same name which clusters at its foot, is one of the most spectacular of
the ruined fortresses to be found in Southern England. At the periods of
the year when there are no strangers in the village, the ruins and the
village leave an impression on the mind which is not so palpable when
there are the distractions caused by other visitors. But even then, the
grand view across the wild downs forming the backbone of the island of
Purbeck, over which one gazes from the shattered towers and curtain
walls, is sufficiently memorable. Its position, commanding the whole
Purbeck range of hills, made the spot famous in Saxon days, when it was
known as Corfe Gate. Shortly after the days of Alfred the Great the hill
was strongly fortified by King Edgar, who made it his residence and
probably built the central keep, whose ruins still crown the summit of
the hill. Edgar left the castle to his widow Elfrida, whose name has
been handed down as the murderer of her stepson Edward--afterwards named
Edward the Martyr. He visited Corfe Castle in order to see his brother,
but while drinking a goblet of wine in the gateway between the two
circular towers shown in the illustration, he was stabbed by command of
Elfrida. During the civil war between Stephen and Maud, the fortress
defied all attempts to take it by Stephen's adherents; and up to the
struggle between Charles I. and his Parliament, when for a space of six
weeks Lady Bankes held the castle with a handful of retainers, Corfe
Castle has figured prominently in English history.
The village is almost entirely composed of cottages whose stone walls
and thick slate roofs are beautifully mellowed by the hand of time.
Nowhere does there appear anything new to jar with the silver greys and
the grey greens of the old cottages, the church, and the castle ruins.
A charge of sixpence each person is made for admission to the castle.
[Illustration: CORFE CASTLE.
Showing on the left the massive round towers flanking the gateway,
where, in Saxon times, Edward is said to have been stabbed by command of
his stepmother, Elfrida.]
LINCOLN AND ITS CATHEDRAL
=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly.
=Nearest Station.=--Lincoln.
=Distance from London.=--130 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 2-3/4 to 3-1/2 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 18s. 10d. ... 10s. 9d.
Return 37s. 8d. ... 21s. 6d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Great Northern Hotel," and others.
=Alternative Routes.=--Train from Marylebone, Great Central Railway.
Train from Liverpool Street, Great Eastern Railway. Train
from St. Pancras, _via_ Nottingham, Midland Railway.
Lincoln stands on a hill surrounded by level country. First a British
settlement, it became a Roman colony. In 1074 the decree that all
bishoprics should be in fortified places caused the removal of the See
of Dorchester to Lincoln. Even at this time Lincoln was an important
commercial town. Many parliaments have been held in its chapter-house,
and Henry VII. offered his thanksgivings after Bosworth in the
cathedral.
The mighty fane, with its three massive towers, rises majestically over
the red roofs of the town. Its most striking feature is the great Norman
screen, running up without buttresses or projections to the parapet and
hiding the bases of the square, richly decorated towers of the west
front. The plain centre of the screen is the work of Remigius, the first
bishop. The rest of it is relieved with rich arcading of Late Norman and
Early English periods. The wooden spires which crowned the towers were
removed in 1807.
In 1192 Hugh of Avalon determined to rebuild the Norman building of
Remigius, which an earthquake had shaken. To him we owe the choir and
eastern transept. His successors completed the western transept and
began the west end of the nave. So much money had to be spent in
rebuilding the central tower, which fell in 1239, that the canons could
not rebuild the nave entirely, but had to incorporate the Norman end by
Remigius. Unfortunately the axis of the west front does not correspond
to that of the nave, which is too wide for its height. The low vaulting
is a serious defect in the choir built by St. Hugh, but of the superb
beauty of the Angel Choir, which encloses his shrine, there can be no
doubt. In its richness of sculpture it is one of the masterpieces of
Gothic architecture in England. The interior of the cathedral is
remarkable for the harmony of its style, which is Lancet-Gothic, and the
dim lighting of the nave only adds to its impressiveness.
[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
The original Norman building was built by Remigius, but the structure
having been weakened by an earthquake shock, Hugh of Avalon in 1192
built the Choir and Eastern Transept, and his successors finished the
work.]
SOMERSET, THE BIRTHPLACE OF TENNYSON
=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly.
=Nearest Station.=--Horncastle (6 miles from Somersby).
=Average Time.=--from 3 to 4-1/2 hours.
=Distance from London.=--130 miles.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 18s. 4d. ... 10s. 10d.
Return 36s. 8d. ... 21s. 8d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--No inn at Somersby. Paying guests
accommodated at Baumber's Manor House at Somersby. Hotels
at Spilsby.
On August 6, 1809, Alfred Tennyson was born at the rectory at Somersby.
His grandfather, Mr. George Tennyson, M.P., resided at Bayon's Manor,
where the family had for a long period been known in Lincolnshire.
Alfred was the fourth of the twelve children of the Rev. George Clayton
Tennyson. Although there seems little reason for not believing that the
scenery which surrounded him in his youth impressed itself on his mind,
yet it is now stated with authority that the localities associated with
his subject poems, "which had been ingeniously identified with real
brooks and granges, were wholly imaginary." Those who visit Somersby,
therefore, would be wise in avoiding what is pointed out as "Tennyson's
Brook," merely gaining instead a general idea of the appearance of the
country which impressed itself on the poet's mind.
When he was six years old Tennyson was sent to the grammar school at
Louth, a town his mother was connected with, her father having been
vicar there. After five years at school at Louth, Tennyson returned to
Somersby Rectory to be trained by his father. The rectory possessed a
good library, and here the poet obtained his extensive knowledge of the
English classics. When only twelve years old he wrote an epic of 6000
lines, and two years later a drama in blank verse. Tennyson's early
knowledge of the sea was obtained at Mablethorpe on the Lincolnshire
coast, where the family spent their summer holidays. His father would
not allow him to leave Somersby until he could recite from memory the
whole of the odes of Horace.
In the early part of 1831 he returned to Somersby from Cambridge, and
within a few days his father died. The new incumbent, however, allowed
the family to continue at the rectory for some years. In 1837 they were
finally obliged to leave, and for the next three years they lived at
High Beach, Epping Forest.
[Illustration: SOMERSBY RECTORY.
Where Alfred Tennyson was born in 1809.]
GLASTONBURY ABBEY
=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo. South-Western Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Glastonbury and Street.
=Distance from London.=--132-1/4 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies from 3-1/2 to 5 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 21s. 0d. ... 10s. 6d.
Return 36s. 9d. ... 21s. 0d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"George Hotel," "Red Lion Hotel,"
"Crown Hotel," etc.
=Alternative Route.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.
In the early days of Christianity in Britain this celebrated abbey,
according to tradition, was established in A.D. 63. Joseph of Arimathea
was supposed to be the founder, and the "miraculous thorn," which
flowered on Christmas Day, was believed to be holy by the common people
even up to the time of the Puritans. During the wars between Charles I.
and his Parliament the thorn was destroyed, but sturdy trees grown from
cuttings of the original still flourish in some of the neighbouring
gardens. This thorn was believed by the people to be the staff used by
Joseph in his journey to Britain from the Holy Land. At one time
Glastonbury Abbey covered 60 acres, and was the lengthiest
ecclesiastical building in England, but as many of the houses in
Glastonbury, and also a causeway across Sedgemoor (where the unhappy
Duke of Monmouth was defeated) were constructed of the materials, the
ruins are of necessity much diminished. The most interesting remains are
the Abbey Church, with St. Joseph's Chapel, St. Mary's Chapel, and the
Abbot's Kitchen. St. Joseph's Chapel is supposed to have been erected in
the time of Henry II. and Richard I. It is one of the finest specimens
in existence of transitional Norman work. It is now roofless, and even
the vaulting of the crypt is nearly destroyed. The windows and archways
of St. Mary's Chapel are beautiful, although roofless. The Abbot's
Kitchen, a square massive structure with strong buttresses, was built
about 1450. The roof is of stone and is surmounted by a louvre, through
which the smoke escaped during the great culinary preparations in the
days of the abbey's prosperity. The gargoyles around the building,
representing the heads of sheep and oxen, are suggestive of the purpose
of the building. Henry VIII., who coveted the treasures of the abbey, in
1539 summoned Abbot Whiting to surrender, and on his refusal ordered him
to be drawn and quartered. This was carried out on Glastonbury Tor.
[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._
GLASTONBURY ABBEY.
The doorway of St. Joseph's Chapel.]
WALSINGHAM, NORFOLK
THE PRIORY OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM
=How to get there.=--Train from Liverpool Street or St. Pancras.
Great Eastern Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Walsingham.
=Distance from London.=--133 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 4 and 5-1/2 hours. Quickest train 3
hours 50 minutes.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 19s. 7d. ... 10s. 3d.
Return 33s. 3d. ... 20s. 6d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Black Lion Hotel," "Abbeygate
Temperance Hotel," etc.
The ruins of the famous priory are now included in the extensive grounds
of Walsingham Abbey, the property of Mr. Henry Lee Warner. Visitors have
permission to see these ruins on Wednesdays and Fridays, by application
at the lodge of the abbey.
Walsingham is a pretty village 5 miles from Wells-on-Sea. It possesses a
noble church in the Perpendicular style, an ancient town pump, and two
wishing wells, which were formerly believed to possess miraculous
powers, for the legend is that they sprang from the ground at command of
the Virgin. Walsingham was an important place for many centuries, for it
contained the famous shrine of the Virgin, or, as it was called, "Our
Lady of Walsingham." This far-famed chapel of the Virgin was founded by
Ricoldie, the mother of Geoffrey de Faverches. When Geoffrey set out on
a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he granted to God and St. Mary, and to Edwy,
his clerk, the chapel which his mother Ricoldie had built at Walsingham,
with other possessions, requesting him to found a priory there. It
became one of the richest in the world. From the very commencement there
was an unceasing flow of pilgrims from all nations to it. Several kings
and queens of England, and among them Henry VIII., paid their devotions
there. Erasmus, who visited the priory in 1511, derided its enormous
wealth. Parts of the road leading to this priory are known to this day
as the "Walsingham Way" and the "Palmer's Way." It is said more pilgrims
came to Walsingham than to the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket at
Canterbury. The monks taught the people that the "Milky Way" pointed to
the shrine. Hence the Norfolk people called it the "Walsingham Way."
This shrine was destroyed at the dissolution of monasteries in 1539.
[Illustration: _Rev. W. Martin, Walsingham._
EAST WINDOW OF THE PRIORY AT WALSINGHAM.]
CHEDDAR CAVES, CHEDDAR, SOMERSET
=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Cheddar.
=Distance from London.=--134 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 4-1/4 to 5-1/4 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 21s. 4d. 13s. 4d. 10s. 8d.
Return 37s. 4d. 23s. 4d. ...
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Cliff Hotel," etc.
The village of Cheddar, a name which reminds one of the cheese for which
the district is famous, is situated under the Mendip Hills, on the
Cheddar river, a tributary of the Axe. The place was once a market town
of considerable note, as the fine market-cross still testifies, but is
now chiefly celebrated as a starting-point for visiting the wonderful
natural beauties of the neighbourhood, the tremendous gorge through the
Cheddar cliffs and the stalactite caves being the most remarkable. The
road from the village rises gradually, passing the masses of rock known
as the "Lion," the "Castle Rock," the "Pulpit," and others, named from
their wonderful resemblance to the work of human hands. The way winds
between steep limestone walls and towering pinnacles, rising here and
there to a height of between four and five hundred feet, and absolutely
shutting one in from even the merest glimpse of the magnificent scenery
in the valley below. There are paths here and there leading up to points
of vantage, but the way is difficult and dangerous owing to the manner
in which the passes are honeycombed with caverns and fissures.
In the midst of the gorge on the right hand of the way lie the entrances
to the marvellous stalactite caves, the first of which was discovered in
1837, and the second in comparatively recent times. It is needless to
say that the proprietor of each cave affirms his to be the better--as a
matter of fact, both are well worth seeing. One looks with something
like awe on the fantastic shapes of the stalagmites and stalactites in
these huge caverns, where the moisture, percolating through the earth,
has been dripping in the darkness for countless centuries, each
lime-laden drop lengthening imperceptibly the stalactite overhead and
the stalagmite beneath, while the consequent splashings, and, in some
parts, more sluggish dripping, make hundreds of quaint and suggestive
forms above and below. The caverns are well lit up to display their
beauties, and the admission is 2s. for a single visitor, or 1s. each for
members of a party.
[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._
CHEDDAR CLIFFS.
The road leading to the limestone caves.]
NEWSTEAD ABBEY
THE BIRTHPLACE OF BYRON
=How to get there.=--Train from St. Pancras. Change trains at
Nottingham. Midland Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Newstead.
=Distance from London.=--134-1/4 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 3-1/4 to 4-1/4 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 17s. 6d. ... 10s. 9-1/2d.
Return 35s. 0d. ... 21s. 7d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Station Hotel,"* Newstead. "Swan
Hotel,"* Mansfield. "Midland," "White Hart," and "Green
Dragon," and others.
Near Sherwood Forest, and not far from the town of Mansfield, is
Newstead Abbey, the ancestral seat of the Byrons. Founded in 1170 by
Henry II. as an expiation for the murder of Thomas à Becket, the abbey,
at the dissolution of the monasteries, was given by Henry VIII. to Sir
John Byron. The latter made it his home, altering it very little, but
allowing the church to fall into ruins. The monks, before leaving their
old home, hid the charters in the lectern, which they threw into the
lake. About 100 years ago the lectern, still containing the charters,
was discovered, and is now being used at Southwell. The "Wicked Lord
Byron," the grand-uncle of the poet, allowed the abbey to fall into
decay, and to spite his sons cut down a large number of splendid oaks.
Byron succeeded to the estate when a mere boy, and loved it so much
that, even when in great need of money, he refused to part with it. At
last he was obliged to sell the home, which he has so vividly portrayed
in verse, to his old school friend Colonel Wildman. After the loss of
the abbey, Byron left England, and died six years afterwards, in 1824,
at Missolonghi, fighting for the independence of the Greeks.
The Abbey Church, though in ruins, is a very good example of Early
English work. The abbey itself is full of interesting and historic
rooms, one being the bedroom where Charles II. slept, retaining still
the state bed, whose coverlet was embroidered by Mary Queen of Scots.
Edward I. is known to have stayed in the abbey, and the room which he
occupied contains some splendid oak carving. Lord Byron's bedroom is
just as he left it, with his college pictures on the walls and the
writing-table that he used. Newstead is open to the public on Tuesday
and Friday when the family are not in residence. Tickets may be obtained
at the two hotels mentioned above which are marked with an asterisk.
[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._
NEWSTEAD ABBEY.
It contains Lord Byron's bedroom in exactly the condition he left it in
1818.]
THE WESSEX OF THOMAS HARDY'S ROMANCES
=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo. L. and S.W. Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Dorchester.
=Distance from London.=--135-1/4 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 3 to 5-1/2 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 22s. 8d. 14s. 2d. 11s. 4d.
Return 39s. 8d. 24s. 10d. 22s. 8d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Antelope," "King's Arms," and
other hotels.
=Alternative Route.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.
The centre of the district in the south-west of England which has been
labelled with its ancient Saxon name of Wessex, may be found at the
old-fashioned town of Dorchester. This is the Mecca of the whole
countryside so vividly portrayed in Mr. Hardy's numerous romances
dealing with the rustic life of the west country. On market-days,
Dorchester is crowded with carriers' vans and innumerable vehicles which
have brought in the farmers and their families from remote corners of
the surrounding country, and it is then that one is able to select
examples of many of the characters created by the novelist. To get at
these folk in their homes, one may journey in almost any direction from
Dorchester. The streets of Dorchester are suggestive of Mr. Hardy's
works at every turn, so much so that the wayfarer may almost feel that
he is taking an expurgated part in _The Mayor of Casterbridge_. A large
old-fashioned house near St. Peter's Church seems to correspond to
Lucetta's residence--High Place Hall. Then, the comfortable bay-windows
of the "King's Arms," an old hostelry belonging to coaching days,
suggests recollections of Henchard, who dined there on the occasion of
the memorable banquet, when he threw down the challenge so quickly taken
up by Farfrae.
Going up South Street one passes on the right the Grammar School,
founded in 1579 by a certain Thomas Hardy, an ancestor of all the Dorset
Hardys--Nelson's friend and the Wessex novelist being the most
distinguished among them. Mr. Thomas Hardy lives in a new red house
known as "Max Gate," which is situated a short distance from Dorchester.
Eight miles away from the town is the village of Puddletown, known as
"Weatherbury" in _Far from the Madding Crowd_. The church Mr. Hardy
describes in his novel can be seen, but Warren's malt-house was
destroyed more than twenty years ago. St. Peter's Church, Dorchester, of
the Perpendicular period, has a Norman porch and contains two
cross-legged recumbent effigies.
[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._
DORCHESTER.
The centre of Mr. Thomas Hardy's "Wessex."]
TINTERN ABBEY
=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.
=Nearest Station.=--Tintern.
=Distance from London.=--145-1/2 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 4-3/4 to 6 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 24s. 6d. 15s. 4d. 12s. 2-1/2d.
Return 42s. 9d. 26s. 10d. 24s. 5d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Beaufort Arms Hotel," "Royal
George Hotel," "Rose and Crown Hotel," at Chepstow, 5-1/2 miles
distant by road.
Tintern Abbey is situated in a level valley, surrounded on all sides by
high green pastures and wooded hills, at the bottom of which the
glorious river Wye glides in its circuitous course to the sea. The abbey
is said to share with Melrose the distinction of being the most
picturesque and beautiful ecclesiastical ruin in Great Britain. When the
sun is setting, or better still, under the mystic light of the harvest
moon, the picture formed by the roofless abbey in its perfect setting,
needs a Wordsworth to do it justice.
An abbey for Cistercian monks was established on this spot in 1131 by
Walter Fitz-Richard de Clare and dedicated to St. Mary. None of this
building remains, as the whole edifice was rebuilt about 1260. The chief
part of the ruins, now standing, is the church, though in 1847, when
excavations were being carried on in an adjoining orchard, the remains
of the Hospitium were discovered. This was an oblong building, supported
on pillars, in which it was the custom for the monks to entertain
strangers or travellers of their order. In the middle of the nave are
the four arches which supported the tower, now mere skeletons, yet
sufficiently preserved to show their form. The walls are nearly
complete, and many of the columns still stand, as well as the bases of
those whioh have fallen. All the pavement has disappeared, and the whole
of the former floor is reduced to one level, now carpeted with turf.
The church is cruciform in plan and measures 228 feet from east to west.
The remains of the dormitory, chapter-house, cloisters, and the
refectory, which still has its lectern for the use of the reader during
meals, are to be found on the north side of the church. Walking on the
walls is forbidden. The vast extent of the ruins of the Hospitium
recalls the fact that Tintern Abbey was for a long period distinguished
for its luxurious style of living and its great hospitality.
When in the neighbourhood of Tintern one should visit Monmouth for its
remarkable old bridge with its interesting gatehouse.
[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._
TINTERN ABBEY.
The beautiful river Wye is seen flowing just beyond the ruins.]
CHESTERFIELD, DERBYSHIRE
=How to get there.=--Train from St. Pancras. Midland Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Chesterfield.
=Distance from London.=--146 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 3 to 3-3/4 hrs.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 19s. 2d. ... 12s. 1d.
Return 38s. 4d. ... 24s. 2d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"The Angel Hotel," "Station Hotel,"
"Midland Hotel," "Hotel Portland," etc.
=Alternative Route.=--Train from Marylebone. Great Central Rly.
Chesterfield, now the second largest town in its own county, was at the
time of the Doomsday survey merely a bailiwick to Newbold, which at the
present time has dwindled down to a small hamlet to the west of the
parish. In the middle of the thirteenth century a battle was fought here
between the Earl of Derby and Prince Henry, nephew of Henry III., in
which the Earl was defeated and taken prisoner. It was also the scene of
a fierce engagement during the civil wars of Charles I., in which the
Earl of Newcastle routed the Parliamentary forces in 1643.
The great feature of interest in Chesterfield is the parish church of
All Saints, with its extraordinary twisted spire 230 feet in height.
This "crooked" spire, which leans over to the south-west, has been the
object of much discussion amongst antiquaries, as to whether it was
designed in such a fashion, or whether the present state of affairs has
been brought about by a warping of the timber frame under the outside
covering of lead. The latter seems the more feasible theory.
There was a church at Chesterfield in the eleventh century, but the
present structure is mainly of the fourteenth century, with later
additions. In the interior there are several features of interest, among
them being the screen separating the transept from the chancel. This is
carved with a set of mysterious figures, supposed to be emblematical of
the crucifixion.
There are many extremely fine and interesting monuments in the church,
especially two belonging to the Foljambe family. At the east end is a
very good modern stained-glass window, erected as a memorial to a former
vicar, the late Archdeacon Hill.
In the neighbourhood of Chesterfield there are a number of interesting
places, notably the fine old churches at Old Brampton and Wingerworth,
and a small disused chapel with a Norman doorway at Newbold.
[Illustration: _G.W. Wilson & Co._
CHESTERFIELD CHURCH.
With its strangely-distorted spire, probably due to the unequal
shrinking of its timbers.]
DUKERIES
=How to get there.=--From King's Cross. Great Northern Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Worksop Station.
=Distance from London.=--146-1/2 miles.
=Average Time.=--3-1/2 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 20s. 1d. ... 12s. 2-1/2d.
Return 40s. 2d. ... 24s. 5d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Royal Hotel," etc., at Worksop.
=Alternative Route.=--From Marylebone or to Dukeries Junction from
King's Cross.