What to See in England Part 41

=Average Time.=--Varies between 6 and 7-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 38s. 2d. ... 21s. 9d Return 75s. 4d (available for one month).

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Furness Abbey Hotel," etc.

=Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras. Midland Railway.

In the days of its prosperity Furness must have been one of the most important monastic establishments in the kingdom, although its completeness did not come about until many years after the date of its foundation in 1127 by Stephen, at that time Earl of Mortain and Boulogne. The situation chosen was on the banks of a stream flowing through a narrow fertile valley--the favourite position for Cistercian abbeys. The monks came originally from Savigny in Normandy. Having become very richly endowed, the foundation of the abbey was confirmed by the charters of twelve successive sovereigns and the bulls of various popes. Remarkable privileges were given to the abbot, who had great authority in the whole of the surrounding district, even the military element being, to a certain extent, dependent upon him.

A register known as the Abbot's Mortuary was kept at Furness throughout three centuries. This was almost unique among Cistercian monasteries, for only names of those abbots who, having presided for ten years, continued at the abbey and died abbots there, were entered in the register. During 277 years, therefore, only ten names were written upon the pages. When Henry VIII., in 1537, suppressed Furness Abbey, it was surrendered by Roger Pyke, who was abbot at the time.

The ruins of the abbey to be seen to-day are of Norman and Early English character, and the general hue of the stone-work is a ruddy brown. Their ma.s.sive appearance almost suggests a shattered castle; but the share the abbey took in military matters is better ill.u.s.trated from the fact that they built a watch-tower on the top of a hill rising from the walls of the monastery, and commanding a view over the sea and the whole district known as Low Furness. From this height the monks on watch were enabled to give warning by signals of the approach of an enemy. The painted gla.s.s, formerly in the east window, was removed many years ago to the east window of Bowness Church in Westmorland.

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

FURNESS ABBEY.

It was founded in 1127, and gradually grew in importance until even the military element in the district became to some extent dependent upon the abbot.]

MONKWEARMOUTH, NEAR JARROW

THE HOME OF THE "VENERABLE BEDE"

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly.

=Nearest Station.=--Jarrow (2 miles north-east from Monkton).

=Distance from London.=--268 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 5-1/4 to 7-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares=--Single 37s. 7d. ... 22s. 3d.

Return 75s. 2d. ... 44s. 6d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--At Jarrow--"Ben Lomond Hotel,"

"Burkett's Hotel."

=Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras. Midland Railway.

Monkwearmouth, a little town 2 miles distant from Jarrow, the large s.h.i.+pbuilding town on the southern bank of the river Tyne, is famous for being the birthplace of the Venerable Bede. Bede, who was born in 673 A.D., was placed, at the age of seven years, in the monastery at Monkwearmouth, from which he went to Jarrow, to the new monastery just built by Benedict Biscop. He remained at Jarrow for the rest of his life, studying the Scriptures and writing books. His greatest work was the _Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation_, which has given him his position as the father of English history. The story of his death is very beautiful. He was translating St. John's Gospel into English when he was attacked by a sudden illness, and felt he was dying. He kept on with his task, however, and continued dictating to his scribe, bidding him write quickly. When he was told that the book was finished he said, "You speak truth, all is finished now," and after singing "Glory to G.o.d," he quietly pa.s.sed away.

The abbey churches of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow are interesting, because they have remained practically unaltered from their construction in the seventh century. The monasteries never grew sufficiently to require great enlargements, and thus they would have been to-day very nearly as the Anglo-Saxon monks saw them. Monkwearmouth Church was built in the Romanesque style by Benedict Biscop, who sent to France for workmen to put in the gla.s.s for the church windows. Besides the church, no trace remains of any monastic building at Monkwearmouth. The chancel and tower of the abbey church at Jarrow bear a great resemblance to those of Monkwearmouth, both being the work of Benedict Biscop. The domestic part of the monastery at Jarrow, where Bede lived and died, has disappeared, for the present ruins show Norman and not Saxon work. Monkwearmouth possesses one of the earliest Christian gravestones in England.

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

MONKWEARMOUTH CHURCH.

Partly built by Bishop Biscop in Bede's time.]

THE ISLE OF MAN

=How to get there.=--Train from Euston, King's Cross, St. Pancras, or Paddington _via_ Liverpool, and thence by steamer.

=Nearest Station.=--Douglas, on Isle of Man.

=Distance from London.=--205 miles to Liverpool (75 miles by sea from Liverpool to Douglas, 90 to Ramsey).

=Average Time.=--12 hours.

1st and 2nd and 3rd and 3rd and saloon saloon saloon fore cabin =Fares.=--Single 35s. 0d. 26s. 8d. 22s. 6d. ...

Return 68s. 0d. 46s. 3d. 39s. 6d. 35s. 6d.

=Accommodation Obtainable=.--At Douglas--"Grand," "Metropole,"

"Regent," "Central," "Granville," and many others. At Ramsey--"Mitre," "Queen's," "Prince of Wales," "Albert,"

"Albion," etc. At Castletown--"George," "Union," etc. At Peel--"Creg Melin," "Marine," "Peel Castle," etc.

The Isle of Man is much visited because of its mild and equable climate, its scenery, and its quaint laws and customs. The island is 30 miles long, and is mountainous in the centre. From the highest point, Snaefell, one can see four countries. Picturesque wooded glens are to be found in many parts of the island, and these having become well known as attractive resorts, a small charge is made to enter each glen. At Glen Darragh there is a circle of stones, and at Laxey, famous for its gigantic wheel for pumping water from the mines, there is another small circle called the "Cloven Stones." In many cases the churchyards possess old Runic crosses.

Douglas, on the east of the island, is the chief town. It is a modern seaside resort, much frequented by Lancas.h.i.+re folk in August. Ramsey, further north, is quieter, and pleasantly situated on the only river of importance in Man. It is an old town, with yellow sands and a harbour crowded with herring-boats. Castletown lies to the south, a quiet old place, with narrow, crooked streets. Castle Rushen, built in the thirteenth century, shows no signs of decay. It consists of a keep and ma.s.sive outer wall. Here the kings and lords of Manxland lived, though until lately it was the prison of the island. Peel, on the west, is chiefly remarkable for its rocky island near the sh.o.r.e, on which there are the ruins of a castle and churches surrounded by a battlemented wall. St. Patrick probably landed here, and the ruined cathedral is the oldest see in Britain.

The most famous king of "Mona" was Orry, son of a Danish king of the tenth century. The island became subject to England in 1290. The National a.s.sembly, or House of Keys, was founded by Orry.

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

CASTLE RUSHEN, ISLE OF MAN.

Built in the thirteenth century, it was for a long period the residence of the kings and lords of Manxland.]

BRANTWOOD

THE HOME OF JOHN RUSKIN

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

=Nearest Station.=--Coniston Lake (Brantwood is on the eastern side of Coniston Lake).

=Distance from London.=--279 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 8-1/4 to 9-1/4 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 41s. 1d. ... 23s. 2-1/2d.

Return 80s. 5d. ... 46s. 5d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Waterhead Hotel," etc.

=Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras. Midland Railway.

The road to Brantwood from Coniston runs under the shade of beautiful trees, at the head of Coniston Water. After leaving behind the village and the Thwaite, with its peac.o.c.ks strutting in its old-world gardens, one skirts the grounds of Monk Coniston. Soon afterwards Tent Lodge, where Tennyson once lived, is pa.s.sed. Afterwards comes Low Bank Ground, which is only a short distance from Brantwood. The situation, as one may see from the drawing given opposite, is one of great natural advantages, while the house is quite una.s.suming; its simple white walls, however, give one the sense of a comfortable if unpretending home. The interior has been described as giving an impression "of solid, old-fas.h.i.+oned furniture, of amber-coloured damask curtains and coverings." There were Turner's and other water-colours in curly frames upon the drawing-room walls.

Writing of his earliest recollections of Coniston, in _Praeterita_, Ruskin says: "The inn at Coniston was then actually at the upper end of the lake, the road from Ambleside to the village pa.s.sing just between it and the water, and the view of the long reach of lake, with its softly-wooded, lateral hills, had for my father a tender charm, which excited the same feeling as that with which he afterward regarded the lakes of Italy." Ruskin's death in 1900 took place at Brantwood. George Eliot, in speaking of him, said, "I venerate Ruskin as one of the greatest teachers of the age. He teaches with the inspiration of a Hebrew prophet."

Ruskin was the son of a wealthy wine merchant, and was born in London in 1819. He studied at Oxford, where he gained the Newdigate prize for English poetry in 1839. After taking his degree, in the following year appeared his first volume of _Modern Painters_, the design of which was to prove the great superiority of modern landscape-painters, particularly Turner, over the old masters.