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[Illustration: _Frontispiece_

ALTON TOWERS.]




  ENGLAND,

  PICTURESQUE AND DESCRIPTIVE.

  A

  REMINISCENCE OF FOREIGN TRAVEL.

  By JOEL COOK,

  AUTHOR OF "A HOLIDAY TOUR IN EUROPE," "BRIEF SUMMER RAMBLES," ETC.


  [Illustration: OLD MILL AT SELBORNE.]

  WITH NEARLY FIVE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS.

  PHILADELPHIA;

  PORTER AND COATES.


  Copyright
  By PORTER & COATES,
  1882.

  PRESS OF HENRY B. ASHMEAD, PHILADA.

  ELECTROTYPED BY WESTCOTT & THOMSON, PHILADA.




  TO

  JOHN WALTER, Esq.,

  MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR BERKSHIRE,

  AND

  PROPRIETOR OF THE LONDON TIMES,

  WHO HAS DONE SO MUCH TO WELCOME AMERICANS

  WITH TRUE ENGLISH HOSPITALITY,

  AND TO

  GIVE ENGLISHMEN A MORE ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE OF,

  AND MORE INTIMATE RELATIONS WITH,

  THE UNITED STATES,

  This Work on England,

  BY AN AMERICAN,

  IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.




INTRODUCTION.


No land possesses greater attractions for the American tourist than
England. It was the home of his forefathers; its history is to a great
extent the history of his own country; and he is bound to it by the
powerful ties of consanguinity, language, laws, and customs. When the
American treads the busy London streets, threads the intricacies of the
Liverpool docks and shipping, wanders along the green lanes of
Devonshire, climbs Alnwick's castellated walls, or floats upon the
placid bosom of the picturesque Wye, he seems almost as much at home as
in his native land. But, apart from these considerations of common
Anglo-Saxon paternity, no country in the world is more interesting to
the intelligent traveller than England. The British system of entail,
whatever may be our opinion of its political and economic merits, has
built up vast estates and preserved the stately homes, renowned castles,
and ivy-clad ruins of ancient and celebrated structures, to an extent
and variety that no other land can show. The remains of the abbeys,
castles, churches, and ancient fortresses in England and Wales that war
and time together have crumbled and scarred tell the history of
centuries, while countless legends of the olden time are revived as the
tourist passes them in review. England, too, has other charms than
these. British scenery, though not always equal in sublimity and
grandeur to that displayed in many parts of our own country, is
exceedingly beautiful, and has always been a fruitful theme of song and
story.

  "The splendor falls on castle-walls
    And snowy summits old in story:
  The long light shakes across the lakes.
    And the wild cataract leaps in glory."

Yet there are few satisfactory and comprehensive books about this land
that is so full of renowned memorials of the past and so generously
gifted by Nature. Such books as there are either cover a few counties or
are devoted only to local description, or else are merely guide-books.
The present work is believed to be the first attempt to give in
attractive form a book which will serve not only as a guide to those
about visiting England and Wales, but also as an agreeable reminiscence
to others, who will find that its pages treat of familiar scenes. It
would be impossible to describe everything within the brief compass of a
single book, but it is believed that nearly all the more prominent
places in England and Wales are included, with enough of their history
and legend to make the description interesting. The artist's pencil has
also been called into requisition, and the four hundred and eighty-seven
illustrations will give an idea, such as no words can convey, of the
attractions England presents to the tourist.

The work has been arranged in eight tours, with Liverpool and London as
the two starting-points, and each route following the lines upon which
the sightseer generally advances in the respective directions taken.
Such is probably the most convenient form for the travelling reader, as
the author has found from experience, while a comprehensive index will
make reference easy to different localities and persons. Without further
introduction it is presented to the public, in the confident belief that
the interest developed in its subject will excuse any shortcomings that
may be found in its pages.

PHILADELPHIA, July, 1882.




CONTENTS.


  I.

  _LIVERPOOL, WESTWARD TO THE WELSH COAST._
                                                                     PAGE

    Liverpool--Birkenhead--Knowsley Hall--Chester--Cheshire--Eaton
    Hall--Hawarden Castle--Bidston--Congleton--Beeston Castle--The river
    Dee--Llangollen--Valle-Crucis Abbey--Dinas Bran--Wynnstay--Pont
    Cysylltau--Chirk Castle--Bangor-ys-Coed--Holt--Wrexham--The Sands o'
    Dee--North Wales--Flint Castle--Rhuddlan Castle--Mold--Denbigh--St.
    Asaph--Holywell--Powys Castle--The Menai Strait--Anglesea--Beaumaris
    Castle--Bangor--Penrhyn Castle--Plas Newydd--Caernarvon
    Castle--Ancient Segontium--Conway Castle--Bettws-y-Coed--Mount
    Snowdon--Port Madoc--Coast of Merioneth--Barmouth--St. Patrick's
    Causeway--Mawddach Vale--Cader Idris--Dolgelly--Bala
    Lake--Aberystwith--Harlech Castle--Holyhead                        17


  II.

  _LIVERPOOL, NORTHWARD TO THE SCOTTISH BORDER._

    Lancashire--Warrington--Manchester--Furness Abbey--The
    Ribble--Stonyhurst--Lancaster Castle--Isle of
    Man--Castletown--Rusben Castle--Peele Castle--The Lake
    Country--Windermere--Lodore Fall--Derwentwater--Keswick--Greta
    Hall--Southey, Wordsworth, and Coleridge--Skiddaw---The Border
    Castles--Kendal Castle--Brougham Hall--The Solway--Carlisle
    Castle--Scaleby Castle--Naworth--Lord William Howard.              51


  III.

  _LIVERPOOL, THROUGH THE MIDLAND COUNTIES, TO LONDON._

      The Peak of Derbyshire--Castleton--Bess of Hardwicke--Hardwicke
    Hall--Bolsover Castle--The Wye and the
    Derwent--Buxton--Bakewell--Haddon Hall--The King of the
    Peak--Dorothy Vernon--Rowsley--The Peacock Inn--Chatsworth--The
    Victoria Regia--Matlock--Dovedale--Beauchief Abbey--Stafford
    Castle--Trentham Hall--Tamworth--Tutbury Castle--Chartley
    Castle--Alton Towers--Shrewsbury Castle--Bridgenorth--Wenlock
    Abbey--Ludlow Castle--The Feathers Inn--Lichfield Cathedral--Dr.
    Samuel Johnson--Coventry--Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom--Belvoir
    Castle--Charnwood Forest--Groby and Bradgate--Elizabeth Widvile and
    Lady Jane Grey--Ulverscroft Priory--Grace Dien Abbey--Ashby de la
    Zouche--Langley Priory--Leicester Abbey and Castle--Bosworth
    Field--Edgehill--Naseby--The Land of
    Shakespeare--Stratford-on-Avon--Warwick--Kenilworth--Birmingham
    --Boulton and Watt--Fotheringhay Castle--Holmby House--Bedford Castle
    --John Bunyan--Woburn Abbey and the Russells--Stowe--Whaddon Hall
    --Great Hampden--Creslow House                                     70


  IV.

  _THE RIVER THAMES AND LONDON._

    The Thames Head--Cotswold Hills--Seven
    Springs--Cirencester--Cheltenham--Sudeley
    Castle--Chavenage--Shifford--Lechlade--Stanton Harcourt--Cumnor
    Hall--Fair Rosamond--Godstow Nunnery--Oxford--Oxford
    Colleges--Christ Church--Corpus Christi--Merton--Oriel--All
    Souls--University--Queen's--Magdalen--Brasenose--New
    College--Radcliffe Library--Bodleian
    Library--Lincoln--Exeter--Wadham--Keble--Trinity--Balliol--St.
    John's--Pembroke--Oxford Churches--Oxford Castle--Carfax
    Conduit--Banbury--Broughton
    Castle--Woodstock--Marlborough--Blenheim--Minster
    Lovel--Bicester--Eynsham--Abingdon--Radley--Bacon, Rich, and
    Holt--Clifton-Hampden--Caversham--Reading--Maidenhead--Bisham
    Abbey--Vicar of Bray--Eton College--Windsor Castle--Magna Charta
    Island--Cowey Stakes--Ditton--Twickenham--London--Fire Monument--St.
    Paul's Cathedral--Westminster Abbey--The Tower--Lollards and
    Lambeth--Bow Church--St. Bride's--Whitehall--Horse Guards--St. James
    Palace--Buckingham Palace--Kensington Palace--Houses of
    Parliament--Hyde Park--Marble Arch--Albert Memorial--South
    Kensington Museum--Royal Exchange--Bank of England--Mansion
    House--Inns of Court--British Museum--Some London Scenes--The
    Underground Railway--Holland House--Greenwich--Tilbury Fort--The
    Thames Mouth                                                      137


  V.

  _LONDON, NORTHWARD TO THE TWEED._

    Harrow--St. Albans--Verulam--Hatfield House--Lord
    Burleigh--Cassiobury--Knebworth--Great Bed of Ware--The River
    Cam--Audley End--Saffron Walden--Newport--Nell
    Gwynne--Littlebury--Winstanley--Harwich--Cambridge--Trinity and St.
    John's Colleges--Caius College--Trinity Hall--The Senate
    House--University Library--Clare College--Great St. Mary's
    Church--King's College--Corpus Christi College--St. Catharine's
    College--Queens' College--The Pitt Press--Pembroke
    College--Peterhouse--Fitzwilliam Museum--Hobson's Conduit--Downing
    College--Emmanuel College--Christ's College--Sidney-Sussex
    College--The Round Church--Magdalene College--Jesus
    College--Trumpington--The Fenland--Bury St. Edmunds--Hengrave
    Hall--Ely--Peterborough--Crowland Abbey--Guthlac--Norwich Castle and
    Cathedral--Stamford--Burghley House--George
    Inn--Grantham--Lincoln--Nottingham--Southwell--Sherwood
    Forest--Robin Hood--The Dukeries--Thoresby Hall--Clumber
    Park--Welbeck Abbey--Newstead
    Abbey--Newark--Hull--Wilberforce--Beverley--Sheffield--Wakefield--Leeds
    --Bolton Abbey--The Strid--Ripon Cathedral--Fountains Abbey--Studley
    Royal--Fountains Hall--York--Eboracum--York Minster--Clifford's
    Tower--Castle Howard--Kirkham Priory--Flamborough
    Head--Scarborough--Whitby Abbey--Durham Cathedral and Castle--St.
    Cuthbert--The Venerable Bede--Battle of Neville's
    Cross--Chester-le-Street--Lumley
    Castle--Newcastle-upon-Tyne--Hexham--Alnwick Castle--Hotspur and the
    Percies--St. Michael's Church--Hulne Priory--Ford Castle--Flodden
    Field--The Tweed--Berwick--Holy Isle--Lindisfarne--Bamborough--Grace
    Darling                                                           224


  VI.

  _LONDON, WESTWARD TO MILFORD HAVEN._

    The Cotswolds--The River Severn--Gloucester--Berkeley Castle--New
    Inn--Gloucester Cathedral--Lampreys--Tewkesbury; its Mustard, Abbey,
    and Battle--Worcester; its Battle--Charles II.'s Escape--Worcester
    Cathedral--The Malvern Hills--Worcestershire Beacon--Herefordshire
    Beacon--Great Malvern--St. Anne's Well--The River Wye--Clifford
    Castle--Hereford--Old Butcher's Row--Nell Gwynne's
    Birthplace--Ross--The Man of Ross--Ross Church and its Trees--Walton
    Castle--Goodrich Castle--Forest of Dean--Coldwell--Symond's
    Vat--The Dowards--Monmouth--Kymin Hill--Raglan Castle--Redbrook--St.
    Briard Castle--Tintern Abbey--The Wyncliff--Wyntour's Leap--Chepstow
    Castle--The River Monnow--The Golden Valley--The Black
    Mountains--Pontrilas Court--Ewias Harold--Abbey Dore--The Scyrrid
    Vawr--Wormridge--Kilpeck--Oldcastle--Kentchurch--Grosmont--The Vale
    of Usk--Abergavenny--Llanthony Priory--Walter Savage
    Landor--Capel-y-Ffyn--Newport--Penarth Roads--Cardiff--The
    Rocking-Stone--Llandaff--Caerphilly Castle and its Leaning
    Tower--Swansea--The Mumbles--Oystermouth Castle--Neath
    Abbey--Caermarthen--Tenby--Manorbeer Castle--Golden
    Grove--Pembroke--Milford--Haverfordwest--Milford Haven--Pictou
    Castle--Carew Castle                                              337


  VII.

  _LONDON, SOUTH-WEST TO LAND'S END._

    Virginia Water--Sunninghill--Ascot--Wokingham--Bearwood--The London
    Times--White Horse Hill--Box Tunnel--Salisbury--Salisbury Plain--Old
    Sarum--Stonehenge--Amesbury--Wilton House--The Earls of
    Pembroke--Carpet-making--Bath--William
    Beckford--Fonthill--Bristol--William
    Canynge--Chatterton--Clifton--Brandon Hill--Well--The
    Mendips--Jocelyn--Beckington--Ralph of Shrewsbury--Thomas Ken--The
    Cheddar Cliffs--The Wookey Hole--The Black Down--The Isle of
    Avelon--Glastonbury--Weary-all Hill--Sedgemoor--The Isle of
    Athelney--Bridgewater--Oldmixon--Monmouth's Rebellion--Weston
    Zoyland--King Alfred--Sherborne--Sir Walter Raleigh--The Coast of
    Dorset--Poole--Wareham--Isle of Purbeck--Corfe Castle--The
    Foreland--Swanage--St. Aldhelm's Head--Weymouth--Portland Isle and
    Bill--The Channel Islands--Jersey--Corbiere Promontory--Mount
    Orgueil--Alderney--Guernsey--Castle Comet--The Southern Coast of
    Devon--Abbotsbury--Lyme
    Regis--Axminster--Sidmouth--Exmouth--Exeter--William, Prince of
    Orange--Exeter Cathedral--Bishop
    Trelawney--Dawlish--Teignmouth--Hope's Nose--Babbicombe Bay--Anstis
    Cove--Torbay--Torquay--Brixham--Dartmoor--The River
    Dart--Totnes--Berry Pomeroy Castle--Dartmouth--The River Plym--The
    Dewerstone--Plympton Priory--Sir Joshua Reynolds--Catwater
    Haven--Plymouth--Stonehouse--Devonport--Eddystone
    Lighthouse--Tavistock Abbey--Buckland Abbey--Lydford Castle--The
    Northern Coast of Devon--Exmoor--Minehead--Dunster--Dunkery
    Beacon--Porlock Bay--The River Lyn--Oare--Lorna Doone--Jan
    Ridd--Lynton--Lynmouth--Castle Rock--The Devil's Cheese-Ring--Combe
    Martin--Ilfracombe--Norte
    Point--Morthoe--Barnstable--Bideford--Clovelly--Lundy
    Island--Cornwall--Tintagel--Launceston--Liskeard--Fowey--Lizard
    Peninsula--Falmouth--Pendennis Castle--Helston--Mullyon
    Cove--Smuggling--Kynance Cove--The Post-Office--Old Lizard
    Head--Polpeor--St. Michael's Mount--Penzance--Pilchard
    Fishery--Penwith--Land's End                                      384


  VIII.

  _LONDON, TO THE SOUTH COAST._

    The Surrey Side--The Chalk Downs--Guildford--The Hog's Back--Albury
    Down--Archbishop Abbot--St. Catharine's Chapel--St. Martha's
    Chapel--Albury Park--John Evelyn--Henry Drummond--Aldershot
    Camp--Leith Hill--Redland's Wood--Holmwood Park--Dorking--Weller and
    the Marquis of Granby Inn--Deepdene--Betchworth Castle--The River
    Mole--Boxhill--The Fox and Hounds