Chapter VI: Part 6

The streets of Chester are exceedingly picturesque, Old Bridge Street and Watergate Street being perhaps two of the best examples, abounding as they do in mediaeval timber work and oak carving. But the most remarkable architectural features of the city are the "Rows," which are certainly unique in this country. These Rows, which contain the chief shops, are level with the first floors of the houses; the second floor projects over them, forming a covered way. The streets were cut into the red sandstone by the Romans to a depth of 10 feet, the Rows marking the natural level.

The old walls of the city are among the most perfect in the kingdom, and measure nearly 2 miles in circumference, with four gates, one marking each point of the compass. The east gate, showing the termination of the great Roman Watling Street, was rebuilt in 1769.

Chester Cathedral, though not of great exterior beauty, should be visited for the sake of its antiquity and its associations. It is said to have been founded by Ethelfleda, the daughter of Alfred the Great, on the site of a nunnery built in 875. The west front, with the Bishop's Palace on its left, is perhaps the best feature of the exterior; while the Bishop's Throne, in the cathedral, is a wonderfully early piece of carving, ornamented with figures of the kings of Mercia.

ONE OF THE MOST PICTURESQUE OF THE ROWS AT CHESTER.

The upper floors project over these covered footways.]

EXMOOR

=How to get there.=--Great Western Railway, Paddington Station. =Nearest Stations.=--Dulverton or Minehead. For both stations change at Taunton. =Distance from London.=--180 miles to Dulverton; 188 miles to Minehead. =Average Time.=--To Dulverton varies between 5 to 6-1/2 hours. To Minehead varies between 5-1/2 to 7 hours.

=Fares.=-- Single Return 1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd Dulverton 30s. 9d. 19s. 3d. 15s. 4-1/2d. 53s. 10d. 33s. 9d. 30s. 9d. Minehead 31s. 4d. 19s. 6d. 15s. 8d. 54s. 10d. 34s. 4d. 31s. 4d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--Dulverton--"Carnarvon Arms,"
"Lamb," etc. Minehead--"Métropole," "Beach," "Wellington,"
"Plume of Feathers," etc. Porlock--"The Ship," etc.
Simonsbath--"Exmoor Forest Hotel."

Exmoor, like Dartmoor, can be approached from many different places, but to reach some of the finest and most typical stretches of the moor one cannot do better than choose Dulverton or Minehead. Porlock, six or seven miles by road (there is no railway) from Minehead, is a third place admirably suited for getting on to Exmoor; it is the nearest place of any size to Dunkery Beacon, which is the highest shoulder of the moor (1707 feet). The drawing given here shows the valley of the Horner, a small stream rising on the heathery slopes of Dunkery Beacon, which appears in the distance. This valley is one of the most romantic spots on Exmoor. After a long ride or ramble on foot over the open heather, with sweeping views which include Dartmoor, South Wales, the hills around Bath, as well as Brown Willy in Cornwall, one finds the ground falling steeply, and before long one is climbing down a water-worn path among sturdy oaks. The air also becomes full of the music of the rushing Horner below. The stream is eventually discovered boiling over mossy stones in the green shade of the close-growing trees filling the deep valley. The quieter pools are frequently taken advantage of by a hard-pressed stag, for this particular piece of country is frequently hunted over by the Devon and Somerset staghounds, some of the most popular meets of the season being held at Cloutsham farm, on one of the slopes of the Horner valley. The neighbourhood of Dulverton includes some fine bits of river scenery--the Barle, the Haddeo, and the Exe meeting one another in the midst of lovely wooded hills. Many of the villages on the margin of Exmoor are exceedingly pretty. The churches, too, are generally of great interest.

Looking up the Horner valley towards Dunkery Beacon, which is shown under shadow.]

KNUTSFORD

THE HOME OF MRS. GASKELL

=How to get there.=--Train from Euston _via_ Crewe. L. and N.W. Rly. =Nearest Station.=--Knutsford. =Distance from London.=--180 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 4 to 5-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 24s. 6d. 16s. 6d. 14s. 3-1/2d.
Return 49s. 0d. 31s. 6d. 28s. 7d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Royal George Hotel," etc.

Knutsford still retains the air of old-world quaintness which Mrs. Gaskell has made so familiar in her delightful _Cranford_. The whole of Knutsford breathes the fresh and bright tidiness one always involuntarily associates with such ladies as "Miss Jenkyns," and every house rejoices in a beautifully neat garden. The Royal George Hotel, in the High Street, is a perfect feast to the eye of panelled wainscotting, oak settles, and Chippendale cabinets. The richness, all over the town, of ancient carvings, staircases, and chimney-pieces, is due to the prosperity which the coach traffic between Liverpool and Manchester brought to the place for many years.

Mrs. Gaskell was born in Chelsea in 1810, but her mother dying soon after, she went to live under the care of her mother's sister, who lived at Knutsford in Cheshire. Mrs. Gaskell, as a child, was brought up in a tall red house, standing alone in the midst of peaceful fields and trees, on the Heath, with a wide view reaching to the distant hills. In a green hollow near this house there stand an old forge and mill, the former having existed for more than two hundred years. Mrs. Gaskell had a lonely childhood, occasionally relieved by a visit to her cousins at the old family house of Sandlebridge. This old house is now dismantled, but contains many interesting features. A shuffle-board, or extremely long table, with drawers and cupboards underneath, of which there now exist scarcely any specimens, a cradle of great antiquity, and the fine old wooden chimney-pieces in the front parlour, still remain.

A few places in Knutsford claim association with _Cranford_. One house is pointed out as being Miss Matty's tea-shop. The Knutsford ladies still gossip over toasted cheese and bezique. Mrs. Gaskell spent her married life in Manchester, where most of her books were written, but she used often to return and stay with her cousins, from whom she learnt many of the quaint stories still told in Knutsford.

KNUTSFORD.

The village described by Mrs. Gaskell in _Cranford_.]

TORR STEPS ON THE BARLE, SOMERSET

=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington Station. Great Western Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Dulverton. =Distance from London.=--180 miles to Dulverton. =Average Time.=--To Dulverton varies between 5 and 6-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 30s. 9d. 19s. 3d. 15s. 4-1/2d.
Return 53s. 10d. 33s. 9d. 30s. 9d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--Dulverton--"Carnarvon Arms,"
"Lamb," etc.

One of the very earliest forms of bridge in England is to be seen on the beautiful river Barle, about 7 miles above Dulverton. Torr Steps (the name is locally pronounced Tarr) are a distinct advance upon stepping-stones, for although the entire bridge is submerged in flood-time, there are, in ordinary conditions, seventeen spans raised clear above the level of the water. The great stones which form the piers support slabs averaging from 6 to 8 feet in length. In the centre these are about 3 feet 6 inches wide, and the piers are supported by sloping stones to resist the force of the current. At the ends of the bridge the slabs are narrower, and are placed in pairs side by side, thus giving the advantage of the greatest weight where the force of the stream is most strongly felt. No traces of cement can be found among the stones, so that the structure has preserved itself purely by the weight of its individual parts.

Although it is impossible to make any definite statement as to the date of Torr Steps, it is probable that they were built by the Celtish inhabitants of this part of the west country, the bridge having been on the beaten track between one or two important centres. The size of the stones does not raise any obstacle to this theory, for though of great weight, they are not so unwieldy as the majority of those forming Stonehenge, which is generally accepted as the work of an exceedingly early race of sun-worshipping men. The name "Torr" is possibly derived from the Celtic word "Tochar," a causeway, modified to "Toher" and then to "Torr." The lanes leading from Dulverton to the village of Hawkridge, about 1-1/2 miles from the steps, are exceedingly beautiful, and the whole course of the river Barle is remarkable for the striking charm of its woodland scenery, which is frequently contrasted with the wild moorland commons on the hillsides above.

An early form of bridge, probably of Celtic origin.]

CLEEVE ABBEY, SOMERSET

=How to get there.=--From Paddington. Great Western Station. To Washford Station _via_ Taunton. =Nearest Station.=--Washford (2 or 3 minutes' walk). =Distance from London.=--182-1/4 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 5-1/2 to 7 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 30s. 4d. 19s. 0d. 15s. 3d.
Return 53s. 0d. 33s. 3d. 30s. 4d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Luttrell Arms Hotel," "Dunster,"
4-1/2 miles from Washford. "Métropole," "Beach," "Plume of
Feathers," etc., at Minehead, 6-1/2 miles from Washford.

At Cleeve the Cistercian abbey church has disappeared, save for the bases of the pillars in the nave, but the conventual buildings are some of the most perfect in England, those of Beaulieu in Hampshire and Fountains in Yorkshire being the only ones able to compare with them. One first passes through the magnificent old gatehouse pictured here. Inside is a large grassy space, with the mass of buildings facing one. They are arranged in a quadrangular form, enclosing a grassy cloister garth. On the south side is the refectory, a magnificent hall above some small rooms on the ground floor. It is believed to have been built by Abbot Dovell in the sixteenth century. The roof, of carved walnut, is in a perfect state of preservation. From the refectory one may pass into the Abbots' Lodge, then descending to the cloister garth again, one may penetrate all the different portions of the buildings--the day-room, where the monks did all sorts of work; the dormitory, where they slept; the chapter-house, where they conducted the business of the abbey; the sacristy, the parlour, and other smaller rooms. The buildings are so perfect that it is quite easy to obtain a comprehensive idea of the inner workings of one of these great mediaeval institutions.

The monks' day-room is a large building 60 feet long by 22 feet wide. The upper floor, forming one half of the dormitory, has disappeared, but there still remain the bases of the two central pillars which supported the groined roof. The restoration of Cleeve Abbey was carried out several years ago by Mr. G.F. Luttrell of Dunster Castle. Before that time the whole place was used as a farm, and floors of encaustic tiles were buried deep in farm-yard rubbish. There is practically no recorded history of Cleeve Abbey.

One shilling is charged for admission for one person, or sixpence each for a party of two or more.

The monastic buildings are all beyond the grassy space inside the gateway.]

HAWARDEN

=How to get there.=--Train from Euston _via_ Chester. L. and N.W. Rly. =Nearest Station.=--Hawarden. =Distance from London.=--186 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 4 to 5 hours.

=Fares.=--To Chester-- 1st 2nd 3rd
Single 27s. 10d. 18s. 8d. 14s. 11d.
Return 51s. 9d. 32s. 8d. 29s. 10d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Glynne Arms," etc. =Alternative Route.=--Train from Paddington _via_ Wrexham. Great Western Railway.

Hawarden is a small town, about 6-1/2 miles from Chester. The great interest of the place centres in Hawarden Castle, the home, until his death, of the Rt. Hon. W.E. Gladstone. There are really two castles, but little remains of the old one except the large circular keep and part of the banqueting-hall. On the spot previously occupied by the old battlements a modern wall has been built, from which a fine view across the Dee estuary can be obtained. The castle was probably built before the time of Edward I. Here Simon de Montfort surrendered the castle to Llewelyn. After its reversion to the Crown it was again taken by Llewelyn's brother, and it was about this time that the present keep was built. After its dismantling during the Parliamentary War, it was purchased by Serjeant Glynne, in whose family it still remains.

Within full view of the old castle, and enclosed by the same park, stands the modern mansion, constructed in the style of a castellated Gothic building of the thirteenth century. It was originally a square brick building, but it has had so many additions, besides being turreted and encased in stone, that it is almost impossible to trace the former structure. The south-east front looks on a gravel walk surrounding some formal flower-beds, which was one of Mr. Gladstone's favourite walks when he was unable to take other exercise. Visitors are not admitted to the modern castle.

Euloe Castle, some two or three miles from Hawarden, is said to be connected with the few remains of the old chapel by means of an underground passage. It is a picturesque, ivy-mantled ruin, but little is known of its history.

Hawarden Church has a central tower, surmounted by a short spire; it was restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1857. A window to the memory of Mr. Gladstone, by the late Sir Edward Burne-Jones, has just been placed in the west end.

HAWARDEN CASTLE.

The home, until his death, of the Rt. Hon. W.E. Gladstone.]

YORK MINSTER

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly. =Nearest Station.=--York. =Distance from London.=--188-1/4 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 3-3/4 to 5 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 27s. ... 15s. 8d.
Return 54s. ... 31s. 4d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Harker's York Hotel," "Black Swan
Hotel," "Station Hotel," etc.
=Alternative Routes.=--Train from St. Pancras _via_ Sheffield, Midland
Railway. Train from Liverpool Street, Great Eastern Railway.

The city of York is one of the most famous and interesting in the kingdom. It was originally the _Eborac_ of the British and the _Eboracum_ of the Romans, who made it an imperial colony, and the capital of _Maxima Caesariensis_. Later the place changed hands many times between Danes and Saxons until the time of William the Conqueror, who built the castle. The whole city was burnt in 1137, with the cathedral and forty churches, and in the Wars of the Roses it was continually the scene of sanguinary conflicts between the rival parties. It has been visited at various times by nearly all our kings, and numerous insurrections have been quelled within its walls. The cathedral--the chief glory of York--dates from Saxon times. The first church was founded by Edwin, the fifth king of Northumbria, but before it was finished he was slain, and the work thenceforward was carried out by his successor Oswald. The present cathedral was mainly built in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Its chief features are a nave with the most magnificent side-aisles in the kingdom, two transepts, a choir, a lady chapel, a large central tower, two bell towers, and a wonderfully fine chapter-house. During the last century it was twice nearly destroyed by fire, first by the act of a lunatic, and then by the carelessness of a workman.

The present structure takes rank with the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in the world.

Apart from the minster, the whole city teems with archaeological interest. There are many fine old churches, and much mediaeval architecture, including the gates of the city, which are wonderfully well preserved, one of the best being Micklegate Bar, where Richard Duke of York's head was exhibited. The city walls built by Edward I. still remain in a remarkably good state of preservation. Many of the towers, of which Leland stated there were forty, still exist.

COXWOLD, YORKSHIRE

THE HOME OF STERNE

=How to get there.=--Great Northern Railway, King's Cross Station. =Nearest Station.=--Easingwold _via_ York and Alne; from thence runs a branch line to Easingwold. =Distance from London.=--199 miles. =Average Time.=--About 5 hours. =Fares.=--No through fares in operation. =Accommodation Obtainable.=--The village inn--"The Fauconberg Arms."

The pretty little village of Coxwold, where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote _A Sentimental Journey_, lies about 18 miles north of York. The hamlet stands on slightly rising ground. At the bottom of the hill is the village smithy, the well, a farm, and facing a big elm tree is the inn, bearing a great hatchment-like signboard showing the Fauconberg arms and motto. The cottages of the villagers are on the slope of the hill, and at the top is the church to which Sterne was appointed vicar in 1760. Close at hand is the quaint seventeenth-century house he occupied. It is a singularly picturesque little building, with its mossy stone-covered roof, its wide gables, and massive chimney-stacks. Sterne, in his humorous way, called it "Shandy Hall." The stone tablet over the doorway states that Sterne wrote _Tristram Shandy_ and _A Sentimental Journey_ at Shandy Hall; but this is not quite accurate, for he entered upon the incumbency of Coxwold in 1760, whereas two volumes of _Tristram Shandy_ had already been published in 1759. Of his life at Coxwold one gathers that the vicar was more devoted to his books than to his parish. In the intervals of writing and his clerical duties he amused himself with painting, fiddling, dining out and telling stories, at the same time suffering from ill-health and other discomforts. His gift of humour, however, helped him to bear his troubles better than might otherwise have been the case. He was firmly persuaded that "every time a man smiles, but much more so when he laughs, he adds something to the fragment of life." Sterne's study may still be seen. It is a tiny room with a low ceiling, although it undoubtedly possesses the charm of cosiness. On one occasion Sterne writes: "I have a hundred hens and chickens about my yard, and not a parishioner catches a hare or a rabbit or a trout but he brings it as an offering to me." Sterne died in London in 1768 at the age of 55 years.

Where the Rev. Laurence Sterne lived while he was Vicar of Coxwold. Part of _Tristram Shandy_ was written here.]

LLANGOLLEN AND VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY

=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Llangollen. Valle Crucis Abbey lies 2 miles from Llangollen. =Distance from London.=--203 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 4-1/2 to 7-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 28s. 10d. 19s. 3d. 15s. 4-1/2d.
Return 53s. 6d. 33s. 9d. ...

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--At Llangollen--"Hand Hotel," "Royal
Hotel," "The Eagle Hotel," etc.

The scenery of Llangollen can scarcely be called mountainous, but the little town is situated in the most beautiful part of the hill district of Wales. Its chief charm, in common with all other Welsh villages, is in its contrasts,--deep lanes with fern and flower-clad banks lead you past picturesque cottages and farms, surrounded with low stone walls, half hidden by brilliantly coloured creepers; bold crags, high above the valley, give place to bright green sheep pastures, they in turn changing to thick woods of oak and ash.

Llangollen Bridge, across which runs the chief thoroughfare, is one of the so-called "wonders of Wales." It was built in 1346 by John Trevor, afterwards Bishop of St. Asaph, and was the first stone bridge in Wales. It is borne by five stone arches, and beneath them rushes the fine river Dee. The church is dedicated to St. Collen, but is of no particular interest. In the churchyard is a monument to the two fashionable ladies who at an early age tired of the vanities of this world, and lived in complete seclusion at Plas Newydd, a house just beyond the village, famed for its old oak.

Valle Crucis Abbey, which can be reached either by walking along the canal from Llangollen, or by train to Berwyn, lies in a beautiful wooded valley surrounded by some of the best scenery in the neighbourhood of Llangollen. A little to the east, a very picturesque view of the ruins, which are the finest of their kind in Wales, may be obtained over a quiet pool of water. The abbey was founded in the thirteenth century by Madoc-ap-Gryffydd Moelor, who was a supporter of Llewelyn in the cause of Welsh independence. The buildings are in Early English style, and some of the finest remains are a circular gable window and three decorated Gothic ones, also part of the west end with dog-tooth moulding, and a piscina and canopy in the south transept. Stretching at right angles from the south side of the church are the old monastic buildings.

VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY.

The ruins of the Church. The monastic buildings are on the south side.]

KNARESBOROUGH, DRIPPING WELL

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly. =Nearest Station.=--Knaresborough. =Distance from London.=--204 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 5 to 7 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 28s. 5d. ... 17s. 0-1/2d.
Return 56s. 10d. ... 34s. 1d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Commercial Hotel," "Crown Hotel,"
etc.

Knaresborough, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is a town of great interest and antiquity, and occupies part of the site of an ancient forest which was 20 miles in length. It was a crown manor before the Conquest, and was given by William the Conqueror to Serlo de Burgh, a Norman baron, by whom the stately castle was first erected. The place was afterwards held by Richard Plantagenet, who founded a priory in the vicinity, Piers Gaveston, and John of Gaunt, and the castle was for some time the place of confinement of Henry II. During the Civil War it was held for the King; but after the battle of Marston Moor it was taken by Fairfax, and dismantled by order of Parliament in 1648.

The castle, one of the finest of its kind, is situated in a remarkable position on a lofty rock, and was once practically inaccessible. It was formerly flanked by eleven towers, of which only one remains. The other ruins consist of a small portion of the keep and some very beautiful and elaborate vaulted apartments, in which the murderers of Thomas à Becket took refuge. On the cliffs opposite the castle is the famous Knaresborough "Dripping Well," whose waters have the property of "turning into stone" any articles left for a time under the dripping waters of the well. The water being highly charged with limestone in a state of impervious powder, rapidly encrusts the object until it appears to be made of solid rock, and various specimens of this result may be obtained.

About half a mile below the castle are the remains of the priory for brothers of the Holy Trinity, founded by Richard Plantagenet; and further south, hewn out of the solid rock, at a considerable height above the river Nidd, is St. Robert's Chapel, with a fine groined roof. It has an altar on the east side and contains carvings of the Trinity and the Virgin Mary.

Knaresborough was at one time a place of fashionable resort on account of the efficacy of its mineral waters, but they have long since been abandoned for those of Harrogate.

THE DRIPPING WELL AT KNARESBOROUGH.

The water contains limestone, and coats over whatever substance it falls upon.]

FOUNTAINS ABBEY

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross _via_ Leeds. Great Northern Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Ripon (2 miles from the Abbey). =Distance from London.=--214 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 5 to 8 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 29s. 9d. ... 17s. 5d.
Return 59s. 6d. ... 34s. 10d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--At Ripon--"Black Bull Hotel,"
"Black Swan Hotel," "Bradford Hotel," etc.

Fountains Abbey, about 2 miles south-west from Ripon in Yorkshire, stands in a beautiful wooded valley, through which runs a pretty stream known as the Skell. The abbey is noted for the great extent of its remains, which seem to have escaped any wanton destruction. A fine tower at the north end of the transept still stands, but the central one has fallen into great decay. Besides the church there are many remains of this famous abbey, which at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries was one of the richest in the country. The cloisters, 300 feet long, are unsurpassed in England. They extend across an archway over the stream, and are lit by lancet windows. There are also remains of the chapter-house, the refectory, and the kitchen with its two wide fireplaces.

The history of the foundation of Fountains Abbey is of considerable interest. In the twelfth century some monks of the Benedictine monastery of St. Mary at York, being attracted by the sanctity of the inmates of the Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx in Yorkshire, became dissatisfied with their own form of government, and wished to adopt the rules of Rievaulx Abbey and withdraw from their own monastery. This naturally did not please their abbot; but eventually, after appealing to the Archbishop of York, some land in a lonely valley, known as Skell Dale, was granted to them. Here, in the depth of winter, without shelter or means of subsistence, the pious monks suffered great hardship. After a few years Hugh, Dean of York, left all his possessions to the Abbey of Fountains, and after this endowments and benefactions flowed in.

In 1140 the abbey was burnt down, but in 1204 the restoration was recommenced, and the foundations of a new church, of which the present ruins are the remains, were laid. The great tower, however, was not completed till the end of the fourteenth century.

At the Dissolution Sir Richard Gresham bought the estates, and they are now owned by the descendants of Mr. William Aislabie of Studley Royal.

FOUNTAINS ABBEY.

One of the finest ruined monasteries in England.]

RIPON CATHEDRAL

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross _via_ Leeds. Great Northern Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Ripon. =Distance from London.=--214 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 5 to 7 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 29s. 9d. ... 17s. 5d.
Return 59s. 6d. ... 34s. 10d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Black Bull Hotel," "Black Swan
Hotel," "Bradford Hotel," etc.

Ripon is situated on the little river Ure in a picturesque valley in the west of Yorkshire. Its past history has been eventful enough, for it was burnt by the Danes in the ninth century, destroyed by King Edred, and laid waste by the Conqueror. It recovered quickly from all these adversities, and is now a peaceful town given up to agricultural pursuits. Besides possessing a small but interesting old cathedral and some ancient houses in its town, many places of historic importance lie in its immediate neighbourhood. Fountains Abbey is 3 miles distant (see Index), and also Fountains Hall, a fifteenth-century building. An interesting relic of old times is the blowing of the horn at nine in the evening by a constable outside the mayor's house and at the market-cross.

Ripon's minster became a cathedral in 1836. In the seventh century a monastery was established here, and St. Wilfrid, the famous Archbishop of York, built the minster. Of this building only the crypt remains, consisting of a central chamber with niches in the walls, and a window known as "St. Wilfrid's Needle" looking into the passage outside. It is reached by steps and a long passage leading from the nave of the present cathedral. Only the chapter-house and vestry remain of Archbishop Thurstan's Norman church, erected in the place of the Anglo-Saxon one, for Roger, Archbishop of York, pulled it down and began to erect the present building in (_circa_) 1154. Being only a Collegiate Church in those days, it was not built in a cathedral fashion, and it had no aisles to its wide and low-roofed nave. The present aisles were added in the sixteenth century, with the intention of giving a cathedral aspect to the minster church. Much of Roger's work has been altered by subsequent bishops, and the result is a strange succession of styles of architecture. Ripon is the only cathedral that has glass in the triforium of the choir.

The exterior, viewed from a distance, is a little squat, for it needs the timber spires that formerly crowned the three towers.

RIPON CATHEDRAL--THE MINSTER BRIDGE.]

DARTMOOR

=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Bovey Tracey. =Distance from London.=--215-1/2 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 6 to 7 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 33s. 0d. 20s. 6d. 16s. 5-1/2d.
Return 57s. 9d. 36s. 0d. 32s. 11d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--At Bovey Tracey--"The Dolphin,"
"The Railway," "The Moorland" Hotels.
=Alternative Route.=--Train to Okehampton from Waterloo. L. and
S.W. Railway. Okehampton is 5 miles from Sourton and 10
from Lydford.

While only two places are mentioned above as starting-places from which to get at Dartmoor, a dozen others, such as Tavistock and Ashburton, might be mentioned. Bovey Tracey, however, has many advantages, for the moment one alights from the train one sees only four miles distant two of the most rugged tors of the moor--Hey Tor and Rippon Tor--the last with its great logan stone balanced near the summit. A coach from the "Dolphin," which runs three days a week in the season, takes one through scenery which grows more and more desolate and grand as the summit of Hey Tor is approached. From Hey Tor the coach goes on to Buckland Beacon, whence a wide view is obtained, including the shining roofs of Princetown right away in the distance. Princetown, with its convict prison, is considered by the people of the moor to be its most important town. Holne, which is included in some of the coach drives from Bovey Tracey, contains the birthplace of Charles Kingsley. Dartmoor is so huge that one must be born and spend a lifetime in or near it to really know it, and the visitor can merely endeavour to see typical examples of its granite tors, its peaty streams, its great stretches of boulder-strewn heather, and its strangely isolated villages.

Eight miles from Bovey Tracey is Widdecombe, the lonely little village possessing a church which is known as "the Cathedral of the Moor." The great tower of the church was struck by lightning one Sunday in October 1638, and a contemporary account can be seen on some panels in the tower.

Brent Tor, illustrated opposite, is quite close to the station on the L. and S.W. Railway of that name. The little battlemented church on the summit, which has nave, aisles, and chancel, has a legendary origin and is dedicated to St. Michael. The rock composing the tor is volcanic trap.

The little church standing on Brent Tor is very prominently situated and can be seen for many miles across the moor.]

HAWORTH

THE HOME OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË

=How to get there.=--Train from St. Pancras. Change at Keighley. Midland Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Haworth. =Distance from London.=--216 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 5-1/2 to 6-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 28s. 7d. ... 16s. 6-1/2d.
Return 57s. 2d. ... 33s. 1d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--At Keighley--"Devonshire Hotel."

Haworth is a long straggling village 4 miles from Keighley, a large manufacturing town in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The road is very steep to the village--"four tough, scrambling miles." It consists of one street, so steep that the flagstones with which it is paved are placed end-ways that the horses may not stumble. Past the church and the lonely parsonage are the wide moors, high, wild, and desolate, up above the world, solitary and silent. This gray, sad-looking parsonage, so close to the still sadder churchyard, is a spot of more than ordinary interest, for it was the home of the Brontës--that wonderfully gifted and extraordinary family! Charlotte Brontë shared with her sisters their intense love for the wild, black, purple moors, rising and sweeping away yet higher than the church which is built at the summit of the one long narrow street. All round the horizon are wave-like hills. _Jane Eyre_, published in 1847, written with extraordinary power and wonderful genius, astonished the entire reading world. Little did any one imagine that the authoress lived far away from the busy haunts of men in a quiet northern parsonage, leading a gentle, sad life; for her two sisters, whom Charlotte loved as her own life, were very delicate, and their one brother, in whom they had placed great hopes, had given way to drink. Charlotte was known to the literary world as Currer Bell, her sisters as Acton and Ellis Bell. After _Jane Eyre_ came _Shirley_, written in a period of great sorrow, for her two loved sisters died within a short space of each other, not long after the death of their unhappy brother, and Charlotte was left alone in the quiet, sad parsonage with only her aged father. _Villette_ was well received. It was her last work. Charlotte Brontë married, in 1854, the Rev. Arthur Nichols, and after a few brief months of happiness passed away on March 31, 1855, at the early age of thirty-nine.

Haworth has been much influenced by the growth of Keighley.

THE PARSONAGE AT HAWORTH, FROM THE CHURCHYARD.

Where Charlotte Brontë and her family lived.]

RIEVAULX ABBEY

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly. =Nearest Station.=--Helmsley. =Distance from London.=--219-1/4 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 3-3/4 to 5 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 31s. 3d. ... 18s. 3-1/2d.
Return 62s. 6d. ... 36s. 7d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Black Swan" and "Crown" Hotels at Helmsley. There is no inn at Rievaulx. =Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras _via_ Sheffield. Midland.

The little village of Rievaulx--the name is Norman-French, but is pronounced Rivers--is situated close to the river Rye, and 2-1/2 miles from Helmsley, on the Thirsk road. The great point of interest in connection with the village is the fact that close by are the ruins of the once magnificent abbey for monks of the Cistercian order, founded by Sir Walter D'Espec in 1131. The founder eventually became a monk at Rievaulx, and at his death was buried there. After the Dissolution the site was granted to the Villiers family, from whom it came to the Duncombes in 1695.

The most striking view of the abbey is obtained by leaving the main road and taking the footpath across Duncombe Park, where a sudden turn brings one in sight of a bend in the Rye, with the great roofless church rising on the left bank of the river. The principal remains of the fine old abbey, one of the most beautiful ruins in the kingdom, consist of the choir and transept of the church, and the refectory. The hospitium or guest house was formerly on the right of the lane leading to Helmsley. The great nave of the church is now a shapeless ruin, but from certain indications it may be seen that it was Norman, and probably the work of D'Espec. The lower parts of the transept are Norman, and the remainder Early English.

The magnificent tower arch, 75 feet high, is still standing, and one of the most striking views of the ancient fabric is the crumbling nave as it appears framed in this lofty and wonderfully-proportioned opening, with a background of rich English foliage and landscape.

West of the nave were the cloisters, of which only a few arches now remain, and opening from their west wall is the fine Early English refectory, with the reading-desk still existing. Underneath the refectory there are the remains of the Norman dormitory.

Near the bridge, at the lower end of the village of Rievaulx, a place still called the "Forge," was possibly an ironworks under the superintendence of the monks.

RIEVAULX ABBEY.]

BRIXHAM, DEVON

LANDING-PLACE OF WILLIAM III.

=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Brixham. =Distance from London.=--222-1/2 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 5-1/4 to 6-3/4 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 34s. 0d. 21s. 4d. 17s. 0-1/2d.
Return 59s. 8d. 37s. 4d. ...

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"The Queen's Hotel," "The Bolton,"
"The George Hotel," "The Globe," etc.

On the southern side of Tor Bay is Brixham, the fishing village selected by William of Orange as a landing-place when in 1688, at the request of the English Parliament, he brought over an army raised in Holland. It was from here, too, that he commenced his victorious march to London with thirteen thousand men--Exeter, Bristol, and other towns throwing open their gates to welcome the Prince of Orange. The French, on the momentous occasion of the visit of Admiral Tourville to the English coast during the reign of James II., found Tor Bay a safe place for their fleet to anchor, and William of Orange, probably having heard of this, chose the same portion of the Devonshire seaboard. The exact spot on which the Dutch prince first placed his foot on shore is marked by a brass footprint, and close by stands the statue of England's third William, overlooking the quaint quay, the brown-sailed fishing-boats, and the old-world village.

Brixham is just such another town as Newlyn or Port Isaac, for its streets are narrow and winding, and there are flights of stone steps here and there which add considerably to the picturesqueness of the place.

Brixham can easily be visited at the same time as Dartmouth, which is dealt with on another page. Totnes can also be reached by taking the train to Paignton, whence run two omnibuses at various intervals throughout the day. It is a delightful drive, occupying less than an hour. Totnes has a very quaint little main street which rises steeply from the bridge over the Dart. Near the highest portion the roadway is crossed by one of the old gateways of the town. This feature and the many quaint gabled houses give a charm to the place, making it attractive to all who love old architecture. Fragments of the old walls, a second gateway, and the shell of the castle, which is possibly pre-Norman, are also in existence.

BRIXHAM HARBOUR.

Showing the statue of William of Orange on the spot where he landed in 1688.]

CONWAY CASTLE

=How to get there.=--From Euston Station. L. and N.W. Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Conway. =Distance from London.=--225 miles. =Average Time.=--6-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 35s. 9d. 20s. 7d. 18s. 8d.
Return 65s. 0d. 36s. 6d. 33s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Castle Hotel," "Erskine Arms,"
"Bridge Hotel," "Harp Hotel," "Aberconway Temperance
Hotel" (old house containing coffee-room dated 1400), and others.
=Alternative Route.=--Train from Paddington, _via_ Chester. Great
Western Railway.

The castle at Conway is one of the noblest fortresses in the kingdom, the only one to approach it in size being the famous building at Carnarvon. The present town of Conway has gradually sprung up round the castle, built by Edward I. in 1284 to intimidate the Welsh. It was unsuccessfully besieged by them in 1290. At the commencement of the Parliamentarian War, the castle was garrisoned for the King by Williams, Archbishop of York, but was taken by Mytton in 1646. The building was comparatively unhurt during the war, but the lead and timber were removed at the Restoration by Lord Conway, who dismantled the beautiful fortress in a most barbarous manner, and the edifice was allowed to fall more or less into decay.

The castle stands on the verge of a precipitous rock on the south-east of the town, one side bounded by the river, a second by a tidal creek; the other frontages overlook the town. It constitutes part of the walls of Conway, which, with the castle, form the finest examples extant of thirteenth-century military fortification. The castle itself was a perfect specimen of a fortress, with walls of enormous thickness, flanked by eight huge embattled towers. There are some traces still remaining of the royal features of "Queen Eleanor's Oratory."

Near the Castle Hotel, in a side street, stands _Plas Mawe_, the "Great House," a rich example of domestic Elizabethan architecture, built in 1585 by Robert Wynn of Gwydir. The rooms contain much oak panelling and carving. A charge of 6d. is made for admission to the house.

Conway has a station of its own within the walls of the town, but the visitor will do well to get out at Llandudno Junction, where a walk of a few hundred yards leads to the famous Suspension Bridge, designed by Telford in 1826.

The charge for admission to the castle is 3d.

CONWAY CASTLE.

It is one of the finest of the ruined castles England possesses. The suspension bridge was designed by Telford in 1826.]

THE DOONE VALLEY, EXMOOR

ASSOCIATED WITH "LORNA DOONE"

=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo _via_ Barnstaple. L. and S.W. Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Lynton (about 6 miles distant). =Distance from London.=--225 miles. =Average Time.=--7 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 37s. 10d. 24s. 0d. 18s. 10-1/2d.
Return 65s. 6d. 42s. 0d. 37s. 9d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--Lynton--"The Tors Hotel," "Valley
of Rocks," "Royal Castle," "Kensington," "Crown," "Globe,"
etc. Minehead--"Métropole," "Beach," "Plume of Feathers,"
etc. Porlock--"The Ship," "The Castle," etc.
=Alternative Route.=--Train from Paddington to Minehead, Great
Western Rly. By coach from Minehead _via_ Porlock, 12 miles.

Every one who has read the late Mr. R.D. Blackmore's _Lorna Doone_ has a keen interest in what is frequently called the Doone Country. This comprises the north-west corner of Exmoor, bordering on the boundaries of Devonshire. But those who visit the little village of Oare and Badgworthy Water must not expect to see all that the novelist's imagination conjured up. Nevertheless, though some have been disappointed, there is much to be seen which is of interest. The church at Oare, for instance, is closely associated with John Ridd and Lorna, and the Snowe family, mentioned by the novelist, are commemorated in the church. Then, too, the feats of a "Great John Ridd" are obscurely traditional in the district.

The Doone valley, with Badgworthy (pronounced _Badgery_) Water running through it, is about half-an-hour's walk from Malmsmead Bridge, which is close to the village of Oare. Keeping up the course of the stream one reaches a wood of oaks, and near it one finds a tributary of the brook falling down a series of miniature cascades. This is the "water slide" up which Blackmore took his hero on the occasion of his first meeting with Lorna Doone. If one crosses a bridge near this the path will be found to continue for about a mile. At this distance one turns to the right by another stream, and enters a combe containing the ruins of the Doone Houses as they are called. A lonely cottage looks down upon all that is to be seen of the famous stronghold of the Doones. The narrow approach to the place never existed outside the pages of the romance. The scenery of this portion of Exmoor is exceedingly wild.

THE DOONE VALLEY, EXMOOR.

Associated with Blackmore's _Lorna Doone_.]

LLANDOVERY, SOUTH WALES

A CENTRE FOR THE FINE SCENERY OF THE DISTRICT

=How to get there.=--Train from Euston. L. and N.W. Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Llandovery. =Distance from London.=--228 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 6-3/4 to 8-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 33s. 11d. 21s. 1d. 16s. 10d.
Return 58s. 9d. 37s. 0d. 33s. 8d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Castle Hotel," etc. =Alternative Route.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.

The town of Llandovery, chiefly interesting by reason of the interesting and picturesque excursions in its vicinity, is situate in the county of Carmarthenshire, 24 miles north-east of Carmarthen. The town stands on the river Bran, near its junction with the Towy, in a beautiful valley, surrounded by wooded hills. Besides these two rivers, some smaller streams join in the neighbourhood, and from this fact comes the name of the place, a corruption of the Welsh _Llan ym Ddy fri_, or Church among the Waters.

There are two churches of some interest, the more important being the one in the main street, where the famous Rhys Pritchard was vicar in 1602. The other church stands on higher ground to the north of the town, on the site of the old Roman station.

On a grassy knoll, adjoining the Castle Hotel and overlooking the river Bran, are the remains of Llandovery Castle, built about the twelfth century, and dismantled by Cromwell's orders.

Llandovery is a good starting-place for the ascent of the Carmarthenshire Van (_i.e._ Beacon), about 13 miles distant, one of the highest peaks in South Wales. The view from the summit of the Van in clear weather is magnificent. Near at hand are the Black Mountains, a rather gloomy sandstone range, and in the distance are the mountains of North Wales, Swansea Bay, and the Devonshire coast. An easy descent may be effected on the south-eastern side of the mountain to Penwyllt station, on the Brecon-Swansea line. Just below this is Craig-y-Nos Castle, the home of Madame Patti-Nicolini.

Among other interesting excursions from Llandovery are those to Irecastle, a village in the valley of the Usk; Ystradffyn, near which a splendid panorama of the valley of the Towy is obtained; and Pumpsaint, a romantic village with a gold-mine near at hand.

LLANDOVERY CASTLE.

It was built in the twelfth century, and dismantled by Cromwell's orders.]

DARTMOUTH, DEVON

=How to get there.=--From Paddington. Great Western Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Dartmouth (by steam ferry from Kingswear). =Distance from London.=--229 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 5-1/2 to 7 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 34s. 6d. 21s. 6d. 17d. 3d.
Return 60s. 3d. 37s. 10d. ...

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Royal Castle Hotel," "Raleigh Hotel," etc. =Alternative Route.=--None.

There is scarcely a more romantic spot in the whole of England than Dartmouth. Spread out on one of the steep slopes of the Dart, it overlooks the deep-set river towards the sea and inland towards Totnes. Steep wooded banks rising out of the water's edge give the windings of the estuary the feeling of solemn mystery which is not obtainable from meadows or ploughlands. In the midst of scenery of this character--and it must have been richer still a few centuries back--the inhabitants of Dartmouth made history.

Perhaps the earliest mention of Dartmouth is by Chaucer. Among his Canterbury Pilgrims he says:--

A schipman was ther, wonyng fer by weste;
For ought I wost, he was of Dertemouthe.

Whether this particular "schipman" was given over to piracy it is not possible to say, but the nature of their splendid harbour, which they protected with a great chain drawn across the narrow outlet to the sea, led the Dartmouth men into a trade which to-day goes by that name. Thus in the days of Queen Elizabeth, and even in more recent times, these lusty sailors gained a livelihood by periodical harryings of the opposite coast of Brittany, suffering in the chances of such warfare the disadvantages of sudden incursions of the Bretons, which, despite the chain and the two little castles at the mouth of the inlet, were sometimes so successful that when the Frenchmen retired there were a good many heaps of smoking ashes where comfortable homes had stood. Despite the varied turns of fortune's wheel, there are still many fine old gabled houses in Dartmouth, with overhanging upper stories rich in carved oak.

The church of St. Saviour contains a finely carved pulpit, and is full of indications of the wealth and importance of Dartmouth in the past.

Though a chain is no longer used to close the entrance to the Dart, the remains of the two little towers are still to be seen.

THE BUTTER MARKET AT DARTMOUTH.

Although the town possesses many fine old seventeenth-century houses, these in the Butter Market are the finest examples.]

RICHMOND, YORKSHIRE

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Richmond. =Distance from London.=--237 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 6-1/2 to 9-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 33s. 6d. ... 19s. 9d.
Return 67s. 0d. ... 39s. 6d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Fleece Hotel," etc. =Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras _via_ Sheffield. Midland Railway.

Richmond was a place of considerable importance at the time of the Norman Conquest, when William I. gave the title of Richmond to his kinsman, Alan Rufus, on his obtaining the estates of the Saxon Earl Edwin, which then extended over nearly a third of the North Riding of Yorkshire. When Henry VII., who was Earl of Richmond, came to the throne, these possessions reverted to the Crown, and many years later Charles II. gave the title to the Lennoxes, with whose descendants it still remains.

The castle, which is the most striking feature of Richmond, stands on an almost perpendicular rock, 100 feet above the level of the Swale, and in its best days must have been practically impregnable. The structure is now in ruins, though the Norman keep with pinnacled corner towers is still intact, the walls being over 100 feet high and 11 feet thick. At the south-east corner is the ruin of a smaller tower, beneath which is a dungeon 15 feet deep, and at the south-western corner is another lofty tower. The castle originally covered five acres, and from its magnificent position commanded the whole of the surrounding country.

The church, standing on the hillside near the castle, is full of interest, and has been admirably restored by Sir Gilbert Scott, who used the old materials as far as possible. The greater part of the choir and the tower are Perpendicular, the rest Decorated, and two of the old Norman piers remain at the west end. The screen and stall work brought from Easby Abbey are of great beauty, and the carvings on the subsellia are quaint and humorous.

Besides the castle, there are the remains of a Grey Friars' monastery, founded in 1258 by Ralph Fitz-Randal, and situated at the back of French-gate; and about a mile from the town the ruins of the monastery of St. Martin and the abbey of St. Agatha, on the north bank of the Swale, in the adjoining parish of Easby.

RICHMOND CASTLE.

It stands upon a perpendicular rock one hundred feet above the river Swale.]

TINTAGEL

=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo, L. and S.W. Railway. =Nearest Station.=--Camelford. Thence by omnibus to Tintagel (4-1/2 miles distant) twice daily. =Distance from London.=--241 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 6-1/2 to 8 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 41s. 0d. 26s. 3d. 21s. 3d.
Return 72s. 2d. 46s. 4d. 42s. 6d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"King Arthur's," "Castle Hotel,"
"Tintagel," etc.

Tintagel Castle is situated near Bossiney, a place of some importance in bygone times, to judge from the number of ruins of houses to be seen there. Situated as the castle is, high up on a mass of dark, slaty rock in one of the wildest parts of the coast of Northern Cornwall, it is a suitable spot to be the legendary birthplace of King Arthur. The formation of the rocky ground is very interesting. Tintagel itself is almost an island, but a low isthmus connects it with the mainland. On both sides of the chasm are the ruins of the castle, and wide as the gap is, the buildings on the mainland and on the rock are in an exact line, and present the same characteristic features, thus showing that there has probably been a considerable subsidence of the land at that point. The castle must have been almost inaccessible. In the time of Leland a chapel occupied part of the keep. Some doubt is entertained as to the date of the building of the castle, opinion being divided between a Norman, a Saxon, or a Roman origin.

The remains of a British or Saxon church are to be found on the summit of the island. The church is supposed to have belonged to the abbey and convent of Fontevrault, in Normandy. It was afterwards given by Edward IV. to the Collegiate Church of Windsor, the dean and the chapter being the patrons. Parts of the church of Tintagel have recently been restored by the vicar of the parish.

About 3 miles from Tintagel is the Slaughter Bridge, which derives its names from the two great battles which were fought there, one between King Arthur and his nephew, who died in 542, when Arthur was said to have been mortally wounded, and the other between the Britons and Saxons in 823. Other ancient relics in the form of barrows and stone crosses are to be found in this neighbourhood.

For Stonehenge and other prehistoric remains, see Index.

KING ARTHUR'S CASTLE, TINTAGEL.

One of the wildest spots on the north coast of Cornwall.]

WHITBY

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly. =Nearest Station.=--Whitby. =Distance from London.=--244-3/4 miles. =Average Time.=--Varies between 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 34s. 6d. ... 20s. 4d.
Return 69s. 0d. ... 40s. 8d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Royal Hotel," "Crown Hotel,"
"Métropole Hotel," etc.

Whitby is renowned for its ancient abbey and its beautiful situation on the high and rocky coast of Yorkshire, just where the river Esk finds a way to the sea. The Esk cuts the town into two portions. East Cliff is on the one side, with its hoary abbey and quaint parish church on its summit, towering over the old fishing hamlet which clusters so picturesquely at its base. West Cliff is on the other side, a modern, fashionable seaside resort. Close by are the heather-clad moors with their keen, invigorating air.

From the bottom of East Cliff one ascends by 199 steps to the abbey, which was founded in (_circa_) 658. Its first abbess was the saintly Lady Hilda. During her rule, the poor cowherd, Caedmon, sleeping among the cattle, being ashamed that he could not take harp and sing among the rest, had his wonderful dream. An angel appeared to him and told him to sing the Beginning of the Creation. Immediately the cowherd went to the Abbess Hilda and sang his song. He became our first English poet.