Chapter XII: Gravesend to the Nore (2)

The tendency to dwell on the past is almost irresistible as we move amid the stupendous evidences of modern ingenuity and resource. The clangour of hammers resounds in the dockyard. That monster, over whose iron ribs the swarming workmen clamber like midges, could have steamed quietly among Nelson's fleet and sent them all to the bottom in a couple of hours. Not one of them could have scratched her, not one could have run away from her, and, supposing that her ram were employed, she could have shorn through the _Victory_ from bulwark to bulwark without even running the risk of being boarded. Out in the stream lies the rotting hulk which once was regarded as the prime work of the human hand and brain; in dock lies the iron monster that needs neither wind nor tide--the monster which could stand the brunt of the _Bellerophon's_ broadside without suffering a dent. So the world changes.

It would take a month to describe the dockyard; indeed, in a single day's inspection, it is hardly possible to gain an idea of the magnitude of the place. It is a little world of industry, with a separate constitution, and separate laws. In such a vast organisation it is inevitable that blunders occur, and that woful waste goes on among the incredible masses of material that bewilder the senses. Nevertheless, a sight of Sheerness Dockyard gives a more definite idea of British power than reams of abstract declamation and shadowy description.

The town is marked off into strictly defined regions. Blue Town lies within the garrison limits, and is pervaded by the military. Mile Town faces toward the Nore, and lies within a strong line of fortifications. Banks Town and Marina front the open sea, and are clear of the atmosphere of business. The two last-named quarters form a merry little watering-place, and they are intensely modern. The sea rolls up the beach, pure and clean, and there are few signs of that dubious compound which makes the Southend flat a place of fear. There the children build their sand-castles, even as the children did in Homer's time by the blue eastern waters; there the enfranchised clerk carries out his peculiar system of enjoyment, and the usual happy, commonplace, invigorating life goes on during the season. If we described Marina, we should only describe the typical sea-side places into which the cities empty themselves in the autumn weather. We may leave Sheerness. The guide to the docks alone would occupy this book if we only indicated the points of interest. It is best merely to say that, alike to those who know the stirring history of our navy, and to those who are amused by Cockney jollity, the place is worth seeing.

The striped buoy rises and falls to the rhythm of the short seas, and the waving ball that surmounts the tall pole catches the eye at a long distance either riverward or eastward. This light is one of the marks that Englishmen think of wherever they may be on the surface of the globe. Not a passenger steamer goes past that light without a tremor of excitement running through all who are on board of her. It seems as though there were magic in the name, and whether for the sailor coming from the East Indies, or from round the Horn, or the coasters who have merely run down from the Tyne, the words, "Here we are, abreast the Nore!" have a sound that acts like a charm.

That worn and battered vessel that trails past you as though she were weary of infinite travel and incessant hard battering amid furious seas, has men aboard her who have chattered for hours together about all they would see and do when once they passed this point. When the seas are crashing down on the forecastle-head, and the falling water sounds like muffled drums; while the stinking lamp gutters in the foul atmosphere, then Jack, as he stretches on his squalid bunk, grumbles to his mates about the delight that will come when all this is over, and the buoy heaves up well within sight; and man-o'-warsmen who beat about in rickety gun-boats on the hideous coasts of East and West Africa, think with longing of the time when their cruel privations shall be over, and the magic announcement shall be made that sets the pulse of every mariner dancing.

To the mere landsmen, the whole stretch of the sea around the light is pleasant to sail over. The fishermen and bargemen say, "You are sure to get a breeze down by the Nore!" and there is hardly a day at any season of the year, or in any weather, on which this prophecy is not justified. The yachts that come lazily down, with their huge spinnakers spread like a swan's wing before cat's-paws that merely tremble over the surface of the Thames, immediately show signs that the captains are exercising caution when they cross that breezy band. You instinctively expect to see the spinnakers taken in, and to see the swift cutters lie hard over to the mainsail and foresail they sweep round the buoy. Once you have sailed to the eastward, you feel as though your craft were suspended between sea and land. On one side you have Southend, glittering in colour; on the other, you have the more sombre vision of Sheerness. Far up the river the rippling flood advances, as it were, in steady ranks upon you; and away to the south-west the marshes glitter, and the far-off hills look cold and blue. Between tide and tide a whole day of pleasure may be enjoyed by one who is content to watch merely the changes of sea and sky, and to speculate lazily as to the character of the vessels that pass in long procession. To men into whose spirits the charm of the Lower River has entered, there is no form of enjoyment dearer than merely to sail past the Nore, run outside near the Maplin sands, and there wait until the tide turns and the inward trip can be made with ease. In a small boat it is best to keep slightly out of the track of the vessels that are running into the Swin, and to hit the happy medium between those that are going north about and those that are travelling south. The colliers go by flying light; the men on board are tolerably lazy; and as the dirty, rusty hulks lumber by, the seamen wave a kindly greeting. Smart, clean-built Scandinavian barques claw their way down, and the leisurely barges--which we have mentioned so often--pass by, laden to an extent that excites wonder at the temerity of the cool ruffians who man them.

Amid this unceasing panorama, every separate picture of which tells some fresh and strange story of far-off regions, of grimy labour, of storm and peril, it is easy for men who are content with a day of small things to sit for hours and hours, perhaps only exchanging monosyllabic comments on each new-comer. The most glorious sight of the many that may be seen at the Nore comes when some mighty sailing-ship looms to the northward of the marshes, and swims grandly on in the wake of her puffing, fussy little tug. As the two come on in their brief procession the tug represents mind; the vessel represents matter. That great ship that will so soon perhaps be sweeping down the league-long seas southward of the Horn trails meekly in the wake of a fat little screw, which could be placed on the deck of the convoy without causing a great deal of inconvenience. The ship is the embodiment of grace--the tug is the embodiment of ugliness; and yet until the river is clear the tug is master. But supposing a fine breeze springs up, then, of a sudden, there is a stir on board the vessel. From afar off you cannot tell exactly what is being done, but you know that presently her white wings will be shaken out; and, sure enough, as the vessel strikes the open, the sails fall--a cloud seems to spring from the water as if from the touch of a magician. Then the tug swings discreetly aside. Little by little, the wind lays its hand on each of the bellying sails and thrusts them out, till their broad bosoms glint in the sunshine and the hulk lunges and gathers way under their steady pull. The wind gains power, and the ship comes on with a creamy ripple of foam ringing her bows like some dainty ornament; and, with a sweep, she passes you by, leaving a billowy wake behind her; and before your last cheer has died into silence she is away on her journey. When one of the great four-masters glides out under her towers of canvas there is something in the sight that brings one's heart into his mouth. It never grows stale. You see the great hull with a line of wistful faces peering over the bulwark, and you know that you are only gazing upon a common-place emigrant ship. Yet the most prosaic of men comes to think of this majestic structure as a living being, and the poorest emigrant that ever wept over his farewells at Gravesend acquires a certain dignity from being carried away by her.

Shore-going folk often wonder at the contented impassivity of seamen who happen to have an idle hour in which to stare at the ships and the water. Observe an ordinary East Coast seaman spending his leisure. His eyes seem devoid of speculation, he stares sleepily seaward, and when he talks to a companion he uses brief, ill-formed sentences. But his mind is active, and if you listen to his low comments you will find that, in a quiet way, he studies the water and its passing burdens as men study a beloved book. If a ship is detained to wait for a tide or a pilot, the sailors find their pastime in contemplation and rude comment which the landsman does not understand. If that landsman only spent a while in a yacht on the Lower River they would learn that the solemn men who look so still and melancholy are probably feeling a placid pleasure, and the fixed silence is the expression of a sober contentment that cannot find expression in words. When our full-rigged vessel goes rolling away with the wind rushing hoarsely out of her courses the sailor feels acute delight; but he only grunts his admiration. The landsman may be excused if he breaks into unwonted ejaculations, and we have recognised our own right to the landsman's privilege. The present writer can never forget the shock of surprise with which he first saw a full-rigged ship slashing seaward from the Lower Hope. He rose as the dawn was painting the river with flashes of gold, and, lo! to leeward of the yacht, within forty yards, the monster ship was shouldering her way through the dappled flood. The smaller vessel was lying down till her copper gleamed to windward, and the swashing stream surged aft and rolled nearly up to the companion; but the little "floating chisel" could not long hold her own against the cloud-capped castle, and soon we watched her drawing proudly away on her long journey.

The trim gardens, the rich air of ordered beauty, the lovely song of birds--all the things that greet the senses on the Upper River are pleasant to the senses, but nothing in the gliding shallows that we love so well could equal the majesty, the strength, the glory, of that noble ship; and the sight of her was something to remember in happy nights when one cannot sleep for the delight of living.

Sometimes, when loitering northward of the Nore, we hear a sullen boom, and feel a tremor in the air. The artillerymen are at work on the ranges at Shoeburyness, and some tremendous piece of artillery is pitching masses of iron seaward. There is no danger, for it rarely happens that even an unwary bargeman ventures near the forbidden region. In our time we only remember one accident. The eighty-one ton gun had hurled a shrapnel shell over a distance of about six miles. On the landward side, the whole of the windows within a quarter of a mile were shivered from out the frames, and the officers' quarters were left desolate; while, to seaward, a great massacre took place among a flock of unwary gulls. But this is the only loss of life that has been caused by the projectiles which scream over the broad shallows. To persons of a military turn, Shoebury is a most interesting quarter. Everything is so trim, so business-like, so ineffably military; and the work goes on so calmly that no one would think that the groups of stern officers and dashing artillerymen were studying the art of destruction. In summer, when the volunteers are encamped, the whole place breaks into merriment as soon as the toilsome competitions are over, and the forts are well worth a visit from a tourist. The picturesque is lacking, but once more, the power--the immeasurable reserve force--of our nation strikes on the mind and wakens a feeling of pride.

Morning on the Upper River is joyous, and all through the bright summer days a sense of keen gladness grows with every hour. The sleepy afternoons, when the silence broods over the reaches like a voice, carry the day-long symphony of gladness through yet another movement; and in the evening, when the clear stars speak silence from their glimmering eyes, and wash the dusk with silver, everything grows beautiful, tender, and kindly to the thoughtful soul.

The Upper River is like a delicate lady, clad in all daintiness, and beaming with gentle beauty. The Lower River is like a burly man, who urges his way through his career with a sense of strength, with a disdain of obstacle, with a brutal persistence that keep up the masculine character. From the places where the ships curtsy at their creaking tiers, to the splendid stretch where the sea-breeze blows shrill, chilly with flecks of foam, every yard is vivid with interest.

We believe that no man ever grew tired of the Upper River. People haunt its reaches year after year, till it seems as though all the blessed summers were blended into one memory. We cannot think with joy of summer on the Lower River; but the bitter winter days, the scream of keen blasts, the monstrous procession that connects the world of the city with the great world of the outer sea--all these things are never-fading when once their impact has fairly gained the recesses of the soul.

Old sportsmen may still be found who shot over the saltings or glided round the forbidding points of the Lower Thames in their youth; the habit never leaves them, and, as the seasons roll, these men find their keenest delight from prowling among the shadowy marshes or facing the salt, shrill wind that pulses and beats around the Nore.

Sometimes a Cockney sceptic may be found who shudders and speaks of the Lower River as a place of horror. He sighs for the glades of Clieveden, for the mossy chestnuts of Hampton Court, for the sloping gardens of Sunbury. But let a wise sportsman take the sceptic's education in hand; let his wayward mind be disciplined by merry days among the swarming saltings, and he will acquire a taste that will be lasting. If he is judiciously taught he may come at last to feel the true ecstasy, the mysterious poetry, that touch the soul on shining nights when the moon-silvered roll of the water is gladsome, and the shadowy ships steal away to the sea. Then the sordid flats are touched into beauty by the cold gleam, and the winds, and the waters, and the sailing clouds, and the quiet ships pass like a mystic pageant, fleeting, fleeting, ever eastward. The veriest townsman that ever waked the echoes under Kingston Bridge with his clamour will own at such a time that few sights in England are finer than the noble outflow of our splendid river.

/J. Runciman/.

INDEX.

Abbey Church at Dorchester, 72

---- of Abingdon, 63

Abingdon Bridge, 63

----, Abbatial parlours at, 64

----, Environs of, 68

----, Market Cross at, 65

----, Market-place of, 64

----, Shrine at, 66

---- to Streatley, 62 to 84

----, Town of, 62

Abney House, 134

Above Oxford, 1 to 32

Albert Bridge, Windsor, 169

---- Docks, 303, 320

---- Embankment, 266

Ancient Stone Cross at Abingdon, 65

"Angler's Rest," The, 176

Angling in the Thames, 13, 28, 29, 90, 107, 161, 170, 172, 186, 187,
193, 197, 218

Ankerwyke House, 173

Antiquity of Streatley and Goring, 87

Appleford Bridge, 70

Apps Court at Hampton, 200

Artillery Ranges at Shoeburyness, 360

Asiatic Home, 304

Aston Ferry, 119

Avon Canal, 99

B

Bablock Hythe, 24

Bampton, 20

Bankside, Southwark, 282

Barges on the Thames, 57

Barking Abbey, 326

---- Reach, 327

"Barley Mow," The, 71

Barn Elms, 253

Barnes Common, 248

----, The Village of, 248

Basildon Ferry, 88

----, Village of, 88

Battersea Bridge, 258

---- Park, 264

---- Reach, 257

Bear Garden, Southwark, 282

Beauchamp Tower, 300

Beefeaters and Guards at the Tower, 301

"Beetle and Wedge," The, 82

Bell Weir Lock, 173

"Bells of Ouseley" Tavern, 172

Belot, The Arctic Explorer, 316

Benedictine Novices at Oxford, 39

Benfleet Station, 342, 345

Bensington, The Village of, 77

---- Lock, 78

Bermondsey and Tooley Street, 298

Billingsgate Fish-market, 291, 292, 294

Binsey, The Village of, 32

Bird Life on the Thames, 18

Birthplace of River Thames, 2

Bisham and its Ghost, 126

---- Church, 127

---- House, 125

---- Priory, 126

---- Woods, 149

Bishopric of London and Fulham Palace, 255

"Black Cherry Fair," 187

Blackfriars Bridge, 277

Blackwall, 319

Blenheim Park, 27

Bolney Court, 104

Botanical Gardens at Battersea, 262

Boulter's Lock, 141

Bourne End, 133

Boveney Lock, 151

Boyle Farm and the "Dandies' Fête," 209

Boyne Hill, 142

Bray, 145

Bream Fishing at Dagenham, 325

Brentford, Town of, 246

Brethren of the Holy Rood and Abingdon, 65

Bridge at Richmond, 235

---- Ward Without, 282

Bridgwater Canal, 56

Burrow Marsh, 103

Bushey Park, 204, 219

Bye-laws of the Watermen's Company, 340

C

Canal from Birmingham to Oxford, 56

Canute's Country, 21

Canvey Island, 345

---- Point, 345, 349

Capital of Wessex, The, 73

Carp in the River, 111

Cassington Church, 30

Castle Eaton Bridge, 12

Caversham Bridge, 94

---- Warren, 94

"Cawsam Hill," 93

Chaucer and Southwark, 282

Chelsea and Neighbourhood, 260

----, Cheyne Walk, 262

---- Don Saltero's Coffee-house, 262

----, Great Cheyne Row, 262

---- Hospital, 263

---- Suspension Bridge, 264

Chertsey, Angling at, 186 to 188

---- Bridge, 185

----, Bridge House at, 189

---- Church and Bell, 186, 188

---- Fairs, 187

---- Mead, 184

----, St. Ann's Hill at, 189

Cherwell Bridge at Oxford, 50

Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, 260, 262

Chiltern Hills, 86

Chilton Lodge, 98

Chinese Barges and Weirs, 56

Chiswick House, 250

Christ's Hospital at Abingdon, 67

Church of Old Windsor, 170

---- of St. Peter ad Vincula, 301

---- of St. Helen at Old Abingdon, 68

Churn, The, 7, 8

Clasper's Boathouse, 37

Cleeve Lock, 82

Cleopatra's Needle, 274

Cliefden House, 136, 138

---- Woods, 134, 138

Cliff Creek, Gravesend, 336

Clifton Bridge, 71

---- Hampden, 70

Coarse Fish in the Thames, 109

Commercial Docks, 307

Conservancy of the River, 179

Convent at Isleworth, 240

---- of Sheen, 237

Cookham Bridge, 135

---- Church, 136

Cooper's Hill, 175

Coronation Stone at Kingston, 214

Courses of the Thames, The, 34

Cowey Stakes at Walton, 195

Cowley's House at Chertsey, 108

Craven House, 254

Cricklade, The Town of, 10

Crockham Hill, 190

Cross Ness Sewage Works, 326

Crowmarsh Gifford, Parish of, 78

Culham Court, 119

---- Lock, 69

Cumnor, The Village of, 24

Custom House, 291, 296

D

Dace and Roach in the River, 111

Dagenham Breach, 325

---- Lake, 325

Danesfield House, 123

Dartford, 330

Datchet Mead and Falstaff, 168, 169

Day's Lock, 70

Denham's Description of the Thames, 175

Deptford Dockyard, 211

---- and Peter the Great, 315

Disused Weirpools, 23

Dock Labourers, 314

Dominican and Franciscan Teachers at Oxford, 39

Don Saltero's Coffee-house and Thomas Carlyle, 262

Dorchester Abbey, 70

Dorchester Abbey Church, 73

Dorchester, Capital of Wessex, 73

Duelling at Barn Elms, 254

Dufford Ferry, 21

Dumb-barges on the River, 312

Dyers' Company and the Swans, 133

E

Early Names of the Thames, 4

East India Docks, 310, 315

Eel Boats, 343

Eelbucks at Chasey Farm, 94

Eel Pie Island, 222

Egham, Town of, 178

English Frigate _Warspite_, The, 324

Environs of Abingdon, 68

Epitaphs in Bensington Churchyard, 78

Erith, 327, 329

Erkenwald's Monastery at Chertsey, 186

Essex Marshes, 342

Eton, 151

----, Chapel at, 164

---- College Buildings, 162

----, Founder of the Chapel, 165

---- Montem, 166

---- or Waterton, 164

----, Provosts at, 163

----, Rouse's Scholarships at, 163

----, Speech Day at, 165

Exciting Race from Cookham to Marlow, 147

Eynsham Bridge, 27

---- Cross, 27

----, The Village of, 27

---- Weir, 25

F

Fairford and the Coln, 13

"Fair Mile," The, 115

Famous Grotto at Twickenham, 222

Farringdon, The Town of, 20

Fawley Court and its History, 117, 118

First Lock, 14

Fish at Billingsgate, 294, 295

---- in the Thames, 13, 28, 29, 76, 99, 161, 170, 172, 193, 194, 197, 218

Fishers' Row, 34

Fishmongers' Hall, 288

---- Procession, 291

Fish Street Hill, 294

"Flash" Locks, 55

Flyfishers' Club at Hungerford, 98

Fly-fishing in the River, 111

Flooding the River, 56

Flowers, Some Thames, 16

Folly Bridge, 32

---- ---- Lock, 55

Fords at Shefford, 21

Foreign Cattle Market at Deptford, 316

Four Noted Abbeys, 95

---- Streams, The, 35

Franciscans at Medmenham, 120, 121

---- and the Monkey, 121

Francis Rouse and Eton, 163

"French Horn" Inn, 100

Freshwater Wharf, 291, 292

Frogmore, 159, 167

Fulham and its Market Gardens, 256

---- and Putney, 254

---- Church, 256

---- Palace, 255

G

Garrick's Villa at Hampton, 198

Girls Rowing and Steering, 150

Godstow Nunnery, Ruins of, 31

----, The Village of, 30

Goring Church, 87

---- Mill, 86

---- Toll-gate, 87

---- Weir, 86

Great Marlow, 129

---- ----, The Church and its "Curiosities," 129

---- ----, The Deanery at, 130

---- ---- Weir and Locks, 131

Gravesend Reach, 336

----, The Town of, 333

---- to the Nore, 337 to 362

Grayling in the Kennet, 98

Greenhithe, 327, 328, 330

Greenwich Hospital, 316

---- Observatory, 319

---- Park, 318, 319

Grotto at Goring, 88

---- at Oatlands, 191

Groves at Bisham, 132

---- of Kew, The, 241

Gudgeon in the Thames, 176, 177

Guild of Pilots at Gravesend, 339

H

Hadleigh Castle, 348

Halliford Bridge, 194

Ham, Village of, 225

---- Weir, 12

Hambledon Lock and its Islands, 119

Hammersmith Suspension Bridge, 251

Hampton Court, 201, 202

---- ---- Bridge, 200

---- ---- Chestnut Avenue, 204

---- ----, Christmas at, 207

---- ----, English Brickwork at, 203

---- ----, Fountain Court, 206

---- ---- Great Hall, 204

---- ----, Painted Windows in Great Hall, 205

---- ----, Park at, 207

---- ----, Picture Gallery at, 206

---- ---- to Richmond, 211 to 228

Hampton House, 198

---- Wick, 213

Hannington Bridge, 12

Hardwicke House, 91

Hart's Weir, 17

---- Wood, 88

Hedsor Park, 136

Hennerton Backwater, 104

Henley and its Natural Scenery, 113

---- Bridge and its Builder, 115

---- Church, 114

---- Races, 115

---- Regatta, 117

----, the Riparian Metropolis, 107

---- to Maidenhead, 113 to 142

----, Town of, 113

Hinksey Stream, The, 37

History of Kew Gardens, 241

Hogarth's Frolic, 289

Holme Park Woods, 100

Houses of Parliament, The, 267

Howberry Park, 78

Hungerford, Famous for Trout, 98

Hurley and its Islands, 123

Hurlingham, 257

Hythe Bridge, 34

I

Iffley Lock, 55

---- Mill, 54

Inglesham Weir, 13

Ingress Abbey, 330

Inns at Rotherhithe, 307

Inscriptions in Bensington Church, 78

Invention of Rowing, 54

Isis, The Head of the, 3

---- and the Thames, The, 72

Isle of Dogs, 308, 310

---- of Osney, 37

---- of Thorns, The, 186

Isleworth, Town of, 239

Izaak Walton at Datchet, 169

J

Jesus Hospital at Bray, 146

K

Kempsford, 12

Kennington, The Village of, 58

Kentish Marshes, 344

Keston Heath, 316

Kew Bridge, 246

---- Churchyard, 246

---- Foot Lane, 227

---- Gardens, 237, 239, 241

---- ----, Chinese Pagoda in, 245

---- ----, Palm-house in, 243

---- Green, 246

---- Observatory, 237, 239

---- Palace and the "Dutch House," 241, 242

Kingston-on-Thames, 212, 215

---- Bridge, 211

---- Church, 206, 215

----, Coronation Stone at, 214

Kingston, Rowing Clubs at, 211

King's Weir, 30

Kitcat Club, The, 253

L

Lady Place and its History, 123

Laleham and Dr. Arnold, 182

---- Church, 183

---- Ferry, 182

---- House, 183

Lambeth, Borough of, 264

---- Palace, 266

---- ----, Archbishop Laud and, 267

Langley or Ridge's Weir, 23

Lechlade, The Town of, 14

Leigh, The Village of, 349

Limehouse Church, 308

Little Marlow, 132

Littlecote Park, 98

Littlemore, The Village of, 58

Lollards' Tower, Lambeth, 266, 267

London Bridge and its History, 284, 286

---- and its Traffic, 284

---- Docks, The, 303

"Long Reach" Tavern, 329

Long Walk at Windsor, 167

Lower Hope, The, 341

Ludgate Hill and the Temple of Diana, 278

M

Magna Charta Island, 174

Maidenhead or Maidenhithe, 141, 143, 145

---- Bridge, 145

Main Stream for Barges at Oxford, 37

Mapledurham House, 93

---- Mill and Weir, 92

Maplin Sands, 357

Market Cross of Abingdon, 65

Marking Swans, 133

Marlborough, The Town of, 99

Marlow Bridge, 130

Marsh Lock, 105

Medley Weir, 32

Medmenham Abbey, 120

Middle Temple Hall, 277

Millbank Prison, 264

Millwall Docks, 310, 312

Mongewell House, 80

Monkey Island, 151

Monument, The, 291

Morning on the Lower Thames, 337

Mortlake and its History, 247

Moulsey Hurst, 199

Moulsford Bridge, 80

Mysteries of Fly-fishing, 111

N

Names of Boat Landings and Stairs, 307

National Society's Training College at Battersea, 260

Navigation of the Iffley, 55

Newbridge, 22

Newbury, The Town of, 99

Newton Murren, Church of, 80

New Battersea, 264

Noah's Ark Weir, 23

Nore, The, 357

Northfleet, 330

---- Hope, 339

North Woolwich Gardens, 324

---- ---- Pier, 324

Nuneham Lock, 55

----, Heights of, 59

---- Reach, 61

Nunnery of Sion, The, 237

O

Oatlands and its History, 192

---- Grotto, 191

---- Palace and Park, 190, 191

"Ocean Tramps," 338

Ock Street at Abingdon, 68

Old Buscot, The Village of, 16

"Old Chelsea Bun-house," 262

---- ---- Church, 260

"Old Crabtree Inn," 252

Old London Bridge and its History, 285

---- ---- ----, Nonsuch House on, 286

---- ---- ----, St. Thomas's Chapel on, 286

---- ---- ---- Traitors' Gate on, 286

---- ---- Theatres, 282

Old Navigation Stream, 35

Old St. Paul's Church, 280

Old Windsor, 170

Oldest Stone Bridge, The, 22

Origin of "The Merry Wives of Windsor," 159

Osier Farm on the Thames, 88

Osney Abbey, 39

Oxford to Abingdon, 33 to 61

----, Architectural Revival at, 47, 50

----, Austin Friars at, 39

----, Black Friars of, 38

---- Canal, 37

----, Carmelites or White Friars at, 39

----, Chapel of Brasenose at, 49

----, Church of St. Martin at Carfax at, 40

----, College of St. Mary Winton, 43

----, Colleges at, 42

----, Degrees at, 42

----, Disputations at, 48

----, Early Colleges at, 43

----, Eleanor Cross at, 51

----, Grey Friars of, 38

----, Halls at, 43

----, Houses of the Friars at, 34

----, Lincoln College of Priests at, 46

----, Magdalen Bridge, 50

---- ----, College at, 44

----, Mendicant Order of Friars at, 38

----, Midnight at, 54

----, Oriel Barge at, 57

----, Preacher's Pool at, 38

----, Sheldonian Theatre at, 40

----, The Buildings of, 37

----, The Town of, 33

----, Trill Mill Stream at, 38

----, Undergraduate Revival at, 52

---- University and Parish Churches, 38

P

Pacey's Bridge, 35

Palace of Richmond and its History, 233, 234

---- of Westminster, 268, 270

Pangbourne, Village of, 89

Park Place and its History, 105

Paul's Walk, 279

"Pedlar's Acre," Lambeth, 266

Penton Hook Lock, 181

"Perdita's" Grave, 169

Petersham Park, 226

Phillimore Island, 104

Picnic Island, 175, 176

Pike and Perch Fishing, 110

Pilots and Watermen, 339, 340

Pimlico, District of, 264

Pink Hill Lock, 27

---- ---- Weir, 27

Pleasant Pictures at Bray, 150

Plumstead Marshes, 326

"Pool," The, 301, 302

Pope's Villa at Twickenham, 222

Porch House, Chertsey, 188

Port Meadows, 32

Prisoners at Windsor, 158

Prize-fighting at Moulsey, 199

Pudding Lane, 294

"Puppy Pie" at Marlow Bridge, 130

Purfleet, Town of, 328

Purley Hall, 93

----, The Village of, 93

Putney and Fulham, 254

---- Bridge, 255

---- Heath, 255

Q

Quarry Woods, 131

Queen Bess and the Custom House, 297

"Queen's Tobacco Pipe," The, 305

Queenhithe and the Tax on Fish, 294

R

Racing Yachts on the Thames, 338

Radcot Bridge, 18

Radley, The Village of, 58

Ramsbury Manor, 98

Ranelagh Club, Barn Elms, 254

---- Gardens, 263

Ratcliff Highway, 305

Ray Mead, 141

Reaches on the River, 309

Reading Abbey, 95

---- at the time of the Plague, 96

----, The Town of, 95

Rearing Ponds at Sunbury, 197

"Red Lion" at Henley, 115

Regatta Island, 117

Relics of "Roman London," 292

Remenham Hill, 114, 119

Rewley Abbey, 39

Richmond, 227

----, Asgill House, 230, 232

---- Bridge, 229

---- Church, 234

---- Green, 232, 234

----, Mansfield House at, 228

---- Old Deer Park, 237

----, Old Palace of Sheen, 230

---- Palace, 231

Richmond, Queensberry House, 232, 234

----, "Star and Garter" Hotel, 227

----, The Hill at, 227

----, Trumpeters' House, 232

----, Water Supply of, 235

River Churn, The, 8

---- Cole, The, 13

---- Coln, The, 13

---- Cray, The, 329

---- Darent, The, 329

---- Evenlode, The, 27

---- Iffley, 54

---- Isis, The, 11

---- Kennet, The, 95, 97

---- Lea, The, 319

---- Lech, The, 16

---- Loddon, The, 102

---- Ravensbourne, The, 316

---- Windrush, The, 21

---- Witham, The, 34

Riverside Amusements, 115

---- Inns, 180

---- Solitude, 72

Roach, Dace, and Gudgeon in the River, 111

Romantic Episodes, 154, 157

Roman Fortifications at Dorchester, 73

Romney Island, 165

Rose Isle, 58

Rosherville Gardens, 333

Rotherhithe, 306

---- Railway Station, 307

Round House at Inglesham, 13

Rowdyism on the Thames, 144

Rowing Clubs at Kingston, 211

---- on the River, 54, 146

Royal Albert Dock, 320

---- Gardens at Kew, 239, 243

---- Naval College, Greenwich, 317

---- River, The, 241

Rules of the Company of Watermen, 339

Runnymede, 174, 175

Ruscombe, The Village of, 105

Rushy Lock, The, 20

S

Sailors and their Ways, 306

Sailors' Home, 304

Salesmen's Cries at Billingsgate, 295

Salmon in the Thames, 109

Salt Hill, 166

Sandford Mill, 58

St. Helen's Church at Abingdon, 66

St. Katharine's Docks, 303

St. Magnus' Church, Billingsgate, 291

St. Nicholas' Church at Abingdon, 64

St. Olave's Church, Bermondsey, 298

St. Patrick's Stream, 103

St. Paul's Cathedral, 277, 278

---- "Paul's Walk" in, 280

St. Saviour's Church, Southwark, 283

St. Stephen's Chapel at Westminster, 270

St. Thomas's Hospital, Lambeth, 266

Scenery at Pangbourne, 90

Sewage of London, 316

---- Pumping Stations, 316

Sewer Works at Barking, 326

Seven Springs, The, 6

Severn Canal and Thames, 9

Shakspeare and Windsor, 159

Shelley and Great Marlow, 129

Sheerness and its History, 353

---- Dockyard, 356

Shepperton, Village of, 194

Shillingford Bridge, 76, 77

Shiplake Lock, 104

Shipping in the Pool, 290, 291

Shoeburyness, 360

Shrimps at Gravesend, 334

Shrimp Hampers at Leigh, 350

Shrine at Abingdon, 66

Skinner's Weir, 27

Silvertown, The Colony of, 322

Sinking of the Cambridge Boat, 250, 251

Sinodun Hill, 72, 76

Sion House, 239

Somerford Keynes, 10

Somerset House, 274

Sonning Bridge, 100

Sonning-on-Thames, 100

Source of the Thames, 1

Southend, The Town of, 350

---- Pier, 350

Southley, 167

Southwark Bridge, 280

Spawning Season, 109

Spring Well at Goring, 87

Staines "Deep," 179

----, Linoleum Works at, 178

----, Village of, 178

Stanton Harcourt, 25

State Barge at Teddington, 218

Steam Launches on the Thames, 29, 110, 144, 167, 170

Stepney, 308

Stoke Ferry, 81

Stone Church at Greenhithe, 330

Strange Names of Places, 298

Strathfieldsaye Park, 102

Strawberry Hill at Twickenham, 220

Streatley Hills, 80

---- Mill, 83, 86

---- the Mecca of Painters, 85

---- to Henley, 85 to 112

---- Tower, 84

---- Weirs, 83

Sundial at Kew, 243

Supposed Site of Saxon Palace, 171

Surbiton, 211

Surley Hall, 151

Surrey Docks, 308

Swallowfield, 103

"Swan," The, Thames Ditton, 209

Swans on the Thames, 133

Swashway, The, 353

T

"Tabard" Inn, Southwark, 282

Tadpole Bridge, 20

Tapestry Works at Windsor, 171

Taplow Court, 141

---- Woods, 141

Teddington, 215, 218

----, State Barge at, 218

----, "The Anglers" at, 216

----, Tombs in Church at, 219

---- Weir, 14, 218

Temple, The, 276

Temple Bar, 167

---- Gardens, 276

Temple's (Sir W.) Orangery at Sheen, 239

Tenfoot Weir, 21

Thames Angling, 107

---- ---- Preservation Society, 108, 197

---- and Severn Canal, 8, 9

---- and the Isis, 72

---- at Windsor, 161

----, Birthplace of, 2

---- Commission, 56

---- Conservancy Board, 179

---- Ditton, 207

----, Early Names of, 4

---- Embankment, 277

---- Flowers, 16

---- Haven, 344

---- Head, 2

---- Parade, 101

---- Sailing Club, 211

----, Source of the, 1

---- Street, 294

---- Subway, 299

---- Swans, 133

---- Trout, 109

---- Tunnel, 306

---- Valley, The, 62

---- ---- Church, 209, 210

---- Watermen, 288

The Upper and Lower River, a Comparison, 361

Tilbury and its Memories, 331, 341

---- Docks, 330

---- Fort, 332, 341

---- Marshes, 330, 342

Tithing Salmon, 186

Tooley Street and the Three Tailors, 298

Tower Hill, 299

---- of London, 299

Training Ships on the Thames, 329

Traitor's Gate, 286

"Tramps," The, of the Ocean, 338

Trewsbury Mead, 8

Trill Mill Stream at Oxford, 38

Trinity House, 299

Tripcock Reach, 327

Trout-fishing on the Thames, 13, 90, 109

"Trout" Inn at Lechlade, 15

---- Stream at Pangbourne, 90

Twickenham, 220

----, Orleans House, 223

---- Parish Church, 222

----, Pope's Tomb, 223

----, Pope's Villa at, 222

----, Strawberry Hill at, 220

----, York House, 223

U

University Barge, The, 57

---- Boat Club at Oxford, 55

---- Boat Race, The First, 118

---- ---- ---- on the Thames, 250

Upper, Lower, and Middle Pools, 302

V

Vale of the Kennet, The, 99

Vauxhall, 264

Victoria Bridge at Pimlico, 264

---- Dock at Blackwall, 303, 320, 321

---- Embankment, 274

Vintners' Company and the Swans, 133

W

Walker's Picture of the "Harbour of Refuge," 146

Wallingford Castle and Museum, 79

----, The Town of, 78, 79

Walton-on-Thames, 195

----, Ashley Park at, 196

----, Cowey Stakes at, 195

----, The Bridge at, 194

----, The Scold's Bridle at, 196

Wandsworth Brewery, 257

Wapping, 308

---- Old Stairs, 301, 308

Wargrave Hill, 104

Water-fowl at Penton Hook, 181

Water Gate of Inigo Jones, 275

Water Hay Bridge, 10

Waterloo Bridge, 275

Watermen's Company, Rules of, 339, 340

West India Docks, 314

---- Mill at Somerford, 10

Westminster, City of, 267

---- Abbey, 269, 270, 271

---- Bridge, 273

---- Hall, 269, 270, 272

----, History of, 270

---- Palace, 268, 270

Weybridge, 190

---- Green, 192

Whitchurch Lock, 89

Whitebait Fishing at Gravesend, 334, 335

White Friars or Carmelites at Oxford, 39

White Place, near Cliefden, 139

Wild-fowl Shooting, 342, 344

Willow-peeling, 89

Windsor, Albert Bridge at, 168

---- Castle and its History, 152

---- Castle as a Palace and as a Prison, 158

----, Great Park at, 159, 160, 166

----, Herne's Oak at, 166

----, Home Park at, 166

----, Long Walk at, 167

----, Queen's Walk at, 167

----, Round Tower at, 158

----, St. George's Chapel at, 154

----, The Merry Wives of, 159

----, Town of, 159, 160

----, Victoria Bridge near, 169

Wine Cellars of the London Docks, 304

Witham Hill, 28

Wittenham Clump, 70

Wolsey's, Cardinal, College at Oxford, 66

---- Tower at Henley, 114

Wolvercott, Village of, 31

Woodstock, The Town of, 27

Woolwich Arsenal, 323

---- Barracks, 322

---- Church, 322

---- Dockyard, 323

---- Reach, 322

Wraysbury Church, 173

---- Village of, 174

Y

Yachting at Gravesend, 333

York House, 274

TABLE OF DISTANCES

_Taken, by permission of the Author, from Taunt's "Guide to the Thames."_

====================================================
_m_. _f_. _yds_.
Thames Head to Cricklade 11 6 2
Seven Springs " 20 4 0
====================================================
ABOVE OXFORD.
_m_. _f_. _yds_.
Cricklade to Oxford 43 7 2
Water Eaton Bridge to Oxford 41 7 152
Castle Eaton Bridge " 39 3 44
Kempsford " 37 7 0
Rannington Bridge " 36 5 88
Inglesham Round House " 33 2 0
Lechlade Bridge " 32 4 88
St. John's " 31 7 0
Buscot Lock " 30 5 170
Hart's Weir " 29 3 20
Radcot Bridge " 26 2 100
Old Man's Bridge " 25 1 110
Rushy Lock " 23 0 110
Tadpole Bridge " 22 1 54
Tenfoot Bridge " 20 3 0
Duxford Ferry " 18 4 59
New Bridge " 15 1 166
Ridge's Weir " 14 0 104
Bablock Hythe Ferry " 11 4 34
Skinner's Weir " 9 7 0
Pinkle Lock " 8 7 0
Eynsham Bridge " 7 2 193
King's Weir " 4 4 32
Godston Lock " 3 2 99
Medley Weir " 1 7 36
Osney Lock " 0 7 0
====================================================

OXFORD TO PUTNEY.

-------------------------+----------------+----------------+----------------
| From Place | From Oxford | From London
| to Place. |(Folly Bridge). | (Putney Br.).
-------------------------+----------------+----------------+----------------
|_m_. _f_. _yds_.|_m_. _f_. _yds_.|_m_. _f_. _yds_.
Oxford Bridge | 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 |104 3 66
Iffley Lock | 1 3 150 | 1 3 150 |102 7 136
Rose Island | 0 6 124 | 2 2 54 |102 1 12
Sandford Lock | 0 6 166 | 3 1 0 |101 2 66
Nuneham Bridge | 2 5 160 | 5 6 160 | 98 4 126
Abingdon Lock | 1 7 60 | 7 6 0 | 96 5 66
Abingdon Bridge | 0 3 211 | 8 1 211 | 96 1 75
Culham Lock | 2 0 0 | 10 1 211 | 94 1 75
Appleford Railway Bridge | 1 2 76 | 11 4 67 | 92 6 219
Clifton Lock | 1 4 54 | 13 0 121 | 91 2 165
Clifton Bridge | 0 3 140 | 13 4 41 | 90 7 25
Day's Lock | 2 4 40 | 16 0 81 | 88 2 205
Junction of River Thame | 0 6 180 | 16 7 41 | 87 4 25
Keen Edge Ferry | 1 0 140 | 17 7 181 | 86 3 105
Shillingford Bridge | 0 6 100 | 18 6 61 | 85 5 5
Benson Lock | 1 2 30 | 20 0 91 | 84 2 195
Wallingford Bridge | 1 2 0 | 21 2 91 | 83 0 195
Nuneham Ferry | 0 4 70 | 21 6 161 | 82 4 125
Stoke Ferry | 2 1 0 | 23 7 161 | 80 3 125
Moulsford Railway Bridge | 0 5 46 | 24 4 207 | 79 6 79
Moulsford Ferry | 0 5 64 | 25 2 51 | 79 1 15
Cleeve Lock | 1 2 78 | 26 4 129 | 77 6 157
Goring Lock | 0 5 0 | 27 1 129 | 77 1 157
Basildon Railway Bridge | 1 2 61 | 28 3 190 | 75 7 96
Gate Hampton Ferry | 0 2 66 | 28 6 36 | 75 5 30
Whitchurch Lock | 2 4 33 | 31 2 69 | 73 0 217
Mapledurham Lock | 2 2 70 | 33 4 139 | 70 6 147
The "Roebuck" | 0 7 145 | 34 4 64 | 69 7 2
Caversham Bridge | 2 6 206 | 37 3 50 | 67 0 16
Caversham Lock | 0 4 120 | 37 7 170 | 66 3 116
River Kennet's Mouth | 0 5 120 | 38 5 70 | 65 5 216
Sonning Lock | 1 7 28 | 40 4 98 | 63 6 188
Sonning Bridge | 0 2 60 | 40 6 158 | 63 4 128
Shiplake Lock | 2 4 66 | 43 3 4 | 61 0 62
Shiplake Ferry | 1 0 38 | 44 3 42 | 60 0 24
Boulney Ferry | 1 0 44 | 45 3 86 | 58 7 200
Marsh Lock | 0 4 78 | 45 7 164 | 58 4 122
Henley Bridge | 0 7 109 | 46 7 53 | 57 4 13
Hambledon Lock | 2 2 35 | 49 1 88 | 55 1 198
Medmenham Ferry | 2 0 66 | 51 1 154 | 53 1 132
Hurley Lock | 1 4 168 | 52 6 102 | 51 4 184
Temple Lock | 0 5 23 | 53 3 125 | 50 7 161
Marlow Bridge | 1 3 201 | 54 7 106 | 49 3 180
Marlow Lock | 0 1 107 | 55 0 213 | 49 2 73
Spade Oak Ferry | 2 0 205 | 57 1 198 | 47 1 88
Cookham Bridge | 1 5 66 | 58 7 44 | 45 4 22
Cookham Lower Ferry | 0 4 110 | 59 3 154 | 44 7 132
Cliefden Ferry | 0 3 44 | 59 6 198 | 44 4 88
Boulter's Lock | 1 3 178 | 61 2 156 | 43 0 130
Maidenhead Bridge | 0 5 70 | 62 0 6 | 42 3 60
Bray Lock | 1 3 152 | 63 3 158 | 40 7 128
Monkey Island | 0 4 128 | 64 0 66 | 40 3 0
Boveney Lock | 2 5 0 | 66 5 66 | 37 6 0
Windsor Bridge | 1 7 90 | 68 4 156 | 35 6 130
Romney Lock | 0 3 96 | 69 0 32 | 35 3 34
Victoria Bridge | 0 6 34 | 69 6 66 | 34 5 0
Albert Bridge | 1 3 6 | 71 1 72 | 33 1 214
Old Windsor Lock | 0 6 214 | 72 0 66 | 32 3 0
Magna Charta Island | 1 3 0 | 73 3 66 | 31 0 0
Bell Weir Lock | 1 3 157 | 74 7 3 | 29 4 63
Staines Bridge | 0 7 195 | 75 6 198 | 28 4 88
Penton Hook Lock | 1 6 168 | 77 5 146 | 26 5 140
Laleham Ferry | 0 6 140 | 78 4 66 | 25 7 0
Chertsey Lock | 1 1 4 | 79 5 70 | 24 5 216
Shepperton Lock | 1 7 183 | 81 5 33 | 22 6 33
Halliford Point | 1 2 33 | 82 7 66 | 21 4 0
Walton Bridge | 0 6 156 | 83 6 2 | 20 5 64
Sunbury Lock | 1 5 130 | 85 3 132 | 18 7 154
Hampton Ferry | 2 0 110 | 87 4 22 | 16 7 44
Moulsey Lock | 0 6 110 | 88 2 132 | 16 0 154
Thames Ditton | 1 0 209 | 89 3 121 | 14 7 165
Kingston Bridge | 1 7 55 | 91 2 176 | 13 0 110
Teddington Lock | 1 6 88 | 93 1 44 | 11 2 22
Eel Pie Island | 1 1 22 | 94 2 66 | 10 1 0
Richmond Bridge | 1 4 140 | 95 6 206 | 8 4 80
Kew Bridge | 2 7 124 | 98 6 110 | 5 4 176
Barnes Railway Bridge | 2 0 178 |100 7 68 | 3 3 218
Hammersmith Bridge | 1 5 196 |102 5 44 | 1 6 22
Putney Bridge | 1 6 22 |104 3 66 | 0 0 0

BETWEEN PUTNEY BRIDGE AND LONDON BRIDGE.

_m_. _f_.
Putney Bridge to London Bridge 7 3-1/2
Battersea Railway Bridge " " 5 5
Battersea Bridge " " 5 0
Chelsea Bridge " " 4 0
Vauxhall Bridge " " 2 7-3/4
Lambeth Bridge " " 2 3-1/4
Westminster Bridge " " 1 7-3/4
Charing Cross Railway Bridge " " 1 4-3/4
Waterloo Bridge " " 1 2-3/4
Blackfriars Bridge " " 0 6-1/4
Southwark Bridge " " 0 2-1/2
Cannon Street Railway Bridge " " 0 1-1/4
=====================================================

BELOW LONDON BRIDGE.

_m_. _f_.
Thames Tunnel to London Bridge 1 4
Deptford Dockyard " " 3 5
Deptford Creek " " 4 2
Blackwall Pier " " 5 7
Woolwich Arsenal " " 9 3-1/2
Barking Creek " " 11 1
Erith " " 15 6
Dartford Creek " " 17 3
Greenhithe " " 20 4
Grays Thurrock " " 22 3-1/2
Gravesend " " 25 1
Mucking Creek " " 30 5
Yantlet Creek " " 40 3-1/2
Yantlet Creek to the Nore 5 miles (nautical)

/Printed by Cassell & Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage, London, E.C./

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: On this subject _see_ Goldie: "A Bygone Oxford;" and Fletcher: "The Blackfriars in Oxford."]

[Footnote 2: Macray: "Notes from the Muniments of St. Mary Magdalen College, Oxford."]

[Footnote 3: Wordsworth: "Scholæ Academicæ."]

[Footnote 4: Macaulay, "History of England."]

[Footnote 5: The old "Garter" Inn stood in the High Street, nearly facing the Castle Hill, and adjoining the site of the present "White Hart" Hotel. "Annals of Windsor" (Tighe & Davis).]

[Footnote 6: Pennant's "History of London."]

[Footnote 7: Tennyson's "Lotos-Eaters."]