely placed at the head of theminiature valley is Lulworth Castle, grey and stern, and making anideal finish to the unforgettable picture. A spring in the recesses ofthe dell sends a small and sparkling stream down to the gap, the sidesof which in spring and early summer are a blaze of white and gold, challenging the cliffs in their display of colour. A path climbsgradually by an old wind-torn wood up the landward side of BindonHill, with gorgeous rearward views across the fields of Monastery Farmto the northern escarpment of the Purbeck Hills. The path very soonreaches the top of Bindon that seems to drop directly to Mupe Bay andits jagged surf-covered rocks. In two miles from Arish Mel the pathends directly above the delectable Lulworth Cove, and of all ways ofreaching that unique and lovely little place this is the mostcharming. Care must be taken on the steep side of Bindon. Severalaccidents have taken place here. One of them is perpetuated by aninscription on a board placed upon the hillside. The path must befollowed until it drops into the road leading to the landward village. 

[1] Correctly--_Arish Mel_. "Gap" and "Mel" are synonyms in Dorset. 

[Illustration: LULWORTH COVE FROM ABOVE STAIR HOLE. ]

Lulworth bids fair, or ill, to become a "resort" apart from thedescents from Bournemouth or Weymouth, which are only of a few hours'duration. Before the Great War there was an extension of West Lulworthround the foot of Bindon Hill, but the railway at Wool is still a goodfive miles away and the great majority of seaside visitors seem tofight shy of any place that has not a station on the beach. 

Lulworth has been described and photographed so many times that adescription seems needless. It would want an inspired pen to do anyportion of this coast full justice. Suffice it to say that the cove isalmost circular, 500 yards across, and that the entrance is so narrowas to make it almost invisible from the open sea. The contortions ofthe cliff face within the cove would alone render the place famous. 

More often sketched than Lulworth; perhaps because it is easier todraw, is Durdle Door or Barn Door, the romantic natural arch that jutsout at the end of Barndoor Cove. The outline has all the appearance ofstage scenery of the goblin cavern sort. So lofty is the opening thata sailing boat can pass through with ease. Behind it is the soaringSwyre Head, 670 feet high, and the third of that name in Dorset. Between this point and Nelson Fort on the west of Lulworth Cove isStair Hole, a gloomy roofless cavern into which the tide pours with aterrifying sound, especially when a strong sou-wester is blowing. 

[Illustration: DURDLE DOOR. ]

East Lulworth is a charming old village, three miles from the cove andtwo from West Lulworth. Close to it is the castle that completes thepicture at Arish Mel. The church, much altered and rebuilt, isPerpendicular, and in it are interesting memorials of the Welds towhom the castle has belonged since 1641. This family are members ofthe Roman church, and a fine chapel for adherents of that communionwas built in the park at the end of the eighteenth century. It is saidto be the first erected in England since the Reformation. The ex-kingCharles X of France sought and found sanctuary at Lulworth Castle inAugust, 1830, as Duke of Milan. He was accompanied by his heir, theDuke of Angoulême, and the Duke of Bordeaux. 

[Illustrtion: CERNE ABBEY GATEHOUSE. ]

CHAPTER IV

DORCHESTER AND ITS SURROUNDINGS

The railway from Wareham to Dorchester runs through the heart of thatgreat wild tract that under the general name of Egdon Heath forms apicturesque and often gloomy background to many of Mr. Hardy'sromances. These heath-lands are a marked characteristic of the sceneryof this part of the county. Repellent at first, their dark beauty, more often than not, will capture the interest and perhaps awe of thestranger. Much more than a mere relic of the great forest thatstretched for many miles west of Southampton Water and that in itsstubborn wildness bade fair to break up the Saxon advance, the heathsof Dorset extend over a quarter of the area of the county. 

Wool is five miles from Wareham and is the station for Bindon Abbey, half a mile to the east. The pleasant site of the abbey buildings onthe banks of the Frome is now a resort of holiday-makers, adventurersfrom Bournemouth and Swanage, who may have al-fresco teas through thegoodwill of the gatekeeper, though it would appear that they mustbring all but the cups and hot water with them. The outline of thewalls and a few interesting relics may be seen, but there is nothingapart from the natural surroundings to detain us. The old red brickManor House, close to the station, and in plain view from the train, was a residence of the Turbervilles, immortalized by Hardy. Of muchinterest also is the old Tudor bridge that here crosses the Frome. 

[Illustration: PUDDLETOWN. ]

At Wool the rail parts company with the Dorchester turnpike and soonafter leaves the valley of the Frome, traversing a sparsely populateddistrict served by one small station in the ten miles to Dorchester, at Moreton. Here a road runs northwards in four miles to the "Puddles"of which there are several dotted about the valley of that quaintlynamed river. Puddletown, the Weatherbury of the Wessex woods, is thelargest and has an interesting church, practically unrestored. TheAthelhampton chapel here contains ancient effigies of the Martinfamily, the oldest dating from 1250. The curiously shaped Norman font, like nothing else but a giant tumbler, will be admired for its finevine and trellis ornament. The old oak gallery that dates from theearly seventeenth century has happily been untouched. AthelhamptonManor occupies the site of an ancient palace of King Athelstan. Thoughcertain portions of the present buildings are said to date from thetime of Edward III the greater part is Tudor and very beautiful. Affpuddle, the nearest of the villages to Moreton Station, has aperpendicular church with a fine pinnacled tower. The chief object ofinterest within is the Renaissance pulpit with curious carvings of theEvangelists in sixteenth-century dress. Scattered about theheath-lands in this neighbourhood are a number of "swallow holes" withvarious quaint names such as "Culpepper's Dish" and "Hell Pit. " At onetime supposed to be prehistoric dwellings, they are undoubtedly ofnatural formation. 

Bere Regis, rather farther away to the north-east, is the RomanIbernium. This was a royal residence in Saxon days and a hunting lodgeof that King John of many houses; very scanty remains of the buildingsare pointed out in a meadow near the town. Part of the manor came tothe Turbervilles, or d'Urbervilles, of Mr. Hardy's romance. Thechurch, restored in 1875 by Street, is a fine building, mostlyPerpendicular with some Norman remains. Particularly noteworthy is thegrand old roof of the nave with its gorgeously coloured and giltfigures, also the ancient pews and Transitional font. There arecanopied tombs of the Turbervilles in a chapel and some modern stainedglass in which the family arms figure. Bere Regis is the "Kingsbere"of Thomas Hardy, and Woodbury Hill, close by, is the scene ofGreenhill Fair in _Far from the Madding Crowd_. Here, in the oval campon the summit, a sheep fair has been held since before written recordscommence. These fairs, several of which take place in similarsituations in Wessex, are of great antiquity. Some are held in thevicinity of certain "blue" stones, mysterious megaliths of unknownage. 

It is doubtful if any town in England has so many remains of theremote past in its vicinity as Dorchester. Probably the Romansettlement of Durnovaria was a parvenu town to the Celts, whoseclosely adjacent Dwrinwyr was also an upstart in comparison with thefortified stronghold two miles away to the south; the "place by theblack water" being an initial attempt to establish a trading centre bya people rather timidly learning from their Phoenician visitors. Thegreat citadel at Maiden Castle belonged to a still earlier time, whenmen lived in a way which rendered trade a very superfluous thing. 

Modern Dorchester is a delightful, one might almost say a lovable, town, so bright and cheery are its streets, so countrified its air. But it is probably true that nearly every one is disappointed with itat their first visit. Historical towns are written of, and written up, until the stranger's mind pictures a sort of Nuremburg. Dorchester isa placid Georgian agricultural centre. In fact there is very littlethat antedates the seventeenth century and yet, for all that, it isone of the most interesting towns in the south. Its loss of theantique is due to more than one disastrous fire that swept nearlyeverything away. It is when the foundations of a new house are beingdug that the past of Dorchester comes to light and another addition ismade to the rich store in the museum. Describing "Casterbridge" Hardysays: "It is impossible to dig more than a foot or two deep about thetown fields or gardens without coming upon some tall soldier or otherof the Empire who had lain there in his silent unobtrusive rest for aspace of fifteen hundred years. " It is needless to say that"Casterbridge" and the town here briefly described are identical. Tothe limits laid down by the Roman, Dorchester has kept true throughthe ages, and until quite lately the town terminated with a pleasantabruptness at the famous "Walks" that mark the positions of the RomanWalls. The so-called Roman road, the "Via Iceniana, " Roman only in theimprovement and straightening of a far older track, passed through thetown. This was once the highway between that mysterious and wonderfuldistrict in Wiltshire, of which Stonehenge is the most outstandingmonument, and the largest prehistoric stronghold in England--the Maidun--"the strong hill, " south of Dorchester. 

The South Western station is close to another fine relic of the past, though this cannot claim to have any Celtic or pre-Celtic foundation. The great circle of Maumbury Rings was the original stadium orcoliseum of the Roman town; the tiers of seats when filled areestimated to have held over twelve thousand spectators. The gaps ateach end are the obvious ways for entering and leaving the arena. Indigging the foundations of the brewery near by, a subway was foundleading toward the circus, which may have been used by the wild beastsand their keepers in passing from and to their quarters. Maumbury wasthe scene of a dreadful execution in 1705, when one Mary Channing wasfirst strangled and then burnt for the murder of her husband bypoison, though she loudly declared her innocence to the last. On thisoccasion ten thousand persons are said to have lined the banks. It isdifficult at first to appreciate the size of the Rings. If two or morepersons are together it is a good plan to leave one alone in thecentre while the others climb to the summit of the bank. By this meansa true idea of the vast size of the enclosure may be gained. 

[Illustration: DORCHESTER. ]

The "Walks" are the pleasantest feature of modern Dorchester and runcompletely round three sides of the town, the fourth being bounded bythe "dark waters" of the Frome. They are lined with fine trees plantedabout two hundred years ago; the West Walk, with its section of RomanWall, is perhaps the best, though the South Walk with its gnarled oldtrees is much admired. They all give the town an uncommon aspect, andthere is nothing quite like them elsewhere in England. The contrast onturning eastwards from the quiet West Walk into bustling High WestStreet is striking and bears out the claim that Dorchester still keepsmore or less within its ancient bounds, for turning in the otherdirection we are soon in a different and "suburban" atmosphere. HighWest Street is lined with pleasant eighteenth century houses, theresidences or offices of professional men intermixed with somefirst-class shops. Once these houses were the mansions of countyfamilies who "came to town" for a season when London was for severalreasons impracticable. The chief buildings are congregated round thetown centre; here is the Perpendicular St. Peter's church, a buildingsaved during the great fire in 1613 when nearly everything else ofantiquity perished. Outside is the statue of William Barnes, theDorset poet, whose writings in his native dialect are only now gaininga popularity no more than their due. The bronze figure represents thepoet in his old fashioned country clergyman's dress, knee-breeches andbuckled shoes, a satchel on his back and a sturdy staff in his hand. Underneath the simple inscription are these quaint and touching linesfrom one of his poems ("Culver Dell and the Squire"):

 "Zoo now I hope his kindly feäce Is gone to vind a better pleäce; But still wi' v'ok a-left behind He'll always be a-kept in mind. "

The speech of the older Dorset folk is the ancient speech of Wessex. It is not an illiterate corruption but a true dialect with its owngrammatical rules. But alas! fifty years of the council school and itsimmediate predecessor has done more to destroy this ancient form ofEnglish than ten centuries of intercourse between the Anglo-Celticraces. [2]

[2] A good example of the Dorset dialect is contained in the messagesent to the King by the Society of Dorset Men at their annual banquetin London. 

 "TO HIS MAJESTY KING JARGE

 Sire--Dree hunderd loyal men vrom Darset, voregather'd at th' Connaught Rooms, Kingsway, on this their Yearly Veäst Day, be mindvul o' yer Grashus Majesty, an' wi' vull hearts do zend ee the dootivul an' loyal affecshuns o' th' Society o' Darset Men in Lon'on. In starm or zunsheen thee ca'st allus rely on our vull-heart'd zympathy an' suppwort. Zoo wi'out any mwore ham-chammy we ageën raise our cyder cups to ee, wi' th' pious pray'r on our lips that Heaven ull prosper ee, an' we assure ee that Darset Men ull ever sheen as oone o' th' bright jools in yer Crown. I d' bide, az avoretime, an' vor all time, Thy Vaithful Sarvint, SHAFTESBURY (President o' Darset Men in Lon'on). "

In the porch of the church lies the "Patriarch of Dorchester, " JohnWhite, Rector of Holy Trinity, who died in 1648 and who seems to havekept the town pretty well under his own control. A Puritan, heincurred the hatred of Prince Rupert's followers, who plundered hishouse and carried away his papers and books. He escaped to London andwas for a time Rector of Lambeth, afterwards returning to Dorchester. He raised money for the equipment of emigrants from Dorchester toMassachusetts and thus became one of the founders of New England. Inside the church the Hardy tablet to the left of the door is inmemory of the ancestor of both that Admiral Hardy who was the friendof Nelson and the great novelist whose writings have been the means ofmaking "Dear Do'set" known to all the world. The monument of LordHolles is remarkable for a comic cherub who is engaged in wiping histears away with a wisp of garment; the naivete of the idea is amusingin more ways than one. Another curious monument, badly placed forinspection, is that of Sir John Williams. The so-called "crusaders"effigies are thought to be of a later date than the last crusade; noinscriptions remain, so that they cannot be identified. The curfewthat still rings from St. Peter's tower is an elaborate business. Besides telling the day of the month by so many strokes after the tenminutes curfew is rung, a bell is tolled at six o'clock on summermornings and an hour later in the winter. Also at one o'clock middayto release the workers of the town for dinner. 

Holy Trinity Church was destroyed in the great fire. Anotherconflagration in 1824 removed its successor. The present building onlydates from 1875 and is a fairly good Victorian copy of Early English. All Saints' was rebuilt in 1845. It retains the canopied altar tomb ofMatthew Chubb (1625) under the tower. The organ here was presented bythe people of Dorchester, Massachusetts, for the founding of whichtown John White, the rector of Holy Trinity, was mainly responsible. 

[Illustration: NAPPER'S MITE. ]

The County Museum, close to St. Peter's Church, should on no accountbe missed. Here is stored a most interesting collection of British andRoman antiquities found in and around Dorchester, and also of fossilsfrom the Dorset coast and elsewhere, together with many out-of-the-waycuriosities. "Napper's Mite" is the name given to the old almshouse inSouth 1615 with money left for the Robert Napper. It has a queer opengallery or stone verandah along the street front. Next door to it isthe Grammar School, which owes its inception to the Thomas Hardy whois commemorated in St. Peter's, and whose benefactions to the townwere many and great. Of equal interest, perhaps, is a house on theother side of the street that was once a school kept by WilliamBarnes, surely the most serene and kindly schoolmaster that evertaught unruly youth. Barnes, in addition to his other literary work, was secretary of the Dorset Museum, but his incumbency at Whitcombeand the small addition to his income obtained in other ways did notamount altogether to a "living" and he was forced to take up schoolingto make both ends meet. The poems were never a financial success, though they always received a chorus of praise and appreciation andled many literary lions to meet the author. After years full of sordidcares Barnes was granted a civil list pension and the rectory of Came. Here, in the midst of the peasantry he loved so well, this gentlespirit passed away in 1886. 

The lodging occupied by Judge Jeffreys during the Monmouth Rebelliontrials or "Bloody Assize" (1685), when seventy-four were sentenced todeath on Gallows Hill of dreadful memory, and 175 to transportation tocarry westward with them the bitter seeds that bore glorious fruit acentury later, was in a house still standing nearly opposite themuseum. This almost brings the list of historical buildings inDorchester to a close. The County Hall, Town Hall and Corn Exchange, all unpretentious and quietly dignified, represent both shire andtown. The few buildings left by the seventeenth-century fire seem tohave included a highly picturesque group near the old Pump (now markedby an obelisk) and at the commencement of High East Street, where adwelling-house went right across the highway. This was pulled down bya corporation filled with zeal for the public convenience. Theimprovement, regrettable on the score of picturesqueness, has given usthe noble view down the London road. The other great highways thatapproach the town from the west and south do so through fine avenuesof trees which give a distinctive note to the environs of Dorchester. 

Fordington is usually described as a suburb of Dorchester; this is notstrictly correct. It had always been a dependent village and was notsimply an extension of the town. Its church is a fine one, with tallbattlemented tower and a goodly amount of Norman work. A quaint oldcarving over the Norman south door is of much interest. It representsSt. George as taking part in the battle of Antioch in 1098. Some ofthe Saracens are being mercilessly dispatched while others arepleading for quarter. The stone pulpit bears the date 1592 and theinitials E. R. The late Bishop of Durham, Dr. Moule, was born atFordington Vicarage. 

Stainsford, about a mile from the Frome bridge, is the original of thescene in _Under the Greenwood Tree_. Several members of the Hardyfamily lie in the churchyard here, and the novelist was born at HigherBockhampton, not far away. The carving of St. Michael on the face ofthe church tower should be noticed. Within the building are memorialsof the Pitt family. 

Above the short tunnel through which the Great Western line runs tothe north, and about half a mile along the Bradford Peverell road, isPoundbury Camp. "Pummery" is an oblong entrenchment enclosing abouttwenty acres, variously ascribed to Celts, Romans and Danes, butalmost certainly Celtic, with Roman improvements and developments. There is a fine view of the surroundings of Dorchester from the bank. It is only by the most strenuous exertions that the railway engineerswere prevented from burrowing right through the camp. The cutting ofthis line brought to light many relics of the past, a great number ofwhich are in the Dorchester Museum. 

[Illustration: MAIDEN CASTLE. ]

On the south-west side of the town, two miles away near the Weymouthroad, is the greatest of these prehistoric entrenchments; Mai-dun or"Maiden Castle" is the largest British earthwork in existence. It isbest reached by a footpath continuation of a by-way that leaves theWeymouth road on the right, soon after it crosses the Great WesternRailway. The highest point of the hill that has been converted intothis huge fort is 432 feet; the apex being on the east. The marvellousdefences, which follow the lines of the hill, are two miles round andthe whole space occupies about 120 acres. From east to west the campis 3, 000 feet long and about half that measurement in breadth. On thesouth side there are no less than five lines of ditch and wall. On thenorth the steepness of the hill only allows of three. Over theentrance to the west ten ramparts overlap and double so that attackerswere in a perfect maze of walls and enfiladed so effectually that itis difficult to imagine any storming party being successful. On theeast the opening, without being quite so elaborate owing to thesteepness of the hill, is equally well defended. The steep walls onthe north are no less than sixty feet deep and to storm them would bea sheer impossibility. What makes this splendid monument sointeresting is the assertion made by nearly all authorities on thesubject that these enormous works must have been excavated withoutspade or tool other than the puny implement called a "celt. " Probablywall and ditch were elaborated and improved by the Romans, and whilein their occupation the name of the hill became Dunium. Blocks ofstone from Purbeck, used at certain points of the defence, were nodoubt additions during this period. 

A pleasant journey may be taken through the Winterbourne villages thatare strung along the line of that rivulet, which, as its nameproclaims, flows only in the winter months. It is on the south side ofMaiden Castle. The first village with the name of the river as aprefix is Came, two miles from Dorchester. Here Barnes was rector forthe last twenty-five years of his life. His grave is in the quietchurchyard quite close to the diminutive tower. Within the church is afine carved screen and several effigies. Proceeding westwards we cometo Herringstone where there is an old house once the seat of theHerrings and, since early Jacobean days, of the Williams family. Thencomes Monkton, close to Maiden Castle. The church is Norman, muchrestored. St. Martin follows; a picturesque hamlet with a fine church, the last in the west of England to dispense with clarionet, flute andbass-viol in the village choir. On sign-posts as well as colloquiallythis hamlet is known as "Martinstown. " Steepleton boasts a stonespire, rare for Dorset, and a curious and very ancient figure of anangel on the outside wall declared by most authorities to be Saxon. The last of the villages is Winterbourne Abbas, seven miles fromWinterbourne Came. The whole of the low hillsides around the hamletsof the bourne are covered with barrows, some of which have beenexplored with good results, though indiscriminate ravishing of theseold graves is to be deplored. 

Another short excursion from Dorchester is up the valley of the Cerne. About a mile and a half from St. Peter's Church, proceeding by NorthStreet, is Charminster, a pretty little place in itself and wellsituated in the opening valley of the sparkling Cerne. Here is achurch with a noble Perpendicular tower, built by Sir Thomas Trenchardabout 1510. The knight's monogram is to be seen on the tower. Withinthe partly Norman church are several monuments of the family, whichlived at Wolfeton House, a fine Tudor mansion on the site of a stillolder building. Its embattled towers, beautiful windows and ivy-cladwalls make up an ideal picture of a "stately home of England. "Wolfeton was the scene of the reception in 1506 of Philip of Austriaand Joanna of Spain, who were driven into Weymouth by a storm. (Theincident is referred to in the next chapter. ) This occurrence may besaid to have founded the fortunes of the ducal house of Bedford. YoungJohn Russell, of Bridport, a relative of the Trenchards, happened tobe a good linguist, which the host was not. He was sent for, and sowell impressed the royal couple that they took him with them toWindsor. Henry VII was quite as much interested, and young Russell'sfortune was made. He stayed with the court until the next reign, andat the Dissolution got Woburn Abbey, a property still in the hands ofhis great family. 

Continuing up the Cerne valley, Godmanstone, a village of picturesquegables and colourful roofs, is about four and a half miles fromDorchester. Here the valley narrows between Cowden Hill and CreteHill. The Perpendicular church has been restored, and is of littleinterest. Nether Cerne, a mile further along and two miles short ofCerne Abbas, also calls for little comment, but "Abbas" (or, accordingto Hardy, "Abbots Cernel") is of much historic interest. 

Cerne Abbey was founded in 987 by Aethelmar, Earl of Devon andCornwall. Legend has it that the monastery originated in the days ofSt. Augustine, but of this there is no proof, though it is certainthat a religious house nourished here for nearly a century before theBenedictine abbey was established. The first Abbot Aelfric was famousfor his learning, and his Homilies in Latin and English are of muchvalue to students of Anglo-Saxon. Canute was the first despoiler ofCerne, though he made good his plunderings tenfold when peace, on histerms, came to Wessex. Queen Margaret sought sanctuary here in 1471with her son, the heir to the English throne. At the Abbey, or on theway thither from Weymouth, the courageous Queen learned of the defeatof the Lancastrian army at Barnet. From Cerne she went to lead a forceagainst the Yorkists at Tewkesbury. There she was defeated, her sonbrutally murdered and all hope lost for the cause of her imprisonedhusband, the feeble and half-witted Henry VI. 

A most beautiful relic of the Abbey is the Gatehouse, a fine stonebuilding that has weathered to the most exquisite tint. The grandoriel window and panelled and groined entrance are justly admired. Theremaining ruins, however, are almost negligible. The Perpendicularchurch is remarkable for its splendid tower, on which is a niche andcanopy enshrining an old statue of the Virgin and Child. Within is agood stone screen and a fine oaken pulpit dating from 1640. Cerne townseems never to have recovered its importance after the loss of theAbbey. For its size, it is the sleepiest place in Dorset and itsstreets are literally grass grown. The surroundings are beautiful in aquiet way, and the town and neighbourhood generally provide an idealspot for a rest cure. North-east of the town is a chalk bluff calledGiant's Hill, with the figure of the famous "Cerne Giant, " 180 feet inheight, cut on its side. "Vulgar tradition makes this figurecommemorate the destruction of a giant, who, having feasted on somesheep in Blackmore and laid himself down to sleep, was pinioned downlike another Gulliver, and killed by the enraged peasants on the spot, who immediately traced his dimensions for the information ofposterity" (Criswick). An encampment on the top of the hill and thefigure itself are probably the work of early Celts. The "Giant" isreminiscent of the "Long Man of Wilmington" on the South Downs nearEastbourne. An interesting experiment in the communal life was startedin 1913 near the town. After struggling along for five years itfinally "petered out" in 1918, helped to its death, no doubt, by theexigencies of the last year of war. 

A return may be made by way of Maiden Newton, about six milessouth-west of Cerne, passing through Sydling St. Nicholas, where thereis a Perpendicular church noted for its fine tower with elaborategargoyles. The old Norman font and north porch are also noteworthy. Close to the church is an ancient Manor-house with a fine tithe barn. This belonged in 1590 to the famous Elizabethan, Sir FrancisWalsingham. Maiden Newton is a junction on the Great Western with abranch line to Bridport. 

The beautiful churchyard is the best thing about Maiden Newton. Thevillage had seen, prior to the late war, a good deal of rebuilding;relative unattractiveness is the consequence. This seems to be thealmost inevitable result of the establishment of a railway junction. The church stands on the site of a Wrest Saxon building, and is partlyNorman with much Perpendicular work. Cattistock, a long mile north, isunspoilt and pretty both in itself and its situation. It has a finechurch, much rebuilt and gaudily decorated, with a tower containing noless than thirty-five bells and a clock face so enormous that itoccupies a goodly portion of the wall. 

If the railway is not taken one may return by the eight miles of highroad that follows the Frome through Vanchurch and Frampton toCharminster and Dorchester. The first named village though pleasantenough, calls for little comment, but Frampton (or Frome town) is notonly picturesquely placed between the soft hills that drop to thewooded banks of the river, but has also other claims to notice. Thechurch, though it has been cruelly pulled about, has an interestingold stone pulpit with carvings of monks bearing vessels. A number ofmemorials may be seen of the Brownes, once a renowned local family, and of their successors and connexions, among whom were certain of theSheridan family, of which the famous Richard Brinsley Sheridan was amember. Near Frampton in the closing years of the eighteenth century aRoman pavement was discovered, bearing in its mosaic indications ofChristian designs and forms. 

The straight and tree-lined Roman road that runs west from Dorchesteris, except for fast motor traffic and a few farm waggons bringingproduce to the great emporium of Dorset, usually deserted, for it hasno villages of importance on the fourteen miles to Bridport. Winterbourne Abbas is more than four miles away and Kingston Russell, exactly half-way to Bridport, is the only other village on the road. This was once the home of the Russells who became Dukes of Bedford. Here was born Sir T. M. Hardy and here died J. L. Motley, author of the_History of the Dutch Republic_. The poor remnants of the old manorhouse are to be seen in the farm near the hamlet. 

[Illustration: WEYMOUTH HARBOUR. ]

CHAPTER V

WEYMOUTH AND PORTLAND

The fashionable Weymouth of to-day is the Melcombe Regis of the past, and quite a proportion of visitors to Melcombe never go into the realWeymouth at all. The tarry, fishy and beery (in a manufacturing senseonly) old town is on the south side of the harbour bridge and haslittle in common with the busy and popular watering place on the northand east. Once separate boroughs, the towns are now under onegovernment, and Melcombe Regis has dropped its name almost entirely infavour of that of the older partner. 

How many towns on the coast claim their particular semicircle of bayto be "the English Naples"? Douglas, Sandown and even Swanage have atsome time or other, through their local guides, plumed themselves onthe supposed resemblance. It is as inapplicable to these as it is toWeymouth, though the latter seems to insist upon it more than therest. Apart from the bay, which is one of the most beautiful on thecoast, boarding-house Weymouth is more like Bloomsbury than anywhereelse on earth, and a very pleasant, mellow, comfortable oldBloomsbury, reminiscent of good solid comfortable times, even if theywere rather dowdy and dull. Not that Weymouth is dull. In the far-offdays of half-day excursions from London at a fare that now would onlytake them as far as Windsor, the crowds of holiday-makers were wont tomake the front almost too lively. But away from such times there arefew towns of the size that make such a pleasant impression upon thechance tourist, who can spend some days here with profit if he willbut make it the headquarters for short explorations into thesurrounding country and along the coast east and west, but especiallyeast. 

The first mention of Weymouth in West Saxon times is in a charter ofKing Ethelred, still existing, that makes a grant of land "in Weymouthor Wyke Regis" to Atsere, one of the King's councillors. EdwardConfessor gave the manor to Winchester, and afterwards it became theproperty of Eleanor, the consort of Edward I. The large village slowlygrew into a small town and port. 

[Illustration: WYKE REGIS. ]

Wool became its staple trade, and in 1347 the port was rich enough tofind twenty ships for the fleet besieging Calais. At this timeMelcombe Regis began to assume as much importance as its neighbouracross the harbour. The only communication between the two was then aferry boat worked hand over hand by a rope. Henry VIII built SandsfootCastle for the protection of the ports, and while Elizabeth was Queenthe harbour was bridged and the jealousy between the towns brought toan end by an Act passed to consolidate their interests. Soon afterthis the inhabitants had the satisfaction of seeing the great galleonof a Spanish admiral brought in as a prize of war, the towns havingfurnished six large ships toward the fleet that met the Armada. 

During the reign of the seventh Henry a violent storm obliged Philipof Castile and his consort Joanna to claim, much against their will, the hospitality of the town. The Spanish sovereigns, who were not onthe best terms with England, were very ill, and dry land on any termswas, to them, the only desirable thing. They were met on landing bySir Thomas Trenchard of Wolveton with a hastily summoned force ofmilitia. King Philip was informed that he would not be allowed toreturn to his ship until Henry had seen him, and in due course theEarl of Arundel arrived to conduct the unwilling visitors to thepresence of the king. As we saw while at Charminster, this incidentled to the founding of a great ducal family. 

It is to George III that Weymouth owes its successful career as awatering place, although a beginning had been made over twenty yearsbefore the King's visit by a native of Bath named Ralph Allen, whoactually forsook that "shrine of Hygeia, " to come to Melcombe, where"to the great wonder of his friends he immersed his bare person in theopen sea. " Allen seems to have been familiar with the Duke of Gloucester, whom he induced to accompany him. So pleased was the Duke with Melcombe, that he decided to build a house on the front--Gloucester Lodge, nowthe hotel of that name--and here to the huge delight of the inhabitants, George, his Queen and three daughters came in 1789. An amusing accountof the royal visit is given by Fanny Burney. The King was so pleasedwith the place that he stayed eleven weeks, and by his unaffectedbuorgeois manner and approachableness quickly gained the enthusiasticloyalty of his Dorset subjects. Miss Burney's most entertainingreminiscence of the visit is the oft-repeated account of the King'sfirst dip in the sea. Immediately the royal person "became immersedbeneath the waves" a band, concealed in a bathing machine struck up"God save Great George our King. " Weymouth is in possession of akeepsake of these stirring times in the statue of His HanoverianMajesty that graces(?) the centre of the Esplanade. It is to be hopedthat the town will never be inveigled into scrapping this memorial, which for quaintness and unconscious humour is almost unsurpassed. Asubject of derisive merriment to the tripper and of shuddering aversionfor those with any aesthetic sense, it is nevertheless an interestinglink with another age and is not very much worse than some otherspecimens of the memorial type of a more recent date. It has latelyreceived a coat of paint of an intense black and the cross-headed wandthat the monarch holds is tipped with gold. The contrast with theenormous expanse of white base, out of all proportion to the littleblack figure of the King, is strangely startling. 

Not much can be said for St. Mary's, an eighteenth-century church inSt. Mary's Street which carries the Bloomsbury-by-Sea idea to excess. The church has a tablet, the epitaph upon which seems quite unique inthe contradictory character it gives to the deceased:

 UNDETH LIES YE BODY OF CHRISR. BROOKS ESQ. OF JAMAICA WHO DEPARD. THIS LIFE 4 SEPR. 1769 AGED 38 YEARS, ONE OF YE WORST OF MEN FRIEND TO YE DISTRESD. TRULY AFFECTD & KIND HUSBAND TENDER PART. & A SINCR. FRIEND

The artist was unfortunate in his choice of abbreviations andstrangers are sometimes sorely puzzled; some, indeed, never guess that"worst" has any connexion with "worthiest. " The altar piece, difficultto see on a dull day, was painted by Sir James Thornhill, a formerrepresentative of the borough in Parliament. Sir Christopher Wren wasalso for a time member for Weymouth, and portraits of both, togetherwith the Duke of Wellington and George III, adorn the Guildhall, agood building at the west end of St. Mary's Street. The twin townswere unique in their choice of members; in addition to the greatarchitect and famous painter, a poet--Richard Glover, author of_Leonidas_--of no mean repute in his own day, was chosen and the_original_ Winston Churchill, father of the great Duke of Marlborough, also sat for Weymouth. 

[Illustration: OLD WEYMOUTH. ]

Within the Guildhall is to be seen a chest from the captured Armadagalleon and an old chair from Melcombe Friary, of which some poorremnants existed in Maiden Street almost within living memory. On theother side of the harbour is Holy Trinity Church, built in 1836. Thishas another fine altar painting of the Crucifixion, thought by someauthorities to be by Vandyck. 

Certain portions of old Weymouth are very picturesque, with steepstreets and comfortable old bow-windowed lodging-houses patronizedalmost exclusively by the better class of seafarer; merchant captains, pilots and the like. A few of the lanes at the upper end of theharbour may be termed "slums" by the more fastidious, but it is onlyto their outward appearance that the word is applicable. Some of thesecottages are of great age and a number have been allowed to fall toruin. In Melcombe Regis at the corner of Edmund and Maiden Streets maybe seen, still embedded in the wall high above the pavement, a cannonball shot at the unfortunate town during the Civil War, in whichunhappy period much damage was done, the contending partiessuccessively occupying the wretched port to the great discomfort ofthe burgesses. 

Radipole Lake is the name given to the large sheet of water at theback of Melcombe, formed by the mouth of the Wey before it becomesWeymouth Harbour. The name is actually "Reedy Pool, " so that "lake" isa tautology reminding one of a similar blunder, often made by folkswho should know better, in speaking of "Lake" Winder_mere_. Radipoleis spoilt by an ugly railway bridge and some sidings belonging to thejoint railways that lie along the eastern bank for some distance. Thewater is enlivened by a large colony of swans and also in the summerby boating parties, who prefer the quietude of the pool to thepossible discomforts of the bay. But the bay is the reason for holidayWeymouth, not only for the beauty of its wide sweep and the remarkablecolouring of the water, but for the firm sands with occasional patchesof shingle that lie between shore and sea from the harbour mouthalmost to Redcliff Point. 

The chief excursion from Weymouth is to Portland, and of course everyone must take it, but there are other and finer ways out of the town, most of which show the "island" at its best--as an imposing mass ofrock in the middle distance. 

[Illustration: PORTLAND. ]

A ferry plies between the steamer quay, just beyond Alexandra Gardensand the Nothe, the headland extremity of the peninsula upon which oldWeymouth is built. This is one of the best points from which to viewthe bay. Portland is also well seen "lying on the sea like a greatcrouching anumal" (Hardy). The commanding parts of the Nothe areheavily fortified and the permanent barracks are always occupied by astrong force. On the south are Portland Roads, usually interesting forthe number of warships congregated there. There are exceedinglypowerful defences at the ends of the breakwaters and the openings canbe protected from under-water attack by enormous booms. The first walltook twenty-three years to build by convict labour and it explains theorigin of the prison at Portland, which was not established as somethink, because of the difficulty of escape, but solely for theconvenience of "free labour. " It is said that the amount of stone usedin the oldest of the breakwaters was five million tons. 

If the road is taken into Portland the village of Rodwell, at whichthere is a station, is at the parting of the ways, that to the leftleading to the shore at Sandsfoot Castle, one of Henry's block housesthat played a part in the Civil War. It is not a particularlypicturesque ruin, though its purchase by the Weymouth corporation willprevent any more of the wanton damage it has suffered in the past. Theother route goes direct to Wyke Regis, upon the hill above East Fleetand the Chesil Bank. Wyke is the mother church of Weymouth and is afine Perpendicular structure in a magnificent position. Its list ofrectors starts in 1302, so that the church must be on the site of anearlier building. The churchyard is the resting place of a largenumber of shipwrecked sailors who have met their death in the dread"Deadman's Bay, " as this end of the great West Bay is termed. 

The road into Portland is across a bridge built in 1839, the first toconnect the island-peninsula with the mainland. Then follows a longtwo miles of monotony along the eastern end of Chesil Beach, and themost ardent pedestrian will prefer to take to the railway at least asfar as Portland station if not to the terminus at Easton. The lonelystretch of West Bay, in sharp contrast to the animation of the Roads, cannot be seen unless the high bank of shingle on the right isascended. Portland Castle is on the nearest point of the island to themainland. This also was built by Henry VIII and is in good repair andinhabited by one of the officers of the garrison. 

The road ascends to Fortune's Well, as uninteresting a "capital" ascould well be imagined and for the sheer ugliness of its buildings andchurch probably unsurpassed. Its only claim to notice is theextraordinary way in which its houses are built on the hillside, onerow of doorsteps and diminutive gardens being on a level with the nextrow of roofs, so steep is the lie of the land. Above the village isthe great Verne Fort occupying fifty acres on the highest point of theisland and commanding all the approaches to the Roads. 

[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO CHURCH OPE. ]

The route now bears right and soon reaches a high and desolate plateaulittered with the debris of many years quarrying. The only savinggrace in the scenery is the magnificent rearward view along the vastand slightly curving Chesil Bank which stretches away to Abbotsburyand the highlands of the beautiful West Dorset coast. The prison isstill farther ahead to the left. There would be fewer visitors toPortland were it not for a morbid desire to see the convicts. Partiesare often made up to arrive in time to watch the men as they leave thequarries in the late afternoon. Soldiers and warders mount guard alongthe walls and the depressing sight should be shunned as much for one'sown sake as for that of the prisoners. Good taste, however, is avirtue that usually has to give way before curiosity. 

The road now descends to Easton, a place of remarkably wide streetsand a number of well-built churches, not all of the Establishment, however. The solid old houses, consisting entirely of the local stone, are not uninteresting and are in keeping with the dour and bleakscenery of the island. The mistake of importing alien red bricks of amost aggressive hue has not been made here. Those that flame from thehill slope above Portland station only succeed in emphasizing thegeneral bleakness of their surroundings. At Easton clock tower astreet called "Straits" turns left and east and presently a broad roadleads downhill to the right to the gates of Pennsylvania Castle, built, it is said, at the suggestion of George III by John Penn, Governor of Portland, and a descendant of the great Penn in whosehonour it was named. A narrow passage by the castle wall brings us toRufus, or "Bow and Arrow" Castle, to which the third name of "RedKing's Castle" has been given by Hardy in _The Well Beloved_. Itspicturesque ivy-clad shell is perched on a crag at the head of ChurchHope Cove, really "Church Ope" or opening. In the grounds ofPennsylvania Castle, shown on application, are the ruins of an ancientchurch, destroyed by a landslip. The disaster brought to light thefoundations of a far older building. Near the ruins is a gravestonewith the following mysterious epitaph:

 "IN LIFE I WROATH IN STONE; NOW LIFE IS GONE, I KNOW I SHALL BE RAISED BY A STONE AND B SUCH A STONE AS GIVETH LIVING BREATH AND SAVETH THE RIGHTEOUS FROM THE SECOND DEATH. "

Gravestones of the twelfth century, thought to be the oldestheadstones in England, were brought to light in excavations consequenton the landslip. 

The Cove will possibly be considered the only pleasant place inPortland. It is well wooded, of perfect outline, and with a miniaturebeach where shingle, rocks and greenery mingle in picturesqueconfusion and a remarkably crystalline sea laves the milk-white stonesand gravel. Cave Hole, near by, is a fine sight in rough weather. 

[Illustration: BOW AND ARROW CASTLE. ]

The road continues to the small hamlet of Southwell and paths leadonward amid rather tame surroundings to the flattened headland knownto the world as Portland Bill, but to all Portlanders as the "Beal. "This headland is crowned by a lighthouse which has replaced two olderand discarded buildings. In wild weather the scene at the Beal ismagnificent, in spite of the low altitude of the cliff. Pulpit Rock isthe quite appropriate name given to the curiously shaped block oflimestone which stands close to the water. The "Shambles" lightship, about three miles from the Beal, warns the mariner off the long anddangerous sandbank known by that ominous name on which so many goodships have perished. Around the bank, in February, 1653, the Dutch andEnglish fleets under van Tromp and Blake, circled and fought for threedays until the Hollanders had lost eleven ships of war and thirtymerchantmen. 

To return on foot to Portland station or the mainland, the best way isto keep along the edge of the western cliffs for the sake of the grandforward views. The tall tower in the centre of the island in sightfrom the higher parts of the roads is Reforne, the chief parishchurch, built in 1706. Near the prison is St. Peter's Church crownedby a dome and built by convict labour. The fine mosaics in the chancelwere worked by a female convict. As a rule the domestic architectureis as dour as the huge rock upon which the cottages are built, thougha few of the older dwellings are picturesque with their heavy stoneroofs clothed in gold and green moss, but as the quarries have grownin size and importance most of them have been swept away. Asuncompromising as their island are the Baleares--the Slingers--whokept invaders, Roman, Saxon and Dane, for long at a respectfuldistance with the ammunition that lay close at their feet. Undergroundhabitations of the British period were found about forty years ago andancient trackways of prehistoric time were to be seen in those dayswhen the island was merely a great sheep-walk and before gunpowder andchisel obliterated them. The Romans named the island Vindilis. Manytraces of their occupation have been found, including severalsarcophagi. 

Insular customs and prejudices among the islanders are various andstrange. Intermarrying until quite lately was the rule, and it must beannoying to eugenists to find that the natives are such a hardy andvigorous race. The "Kimberlin, " as all foreigners from the mainlandare called, is still looked upon with a certain amount of suspicion, and oftener than not advances are met with a surliness that must beunderstood and so forgiven. Heredity is stronger in remote and insulardistricts than in those where the channels of communication are free, but the long story of brave and self-sacrificing endeavour to savelife on their inhospitable shores more than counterbalances any lackof manners in this ancient race, which is probably very nearlyidentical with that of the old men who lived in the rock chambersunder Verne. That stain on the honour of so many dwellers on thecoast--a strange and unaccountable throwback--the crime of wrecking, has never been charged against the Portlander. 

One of the most fearful storms ever recorded on this shore was that ofNovember, 1824, when Weymouth esplanade was practically destroyed, andcutters and fishing boats were tossed into the main streets, one of 95tons being washed right over the Chesil Bank. On Portland Beach inNovember, 1795, several transports, with troops for the West Indies onboard, were stranded, and two hundred and thirty-four men drowned. 

Dissent is strong in the island as the several squarely plainmeeting-houses testify. The constant repetition of three names on thestones in the burying grounds--Attwooll, Pearce and Stone--will bringhome to the stranger the insularity of the "Isle of Slingers. "

The royal manor of Portland antedates the Conquest. It then includedWyke, Weymouth and Melcombe. It is semi-independent of Dorset, beinggoverned by a Reeve, who is appointed by male and female crown tenantsfrom among themselves. The "Reeve-Staff" is an archaic method ofrecording the payments of rates, and is similar to the old Exchequertallies, to the burning of the many years' stores of which, andconsequent conflagration, we owe our present Houses of Parliament. TheReeve Court is still held at the old "George Inn" in Reforne. Amongthe old customs to be mentioned is that of the "Church-gift, " in whichthe parties to a sale of property meet in the church and in thepresence of two witnesses hand over deeds and purchase money. Thetransaction is then as complete as it is legal. 

Inigo Jones first discovered the virtues of Portland stone and builtWhitehall with it. Sir Christopher Wren was so struck with its goodqualities that he decided to use it for the new St. Paul's and many ofthe city churches and public buildings. It is now the most widely usedbuilding stone in this country, and though it lacks the beautifulcolouring of West of England sandstone, to "Bath" stone and the restit is immeasurably superior in wearing qualities. Apart from the crownquarries, where convict labour is employed, the stone is worked by akind of guild, very similar to that in operation near Swanage; theemployment being handed down from father to son. 

To make a brief exploration of the country east of Weymouth the roadshould be taken that keeps close to the shore until the coastguardstation at Furzy Cliff is reached. Here a path, much broken in places, ascends the cliff, and continues to Osmington Mills, the usual goal ofthe summer visitor in this direction. Not far away is the great forton Upton Cliff, built to command the Eastern approaches to PortlandRoads. Holworth Cliff was, in the twenties of the last century, thescene of a curious outbreak of fire. The inflammable nature of thestrata caused the miniature Vesuvius to smoulder for a long time, withdire effect upon the atmosphere for many miles around. It is possiblefor the pedestrian to proceed to the beautiful coast that culminatesin the lovely region about Lulworth Cove. About eight miles fromWeymouth the path reaches one of the several Swyre Heads in Dorset. This commands wide views over a remote and seemingly desertedcountryside. From this point one may penetrate inland by bridle-ways, in two miles, to the village of Chaldon Herring, situated in apleasant combe to the North of Chaldon Down. The church is remarkablefor the new fittings, all designed by and for the most part the workof, a former incumbent. The Saxon font and Norman chancel arch arealso of much interest. 

The highroad from Wareham to Dorchester makes a wide loop southwardsfrom the railway at Wool and approaches Chaldon a mile away to thenorth. Between the village and the turnpike is a ridge upon which arethe remarkable tumuli called "The Five Maries. " From this spot isanother wide and beautiful view embracing the greater part of Dorset, and in its absence of habitations emphasizing the loneliness of thecentral portion of the county. The highroad may now be taken byOvermoigne to Warmwell Cross on the return to Weymouth, but a betterway, covering about nine miles in all, is, for those who can sustainthe fatigue of "give and take" roads with rather indifferent surface, to take the hill top to near Poxwell. This is a delightful villagewith a very beautiful Manor House dating from 1654. The situation ofthis house, backed by the smooth Down, is exquisite, and the buildingreminds one of many fine old houses that stand just below theescarpment of the Sussex Downs. On the hill beyond the village is asmall prehistoric circle of fifteen stones within a miniature wall andditch; from this point there is a good marine view toward Weymouth andPortland. The direct road to these places now passes throughOsmington, rapidly becoming suburban, although three miles from thetown centre. The rebuilt church is of little interest, but itsimmediate surroundings are very pleasant. In the churchyard is a smallportion of the wall of the old Manor House. An inscription on thechurch wall should be noticed, it runs thus:

 MANS LIFE. MAN IS A GLAS. LIFE IS A WATER THATS WEAKLY WALLED ABOUT: SINNE BRING ES DEATH: DEATH BREAKES THE GLAS: SO RUNNES THE WATER OUT FINIS. 

Beyond the village, a startling apparition breaks upon the view to theright. This is the hero of Weymouth on his white Hanoverian horse. "Although the length is 280 feet and its heighth 323 feet, yet thelikeness of the King is well preserved and the symmetry of the horseis complete. " The fact that the horse is galloping away from Weymouthhas often been remarked; this was a blunder on the part of "Mr. Wood, bookseller, who carried the great work to a successful conclusion. "

Sutton Poyntz, in a charming situation between spurs of the hills, hasbeen spoilt by the erection of the Weymouth Waterworks. This is the"Overcombe" of Hardy's _Trumpet Major_. Chalbury Camp, to the west ofthe village, is a prehistoric hill fort with traces of pit-dwellingswithin the entrenchment. To the south-east of the camp, on a spur ofthe hill and in the direction of Preston, is a remarkable andextensive British cemetery, from which numbers of cinerary urns andother relics have been excavated. It is to be hoped that this sort ofcuriosity has now exhausted itself and that these resting places ofdead and gone chieftains will be allowed to remain unmolested in thepeaceful solitudes which their mourners chose for them. 

Preston is a little over two miles from Weymouth. There are still anumber of old thatched cottages here and a Perpendicular church with aNorman door. The visitor will notice the ancient font; also ahagioscope and holy water stoup. At the foot of the village is an oldone-arched bridge over the brook that comes down from Sutton Poyntz. It is said to be of Norman date and was even supposed at one time tobe Roman. Not far from the church is a Roman villa with a finepavement, unearthed in 1842. Breston is supposed to be on or near thesite of Clavinium. 

The monotonous line of the Chesil Beach that has been seen fromPortland is, in its extreme length, from Chesil Bay under Fortune'sWell to near Burton Bradstock, where it may be said to end, more thaneighteen miles long and the greatest stretch of pebbles in Europe, ranging from large and irregular lumps at Portland to small polishedstones at the western extremity. It is said that a local seafarerlanding on the beach in a fog can tell his whereabouts to a nicety byhandling the shingle. For about half the distance, that is toAbbotsbury, the Fleet makes a brackish ditch on the landward side. Behind this barrier is a country of low hills and quiteout-of-the-world hamlets seldom visited or visiting. Chickerell, thenearest of them to Weymouth, has a manufactory of stoneware and agolf-course, so that it is not so quiet and remote as Fleet, LangtonHerring and the rest, which depend almost entirely on the harvest ofthe sea for a livelihood. 

The first place of any importance west of Weymouth is Abbotsbury. Thebest method of getting there is by the branch railway from UpweyJunction, which for some occult reason is at Broadwey, leaving Upweyitself a mile away to the north. Here is the "Wishing Well" beloved ofthe younger members of the char-a-banc fraternity who come in crowdsfrom Weymouth to drink part of a glass of very ordinary water andthrow the remainder, at the instance of the well keeper, over the leftshoulder. As far as the writer is aware there is no particular historyattached to this spring. The arch and seats have been erected for thebenefit of the visitor. But there are less harmless ways of spending asummer afternoon, and for those who have no "wish" to make, a visit tothe sixteenth-century church will be appreciated. Here is some ancientwoodwork, a pulpit dating from the early seventeenth century, andthree carved figures of the apostles in quaint medieval costumes. 

Nottington, a mile to the south of Broadwey, was once a spa, firstresorted to as far back as the reign of George I. The well house, visited by the third George, is now a residence and the pleasantsurroundings are made picturesque by an old water mill. 

The railway penetrates a lonely stretch of country with one wayside"halt" on the way to Portesham (indifferently "Porsham" or "Posam"). This is a convenient station from which to visit the Blackdowndistrict. The large village was the birthplace of Admiral Hardy, whoseugly monument upon the hill does not improve the landscape. The Normanand Early English church has a fine tower with a bell turret. A goodJacobean pulpit and panelled ceiling are among the details of theinterior. The brook that runs down the street gives a pleasantindividuality to a village otherwise uninteresting. 

[Illustration: PORTESHAM. ]

Blackdown is 789 feet above the sea, and the Hardy column, 70 feethigh, is a conspicuous landmark over a wide circumference. This hilland its outliers are a museum of stone circles and dolmens, the bestknown of which is the "Helstone, " or Stone of the Dead. On Ridge Hill, north of Abbotsbury, are the five large stones, almost lost in atangle of nettles and undergrowth, called the "Grey Mare and herColts. "

Abbotsbury is famous for its Abbey, St. Catherine's Chantry, and theSwannery. The latter is probably the most attractive of the sights tothe majority of visitors, and it is certainly worth seeing. Application must be made, during the afternoon as a rule, to thekeeper. On a board near the gate is a record of the great sea floodduring the storm of 1824, when the country around was inundated to adepth of 22 feet. Besides the sight of the long lines of white swanson the Fleet, there is an interesting decoy for trapping wild duck, the procedure being explained by the courteous attendant. The historyof the Swannery takes us back to Elizabeth's days, when one JohnStrangeways was in possession not only of the swans but of the abbeyand much else besides. It is still in the possession of hisdescendant, Lord Ilchester, to whom the new Abbotsbury Castle belongs. This was destroyed by fire about nine years ago and has since beenrebuilt. The original "Castle" is a small prehistoric entrenchmentwest of St. Catherine's Chapel. The grounds of Lord Ilchester'smansion are very fine, the sub-tropical garden being of especialinterest, and contains many rare plants and trees. Admission isgranted at certain times, and advantage should, if possible, be takenof the permission. 

The sixteenth-century church with its sturdy embattled tower isinteresting. In the doorway will be noticed the lid of a sarcophagusthat has the presentment of an abbot carved upon it, but nothing toshow who the one-time occupant was. Some old stained glass stillremains in the windows and an archaic carving of the Trinity may beseen upon the wall of the tower. It is conjectured that this wasremoved from the abbey at the time of the Dissolution. 

A skirmish took place within the church during the Civil War and marksare pointed out in the Jacobean woodwork of the pulpit as those ofbullets fired during the fight. Doubts have been thrown upon this, andthe damage placed to the account of amateur decorators at the time ofharvest festivals! The writer prefers the more romantic explanation, but is open to correction. The sounding board over the pulpit iscontemporary with the base and is a fine piece of work. 

Close to the churchyard is Abbey Farm. Portions of the buildingsinclude remains of the once famous Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter, founded about 1040 by Orc, a one-time steward of Canute and afterwardsin the service of Edward the Confessor. At the Dissolution the abbeycame into the possession of an ancestor of the Strangeways who ownedthe Swannery when that first became known to history. The abbey, likemany others, is said to have been built on the site of an olderreligious house, dating from very ancient days. There is a gatehouse, with an arch of later date, remaining, besides the fragmentaryportions in the farmhouse. Many houses in Abbotsbury have pieces ofecclesiastical stonework or carving built into their heavy walls, andarched windows seem to have been transplanted bodily from thedismantled abbey to the dwellings in the village. 

By far the most notable building in Abbotsbury is thefifteenth-century Monastic Barn, a fine structure 276 feet long. Itsplan is as perfect as its simple but imposing architecture; theecclesiastical appearance is heightened by the lancet windows betweenthe heavy buttresses and the slight transeptal extensions that givethe structure the form of a cross. The abbey fish pond, fed by thestream that runs through Portesham street, till remains below thetithe barn, and though its farmyard surroundings are very different tothose it had when the brethren gathered around the banks on Thursdaysof old, it is still, with its island centre of old trees, apicturesque finish to the scene. 

St. Catherine's Chapel on the hill above the sea is an erection in asituation similar to that of the far older building on St. Aldhelm'sHead. Its appearance, however, is quite different, and it isPerpendicular in style. The turret at the north-west corner, the twoporches and clerestory, are very evidently of another age to the heavyNorman of St. Aldhelm's, though St. Catherine is solidly built and hasweathered many a fierce storm without suffering any apparent damage. The walls are nearly four feet thick and the buttresses are sturdy inproportion. The fine stone roof is greatly admired and is a wonderfulpiece of work. The turret was probably used as a beacon, and thechapel seems to be identical in everything but style with St. Aldhelm's. On the east side of the south door are three curiousdepressions in the stonework said to be "wishing holes, " one for theknee and the higher ones for the hands. 

[Illustration: ST. CATHERINE'S CHAPEL. ]

The views of the Dorset seaboard during the climb to this exposedeminence are as fine as one would imagine. The contrast between thehilly country to the west and the long sweep of the Chesil Beachbacked by the "fleets" is very striking. From our vantage point thestretch of coast immediately to the west is shown to be quite bare ofhamlet or settlement of any kind beyond a few isolated houses. Puncknoll, which we shall reach in the next chapter, is the nearestvillage, fully four miles from St. Catherine's and nearly half thatdistance from the sea. 

Winding lanes, solitary also of human kind and delightful to wander infor the sake of their treasures of flower and insect life, meanderacross White Hill and its sister ridge. One of them passes within ashort distance of the "Grey Mare" and her children and, farther on, another group of mysterious stones. This way would take us to LittleBredy, a village which, of no interest in itself, has been made ascene of much beauty by the artificial widening of the little Bridejust below its source as it passes through the grounds of Bridehead. The last resting places of our Neolithic ancestors are scattered ingreat numbers about the heights that enfold the narrow cleft of theinfant stream. 

[Illustration: THE CHARMOUTH ROAD. ]

CHAPTER VI

WEST DORSET

The branch line of the Great Western from Maiden Newton makes a widedetour northwards to reach Bridport, passing through a very charmingand unspoilt countryside where old "Do'set" ways still hold outagainst that drab uniformity that seems to be creeping over rusticEngland. In this out-of-the-way region are small old stone-builtvillages lying forgotten between the folds of the hills and rejoicingin names that makes one want to visit them if only for the sake oftheir quaint nomenclature. 

The first station is laconically called Toller. It serves the twovillages Toller Fratrum and Toller Porcorum. The Toller of theBrothers is charmingly situated on the side of a low hill. It oncebelonged to the Knights of St. John, whence its name. The EarlyEnglish church has an old font sculptured with the heads of what maybe saints, a possible relic of Saxon times; some antiquaries havedeclared the work to be British of the later days of the Romanoccupation. In the church wall is a curious tablet representing MaryMagdalene wiping our Lord's feet. The manor house was built by SirJames Fulford, the great opponent of the Puritans. It is a delightfulhouse in an equally delightful situation and the beautiful tints ofthe old walls will be admired as well as the admirable setting of themansion. 

Toller of the Pigs may only mean the place where hogs were kept inherds. The village is of little interest and has not the fine site ofthe other. In the church is a font that is supposed to have onceserved as a Roman altar. 

Over the hills to the south-east is the little village of WynfordEagle, so called from the fact that it once belonged to that powerfulNorman family, the de Aquila, who held Pevensey Castle in Sussex afterthe Conquest. The church is an exceedingly poor erection of 1842, butpreserves a Norman tympanum from the former building. The carvingrepresents two griffins or wyverns facing each other in an attitude ofdefiance. Wynford Manor House is a beautiful building of the earlyseventeenth century. Under the stone eagle that surmounts the centregable is the date 1630. This was the home of the great ThomasSydenham, the founder of modern medicine. He was wounded while servingin the army of the Parliament at the battle of Worcester and, probablyin consequence of the ill success that followed the bungling treatmenthe received, determined to practise himself and adopt rational methodsfor the treatment of disease and injury. He died in London in 1689, aged 65, and lies in the churchyard of St. James', Piccadilly. 

Three miles or more to the north of Toller are the villages of Wraxalland Rampisham (pronounced "Ramsom"). The former has near it twointeresting old houses--the Elizabethan manor of Wraxall and an oldfarmhouse that was a manor in the reign of King John, though thepresent building was not erected until 1620. Rampisham is in a lovelysituation at the bottom of a wooded and watered dingle. Here isanother picturesque old mansion and an interesting stone cross in thechurchyard with a platform for open-air preaching. The base of thecross is carved with representations of the martyrdoms of St. Stephen, St. Edmund and St. Thomas à Becket, though they are so worn that onemust accept the identification on trust. Another carving is of St. Peter and the cock, with figures of monks, knights and fools. Withinthe church are some brasses worthy of inspection. 

Hidden away among the hills of Western Dorset is Beaminster, a littletown so placed that it may be visited from several different railwaystations without much to choose in mileage or roads; possiblyCrewkerne on the main line of the South Western Railway is that mostused. It is about six miles from Toller, Bridport and Crewkerne, andtherefore as quiet as one would expect it to be. But "Bemmister" isnot by any means a dead town and is, for all its want of directrailway transport, of some importance as the centre of a rich dairycountry. The situation at the bottom of a wooded amphitheatre isdelightful:--

 "Sweet Be'mi'ster that bist abound By green and woody hills all round, Wi' hedges reachen up between A thousan' vields o' zummer green Where clems lofty heads do show Their sheades vor hay-meakers below An' wild hedge-flowers do charm the souls O' maidens in their evenin' strolls. "

 (Barnes. )

The Perpendicular church has a remarkably handsome tower ofyellow-brown stone with sculptured figures showing the chief events inthe life of our Lord. Part of the interior is Early English. Monumentsof the Strodes, a great local family, will be noticed, and also somegood stained glass. The church, and the old "Mort House" attached toit, were fortunately spared in the several disasters by fire that, asin Dorchester, have removed almost everything ancient. The presentsmart and modern appearance of the main street is the consequence ofthe last conflagration in 1781, though this was not so serious as twoothers in the seventeenth century. The first of these started duringthe fighting between the forces of King and Parliament. 

[Illustration: BEAMINSTER. ]

Charles II stayed at the "George" in his groom's disguise during theflight after Worcester. This inn was rebuilt during the last century. About a quarter of a mile out of the town to the south-west is theTudor Manor of the Strodes, standing in Parnham Park. Certain portionsof the house are older than the sixteenth century, and a window bearsthe name and date "John Strode 1449. " Mapperton House is another fineold mansion. It stands two miles to the southeast in a secluded dinglelined with closely-growing trees and the beautiful colour of the earlysixteenth-century stone building is a delightful contrast to thegreenery around. The finely designed entrance gateway is surmounted bytwo eagles in the act of rising from the posts. The old house formstwo sides of a picturesque quadrangle, Mapperton church being on thethird. 

Three miles north-westwards of Beaminster is Broadwindsor, amidstscenery pleasant enough from the farmers' point of view, for these are"fat lands, " but more tame than that seen between Toller and theformer town. Not far away, however, are the finely-shaped summits ofPilsdon Pen and Lewsdon Hill, nearly of the same height and remarkablealike from certain aspects. "Pilsdon Pen, " says an old writer, "is noless than 909 feet above the sea, and therefore 91 feet short of beinga mountain!" Who gave the 1, 000 feet contour line that arbitrarynomenclature is unknown. Usually in Britain double that height istaken as the limit, but it is perhaps more fair to allow eachcountryside its own standard. Pilsdon is much more imposing than someof the "lumps" that are double its altitude on the table-land ofcentral Wales, where the bed of the Upper Wye is not many feet belowthe height of the "Pen. " That, by the way, is a Celtic suffix; itwould be interesting to know if the word has continued in constant usesince British times. 

The chief claim to fame on the part of Broadwindsor is that the famousThomas Fuller, witty writer and wise divine, was its royalist parsonand that he preached from the old Jacobean pulpit in the parishchurch. This building has been well restored by the son of a formervicar. The usual Perpendicular tower surmounts a medley of Norman andEarly English in the body of the church. 

But this is a long way from the Tollers, and the road must now betaken by Mapperton, back to the train that provokingly burrows throughcuttings, with an occasional flying glimpse of lovely wooded dell andtree-crowned hill, on the way to Powerstock or, according toDorset--"_Poor_ stock. "

The well-restored church here is interesting. There is a very earlyNorman arch in the chancel with beautifully sculptured pillars andcapitals. Upon the hill top above the village is the site ofPowerstock Castle that was built within the ramparts of an ancientearthwork by King Athelstan. A short distance to the south-east isEggardon Hill (820 feet) with a great series of entrenchments upon itssummit which deserve to rank with those of Maiden Castle and OldSarum. The fortifications have a strong resemblance, on a smallerscale, to the first-named stronghold. 

[Illustration: EGGARDON HILL. ]

Our present goal--Bridport--is one of those pleasant old Englishtowns, cheerful and bright, and to outward seeming entirelyprosperous, which make the average Londoner who has to earn his livinglong for the chance to try his fortune there. For the traveller on hisfirst visit a great surprise is in store; with a name such as this onepictures in advance a place of quays on a sluggish river, fairly wideand very muddy, opening to the sea, with the conventional loungers, tarry and fishy scents and a fringe of lodging houses. But nothingcould be farther from the truth. Here is no evidence of the sea atall, and although West Bay, the real "quay" of Bridport, is less thantwo miles from the High Street, the town seems to be surrounded byhills and to be solely concerned with the neighbouring farmers andtheir interests. The only direct relation with marine affairs is theimportant manufacture of fishing nets and "lines" for which Bridporthas been noted for many years. To say "he was stabbed with a BridportDagger" was a polite way of breaking the news that your acquaintancehad been hung! Leland was quite deceived by this old joke, probablyancient in his time--the sixteenth century, and refers to the daggerindustry in perfect good faith. The arms of the town are threespinning hooks behind a castle; this proves that the industry is nomodern one and until lately hemp was one of the staple products of thecountry immediately around. 

Ten pounds only were spent on the defences during the Civil War andthe inhabitants seem to have made as half-hearted an attempt inopposing the Royalist besiegers as in the preliminaries of warfare. Charles II arrived here in his flight towards Sussex and rested at theGeorge Inn, but the identity of this hostelry seems in doubt. There isa "George" at West Bay that claims the honour of sheltering Charles. The one in High Street has been pulled down save a small portionincorporated in a chemist's shop. When leaving, the party of fugitiveRoyalists turned northwards down Lee Lane, their pursuers continuingalong the Dorchester road. A memorial stone by the wayside records theescape of the King, who was in his groom's dress with Mrs. Coningsbyriding pillion behind. 

[Illustration: BRIDPORT. ]

A skirmish in which the Duke of Monmouth's officers, with theexception of Colonel Wade, emerged with but small credit to themselvestook place on the morning of June 14, 1685. After marching through thenight from Lyme the unfortunate yokels who made up the Duke's "army"displayed much coolness and bravery in the fight recorded on amemorial in the church to "Edward Coker Gent, second son of RobertCoker of Mapowder, Slayne at the Bull Inn at Bridpurt, June the 14thAn. Do. 1685, by one Venner, who was a Officer under the late Duke ofMonmouth in that Rebellion. "

Bridport is first known to history in the year preceding the Conquestwhen it had a priory (St. Leonard's) and a mint. These have entirelydisappeared and almost all the medieval structures except thechurch--a good Perpendicular building with Early English transepts. The only monument of interest, except that of Edward Coker, is across-legged effigy of one of the de Chideocks in the north transept. The handsome pulpit and reredos are modern. An old house in SouthStreet called "Dungeness" was contemporary with the Priory, and nearby is a fine old Tudor house, once the Castle Inn, but now used as aclub. 

The picturesque Town Hall with its clock turret is the best knownfeature of Bridport and lends quite a distinctive air to the broadHigh Street which has the vista of its west end filled by thecone-shaped Colmers Hill. South Street leads to West Bay, at the mouthof the diminutive Bride or Brit. The little town of late, mainlythrough the exertions of the Great Western Railway, has made anattempt to transform itself into a watering place. The coast isattractive and possibly at some future date the railway and the locallandowner will have their way, but at present West Bay is in a stateof transition. Many who knew the primitive aspect of the tiny portbefore the paved front and its shelters came to keep company with thehideous row of lodging houses that stand parallel with the Bride, willdeplore the change, or hope for the time when that change will becomplete and nothing is left to remind them of the lostpicturesqueness of Bridport Quay. 

Burton Cliff is the name of the odd rounded hill on the east that hasbeen cut neatly in half by the slow wearing of the waves. On the otherside of it is Burton Bradstock, nearly two miles from West Baystation. This place is unremarkable in itself but must be mentionedfor its beautiful and picturesque situation. It has been found by theholiday-maker, and houses of the red brick villa type are likely toincrease in number unless the local builder can be prevailed upon touse local material. The restored cruciform church, Perpendicular instyle, has a modern addition in its clock, a relic of the old buildingof Christ's Hospital in the City of London. 

[Illustration: PUNCKNOLL. ]

Away to the north beyond the small village of Skipton Gorge, isSkipton Beacon, a hill with a striking and imposing outline. Equallyfine, though on a much smaller scale, is Puncknoll, away to the eastof Swyre. The hill or knoll is usually called Puncknoll Knob by thecountry people and, very absurdly, Puncknoll Knoll by some of theguide books. It commands a perfectly gorgeous view of the sea andshore as far as Abbotsbury and over West Bay to the hills around Lyme. The village that takes its name from the hill is behind it to thenorth. In the small church is an old Norman font covered with carvingsof interlaced ropes and heads; also some memorials of a local family, the Napiers, one of which is a refreshing change in regard to itsinscription, which runs:

 READER, WHEN THOU HAST DONE ALL THAT THOU CANST, THOU ART BUT AN UNPROFITABLE SERVANT. THEREFORE THIS MARBLE AFFORDS NO ROOM FOR FULSOME FLATTERY OR VAINE PRAISE. 

 SR. R. N. (Robert Napier). 

Behind the church is a beautiful old manor house, and the village hassome delightful examples of the unspoilt and typical thatched stonecottage of Dorset. 

A lane to the north leads down to the valley of the Bride and thedirect road back to West Bay. A mile to the east is Litton Cheyneyand, a mile farther, Long Bredy up among the hills where the Briderises. Turning west from the lane end, the road descends the valleytoward the sea amid beautiful surroundings, and reaches BurtonBradstock in a short three miles. 

Bradpole village is a mile north of Bridport Town station. The rebuiltchurch is hardly worth the short journey, but mention must be made ofthe monument in the churchyard wall to W. E. Forster, who was born in acottage not far away. Another tablet commemorates the flight ofCharles II through the village. Loders, a mile farther, and Uploders, a continuation on the other side of the Dorchester railway, are wortha visit. The former was once the seat of a Benedictine priory foundedin the reign of Henry I. The church has a hagioscope and a squareNorman font. A doorway and window of this period in the chancel wereuncovered during restorations. The winding stairway to the chamberover the porch will be noticed and a representation of the Crucifixionon the lower stage of the tower. 

The road from Bridport to Lyme Regis has been described as the bestand the worst in the south of England. For the occupant of a touringcar the way is a succession of changing views as charming as they arevaried. For a loaded horse the eight and a half miles of switchbackmust be a long-drawn-out agony in which the descent of the last hillinto Lyme is worse than the terrible pull to its summit. The writerknows this road only from the point of view--and pace--of thepedestrian, and he knows of few more lovely or more tiring. FannyBurney described the drive as "the most beautiful to which mywandering feet have sent me; diversified with all that can composeluxuriant scenery, and with just as much approach to the sublime as isin the province of unterrific beauty. " The long ascent of "Chiddick"Hill commences soon after leaving the mill pool just outside Bridport. To the right, a turning leads to Symondsbury, where there is an oldcruciform church with a central tower and, in the chancel, the tomb ofBishop Gulston, uncle of Addison. Away to the left and near the sea isEype in a delightful combe that ends in the sea at Eype Mouth. On EypeDown is an ancient earthwork of much interest to archaeologists. Itwas from this hill that Powell, the aeronaut, was blown out to sea ina balloon nearly forty years ago. 

[Illustration: CHIDEOCK. ]

After a long wind round the side of Chideock Hill the high roaddescends towards the village of that name. A stile on the left givesaccess to a footpath to the "Seatown" of Chideock. The pedestrianshould enter the meadow to rest and admire the perfect view down theV-shaped combe to the sea. Away to the left Thurncombe Beacon liftsits dark summit. The answering height to the right is lordly GoldenCap. Its well-named crown is more than 600 feet above the waves thatdash against Wear Cliffs below. 

Chideock is a clean pleasant street of houses most of whose occupantslet lodgings or cater for the passing traveller in one way or another. The Perpendicular church was restored in a rather drastic manner aboutforty years ago; this brought to light a crude wall painting. At theeast end of the south aisle will be seen a black marble effigy of aknight in plate armour. This is Sir John Arundell, an ancestor of theLords Arundell of Wardour in Wiltshire. The de Chideocks were theoriginal owners of the countryside and in a field beyond the church tothe north-east is the moat which once surrounded their castle, dismantled soon after the close of the Civil War as a punishment forthe annoyance it caused the army of the Parliament in interfering withthe communications of Lyme. It changed hands several times during thewar, but while held by the Royalists it seriously compromised theiropponents on the west. 

The Manor House is a seat of the Welds, a Roman Catholic family. Inthe grounds of the manor is a very ornate church belonging to thatcommunion and a cemetery that has an interesting chapel, the walls ofwhich are covered with paintings. 

The scenery is now becoming Devonian in character, of the softlypleasant aspect of the south, lines of hill occasionally rising intopicturesque hummocky outline; wide troughed valleys richly timbered, with mellow old farmhouses here and there about their slopes, connected by deep narrow flowery lanes extraordinarily erratic indirection, or want of it. The cider country is still far off, however;for Dorset, though the soil and climate are well suited to it, has notyet looked upon the culture of the apple as an important item infarming, and orchards of any sort are few and small in size. 

The Lyme road climbs up from Chideock round the steep face of LangdonHill and reaches its summit level, over 400 feet, about a mile out ofthe village. In front, to the right, is Hardown Hill and to the left, Chardown. Out of sight for the present, but soon to come into viewagain, is Golden Cap which may be reached by one of the roundaboutlanes going seawards, with a short stiff climb at the last. The viewfrom the summit is as glorious as it is wide. In clear weather theextremities of the great bay--Portland Bill and Start Point--can beseen, and most of the beautiful coast between them. Passing betweenHardown and Chardown the road drops to Morecombelake, anuninteresting village in a charming situation. The lane to the rightgoes down to Whitchurch Canonicorum in Marshwood Vale. Here is theinteresting church of St. Wita (or St. Candida), Virgin and Martyr. The chancel, part of the nave and south door are Transitional, about1175, the transepts being built about twenty-five and the tower twohundred years later. The chief interest in the church is the so-calledshrine of St. Candida opened twenty years ago during repairs to thechurch wall. Within a stone coffin was found a leaden casketcontaining a number of bones declared to be those of a small sizedfemale. Upon one side of the box was the following inscription:

 Hic . Reqesct . Relique . Sce . Wite

The bones were placed in a new reliquary and again deposited withinthe restored shrine. The three openings in the front were made toreceive the offerings of the faithful and pilgrims from afar. Thereare several monuments here to the De Mandevilles; John Wadham, Recorder of Lyme (1584); Sir John Geoffry of Catherstone (1611) andothers. The terrific name of this small village simply indicates thatthe canons of Salisbury and Wells claimed the parish tithes. Acrossthe valley from Whitchurch rise the outstanding eminences--"Coney"(Conic or King's) Castle and Lambert's Castle, the latter crowned witha fine clump of trees. The name of the valley seems to have deceivedsome old writers into thinking it a region of chills and agues and ofcold sour soil. It has always been famous for its oaks, but perhaps itmay claim a greater fame as a minor Wordsworth country, for on thenorth side of the vale is Racedown Farm, the home of the poet forabout two years. Dorothy Wordsworth said it was "the place dearest tomy recollections" and "the first home I had. " Perhaps the moststriking view in this part of Dorset is that one from the Axminsterroad at the point on Raymond's Hill called Red Cross. At dusk, whenthe intervening fields and woods are shrouded in gloom, Golden Captakes on a startling shape against the evening sky. The huge truncatedcone and the separate bays on either side--mostly differing entirelyin colour--make the centre of as fine a prospect as any in the south. This road, Roman for the most part, has the rare feature of a tunnel, cut to make the steep ascent to Hunter's Lodge Inn practicable formodern traffic. 

[Illustration: CHARMOUTH. ]

The Marshwood Vale ends at Charmouth, to which the road fromMorecombelake now descends round the northern slopes of Stonebarrow;on the far side of this hill is the derelict parish of Stanton St. Gabriel, with a ruined church and two or three cottages in a superbsituation under the shadow of Golden Cap. Charmouth is one long streetrunning up the hill on the Lyme side of the Char. It is one of thosepleasantly drowsy places that even the advent of the public motor fromBridport fails to excite. That its restfulness is appreciated isevidenced by the number of houses that let apartments. The distancefrom the railway at Lyme and Bridport will effectually bar any"development. " Jane Austen's description still holds good:--"Its highgrounds and extensive sweeps of country, and, still more, its sweetretired bay, backed by dark cliffs where fragments of low rock amongthe sands make it the happiest spot for watching the flow of the tide;for sitting in unwearied contemplation. " (_Persuasion. _)

The picturesque old George Inn on the right-hand side of the street issometimes pointed out as the lodging occupied by Charles II, but thiswas at the "Queen's Arms" nearly opposite; it is now a CongregationalManse. "Everything was in readiness for the departure at midnight, butCaptain Limbry, master of the ship, came ashore just after dark forhis luggage. Questioned by his wife he foolishly admitted that he wasconcerned with the safety of a dark gentleman from Worcester. Withoutmore ado the good woman pushed him into his bedroom and turned the keyupon him. " Charles and his friends waited in vain at the inn, the"dark gentleman" as insouciant as ever, the rest of the party greatlyperturbed. Urgently advised by Ellesdon (organizer of the escape) towait no longer, the party took to the Bridport road, and so in theearly morning the fugitives rode up and down the hills these pageshave just traversed, in an endeavour to find sanctuary in a ship, theonly inviolable one, that they were not to gain until far distantBrighthelmstone was reached. 

[Illustration: LYME FROM THE CHARMOUTH FOOTPATH. ]

Charmouth Church is as ugly as one would expect of an erection of thelast year of the Sailor King. Within are preserved some of themonuments from the old building. It is said that a Roman station wasestablished somewhere on this hill, and that after fierce fighting inthe bay the Danes captured and held the Char valley for some years. Itis possible that many of the country people have a strain of the wildnorthern blood in their veins. Close to the church and the Coach andHorses Hotel, the unpretentious but comfortable hostelry on the leftof the street, a lane leads to the coastguard station and beach. 

The shore can be followed to Lyme, but only at low water. By far thebest way is to keep to the high road, passing through the cutting madein the hill for the better passage of the coaches, and named by themore proper "Windy Gap, " and by the rest "The Devil's Bellows. " In astorm the wayfarer is likely to be blown back to Charmouth. At the topof the hill a path turns leftwards to the open cliff and affords thetraveller the most exquisite views of Lyme, the bay and thesurrounding hills. This path eventually rejoins the main road near thecemetery. Within is a fine Celtic cross erected to commemorate thosewho perished in the _Formidable_ in 1915. 

It is only during the last twenty years that Lyme has found itself asa popular resort. It must have been a tragic business to the selectfew, that opening of the light railway from Axminster in 1903. Beforethat time enthusiasts, among them Whistler and several other famousartists, braved the six miles of rough road from the nearest stationto reach the picturesque old town on the Buddle, and possibly formedsome sort of league to keep their "find" dark. Happily the place isstill unspoilt and the hand of Jerry has not descended. The visitorwho arrives by the South Western after a delightful trip, all tooshort, on the miniature Alpine line that burrows through hillsides andswerves across valleys, over the last by a highly spectacular viaduct, is agreeably surprised to find himself at a terminus while apparentlystill in the wilds. If the little motor train went down to the seasideit could never pant back again. But the eye is unoffended in the longwalk down the steep road to the shore, and in these days when thecanons of good taste seem to have some weight with property owners andbuilders it is probable that the growth of Lyme will be effected withcircumspection. As it is, the snug little town is almost unaltered, except for a slight and necessary clearance at the river mouth, fromthe days when Louisa Musgrove lived at Captain Harville's house. Everyone who stays at Lyme must buy or borrow a copy of _Persuasion_. It iswonderful how an old-fashioned tale such as this novel of Jane Austenwill delight and interest the most blase of readers when he or she canidentify the scenes depicted in its pages, and how the early Victorianatmosphere of the book will seem to descend on the quaint streets thathave altered so little since it was written. 

Lyme seems to have started life in the salt boiling line, and todistinguish it from Uplyme was called Netherlyme-supra-mare. The firstpatrons of the industry were the monks of Sherborne Abbey. This was inthe days of Cynwulf of Wessex. Five hundred years later it became"Regis, " a haven and chartered borough under Edward I, and from thisfar-off time dates the unique stone pier called the "Cobb, " restoredmany times since. The town suffered much from French attacks andrevenged itself by sending ships to harry the commerce of the thenarch-enemy. The Cobb had been allowed to fall into such a state ofdisrepair in the reign of Elizabeth that that irate lady refused torenew the borough charter until the townsfolk made good the damage. This was done and Lyme soon redoubled its importance in the eyes ofthe Government, so much so that on the outbreak of the Civil War itwas looked upon as an almost indispensable possession both byRoyalists and Parliamentarians. Its vigorous resistance to the King isone of the outstanding incidents of the war; Blake, afterwardsAdmiral, conducting the marine defence. The beseiged were successfulafter two months of the most desperate fighting, and the women of Lymeproved Amazonian in the help they gave their menfolk. In 1672 theDutch gave the English fleet a trouncing within sight of the town. 

The most famous event connected with the Cobb was the landing ofMonmouth thereon in June, 1685. The ill-starred prince knelt on thestones and thanked God "for having preserved the friends of libertyand pure religion from the perils of the sea. " Not many days passedbefore some enthusiasts from Lyme who had followed the gallant ladwere brought back to the Cobb and hanged there in sight of theirneighbours. John Tutchin, author of the _Observator_, was sentenced byJeffreys to be whipped through Lyme and every other town in thecounty, to be imprisoned seven years, and pay a fine of one hundredmarks. He petitioned to be hanged, and was pardoned. But these poormen were avenged three years later when William of Orange landed anumber of his troops on the same spot. A few days afterwards thatnarrow, dull, conscientious, well-intentioned and wholly religiousRoman Catholic, James II, fled from his throne and country. 

During early Hanoverian days Lyme seems to have languished. Privateering; the trade with France and Spain; the industries of thetown, weaving and lace making; all dwindled to vanishing point. Halfthe houses became ruinous, and the population had decreased to analarming extent when that saviour of half the old coastwise towns ofEngland--the valetudinarian--came upon the scene about 1770, and bythe commencement of the Victorian era Lyme had embarked upon a time ofmodest but steady prosperity which still continues. Its fine air andsuperb situation would, if the town were fifty miles nearer London, result in "developments" that would soon ruin its character. 

[Illustration: LYME BAY. ]

Lyme church is Perpendicular, though the tower is far older, thevestry room being part of the ancient church. Of much interest is thetapestry on the west wall representing the marriage of Henry VII. Onthe front of the gallery (1611) and on the Jacobean pulpit (1613) areinscriptions setting forth the names of their donors and the dates. The rood-screen is modern but the old double lectern is interesting;chained to it is a "Breeches" Bible and Erasmus' "Paraphrase. " One ofthe stained-glass windows is a memorial to that celebrated daughter ofLyme--Mary Anning, who with the enthusiasm of a greybeard hammered andchipped at the cliffs around in a most ungirlish style, but to suchgood purpose that she unearthed the Ichthyosaurus that now astonishesthe visitor to the Natural History Museum in Kensington. 

In Pound Street is an auxiliary church that in 1884 was converted outof a stable into the present beautiful and uncommon little building. Of particular merit are the fine tapestries and the altarpiece ofVenetian mosaics. In Church Street stands an old house once belongingto the Tuckers, merchants and benefactors of the town. It is now namedTudor House and is really of that date, although its exterior hardlylooks its age. The Assembly Rooms at the end of Broad Street mark thetime when Lyme was starting upon a career of fashion. In the new TownHall erected on the old site to commemorate the first VictorianJubilee is an ancient door from the men's prison, and a grating fromthe women's quarters, let into the wall; in the Old Market stands anancient fire engine and the stocks, removed here from the church. Nearby is the "Old Fossil Shop" devoted to the sale of fossils and fish, as quaint a combination of trades as one could imagine. The old housesaround the Buddle are of dark and mysterious aspect. This part of thetown has always had a romantic air, here and there slightly flavouredwith squalor, though of late, especially about the course of theriver, improvements have effected a change. Curious customs of greatantiquity such as the Saxon Court Leet and the Court of Hustings, acopy of a London civic institution dating from the first charter ofthe town, have continued to present times. 

The other famous girl of Lyme, besides Mary Anning, was Jane Austen, who lived with her parents at Bay Cottage, the white house near theharbour. Here it is supposed that _Persuasion_ was written. CaptainCoram, the bluff seaman and tender-hearted philanthropist who spenthis small fortune on the Foundling Hospital, and. Sir George Somers, who colonized the Bermudas, were both local worthies. The latter diedin the West Indies, but his body was brought home to Dorset and buriedat Whitchurch Canonicorum. 

The beautiful coast west of the Cobb is described in the next chapter, but mention must be made of the Landslip Walk. Several falls of thecliff, here resting on a precarious foundation of sand and blue hasclay, have from time to time occurred and have produced this widetract of broken and tumbled ground, only to be equalled in itspicturesque confusion by the better known Undercliff in the Isle ofWight. The greatest "slip" took place in 1839 on Christmas Day and thecountry people were awakened during the night by loud and continuousnoises like the rumble of distant artillery. It was found the nextmorning that a chasm nearly a mile long and about 400 feet wide hadbeen formed parallel with the shore. This subsidence continued for acouple of days and took with it, without loss of life, severalcottages. The wildly erratic disorder has been covered with a lovelyprofusion of flowers and plants in the sheltered valleys and ravinesof this miniature Switzerland, and the whole undercliff as far asRousdon and beyond is a wonderland of beauty. 

Uplyme, three-quarters of a mile beyond the station, is in Devon. Thismay have been one of the pleas put forward a few years ago whenstrenuous efforts were made to get Lyme Regis transferred to thewestern county. The pretty village is about a mile and a half fromLyme Esplanade on the Axminster road. The church has been judiciouslyrestored, but there is nothing of great interest to be seen apart fromthe old yew tree in the churchyard. Not far away is a beautiful oldmanor house called the "Court Hall"; it is now a farm house. The fineporch and queer old chimneys make a picture worth turning aside tosee. 

[Illustration: OTTERY CHURCH. ]

CHAPTER VII

EAST DEVON

To go from one Dorset or East Devon coast town to another by railinvolves an amount of thought and a consultation of time-tables thatwould not be required for a journey from London to Aberystwyth, andunless the traveller hits on a particularly lucky set of connexions hewill find that he can walk from one town to the other in less timethan by taking the train. From Lyme to Seaton by the Landslip isbarely seven miles; by rail it is fifteen, involving two changes. FromSeaton to Sidmouth is nine miles by road and twenty-four by rail, withtwo changes and a possible third. Each of these sections can becomfortably tramped by the average good walker in a morning orafternoon with plenty of time for "side issues" and rambling about thetowns themselves in the evening. One word of warning to those whoadopt this method of seeing their own land, the only effective way inthe writer's opinion. Do not be deceived into thinking that a mile onthe map is a mile on the road. In this country of hills and valleysthe distance can be added to considerably by these "folds in thetablecloth. " A contour map in colours such as Bartholomew's "halfinch" is a great help in this matter. 

From Lyme the walk westwards by the cliff is, of course, the mostbeautiful way. Our present route, by the high road, passes betweenRousdon, _the_ great house of the neighbourhood, and Combpyne, wherethere is a station, the only one between Lyme and Axminster. This is apleasant place, lost between hills, and quite out of sight from therailway. It has a church, built about 1250, with a gabled tower andwith a hagioscope in the chancel. The communion plate dates frombefore the Reformation and is said to have been in constant use formore than four hundred years. In the thirteenth century a conventstood here; part of the buildings are now a farmhouse, but thevillagers still point out the "Nuns' Walk" close by. A series oflonely and delightful lanes, difficult to follow without a good map(directions given by a rustic require a super-brain to remember theirintricate details), lead down to the high road just short of thebridge over the Axe. Here a turn to the right leads to picturesque oldAxmouth. The houses climb up a narrow combe down which tumbles abright stream from the side of Hawksdown, the hill which rises to thenorth-east and is crowned by an ancient encampment. The church wasoriginally Norman, but only the north door and south aisle remain ofthis period. In the chancel, which is in the Decorated style, is theeffigy of a priest within a recess, and in a chantry chapel a monumentto Lady Erle of Bindon. The curious wall paintings were discoveredduring the restoration of the church some years ago. An old standardmeasure for corn called the "Lord's Measure" is kept in a recess inthe churchyard wall. Turning to the left from the church are someancient cottages. On one of the chimneys will be seen the date 1570and a motto: "God giveth all. " Not far away is the entrance toStedcombe, a house designed by Inigo Jones, which replaced an olderbuilding destroyed in the Civil War. Bindon, the home of Sir WalterErle, a famous officer of the Parliamentary army, is about a mile fromthe village in the direction of the Landslip. It is a finesixteenth-century mansion, now a farmhouse, a chapel attached to whichis more than a hundred years older than the original building. 

[Illustration: AXMOUTH FROM THE RAILWAY. ]

A road by the east bank of the Axe leads in a mile to Seaton, which isat the actual Axe mouth. This is a town almost without a history, although it still makes the not-proven assertion that it is the siteof Moridunum. Some years ago the townsmen, with the idea that thelabel is the principal thing, stuck the word along the Esplanade wallin letters of black flint. Although the claim is not an impossibleone, the probabilities point to the junction of the two great roads, the Fosse Way and the Icknield Way, near Honiton, as being the actualsite of the Roman station. The remains of a villa of this period, together with various relics, pottery and coins, were found sometimeago at a place called Hannaditches just outside the town, so that theubiquitous Latins were at any rate here. 

Seaton is quite a different town to Lyme; it has practically noancient buildings and the few old cob cottages that made up theoriginal village have entirely disappeared. A "restoration" of thechurch in 1866 destroyed most of the old features, including abeautiful screen. The main fabric belongs to the Decorated period withsome Perpendicular additions and very scanty remains of the originalEarly English building. The hagioscope in the chancel appears as awindow in the outer wall. The Perpendicular tower replaces an oldererection on the south side, of which the base alone remains. A flatgravestone in the churchyard has the following curious inscription:--

 JOHN STARRE

 Starre on Hie Where should a Starre be But on Hie? Tho underneath He now doth lie Sleepinge in Dust Yet shall he rise More glorious than The Starres in skies

 1633

The main streets of the town are pleasant enough, though most of thehouses are small and of the usual lodging-house type. Seaton dependsfor its deserved popularity upon its open position, in which itdiffers from most Devon and Dorset resorts; its bracing air, due tothe wide expanse of the Axe valley, and above all to the beautifulsurrounding country. Treasure hunts along the beach for garnets andberyls are among the excitements of a fortnight in Seaton. 

The unimposing way in which the Axe enters the sea will be remarked atonce. It is supposed that the Danes made use of the river mouth as aharbour for their pirate ships and it was without doubt a port of someimportance in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. For the siegeof Calais it provided two ships. But Leland (temp. Henry VIII) remarksthat the silting up of the Axe had made the harbour useless for allbut "small fisschar boates. " The river now has great difficulty ingetting to the sea at all through the high bank of shingle. 

A good deal of Honiton lace is made both here and at Beer, though thisEast Devon industry is slowly dwindling in the several localities inwhich it was once an important commercial item. 

[Illustration: SEATON HOLE. ]

The environs of Seaton are beautiful and interesting. The most popularexcursion is to the Landslip at Dowlands. The nature of the scenery isso strange and bizarre, as well as beautiful, that it would impressthe most stolid and sophisticated as something quite out of thecommon. North of the town are the villages of Colyford and Colyton;visitors are usually content to view these from the train, but theyare worthy of closer inspection. The first-named is now a smallvillage two miles from the sea. It is on the high road from Lyme Registo Exeter and was once an important borough with a charter dating fromthe reign of Edward I. Colyton, a mile farther, is a queer old placewith narrow, crooked streets. Its Perpendicular church is of muchinterest, and seems to have been designed by an architect withoriginal ideas who, however, has not been preëminently successful inits details. The square battlemented tower with its octagonal lanternabove is poorly executed, but otherwise the uncommon conceptionarrests attention and is worthy of praise: The parvise chamber overthe porch, like many others, was for a long period the town school. The nave, rebuilt about the middle of the eighteenth century, is of nointerest, but the Perpendicular arches between the chancel and aislesare very elaborate and fine. The Pole chapel is formed out of theeastern end of the south aisle and separated from the other portionsby a stone screen of elaborate and beautiful workmanship. Within arethe ornate figures of Sir John Pole and his wife. On the other side ofthe chancel is the Jacobean mausoleum of the Yonges, a great localfamily during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. TheGothic tomb with the recumbent figure of a girl upon it is knownlocally as "Little Chokebone. " Margaret Courtenay, daughter of an Earlof Devon, was said to have been suffocated by a fish-bone, but thetradition has been doubted. From the armorial bearings above the tombit would appear that the figure represents one of the daughters, orpossibly the wife, of the sixth Earl of Devon. An interestinginscription in the south transept perpetuates the name of JohnWilkins, who was minister from 1647 to 1660 when, as a Nonconformist, he was deprived of the living. 

The vicarage was originally built in 1529 by Canon Brerewood, whoerected the stone screen of the Pole chapel. It has been altered andpartly rebuilt, but the porch retains the original inscription placedthere by the Canon--" _Meditatio totum; Peditatio totum_. "

Colcombe Castle, half a mile from the town, is now Colcombe Farm. Itwas once the seat of the Courtenays and the headquarters of PrinceMaurice during the Civil War. In 1680 the Duke of Monmouth stayedeither here or at the Great House near by, now a farm, but onceoccupied by the Yonges. An old stone arch in a field above the castlecovers a spring of clear cold water. 

Seaton Hole, the western extremity of Seaton Bay, lies under WhiteHead, which is not white but brownish grey. Up the steps from thebeach, a path leads from the "Hole" for a mile of steep up and downwalking and then the explorer reaches Beer, famous for its "freetrade" and its memories of a prince of smugglers--Jack Rattenbury;the 'Arrypay of Seaton Bay. His adventures, though not on the grandscale of the hero of Poole, were exciting enough, from his capture bythe French, while ship's-boy on a local coaster, to his attemptedarrest by a posse of soldiers in a Beer inn, where his escape waseffected by the women of the village raising the cry "A wreck! awreck!" and diverting his captors' attention. Rattenbury died in 1833after receiving the princely sum of one shilling per week pensionduring the last years of his life from Lord Rolle. During this periodhe dictated his memoirs for publication in Sidmouth, to an editor whounconsciously gave the book a delicious touch of humour by puttinginto the mouth of this son of a Devon shoemaker the grandiloquentphrases of an early Victorian divine. 

[Illustration: BEER. ]

The picturesque and unspoilt little beach and the village streetleading down to the sea are in great contrast to the new houses builton the hill behind, and the fine new church erected at the instance ofthe Lord of the Manor, one of the Rolle family. This replaced anancient chapel dedicated to St. Michael, from which two old memorialtablets were transferred; one is to "Edward Good, late an Industriousfisherman, " who left twenty pounds in trust for the poor of Beer andSeaton in 1804, and the other to "John, the fifth sonn of WilliamStarr of Bere, Gent. , and Dorothy his wife, which died in the plaguewas here bvried 1646. " The dwelling of this Starr family was the Tudorhouse at the end of the main street which bears on it the design of astar, the rebus of the one-time owners. 

A firm tradition is current among the fishermen, most of whom gain alivelihood in the summer by boat hire, that their forefathers wereSpaniards shipwrecked in the Cove just after Beer had been depopulatedby the plague, and that they settled in the empty houses, intermarrying with the maids of Devon left in the village. The storyis certainly made convincing by the remarkably dark and foreignappearance of the villagers, especially in the case of the older men. 

The famous quarries, from which the stone for Exeter Cathedral wastaken, are about a mile from the village. The subterranean quarriesare not now worked. They were used by the Romans and possibly before. The passages extend for a long distance under the hill and are said tocommunicate with the shore. They were no doubt of great value to thesmugglers. It is extremely dangerous to attempt the penetration of themysterious passages and caves without a competent guide and adependable light. Holes of unknown depth filled with water are metwith in the passages and a fatal accident is possible in any unwaryexploration. 

Bovey House is about a mile to the north. It is chiefly remarkable fora well about 180 feet deep which has a square chamber, 30 feet down, undoubtedly built as a hiding place. Another secret chamber in one ofthe chimneys is traditionally said to have hidden Charles II, but ithas been proved that he did not pass this way. 

[Illustration: THE WAY TO THE SEA, BEER. ]

Beer Head is the last outpost of the chalk and is a dazzling contrastto the prevailing reddish yellow of the Devonian coast. On the otherside of the airy common that crowns the head, and that is known asSouth Down, is the delightful village of Branscombe (usuallypronounced "Brahnscoom") built in the three valleys that unite atBranscombe mouth, the opening to the sea under the shadow of BuryCamp. The fine cruciform church is mainly Norman but with EarlyEnglish and still later additions. It is supposed that the base of thetower is of Saxon workmanship. A monument (1581) in the transept is toJoan Tregarthen, her two husbands and nineteen children. One of thesons of her second marriage was the founder of Wadham College, Oxford. In the churchyard is a rough pillar usually described as a coffin-lid. It is probably a "Sarsen, " indicating that the church site was usedfor worship in prehistoric times or at least that it was a place ofsepulture. There are two headstones of very early date--1579 (?) and1580, and the tomb of Joseph Braddick (1673) bears the followingcurious epitaph:

 "STRONG AND IN LABOUR SUDDENLY HE REELS DEATH CAME BEHIND HIM AND STRUCK UP HIS HEELS. 

 SUCH SUDDEN STROKES SURVIVING MORTALS BID YE STAND ON YOUR WATCH AND BE ALLSO READY. "

There are several other curious records here that will repay perusalby their quaintness and unconscious pathos. One is rather ferocious:

 "STAY, PASSENGER, AWHILE AND READ YOUR DOOM I AM YOU MUST BEE DEAD. "

The dedication and the name of the village are in some doubt. Authorities make claim for St. Brendan as the patron, henceBranscombe. A chapel was built at Seaton in honour of this travellersaint. 

[Illustration: BRANSCOMBE CHURCH. ]

The coast at Branscombe is wildly beautiful, and an interesting ramblemay be taken at low tide among the masses of rock that form a sort ofundercliff; the miniature valleys between are carpeted with rare andbeautiful flowers. It is not practicable to continue by the shoreexcept at the expenditure of much exertion. The road to Sidmouthshould be taken by way of the few houses that constitute Weston, andthen by the highly placed Dunscombe Farm and the picturesque ruin nearit. These winding lanes lead eventually to the lonely little churchhamlet of Salcombe Regis--"King Athelstan's salt-works in the Combe. "This is one of those sweetly-pretty lost villages by the sea which onehesitates to mention lest a speculator should investigate with theidea of an elaborate "simple life" hostel in his mind. But Salcombe istoo difficult of approach, even for faddists, although only a nominaltwo miles separates it from the South Western terminus on the otherside of the hill. The church dates from 1150, though aisles were addeda hundred years later and the tower in 1450. 

We now approach the borders of the older Wessex, the limit for whichfor want of definite evidence to the contrary the writer has had tofix arbitrarily at the mouth of the Otter. The last of the coast townsin this region is one of the best centres in south-east Devon for adetailed exploration of the countryside. That is, the best if a coasttown must be chosen. To the writer's mind a better plan is to make abreak from this established usage and get quarters in one of the quietold places about eight or ten miles inland, such as Ottery orAxminster. But Sidmouth is an exceedingly pleasant spot, in which oneneed never feel dull or bored, and in which the vulgarities oneassociates with the "popular" watering place are entirely absent. Thebright and clean appearance of the stuccoed houses, nearly alwayspainted white, contrasting with the red of the cliffs and the greenfoliage with which the town is embowered, is very effective and evenbeautiful. The houses are grouped in a compact and cosy way betweenthe two hills, although of late years a number of new and, at closequarters, staring red brick efforts at modernity have been made on thehillsides. But these are decently covered, in any general view of thetown, in the wealth of trees that climb the lower slopes. 

[Illustration: SIDMOUTH. ]

Certain quarters of Sidmouth have an air of antique and solidgentility that is a heritage from those days when it was a select andfashionable resort before the terraces of Torquay were built on thelines of its parent--Bath. After Lyme it was the first of the westerncoast towns to bid for the custom of the habitués of such inlandresorts as Tunbridge Wells, Cheltenham and the like. TheVictorian-Gothic building known as Royal Glen, originally WoolbrookCottage, was for several years the home of the Duke and Duchess ofKent and the infant Princess Victoria. The Duke died here in 1820 andQueen Victoria caused a window to be placed to his memory in therebuilt parish church. 

The town is mentioned in Thackeray's _Pendennis_, and was the home ofthe immortal Mrs. Partington, an old acquaintance of Sidney Smith; sheis supposed to have lived in one of the cob cottages that used to beon the front. Like the Lords with Reform, so was Mrs. Partington withthe Atlantic Ocean, which she tried to keep out of her front door witha mop. "She was excellent at slop or puddle, but should never havemeddled with a tempest. " If she was an actual character the gooddame's house probably stood where now the fine esplanade runs itsstraight course between Peak Hill and the Alma Bridge over the Sid. Atthe bridge the shingle bank baulks the stream from a clear course intothe sea and usually forces it into an ignominious and green scummedpool that slowly filters through the stony wall. From the bridge apath ascends to the Flagstaff, where there is perhaps a better viewthan that from the much higher Peak Hill on the west. Torbay, StartPoint, and the south Devon coast are in full but distant view acrossthe bay, but Teignmouth and Dawlish hide behind the promontory calledBlack Head. 

The direct Honiton road goes up the valley of the Sid through pleasantSidford, which has a fine old farmhouse called Manstone and a numberof picturesque cottages, and through Sidbury, beneath the encampmentcalled Sidbury Castle. The Early Norman church at Sidbury isinteresting. Alterations at various dates have given the buildingthirteenth-century transepts and a roof and aisles dating from twohundred years later. The fine Norman tower was entirely rebuilt aboutforty years ago when the two figures of SS. Peter and Giles were foundand placed on the new west face. A Saxon crypt was discovered underthe chancel when that portion was restored and a trap door givesaccess to this chamber from the floor. The church porch has a roomover it known to the villagers as the "Powder Room. " It is thoughtthat this formed a sort of magazine for the troops quartered in theneighbourhood during the Napoleonic wars. 

The "Sid Bury" is the tree-clad hill on the west. Upon its crown is anencampment with a ditch, its bottom 45 feet from the summit of thewall. The view, except down the Sid valley to the sea, is restricted, but in every direction it is beautiful. 

About half a mile north of the village is a fine old mansion calledSand, belonging to the Huish family and erected in the closing yearsof the sixteenth century. It is now a farmhouse, but practicallyunaltered from its ancient state. 

The coast from Sidmouth to the mouth of the Otter bendssouth-westwards in a long sweep and encloses within the peninsula thusformed the small and uninteresting village of Otterton that has on theother side of the river a station on the line running from Ottery St. Mary through Budleigh Salterton to Exmouth. The fine Peak Hill has itswestern slopes running down to the Otter valley just north of BictonPark, where is a magnificent arboretum. The line from Sidmouth climbsround the northern slopes of the hill and drops into the valley atTipton St. John's. The train then follows the waterside as closely asmay be to Ottery St. Mary. This beautifully placed town is asdelightful and convenient to stay in as any in Devon. 

Ottery's proud boast is that it has the grandest church, apart fromthe great fane at Exeter, in the county. It is said that it owes itsplan and general appearance to the inspiration of the Cathedral, andthere is a striking resemblance on a small scale to that beautiful andoriginal building. Not that St. Mary's is a small church; for the sizeof the town which it dominates it is vast. Erected during the periodwhen national ecclesiastical art was at its most majestic andimposing, the Early English style of the greater portion of thestructure is given diversity by certain Decorated additions. Thebeautiful stone reredos is at present empty of figures. Behind thealtar the Lady Chapel, which has a stone screen, contains an oldminstrels' gallery. The carving here, and the vaulting throughout thechurch, but especially in the chapel on the north side, is deservedlyfamous. During the time of Bishop Grandisson, about 1340, the churchwas made collegiate. In 1850 a so-called restoration by Butterfielddid much damage, and some of the woodwork then introduced could wellbe "scrapped" and the church again restored to something of itsprevious simple dignity. The painting of the nave and chancel roofshas a peculiarly "cheap" and tawdry effect. 

Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have lived in the town for a time, andduring the Civil War it was for a month the head-quarters of Fairfax, who turned the church tower into a temporary fortress. Samuel TaylorColeridge was a native of Ottery and the son of one of its vicars. Thepoet was only nine when his father died in 1781. He was then placed inthe Bluecoat school and there met his lifelong friend, Charles Lamb. The theological studies that at first seemed to be his natural bentwere no doubt a consequence of his early environment. Near the churchis a house now occupied by Lord Coleridge. Thackeray spent his schoolholidays at Larkbeare, the house of his stepfather, Major CarmichaelSmith, and afterwards used Ottery ("Clavering St. Mary") as the sceneof part of _Pendennis_. 

The steep, narrow streets around the church have lost many of theirpicturesque old buildings, though a few of the smaller houses remainin the side turnings. The pleasant aspect of the town is greatlyincreased by the beauty of the river and of its banks both above andbelow the bridge. The stream is a great favourite with anglers, andOtter trout have a great reputation. 

The great high road from Exeter to London passes a short distancenorth of Ottery and follows the river valley on its way to the oldtown under the shadow of Dumpdon Hill. Honiton is of world-wide famein connexion with the beautiful lace that is still made in thevicinity. The long and broad High Street is practically all there isof the town, except for a few shops and smaller houses on the way tothe railway station. Save on market day Honiton sleeps the hours away, or seems to do so; possibly there is an amount of business done behinddoors, and in a quiet way, to account for the comfortable appearanceof the burgesses (for this is a municipal borough). By reason of itssheltered position from any breeze that may be blowing aloft and itsopen arms to the sun, the town has, on an ordinary summer's day, thehottest High Street in England; that fact may partly account for itsair of somnolence. 

The Perpendicular cruciform church suffered greatly from fire someyears ago, though happily the tower escaped. A beautiful old screenand several other interesting details were entirely destroyed. Theblack marble tomb of Thomas Marwood commemorates a fortunate physicianwho cured the Earl of Essex of an illness and was rewarded by QueenElizabeth with a house and lands near the town. On the Exeter road isSt. Margaret's Hospital, endowed by Thomas Chard, Abbot of Ford(1520), for nine old people. It was originally a lazar-house foundedabout 1350. The chapel was built by its later benefactor. 

A curious custom is kept in Honiton Fair week, usually held the thirdweek in July. On the first day of the Fair a crier goes about thestreets with a white glove on a long wand crying:

 "O yes the Fair is begun And no man dare be arrested Until the Fair is done. "

It is said that this strange privilege is still respected. 

The high road to Axminster climbs up the long ascent of Honiton Hill(there is an easier way over the fields to the summit forpedestrians), and with beautiful views on the left keeps to the highlands almost all the way until the drop into the valley of the Yarty. 

Axminster is on a low hill surronded by the softer scenery of typicalDevon. The by-ways near the town are narrow flowery lanes such as arenaturally suggested to one's mind whenever the West Country ismentioned. Axminster has given its name to an industry that has notbeen carried on in the town for over eighty years, though "Axminster"carpets are still famous for their durability and their fine designs. The whole period during which the manufacture was carried on in thetown did not cover a century. The carpets were made on hand-looms andthe house, now a hospital, that was used as the factory is oppositethe churchyard. 

The church is said to have pre-Norman work beneath the tower. Thebuilding as it stands is mostly Perpendicular, but with certainDecorated details in the chancel and a Norman door. The sculpturedparapet of the north aisle is interesting. On it are the arms of manyancient families of the county. The two effigies in the chancel aresupposed to represent Gervase de Prestaller, once vicar here, and LadyAlice de Mohun. In the churchyard is a tombstone with two crutches;this is the grave of the father of Frank Buckland, the famousnaturalist, who was born here in 1784. 

[Illustration: AXMINSTER. ]

The town suffered greatly during the Civil War. It was taken by theRoyalists and used as a head-quarters during the investment of LymeRegis. It was the resting-place of William "The Deliverer" on his wayfrom Lyme northwards. He is said to have stayed at the "Dolphin" whileit was the private residence of the Yonges. 

Close to the Axe and to the main line of the railway are the scantyruins of Newenham Abbey, once of great renown. Founded in 1245 by thede Mohuns, it met with the usual fate at the Great Dispersal. A milefarther, on the Musbury road, is Ashe Farm, which once belonged to theDrake family. A daughter of the house married one Winstone Churchill, and here in 1650 was born John, afterwards to become the great Duke ofMarlborough. These Drakes were claimed by Sir Francis as hisrelatives, but they rather fiercely repudiated the claim, and thisobscure county family took proceedings against the great Seaman forusing their crest--a red dragon. Gloriana, however, retaliated bygiving her bold Sir Francis an entirely new device showing the dragoncutting a most undignified caper on the bows of his ship. The effigiesof three of these Drakes, with their wives in humble attitudes besidethem, are to be seen in Musbury church, another mile farther on. 

Somewhere in this fertile and beautiful valley, between Axminster andColyton, was waged the great battle of Brunanburgh between the men ofWessex led by Athelstan and the Ethelings, and Anlaf the Dane, analien Irish King, who captained the Picts and Scots. Five Kings (ofsorts), seven Earls, and the Bishop of Sherborne were killed, but thevictory was with the defenders. Athelstan founded a college tocommemorate the battle and its result, and caused masses to be said inAxminster church for ever (!) for the repose of the souls of those ofhis friends who fell. 

The London road from Honiton runs a beautiful and lonely course offourteen miles up hill and down dale to Chard in Somersetshire, passing, about half way, the wayside village of Stockland. The hillsthat here divide the valleys of the Otter and the Yarty are crossed bythe high road and involve several steep "pitches" up and down whichthe motorist must perforce go at a pace that enables him for once toview the landscape o'er and not merely the perspective of hedge infront of him. The remote little village of Up-Ottery is away to theleft on the infant stream surrounded by the southern bastions of theBlackdowns. Here is the fine modern seat of Viscount Sidmouth. BeaconHill (843 feet), to the north of the village, commands a celebratedview, as wide as it is lovely. 

[Illustration: SHERBORNE. ]

CHAPTER VIII

THE SOMERSET, DEVON AND DORSET BORDERLAND

Chard is a place which satisfies the aesthetic sense at first sight anddoes not pall after close and long acquaintance. The great highwayfrom Honiton to Yeovil becomes, as it passes through the last town inSouth Somerset, a spacious and dignified High Street with two or threebeautiful old houses, among a large number of other picturesquedwellings which would sustain the reputation of Chard even withouttheir aid. First is the one-time Court House of the Manor, oppositethe Town Hall. Part of the building is called Waterloo House. It wasbuilt during the last quarter of the sixteenth century. A verybeautiful and spacious room with two mullioned windows and a finemoulded ceiling graces the interior. This apartment is panelled withthe most delightful carvings of scenes from the Old Testament, andwith birds, animals and heraldic designs above the noble fireplace. The back of this house is even more charming than the front and thevisitor should pass through the porch and passage-way for the sake ofa glimpse at its old gables and mellow walls. The Choughs Inn at thewest end of the town, not far from the church, is another fine exampleof late medieval architecture. Here also one should not be contentwith a mere passing glance. The interior is well worth inspection, asthe old woodwork and queer guest rooms of the ancient hostelry havebeen jealously preserved. The present Town School was erected in 1671, but a pipe bears the date 1583, indicating an earlier building on thesite. 

The early fifteenth-century church is cruciform if we regard the highporches as transepts. The whole building, including the tower, is verylow in proportion to its length. The fine gargoyles will be noticedbefore entering; equally elaborate is the roof of the chancel, butperhaps the most striking item is the magnificent tomb of WilliamBrewer (1641) in the north transept. 

As at Honiton, the mile of High Street is undeniably a true section ofthe Fosse Way, though at each end the modern road departs from the oldway and shirks the hills. The geographical position of the street isinteresting in that it stands on a "great divide. " During rain thegutters take the water in two directions, to the English Channel andthe Severn Sea. There is no clear evidence of the existence of a Romanstation hereabouts, though it is more than probable that such was thecase. The name of the town proves it to have been a Saxon settlement. Bishop Joscelyn of Wells made its fortune by his endowments and thegift of a borough charter. Chard bore its part in the Civil War andCharles I was obliged to stay here for a week, in his retreat from thewest country, awaiting the commissariat that Somerset had failed toprovide. "Hangcross Tree, " a great oak, stood within living memory inthe lower town on the way to the South Western station. This was thegibbet upon which twelve natives of Chard, followers of Monmouth, paidthe penalty for their rebellion. 

[Illustration: FORD ABBEY. ]

The excursion _par excellence_ is to Ford Abbey, situated about fourmiles away on the banks of the Axe. (Prospective visitors who wish tosee more than the exterior must make preliminary inquiries. ) Thesituation is beautiful, as was usually the case with those chosen bythe Cistercians. Unlike most of the great abbeys despoiled by theiconoclasts of the Dispersal, Ford fell into the hands of successivefamilies who have added to and embellished the great pile withoutentirely doing away with its ancient character. A good deal ofalteration was carried out by Inigo Jones who destroyed some of theolder work and inserted certain incongruities more interesting thanpleasing. The imposing appearance of the south front amply atones forany disappointment the visitor may experience at his first sight ofthe buildings from the Chard road. Over the entrance tower is theinscription:

 ANO' D'NI MILLESIMO QUINQUESIMO VIC'MO OCTA'O A D'NO FACTUM EST THOMA CHARD ABB. 

The beautiful cloisters are much admired and the magnificent porch isone of the finest entrances in England. In the "state" apartments thegrandeur of the ceiling in the Banqueting Hall is almost unique. Thegreat Staircase was designed by Inigo Jones; this leads to the GrandSaloon in which are five Raphael tapestries, the finest in England;unsurpassed for the beauty of their colouring. The original cartoonsare in South Kensington Museum. The visitor is conducted through theMonks' Dormitory to the Transitional Chapel, the resting place ofAdeliza, Viscountess of Devon, who founded the Abbey for some homelessmonks, wayfarers from Waverley in Surrey, who had unsuccessfullycolonized at distant Brightley and were tramping home. This was in1140. In 1148 the church was completed. The carved screen iselaborately beautiful and there are several interesting memorials ofthe families who have held this splendid pile of buildings, now theproperty of the Ropers. The traveller by the Exeter express has acharming glimpse of the picturesque "back" of the abbey, should hemake his journey in the winter. In summer the jealous greenery hidesall but a stone or two of the battlements. 

Chard is surrounded by a number of small and secluded villages. Mostof them are delightfully situated on the sides of wooded heights orbetween the encircling arms of the hills. The most charming is perhapsCricket St. Thomas on the south of the Crewkerne road. On the otherside of this highway, on the headwaters of the River Isle, is anotherbeautifully situated hamlet called Dowlish Wake, after the ancientSomerset family of that name who flourished here in the fourteenthcentury. A short distance north is Ilminster, an ancient market townwith a beautiful Perpendicular church crowned with a poem in stonethat is of surpassing loveliness even in this county of lovely towers. White Staunton, four miles away to the west towards the Blackdowncountry, has a church remarkable for the number of interesting detailsit contains, though the fabric itself is rather commonplace. Itstreasures include a very early Norman font, curious pewter communionvessels, a squint having an almost unique axis, some ancient benchends and medieval tiles in the chancel. St. Agnes' Well, a spring nearthe church, is said to be tepid, and to have healing qualities. Nearby is an old manor house dating from the fifteenth century. In itsgrounds are the foundations of a Roman Villa discovered about fortyyears ago. 

[Illustration: TOWER, ILMINSTER. ]

Proceeding along the London road over Windwhistle and St. Rayne'sHills, and with delightful views by the way, Crewkerne is reached ineight miles from Chard. This is a pleasant little market town of nogreat interest apart from its noble fifteenth-century cruciform churchwhich has an uncommonly fine west front, with empty niches, alas! butbeautiful nevertheless. The porch is another interesting feature ofits exterior. Here are quaint figures of musicians playing uponvarious instruments. At the end of the south transept is a smallchamber, the actual purpose of which is unknown; it may well have beenthe cell of an anchorite. 

The first impression on entering the church is one of light andairiness, due to the size and number of the windows, of which that atthe west end is the finest. The wooden groining of the tower iscurious, and the base of the walls show the existence of a formerbuilding that lacked the present aisles. The ancient font belongs tothe older structure. A figure of St. George, that was once outside andover the west window where the dragon is still _in situ_, two oldchests, and a number of brasses complete the list of interestingobjects within. To the north of the church are the old buildings ofthe grammar school, now removed to a site outside the town to theeast. 

About two miles to the north is the curious old church of Merriott, built during several periods. The extraordinary carving over thevestry door called the "fighting cocks" is in the eyes of thevillagers its chief merit! There are also some interesting gargoylesand a very ancient crucifix. A mile farther is the pleasant village ofHinton St. George. The fine village cross, though much mutilated, still retains enough of its former splendour to make us regret themany we have lost. The old thatched house known as the "Priory" is adelightful building. Hinton House is the home of the Pouletts, afamous family who came originally from the North Somerset sea-lands. Part of the house dates from the reign of Henry VIII. The family cameinto prominence about that time, for a member named Amyas was knightedafter the fight at Newark. He became more famous still perhaps for hiscollision with Wolsey when the latter was a young man, for he had themisfortune to put the future great prelate in the stocks! The familybecame pronounced Protestants and one of the grandsons of Amyas wasgaoler of Mary Queen of Scots. These beruffed and torpedoe-beardedElizabethans are in Hinton Church, a fine and dignified building that, like many other Somerset churches, is more imposing outside thanwithin. 

South Petherton is about three miles north. Here is another finechurch with an uncommon octagonal tower placed upon a squat and squarebase. Of more interest is the beautiful house, known as "King' Ine'sPalace, " which dates from the fifteenth century. It may have beenerected on the site of one of that Saxon monarch's many houses. Thereare one or two ancient buildings in this village as also at Martock, another delightful hamlet still farther north. But we are beingtempted outside our arbitrary boundary and must return to the Yeovilroad that wanders up hill and down again into the charming vales ofthe Somerset borderland by way of East Chinnock and West Coker. In thelatter large and rambling village is a church of note for the uniquehorn glazing of the small windows in its turret. The Decoratedbuilding has a squat tower out of all proportion to its size. Themanor dates from the fourteenth century and belongs to the Earl ofDevon. 

There is an alluring sound about the name of Yeovil; a name suggestiveof ancient stone-walled houses with roofs clothed in russet moss with, perhaps, a hoary ruined keep on a guardian mound and a clear swiftmoorland stream flowing between encircling hills. But the reality isvery different. Many years ago, when two great railways took the towninto their sphere of influence, factories and streets began to appearas if by magic and just before the Great War a fresh impetus was givento Yeovil by the development and extension of certain well-known localfirms. In fact the present appearance of the town is that of anindustrial centre of the smaller and pleasanter sort, but with theinevitable accompaniment of mean houses and uninviting suburbs. Themain streets of the newer parts are spacious and clean, but arereminiscent of an ordinary London suburb. 

The great glory of Yeovil is its church, the interior of which is oneof the most impressive in Somerset. Its lofty and graceful arches andwonderful windows belong to a period when the Perpendicular style wasat its best and purest. The crypt beneath the chancel is of muchinterest. The single central pillar supports a fine groined roof. Thechurch has few interesting details, but the magnificent lectern withits undecipherable inscription and a couple of brasses will benoticed. There are but few old houses in the centre of the town. 

[Ilustration: YEOVIL CHURCH. ]

The usual excuse of disastrous fires is offered, and one did occur in1449 when 117 houses were destroyed, but more probably ruthlessness onthe part of eighteenth-century owners is responsible for this dearth. In Middle Street is the George Inn, an old half-timbered house, and, opposite, the still older "Castle, " said to have been a chantry house. The Woborne Almshouses were founded about 1476, but no portion of theearly buildings remain. 

One of the most delightful views in South Somerset is that fromSummerhouse Hill, about half a mile away; another, magnificent in itsextent, can be had from the Mudford road that runs in a north-easterlydirection. The great central plain is spread before one with distantGlastonbury Tor on the horizon. The environs of Yeovil are delightful. One of the best short excursions is to East Coker, the birthplace ofWilliam Dampier, two miles to the south. The church and Court arebeautifully placed above the old village and a picturesque group ofalmshouses line the upward way to them. 

Five miles north of Yeovil on the Fosse Way, where a branch roadleaves the ancient Bath-Exeter highway for Dorchester, stands the oldRoman town of Ilchester, or Ivelchester. An unimportant one at that, for the Romans made but little attempt to build in the wild and remotecountry that was to be the home of an obscure Saxon tribe--theSomersetas. Ilchester to-day is strangely uninteresting and we have todepend entirely upon the imagination for even a plan of the Romantown, of which no vestiges remain. Possibly these disappeared duringthe Civil War when the town was fortified. The church has an octagonaltower with the rare feature that its sides are the same form from baseto parapet. The older portions of the building are Early English, butit has suffered from a good deal of pulling about. This is the onlyone remaining of the five churches of which Ilchester could onceboast. A much maltreated market cross stands in the main street with asundial stuck on the summit of its shaft. Otherwise there is little todetain the stranger. Roger Bacon, philosopher and scientist, was anative of the town or immediate neighbourhood. At Tintinhull, twomiles to the south-west, are some fine old houses, ancient stocks, andan Early English church of much interest. The church's tower is on thenorth side, an unusual position. Bench-ends, brasses and ancient tilesare among the objects likely to interest the visitor of antiquariantastes. Montacute, still farther south and on the road from SouthPetherton to Yeovil, should be visited if possible. Here is abeautiful Elizabethan house, the seat of the Phelipses. Its east frontis decorated with an imposing row of heroic statues; its west front isalmost as magnificent. Taken altogether it is perhaps the grandestTudor house in the county. The interior well bears out the sumptuousappearance of the great pile from the outside. A great gallery, onehundred and eighty feet long, extends through the whole length of thebuilding, and the hall is equally grand. 

[Illustration: MONTACUTE. ]

This great house replaces a one-time Cluniac monastery founded in1102, though in 1407 the establishment abandoned the foreign rule ofCluny and became an ordinary English Priory. All that is left of theancient buildings is a beautiful gateway with turrets and orielsdating from the fifteenth century. St. Michael's Hill, or "MonsAcutus, " is remarkably like Glastonbury in outline, and is the sceneof a wonderful legend. Here was found the sacred Rood that waseventually taken in the days of Canute to distant Waltham in Essex, where afterwards there arose the great Abbey of the Holy Cross. 

Montacute Church is a building that has seen much legitimate"tinkering, " not of the restorer's brand but of the sort that delightsthe antiquary. The earliest work is very early Norman. This is seen inthe chancel arch and then we come down through the various stages ofarchitectural history--Early English transepts, a Decorated window onthe south side and, what is almost inevitable for Somerset, thePerpendicular nave. The tower is also "Somerset, " and very dignifiedand beautiful. 

From the hill of Hamdon near by we obtain one of those exquisiteprospects of this English countryside that few can look upon unmoved. The beautiful hills of Somerset and Dorset, fading into the gentlesttones of soft purple and blue, ring the horizon on every side. Alfred's tower, built to commemorate the victory over the Danes, isfar away on the Wiltshire border, but appears startlingly close forsome rare moments when winter rain is near. Away to the west are thedistant Quantocks and the hills of "dear Dorset, " fold after fold, inthe south. Close under the steep northern face of Hamdon is Stoke, with a quaint, and delightful inn known as the "Fleur de Lis, " and abeautiful old church with a Norman tympanum, an elaborate chancel archof the same date, and many other gracious and interesting details. Ifthe direct road is taken from Montacute to Yeovil we pass throughPreston Pucknell with its small and over-restored Decorated church. Ofmore interest is the fine tithe-barn close by, and a beautiful oldmedieval house with delightful porch and elaborate chimney. 

Three miles north-east of Yeovil is the interesting church and manorhouse at Trent. In the latter the fugitive Charles II was hidden, andhis hiding-place can still be seen. The stone spire of the church is arare feature hereabouts and within will be found many interestingitems, including the finely carved screen and bench ends, some bearingthe words "Ave Maria"; the pulpit carved with scenes from the life ofChrist and the chantry chapel and tombs, one of Sir Roger Wyke, _temp_. Edward III. The very beautiful churchyard contains an oldchantry house built in the reign of Henry VI and the shaft and stepsof an ancient cross. 

About four miles south-east of Yeovil is the village of Yetminster, with a station on the Weymouth line of the Great Western Railway. Toreach it we may pass through the village of Bradford Abbas, where theabbots of Sherborne once had a residence. The moated house stillexists as Wyke Farm. A short distance away is a tithe-barn of nobleproportions. The church has one of the finest towers in Dorset (forhere we are again across the border). The west front is remarkable forits canopied niches. Within is a stone screen and beautifully panelledroof. Yetminster churchyard is worth the climb thither for the sake ofthe lovely view without the added attraction of the beautifulPerpendicular church, restored about thirty years ago. Within will benoticed some ancient wooden benches with the Tudor badge at theirends, spared by the restorer, who has here done his work carefully andwell. On the chancel arch may be seen the gaps left in the stoneworkwhere the old wooden screen once stood, also the stone brackets forthe rood-beam. The ancient colouring, mellowed and softened by longtime, still remains on the beams of the roof. The fine west windowwill be noticed and also other windows, small and curiously placed. The church has a north door, possibly a "Devil's Door, " through whichthe exorcised spirit passed at the baptismal service. About two milessouth-east of Yetminster is the small village of Leigh, with asixteenth-century church and the remains of two ancient crosses. Inthe vicinity is a remarkable "maze" or prehistoric "Troy Town. "

The Weymouth Railway could be taken from Yeovil to Evershot, ninemiles to the south, among the beautiful hills and valleys of what maybe described, for want of a better name, as the Melbury Downs. Theridges of these North Dorset highlands are traversed to a large extentby good roads from which most delightful views may be had, delightfulnot only for their great extent but for the exquisite near peeps atthe remote and lost villages and hamlets that sleep in their deepcombes. The western extremity of this particular group of hills isCheddington, about three miles from Beaminster, where is, perhaps, themost extensive view in Dorset. Evershot village is a mile and a halfto the west of the station and within a few minutes' walk of St. John's Spring, the source of the Frome. The rebuilt church contains aninteresting brass to William Grey (1524), rector, and depicts him inpre-reformation vestments holding the sacred elements in his raisedhands. A road leads north through the lovely glades of Melbury Park, Lord Ilchester's seat, to Melbury Sampford. Melbury House is of threemain periods--fifteenth century in the older and hidden portions, sixteenth century as regards the main building erected by Sir GilesStrangeways, and late seventeenth century when the Corinthian pillarswere added to the east front. The beautiful sheets of water--feedersof the Yeo (for we have crossed the "divide") lend an added grace to apark rich with groves of magnificent trees. One of them, called "BillyWilkins, " is a famous oak, thirty-seven feet in girth. Sampford churchis a cruciform Decorated building with some interesting monuments tothe Strangeways, the family of Lord Ilchester. The late peer was thedonor of the beautiful modern reredos, and the decoration of thechancel is due to him. Melbury Bubb stands a mile or more to the eastunder the shadow of the imposing Bubb Down. Its diminutive church hasbeen much restored and has little of interest, except some ancientglass that has been left in the windows. A glorious walk could betaken eastwards by lonely little Batcombe with its marvellous legendsof "Conjuring Minterne, " whose grave is in the churchyard. Thence thesolitary hill-way goes by the mysterious stone called "Cross in Hand"along the tops of the hills past High Stoy (860 feet), an outstandingbastion, Ridge Hill and Buckland Newton. 

[Illustration: BATCOMBE. ]

The short five miles of road from Yeovil to Sherborne passes over thecuriously named Babylon Hill. A proposal was made at an Academy dinnera short time ago to label the small towns and villages of Britain withartistic signs giving the name of the place and denoting pictoriallyor otherwise its leading characteristic. The idea is a good one, though it is capable of being carried to extreme lengths and abused. In wandering over the English countryside one is often at a loss, evenwith a good map in the pocket, to know the name of the hamlet orvillage one is entering. It is insulting to the villager andhumiliating to oneself to ask "What place is this?" The well-knownblack and yellow signs of the Automobile Association label suchvillages as stand on a high road. But the obscure by-way hamlet, perhaps of more interest, is quite incognito. However, Babylon Hill isclearly marked on the map if not on the roadside, and we proceedthrough a pleasant country quite unlike the district we have justtraversed and partaking more of the character of Leicester and the"Loamshire" of the novelist than of Somerset. The beautiful AbbeyChurch of Sherborne, the town of the "Scir bourn" or Yeo, is not wellseen from the approach on the west, for we are on the wrong side ofthe long slope on which it is built. The town itself is attractive andpleasant, and has several old and beautiful houses to delight thetraveller, but every other interest is dwarfed by its magnificentAbbey. Originally founded as the Cathedral of the see of Sherborne in705, it had as its first bishop the great and learned Aldhelm. At thistime the then city was the capital of the new western extension ofWessex and an important and strategic stronghold in the long andbitter struggle with the Danes. The earlier bishops were not onlypriests but soldiers, and seem to have acquitted themselves well asleaders in battle and generals in council in the many engagements thattook place between the Channel and the Severn. More than one fellfighting and one, Bishop Ealhstan, totally defeated the invaders anddid much to keep Wessex for the English. A successor ofhis--Asser--reverted to the tradition of learning established by thefirst of the Saxon prelates; he was the contemporary of Alfred, and tohim we owe a great deal of our knowledge of the King. During thisperiod the trade and industry of the city (it had an importantmanufactory of cloth) had grown steadily with its rise as a militaryand ecclesiastical centre, but when the see was removed to Old Sarumin 1075, Sherborne received a blow from which it never recovered. 

In some respects there is a similarity between the Abbey of Sherborneand the Cathedral at Winchester. In certain portions of each buildingthe same extraordinary transformation has taken place in the sameinteresting way. The original heavy Norman piers of the nave have beenpared and carved into the soaring lines and panel work of thePerpendicular period. This alteration was carried out here by AbbotRamsam about the year 1500. In the north transept is the organ, a fineand famous instrument. The ceiling of the south transept was presentedby the last Earl of Bristol and is composed of black Irish oak. TheEarl's monument with his effigy and that of his two wives, standsbeneath. There will be noticed on the south wall a memorial to twochildren, the offspring of Lord Digby; the lines of the epitaph werewritten by Pope. The window above is a modern work by Pugin. On theeast of this transept is the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre. The font issingular if, as is stated, it was formerly ornamented with brassplates. They are said to have been fixed within the quatrefoils onfive sides, the remaining three being plain. 

The magnificent choir shows the essential beauty of Perpendicular--theaspiring line--at its very best. The vaulting seems to carry theupward flow, as it were, of the stonework to the roof centre withoutany loss of the soaring effect. The beautiful windows are all modernbut they are entirely in keeping with the old work. The stalls areoriginal fifteenth-century carving and the miserere seats and canopiesabove should be particularly noticed. The reredos contains two moderndesigns in alto-relievo. A peculiar russet tint in the stonework nearthe roof is said to have been occasioned by a fire which took placeduring one of the many quarrels between the monastery and the town, due mostly to a difference of opinion as to the ownership of the nave. An arrow with a fiery tail, shot by one of the clergy of the townchurch, lodged in the temporary thatched roof of the new choir andcaused the fire which did much damage, even melting the bells in thetower. 

Behind the high altar, let into the floor of the old processionalpath, is a brass thus inscribed:

 NEAR THIS SPOT WERE INTERRED THE MORTAL REMAINS OF ETHELBALD AND ETHELBERT HIS BROTHER EACH OF WHOM IN TURN SUCCEEDED TO THE THRONE OF ETHELWOULF THIER FATHER KING OF THE WEST SAXONS AND WERE SUCCEEDED IN THE KINGDOM BY THIER YOUNGEST BROTHER ALFRED THE GREAT. 

In the beautiful Wickham Chapel is the monument to Sir John Horsey, the temporary owner of the Abbey at the Dissolution. He at once soldthe church to the town for one hundred marks, the equivalent then ofabout seventy pounds. St. Katharine's, sometimes called the LewestonChapel, contains the Renaissance tomb of John Leweston and his wife. Bishop Roger's Chapel is on the north of the choir. This is EarlyEnglish so far as the walls actually belonging to the chapel areconcerned. It contains the battered effigy of Abbot Clement (1163) andsome others unknown. 

Perhaps the most interesting item in the great church is the doorwayon the north side of the west wall, which is said to be an actualportion of the ancient Saxon cathedral of St. Aldhelm. The extensionof the Abbey westwards of this wall was known as Alhalowes and was thetown church until the break-up of the monastery rendered itsuperfluous. It had a tower of its own in which the secular priestscaused a bell to be rung during the devotions of the monks, to thegreat annoyance of the latter. The Chapel of Our Lady of Bow and theportion of the Lady Chapel itself that escaped demolition at theDissolution was at that time separated from the Abbey and made part ofthe adjoining school buildings. The great tower is one hundred feet inheight and holds a peal of eight bells with two extra--the sanctus andthe fire-bell. The latter is inscribed:

 LORD, QUENCH THIS FURIOUS FLAME ARISE, RUN. HELP. PUT OUT THE SAME. 

The tenor bell was given by Cardinal Wolsey, once rector of Limington, eight miles away in Somersetshire, and recast in 1670. Around the rimruns the following:

 BY WOOLSEY'S GIFT, I MEASURE TIME FOR ALL, TO MIRTH, TO GRIEF, TO CHURCH, I SERVE TO CALL. 

The school referred to above is believed to date back to the year 705, that of the foundation of the Cathedral. Those portions of themonastery buildings that had fallen into private ownership were handedover to the school authorities in the middle of the last century. Theycomprise the Abbot's Hall, Guest Hall, Kitchen and Abbot's apartments. The Abbey Conduit at the end of Chepe Street dates back to 1360. It isa charming survival with groined stone roof and open arcade around, and it gives a very picturesque and special character to this end ofthe street. 

The Hospital of SS. John Baptist and John Evangelist was founded onthe site of a much older establishment by Henry VI in 1437. The modernbuildings were erected in 1866. The Chapel, Governor's Room, and someof the ancient dormitories remain. A fine screen divides the chapelfrom the ante-chapel and some beautiful and ancient glass still existsin the south window. A tryptych, depicting the miracles, that oncestood in the chapel, may be seen in the Governor's Room. 

[Illustration: SHERBORNE CASTLE. ]

During the Civil War Sherborne decided for the king, and consequentlythe old castle, which stood beyond the suburb of Castleton, wasdismantled, and its ruins used for building the present castle, thehome of the Digbys. The original building was erected by Roger of Caenand had seen some history from the time of its siege in 1139 by KingStephen. It became for a short period the home of Sir Walter Raleigh. In the fine park the infant Yeo is dammed and broadened into agraceful sheet of water. Here also is the eminence known as JerusalemHill and the seat where Raleigh is said to have sat smoking to bediscovered by a scared retainer, who threw a pot of ale over hismaster, thinking him on fire. Pope was for a time the guest of one ofhis patrons--Lord Digby; and the Prince of Orange stayed here on hisprogress from Devon to London. The Gate-house of the old Castle is apicturesque ruin, Norman in style with inserted Perpendicular windows. 

Sherborne is a pleasant and healthy town with many quaint nooks otherthan the immediate precincts of the Abbey. Although perhaps not ascentral as Yeovil for the exploration of the more interesting villagesof South Somerset, it is a good place in which to stay for a few daysor even longer. Perhaps the most lasting impression made by the townwill be that of hush and silence; not that it is stagnant or utterlydecayed, but even the main streets are saturated with the grave air ofa cathedral close, a fitting atmosphere for a place which retired fromactive city life over eight hundred years ago. 

An interesting excursion may be made to Cadbury Castle, five milesnorth of Sherborne. A round of about fifteen miles, to include thevillages of Marston Magna, West and Queen's Camel, Sparkford (with astation on the Great Western) North and South Cadbury, Sutton Montisand Sandford Orcas, would take the explorer through a delightfulcountryside dotted with beautiful old houses--some of them fallen fromhigh estate to the status of comfortable and roomy farmhouse, butusually with a fabric well cared for--and quaint and ancient churches. Of these North Cadbury, Marston and Sandford claim the most attention. The first is a large and dignified Perpendicular building with finelycarved tabernacles in the chancel and several interesting features, including a curious brass to Lady Magdalen Hastings. Close by is abeautiful old manor house. Marston is much older than the generalityof Somerset churches and has the scanty remnants of "herring-bone"work in the outside wall of the chancel. At Sandford is a delightfulmanor house with the loveliest of terraces and gardens and an oldgate-house with an upper chamber. The interesting church contains acurious tablet depicting a knight in white armour and two ladies, oneholding a skull. This is Sir William Knoyl and his two wives, the onewith the skull being his first. The goal of the journey, CadburyCastle, is, according to strong local tradition, no less a spot thanCamelot, the palace and castle of the king of romance and hero of theBritish--Arthur. It will be remembered that to Camelot came the swordExcalibur "that was as the light of many candles. " In the moonlight, the twelve knights, led by their prince, ride round the hill on horsesshod with silver and then away through the trees to Glastonbury. Asthey disappear, the thin notes of a silver trumpet came back on themidnight air. Some are of opinion that the hill is hollow, and thatArthur and his company sleep within, awaiting the day of impendingdoom for Britain. Then they will break the chains of slumber and cometo her aid. Some say that of late the Prince and his followers _did_come forth. Every intelligent native for miles round knows that thehill is indeed hollow, for this can be proved by calling to yourcompanion through the opening of Arthur's Well high on the easternface of the hill while he stands at St. Anne's Well away on the otherside. Another legend has it that the hill is not full of men but ofgold, the treasure house of the fairies, but this is a belief thatwill only appeal to grosser minds. 

The marvellous earthworks that crown the hill were undoubtedlyprehistoric in their origin and, like the walls of Maiden Castle, theyhave been faced at a later date with stone. There are four lines ofwall and ditch, and they enclose an area of nearly twenty acres. OldLeland becomes enraptured at the sight: "Good God! what vast ditches!what high ramparts! what precipices are here!" It will be seen at aglance how well adapted this eminence was for defence. There isnothing to the north but the great expanse of the Somerset plainbroken by the isolated Glastonbury Tor. In the wide and beautiful viewfrom the earthworks the Mendip range runs away toward the Severn Seaon the right; to the left front are the broken summits of theQuantocks and to the extreme left the beautiful hills of theSomerset-Dorset borderland. 

The Shaftesbury road passes through pleasant country, with noparticular features but with occasional good views, to Milborne Port, not quite three miles to the east. A few new buildings on theoutskirts of the little town have failed to rob it of its medievalair. It can actually boast of a Norman guildhall, or at least thebuilding has a doorway of that period, which is near enough. The poorbattered and despoiled remains of a market cross stand in the centreof the street. This mere village once sent two members to Westminster, and its former importance as a market town and county centre is shownby its magnificent and ancient church. Although the nave has beenrebuilt and the chancel is not the most perfect form of Perpendicular, the centre of the church will repay scrutiny, for it is of peculiarlysolid and majestic appearance. It is even thought by some authoritiesto be Saxon. The Norman details to be noticed include the fine southdoor, the arches of the transepts and the windows in the south arm. The old font and the piscina in the wall of the nave, as well as otherpiscina in the chancel, are noteworthy. 

The Shaftesbury road goes by the parklands and earlyeighteenth-century mansion of Venn, the seat of the Medlicotts, andthen bears south-east towards the village of Caundle Purse. There areseveral Caundles in this part of Dorset, but "Purse" is the only oneof much interest. It lies just off the road to the right, under thewooded Henover Hill. Its sixteenth-century manor house bears the nameof "King John's House, " as do several others over the length andbreadth of England. It is probable that a hunting lodge used by theAngevin kings once stood hereabouts, as this countryside was in theirtime the great forest of the White Hart. The church is small andover-restored, but it contains a few interesting brasses. 

The main road soon forks, the right-hand branch winding over atwo-mile stretch of tableland and then dropping to Stalbridge. Themain route goes directly over Henstridge Down and descends the hill tothe large village of Henstridge on a main cross-country road and witha station on the Somerset and Dorset Railway, making it a convenientpoint from which to take two interesting side excursions--northwardsto the hill-country beyond Wincanton and south to the upper valley ofthe Stour. The old Virginia Inn at the cross roads claims to be theactual scene of the "quenching" of Sir Walter Raleigh. Henstridgechurch is much restored, or rather, rebuilt, but still contains thefine canopied altar tomb of William Carent and his wife. 

Proceeding northwards first we may take the road by Templecombe thatwas once a preceptory of the Knights Templars and now has a station onthe main line of the South Western Railway, to Wincanton, a smallmarket town on the Cale ("Wyndcaleton") at the head of the Vale ofBlackmore. Though of high antiquity it does not seem to have had muchplace in history, apart from its relation to Sherborne in the CivilWar, when it became a base for operations against the Royalistgarrison there. An old house in South Street is pointed out as thelodging of the Prince of Orange on his journey towards London. A sharpfight took place between his followers and a small body of Stuartcavalry, resulting in the utter rout of the latter. A poor anduninteresting old church has been altered out of all likeness to theoriginal (much to the advantage of the building) and there is verylittle of antiquity in the town. 

The station next to Wincanton is Cole, within easy reach of the oldtowns of Castle Cary and Bruton. A public conveyance meets the trainsfor the latter, a little over a mile away. The situation of Bruton, inthe picturesque valley of the Brue between Creech and Redlynch Hills, is extremely pleasant. A goodly number of ancient houses survive andthe church, at one time a minster, is of much beauty and interest. Itswest tower is of great splendour and its nave of the stateliestPerpendicular. The contrast of the chancel to the rest of the buildingis more peculiar than pleasing. At the Dissolution the monks' choirseems to have been allowed to fall into ruin, and the presentrestoration was made in 1743 in a debased classic style. Effigies ofSir Maurice Berkeley, Constable of the Tower (1585), and his wives arein a recess. He became the owner of the abbey after the Dissolution. Aportion of a medieval cope is shown in the nave and two chained books(Erasmus and Jewel). The ancient tomb at the west door is that ofGilbert, first Abbot after the status of the Priory was raised (1510). The small north tower, an uncommon feature, is a relic of the olderportion of the Priory, originally founded by William de Mohun in 1142. All that remains of the conventual buildings are a columbarium orstone dove-cote on a hillock just outside the town and the AbbeyCourt-house on the south side of High Street. On the front will beseen the arms of de Mohun and the initials of Prior Henton. 

[Illustration: BRUTON BOW. ]

Close by Bruton Bow, an extremely picturesque medieval bridge over theBrue, is the school founded by Fitz-James, Bishop of London. It wassuppressed with the abbey and refounded by Edward VI. The SexeyHospital was established by a native of Bruton who was penniless whenhe left the town and rose to be Auditor of the Household to QueenElizabeth and James I. The beautiful Hall-chapel is panelled in blackoak, and the buildings make a quaint and pleasing picture. 

Castle Cary, nearly three miles west of Cole station, does not fulfilthe expectations raised by its name. Until 1890 the very site of thecastle had been lost. The lines of the keep are now marked by a row ofpillars in a meadow at the foot of Lodge Hill. A fortress of theLovells, it was attacked and taken by Stephen. Soon afterwards itseems to have been dismantled or destroyed. The church is well placedon an eminence but has been practically rebuilt and is of littleinterest. 

Ditcheat and Evercreech, respectively two and five miles to the north, are beautiful and interesting places. The latter has a church with oneof the most glorious towers in Somerset, but here again we are leavingour arbitrary boundary and wandering too far afield. The road fromCary to Wincanton runs through Bratton Seymour and keeps to the summitof a ridge of low hills, commanding here and there lovely views, especially near "Jack White's Gibbett" at the cross roads aboveBratton. The Bruton-Wincanton road is even more interesting, as itpasses within a short distance of Stavordale Priory. The church, whichis still intact, and also a good portion of the conventual buildings, are exquisitely situated under the great hill of Penselwood, part ofthe line of hills that runs from above Bourton almost to Longleat andthat forms the high boundary of Somerset and Wiltshire. The ridge iscrowned by a number of entrenchments, and prehistoric remains arefrequent. Ballands Castle and Blacklough Castle are succeeded by JackStraw's Castle close to "Alfred's Tower" on Kingsettle Hill. Thistower was built by a Mr. Hoare in 1766 and commemorates the historicspot where in 879 the cross was raised against the pagan Dane. 

 ALFRED THE GREAT A. D. 879 ON THIS SUMMIT ERECTED HIS STANDARD AGAINST DANISH INVADERS TO HIM WE OWE THE ORIGIN OF JURIES AND THE CREATION OF A NAVAL FORCE ALFRED, THE LIGHT OF THE BENIGHTED AGE WAS A PHILOSOPHER AND A CHRISTIAN THE FATHER OF HIS PEOPLE AND THE FOUNDER OF THE ENGLISH MONARCHY AND LIBERTIES. 

The eye ranges over a magnificent expanse of western England. If thetower is ascended one may stand just a thousand feet above the sea. The door is usually locked, but the key may be obtained from a lodgenear by, down the slope to the east. This walk can with profit beextended to Long Knoll (945 feet) over two miles north-east; beyond isMaiden Bradley, an interesting village not far from the confines ofLongleat, the famous and palatial seat of the Marquis of Bath; butthis country must be left for another chapter. 

After this long divergence a return must be made to Henstridge, wherea walk of less than two miles takes one over the Dorset border toStalbridge, a sleepy old town that is not troubled by the fact that ithas a station on the Somerset and Dorset Railway and that fastexpresses from the north roar down the Blackmore Vale to Bournemouthand the sea. The church will not detain the visitor, for it wasrebuilt in 1878. The old cross on four steps in the centre of HighStreet, with its rough carvings, is of more interest. It dates fromabout 1350. Above the town on a hillside is the mansion at one timeinhabited by Sir James Thornhill, and not far away an obelisk erectedby the painter in honour of his patron George II, which used to beknown as "Thornhill Spire. "

The Blandford high-road makes a wide loop to the south-west byLydlynch. A shorter route following the line of the railway takes usin less than five miles to Sturminster Newton, where the BlackmoreVale ends and the Stour flows in a narrow trough between low hills. 

[Illustration: MARNHULL. ]

Sturminster is a small and ancient town on the eastern bank of theStour. "Newton" is on the west side of the river and looks as old asits neighbour. The two are connected by a medieval bridge of sixarches. Sturminster Church was almost entirely rebuilt, except for thetower, nearly a hundred years ago. Newton Castle was once a strongholdof the Kings of Wessex. A few scanty remnants of the fortress canstill be seen close to the road and river. A road to the north passesby Hinton St. Mary, with a rebuilt church high up on a breezy hill, and reaches Marnhull, the "Marlott" of Thomas Hardy. The Early Englishchurch has some remains of an early Norman building and some laterinsertions. The tower is a landmark for many miles around. A carefulrestoration some years ago brought to light several interestingdetails that had been hidden for some two hundred years or more;including a stairs to the rood-loft, a squint, and the piscina. Thealabaster effigies on a cenotaph are believed to represent Lord Bindonand his wives (about 1450). The following remarkable epitaph on aformer clerk is said to have been written by his rector:

 HERE UNDER THIS STONE LIE RUTH AND OLD JOHN WHO SMOKED ALL HIS LIFE AND SO DID HIS WIFE: AND NOW THERES NO DOUBT BUT THEIR PIPES ARE BOTH OUT BE IT SAID WITHOUT JOKE THAT LIFE IS BUT SMOKE; THOUGH YOU LIVE TO FORESCORE TIS A WHIFF AND NO MORE. 

A short distance to the north, through the hamlet of Flanders, is thefine sixteenth-century mansion called Nash Court. 

An alternative road to the Blandford highway follows the river andrail through Shillingstone, an interesting village that had a year ortwo since (and may still have) a maypole; a beautiful village cross;and a much restored Norman and Early English church containing apulpit presented by a Londoner who sought sanctuary from the greatplague. The road then goes by Broad Oak and over Sturminster Common toOkeford Fitzpaine, Banbury Hill Camp being passed on the right abouthalf way. Okeford has a church interesting to the antiquary. It has aDecorated west window that is said to have been turned inside out. Part of the ancient screen and rood-loft still remain, together with apiscina in the chancel. It is said that the upper part of the pulpitwas at one time used as a font. The old font, restored, for many yearsformed part of the wall of the churchyard. The road continues up thelong tongue of Okeford Hill with wide retrospective views. At thesummit a by-way turns to the right along the ridge, which graduallyincreases in height until it reaches its summit three miles away atBulbarrow Hill (902 feet) just above Rawlsbury Camp. The magnificentview up Blackmore Vale and northwestwards toward Yeovil is worth thejourney to see. Rawlsbury is a prehistoric circular entrenchment witha double wall and ditch. Stoke Wake village is just below andMappowder is about two miles away by the fields, but much farther byroad. This last is an old-world hamlet eight miles from a railway, where curfew is still rung in the winter. In the church is aninteresting miniature effigy that probably marks the shrine of acrusader's heart. 

Continuing over Okeford Hill the road presently drops to TurnworthHouse at the head of a long narrow valley leading down to a string of"Winterborne" villages (or more correctly--Winter_bourne_). Thesituation of the mansion and village is very beautiful and verylonely. Few seem to wish to brave the long ascent of the hill and onecan pass from Okeford to Turnworth many times without meeting asolitary wayfarer. Turnworth Church is Early English, rebuilt on theexact lines of the old fabric and retaining the ancient tower. 

The first of the Winterbournes--Strickland, lies a long mile beyondHedgend Farm, where we turn sharp to the left and traverse a verylonely road, sometimes between close woods and rarely in sight ofhuman habitation until the drop to the Stour brings us to BlandfordForum, a pleasant, bright and clean town built within a wide loop ofthe river that here begins to assume the dignity of a navigablestream, crawling lazily among the water meadows, with back-waters andcuts that bring to mind certain sections of the Upper Thames. The twofine thoroughfares--Salisbury and East Streets--which meet in the widemarket place are lined with buildings, dating from 1732 or later, forin 1731 a great fire, the last of a series, destroyed almost the wholeof the town and its suburbs. The old town pump, now a drinkingfountain, records that it was "humbly erected ... In gratefulAcknowledgement of the Divine Mercy, That has since raised this Town, Like the Phoenix from its Ashes, to its present flourishing andbeautiful State. " Several lives were lost in this disaster and thegreat church of SS. Peter and Paul perished with everything thatprevious fires had spared. The present erection is well enough as aspecimen of the Classic Renaissance, but need not detain us. At onetime Blandford was a town of various industries, from lace making toglass painting, but it is now purely an agricultural centre. 

[Illustration: BLANDFORD. ]

Blandford St. Mary is the suburb on the west side of the Stour. ThePerpendicular church has a tower and chancel belonging to a muchearlier period. A former rector was an ancestor of the great Pitt, andone of the family--"Governor" Pitt, is buried in the north aisle. Thefamily lived at Down House on the hills to the westward. A moreancient family, the d'Amories, lived at Damory Court near the town. The famous Damory's Oak is no more. Its hollow trunk served as shelterfor a whole family who were rendered homeless by the great fire. Anold barn not far from the Court is said to have been a chapeldedicated to St. Leonard; it still retains its ecclesiastical doorsand windows. 

[Illustration: MILTON ABBEY. ]

The seven miles of undulating and dusty road westwards from Blandford, that we have partly traversed from Winterbourne Strickland, leads toMilton Abbas, a charming village surrounded by verdured hills and deepleafy combes. Here is the famous Abbey founded by King Athelstan forBenedictines. The monks' refectory, all that remains of the conventualbuildings, indicates the former splendour of the establishment. Theabbey church, built in the twelfth century, was destroyed during athunderstorm after standing for about two hundred years; the presentbuilding is therefore a study in Decorated and Perpendicular styles. It is, after Sherborne and Wimborne, the finest church in Dorset. Thepinnacled tower is much admired, but the shortness of the buildingdetracts from its effectiveness. It is not certain that the churchever had a nave, though the omission seems improbable. The interior isusually shown on Thursdays, when the grounds of the modern "Abbey" areopen to the public. Within the church the fifteenth-century reredos, the sedilia and stalls, and the pre-Reformation tabernacle forreserving the consecrated elements (a very rare feature) should benoticed. Two ancient paintings of unknown age, probably dating fromthe early fifteenth century, and several tombs, complete the list ofinteresting items. The ancient market town that once surrounded theAbbey was swept away when the mansion was erected in 1780, so that thepresent village is of the "model" variety and was built by the firstEarl of Dorchester soon after his purchase of the property over onehundred and fifty years ago. Church, almshouses and inn, all date fromthe same period. Time has softened the formality of the plan, andMilton is now a pleasant old-world place enough, somnolent and rarelyvisited by the stray tourist, but well worthy of his attention. Thechurch contains a Purbeck marble font from the abbey, but otherwise isas uninteresting as one might expect from its appearance. Milton wasoriginally Middletown from its position in the centre of Dorset. 

Three miles down stream from Blandford, near Spettisbury, is theearthwork called Crawford Castle. An ancient bridge of nine archeshere crosses the Stour to Tarrant Crawford, where was once the Abbeyof a Cistercian nunnery. Scanty traces of the buildings remain in thevicinity of the early English church. This village is the first of along series of "Tarrants" that run up into the remote highlands ofCranborne Chase. Buzbury Rings is the name of another prehistoricentrenchment north of the village; it is on the route of an ancienttrackway which runs in a direction that would seem to link MaidenCastle, near Dorchester, with the distant mysteries of SalisburyPlain. 

For the traveller who has the time to explore the Tarrant villages adelightful journey is in store. Although there is nothing among themof surpassing interest, the twelve or fifteen-mile ramble would be afurther revelation of the unspoilt character and quiet beauty of thiscorner of Dorset. Pimperne village, on the Blandford-Salisbury road, where there is a ruined cross on the village green and a rebuiltchurch still retaining its old Norman door, is on the direct way toTarrant Hinton, just over four miles from Blandford. Here a lane turnsright and left following the Tarrant-brook that gives its name to theseven hamlets upon its banks. Hinton Church is beautifully placed onthe left of this by-way which, on its way to Tarrant Gunville, presently passes Eastbury Park, a mile to the north. Only a fragmentof the once famous house is left. The original building was amagnificent erection comparable with Blenheim, and built by the samearchitect--Vanburgh--for George Dodington, one time Lord of theAdmiralty. The property came to his descendant, the son of a Weymouthapothecary named Bubb, who had married into the family. George BuddDodington became a _persona grata_ at court, lent money to FrederickPrince of Wales, and finished, at a cost of £140, 000, the building hisgrandfather had commenced. This wealthy commoner, after a career atEastbury as a patron of the arts, was created Lord Melcombe possiblyfor his services to the son of George II. At his death the propertypassed to Earl Temple who was unable to afford the upkeep andeventually the greater portion of this "folly" was demolished. Thelane that turns south from the Salisbury high-road goes throughTarrants Launceston--Monckton--Rawston--Rushton and Keynston andfinishes at Tarrant Crawford that we have just seen is in the valleyof the Stour. 

Two roads run northwards to Shaftesbury from Blandford. One, the hillway, leaves the Salisbury road half a mile from the town and, passinganother earthwork on Pimperne Down, makes for the lonely and beautifulwooded highlands of Cranborne Chase, with but one village--MelburyAbbas--in the long ten miles of rough and hilly road. The other, andmain, highway keeps to the river valley as far as Stourpaine, and thenbears round the base of Hod Hill, where there is a genuine Roman campinside an older trench. Large quantities of pottery and coinsbelonging to the Roman period have been found here and are stored invarious collections. The way is now picturesquely beautiful as it goesby Steepleton Iwerne, that has a little church lost behind the onlyhouse in the hamlet, and Iwerne Courtenay. The last-named village isoff the main road to the left, but a by-path can be taken which leadsthrough it. The poorly designed Perpendicular church (with a Decoratedtower) was erected, or rather rebuilt, as late as 1641. The buildingis famous as the prison for those guerilla fighters of the Civil Warcalled "Clubmen, " who consisted mostly of better class farmers andyeomanry. They had assembled on Hambledon Hill, the great entrenchedeminence to the west of the village, and seem to have been officeredby the country clergy. At least they appear to have greatly chagrinedCromwell, although he spoke of them in a very disparaging way, anddeprecated their fighting qualities. Iwerne Minster, the next villageon the road, possesses a very fine cruciform church of dates varyingfrom Norman to Perpendicular, though the main structure is in thelater style. The stone spire is rare for Dorset. Iwerne Minster Houseis a modern mansion in a very beautiful park and is the residence ofone of the Ismays of steamship fame. Sutton Waldron has a modernchurch, but Fontmell Magna, two miles from Iwerne Minster, willprofitably detain the traveller. Here is an actual village maypole, restored of course, and a beautiful Perpendicular church, alsorestored, but unspoilt. The lofty tower forms an exquisite picturewith the mellow roofs of the village, the masses of foliage, and thesurrounding hills. The fine east window is modern and was presented byLord Wolverton, a one-time Liberal Whip, who was a predecessor of theIsmays at Iwerne Minster House. The west window is to his memory. Compton Abbas, a mile farther, has a rebuilt church. The charm of thesituation, between Elbury Hill and Fontmell Down, will be appreciatedas the traveller climbs up the slope beyond the village toward MelburyDown (863 feet), another fine view-point. As the road descends to thehead waters of the Stour, glimpses of the old town on St. John's Hillare occasionally obtained on the left front and, after another stiffclimb, we join the Salisbury road half a mile short of High Street. 

Shaftesbury is not only Shaston to Mr. Hardy, but to the natives also, and, as will be seen presently, it had at least two other names in thedistant past. It is one of the most romantically placed inland townsin England and would bear comparison with Bridgenorth, were it notthat the absence of a broad river flowing round the base of the hillentirely alters the character of the situation. According to Geoffreyof Monmouth it was founded by Hudibras, son of the builder ofCaerleon, and was called Mount Paladur (Palladour). It was withoutdoubt a Roman town, as the foundations of Roman buildings werediscovered while excavations were being made in High Street abouttwenty years ago. Alfred rebuilt the town and founded St. Mary'sAbbey, with his daughter Aethelgiva as first abbess. The removal ofthe body of the martyred Edward hither from Wareham, after his murderat Corfe Castle, gave Shaftesbury a wide renown and caused thousandsof pilgrims to flock to the miracle-working shrine. For a time it wasknown as Eadwardstow and the Abbess was a lady of as much secularimportance as a Baron. The magnificent Abbey Church was as imposing asany we have left to us, but not a vestige remains except thefragmentary wall on Gold's Hill and the foundations quite recentlyuncovered and surveyed. One of the most interesting discoveries isthat of a twisted column in the floor of the crypt that is thought tobe part of the martyr's shrine. 

[Illustration: GOLD HILL, SHAFTESBURY. ]

Shaftesbury once had twelve churches, but one only of the oldstructures remain. This is a fine Perpendicular building of simpleplan, chancel and nave being one. The tower is noble in its fineproportions and the north side of the nave aisle is beautifullyornamented and embattled. Holy Trinity and St. James' are practicallynew churches, although rebuilt on the ground plans of the originalstructures. On the west side of the first-named is a walk called "ThePark" that would make the fortune of any inland health resort, somagnificent is the view and so glorious the air. The hill on which thetown is built rises abruptly from the valley in a steep escarpment, sothat the upper end of High Street is 700 feet above the sea. There istherefore only one practicable entrance, by way of the Salisbury road. Of actual ancient buildings there are few, although at one time therewas some imposing medieval architecture in this "city set on a hill, "if we may believe the old writers. It once boasted a castle besidesthe Hostel of St. John Baptist and its many churches. It may have beenin this castle that Canute died in 1035. 

The station for Shaftesbury is Semley, just over the Wilts border, butit is proposed to take the longer journey to Gillingham, nearly fourmiles north-west, which is the next station on the South Western mainline. This was once the centre of a great Royal "Chase, " disforestedby Charles I. It was also the historic scene of the Parliament calledto elect Edward Confessor to the throne, and at "Slaughter Gate, " justoutside the town, Edmund Ironside saved Wessex for the Saxons bydefeating Canute in 1016. The foundations of "King's Court Palace, "between Ham Common and the railway, show the site of the hunting lodgeof Henry III and the Plantagenet kings. Gillingham church was spoiltby a drastic early nineteenth-century restoration. The chancel belongsto the Decorated period. There are several interesting tombs and amemorial of a former vicar over the arch of the tower. He wasdispossessed as a "malignant" during the Commonwealth, but returned atthe Restoration. 

Gillingham cannot show many old houses and it has the appearance of abusy and flourishing manufacturing town of the smaller sort withoutany of the sordid accompaniments of such places. Its commercialactivities--pottery and tile-making, breweries and flour mills, linenand silk manufacture, are mostly modern and have been fostered by theexceptional railway facilities. In its Grammar school, founded in 1526by John Grice, it still has a first-rate educational establishmentwith the added value of a notable past, for here was educatedClarendon, the historian of the Great Rebellion, and several otherfamous men. 

[Illustration: SALISBURY CATHEDRAL. ]

CHAPTER IX

SALISBURY AND THE RIVERS

There are three obvious ways of approaching Salisbury from Shaftesburyand the west: by railway from Semley; by the main road, part of thegreat trunk highway from London to Exeter via Yeovil; and by a kind ofloop road that leaves this at Whitesand Cross and follows the valleyof the Ebble between the lonely hills of Cranborne Chase and the longline of chalk downs that have their escarpment to the north, overlooking the Exeter road. These are all good ways, but there iseven a fourth, only practicable for good walkers, that keeps to thetop of the Downs until the Salisbury Race Course above Netherhamptonis reached. This is a splendid route, with magnificent views to theleft and north, and some to be lingered over in the oppositedirection, and the finest of all when the slender needle of Salisburyspire pierces the blue ahead. 

Three miles out of Shaftesbury a road leaves the main route on theleft for Donhead St. Mary; another by-way from this village joins thehighway farther on and adds but a mile or so to the journey. Thechurch, high up on its hill, is an interesting structure, mainlyNorman and Early English with some sixteenth-century additions. Theround font belongs to the older style. A memorial to one AntonioGuillemot should be noticed. He was a refugee Carthusian, who camehere with some brother monks during the French Terror. They foundsanctuary at a farm-house placed at their disposal by Lord Arundell ofWardour, and now called the "Priory, " because of its associations. Notfar from the village is Castle Rings, an encampment from which thereis a grand view of the Wilts and Somerset borderland. In one of thechalky combes just below the hill is an old Quaker burial ground, asremote and lonely as the more famous Jordans ground was before theAmerican visitor began to make that a place of pilgrimage. Donhead St. Andrew, a mile from St. Mary's, is in an entirely different situationto the latter, the Perpendicular church being at the bottom of a deephollow. Both villages are very charming. 

The main route continues amid surroundings of much beauty, with thewell-named White Sheet Hill to the right and the wooded and hummockyoutline of Ansty Hill to the left, until the turning for the lattermakes a good excuse for leaving the high road once more. Anstyvillage, seven miles from Shaftesbury, is unremarkable in itself, buthas close by it one of the most picturesque and historic ruins inWiltshire. The demolition of Wardour Castle came about in this wise. At the outbreak of the Civil War the owner, Sir Thomas Arundell, wasaway from home with the army around the King. Lady Arundell decided todefend the Castle with the small force at her disposal, barely fiftymen all told, but helped and sustained by the women servants, who keptthe garrison fed and supplied with ammunition. This handful ofdefenders held at bay for five days a well-armed force of 1, 300 mencommanded by Sir Edward Hungerford, and made good terms for itselfbefore marching out. These, however, were not faithfully kept by theRoundheads who, in occupying the Castle, were commanded by EdmundLudlow. Sir Thomas (or Lord Arundell, his title had not then receivedformal recognition) died of wounds received in one of the westernbattles just after the capitulation and his son in turn laid siege tohis own home. The resistance was as stubborn as his mother's had been, the force within the Castle being many times as great. All hope ofdislodging the Roundheads being lost, the New Lord of Wardour resolvedto blow up the walls with mines, placed beneath them under cover ofdarkness. This was done to such good purpose that the garrison, or allthat was left of it, was forced at once to surrender. 

[Illustration: WARDOUR CASTLE. ]

The castle and estates had been acquired from the Grevilles by theArundells, an old Cornish family, in the early sixteenth century. TheArundells were convinced Catholics, and the first of the family to ownWardour was beheaded in 1552 "as a rebel and traitor" or rather, "ashis conscience was of more value to him than his head. " As we see thebuilding to day it forms a fine example of fifteenth-centuryarchitecture, despite its dismantled state. The walls are fairlyperfect and the eastern entrance with its two towers, approached by astately terrace, is most imposing. The gateway is surmounted by aninscription referring to the two Arundells of the Great Rebellion;above is a niche containing a bust of Christ and the words "SUB NOMINETUO STET GENUS ET DOMUS. " The entrance to the stairs, an arch in theClassic Renaissance style, is a picturesque and much-admired corner ofthe ruin. 

Not much can be said for the aspect of the new Castle, a buildingerected in the eighteenth century. It is a museum of art and containsmany treasures by Rembrandt, Holbein, Velasquez, Vandyke and othergreat masters and, most interesting of all, a portrait of Lady BlancheArundell, the defender of the Castle. She was a granddaughter ofMargaret, Countess of Salisbury, and so came of an heroic and kinglyline. Another famous relic is a wooden chalice made from theGlastonbury Thorn, and the splendid (so-called) Westminster chasubleis preserved in the chapel. 

On the high road Swallowcliffe; Sutton Mandeville, with a partlyNorman church; Fovant, nearly opposite Chislebury Camp and withanother (restored) Norman church; and Compton Chamberlaine are passed, all being a short distance off the road to the left, before it dropsfor the last time into the valley of the Nadder. Near the last villageis Compton Park, the home of that Colonel Penruddocke who, in 1655, led a small body of horsemen into Salisbury and proclaimed Charles II, at the same time seizing the machinery of law and government. But the"rising" was not popular; the Colonel got no assistance from thetownspeople and the affair led to his death upon the scaffold. 

The most profitable way of approaching Salisbury is to continuenorthwards from Ansty by a lane that eventually descends to Tisburyon the headwaters of the Nadder. This small town has a station on theSouth Western main line and a large cruciform church, situated at thefoot of the steep hill on which the town is built. Its present nave isEarly English, but an earlier Transitional building once stood on thesite. The tower is more curious than beautiful and the quaint topstory may be contemporary with the chancel, an addition of the earlyseventeenth century. The latter has an elaborately ornamented ceilingand is the resting place of Lady Blanche Arundell and also of SirThomas, first Lord Wardour, who distinguished himself as a latecrusader in 1595 at the battle of Gran in Hungary, when he captured aTurkish standard. His helmet is fixed to the wall above his tomb. Place House, once a grange of Shaftesbury Abbey, at the end of thevillage, is an early Tudor manor. The fine gate-house and thetithe-barn at the side of the entrance court are good specimens of thedomestic architecture of the period. The buildings form a picturesquegroup and the all too brief glimpse of them from the railway hasprobably caused many travellers thereon to break their journey. 

A short two miles to the north of Tisbury, in a lovely district ofwooded hills, is Fonthill Giffard. The church, erected in the EarlyEnglish style in 1866, will not detain the visitor, though one mightwell be disposed to linger in the charming village. The great "lion"of this district was the famous and extraordinary Fonthill Abbey, anamazing erection in sham Gothic, built by Wyatt, that "infamousdispoiler, misnamed architect" to the order of the eccentric author of_Vathek_--William Beckford, heir of a wealthy London merchant who wastwice Lord Mayor and died a millionaire. Contemporary prints areoccasionally met with in curiosity shops that bring vividly before usthis specimen of the "Gothic madness" of our great grandfathers. Anenormous octagonal tower arises from the centre of the strange pile ofbuildings, which is in the form of a cross with arms of equal length. Pinnacle and gargoyles, moulding and ornaments, all clashing and atwar with each other, are stuck on anywhere and everywhere; thenightmare dream of a medievalist. If this was the fruit of Beckford'sbrain nothing more need be said. If that of Wyatt's, we can but bethankful that he did not live long enough to have the commission forbuilding the present Palace of Westminster. A pile that as it is, isonly too reminiscent of the florid imaginings of the Gothic revival. 

The expensive eccenticities of Beckford--he was a collector ofeverything costly--brought about the sale of Fonthill and a retirementto Bath. Not long after the new owner, a millionaire named Farquhar, had entered into possession, the central tower fell and ruined most ofthe "gingerbread" beneath. Perhaps the best thing Wyatt ever did washis architectural work in the foundations of this sham "abbey. "

The present Fonthill House has a small portion of Wyatt's buildingincorporated with it. Half a mile away is the new Fonthill Abbey(so-called). It was erected by the Marquis of Westminster in 1859 andis in the Scottish Baronial style. The situation, overlooking a sheetof water formed out of one of the feeders of the Nadder, is beautifulin the extreme. To the north-west is Beckford's Tower--one of the manyhe built (he is buried under one of them at Bath)--from which there isa glorious view of the hills, woods and waters of this fair countryside. Hindon, about two miles north-west of Fonthill Giffard, is asmall town fallen from the ancient state that it held when it refusedDisraeli the honour of representing it in Parliament. Its pleasantsituation in the midst of the wooded hills that surround it on allsides, the quiet old houses and dreamy main street beneath the shadytrees that were planted in honour of the marriage of Edward VII, makeits only claim on the notice of the passing tourist. Not far fromHindon and about three miles from Fonthill Giffard is East Knoyle, thebirthplace of Sir Christopher Wren in 1632. He was a son of itsrector. 

From Tisbury a road goes eastwards down the valley of the Nadderthrough the small hamlet of Chicksgrove to Teffont Evias, or Ewyas, the name of the former lords of the manor. This village is mostdelightfully situated on high ground above the Nadder. Thesixteenth-century manor house, the rectory and the beautiful church, are all of much interest. The church was built in the fifteenthcentury and has a fine western tower and spire. The Ley Chapelcontains a number of monuments to that family, and the mosaicsrepresenting the Angelic Choir over the east window strike an uncommonnote for a country church. Beyond Teffont Magna, where there is a verysmall and ancient church, are the famous quarries which supplied someof the stone for Salisbury Cathedral and were almost certainly workedby the Romans. They are now roomy caverns, that, like Tilly Whim atSwanage, have every appearance of being natural. 

Continuing towards Salisbury, the first village passed through isDinton, the birthplace of Clarendon, historian of the Civil War. Thencomes Baverstock, with a restored Decorated church, and lastly, beforereaching Wilton, Barford St. Martin. Here is an Early Englishcruciform church with one or two interesting features, including anancient effigy near the altar, in what appears to be a winding sheet. The road through these villages, or rather tapping them--the first twoare slightly off the main route to the left--keeps to the north sideof the Nadder valley, at first under the wooded escarpment of theMiddle Hills where are the prehistoric remains of Hanging LangfordCamp, Churchend Ring and Bilbury Ring: and then under the greatexpanse of Grovely Wood, which clothes the lonely hills dividing thevalleys of Wylye and Nadder, covered with evidences of an age so faraway that the Roman road from Old Sarum, traversing the summit of thehills, is a work of yesterday by comparison. 

Wilton is an exceedingly interesting place if one considers itshistory. It took its name from the Wylye and gave it to the shire. Itwas the ancient capital of the Wilsaetas and antedated Old Sarum asthe seat of their bishop. It only just missed being the first town ofthe county when Bishop Poore preferred an entirely fresh site for hisnew Cathedral after shaking the tainted dust of Old Sarum from off hisfeet. 

The position of the town, on the tongue of land between the two riversjust above their meeting place, is ideal as a stronghold and animposing position in other ways, but the Wilton of to-day is small andrather mean in its streets and houses and without any importantremains of its ancient past. Its history begins with the battle ofEllandune between Mercia and Wessex, in which the victor--Egbert ofthe West Saxon line--made good his claim to be overlord of England. Itwas here that the greater West Saxon, Alfred, defeated the Danishinvaders, and here again Sweyn turned the tables and burnt and slew intrue pirate fashion. A house of Benedictine nuns was founded in Wiltonat an early date and was enlarged and re-endowed by Alfred. St. Edyth, one of the nuns, was a daughter of King Eadgar and Wulftrude, who hadbeen a nun herself. When the Queen died Wulftrude refused to becomethe King's consort, and eventually became Abbess of Wilton. The siteof the Abbey is now occupied by Wilton House. 

[Illustration: WILTON HOUSE. HOLBEIN FRONT. ]

According to Leland "the chaunging of this (Icknield) way was thetotal course of the ruine of Old Sarisbyri and Wiltoun, for aforeWiltoun had twelve paroche churches or more, and was the hedde town ofWilshire. " This refers to the new bridge built at Harnham to divertthe route to the south-west through the new city. Still, the collapsewas not utter and the position of the town was enough to save it fromtotal ruin. Cloth making and the wool trade generally persisted formany years, and the making of carpets ("Wilton Pile") has persisted tothe present day, despite competition and some anxious years for themanufacturers. 

Of the few unimportant relics of the past may be mentioned the oldTown Cross that stands against the churchyard wall, and the chapel ofSt. John in Ditchampton, part of a hospital founded in 1189 by BishopHurbert of Sarum. St. Giles' Hospital, originally for lepers, wasfounded by Adeliza, consort of Henry I, and rebuilt in 1624. Wiltonchurch is as unusual as it is imposing. It was built by Lord Herbertof Lea while still the Hon. Sidney Herbert. Though the style seems outof keeping with an ordinary English countryside there is somethingabout the high banks of foliage surrounding the town that gives theItalian campanile an almost natural air. The church is in theLombardic style and the grand flight of steps, the triple porches andbeautiful cloisters connecting the tower with the main building, areexceedingly fine. No less imposing is the ornate and costly interior. In its wealth of marbles and mosaics it is almost without parallel inEngland. The two handsome tombs of alabaster in the chancel are thoseof Lord Herbert of Lea and his mother. Not the least interestingfeature of this unique church is the fine stained glass in the windowsof the apse, dating from the thirteenth century. 

Wilton House stands in a beautiful park that comes almost up to thedoors of the town. The waters of the Nadder as they flow through theglades have been broadened into a long lake-like expanse spanned by avery beautiful Palladian bridge. This is the home of the Earls ofPembroke and Montgomery. Their ancestors were an ancient Welsh familyand great friends of their compatriots, the Tudor sovereigns. Here, asconstant and welcome guests, came Ben Jonson, Edmund Spencer andPhilip Massinger, who was a son of one of the Earl's servants. Here_As You Like It_ is said to have been played before James I, withShakespeare himself as one of the company. Gloriana was a visitor in1573 and attempted to flirt with Sir Philip Sidney, brother-in-law ofthe host, presenting him with one of her auburn locks. Here Sir Philipwrote a good part of the _Arcadia_. It will be seen that Wilton was ahome for all who had the divine fire within them. Gentle GeorgeHerbert, a relative and esteemed friend, could often come from near-byBemerton, and Izaak Walton, who was here collecting material for the"Life" of his hero, no doubt spent some happy days in contemplation ofthe clear waters of the Nadder. Charles I was another visitor, and byhim certain suggestions are said to have been made for some of thealterations and additions of the seventeenth century. The originalbuilding which followed the dismantled Abbey was designed by Holbein, but this has almost disappeared except for the central portion overthe gateway. Wyatt was allowed to stick some of his sham Gothicenormities over the older work about the time he was designingFonthill, but an era of better taste soon got rid of these and thepresent fronts are Italian in style and very lordly and imposing. Thegreat hall contains the Vandyck portraits for which Wilton ispreeminently famous, but there are other great masters, includingRubens, Titian and del Sarto to be seen by those interested, besides acollection of armour hardly to be surpassed in the country. Thesetreasures are shown at certain times. 

[Illustration: BEMERTON CHURCH. ]

Although a pleasant and retired little place, Bemerton would not be ofmuch interest were it not for its associations with the "singer ofsurpassing sweetness, " the author of _The Temple_. George Herbertbecame rector here in 1630 and died two years later, aged 42. He lieswithin the altar rails of the church and the tablet above is simplyinscribed G. H. , 1633. The lines on the Parsonage wall and written bythe parson-poet were originally above the chimney inside. They runthus:--

 "If thou chance for to find A new house to thy mind, And built without any cost, Be good to the poor As God gives thee store And then thy labour's not lost. "

In the garden that slopes down to the river there was quite recently, and may be still, an old and gnarled medlar planted by Herbert. Thewell-known painting "George Herbert at Bemerton" by W. Dyce, R. A. , inthe Guildhall Art Gallery, gives an excellent picture of the calmgrace of the surroundings and of the heavenly spire of the Cathedralsoaring up into the skies a mile away. The fine new memorial church atBemerton is used for the regular Sunday services and Herbert's littleold church for worship on weekdays. It is pleasant to think that thebells which sound so sweetly across the meadows, as we take thefootpath way to Salisbury, are those that were rung by Herbert when hefirst entered his church. 

The City of Salisbury, or officially, New Sarum, is a regularly built, spacious and clean county capital that would be of interest andattraction if there were no glorious cathedral to grace and adorn it. As a matter of fact, cathedral towns away from the immediate precinctssuffer from the overshadowing character of the great churches, thattake most of the honour and glory to themselves. This is, of coursebut right, and the discerning traveller will keep the even balancebetween the human interest of court and alley and market place and theawed reverence that must be felt by the most materialistic of us whenwe come within the immediate influence of these solemn sanctuaries, ofwhich Salisbury is the most perfect in the land. 

[Illustration: OLD SARUM. ]

It is impossible to give the merest outline of the history ofSalisbury without first referring to that of Old Sarum, orSorbiodunum, two miles to the north. The huge mound on the edge of thePlain was doubtless a prehistoric fortress, though of a much simplerform than the three-terraced enclosure of twenty-seven acres that wesee there to-day. In Roman times the importance of this advancedoutpost of chalk, commanding the approach to the lower valley of theAvon, would be appreciated. But it would appear from recentinvestigations that little was done to elaborate the defences. Nevertheless Sorbiodunum was an important Roman town and stood on thejunction of two great thoroughfares--the Icknield Way and the PortWay. The recent excavations, interfered with to a large extent by thelate war, have been so disappointing in the lack of Roman relics thata suggestion has been made by Sir W. H. St. John Hope that the truesite of the Roman town may have been at Stratford, just below themound to the north-west. It is possible that further excavations willsettle the question. 

After the Saxon invasion, Sarobyrig, as it was then called, probablyassumed its present outline so far as the foundation of the walls areconcerned. That a mint of Canute (who according to one tradition, diedhere and not at Shaftesbury) and again of Edward Confessor was set up, and that the town became the seat of the Bishop of Sherborne, was aproof of its established importance. The smaller central mound of thecitadel itself would appear to have been a work of the Normans, whodivided the space occupied within the outer defences into two parts;that on the east belonging to the military works, and the western halfpertaining to the Bishop and having within it the original SalisburyCathedral. Here was instituted by Bishop Osmund the new English ritualor "use of Sarum, " and here commenced those endless squabbles betweenclergy and soldiers that at last resulted in the men of peace leavingthe fortress city. 

 ("Quid Domini Domus in Castro, nisi foederis arca In Tempho Baalim? Carcer uterque locus, Est ibi defectus aquae, sed copia cretae, Saevit ibi ventus, sed philomela silet. ")

The commission to inquire into the proposed change was appointed by thePope in 1217, and from this year begins the rapid decay of Old Sarum. The Cathedral was dismantled and much of the material was used in thenew structure in the plain. That the original was a noble buildingexisting records and ultimate discoveries amply prove. The ground planwas well seen in the dry summer of 1834, when measurements were takenand the total length found to be 270 feet. The first church wasseriously damaged by a thunderbolt five days after its consecration, and the original plan was much elaborated in the rebuilding--

 "So gret lytnynge was the vyfte yer, so that al to nogt The rof of the chyrch of Salesbury it broute, Ryght evene vyfte day that he yhalwed was. " (Robert of Gloucester. )

Of the castle not so much is known. Leland says in 1540:--"Ther was aright fair and strong castella within _Old-Saresbyri_ longing to theErles of Saresbyri especially the Longerpees. I read that oneGualterus was the first Erle after the conquest of it. Much ruinusbuilding of this castelle yet ther remayneth. The dich that environedthe old town was a very deepe and strong Thynge, " and again"_Osmunde_, erle of _Dorchestre_, and after Bishop of Saresbyri, erected his Cathedrale church ther in the west part of the town; andalso his palace; whereof now no token is but only a chapel of Our Ladyyet standing and mainteynid.... Ther was a paroch of the Holy Rodebeside in _Old-Saresbyri_ and another over the est gate Whereof sometokens remayne. I do not perceyve that there are any mo gates inOld-Saresbyri than 2; one by est and another by west. Without eche ofthese gates was a fair suburbe. On the est suburbe was a parochechurch of S. John; and ther yet is a chapel standing. The river is agood quarter of a myle from Old-Saresbyri and more, where it is nereston to it, and that is at Stratford village south from it. Ther hathbene houses in tyme of mind inhabited in the est suburbe ofOld-Saresbyri; but now there is not one house neither withinOld-Saresbyri nor without it inhabited. "

It will be seen that in comparison with other English towns Salisburyis not old. Like several others its foundations were entirelyecclesiastical, for as soon as the builders of the new Cathedralstarted upon their work the civil population of Old Sarum migrated tothe water meadows with as little delay as possible, and the Bishop'sarchitects planned for them a town with regular streets and squareblocks of dwellings all much of a size, a characteristic that willstrike the most unobservant traveller and which differentiates thisfrom most other English towns in a marked degree. 

[Illustration: SALISBURY MARKET PLACE. ]

From whichever side Salisbury has been entered; by either of the greatroads; or by the railway that, from the east, makes a long tour of thenorth side of the town in kindly purpose, it would seem, to give thepasser-by a good view--there rises before him the glorious spire that, whatever the boast of uniformity of style or perfection of design, really gives the exterior of the building its unique beauty andwithout which it would be cold and dull. To the Cathedral then, as itsspire is calling so insistently, the stranger must inevitably make hisway before troubling about anything else in the town. Our approachhappens to coincide with that of the traveller who arrives by rail, and down Fisherton Street, an unusually winding thoroughfare forSalisbury, over the Avon bridge and through the High Street Gate weenter the most beautiful of those abodes of beauty--the Englishcathedral closes. The guide books advise the tourist to make the firstapproach by way of St. Anne's Gate, when the gradual unfolding of thenorth front of the building makes a perfect introduction to theCathedral, but so does that of the sudden view of the whole, with thetower and spire as an exquisite centre, as we leave the row ofwell-ordered houses, mixed with a few quiet shops, that line theapproach from High Street to the north-west angle of the Close. Apleasing presentment of Edward VII now looks down this old by-streetfrom the High Street Gate and is Salisbury's tribute to that lover ofpeace. The Close is bordered by beautiful old houses, some quite noblein their proportions, but likely to be overlooked by all but the mostleisured visitor. It is so difficult to look at anything but the towerand spire, and it is best to forget that another tower, a campanile, similar to that at Chichester, once stood on this greensward, to bewantonly destroyed by James Wyatt. This is said to have beengarrisoned by the Parliamentary army during the Civil War. TheDeanery, opposite the west door, is a quaintly charming building andthe gabled King's House is said to date from the fourteenth century. No incongruous note ever seems to mar the serenity of the great greensquare. The passers-by all apparently fit their environment;schoolgirls in their teens, fresh faced and happy; clergy of theChapter, true type of the modern intellectual priest; an occasionalworkman employed about the Cathedral, upon whom its impress hasvisibly descended; quaint imps in Elizabethan ruffles playing aseemingly sedate game upon the lawn while their companions are singingin the choir; the ordinary sightseers who, apart from bank holidays, always seem to arrive at the same times and in the same twos andthrees, and put on, as do the inevitable butchers' and bakers' youths, a cloak of decorous quiet when they enter the guardian gateways. 

[Illustration: HIGH STREET GATE. ]

The Cathedral was commenced in 1220 by Bishop Poore and took aboutforty years to build, but this period did not include the erection ofthe tower and spire which were later additions. The fine and generallyadmired west front is, from an architect's point of view, the onlypart of the exterior that is not admirable. It is in actual fact, fraudulent, just as the whole of the upper wall of St. Paul'sCathedral is an artistic untruth. The west wall of Salisbury is ascreen without professing to be one. The porches are very small inrelation to the great flattish expanse of masonry above them; thedullness of this was much relieved by the series of statues placed inthe empty niches about the middle of the last century. The originalmedieval figures almost all disappeared through the zeal of thePuritans. 

Even the most careless glance down the long outline of the walls, artistically broken by the two transepts, but never losing the regularcontinuity of design, will show the observer that this perfect EarlyEnglish building was an inspiration of one brain and that the manyhands that worked for that brain carried out their tasks as areligious rite. The glory of the tower as we see it was not part ofthe original plan, though that undoubtedly included some such crownand consummation of the noble work beneath. But although the tower andspire are of a later period--the Decorated, they blend soharmoniously with the earlier building that all might have arisen inone twelve months instead of being labours spread over one hundredyears. The rash courage which raised this great pyramid of stone, fourhundred and four feet above the sward, on the slender columns andwalls that have actually bowed under the great weight they uphold, hasoften been commented upon. It has been said that the tower would havefallen long ago had it not been for the original scaffolding thatremains within to tie and strengthen it. In the eighteenth century aleaden casket was discovered by some workmen high in the spire, containing a relic of our Lady, to whom the Cathedral is dedicated. Inthe summer of 1921 the steeplejacks employed to test the lightningconductor found that the iron cramps had rusted to such an extent asto split the stonework. A band of iron within the base of the spire inprocess of rusting is said to have raised the great mass of stonefully half an inch. The iron is now being replaced by gun-metal. 

The great church is entered by the north porch, and the immediateeffect of august beauty is not at first tempered by the impression ofcoldness that gradually makes itself felt as we compare, from memory, the interior with that of Winchester or even some of the lessimportant churches we have visited. But this is perhaps only atemporary fault, and when the windows of the nave are rejewelled withthe glorious colours that shone from them before the Reformation, thecold austerity of this part of the great church will largelydisappear. The extreme _orderliness_ of the architectural conception, the numberless columns and arches ranged in stately rows, vanishing inalmost unbroken perspective, make Salisbury unique among Englishcathedral interiors. An old rhyme gives the building as many pillars, windows, and doors as there are hours, days, and months in the year. 

In addition to his other questionable traits, James Wyatt must havehad something of the Prussian drill-sergeant in his nature. Under his"restoration" scheme the tombs of bishops and knights that once gave apicturesque confusion to the spaces of the nave were marshalled intoprecise and regular order in two long lines between the columns oneach side. For congregational purposes this was and is an advantage, but Wyatt actually lost one of his subjects in the drilling processand so confused the remainder that the historical sequence is lost. 

[Illustration: PLAN OF SALISBURY CATHEDRAL. ]

It is not proposed to describe these tombs in detail. A glance at thesketch plan on the preceding page will make the position of each quiteclear. Especially notice should be given to (10) William Longespee, 1st Earl of Salisbury; (14) Robert, Lord Hungerford; (13) Lord CharlesStourton, who was hanged in Salisbury Market Place with a silkenhalter for instigating the murder of two men named Hartgill, fatherand son. A wire noose representing the rope used to hang above thetomb. (3) The reputed tomb of a "Boy Bishop, " but possibly this isreally a bishop's "heart shrine. " Salisbury seems to have been in anespecial sense the home of the singular custom of electing a small ladas bishop during the festival of Christmas. According to CanonFletcher in his pleasant little book on the subject lately published, no less than twenty-one names are known of Boy Bishops who played thepart in this cathedral. Several modern memorials of much interest uponthe walls of the nave explain themselves. One, to the left of thenorth porch as we enter, is to Edward Wyndham Tempest, youthful poetand "happy warrior" who was killed in the late war. Another willremind us that Richard Jefferies, although buried at Broadwater inSussex, was the son of a North Wilts yeoman and a native of the shire. 

The arches at the western transepts will be found to differ from thoseof the nave; they were inserted to support the weight of the tower byBishop Wayte in 1415 and are similar to those at Canterbury and Wells. A brass plate was placed in the pavement during the eighteenth centuryto mark the inclination of the tower, 22-1/2 inches to the south-west. It is said that the deflection has not altered appreciably for nearlytwo hundred years. The exactness of the correspondence of thearchitecture in the transepts to that of the nave almost comes as asurprise by reason of its rarity to those who are acquainted withother English cathedrals, and brings before one very vividly thehomogeneity of the design. A number of interesting monuments, severalof them modern, occupy the two arms of the transepts. The choirroof-painting, sadly marred by Wyatt, has been restored to somethingof its former beauty, but it would seem that time alone can give theright tone to mural decoration in churches, for there is now an effectof harshness, especially farther east in the so-called Lady Chapel, that is not at all pleasing. The screen of brass leading to the choir, the greater part of the stalls, and the high altar and reredos, areseen to be modern. The altar occupies its old position and wasrestored as a memorial to Bishop Beauchamp (1482). The Bishop'schantry was destroyed by Wyatt, who had shifted the altar to theextreme end of the Lady Chapel, if we may use the name usually givento the eastern extension of the Cathedral, but as the dedication ofthe whole building is to the Virgin, that part may have been calledoriginally the Jesus, or Trinity Chapel. On the north side of thechoir is the late Gothic chantry of Bishop Audley and opposite is thatof the Hungerfords, the upper part of iron-work. On the north side ofthe altar is the effigy of Bishop Poore, founder of the Cathedral; themodern one under a canopy is that of one of his late successors, Bishop Hamilton. 

[Illustration: GATE, SOUTH CHOIR AISLE. ]

The choir transepts are now reached. That on the north side, with itsinverted arch, contains, among others, the tomb of Bishop Jewel (died1571) who despoiled the nave windows of their colour. He was the firstpost-Reformation Bishop of Salisbury. Just within the entrance is theinteresting brass of Bishop Wyville, builder of the spire. It recordsthe recovery, through trial by combat, of Sherborne Castle for thechurch. The slab of the Saint-Bishop Osmund's tomb (1099), one ofthose wantonly interfered with by Wyatt and a relic of the Cathedralof Old Sarum, has been brought from the nave to its present positionnear the end of the north choir aisle and not far from its formermagnificent shrine. The chief beauty of the Lady Chapel consists inthe slender shafts of Purbeck marble that support the roof. Thetryptych altarpiece is modern, also the east window in memory of DeanLear. Opinion will be divided as to the merit of the roof decoration, but time will lend its aid in the colour scheme. In this connexion maybe mentioned the means taken here as elsewhere to remove the curious"bloom, " that comes in the course of a generation or two, upon thePurbeck marble columns. They are oiled!

Attention is again called to the sketch plan for the tombs hereabouts, and in the south choir aisle, where especial notice should be taken ofthe canopied tomb of Bishop Giles de Bridport. The muniment room, reached from the south-east transept, contains a contemporary copy ofMagna Carta, besides many other interesting manuscripts and treasures. The Cathedral Library is above the cloisters. Its collection ofmanuscripts is magnificent, some dating as far back as the ninthcentury. The windows in the cloisters are of very fine design, andsome fragments of old glass in the upper portions show that they wereonce glazed. The original shafts of Purbeck marble had so decayed bythe middle of the last century that it was decided to replace themwith a more durable stone. Very beautiful is the octagonal chapterhouse, entered from the east walk. The bas-reliefs below the windowsand above the seats for the clergy are of great interest. Thesculptures in the arch of the doorway should also be particularlynoticed. From a door in the cloisters there is a charming view of theBishop's Palace and the beautiful gardens that surround it. 

An enjoyable stroll can be taken southwards to the Harnham Gate andthe banks of the Avon, and a return made by the old Hospital of St. Nicholas, founded in 1227 by a Countess of Salisbury, and then byExeter Street to St. Ann's Gate at the east side of the close. Fielding, whose grandfather was a canon of the Cathedral, is said tohave lived in a house on the south side of the gate. Dickens wasacquainted with Salisbury, but not until after he had made it thescene of Tom Pinch's remarkable characterization--"a very desperatesort of place; an exceedingly wild and dissipated city. " It must notbe forgotten that Salisbury is the "Melchester" of the Wessex Novelsand that Trollope made the city the original of "Barchester. "

[Illustration: THE POULTRY CROSS, SALISBURY. ]

Continuing northwards, a wide turning on the left is termed The"Canal. " This takes us back to that time when the citizens' chiefconcern was probably that of drainage, not of the domestic sort--thatdid not worry them--but the draining of the water-meadows upon whichthey had built their homes. About thirty years ago an elaborate schemefor the relief of the city from this natural dampness was successfullycarried out. In this wide and usually bustling street the first houseon the right is the Council Chamber, and on the other side of the wayis the fine hall of John Halle, now a business house. The interiorshould be seen for the sake of the carved oak screen at the fartherend of the banqueting room and the great stone fireplace. Thebeautiful ceiling is also much admired. This was the home of a richwool merchant of the town, who built it about 1470. Although it haspassed through many hands and has seen many vicissitudes it has alwaysbeen known by his name. A turn to the right at the end of this streetwill bring the explorer to the old Poultry Cross. The square pillarsurmounted by sundial and ball which for years supplanted the originalfinial has in turn been replaced by a new canopy and cross. Theoriginal erection has been variously ascribed to two individuals, Lawrence de St. Martin and John de Montacute Earl of Salisbury, ineach case for the same reason, namely, as a penance for "havingcarried home the Sacrament bread and eaten it for his supper, " forwhich he was "condemned to set up a cross in Salisbury market placeand come every Saturday of his life in shirt and breeches and thereconfess his fault publickly. " Not far away is the church of St. Thomasof Canterbury, the only really interesting ecclesiastical building inthe city apart from the Cathedral. It is a very beautiful specimen ofPerpendicular and replaced a thirteenth-century church founded byBishop Bingham. The painting of the Last Judgment over the chancelarch was covered with whitewash at the Reformation and the Tudor armswere placed in front of it. About forty years ago this disfigurementto the church was removed and the picture brought once more into thelight of day. The old font would seem to have originally belonged toanother church, as its style antedates the foundation (1220) of St. Thomas' church. A few fragments of old stained glass remain in theeast window and in that of the Godmanstone aisle, in which aisle is analtar tomb of one of the members of that family. Of the other churchesSt. Martin's, in the south-eastern part of the city not far from theSouthampton road, is the oldest, and has an Early English chancel. St. Edmund's, originally collegiate, was founded in 1268; it has beenalmost entirely rebuilt. The Church House, near Crane Bridge, is aPerpendicular structure, once the private house of a leading citizenand cloth merchant named Webb. Other fine old houses are the Joiners'Hall in St. Anne's Street and Tailors' Hall off Milford Street. TheGeorge Inn in High Street has been restored, but its interior is verymuch the same as in the early seventeenth century and part of thestructure must be nearly three hundred years older. It will beremembered that Pepys stayed here and records that he slept in a silkbed, had "a very good diet, " but was "mad" at the exorbitant charges. He was much impressed with the "Minster" and gave the "guide to theStones" (Stonehenge) two shillings. In 1623 a pronouncement was madethat all theatrical companies should give their plays at the "George. "Cromwell stayed at the inn in 1645. Salisbury seems to have beenfairly indifferent to the cut of her master's coat; Royalist andRepublican were equally welcome if they came in peace. Only one fightis worth mentioning during the whole course of the Civil War--in whichthe city was held by each party in turn--and that was the tussle inthe Close, along High Street, and in the Market Place, when Ludlow, with only a few horsemen, held his own against overwhelming odds. The"Catherine Wheel" long boasted a legend of a meeting of Royalistsduring the Commonwealth, at which, the toast of the King having beendrunk, one of the company then proposed the health of the Devil, whopromptly appeared and amid much smoke and blue fire flew away with hisproposer out of the window. This story rather hints at a republicanspirit on the part of the townspeople. That was certainly manifestedwhen Colonel Penruddocke led his "forlorn hope" into the city and, long before, when the Jack Cade rebellion gained a great number ofadherents in Salisbury. 

The city had a number of these fine old inns, famous centuries beforethe great days of the Exeter road. Nearly all have disappeared, butthe "White Hart" in John Street is little altered and the "Haunch ofVenison" is said to be the oldest house in the city. 

In our peregrinations of the streets we have passed two statuesneither of great merit but each perpetuating the memory of men of morethan local fame. The bronze figure in front of the Council House isthat of Lord Herbert of Lea, better known perhaps as Sydney Herbert, Minister during the Crimean War. The other is a very different mannerof man--Henry Fawcett. The memorial of the blind Postmaster-Generaland great political economist stands in Queen Street, close to hisbirthplace. The Blackmore and Salisbury Museums are in St. Anne'sStreet. Both are most interesting; the first named has an importantcollection of Palaeolithic and Neolithic remains. 

The history of Salisbury, happily for the citizens, has not been verystirring, apart from the few incidents already briefly mentioned. Executions in the Market Place seem to have had an unenviablenotoriety. The most dramatic of these was the beheading of the Duke ofBuckingham in 1484. A headless skeleton dug up in 1835 duringalterations to the "Saracen's Head, " formerly the "Blue Boar, " waspopularly supposed to be his, though records appear to show that hiscorpse was in fact taken to the Greyfriars' Monastery in London. InQueen Mary's time there was a burning of heretics in the space devotedto violent death, a space which afterwards saw many others asneedlessly cruel. One is extraordinary in its details. A prisonersentenced to the lock-up lost control of himself--possibly he wasinnocent--and threw a stone at the judge. He was at once sentenced todeath and removed to the Market Place, his right hand being cut offbefore he was hanged. As lately as 1835 two men here suffered theextreme penalty for arson. To the hanging of Lord Stourton, a just andwell-merited punishment, reference has already been made. But perhapsthe most vindictive execution of all was that of a boy of fifteen in1632 when Charles I was in the town. The lad was hanged, drawn andquartered for saying he would buy a pistol to kill the King. 

Royal visits have been many. Henry III probably came here when hegranted the charter of New Sarum. When Henry VI visited the city theinhabitants were ordered to wear red gowns, possibly a piece of sharppractice on the part of the city fathers, who were nearly allclothiers or cloth-merchants. Richard III was here at the time ofBuckingham's execution, and Elizabeth under happier circumstances, in1574, when she was presented by the Corporation with a slighthonorarium of twenty pounds and a gold cup, but James I, who was hereseveral times on his way to the stag hunting in Cranborne Chase onlyobtained a silver cup. Unlike his predecessor, however, he possessed aconsort and the royal pair were presented with twenty pounds each. James' unfortunate son held here one of those unsuccessful councils ofwar that seemed always to turn events in favour of the enemy. Thesecond Charles came twice in a hurry. The first time was after thebattle of Worcester on his flight to the coast, and again he came forsanctuary with his whole court when the plague was ravaging thecapital. He was almost the only traveller from London or the east thatthe authorities would allow, during that dreadful time, within thecity boundaries; even natives returning home were obliged to stayoutside in quarantine for three months. James II lodged at theBishop's Palace on his way to intercept the Prince of Orange, andhere, a month later, William III stayed in his turn while the previousguest fled the country. It is said that on the day James arrived inSalisbury an ornamental crown on the facade of the Council House felldown. 

[Illustration: LONGFORD CASTLE. ]

Several delightful excursions can be taken in each direction fromSalisbury. Southwards one may proceed along the Avon valley by theFordingbridge road to Britford, passing East Harnham, where the finemodern church is a memorial to Dean Lear. Britford church is of thegreatest interest to archaeologists, for within it are three archeswhich have been claimed variously as Saxon and Roman work. Theremainder of the building is of the Decorated period. An altar tombwas at one time supposed to contain the body of the executed Duke ofBuckingham. Longford Castle, the seat of the Earl of Radnor, is justover a mile to the south. The magnificent park extends along the banksof the Avon in scenery of much quiet beauty. The castle, although muchaltered, dates from 1590, and contains a famous collection ofpaintings and is especially rich in Holbein's works. Perhaps the mostcelebrated of the many treasures housed at Longford is the "ImperialSteel Chair, " once the property of the emperor Rudulf II. It is one ofthe most elaborate specimens of metal work in England. Rather morethan a mile west of Longford is the Early English church at Odstock. It has a fine west tower and several points of interest. The pulpitdated 1580 bears the following couplet:

 "God bless and save our Royal Queen The lyke on Earth was never seen. "

The churchyard contains the grave of one Joseph Scamp, executed for acrime to which he pleaded guilty; but really committed by hisson-in-law. 

The route is now by a lane that follows the course of the riverthrough Charlton, with Clearbury Camp a mile away to the right, and onto Downton where we cross the bridge to the large and interestingcruciform church built at many different periods. The Transitionalnave becomes Early English at the east end and the transepts are madeup of Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular work. The chancel isentirely of the last-named style and very fine in its proportions anddetails. The Norman font of Purbeck marble should also be noticed. Thevillage was one of the old-time "rotten" boroughs and returned twomembers to Parliament. Southey was once elected but declined thehonour. Downton was evidently of some importance in still earlierdays, for on the outskirts of the village, in private grounds, is anearthwork used in Saxon times as a folk-mote, or open-air localparliament. It is probable that this was originally a British fort, for about a mile away is the ancient ford over the Avon where a greatbattle was fought in the days of the West Saxon invasion and in whichthe attackers were held. Thirty-seven years elapsed before any furtheradvance was made into Wiltshire. Downton is also one of the places ofwhich that curious myth story "The Pent Cuckoo" is told. 

The road to the south can be followed down the river to Fordingbridge(_see_ Chapter II), but it is proposed to return by the east bank ofthe river past Burford Park and Trafalgar, the renamed StandlynchManor, bestowed on Earl Nelson in 1814, to the neighbourhood ofAlderbury, over three miles out of Salisbury on the Southampton road. The scenery of this part of the Christchurch Avon is very pleasant ina quiet way, the wide views towards the chalk hills on each side andthe distant spire of the Cathedral, visible from every point ofvantage, make the walk especially enjoyable. Alderbury is said to bethe original village of the "Blue Dragon" of Mrs. Lupin and MarkTapley, immortalized by Charles Dickens, though some claim Amesbury tobe the original of this scene. It is difficult to say that anyparticular village could be in the novelist's mind if, as seemsprobable, he had not seen Wiltshire when _Martin Chuzzlewit_ waswritten. St. Mary's Grange, on the Salisbury road, is suggested as theoriginal of Mr. Pecksniff's residence. Alderbury House was built fromthe demolished campanile of Salisbury Cathedral. 

To obtain a really good idea of the hill country, apart from that ofthe Plain, a walk should be taken, by those who are impervious tofatigue, to Broad Chalke, about seven miles from East Harnham, or evenfarther to Berwick St. John, more than six miles higher up the stream. The river Ebble itself, if river it can be called, is rarely inevidence, but the valley it drains is beautiful and, though itcontains quite a string of villages, is so remote as to be seldomvisited by anyone not on business bent. The vale seems to endnaturally at Coombe Bisset, though the river flows on throughHonnington and Odstock for four miles farther before it reaches theAvon. The church, set picturesquely on its hill at Coombe, is an oldTransitional Norman building with some later additions. The village inthe hollow below appeals to one as a happy place in which to end one'sdays. So also appears Stratford Tony, farther up the vale, where, asits name suggests, the Roman road from Old Sarum to Blandford once cutacross the valley in the usual Roman manner. Bishopstone, the nextvillage, has a very fine cruciform church, most interesting in itsgeneral details. The patron of the living was the Bishop ofWinchester; thus the village gets its name. It is possible that someof the bishops took special interest in the building and that wouldaccount for its elaboration. The style is Decorated passing intoPerpendicular in the nave. The chancel and transepts are peculiarlyfine and the vaulting of the first-named will be much admired, as alsothe beautiful windows. The south door of the chancel with its handsomeporch and groined roof; the vaulted chamber, or so-called cloister, outside the south transept, the use of which is unknown; the recessedtomb in the north transept and the grand arch on the same side of thechurch; all call for especial notice. 

The right-hand road at Stoke Farthing leads direct to Broad Chalke, ora longer by-way on the other side of the stream takes us to the samegoal by way of Bury Orchard, a village as delectable as its name. Chalke likewise boasts of a fine church, also cruciform and dating, sofar as the chancel and north transept are concerned, from thethirteenth century. In that transept the old wooden roof stillremains. The nave is Perpendicular, solid and plain; the roof quitemodern, though the corbels that supported the old one, carved withrepresentations of angels singing and playing, were not disturbed. Thesedilia in the chancel and the aumbry in the north transept should beseen. The lych-gate was erected to the memory of Rowland Williams of_Essays and Reviews_ fame. John Aubrey, antiquary and nature lover, who was a native of Easton Pierce in North Wilts, was a resident herefor a long time, and a modern literary association is found in thefact that the Old Rectory has been the home of Mr. Maurice Hewlett forsome years. 

The hills now begin to close in upon the road and another valleypenetrates into the highlands which form the northern portion ofCranborne Chase. In this vale, in a lovely hollow between the roundedhills, is the small village of Bower Chalke. Westwards, up the mainvalley, we pass through Fifield Bavant, where the church is one of themany that claim to be the smallest in England. Ebbesborne Wake, thenext hamlet, lies cramped in a narrow gully between Barrow Hill andPrescombe Down. The restored church is not of great interest, but anunnamed tomb within bears these very pertinent lines:

 AS THOU DOST LYVE, O READER DERE, SO DYD I ONCE WHICH NOW LYE HEARE; AND AS I AM SO SHALT THOU BE FOR ALL IS FRAYLE AS THOU MAYST SEE. 

Alvedeston, the last village actually in the valley, lies under a spurof Middle Down from which there is a magnificent view of the "farflung field of gold and purple--regal England. " Alvedeston church isan old cruciform building containing the tomb of a knight in fullarmour. This is one of the Gawen family. The Gawens were for manyyears lords of Norrington, a beautiful old house near by. Aubreysuggests that they were descended from that Gawain of the Round Tablewho fought Lancelot and was killed. The last village, Berwick St. John, is high upon the hills and close to Winklebury Camp. Its EarlyEnglish church, as is usual in this district, has transepts. ThePerpendicular tower, though rather squat, is of fine design and theinterior has several interesting monuments and effigies, includingeffigies of Sir John Hussey and Sir Robert Lucie clad in mail. Apleasant custom obtains here of ringing a bell every night during thewinter to guide home the wanderer upon the lonely hills. This wasprovided for in the will of a former rector--John Gane (1735). FromBerwick the hill walk to Salisbury, spoken of in the earlier part ofthis chapter, should be taken. 

[Illustration: DOWNTON CROSS. ]

Another valley worth exploring is that of the Bourne, north-east ofSalisbury, down which the main railway line from London passes for itslast few miles before reaching the city. The Bourne is crossed by theLondon road nearly two miles from the centre of the town. About half amile up stream is the ford where the old way crossed the river toSarum. The London road rises to the right and traverses the lonelychalk uplands to the Winterslow Hut, lately known as the "Pheasant, " areversion to its old name. Here lodged Hazlitt, essayist and recluse, for a period of nine years, and here several of his best knowndissertations were penned, including the appropriate "On Living toOne's Self. " Charles Lamb, accompanied by his sister, visited himhere. We, however, do not propose to travel by the great Londonhighway, but to turn to the left just across St. Thomas' Bridge, andsoon after passing the railway we cross the old Roman road where itappears as a narrow track making direct for the truncated cone of OldSarum away to the west across the valley. Figsbury Rings is the nameof the camp-crowned summit to the east of our road. The first threevillages are all "Winterbournes "--Earls, Dauntsey and Gunner. Thefirst two have rebuilt churches, but the third--Gunner--has aTransitional building of some interest. The name is a corruption ofGunnora, spouse of one of the Delameres who were lords hereabouts inthe early thirteenth century. Farther on, Porton will not detain usvery long, but Idmiston has a church that is a fine example of thestyle so well called Decorated. The tower, indeed, is Norman, but theclustered columns of the nave with their carved capitals and bases arebeautiful specimens of fourteenth-century architecture. The EarlyEnglish chancel has a triple east window and side lancets. Thetwo-storied porch is late Decorated or early Perpendicular. A tomb ofGiles Rowbach and tablets to the Bowie family are of interest. One ofthe Bowles, a vicar of the church, was a notable Spanish scholar andmade a translation of _Don Quixote_. Boscombe Rectory was onceoccupied by "the judicious" Hooker and the first part of the_Ecclesiastical Polity_ was written here. Another theologian--NicholasFuller--famous in his day, held the living of the next village--Allington. At Newton Tony, over eight miles from Salisbury, the pleasant sceneryof the Bourne may be said to end. Beyond, we reach an outlying part ofthe Plain that is seen to better advantage from other directions. Newton Tony has a station on the branch line to Amesbury and BulfordCamp. Wilbury House, on the road to Cholderton, was erected in theItalian style in the early seventeenth century by the Bensons, a notedfamily in those days, one of whose members is commemorated by a brassin the church. The house was the home of the late Mr. T. Gibson Bowles, formerly the member for King's Lynn. 

[Illustration: LUDGERSHALL CHURCH. ]

The valley goes on to Cholderton, Shipton Bellinger and Tidworth, where are situated the head-quarters of the Southern Military Command. The Collingbournes--Ducis and Kingston--are much farther on, right atthe head of the valley, and eighteen miles from Salisbury. If theexplorer has penetrated as far as Tidworth a train can be taken threemiles across the Down to Ludgershall, a very ancient place near theHampshire border. It would seem to have been of some importance inearlier days. "The castell stoode in a parke now clene doun. There isof late times a pratie lodge made by the ruines of it and longgethe tothe king" (Leland). To this castle came the Empress Maud and not faraway the seal of her champion, Milo of Hereford, was found some yearssince. All that is left to show that Leland's "clene doun" was aslight exaggeration is a portion of the wall of the keep built into afarm at the farther end of the little town. The twelfth-century churchis interesting. Here may be seen the effigy of Sir Richard Brydges, the first owner of the Manor House (or "pratie lodge") which succeededthe castle. The picturesque appearance of the main street is enhancedby the old Market Cross which bears carved representations of theCrucifixion and other scenes from the New Testament. 

[Illustration: STONEHENGE. ]

CHAPTER X

STONEHENGE AND THE PLAIN

The direct route from Salisbury to Amesbury is (or was) the loneliestseven miles of highway in Wiltshire. No villages are passed and butone or two houses; thus the road, even with the amenities of Amesburyat the other end is, under normal conditions, an ideal introduction tothe Plain. The parenthesis of doubt refers to that extraordinary and, let us hope, ephemeral transformation which has overtaken the greattract of chalk upland encircling Bulford Camp. The fungus growth ofhuts which, during the earlier years of the Great War, gradually creptfarther and farther from the pre-war nucleus and sent sporadic growthsafield into unsuspected places, will undoubtedly vanish as timepasses, just as the unnaturally busy traffic of the road will alsodisappear. Some of the gaunt incongruities visible from nearStonehenge have, happily, already vanished and in this briefdescription they will be, as far as is possible, ignored. Certain itis that those readers who have had the misfortune to be connected withthem by force of "iron circumstance" will not wish for reminders oftheir miseries. 

Old Sarum is on the left of, and close to, the road. It can be mostconveniently visited from this side. At present the most interestingpart of the great mound is the actual fosse and vallum. The interior, while excavations are in progress, is too much a chaotic rubbish heapto be very inviting. But again this is merely a passing phase and soonthe daisy-starred turf will once more mantle the grave of a dead city. The valley road turns off to the left a short distance past therailway and goes to Stratford-sub-castle, just under the shadow of thegreat mound to the west. This forms a pleasant enough introduction tothe scenery and villages of the Upper Avon. The Manor House atStratford is associated with the Pitt family, for the estate came bypurchase to the celebrated Governor Pitt, the one-time owner of thediamond named after him. His descendant, the Earl of Chatham, wasmember for Old Sarum when it was the most celebrated, and execrated, of all the "rotten boroughs. " For many years the elections took placeunder a tree in a meadow below the hill. This tree was destroyed in ablizzard during the winter of 1896. The Early English andPerpendicular church is quaint and picturesque. On its tower will beseen an inscription to Thomas Pitt and within, an ancient hour-glassstand. The old Parsonage has the inscription over the entrance:--

 PARVA SED APTA DOMINO

 1675

The road now crosses the Avon bridge at a point where the western roadfrom Old Sarum once forded the river, and follows the valley to thethree Woodfords, Lower, Middle, and Upper. Just past the middlevillage, in a loop of the Avon, is Heale House, now rebuilt. In theold mansion Charles took refuge during his flight after Worcester. Thesecret room in which he hid was preserved in the reconstruction. Lake, a beautiful old Tudor House, lately burned, but now restored, standsnear the river bank south of Wilsford, through which village we passto reach West Amesbury, eight miles from Salisbury. The fine modernmansion not far from Wilsford is the seat of Lord Glenconner. 

[Illustration: GATE-HOUSE, AMESBURY ABBEY. ]

Another route which keeps on the east bank of the Avon through asometimes rough by-way, starts from the Salisbury side of the Avonbridge, close to Old Sarum, and passes through the hamlets of LittleDurnford, Salterton and Netton to Durnford, where there is a finechurch, partly Norman, with an imposing chancel arch and north andsouth doors of this period. The remainder of the building is mainlyEarly English. Some old stained glass in the Perpendicular windows ofthe nave should be noticed and also the chained copy of Bishop Jewel's_Apologie or Answer in Defense of the Churche of Englande_, dated1571, in the chancel. The pulpit dates from the early seventeenthcentury and is a well-designed piece of woodwork with carving of thatperiod. A brass to Edward Young and his family, two recessed tombs inthe south wall, a few scraps of wall painting, and the fine Normanfont with interlaced arches and sculptured pillars, are some of theother interesting items in this old church. Ogbury Camp rises abovethe village to the east; a lane to the north of it leads in rathermore than three miles to Amesbury. 

In the mist of legend and tradition that surrounds the towns andhamlets of the Plain the origin of Amesbury is lost. The name issupposed to be derived from Ambres-burh--the town of AureliusAmbrosius--a native British king with a latinized name who reignedabout the year 550. In the _Morte d'Arthur_ "Almesbury" is themonastery to which Guinevere came for sanctuary, and romantictradition asserts that Sir Lancelot took the body of the dead Queenthence to Glastonbury. We are on firmer ground when we come to thetime of the tenth-century house of Benedictine nuns dispersed by HenryII for "that they did by their scandalous and irreligious behaviourbring ill fame to Holy Church. " It had been founded by a royalcriminal, that stony-hearted Elfrida of Corfe, who murdered herstepson while he was a guest at her door. But very soon there was anew house for women and men--a branch of a noted monastery atFontevrault in Anjou--of great splendour and prestige in which thewomen took the lead. To this Priory came many royal and noble ladies, including Eleanor of Brittany, granddaughter of Henry II and Eleanorof England, widow of Henry III. The Priory met the same fate as mostothers at the Dissolution and its actual site is uncertain. ProtectorSomerset obtained possession of the property and afterwards a housewas built by Inigo Jones, most of which has disappeared in subsequentadditions and alterations. While the Queensberry family were inpossession the poet Gay was a guest here and wrote, in a sham cave orgrotto still existing on the river bank, the _Beggar's Opera_, thatsatire on certain aspects of eighteenth-century life which, strangelyenough, became lately popular after a long period of comparativeoblivion. 

Amesbury Church once belonged to the Priory. Its appearance from theoutside gives the impression that it is unrestored. This is not thecase, however, for the drastic restoration and partial rebuilding hastaken place at various times. The architecture is Norman and EarlyEnglish with Decorated windows in the chancel. The double two-storiedchamber at the side of the north transept consists of a priest's roomwith a chapel below. The grounds of the Priory at the back of thechurch are very lovely, the river forming the boundary on one side. Amesbury town is pleasant and even picturesque, and the Avon in itsimmediate neighbourhood may be described as beautiful. It is thenearest place to Stonehenge in which accommodation may be had and isalso a good centre for the exploration of the Plain. The western roadruns in the direction of Stonehenge. On the crown of the hill to theright, just before reaching West Amesbury, the so-called "Vespasian'sCamp" is seen. This is undoubtedly a prehistoric earthwork. 

[Illustration: AMESBURY CHURCH. ]

The description of Salisbury Plain in the _Ingoldsby Legends_ ishardly accurate now:--

 "Not a shrub nor a tree, Not a bush can we see, No hedges, no ditches, no gates, no styles, Much less a house or a cottage for miles. "

The usual accompaniment of the chalk--small "tufts" of foliage, thatbecome spinneys when close at hand, dot the surface of the greatplateau. Green, becoming yellow in the middle distance and toward thehorizon french-grey, are the prevailing hues of the Plain, but attimes when huge masses of cloud cast changing shadows on the shortsward beneath, the colours are kaleidoscopic in their bewilderingchange. This immense table-land, from which all the chalk hills ofEngland take their eastward way, covers over three-fifths of Wiltshireif we include that northern section usually called the MarlboroughDowns. 

We now approach the mysterious Stones that have caused more conjectureand wonder than any work of man in these islands or in Europe and ofwhich more would-be descriptive rubbish has been written in ahighfalutin strain than of any other memorial of the past. Suchphrases as "majestic temple of our far-off ancestors, " "stupendousconception of a dead civilization" and the like, can only bring abouta feeling of profound disappointment when Stonehenge is actually seen. To all who experience such disappointment the writer would stronglyurge a second or third pilgrimage. Come to the Stones on a gloomy dayin late October or early March when the surface of the great expanseof the Plain reflects, as water would, the leaden lowering skies. Thenperhaps the tragic mystery of the place will fire the imagination asno other scene the wide world over could. Stonehenge is uniquewhichever way one looks at it. In its age, its uncouth savagestrength, and its secretiveness. That it will hold that secret to theend of time, notwithstanding the clever and plausible guesses ofarchaeologist and astronomer, is almost beyond any doubt, and it iswell that it should be so. 

The appearance of Stonehenge has been likened to a herd of elephantbrowsing on the Plain. The simile is good and is particularlyapplicable to its aspect from the Amesbury road--the least imposing ofthe approaches. The straight white highway, and the fact that theStones are a little below the observer, detract very much from theimpressiveness of the scene. The usual accompaniments of a visit, anoisy and chattering crowd of motorists, eager to rush round theenclosure quickly, to purchase a packet of postcards and be off; thehut for the sale of the cards, and the absurdly incongruous, but(alas!) necessary, policeman, go far to spoil the visit for the morereverent traveller. But if he will go a little way to the south andwatch the gaunt shapes against the sky for a time and thus realizetheir utter remoteness from that stream of evanescent mortalitybeneath, the unknown ages that they have stood here upon the lonelywaste, the dynasties, nay, the very races, that have come andconquered and gone, and the almost certainty that the broad metalledhighway which passes close to them will in turn disappear and giveplace, while they still stand, to the turf of the great green expansearound; then the awe that surrounds Stonehenge will be felt andunderstood. 

The early aspect of Stonehenge was far more elaborate than as we seeit to-day, and the avenues that led to the inner circles and thesmaller and outer rings have to a large extent disappeared. The stonesare enclosed in a circular earthwork 300 feet across. The outer circleof trilithons, 100 feet in diameter, is composed of monoliths ofsandstone originally four feet apart and thirty in number. Inside thiscircle is another of rough unhewn stones of varying shapes and sizes. Within this again, forming a kind of "holy place, " are twoellipses--the outer of trilithons five in number and the inner of bluestones of the same geological formation as the rough stones of theouter circle. Of these there were originally nineteen. 

[Illustration: PLAN OF STONEHENGE (RESTORED). ]

Near the centre is the so-called "altar stone, " over fifteen feetlong; in a line with this, through the opening of the ellipse, is the"Friar's Heel, " a monolith standing outside the circles. The largerstones or "sarsens" are natural to the Marlborough Downs, but theunhewn or "blue" stones are mysterious. They are composed of a kind ofigneous rock not found anywhere near Wiltshire. A suggestion byProfessor Judd is that they are ice-borne boulders accidentallydeposited on the Plain during the southward drift of the great icecap. One of the sarsen stones is stained with copper oxide, and thisfact has been taken to point to Stonehenge being erected somewhere inthe Bronze Age--that is, not longer ago than 2000 B. C. Excavationsabout twenty years ago brought to light a number of stone tools, fragments of pottery, coins and bones. Belonging to a long period oftime, the finds were inconclusive. It is quite possible that the ringof rough blue stones were erected by a primitive race of stone men andthat a continuous tradition of sanctity clung to the spot until, inthe time of those heirs and successors of theirs who used bronzeweapons and were acquainted with the rudiments of engineering, theimposing temple that we call Stonehenge came into being. 

It will be well at this point to make brief reference to theinterpretation placed on Stonehenge by various writers. Henry ofHuntingdon (1150) calls it Stanhenges, and terms it the second wonderof England, but professes entire ignorance of its purpose and marvelsat the method of its construction. Geoffrey of Monmouth (1150)ascribes its origin to the magic of Merlin who, at the instance ofAurelius Ambrosius, directed the invasion of Ireland under UtherPendragon to obtain possession of the standing stones called the"Giants' Dance at Killaraus. " Victory being with the invaders, thestones were taken and transported across the seas with the greatestease with Merlin's help, and placed on Salisbury Plain as a memorialto the dead of Britain fallen in battle. Giraldus Cambrensis, Robertof Gloucester and Leland all give a similar explanation. About 1550, in Speed's _History of Britain_ and Stow's _Annals_, Merlin and theinvasion of Ireland are dropped and sole credit given to Ambrosius forthe erection. Thomas Fuller (1645) ridicules tradition and considerthe stones to be artificial and probably made of sand (!) on the spot. Inigo Jones about the same time attributes the erection to the Romans. His master, James I, having taken a philosophic interest in theStones, had desired him to make some pronouncement upon them. Thismonarch's grandson, in his flight, is said to have stopped and essayedto count the stones, with the usual result on the second trial. Pepysa short time after went "single to Stonehenge, over the Plain and somegreat hills even to fright us. Come thither and find them asprodigious as any tales I ever heard of them, and worth going thisjourney to see, God knows what their use was! they are hard to tellbut may yet be told. "

About the middle of the eighteenth century the Druid temple legendbegan to gain ground and many great men gave support to theirinterpretation; it is not yet an exploded idea. Stukely, thearchaeological writer, gives a definite date--460 B. C. --as that oftheir erection, and Dr. Johnson, writing to Mrs. Thrale, says:--"Itis, in my opinion, to be referred to the earliest habitations of theisland as a druidical monument of, at least, two thousand years, probably the most ancient work of man upon the island. " In the lastpart of this sentence the great doctor either forgets, or shows hisignorance of, the antiquities at Avebury. Sir Richard Hoare, at theclose of the century, is equally convinced that this explanation isthe right one. Other theories current about this time were--that itwas a monument to four hundred British princes slain by Hengist (472);the grave of Queen Boadicea; or a Phoenician temple; even a Danishorigin was ascribed to Stonehenge. Perhaps the most curious factconnected with the literary history of Stonehenge is that it is notmentioned in the Roman itineraries or by Bede or any other Saxonwriter. 

In 1824 the following interesting article by H. Wansey appeared in the_Gentleman's Magazine_. 

 "In my early days I frequently visited Stonehenge to make observations at sunrise as well as by starlight. I noticed that the lower edge of the impost of the outer circle forms a level horizontal line in the heavens, equi-distant from the earth, to the person standing near the centre of the building, about 15 degrees above the horizon on all sides. 

 "Stonehenge stands on rather sloping ground; the uprights of the outer circle are nearly a foot taller on the lower ground or western side than they are on the eastern, purposely to keep the horizontal level of the impost, which marks great design and skill. The thirty uprights of the outer circle are not found exactly of equal distances, but the imposts (so correctly true on their under bed) are each of them about 7 cubits in length, making 210 cubits the whole circle. 

 "If a person stands before the highest leaning-stone, between it and the altar stone looking eastward, he will see the pyramidal stone called the Friar's Heel, coinciding with the top of Durrington Hill, marking nearly the place where the sun rises on the longest day. This was the observation of a Mr. Warltire, who delivered lectures on Stonehenge at Salisbury (1777), and who had drawn a meridian line on one of the stones. Mr. Warltire asserted that the stone of the trilithons and of the outer circle are the stone of the country, and that he had found the place from whence they were taken, about fourteen miles from the spot northward, somewhere near Urchfont. 

 "If the person so standing turns to his left hand, he will find a groove in one of the 6-foot pillars from top to bottom, which (in the lapse of so many ages, and swelled by the alternate heat and moisture of two thousand years, has lost its shape) might have contained in it a scale of degrees for measuring; and the stone called the altar[3] would have answered to draw those diagrams on, and this scale of degrees was well placed for use in such a case, for one turning himself to the left, and his right hand holding a compass, could apply it most conveniently. With all this apparatus the motions of the heavenly bodies might have been accurately marked and eclipses calculated, a knowledge of which, Caesar says, they possessed in his time. 

 "Wood and Dr. Stukeley both make the inner oval to consist of nineteen stones, answering to the ancient Metonic Cycle of nineteen years, at the end of which the sun and the moon are in the same relative situation as at the beginning, when indeed the same almanack will do again. 

 "In my younger days I have visited Stonehenge by starlight, and found, on applying my sight from the top of the 6-foot pillars of the inner oval and looking at the high trilithons, I could mark the places of the planets and the stars in the heavens, so as to measure distances by the corners and angles of them.... 

 "It is very remarkable that no barrow or tumulus exists on the east side, where the sun (the great object of ancient worship) first appears. "

[3] "Dr. Smith says that he has tried a bit of this stone, and foundthat it would not stand fire. It is, therefore, very improbable thatit should have been used for burnt sacrifices. "

The theory put forward in this article has in late years been upheldby no less an authority than Sir Norman Lockyer, who thinks that thepractice of visiting Stonehenge on the longest day of the year--apilgrimage that goes back before the beginnings of recorded history, essayed by a country people not addicted to wasting a fine summermorning without some very strong tradition to prompt them--goes far tobear out the theory that Stonehenge was a solar temple. If this is so, the mysterious people who erected it were civilized enough to have agood working knowledge of the movement of the heavenly bodies, andprobably combined that knowledge with a not unreasonable worship andritual. Sir Norman Lockyer's calculations give the date of theerection as about 1680 B. C. 

Lord Avebury considers that it is part of a great scheme for honouringthe famous dead, and many modern writers have adopted the same view. That the Plain near by is a great cemetery is beyond doubt, but thenso are more or less all the chalk hills of Britain. 

There is more than one explanation of the probable method of theconstruction of the trilithons. A writer in the _WiltshireArchaeological Magazine_ (W. Long) puts forward the theory that anartificial mound was made in which holes were dug to receive theupright pillars. When these were in position the recumbent block couldeasily be placed across the two and, all the trilithons beingcomplete, the earth could be dug away, leaving the stones standing. Professor Gowland, however, does not favour this view in the light ofhis recent discoveries and is inclined to credit the builders with agreater knowledge of simple engineering. 

[Illustration: STONEHENGE DETAIL. ]

In 1918 Stonehenge, which hitherto had formed part of the AmesburyAbbey estate of Sir Cosmo Gordon Antrobus, was sold to Sir C. H. Chubb, who immediately presented it to the nation. The work of restoration isbeing carried out by the Office of Works, and the Society ofAntiquaries are, at their own expense, sifting every cubic inch ofground under those stones that are being re-erected--to the dismay ofmany of that body--in beds of concrete! Much apprehension has beenfelt by archaeologists that this renovation will have deplorableresults, but it is promised that nothing is to be done in the way ofreplacement which cannot be authenticated. At the time of writing thework is still in progress and all is chaos. When the hideous ironfence is replaced by the proposed ha-ha, or sunk fence, and new swardgrows about the old stones the general effect will be greatlyimproved. The excavators have re-discovered certain depressions shownin Aubrey's Map (1666) and which had long since disappeared to outwardview. There is little doubt that they held stones more or less in acircle with the "Slaughter Stone. " It is conjectured that, as in thecase of the inner blue stones, this outer ring was constructed beforethe more imposing trilithons were erected, perhaps at a period longanterior. Each of the holes already explored contain calcined humanbones. 

Stonehenge Down; Wilsford Down to the south; Stoke Down westwards, and, in fact, the whole of the great Plain is a maze of earthworks, ditches, tumuli and relics of a past at which we can only guess. Here, if anywhere in Britain, is haunted ground and perhaps the silence ofearlier writers may be explained by the existence of a kind of "taboo"that prevented reference to the mysteries of the Plain. 

The exploration of the upper Avon may be extended from Amesbury toDurrington (one mile from Bulford station), where is an old churchcontaining fine carved oak fittings worth inspection. Across thestream is Milston, where Addison was born and his father was rector. Higher up the river is pretty Figheldean with its old thatchedcottages embowered among the huge trees that line the banks of thestream, and with a fine Early English church. The monuments in theDecorated chancel are to some of the Poores, once a notable family. The church also contains certain unknown effigies. These werediscovered at some distance from the church, probably having beenthrown away during some earlier "restoration!"

[Illustration: ENFORD. ]

Netheravon is famous for its Cavalry School. Of its Norman and EarlyEnglish church Sydney Smith was once a curate, to his greatdiscomfort. The tower here is very old and some have called it Saxon. The student of _Rural Rides_ will remember that here Cobbett saw an"acre of hares!" Fittleton is another unspoilt little village, andEnford, or Avonford, the next, has a fine church unavoidably muchrestored after having been struck by lightning early in the nineteenthcentury; the Norman piers remain. All these villages gain in interestand charm to the pedestrian by being just off the high road that keepsto the west bank of the river. Upavon, however, is on a loop of thishighway and sees more traffic. Here is a church with a Transitionalchancel; it is said that the contemporary nave was of wood. The finetower and present nave belong to the thirteenth century. The Normanfont with its archaic carving and the fifteenth-century crucifix overthe west door should be noticed. Upavon was the home of a kindredspirit to Cobbett, for here was born the once famous "Orator Hunt, "farmer and demagogue--rare combination! He was chairman of the meetingin Manchester that had "Peterloo" as its sequel. Near Upavon, but downstream, is the small and ancient manor house of Chisenbury, untillately the property of the Groves, one of whose ancestors suffereddeath for his participation in the rising of Colonel Penruddock duringthe Commonwealth. 

At Rushall the narrow valley of the Avon, guarded by the opposingcamps of Casterley and Chisenbury, is left for the transverse vale ofPewsey, on the farther side of which are the Marlborough Downs. Anumber of chalk streams drain the vale and go to make up thehead-waters of the Avon; in fact two streams, both bearing the oldBritish name for river, meet hereabouts; the one rising about twomiles from Savernake station and the other about the same distancefrom Devizes. Along the northern slope of this vale the canal made tojoin the Kennet and Thames with yet another, the Bristol Avon, runsits lonely course. Five miles west of Rushall is the divide betweenthe waters of the English Channel and the Severn Sea, and the BristolAvon receives the stream that rises but a mile from its namesake ofChristchurch Bay. High in one of the combes at this end of the valleyis the small village of All Cannings, said to have been of muchimportance in the dark ages as a Saxon centre. All it has to show thevisitor now is a cruciform church with Norman and Early Englishfragments and a good Perpendicular tower. 

The villages of Pewsey Vale are many and charming. All are well servedby the "short-cut" line of the Great Western, over which the Devon andCornwall expresses now run. Across the vale, in an opposite directionto the iron way, runs the Ridgeway, a road probably in use whenStonehenge was not, and Silbury Hill, that mystery of the MarlboroughDowns, was yet to be. On the western side of this old road are thevillages of Patney and Chirton. At the latter is a very beautifulTransitional church. Near Beechingstoke, close to the Ridgeway, is afamous British village, the entrenchment containing about thirtyacres. The old road comes down from the northern highlands betweenMilk Hill (964 feet) and Knap Hill, the two bluffs that rear theirgreat bulk across the vale. Here beneath the "White Horse, " a modernone cut at the beginning of the nineteenth century, are the oldchurches of Alton Priors and Alton Berners, the latter partly Saxon. 

The road north-east from Rushall runs through Manningford Bruce. Thechurch here is possibly Saxon; it has a semi-circular apse. On thenorth wall of the chancel is a tablet to Mary Nicholas with armsbearing the royal canton. This was her reward for helping Charles inhis flight after the battle of Worcester. Manningford Abbots oncebelonged to the Abbot of Hyde. The rebuilt church is only of interestin possessing a very fine pre-Reformation chalice. Two miles fartheris Pewsey, a pleasant town surrounded by the chalk hills. From thoseto the eastward Cobbett, when he beheld the vale stretched out beforehim, broke into one of those simple but graphic descriptive touchesthat help to make the _Rural Rides_ immortal, "A most beautiful sightit was! Villages, hamlets, large farms, towers, steeples, fields, meadows, orchards and very fine timber trees. The shape of the thingwas this: on each side downs, very lofty and steep in some places, andsloping miles back in other places, but on each side out of the valleyare downs. From the edge of the downs begin capital arable fields, generally of very great dimensions and in some places running a mileor two back into little cross valleys formed by hills of downs. Afterthe corn-fields come meadows on each side, down to the brook or river. The farmhouses, mansions, villages and hamlets are generally situatedin that part of the arable land that comes nearest to the meadows. Great as my expectations had been, they were more than fulfilled. Idelight in this sort of country..... I sat upon my horse, and I lookedover Milton and Easton and Pewsey for half an hour, though I had notbreakfasted. "

Pewsey Church has a Transitional nave and Early English chancel; theoblong tower being Perpendicular. The carved reredos was designed andworked by Canon Pleydell-Bouverie, who also made the communion railsfrom some timbers of the _San Josef_, a ship taken by Nelson at thebattle of Cape St. Vincent. The roof of the organ chamber and vestryare of much interest; they are part of the refectory roof of IvychurchPriory. 

The country to the north of the little old town is very beautiful. Theprecipitous wall of the Marlborough Downs, with several lovely andlittle-known villages at its foot, is a remarkable feature of thelandscape. The high road to Marlborough, that climbs the hills forthree fatiguing miles, passes through the small village of Oare, wherethere is a modern red-brick church. Not far away to the west are thehamlets of West and East Towel, lost in the lonely by ways beneath thehills. Above them in a fold of the Downs is Huish, dropped down amidstmemorials of a long vanished past. Dewponds, earthworks and "hutcircles" cover the hills in all directions. At Martinsell, thecamp-crowned hill to the east of the high road, until recent days afestival was held, the beginnings of which may have been in Neolithictimes. On Palm Sunday young men and maidens would ascend the hillcarrying boughs of hazel. They would, no doubt, have been scandalizedif told that the ceremony had anything but a Christian significance. The prospect of the Vale from this hill-side, or from the high roaditself, is not easily forgotten, and the beech-woods and parklands ofRainscombe, that fill the broad but sheltered hollow below, make alovely foreground to the view. 

We must now return to the lower end of the Vale of Wylye which hasbeen noticed at Wilton, where the river, road and rail come down anarrow defile from Heytsbury and Warminster. This valley has on thenorth and east the familiar aspect of Salisbury Plain. On the southand west are those wooded hills that are seen also from theneighbourhood of Fonthill, and though both sides of the valley aremade of the same material--the current chalk of Wiltshire--they arevery unlike in their superficial scenery. The Wylye is perhaps themost beautiful of Wiltshire rivers, and although it has an importantcross-country railway running close to it for the greater part of itslength, the villages and hamlets upon the banks are peculiarly calm, secluded and unspoilt. 

The high road from Salisbury to Warminster turns northwards atFugglestone past the two Wilton stations, without entering that townand, passing through Chilhampton and South Newton, reaches the hamletof Stoford, which has an old inn close to the river bank. A short halfmile westwards is the picturesque old village of Great Wishford, saidto be derived from "welsh-ford, " where the church has been so muchrestored that it is practically a new one. The chancel with its finetriple lancet window is Early English. The altar tomb of Sir ThomasBonham has his effigy in a pilgrim's robe which is said to commemoratethat knight's seven years' sojourn in Palestine. An incredibletradition, current among the country people, says that Lady Bonhamgave birth to seven children at one time, and that the sieve, in whichthey were all brought to the church to be christened, hung in the oldnave for many years. The fine tomb in the chancel is that of SirRichard Grobham (1629). His helmet and banner are suspended upon theopposite wall; an old chest in the south aisle is said to have beensaved from a Spanish ship by this knight. 

The main road continues up the valley to Stapleford, where is a finecruciform church with Norman arches on the south of the nave and witha door of this period on the same side. The fine sedilia and piscinain the fourteenth-century chancel should be noticed, and also thewell-proportioned porch that has within it a coffin slab bearing anincised cross. Here the valley of the Winterbourne comes down from theheart of the Plain at Orcheston through Winterbourne Stoke and BerwickSt. James; a lonely and thinly populated string of hamlets seldomvisited by the ordinary tourist, but of much charm to those whoappreciate the more unsophisticated type of English village that, alas! is becoming more rare every day. Both Berwick and Stoke haveinteresting old churches. 

Continuing up the Wylye we reach Steeple Langford, situated in themost beautiful part of the valley. Here is a Decorated church withgood details and a remarkable tomb-slab bearing an incised figure ofan unknown huntsman, also a fine altar tomb of the Mompessons. Therector here in the days of the Parliament was ejected in the depth ofwinter with his wife and eleven children, suffering great hardshipbefore succour reached them. Little Langford is across the stream inan exquisite situation. Deeply embowered among the trees is the smallcruciform church with an interesting Norman door, showing in thetympanum, a bishop, said to represent St. Aldhelm, in the act ofbenediction. We may keep to the road that closely follows the railwayon the south side of the stream to Wylye, a quiet little place halfway up the vale. Here is a Perpendicular church with a pinnacled towerand an Early English east end. The Jacobean pulpit stood in the oldchurch at Wilton and was brought here when that was rebuilt. A famouspre-Reformation chalice is preserved among the church plate, and thevillage is proud of its bells. One bears the words "Ave Maria";another not so old is inscribed "1587 Give thanks to God. " Across thestream the hamlet of Deptford stands on the main road, which goes byFisherton de la Mere to Codford St. Mary. Here another quiet valleyopens up into the Plain and leads to the remote villages of ChitterneSt. Mary and All Saints, among many relics of the prehistoricpast--"British" villages and circles, tumuli and ditches. Codford St. Mary Church, though partly rebuilt, is still of interest and has aTransitional Norman chancel arch and fine Norman font. The Jacobeanpulpit and Tudor altar tomb of Sir Richard Mompesson should benoticed. The altar is said to have been made from the woodwork of aderelict pulpit from St. Mary's, Oxford. Cobbett was enthusiasticabout the well-being of the country and its farmers hereabouts, andwas especially delighted with the rich picture that this part of theWylye makes from the Down above. Codford is the village taken byTrollope for the scene of _The Vicar of Bulhampton_. 

Codford St. Peter, where there is a railway station, has amuch-restored church, practically rebuilt. The ancient sculpturedstonework in the chancel, discovered during the rebuilding, is said tobe Saxon. The font with its curious Norman carvings is noteworthy. Onthe other side of the vale are three interesting villages, beautifullyplaced--Stockton, Sherrington and Boyton. Stockton Church isTransitional with an Early English chancel. Its screen was erected bythe former Bishop of Worcester, Dr. Yeatman-Biggs, in memory of hiswife and brother. The wall separating nave and chancel is uncommon inits solidity, the small opening being more in the nature of a doorwaythan of a chancel arch. Two squints made it possible for the people tosee the movements of the minister at the altar. In the north aisle isthe canopied tomb of John Topp (1640) and on the other side of thechurch, that of Jerome Poticary. Both these worthies were wealthyclothiers, and the first-named built the beautiful manor house whichwe may still see near by. The old panelling and moulded ceilings ofthis mansion are very fine specimens of seventeenth-centuryworkmanship. Jerome Poticary also built himself a fair dwelling thatis now a farmhouse. The picturesque Topp almshouses and pleasant oldcottages together with the charm of the natural surroundings make thisvillage a delightful one. Sherrington once had a castle owned by theGiffards, but all that is now to be seen is the green mound where onceit stood, close to the little old church. Boyton church is a fineexample of the Decorated style. It has some older Early Englishportions. The windows in the Lambert chapel are much admired. Here arealso two altar tombs; that with a figure in chain armour, cross-legged, represents the crusading Sir Alexander Giffard. Aninteresting discovery was made of a headless skeleton under thechancel floor, supposed to have been the remains of a Giffard who losthis head for rebellion in the reign of Edward II. Boyton Manor, abeautiful old house, is not far away. It was built in the earlyseventeenth century and was for a time the residence of QueenVictoria's youngest son. 

[Illustration: BOYTON MANOR. ]

Upton Lovell, about a mile from Codford St. Peter, has a church, thenave of which was built in the seventeenth century. The chancelbelongs to the original Transitional building. An altar tomb with aneffigy in armour is supposed to be that of a Lovell of Castle Cary. The manor was held by this family and from them the village takes itsname. An unhappy story is told of one of the family, a participant inthe Lambert Simnel rebellion, who managed to find sanctuary here, and, perhaps through his retainers being in ignorance of his whereabouts, was starved to death in the secret chamber in which he had hiddenhimself. His skeleton was discovered long afterwards seated at a tablewith books and papers in front of it. Knook is the next village, amile below Heytesbury. Here is a church that, in spite of ruthlessrestoration, has retained its Norman chancel and a south door with afine tympanum. Also the old manor house has still much of its formerdignity in spite of its change of station. Away to the north, on oneof the rounded summits of Salisbury Plain, is Knook Castle, aprehistoric camp that was utilized by the Romans and possibly by theSaxons after their invasion of the west. 

Heytesbury or Hegtredesbyri, seventeen miles from Salisbury, has astation half-way between the old town and Tytherington on the south, and is an ancient place that had seen its best days before the dawn ofthe nineteenth century. It was another of the "rotten" boroughs andfell into a period of stagnation from which the railway seems to havelately rescued it. Many new roads and houses have sprung up without, however, spoiling the appearance of this pleasant little place. Thechurch, dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, is chiefly Early English withTransitional work in the chancel and Perpendicular in the nave. In thenorth transept is the Hungerford chantry, to whose founder is due thechantry seen in Salisbury Cathedral. The south transept contains atablet in memory of William Cunnington (1810), to whose researches theantiquaries of Wiltshire owe a great deal of their information. Thischurch was made collegiate by Bishop Joscelyn in the twelfth century. Heytesbury Hospital was founded by Lord Treasurer Hungerford, whosebadge, two sickles, may be seen over the entrance. In the beautifulpark are some magnificent beeches and a group of cedars below thefir-clad Copley Hill which is crowned by a prehistoric camp. 

At Tytherington there is another church, very small and old and once aprebend of Heytesbury. In the early days of the last century servicewas only performed here four times a year, and a legend was oncerelated to the writer of a dog that had been accidentally shut up inthis church at one service and found alive and released at the next, ten weeks later! A mile farther is Sutton Veny, where there are twochurches, a fine new one, and an old ruined building of which thechancel is kept in repair as a mortuary chapel. The manor house ispicturesque and rambling, as is the village itself, straggling alongthe road to Warminster. At the upper end of the street a cross road onthe right leads to Morton Bavant and to the main route on the northside of the stream. The partly rebuilt church is of little interest, excepting perhaps the arch of chalk that supports the fourteenth-centurytower, but the village deserves the adjective "sweet. " The stream, although now of small size, and the surrounding hills that rise closeby into Scratchbury Camp, make a lovely setting for the mellow oldcottages and bright gardens that one may hope are as good to live in asthey are to look at. Close by the village certain Roman pavements werefound in 1786, but the site is now uncertain and the mosaics have beenlost. At the cross roads just referred to, the left-hand road climbsthe hill to the Deverills--Longridge, Hill, Buxton, Monkton andKingston, pleasant hamlets all, of which the first has the most toshow. Here is a fine church partly built of chalk and containing thetomb of the Sir John Thynne who made Longleat. The old almshouses werefounded by his descendant, Sir James, in 1665. In Hill Deverill Churchis a monumental record of the Ludlows. To this family General Ludlow, of the Army of the Parliament, belonged. Beyond the last of theDeverills is Maiden Bradley, alone with its guardian hills, which ringit round with summits well over 800 feet above the sea. Long Knoll isthe monarch of this miniature range and well repays the explorer whoclimbs to its summit with a most delightful view. In Maiden BradleyChurch is the tomb of Sir Edward Seymour, Speaker of the House in thereign of Charles II, and a fine Norman font of Purbeck marble. 

Resuming the route northwards from Sutton Veny, Bishopstrow is soonreached. Above the village to the north is the great rounded hillcalled Battlesbury Camp, crowned with the usual entrenchments andsurrounded by the curious "lynchets" or remains of ancient terracecultivation. Bishopstrow Church dates from 1757, when it replaced abuilding with Saxon foundations and east end. The main road is nowtaken on the north bank of the stream and in two miles, or twenty-one_direct_ from Salisbury, we arrive at the old town called, no oneknows why, Warminster. It may be that the Were, the small stream orbrook running into Wylye gives the first syllable, but that St. Deny'sChurch was ever a minster there is no evidence, though it isoccasionally so called by the townspeople. Now quite uninteresting, the church was rebuilt some thirty years or more ago. In High Street, close to the Town Hall, is the chantry of St. Lawrence, still keepingits old tower but otherwise rebuilt. For its age and situationWarminster retains little that is ancient, but it is a pleasant andvery healthy town, 400 feet above the sea. Here, in the earlynineteenth century, two eminent Victorians--Dr. Arnold and DeanStanley--received their first education at the old Grammar School. St. Boniface College, established in 1860, is a famous house oftraining for missionaries. Warminster has "no villainous gingerbreadhouses running up and no nasty shabby-genteel people; no womentrapesing about with showy gowns and dirty necks, no Jew-lookingfellows with dandy coats, dirty shirts and half heels to their shoes. A really nice and good town" (Cobbett). 

The great show-place and excursion from Warminster is Longleat. Toreach the great house and famous grounds we take the western roadwhich reaches the confines of the park in a little over four miles andpasses under the imposing mass of Cley Hill, an isolated eminence ofabout 900 feet, on the summit of which a curious "ceremony" used totake place, as at Martinsell, on Palm Sunday. The boys and young menfrom neighbouring villages would ascend the hill to play a game withsticks and balls. Not one could say why, but that it was "alwaysdone. " Undoubtedly this was an unconscious reminiscence of a paganspring festival. 

Longleat is indeed a "stately home of England" and one of the mostfamous of those larger mansions that are more in the nature ofpermanent museums for the benefit of the public than of homes fortheir fortunate possessors. In normal times the galleries are open ontwo or three days in the week, according to the seasons, and holidaycrowds come long distances to see the magnificent house and its stillmore splendid surroundings, perhaps more than to inspect the arttreasures which form the nominal attraction. Still these are very fineand should, if possible, be seen. 

[Illustration: LONGLEAT. ]

The origin of "Long Leat"--the long shallow stream of pond andlakelets artificially widened and dammed--was, like that of so manyother great houses, a monastic one. An Augustinian Priory stood herebefore the Dissolution, but when the Great Dispersal took place it hadalready decayed and no great tragedy occurred. Protector Somerset hada young man attached to his retinue, and in his confidence, named SirJohn Thynne who, when his master lost his head, very adroitly kept hisown, afterwards marrying the heiress of a great London merchant--SirThomas Gresham. This enabled the husband to add greatly to the smallproperty he had already purchased, which included the old priorybuildings, and the altered state of his fortunes prompted him to erecta stately residence on the old site. His first efforts were destroyedby a disastrous fire, but in 1578 the stately house was finished and, as far as the exterior is concerned, was practically as we see itto-day. The interior was entirely remodelled at the beginning of thenineteenth century by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville. James Thynne--"Tom ofTen Thousand "--was the Lord of Longleat in 1682. He was engaged tothe beautiful sixteen-year-old widow of Lord Ogle, when she had themisfortune to attract the attention of Count Konigsmark, a Polishadventurer, whose hired assassins waylaid and shot Thynne in PallMall. The Count escaped punishment, but his instruments were hangedupon the scene of the crime. The property then passed to a cousin whobecame the first Viscount Weymouth. The third Viscount was madeMarquis of Bath when he was the host of George III in 1789. A famousguest of the first Viscount was Bishop Ken, who stayed at Longleat formany years as an honoured visitor. 

Amongst the treasures on the walls of the corridors and saloons areseveral Holbeins, portraits of contemporaries of his, including HenryVIII. There are also a number by Sir Peter Lely, one being of BishopKen and another of his friend and host; several interesting paintingsof celebrated men of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and somegood representative examples of great artists from Raphael to Watts. The grand staircase and state drawing-room are of admirableproportions and form part of the work of Wyatville. In thedrawing-room is treasured a cabinet of coral and a writing tabletwhich belonged to Talleyrand. The great hall, which contains acollection of armour and ancient implements of war of much importanceand value, has a fine wooden roof and minstrels' gallery. Among thestags' horns that decorate the walls will be seen two mightyheadpieces that once belonged to Irish elks and were discovered in apeat bog. The chimney-piece here belongs to the period beforeWyatville began his transformation of the interior. 

Not least of the attractions of Longleat are its surroundings. Thepark is sixteen miles round, and a large portion of this great spaceis taken up by garden and pleasaunce, as distinct from the deer parkitself. The approach from Warminster and the north is by a woodedascent with Cley Beacon to the right and past "Heaven's Gate, " afavourite view-point with Bishop Ken, who, it is said, composed themorning hymn associated with his name while contemplating theinspiring scene before him. Almost as fine is the approach from thesouth through the arched gateway on the Horningsham road. This routepasses through groves of magnificent timber and by the string ofdelightful ponds that give the place its name. 

The road that hugs the Plain on its western side goes almost directlynorth from Warminster and, passing Upton Scudamore, reaches Westburyin less than four miles. The history of this old town is closely boundup with that of the kings of Wessex and at Westbury Leigh is a sitecalled the "Palace Garden, " encircled by a moat said to have once beenthe residence of these monarchs. The Westbury White Horse is supposedto have been cut as a memorial of the great victory of Alfred over theDanes in 890 (or 877). In the later Middle Ages, this town, like manyothers in the west, was a centre of the cloth trade, and, later, ironfoundries were a feature of the place. 

The handsome cruciform church, in the midst of its fine chestnuttrees, is of much interest. Originally Norman, the greater part of thepresent building is early Perpendicular. The dingified central towerand the spaciousness of the interior will be admired. On the south ofthe chancel is the Willoughby Chapel, on the north, that of theMaudits. The south transept contains a monument of Sir James Ley, created Earl of Marlborough by Charles I. The chained book, a copy ofErasmus' _Paraphrase_, and also the fine, though modern, stained glassin the east and west windows is worthy of notice. 

A new suburb has grown up on the western side between the originaltown and the railway junction nearly a mile away and the immediatesurroundings of the station, as we enter it from the south, arereminiscent of a northern industrial town. Smoke and clangour, andodours not often met with in Wiltshire, are very insistent. Not somany years ago Westbury was in a backwater, if that term may beapplied to railways, but now that it is on the new main route to Devonand Cornwall the industrial aspect of the town may increase greatlyduring the next few years. 

Frome, six miles away over the border in Somersetshire and on thissame new way to the west, has shaken off its ancient air of bucolicpeace and now prints books and weaves cloth and does a little in themanufacture of art metal work. The town, nevertheless, is verypleasant despite its strenuous endeavour to make money in a wayMercian rather than West Saxon. Its broad market place and steep andpicturesque streets leading thereto, especially that one named"Cheap, " and the rural throng that congregates on market and fair daysis distinctly that of Wessex. Frome Church is more beautiful withinthan without. It is approached, however, by a picturesque and steepascent of steps, on the left-hand wall of which are sculptures of theStations of the Cross. The church is extraordinary for the number ofits side chapels and its amazing mixture of styles, but the interiorhas an air of much dignity and even beauty, which was greatly added toby a restoration which took place during the fifties of the lastcentury. Perhaps the most interesting item about the church is the tombof Bishop Ken, who was brought here from Longleat "at sunrising. " Hisbody lies just without the east window and the grave is thus describedby Lord Houghton:--

 A basket-work where bars are bent, Iron in place of osier; And shapes above that represent A mitre and a crosier. 

[Illustration: FROME CHURCH. ]

Again we have been tempted too far afield and must return to theeastern road out of Westbury that follows the Great Western Railway toBratton, not far from Edington station. Above to the right, on one ofthe western bastions of the Plain, is the White Horse just mentioned. It is of great size--180 feet long and 107 in height. It was"restored" many years ago and the ancient grotesque outline altered byvandals who should have known better. Above the figure is the greatentrenched camp called Bratton Castle, containing within its walls 23acres. Bratton Church is built in a peculiar situation against theside of the Down. The fine cruciform structure, with a handsome fourstoried central tower, dates from about 1420 and occupies the site ofan older building, probably Norman. The brass to Seeton Bromwich(1607) should be noticed. We now proceed by the northern foot of thehills to Edington, where is one of the most beautiful churches inWiltshire, exceeding in its proportions and dignity some of oursmaller cathedrals. It was originally the church of a monastery ofAugustinians founded in 1352 by William of Edyngton, Bishop ofWinchester. A tragedy took place here in 1450 during the Caderebellion, when the Bishop of Salisbury (Ayscough) was seized by therioters while he was celebrating mass, taken to the summit of theDowns and there stoned to death. A chapel was afterwards built on thespot, but the exact site is uncertain. The Bishop's fault was that, being constantly with the Court, his diocese was neglected and hisflock suffered. 

The church was both conventual and parochial; the nave, as usual insuch cases, being the people's portion. The chancel, both inproportions and detail, is a very fine example of the Decorated style. In the south transept is a beautiful altar tomb with a richly carvedcanopy; the occupant is unknown. So is the resting-place of BishopAyscough. Another fine monument is that in the nave to Sir RalphCheney (1401). The beautiful and original fourteenth-century glassshould be noticed and also the Jacobean pulpit. Of the conventualbuildings nothing remains, but a few fragments of the succeedingmansion of the Pauletts are now incorporated in a neighbouringfarmhouse. A magnificent yew in the churchyard probably antedates thepresent church, and may have been contemporary with an earlier parishchurch of which all record has been lost. 

[Illustration: WESTBURY WHITE HORSE. ]

The road goes onward through the charming villages nestling under thenorthern bastions of the Plain that is still on the right hand as itwas at Heytesbury. We are now on the opposite side with lonely Imberfour miles away over the hills, the only settlement between the formertown and Edington. "If one would forsake the world let him go toImber, " says a modern writer, and an old couplet runs "Imber on theDown, four miles from any town. " After passing Coulston and Erlestoke(a gem among beautiful hamlets), from rising ground near by, may beobtained truly glorious views of the west country toward Bath andBristol and the distant Severn Sea. A lane now turns left toCheverell, where is a fine old mansion with an interesting courthouseand cells for prisoners, and an Early English church with aPerpendicular tower. Within the church is a tablet to Sir JamesStonehouse, of interest to those who have explored the Plain, for thiswas the "Mr. Johnson" of Hannah More's _Shepherd of Salisbury Plain_and the cottage in which the shepherd--David Saunders--lived is stillshown in the village. 

We now approach a parting of the ways. The Salisbury-Devizes roadcrosses that we have been travelling, which runs west and east fromFrome to Andover. Southwards toward Salisbury is the pleasant littletown of West Lavington. Here is a famous college for farmers known asthe Dauntsey School. It was endowed in 1895, partly from certainmoneys left by Alderman Dauntsey who flourished in the fifteenthcentury. The Dauntsey almshouses were also an institution associatedwith this benevolent merchant. The church is an interesting buildingof various dates, from Norman to Perpendicular. The Dauntsey chapelwas erected on the south side in the early fifteenth century for thefamily of that name; another, called the Beckett chapel, stands to thesouth of the chancel. A fine altar tomb, one of two in the southtransept, bears a recumbent effigy of Henry Danvers. Among otherobjects of interest is the memorial of Captain Henry Penruddocke, shotby soldiers of the Parliament, while asleep in one of the houses ofthe village. The road through West Lavington leads to the heart of thePlain at Tilshead, passing at its highest point St. John a Gore Cross, where a chantry chapel once stood, a shrine where travellers mightmake their orisons before braving the terrors of the great waste. Tilshead met with a curious misfortune in 1841, according to theinscription on one of the cottages. A great flood, caused by a verysudden thaw which liberated some miles of snow-water on the higherportions of the Plain, tore down the narrow (and usually waterless)valley and caused great destruction in the tiny village; the oldNorman church being the only building that was quite undamaged. MarketLavington is farther east on the Pewsey road. It was once of someimportance and is one of those decayed towns that almost justifyCobbett's claim that the population in the valleys around the Plainwas very much greater in olden days. The church here has a finePerpendicular tower, and is partly of this style and partly Decorated. Within will be observed a squint, an ancient credence table in thechancel, and a stoup in the vestry. 

[Illustration: PORCH HOUSE, POTTERNE. ]

Our road now runs northward past Lavington station to Potterne, threemiles from the Lavington cross roads and eleven from Westbury. This isone of the most attractive villages in Wiltshire; remarkable for itshalf-timbered houses of the fifteenth century, especially that knownas "Porch House, " purchased and restored by the late George Richmond. This is supposed to be identical with the old Pack Horse Inn that oncestood in the village. Potterne Church is a fine example of EarlyEnglish, and the natural dignity of the building is enhanced by itsdomination of the village around it. It is said to have been built bythe same Bishop Poore who erected Salisbury Cathedral, and is the onlychurch on the present site. An earlier building was once in the oldchurchyard. The Perpendicular tower will be admired for itsproportions and detail. When restorations were in progress in 1872 thearchaic tub-shaped font, now standing at the end of the church, wasdiscovered under the present font. Around the rim are inscribed thewords of the ancient baptismal office:--SICUT. GERVUS. DESIDERAT. AD. FONTES AQUARUM. ITA. DISIDERAT. ANIMA. MEA. AD. TE. DS. AMEN. (Psalmxlii. 1). There are several interesting brasses and memorials in thechurch and outside on the north side will be seen an old dole tablefor the distribution of alms. 

Two miles of pleasant undulating road now bring us to Devizes upon itshill beyond the railway. The town kept, until about a hundred yearsago, its old style "The Devizes"--Ad Divisas, [4] the place where theboundaries of three manors met. This is the generally acceptedexplanation of the name, though there is still room for conjecture. Remains, considerable in the aggregate, of the Roman period have beendiscovered in the town and immediate neighbourhood. It is quitepossible that a Roman origin of the town itself may be looked for; butit is as a feudal stronghold hold that Devizes began to make itshistory and as a humble dependency of that stronghold the modern towntook its beginning. The castle was built by Bishop Roger in the earlyyears of Henry I, and its chief function seems to have been that of aprison. Robert, the eldest son of the Conqueror, was shut up in it. Soon afterwards, its builder, having taken the side of Maud in herquarrel with Stephen, was imprisoned in a beast house belonging to thecastle, when the king, in one of his smaller successes, tookpossession. Another notable prisoner was Hubert de Burgh, who escapedand flew to St. John's Church for sanctuary; his gaolers recapturedhim at the altar, but soon afterwards gave him liberty on beingthreatened with the wrath of the Church. During the reign of EdwardIII the nephews of the French king were kept here as hostages. Itslast appearance in history was during the Civil War, when the keep wasdefended by Sir Edward Lloyd for the King, but according to Leland itmust by that time have fallen into evil state, for, in 1536, hewrites: "It is now in ruine and parte of the front of the towres ofthe gate of the kepe and the chapell in it were caried fullunprofitably, onto the buyldynge of Master Baintons place at Bromehamfull four miles of, " and after Cromwell had "slighted" it, theremnants, goodly enough even then, were used as a free quarry byanyone desiring to build. The mound and ditch that surrounded theouter walls and a few fragments of the masonry of a dungeon is allthat can be seen to-day, but the mound is crowned by a modern andrather imposing castellated building. 

[4] An ancient countryman may occasionally be met with who will directthe pedestrian to "the 'Vize. "

The Castle church was St. John's, though of course the fortress hadits own chapel within the walls. Originally a Norman building, St. John's was much altered during the fifteenth century, when the presentnave was erected and the Tudor chapels of the chancel were added. Thetower is one of the finest and most dignified that we have in theolder style. The ceiling of the south chapel, added to the church byLord St. Amand, is a beautiful example of the woodwork of the earlyTudor period, as is that of the present vestry and one-time chapel onthe north side. An extension of the nave took place in 1865, when theold west front was much altered. 

[Illustration: ST. JOHN'S, DEVIZES. ]

St. Mary's, the town church, has a Norman chancel and Perpendicularnave and tower. On the beautiful old roof of the nave is a record ofthe actual date and the builder's name:--

 ORATE PRO AIA WILLI SMYTH QUI ISTA ECCLIAM FIERI FECIT, QUI OBIIT PRIMO DIE MENSIS JUNII ANNO DNE MILLO CCCCXXXVI. 

A fine statue of the Virgin will be noticed in the eastern gable ofthe nave. The Transitional south porch has a not unpleasing upperstory dating from 1612. 

The streets between the two churches have some good old houses inthem, and the first traversed is called the "Brittox, " said to bederived from "Bretesque, " the name for the outer defences of thecastle. The broad market place is one of the most spacious in thekingdom, and a very interesting sight on market days. Here one may seethe shepherd of Salisbury Plain, or rather, of the Marlborough Downs, in typical costume--long weather-stained cloak and round black felt, almost brimless, hat, described by Lady Tennant as having a bunch offlowers stuck in the brim, but this the writer had never the fortuneto see until the summer of 1921 when the shepherd was also wearing hisown old cavalry breeches and puttees! In the centre of the throngrises the mock Gothic pinnacled market cross, presented to Devizes in1814 by Henry Addington, afterwards Viscount Sidmouth, who succeededPitt as Premier. There is a remarkable inscription upon one side ofthe pedestal which, for the benefit of those unable personally toperuse it, a portion is here appended:--

 On Thursday the 25th of January 1753 Ruth Pierce of Pottern, in this County agreed with Three other women to buy a Sack of Wheat in the Market Each paying her due proportion toward the same. One of these women, in collecting The Several Quotas of Money discovered a Deficiency, And demanded of Ruth Pierce the sum which was wanting To make good the amount: Ruth Pierce protested That she had paid her share and said "She wished That she might drop down dead if she had not. " She rashly repeated this awful wish, when, to the Consternation and Terror of the surrounding Multitude She instantly fell down and expired, having the Money Concealed in her hand. 

The "Bear" is a spacious inn made out of two fine old houses, and isfamous as the hostelry where the father of Sir Thomas Lawrence was atone time landlord. He was a man of literary tastes and public-spiritedwithal, for he is said to have erected posts upon the lonely hillshereabouts to guide wayfarers to civilization. Those who have seenSalisbury Plain in its winter aspect will appreciate what this meantat the end of the eighteenth century, when cultivation, and theconsequent fence, was not in existence thereon, and to be lost on theDowns in the snow was a serious adventure. The account of the Lawrencefamily in Fanny Burney's Diary is of much interest and throws anintimate light on certain aspects of English provincial life at thattime. 

Besides a large number of pleasant and dignified houses of theeighteenth century, Devizes has a few older ones, principally in thealleys at the back of St. John Street; and some fine public buildingsthat would not disgrace a town of more consequence. Foremost amongthese is the Corn Exchange, close to the "Bear. " On its front will benoticed a statue of the goddess of agriculture. The edifice over whichshe presides is of imposing size and shows how great an amount ofbusiness must have been transacted here in the past. The Town Hallcontains several objects of interest which are shown to the visitor, including a fine set of old corporation plate. The ancient hall of thewool merchants' Guild is near the castle. Its purpose has longforsaken the old walls, but under the care of the present occupiersthe well-being of the building is assured. The museum is well worthseeing. Here is the famous "Marlborough Bucket, " said to be ofArmorican origin. It was discovered near Marlborough by Sir R. C. Hoare, and its contents proved it to be a cinerary urn of a dateprobably not much anterior to the Roman occupation of Britain. Thegeological collections--stones and fossils; and some interestingmodels of Avebury and Stonehenge, and particularly the Stourheadantiquities--British and prehistoric--should on no account be missed. 

An old diary of royal progresses gives the following account of aforeign visit in 1786:--

 "On September 25 the Archduke and Duchess of Austria with their suite arrived in town from Bath. On the road, as they came through the Devizes, they met with a singular occurrence, which afforded them some entertainment. A custom has prevailed in that place, of which the following story is the foundation: A poor weaver passing through the place without money and friends, being overtaken by hunger and in the utmost necessity, applied for charity to a baker, who kindly gave him a penny loaf. The weaver made his way to Coventry, where, after many years' industry, he amassed a fortune, and by his will, in remembrance of the seasonable charity of the Devizes, he bequeathed a sum in trust, for the purpose of distributing on the anniversary of the day when he was so relieved a halfpenny loaf to every person in the town, gentle and simple, and to every traveller that should pass through the town on that day a penny loaf. The will is faithfully adminstered, and the Duke of Austria and his suite passing through the town on the day of the Coventry loaf, on their way from Bath to London, a loaf was presented to each of them, of which the Duke and Duchess were most cheerfully pleased to accept, and the custom struck the Archduke so forcibly as a curious anecdote in his travels that he minuted down the circumstance, and the high personages seemed to take delight in breakfasting on the loaf thus given as the testimony of gratitude for a favour seasonably conferred. "

[Illustration: BISHOP'S CANNINGS. ]

St. James' Church, with its fine Perpendicular tower, will be passedif the main road is taken toward Avebury. A better way for thetraveller on foot is to go by the beautiful avenue called Quakers'Walk to Roundway Down and Oliver's Camp, the last named being actuallyan ancient encampment, given its present name because the battle forDevizes in the Civil War took place close by. The fight was not aParliamentary success and Waller was forced to retire before theKing's men under Lord Wilmot. The Down was in consequence renamed"Runaway" by the jubilant Cavaliers. Below the face of the hill to thesouth-west is the picturesque village of Rowde, famous for its quaintold inn. If the Roundway route is chosen a descent should be made toBishop's Cannings lying snugly under the steep side of Tan Hill. Hereis a magnificent church of much interest and beauty. The cruciformbuilding is in the main Transitional and Early English. The dignifiedcentral tower has a spire of stone. The corbels supporting the roofare carved with representations of Kings and Abbots. The interior isimpressive in its splendid proportions and graceful details, and ofespecial beauty are the Perpendicular arches inserted in the nave. Thefine triple lancets of the chancel, transepts and west end also callfor notice. To the east of the south transept is the former chapel ofOur Lady of the Bower. This has been the Ernle chantry since 1563. Itcontains monuments of this family and an ancient helmet bearing theircrest hangs on the wall. The south transept has a piscina and in thenorth transept is a curious old carved chair, said to have been usedby the guardian of a shrine, but whose or what shrine is unknown. Thetwo-storied building on the north-east of the chancel, consisting of asacristry and priest's room, is the oldest part of the church. James Iwas entertained in the village during one of his progresses by thevicar who, with the help of his parishioners, rendered some of his owncompositions for the edification of the King. 

The Avebury road now ascends the sparsely inhabited chalk hills, partof the range known under the general designation of the MarlboroughDowns. To the left, on the northern slopes of Roundway Down, have beenerected a number of gaunt and lofty wireless masts, visible for agreat distance. They may be said to stand in a cemetery, so numerousare the round barrows scattered about the surrounding hills. Afterpassing a reservoir on the left the road reaches the lonely"Shepherd's Shore, " nearly 600 feet up. Just past this point themysterious Wansdyke is crossed. Hereabouts the Dyke runs in a fairlystraight line east and west, where this direction keeps to the summitof the hills. It is well seen from our road as it descends on theright from Horton Down. To the east it eventually becomes lost in thefastnesses of Savernake Forest. Westwards it is, for some distance, identical with the Roman road to Bath. The "Wodensdyke" appears tohave been made to protect south-western England from foes coming outof the midlands, but whether it was the work of Brito-Roman or WestSaxon is unknown. Our way now drops past three conspicuous barrows onthe left, with the Lansdown Column showing up on the summit ofCherhill Down beyond. This was erected to commemorate the birth ofEdward VII. Presently, in the other direction, to the right front, appears the dark mass of Silbury Hill, perhaps another monument to agreat monarch, but of an age too distant for conjecture. 

Seven miles from Devizes we reach the Bath road at Beckhampton, firstcrossing the track of the old Roman Bath-Silchester way aboutthree-quarters of a mile before it joins the modern road. We are nowin the valley of the Kennet, which here turns east after an infantcourse under the long line of Hackpen Hill and through theout-of-the-way villages of Winterbourne Basset, Monkton and BerwickBasset. The "winter bourne" is actually the baby Kennet, that in drysummers hardly makes an appearance. Berwick has a family connexionwith Wooton, over the hills and far away to the north-west. Hackpen isalmost the final effort of the chalk in this direction. At itsnorthern end it rises to 884 feet, an isolated section being crownedby Barbury Camp, ringed by its beech trees, from which there is agrand view north and west. From this point the general trend of thechalk escarpment is north-east to the Lambourn Downs, between Lambournand Wantage. Along the brow of this long ridge wanders thatfascinating old track indifferently termed Ridgeway and Icknield Way, which only leaves the highlands to cross the Thames at Streatley. Butwe are off our own track now and must return to Avebury, or Abury asthe natives have it. The village is a mile from Beckhampton, and ashort distance up the by-road the first glimpse of our goal may be hadon the left in the two "Long Stones" just visible across a field. Alittle farther one gets the best distant view of Silbury Hill--onewhich shows its artificial character and true shape to greatadvantage. The sombre tone of the turf that clothes it is remarkable;when seen against the pale sweep of the Downs behind, its sides do notappear to _reflect_ light at all. 

[Illustration: SILBURY HILL. ]

"As a cathedral is to a parish church, " Aubrey's comparison of Aveburywith Stonehenge is difficult to understand upon merely a casual visit. To grasp the unique character of this, the oldest prehistoric monumentin Europe, and perhaps in the world, we must take for granted theinvestigations and discoveries of antiquaries and archaeologistsduring the last 250 years, and if the comparison between theirconjectural but approximately correct plans and the present aspect ofthis mysterious relic of the Stone Age is disappointing andperplexing, we can only be thankful that the work of Farmer Green andTom Robinson, the two despoilers mentioned by the earliestinvestigators, has been prevented in their descendants, and thatthough the circles are incapable of restoration, the few stones thatremain will be preserved for all time. 

Avebury is undoubtedly older than Stonehenge and must belong to thetrue Neolithic period, whether the former does or not. Of the originalsix hundred and fifty megaliths eighteen are standing and about thesame number are buried. Some are nearly 17 feet high, and the rampartthat encloses the Temple is no less than 4, 500 feet round and from 10to 20 feet in height, though it is computed that from the bottom ofthe ditch to the wall must have originally been nearly 50 feet. Themodern village, built of some of the missing stones, is partly withinthe circular earthwork. This rampart is the only part of the greatwork which can be readily comprehended by the visitor. A circle of onehundred stones is said by the archaeologist Stukely to have stoodaround the edge of the enclosure, forty-four still standing in histime (1720). The same writer asserts that within the great circle weretwo other separate rings consisting of thirty stones, and eachcontaining an inner circle of twelve stones. The northern of theserings had three large stones in the middle; the southern, one enormousstone 27 feet high and nearly 9 feet round. One, or possibly two, avenues of stones led south-east and south-west; that going in thedirection of West Kennet may still be traced and fifteen stonesremain, but the other is conjectural, if it existed at all. The twomegaliths seen from the Beckhampton road may be a remnant of it. Thepurpose of all this intricate and elaborate work is a puzzling problemand, like the mystery of Stonehenge, will probably remain a secret tothe end. The literature of Avebury, not quite so copious as that ofthe stones of the Plain, is also more diffident in its guessing. Avebury has given a title to the most modest and thorough of itsstudents, and his writings on this and the other prehistoric monumentsof Wiltshire, a county that must have been a holy land some thousandsof years ago, should be studied by all who have any concern in thelong-buried past of their country. 

Avebury Church, just without the rampart, was originally a Saxonbuilding, its aisles being Norman additions. The chancel was rebuiltin 1879, but certain old features are preserved. The fine tower isPerpendicular. The font may be Saxon, though the ornamentation is of alater date. Avebury Manor House, beyond the churchyard, is a beautifulold sixteenth-century dwelling; it marks the site of a twelfth-centurymonastery. 

About one mile south of Avebury rises the extraordinary mound calledSilbury Hill, as wonderful in its way as either of the two great stonecircles of Wiltshire and perhaps part of one plan with them. It issaid to be the largest artificial hill in Europe and bears comparison, as far as the labour involved in its erection is concerned, with thePyramids. The mound is 1, 660 feet round at the base and covers overfive acres. It is now just 130 feet high, but when made it is probablethat the top was more acute and consequently higher. A circle ofsarsens once surrounded the base, but these have almost alldisappeared. Pepys repeats an old tradition that a King Seall wasburied upon the hill; but it is extraordinary that Avebury and Silburywere less known to our forefathers than Stonehenge, and the firstmention of these two places, as being of antiquarian or historicinterest, is in the seventeenth century. Excavations during recentyears have done little or nothing to clear up the mystery of Silbury. The fact that the Roman road (which leaves the Bath road just west ofSilbury) here deviates slightly from its usual straightness issignificant and proves that the mound was in existence when the roadwas made. The villagers around used to ascend the hill on Palm Sundayto eat "fig cakes" and drink sugar and water. It has been suggestedthat this ceremony had some connexion with the gospel story of thebarren fig tree, but it is much more probable that the tradition has avery early origin. As a matter of fact the cakes were mostly made withraisins which are called figs by natives of Wessex. 

[Illustration: DEVIL'S DEN. ]

To the south-east of Silbury is the "Long Barrow, " one of the mostfamous in England. This tumulus is over 330 feet long and about 60feet wide. When the stone chamber was opened some years ago, fourskeletons were found within. Vestiges of a small stone circle remainon the South of the Bath road, between it and the Kennet, and almoston the track of the Ridgeway. If the Way is followed northwards towardsthe slopes of Overton Hill we reach the "quarry" where most of themegalithic monuments of Wiltshire originated. These extraordinarystones, thickly scattered over the southern slopes of the MarlboroughDowns, are generally known as the "Grey Wethers, " or "Sarsens. " At onetime supposed to have been brought to their present position byglacial action, they are now said to be, and undoubtedly are, theresult of denudation. They are composed of a hard grey sandstone whichonce covered the chalk; the softer portions wearing away left thetough core lying in isolated masses upon the hills. Not far away inClatford Bottom is the "Devil's Den, " a cromlech upon the remains of along barrow; the upper slab measures nine feet by eight. The Downsabove Fyfield form a magnificent galloping and training ground for theracing stables near by. Our road, the Bath highway, now follows theKennet into Marlborough, six miles from Avebury. 

[Illustration: MARLBOROUGH. ]

CHAPTER XI

THE BERKSHIRE BORDER AND NORTH HAMPSHIRE

Marlborough is in Wiltshire, but it will be legitimate to start aslight exploration of the middle course of the Kennet from the oldForest town. Here the clear chalk stream, fresh from the highlands ofthe Marlborough Downs, runs as a clear and inviting little river atthe foot of the High Street gardens. For Marlborough is a flowery andumbrageous town in its "backs, " however dull it may appear to thetraveller by the railway, from which dis-vantage point most Englishtowns look their very worst. 

Although the river was never wide enough to bring credit or renown toMarlborough, the borough had another channel of profit and goodbusiness in its position on the Bath Road. The part that great highwayplayed in the two hundred years which ended soon after Queen Victoriacommenced her long reign seems likely to have a renewal in these daysof revived road travel. Ominous days are these for the iron ways that, for almost a century, have half ruined the old road towns of England, but at the same time left them in such a state of suspended animationthat they are mostly delightful and unspoilt reminders of another age. 

The fine and spacious High Street that once echoed with the horns of adozen coaches in the course of an afternoon now hums with themachinery of half a hundred motors in an hour, and if they do not allstop, some do, and leave the worthy burgesses a greater amount ofwealth and a cleaner roadway than their more picturesque predecessors. 

The municipality is very ancient and still retains some quaintcustoms. Not that, however, of the medieval fee for admission to thecorporation consisting of two greyhounds, two white capons, and awhite bull! The last item must have given the aspirant for civichonour much wearisome searching of farmyards before he found theacceptable colour. Like so many of the old towns through which we havewandered, Marlborough has suffered from fire; one in the middle of theseventeenth century was of particular fury, for, with the exception ofthe beautiful old gabled houses on the higher side of the sloping mainstreet, the town was then practically destroyed. "Two hundred andfifty dwellings and Saint Mary's church are gone, and over threehundred families forced to crave the hospitality of the neighbouringfarmers and gentry, or wander about the fields vainly looking forshelter. Every barn and beast-house filled to overflowing. "

The tradesmen of High Street say that theirs is the widest street inEngland. This may be so. It is undoubtedly one of the most pleasantand picturesque, and "the great houses supported on pillars, " to whichPepys refers in his Diary, still remain on the north side. 

Marlborough had not actually a Roman beginning. The station known asCunetio was nearly three miles away to the east. But the castle hillantedates this period considerably and is supposed to be an artificialmound of unknown antiquity, perhaps made by the men who reared SilburyHill. It is said that within lie the bones of Merlin. Quite possiblythis idea arose from the resemblance of the ancient form ofMarlborough--"Merlebergh" to the name of the half legendary sorcerer. The real origin of the town-name is supposed to be the West Saxon"Maer-leah" or cattle boundary. Here was erected in the earlier yearsof the Conqueror's reign a castle that was strengthened and rebuilt insucceeding generations until, somewhere about the rise of the Tudorpower, it was allowed to fall into decay. It was probably in theCastle Chapel of St. Nicholas that King John was married to Isabellaof Gloucester in 1180, and in the church at Preshute, the parishchurch of the Castle, is an enormous font of black marble brought fromthis chapel. A tradition has it that King John was baptized in it. Theonly real fighting recorded as taking place around the Castle, whileit was in existence, was during the time of Fitz Gilbert, who held itfor the Empress Maud. Of more importance was the sallying forth, during the Civil War, of the Royalists, who had fortified a mansionwhich had arisen from the Castle ruins, against the republican town, capturing and partly burning it. The soldiers displayed greatsavagery, fifty-three houses being destroyed. The garrison of "themost notoriously disaffected town in Wiltshire" was the first taken inthe War. The Castle was also famous as the place of meeting for theParliament of Henry III which passed the "Statutes of Marlborough, "the Charter for which Simon de Montfort had risked and suffered somuch. 

Of more living interest are the ancient and beautiful buildings ofMarlborough School, instituted in 1843 by a number of public-spiritedmen, headed by a priest of the Church of England--Charles Plater. Theschool is the scene of Stanley Weyman's _The Castle Inn_, for it wasformerly that historic hostel, one of the finest and most famous inEngland, before the disappearance of the road traveller caused thecollapse of the old-fashioned posting-houses. Before the year 1740 ithad been a mansion, originally built by Lord Seymour during the reignof Charles II. It afterwards passed through several hands, and, whilein the possession of Lady Hertford, saw the entertainment of some ofthe literary lions of the day, including Thomson of _The Seasons_ andIsaac Watts. In 1767, when it had become the largest inn in England, it was the headquarters of Lord Chatham who, while on the road, developed an attack of gout and, shutting himself up in his room, remained there some weeks. "Everybody who travelled that road wasamazed by the number of his attendants. Footmen and grooms, dressed inhis family livery, filled the whole inn and swarmed in the streets ofthe little town. The truth was that the invalid had insisted thatduring his stay all the waiters and stable boys of the 'Castle' shouldwear his livery. " The fine school chapel was added in 1882 and severalextensive and necessary additions have been made to the originalbuildings. Among famous headmasters may be mentioned Dean Bradley andDean Farrar. 

[Illustration: GARDEN FRONT, MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE. ]

King Edward the VI Grammar School is at the far end of the town. Theold buildings were pulled down in 1905. In this school Dr. Sacheverell, who was born in Marlborough, received his education. Thepresent St. Mary's Church practically dates from the great fire of1653, and is a very poor specimen of debased Perpendicular. Thechancel was added in 1874. A Norman doorway at the west end should benoticed. The tower of the church shows traces of the Royalist attackon the town in 1642. St. Peter's Church, not far from the College, isPerpendicular, and from its high and finely designed tower, curfewstill rings each night through the year. Within, the groined roof andbeautiful design of the windows are worthy of notice. 

Beautiful in the extreme is the walk through Savernake Forest which, if it is not to be compared with the New Forest either in size orwildness, does in one particular surpass the latter, namely in itsmagnificent vistas and beech avenues. The central walk betweenMarlborough and Savernake is unsurpassed in England and probably inEurope. It leads to Tottenham House, situated at the eastern extremityand belonging to the Marquis of Ailesbury. This mansion stands on thesite of an old house of the Seymours, to whom the Forest passed fromthe Plantagenet Kings (it was a jointure of Queen Eleanor). By marriagethe estates afterwards went to the Bruces, who still hold them. 

Herds of deer roam the open glades, and wild life is abundant andvaried. In some parts of the Forest the thickets and dense undergrowthare reminiscent of the district between the Rufus Stone andFording-bridge in the greater Forest, but the highest beauty ofSavernake lies in the avenues of oak and beech which extend for milesand meet about midway between Durley and Marlborough. Here are no firplantations to strike an alien note. Rugged and ancient trees thatwere saplings in Stuart times or before and the dense young growth ofto-day are all natural to the soil. The column that stands on highground, a little over a mile from Savernake station, commemorates, among other events, the temporary recovery of George III from hismental illness. 

Great Bedwyn was once a Parliamentary borough and, in more remotetimes still, a town of importance. It has a station on theReading-Taunton Railway and can be reached by circuitous roads fromSavernake Forest. Although nominally still a market town, it is reallybut a large village. It is mentioned in the Saxon records as the sceneof a battle between the men of Wessex and those of Mercia in the greatstruggle for domination in 675. The cruciform church is a finestructure, mostly built of flint and dating from Transitional times. The chancel is Early English and the transepts Decorated, but the naveis of the older style with fine ornamentation. In the chancel will benoticed the effigy of Sir John Seymour (1536), the father of ProtectorSomerset. A brass commemorates another John Seymour, brother of theProtector. There is also a monument to a daughter of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. In the south transept is an effigy, cross legged, ofSir Adam de Stokke (1312) and a plain slab with an incised cross ofanother of his family. The church has a quantity of stained glass ofmuch beauty. An ancient Market Hall once stood in the centre of thespacious main street; while it stood the villagers were reminded ofthe vanished glories of Bedwyn. The road proceeds past Chisbury Hill, a prehistoric camp on the Wansdyke. Within the earthwork is a barnthat was once the Decorated church of St. Martin. Mr. A. H. Allcroftthinks that the original building was erected shortly after the drawnbattle between Wessex and Mercia that took place on the Downshereabouts in 675. Froxfield is reached just short of the Berkshireborder and the way accompanies the railway and canal through LittleBedwyn, where is a stone-spired church dating from the earlythirteenth century. Froxfield Church is outside the village on a hill. It is a small and ancient Norman building, quaint and picturesque. Theold Somerset Hospital here was founded in 1686 by Sarah Duchess ofSomerset for thirty widows of the clergy and others; about half thatnumber are now maintained in the beautiful old buildings, groupedround a quadrangle high above the road. 

At Hungerford, the first town in Berkshire, over nine miles _direct_from Marlborough, we return to the Kennet. The townsmen are proud ofthe fact that their liberties were given them by John of Gaunt, whoheld the Royal Manor, which afterwards became the property of thetown, and as proof of the charter they still show the stranger afamous horn presented to the burgesses by the great Duke of Lancaster. A fierce battle is said to have raged on the banks of the Kennetbetween West Saxons and Danes, where now anglers whip the stream forthe fat trout that this part of Kennet breeds. The historic _Bear Inn_was the lodging of William of Orange on the night of December 6, 1688, when he received the messengers of James II. Hungerford Church is nowof small interest. It has been rebuilt within recent times andcontains little from the old building. A cross-legged effigy issupposed to represent Sir Robert de Hungerford (1340). 

In coming from Marlborough to Hungerford the valley of the Kennet hasbeen left to the north, but only for the purpose of noting thebeauties that lie around Savernake Forest and the course of the AvonCanal. The Kennet in its upper course is equally beautiful and, ifpossible, an additional journey should be made through the picturesquevillage of Axford, passing on the way Mildenhall, the one-timeCunetio. The site of the Roman station is now marked by Folly Farm. The most attractive place on this part of the river is Ramsbury, sixmiles from Marlborough and five from Hungerford. That this little townwas evidently of great antiquity is proved by the important place itheld in the tenth century, when it was a "stool" of the Bishop ofWiltshire. Originally the name of the town was Hrafensbyrig orRavensbury. The Early English church contains a number of interestingrelics of the supposed cathedral discovered in the restoration of theexisting building. They consist of sculptured stones of fine designand well preserved. In the Darell Chapel is an altar tomb and othersto various members of this once famous family. A canopied tomb ofWilliam de St. John stands in the chancel. Other interesting items arethe finely sculptured font and stoups at the north and south doors. Ramsbury Park has been passed on the way here from Marlborough. In itis the manor house, a seventeenth-century building, containing afamous collection of armour. The Kennet is at its best as it flowsthrough the park. 

On the Hungerford side of Ramsbury, and to the south of the Kennet, isthe famous Littlecote Manor, a magnificent and unexcelledsixteenth-century house. Built by the Darells it passed to thePophams, one of whom was a leader of the Parliamentarians. A gruesomeand probably true story is told of the last of the Darells--"WildDayrell. " A midwife deposed that she had been fetched blindfold toattend a lady at dead of night. When her offices were over, awild-looking man seized the infant and hurled it in a blazing fire. Afterwards apprehended, Darell by some trick managed to defeatjustice. 

A beautiful side excursion can be taken soon after leaving Ramsbury toAldbourne, three miles from the Hungerford road. This small town, which boasts a fine church of much dignity and interest, is situatedat the end of the lonely expanse of Aldbourne Chase. From the heightsabove views may be had of the distant Cotswold and Malvern Hills. Chilton Foliat, picturesquely placed on the river bank, is the onlyvillage passed on the way to Hungerford. Its church contains a numberof monuments to the Popham family and a cross-legged effigy of anunknown person. 

Kintbury is three miles from Hungerford on the road which follows thecanal and railway toward Newbury. The interesting and partly Normanchurch was pulled about in a shameful manner in the middle of the lastcentury. Another restoration about forty years ago repaired themischief as far as was possible. The Norman doorways remain much intheir original condition, also the chancel arch and the two squints. Kintbury is a pleasant and typical Berkshire village, little alteredby the railway, which seems to have spared these old towns andvillages in the Kennet valley in a remarkable way, possibly because"desirable villadom" has taken itself entirely to the banks of theThames away to the north. 

The road may be now taken northwards over the Kennet Bridge in twomiles to Avington, which is only about two miles from Hungerforddirect and just off the main Newbury road. The church here should onno account be missed. It is a perfect gem of pure Norman architecture, the only portion of later date being the Tudor south porch and archnear the font; the priest's door; vestry arch and window, and a lowside window. It will be noticed that the chancel arch is broken at thetop. The font has grotesque sculpture upon it, the subjects beingdoubtful. The early carvings and arabesques in the church are of greatinterest and will repay careful scrutiny. Avington is one of thesmallest of hamlets, but wonderfully pretty in its setting of green onthe river-bank. The picturesque rectory is close to the church. 

The Newbury road runs about half a mile north of the river past StockCross and Benham Park to Speen, generally supposed to be identicalwith Spinae, the Roman station at the junction of the roads from Bathand Cirencester to Silchester. Not far from the rebuilt church is anancient well over which has been erected in recent years a Gothicarch. One mile farther, eight from Hungerford, and we are in Newbury, perhaps the "new burb" in comparison with the older settlement ofSpeen. A castle built in 1140 was in existence but a few years. It wasdestroyed by King Stephen after being held for the Empress Maud duringa three months' siege. Newbury took part in the Wars of the Roses andstood for the House of York. When the Lancastrians entered the town in1460 the partisans of York were put to the sword. Every one has heardof "Jack of Newbury. " He was a rich cloth merchant named JohnSmallwood who lived in North-Brook Street at a time when the town wasfamed for its woollen trade. His patriotism led him to gather onehundred and fifty of the youth of Newbury and, himself marching attheir head, took part with his men in the battle of Flodden. His housestill stands, although greatly altered to outward appearance; in itsold rooms Henry VIII was received as a guest and proffered to theworthy clothier a knighthood in recognition of his services to thestate, an honour which Smallwood sturdily refused. 

During the Marian persecutions the Master of Reading School--JulianPalmer, with others, was burnt at the stake. But the stirring eventsof the Civil War eclipse the earlier historical interest. Twoimportant battles were fought in the near vicinity of the town. Thefirst took place on September 20, 1643. The Londoners, under Essex, were returning to the capital after raising the siege of Gloucester, and had taken the longer, and southern, route as being the most openand practicable. News of the approach reached the King at Oxford andit was decided to stop them and give battle. Essex had led his men outof Hungerford the day before and in the evening he found his waybarred by the Royalist cavalry at Newbury Wash. The Parliamentaryforces bivouacked on Crockham Heath and next morning opened theattack. They were fortunate enough to be able to seize the high groundcommanding the Kintbury road before the King's men awoke to theimportance of the position. The Life Guards under Biron charged up thehill with great valour, but failed to shift the stubborn townsmen, andbrave and gentle Falkland was killed in the melée. On the Highclereroad, about a mile out of Newbury, stands the monument to this nobleand pathetic figure, whose heart seems to have been broken by thewretched times in which he lived. 

On the other side of the field Prince Rupert, after repeated attemptsto cut a way through the London infantry, met with as little successas the Guards, and the vanguard of the Parliamentary Army had forcedits way steadily along the London road, so that, when night fell, after a day of heroic fighting on both sides, the King decided toretire into Newbury, and the way into London was open to theRepublicans. 

The second battle took place after a year had passed, on October 27, 1644. The King's cause had been victorious in the west, and his armyhad afterwards successfully relieved Donnington Castle. The Royalforces were in a strong position to the north of Newbury, between ShawHouse and the Kennet, with Donnington in the centre of the defences. The Army of the Parliament, under the joint command of Essex andManchester, and numbering among the sub-commandants Cromwell and theredoubtable Waller, made a concerted attack from front and rear. Inthis fight the honours may be said to have lain with the King as, withthe exception of the artillery, the Royal losses were small and asuccessful retreat during the night quite defeated the object of theRepublican attack, which was to smash, once and for all, the armyopposed to them. 

Beautiful old Shaw House, one of the finest in Berkshire, still showstraces of the fight in the earthworks that partly encircle it. Themansion was built by another celebrated clothier of Newbury, oneThomas Dolman, whose namesake and descendant was knighted at theRestoration. 

Newbury Church was rebuilt by "Jack of Newbury, " and the date of itscompletion (1532) may be seen on a corbel. This was after Smallwood'sdeath, the work being finished by his son. The clothier's brass (1519)may be seen among others. The appointments of the church are fine andimposing; the Jacobean pulpit, dated 1607, should be noticed, also thehistory of the church, in the form of an illuminated chart, on thewest wall. The hero of the town was married in the chapel of the oldHospital of St. Bartholomew which was turned into a school in thereign of Edward VI. Some of the school buildings are of a later datethan this. The most picturesque old house in the town, which reallycontains few that are ancient, is Newbury Museum, once the Cloth Hall. There is a pleasing glimpse of the Kennet from the short high bridgein the main street and a still pleasanter view of the bridge itselffrom the river path below. 

[Illustration: CLOTH HALL, NEWBURY. ]

A charming excursion can be taken to Lambourne, up in the heart of thechalk hills to the north-west. This was one of King Alfred's towns, and until the coming of the light railway one of the most unknown andremote in the kingdom. Railway and road follow the course of theLambourne, a delightful river, clear and cold from the chalk and neverseeming to run dry, as do other streams of a like nature inexceptionally hot summers. Another railroad goes directly north fromNewbury and forms the main route between Oxford and Winchester. Thisalso penetrates the heart of the Berkshire uplands and taps a districtinexhaustible in charm and interest, in the centre of which isWantage, famous as the birthplace of Alfred. But this country has beenfully described by Mr. Ditchfield in "Byeways in Berkshire. "

The Bath road in a little over three miles from Newbury reachesThatcham, once, by all accounts, a large and prosperous market town, but this was in the days of the Angevin kings. The great market squareprobably dates from their time and the battered remains of the oldmarket cross may have replaced a still more ancient one. The finechurch has a Norman door and Transitional arcading, but a verythorough "restoration" has obliterated most of the ancient features. The Danvers and Fuller tombs should be seen, also an interesting brassto Thomas Loundye. The fabric of a chantry chapel at the other end ofthe village dates from 1334, but it was much altered in externals inthe early eighteenth century, when it was turned into a school. 

The Bath-London road that we have travelled from Marlborough nowapproaches the most beautiful stretches of the Kennet, lined with fineparklands on the gentle northern slopes of the valley. The high hedgesand fences are in places very jealous of the beauties they encircle, but there are charming glimpses here and there of this pleasantcountryside. Woolhampton, with a modern church of no particularinterest, is passed four miles from Thatcham, and two miles farthercomes Aldermaston Station, where we leave the great highway and turnsouth to Aldermaston Wharf on the Kennet Canal. This is a mostpleasant spot, and to enhance the charm of the surroundings a largesheet of ornamental water has been formed, close to, and fed by, thechannel. Aldermaston village is nearly two miles to the south-west andwell-placed among the wooded hills that march with the Hampshireborder. The aspect of the village is as unspoilt as any in the oldBerkshire by-ways. At the southern end of the street are the gates ofAldermaston Park; a picturesque expanse of broken ground with severalfine avenues, and populated by herds of deer. The old Jacobean mansionwas burnt down in 1843, although a few of the ancient features weresaved and incorporated in the new house. Close to the park is thechurch, the foundations of which are Norman, as are also the very fineand uncommon west door and two blocked-up doors in the chancel andnave. In the chapel on the south side is the tomb of Sir GeorgeForster and his lady (1526) with their twenty attendant children. Theknight's feet rest against his favourite hound and a lap dog ispulling at the lady's dress. There are also brasses to some othermembers of the Forster family which owned the manor during Elizabethandays. The pulpit and sounding board belong to this period. The lancetwindows of the chancel date this portion of the church as about 1270. There are some ancient frescoes, faint and dim by contrast with themodern scheme of decoration; they represent St. Christopher carryingour Lord, and, below, a mermaid and fish. 

Silchester is about four miles to the south-east by winding ways thatlead over the hills of the Hampshire border. The traveller who comesprepared to find the actual ruins of the Roman Calleva spread beforehim will be grievously disappointed. The economic necessities of to-dayhave rendered the surrender of the site to the agriculturist asnecessary as it is appropriate. The sandy soil of North Hants is abetter protection to these remnants of a former civilization than allthe tarpaulins or sheds that would otherwise have to be used. Minuteand accurate plans of the foundations, that include those of a smallChristian Basilica, were made in sections, as they were uncovered, overa period extending from 1864 to 1910. For a detailed study of thesurveys, and of the many antiquities capable of removal, thoseinterested must visit the Reading Museum. It has been found that thewalls of Calleva followed the irregular outline of a former Britishstronghold, and instead of the usual square plan the outline of thecity was seven-sided. The remnants of the flint walls are nearly oneand three-quarter miles round and contain within their circumferenceabout 100 acres. Within the east gate is an old farmhouse and theinteresting parish church of Silchester, dating mostly from thethirteenth century. 

The beautiful fir woods that are such a feature of the surroundinglandscape make rambles in any direction most delightful. By-ways may betaken eastwards to the Stratfields--Mortimer, Saye and Turgis. Thesecond is well known as the residence of the great Duke of Wellingtonand his successors, who hold it by presenting a flag to the King on theanniversary of Waterloo. 

About three miles south of Silchester is an interesting church atBramley. It is more than probable that the ruins of the former placewere used by the builders of this church. The older portions, the northside of the nave and the font, are Norman. Part of the chancel is EarlyEnglish and the tower, built of brick, just antedates the Civil War. The ugly Brocas chapel on the south side was erected in the openingyears of the nineteenth century. It contains a "monstrous fine"sculpture of one of the family and bears on the roof their gildedMoor's head crest as a vane. The most interesting detail in the churchis a series of wall paintings, including one of the martyrdom of St. Thomas à Becket. The west gallery was added in the early eighteenthcentury and is a handsome erection. Not far away is the fine old ManorHouse, now divided into tenements, but still a gracious and dignified"black-and-white" building. 

A by-way going westwards through "Little London" eventually leads to anumber of interesting villages, among them Pamber and Monk Sherborne, which form one parish. The church used by Pamber is a remnant of theold Priory church founded by Henry I, and consists of the ancient choirand tower dating from the end of the twelfth century. Within are a fewrelics of this period, including several old coffin slabs, a font and awooden cross-legged effigy belonging to the thirteenth century. MonkSherborne Church has a Norman door and chancel arch and also a piscinaof this period. The remainder of the much-restored fabric is mainlyEarly English. 

For our present goal--Kingsclere--the way is circuitous, but extremelypleasant. (In fine weather it is possible to take a short cut by fieldpaths for the greater part of the distance. ) After crossing the almostobliterated Port Way, as the road from Silchester to Old Sarum iscalled, and nearly eight miles of cross country rambling from Bramley, a main highway is reached at Wolverton, where the church is reputed tobe a work of Sir Christopher Wren. This is unlikely, but the design ofthe tower is familiar to anyone acquainted with London City and dates, with the remainder of the fabric, from 1717. The red-brick wallsrelieved by white stone are a little startling at first in such anout-of-the-way village, but their effect is not unpleasing, and whenthe church is entered its fine proportions will be admired by anyonenot slavishly bound to the worship of "Gothic. " The powers that onceruled here evidently thought otherwise, for several attempts haveobviously been made to do away with some of the classic details. Thefine contemporary woodwork of the chancel and other irreplacabledetails were destroyed or seriously damaged by a destructive fire abouttwelve years ago. 

[Illustration: WOLVERTON. ]

In another two miles Kingsclere is reached. This is a very ancienttown and was under the Saxon Kings, as its name proclaims, a royalmanor. Its "papers" go back to the eighth century. After theConqueror's day it passed into the hands of the church, and RouenCanons were its overlords. When they became aliens in political fact, the manor passed to William de Melton. King John had one of hishunting lodges at Freeman tie on the south of the town. No history hasbeen made at Kingsclere since Charles passed the night of October 21, 1644, here, on his way to Newbury, but there is an air of "far-offthings and battles long ago" about the quiet little town and its greyand solemn Norman church. The stern square church tower is a fineexample of early twelfth-century work, majestic in its simplicity, butapart from this the exterior appears to have been scraped clean ofancient details by a drastic restoration. Within, the spacious andfine proportions of the building atone for a great deal that has beenlost by the mistaken zeal of Victorian renovators. The font, pulpitand Norman north door are of especial interest; of less ancientdetails, the Jacobean pulpit and the great chandelier, dated 1713, call for notice. 

The Downs to the south of Kingsclere are of much beauty andcomparatively unknown to the tourist. Although of no great height andunremarkable in outline, the splendour of the colouring, especiallyafter August is past, of the woods that cover the sides of theundulating billows of chalk is unforgettable. The Port Way, ignoringall hills and dales in its uncompromising straightness, occasionallyshows itself as a rough track along the open side of a spinney, or asa well-marked score in the escarpment of a Down, but never as a modernhighway east of Andover. The road winding and up and down westwardsfrom Kingsclere is a pleasant enough adaptation of a possible Britishtrackway, and brings us in a short four miles to Burghclere, wherethere is a station on the Great Western Railway between Newbury andWinchester. At Sydmonton, half a mile short of the railway, a grassylane leads up to Ladle Hill (768 feet), the bold bastion of chalk toto the south. Here we may obtain a fine view of the characteristicscenery of northern Hampshire. The curving undulations of the chalkhave many a hut circle and tumulus to tell of the fierce life thatonce peopled these solitary wastes. Then the valleys were shunned asinimical to human kind. Now the depths of almost every wrinkle andfold has some habitation, and many a small hamlet lies out of sightamong the trees, unguessed at from the hill-road above. Away to thesouth is Great Litchfield Down--literally the "Dead-field"; perhapsthe scene of a great battle, but more probably the cemetery of aforgotten race. The still higher Beacon Hill (853 feet) appears closeat hand, as does Sidown, on the other side of Burghclere, where isperhaps an even finer view. The old church down by the railway stationwas "polished up" in a very painstaking way about fifty years ago, butstill retains a Norman nave which seems to have resisted thesandpapering process. Highclere Park and Castle form a show-place ofthe first rank; the park being beyond all praise. The slopes of theDowns and some of their summits are within this beautiful domain ofthe Earls of Carnarvon. Ear away from the Castle the park is entirelynatural and unconfined, but around the house--for an actual "castle"is non-existent--magnificent avenues of rhododendrons make a perfectblaze of colour in the early summer. The "Jacobean" pile high on thehillside is so only in name, for it was built by the architect of BigBen. Once a favourite residence of the Bishops of Winchester, theCastle passed to the Crown in the sixteenth century and then, afterpurchase by Sir Robert Sawyer, to the Herberts by intermarriage withthe last-named knight's family. Highclere Church is a new buildingdesigned by Sir Gilbert Scott and stands just outside the park. Itreplaces an erection of the late seventeenth century which used tostand within a stone's throw of the castle upon the site of anotherbuilding of great antiquity. 

It is possible to make a way past the woods of Sidown and by the ThreeLegged Cross Inn to Ashmansworth, where a few years ago a number ofwall paintings, one an unique depictment of Pentecost, were discoveredon the walls of the little old church that are supposed to have Romanmaterials built into them. From here we may continue more or lessalong the summits of the chalk uplands until the famous Inkpen, orIngpen, Beacon is reached, in an isolated corner of north-westernBerkshire. But alas! the former glory, on the map, of the Beacon hasdeparted. Until quite recently it was thought that this, the highestsection of the chalk in England, exceeded that mystic 1, 000 feet thatgives such a glamour to the mere hill and makes of it a local"mountain. " An added slur was cast upon Inkpen in the handing to theneighbouring Walbury Hill Camp of an additional five feet by theseinterfering Ordnance surveyors. The new maps now read--Walbury Camp959 feet; Inkpen, 954. But the loss of 18 yards or so does not seem tohave altered the glorious view from the flat-topped Down or to havemade its air less sparkling. The grand wooded vista down the Kennetvalley toward Newbury is a sharp contrast to the bare uplands northand south. Walbury Camp, a fine prehistoric entrenchment, is distinctfrom Walbury Hill, slightly lower, on which is Combe Gallows, a relicof the past kept in constant repair by a neighbouring farmer as acondition of his land tenure. Inkpen village is more than a mile awayto the north. Here is a church once old but now smartened up to suchan extent that its ancient character is not apparent. The building, however, has not lost by the change. The modern appointments are bothbeautiful and costly. 

[Illustration: THE INKPEN COUNTRY. ]

At the back of the Beacon is the lonely little village of Combe, sunkdeep in a hollow of the hills that rise all around it. It has a smallEarly English church of little interest, but the village is worth along detour to see because of its unique position. Here was once acell of the Abbey of Bec in Normandy. A stony hill-road goes out ofthe settlement southwards, between the huge bulk of Oat Hill (936feet) and Sheepless Down, back into Hampshire. The road eventuallyleads to Linkenholt, another hamlet lost in the wilderness of chalk, and then by Upton to the Andover highway at Hurstbourne Tarrant on oneof the headwaters of the Test. The map name is rarely used by thenatives, who term the place "Up Husband"; it was officially spelt "UpHursborn" as lately as 1830. It is a village in a delightful situationand delightful in itself, though of late years the architecture of the"general stores" has replaced some of the old timber-framed houses onthe main street. But the George and Dragon, even if it shows notimbers on its long front, wears an old-fashioned air of prosperitythat belongs to the coaching past. Tarrant Church, like so many othershereabouts, has been sadly "well restored, " but still retains aTransitional south door and some rather remarkable wall paintings. 

The Andover road rises through Dole's Wood and passes over the hill toKnight's Enham and Andover. The last-named busy little town of to-dayowes much of its prosperity to the fact that it is an importantmeeting place of railways connecting three great trunk lines. Tooutward view Andover is utterly commonplace; everything ancient hasbeen ruthlessly improved away, and that curse of the railway town, anappendix of mean red-brick villas, mars the approach from the west. Ithas a past, however, which goes back to such remote times that itsbeginnings are lost in those "mists of antiquity" which shroud so muchof the country described in our preceding chapter. The "dover" in thetown-name is probably the pre-Celtic root which meets the travellerwhen he arrives at Dover and greets him again in unsuspected placesfrom the "dor" in Dorchester and the Falls of Lodore to the "der" inDerwent and smoky Darwen. All have the same meaning--_water_; and"an, " strangely enough, is a later and Celtic word for the sameelement, the equally ubiquitous "afon. " So that Andover should be aplace of many waters, which it is not. A small stream--theAnton--flows almost unnoticed through the town, though its name seemsto have been given occasionally to the whole of the longer Test thatit meets a few miles to the south. 

Written records of Andover before Wessex became a kingdom do notexist. But scraps of tessellated pavement in the vicinity show that itwas a locality well known to the Romans, and the Port Way, that greatthoroughfare of the Empire, passed within half a mile of the modernrailway junction. In 994, Olaus, King of Norway, is said to have beenbaptized here, his sponsor being Ethelred the Unready. The townreceived its charter from King John and took part in the disagreementbetween Stephen and Matilda, when it had the misfortune to be burnt. It saw two of the Stuarts when the evil days for each were reachingtheir culmination. Charles I stayed here on his way to the last battleof Newbury, and James II slept at Priory House while retiring fromSalisbury to London just before the arrival of William of Orange. Thetown returned two members to Parliament before the Reform Act, andafterwards one until 1885. Half legendary are some of the tales of thehustings at Andover in those days of "free and open" voting, and theold "George" seems to have been a centre of the excitement on electiondays, where most of the guineas changed hands and where most freedrinks were handed to the incorruptibles. It was here during thecandidature of Sir Francis Delaval that his attorney had occasion tosend him the following bill--

 "To being thrown out of the window of the George Inn, Andover; to my leg being broken; to surgeon's bill, and loss of time and business; all in the service of Sir Francis Delaval £500. "

This rough treatment was in consequence of the poor lawyer having, athis patron's instigation, invited the officers of a regiment quarteredin the town, and the mayor and corporation, to a dinner at the"George, " _each in the other's name_. At this same inn Cobbett, in oneof his _Rural Rides_, had an adventure with mine host and pushed hisopinions down the throat of the assembled company in his usual manner. This inn, and the "Angel, " were great places in the posting days, whenthe Exeter Road was one of the most important arteries in England. They are among the pleasant survivals of eighteenth-century Andover, for there is nothing that appears on the surface older than thatperiod, except the Norman door of the churchyard--all that is left ofthe fine building pulled down in 1840 to make way for the presentimitation Early English church--and a piece of wall on the north side, a remnant of a cell belonging to the Benedictine Abbey of Saumur. About three miles west of Andover is Weyhill, a village celebrated forits fair and immortalized in _The Mayor of Casterbridge_. It at onetime claimed to be the largest in England, but in these changed daysits rural importance has diminished. The fair takes place in Octoberand now covers four consecutive days instead of the original six. Thefirst day is Sheep Fair followed by "Mop" (hiring), Pleasure, and HopFairs with horses every day and several side-shows such as "CheeseFair" and the like. It has been thought possible that Weyhill isreferred to in _The Vision of Piers Plowman_--"At Wy and at WynchestreI went to the Fair. "

We now propose to turn eastwards for the last time and to follow themain London road along the northern boundary of Harewood Forestthrough Hurstbourne Priors ("Down Husband") and then past the wideexpanse of Hurstbourne Park, in which stands the seat of the Earl ofPortsmouth and which clothes the northern slopes of the Test valleyfor more than a mile with its beautiful woods and glades. Its easternboundary is close to Whitchurch, seven miles from Andover. Whitchurchwas another famous posting centre and, like Andover, a rotten borough. Here an important cross-country route from Oxford to Winchester tappedthe Exeter road and here the modern ways of the Great Western andSouth Western cross each other at right angles. At the famous "WhiteHart" Newman wrote the opening part of the _Lyra Apostolica_ whileawaiting the Exeter coach in December, 1832. The great tower of AllHallows still stands, but little besides of the old building. Whilethe restoration was in progress a Saxon headstone was brought tolight. It bears a presentment of our Lord's head with the followinginscription:--

 HIC CORPUS FRIDBURGAE REQUIESCAT IN PACE SEPULTUM

[Illustration: WHITCHURCH. ]

The old chapel of Freefolk, little more than a mile out of the town, dates from 1265 and came into existence because the winter floods onthe infant Test prevented the good folk of the vicinity getting intoWhitchurch. The famous Laverstock Mill, where the paper for Bank ofEngland notes has been made for two hundred years, is not far away bythe side of the high road. The owners of the Mill, and of LaverstockPark, are a naturalized Huguenot family named de Portal, whoseancestors came to England and settled in Southampton during thepersecution of the Protestants that followed the revocation of theEdict of Nantes. When Cobbett rode by the Mill he made the followingunprophetic utterance:--"We passed the mill where the Mother-Bankpaper is made! Thank God! this mill is likely soon to want employment. Hard by is a pretty park and house belonging to 'Squire' Portal, the_paper-maker_. The country people, who seldom want for sarcasticshrewdness, call it 'Rag Hall!'"

Nearly four miles from Whitchurch comes Overton, once a market but nowa quiet village that shows signs of activity (apart from the ceaselessprocession of motor traffic) only on one day in the year, July 18, when a great sheep fair takes place. For Overton is a centre of thegreat sheep-down country of north Hampshire. The church isunremarkable except that the nave has Norman pillars with arches of alater date above them. The fine old manor house near the railwaystation is called Quidhampton. 

After passing Ashe we reach Deane, where a road to the right leads ina mile and a half to Steventon, at the rectory of which village JaneAusten was born in 1775, her father holding the incumbency for manyyears. As we rejoin the main road Church Oakley lies to the right atthe source of the Test. Here stands a church built about 1525 byArchbishop Warham, whose ancestors lived at Malshanger, nearly twomiles away to the north. After passing Worting, ten miles fromWhitchurch and two from Basingstoke, that we are nearing a large townbecomes apparent, and soon the gaunt and curious clock tower ofBasingstoke Town Hall comes into view, a land-mark for many miles. 

[Illustration: HOLY GHOST CHAPEL, BASINGSTOKE. ]

The "Stoke Bare-hills" of Thomas Hardy has changed the tenor of itsway several times in history. It started by sending members toParliament three hundred years before it became a borough in the reignof the first Stuart, when it was already famous as a manufactory ofsilks and woollens. A time of inanition followed until the greatperiod of road travel set in, when it became the most important centrebetween London and Salisbury. Then with the iron way came anotherphase that at one time threatened to bring the town into line withSwindon, Crewe and other railway "wens"; but except for some miles ofsmall red-brick villas, packed close together on the bleak wolds thatsurround the town, it has not greatly suffered and is stillessentially agricultural. Quite lately a new industry has grown uphere, the manufacture of farming implements. 

Close to the railway station are the ruins of the chapel of the HolyGhost, founded by Bishop Fox in 1525. They stand in the ancientcemetery which dates from the time of the Papal Interdict (1208) when, in consequence of King John's quarrel with the Pope, burial inchurchyards was suspended. Basingstoke Church was built in the earlysixteenth century and contains some of the old glass from the HolyGhost Chapel. 

The most interesting place in the vicinity of Basingstoke is OldBasing, two miles to the east, and ever memorable as the scene of thedefence of Basing House. This magnificent mansion had been built byWilliam Paulet, first Marquis of Winchester, on the site of theoriginal Norman castle of Basing. When the Civil War broke out, thefifth Marquis, John Paulet, decided to defend the house for the King, and gathering his friends and retainers about him, amply provisioninghis cellars and "writing 'Aimez Loyalte' on every pane of his windowswith the diamond of his ring, " he calmly awaited the Roundheads, whowere soon in possession of Basingstoke. Two hundred and fifty Royalistsoldiers had already joined the garrison when the actual siege beganin July, 1643. The attackers under Waller numbered seven thousand, butby December, after great losses, they were forced to withdraw. Thefollowing spring another determined effort was made to starve out thegarrison, but the arrival of Colonel Gage with reinforcements fromOxford put fresh heart into the "nest of hornets, " and the news thattheir fortress had been renamed "Basting House" by their admiringfriends stiffened their resolve. During the next few months, however, religious differences within led to a weakening of the heroic defenceand to the beginning of the end, and after two thousand lives hadalready been lost, Basing House fell to the redoubtable Cromwell inperson on October 14, 1645, about one hundred of the defenders beingkilled in the final assault and some three hundred prisoners taken. 

Of this historic site there remain but a few walls and the Gate-house. The area covered by the entrenchments was about fourteen acres and thegarden must have been a place of beauty before the litter of the siegemarred the trim walks and parterres. The country people were biddenhelp themselves when the victors departed with their prisoners, andthe work of ruin was quickly complete. 

[Illustration: BASING. ]

Basing church, which was used in the attack on the House, is of thefifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and contains many memorials of thePaulet family. Its outside is much more striking and handsome than itsinterior, which has a rather empty and featureless appearance. Not farfrom Basing is the great entrenchment of Winklebury Castle, over 3, 000feet round. From the edge of its commanding vallum Cromwell took theobservations for his successful assault on Basing House. 

Sherborne St. John, two miles north of Basingstoke, has an old church, with an ugly tower built in 1833. The Brocas brasses and the fineJacobean pulpit are interesting. The Vyne, a celebrated mansion, isone mile farther along our road. The greater part of the building isfour hundred years old, though certain additions and alterations aredue to Inigo Jones. Its beautiful chapel has some old French glass, inserted in the windows in 1544, and other details of much interest. 

Between the hills to the south, nearly four miles from Basingstoke, isthe small village of Herriard and the neighbouring park named afterit. Its Transitional church has been much rebuilt, but still containsseveral items of interest, including a fine chancel arch and some oldstained glass. North-east of the park is the old and partly Saxonchurch of Tunworth, about four miles direct from Basingstoke. TheHerriard road continues in a little over six miles to Alton, apleasant and out-of-the-way old town, but with little left of itsformer picturesque streets. Alton is famous for its ale made from thehops grown in the immediate neighbourhood. The church has a doorcovered with bullet marks, a legacy from the Civil War, when thetroops of the Parliament under Waller attacked the Royalists, who hadfled to the church for sanctuary. A good deal of Norman work isvisible in the base of the tower. The Jacobean pulpit and misericordsin the choir call for remark and also the interesting "memoriall" on apillar of the nave to the "Renowned Martialist "--Richard Boles--whodefended the church during the attack referred to above. 

From Alton the Meon Valley Railway follows the high road to distantFareham on the shores of Portsmouth Harbour, and penetrates a lonelycountryside, perhaps the least-known portion of Hampshire. For thefirst ten miles the railway and road traverse the uplands that are acontinuation of the Sussex Downs and part of the great chalk range ofsouthern England. In one of the nooks of this tableland, two milesfrom the station at Tisted and four from Petersfield, is Selborne, made for ever famous by Gilbert White, who lived at The Wakes, thepicturesque rambling old house opposite the church. At West Meon theactual valley from which the railway takes its name is entered. Theinfant stream, here a mere trickle under the hedgerows, comes downfrom East Meon, three miles away, where there is a cruciform churchcontaining a black Tournai font, and an old stone pulpit dating fromthe fifteenth century. Close by is a manor house, once the property ofthe Bishops of Winchester. Warnford, a mile below West Meon, has achurch of great interest. It is a Norman building on the site of thefirst sanctuary erected for the converted Meonwaras by Wilfred ofYork. Several noteworthy features may be seen, including a Saxonsundial from the original church. At Corhampton two miles furthersouth, a Saxon church still remains, though it has lost its earlyapsidal chancel. 

[Illustration: CORHAMPTON. ]

The building has apparently been erected on a mound, possiblyprehistoric. Droxford station is within a four-mile walk of Hambledonwhere, in 1774, modern cricket was first played. Droxford Church isanother fine old building that, with those just enumerated, lends anadded interest to this delightful valley, the scenic charm of whichwould alone be sufficient recompense for the trouble involved inexploring it. Customs and beliefs are more primitive and the forms ofspeech more archaic than in the region beyond the New Forest, and thenatives have a goodly amount of the old Jutish blood in their veins, possibly more than their relatives of the Isle of Wight. The swellinghills of that delectable land fill the vista as we descend betweenSoberton and Wickham, where the valley divides the main portion of theancient Forest of Bere from the scattered woodlands of Waltham Chaseand, at the last-named village, widens into the lowlands that stretchbetween Tichfield and Fareham and the busy activities of Portsmouth. 

We now near the end of our brief exploration of Wessex and, returningto Basingstoke, take the last sixteen miles of our course over thegreat road, straight and lonely of houses, that runs across the hillsto Winchester. The Romans built up the solid foundations of thegreater part of this highway which passes through no villages, thoughit has several within a short distance of its straight hedges andinterminable telegraph posts. Near the _Sun Inn_, high on the chalkhills five miles from Basingstoke, a lane turns left to Dummer, worthvisiting for the sake of the old unrestored church dating mostly fromthe early thirteenth century. The old beams and the largesixteenth-century gallery have escaped "improvement. " The oak pulpitis said to date from the early fifteenth century. The most strikingfeature of the interior is a canopy over the chancel arch, a relic ofthe rood that once stood beneath it. Several interesting brasses ofthe At Moores, and a squint at the back of a recess, or image niche, should be noticed. George Whitfield's first ministry was in thischurch. Close by is the ancient manor house, partly of the fourteenthcentury, and on the Basingstoke side of the village is Kempshott Park, a "hunting lodge" of George IV. The bare rolling Downs reach a heightof over 650 feet east of Dummer, in the neighbourhood of FarleighWallop and Nutley. On the other side of the Winchester highway NorthWaltham has a rebuilt church in "Norman" style. Steventon, thebirthplace of Jane Austen, already mentioned, is but a short distancefarther. East Stratton is another out-of-the-way village off the highroad to the left and just beyond Stratton House, a seat of the Earl ofNorthbrook. A magnificent avenue of beech trees leads to Micheldevervillage, and also, in the opposite direction to the station, to thatpoint on the South Western Railway where the traveller to Southamptonnotes that the exhausted pant of the engine has changed to an easyglide as the train passes the summit tunnel and rolls down toWinchester. The dim recesses of Micheldever wood extend to the east ofthe Roman road on its undulating but perfectly straight course untilit drops to Headbourne Worthy. 

As we descend the last few miles the ancient capital of Wessex and ofEngland is seen ahead lying in the lap of its enfolding hills. Theblunt and stern outline of the grey cathedral is softened by the mistyveil, shot with mingled gold and pearl, that rests softly over thevalley and that obliterates everything mean and unworthy in the scenebefore us. Just as the memories of great and famous days that clinground the old towns of Wessex--threads of faith and chivalry, valourand high endeavour--make an opalescent robe to hide for a moment thefutilities of the present. 

[Illustration: MAP OF WESSEX. ]

INDEX

AbbotsburyAbbot's WorthyAddisonAelfricAethelmarAffpuddleAgglestoneAgincourtAldbourneAlderburyAldermastonAlfredAlfred's TowerAll CanningsAllen, RalphAllen RiverAllingtonAltonAlton BernersAlton PriorsAlvedestonAmesburyAmesbury, WestAndoverAnne BoleynAnning, MaryAnsty HillAntonAnvil PointArish MelArneArnold, Dr. ArthurArundell of WardourAsheAshmansworthAsserAthelhamptonAthelstanAthelwoldAubrey, JohnAurelius AmbrosiusAusten, JaneAveburyAvebury, LordAvingtonAvon (Bristol)Avon (Southern)Axe, RiverAxfordAxminsterAxmouthAylwardAyscough, Bp. 

Babylon HillBacon, RogerBadbury HillBailey GateBaleares, TheBallands CastleBallard DownBanbury HillBankes, Sir JohnBarbury CampBarford St. MartinBarn DoorBarnes, Wm. BarnestonBarrow HillBarton-on-SeaBarton, Wm. BasingBasingstokeBatcombeBattlesbury CampBaverstockBeacon HillBeaminsterBeaufort, CardinalBeaufort, JohnBeaulieu RiverBeckford, Wm. BeckhamptonBeechingstokeBeerBeer HeadBemertonBeohtricBenham ParkBere RegisBerthon, Mr. Berwick BassetBerwick, St. JamesBerwick, St. JohnBicton ParkBilbury RingBindonBindon AbbeyBindon HillBirinusBishop's CanningsBishopstoneBishopstrowBlackdownBlackdowns, TheBlacklough CastleBlackmore ValeBlake, AdmiralBlandfordBoldreBoldrewoodBoscombeBotleyBourne ValleyBournemouthBovey HouseBower ChalkeBowles FamilyBoytonBradford AbbasBradpoleBramleyBranscombeBranscombe HillBrattonBratton CastleBratton SeymourBrideheadBride RiverBridportBroad ChalkeBroadweyBroadwindsorBrockenhurstBrowne, Bp. HaroldBrowning, RobertBrownsea IslandBrutonBubb DownBucket, JohnBuckingham, Duke ofBuckland RingsBucklershardBudleigh SaltertonBulbarrow HillBurford ParkBurghclereBurlesdonBurney, FannyBurton BradstockButser HillBuzbury Rings

Cadbury, North and SouthCadbury CastleCaer GwentCallevaCalshot CastleCamel, Queen's and WestCamelotCampeden, John deCanfordCanuteCasterleyCastle CaryCastle HillCattistockCaundle PurseCerne, TheCerne AbbasChalbury CampChaldon HerringChallow HillChapman's PoolChardChard, Thos. ChardownCharles ICharles IICharles X of FranceCharltonCharminsterCharmouthChaterChatham, LordCheddingtonCherhill DownChesil BankCheverellChickerellChilton FoliatChideockChilhamptonChirtonChisbury HillChisenburyChislebury CampChitterneCholdertonChristchurchChurchend RingChurch Hope CoveChurch OakleyChurchill, WinstonChurch HillCivil WarClarendonClatford BottomClausentiumClearbury CampCley HillCobbett (_Rural Rides_)Codford, St. MaryCodford, St. PeterColcombeColeColeridge, S. T. Collingbourne DucisCollingbourne KingstonColyfordColytonCombeCombe GallowsCombpyneComptonCompton AbbasCompton ChamberlaineConey CastleCoombe BissetCopley HillCoram, Capt. Corfe CastleCorhamptonCoulstonCowden HillCowesCranborneCranborne ChaseCrawford CastleCrecyCreech BarrowCreech HillCrete HillCrewkerneCricket, St. ThomasCromwell, OliverCromwell, RichardCunetioCuthbergaCwenburhCynegils

Damory CourtDampier, Wm. Danes, TheDauntsey School, etc. Deadman's BayDeaneDe AquilaDe Blois, Bp. De Burgh, HubertDe Campeden, JohnDe ChideockDe Lacy, Bp. Delaval, Sir FrancisDe Longespee, Wm. De Mauleon, SavaricDe Montacute, JohnDeorhamDeptfordDeverill VillagesDeverniche"Devil's Den"DevizesDickens, Chas. DintonDitcheatDodington, G. BubbDonhead St. AndrewDonhead St. MaryDorchesterDorchester (Oxon)Dorset DialectDorset HeathsDowlandsDowlish WakeDowntonDrake, Sir FrancisDroxfordDummerDumpdon HillDuniumDunstan, Archbp. Durdle DoorDurlestonDurnfordDurnovariaDurrington

Ealhstan, Bp. Earle, Sir WalterEast ChinnockEast CokerEast KnoyleEast MeonEastonEast StrattonEast WellowEbbesborne WakeEbble ValleyEdgarEdingtonEdmund, IronsideEdward ConfessorEdward the MartyrEdyngton, Bp. Egbert"Egdon Heath"Eggardon HillEldon, LordEleanor, PrincessEleanor, QueenElfridaElizabeth, QueenEllandune, Battle ofEncombeEnfordErlestokeEthelredEtricke, AnthonyEvercreechEvershotEype

FalklandFarleigh WallopFawcett, HenryFawleyFieldingFifield BavantFigheldeanFigsbury RingsFive MariesFisherton DelamereFittletonFlambardFlandersFlowers BarrowFonthill AbbeyFonthill GiffardFontmell MagnaFord AbbeyFordingbridgeFordingtonForster, W. E. Fortunes WellFosse WayFovantFox, Bp. FramptonFreefolkFreemantleFromeFrome, RiverFroxfieldFugglestoneFuller, Thos. Furzy CliffFyfield

Gad CliffGayGeoffrey of MonmouthGeorge IIIGlastonburyGloucester, Duke ofGlover, RichardGodmanstoneGolden CapGreat BedwynGreat WishfordGresham, Sir Thomas"Grey Mare"Grovely Wood

Hackpen Hill, Hamble RiverHambledonHambledon HillHamdonHandfast PointHanging Langford CampHardownHardy, AdmiralHardy, ThomasHarewood ForestHarnhamHawksdownHazlitt, WmHeadbourne WorthyHeale HouseHelstoneHengistbury HeadHenover HillHenry IIHenry IIIHenry VIHenry VIIHenry VIIIHenry of HuntingdonHenstridgeHenstridge DownHerbert, GeorgeHerriardHeytesburyHighclereHighcliffeHigh StoyHiltingburyHindonHinton AdmiralHinton ParvaHinton St. GeorgeHinton St. MaryHod HillHolmsleyHolton HeathHolworth CliffHonitonHonningtonHorsebridgeHorsey, Sir JohnHorton DownHubert, Bp. HuishHungerfordHungerford, Sir EdwardHunter's LodgeHursleyHurstbourne PriorsHurstbourne TarrantHurst CastleHythe

IberniumIcknield WayIdmistonIlchesterIlminsterImberInkpen BeaconIsle of WightIsle, RiverItchen, RiverItchen AbbasIwerne CourtenayIwerne Minster

Jack Straw's CastleJames IJames IIJefferies, RichardJeffreys, JudgeJesty, Benj. Jewel, Bp. JohnJohn of GauntJohnson, Dr. Joliffe, Capt. Jones, InigoJonson, BenJoscelyn, Bp. Jutes

Keble, JohnKempshott ParkKen, Bp. Kennet, RiverKimmeridge BayKingsclereKingsettle HillKingsley, Chas. Kingsmill, PriorKing's SomborneKingstonKingston, LacyKingston, RussellKing's WorthyKintburyKnapp HillKnights' EnhamKnightwood OakKnookKnowle HillKnowltonKonigsmark, Count

Ladle HillLakeLamb, Chas. Lambert's CastleLambourneLambourne DownsLangdon HillLangton HerringLangton MatraversLawrence, Sir Thos. Lea, Lord Herbert ofLeighLelandLewsdon HillLinkenholtLittlecote ManorLisle, Mrs. AliciaLitchfield DownLittle BedwynLittle BredyLittle DurnfordLittle LangfordLittle LondonLitton CheyneyLockyer, Sir NormanLodersLong Barrow, TheLong BredyLongford CastleLongleatLong KnollLouis the DauphinLovells, TheLuciusLudgershallLudlow, EdmundLulworth CastleLulworth CoveLulworth EastLulworth WestLydlynchLyme RegisLymingtonLyndhurstLytchett BeaconLytchett MatraversLytchett Minster

Maiden BradleyMaiden CastleMaiden NewtonMalwoodManningford AbbotsManningford BruceMappertonMappowderMargaret of AnjouMark AshMarket LavingtonMarkway HillMarlboroughMarlborough DownsMarnhullMarshwood ValeMarston MagnaMartinsellMartyr's WorthyMarwood, Thos. Mary IMassingerMaud, EmpressMaumbury RingsMelbury AbbasMelbury BubbMelbury DownsMelbury SampfordMelcombe RegisMeonMerlinMerriotMiddle DownMiddle WallopMilborne PortMildenhallMilford-on-SeaMilk HillMilton AbbasMilton AbbeyMinsteadMitcheldeverMitford, Mary RussellMonk SherborneMonmouth, Duke ofMontacuteMontfortMorecombelakeMoretonMorton BavantMotley, J. L. MottisfontMoule, Bp. Mowlem and BurtMupe Bay

Nadder ValleyNash CourtNelsonNetheravonNether CerneNetherhamptonNether WallopNetley AbbeyNetley CastleNettonNewburyNewenham AbbeyNew ForestNewman, CardinalNew MiltonNewton TonyNightingale, FlorenceNine Barrows DownNorringtonNorth, Bp. BrownlowNorth WalthamNottington

Oakford FitzpaineOareOat HillOdstockOgbury CampOlaus of NorwayOld Sarum"Orator Hunt"OrcOrchestonOsmington MillsOsmund, Bp. Otter RiverOtterbourneOttertonOttery St. MaryOvertonOverton HillOver Wallop

Page, HarryPalmer, JulianPalmerstonPamberParnham ParkPatneyPaulet, JohnPennsylvania CastlePenruddocke, Col. PenselwoodPentridge HillPepys, SamuelPerkin WarbeckPeter of PontefractPeveril PointPewseyPewsey, Vale ofPhilip of CastilePilgrim FathersPilsdon PenPimperne DownPitman, Col. Pitt DownPitt FamilyPlace House, TisburyPoolePreston HarbourPoore, Bp. PopePortal FamilyPotternePort WayPortonPoticary, JeromePouletts, ThePoundbury CampPowerstockPoxwellPrescombe DownPrestonPreston PucknellPrior, MatthewPuckstonePuddle RiverPuddletownPuncknollPurbeck HillsPurbeck Marble

Quidhampton

RadipoleRainscombeRaleigh, Sir WalterRampishamRamsburyRattenburyRaymond's HillRed CrossRedlynch HillReforneRichard, IRichard, IIIRichard, Earl of CambridgeRidgewayRing's HillRingwoodRobert of GloucesterRodwellRoger, Bp. RomseyRoundway DownRousdonRowdeRufus CastleRupert, PrinceRushallRussell, John

Sacheverell, Dr. Saint AldhelmSaint Aldhelm's HeadSaint AlfredaSaint BonifaceSaint CandidaSaint Catherine's ChapelSaint Catherine's HillSaint CrossSaint EdythSaint Elizabeth's CollegeSaint GrimaldSaint John a Gore's CrossSaint LeonardsSaint Mary's CollegeSaint SwithunSalcombe RegisSalisburySalisbury CathedralSalisbury PlainSaltertonSandford OrcasSandsfoot Castle"Sarum, Use of, "Savernake ForestScratchbury CampSeacombe CliffSeatonSelborneSemleyShaftesburyShakespeareSharkfordShaw HouseSheepless DownShelleyShepherd's ShoreSherborneSherborne St. JohnSheridanSherringtonShillingstoneShipton BellingerSidburySidfordSidmouthSidney, Sir PhilipSidownSilbury HillSilchesterSkipton BeaconSkipton GorgeSleeping GreenSlodenSmallwood, JohnSmith, SidneySobertonSolentSomers, Sir Geo. SouthamptonSouthampton WaterSouthbourneSouth NewtonSouth PethertonSouthwellSpanish ArmadaSpeenSpencerStainsfordStair HoleStalbridgeStanley, DeanStanswood BayStanton, St. GabrielStaplefordStavordale PrioryStedcombeSteeple LangfordSteepleton IwerneStephenSteventonStillingfleet, DeanStockbridgeStock CrossStocktonStokeStoke FarthingStoke WakeStonehengeStonehouse, Sir Jas. Stoney CrossStour, RiverStourpaineStourton, Lord CharlesStrangeways, JohnStratfields, TheStratfordStratford, TonyStudlandSturminster MarshallSturminster NewtonSutton MandevilleSutton PoyntzSutton VenySutton WaldronSwallowcliffeSwanageSweynSwyre HeadSydenham, ThomasSydling St. NicholasSydmontonSymondsbury

Tan HillTarrant VillagesTeffont EviasTeffont MagnaTemplecombeTest RiverThackerayThatchamThompson, Wm. Thornhill, Sir JamesThree Legged CrossThynne, Sir JohnTidworthTilly WhimTilsheadTintinhullTisburyTitchborneTitchfieldToller FratrumToller PorcorumTopp, JohnTottenham HouseTottonTowel, E. And W. TrafalgarTrenchard, Sir Thos. TrentTrollopeTunworthTurberville FamilyTurnworth HouseTutchin, JohnTwyfordTwynehamTynehamTytherington

UpavonUplodersUplymeUp OtteryUptonUpton CliffUpton LovellUpton ScudamoreUpwey

VanchurchVennVenta BelgarumVerneVespasian's CampVictoriaVigilantiusVindilisVindogladiaVyne, The

Wade, Col. Walbury Hill CampWalkelyn, Bp. Waller, Genl. Wallop's, TheWalsinghamWaltham ChaseWalton, IzaakWansdykeWantageWardour CastleWarehamWarham, Archbp. WarminsterWarnfordWatts, IsaacWaynflete, Bp. Wayte, Bp. Wellington, Duke ofWesley, JohnWessex, Boundaries ofWest BayWestburyWest CokerWest KennetWest LavingtonWest MeonWestonWeston GroveWest SaxonsWeyhillWeymouthWhistlerWhitchurchWhitchurch CanonicorumWhite, GilbertWhite Hart ForestWhite Horse, (Westbury)White, JohnWhitesand CrossWhite Sheet HillWhite StauntonWhitfield, GeorgeWickhamWilberforce, Bp. Wilbury HouseWilliam IWilliam IIWilliam IIIWilsfordWilsford DownWiltonWilton HouseWimborne MinsterWincantonWinchesterWinchester CathedralWinchester CollegeWindwhistle HillWindy GapWinklebury CampWinklebury CastleWinnalWinspit QuarryWinterbourne StokeWinterbourne Villages (Blandford)Winterbourne Villages (Dorchester)Winterbourne Villages (Kennet)Winterbourne Villages (Salisbury)Winterslow HutWolfeton HouseWolsey, CardinalWolvertonWolvesley CastleWoodbury HillWoodfordWoolWoolbury RingWoolstonWorbarrow BayWordsworthWorth MatraversWortingWraxallWren, Sir ChristopherWyatt, JamesWyatville, Sir J. WykeWyke RegisWykeham, Bp. WylyeWylye RiverWynford Eagle

YeovilYetminster