What to See in England Part 31

EXETER AND ITS CATHEDRAL

=How to get there.=--South-Western Railway, Waterloo Station.

=Nearest Station.=--Queen Street, Exeter.

=Distance from London.=--171-1/2 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 3-1/2 to 5-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 28s. 6d. 18s. 0d. 14s. 3-1/2d.

Return 50s. 0d. 31s. 6d. 28s. 7d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Royal Clarence Hotel," "Rougemont Hotel," "Half Moon Hotel," Pople's "New London Hotel," etc.

=Alternative Route.=--Great Western Railway, from Paddington Station, London, to St. Davids, Exeter.

Exeter, the metropolis of the west, was known as a city even when the Romans came to Britain. There are no important Roman buildings left now, but coins and pottery testify to the Roman occupation. The first actual historic records date from the reign of King Alfred, whose grandson, Athelstane, made Exeter into a strong city, fortifying it with walls.

Exeter made a stubborn resistance to William the Conqueror, but when besieged by him was forced to yield. The city suffered siege on two other notable occasions. In the reign of Henry VII., Perkin Warbeck, the pretender, made an attack on the castle, but was defeated. In 1646 the city was blockaded by the Parliamentary forces under Fairfax and compelled to surrender.

In the centre of the city is the cathedral, which was commenced in A.D.

1107 by Bishop Warelwast, who built the ma.s.sive Norman towers. Bishop Quivil, who died in 1292, completely remodelled the cathedral, changing the somewhat heavy Norman structure into the present graceful Gothic one. The successor of Bishop Quivil carried out the plans he left behind him, and the cathedral was finished in 1350, although some minor work remained to be done. Unlike so many of the early cathedrals, Exeter has no central tower, therefore its interior is famous for having the most uninterrupted vista of any cathedral in England, having no tower-piers to hinder the view. One of the most beautiful features is the carved west front.

Standing on the highest ground in Exeter, though not now conspicuous, are the ruined walls of the Norman castle, called Rougemont (Red Mount), which obtained its name from the red clay found there. The High Street contains many old and picturesque buildings, the most important of which is the Guildhall, built in the fifteenth century, but altered during the late Renaissance period. Many of the parish churches of Exeter are worthy of note.

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

THE WEST FRONT OF EXETER CATHEDRAL.

Exeter has no central tower, but is unique in having one over each transept.]

MARKET DRAYTON, SALOP

AND THE BIRTHPLACE OF ROBERT CLIVE

=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.

=Nearest Station.=--Market Drayton.

=Distance from London.=--178 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 4-1/4 to 5-3/4 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 24s. 2d. 15s. 5d. 13s. 2d.

Return 46s. 0d. 29s. 0d. 26s. 4d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"The Corbet Arms," etc.

=Alternative Route.=--None.

In the parish of Moreton Say, 3 miles west of Market Drayton, is Styche Hall, the birthplace of Robert Clive. The family of Clive took their name from the little town of Clive in Ches.h.i.+re, removing to Styche when the heiress of the latter place married James Clive in the reign of Henry VI. Robert Clive, the hero of Pla.s.sey, born in 1725, was educated for a few years at Market Drayton before he went to the Merchant Taylors' School. His father not being at all wealthy, Clive accepted a writers.h.i.+p in the East India Company and went out to Madras, but soon changed his post for a commission in the army. After a brilliant career in India, which he won for the English, raising them from the position of mere traders to be the rulers of an Eastern Empire, he returned to England in 1767. Worn out by the persecutions of his enemies, he died by his own hand in 1774, when only in his forty-ninth year. "Great in council, great in war, great in his exploits, which were many, and great in his faults, which were few," Sir Charles Wilson says, "Clive will ever be remembered as the man who laid deeply the foundations of our Indian Empire, and who, in a time of national despondency, restored the tarnished honour of the British arms."

The parish church of Moreton Say contains Clive's tomb besides other old monuments dating from 1600, though the church itself is chiefly eighteenth-century work. Market Drayton, sometimes thought to be the Roman Mediolanum, still has a few timbered houses, but its church has been much restored.

Close to the town, standing on a wooded hill, is Buntingsdale, a stately red brick and stone house built in Georgian times, belonging to the Tayleurs. Situated 2-1/2 miles from Market Drayton is Audley Cross, marking the site of the battle of Blore Heath, fought between the Yorkists and Lancastrians, when many Ches.h.i.+re gentlemen were slain.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._

MARKET DRAYTON FROM THE RIVER.

Where Clive was educated before he went to the Merchant Taylors'

School.]

CHESTER

=How to get there.=--Train from Euston. L. and N.W. Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Chester.

=Distance from London.=--179 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 3-1/2 to 5-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 27s. 10d. 18s. 8d. 14s. 11d.

Return 51s. 9d. 32s. 8d. 29s. 10d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Queen's Hotel," "Grosvenor Hotel,"

"Talbot Hotel," "Blossoms Hotel," etc.

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

The city of Chester, one of the most picturesque in the kingdom, was known in the Roman era as the "Camp of the Great Legion," and was called by the Romans _Deunana_ or _Deva_, being half surrounded by the Dee.

After the Conquest, the city fell to the share of Hugh Lupus, a nephew of William the Conqueror, who was created Earl of Chester, and was the builder of the first castle. His descendants were Earls of Chester until the reign of Henry III., when the earldom was conferred upon Prince Edward, whose son, Edward of Carnarvon, was the first Prince of Wales.

The t.i.tle is still used by the eldest son of the sovereign.

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 circ.u.mference, with four gates, one marking each point of the compa.s.s. 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 a.s.sociations. 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.

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

ONE OF THE MOST PICTURESQUE OF THE ROWS AT CHESTER.

The upper floors project over these covered footways.]

EXMOOR