inspected. The park contains about 500 acres and is famous for its
splendid timber, some of its oaks being of almost perfect development
and proportions.
[Illustration: RICKMANSWORTH]
_Rickmansworth Park_, N. from the town, has a modern house well
situated. The park stretches nearly to Loudwater Mill on the river
Chess, and is, like Moor Park, beautifully wooded.
RIDGE (2½ miles S.W. from Potter's Bar Station, G.N.R.) is on the
Middlesex border, close to South Mimms. The village doubtless owes its
name to its situation on the hill. The small church is mainly Perp., but
the chancel is E. Dec.; it contains several memorials to the Blount
family, including one to Charles Blount (1654-93). He was an infidel of
more bitterness than ability, as may be seen from his translation of
Philostratus's _Apollonius Tyanæus_; readers may remember that his _Just
Vindication of Learning_, etc., was stigmatised by Macaulay as "garbled
extracts" from Milton's _Areopagitica_. On being refused a licence to
marry his deceased wife's sister, he committed suicide--Pope says he
"despatch'd himself". The Blount family resided in the neighbourhood for
many generations; Sir Henry Pope Blount, father of the above-mentioned
Charles, "built here a fair structure of Brick, made fair Walks and
Gardens to it, and died seiz'd thereof". He was the author of _A Voyage
into the Levant_.
_Ringshall_ is a hamlet on the Bucks border, in the parish of Little
Gaddesden.
_Roe Green_ (4 miles S.E. from Ashwell Station, G.N.R.) is in a pleasant
and very quiet neighbourhood. The nearest parish church is Sandon, about
1 mile N.E. Roe Wood is a little N. from the hamlet.
_Roestock_, a hamlet in the parish of North Mimms, is 1 mile N. from the
Park. Smallford Station, G.N.R., is 1 mile N.W.
_Round Bush_ consists of a few cottages, 1½ mile S.W. from Radlett
Station, M.R.
_Row Green_ (1¼ mile S.W. from Hatfield) lies close to the road from St.
Albans to Hatfield. Row Hyde is a little farther S.W.
_Rowley Green_, on the road from Barnet Gate to Shenley, is nearly 2
miles E. from Elstree Station, M.R.
[Illustration: THE HIGH STREET, ROYSTON]
ROYSTON, an ancient market town on the Icknield Way at its junction
with Ermine Street, was until recently partly in Cambs. It is supposed
to owe its name to a Dame Roesia who placed a cross here on the highway,
near which spot a monastery of Black Canons was founded by Eustace de
Mere and others in the reign of Henry II. Early in the reign of Henry
IV. the town was almost destroyed by fire. Royston enjoyed several
market privileges in the good old days, and it is recorded that early in
the fifteenth century wheat was so plentiful that it was sold in Royston
market for 12d. a quarter.
The church was erected close to the monastery late in the thirteenth
century, and at the Dissolution was constituted the parish church.
Thirty years ago it was restored, and more recently enlarged, and is now
an imposing structure of flint and rubble, E.E. in style. The tower (W.)
is embattled and carries four pinnacles. The fine lancet windows in the
chancel were discovered during restoration in 1872, as were also the
fragments of the old screen, since pieced together to form the present
pulpit and reading desk. The alabaster effigy in the chancel, of a
knight in armour, is believed to represent one of the Scales family.
There are several old brasses: (1) to William Taberam, Rector of
Therfield (d. 1432), this was large, but only the upper part now
remains; (2) to a civilian and his wife (_circa_ 1500); (3) to Father
William Chamber, who founded an annual sermon to be preached in the
church on Rogation Mondays (d. 1546). There are some good modern windows
of stained glass.
James I., who had been entertained at Royston by Robert Chester during
his progress from Scotland to London, built a lodge near Royston Heath,
to which both he and Charles I. occasionally resorted, the latter being
brought here as prisoner in 1647. Some cottages still standing on the
outskirts of the Heath are said to have been used for stables when James
I. used to hunt in the neighbourhood, and by inquiring for the "Old
Palace" visitors will be shown what little remains of his Majesty's
hunting lodge. The Heath is now famous for its fine golf links.
Beneath the old boundary between the two counties, and close to the Post
Office, is the famous _Royston Cave_, which visitors should not fail to
see. It was accidentally discovered in 1742 by some men who were digging
a hole in the market-place, and is now entered by a specially
constructed passage under the street. It was visited by Louis XVIII.
Hewn out of the solid chalk, its greatest height is about 25 ft., its
diameter about 17 ft. It contains curious, and in some cases uncouth
figures and coloured reliefs of saints, kings, queens, etc., of all
sizes and ages, and some crucifixes. The late Joseph Beldam, F.S.A., was
of opinion that the cave dates from pre-Christian times, that it became
in turn a Roman sepulchre and an oratory, and that it was closed during
the Reformation.
There are still the traces of several tumuli in the neighbourhood, and
ancient coins, etc., have been found, but the evidences of any Roman
occupation are not very convincing.
Royston is a somewhat quaint town, with some narrow byways and
odd-looking houses, amongst which the Old Plough Inn is not the least
noticeable.
_Rush Green_ (1 mile S. from Ware) is a small hamlet.
_Rushden_, formerly Risendene and Risden (5 miles S.E. from Baldock),
has a stuccoed brick church, Dec. and Perp. Chauncy saw in it, "no
Inscription, Monument, or other Remark," but in 1754 the monument of Sir
Adolphus Meetkerke, Kt., was brought here from St. Botolph's,
Aldersgate. Meetkerke was Ambassador from Flanders to the Court of Queen
Elizabeth, and the author of several volumes. Note the canopy in nave,
thought to have covered a statue of the Virgin. In the reign of Henry
II. the patronage of the church was given by William Basset, Sheriff of
Leicestershire, to the Canons and Church of St. Peter's at Dunstable.
_Rustling Green_ is midway between Knebworth and St. Paul's Walden
Parks. The district is prettily diversified by small woods. By the
shortest way through the park Knebworth Station is about 3½ miles E.
THE RYE HOUSE, on the W. bank of the river Lea, is a famous resort of
fishermen, excursionists and folk wishing to see the Great Bed of Ware,
brought here from Ware in 1869. The bed is a huge construction of solid
oak, quaintly carved, and large enough to hold twelve adults, as is
proved by a story which can readily be found by the curious, but which
is unfit for repetition in these pages. It is alluded to by Shakespeare,
Byron and other writers. The present Rye House is modern, but attached
to it are some remains of the old House, some account of which must be
given here.
In his description of the "Mannor of the Rye" Chauncy says, "King Henry
VI. granted licence to Andrew Ogard and others, that they might impark
the scite of the Mannor of Rye, otherwise called the Isle of Rye in
Stansted Abbot, fifty Acres of Land, eleven Acres of Meadow, eight Acres
of Pasture and Sixteen Acres of Wood, erect a Castle there with Lime and
Stone, make Battlements and Loopholes &c."[6] The castle built by Ogard
passed into the hands of the Baesh family; it was doubtless in part
rebuilt at different times, for what remains of it is of brick. In
course of time it became the property of Lieut., afterwards Col.,
Rumbold, known as "Hannibal" among his associates, who had been a
private in Fairfax's famous regiment of 1648. This man was the
originator of the _Rye House Plot_.
[Footnote 6: _Hist. Antiq. of Hertfordshire_, etc., vol. i., p. 383, ed.
1826.]
The story of that plot may be recapitulated in few words. In the spring
of 1683 Charles II. and James Duke of York were at Newmarket. Rumbold
and some of his ultra-Republican friends heard that the Royal party
would return to London by way of Rye House. They met together and
arranged to secrete some men in the house, to create a disturbance as
the King passed and to kill him in the confusion which would follow. The
King escaped--probably, as most writers agree, because he left Newmarket
earlier than was expected. The plot soon became known, the Rye House was
searched and many persons were charged with High Treason. Two
illustrious men became implicated, through the allegations of Howard of
Escrick and others--Algernon Sidney and Lord Russell. Both were
certainly innocent, but both were beheaded, and Russell was buried at
Chenies in Bucks (almost on the Herts border). Rumbold fled to Holland,
joined the expedition which Argyle headed in Scotland, and was hanged in
Edinburgh in 1685. Visitors to the neighbourhood of the Rye House will
perhaps be assured that Rumbold suffered on a tree near by, but such was
not the case.
SACOMBE (4 miles N.W. from Ware) lies scattered over a considerable
district. It was long ago called Suevecamp (_i.e._, Suaviscampus)
because of its pleasant situation. The small Dec. church stands on the
hill, at the N. end of the Park; it is of ancient foundation, but was
entirely restored about fifty years ago. There are two sedilia and a
piscina in the chancel, and two brasses, to John Dodyngton and Eleanor
his wife (d. 1544 and 1550 respectively). Sacombe Park is beautifully
timbered; the present house of red brick dates from about 1800.
ST. ALBANS is one of the most ancient and interesting places in England;
it became a city on the foundation of the Bishopric of St. Albans in
1877. It may be approached by road from London, (1) by way of Barnet and
London Colney, the G.N.R. Station (branch from Hatfield) being passed on
the left nearly a mile from the old clock tower and market-place; (2) by
way of Edgware, Elstree and Radlett, by which route, after passing St.
Stephens, the L.&N.W.R. Station (branch from Watford) is on the right
and the steep Holywell Hill leading to High Street is straight before.
The river Ver skirts the entire S. limits of the city itself; the field
that slopes upwards from the silk mill, in a N. direction, is called the
Abbey Orchard, and on the summit of the slope stands the great Abbey of
St. Alban.
As the ancient Roman city--the _Verulamium_ of Antoninus--stood some
distance to the W., a brief account of it will be found under the
heading Verulam. The history of St. Albans itself commences with the
death of Alban, the proto-martyr of Britain, who was flogged with rods
and beheaded by the Romans for having sheltered the priest Amphibalus,
connived at his escape, and adopted his faith (_circa_ 285-305; the
date is very uncertain). During the fifth century the Saxons captured
and destroyed Verulam and built a new town on the hill some distance E.
This they named _Watlingceaster_ (the town on Watling Street), but when
(793) Offa built a monastery to the memory of Alban on Holmhurst Hill,
the traditionary site of the martyrdom, the town itself became known as
St. Albans. Gildas, Bede and other old authorities agree that an earlier
church stood on this spot; they state, indeed, that it was built soon
after the death of St. Alban.
The plan of the city is, like the Abbey, cruciform, four old high-roads
meeting together near the Clock Tower, N.W. from Dunstable, S.W. from
Watford, S.E. from London, N.E. from Wheathampstead. The latter unites
with the road from Harpenden and Luton at The Cricketers, ¼ mile N.W.
from St. Peter's Church. The four roads, on entering the city, are
respectively called Verulam Road, Holywell Hill, London Road and St.
Peter's Street; one of the oldest thoroughfares, however, is that called
Fishpool Street, which runs from near the W. end of the Abbey to the
flour mill on the Ver. Quite recently several of the oldest houses in
the neighbourhood were in this street; but some have now been pulled
down.
[Illustration: THE FIGHTING COCKS, ST. ALBAN'S
_The oldest Inn in England_]
We will enter the city from the direction of St. Stephens. Crossing the
bridge over the Ver, we turn left by the Duke of Marlborough, pass
through the gate near the river side and keeping the cress-beds on
the left reach the silk mill. Turning right we ascend the hill W. of the
Abbey orchard, obtaining meanwhile a fine view of the stately W. front
of the Abbey itself, as reconstructed by Lord Grimthorpe. Our way into
the city lies through the old, partially ivy-clad _Gate House_, a relic
of the Benedictine Monastery; note the Perp. pointed arch and vaulted
roof. This was originally the entrance to the Abbey court, the "Magna
Porta" of the old monastic days. There was a former structure on or near
the same spot; this was blown down and the present building dates from
the rule of Thomas de la Mere, thirtieth abbot (1349-96). Used as a jail
some centuries ago, it has long been known as St. Alban's _Grammar
School_; the battlemented house S.W. of the archway is the residence of
the head master. The claims of this school to be _the oldest in England_
cannot be adequately discussed here. Suffice it to say that documents
attesting its existence date from Abbot Richard de Albini (1097-1119);
his successor, Geoffrey de Gorham, came from Normandy to become its
master. Matthew Paris records that the school was afterwards kept by a
nephew of Abbot Warine (or Warren) de Cambridge, and had at that time
more scholars than any school in England. Passing through the arch we
notice on the left a small, triangular burial ground. The spot is called
Romeland. Here George Tankerville was burnt by order of Bishop Bonner,
on 26th August, 1556.
Passing straight forward into Spicer Street the _Congregational
Chapel_, founded in 1797, is on the right. A little farther on is
College Street; on the left side stands the house in which Cowper was
placed under the charge of Dr. Cotton when his insanity was most
pronounced. To reach the old _Clock Tower_ we turn right into Verulam
Street and left into High Street. The Tower stands at the S. end of the
Market Place; note the quaint, narrow thoroughfare at its W. side,
called French Row. The Tower is Perp., of flint and dressed stone,
battlemented, and surmounted by a small spire; the basement has long
been utilised as a saddler's shop. It dates from the fifteenth
century,[7] but was restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1864. In it hangs
the great bell "Gabriel" cast early in the reign of Edward III.; it is
now used for striking the hour and formerly tolled the curfew. In the
foreground, where the drinking fountain now stands, was "Eleanor's
Cross," erected, like the cross at Waltham (_q.v._), by Edward I. in
memory of his Queen. It was destroyed about 1700. The old market-place,
so quaint even fifty years ago, is now largely occupied by modern shops;
partly by reason of a fire which occurred many years back.
[Footnote 7: Clutterbuck says it was erected between 1402 and 1427.]
Continuing our way up the market-place we pass the _Town Hall_ or _Court
House_ on the right, an Italian structure dating from 1826, and the
broad St. Peter's Street opens before us, leading to the old church
dedicated to that saint. The church is one of three built by Abbot
Ulsinus in Saxon times; the date of their foundation is very uncertain,
but we may bear in mind that the first abbot, Willegod, ruled at the
close of the eighth century, that Ulsinus was the sixth abbot, and that
six others ruled during Pre-Norman times. St. Peter's Church, largely
restored by Lord Grimthorpe, is therefore of great antiquity as a
foundation; the present structure is chiefly late Perp. with a lofty E.
tower carrying four pinnacles, the latter an addition by the restorer.
The position of the tower (elsewhere almost invariably W.) is explained
by the fact that the old church was cruciform, and that when, at the
beginning of last century, the extreme E. of the chancel and the
transepts were found much dilapidated they were pulled down, the old
tower thereby losing its central position. Note the E. Perp. arches
separating nave and aisles; the pulpit a good example of Belgian
carving, and the old stained glass in windows of N. aisle; the stained
glass in other windows is modern. Concerning the brass to Roger
Pemberton, Sheriff of Herts (d. 13th November, 1627), a story is told.
If the visitor passes out of the churchyard by the N.W. gate he will be
_vis-à-vis_ to the almshouses founded in 1627 on the W. side of what was
then "St. Peter's Street, Bowgate". Pemberton is said to have been
shooting in the woods, to have shot a widow by accident, and to have
founded these almshouses for widows, and endowed them with £30 per
annum for ever as a salve to his conscience. There is an iron arrow over
the old brick gateway before the houses, which seems to countenance the
story. There were formerly many other brasses in the church, but the
inscriptions on some of them must now be sought in the county histories.
A few, however, remain, _e.g._, one with shield of arms to Mrs.
Elizabeth Wyndham (d. 1735). In the N. aisle is the tomb of Edward
Strong (d. 1723), "Master Mason" of St. Paul's Cathedral; in the
churchyard lies Dr. Nathaniel Cotton, the friend of Cowper (see page
180) (d. 1788). Among those who fell in the battles of St. Albans (of
which more will be said presently) and were buried in this church or
graveyard were (1) Sir Bertin Entwysel, Kt., Baron of Brybeke in
Normandy; (2) Ralph Babthorpe and Ralph his son, of an old Yorkshire
family. As a matter of fact a great number of the slain were buried
here; Chauncy says "this Church and Churchyard was filled with the
Bodies of those that were slain in the two battles fought in this town".
The two other churches founded by Abbot Ulsinus are those of St. Stephen
and St. Michael.
_St. Stephen's Church_ stands ¾ mile S.W. from the Clock Tower, at the
junction of the roads from Edgware and Watford. It was restored by Sir
Gilbert Scott in 1861-62; but still retains some ancient features;
_e.g._, the late Norman arch in N. wall, formerly in part separating
the nave from the N. aisle (now absent), and two Norman windows, widely
splayed, in W. wall. Note (1) brass eagle-lectern, believed to have been
formerly in the Abbey at Holyrood; (2) double piscina in S. aisle; (3)
fifteenth century font. The oldest brass, much worn, is in the S.
chapel; it is to the memory of William Robins, Clerk of the Signet to
Edward IV., (d. 1482) and Katherine his wife.
[Illustration: LORD BACON'S MONUMENT]
_St. Michael's Church_, about ¾ mile W. from the Clock Tower, stands on
gently rising ground close to the carriage road to Gorhambury. It is
believed to occupy, approximately, the centre of what was the ancient
city of Verulam (_q.v._) and to mark the site of a Roman temple. It has
been restored, and the tower rebuilt, by Lord Grimthorpe; the work was
only completed two or three years ago. Flint and tiles taken from the
surrounding ruins by the builders still exist in the walls; but repeated
restorations have almost obliterated the evidences of its antiquity.
There are brasses (1) to Thomas Wolvey, an Esquire to Richard II. (d.
1430); (2) to "John Pecok et Maud sa femme" (_circa_ 1340-50); but the
monument of paramount interest is that in the recess N. of the chancel,
to Francis Bacon, Baron Verulam and Viscount St. Albans (d. 9th April,
1626). The great philosopher and Lord Chancellor is represented as
sitting in a tall chair, leaning his head upon his left hand; a Jacobean
ruff is round his neck and a wide hat upon his head; the sculptor
(unknown) has succeeded admirably in imparting an air of abstraction to
the countenance. Of Bacon's house at _Gorhambury_, 1½ mile farther W.,
little remains except some fragments of wall and tower, with projecting
entrance[m] porch. In the yet remaining spandrels of the arches are
medallions of Roman Emperors; over the porch are the arms of Elizabeth.
The present mansion, a little E. from the ruins, was commenced in 1778
by James third Viscount Grimston; it has been considerably altered, but
retains the grand N. portico; the pediment, supported by ten Corinthian
columns, reaches to the roof. The hall is very large, and contains
portraits of Francis Bacon, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, and
other worthies. There are numerous pictures in other apartments,
including portraits of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of
Stafford, Queen Elizabeth, Robert Devereux, Catherine of Braganza and
William Pitt.
[Illustration: RUINS OF LORD BACON'S HOUSE]
There were three monastic institutions on the outskirts of the town:--
(1) The Leper Hospital of _St. Julian_, founded by Geoffrey de Gorham,
sixteenth Abbot of St. Albans, on a spot close to St. Stephen's Church.
Of this no vestige remains.
(2) The Hospital of _St. Mary de Pré_, for women-lepers, founded about
fifty years after the above by Warren de Cambridge, twentieth abbot, on
either side of the old Watling Street. Some of the graves in the
churchyard attached to the hospital were visible so recently as 1827,
and the cottages known as the "Three Chimnies," originally part of the
hospital itself, were pulled down in 1849.[8]
[Footnote 8: _Vide_ _Historical Records of St. Albans_, by A. E. Gibbs,
F.L.S., etc.; a most interesting little volume.]
(3) _Sopwell Nunnery_, founded by Abbot Geoffrey de Gorham about 1140,
at a spot a little S. from the Old London Road, on the river Ver. The
masses of ivy-mantled ruins still to be seen, and usually called the
"ruins of Sopwell Nunnery," are, at least for the most part, the remains
of the house built by Sir Richard Lee, to whom the manor was granted at
the Dissolution.
ST. ALBANS ABBEY.--The Abbey has been so repeatedly altered and restored
that it may be said to illustrate every style of ecclesiastical
architecture from Norman to the present time. Opinions differ widely as
to the merits of that scheme of renovation and innovation completed
under the direction and by the munificence of Lord Grimthorpe, and no
attempt will be here made to criticise or extol the work of so great an
expert. Such a description of the venerable Abbey as an architect might
love to write would fill a volume in this series. After careful
consideration I have decided to sketch its history in such a way as to
show, however imperfectly, how it came to be what it is. I have been
careful to compare many authorities and to follow the consensus of
testimony wherever I have found discrepancy or contradiction.
It has already been stated that, according to Gildas, Bede and other
authorities, a church was erected on Holmhurst Hill after the martyrdom
of St. Alban. Concerning that church we know little more than that it
was almost destroyed by the Saxons. In 793, or very near that date, Offa
II., who had murdered the East Anglian King, Ethelbert, resolved to
found a monastery, encouraged, as we learn from William of Malmesbury,
by Charlemagne. The monastery was duly founded, for an abbot and 100
Benedictine monks, and the little church, renovated, became the original
abbey of the foundation. Having discovered the bones of St. Alban and
placed them in a costly reliquary, Offa conveyed them to this church,
intending to erect a nobler edifice for their reception; but it is
doubtful whether the design was carried out during his lifetime. Indeed,
we know little as to that enlarging and adornment of the church which
must surely have been effected in the days of the early abbots, and the
first hints of the erection of the great abbey occur in the lives of
Ealdred and Eadmer, eighth and ninth abbots, who collected immense
quantities of red, tile-like Roman bricks from the ruins of Verulam;
Matthew Paris tells us that Eadmer made some progress in the actual
rebuilding of the church. The twelfth abbot, Leofstan (d. 1066),
enriched the building with "certain ornaments"; but it was the
fourteenth abbot, Paul de Caen (1077-97), who, using the vast stores of
material collected by his predecessors, entirely rebuilt the church on a
scale almost commensurate with its present size.