REMARKABLE COOKING FOUNTAIN, &c.
_For the Table Book._
Uxbridge, the most considerable market town in the county of Middlesex,
is distant from London about fifteen miles on the north-west. It
consists of one long street, which is neatly paved, and its situation on
the road to Oxford, Gloucester, and Milford Haven, is productive of much
benefit to the inhabitants, while it imparts a constant air of bustle
and vivacity to the main thoroughfare.[398] The name of this place was
anciently spelt Oxebruge; and in more modern records Woxebrugge, or
Woxebruge.[399] The derivation seems easily discovered:--the place was
noted in distant ages for the passage of oxen from the adjacent fields
in Buckinghamshire, and a bridge was constructed over the river Colne,
which flows near the town.
Speed asserts that a monastery was founded here, dedicated to St. Mary;
but it is neither mentioned by any other writer, nor is any trace of it
now to be met with.
Uxbridge has been celebrated in history, for the treaty which took place
there between commissioners appointed respectively by the king and the
parliament, during the disturbances of the seventeenth century.
The commissioners met in January 1645; the numbers were sixteen on the
part of the king, and twelve on behalf of the parliament, together with
the Scottish commissioners. It was agreed, that the Scottish and
parliamentary commissioners should give in their demands with regard to
three important articles, viz. religion, the militia, and Ireland; and
that these should be successively discussed in conference with the
king’s commissioners.[400]
It was soon discovered that no rational discussion could be expected.
The demands made by the parliament were so great, that, had they been
granted, the crown would have been divested of its due weight and
dignity in the state; and been rendered unable to protect those who had
so faithfully adhered to the royal cause during its troubles.
The mansion in which the commissioners met is thus described by lord
Clarendon:--“There was a good house at the end of the town, which was
provided for the treaty, where was a fair room in the middle of the
house, handsomely dressed up for the commissioners to sit in; a large
square table being placed in the middle with seats for the
commissioners, one side being sufficient for those of either party; and
a rail for others who should be thought necessary to be present, which
went round. There were many other rooms on either side of this great
room, for the commissioners on either side to retire to, when they
thought fit to consult by themselves, and to return again to the public
debate; and there being good stairs at either end of the house, they
never went through each other’s quarters, nor met but in the great
room.”
This mansion, which is situated at the western extremity of the town of
Uxbridge, (was formerly a seat of the Bennet family, and at the time of
the treaty, the residence of Mr. Carr,) is still standing, and was a few
years since converted into an inn, bearing the sign of the Crown, and
has since undergone considerable repairs. The part towards the high road
has been newly fronted, but one entire end, and some inferior portions
of the outside, still retain their original appearance. Two principal
rooms likewise remain untouched by modern innovations; one of these is
the room in which Charles I. slept; the other in which he signed the
treaty with the parliament, and in which the commissioners afterwards
met. The treaty room, as it is called, is a spacious apartment, and is
lined with panelled oak wainscotting: it contains an original portrait
of Mary queen of Scots, taken a short time previous to her execution,
which is greatly admired; a copy from Vandyke of Charles I.; and some
excellent portraits engraved by Bartolozzi from paintings in Windsor
castle, among whom are sir Thomas More, his father, (judge More,) and
his son; and two females who I believe were governesses to part of the
family of Charles I. The room in which the king slept is more handsomely
wainscotted than the former, being in many parts curiously and
laboriously carved, and has a circular oak pillar on each side of the
fire-place, which is ornamented with tasteful and elaborate workmanship.
Another curiosity at this house, though not of so ancient a date, or
possessing equal charms for the antiquarian, deserves a slight notice.
In the garden is a fountain supplied with water, which has been
obtained by boring, and which falls into a reservoir containing perch,
tench, and a considerable quantity of eels;[401] at the top of the
fountain is an appropriate weathercock--an angler, with his landing-net
resting against his shoulder, his rod in his hand, and his line and
float moving on the surface of the water, according as the figure is
turned by the wind. On the water attaining a certain height it is
carried off by a pipe, and falls on an overshot wheel about three feet
in circumference; the use to which this is applied is very
remarkable--that of turning four spits at once before the kitchen fire!
I am informed that a similar plan to this is adopted in Cheshire, but I
am unable to ascertain the place.