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 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Class 
 
 ^l4-'2. BookH^^ 
 
 Volume
 
 i'^i
 
 RAILROADIANA. 
 
 A NEW HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 PICTURESQUE, BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, LEGENDARY AND 
 ANTiaUARIAX SKETCHES. 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE OF 
 
 THE VICINITY OF THE RAILROADS, 
 
 FIRST SERIES. 
 
 WITH A MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LONDONAND BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY. 
 
 L OND ON: 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL AND Co., STATIONERS' COURT. 
 
 1838.
 
 
 The person charging this material is re- 
 sponsible for its return to the library from 
 which it was withdrawn on or before the 
 Latest Date stamped below. 
 
 Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons 
 for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from 
 the University. 
 To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 
 & 1995 
 
 L161— O-1096 
 
 .
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 s( The experience of a recent excursion on th^Xondon and* 
 
 Birmingham Railway, originally suggested the idea of collecting 
 the information contained in the following pages. It was a fine 
 
 ^» day in Autumn, and in the few hours between the arrival of the 
 first and the departure of the last train, the writers sought to 
 
 < make themselves acquainted with the scenery and history of 
 ^ Tring. Notwithstanding it may be thought these could be 
 
 -i"^ compressed within narrow limits, that time w^as consumed ni 
 
 It 
 
 seeking for preliminary information, which might have been 
 
 '^ advantageously as well as agreeably employed in using it. The 
 c^ moment came when they were obliged to enter the Railway 
 auxilium, or lose the last conveyance, and they found them- 
 selves tantalized with a know^ledge that they had been occupied 
 in gazing on what least deserved attention, while objects of 
 
 •2iK-k)06
 
 IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 superior interest had escaped them. But the error thev 
 deplored was not to be repaired. Relentless as old Time him- 
 self, the driver takes his seat — the auxilium starts and the 
 tourists return ungratified. 
 
 To speak more seriously — the rapid communication, now 
 effected by railways between places remote from each other, is 
 working a mighty change in the relations of different parts of 
 the Empire. The man of pleasure may find it an amusement to 
 study these, but nevertheless a literary Railroad, to assist him 
 in the task, will prove not less important than the iron one by 
 which he passes over the ground. To supply such a desideratum ; 
 to satisfy curiosity, and to spare the toil and irksomeness of 
 hurried and wearying enquiries, is the object of this volume. 
 
 It has been truly remarked by an author whose attention was 
 early awakened to the consequences of the apphcation of steam 
 to common road travelHng, that the " stations," as they are 
 called, will always be fixed in the vicinity of some town of 
 importance, many of which, thousands of the inhabitants of 
 London have not had an opportunity of visiting, whilst, so far 
 as the pleasure-taking portion of our population is concerned, 
 one delightful and instructive consequence of the change, will 
 be to make the Public acquainted with the beauties of their own 
 
 SW^'WiSPx-- ">• 
 
 .
 
 INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 country — especially of its rural sections. These will now 
 become objects of rational attraction. Individuals who seeking 
 them, seek at the same time pleasure, information and health 
 will feel that good service may be rendered by descriptions, 
 narratives and facts, which enable them to decide for them- 
 selves, at whatever place they may be, how their time can be 
 most agreeably spent. 
 
 Before entering upon our task, it may not be amiss to draw 
 attention to the general features of the country intersected by 
 this portion of the Birmingham line. We find in it three rivers, 
 the Colne, the Gade, and the Bulbourne, all tributaries of the 
 Thames, and although the eminences which enclose these 
 streams are not of great elevation, nor the vales through which 
 they glide sufficiently depressed to afford a decided character 
 of picturesque and romantic beauty, yet there is enough of fine 
 scenery to please and to gratify. Independently of the mere 
 scenery, the vicinity of the capital, and the salubrity of the air — 
 (attractions not generally neglected by the noble and the 
 wealthy) contributed in former days to make this district a 
 favourite resort — thus accounting for the growth of towns — 
 multiplying estates in a manner unknown in the distant counties, 
 and studding the country with the Castle, the Monastery, the
 
 VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Manor-house or the Villa, in accordance with the wants and 
 fashions of the times which called each into existence. 
 
 If we could go back five or six centuries, we should view this 
 country in a comparatively primitive condition. In later days 
 the streams were made subservient to the purposes of manu- 
 facture ; the water obeyed the will of man, and became a 
 labourer. Then, as distant places grew into importance, and 
 commerce with its spreading arms created new wants throughout 
 the world, the Canal appeared and brought with it fresh sources 
 of occupation and wealth ; increased the population of the towns 
 and communicated the life of trade to the hitherto quiet 
 valleys. — Lastly the Railroad has started into existence — and 
 now spreads its giant length along these sequestered scenes, to 
 the astonishment of the neltive population, and the joy of the 
 inn-keepers in the immediate vicinity of the line. 
 
 In leaving the Railroad itself to be described by others, we 
 would remark that the particular point on which an individual 
 may wish to finish his journey is now merely a matter of taste. 
 The effort required to reach a place chstant a hundred miles, is 
 little more than that which is required to reach one but a third 
 of the distance. For instance — ** Shall we go to Berkhamsted
 
 INTRODUCTION. vii 
 
 or Kenilworth ? " The former will cost us one hour and a half 
 in journeying ; the latter something less than four hours ; 
 fatigue being out of the question in either case, while the interval 
 between the " out and home " trips aflrbrds sufficient leisure to 
 inspect, in a single day, whatever is curious in the locality. Be it 
 remembered that there is no walking the hills — no " pulhng up " 
 to take a lunch, or a glass of ale, nor going slow to give the 
 horses their wind. This system is hkely to be annihilated. We 
 remember an old gentleman, introduced to the Public by the 
 late Charles Mathews, who used to complain of the innovations 
 of his day — "the taking away all our enjoyments" — and 
 amongst the rest, the "removal of the stocks at Fulham!" 
 However much we may cling to old fashions and old customs 
 (and thefeehng it cannot be denied, is a very natural one), 
 we have no doubt that this opening of a new era to " loco- 
 motive " minds, wiU be hailed with satisfaction by the great body 
 of the enhghtened British people, and it is not too much to hope 
 that a pocket compass, like that now submitted, wiU be found 
 desirable as a matter of entertainment, and valuable for its 
 utility. 
 
 A very celebrated novehst has spoken with some disrespect 
 of those persons, who, in pursuit of knowledge or improvement.
 
 Viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 should consume their time in reading the volumes which cer- 
 tain droll authors had facetiously called " The History of 
 England/' He no doubt had in his mind the series of foohsh 
 battles and absurd speeches, which it has been customary to 
 intrude on the public under that title. Any thing like this 
 history was not in his contemplation. The forgotten scenes 
 now re-opened, and their associations, furnish novel matter to 
 the readers of the present day. They furnish a " new history," 
 and though in tracing matters which had been lost sight of, 
 not always unknown, we cannot, in every instance, steer clear 
 of the subjects of older writers ; care v^ill be taken that such 
 details only shall be admitted, as are fit to be read and worthy 
 to be remembered. 
 
 In conclusion — we have only to add for the information of 
 those who may be led to take an interest in the history of the 
 remainder of the vicinity of this hne of Railway (to be published 
 hereafter), that the whole distance from Birmingham to London 
 being one hundred and twelve miles, and the present sketches 
 extending only fifty -six miles, our labours are but half done. It 
 will be an indulgence conceded to us if the reader applies 
 this fact to the quantity and not to the quality of the present 
 pubhcation.
 
 HARROW. 
 
 x\n anecdote is related of "the Merry Monarch" Charles 
 the Second, that a clerical dispute having taken place in his 
 presence concerning the visible church upon earth, he face- 
 tiously observed, that the only visible church then present to his 
 " mind's eye," was the Church of Harrow on the Hill. This 
 royal jeu de mot sufficiently explains that Harrow stands on 
 high ground. It is in fact on the highest in the County of 
 Middlesex — neither a small nor an unimportant section of the 
 empire. The town " on the hill " now forms the most con- 
 spicuous object in traveUing towards its vicinity, and to the 
 first station on the London and Birmingham Railroad. 
 
 It is a curious and pleasing exercise to trace the modern 
 names of towns and places to their ancient origin — to mark 
 either the legitimate or the arbitrary steps by which one has
 
 10 HARROW. 
 
 been substituted for another; and the wider the points of 
 similarity between the mere spelUng or pronounciation of the 
 ancient and modern, the more pleasing does this study become. 
 Who would dream in the present day of asking to be directed 
 to " Herga super Mont em " — " Harene alte Hulle "or " Herges,' ' 
 — yet by all these names is Harrow known to history, and 
 mentioned in ancient records. Commencing with the last, 
 etymologists trace in it the Saxon name of the place 
 — "Herges,'' itself being a corruption of the Saxon word 
 " Herige," signifying a church. The two other ancient designa- 
 tions are literally translated by its present name " Harrow on 
 the Hill, " and we have only to add, that there are writers who 
 give the word " //er^es " a signification meaning an army — 
 or an encampment, derivations so different from each other 
 that we can only hope to reconcile them by reference to the 
 " Church Militant. " The nearest approximation to its present 
 name, occurs in the records of the archbishops of Canterbury 
 where the town is called " Harowes. " 
 
 The Railroad having opened a new and easy means of com- 
 munication with Harrow, bringing it within half an hour, 
 instead of two hours, distance from the metropolis, we deem 
 the place worthy of a chapter in these sketches, as one "which 
 will be sought out and thronged with visitors in the Summer 
 season. " 
 
 The manor of Harrow belonged to the Church of Canterbury 
 from the Saxon times, but being wrested from that church by 
 Kenulf, King of Mercia, it was recovered by Archbishop
 
 HARROW. 11 
 
 Wilfrid in the year 822, since which it remained in that see, 
 until Uenry VIII. exchanged it with Archbishop Cranmer 
 for lands of equal value. It afterwards came into the family 
 of Rushout, and the Manor-house is still possessed by the familv 
 of Sir John Rushout, who has however rehnquished this 
 residence for his seat at Northwich Park, ^Yorcestershire . 
 Another manor in the parish is called Headstone, and a third 
 Wembley, possessed by the family of Page since the year 1544, 
 probably the only instance in Middlesex of a family being 
 resident proprietors of a manor for nearly three centuries ! 
 
 The "hill" is remarkable for its insulated and abrupt cha- 
 racter. It suddenly emerges on all sides from the valley, 
 and affords a variety of beautiful prospects. The view towards 
 the East is terminated by the Metropohs and Hampstead — 
 to the South by the Sun^ey Hills. It is least extensive towards 
 the North, being intercepted by the high ground about Stan- 
 more and Harrow- weald. On this side, the village of Stanmore 
 and Bentley Prior\^ the seat of the Marquis of Abercorn, are 
 the most conspicuous objects. Tlie view towards the West 
 and South- West, which is very extensive, may be seen to 
 greatest advantage from the church- yard. The more distant 
 prospect, embraces Windsor Castle and a considerable tract of 
 the Counties of Berks and Bucks. On the brow of the hill 
 descending to Sudbury Common, is a small villa with a garden 
 and shrubbery which commands nearly the same prospect, 
 and on the summit of Sudbury Hill is a villa called the 
 Hermitage, in which we may venture to guess no Hermit lives in 
 the present day. Tlie manor-house and grounds called
 
 12 HARROW. 
 
 "Harrow Park" are situated on the old London end of the town. 
 The building is in the style of James the First's time, and is 
 at present occupied by one of the employes of the Grammar 
 School. In the year 1170, Thomas-a-Becket, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, spent several days at his manor-house of Harrow, 
 when he was about to visit the heir apparent, Henry 
 Plantagenet, son of Henry H., then at Woodstock. It is told of 
 him, however, that he received a command from the king to desist 
 from his journey and repair immediately to Canterbury — an 
 order that, probably, emboldened two of his own clergy to 
 treat him with great disrespect, for " they maimed the horse 
 that carried his provisions. " It is but fair towards Becket 
 to give the names of these " militant " priests, Rigellus de 
 SackviUe and Robert de Broc, who were both, for this offence, 
 publicly excommunicated at Canterbury on the Christmas day 
 following. Becket did not long survive these events, for after 
 having by the " mediacion of Alexander, Bishop of Rome and 
 Levjys, the Frenche Kynge heene restored to his Bishoprike he was 
 not long after, by Certaine gentilmen, slain. " * 
 
 The Church is distinguished by a lofty and graceful spire 
 covered with lead. The building dates from the time of 
 the Norman Conquest, having been founded by Archbishop 
 Lanfranc. The greater part of the ancient fabric still remains 
 and forms a pleasing object for the antiquarian. The remain- 
 der was built about the fourteenth centur}'. In the interior, 
 the circular columns which divide the nave from the aisles, 
 
 * Lanquette's Chronicle.
 
 HARROW. 13 
 
 are Saxon, as is also a part of the tower at the West end, 
 where there is a Saxon arch remarkable in form. The roof is 
 of the ever-enduring oak with carved ornaments, the brackets 
 being supported by figures of the Apostles, precisely in the 
 same style as the churches belonging to this diocese mentioned 
 hereafter. The floor of the nave is rich in ancient monuments, 
 with inscriptions and effigies in brass, for the most part in a 
 state of mutilation, but still telling a tale of by- gone days and 
 indicating the fashion, or monumental taste, of the four- 
 teenth and fifteenth Centuries. On one of them we read : 
 "Pttt tt&t$ 3IoIin 95pcfeT)etJ Hector of iparroiu tol^o Dien in 1418." 
 
 His effig)^ is under a rich Gothic Canopy in his priest's habUi- 
 ments. 
 
 On Another. " WiillUm C£rig]()tman Hector toljo DieO 1519." 
 
 In the chancel is a tomb to the memory of John Flambard, 
 who died in the reign of Edward III. (between 1327 and 1377 ). 
 The inscription is as follows : 
 
 " 31on meo'o matmorc numtnig orDine jFIam '^Tum ij lat ISartie quoque 
 berbc 0ttgi?! e funcrc !jic tucatur." 
 
 John Lyon, died in the year 1592, and was buried in the 
 nave. The Gerards, two of the original governors of the 
 school, have mural monuments of the dates 1584 and 1609. 
 
 The church- yard is interesting, if it were only for the mul- 
 titude of inscriptions, chiefly painted on wood, which it contains. 
 There is a cause for every eflfect, and we imagine this efi'ect to 
 be produced alone by the ea:tent of the parish of Harrow,
 
 14 HARROW. 
 
 although there may be something in the desire amongst re- 
 latives, that those who have parted from them should lay 
 •' high and dry. " We do not express this sentiment in*eve- 
 rently. Every one who has lost dear friends knows how 
 strong is the wish for depositing them in a " comfortable 
 grave." 
 
 The lion of Harrow is, however, the Free Grammar School, 
 founded by John Lyon a fanner of the Parish, who had shewn 
 a taste for " teaching the young idea how to shoot," long 
 before he made the magnificent bequest which has immortal- 
 ized his name. The date of the foundation is 1571. The 
 estates given for its support have greatly increased in value 
 of late years, and we find, that in 1 809 some Parishioners of 
 Harrow, imagining they did not receive a due share of the 
 benefits of the School, made an application to the Court of 
 Chancery, which in 1810, was heard in the RoUs Court, 
 when judgment was pronounced in favour of the Seminary, 
 as at present constituted. 
 
 Amongst the phalanx of noble individuals who have received 
 their education at this School, the most conspicuous, but more 
 on account of his talents than his virtues, stands the name of 
 Byron. He appears nevertheless in those days to have been 
 a tolerably "good boy. " Moore says, "notwithstanding his 
 general habits of play and idleness, which might seem to in- 
 dicate a total absence of reflection and feeling, there were 
 moments when the youthful poet would retire thoughtfully 
 within himself, and give way to moods of musing, uncongenial
 
 HARROW. 15 
 
 with the usual cheerfulness of his age. A grave is shewn in 
 the church- yard, which was so well known to be his favourite 
 resting place, that the boys called it ' Byron's Tomb, ' and 
 here, they say, he used to sit for hours wrapped in thought, 
 brooding over the first stirrings of passion and genius in his 
 soul, and occasionally perhaps, indulging in those bright fore- 
 thoughts of fame, under the influence of which, when no more 
 than fifteen years of age, he wi'ote these remarkable lines : — 
 
 *' My epitaph shall be my name alone ; 
 If that with honor fail to crown my clay, 
 Oh, may no other fame my deeds repay ; 
 That, only that, shall single out the spot, 
 By that remembered, or with that forgot." 
 
 On the eastern side of the church-yard there is an inscription 
 on wood to the memory of one " Isaac Greentree," upon which, 
 as the on dit goes, Byron wrote in pencil two lines of punning 
 poetry. We are quite ^vnlling that he should have the credit 
 of the authorship, — the sentiment contained in them, being in 
 favour of the writer, whatever his name. The spot in question 
 is overshadowed with Umes ; — 
 
 " There is a time when these green trees shall fall, 
 And Isaac Greentree rise above them all." 
 
 The original school-room, preserved with one exception, as 
 erected in the time of the founder, is lined with oak pannels. 
 The desks, forms, doors and floor, are of the same material, 
 apparently of the same date. The whole is so covered with 
 
 n
 
 16 HARROW. 
 
 cuts and carvings of names, &c. that scarcely a spot remains 
 free from an inscription. It would require a catalogue nearly 
 equal to the hst of the constituency of one of the Metropohtan 
 Boroughs, to give the mere initials. We have selected one 
 name, that of Byron, and present it to our readers* in the form 
 of difac simile in size and shape. We should say it was cha- 
 racteristic of the bold, deviating turn of the individual, who it 
 is undoubted, carved it with his own hand. There are none of 
 the usual rules of forming letters attended to in the " y " or 
 the " r. " Sir Robert Peel on the contrary, has " done " his 
 name in a high capital text, of which a copy might be made 
 for type. Close to the name of the noble " Childe, " appears 
 that of Col. Wildman, the gentleman who was destined to 
 succeed him as the possessor of Newstead Abbey, his paternal 
 residence. By the name of Su* Robert Peel, that of his son 
 is seen. Many individuals of high celebrity have thus recorded 
 their education at Harrow. Among them, Richard Brinsley 
 Sheridan, the unfortunate Spencer Percival, and the present 
 Lord Palmerston mav be mentioned. 
 
 The school-house is built of brick, and stands on the same 
 eminence as the church, and is contiguous to the church-yard. 
 It is not remarkable for external beauty, and we regret to say 
 that the western end has been modernized for the sake of pro- 
 ducing uniformit}^ with the new building for examinations, 
 which adjoins it. That identity, which in the school apartment 
 was so vigilantly guarded, has thus been sacrificed. The 
 
 * See Engraving.
 
 I of the School-room at
 
 Facsimile of Btkon's name, cut by himselfin the Oak pannelof the School-room at 
 Harrow on the Hill.
 
 HARROW. 17 
 
 •' speech room " (as it is called) contains two good pictures — 
 Moses and Aaron before Pharoah, painted by West, 1796 : and 
 the Catahne Conspiracy, presented by Lord Northwick. There 
 are Coats of Arms in the windows in stained glass, of Masters, 
 Governors and Benefactors to the school, who have been edu- 
 cated at HaiTow. 
 
 It appears that Lyon took especial pains to lay down rules 
 for the conduct of the scholars, both in and out of doors. 
 Their amusements w^ere only to consist of " driving a top, 
 tossing a hand-hall, running and shooting. " The Harrow boys> 
 now-a-days, amongst their rudiments of learning, class throwing 
 of stones, demolishing windows and so forth ; but the former 
 of the two, appears their favorite and constant amusement — 
 even the tombs in the church-yard, which have inscriptions in 
 marble, are shielded from their attacks by iron gratings, and 
 all the windows of the school are protected from injur}', by the 
 equally effectual means of wire guards. 
 
 It was at Harrow that Anthony Babington, the hero or chief 
 of " the Babington plot " in the reign of Queen Ehzabeth, 
 was secm-ed. "\ATien the practices in which he had engaged 
 were discovered, the unfortunate man fled to escape punishment, 
 and in order to disguise himself effectually, stained his face 
 with the juice of green walnuts, through which precaution, he 
 hoped to elude his pursuers in the retired neighbourhood of 
 Harrow, where he took refuge in the house of one Bellamy. 
 After enduring much distress, his retreat was found out and 
 he was carried to London.
 
 18 HARROW. 
 
 The crime laid to his charge was, that he had conspired 
 •with one Savage, a soldier of most daring and desperate cha- 
 racter, to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, liberate Mary, Queen 
 of Scots, then a prisoner, and recognise her as Queen of Eng- 
 land, Savage had engaged in concert with a Dr. GiiFord to 
 waylay Elizabeth, and stab her with a dagger as she passed 
 to her chapel, or when she might be walking to take the air. 
 Babington whose zeal as a Catholic, led him to approve of any 
 act, which had for its object the removal of a Protestant Sove- 
 reign, and the securing the ascendancy of his religion, was 
 unwilling that so impoitant a part of the conspiracy, as the 
 murder of the Queen, should be left to a single hand, and 
 desired that six persons should be associated in the deed. — • 
 Savage complained that he should be denied the distinction of 
 committing the murder alone, as originally proposed; but, even- 
 tually fell in with the arrangement of Babington. 
 
 The ever vigilant ministers of Elizabeth, soon discovered 
 that a plot existed, and as not unfrequently happens in cases of 
 treason, the ringleaders turned traitors to their accompUces. 
 Dr. Gifford made Walsingham acquainted with all that was 
 passing. He seduced Babington to correspond Avith Mary, 
 and the letters that passed were laid before the Government. 
 At first, Babington and his friends doubted Gifford, and gave 
 him letters to the Queen of Scots, or rather papers folded up 
 as such, in which nothing whatever was written. Paulet, 
 who had Mary in charge, contrived that the letters of Babington 
 should be forwarded by a brewer who supphed the family with
 
 HARROW. 19 
 
 ale"; she received them through a chink in the wall, and 
 answers were returned to them in the same way. 
 
 The communications thus obtained from Marv, satisfied 
 Babington, that Gifford might be relied upon, and he now fully 
 unbosomed himself to the Queen, who, in her letters, entirely 
 approved of the desperate measures which he suggested, by 
 which Elizabeth was to be deprived of hfe, and a revolution 
 effected, both in politics and religion. 
 
 But circumstances soon transpired, which proved to the 
 conspirators that they were betrayed, and that all their designs 
 were known to the Government. Then it was, that the guilty 
 parties fled, and sought to save their lives by disguises, and in 
 concealment. 
 
 As already stated, Babington was seized at Harrow, in the 
 house of a person described to be "a gloomy Papist," of the 
 name of Jerome Bellamy. The latter, wdth Babington and 
 other conspirators, were committed to the keeping of the Lieu- 
 tenant of the Tower, and brought to trial at Westminster on 
 the 13th of September, 1586, under a commission of Oyer and 
 Determiner, addressed among others to Sir Francis Walsing- 
 ham : Sir Christopher Hatton : Sir Christopher Wray, Lord 
 Chief Justice of England : Sir Edmund Anderson, Lord Chief 
 Justice of the Common Pleas : and Sir Roger Manwood, Lord 
 Chief Baron of the Exchequer. Thomas Savage pleaded guilty, 
 but evidence was, nevertheless, given to support the indict- 
 ment. This took place on the 13th of September, and on the 
 following day the prisoners were again put to the bar. A brief
 
 20 HARROW. 
 
 specimen of the proceedings, as they appeared on the state trial, 
 may not here be out of its place. 
 
 Sandes. — fClerk to the Crown.J How sayest thou John Ballard, 
 art thou Guilty of these treasons whereof thou standest indicted, 
 or not ? 
 
 Ballard. — That I practised the dehvery of the queen of 
 Scots, I am Guilty ; and that I went about to alter the Religion, 
 I am Guilty ; but that I intended to slay her majesty, I am 
 not Guilty. 
 
 Sandes. — Answer directly, art thou Guilty according to the 
 purport of the Indictment ? 
 
 Ballard. — I answer as mv case is. 
 
 Chief Justice Anderson. — Either deny the Indictment gene- 
 rally, or confess it generally. 
 
 Hatton. — Ballard, under thy own hand are all things con- 
 fessed ; therefore now it is much vanity, to stand vain- 
 gloriously in denying it. 
 
 Ballard. — Then, Sir, I confess I am Guilty. 
 
 Sandes. — How sayest thou Anthony Babington, art thou 
 Guilty of the treason contained in the Indictment } 
 
 Then began Babington with a mild countenance, a sober 
 gesture, and a wonderful good grace, to declare the beginnings 
 and proceedings of his treasons, which was according to Savage's 
 confession and Ballard's Indictment. In the end he laid all 
 the blame upon BaUard for bringing him to his destruction. 
 
 Hatton. — A very fit author for so bad a fact I 
 
 Babington. — Very true, Sir, for from so bad a gi'ound must
 
 HARROW. 21 
 
 proceed many bitter fruits ; it was he that persuaded me to 
 kill the queen, and commit the other treasons, whereof now I 
 confess myself Guilty. 
 
 After some other proceedings of a formal character, on the 
 second day, the 14th of September, the awful scene was 
 brought to a close. The celebrated Sir Christopher Hatton, 
 seems to have been more excited than any of his brother com- 
 missioners on the occasion. 
 
 Sandes. — John Ballard, thou hast been indicted of high- 
 treason, and thereupon arraigned, and hast pleaded Guilty ; 
 what hast thou to say for thyself, wherefore judgment and 
 execution of death should not be given against thee .'' 
 
 Ballard, — spake something but not to any effect. 
 
 Sandes, — demanded of Babington in like manner. 
 
 Bahington, — who said he was Guilty of the treasons, accord- 
 ing to his confession, for intending the killing of the queen, 
 and the rest by Ballard's persuasion. 
 
 Upon this Sir Christopher Hatton exclaimed : — " O, Ballard, 
 Ballard, what hast thou done ? A host of brave youths, other- 
 wise endued with good gifts, by thy inducement hast thou 
 brought to their utter destruction and confusion." 
 
 Bahington. — Yea, I protest before I met with this BaUard, 
 I never meant nor intended for to kill the queen ; but by his 
 persuasion I was induced to believe that she was excommu- 
 nicated, and therefore it was lawful to murder her. 
 
 Ballard. — Yea, Mr. Babington, lay all the blame upon me.
 
 22 HARROW. 
 
 but I wish the shedding of my blood might be the saving of 
 your life : howbeit, say what you will, I will say no more. 
 
 Hatton. — Nay, Ballard, you must say more, and shall say 
 more, for you must not commit high-treasons and then huddle 
 them up ; but is this thy Religio Catholica ? Nay, rather, it is 
 Diaholica. 
 
 Sandes. — John Savage, thou hast been indicted of high- 
 treason, &c. (m^ 5Mj!7. to Ballard). Savage answered nothing, 
 neither did Titchburne, being demanded in like sort also. 
 
 So Sandes demanded of Robert Barnewell in hke manner. 
 
 Barnewell. — For as much as I have offended against the law, 
 I am contented to suffer punishment according to the law; 
 howbeit, I here protest what I have done, was only for my 
 conscience sake, neither did I ever intend violence to her ma- 
 jesty's person. 
 
 Hatton. — Oh ! Barnewell, Barnewell, didst not thou come to 
 Richmond, and when her majesty walked abroad, didst not 
 thou there view her and all her company, what weapons they 
 had, how she walked alone .'' And didst traverse the ground, 
 and thereupon coming back to London, didst make relation to 
 Babington, how it was a most easy matter to kill her majesty, 
 and what thou hadst seen and done at the court ? Yes, I know 
 thou didst so : how canst thou then say, that thou never didst 
 intend to lay violent hands on her majesty ? Nay, I can assure 
 thee, moreover, and it is most true which I say, that her majesty 
 did know that thou didst come to that end, and she did see
 
 HARROW. 23 
 
 and mark thee how thou didst view her and her company ; but 
 had it been known to some there, as well as unto her, thou 
 hadst never brought news to Babington. Such is the mag- 
 nanimity of our sovereign, which God grant be not over much 
 in not fearing such traitors as thou art. 
 
 Barnewell. — What I did was only for my conscience sake, 
 and not for any malice, or hatred to her majesty's person. 
 
 Hatton. — Then would'st thou have killed the queen for con- 
 science ? Fie on such a conscience. 
 
 Execution soon followed. Too well did the unhappy Babing- 
 ton then feel, how woefully he had been misled, when he ven- 
 tured to stake his ample fortune, and all the comforts which a 
 position so favourable naturally commanded, and life itself, on 
 a vain attempt to murder his sovereign, and restore the supre- 
 macy of the Pope in England. He endeavoured to move Eliza- 
 beth to spare him, but without success. The manner of his 
 appeal to his intended victim may be read with some interest, 
 and as it is not preserved with the circumstances of the final 
 ' scene, in the modem histories of England, we transcribe them 
 from the ancient chronicles : — 
 
 Mr. Babington s Letter to the Queen, after his condemnation, 
 sent from the Tower, and delivered by his wife. 
 " Most Gracious Sovereign. — If either bitter tears, a pen- 
 sive, contrite heart, and doleful sighs of a wretched sinner, 
 might work any pity in your royal breast, I would wring out 
 from my drained eyes as much blood as in bewraying my — dryery
 
 24 HARROW. 
 
 — tragedy, should lament my faU, and somewhat, no doubt, move 
 you to compassion ; but since there is no proportion between 
 the quality of my crime and any humane consideration, show, 
 sweet queen, some miracle on a wretch that lieth prostrate in 
 your prison, most grievously bewaihng his offence, and im- 
 ploring such comfort at your anointed hands, as my poor wife's 
 misfortune doth beg, my child's innocency doth crave, mv 
 guiltless family doth wish, my heinous treachery least deserve. 
 So shall your divine mercy make your glory shine far above all 
 princes, as my most horrible practices are most detestable 
 amongst your best subjects, with whom that you may long live 
 and happily govern, I beseech the Mercy-master to grant, for 
 his sweet Son's sake, Jesus Christ. Your majesty's unfor- 
 tunate, because disloyal, subject, 
 
 " Anthony Babington.'* 
 
 The unhappy man seems to have had some hope of saving 
 his life by the fulness of his confession. Afterwards, on the 
 trial of Mary, Queen of Scots, copies of the con-espondence 
 which had passed between them, were produced as evidence 
 against her, the correctness of which Babington had certified 
 by signing every page with his own hand. In doing this, we 
 are told, " he was so circumspect and careful, that finding two 
 or three words mistaken in the writing of the copy, he struck 
 out the same, before he did subscribe it." 
 
 On the 20th of the same month, John Ballard, Anthony Ba- 
 bington, John Savage, Robert Barnewell, Chidiock Titchbume,
 
 HARROW. 25 
 
 Charles Tilney and Edward Arlington, were drawn on hurdles 
 from the Tower, to their execution to St. Giles's fields, being 
 the place where they used to meet, where was erected a scaffold, 
 and thereupon a gallows. 
 
 " John Ballard, the priest, the principal conspirator, confessed, 
 that he was guilty of those things for which he was condemned, 
 but protested they were never enterprised by him upon any 
 hope of preferment, but only, as he said, for the advancement 
 of true religion. He craved pardon and forgiveness of all per- 
 sons, to whom his doings had been any scandal, and so made 
 an end ; making his prayers to himself in Latin, not askhag her 
 majesty forgiveness, otherwise than * if he had offended.' 
 
 "Anthony Babington also confessed, that he was come to die 
 as he had deserved ; howbeit he (as Ballard before) protested, 
 that he was not led into those actions upon hope of preferment 
 or for any temporal respect ; nor had ever attempted them, but 
 that he was persuaded by reasons alleged to this effect, that it 
 was a deed lawful and meritorious. He craved forgiveness of 
 all whom he had any way offended ; he would gladly also have 
 been resolved whether his lands should have been confiscate to 
 her majesty, or whether they should descend to his brother ; 
 but howsoever, his request was to the lords, and others the 
 commissioners there present, that consideration might be had 
 of one, whose money he had received for lands which he had 
 passed no fine for, for which the conveyance was void in law. 
 He requested also, that consideration might be had of a certain 
 servant of his, whom he had sent for certain merchandise into
 
 26 HARROW. 
 
 the East countries, who by his means was greatly impoverished. 
 For his wife he said, she had good friends, to whose considera- 
 tion he would leave her. And thus he finished, asking her 
 majesty forgiveness, and making his prayers in Latin. 
 
 " John Savage confessed his guilt, and said (as the other two 
 before) that he did attempt it, for that in conscience he thought 
 it a deed meritorious and common good to the weal pubhc, and 
 for no private preferment. 
 
 " The other culprits made similar confessions. Titchbume 
 would seem to have been the paiiner, or in some way inti- 
 mately connected with Babington, for in his speech on the 
 scaffold, he uses these remarkable words. * Before this thing 
 chanced, we lived together in most flourishing estate ; of whom 
 went report in the Strand, Fleet Street, and elsewhere about 
 London, but of Babington and Titchburne ? No threshold was 
 of force to brave our entry. There we lived and wanted no- 
 thing we could wish for.' " 
 
 " BaUard," the narrative proceeds, "was first executed. He 
 was cut down and bowelled with great cruelty while he was 
 ahve. Babington beheld Ballard's execution without being in 
 the least daunted, while the rest turned away their faces, and 
 fell to prayers upon their knees. Babington being taken down 
 from the gallows alive too, and ready to be cut up, he cried aloud 
 several times in Latin, * Parce mihi Domine Jesu ! ' Spare me, 
 O Lord Jesus. Savage broke the rope and fell down from the 
 gallows, and was presently seized by the executioners and em- 
 bowelled." The other parts of the shocking sentence then
 
 HARROW. 27 
 
 pronounced against traitors, (which cannot now be even des- 
 cribed without offending decorum,) were carried into full effect. 
 
 On the following day, seven more, the associates of those 
 above named, expiated their crime in the same way, save that 
 the queen having heard of the horrors witnessed, when the last 
 sufferers were embowelled alive, ordered that those who were 
 immediately to foUow them, should not be taken down from the- 
 gaUows till they were quite dead. 
 
 The following documents written by one of the sufferers on 
 this melancholy occasion, have been preserved by Mr. D'Israeli 
 in his " Curiosities of Literature." 
 
 " A letter written by Chidiock Titchhurne the night before he 
 suffered death, unto his wife, dated Anno 1586. 
 
 " To THE MOST LOVING WIFE ALIVE, — I commcud me unto 
 her, and desire God to bless her with all happiness, pray for 
 her dead husband, and be of good comforte ; for I hope in 
 Jesus Christ this morning to see the face of my Maker and Re- 
 deemer in the most joyful throne of his glorious kingdome. 
 Commend me to aU my friends, and desire them to pray for me, 
 and in all charitie to pardon me, if I have offended them. 
 Commend me to my six sisters poore desolate soules, advise 
 them to serve God, for vdthout him, no goodness is to be ex- 
 pected : were it possible, my httle sister Babb, the darlinge of 
 my race might be bred by her, God would rewarde her; but I 
 do her wrong I confesse, that hath by my desolate negligence 
 too little for herselfe, to add a further charge unto her. Deere
 
 28 HARROW. 
 
 wife, forgive me, that have by these means so much impover-> 
 ished her fortunes ; patience and pardon good wife I crave, 
 make of these, our necessities, a virtue, and lay no further 
 burthen on my neck than hath alreadie been. There be certain 
 debts that I owe, and because I know not the order of the lawe, 
 piteous it hath taken from me all, forfeited by my course of 
 offence to her majestic, I cannot advise thee to benefit me 
 herein, but if there fall out wherewithaU, let them be discharged 
 for God's sake. I will not that you trouble yourself e with the 
 performance of these matters, my own heart, but make it 
 known to my uncles, and desire them, for the honour of God 
 and ease of their soule, to take care of them as they may, and 
 especially care of my sister's bringing up, the burthen is now 
 laide on them. Now, Sweet-cheek, what is left to bestow on 
 thee a small joynture, or small recompense for thy deservinge, 
 these legacies following to be tliine owne. 
 
 " God of his infinite goodness give thee grace alwaies to re- 
 main his true and faithfull servant, that through the merits of 
 his bitter and blessed passion thou maist become in good time of 
 his kingdom with the blessed women in Heaven. May the Holy 
 Ghost comfort thee with all necessaries for the wealth of thy 
 soul in the world to come, where untill it shall please Almighty 
 God I meete thee, farewell lovinge wife, farewell the dearest to 
 me on all the earth, farewell ! 
 
 " By the hand from the heart of thy most faitliful louvinge 
 
 husband, 
 
 " Chidiock Titchburne."
 
 HARROW. 29 
 
 "VERSES, 
 " Made by Chidiock Titchburne of himself e in the Tower, the night 
 before he suffered death. 
 
 " My prime of youth is but a frost of cares, 
 
 My feast of joy is but a dish of pain, 
 My crop of com is but a field of tares, 
 
 And all my goodes is but vain hope of gain. 
 The day is fled, and yet I saw no sun. 
 And now I live, and now my life is done. 
 
 " My spring is past, and yet it hath not sprung. 
 
 The fruit is dead, and yet the leaves are green, 
 My youth is past, and yet I am but young, 
 I saw the world, and yet I was not seen ; 
 My thread is cut, and yet, it is not spun 
 And now I live, and now my life is done ! 
 
 " I sought for death, and found it in the wombe, 
 I look'd for life and yet it was a shade, 
 
 I trodethe ground, and knew it was my tombe. 
 And now I dye, and now I am but made. 
 
 The glass is full, and yet my glass is run ; 
 
 And now I live, and now my life is done. *'
 
 30 
 
 WATFORD. 
 
 The primary object in the application of steam to Railroad 
 travelling, being the economizing of time, the inhabitants of Wat- 
 ford cannot be congratulated on enjoying the advantages of the 
 discovery to its fullest extent, for the '"line" here, after inter- 
 secting the houses at the eastern end of the town, proceeds 
 onwards for nearly two miles, before it reaches the Watford 
 " station," which is at a point where the western extremity of 
 the town is one mile distant. Without dwelling on the causes 
 which have rendered it expedient to fix the resting-place here, 
 we may remark that it has afibrded an opportunity to compare 
 Railway with Omnibus speed, and to call into action the rivalry 
 of inn- keepers, and accordingly a choice of vehicles, from the 
 " Essex Arms " and the " Rose and Crown" is ofi^ered to carry 
 passengers into the town. This journey of a mile is not un- 
 interesting. There is a small portion of the high road from
 
 WATFORD. 31 
 
 Watford to St. Alban's (which crosses the Railway) leading 
 South, lined with elms, at the end of which, turning East, hes 
 the town, ranging on both sides of the road for about a mile in 
 length. It has an ancient aspect, and we find that as part of 
 Cashio Hundred, it was given by the Saxon king OfFa to the 
 Abbey of St. Alban's, and that its market on Tuesday was the 
 gift of Henry I. Subsequently, James I. granted the town to 
 Lord Ellesmere, in whose possession, as weU as of his descend- 
 ants, it continued, until the late Duke of Bridge water, in 1760, 
 sold it to the Earl of Essex, in whose family it stUl remains. 
 The river Colne, after uniting all the streams of the western 
 parts of the county of Hertford, crosses the town, and beau- 
 tifies the vicinity by its serpentine windings. It has its rise in 
 Middlesex, receives the Meuse or Verulam river at Colney- 
 street, then flows by Watford to Rickmansworth, below which 
 town, having received the " Gade " from Hemel Hempstead, 
 it leaves the county, and becomes the limit between Middlesex 
 and Buckingham to Colnbrook, and finally passes to the Thames. 
 The objects of most interest to the traveller in this vicinity, 
 we deem to be the Church, Cashiobury Park the seat of the 
 Earl of Essex, and the village of Bushy, and shall proceed 
 to describe them in the same order as here mentioned. 
 
 The Church 
 
 stands in the centre of the town, and is dedicated to the Virgin 
 Mary. It is a large structure of stone, which has been
 
 32 WATFORD. 
 
 disfigured with a mask of modern plaster, and has a square tower 
 ninety feet high, surmounted by an hexagonal spire. In the 
 tower are eight bells and chimes. The building is irregular in 
 form, although the additions which make it so are not modern. 
 On the left hand side of the chancel is a large chapel called the 
 " Tomb House," being the cemetery of the Essex family, and 
 containing a congregation of tombs altogether of the higher 
 class of art. We could not discover one of earher date than 
 the year 1587, which is "to the memory of Elizabeth, daughter 
 of the illustrious Arthur Capel," There is a slab in brass which 
 perpetuates the names of 
 
 l^enrg ©icfeon^j died 1610. 
 ©corgc filler, — 1613. 
 Sntl^onp Cooper, 
 
 late servants to Sir Charles Morrisson, Knight, who hved in 
 his family forty years, and "in memorie of them Dorothea la 
 Morrisson vouchsafed the stone and inscription." 
 
 The last of the three, as the date of his exit is not given, 
 was probably still ahve when the stone was " vouchsafed," and 
 may have subsequently died at some distant place, and thus 
 lost the honour intended to his remains. 
 
 A simple tablet, in the form of a shield, is equally worthy of 
 notice, for its brief inscription to the memory of
 
 2d three ^rls.-In Alububy Church, Hbbtfordshirk
 
 WATFORD. 66 
 
 HARRIET, 
 
 WIFE OF RICHARD FORD, 
 
 BORN, JULY 19, I8O7, 
 
 DIED, MAY 14, 1837* 
 
 QUE SERA SERA. 
 
 The roof of this chapel is hung with a profusion of banners, 
 some of them much decayed, and there is also suspended an iron 
 helmet and gloves of some noble of the olden time. The pew of 
 the Earl of Essex is spacious, and is entered from the cemetery. 
 
 We need not here inform many of our readers, that the 
 present Earl of Essex has already attained the age of eighty, 
 and the countess (who is also living) nearly seventy-eight. 
 They have been married upwards of fifty years, but, we beheve, 
 have of late lived separate. It appears that the Earl, who for- 
 merly took a lively interest in matters connected with the stage, 
 has not yet relinquished his taste for theatricals. A once 
 celebrated singer being a frequent visitor at Cashiobury Park, 
 where she remained during four months of last summer. There 
 is an inscription in the chapel to an illegitimate daughter of the 
 Earl, who died in the present year at the age of twenty-nine. 
 
 Cashiobury Park is said to have been the residence of Mer- 
 cian kings during the Saxon heptarchy, until OfFa gave it to 
 the monastery of St. Alban's. After the Dissolution, it was 
 granted by Henry VIII. to Richard Moryson, Esq., with the 
 same privileges enjoyed by the abbots. This gentleman held
 
 34 WATFORD. 
 
 several important employments under Henry and his successor, 
 and was his ambassador to the emperor Charles V. Mr. Mory- 
 son began to rebuild the fabric, which was finished by his son 
 and heir. Sir Charles Moryson, who died in 1599, part of which 
 remains. His son. Sir Charles Moryson, was created a baronet 
 in 1611, and Knight of the Bath, at the coronation of Charles I. 
 He married Mary, second daughter of Baptist Hicks, Viscount 
 Campden, and left an only daughter, EHzabeth, married to 
 Arthur, Lord Capel (a descendant of Sir William Capel, lord 
 mayor of London, 1503) who was inhumanly beheaded during 
 the civil wars. The son of this nobleman, Arthur, Earl of 
 Essex, in 1670, was sent ambassador to Denmark, where he 
 bravely supported the honour of his country, and refused to 
 lower the colours, although the small vessel in which he sailed 
 was fired on by the governor of Croninberg castle, for which 
 the governor was afterwards compelled to beg pardon on his 
 knees. George, Earl of Essex, the present possessor of Cashio- 
 bury, assumed the name of Coningsby, on succeeding to the 
 estates of his grandmother, Frances, daughter of Thomas, Earl 
 Coningsby, of Hampton Court, Herefordshire. 
 
 The seat is elegant, and the situation the best in the county, 
 upon a dry spot, within a park of large extent. The noble 
 beeches for which it is remarkable, are arranged in clumps of 
 five and six, and between each clump are many fine specimens 
 of the ** hrave old oak, — " 
 
 " Who stands in his pride alone,"
 
 WATFORD. 35 
 
 and cedars of Lebanon, which ** with fair branches, and with a 
 shadowy shroud, and of an high stature, had their tops among 
 the thick boughs."* In front of the house is a fine dry lawn, 
 which, as a consequence of its mossy character, may be rode or 
 walked upon after a heavy rain as on the driest downs. A 
 little below the house, the river Colne winds through the park, 
 and contributes by its pure waters, and their never-ceasing 
 flow, to the embellishment of the woodland scenery. The 
 present noble trees were planted by Le Notre, in the reign of 
 Charles II. On the opposite side of the river the ground rises 
 to a considerable height, afibrding the eye an agreeable variety. 
 The Grand Junction Canal also traverses the park, and adds to 
 the diversity of its scenery. 
 
 The House 
 
 is spacious and pleasantly situated, and its present owner has 
 restored, the cloisters of the ancient abbey, and embellished 
 them with windows of stained glass, the effect of which is to 
 maintain the character of the mansion — the glass being antique 
 and the subjects represented chiefly scriptural. 
 
 Strangers are permitted to see all the rooms on the ground 
 floor. A very respectable and well-informed house-keeper 
 points out what is most remarkable, and performs her part with 
 
 * Ezekiel, Chap, xxxi, ver. 3.
 
 36 WATFORD. 
 
 great correctness. His lordship, it is stated, has been very 
 anxious in this respect, and has desired that care should be 
 taken to guard against any mis -representation being made on 
 the subject of the treasures of art or vertu which his mansion 
 contains. 
 
 In the first apartment to which the visitor is admitted, there 
 are many objects of great interest. ITie portrait of Sir Thomas 
 Coningsby, on the right, is among the first to which attention 
 is called. He appears to have ^een of noble stature, and is 
 attended by his dwarf ser\'ant, a man whose head reaches but 
 little above his master's knee. Sir Thomas had one leg shorter 
 than the other, and the means he took to diminish the incon- 
 venience thence arising, are not a little remarkable, as we are 
 told a favourite dog was trained to be constantly at his master's 
 heels, and to present himself that Su' Thomas might place his 
 foot on him as often as th^ baronet stopped. Had Richard the 
 Third been subject to a similar defect, and reheved himself from 
 it in this manner, the commentators on Shakspeare would have 
 connected with the fact his exclamation, 
 
 " The dogs bark at me as I halt by them \" 
 
 In the picture, the dog (a small spaniel), is seen performing 
 his duty as if well pleased with the .distinction conferred upon 
 him by his master, who does not press very heavily on his 
 living foot- stool.
 
 WATFORD. 37 
 
 At the further extremity of the cloister is a very old painting, 
 the only original portrait extant of king Henry the Fourth. The 
 countenance is noble and expressive, but not severe. The 
 colours are still good. At the top of the frame are the words 
 " Henricus IV." and below is the following curious antiquarian 
 narrative : — 
 
 " Henry the IV. king of England who lay'd the first stone 
 of this house,* and left this picture in it when he gave it to 
 Lentall, who sold it to Cornwall of Burford, who sold it to the 
 ancestors of the Lord Coningesby, in the reign of Henry VI." 
 
 When, or how the picture was removed from Hampton Court 
 in Herefordshire, the place in which it is stated to have been 
 left by the kingly subject of it, to its next abode, or to its 
 present situation, is not mentioned. 
 
 Tlie next- room to which the stranger is admitted, is the 
 dining-room, an apartment of lofty and commodious dimen- 
 sions. It commands a fine \-iew of the rising grounds of the 
 park. Splendid cabinetfe and many fine paintings, among them 
 portraits of the present Earl and Countess, when in the bloom 
 of life, are here displayed. But in a small adjoining apart- 
 ment, some rehcs will be found, which the lover of historical 
 curiosities would not willingly overlook. Of these, two are 
 connected with the death of king Charles the First. They are 
 in distinct frames, and accompanied by the subjoined inscrip- 
 tion : — 
 
 * Of Hampton Court. Herefordshire.
 
 38 WATFORD. 
 
 ' ' The upper frame contains a piece of the velvet pall which 
 covered the coffin of the king* when the same was discovered 
 at Windsor, A. D. 1813, and the lower a piece of the ribbon of 
 the Order of the Garter worn by King Charles I. when he 
 was beheaded." 
 
 From this we collect what we do not remember to have been 
 mentioned in history, that even in the last sad moment when he 
 was to lay his head upon the block, Charles wore about his 
 person some of the ornaments which had adorned it in his 
 happier days. His " George" he gave to Bishop Juxon, butto 
 whom the ribbon, of which a portion is here preserved, passed 
 at the time, has never been stated. 
 
 Near the above is another object of some interest. A small 
 cabinet is opened and part of a cambric handkerchief dingy in 
 colour appears. We read below, 
 
 " In this Cabinet is preserved the handkerchief which Lord 
 Coningsby placed on the wound King William received on his 
 shoulder, at the battle of the Bo}Tie, and is stained with his 
 blood, 1690." On looking closely at it, the stains mentioned 
 in the inscription may be discerned, though their original colour 
 here is faded and has resolved itself into a faint yellow. Above is 
 a painting representing the scene in which the handkerchief 
 was used in the manner described. Coningsby appears all 
 anxiety to relieve his Sovereign, and William accepts his loyal 
 services with dignified composure. The likenesses of both are 
 authentic.
 
 WATFORD. 39 
 
 A most elegant drawing-room is the next apartment thrown 
 open to the visitor. In addition to its beautiful and appropriate 
 furniture, we find here a series of fine paintings by Sir Peter 
 Lely and by eminent modern artists. Among them is one very 
 delightful painting of the present Earl when ten years of age, 
 and his sister who was tliree yeai's older than himself. The 
 portrait of the latter, is that of a singularly beautiful girl, who 
 then gave fair promise of those charms wliich subsequently 
 distinguished her in the meridian of life. She died a few years 
 ago at the age of fourscore. The fashionable world may vet 
 preserve some recollection of the once lovely Lady Monson. 
 
 Tlie library contains some fine paintings, and among them 
 will be found admirable hkenesses of H. Wallack, and W. Farren 
 as Adam Brock and Charles XII. There is also an original Mor- 
 land, and an exquisite efibrt of a modern artist which gives to 
 miniature-painting aU the force, roundness and effect of carved 
 ivorv.
 
 40 
 
 BUSHY. 
 
 From Watford a pleasant walk of a mile on the London road, 
 leads to this village, nearly adjoining which is Bushy Heath ex- 
 tending towards Stanmore. The Heath is remarkable for its 
 high situation, being the most elevated ground in the County, 
 and the view fi'om it embraces an horizon of considerable ex- 
 tent on all sides ; Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court, Windsor 
 and the Thames winding through the most beautiful parts of 
 Middlesex and Surrey, being distinctly visible from it. Those 
 who from want of time, or inclination, can only visit the village, 
 may enjoy the cliief features of the view from the heath, by 
 ascending the tower of the Church. The situation of several 
 other places ; for instance, Rickmansworth, is marked by the 
 smoke, that unfailing indication of an English town, hovering 
 over the spot. On the north, St. Alban's Abbey, the giant of
 
 BUSHY. 41 
 
 the landscape, rises above every other object. On the north- 
 east. Hill Field Lodge, the seat of Captain Timmins ; on the 
 south-east, the village of Clay; and on the north-west, the 
 town of Watford, and a considerable portion of the line and 
 embankments of the Rail-road. A landscape more of the cha- 
 racter of an immense and well-cultivated garden is seldom to 
 be seen. 
 
 The history of the small village of Bushy is not uninteresting* 
 Its first Norman possessor, Geoffiry de Mandeville, for having 
 incurred the Pope's displeasure was suspended in lead on a tree 
 in the Temple, christian burial not being allowed to any person 
 under such circumstances. Others of its possessors were 
 equally unfortunate. Edmond of Woodstock was beheaded 
 through the vile machinations of Queen Isabella and her para- 
 mour Mortimer, on a suspicion of intending to restore his 
 brother Edward II. to the throne, and so much was he beloved 
 by the people, and his persecutors detested, that he stood from 
 one to five in the afternoon, before an executioner could be 
 procured, and then an outlaw from the Marshalsea performed 
 the hateful task. Tliomas, Duke of Surrey, was beheaded at 
 Cirencester, in rebeUion against Henry IV. Thomas de Mon- 
 tacute. Earl of SeJisbuiy, after obtaining the highest honours in 
 the campaigns in France with Henry V., was kiUed by the 
 splinter of a window-frame driven into his face by a cannon bail 
 at the siege of Orleans. Richard the stout Earl of Wanvick, 
 another possessor, was killed at Bamet. George, Duke of 
 
 E 2
 
 42 BUSHY. 
 
 Clarence, was drowned in a butt of Malmsey. Richard III. 
 was the next possessor. Lady Margaret de la Pole, countess of 
 Suffolk, was beheaded at the age of seventy-two by the cruel 
 pohcy of Heniy VIII. in revenge for a supposed affront by her 
 son to 'the cardinal. In this parish also, lived Titus Silas, who, 
 in a pamphlet entitled " Killing no Murder," to dehver En- 
 gland from its yoke, ad\'ised Cromwell to commit suicide ; he 
 gained promotion in the reign of Charles II., and by his buffoonery, 
 induced that monarch to disgrace the great lord chancellor 
 Clarendon. 
 
 The church is a small venerable edifice. On making some 
 repairs or alterations a few years ago an inscription was dis- 
 covered which stated it to have been " built in the year 1006." 
 The inscription in question has been transferred to an iron 
 plate affixed to the wall of the western end of the church. On 
 a slab in the aisle to the memory of two Bakewells, one of 
 whom died in the year 1643, is the following quaint epi- 
 gram, a good specimen of those in which our ancestors indulged 
 on such solemn occasions — 
 
 " l|)cregi ttuo m cne ano pet not ttao lut one, 
 ^too gionnesi, one tom!i, tino Tjetr^, one name alone." 
 
 The present Br. Lushington, whose seat is in the vicinity, fre- 
 quently attends the church. His lady, who died recently, lies 
 buried in the family vault in the chancel. Such is the want of 
 room in the church, that it is literally " all pews," (except a
 
 BUSHY. 43 
 
 passage up the aisle,) even to within the altar rails on both 
 sides. 
 
 We have hitherto said Uttle of church-yards. Those who 
 visit the churches we attempt to describe, will have the oppor- 
 tunity of indulging whatever taste they may possess for modern 
 inscriptions. Many ancient rehcs however, are still to be 
 found upon the green sod. All the church-yards in this and the 
 adjoining counties are remarkable for wooden tombs, two up- 
 rights support a cross piece upon which the memorial or epi- 
 taph is inscribed.
 
 44 
 
 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD. 
 
 On stepping out of the Railway carriage at the third Station, 
 the traveller finds himself on Box-Moor — a common, whose 
 onlv embellishments in former times were the river Gade, 
 and the high road from London to Aylesbury, which is part of 
 the ancient " Ikenild way." Its modern improvements are the 
 Grand Junction Canal and the Railroad, and here may be seen 
 the four means of communication at one view. The canal is 
 at this point distant forty miles from London, and whilst the 
 boats require a day and a half to navigate from the City Road 
 Basin to Box-Moor, the Railroad train travels the same dis- 
 tance in httle more than an hour. The village at the east end, 
 on the canal, is called " Two- Waters." One of the branches 
 of the river Thames, which has its source at Tring, called 
 " Bulbourne Head," falls into the Gade at this place and gives 
 the name to the village. Certain of the inhabitants of Hemel 
 Hempstead have the privilege of grazing cattle on the Moor, 
 and a circular iron badge placed upon their door-posts indicates 
 the inhabitant who enjoys this privilege. In summer the breeze 
 from the south or w^est brings purity and health with it, but 
 in the wnnter, with a strong touch of the east or north, there
 
 CHURCH OF HEMEL HEMPSTEAD.
 
 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD. 45 
 
 is a w*ind -which, as an old cottager expressed it, " would skin 
 a feather." A tolerably agreeable road of two miles, takes you 
 to Hemel Hempstead, and there you have not to choose between 
 the rival inns, "the old and new Commercial," for the pro- 
 prietors will already have secured your patronage, by sending 
 their own cars or coaches down to the Station, and driving you 
 at once into their premises. We were fortunate enough to 
 meet with Mr. Deacon, whose coach is called the " Queen 
 Dowager," and his inn the " King's Arms," the former con- 
 veyed us safely to the latter, and right well pleased we were 
 with our fare during a sojourn of two days. The river Gade, 
 on its way to join the Thames at Dorchester in Oxfordshire, 
 runs thi'ough the valley, embellishing in its course the park 
 and seat of Sir Ashley Cooper, the former, open to visitors at 
 all times, is reached by turning down a lane just beyond the 
 northern extremity of the town, and crossing the river over a 
 wooden bridge. From the pai'k a view of the town is obtained, 
 but the real searcher after the pictm*esque should ascend to the 
 exterior of the Church tower, and the " vale," (as the inhabi- 
 tants call it) will please his eye, although the \iew, except on 
 the side towards Box Moor, is confined. The Church, dedicated 
 to the Virgin Mary, is well worthy of a visit. Its character is 
 neatness, and its fittings are elegant and comfortable. It consists 
 of a nave, two side aisles, and a transept, on the top of which 
 is built a handsome tower, with Norman- Saxon lights, the 
 whole surmounted with a beautiful spire of ornamented lead. 
 At the west end is a fine door of Saxon architecture, curiously
 
 46 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD. 
 
 and richly ornamented ; highly adorned with fleurs-de-lis and 
 vine leaves alternately, fretwork, &c. The capitals are enriched 
 with grotesque figures The nave is separated from the aisles 
 by a range of five massive columns on each side, and two half 
 columns with sculptured square capitals, which support arches 
 with zig-zag mouldings. The tower rests on semi-circular 
 clustered columns, ornamented. The west window is adorned 
 with a representation, in stained glass, of the Good Samari- 
 tan, a happy subject, considering it to have been chosen 
 by the donor. Sir Ashley Cooper. The oldest monument we 
 could discover is placed in the south-western corner of the 
 Church, and is to the memory o^ one Robert Albyn and his 
 wife, who hved in the reign of Edward the Third. Its di- 
 lapidated condition entirely prevents the decyphering the 
 inscription on the spot, but we are enabled, through other 
 means to present the whole, with translations. The original 
 inscription is as follows, in Norman-French : — 
 
 " IXoifjett Sfbpn gist ici tt ^ctc;tttz gia fcmme 
 SDnckt Ip Deu Qe leg! alms cpt mercp 3mcn." 
 
 The translation into modern French will be : — 
 
 " Robert Albyn git ici et Marguerite sa femme 
 Avec lui ; Dieu sur leurs ames ayez merci, Amen." 
 
 And the EngHsh : — 
 
 " Robert Albyn lies here, and Margaret his wife 
 With him. God have mercy on their souls, — Amen."
 
 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD. 47 
 
 There are other monuments to members of the Bridgewater 
 family, both in the interior and on the exterior of the Church, 
 worth inspection, and also one to the memory of the lady of 
 Sir Ashley Cooper, whose pew, and " the place where he sits," 
 when at church at Hemel Hempstead, are pointed out as objects 
 of interest. We were amused with the garrulity of the Sexton 
 — a hale man of sixty, who informed us that he, his father 
 and grand-father, were born and had hved all their lives in*the 
 place, and as for the " Regalia " — the cushions and pulpit cover- 
 ings — beadle's staff and so forth, he assured us " there was not a 
 more splendid " turn out in all England." It is but just to confess 
 that we have seen many worse. The " Chime Barrel " in the 
 tower was shewn to us also, but we accounted for not hearing 
 its sounds on Sunday, by remembering that out of six tunes 
 which the chimes play, four of them are profane. On the 
 south side of the chmxh-yard there formerly stood an ancient 
 moated seat, called Hempstead Bury, granted by Henry VHI. 
 to John Waterhouse and Richard Coombe, on the occasion of 
 his visit to the latter, w^hen he was sumptuously entertained, in 
 return for which the king granted a charter to the town, and a 
 market to be held, which is now held on Thm"sdays. There 
 are no turnpikes within seven miles of Hemel Hempstead, and 
 it is a tradition that this privilege was also granted by 
 Henry VHI. King Offa gave six mansions in this town, then 
 called Haen (or old) Hempstead, to the monastery of St. 
 Alban's which grant was confirmed by king Ethelred. After 
 the conquest the remainder of the villa, which had belonged
 
 48 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD. 
 
 to the Saxon kings, was given by William I, to the Earl of 
 Mortaigne, whose son forfeited it to the crown for raising a 
 rebellion in Normandy against Henry I. It afterwards became 
 the property of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, brother of Henry HI. 
 His son Edmond gave it, excepting the Warren and Church, 
 to the Monastery of Bon Hommes at Esseray, now Ashridge, 
 the seat of the Bridgewater family, with whom it remained until 
 the dissolution. 
 
 About the year 1 800, during the period of the formation of 
 the canal over Box-Moor, a robbeiy of the Mail Bags was ef- 
 fected one night by a man named Snook which created a great 
 sensation at the time, from the fact of Snook being afterwards 
 executed near the spot of the robbery, which is now marked by a 
 mound of earth opposite the farm house at the western end of 
 the Moor. The mail bags were in those days carried by horse, 
 and on the night in question, the man who had them in charge 
 was stopped by a robber and compelled to carry the bags to 
 a solitary spot and then told to go " about his business." 
 The next morning the bags were found with part of their con- 
 tents, in a field by some labourers in the employ of a respectable 
 farmer named Pope. Information was immediately given to 
 the Post Master of the district, Mr. Page of the King's Arms, 
 Berkhampstead, who forthwith proceeded to the Post Office, 
 in London, where he delivered w^hat had been found to Mr. 
 Freehng, (the late Sir Francis Freeling,) and for the time, all 
 clue to the perpetrator of the robbery was lost. 
 
 It afterguards transpired that the name of the culprit was
 
 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD. 49 
 
 Snook. He obtained by this adventure a large booty, having 
 from one letter alone, abstracted property to the amount of 
 five hundred pounds. With this he hastened to "London, the 
 needy villain's general home," and took up his abode in the 
 Borough of Southwark. There one of those incautious acts 
 which commonly follow or accompany crime, had nearly betrayed 
 him into the hands of justice. He sent a ser\^ant from the house 
 where he resided, to purchase a piece of cloth for a coat, and 
 gave her what she understood was a five-pound note. When this, 
 as such, was presented in pa}Tiient for the cloth, the tradesman 
 said there must be some mistake, as what she had tendered, instead 
 (rf being a five was a fifty-pound note. The female returned to 
 Mr. Snook, who, upon this, thought it advisable instantly to de- 
 camp, and he then directed his steps to Hungerford in Wiltshire, 
 which was his native place. Here he for some time success- 
 fully eluded pursuit, though the most active exertions were 
 made by the police to discover his retreat, and a reward of three- 
 hundred poimds was offered for his apprehension. He was at 
 length taken, in consequence of being recognized by a post-boy 
 who had formerly been his schoolfellow. Carried to Hertford, he 
 was put on his trial and found guilty. A severe example was 
 thought necessary, and he was ordered to die. Instructions 
 were then given to Mr. Page, who was high constable of the 
 district, as well as post-master, to select a place for his execution, 
 a8 near as possible to the scene of his crime, so as not to give 
 annoyance to the neighbourhood, and it was intended that he 
 should be hung in chains ; but this being petitioned against by
 
 50 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, 
 
 those who resided on or near Box-Moor, the design was 
 abandoned. The criminal conducted himself with great forti- 
 tude. He proposed to one whom he had formerly known, to 
 give him his watch, on condition that he should take away his 
 remains, but the party applied to, unwiUing to have attention 
 fixed on him as the friend of such a character, declined the 
 offer. It was in consequence determined that he should be 
 buried under the gallows. The place already described having 
 been fixed upon for the closing scene, on the day of execution, 
 he was brought from Hertford in a post-chaise, and the appar- 
 atus of death, also brought from Hertford, having been 
 previously erected, he was placed in a cart and from that 
 launched into eternity. After the corpse was cut down, it was 
 then asked if any one would give him a coffin. Nobody came 
 forward, and the hangman having stated that the clothes of the 
 dead man were now his property, proceeded to strip the body 
 for interment. His garments having been removed, with the 
 exception of the lower part of his dress, the executioner was 
 about to seize also on them, when Mr. Page interfered 
 and insisted that some regard should be had to decency, 
 and that these should not be taken from the defunct malefactor. 
 A hole was then dug beneath the fatal tree on which he had 
 suffered, and a truss of straw having been procured, half of it 
 was thrown into the grave, and the corpse being placed on it, 
 the other half was thrown on the body and the earth was with- 
 out further ceremony filled in. But the people in the neigh- 
 bouring town of Hemel Hempstead hurt at the manner in which
 
 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD. ol 
 
 a wretched fellow creature had thus been entombed, subscribed 
 to purchase a coffin^ which, on the following day, they carried to 
 the place where the miserable robber had paid the last penalty 
 of the law, re-opened the grave, and deposited the lifeless form, 
 in the coffin so compassionately subscribed for, and the earth 
 immediately again closed over him. Snook had previously been 
 a bad character and had committed several highway robberies. 
 He once attempted to stop a Mr. Laker and was said to have 
 fired a pistol at him, but the intended victim escaped unhurt. 
 At the place of execution, when about to be turned off, he ad- 
 verted to this charge, and admitted his guilt so far as the 
 intent to rob went, but denied that he had contemplated mur- 
 der, or intended doing Mr. Laker any bodily injury. At the 
 moment he checked his horse for the purpose of approaching 
 Mr. Laker, the animal reared, and in taking the pistol from his 
 pocket, it went off by accident. Snook's general conduct, 
 caused his statement to obtain beUef, as however desperate his 
 unlawful enterprises, he was not known to have in any case 
 used unnecessary violence. When he committed the offence for 
 which his life was forfeited, he did not in any way ill-treat the 
 beara: of the mail bags, but only compelled him to go as already 
 mentioned, to a place convenient for the perpetration of the 
 robbery he meditated.
 
 52 
 
 BERKHAMSTED 
 
 On alighting at this station from London, the town is imme- 
 diately on the left, and the extensive remains of its ancient 
 Castle (of which we shall have to speak at large hereafter) on 
 the right. - The town has been from situation, considered as a 
 British Oppidum, by Salmon, unguarded by any fosse or bank, 
 the usual defence. 
 
 Dr. Stukely, from the Roman coins, fragments of armour, 
 spurs. &c., that have been found here, asserts, that it must 
 have been a Roman Station ; and others have stated it to have 
 been Durocobrivis. 
 
 Leaving all these conjectures to have their due weight, w^e 
 shall abide by the testimony of Norden, who says, that, " the 
 Saxons, in old time, called this town Berghamstedt, because it
 
 BERKHAMSTED. 53 
 
 was seated among hills ; for Berg signified a hill ; Ham, a town ; 
 and Stedt, a seat ; all which are proper for the situation hereof." 
 
 It was near Berkhamsted that Frederick, Abbot of St. 
 Alban's, a man of the royal blood, and related to King Canute, 
 impeded the march of WiUiam I. by causing the trees on the 
 road-side to be felled and laid across the way, after a consulta- 
 tion of the English nobility at this place. The Abbot, we are 
 told, " first threw trees, and then oaths ; and brought the Con- 
 queror to mean concessions, and swallowing oaths he never 
 meant to keep. But WiUiam was so much a conqueror, that he 
 conquered that just dread mortals should have of the Avenger 
 of perjury. He swore upon the Gospel, and the reliques of St. 
 Alban's Church, that he would keep inviolable the good and ancient 
 laws of the kingdom ; yet he took away all their lands, and di- 
 vided them among his commanders and his countrymen. Thev 
 that would excuse him in this small slip of perjury, lay it upon 
 Norman advice, that he broke through his engagement. He 
 seems to have wanted no counsel in the case, to slight those he 
 had subdued, and to trust for his support in the throne, to the 
 men whose valour had raised him to it." 
 
 Henry H. granted to "all the men and merchants of this 
 town great pri\41eges, even the same as they enjoyed under 
 Edward the Confessor ; that they should have liberty of selline 
 their merchandise through England, Normandy, and other 
 provinces of France, free of duties." They had farther, an ex- 
 emption from the common jurisdiction, and had particular 
 
 f2
 
 54 BSRKHAMSTED 
 
 offices of this honour and liberty, such as high steward and 
 coroner, and that no market should be held within seven miles 
 of the town." 
 
 The crown continued possessed of Berkhamsted until King 
 John granted it to Geoffrey Fitz Piers, Earl of Essex. This 
 nobleman founded two hospitals here, one dedicated to St. 
 John the Baptist, the other to St. John the Evangehst, for 
 lepers, and vested the guardianship of both, in the brothers of 
 St. Thomas D'Acres, in London, obliging them, however, to 
 spend the revenue in Berkhamsted, and not carry it else- 
 where. 
 
 Henry III. changed the market, which had been on Sunday, 
 to Monday. That monarch, when he created liis brother 
 Richard, Earl of Cornwall, invested him with the castle and 
 honour of Berkhamsted, as an appendage to the earldom. 
 This earl, after having made two pilgrimages to the Holy Land, 
 married his second wife, the daughter of Raymond, Count of 
 Provence, and sister of the Queen of England, whom he en- 
 dowed at the church door of Westminster Abbey with the 
 third portion of all his estates, and this of Berkhamsted among 
 the rest. He was afterwards elected king of the Romans and 
 died, leaving by his second wife, Edmond, Earl of Cornwall, 
 who married Margaret, daughter of Richard de Clare, Earl of 
 Gloucester and Hereford, from whom he was divorced, and 
 living a life of discontent, founded the convent of Esserugge 
 or AsHRiDGE, where he died without issue, and was buried near
 
 BERKHAMSTED. 55 
 
 his father, at Hales Abbey, in Gloucestershire. His nephew, 
 King Edward I. was declared his heir, who granted to Piers 
 Gaveston, on his marriage with the king's sister, Berkhamsted, 
 and all its royalties. By the death of this upstart favourite, 
 the estate devolved to the crown ; and Edward HI. having 
 raised his brother. Prince John of Eltham, to the earldom of 
 Cornwall, he added to it the honour, castle, and to^ii of Berk- 
 hamsted, with other manors, to the value of two- thousand poimds 
 per annum. Upon his decease, without issue, the same king be- 
 stowed all these estates on his eldest son Edward, prince of 
 Wales, sumamed the Black Prince, together with the dukedom 
 of Cornwall, "to be held by him and his heirs, and the eldest 
 sons of the kings of England." It has since descended from 
 the crown to the successive princes of Wales. 
 
 There anciently belonged to the honour of Berkhamsted, 
 no fewer than fifty towns and hamlets in the counties of Herts, 
 Bucks and Northampton ; and the tenants were accustomed to do 
 their service at this town. This custom has, however, been 
 relaxed ; the courts are held in each county, and the tenants 
 pay a pecuniary consideration, to be excused from the above 
 service. 
 
 The town formerly sent members to parhament ; and it was 
 incorporated by James I. (whose children were nursed here,) 
 by the name of Bailiff and Burgesses, who might have a com- 
 mon seal, purchase a council-house, make laws for the 
 borough, and choose a recorder and town clerk; the bailiff.
 
 56 BERKHAMSTED. 
 
 recorder, and chief burgess, to be justices of the peace for the 
 borough and Hberties and they were to have a silver mace with 
 the arms of Charles, Prince of Wales, engraved on it. 
 
 During the war between Charles I. and the Parhament, this 
 corporation sunk into obhvion. " This body politic," says 
 Salmon, " is now reduced to a skeleton ; and is like the castle, 
 which is to be known only by its walls and moats." 
 
 Thus far may be regarded as the ancient history of the town 
 of Berkhamsted, Tlie market in the present day is still held 
 on Monday, but has become of little note. Tring on one side, 
 and Hemel Hempstead on the other (at both which towns 
 the markets are large), have no doubt contributed to its 
 decay. The single broad street which almost alone constitutes 
 the town, is a mile in length, of spacious dimensions, and presents 
 a noble range of houses, the chief of which are ancient, in which 
 the elegant, the respectable, and the mean are intermingled. 
 At the London, or east end, is a choice specimen of the style of 
 building of the early part of the seventeenth century, now a 
 school. The projecting windows of diamond shaped glass, 
 cover the greater portion of the building, and communicate to 
 it an air of lightness and beauty to which modem houses are 
 strangers. As a contrast to this, we may mention another object 
 worthy of note — the old market-house, which as respects its 
 architecture, is nearly as ornamental to the town, as the new 
 National Gallery is to Trafalgar Square in London, although the 
 former has this advantage over the latter, that notwithstanding
 
 BERKHAMSTED. 57 
 
 its degraded style of architecture, it doubtless fully answers the 
 purpose for which it was intended. 
 
 Berkhamsted was of great note when the exiled Bourbons 
 of France sought an asylum in this country. Louis XVIII, 
 and after him Charles X. and family, hved at Hartwell House, 
 about two miles from Aylesbury, and on their joumies t-o and 
 from the metropoUs, always honored the King's Arms with 
 their custom, and as their numerous royal and noble visitors 
 at Hartwell did the same, this inn has entertained in turn nearly 
 all the crowned heads in Europe, to the no small gratification 
 and profit of the worthy Mr. Page — the present landlord. Not 
 only also is "Miss Page," the landlord's accomplished 
 daughter, to be mentioned in connection with the King's Arms 
 and the Regal times above alluded to, but it belongs to the page 
 of history to record, that so highly pleased was the monarch Louis 
 with the attentions he received, and with the superior man- 
 ners of this lady, that on her visit to Paris after his restoration , 
 she was actually honored with an audience at the TuiUeries. — 
 Miss Page has not only, however, been thus favourably known to 
 and respected by princes and nobles whose day has passed, and 
 left her possessed of a store of anecdotes which cannot fail to 
 amuse her present visitors ; but besides these, there were very 
 many commercial travellers who used regularly to make the 
 King's Arms, at Berkhamsted, their Sunday rendezvous. 
 Many of them are now no more, have become heads of the 
 houses for which they used to journey, or withdrawn from
 
 58 BERKHAMSTED. 
 
 business altogether, are enjoying their otium cum dignitate. 
 This well managed inn, however, from the combination of the 
 various circumstances which have been enumerated, became 
 cdebrated throughout this and the neighbouring counties, and 
 " mine host " and " sweet Ann Page " were extensively known 
 and universally respected by all classes of travellers. 
 
 In the present unexpected course of things, the town of 
 Berkhamsted, it might be anticipated, would fall into com- 
 plete decay : its posting business is nearly gone — the visits of 
 commercial travellers are now "few and far between," and the 
 stage-coaches and the bugle of the guard will probably but a 
 very short time longer rouse the inhabitants at stated hours to 
 " gaze upon the passengers with a curious eye," and bring 
 profit to the inn-keepers. But luckily the town, although a 
 sufferer from these changes of fortune, has, by the Railroad, 
 been brought within one hour and a quarter of London, and 
 unless we are mistaken, its pure air will render it a desirable 
 suburb of the great metropoHs, whilst its scenen^ and ruins are 
 wdl calculated to attract and gratify the visitor for a day or two 
 in the summer season — especially if the visit be extended to 
 Ashridge Park and other picturesque scenery in its vicinity. 
 
 THE CASTLE. 
 
 This once important building was of an oval form and sur- 
 rounded by a double ditch and ramparts of earth, which still
 
 BERKHAMSTED. 59 
 
 remain. The outer one forms an elevated promenade of about 
 1 700 feet in circuit, and the sides of the ramparts having been 
 recently planted with trees, an agreeable walk is formed, which 
 extends round nearly the whole of the distance. The entire 
 site, ditches included, measures about eleven acres. Within 
 the second rampart are considerable remains of the Castle 
 walls which were of great thickness, and now varv' in height, 
 even in their ruined and reduced condition, from 1 8 to 24 feet . 
 They are overtopped and shrouded with a most luxuriant 
 growth of iw. The walls are formed of flints embedded in 
 mortar, but do not retain any marks of ornaments. South-east of 
 the area is a high artificial mount on which the " Keep " for- 
 merly stood. It is caUed, locally, the *' Tower Hill" and 
 measures about 40 feet in diameter on the top. A wall now 
 overgrown with trees, shrubs and brambles, runs to its summit. 
 On digging within the walls, two brick floors, or pavements, one 
 a few feet under the other have been found, and the ruins of 
 the gate, or entrance, still exist on the south side, upon the 
 rampart close to the high road between the Castle and its new 
 companion the Railway. The site of the Castle appears to 
 have been well chosen, being the only high and dry ground in 
 the immediate vicinity of the town, but yet it is worthv of 
 remark, that hke many others of ancient date, it is commanded 
 by a hill at a very small distance from it, which seems to prove 
 that the range of the machines used formerly in sieges was 
 very Umited.
 
 60 BERKHAMSTED. 
 
 The ancient history of this Castle may be found in " Grose's 
 Antiquities," from wliich we have collected the scattered dates 
 and condensed in a chronological form, the following interesting 
 account of its various possessors from the year 697 to 1609, 
 after which it appears to have fallen into decay. 
 
 A. D. 697. — In possession of the Mercian Kings. Withred, 
 King of Kent and Mercia, here held a great 
 council where divers laws printed in Chauney's 
 Histor}^ of Herts were enacted. 
 
 1066. — After the Battle of Hastings, WilUam the Con- 
 queror here halted for some days with his army, 
 and received the oaths of allegiance of the 
 British Lords and Nobles. 
 
 1206. — 7th of John, who granted the Castle and honour 
 of Berkhamsted to Jeofirey Fitzpiers, Earl of 
 Essex. 
 
 1215. — 16th John. The Castle and town again vested in 
 the Crown, and Rannulph the German, ap- 
 pointed by the King to the custody thereof. 
 
 1216. — Louis the Dauphin of France invaded this realm, 
 and laid siege to the Castle. The garrison 
 taking advantage of the negligence of the 
 besiegers, made two successful sallies, taking 
 divers chariots and a Banner.
 
 BERKHAMSTED. 61 
 
 1218. — 2d Henr\' III. Castle again in the Crown, and by 
 that king given to his younger brother Richard, 
 for his good services at the siege of Riole, in 
 France. 
 
 1300. — Reverted to the Crown on the death of Edmund, 
 Earl of Cornwall, founder of the College of 
 Bonhomes. 
 
 1308. — 1st Edward II., granted to Piers Gaveston, 
 Earl of Cornwall, who, being executed, the 
 Castle came again into the possession of the 
 Crown. 
 
 1311 . — 4th Edward III . , granted to John of Etham, Earl of 
 Cornwall, 2nd son to Edward II., who died 
 without issue, when it descended to Edward the 
 Black Prince. 
 
 1388. — 2nd Richard II. When Robert de Vear was ad- 
 vanced to the title of Duke of Ireland, he had 
 liberty to reside in the Castle. 
 
 1400. — Henry of Monmouth, afterwards King Henry V., 
 possessed the Castle, honour and town. 
 
 1422. — Henrv of Windsor, eldest son of Edward V., was 
 the possessor.
 
 62 BERKHAMSTED. 
 
 1454. — Edward of Westminster, eldest son of Henry of 
 Windsor, was the possessor. 
 
 1461. — Henry IV., granted the stewardship the first year 
 of his reign, to John, Lord Wenlock, one of his 
 privy Counsellors. Richard the HI., said to 
 have been bom here. 
 
 1560. — Queen Ehzabeth demised the site, circuit and 
 precincts to Sir Edward Carey, for a term of 
 years, under the yearly rent of a red rose, pay- 
 able to the Queen. 
 
 1609. — It descended to another Sir Edward Carey, suc- 
 cessor of the above, and was afterwards annexed 
 to the Dukedom of Cornwall, and appropriated 
 to the Princes of Wales in succession. 
 
 On perambulating the outer rampart, we were struck with 
 the appearance of an extra heap of earth and ruins, at what 
 appeared to be three equally distant points, and on very carefully 
 measuring the ground, as it now exists, with all the inequahties 
 time and change have made upon it, we found that the distances 
 between each mound, were respectively, 262, 264, and 310 
 yards ; doubtless, these sites w^ere the ancient towers of the 
 outer rampart of the Castle, and originally equi-distant, or nearly 
 so from each other, and the matter w^e deem the more worthy of
 
 BERKHAMSTED. 63 
 
 notice, not being aware that any previous visitors have left 
 behind a record of the fact, or that any notice of it exists in the 
 numerous volumes which have been devoted to the topography 
 and antiquities of Hertfordshire. 
 
 A VISIT TO BERKHAMSTED CASTLE. 
 
 The pleasure-seeking tourist of our day. 
 Here marks the labours of the olden time. 
 
 And gazing on proud Berkhamsted's decay. 
 Finds subjects not less solemn than sublime. 
 
 Cemented flints their facings torn away. 
 Of ruin tell, while smihng in its prime. 
 
 The blooming ivy be^^utifies the scene, 
 
 Enihellisliing grim walls with lively green. 
 
 It is a spot that aptly m.ay be made 
 
 The favorite theme of antiquarian lore. 
 
 While sheltered by the elm's o'erhanging shade. 
 We strive the fallen watch-towers to restore. 
 
 And the strong keep that from yon hill displayed 
 The flag which to the foe defiance bore, 
 
 Seeming to tell, " Besieged we firm remain. 
 
 Threaten ye may, but all your threats are vain."
 
 64 BERKHAMSTED. 
 
 Here tyrant Richard first beheld the light, 
 As we from history and tradition learn. 
 
 The joyous beauty and her steel-cased knight 
 Trod on this ground, the gay, the grave in turn 
 
 Who shone in courts, or conquered in the fight : 
 Long since they shared the same sepulchral urn ; 
 
 And of the pageants ancient minstrels sung, 
 
 No tale now lingers on the peasant's tongue. 
 
 Where are the nodding plumes, the glittering spear. 
 The arquebus, the battle-axe, the bow ? 
 
 All, — in such active use through many a year. 
 Are with the hands that wielded them laid low. 
 
 And " the last enemy " it would appear 
 Has worked his own predicted overthrow : 
 
 The dismal work of stopping human breath. 
 
 Has been arrested by the hand of death. 
 
 Explore the double trench, and thoughtful race. 
 The moat which all unheeded wanders round, 
 
 The vanished portal, and the ample space 
 
 Enclosed, — once guarded, by the high raised mound ? 
 
 How vividly we feel that in such place 
 War's clarion erst was no unusual sound. 
 
 But all its triumphs and defeats forgot. 
 
 The castle becomes garden to a cot ! 
 
 Trees are the only sentinels that now 
 Are ranged where formerly stood armed men. 
 
 Where awful care sat on the hero's brow. 
 
 The housewife now pursues the straying hen.
 
 BERKHAMSTED. 6-^ 
 
 Where thousand hearts fulfilling Knighthood's vow. 
 
 Beat high for glory, issuing from his den, 
 One champion now appears, man's friend and slave, 
 A little cur most faithful and mo:it brave. 
 
 He, when the stranger seeks his master's home. 
 Impetuous to attack, his powers will strain, 
 
 To scare th' intruder, seem with rage to foam, 
 And soothed, or menaced with profound disdain. 
 
 Regards th' unknown though from a lordly dome. 
 And would do more than bark, but for his chain ; 
 
 Pythagoras in him, some chief of old. 
 
 Would deem revived, unmoved by fear or gold.* 
 
 Myriads of leaves on mound and '* Tower Hill " — 
 So called that hill, where once the Donjon rose. 
 
 Tell of the waning year and Winter's chill. 
 But in the cheerless time of frost and snows 
 
 These vestiges are interesting still 
 
 To him whose breast with reverend ardour glows, 
 
 While ebbing life is felt receding fast. 
 
 To read the by-gone glories of the past. 
 
 * As the writer approached a cottage which stands within the area 
 of the ruins, a small dog rushed from his kennel and intimated strong 
 displeasure at the intruding freedom of a stranger. The latter by speech 
 and gestures endeavoured to make peace with the animal, but in vain. 
 Subsequently, being armed with a stick, one blow of which would 
 have killed the dog, he raised it threatingly to awe him into silence. 
 Even this ftiiled ; and the fearless guardian, without retreating a single 
 step, continued his most zealous opposition. 
 
 G ^
 
 G6 BERKHAMSTED. 
 
 THE CHURCH 
 
 is dedicated to St. Peter, and consists of a square embattled 
 tower having an octagonal staircase at the south-east angle 
 and is adorned with four handsome gothic M^ndows. The inte- 
 rior consists of a nave with two side aisles and two chapels or 
 chantries : that on the south side is called the chapel of St. John. 
 A number of inscriptions of ancient date are found in all parts 
 of the church from which we first select as worthy of note two 
 in the aforesaid chapel. They are in black letter cut in breiss 
 and placed upon the floor. 
 
 The first is as follows : — 
 
 ** i^rrc T»ct!) Imryrtr uutfcr ti)v^ ^tatxt ti)t hats^c at ^ahcxt 
 $nc0ut, (g?nti)Iman, Xatc ^crfaant uitto tl;e noble jprmcciSsc Eatigr 
 Cccpic, Sutfljfs^c 0f ^oritc, autf mnttjer imta tijc fcoorti^i) Iting 
 (Stf^artfc tijc fourtlj aiitf lairi^artrc ti)C fijtrtJc, ixil^izf) ^attf HoBcrt 
 3:nccnt Uictr of tlje Qvctt ^tuctnns ^yferno^sc tf)t fiv^t wear of ti}t 
 xitttpi of Icimg ^Kius tTjc WM, ujjoii h)f)0^c ^ouT, Sclju !)ai)c merry 
 
 Henry VII. began to reign in 1485, which fixes the date of 
 the death of the above Robert Incent. On consulting " Lan- 
 quette's Chronicles," a curious black letter book published in 
 the year 1560,
 
 BERKHAMSTED. 67 
 
 " in t^e I)Ousc, late Zf^aim^ JSartlKlcttrs' in ffUttt ^tretr," 
 Ave find four notices of the 
 
 "(Srcte slDCtyus svknc^sCy** 
 
 a malady, which at the time spread alarm far and wide, it 
 being considered a scourge almost exclusively confined to Eng- 
 lishmen, whether at home or in Foreign Countries, as will 
 be seen in the subjoined extracts from the Chronicles just 
 mentioned. 
 
 91. B. 1485.— Ci^cstBcatyug^irfenrs£?cbc5anncft|r£ft in dFnglantr, 
 ol tf)c fcDl)ir]^c a tonntrcrfull multitutre trictf for 
 ladfec 0f go0ti Ifecjptng. 
 
 1528 — Cl)e shjcatgns iicknt^it ragelr in trifacrs" partes 
 al enstantrc. 
 
 1530.— CI)c stocatung ^icknci^c facjrctr 2iSrabantc, anir 
 great part of (Snmania, ioffcvcal faery manw trpelr, 
 anlr espectalli) in ^nticerpe, fa3l;erc in tl)ree tfaies 
 j^pace, it coniSumeti fa. ijuntfretr per^on^. 
 
 1552 —in (Jrnglantfe tl;t^ Summer fasas a faernelsangcrous 
 iStoeate, fajljereof a great numier tfiieti iDttl)tn ti^e 
 iSpaceof a nngljt or a trane after tijcu inere fjirst 
 taKen. C1)C maner of tljisl stocate toa^ ^«et}, ttjat
 
 68 BERKHAMSTED. 
 
 j)f mrn tJytr tafec couRfc outtoartilnr, it ^trofec ttje 
 ^Jucatc tu, antf tmmctiiatcli) fenllctf tTjeim. 3:f tf)Ct) 
 lurreiirjiJt tirryrTosc, antr ioiti^ manij cl0atf)riS,it 
 sttfnlcti tijcm, auti tft^snlljctf nature. Sf tljcg iuorc 
 ^uffcrctr t0 s'lca^c, rommnnlp tljry sntonctr in t!)Eir 
 iSIcajpc, antf ^0 tfcjiartftr, or sli immctJiatcIg u^an 
 i^tiv luafeMnflc. Before men ijalf learucti tl^e maner 
 of feejptng, au tnftntte mtmftcr perpsIjeU. Ci)iiS 
 tfisease follflirietf dJnijIi^Ijmen as iuen totti^in tf)e 
 3aealme, a;S aljSo iii ^traunfle rontrenes. ©sn[)ere- 
 fore ti)i^ nation toaiS murfje afertre of it, anlr for 
 tlje tiime, fteganne to rejjent antf rememlber (gotr 
 from i3)f)om ti^at jplasrite mt(i!jtiMel seme to ht ^tnt 
 amonge n^, 2Sttt a^ tTje tfy^eaiSe in tyme relentelr 
 ^0 our tfe&otfon al^o in sljorte j^pace IfecageXf. 
 
 Hume says on this subject that this year (1485) " there raged 
 at this time in London, and other parts of the kingdom, a spe- 
 cies of malady unknown to any other ages or nation, the sweat- 
 ing sickness, which occasioned the sudden death of great mul- 
 titudes ; though it seemed not to be propagated by any conta- 
 gious infection, but arose from the general disposition of the air 
 and of the human body. In less than twenty-four hours, the 
 patient commonly died or recovered ; but when the pestilence 
 » had exerted its fuiy for a few weeks, it was observed, either 
 from alterations in the air, or from a more proper regimen 
 which had been discovered, to be considerablv abated."
 
 ANCIENT ALTAR TOMB IN BERKHAMSTED CHURCH.
 
 BERKHAMSTED. ^ 
 
 The second inscription runs thus : — 
 
 **|^trc lyrtl) bitrnctr unticr tlyy^ stant tijc botrgc al i^atcrgne, ^ 
 sumtjjmr ti)t innf of Enlicrt Inrcnt, (§nit, fati^cr antr matter 
 unto So^)n Inrcut, Bflctor 0f t^c itaiuc, to^fl fiotlj Xsont mang 
 icucftt^ auti flriiamcut^ Qihtn unts3 tfjt^ d^apclof ^awnt So^n, 
 lutirl^c saiU i^atcrnnc tritrtr tTje ^*5 tJaue 0f iHard^, i^t ^M gear 
 of ti^c rrtgn of i^mtj l^ntrg SFiBt. 
 
 Henry VIII. began to reign in 1509, and consequently, 
 Catherine, the wife of the preceding Robert Incent, died in the 
 year 1521, outliving her husband 36 years. It is worthy of 
 remark, that neither of these inscriptions record the ages of the 
 defunct, an omission seldom met with in the present day. 
 
 In the chapel on the opposite, or north side of the nave, is 
 a monument of high antiquity, it not being known to whom it 
 Ijelonged.* On an altar tomb, richly carved, are placed recum- 
 bent figures of a knight in armour, and on his right side that 
 of a lady. His feet are supported by a Lion, and hers by a 
 Dog, but from the circumstance of the shields, on the east end 
 of the tomb, bearing the same arms as another monument in 
 the aisle, with an inscription in brass to the memory of Richard 
 Torrington and Margaret his wife ; it is conjectured that they 
 are members of the same family. The brass has outlived the 
 stone, and informs us that of these worthy people (who are 
 stated to have rendered great pecuniary services to the church), 
 
 * See the Plate.
 
 70 BERKHAMSTED. 
 
 Richard died in 1336, and his wife in 1349. Nearly five cen- 
 turies have rolled over their tombs, and yet the name of Tor- 
 rington remains an honourable record of their charitable 
 munificence ! 
 
 There is still one other inscription in the chapel of St. John, 
 to a monk, named " Edmundi Cook, qui obiit, 24 die, mensis 
 Junii, A. D. 1409 " — and on a label, issuing from the mouth of 
 a figure, representing his effigy, " Jesu fili die miserere mei," 
 " Jesus Son of God have mercy upon me," not an inappropriate 
 prayer for a monk." 
 
 In the south-east corner of the church, in what has formerlv 
 been a chapel for Catholic worship, but subsequently taken pos- 
 session of as a family cemetery — are two brass plates fixed on 
 the wall — the first is to the memory of 
 
 " John Waterhouse, Gent., deceased the 11th day of August, 
 in anno 1558, and Margaret, his wife, deceased the 10th daye 
 of January, in annum dicto, which John and Margaret had 
 issue, viz. — John, Thomas, WiUiam, Edward, Arthur and 
 Charlas," — five of these surnames being the names of Kings. 
 The second is of later date. — 
 
 " Hereunder lieth interred the bodye of the worthy ladie. Dame 
 Margaret Waterhouse, deceased, daughter of Thomas SpiUman, 
 of Chart, in the county of Kent, Esq., in memorie of whose 
 vertues, and his dearest love. Sir Edward Waterhouse, Knight, 
 hath caused this monument to be erected. Shee died the 6th 
 dav of Julv 1587, aged 38, and hec the 13th November, aged
 
 BERKHAMSTED, sf, MARy's. 71 
 
 55, and lies buried with his last wife, Dame Deborah, at the 
 manor of Woodchm-chin Kent." 
 
 In the vestry is a painting, representing the entrance to the 
 Castle of Berkhamsted. It consists of a gateway, surmounted 
 by a massive tower, and ha^ing a smaller tower on each side ; 
 on the latter, flags are displayed bearing the red cross. 
 
 BERKHAMSTED, ST. MARy's, 
 
 otherwise called Northchurch, is a parish one mile from Berk- 
 hamsted, St. Peter's, on the road towards Tring. The church 
 has been lately renovated. The altar is decorated with a modem 
 painting of the Virgin and Child, after Vandyke, of no mean 
 merit, and another object of interest, is a curiouslv and elabo- 
 rately carved "old Oak Chest" which would funiish a model 
 for sculptors of thepreseni; ddv. In the church-yard is a simple 
 inscription — to the memory of 
 
 PETER, 
 
 THE WILD BOY, 
 1785. 
 
 whose history is enlarged upon in a brass table*, placed on the 
 eastern wall within the church, and perpetuates his singular 
 fate as follows : — His likeness is also engraved above the 
 inscription. 
 
 " To tfie memory of Peter, called the wild boy, who being 
 found wild in the forest of Hertswald near Hanover, in the vear
 
 72 BERKHAMSTED, ST. MARy's. 
 
 1 725 ; he was then supposed to be about twelve years old. In the 
 following year he was brought to England by order of Queen 
 Carohne, and the ablest masters were provided for him, but 
 proving incapable of speaking, or of receiving any instruction, 
 a comfortable provision was made for him by her majesty at a 
 farm-house in this parish, where he continued to the end of his 
 inoffensive hfe. — He died on the 22nd of February 1785, sup- 
 posed to be aged 72." 
 
 At the King's Arms, at Berkhamsted, there is a portrait of 
 this remarkable individual, towards whom public curiosity was 
 once most powerfully attracted. He was found in the woods by 
 King George the first, afterwards brought to England, and a 
 residence assigned to him at a farm-house kept by a Mr. Fenn, 
 in this neighbourhood, where he Hved many years. 
 
 The dogs found the wandering human being, and pursued him 
 as they would the game they were originally sent to hunt. He 
 was naked, with the exception of part of a shirt collar round his 
 neck. To escape the hounds he fled with great trepidation, and 
 finally took refuge in a hollow tree where he was ultimately 
 secured. 
 
 Mr. Page, the respectable landlord of the King's Arms Inn, 
 in which he has been estabhshed more than half a centur}% and 
 who has now reached the age of ninety years, is perfectly con- 
 versant with the history of Peter, to whom he was weU known. 
 He confirms the general account given of him as to his habits, 
 but controverts the statement that he never laughed. Much of
 
 BERKHAMSTED, ST. MARY's, 73 
 
 the time of this child of the woods seemed to pass in a mirthful 
 mood. Though he could not speak in the common way, he 
 succeeded in articulating a word or two. When asked "who 
 was his father," a question which was often jocularly put to him 
 for the sake of the answer which it was expected to ehcit, he 
 would reply in a guttural tone, "King George." It was at- 
 tempted to make him work on the farm, but for this Peter had 
 veiy little taste. At times when the labourers were loading a 
 cart with farm produce, he would "lend a hand" and do as 
 well as the other men. He, however, required constant superin- 
 tendance. On one occasion, being left to himself to cart a load 
 of manure, he set about the work with active industr\', but 
 having filled the cart, he jumped into it and proceeded to unload 
 it. He would fetch the cows home, but sometimes when told 
 to do so, he would refuse by shaking his head and making a 
 low grumbhng noise. His disinclination to work, however, 
 Mr. Page states, has in some instances been very speedily 
 removed, by the exhibition of a whip, which it may thence be 
 inferred, though he was never treated with severity, had occa- 
 sionally come in contact with his person. He would drink beer 
 or ale, and hquors, especially gin, with great eagerness, and 
 testify his approbation of such a treat by clapping his hands. 
 
 For the other sex he manifested no partiality. He would run 
 after children, not in anger, but in order to caress them. Indeed, 
 as stated in the tablet above transcribed, his was truly an inof- 
 fensive life. His strange demeanor might offend, but he 
 
 H
 
 74 BERKHAMSTED, ST. MARY S. 
 
 attempted to harm no one. Anything Uke chastisement, seemed 
 to alarm, rather than to irritate. 
 
 Peter could not be taught good manners. The polite obser- 
 vances of a countiy village were too much for him. Whoever 
 might be in the parlour of the King's Arms, Peter without 
 troubling himself to knock at the door, would burst in without 
 ceremony. Nor was it only at the Inn that he acted thus. Any 
 private house in the town that he felt inclined to enter, he would 
 invade in the same abrupt manuer. 
 
 He was, for the most part, pretty well watched by those to 
 whose care he had been confided. From Government they 
 received an allowance of thirty-five pounds per annum, this 
 perhaps for a human being of his habits, was, looking at the 
 then price of the necessaries of life, and the low rents, as much 
 as seventy pounds per annum would be now. When he entered 
 a house where company was assembled, it was usual for some 
 one who knew him to caution strangers against being alarmed^ 
 as the intruder was perfectly harmless. He loved finery, and 
 would seem much pleased with a lady's gay attire, down which 
 he would pass his hand with evident admiration. A she wy coat 
 in like manner, attracted his notice, and bright buttons found 
 especial favour in his eyes. He frequently testified the warmth 
 of his approbation by the legitimate and civilized mode of ex- 
 pressing applause, as it is considered in some cases, of clapping 
 his hands. This act he resorted to, not merely when any object 
 pleased his eye, but anything soothed his mind, such as it was.
 
 BERKHAMSTED, ST. MARy's. 75 
 
 In his situation no very remarkable adventure could be expected 
 to disturb " the even tenor of liis way," but one incident 
 occurred which is worth recalling. On some occasion he happened 
 to elude the observation of his friends or keepers, and strayed 
 away. Every search which humane anxiety could suggest was 
 made for the wanderer, but in vain. Those who were acquainted 
 with the harmless incapacity of Peter, little dreamed what had be- 
 fallen him. Having got into Norfolk, he had actually been appre- 
 hended as a spy, in the interest of the Pretender. His bushy 
 beard, and generally his uncouth appearance, had caused it to 
 be supposed that he was a foreigner, and his inability to speak, 
 was clearly construed into a singular instance of cunning which 
 thus aimed at guarding against the possibility of its being known 
 to what country the prisoner belonged. The suspicious cir- 
 cumstances under which he had been taken up, were advertised 
 in " the Hue and Cry" with a description of his person and 
 manner, and these led to his being discovered by those who 
 were seeking him. It was fortunate for him that this happened 
 soon, for the treatment the poor creature received as a sus- 
 pected spy, was so different to that to which he had been 
 accustomed, that it threw him into a state of the most profound 
 melancholy, and he obstinately refused food. When the person 
 sent to effect his release, entered the place of his confinement 
 the unfortunate testified the comfort he derived from recog- 
 nising a face that he had known before, by clapping his hands 
 with joyful vivacity. One night while he was detained, a fire
 
 76 BERKHAMSTED, ST. MARY's. 
 
 broke out. He was anxiously sought for, and when found, was 
 sitting quietly in a corner, enjoying the hght and warmth very 
 much, and not at all frightened. 
 
 Peter hved in the reigns of George the first, George the 
 second, and George the third. In the time of this last named 
 monarch, and not very long before Peter's death, " the wild 
 boy," as he was stiU called, was by royal command taken to 
 Court. Nothing is reported of his visit there, save that he 
 himself seemed gi'atified by what he saw. — Before taking him 
 there, however, he was dealt with in a way well calculated to 
 disappoint the curiosity which called him to the presence of the 
 Great. He was shaved, and dressed in the hvery of the King's 
 servants. In this disguise it could hardly be said that the Court 
 had an opportunity of seeing " Peter the Wild Boy." 
 
 To the last, the habits of his wild companions of the forest 
 were those which he preferred. When drinking, to him it was 
 more convenient to fall on his knees, and lap from a vessel 
 placed on the ground, than to raise what he was to take to his 
 lips. Though he was supposed to understand the words com- 
 monly addressed to him, his capacity in this way was extremely 
 hmited. It need hardly be added, that no rehgious impression 
 could be made on a being like Peter. When sickness came over 
 him, he so far resembled the rest of mankind, as to exhibit 
 depression of spirits and distaste for food. He died after having 
 been redeemed from the woods threescore years. His funeral 
 was by order, similar to that of a respectable tradesman. Mr.
 
 BERKHAMSTED, ST. MARy's. 77 
 
 Page, from whom many of the facts here collected have been 
 obtamed, was one of the pall-bearers, the only one now ahve. 
 
 Sometime after the interment, a person came to Berkhamsted 
 who represented himself to have journeyed from Hanover, and 
 was desirous of having the corpse exhumed, application was 
 made to the minister, who refused permission to disturb the 
 remains. The stranger mentioned a high price, which he said 
 he would have given for the head of the deceased, and it was 
 shrewdly suspected that he did not depart till the object of his 
 coming had been accomplished. By some it was supposed, that 
 the application was connected with an attempt to identify the 
 deceased. Considering that sixty years had passed since he was 
 taken in the woods, during all which long period much better 
 opportunities were constantly offered for satisfying such an 
 enquiry, than would be offered by possessing the corpse, this 
 conjecture must be admitted as very improbable. It would be 
 much more reasonable to suppose, that the head was wanted to 
 assist the early enquiries of the Phrenologists, whose doctrmes 
 then began to attract great attention in Germany. 
 
 With respect to his birth and parentage, nothing has yet 
 
 transpired. It w^as reported that a widower of Inchtinger had 
 
 had a dumb child who, ha\4ng been lost in the woods in 1723, 
 
 returned home again ; but on his father's second marriage, was 
 
 driven out again by his step-mother. At the time he was 
 
 found, he must have been for a long time an inhabitant of the 
 
 woods. The fishermen of the Weser, had seen at different 
 
 H 2
 
 78 BERKHAMSTED, ST. MARY's. 
 
 points on the banks of the river, a poor naked boy, and had 
 given him something to eat. He had not been heard to speak, 
 and when Peter was discovered, was supposed to be the same. 
 
 We find the preceding account of Peter, in all its main par- 
 ticulars, corroborated in various works. There was a peculiarity 
 in the formation of his left hand — two of the fingers being 
 united by a web up to the middle joint. It was in the Bride- 
 well of the city of Norwich that Peter was confined when he 
 strayed away — having doubtless gone, in one of his walks, 
 beyond the bounds of his knowledge — and in the House of 
 Correction, of that place, he was punished as a "sturdy" 
 vagrant. There is a long notice of him in the Gentleman's 
 Magazine, for May 1785, and in Vol. 55, of the same work, 
 written by Lord Monboddo, who paid him a visit in his 
 retreat in Hertfordshire.
 
 79 
 
 A S H R I D G E , 
 
 The seat of the Bridgewater family being situated two miles 
 from this place amidst scenery of the most interesting character, 
 w.e annex the following account of it for which we are chiefly 
 indebted to Hughson. 
 
 Ashridge Abbey is situated in the parish of Pitston, in Bucks. 
 " The house of Bonehomes, called Assecherugge," says Leland, 
 ' ' of the foundation of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, is two miles 
 oif Berkhamsted, and there the King lodged." Norden de- 
 scribed Ashridge as a royal palace, " wherein our most worthy 
 and ever famous Queene Elizabeth lodged as in her owne, being 
 then a more statehe house, at the time of Wyatt's attempte in 
 Queene Mar^'e's dayes." In 1554, Elizabeth, being now
 
 80 ASHRIDGE. 
 
 become the public and avowed object of Mary's aversion, and 
 being openly treated -with much disrespect and insult, thought 
 it most prudent to leave the court and retire to her house at 
 Ashridge. During this period she was accompanied by Sir 
 Thomas Pope, and others, more as spies than attendants. Sir 
 Thomas Wyatt's rebeUion having broke out, to oppose the 
 queen's match with Philip of Spain, it was immediately pre- 
 tended that the princess Ehzabeth, in conjunction with Lord 
 Courtenay, afterwards Earl of Devon, was privately concerned 
 in that dangerous conspiracy, and that they held conferences 
 with the traitors. The princess was consequently summoned 
 to court ; and notwithstanding her governors sent word that 
 she was ill in health, and unfit to traval. Sir Edward Hastings, 
 Sir Thomas Cornwall, and Sir Edward Southwell, attended by 
 a troop of horse, were ordered to bring her to London. They 
 found her confined to her bed at Ashridge ; but under pretence 
 of the strictness of their commission, they compelled her to 
 rise ; and still continuing very weak and indisposed, she pro- 
 ceeded in the queen's litter by slow journeys, to London. 
 After her release she changed her abode from this place for 
 Hatfield, where she principally resided until she succeeded to 
 the crown. 
 
 The Collegiate Church in which lay the remains of Lord 
 Chief Justice Bryan, Sir Thomas and Sir John Denham, and 
 other persons of distinction, was demolished in the reign of 
 Elizabeth. The great hall and the cloisters, were entire in the
 
 ASHRIDGE. 
 
 81 
 
 year 1 800. The hall, had a rich Gothic roof, and pointed 
 windows ; and was enriched vrith fluted pillars on the sides. 
 This beautifhl specimen of ancient architecture, though to all 
 appearance, in good repair, was pulled down by the late Duke of 
 Bridgewater, and the materials sold piece-meal : the cloisters, 
 which were to have shared the same fate, were standing in the 
 year 1802, cifter the'^demohtion of the other buildings, but had 
 sustained considerable injury by the pulling down of the adjoin- 
 ing walls. The roof of the cloisters were of Tottemhoe stone ; 
 wrought ^^•ith x^arious ornaments, which remained very entire. 
 Among these occurred the arms of the founder, and those of 
 the monastery (a holy lamb standing on the sepulchre and 
 holding a banner). The side walls were ornamented with 
 paintings in fresco, well designed, representing the history of 
 Our Saviour (some parts of which serve to support a wall on 
 the side of the high road at Tring, towards Aylesbury) . Some 
 of the figures had been well presers'ed, but most of them had 
 sustained more or less injury from the damp. The park is five 
 miles in circumference, and consists of hiU and dale beautifully 
 varied, covered with fine turf, and shaded with the finest 
 trees of oak, beech, ash, &c. and has truly the striking fea- 
 tures of an ancient majestic park. Within the old house, were 
 many fine family portraits, but no strangers are at present 
 allowed to x-iew them .
 
 82 
 
 T R I N G. 
 
 From the station at Pendley which is one of the ancient manors 
 belonging to the district of Tring, the traveller finds his way to 
 the town by a tortuous road nearly two miles in extent * ; on 
 entering Tring on the left, through an opening formed by a 
 broad avenue of noble trees, the mansion belonging to Mr. Kay 
 (at present in the occupation of Mr. Hankey, the Banker), is 
 discovered. The house is less remarkable for architectural 
 beauty than for the place it occupies in history ; the site having 
 been chosen by Charles II. as a residence for one of his favorites, 
 the celebrated NeU Gwynn. The present mansion was erected 
 by Sir Christopher Wren. The park, however, in which it 
 
 * The Tring people are determined not to be behind the age. A 
 new road is already marked out from the town to the Railway in a 
 straight line of a mile and a half in length.
 
 TRING. 83 
 
 stands is a truly magnificent sample of that woodland scenery 
 for which England boasts pre-eminence over all other countries. 
 If the traveller chooses the chief inn — the Rose and Crown — 
 for his sojourn, we recommend him to lose no time in ascen- 
 ding an eminence towards the south-west behind the inn, 
 (called Stubbing' s Wood) and he wiU make the agreeable dis- 
 covery, that a town placed apparently in a flat and uninteresting 
 situation, is in reahty surrounded on aU sides by the picturesque. 
 The extensive view from this point, embraces at one coup d'oeil, 
 those objects which he may afterwards visit in detail, or at 
 least all those within the circle we prescribe to ourselves. The 
 town, embosomed in a profusion of forest trees, amongst which 
 the graceful Beech and the majestic Chestnut predominate — 
 the reservoirs for supplying the Grand Junction Canal in times 
 of drought — the hiU of Ivinghoe, high and bleak — the column 
 at Aldbury , erected by the Countess of Bridgewater — 
 Leighton Buzzard Church in the neighbouring county of 
 Bedford, distant nine miles — and finally the chalky line of the 
 Railroad sweeping off to the westward, the noble innovation 
 of art among the grander works of nature. It may not be 
 amiss to introduce here a few words for the antiquarian. Tring 
 was a place of great note when king Alfred divided this 
 country into hundreds, and from the ancient name of " Treung," 
 the present corruption of Tring is derived. It bore the former 
 name when the Norman Conqueror*, came amongst us "at 
 
 * The curfew is still rung at Tring during the winter months.
 
 84 
 
 TRING. 
 
 which time there were two mills on the stream rented at nine 
 shillings per year each." In 1148, king Stephen fomided the 
 church of Feversham in Kent, and gave to the abbot and 
 monks thereof, the manor of Tring in perpetual alms (doubtless 
 not then dreaming of Henr}' VIII, ) to pray for the souls of 
 Maude his queen and all faitliful people. King Edward II., in 
 the ninth year of his reign granted to the said abbot of Fever- 
 sham, and the monks in the manor of Tring, a market to be held 
 on Friday which is stiU kept on that day. This manor was 
 held by the abbots of Tring, until the ruthless mind of Henry 
 VIII., wiUed its dissolution — when it shared the fate of all the 
 monastic establishments in the country and became the property 
 of the crown. 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 We have seldom seen a temple dedicated to Christian wor- 
 ship, in a Provincial town, of such large dimensions ; whilst it 
 is one of the number stiU seen, whose gothic columns and 
 arches, have not yet been ruined by the adoption of that modem 
 innovation called " Galleries." The walls are remarkably 
 scanty in Monuments, but within the precincts of the Altar is 
 a splendid effort of sculpture, to the memory of Sir William 
 Gore, Knight and Alderman of London, and his Lady. The 
 Rectory of Tring belongs to the Dean and Chapter of Christ 
 Church, Oxford, who are obliged to find a Curate to officiate 
 at Tring, Wigginton and Long Marston (the present stipend
 
 TRING. 85 
 
 we understand, is only one hundred and fifty pounds per 
 annum). The church is in the Deanery of Berkhamsted — 
 diocese of Lincoln, and has a ring of six bells. There are an- 
 cient slabs within the chancel, dated 1639, 1653 and 1658 ; 
 and a coat of arms of the Lake family, in ancient glass, in the 
 north window, quarterly four crescents, — or and azure counter- 
 changed. The building is of free stone, very appropriately 
 covered with stucco — equivalent in our estimation to silvering 
 gold. The parish of Wigginton is upon the high ground to 
 the eastward of Tring park, and the inhabitants possess very 
 extensive pasturage rights — the "Common" extending nearly 
 five miles in a direct line, as far as Chesham, in the neigh- 
 bouring county of Bucks. 
 
 The church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and the 
 internal part was repaired and beautified in the year 1714, at 
 the sole expense of the above mentioned Gore, who then occu- 
 pied the mansion in Tring Park. He died in 1707, and his 
 Lady 1705. 
 
 One of the branches of the river Thames rises on the south 
 east, in this parish, from two separate springs — one called 
 DundeU Head, and the other Bulbome Head, and then runs by 
 Box-Moor into Oxfordshire. 
 
 The town of Tring is seated upon the Ikenild Street, one of 
 the four Roman Consular ways, constructed by the Romans, 
 during their possession of this country for the passage of their 
 armies, &c.; it may not be amiss to enumerate them here ; —
 
 86 TRING. 
 
 The " Foss-way," extended from Totness in Devonshire to 
 Caithness in Scotland. 
 
 The " Ermin Street," or " Hermin Street," ran from St. 
 David's to Southampton, having several smaller roads branching 
 from it, called " vicinal ways." 
 
 The " Watling Street " where perfect, is still one of the 
 finest causeways in England. It commences at Dover, and ends 
 at Cardigan, in South Wales, running through St. Alban's, 
 Dunstable, Towcester, Atherstone and Shrewsbury. 
 
 The " Ikenild Street " extended from Yarmouth in Norfolk, 
 the eastern part of the kingdom of the Iceni (from whom it 
 derived its name), to Barley in Hertfordshire, giving in its 
 course, name to several villages, as /cA;worth, Icklmgham, and 
 Ickleton. From Barley to Royston, in Cambridgeshire, it 
 divides the counties of Cambridge and Hertford. From Ick- 
 leford it runs to TRING, crosses Buckinghamshire and Oxford- 
 shire, passes the Thames at Goring, and extends to the western 
 pait of England. 
 
 Whilst these historical details are fresh in the mind of the 
 traveller, if he walk to the western extremity of the town, he 
 will observe on the right hand, in a large garden enclosed by a 
 wall, a building formed of brick and ribbed with oak, bearing 
 unequivocal marks of age — this is no other than the Monastery 
 ofTring — although now converted into the residence of a farm- 
 er, and used in this present nineteenth century as a lodging 
 house for travellers of the working class, in which there were at
 
 TRING. 87 
 
 the period of our visit, at least one hundred persons congre- 
 gated — chiefly Railway labourers, appropriately enjoying their 
 home-brewed ale in the very kitchen of the monks. The Dor- 
 mitories and Cells may be visited by permission of the tenant. 
 In the former there are some remains of carvings which seem 
 originally to have represented something of the " pomp of 
 heraldry," probably in commemoration of some gift or bequest 
 which a pious life or death-bed penitence had bestowed. The 
 chambers were lofty and vaulted, and even in decay, inspire an 
 interest somewhat akin to awe, It has been found convenient 
 in late years, probably, while the building was occupied as a 
 workhouse to " curtail the fair proportions " of the Hall, by in- 
 troducing a new floor and ceiling, and the apartment thus 
 gained between the new floor and the original roof, is now used 
 as a tap by the Bankers, as the excavators are called, who now 
 lodge in a part of the old Priory. The kitchen has had its di- 
 mensions abated, but the original fire-place remains. What 
 was the chapel, or part of it, is at present occupied as a stable. 
 We in vain look for the original form of the windows of the 
 refectory or principal Hall, as the assaults of Time had made it 
 necessary to repair the external wall when the old window was 
 taken out. On renewing the floor of one of the apartments, 
 the present occupier found that a considerable number of human 
 bodies had been there deposited. Whether the sepulchral vault 
 of the religious estabhshment formerly existed on that spot, or 
 whether the bones thus unexpectedly discovered, were the
 
 88 TRING. 
 
 remains of victims to those crimes which history assm-es us were 
 but too frequently pei^petrated in the ancient monasteries, can 
 now be only matter of conjecture. They have been left undis- 
 turbed in their resting place. The present occupant, Mr. Beal, 
 an intelligent farmer, and his fair consort, cheerfully show to 
 the curious visitor, all that is most remarkable in their ancient 
 dwelling and obhgingly give every infoiTnation in their power. 
 A votary of the Muses who lately called on them, furnished us 
 with the following Stanzas which were suggested by what he 
 saw and heard there. 
 
 TRING PRIORY. 
 
 The world goes round, I see it here. 
 
 For yonder venerable pile — 
 Where lazy monks breathed vows austere. 
 
 Is now the scene of cheerful toil. 
 No more the sternly thundered doom. 
 
 Turns the ojQfending brother pale, 
 But song and chorus in its room, 
 
 Aid mirth, inspired by home-brew'd ale.
 
 TRING. 89 
 
 O ! if some potent pencil drew. 
 
 The beings formed of flesh and blood, 
 Once here, and bade them meet our view. 
 
 With beads and crosses, cowl arid hood ! 
 How vast the contrast their bold face, 
 
 Afi'ecting commerce with the sky, 
 Would give to those who now their place. 
 
 So unpresumingly supply. 
 
 Here rose to Heaven the matin hymn. 
 
 And here was heard the vesper song. 
 Here was indulged each sainted whim. 
 
 Which seemed devotion to prolong, 
 Not that indeed these holy folks. 
 
 Through all their pilgrimage on earth, 
 Unceasing warfare made on jokes. 
 
 Or revelry or madd'ning mirth. 
 
 'Twas theirs the veil o'er others' eyes. 
 
 To bind with no unskilful hand. 
 To give, — their dupes — a Heavenly prize ; 
 
 Themselves, — the fatness of the land. 
 They loved a well-provided board. 
 
 Which might the richest dainties boast. 
 The wine and Ippocras they pour'd. 
 
 And beauty was their favoured toast. 
 
 I 2
 
 90 TBIN6. 
 
 Some bosoms to devotion true 
 
 Here fled from all earth's cares and pride. 
 Anxious His footsteps to pursue. 
 
 Who for their sins on Calvary died. 
 For them the pealing organ's note, 
 
 The solemn requiem soft and clear, 
 Seem'd on the evening breeze to float. 
 
 Celestial sounds to mortal ear. 
 
 But these were rare and could that hall, 
 
 Where monks communed tell all it saw ; 
 The worshipper it might appal. 
 
 Nay thrill the infidel with awe. 
 For frightful orgies it may be 
 
 Within these walls were acted o'er, 
 When those whose mouldering bones I see. 
 
 Were hid beneath the ancient floor. 
 
 Such was alas! too sure the case 
 
 In priories of other days. 
 Murder and riot filled the place 
 
 Erected but for prayer and praise. 
 And he who should have watched the fold 
 
 To keep the wolf from coming near^ 
 Betrayed for worldly joys or gold, 
 
 A trust so sacred and so dear.
 
 TRING. 
 
 Strange changes mark the flight of time : 
 
 Three centuries since men wondering saw. 
 The old abodes of cant and crime, 
 
 AboUshed by a despot's Law. 
 Heaven with base instruments works good, 
 
 A pregnant instance we have there ; 
 The wretch who shed a consort's blood, 
 
 Made tyrant priests and monks despair. 
 
 And thus perhaps it was that Tring, 
 
 Though at the time it zealots shocked, 
 Was cleansed by a ferocious king 
 
 From knaves who truth and virtue mocked. 
 We ask not who successive pass'd 
 
 Next occupants — of this secure, 
 The fabric we behold, at last. 
 
 Came " Heaven directed to the Poor." 
 
 Now Industry on every part. 
 
 Its hand has laid in manly strife. 
 To render each with rustic art 
 
 Appropriate to humble hfe. 
 Where monks sung, those who guide the plough. 
 
 For pipes instead of anthems call. 
 And in the Chapel — stable now, 
 
 A horse enjoys the only stall. 
 
 91
 
 92 TRING. 
 
 A short walk on the north side of the town leads to the 
 extensive Mills belonging to Messrs. Evans & Co., of London, 
 for converting raw silk into Organzine. About five hundred 
 hands, chiefly females, are at present engaged, but the mills are 
 capable of giving emplo}Tnent to seven hundred persons. At 
 the junction of the road on which this establishment is situated, 
 the ancient Ikenild way is crossed, running east and west, and 
 beyond are the numerous and capacious reservoirs (the dehght of 
 the followers of Isaak Walton) for the supply of the Grand Junc- 
 tion Canal. This is what is called the "Tring summit." The 
 reservoirs are fed by the land springs, and a steam engine is 
 employed for lifting the water thence into the canal. Here, 
 also, is one of the highest points of the whole Hne of the Rail- 
 road, except at Kilsby in Northamptonshire, seventy-five miles 
 from London, and as we deem " all knowledge is useful," espe- 
 cially Railroad knowledge, we have annexed to our map a 
 section of the levels and inclinations of the whole line. It 
 may not be thought foreign to the subject matter of 
 these sketches, and especially as the Grand Junction Canal 
 accompanies the Railroad the greater part of its course, to 
 introduce here its history in brief. The act for the formation 
 of this Canal was obtained in the year 1792. In 1795 it was 
 opened as far as Brentford where it joins the Thames. The 
 whole hne from Paddington to Braunston in Northamptonshire, 
 was completed in March 1805. Its entire length, including the 
 branches to Uxbridge and Wendover, is one hundred and
 
 TRING. 93 
 
 thirty- six miles, and at Braunston it joins the Oxford navigation. 
 From London to Bramiston the distance is one hundred and 
 one miles, and there are (by a singular coincidence) one hundred 
 and one locks. The cost was £1,600,000, raised by shares of 
 £100 each, now worth £207 per share. 
 
 We have now to speak of the Park which consists of between 
 three and four hundred Acres ranging on the south east- 
 ern side of the town, and we invite the traveller who has 
 a rehsh for the picturesque, to spend a few hours amongst its 
 splendid woods, its mossy slopes and glades. By a slight 
 stretch of imagination he may recall the figure of the luxurious 
 monarch Charles crossing the grounds by stealth and watching 
 for the signal (a flag) which it is said his favorite NeU Gwynn 
 used always to exliibit from a conspicuous part of the house, 
 when she was " at home." In those by- gone times when 
 roads were strangers to Macadamization, we may guess that 
 a journey from the Metropohs on horseback was not so much 
 an every day afiair as to supersede the necessity of precautions 
 being taken to make it agreeable. Tring park therefore, 
 whether for its natural beauties or for its historical recollections, 
 must always be visited with interest by the individual wlio finds 
 pleasure in such reahties. 
 
 The manor of Tring in recent days, came by purchase from 
 Mr. Guy to Sir Wm. Gore (whose monument in the chancel 
 of the church we have already referred to) who paid the quit 
 rents to Queen Catherine, consort of Charles II. as part of her 
 dowry during her Hfe. Tlie son of Sir William laid out the
 
 94 TRING. 
 
 park, which remained in the Gore family a considerable time, 
 when it was purchased of the last representative by Drummond 
 Smith Esq. who, in the year 1804 was created a Baronet. It 
 next came by purchase to its present possessor, Mr. Kay. 
 
 Three hundred acres of the Park are on the Chiltern — the 
 hills which nearly divide the County of Bucks, and run from 
 Tring towards Ivinghoe. They were formerly covered with 
 beech to such a degree, as to be a constant harbour for thieves, 
 which induced LeofFstan, Abbot of St. Albans, to cause the trees 
 to be levelled and thereby destroyed the nuisance. These hills 
 reach from Bedfordshire to Oxfordshire, and form part of the 
 great chain from Norfolk to Dorchester in the latter county. 
 
 We conclude this chapter with relating, as we find it in 
 " Hughson's Perambulations, " an account of a most extraor- 
 dinary afiair, highly illustrative of the ignorance and credulity 
 of the last century, which happened in this place in the year 
 1751. Some country people w^ere possessed of an opinion, 
 that an old man and woman of that town, John and Ruth 
 Osborne, were witches, on account of several cattle dying of a 
 contagion which then raged : great numbers of them assembled, 
 some on horseback, and others on foot, and went and had them 
 proclaimed as such, in three different market towns. These 
 unfortunate people were afterwards dragged from the vestry of 
 the church, where they had been concealed, and so severely 
 ducked, that the woman died on the spot, and the man a few 
 days afterwards. Several persons were committed to custody
 
 TRING. 95 
 
 on the verdict of the Coroner's jury ; and one Thomas Colley 
 (who, though a principal actor in this horrid affair, was prompt- 
 ed by others, and by the hquor which he had drank), was 
 tried at the ensuing assizes for Hertfordshire, and capitally 
 convicted. It came out at the trial that, on the 1 8th of April 
 1751, one Nichols came to WiUiam DeU, the crier of Hemel 
 Hempstead, and gave him a piece of paper, with four-pence, 
 that he might cry the words written thereon, in the market 
 place. The words were these : " This is to give notice, that on 
 Monday next a man and woman are to be publicly ducked at Tring 
 in this County, for their wicked crimes." 
 
 Hie overseer of the parish, where these people lived, having 
 heard this cried at Winslow, Leighton Buzzard, and Hemel 
 Hempstead, on the several market days, and being informed 
 that the two people were John Osborne and Ruth his wife, he 
 sent them to the workhouse for safety. The master of the 
 workhouse, to make stiU more secure, removed them, in the 
 middle of the night of the 21st, into the vestry-room of the 
 church, thinking the sanctity of the place would have some 
 awe upon the mob, if they came. However, on the day ap- 
 pointed, more than five thousand people were collected together 
 at Tring, declaring revenge against Osborne and his wife as a 
 wizard and witch : they pulled down a large waU belonging to 
 the workhouse — (the ancient priory) — and demolished the 
 windows and window frames. The master of the workhouse 
 assured them thev were not there ; the mob would not believe
 
 96 TRINO. 
 
 him, but rushed in and searched the house, the closets, and even 
 the boxes and trunks. They declared they would pull the house 
 down if the victims were not produced, and some proposed set- 
 ting fire to it ; at last they all swore, that, if Osborne and his 
 wife were not dehvered to them, they would not only bum the 
 workhouse, but the whole town of Tring. The master being 
 apprehensive that they would do as they had promised, at length 
 infonned them where the unhappy people were. The mob now 
 went off in triumph, with CoUey at their head. As soon as the 
 mob entered the vestry-room, they seized Osborne and his wife, 
 and carried them to a place called Gubblecote, about two miles 
 off, where not finding a pond to their purpose, they carried 
 them to Wilston Green, and put them into separate rooms in a 
 house there ; they stripped them naked, and tied them up 
 separately in a sheet, but first they crossed the man's legs and 
 arms, and hent his body so as to tie his thumbs to his great toes. 
 When they came to the pond, called Wilston Wear, a rope 
 was tied under the armpits of Ruth Osborne, and two men 
 dragged her into the pond, and through it, and Colley went into 
 the pond, and turned her several times over and over with a 
 stick. After they had ducked the woman, they brought her to 
 land, and then dragged the old man in, and ducked him. Then 
 he was set aside, and the woman ducked again as before, and 
 Colley made the same use of his stick. Then the old man was 
 ducked again. After which the woman was a third time 
 ducked ; and CoUey went into the pond and pulled her about
 
 TRING. 97 
 
 until the sheet wherein she was wrapped came off, and she ap- 
 peared naked. She expired soon afterwards. Colley then 
 came out of the pond, and went round collecting- monev for the 
 sport he had shewn them in ducking the old witch as he called 
 her. After the woman was dead, the mob carried John Osborne 
 to a house, put him to bed, and laid his dead wife by his side 
 Ruth Osborne was seventy years of age ; John was fifty-six. 
 In consequence of these circumstances of cruelty, Colley was or- 
 dered for immediate execution, and his body was afterwards hung 
 in chains at Gubblecote, in the parish of Tring, three miles off. 
 
 Another instance of credulity and superstition occurred in 
 this neighbourhood in the year 1759. At Wingrove, one 
 Susannah Hannokes, an elderly woman, was accused by her 
 neighbour of being a witch ; for that she had bewitched her 
 spinning ivheel, so that she could not make it go round, and 
 offered to make oath of it before a magistrate ; on which the 
 husband of the poor woman, in order to justify his wife, insisted 
 upon HER BEING TRIED BY THE Church Bible, and that the 
 accuser should be present : she was conducted by her husband 
 to the ordeal, attended by a great concourse of people, who 
 flocked to the parish church to see the ceremony, w^here she 
 was stripped of her clothes to her shift and under petticoat, and 
 weighed against the Bible ! when to the no small morti- 
 fication of her accuser, she outweighed it, and was ho- 
 nourably acquitted of the charge. This account appeared 
 in the " London Chronicle" Februan.' 27, 1759. 
 
 K
 
 98 
 
 I V I N G H O E 
 
 The cross roads in this district which are some of the most un- 
 tractable we have seen in all our perambulations are at length 
 destined to undergo a change. We may imagine that instead 
 of, as now, being obliged to visit this interesting little to\\Ti by 
 way of Tring, or to walk along the chalky banks of the Railroad 
 for a mile and a half in a direction parallel, instead of in a 
 straight line, to the point of destination, that a direct road will 
 be cut to Pendley, by which, more tlian a mile of the distance 
 will be saved. It was by no means a common sight, however, 
 to witness the progress of the work on this part of the line, 
 where there is not less than two miles of cutting in the chalk — 
 so deep that mechanical means of a novel character have been
 
 IVINGHOE. 99 
 
 resorted to for the raising of the soil to the surface. These 
 means consist in the employment of horses to drag the work- 
 men and their wheelbarrows of chalk up an inclined plane at an 
 angle of not less than forty-five degrees, the operation from 
 the bottom to the smface (a space of sixty to seventy feet) oc- 
 cuppng but a few seconds of time, the workman and vehicle 
 being assisted in their still more rapid descent by the backing 
 of the horses and keeping the cable, which passes over a wind- 
 lass, tolerably tight. From the new Bridge over the direct 
 Road from Tring to Ivinghoe, the vie^v of this cutting, spread- 
 ing east and west, and lost in distance, almost amounts to the^ 
 sublime. We recommend a pause of a few minutes on the spot 
 to aU who can admire and appreciate the results of labour by 
 man in congregated numbers . We imagine that at the period of 
 our Aasit, there were upwards of one thousand men employed on 
 the two miles of "cutting" to which we now direct attention. 
 The approach to Ivinghoe is marked by scenery of no mean 
 character. On the north is the Hill (part of the range called 
 the Chiltem Hills) of Ivinghoe, and in the distance on a ridge of 
 the same bleak aspect, rich in stone quarries, is Totternhoe, one 
 and a half miles from Dunstable ; locally these bleak hills are 
 called " downs." Totternhoe is remarkable for a Roman forti- 
 fication called the "Castle" overlooking the village of Stow- 
 bridge in the neighbouring county of Bedford. On the 
 north west the valley sweeps away for ten or twelve miles
 
 100 IVINGHOE. 
 
 interspersed by the waters of the canal, an artificial although 
 always dehghtful adjunct to valley scenery. The spire of Leighton 
 church, in clear sunshine, wiU rather invite than repel the in- 
 clination to explore its unknown vicinity. At the distance of a 
 mile from Ivinghoe its church may be brought into a hne with 
 that of Pitstone, which stands in the sequestered vale with the 
 simple accompaniments of a farm-house and a few trees. It 
 occurred to us indeed, that the inhabitants of this thinly populated 
 district, must be almost lost by division on Sundays betw^een 
 the two churches of Ivinghoe and Pitstone. The reader will 
 observe that he is now in the County of Buckingham. 
 
 Ivinghoe can boast at present but of one Inn, the King's 
 Head, the painting of which would not do honor to the Royal 
 Academy. It has a market on Saturdays, granted in 1318 by 
 the Bishop of Winchester, but which has long been so small as 
 to be almost nominal. Situated between two main roads, and 
 consequently being little visited, it has a primitive air, and its 
 dimensions are too small to admit of its association in the mind 
 as a " town," but such it is, and a market town also. In the 
 " olden time " one may imagine that it grew into importance 
 from its being placed on the "Ikenild way," which is stiU one 
 of the high roads of the vicinity, about tvvo furlongs from the 
 town. The "Manor" was given by Edward the Confessor 
 to the see of Winchester. If our reader is a pedestrian, he 
 may obtain one of the finest views in England from the summit
 
 IVIXGHOE. 101 
 
 of the hill, or in the contrary case, we will endeavour to enter- 
 tain him with less fatigue by a visit to 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 In the centre of the middle aisle, stood, until modem times 
 a set of ancient pews of oak, embellished with grotesque car- 
 vings representing objects, which, we may presume, have httle 
 to do with Christian worship — mermaids, dolphins and other 
 " queer fish." These pews are now placed in the the side aisles 
 to make room for modern accommodations of the same cha- 
 racter. On the floor in front of the baptismal font, the Parish 
 Clerk, pointed out to us, the most ancient inscription at 
 present existing in the church, to the memory of one 
 
 '' lUxit ifony WiaWc, mavuit Ic m tr'^Hai Tan ti' gr. 
 
 (£t ^aitc ^a feme tiicti Ic binti^mt ]auY tfc V an tf* gr. 
 iB,C€€,5L^ Siicnt ici, Bitu tie Icur ^Imc^ fit mercy." 
 
 Which may be thus rendered: — 
 
 '^ Ralph Folly Wolle, died the \Oth day of May ^ in the year of 
 Grace 1349, And Jane his rvife, died the 20th day of January, in 
 the year of Grace, 1260 ; God have mercy on their S)uls." 
 
 k2
 
 102 IVINGHOE. 
 
 On the north side of the chancel is an ancient altar tomb 
 with an effigy of the defunct, said to be that of Henry de Blois, 
 Bishop of Winchester, and brother of king Stephen. It is of 
 stone and in tolerably good preser\^ation. From the history of 
 this Prelate, it wiU be learned that there is the strongest pro- 
 bability of the traditionary account of the tomb being perfectly 
 accurate. Besides, we may add, that at Mursley, in Bucks, 
 five miles from Ivinghoe, (near Winslow,) was a mo- 
 nastery which in 1802 was almost entire (and the remains 
 of which may still be seen), founded by this Henry de Blois, 
 which favors the probability of his resting place being that 
 which tradition has assigned it ; and he is said to have had his 
 residence in this parish at Berrystead, now a farm-house on the 
 Bridgewater estate. 
 
 This Bishop we find from a reference to history, was one of 
 the most turbulent and ambitious prelates of his day. He was 
 the youngest son of Stephen, Earl of Blois, by Adela, the 
 daughter of William the Conqueror. During the reign of 
 Henry the first, the eldest son of the Earl, being sent into 
 England gained the good graces of that monarch, who, not 
 content with conferring honours on his nephew Stephen, sent 
 for his younger brother Henry, then a monk in the monastery 
 of Clugni, who, on reaching this country, was made by him 
 first Abbot of Glastonbury, and afterwards Bishop of Winchester. 
 By this bounty it would seem, the king hoped to strengthen his 
 daughter Matilda, to whom he wished his crown should
 
 iVlXGttOB. lOS 
 
 descend. The gratitude of his nephews did not produce the 
 desired effect. Though Stephen was the first to swear fealty 
 to the princess, no sooner was the king on his death bed, than 
 the brothers, unmindful of the wishes of their royal benefactor, 
 opposed her interest. Stephen claimed the throne, and his 
 brother Henry having prevailed on the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury and the Bishop of Salisbury to favour his views, on the 
 22nd of December 1135, (or according toRapin, December 26, 
 1 136,) he became King of England. 
 
 But the Bishops, through whom he gained his advancement, 
 in consequence of his severely exacting obedience to the law, 
 from them and their adherents, soon became the enemies of his 
 power. He insisted upon their giving up their castles, and the 
 Bishop of Winchester then distinguished himself by the bold 
 opposition which he offered to his king. He had been made 
 legate to the Pope and invested with that dignity, considered 
 himself to be an ecclesiastical sovereign, and as such entitled 
 to exercise power not less extensive than that which belonged to 
 the civil monarch of the realm, and he therefore determined to 
 vindicate the privileges of the church, which in his judgment, 
 Stephen had violated. With this view, he called a synod 
 at Westminster, before which he arraigned the impiety of 
 Stephen, who had proceeded to punish the dignitaries of the 
 clergy without waiting for the sentence of a spiritual court. 
 He exhorted the prelates vigorously to assert their privileges, 
 and induced the svnod to send a summons to the kinsr, calling:
 
 104 IVINGHOE. 
 
 upon him to appear before them to vindicate his measures. 
 ■ Stephen, in consequence, sent Aubrey de Vere to plead his 
 cause, who, in doing so, charged the leading prelates with trea- 
 son. The synod refused to listen to this, unless the castles, of 
 which they had been dispossessed by the king, were first re- 
 stored. The Bishop of Salisbury intimated that the malediction 
 of the church might be expected, and that he would appeal to 
 the Pope. De Vere then took a higher tone, and declared that 
 if they ventured to excommunicate the king, they should soon 
 have reason to repent it, and if any of their reverend body 
 ventured on this occasion to proceed to Rome, they would 
 never be permitted to return. Awed in some measure by this 
 firmness, the synod abated its pretensions, and took no stronger 
 step than adopting a resolution, that the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury and the Bishop of Winchester should wait on the king to 
 demand reparation. 
 
 These dissensions encouraged Matilda, the daughter of the 
 late King, to invade England and to claim the sovereign power. 
 She was at first successful, and Stephen had the misfortune to 
 become her prisoner. In his distress, many of the Barons went 
 over to Matilda. Then it was, that he who sleeps at Ivinghoe, 
 became indeed important. Matilda felt that in those days, the 
 sovereign could not hope for security, unless he had the support 
 of the Clergy, and was therefore most anxious to gain the 
 Bishop of Winchester. For this purpose she held a conference 
 with him on an open plain near Winchester, where she offered.
 
 IVINGHOE. 105 
 
 confirming- the promise by an oath, that if he reco^^ised her as 
 the rightful Sovereign, and would return to that allegiance, 
 which he, with the other bishops had previously sworn, he 
 should be the sole master of the administration, and should 
 have all vacant bishopricks and abbeys placed at his disposal. 
 Guarantees having been given on her part for the due observ- 
 ance of these engagements, he whoUy abandoned the cause of 
 his brother, and promised to use his best exertions to gain for 
 her the suffrages of the rest of the Clergy. This arranged, he 
 received her on the next day at Winchester with great pomp, 
 and there solemnly absolved all the adherents of Stephen from 
 their oaths, denounced those who denounced her, cursing them 
 with bell, book and candle, and blessing those who blessed her. 
 
 On this and on subsequent occasions, the bishop did not spare 
 the King. He said, " Stephen had been permitted to reign in 
 the absence of the rightful Sovereign, having promised to 
 honour and exalt the church, to maintain the laws and effect aU 
 needful reforms. He, however, it affected him to add, had for- 
 gotten his promises and his God. Though grieved to condemn 
 a brother, duty to his heavenly father, rendered this unavoid- 
 able, and he therefore proclaimed Matilda, Queen." 
 
 Shortly after he convened a synod, whom he addressed in the 
 same strain. " Divine providence " he declared, "had given sen- 
 tence against the King, God's judgments had fallen on him," and 
 therefore said he in conclusion — " I have convened, by virtue of 
 the apostolic power confided to me, this body to consult on the
 
 106 IVINGHOE. 
 
 means of appeasing the troubles of the state. This affair has 
 already been debated in the presence of the greater part of the 
 clergy, who beyond all dispute have a principal share in the 
 election of Kings, and we, after mature delijberation, have de- 
 termined to acknowledge Matilda, daughter to the incomparable 
 King Henry, for queen and sovereign of England . 
 
 To such a pitch did he carry his hostihty to the King, that 
 he even opposed the reading of a letter presented to the synod, 
 from the queen of Stephen, praying that her husband might be 
 set at liberty, but Matilda, by her haughty deportment, soon 
 offended the bishop, in common with the whole kingdom. The 
 facihty with which he could change sides, was again displayed, 
 the moment he found the friends of his brother once more be- 
 coming the stronger party. He conspired against Matilda, and 
 formed a plot to seize her person. She discovered his treachery 
 and fled from the danger, and is said to have eluded the vigil- 
 ance of her enemies, by causing herself to he conveyed frorn 
 Devizes to Gloucester in a coffin. 
 
 The Bishop of Winchester now wrote to the Pope to obtain 
 his sanction to the steps he was taking in favour of his brother. 
 This obtained, he appeared at a council called at Westminster, 
 with the letter of the Holy father in his hand, defended the 
 consistency and integrity of his own conduct, and concluded by 
 excommunicating all who should thenceforth take part with 
 Matilda. 
 
 Stephen, now restored to power, probably thought it prudent
 
 IVINGHOE. 107 
 
 not again to offend the prelate, who continued actively to support 
 his authority. Early in the year 1143 he summoned a council 
 at London, where, in the presence of the King he called on the 
 Bishops to exert themselves more vigorously than they had 
 previously done, to put an end to the war which then raged. 
 He obtained from them a promise of more energetic support, 
 on the King's granting certain conditions for the future regu- 
 lation of the church, most favourable to the clergy. 
 
 Little mention is made of the Bishop after this. The 
 arrangement concluded between Stephen and Matilda, under 
 which, on the death of the former, the son of the latter was to 
 succeed to the throne, it may be presumed, left him no opportunity 
 for profitably changing sides again, or age perhaps made him 
 more attentive to his religious duties, and less anxious to 
 distinguish himself on the political stage. It is but justice to 
 add, that if his conduct appears to modern notions little in 
 accordance with that meekness, purity, and love of peace, which 
 should characterize a christian minister, while we condemn his 
 turbulence, his disregard of oaths, and generally, his pursuing 
 a line of conduct equall}^ at variance with truth, loyalty and 
 honour, it is on record, that he was not wholly unmindful of the 
 claims of charity. A mile south from Winchester, the venerable 
 hospital of the holy cross still does honour to his name. " The 
 luftv tov/er" observes Dr. Milner "the grated door, the porter's 
 lodge beneath it, the retired ambulatory, the separate cells, the 
 common refectory, the venerable church, the flowing black
 
 108 IVINGHOE. 
 
 dress, and the silver cross worn by the members, the conventual 
 appellation "brother," with which they address one another, 
 the silence, the order, the neatness in short, that reign here , 
 seem to recall the idea of a monastery, to those who have s een 
 one, and will give no imperfect idea of such an establishment, 
 to those who have not had that advantage. But this estabhsh- 
 ment was never a monastery, being only an hospital originally 
 founded by Bishop Henry de Blois between 1132 and 1136, for 
 the residence and maintenance of thirteen poor men and the 
 rehef of a hundred others of the most indigent of the city, but 
 of creditable character. Each of these was to be provided 
 daily with a loaf of bread, three quarts of small beer, and two 
 messes for his dinner, in a hall appointed for the purpose. In 
 the hospital was an endowment for a master, a steward, four 
 chaplains, thirteen clerks and seven choristers. " * 
 
 The church being in the form of the Latin Cross, there are 
 two chapels, in both of which are ancient incriptions on the 
 floor. Y\^e give them verbatim et literatim, beginning with 
 that on the north side. 
 
 ?^rrc Ipctib untfcr rt)t^ ^tonr, tljc hatsyit at WiiUmm Buncamht 
 (gentleman, iol^a I)ati ttoo Inubc^, ;^ar|) antf ^lirc, luTjo IfcrcajSctr 
 26 ^ctoScr, 1576, antr i)atf iiiuc 5g l^i^ first tDjjfc, ti)rcc ^oanrsf 
 
 * It is but justice to other historians to add, that Hughson in his 
 " perambulations, '' intimates that the monument in question appeared 
 to him of too modern a date, and might belong to a " Peter Chaceport," 
 an opinion not supported however by any authority.
 
 IVINGHOE. 109 
 
 iraufli^tcril, 
 
 total, fifteen children ! The inscription is in brass, and there are 
 effigies not only of the worthy WiUiam Duncombe and his two 
 *' wyves" but of all their fifteen descendants, whose names are 
 appended to each figure in scrolls. In the opposite chapel is 
 another inscription as follows : — 
 
 tD^irf) Ba'tftx ircccaslctf 26 Beer. 1694, Bcmfl at t^t age of 90 grar^ 
 KViis t^tv I)atr i^^ut four ^antxei aiilf i^xtt traujji^tcr^— ^030:, 
 f^enrg, d^nma^, WtiUmm, ^lijalbet]^, ^ue, antr ^Q}itS, 
 
 The " Buncombes " were the possessors of Barley End 
 Estate, near Aldbury (in which parish the Pendley station is 
 situated), for many centuries. 
 
 It must be evident, from these examples, that the air of this 
 sequestered country in former days was conducive both to 
 longevity and long famihes. The Buncombes, William and 
 John, having numbered between them, no less than twenty-two 
 children ! and the latter living to the age of ninety years. 
 
 Amongst the "rubbish" of the church — [vide the chapter 
 on Leighton Buzzard p 1 1 7] there is the oak desk, which in 
 CathoHc times supported the books during worship — and an 
 *' old oak chest" for depositing therein the properties of the 
 Priests. The pulpit is of a carved oak in very excellent 
 
 L
 
 110 IVINOHOE. 
 
 preservation, and the roof is throughout of the same material, 
 blanched by time, and a moist atmosphere. There are in the 
 chancel, ten figures of angels bearing escutcheons, and the same 
 number of Saints. The centre aisle is also furnished in a 
 similar manner—but the chief gem of this unique little edifice 
 is the iron bracket close to the pulpit in which used to be 
 suspended the "hour glass," to warn the preacher when to 
 close his sermon. We are not aware of the existence of a 
 similar rehc in any church in England,
 
 Ill 
 
 LEIGHTON BUZZARD 
 
 This ancient town stands on the right of the Railway, at a dis- 
 tance of one mile, and within that short space the Grand 
 Junction Canal and the river (the Ousel) both intervene. It 
 is situated on the very confines of Bedfordshire — the Ousel 
 separating this county from Bucks. From London its distance 
 by the old road of forty- one miles, is reduced by the Railway 
 (which has here gained three miles upon the ancient means ol 
 communication) to thirty-eight miles. The place is supposed 
 to have been the ancient Lygeanhury of the Saxon Chronicle, 
 and "Buzzard" to be a modem corruption of the name of a 
 family in the neighbourhood, called Beaudesert. The market 
 is on Tuesday, and is the most ancient in the county, A 
 Londoner fresh from Cheapside or Regent Street, cannot fail to 
 be struck with the air of the streets, where the ancient houses, 
 ribbed with oak, intermixed with brick, gable ends, and thatch,
 
 112 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 
 
 still predominate over the more modem erections. The Manor 
 is held on lease under the church of Windsor, and was origin - 
 ally granted by Henry II., to the abbess and nuns of Font 
 Everard in Normandy, who in return for this favour, established 
 a ceU for nuns at Grovebury, in the parish ofLeighton. Besides 
 this ahen priory, it is asserted on the authority of Bishop 
 Turner, that there was a house for Cistercian monks (the same 
 order as the nuns at Font Everard) which was a ceU to Woburn 
 Abbey. This fraternity probably occupied the monastery, the 
 remains of which may be seen in Broad Street — one of the 
 rehcs of by- gone days, worthy of a visit from the antiquarian. 
 The attention, however, is first arrested by the ancient Gothic 
 Cross in the market place, about which so much has been 
 written, and which has unconsciously stood (not sat) to paint- 
 ers and sketchers of every generation during many centuries. 
 It is of a pentagonal form, and has as many effigies in niches 
 in its upper story. That it was a religious cross there can be 
 no doubt, seeing that a prelate, a saint (probably St. John). 
 and the virgin and child, are amongst the personages sculp- 
 tured, and last, not least, a King. Local enquiry leads only to 
 vague replies as to its origin, for whilst some assert that to be 
 unknown — others inform you it is one of the crosses raised by 
 Edward I., to the memory of his beloved and faithful consort. 
 Queen Eleanor. Very little explanation is required to set this 
 latter opinion at rest in the negative. Leighton Buzzard is 
 situated entirely out of the line of the ancient Watling Street,
 
 CROSS AT LEIGHTON BUZZARD IX BEDFORDSHIRE RESTORED.
 
 i
 
 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 113 
 
 which runs east and west about five miles to the northward of 
 the town. The Queen died at Hardeley, near Grantham, in 
 Lincolnshire, and her body brought to London, to be deposited in 
 Westminster Abbey, rested at Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, 
 Geddington, Northampton, Stony Stratford, Dunstable (about 
 six miles from Leighton), St. Alban's, Walthamand Charing 
 (then a village near London), at aU which places crosses were 
 erected, of which only three now remain, those at Geddington, 
 Northampton and Waltham. It is only necessary to obsene 
 upon the improbability of the procession with the royal body, 
 making a " detour " of five miles from the main road, into a 
 count\', then, if we may judge of that fact by what it is now, 
 almost impassable as respects its cross roads. We may therefore 
 add that by whom, or for whatever purpose this cross was erected 
 is not correctly known. The probability is, that it has stood 
 for six or seven centuries, as we find that in the year 1650 it 
 was presented at the Court-leet of the town as being in such a 
 ruinous state as greatly to endanger the Uves of passengers, 
 and a rate of four-pence was levied upon every inhabitant 
 to defray the expense of repairing it. The height of the cross 
 is twenty-seven feet from the top of the stone work to the base- 
 ment story, which is seven and a half feet from the ground, 
 and is reached by five rows of stone steps. It is highly orna- 
 mented externally, and the internal sculpture is in a state of 
 preservation which reflects great credit upon the administration 
 of the four-penny rate above alluded to. In the year 1801, 
 
 l2
 
 114 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 
 
 Leighton contained (exclusive of the Hamlets of Heath, 
 BiUington, Egginton and Chpston) 376 houses and 1963 inhabi- 
 tants. Unlike most ancient towns, it is gradually increasing in 
 population, the present number being estimated at 4,000, of 
 which a large proportion are quakers. Its prosperity in late 
 years, may doubtless be traced to the immense traffic of the 
 Grand Junction Canal, from which it derives considerable 
 advantages, to its excellent market — and to its fairs, six in 
 number, in each vear. 
 
 About half a mile from the town, on the " heath " is an 
 enclosure, nearly circular, containing several fields surrounded 
 by a ditch, deep in many parts, which has very much the 
 appearance of having been a Roman encampment. At the 
 lower part of the town, on the bank of the river, is a delightful 
 walk, of about three quarters of a mile in extent — the most 
 pleasant promenade, so far as we could discover, in the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 THE CHURCH.* 
 
 Should the visitor have already seen the church of Ivinghoe, 
 he wiU be struck with the similarity of the constniction of the 
 two, the bleached oak roof of one, is in fact an exact type of 
 the other, except that the scale is much larger at Leighton. 
 
 * The sexton is James Elkerton. It should be observed that all 
 sextons and clerks being part and parcel of the church, are generally 
 to be found domiciled in its immediate vicinity.
 
 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 115 
 
 The survey in Doomsday Book states the rectory of Leighton 
 Buzzard, then the property of Remigins, Bishop of Lincoln, to 
 consist of four hides of land. The rectorial manor is now a 
 prebendal corps in that church to which the said Bishop 
 collates. 
 
 The stalls of massive oak, carved, and bearing the escutch- 
 eons of their former occupants (a study of itself to those who 
 have leisure) have an air of commodious dignity contrasting 
 strangely with the modern conveniency of pews. The 
 oldest monument in the Church is on the north side of the 
 chancel, placed in the wall at an elevation which precludes its 
 being deciphered without the aid of a ladder. It is a simple 
 inscription on a brass plate to the memory of William Jackmann 
 of Billington (two miles from the town of Leighton on the 
 south east), who deceased in 1597. The rude oak seats placed 
 before the stalls for the accommodation of the commonaht}^ in 
 the days they were in use, it may as a matter of curiosity, be 
 worthy of remark, are covered .with dates and initials cut with 
 knives in the style of the present day — as will be remembered 
 by those who visit our public monuments and promenades, or 
 in cases where the material is too hard for the knife, the more 
 ephemeral system of " pencilling" is put in requisition, to the 
 admiration of aU foreigners. We observed dates so cut of 
 1724 and 1725. Leaving the chancel, and other monuments, 
 both of an ancient and costly character (within the rails), we 
 wish to direct attention to the chapel in the south transept.
 
 116 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 
 
 where on the left hand is one of the curiosities in the shape of 
 a mural " table, " only to be met with in primitive sections of 
 the country — in its "bye ways" — not in its "high ways." 
 Two leaves of oak fold over a third fixed to the wall, and the 
 five sides thus created are inscribed in gold letters with a list of 
 the donations of the individual, one "Edward Wilkes of Leighton, 
 Gentleman, who in the year 1 630 built the Alms houses in 
 the north end of the towne and gave them for poor aged 
 people to dwell in, not exceeding the number of sixteene." In 
 1631 "he gave the said ' table' and therein inserted the charity 
 of the former benefaction, and in 1638 he gave the cedar pulpit 
 (still existing) and a purple velvet cushion for the use of the 
 minister." In the year 1646 at his death, by his will and 
 testament " he gave for ever two closes near the bridge, of the 
 value of six pounds six shillings and eightpence yearly, of 
 which to be laid out in gowns and caps for the poor in his 
 Alms houses, five pounds, six shillings and eightpence, and 
 for a sermon on 24th March, for ever, ten shillings — and the 
 other ten shillings to be spent in a dinner." On the opposite 
 side of the same transept are other ancient tables recording 
 donations to the Church and poor, one of them surmounted by 
 an escutcheon and an ancient helmet of iron — the whole being 
 in admirable keeping with the antiquity of the Church. A 
 gallery at the west end of the nave speaks for itself, it having 
 been " erected at the sole expence of the inhabitants of the 
 towne and parish in the year 1634." and looks as if it would
 
 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 117 
 
 stand two centuries more without demanding great repairs. 
 We were about to leave the interior of the Church (not without 
 enquiring, however, if we had seen all the objects worthy of 
 notice,) when we were directed by the sextoness to the north 
 transept, although, as she said, it contained nothing but " rub- 
 bish." Amongst the " rubbish" was a stone coffin, dug up on 
 the spot about two years ago where it had probably lain many 
 centuries. It contained the remains of a human being, who it 
 may be presumed from the care and expense bestowed on his 
 interment was of no mean importance while ahve. The coffin 
 which is very sohd, measures six feet and a half in the clear 
 from end to end within, and at the upper end a stone block is 
 placed, in which a hoUow was cut to receive the head. The 
 bones were committed again to the earth, beneath the spot on 
 which the coffin now rests. No inscription or tradition preserves 
 the name of its ancient tenant. Anthony Schlater, a divine 
 of some note in the seventeeth Century enjoyed the vicarage 
 of this Church fifty years and lived to near a hundred. 
 
 From the roof of the nave a view is obtained of the surrounding 
 country, the river Ousel, the Canal, and the new feature in the 
 landscape — the embankment of the Railroad. The Curfew, (or 
 " eight o'clock beU") is rung during the winter months, except 
 on " saints' days." There is also a bell tolled at four o'clock 
 every morning throughout the year — the reminiscence probably, 
 of the " matins " of the Romish church. The family of the 
 Leigh's possess the Manor, one of whom, the Honourable
 
 118 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 
 
 Mr. Leigh, built a school in the town in 1790, and endowed it 
 with twenty pounds a year. 
 
 The Alms houses before spoken of, as built by Edward Wilkes 
 in 1630, are an interesting specimen of that kind of substantial 
 charity. The building is uniform, flanked by walls at both 
 ends, enclosing gardens, and on the front of the houses, as also 
 of the garden walls, are a variety of inscriptions, some of them 
 amusingly quaint. The following may be taken as specimens : 
 
 Ert not ijratDl nax tbil tammxtnimtian^ "bt httixittnt goit, but 
 sttttrj) t0 bt quiet tbtvv ant tratus Ijis" olune bxtiinc^i, 
 
 SmialBflm. 1667 
 
 " I^Dc 0pii^ Baminty nan nostra icts tua tftcamu^ ^Inrta ** 
 
 ** JFrom tlje rage at fin: antf ijantrjS of bialmce Qaati ^av'a 
 irelilier ui,** 
 
 From the terms of the grant of the said Edward Wilkes, we 
 expected to find at least " sixteene poor aged people " inhabi- 
 tants of these Alms houses, but the actual number is only eight, 
 who, we are informed, besides living rent free, were provided 
 with firing — five shillings a week in money, and a pair of shoes 
 per annum. We did nor hear of their being provided with 
 " gownes and caps " out of the rents and revenues of " the 
 two closes near the bridge " granted by the worthy Wilkes for 
 that express purpose.
 
 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 119 
 
 To turn, however, from the Hving to the dead, we have not 
 forgotten the Stone Coffin, now resting (so far as those are 
 concerned to whom its keeping is committed) neglected among 
 the Imnber of the church. That its inhabitant was a personage of 
 importance may be assumed fi*om the mode of burial, and when 
 we walk along the antiquated streets of this old town, and 
 regard its Cross, the origin of which is involved in obscurity, 
 fancy may connect the " Unknown," who once slept the occupant 
 of the coffin, with this more conspicuous rehct of antiquity 
 which has equally withstood the assaults of time, and become an 
 object of mysterious interest to the stranger. Under the 
 influence of sentiments of this nature, we have been tempted 
 again to depart from " plain prose," and to present our readers 
 with a few playful stanzas written by one of the visitors recently 
 attracted to Leighton Buzzard, and addressed 
 
 TO THE SKELETON FOUND IN THE STONE COFFIN. 
 
 Ex-tenant of yon massy bed. 
 Now after reigns so many sped 
 
 Of Emperors, Queens and Kings, 
 Would I might hear thy tongue proclaim 
 What thou wast once — thy rank — thy name — 
 
 Thy thoughts on men and things.
 
 120 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 
 
 " I guess," as Jonathan would say. 
 Thou wast a big wig in thy day ; 
 
 One of no mean estate ; 
 Nay, I can fancy that I see 
 Proof that it was thy lot to be. 
 
 What foolish men call " Great." 
 
 Great ! ah ! how misapplied the word, 
 (Unmeaning — arrogant — absurd !) 
 
 To aught in life's brief span ; 
 What greatness, or what real power 
 Belongs to the frail human flower. 
 
 Weak, tottering, helpless man ? 
 
 What if a prelate's vestments fair. 
 The crozier and the mitre's glare 
 
 Were thine, and promised fame ! 
 All learning, genius and success. 
 Could to ambition's service press, 
 
 Have not preserved thy name ! 
 
 Deeds of renown, or noble birth 
 Denied thee rest in common earth. 
 
 When 'twas thy turn to fall ; 
 A ponderous mass the quarry gave. 
 Thy head to pillow in the grave, 
 
 But what availed it all !
 
 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 121 
 
 *' O, not in silver, not in gold 
 Inter me, but in kindred mould," 
 
 Of Cyrus was the prayer. 
 If different were thy costly whim. 
 What he desired thou shar'st with him. 
 
 Despite of foolish care. 
 
 The pomp and splendour once thy boast. 
 The homage of a menial host. 
 
 The crowd's applauding roar. 
 Saves thee not from the common lot. 
 The lowest hind unknown can rot. 
 
 And thou hast done no more. 
 
 Rude hands the remnant of thy clay 
 Have dragged untimely to the day 
 
 To make a vulgar show. 
 That o'er, defrauded of its stone. 
 It now again to darkness thrown, 
 
 Uncoflfin'd rests below. 
 
 Well ! if thy ghost, these insults spied. 
 Has still a touch of earth-born pride. 
 
 While thus severely chid. 
 Know that the Pharaohs great and proud. 
 Are snatched to please a gaping crowd 
 
 From regal pyramid, 
 
 M
 
 122 LEIGHTON BUZZARD, 
 
 In mockery of pride so vain. 
 
 Mere merchandise across the main. 
 
 Torn from their native sand. 
 To grace bazaars or studios here. 
 Or fall before an auctioneer. 
 
 In Bond Street or the Strand. 
 
 But why should thought to Egypt roam > 
 Forgotten are the proud at home. 
 
 View Leighton's town cross grey ; 
 There gaze upon the great unknoum, 
 Saints, warriors, monarchs, carved in stone. 
 
 Ah ! tell me who were they ? 
 
 Who raised that pile with curious care 
 Say ? for no chronicles declare. 
 
 Perhaps, thy story lost 
 Withholds from us. the founder's name : 
 Thine, " Rubbish" now, might be the same 
 
 With his who built the cross. 
 
 But thou no longer hast to learn. 
 All, the same destiny in turn. 
 
 Encounter one day must ; 
 Whate'er the pranks of wealth and state. 
 Each bending to the doom of fate. 
 
 At last yields " dust to dust."
 
 LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 123 
 
 Small is the space 'twixt you and me, 
 'Twixt me and those who are to be — 
 
 I'm present — you are gone ; 
 What matters ? — here, I cannot stay. 
 Nor those who follow — then away — 
 
 Time, let thy train move on.
 
 124 
 
 mCKMANSWORTH 
 
 [ The following chapter belongs properly to the Watford station, 
 on the journey from London to Birmingham. From Watford 
 it is distant but three miles. The irregularity of its insertion 
 here, it is hoped will be pardoned.] 
 
 RicKMANswoRTH is E town in Hertfordshire, by the old road, 
 eighteen miles from London. It had a market granted by 
 Henry HL for the benefit of the monastery of St. Albans, 
 which has now been discontinued. 
 
 In the earliest records, the town is named Rykemeresworth, 
 and also Richmeresweard. In Doomsday- Book it is called
 
 RICKMANSWORTH. 125 
 
 Prichernareivorde : by Clutterbuck Rickmersworth. Its ancient 
 designations signified that it was placed on rich-moor -meadow - 
 ground. It is now written Rickmansworth. 
 
 The manor formed part of a demesne of the Saxon kings, and 
 was bestowed, as weU as many other manors in the vicinity, by 
 Offa on the abbot and monks of St. Albans. Its antiquity is 
 thus estabhshed. Through the valley in which it is situated, 
 flow the rivers Colne and Gade, and also the Chess, which, in 
 its subsequent course gives name to Chesham in Buckingham- 
 shire ; aU rivers noted for trout and other palateable fish, and 
 much frequented by anglers. Small as is the town, it enjoys 
 some celebrity for manufactures, amongst which, that of Paper 
 stands first — and afterwards Straw-Plait, and Horse-Hair seats 
 for chairs. Water-Cresses for the London Market, are also 
 "cultivated" extensively. Its distance from the Watford 
 station is about three miles and a half along a pleasant road, 
 skirted for a mile on the right by Cashiobury Park, the seat of 
 the Earl of Essex, at the end of wliich the Grand Junction 
 Canal intersects the road, and enters the aforesaid domain 
 through which it flows for several miles. It is worthy of 
 remark, that the road winds in all directions, going from as often 
 as towards the town, and wiU furnish at some distant dav, a 
 marvellous instance of road- making, in comparison with the 
 modem invention, which has led us from home, to discover 
 the difierence between one and the other. 
 
 We must not omit to state that the market -house, being no 
 
 m2
 
 126 RICKMANSWORTH. 
 
 longer wanted as such, has been removed entire some paces 
 from the main street, and has become the Parochial School. 
 It is not often that we hear of buildings in tliis country being 
 moved from one place to another, like a log hut in Canada. 
 
 The visitor to this town, will be gratified by a sight of the 
 celebrated 
 
 STAINED GLASS WINDOW 
 
 m the East end of the Church, probably as fine a specimen of 
 that art as this country can afibrd. Anxious to learn from 
 whence so precious a rehc came, we consulted various hving 
 and dead authorities. Their testimony is as foUows : — 
 
 The clergyman of the church in which it is placed, informed 
 us that it was obtained /rom France. 
 
 The clerk of the same church reported that it came from 
 London, and was made on purpose for Rickmansworth. 
 
 From " Lewis's Topographical Dictionary," published in 
 1831 (which professes to treat also of Railroads), we learn 
 that the said window originally belonged to »S'^. Peter's at Rome; 
 and was purchased in Paris in the year 1800, for two hundred 
 pounds. 
 
 Clutterbuck in his " History of Hertfordshire," gives, how- 
 ever, a " histoid " of this window, which is believed to be the
 
 RICKMANSWORTH. 127 
 
 correct one, according to which, it was brought from the 
 church of St. John, at Rouen in Normandy, where it had shone 
 as the ornament of a window at the end of the choir, and was 
 rescued from the grasp of Revolution, by the veneration of its 
 owner. The descriptive particulars at the foot of the annexed 
 plate detail its histor\', and the engraving and colouring will 
 give some idea of the general effect, produced by this noble 
 relic of a beautiful art. 
 
 THE CHURCH, 
 
 which is of Saxon origin, has been lately renovated. A series 
 of wooden columns of the rustic order, spring from the galleries, 
 but whether they are intended merely as ornaments, or as 
 supports to the roof of the church, cannot well be decided 
 without consulting the architect. It may be remarked, however, 
 that nothing more ugly in the way of columns was ever 
 fabricated. 
 
 Within the rails of the altar, inserted in the wall, is the 
 fragment of a monument to the memor}^ of Thomas Fotherly 
 (and Tabitha his wife) who died in 1649. This Sir Thomas 
 Fotherly was one of the gentlemen of the Pri\-v' Chamber to 
 King Charles I., and a commissioner for letting and selling 
 Londonderr\- in Ireland. He, in return for these marks of 
 royal favour, and probably from motives of personal attachment.
 
 128 RICKMANSWORTH. 
 
 contributed his pecuniary aid, during the rebeUion, to the cause 
 of his unfortunate sovereign, who by these private loans was 
 enabled for a length of time to carry on the government, 
 independently of the Parliament. 
 
 The eldest son of the above Thomas, John Fotherly, Esq., 
 appears to have been animated by the same principles of loyalty 
 as his father, having advanced to Charles 11. the sum of one 
 hundred pounds, for which the following acknowledgement was 
 given : 
 
 " I doe acknowledge to have received the summe of One 
 Hundred Pounds sterHng of I. F. which I doe promis to repay as 
 soone as I am able. 
 
 Bruges, 21 December, 
 
 1657 
 Charles R. 
 
 On the opposite side of the Altar, there is a mural monument con- 
 sisting of two marble Tables, with arms sculptured in bold relief, 
 supported by Bulls, and surmounted by an Earl's coronet — 
 to the memory of the Right Honourable Henry Carey, Earl of 
 Monmouth, who died 13th of June, 1661. On the floor of 
 the nave, in a ruined condition, is the oldest monument now 
 existing in the church. It is of brass, and represents an aged
 
 RICKMANSWORTH. 129 
 
 man holding a book in one hand, and a walking stick in the 
 other, between his two wives. The inscription runs thus : — 
 
 ^,ext Xytfi) "bxtvicis tnttrcr i^i^ ^tant 
 
 ^ntf ^t^ ttD0 MbtS ^litt antf BoKXi 
 
 ^^t timt^ l^crc see yau mag 
 €i)c^c ti)xce no ^aubt ^atr fatl^ in €l)xi^t 
 
 Cl^ctr s'insf fax ta faxQibt 
 ^liis i^cvi can UU itxi)a fentto tT;^m fXieU 
 
 HL'^t jJOflr tTjey Ifttr r^ltcb^. 
 
 mitt > (10 gtitt^ 1585 
 
 ^amx > Ucrta^Etf -< 6 <^\ttr. 1598 
 Cl^onta^ 3 (10 Sulg 1613
 
 130 
 
 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 
 
 The Railroad now taking a diagonal line, in its progress 
 towards the midland county of Northampton, traverses, 
 without interruption, the county of Buckingham in its widest 
 part. We therefore deem it useful to preface the details 
 which will result from our pedestrian observations, by a brief 
 general history of this county, which is not less remarkable 
 for its agricultural character, and the improvements it has 
 undergone in late years, than for its having been a favourite 
 section of the country with our Roman conquerors, as is 
 evinced by frequent discoveries of the remains of the works 
 of that great people. It has Northamptonshire on its 
 northern, and Oxfordshire on its western side, and is forty- 
 five miles in length, eighteen in breadth, and one hundred and 
 thirty- eight in circuit. The principal rivers are the Thames,
 
 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 131 
 
 by which the county is divided, for about twenty -eight miles 
 from Berkshire ; the Colne, for about fourteen-miles, by 
 which it is separated from Middlesex ; and the Ouse, which 
 has a course or not less than fifty miles, either as a boundary, 
 or in traversing the county. These rivers receive several 
 tributary streams, and almost all abound in fish. The county 
 has also the benefit of the Grand Junction Canal, which enters 
 it near Wolverton, and is carried across the river Ouse, by an 
 aqueduct, three quarters of a mile in length, after which it enters 
 Hertfordshire, near Bulboume. An Act was passed in seven- 
 teen hmidred and ninety-four, for making several ** cuts" 
 from different places to join it ; in consequence of which, one 
 called the " Navigable Feeder," has been made from the canal 
 at Bulbourne to Wendover ; another from Old Stratford to 
 Buckingham, and a third from Marsworth to Aylesbury. 
 The south-eastern part of the county is hilly, being occupied 
 by the Chiltern hills and their appendages, on which are 
 considerable woods and plantations of beech. The other parts 
 of the county, particularly the vale of Aylesbury, are noted for 
 fertilit\'. Marble is quarried, at a considerable depth, near 
 Newport -Pagnell, and petrifactions of different marine produc- 
 tions are sometimes found. The celebrated Fuller's-earth pits at 
 Wavendon, on the borders of Bedfordshire, about two miles 
 north of Woburn and three miles north-east of Fenny Stratford, 
 are particularly desennng of notice. Only one of these pits, 
 however, is now occasionallv worked in a close shaft, the
 
 132 . BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 
 
 dealers having got into a practice of procuring an article of 
 inferior quality, from other parts of the hundred, which they 
 sell as the produce of this neighbourhood. Ochre is obtained 
 at BriU, six miles from Thame, and used for painting, and also 
 small quantities of amber, but there is no mineral of any 
 importance. Buckinghamshire is celebrated for corn and 
 cattle, which are its principal produce. Great numbers of oxen 
 are fed in the vale of Aylesbury, and, together with vast 
 quantities of butter, are sent to the metropohs. The largest 
 sheep of England, are said to have been formerly bred 
 in the same district, but this is no longer a distinction of 
 the county. Its chief manufactures are lace and paper. 
 The former has been long estabhshed, but of old it was 
 remarked of the inhabitants, that more live by the lands than by 
 the hands, which is stiU the case ; for Buckingham is not to be 
 considered a manufacturing county. Many of the poorer classes 
 of females, are occupied in lace making, of that description 
 known by the name of pillow or thread lace, but this 
 branch of industry has almost entirely succumbed to the 
 superior cheapness of an article, nearly as durable, and now 
 brought to the highest state of perfection, at Nottingham, manu^ 
 factured by steam machinery, — ^however, this handicraft and 
 the plaiting of straw, employ almost the whole of the women 
 and girls in the county. There are schools for teaching the 
 art, whither children are sent at a very early age, and at eleven 
 or twelve vears old, are able to gain a livehhood. A cotton
 
 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 133 
 
 manufactory is established at Amersham. Buckinghamshire is 
 di\dded into eight hundreds, containing two hundred parishes, 
 and fifteen market-towns as follows : — 
 
 Buckingham, Colnebrook, 
 
 Aylesbury, Ivinghoe, 
 
 Amersham, Great Marlow, 
 
 Beaconsfield, Newport-Pagnell, 
 
 Chesham, Olney, 
 
 Stoney-Stratford, Risborough, 
 
 Wycombe, Wendover, 
 
 WiNSLOW. 
 
 The markets in some are at present very inconsider- 
 able. Many fine seats are within its precincts, among 
 which, Stowe, belonging to the marquis of Buckingham, 
 Bulstrode, Wilton Park, and Wycombe Abbey, especially merit 
 notice. Antiquities, occasionally discovered, such as a Mosaic 
 pavement, coins, and fi'agments of arms, prove that the Romans 
 have been established here. Roman roads may be traced 
 in it, and there are also some remains of their militarv stations, 
 though they are not very perceptible. A considerable mound 
 of earth, called Grimesdike * (which seems a common 
 
 * Or " Grimesditch " — as these ramparts are called by Dr. Stukely. 
 The most remarkable one within our recollection, runs over the country 
 near to Woodyates Inn in Dorsetshire, between Salisbury and Exeter 
 on the Bridport road. These ramparts are supposed to have been 
 thrown up before Caesar's time, and several of them now serve to divide 
 Counties 
 
 N
 
 134 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 
 
 appellation for an ancient rampart), traverses part of it in a 
 direction from east to west. The remains of a circular camp, 
 with a double vallum and ditch, appear on the top of the hill at 
 West Wycombe, and those of another at High Wycombe. A 
 cross, standing on the side of a hill near the hamlet of Whiteleaf, 
 is supposed to be intended to commemorate a battle, fought by 
 Edward the Elder against the Danes. In the churches at 
 Chetwode, Chesham Bois, Hicham and HiUesden, are some of 
 the earliest and most elegant specimens of stained glass in the 
 kingdom. The church of Stukely is particularly deserving of 
 notice, as affording one of the most complete specimens of 
 Saxon architecture now remaining. Some etymologists derive 
 the name of this county, though without any satisfactory 
 foundation, from Bocken, or Bucken, signifying beech trees, which 
 were always abundant here ; others from Buccen, Bucks, or 
 Deer. Camden supposes that, in the time of the Britons, it 
 was inhabited by a people called Cattienchlany , or Cassii, the 
 subjects of Cassivelanus . Whitaker, however, restricts their 
 occupation to only a small portion of it, thinking that the rest 
 was inhabited by a different tribe. Its early history, however, is 
 involved in absolute conjecture and obscurity. Edward the Elder 
 is known to have erected a fortress at Buckingham, about 
 the year nine hundred and twelve, or nine hundred and 
 eighteen. It was the theatre of the civil wars, in the contest 
 between King John and his barons, in the thirteenth century ; 
 and hostile parties were again here, in the troubles attending 
 the reign of Charles the First.
 
 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 135 
 
 We learn from the preceding that " Antiquities in coins, 
 mosaics and fragments," are occasionally discovered in this 
 county, and it is difficult to guess what antiquarian treasures 
 may be now hidden beneath its soil, for we observed with 
 pleasure in the public prints, early in January last, the following 
 announcement : — 
 
 " The remains of a Roman Villa have been recently discovered 
 within two miles of Buckingham, on the road to Stoney Stratford, 
 on a farm belonging to his Grace the Duke of Buckingham, who 
 has given directions that the whole of the foundation shall be 
 explored. Already a frigidarium and caldarium (cold and warm 
 baths) have been discovered, lined with red-coloured stucco, and a 
 great quantity of loose tessarae, which composed the floor of one 
 of the adjoining rooms, probably the apodyterium or undressing 
 room. Large square hollow tiles, which had evidently been used 
 as flues to warm the sudatoria or sweating-rooms, have also been 
 dug out. Within these few days, another floor, composed of coarse 
 red tessarge, has been exposed, and a coin found, with the reverse 
 bearing the cross and the Alpha and Omega, indicating that it was 
 struck subsequently to the time of Constantine, and probably b^' 
 one of his sons, or the usurper Decontius, whose head and coin it 
 most resembles, though the inscription is illegible. Within a mile 
 of this Villa are two tumuli or barrows, supposed to contain the 
 remains of Roman generals ; they do not appear to have been 
 opened, and as they are situated on the property of the Duke of 
 Buckingham, it is probable they will be examined. Bishop Kennett, 
 in his " Parochial Antiquities," states that Buckingham must have 
 been a place of considerable antiquity, as the spot near which the
 
 136 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 
 
 Roman General Aulus Plautius, surprised and routed the Britons, 
 under the command of Caractacus and Togodumnus, the sons of 
 Cunobelin, And it is probable the barrows above alluded to, may 
 be the almost imperishable monuments of that event. The town was 
 celebrated in early Saxon times as the burial place of St. Rumbald, 
 who was born at King's Sutton, and who, according to a Popish 
 legend, lived only three days ; but during a short time after birth 
 declared himself a Christian, and bequeathed his body after death 
 to Sutton for one year, to Brackley for two years, and then to 
 Buckingham for ever. Pilgrims came in crowds to his shrine and 
 well, which still exist." 
 
 We leave this part of our subject, however, for the present, 
 to continue our journey from the station next beyond Leighton 
 Buzzard.
 
 137 
 
 DENBIGH HALL. 
 
 Some of the London travellers who had indulged in magnificent 
 ideas of the splendour expected to be found at this station, 
 were a httle disappointed on their arrival. They asked with 
 eager anxiety, not unmingled wdth a touch of the pathetic, 
 which was the way to the Hall ? The answers they received, 
 conveyed to them the starthng inteUigence, that they might as 
 well have urged the same question at Vaux/za//. Mr. Edgington 
 undertook to console all comers on the first day for the absence 
 of any spacious building, such as many had supposed was there 
 to be found, by erecting an immense tent at the temporary 
 station of the Company. It was calculated to accommodate 
 many hundreds of people, but was not required after the 
 opening, as the attraction of the vicinity was not so great, as to 
 cause that vast influx of company which had been anticipated.
 
 138 DENBIGH HALL. 
 
 The modest inn or public-house which had been established 
 there, though its powers of entertaining are not on the largest 
 scale, was almost equal to the needful supply of aU visitors, in 
 the first week after this stage of the undertaking had been 
 completed. 
 
 But whence the name of Denbigh Hall ? it has been asked, 
 and may be asked again. The question can be answered with- 
 out an etymological reference to some Saxon origin. It appears 
 that many years ago, the accounts vary as to date, from half a 
 centmy to a whole one ; a Lord Denbigh and part of his family 
 passing that way, met with an accident, which was more 
 common in those days than in our time, — his carriage broke 
 down. The spot from which few human habitations can now 
 be seen, was a perfect solitude then, with the exception offered 
 by one cottage and its inmates, an aged couple, a shepherd and 
 shepherdess, who were then the occupants, and to whom the 
 noble lord and his lady applied for aid in their distress. Nor 
 was the application made in vain. 
 
 " The wicket, opening with a latch. 
 Received the noble pair," 
 
 and all that kindly feeling and humble hospitahty could offer, 
 was readily accorded. The lordly guests, exulting in having 
 escaped from serious danger, enjoyed the novelty of their 
 situation, and liberally requited the attentions of their humble 
 host and hostess. By their bounty, the friendly roof which had 
 received them on this occasion, was repaired and enlarged, and, 
 as the story runs, in the ferv^our of their gratitude they decreed
 
 DENBIGH HALL. 139 
 
 that it should be upheld " while the sun continued to shine and 
 the rain to fall." This extravagance is perhaps only a rustic 
 invention ; but it is certain that from the accident above 
 narrated, the house gained the name of " Denbigh Hall," 
 which it retained even after it became an inn, and was graced 
 with the sign of the Marquis of Granby, which it now bears, 
 and has borne for some seventy years. Mr. Varney, the 
 present landlord of the King's Head at Fenny Stratford, who 
 kept it a quarter of a century ago, speaks to its having so long 
 been in the pubUc service. Its pretensions were never great. 
 " It never," says a lively writer in one of the jom-nals, " within 
 the memory of man, was a coaching-house, nor are there any 
 proofs that the beauty of its bar-maid or the soundness of its 
 ale ever induced any particular coachman to puU up there. 
 Occasionally a heavy broad-wheeled waggon or two might be 
 seen standing before it, and it had a sort of minor fame 
 among drovers." Now things are changed. The improve- 
 ment may not last ; for " Fortune," as Mr. Canning sings, is 
 rather apt to 
 
 " Vary her changeable form ; " 
 but, at present, customers are plenty, and the landlord has 
 wisely taken care that for " the soundness of its ale," it shall 
 rank second to no inn or haU in the county. The manner in 
 which the cottage was christened, was perhaps an adoption of 
 the course taken nearer London. Qaeen Anne is reported to 
 have met with the same accident which befell Lord Denbigh, 
 and to have been obhged to rest for some time under an elm
 
 140 DENBIGH HALL. 
 
 tree wliile the damage was repaired, or another coach procured 
 for her Majesty. The tree was in consequence called " Queen's 
 Elm," and has since given its title to a populous and respectable 
 neighbourhood near London. 
 
 Tliat Denbigh Hall will become a place of importance is, 
 however, at present, by no means probable. In a few months 
 it is expected the station wiU be removed, when the old 
 Marquis of Granby may, like Sir John Moore, be again " left 
 alone in his gloiy."
 
 141 
 
 BLETCHLEY 
 
 It may happen to some visitor to Denbigh Hall as it did to us, 
 that leisure for a stroll across green fields, might give rise to the 
 inchnation for it. On the left of the road coming from London, 
 there is a village of the above name, situated chiefly in a valley, 
 about a mile from the station. The church, standing on high 
 ground, is the first object which meets the view, and an 
 inspection of it, will well repay the antiquarian for his curiosity. 
 A noble avenue of yew trees leads to the principal or south 
 entrance, and within the porch are the remains of a Saxon arch, 
 chastely decorated. The church is of large dimensions, and in 
 good repair. Topographical writers have not bestowed much 
 pains upon the place, but we learn from Mr. Britten, that this
 
 142 BLETCHLET. 
 
 manor, with the adjoining one of m'Haddon, was purchased 
 by the Lord Greys of the Pigot family, and on the attainder 
 of Wilham, Lord Grey, who was imprisoned on a charge of 
 being an accomphce of Sir Walter Raleigh, was granted 
 by James the First to his favom'ite. Sir George Villiers, 
 who was created Baron Whaddon, and afterwards, Duke of 
 Buckingham. On the death of the son and successor of this 
 nobleman, it w^as purchased by John Selby'and Doctor Willis, 
 who almost pulled down the old seat of the Greys.* His 
 grandson, Browne Willis, the antiquary, inhabited the remainder. 
 From him, it descended to John Willis Fleming, Esq. The 
 present incumbent of the parish (which contains about six 
 hundred acres), has re-built the parsonage-house almost on a 
 regal scale, adopting the architecture of the time of Ehzabeth. 
 He is, we learn, also an antiquary, and has possessed himself of 
 many relics from his parishioners. 
 
 The village is scattered over a circumference of about a mile 
 of ground, having a centre, or focus, at Lower Bletchley, where 
 four roads meet. It is of a decidedly rural character, but has 
 lately received an addition to its commerce, in providing 
 lodgings or living for the Railroad guards, superintendants, and 
 workmen. How far this "march of intellect' may contribute 
 to the improvement of its inns, cannot be foreseen : but at 
 present, the accommodations for a visitor, do not rise beyond 
 
 * It is now entirely destroyed,
 
 BLETCHLEY. 143 
 
 those of the ordinary public-house, and the " Londoner" is an 
 object of curiosity to the quiet folks of Bletchley. 
 
 In the church there are several interesting and curious 
 inscriptions, and an altar- tomb, in marble, in good preservation, 
 to the memory of Richard.. Lord Grey, Baron Grey de Wilton. 
 A recumbent figure of this individual is spiritedly sculptured. He 
 is armed ; and round the lower part of the armour, is a collar 
 of jewels, in the midst of which is a small shield, with the cross 
 of St. George, in allusion to his having been made Knight of 
 the Garter by Richard the Second, probably about the year 
 1390. He appears with cropped hair, and without a beard. 
 On the rails near the tomb rests the iron helmet, either of Lord 
 Richard, of his son, Reginald, or his great grandson, Edmund 
 (who were buried in the same tomb with him). Its visor has 
 been richly gilt, of which there yet remains good proof. 
 Although it is interesting to contemplate what are now become 
 useless parts of a warrior's dress, it is accompanied by the 
 reflection that such a case, must have been a most inconvenient 
 one for a man's head, and vastly fatiguing to the wearer. 
 
 An oak pillar in the south aisle, is surmounted with a box, and 
 a carved inscription, dated 1637, of 
 
 The box was open and empty.
 
 144 BLETCHLEY. 
 
 At the east end of the chancel, in the wall, is a very singular 
 brass tablet, upon which is engraved a variety of symbolical 
 figures, and inscriptions, in English and Latin. It is in 
 recollection of Thomas Sparke, a celebrated theologist, who 
 died the 8th October, 1616. At the foot it is stated — 
 
 " Hoc monumentum Tho. Sparke filius et hoeris pietatis 
 ergo moerens posuit." 
 
 A tablet appears on the left of the altar, to the memory of a 
 lady, who was wife to the above minister. The inscription it 
 bears is quaint ; but not without interest, and is as foUows : — 
 
 " ISiQity IBaugi^tcr of ^ixtrreto Jncfetorip, ai JEp^tDid), onelg 
 SDtf0 0f Eljo^. ^jpariftc, IBflctnrflf JBtlitmty, antr parson of ti)i^ 
 Cl^urci^' ^^f ^i^t"^ ^i^ ^Ji^^ ^ lobingr ijcljpcr forttc gear^, antf 
 iarc unto \^im tzn djtltrren, of Ujljom fifac tucnt to Ijeabrn ficfore 
 I)nr, antr fiiic ^%t left locate bi'l^intrc ]^a: ta folToto \)tx btxim^ 
 antr gotrlg evamjplc. 
 
 ^l)c tftrpartctf ^t 7ti^ ^[itflt., 1615. 
 
 ^v^tit ti^t ^tKxi a fragrant rose s"]^e laiStctr, 
 ^oc iJtlc reproadj Ijo: tiertitcjS cticr SIa;Stctr ; 
 l^cr autumn jpa^t e^-jjcct^ a glorioiDS jSpringe, 
 ^ ^emntf \ittXtx lilt more flourtiSijinse.
 
 BLETCHLEY. 145 
 
 The Church has contained ako several brass effigies, in the 
 style of those shewn in our engraving at page 32 ; but they 
 are all fled. Time and rude hands have, together, stolen away 
 the fame of the individuals, whose virtues and titles thev 
 commemorated.
 
 146 
 
 FENNY STRATFORD 
 
 This small decayed market- town, is situated on the ancient 
 Watling Street, a short half hour's walk from Denbigh 
 Hall. It is a chapelry to the parish of Bletchley. The prefix 
 (Fenny) is derived from the nature of the surrounding country; 
 but the town itself is upon an eminence. In the year 1 665, before 
 the art of draining lands had reached its present perfection, it 
 paid a heavy penalty for its situation, having been depopulated 
 by the " plague " to such a degree, that the inns were shut up 
 and the road turned in another direction, since which period 
 the market has never flourished. The Grand Junction Canal 
 has, however, in our days absorbed its waste waters, and 
 rendered the " fens " wholesome both for man and beast, 
 A small river called the Lofield flows at the foot of the town. 
 The houses are disposed chiefly along the high road from London
 
 FENNY STRATFORD. 147 
 
 to Stoney Stratford, but there is a cross street leading south- 
 wards. The view towards the high ridge on which the village 
 of Brickhill is situated, and that from BrickhiU towards Fenny, 
 presents a wide range of scenery, of a diversified and pleasing 
 character. 
 
 The chapel appears to have remained in a state of dilapida- 
 tion, for two or three centuries, when Mr. Browne Willis, an 
 EngUsh Antiquary, born in 1682, and who pubHshed a sur\^ey 
 of the Cathedrals of England, exerted himself to raise subscrip- 
 tions to re-build the chapel, and the result was the present brick 
 building, the first stone of which was laid in 1724. He appears 
 to have exercised an odd fancy in dedicating it to St. Martin, 
 and laying the foundation stone on St. Martin's day, because 
 his grandfather died on that day in St. Martin's Lane. Those 
 benevolent individuals who subscribed above the sum of ten 
 pounds, are honoured by having their coats-of-arms displayed 
 upon the ceiHng of the church. Wilhs died in 1760, and was 
 buried within the rails of the Communion Table. 
 
 The inhabitants of Fenny, admit that their town is a dull 
 place, — a designation which doubtless applies to its trade, the 
 population being chiefly composed of the labouring classes . That 
 species of life, which is imparted to a place by being situated on 
 a high road, however, still belongs to it — there being many 
 coaches passing through it both by day and night. It may be 
 conjectured, therefore, that it will not gain much in the way of 
 life or trade from the formation of the Raihoad. There is a
 
 148 FENNY STRATFORD. 
 
 good inn — the Swan — which was an inn bearing the same name 
 in the year 1474. A tableau of its visitors from that day to the 
 present, would form a motley scene. Another inn, once of note, 
 but now dwindled into a pubhc-house, the Black Bull, was 
 anciently a guild or fraternity, dedicated to St. Margaret and 
 Catherine. Some remains of the Brotherhood-house exist ; 
 but now converted into lofts and stabling — the oaken timbers 
 are grooved and ribbed with age. Here we may truly say, 
 
 " Sic transit gloria mundi !"
 
 i49 
 
 WOBURN. 
 
 [Denbigh Hall is the nearest point to Woburn, but 
 when that station is abandoned, it will be necessary for the 
 visitor to Woburn to alight at Leighton Buzzard.] 
 
 This particularly neat and clean town* is situated on the 
 
 western side of the county, bordering on Buckinghamshire, 
 
 and consists chiefly of one street, formed by the road from 
 
 Dunstable to Ampthill. Its importance is derived from the 
 
 elegant mansion and extensive park in its vicinity belonging 
 
 to the Duke of Bedford, more than from any remarkable 
 
 events connected with its antiquity or history. On the 1 9th 
 
 of June, 1724, great part of it was destroyed by fire : but this 
 
 * We are partly indebted for this description of Woburn and the 
 Abbey to the " Beauties of England and Wales." 
 
 o 2
 
 150 WOBURN. 
 
 unfortunate circumstance, though distressing to individuals, 
 proved beneficial to the town ; — for, 
 
 '* Partial evil is universal good," 
 as many houses were soon afterwards rebuilt in a more 
 convenient and handsome manner, with the addition of some 
 good inns and a market-house. The church was erected by 
 Robert Hobbs, the late Abbot of Woburn. It then belonged 
 to the abbey, and is still of exempt jurisdiction, being in the 
 exclusive possession of the Duke of Bedford. This structure 
 some years ago, furnished a whimsical instance of capricious 
 taste ;* the body being completely detached from the tower, 
 which stood at about six yards distance. The tower is a small 
 square building, with large buttresses at the corners, and four 
 pinnacles. The top is embrasured : the dial was about nine feet 
 from the ground. The tower of the church is now joined to 
 the body, and the dial elevated some twenty feet above its former 
 situation. The church consists of three aisles, and a chancel ; 
 the latter was embelUshed in a handsome manner by the fourth 
 Duke of Bedford. On the north side of this building is a 
 
 * It is doubtful if what is here called "capricious taste" is not simply 
 an imitation of the fashion of Italy, where there exist many instances 
 of the tower (or belfry) being built entirely separate from the church. 
 The most remarkable cases are those of Florence and Venice, where 
 the " Carnpanili " or bell towers, form striking objects, standing alone 
 in the vicinity of the church. The former is of great height and built 
 entirely of marble That of Venice is well known as the spot whence 
 Galileo, in the pursuit of his astronomical studies, discovered the satel- 
 lites of Jupiter in the year 1610.
 
 WOBURN. 151 
 
 curious marble monument for Sir Francis Stanton and family. 
 It consists of two compartments, comprising- twelve figures 
 kneeling in devotional attitudes. The pulpit, probably coeval 
 with the abbey, is particularly deserving of notice, being richly 
 ornamented with carving in the florid Gothic style. 
 
 The munificence of the Russells has been of singular benefit 
 to this town, where many monuments of their liberality exist. 
 Francis, the first Earl of that name, founded and endowed a 
 free-school: and a charity-school, for thirty boys and fifteen girls, 
 which was afterwards erected by some other noble personage of 
 the same family. These institutions are now consolidated. 
 Here are hkewise twelve alms-houses for as many poor famihes, 
 built by John, Duke of Bedford, in consequence of an act 
 of Parliament passed in the year 1762. By the act, fifteen 
 houses, cottages and tenements which had been vested in 
 trustees for the benefit of the poor, and produced an annual 
 income of about twenty-four pounds were given to the Duke, 
 for the sole use of him and his heirs ; on condition that he,, or 
 they, should erect, and keep in repair, twelve houses, for the 
 habitation of the same number of indigent families to whom 
 also the sum of thirty pounds annually is to be distributed in 
 bread. Birchmore-house, and the surrounding lands, were 
 made responsible for the due execution of this contract. 
 
 There are few spots or places in our Island now become the 
 site of extensive villages or towns, which are not remarkable in 
 a greater or lesser degree for some natural curiosity, which in
 
 152 WOBURN. 
 
 early times was probably the original cause of the settlement of 
 the place, and of its subsequent importance. In this neighbour- 
 hood there is no opportunity for pointing the attention of our 
 readers to elevations, where extensive views can be enjoyed, nor 
 is there a river to beautify the landscape. But the valleys have 
 their wonders as well as the hills ; and those who know Httle or 
 nothing of the locality of Woburn will probably be surprised 
 to learn, that it was celebrated in the days of Adrian for a natural 
 production, which has now become a source of permanent wealth. 
 We allude to the Pits whence Fuller's Earth is dug in 
 sufficient quantities for the supply of the whole kingdom. These 
 Pits are situated two miles north of Woburn, in the parish of 
 Wavendon (or " Wandon" as it is called) and about one-eighth 
 of a mile on the western side of the Northampton road, which 
 here forms the boundary between the two counties for upwards 
 of a mile. The more ancient pit is in the county of Bedford, 
 in the parish of Apsley, which adjoins that of Wavendon. 
 
 British cloth is chiefly indebted to the cleansing qualities of 
 this celebrated earth, for its great superiority over that manu- 
 factured by other nations. In no other country is it found so 
 free from foreign admixture, and no where, perhaps, is more 
 adulteration practised, to meet competition in price. However, 
 on account of its importance in the woollen trade, several severe 
 laws have been made at different periods, since the reign of 
 Charles the Second, to prevent its exportation. Nor are these 
 acts of the British legislature without precedent, history
 
 WOBURN. 153 
 
 informing us, that the /wZ/m^r business was an object of Roman 
 attention, and that laws were expressly made by that nation, to 
 regulate the employment. 
 
 This earth is a marl, commonly of a greyish ash-coloured 
 brown ; yet it greatly varies, and is found of different shades, 
 from the very pale to the dusky, or almost black ; but always 
 with a tinge of the yellowish green. The pit at Wavendon 
 consists of two shafts ; one with a ladder for the convenience 
 of the labourers, the other to raise the earth. The descent 
 is very disagreeable and the inside of the pit very damp. The 
 wood- work on the top and sides of the excavated angles, is 
 continually wet, and almost covered with Boletus Lachrymans 
 (Dry-rot Boletus). The strata are disposed in the following 
 order : — 
 
 From the surface to the depth of six or seven feet, are several 
 layers of sand, aU of a reddish colour, but of different tints. 
 Beneath is a thin stratum of sand-stone, and under this the 
 fuller's earth. Tlie upper stratum is about a foot thick, but 
 being generally impure, or mixed with sand, it is thrown aside, 
 and the rest is taken up for use. The earth is disposed in 
 layers (commonly about eighteen inches between one horizontal 
 fissure and another), continued to the depth of eight or ten feet. 
 Between the central layers is a thin stratum of matter, of less 
 than an inch thick, which in taste, colour and external appearance, 
 bears a striking resemblance to Terra Japonica. Beneath the 
 whole is a bed of rough white free- stone, about two feet thick ;
 
 154 WOBURN. 
 
 this is seldom dug through ; when it is, more strata of sand are 
 discovered. The depth of the pit varies, it being from twenty 
 to thirty feet below the surface. 
 
 The few authors who have written on the topography of 
 this county, are unanimous in ascribing a petrifying quality to 
 a small spring, said to be in the parish before mentioned, and 
 not only the water, but the surrounding earth also, is reported to 
 partake of the same property. Camden informs us, that those 
 who belonged to the monastery, showed " a wooden ladder, 
 which, after lying some time in the earth, was dug up all 
 stone.'* The risible absurdity of this sentence can only be 
 exceeded by the folly of Michael Drayton, poet laureate to 
 James the First, who inserted the following lines on this 
 subject in his Poly-Olbion. 
 
 " The brook which on her bank doth boast that earth alone. 
 Which noted of this isle, converteth wood to stone, 
 That little Aspley's earth we anciently instile, 
 'Mongst sundry other things, a wonder of our isle." 
 
 This wonder of the poet, like many more extraordinary 
 circumstances, had its nine days of admiration paid by the 
 multitude. The story has now fallen into general discredit ; 
 and we learn, from the most unquestionable authority, that 
 there is no such spring in the parish ! yet we have heard of 
 some bits of the petrified wood, said to have been obtained 
 here, which appeared handsome when polished ; and also, that
 
 WOBURN. 155 
 
 a pair of buttons had been made of it. But we have said 
 enough on a baseless subject ; and, as the stream is wanting, 
 whose qualities could alone give the tale credibility, shall 
 dismiss it with the common motto, 
 
 " Ex nihilo nihil fit." 
 About one mile east of the town is 
 
 WOBURN ABBEY, 
 
 the seat of the Duke of Bedford. This extensive and magni- 
 ficent pile of building is situated in the midst of a large park. 
 Its effect is imposing and dignified. 
 
 The ground plan of this elegant mansion forms a square of 
 more than two hundred feet, containing a quadrangular court 
 in the inside. It was erected on the site of the old abbey, by 
 John, the fourth Duke of the Russell family. The original 
 building was founded in the year 1145, by Hugh de Bolebeck, 
 a nobleman who had large possessions in the neighbourhood. 
 It was intended for monks of the Cistercian order, a sect of 
 religionists that sent many swarms into this country about the 
 middle of the twelfth century. On the suppression of the 
 rehgious houses, its revenues, according to Dugdale amounted 
 to less than four hundred pounds. In the first year of Edward 
 the sixth, it was granted, with many other ecclesiastical estates
 
 156 WOBITRN. 
 
 to John, afterwards Lord Russell, a gentleman who was, 
 honoured with several employments by Henry the Eighth. In 
 his family the possession has ever since remained. 
 
 The new building has had many considerable alterations and 
 improvements, particularly since it has been in the possession 
 of the two last noble owners. The west front is built of the 
 Ionic order, with a rusticated basement. The principal floor, 
 or suite of rooms, on this side, consists of a saloon, state bed- 
 room, drawing and dining-rooms : the south contains the 
 library, breakfast, etruscan, and duke's room ; the east, the 
 vestibule ; and the north, the French bed-rooms, and various 
 other chambers. The collection of pictures in the apartments 
 is extensive, and chiefly remarkable for the predominance of 
 portraits of historical characters. We refer the reader to the 
 catalogue of them, and the other works of art contained in the 
 mansion, w^hich wiU be found on the spot. The apartments 
 are open to pubhc inspection on Mondays only. 
 
 When part of the abbey was taken down in 1 744, a corpse 
 was discovered, the flesh of which was so sound as to bear 
 cutting with a knife, though it must have been interred at 
 least 200 years. Soon afterwards, on puUing down one of the 
 walls of the abbey-church, a stone coffin was found, which 
 consisted of several loose stones set in the ground ; and in 
 sinking a cellar, several more stone coffins were discovered, 
 some of them very large, being six feet eight inches long in the 
 inside ; they had all a place shaped for a head, and most of
 
 The Lavti, or Bedford Vase, from an outline engraving belonging to 
 Hbnry G. Bohn, Esq.
 
 WOBURN. 157 
 
 them two or three holes at the bottom, doubtless to aUow the 
 percolation of moisture. Near them were two pots or* urns, 
 which probably contained the hearts of some who had been 
 buried there. On a scull belonging to some bones, which lay 
 in a dense blue clay, was some black cloth, which might have 
 been a monk's cowl. Pieces of shoes were also found. 
 
 From the Duke's apartments on the south side of the 
 building, a covered way, or piazza, leads to the 
 
 GALLERY OF SCULPTURE, 
 
 a splendid building, 140 feet in length, containing a rich 
 collection of antique and modern works of art ; but what renders 
 it peculiarlv interesting to the connoisseur and artist, is the 
 great lanti vase,* a curiosity demanding some detail. 
 
 " This celebrated Bacchanalian Vase was purchased by the 
 Duke fi"om the noble collection of Lord Cawdor, in June, 
 1800, for seven hundred guineas. It is of the lotus form, bell- 
 shaped, and was most probably consecrated to the god Bacchus, 
 as may be concluded from the finely- sculptured bacchanalian 
 masks, and other features that accompany it. It must, 
 therefore, have been used either as a laver, or as a symbol onlv 
 of this part of the heathen mythology, and for no other use ; 
 for it is certain that no wine was ever poured into it. 
 
 "This superb monument of antique decoration was dug up 
 
 * See Engraving. 
 
 p
 
 158 WOBURN. 
 
 some centuries ago, among the ruins of Adrian's villa, together 
 with the fragments of three other vases of nearly similar 
 dimensions, all of which appeared, by the situation in which 
 they were found, to have occupied the same spot of that once 
 extensive and magnificent emporium of art. It was then 
 removed to the villa Lanti, near Rome, where for many years 
 it attracted the notice, and excited the admiration of both the 
 traveller and the artist. This, and one at Warwick Castle, 
 which is somewhat more decorated, are the only complete vases of 
 the same dimensions and antiquity extant; and are, unquestionably, 
 the most magnificent and noble sculptured specimens of antique 
 decoration of this kind ever discovered. 
 
 " The Lanti vase was brought from Rome, half a century 
 ago, at a considerable risk and expense, by the Right Honourable 
 Lord Cawdor, on whose classical taste and judgment it must 
 ever confer the highest credit. The removal of this grand 
 work of art from that city, caused great jealousy among the 
 superintendants of the Vatican Museum, then forming under 
 the auspices of the reigning pontifi*, the late Pius VL ; who, it 
 is well known, in his resentment on this occasion, threatened 
 several persons concerned in the removal of the vase, with the 
 gallies. 
 
 " The dimensions of it are : diameter of the mole, six feet 
 three inches; height, with its present plinth, six feet nine 
 inches." 
 
 Another account of this vase states, that " it is supposed to
 
 WOBURN. 159 
 
 have been reserved for lustrations, and other ceremonies in 
 which water was employed as a representative of purity, 
 and was used before persons could be admitted to the Dionysian 
 mysteries, and therefore may probably have stood in ancient 
 times at the entrance of a Temple of Bacchus, By some, it is 
 supposed, large as it is, that it was used for festive purposes at 
 the splendid banquets of Adrian. It is mentioned by some 
 ancient writers, that six hundred amphortE * of wine were mixed 
 in one vase on such occasions." 
 
 The sculptured masks which encircle it are eight in number. 
 They display great force and beauty of execution, of which our 
 engraving gives but an imperfect idea. Each mask would, of 
 itself, make a picture of great interest. 
 
 One of the ancestors of the Russell family was Constable of 
 Corfe Castle in the year 1221. They may date the era of their 
 greatness to a violent storm, which happened about the year 
 1500, on the coast of Dorset. Philip, Archduke of Austria, 
 son of the Emperor Maximilian, being on a voyage to Spain, 
 was obhged by the fury of a sudden tempest, to take refuge in 
 the harbour of Weymouth, He was received on shore, and 
 accommodated, by Sir Thomas Trenchard, who invited his 
 relation, Mr. John Russell, to wait upon the Archduke. Philip 
 was so much pleased with the poHte manners and cultivated 
 talents of Mr. Russell, who was conversant with both the French 
 
 * The Roman amphora was seven gallons, which gives as the 
 contents of one of these vases, 4200 gallons, or exactly 70 hogsheads !
 
 160 WOBURN. 
 
 and German languages, that, on arriving at Court, he recom- 
 mended him to the notice of Henry the Seventh, who 
 immediately sent for him to his palace, where he remained 
 in great favour until the king's death. In the estimation 
 of Henry the Eighth he rose still higher, since by that 
 Monarch he was made Lord Warden of the Stannaries, Lord 
 Admiral of England and Ireland, Knight of the Garter, and 
 Lord Privy Seal ; and, in 1538, was created Baron RusseU, of 
 Cheneys, in the county of Bucks ; which estate he afterwards 
 acquired by marriage. At the coronation of Edward the Sixth, 
 he officiated as Lord High Steward ; and two years afterwards, 
 in the year 1549, was made Earl of Bedford. He died in 1554, 
 and was buried at Cheneys, where many of his descendants 
 have also been inteiTed. He was succeeded by his son 
 Francis. On his death in the year 1585, the estates and titles 
 devolved to his grandson Edward, whose father had been slain 
 by the Scotch but two days before. Edward died in the year 
 1627, and was succeeded by his cousin Francis, whose great 
 plan of draining the level of the fens, added vast sums to his 
 annual income. He died in 1641, and was succeeded by his 
 eldest son, William, whose impartiahty induced him to coincide 
 occasionally with the measures of both parties during the 
 dreadful contest between Charles the first and his parliament. 
 He was at one period. General of the Horse, in the army of the 
 latter. Though he had no less than seven sons, he appears to 
 have outlived them aU ; for, on his death, in 1 700, his honours
 
 WOBURN. 161 
 
 and estates devolved on his grandson, Wriothesley ; who, 
 dying of the small-pox in 1711, was succeeded by Wriothesley 
 his son, who was then only about six years of age : he dymg 
 in 1732, was succeeded by his brother, John, who was employed 
 in the management of many important affairs, particularly in the 
 year 1763, when he negociated the peace of Versailles. 
 Francis, the fifth duke, succeeded his grandfather in 1771 ; 
 his father, the successor apparent, the accomphshed Marquis 
 of Tavistock, being killed by faUing from his horse in 1767. 
 John Russell the sixth,, and present Duke, was bom 7th of 
 July, 1766, having succeeded his brother the 2nd of March 
 1802. The Ducal honours came to the family in 1694. 
 
 p r^
 
 162 
 
 STONEY STRATFORD 
 
 From the present temporary station at Denbigh Hall, the 
 above to^vn stands on the great high road called the Wathng 
 Street, five miles and a half distant, W^en the next opening 
 of the Railroad takes place, its situation from the Wolverton 
 Station, will be about three miles, or half way from London to 
 Birmingham. Stoney Stratford can boast of antiquity, ha\'ing 
 been called in Roman times " Lactodorum," w^hich signified a 
 river forded by means of stepping-stones. The river is the Ouse, 
 and i-uns at the north end of the town towards Buckingham. 
 At one of the inns, Richard the Third when Duke of Gloucester, 
 accompanied by the Duke of Buckingham, seized the Prince 
 Edward, son of Edward the Fourth, and arrested Lord Richard 
 Grey and Sir Thomas Vaughan. At Passenham, one mile 
 distant, the army of Edward the Elder was stationed, whilst he 
 fortified Towcester. These are the chief events by which its 
 histoiy has been marked in the olden time.
 
 STONEY STRATFORD. 163 
 
 In the month of May, 1742, a dreadful conflagration 
 destroyed nearly two thirds of the east side of the town. This 
 was the era of wooden buildings, and such events were com- 
 mon. The body of the Church of St. Mary Magdalen was 
 burnt, but the Tower being spared, now stands alone, a relic of 
 the event, keeping watch like a mighty giant over the numer- 
 ous graves with which the church-yard is filled. 
 
 Stoney Stratford extends a mile on each side of the road, 
 and so regularly is this order of building preserved, that even 
 the Church of St. Giles, on the west side, takes its place in 
 the rank, abutting upon the street. There are no ancient 
 monuments, and but few modern ones. The only inscription 
 deserving of notice is in honour of a reverend plurahst, 
 
 " Leonard Sedgwick, M. A., who was forty-five years 
 minister of the church. Rector of Thornton and Preben- 
 dary of Lincoln — who, whilst his health and strength 
 would permit, was faitliful and diligent in the discharge of 
 cdl the branches of his pastored office and died in 1747." 
 
 The curfew, or eight o'clock bell, is rung here in the winter 
 months, and also a beU at five o'clock in the morning all the 
 year. Until recently, this bell was sounded at four o'clock, but 
 the churchwardens, as the old sexton stated, decided that " four 
 was too early to disturb the inhabitants." This ringing is of 
 course a relic of the matins of the Catholic Church.
 
 164 STONEY STRATFORD. 
 
 The trade of the place does not appear to be of a lucrative 
 character, since not even a little oil, or gas, is afforded to illumi- 
 nate the streets at night, which, when the moon deigns not 
 to shine, are enveloped in truly Cimmerian darkness, with the 
 exception only of a glimmering lamp at the doors of the inns. 
 
 The bustle occasioned by the arrival and departure of 
 coaches about mid- day and midnight is sufficiently remarkable, 
 since the place with its multitude of inns may be compared to 
 a great " half way house," between the metropolis and a num- 
 ber of towns in the north of England. By the establishment 
 of the station at Denbigh Hall, it has received a temporary 
 accession of transit business, which, however, together with the 
 old trade, must disappear when the Railroad takes its next stride 
 towards Birmingham. After the times when the glut of coaches 
 has passed, and in the evening particularly, the veiy stones 
 of Stoney Stratford would be upon the qui vive, if any unusual 
 sound were to disturb their rest. The immediate neighbour- 
 hood appears to be destitute of any particular attractions for a 
 visitor. 
 
 One of the Crosses erected by King Edward the First to the 
 memory of his beloved consort, Eleanor, formerly stood in the 
 centre of this town ; but during the civil wars, the puritans, in 
 the barbarous warfare which they insanely carried on against 
 works of taste, demolished this pile, imagining that a monu- 
 ment sacred to conjugal affection, was a desecration of the 
 land which their ferocity was permitted to ravage and degrade.
 
 165 
 
 THE ROMAN VILLA. 
 
 Six miles from Stoney Stratford and exactly two miles from 
 Buckingham, in a field on the right hand as the traveller 
 passes from the former towards the latter town, are seen the 
 excavations of this newly discovered remains of a Roman 
 dwelling — a " Villa," or comitry residence, probably of some 
 governor of the province of Flavia Ccesariensis, wliich compre- 
 hended within its division the county of Buckingham, 
 afterguards, under the Saxons, a part of Mercia. From Stoney 
 Stratford, on the great Roman road (the Watling Street), 
 there branched off one of the vicinal ways, or cross roads, 
 towards Buckingham, then, no doubt, a Roman station, since 
 it is known to have been the scene of wars between that 
 powerful people and the Aborigines of the Island. Some 
 intelligent inhabitant of the county in which this discovery has 
 been made, will, doubtless, amply satisfy the public curiosity
 
 166 THE ROMAN VILLA. 
 
 by details of the present condition, and plans of the numerous 
 apartments originally comprising the Villa, although a 
 superficial description here, may, in the interim, not be entirely 
 unworthy of perusal. There is no standard for the value to be 
 attached to, or for the interest to be felt, in contemplating 
 works of antiquity. It is not enough to say that " splendid" 
 remains are to be seen in other parts of the Island, or, that 
 because an individual has walked over the resuscitated streets 
 of Pompeii, therefore a Roman ruin of a less magnificent 
 character is to be disregarded. The pleasure derived from 
 such scenes, is that which carries the mind back to the time of 
 a great people, now extinct — the examining the works of hands 
 which have long since passed into dust, and the pacing of 
 apartments tenanted by unknown families, who have left no 
 vestige of their rank, but the places where they ate, drank, slept, 
 and bathed. It is such considerations as these which, in our 
 opinion, render any object of antiquity, however mean in 
 character, worthy of examination. 
 
 It is a habit with the honest but unlearned portion of the 
 public, to associate with all that is ancient, the abbeys and 
 monasteries of the country, all of which Henry the VIII, 
 enjoys the reputation of having ruined. Tlie name of 
 Cromwell is equally famous for the destruction of castles 
 and decapitating statues. Thus in the neighbourhood of this 
 Roman villa, you will be told, that " it might have been an 
 abbey or a monastery ; for there were baths, and all that."
 
 Joint of the Camimifi, or flue, for conveying: Steam into the Sudatoria, or vapour 
 baths, discovered in the Roman Villa near Backingham.
 
 THE ROMAN VILLA. 167 
 
 Baths in a monastery ! Such indulgences were not always 
 among the luxuries of the monastic times. The Romans 
 "did" as "they do at Rome." Whatever country they conquered 
 or settled, their fashions and customs were carried thither ; 
 just as in our day the Enghsh have introduced horse races into 
 France. No Roman house of any note was without its baths, 
 and there having already been discovered several in the viUa in 
 question, sufficiently proves that it has been the habitation of 
 no mean nor obscure individual. 
 
 It is because the floors of the apartments and the foundations 
 of the building are all that remain, that we are more particularly 
 attracted to the baths. The uses of other rooms can only be 
 conjectured fi*om their relative positions, their size, and the 
 quahty of material and workmanship of the tessellated 
 pavement. 
 
 The usual suite of baths was the Frigidarium (or cold) ; the 
 Tepidarium (or warm) ; and the Sudatoria (sweating or vapour) 
 baths. The Apodytorium was the undressing- room. All these 
 are found at Buckingham Villa. The engraved plate shews 
 an exact representation of one of the joints of the flues by 
 which the steam was conveyed from the furnace to the Sudatoria. 
 The flues are, in places, single — in others, in pairs. On a close 
 inspection of the interior of the flue, it is found that a considerable 
 decomposition of the clay has taken place from the action of 
 the steam. The exterior, on the contrary, is as fresh and 
 angular as when it came out of the hands of the potter. The 
 pattern upon two of its sides was stamped by a tool of a
 
 168 THE ROMAN VILLA. 
 
 serpentine form, having twelve lines or grooves, and the entii'e 
 figure was produced by turning the tool, or stamping twice. 
 It is worthy of remark, that the grooved sides are all placed 
 against each other ; evidently a contrivance to keep them in 
 their places, and apparently to supersede or economize the use 
 of mortar or cement. The general plan of the baths at 
 Pompeii are thus described by Sir WiUiam Gell : 
 
 " The furnace was round, and had, in the lower part of it, 
 two pipes which transmitted hot air under the pavements and 
 between the walls of the vapour baths, which were buUt hoUow 
 for that purpose. Close to the furnace, at a distance of four 
 inches, a round vacant place remains, in which was placed the 
 copper (Caldarium) for boiling water, near which, with the 
 same interval between them, was situated the copper for warm 
 water (tepidarium) ; and at the distance of two feet from this, 
 was the receptacle for cold water ffrigidarhmi) , which was 
 square. A constant communication was maintained between 
 these vessels, so that as fast as hot water was dra\^^l ofi" from 
 the caldarium, the void w^as supplied from the tepidarium, which 
 being already considerably heated, did but shghtly reduce the 
 temperature of the hotter boiler. The tepidarium in its turn, 
 was supplied from a tank, and that from an aqueduct, so that 
 the heat which w^as not taken up by the first boiler, passed on 
 to the second, and instead of being wasted, did its office in 
 preparing the contents of the second for the higher temperature 
 which it was to obtain in the first. It is but lately this principle
 
 THE ROMAN VILLA. 169 
 
 has been introduced into modern furnaces, but its use in reducing 
 the consumption of fuel is well known." 
 
 The floors of all the rooms are covered with tessartB, or 
 mosaic pavement, formed out of two materials — red clay, and 
 a greyish stone. The former is generally placed round the 
 apartment in a border of about two feet wide, whilst tlie latter 
 occupies the centre. The effect produced is that of a carpet. 
 These mosaics are in general square, and vary in diameter from 
 an inch to two inches ; the latter size indicating apartments of 
 inferior grade, probably those of the domestics. One room of 
 a superior order, measures eighteen feet square. The tessarce 
 were embedded in mortar, but of a loose kind ; and, indeed, 
 the workmanship throughout the entire building is of a rough 
 character. The upper surfaces of the floors are worn smooth 
 — a sure indication that they were trodden for many years by 
 their anonymous inhabitants. 
 
 At this point we feel that we have already gone beyond the 
 limit we prescribed to ourselves at starting, which was, to 
 attempt sketches of places within about five miles on either 
 side of the Railway ; but being unable to resist the attractions 
 of antiquity, we found it equally difficult to deny ourselves the 
 pleasure of a visit to the magnificent domain of the Duke of 
 Buckingham, " Stowe Park," to which we propose now to 
 direct the attention of our readers. It may be reached either 
 by way of the village of Maid's Moreton, or Buckingham. 
 Heretofore, those who read of the beauties of Stowe, and of the 
 rare and magnificent objects which it contains, could not 
 
 <l
 
 170 THE ROMAN VILLA. 
 
 contrive to view them w^ithout the sacrifice of several days ; the 
 chief part of which time would be consumed in travelling. In 
 future, by means of the Railway, the object (including an 
 inspection of the Roman Villa) may be easily compassed within 
 twelve or thirteen hours. Leaving London or Birmingham 
 in the morning by the early train, the traveller will be at 
 Wolverton, when the hne is open so far, by a quarter past nine ; 
 thence the distance to the village of Stowe is but ten miles, 
 which may easily be reached by eleven. Allowing four hours to 
 be spent in the grounds and palace, there wiU still be time 
 enough to dine and return to Wolverton for the five o'clock or 
 a later train ; and on week days, those who choose to defer their 
 return until the last departure, may add three hours to the time 
 allowed above, and yet be home shortly after ten o'clock at night. 
 Many who in this "land of shopkeepers " could not formerly 
 venture on the expedition without making a considerable 
 sacrifice of valuable time, may now indulge their taste at a 
 comparatively trifling expense and without fatigue.
 
 171 
 
 BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 This ancient town is considered by the best authorities, as 
 the spot where the Roman general, Aulus Plautius, surprised 
 and routed the Britons under the command of the vahant 
 Caractacus, and of a less celebrated British king, called 
 Togodumnus. There is a marvellous story connected with it 
 of one St. Rumbald, who, according to the legend, " lived 
 but three days, during which period he professed himself a 
 Christian, performed miracles, and made a will, bequeathing 
 his body to be deposited in the church at Buckingham for ever, 
 after it had previously rested at King's Sutton (which had the 
 honour of giving him birth) for one year, and at Brackley for 
 two years." This tale, generated hy craft and credited hy 
 ignorance, in the dark ages, proved a source of considerable 
 revenue to Buckingham, where several inns were established 
 for the accommodation of the numerous pilgrims, whom
 
 172 BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 superstitious credulity induced to make offerings at his shrine. 
 Leaving, however, fiction for history, we find that, 
 
 A.D. 918. Edward the Elder resided here for a short time, 
 and caused two forts to be built and garrisoned on 
 each side of the river, to repel the Danes. 
 
 941. — Tlie town was ravaged by Danish soldiers. 
 
 1010. — The Danes having plundered the adjacent country, 
 retreated to Buckingham to secure the spoils of the 
 war. 
 
 1066. — It was the only borough in the county ; was an 
 inconsiderable place, " and only taxed for one hide." 
 
 In the reign of Edward III. its importance was increased by 
 that prince making it a mart for wool ; but the trade 
 being removed to Calais, it again declined. 
 
 In the 27th year of Henry VIII., it was enumerated amongst 
 the decayed Cities and Towns, for whose relief an act 
 of Parhament was then passed, and the assizes, pre- 
 viously held here, were removed to Aylesbury. 
 
 In 1724. — a dreadful fire happened, when, out of 387 houses, 
 138 were entirely consumed ; the damage being 
 estimated at £40,000. Since this accident its trade 
 has in a small degree revived, and part of the "county 
 business" brought back, as is testified by an inscrip-
 
 BUCKINGHAM. 173 
 
 tion over the door of the gaol, attributing its erection 
 in 1758, to Lord Cobham. This building is a sf^uare, 
 battlemented, ugly burlesque on a castle, and stands 
 isolated in the centre of the town ; but it is in 
 contemplation to remove it, and the sooner that 
 resolution is carried into effect, the better. 
 
 THE CHURCH 
 
 was built in 1777, at an expense of £9,000, of which £7,000 
 was contributed by Earl Temple, and £2,000 raised by life 
 annuities, the interest being charged upon the poor's rates, 
 which (together with the hard times in 1801) raised the poor's 
 rates to 22s. in the pound. The interior is on the plan of the 
 Portland Chapel, in London. The altar is embeUished with a 
 copy of Raphael's "Transfiguration." No interments are 
 permitted in, or near the Church, nor funeral ceremonies allowed 
 to be performed. 
 
 The river Ouse winds round three sides of the town. There 
 still remains a house anciently known by the name of the 
 " Wool-HaU." 
 
 There is a free- school, founded about 1540, by Isabel 
 Denton. The town is a dull place, and we hasten to conclude 
 our account of it — 
 
 " So much for Buckingham !" 
 
 <i2
 
 174 
 
 STOWE, 
 
 The earliest account of the Manor of Stowe is contained in 
 " Domesday book," which states, that in the reism of Edward 
 the Confessor, its value was 60s. and that il was held of the 
 Bishop of Bayeaux,* in Lower Normandy, by Robert Dayley 
 and Roger Ivory. In 1088 the Bishop was dispossessed of 
 his lands, when Robert and Roger obtained them, and divided 
 the Manor, Stowe being retained by Robert, who founded a 
 church in his castle at Oxford, and endowed it with this 
 domain. Henry VIII . erected the abbey into a cathedral. 
 Queen Ehzabeth granted it to three gentlemen who conveyed 
 it to John Temple, Esq, in 1592, who was of a family which 
 traced their maternal descent from Leofric, Earl of Mercia. In 
 1714 the estate devolved to Viscount Cobham, who died 1749, 
 and was suceeeded by Hester, wife of Richard Grenville, Esq. 
 of Wootton, who was created Countess Cobham a month 
 after her brother's decease. Thus the family of the GrenviUes 
 
 * Bayeaux is four miles from the English Channel and fifteen miles 
 from Caen In the cathedral of this town (which has three towers) there 
 is a piece of tapestry, representing the history of the conquest of England 
 by William the First, on a vast linen web, four hundred and forty-two 
 feet long and two broad ; and supposed to have been executed by 
 Matilda, the Conqueror's wife, or the Empress Matilda, daughter of 
 Henrv I.
 
 STOWE. 175 
 
 attained possession of the manor, estates, and titles ; the present 
 owner being created " Marquis of Bucking-ham," in 1784. 
 
 Stowe,* when beheld at a distance, appears like a vast grove 
 interspersed with columns, obelisks, and towers, which 
 apparently emerge from a luxuriant mass of foliage. The 
 gardens obtained their distinguished celebrity from the 
 alterations effected by Lord Cobham, under whose direction 
 the groves were planted, the lawns laid out, many of the build- 
 ings erected, and the corridors and wings added to the north 
 front of the house. The gardens were begun when an affected 
 regularity was the mode ; when straight paths, canals, avenues, 
 and fountains, were considered as the greatest beauties ; and 
 the formalities of art studiously displayed in every shape of 
 monstrous deformity. 
 
 " The suflfering eye inverted Nature sees ; 
 Trees cut to statues, statues thick as trees." 
 
 Stowe partook of the general incongiiiity ; and the graceful 
 variety of Nature was tortured into stiffness and absurdity. 
 This state of things, however, is now changed. The gardens 
 have been altered with the times, and the natural beaut\- of 
 the situation allowed to display itself. 
 
 The first professional artist employed to lay out the grounds 
 was Bridgeman, whose plans and drawings of then* featm-es at 
 that period, are still in the possession of the Marquis. Some 
 
 * The descriptive particulars of the grounds and adjuncts of Stowe 
 park are abridged from Britten and Brayley's " Beauties of England 
 and Wales," to which excellent work we are also indebted for many 
 other facts dispersed over this volume.
 
 176 STOWE. 
 
 of the absurdities left by Bridgeman were removed by Kent, 
 who was consulted in the double capacity of architect and 
 gardener. To this " father of modern gardening" is Stowe 
 indebted for many of its distinguished ornaments. " Mahomet," 
 says Mr. Walpole, " imagined an Elysium ; but Kent created 
 many." Several other amateurs and artists have successively 
 directed alterations here, and most of them have left some 
 specimen of their respective partialities. While the formal 
 mode of gardening prevailed, Stowe led the fashion, and many 
 aped its incongruities ; yet, to the honour of the taste and 
 judgment of this country, the formalities of system are nearly 
 abolished ; and nature, ever beautiful and ever varying, is justly 
 considered as the proper archetype to be imitated in modern 
 pleasure grounds. Some of the most elegant and correct 
 writers have classed the varieties of scenery under three pecuHar 
 and distinct characters : the beautiful, the picturesque, and the 
 sublime. Few domains in the kingdom can boast the possession 
 of all these characters ; yet the two first, and a very considerable 
 portion of the latter, may be found at Stowe, where the beautiful 
 is apparent in its parterres, elegant buildings, and flower- 
 gardens ; the picturesque, though not a prominent feature, can 
 easily be seen in the embowered groves, grottos, and heads 
 of the lake ; and the grand, bordering on sublimity, certainly 
 belongs to its noble mansion, and the extensive views which it 
 commands, where 
 
 " The soft distance, melting from the eye, 
 Dissolves its form into the azure sky."
 
 STOWE. 177 
 
 The first architectural object which attracts attention is a 
 
 CORINTHIAN ARCH, 
 
 or Gateway, sixty feet high by sixty wide, erected on the 
 brow of a hill, one mile from the south front of the house, 
 after a design of Thomas Pitt, Lord Camelford. The 
 principal approach is conducted through this building, 
 where a grand display of the mansion, groves, temples, obelisks 
 and water, are at once presented to the admiring spectator. 
 At a short distance from the arch is one of the entrances to the 
 gardens. These extensive and highly decorated grounds 
 contain about four hundred acres, diversified with a great 
 number of distinct scenes, each distinguished with taste and 
 fancy, and each having a complete character of its own, 
 independent of other objects. The whole is enclosed within a 
 sunken fence, which extends nearly four miles in circumference, 
 and is accompanied by a broad gravel walk, skirted with rows 
 of lofty elms. This path leads to many of the buildings, and to 
 several interesting scenes, admitting occasional peeps into the 
 surrounding park, and views of the distant country. Near this 
 entrance are two 
 
 IONIC PAVILIONS, 
 
 originally designed by Kent, but since altered by Signer Borra, 
 architect to the late King of Sardinia. In the front of these 
 buildings the water spreads out to a considerable lake, which 
 divides itself into two branches, and retires through beautiful
 
 178 STOWE. 
 
 valleys to the east and to the north. The upper end is concealed 
 amidst a mass of woods, here it falls over some artificial ruins, 
 and again extends its broad bosom to reflect the variegated 
 scenery. The path westward leads to a rude pile of buildings, 
 called the hermitage, and also to the 
 
 TEMPLE OF VENUS, 
 
 which was designed and executed by Kent. This is a square 
 building, decorated with Ionic columns, connected by semi- 
 circular arcades to a pavilion at each extremity. The 
 
 queen's statue 
 
 is situated on the side of a hill, and completely enveloped with 
 trees. The figure of Queen Carohne is supported by four Ionic 
 columns. Hence the path leads to the 
 
 boycott pavilion, 
 
 designed by Vanburgh : and the principal entrance gate, 
 designed by Kent. Returning towards the house, we discover 
 the 
 
 temple of BACCHUS, 
 
 built from a design of Vanburgh, whence the view is 
 
 particularly beautiful. In the centre of a large lawn, encircled 
 
 with trees, is 
 
 the rotunda, 
 
 raised upon ten Ionic columns, and ornamented in the centre 
 with a statue of Bacchus. Beyond this, the lake spreads its
 
 STOWE. 179 
 
 pellucid waters, reflecting the Temple of Venus and its richly 
 wooded scenery. 
 
 These are the principal objects on the south and west sides 
 of the garden. On the east is the entrance to the 
 
 ELYSIUM FIELDS, 
 
 where the figures of heroes, poets, and philosophers seem 
 to justify the name. This part is watered by a small rivulet, 
 which flowing from the grotto, passes through a valley 
 ornamented with a number of fine old trees, and then empties 
 itself into the lake. The vaUey includes some of the most 
 charming views, and objects in the whole district. 
 
 A DORIC ARCH ; 
 
 decorated with the statues of Apollo and the Muses, leads from 
 the Parterre into the Elysium Fields. This building is situated 
 on an eminence, and inscribed to Her Royal Highness, Princess 
 Sophia Ameha, who on visiting Stowe in the year 1766, was 
 compHmented with some verses by the late Countess Temple. 
 Through the Arch the 
 
 PALLADIAN BRIDGE 
 
 is seen, and a castellated Lodge built on the opposite hiU. On 
 the right is the temple of friendship ; on the left are the 
 
 TEMPLES OF ANCIENT VIRTUE and of 
 
 BRITISH WORTHIES ; 
 
 the one in an elevated situation, the other near the water's
 
 ISO STOWE. 
 
 edge. The three latter buildings are decorated with statues and 
 busts of those persons who have been most distinguished for 
 military, moral, and literary merit. By placing here the meed 
 of valour, and paying a just tribute to departed genius, the 
 character intended to be given to the spot is poetically expressed ; 
 and the ideas excited, teach us to respect merit, and emulate 
 the actions which lead to fame. 
 
 The Temple of Ancient Virtue is a circular building of the 
 Ionic order, embowered " within the thicket's gloomy shade," 
 and admirably adapted for pensive meditation. The dome is 
 supported by sixteen columns. The inside is decorated with 
 four statues by Scheemaker. 
 
 The Temple of British Worthies is a semi- circular building, 
 erected on the banks of the upper lake, after a design by Kent. 
 It contains the busts of the following celebrated characters, 
 with appropriate inscriptions : — Alexander Pope, Sir Thos, 
 Gresham, Ignatius Jones, John Milton, William 
 Shakespeare, John Locke, Sir Isaac Newton, Sir 
 Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, King Alfred, Edward, 
 Prince op Wales, Queen Elizabeth, King William 
 III., Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, John 
 Hampden, Sir John Barnard. 
 
 THE grotto 
 
 is situated in a romantic dell, and composed of broken stones, 
 pebbles, flints, shells, spars, and other materials. It consists
 
 STOWE. 181 
 
 of two caverns : from the lowermost, the water flows into 
 a rhnilet ornamented \Aath several small islands, and over- 
 shadowed by a variety of intersecting branches. Fossils, 
 petrifactions, and spars, constitute the inside of the gi-otto, 
 which is also decorated with two white marble basons, and a 
 statue of Venus, apparently rising from the bath. A mirror 
 placed behind this statue reflects the whole scene with consider- 
 able eff'ect. In this romantic spot, George the Fourth dined 
 when he \'isited Stowe. 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF CONCORD AND VICTORY 
 
 is a large handsome building, of an oblong shape, decorated 
 with twenty- eight fluted Ionic columns. This is acknowledged 
 to be one of the most chaste and elegant ornamented structure? 
 in the kingdom ; and as long as it continues to exist, the 
 architect will need no other monument to record his taste and 
 judgment. It was originally designed by Kent, who nearly 
 followed the shape and measurements of the " Maison Quarree ' 
 at Nismes ;* but the internal decorations were completed in 
 1763 by Signor Borra, when the late Lord Temple gave 
 it the appellation which it now bears, to perpetuate the 
 remembrance of the peace then ratified at Fontaniebleau. 
 
 * The " Maison Carree " at Nismes in" France, is an ohU/ng square 
 building — its present being its modern name. Anciently it was a 
 Roman Temple. The town of Nismes also boasts of a Roman 
 Amphitheatre in excellent preservation ; Baths, Fountains, Statues, 
 and other antiquities ; and is supposed, with the exception of Rome, to 
 contain more Roman remains than any other city of Europe.
 
 182 STOWE. 
 
 LORD COBHAm's PILLAR, 
 
 on the other side of the valley, is one hundred and fifteen feet 
 high, surmounted with a statue of his Lordship. It was 
 originally designed by Gibbs, but has been altered by Valdre, 
 who enlarged the pedestal, in order to receive four lions, that 
 are now placed on the angles. The view from the top will 
 repay the trouble of ascending. 
 
 Near this column is a beautiful temple, called 
 
 THE queen's building, 
 
 originally designed by Kent, since whose time it has been 
 augmented by a Corinthian portico, leading to a large, elegant 
 room, decorated with scagliola columns and pilasters, support- 
 ing a tnink ceiling, executed from the design of "the Temple 
 of the Sun and Moon " at Rome. 
 
 On the opposite side of a deep valley, is the most picturesque 
 and curious building in the gardens, denominated 
 
 the GOTHIC temple. 
 
 This is a triangular building, with a pentagonal tower at each 
 corner ; one of which rises to the height of seventy feet, and 
 terminates with battlements and pinnacles ; the others are 
 surmounted with domes. The whole is constructed with a 
 brownish stone, and being seated on the brow of a hill, forms 
 an interesting object from many parts of the gardens. The 
 inside is richly ornamented with hght columns, and various
 
 STOWB. 183 
 
 pointed arches : and the windows are glazed with a fine 
 collection of old painted glass, on which a variety of sacred 
 subjects and armorial bearings are represented. The principal 
 room is circular : and its dome is ornamented with the descents 
 and intermarriages of the Temple family, in a regular series of 
 armorial bearings, from the Saxon Earls of Leicester, to the 
 late Lord Viscount Cobham, and Hester, Countess of Temple, 
 his sister and heiress. Two of the towers contain small circular 
 chapels, decorated witii painted glass, of the armorial bearings 
 of different families. In the other tower is the stair- case 
 leading to the gallery on the second story, where there are two 
 other small chapels, with the arms of the Saxon heptarchy. 
 This stair- case leads to the top of the highest tower, where a 
 very extensive view is obtained, comprehending the greater 
 part of the domain. 
 
 In a woody recess, near the temple, are some good statues 
 by Rysbrack, of the seven Saxon deities who gave names to the 
 days of the week ; on each of which is a Saxon inscription. 
 At the bottom of a gentle dechvity is 
 
 THE PALLADIAN BRIDGE, 
 
 60 denominated from being built after a design by the celebrated 
 Itahan architect Palladio of Vicenza. It has one large, and 
 four small arches, and is decorated with a balustrade on each 
 side, and sixteen Ionic columns supporting a roof. This bridge 
 is built of the same shape and dimensions as that at Wilton in
 
 184 STOWE. 
 
 Wiltshire, the seat of Lord Pembroke. Near it is, 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF FRIENDSHIP, 
 
 built in the Tuscan style of architecture, and ornamented with 
 a portico, supported by four columns. The inside is furnished 
 with busts of the following celebrated and noble personages : — 
 Frederic, Prince of Wales, Earl Chesterfield, Earl 
 Westmoreland, Earl Marchmont, Lord Cobham, Lord 
 GowER, Lord Bathurst, Richard Grenville, late Earl 
 Temple, William Pitt, late Earl of Chatham, George, 
 late Lord Lyttleton. 
 
 We cannot help objecting to the taste which suggested the 
 placing such beautiful objects of art as these marble busts, 
 which have aU, apparently, been executed by the first masters, 
 in so gloomy a building. They would be more '•' at home " in 
 the Library of the noble Duke. 
 
 The remaining objects on this side of the gardens, are 
 the pebble alcove, and congreve's monument, 
 executed from a design by Kent. This is decorated with 
 emblematic devices, expressive of the poet's peculiar bent of 
 genius in dramatic compositions. On the top sits a monkey 
 viewing himself in a glass. 
 
 Such are the principal objects in these celebrated gardens, 
 where, as Walpole observes, " the rich landscapes occasione 
 by the multiplicity of temples and obehsks, and the various 
 pictures that present themselves as we change om* situation, 
 occasion both surprise and pleasure, sometimes recalling Alban's
 
 STOWE. 185 
 
 landscapes to our mind; and oftenerto our fancy, the idolatrous 
 and luxurious vales of Daphne and Tempe." 
 
 THE HOUSE 
 
 IS situated on an eminence, rising gradually from the lake 
 to the south front, which is the principal entrance. It covers 
 a large extent of ground, and measures from east to west (with 
 the offices, )mne hundred and sixteen feet, of which the central 
 four hundred and fifty-four include the principal apartments. 
 These range on each side the saloon, and communicate with 
 each other by a series of doors, placed in a direct line. The 
 south or garden front is composed of a centre, two colonnades, 
 and two pavilion wings, the same height as the centre. 
 This side has a rusticated basement, and is adorned with 
 a great number of Corinthian and Ionic columns and pilasters. 
 The design of this front has been attributed to Mr. Wyatt ; 
 but we are assured that no professional architect was employed, 
 and that it owes its composition whoUy to the Lords Cobham and 
 Camelford. The portico, or loggia, is approached by a flight 
 of thirty- one steps, at the bottom of which are two massive 
 lions, executed after the model of those in the garden vestibule 
 of the " ViUa Medici " at Rome. The loggia is formed bv six 
 Corinthian columns, and two pilasters, which support a pro- 
 jecting pediment. The inside is decorated with thirteen figures 
 in basso-relievo, representing a sacrifice to Bacchus ; and 
 
 r2
 
 186 STOWE. 
 
 aho four colossal female statues, and two fine antique figuies 
 in white marble, of Cybele and Juno. 
 
 The Mansion now under consideration, is vast in its pro- 
 portions, and grand in its decorations, perhaps, in a degree, equal 
 to any noble residence of which this kingdom can boast, but as 
 respects the interior, having no wish to inferfere with those 
 who prepare them, we refer the reader to the " Guide Books," 
 which are never wanting in or near any spot of great interest 
 in this country. The Saloon, the Halls, the Drawing-Rooms, 
 the State Galleries, State Dressing- Rooms, and State Bed- 
 chambers, State Closets, Music-Room, and Library of Stowe, 
 have in the "Guide," each and all a due share of consideration and 
 detail, which in this case they well deserve. It is almost a 
 truism to say, that an enumeration of the mere titles and 
 qualities of Pictures, is a duU affair, and particularly so to 
 readers. We preferred trusting to our own impressions, and 
 amongst the Pictures, observed originals or " chef-d'oeuvres" of 
 almost every eminent master of ancient and modem times, and 
 of course embracing subjects of every variety of historical 
 interest. In selecting a trio, for the sake of adding a few 
 words of Biography and anecdote to each, it is not intended 
 to disparage any other of the crowd of v^rorthy and eminent 
 individuals, w^ho gaze upon each other in the magnificent 
 apartments at Stowe. 
 
 ELEANOR GWYNN ; 
 
 whole length portrait by Sir Peter Lely. ** Nell," the
 
 STOWE. 187 
 
 facetious mistress of the inconstant Charles, was the 
 daughter of a tradesman in low circumstances, and her employ- 
 ment in the early part of her life, was equally menial with her 
 origin. From selling oranges at a theatre, her buddingbeauty and 
 sprightly disposition advanced her to the stage ; and her genius 
 being adapted to the airy, fantastic exhibitions of the comic 
 Muse, she became the general favourite of the votaries of Thalia. 
 Mrs. Gwynn was of small stature, and Dryden, through whose 
 patronage she had performed some superior characters, caused 
 her to speak an epilogue under the shade of a hat of the 
 circumference of a large coach-wheel, as lately represented at 
 Drury-Lane Theatre. The singularity of her appearance, and 
 her archness of enunciation, convulsed the house with laughter, 
 and was the immediate precursor of her elevation to the 
 monarch's favour. The coach-wheel was to her the wheel of 
 Fortune. Charles was then in the theatre, and on the conclusion 
 of the performance invited her to supper, and conveyed her 
 home in his own carriage. This sudden advance of circum^ 
 stances seems to have had very little influence on her temper. 
 She still continued gay, wild, and sportive — qualities which so 
 effectually endeared her to the King, that all the beauty of his 
 other mistresses could never deprive her of his aft'ection. Her 
 ingenious levity of speech, and acute penetration, may be 
 illustrated by a short anecdote. Charles was frequently at 
 variance with his Council and Parliament ; and one day when 
 the remonstrances of his subjects, and debates in his Cabinet,
 
 188 STOWE. 
 
 had much affected him, he entered her apartments in a very 
 pensive mood, and, on her requesting information as to the 
 cause of his melancholy, exclaimed : " O ! Nell! Nell! what 
 can I do to please the people of England ? I am torn in pieces 
 by their clamours." — " There is oneway left," said the shrewd 
 Eleanor ; " but the expedient, I am afraid, it will be difficult to 
 persuade you to embrace." — " What is that ?" asked the King, 
 in a tone expressive of curiosity. " Only dismiss your ladies, 
 and mind your business," replied Nell, " the people will soon 
 be pleased." She died at her house in Pall- Mall, in the 
 year 1691. 
 
 JOSEPH ADDISON, 
 
 the moral and elegant author of the Spectator, is painted 
 by Kneller. The following extracts from a letter, not 
 generally known, sent by Addison to a lady whom he had 
 formerly loved, and from whom he received certain hints 
 impossible to be misunderstood, convey a very exalted idea of 
 the purity of his heart. 
 
 " It would be ridiculous in me, after the late intimation you 
 were pleased to favour me with, to affect any longer an igno- 
 rance of your sentiments, however opposite an approbation of 
 them must be to the dictates of reason and justice. This 
 expression, I am sensible, may appear inconsistent in the mouth 
 of 0. polite man, but I hope it is no disgrace to a sincere one. 
 In matters of importance, delicacy ought to give way to truth,
 
 STOWE. 
 
 189 
 
 and ceremony must be sacrificed to candour. An honest freedom 
 is the privilege of ingenuity, and the mind which is above the 
 practice of deceit, can never stoop to be guilty oifiattery. You 
 have passions you say, Madam ; give me leave to answer, you 
 have understanding also : you have a heart susceptible of the 
 tenderest impressions; but a soul, if you choose to awaken it, 
 beyond an unwarrantable indulgence of them ; and let me 
 entreat you, for your own sake, to resist any giddy impulse or 
 ill- placed inclination, which shall induce you to entertain a 
 thought prejudicial to your honour and repugnant to your virtue." 
 
 After mentioning the affection he had conceived for her 
 while single, he adds, 
 
 " Time and absence at length abated a hopeless passion, and 
 your marriage with my patron effectually cured it. Do not. 
 Madam, endeavour to rekindle that flame : do not destroy a 
 tranquilhty I have just begun to taste, and blast your own 
 honour, which has hitherto been unsulhed." 
 
 MR. QUIN, 
 
 by Gainsborough. Few heroes of the " sock and buskin" have 
 experienced such various transitions of fortune as this gentleman. 
 He was bred to the inheritance of a handsome estate, of which, 
 on the death of his father, he obtained possession, but was 
 afterwards ejected by an unexpected claimant, who proved to 
 be the real heir. He was then reduced to seek a livehhood on 
 the stage, and doomed, for a considerable time, to represent
 
 190 STOWE. 
 
 the most inferior characters, until the death of Booth paved 
 the way for his moving in a higher sphere, and ultimately, to 
 his exaltation to the management of Drury Lane Theatre. 
 When the current of popular opinion set so strongly in favour of 
 Garrick, that all rival competition was fruitless, Quin retired to 
 Bath on a moderate fortune. He died in that city, in the 
 year 1766. 
 
 The gems of art dispersed through the apartments, are rare 
 and curious, and demonstrate the taste, backed by the wealth, 
 of the noble individuals who collected them. In the " State 
 bed-room^ there is an extensive collection of China placed in 
 two recesses, and guarded by two Chinese figures of the size of 
 life, which represent the true cast of the Chinese face, and the 
 pecuharity of eye, not to be matched, perhaps in the whole, 
 British dominions. These figures are capable of 
 
 ** nid nid nodding" 
 
 at each other, the artist having given them a semi-life in this 
 particular. The head of the lady is decorated with a costly 
 tiara of gold, from which are suspended a series of graceful 
 drops. Ill an adjoining closet are many beautiful paintings, 
 and, (what is worthy of remark) a piece of the cloth embroidered 
 with gold and silver, which covered the palanquin of the Sultan 
 Tippoo Saib, when the city of Seringapatam was taken by the 
 British troops. A table of solid chased silver, also decorates 
 one of the recesses of this room.
 
 STOWE. 191 
 
 We cannot conclude this sketch of Stowe, without adding 
 a description of the entrance saloon, probably one of the 
 most magnificent of the kind in England. It is an earnest of 
 the gratification the visitor must experience by inspecting the 
 remainder of the apartments. 
 
 Sixteen elegant scagliola columns of the Doric order, in 
 imitation of Sicihan jasper, rise from the pavement, which is 
 composed of the finest Massa and Carrara marble, in squares of 
 four feet. The columns were executed by Signor Dbm Bartoh, 
 and have white marble bases and capitals. In the intercolum- 
 niations are twelve niches and four doors ; the former occupied 
 by eight large antique statues, and four bronze and gilt candela- 
 bras, of six feet high. The statues are of Meleager, 
 Augustus, Hygeia, Agrippina, Diana, Venus, Antinous, 
 A Muse. 
 
 Above the niches are sixteen compartments of trophies, 
 executed in alto-relievo. The frieze is adorned with various 
 masks of bacchants and satyrs ; and over the cornice is a fine* 
 piece of alto-relievo, extending round the apartment. It 
 represents a Roman triumph and sacrifice, and consists of 
 about 300 figures, most of which are four feet high ; among 
 them are blended various trophies, spoils and animals. This 
 multifarious assemblage was executed by Signor Valdre, who 
 composed or modelled his principal figures, from specimens 
 
 * ** Fine'^ is too meagre a word to be applied to this work. It is a 
 magnificent assemblage redundant with life, and worth alone going to 
 Stowe to see.
 
 192 STOWE. 
 
 belonging to the pillars of Trajan and Antonine ; the arches of 
 Severus, Titus and Constantine ; and from other monuments of 
 Roman grandeur. A richly decorated dome, divided into compart- 
 ments, ascends above this to an oval sky-light. At each end are 
 female figures, terminated in scroll-work, supporting the arms 
 of the late Earl Temple, and the Marquis of Buckingham. 
 This apartment, though particularly grand at any time, appears 
 transcendantly magnificent when illuminated with nearly one 
 hundred patent lamps, which disperse their Hghts from behind 
 the cornice. At these times, the efiect is greatly heightened by 
 the melodious strains which issue from a concealed music- 
 gallery, situated m one corner of the Saloon. 
 
 A large tribute of praise is due to that liberality which throws 
 open to pubhc inspection the gardens of Stowe and the suite of 
 . rooms on the ground floor of the palace. The noble example 
 of the Duke of Buckingham is weU worthy of imitation.
 
 193 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The reader who has travelled over a moiety of this important 
 trunk Railway, may probably have imbibed a desire to explore 
 the beauties in Scenery and Antiquities which exist off the 
 remainder of the hne. We are among those (probably not 
 few in number), who anxiously desire to see a long commu- 
 nication by Railway in full operation, beheving until such 
 shall be accomplished, that the real merits of this invention 
 will be but imperfectly understood by the portion of the 
 public constituting the majority in wealth, intellect and 
 numbers. The Report of the Company at their meeting at 
 Birmingham on the 21st February, 1838,* is such, a one as 
 the public required, since it has the merit of going into detail. 
 In this report, beginning at the Tring station, the state of 
 all the works towards Birmingham is given in language, so 
 free from technicaUties, as to enable even those who " run," 
 not only to "read," but understand. Since the above date, 
 the parts of the road between Pendley and Denbigh Hall, 
 
 * The report is extracted from that excellent weekly publication 
 " The Railway Times," a newspaper exclusively devoted to the diflFusion 
 of Railway intelligence. 
 
 - s
 
 194 APPENDIX. 
 
 then incomplete, have yielded to labour and capital, and 
 " Thus far into the bowels of the land," 
 
 mav we ride on without impediment ; without refreshment 
 
 on the road, and without seeing any object to remind us of 
 exhaustion; unless we mention the "tanks" which it appears 
 are necessary to administer to the w^ants of the " locomotives J' 
 bv whose means all this magic is effected. There are at the 
 date we wTite, twelve contracts between Denbigh Hall and 
 Birmingham, to complete, namely — 
 
 WOLVERTON, 
 
 WoLVERTON Viaduct, 
 
 Castlethorpe, 
 
 Blisworth, 
 
 bugbrook, 
 
 Stowe Hill, 
 
 Weedon, 
 
 Brockall, 
 
 Long Buckby, 
 
 Kilsby Tunnel, 
 
 Rugby, 
 
 Rugby and Birmingham Stations. 
 
 The state of which are shewn, in the following absti'act from 
 the Directors' Report, drawn up by the engineer : — 
 
 " WOLVERTON CONTRACT. 
 
 " The whole of the works on this contract, have for some time 
 past, been advancing in the most satisfactory manner. The quantity 
 remaining in the Denbigh Hall excavation, does not now exceed 
 50,000 yards ; part of which is to be conveyed into the Wolverton 
 embankment, and the remainder thrown into spoil. The present 
 rate of progress will justify the calculation, that the cuttings and 
 embankm.ents, including the Wolverton embankment, will be closed 
 in eifxht weeks from this time. The permanent road is also in an 
 advanced state. The unfinished portion is less than two miles, the 
 greater part of which ■will be laid before the excavations are finished. 
 We mav therefore calculate upon the permanent road being extended 
 from Denbigh Hall to Wolverton in eight or nine weeks.
 
 APPENDIX. 195 
 
 " WOLVERTON VIADUCT CONTRACT, 
 
 completed, with the exception of the permanent road, which cannot 
 be commenced until the embankment is brought up to both ends. 
 
 " CASTLETHORPE CONTRACT. 
 
 "The excavations and embankments may be regarded as com- 
 pleted — the latter are entirely so. On the slopes of the excavations, 
 a quantity of rock is left purposely, the chief part being intended for 
 ballasting the permanent road, of which there is yet to be completed 
 a length of two miles and a half. This does not much exceed the 
 quantity stated as remaining on the last contract; and as the 
 excavations are more advanced, the period for completion may be 
 reckoned the same. 
 
 "BLISWORTH CONTRACT. 
 
 "The progress made throughout the works of this contract has, 
 upon the whole, exceeded the estimated average. Hitherto this 
 was to have been expected from the favourable position of the 
 material excavated, and the large quantity thrown into spoil ; but 
 the character of the excavation is now more difficult, and as it gets 
 deeper, the space for employing men, gradually becomes more 
 confined. The material is increasing in hardness, and within the 
 last few weeks there has also been a greater quantity of water. These 
 impediments naturally render any estimate of quantity which may 
 be yielded by the south end of the excavation for the embankment 
 southwards, in some degree uncertain. — An arrangement has there- 
 fore been made, and is at present acted upon, for throwing an 
 additional quantity into spoil from the cenlre of the excavation, 
 and supplying the deficiency in the embankment, by a corresponding 
 quantity of side cutting at the southern extremity of the contract. 
 The object thus aimed at, is the completion of the south portion of 
 the contract in May, nearly at the same time with the Wolverton 
 and Castlethorpe contracts, at which period, an extended opening 
 may be made from Denbigh Hall to the village of Roade, situate 
 on the turnpike road leading from Stoney Stratford to Northampton, 
 and only five miles from the latter town. This position appears 
 highly advantageous for the next temporary terminus, which must 
 remain the terminus for the London division until the opening of 
 the whole Railway. 
 
 " Tn the Bhsworth cutting, there now remain about 100,000 cubic
 
 196 APPENDIX. 
 
 yards of material, which will be disposed of nearly in the following 
 manner : — 
 
 30,000 cubic yards to Ashton embankment. 
 
 35,000 ... to Blisworth ditto. 
 
 35,000 ... to Spoil. 
 The first quantity is that which relates to the opening of the line 
 as far as Roade ; and reckoning the south end of the cutting to 
 yield at the rate of 10,000 yards per month, this may be effected 
 in three months, allowing the necessary time for joining the per- 
 manent road. 
 
 " The completion of the Blisworth embankment will probably 
 not much exceed the end of May, from which date the undersetting 
 will commence. By the time this has advanced to the site of the 
 spoil, it is expected the excavation will be cleared to the level of 
 the permanent rails. The undersetting being a work of a novel 
 character, and placed in a situation where contingencies will in all 
 probability occur, there is some difficulty in calculating the time it 
 will require. — After giving the subject the most attentive 
 consideration, I do not deem it advisable to state this at less than 
 three months from the time of the excavation being entirely cleared 
 or bottomed, bringing to the end of September the completion of 
 the contract, as regards readiness for the opening of the line. 
 
 " The future method of procedure and expences in the Blisworth 
 cutting have been calculated upon the evidence and appearances 
 now before us, but it is not improbable that in the undersetting, our 
 plans may require modification, as indicated by circumstances at the 
 time. Such cases will necessarily increase the cost beyond what 
 was last estimated ; but the quantity of materials now remaining in 
 the cutting being small, and a considerable portion of the space for 
 undersetting being exposed already, the additional expense cannot, 
 it is thought, be very considerable. Three miles of permanent way 
 remain to be laid. 
 
 " BUGBROOK CONTRACT. 
 
 " The excavations and embankments throughout this contract 
 are closed; but it will be necessary to deposit an additional 
 quantity of material upon one of the embankments, in which there 
 has occurred a very extensive slip. About two miles and a half of 
 permanent way remain to be laid. 
 
 " STOWE HILL CONTRACT. 
 
 " This contract is in a satisfactory state as regards the prospect 
 of completion. The tunnel has been finished some time. A small
 
 APPENDIX. 197 
 
 quantity of excavation is yet to be brought from the south end of 
 the tunnel to the embankment at the north end of the contract. 
 There are about 600 yards of permanent road to lay. 
 
 "WEEDON CONTRACT. 
 
 " The excavations and embankments are completed. There are 
 about 1,100 yards of permanent road to lay, and the greater 
 proportion of ballasting is on the ground. 
 
 " BROCKALL AND LONG BUCKBY CONTRACTS. 
 
 " These two contracts are under the same contractors, and have 
 been worked conjointly ; they may therefore be regarded as one 
 with reference to completion. The works are in a more backward 
 state than they ought to be. There is an excavation at each 
 extremity ; one near Weedon containing 70,000 cubic yards, the 
 other at the south end of Kilsby Tunnel, containing 80,000 cubic 
 yards. From these two excavations, one intermediate embankment 
 is to be formed, requiring 9/,000 cubic yards. The redundancy 
 of the excavations is to be deposited in spoil. With moderate 
 exertions, these works may be closed in four m.onths. There remain 
 about four miles and a half of permanejit road to lay. 
 
 "ktlsby tunnel. 
 
 " This work is at present in a very satisfactory state, and the 
 monthly progress as regular as can be expected, considering the 
 nature of the operations. — No new difficulty has recently occurred, 
 except the capricious appearance and disappearance of water in 
 some of the shafts, both in and beyond the quicksand. Between 
 these shafts, the junction of respective portions of the tunnel has 
 consequently become rather uncertain, the actual rate of progress 
 in tunnelhng through intermediate space, falling short of what was 
 estimated. To remove this source of contingency as much as 
 practicable, it has been found necessary to sink additional shafts 
 for the purpose of dividing those unfinished portions which would 
 require the longest time to execute, or in which our average rate of 
 progress was most likely to be interrupted by water, or a change 
 in the nature of the strata. On the 20th of January last, a careful 
 admeasurement was made, to determine accurately the distance 
 unfinished between each pair of shafts, and the time of completion 
 for each, calculated upon an average which there are no reasonable 
 grounds for doubting.
 
 198 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 [The results are stated in a table which we do not find it necessary 
 to copy, but we may inform our readers that the works in the said 
 " tunnel " are carried on by means of fourteen shafts and that there 
 were 484 yards (or better than a quarter of a mile) of tunnelling to 
 complete, at the latest period, early in August 1838. The Report goes 
 to state that,] "The averages of progress adopted in the table may 
 appear to be scarcely borne out by reference to the reports of 
 progress in some particular shafts ; but such instances are accounted 
 for, either by the occurrence of a fallen length (which was the 
 case in one of the quicksand shafts), or by the proximity of the 
 face of the tunnel to the shaft, which lessens the room for working, 
 and invariably reduces the rate of progress below that which ought 
 to be taken as a guide. 
 
 " The circumstances requiring the adoption of expedients 
 explained above (in order to avoid disappointment by the further 
 protraction of the time fixed for final completion), have necessarily 
 caused the expense of prosecuting this work to be materially 
 augmented beyond what was estimated last year ; and in addition 
 to this, it has been found absolutely indispensable to increase the 
 prices of mining, timbering, and brick- work formely paid to the 
 Sub-Contractors, and which expenses were proved to be altogether 
 inadequate. In the quicksand, especially, although effectually 
 drained, the utmost caution in mining has been required, and an 
 expenditure of timber unavoidably incurred, which would appear 
 excessive and lavish to any one whose experience has been confined 
 to ordinary tunnelling. The present plans of proceeding have been 
 arrived at by close observation and mature reflection, and cannot 
 with safety or propriety be altered for the purpose of economising. 
 Several circumstances have occurred, demonstrating that none of 
 our precautions or expenses have exceeded what the magnitude of 
 the difficulties attending this work, imperatively demanded. 
 
 RUGBY CONTRACT. 
 
 "This contract having been given up into the hands of the 
 Company, is now proceeding under the direction of the Engineers. 
 A considerable proportion of the excavations, embankments and 
 permanent road is already executed, and there now remain two 
 excavations to complete ; one of them at the north end of Kilsby 
 Tunnel, containing 143,000 yards — the other near Rugby, containing 
 102,000 yards. The quantity to be conveyed from each to the
 
 APPENDIX. 199 
 
 Hilmorton embankment, is almost 60,000 yards, which will occupy 
 four months, making the period for completing this contract extend 
 to July ; and to this we must add one month for the permanent 
 road, making it the beginning or say the middle of August. 
 
 " RUGBY STATION. 
 
 " The works at this ])oint are at present in rather a backward 
 state, owing to the severe and continuous frost, which has almost 
 entirely put a stop to the brick-work and permanent road. The 
 booking-office walls are built, the timbering of the roof put on, 
 the engine and tank-house in a forward state, as also the huts for 
 the engine-men. The turn-plates* will be fixed in a few days. 
 The completion of the permanent road will occupy a fortnight after 
 it is practicable to commence laying it. 
 
 " From this station to Birmingham, one line of permanent road 
 is laid throughout, and the other, with the exception of a short 
 distance (about one hundred and fifty yards), in the Church Lawford 
 cutting. Though laid, however, the road is not in a fit state 
 throughout, to be travelled upon by engines and trains ; for on 
 some of the principal embankments it requires to be raised and 
 adjusted. But this is a work which, with the proper number of 
 men can easily be completed before those other points already 
 specially alluded to, as regulating the appoaching opening, 
 
 " BIRMINGHAM STATION. 
 
 " ITie large turnpike f in the locomotive engine-house is complete, 
 and the necessary rails fitting it for the reception of engines will be 
 laid in a few days. The hues of rails in the passenger sheds are 
 laid, and the requisite sidings will be completed in a fortnight. 
 
 " From the foregoing remarks on the respective contracts through- 
 out the line, it will be perceived that the works now remaining to 
 be executed, are not only confined to a few points, but also limited 
 in magnitude. Blisworth alone appears to involve difficulties which 
 may possibly interfere with our calculations and prospects. From 
 Denbigh Hall to Blisworth, the works are now rapidly approaching 
 to a close. The great feature of that portion of the line, — the 
 
 * t If " turn-plates" and " turnpike" mean the same thing, it has 
 been suggested that there is wanting a generic term. A facetious 
 friend has hinted that the ^wr«-plates might with propriety be called 
 " Jim Crows."
 
 200 ' APPENDIX. 
 
 embankment over Wolverton Valley — will be joined to the viaduct 
 in about a month ; and the line virtually finished and prepared for 
 passengers as far as Roade in the course of May next. The 
 unfinished portion of the line will then be confined to the distance 
 of miles between Blisworth and Rugby ; but the greater portion of 
 this length is at present nearly complete, and the only works of 
 any magnitude remaining, are — 
 
 " I. The Blisworth excavation, now containing not more than 
 100,000 cubic yards of materials to be removed. 
 
 "II. The Long Buckby contract, with two excavations, both of 
 which may easily be executed in less than four months. 
 
 " III. The Kilsby Tunnel, with four hundred yards of tunnelling 
 to do, divided into portions so limited in extent, that the calculated 
 periods for the junctions being formed between the shafts (as 
 detailed in the table given under the proper head), may be looked 
 forward to with almost entire confidence ; — and 
 
 " IV. The Rugby contract, now in a very forward state ; the 
 unfinished works being confined to two excavations, favourably 
 situated, and circumstanced for suitable measures being adopted to 
 secure their expeditious completion. 
 
 " Of these four points there are two — the Long Buckby and 
 Rugby contracts — which involve no difl&culty whatever, the works 
 being quite of an ordinary character ; of the remaining two, Kilsby 
 and Blisworth, it is only the latter which need be regarded with 
 particular anxiety, and this work it does not appear impracticable 
 to complete in time, should the approaching season prove favour- 
 able. Unless there should be impediments to the undersetting of 
 the rock with masonry, exceeding what is at present anticipated, 
 we may reckon upon an opening through it in six months from 
 the first of March next, which would make its completion, almost, 
 if not actually simultaneous, with that of Kilsby Tunnel. 
 
 (Signed) " ROBERT STEPHENSON." 
 
 At the meeting above-mentioned, a subject of very great 
 importance was debated — namely, whether or not the Railroad 
 should be open to the public on Sundays. The course pursued 
 on this occasion, and the result, are of such interest that they 
 cannot here be passed over. A sketch of the proceedings is 
 therefore subjoined. 
 
 "Mr. STURGE rose to move a resolution of which previous notice 
 had been given, respecting the running of the Company's Engines
 
 APPENDIX. 201 
 
 and Carriages on the Sabbath. He was no advocate for legislative 
 enactments on religious matters, but if he legislated at all he would 
 legislate as strictly for the rich as for the poor. But here the 
 question was, whether or not a great trading company should allow 
 their ser^'ants to carry on their business on Sundays. The argu- 
 ment brought forward on this subject by many, embraced two 
 main considerations —the one of profit, the other of necessity. 
 First, to the question of profit. It had already been shewn, 
 theoretically, that on long lines of Railway at least, the profit 
 arising to the Proprietors was more than questionable. As yet 
 the Railways of that description completed, were in number, 
 sufficient to justify an appeal to experience, but the Liverpool and 
 Manchester after many years, gave a return of about one-twentieth 
 of their net profits as arising from this source. The Leeds and 
 Selby was opened in 1835, when the passengers during the first 
 year on Sundays amounted to 9,944 ; In 1836, the number was 
 diminished to 4,717, and in 1837, to 3,719*. This showed a 
 progress of public opinion on the subject, and he was assured by 
 the superintendant of this line, last week, that he did not consider 
 the Company derived any advantage from the working of their 
 engines and carriages on that day. The Grand Junction Railway 
 Conveyance had given a return of about six shillings out of a 
 dividend of five pounds from the same source. The Stockton and 
 Darlington, on which Carriages were conveyed by locomotive 
 power six times a day, each day, from Auckland Yale three or four 
 times a day, and from Stockton to Middleboro' (a distance of 
 four miles) nearly every hour — did not run their engines on Sunday; 
 but they allowed horse coaches to run at the charge of sixpence 
 per mile. So little, however, was the demand on the part of the 
 public, that only one carriage was run, and that in the height of 
 summer, between Stockton and Darlington, and one to and from 
 Middleboro'. It was true that on the opening of the other end of 
 the London and Birmingham line, the number of passengers in 
 one instance'^had been 4,370, but it had lately not exceeded on the 
 
 * The travelling on the London and Greenwich Railway is generally 
 very considerably augmented on Sundays, about which, Mr. Sturge, 
 of course, knows nothing. For example, on Sunday, 28th January, 
 1838, in the midst of the severest winter known in England, the receipts 
 were £109. 18s. — the average of the remaining six days of the week 
 being only £90. On Sunday, 25th February, the receipts were 
 £121. 15s. or double the average of the remaining six days from 22nd 
 to 28th of February. Up to the last week in April the traffic on 
 Sundays continues augmenting, when the weather is favourable.
 
 202 APPENDIX. 
 
 average 350, and in one instance was only 156. When in addition 
 to this, it was taken into consideration, that a large proportion of 
 those who now travelled on the Sunday would go either on the 
 Saturday night or Monday morning, and that to secure Sunday 
 labour, a high remuneration must in some way or other be paid 
 to the party so employed, it might be fairly assumed on all these 
 Railways, that such a traffic was not profitable to the Companies 
 concerned. On the ground of necessity, he considered that if the 
 necessity heretofore existed, it was removed by the increased speed 
 attained by Railway travelling; while the additional business 
 transacted on other days of the week by these communications, 
 rendered a day of rest more indispensable to aU connected with 
 them. (Hear.) It had been said, that they must at all events 
 convey the mails ; but if the Receiver-General to the Post-office 
 would excuse the observation, he did conceive there was no small 
 degree of inconsistency in giving all those connected with this 
 department in London, an entire day of rest, while clerks in 
 similar establishments, were employed on Sundays in the country. 
 He might appeal to all who heard him, whether this was not 
 considered a great public benefit instead of its being an inconveni- 
 ence, and one, too, not complained of from any quarter. If the 
 principle held good in one place, surely it should not be violated 
 in another. (Hear, hear.) He was most anxious that the question 
 should be fairly met by an affirmative or negative, and he trusted 
 those who might think proper to bring forward any amendments 
 on the motion he intended to submit, would bring them forward 
 afterwards. There had been presented to the Board of Directors 
 yesterday, four or five memorials from the clerks, and almost all 
 the servants employed by the Company on the London end, one or 
 two of which he might be allowed to call for. [Mr. Sturge was 
 here handed by the Secretary, Captain Moorsom, the memorials 
 alluded to, one of which was signed by the clerks at the different 
 stations at the London end ; and others from the porters, police- 
 men, &c., employed at the several stations. Some petitioned for a 
 partial, and many for a total exemption from Sunday labour. The 
 memorials were accompanied by a letter from a person represented 
 to be a valuable servant of the Company, stating in strong terms 
 the evils of the present system, and his conviction, on the whole, 
 that the Company derived no profit from it. This individual also 
 stated, that amongst th"e crowds who were attracted by curiosity to 
 make Sunday excursions on the Railway at first, numbers returned 
 in a state of intoxication. Mr. Sturge next alluded to a note he had 
 received from a friend of his, stating that a number of persons
 
 APPENDIX. 203 
 
 lately appointed to situations at the Birmirgham end, had called 
 upon him, expressing their regret on hearing that it was likely 
 their services would be required on the Sabbath ; and one of the 
 clerks, who, from his services, good conduct and ability, had been 
 appointed to a more lucrative situation, had declined its acceptance 
 from conscientious scruples, as it would have subjected him to this 
 unpleasant duty.] Mr. Sturge, in continuation, said he felt 
 assured, should the proprietary body decide to work their engines 
 and carriages on Sunday, he could not remain in a situation in 
 which he should be called on to administer a system placing 
 conscientious individuals in a position where they must either 
 \'iolate their consciences, or give up their employment, and perhaps 
 their means of subsistence altogether. (Hear, hear.) It was well 
 known, too, that sober men were generally averse to working on 
 the Sabbath ; and his own experience on this point convinced him, 
 that if they persevered in requiring their services on this day, few 
 of them would remain. He had once had an opportunity of meet- 
 ing a large number of working men, to whom he had put the 
 question, whether they knew of a single instance in which a man 
 who habitually worked on the Sabbath, was not occasionally 
 addicted to intemperance, and not one present could furnish him 
 with such an instance. It was, however, upon the moral and 
 rehgious view of the question alone, that he had been induced to 
 trouble the Proprietors with the present motion. It was well known 
 that even the habit of putting on a clean dress once a week, had a 
 good moral eflfect on the working classes ; but partial employment 
 on the Sunday, was found frequently not only to prevent this, 
 but also the attendance on a place of worship. It should also be 
 recollected, that amongst the working classes, Sunday was the 
 great day for the education of their children ; and the example of 
 a parent leaving his house to attend to every-day employment, 
 must have a most injurious effect upon his children. Indeed, he 
 attached so much importance to the observance of the Sabbath, 
 that he considered the moral elevation of his country in a great 
 measure depended upon it ; and the example of such a company as 
 this, either for good or evil, must be very powerful. (Hear, hear.) 
 All that he asked in the present motion was, to throw the onus 
 prohandi on the public, in order to show the necessity of throwing 
 open the Railway for their use at the most favourable moment such 
 an experiment could be tried. He was most desirous that such an 
 opportunity should not be missed, as he felt that the proposition of 
 those who advocated a partial opening of the Railway on the 
 Sabbath to be not only unsound in principle, but unsatisfactory
 
 204 APPENDIX. 
 
 and impracticable in any attempt to carry it into effect. (Hear, hear.) 
 Before he sat down, he might perhaps be permitted to observe, that 
 on a former occasion, when this question was discussed in London, 
 something of an angry feehng was exhibited by those who opposed 
 his views, though he could scarcely see on what ground ; but in 
 discussing this question, while he claimed the exercise of the right 
 of private judgment in coming forward in the present instance from 
 a sense of duty, he trusted he had done so with perfect charity 
 towards those who differed from him in opinion, and ^vith an entire 
 feeling of good-will. (Hear, hear.) Though it was known to many 
 of his friends that it was with some reluctance he had accepted the 
 office of Director, yet he had hitherto gone on so pleasantly with 
 those gentlemen with whom he had been privileged to act in this 
 capacity, that he had no wish at present to resign ; and whether 
 his own views on the subject were acted upon or not, it would 
 always be his anxious desire, that this great undertaking might 
 add as much to the moral improvement of his country, as he had 
 no doubt it would to the pecuniary advantage of those who had 
 embarked their property in it. Mr. Sturge concluded by moving — 
 
 " ' That the Company's engines and carriages do not run on the 
 Sabbath, from the time of the opening of the Birmingham end of 
 the Railway, till the general meeting in February, 1839- 
 
 " Charles Hadfield, Esq., of Liverpool, seconded the motion. 
 
 "Mr. HoLDSWORTH said, he had an amendment to propose, 
 which he considered would meet the wishes of most of the gentlemen 
 present. He felt satisfied it was impossible, in the present 
 state of society, to carry out the resolution of Mr. Sturge. As 
 far as the religious part of the subject went, he did not see any 
 difficulty in relaxing the rigid obligations of the Jewish Sabbath. 
 Our Saviour himself, and his Apostles had done so, and he thought 
 they could not err in following their example. He would there- 
 fore submit an amendment, the object of which would be, to 
 restrict as much as possible any infraction of the observance of the 
 Sabbath. He admitted, it was only on the ground of public neces- 
 sity that they should open the line, and he was of opinion that a 
 meeting like the present could not settle all the details of the sub- 
 ject. He considered it would answer all purposes, to leave the 
 matter in the hands of the Directors, after the meeting had 
 expressed their wishes. He concluded, by moving that the business 
 of the Railway be suspended on Sundays, except for such restricted 
 conveyance of passengers, as shall seem called for on the grounds 
 of public necessity ; and that the Directors, to whom is hereby
 
 APPENDIX. 205 
 
 confided the duty of defining the extent and particulars of the 
 restrictions, shall take as their guide, in the discharge of their duty, 
 the consideration of the public good, and not the private interests 
 of the Society. 
 
 " Mr. Alderman Smith, of Liverpool, said he fully concurred 
 in the propriety of the amendment, and he begged leave to second 
 it. He fully concurred with Mr. Sturge as to the moral guilt of 
 violating the Sabbath ; but there were cases of necessity which 
 would invariably arise to prevent Mr. Sturge's resolution from 
 being fully acted upon. He was sorry Mr. Sturge had not made 
 some provision for those cases which it was indispensably neces- 
 sary should be provided for. The London and Binningham Rail- 
 road would be the high road through the kingdom, and millions of 
 human beings would have to travel upon it. Such being the fact, 
 he felt it would be cruelty to prevent the people from travelling 
 under certain circumstances. He did not view the question in the 
 way of profit, he viewed it upon the ground of actual necessity ; 
 and he felt no difficulty in saying, it would be utterly impossible to 
 prevent Sunday travelling without materially and vitally interfering 
 with the happiness and the actual necessities of the community. 
 If the Company agreed to Mr. Sturge's resolution, and closed the 
 road, he felt certain the Goverment, injustice to the public, would 
 be compelled to interfere, and Parliament would make them rescind 
 their resolution. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 " Mr. Parsons suggested, in order to get rid of the difficulty of 
 confining clerks and other servants on Sunday, that they should 
 be relieved every second or third Sunday, by persons employed for 
 that purpose by the Company. He considered it would be a gross 
 act of injustice to the public to prevent them from travelling out 
 for recreation, on the only day in the week they could spare time 
 for recreation. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 "Mr. Pease, of Darhngton, was in favour of Mr. Sturge's 
 motion, and hoped they would make the experiment. If Sunday 
 travelling were found indispensably necessary, they could only 
 rescind their resolution. 
 
 " Mr. Garrett, said it would be impossible for the Company, if 
 they resolved upon Mr. Sturge's motion, to prevent travelling on 
 the Sunday, if others thought proper to adopt it. They were aware 
 that the act of incorporation gave to any individual, or any Com- 
 pany, power to run carriages upon the Railroad if they paid for the 
 use of It ; and if the Company resolved that they would not run 
 their carriages, what security had they that another Company would 
 not start for the purposes of Sunday travelling.
 
 •206 APPENDIX. 
 
 "A Shareholder contended that they had nori^ht to shut up 
 the Raih-oad on Sundays. They had, by an Act of Parhament, 
 obtained a monopoly, and they were ^oing to use it with severity 
 against the pubhc. If they had stated in their apphcation to 
 Parhament that they intended to stop up the Railroad on Sundays, the 
 Parliament never would, nor could they in justice to the public, 
 liavt granted the act. (Hear, hear.) Parliament had decided the 
 question of Sunday travelling upon the repeated motions of Sir 
 Andrew Agnew, and they would not allow any Company to legislate 
 upon the subject to the great injury of the community. 
 
 *' Mr. CoGHLAN, of Liverpool, did not consider that it was com- 
 petent for them to entertain the proposition of Mr. Sturge ; for in 
 the preamble of the act he found it set forth, that such a line would 
 prove a great advantage to the public, and be a certain, cheap, and 
 expeditious mode of communication from the Metropolis to 
 Birmingham, and thence to other parts of the kingdom. Now if they 
 closed the Railroad on one day of the week, he wished to know 
 how they could demonstrate it as a "certain, expeditious, and safe" 
 mode of travelling ? They violated in doing so, the very act by 
 which they existed. Notwithstanding the obstacles thrown in their 
 way, the legislature had acceded to the good wishes and interests 
 of the people, by granting the Company a charter, and the public 
 had a right to expect that they should be true to the principles on 
 which they had set out, and give them advantages, equal at least, 
 to those they formerly enjoyed. (Hear, hear.) Previous to the 
 opening of the line, they enjoyed the privilege of travelling on any 
 day in the week, but the proposition before the meeting, sought to 
 deprive them of this liberty. (Hear.) How, he would ask, could 
 they expect people to support them if they said, we have a mono- 
 ])oly, and we shall take care to use it just for such purposes as may 
 suit our own views, — we shall regulate the rehgious feelings of the 
 people, and dole out to you that extent of recreation on the 
 Sabbath which we deem necessary. (Hear, hear.) If they act in such 
 a way as this, he trusted there would be petitions from every part 
 of the country to abolish a compact, which he deemed a moral one 
 between the public and the Directors. But he hoped there would 
 be no necessity for adopting such a course, and that when they had 
 the whole line thrown open, they would feel, having a giant's 
 strength, that it would be cowardly to use it like a giant, but in 
 such a manner as would be productive of convenience to the public. 
 (Hear, hear.) They knew the sentiments of the legislature upon 
 the subject, and having this monopoly in their hands, should they 
 convert it against the will of the Government and the people, they
 
 APPENDIX- 207 
 
 would be guilty of fraudulently obtaining an act, and using it in 
 contravention of the principles on which they set out. If such an 
 attempt were made, and succeeded, what was to prevent the same 
 men from stopping up every road throughout the country ; and if 
 they were consistent they must endeavour to do so. But he 
 was convinced if such a principle were acted upon, a rebellion 
 would be the consequence, and the people would exclaim with one 
 voice, " Neither King nor Parliament have a right to deprive us of 
 the liberty we have so long enjoyed." (Hear, hear.) It could not 
 be denied, that that which was wrong on a great scale, was equally 
 wrong on a fractional portion of it. Supposing for a moment, that 
 in the fluctuations of trade, and the changes in property, which were 
 every day taking place in a commercial community like theirs, the 
 shares of the Company should happen to get into the hands of a 
 majoiity of individuals of the Jewish persuasion, he asked those 
 gentlemen who supported the principles of the motion, how they 
 would like to see the Railroad shut up the whole of Saturday ? 
 (Hear, hear.) They would then claim the privileges of legislature 
 in their turn, and say, " We have now the majority of votes, and 
 it is for us to act according to our views of conscience on the same 
 principle that you laid down for others, and we shall not suffer an 
 individual to pass over this line of road on our Sabbath, so long as 
 we hold the power of preventing it." (Hear, hear.) But there 
 was another principle which must not be lost sight of, — they were 
 bound to keep faith with the people, and give them at least all the 
 advantages they formerly enjoyed. As to its being a desecration 
 of the Sabbath to go into the country, he must say that it was a 
 matter of vital necessity, and of the very first importance to the 
 health and happiness of a great portion of mankind. In all lai'ge 
 towns, Hke Liverpool, and Manchester, and Birmingham, where 
 there were hundreds of thousands of clerks and artisans cooped up 
 in counting-houses or factories, breathing an impure and dangerous 
 atmosphere, it was essentially necessary to their health that they 
 should have the opportunity afforded them of going abroad, and 
 while they inhaled the wholesome air of the green fields, and felt 
 their spirits rejoice amid the beauties of creation, they would be 
 led to look " from Nature up to Nature's God," and to worship in 
 the midst of his glorious works, the great Father of All. (Hear, 
 hear.) It was well for gentlemen who could visit watering places 
 to restore their health when it became impaired, to talk of legisla- 
 ting for others : but he trusted while doing so, they would not 
 forget the claims of those on their sympathy and protection from 
 whom they derived their wealth, but allow to those poor and
 
 208 APPENDIX. 
 
 melancholy beings, the advantage of going into the country, and 
 inhaling the pure breath of Heaven when they pleased. Gentlemen 
 considered that they should not make this a matter of profit ; but 
 he was of opinion that they had a right to the full and fair profit 
 of any undertaking in which they might happen to be engaged ; 
 and he would like to know whether those gentlemen who proposed 
 to take their stand on religious principle, gave orders to the cap- 
 tains of vessels freighted with their merchandise to furl their sails 
 the moment the clock struck twelve, and no matter how favourable 
 the breeze, allow the ship to roll upon the bosom of the waters for 
 four-and-twenty hours ? (Hear, hear.) But supposing they pro- 
 hibited travelling upon their line with their own engines and 
 carriages, they could not prevent other individuals from employing 
 the road, for the act contained a clause by which any body of men 
 might, by adhering to the prescribed rules, travel on their line at 
 any time, and to any place. (Hear.) But cases might occur in 
 which it would be the very extreme of cruelty to prevent persons 
 availing themelves of this mode of conveyance, as in the cases of 
 friends or relatives at the point of death, thus interposing a barrier 
 to the discharge of one of the most sacred duties on this side the 
 grave. ISo, they could not legislate in this arbitrary manner, so 
 contrary to the feelings, and opinions, and interests of the commu- 
 nity. He had got proxies to the amount of two or three thousand 
 shares, from gentlemen of as high moral feeling as any in the 
 country, some of them clergymen of the Established Church, and 
 likewise from one of the Judges of the land, and they did not 
 shrink from avowing their sentiments in favour of the rights and 
 privileges of the people. (Hear, hear.j His view of the question 
 was, that the Directors should be instructed that they had a duty 
 to perform towards the public, and that they were bound to pro^^de 
 carriages for their transport along the line. If the number of pas- 
 sengers should be so small as was stated, the carriages on the line 
 might be reduced to one or two a day, but on the outset, every 
 opportunity should be afforded to the people; and after a little 
 experience, the Directors would be able to ascertain the accommoda- 
 tion they would require ; but until this was known, he thought the 
 motion of Mr. Sturge should not be carried into effect. 
 
 " Mr. William Bolton, in a very excellent speech, supported 
 Mr. Sturge' s motion, and expressed a hope that although the 
 question might not be settled on that occasion to his satisfaction, 
 and that of the religious pubhc, the time was not far distant when 
 it would be met under more favourable impressions. He congra- 
 tulated the meeting on the good temper and kind feeling, with 
 which the discussion had been carried on.
 
 APPENDIX. 209 
 
 " H. Earle, Esq., would rather that a direct negative had been 
 put upon Mr. Sturge's motion, as he happened to know that a 
 majority of the Directors were opposed to the Railway being used 
 at all on the Sunday during the hours of Divine sen'ice. The 
 London and Birmingham line of road was only a branch of one 
 entire great line, and it was impossible they could legislate for the 
 whole kingdom. (Hear, hear.) It was his intention to move resolu- 
 tions to the effect, that the Railway could not be stopped on Sunday 
 during the hours of Divine service, without inconvenience to the 
 imblic. 
 
 " Theodore Rathbone, Esq., said the Directors were not 
 pledged, as had been intimated by Mr. Earle, to any specific 
 course. They would go into the question fully, and in reference 
 solely to its merits. 
 
 " Mr. Earle considered, from what he had heard, that it was 
 right the proprietors should know the intentions of the Directors. 
 It had been said they intended stopping the trains in Birmingham 
 for four hours, to enable persons to attend Divine service. He 
 wished to know if it were intended to detain the passengers four 
 hours in Birmingham, who might arrive by the Liverpool trains. 
 
 "The chairman assured Mr. Earle, that the Directors had not 
 made any arrangements upon the subject. 
 
 " A shew of hands was then taken, and the number appearing 
 doubtful, a scrutiny was gone into, when the numbers were declared 
 as follows : — 
 
 For the amendment 7486 
 
 Against it 3621 
 
 Majority 3865 
 
 It is pleasant to mark the confiding simplicity with which 
 the Honourable Director, Mr. Sturge, seems, in this discussipn, 
 to rely on the evidence of the Superintendants and Clerks, that 
 the Railway will not be likely to give much profit on Sunday. 
 No doubt those pious functionaries would like a holiday once a 
 week ; but they must very well know, that of the two millions 
 of persons resident in London, thousands will, on each Sunday, 
 be likely to make a short trip of ten, twenty, or thirty miles 
 on the Railway, who, if not permitted to do so on that day, 
 as they cannot be absent from business on any other, will
 
 210 APPENDIX. 
 
 not be able to use it at all. That some who leave town on the 
 Sabbath may return intoxicated is not unlikely ; but it is cer- 
 tainly more than probable, that such individuals will equally 
 forget sobriety should they remain among the Gin Palaces of 
 J^ondon. The great founder of Christianity decided, that it 
 was " lawful to do well on the Sabbath." He healed the sick 
 on the sacred day : that was, in his judgment, doing w eU ; 
 shall not our sick, who languish from being confined to their 
 shops and offices during six days, be allowed access to the 
 healing influence of fresh air ? not less efficacious in their case 
 than was the famed Pool of Bethesda to sufferers of other times, 
 on the seventh. 
 
 Mr. Sturge no doubt believes all the conscientious people at 
 the stations, if liberated, would betake themselves to their 
 devotions on Sunday. The journeyman bakers some years 
 ago, made a like affecting appeal. Parliament hearkened to 
 their prayer, but it was soon found that not a few of that useful 
 class, instead of spending their Sunday in religious meditations, 
 were occupied through a considerable part of it, with badger- 
 baiting, dog-fighting and boxing. The Sabbattic institution 
 is excellent in itself; most wise, merciful and subhme in its 
 origin ; and claims sincere homage from the whole family of 
 civilized man. But to impose restrictions to secure its being 
 kept, is folly. The few in our state of society, must work, if 
 the many are to rest, and wise and humane was the decision 
 pronounced by so overwhelming a majority of the London and 
 Birmingham Railway Shareholders, on the above memorable 
 occasion — which set the question at rest for ever.
 
 LONDON AND BIRMINCHAM RAILWAY. 
 
 Great as is the utility of this Railroad already, there 
 can be no doubt that its benefits may be considerably 
 extended, if the Directors should take a hint from the 
 course pursued by the Proprietors of Steam-boats, and 
 issue Season Tickets. By this means, they would 
 establish in the course of a few months, a numerous body 
 of resident passengers at all the most pleasant villages 
 near the Stations going out of London. Merchants and 
 others, who must be in the City during the hours of 
 business, could reach home " after 'Change," in less 
 time than it now takes them to return to Greenhithe 
 or Gravesend. Nor is this all : it is not merely that 
 many inhabitants of the metropolis would, during the 
 fine weatherj establish themselves on the line — but few 
 of them would pass a week or even a day, without causing 
 visitors on business or pleasure to pass along it with or 
 to them, who though they should not go often enough 
 to make it worth their while to become the purchasers 
 of Season tickets would contribute largely to the funds 
 of the Company. For each Season ticket sold, twenty 
 weekly passengers might fairly be calculated upon. 
 It is probable, however, that this question is already 
 under the consideration of the Directory.
 
 212 
 
 TABLE 
 
 Shewing the distances from London and Birmingham by the Railroad, 
 and from the Stations near which they are situated, of all the towns 
 and places described in the first Series of 
 
 "railroadiana 
 
 II 
 
 Places described. 
 
 \ 
 
 Harrow on the Hill 
 Watford. 
 Cashiobury Park. 
 BrsHY. 
 
 RiCKMANSWORTH. 
 
 Hemel Hempstead. 
 Berkhamsted, 
 
 St. Peter's. 
 Berkhamsted, 
 
 St. Mary's, 
 ashridge. 
 Tring. 
 Ivinghoe. 
 
 Leighton Buzzard. 
 
 Denbigh Hall. 
 Bletchley. 
 Fenny Stratford. 
 WoBURN Abbey. 
 Stoney Stratford.* 
 The Roman Villa.* 
 Buckingham.* 
 Stowe Park.* 
 
 Station. 
 
 Harrow 
 Watford 
 
 Box Moor 
 Berkhamsted 
 
 Tring 
 
 5 Leighton 
 (Buzzard 
 Denbigh Hall 
 
 oas 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 18 
 IS 
 18 
 24 
 
 27 
 
 27 
 
 27 
 32 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 48 
 48 
 48 
 48 
 48 
 48 
 48 
 
 01 
 
 = i 
 11 
 
 ,>^ 'Ji 
 
 s . 
 
 <c o 
 
 19 
 19 
 21 
 22 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 1 28 
 
 4 31 
 
 2 34 
 3135 
 
 -[40 
 
 — i48 
 l!49 
 
 50 
 
 54 
 
 12,60 
 14,62 
 16 64 
 
 a it 
 
 O C 
 1-,.- o 
 
 13 101 
 
 95 
 ^b 
 ^b 
 95 
 
 88 
 
 85 
 
 ^b 
 
 85 
 80 
 80 
 
 72 
 
 64 
 64 
 64 
 64 
 64 
 64 
 64 
 64 
 
 o 
 
 p jj 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 « bo 
 
 103 
 96 
 96 
 
 98 
 ^^ 
 90 
 
 85 
 
 86 
 
 89 
 82 
 83 
 
 72 
 
 64 
 
 71 
 70 
 76 
 
 78 
 80 
 
 In the above Table the fractions of miles are omitted, Birmingham 
 being placed at 112 miles from London. The exact distance is 112| 
 miles. It should also be observed that if the places marked * are 
 visited /rom the Birmingham end of the line, the nearest point to them 
 is Stoney Stratford or Wolverton Station.
 
 DISTANCE BY STATIONS 
 
 BIRMINGHAM TO LONDON. 
 
 LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 
 Miles. 
 
 To Harrow .... 
 
 Miles. 
 
 To Coventry . . 
 
 181 
 
 Ill 
 
 Rugby .... 
 
 29i 
 
 Watford 
 
 17f 
 
 Weedon 
 
 411 
 
 Box Moor . 
 
 24f 
 
 WOLVERTON . 
 
 59i 
 
 Berkhamsted 
 
 27i 
 
 Denbigh Hall. 
 
 641 
 
 Tring .... 
 
 Sli 
 
 Leighton Buzzard 
 
 71| 
 
 Leighton Buzzard 
 
 404 
 
 Tring .... 
 
 80| 
 
 Denbigh Hall 
 
 48 
 
 Berkhamsted . 
 
 m 
 
 Wolverton . 
 
 52h 
 
 Box Moor . 
 
 87f 
 
 Weedon .... 
 
 71 
 
 Watford 
 
 94| 
 
 Rugby . . . . 
 
 83i 
 
 Harrow .... 
 
 101 
 
 Coventry . 
 
 94 
 
 London .... 
 
 1121 
 
 Birmingham 
 
 1121 
 
 N 
 
 OTI 
 
 'CE. 
 
 
 In the Second Series of " Railroadiana," the following 
 Towns, several of them celebrated as the scenes of battles 
 between the houses of York and Lancaster ; others of great 
 Historical Interest and Antiquity, and some of them either 
 imperfectly known or little visited by the generality of the 
 British Public — independently of Villages, Seats and Parks 
 of the Nobility, and other interesting Spots and Places will be 
 described : — 
 
 TOWCESTER, 
 
 NORTHAMPTON, 
 
 DAVENTRY, 
 
 RUGBY , 
 
 LUTTERWORTH, 
 
 COVENTRY, 
 
 NEWPORT PAGNELL, 
 
 KENILWORTH, 
 
 WARWICK, 
 
 STRATFORD ON AVON 
 
 COLESHILL, 
 
 BIRMINGHAM.
 
 INDEX 
 
 Page 
 Abbot of St. Alban's ; his cou- 
 rage 53 
 
 Addison, Joseph, Interesting 
 
 letter of 188 
 
 AncientSchoolRoom atHarrow 15 
 Amusements at Har- 
 row 17 
 
 Appendix. 193 
 Report of the State of the 
 Works on the London and 
 Birmingham Railway, at 
 the last Meeting of Pro- 
 prietors 193 
 
 Ashridge,theSeat of the Bridge- 
 water Family 79 
 
 Babington, Andrew, his trea- 
 sonable plans, flight, and 
 capture at Harrow ... 17 
 
 his Letter 
 
 to Queen Elizabeth, and exe- 
 cution 23 
 
 Bacchanalian Vase, ancient, at 
 
 Woburn Abbey 157 
 
 Ballard, John, betrays his fel- 
 low-conspirators ... 20 
 Becket, Thomas a, at Harrow . 12 
 Bedford, the Duke of, his Seat 
 
 at Woburn, described . . 155 
 Bellamy's House at Harrow, 
 
 Babington seized at ... 18 
 Berkhamsted, Children of 
 James I. nursed at . . . 55 
 
 King's Arms'Inn at 57 
 
 History and De- 
 scription of the Castle of . 58 
 
 . Poem on a visit to 63 
 
 Church, Ancient 
 
 Inscriptions in 66 
 
 St. Mary's ... 71 
 
 Bletchley, Village and Church, 
 
 Page 
 curious notices on the Tombs 
 of the Greys.and IronHelmet 141 
 Blois Stephen, Earl of . . . 102 
 Box Moor, Description of . . 44 
 History of appre- 
 hension and execution of 
 Snook, the Mail Robber . 48 
 Bridgewater Family, Seat of . 79 
 Buckingham, Town of . . .171 
 Buckinghamshire, General His- 
 tory of the County, its Pro- 
 ducts and Antiquities . . . 130 
 Bushy, Village and Church . 40 
 Byron, Lord, his habits when 
 
 at School 14 
 
 his Autograph in 
 
 wood 16 
 
 Cashiobury Park, the Seat of 
 
 the Earls of Essex ... 33 
 Charles II. Bon Mot of . . . 9 
 
 Acknowledgment of 
 
 for a loan of dElOO. . . .128 
 Coffin, Princess Matilda con- 
 veyed in a, while alive, from 
 Devizes to Gloucester . . 106 
 Cooper, SirAstley, Seat at He- 
 
 mel Hempstead .... 45 
 Cross to the memory of Queen 
 Eleanor, at Stoney Strat- 
 ford, destroyed by the Puri- 
 tans 164 
 
 Denbigh Hall, History of, and 
 
 Origin of the Name . . .136 
 Duncombe's Family Vaults at 
 
 Ivinghoe 108 
 
 Ermin Street, Account of . . 86 
 Execution ; detailed Account 
 
 of, at Box Moor .... 50 
 Fenny Stratford, description of, 
 and Church 146
 
 INDEX. 
 
 215 
 
 Page 
 Fenny Stratford, Ancient Inns 
 
 at 148 
 
 Foss Way, Account of ... 86 
 Fuller's Earth, its vast import- 
 ance to British Commerce . 152 
 Glastonbury, Henry, Abbot of, 
 
 his history 102 
 
 Grey de Wilton, Tomb of . .143 
 Grimesdike, a Roman rampart, 
 
 account of 133 
 
 Gwynn, Ellen, her advice to 
 King Charles ; her death . 188 
 wynn, Ellen, residence of, at 
 
 Tring 82 
 
 Hanookes, Susannah, tried as a 
 
 witch by the Church Bible . 97 
 Harrow, manor of, by whom 
 
 possessed in ancient times . 10 
 Harrow on the Hill .... 9 
 
 Church of 12 
 
 Babington Plot ... 17 
 
 Lyon's Will . . . • ib. 
 
 Hatton, Sir Christopher, his 
 excitement on the Bench 
 while trying conspirators . 22 
 Hemel Hempstead, town and 
 
 church described, and plate of 44 
 Henrv of Glastonbury, his 
 
 history ....*... 102 
 Henry Plantagenet, son of 
 Henry II, disrespectfully 
 treated by clergy . . . . 12 
 Herga Super Montem ... 10 
 Holy Cross, account of the 
 
 Institution of 107 
 
 Hour Glass Stand. — Ancient 
 
 relicof preaching by the hour 110 
 Introduction . . . page 1 to 8 
 Ikenild Street, account of . . 86 
 T'Hnghoe, Ancient Sepulchral 
 
 Inscription, at 101 
 
 Church of ... . ib. 
 
 Scenery of ... 99 
 
 Lanti Vase, of Woburn, de- 
 scribed, and Engraving of . 157 
 
 Pag:e 
 
 Leighton Buzzard, Description 
 of Ill 
 
 Leighton Buzzard- Ancient 
 Cross at, and Plate. . . .112 
 
 Church of . 114 
 
 Poetical Ad- 
 dress to a Skeleton found in 
 a Stone Coffin at . . . .119 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, approves 
 of conspiracy to assassinate 
 Queen Elizabeth .... 18 
 
 Matilda, daughter of Henry I., 
 takes King Stephen Pri- 
 soner 104 
 
 Monastery at Tring .... 8^) 
 Poetical Stanzas on 88 
 
 Names of Eminent Men carved 
 on the Wainscot of Harrow 
 School 16 
 
 Osburn and Wife, cruel treat- 
 ment of, on a charge of Witch- 
 craft 94 
 
 Painted Window at Rickmans- 
 worth Church, description 
 of, with Plate, coloured. . .126 
 
 Peter, the Wild Boy, his His- 
 tory 71 
 
 Tablet to his Memory . ib. 
 
 Pillar, Lord Cobham's ... 182 
 
 Queen of King Stephen, her 
 Letter in behalf of him, de- 
 nied a reading 106 
 
 Rickmansworth, description of 125 
 
 Church of . .126 
 
 Ancient Tomb 
 
 Roman Villa, recently disco- 
 vered, notice of, with engra- 
 ving of ancient flue 135, 165,&167 
 
 Rumbald St., Legend of . . 171 
 
 Russell, Mr. John, ancestor of 
 the Bedford family . . .159 
 
 Russell, munificence of the 
 family of 151 
 
 Savage conspires to assassinate 
 Queen Elizabeth .... 18
 
 216 
 
 IXDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Season tickets, hints on the ex- 
 pediency of issuing . . .211 
 
 Sham letters sent to Mary 
 Queen of Scots 18 
 
 Stone coffin discovered at 
 Leighton Buzzard . . . .117 
 
 Stoney Stratford on the Roman 
 Watling Street, account of . 162 
 
 Church destroyed 
 
 by fire 163 
 
 Stowe, Account of. . . . .174 
 
 Description of Gardens, 
 
 and iheir magnificent Archi- 
 tecturalEmbeiiishments 177tol85 
 
 Sweating Sickness, Notices 
 on 67 
 
 Sunday Travelling on Rail- 
 ways, great Debate on this 
 Question at Birmingham, 
 and important decision upon 176 
 
 Table of Distances from Lon- 
 don and Birmingham by the 
 Rail-road, from the Stations 
 near which they are situated 
 of all the Towns and Places 
 described 212 
 
 Tichburne Chideock, his Letter 
 
 Page 
 to his Wife the night before 
 
 his Execution 27 
 
 Tichburne Chideock, Speci- 
 men of his Poetry, dated 1586 29 
 Tring, derivation of . . . . 83 
 
 IMonastery of .... 86 
 
 Church of 84 
 
 Tring, Park of 93 
 
 Togodumnus, Ancient Britons 
 
 defeated under King . . .171 
 Walsingham, his Scheme to en- 
 trap Babington 18 
 
 Watford, Town of . ... 30 
 
 given by King Oflfa to 
 
 the Abbot of St. Albans's . 31 
 Church of and Tomb- 
 house 32 
 
 Wigginton, Village of ... 84 
 Willis, Browne, Esq. the Anti- 
 quary 146 
 
 WilstonGreen, reputedWitches 
 
 stripped and tortured at . • 96 
 
 Witches ducked at Tring . . 94 
 Woburn, description of . - .149 
 
 Church of . . . .150 
 
 Petrifying Spring at . 154 
 
 Abbey of desfribed . 155 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Page 
 
 I. Map of the Railway to Stoney Stratford, To face Title. 
 II. Fac-simile of Byron's Name on the Panel of the 
 
 School-room at Harrow - - - - - -16 
 
 III. Specimen of the Monumental Fashion of the 
 
 Fifteenth Century -------32 
 
 IV, Church of Hemel Hempstead ----- 45 
 V. Ancient Altar Tomb in Berkhamsted Church - - 69 
 
 VI. The Cross at Leighton Buzzard, restored - - 112 
 
 VII. Stained-glass Window in Rickmansworth Church - 127 
 
 VIII. The Lanti, or Bedford Vase 157 
 
 IX. Joint of a Flue found in the Roman Villa, coloured 167 
 
 Printed at the Willoughby Press, 
 ByWiLLOUGHBY & Co. 109, GoswELL Street.
 
 
 i.'-4 
 
 iP?^. 
 
 /.vlliliiiiiiitiiiiiiilitiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiJiiiiikiiiiiH
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 3 0112 073711431