Transcriber's Note:
Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_, bold text by =equal
signs=, and spaced text by ~tildes~.
Four advertisements originally at the front of this book were moved to
join the rest of the advertisements at the back.
THE MOTOR ROUTES
OF ENGLAND
WESTERN SECTION
ALREADY PUBLISHED
IN THE SAME SERIES
MOTOR ROUTES
OF ENGLAND
_SOUTHERN SECTION_
(South of the Thames)
With 24 Illustrations in Colour
'The touring motorist ... will find Mr. Home exactly the
sort of companion who will add sensibly to the pleasures of
the day's run. All along the main roads he gossips brightly
of history, architecture, and archæology, and manages to
convey a large amount of information without being
unpleasantly didactic.'
_Pall Mall Gazette._
THE MOTOR ROUTES
OF FRANCE
_TO THE CHÂTEAUX COUNTRY,
BIARRITZ, THE PYRENEES,
THE RIVIERA, AND THE
RHONE VALLEY_
Containing 16 full-page Illustrations in Colour, 16 in Black
and White, and 63 Maps and Plans
'A guide-book of a modern and very superior kind; eminently
practical, admirably concise, sufficiently detailed and
comprehensive, and, in addition, beautifully illustrated
and bound.'--_Standard._
'The traveller who has this work for a companion may feel
assured that he will miss little of interest or importance
along the way.'--_Westminster Gazette._
A. AND C. BLACK, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON
AGENTS
AMERICA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
64 & 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
AUSTRALASIA OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
205 FLINDERS LANE, MELBOURNE
CANADA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD.
ST. MARTIN'S HOUSE, 70 BOND STREET, TORONTO
INDIA MACMILLAN & COMPANY, LTD.
MACMILLAN BUILDING, BOMBAY
309 BOW BAZAAR STREET, CALCUTTA
GERMANY, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, }
RUSSIA, SCANDINAVIA, AND } BROCKHAUS AND PEHRSSON
GERMAN SWITZERLAND } 16 QUERSTRASSE, LEIPZIG
[Illustration: DISTANT VIEW OF BETTWS-Y-COED.]
THE
MOTOR ROUTES
OF ENGLAND
BY
GORDON HOME
(_ASSISTED BY CHARLES H. ASHDOWN_)
WESTERN SECTION
WITH
16 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR, AND
16 TOWN PLANS AND 26 ROUTE MAPS
ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK
SOHO SQUARE, LONDON · MCMXI
PREFACE
There have been many inquiries for this new volume of the 'Motor
Routes of England,' which I should have been glad to publish a year
ago had the necessary time been at my disposal. Finding that there was
little chance of getting the book out even this year, I obtained the
help of Mr. Charles H. Ashdown, who has written a considerable portion
of the letterpress under my supervision. We motored over a great part
of the routes together last year, and part of North Wales, which I had
no time to visit, Mr. Ashdown motored through in my car without me.
Although he knew the country intimately, I thought it better, from the
motorist's point of view, that he should go through the district
afresh. I hope, therefore, that, having taken great pains to give the
latest available information, this book will prove of use to all who
take their cars into Wales and those parts of England which are
included.
As in the previous volumes of this series, I am greatly indebted to
the Secretary of the Touring Department of the Royal Automobile Club
for his exceedingly kind assistance in working out the routes. They
are planned on the accumulated experience of a great many members of
the club, who have placed their knowledge at the disposal of their
fellow-members.
My experience of the Daimler 38 h.-p. car in which we toured through
the greater part of Wales and the adjoining English counties was, as
before, entirely satisfactory. We never had to give a thought to the
running of the car in the hundreds of miles of mountainous roads we
traversed.
Although the route maps accompanying the text are generally sufficient
for all the ordinary needs of the touring motorist, I do not think it
desirable to travel without the sheets of Bartholomew's
half-an-inch-to-the-mile reduced survey maps. The coloured contours
are of such service in showing the chief features of the surrounding
country that I always feel happier with them. The sheets required for
this book are numbered 8, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28,
29, 30.
I have been asked by those who have used the previous volumes of this
series to give a list of hotels, and in that printed at the end of
this book I give the names of those hotels I can recommend. I shall be
exceedingly grateful to any reader who discovers any inaccuracies in
this book if he will be kind enough to let me hear of them.
GORDON HOME.
43, GLOUCESTER STREET,
WARWICK SQUARE,
LONDON, S.W.
_May 1, 1911._
CONTENTS
TRUNK ROUTE
SECTION PAGE
I. LONDON TO DUNSTABLE, 32 MILES 1
II. DUNSTABLE TO ATHERSTONE, 72½ MILES 18
III. ATHERSTONE TO SHREWSBURY, 59 MILES 29
LOOP No. 1
(a) SHREWSBURY TO CHESTER, 39½ MILES 38
(b) CHESTER TO MOLD AND RHYL, 35½ MILES 52
(c) RHYL TO SHREWSBURY, 86½ MILES 61
TRUNK ROUTE
IV. SHREWSBURY TO LLANDUDNO, 81½ MILES 75
V. LLANDUDNO TO BANGOR, 18¾ MILES 89
LOOP No. 2
BANGOR TO BETTWS-Y-COED, 20¼ MILES 98
TRUNK ROUTE
VI. Bangor to Dolgelley, 65¾ Miles 103
LOOP No. 3
DOLGELLEY TO CEMMAES VIA TAL-Y-LLYN, 40 MILES 119
LOOP No. 4
CEMMAES TO ABERYSTWYTH AND LLANGURIG, 49¾ MILES 127
TRUNK ROUTE
VII. DOLGELLEY TO LLANGURIG, 48¼ MILES 134
LOOP No. 5
(a) TALGARTH TO ST. DAVID'S, 117¼ MILES 142
(b) ST. DAVID'S TO HEREFORD, 132¼ MILES 162
TRUNK ROUTE
VIII. LLANGURIG TO ABERGAVENNY, 68 MILES 180
IX. ABERGAVENNY TO GLOUCESTER, 84¼ MILES 189
LOOP No. 6
(a) HEREFORD TO SHREWSBURY, 54¾ MILES 219
(b) SHREWSBURY TO HEREFORD, 81¼ MILES 232
LOOP No. 7
GLOUCESTER TO BATH, MALMESBURY, EVESHAM,
TEWKESBURY, AND GLOUCESTER, 153 MILES 243
TRUNK ROUTE
X. GLOUCESTER TO OXFORD, 50 MILES 269
LOOP No. 8
OXFORD TO STRATFORD-ON-AVON, COVENTRY, BANBURY,
AND OXFORD, 110 MILES 280
TRUNK ROUTE
XI. OXFORD TO LONDON, 67½ MILES 305
TABLE OF THE SOVEREIGNS OF ENGLAND, THE CHIEF
EVENTS OF THEIR REIGNS, AND THE ARCHITECTURAL
PERIODS 320
A LIST OF MOTOR-CAR SIGNS 323
A LIST OF HOTELS 326
INDEX 327
NOTE.--Anyone wishing to plan a tour including the West of England and
Wales will find that this book joins with the Southern Section volume
at Bath and Windsor, and the large maps at the end of the books will
show other points between those places where the motorist can run from
one book into the other with only the slightest gap.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Distant View of Bettws-y-Coed. _Frontispiece_
FACING PAGE
2. Lichfield Cathedral 32
3. Shrewsbury House, Chester 65
4. Swallow Falls, near Bettws-y-Coed 72
5. Conway from Benarth 89
6. Conway Valley 96
7. Distant View of Penmaenmawr 113
8. Snowdon from Traeth Mawr 120
9. Hereford Cathedral from the Banks of the Wye 176
10. The Wye, Symond's Yat, near Monmouth, Herefordshire 185
11. Coming Night, near Beddgelert 201
12. Tintern Abbey 208
13. Church Porch at Northleach 281
14. Stratford-on-Avon 288
15. Ford's Hospital, Coventry 297
16. Magdalen Tower and Bridge, Oxford 304
_Map showing the whole of the routes at the end of volume._
LIST OF PLANS
PAGE
1. St. Albans 7
2. Dunstable 16
3. Shrewsbury 77
4. Chester 44
5. Conway 91
6. Carnarvon 106
7. Hereford 177
8. Worcester 237
9. Gloucester 212
10. Tewkesbury 265
11. Cheltenham 271
12. Oxford 307
13. Warwick 291
14. Leamington 294
15. Coventry 299
16. Bath 251
Chester Cathedral 46
Valle Crucis Abbey 72
Carnarvon Castle 107
St. David's Cathedral 159
Gloucester Cathedral 215
THE
MOTOR ROUTES OF ENGLAND
WESTERN SECTION
SECTION I
(TRUNK ROUTE)
THE HOLYHEAD ROAD
LONDON TO DUNSTABLE, 32 MILES
DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE
Miles.
=London-Marble Arch= to Elstree 11½
=Elstree= to St. Albans 8
=St. Albans= to Dunstable 12½
NOTES FOR DRIVERS
From the =Marble Arch= to =Elstree= the surface is very good, in spite
of trams for part of the way.
=Elstree= to =St. Albans=.--A hilly but good road.
=St. Albans.=--Speed limit, 10 miles per hour; dangerous cross-roads
in centre of town.
=St. Albans= to =Dunstable=.--Excellent surface, almost level.
PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE
=Edgware.=--An old-fashioned village.
=Elstree.=--A charmingly situated village, overlooking Aldenham Park.
The road through Highgate, Finchley, and Barnet passes the following
places on the way to St. Albans:
=Chipping Barnet.=--A growing town, much modernized; church,
Perpendicular style, but recently almost entirely rebuilt.
=Monken Hadley.=--A pretty village; interesting church with cradle
beacon affixed to tower; obelisk of Battle of Barnet.
=South Mimms.=--Small village; Perpendicular church, with traces of
Early English; the Frowyke Chapel, with effigy.
=Salisbury Hall.=--A sixteenth-century moated grange.
=St. Albans.=--Cathedral, Early Norman (1077) to Decorated, of
exceptional interest; great gateway of the monastery; Roman walls of
_Verulamium_ and British causeway; medieval clock-tower; sites of the
two battles; St. Michael's Church, Saxon, with monument of Bacon; old
timbered houses.
=Redbourne.=--Small village; church, Norman and Early English; fine
chancel screen.
=Dunstable.=--Ancient town, with earthworks; Priory Church, Transition
Norman, impressive west front.
THE STARTING-POINT
The best and most direct route from London to the finest scenery in
Wales, as well as to many of the most picturesque towns and districts
in the western half of the central or midland portion of England, is
the Holyhead Road. The older route books invariably give the General
Post Office as the best starting-point, and this has been indicated
on the route map on this page, and that road beyond Barnet is
described, but as the Edgware Road is so much preferable in many ways,
the distances by that way are given at the head of this section. From
the Marble Arch the road goes as straight as an arrow, passing through
Maida Vale, Brondesbury, and Cricklewood. The Welsh Harp Reservoir is
crossed, and the villages of Edgware and Elstree passed through, and
the road from Barnet is joined at St. Albans.
[Map: (TRUNK) No. 1. LONDON TO DUNSTABLE.]
By the older route shown in the map the first open country is not
reached until Barnet is passed. Barnet itself is now a suburban town
without any interest.
MONKEN HADLEY
Upon leaving Barnet, a slight detour to the right, occupying a few
minutes, leads to Monken Hadley Church, of varied styles of
architecture. It stands upon high ground near the road, and is
picturesquely surrounded by trees and pleasantly situated old houses
on a village green. The iron cradle beacon affixed to the tower is an
object of great rarity. It was used in past times to signal the
approach of disturbers of the peace. A tall obelisk near the church
was erected early in the eighteenth century to mark the site of the
battlefield of Barnet, 1471, immortalized in Bulwer Lytton's 'Last of
the Barons,' and memorable for the death of the great King-maker. A
road with a few easy turns in it leads back to the main route. It
passes ~Wrotham Park~, the seat of the Rev. the Earl of Strafford, whose
family name is Byng. Within one of the rooms the oak cabin of the
flag-ship once occupied by Admiral Byng has been erected, conveyed
thither when the vessel was broken up. Since 1757, when the Admiral
was shot upon his own quarter-deck, _pour encourager les autres_, no
Byng has entered the navy, the family having transferred its
allegiance to the army as a mild protest.
SOUTH MIMMS
The church contains traces of Early English architecture, but the main
features are Perpendicular. In the Frowyke Chapel, separated from the
church by a Perpendicular parclose screen, is a well-preserved effigy
of the Transition period and an interesting brass let in the floor.
The door to the vanished rood-loft is in good condition, and a
low-side window may be found in the chancel. Thomas de Frowyke, died
1448, is buried under the tower; the inscription states that six sons
and twelve daughters furnished the matrimonial quiver. The
ecclesiologist with time upon his hands will find an interesting
church at North Mimms, about two miles across country (see map),
standing in the grounds of an Elizabethan mansion. From South Mimms a
long and easy ascent leads to the summit of Ridge Hill, where the
massive tower of St. Alban's fane comes into view in the midst of a
beautiful landscape. An equally long and easy descent leads to a turn,
where a cottage stands upon the left, at some white gates. This is the
entrance to ~Salisbury Hall~, a picturesque moated grange of exceptional
interest, with quaint gables, twisted chimneys, and beautiful
surroundings. Originally built in the time of Henry VIII. by Sir John
Cutts, Treasurer of England, it subsequently was occupied by the
well-known Sir Jeremy Snow. Nell Gwynn was often here, recouping from
Court revels, and tradition asserts that Prince Charles sought refuge
within its walls after the Battle of Worcester. Visitors are generally
permitted to walk up to the farmyard to see the front of the house. At
~London Colney~ a piece of water is crossed. ~Tyttenhanger~ lies to the
right, at a distance of about two miles; it was the country house of
the Abbots of St. Albans, and has been adapted to modern requirements.
The road from here to St. Albans is easy, but care should be exercised
at the cross-roads in the centre of the town, where a policeman
generally regulates traffic.
[Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 1--ST. ALBANS.]
ST. ALBANS
A walk through the cloisters opposite the Great Red Lion Hotel affords
a striking view of a considerable part of the vast Abbey Church, the
most ancient of the great churches in England. It stands upon higher
ground than any other cathedral in the British Isles, and is the
longest next to Winchester. It possesses, moreover, the longest Gothic
nave in the world. The Norman tower, dating from 1077, is composed of
Roman bricks from the neighbouring _Verulamium_, and flints, bricks,
and stone from the same site may be detected in the walls. The walk
leads round to the southern part of the church, through the ancient
sumpter-yard, with its fine old cedar, and thence to the west front,
the site of the demolished monastery showing in irregular heaps upon
the left.
_The nave is open to the public free of charge. Sixpence is charged
for entrance to the eastern portions (threepence each for a party of
ten). Open from_--
_November 1 to February 28_ _10 a.m. to 4 p.m._
_March 1 to April 30_ } _10 a.m. to 5 p.m._
_September 16 to October 31_ }
_May 1 to September 15_ _10 a.m. to 6 p.m._
_Building Dates._
_Roman Period._--St. Alban was executed upon this spot, presumably in
the amphitheatre, in 303, and a church was erected to his memory by
the Christians of Verulam in 313, which was still standing in Bede's
time.
793. Offa the Great, King of Mercia, founded the monastery, and either
repaired and enlarged the Romano-British church or built a new one.
1077. Shortly after the Conquest, Paul de Caen, a relative of
Lanfranc, was appointed the first Norman abbot, and proceeded to
demolish the church, subsequently erecting a great Norman building in
its place, the remains of which--viz., the tower, transepts, parts of
the nave and the presbytery--still remain.
On entering by the west front, which has been rebuilt by Lord
Grimthorpe, the first part of the nave is Early English, dating from
_c._ 1214, and one of the best examples in England. Farther on Norman
bays, dating from 1077, are upon the north, while opposite them are
Decorated Gothic bays, built _c._ 1323 to replace the Norman work
which had fallen. The screen has been despoiled; it was erected in
1350. Passing through the door, the abbot's entrance from the
cloisters is seen upon the right, and the south transept is reached,
having a curious feature, the slype of Transition Norman work at the
south end. The tower dates from 1077, and is the largest and heaviest
of the Norman towers now remaining in England. Eight of the baluster
columns round the triforia are from the former Saxon church, and date
from 793. The choir-stalls are new, and above them is a remarkable
ceiling, the panels dating from 1368 to 1450. The north transept is
the reputed site of St. Alban's martyrdom. In the presbytery is the
high-altar screen, only rivalled by that at Winchester, and dating
from 1484. It is the work of Abbot Wallingford, was despoiled at the
Reformation, and recently restored by the late Lord Aldenham. South of
it lies the chantry tomb of Abbot Wheathampstead, and north that of
Abbot Ramryge. Leaving by the north door, the presbytery aisle is
reached, partly Norman and partly Early English. The old doors from
the west front preserved here date from the time of Henry VI.
Proceeding eastwards, the entrance to the Saint's Chapel is on the
right. Here is the far-famed shrine of St. Alban, or rather the
pedestal of the shrine, since the shrine itself was portable, and
rested upon the top of the structure. It dates from 1306, was
demolished in 1539, and built up in the three lancets at the east end
of the chapel. When the arches were opened some time since, the
fragments were recovered and put together. The tomb of Humphrey, Duke
of Gloucester (died, or murdered, 1447; see Shakespeare, _Henry VI._,
Part II.), stands on the south of the chapel; the coffin may be seen
by raising the trap-door. On the north side is the Watching Gallery,
where a monk sat to guard the shrine and its treasures. It dates from
_c._ 1400. There is only one other in England.
Leaving by the north door again, the shrine of St. Amphibalus, dating
from 1350, is seen. It was likewise demolished at the Reformation. The
Lady Chapel and its ante-chapel were erected between 1260 and 1320,
and exhibit Early English and Decorated architecture. They have been
restored under Lord Grimthorpe. Forty nobles who fell in the first
Battle of St. Albans are interred here. At the Reformation the chapels
were converted into school premises for St. Albans Grammar School, and
used as such for 300 years. The stone carving is particularly
beautiful. Passing out by the south door, an altar slab is seen, with
its five crosses; a grille, dating from _c._ 1270, which is the only
trellis screen in England; and upon the south the openings to former
external chapels. In the Wheathampstead Chapel may be seen the brass
of Abbot de la Mare (1349 to 1396), reputed to be the finest
ecclesiastical brass in existence.
The ~Great Gateway of the Monastery~, opposite to the west front of the
Abbey Church, dates from 1361, and now forms part of St. Albans
Grammar School, one of the oldest, if not _the_ oldest, scholastic
foundations in the kingdom. It was probably founded in the reign of
King Edred, about 948, and among the eminent personages attending it
have been Alexander Nequam, foster-brother of Richard I.; Matthew
Paris, who left the school in 1217 and entered the monastery; Sir John
Mandeville, the famous writer of his supposed travels, who lies buried
in the abbey; and Nicholas Breakspere, born in 1090, who subsequently
became Pope of Rome, the only Englishman who has attained to that
dignity. In 1195 the school was the largest in England. In 1381 the
gates were forced by the rioters in Wat Tyler's rebellion and the
precincts of the monastery invaded; and in 1480 the third
printing-press in England was set up in the building. Among
post-Reformation scholars one of the most distinguished was Francis
Bacon.
At the bottom of the lane leading from the monastery gateway is the
well-known Fighting Cocks Inn, reputed to be the oldest inhabited
house in Britain, and a few steps from it the River Ver. Crossing the
stream, the British causeway is reached, one of the most ancient
earthworks in Great Britain, and the Roman walls lie just beyond. The
visitor here stands upon soil which recalls memories of the earliest
period in the chronology of English history.
~Verulamium.~--At the time of Cæsar's invasion, 54 B.C., Cassivelaunus
was ruling over a great tract of country, with his capital at
_Verulamium_, the home of a long line of ancestors. The Roman general
captured the city and exacted tribute. In A.D. 42 the town submitted
to the Romans under Aulus Plautius, but was sacked and burnt by
Boadicea and her followers in A.D. 61. Rebuilt and fortified with
walls and towers, it was the first Roman city built in Britain. Its
area is 203 acres. In A.D. 58 Nero made it a _municipium_, or free
city, York being the only other town so honoured. It was essentially a
trading and residential city, and became the capital of Southern
Britain. In 303 St. Alban was led out of the gates and martyred upon
Holmhurst, where the Abbey Church was subsequently erected. By 436 the
Roman occupation had ceased, and swarms of Picts and Scots, Irish
pirates, and Northmen overran the district. Many battles were fought,
and in 516 _Verulamium_ was sacked and burnt. It served as a quarry
for many hundreds of years, yielding building materials for the
monastery and town. The only Roman theatre as yet discovered in
Britain came to light about fifty years since, and the foundations of
the largest building as yet unearthed in our islands were revealed a
few years ago. The thorough excavation of the whole site is being
mooted at the present time.
~St. Michael's Church~ is of Saxon architecture, dating from 948. It
contains an Elizabethan pulpit with hour-glass stand, and the tomb and
statue of Francis Bacon, Viscount St. Albans.
The ~Two Battles of St. Albans~ were fought in 1455 and 1461, the first
chiefly in St. Peter's Street and its byways, and the second upon
Bernard's Heath, lying to the north of St. Peter's Church, in whose
churchyard many thousands of the slain were interred.
The ~Clock Tower~ in the High Street dates from 1410, and contains a
medieval bell of beautiful workmanship, _c._ 1403, the curfew bell.
Other objects of interest in St. Albans are Sopwell Ruins, St.
Stephen's Church, and Gorhambury, two miles distant, the house of the
Bacons.
* * * * *
Shortly after leaving St. Albans by the Redbourn road, the River Ver
is crossed at Bow Bridge, and here the Watling Street from London,
which has passed through the centre of Verulam, joins the road, and
from this point until Chester is reached the way lies almost entirely
upon this great Roman artery. It is intact from London to St.
Stephen's Church, St. Albans, and, with a few gaps, from near Bow
Bridge to Chester.
At ~Redbourn~ a few quaint old houses still linger in the long, narrow
street. To reach the church, which is Norman and Early English, a turn
to the left is taken at the entrance to the village. It contains a
very fine chancel screen.
Flamstead lies half a mile off the main road, at the summit of a steep
hill. The church has recently been restored--a restoration in the true
sense of the word.
A long, steady rise through beautiful country eventually leads to
DUNSTABLE
The modern town is successor to the ancient station of _Durocobrivæ_
and a great Roman market, the _Forum Dianæ_.
[Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 2--DUNSTABLE.]
The district is remarkably rich in British and Roman remains: Maiden
Bower, a circular British earthwork, and Totternhoe, a combined
British and Roman fort, lie at short distances from the town (see
Map). The Watling Street is crossed here in the centre of the town by
the Icknield Way, and a piece of the Roman road was exposed near this
spot, which was 9 inches thick and intensely hard, of cemented flints
and sandstone.
Turning to the right, along Church Street (part of the Icknield Way),
the priory church, with its beautiful west front, is seen upon the
right.
~Dunstable Priory Church.~--Founded 1131, the church is but a fragment
of that which formerly stood here. Tower, transepts, chancel, and Lady
Chapel have disappeared, and even the nave, which remains, has been
curtailed. The body of Queen Eleanor rested here in 1290 upon its
progress to London; and in 1533 Archbishop Cranmer held his court in
the church, and formally divorced Queen Catherine of Aragon from the
King. The priory was dissolved in 1534. The greater part of the
building is Transition Norman, the chevron and billet ornamentation
being of excellent workmanship. The north aisle is Perpendicular. In
the chancel are ten balusters of Flemish design and execution.
Undoubtedly the great feature of the building is the exquisite west
front, which, though suffering in parts from recent restoration, still
delights the ecclesiologist. It contains four orders of architecture,
which effectually harmonize with one another.
Mr. Worthington G. Smith, the eminent local antiquary, has written a
most admirable handbook to the town, which will supplement these brief
particulars.