Wanderings in Wessex by Edric Holmes
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Edric Holmes >> Wanderings in Wessex
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[4] An ancient countryman may occasionally be met with who will direct
the pedestrian to "the 'Vize."
The Castle church was St. John's, though of course the fortress had
its own chapel within the walls. Originally a Norman building, St.
John's was much altered during the fifteenth century, when the present
nave was erected and the Tudor chapels of the chancel were added. The
tower is one of the finest and most dignified that we have in the
older style. The ceiling of the south chapel, added to the church by
Lord St. Amand, is a beautiful example of the woodwork of the early
Tudor period, as is that of the present vestry and one-time chapel on
the north side. An extension of the nave took place in 1865, when the
old west front was much altered.
[Illustration: ST. JOHN'S, DEVIZES.]
St. Mary's, the town church, has a Norman chancel and Perpendicular
nave and tower. On the beautiful old roof of the nave is a record of
the 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 of
the nave. The Transitional south porch has a not unpleasing upper
story dating from 1612.
The streets between the two churches have some good old houses in
them, and the first traversed is called the "Brittox," said to be
derived from "Bretesque," the name for the outer defences of the
castle. The broad market place is one of the most spacious in the
kingdom, and a very interesting sight on market days. Here one may see
the 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 of
flowers stuck in the brim, but this the writer had never the fortune
to see until the summer of 1921 when the shepherd was also wearing his
own old cavalry breeches and puttees! In the centre of the throng
rises the mock Gothic pinnacled market cross, presented to Devizes in
1814 by Henry Addington, afterwards Viscount Sidmouth, who succeeded
Pitt as Premier. There is a remarkable inscription upon one side of
the pedestal which, for the benefit of those unable personally to
peruse 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 is
famous as the hostelry where the father of Sir Thomas Lawrence was at
one time landlord. He was a man of literary tastes and public-spirited
withal, for he is said to have erected posts upon the lonely hills
hereabouts to guide wayfarers to civilization. Those who have seen
Salisbury Plain in its winter aspect will appreciate what this meant
at the end of the eighteenth century, when cultivation, and the
consequent fence, was not in existence thereon, and to be lost on the
Downs in the snow was a serious adventure. The account of the Lawrence
family in Fanny Burney's Diary is of much interest and throws an
intimate light on certain aspects of English provincial life at that
time.
Besides a large number of pleasant and dignified houses of the
eighteenth century, Devizes has a few older ones, principally in the
alleys at the back of St. John Street; and some fine public buildings
that would not disgrace a town of more consequence. Foremost among
these is the Corn Exchange, close to the "Bear." On its front will be
noticed a statue of the goddess of agriculture. The edifice over which
she presides is of imposing size and shows how great an amount of
business must have been transacted here in the past. The Town Hall
contains several objects of interest which are shown to the visitor,
including a fine set of old corporation plate. The ancient hall of the
wool merchants' Guild is near the castle. Its purpose has long
forsaken the old walls, but under the care of the present occupiers
the well-being of the building is assured. The museum is well worth
seeing. Here is the famous "Marlborough Bucket," said to be of
Armorican origin. It was discovered near Marlborough by Sir R.C.
Hoare, and its contents proved it to be a cinerary urn of a date
probably not much anterior to the Roman occupation of Britain. The
geological collections--stones and fossils; and some interesting
models of Avebury and Stonehenge, and particularly the Stourhead
antiquities--British and prehistoric--should on no account be missed.
An old diary of royal progresses gives the following account of a
foreign 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 passed
if the main road is taken toward Avebury. A better way for the
traveller on foot is to go by the beautiful avenue called Quakers'
Walk to Roundway Down and Oliver's Camp, the last named being actually
an ancient encampment, given its present name because the battle for
Devizes in the Civil War took place close by. The fight was not a
Parliamentary success and Waller was forced to retire before the
King's men under Lord Wilmot. The Down was in consequence renamed
"Runaway" by the jubilant Cavaliers. Below the face of the hill to the
south-west is the picturesque village of Rowde, famous for its quaint
old inn. If the Roundway route is chosen a descent should be made to
Bishop's Cannings lying snugly under the steep side of Tan Hill. Here
is a magnificent church of much interest and beauty. The cruciform
building is in the main Transitional and Early English. The dignified
central tower has a spire of stone. The corbels supporting the roof
are carved with representations of Kings and Abbots. The interior is
impressive in its splendid proportions and graceful details, and of
especial beauty are the Perpendicular arches inserted in the nave. The
fine triple lancets of the chancel, transepts and west end also call
for notice. To the east of the south transept is the former chapel of
Our Lady of the Bower. This has been the Ernle chantry since 1563. It
contains monuments of this family and an ancient helmet bearing their
crest hangs on the wall. The south transept has a piscina and in the
north transept is a curious old carved chair, said to have been used
by the guardian of a shrine, but whose or what shrine is unknown. The
two-storied building on the north-east of the chancel, consisting of a
sacristry and priest's room, is the oldest part of the church. James I
was entertained in the village during one of his progresses by the
vicar who, with the help of his parishioners, rendered some of his own
compositions for the edification of the King.
The Avebury road now ascends the sparsely inhabited chalk hills, part
of the range known under the general designation of the Marlborough
Downs. To the left, on the northern slopes of Roundway Down, have been
erected a number of gaunt and lofty wireless masts, visible for a
great distance. They may be said to stand in a cemetery, so numerous
are the round barrows scattered about the surrounding hills. After
passing a reservoir on the left the road reaches the lonely
"Shepherd's Shore," nearly 600 feet up. Just past this point the
mysterious Wansdyke is crossed. Hereabouts the Dyke runs in a fairly
straight line east and west, where this direction keeps to the summit
of the hills. It is well seen from our road as it descends on the
right from Horton Down. To the east it eventually becomes lost in the
fastnesses of Savernake Forest. Westwards it is, for some distance,
identical with the Roman road to Bath. The "Wodensdyke" appears to
have been made to protect south-western England from foes coming out
of the midlands, but whether it was the work of Brito-Roman or West
Saxon is unknown. Our way now drops past three conspicuous barrows on
the left, with the Lansdown Column showing up on the summit of
Cherhill Down beyond. This was erected to commemorate the birth of
Edward VII. Presently, in the other direction, to the right front,
appears the dark mass of Silbury Hill, perhaps another monument to a
great monarch, but of an age too distant for conjecture.
Seven miles from Devizes we reach the Bath road at Beckhampton, first
crossing the track of the old Roman Bath-Silchester way about
three-quarters of a mile before it joins the modern road. We are now
in the valley of the Kennet, which here turns east after an infant
course under the long line of Hackpen Hill and through the
out-of-the-way villages of Winterbourne Basset, Monkton and Berwick
Basset. The "winter bourne" is actually the baby Kennet, that in dry
summers hardly makes an appearance. Berwick has a family connexion
with Wooton, over the hills and far away to the north-west. Hackpen is
almost the final effort of the chalk in this direction. At its
northern end it rises to 884 feet, an isolated section being crowned
by Barbury Camp, ringed by its beech trees, from which there is a
grand view north and west. From this point the general trend of the
chalk escarpment is north-east to the Lambourn Downs, between Lambourn
and Wantage. Along the brow of this long ridge wanders that
fascinating old track indifferently termed Ridgeway and Icknield Way,
which only leaves the highlands to cross the Thames at Streatley. But
we are off our own track now and must return to Avebury, or Abury as
the natives have it. The village is a mile from Beckhampton, and a
short distance up the by-road the first glimpse of our goal may be had
on the left in the two "Long Stones" just visible across a field. A
little farther one gets the best distant view of Silbury Hill--one
which shows its artificial character and true shape to great
advantage. The sombre tone of the turf that clothes it is remarkable;
when seen against the pale sweep of the Downs behind, its sides do not
appear to _reflect_ light at all.
[Illustration: SILBURY HILL.]
"As a cathedral is to a parish church," Aubrey's comparison of Avebury
with Stonehenge is difficult to understand upon merely a casual visit.
To grasp the unique character of this, the oldest prehistoric monument
in Europe, and perhaps in the world, we must take for granted the
investigations and discoveries of antiquaries and archaeologists
during the last 250 years, and if the comparison between their
conjectural but approximately correct plans and the present aspect of
this mysterious relic of the Stone Age is disappointing and
perplexing, we can only be thankful that the work of Farmer Green and
Tom Robinson, the two despoilers mentioned by the earliest
investigators, has been prevented in their descendants, and that
though the circles are incapable of restoration, the few stones that
remain will be preserved for all time.
Avebury is undoubtedly older than Stonehenge and must belong to the
true Neolithic period, whether the former does or not. Of the original
six hundred and fifty megaliths eighteen are standing and about the
same number are buried. Some are nearly 17 feet high, and the rampart
that encloses the Temple is no less than 4,500 feet round and from 10
to 20 feet in height, though it is computed that from the bottom of
the ditch to the wall must have originally been nearly 50 feet. The
modern village, built of some of the missing stones, is partly within
the circular earthwork. This rampart is the only part of the great
work which can be readily comprehended by the visitor. A circle of one
hundred stones is said by the archaeologist Stukely to have stood
around the edge of the enclosure, forty-four still standing in his
time (1720). The same writer asserts that within the great circle were
two other separate rings consisting of thirty stones, and each
containing an inner circle of twelve stones. The northern of these
rings had three large stones in the middle; the southern, one enormous
stone 27 feet high and nearly 9 feet round. One, or possibly two,
avenues of stones led south-east and south-west; that going in the
direction of West Kennet may still be traced and fifteen stones
remain, but the other is conjectural, if it existed at all. The two
megaliths seen from the Beckhampton road may be a remnant of it. The
purpose of all this intricate and elaborate work is a puzzling problem
and, like the mystery of Stonehenge, will probably remain a secret to
the end. The literature of Avebury, not quite so copious as that of
the stones of the Plain, is also more diffident in its guessing.
Avebury has given a title to the most modest and thorough of its
students, and his writings on this and the other prehistoric monuments
of Wiltshire, a county that must have been a holy land some thousands
of years ago, should be studied by all who have any concern in the
long-buried past of their country.
Avebury Church, just without the rampart, was originally a Saxon
building, its aisles being Norman additions. The chancel was rebuilt
in 1879, but certain old features are preserved. The fine tower is
Perpendicular. The font may be Saxon, though the ornamentation is of a
later date. Avebury Manor House, beyond the churchyard, is a beautiful
old sixteenth-century dwelling; it marks the site of a twelfth-century
monastery.
About one mile south of Avebury rises the extraordinary mound called
Silbury Hill, as wonderful in its way as either of the two great stone
circles of Wiltshire and perhaps part of one plan with them. It is
said to be the largest artificial hill in Europe and bears comparison,
as far as the labour involved in its erection is concerned, with the
Pyramids. The mound is 1,660 feet round at the base and covers over
five acres. It is now just 130 feet high, but when made it is probable
that the top was more acute and consequently higher. A circle of
sarsens once surrounded the base, but these have almost all
disappeared. Pepys repeats an old tradition that a King Seall was
buried upon the hill; but it is extraordinary that Avebury and Silbury
were less known to our forefathers than Stonehenge, and the first
mention of these two places, as being of antiquarian or historic
interest, is in the seventeenth century. Excavations during recent
years 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 of
Silbury) here deviates slightly from its usual straightness is
significant and proves that the mound was in existence when the road
was made. The villagers around used to ascend the hill on Palm Sunday
to eat "fig cakes" and drink sugar and water. It has been suggested
that this ceremony had some connexion with the gospel story of the
barren fig tree, but it is much more probable that the tradition has a
very early origin. As a matter of fact the cakes were mostly made with
raisins 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 most
famous in England. This tumulus is over 330 feet long and about 60
feet wide. When the stone chamber was opened some years ago, four
skeletons were found within. Vestiges of a small stone circle remain
on the South of the Bath road, between it and the Kennet, and almost
on the track of the Ridgeway. If the Way is followed northwards towards
the slopes of Overton Hill we reach the "quarry" where most of the
megalithic monuments of Wiltshire originated. These extraordinary
stones, thickly scattered over the southern slopes of the Marlborough
Downs, are generally known as the "Grey Wethers," or "Sarsens." At one
time supposed to have been brought to their present position by
glacial action, they are now said to be, and undoubtedly are, the
result of denudation. They are composed of a hard grey sandstone which
once covered the chalk; the softer portions wearing away left the
tough core lying in isolated masses upon the hills. Not far away in
Clatford Bottom is the "Devil's Den," a cromlech upon the remains of a
long barrow; the upper slab measures nine feet by eight. The Downs
above Fyfield form a magnificent galloping and training ground for the
racing stables near by. Our road, the Bath highway, now follows the
Kennet 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 a
slight exploration of the middle course of the Kennet from the old
Forest town. Here the clear chalk stream, fresh from the highlands of
the Marlborough Downs, runs as a clear and inviting little river at
the foot of the High Street gardens. For Marlborough is a flowery and
umbrageous town in its "backs," however dull it may appear to the
traveller by the railway, from which dis-vantage point most English
towns look their very worst.
Although the river was never wide enough to bring credit or renown to
Marlborough, the borough had another channel of profit and good
business in its position on the Bath Road. The part that great highway
played in the two hundred years which ended soon after Queen Victoria
commenced her long reign seems likely to have a renewal in these days
of 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 animation
that they are mostly delightful and unspoilt reminders of another age.
The fine and spacious High Street that once echoed with the horns of a
dozen coaches in the course of an afternoon now hums with the
machinery of half a hundred motors in an hour, and if they do not all
stop, some do, and leave the worthy burgesses a greater amount of
wealth and a cleaner roadway than their more picturesque predecessors.
The municipality is very ancient and still retains some quaint
customs. Not that, however, of the medieval fee for admission to the
corporation consisting of two greyhounds, two white capons, and a
white bull! The last item must have given the aspirant for civic
honour much wearisome searching of farmyards before he found the
acceptable colour. Like so many of the old towns through which we have
wandered, Marlborough has suffered from fire; one in the middle of the
seventeenth century was of particular fury, for, with the exception of
the beautiful old gabled houses on the higher side of the sloping main
street, the town was then practically destroyed. "Two hundred and
fifty dwellings and Saint Mary's church are gone, and over three
hundred families forced to crave the hospitality of the neighbouring
farmers and gentry, or wander about the fields vainly looking for
shelter. Every barn and beast-house filled to overflowing."
The tradesmen of High Street say that theirs is the widest street in
England. This may be so. It is undoubtedly one of the most pleasant
and picturesque, and "the great houses supported on pillars," to which
Pepys refers in his Diary, still remain on the north side.
Marlborough had not actually a Roman beginning. The station known as
Cunetio was nearly three miles away to the east. But the castle hill
antedates this period considerably and is supposed to be an artificial
mound of unknown antiquity, perhaps made by the men who reared Silbury
Hill. It is said that within lie the bones of Merlin. Quite possibly
this idea arose from the resemblance of the ancient form of
Marlborough--"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 years
of the Conqueror's reign a castle that was strengthened and rebuilt in
succeeding generations until, somewhere about the rise of the Tudor
power, it was allowed to fall into decay. It was probably in the
Castle Chapel of St. Nicholas that King John was married to Isabella
of Gloucester in 1180, and in the church at Preshute, the parish
church of the Castle, is an enormous font of black marble brought from
this chapel. A tradition has it that King John was baptized in it. The
only real fighting recorded as taking place around the Castle, while
it was in existence, was during the time of Fitz Gilbert, who held it
for the Empress Maud. Of more importance was the sallying forth,
during the Civil War, of the Royalists, who had fortified a mansion
which had arisen from the Castle ruins, against the republican town,
capturing and partly burning it. The soldiers displayed great
savagery, fifty-three houses being destroyed. The garrison of "the
most notoriously disaffected town in Wiltshire" was the first taken in
the War. The Castle was also famous as the place of meeting for the
Parliament of Henry III which passed the "Statutes of Marlborough,"
the Charter for which Simon de Montfort had risked and suffered so
much.
Of more living interest are the ancient and beautiful buildings of
Marlborough School, instituted in 1843 by a number of public-spirited
men, headed by a priest of the Church of England--Charles Plater. The
school is the scene of Stanley Weyman's _The Castle Inn_, for it was
formerly that historic hostel, one of the finest and most famous in
England, before the disappearance of the road traveller caused the
collapse of the old-fashioned posting-houses. Before the year 1740 it
had been a mansion, originally built by Lord Seymour during the reign
of Charles II. It afterwards passed through several hands, and, while
in the possession of Lady Hertford, saw the entertainment of some of
the literary lions of the day, including Thomson of _The Seasons_ and
Isaac 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 was
amazed by the number of his attendants. Footmen and grooms, dressed in
his family livery, filled the whole inn and swarmed in the streets of
the little town. The truth was that the invalid had insisted that
during his stay all the waiters and stable boys of the 'Castle' should
wear his livery." The fine school chapel was added in 1882 and several
extensive and necessary additions have been made to the original
buildings. Among famous headmasters may be mentioned Dean Bradley and
Dean Farrar.
[Illustration: GARDEN FRONT, MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE.]
King Edward the VI Grammar School is at the far end of the town. The
old buildings were pulled down in 1905. In this school Dr.
Sacheverell, who was born in Marlborough, received his education. The
present St. Mary's Church practically dates from the great fire of
1653, and is a very poor specimen of debased Perpendicular. The
chancel was added in 1874. A Norman doorway at the west end should be
noticed. The tower of the church shows traces of the Royalist attack
on the town in 1642. St. Peter's Church, not far from the College, is
Perpendicular, and from its high and finely designed tower, curfew
still rings each night through the year. Within, the groined roof and
beautiful design of the windows are worthy of notice.
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