What to See in England Part 18

=Nearest Station.=--Netley (about a mile from the abbey).

=Distance from London.=--82-1/4 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 2-3/4 to 4-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 13s. 6d. 8s. 6d. 6s. 9-1/2d.

Return 23s. 10d. 15s. 0d. 12s. 3d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Royal Hotel," "Radley's Hotel,"

"Dolphin," "South-Western," etc., Southampton (3 miles from Netley).

Netley is a small village on Southampton Water, about 3 miles south-east of the town of Southampton. It is famous for the ruins of Netley Abbey, which are not far from the sh.o.r.e, in a wooded and picturesque nook. The abbey is supposed to have been founded by Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester in Henry III.'s reign, and the monks belonged to the Cistercian order. It was neither a rich nor famous establishment, and the monks possessed but one book, Cicero's _Treaty on Rhetoric_. Since the Dissolution the abbey has belonged to many different families. Only the walls are now standing, but enough remains to show how beautiful it once was. The buildings formed a square of which the south wall of the church formed the side opposite the entrance. Various buildings in connection with the monastery formed the rest of the quadrangle, which was known as Fountain Court. The kitchen is still roofed in, although it has lost its stone groining. Other buildings are, conjecturally, the b.u.t.tery and the refectory. Near the kitchen is a curious underground pa.s.sage leading to the castle (erected by Henry VIII.), which stands nearer the sh.o.r.e than the abbey. It is thought to be a drain.

The church is of cruciform shape, in Early English style. Though the west end is now in a very ruinous condition, the great east window is fairly well preserved. It has two lights, and is very beautifully proportioned. Outside the court is the garden, with lawns and trees, too often desecrated by picnic parties, and the ponds that supplied the monks with fish are now choked up. It is said that a carpenter who bought the materials of the church from Sir Bartlet Lucy was warned in a dream by a monk not to destroy the building. He paid no heed, and was killed by the west window falling on him.

The Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Soldiers, erected after the Crimean War, can be seen at Netley.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

NETLEY ABBEY, LOOKING EAST.]

SALISBURY AND ITS CATHEDRAL

=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo. L. and S.W. Rly.

=Nearest Station.=--Salisbury.

=Distance from London.=--83-1/4 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 1-3/4 and 3-1/4 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 14s. 0d. 8s. 9d. 6s. 11-1/2d.

Return 24s. 6d. 15s. 4d. 12s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Angel Hotel," "Crown Hotel,"

"White Hart Hotel," etc.

=Alternative Route.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.

Salisbury Cathedral is, in the opinion of many, the finest of all the English cathedrals, and it certainly has many claims to be considered so. The vast building was completed within fifty years, and is therefore practically in one style throughout, an advantage not shared by any other cathedral in the kingdom. Its situation, too, is unique, standing as it does in the fine old close, entirely separated from any other buildings, and with its grey walls and b.u.t.tresses rising sheer up from such velvety turf as is seen in England alone. The tower and spire are perhaps the most beautiful in this country.

Pa.s.sing into the close by the gate at the end of the High Street, one reaches the west front, which is very rich in effect, with its tiers of canopied statues and wonderfully proportioned windows. Through the beautiful north porch one pa.s.ses into the nave, which, though exceedingly beautiful, has a certain air of coldness owing to the absence of stained gla.s.s. It seems hardly credible that this beautiful gla.s.s, the making of which is now a lost art, was deliberately destroyed at the end of the eighteenth century by the so-called "architect" James Wyatt. In addition to this, "Wyatt swept away screens, chapels, and porches, desecrated and destroyed the tombs of warriors and prelates; obliterated ancient paintings, flung stained gla.s.s by cartloads into the city ditch, and razed to the ground the beautiful old campanile which stood opposite the north porch."

The Lady Chapel of the cathedral is one of the most beautiful in the kingdom.

Although the cathedral is the great glory of Salisbury, there are plenty of interesting mediaeval buildings in the city. In the close itself are the King's House and the King's Wardrobe, both old gabled houses of great beauty. St. Thomas's and St. Edmund's are the two most interesting churches in the city.

About 2 miles north of Salisbury is a group of pretty cottages on the Avon, forming the village of Milston. Here, on May 1, 1672, Joseph Addison was born in the old rectory, now unfortunately pulled down. His father, Lancelot Addison, was rector of the parish.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL.

The spire is one of the most graceful in the world, and the whole building, commenced in 1220, was completed within fifty years.]

SANDWICH, KENT

=How to get there.=--Train from Charing Cross, Cannon Street, and London Bridge. South-Eastern and Chatham Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Sandwich.

=Distance from London.=--84-1/2 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 13s. 0d. 8s. 4d. 6s. 6d.

Return 22s. 8d. 16s. 8d. 13s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Bell," "Bell and Anchor," "Fleur de Lys," etc.

It is difficult to realise that Sandwich, now 1-1/2 miles from the coast, was yet once situated on the sea, and was the second in importance of the Cinque Ports. In Roman and early Saxon times a wide arm of the Thames, called the Wantsume, flowed from Reculver (then known as Regulbium), where it was a mile wide, southwards to what is now the mouth of the Stour. Between Ebbsfleet and Worth it was over 4 miles wide. The Roman fortress of Ritupiae (Richborough) guarded it on the south, and the river Stour flowed into it at Stourmouth. This stream caused so much alluvial deposit that the sea receded from Richborough in early Saxon times, and part of the population removed to Sandwich. The repeated attacks by the Danes and the French did not check the growth of the town, which attained its maximum prosperity in Edward IV.'s reign, when it was walled. But the sea left its sh.o.r.es, and the town declined to again rise in importance, when the 400 Flemish emigrants settled there in Elizabeth's reign and introduced silk-weaving, flannel manufactures, and market-gardening.

Sandwich contains some of the richest bits of mediaeval architecture in England. There are some traces of the walls to be seen, and one ancient gateway is perfect, Fisher's Gate, near the quay. On the north is the Tudor barbican gate. St. Clement's Church possesses a central Norman tower. The nave is in the Perpendicular style, and the chancel is Decorated. Both have fine roofs. St. Peter's Church (thirteenth century) has a tower, but its south aisle was destroyed in 1661. The session-room at the town hall has some curious seats for the mayor and aldermen, and the hospital of St. Bartholomew's has an Early English chapel. The best of the ancient houses in the town are in Strand Street and Lucksboat Street. Manswood Grammar School dates from 1564, and has a Flemish front.

At Richborough can be seen some Roman rectangular walls about 10 feet high, with a subterranean concrete building in the centre.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

FISHER'S GATE, SANDWICH.

A picturesque survival of the days of the town's importance as a Cinque Port.]

NEW FOREST, HAMPs.h.i.+RE

=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo. L. and S.W. Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Lyndhurst Road Station (3 miles).

=Distance from London.=--85-1/4 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 2-1/4 to 3-3/4 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 14s. 2d. 9s. 0d. 7s. 1d.

Return 24s. 10d. 15s. 8d. 14s. 2d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Grand Hotel," Lyndhurst; "Crown Hotel," Lyndhurst; "Rose and Crown," Brockenhurst, etc.

The popular story as to the creation of what was then the "New" Forest by William the Conqueror has been probably much exaggerated, although we all believed in our school days the old chroniclers, who averred that the king destroyed fifty or so churches and numerous villages, and exterminated their inhabitants. The fact is that the harsh feudal forest laws were rigidly enforced by the Conqueror, who no doubt in some places swept away the villages and churches of rebellious foresters, but the very qualities of the forest soil disprove the fact that the land was once all "smiling pastures and golden cornfields," as some of the old historians would have us believe.

The New Forest of the present day forms a triangle about 20 miles long and 12 broad, of which the base is a line drawn westward from the mouth of the Beaulieu river to within a mile or two of the Avon, the apex reaching to the confines of Wilts.h.i.+re. The forest scenery is extremely diversified, but always very beautiful; glades and reaches of gentle park and meadow, and open heath-like stretches, contrast wonderfully with the actual ma.s.ses of huge beeches, under some of which daylight never penetrates.

Lyndhurst, the little capital of the New Forest, is situated in its centre, and is one of the best points from which to explore the beauties of the district. The church at Lyndhurst is modern, rebuilt in 1863; but it should be visited in order to see the large altar-fresco of the Ten Virgins executed by the late Lord Leighton. A little way beyond the church is the Queen's House, built in Charles II.'s reign. Here resides the Deputy-Surveyor, who administers under the Crown, while six elected Verderers, in their courts of Swain-mote, represent the Commoners. In the hall is kept what is known as William Rufus's stirrup-iron.