What to See in England by Gordon Home

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WHAT TO SEE IN ENGLAND

A GUIDE TO PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST, NATURAL BEAUTY,
OR LITERARY ASSOCIATION

BY GORDON HOME

1908

[Illustration: BOOTHAM BAR, AND YORK MINSTER.]

[Illustration: SKETCH PLAN OF LONDON SHOWING RAILWAY STATIONS]

[Illustration: REFERENCE TO RAILWAY STATIONS

Broad Street
Cannon St. (South Eastern & Chatham)
Charing Cross (South Eastern & Chatham)
Euston Station (London & North Western)
Fenchurch St. (London, Tilbury, & Southend)
Great Central Station
Great Eastern (Liverpool St.)
Great Western Station
King's Cross (Great Northern)
Liverpool St. (Great Eastern)
London Bridge (South Eastern & Chatham & Brighton & South Coast)
London & North Western (Euston Station)
London & South Western (Waterloo)
London, Tilbury, & Southend (Fenchurch St.)
Marylebone Station (Great Central)
Paddington Station (Great Western)
St Pancras (Midland)
South Eastern & Chatham:
Cannon Street
Charing Cross
Holborn Viaduct
London Bridge
Ludgate Hill
Victoria
Waterloo
South Western Railway (Waterloo)
Victoria (London, Brighton, & South Coast & South Eastern & Chatham)
Waterloo (London & South Western)]

PREFACE

This book is intended to put in the smallest possible space the means by
which one may reach the chief places of interest in England and Wales.
It will possibly make many holidays, week-ends, or isolated days more
enjoyable by placing a defined objective before the rambler. Places
within an hour or two of London are in the front of the book, so that as
one turns over the pages one is taken further and further afield. The
brief summary of the interests of each place, and the many
illustrations, may help to memorise the impressions obtained.

The first edition of a book of this nature must of necessity be
incomplete, and the author is prepared to hear of long lists of places
which should have been included, and also to hear criticisms on his
choice of those appearing. It is to some extent natural that special
familiarity with certain places and certain writers or heroes of the
past may distort one's vision, and perhaps induce a choice of subjects
which may not seem so comprehensive to some individuals as to others.
Future editions will, however, give ample scope for embracing all the
good suggestions which may be made.

G.H.

HAM HOUSE AND PETERSHAM

=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo. L. and S.W. Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Richmond (1-1/4 miles from Petersham Church).
=Distance from London.=--10 miles.
=Average Time.=--1/2 hour.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 1s. 3d. 1s. 0d. 0s. 9d.
Return 2s. 0d. 1s. 6d. 1s. 3d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Castle Hotel," "Roebuck Hotel,"
Richmond. "Dysart Arms" at Petersham.

The little church at Petersham is interesting on account of the memorial
it contains to the memory of Vancouver, the discoverer, in 1792, of the
island bearing his name, on the west coast of the North American
continent. It is said that "the unceasing exertions which Vancouver
himself made to complete the gigantic task of surveying 9000 miles of
unknown and intricate coasts--a labour chiefly performed in open
boats--made an inroad on his constitution from which he never recovered,
and, declining gradually, he died in May 1798." The church is also the
burying-place of the Duchess of Lauderdale, whose residence was Ham
House. This fine old Jacobean mansion stands at no great distance from
Petersham Church. It was built as a residence for Prince Henry, the
eldest son of James I., who, however, died early, the gossips of the
time hinting at poison. The house is still said to be haunted by the
spirit of the old Duchess of Lauderdale, who lived in the time of
Charles II.

WALTON-ON-THAMES (SCOLD'S BRIDLE)

=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo. L. and S.W. Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Walton.
=Distance from London.=--17 miles.
=Average Time.=--3/4 hour.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 2s. 10d. 1s. 10d. 1s. 5d.
Return 4s. 0d. 3s. 0d. 2s. 6d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Ashley" at station; "Swan," on
the river; "Duke's Head," in the town, etc.

Walton-on-Thames is a little riverside town, very much surrounded by
modern villas. The church contains in a glass case in the vestry a
"scold's bridle." This rusty iron contrivance is one of the few
specimens of this mediaeval instrument of torture to be seen in this
country, and it is certainly the nearest to London.

In Elizabethan times a "scold" was looked upon in much the same light as
a witch, and this bridle was applied to those women who obtained for
themselves the undesirable reputation.

[Illustration: THE GARDEN FRONT OF HAM HOUSE.]

[Illustration: THE SCOLD'S BRIDLE IN WALTON-ON-THAMES CHURCH.

"Chester presents Walton with a bridle
To curb women's tongues when they are idle."]

HARROW

=How to get there.=--Train from Euston. L. and N.W. Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Harrow.
=Distance from London.=--11-1/2 miles.
=Average Time.=--1/2 hour.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 1s. 6d. 1s. 0d. 0s. 9d.
Return 2s. 3d. 1s. 6d. 1s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"King's Head," etc.
=Alternative Routes.=--Train from Baker Street, Metropolitan Railway.
Train from Broad Street, L. and N.W. Railway. Train from
Marylebone, Great Central Railway.

Harrow, from its high position, 200 feet above the sea, was selected by
the Romans as an important military station. By the Saxons it was called
Hereways, and was purchased in 822 by Wilfred, Archbishop of Canterbury.
The ancient manor-house, of which no traces now remain, was formerly the
residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury, and it was here that Thomas
a Becket resided during his banishment from Court. Cardinal Wolsey, who
was once Rector of Harrow, resided at Pinner, and is said to have
entertained Henry VIII. during his visit to Harrow. The manor was
exchanged by Archbishop Cranmer with the king for other lands, and was
subsequently given to Sir Edmund Dudley, afterwards Lord North.

At the bottom of the hill, and spreading rapidly in all directions, are
quantities of modern houses and villas, but the point of greatest
interest in Harrow is the celebrated school, wonderfully situated on the
very summit of the hill, with views extending over thirteen counties.
Founded in the reign of Queen Elizabeth by John Lyon, a yeoman of the
parish, the school has now grown enormously, the oldest portion being
that near the church, which was erected three years after the founder's
death. In the wainscotting of the famous schoolroom are the carvings cut
by many generations of Harrovians, among them being the names of Peel,
Byron, Sheridan, the Marquess of Hastings, Lord Normanby, and many
others.

The church stands on the extreme summit of the hill, and from the
churchyard the view is simply magnificent. In the building are some
interesting tombs and brasses, and a monument to John Lyon, the founder
of the school.

The grave shown on the opposite page is known as "Byron's tomb," on
account of his fondness for the particular spot it occupied in the
churchyard, from whence the fascinating view just mentioned can be seen,
from the shade of the trees growing on either side.

[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

"BYRON'S TOMB" IN HARROW CHURCHYARD.]

HOLWOOD HOUSE, KESTON

THE HOME OF WILLIAM PITT

=How to get there.=--Train from Charing Cross, Cannon Street, and
London Bridge. South-Eastern and Chatham Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Hayes (2 miles from Keston village). About 3
miles from Holwood House.
=Distance from London.=--12 miles.
=Average Time.=--35 minutes.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 2s. 0d. 1s. 3d. 1s. 0-1/2d.
Return 3s. 3d. 2s. 4d. 1s. 10d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"The Fox Inn," "The George."
=Alternative Route.=--To Orpington Station by the South-Eastern and
Chatham Railway, about 4 miles distant.

_Visitors are able to pass through the park on a public footpath._

About 3 miles' walk from Hayes Station by a pleasant road over Hayes
Common is Holwood House, a stately, classic building, for many years the
home of William Pitt, the famous statesman and son of the Earl of
Chatham. He owned the estate between 1785 and 1802, and it was during
this period that the British camp in the park suffered so severely. The
earth-works were occupied by some early British tribe before Caesar
crossed the Channel, and the place probably owed its strength to its
well-chosen position. Pitt, however, caused these fascinating remains to
be levelled to a considerable extent, in order to carry out some of his
ideas of landscape gardening. A magnificent tree growing near the house
is known as "Pitt's Oak," from the tradition that Pitt was specially
fond of spending long periods of quiet reading beneath its overshadowing
boughs. Another tree of more interest still stands quite near the public
footpath through the park. This is known as "Wilberforce's Oak," and is
easily distinguished from the surrounding trees by the stone seat
constructed in its shade. The momentous decision which makes this tree
so interesting is given in Wilberforce's diary for the year 1788. He
writes, "At length, I well remember after a conversation with Mr. Pitt
in the open air at the root of an old tree at Holwood, just above the
steep descent into the vale of Keston, I resolved to give notice on a
fit occasion in the House of Commons of my intention to bring forward
the abolition of the slave-trade."

With the exception of Knole Park, Holwood boasts some of the finest
beeches in the country. The present house took the place of the one
occupied by Pitt in 1825; the architect was Decimus Burton.

[Illustration: WILBERFORCE'S OR "EMANCIPATION OAK" IN HOLWOOD PARK,
KESTON.]

CHIGWELL, ESSEX

=How to get there.=--Train from Liverpool Street or Fenchurch Street.
Great Eastern Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Chigwell.
=Distance from London.=--12-3/4 miles.
=Average Time.=--55 minutes. Quickest train, 31 minutes.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 1s. 10d. 1s. 4d. 0s. 11d.
Return 2s. 6d. 1s. 10d. 1s. 4d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"The King's Head."

In 1844 Charles Dickens wrote to Forster: "Chigwell, my dear fellow, is
the greatest place in the world. Name your day for going. Such a
delicious old inn facing the church--such a lovely ride--such forest
scenery--such an out-of-the-way rural place--such a sexton! I say again,
Name your day." This is surely sufficient recommendation for any place;
and when one knows that the "delicious old inn" is still standing, and
that the village is as rural and as pretty as when Dickens wrote over
sixty years ago, one cannot fail to have a keen desire to see the place.
"The King's Head" illustrated here is the inn Dickens had in his mind
when describing the "Maypole" in _Barnaby Rudge_, and the whole of the
plot of that work is so wrapped up in Chigwell and its immediate
surroundings that one should not visit the village until one has read
the story. One may see the panelled "great room" upstairs where Mr.
Chester met Mr. Geoffrey Haredale. This room has a fine mantelpiece,
great carved beams, and beautiful leaded windows. On the ground floor is
the cosy bar where the village cronies gathered with Mr. Willett, and
one may also see the low room with the small-paned windows against which
John Willett flattened his nose looking out on the road on the dark
night when the story opens.

Chigwell School, built in 1629, and founded by Archbishop Harsnett,
still remains, although there have been several modern additions. Here
William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was educated. (See Index for
Jordans and Penn's Chapel at Thakeham.)

Chigwell Church, facing "The King's Head," has a dark avenue of yews
leading from the road to the porch. A brass to the memory of Archbishop
Harsnett may be seen on the floor of the chancel. The epitaph in Latin
was ordered to be so written in the will of the archbishop. Translated,
the first portion may be read: "Here lieth Samuel Harsnett, formerly
vicar of this church. First the unworthy Bishop of Chichester, then the
more unworthy Bishop of Norwich, at last the very unworthy Archbishop of
York."

[Illustration: THE KING'S HEAD INN AT CHIGWELL.

The "Maypole" of Dickens's _Barnaby Rudge_.]

WALTHAM ABBEY AND CROSS

=How to get there.=--Train from Liverpool Street. Great Eastern
Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Waltham.
=Distance from London.=--12-3/4 miles.
=Average Time.=--40 minutes. Quickest train, 23 minutes.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 2s. 0d. 1s. 6d. 1s. 1d.
Return 3s. 3d. 2s. 6d. 1s. 7d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"The New Inn," etc.

Waltham Abbey is a market town in Essex on the banks of the Lea, which
here divides into several branches which are used as motive power for
some gunpowder and flour mills. Harold II. founded the stately Abbey
Church in May 1060. William the Conqueror disputed Harold's claim to the
throne and landed in England at Pevensey in 1066. At Waltham Abbey,
troubled and anxious, Harold prayed for victory in England's name before
the fatal battle of Hastings, where he was slain. William at first
refused to give up Harold's body to his mother, Gytha, but he afterwards
allowed two monks from Waltham to search for the body of the king. They
were unable to find it amongst the nameless dead, but his favourite,
Edith the swan-necked, whose eye of affection was not to be deceived,
discovered it. His weeping mother buried the disfigured corpse probably
about 120 feet from the east end of the old church.

At Waltham is one of the many crosses erected by Edward I. in memory of
his first wife, Eleanor of Castile, wherever her body rested on its way
to Westminster from Lincoln. At Northampton is another of these famous
crosses. When the king asked the Abbot of Cluny to intercede for her
soul, he said, "We loved her tenderly in her lifetime; we do not cease
to love her in death."

A little way to the left of Waltham Cross, now a gateway to the park of
Theobalds, stands Temple Bar, stone for stone intact as it was in the
days when traitors' heads were raised above it in Fleet Street, although
the original wooden gates have gone. A portion of the richly-carved top
of the gate is still in existence in London. Waltham Abbey is probably
close to that part of the river Lea where King Alfred defeated the
Danes. They had penetrated far up the river when King Alfred diverted
the waters of the river from underneath their black vessels and left
them high and dry in a wilderness of marsh and forest. The gentle
Charles Lamb was very fond of the country all round Waltham Abbey,
especially Broxbourne and Amwell.

[Illustration: THE ABBEY GATE AT WALTHAM.

Waltham Abbey was founded in 1060 by Harold II.]

DOWNE

THE HOME OF DARWIN

=How to get there.=--Train from Charing Cross, Cannon Street, or
London Bridge. South-Eastern and Chatham Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Orpington (3-1/2 to 4 miles from Downe).
=Distance from London.=--13-3/4 miles.
=Average Time.=--35 minutes.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 2s. 4d. 1s. 6d. 1s. 2-1/2d.
Return 4s. 0d. 3s. 0d. ...

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Queen's Head," at Downe, facing the
church. Hotels at Farnborough--"White Lion," "George and
Dragon."

The home of the great scientist is still standing in the little village
of Downe in Kent. The road to the hamlet is through Farnborough, and the
walk takes an hour. Downe is a pleasant place, possessing a large
village pond and a small church with a shingled spire. Darwin's home,
known as Downe House, was built in the eighteenth century. Its front is
of white stucco, relieved by ivy and other creepers. The wing on the
west side of the house was added by Darwin shortly after he came to live
there. This new portion of the house was used partly to accommodate his
library. On the north side is the room used by Darwin as a study, in
which he wrote some of his most important works. The garden of the house
is sheltered and reposeful, and from the old wall-garden to the south
there is a beautiful view over the delightful stretch of country in the
direction of Westerham.

The life led by Darwin when at Downe was exceedingly quiet and regular,
for he always went to bed at an early hour, and rising at six was
enabled to get in a walk and breakfast before commencing work at eight
o'clock. At some other time of the day he would manage to get an
opportunity for another walk, and part of the evening would be given up
to his family and friends who were privileged to enjoy conversation with
the great author of _The Origin of Species_. Professor Haeckel,
describing a visit to Darwin's home, says, "There stepped out to meet me
from the shady porch ... the great naturalist himself, a tall and
venerable figure, with the broad shoulders of an Atlas supporting a
world of thought, his Jupiter-like forehead, highly and broadly arched
... and deeply furrowed with the plough of mental labour; his kindly,
mild eyes looking forth under the shadow of prominent brows."

[Illustration: DOWNE HOUSE AT DOWNE, KENT.

The Home of Charles Darwin.]

EPSOM: ITS RACES AND ITS SALTS

=How to get there.=--From Waterloo, South-Western Railway. From
London Bridge or Victoria, London, Brighton, and South Coast Rly.
=Nearest Station.=--Epsom.
=Distance from London.=--14 miles.
=Average Time.=--3/4 hour.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 2s. 3d. 1s. 6d. 1s. 2d.
Return 3s. 0d. 2s. 6d. 2s. 2d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"King's Head," "Spread Eagle," etc.

One must choose any other than a race-day if one wishes to see the
charming old town of Epsom at its best. But if, on the other hand, one
wishes, to see something of the scene on the race-course depicted in Mr.
Frith's famous picture, one gets no suggestion of the great spectacle
except on race-days. On these occasions, at the Spring meeting and
during Derby week, one has merely to follow the great streams of
humanity which converge on the downs from the roads from London and from
the railway stations. On ordinary days the wide rolling downs are
generally left alone to the health-giving breezes which blow over them.
In the town itself there is much to be seen of the seventeenth-century
architecture associated with the days of Epsom's fame as a
watering-place. The wide portion of the High Street at once attracts
one's notice, for with one or two exceptions its whole length is full of
the quaintest of buildings with cream walls and mossy tiled roofs. The
clock-tower was built in 1848, when it replaced a very simple old
watch-house with a curious little tower rising from it. The "Spread
Eagle" is one of the oldest of the Epsom inns; its irregular front and
its position looking up the High Street make it more conspicuous than
the "King's Head," an equally old and very interesting hostelry facing
the clock-tower. Pepys stayed there in 1667, for in his diary of July 14
of that year he writes, "To Epsom, by eight o'clock, to the well; where
much company. And to the towne to the King's Head; and hear that my Lord
Buckhurst and Nelly (Gwynne) are lodged at the next house, and Sir
Charles Sedley with them: and keep a merry house." This house, next to
the "King's Head," is still standing. A little further along the street
is the large red-brick building known to-day as Waterloo House. It was
built about the year 1680, and was then known as the New Inn. The old
banqueting-hall it contains is divided up now, for the building is
converted into shops.

Durdans, the residence of Lord Rosebery, is about ten minutes' walk from
the High Street. One can see the house and grounds from the narrow lane
leading to the downs.

[Illustration: HIGH STREET, EPSOM.

Showing one of the famous inns which flourished in the seventeenth
century.]

EPPING FOREST

=How to get there.=--From Liverpool Street or Fenchurch Street.
Great Eastern Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Theydon Bois. Other stations near the forest
are Chingford, Loughton, and Epping.
=Distance from London.=--15 miles.
=Average Time.=--1 hour. Quickest train, 38 minutes.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 2s. 8d. 1s. 11d. 1s. 3-1/2d.
Return 3s. 9d. 2s. 11d. 1s. 11d.

Those who wish to ramble through Epping Forest off the beaten paths
should carry a compass and a map, so that they do not merely keep in one
section of the forest, and thus miss some of the tracts which are quite
distinct in character to others. The best days during the summer for
having the glades to one's self are Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, but
during the winter the whole place is left to the keepers and the
feathered inhabitants of the forest. During spring and autumn one also
finds that the grassy walks are left almost entirely alone, and at these
periods the forest is at its very best. Those who have only visited it
in the height of summer, when the foliage is perhaps drooping a little,
when the birds are not singing, and when there are traces of more than
one picnic party, have no idea of the true beauty of the forest. A herd
of deer are allowed to breed in the wilder and less frequented portions
if the forest, and these add much to the charm of some of the umbrageous
by-paths when one suddenly disturbs a quietly grazing group. Queen
Elizabeth's hunting lodge, which adjoins the Forest Hotel at Chingford,
is a restored three-storied and much gabled building, constructed of
plastered brickwork and framed with oak. It seems that the building
originally had no roof, but merely an open platform, from which one
could obtain a good comprehensive view of any sport going on in the
vicinity. The lodge has now been made the home of a museum of objects of
antiquity discovered in the forest. The special points of Epping Forest
which should be included in a long day's ramble are Connaught Water, a
lake near Chingford; High Beach, an elevated portion of the forest
possessing some splendid beeches; the earthwork known as Loughton Camp,
which probably belongs to pre-Roman times, and Ambresbury Banks, towards
Epping. This camp is said to have been the last fortress of the Britons
under Boadicea. From here they are believed to have marched against the
Romans to receive the crushing defeat inflicted upon them.

[Illustration: A GLADE AMONG THE BEECHES IN EPPING FOREST.]

HAMPTON COURT

=How to get there.=--South-Western Railway. Waterloo Station.
=Nearest Station.=--Hampton Court.
=Distance from London.=--15 miles.
=Average Time.=--3/4 hour.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 2s. 0d. 1s. 6d. 1s. 2-1/2d.
Return 2s. 9d. 2s. 0d. 1s. 10d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Castle Hotel," "Mitre Hotel," "The
King's Arms Hotel," "Greyhound Hotel," etc.
=Alternative Route.=--By steamboats from London Bridge, etc., during
the summer months.

Within a few hundred yards of the Hampton Court station on the London
and South-Western Railway stands the magnificent palace of Hampton
Court, originally erected by Cardinal Wolsey for his own residence, and
after his sudden downfall appropriated by his ungrateful master Henry
VIII. for his private use and property.

The approach from the station lies through a pair of finely designed
wrought-iron gates to the north frontage of the palace, erected by
Wolsey himself. This front is all in the fine red-brick architecture of
the period, with quaint gables, small mullioned windows, and a
collection of moulded and twisted red-brick chimneys of wonderfully
varied designs. The entrance through the gatehouse, flanked by two
towers, is under a massive Tudor gateway, and leads into an inner
quadrangle and thence into a second court, both of the same picturesque
character. In these inner courts are the suites of rooms given as
residences by royal favour, and on the left-hand side is Wolsey's great
banqueting-hall, with a magnificent open timber roof.

The southern and eastern portions, with the Fountain Court and the
splendid frontage to the gardens, were designed by Sir Christopher Wren,
and form one of the best examples of his work. In this part of the
building are the picture galleries, containing a priceless collection of
works, comprising Sir Peter Lely's Beauties of King Charles II.'s time,
valuable specimens of Holbein, Kneller, West, Jansen, Vandyck, Reynolds,
and other masters, and seven wonderful cartoons by Raphael.

The splendidly kept gardens, about 44 acres in extent, are still very
much as they were in the time of William III. Hampton Court "Maze" is
one of the most intricate in the country.

The palace, grounds, and picture galleries are open to the public daily,
free, except on Fridays; summer, 10 to 6; winter, 10 to 4. Sundays,
summer, 2 to 6; winter, 2 to 4.

[Illustration: THE EAST SIDE OF THE CLOCK TOWER, HAMPTON COURT.]

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